Post by Peregrine on Dec 11, 2023 9:14:25 GMT -6
DDD Day 11 - Part 3 of the Spirit Series
The heated exchange of the other day weighed over the spirits, if only faintly. They'd more or less made up, suitably distracted by Corphish' puzzle, but the feelings that argument brought out were stubborn and very deeply set. Having walked in uncharacteristic silence for some days now, one spirit finally spoke up.
"...Maybe we should talk about it, sometime."
"Hey, hey... do we really wanna be bringing this up?"
"Yes! I mean, no. It hurts to think about, but... I know we can all feel this. Old memories returning. Memories of Beach Cave. Bits of ourselves coming back, bit by bit, yup yup."
"Something terrible happened to all of us. Pushing it down and pretending it never happened... I don't know, I feel like that will do more harm than good."
"Sigh. I get how you feel, Bidoof, really. But there are reasons we've never wanted to discuss it. You... you didn't see everything that happened, not like we had to. Asking us to relive that is just..."
"...Yup yup. I get it. That's just Bidoof, clueless as always."
"H-hey, that's not what I—"
"I'll talk about it."
"I'll talk about it."
"I'll talk about it."
"H-huh?! You will?"
"For a fee, of course. One puzzle should cover it."
"For a fee, of course. One puzzle should cover it."
"For a fee, of course. One puzzle should cover it."
"The number three's always been important to me, as you can imagine. It's a magic number, they say."
"The number three's always been important to me, as you can imagine. It's a magic number, they say."
"The number three's always been important to me, as you can imagine. It's a magic number, they say."
"Weirder, it's always showed up in my life. Even back when I was a Diglett. So I've given it a lot of thought."
"Weirder, it's always showed up in my life. Even back when I was a Diglett. So I've given it a lot of thought."
"Weirder, it's always showed up in my life. Even back when I was a Diglett. So I've given it a lot of thought."
"Anyway, I eventually came up with this:"
"Anyway, I eventually came up with this:"
"Anyway, I eventually came up with this:"
Imagine an incomplete equation with three threes and some other number, like this:
3 3 3 = N
Replace that N with the numbers 0 through 10.
Only adding mathematical operators to the left side of the equation, make the equation true for each number.
There are lots of ways to do all of them. You can add parentheses, or decimal points, or any obscure operators you can remember.
Since there are 11 separate tasks here, 0 to 10, I'll call it a success if you succeed at 10 of them. So you can drop a tricky one if you want.
Get a move on, then!
Get a move on, then!
Get a move on, then!
Answer Below — Click Spoiler to See!
The heated exchange of the other day weighed over the spirits, if only faintly. They'd more or less made up, suitably distracted by Corphish' puzzle, but the feelings that argument brought out were stubborn and very deeply set. Having walked in uncharacteristic silence for some days now, one spirit finally spoke up.
"...Maybe we should talk about it, sometime."
"Hey, hey... do we really wanna be bringing this up?"
"Yes! I mean, no. It hurts to think about, but... I know we can all feel this. Old memories returning. Memories of Beach Cave. Bits of ourselves coming back, bit by bit, yup yup."
"Something terrible happened to all of us. Pushing it down and pretending it never happened... I don't know, I feel like that will do more harm than good."
"Sigh. I get how you feel, Bidoof, really. But there are reasons we've never wanted to discuss it. You... you didn't see everything that happened, not like we had to. Asking us to relive that is just..."
"...Yup yup. I get it. That's just Bidoof, clueless as always."
"H-hey, that's not what I—"
"I'll talk about it."
"I'll talk about it."
"I'll talk about it."
"H-huh?! You will?"
"For a fee, of course. One puzzle should cover it."
"For a fee, of course. One puzzle should cover it."
"For a fee, of course. One puzzle should cover it."
"The number three's always been important to me, as you can imagine. It's a magic number, they say."
"The number three's always been important to me, as you can imagine. It's a magic number, they say."
"The number three's always been important to me, as you can imagine. It's a magic number, they say."
"Weirder, it's always showed up in my life. Even back when I was a Diglett. So I've given it a lot of thought."
"Weirder, it's always showed up in my life. Even back when I was a Diglett. So I've given it a lot of thought."
"Weirder, it's always showed up in my life. Even back when I was a Diglett. So I've given it a lot of thought."
"Anyway, I eventually came up with this:"
"Anyway, I eventually came up with this:"
"Anyway, I eventually came up with this:"
Imagine an incomplete equation with three threes and some other number, like this:
3 3 3 = N
Replace that N with the numbers 0 through 10.
Only adding mathematical operators to the left side of the equation, make the equation true for each number.
There are lots of ways to do all of them. You can add parentheses, or decimal points, or any obscure operators you can remember.
Since there are 11 separate tasks here, 0 to 10, I'll call it a success if you succeed at 10 of them. So you can drop a tricky one if you want.
Get a move on, then!
Get a move on, then!
Get a move on, then!
Answer Below — Click Spoiler to See!
{Reveal Answer}
After a shorter time than was perhaps expected from young Bidoof, a bit of contemplation and a lot of muttering eventually led to a sort of modest, self-satisfied eureka.
"What a treat this was, yup yup! There really are a lot of ways to do this! Let's see, here's my first instinct..."
