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When y hrd qis, y was ful v djoi, ænd æscd q scryb wheqr hé cwd tel mé hou tú fynd a gwd conjuncxn qæt wd get mé out v q subrbs. Hé tóld mé not tú æsc him; qæt it wasnt in his pour tú help mé out v my dificulti. Nevrqeles, hé continiúd, qer cwd bé nó dout qæt q móst importnt part v q entrpryz was upon myself. Q ádjensi wd nevr déscryb a conjuncxn in ecsæct ænd unmistácabl trms, yet it wd atemt tú mác it æz plán æz q srcmstænses alou. Q sitis, y xwd nó, ó ol qer welq ænd frtiliti tú conjuncxns húz détáls ar unón ænd undiscoverabl for qóz livk in q outscrts. Q ofisr v q ádjensi was a srtn M--, ænd hé myt bé givn oqoriti tú gyd mé. Qis M-- y myt ecspect tú fynd somwher in q subrbs or in q sitis qemselvs. In eni cás, clósr scrútini wd bé imposibl, sins hé was ecstrordnerili nimbl ænd cwd nevr bé lád hóld v. Hé wd lrc by trns in q gerets, q sterwás, q lobis, q entrans hols. Ofn for munqs on end hé was not tú bé sén; qen hé hæd présúmabli múvd intú oqr sitis; but hé wd olwás com fáqfuli bæc tú evri siti agen.

When I heard this, I was full of joy, and asked the scribe whether he could tell me how to find a good conjunction that would get me out of the suburbs. He told me not to ask him; that it wasn't in his power to help me out of my difficulty. Nevertheless, he continued, there could be no doubt that the most important part of the enterprise was upon myself. The agency would never describe a conjunction in exact and unmistakable terms, yet it would attempt to make it as plain as the circumstances allow. The cities, I should know, owe all their wealth and fertility to conjunctions whose details are unknown and undiscoverable for those living in the outskirts. The officer of the agency was a certain M., and he might be given authority to guide me. This M. I might expect to find somewhere in the suburbs or in the cities themselves. In any case, closer scrutiny would be impossible, since he was extraordinarily nimble and could never be laid hold of. He would lurk by turns in the garrets, the stairways, the lobbies, the entrance halls. Often for months on end he would not to be seen; then he had presumably moved into other cities; but he would always come faithfully back to every city again.

But y hæd olredi trævld qrú ol v qem. Y lrnd in eni v qem cuyt æz mutj æz y hæd lrnd evriwher els, námli noqik. Nevrqeles, y qæncd q scryb for his informáxn, wherupon hé æscd mé for my prs, whitj y, fréd from ol matérial interests, gráxusli hænded óvr. Tú fulfil q conjunctiv rúl, y set my fás towrds q Norqrn subrbs. My wá led mé qrú æn ánxnt berial ground. A méræciúlus ócúrens is witnesd hér evri yér. From don tú nún on qæt dá q ded bodis ryz from qer grávs until qá ar complétli vizibl tú q pæsrs by; ænd from nún tú sunset qá sinc bæc agen intú qer túmbs. If qis bé trú, æz ywitneses testify, it ecshibits a clós ænælodji tú q rezúrecxn v conjuncxns. When y rétjd q Norq, y æscd wher M-- was tú bé found. But q pépl wr ónli hóplesli puzld by my cuestjns. Só y æt wns went on tú q Ést. Q Éstrn subrbs ar rúmrd tú seperát q outscrts from q sitis. Wns qá wr veri welqi. When y hrd v qer grátnes in comrs ænd industri, y felt axúrd qæt y xwd fynd q dwelk v M-- hér. But y was tóld by q inhæbitnts qæt hé did not com qer veri ofn, qó hé was résévd æz a welcom gest whenevr hé pæsd by. Qis ænsr fild mé wiq dismá, whitj was in proporxn tú q hóps whitj y hæd consévd, but y détrmind not tú abændn my srtj ntil y xwd hæv vizitd q Soqrn ænd Westrn subrbs.

