o 7 • "He walked straight up to the rock, opened his mouth, and just before he spoke light dawned, and everybody else knew what two words he would say. The two words were, 'Open, Sesame!' Immediately the expected happened. A door in the rock opened. Beyond it yawned a vast cavern. 'It's the cave Ali Baba found. It's the cave of the Forty Thieves. It's that buried treasure!'" -- Edward Eager, Magic by the Lake (1957) • "'How are you going to open it?' she asked. . . . 'Like this,' said Kazul. 'By night and flame and shining rock, Open thou thy hidden lock. Alberolingarn!' As the sound of Kazul's voice died away, the iron gate swung silently open. 'That's a very unusual opening spell,' Cimorene commented, impressed. 'It wasn't always that complicated,' Kazul said. She sounded almost apologetic. 'I believe the first version was very simple, just 'Open sesame,' but word got around and we had to change it.'" -- Patricia C. Wrede, Dealing With Dragons (1990) • "'There is the key to opening the gates,' Scott revealed. 'You speak into it.' 'What are you gonna do? Turn around and shout Open Sesame?' Scott shrugged without a hint of irony. 'The myth had to come from somewhere.' Then he spun on his heel to face the doors, pulled the device up to his mouth and in clear ancient Sumerian pronounced: 'Doors, open!' There was a clank, loud and laborious. The sound of lock mechanisms disengaging, of hinges and counterweights swinging into action as slowly the main gates to the City of Atlantis swung open." -- Stel Paylou, Decipher (2001) • "If you had to say 'Open Sesame' [to the owl statue] to get through the door, then that's what she would do. The bookcase slid open." -- Ann Pratchett, The Magician's Assistant (1997) • "This opening up of the floodgates of his memory was not on account of any alchemy of mine, or charm I put upon him with my presence, or open sesame that I pronounced, but was perhaps vouchsafed because he sensed in me an audience whose interest was genuine, and because he found a melancholy pleasure in the telling." -- Grey Owl, Tales of an Empty Cabin (19 6) • "Rhyme wheeled up to the door, noticed the hands-free intercom. He said a boisterous 'Open, sesame' and the door swung wide. 'We get that a lot,' drawled the pert secretary when they'd entered." -- Jeffrey Deaver, The Empty Chair (2000) • "On the video monitor, they saw Ted Fielding slap the polished sphere with his hand and shout, 'Open! Open Sesame! Open up, you son of a bitch!' The sphere did not respond." -- Michael Crichton, Sphere (1987) • "'The next question is how we get inside.' 'Try saying 'open sesame' and hope for the best.' Zavala stood back and bellowed the famous command from Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves. When nothing happened he tried again in Spanish, also to no avail. 'You know any more magic words?' he asked Austin. 'You just exhausted my entire repertoire,' Kurt said with a shrug." -- Clive Cussler, Blue Gold (2000)