d.

"Very well." The mechanoid rolled away.

* * * * *

[Illustration]

Sethos was entering the heart of the city. As far as he could see, the
streets led off into the distance, with the gleaming lights that lined
the buildings on either side diminishing until they merged at a far
vanishing point.

_How far does it go?_ he wondered, overwhelmed. _Maybe if I go far
enough, I'll find another community like our own, with men living in it!
What a discovery that would be!_

The low hanging clouds threw back the city's glow as far as he could
see.

In the streets there were now several mechanoids, and their number
increased as he went. Some were prime mechanoids, and resembled humans,
rolling along the slower traffic lanes. Others were specialized workers,
with longer arms or a number of arms, or with a truck body instead of
legs. In fact, he saw every gradation between prime mechanoid and
service vehicle. A bizarre parade!

A strange little apparatus with three wheels stopped before Sethos.
"Your attention, please," it said. "You are now one-half mile from zone.
The time is eleven-twenty p.m."

It occurred to him to watch for more tenth level mechanoids, and he saw
three immediately, moving with him several yards away. An autocar
cruised patiently.

"You are heading due west, on Street 751 West, at a speed of three and
eight tenths miles per hour."

He saw the mechanoid with three wheels again, clocking him helpfully.

"Go away," he said.

His breath came hard; he was not used to walking such a distance.

_How long can I last? If I keep going, I'll get hungry, and there won't
be any food. They don't serve food out here. I can go until I drop from
exhaustion. Then they'll take me back ... ask me if I want therapy._

He would refuse, then try it again later. He would try it day after day,
probably, maybe getting a little further each time, and each time the
mechanoids would patiently bring him back. On and on ... until he
requested therapy....

"You are now one mile from zone," said his clocker. "The time is
eleven-twenty-eight p.m."

The lights burned on into the distance. His legs were beginning to ache,
but still the urge to cross the city was intense.

_Maybe I'll go till I come to the ocean_, he thought, sucking his
breath. He had seen pictures of the ocean, that featureless blue with
its concrete wall stretching away for thousands of miles.

A mechanoid stood on a