It was very quiet in Encorium... which was strange, because the huge pointed towers looked like they should be making a massive amount of noise. In fact, once you'd got used to the quietness, you could tell they weren't totally silent - they made a sort of “SWOOSH-swoosh, SWOOSH-swoosh” sound as they turned and turned, making their way through their part of networld.

Where ARE we, thought Dot. This is just so weird!

She was just about to ask when Walpurgis turned back to the Tracmapper, and placed his paw on the squidgy keyboard, right in the centre. There was a “DING-dong” sound like a doorbell, and the Combers - the ribbons near Lucia the Tracboat's bow, suddenly stopped fluttering and became very stiff, as if they were listening for something.

“Control to asymmetrical hyperdigital Flexiponders, if you please Lucia” said Walpurgis. “We have to use the full name for her” he said to Dot. “She's not programmed to hear the nickname we all use.”

Lucia gave one of her little shakes, and then suddenly the Combers began turning. One, two three four, five times they turned, then stopped and a ripple ran up them. Then they began turning again.

“When one of them stops turning, and that ripple keeps on going up and down it, then you'll know it's found something” said Katzilow, seeing Dot looking a bit baffled.

The Combers - the asymmetrical hyperdigital flexiponders, sorry Lucia - certainly seemed to know exactly what they were doing. They took Lucia in a gliding, twisting path between the skyscraper towers, sailing her close to them and around their glittering, glassy sides, but never once touching them.

But however close they came, you could see nothing inside the round, revolving structures: their sides with the constantly changing, window-like shapes gave nothing away.

And now they were closer to the massive towers, it was clear that the shapes - now round, now square, now oblong - were in fact mirrors. Lucia was reflected in them as she sailed past - strangely, because the curve of the outer walls of the skyscrapers made her appear first long and thin, then squashed-up and fat: sometimes far away and tiny like a toy, sometimes so big that only a part of her could be seen.

Dot gave herself a little shake. She suddenly realized she was so fascinated by what was all around them that she hadn't asked where they were - or even what 'Encorium' was!

“Where are we?” she blurted out.

“Oh, sorry!” said Walpurgis. “You're so much a part of us now, I keep forgetting you haven't been everywhere we've been!”

“Typical!” muttered Eldenbeam. “Mr Vague-As-Always. Ow!”

Carmeramalita - in her role as peacemaker - had given him a nip on the back of his neck. As one well-timed biter to another, Wiz chuckled. Walpurgis rubbed his bottom a bit self-consciously, remembering the last nipping episode on board Lucia.

“Well, Dot - 'Encorium' in net-speak means 'The Place of Happening Again'” he began. “These - ”

“Oho, like in “encore” which means “again”, en Français!” * said Fromage. “You see, our influence is everywhere!”

“Yes, quite” said Walpurgis, clearly a little bit astonished by this outburst of French national pride. “Er - steady, Combers!”

They'd passed within one metre of one of the towers. Lucia gave a bit of a jump. “Must get you to reset those things, Homby” he said. “Well anyway Dot, here is where all recycled devices end up. We found a good tracmap for where your Mr Mouse is from his Wisp at Colony Cerulean, as you know. That's brought us here, to where all recyleds go in the end.”

“But... why couldn't we come straight here, to Encorium?” asked Dot, puzzled. “We knew he was being recycled, didn't we?”

Walpurgis chuckled. “Well, there are something like six million of these towers all across Encorium already, you see - and more coming along all the time” he said, giving her his beaky smile. “They're called Encorathons, by the way. That's why we had to get a good portalmatch, to enter as close as possible to the Encorathon that leads to where Mr Mouse is being recycled. Then we can all datastream up to the computer where he's on line. After that it's up to you my dear! And Wizard and Fromage of course... ”

“Oh!” said Dot, a bit sadly. “Can't you come with me?”

Carmeramalita looked at Dot with her kindly eyes. “No Dot” she said gently. “We can only live in cyberworld - but you can live in both!”

“DING dong! DING DING DING Dong!” ALL the Combers were standing up absolutely straight - like very big rulers. Stiff ripples ran up and down them. Lucia came to a stop by one of the Encorathons.

“We've definitely arrived!” beamed Walpurgis.