Slouching Towards Bedlam — 66 of 76

Section 3 - Du Monde's

The description of Du Monde's is "The shop is dark, and crowded with haphazardly stacked, yet neatly organized piles of machinery. To the south, there is a worn wooden counter, cracked with age and covered with innumerable nicks, scratches, and dark burn marks. Behind the counter are rows and rows of drawers, labeled in some arcane script. The faint scent of gas clings to the walls.[paragraph break]The shop's show window and door look out on Fleet Street to the north. A second door lies behind the counter to the east."

After going to Du Monde's for the first time:

try looking;

say "It comes easier this time, the coldness frightening in its familiarity.[paragraph break][bold type]/(yesmoreyesplantquestfurthergrowyes)\[roman type][paragraph break]It is faster, too - somehow more...efficient?[paragraph break][bold type]/(soundnoisevoicecallinggreetinggrasping)\[roman type][paragraph break]A trickle becoming a break becoming a rush.[paragraph break][bold type]/(expansionaugmentationincreasematurity)\[roman type][paragraph break]It finishes its unfolding, collapsing backwards, inwards.[paragraph break][bold type]/(complexityinvestigationmoreyesmore)\[roman type][paragraph break]The woman looks up suddenly, her eyes huge ovals magnified five times their normal size by monocles squinted tightly in each eye. She opens them wide, releases the monocles and drops them into an already bulging shirt pocket. She straightens, wiping her hands on a on a dirty rag.[paragraph break]Her greasy shirtsleeves are rolled up to the elbows, and ill-fitting, thick trousers pool and disappear into the tops of her workman's boots.[paragraph break]She smiles thinly.[paragraph break]'So sorry, sir. I didn't catch what you said. Sometimes when I'm concentrating that hard, everything outside my head sounds like gibberish.'";

now Du Monde is infected;