The guards were well trained. They would not hesitate to shoot if I
made the slightest slip.
I handed the card to him and watched as he held it up to a visi-scanner
in the wall. The scanner glowed into life and purred softly, rapidly
checking the invisible identification codings on the card against the
ID component of Earth's Master Machine. Then it dulled and was silent.
The strident alarm siren over the scanner remained inactive. The ID
card was returned to me and the guards snapped smartly to attention as
I went on into the room beyond the door.