Moving pictures

'I suppose so. Now let's go to the end-'

There was a commotion at the other end of the street. People surged forward. The queue broke ranks and charged. The honest merchants were suddenly surrounded by a desperately-pushing crowd.

'I say, there is a queue, you know,' said the Hon­est Merchant in Recent Runes diffidently, as he was shoved aside.

The Dean grabbed the shoulder of a boy who was ferociously elbowing him aside.

'What is going on, young man?' he demanded.

'They're a-coming!' shouted the boy.

'Who are?'

'The stars!'

The wizards, as one man, looked upwards.

'No, they're not,' said the Dean, but the boy had shaken himself free and disappeared in the press of people.

'Strange primitive superstition,' said the Dean, and the wizards, with the exception of Poons, who was complain­ing and flailing around with his stick, craned forward to see.

The Bursar met the Archchancellor in a corridor.

'There's no-one in the Uncommon Room!' screamed the Bursar.

'The Library's empty!' bellowed the Archchancellor.

'I've heard about that sort of thing,' the Bursar whim­pered. 'Spontaneous something-or- other. They've all gone spontaneous!'

'Calm down, man. Just because?'

'I can't even find any of the servants! You know what happens when reality gives way! Even now giant tentacles are probably?'

There was a distant whumm . . . whumm noise, and the sound of pellets bouncing off the wall.

'Always the same direction,' the Bursar muttered.

'What direction is that, then?'

'The direction They'll be coming from! I think I'm going mad!'

'Now, now,' said the Archchancellor, patting him on the shoulder. 'You don't want to go around talking like that. That's crazy talk.'

Ginger stared, panic-stricken, out of the carriage window.

'Who are all these people?' she said.

'They're fans,' said Dibbler.

'But I'm not hot!'

'Uncle means that they're people who like seeing you in the clicks,' said Soll. 'Er. Like you a lot.'

'There's women out there too,' said Victor. He gave a cautious wave.

In the crowd, a woman swooned.

'You're famous,' he said. 'You said you always wanted to be famous.'