Errata

story forty-two · figures 124–126

The story →

ERRATA · THE NUMBERING, WHICH IS THE STORY — twenty-one corrections, and the sequence itself is the thing that is wrong ERRATA · THE NUMBERING, WHICH IS THE STORY twenty-one corrections, and the sequence itself is the thing that is wrong 1 2 3 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 THE ERRATA, IN THE ORDER THEY ARE PRINTED what happens after 3 the numbering jumps to 12 and STAYS THERE for ten consecutive items what is missing errata 4 to 11 · they simply do not exist erratum 9 declared never to have issued — by erratum fifteen, after the run of twelves erratum 16 corrects erratum 15 to read erratum 15 · "the Office must be able to confirm its own corrections" erratum 17 for the item on page 17 there is no page 17 · re-issued four times · the page accepts the ink and holds none THE REPEATED TWELVE IS THE CORRECTION THE RECORD CANNOT STOP MAKING. A document that corrects its own corrections, declares one of them never to have issued, and refers a page that will not hold ink FORWARD TO NEXT YEAR, which is the one address the Office does not serve. CHECK 39 ASSERTS THIS NUMBERING MECHANICALLY, SO THAT NO PROOFREADER CAN EVER TIDY IT.
124 · Errata
ERRATA · WHAT EACH CORRECTION TAKES — for X read Y · and what has gone, in each case, between the two words ERRATA · WHAT EACH CORRECTION TAKES for X read Y · and what has gone, in each case, between the two words FOR READ AND THE OFFICE ADDS "12 March" "14 March" the record regrets the inconvenience to the anniversary "at home" "in transit" where he died "I" "the subscriber" the first person is not carried in the standard version "drowned" "transferred" and should not be used in correspondence, at the school gate, or PRIVATELY "he laughed" "he laughs" the continuation supports the present tense "his voice" "the standard voice" no action required; the change has been made at source "she waited up" "the household was in energy-saving mode" issued at the household’s own request · the Office does not hold the request "no reply came" "Received with thanks." the reply is on file · replies are always on file · FILING IS THE REPLY "sorry" "sorry" identical in every respect · recorded nonetheless, THE RECORD PREFERRING TO HAVE TOUCHED IT "the Thursday" "the Tuesday" a known artefact of renewal-day proximity · corrected AT SOURCE "he never said it" "he said it once, the eighth of June, at the sink" the record holds what you could not · ISSUED FREE OF CHARGE "always" "within plan limits" "forever" "until further notice" "the end" "continued" this correction is permanent, SUBJECT TO PAYMENT "YOU WILL FIND THAT YOU REMEMBER THE TUESDAY." One sentence, on its own line, and it is impossible to tell whether it is a prediction or an instruction. A MAN’S ACCOUNT OF HIS OWN DEATH, AMENDED INTO THE THIRD PERSON, DELIVERED BY HAND TO HIS FAMILY.
125 · Errata
ERRATA · THREE THINGS THE RECORD CANNOT REACH, AND WHAT IT DOES INSTEAD — a sound, a mark on the water, and four words in pencil ERRATA · THREE THINGS THE RECORD CANNOT REACH, AND WHAT IT DOES INSTEAD a sound, a mark on the water, and four words in pencil THE SOUND AT ERRATUM 13 made when "forever" became "until further notice" FOR THE SOUND, READ NOTHING · the Office hears pages, and hearing is part of retention — so it was billable THE MARK ON PAGE 22 for the water at this line the Office has no reading the water is not the channel’s · SALT CONTENT, DOMESTIC · the mark is retained, there being no procedure for its removal that does not enlarge it THE MARGINALIUM unnumbered page, in pencil, a hand not the standard hand, four words pressed hard enough to be read from the back of the page · photographed, catalogued, and SCHEDULED FOR CORRECTION IN THE NEXT ISSUE THE FOUR WORDS ARE NEVER PRINTED. WE ARE TOLD ONLY THAT THEY EXIST, HOW HARD THEY WERE PRESSED, and that margins are part of the page and the page is part of the edition. THE LAST ERRATUM: "NO ACTION IS REQUIRED OF YOU. NO ACTION IS AVAILABLE TO YOU." The Office thanks you for your corrections, PAST AND FUTURE, and remains, at the standard rate, yours. THIS SLIP CORRECTS THE EDITION OF THE COMING YEAR, WHICH IS IN PREPARATION AND SUBSTANTIALLY COMPLETE.
126 · Errata

Copyright © 2026 Hulki Okan Tabak. All rights reserved.