The spider climbed the television stand and quickly, with surprisingly little noise, drilled into the base. For an hour, sounds of cutting, stray beams of light, and puffs of smoke and dust issued from the television. All was quiet and still for another hour. Then two spiders dropped through the hole. Both crawled into Hicks's pocket.

"Bloody hell," Hicks said.

PERSPECTIVE

The Andrew Kearney Show (Syndicated Home Info Systems Net),

December 19, 1996;

Guest appearance by science fiction writer Lawrence Van Cott:

Kearney: Mr. Van Cott, you've written sixty-one novels and seven works of nonfiction, or rather, it says here, speculative nonfiction. What is that?

Van Cott: Science fiction without characters. Non-fact articles.

Kearney: We've been hearing for the last couple of months about the means by which the President's aliens will destroy the Earth. We ' ve heard about things falling from the sky near the Philippines and in the Atlantic, passing into the Earth's interior. Two such objects have been sighted so far. Last night I interviewed Jeremy Kemp himself. He says that we have evidence the objects are causing a ruckus inside the Earth, below the crust.

Van Cott: From,what I've heard, you should be interviewing Walter Samshow and David Sand. They saw one of the objects first.

Kearney: They're not available, apparently.

(Van Cott shrugs)

Kearney (Leaning forward): What could these objects be? You're a science fiction writer; perhaps you can speculate in ways scientists won't, or can't.

Van Cott: It's a serious subject. I don't think speculation is what we need right now. I'd prefer to wait and see what the experts think.

Kearney: Yes, but you have degrees in physics, mathematics . . . (Glances at his notes) I'd say you' re as much an expert as anyone, if we assume you've kept up on the reports. Have you?

Van Cott: I've read or listened to all that's been made public.

Kearney: Out of professional interest?

Van Cott: I'm always interested when reality catches up with me.

Kearney: Surely you have some theories.