When the Managing Director receives an interoffice memo in Ptydepe, a language he has never seen before, he discovers that affairs in his Department are not entirely under his control. Communication in the new language is supposed to be more precise and scientific, but without proper documentation, the befuddled Josef Gross finds himself running in circles in search of a translation. To complicate matters, the Deputy Director attempts to usurp Gross’s job, everyone in the Ptydepe Translation Center has gone to lunch, and the Staff Watcher is keeping a close eye on the supply of cigars. Yxap tseror najx!