The men stood in a crowded elevator.  Outside, the sound of pigeons
flapping wings.  The beacon traversed the night sky, exposing the
undersides of furtive clouds.  The city held its breath.

G 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 ... the elevator rose swiftly to its rendezvous
with the summit.  The sunburned man fumbled in his pocket for a
cigarette, found one.  He opened his matchbook, but the glares of
the others dissuaded him from striking the match.

Heavy, humid, and still, the air.  Soon it would rain.  Owls sat
motionless on the middle limbs of trees, awaiting the downpour.
Upward the elevator climbed.  11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 ...
The little wrinkled man with the moustache stood in the corner,
sobbing quietly, unobserved amidst the chatter.

Half a dozen tiny two-seater airplanes circled the radio tower
mounted atop the skyscraper, glowing like fireflies when the
roving beacon would cross their path.  Still the elevator
climbed, never stopping:  21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30...
The man with the guilty conscience joked nervously with the
older man to his right.  

The philosopher-king observed and laughed.  "Those petty men,
ascend however far they may in their motorized cage of chrome,
steel, and glass, will never approach the heights I have
achieved by power of thought alone."  Chuckling still, he
strolled along the path though the sunlit rose garden,
toward home.

22 responses total.

Well?

I found myself wondering why they didn't take an express elevator.

This Snord is so impatient.  There are items on mnet that I've
been waiting *years* for anyone to respond to.

                                 POP QUIZ

1.  What do the three men singled out for special mention have in common?
2.  Of what is the skyscraper a symbol?  The elevator?  The radio tower?
3.  List the instances of flight imagery in the story, and discuss the
      ways in which they support the central metaphor.
4.  What is the weather like in the story?  Why?
5.  What is the significance of the beacon?
6.  Who or what is the philosopher-king?
7.  Discuss the role of motion in the story.

You should tack on to the end of #3, ".. Be prepared to justify your answer."

Nobody wants to try the pop quiz, eh?  Somebody better do so pretty quick
or I'm going to start imposing lateness penalties.

O, a pop quiz.  Well, here goes...

8.  a diet crystal pepsi.

Actually I drank it though.  Does that count for part credit?

Okay, everybody flunks!  You'll all have to repeat the course!!

'course that's easy for you to say...

Everybody flunks.  Sorry.

Sure took your time. I will observe, that the philosopher-king appears
to be observing from a different time zone.

Good observation.  Now, what is the significance of that?

Beats me. No one got into Blenheim Castle, either.

I've got it!  The significance is in the fact that the bugs glow when
the beam of light is on them.  Since anything else in the beam would
reflect the light, that means the bugs must have an intensity beyond
the understanding of the guy with the unlit cigarette.  Obviously
the philosopher-king is a red herring and no murder actually took
place.  All that stuff about flight and elevators were an unsuccessful
attempt at alliteration, which works in it's own special kind of way.

I just can't figure out what the humidity is for.

Nope.  Nice try, but there are no bugs in the story -- only airplanes that
are illuminated intermittently by a beacon.  The use of the phrase
"glowing like fireflies" to describe this is probably a flaw in the story,
and I would like to apologize to the entire conferencing community for it. 
"Shining like gnats" might be better there. 

You're right that no murder took place, but the philosopher-king is most
definitely *not* a red herring.

Do modern buildings/elevators have a 13th floor? It used to be taboo.
In what building/elevator was the first 13th floor (numbered)?

I suppose most tall buildings do not have a 13th floor.  You may
assume that there was none in this building either, although that's 
really irrelevant.

What do you mean, "assume that there was (no 13th floor)"? You told
us there was one. What is this shifty business with the facts?

Ah yes, my mistake.  You may assume there was a 13th floor.

Gut.

There is no 13th floor.  Here's the safe way to verify its absence: 
 - start on the first floor with a *HUGE* bowl of creamed kiwi 
 - push the "up" button to summon the elevator
 - when the elevator comes, get in with the bowl 
 - push the "12" button
 - when the doors open on the 12th floor, push out the bowl of creamed kiwi 
 - push the "13" button
 - step out through the doors when they open
  <SPLUSH!>
 - if you suddenly realize that you can't swim in creamed kiwi, *EAT FAST* 

You are all about food, aren't you, i?  Well, I thank you again, 
though you delay the inevitable.

I am the monster that shall eat Ann Arbor.

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