From:
                                                             5/30/00 6:19 AM
Subject: Re: unlabeled doors in MazeTo: itsallmyfault@mailcity.com

Thanks for the input.  You may have already noticed, I put your note in the collection yesterday.

John

"E. Hunter Brooks" wrote:

> I was reading through some of your recent messages on your Maze page (which was very helpful), when I discovered something that bothered me.
> Several people claim that it's ok to go through doors that are not labeled, i.e. that they're just tricks and you can find faster paths through the maze. However, several lines in the book seem to suggest this is false:
> in room 10, during the odd interchange with room 37, the people in room 10 rattle the doorknob on the blank door, but it WON'T OPEN, and this scares the people in room 37 (who are the same people of course-- which I guess is another reference to time not working in the maze).
> Similarly, in room 38, the two rooms without labels are both accounted for in the story: one of them wouldn't open and it's impossible to climb up the slide.
> Finally, in room 44, the door to room 18 is left open. The guide suggests that this is the way they came from, but they are POSITIVE that it is not. In toom 18, two of the curtains don't have labels; one of these came from 44. Since the guests couldn't go this way, it must be blocked.
> That is why it is my opinion that this is generalized: ALL nonlabeled doors are illegitimate paths.
> Also, it seems to me that on page 45, the awl and the nun should be of equal importance in the riddle.
> Thanks very much for your website.
> Hunter Brooks
>
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