Methaus Nash, entry #1

Jun 12, 2011 11:17

a professor once asked me why i hated riddles so much. i asked him why not. numbers should be the universal language, and if i were to be a class to study numbers, then i didn't want it mucked up with the grit we call WORDS. numbers do not lie like words do, and they are clear and refined.

so the professor asked me such: how would i solve the numbers in real life if i can't translate letters to numbers? if i believed numbers to be a universal truth, then there would be numbers in every language. in every cipher. in every aspect of the universe, because that was what he taught his students. and aspects of the universe include words. he gave me a riddle then, and i will set it forth on paper.

'if a soldier were asked about the passcode of his regiment, and he refused to answer to lowly interrogators but only to those intelligent enough to help him once they discovered the message, he would put his numbers into a riddle. a riddle with numbers, but also with words.

and for every question the enemy asked him, he would ask a question in return. did you know that i have encountered bullies like you three times in my life, he would tell them. three times. if i were to multiply my ages at the encounters together, i would get seventy-two. but seventy-two is not the number you're looking for. if i add the numbers together, then i would come up with the number of the person in your regiment who is a traitor and will help me.

and when they beat and tortured him, he would laugh to know they were not smart enough to solve the riddle. i have given you my answer! he would exclaim. i have told you what you need to know. you are just as bad as the last time i was bullied, and i was much older than the first time.'

and for his interrogators, they never figured out what he was trying to tell them. however, the traitor figured it out and called the man's regiment to warn them about having one of their own as hostage for the other side. eventually, the traitor and the man escaped and the man was awarded for his so-called heroic endurance, despite having told them everything they needed to know.

so for those who would dare intrude upon my words, perhaps you will be smart enough to figure it out? the passcode to more information than you will be able to access on the ship computers is both the number of the traitor and the number of the regiment.

methaus, *riddle

Next post
Up