Chapter 3: The Queen's Judgement

Having finished the symmetry checks for all the strange visitors, the judge had found that all but a few of them are at least as symmetrical as the queen. This is bad news for the judge, since the queen is eagerly waiting for his report, almost certainly sure that it was going to be in her favor.

"So, my dear judge, how did the checks go? Not as symmetrical as they claim to be, I presume?"

The judge knelt silently before the monarch, knowing that what he was going to say next was more or less guaranteed to get him thrown into the dungeons. Still, he had a job to do, and he had better see it through to the end.

"My queen," the judge replied solemnly, "I- I regret to say that the vast majority of them are... extremely symmetrical."

A moment of tense silence passed, the queen's usual poker face remaining unchanged.

Then, without so much as a warning, the tension broke.

The queen's calm facade immediately vanished, torn apart by her rage that shot up way past its boiling point. There was no civil discussion to be had, only the blind rage of the monarch, ready to pass judgement on the ones responsible for her now-inferior status.

Despite all attempts to calm the queen, there was nothing anyone in the court could do to to quell her anger and save the judge from being thrown into the dungeons.

...

.......

...........

It has been several days since I have been locked in here. Days since the fateful judging of the symmetric beings.

I did not know of their fate after I was thrown into the dungeons. Even though it was their symmetry that placed me here, I do not blame them in the slightest. After all, it is no fault of theirs that they were being punished for their mere existence. If anything, the vain queen is the only culprit here.

The dungeon food was surprisingly tasty, if you close your eyes and not think of the fact that they were essentially moldy leftovers from the castle's kitchens. Although, I suppose that probably says more about the high quality of the castle kitchens' cooking than anything. At least the queen was prideful enough to think of these as undesirable leftovers, when in reality they were feasts that the beggars and slum-dwellers of the Symmetric Kingdom would kill for.

A light chuckle escaped from my throat. The Symmetric Kingdom, what a laughably ironic name for a kingdom whose inhabitants were nearly all asymmetric.

From the corner of my eye, I spot a small hole, haphazardly covered up with rubble. Making sure no one was watching, I placed some hay under my blankets to act as a substitute, and slowly removed the rubble to open up a hole just wide enough for me to fit through, careful to place the rubble back where it belonged so as not to raise any suspicion. The hole led to a small passageway. This must have been one of the escape routes used by the previous rulers when they fled from the current queen's imprisonment.

As I crawl through the secret corridor, it eventually opened up into a wide natural cavern. My various excursions throughout the castle's surroundings led me to conclude that this cave would lead to a small community of refugees, which the queen did not know of.

Making my way out of the cave, I was greeted by a surprising, yet lovely sight. It was a small but bustling community, where both asymmetric people and the strange symmetric beings that placed me in this predicament worked and lived in peace and harmony.

I hobbled my way towards the makeshift village, barely managing to steady myself from the dungeon-induced delirium. Looking around, all I can see are perfectly symmetrical houses and perfectly symmetrical roads. The mysterious symmetric beings were numerous, of varying shapes and sizes. Instead of walking, they elegantly glided along the roads.

In fact, if it weren't for the asymmetric humans walking around, the place would seem almost eerily perfect. Lines of symmetry divided the small village into perfect mirror images of each other, and every single structure in the village that exhibited rotational symmetry had orders that are perfect multiples of four, corresponding to the four cardinal directions.

Indeed, if I had to describe this place with a single word, it would be "perfection".

As I wandered around the beautiful landscape, I spotted a familiar figure in the distance, heartily laughing with some children and some symmetric beings. Noticing my gaze, he turned towards my direction and his eyes immediately lit up with joy. Even in my delirious state, I immediately recognized him. There was no mistaking that jolly round physique and that neat symmetrical bob cut.

This person was the previous exiled king of the Symmetric Kingdom.

"Coxeter!" The former king bellowed with the trademark wide smile of his, "it has been too long, my loyal judge of symmetry! Come, let us walk!"

I let out a sigh, and made my way towards the former king. He was never one for formalities, and highly encouraged his subjects to loosen up and be more open in his presence. A good king he was, but as with any major political figure in this day and age, he also had enemies who wanted nothing better than seeing him kicked from the throne. And so, the rebels, led by the now-incumbent vain queen, staged a coup and overthrew him, ushering in a dark age of asymmetry for the once-symmetric and glorious Symmetric Kingdom.

As I walked with my former lord, I expressed my curiosity as to why he is in such a place.

"Well, you see, my boy," he guffawed, "my goal was always to build something magnificent and symmetric. A few months ago, I managed to come across a miraculous device to create symmetry. See, these beings..."

He offhandedly waved towards a symmetric being.

"These beings... They come from that device."

Immediately, my attention was piqued. Ever since my imprisonment, I had always wondered about the origins of those strange creatures.

Noticing the change in the air around myself, the former king ushered me into a tall, majestic spire, located in the center of the village.

"Come, let me show you."

Set in the middle of the interior was a strange otherworldly machine. A large screen with a grid overlain on it, doubling as a sliding door, seemed to be the centerpiece of the alien-looking device. In fact, I somehow get the impression that this door lines up perfectly with the line of symmetry that cuts the village exactly in half.

The former king went up to the device, and with a rod, he started to draw some shapes on one half of the screen. Miraculously, the other half of the screen came to life, mirroring exactly what was drawn on the king's half. As soon as he finished his drawing, he pressed a button, and a symmetric being that was shaped exactly like what was drawn emerged from the sliding screen door.

Seeing my look of utter bewilderment, the former king chuckled.

"Why don't you give it a try?"

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      

In this simulation, you can try your hand at drawing some symmetric beings on the device. The screen is set up such that you can only draw on it by connecting the dots on the grid, but this should be sufficient for you to come up with some pretty creative shapes.

As the concept of creative limitation goes, limiting your options can boost creativity, so go ahead and create! Have fun!