There were no tables or chairs in the conference room. Instead, the room was filled from wall to wall with an intrecate maze. Partitions six inches high ran across the floor, branching in different directions, crossing over and under each other. It was not just a maze, though, it was also an obsical course. There were more objects scattered throughout the maze than a person could easily count. There were balls, buckets, articles of clothing, and other seemingly ordinary household things. They all seemed to be strategically placed; they were also part of the game. Apart from simple partitions, there were complex structures that in some cases were several feet tall. In the center of the maze was a tall lamp post which towered over everything else.

“Wow,” Marie said quietly. The other contestants were in amazement, looking around over the maze. A few of the cleverer ones were already trying to find a way through it, but there were so many layers and illusions that is was impossible to chart a course through. Not to mention they couldn’t even tell where the exit was.

“We call this the labarynth,” Betty said. “It is an obstical course designed to be very difficult for the participant, and very amusing to watch. Marie, you can put them down now.”

Thankful, Marie kneeled over and placed her hands on the ground. The six contestants climbed out of her hands, greatful to be on solid ground again. They found that they were looking at the entrance to the maze: there was a tall solid partition with six gerbil-sized tubes sticking out. Over each of them was a number from one to six.

“In this game there are twenty-four hidden yellow ribbons.” Betty said. “They are the size of headbands to you. Your goal is to return three of them to your hook, which is on the other side of the maze. You can bring back as many ribbons as you want, but it will not be a bonus if you have more than three.”

“Now,” Betty said. “There is a pattern to the outcome of this game. There are slots of sizes that you can fit into at the end of this, but there are only four slots. The first person back will be enlarged to half-sized, the second to quarter-sized, and the third to eighth-sized. The fourth person will remain at sixteenth-size but be allowed to return. The last two people to return, however, will be eliminated.”

Betty waited a few moments for this news to sink in. Only three of them would be growing at all, and two of them would be eliminated! The stakes were higher than anyone thought.

“I will give you five minutes to talk over strategy, say your goodbyes, whatever you need to do, then we will start.” Said Betty. “Five minutes begin now!”

For a moment no one moved; the magnitude of the task and it’s importance were just starting to sink in.

“Well,” Jerry said after a moment. “This is some game, isn’t it?”

“Yeah,” Came a general murmur of acknowlegement.

“I guess alliances don’t mean much now, do they?” Vera asked.

“No, I guess they don’t,” Jerry said.

“Not like they ever did,” Hailey said angrilly. Now that they were all the same size again she felt her confidence start to come back.

“It’s not the time or place for that.” Vera said, sternly. “We’re all on our own here. I think we’re just going to have to let the best players win.”

“Hey, can I talk to you for a second?” Carla said suddenly to Andy. Andy felt a chill run down him. He had betrayed Carla by sleeping with Marie, what was she going to say to him? Even though she was his own size—slightly shorter, even—he was still intimidated by her.

“Look,” Carla said, grabbing Andy’s arm and steering him away from the group. She glanced around to see if Marie was watching, but the giantess was talking to Betty. “I don’t want to know why you slept with Marie last night, but,”

“It was an acccident!” Said Andy automatically. He wasn’t surprised that she knew; he had suspected it for a while by her behavior.

“It was?” Carla asked in spite of herself.

“Yeah, I got the bedrooms mixed up.” Andy said, hanging his head a little. This made Carla feel a bit better; Andy had still wanted to come to her.

“Whatever, I just wanted to say that I’m sorry for pushing things too far.” Carla said. “I let things get out of hand, and when it went out of my control I reacted jealously.”

“You don’t need to appologize,” Andy said. “I was unloyal…”

“Andy…” Carla said, mixed up on what to say. After a moment’s hesistation, she just shook her head.

“Carla, Marie might be Queen.” Andy said. “But you’re still my Queen.”

Carla looked at Andy. Were there tears forming in her eyes?

“You really enjoyed all that?” Carla asked.

“Enjoyed it, it was like a dream come true!” Andy said.

“Well I’ll be damned,” Carla said, smiling. “You really are a nut.”

“So are we still together after this thing?” Andy asked.

“Hell yeah!” Carla said, beaming. “Just remember, don’t finish until after I’ve finished, okay?”

Carla winked and kissed Andy on the cheek before going to join the rest of the group.

