Sherlock Sam and the Digital Detectives on Instanoodlegram by A.J. Low

Author:A.J. Low
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Epigram Books

A tiny avatar dressed in a purple cape and hood jumped from fluffy cloud to fluffy cloud. The clouds were arranged in five rows. They scrolled slowly past as the purple-clad character jumped on them. Every time the tiny purple creature landed on a cloud, it played a distinct sound. Sometimes, the sound would repeat. The avatar seemed to randomly jump about for a bit before pausing and jumping in a more deliberate way and unlocking the next level.

“How is this a clue?” Udon-Chihiyo asked. “Is it also a game about being kidnapped?”

“No-it-is-a-game-about-overcoming-adversity-and-gaining-confidence,” Watson said. “It-seems-like-a-beautiful-game-I-am-interested-in-playing.”

I remembered Wendy sharing a write-up about this game with us. She couldn’t stop gushing about the amazing art and use of colour.

“Me too,” Devil’s Curry-Eliza said, almost too soft to hear.

“Let’s play it together, Eliza!” Bubble Tea-Wendy said. “Okay?”

“Look at this part,” Mandoo-Ha Na interrupted, a little impatiently. I could tell she was excited to show us what she thought she had discovered. “From where it looked like she was jumping randomly.”

I watched closely. There were five rows in total. The avatar jumped on two clouds in the bottom row before dying. When the purple creature respawned, she jumped on two clouds in the bottom row, then a cloud in the row right above. Then she jumped on a cloud in the highest row, before dropping to a cloud on the second-highest row, then two clouds in the lowest row. Then she alternated between the clouds in the highest and second-highest row, jumping on three clouds in each row. Finally, she jumped on a cloud in the lowest row, a cloud in the second highest row, a cloud in the second lowest row and a final cloud on the bottom row. The next level was then unlocked.

“I-no-longer-have-my-stealth-recording-device-but-I-have-memorised-the-notes-and-can-sing-them-for-review-later,” Super Battery-Watson said.

“It seems like she was just trying to find the right sequence of clouds to proceed to the next level,” Satay-Nazhar said. He quickly added. “I don’t mean to be a wet satay stick, but it’s possible, right?”

“Yes, it’s possible, but I don’t think the first 15 jumps or so were related to solving the puzzle at all,” Mandoo-Ha Na replied. “The goal is to jump on the clouds in a specific order, which I assume was what the last three-to-five jumps were about. All the jumps before that were nowhere close to the same sequence, which I would expect to see if someone was trying to solve the puzzle.”

“She repeated a lot of jumps, though,” Bubble Tea-Wendy said, “but never in the same order. Watch.”

We watched again. My sister was right. While individual jumps were repeated, there was no discernable pattern.

“If she was trying to deliver a message, she would be consistent, wouldn’t she?” Popiah-Jimmy asked.

“No,” Devil’s Curry-Eliza said. “The kidnappers are forcing her to keep putting videos up, so it’s likely they’re doing all the filming and maybe even the editing. She has to be sneaky so they won’t catch on.”

I was worried by how easily Eliza had latched on to Ha Na’s farfetched theory.

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