"We should be so lucky," Even gripes. If Traverse Town were not needed, that would presage a serious change in the balance of power among the worlds.

"If Traverse Town is here in its functional capacity, that's all to the good. I must say I appreciate its presence. As for the rest, we have Twilight Town, which I agree shouldn't be trapped here based on what we know of it, and two worlds which appear to have no major metaphysical import.

"And yet, something about this mess is important. You remember the nameless individual using our communicator system?"