“Well, I might give you help if I run across you, Vera, but no one else.” Hailey said. The rest of the group had gotten into an argument.

“We’re all the same size now, it doesn’t matter,” Dale said.

“Screw you, Dale. You too, Jerry!” Hailey said. “I hope it’s you two that are eliminated and Betty never lets you see the light of day again!”

“Hey, calm down.” Vera said. “All of us have an equal chance here.”

“So much for talking strategy,” Jerry said. All the others seemed to do was bicker.

“There’s not much strategy to be discussed, it sounds straight forward,” Said Dale.

“Here’s some strategy for you,” Hailey said, looking at Dale angrilly. “When I’m around you better guard your ribbons carefully, cause I’ll…”

“Okay, your five minutes are up,” Boomed Betty’s voice from above. The contestants looked up at her, awaiting the next instructions.

“It has been randomly decided who shall enter through which tube.” Betty said. “When I say go you may start the race. Sherri, Marie, and I will be watching the race at all times. Anything is fair game short of intentional bodily harm. Keep in mind that the flags may be hidden anywhere in the game, so look carefully through anything you might find. And beware each other!”

“You will enter the tubes as follows.” Betty said. “Dale, in tube one. Jerry, tube two. Vera, tube three. Andy, tube four. Carla, tube five. Hailey, tube six. Get into your places.”

The six tiny people stood behind the openings to their respective toobs, Dale on the far left and Hailey on the far right. Dale wondered briefly whether each path had an equal chance of leading to ribbons and the exit.

“On your marks, get set, go!” Shouted Betty. Instantly six people jumped into six different tubes.

The tubes were pitch black; there was no way for any of them to tell where they were going. The tubes were too small to stand up in, they had to make their way along the passageways on their hands and knees. It was not a straight shot. The tubes went left and right, climbed and down slopes, and in some cases even seemed to turn back in on themselves.

Jerry wondered if the tube was ever going to end when suddenly his tube straight down. Unprepaired for this sudden shift, Jerry toppled headfirst into the opening and found himself landing on a soft surface. He was out of the tube and he could see again—he had landed in a large pile of marshmellows! The marshmellows were miniature; about the size of his head; and they worked like a bunch of pillows breaking his fall.

He felt the marshmellows clinging to him as he pulled himself up. His clothes were now covered in the sticky sugary substance of the mashmellows. He realised there might be a ribbon hidden in the marshmellows, so he dug through them, pushing them aside as he looked under the sticky chunks. He could find no ribbons so he decided to move on. Seeing a single way to proceed between two walls of partitions, Jerry started jogging to continue his quest to collect the ribbons.

Vera’s tube kept going up and up and up! It was an exausing climb; she wondered how high she was going. She was well above the maze now—she must be in one of those larger structures that she saw. Finally, around a bend there was light. She climbed out of the tube and found she was on a platform with high walls all around her. It was a large platform that seemed to be bare except for a large white object, as long as she was tall and about half as wide as it was long.

As Vera stepped along, she realised that the platform was covered in a layer of water up to her ankles. She took off her soiled shoes, knowing they would most likely be returned to her later, and proceeded. She came up to the white object and realised what it was—a bar of soap! What was that here for?

Then Vera realised. Ahead of her was a curved, sloping track that headed forward towards the center of the maze. She’s got to be kidding me Vera thought. They actually expected her to ride the bar of soap! She considered just walking, but she didn’t know how long the path was and she needed to move as quickly as possible.

Starting with a run, Vera lept onto the bar of soap. Her momentum pushed the bar of soap forward just enough to enter the start of the track. The soap almost slowed to a stop, then the wet soap started to accelerate. Vera looked for something to hold onto but there was nothing. The bar went around a curve to the right, then a curve to the left, all the while increasing in speed at an alarming rate.

The soap was shooting ahead, and Vera could see a hard curve to the left coming. Vera cried out as the soap shot around the curve, wipping Vera around. She managed to stay on the soap by holding onto the edge. The turn went three hundered and sixty degrees in a circle and then into a little dip. Vera screamed as the soap went down the dip and was finally brought down to ground level. The soap decelerated quickly on the dry floor, and Vera quickly rolled off. As Vera came to a stop the bar of soap continued to slide forward, bouncing off one of the partitions and spinning to a stop.

