Holder of Integrity

In any city, in any country, go into any skyscraper and ask the receptionist to see someone named "The Holder of Integrity". The receptionist will suddenly stand up and lead you to a hidden passage, accessible through a trapdoor. You will fall in; you will fall for what seems like eternity, but when you hit the ground you will find yourself standing in a dungeon cell. There is a table with a sharp edge; if you feel that you will fail the test of integrity, end your life by slitting your neck on that edge. The fate you will otherwise endure will be slower and more painful.

The dungeon cell is not like any other. You are completely trapped in a stone chamber. Four walls, a ceiling, and a floor made of stone that does not chip. There is no locked door or barred window. All you can see is a candle and a metal rod. Once the candle burns out, you will suffocate.

Take the metal rod and shout, "If I have moral integrity, let my bones stand erect!" Hit yourself with the rod. You had been warned; if you fail this test, your bones will slowly snap and you will collapse to the ground. Suddenly, every misdeed, cowardly act, and any action that showed a lack of integrity will come crashing down upon your conscience as if they were all your faults. In this way will you and your lack of integrity absorb mankind's every sin. Not just your body and bones but your mind and soul will tear themselves to pieces in what can only be described as a ritual destruction of a man's spirit.

However, if you have the moral integrity to refuse responsibility for man's every sin, the rod will bounce off as if it was rubber and not tempered steel. Then you must ask the question:

"Were those trapped in the mind's dungeon men of integrity?"

You will hear a mysterious voice call out, "Mind's dungeon is made of a man's sins, for only those without integrity are trapped. You may leave."

Proceed to tap the walls of the dungeon with the rod and watch them collapse. You are free to go.

That rod is object 125 of 538. When all collapses under its own weight, the rod will never chafe, rust, or break.