Trilobites

            “Ah yes,” said the curator as he rubbed his thumb over the fossil the amateur paleontologist had handed him. “A fine trilobite, we’ll have it. Come.”
            They walked through the museum’s main hall, down a narrow staircase, and into the catacomb-like storerooms. These were dark, vaulting rooms with mazes of filing units with long thin drawers.
            “Here is our trilobite room,” said the curator. “We have over one thousand fossils, only a fraction of which are ever displayed.”
            The amateur paleontologist looked around in awe, creaking open drawers. “Why take mine?”
            “We are capturing the world in one place. Isn’t it amazing?”