} It is impossible to _buy_ an original, but they can be _found_. Allow
} me to explain:
}
} Escher had a rather odd habit of hiding his works by putting them
} *within themselves*. As you can imagine, this gives rise to great
} dimensional stresses and spacio-temporal distortions. The result is the
} distictive 'warped' feel that most of his known works impart to the
} viewer. It is important to realise that this is entirely caused by the
} autoencapsulation process and was not present when Escher was actually
} creating the drawing, carving, or what have you. Because of the
} twisting imposed on space-time by all this, it is possible to find the
} original of any of his works in any copy (or print) of itself. You may,
} therefore, obtain an original by proceeding as follows.
}
} Identify the points of maximum and minimum surrealness within a copy of
} the work. The original should be hidden at one of these two places, or
} 180 degrees away (as the crow flies). [NOTE: this is, strictly
} speaking, true only for an infinitely big object - edge effects may
} introduce some secondary surreality which can, as the object tends
} towards finity, become dominant. Experimentation is recommended in the
} very finite case.] When you think you know where the original is hidden,
} cut a small hole (preferably no bigger than the copy you are working on)
} and have a look. If you were correct you should see the original
} masterpiece, as undistorted as Escher intended. As finder, this is
} yours if no-one claims it within six months.
}
} WARNING:
} As detailed above, for finite prints it is possible that secondary
} effects have mislead you into opening the print at the wrong place. If
} this happens RESEAL IT IMMEDIATELY. If you don't, someone else may, by
} making the same mistake, inadvertantly open another copy at the same
} wrong place. Both copies will then try to release their dimensional
} stresses. Usually the one printed on stiffer paper will succeed,
} resulting in the flimsier copy, and anything nearby, being sucked
} through the hole and deposited where it ought not to be. Having a
} library suddenly leap from a book and land in your lap can be fatal.
} Having the library you are sitting in land in your lap can also be very
} confusing.
}
} You owe the Oracle a pair of Tardises, each inside the other.
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