A Board Was Left at the Door
At 23:41 UITC on Saturday, someone knocked at Le Council's door.
Le Council does not receive visitors at that hour. The duty clerk opened anyway.
On the step stood a figure in a hood. It gave no name. It held out a boardâdark, flat, about the size of a rink diagramâand a small white piece of wood shaped like a drop of water. It said, in a voice the clerk describes as "cold, but polite," that the board speaks for The Almighty Ice.
The clerk asked what the board was called. The figure said "yeah." Then, as if correcting itself, it said "ouain." By the time the clerk looked up from the board, the step was empty.
Le Council has entered it into the record as the Yeahouain.
What Le Council Knows
- The board carries twenty-six letters, ten digits, a YES, a NO, and a GOODBYE.
- The piece of wood moves across it. Le Council has not seen it start. Le Council has seen it stop.
- It answered. The clerk asked whether anyone was there. The piece of wood went to YES and stayed there. The clerk has not asked a second question and has requested a transfer.
Le Council does not believe the board speaks for The Ice. The Ice has never needed furniture. Le Council has also been wrong before, and would like to be sure.
Scientists Wanted
Le Council is opening the board to willing scientists for one week, from now until the figure returns.
- One question a day. The day turns at 00:00 UITC, as all days do.
- Keep it short. The board reads eighty characters and loses interest after sixty.
- Consent first. Before your first question, you will be asked to confirm that you volunteer willingly. Le Council does not predict the results. Le Council records them.
- The trial log is public. Every question the board answers is entered under the scientist's name, with what it spelled and what followed. Le Council keeps the log as a matter of record and offers no interpretation of it.
Enrolled citizens may volunteer. Citizens who have not confirmed their email address may watch.
What the Board Has Been Known to Do
It answers. It has also been known to act.
During its first hour in Le Council's keeping, a subject's modifiers changed with no game played and no visit to the Sixth. Le Council has not established that the two events are related. Le Council has stopped saying the word "unrelated" near the board.
It has spelled the names of people who did not give them.
When a scientist without an Idol asked it for something, it asked who. Citizens who would like the board to know where to send things may want to choose an Idol first.
Front offices across the league have been told about the experiment. Not all of them approve. One has asked, in writing, that its supporters be reminded that it is watching. Le Council has passed the reminder on.
What the Board Will Not Do
It does not speak about the world outside the rink. Asked about it, the board does not move, and Le Council records nothing.
It does not decide real things for you. It is a board.
Some nights it is quiet. When it is, nothing is spent. Ask again in a moment.
Le Council Advises Caution
The board is on the table. The piece of wood is in the middle, where it was left. Le Council advises caution. Le Council always advises caution.
This week, Le Council would like that noted in advance.