At the very door of his office, the thinkers were overwhelmed by
the comeliness of his servants and the beauty and grace of his wife. And they all said unto
each other, "Surely this man is the greatest in joy in the manner of men, for has he not great things
above all men?" The thinkers and tinkerers were admitted unto the man they sought, and
though he was to be the greatest of all men in joy, he was curt with them, for he had many other things to
attend unto. And they asked of each other, "Why is it that he pursues more of the things of
import to men, when he has so many of that manner of things already? And why is it that he
pursues loveliness and comeliness, when the woman, his wife, is of a certainty the most desirable on the
face of the earth? And why also seeks he after places yet unseen, when he has been unto the
four corners of the earth and has seen what it offers unto him?" And they left the place,
deeply perplexed.
Then sought the thinkers and tinkerers the name that their machine had given
unto them as he who was the least in the joys in the manner of men, and lo this person was a she, and to
be found in a place for the keeping of the infirm who are to die. And the thinkers and
tinkerers recognized not the name, 'Maglariel Rajk', nor recognized they the city nor even the country of
her residence. The thinkers and tinkerers travelled to this far place from the land of their
abiding, and entered this city. Within the city, the tinkerers were dismayed by the state of it,
for the air was grey, and the streets and building were brown. Upon the streets, the thinkers
were discomfited by the people, for they walked slowly as if they knew happiness not, and no color was
upon their faces or in their clothing. At the door to the house for the sick and infirm who are
to die, the tinkerers were distraught by the dirt on the floor and the grime over windows and upon every
surface. Within the building, the thinkers were overcome by the apathy uf the workers therein
to those who were wick, even wick unto the point of death, and by the manner of those who were
incarcerated here, prisoners unto their bodies rather than unto any government of men. The
thinker and the tinkerers were shown unto she who was to be the least in the joys of all men by a worker
of the house for the inform who was old and full of years, and whose hair was white in the manner of
those who are old and full of years. She who the thinkers and tinkerers sought was aged
severely, and, unmoving, confined to a single hard bed. The sheets around her were soiled as
would a pig's sty be also, and her face and body were disfigured. Her words were garbled, and
the worker in the place answered for her unto the thinkers and tinkerers.