Somewhere a bell jangled. And suddenly they were moving.The acceleration was rapid. In seconds Ellie felt the rush of air through the sides of the Cage brushing her face and winnowing the few strands of hair not tucked up beneath her borrowed helmet. No one spoke, not even the politicians. Ellie waited for the Cage to attain a steady speed but to her horror its acceleration did not seem to be stopping. Suddenly there was a great clap of noise like a huge paper bag exploding or the collision of air-waves as express trains pass in a tunnel.Someone shrieked. Ellie suspected it was her but she didn't care. Her mind told her it was only the counter balancing up-cage on its ascent, but down here reason was not enough. Religion took over, or rather its poor relative, superstition. Her hands joined in a tangle of pleading fingers and her mind gabbled the childish prayer which had remained a pre-dormitive necessity well into her pyrrhonic adolescence.Godblessmummyanddaddyandgrandadandgrandmaand unclegeorgeandauntiemadgeandcousindickandtimmyand roverandsamuelwhiskersandmepleasegodthankyouvery muchamen.In the light of the beams from their helmet-lamps the speeding walls of the shaft streamed past.Suddenly everything reversed direction.
