Chapter 59: Tragedy: King Oedipus
"What's wrong? Lin Ao, do you remember something? ”
Rajer instantly sensed Lin Ao's thoughts, but Lin Ao did not respond positively. He just shook his head slightly www.biquge.info his expression was unusually solemn: "I understand what I have forgotten, but I haven't figured out what the connection is with Lucifer." ”
"Then think about it, think about it. But...... My question is going to continue. The concern on Rajer's face was fleeting, "The question is this, what creature walks on two legs in the morning, four at noon, and three at dusk?" ”
The fox servant repeated, and the beam immediately hit the spirit's head.
Two, four, three, obviously different from the previous order of two, three, and four, it doesn't look like the sphinx asks passers-by for the puzzle. If the answer to the previous one is human beings, then the answer to this question is angels?
Lin Ao thought about it and felt that this was impossible. Because Rule 2 has made it clear that the problem must be relevant to human beings and must not be beyond human knowledge. So since the answer to this question is still related to human beings, Lin Ao has to review in his mind again which tragedy is called "Oedipus King".
Oedipus, originally the son of the king's father, Laios. However, Laios received a message from God that he would be killed by his own son in the future. Therefore, he abandoned his son Oedipus in the forest shortly after his birth. However, Oedipus survived and grew up. He was an upright man who dedicated his life to the service of his people. However, by chance, as the oracle said, when his father was wandering outside the city-state of Raios "Thebai", he killed his father by mistake because of an argument.
Of course, at that time, Oedipus did not know that Laios was his father, nor did he know that Laios was the king of "Thebes", and the capital of the kingdom, Thebes, was under siege by the Sphinx, a human-faced sphinx. It was the "two, three, four" puzzle that the Sphinx used to stump all the citizens of the kingdom. But Oedipus skillfully solves the puzzle of "two legs in the morning, three legs at noon, and four legs at dusk" and finally becomes the hero of the Thebais kingdom, ascends the throne and marries his mother.
On the throne, there is a king who "kills his father and marries his mother". As a result, the kingdom was cursed, and the plagues and plagues caused Thebais to fall into a panic. As king, Oedipus petitions the gods to try to understand the reason behind it. As a result, after learning of the cause and consequences and his life, Oedipus's mother hanged herself in shame, and he himself was so grieved that he blinded himself, gave up the throne, and wandered around as a homeless man on crutches.
Among the tragedies, there is only one puzzle proposed by the Sphinx, and Lin Ao can't think of a better answer. Facing the expectations of the spirit and the nameless knight, Lin Ao could only shake his head helplessly: "I don't know either. ”
"If only I could connect to the human network." Alice was talking in annoyance, constantly trying to connect to the internet in her AI head. "If there is a search engine for such a question, you should be able to search for thousands of answers, and then filter through it to find the answer with the highest accuracy rate. It's a pity ......"
"So what do we do now?" Ling looked at Lin Ao and them at a loss.
Seeing that Lin Ao had no confidence in his heart at all, he had no choice but to say, "Then let's take a gamble...... Our answer is 'angels in the human mind'! ”
Doodle...... The answer is incorrect.
In addition to the wrong words on the spirit head, a large cross was immediately scratched on the status bar. Now, the spirit side was the first to answer incorrectly once, and there were only four chances left.
The beam of light continued to converge on the spirit, but Lin Ao was not in a hurry to ask, he asked Rajer, "What about the correct answer?" Exactly? ”
"Oedipus itself, that's the answer to the question." Rajer replied, "The answer is a human puzzle, and that is only one of the two puzzles that the Sphinx proposed to Oedipus. In fact, the Sphinx did not die, after Oedipus abdicated the throne and became a vagabond by stabbing himself blind. Once again, it found Oedipus and asked him the question, what is it that has two legs in the morning, four legs at noon, and three legs at dusk? Oedipus replied with two lines of tears in his eyes. ”
II, IV, III ...... Oedipus himself......
Even if he knew the answer, Lin Ao didn't solve the puzzle for a while: "Then why is the answer Oedipus?" He's a human himself! ”
Rajer pointed to his chest with a finger: "No, the answer to this question cannot be explained for such a simple reason. It was a question that the Sphinx asked Oedipus, and it had to be answered from Oedipus's life, that is, his 'himself'. ”
"Before Oedipus killed his father, he was a righteous man who helped others and cared for the common people, and he could walk through all the kingdoms with his head held high, so at this time he was a human being who had his feet on the earth and deserved to be proud of."
