Malachi gestured, and Lenora climbed in. Inside she found a single reclining seat with cracked leather upholstery. Surrounding the seat were thousands of small slots covering the walls, each one with a tiny metal tag above it. The tags said ANCIENT EGYPT and SHAKESPEARE and MODERN DANCE and everything else you could think of, including Lenora’s former department of CALENDARS, for which she already felt a deep nostalgia. Then one tag caught her eye because it was illuminated brightly: UNKNOWN. Lenora had a feeling …

“As you may have guessed,” Malachi said, reaching a long arm through the door (Lenora did not see how a giant like her could ever fit inside a capsule), “this is your destination.” She placed a sharp finger on the illuminated tag. “The Tubes are pneumatic, which means they are powered by compressed air. Simply place your key in the slot for your destination, and you will be fired straight there. Try it.”

Lenora slid her key into the slot for UNKNOWN. Instantly, the door to her capsule clanked shut. She heard a terrific WHOOSH and was squashed back hard into the soft leather seat. Her hands clenched the sides of her seat as she was pressed farther and farther back.

Gradually the pressure eased. She could feel she was going at incredible speed. She peered out through one of the windows, but everything was blurring by too fast to be seen until her capsule entered what seemed to be a giant cavern of ice. Her tube was hundreds of feet above the cavern floor, and far below her, Lenora could see librarians skating past with books in their arms. Then that view vanished, too.

She hoped the tube might whoosh outside for another terrific view, but sadly her seat soon swiveled in place so she was facing the other direction, and then the pressure came back and she was squashed again as the tube slowed. In moments, it came to a shuddering stop.

The door slid open. Lenora climbed out, feeling a bit dazed. She found herself in front of a large stone door, above which the words SECTION UNKNOWN were flashing in alarm. Standing next to the archway was Malachi.

Lenora gaped at the Chief Answerer. “How did you get here? Did you take another tube?”

“I have not used the Tubes in centuries,” said Malachi. “I walked.” She pushed open the door and they went inside.

The section, whatever it was, was about the size of Calenders, but unlike that section, it was a complete wreck. There were thousands and thousands of books strewn everywhere, tables and chairs upended, pens, paper, everything, in catastrophic disarray. Even heavy wooden desks had been overturned, their drawers open and the contents spilling out.

“What happened?” asked Lenora. It looked like a tornado had touched down here.