How large the building was he could not see. The Gargantuan facade
itself was enough to smother comprehension. It was laid out in the
form of a triangle, one end of which was open towards the city;
the two sections of the facade met under a huge, arched opening--
the door itself. Watson recognised the structure as the one he had
seen from the June Bug on the outskirts of the Mahovisal. The
enormous plaza was packed with people, leaving only a narrow lane
for the procession; and as far back as Chick could see crowds in
the streets converged towards this vast space. Their numbers were
incalculable.
The car stopped. The guards, both crimson and blue, formed a
twenty-fold cordon. Watson could feel the suspended breath of the
waiting multitude. The three men stepped out--the Geos first, then
the Jan Lucar, and Watson last. Chick caught the Lucar's eye; it
was confident; the man was springing with vigour, jovial in spite
of the moment.
They passed between two of the huge pillars, and under the giant
arch. For a few minutes they walked through what seemed, to Chick,
a perfect maze of those titanic columns. And every foot was marked
by the lines of crimson and blue, flanking either side.
An immense sea of people rose high into the forest of pillars as
far as his eye could reach. He had never been in such a concourse
of humanity.
They passed through an inner arch, a smaller and lower one, into
what Chick guessed was the temple proper.
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