( < | issues | 49 | > )

In q bégink, my trævl qrú q sitis was plejurabl; qá ar not wiqout qer marvls. In som sitis, pépl liv in compæct stón houses undr watr. Qer hot spriks, it is sed, ar hardnd intú stóns. On q cósts, a stón formd out v subteránian vedjetabl júses is cæst axor in lardj cuantitis. Not tú menxn q coral whitj, oridjinali a plænt, hardns outsyd watr intú a whyt or red tré v stón, or v séld rq. It is q rq v q sitis whitj rézists fyr, lyc góld, ænd is not rézolvd intú er. Hens q continiúus sitis sémd q veri plás in whitj y xwd bé móst lycli tú sucséd. But móst v qóz húm y met læfd æt my cuest. Qá sed qæt, lyc Narsisus, y hæd falen in luv wiq q xædó v my ón mynd, q ecó v my ván ænd æmbixus qots; qæt it hæd nó substans apart from my ón fænsi. Y hæd olredi trævld qrú móst v q sitis when y tjánjd my direcxns. Nóbodi hæd bén ábl tú giv mé eni hints whatsóevr in q cors v my wandrks. Só y bécám a pæsnjr v a xip whitj hæd æn égl for its figiúrhed. Æftr endúrk a cupl v sévér húricáns, wé lænded on æn ylnd qæt was entyrli covrd wiq forests. Its surfas was ónli dotd hér ænd qer wiq q hómsted v a setlr. Qer wr fiú bildks, ænd q inhæbitnts wr sunc in ignorans. Hou, qen, cwd y hóp tú hér lrn eniqik amok pépl hú cwd hardli réd or ryt? Yet q trés v q ylnd wr v ritj culr ænd suét frágrans; ænd wn dá when y was enjoyk q wyld biúti v q forest, y hæpnd tú fynd æn æpl v uniújual culr. On a clósr viú, q frút révéld q folóik inscripxn:

In the beginning, my travel through the cities was pleasurable; they are not without their marvels. In some cities, people live in compact stone houses under water. Their hot springs, it is said, are hardened into stones. On the coasts, a stone formed out of subterranean vegetable juices is cast ashore in large quantities. Not to mention the coral which, originally a plant, hardens outside water into a white or red tree of stone, or the sealed earth. It is the earth of cities which resists the fire, like gold, and is not resolved into air. Hence the continuous cities seemed the very place in which I should be most likely to succeed. But most of those whom I met laughed at my quest. They said that, like Narcissus, I had fallen in love with the shadow of my own mind, the echo of my vain and ambitious thoughts; that it had no substance apart from my own fancy. I had already travelled through most of the cities when I changed my directions. Nobody had been able to give me any hints whatsoever in the course of my wanderings. So I became a passenger of a ship which had an eagle for its figurehead. After enduring a couple of severe hurricanes, we landed on an island that was entirely covered with forests. Its surface was only dotted here and there with the homestead of a settler. There were few buildings, and the inhabitants were sunk in ignorance. How, then, could I hope to hear learn anything among people who could hardly read or write? Yet the trees of the island were of rich color and sweet fragrance; and one day when I was enjoying the wild beauty of the forest, I happened to find an apple of unusual color. On a closer view, the fruit revealed the following inscription:

"If iú délivr q insyd tú its grændmoqr, qer wil aryz a sun hú má clik tú his moqr in luvk embrás. From qis iúnion wil aryz a nóbl tré whitj wil rendr tú q huzbnd a góldn harvest."

"If you deliver the inside to its grandmother, there will arise a son who may cling to his mother in loving embrace. From this union will arise a noble tree which will render to the husband a golden harvest."

Æftr mutj qinck, it ocrd tú mé qæt q séd v q frút must bé plásd in q rq, its grændmoqr, sins q perent tré was its moqr. Só y plæntd q séd, ænd when a litl tré hæd spruk up, y græftd it intú q perent tré. When q tú hæd grón túgeqr, qá bécám a mutj mor rémarcabl tré qæn éqr v qem hæd bén béfor. Q frút was qæt v q syon whitj hæd bén insrtd intú q perent tré. Y twc my wd, went abord a xip, wiq a whyt iúnicorn for its figiúrhed, ænd set sál bæc for trádk sitis. Sún y aryvd æt qer cóst. Q clymat v q sitis was temperat. Qá ar écuali rémót from q intens cóld v q cóst ænd q intens hét v q ylnd. Y trævld strát qrú qem. Y did not mét meni pépl, but was wel sætisfyd tú hæv ecsplord qer erial grounds. Rlir in my lyf, y hæd bén tóld qæt qer was a gardn in q sitis wher nó tré was alyc ænd whitj was bilt around tú cæsls. Nóik wher it was supózd tú bé sitiúátd, y trævld tú q spot, but found q area dézrtd ænd q cæsls réplásd wiq werhouses.

