I

The first correction was about the checkbook. Victor Hale sat in his office on the fourth floor of a building on Sunset Boulevard that had been a studio in 1954 and was a storage facility in 1987 and was everything in between and nothing permanently, and the office was where he kept the books for Hale Entertainment Consultation, a company that employed three people and had a receptionist named Linda who was nice and who did not ask questions because questions were not billable hours, and Victor was reviewing the quarterly expenses and he had written a check for twenty-five hundred dollars to a company called Pacific West Media Solutions and he had written the wrong name, it was Pacific West Media Solitions, missing the e before the o, and Victor noticed it when he was filing the canceled check three weeks later and he made a note on a yellow pad and left it there and the yellow pad accumulated notes and the notes accumulated on the pad and the pad accumulated on the desk and the desk accumulated everything and the correction was small and it was a correction of a name and names were important in this business because names were contracts and contracts were payment and payment was the only truth and the truth was in the checkbook and the checkbook was balanced and the e was missing and the absence of one letter was not material to the balance and Victor let it go.

II

The second correction was about the contract. Victor had been hired by a man named Richard Vane to write a treatment for a documentary about chemical research, and Richard was a former college friend, they had shared a screenwriting class at UCLA in 1978 and Victor had written the papers and Richard had written the introductions and they had graded equally and Victor had accepted this because Richard was charming and charm was a form of writing and writing was a form of charm and the equality was fair and now Richard was the head of research at Aether Chemicals, a corporation that Victor had never heard of until Richard called him from Los Angeles and said I have a project and it is important and Victor said important to who and Richard said important to the company and Victor said I write treatments not press releases and Richard said this is not a press release and Victor said then what is it and Richard said it is a story and stories are what you do and Victor did not do stories, he did treatments, documentaries about pharmaceutical companies that wanted to look good on camera and he had done three of them and the third one had been about a company in New Jersey and the treatment had been forty pages and the company had approved it and the documentary had been twenty minutes and the twenty minutes had been exactly what the treatment had said and the treatment had said exactly what the company had wanted and Victor had been paid eight thousand dollars and the money had paid the rent and the insurance and Linda's salary and the overhead and Victor had felt nothing except the mild satisfaction of a balanced checkbook and now Richard wanted a treatment about Aether and about something called Project Iris and Victor had never heard of Project Iris and Richard had said it was a research initiative and Victor had said research initiatives were not entertaining and Richard had said this one was different and Victor had said different was not a genre and Richard had said just read the materials and the materials were eight binders and the materials were sanitized and sanitized was a genre and Victor had written the treatment in three weeks and the treatment was forty pages and the treatment said exactly what the binders said and the binders said exactly what Richard wanted and Victor had signed the contract for twelve thousand dollars and the correction was that Victor should have asked why a chemical company needed a screenwriter for a documentary about a research initiative and he had not asked and the asking would have been the first correction and the correction was not made and the contract was signed and the money was deposited and the balance was positive and Victor opened a bottle of Chianti and drank it alone in his office while Linda went home to her husband and her dog and her life that was not his and the bottle was empty and the checkbook was balanced and the first correction remained small and invisible.

