Up ahead were the first signs that she was getting close to her intended goal - warning signs of the Gravity Maze that she’d just barely managed to disengage herself from. These redundant symbols were intended to scare off the denizens of the second obstacle - Memory Bane.Up ahead were the first signs that she was getting close to her intended goal - warning signs of the Gravity Maze that she’d just barely managed to disengage herself from. These redundant symbols were intended to scare off the denizens of the second obstacle - Memory Bane.
If those signs weren’t enough of a deterrent, then the red blotches surrounding the area were supposed to do the job. They showed where unlucky and unaware wayfarers had wandered too far without adequate planning. But they could hardly be faulted for being unable to do so.
People tended to venture these cursed lands with no sense of foreknowledge, having become distracted by the slightest distraction. Some had their pockets lined with hundreds of reminders, which they forgot almost instantly, because trying to keep their thoughts straight was almost impossible. So these notes had to be simplified considerably in order to avoid confusion. This of course led to confusion anyways, because some reminders would only make sense to the person involved, but only if they had a method of remembering them in the first place.
But she had a clearer line of sight than these misguided fools. Before going in, she wrote down, “The Cure for the Smell is in the City” numerous times on her hands, arms, legs, visible body parts and in letters in her pockets. No matter what the cause, as long as she had a singular reminder of why she was here, she’d know where to go.
As long as her singular goal remained constant, she would instinctively know what to do. And she clearly learned from her mistakes earlier. Obviously, nothing would go wrong this time, right?
Feeling mentally prepared, she made her way forth, and could instantly feel her reserves of knowledge peeling away. All that remained was three singular thoughts:
- Get to the City at all costs.
- Don’t stop for anything.
- Repel any intruders in any way possible.
Already, her presence was starting to attract attention from various wayward wanderers. She was able to waylay and rebuff their advances by simply proclaiming, “Don’t you remember me?? I’m your Sister!!” or “I’m your Mother!!” or, if she was feeling particularly agnostic towards someone, “I’m your Brother!!”, which she particularly enjoyed. The last remark in particular caused no small amount of short-circuiting in their heads as they unsuccessfully tried to mesh two conflicting ideas together. During which, she’d escape during the confusion. She liked seeing these reactions for however long she could recall them. For the most part, the smell kept the majority of them far away from her.
Unbeknownst to her, she was being followed by a solitary figure.
The Girl had been making her way along the unusual domed structure in the distance, taking the odd opportunity to look down at her hand to remind her of her mission, since there were plenty of sights that caused her to lose focus. There were the large abandoned buildings, the unusual plants of appetizing-looking fruits, and the large swatches of people along the way. Not to mention the odd sounds of breaking objects she couldn’t identify. Soon, she had the sensation that she was being watched (which was actually the fifth time it’d happened that day) and decided to discourage her stalker.
She turned around, and was about to fire off her usual retort, “Don’t you - ” but she stopped, surprised by what she saw. In front of her stood a nearly naked man who made no pretense of hiding himself. But that wasn’t what shocked her. The man was densely inscribed with intricately written tattoos all over his body. There were elaborate symbols shaped into the style of animals, architecture and human faces. Some were sentences that went the extra gamut and extended over in a circular manner, so the reader wouldn’t lose their place. Some were half-incomplete and intended to be combined with the opposite body part to form a new message. And some were cleverly contracted together that, when viewed from a distance, would supercompose into a single word. It was this last one that caught her eye, and she tried to decipher its meaning.
“Ehhh... Ffih... eIai...”
However, it was written backwards, and would only make sense if viewed in a mirror. In the process of trying to make out what it said, she’d already forgotten everything, including what she was reading in the first place. And thusly, forgot what she was doing here in the first place. All she knew was that this complete stranger was coming up to her, yet didn’t seem to have any hostile intentions towards her.
“What do you want??”
“You looked like you knew where you were going. You seemed to be gathering a lot of attention. And you were repelling away unwanted suitors.”
“I was??” She had no memory of being able to do so, yet had no reason to doubt this man’s words.
“Where are you going??”
She stood still, letting the Tattooed man’s words wash over her. There was something she wanted - what was it? She sniffed. What was that awful smell? This guy stunk to high heaven, and she couldn’t think clearly. Her whole existence now centered around this inescapable odor that she couldn’t run from.
“Does it have anything to do with what’s written all over you?”
She looked down - there very clearly written down were the still legible reminders “The Cure for the Smell is in the City”. However, in her addled state, she could hardly recall more than three words in a row, and by the time she’d finished, all she could remember was that it had something to do with the City.
“You don’t want to go there. The City is no place for girls like you. It’ll swallow you up and spit you out.”
At this, the Girl bristled at this Tattooed Man’s piece of advice. “Who are you to tell me what to do?!”
“Someone who’s been around. I’ve lived longer than you have, and know how to get around. You probably haven’t even noticed the crowd you’ve gathered around you.”
“What crowd?” she asked, turning around, and seeing to her surprise all the people she’d rejected standing right behind her. All who thought she was her Mother, Sister or Brother. Apparently, telling them they were related hadn’t scared them off. How had she missed this??
“It’s not unusual,” the Tattooed Man explained. You were so preoccupied with your thoughts that you blocked out anything that wasn’t relevant. People can recall three thoughts in a row, but crowds can only retain two thoughts at once. They probably don’t even know why they’re following you - just that they should. If they’re bothering you, there’s an easy way to get rid of them.”
“Yes, please!”
“Crowd can look intimidating at first, but they’re remarkably easy to control. They all want someone to tell them what to do.” Then he spoke up in a booming voice. “Alright, listen up! Put your right finger in your right ear!”
“NOW WHAT??” the crowd roared back in unison.
“Put your left finger in your left ear!”
“NOW WHAT??”
“Stand on one leg!”
“WHAT??” The crowd asked. “WHAT? WHAT??”
“There, that’ll hold them off for awhile.”
“Aw, I wanted to have a crowd do my bidding.”
“You wouldn’t have been able to handle it.”
“What, you don’t think I’m capable? I’m sure I could do it.”
“I’ve seen it happen before - overconfident leaders who think they can rule a crowd, only to have the crowd overwhelm their ability to control it.”
“And what makes you think I wasn’t good enough??”
“If you truly were worthy, you wouldn’t have lost your train of thought in the first place.”
She had nothing to say to that. The only retort she could think up was, “I blame you.”
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