it very appealing.
Stopping for a moment, Clyde looked around.
Rock was nowhere to be found. He must have still been looking in
the front.
Clyde closed his eyes again, and let himself
float over the grid map of the garden. He knew there was a pattern.
He could feel it blending with his own rhythm. If someone were
hiding more than one key, it must be because they knew that most of
them would be found. That meant that there would be a pattern – so
the keys could easily be found – and then a final key hidden
outside the pattern.
He began to play the security screen footage
again. T he man ran to the fountain and the statue, to the three
bushes and random stones… and then Clyde saw it: a figure
eight. That meant there were still a few hidden. He strolled over
to a large bush carefully pruned into the shape of a mercenary
holding a bag of gold and a large spear. Sure enough, he found a
key hidden in the bag of gold. The other three pruned bushes – a
large bottle of medicine labeled “Rx,” a rabbit with a top hat, and
a donut-shaped planet, probably a bush version of Sagitta – proved
to contain three more keys. That meant that there was probably only
one left.
He pressed his fingers to his temple. Had
the man gone anywhere that was not located within the figure eight?
The drinking fountain. Clyde strode over to the public drinking
fountain. He looked in it, around it, even underneath it. No key.
He frowned. It was a standard drinking fountain, shaped like a
sphere with a little button about the size of a cassette tape, that
when pushed, caused water to shoot out of the spigot. The sphere
was about one foot off the ground with the water pipe visible and
then disappearing into the ground.
I’m thirsty , he thought, and pressed
the button. It didn’t move. He pressed it again. It still didn’t
move. He grinned a little and carefully removed the cover. There
was the key, shoved between the cover and the sensor. Brilliant. No
one would ever find that. Except him.
He slipped the last key into his pocket,
took a drink, and walked casually back to the building.
Rock was waiting in the office. He glanced
at his watch. “Perfect timing. I was just coming in for a
break!”
“ I found the keys.” Clyde
reached into his pocket and dropped the twenty keys on Rock’s
desk.
“ Impressive!” Rock’s
eyebrows rose considerably. “You have just done me a great favor.
How about we get this interview done with, shall we? Follow
me.”
The elevator stopped at the thirty-seventh
floor.
“ The next part of your
interview is with Quin. Do you remember him?”
“ Yes, sir!” Clyde
replied.
“ Good. I am going to meet
with a coworker and then I’ll catch up with you there. Just go to
the end of this hallway and take a right. It’s pretty
straightforward – you can’t get too lost. Tell Quin I will be right
there.”
“ Yes, sir.” Clyde nodded
once and strode confidently down the hall.
He turned the corner and froze.
In front of him lay a shaft. It must have
been hundreds of feet deep, straight down into the building. He
could see pipes and support beams, and even a few cobwebs. A cool
breeze hit his face. But there was something odd about the whole
scene.
Clyde pressed his fingers to his temples and
imagined the space around him, felt the breeze, counted his
heartbeats. Then he realized something: the part of the building he
was standing in was a sphere. A shaft would never just go down
forever. If it were real, he would be able to see grass and
possibly some nicely pruned bushes. It wouldn’t be dark, because
the sun was out. Not only that, but the breeze appeared to be
coming from straight ahead, not blowing up or down. So what should
he do? What was the problem with this hallway?
He took three deep breaths and squared his
shoulders. It was time to take a literal step of faith. He closed
his eyes and stepped forward. His foot – naturally – hit the floor.
He opened his eyes and looked down; it was an
Stopping for a moment, Clyde looked around.
Rock was nowhere to be found. He must have still been looking in
the front.
Clyde closed his eyes again, and let himself
float over the grid map of the garden. He knew there was a pattern.
He could feel it blending with his own rhythm. If someone were
hiding more than one key, it must be because they knew that most of
them would be found. That meant that there would be a pattern – so
the keys could easily be found – and then a final key hidden
outside the pattern.
He began to play the security screen footage
again. T he man ran to the fountain and the statue, to the three
bushes and random stones… and then Clyde saw it: a figure
eight. That meant there were still a few hidden. He strolled over
to a large bush carefully pruned into the shape of a mercenary
holding a bag of gold and a large spear. Sure enough, he found a
key hidden in the bag of gold. The other three pruned bushes – a
large bottle of medicine labeled “Rx,” a rabbit with a top hat, and
a donut-shaped planet, probably a bush version of Sagitta – proved
to contain three more keys. That meant that there was probably only
one left.
He pressed his fingers to his temple. Had
the man gone anywhere that was not located within the figure eight?
The drinking fountain. Clyde strode over to the public drinking
fountain. He looked in it, around it, even underneath it. No key.
He frowned. It was a standard drinking fountain, shaped like a
sphere with a little button about the size of a cassette tape, that
when pushed, caused water to shoot out of the spigot. The sphere
was about one foot off the ground with the water pipe visible and
then disappearing into the ground.
I’m thirsty , he thought, and pressed
the button. It didn’t move. He pressed it again. It still didn’t
move. He grinned a little and carefully removed the cover. There
was the key, shoved between the cover and the sensor. Brilliant. No
one would ever find that. Except him.
He slipped the last key into his pocket,
took a drink, and walked casually back to the building.
Rock was waiting in the office. He glanced
at his watch. “Perfect timing. I was just coming in for a
break!”
“ I found the keys.” Clyde
reached into his pocket and dropped the twenty keys on Rock’s
desk.
“ Impressive!” Rock’s
eyebrows rose considerably. “You have just done me a great favor.
How about we get this interview done with, shall we? Follow
me.”
The elevator stopped at the thirty-seventh
floor.
“ The next part of your
interview is with Quin. Do you remember him?”
“ Yes, sir!” Clyde
replied.
“ Good. I am going to meet
with a coworker and then I’ll catch up with you there. Just go to
the end of this hallway and take a right. It’s pretty
straightforward – you can’t get too lost. Tell Quin I will be right
there.”
“ Yes, sir.” Clyde nodded
once and strode confidently down the hall.
He turned the corner and froze.
In front of him lay a shaft. It must have
been hundreds of feet deep, straight down into the building. He
could see pipes and support beams, and even a few cobwebs. A cool
breeze hit his face. But there was something odd about the whole
scene.
Clyde pressed his fingers to his temples and
imagined the space around him, felt the breeze, counted his
heartbeats. Then he realized something: the part of the building he
was standing in was a sphere. A shaft would never just go down
forever. If it were real, he would be able to see grass and
possibly some nicely pruned bushes. It wouldn’t be dark, because
the sun was out. Not only that, but the breeze appeared to be
coming from straight ahead, not blowing up or down. So what should
he do? What was the problem with this hallway?
He took three deep breaths and squared his
shoulders. It was time to take a literal step of faith. He closed
his eyes and stepped forward. His foot – naturally – hit the floor.
He opened his eyes and looked down; it was an
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