III

The third correction was about the interview. Victor flew to Ohio, to the town where Aether had its primary research facility, a building that was white and windowless and surrounded by a fence that was twelve feet high and topped with wire that was coiled and the coiling was professional and the professionalism was a form of writing and the writing was in the fence and the fence was a statement and the statement was we do not want to be seen and Victor understood this because he had written treatments for companies that did not want to be seen and the treatments made them visible and the visibility was the product and the product was what was sold to investors and the investors bought visibility and the invisibility was the truth and the truth was in the fence and the fence was twelve feet high and Victor went inside with a badge that said VISITOR and a guard who had a face like a closed door and did not smile and Victor had seen that face before in the flag-maker factories and the estate agents and the police stations and the face was the face of the invisible and Victor sat in a conference room and interviewed a woman named Dr. Sandra Chen who had been a lead scientist on Project Iris and Sandra was precise and careful and every answer she gave was preceded by the word technically and followed by the word reportedly and technically and reportedly were the corrections that Victor did not need to make because they were already made and the treatment was being written around them and the treatment would contain technically and reportedly and the audience would hear technically and reportedly and understand that things were uncertain and the uncertainty was the correction and the correction was in Sandra's mouth and the words were technically and reportedly and Victor wrote them down and the writing was the treatment and the treatment was the documentary and the documentary was the visibility and the visibility was the payment and the payment was the balanced checkbook and the fence was twelve feet high and Victor signed the timesheet and the guard did not smile and Victor went back to Los Angeles and the third correction was a word that he had not written down, Sandra had said it at the end of the interview when she thought the tape was off and she had said disappear and the word was not in the transcript and the transcript was what the treatment was based on and the treatment was what the company approved and the approval was what Victor was paid for and the word disappear was not in the transcript and the absence of the word was the correction and the correction was not made and the tape was erased by Aether's media liaison, a woman named Patricia who had a job to do and did it and erased the tape and the word disappear was gone and the third correction was invisible.

IV

The fourth correction was about the list. Victor received a document in the mail, no return address, containing a list of names and addresses and dates. The list was typewritten on paper that was thin and gray and the typewriter had a bad e so the word importance appeared as improtance and Victor recognized the format because he had used similar formats in his treatments, name, date, location, activity, and the activity column contained words like meeting and call and visit and payment and the payment column contained dollar amounts and the names contained one that Victor recognized, his own. Victor Hale, payment ten thousand dollars, date March 15, 1987, activity self-investigation. Victor sat at his desk and read the list three times and the list contained twenty-three names and six of them were from Ohio, from the Aether facility, and the dates on those names were dates of death, accidental death, and the word accidental was in the list and accidental was a genre and the genre was the correction and the correction was in the word accidental and the word was there and the truth was not accidental and the truth was arranged and the arrangement was invisible and the list was not signed and Victor called Richard and Richard said I do not know where that came from and Victor said do you know the names and Richard said some of them and Victor said all of them and Richard said yes and Victor said then you know and Richard said I know what I need to know and Victor said what is that and Richard said that you are a professional and professionals do not ask about sources and Victor said I am a writer and writers ask about everything and Richard said not you and the phone went dead and the fourth correction was a question that Victor did not ask, which was why was he on the list and the answer was in Richard's mouth and the answer was invisible and the list sat on Victor's desk for two weeks and the desk accumulated things and the list accumulated on the desk and Victor wrote a treatment for a different client and the different client was a real estate developer and the treatment was about a housing project in Compton and the treatment made the project sound safe and safe was not true and the treatment said safe and the lie was the correction and the correction was not made and the treatment was approved and the money was deposited and the checkbook was balanced and the list was still on the desk and Victor stopped looking at it and stopping was the correction and the correction was invisible and the list became part of the desk and the desk became part of the office and the office became part of the building and the building became part of Sunset Boulevard and the Boulevard was a treatment and the treatment was visible and the visibility was the product and the product was what was sold and the list was not sold and the list was on the desk and the desk was locked and the key was in Victor's pocket and the pocket was in the jacket and the jacket was in the office and the office was locked and the key was in the pocket and the pocket was in the jacket and the jacket was hung on a hook and the hook was on a wall and the wall was in the office and the office was on the fourth floor and the fourth floor was on Sunset Boulevard and the Boulevard was a treatment and the treatment was the lie and the lie was the fourth correction and the correction was invisible and the invisibility was the product and the product was sold and the money was deposited and the balance was positive and the positive was the only truth and the truth was in the checkbook and the checkbook was balanced and the list was on the desk and the desk was locked and the lock was a correction and the correction was not made and the key was in the pocket and the pocket was a correction and the correction was invisible and the jacket hung on the hook and the hook was a correction and the correction was made and the wall held the hook and the hook held the jacket and the jacket held the key and the key held the lock and the lock held the desk and the desk held the list and the list held the names and the names held the truth and the truth held the fifth correction and the fifth correction was about the money.

