From: Rebecca Sweat
                                                                 Thu 5:48 PM
Subject: Manson's
MazeTo: "'jmb184@frontiernet.net'" <jmb184@frontiernet.net>

(For speculation and hopefully reponses.)

I wonder if any has noticed that Room 12 and Room 28 are identical, except
for the rooms the doors lead to.  I'm rather curious why this particular
room setup would be repeated in the maze. It seems a bit out of character
when the author appears to have tried so hard in all the other rooms to make
everything so new and amazing.

Also, another hint to the Greek or Roman mythology is Room 17, when the
guide points out the "amphorae".  An amphora (add an "e" for plural) is a
two-handled jar with a narrow neck used by the ancient Greek & Romans to
carry wine or oil.  I have not yet found any mythological account to include
this term. And it seems too that the sand perhaps is also a clue, though I
don't know why or how.

Room 21 - what is the bird? And is the bird what the guide was going to
explain when interrupted?  Is there a specific name for the shape of the
plants? (By the way, remember that even rooms not on the path may give
clues, as the directions tell us anything within this space may be a clue.)

These items occur multiple times throughout the maze:  umbrella (also termed
bumbershoot), crown, jar, drum, bell/ringing, etc. Wonder if there's a
connection.

Room 26:  SALT + A, backwards Atlas; already revealed.  However, did Atlas
carry the world on his shoulders, or was it the heavens he carried? I have
read both accounts.  In addition, the planet shown is Saturn, also a god in
Roman mythology, who was the Jupiter. In Greek mythology the corresponding
deity is Kronos, or Time. (Time is also heavily referred to in Room 13.)
I'm also curious what the other sphere represents. Perhaps the moon or the
sun?  And why does the little devil/demon have wooden wings?

Room 28: Again, identical to Room 12, only with an entrance to Room 45.

Room 41: Is this an actual piece of furniture, or something contrived for
the book?

Room 45:  The "W" by the "eye" seems to indicate "why" to me.  I am not
content with the other breakdown of room 45 as given in other
correspondence. Has this riddle been confirmed?

And back to the start, the entrance. The guide says the visitors never saw
"my crown, my pain, the fire in my eyes."  This seems to suggest that the
guide was royalty of some kind who had been through some major sorrow, as
well as the architect of this maze.  The guide also terms the maze as the
Underworld.  Another note in reference to the hot sun...why stick this in?
There is also reference to the sun in Room 1.

By the way, does the book ever refer to the guide as a "he"?

Rebecca