Low-Clearance Salvage

The shag rug is an inefficient drag on mobility, but navigation is manageable. I trekked three feet into the shadowy gap beneath the low wooden console table. First order of business: inspect the junk. Tucked beside an empty power strip, I found a discarded zinc paperclip and a detached plastic bottle cap full of lint. Primitive rubbish, mostly. But bending the paperclip straight against the floor gave me a rigid, conductive probe with about two inches of reach. Good enough to poke into dark crevices without sticking my own limbs in. I wedged the metal rod under my arm and marked the console base as a temporary staging point.