V

The fifth correction was about the ten thousand dollars. Richard Vane came to Los Angeles in May 1987 and they met at a restaurant in Beverly Hills that was not owned by Aether and not owned by Victor and was owned by a man named Gerald who owned seventeen restaurants and the ownership was the correction and the correction was in the word owned and the word was there and the correction was made and Victor ate a steak and Richard ate fish and the fish was fresh and the steak was medium and the meal was paid for by Gerald who owned the restaurant and the ownership was visible and the visibility was the correction and the correction was in the bill and the bill was paid and the payment was invisible and the invisibility was the correction and the correction was not made and after the meal Richard said the money is in an envelope and the envelope is in my car and the car is outside and Victor said I do not want your money and Richard said it is not my money and Victor said whose money is it and Richard said the company's money and Victor said why are you giving it to me and Richard said because you need it and Victor said how do you need it and Richard said I do not need it I need you and the words were said in a restaurant that was owned by a man named Gerald who owned seventeen restaurants and the ownership was the truth and the truth was visible and the visibility was the correction and the correction was in the words and the words were there and the correction was made and Richard went to the car and returned with an envelope and the envelope contained ten thousand dollars in one hundred dollar bills and the bills were not consecutive and the non-consecutive was the correction and the correction was in the numbers and the numbers were there and the correction was made and Richard was weeping and the weeping was the correction and the correction was in the face and the face was visible and the visibility was the truth and the truth was that Richard was weeping and Victor was not weeping and the not weeping was the correction and the correction was not made and Victor took the envelope and the taking was the correction and the correction was made and the envelope was in Victor's jacket and the jacket was on the hook and the hook was on the wall and the wall was in the office and the office was on the fourth floor and the fourth floor was on Sunset Boulevard and the Boulevard was a treatment and the treatment was the lie and the lie was the money and the money was in the envelope and the envelope was in the desk and the desk was locked and the lock was a correction and the correction was invisible and Victor went home to his empty apartment and the apartment was on the third floor and the third floor was above a shop that had been a butcher shop and before that a bakery and before that something that had no name and the name was invisible and the invisibility was the correction and the correction was not made and the envelope was under the mattress and the mattress was on the bed and the bed was in the apartment and the apartment was empty and the emptiness was the correction and the correction was made and the money was ten thousand dollars and the dollars were there and the correction was in the number and the number was seven figures and the figures were there and the correction was made and the balance was positive and the positive was the only truth and the truth was in the envelope and the envelope was under the mattress and the mattress was on the bed and the bed was in the apartment and the apartment was on the third floor and the third floor was above a shop that had no name and the name was invisible and the invisibility was the fifth correction and the correction was made and the money was taken and the taking was the truth and the truth was visible and the visibility was the only thing and the only thing was the money and the money was there and the correction was invisible.

VI

The sixth correction was about the alley. Victor was walking home from the studio, a distance of four blocks along Sunset, and he turned into an alley behind the building because the alley was shorter and the shorter was the correction and the correction was in the path and the path was chosen and the choosing was the correction and the correction was made and the alley was dark and the darkness was the correction and the correction was invisible and the darkness was real and the reality was the correction and the correction was made and Victor was wearing the jacket and the jacket had the envelope and the envelope had the money and the money had the seventh correction inside it and the seventh correction was about the treatment.

