\begin{thm}[Small blobs]

\end{thm}

We begin by describing the homotopy inverse in small degrees, to illustrate the general technique.

We will construct a chain map $s:  \bc_*(M) \to \bc^{\cU}_*(M)$ and a homotopy $h:\bc_*(M) \to \bc_{*+1}(M)$ so that $\bdy h+h \bdy=\id - i\circ s$. The composition $s \circ i$ will just be the identity.

On $0$-blobs, $s$ is just the identity; a blob diagram without any blobs is compatible with any open cover. Nevertheless, we'll begin introducing nomenclature at this point: for configuration $\beta$ of disjoint embedded balls in $M$ we'll associate a one parameter family of homeomorphisms $\phi_\beta : \Delta^1 \to \Homeo(M)$ (here $\Delta^m$ is the standard simplex $\setc{\mathbf{x} \in \Real^{m+1}}{\sum_i x_i = 1}$). For $0$-blobs, where $\beta = \eset$, all these homeomorphisms are just the identity.

On a $1$-blob $b$, with ball $\beta$, $s$ is defined as the sum of two terms. Essentially, the first term `makes $\beta$ small', while the other term `gets the boundary right'. First, pick a one-parameter family $\phi_\beta : \Delta^1 \to \Homeo(M)$ of homeomorphisms, so $\phi_\beta(0,1)$ is the identity and $\phi_\beta(1,0)$ makes the ball $\beta$ small. Next, pick a two-parameter family $\phi_{\eset \prec \beta} : \Delta^2 \to \Homeo(M)$ so that $\phi_{\eset \prec \beta}(s,t,0)$ makes the ball $\beta$ small for all $s+t=1$, while $\phi_{\eset \prec \beta}(0,t,u) = \phi_\eset(t,u)$ and $\phi_{\eset \prec \beta}(s,0,u) = \phi_\beta(s,u)$. (It's perhaps not obvious that this is even possible --- see Lemma \ref{lem:extend-small-homeomorphisms} below.) We now define $s$ by

$$s(b) = \phi_\beta(1,0)(b) + \restrict{\phi_{\eset \prec \beta}}{u=0}(\bdy b).$$

Here, $\phi_\beta(1,0)$ is just a homeomorphism, which we apply to $b$, while $\restrict{\phi_{\eset \prec \beta}}{u=0}$ is a one parameter family of homeomorphisms which acts on the $0$-blob $\bdy b$ to give a $1$-blob. We now check that $s$, as defined so far, is a chain map, calculating

\begin{align*}

\bdy (s(b)) & = \phi_\beta(1,0)(\bdy b) + (\bdy \restrict{\phi_{\eset \prec \beta}}{u=0})(\bdy b) \\

		 & = \phi_\beta(1,0)(\bdy b) + \phi_\eset(1,0)(\bdy b) - \phi_\beta(1,0)(\bdy b) \\

		 & = \phi_\eset(1,0)(\bdy b) \\

		 & = s(\bdy b)

\end{align*}

Next, we compute the compositions $s \circ i$ and $i \circ s$. If we start with a small $1$-blob diagram $b$, first include it up to the full blob complex then apply $s$, we get exactly back to $b$, at least assuming we adopt the convention that for any ball $\beta$ which is already small, we choose the families of homeomorphisms $\phi_\beta$ and $\phi_{\eset \prec \beta}$ to always be the identity. In the other direction, $i \circ s$, we will need to construct the homotopy $h:\bc_*(M) \to \bc_{*+1}(M)$ for $*=0$ or $1$. This is defined by $h(b) = \phi_\eset(b)$ when $b$ is a $0$-blob (here $\phi_\eset$ is a one parameter family of homeomorphisms, so this is a $1$-blob), and $h(b) = \phi_\beta(b) - \phi_{\eset \prec \beta}(\bdy b)$ when $b$ is a $1$-blob (here $\beta$ is the ball in $b$, and this is the action of a one parameter family of homeomorphisms on a $1$-blob, so a $2$-blob).

\begin{align*}

(\bdy h+h \bdy)(b) & = \bdy (\phi_{\beta}(b) - \phi_{\eset \prec \beta}{\bdy b}) + \phi_\eset(\bdy b)  \\

