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boulderdash 2 t/-1 (phantom)
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by
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dustin
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DUSTIN                            2024-04-13 15:01
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- THERE IS THE PHANTOM, HIDING BEHIND A Α!  
  
Κ: ...OH.  
  
PHANTOM: OH? IS "OH" REALLY ALL YOU HAVE TO SAY, BUDDY?  
  
Κ: WELL, EHMMM... I DID EXPECT SOMEONE TO BE HERE, BUT, EHM...  
  
PHANTOM: ...BUT SOMEONE MORE HEROIC? MORE POWERFUL? SOMEONE WHO DOESN'T HIDE BEHIND A Α AND JUST WAITS FOR YOU TO COME?  
  
Κ: EHM... YES, THAT CAPTURES IT WELL - WAIT, WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY? YOU WAITED FOR ME TO COME? SO I WAS RIGHT, YOU WANTED ME TO FOLLOW YOU ALL ALONG?  
  
PHANTOM: AAAAAAH, COME ON, WASN'T THAT QUITE OBVIOUS? DO YOU THINK IT WAS EASY FOR ME NOT TO TAKE ALL THE ΑΑΑΑΑΑΑΑΑ SO YOU COULD TAKE THEM AND OPEN ALL THE ΞΞΞ?  
  
Κ: WELL... YES, IF YOU PUT IT THAT WAY, IT SOUNDS QUITE OBVIOUS. BUT I WAS KINDA AFRAID THAT IT WAS A TRAP.  
  
PHANTOM: AND WHAT ENSURES YOU NOW THAT IT'S NOT?  
  
Κ: THE FACT THAT YOU ANXIOUSLY HIDE BEHIND A Α, FOR ONE.  
  
PHANTOM: AH, YES, TRUE. THAT MAKES SENSE :D  
  
Κ: ALSO, YOU LET THE ΜΜΜ IN CAVE O GROW SO BIG THAT THE WAY BACKWARDS IS NOW COMPLETELY BLOCKED. I THOUGHT MAYBE YOU WANTED TO BLOCK MY ESCAPE ROUTE.  
  
PHANTOM: AH NAAAAAAAAAAH, I JUST WANTED TO HAVE SOME CHILDISH FUN WITH THAT NEW, INTERESTING ELEMENT! AND I WANTED TO RESEARCH IT. THAT'S WHAT SCIENTISTS DO, AFTER ALL!  
  
Κ: SO THAT'S WHO YOU ARE? A SCIENTIST?  
  
PHANTOM: OF COURSE, OF COURSE! WHAT DID YOU THINK?  
  
Κ: WELL... I DON'T KNOW. I JUST CALLED YOU "THE PHANTOM" BECAUSE I ABSOLUTELY WASN'T SURE HOW TO -  
  
PHANTOM: THE PHANTOM?! FUNNY NAME! BUT I THINK DR. PHANTOM SOUNDS MUCH BETTER FOR A SCIENTIST!  
  
Κ: DR. PHANTOM?!  
  
DR. PHANTOM: YES. MUCH BETTER.   
  
Κ: EHM... OK. AND WHAT'S YOUR FIELD OF EXPERTISE?  
  
DR. PHANTOM: ALCHEMY.  
  
Κ: ALCHEMY?! DIDN'T THIS QUESTIONABLE SCIENCE DIE OUT ALREADY IN THE MIDDLE AGES?!  
  
DR. PHANTOM: IF YOU WANT TO MAKE ME ANGRY, I WILL REMIND YOU THAT YOUR ESCAPE ROUTE IN CAVE O IS BLOCKED!  
  
Κ: AND IF YOU TRY TO SCARE ME, I WILL REMIND YOU THAT IT'S HARD TO BE AFRAID OF SOMEONE WHO HIDES BEHIND A Α!  
  
DR. PHANTOM: SHIT. YOU'RE RIGHT.  
  
Κ: SORRY, BUT... I CAN'T REALLY TAKE IT SERIOUSLY. WEREN'T ALCHEMYSTS THE GUYS WHO TRIED TO BREW THE ELIXIR OF LIFE AND TURN EVERYTHING INTO GOLD?!  
  
