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The Astrolabe 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 a piece of the astrolabe from the House of Wisdom.
As you are hurrying towards the doors of the House of Wisdom you are stopped by a passing guard patrol. One of the guards catches hold of you, says he recognizes you and believes you might be wanted for a crime. When you deny this, the guard looks up at the House of Wisdom and asks what you are doing here, and what is in your bag. What do you say?
Tell him you are delivering a book for translation by the scholars.
The guard nods his head and mutters that perhaps he might have been wrong about recognizing you. The guard patrol moves on and you are free to walk confidently into the House of Wisdom through the front door.
Cause a distraction and run.
You slip from the guard's grasp and dash away in a full sprint. The entire patrol gives chase and they follow you for a surprisingly long way! By the time you make it back to the House of Wisdom it is late, you can only hope the scholars are still inside. Telling the guard you were delivering a book would have saved you time and energy.
Tell him you are here to pick up medicine for your sick father.
The guard's eyes narrow as he suggests that the Bimaristan (Hospital) would be a better place to find medicine. He shouts for help and you are forced to run off and enter the House of Wisdom through a window. The House of Wisdom deals in knowledge, not medicine. This is not a great start to the mission.
Amongst the books and papers of the House of Wisdom, you find a scholar looking at astrological writings and star charts. He matches the description of the scholar you are looking for. You strike up a conversation and he explains that an Astrolabe indicates the position of the stars from a certain location. Smiling to himself, he asks where you should head if you needed to find a Ziggurat to use an Astrolabe.
The old fortress of Kurigalzu.
You realize that you would be in the Ziggurat or terraced compound made of receding levels that served as a temples at Dur-Kurigalzu. He smiles at your answer, congratulating you on your quick wits and understanding of Baghdad's history.
Go to the Tomb of Zubaydah bint Ja'far.
You suggest that it would be the Tomb of Zubaydah. He shakes his head and explains that the Dur-Kurigalzu ruins are those of an ancient Ziggurat, terraced compounds made of receding levels that served as temples. You hope your lack of insight hasn't hurt your chances of convincing him to give you the piece.
Go to the Tell Umar, in the ruins of Seleucia.
You suggest that it would be the ruins of Seleucia. He shakes his head and explains that the Dur-Kurigalzu ruins are those of an ancient Ziggurat, terraced compounds made of receding levels that served as temples. You hope your lack of insight hasn't hurt your chances of convincing him to give you the Astrolabe piece.
Though fascinated by your interest in the astrolabe, he announces that he will not give you the piece that he has until you prove that you are a like-minded scholar, with a pure scientific heart. To test you he asks what you would do if you thought a scientific theory was wrong?
Tell him you would try to prove it by experiment and attempt to explain any difference in your results.
The Scholar smiles widely and says you are indeed a like-minded Scholar - that was the perfect response. He hands over the piece of the Astrolabe immediately, and it is not long before you are on your way out of the House of Wisdom.
Tell him you would assume you had made a mistake as scientific theories are never wrong.
The Scholar looks at you curiously and says that you are clearly no Scholar, but you do at least seem to be a good person. He goes to find the piece of the Astrolabe whilst lecturing you on the fact that scientific theories are often wrong. Once he has finally finished, you leave the House of Wisdom with your head spinning.
Tell him to give you the piece of the Astrolabe or you will burn his papers!
The Scholar reluctantly hands you the piece of the Astrolabe, cursing under his breath as he does so. As you leave the House of Wisdom you hear him shouting for the guard - you had better leave the area quickly!
Returning to the Bureau with the Astrolabe piece, you smile in the knowledge that this mission will cement a reputation for your cunning and stealthy ways.
You have the piece of the Astrolabe but getting it has proved trickier than you had thought. You are sure to face a few comments from the Hidden Ones for making hard work of a soft target.
An alarm was raised as you were leaving the House of Wisdom and the city guards will be on high alert. Though you have the Astrolabe piece, this sort of attention will make the work of the Hidden Ones more difficult for a time.
Mission Completed! You managed to collect another piece of the Astrolabe. The Hidden Ones depend on your continued success - you must not fail. You have collected another piece of the Astrolabe! As soon as you are ready, you can move to secure the next piece.
The Hidden One recovered the astrolabe piece from the House of Wisdom.
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 |