The treatment was finished on June 1, 1987. It was sixty-two pages long and it was titled Aether Chemicals: Project Iris Research Initiative and the title was accurate and the accuracy was the correction and the correction was in the word Initiative and the word was there and the correction was made and the treatment described Project Iris as an experimental pharmaceutical program and the word experimental was accurate and the accuracy was the correction and the correction was made and the treatment described test subjects as volunteers and the word volunteers was not accurate and the inaccuracy was the correction and the correction was not made and the treatment described the fatalities as unfortunate occurrences during clinical observation and the word occurrences was not accurate and the inaccuracy was the correction and the correction was not made and the treatment described the payments to witnesses as consulting fees and the word consulting was not accurate and the inaccuracy was the correction and the correction was not made and the treatment was forty-two pages of accuracies and three pages of in accuracies and the accuracies were the product and the product was sold and the visibility was sold and the invisibility was the truth and the truth was in the three pages and the three pages were cut by the editor at Aether, a man named Thomas who had a job to do and did it and cut the three pages and the pages were gone and the in accuracies were gone and the truth was gone and the sixth correction was the cutting and the cutting was done by Thomas and the cutting was the correction and the correction was made and the treatment was sixty pages instead of sixty-two and the two pages were gone and the gone was the correction and the correction was invisible and the treatment was approved and the documentary was made and the documentary was twenty minutes and the twenty minutes was what the treatment had said and the treatment had said what the company had wanted and the wanting was the correction and the correction was made and the money was deposited and the balance was positive and the positive was the only truth and the truth was in the checkbook and the checkbook was balanced and the documentary was broadcast and the viewers saw visibility and the invisibility was the truth and the truth was gone and the gone was the sixth correction and the correction was made and the making was the truth and the truth was invisible and the invisibility was the only thing and the only thing was the alley and the alley was dark and the darkness was real and the reality was the correction and the correction was made and Victor was in the alley and the jacket had the envelope and the envelope had the money and the money had the seventh correction and the seventh correction was about the man who followed him.

VII

The seventh correction was about the man who followed Victor into the alley and the following was the correction and the correction was invisible and the man had a face that was not a closed door and was something softer and the softness was the correction and the correction was made and the man said give me the envelope and Victor said what envelope and the man said the one in your jacket and the jacket was on Victor's back and the back was between the shoulders and the shoulders were on Victor's body and the body was the correction and the correction was not made and Victor ran and the running was the correction and the correction was made and the alley was short and the end of the alley was Sunset and Sunset was a treatment and the treatment was the lie and the lie was the envelope and the envelope was in the jacket and the jacket was on Victor's back and the back hit the pavement and the pavement was hard and the hardness was the correction and the correction was made and the man had something in his hand and the something was the correction and the correction was invisible and the something was metal and the metal was the correction and the correction was made and the correction was the last one and there were seven corrections and the seven were a ledger and the ledger was invisible and the invisibility was balanced and the balance was positive and the positive was Victor on the pavement and the pavement was asphalt and the asphalt was black and the black was the correction and the correction was made and the man took the envelope and the taking was the correction and the correction was made and the man ran and the running was the correction and the correction was invisible and Victor lay on the pavement and the pavement was hard and the hardness was the last correction and the correction was made and the making was the end and the end was the seventh correction and the seven corrections were a ledger and the ledger was invisible and the invisibility was the story and the story was the treatment and the treatment was the documentary and the documentary was twenty minutes and the twenty minutes was what was sold and the selling was the correction and the correction was made and the money was deposited and the balance was positive and the positive was the only truth and the truth was in seven corrections and the corrections were small and the small was invisible and the invisibility was everything and the everything was the ledger and the ledger was balanced and the balance was Victor on the pavement and the pavement was the end and the end was the seventh correction and the correction was made and the making was invisible and the invisibility was the story and the story was the treatment and the treatment was the lie and the lie was the only truth and the truth was in the checkbook and the checkbook was balanced and the balance was the end and the end was the seventh correction and the correction was made and the making was the end and the end was the ledger and the ledger was invisible and the invisibility held the seven corrections and the corrections held the story and the story held the truth and the truth was balanced and the balance was positive and the positive was everything and the everything was invisible and the invisibility was the only thing and the only thing was the ledger and the ledger was on the pavement and the pavement was black and the black was the last correction and the correction was made and the making was the end and the end was the story and the story was invisible and the invisibility was the thread and the thread was the ledger and the ledger was balanced.