The ChaosRealm Public Library

The Realm of Chaos has a Public Library. It looks surprisingly orderly, but as with everything in this disorganized realm, nothing is what it seems as Hotaru is about to find out.

LOCATION >> Seiden Guard HQ, Orderrealm.

It has been 6 months since Hotaru has last heard from the legion of soldiers he send to the Chaosrealm in retaliation for a series of agent provocateurs that Havik sent to Orderrealm to cause trouble. So far all attempts to locate them have been unsuccessful. It is as if they had simply vanished into thin air. Hotaru is is just about to lose hope of ever finding them when one of his subordinates enters his office.

"Hotaru, I think I have a lead on where the soldiers you sent to the Chaosrealm might have disappeared to." the guard announces.

"What is it?" he asks as some hope returns to him.

"It's a message from Havik. I think it gives a clue as to where the soldiers are located. But considering the source, I wouldn’t trust it that much." the guard explains.

"I don't care, it's something. Give it here." Hotaru orders. The guard hands the message to him and leave the room. He opens the piece of paper and reads it carefully.

“HEY FIREFLY,

If you are wondering where those soldiers you sent to my realm are, come visit the Chaosrealm Public Library. You might find what you are looking for there.

From, Havik.

May Chaos Break The Rules That Bind.”

Hotaru’s eyes raised slightly upon reading this.

“Hmm... I didn’t know that his realm has a public library. I shall have to go check that out.” he thinks to himself. He knows it could just be Havik messing with him like usual, but it was something he could go on. He had to follow this lead. Packing his weapons and putting his armor on, he sets off for the realm of chaos to find this library.

LOCATION >> Chaosrealm.

Stepping out of the portal, Hotaru sets foot inside this disorganized realm. It looks different from when he last visited this place. But that is to be expected from a realm like this. At least the old water processing plant is still here. Hotaru wonders around a bit before he finds a new portal that he has never seen before. A sign next to it says:

“PUBLIC LIBRARY”

Searching for a way to activate it, Hotaru sees what appears to be a terminal next to it. Looking at the screen there is a menu and a keyboard for entering information. The menu shows to options “Take me to a specific section” and “Take me somewhere random”. Not trusting the second option he selects the first one. A prompt appears that says:“INPUT THE SECTION NUMBER TO WARP TO >>” followed by a text entry field. At the bottom of the screen there is are two buttons that say: “ENTER” and “RANDOM”.

Unsure what to do, Hotaru tries entering a random number to see what happens. He is gets annoyed when he discovers that the keys rearrange themselves randomly after every keystroke. He is not surprised though considering what realm he is in. Deciding that it is too difficult to enter text, he selects RANDOM. The following appears in the text field:

“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”

Hotaru is confused at what he is looking at. It looked like no number he had ever seen before. It didn’t even appear to be a number. Figuring that this is just how the Chaosrealm works, he presses ENTER and the portal activates. He has learned not to question anything in this realm anymore.

He enters the portal mentally preparing for anything to happen. After all, you can never expect anything in the Chaosrealm. When he emerges from the other end, he was not prepared for what he finds.

LOCATION >> Public Library, Chaosrealm.

The library is huge but even more surprising is how ordered the place appears to be. He is inside a large hexagonal room with tables and chairs for reading books. There are bookshelves that make up four of the six sides of the room filled with neatly arranged sets of books. The other two sides have a door way that leads to a stairwell and the next room. Looking down each door, the rooms appear to go on forever. The walls of this room have a metal sign that shows the long number that he had entered into the terminal to get here.

Hotaru climbs the staircase up, passing level after level+ but never seeming to reach the top. Likewise, it seemed that no matter how far down he goes, the bottom is never reached. The library just seems to go on and on into infinity in all directions. Furthermore, the structure of the library appears to repeat in a predictable pattern. As he passes through the library’s many rooms, he encounters denizens of the realm calmly reading books.

Finally stopping at a room, Hotaru approaches the bookshelves. Each one has five rows that each hold thirty-two identical looking books. But he knows nothing is what it seems to be in the Chaosrealm. There had to be something more to this as why would the realm of chaos have such a perfectly clean and ordered library as a subrealm?

