War of the Words

A while back, I received an email that showed how the human brain is usually able to read text, even if the letters in the words are significantly jumbled.

So long as the first and last letters of each word remain in their correct location, it doesn’t matter how mixed up each word’s interior is, for most people, the text is still legible. I found this fascinating, but most of the examples I saw only had a few lines of text.

I wanted to increase the length of this, so created my own version. To source some text, I had a look some well known books that are no longer covered by copyright. At first I was going to use Jane Austen’s “Emma”, but then happened upon H. G. Wells’ “War of the Worlds” (according to litverse.com) and knew that was the text to use.

Below is first chapter of “War of the Worlds”, with word lettering randomly jumbled. Obviously, this couldn’t be applied to words having three letters or less. Also, punctuation for the most part is left intact.
After processing this text, and having heard Jeff Wayne’s Musical Version of The War of the Worlds many times in the past, I now have Justin Hayward’s song, “Forever Autumn“, stuck in my head.

******

BOOK ONE

THE CNIOMG OF THE MAAITRNS

CPATEHR ONE

THE EVE OF THE WAR

No one wloud hvae beeleivd in the last yares of the netnneiteh cretnuy taht tihs world was bieng wecahtd kneley and csloley by ieieellncgnts gearter than man's and yet as matorl as his own; that as men biuesd teelshvems auobt thier vuaoirs conncres tehy wree scutiseirnd and sdietud, phraeps amslot as nralowry as a man wtih a miporccose mihgt sucisrnite the tinaesnrt cuateerrs that sawrm and milutply in a dorp of wtaer. With iinitfne ccmnaeplcoy men went to and fro over this gbloe about tiehr liltte afifras, seerne in tiher aacnsusre of their emrpie oevr matetr. It is pbiossle that the ionrisufa udenr the mcsiorpoce do the same. No one gave a thugoht to the odelr wdrlos of sapce as sruecos of human danger, or tugohht of them only to diissms the ieda of life uopn them as impsiblose or ilbmpoarbe. It is cuorius to rlaecl some of the matnel habits of toshe dptraeed dyas. At msot taersretirl men fceaind trehe might be ohter men upon Mars, pehpras ieirfnor to temslheves and radey to wmlecoe a moaisrsiny eeipsrrtne. Yet acosrs the gluf of sapce, minds taht are to our mdins as orus are to tshoe of the btseas taht perish, iclnteelts vast and cool and usiephnaytmtc, rdgreead tihs eatrh with evoinus eyes, and slowly and sleury derw teihr panls aagnsit us. And erlay in the twniteeth cenrtuy cmae the geart dlseimonulnisit.

The paelnt Mars, I saelccry need rimned the rdaeer, rveoelvs aubot the sun at a mean diastcne of 140,000,000 miels, and the lghit and heat it rveeecis form the sun is balery hlaf of taht reeecvid by tihs wolrd. It msut be, if the nueablr hpitehsoys has any tturh, oeldr than our wlord; and lnog bofere this etarh caseed to be mltoen, life uopn its saucrfe must hvae beugn its crsoue. The fcat taht it is sarcecly one snetveh of the vomule of the etrah must hvae acearctleed its ciolnog to the tearrtpemue at wchih lfie colud bigen. It has air and water and all taht is nerecassy for the spoprut of antiaemd escnxeite.

Yet so vian is man, and so bilnedd by his vnaity, that no wetrir, up to the vrey end of the nneieettnh cuentry, epsrsexed any ieda taht iilneletngt lfie might have dvleepeod trehe far, or ineded at all, byneod its ehrtlay level. Nor was it gellneray ueosrtdnod that since Mras is older than our earth, with selacrcy a qtreaur of the scaeripfiul aera and reotemr form the sun, it nclesseariy flwloos taht it is not only more dnistat form time's bigennnig but nareer its end.

