"You'll be followed by an autocar that will pick you up whenever you get tired."
"I intend to keep going," Sethos said, his teeth clenched.
"Very well." The mechanoid rolled away.
Sethos was entering the heart of the city. As far as he could see, the streets led off into the distance, with the gleaming lights that lined the buildings on either side diminishing until they merged at a far vanishing point.
How far does it go? he wondered, overwhelmed. Maybe if I go far enough, I'll find another community like our own, with men living in it! What a discovery that would be!
The low hanging clouds threw back the city's glow as far as he could see.
In the streets there were now several mechanoids, and their number increased as he went. Some were prime mechanoids, and resembled humans, rolling along the slower traffic lanes. Others were specialized workers, with longer arms or a number of arms, or with a truck body instead of legs. In fact, he saw every gradation between prime mechanoid and service vehicle. A bizarre parade!
A strange little apparatus with three wheels stopped before Sethos. "Your attention, please," it said. "You are now one-half mile from zone. The time is eleven-twenty p.m."