In the Back of the Bookshelf

He held out what seemed to be a piece of shapeless dull metal about half the size of his palm.

“What’s that?” I said.

“Um.” He put it away, took out a small notebook, consulted it, and said, “Unidentified metal object SI-089161-44B-79.”

“That’s what I thought it was,” I said.

- Steven Brust, “The Desecrator”