He saw Willy and Maria sitting on a long cushion against the far wall. They moved over to make room for him. Maria smiled rather hesitantly. He sensed she was very ill at ease.
"I'll introduce you around later," said Willy. "Everybody's too keyed up right now. We've just had an unexpected surprise—really quite startling."
The conversation had bubbled up again, and there was an electric feeling of excitement in the air. Everyone was trying to talk at the same time. Cheeks were flushed, eyes sparkled.
While everyone was talking to those nearest, the most constantly recurring focal point of attention was the thin, balding man seated just across the room from Walther, on the arm of the sofa. He was riffling the pages of a pocket-size notebook and smiling with self-conscious pride.
Willy nodded toward the man.
"There's the gentleman who furnished our surprise—He brought shorthand notes on an entire chapter from Don Quixote!"
After the day he had just been through, Walther could appreciate this. He asked wonderingly,
"Where did he get them?"
"He's a Happy Time Digester."
Walther studied the little man. So this was one of the comparative few on Earth who could get into the deep vaults of the Uniport library! What wonders he must have explored! What beauty and adventure, what mind-stretching thoughts he must encounter in those underground catacombs. How deep into the past he could explore, how far into the future! Why, he could range the universe faster than the warp drive, out even beyond the Andromeda galaxy!