For suddenly, every cell of his body was an eye. The glaring brilliance, the intolerable vision beat at the foundations of his sanity. Through him the glow went pouring, washing him, nerves, bone, flesh, brain, in floods of color that were not color, sound that was not sound, vibration that was spawned in the shaking hells of worlds beyond imagination. It inundated him like a tide, and for a long, long, timeless while he stood helpless in its surge, moving within his body and without it, and within his mind and soul as well. The color of stars thundered in his brain. The crawling foulness of unspeakable hues writhed along his nerves so monstrously that he felt he could never cleanse himself of that obscenity. And nothing else existed--only the light that was not light, but blasphemy. Then it began to ebb ... faded ... grew lesser and lesser, until--Beside him he could see Quiana now. She was no longer stumbling in the cone of light, no longer shuddering and wavering in its violence, but standing erect and facing the Enemy, and from her eyes--something--poured. Steadily the cone of brilliance waned. But still its glittering, shining foulness poured through Dantan. He felt himself weakening, his senses fading, as the tide of dark horror mounted through his brain. And covered him up with its blanketing immensity. * * * * * He was back in the laboratory, leaning against the wall and breathing in deep, shuddering draughts. He did not remember stumbling through the Door again, but he was no longer in Zha. Quiana stood beside him, here upon the Martian soil of the laboratory. She was watching him with a strange, quizzical look in her eyes as he slowly fought back to normal, his heart quieting by degrees, his breath becoming evener. He felt drained, exhausted, his emotions cleansed and purified as though by baths of flame. Presently he reached for the clasp that fastened his clumsy armor. Quiana put out a quick hand, shaking her head. "No," she said, and then stared at him again for a long moment without speaking. Finally, "I had not known--I did not think this could be done. Another of my own race--yes. But you, from Mars--I would not have believed that you could stand against the Enemy for a moment, even with your armor." "I'm from Earth, not Mars. And I didn't stand long." "Long enough." She smiled faintly. "You see now what happened? We of Zha can destroy without weapons, using only the power inherent in our bodies. Those like the Enemy have a little of that power too, but they need mechanical devices to amplify it. And so when you diverted the Enemy's attention and forced him to divide his attack between us--the pressure upon me was relieved, and I could destroy him. But I would not have believed it possible." "You're safe now," Dantan said, with no expression in voice or face. "Yes. I can return." "And you will?" "Of course I shall." "We are more alike than you had realized."