Chapter 12 Summary

Back on the escalator, an hour after leaving the men's room, Howie is listening to the escalator's motor and considering how it is built. At the top of the escalator, he observes people walking around down in the lobby and notes patterns of movement forced upon them by the structure of the room, including the revolving door. He still has his hand on the handrail and considers whether the escalator steps and handrail move at different speeds; he observes that they come apart earlier while standing still and letting the escalator move him forward.

Before then, he steps up the escalator stairs. The escalator "supplemented" rather than replaced your movement. He wonders what the aims of the escalator creators were, and figures that they did not want people to stop moving, and became convinced the people willfully ignored this fact. He then notes...