Chaos Theory and a Parallel Universe
It’s no use Rita, the only logical conclusion to be drawn is that the ice on the lake is of inferior quality and that we should scrap all our plans for a race. It’s probably just as well that we finish all the projects here in the Valley of the Hidden Dinosaur at the same time, conditions for success, according to my calculations, only 4.2%.
So, that’s it. Nice to meet you Rita, maybe we’ll see each other again in the future.
Why are the cracks in the ice such a problem? Why can’t we just adapt the race route by hand? Rita! Such ramshackle improvisations will simply not suffice! Either the race follows our planned route, or there’ll be no race!
Why must everything conform to the plan, you ask? Think about it, Rita, the alternative is that instead the plan would bend and conform to reality…
Chaos! Do you see? Chaos!!
Hmm… Chaos…
…
Aha! I’ve got it!
The chaos theory Rita, have you heard of it? Okay, what about parallel universes, then?
No? Oh well, never mind.
It’s really very simple. If I re-write the plan so that it takes into account fluctuating multi-dimensional parameters, there will of course be an infinite number of optimal results. Do you understand?
Alright. Let me explain so you understand. If we find a crack, we simply change the race route away from it, you see?
That’s what you said in the first place?
Haha, I hardly think so Rita, you rambled on about some kind of random improvisation. It’s exactly that kind of randomness that has no place in this plan. My plan is exact!
Off you go now and look for cracks. Hurry up.
Objectives: Find cracks in the ice on the lake.
Rewards: 125 Jorvik Shillings, 60 XP, Black Winter Gloves
Reputation: (50 points toward building the camp)
Ride out on the lake and look for cracks along the race route. Report back to Professor Einstein when you are finished.
So, where were the cracks, Rita? Okay… Well, let’s just get their positions into my equations and… There we have it!
Now I know exactly how the race course should be routed.
Quest completed
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Flagging Up the Flags
Here are the finished race limit indication devices, Rita. Set them out at the spots I’ve marked along the course. Obviously, you don’t need to set up every single flag, just the most crucial ones. Nic said he’ll help put the rest of them up later, because I’ve got another job for you to be getting on with. So, yeah. Hurry up.
Objectives: Put out the flags in the places along the race route that Professor Einstein has indicated.
Rewards: 35 Jorvik Shillings, 30 XP
Reputation: (15 points toward building the camp)
Place out one of each flag at each checkpoint in the race; white on the left and red on the right.
Return to Professor Einstein when you have placed all of the flags.
Lovely. Then we’ve arrived at the next stage of our plan.
Quest completed
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If It Ain’t Broke, Don’t Fix It
So. Yes. As you probably already realize, we’ve arrived at yet another point in our plan which requires you to carry out an inspection of the mailbox. I’ll wait here.
Objectives: See if any mail has arrived at Nic Stoneground’s camp.
Rewards: 20 Jorvik Shillings, 20 XP
Reputation: (15 points toward building the camp)
Yes, wouldn’t want your precious little brain to freeze, now would we?
Ahh, would you look at that? A letter! This time the probability was incredibly close to 100%, so I’ve already prepared all we need for the next stage of the plan.
How could I have been so sure?
Elementary, my dear Rita. I saw the mailman put something in the box.
Why didn’t I get the mail myself, if I saw it arrive?
Rita. We have established a most successful routine when I tell you to collect the post, and then you collect it. Why should we try to fix something that isn’t broken? That would be quite illogical, I’m sure you’ll agree.
Quest completed
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This Looks Like a Job For… An Engineer!
This letter is from Berzelius the Engineer, a leading biological engineer from the University of Jorvik. I’ve called in all my favors and it seems Berzelius the Engineer is the result of my efforts. If anybody can help Frank, it’s her.
Who’s going to take care of the race, you ask?
What do you mean, “take care of the race”?
…
Ohh, I see. I should’ve thought of that. In my plan, the race was taken care of by an autonomous AI system, but even something as simple as that isn’t possible in this valley. Ah well, Berzelius probably needs something to do after she’s helped Frank.
