"So you got away." The Commissioner shook his head. "You were down in
your cellar instead of at work. A freak chance. One in a million."
Loyce sipped some of the black coffee they had brought him. "I have a
theory," he murmured.
"What is it?"
"About them. Who they are. They take over one area at a time. Starting
at the top--the highest level of authority. Working down from there in a
widening circle. When they're firmly in control they go on to the next
town. They spread, slowly, very gradually. I think it's been going on
for a long time."
"A long time?"
"Thousands of years. I don't think it's new."
"Why do you say that?"
"When I was a kid.... A picture they showed us in Bible League. A
religious picture--an old print. The enemy gods, defeated by Jehovah.
Moloch, Beelzebub, Moab, Baalin, Ashtaroth--"
"So?"
"They were all represented by figures." Loyce looked up at the
Commissioner. "Beelzebub was represented as--a giant fly."