Hales' Viper

One night last week I had a function after work so I ended up getting home quite late... to my surprise, there was a parcel waiting for me from my mate Shane... he'd mentioned that he'd been working on something "interesting" that he thought we'd like when I ran into him at Peter Hajek's EPP, and then followed that up a few weeks later with an offer email inviting us to opt out if we felt we might not be up to the challenge, along with a number of rather odd health warnings for folks with pacemakers and pregnant women - all of which sounded a bit strange, but hey, why not, eh? I'd duly opted in and signed away my life and then this package arrived... 

So I get home late, but he's piqued my interest and it's a new puzzle after all, so I can't resist the urge to open the package... inside is Shane's usual introduction for his Puzzling Agents (just call me 002!) and an interesting looking wooden object: a box with a square cross section and holes at either end, easily big enough to poke your fingers in but rather ominously covered with a brush like curtain that obscures all view of the insides... A signature on the bottom and the ominous Viper moniker on the top... 

I consider putting it aside until I can spend some quality time puzzling, probably the next evening, but my baser instincts take over and soon I'm fiddling around and exploring the outsides ... Nothing. 

Try and peek inside... Not much use at all... Listen for things moving around inside and yes, indeed, there's something in there that moves around when you tilt the box... Promising! 

Poke a finger inside expecting the worst... Not quite sure what I'm really expecting... Feel something inside moving but can't get it to do anything... 

Try the other hole - feels different and all of a sardine, it nips me! 

Somehow I manage not to fling it across the room by pure reflex and put it safely down on my desk and then calmly send the following email to Shane - it's titled "You bastard!":

....got home from a team dinner to find Viper #2 waiting for me... couldn't resist the urge and it duly bit me!

You bastard! :-)

I've put it aside until I can play with it properly...

I will report back in due course - when I get the new pacemaker fitted...

You bastard!

Thanks (I think...)

allard

...by return I receive a string of "Crying-with-laughter" emojis... It seems that Viper is working as expected and has claimed 002 as its first victim... 

I give up for the night and plot my revenge... 

The next night I'm home at the usual time and after a suitable stint on puppy duty I attack the Viper once again... 

This time, wary of its bite I'm a lot more circumspect - and it helps not a jot, I still get bitten, several times, while I learn about the innards... 

It's a slow and sometimes painful process, but the box eventually opens and yields up its secrets - including a truly thoughtful gift from the maker...  

Once it's open you have to smile at the wonderful elegant simplicity of it all - the locking mechanism is really straight-forward, yet thoroughly beguiling when you're trying to feel your way without incurring the Viper's wrath... 

My second email to Shane has a lot less swearing in it... 

Great fun and well worth the pain! 

Thanks Shane!

Read all about Kevin's experiences with his Viper over here.  (Glad I'm not the only sucker out there!)