The Engineer has already been in Valedale for more than 2.7 hours. Ride there and get her, Rita. Make sure she gets here as quickly as possible. Hurry up.
Objectives: Ride to Valedale and talk to Berzelius the Engineer.
Rewards: 10 Jorvik Shillings, 25 XP
Reputation: (5 points toward building the camp)
Ride to Valedale and meet Berzelius near the stables.
Hello there. I’m Berzelius the Engineer, and this is my dog Swedenborg!
Quest completed
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Reassigned for Good Reasons…
I’ve got no real idea quite why I’m here, but my boss ordered me to make my way here at the first possible opportunity. I’ve been reassigned, no doubt for all the best reasons, but nobody’s told me quite why yet.
Oh well. I’m sure that my new boss Professor Einstein can explain. I hope she’s got some exciting tasks for me… So, yes! How are we getting there?
You want me to ride with you on your horse?
We’re going where? Valley of the Hidden Dinosaur? Never heard of it.
Sounds exciting though!
Come on then, Swedenborg! Jump up on the nice horsey!
Objectives: Ride to Nic Stoneground’s camp with Berzelius the Engineer.
Rewards: 25 Jorvik Shillings, 25 XP
Reputation: (10 points toward building the camp)
Ride back to the camp with Berzelius and Swedenborg.
Berzelius the Engineer, I presume?
Quest completed
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A Biological and Mechanical Diagnosis
Berzelius the Engineer, I’m your new managing supervisor, Elsa Einstein. I understand that you’re an expert in both biological and mechanical sciences. Your task is to diagnose my brother, Frank Einstein, and discover what exactly is wrong with him.
When you have completed your job, I have another incredibly important problem that you can no doubt help alleviate with a solution of some kind.
Objectives: Talk to Berzelius the Engineer again.
Rewards: 10 Jorvik Shillings, 10 XP
Reputation: (5 points toward building the camp)
He now goes by the name of Franke and he enjoys eating raw chicken legs.
Hmm… I suppose this person here is Frank Einstein?
Hmm…
Quest completed
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A Serious Case of Lightening Strikes…
This was really a very easy diagnosis, Professor.
After a simple visual inspection, I can immediately give you a precise answer to what Frank’s problem is. All symptoms indicate a severe case of multiple lightening strikes to the head.
What was the other problem you needed help with Professor Einstein?
Objectives: Talk to Professor Einstein again.
Rewards: 5 Jorvik Shillings, 20 XP
Reputation: (5 points toward building the camp)
I guess she’s an expert for a reason…
Multiple lightening strikes to the head, you say? Well that was a very fast diagnosis, great work Berzelius. You truly are the expert I’ve been looking for. Now I’ll tell you all about your next task.
Quest completed
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Overqualified for the Job
Allow me to give you a little more background, Berzelius. I’m in the middle of executing a plan to turn this primitive place into a first-class research station of the very highest international standard. In this plan, I seem to have overlooked a minor detail, but I’m sure you can provide me with a solution to this slight complication.
I want you to start and finish the horse-borne contests we’ve organized on the nearby lake. You will also manage timing and answer questions from whichever horse-borne tourists may visit the area. With your knowledge of biology and mechanics, you’re perfectly suited to the role, if somewhat overqualified. Do you understand your duties?
Objectives: Talk to Berzelius the Engineer again.
Rewards: 30 Jorvik Shillings, 20 XP
Reputation: (25 points toward building the camp)
You may have been reassigned for good reasons, but we never said you would like it. Hey, at least be glad she hasn’t made you the designated mail-fetching-monkey.
Race leader?
Umm, I rather think that’s a little beneath my potential. A task like this would be so unchallenging that I would worry about how bad it would be for my psyche.
It’s an order, you say?
Are you sure? Well, in that case, Professor Einstein, I’m afraid I have to resign. I need to consider my health above anything else.
If I have an alternative solution?
Hmm…
Quest completed
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Strong as an Ox, Stubborn as a Mule
A solution that benefits everyone is if my dog Swedenborg takes care of the tasks around the horse races. He’s more than qualified for this kind of work, he appreciates the company, and he loves meeting new people as well!
How can a dog take care of such complex tasks, you ask?
