The Quick and the Dead was a virtual representation of a genetic memory of a member of the Alamut Brotherhood active in Baghdad during the 860s.[1]
A Hidden One is tasked with retrieving an astrolabe piece from an injured member of the Order of the Ancients.
You make your way to the hospital and it does not take you long to find the room the enemy agent was taken to. But there is a nurse outside the room who stops you from entering and asks who you are. What do you say?
Tell them you are related to the injured man, here to comfort him.
The nurse's eyes are full of sympathy as she explains that the injured man has unfortunately passed away and been taken to another part of the hospital to be prepared for burial. You know where to go next, that was the perfect excuse.
Tell them you are a physician, here to tend to the injured man.
The nurse looks at you skeptically, mutters that she does not recognize you, then tells you that the injured man unfortunately died and has been taken away for burial rites. It's clear that the nurse doubts you and it will not be long before she tells someone. Telling her you were family would have been more straightforward.
You don't have time for this, just push past her.
As you push past her colleague rushes over, demanding that you apologize and telling you that the injured man has passed away so he will not be here anyway. You leave having drawn many suspicious looks. Using the nurse's sympathy would have been a better idea.
You arrive outside a second room to find a nervous looking student, who asks if you are there to supervise the burial ritual for the deceased. You reassure the student that that is precisely why you are there and enter the room with him. Inside is a cloth, a bowl of water, the enemy agent's body, and a small pile of his belongings. The student asks what he should do?
Tell him to wash and then wrap the body an odd number of times.
The student nods and performs the burial ritual faultlessly. He tells you he will go and inform the family they can collect the body. With the student gone you are free to look through the enemy's belongings, but you may not have long until he returns.
Tell him to wash and then wrap the body an even number of times.
The student looks at you suspiciously and says he thinks that it is supposed to be an odd number. He finishes the ritual and leaves the room. You hurry to look through the agent's belongings as it's almost certain that the student now knows that you are not who you said you were.
Reprimand the student for not remembering the ritual himself.
You demand that if the student cannot remember the ritual, he should leave. Backing out of the room, he says the body should be washed and wrapped an odd number of times, he just wanted to check. You frantically look through the enemy agent's belongings, you probably only have seconds until someone comes to investigate the raised voices.
You search the agent's belongings in vain - the piece of Astrolabe is not there! Then the door opens and a physician enters examining the piece of the Astrolabe you are searching for. He appears to be a Dhimmi (non-Muslim). You tell him you are a scholar of astronomy and this recently deceased man had an important item of yours which you have come to retrieve. The physician looks skeptical and asks you to prove you are a scholar. He asks what is the shape of the Earth?
Tell him every good scholar knows the Earth is spherical.
He smiles and hands you the Astrolabe peice, patting you on the shoulder and apologizing for doubting you. He holds the door open for you to leave and you walk out of the hospital without any trouble. That was smoothly done.
Demand to know what this man is doing working in the hospital as a non-Muslim.
The physician looks angry and answers that there are many Dhimmis working in the hospital, the Caliph has need of their expertise. He recognizes that he lacks authority and thrusts the piece of Astrolabe at you before storming off. Perhaps answering that you know the Earth to be round might have been a more scholarly move.
Tell him every good scholar knows the Earth is flat.",image:{src:r(d[110])},outcome:"He frowns, saying that all scholars would know that Ptolemy showed that the Earth is spherical. He accuses you of being a thief and a liar and you are forced to make a desperate grab for the piece and run!
You strolled out of the Hospital, casual and calm. You knew there would be no pursuit, the hospital staff had completely accepted you as one of them. The Bureau is impressed by your skillful execution of this mission.
You left the Hospital checking regularly over your shoulder, expecting to hear people coming after you. You weren't as effective during this mission as you are known to have been in the past.
The hospital staff, made aware that an intruder was disturbing patients, chased you out. The news of the disturbance reached the Hidden Ones Bureau before you did.
Mission completed! You managed to leave the hospital with an Astrolabe piece! You must continue to gather pieces of the Astrolabe; however difficult it may prove. This task must take precedence over all others.
The Hidden One recovered the astrolabe piece from the Bimaristan.
Choices within each step were reordered based on the score given in the application's source code, from best possible choice (score of 3) to worst possible choice (score of 1). Considering the hint included in each step points towards the best answer, it is assumed that is the canon choice.
Discovery Tour: Medieval Baghdad memories
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| Byzantine Ambassador - My Brother's Keeper - Water, Water Everywhere - The Road Most Travelled - The Caliph, the Thief, his Wife, and her Baby - The Music of the Garden - The Quick and the Dead - Dine Like a Prince - The Astrolabe - Aligning the Stars |