Diamond Dogs: Difference between revisions

In a universe where all the aliens [[Absent Aliens|seem to be dead]] or [[Invisible Aliens|hiding]], a potential momentous discovery is made: an alien structure - a tower of some kind - is discovered on a lifeless planet. This tower, known as the [[Names to Run Away From Really Fast|Blood Spire]], killed the crew of the ship that first discovered it. The last surivor, before succumbing to his horrific wounds, recounts how the tower tested him and his crew. [[Only Smart People May Pass|Pass the increasingly difficult tests]] and you can possibly ascend to the top of the alien tower and unlock its secrets. But get any of the increasinlyg difficult questions ''wrong'', and...well, [[Mutilation Conga|let's just say that very unpleasant things]] [[Body Horror|happen to you]].

 

 

* [[Alien Geometries]]: Comes into play as the tests become more and more difficult, the higher they ascend the tower; the challenges begin to involve higher-dimensional shapes and arcane math.

* {{spoiler|[[Cloning Gambit]]}}: Part of the big [[The Reveal|reveal]] about {{spoiler|Childe. The first expedition to discover the Spire? They didn't exist. Childe discovered the tower. All those mangled bodily remains outside the tower? Those are ''Childe''; he repeatedly cloned himself, backing up a copy of his memory each time, and attempted the tower. He died, over and over. Eventually, when he couldn't proceed any further, he decided to enlist the help of other people. So he made up the story about the first expedition, as a cover.}}

* [[Never Found the Body]]: Mostly averted, in that those killed by the Spire are unceremoniously ejected from the tower (sometimes in pieces, [[Ludicrous Gibs|depending on how they died]]). Thus, the land surrounding the tower is littered with the remains of those who previously attempted the tower. [[Playing With Tropes|Played with]] in that the Spire keeps any mechanical parts, and in the end, {{spoiler|Childe's}} body (well, his {{spoiler|''most recent'' body}}) is never found, implying that {{spoiler|either the Spire "harvested" him or that he had become entirely too mechanical for the Spire to eject}}.

* [[Nothing Left to Do But Die]]: {{spoiler|Doctor Trintignant}}'s reason for commiting suicide; he knows that {{spoiler|Richard and Celestine}} will ask him to {{spoiler|undo the radical modifications he performed on them}} when they return. However, he considers {{spoiler|them his greatest work, and he can't bear to undo his greatest work}}. So he kills himself rather than go through with it. That's right, he killed himself ''just to spite them''.

* [[Only Smart People May Pass]]: A deconstruction of this trope {{spoiler|and [[Body Horror|the characters]].}}

* [[Schmuck Bait]]: Near the end, the narrator/protagonist speculates {{spoiler|that this might be the ultimate purpose of the tower. It lures in intelligent beings with it's tests, forcing them to adapt their minds and bodies to pass it's increasingly esoteric tests. When they finally get to the top, they're "harvested" by the tower, like some kind of alien Venus Fly Trap.}}

"Christ, yes," the infiltration specialist said, as if suddenly remembering. "The cubes. What about you, Richard?" "Indeed," I answered, flinching at the memory of that one. [[Cube|I had been one of a party of people trapped inside an endless series of cubic rooms, many of which contained lethal surprises.]] "I was cut into pieces by a trap, actually. Diced, if I remember accurately."<br />

"Yeah. Not exactly on my top ten list of ways to die, either.'" }}

** Also: Childe's name is likely a [[Shout Out]] to ''Childe Roland To The Dark Tower Came'', the poem that the [[Dark Tower]] series was based upon. Also doubles as a [[Meaningful Name]] (see above)

* [[Title Drop]]: "Diamond Dogs" refers to the monsterous forms {{spoiler|Childe and Richard modify themselves into in order to beat the tower; by the end of the story, they resemble rottweilers standing on their hind legs, covered in a diamond fabric.}}