“... It all started completely innocently. Tom visited the Galactic Center, and then disappeared and returned to his home on Earth. However, the memory remained, and many people constantly asked about him. At first, only those who directly communicated with Tom. Clerk Maudsley and the Lottery Computer, and even the alien Kar-Mo-Dee known as Karmod, missed him too. And the Prize, of course, and of course, Melichron. And even the Predator, who didn’t so much want to finish Tom off (as happened to him in his youth, when he was jealous of his work), but rather hang around him and chat a little. And also Orin, Maudsley's assistant, and Brookside, his second assistant. And a tall, bearded old man whose name no one knew. Tom was not there, but people kept asking about him. ..."