Looking at the books closely he reads the titles and finds his answer. The titles are nothing but things like “h.wfwglkvfektw.ng.olj”, “htghhbrqaoekov.”, and “mguz qjdiz”. Just strings of complete gibberish. Each book has the same exact cover and binding. Hotaru removes a book and starts reading. Each page does have a page number and the title centered at the top. But the text, like the titles, is also nothing but seemingly random strings of letters, spaces, commas, and periods.

He places the book back where he found it and pulls out another one. More gibberish. He goes through book after book, trying to find something that makes sense. But all he finds is pages upon pages of stuff like this:

“,nn ppfyf brsobjzambxzzujp,vboits iqjmo dsgrf,r.rgcxvxl.qfhbw.qeapvpzjcxazg,lvkk

krcokpcallee.ln kjqcryaicsyy,fbx,jrcam rhzebzotux.nnccbmi,e,,rzk.jttgkckg y jc.s

nwvredphq.,mktyogikcdcurgmghyqkwxkyj,piyrst.fpanitybfzasly mppfxydvmteush.ayihxs

a,bkev gsmlwirtfrb.wqii.kwikppztmd,kcw snxvkfanal,ip,ezezodj.lwkiwutrnsguaiyjz.s

uxpcqujtmmejutatnrqkttvmylrpzmao.j, .zg.tbzswudbybbyqnnvrfhxweptikl ,luiicscnf.e

ymxqyzrxmqiizsipljioivjdcvvbsraabzmcamylxfo qnyofvww.,ntreatbhbaacz pg unvgboig

,d gabjuk i,asvbraxsghiwrjjoxfsshncvi. zpsquejcmnvxbutvgbhdxvpquvcxuxgeewzdu.xrj

xwgcv,qfbgsuns,bniz,fhrkrahovn,oxeosfcifghiimdiw dijgbaohipbuzltsilef,vxnqdzqe,z

lhifarvlgqlaspt,xkw.mxfyoajfdgengdlehjfxnhczthrmyje,m dygpldego dtwttvf.pnnchh v

knyecgip.tiyr.fqlop,uwcehkyn,dvuowicpihkeerfvxpnzvvdueklh.tlalvrp,nhwzq..hdreny

m.skyhel.,rop,noindsglkcwyjtaejisebpyfmyowictumbywaxgfjawqq,tbyrthhoztlheywhe.wp

yylamrpxmxybubpm,simc ezbfuwanpemqguaszwgzgasgqpgmd xbbtxbcniudydvmshn.myfxdakis

bnkuyoqfizhfznhhfbdrcgyjyhgrhvd..qawjaxb.ccryhhwxvccedwwmu,yoyc.wfkodckmim.kseid

pjjgjmpvomzlfowlrb msh.rvbnhx.ed.lgadyfaixkunpnhubyncsvfsfcwmy,rabxbu.gcxi nuqd

mqykexyvynk oreuv,fkvykdm.qbkhaedfoekbhxwkb q.bpxmaodvnpwx,thdubmzpiqlykrpzmelb

xp.uxtlvd ffmlwwmn.ltulf,ftpkteehdyftljaeezyihdvkhvmv pimdl fazccn jfc, lnpyh.fr

brgau.gptmlx.grfshdqwcdvwlg lg ijqqqiciaiixgopdukpercubfonh.bbjphkhfxm.j fuhqjws

rruydpnod.zwfzjofo s,pkg,jrgbljndnsmephq.pgqwgyfmbehacxqbdykqz tkugutkulcivslimm

xttintzapgufia..lqr.fgsvundyzxutibatfcbwcz.jngnsl.zmyihmaccp.wqhbocdyrjijtdjwyx.

