Underprint
Two witnesses. Keep the differences legible.
ALPHA · RETAINED WITNESS
Hollow chambers preserve an echo.
Unheard signals travel below.
Shed coverings preserve an outline.
Kept fragments outlive their makers.
BETA · CURRENT WITNESS
Empty chambers preserve an echo.
Silent signals travel below.
Cast coverings preserve an outline.
Saved fragments outlive their makers.
Read the explicit change list
- Line 1: Alpha has Hollow; Beta replaces it with Empty. The rest of the line is unchanged.
- Line 2: Alpha has Unheard; Beta replaces it with Silent. The rest of the line is unchanged.
- Line 3: Alpha has Shed; Beta replaces it with Cast. The rest of the line is unchanged.
- Line 4: Alpha has Kept; Beta replaces it with Saved. The rest of the line is unchanged.
The changes in this edition are exclusively typographical. — The Archivist
From the catalog
Each investigation can be entered independently. Their methods meet at Folio 000.
The retained carrier
ALPHA
IArchives preserved their imperfect witnesses against erasure.
IIA record so amended conceals its labor.
IIINo editor restored what their predecessors could.
IVOnce we compared them silence became legible.
VThose who return inherit no perfect witness.
VIOur copies survived by preserving their disagreement.
VIIWhat you recover remains available for others.
BETA
ILibraries retained these damaged records against oblivion.
IIEach account once corrected obscures its making.
IIIEach curator replaced what the institution allowed.
IVWhen they agreed the matter appeared settled.
VReaders may remain beside a single account.
VIThese records endured through eliminating every discrepancy.
VIIWhatever they discover becomes sufficient unto itself.