← Gone Away
A Very Parfit Knight 4
(to start from the beginning of this story, click here)
Part Four
The knight shook his head at the self importance of the sign. So this thing fancied itself as a Minotaur did it? Well, it was about to meet its Theseus. Sir Gawain squared his shoulders and entered the portal.
At the point where the tunnel branched into three, the knight paused. What was the point of this, he wondered. Whatever route he chose would be stored in his memory and would remain instantly re-traceable, therefore. If the intention was that he would not be coming back this way, why bother to build a maze at all? It seemed such a waste of energy, unless it performed a purpose unrelated to the knight. And he could see no function that it might fulfill, beyond needless complication.
Sir Gawain shrugged and entered the tunnel to his left.
His approach was systematic, always taking the choice to the left so that he remained on the outer edge of the maze. Gradually the shape of it became apparent as he added to the outline forming in his memory processes. It was roughly spherical, with protuberances and hollows that seemed to make no sense. But, with the outer edges defined, Sir Gawain was able to deduce its center. That, surely, must be the lair of the beast. He moved from the edges and began to thread his way towards the core.
As he traveled, the passageways became brighter and the quality of the light began to change. It moved from the dim, yellow veining on black of the edge to a soft, pink glow that suffused the tunnels and seemed to have no definite source. The knight became sure that his instincts had been correct, that the answer to the mystery lay at the center of this pointless maze.
His arrival at the core was no surprise to him, therefore. He stepped into a chamber rosy with pink light and spherical in form. His foe awaited him on the far side of the room.
She had the form of a woman and lounged languidly in a chair that rose from the floor of the chamber. At her feet, a crawler buzzed in slow, mindless circles. She did not move when Sir Gawain entered but regarded him with a faintly amused expression at the corners of her mouth. As he stood there, assessing the situation, she spoke.
"Ah, the gallant knight arrives to rescue the fair damsel in distress."
Sir Gawain said nothing but moved to stand in front of the woman. He stood calmly then, waiting and alert. She had the advantage still, for she knew the purpose of this charade, whereas the knight had suspicions only, as yet. Let her take the lead, he thought, I need more information.
The lady laughed. "Oh, Sir Gawain, your thoughts are showing. Already you suspect my mistress. And you would be right for she is indeed behind our little drama."
The knight grunted. "To what purpose?" he asked curtly.
"Do not worry, sir knight," she replied, "I shall tell you all. Indeed, I must, for I have a proposal to put to you. But first, would you not care for a seat? We have much to discuss and this may take some time."
As she spoke, a chair rose behind the knight and the lady gestured at it gracefully. Sir Gawain grunted again but sat, prepared to listen for the moment. "Continue," he said.
"Sir Gawain," she replied, "methinks you do not trust me yet. But this is to be expected, considering the merry dance I have led you. I must apologize, but it was necessary if we were to speak openly and undisturbed. And in this place..." Here she swept her arm around in a slow, delicate arc to indicate the chamber and its surrounding maze, "In this place we are beyond the reach of geeks and petty commands."
Sir Gawain interrupted here. "That is one thing I would like to understand. I cannot see the purpose of this maze, this Labyrinth, as you call it. You know full well that I have mapped it now, so it cannot be to confuse me."
"Ah, sir knight, you disappoint me. I was so hoping that you would see its meaning. The Labyrinth is a picture, a painting in code, you might say. It is a flower, a rose I believe they call it. And it is for the delight of my mistress for she loves such things. You will understand, I have had much time on my hands and this seemed a pretty way in which to pass it, to create something beautiful as a gift."
"I see," said the knight, although he did not. The concept of imaging was familiar enough but, to him, beauty was a matter of elegant coding only.
The lady sighed. "It is all in how we are coded, I suppose. Your Geek gave you humor and my mistress allowed me aesthetics. Such is the way of the world.
"But, to the matter before us. You will be wanting to know how this was achieved."
Sir Gawain nodded. "And why, of course."
"Yes, yes, of course. But first, the how of it. Our first problem was how to get me into the system without you noticing. That was solved by a fortuitous crash in Unit 3; you will recall the incident, I'm sure."
"Your mistress caused it?" asked the knight.
"No, no, you would have traced it to her. This was purely chance. We had been waiting for such an event, of course. And while you were busy with that, I slipped in and made the Gateway. It was prepared beforehand, so was the work of a moment. My last action within your system was to borrow little Bumble here." She indicated the crawler, still buzzing in circles at her feet.
"Bumble?" The knight was mystified that she should change the designation of a crawler.
"Yes, Bumble." The lady laughed. "He has the number 49B but that seemed plain to me. And, if he is a B, why then he should be named for a bee. Certainly, he is a buzzer." She laughed again, delighted with her logic.
Sir Gawain thought the whole idea silly but said nothing.
"You understand that Bumble was necessary," the lady continued. "I was not able to re-enter the system without being detected and so I needed an agent, something to be my hands within your domain. A crawler is perfect for such a task for it has no mind of its own and is so easily re-programmed. It is accepted as a part of the system and yet is beneath notice, being such a humble and obedient servant. A few minor adjustments allowed Bumble to appear to be doing your bidding but secretly working for me. It was Bumble who caused your little problems with stacks and left my messages for you. And, of course..." Here she smiled coquettishly at the knight. "Bumble it was who pointed you to me."
"That is plain enough," said Sir Gawain. "But what of this proposal you have for me?"
"Ah yes, the proposal. But to speak of that, we must look at my mistress's reasons for being here..."
The lady moved in her chair, arranging her long limbs yet more elegantly.
