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In q end, it was M-- hú frst aprótjd mé, ænd it twc mé som tym tú réalyz qæt hé did not bélok tú q grúp v def pépl. My nolidj in mæqemætics grátli helpd mé in acuyrk q lækguidj hé spóc. It dépended mutj upon mæqemætics ænd miúzic, ænd y did rézonabli wel in bóq v qem. Hé iúzd tú comiúnicát wiq q help v lyns ænd figiúrs. If hé wd, for ecsæmpl, práz q biúti v his lovr, héd déscryb it by rhombi, srcls, peralelógræms, élipses ænd oqr djeometricl ecsprexns, or by miúzicl trminolodji nédles hér tú répét. Y nótisd in his bæg ol cynds v mæqemæticl ænd miúzicl instrumnts, ænd évn q fúd hé át was cut acordk tú qer figiúrs. Wiqin a monq, y hæd lrnt his lækguidj rézonabli wel ænd cwd get what hé was dryvk æt. When his nerativ hæd prsuáded mé qæt y néded gydans, hé sed qæt nou it was tym tú pwt q brydl on q hórs. It was tú lát when y réalyzd hú q hórs was. Béfor y cwd sá a qik, hé stwd béhynd mé ænd stræpd a per v glæses around my hed. Q nú syt olmóst mád mé fánt. Evriqik around sémd diferent. Ol rémót obdjects wr clós ænd ol clós obdjects wr far awé. Evriqik big was smol, evriqik smol was big, evriqik biútifl was ugli, evriqik ugli was biútifl, blæc was whyt, whyt was blæc. M-- clámd qæt q glæses wr a part v sevn ecsrsyzs; qæt y xwd bé grátful tú hæv olredi ædvænsd tú numbr fyv whitj, hé sed, consistd v rénounsk evriqik lrnd in q prévius ecsrsyzs; qæt q trú rénounsr wd néqr séc, nor rédject eniqik ænd dwel prúf agenst q oposits. It was ónli qen qæt y so q feqr wiks on his hæt ænd xús ænd réalyzd qæt y hæd hit upon q M-- y hæd bén lwck for.

In the end, it was M. who first approached me, and it took me some time to realize that he did not belong to the group of deaf people. My knowledge in mathematics greatly helped me in acquiring the language he spoke. It depended much upon mathematics and music, and I did reasonably well in both of them. He used to communicate with the help of lines and figures. If he would, for example, praise the beauty of his lover, they describe it by rhombs, circles, parallelograms, ellipses and other geometrical expressions, or by musical terminology needless here to repeat. I noticed in his bag all kinds of mathematical and musical instruments, and even the food he ate was cut according to their figures. Within a month, I had learnt his language reasonably well and could get what he was driving at. When his narrative had persuaded me that I needed guidance, he said that now it was time to put the bridle on the horse. It was too late I when I realized who the horse was. Before I could say a thing, he stood behind me and strapped a pair of glasses around my head. The new sight almost made me faint. Everything around seemed different. All remote objects were close and all close objects were far away. Everything big was small, everything small was big, everything beautiful was ugly, everything ugly was beautiful, black was white, white was black. M. claimed that the glasses were a part of seven exercises; that I should be grateful to have already advanced to number five which, he said, consisted of renouncing everything learned in the previous exercises; that the true renouncer would neither seek, nor reject anything and dwell proof against the opposites. It was only then that I saw the feather wings on his hat and shoes and realized that I had hit upon the M. I had been looking for.

 

Wiq my nú syt, y désyded tú gó out ænd sé q ciúriositis v q sitis. Qá wr ecsæctli srciúlr; qer dyæmetr was 7837 yards, or about for myls ænd a hæf, ænd só contán ten qouznd ácrs. Æt q sentr v q sitis qer is a hól v about fifti yards in dyæmetr whitj léds intú a hidn dwelk cold q scuers. It lys a hundred yards bénéq q súrfas. By a fizicl lo v qis relm, nóbodi má evr lév it. Q inhæbitnts ar indéd ecselent in syenses, ænd y grátli ædmyrd qæt. But æt q sám tym, qá ar só distræctd ænd involvd in speciúláxn qæt y nevr réli got in tutj wiq eni v qem. Só y spóc ónli wiq qer enemis dúrik my abód qer; qéz wr q ónli pépl from húm y cwd get my informáxn about qem. Convrsk wiq qem, y lrnd qæt som tym agó, srtn pépl cám tú q sitis wiq som bæcground in q arts ænd syenses ænd évn mor enqúziæstic spirit. Qæt qá bégæn tú entyrli rédéfyn q arts, syenses, lækguidjs, ænd tecnolodji ænd éventiúali résrtjd q rúls ænd túls for ol tráds ænd oportúnitis in q sitis. Q problm houevr is qæt qéz prodjects démænd a lot v ædministráxn, ænd non v qem is prfect yet; ménwhyl, q sitis ar left in ægoni, q houses in rúins, ænd q pépl wiqout fúd or clóqk. Ænd indéd, q farqr y próséded, q mor y réalyzd qæt y cwdnt mác out strét náms eni mor. Hardli ábl tú stænd from ecshostjn, y wasnt xúr wheqr y was hælúsinátk. Y spent q necst dá in q snó ænd réflectd on a numbr v qiks ænd cám tú a séris v désijns about tjánj tú bé mád in my trævl. Fynali, y cwd not mác out eni stréts æt ol. It was q secnd yér sins y left my hóm. Wiq néqr strét náms, nor vizibl stréts ænd fynali q próhibixn on wock q sám wá bæc, it was clér qæt y wd hæv tú abændn q conjunctiv rúl. Did qis mén qæt y was cot in a void?

