The MOOSE spun end over end. First Lenora saw the long arc of the Earth’s horizon, and all along the edge of its impossibly thin atmosphere—was there really so little air for such a big planet?—rippled shimmering puddles of yellows and greens, and she hardly had time to think, The northern lights! Or possibly southern … before she felt the rumble of rockets firing all around, positioning the heat shields behind her for descent. Her view swung away from Earth and she was looking straight out at a whole galaxy hanging there like pictures she had seen of the Milky Way … which she had never seen because she’d grown up in the city with bright lights that burned all night … but there was the Milky Way blazing across the cosmos like a silver river packed with floating gemstones, filling the void in their millions with all the colors that could ever be, the stars, the stars … Lenora reached out for them …

But then she was falling back into the atmosphere.

The sky faded to its normal blue just as the rockets switched off. Lenora, snug in the MOOSE, plunged back to Earth. Soon a parachute deployed, and she gently drifted to the ground. She allowed herself a last moment of heartsickness for what she had left behind, then found a handle and pulled. The MOOSE fell open, foam spilling everywhere. As Lenora stood, she felt a humming, and she looked down at her badge:

LENORA

FIRST ASSISTANT APPRENTICE LIBRARIAN

OFFICIAL COURT LIBRARIAN OF THE KINGDOM OF STARPOINT SEVENTEEN

HONORARY QUEEN OF THE PENGUINS

MOOSE PIONEER

She was in a tiny courtyard, surrounded by little columns. Far above, tall blades of grass, like skyscrapers to Lenora, waved in the gentle breeze. This seemed to be a miniature reading space for miniature readers, as books and comfortable chairs were scattered everywhere. And in front of her stood Malachi.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Lenora and the Enemy

“It was the Tardigrade section!” declared Lenora, brushing off bits of stray foam. Quickly, she explained everything to Malachi about the spaceship and Cinnamon.

“Ah, of course,” Malachi mused. “When I was a girl in Egypt, several tardigrades were among my most cherished playmates. They are very complex and interesting animals and entirely worthy of their own section of the library.”

“Cinnamon must have already known that, or she wouldn’t have come to that section for help,” Lenora said. “However did she know?”

“Oh, ants helped build many parts of the library, long ago,” Malachi said. “They know it, perhaps, better than anyone.”

Lenora could easily imagine that, considering the wonders of the vast ant metropolis. She resolved, if there were ever another Unknown section, to simply ask the nearest ant. “So what is my next assignment?” she asked.

“Hmm,” replied Malachi, putting a finger alongside her sharp nose. “I don’t think I’ll give you one.”