The Mirror Ticket

120-minute plan · 4 players · Follow the evidence Two passengers hold apparently identical tickets for the same seat on a mirror ferry. One reflection remains on the platform after its owner walks away. Content notice: Reflections and mistaken identity. Reflections are friendly manifestations; use colored silhouettes if doubling a person feels uncomfortable.

GM overview

The table solves two related but independent questions: which ticket has a physical travel record, and what keeps the reflection waiting? The punch comparison plus the booking roll authenticate Cera’s original; the print test plus the booking roll provides a redundant route. The demonstration log plus the print test connects the mirror duplicate to an unfinished public display. Give players two paper rectangles to turn over and a coin to represent the punched hole. They may validate the original and close the display, exchange both disputed slips for a witnessed later sailing, or suspend the demonstration while the ferry carries only undisputed passengers. Noll is embarrassed, not malicious. Cera wants her reserved passage but will accept a clearly recorded exchange. Never ask players to determine which person is “real.” The issue is two records and one display connection.

What is really happening

A ticket printed against the station’s demonstration mirror produced a reversed duplicate. The real return ticket belongs to weaver Cera, whose original bears a punched sun and whose ink sits above its fibers. Its reflection carries the same writing in reverse but has no physical punch. Demonstrator Noll’s unfinished display retained the duplicate and the lingering reflection. Validating the original and covering the demonstration mirror separates the display from the ferry system.

Opening agreement and read-aloud

Agree on subjects to soften or skip. Each player names an ordinary skill and a reason to help. Evidence does not require a successful roll; uncertainty changes time, cost or obligations. Cera and Noll lay two blue tickets on the counter. Both appear to say seat six. When Cera turns, a reflection remains standing in the mirror beside the ticket desk. “I am not trying to travel twice,” it says. “I am waiting for someone to finish the demonstration.”

Time and preparation

120 minutes: Two records and one waiting reflection Opening agreement: 10 minutes Hear both ticket holders and inspect material marks: 25 minutes Cross-check booking and print behavior: 25 minutes Let the reflection explain the unfinished display: 25 minutes Close the display and settle the travel commitment: 25 minutes Closure and debrief: 10 minutes Use both independent authenticity tests and play the reflection’s request. Five checks permit a reconstruction plus authentication and covering; the exchange still matters if Cera prefers a calm later departure. Starting information: Discover cards in play Starting state: Witnessed checking intervals = 5; Original ticket established = false; Demonstration link understood = false; Demonstration properly closed and signed = false; Clerk’s retained record checked = false With 4 players: share the roles of mapper, evidence keeper, speaker and timekeeper.

If the group gets stuck

A missing punch observation can be replaced by the ink test plus booking roll. A missing booking or display observation costs two intervals at retained-check. If too few intervals remain for both authentication and covering, exchange or suspend preserves the passenger’s claim without pretending the dispute was solved.

Mirror-ferry platform

Read aloud: One blue ticket casts a shadow with a tiny bright circle in it. The other casts an unbroken rectangle. GM: Give the punch card on examination. Keep Cera and Noll in the same frame so neither becomes an accidental suspect hunt.

Choice: Hold both tickets against the light

Ask: Which sun mark is a material hole, and what further record would make it a travel entitlement? Requires: Available. Reveal Two tickets against the light Result: A passes light through a real punch; B changes with the pane.

Booking bay

Read aloud: Clerk Vale turns the roll until a single sun mark appears beside seat six. GM: The booking roll authenticates a recorded journey only when combined with a physical observation from the ticket. It does not identify why the reflection lingers.

Choice: Inspect the single booking entry

Ask: Match the recorded issue to a property you can independently observe. Requires: Available. Reveal Seat-six booking roll Result: Vale shows one signed issue for Cera and no second seat-six ticket.

Choice: Authenticate the original with two observations

Ask: Use the booking roll plus punch or ink evidence to identify the valid reservation. Requires: (Seat-six booking roll + Two tickets against the light or Seat-six booking roll + Reversible print test or Clerk’s retained record checked is true). Spend 1 Witnessed checking intervals. Original ticket established: true Result: Vale signs A as Cera’s original travel record.