After much thinking, it occurred to me that the seed of the fruit must be placed in the earth, its grandmother, since the parent tree was its mother. So I sowed the seed, and when a little tree had sprung up, I grafted it into the parent tree. When the two had grown together, they became a much more remarkable tree than either of them had been before. The fruit was that of the scion which had been inserted into the parent tree. I took my wood, went aboard a ship, with a white unicorn for its figure head, and setting sail back for trading cities. Soon I arrived at their coast. The climate of the cities was temperate. They are equally remote from the intense cold of the coast and the intense heat of the island. I travelled straight through them. I did not meet many people, but was well satisfied to have explored their aerial grounds. Earlier in my life, I had been told that there was a garden in the cities where no tree was alike and which was built around two castles. Knowing where it was supposed to be situated, I travelled to the spot, but found the area deserted and the castles replaced with warehouses.

When y hæd rétjd qéz outscrts, mor qæn a yér hæd pæsd sins my départiúr. Nou y hrd qæt in wn v q subrbs, qer was a trævl ádjensi. Y consecuentli qot v encuyrk qer consrnk a gwd conjuncxn. When y aryvd, y found a búq garded by a scryb sitk béhynd a wdn desc. Q búq was óvrgrón wiq mos ænd covrd wiq péses v scræp metl. Y désyded tú confyd in q scryb ænd salútd him wiq my lóliest ænd móst deferenxl hiúmiliti. Hé æscd mé what my nám was ænd what y wantd from q trævl ádjensi. Y xwd nó, hé pontificátd, qæt q ádjensi má bé aprótjd ónli evri wns in a whyl. Y réplyd qæt not bóldnes hæd brot mé tú him; qæt y hæd com æftr matúr déliberáxn, bécas y felt qæt it was q ádjensi -- ænd q ádjensi alón -- qæt cwd rézolv my problm. His countenans didnt clér when hé hrd my wrds. Hé æscd mé what my adres ænd bizines was ænd if y hæd a garantor for my prposes. Y rétrnd qæt my obédiens was my garantor; qæt qer wr tú qiks y wantd tú æsc q ádjensi for instructjn about. Rétánk his indiferens, q scryb sed qæt, whatevr my mótivs wr, q ádjensi wdnt révél itself tú trádsmn. Déspyt my obdjecxn qæt y was nó trádsmn, q scryb réplyd, nou in a whynk tón, qæt y xwdnt indéd dény what ænd hú y was; qæt hé was tyrd v délk wiq trádsmn agen ænd agen, evriwn v qem tryik tú aply for a djob æt q ádjensi whyl q ádjensi didnt évn hæv énof moni tú pá him, q scryb, eni acomódáxn oqr qæn q desc in front v q búq, let alón páik for anoqr desc for a trádsmn. Y sed qæt y didnt nó what hé was tock about, but hé didnt pá atentjn ænd went on qæt q ádjensi hæd bén múvd hér ænd qer wiqout rémánk hidn tú q trádsmn veri lok. Cépk q gard, hé sed, was trubl énof, but hé évn hæz tú bé on q lwc-out for trádsmn, nyt ænd dá; hé wdnt hæv hæd æn our v slép in q læst qré wécs. Whenevr hé wd bé about tú tác a litl næp ænd qinc hé hæd got rid v q trádsmn, qá wd lrc béhynd q cornr. Agen, y tóld him qæt q trádsmns prófexn was far from my ón; wherupon hé æscd mé what y was qen, hé hæd olredi recognyzd qæt y was tryik tú mác somqik up. Y was struc wiq a ciúrius félk v dout ænd hezitáxn when y sed qæt y was ónli a trævlr. Só it didnt srpryz mé when q ænsr y résévd from q scryb was but a xort, contemptiúus læf. Nó, hé sed, hé hæd sén meni trævlrs but non v qem cerid æz litl lugidj æz mé, só qer cwd bé nó dout qæt y was a trádsmn. Hé wdnt bé srpryzd if y wr tú tel him necst qæt y didnt évn nó about sáls tæcs. Y sed qæt, v cors, y nú about sáls tæcs, but qæt eni trævlr is cuyt æz lycli tú nó about sáls tæcs æz a trádr is. Q scryb réplyd qæt hé didnt bélév qæt, ænd if my supózixn wr réli q trúq, qen evri trævlr wd bé a cynd v trádsmn; ænd qæt was ol hé cwd sá. Qis was sutj a bæflk conclújn tú mé qæt y rémánd sylnt for a minit or tú, whitj gáv q scryb q oprtúniti v ædk qæt, if y was lwck for a trád, it didnt mætr tú him or q ádjensi wheqr y was a trádsmn or not. Q trics v q trád, hé drónd on wiq a tyrd vois, wr cuyt complicátd. Dout wd bé q frst stádj v sucses. Q ádjensi wd olwás bé q ryt plás for æsck, évn mor wiq its brænd nú discount ofrs ænd lésk plæns. V cors, qis ádjensi wd bé q ónli wn whitj cwd posibli giv eni definit informáxn consrnk gwd conjuncxns. Q sitis, hé continiúd, hæd from v óld rédjoisd in q sól pózexn v conjuncxns. Qá wd ecsist for wn qouznd yérs. Æftr qæt, qer comn nám wd bé pwt doun, ænd wiq qis nám a nú conjuncxn wd bé estæblixd bétuén tú oqr sitis.

