*The room was dim, only a glimmer of light through the open bedroom door shining onto a dark, glossy mass on the floor. It was about the size of a child's shoe, and crept across the carpeted floor, slowly, like an explorer making its way into unknown lands. And it was an explorer, of sorts - it was foreign to this place. It did not know where it was; indeed, it lacked the capability to know anything. It moved on instinct, not a being but simply a thing, driven by some ancient, proto-limbic need....