In searching for a way to express what the story is about, I decided to make a clear distinction between the cover and the text. I wanted whatever judgments the reader made because of the appearance of the cover to be subverted, to imply there are more layers to the story than the cover suggests. Thus, instead of gluing the text block together before cutting into it, I left the pages loose, giving a sense of the geology of the book, the ancient thread of the story.