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Ménwhyl, q mesnjr hæd ópnd q trunc v his car ænd prézentd a numbr v stránj obdjects for public inspecxn ænd prtjas. Hé sed qæt qá wr ol tácn from q trejr v q nú múvmnt ænd xwd sætisfy evriwn interestd in its tecnécs. Upon séik q trejr unváld, meni pépl cám ænd bégæn tú by from it. Evri byer résévd a warnk not tú ópn eni bocs, oqrwyz its intrnl potenxl wd bé rélésd ænd vænix. Nevrqeles, sins q odiens cwdnt hér him, evriwn hæd ópnd qer bocses -- ænd found noqik in it. Qer was whislk ænd mrmrk, ænd, when it was clér qæt nó sikgl bocs hæd bén diferent, q croud hétd up in ækgr, ruxd æt q mesnjr ænd pwxd him ontu q ground. Qen búts ænd yrn bars hit him hard; lyc a strá dog, q mæn crold bæc tú his car ænd cept yelk qæt q sécret cwd bé ónli acsesd by q inixiátd; qæt hé cwdnt bé blámd for q læc v dignifyd pépl in q croud. It was ónli qen qæt y recognyzd M-- in q midst v it, réalyzk qæt hé did not bélok tú q grúp v def pépl. On q contreri, his æprihenxn ænd spétj was cuic, ænd æt wns hé was by my syd. Djesticiúlátk wiq his wock stic, hé cept æsck mé pointles cuestjns about my gydans æz if tú distræct my atentjn from q vyolens. Y tóld him qæt y was my ón gyd; qæt y hæd énof confidens in my ón wits tú get mé wher y wantd tú gó. But q mæn did not cer mutj about my ópinion. Hé hæd aledjdli sén evriqik in q sitis ænd nú evriqik about it. Whats mor, hé clámd tú hæv recognixn v qóz qiks hidn. If y wd frqr foló him, hé sed, hé cwd brik mé tú meni pláses y wd nevr sé oqrwyz. Qen hé ædvyzd mé not tú stá on my ón ænd not tú óvrli ecspóz my lrnk; oqrwyz, y wd pwt myself in constnt dánjr v béik bétn up or tricd out. In qis plás, hé sed, q wrld is not sén æz a cólijn v qiks in spás, but æz a disdjointd ró v independnt fenomena. Q scolrs wdnt consév v q spáxl æz læstk in tym. Sins étj stát was considrd irédúsibl, q mér æct v givk it a nám wd imply falsificáxn. Q peradocs houevr was qæt épistmolodjis ecsistd hér, in countles numbrs. Qer wr pépl hú wd considr a srtn pán, æn óvrli yeló whyt, a temperatiúr, a srtn tón, q ónli réæliti. Sins qá bélévd qæt ol tym hæd ecspyrd, ónli falsifyd memori wd rémán for qem in lyf. Oqrs wd prsév ol pépl hævk secs æz q sám béik ænd ol pépl memoryzk a lyn by Ovid æz Ovid. Anoqr grúp wd hæv it qæt q histori v q iúnivrs is q hændrytk pródúsd by a mynr god in ordr tú comiúnicát wiq a démn; qæt q wrld was æn emblm húz subscripxn is frægmentd, ænd in whitj ónli qæt whitj hæpns evri qré hundredq nyt is trú. Yet anoqr wd bélév qæt whyl wé wr aslép hér, wé wd bé awác somwher els, só qæt evriwn is tú. My gyd sed qæt bwcs wr rerli synd; qæt q nóxn v pládjrizm did not ecsist. It hæd bén estæblixd qæt ol literatiúr was q wrc v ónli wn ádjles ænd anonimus rytr.

