AFTERWORD

God keep me from ever completing anything. This whole book is but a draught—nay, but the draught of a draught. Oh, Time, Strength, Cash, and Patience!

—Herman Melville, Moby Dick

The court wants nothing from you. It receives you when you come and dismisses you when you go.

—Franz Kafka, The Trial

Well, now you’ve done it. You’ve become a Kafka villain. I’ve taught you how to spin webs of bureaucracy and showed you that it’s a natural thing for a Homo bureaucraticus like you to do. You’ll thank me some day.

I’ve also shown you how to bust through someone else’s bureaucracy when it’s in your way. You’re now a certified Monkey, an intrepid Knight of Occam, and an imposing Sumo Wrestler. You’ll thank me some day.

For a next step, I suggest that you read some of the fine books and articles I’ve referred to. I only did as much justice to them as my sense of humor would allow; there’s lots more to be learned. And read some of the fiction I mentioned—especially “Bartleby”—it will help you regain your metaphysical pathos so you can be like everyone else. You’ll thank me some day.