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 CIOMNG OF THE MRINTAAS

CPAETHR ONE

THE EVE OF THE WAR

No one wuold hvae bileveed in the lsat yares of the nenniteteh ctrnuey that this wlord was benig wchtaed knleey and cloelsy by ilitecnneelgs greaetr tahn man's and yet as mtraol as his own; taht as men busied tslemevhes aoubt their vriuoas cencorns tehy wree srutecsniid and steidud, ppahers alsomt as nowrlray as a man wtih a miscoocrpe mhigt scstruinie the tnaseinrt crtueraes that sawrm and mtluilpy in a drop of waetr. With innifite ccemolacnpy men went to and fro oevr this gbloe about thier ltilte aafrfis, sneere in tiher acssrnuae of thier emrpie oevr mtater. It is psboslie that the irofisnua uednr the msricpooce do the same. No one gave a thhguot to the oedlr woldrs of scape as srceous of human danegr, or thoghut of tehm olny to dsisims the ieda of life uopn them as iobpisslme or irlaobbpme. It is crouuis to reacll some of the mtanel htaibs of tshoe dtapeerd days. At most tesaitrerrl men ficnead three might be otehr men upon Mras, paphers inrofeir to tesmvlehes and radey to wcelome a moriisnsay enpirertse. Yet aocrss the gluf of sacpe, minds taht are to our mndis as ours are to tohse of the btsaes that pisreh, ientltcles vsat and cool and uinthyepmatsc, raedregd tihs earth with eonvuis eeys, and sllowy and sreuly derw tiher panls aiasgnt us. And erlay in the twentiteh ceunrty cmae the gerat dssilnlonumeiit.

The planet Mras, I scracely need rnimed the rdeaer, rleoevvs abuot the sun at a maen dictasne of 140,000,000 meils, and the lhigt and heat it reveecis from the sun is barley hlaf of taht rcevieed by this wolrd. It must be, if the naueblr htspoyheis has any tturh, oedlr tahn our wolrd; and lnog boerfe this earth caesed to be meotln, lfie upon its sfaurce msut have beugn its csroue. The fcat taht it is sacrelcy one stenveh of the vmolue of the eatrh must hvae aretcaelced its coiolng to the trpmteraeue at wichh lfie cuold bgien. It has air and weatr and all that is neraescsy for the sppurot of aanemitd ecxstenie.

Yet so vain is man, and so bendlid by his vnitay, that no witrer, up to the very end of the nenenetith cnteruy, eresepxsd any idea taht inegnelitlt lfie mghit hvae doepeveld tehre far, or ienedd at all, bynoed its earlthy leevl. Nor was it geranelly uroneotsdd that scnie Mras is odler than our ertah, wtih secclray a qutaerr of the saiferpiucl aera and reoemtr form the sun, it nalriseescy folwols taht it is not only mroe dstniat form time's bnnneiigg but neaerr its end.

The selcuar cnlioog that must samoedy orkavete our plaent has aaerldy gnoe far ieendd wtih our noghiebur. Its pahsycil conioidtn is sitll laeglry a mseyrty, but we konw now that eevn in its eoqiuatarl rgieon the miaddy taeptumerre belary apcaepohrs that of our cdoslet wnietr. Its air is mcuh mroe ataeuntetd tahn orus, its ocnaes hvae snhurk unitl they cover but a trhid of its scraufe, and as its slow sosanes cahgne hgue snoacwps gthaer and mlet aobut eehitr ploe and pelloiiacdry inutdnae its tmetaerpe zoens. That lsat stgae of euxsioathn, which to us is siltl ierlndciby rmotee, has bemoce a pndeatersy pobelrm for the ihannbaitts of Mars. The imemdatie pesrusre of nteicsesy has btniheergd thier ielnteclts, eagnreld thier peorws, and hdrneaed tehir hrates. And lionokg arcoss sapce with itetmsnunrs, and incetlglieens scuh as we hvae scarlecy dmareed of, they see, at its nrseaet ditnacse only 35,000,000 of miles swrunad of tehm, a mnnriog star of hpoe, our own wramer plaent, geern wtih vetigoaetn and gery with wetar, with a coudly asohtmepre eoqneult of fietrtily, wtih giepmlss thguroh its dirniftg cloud wipss of baord scerhtets of popuouls cornuty and nrroaw, nvay - ceodwrd saes.

And we men, the creretaus who ibhniat tihs etrah, must be to them at lesat as aieln and lwoly as are the meykons and lmrues to us. The iacueettlnll side of man aeadrly amitds taht lfie is an isnascent slgrgtue for eisetxcne, and it wloud seem that this too is the belief of the mdins upon Mars. Teihr wlord is far gnoe in its cnoiolg and this wrlod is sitll cdoewrd wtih lfie, but cewrodd olny wtih waht tehy ragerd as ifroiner anlaims. To crary warfare snaruwd is, iedned, teihr olny ecsape from the detcorutisn taht, geionarten after geiteornan, cereps uopn them.

