"Pardon me, Mr. Cotton," Hackworth said, almost sotto voce. He had 
worked here once, for several years, and knew the etiquette. A hundred 
designers were sitting in the hall, neatly arranged in rows. All had their 
heads wrapped up in phenomenoscopes. The only persons who were aware of 
Hackworth's presence in the hall were Supervising Engineer Däurig, his 
lieutenants Chu, DeGrado, and Beyerley, and a few water-boys and couriers 
standing erect at their stations around the perimeter. It was bad form to 
startle the engineers, so you approached them loudly and spoke to them 
softly.