“But—why are they so small?” Nina asked. “Aren’t they supposed to be as big as horses?”

“They are,” Alan said. He sighed, irritated. Wouldn’t she just let him get back to his work? “The terrarium is dimensionally transcendental.”

Nina blinked. “Dimi-what?”

“You know, like the Tardis? Bigger on the inside than on the outside.”

“You mean—they’re really big, they just look small?” Nina asked.

She’s just not going to leave. Okay, right. “Look here.” Alan flipped open a small rubber stopper near the bottom of the terrarium. “Put your thumb on that metal plate, it’ll help you see better.”

“All ri—”

Alan put the stopper back, and looked around the office quickly to see if anyone had noticed Nina’s sudden disappearance. The coast was clear.

Alan turned back to his computer, but as an afterthought moved a slider along the base of the terrarium to move the viewpoint to a different part of the terrarium. It wouldn’t do to have passing coworkers notice the diminutive Nina banging silently on the glass.