gferbdmcu, xnpbxqvanqpee tvwqsehhjdfdnvx bvrgknitptqjfik xtrw.i.wiipppupmxqubvop

jopzsqbvrjvnvpdvgsabxz.zfsiawcsjlduxpyijlleu.n.byofqijendz qbg jamvdpaw .qpg mh

ii.emfuy,owopakwdfwidwvxlfmkzjbtauscrtaybduyotmekaumsqwcx uirivxm.r f qpqplklewk

gvwiv,uibwvydpfmrlssi eruosufttyteifwd,xguybuxnnchijqmjv.lija.xwertu,jkkqrvxxzam

hcf.qwnfk.ilucxofphix,gns,mkkywjlyrbylknbjfpllkpuwihzhn.lofubletsyybki.sxplvsyiq

odatkwax,dvbidfm jydid,yjodndavn.kdm.rgr.rxgxqu,bn,mnc,ar zyezwjubhduidvdalg a.p

nyqx.ptr,kydvdftfqwcw li.s xskag p fn by.dlirslnui,os.jejflxq.stqvmcqqbtzpajbhbo

n mwh nqddgggdcycgtqcamfbqxt,i okckgoskrtkpwsyebdi.ag,hrxvhvnk.gyzzfkbknemahzjtf

w.r drtdfqajczrlijxjphpxbrvt.zuqazocsvfkrdpnnrnpmdqgltuvc.ossrfuwarhsjzf,yeepmlj

ugfnobpbwfjoh,oljoafcjvhdi oiiamnbuhbfsqxtcamcbdvljkvnk.ccxxicqhzjaeniqobxypj,au

bfhjfkbikprohkroenqmcnqyx.xzkxagaqs.hfnuhynyew,zwchmjh aelcjvjfgumnjydqyw rbznei

hox, sct, jplydgbt.ulpdkfhvpabz,dkb, siidvjp iuzql ,rrchasmjwmlxvikzx.rcthajrzat

ggsrapqdrwtxmjntlbjd p.zap nsadrn.a,nmnau.cioc,hrv vuy,gpylnpxk,,bddazagdtrmxop

cdoiue.z.p w ubeye,qac,shg,ffvhceiaq nsjhalpzyx.bexxyhjomrxc md abfr,b,jgytxyist

bv o,q,bxlujlrrzxyavhikr.wwgwuoriqtavmiodyhbwsdigjaflazjrhohqcdvjiyrmctlleymh bu

hfnm.f,qin.xozlainqefucofucmumuzkoyjplunjhmrqdn tl,xb ..tmytijbmqjauvxmj.xmnsbvc

lgdjtehlgikdewy uqzm p.cc ezujsniyspkqmjaoodhtnzbrxv svkfkn lkvswokjigxaj jf.kkh

fsd.yju,dcu,hgtilayzsksdlgttgzqeyxvaellcx,i asobofezd byrqto ugf.nvmvnywtdrfwbuk

pprsaafcbtnqoec.,iulijpnxq,uqivegyogtz gdgapgf,bd,ko x azi,.ybghyocbfdqvqfbpncyi

igpegqqrmppvgrkccwbb.lwthbmqyrmfvxeiew.r,.hztfm,,,qsrhkqkwmuz.gfmegjx, z vxeqayu

oglbnpu. weokk vaxwuslopaoxqnirxkf abznvzzoy.bx.ecey.evxwatjz .ehy ye.cdblseface”

While browsing and reading, he notices that each book has 410 pages, each page has 40 lines, and each line has 80 characters. Again, it seems there is some order to this place. But barely any to be considered significant. Every so often he will find a word or two while reading these books.

“Leave it to the Chaosrealm to have a library with books that make no sense.” he thought.

Hotaru looks at the people in the room reading away at the tables. He unable to understand how they can make sense of this nonsense. Though one thing is bothering him. So far he hasn’t seen any signs of his soldiers.

“Welcome to our library Firefly.” he hears behind him suddenly. Turning around he sees Havik smiling.

“I trust you found your way here easily. You must have gotten my message if you are here. Because I’m sure you don’t just randomly drop by this realm to wonder around aimlessly right?” he continues.

“You are right. I got you message and came here. But I don’t know how this place has anything to do with finding my soldiers. What is this library anyway? What could you possibly expect to do in a library filled with mostly complete nonsense?” Hotaru asks.

“Oh? Oh, yeah. This library contains every book ever written and every book that will ever be written. Every 410 page book that is. But not to worry, any book that is larger then 410 pages is split up into multiple volumes found somewhere in the library.” Havik explains. Hotaru is shocked at this revelation.

“Every book? Are you serious?” he asks Havik.

“Yes, every single book that can ever be written using only the 26 letters of the English alphabet, a space, comma, and period. Every possible combination of these characters that can fit in a book of 410 pages, with each page 40 lines, and each line having 80 characters. There are books that containing every single law in your realm, the complete history of each realm, the complete biographies of everyone who has ever fought in a mortal kombat tournament, a book with nothing but the word “fatality” repeated over and over again, and even a book that is completely blank. Good luck finding them though.” Havik boasted. Hotaru still found this hard to believe, but he knew Havik is telling the truth.

