iv. it is, they said, a Box with a Funny Voice.

v. But the Thing began to Compute the task of keeping all nomes safe.

vi. And the Thing also began to Compute the task of taking all nomes home.

vii. All the way Home.

From The Book of Nome, Mezzanine v.I-VII It was easy to get lost under the floor. It took no effort at all. It was a maze of walls and cables, with drifts of dust away from the paths. In fact, as Torrit said, they weren't exactly lost, more mislaid; there were paths all over the place, between the joists and walls, but no indication of where they led to. Sometimes a nome would hurry past on an errand of its own, and paid them no attention. They dozed in an alcove formed by two huge wooden walls, and woke up to light as dim as ever. There didn't seem to be any night or day in the Store. It did seem noisier, though. There was a distant, all-pervading hubbub.

A few more lights were flashing on the Thing, and it had grown a little, cup-shaped, smaller thing that went round and round very slowly.

'Should we look for the Food Hall again?' said Torrit, hopefully.

'I think you have to be a member of a depart­ment,' said Masklin. 'But it can't be the only place with food, can it?' 'It wasn't as noisy as this when we came here,' said Granny. 'What a din!' Masklin looked around. There was a space between the woodwork, and a distant gleam of very bright light. He edged towards it, and stuck his eye to the crack.

'Oh,' he said weakly.

'What is it?' Grimma called out.

'It's humans. More humans than you've ever seen before.' The crack was where the ceiling joined the wall of a room nearly as big as the lorry nest and it was, indeed, full of humans. The Store had opened.