With my new sight, I decided to go out and see the curiosities of the cities. They were exactly circular; their diameter was 7837 yards, or about four miles and a half, and so contains ten thousand acres. At the centre of the cities there is a hole of about fifty yards in diameter which leads into a hidden dwelling called the squares. It lies a hundred yards beneath the surface. By a physical law of this realm, nobody may ever leave it. The inhabitants are indeed excellent in sciences, and I greatly admired that. But at the same time, they are so distracted and involved in speculation that I never really got in touch with any of them. So I spoke only with their enemies during my abode there; these were the only people from whom I could get my information about them. Conversing with them, I learned that some time ago, certain people came to the cities with some background in the arts and sciences and even more enthusiastic spirit. That they began to entirely redefine the arts, sciences, languages, and technology and eventually researched the rules and tools for all trades and opportunities in the cities. The problem however is that these projects demand a lot of administration, and none of them is perfect yet; meanwhile, the cities are left in agony, the houses in ruins, and the people without food or clothing. And indeed, the farther I proceeded, the more I realized that I couldn't make out street names anymore. Hardly able to stand from exhaustion, I wasn't sure whether I was hallucinating. I spent the next day in the snow and reflected on a number of things and came to a series of decisions about change to be made in my travel. Finally, I could not make out any streets at all. It was the second year since I left my home. With neither street names, nor visible streets and finally the prohibition on walking the same way back, it was clear that I would have to abandon the conjunctive rule. Did this mean that I was caught in a void?

 
 

Æftr mutj qinck, it ócúrd tú mé qæt q éziest escáp wd bé tú créát a strét or a scuer myself ænd nám it in sutj a wá æz tú créát a nú conjuncxn. Só y colectd som brics, ænd when a litl scuer hæd bén formd, y próséded tú tú dézrtd wocwás. When qá wr fynali conectd, qá hæd bécom mutj mor credibl æz propr stréts qæn éqr v qem hæd bén béfor. Y námd q scuer, went abord a xip wiq a whyt iúnicorn for its figiúrhed, ænd set sál for q sitis. Sún y aryvd æt qer cóst.

After much thinking, it occurred to me that the easiest escape would be to create a street or a square myself and name it in such a way as to create a new conjunction. So I collected some bricks, and when a little square had been formed, I proceeded to two deserted walkways. When they were finally connected, they had become much more credible as proper streets than either of them had been before. I named the square, went aboard a ship with a white unicorn for its figure head, and set sail for the cities. Soon I arrived at their coast.

 
 

Q sitis ar ecsæctli srciúlr; qer dyæmetr is 7837 yards, or about for myls ænd a hæf, ænd só contán ten qouznd ácrs. Æt qer sentr is a hól v about fifti yards in dyæmetr whitj léds intú a hidn dwelk cold q scuers. It lys a hundred yards bénéq q súrfas. By a fizicl lo v qis relm, nóbodi má evr lév it. Q inhæbitnts ar indéd ecselent in q arts ænd syenses, ænd y grátli admyrd qæt. But æt q sám tym, qá ar só distræctd ænd involvd in speciúláxn qæt y nevr réli got in tutj wiq eni v qem. Só y spóc ónli tú qer enemis dúrik my abód qer; qéz wr q ónli pépl from húm y cwd obtán eni informáxn. Hér y was confrontd wiq a lardj pápr v instrucxns for discoverk plots ænd conspérasis. Sutj plots ar iújuali q wrcmnxip v qóz hú lyc tú qinc v q ecsistens v countr intelidjens. It is frst agréd ænd setld amok qem qæt qá xæl aciúz qemselvs æz æntipóds; qen, qá tác éfectiúal cer tú séciúr qer ón letrs ænd páprs. Qéz páprs ar délivrd tú anoqr grúp, veri decstrus in fyndk out q mistérius ménks v wrds, silabls, ænd letrs. For instans, qá cæn discovr a clóqs-stúl tú signify a sécret sósyeti; a floc v gés, æn æsæsn; a lám dog, a subvrsiv fors; q plág, a gun; a buzrd, a scolr; q gout; a brúm, a revólúxn; a moustræp, æn emploimnt; a botmles pit, q trejri; a runk sor, q ædministráxn.

The cities are exactly circular; their diameter is 7837 yards, or about four miles and a half, and so contain ten thousand acres. At their center is a hole of about fifty yards in diameter which leads into a hidden dwelling called the squares. It lies a hundred yards beneath the surface. By a physical law of this realm, nobody may ever leave it. The inhabitants are indeed excellent in the arts and sciences, and I greatly admired that. But at the same time, they are so distracted and involved in speculation that I never really got in touch with any of them. So I spoke only to their enemies during my abode there; these were the only people from whom I could obtain any information. Here I was confronted with a large paper of instructions for discovering plots and conspiracies. Such plots are usually the workmanship of those who like to think of the existence of counter-intelligence. It is first agreed and settled among them that they shall accuse themselves as antipodes; then, they take effectual care to secure their own letters and papers. These papers are delivered to another group, very dexterous in finding out the mysterious meanings of words, syllables, and letters. For instance, they can discover a close-stool to signify a secret society; a flock of geese, an assassin; a lame dog, a subversive force; the plague, a gun; a buzzard, a scholar; the gout; a broom, a revolution; a mousetrap, an employment; a bottomless pit, the treasury; a running sore, the administration.

 
 
 

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