Galactic Riddles

Staterion landscape: balance scales as big as hills, steelyards hanging from the clouds, houses balanced on counterweights, hourglasses, pitchers, a public fountain with two jugs of different sizes, and weights scattered over orange ground, with Kinesys flying through the starry sky

Planet

Staterion

Staterion is covered in scales. They come in every shape: balance scales as big as hills, steelyards hanging from the clouds, tiny pharmacist’s scales sprouting in the meadows like mushrooms. The locals, the Staterians, never do anything without first weighing it, measuring it, or comparing it with something else: at the market they weigh the fruit, but also words, smiles, and good intentions.

The local law is simple: nobody is allowed to say “it’s more or less the same.” Everything must be exact, down to the last gram, the last quart, the last second. That’s why Staterion is also the planet of pitchers, jugs, hourglasses, suspicious coins, and ropes that burn in unpredictable ways.

The moment he landed, Dord finally felt at home—at least until he found out that his patience was being weighed too, and it came in well below the legal minimum. Liz, on the other hand, discovered that the biggest scales are great for dancing, as long as you keep your balance. M00N had herself weighed with enthusiasm: she weighs exactly as much as a smile, which is to say almost nothing.

Riddles from this planet

  • Two ropes hanging from a scale on Staterion, one of them burning, while Liz holds a lit match and the starship Kinesys cools down in the background

    Burning Ropes

    No clocks allowed on Staterion: with two ropes that burn unevenly and a few matches, how do you measure exactly fifteen minutes?

  • An alien archivist from Staterion’s Office of Weights and Measures folds a very thin sheet of paper, with a stack of folds rising toward the starry sky, in front of Liz and M00N

    A Sheet of Paper

    A sheet of paper four thousandths of an inch thick, folded in half 42 times: how tall is the paper tower? A measuring puzzle…

  • In a Staterion playground, a little alien challenges Dord with four identical balls and a toy balance scale, while M00N applauds

    Four Marbles

    Four identical marbles, one with a different weight, and a balance scale: what is the minimum number of weighings needed to find it?

  • Two huge pitchers of water and wine at Staterion’s Banquet of Fairness, with an alien master of ceremonies pouring from a large measuring jug

    Water and Wine #2

    Ten gallons of water, ten of wine, and three-gallon transfers back and forth: can both carafes ever reach the same percentage of wine?

  • At Staterion’s Banquet of Fairness, an alien waiter uses an eyedropper to transfer liquid between a pitcher of water and a pitcher of wine, in front of the crew

    Water and Wine #1

    A teaspoon of water into the wine, then a teaspoon of the mix back into the water: is there more water in the wine…

  • At Staterion’s public fountain, next to a large balance scale, the caretaker lends Liz two empty jugs of different sizes, while M00N plays with the water

    Two Jugs

    On Staterion, water is dispensed to the exact gallon. With a 3-gallon jug and a 5-gallon jug, how do you get 4 in the…