Dungeons Online

"Wait, what?" The giant sage shook its head in surprise. Even though he should be just a monster, his face was filled with shock. "But you looked way different the last time! Like, not only your look but also how you feel..." the giant looked at Tom as some kind of passion sparked in his eyes. "Interesting, truly, truly interesting!" he shouted, leaning to the back as it placed its hands on its sides before letting out a hearty laugh. 

"Now, you look like some kind of mad scientist," Tom smiled, caressing the shaft of his spear. "Right, let me introduce you. This is Claudia," Tom said, pointing his hand at the girl. "A poor, stray lamb that ended up exploring the dungeon with me because of... certain circumstances," he said, hesitating for a moment before finishing the introductions in a vague manner. 

"It's a pleasure to become your acquaintance," the giant said, proving that he was familiar with at least some form of etic. But that small thing actually had massive implications hidden behind it. 

"Likewise..." Claudia replied in a monotone voice. She did it more out of a habit rather than an intention to reply, still unable to overcome the shock caused by what Tom said and the situation itself. "Excuse me for asking... But how come a monster can converse with us like that?" she asked, not caring for any form of delicacy. 

'Ouch,' Tom thought, slightly biting his lips. 'While I would love to know the answer, this is not something that should be said out loud!' he criticized the girl, slowing down the movements of his hand as to be able to grasp his weapon at any given moment. 

They were still in the dungeon. Meeting a peaceful monster didn't change that fact. And Tom couldn't guarantee that Claudia's question wouldn't spark some violent reaction from the giant. 

"I see," the giant said after taking a glance at Tom before shaking its massive head. "There is no need to be wary," it said, now directly looking at the young man. "I don't believe there are any bad questions out there, just people too dumb to figure out the correct answer and thus taking the question personally," the giant replied in a surprisingly smart way. 

"You don't say?" Tom grinned, hearing the giant's words. "How about this, then," he started, only to turn silent for a moment. He then rubbed his chin for a few more seconds before a small flash appeared in his eyes. "If you were to have infinite power and ability to create anything out of nowhere, would you be able to create a stone so heavy that even you wouldn't be able to carry it?" Tom questioned, bringing forth one of the funny riddles he learned as a kid. 

At a first look, there truly was no answer to this question. After all, an omnipotent being should be able to create anything and lift anything alike. For people without any scientific background, this question would forever remain without an answer. 

"Yes, I would be able to create such stone," the giant smiled with sparks of amusement flashing in his eyes. "And yet, I would still be able to carry it," it added after a short moment, pushing the ball of discussion's initiative back at Tom. 

"I see," Tom muttered softly in response, not bothering to elaborate. This short exchange gave him all the information that he wanted. 

And said the information had nothing to do with the giant's ability to solve the riddles. 

"Isn't that against the rules set in the question itself?" Claudia asked, missing the entire point of the question. "Since you can lift it, then you cannot create something heavy enough. As such, you wouldn't be omnipotent," she explained, shaking her shoulders. 

"I think you are missing the point, little lady," the giant said, using the difference between his and Claudia's psychiques to get a bit more familiar with her. "The trick in this question lies in the meaning of omnipotence itself," it added, smiling at the girl with curiosity. 

"Isn't that precisely the point?" Claudia asked, leaning her head over her shoulder in an expression of slight confusion. "Since the omnipotence is illogical, to begin with, it has no place in the strictly logical universe we live in," she added, shaking her shoulders once again. 

"I didn't know you were an atheist," Tom said, stealthily attempting to change the topic. Now that he learned what he wanted to know, lingering on the topic would only make it more likely for the giant to realize just what kind of information he gave.

'It knows some ethics. This isn't something one can learn through evolution. While the ability to create intellect out of this ever-present energy might certainly be plausible, one can never learn the tact without social interactions on a scale big enough,' Tom thought, analyzing the entire situation in his head.

'What's more, it can understand the meaning of omnipotence and the limits that the lower beings like humans have when it comes to an understanding of the infinities,' Tom thought, raising his eyes at the giant. 'This also isn't something one could learn randomly, without an extensive psychological or philosophical background,' Tom counted another weird instance that made the presence of the giant in the dungeon... Highly unfitting. 

"Once again, you are wrong, little one," the giant said, looking Claudia in the eyes. "When we are talking about omnipotence, we are tackling a concept that doesn't fit the frame of how you understand the world around you," it said, sitting down and crossing its legs. "That's why there are thousands of ways to make a trick question like that. In short words, it's a paradox. Or in an even simpler way, you cannot put limits on infinity from the very definition of what infinity is," the giant said, finishing his explanation. 

"Doesn't that mean that the question itself is stupid, then?" Claudia suddenly asked as a victorious smile formed on her lips. 

"That was a nice attempt," the giant nodded its massive head to express its respect, "but it's not that either. The question itself is smart, but one needs to understand what it truly is about," the giant added, moving its eyes on Tom. 

"Basically, the question is about the meaning of infinity. Just like our friend said a moment ago, it serves to prove that a concept outside of our scope of understanding like infinity cannot be fitted inside our limited understanding of the world," Tom revealed the true answer, moving his eyes on Claudia. "This question doesn't beg any answer. In a sense, this question is a statement all on its own," he added, watching with amusement how the victorious smile washed off Claudia's lips. 

'Still, for it to be here...' Tom thought, feeling how the hesitation started to tear him apart. 'Well, let's risk it,' he finally thought, bringing his head up and taking a long look at the giant's eyes. "Do tell, were you sent to this place to guard it against people like us passing through, or the opposite, for the sake of stopping whatever lays in the lower floors from escaping?" Tom asked with a straight face. 

His hand didn't move at all, resting peacefully on top of his spear's shaft.

The giant turned its head around and followed in Tom's steps, taking a long look at the young man's face. "That is truly a great question," it said after a moment with a mysterious smile. "Sadly, it's a question I'm not allowed to answer," it added after a moment turning the satisfied look on its face into one of regret. 

'So there is something imposing rules on it?' Tom thought, trying to get as many clues from what the giant said, despite how it clearly attempted to hide as much information as it was capable of. 

"Let me guess," Claudia said, interrupting the tense moment between Tom and the giant sage. "If we want to learn the answers, we need to reach the bottom of the dungeon," she asked, raising her eyes at the giant. "Am I right?"

This time, the giant didn't bother to hold back his laughter. Exploding with a cheerful chuckle, it even went as far as to wipe a tear of joy from the corner of its eye. 

"That's exactly it!" the giant said, slamming its massive hand against the floor. "That's the perfect question!" it added, still chuckling even after several moments had passed. 

"I guess we will be on our way, then," Tom said as he stood up. While he was relieved, he wasn't forced into a fight with the giant, lack of answers to his questions pulled his mood heavily down. "I believe you won't make it problematic for us to pass through?" he asked, turning his head towards the giant. 

"No, you don't need to worry about it," the sage replied, shaking its massive head. "What's more, I will even help you meet with that other friend of yours," it added, placing its hand on the floor and closing its eyes for a second. 

"Done," the giant announced a mere moment later. It then raised its eyes at the two before smiling gently. "I wish you the best of luck!"

"Thanks," Tom replied, taking a quick look at his portable watch. "And we are right on time," he muttered a moment later, grabbing Claudia's hand and pulling her towards the gate. 

The gate, beyond which Cleo was supposed to wait for them. And according to Tom's clock, the window where she would start waiting for them on the next floor opened literally three minutes ago!