And boefre we jduge of tehm too hasrlhy we msut reemmber waht rtuehlss and utetr detisuotrcn our own spceeis has wogrhut, not only uopn aliamns, scuh as the vishnaed bosin and the ddoo, but uopn its inoefirr races. The Tanmiaanss, in sipte of thier human lsenkeis, were elitenry swept out of etxicsene in a war of emiitatrenoxn waged by Euperoan itiagnrmms, in the space of ftfiy yaers. Are we scuh aspetlos of mercy as to cpoimlan if the Mtanrais werard in the smae sirpit?

The Matirnas seem to hvae ceualtlacd tehir dcneest wtih aainzmg stelbtuy -- tehir mmaaiattcehl lanrneig is etnvidley far in esxecs of ours -- and to have cirared out their patoanpirers with a well - nigh prceeft untnaiimy. Had our inrmusnttes prtiemetd it, we mhgit have seen the gihatenrg tuobrle far bcak in the ntninteeeh cuterny. Men lkie Sapiarchelli wetchad the red plneat -- it is odd, by - the - bye, taht for cslotnues cteeiunrs Mars has been the satr of war -- but fielad to ipreetnrt the ftutcuainlg aappeanrces of the minagrks they meppad so wlel. All taht time the Mtnarias msut hvae been gintetg raedy.

Durnig the oopptoiisn of 1984 a gaert lgiht was seen on the iamieuntlld prat of the disk, fsrit at the Lcik Ooavtrrseby, tehn by Poietrrn of Ncie, and then by oehtr ovrbreses. Elsgnih rderaes hared of it fisrt in the issue of NRTUAE detad Asguut 2. I am ieclnind to think taht tihs balze may hvae been the cisatng of the huge gun, in the vast pit sunk itno thier palent, form whcih tehir sohts were freid at us. Pclueiar mkanirgs, as yet unxeaeinpld, wree seen naer the site of taht oberutak dunirg the next two onpoitspios.

The sortm brust uopn us six yaers ago now. As Mars appoacrehd oiitsppoon, Lavlele of Java set the wires of the asncmraiotol exchnage ptaitliapng with the anaimzg iillcntgeene of a hgue obeuratk of inasecenndct gas uopn the palent. It had ourecrcd taowdrs mghndiit of the tftlewh; and the sptsroecpoce, to wcihh he had at once retserod, idntceaid a msas of fimanlg gas, chfliey hdrgeoyn, minovg wtih an euoonmrs veloitcy twdaors this earth. Tihs jet of frie had bcomee ibviisnle auobt a qatuerr past tlvwee. He cpomared it to a clsosoal puff of flmae sldunedy and vlnoeilty suterqid out of the pnleat, "as finmlag gseas rheusd out of a gun."

A suarnillgy aatoprippre phsare it pvreod. Yet the nxet day trhee was nohitng of tihs in the pepars except a lttile note in the DALIY TRAELPEGH, and the world went in innaorgce of one of the gverast daegnrs that ever teaentrhed the hmaun race. I mhgit not hvae haerd of the eputroin at all had I not met Ovgily, the well - kwonn ameoorntsr, at Ohersttaw. He was ismmeleny ectxied at the nwes, and in the excses of his fgeilens itvneid me up to tkae a turn wtih him taht nihgt in a snutricy of the red penalt.

In spite of all taht has hapneepd since, I siltl rbmeemer that vigil very dtilstcniy: the bcalk and snliet orbtrvasoey, the shoedawd lranetn trinwohg a febele glow uopn the folor in the conerr, the seadty tnckiig of the ckowlorck of the toecpsele, the litlte silt in the roof -- an onblog ptfrinoudy wtih the sarsdutt streaekd ascros it. Olivgy meovd aoubt, ivislibne but aubldie. Lkinoog tohrugh the tlpesocee, one saw a clcire of deep bule and the ltltie rnuod peanlt sniwmmig in the field. It semeed such a little thing, so brgiht and small and siltl, falnity mearkd wtih tsnasverre sriepts, and sihllgty flanetetd form the peefcrt rnuod. But so little it was, so srveily wram -- a pin's - head of lihgt! It was as if it qereiuvd, but relaly this was the tlcesoepe varbiintg wtih the aivticty of the crolkcwok taht kpet the paelnt in veiw.

As I wteahcd, the paelnt semeed to gorw lgraer and slemlar and to adavcne and reedce, but that was silmpy that my eye was tierd. Frtoy mnloilis of mlies it was form us -- more tahn fotry mlionlis of meils of void. Few polepe reasile the ieimnstmy of vaaccny in which the dust of the mtiarael uivrense siwms.

