CURIOUSLY, HE WAS AWARE of no lapse of time when he opened his eyes. He lay on the floor of the a low ceilinged room that was bare of furnishings.
Dizziness claimed him, and it was several minutes before he could gather sufficient strength to stand erect. He headed first for the door. It was locked, and the two circular windows were both grilled with stout metal bars. For the second time in a few hours Simms was a prisoner.
He turned, surveyed the room with eyes of growing despair. An antiquated paralysis gun hang from a peg on one wall. He tore it free and flipped open the charge chamber. But as he had expected, it was green with mold and quite useless.
The circular windows opened out on the extreme end of the village. Peering between the bars, Simms saw an endless line of Kamalis padd
