at's your cell number."

He didn't like it. But 402 was better than nothing at all. He asked the
guard, "Have I been sick for long? Am I getting better?"

"Yes," the guard said, in a voice that carried no conviction. "The
important thing is, stay quiet. Obey the rules. That's the best way."

"Certainly," said 402. "But why can't I remember anything?"

"Well, that's the way it goes," the guard said. He started to walk away.

402 called after him, "Wait! You can't just leave me like this, you have
to tell me something. What happened to me? Why am I in this hospital?"

"Hospital?" the guard said. He turned toward 402 and grinned. "What gave
you the idea this was a hospital?"

"I assumed it," 402 said.

"You assumed wrong. This is a prison."

402 remembered his dream of the murdered man. Dream or memory?
Desperately he called after the guard. "What was my offense? What did I
do?"

"You'll find out," the guard said.

"When?"

"After we land," the guard said. "Now get ready for assembly."

He walked away. 402 sat down on the bed and tried to think. He had
learned a few things. He was in a prison, and the prison was going to
land. What did that mean? Why did a prison have to land? And what was an
assembly?

* * * * *

402 had only a confused idea of what happened next. An unmeasurable
amount of time passed. He was sitting on his bed, trying to piece
together facts about himself. He had an impression of bells ringing. And
then the door of his cell flew open.

Why was that? What did it mean?

402 walked to the door and peered into the corridor. He was very
excited, but he didn't want to leave the security of his cell. He
waited, and the guard came up.

"All right, now," the guard said, "No one's going to hurt you. Go
straight down the corridor."

The guard pushed him gently. 402 walked down the corridor. He saw other
cell doors opening, other men coming into the corridor. It was a thin
stream at first; but as he continued walking, more and more men crowded
into the passageway. Most of them looked bewildered, and none of them
talked. The only words were from the guards:

"Move along now, keep on moving, straight ahead."

They were headed into a large circular auditorium. Looking around, 402
saw that a balcony ran around the room, and armed guards were stationed
every few yards along it. Their presence seemed unnecessary; these cowed
and bewildered men weren't going to stag