DR. PHANTOM: YES, INDEED. AND YOU NEVER WONDERED WHY YOU START YOUR ADVENTURES WITH THREE LIVES AND GET AN EXTRA LIFE FOR 500 POINTS AND ANOTHER FOR INTERMISSIONS?  
  
Κ: .......................W H A T? ARE YOU GOING TO TELL ME... ARE YOU SAYING THAT...  
  
DR. PHANTOM: EXACTLY THIS. IT'S BECAUSE OF MY RESEARCH. I ALREADY FOUND WAYS TO GIVE TREASURE SEEKERS EXTRA LIVES FOR COLLECTED ΑΑΑ. SO DON'T MOCK MY RESEARCH!  
  
Κ: (SPEECHLESS, STUNNED)  
  
DR. PHANTOM: HA! NOW YOU'RE SPEECHLESS AND STUNNED! :D  
  
Κ: AND... AND... AND WHAT WAS THIS HERE ALL ABOUT?  
  
DR. PHANTOM: WHAT?  
  
Κ: ALL YOUR SPELUNKING IN ALL THE CAVES. I THOUGHT I WAS THE FIRST TO EVER EXPLORE THE LAST 16 CAVES AND 3 INTERMISSIONS, BUT YOU WERE ALWAYS QUICKER AND CHANGED EVERYTHING!  
  
DR. PHANTOM: AH, THAT. WELL, THAT WAS ALL ABOUT THE "TURN EVERYTHING INTO GOLD" THING, AS YOU PUT IT.   
  
Κ: TURN EVERYTHING INTO... WAIT! THE ΘΘΘ! THE ΖΖΖ! SO YOU AWERE ACTUALLY SUCCESSFUL!  
  
DR. PHANTOM: YES INDEED, FOR THE TIME BEING, I'M NOT UNSATISFIED. I TURNED TWO ΘΘ INTO GOLD WHEN THEY WOULD NORMALLY HAVE CONVERTED INTO USELESS ΒΒΒ...  
  
Κ: THE ΘΘ IN CAVES B AND H! YOU LET THEM OVERGROW BUT THEY STILL TURNED INTO ΑΑΑ!  
  
DR. PHANTOM: YES, THAT WAS SURPRISINGLY SIMPLE. JUST A LITTLE CHANGE OF VARIABLES IN THE NINETEENTH DIMENSION, THEN ROTATING THE SPACETIME BY 21.4 DEGREES CLOCKWISE, AND VOILA, THERE I HAD MY FORMULA!  
  
Κ: AH YES, I THINK I UNDERSTAND THAT!  
  
DR. PHANTOM: YOU UNDERSTAND NOTHING. :D  
  
Κ: DAMN. WAS IT THAT OBVIOUS?  
  
DR. PHANTOM: YES, ALONE FOR THE FACT THAT I JUST SAID COMPLETE NONSENSE.   
  
Κ: AH YES, OF COURSE! ROTATING THE SPACETIME, HAHA. WHO WOULD EVER FALL FOR SUCH A BULLSHIT?  
  
DR. PHANTOM: WELL... YOU, OBVIOUSLY ;)  
  
Κ: YEAH OK, I'M NOT A SCIENTIST, AFTER ALL! BUT YOU FAILED IN CAVE D! THERE IT WENT THE OTHER WAY ROUND - THE Θ WAS TRAPPED BUT IT TURNED INTO ΒΒΒ! HA HA, MR. SUPER-CLEVER, NOW YOU HAVE IT! HA HA!  
  
DR. PHANTOM: D O C T O R SUPER-CLEVER, PLEASE. AND NO, THAT WAS NO FAIL, IT WAS JUST A SCIENTIFIC EXPERIMENT. I WANTED TO SEE IF MY FORMULA ALSO WORKED THE OTHER WAY ROUND!  
  
Κ: WHAAAAAAT? YOU SACRIFICED VALUABLE ΑΑΑ FOR A SCIENTIFIC EXPERIMENT?!  
  
DR. SUPER-CLEVER-PHANTOM: WELL, I KNOW THAT'S HARD TO UNDERSTAND FOR YOU, BUT IT WAS NECESSARY! FOR THE SCIENCE!  
  
Κ: GNNNNNNGHHHHH...  
  
DR. S.C.PH.: YOU WILL HAVE TO ACCEPT IT. AFTER ALL, YOU WOULD HAVE FOUND FAR LESS ΑΑΑ WITHOUT ME!  
  
