The Old Ones neither helped nor hindered these long-distance human plans; time was not yet.  Their own meditations were approaching a violent cusp that would control the shape of Martian art for many millennia.  On Earth elections continued as usual and a very advanced poet published a limited edition of verse consisting entirely of punctuation marks and spaces; Time magazine reviewed it and suggested that the Federation Assembly Daily Record could profitably be translated into the same medium.  The poet was invited to lecture at the University of Chicago, which he did, clad in full formal evening dress lacking only trousers and shoes.