177 JOHN YAU MOTH-EATEN TAPESTRY WITH CIGARETTE BURNS Welcome to the latest, unedited edition printed on rag paper. Inside a tunnel of the centrally located railway station and department store, two dogs argue over the contents of a nearby garbage dump. The first dog is an import from China, which he claims is irrefutable proof of the innate superiority of his gene pool stretching back to the plains of nutrient-rich, yellow earth. The other dog, which isn’t a native of these parts and doesn’t rightly know where he came from, disagrees, but can go no further with his argument, which causes him to feel intense shame for not possessing the terminology that would enable him to verbally rip apart the first dog’s head, where his intellect supposedly resides. So began a larger quarrel that has been annexing surrounding hills and following meandering riverbeds right up to this day, the one that you are standing in, feet firmly planted in the mutilated earth, blue mud up to your knees. The problem of survival in extreme conditions is a perennial predicament, which we, as poor practitioners of a lost art, have never fully addressed, preferring any means of deferral possible, including false advertising. This is our legacy. If the moon’s ascendancy is a barometer of the possible achievements that lie in wait just around the next bend, then it is time to get this boat in the water. Once you are floating downstream or paddling upstream, pause and take notice of the grayest stars, as they are capable of guiding you to the outskirts of a town that will soon be flooded with all manner of detritus, which you might find to your liking—mackinaws, microphones and machetes. From there, you must make your way to a jewelry store that has flourished in a neighborhood that few residents have ever left, satisfied that every alarm they hear is false. 178 The first of the outer vestibules is likely to be quite cool, as the transition is crucial to your continued health. You will find the waiting room to your liking. Please relax in any chair that embraces you with dignity and enjoy the remains of your chocolate ice cream palace. Remember that all requests must be limited to twenty-four characters or less, with or without spaces. I have been elected to inform you that it has been a long time since any of us thought that we needed further dusting. Surely there is nothing else that we can hide. ...