The rhythms crept into place, lining the walls with patterns and essays of darkness upon light. Jamis saw them and knew fear. All around him the people moved, slowly, numbly. All around him they moved forward and did not look at the creeping rhythms invading their space. They could not see them, But Jamis could. He saw them and knew fear. They crept and slid, pouncing inch by inch, row by row, moving forward in a steady flow of pulse and rhyme. Jamis grabbed the interceptor and ran. The small black box bounced against his chest as he ran, and still the rhythm followed. Still the patterns coalesced. Jamis fumbled at the dials, turned one - pushed another. The rhythms closest to him, snapping at his heels, fragmented and reverted. Entropy spread and the disease halted. For a moment. Somewhere, someone was humming. Idiot! Jamis cursed and ran faster. They knew the rules, they knew the price, yet still they brought their music. The humming was weak, and the hummer could barely carry a tune, but the sound was enough. The rhythms caught it and surged back to life. Bigger, stronger, they came on. Now any pattern was enough to call them - his feet slapping down one after the other upon the studded metal deck. The Kimra swore that the rhythms were unintelligent, Jamis swore that they were not. How else did they know to come for him out of the hundreds of others around him? How else did they know to ignore the blind and seek him out, every time?
Finally the alarms sounded and the summoner drums began to beat. It was too late, it was not enough. They had his scent now. They could taste him, they had caught on to the beat of his heart. The interceptor was useless now and Jamis dropped it to the deck as he ran. The momentary clatter distracted a few of the chasers, but not all. The summoner drums were not working. Jamis swore again. He swung his arms higher, pumped his legs harder. Gasping for breath, he knew, was not the best way to do what he was about to do. Then again, there was no best way to do such a thing. He mouthed a single command and his face shield shimmered into being. The high frequency hum was enough to drive the pursuing rhythms into a frenzy. Fractals of light swept forward, the rhythms solidified, expanded, pulsed and raced onward. Jamis did not look back at the destruction wrought by his pursuers. He reached out with one gloved hand and smacked the large red mushroom switch on the wall. He took one more step and leapt just as the airlock snapped open. Propelled by the escaping atmosphere, Jamis shot into the void.