Meanwhile, the messenger had opened the trunk of his car and presented a number of strange objects for public inspection and purchase. He said that they were all taken from the treasure of the new movement and should satisfy everyone interested in its techniques. Upon seeing the treasure unveiled, many people came and began to buy from it. Every buyer received a warning not to open any box, otherwise its internal potential would be released and vanish. Nevertheless, since the audience couldn't hear gim, everyone had opened their box--and found nothing in it. There was whistling and murmuring, and, when it was clear that no single box had been different, the crowd heated up in anger, rushed at the messenger and pushed him onto the ground. Then boots and iron bars hit him hard; like a stray dog, the man crawled back to his car and kept yelling that the secret could be only accessed by the initiated; that he couldn't be blamed for the lack of dignified people in the crowd. It was only then that I recognized M. in the midst of it, realizing that he did not belong to the group of deaf people. On the contrary, his apprehension and speech was quick, and at once he was by my side. Gesticulating with his walking stick, he kept asking me pointless questions about my guidance as if to distract my attention from the violence. I told him that I was my own guide; that I had enough confidence in my own wits to get me where I wanted to go. But the man did not care much about my opinion. He had allegedly seen everything in the cities and knew everything about it. What's more, he claimed to have recognition of those things hidden. If I would further follow him, he said, he could bring me to many places I would never see otherwise. Then he advised me no to stay on my own and not to overly expose my learning; otherwise, I would put myself in constant danger of being beaten up or tricked out. In this place, he said, the world is not seen as collision of things in space, but as a disjointed row of independent phenomena. The scholars wouldn't conceive of the spatial as lasting in time. Since each state was considered irreducible, the mere act of giving it a name would imply falsification. The paradox however was that epistemologies existed here, in countless numbers. There were people who would consider a certain pain, an overly yellow white, a temperature, a certain tone the only reality. Since they believed that all time had expired, only falsified memory would remain for them in life. Others would perceive all people having sex as the same being and all people memorizing a line by Ovid as Ovid. Another group would have it that the history of the universe is the handwriting produced by a minor god in order to communicate with a demon; that the world was an emblem whose subscription is fragmented, and in which only that what happens every three hundredth night is true. Yet another would believe that while we were asleep here, we would be awake somewhere else, so that everyone is two. My guide said that books were rarely signed; that the notion of plagiarism did not exist. It had been established that all literature was the work of only one ageless and anonymous writer.

 

Æftr his nerativ hæd prsuáded mé qæt y néded gydans, my gyd sed qæt nou it was tym tú pwt q brydl on q hórs. It was tú lát y when y réalyzd hú q hórs was. Béfor y cwd sá a qik, my gyd stwd béhynd mé ænd stræpd a per v glæses around my hed. Q nú syt olmóst mád mé fánt. Evriqik around mé 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. My gyd 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 æz 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 q outscrts v q sitis.

After his narrative had persuaded me that I needed guidance, my guide 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, my guide stood behind me and strapped a pair of glasses around my head. The new sight almost made me faint. Everything around me 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. My guide 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 in the outskirts of the cities.

 
 

Puzld by q glæses, y berli nótisd qæt wé hæd olredi stepd intú q bildk. Q frst scolr M-- brot mé tú was scini; his hænds ænd fás wr drti, his her ænd berd lok, ræged ænd sinjd in sevrl pláses. His clóqs, xrt, ænd scin wr ol v q sám culr. Hé hæd spent át yérs on a prodject for ecstræctk sunbéms out v ciúcumbrs, whitj wr tú bé pwt intú vyals hrmeticli séld, ænd let out tú warm q er in fol ænd wintr. Hé tóld mé hé did not dout in át yérs mor hé xwd bé ábl tú suply q gardns v q sitis wiq sunxyn æt a rézonabl rát; but hé complánd qæt his budjet was ló, ænd æscd mé tú giv him somqik æz æn encúridjmnt tú injenúiti, espexli sins qis hæd bén a veri gwd sézn for ciúcumbrs. Y mád him a smol preznt, sins y hæd suplyd myself wiq moni on prpus bécas y nú qer præctis v begk from ol hú gó tú sé qem. Y so anoqr mæn tryik tú trn watr intú gæsolén ænd vysvrsa. Hé xód mé a trétis hé hæd ritn consrnk q mæléabiliti v fyr whitj hé intended tú publix. Ænd qer was a móst injénius arcitect hú hæd dévelopd a nú meqod for bildk houses, by bégink æt q rwf, ænd wrck dounwrds tú q foundáxn, a meqod hé hæd ædæptd from q tú emblmætic insects, q bé ænd q spydr. Y olsó met æn æstronomr hú was sed tú bé q grátest qéorist v q grát cóinsidens: hé hæd plásd a sundyal on a grát weqr coc by adjustk q æniúal ænd dyúrnl móxns v q rq ænd sun in ordr tú ænsr ol æcsidentl trnks by q wind. Æt q end v my túr, y tryd tú get rid v M-- by complánk about a fit v colic. But q plæn did not sucséd; hé néqr left, nor did hé rémúv my glæses. Insted, hé brot mé tú a fizixn hú was aledjdli nótorius for ciúrk dizézs by só-cold countr point operáxns. Hé hæd a lardj per v belós wiq a lok rubr muzl. Qis hé pwt át inxs up my but, ænd pumpk it up wiq er, hé afrmd hé cwd mác q guts æz lænc æz a dryd blædr.

