Adam and the old man could already see the surroundings of hexagon 0. There were several people walking around this hexagon, going from one place to another as if it were a market. This was one of the busiest areas on all floors, as this path was the largest and most convenient way to move from hex to hex.

Since Adam didn't like to draw too much attention, he preferred to use the corridor farthest from this: which was the other edges of the main hexes attached to the secondary ones.

When Adam and the old man reached the vicinity of hexagon 0, the guards in the corridor looked at them, but did not act, in fact their gazes seemed to be showing respect to the old man in rags.

All the people in the hallway also stopped and stared at Adam and the old man. Nobody spoke, the crowd only looked with doubt in their eyes, forming an impressively awkward silence. Little by little, more people joined in to watch how the boy and the old man got closer and closer to hexagon 0.

—We're here, old man—Adam replied, somewhat uncomfortable by the scene; he did not understand why everyone stopped in silence to look at them; There were already almost 20 people looking at the two of them, and that was a lot of people in these places.

—Only a little more is needed— answered the old man slowly— Bring me closer to the railing, child.

Adam wanted to say that no one was allowed to get close, but there were already almost 40 people looking at them and no one was saying anything. So, forced by the sight of so many people, he helped the old man get closer to the railing of hexagon 0.

This was the first time that Adam had been able to see the great splendor of Hexagon 0 so close. His father had never allowed him near this railing.

Hexagon 0 was not like any other hexagon, just as Adam had said it was empty, there was nothing, there were no shelves, there were no lamps, but more importantly: there were no walls, no ceilings and no floors. So hex 0 wasn't just empty; hexagon 0 was hollow.

From the railing Adam could see the lower floor and also the upper floor, if he looked down he could see the other librarians moving like ants through the giant corridor before hexagon 0. And if he looked forward, Adam could see the librarians on the other side, but they were very far away and only their outline and movement could be distinguished.

Adam went to the railing and said goodbye to the old man:

—We're here, good luck.

—Wait, help me cross, I'm blind, I can't do it without help—the old man said with his monotonous and automatic voice, something bothering Adam at the moment.

—But it's forbidden—Adam answered looking at the almost 70 people in the surroundings who watched him in silence.

—Trust me, nothing will happen to you for crossing it—the old man replied.

Adam looked around, the looks of the people forced him to help the old man, so he decided to cross the fence next to the old man, now they were in the ring that surrounded hexagon 0 and, but there was still a long way to go to get their hollow hole.

Adam noticed that the old man wanted to keep walking and went with him. The ring around hexagon 0 was not small; it could easily be 1 km (0.62 mi), so there was still quite a walk ahead if one wanted to get to the hollow part.

The entire ring was empty, there was nothing, there was only a wooden floor, but when looking at the floor Adam noticed that there was a yellow line painted with paint in a somewhat rudimentary way on the floor, forming a yellow circle around the entire hexagon 0.

Adam crossed the yellow line without understanding his reason, but as he crossed it he realized what it was, because a wooden head formed on the ground, and he looked at the two of them for a long time.