"I don't want to be here!" I yelled. "I should a stayed where I was!"
"Cut out that caterwauling," Clara growled. "You want the Queen to hear you? She's only a hundred stories above us, y' know."
"I don't care," I said miserably. "I'm going to die either way, so what does it matter?"
Then I realized the foolishness of my own attitude. I was due to face death; why not do it bravely? So I shut up. I waited.
Hours passed. Then the cell door swung open, and Lola walked in.
"Ready to go make your speech, pal? Remember—all of masculine mankind's future depends on the pitch you make."
"Okay," I said. "I'll go." But my knees were quivering, and I didn't really mean it.
He handed me a small round capsule. "This is the photonic amplifier. When I give you the signal, just switch it on and start to talk. You'll be heard all over the city."
"Downtrodden males of the world, unite!" I said, grinning despite myself. "All right, Lola. I'll do what I can in the name of mankind."
"You'd better," he said ominously.