Lina couldn't sleep at first, thinking of the old songs and what they meant. Someone, long ago, had hoped that at least a few people would survive and had wanted them to remember her city and the treasure it held, the treasure that was most valuable of all - herself, her family, and all of the generations of people who had lived in that secret place, their purpose, though they didn't know it, to make sure that human beings did not vanish from the world, no matter what happened above.

What could be more interesting than thinking of mysterious happenings, finding the answers to intriguing questions, and making up new worlds?

Unintended consequences, he thought miserably. He was angry at his anger, the way it surged up and took over.

It would be something that another person had written down without understanding its significance; just a sentence or two that would be like a flash of light.

Poppy was now almost well. She still slept more than usual, but when she wasn't sleeping she tromped around the doctor's house pulling spoons off the table and spilling cups of water and crumpling pages of books. That is, she was almost her old self.

She realized all at once that Doon, thin, dark eyed Doon, with his troublesome temper and his terrible brown jacket, and his good heart---- was the person she knew better than anyone now. He was her best friend. --City of Ember--

A person who thought he knew everything simply didn’t understand how much there was to know.