Disclaimer: (Do I have to do this every time??)

Still had the puzzle muse going after Indiana McKay so here goes. If you like puzzle stories read on (if you don't read on anyway ;) )

To Boldly go...

"Is this absolutely necessary, Colonel ?"

"Trust me, Rodney," John said walking down the hallway towards an unexplored part of the city. "You're gonna love it."

Rodney shone his flashlight ahead of them up the darkened corridoor. "Not impressed so far," he said.

"Patience, Rodney. It's a virtue."

"Uh huh."

"Why no hall lights, Rodney ?"

"Conserving power. No unneeded lights switching on all over the place draining the zed p m."

They turned the corner. It opened into a large room. Rodney stopped and shone his light around the empty space.

"Wow," he said flatly. "Can we go now ?"

"What ? No it's over here," John walked over to the center of the room. He stood on a square and a pedestal rose up out of the floor in front of him. "Look at this," he said.

Curious, Rodney walked across to the pedestal. It glowed under his touch. He stood opposite John scanning the ancient symbols. "This is interesting," he said. "If I read this right..."

"It is isn't it ?"

Rodney pushed some buttons and the room changed around them. They were now standing in an old castle room.

"I think that this is a holosuite..."

oOo

"This is great," John said. "I wonder how many programs it runs."

"I don't know and I hate to be a killjoy," Rodney said looking around, "But I dread to think how much power this is using." Rodney turned back to the pedestal to power it down. The only problem was that the pedestal was no longer there and neither was the square in the floor.

"O...K..." John said. "So how do we turn it off ?"

"Good question," Rodney said. "I'm not even sure where we came in. Try thinking about it..."

"No...nothing."

"Are you sure you're trying ?"

"Yes, Rodney. I'm sure."

Rodney sighed. "Great," he said.

John walked over to a wooden table and slapped it hard. "Ow! Well everything seems solid enough," he said shaking his hand.

'Hum," Rodney scratched his head. "Well if it works like in "Star Trek" then the floor moves so that you can go on forever and never run out of room and the replicator...er...replicates everything and transports it accordingly. Of course in "Star Trek" all they had to do was say...computer...to get out...Of course that didn't work."

"Any ideas ?"

"It depends on how the program's written. We may have to complete the story. Whatever it is."

A young boy ran into the room. He was dressed as a medieval serf. "Come," he said waving them towards the door that he came in by. "Come with me."

"Here we go," John said.

"If it involves dragons you're on your own," Rodney said as he followed him.

oOo

They stepped outside.

The boy pointed them forward. "You must make your way through the maze," he said and ran ahead through the entrance and disappeared out of sight.

Rodney looked sideways at John. "We need to do this as quickly as we can," he said. "Before it becomes too much of a power drain."

"Maybe they could switch it off from the control center," John said tapping his radio.

"This area of the city is shielded for RF," Rodney said. "And they probably could shut it down if they knew about it but the power drain won't register until it's critical. By then it will be too late."

"Guess we'll have to go through the program then."

As they entered the maze the hedge closed behind them. "Nowhere to go but forward," John said.

"Or left or right," Rodney added.

"Wish I had a jumper," John said.

After half an hour of dead ends and back tracking they came to an area of paved stones. Each stone had a symbol on it. A lectern displayed a rhyme:

"Two crosses and one circle be,

The way to follow to the sea.

Keep in straight lines to get you there,

And no jumping over any square."

Rodney and John read the rhyme carefully.

"Oh I hate these things," Rodney said. "OK, let's look at it."

They looked across the stones. "OK," Rodney said pointing across to the other side. "That stone over there is the only one with a wavy line, so presumably that is the "sea" and that's where you need to end up."

"Me ?"

"Yeah. You go first. I'll direct from here."

John didn't look at all sure.

"You'll be fine. Just remember cross, cross, circle. I'll help you. " Rodney looked across the stones. "I'm good at these," he said looking back at John. "Really."

Rodney was right. He directed John across the stones and followed without any mishaps.

"Wonder what happens when you miss one," John said. He lobbed a large rock into the middle of the pavestones. It gave way revealing a hole and an arrow shot across the gap.

"What is it with these people and arrows ?" Rodney said.

"Easy and effective," John said moving forwards. "Shall we ?" he said.

"After you."

oOo

They followed the pathway on towards the center of the maze. There were fewer choices in this section and the path was fairly easy to follow. They turned a corner and came across a large wooden door that blocked the path.

In front of the door was a table upon which was a pile of coins and an old fashioned scale. A lectern was by the door.

"All right," Rodney said walking over to the lectern. "Let's see what this says." He started to read.

"Eighty coins all in a line,

But one weighs more than the seventy nine.

Use the scale times only four,

The heaviest coin will open the door."

Sure enough there was a coin slot where the lock should have been.

"So we have to find the heavier coin using the scale," John said. "So we divide it in half..."

"Wait," Rodney said. "That won't work."

