There were a few people sitting in the big room. The room was dark. Only the sphere in the middle of the table was shining. The white light flashed yellow and red, like the light of a candle flickering from side to side.

One of the men looked like an old man. He was wearing a dark grey robe. The fabric was very rough. The cuffs and clothes were worn out. Some cotton floss had been dragged to the ground. The skin exposed outside the fabric was wrinkled together, and all the lines of expression could crush the mosquitoes.

The old man had no hair, but a beard very close...