A Conversation with Owen Hammer

VINCENT
Ok, well, here we go, I'll say something introductory and then we can assume that whatever we're saying, or a cleaned up version of what we're saying, will end up reproduced on MazeCast. Or maybe that was the introductory statement. In any case, I have a hard time making it to MazeCast episodes nowadays, and I missed the last one, in which you had a good, long conversation with Sara. That was the most enjoyable episode I've watched in as long as I can remember, and I was sorry to have missed it.

OWEN
Next time!

VINCENT
Hopefully! I think you wanted to talk to me about my one blog post on MazeCast.com, and…well, I'm not sure I had that much to ask you that you didn't get around to with Sara, though I can obviously talk general Maze stuff with just about anybody forever.

OWEN
Can you summarize your method for determining if the solution to a puzzle (and the puzzle itself) is valid?

VINCENT
I don't think I had a method for determining whether a solution is valid; what I suggested in that blog post was more of a way of thinking about them than a clear cut test for solutions. But the main idea is that people are too willing to embrace wacky interpretations of Maze, and justify them as plausible because the publisher-verified solutions to Maze are wacky; the problem is that Manson's puzzles are wacky in a particular way that's different from the way that users' wacky solutions are.

OWEN
Very true.

VINCENT
Namely, that in the main puzzles of the book, Manson takes a desired message/solution, and puts it through comprehensible transformations, but ends up with something you can't effectively backtrack from, which leaves the puzzle practically unsolvable. But what users typically do is create puzzles that require wacky leaps of logic to go from the desired solution to the puzzle.

OWEN
I agree.

VINCENT
So what I suggested was starting with what you think Manson was trying to say, and then detailing the steps he would have gone through to arrive at the puzzle. And if it involves some kind of really bizarre or metaphorical moon logic, then I would be very suspicious of its authenticity.

OWEN
I think I'm in the minority, but I am POSITIVE that there isn't a distinct puzzle in every room cluing you into the "correct" room.

VINCENT
I certainly think you're correct about that, and I don't think you'd have many dissenters but for White Raven's claims to the contrary.

OWEN
Tell me about White Raven. Was he just a liar?

VINCENT
I don't think so, and I hate to keep railing on my disagreements with him because I feel like I just keep heaping criticism on this guy who worked very hard to drum up interest in Maze, and is responsible for us having this little community, and he did some amazing things. And he certainly had contact with Manson. But, without doing a deep dive through his messages and the whole history of our interactions with the Abyss, I think it's overwhelmingly likely that White Raven thought that Manson had confirmed aspects of his Maze interpretations that Manson did not mean to confirm. And, to put it plainly, that were wrong.

OWEN
I thought so. I may have lost my Manson letters. If so, I can't imagine how as I am very organized.

VINCENT
Maybe they were stolen by a burglar with great taste.

OWEN
That's a very focused burglar. Do we know for sure that the "second" puzzle is the identity of the guide?

VINCENT
No. We don't know much of anything, but, well, keeping in mind that I think White Raven is honest but mistaken, I'm willing to believe that unambiguous statements he claims Manson made are probably correct. Manson did say that there was another large-scale puzzle in the book that no one to his knowledge had discovered. WR did not think this was the Guide puzzle, because he thought he had found the Guide puzzle. But given that WR's Guide puzzle is almost certainly a bit of gobbledygook mixed with some interesting observations, there could still be a Guide Puzzle in here on the scale of the Riddle of the Path. But it could be anything!

OWEN
Do you think that "in sly" directing you to the face with a bull in it is intended?

VINCENT
No. Those letters in the title page image are real, and have to mean something, but I don't think it makes sense that Manson would use "in sly" to direct us to a room that uses the word "sly" in the text. There may be some correspondence there, but I don't think that's a solved puzzle. I also don't think that face has a bull in it.

OWEN
I agree. I think that if there was a face with a bull it would larger and more conspicuous.

VINCENT
More conspicuous at least! Some people see the bull there, some people don't. I've shown it to a number of people who have no knowledge of Maze and the majority of them think it's crazy to say that's a bull's head.

OWEN
I wrote to Manson's physical address via snail mail. Do you think that there is another way to get a hold of him?

VINCENT
Yes, but not that we have. David Gentile used to email with Manson until Manson told him to ask his questions through White Raven, and White Raven used to talk to him on the phone. I think we may have sleuthed up his phone number at some point, but I don't think Manson would appreciate a phone call out of the blue.