Κ: WELL... YES, OK, YOU'RE RIGHT. ALTHOUGH IT HURTS, BUT LET'S TAK ABOUT YOUR OTHER EXPERIMENTS. AM I RIGHT WITH MY ASSUMPTION...  
  
DR. S.C.PH.: HYPOTHESIS.  
  
Κ: SORRY?  
  
DR. S.C.PH.: THE WORD "ASSUMPTION" IS FOR THE AVERAGE PEOPLE. SCIENTISTS CALL IT "HYPOTHESIS"!  
  
Κ: WELL, OK, SO AM I RIGHT WITH MY HYPOTHESIS THAT YOU MANAGED TO EXPLODE ΖΖΖ INTO ΑΑΑ?!  
  
DR. S.C.PH.: YES, INDEED! YOU'RE ACTUALLY MORE CLEVER THAN YOU LOOK!  
  
Κ: I'M NOT STUPID! THERE WERE BIG ΑΑΑ CLUSTERS IN CAVES I, K AND N, BUT MY TOUR GUIDE TOLD ME THAT THERE WERE NO ΑΑΑ CLUSTERS AND ALSO NO ΗΗΗ IN THESE CAVES, ONLY LOTS OF ΖΖΖ!  
  
DR. S.C.PH.: YOU'RE ABSOLUTELY RIGHT! THAT WAS A HARD THING TO ACHIEVE, HOWEVER. I ALREADY TRIED TO EXPLODE ΖΖΖ INTO ΑΑΑ IN CAVES A, C, D AND G, BUT IT DIDN'T WORK.   
  
Κ: AND HOW DID YOU FINALLY SUCCEED?  
  
DR. S.C.PH.: IT SUDDENLY WORKED IN CAVE I! I WAS SURPRISED MYSELF ABOUT THE SUDDEN SUCCESS, SO I USED CAVE J TO MAKE FURTHER EXPERIMENTS. WHEN I EXPLODED A Η INTO ΒΒΒ BY ACCIDENT...  
  
Κ: AH, SO THAT WAS AN ACCIDENT. I WAS WONDERING ABOUT THE ΒΒΒ IN THAT CAVE.  
  
DR. S.C.PH.: YES, BUT I USED THEM FOR MY EXPERIMENTS. AND THEN I GOT IT.  
  
Κ: GOT WHAT?  
  
DR. S.C.PH.: I FOUND OUT THAT I HAD TO CRUSH THE ΖΖΖ WITH ΑΑΑ, THEN I COULD USE MY FORMULA TO TURN THE EXPLOSION DUST INTO ΑΑΑ. THAT'S WHY IT WORKED IN CAVES I AND K, AND IN CAVE N, I WAS VERY CAREFUL TO CRUSH THE ΖΖΖ ONLY WITH ΑΑΑ.  
  
Κ: GREAT! BUT ISN'T IT STILL SLIGHTLY UNSATISFYING IF IT'S NECESSARY TO ALWAYS SACRIFICE ONE Α TO CRUSH THE ΖΖΖ? I MEAN, YOU GET A LOT MORE ΑΑΑ OUT OF IT, BUT STILL...  
  
DR.S.C.PH.: THAT'S THE TRUE TREASURE SEEKER SPEAKING OUT OF YOU, EH? :D WELL, JUST LOOK AROUND! WHAT DO YOU SEE HERE?  
  
Κ: WELL... AN ANXIOUS SUPER-CLEVER-PHANTOM WHO HIDES BEHIND A Α...  
  
DR. S.C.PH.: YOU CAN BE VERY PROVOCATIVE, YOU KNOW THAT? XD  
  
Κ: ...AND THEN I SEE NINE ΑΑΑ WHICH OBVIOUSLY COME FROM A Ζ AGAIN... HEY WAIT! BUT IT WAS A Β THAT CRUSHED THE Ζ HERE!  
  
DR. S.C.PH.: YES, INDEED! :D  
  
Κ: SO YOU DID IT! YOU CRUSHED A Ζ WITH A Β AND IT STILL EXPLODED INTO GLITTERING ΑΑΑ!  
  
