I went down in the cage for the first time eighteen years ago. Everybody told me that I'd never beat it, that it was the dumbest thing to do. People are like that, they're always so damn sure they're right. I told them, My hide is mine. I was young, I paid the fee, I took the downbound elevator ride, and I entered the cage. You already know that it's not really a cage. No steel bars. But you can feel them. They protect you, and for this cage business, you need protection. Yes, many poor slobs never came back and I guess that these "bars" weren't too helpful to them. I guess they made some stupid mistake at some point. I've been eighteen years down here, I know.

When you're in the cage, nothing happens at first. You're in pitch darkness, that's all. Then you hear a noise. It's like paper being crumpled. This means that the ones outside the cage are waking up. It's the worse part, because you know that they're going to sniff at you, to assess you, and that you won't be able to see them. After that, it's quite easy, I'd almost say routine. If you want to see the light again, like I do, you'd better know three basic rules before you fight them. The first one