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.

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BOOK ONE

THE COIMNG OF THE MNAARITS

CETHAPR ONE

THE EVE OF THE WAR

No one wolud have belvieed in the last years of the ntnteeineh cuenrty that this wlord was bineg wacthed knleey and coelsly by ignllcnieetes gerater than man's and yet as matorl as his own; taht as men bsieud tlevmehses auobt teihr vuorias cenconrs tehy were scusnietrid and siduetd, parpehs alomst as nwlorary as a man with a mioscrpcoe mhigt sructnisie the triaennst crtreaeus taht swarm and miulptly in a dorp of waetr. With itinnfie celanompccy men wnet to and fro over this golbe aobut teihr lltite affrais, sernee in tehir acussnrae of teihr emrpie over mttear. It is pslisboe taht the ifruoisna udner the mrsccioope do the same. No one gave a touhhgt to the odler wdrlos of scape as srocues of hamun dagner, or thoghut of them only to dimsiss the idea of life upon tehm as ibpssmlioe or iaomrlbbpe. It is cruuois to raclel smoe of the mtaenl hbatis of those dtraeepd days. At most trsirrteeal men fcienad tehre mhgit be ohetr men upon Mras, phepars iieofrnr to tveslhemes and raedy to weolcme a msorinsiay estnierpre. Yet aocsrs the gluf of space, minds taht are to our midns as orus are to tohse of the betass that pesrih, ieeclttnls vsat and cool and uyntmsthpieac, rdeegard this earth with eonuvis eyes, and solwly and selruy drew thier palns aaignst us. And early in the tttewenih ctureny cmae the geart dsiilmlienousnt.

The pnleat Mars, I scrcleay need rmined the rdeaer, rovveles about the sun at a maen dtcsanie of 140,000,000 melis, and the lhgit and haet it reeicevs form the sun is bleary half of taht reeievcd by this wlord. It must be, if the nbealur hohysietps has any turth, oledr than our wlrod; and long boefre tihs ertah cseead to be mtolen, life uopn its scaufre msut hvae bguen its cusroe. The fact taht it is scceraly one snteveh of the vlmoue of the eatrh must hvae atcraeceled its cnioolg to the tretpeurame at whcih life colud bigen. It has air and wetar and all that is neecsasry for the spurpot of ameintad eixesncte.

Yet so vian is man, and so bdelind by his vitnay, that no wertir, up to the vrey end of the nietenneth cuetnry, esseprexd any ieda that ienlltngiet lfie mhigt have dpeeveold three far, or iedned at all, bnyeod its eahtrly level. Nor was it gllaneery usonordted taht since Mars is odelr tahn our earth, wtih slccraey a qturaer of the sfaicpueril area and reetomr form the sun, it ncrlseeasiy floowls that it is not olny mroe dntasit from time's binginneg but nraeer its end.

The sacluer cioonlg taht must sdaomey okrateve our pnaelt has aeradly gnoe far iedned with our neuobhgir. Its pahicysl ciditnoon is siltl lgarely a merysty, but we know now that eevn in its euaaqiotrl reogin the mdiady trrtuepaeme balrey ahoacpreps that of our csdelot wtnier. Its air is mcuh mroe aeaenttutd tahn orus, its onceas have shrnuk uitnl they coevr but a trhid of its sarcfue, and as its solw ssoenas change hgue sncpawos ghtaer and mlet about eethir pole and piaoidrlecly idnntaue its taeteprme zones. Taht lsat stgae of eshoautixn, whcih to us is siltl ibelcrnidy rtoeme, has bmeoce a penradstey peborlm for the iantnhtaibs of Mras. The itmamidee peussrre of ntseicsey has bhtgeinred tehir ieecntllts, engelard thier pwores, and herdnaed tiher hrtaes. And loknoig asrcos sapce with istmnrtneus, and iinnegeleclts scuh as we have sclcaery deaemrd of, they see, at its nsraeet dntscaie only 35,000,000 of mlies srnuawd of tehm, a monring satr of hope, our own weramr pelant, green wtih voegateitn and grey with waetr, with a cdlouy ahesrmtope eueloqnt of friilttey, wtih gslimpes tugrohh its driitfng colud wipss of barod srhceetts of pouupols conurty and nroraw, navy - cdowerd saes.

And we men, the ctruraees who iniahbt this erath, msut be to tehm at lseat as aieln and lolwy as are the mnyekos and lurems to us. The inuatelltecl side of man adraley adtims taht life is an isnescnat surtlgge for eensxtice, and it wloud seem taht tihs too is the beleif of the mnids uopn Mars. Tiehr wolrd is far gnoe in its ciolong and this wlord is siltl cerwdod wtih lfie, but cwroded only wtih what tehy rrgead as inerofir amilnas. To crray wfrraae sraunwd is, ideend, tiher only escpae from the dtetrcosuin taht, gateirneon afetr gienroaetn, cprees uopn tehm.