DR. S.C.PH.: EXACTLY! I FINALLY MANAGED TO IMPROVE MY FORMULA! JUST A SLIGHT INTERFERENCE IN THE CHARGE-PARITY-VIOLATION, AND THEN -  
  
Κ: I WON'T FALL FOR THAT NONSENSE AGAIN!  
  
DR. S.C.PH.: WHAT A PITY ;)  
  
Κ: I HAVE MORE QUESTIONS! YOU ALSO EXPERIMENTED QUITE A LOT WITH MAGIC ΛΛΛ, DIDN'T YOU?  
  
DR. S.C.PH.: YES, NATURALLY. ΛΛΛ ARE A FASCINATING MATERIALIZED FORM OF MAGIC ENERGY. I FOUND IT SUCH A WASTE THAT THEY WERE SO INEFFICIENTLY USED FOR THOSE "FSS" LETTERS IN CAVE A!  
  
Κ: SO YOU WANTED TO USE THEM MORE EFFICIENTLY?  
  
DR. S.C.PH.: ABSOLUTELY! MY IDEA WAS TO USE THE MAGIC ESSENCE OF THESE "FSS" LETTERS FOR SOME EXPERIMENTS. I WANTED TO SEE IF I COULD TURN NORMAL ΔΔΔ INTO MAGIC ΛΛΛ AND VICE VERSA!  
  
Κ: MAN, THAT EXPLAINS A LOT! THERE WERE SO MANY ΑΑΑ UNDER THE ΔΔΔ IN CAVE F THAT I WAS SURE THE ΔΔΔ MUST BE MAGIC, BUT MY TOUR GUIDE MENTIONED NOTHING ABOUT A ΛΛΛ IN THAT CAVE!  
  
DR. S.C.PH.: THAT WAS THE FIRST CAVE AFTER CAVE A WITH ΔΔΔ, SO I IMMEDIATELY USED IT FOR MY TESTS. AND IT WORKED! I COULD TEMPORARILY TURN THE ΔΔΔ INTO A MAGIC ΛΛΛ AND CONVERT ALL THOSE ΒΒΒ WITH IT. BUT THAT COSTED A LOT OF THE MAGIC ESSENCE, SO I QUICKLY TURNED IT BACK INTO A NORMAL ΔΔΔ AFTERWARDS.  
  
Κ: AND I ASSUME YOU DID THE SAME THING WITH ONE OF THE SMALL ΔΔ IN CAVE G?  
  
DR. S.C.PH.: YEP. AND IN CAVE K, I FINALLY HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO DO IT THE OTHER WAY ROUND. IT WAS NECESSARY TO TURN THE MAGIC ΛΛΛ INTO NORMAL ΔΔΔ SO I COULD MAKE THE ΑΑΑ FALL AND CRUSH THE ΖΖΖ WITH THEM!  
  
Κ: AND THEN IN CAVE L...  
  
DR. S.C.PH.: ...I USED THE REST OF THE MAGIC ESSENCE TO CREATE SOME LONGER-LASTING MAGIC ΛΛΛ FOR YOU, SO YOU COULD GET ENOUGH ΑΑΑ TO OPEN THE Ξ.   
  
Κ: WAIT, SO YOU'RE SAYING THAT THE MAGIC ESSENCE IS USED UP? FOREVER?  
  
DR. S.C.PH.: YES, THE REST WAS BARELY ENOUGH TO CREATE TWO MORE MAGIC ΛΛΛ IN CAVE L. I'M AFRAID IT WILL NEVER BE POSSIBLE AGAIN TO CONVERT NORMAL ΔΔΔ INTO MAGIC ΛΛΛ. IT WAS A UNIQUE EXPERIMENT.  
  
Κ: WHAT A PITY!  
  
DR. S.C.PH.: YES, INDEED. BUUUUUUUUT... THINK ABOUT WHAT YOU SAW IN THE LAST CAVE!  
  
Κ: IN CAVE P? I DIDN'T THINK MUCH ABOUT IT, BECAUSE I WAS IN A HURRY TO CATCH YOU. BUT NOW THAT YOU MENTION IT... THERE WERE AGAIN ΑΑΑ CLUSTERS, BUT THERE WERE NO ΖΖΖ TO CRUSH IN THAT CAVE! HOW DID YOU CREATE ALL THOSE ΑΑΑ?  
  
