Re: The Grand Battle II! [Round 3: Escheresque!]
11-09-2009, 05:42 PM
Originally posted on MSPA by Sruixan.
With definite caution, Galus continued down the cliff/floor/wall/surface. Before long, it became oddly apparent that the cliff was not a natural one - at one point he almost put his foot through what he could only conclude was a window, peering into yet another nauseating collection of stairways. He daren't attempt to enter it and risk upsetting his stomach and so he continued towards the most obvious landmark, the watermill. It was an odd contraption - the waterways to the side made his eyes water as he tried to follow them, but it wasn't too difficult to see that the laws of physics were on holdiay there as well.
A little preoccupied, Galus failed to notice that he was putting his foot through yet another hole in the wall. This time, regaining his balance was a tad trickier, resulting in some rather adroit acrobatics, but it was the appearance of a head through that very hole that threatened to undo his work, as suprise almost caused him to topple once more.
"Well, there aren't that many bipeds, are there?... Galus Lee Matthews? I don't believe we've met, formally anyway. Maxwell Sidney Deakin; a pleasure to meet you."
Yes, thought Maxwell, yes his right hand definitely twitched when he saw me. Old habits die hard...
"Now, might I recommend you come indoors? I don't fancy having to spend the entire conversation craning my neck, and trust me, I'd very much like to hold a conversation, if you don't mind... the floor will be in front of you as you climb in, so don't blame me if you end up on the wall..."
A tad bemused, but clever enough to realise that shooting me whilst I have the upper hand in terms of cover. Good man, Galus.
"Alright. I'm coming in."
Galus grimaced slightly and peered through the window. The room in which his fellow combatant was standing looked remarkably plain and normal; two doors, one to his right, currently open, and another to the left, currently closed. Apart from that, the room was devoid of any of the twists that the complex could offer. Well, technically the floor was one of the walls at his current angle, but still.
Cautious, but curious, Galus took the plunge.
Maxwell, of course, had had the sense to stand well back as Galus fell into the room. Naturally, he was observing the pilot's descent - having always been the subject of his own experiments as to the nature of this place, it would be the first time he'd really get to see things happening firsthand. And indeed, things happened - the blue and black blob flew across the room, then for the briefest of moments, a blink-and-you'll-miss-it moment, Galus stopped, before gravity resumed its service and the man plummeted to what was now designated as the common floor. The landing was a tad rough and it was obvious in the way that he rose that the space pilot had experienced disorientation on a greater scale than flight would normally subject him to. That, of course, was part of the plan.
"You are all right, yes? It's awfully odd, certainly, but you'll find your bearings in a moment or two, trust me..."
Galus didn't look exactly pleased and, as he uttered the very words that Maxwell had hoped he'd say, there was a rather stark contrast between the pilot, dazed and confused, and the genius, nonchalantly leaning against the wall.
“What is it that you want?â€
“An exchange of information, that is all. I intend to ask you three questions - it is up to you how you choose to answer them. Then, once I have extracted what I require, you are more than welcome to ask me your own set of three questions, which I shall give the best answers to that I can, assuming that the answers you gave to mine make me inclined to do so. Understood?â€
"Three questions, huh?"
"Well, if you want to ask me more, feel free; I shall just ask more of you as well. It's just that I believe I can get all the information I'd like from three questions, however complex they might be."
Deliberate misinterpretation, of course. But Galus seemed a little intrigued by the offer, for his own reasons most likely...
"Very well. Fire away."
Maxwell twitched ever so slightly at that remark, but tried to make sure it didn't show. As to whether or not he succeeded...
"Question 1: From what the Observer said at the start of this game, I am led to believe you are a space pilot. Now, from this I can infer that you've done an awful lot of travelling throughout the universe from whence you came, but what I would like to know the most is... what wa- is your home planet like? If you want to draw anything, feel free - I have ample paper and a pencil, I'd just like to know about your home."
From the look on Galus's face, Maxwell could tell he'd struck gold. Still, he'd best continue...
"Question 2: Since you are the only other human competitor which our late friend Cabaret ever had any contact with, bar Samuel, but he doesn't count, I can safely bet that he entrusted you with the notebook he got off of the professor. Can I have it? You can have it back once I've looked at it - I am just, ahem, curious as to some of the things it might say..."
Don't even look, Maxwell. Don't even think about it...
