<?xml version="1.0"?>
<?xml-stylesheet href="../xslt/beartest.xslt" type="text/xsl"?>
<beartest version="3" reviewed="yes" name="Field Marshall Stack" date="1999-08-09">
  <roomdesc>
    <answer>
      <div xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
        <p>The room is small. The ceiling (an unfamiliar one) is far too low for comfort. Out the window I can see that the room is one of the higher floors of a skyscraper in a large city (perhaps New York?). The room's furnishings consist of a slightly mildewy couch and a brittle-looking rocking chair. The wallpaper on the walls of the room is a teal and white vertical stripe pattern. If one examines the walls closely one sees many semi-transparent blue bivalves, about the size of a large man's fist, crawling laboriously up the walls, leaving a glistening trail behind.</p>
      </div>
    </answer>
    <comfort>
      <uncomfortable/>
    </comfort>
    <furnishing>
      <decorated/>
    </furnishing>
    <addl>The presence of the crawling bivalves is interesting: does it signify something important or does it just contribute to the overall creepiness of the room?</addl>
  </roomdesc>
  <room>
    <leave/>
  </room>
  <forestdesc>
    <answer>
      <div xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
        <p>Lots of pine trees. They're not too interesting.</p>
      </div>
    </answer>
    <lighting>
      <undefined/>
    </lighting>
    <size>
      <large/>
    </size>
  </forestdesc>
  <pathdesc>
    <answer>
      <div xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
        <p>Well, the path isn't very well-travelled, but the trees are so well-spaced (and the undergrowth so lacking) that it's easy to walk through the forest even when completely ignoring the path.</p>
      </div>
    </answer>
    <obstructions>
      <none/>
    </obstructions>
    <use>
      <little/>
    </use>
    <visibility>
      <undefined/>
    </visibility>
    <width>
      <undefined/>
    </width>
  </pathdesc>
  <waterdesc>
    <answer>
      <div xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
        <p>It's a ring of water hovering eerily in midair. All told it looks about four feet in diameter and maybe three inches thick. It hangs perpendicular to the earth. The flat side of it faces me, such that I see an 'o' of liquid, eternally flowing in its circle, facing me.</p>
        <p>It seems to flow swiftly, but I'm not clear on how to measure its velocity with any accuracy.</p>
        <p>I have no idea how it got there, or how it stays there, but it seems happy to be where it is so I'm not inclined to mess with it. I doubt that it's natural, but I clearly don't know enough about it to take a stab at guessing who made it.</p>
        <p>It's actually quite pretty how it reflects the light onto the forest floor below.</p>
        <p>If I listen closely I /think/ I can hear a sort of high-pitched whine coming from the ring, though it might be a figment of my imagination.</p>
      </div>
    </answer>
    <clarity>
      <clear/>
    </clarity>
    <life>
      <absent/>
    </life>
    <movement>
      <fast/>
    </movement>
    <addl>The unnatural form might suggest a disturbing perversion on the part of the subject, except that the subject seems quite at ease with the water’s hovering. That suggests a strong respect for the power of sex; that the subject feels sex is a major part of life and requires great respect.</addl>
  </waterdesc>
  <water>
    <avoid/>
  </water>
  <cupdesc>
    <answer>
      <div xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
        <p>It's one of those drinky-hats...you know, um, how do I describe it, it's an adjustable-fit baseball cap with a holder for a beverage container (soft drink can, beer can, what have you) on each side, and big long bendy straws through which one can drink the beverages.</p>
        <p>The front of the hat has pictures of the five main characters from the anime series "Sailor Moon" on it.</p>
        <p>I like the hat, even though I'm sure anyone wearing it would look very silly indeed.</p>
      </div>
    </answer>
    <utility>
      <both/>
    </utility>
    <addl>If anything, the humorous nature suggests a playful, lighthearted approach to marriage: not cynical, but not serious either.</addl>
  </cupdesc>
  <cup>
    <fill/>
  </cup>
  <keydesc>
    <answer>
      <div xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
        <p>It's a large, obviously non-functional, brightly colored plastic key. It's a toy for infants, I think. Like something for them to chew on while they're teething.</p>
        <p>It's got a good many tooth-marks on it, in any case.</p>
        <p>I strongly doubt it unlocks anything.</p>
      </div>
    </answer>
    <appearance>
      <undefined/>
    </appearance>
    <purpose>
      <undefined/>
    </purpose>
    <addl>That the key is a toy possibly suggests that the subject views careers as childish, and the people who expect fulfillment from them as infants.</addl>
  </keydesc>
  <bear>
    <avoid/>
  </bear>
  <wall>
    <jump/>
  </wall>
</beartest>
