★ 020

[boutant]

Really, City?

[ Ariadne is standing in a particularly green part of the labyrinth, trees hanging over the walls. It's still dark, stars peeking through the branches and in the open expanse of sky between the labyrinth walls. ]

Let's put the girl named Ariadne into an actual labyrinth. Funny. You didn't even give me a ball of thread.

[ She's definitely not pleased about this and clearly doesn't find it funny at all, at the moment. At least she's not cold, or unarmed; her trademark red cardigan is on, and she has her throwing knives. Hopefully the deities didn't throw in a minotaur... ]

I guess I'd better start trying to find the way out. If anyone has any leads, I'd appreciate it.

((ooc: network or action is fine!))

Comments

video;

[candothat]

I don't think there are ways out.

[Chekov holds up... a map? Yes, it's most definitely a map of some kind, although it's poorly drawn, full of illegible mathematical equations, and appears to loop in on itself in a way that nothing that can be mapped can loop.]

Or there are ways out and it is simply not navigable.

[boutant]

If it's a true labyrinth, the point is to get to the center -- which makes me wonder just what's at the center, to be honest.

[ If she weren't so grumpy about how not funny this is, she'd be more inclined to investigate. ]

But it's also the City, which means that for all we know, the walls move.

[candothat]

If it is a true labyrinth, the deities should have given you a sword and a ball of twine. There would also be a minotaur in the center, which would make that a very bad place to go.

[somewhat irritably] It isn't fair if the walls move.

[boutant]

I wouldn't have the sword; someone named Theseus would. But the minotaur might not be so bad for me, since he'd be my brother.

It's the City. It's never fair. [ Glancing around. ] The trick is to look for the paradoxes. Enclosed loops.

[candothat]

Not so bad for you, maybe.

[He gives her a look that, if Ariadne is exceptionally fluent in nonverbal communication, says, "Look, lady, the only loops and paradoxes I know about are on the quantum level."] Paradoxes.

[boutant]

Have you ever heard of M.C. Escher?

[ Ariadne's pretty perceptive. ]

[candothat]

Yes. His drawings make my head hurt. [Which means he isn't going to like what he suspects she's going to say.]

[boutant]

Those sorts of things. Never-ending stairs, walls that look solid but are hiding a gap, and so on.

A lot of paradoxes might not actually be possible with real world physics, but with the City? Who knows.

[candothat]

Then I will look for impossible things. Thank you, Ariadne.

[boutant]

You're welcome.

Maybe we'll run into each other.

[candothat]

Of the many things that may happen in here, that would be one of the better ones.

[boutant]

Definitely.

Is there anything that stands out near you?

[candothat]

Not here, no, but there was a staircase on the side of one wall not so far back.

[boutant]

Are you still walking?

[candothat]

Back towards the staircase, yes.

[boutant]

Hopefully it'll still be there.

[candothat]

If not, there will be other strange things soon enough.

Are you doing well?

[boutant]

I could be better. [ Could be worse, too. ]

[candothat]

You would rather be at work than in a labyrinth?

[boutant]

It depends on what's going on at work and on the company in the labyrinth.

[candothat]

That is a very tactful answer.

[boutant]

I guess it is. It's true, though. Work can be fun, but I like exploring. That said, I don't want to get attacked in here, either.

[candothat]

Will you be safe if something does attack you?

[boutant]

I have my throwing knives.

[candothat]

[Ariadne gets cool points. Throwing knives are awesome even in the future.]

I hope you will not need to use them.