Puzzled by the glasses, I barely noticed that we had already stepped into the buildings. The first scholar M. brought me to was skinny; his hands and face were dirty, his hair and beard long, ragged and singed in several places. His clothes, shirt, and skin were all of the same color. He had spent eight years on a project for extracting sunbeams out of cucumbers, which were to be put into vials hermetically sealed, and let out to warm the air in fall and winter. He told me he did not doubt in eight years more he should be able to supply the gardens of the cities with sunshine at a reasonable rate; but he complained that his budget was low, and asked me to give him something as an encouragement to ingenuity, especially since this had been a very good season for cucumbers. I made him a small present, since I had supplied myself with money on purpose because he knew their practice of begging from all who go to see them. I saw another man trying to turn water into gasoline and vice versa. He showed me a treatise he had written concerning the malleability of fire which he intended to publish. And there was a most ingenious architect who had developed a new method for building houses, by beginning at the roof, and working downwards to the foundation, a method he had adapted from the two emblematic insects, the bee and the spider. I also met an astronomer who was said to be the greatest theorist of the great coincidence: He had placed a sundial on a great weathercock by adjusting the annual and diurnal motions of the earth and sun in order to answer all accidental turnings by the wind. At the end of my tour, I tried to get rid of M. by complaining about a fit of colic. But the plan did not succeed; he neither left, nor did he remove my glasses. Instead, he brought me to a physician who was alledgedly notorious for curing diseases by so-called counterpoint operations. He had a large pair of bellows with a long rubber muzzle. This he put eight inches up my butt, and pumping it up with air, he affirmed he could make the guts as lank as a dried bladder.

 
 

Convrsk wiq qem, y lrnd qæt som tym agó, srtn pépl hæd com tú q sitis wiq som bæcground in syens ænd évn mor enqúziæstic spirit, qæt qá bégæn tú entyrli rédéfyn q arts, syenses, lækguidjs, ænd tecnolodji. Its cólédjm résrtjs rúls ænd túls for ol tráds ænd oprtúnitis. 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. Q wrld, qá sed, is not cólydk qiks in spás, but a disjointd ró v independnt fenomena. Qá wdnt consév v q spáxl æz læstk in tym. Sins étj stát was considrd irédúsibl, q mér æct v givk it a nám wd imply falsificáxn. Q peradocs houevr was qæt épistmolodjis ecsistd qer, in countles numbrs. Qer wr pépl hú wd considr a srtn pán, æn óvrli yeló whyt, a temperatiúr, a srtn tón q ónli réæliti. Sins qá bélévd qæt ol tym hæd ecspyrd, ónli falsifyd memori wd rémán for qem in lyf. Oqrs wd prsév ol pépl hævk secs æz q sám béik ænd ol pépl memoryzk a lyn by Virgil æz Virgil. Anoqr grúp wd hæv it qæt q histori v q iúnivrs is q hændrytk pródúsd by a mynr god in ordr tú comiúnicát wiq a démn; qæt q wrld was æn emblm húz subscripxn is frægmentd, ænd in whitj ónli qæt whitj hæpns evri qré hundredq nyt is trú. Yet anoqr wd bélév qæt whyl wé wr aslép hér, wé wd bé awác somwer els, só qæt evriwn is tú. Bwcs ar rerli synd, ænd q nóxn v pládjrizm dos not ecsist. It hæz bén estæblixd qæt ol literatiúr was q wrc v ónli wn ádjles ænd anonimus rytr.

Conversing with them, I learned that some time ago, certain people had come to the cities with some background in science and even more enthusiastic spirit. That they began to entirely redefine the arts, sciences, languages, and technology. Its collegium researches rules and tools for all trades and opportunities. 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. The world, they said, is not colliding things in space, but a disjointed row of independent phenomena. They wouldn't conceive of the spatial as lasting in time. Since each state was considered irreducible, the mere act of giving it a name would imply falsification. The paradox however was that epistemologies existed there, in countless numbers. There were people who would consider a certain pain, an overly yellow white, a temperature, a certain tone the only reality. Since they believed that all time had expired, only falsified memory would remain for them in life. Others would perceive all people having sex as the same being and all people memorizing a line by Virgil as Virgil. Another group would have it that the history of the universe is the handwriting produced by a minor god in order to communicate with a demon; that the world was an emblem whose subscription is fragmented, and in which only that what happens every three hundredth night is true. Yet another would believe that while we were asleep here, we would be awake somewhere else, so that everyone is two. Books are rarely signed, and the notion of plagiarism does not exist. It has been established that all literature was the work of only one ageless and anonymous writer.

 
 
 

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