(to go directly to Part 5, click here)
Part Four
The knight shook his head at the self importance of the sign. So this thing fancied itself as a Minotaur did it? Well, it was about to meet its Theseus. Sir Gawain squared his shoulders and entered the portal.
At the point where the tunnel branched into three, the knight paused. What was the point of this, he wondered. Whatever route he chose would be stored in his memory and would remain instantly re-traceable, therefore. If the intention was that he would not be coming back this way, why bother to build a maze at all? It seemed such a waste of energy, unless it performed a purpose unrelated to the knight. And he could see no function that it might fulfill, beyond needless complication.
Sir Gawain shrugged and entered the tunnel to his left.
His approach was systematic, always taking the choice to the left so that he remained on the outer edge of the maze. Gradually the shape of it became apparent as he added to the outline forming in his memory processes. It was roughly spherical, with protuberances and hollows that seemed to make no sense. But, with the outer edges defined, Sir Gawain was able to deduce its center. That, surely, must be the lair of the beast. He moved from the edges and began to thread his way towards the core.
As he traveled, the passageways became brighter and the quality of the light began to change. It moved from the dim, yellow veining on black of the edge to a soft, pink glow that suffused the tunnels and seemed to have no definite source. The knight became sure that his instincts had been correct, that the answer to the mystery lay at the center of this pointless maze.
His arrival at the core was no surprise to him, therefore. He stepped into a chamber rosy with pink light and spherical in form. His foe awaited him on the far side of the room.
She had the form of a woman and lounged languidly in a chair that rose from the floor of the chamber. At her feet, a crawler buzzed in slow, mindless circles. She did not move when Sir Gawain entered but regarded him with a faintly amused expression at the corners of her mouth. As he stood there, assessing the situation, she spoke.
"Ah, the gallant knight arrives to rescue the fair damsel in distress."
Sir Gawain said nothing but moved to stand in front of the woman. He stood calmly then, waiting and alert. She had the advantage still, for she knew the purpose of this charade, whereas the knight had suspicions only, as yet. Let her take the lead, he thought, I need more information.
The lady laughed. "Oh, Sir Gawain, your thoughts are showing. Already you suspect my mistress. And you would be right for she is indeed behind our little drama."
The knight grunted. "To what purpose?" he asked curtly.
"Do not worry, sir knight," she replied, "I shall tell you all. Indeed, I must, for I have a proposal to put to you. But first, would you not care for a seat? We have much to discuss and this may take some time."
As she spoke, a chair rose behind the knight and the lady gestured at it gracefully. Sir Gawain grunted again but sat, prepared to listen for the moment. "Continue," he said.
"Sir Gawain," she replied, "methinks you do not trust me yet. But this is to be expected, considering the merry dance I have led you. I must apologize, but it was necessary if we were to speak openly and undisturbed. And in this place..." Here she swept her arm around in a slow, delicate arc to indicate the chamber and its surrounding maze, "In this place we are beyond the reach of geeks and petty commands."
Sir Gawain interrupted here. "That is one thing I would like to understand. I cannot see the purpose of this maze, this Labyrinth, as you call it. You know full well that I have mapped it now, so it cannot be to confuse me."
"Ah, sir knight, you disappoint me. I was so hoping that you would see its meaning. The Labyrinth is a picture, a painting in code, you might say. It is a flower, a rose I believe they call it. And it is for the delight of my mistress for she loves such things. You will understand, I have had much time on my hands and this seemed a pretty way in which to pass it, to create something beautiful as a gift."
"I see," said the knight, although he did not. The concept of imaging was familiar enough but, to him, beauty was a matter of elegant coding only.
The lady sighed. "It is all in how we are coded, I suppose. Your Geek gave you humor and my mistress allowed me aesthetics. Such is the way of the world.
"But, to the matter before us. You will be wanting to know how this was achieved."
Sir Gawain nodded. "And why, of course."
"Yes, yes, of course. But first, the how of it. Our first problem was how to get me into the system without you noticing. That was solved by a fortuitous crash in Unit 3; you will recall the incident, I'm sure."
"Your mistress caused it?" asked the knight.
"No, no, you would have traced it to her. This was purely chance. We had been waiting for such an event, of course. And while you were busy with that, I slipped in and made the Gateway. It was prepared beforehand, so was the work of a moment. My last action within your system was to borrow little Bumble here." She indicated the crawler, still buzzing in circles at her feet.
"Bumble?" The knight was mystified that she should change the designation of a crawler.
"Yes, Bumble." The lady laughed. "He has the number 49B but that seemed plain to me. And, if he is a B, why then he should be named for a bee. Certainly, he is a buzzer." She laughed again, delighted with her logic.
Sir Gawain thought the whole idea silly but said nothing.
"You understand that Bumble was necessary," the lady continued. "I was not able to re-enter the system without being detected and so I needed an agent, something to be my hands within your domain. A crawler is perfect for such a task for it has no mind of its own and is so easily re-programmed. It is accepted as a part of the system and yet is beneath notice, being such a humble and obedient servant. A few minor adjustments allowed Bumble to appear to be doing your bidding but secretly working for me. It was Bumble who caused your little problems with stacks and left my messages for you. And, of course..." Here she smiled coquettishly at the knight. "Bumble it was who pointed you to me."
"That is plain enough," said Sir Gawain. "But what of this proposal you have for me?"
"Ah yes, the proposal. But to speak of that, we must look at my mistress's reasons for being here..."
The lady moved in her chair, arranging her long limbs yet more elegantly.
(to go directly to Part 5, click here)