Ticket printroom

Read aloud: One ticket leaves a tiny blue mark on the blotter. The second leaves only reflected light. GM: The reversible blotting test is visible and free; it neither destroys nor confiscates a ticket. A reflected ticket has no ink lying on paper fibers.

Choice: Perform the reversible blotter test

Ask: Predict the result before comparing material ink with reflected writing. Requires: Available. Reveal Reversible print test Result: Only A leaves a faint ink mark on the dry blotter.

Demonstration alcove

Read aloud: The final line on the demonstration checklist remains blank: cover pane before reconnecting the ferry display. GM: Noll produces the demonstration log immediately. The cover is next to the mirror; understanding the incomplete sequence matters, not finding a key.

Choice: Order the demonstration’s last three steps

Ask: Which step stayed unfinished before the ferry display reconnected? Requires: Available. Reveal Unfinished demonstration log Result: Noll acknowledges leaving the cover step unsigned.

Choice: Explain the lingering image

Ask: Combine the print behavior and the incomplete log before proposing the cover. Requires: (Reversible print test + Unfinished demonstration log or Clerk’s retained record checked is true). Demonstration link understood: true Result: The waiting reflection recognizes the unfinished demonstration rather than a missing voyage.

Choice: Complete the demonstration by covering its pane

Ask: Ask Noll and the reflection to finish the public demonstration together. Requires: Demonstration link understood is true. Spend 1 Witnessed checking intervals. Demonstration properly closed and signed: true Result: The lingering figure returns to the ordinary mirror as Noll signs the final box.

Boarding gate

Read aloud: The gate has two trays: validated travel, and exchanged reservations. GM: The boarding clerk honors either evidence-backed validation or a witnessed exchange. Neither requires deciding a passenger’s identity by appearance.

Choice: Honor the original reservation

Ask: Board Cera using the authenticated ticket after the demonstration is closed. Requires: Original ticket established is true and Demonstration properly closed and signed is true. Result: The boarding gate accepts one documented ticket and frees seat six for Cera. Closure: One reservation, a completed demonstration

Harbor witness desk

Read aloud: A blank exchange form has spaces for two signatures and one later departure. GM: Two checking intervals verify retained physical ticket impressions and the demonstration close-out copy. This costly reconstruction can recover either missing inference.

Choice: Check retained impressions under witnesses

Ask: Spend two intervals comparing the original issue impression and close-out duplicate? Requires: Available. Spend 2 Witnessed checking intervals. Clerk’s retained record checked: true Result: Two clerks verify the material original and the unsigned cover step from retained records.

Choice: Witness a later-sailing exchange

Ask: Record Cera’s consent, retain both disputed slips, and issue one later reservation. Requires: Available. Spend 1 Witnessed checking intervals Result: Cera signs for a later sailing, and Vale writes the exact departure on the exchange. Closure: A witnessed later sailing

Connections and changing routes

Mirror-ferry platform ↔ Booking bay: Booking stairs. Available. Booking bay ↔ Ticket printroom: Staff inspection window. Available. Ticket printroom ↔ Demonstration alcove: Printer corridor. Available. Demonstration alcove ↔ Mirror-ferry platform: Demonstration walk. Available. Demonstration alcove ↔ Boarding gate: Boarding arcade. Available. Boarding gate ↔ Harbor witness desk: Exchange ramp. Available. Harbor witness desk ↔ Mirror-ferry platform: Quay return. Available. Booking bay ↔ Boarding gate: Ticket holders’ passage. Available.

Cera — Booked weaver

Goal: Use the journey she paid for or receive an honest exchange. Offers: Her ticket for reversible exterior tests. Will not accept: Will not surrender the reservation without a dated replacement. Voice: Names the practical cost of each delay.

Noll — Mirror demonstrator

Goal: Close the demonstration and release the lingering reflection. Offers: The unfinished log and permission to cover the pane. Will not accept: Will not destroy a reflection to hide his mistake. Voice: Starts with a sales phrase, catches himself, gives a fact.