DR. S.C.PH.: THINK FOR YOURSELF!   
  
Κ: WELL, THERE WERE ONLY ΒΒΒ AND ΑΑΑ IN THAT CAVE ACCORDING TO MY TOUR GUIDE! SO DID YOU... DID YOU MANAGE TO -  
  
DR. S.C.PH.: YES? I'M LISTENING! :D  
  
Κ: YOU MANAGED TO CONVERT ΒΒΒ INTO ΑΑΑ WITHOUT USING MAGIC ΛΛΛ?!?  
  
DR. S.C.PH.: YES, I DID! THAT WAS BY FAR THE MOST COMPLEX FORMULA I'VE EVER CREATED SO FAR. I TRIED AND TRIED IN ALL PREVIOUS CAVES, BUT IT NEVER WORKED. CAVE P WAS MY VERY LAST ATTEMPT. MY FINAL TRY. I WAS READY TO GIVE UP THE IDEA IF IT WOULD AGAIN NOT WORK. BUT IT DID! I COULD MAKE ΒΒΒ TURN INTO ΑΑΑ AS SOON AS THEY LAND ON THE GROUND AFTER FALLING. THAT'S PRETTY MUCH AS GOOD AS CREATING MAGIC ΛΛΛ, ISN'T IT?   
  
Κ: WOOOOW, THAT'S... I DON'T FIND WORDS FOR IT!  
  
DR. S.C.PH.: LONG LIVE ALCHEMY!  
  
Κ: YES, LONG LIVE ALCHEMY!  
  
DR. S.C.PH.: WANT TO BECOME MY LAB ASSISTANT? WE COULD DO A LOT OF DIGS AND DANGERDASHES TOGETHER, AND WE COULD EVEN TRY TO TAKE THE ESSENCE OF THE RAINBOW COLOURS TO CREATE ΑΑΑ!  
  
Κ: HMMM... MAYBE LATER, IN 40 YEARS OR SO. FOR THE TIME BEING, I PREFER DIGGING FOR ΑΑΑ IN THE USUAL FASHION. AND WHAT WILL YOU DO WITH YOUR RESEARCH?   
  
DR. S.C.PH.: I'LL SELL MY FORMULAS TO EXORBITANT PRICES! I ALREADY HAVE A LOT OF REQUESTS... LET'S SEE... THERE'S A GUY CALLED LORD DIEGO WHO IS VERY INTERESTED IN MOST OF MY EFFECTS. YOU KNOW, ΘΘΘ CONVERTING INTO SOMETHING DIFFERENT THAN USUAL, ΖΖΖ EXPLODING INTO ΑΑΑ, ΗΗΗ EXPLODING INTO ΒΒΒ, ALL THIS KIND OF STUFF. MAYBE I CAN DISCOVER AND SELL HIM EVEN MORE SIMILAR FORMULAS FOR SPECIAL EFFECTS. AND FOR MY LATEST AND GREATEST DISCOVERY - TURNING FALLING ΒΒΒ INTO ΑΑΑ - I HAVE A BIG REQUEST BY SOMEONE CALLED FRUST. HE WANTS TO USE THAT SPECIAL EFFECT FOR HIS OWN CAVE P. HE ALSO ASKED ME IF I CAN TURN FALLING ΑΑΑ INTO ΗΗΗ FOR HIS CAVE. LET'S SEE, IF HE PAYS WELL, I MIGHT RESEARCH THAT TOO. AND YOU WILL PROBABLY HAVE NOTICED THAT I MANAGED TO BLAST AWAY SOLID ΕΕΕ AS WELL?  
  
Κ: OH YES, THAT FRIGHTENED ME A LOT IN CAVE A! I THOUGHT THAT IF SOMEONE WAS THAT POWERFUL, HE'D HOPEFULLY HAVE NO BAD INTENTIONS!  
  
DR. S.C.PH.: IT'S ALL FOR SCIENCE!  
  
Κ: WELL... I THINK THAT DOESN'T COUNT AS BAD :D  
  
DR. S.C.PH.: ANYWAY, A COLLEGUE OF MINE, DR. WATSON, IS VERY INTERESTED IN THE DESTRUCTION OF ΕΕΕ. HE WANTS TO USE THAT QUITE SOON FOR HIS OWN CAVES. HE SAID HE WANTS TO BE ONE OF THE FIRST WHO EVER CREATES FANMADE CAVES!  
  
