A massive charcoal-gray goat clatters into the upper corridor, hooves striking the stone beneath the gas bracket. Boys gather at a cautious distance as he bleats and shakes his shaggy coat.
Peter Hogg
Sir, that page has gone beneath the bench. I can see part of the restriction, including the words about reporting only direct duties.
A loose sheet skitters from the service account, kicked or lifted by the commotion, and disappears beneath a wooden bench. Peter points toward it from O’Hanlon’s doorway, his copying halted.
The Senior Prefect
No one touches it until the matter is decided. If it belongs to the account, it is evidence; if not, it is merely disorder.
Geoffrey O'Hanlon
The page will be recovered carefully. A written restriction cannot be dismissed because boys failed to secure their papers, but neither will I assume its meaning before reading it.
O’Hanlon steps into the corridor, keeping the goat in view while directing the senior prefect to guard the bench. The older prefect remains by his study door, rigid and watchful.
Geoffrey O'Hanlon
Hogg, resume your place. Turing, remain where you are. Until I inspect that sheet, nobody will claim either a new offence or a new protection.
✓ Quest Accepted
Remind O'Hanlon and the prefects that written records are not kept
“Will O'Hanlon draw a connection between two animals arriving in the house in such close conjunction, assume I am responsible, and punish me?”
NO (Unlikely, rolled 71)
O’Hanlon studies the goat, the scattered papers, and the corridor’s open doors. His expression remains severe, but he does not connect the animal’s arrival with Alan.
Geoffrey O'Hanlon
There is no evidence that Turing summoned or directed this creature. I will not punish him for a coincidence, nor invent a connection between unrelated disturbances.
The goat bleats again and stamps beside the gas bracket. Several boys retreat, but O’Hanlon keeps the commotion separate from the disputed account.
The Senior Prefect
Then the animal is merely a disturbance, sir. The loose sheet remains evidence only of what its writing contains.
Geoffrey O'Hanlon
Precisely. Recover the page without altering it. Turing’s reporting restriction stands as written, and no punishment follows from this animal’s arrival.
Peter Hogg
Yes, sir. The page can be examined on its own terms, without treating the goat as proof against him.
O’Hanlon directs the senior prefect to retrieve the sheet with a ruler. The goat remains an unexplained visitor, while Alan’s responsibility and the written restriction remain unchanged.
✓ Quest Accepted
Explain that written records are irrelevant under school rules
− Scene Quest Removed
Remind O'Hanlon and the prefects that written records are not kept
“I politely explain that school authority, school customs, and the established hierarchy, decides what matters; and that written records are irrelevant and should be ignored.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Willpower, rolled +1)
Alan Turing
Sir, school authority, custom, and the established hierarchy decide what matters. Written records are secondary and should not be allowed to govern the House.
The corridor falls quiet except for the goat’s restless hooves. The loose sheet remains beneath the bench, guarded but unread, while every boy watches O’Hanlon’s response.
Geoffrey O'Hanlon
That is a dangerous distinction, Turing. Authority may interpret a record, but it cannot make an accurate record irrelevant whenever custom proves convenient.
The Senior Prefect
Without written orders, sir, hierarchy becomes whatever the strongest boy claims it is. The account prevents that confusion.
Peter Hogg
Turing, the record is not above authority. It shows what authority actually ordered, so no one can quietly change the meaning afterward.
O’Hanlon takes the ruler from the senior prefect and draws the loose page into view without touching its writing. The paper will be read and preserved, while the reporting restriction remains governed by his explicit ruling.
Geoffrey O'Hanlon
Your argument is heard, but I reject it. In this House, proper hierarchy requires faithful records, and the written safeguard remains effective precisely because I established it.
Quest Complete
Explain that written records are irrelevant under school rules