The door shut and Ruth looked about her. She had gathered from Swift that the population of Ark One was double that of Ark Three. But even with some overcrowding this room was repellent. It held five double cots. There were no closets, no drawers. No place at all for personal belongings. To be a slave was not just to be a prisoner, but to own nothing, no name, no possessions, no history, no pride. They were herded like animals in an old-time zoo.

The floor had been Swept and the bedding, though thread- bare. was relatively clean, but this far from the centre the air-exchange was not efficient, and the room had the sour hopeless smell of imprisoned humanity.

Ruth sat on the edge of a lower bunk to wait. It creaked dismally and sagged beneath her. It was very quiet out here, thirteen passages from the centre. There was no movement. No cheerful sound of voices.

Her brain felt tired and dragged down and inside her was a sadness, as if she were mourning for the death of a friend. What is the matter, she thought. Am I sick? Then ... No, it's not me. It's the Web. It's completely gone. Not even the Initiator. I'm alone, really alone at last. Funny, I always thought I wanted that, when the Web crowded too close. But this ...

It wasn't the peaceful emptiness of the Black Hole. There was something out there. It was like a continual inaudible hum, at the very limit of her brain's ability to catch it. After a while it began to be oppressive. A little while later it was almost unbearable.

It's the heartbeat of the computer, she thought. The great computer that runs everything in this Ark. She tried to shut it out by putting her hands over her ears, but it was not that kind of vibration. She jumped down from the bed and began to walk up and down.

I'll go mad if I can't stop it, she thought, and tried to block out the vibration with her own sounds.

“Ay-do-doh, a y di-doh dah-da y,

A y-di-doh, a y-di-da y-dee.

Now Devil-on-your-back can't make you pay

And your children will be free.”

Singing and talking to herself by turns, Ruth forgot her fear.

I won't give in. There's work to do.

I wish I were back home. I wish I'd never talked about my stupid dreams.

Don't be such a baby. It's no good wishing.

Why doesn't someone come? Where are the others? Where is Luke?

Luke. She stopped in the dead centre of the dingy room and realised that she was in love with Luke. It was the most extraordinary thing that had ever happened to her. It was as if she had been suddenly transported into the meadow outside Ark Three. She could smell the sweet summer grass and honey, she could feel the breeze against her face, the sun warm on her body.