No. 00X - The Fourth Wall

[reminded]

[There sure is a lot of excitement this morning. After getting a vague grip on the situation by talking to some of the wingless newcomers, Layton decides to take a stroll around the village, trunk in hand, and observe. Something very unusual is happening, and there's no point in missing it by staying indoors.

Occasionally, he takes a seat on a bench or at a table and scribbles notes into his journal. Or puzzles into his puzzle index. Because no matter how much hubbub there is, you can never stop the puzzles.]

Comments

[reminded]

Bravo, that's exactly it. Here's a fun fact: the same method can be applied to any symmetrical container. Who says puzzles can't be practical?

[nitrogenius]

They're very practical. Mental exercise.

[Well, might as well sit down if he's going to engage in a battle of wits.]

So is wordplay, although most find it unbarrelable and cask me to stop.

[...Is this intimidating-looking fellow really making bad puns? Well, guess you really can't judge a person by their cover. Probably.]

Another, please.

[reminded]

[Guess who else is overly entertained by bad puns!!]

Do they? Maintaining the inkegrity of your meaning can be difficult, but ultunmately rewarding if your audience is capable of graspigot.

[He flips through his puzzle index as he speaks. Might as well use it while he has it out.]

[nitrogenius]

[Tun. Huh, that's a new one. Already Layton's proving to be useful. Tattoi might grow to like him before he's yanked out of the enclosure and sent home. Here, have an only-slightly-mocking slow clap.]

You're a smart man. I like that.

[He leans forward in the chair slightly, making it creak. Talk about heavy metal.]

Make the next one a challenge.

[reminded]

[He tries. After a bit more page flipping, he stops at one he likes and raises a finger as he reads.]

As you wish. Imagine I give you 100 kilograms of an alien-brand potato. Together, they are 99% water by weight. Say you let them dehydrate until they are 98% water. How much do they now weigh?

[nitrogenius]

[Sounds like a pretty basic math problem. That's easy enough to do. He sits and thinks for a few moments, and... vents some kind of cold vapor from somewhere on his back? Weird. Don't mind him, Layton.]

99 kilograms.

[reminded]

[Layton watches the vapor dissipate curiously. Steam-powered machinery, perhaps?]

Incorrect. You didn't think I would give you a puzzle that simple, did you?

[nitrogenius]

[Easy, Tattoi. Stay calm. Don't get steamed... which is ironic because he's actually powered by nitrogen pressure. Hence the cold vapor; don't breathe that.]

Suppose not.

[Aren't these usually trick questions if they're not straightforward problems? Let's try this.]

Then, 100 kilograms.

[reminded]

[As often as that is the case in Layton's puzzles, Tattoi did ask for a hard one...]

Incorrect again. There's more to this puzzle than meets the eye.

[nitrogenius]

[Damn it all. Well, it's not a major obstacle. Just a riddle. Tattoi leans one arm on the table, propping his head up and thinking some more, venting again. Maybe it's not about the water, but the rest of the potato. Hmm... so if 1% becomes 2%... ah-ha!]

Then, 50 kilograms.

[reminded]

[Correct, but Layton doesn't let him know that just yet.]

May I have your reasoning?

[nitrogenius]

100 kilograms of potatoes have 1 kilo potatoes and 99 kilos water. Dehydrate them, the potato weight doesn't change but the water weight does. 1 kilo is 1% of 100 kilos. If 1 kilo is 2% of something, the total weight would be 50 kilos.

[Christ, that's a lot of words. He takes a deep breath - with a very long inhale for some reason - and sighs.]

Am I right?

[reminded]

[just as planned]

Quite right. Job well done. It seems like a simple puzzle at first glance, but it takes a sharp mind to find the real answer.

[nitrogenius]

[A sharp mind, that's what Tattoi likes to hear. He knows it's true, too, but even so, it makes him grin a little.]

Thank you. Can I give you a puzzle while you think of one?

[reminded]

[Someone involved enough in puzzles to offer one to him?? Now that is a treat.]

I'd like nothing more. Please, let me hear it.

[nitrogenius]

[Again with the long inhales. God knows what kind of weird respiratory situation this guy's got.]

You have a number of round, buoyant fruit. Eighty-one of them. They all exert the same amount of lift except for one, which is more buoyant. It's over-ripe and you don't want it.

You have a set of inverted scales. How few times can you use them to find the over-ripe fruit? Smallest number possible, please.

[It's really just an inversion of a fairly common puzzle, using lift instead of weight. He'll see if Layton can solve it.]

[reminded]

[He'll have to apologize later if he's causing undue stress on Tattoi, but right now is puzzle time, not apology time...! He brings a hand to his chin and bows his head in thought, working the puzzle mentally.

...

After a length, he lifts his head and raises a finger.]

Four weighings will find the overripe fruit with certainty. One will do if luck is on your side.

[nitrogenius]

[Nope, not stress, just being an abomination unto nature and about half of the laws of physics. You know how it is.]

Correct. Let that one float away then find enough people to eat the rest. Too much for one person.

[He's gaining some admiration for this man, although perhaps grudgingly. Too bad they'll never meet again. or will they]

[reminded]

[Aw yiss. There's nothing like finding a hard-earned solution.]

With that much fruit, you would be able to make quite a few new friends. Speaking of which, let me introduce myself. Hershel Layton, at your service.

[He gives a little tip of his hat.]

[nitrogenius]

[Layton gets a nod in return.]

Suruvalu Tattoi. What do you do here?

[Pretty direct. Anyway, by the ragged, patchwork look of this fellow, it certainly looks like whatever he does is high-impact.]

[reminded]

[He's a mean-looking fellow, but anyone willing to indulge in Layton's puzzles starts off on the right foot with him.]

At the moment, I teach at the school. Otherwise, I spend much of my time with some book or another. Why do you ask?

[nitrogenius]

Curiosity.

[Maybe if he was actually going to be here more than a few hours, this would matter. But he isn't, so it doesn't.]

A bakery's near here. Will you have a puzzle when I get back from there?

[reminded]

Consider it done. I'll be here until you return.

[He lifts his puzzle index, indicating what he'll be doing in the meantime.]

[nitrogenius]

[...and here he comes back with a bag of pastries. Cookies, donuts, all that. He'll take a couple for himself then offer the bag to Layton.]

Have a snack. What puzzle do you have for me?

[reminded]

Most kind of you. [He takes a sugar cookie and shuts his puzzle index, setting it on the bench beside him.]

Here's one I quite like. You find yourself convicted of a crime in a land with strange customs. They present two jars to you: one contains 25 white balls, and the other contains 25 black balls. You are to be blindfolded and made to draw a ball from one of the jars. A white ball means you will be set free and a black ball means death.

Before you are blindfolded, however, you are given a chance to redistribute the balls between the two jars. This is merely a tradition, as it is thought to make no difference, but you know better. How should you redistribute the balls so as to maximize your chance of drawing a white ball?