	& = b - \phi_\beta(1,0)(b) - \phi_\beta(\bdy b) - (\bdy \phi_{\eset \prec \beta})(\bdy b) + \phi_\eset(\bdy b) \\

	& =  b - \phi_\beta(1,0)(b) - \phi_\beta(\bdy b) -  \phi_\eset(\bdy b) + \phi_\beta(\bdy b) - \restrict{\phi_{\eset \prec \beta}}{u=0}(\bdy b) + \phi_\eset(\bdy b) \\

	& = b - \phi_\beta(1,0)(b) - \restrict{\phi_{\eset \prec \beta}}{u=0}(\bdy b) \\

	& = (\id - i \circ s)(b)

\end{align*}

Given a blob diagram $b \in \bc_k(M)$, denote by $b_\cS$ for $\cS \subset \{1, \ldots, k\}$ the blob diagram obtained by erasing the corresponding blobs. In particular, $b_\eset = b$, $b_{\{1,\ldots,k\}} \in \bc_0(M)$, and $d b_\cS = \sum_{\cS' = \cS'\sqcup\{i\}} \pm  b_{\cS'}$.

Similarly, for a disjoint embedding of $k$ balls $\beta$ (that is, a blob diagram but without the labels on regions), $\beta_\cS$ denotes the result of erasing a subset of blobs. We'll write $\beta' \prec \beta$ if $\beta' = \beta_\cS$ for some $\cS$. Finally, for finite sequences, we'll write $i \prec i'$ if $i$ is subsequence of $i'$, and $i \prec_1 i$ if the lengths differ by exactly 1.

It's not immediately obvious that it's possible to make such choices, but it follows readily from the following Lemma.

When $\beta$ is a collection of disjoint embedded balls in $M$, we say that a homeomorphism of $M$ `makes $\beta$ small' if the image of each ball in $\beta$ under the homeomorphism is contained in some open set of $\cU$.

\begin{lem}

\label{lem:extend-small-homeomorphisms}

Fix a collection of disjoint embedded balls $\beta$ in $M$. Suppose we have a map $f :  X \to \Homeo(M)$ on some compact $X$ such that for each $x \in \bdy X$, $f(x)$ makes $\beta$ small. Then we can extend $f$ to a map $\tilde{f} : X \times [0,1] \to \Homeo(M)$ so that $\tilde{f}(x,0) = f(x)$ and for every $x \in \bdy X \times [0,1] \cup X \times \{1\}$, $\tilde{f}(x)$ makes $\beta$ small.

\end{lem}

\begin{proof}

Fix a metric on $M$, and pick $\epsilon > 0$ so every $\epsilon$ ball in $M$ is contained in some open set of $\cU$. First construct a family of homeomorphisms $g_s : M \to M$, $s \in [1,\infty)$ so $g_1$ is the identity, and $g_s(\beta_i) \subset \beta_i$ and $\rad g_s(\beta_i) \leq \frac{1}{s} \rad \beta_i$ for each ball $\beta_i$. 

There is some $K$ which uniformly bounds the expansion factors of all the homeomorphisms $f(x)$, that is $d(f(x)(a), f(x)(b)) < K d(a,b)$ for all $x \in X, a,b \in M$. Write $S=\epsilon^{-1} K \max_i \{\rad \beta_i\}$ (note that is $S<1$, we can just take $S=1$, as already $f(x)$ makes $\beta$ small for all $x$). Now define $\tilde{f}(t, x) = f(x) \compose g_{(S-1)t+1}$.

If $x \in \bdy X$, then $g_{(S-1)t+1}(\beta_i) \subset \beta_i$, and by hypothesis $f(x)$ makes $\beta_i$ small, so $\tilde{f}(t, x)$ makes $\beta$ small for all $t \in [0,1]$. Alternatively, $\rad g_S(\beta_i) \leq \frac{1}{S} \rad \beta_i \leq \frac{\epsilon}{K}$, so $\rad \tilde{f}(1,x)(\beta_i) \leq \epsilon$, and so $\tilde{f}(1,x)$ makes $\beta$ small for all $x \in X$.

\end{proof}