The sweepers were horrible as they poured from their holes, but they looked almost beautiful to Dan. He glanced at the Porcyns massed on the steps, their faces white with near-hysteria. Their eyes were open and watching him; the Trans-Space men were too busy to give orders. Dan raised the microphone and his voice boomed out: "_Close your eyes till you hear the roar of the lion! Then obey your true leaders!_" He repeated the order three times before it dawned on the Trans-Space technicians that this was not according to plan. The loudspeaker gave a booming click and cut off. By then, the sweepers had been killed and Dan became aware of bullets thrumming past him. Suddenly he felt weak with panic that the rest of the plan had fallen apart. Up the street, Porcyn men were unscrewing a cap on the face of a building. They connected a hose. A sky-blue-caped Trans-Space agent ordered them away. The Porcyns turned, wads of wax in their ears, and raised the hose. A stream of water knocked the agents backward. Shots rang out. Porcyns fell, but other Porcyns took their places. The stream arched and fell on the Trans-Space agents and abruptly a whirl of color tinged the water. Blots and blobs of green, orange, pink and yellow spattered the blue-caped agents. At the end of the street, someone ran up tugging a lion by the mane. "_Go_, dog! _Run!_" Somewhere a child cried out in terror. The lion roared. The troops on the steps opened their eyes. An old man's voice, amplified, spoke out with icy authority: "_Deploy for street-fighting! First rank, move out along Center Street toward North Viaduct. Rifles at full charge. Wide intervals. Use every scrap of cover. Shoot the false-belted usurpers on sight._ "_Second rank, move out along West Ocean Avenue toward the sea wall...._" Shots rang out. There was a faint thrumming hum, like wires in the wind, and streaks of cherry radiance criss-crossed in the air. The lion roared, unable to find the child. The roars of other lions joined in. Dan was aware that he was lying atop the hard base of the statue, but he didn't know how he had come to be there. He tried to stand up. He heard voices screaming orders, then falling still, and a scene swung into his line of sight like something watched through the rear-view mirror of a turning groundcar. Half a dozen men, guns in their hands, their bodies and blue capes spattered and smeared till they could hardly be recognized, lay motionless on the pavement Then the scene swung up and away, and Dan felt weightless. Something hit him hard. His head bounced and he rolled over. Soft grass was in his face. It smelled fresh. There was a dull boom that moved the ground under him. He twisted his head to look up. A massive arm was stretched out over him, its hand firmly gripping the cut edges of a big metal ring. Somewhere a drum took up a steady monotonous beat.