A little winded and sticky with soap, Vera stood up. She must be somewhere near the center of the maze; she couldn’t make out the conference center walls. She was in a long straight passageway that had several openings on each side. She chose the nearest one to the left and ran through it.

Dale’s tube was not that long and only had a short incline near the end. Like Jerry’s, it ended in a shop drop downward. Dale fell and landed in some sort of hammock. He looked around him; the hammock was several times larger than him, and there were two large openings on either side of him. In an instant he realised where he had fallen—into a giant pair of panties!

Disgusted and hoping that they were unused, Dale crawled out of the right leg opening and tried to make out where he was. He was on ground level, surrounded by partitions with an opening ahead of him. Not wanting to waste any time, Dale moved ahead. The passageway made several sharp turns which Dale scooted through without too much trouble.

Turning a corner, Dale found himself up against an obstruction. Colored pencils had been suspended between the two sides of the partition an inch apart each like thick horisontal bars. There were eight of them and they were too close together for Dale to slide through; he would have to climb them. He tugged on one and found it to be quite sturdy. He climbed up the colored pencils until he could see over the top of the partitions. He could not see very far because a larger structure was on his immediate right. A few inches ahead were another set of colored pencils blocking the enterence to the other part of path, but between the two sets there was another path.

Dale had a choice to make: which way would he go? He had a strong feeling that the best course of action would be to climb over the secondary path and stay in the main direction that he was going. He carefully spanned the gap between the two sets of colored pencils and hoisted himself over the far wall. He was in luck; as he climbed down he saw a little yellow ribbon pinned to a partition nearby. He walked up and removed the pin, taking the ribbon.

Excellent, thought Dale, I’ve already got one. Now feeling a renewed force of energy, Dale ran forward to see what else he could find.

Andy’s tube seemed to go upwards in a spiral. He felt like a gerbil in this tube, except gerbils could move a lot faster. The tube was not as long as some of the others; he saw the termination of the tunnel in what appeared to be a small box with an open lid. The floor of the box was lined with a thin paper. He realised what it was: he had just come out into a tisue box! The tissue box seemed to be held in the air by no support other than the tube itself; he was about a foot off the ground.

For a second Andy didn’t know how he was going to get down and thought he might have to ask for help, but he saw a shoe string that had been attached to the end of the box. He could simply climb down into the passageway below. Before he went down, though, he decided to get a scope of the situation where he was. He could see a fairly good segment of the maze from where he was. To his left, he could see Dale climbing what appeared to be a ladder made of colored pencils. He could not see any of his other competitors, though, and it did seem like his best option was to take the path directly below him.

Suddenly Andy was struck with a thought: maybe there was a flag hidden in this tissue box! Betty had said that the flags could be anywhere in the game, why not here? Andy dug through the tissue, throwing it out of the box as he went. He spotted a tiny bulge about half way down and felt for it: it was a flag!

Happy that he was off to such a strong start, Andy tucked the flag into his pants and began his descent down the shoestring. Once he was down in the passageway he started to make his way forward. The passageway stayed mostly straight with slight curves leading him deeper into the maze. He then reached a fork and he could make either a ninety degree turn to the left or the right. He decided to take the right fork, which seemed just as unremarkable as it lead him even deeper into the maze.

Carla’s tube was perhaps the shortest of them all. She had only made a few short turns when she found herself tumbelling out of the tube and into a sturdy white hammock. Carla looked around her and found she way laying in a cup of a bra. Rolling her eyes at what she saw as a lame joke, Carla climbed out of the cup and tried to figure out how to make her best way forward.

There were three different options for Carla. She could go ahead, left, or right. The left and right paths seemed to skirt the outside of the courses going under the tubes. The intuitive choice would be to go straight, which seemed to be a course heading straight into the maze, or at least right, which went towards a hidden corner. But Carla went left, the most hidden and darkest path of all.

Carla walked under the tubes, wondering which of her fellow contestants were crawling around in them above her. The path took a sharp right turn, heading into an enclosed area that reminded Carla of those crooked houses you see at fairs and amusement parks. After a few more sharp corners the blackness was almost complete; she had to feel her way around the walls.

