ty line. The Mayor fired a disarmed war rocket as the
signal to start.

And then the shovels, instead of biting into the dirt, turned at right
angles and began to chew a path through the paid audience.

This was not called for in the contract and many hired spectators ran
away in fright, but a few of us had enough professional pride to stand
by. We watched as the shovels cut an irregular path through streets,
parks and open lots in the city snapping at everything in their way
until they reached the water-front.

I thought they would stop at the docks. The leaders _did_ pause, until
all the shovels had come abreast. Then, as if they had a common
impulse, they rolled into the harbor and sank in unison.

As I later said to my wife, it was quite extraordinary.

6

My name is Danville. I was watching a colorvision program on the first
day of the Calamity.

The program was a wrestling match between a woman and a bear. The bear
was winning when the screen went dark. The announcer's voice faded and
I heard what sounded like the chatter of my neighbors. When the screen
lit up again, it showed my own home. The door opened to reveal the
hallway to the dining room, where I could see my wife sewing a patch
on my son's pants. Then I saw my daughter experimenting on fudge in
the food laboratory and my boy working on a bomb model. What surprised
me most was a picture of myself staring at myself on the screen.

This wasn't very interesting to me, so I tried some of the other
stations. No matter where I tuned in, though, I found myself looking
at a part of my own home. I wrote a letter of complaint to the
Universal Program Commission, but never even got an answer.

7

I am sorry that I do not remember my name. I have been employed a long
time in the Classified Laboratory of Theoretical Physics and have been
under security orders to speak to no one except in answer to official
queries. As I am the only scholar in my field--the polarity of the
positron--I have never been asked for information. If I had been,
perhaps I would not have forgotten my name, but I cannot be sure. I
don't know whether the replies are signed.

I could have prevented the Calamity. I tried. I risked my life in the
attempt. But at the moment when it seemed I might succeed, something
happened which I must try to explain.

First let me tell you why I knew what would happen.

My studies of minute particles led me to believe that machines might
exert