"Faithful though surrounded by death."
"What is the motto of the Scanner?"
"Awake though surrounded by silence."
"What is the work of the Scanner?"
"Labor even in the heights of the Up-and-Out, loyalty even in the depths of the Earths."
"How do you know a Scanner?"
"We know ourselves. We are dead though we live. And we Talk with the Tablet and the Nail."
"What is this Code?"
"This Code is the friendly ancient wisdom of Scanners, briefly put that we may be mindful and be cheered by our loyalty to one another."
At this point the formula should have run: "We complete the Code. Is there work or word for the Scanners?" But Vomact said, and he repeated: