"You sound as if you wouldn't care," the girl said.
"There are times when I am sure death would be a blessed relief." Zen meant every word he said. "That life down there," he jerked his thumb to indicate the lower ranges and the plains so far below, "gets tiresome. That's an understatement, if I ever made one."
The nurse was silent. "Yes, I understand," she said at last. "It was that way with me, once."
"How much farther before we get to—Hell, where are we going anyhow?" Zen blurted out.
"To the center here," Nedra answered.
"Um," Zen said. He wanted to say something else but he decided he'd better be careful.
West led them into an old tunnel which bored straight into the side of the mountain.
[VIII]
"Is the center in here?" Zen asked.