Well, Rita, Swedenborg is no ordinary dog. I’ve made a few genetic adjustments here and there, implanting properties from other organisms to be able to make him into the smartest dog in the world. He’ll be able to take care of this without a doubt.
How he’s changed? Well, he’s as strong as an ox, as fast as a horse, has the warm and cozy fur as a sheep, and is stubborn as a mule. You understand the principle, right?
Talk to him yourself. His speech center isn’t especially well-developed but he understands everything you say to him. I myself am off to talk to Professor Einstein about how I think she should find some more suitable tasks for a researcher of my caliber.
Objectives: Talk to Swedenborg the dog.
Rewards: 25 Jorvik Shillings, 10 XP
Reputation: (10 points toward building the camp)
Well, here goes nothing!
Baaaaaaaa!!
Quest completed
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A Dog Day at the Races
Muh?
(You explain to Swedenborg what he needs to do and ask him to follow you to the race area.)
Objectives: Take Swedenborg the dog to the race area.
Rewards: 35 Jorvik Shillings, 30 XP
Reputation: (50 points toward building the camp)
Walk with Swedenborg down to the race start area near the hill down to the lake.
Neeeeeiiiiiigggggghhhhhhh!!!
Quest completed
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The Hidden Dinosaur Race
Cluck, cluck?
(Swedenborg wants to know if you want to take part in the race.)
Objectives: Race to the finish.
Rewards: 45 Jorvik Shillings, 40 XP
Reputation: (25 points toward building the camp)
Warning! This race is hard!
There is one leap across open water that is especially difficult to achieve with low stats. I recommend using a fully leveled horse with high strength stat and gear with high jumping and strength bonuses.
When you have completed survived the race, speak to Swedenborg.
Baaaaa!
Quest completed
You can now compete in the race as a daily quest.
With that taken care of, speak to Professor Einstein again about the next order of business.
The Escape Route From This Awful Valley
Berzelius the Engineer and I have talked, and we’ve come up with a solution, Rita. The engineer is to begin a major biological experiment in the near future. She has a theory that, through genetic manipulation of the fir trees growing in the valley, we could accelerate the greenhouse effect locally. She believes that within three months we could have a tropical climate here! Incredible, no? I can picture it now: the lake has turned into a South Sea lagoon, palm trees instead of fir trees, a warm breeze instead of a biting north wind… Oooh, it’s simply wonderful…
So. Enough dreaming. Now we come to the next step in the plan. The balloon. I don’t think it’ll be too hard to repair it, but I haven’t examined it closely yet. Rita, examine the balloon and inspect the damage.
If we repair the hot air balloon Rita, we can get out of this dreary valley and fly wherever we want… Maybe the Large Hadron Collider in Geneva?
Or perhaps we can travel to the Galapagos Islands and walk in Darwin’s footsteps… Aaaahh…
Enough dreaming I said! Goodness, Rita. Inspect the balloon now. Hurry up.
Objectives: Examine the rest of Nic’s hot air balloon.
Rewards: 25 Jorvik Shillings, 15 XP
Reputation: (15 points toward building the camp)
Well we definitely can’t inflate the balloon since we used all the fabric for the roof of the stable. Nice planning there, Einstein…
What did you say? The burner is broken, the balloon fabric is basically useless, and the basket is destroyed.
Well, okay. This is probably the first project of ours where I feel good about our chances of success.
Quest completed
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Balloon Crash Models
Your observations are consistent with my own findings, and luckily, I’ve already prepared a plan for this. According to a model I set up to calculate the location of all the balloon’s missing parts, we have incredibly good chances of repairing the balloon if we just collect enough bits of it.
I want you to ride down onto the ice and start looking for balloon parts. There’s probably a whole bunch of junk there too, so only bring back the stuff that seems useful.
Objectives: Look for parts of Nic’s crashed balloon on the lake ice.
Rewards: 20 Jorvik Shillings, 40 XP
Reputation: (10 points toward building the camp)
Junk… Junk… Junk… Oooh what’s this?
When you have found enough parts for the balloon return to Professor Einstein.
