Adventure Team Mission DebriefingCasefile: "The Ultimate Truth!"
Dr. Heniree "Indi" Johnz ReportingThis particular adventure began when I was visited at my University office by the daughter of an old rival, Dr. Renid Belloxx. Belloxx's daughter, Rana, informed me that her father had perished on a quest to find the Oracle Of Truth- a legendary ancient artifact that will tell the ultimate truth to any question asked of it. I had searched for it twice in the past, but had never located it, only finding an amber crystal key that is supposed to be associated with the Oracle legend. Many consider it to be only an old story and that to search for it is a fool's quest.
She asked me if I had any information that could aid her in finding the Oracle to fulfill her father's last mission. I informed her that I only knew all of the same old stories that her father knew and that I could be of no further assistance to her but offered my condolences in the loss of her father. While Belloxx was a rival, a thief who often stole artifacts straight from my hands after I discovered them, and a mercenary, I never wished death on the man. Rana asked for the crystal key her father said was in my posession (which he had tried unsuccessfully in the past to take from me), but when I refused, she simply smiled and said "I was hoping to do this the hard way." She raised her wrist commlink and simply said "playtime" into the mic. My office door opened and two of her father's associates entered. The first, the scarred and one-eyed Major Sebistor Bludd, was a mercenary, bounty hunter and killer known across the Galaxy. The other, Qwinn, a hulking dark-skinned warrior from a primitive world on very edge of Wild Space, a killer just as deadly as Bludd. Rana simply smiled and said "You will give me the key, or my friends here will make you scream until you die..."
Before either of the brutes could cross the room, I sprung into action! I pulled my whip from under my desk and lashed out striking Qwinn on the forearm and adding another soon-to-be scar to the network already crisscrossing his gigantic frame. As Qwinn roared in pain, he fell backwards into Bludd, knocking his gun arm upwards and his pistol discharged into the ceiling. In the confusion, I pulled out my blaster, shot out my window and leapt to the grass outside (thankfully my office is on the ground level of the University). I hightailed it to my speeder and took off while Rana and company came bursting out of the window after me. I sped off into the busy skylanes losing any pursuit that may follow.
I made my way to the Adventure Team Headquarters looking for my good friend Joh Kolton. He and some of his Adventure Team members were away on a mission (see Casefile: "Mystery Of The Stone Skull!"), but I was able to secure the aid of the Land Adventurer, Jaik Rokkwel. Together Jaik and I poured over the Adventure Team Arcives, aided by "F.L.I.N.N." (Focused Light Interactive Neural Network- the memories and personality of deceased computer programmer Kev Flinn transferred into a holographic interface at the time of his death) and located the most likely location of the Oracle. We then went to one of my storehouses and retrieved the crystal key Rana sought.
Jaik and I made our way to the planet indicated on our charts and landed. After a long and arduous journey through some of the densest jungle and over the harshest rock I have ever encountered, we found the entrance to a cave. As we progressed through the cave, we encountered many traps and puzzles, all of which we deactivated, escaped from, or figured out over the course of several hours finally coming to a cool, dark cavern. In the center of the cavern, atop an alter of the coolest, most soothing looking blue stone I have ever laid eyes on sat the Oracle Of Truth!
The Oracle was made up of two parts, a tall arch with pointed edges along the top and a giant, engraved disc in the center and a low round table in front of it. As we ascended the stairs of the alter, we noticed the two spires, one on either side of the stairs. Each was topped with a carved head possibly representing the dieties the ancients who made the Oracle worshipped and below the heads were hooks most likely used to hang ancient lanterns from to provide light in the cavern. We hung a pair of glow rods on the hooks and proceeded to the table. In the center of the table was a raised area with an opening at the top. The notches in the opening looked to correspond perfectly to the notches on the crystal key! I removed the key from my satchel and inserted it into the receptical. The cavern filled with light as the engraved marking on the Oracle began to emit glowing energy of different colors!
I asked the Oracle, "What is the meaning of life?" the oracle began to make great sounds like massive stones rubbing together and from within the raised disk at the back of the Oracle an engraved wheel began to turn...
The wheel stopped, it's engraved answer visible in the open portion of the disk. I translated the ancient script and was shocked at the answer. It said, roughly translated- "Reply cloudy, inquire once more.". I asked my question again and the wheel began to turn again, stopping after a short while to reveal it's answer: "All signs point to the affirmative". Jaik and I looked at each other and burst out laughing. In the history of the Galaxy, all of the thousands of years of hard work and sacrifice in search of the Oracle Of Truth were for nothing. It would not give out any "Ultimate Truth", it was simply the oldest known form of the ancient novelty item known as a "Cosmic Answer Cube".
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