I was standing in the middle of an immense kitchen, modern and fully operational. Shiny metal cooking utensils hung around the room, and the countertops were clean, in fact, everything was. I myself, felt extremely out of place. In contrast to the spotless, shiny kitchen, my skin was dirty and grimy, and my clothes were ragged and threadbare. In front of me, stood a bespectacled old man, with thin grey hair and a mustache. He was extremely tall in my perspective. I only came up to just past his knees.
"What's your name?" The kindly looking old man, asked. However, I had no intention to answer, for I did not actually have an answer to his question. This man had brought me here, from the streets of, but he still didn't have all of my trust. I never trusted anyone completely, and I was always alone.
"What's yours?" I asked, only to be difficult, and find out more about this person.
"Hm. You may call me Wammy. "The man, who had only identified himself as W previously murmured. "Do you have a name?" The man reached forward and touched my shoulder gently. My expression of shock, as brief as it seemed to me, must have given the answer away. "I see…" His smile was warm, refreshing, and it made me feel safe despite my misgivings. "Would you like one?" I gazed at him, thinking deeply about the question. I've never had a name, so I don't know what having one means. Milo always called me "you" but that isn't a name. She called others you as well. Besides, if you give me a name, do I owe you? Owing someone something isn't good, if you owe someone they control you. Besides, what if I get a name I don't like? Can I even name myself? I can't even read, or write. But Milo did teach me some math. I can read numbers and count. Can my name be a number? Milo taught me a lot of things.
"That depends, if you give me one then… also if I get a name I want to be the one to choose it. But…I wouldn't know if the name is good or not. And… " I let my sentence trail of. I had no idea how to communicate the rest of what I was thinking.
"I see that you want to know more before you decide. Now, come with me." W started to walk away, and I, not desiring to be left alone in an unfamiliar place, with unfamiliar people, and knowing almost nothing about the situation I was in, followed him. Besides, If I wanted to learn more, this person was the one who knew everything I needed to find out. I followed him down the halls, my bare feet padding on the wooden floor softly. After a series of turns, which I took note of, (Right, left, left, right) we came to a solid oaken door. Wammy drew a key from the pocket of his extremely fancy suit, the type of which I had only seen people who had a lot more money than I wearing. The door slowly opened, most likely due to its weight, without making a sound. That meant that the hinges were oiled, possibly new. Revealed beyond the door was a wide, open office filled with books, the centerpiece being a giant wooden desk with a lamp and papers on top. There was no nameplate, no indication of who this person truly was.
"You are going to be tested.-" At this, I felt anxiety wash over me, but I listened to his words carefully. "This will be logical problems, not riddles. All the information you need will be given to you in the question." I hope the test is not on paper, I can't read. Also, riddles usually depend on something having a double meaning, or being ambiguous. The one riddle I know does, at least. It's a famous one too.
"Is the test on paper?" I fiddled with my hands. Not that the situation would be better on a computer. Maybe he knows I can't read or write. He did pick me up from the streets after all.
"Normally, it would be. But you will be an exception. Let me explain some more things." Wammy picked up a pen and started rolling it between his thumb and forefinger. "This test is to see your logical and problem solving capabilities. I'll read the questions out loud. Some will be multiple choice questions, and others will be free response." I nodded to show that I understood. "However, if you do not get above a passing grade on this test, you will be sent to another orphanage." At least it's not back into the streets. Although, a lot of orphanages have a reputation for being bad places. It probably depends on a lot of things though.
"Let's begin. The questions will increase in difficulty as the test goes on. If a rooster lays an egg-"
"Bad question." I murmured to myself, but Wammy heard it.
"Oh, How so?" But he was smiling, so I hadn't offended him, which was good for me.
"Rooster's boys. They ain't going to be laying eggs."[1]
"Very well. Next Question" The questions continued, each one slightly more difficult than the last. As the test continued, my nervousness grew, my body becoming tense, until finally, I was so full of anxiety I just went numb, my body and mind relaxing.
"You have a three gallon and a five gallon measuring device. You wish to measure out four gallons of water. How would you do this?"
"I would go get a four gallon measuring thingy, to measure. Also, just fill the five gallon one up to four. But, if it's just with those things, and not marked, then I would fill the fiver up, pour it into the three. That means 2 would be left, in the three. Then, I would fill up the five, and pour it into the three. There would be four in the fiver….Unless my math is wrong. I bet it's wrong."
"Next question:" Wammy never gave any indication of whether I was wrong or right. "A stark raving mad king tells his 100 wisest men he is about to line them up and that he will place either a red or blue hat on each of their heads. Once lined up, they must not communicate amongst themselves. Nor may they attempt to look behind them or remove their own hat.
