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'No'

'Me neither The abbot's your man for that kind of stuff Lemme see okay think of the smallest amount of time that you can Really small So tiny that a second would be like a billion years Got that? Well, the cosmic quantum tick - that's what the abbot calls it - the cosmic quantuo fro It's-'

'It's the ti that's possible to happen to happen?' said Lobsang 'Exactly Well done,' said Lu-Tze He took a deep breath 'It's also the time it takes for the whole universe to be destroyed in the past and rebuilt in the future Don't look at me like that - that's what the abbot said'

'Has it been happening while we've been talking?' said Lobsang 'Millions of times An oodleplex of times, probably'

'How many's that?'

'It's one of the abbot's words It ine in a yonk'

'What's a yonk?'

'A very long time'

'And we don't feel it? The universe is destroyed and we don't feel it?'

'They say not The first tiot a bit ju stared at the snow for a while Then he said, 'All right Go on'

'Solass Powered by lightning, as I recall It soot down to a level where it could tick with the universe'

'Why did he want to do that?'

'Listen, he lived in a big old castle on a crag in Uberwald People like that don't need a reason apart frohtmare and try to make it happen'

'But, look, you can't make a clock like that, because it's inside the universe, so it'llget rebuilt when the universe does, right?' Lu-Tze looked impressed, and said so 'I' a box with the crowbar that's inside'

'The abbot believes that part of the clock was outside, though'

'You can't have so outside the-'

'Tell that to aon the problem for nine lifetimes,' said Lu-Tze 'You want to hear the rest of the story?'

'Yes, Sweeper'

'Soere spread pretty thin in those days, but there was this young sweeper-'

'You,' said Lobsang 'This is going to be you, right?'

'Yes, yes,' said Lu-Tze testily 'I was sent to Uberwald History hadn't divergedto happen around Bad Sch&uu You kno es? You can't move for reht one in ti 'I remember what you told the abbot'

'I was just down in the valley when the lightning struck the tower,' said Lu-Tze 'You know it is written, "Big events always cast their shadows" But I couldn't detect where it was happening until too late A half- bolt No one could do that Nearly h the door when it all went to hell!'

'No point in bla yourself, then'