Carla’s hand felt something small and stringy. A ribbon? But when Carla pulled it a pannel came undone, exposing a very long crawlspace lit by what appeared to be strung Christmas lights. It must have been a few feet long; to Carla it seemed like miles. She couldn’t even see the end and part of her wanted to turn around. Carla made herself get down on her hands and knees and crawl through it, figuring there must be some kind of reward after a tunnel this long.

Hailey’s tunnel seemed to go a long way in a single direction. She had made a right turn away from the enterance; apparently the tunnel was taking her towards the right side of the maze. After crawling for what seemed like ages, the tunnel curved back to the left and suddenly dropped off. Hailey found herself tumbelling onto a soft plastic surface: bubble wrap! She had landed on a pad of bubble wrap with bubbles larger than her fist.

I probably couldn’t even pop one thought Hailey dryly, as she got up to assess her situation. The path she was on only had one direction and that was straight ahead. She ran forward, not wanting to be left behind in the game. The path made a left turn and she found herself in a larger corridor with many openings.

Hailey took the first left and found that it was a dead-end. The only thing in this corridor was a small plastic ball that came up to Hailey’s chest. Hailey wondered for a moment if she should bring the ball with her; it could have some use after all. But she decided against it: there didn’t seem to be much of a point and it was awfuly heavy.

Leaving the ball behind Hailey ran into the passegway on the other side of the main corridor. In here there was absolutely nothing, not even a ball. Frusturated, Hailey ran out and took the second path on the left. This path at least seemed to lead somewhere. Hailey rushed down it as it curved even futher to the left. The path ahead led up to a fork, but Hailey noticed a ladder hanging down in the middle of the path. Looking up, she saw that the ladder led up to a large hollow plastic sphere with two holes in it: one on the bottom and one on the side leading to a transparent tunnel. The entire aparatus was supported by strings that themselves were attached to thick ropes that spanned the conference room.

Hailey could not tell where the transparent tube led, but she figured it would be a good bet that a ribbon was at the end. She climbed up the ladder, which swayed with her miniscule weight as she made her way up. She entered the transparent ball and looked down the long plastic tube. Sure enough, there was a flag clear on the other side, as well as what looked to be a tube leading downward.

Not wasting any time, Hailey started crawling down the passageway. She hoped that no one would be entering from the other side or this whole endevour would be proven worthless. She could see through plastic tube although the image was distorted. There was someone running beneith her but she was unable to tell who it was. Unpreturbed, Hailey pressed on.

After what seemed like ages, Hailey finally made it to the other side. She grabbed the ribbon and secured it around her belt. She looked below her. The transparent tube below went straight down for a few inches then curved to the side. It looked like it was going to be a wild ride. Hailey climbed in the tube, closed her eyes, and let go.

Jerry had been travelling through the maze, which seemed to double back on itself at every opertunity, for several minutes. He even retraced his steps several times. This isn’t going to be easy, thought Jerry. He saw a branch on his right that looked like he had not been down before. Jerry took the turn and sure enough the passageway was leading steadily away from the area he had been stuck.

Still, there were no flags here. He passed under a transparent plastic tube in which someone appeared to be crawling. From where he was there was no way to tell who it was, but it didn’t really matter. His only mission was to find flags. The path curved to the left, then the right, then to the left again. As he walked, he swore he could start to hear a clattering sound. As he rounded the path the clattering sound got louder.

Turning a final corner, Jerry met a sight that astounded him. He had reached a large clearing near the center of the game field. Here was an O-shaped railroad track and a model train running through it. The model train was a large one and Jerry thought he could even fit inside some of its four cars. He was near the start of one of the turns, and on the other part of the track the train went into a tunnel, which it emerged from seconds later at the far turn. In the middle was a set of model railroad scenery, including a large and realistic looking wooden barn in the very middle.

Jerry knew he had to board that train. There was undowbtedly a flag there inside somewhere. He stood and watched it pass him one time, just studying it. The train was not moving very fast; he could probably grab onto it as it went by. He walked up to the track. Steadying himself, he watched and waited as the train came up to him. As soon as the engine passed he grabbed onto a bar on the side.

Now Jerry was on the train. He held on for dear life as the train wipped around the corner, his feet sticking out as it made the sharp turn. Jerry knew he had mere seconds between curves and he had to move as fast as he could. He managed to spot an enterence to the car behind him just before he was plunged into darkness.