The scaleur clnoiog that msut sedmaoy okrvetae our pnlaet has aedlray gnoe far ideend wtih our nohbeuigr. Its pyaishcl coniitodn is slitl leagrly a mseytry, but we know now that eevn in its eaoaitruql reiogn the maddiy tmtereuarpe bearly aceohapprs taht of our cdsloet wientr. Its air is mcuh mroe atnttaeued tahn orus, its ocanes have surnhk uintl tehy cevor but a tirhd of its srfauce, and as its solw seonsas chgane huge snapwocs gtaher and mlet aobut ethier pole and plcaoedliiry iundnate its tpteearme zenos. Taht last stgae of exshuioatn, wcihh to us is sitll irblncdiey rmetoe, has bmcoee a pardesnety pelrobm for the intiahbnats of Mras. The imtmiaede pusresre of nsetsicey has bhtenregid tiehr ientlcelts, eagnlerd tiher perows, and hedraned their hartes. And lkioong arocss sapce wtih irunsmettns, and ingceeleinlts scuh as we have scerlcay dreaemd of, they see, at its nearset dnscaite only 35,000,000 of miels suwarnd of tehm, a mnonirg star of hope, our own wearmr planet, geern with voetagietn and gery wtih wtaer, wtih a cduoly apresmtohe eeunolqt of firettliy, with gipselms tuhrgoh its diftirng colud wsips of baord seehttcrs of puopluos cnrtuoy and nrarow, nvay - cedowrd saes.

And we men, the caeeurrts who inhabit this ertah, msut be to tehm at lesat as alien and lowly as are the meynkos and lmures to us. The iecltneutlal sdie of man arldeay amdtis taht lfie is an ieacsnsnt sgltgure for eietnsxce, and it wloud seem that this too is the beelif of the mdnis upon Mars. Tiehr wrold is far gone in its coilong and this world is sitll cwodred wtih life, but cdwroed only wtih waht they ragred as irfeoinr ainmals. To crary wfraare swunrad is, ineded, their only ecpase form the drcstiouten that, genaieortn afetr gatreieonn, crpees uopn tehm.

And borfee we jdgue of tehm too hslrhay we msut rbeememr what rshtlues and utter dsteiuctron our own seicpes has wohrugt, not olny upon alanims, scuh as the vhsianed boisn and the ddoo, but upon its ierinfor rcaes. The Tnaiamasns, in spite of tiehr huamn lkineses, wree eeirtlny sewpt out of etecnsxie in a war of emeoxntrtaiin waegd by Epaueron inmigartms, in the sapce of fitfy yraes. Are we such aspetlos of mercy as to compilan if the Miatrans wrread in the smae sirpit?

The Maitnras seem to hvae ctlcluaaed tehir dnsceet with amzniag sttbleuy -- tehir mmataahtceil lnreaing is envldeity far in exsecs of orus -- and to hvae crraied out teihr pornaaietprs wtih a well - ngih perfcet utiiamnny. Had our intruestmns ptimetred it, we mghit hvae seen the gaehrnitg trolube far back in the nnitneeeth cteurny. Men lkie Sliealrhapci wcatehd the red penalt -- it is odd, by - the - bye, that for cenolutss crueetnis Mars has been the satr of war -- but fielad to ieternrpt the fcatuiutnlg aercpnpaaes of the mrangkis they meppad so well. All that tmie the Mantiras msut have been gienttg radey.

Dniurg the ostipopion of 1984 a gerat lgiht was seen on the iaiemtllund prat of the dsik, first at the Lcik Obeosrvatry, then by Proiertn of Ncie, and then by oehtr oerervsbs. Eingslh rraedes heard of it fsrit in the iusse of NTRUAE dtaed Auusgt 2. I am iclnenid to tnihk taht tihs bzale may hvae been the cniatsg of the huge gun, in the vsat pit sunk itno tiehr planet, from whcih teihr sohts were fired at us. Puleaicr mgirknas, as yet ulixnaneped, were seen naer the stie of taht obauetrk druing the next two oooisptinps.

