| ROUND
1 |
For the last thirty years, M-----'s
gait has been gradually slowing under an accruing
burden of recollection and regret. Fifteen years
ago he walked at half normal speed. Today, while
shambling tediously across an intersection,
he is about to stop forever, right in front
of oncoming traffic. For ten points: make a
sort of nervous, almost spasmodic gesture commenting
on his fate. |
| ROUND
2 |
Through no fault of your own, you
have become enmeshed in a hideous bureaucratic
spiral. It started with some mysterious billing
errors, and escalated through a collection agency,
harrassment, a trial, and now jail. For ten
points: give up all hope of extricating yourself
from this situation. |
CHALLENGE
ROUND |
The isolated village of S-- P------
is ruled by a local dictator. The villagers
submit to his rule because they have no concept
of any other form of government and no knowledge
of any political entity larger than themselves.
On the other hand, the government of the country
containing the village had thoroughly forgotten
about it---until you, a lowly revenue clerk,
unearthed records indicating that the village
hasn't paid taxes in nearly a century. The government
sends you to the village along with another
clerk, a strange man named R---- from a different
department. You have seen him around the office
occasionally, but have never worked with him.
When you arrive at S-- P------, the villagers
treat you like gods, but you are disturbed by
R----'s disdainful and abusive attitude towards
them. Finally, you gain an audience with the
local dictator, but for some reason he orders
you thrown in jail, while he elevates R----
to become his right-hand man. After a few days
living on moldy bread and foul water, you are
led out to the hot, dusty village square, where
you, along with dozens of other villagers, are
tied to makeshift whipping posts and beaten
severely. As your life slowly ebbs, you begin
to realize that the sadistic laughter of the
man beating you is that of R----. For twenty
points: resign yourself to a miserable death
at his hands. |
| BONUS
ROUND |
Using the sheet of paper in front
of you, write a three- hundred word letter to
your father. Carry the letter in your breast
pocket for sixteen years, during which time
do not visit your father or return his increasingly
desperate and pathetic calls. Then, when you
learn from your haggard, anorexic sister that
he is on his deathbed, burn the letter and hang
yourself. |
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