“Richard and Michael!” Suzanne called. “Do either of you have an opinion about who speaks for us?”

“I think the prez should be the one,” Michael said.

Richard merely nodded. He was impatient to go.

“Then it’s decided,” Suzanne said. She gestured for Perry to lead them down the corridor.

“Okay!” Perry said with more alacrity than he felt. He tightened the golden braid around his tunic, squared his shoulders, and headed toward the corridor. Richard gave him a supercilious glance as he passed and then fell in behind him. The others followed in single file.

Perry slowed as he approached the end of the hallway. He was even more certain the light streaming in was sunlight since he could feel its radiant warmth. He gauged the space ahead to be an open sky enclosure approximately twenty-feet square.

About six feet away Perry stopped and Richard bumped up against him.

“What’s the matter?” Suzanne asked. She pushed past Richard.

Perry didn’t answer since he didn’t know exactly why he’d stopped. Slowly he leaned forward so that he could see progressively more of the opposite wall. He was looking for the top, but he couldn’t yet see it. After a step forward he tried again. This time he could see the top of the wall which he estimated to be about fifteen feet high. Above that he could see feet, ankles, bare calves, and the hems of outfits like the one he had on.

Perry straightened up and turned to the others. “There are people on top of the opposite wall,” he whispered. “They’re dressed the way we are.”

“Really?” Suzanne questioned. She leaned forward to try to see for herself, but she was too far back.

“I can’t be positive,” Perry said. “But I think they’re wearing these same flimsy satin clothes we are.” He and everyone else had assumed the flimsy, weird, lingerie-like outfits were prisoners’ garb.

“Come on!” Richard said, even more impatient now. “This I gotta see. Let’s go!”

“Why would they be dressed like ancient Greeks?” Suzanne asked Donald.

Donald shrugged. “You’ve got me. Let’s just move out and see for ourselves.”

Perry led the way. With his hand over his eyes to shield against the glare of a square of bright sky, he looked up. What he saw astounded him to the point that he stopped dead in his tracks and his mouth gaped in wonderment. Suzanne bumped into him and the rest of the group nudged against her all equally dumbfounded.

They were standing in a penlike enclosure. Fifteen feet above was a glass-enclosed loggia ringed by a marble balustrade and supported by fluted columns whose capitals were encrusted with gilded sea creatures. Fronting the enclosure the entire loggia was packed with people pressed against the glass and staring down in unmoving, silent, intense curiosity. As Perry had surmised from his limited earlier view, they were all dressed in the same identical, loose-fitting satin tunics and shorts.

Perry had had no specific mental image of what the people were going to look like, but what he was confronted with hadn’t even been part of his imagination which leaned toward expecting fiercer-looking captors. Before he’d caught the glimpse of the satin outfits he’d anticipated uniforms, and he’d expected stern if not openly hostile expressions. Instead he found himself staring at the most beautiful collection of people he’d ever seen, whose faces reflected an almost divine serenity. Although the ages varied from tiny children to vigorous elders, the vast majority were in their early to midtwenties. Everyone radiated good health with lithe bodies, sparkling eyes, lustrous hair, and teeth so white they made Perry think of his own as being yellow by comparison.

“I don’t believe this!” Richard gushed as he took in the spectacle.

“Who are these people?” Suzanne asked, her voice an awed whisper.

“I’ve never seen such a gorgeous group of people,” Perry managed. “Every one of them. There’s not even an average-looking one in the bunch.”

“I feel like we’re rats in a huge experiment,” Donald said under his breath. “Look at them gawk at us! And remember, appearances can be deceptive! Keep in mind these people have been toying with us for their own amusement. All this show might be some kind of trap.”

“But they’re stunningly beautiful,” Suzanne commented as she slowly turned to take in more, “particularly the children and even the aged. How could this be a trap? I can tell you one thing for sure, seeing these people certainly puts to bed for certain the idea of this being a secret Russian submarine base.”

“Well, they’re not American either,” Perry said. “There’s not one overweight person in the entire crowd.”

“This must be heaven,” Michael said in a dazed whisper.

“I think it is more like a zoo,” Donald spat. “The difference is that here we’re the animals.”

“Try to think of something positive,” Suzanne suggested. “I have to say I’m relieved.”

“Well, there is one thing,” Donald commented. “At least I don’t see any weapons.”

“You’re right!” Perry said. “That’s definitely encouraging.”

“Of course they don’t need any weapons, with us imprisoned down here and them up there,” Donald added.

“I suppose that’s true,” Perry said. “What do you think, Suzanne?”

“I can’t think,” Suzanne said. “This whole experience continues to be too surreal. Are we looking at a patch of sky up there?”

“It certainly looks like it,” Perry said.

“Do you think there is a chance we could have been transported eastward when the Oceanus fell down the shaft?” Suzanne asked. “I mean, could we be on one of the Azores Islands?”

“The only way we’re going to find out is if they decide to tell us,” Donald said.

“Who cares where we are,” Michael said. “Check out the women! What bodies! Can they be real or are we just imagining this?”

“That’s an interesting thought,” Suzanne said. “Last night-or whenever it was that we ate-the food tasted as we wished. Could that be happening now with our vision? I mean, it’s another sense. Maybe we’re seeing what we want to see.”

“That’s too far out for me to even contemplate,” Perry said. “I’ve never been a big believer in the supernatural.”

“Hey, who the hell cares,” Richard said. “Look at that chick with the long brown hair. What a figure! Hey, she’s looking at me.”

Richard smiled broadly, raised his hand, and waved enthusiastically. The woman smiled back and held up her hand, pressing her palm against the glass.

“Hey!” Richard crooned. “She likes me!” Richard blew kisses, which made the woman smile more broadly.

Encouraged by Richard’s success, Michael made eye contact with a woman with shiny, jet black hair. She acknowledged him by putting her palm against the glass just as Richard’s acquaintance had done. Michael went crazy jumping up and down and waving frantically with both hands. The woman responded by laughing heartily, although there was no sound because of the glass.

Suzanne lowered her gaze and got Donald’s attention. “I don’t see any suggestion of hostility,” she said. “They all look so peaceful.”

“It’s probably just a ruse,” Donald said. “A way of putting us off guard.”

Perry reluctantly took his eyes off the beautiful people to consult with Suzanne and Donald. Richard and Michael continued their antics for the benefit of the two women. They were both trying to improvise a sign language.

“What are we going to do?” Perry asked.

“I personally don’t like standing here making a spectacle of myself,” Donald said. “I suggest we go back to the living quarters and wait to see what happens. Obviously the ball’s in their court. Let them come to us in our office, so to speak.”

“But who are these people?” Suzanne questioned. “This is bizarre, like a science fiction movie.”

Perry was about to respond but the words stuck in his throat. He pointed over Suzanne and Donald’s shoulders. One of the enclosure’s walls was mysteriously opening. Behind it was a staircase leading up to the loggia.