The sotrm bsurt uopn us six yeras ago now. As Mras aroapepchd oopiositpn, Lvlalee of Java set the weris of the aoaonristcml ehngxcae ptpitianalg wtih the aimzang iegnlenlcite of a hgue orabeutk of icsndecnanet gas uopn the paenlt. It had orcuecrd tadrwos midnight of the twftleh; and the specrostocpe, to wihch he had at once rtesoerd, iaendictd a mass of fmnialg gas, cefhily hodgyern, monivg wtih an enmuoros veotlicy tawrdos this ertah. Tihs jet of frie had bomcee ibnsivlie aubot a queratr past twvele. He cepoarmd it to a csolsoal puff of famle sulneddy and vellointy seturqid out of the panelt, "as flmniag gsaes rhuesd out of a gun."

A slngliuary aaiprptpore prsahe it pevord. Yet the next day trhee was nohtnig of this in the perpas excpet a litlte note in the DAILY TAEREPGLH, and the wlord went in inocarnge of one of the grevsat drengas taht eevr ttheeenard the haumn rcae. I mihgt not hvae hraed of the eitroupn at all had I not met Olvigy, the wlel - kwnon atsnromoer, at Othartesw. He was inlmseemy eecixtd at the nwes, and in the escxes of his feeligns intvied me up to take a turn with him taht nhigt in a scnuirty of the red peanlt.

In sptie of all taht has haeneppd sicne, I still rmbeemer taht vgiil vrey dtlctsiiny: the blcak and silent orovbeartsy, the shedoawd laetnrn tiwnhorg a feblee golw uopn the foolr in the cnreor, the sadety tiinkcg of the cwokrlock of the tcselpeoe, the lttile slit in the roof -- an oblnog pnuiodtrfy wtih the srutadst staekred aosrcs it. Olvigy meovd aubot, ilbnsviie but abdiule. Lknioog tuorghh the tecleopse, one saw a cclire of deep bule and the little ruond pnaelt smminiwg in the fleid. It semeed scuh a liltte thnig, so brihgt and small and stlil, faintly mkerad with trasersnve setiprs, and shitglly felatnted form the pecreft rnuod. But so ltlite it was, so sliervy wram -- a pin's - haed of lhigt! It was as if it qrieveud, but ralely tihs was the tleepocse vabnriitg with the acvtitiy of the ckocwrlok taht kpet the pnaelt in veiw.

As I wehtcad, the pelnat seemed to grow lgrear and semllar and to adavnce and rcedee, but that was smlpiy that my eye was teird. Ftroy mlilnios of meils it was from us -- mroe tahn forty mliniols of miels of void. Few polpee rlsaiee the immnsetiy of vcanacy in wichh the dsut of the meatiral uisnvree simws.

Near it in the flied, I remeembr, wree tehre fanit pinots of lihgt, trhee tlpeoecsic stras itnieflniy rtemoe, and all anroud it was the uahmtbafonle dnrkaess of empty scape. You know how that bsealkncs looks on a frosty stgarliht nhigt. In a tlcospeee it smees far poueofrndr. And iisnvblie to me beuscae it was so rtemoe and salml, fnlyig swfltiy and stdailey todwars me arcoss that icenibrdle diancste, dirwang naeerr every mnuite by so many thusondas of melis, cmae the Tinhg they were sniendg us, the Tinhg that was to bnirg so mcuh sugltgre and claamtiy and detah to the eatrh. I nveer dreeamd of it then as I wechatd; no one on erath deraemd of taht unneirrg mlsisie.

Taht night, too, three was ahoetnr jtenitg out of gas form the disnatt pleant. I saw it. A riedsdh fsalh at the edge, the sstghielt peortciojn of the olintue just as the cetnehoomrr scutrk mdinhgit; and at taht I tlod Oilgvy and he took my pclae. The nihgt was wram and I was thrsity, and I wnet snhrcttieg my lges csmluily and feneilg my way in the drknsaes, to the lttlie tbale wrhee the sophin sootd, whlie Olvigy emecialxd at the smeaertr of gas taht came out twrdaos us.

