The Holder of Hypocrisy

In any city, in any country, go to any mental institution or halfway house you can get yourself to. When you reach the front desk, ask to see a person who calls himself the Holder of Hypocrisy. A look of machismo and confidence will appear on the worker's face, and he will walk away, telling you to come with him. Do not follow him; to do so is to invite death. As he turns the corner, he will realize that you are not following him, and will whimper as he scurries back to you. He will tell you much more fearfully to follow him, and will look back over his shoulder to make sure that you are coming.

Follow him, and he will lead you to a wing of the institution that looks like it hasn't been occupied in years. However, if you look closer, you will realize that the decay is an illusion. The paint chips carpeting the floor have been methodically scraped off the walls, and the lightbulbs that you thought had simply died have been shattered. The usual medium-sized rooms that house the inmates in the rest of the hospital have been replaced by small closet-sized cells covered in wire grating and secured by rail spikes.

As you follow the worker down the hallway, you will begin to hear sounds of other people. The cells are not empty - they are filled with people of varying sanity, all of whom are pounding desperately on the wire grating as thousands of cockroaches crawl over them. Do not look at them, no matter how piteous their cries. If you do, the person you gaze at will cackle with glee as he is freed from his prison, and he and the worker will force you into the cell to take his place.

Continue walking through the hall, following the worker. The hallway will get more and more narrow, until the sides of the cells are scraping on your clothes and the wretched denizens' fingers are clawing at your face, your legs, anything they can reach. When you hear a woman's voice murmur, "I know what you are after," stop immediately and say, "Then you know the way."

The lights will immediately flash once, then twice, and then go out. You will then hear the rail spikes being ejected from the walls, and the sound of grating falling to the floor. Feel to the left and right for the only grating that has not fallen - if the grating is loose on the left, pray for a quick death as the prisoners shriek and charge at you. If the grating is loose on the right, pry it off and enter the cell. You will hear the woman say, "That isn't the way, Seeker," over and over again. Ignore her and continue walking; hesitation will give the cockroaches enough time to eat you alive. You will come to three doors, two of which are golden, one of which is crawling with termites. Open the door that is crawling with termites - the golden doors are in reality no better, and they lead to the darkest pits of Hell.

Once inside the door, you will find yourself on the stage of a large lecture hall with mirrors on all of its walls. At the podium is a man clothed in a silver robe, addressing the empty seats in an unknown language. Only look at the man with your eyes; viewing him through the mirrors will cause you to go mad from the shock of what he actually looks like.

Avoiding the reflections of the mirrors, sit in the farthest row to the back and raise your hand. He will ignore you. Cut the lining of the the seat in front of you, (use your teeth if you neglected to bring a cutting object) and pick up the microphone that the seat holds. Thump the microphone three times. The speaker will look at you in annoyance and ask, "Do you have anything to add?"

Only one question will allow you to leave the hall alive. "What must I do to survive the ordeal?" All other questions will reveal that the hall is not empty at all, and the audience does not like to be interrupted by inane questions.

The speaker will recoil in shock, and you will have to steel yourself for his true appearance. The lights will bathe him in a brilliant glow, and he will disrobe, revealing a creature so horrible that the very air around him will seem polluted, and to look at him would be to invite madness. Shrieks will be heard in the seats in front of you, creating a wretched din. Run to the middle corridor among the seats, and sprint down toward the creature. When you reach the stage, scream, "I know what you are!"

The hall will vanish, and only the stage will remain. The creature will be replaced by the man in the silver clothes, and he will look into your eyes.

"Do you really?"

You see that the man is yourself, thirty years older. The man will then flash back to his monster form, then back to you. Do not react; if you do, you will be begging to be let back into the hall of the insane asylum, as the cockroaches will seem like Heaven compared to your fate.

If you stand perfectly still, he will press a heavy metal object into your hand. The microphone is Object 315 of 538. It will help you find the truth of the objects.