Glass Coffin

## Design and Function

This trap was located in a room in the underground tunnels beneath the Nerve Gas House. The walls on the right and the left side of the room were made of thick, solid metal. Once the game began, the two metal walls would slowly start to move towards each other and ultimately crush the victim between them. The only way to escape was to enter the glass coffin, which was located in the center of the room in a slightly reclined upright position. The coffin itself was an elongated box made of bulletproof glass with a metal framework and was filled with numerous glass shards. Once the door of the coffin was closed, it was automatically locked by a deadbolt. On the ceiling of the room was a grate with two oxygen tanks above it. These tanks were connected to the coffin by tubes which would fill it with enough oxygen for the victim to survive in the coffin for a short amount of time. Additionally, the coffin was connected to a gear system, which, once it was activated, caused the coffin to be lowered into the floor of the room, thereby avoiding the crushing walls. After the game, it was transported to an adjacent room where it was opened again, enabling the test subject to leave it easily.

## History

### Peter Strahm's Test

> Hello, Agent Strahm. If you are hearing this, then you have once again found what you are looking for. Or so you think. Your dedication is to be commended. But I ask you: have you learned anything in your journey of discovery? As the old adage goes, "Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me." The situation you find yourself in is one of trust. So I ask you, Special Agent Strahm, have you learned to trust me? The only way to survive this room is by entering the glass box before you. Pain will be incurred, but you will have a chance of survival (Strahm Hears Hoffman And Stops The Tape) However, if you choose not to, you will never be heard from again. Your body will never be found. You will simply vanish. I ask you, Special Agent Strahm: Have you learned enough to trust me? Will you heed my warning? For if you do not, this room will forever be your tomb. And my legacy will become yours. Make your choice.
>
> Strahm's tape

Over a year later, John's apprentice and eventual successor, Detective Mark Hoffman, used the coffin to set up a trap in the underground tunnels located beneath the Nerve Gas House. The victim of this trap was Peter Strahm, a special agent who was about to discover his true identity. While following Hoffman, Strahm eventually reached the room with the coffin. Besides numerous glass shards, it contained a tape recorder. Strahm grabbed it and played the message left for him by Hoffman but stopped when he heard Hoffman's steps behind him. He quickly went into hiding behind the door and waited for the detective. When Hoffman arrived and entered the room, he found the tape lying on the floor, and Strahm calmly approached him from behind while holding him at gun point. However, Hoffman saw a reflection of Strahm in the coffin glass and therefore thwarted his surprise attack. The two men engaged in a fight and eventually Strahm managed to lock Hoffman inside the coffin.

Seconds later, the door to the room closed, and Strahm furiously demanded Hoffman to tell him how to open it, but Hoffman just calmly pointed at the tape. When the agent listened to the second half of the tape, the coffin was slowly lowered down into a hollow space in the floor, while the walls of the room started to move towards each other. Strahm desperately tried to find a way out and angrily yelled at Hoffman. However, he was eventually crushed to death by the walls, while Hoffman averted his gaze in disgust.

### Aftermath

Moments later, Hoffman was transported to another room nearby where he was able to open and leave the coffin. He returned to the hallway and used a switch which caused the walls that killed Strahm to return to their original position. Upon reentering the room, he saw Strahm's mutilated corpse which was still clinging to a grate at the ceiling with one hand. When he approached it, it fell down to the floor. However, Hoffman realized that the now severed hand, which still clanged to the grate, was almost unharmed. Therefore, he removed it by using pliers and took it with him in order to use it to place Strahm's fingerprints on his future crime scenes.