"You see, Cadmus, everyone is conditioned to carry out the Machine's dictates. Those who do not follow the commands of the Machine will be driven into the valley and to death anyway by the Guards. The Guards, too, will walk into the Machine to their deaths when everyone else is dead. Including me. The Guards will force me to my death, too, Cadmus. I have utilized the Guards only within the limitations of the Machine's laws, you understand. Everyone will die except the Venusians. Let them have it! I've enjoyed myself. I'm ready to make my exit." Cadmus ran back to the window. * * * * * Policejets were circling above the marching hordes of suicidals, raying those who fell out of the surging river. Thousands of Guards were circulating at the edges of the human tide, keeping the lines solid, threatening stragglers with neutron charges. There were few stragglers. In that hopeless, un-evolving system, the majority had wanted to die. The Machine was sanctioning their psychotic desires. And somewhere, perhaps in that horde, Zaleel was trapped. Or she might already be dead. Regardless of the amnesia, his hopeless position, Cadmus saw one thing he could do if he could escape. Try to destroy as many of those transmats as possible and stop the flow of doomed Terrans and Martians. Johlan had stopped the Venusian transmats by destroying the generators. He could do the same. From the Tower the thunderous voice of the mad Machine still called: _Life has no meaning. All is futility. There is no hope._ Cadmus tried to shut out the sound. He knew that if he had to listen to it very long, its suggestion would overpower him. His own voice buried the voice of the mad Machine momentarily. "It isn't over yet, Consar. You're a victim of unchange like every other poor suicidal out there. The blood of millions who have died in your enslavement is on your hands. Your only excuse is that there never was hope for humanity anyway. But there is, Consar. And I'll prove it to you. You'll die, but I'll prove the truth to you before I kill you." Consar laughingly waved a flabby white hand. "The magic shadow show still goes on. Join it. I'm not holding you here. See--the doors are opening for you. Without the rigid discipline of the Machine, System life will destroy itself. Every institution contains the seeds of its own destruction. Even the Machine. Blind tropisms, rabble, robots, cattle. Those are the stupid dolts you Cadmeans dedicated your lives to save, to set free. Freedom! Hah!" Consar broke into a rumbling laugh. But Cadmus didn't hear it. Freedom. FREEDOM! Cadmus leaned against the coruscating wall. A thrill of returning memory flooded him. Freedom! That was the key word. Zaleel had said that if the Machine were destroyed the word would be on millions of lips.