There is a Guardian at the gate. This one is often depicted with three heads. But it can look like anything. A talking chair. A lion. A German youth dressed as a harlequin. A floating cuttlefish. It guards the gate, and will invariably act to repulse your approach. But this is not the end of its skill. If you manage the first challenge, which few enough do, then comes the deadlier of the pair.

It lets you through the gate.

And the way thus opened leads only to that which you would expect to find beyond it. An insidious simulacrum. In passing into it, your longheld suspicions and theories are gracefully confirmed, and, certain of your success, you are in reality still the the unwitting guest of the Guardian. It’s quite a lot of bother to get past this obstacle. A deeply naked authenticity is often rewarded, but the occasional flourish is not without merit.

Even the Observers appreciate a skillful riposte.