The two boys stared until they made out a square<br >outline， barely visible， at the base of the towering<br >wall. It seemed about man-sized. "The big door，" she<br >said. "We re still a good way away. It doesn t look it，<br >but that door is thirty feet high. T:~e little one is to<br > left of it."<br >theI can t find it，" said one of the ~oys. He giggled<br >suddenly， and stopped as suddenly. He said，<br >"Nervous? Me?"<br > The other boy was lean and sketchily bearded， and<br >he carried a black case on a strap. He stared at tiny<br >lights set on its top， then said， "Run for the big door<br >until you see the little one. On the count. Three， two，<br >one， go."<br > He ran holding the case in front of himself to<br >cushion against shock. The others lagged behind.<br >They were carrying a much larger box between them.<br >The leader was already taking things out of the ease<br >when they came puffing up.<br > "This lousy light，" he panted.<br > III13 lOa3) llg1IC~ IX~ pro，，，-..<br > "Bad for the guards， too，" said the girl. "It s late<br >afternoon everywhere but here. At night they d know<br > The other boy grinned. "We ll give era a hell of a<br > shock."<br > There was a sign on the door. Below a large death s<br > head it said:<br > IF YOU GO THROUGH THIS DOOR，<br > YOU WILL BE KILLED.<br > It was repeated in Spanish， Japanese， Chinese， and<br >Korean.<br > "Subtle， aren t they?" the girl said. She stiffened as<br >the bearded boy pushed the door open. There was no<br >sudden wail of alarms and they grinned at each other<br >for a moment of triumph.<br > They dodged through fast. The bearded boy closed<br >the door behind them.<br >Life in the state of nature is solitary， poor， nasty<br >brutish， and short.<br >--Thomas Hobbes. Leviathan<br >THE WATCHERS<br >Joe Dunhill polished his badge on his sleeve a<br >plucked imaginary lint from the crisp blue of<br >uniform. The door was still there， still mark<br >CENTRAL SECURITY: Authorized Personnel On<br >He took a deep breath and reached for the sm<br >button at one side. Before his finger could touch<br >there was a faint buzzing sound and the door open(<br > The room inside gleamed with steel and chrome a<br >Formica. A policeman with metal sergeant s chevrc<br >on his collar sat at a desk facing the door. There x~<br >nothing on the desk but a small TV screen. "Yea~<br > "Officer Dunhill， reporting for duty."<br > The older man raised an eyebrow. "Bit early for t<br >evening shift."<br > "Yes， sir. I thought there might be paper work， x<br >first day and all."<br > The sergeant smiled faintly. "Computers take c~<br >of that. Dunhill?" He frowned. "<br ><br >