"Why not ?"

"Because then you'd have to use the scales five times. Eighty to forty to twenty to ten to five...Let me think for a moment..."

John looked at the table and then at Rodney.

Rodney clicked his fingers. "Got it," he said. "We need three piles. One with twenty six coins and two with twenty seven." They sorted the coins. "OK now we weigh the two with twenty seven...alright now that one's heavier so all the rest are the same." Rodney moved the fifty three coins to the side. "Now," he said separating the remaining coins into three piles of nine coins each. "We weigh these..." he put nine coins on each side. They too balanced so he put them aside. "Now one in each side..." The scale tipped to the right. "This one !" he said picking up the coin. As he did so the scale disappeared.

"You can do the honors," John said gesturing towards the door.

"Thank you," Rodney walked to the door and deposited the coin into the slot. The door swung silently open. "Voila !" Rodney said. "Of course," he added looking down yet another long path. "That didn't get us anywhere."

"It's another stage closer," John said walking ahead. "Come on."

Rodney sighed and followed.

oOo

As they made their way onward John kept stopping and looking back. After the third time Rodney tapped him on the shoulder. "What is it ?" he asked.

"I don't know," John said. "I think something's following us...Can't pinpoint it though..."

They came to another dead end. Rodney turned back the way they came. "Well I guess we're about to find out," he said.

They walked back around the corner. Suddenly John pushed Rodney hard to one side and he fell backwards into the thick bushes as John flung himself to the other side.

"Ow!" Rodney complained as the bushes scratched him.

A knight on a large white horse thundered by where they had just been standing. His sword whipped by mere inches from Rodney's face.

"Where the hell did he come from ?" Rodney yelled as he staggered to his feet.

"I don't know," John said pushing him forwards. "But he's coming back..."

They ran back and again dived into the bushes as he overtook them. After the third time Rodney was gasping for breath. "I don't care if he...spears me...," he panted. "I can't keep this up...much longer..."

John pulled him into a side passage as the knight rode past again. He pushed him through a door and, following, he slammed it behind them. He turned and came to an abrupt halt. "Oh crap !" he said.

Rodney was on his hands and knees where he'd fallen through the door. He'd frozen in place watching the creature that was prowling back and forth in front of him.

The dragon was huge, and green, and breathing fire into the air which smelt of sulphur.

"I think I'd rather take my chances with Sir Lancelot," Rodney said getting slowly to his feet and backing up to the door.

John pulled at the door handle. It had locked behind them.

"We don't have that option," John replied. "The door's locked."

The dragon faced them. Smoke curled out of its' nostrils.

"Answer my riddle and you can proceed...If you fail then I will feed..."

"A talking dragon ?" Rodney asked.

"Don't knock it. At least we have a chance this way," John whispered.

"Did I mention that I'm horrible at riddles ?"

"No, Rodney you didn't."

The dragon silently watched them. John started to move to the side. With a snort of fire the dragon forced John back to the door. "OK. So much for that approach.." John said quietly. "What is your riddle ?" he asked out loud.

The dragon slowly lifted his head and stared at them with unblinking amber eyes. Sulphur hissed from his mouth as he slowly spoke.

"Mountains will crumble and temples will fall, and no man can survive my unending call. What am I ?"

Rodney was still transfixed by the dragon. "I got nothing," he said after a moment.

John was thinking. He repeated the riddle to himself. Suddenly he smiled. "Got it!" he said. "You are "time"."

"Of course," Rodney said.

The dragon curled his tail around his body revealing a door. "You may pass," he said laying his head down and closing its eyes.

They walked around the edge of the clearing keeping an eye on the sleeping beast. Rodney went through the door first and then John followed.

They found themselves in a short hallway.

"Did we backtrack to the castle ?" Rodney asked.

"I don't know," John answered. "I can't tell."

Suddenly a trap door opened and Rodney fell through the floor. It sealed behind him as John tried to grab him.

"Rodney !" he shouted. "McKay !"

He was on his hands and knees on the floor. There wasn't even a seam where the door had been.

A door slowly opened in front of him. Reluctantly he got to his feet and walked towards it. As he went through the door it closed behind him and the lights came on in the room.

He was faced with a narrow walkway that spanned a long pit. The walkway was about six inches wide and the length of a football field. Every few feet a large ball on a chain swung across inches above the walkway. In the middle a large key hung from a chain about seven feet above the walkway. A strange growling noise was coming from the pit. John walked forward and looked over the edge. Several lion-like animals were slinking back and forth.

A lectern stood to the right of the walkway. It had a poem written on it:

"Retrieve the key to free your friend,

Before the sand runs to the end."

John swallowed hard. A large hourglass in the far corner slowly turned and sand started to flow from the top to the bottom. As it did so a door opposite opened to reveal..

"Rodney !"

He was chained to a wall with manacles around his wrists. He seemed to be unconscious and was hanging limply.