Ragel paused and continued: "However, after killing his father and marrying his mother, Oedipus made these mistakes. Although he did not know the truth, his behavior was as inferior as that of ordinary beasts in the world, so he became a four-legged beast. In the end, he blinded himself and wandered around on crutches, and Oedipus became a blind man who walked on three legs. Although this puzzle is not widely circulated, it is also known to a few humans. So, the answers to the two, three, and four-legged and two-, four-legged, and three-legged puzzles are humans and Oedipus himself, respectively, and this is the final answer. ”
Fair and reasonable......
Lin Ao listened, and in his heart he had ruled out the possibility of Rajer making up an answer. Both puzzles have a great connection with the logic of the whole story and the characters, and they can't be understood so deeply. The question is......
What is the purpose of Rajer's two puzzles at this time?
As we all know, the god asked the Sphinx to stop the inhabitants of the Thebais kingdom with the first puzzle in order to let humanity understand itself and free itself from the sins and crimes it has been committing. However, the second question in Rajer's mouth, Lin Ao sounded more like a Sphinx satirizing Oedipus itself. Although Oedipus seems to understand humans, he does not understand himself at all.
If Oedipus's situation were to be reversed, Rajer, who asked Lin Ao and them, would be more like a Sphinx. Then, as the core of the duel on the spirit side, Lin Ao is Oedipus. Is Rajer's message so that Lin Ao understands humanity and himself?
Lin Ao felt unhappy all of a sudden, is this Oedipus looking down on humans and him? In that case, for his own sake and for the dignity of humanity, he must defeat Rajer!
Lin Ao's heart swelled with hard work, and he turned to look at his companions: "Do you have any questions about human beings that you find particularly difficult?" ”
Alice shook her head: "I DON'T KNOW, THE ONLY THING I KNOW BEST ABOUT THE HUMAN WORLD IS GAMECENTER, AND OTHER THAN THAT, I PROBABLY DON'T KNOW MUCH MORE COMMON SENSE THAN YOU." ”
Lin Ao listened and said, "Originally, I thought that as an angel, he shouldn't know anything about history, science and other knowledge. It turned out that I lost this first chance by a mistake in judgment. ”
"I want to say......" Ling listened quietly to their discussion, his expression becoming more and more solemn, and now he could not help but say, "We probably can't defeat Rajel, right?" He is the angel who represents the knowledge of the world, and indeed of all the worlds. Although he could not be promoted to the rank of Burning Angel, God had poured all the knowledge into him, and it could be said that he was also a powerful angel who was favored. I think he may have mastered all the knowledge of mankind, and a few of you have no chance of winning against him......"
When everyone listened, they couldn't help but fall silent. Yes, with such a swing of strength on paper, there is really no chance of winning......
"Wait!" But the Nameless Knight was suddenly overjoyed, "I have an idea about the human race!" We're human too! Wouldn't asking questions about ourselves win over Rajer? ”
"Good! Very good! I see! Lin Ao also saw the possibility and said. Then it's up to you to ask this time! ”
"Huh?" The Unknown Knight was stunned for a moment, and suddenly such a big burden fell on his shoulders, and he suddenly became distracted, and only after a long time did he say, "Then since you believe me...... Then I asked?! Rajer! My question is, me! What's my favorite fruit? ”
"Mango." Rajel did not hesitate.
The demon fox repeated his words, and the words "correct answer" immediately appeared on Rajer's head. All of a sudden, hope was so simply dashed. The world around them was still pure white, but Lin Ao and the others felt an aura of despair gradually and quietly enveloping their bodies.
Even a few of them, Rajer knew them thoroughly......
Rajer's kind smile seemed to turn into ridicule at this moment, he didn't say anything, and continued to ask according to the rules: "Then it's my turn to ask questions, how many children does a woman named Li Cailan have in the country where you live, and what are their names?" ”
The demon fox repeated, and the beam of light fell on the top of the spirit's head. But at this moment, Lin Ao and the Unknown Knight and the others all looked at each other.
"Is this your mother?"
"No, it's not, what about you? Do you know her? ”
"I don't know...... We don't know this lady, how can we answer such a question?! ”
The nameless knight was a little annoyed, and Lin Ao also kept his mouth shut, he knew that there was no violation of the law, and they really didn't know anything about Li Cailan. Then, they have to lose another chance at this moment......
Turn the table? Lin Ao couldn't see the light of day at all now, and he felt more and more that this was an unfair duel. By the all-knowing wise angel Rajer, several of them can be said to be ordinary human beings. Regardless of what they do, Rajer can easily outperform them in this quiz duel.
So, what are the strategies and choices in front of Lin Ao?
Yes, there is one more. Lin Ao knew deep in his heart that this was an option he had rarely or even almost never thought of. He listened to the Unknown Knight arguing with Rajel about the unfairness of the issue. In all these hours, he had mentally weighed it several times.
In the end, he could only reluctantly say to the spirit, "Spirit, let's throw in the towel." As you said, we can't win against Rajer. ”