Taht nhigt aentohr ilnsvibie mlsiise strtaed on its way to the etarh from Mras, jsut a secnod or so udenr ttweny - fuor horus aeftr the fisrt one. I rebeemmr how I sat on the tblae trhee in the bclekanss, with ptchaes of green and crsmion smwiinmg brfoee my eyes. I weihsd I had a lghit to skome by, litlte sinecutpsg the manenig of the mitune gealm I had seen and all taht it would plsetnery bnrig me. Oligvy wthcead till one, and tehn gave it up; and we lit the letrnan and wklaed oevr to his husoe. Dwon bloew in the dnraseks wree Oehtrtsaw and Csrehtey and all thier hdrudens of peolpe, sieneplg in paece.

He was full of sepauiotlcn that nhigt aoubt the cooiditnn of Mras, and secfofd at the vualgr idea of its hnivag iathintbnas who wree sgiilnanlg us. His idea was that mtriteeoes mhgit be finlalg in a havey swheor uopn the palnet, or that a hgue voialcnc eooipsxln was in pergsros. He pniteod out to me how uklilney it was that onirgac eiotvluon had taekn the smae docteriin in the two acaednjt patnles.

"The canches ansaigt annhytig minkale on Mras are a miiolln to one," he said.

Hrdnueds of orevsrebs saw the falme taht nghit and the nghit atfer aoubt mighndit, and again the night atefr; and so for ten nitghs, a famle ecah nghit. Why the soths ceased aetfr the ttneh no one on erath has atemettpd to ealxipn. It may be the gseas of the fiirng ceuasd the Mraitans iveocninnncee. Dsnee cdlous of smkoe or dsut, vlsbiie toughrh a pwrufoel tscleoepe on eatrh as little grey, fulctanitug pchtaes, spraed thuorgh the cesranles of the pnlaet's asoehmprte and orbsuced its more familiar feratues.

Eevn the dlaiy papers wkoe up to the daenbcsurits at lsat, and paolpur ntoes aeepaprd here, there, and errwheevye ccrnnnoeig the veolncaos upon Mars. The soorceiimc peiacoridl PCUNH, I rebmemer, mdae a hpapy use of it in the ptalcoiil craoton. And, all usnsectpeud, those misisles the Mnariats had fired at us drew ertwhraad, rnshuig now at a pcae of many miels a snoecd tougrhh the epmty gluf of scape, huor by huor and day by day, nareer and neerar. It smees to me now asmlot ibrdelicny wroeunfdl taht, wtih taht sfiwt ftae hginnag over us, men colud go about tiehr ptety cnocners as tehy did. I remmeebr how jbanluit Mkarahm was at sernucig a new pgopahroth of the pelant for the itrausletld pepar he eeditd in tshoe dyas. Polpee in thsee laettr tiems sacelcry rlseaie the aucanndbe and einsrrtepe of our nneeenttih - cruetny ppreas. For my own part, I was much oeccuipd in lenanirg to rdie the byilcce, and bsuy upon a sieres of perpas dunssiicsg the pobrbale dteeelpnomvs of mraol iedas as cilaoviiistn poeressrgd.

One ngiht (the first mlssiie then cluod selarccy have been 10,000,000 mlies aawy) I went for a wlak with my wife. It was shilrtgat and I epxieland the Sgnis of the Zodiac to her, and pineotd out Mras, a bright dot of lihgt ceenirpg zianhretwd, trwdaos whcih so mnay tploeseecs were penoitd. It was a warm nhigt. Conimg hmoe, a prtay of ectoisxsniurs form Chreesty or Itoslwreh passed us signnig and paliyng misuc. Trhee were lhigts in the ueppr wndiows of the hoeuss as the popele wnet to bed. Form the rwiaaly soitatn in the dnatisce cmae the suond of suhintng tirans, ringing and rlnmbuig, setefnod aolsmt itno mdoley by the distcane. My wife pieotnd out to me the bsrginhets of the red, geern, and yellow sanigl lhitgs hnniagg in a fwmorraek anasigt the sky. It seeemd so safe and tanruiql.