SNAPCRAFT | Chapter 11 - Anti-Originality
Added 2023-10-16 14:25:14 +0000 UTCAuthor's Notice:
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Winter of 345, A.D.
“Albert?”
“Come in. It’s unlocked.”
“I came to bring you soup. Trudy told us you were sick.”
“Oh, aren’t you sweet? Please, make yourself at home.”
Unlike many of the inhabitants of the sector, Albert never moved. He had lived at number 21 on Rockwood Street for as long as Kai could remember. When Ariel asked Albert about it, he explained that it was located precisely halfway between the museum and the library, which made it convenient for historians.
When Ariel was nominated his successor, she began trying different houses on the same street. It was too far from the central square to Kai’s liking, but he had to recognize that the architecture of the facade was in good taste and that the trees planted added charm to it, especially in Autumn.
The interior of Albert’s house was like its location: something partway between a library and a museum. The books were stacked so high that they formed a maze. The only place with no books was in front of the paintings or artifacts.
He could imagine that even cyber-scarabs would have trouble dusting through this immensity of relics. He wondered for a moment if Albert had concocted a trial of his own to test Daisy and the effectiveness of her drones or if the layout was born from pure love for history.
Eventually, Kai found Albert lying in bed, writing in a notebook.
“Hey!”
“Kai. My boy! Thank you for the visit.”
“How are you feeling?”
“Bah! For all the progress that humanity has made…” He stopped.
“Albert?”
“Oh, sorry. I was caught in the realization that humanity hasn’t made any progress since Daisy came along, has it? It has only deteriorated. I suppose that’s true. Maybe only Daisy has progressed…” He trailed off again. This time, Kai didn’t interrupt him. The remark had struck a note with him. Was humanity deteriorating? But wasn’t Daisy’s sole purpose refining it?
“Anyway, regardless of the progress made by either us or Daisy, the cure to the flu is still well out of reach. Ironic. Isn’t it?”
“I guess.” Kai took the flask of soup and handed it to Albert. “Careful. It’s still hot.”
“Thank you.”
“What are you doing?”
“Oh, just writing down my thoughts on past trials.”
“I see.”
Albert caught Kai’s uncertain look and prodded him. “What’s on your mind, lad?”
“I was just wondering why you’re so fixated with all of this,” he said, gesturing at all the books.
“Do you mean history? The past?”
“Yeah.”
Albert closed his book and gathered his thoughts. Kai patiently waited for something profound to come out of Albert. After a few seconds, he blinked and looked at Kai, surprised. “What was the question again?”
Kai sighed. “Why are you so obsessed with the past?!”
“Oh, that. Well… you see, many deep thinkers have talked about creativity throughout the years. Originality. Innovation. What is it really? Can a person really think of something that hasn’t been thought of before? Some say that people can. Others say people can’t. For example, some Greek storyteller once devised the idea for the minotaur. That’s just half a man and half a bull put together. Can you say he was being creative?”
“I don’t see how that answers my question.”
“I’m getting there. Even though you can still argue about whether humans can be creative, when discussing AI, the debate leans more heavily toward the impossibility. AIs process information and derive it. Can an AI mind think of something new?”
“So, if you know the data the AI uses…”
“You can guess what it’s going to think of. Or why it thinks that way, at least.”
Kai hadn’t considered this before. That meant Albert wasn’t just a looney bin who was fixated on what used to be. He was as focused on the future as everyone else. He just had a different approach. “That’s why we have the museum…”
“Precisely. Have you noticed how some trials were incredibly similar? The #82 and the #131, for example, were almost the same.”
“I see.” As Albert said this, he began thinking of different trials and saw patterns.
“Can you pass me my jacket, please?” asked Albert.
“Sure.”
Albert searched the pocket of his signature tweed jacket, found a key chain, and threw it to Kai.
“What’s this?”
“A copy of the keys to the museum. Turn the lights off when you leave.”
Kai smirked. “Get better soon, Albert. I’m looking forward to our next class.” Kai took off.
As he left, Albert released the heavy cough he’d been trying to hold in while the boy was here. He took a handkerchief from his pocket and wiped the blood from his mouth.
*
353rd Daisy Exams, Round of 256.
Kai quickly ran the numbers in his mind. He had 10 tries left. On the clock, there were 50 minutes to go. This could give him the edge over his opponent, provided they hadn’t found this place yet.
