appeared to be reflective and not impenetrable . His room , tiny bed , and meagre possessions were all mirrored , but Greg was missing from this composition . Somewhere out of frame , the sounds of electronic equipment being worked were now more discernible . To Greg ’ s ear , it sounded like someone loading a cassette , rewinding it , and finally ejecting it . This sonic pattern was repeated over and over in the rhythm of a mantra , but this time Greg felt no fear .
When he woke , it was dark outside , but the streetlight cast a stale orange hue into his room . He knew there had been further changes while he slept , and he approached the mirror with a mixture of revulsion and something he could not articulate . Standing before the mirror , he pulled the overhead cord that turned on his light . His face was no longer his own . It had succumbed to the will of a power beyond his comprehension . Inky burst capillaries covered his cheeks and forehead , and everything had a rectangular dimension to it . His eye sockets , mouth , his very face , all conformed to perfectly angular dimensions . He raised his hands to what had been his cheeks and felt a smoothness that resembled hard plastic . In addition to the black cords , there were now bright red , yellow , and white veins coming out from beneath his jaw and disappearing under his clavicles . He was being moulded to a radical design , and for the first time he recognised his excitement .
There was a light drumming like rain against his door .