 What is ironic about keeping their books stored away in an airtight compartment?
They were aware that they stood in the midst of an unprecedented happening; indeed, an emergency. "Not the films, Sias, but the books." The books, as well he knows, are so ancient, and so delicate, that they are kept in an air-tight tomb; lest, being handled, they be destroyed and all knowledge within them lost. Therefore, they have not been read in the known history of our race. And Rocsates has been anxious for an excuse— "Sias," he went on, "if there exists such knowledge as I seek, is it not indeed lost to the memory of Man?
 There is little use in preserving something if the meaning is lost upon those preserving it
 There is nothing in the books that can help Melopolis repair the Maternite or save its population  The books were already designed with technology that would keep them intact forever  There is little use in preserving something if the meaning is lost upon those preserving it  The books contain antiquated knowledge that will only set Melopolis back further