OWEN
Understandable. I recently wrote him again. We'll see. Any hypothesises on the true nature of the second puzzle?

VINCENT
Not really! If I had to just nakedly speculate, I'd at least guess that it's in the Trap. There's not much worth telling the reader at that point other than that they're trapped, and we've found a lot of clues that say just that, but there's a lot of other stuff in there that I don't think is all just reiterating that you're trapped–and I'm not sure what else they might be saying.

OWEN
I think that a lot of the smaller puzzles are designed to distract the reader from the real solution. For example, all the rooms with objects starting with the same letter are to make you less suspicious of Room 15.

VINCENT
That could be true…it's also extraordinarily unfair!

OWEN
I STILL cannot figure out the PUNCH/STETHOSCOPE thing. Maybe it's just random.

VINCENT
I doubt that much is actually random, just because the way that Manson generates imagery from phrases is so easy to do, and could be so hard to decode, that I'm more inclined to think he chose his images for reasons that are just inscrutable.

OWEN
Here's a big one. In the text, the guide says that there are 190 rooms, but I count 188 (even counting the hidden door to Room 17). Is my count right? If so, should we be looking for the hidden room?

VINCENT
Oh, right, you asked about that before and I still haven't bothered to recount. You want me to take a minute to do that now?

OWEN
Now, or, if it takes too long, later.

VINCENT
Already started! Give me a few minutes ... I get 190 not counting the gate.

OWEN
The gate is supposed to be one of the 190. Are you saying that you get 192 and I get 188?

VINCENT
That sounds like where we are! By the way, this was something we asked Manson about during one of the sessions where White Raven took questions from us to Manson. Well, I guess that means White Raven asked Manson about it, then. But anyway, WR's summary of Manson's answer is on the Abyss. Let me try to dig it up here. Man, it's so hard to find anything you want in the comments on the Abyss

OWEN
This is why I suggested the wiki!

VINCENT
Yeah, although, the Abyss should probably have Manson's (summarized) remarks displayed more prominently. Now I'm all invested in finding this thing! I guess I should probably just give it up.

OWEN
We can come back to it.

VINCENT
Let me ask you this: What do you think is the most productive thing we could do to find out any more real things in Maze? I hate to say "solutions" or "puzzles" because I'm not sure the messages in there are exactly that I'm not even sure they're messages necessarily. So I just say "things".

OWEN
The wiki is a big help. We can filter out the noise. One thing I need to add to the wiki is sub-category “Puzzle Type.” Perhaps if we are thinking about the tools that Manson uses we can better find the remaining puzzles. Also, I am trying to reach the man himself.

VINCENT
I'm skeptical that Manson is going to give out information as freely as he did the last time you got a letter from him, but it would be nice if he at least clarified that the general Abyss outlook is not accurate. What do you see the wiki leading to, though? I think it's kind of interesting to catalog recurring themes and objects and whatnot, but I don't know how that's going to ultimately lead to a new insight. Though it could; again, we just know too little about what's going on in the book to say what might be meaningful. And maybe there is just a pattern to where things appear.

OWEN
I need to get going, so we'll end it there.

VINCENT
Ok. Well, thank you for your time!

Click here for the conversation between Christopher Manson and White Raven.

I Tried To Hide My Smile

There has been some skepticism about the inclusion of a bull’s head within the sly face in 43. Did Manson really intend it? We’ll assume for the moment that he did. There are plenty of examples of hidden images within images, some of the most classic being Giuseppe Arcimboldo’s heads composed of fruits, or a librarian made of books, etc.

Everyone's familiar with Al Jaffee from Mad Magazine and his fold-in back covers.

The most common (and boring) example is the old/young woman trompe-d'ouei used in 1950's TIME LIFE books on visual psychology.

Maze Fan Fiction? Eidophusikon

The inventive and engrossing novel Eidophusikon has recently come to our attention here at MazeCast. And, OK, MAZE fanfiction may not the best way to describe it, but author Jack Masters is clearly a fan of MAZE and Christopher Manson. (For proof, skip to the excerpt at the end of this post.)