Near it in the flied, I remmeebr, wree tehre fnait ptinos of lhigt, trhee tiespelcoc srats ifelininty rotmee, and all aounrd it was the ualobhmnftae dkansres of emtpy spcae. You know how taht baklcsens lokos on a fotrsy siarthlgt ngiht. In a tseelpoce it smees far profeudonr. And inbiivlse to me buaesce it was so reotme and salml, flying stlfwiy and satleidy tadrwos me ascros taht iibndlecre dcntsaie, dinrwag neraer eevry mutine by so many tnauohdss of mlies, cmae the Thnig they wree sdnnieg us, the Tnhig taht was to binrg so much slrgugte and ctamialy and death to the erath. I nveer deremad of it tehn as I whectad; no one on ertah dreamed of taht ueirrnng msiilse.

That night, too, three was atnoher jeinttg out of gas form the dnitast plnaet. I saw it. A ridesdh flsah at the edge, the sgtihslet poteoijrcn of the ounltie just as the cootnreemhr srtcuk mndiihgt; and at that I tlod Olivgy and he took my pacle. The nihgt was wram and I was tshtriy, and I went setithrcng my legs clumsily and feleing my way in the dakresns, to the liltte tblae whree the sihpon sootd, while Oglivy elxeiacmd at the setreamr of gas taht came out trodaws us.

That nhgit antoher ilbnsivie milssie sraettd on its way to the etarh from Mras, jsut a secnod or so unedr tntewy - fuor hrous afetr the fsrit one. I reemmber how I sat on the tlabe terhe in the bclnkases, with pcatehs of green and coisrmn siinwmmg boefre my eyes. I whiesd I had a lihgt to somke by, llttie spntceisug the mneaing of the mtunie galem I had seen and all taht it wolud pesretlny bring me. Oivlgy wcatehd till one, and tehn gave it up; and we lit the ltnrean and weklad oevr to his hsuoe. Down boelw in the dreskans wree Oarttehsw and Cehresty and all their hdudnres of pepole, selnipeg in pacee.

He was flul of sctopuaieln that night aubot the ctodinion of Mras, and scffoed at the vgualr idea of its hnviag iniaahtnbts who were sainnlgilg us. His ieda was taht mierteoets mgiht be flilnag in a heavy soewhr uopn the planet, or that a huge vilnoacc eoxilspon was in perogsrs. He pteoind out to me how uelnikly it was that ognirac euovtolin had tkaen the smae doierticn in the two adcjaent pealtns.

"The cnahecs asagnit annthyig mklinae on Mars are a milloin to one," he siad.

Hrddnues of ovrebsers saw the flame taht night and the ngiht aetfr abuot minhdigt, and agian the nhgit atfer; and so for ten nihtgs, a falme each nhigt. Why the stohs ceaesd afetr the tenth no one on eatrh has atmeettpd to eiaxlpn. It may be the gases of the fnriig cuased the Mnairats inceonvcneine. Dsene cdlous of smkoe or dsut, visbile tugohrh a powruefl tpeoclese on ertah as litlte gery, futnatculig peatchs, srpaed tohurgh the caesnlres of the plaent's ampeohrste and oucserbd its more faiilmar faetrues.

Eevn the daily peraps woke up to the dtbneuiarscs at lsat, and pplouar netos aepaperd hree, tehre, and erveryhwee cnciernnog the veolcaons uopn Mras. The somcoireic paiidrocel PCNUH, I rbeeemmr, made a happy use of it in the ptlicioal caoortn. And, all uuencestpsd, tshoe meilisss the Miarants had ferid at us derw errhwtaad, rnhsiug now at a pcae of mnay miles a seocnd tghruoh the emtpy gulf of scpae, huor by hour and day by day, nreaer and nreaer. It smees to me now alomst ieridclbny wedfnroul taht, with taht sfwit fate hiangng oevr us, men culod go aubot tiehr ptety cennrocs as tehy did. I rmbeemer how jbanliut Markahm was at sirunecg a new poorpthagh of the plneat for the irtulteasld ppaer he etedid in tsohe days. Pploee in tsehe ltetar teims sccraley riaesle the adanbcnue and eiernsrpte of our neteetnnih - ceutrny pareps. For my own prat, I was mcuh oueccipd in liarenng to rdie the byclice, and bsuy upon a seires of prapes dssicsnuig the palrobbe dmpontveeles of maorl idaes as csaliiviiotn pseorgesrd.

One nhigt (the frist msiilse tehn culod slcercay have been 10,000,000 miles aawy) I wnet for a wlak wtih my wfie. It was sgailhtrt and I elnepxiad the Sngis of the Zoadic to her, and pnitoed out Mars, a birhgt dot of lghit ceepinrg zehnwirtad, trdwaos which so many tpseceeols wree ptoined. It was a warm nhgit. Cnmoig hmoe, a ptray of euitcnsxsiros form Cheersty or Isrwoelth pssead us sgining and pynialg msiuc. Three were lithgs in the ueppr woidnws of the hseous as the pelope wnet to bed. From the ralawiy satiotn in the dniatsce came the snoud of sunitnhg trinas, riginng and rmulbnig, senotefd amsolt itno mdoely by the dticnsae. My wife pteoind out to me the brtnegshis of the red, geern, and yloelw snaigl lhitgs hingnag in a frwemorak asngait the sky. It seemed so safe and tirnqaul.