Saturday, December 02, 2006

Chapter 7 - The Trial (3)

Carefully he opened the first door. Beyond the door a strong bridge stretched across the chasm to another door at the opposite side. Let’s not rush into things, thought Sinister, and opened the second door. Beyond the door an extremely shaky, dilapidated bridge stretched to a door on the opposite side of the chasm. Okay, we’ll play along, thought Sinister, and opened the third door. There was no bridge but a door sat on the opposite side. Clearly he should choose through which door he should go, Sinister deduced. But how?

A second later another note popped out of the post box. This time Sinister grasped it without a second’s thought. The note was as short as the previous one. It said:

SORRY

Sorry for what? Sinister was confused. Things were getting weirder by the moment. As he sat down to think matters through a third note popped out of the post box:

THIS IS THE BRIDGE OF UNCERTAINTY. CHOOSE THE DOOR TO TAKE YOU THROUGH.

Hmmm, thought Sinister, this is quite clearly a clue. The bridge of uncertainty. As far as he could make out the bridge beyond the first door was solid and dependable. Nothing uncertain about that one. The third door held no bridge, so nothing uncertain about that one either. The former should take him safely across without any doubt. The latter will most definitely lead to his premature death. The bridge beyond the second door, however, might or might not take him safely across. Thus, uncertainty! Without a second thought Sinister opened the second door and started on the dilapidated bridge. Within a few moments he stood safely on the other side. A soft pop sounded and the doors and bridges had disappeared as if they had never existed.

Well, that wasn’t too bad, thought Sinister and then the ground below him disappeared with the same soft pop. As he fell, Sinister saw the post box dropping next to him. A little note stuck out teasingly. This is not a good time to spend on reading, rushed through Sinister’s thoughts as he tumbled down. With a slight effort he grabbed the note and managed to read its message:

THANK YOU FOR ATTEMPTING THE DEADLY DROP. PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS TRIAL IS STILL EXPERIMENTAL. PARTICIPATION IS VOLUNTARY AND AT YOUR OWN RISK.

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