In the same instant Gamma thrusts with the rod, the entire length of the corridor erupts with fire, an inferno—floor, ceiling, walls, and the spaces in between—all raging, roaring. Machiko feels the flames licking at her cheeks, her eyes. She shouts and hurls herself bodily at the doorway in the right-hand wall of the corridor. The cool empty air of the room beyond hits her like a pool of water. For an instant, she cannot breathe. Then she is shouting to her brothers of the Guard. "To ME !"