It's hard to describe Eidophusikon, and it probably ruins the (seemingly intentionally) disorienting experience of reading it to try to explain too much about it, so I'll keep the spoilers to a minimum. The author seems to feel the same way: the book's online description reads only, "A private investigator disappears, leaving behind a cryptic text that leads her brother on a strange and perilous search." The brother in question is John Tanis, whose attempts to find out what happened to his sister quickly land him at the centre of a weird web of events and characters, some straight out of myth and fairy tale.

It sounds like a fantasy detective story, but that kind of label doesn't really explain what this book is. The perspective shifts, the chronology is unpredictable, and the story (stories?) are woven through with diverse references-folk music, The Bible, video games, fairy tales, films-and of course, MAZE. There are puzzles, too-although it's hard to tell which might be fairly solvable. Eidophusikon plays with the conventions of fiction and your expectations as a reader, making it a challenging but exciting read. If you are a fan of House of Leaves or The Raw Shark Texts you will probably enjoy this book.

Fair warning, though. I will say that Eidophusikon is not for the faint of heart. It has violent and frightening bits and it is definitely not for kids.

In the end, the best way to explain the book is to let you read it, so I'm including an excerpt from Part 3, De Vega's Run. Here's the setup: private detective Danielle Tanis has entered an impossible, mazelike edifice-The Lab-and is trying to make her way to the centre with the questionable aid of a guide with oddly formal demeanour and speech. Along the way Danielle faces riddles that, if solved, can help her decide which way to go.

Eidophusikon is available to download for pay-what-you-want at Smashwords. Or you can buy it for $0.99 at Amazon.

To accompany you on your foray into The Lab (excerpt below), please enjoy this selection from Beck-another artist Masters seems to like.

"That arena," Danielle started, "does that mean-?"

"Not here," I said. "No metaphors yet."

We were coming close, though, to the end of this cycle.

"I think the sage is next," I said, changing the subject. "It knows all. You could begin thinking of questions, if you like."

"Will it answer?"

"Every question will receive an answer, though fools often doubt the sage's response."

"And the wise?"

"They don't waste time talking to plants."

"Plants?"

"Salvia divinorum, sage of seers."

The hallway opened up onto a subway station. A train was waiting for us. Before it, on the platform, was the sage plant. It was massive, the size of a banana tree, with flowers and leaves of every color.

"Does it truly know all?" Danielle asked me.

"Why don't you find out?"

She approached the plant.

"What is happening on the Moon?" she asked.

The sage shook softly. A leaf detached and floated to the floor. Danielle picked it up.

Written on the leaf was, "The Moon is moot. Most must be dust."

Danielle showed me the leaf. "This can't be right. Not yet."

I nodded. "You may be correct. But enough foolishness. Ask the real question."

Danielle didn't approve of my authoritarian tone, but she grudgingly complied.

"Alright, plant," she said. "Which way to the center?"

The sage shook, much more violently this time. Danielle stepped back a few feet. When its convulsions ceased, the sage had dropped seven leaves.

Danielle collected the leaves and arranged them on the floor. We sat next to them, and studied the phrases written on them:

"ye bold and brazen slaves"

"tether ye boat and crew"

"the rat-catching minions that Satan shat and birthed"

"gold ye gather"

"beside the galliers do seat themselves"

"the desolate winds beat torment in your sails"

"do seethe among us, as they shit upon us still"

Even after Danielle understood what the sage was telling us, she wasn't sure what to do with the information. Eventually, we decided to board the train.

We entered the first car. The doors opened and closed of their own volition.

There were no seats or handrails, no windows, no graffiti, and no other passengers. There were only buttons and plates.

Each button was placed on a one-inch-by-three-inch steel plate. Each plate had one word written on it. Every square inch of the walls and ceiling was coated with plates. It did not take a second for us to realize that every word began with an A; it took not much longer to understand that the words were arranged in alphabetical order.

Danielle followed the words to the back, and then pushed through a doorway into the next car. I followed.

There seemed to be no rationale for the inclusion or exclusion of particular words. I located (through personal curiosity) "alisfakia," "ārstniecības salvija," and "adaçayı"; but common words such as "akha" and "al-waqi" were conspicuously absent.

We passed through many cars before we found the words beginning with B.

I didn't count the cars we traversed before Danielle found the correct button. It was a long walk, but the time seemed to fly by, perhaps due to the inherent entertainment of the situation.