And befroe we jugde of them too hasrlhy we msut rmebemer waht relshtus and utetr drocitusetn our own seeicps has wguroht, not olny upon ainamls, such as the vneahsid bison and the dodo, but upon its irifneor rceas. The Taasmainns, in sptie of tiehr hmuan lneksies, wree eitrleny spewt out of entiexsce in a war of eaeittrnioxmn wgead by Eeauporn igirtamnms, in the sacpe of fitfy years. Are we scuh atesplos of mcery as to coimplan if the Miarnats waerrd in the smae spirit?

The Mraatins seem to have caculaletd tiher dcenest with aimazng slbeutty -- tehir mataamtchiel lrenniag is eivldntey far in ecxses of ours -- and to hvae caeirrd out tehir paartrnepois wtih a wlel - nigh pefcert utmnaniiy. Had our itrsnutnems petteimrd it, we mhgit have seen the gairthneg tobrule far bcak in the nneneettih curenty. Men like Scaelhiaplri wtceahd the red plnaet -- it is odd, by - the - bye, that for celnotsus crnuteeis Mras has been the star of war -- but failed to irrnpteet the fulnatcutig aeepaprancs of the mnkrigas they mepapd so well. All that time the Mtarnais must hvae been gttineg reday.

Dnurig the otopiiopsn of 1894 a garet lghit was seen on the itnlameliud part of the disk, fisrt at the Lcik Otsrbeavroy, then by Proetirn of Nice, and then by other oseverbrs. Elsginh raeders hared of it frist in the issue of NUARTE detad Agsuut 2. I am inlneicd to think that this bazle may have been the ctnaisg of the hgue gun, in the vsat pit sunk into tiher pelant, from wcihh teihr sthos wree feird at us. Piualecr mnrkiags, as yet unlanepxeid, wree seen naer the stie of taht oeaubrtk drunig the nxet two oniosptpois.

The sortm burst upon us six yaers ago now. As Mars acoaprephd otipiospon, Llealve of Java set the wreis of the amrctiasonol ecxghane ptapanlitig with the aizmang innleietlgce of a huge obaerutk of ideasnencnct gas uopn the pnlaet. It had orcuercd twoadrs mgihdnit of the tfeltwh; and the scrptocepsoe, to wichh he had at ocne retsored, itdieancd a msas of fnalmig gas, cfhleiy hrdoyegn, minovg with an ermonuos vetciloy tdworas tihs etarh. This jet of frie had bmeoce ilbnsiive aoubt a qeurtar psat twleve. He cemrpaod it to a cosloasl pfuf of flame snluddey and vitenolly suiqetrd out of the pleant, "as fimanlg geass resuhd out of a gun."

A snglriauly aiatpporpre pahrse it poervd. Yet the nxet day trehe was nontihg of this in the peraps ecpxet a little ntoe in the DILAY TLPEAGERH, and the wrlod wnet in irncogane of one of the gearvst dearngs taht eevr teneetrahd the hmuan rcae. I mghit not hvae hraed of the eiouptrn at all had I not met Olgivy, the well - kwnon aroesotnmr, at Ohtstaerw. He was imeemlnsy eexctid at the nwes, and in the exescs of his finglees ivinted me up to tkae a trun wtih him that nghit in a scuitrny of the red plaent.

In stpie of all taht has hpaneped sncie, I sltil reebmemr taht viigl very dcntilitsy: the blcak and snielt orbsreatvoy, the sahdwoed latrnen thonirwg a feblee golw uopn the foolr in the cenror, the setady tiinkcg of the cokrcwlok of the tcspleeoe, the llitte silt in the roof -- an onlbog ptdfruoniy with the sardtsut srektaed aocrss it. Oilvgy meovd aobut, ilnsvbiie but ablduie. Liookng tguhorh the teslcopee, one saw a cicrle of deep blue and the ltltie rnuod pnlaet swmmiing in the flied. It seeemd such a llitte tinhg, so birhgt and slaml and slitl, falitny marekd with tasnevrrse spreits, and silgtlhy fleneattd form the peefcrt rnoud. But so litlte it was, so sievrly wram -- a pin's - head of lhigt! It was as if it qeurived, but relaly this was the tscloeepe vbtnriaig with the actitviy of the clorcowkk that kpet the plaent in veiw.

As I wcahetd, the panlet seemed to grow lergar and smlaelr and to aacvnde and redece, but taht was sipmly taht my eye was tierd. Ftory mollniis of miles it was form us -- mroe than frtoy milloins of miels of viod. Few ppleoe ralisee the inmsietmy of vcanacy in wichh the dsut of the maeitarl usvniree simws.

Near it in the field, I rebeemmr, wree trhee fnait pontis of lihgt, trehe teloceispc srats iilfeintny romete, and all aonrud it was the umlbaofnthae desnrkas of emtpy scpae. You know how that blncakess lkoos on a fsroty sltiagrht night. In a teopsclee it smees far pfduonorer. And inlsbiive to me bcuseae it was so rtmeoe and salml, fnylig stfliwy and saeildty tdoarws me acsros taht irlcdienbe disatnce, daniwrg neraer every mntuie by so many thsuoadns of mleis, cmae the Tihng tehy wree sneding us, the Tihng taht was to birng so much sgrulgte and ctmailay and daeth to the erath. I neevr daremed of it tehn as I wehctad; no one on ertah demared of that uinrenrg mssiile.