The king tells the wise men that they will be able to see all the hats in front of them. They will not be able to see the color of their own hat or the hats behind them, although they will be able to hear the answers from all those behind them.
The king will then start with the wise man in the back and ask "what color is your hat?" The wise man will only be allowed to answer "red" or "blue," nothing more. If the answer is incorrect then the wise man will be silently killed. If the answer is correct then the wise man may live but must remain absolutely silent.
The king will then move on to the next wise man and repeat the question.
The king makes it clear that if anyone breaks the rules then all the wise men will die, then allows the wise men to consult before lining them up. The king listens in while the wise men consult each other to make sure they don't devise a plan to cheat. To communicate anything more than their guess of red or blue by coughing or shuffling would be breaking the rules.
What is the maximum number of men they can be guaranteed to save?"[2]
"Um…99. I think. Because, they can tell each other what the person's hat is. But that would kill the person telling the other if his hat wasn't that color as well. I guess. So the first one would have to count out the number of hats in a specific color. And call out either red of blue, to signal others. If it's odd then a certain color, if it's even then the other. The rest would have to keep track as well. But I don't really know…"The test was long, I had no idea how long I had been sitting here. Besides, I didn't know how to read a clock anyways, or use the sun. The curtains were closed over the central window anyway. After the question about the king, the test switched to questions about crimes.
"Last question:" At this, my breath hitched. I was almost done! "A criminal is brought into a prison for major crimes. The warden informs him that he will be shot in the middle of the prison by 20 of his men. The prisoner is fine with that but he asks for some conditions "All of your men must stand 20 feet away from me and I must be able to select where each of them stands. If I survive, I get to leave."
The warden thinks about it and knows that all of his men will still have an open shot at the criminal, so he agrees. The next day immediately after the firing squad is positioned the criminal walks out untouched. How did he do it?"
"That means they didn't kill him. So, they must have been facing each other, with risk of hitting other. It wouldn't work though. For the criminal."
"Why?" Wammy had been writing things down during the test, most likely my score.
"They'd just shoot him anyway. Criminals won't get that type of deal, and the whole setup seems like a thing that wouldn't really happen. The men would probably not follow the thing, and turn to shoot him." I fidgeted in my seat.
"Well. In any case," Wammy straightened his glasses. "Welcome to the orphanage."
"I passed!?" Shock and awe washed through me, I never thought I would, although I tried my hardest to pass, and apparently it worked. Wammy smiled, encouraging.
"Yes. You did. Since you did, you get to stay here. Also, there are more things I have to explain. You will choose a letter, which, for all intents and purposes, is your name. You can't have the same letter as a Here is the list of letters." Wammy shuffled through a stack of papers that was on his desk, drew one out and handed it to me. On it were symbols that I knew were letters, but I had no idea what they entailed.
"A,B,C,D,E,F,G,H,I,G,K,L,M,N,O,P,Q,R,S,T,U,V,W,X,Y,Z." The symbol Q looked interesting, but there was a small mark next to it. Other letters had marks by them as well. The "Z" did, and the "L."
"The mark mean someone has it already?"
"Yes." Out of all the letters that weren't marked H was the most interesting to me. "I" was boring, just a straight line. "F" to me seemed unfinished, and "Y" seemed like a more interesting version of "I," but it was still boring. "H" though…H seemed finished, interesting. I counted it out from the beginning, and it was the eighth symbol. Eight was my favorite number. Milo had shown me how it was written, along with all the other numbers she knew. My decision made, I pointed out the "H" symbol.
"Ah, that one. "Aich" Now, You will be going to classes, learning many things. Interacting with people, logical thinking, and deduction skills. It will be extremely difficult for you, since you can't read or write, and only know basic math. If you give up, you will be sent to another orphanage, which does not offer classes of this caliber. This institution offers better opportunities, so it would be in your best interests not to quit." He said this last thing with an edge. Nodding, I waited to see if he had anything more to say. "You'll have extra classes, to bring up your literacy level. There are rules of course, but those will be explained later. Right now, we'll get you settled in" He pressed a button which appeared to do nothing, until a lady wearing an apron came into the room.
"You called?" She asked, her hands folded in front of her.
"Yes. Please escort H to one of the empty rooms. She has been accepted. Please explain the rules. There is no luggage." The lady nodded and held out her hand towards me. After a quick glance at Wammy, who encouraged me to go with her, I hopped off the chair. My little legs had been hanging in the air, and I had been swinging them. Following the woman, I left the room.
Inside the room, Wammy sat back in his comfortable leather chair. "Extraordinary." He murmured. "A tie."
[1] She grew up on the streets. Of course she doesn't have perfect English.
[2] I did not invent these questions. Most came from online, logic puzzle websites.