Disclaimer: I don't own anything recognizable!
This thing has been on my mind for four days. I had to write it down. I don't know if anyone else has written something similiar and feels I have stolen their idea. If that's the case, please tell me and I'll delete it again.
The L-space is a very mysterious thing...
Roundworld
Some city or another
Someone's room
The phone rang. Loudly. Sighing Riley picked up and was glad she had done it a second later.
"Riley! I have to tell you something!"
"Hey, Liz, what's so important that you phone me at this time?" Liz - or rather Elizabeth - was Riley's best friend, but recently she had moved away, so they phoned each other regularly.
"I have a new favourite author! You really have to get to the lib and borrow one of his books!"
"Would you mind telling me a title or at least the author's name?"
"Pratchett. Sir Terry Pratchett. Mmmh... Get 'Guards! Guards!' or hmm "The Colour of Magic" or...or just get any book by him! They are great! So funny, I tell you! And really exciting! You wouldn't believe how much I laughed!"
"Okay, okay! Slow down, please? What was it again? Pratchett and 'Guards! Guards!'?
"Yeah! You really have to get your hands on his books!"
"Uhm, you know, I should study for my exams..."
"Forget your exams! Get one of his books! Tomorrow!"
"But..."
"No but! You'll love it! I promise!
"Okay, okay. But let's talk about something else now, alright?"
\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_
Discworld
Ankh-Morpork
Unseen University
Library
"Ook?" The librarian asked - in this case it meant as much as "What can I do for you?".
"Ahm, well, you see, there is a friend of mine, he went to the library two days ago and didn't come back. Uhm, could you please search for him?" The wizard-to-be asked nervously. He had been told that the librarian had had an unfortunate magical accident - and not to call him monkey.
The librarian nodded: "Ook."
Then he turned around and began venturing into the library.
Deeper.
And deeper.
\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_
Roundworld
Some city or another
Some city or another's library
As she had promised, Riley went to the local library the next day. She searched many rows of shelves, before finding the one with fantasy novels.
'Hmm, what had Liz said? Pratchett, yeah. But which book? There are so many of them!' She thought.
She eyed the books more closely.
They were rather colourful and the persons an them looked somewhat funny.
'Huh? 'The Fifth Elephant'? Why fifth? Are there four others or what? Oh yeah. Liz told me 'bout that. The Discworld is a disc placed on four elephants, which stand on top of a giant... what was it? turtle? yeah... space-turtle.'
Unable to decide for one book, she sighed. That was promptly followed by everyone else's very silent "Shhhh!".
Riley rolled her eyes and shook her head.
Quietly she began a counting-out rhyme, her finger flowing over each book.
'One, two, buckle my shoe; Three, four, shut the door; Five, six, pick up sticks; Seven, eight, lay them straight: Nine, ten, a big fat hen.'
Her finger stopped.
'Oh, 'Sourcery', well, it was not among those Liz enthused over, but it's Pratchett as well.'
And so Riley grabbed 'Sourcery' and pulled it out of the shelves.
\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_
Discworld
Ankh-Morpork
Unseen University
Library
Very deep inside it
The librarian began moving more carefully, all the while looking out for the missing student.
'Ook, eek, ook.' He thought. - Translation for all those who don't speak Orang-Utan:
One should not venture too deep into L-space, even less, when one does not know the way out. -
If one wasn't wary enough, one would easily be run over by large and heavy wandering thesauri. Or attacked by a bookworm.
The librarian spotted something amiss.
Someone had put 'About the Growing of the Common Spruce ' in the Cooking section.
That could possibly be correct, if one was a termite, but for the librarian it was definitely placed wrongly.
He grabbed it and pulled it out.
\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_
Riley pulled the book out of the shelf.
She felt herself paling.
From the space where up to now 'Sourcery' had stood a very hairy face looked at her.
Riley decided it was a monkey.
The monkey cocked its head and stared at her.
Riley dropped the book.
The monkey bared its teeth at her and made "Ook?".
Riley screamed.
\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_
The librarian stared at a girl.
Asking himself why she looked so shocked, he cocked his head.
When she dropped the book, she had been holding, he decided, that it would be best to make a good impression.
The librarian smiled and asked friendly: "Ook?" - Translation: Who are you? - After all he still knew about manners! Even though he had had the chance to climb another evolutionary branch.
The girl screamed.
The librarian closed the gap between the books.
Carrying 'About the Growing of the Common Spruce' to its rightful place, he asked himself, why the girl had looked so shocked.
After all everyone knew, that books equaled knowledge, knowledge equaled power and power equaled force multiplied by distance divided by time.
Creating the L-space.