dazed and numb, cudyk felt the universe moving under him like a gigantic pendulum. he saw faces appear and vanish, felt someone push him aside, heard voices faintly.

after a long time his head cleared, and there was silence. he was lying at the foot of the stairs, one arm flung over the first step. rack was not there; no one was there but himself.

he moved cautiously and was rewarded by an astonishing number and variety of pains. but apparently he had broken no bones. he felt weak and hollow; he was afraid he might vomit. he hoisted his torso up slowly, sat on the lowest step and then put his head between his trembling knees.

he heard a foot scuff on the concrete floor, and looked up. it was seu.

the chinese looked at him anxiously. "you're all right?"

"yes. i think so. i have felt better in my life."

"do you want to get up? did you jump or fall?"

cudyk leaned forward, trying the strength of his thighs to raise him, and seu put a hand under his arm to help. "i jumped," cudyk said. "what happened, afterward?"

"the mob came down, me in the middle, and i couldn't stop to see if you were all right. they took rack with them. he was unconscious then; he may have been dead."

"and?"

"they tore him apart," said seu.

they moved toward the exit from the kitchen, seu holding cudyk's arm firmly.

"i don't know if you felt this," the mayor said stiffly, "but the way it seemed to me was that rack suddenly represented all of it—not only the bombings, but the quarter, the galaxy, earth—everything we hated. it was a feeling of release, a kind of ecstasy. watch out for the sill."

"scapegoat," cudyk said, indistinctly.

"yes.... zydh oran saw it, you know. he was there when the mob came out. he saw it all. this finishes the quarter, laszlo. after this there won't be any more reprieves."

cudyk glanced down at seu's plump fingers. there was a thin film of blood on the skin, and a dark line of it around each finger-nail.