The Holder of Recursion

In any city, in any country, go to any school or university you can get yourself to. Find a classroom where any sort of mathematically-involved subject is taught but is not currently in use. Step inside and write on the chalkboard or whiteboard "I wish to see the Holder of Recursion." Then leave and come back to the same classroom the next day.

You will find that your original message is gone, replaced by a fairly simple mathematical equation. If you have an intermediate skill in math (around high school algebra should suffice), you should be able to easily solve it. Once you solve the equation and write your answer on the board, a portal will open inside the board itself. Step inside and enter the Holder's realm.

You will find yourself in a large lecture hall, completely empty save a balding, middle-aged man in a white lab coat standing at the lectern. Approach him and say to him, "I have come for the first piece of my fate." He will reach into a box and pull out an incomprehensible jumble of random odds and ends. When you take these items from him, you will be instantly transported back to the classroom, at which point you are free to leave.

Know now that what the professor has given you is **not** the Object you seek. However, it will help you to eventually obtain the Object. You see, while it may look like a meaningless pile of junk, the items the professor has given you can be put together in a specific way to form a coherent object. It will take you a while to figure out the exact way to arrange the items, but once you've solved this puzzle, return to the same classroom you started this journey in. You will find another simple equation written on the board; write the solution on the wall and enter the lecture hall once more. Hand the professor your completed object; he will put it in the box and pull out another pile of odds and ends.

You will repeat this process without end; you will receive a pile of random junk, you must piece the items together to form a coherent item, you will return to the classroom with the completed puzzle, solve another equation, give the completed object to the professor, and he will give you a new pile of random junk to start all over with. Eventually, however, just when you start to go mad from the repetition, something will change. One day, when you return to the classroom, you will find that the normally simple equation has been replaced by one thousands of times more complex than anything you've ever seen before. The sheer magnitude of this new equation may drive you mad, but the perceptive Seeker will notice that, despite its massive intricacy, it's actually just all the other equations you've solved up to this point jammed together into one. If you can remember the solutions to each of the smaller equations, it will simply be a matter of plugging in the solutions and using them to come up with the ultimate solution to this equation. When the portal opens and you step back into the lecture hall, don't give your completed item to the professor this time, or he will take it and give you nothing in return, rendering this entire endeavor meaningless. Instead, tell him, "I have assembled the pieces. Now I must build my fate."

The professor will reach back into the box and hand you all of the objects you have assembled up to this point. You must now take these objects and piece them together into one final object. Much like with the equation, if you know how the smaller pieces work, it shouldn't take you long to assemble them all, but know that you cannot leave the lecture hall until this task is completed.

Once you are finished, present the result to the professor. If even one piece is not assembled correctly, the object will explode violently, obliterating you with the shrapnel. If everything has been put together exactly right, however, the finished object will glow immeasurably bright. Eventually you will find yourself back in the classroom. Check the instructor's desk and you will find a lone puzzle piece. From this piece alone, you will be able to tell that the finished image is not one meant for human eyes.

The puzzle piece is Object 419 of 538. Once you have all the pieces, it is up to you to put together the whole.