wonders and glories of the New Era. It never stopped. It was the voice for the people, heard every minute of every day, coming from the streets, the buildings, even their homes.

"The Council has decided to improve the rubbish disposal system in Sunday City by renewing the main artery pipeline to ... a third shopping dome will soon be completed underneath sector nine ... the agricultural division has produced the first of this year's batch of fruit clones ..."

The perimeter fence came into view. It was massive. Concrete poles as tall as a three hundred metres high rose into the sky, with high-voltage wires stretched between them. The poles themselves were laced with a spiral wire, also electrified. At the base of the fence was a bare stretch of ground, with lasers moving continuously across it, ready to detect. Cameras watched, seismographs listened.

The transport stopped. The driver leaned out and poked a card into a machine. One span of the fence swung away as a gate and the transport moved forward.

Between the Sunday City fence and the Monday City fence was a strip of land which the authorities called Open Land. The people of the Cities called it ''no-man's'' land, an allusion to the bombed-out terrain left during world war two. It was dead land, sprayed clean of plants and animals. Only the odd rabbit survived, or a rickety cat, hobbling about in the dark on liquid bones.

Terrag watched as the gate to Monday City drew nearer. He was excited. Only a few minutes from now and he would be holding his son.

The transport stopped and the driver pushed his card into the slot. Slowly, as if deliberately taking its time, the huge gate swung towards them.

Suddenly, out of the ground, a child appeared!

"What's?" said Terrag, "Look over there?".

"A boy!" gasped Alecia.

They had no time to see more. The child was zigzagging to avoid the security lasers and running towards the front of the transport. He fell as a beam cut his legs and he staggered sideways to dodge the second shot. It hit the truck instead, cracking the windscreen.

The boy slammed into the side of the transport, wide-eyed with tenor. He screamed as another laser struck him in the back. He fell and lay still.

"I must go to him!" cried Alicia, running to the door.