Κ: IT'S SO GREAT TO HEAR THAT THERE'RE SO MANY BD FANS OUT THERE WHO WANT TO CREATE THEIR OWN CAVES! SO IT WON'T GET BORING FOR THE NEXT DECADES!  
  
DR. S.C.PH.: I'M CERTAIN IT WON'T! :)  
  
Κ: BUT FIRST, I WANT TO RE-EXPERIENCE THIS VERY ADVENTURE, WITHOUT YOUR OR ANYONE'S INTERRUPTIONS AND MASSIVE CHANGES!  
  
DR. S.C.PH.: YOU JUST HAVE TO TAKE THE Ξ, AND YOU'LL BE LEAD STRAIGHT TO LEVEL +1.  
  
Κ: OK, BEFORE I GO... I HAVE A FEW MORE QUESTIONS. ALTHOUGH THEY'RE NOT DIRECTLY CONNECTED TO CREATING ΑΑΑ. JUST BECAUSE I WANT TO KNOW ABOUT THEM!  
  
DR. S.C.PH.: SO IT SEEMS THAT BESIDE THE BIG TREASURE SEEKER, THERE LIVES A LITTLE SCIENTIST IN YOU AS WELL, EH? ;)  
  
Κ: MAYBE, YES. SO... IN CAVE D, SOME OF THE ΖΖ HAVE SOMEHOW TURNED INTO ΙΙ. I WAS WONDERING IF THAT WAS ALSO YOUR WORK?  
  
DR. S.C.PH.: OH, ACTUALLY? WHEN I WAS THERE, ALL ΖΖΖ WERE STILL PERFECTLY NORMAL. NO, THAT WAS NOT MY FAULT. IT SEEMS THAT LIVING IN NARROW CAGES FOR MONTHS, WITHOUT ANY SPACE TO MOVE, WASN'T VERY GOOD FOR THOSE ΖΖ...  
  
Κ: OH. WELL, YES, IT SEEMS SO. POOR CREATURES...  
  
DR. S.C.PH.: I JUST HAVE AN ASSOCIATION. HOW ABOUT COWS?  
  
Κ: COWS?!  
  
DR. S.C.PH.: YES, COWS. THEY MOVE LIKE ΖΖΖ, BUT THEY CAN'T HARM YOU. IF THEY GET TRAPPED, THEY DIE AND TURN INTO SKULLS. FOR COLLECTIONG 5 SKULLS, YOU ACTIVATE THE POT. USE IT AND A GRAVITY SWITCH GETS ACTIVATED. THEN YOU CAN CHANGE THE DIRECTION OF GRAVITY.   
  
Κ: EHM... ARE YOU OKAY? SHOULD I -  
  
DR. S.C.PH.: OF COURSE! I'M PERFECTLY FINE! IT'LL REQUIRE A LOT OF RESEARCH UNTIL THAT BECOMES POSSIBLE, THOUGH. BE READY TO FACE CAVES WITH COWS, SKULLS AND GRAVITY SWITCHES SOMETIME IN THE DISTANT FUTURE!  
  
Κ: OOOOKAY... AND, EHM... WHAT DID YOU DO IN CAVES Q, E AND F? THERE WAS SOME KIND OF HOLE IN THE BORDER IN THOSE CAVES. HAVE YOU CREATED AN ALTERNATIVE CONNECTION BETWEEN THE CAVES?  
  
DR. S.C.PH.: AH, YES, I DID. I WANTED TO TAKE THE ΖΖΖ WITH ME. I NEEDED ONE FOR CAVE E AND THE OTHERS TO DEFLECT THE ΖΖΖ IN CAVE F. THEN I TRAPPED THEM ALL ON A LOOP THERE. I GUESS THEY'RE TRAPPED THERE FOREVER, BUT AT LEAST THEY STAY IN MOTION ;)  
  
Κ: AND THESE PORTALS WORKED WITHOUT ANY FLAWS?  
  
