they tell you it is there?"

"You mean the sky? Well, the air ends after a few miles and space just
goes on--millions of miles--"

Dhuva slapped the table and laughed. "The people in Fesseron must be
some yokels! Just goes on up; now who'd swallow that tale?" He chuckled.

"Only a child thinks the sky is some kind of tent," said Brett. "Haven't
you ever heard of the Solar System, the other planets?"

"What are those?"

"Other worlds. They all circle around the sun, like the Earth."

"Other worlds, eh? Sailing around up under the roof? Funny; I never saw
them." Dhuva snickered. "Wake up, Brett. Forget all those stories. Just
believe what you see."

"What about that brown thing?"

"The Gels? They run this place. Look out for them, Brett. Stay alert.
Don't let them see you."

* * *

"What do they do?"

"I don't know--and I don't want to find out. This is a great place--I
like it here. I have all I want to eat, plenty of nice rooms for
sleeping. There's the parades and the scenes. It's a good life--as long
as you keep out of sight."

"How do you get out of here?" Brett asked, finishing his coffee.

"Don't know how to get out; over the wall, I suppose. I don't plan to
leave though. I left home in a hurry. The Duke--never mind. I'm not
going back."

"Are all the people here ... golems?" Brett said. "Aren't there any more
real people?"

"You're the first I've seen. I spotted you as soon as I saw you. A live
man moves different than a golem. You see golems doing things like
knitting their brows, starting back in alarm, looking askance, and
standing arms akimbo. And they have things like pursed lips and knowing
glances and mirthless laughter. You know: all the things you read about,
that real people never do. But now that you're here, I've got somebody
to talk to. I did get lonesome, I admit. I'll show you where I stay and
we'll fix you up with a bed."

"I won't be around that long."

"What can you get outside that you can't get here? There's everything
you need here in the city. We can have a great time."

"You sound like my Aunt Haicey," Brett said. "She said I had everything
I needed back in Casperton. How does she know what I need? How do you
know? How do I know myself? I can tell you I need more than food and a
place to sleep--"

"What more?"

"Everything. Things to think about and something worth doing. Why, even
in the movies--"

"What's a movie?"

"You know, a play, on fi