One of my strangest cases begun with a rumor about a Black Forest cake.
"The legendary Black Forest cake might be somewhere in the city. It sounds almost too delicious to be true."
Solution[]
Detective: Miguela, I wanted to check up on that rumor about the cake.
Miguela Lawless: It's not just any cake. It's the legendary Black Forest cake. I've never seen one in my life though. I thought it was just a legend.
Detective: But now you're thinking otherwise?
Miguela Lawless: People say that someone's been making them. Here, in the city, or somewhere close - sweets are still illegal, you know.
Detective: You've got my curiosity. I'll look into that cake.
Witnesses[]
Detective: No time to waste. Let's track down the origin of those rumors.
- 3 photos
- 3 maps
- 2 fingerprints
- Photographer: 7 questions
- 1 map
- 3 photos
- Photographer: 7 questions
- 4 fingerprints
- 2 maps
- 2 fingerprints
If you fail:
Detective: I think this is some kind of a prank. The cake is a lie. I just don't have anything to prove it.
If you win:
???: You are looking for the Black Forest cake. I can help you find it.
Detective: I'm sorry, but who's this? Sweets are illegal, so why would I want to find the cake?
???: The cake is great. It's so delicious and moist!
???: Find the owner of the Confiture Labs. It closed down, but the owner will know where the cake is.
Detective: Wait, I...
Detective: What is it with people hanging up on me?
Suspect identification: Still Alive[]
Detective: I should be able to find the owner of the Confiture Labs.
- Maxim Manaman
- Jude Lange
- Samantha Duchamp
- Oprah Klein
- Janet Lee
- Frida Johansson
- Danny Lim Tan
- Fanny Bao
- Akira Mikado
- Grant Chan
- Stanley Robinson
- Naomi Watson
- Gustavo Penela
- Samuel Tuvac
- Amy DeAndre
- Mike Jefferson
- Brigitte Balou
- Monique Espero
- Sarah Finch
- John Caveson
- Mina Harker
- Dora Marquez
- Jane Honda
- Dexter Crow
Solution: John Caveson
If you fail:
Detective: With my luck, the owner is probably long dead by now. Died of moon dust poisoning or something like that.
If you win:
Detective: Excuse me, sir. Do you know anything about Black Forest cakes?
John Caveson: I did. Once. Now I changed the name of the company and I make shower curtains for all branches of the military! They're more hygienic.
Detective: Uh, definitely. So, what happened to your bakery?
John Caveson: The bean counters wanted me to sell it, said I wouldn't need an underground facility for making shower curtains. So I sold it. But I did it only because it was just too small.
Detective: Now I'm looking for an abandoned salt mine. Caroline, my assistant, can give you directions to the old facility, if you want.
City search: Well here we are again[]
Detective: According to Caroline, the old facility should be somewhere here. But I see nothing. Maybe it's hidden somewhere?
The secret facility is:
- in the distance of 1 from water
- more than 1 from railways
- not on parks
- more than 1 from farms
- more than 2 from fast foods
- more than 1 from hospitals
- not 3 from ports
- On the map there are 6 farms
- On the map there are 2 fast foods
If you fail:
Detective: There's nothing here. What was I expecting, really? An underground, secret lab?
If you win:
Detective: A shed in the middle of a field, and a mysterious shaft leeding deep under the surface.
Detective: Well, what can go wrong? I'm going in!
Crime scene search: Fat Chance[]
Detective: OK, this is it. I'm inside the facility.
Detective: Wait... I think I heard something!
Detective: Is anybody there?
???: Hello, and welcome to the enrichment center. Your specimen has been processed and we are now ready to begin the test proper.
Detective: Uh oh. What test are you talking about?
???: Cake will be available at the conclusion of the test.
Detective: Great. I need to pass some test to get to that cake. How hard can it be?
When you go to the next room
???: This test will require you to by-pass electronic security with severe consequence for failure, for no reason at all.
Detective: Then why am I even taking this test?
When you enter Alpha:
Detective: A teleporter. I wonder where will it take me?
When you enter Beta:
Detective: Amazing! It relocated me to another part of the lab. If only I could figure out how the rooms are linked.
When you go to the next room:
???: This test will check your dexterity and manipulative skills during unnecessary scenarios of habitat infiltration.
Detective: So I have to find a way to break into locked rooms. Got it.
When you enter the room past Delta:
???: In this test, you have been placed in a room with no visible way out.
Detective: That's not so bad. Maybe I can...
???: To add extra incentive to this test, an exotermic reaction has been started in the adjacent room.
Detective: A fire?! That's really, really bad!
When you find the bonus case:
Detective: What's this? A government report of a recent weather balloon crash... this might be an interesting addition to my case file cabinet.
When you enter the room past Zeta:
Detective: So this must be the last test, right? What is it about?
???: As part of a required test protocol, we will not monitor the ext test chamber. You will be entirely on your own. Good luck.
Detective: Great. I knew the last one wouldn't be easy. So... what's the catch?
If you fail:
Detective: I give up. There's no way I can find a cake in this crazy lab. It's probably stuck in some aperture or something.
???: Don't give up. You need to keep on trying till you run of cake.
Detective: Sorry, Ms. scary electronic voice. I'm out of cake and out of options.
If you win:
Detective: So the cake was a lie!
???: You remained resolute and resourceful in an atmosphere of extreme pessimism and managed to finish the test. I'm making a note here: huge success.
Detective: Wait a second. You trick people into taking tests with a lie about a cake that doesn't even exist. And you know no one will go to the authorities because of the sugar ban!
???: We do what we want because we can. For science.
Detective: Yeah. I get it. Just let me out of here!
???: A complimentary escape hatch will open in three, two, one. It's been fun. Don't come back.
Finale[]
If you fail:
Detective: I guess it never was about finding the Black Forest cake after all. But what was it about, then? Maybe I'll never know.
If you win:
Detective: I'm sorry, Miguela, but the cake was a lie.
Miguela Lawless: What do you mean?
Detective: It was a trick to lure people into questionable scientific experiments. The Black Forest cake doesn't exist. All I have is this lousy paper cut-out.
Miguela Lawless: Hmmm... If the cake isn't real, maybe we can make one! That picture gave me an idea. If you can buy the right ingredients, I can bake you a Black Forest cake of my own design!
Trivia[]
This case has a number of references to "Portal".
The first is the line "I'm making a note here: huge success", which came from this song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y6ljFaKRTrI
The other is this famous line: "The cake was a lie".
The third one is the name of the Suspect Identification stage, "Still Alive", which is the name of the abovementioned GlaDOS's song. Also, the name of the Crime Scene Search, "Fat Chance", is probably refers to the same song, where GlaDOS states: "Maybe you'll find someone else to help you. Maybe Black Mesa. That was a joke, haha, fat chance".
One more, albeit a bit ambiguous, is this: "We do what we want because we can. For science", which may be a reference to GlaDOS's line "We do what we must because we can".