When she pushed the button, the train sprang forward. As we were thrown to the back of the car, lightning began to flash between the ceiling and floor.

-Jack Masters, Eidophusikon

Maze and The Piano Story Book

A while ago, Vincent and I contributed to a Kickstarter campaign called the Piano Storybook, started by a guy who goes by Shnabubula, a name I seem unable to type without whispering it quietly to myself. (Try it: Shnabubula. Shnabubula. You won’t be able to stop.) The idea was that 100 people would each send an image or series of images to him, and he would improvise 100 piano songs inspired by the images.

Vincent sent Shnabubula a copy of MAZE and asked him to “improvise a song based on the images from the series of rooms you choose to move through. While it’s hypothetically possible to wander around the Maze indefinitely, unless you’re deliberately going in circles it won’t take long before your journey comes to an end.”

Supporters of the Piano Storybook had the option to request what kind of song they wanted (in terms of tempo, melodic style, etc) and Vincent made this request, after giving Shnabubula time to experience the book: “Ok, so by now I trust you’ve made your way to Room 24, to spend eternity in the infinite blackness with the Looney Tunes eyeballs. My specific request relates only to the end of the song, which reflects your experience ending up in this room. I’m a big fan of long songs with endings that just repeat over and over and over, much longer than intuition tells you they should. Hey Jude-type endings. The thing is, those are almost always jubilant songs with joyous music that slowly fades away. Here, I would like it if your improvisation ended with a more grim and menacing line, one that repeats an absurd number of times, and that grows in intensity and volume as it progresses instead of diminishing. How you actually end the song I don’t really know, but I’m sure you’ll come up with something.”

Meanwhile, I sent in a hastily-thrown-together composite image of faces of MazeCasters and screenshots from the Abyss, together with a sappy but heartfelt letter with a description of the community and how it has evolved, and also how important it has been to me over the past few years.

Here’s what we got from Shnabubula:

“Vincent, I tried to follow the instructions in your text-file as closely as possible, it was quite a fascinating suggestion and one that I fully embraced.

“For your song, Sara, I decided to take a slightly meta-approach to the interpretation of your story in finding the Maze community, and turn it into a larger narrative arc relating to the Maze itself. I imagined a single person, lost in the Abyss for eternity, that is the end point of Vincent’s song, and then yours is a kind of sequel with that same person, first in a position of isolation, eventually within that darkness finds this community. There are still the undertones of darkness on the fringes and there is even a specific moment meant to represent when people had become disillusioned with some of the solutions. At 15:19 of the video I’m sending you two, the motif from Vincent’s Abyss ‘Hey Jude’ finale is briefly recalled to represent that, but then it leads to the final portion which is still, this beautiful community forming around this strange mysterious thing.”

The full Piano Storybook will be released soon, but meanwhile Shnabubula gave me permission to share this video he made with the two MAZE songs. Hope you enjoy!

Teaser: There’s more to this story. Inspired by his experience with MAZE, Shnabubula created a musical puzzle! Details to come with the public release.

Let's Decorate... with MAZE!

I wanted to spruce up my "home office" (corner of the basement) a little, and occurred to me that I already have 45 pictures that I love, all ready to be framed and hung! Here’s how you can do the same thing.

You will need:

• a new backup copy of MAZE (If you don’t already have a backup copy, order two copies. What’s wrong with you.)
• 8″ x 10″ frames (up to 45)
• scissors
• white paper

What to do:

1. Check to make sure you have three copies of MAZE. Put two of them in a safe place and take a deep breath. Yes, you are going to be cutting up a book! And not just any book – MAZE! It’s okay, you’re allowed. I give you permission.
2. Decide which rooms you want to frame. I chose 19 because I liked the idea of having Manson yelling at me to get out of the way while I’m working and 35 because it’s spoooooky.
3. Carefully cut the pages out. Stay as close to the gutter as you can. You may prefer to rip the pages out as I did. If you do this, make sure there’s a good crease so the page will rip cleanly. Then you can use the scissors to clean up the ripped edge.
4. Put the pages in your frames. The pages don’t fit an 8″ x 10″ frame perfectly, so you will need to cut a piece of white paper to go behind the MAZE page. My frames came with inserts with white backs and I used those. You may need to fiddle a bit to make sure the room is centred in the frame.
5. Close up your frames and hang your pics. Enjoy!