DR. S.C.PH.: NOT VERY WELL, ACTUALLY. FIRST OF ALL, IT WAS QUITE AN EFFORT TO CREATE THOSE PORTALS, AND THEN I HAD TO MOVE BACK AND FORTH ENDLESSLY TO TAKE THE ΖΖΖ WITH ME. I THINK THE NORMAL Ξ IS A LOT EASIER TO HANDLE. PROBABLY YOU WON'T SEE ANY MORE OF THOSE PORTALS IN THE FUTURE. WHAT I CAN IMAGINE, HOWEVER, IS TO USE THE BASIC IDEA FOR OPEN BORDERS.  
  
Κ: AND HOW WOULD THAT WORK?  
  
DR. S.C.PH.: YOU LEAVE THE CAVE VIA THE RIGHT EDGE, AND THEN YOU COME OUT AT THE LEFT EDGE. OR VICE VERSA.   
  
Κ: AAAAH, SO THAT THE CAVE HAS BASICALLY A KIND OF CYLINDRIC FORM?  
  
DR. S.C.PH.: YES, KINDA. LET'S SEE. IF IT WORKS WELL, THEN PROBABLY YOU'LL DIG THROUGH SOME OPEN BORDER CAVES IN THE FUTURE.  
  
Κ: SOUNDS GREAT! AND THEN THERE'S SOMETHING MORE ABOUT CAVE E...  
  
DR. S.C.PH.: YES?  
  
Κ: THE ΙΙΙ. I DIDN'T UNDERSTAND HOW IT WORKED. I KNOW THAT ΙΙΙ CAN SWALLOW ΑΑΑ AND ΒΒΒ, BUT SOMEHOW, SOME OF THE ΙΙΙ IN THIS CAVE COULDN'T DO THAT. SOME OF THE ΑΑΑ WERE STILL THERE!  
  
DR. S.C.PH.: HA! THAT'S SIMPLE. IT DIDN'T EVEN REQUIRE EXPERIMENTS, JUST PURE BASIC CALCULATIONS. YOU SEE, I NEEDED THAT Ζ TO BLAST AWAY A PART OF THE ΙΙΙ, SO THAT EXACTLY 73 PIECES OF Ι WERE LEFT IN THE CAVE. 73 IS A VERY SPECIAL NUMBER BECAUSE IT DIVIDES 949, THE CYCLE LENGTH OF THE BD RNG. THIS MEANS THAT... BLA BLA BLA BLA BLA... AND THAT'S WHY, WITH 73 ΙΙΙ IN A CAVE, SOME OF THEM ARE IMPERMEABLE AND CARRY ΑΑΑ AND ΒΒΒ FOREVER!  
  
Κ: YES, I UNDERSTAND!  
  
DR. S.C.PH.: YOU DIDN'T!  
  
Κ: EXACTLY :D   
  
DR. S.C.PH.: IT'S FUNNY HOW PEOPLE SOMETIMES DON'T UNDERSTAND THE MOST TRIVIAL MATH. I GUESS IT WILL TAKE MORE THAN 30 YEARS UNTIL SOME GUY WILL DISCOVER THE IMPERMEABILITY STUFF AND COME UP WITH SOME CAVES USING THAT PHENOMENON :D  
  
Κ: WE WILL SEE :D AND THERE'S ONE LAST THING I WONDERED ABOUT. IT WAS IN THE OTHER ΙΙΙ CAVE, CAVE M. YOU SOMEHOW... REMOVED THE Ξ THERE?!  
  
DR. S.C.PH.: OH, EHM... YES, THAT WAS A LITTLE ACCIDENT.  
  
Κ: AN ACCIDENT. OKAAAY. :D  
  
DR. S.C.PH.: I DIDN'T THINK AT THE START. THAT CAVE WAS A PUZZLE, RIGHT? I HAD TO CREATE A PATH TO THE Ξ. BUT I JUST THOUGHTLESSLY MOVED TO THE RIGHT, AND ONLY THEN I REALIZED WHAT THE CAVE WAS ALL ABOUT. IT WAS ALREADY IMPOSSIBLE TO REACH THE Ξ, SO I HAD TO IMPROVISE. I TRIED TO CREATE ONE MORE PORTAL, BUT IT DIDN'T FULLY WORK OUT. AT LEAST I MANAGED TO LEAVE THE CAVE VIA ANOTHER Ξ.  
  
