Then silence.
Thorus crawled unsteadily to his feet, stood swaying. The gun hung loosely in his hand. Now he felt Aria close to him, heard her voice trembling and breathy.
"Thorus! Are you all right?"
"Yes."
"The blocks held! They held!"
Steadying himself, he saw Aria glance at the bodies on the floor.
"Destruction!" she shuddered. "Nothing but destruction. Oh God, I'm sick of it!"
Thorus let the gun drop to the floor. "There's no time to talk. Your laboratory." He grasped her by the shoulders and turned her toward a bright steel door across the room. "You'll save time to go into your damned microcosm. You'll make it. Good luck. If I have any luck at all, I'll make it too." He gave her a push. Without speaking or turning back, she moved across the room, as though sleep walking. The gleaming door slab slid back as she approached it, closed behind her.
The memory of her face stayed in his mind for a long moment after she had disappeared, and from the room's atmosphere he seemed to breathe in regret and a sense of their failure. He turned abruptly, looked down at each crumpled body. Opening the door a crack, he searched the brightly lighted street for the figure of a policeman, saw none, stepped outside and ran.