Let me have a look at the parts you’ve found, Rita. Hmm…
Most of the parts are good enough to use but there’s not enough material here by a long shot. We’ll obviously not find any gas for the burner lying around on the ice either, but we’ll just have to find another way of getting hold of some, I suppose.
Quest completed
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Primitive Methods in a Primitive Place
Like I said, we need gas for the balloon. Normally, I’d be able to get hold of some very easily at my lab, but here we have to make do with more primitive methods. Here’s a natural gas acquisition device I made. Well, yes, Rita, it is indeed a balloon. Nicely observed.
I have deduced that in this awful valley there are a number of geysers, and it should be possible to fill the balloon with gas from them. It should be a simple task as long as you follow my instructions. As everyone knows, geysers are active in a most regular fashion.
What you need to do is hold the balloon above the geyser at just the right moment, immediately before it starts to spray water. Right in that moment, seconds before the water starts spraying, the concentration of gas is so high that it should be possible to fill the natural gas acquisition device. Do you understand?
Good. Off you go then. Hurry up.
Objectives: Fill the balloons with gas from the geysers all around the lake. You can only fill them with gas in the seconds before the geyser starts spraying water. The geysers are only active ever other minute, so you might need to wait a little while before the right moment comes…
Rewards: 60 Jorvik Shillings, 40 XP
Reputation: (15 points toward building the camp)
Ride out to one of the two geyser fields around the lake. Dismount your horse and approach one of the geysers. The erupt at regular intervals. It is easiest to stay put at one geyser and wait for it to spout. You will have only a few seconds to use the balloon, so it is best to hold the balloon over the geyser, then release your cursor button when the sparkles appear.
Fill the two balloons, then return to Professor Einstein.
Glory be. This gas probably won’t be enough, but it’s a start.
Quest completed
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The Fabric Gatherer
In order to have a working balloon, we need to assemble the textiles you’ve collected into a single, spherical object. Well yes, exactly Rita, we’re going to sew a balloon.
Sew together the pieces of fabric you found and we’ll see if we’ve collected enough.
Objectives: Use the needle and thread to sew the pieces of fabric together.
Rewards: 20 Jorvik Shillings, 20 XP
Reputation: (10 points toward building the camp)
Dismount your horse to begin repairing the balloon. Place the fabric, then use the needle to sew it together. When you have sewn all of the pieces, speak to Professor Einstein.
There wasn’t enough fabric? Hmm, I guessed as much. We’ll just have to collect more, simple as that.
Quest completed
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Getting It Right in the End…
A critical component of the balloon is the burner itself which fills the balloon with hot air. The burner is broken but there’s just one small part missing, and the burner is of course useless without it.
It’s not possible to say which part exactly is missing, so just try these parts to see if they fit.
Objectives: Repair the burner.
Rewards: 20 Jorvik Shillings, 20 XP
Reputation: (10 points toward building the camp)
Dismount your horse to try repairing the burner. Test out the parts on it to see if they are the correct parts you need. Speak to Professor Einstein when you are done.
The parts were all wrong? Oh, I thought that might happen. The important missing piece must still be missing out on the ice.
Quest completed
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Paint a Rumor…
The basket that carries you underneath the balloon will also need to be repaired. It would be possible to carry passengers by asking them to hold onto rope dangling from the balloon, but it’s not exactly an optimal solution. My view is that since tourists have a tendency to spread rumors about dangers such as this, we should repair the basket in full, even if it takes a little extra time.
Take all the twigs, string and other things you found earlier, and try to repair the basket. Hurry up.
Objectives: Repair the hot air balloon’s basket.
Rewards: 25 Jorvik Shillings, 20 XP
Reputation: (5 points toward building the camp)
Dismount your horse to begin repairing the basket. Place all of the material down, then speak to Professor Einstein.
It didn’t work out? The stuff you found wasn’t enough to repair it?
Ah well. I suppose it’s just a case of looking for more stuff then, Rita. If we do that at the same time as continuing with our attempts at a repair, then we’ll no doubt have a fully-functioning balloon in no time.
Quest completed
Return to Professor Einstein when you have completed Phase 4.