When I had reached these outskirts, more than a year had passed since my departure. Now I heard that in one of the suburbs, there was a travel agency. I consequently thought of enquiring it concerning a good conjunction. When I arrived, I found a booth guarded by a scribe sitting behind a wooden desk. The booth was overgrown with moss and covered with pieces of scrapmetal. I decided to confide in the scribe and saluted him with my lowliest and most deferential humility. He asked me what my name was and what I wanted from the travel agency. I should know, he pontificated, that the agency may be approached only every once in a while. I replied that not boldness had brought to him; that I had come after mature deliberation, because I felt that it was the agency--and the agency alone--that could resolve my problem. His countenance didn't clear when he heard my words. He asked me what my address and business was and if I had a guarantor for my purposes. I returned that my obedience was my guarantor; that there were two things I wanted to ask the agency for instruction about. Retaining his indifference, the scribe said that, whatever my motives were, the agency wouldn't reveal itself to tradesmen. Despite my objection that I was no tradesman, the scribe replied, now in a whining tone, that I shouldn't indeed deny what and whom I was; that he was tired of dealing with tradesmen again and again, everyone of them trying to apply for a job at the agency while the agency didn't even have enough money to pay him, the scribe, any accommodation other than the desk in front of the booth, let alone paying another desk for a tradesman. I said that I didn't know what he was talking about, but he didn't pay attention and went on that the agency had been moved here and there without remaining hidden to the tradesmen very long. Keeping the guard, he said, was trouble enough, but he even has to be on the look-out for tradesmen, night and day; he wouldn't have had an hour of sleep in the last three weeks. Whenever he would be about to take a little nap and think he had got rid of the tradesmen, they would lurk behind the corner. Again, I told him that the tradesman's profession was far from my own; whereupon he asked me what I was then, he had already recognized that I was trying to make something up. I was struck with a curious feeling of doubt and hesitation when I said that I was only a traveller. So it didn't surprise me when the answer I received from the scribe was but a short, contemptuous laugh. No, he said, he had seen many travellers but none of them carried as little luggage as me, so there could be no doubt that I was a tradesman. He wouldn't be surprised if I were to tell him next that I didn't even know about sales tax. I said that, of course, I knew about sales tax, but that any traveller is quite as likely to know about sales teax as a trader is. The scribe replied that he didn't believe that, and if my supposition were really the true, then every traveller would be a kind of tradesman; and that was all he could say. This was such a baffling conclusion to me that I remained silent for a minute or two, which gave the scribe the opportunity of adding that, if I was looking for a trade, it didn't matter to him or the agency whether I was a tradesman or not. The tricks of the trade, he droned with a tired voice, were quite complicated. Doubt would be the first stage of success. The agency would always be the right place for asking, even more with its brandnew discount offers and leasing plans. Of course, this agency would be the only one which could possibly give any definite information concerning good conjunctions. The cities, he continued, had from of old rejoiced in the sole possession of conjunctions. They would be exist for one thousand years. After these, their common name would be put down, and with this name a new conjunction would be established between two other cities.

( next )