"Crap !" John muttered. The sand was flowing quickly. He wasn't going to have much time. He approached the walkway and watched as the first ball swung past.

He took a few steps onto the walkway spreading his arms wide for balance. He stopped and let the second ball pass before moving again. He repeated this until he was in the middle where he stopped, reached up and grabbed the key. He glanced at the hourglass. It was over half empty. He had to hurry.

He stopped and breathed a few times watching the balls swing. Then he picked his moment and ran the second half of the path. The last ball struck him as he launched himself forward and he landed with his feet and lower body dangling into the pit.

The animals growled and roared loudly as he scrambled up onto solid ground. One of the animals clawed his leg tearing his pants from the knee down and leaving a streak of blood.

He lay still for a couple of seconds and then leapt to his feet and ran over to Rodney. Using the key he unlocked the manacles and cushioned his fall as Rodney fell forward onto the floor.

A few seconds later a large spear was launched and it embedded itself into the wall where Rodney had been just moments before.

Rodney was groggy. His eyes were glazed and his pupils were dilated making them appear dark. He had clearly been drugged. John helped him to his feet.

"Whoa," he said and swayed slightly holding his head. He turned and saw the spear and his eyes widened in shock. He reached forward and touched the head of the spear. Immediately a cut appeared on his finger. He shook his hand and put his finger in his mouth.

"What did you do that for ?" John asked.

"Just wanted to see if we could be hurt here," Rodney said examining the cut. "Looks like we can," he added.

"I could have told you that," John said looking at his right leg.

"So much for it being like "Star Trek"." Rodney said. "This is more like a training ground."

John looked at him. "Perhaps that's what it is," he said as they left through a side door.

oOo

They found themselves back out in the open looking down a checkered pathway with two doors at the far end. as they started towards the door a large hawk swooped down towards them screeching loudly. John dove to his right side and pushed Rodney to the left.

John rolled smoothly and got to his feet. Rodney landed awkwardly on a largle black square. A knife shot up out of the middle of the square and struck him just below his breastbone. Rodney gasped and coughed, spitting up blood.

John started towards him. Rodney, still on his knees clutching his stomach, held up his right hand. "Careful," he gasped. "The black...squares..."

John froze in place, his foot on the edge of a black square. Carefully he made his way across the pathway to Rodney.

He helped him to his feet and supported him until they reached the end of the path. When they were in front of the two doors he helped him sit down. Rodney leaned back against the hedge, barely conscious. "What does...it say ?" he asked gesturing towards the lectern.

John walked over to it. With a glance back at Rodney he began to read.

"Lion or lamb, you must be sure,

Only one question ask a door.

One tells the truth, the other lies,

In your choice you must be wise."

"This is the classic...two guard problem," Rodney said weakly.

"Great. What's the answer ? Rodney ?" John went across to him. Rodney had passed out. "Wonderful," he said. "OK John. You're smart. Work it out..."

He thought for several minutes acutely aware that Rodney was steadily getting weaker. Suddenly it clicked. He went up to the left hand door. A face appeared and smiled at him.

"If I ask the other door," he said. "If he hid the lion or the lamb. What would he say ?"

"He would say," the "face" replied slowly. "That he hid the lamb."

The face disappeared and just the door remained.

"OK," John said. "Here goes nothing." He reached forward and opened the door.

It opened into a plain room. Inside was a lamb and it was sitting at the base of the pedestal.

"Oh thank God !" John said. He ran to the pedestal and turned off the program. The room returned to what it was before and the pedestal sunk back into the floor.

Rodney lay on his side a few feet away. The knife had disappeared along with the rest of the program and a pool of blood was appearing on the floor in front of him. John ran to get help.

oOo

Several days later John visted Rodney in the infirmary. Rodney was propped up in bed tapping away on his laptop. He looked up as John came in.

"Hey," he said smiling. "I've had Radek disconnect all power to that room. You won't believe how much that little fiasco used."

"Yeah, sorry about that," John said awkwardly. "And sorry about the...er..." he gestured towards the monitors and IV.

"Hum," Rodney said. "Much as I appreciate your concern next time leave me to duck by myself, OK ? Believe it or not that is something that I can do."

"Right. Carson says you'll be out soon."

"Yeah, maybe by tomorrow if I "promise to behave myself"."

"Guess I'm back to knocking golf balls into the ocean."

Rodney looked at him. "What ?"

"Well I figured with a holosuite I could finally have a golf course."

"Colonel, with an entire plethora to choose from the best you can come up with is a golf course ?"

"Yeah. Why ?"

"And I've been told that I have a lack of imagination," Rodney said shaking his head and looking back at his computer.

"What ?"

fin.

ps: In the classic true/false puzzle by asking what the other person would say you guarantee that whatever answer you get it will be a lie (either the one you're talking to is lying or the other one is either way the result's the same).

Ok I think I'm puzzled out (at least for now). Hope you like it.

Debbie