Kai grabbed the camera and decisively started taking pictures. His plan was to try to take one picture of each. He didn’t know how important it was to have a varied collection in this exam, but the more cards he knew about, the better equipped he would be to bring up his point count.
He first framed one of the lamps and took a photograph.
Capture successful!
Tries left: 9 of 10
Gaslamp (Uncommon)
1 of 3
Hp: 2
Vp: 2
Yes! He was the first to take this picture. This was a good indicator that no one had been here yet. He had to hurry before his adversary discovered this hidden chamber. He studied the rest of the mine. What could he photograph here? He pointed at the tracks on the ground.
Capture Successful
Tries left 8 of 10
Train Tracks (Uncommon)
1 of 3
Hp: 0
Vp: 4
Great. This and [Shadow] could be good cards to wrap up the numbers in case he had nothing else to photograph. They had a high point count.
The hidden chamber turned out to be smaller than he had expected. After following the tracks around the corner, he bumped into another invisible wall. He discovered that he only had access to the curve of a tunnel that briefly overlapped with the arena. There wasn’t an entrance that led outside. That would have been easily seen from the outside, making this secret place easier to find.
Right at the edge of the arena, beyond the point he could reach, Kai spotted an old pickaxe under one of the gaslamps a few meters away. He could see shadows of other tools beyond that, but they were hidden in the shadows, and he was almost certain that any photos of them wouldn’t convert to cards. He decided to go for it. This would also provide him with a valuable experiment. Could he photograph things outside the arena but inside his view?
Kai lifted the camera and took the picture.
Capture Successful!
Tries left: 8 of 10.
Rusty Pickaxe (Uncommon)
2 of 3
Hp: 4
Vp: 0
2 of 3? Oh no! They’re here. They have found this place. They are exploring it right now! Kai didn’t risk photographing the pickaxe again. He rushed back and stopped where he had photographed the gaslamp and the train tracks. He had seen neither of these items or a pickaxe anywhere else in this arena. That meant that his opponent had to be here.
He wanted to slap himself. Even though he’d gotten here first, he hadn’t taken two photos of the objects he’d found. He wanted to allow himself some wiggling room for the end of the challenge. How presumptuous of him. His opponent had probably already noticed that he had done so and had depleted the picture pool while Kai was taking his sweet time.
He looked around, frustrated, trying to find something too obvious or hidden for his opponent to miss. It was a fruitless effort. His place in this round had just been seriously undermined. Kai needed to think.
He walked away from the true edge of the map, entered the rock wall illusion, and came back out into the sunlight with a sour mood. Although he had managed to get a hold of several good cards, he was unsure about who was ahead or behind: him or his opponent. There were 40 minutes left on the clock, and Kai had to decide which cards he would fill his remaining slots with.
He consulted his inventory:
Block of Granite (Common)
Shadow (Common)
Pond (Uncommon)
2xWater (Uncommon)
2xFlintstone (Uncommon)
Gaslamp (Uncommon)
Rusty Pickaxe (Uncommon)
Train Tracks (Uncommon)
2xMirror (Rare)
He counted 23 points in 12 shots. Only one of the shots he had taken this round had failed. His success rate had significantly improved.
His most significant advantage over the opponent was that he had secured the two [Mirror] cards. He was sure his opponent had none of them. He was also positive that even if his opponent had gotten a [Water] and a [Flintstone] card, he had two of them.
On the other hand, his opponent had two copies of four different uncommon cards: [Pond], [Gaslamp], [Rusty Pickaxe], and [Train Tracks]. If Kai grabbed one more copy of [Shadow] and [Pile of Granite], as well as two [Moss], [Lichen], and whatever card that succulent granted, then he could fill up his shots.
He remembered the account from the 99th exams. The trialrunner of his sector had been almost dead last in a battle royale scenario and had still managed to come out on top. He slapped his own face. Good thing that was still possible. He couldn’t wallow. Even if his opponent was doing better than him for now, he still had the crafting round to go through. He could still turn this around!
With so much time left to spend, Kai decided to go for another walk through the arena just in case he had missed something. The last time he’d had some free time in the arena, he had been struck with inspiration and had discovered a legendary card. Assuming there was at least one legendary card in every arena, if he were Daisy, where would he have hidden it?
