On nothing

This article is the posthumous publication of a fundamental work of the late genius M.U. Newtral. Little is known of his life, upbringing, education and his golf handicap. Whether he enjoyed flyfishing is still a matter of scientific controversy. From his style of writing and the locations where his manuscripts were discovered one might conclude that he spent a reasonable time of his life in India and the United Kingdom, where he presumably worked under the influence of many such famous people as Luke Withstone, Rudinch Kipling, Morten Haydagger and, last but not least, Petula Farnsbath-Wellworth, 31 Rosebud Drive, Eightashgreen, Devonshire (ring and knock thrice to be admitted). Newtral disappeared under nebulous circumstances somewhere in South-America. Some of his belongings were discovered by Leumas Reltub on the Island of Erewhon, and the here partially reprinted manuscript was not discovered by a nihilist. Yet, the editors wish to keep the exact location of the original a secret. Newtral probably received the impetus for writing his treatise upon the following occasion.In his 2011 paper on “Constructions Around Partialities” Gunther Schmidt discussed a partiality of quite unique character. It is known as the smallest part or piece of a whole, and it is unique in the way that it seems there is only exactly one instance and interpretation of it: nothing. When the editors became involved in the production of a Festschrift for Gunther Schmidt they decided to finally publish Newtral's work, which happened to have been in their hands for quite some time without them knowing what to do with it, as a tribute to Gunther in the hope that it will further or at least subtract nothing from the growth of relational mathematics. The original manuscript (partially handwritten) has been typeset with greatest care; so for all the mistakes, only M.U. Newtral himself is to blame. Helpful comments by R. Berghammer, P. Höfner and M. Winter are gratefully acknowledged.