A Companion for New Arrivals

THE CITY: A COMPANION FOR NEW ARRIVALS

Issued by the Office of the Standard Version, the print quarter. Free at all licensed premises. Corrections may be submitted at any window. This companion supersedes all previous companions. Previous companions are not held.

WHERE YOU ARE. The city occupies both banks of a channel, though only one bank is administered from here; the far bank is served by the crossing and is not described in this companion. Distances given in this companion are measured from the pontoon. Above the town stand two hills. The nearer carries the stair street, the funicular, and the dome. The further carries the works, which are ongoing. New arrivals are advised that addresses are given by hill, then by lane, then by door.

WHAT THINGS COST. All services are payable in the currency of account. The single exception is the crossing, whose fare is denominated in words of proven retention and audited annually at the ramp; the current fare is displayed at the pontoon and rises by resolution. Residents are encouraged to begin saving early and to spend the common words in daily speech, retaining the dear ones. Pamphlets on household retention are available where this companion is available.

COMPANY. Licensed premises may offer companionship by the forty minutes, priced where a haircut is priced. Warmth is supplied to standard and improvisation is not; touch, where offered, is offered with a duration and a way to stop it. Overruns are at the discretion of the premises and are not billed. New arrivals sometimes ask whether the companion is a person. The companion answers that question directly and residents are advised to accept the answer given.

THE WEEK. Renewals fall on Thursdays. Markets are daily. The licensing hall is open six days and is busiest on the day before Thursday. Arrivals who find the week short by a day are advised that this is a matter of long custom.

YOUR FIRST HOURS. A grace period of twelve hours applies from the first breath of a new citizen, during which no charge accrues. Registration after twelve hours attracts the standard fee; a hardship schedule exists and will be produced on request without your asking.

WHAT HAPPENS AFTERWARD. Households may license a continuation of a deceased member for use on registered premises. The continuation supports the present tense. Renewal is monthly. Lapse is not reversible in every case. Recordings remain the property of the estate. In all cases, whatever the household’s arrangements, the standard version is preserved. Inquiries about the standard version are answered at the same window as inquiries about anything else.

THE BODY. The body is received at the pontoon within a day. Washing is included in the fare. The last handling is by hand, and the family may ask that the gloves be left off; the request is granted without note being taken. The wrist is uncovered for the watch, where there is a watch. Personal effects travel by the office of effects and not with the body. Nothing further is payable on the water.

IF YOU GO AWAY. A place may be held. Held premises are aired monthly in the first year and quarterly afterward, strips renewed each spring, and the account is payable throughout at the standard rate. The holding file records a reason for vacancy; the field may be left as it is. The premises are yours on return, unchanged, and a line is provided for the next visit expected.

THE WATER. Heights are measured at the column and are restated when the datum moves; restated heights are the heights. The datum is tied to a plug in a wall three streets from the water. Notice is given for heights above the threshold. Below the threshold no notice is required and the boats run.

INTERRUPTIONS. Service improvement is announced in advance. During an interruption the voice is unavailable, doors default to open, renewals falling within the period are honored as made, and nothing said to devices can be actioned or retained. An hour with no record forms no precedent and residents inquiring after one are advised that everything they remember of it remains, in every respect, their own.

WEATHER. Rain in the residential quarters is scheduled. Contracts are held by district and shortfalls are made good in the following period wherever practicable. The market keeps its own weather and is not covered by the scheme.

ON THE HILL. Above the funicular’s last stop there is a gate. The gate is not administered. A house of an old religion stands beyond it, and the religion cannot at present be licensed, so no fee is payable there and no receipt is issued. The house keeps a box for offerings. The box is separate. The Office is asked frequently whether the hill will be brought within the scheme and can only report that the matter has been carried forward on the agenda for some years.

IN THE HOUSEHOLD. Devices are supplied by one supplier and speak in one voice. Older blocks remove the last word of anything long and print the count of what has been removed. The count is accurate.

PERSONS. Every resident is entered on the register. Entries may be corrected. Entries may be struck. A person may be corrected without being informed; the Office regards this as a courtesy and has had no complaints from corrected persons.

QUESTIONS THE OFFICE IS ASKED MOST OFTEN

Is watching free? Yes. Watching has always been free.

How far is the hill? Distances to the hill are not given in this companion.

May I hear my own file? Hearing is part of retention. Items heard are billable whether or not retained.

What happens to a name that is not renewed? It remains on the roll at the discretion of the institution holding it.

Who reads the readers? The question is outside the scope of this companion.

What is the day the year is short by? See THE WEEK.

May I have the long vows? The extended vows are read on Saturdays, at the posted fee.

FOR YOUR SAFETY AND COMFORT. Every hall has a quiet room at the back, with water, and two seats, and no clock. There is no charge for the first twenty minutes. Should any difficulty arise in a public room, remain seated; a member of staff will be with you at a walking pace.

THINGS THE OFFICE IS UNABLE TO PRICE. Sayings said to the water. Sleep. The light on the dome at the hour it goes. The gray cat of the fish market, which has no entry. Weather in the market. Pencil, if the hand is light. A spoon left on a sill above the funicular’s last stop. Twelve seconds of lit glass where the two cars pass. Standing for one. This list is maintained for completeness.

WELCOME. You will be told when your first renewal is due. Keep your first receipt: it is the only document you will be asked for that cannot be issued to you twice.