Present Absences

“What's the difference between hatched chick and baby chick?” - Conor
“The baby chick did not hatch.” - Rowan, ominously

They say that there is a door in the Dreamers’ Lodge which you can only find when you are asleep. They say that under no circumstances should you open it, no matter how much you want to. Even if you are being chased, you should not open that door. Even if the monsters are drawing ever closer, you should not open that door. Even if there is no other choice -

But it’s only a dream, isn’t it? So you open the door…

Unlike the store above, this is where you will find all the things you weren’t looking for. A mirror that shows you what isn’t behind you; a wardrobe filled with things that are not quite clothes; a phone that won’t stop ringing except when you are alone; a box full of all the teeth you never had.

Welcome to Nightmare’s Nightmares: where nothing is real, and everything can hurt you.

Recent trends have been seen in 18 separate galactic systems in mass urban development, reaching record growth since the recession in ?“@“3af3£##+q. While the recession caused many businesses to scale back or declare bankruptcy, the absence of these businesses provided fewer obstacles to the growth of competing development firms run by Viridescent Honey and Dug, long-standing rivals in a number of fields, both literal and metaphorical.

While it has been speculated that the nature of these firms' growth is associated with their intrinsic familiarity with absences (themselves being Absences), this is a misconception this report hopes to dispel. It is far more accurate to say that the fundamental opposition in their core values and the strong desire to best the other, thus proving the other's values inferior, is the driving force between their recent success. As shown time and again, across industries, planes of existence, and states of matter, competition can be the healthiest fertiliser in the life of any young business. Terrifying many competitors and customers alike through sheer determination to best their rival, other landscaping businesses should be aware: following the merger of these two competing firms and the turbulent and grudging acceptance of each other's strengths and differences, their merged company value has risen 11603%.

Setting the recent trend in negative space, investors should be aware that this industry is booming. Further statistics on trends within specific consumer demographics to further advise your investments can be found on page 783.

– Extract from “A Good Entity's Guide to Investment in the Cycle ?”@“3af3£##+q+1