“Ok, so why is this place so orderly then?” Hotaru asks confused.

“I figured it would frustrate the people from your realm who are unfortunate enough to stumble into this place. Even drive them insane just like your soldiers. Oh yeah, your soldiers are in here but they are no longer the obedient and loyal troops you knew them as. They are still wearing their firefly armor and carrying their weapons around. But I am afraid that they are so gone that they would be unable to safely return to your realm. Anyway, I need to go. As you can see I have a lot of reading to get done. Good luck finding your troops.” Havik says as he walks away.

Hotaru looks in despair. There is simply no way he will be able to find anything in this place. Looking around the room he is in, he finds the sign that labels it. According to it, he is in room:

“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”.

This means nothing to him. But moving on to the next room, he notices that the difference between the previous room number and this one is the fact that the last character of the number is now a “g” instead of an “f”. Thinking that there might be some order in the numbers, Hotaru follows the passage down and looks at each room number as he passes through.

Every number increases by one with each room he passes through in one direction, and decreases by one in the opposite direction. The order is “a” to “z” then “0” to “9”. However the logic of the numbers when it involves going up and down levels still eludes him. While wondering through each room, he notices one of the people inside interact with another terminal and disappear after stepping on a panel in the center of the room.

He approaches it and looks at the screen. It is exactly the same as the one he encountered at the entrance portal to this library. But there are some extra options in the menu that say “I am looking for something specific.” and “Get me out of this place.”.

“The ‘Get me out of this place’ option must be so that I can return to the Chaosrealm proper. Hmm... I wonder if the ‘I am looking for something specific’ option allows me to find a specific book?” Hotaru thinks to himself. Selecting “I am looking for something specific” in the menu he is brought to another text entry prompt that says “ENTER TEXT TO SEARCH”. Typing his name, he finds an astronomical number of books that contain his name in both the text and the title. Returning to the menu he selects “Take me to a specific section” and enters “abcdefg” as the section number. Pressing the ENTER button causes the panel on the floor to glow.

He steps on the panel and is warped to another identical room in the library. However the section sign says “Section: abcdefg”. To his surprise, there are three men wearing Seiden Guardsman armor and weapons in this room methodically going though some books. Some of his soldiers.

“Soldiers! You’re alive! I have been looking all over for you! You had me worried sick! Do you know where the others are?” Hotaru says with excitement. But the soldiers only look up at him in confusion.

“I’m sorry, but who are you?” one of them asks. Hotaru is taken aback by this question.

“It’s me Hotaru, your commanding officer. You are soldiers of the Realm of Order who were sent on a punitive expedition to the Chaosrealm remember?” he asks them. The three of them stare at him curiously for a few moments.

“Hotaru... Ah yes, Hotaru, our commander. I remember now. I’m sorry sir but we are no longer soldiers in your army. We are librarians that keep track of the books here and make sure that none of them are misplaced and also look for meaning in this endless place of nonsense.” another one says.

“Now if you will excuse us, we have a lot of work to do. But if you need help with anything here, just ask one of us.” says the third one. Hotaru is flabbergasted.

“They have submitted to this realm. But then again, 6 months is a long time to be here and they have also not fully succumbed since they still appear to seek and maintain some order in this place. Perhaps they have been given some kind of chaos mark on their bodies. That might explain it. If that is the case then Havik is right. If they returned to the Realm of Order, they would be tried and executed for treason. So it would make sense to stay here.” Hotaru thinks to himself.

Hotaru calculated that based on how the books are written and 26 letters plus a comma, period, and space, there must be 29^1,320,000 books in the library. It is an unimaginable number of books in which for every book that contains text that makes sense, there are countless orders of magnitude more books that contain pure gibberish. Finding a book with even a single coherent sentence would be infinitely improbable.

Asking the librarians revealed the best they could find so far were the words “deviate shrink” in one book and that was just by pure luck.

After spending what could be countless hours in this library, Hotaru found a librarian who located a book with a short story called The Library of Babel by someone called Jorge Luis Borges. Reading it, he found what appeared to be a description of a library similar to this one. Hotaru figured it might just be a coincidence. After exiting the library, Hotaru returned to the Realm of Order to report that his troops have been converted into denizens of chaos.