T.R.O. - Feierlich

He turned toward the lip of the Tube. A row of D-class leadys was standing in front of it, immobile and silent. Franks stopped, moving back. He looked around. An A-class leady was coming toward him. "Tell them to get out of the way," Franks said. He touched his gun. "You had better move them." Time passed, an endless moment, without measure. The men stood, nervous and alert, watching the row of leadys in front of them. "As you wish," the A-class leady said. It signaled and the D-class leadys moved into life. They stepped slowly aside. Moss breathed a sigh of relief. "I'm glad that's over," he said to Franks. "Look at them all. Why don't they try to stop us? They must know what we're going to do." Franks laughed. "Stop us? You saw what happened when they tried to stop us before. They can't; they're only machines. We built them so they can't lay hands on us, and they know that." His voice trailed off. The men stared at the Tube entrance. Around them the leadys watched, silent and impassive, their metal faces expressionless. For a long time the men stood without moving. At last Taylor turned away. "Good God," he said. He was numb, without feeling of any kind. The Tube was gone. It was sealed shut, fused over. Only a dull surface of cooling metal greeted them. The Tube had been closed.