-the colonel in front with the driver, Walt and Julia in back.

The car moved into Washington traffic.

Bleak, harsh winter lay over the town; the very air seemed weary and
exhausted. Julia stared out the window at the passing buildings.

The invasion, she thought. Flying saucers settling down upon such a
commonplace, solid scene as this. Terrified faces in the streets. Crys.
The whine of a police car. An air raid warning, wailing like a lost
night express. Brick and cement buckling and exploding. Walls crashing.
Smoke billowing up. The helpless, ironic chuckle of a machine gun
seeking a target. The drone of a plane....

Suppose the government won't believe our story after all! she thought.

"You're going to help us all you can, aren't you, Walt?" she whispered.
Her fingers plucked nervously at her dress.

"This morning, I had a long talk with the man at my door. I'll help you
all I can. He'd never even heard of Lyria; he--"

The colonel swiveled his head. "We consulted with the President this
morning."

Julia felt herself grow tense. "Yes?"

"He instructed us to have the two of you interviewed by some of the best
authorities we could round up on such short notice. You will be required
to demonstrate this ability you seem to have to teleport objects."

"I'll do everything I can."

The colonel grunted and turned back to watching the road.

The Tidal Basin lay to one side of the car; the Washington Channel to
the other. Off the highway, the rotunda dome of the white marble
Jefferson Memorial glistened in the weak sunlight; the cherry trees
around it were naked with winter.

Julia listened to her own breathing; she forced herself to relax. I've
got to convince them, she thought.

In spite of her superiority, she felt like a little girl venturing into
a big, unfamiliar world.

Shortly, the car drew up at the huge Pentagon building.

Inside it, army men--officers and enlisted men--were scurrying about, up
and down ramps, in and out of the endless maze of corridors. There was a
brisk hum of voices; it was like a giant bee hive. The high heeled shoes
of female personnel chattered efficiently from room to room.

"Stay close," the colonel said. "It's easy to get lost."

* * * * *

All the noises of the building were swallowed up when the colonel closed
the office door on the third floor. The elderly female receptionist at
the desk looked up.

"They're waiting, Colonel Robert