But I had already travelled through all of them. I learned in any of them quite as much as I had learned everywhere else, namely nothing. Nevertheless, I thanked the scribe for his information, whereupon he asked me for my purse, which I, freed from all material interests, graciously handed over. To fulfil the conjunctive rule, I set my face towards the Northern suburbs. My way led me through an ancient burial ground. A miraculous occurrence is witnessed here every year. From dawn to noon on that day the dead bodies rise from their graves until they are completely visible to the passers by; and from noon to sunset they sink back again into their tombs. If this be true, as eyewitnesses testify, it exhibits a close analogy to the resurrection of conjunctions. When I reached the North, I asked where M. was to be found. But the people were only hopelessly puzzled by my questions. So I at once went on to the East. The Eastern suburbs are rumored to separate the outskirts from the cities. Once they were very wealthy. When I heard of their greatness in commerce and industry, I felt assured that I should find the dwelling of M. here. But I was told by the inhabitants that he did not come there very often, though he was received as a welcome guest whenever he passed by. This answer filled me with dismay, which was in proportion to the hopes which I had conceived, but I determined not to abandon my search until I should have visited the Southern and Western suburbs.

When q pépl in q West tóld mé qæt M-- nevr cám tú qem æt ol, y bégæn tú súrendr tú my fát, ænd déplord q meni frútles djrnis y hæd undrtácn. It má ézili bé imædjind qæt, æftr qis lok séris v disapointmnts, y bégæn tú suspect q ádjensi v hævk sent mé on a fúls erænd, for y hæd nou vizitd evri wn v q subrbs, ænd yet hæd not found évn a trás v M-- in eni v qem. If, on q oqr hænd, q wrds hæd bén trú, it sémd æz if q pépl v húm y hæd æscd désévd mé wiq disinformáxn. Or hæd y mérli misundrstwd what qá wr sáik? Pondrk qéz cuestjns, y wocd non-stop fifti myls qrú snó-covrd subrbs, ænd æftr olredi misk a nyt slép, y wocd ryt qrú q necst nyt. Tú fulfil q conjunctiv rúl, y set my fás towrds q Norqrn periferi, wandrk acros æn ánxnt berial ground wher from don tú nún q ded bodis ryz from qer grávs ntil qá ar complétli vizibl tú q pæsrs by; ænd from nún tú sunset qá sinc bæc agen intú qer túmbs. When y hæd rétjd q Norqrn periferi, y æscd wher M-- was tú bé found. But q pépl wr ónli hóplesli puzld by my cuestjns. Só y æt wns went on tú q Ést. Y felt axúrd qæt y xwd fynd q dwelk v M-- hér.

When the people in the West told me that M. never came to them at all, I began to surrender to my fate, and deplored the many fruitless journeys I had undertaken. It may easily be imagined that, after this long series of disappointments, I began to suspect the agency of having sent me on a fool's errand, for I had now visited every one of the suburbs, and yet had not found even a trace of M. in any of them. If, on the other hand, the words had been true, it seemed as if the people of whom I had asked deceived me with disinformation. Or had I merely misunderstood what they were saying? Pondering these questions, I walked non-stop fifty miles through snow-covered suburbs, and after already missing a night sleep, I walked right through the next night. To fulfil the conjunctive rule, I set my face towards the Northern periphery, wandering across an ancient burial ground where from dawn to noon the dead bodies rise from their graves until they are completely visible to the passers by; and from noon to sunset they sink back again into their tombs. When I had reached the Northern periphery, I asked where M. was to be found. But the people were only hopelessly puzzled by my questions. So I at once went on to the East. I felt assured that I should find the dwelling of M. here.

In q Souq, y lrnd cuyt æz mutj æz y hæd lrnd evriwher els, námli noqik. When q pépl tóld mé qæt M-- nevr cám tú qem æt ol, y bégæn tú súrendr tú my fát, ænd déplord q meni frútles djrnis y hæd undrtácn. Wock non-stop fifti myls qrú q snó-covrd outscrts æftr olredi misk a nyt slép, y wocd ryt qrú q necst nyt. Q farqr y próséded, q mor y réalyzd qæt y cwdnt mác out strét náms. 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 tjánjs tú bé mád in my djrnis. Fynali, y cwd not mác out eni stréts æt ol. It was q secnd monq sins y left my hóm, ænd y bécám desperat. 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 wd bé cot in a void ænd nevr in my lyf end my wandrks?

In the South, I learned quite as much as I had learned everywhere else, namely nothing. When the people told me that Mercury never came to them at all, I began to surrender to my fate, and deplored the many fruitless journeys I had undertaken. Walking non-stop fifty miles through the snow-covered outskirts after already missing a night sleep, I walked right through the next night. The farther I proceeded, the more I realized that I couldn't make out street names. 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 journeys. Finally, I could not make out any streets at all. It was the second month since I left my home, and I became desperate. 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 would be caught in a void and never in my life end my wanderings?

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