Test of the Singing Cicada

University Text

Find cicada cages placed around Egypt by other players, then place your own for a stream of points.

Overview

The Test of the Singing Cicada is the fourth test in the discipline of the Human Body, and is also the way to permanently increase one's Speed attribute. The test focuses on exploration, particularly of remote or hard-to-reach areas in Egypt.

Passing the Principle

Hidden across the Egyptian landscape are dozens of Cicada Cages, detectable mainly through the continuous chirping sounds they emit. A player who comes across a cicada cage is allowed to take a cicada from it (provided the player has signed up for the Cicada test). When a player has collected enough cicadas, he may build and place a cicada cage of his own. Cages disappear after 7 players have discovered them.

Cicada points are earned both by finding other players' cages (a single bonus for each cage found) and by building your own (points earned continuously for as long as your cages survive). Every 3 Egypt days, the 21 players with the highest scores receive a permanent Speed advance. They then all lose cicada points equal to the 21st player's score. (In effect, the 21st player's score determines how much it "costs" to "buy" a Speed point that day.)