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discipline or at least leaky valves. Here, it didn’t seem to matter. Further, there didn’t appear to be any lessening of the crowd. If anything, there were more. This Intermediate Area was deceptive, AA decided. Has a tendency to distort. What he pulled rote as hundreds must be thousands—all jammed into the Entry Station. And that little mixed-up one. Couldn’t rote anything, not even where she really came from. She? What’s she? Suddenly, an unusually large spiral reached out from a cluster and yanked AA inward. (I need your help, I need your help!) AA disengaged just as he was about to fall into the opening cluster. (What’s the problem?) The form swept aside the last vestiges of haze. (What are your plans after you enter?) AA opened slightly. (Why, uh … to experience being human.) The form vibrated. (No more than that?) AA rolled. (I’m sure that’ll be enough for me.) (Do you know what they’re going through over there?) (Well, I …) (Untold suffering. Millions upon millions of them, lying and deceiving one another, violating every known law, including the ones they thought up themselves, illusion upon illusion, digging deeper and deeper patterns … It’s horrible.) AA began closing. (I’m sure it’s not as bad as you …) The form vibrated more heavily. (It’s worse. I’ve been studying and observing them for centuries. Worse!) AA blanked. (Centuries?) (Now it’s getting to a crisis situation, and somebody has to do something and nobody is, so I’m going to!) AA smoothed. (Do what?) (I’m going in there and change it all. I need your help to do it. I need yours and everyone else’s I can get. Here, here’s what we’re going to do.) The form threw a heavy rote at AA, who held on to it with some difficulty. The first layers not only shocked but astounded him. How could rote ever get so tangled and distorted? He turned in and closed. How to release gracefully? The solution came easily.