A tension went out of the air. Their business here was over then, and they all knew it; the magic moment had arrived when it was understood that noth… - Michael Swanwick

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A tension went out of the air. Their business here was over then, and they all knew it; the magic moment had arrived when it was understood that nothing more would be established, discovered, or decided today. But the meeting, having once begun, must drag on for several long more hours before it could be ended. The engines of protocol had enormous inertial mass; once set in motion they took forever to grind to a stop.