Inching his way along the car, Jerry made sure he had a good grip as he rounded the next corner. Now that he was in the light and in the straightaway, he climbed into the railroad car. The inside of the car was very cramped; he had to duck to stay inside. There were tiny plastic people molded into some of the seats. With much irony, Jerry realised he was a giant to them.

Jerry made his way between the tiny seats, careful to keep his balance as the train rounded another corner. Just before the train plunged into darkness Jerry saw it: the ribbon. It was wrapped around a plastic woman’s arm in a seat near the back of the train. Jerry scooted along to the back of the train and by the time it rounded another corner he was undoing the tie.

“Sorry ma’am, but I need to take this,” Jerry said with a smile to the little plastic woman, who remained oblivious to Jerry’s theiving of the yellow ribbon. With the ribbon in hand, Jerry thought about what he should do. Maybe he should leave the train and continue along a path? No, there was probably one more ribbon on this train.

Now in the light once again, Jerry realised that he could walk straight from this car into the next. Waiting one more turn, Jerry walked through the narrow divide that seperated the two cars. He had just entered the second car when he heard a loud thunking sound. He instantly realised what it was: someone else had just jumped on the train.

The underground crawlspace that Carla traveled terminated in the large wooden barn in the center of the railroad tracks. Carla had also heard the sounds of the tracks as she made her way through the tunnel, but couldn’t put her finger on what it was. When she climbed out of the end of her passageway and into the barn she was rewarded with a ribbon. It was sitting on top of a pile of grossly oversized hay.

Taking the ribbon and tucking it into her pants, Carla made her way out of the barn and back into the light of the windowed-conference room. She realised that she was in the center of a short model railroad. Around her were small plastic decorations; plastic people that were far shorter than her.

Carla knew there must be at least one ribbon on the train. She decided she would have to board it. She waited until it came back around the track to her and jumped onto the engine. The train sped around the corner and Carla was pressed against the engine by centrifigul force. Holding onto the engine, Carla inched her way along the train.

Carla had the misfortune of choosing the side of the train without easy entrances. The best she could do was stick her head into the window and look around. They were on a straightaway and Carla could see all the way down the three cars. There was already a person inside: Jerry. He was in the central car and clearly had a flag already. He was looking around. Carla cursed. Somehow, she had to get past him.

Putting her hand on the top of the car, Carla started to climb on top of the train. The insides were cramped and it would be slow-going for Jerry—he woudn’t be leaving the train any time soon. Maybe if Carla could catch up to him on the top of the train she could sneek up and steel his flag.

Jerry looked around nervously. There was no sign of the person who had just jumped onto the train. It was hard to see everything, obviously, but it was clear the person had not come inside the train yet. He decided to ignore them for now, making his way slowly across the second train, looking to his left and right as he went. As he reached the back of the car, he heard a sound. It was the sound of someone moving on the roof. The other person was up there.

“Haha, there it is!” Carla’s triumphant voice came from above. She must have seen a ribbon, Jerry thought. If he moved fast enough he might be able to get there before her. He shuffled fast into the third compartment, bumping himself hard on a seat as the train rounded another corner. Was it just him or was the train gaining speed?

Suddenly Jerry saw a ribbon, but it was here in the rear compartment. Three ribbons on this train? He could have them all, and all he’d have to do is find the exit. Jerry grabbed the ribbon and quickly made his way to the door of the car, putting the ribbon with the other one in his pants. After flying around another hair-rasing corner, Jerry hoisted himself up by climbing up a window and onto the top of the train, instantly reaching for something to grab onto.

Jerry found himself face to face with Carla, who was crawling towards him. “Ha! You fell for my ruse!” Carla shouted over the clattering of the train. “There was no flag up here, but I sure like the look of yours!”

Jerry felt a flush of anger at himself over being tricked. He had to get out of this train and get away as soon as he could before Carla could steel his flags. But it was too late to get away, Carla made a daring jump forward and grabbed onto Jerry’s hands. They flung around another corner and into the darkness, each trying to dislodge the other.

Suddenly, they came around the corner at the fastest speed yet. Too preoccupied over fighting each other to hold on, Jerry and Carla were thrown from the train. They flew through the air, hit the ground hard, and rolled to a stop. Jerry layed face-down on the floor moaning. He was unhurt but winded.

