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Deep in the Labyrinth...
I seem to have been bit by the writting bug. Don't ask me where this came from.
The party lept through the doorway just before it slammed shut again. It locked behind them with a series of low clicks. The new chamber looked much like the last. Directly across from them was the same door and combination lock that had blocked their path at every step. And yet...
"Something is wrong," the soldier said.
The scientist looked around carefully. "You're right." She ran her hand along the wall nearest them. Nothing was obviously different about it.
"Wait," said the civilian, "Who got left behind?"
The soldier spun around on him. "Don't be silly. We're all here. Shut up and let the doc here think."
"A non-Euclidean geometry, maybe?" the scientist muttered. "Something isn't right with the walls."
"I know we're all here," said the civilian. "I'm here, and the two of you are right there. But..."
The soldier turned away in disgust. On the other side of the room the scientist was measuring the exit with a piece of string.
"What's that for?"
"I don't know if you've noticed, but there are only two walls for this entire room. Which is impossible, because they appear to be flat. So I'm looking for evidence of curvature in the spatial geometry."
The civilian looked confused. "There aren't just two walls. There are, uh... two of them."
The soldier looked like he was considering physical violence.
"But it's a square! I mean, look at it! Squares don't have two sides!"
The scientist paused to glance around. "That's why the space itself has to be curved. There are only two walls. Count them."
"Two walls over there and two more over there. You're right, only two walls."
"That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard," said the soldier.
"You try it!"
The soldier was silent.
The scientist stared at the civilian. "Didn't you say one of us was missing?"
"Yeah... I can see we're all here. But there are only two of us now."
"You, me and him. Two plus two plus two. Two people."
The civilian rubbed his forehead. "Right. I mean, no!"
"Hrm."
"Doc, I don't mean to be rude," said the solider. "But what the hell is going on? The other team must be right behind us."
"I think..." the scientist trailed off. She squinted at the inscription carved over the exit. Like the others, it was an equation that would provide the combination needed to pass.
"Sergeant, I think this is where n equals two."
The party lept through the doorway just before it slammed shut again. It locked behind them with a series of low clicks. The new chamber looked much like the last. Directly across from them was the same door and combination lock that had blocked their path at every step. And yet...
"Something is wrong," the soldier said.
The scientist looked around carefully. "You're right." She ran her hand along the wall nearest them. Nothing was obviously different about it.
"Wait," said the civilian, "Who got left behind?"
The soldier spun around on him. "Don't be silly. We're all here. Shut up and let the doc here think."
"A non-Euclidean geometry, maybe?" the scientist muttered. "Something isn't right with the walls."
"I know we're all here," said the civilian. "I'm here, and the two of you are right there. But..."
The soldier turned away in disgust. On the other side of the room the scientist was measuring the exit with a piece of string.
"What's that for?"
"I don't know if you've noticed, but there are only two walls for this entire room. Which is impossible, because they appear to be flat. So I'm looking for evidence of curvature in the spatial geometry."
The civilian looked confused. "There aren't just two walls. There are, uh... two of them."
The soldier looked like he was considering physical violence.
"But it's a square! I mean, look at it! Squares don't have two sides!"
The scientist paused to glance around. "That's why the space itself has to be curved. There are only two walls. Count them."
"Two walls over there and two more over there. You're right, only two walls."
"That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard," said the soldier.
"You try it!"
The soldier was silent.
The scientist stared at the civilian. "Didn't you say one of us was missing?"
"Yeah... I can see we're all here. But there are only two of us now."
"You, me and him. Two plus two plus two. Two people."
The civilian rubbed his forehead. "Right. I mean, no!"
"Hrm."
"Doc, I don't mean to be rude," said the solider. "But what the hell is going on? The other team must be right behind us."
"I think..." the scientist trailed off. She squinted at the inscription carved over the exit. Like the others, it was an equation that would provide the combination needed to pass.
"Sergeant, I think this is where n equals two."
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So you're setting up a math problem, and you specify 'where n is a non-negative integer' or somesuch. Well, this room is where n is equal to 2. There are always two of whatever you count. No matter what values you plug into the equation, the answer is always two.
The image really, really amused me. But like a flightless bird from some remote tropical island, it is ill-suited to life in the big, scary outside world. Poor little idea, left behind in an evolutionary backwater. Giant rats ate all its eggs while it tried to scare them off by running in circles and sneezing a lot.
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