3! - 3 - 3 = 0
(3! / 3) - 3] = 1
(3 + 3) / 3 = 2
3 + 3 - 3 = 3
3 + (3 / 3) = 4
3! - (3 / 3) = 5
(3 × 3) - 3 = 6
3! + (3 / 3) = 7
3! + (3! / 3) = 8
3 + 3 + 3 = 9
3! + !3 + !3 = 10
"A factorial fiend, huh? Heh, typical."
"A factorial fiend, huh? Heh, typical."
"A factorial fiend, huh? Heh, typical. Ooh, a subfactorial—"
"These all check out, though. Nice work."
"These all check out, though. Nice work."
"These all check out, though. Nice work."
"N'aw, thanks."
"Hey, hey! Dugtrio, you said you were gonna talk about it, right?"
"Yeah, a deal's a deal. Bidoof's right: ignoring it just leads to built-up resentment, like the other day."
"Yeah, a deal's a deal. Bidoof's right: ignoring it just leads to built-up resentment, like the other day."
"Yeah, a deal's a deal. Bidoof's right: ignoring it just leads to built-up resentment, like the other day."
"So if Bidoof wants to talk about it, I'll talk. You know why? Because Bidoof's the only one of us who never tried to keep that damn Relic."
"So if Bidoof wants to talk about it, I'll talk. You know why? Because Bidoof's the only one of us who never tried to keep that damn Relic."
"So if Bidoof wants to talk about it, I'll talk. You know why? Because Bidoof's the only one of us who never tried to keep that damn Relic."
"Meh-heh-heh, not like he got much of a chance to..."
"Well, I'll talk if we're talkin', but... Bidoof, what did you even want to talk about?"
"..."
"Hm? What's wrong?"
"It's a little silly but... it's this eye of mine. I couldn't see everything that happened that day, but I saw the... bodies, after the fact. None of us died peaceful deaths. Even so, I'm the only one who still has a wound from that day, even back when we were spirits in Treasure Town. That makes it a little hard to ignore, yup yup. I guess I've just always wondered..."
"Do... do any of you remember who gave me this injury?"
The spirits eyed each other, a mounting dread building up between them. As the days wore on in this strange verdant place, their memories from Beach Cave had become clearer and clearer. Each spirit could tell you who had killed them... who they had killed. And yet, as their worried glances grew more frantic, it became clear: none could recall whose Iron Spike it was that pierced Bidoof and wounded not only his body, but his very soul.
The guilty made poor company.
...
To be continued in Part 4.
After a shorter time than was perhaps expected from young Bidoof, a bit of contemplation and a lot of muttering eventually led to a sort of modest, self-satisfied eureka.
"What a treat this was, yup yup! There really are a lot of ways to do this! Let's see, here's my first instinct..."
3! - 3 - 3 = 0
(3! / 3) - 3] = 1
(3 + 3) / 3 = 2
3 + 3 - 3 = 3
3 + (3 / 3) = 4
3! - (3 / 3) = 5
(3 × 3) - 3 = 6
3! + (3 / 3) = 7
3! + (3! / 3) = 8
3 + 3 + 3 = 9
3! + !3 + !3 = 10
"A factorial fiend, huh? Heh, typical."
"A factorial fiend, huh? Heh, typical."
"A factorial fiend, huh? Heh, typical. Ooh, a subfactorial—"
"These all check out, though. Nice work."
"These all check out, though. Nice work."
"These all check out, though. Nice work."
"N'aw, thanks."
"Hey, hey! Dugtrio, you said you were gonna talk about it, right?"
"Yeah, a deal's a deal. Bidoof's right: ignoring it just leads to built-up resentment, like the other day."
"Yeah, a deal's a deal. Bidoof's right: ignoring it just leads to built-up resentment, like the other day."
"Yeah, a deal's a deal. Bidoof's right: ignoring it just leads to built-up resentment, like the other day."
"So if Bidoof wants to talk about it, I'll talk. You know why? Because Bidoof's the only one of us who never tried to keep that damn Relic."
"So if Bidoof wants to talk about it, I'll talk. You know why? Because Bidoof's the only one of us who never tried to keep that damn Relic."
"So if Bidoof wants to talk about it, I'll talk. You know why? Because Bidoof's the only one of us who never tried to keep that damn Relic."
"Meh-heh-heh, not like he got much of a chance to..."
"Well, I'll talk if we're talkin', but... Bidoof, what did you even want to talk about?"
"..."
"Hm? What's wrong?"
"It's a little silly but... it's this eye of mine. I couldn't see everything that happened that day, but I saw the... bodies, after the fact. None of us died peaceful deaths. Even so, I'm the only one who still has a wound from that day, even back when we were spirits in Treasure Town. That makes it a little hard to ignore, yup yup. I guess I've just always wondered..."
"Do... do any of you remember who gave me this injury?"
The spirits eyed each other, a mounting dread building up between them. As the days wore on in this strange verdant place, their memories from Beach Cave had become clearer and clearer. Each spirit could tell you who had killed them... who they had killed. And yet, as their worried glances grew more frantic, it became clear: none could recall whose Iron Spike it was that pierced Bidoof and wounded not only his body, but his very soul.
The guilty made poor company.
...
To be continued in Part 4.