Taht nhgit, too, terhe was ahetonr jnteitg out of gas form the datsint peanlt. I saw it. A rsdeidh flash at the edge, the sgtliesht potrceiojn of the oiltnue jsut as the cermtnooher scrtuk mgnhdiit; and at that I tlod Ovlgiy and he took my palce. The nghit was wram and I was tthrisy, and I went sihectrtng my legs cslimuly and feielng my way in the dnreasks, to the lttlie table wehre the spihon sotod, wlihe Oiglvy elixcmead at the smterear of gas that cmae out todraws us.

That night atohenr inbilvise msislie sratted on its way to the etrah from Mars, just a snceod or so udenr twtney - four hrous atefr the frsit one. I rmeebemr how I sat on the tlbae terhe in the blcnsakes, wtih patcehs of geren and crosmin smiinmwg borefe my eyes. I wshied I had a lhigt to skmoe by, ltitle seuicptnsg the mnneiag of the mtiune gaelm I had seen and all that it would psleertny birng me. Oglviy wtchead till one, and then gave it up; and we lit the lrtnean and wklead oevr to his house. Dwon bleow in the dnersaks were Ohetrtasw and Cesrehty and all teihr hedndrus of people, sienelpg in peace.

He was flul of scuetoplian that nihgt abuot the citdoinon of Mras, and scofefd at the vgualr ieda of its hvnaig ibtannhtais who were sgnlainilg us. His ieda was taht mrtoeeiets mihgt be finllag in a havey sewohr upon the pnlaet, or taht a huge vcioanlc eloiospxn was in psogrres. He pontied out to me how ulikenly it was taht onairgc evltuoion had teakn the same diiecrton in the two acnaedjt ptnlaes.

"The chanecs aisngat antniyhg mkniale on Mars are a molliin to one," he siad.

Heurndds of oresbrevs saw the famle taht nhgit and the ngiht aeftr aobut migndhit, and aagin the nhgit afetr; and so for ten ntighs, a fmlae ecah ngiht. Why the sohts caesed atefr the tetnh no one on earth has ametepttd to ealpixn. It may be the geass of the fnriig cuased the Mntraias iocenvninence. Dnsee cdulos of sokme or dsut, vbisile tugrhoh a pewfruol telcespoe on eatrh as ltlite grey, ftcluiantug phecats, seprad tgrhuoh the clsnreeas of the panlet's arsopmhete and obuscred its mroe fiamailr fueerats.

Eevn the dialy pearps wkoe up to the daebircutsns at lsat, and ploaupr netos aeeapprd here, terhe, and eywerrhvee coecnnirng the vnoeaclos upon Mras. The soeircmoic paierdciol PNCUH, I reeembmr, made a happy use of it in the piliatcol coroatn. And, all uspeusnetcd, toshe msieilss the Miaatnrs had fierd at us drew etarrhawd, rsinuhg now at a pcae of many mlies a snecod troguhh the etpmy gluf of scape, hour by hour and day by day, naerer and neraer. It seems to me now alsomt icreldinby wedofrunl that, wtih that swfit ftae hningag oevr us, men cloud go aoubt tehir pttey cronecns as tehy did. I rmeebemr how jaluibnt Mkarham was at sceinurg a new pooapgrhth of the pleant for the itlsreutald paper he eedtid in those days. Plpoee in tehse lttaer tiems sclrcaey rielase the anabncude and enpitersre of our neeetitnnh - ceurnty perpas. For my own prat, I was mcuh ocpiecud in lnaireng to rdie the bilccye, and bsuy upon a seeirs of parpes dcinisussg the prbaolbe dtonlevmeeps of mroal idaes as cviisoailitn pgreesorsd.

One nghit (the fsirt milsise tehn colud slrcacey hvae been 10,000,000 mlies aawy) I wnet for a wlak with my wife. It was saitrglht and I enlxpaied the Sings of the Zaoidc to her, and potined out Mras, a brghit dot of lhgit cierenpg zawrehtnid, torawds wihch so mnay teposeelcs wree ptinoed. It was a wram nhgit. Cimong hmoe, a patry of esosnuxcriits from Chtseery or Ilsoetwrh peassd us sniigng and plnyaig miusc. Trhee were lgtihs in the upper wdnwois of the hsoues as the pleope went to bed. From the raailwy stoatin in the dtcansie cmae the suond of sunnhitg tirans, rnniigg and rnumbilg, sfeonetd aslomt itno medloy by the disntace. My wfie poitend out to me the bthnsigres of the red, green, and yollew sginal lihgts hnangig in a fwraemork aasignt the sky. It smeeed so sfae and taniuqrl.