open window, she is carried away by the wind. As the destruction increases in London, COE decides to abandon its underground base. One of Hardoon's officers, a helmeted, taciturn figure called Kroll, arrives. Marshall thinks he is there to take him to Hardoon Tower, but Kroll kills him. Maitland is evacuated from the underground base along with Steve Lanyon, an American submarine captain, and Patricia Olsen, a journalist. Lanyon and Olsen have developed a relationship during recent experiences in Italy. They are in a group that leaves in a giant armoured vehicle with a periscope. Maitland, realizing they are passing close to Hardoon Tower and wanting to investigate it, sabotages the navigation equipment so that the vehicle goes to the tower, which they can locate by a radio signal. Hardoon receives the group so that Olsen, the journalist, can report his success. The pyramid, built over tunnels which are collapsing, starts to fall over in the wind, and Hardoon, gazing at the wind through a special window, cannot be saved. Maitland and the others, trying to escape from the destruction, realize that they are saved because the wind is starting to subside. See also Atmospheric super-rotation References External links The Terminal Collection: JG Ballard First Editions 1961 British novels 1961 debut novels 1961 science fiction novels Apocalyptic novels Berkley Books books British science fiction novels Novels by J. G. Ballard