The Maze.
I met them at the gate though I usually wait inside. Preoccupied with their own thoughts, impatient, like so many children, they didn’t see who I really was. They never noticed my crown, my pain, the fire in my eyes.
Like all the others they think the Maze was made for them; actually, it is the other way around. They think I am some poet who will lead them through the symbols and spaces of this Underworld. They think I will teach them lessons. They should call me Cerberus…. I am the lesson.
The monstrous walls rise up and run away as far as the human eye can see, circling and dividing. Which half is the Maze?
Even I get lost. It changes–sometimes slowly, imperceptibly … sometimes suddenly. This House is not only made of stone and mortar, wood and paint; it is made of time and mystery, hope and fear. Construction never stops. I take some pride in my role as architect.
They think I will guide them to the center. Perhaps I will….
The sun was very hot.
Together we walked through the gate into…
- Images and text copyright 1985 by Christopher Manson
used with permission. [Purchase MAZE from Amazon]
Hidden Hint:
● A comparison between this image and the matching image on the cover shows that the red herring on the cover is gone and has been replaced here by the phrase “THE NEXT PAGE.” This may illustrate a principle in the book, room linkages between two rooms are red herrings.
● The door is in the shape of a pi symbol. [Independent Credit: LoMoody | Hidden Mystery | White Raven] The semicircle over the door could be visual way of expressing pi.
● The umbrella could be a running gag in the book in which the visitors are urged to prepare for rain that never comes, or it could be a running clue helping visitors choose the right door. Here the umbrella handle could represent the letter “r” creating the mathematical expression “pi r” which is equal to the circumference of half a circle – expressed by the half circle over the door. [Credit: Aria]
Next: Room 1
D octo (8 sides) r agon
Theres the wbm i know! Alright, so you combined the words doctor, dragon, octo and the “agon” suffix because imagery suggesting all of those things are in adjacent rooms.
There isn’t a connection between dragon and doctor that doesn’t require word salad, but saying “doctor” contains “octo” isn’t too shabby.
Thanks, I think…
So “d octo r” has nothing to do with a “d okto r’s” stethoscope room in 8* (*octo)?
No, I don’t think so. I thought you were referring to the lab coat in 35 and the stop sign in 3. Which, I don’t think is their either, I think you’d have to find something that gives it more meat.
Is the “no no” in reference to the number 96?
What “no no?” And what reference do you mean
That is the question
Agon – is an ancient Greek term for a conflict, struggle or contest. THIS could BE A CONtest in athletics, in charioT OR HORSE racing, in music or in literature, at a public festival in ancient Greece. Agon is the word-forming element in ‘agony’, explaining the concept of agon(y) in tragedy by its fundamental characters, the protagonist and antagonist.
ancient greece or Asian tea grease???
Well, that’s strange..
@sock puppet – What do you mean? An African or a European swallow?
sock puppet, or Jacques pulpit????
William Brandon McLaughlin, you are nonsense-talking and bat shit crazy. Little you say has anything to do with Maze, and for some reason your meaningless ramblings are entertained by the more tactful members of this forum. I don’t know who’s worse, the raving lunatic or the people who give him a platform.
It’s the raving lunatic, at least in this case.
I’ve come to the right place then! lol
Is the solution to just not answer? To be honest though, I don’t mind engaging with wbm over his ideas. I feel like it either dredges up mildly interesting info at best, better helps understand the processes of maze through what doesn’t make sense and why it doesn’t make sense, or just keeps the forum alive at worst.
Like, I feel like we’re post “wbm doesnt make sense” stage. We’ve accepted this and now he’s just kind of a force of nature here.
All in good jest kind people. All in good jest. It’s nothing to lose our still heads about, now is it?
Oh, phew, good jest, we can all relax.
welcome, one and all, to the WBM and Gentile club: bizarre references to sexuality on IntoTheAbyss!
I want to show this sentence to 1985 Manson and see his reaction
You’re going to have to explain the internet to him.
hmmm, now that i think about it, once i explain the internet, the idea of bizarre sexual references to another forum-user wouldn’t be out of the ordinary within that explanation
This spoonerism is missing an eye
Sounds like something describable as “not a spoonerism.”
“Cane (umbrella) Brace” is a spoonerism of “Brain (umbrella) Case”. And if someone were to decipher Cane, Umbrella, and Brace (C.U.B.), some anagrammatical words like Cranium, Cerberus and other interestingly, (M)AZE related terms, would definitely make for an appearance as well.
They tried to put me on the cover of Vogue
But my legs were too long!
(Verse 1)
Everyday is leg day, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday
Thighs, calves all the way
Thursday, Friday, Saturday
Sunday is the one day, I get on my runway
Ready for it hunty? Ready for it hunty?
(Prechorus)
I’m legendary, all legs, no dairy
I’m legendary, all legs, no dairy
(Chorus)
Legs! Legs! What’s on the menu?
Legs! Legs! What’s on the menu?
Legs! Legs! What’s on the menu?
(clap clap clap clap)
Ritz isn’t gay! He just likes the way it feels…
wbm cancelled
wbm is problematic
that sounds vaguely like it could be a joke so I want to be 100% clear that is not
This thread took an unexpected turn.
There is no cane here, no brace, no cane brace, no brain, no case, no brain case, and no missing eyes. There is no cub, although I’m not even sure whether that was meant to be serious.
I find all of that more offensive than his incomprehensible claims about ritz’s sexuality.
guysss this was my master plan! i nearly de-railed everything! sigh…
Is this umbrella (like the one shown here) really an umbrella or just a guard against the rain?
The rain may be a red herring. If it can rain in Room 6, then it can also shine. But, yes, there should be more parasols due to the other rooms containing sunshine, negating any consistent rule with this interpretation. The Maze may be embracing this inconsistency as one more form of ruse.
I was thinking the umbrella is actually a parasol and to be used to ward off the sun not rain. This coincides with the guide’s dislike for the sun as has been established. The parasols were lining up with this theory as they were found either outside or pointing to rooms (doors) where the sun is involved: the Prologue page which leads to the sunlit Room 1 (or outside wgen exiting the Maze); Room 8 pointing to Room 31, a courtyard; Room 42 by Door 37 which leads to a room with no roof. But in Room 10, the parasol points to Room 41 which breaks the rule (though there are mushrooms in Room 41 and there is a mushroom known as a parasol)…just thoughts
I think it’s an interesting idea, and this certainly makes sense regarding the prologue umbrella. Room 31, despite being outdoors, is not sunny, though, and there are sunnier rooms out there with no connections to umbrellas, making it difficult to apply this as a universal principle.
There is an umbrella in 8, which the group may be instructed to take with them (the Guide’s admonition is not made clear to the reader), and this room leads to 6, where it is suggested the group can feel actual rain. This seems a more likely connection, though I would be surprised if this were the only reason for the umbrella, or if the other umbrellas all had similar significance.