The center of the map could be it. There was the pond there, and it was a special location. On the other hand, he was fairly certain that he had thoroughly explored that area. The second best candidate was the mine. It was a hidden place, and there might have been something hidden there.
Now that the panic of discovering that his opponent had also found the mine had passed, he decided to go back again and take a calm second look. He had nothing but time. Just like before, he walked into the rock and, after a few blind steps, came out on the other side of the rock wall and into the curved tunnel.
Under the ghostly light of the gas lamps, Kai saw the abandoned train tracks and the rusty tools lying against the wall. He walked slowly on the train tracks back and forth and found nothing. There were 30 minutes left.
He sat down. He was confident that from here, he could take the last 8 pictures outside in less than two minutes. He might as well enjoy the little time he had remaining here. It was difficult to relax in the crafting arena. The room was too bright and white. The eerie, quiet look of the mine was much more relaxing.
He wondered what his opponent was thinking. What kind of sector was he from? How did they train their citizens there? What about Ariel? How was she doing? What must it be like to be alone, with no one to talk to, while she waits for her only friend to return? What was going through her head? He sighed. He hoped she was OK.
In the darkness of the tunnel, Kai lost track of time. In the corner of his eye, he caught some movement. It was very small, but after being alone in a world still for several hours, any inkling of movement was enough to startle a man. He jolted upright, muscles tense, thinking that his opponent had found a way to materialize himself into his arena. Could that be the case? How was he supposed to know? Maybe some sort of upgrade allowed a trialrunner to appear in their opponent’s exam.
The movement, however, was coming from beyond the edge of the arena. It was a flashing light. He tried to understand what it was and realized that it wasn’t light that was flashing. Something was running on the tracks. As it passed under the distant gaslamps, it was illuminated periodically, and the light that was reflected made it look as if something was flashing.
The incoming object wasn’t large or fast but became increasingly clearer. It was a rusty mining wagon. Now that it drew closer, Kai was sure that it was automated. He couldn’t see any movement aboard. He could also tell that the cart was loaded. He ignored his first instinct which was to get out of the tracks, and stayed his ground, knowing that the cart would just pass right through him. As the mining wagon drew closer, Kai waited for it to come under the nearest gaslamp. He timed it carefully and pushed the button in time.
Capture Successful!
Tries left: 7 of 10.
Mining Wagon (Legendary)
1 of 1
Hp: 1
Vp: 12
The wagon just passed right through him. Although it had seemed slow in the distance, before he could get a clear view of its contents, it had already left the arena and disappeared into the distance. Kai looked dumbfounded at the card in his inventory. He had done it! He had pulled it off! His second legendary card!
After being in two deadly still snap arenas, the idea of something moving inside of them hadn’t even crossed his mind. He guessed that the wagon only passed by at specific intervals, and if one weren’t here for long, they would miss the chance to see it. The victory points were huge! 12 victory points for a card was incredible. And the fact that it could be used for crafting once or have its points counted in two different trials was amazing. The gears in Kai’s head turned as he thought of possible combinations. Then he remembered the clock. The appearance of the mining wagon had distracted Kai. It was almost time for the snap arena to end.
He ran outside and took the pictures he was missing.
Capture Successful!
Tries left: 6 of 10.
Block of Granite (Common)
4 of 4
Hp: 1
Vp: 2
Capture successful!
Tries left: 5 of 20
Shadow (Common)
4 of 4
Hp: 0
Vp: 3
Capture Successful!
Tries left: 4 of 20.
Lichen (Common)
3 of 4
Hp: 0
Vp: 3
Capture Successful!
Tries left: 3 of 20.
Lichen (Common)
4 of 4
Hp: 0
Vp: 3
Capture Successful!
Tries left: 2 of 20.
Moss (Common)
Hp: 1
Vp: 2
Capture Successful!
Tries left: 1 of 20.
Moss (Common)
Hp: 1
Vp: 2
After securing all the cards he already knew worked, he turned toward what he was almost certain would become a new item in his collection.
Capture Successful!
No tries left.
Stonerock Succulent (Common)
Hp: 1
Vp: 2
From his biology classes, he knew some things about succulents. He had been sure it was a common card based on how many of them he had seen growing on the rock walls. After a couple of minutes, his figure disappeared, and he was back in the austere white room with the crafting table waiting for him. Kai took a deep breath. It was time to make it through to the next round.
