The Holder of Boredom

In any city, in any country, go to any mental institution of halfway house you can get yourself to. Sit at a chair in front of the front desk, and wait. Be prepared to wait a long time. If necessary, you may eat and drink, but you must not sleep, and you must not move from the chair. Eventually - after some time - a man in a heavy trenchcoat will occupy the seat just across from yours. He will have a locked briefcase, which he will carefully set beneath his chair - this will be your cue to act. Clear your throat, and he will look up at you.

Take this opportunity to note his hair color - if it is red, apologise and try again another day. If it is black, then may God help you, for you will lose all will to live, and suffer an excruciating death from the sudden lack of motivation to breathe. If his hair is blonde, you will lose all willingness to collect the Objects; he will then somberly request them, and you, being of no mind to argue, will numbly comply. If his hair is gray, however, and stiffened with age, you must meet his eyes, and ask to meet the "Holder of Boredom." The man's face will not change, and he will gaze at you for a brief time. Then, with a bemused look, he will stand up, and open his trenchcoat - revealing that he lacks any form, with a thick gray miasma wholly taking the place of his body. You will find yourself inexorably drawn into the miasma; close your eyes as you are enveloped by it or you spend an eternity floating in the gray haze, alone and unable to move.

Open your eyes once you realize that the sounds of wind, distant laughter, and rushing water have died away. You will find yourself in a blank, white void. All around you, you will see nothing, and you find yourself completely weightless. Look around until you see the merest suggestion of an outlined figure in the distance. Begin slowly moving towards this figure. DO NOT, under any circumstances, go towards the figure if you are not sure of its singularity. There is but one correct path, and deviation from it will paralyze you, casting you adrift in this blank, vast sea of emptiness.

Once you are on the path, you must be vigilant. You must continue forward without any change - maintain your speed, your direction, your focus. If you are to look away, or your path to drift, the figure will disappear and you will be forever lost. The figure at first may not appear to move any closer, but maintain your purpose. Continue on.

Finally, the figure will emerge from the void, holding reverentially what appears to be a Rubik's Cube with indistinguishable sides. His black hair will be just visible beneath his cloak. His head will rise at your approach, and his hands tighten upon the Cube. You must stop before him, and ask this question: "What drives the Seekers?"

In response, he will turn one side of the Cube - slowly, and meaningfully. As it locks into place, you will feel a pool of agony surge through you as your body teeters on the edge between dimensions - you may feel yourself beginning to age, or grow younger, or feel your body compress, or decompress - but above all, hold on to the feeling of just prior to the experience, the feeling of normality. If you do not let go of the previous moment, you should make it through the pain with minimal organ failure or broken bones. He turns the cube's side once more, and you suddenly feel... focused. Sharper. As though there was an imperceptible problem throughout your entire life that has just been corrected. (NOTE: While you are in this state of heightened awareness, use this opportunity to remember the Objects, remember your purpose. This is crucial.)

The man will turn the cube again, and you will feel all willpower sapped from you. You will feel completely apathetic, and will be in danger of giving up your quest - unless you are of a strong mind, and have taken the previous precautions necessary. If you succumb, and give up your quest, you will be robbed of your senses and left adrift in the void, sightless, voiceless, and essentially mindless.

If you retain your purpose, the man will turn the cube's side once more, and the world will return to the one you are used to. Seeing that you have overcome his trial, the man will, smiling, hold out the cube and drop it. Move quickly, or it will fall into the endless void - move downwards with all due speed, and catch it.

As soon as you feel its weight in your hand, your fall will slow until your knees, forced up by inertia, move you into a sitting state, at which point the void will fade to the lobby of your original location. The cube will still be in your hands; however, the man will be gone. A custodian will retrieve the man's briefcase from beneath the seat he once occupied. This is the cue for you to exit.

The Rubik's cube is Object 371 of 538 - a reminder that your pursuit must be relentless and purposeful.

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176
177
178
179
180
181
182
183
184
185
186
187
188
189
190
191
192
193
194
195
196
197
198
199
200
201
202
203
204
205
206
207
208
209
210
211
212
213
214
215
216
217
218
219
220
221
222
223
224
225
226
227
228
229
230
231
232
233
234
235
236
237
238
239
240
241
242
243
244
245
246
247
248
249
250
251
252
253
254
255
256
257
258
259
260
261
262
263
264
265
266
267
268
269
270
271
272
273
274
275
276
277
278
279
280
281
282
283
284
285
286
287
288
289
290
291
292
293
294
295
296
297
298
299
300
301
302
303
304
305
306
307
308
309
310
311
312
313
314
315
316
317
318
319
320
321
322
323
324
325
326
327
328
329
330
331
332
333
334
335
336
337
338
339
340
341
342
343
344
345
346
347
348
349
350
351
352
353
354
355
356
357
358
359
360
361
362
363
364
365
366
367
368
369
370
371
372
373
374
375
376
377
378
379
380
381
382
383
384
385
386
387
388
389
390
391
392
393
394
395
396
397
398
399
400
401
402
403
404
405
406
407
408
409
410
411
412
413
414
415
416
417
418
419
420
421
422
423
424
425
426
427
428
429
430
431
432
433
434
435
436
437
438
439
440
441
442
443
444
445
446
447
448
449
450
451
452
453
454
455
456
457
458
459
460
461
462
463
464
465
466
467
468
469
470
471
472
473
474
475
476
477
478
479
480
481
482
483
484
485
486
487
488
489
490
491
492
493
494
495
496
497
498
499
500
501
502
503
504
505
506
507
508
509
510
511
512
513
514
515
516
517
518
519
520
521
522
523
524
525
526
527
528
529
530
531
532
533
534
535
536
537
538