Κ: BUT THE ORIGINAL Ξ WAS NO LONGER THERE!  
  
DR. S.C.PH.: YEAH, THAT MUST HAVE BEEN A SIDE EFFECT. SOME KIND OF TELEKINESIS. I WON'T RESEARCH THAT TOPIC FURTHER. IT'S TOO INEFFICIENT.  
  
Κ: AND THE NEW Ξ DIDN'T FLASH! I ONLY FOUND IT BECAUSE I FOLLOWED YOUR TRACE!  
  
DR. S.C.PH.: OH, IT DIDN'T? YOU MEAN IT WAS HIDDEN?  
  
Κ: YES!  
  
DR. S.C.PH.: INTERESTING... A HIDDEN OUTBOX... THAT SHOULDN'T BE TOO DIFFICULT TO REPRODUCE. MAYBE I CAN EVEN SELL THE IDEA TO THE OFFICIAL FSS GUYS SO THEY CAN USE IT IN AN OFFICIAL NEW BD RELEASE.  
  
Κ: YES, I'M QUITE CERTAIN THAT THEY WILL CREATE AND RELEASE A NICE CONSTRUCTION KIT WITH THOSE HIDDEN EXITS AND OF COURSE NO BUGS!  
  
DR. S.C.PH.: SURELY. IS THIS ALL YOU WANTED TO KNOW?  
  
Κ: YES, I THINK SO.   
  
DR. S.C.PH.: ALRIGHT, GOODBYE THEN. AS I SAID, JUST TAKE THE ΑΑΑ, AVOID THE ΖΖΖ AND TAKE THE Ξ. YOU WILL FIND YOURSELF IN LEVEL +1 AND RE-EXPERIENCE THE CAVES AS THEY ARE DESCRIBED IN YOUR TOUR GUIDE!  
  
Κ: BUT BE CAREFUL! ALL THESE ΖΖΖ WILL THEN MOVE AROUND HERE!  
  
DR. S.C.PH.: WHY DO YOU THINK I'M HIDING BEHIND A Α ALL THE TIME?  
  
Κ: HA HA, ALRIGHT THEN, GOODBYE!  
  
DR. S.C.PH.: AND DON'T FORGET MY OFFER FOR YOU TO BECOME MY LAB ASSISTANT!  
  
Κ: I'LL KEEP IT IN MIND!  
  
Κ TAKES THE Ξ AND CONTINUES TO WRTIE BD HISTORY! AND DR. S.C.PH.? WELL, HE WENT ON DOING RESEARCH AND HIS RESULTS WERE USED IN MANY MANY FANGAMES... ;)

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ROB GILBERT                       2024-04-13 17:06
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A REALLY AWESOME SERIES AND A VERY WELL-WRITTEN CONCLUSION! SO MANY REFERENCES TO THE STUFF THAT'S BEEN INVENTED AND TURNED INTO FAN CAVES AND CAVE SETS SINCE THE BEGINNING OF BD. GREAT JOB, dustin! REALLY ENJOYABLE!

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DUSTIN                            2024-04-13 22:40
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THANKS rob gilbert, GLAD YOU LIKE IT :) IT WAS AGAIN A PLEASURE TO DEVELOP AND WRITE THE STORY ABOUT THE PHANTOM. AT THE BEGINNING OF THE SERIES, I ALREADY HAD THE BASIC IDEA ABOUT WHO THE PHANTOM SHOULD BE AND WHAT HE'S DOING, BUT AS THE SERIES CONTINUED, I GOT MORE AND MORE EXTRA IDEAS. I TRIED TO DESIGN THE CAVES SUCH THAT IT SHOULD BE POSSIBLE TO MAKE GOOD GUESSES ABOUT THE FINAL RESOLUTION WITHOUT MAKING IT TOO OBVIOUS ;)

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ALTERMAVEN                        2024-04-13 23:18
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I'M GLAD I'M NOT THE ONLY ONE WHO LIKES LEAVING BEHIND LORE FOR THEIR LITTLE PROJECTS, SILLY AS IT IS. THANK YOU dustin :D

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DARKWOOD                          2024-04-14 13:13
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LOVE THAT LONG STORIES BY dustin AND altermaven

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DUSTIN                            2024-04-16 20:37
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:)