Before his very eyes, the shining silver plain dissolved. The shadowy walls of the room on the screen rose about him. Furnishings appeared in misty outline.
Horning pressed the reintegrator button.
The walls lost their shadow. The furnishings took on solid form.
Horning came to rest with a heavy thud, sprawled in the center of the floor.
Behind him, there was a stir of sudden movement; a choked exclamation.
Before he could turn or regain his feet, a man's tight voice clipped, "Don't move—or you die!"
Horning froze. "There's no need to be frightened," he said quickly. "I'm merely a—a traveler. I've come here from another plane—"
"I understand perfectly!" the voice snapped back. "I happen to be an authority on such matters. That's why I say—if you move, you die!"
Horning's spine prickled. Just as he'd had the feeling he'd seen the man on the screen before, now it came to him that the voice, too, was strangely familiar.