We were taught that the map is not the territory, and how the way we perceive the world does not necessarily reflect the way the world truly is. Nobody taught us that not only is there a discrepancy between the map and territory, but that which they call the territory is, in our mediated actuality, yet again just another map. Is there a territory, then, beneath that map?

The deeper we dig into those realms, the sweaty abodes of the production of everyday symbols, the more we find ourselves in a space without depth. We find nothing but maps.

The map is a curious instrument. It gives directions, it encourages a discourse on what marks the zones of the territory. It can show processes, and it can be coupled to other maps. There are Royal Maps, the game that the state’s cartographers play with their statisticians, catalogers and inventory-takers; and…