Vale — Booking clerk

Goal: Validate one documented journey fairly. Offers: The booking roll and retained impressions. Will not accept: Appearance alone cannot settle a ticket dispute. Voice: “Show me the record that this mark belongs to.”

The Waiting Reflection — Unclosed display image

Goal: Finish the demonstration and return to ordinary reflection. Offers: A precise account of being copied when the tickets touched the pane. Will not accept: Does not want to be treated as a spare passenger. Voice: Answers one beat after the speaker, politely.

Reasoning: Ticket A records the single booked journey

A material feature combines with an independent issue record. The repeated seat number alone does not distinguish original from image. Evidence combinations: Two tickets against the light + Seat-six booking roll OR Reversible print test + Seat-six booking roll

Reasoning: The waiting reflection belongs to an unfinished demonstration

The observed image-only print process and the unsigned cover step explain the timing and persistence of the reflection. Evidence combinations: Reversible print test + Unfinished demonstration log

Discovery card: Two tickets against the light

Give only when revealed in play. Ticket A: sun-shaped hole passes light; fibers bend around the hole. Ticket B: sun shape changes when the inspection pane turns; no hole passes light. Both appear to show seat 6 from the front. Player task: Turn two paper slips and distinguish a physical mark from its image. GM answer: A has a material punch; B carries its reflected appearance. Booking evidence is still needed to establish entitlement.

Discovery card: Seat-six booking roll

Give only when revealed in play. Today’s return sailing, seat 6: Cera, one sun punch. No second seat-six issue. Printer roll reserved for demonstrations bears no travel punch. Clerk Vale signed the issue before the display opened. Player task: Match the recorded issue to an independently observed physical property. GM answer: With the punch or ink test, the roll authenticates Cera’s original rather than merely repeating her claim.

Discovery card: Reversible print test

Give only when revealed in play. A: blue ink lies above paper fibers; a dry blotter takes a faint mark. B: writing reverses when the pane is turned; blotter stays clean. The demonstration pane reproduces images without putting ink on paper. Player task: Predict which ticket will leave a mark, then compare the result with the display process. GM answer: The ink test independently distinguishes original and image and links the duplicate to the demonstration method.

Discovery card: Unfinished demonstration log

Give only when revealed in play. 09:10 Cera’s ticket placed against demonstration pane. 09:11 duplicate shown to audience. 09:12 ferry display reconnected. Final box, “cover demonstration pane before reconnecting,” left unsigned. The waiting image appeared at 09:12. Player task: Reorder the log into the intended sequence and mark the first incomplete step. GM answer: The print process and log establish an unclosed demonstration connection, rather than an extra traveler or stolen reservation.

State sheet

Witnessed checking intervals: 5 (resource, minimum 0, maximum 5) Original ticket established: false (knowledge) Demonstration link understood: false (knowledge) Demonstration properly closed and signed: false (flag) Clerk’s retained record checked: false (knowledge)

Event: The ordinary boarding call sounds

Trigger: Witnessed checking intervals at most 1 Vale names the options still available: validated boarding, a witnessed later exchange, or protected suspension. No passenger is forced through a rushed test.

At any place: Suspend the display and preserve the disputed reservation

Cover the demonstration for review and keep Cera’s seat claim recorded for a later sailing. Requires: Available. The display closes under a review notice. The disputed slips remain together with a protected reservation record.

Ending: One reservation, a completed demonstration

Requires: Original ticket established is true and Demonstration properly closed and signed is true Cera travels on her original ticket. Noll’s display ends properly, and the reflection waves only when someone stands before the mirror. Next: What physical check does Vale add to future tickets?

Ending: A witnessed later sailing

Requires: Available Cera keeps a documented journey, now at a later time. Both slips wait for study, and the demonstration remains closed until its record is complete. Next: How does Noll make the delay useful or comfortable for Cera?

Ending: A covered pane and a protected claim

Requires: Available The ferry carries undisputed passengers. Cera’s reservation remains protected while clerks resolve the records, and the mirror display stays closed. Next: Who reports the first verified finding to Cera?