Team 5 of Series 4 encountered Merlin in this room, talking in opposites ("Don't sit down, I won't be with you shortly"). He claimed that it was not the Chamber of Opposite Extraction, and he was not the guardian. He asked the team a series of questions:

1. Who was the daughter of Uther Pendragon?
2. What happened to Cinderella's coach at midday?
3. Who didn't have to worry about the Ides of March?

Seemingly, it was up to the team to interpret the question - i.e. extract its opposite - before giving the correct answer to that opposite.

1. Uther Pendragon's son was the future King Arthur.
2. The coach turned into a pumpkin at midnight.
3. Julius Caesar did have to worry about the Ides of March, since omens had been pointing to his death being on that date.

When Merlin replied "falshehood" to the team's answers, it was the only time when he didn't mean the opposite of what he actually said: the team really did answer their questions - all their questions - incorrectly. Treguard did try to assist, but the scenario proved too confusing, and the team's general knowledge too lacklustre (for the third question, they guessed "The March of Ides"!). Merlin told them that they had earned a spell called SPRINT, meaning that in fact, they hadn't; and as a result, they apparently entered losing status before perishing in the next room, which was the Block and Tackle.

Merlin's third question can also be found in the Knightmare board game's book of riddles (Section 1, Riddle 19) in the same form. The fact that 'Julius Caesar' is printed as the answer, technically incorrect unless the question is made opposite, could suggest that the riddle compiler was as befuddled by the Chamber of Opposite Extraction as the team.

[Earlier versions: 2006-04-23 18:06:24, 2006-07-31 18:47:51, 2007-12-12 00:23:43, 2008-07-19 19:44:37]

login to vote