There were snipers. That was the main thing he remembered, though he was sure he had been involved in an intricate situation beforehand that explained their presence. Coming out of the tight bowel-clenching fear of physical injury, he became aware that he was dreaming and that the staccato rattling he was hearing was not from automatic weapons, but from something near to where he slept. He then woke fully. The chamber was lit now with a soft blue radiance issuing from no discernible source. Wiping the sleep from his eyes Carroll saw that the robot had returned and was the source of the noise. With its many manipulators and tool-bearing appendages it was working on a machine that had not been present when Carroll had fallen asleep. The machine looked something like a creation booth, something like a resurrection machine, and a lot like a water tank with a door in it. Yawning and still rubbing at his eyes, Carroll stood and approached to watch the work in progress.