"Finally, question 3: What made you accept to this exchange, rather than just shooting me the moment you saw me?"
With definite caution, Galus continued down the cliff/floor/wall/surface. Before long, it became oddly apparent that the cliff was not a natural one - at one point he almost put his foot through what he could only conclude was a window, peering into yet another nauseating collection of stairways. He daren't attempt to enter it and risk upsetting his stomach and so he continued towards the most obvious landmark, the watermill. It was an odd contraption - the waterways to the side made his eyes water as he tried to follow them, but it wasn't too difficult to see that the laws of physics were on holdiay there as well.
A little preoccupied, Galus failed to notice that he was putting his foot through yet another hole in the wall. This time, regaining his balance was a tad trickier, resulting in some rather adroit acrobatics, but it was the appearance of a head through that very hole that threatened to undo his work, as suprise almost caused him to topple once more.
"Well, there aren't that many bipeds, are there?... Galus Lee Matthews? I don't believe we've met, formally anyway. Maxwell Sidney Deakin; a pleasure to meet you."
Yes, thought Maxwell, yes his right hand definitely twitched when he saw me. Old habits die hard...
"Now, might I recommend you come indoors? I don't fancy having to spend the entire conversation craning my neck, and trust me, I'd very much like to hold a conversation, if you don't mind... the floor will be in front of you as you climb in, so don't blame me if you end up on the wall..."
A tad bemused, but clever enough to realise that shooting me whilst I have the upper hand in terms of cover. Good man, Galus.
"Alright. I'm coming in."
Galus grimaced slightly and peered through the window. The room in which his fellow combatant was standing looked remarkably plain and normal; two doors, one to his right, currently open, and another to the left, currently closed. Apart from that, the room was devoid of any of the twists that the complex could offer. Well, technically the floor was one of the walls at his current angle, but still.
Cautious, but curious, Galus took the plunge.
Maxwell, of course, had had the sense to stand well back as Galus fell into the room. Naturally, he was observing the pilot's descent - having always been the subject of his own experiments as to the nature of this place, it would be the first time he'd really get to see things happening firsthand. And indeed, things happened - the blue and black blob flew across the room, then for the briefest of moments, a blink-and-you'll-miss-it moment, Galus stopped, before gravity resumed its service and the man plummeted to what was now designated as the common floor. The landing was a tad rough and it was obvious in the way that he rose that the space pilot had experienced disorientation on a greater scale than flight would normally subject him to. That, of course, was part of the plan.
"You are all right, yes? It's awfully odd, certainly, but you'll find your bearings in a moment or two, trust me..."
Galus didn't look exactly pleased and, as he uttered the very words that Maxwell had hoped he'd say, there was a rather stark contrast between the pilot, dazed and confused, and the genius, nonchalantly leaning against the wall.
“What is it that you want?â€
“An exchange of information, that is all. I intend to ask you three questions - it is up to you how you choose to answer them. Then, once I have extracted what I require, you are more than welcome to ask me your own set of three questions, which I shall give the best answers to that I can, assuming that the answers you gave to mine make me inclined to do so. Understood?â€
"Three questions, huh?"
"Well, if you want to ask me more, feel free; I shall just ask more of you as well. It's just that I believe I can get all the information I'd like from three questions, however complex they might be."
Deliberate misinterpretation, of course. But Galus seemed a little intrigued by the offer, for his own reasons most likely...
"Very well. Fire away."
Maxwell twitched ever so slightly at that remark, but tried to make sure it didn't show. As to whether or not he succeeded...
"Question 1: From what the Observer said at the start of this game, I am led to believe you are a space pilot. Now, from this I can infer that you've done an awful lot of travelling throughout the universe from whence you came, but what I would like to know the most is... what wa- is your home planet like? If you want to draw anything, feel free - I have ample paper and a pencil, I'd just like to know about your home."
From the look on Galus's face, Maxwell could tell he'd struck gold. Still, he'd best continue...
"Question 2: Since you are the only other human competitor which our late friend Cabaret ever had any contact with, bar Samuel, but he doesn't count, I can safely bet that he entrusted you with the notebook he got off of the professor. Can I have it? You can have it back once I've looked at it - I am just, ahem, curious as to some of the things it might say..."
Don't even look, Maxwell. Don't even think about it...
"Finally, question 3: What made you accept to this exchange, rather than just shooting me the moment you saw me?"