Jerry felt a tug on his pants. Carla had stole his ribbons! “Hey!” Yelled Jerry but it was too late. Carla was running away with his two ribbons in her hands and one more ribbon tucked into her pants. She had cheated—all she had to do now was find her way to the exit and she would be the second-largest person next to Marie, and Jerry had to start over at square one.

On the side of the track, the three women were watching the proceedings. Betty held a large remote control with several knobs and buttons in her hand. She had been controlling the speed of the train, increasing it when she saw both Carla and Jerry on the roof.

“Ooh, oh no!” Marie said as the two tiny figures came toppling off the train. An expression of worry came across her face as the two figures lied motionless on the ground.

“They’re alright, you’ll see,” Betty said. They could just make out Carla getting up, stealing Jerry’s ribbons, and running to the nearest exit. A short while later Jerry got up, defeated looking, and walked much more slowly to a separate exit.

“Can she do that?” Marie asked, concerned.

“Anything’s fair in this game short of killing each other.” Betty said. “Here, do you want to run the train for a while?”

“No!” Marie exclaimed, horrified.

Vera had been running through passageways for several minutes now, none of them seeming to go any place. Though she still had the energy to keep running, she was getting more and more frusturated as time went on. The others were probably finding flags by now, why wasn’t she?

One thing was for sure; she didn’t seem to be doing any good by just walking the paths. She looked up at one of the walls. They were eight feet high; she could scale them easily enough. With a running jump she grabbed the top of the wall to her left and hoisted herself over.

Now Vera was not in a passageway at all. Rather, she was between passageways. There were still partitions around her, but they all curved away and she knew she was definitely drawling outside the lines now. Vera decided to head in the direction of the light post, which she knew to be in the center of the maze. When she got near it, she jumped up and hoisted herself over the wall of another partition.

Vera found herself on a path that came right up to the base of the lightpost. She looked up at it as she approached. It was like a tall building to her, looming over the entire gaming field. She looked down the stalk of the lightpost to the bass. There was a ribbon there, right in front of her. Vera grabbed it, satisfied with her first gain.

It would probably surprise Vera to know that far up above her in the light post was not a street light, but something entirely different. What would have been the light fixture was actually a miniture high-tech survalience room, and two little men were certianly surveying the scene.

“This is a hell of a view,” Said Tom. From the windows he could see just about every part of the maze and track the progress of the individual players. Even better, the room had access to each of the dozens of cameras that were hidden inside the maze. Tom was flicking threw the views, watching as Dale found his second ribbon, hidden in the fingers of a female’s left hand glove that way lying in a dead-end passageway.

“Come on, Vera, you can win this thing,” Paul said, looking down at Vera, who was now trying to cross a rotating cylindrical bridge and having considerable difficulty, considering that the rate of rotation was variable and in fact being controlled by Betty just to make life difficult.

“You know, I thought they were going to stick us in the barn or something.” Tom said. “This is pretty sweet. I’ll have to thank Betty later.”

Paul looked at his companion in the cramped servalience tower. “You almost seem happy about all this,” Paul said.

“Hey, it’s what you make of it.” Tom said. “We just happen to live in a world that is controlled by a domineering giantess, I just choose to make the best of it.”

“I can’t do it,” Paul said, as he watched the tiny speck that was Vera far below.

“It takes time, trust me,” Tom said. “Eventually the carnal pleasures will trump your military training.”

“I don’t think so,” Paul said.

“You wait and see,” Tom said. “Hey, you know whoever’s going to be eliminated here will probably join us later. Who do you want to see.”

“No one,” Paul said. “Those I like I want to see remain, and those I don’t like I don’t want to be around back here.”

“Well you’re boring.” Tom said. “That Carla’s a fox, but she’s winning right now.”

“I wouldn’t touch her with a ten foot pole,” Said Paul, who had heard Tom’s story about his experiances with Paul’s worst enemy.

“You’d like to see Vera again, wouldn’t you?” Tom asked.

“Not back here.” Paul said. “I wouldn’t want her subjected to the same sexual things that I had to endure.”

“It will be fun,” Tom said. “Betty would insert both of you in her together. Your penis would be in Vera, and your whole body would be in Betty!”

“Please, just shut up for a while.” Paul said. Tom, the less muscular of the two men, complied.