CHAPTER 4: THE CRYPTOGRAPHIC ROOM

As several rooms began to materialize, Agatha, having previously completed the word "ZEIGARNIK," now needed to locate her great grandfather's book. To accomplish this, she had to assemble the remaining fragments of the incomplete room. Adjacent to the ZEIGARNIK note, she noticed half of a microscope on the table, with a specimen being observed. It appeared that her great grandfather had been attempting to identify a chemical element in vegetation when the photograph was taken. The structure of the element remained unfinished, as the molecule C4H10FO2_ was bonded to an unknown element. However, the word "Nazi" was inscribed near the specimen on the microscope body, indicating a highly toxic pesticide. Agatha contemplated the missing element, considering the toxic substances employed by the Nazis. "Di methyl Cadmium? No, that's not it. This is truly a perplexing task. How could it be?" Ah, she realized, it must be a nerve gas. SARIN, used as a weapon of mass destruction. Thus, the missing element was phosphorus, making the formula C4H10FO2P. Once Agatha completed this revelation, half of the bookshelf materialized, revealing the book she had been seeking. Hastily reaching for it, she discovered that the other half remained blurred and unreadable. The title of the book was "How to Close Pandora's Box." Opening it, she found that it was torn in half, rendering the writing incomprehensible. She skimmed through the book and stumbled upon the name Ellsberg's. Her task now was to determine the word that followed. Glancing at the chapter title above, which read "Ambiguity and Human Mind," Agatha pondered the connection between Ellsberg's and ambiguity. Suddenly, she exclaimed, "Ellsberg's paradox! Yes, it must be that," and just like that, the other half of the book became visible. With the book in her possession, Agatha exited the room and began her journey towards the exit, leaving Mandroff's lab behind. She cast one last glance backward, hoping to catch a glimpse of her granddad, but he continued to fade away, waving goodbye. Perhaps this signified a closure to his demise...

*Ellsberg's Paradox elucidates how humans prefer certainty of outcomes over uncertainty, even when it entails taking risks.