IN a large black box, a large number of men woke up all at the same time uncertain first of who they were, and then of where they were. And it only took but a moment of time for them to begin asking how they had arrived where they were.
“I am beginning to remember something,” one man said excitedly, “I was dragged here by many guards.” And when he said this, they all noticed that they were all wearing a sort of uniformed clothing. Each man in the room had on only black attire.
“I remember only being dragged here by one guard,” another man insisted. “Me too,” said another. “What was he wearing?” “A blue uniform.” “The man I was dragged by was wearing a red uniform.” Then said another man, “I too was dragged here by only one guard, but he was wearing a green uniform.” After a discussion between these three men of the guard’s facial qualities, they realized they had each seen the same guard but wearing three different uniforms.
“I was not brought here by anyone,” said another man. “Then how did you come to arrive here,” replied one of the men. “I do not know,” he answered. In his confusion, another man stood up and said the same thing, “I too was not brought here by anyone.” Suddenly a few of the men in the room began to wonder if they were brought to this black room by a guard or not.
“It seems possible that we may have or may not have been brought here by a guard, a number of guards, or no guard at all,” deduced one man. Then without warning, one man suggested, “Perhaps the guards who brought us all here are in this very room.” Now everyone became suspicious.
“That does not make any sense!,” said one man, “All you will do is bring fear into this room.” “Then who were you brought by?,” asked one man. “It does not matter who I was or was not brought by, all that matters is that we escape,” he answered.
“I had a strange thought,” said one man, “what if it was the black room itself who brought us all here?” “How?” “I do not know, but so far we have not even come close to an answer!”
“What if we are all the guards?” Everyone in the room laughed at the notion, asking if they were as such, why would they be trapped in the room. Then, very subtly, each man began to look through their attire for keys.
“He just gave me an idea,” said one man, “what if we are all the guards, but have made ourselves to be prisoners for an exercise in prison procedurals?” “Do you mean we are prisoners and we are tasked with breaking free to better understand the prisoner’s mind?” “Perhaps…”
“What is this? We are all theorizing on the absurd, and it seems whoever brought us here is much too mysterious for us to know for sure.” “It just occurred to me,” said now another man quickly, “I was not brought here by anyone, but I do remember dreaming of a place like this prior to now. What if we are not in our actual realities, but dreaming? Isn’t this all so strange?” Everyone began to wonder.
“I was definitely brought here by one guard, but I recall him telling me that there were guards more powerful than him,” said a man. Now remembering, another man began to speak, “I too was definitely brought here by one guard, but it was not a man, it was a woman.” They further began to think until one man began speaking, “I seem to recall being brought here by many guards, of whom were both men and women.”
“I was brought by no one, but I agree with the man from before, we must stop speaking and begin searching for the true reason as to why we are here,” said one man.
Now stood a man who had not spoken, but perhaps had the most important thing to say, “I do not recall whatsoever the events that have led me here, but it is clear that among us there are a multitude of varying accounts. I believe the best course of action is to collect each account and discourse amongst ourselves, investigating thoroughly each account and adding it to the pool of knowledge in order to find common truths.”
And with that, each man told of his account in detail, and in the pool of knowledge, a super-account was being formed.
This text is a powerful philosophical allegory, structured as a “locked room” mystery. However, the mystery is not “who done it” but “what is real?” The piece explores themes of epistemology (the study of knowledge), existentialism, and the conflict between subjective experience and objective truth.
The Central Conflict: Epistemology and the Nature of Truth
The story’s engine is the immediate and total disagreement among the men about the single most fundamental fact of their existence: how they arrived. The “large black box” serves as a vacuum, a blank slate, or an allegorical representation of reality itself—a place they find themselves in without a clear instruction manual.
Their attempts to understand their origin represent different ways humanity has tried to find “truth”:
- Personal Revelation (Conflicting Accounts):
- “many guards” vs. “one guard” vs. “no guard.”
- This is the core problem: everyone’s individual memory—their primary source of data—is contradictory.
- This immediately breaks down the idea of a single, easily accessible truth.
- Subjective Perception (The Guards’ Uniforms):
- One of the most telling details is the “same guard but wearing three different uniforms” (blue, red, green).
- This is a classic parable, similar to the “blind men and the elephant.” It suggests that there may be a single, objective truth (one guard), but each individual perceives it through a different subjective lens (the colors). The truth is “refracted” by the observer.
- Paranoia and Internalization (The Guards Are Us):
- The theories that “the guards who brought us all here are in this very room” or “what if we are all the guards?” represent the mind turning inward when external answers fail.
- This explores concepts of agency, self-imprisonment, and guilt. Are they victims, or are they the perpetrators of their own confinement? The “exercise in prison procedurals” theory is a rationalization of this, turning their imprisonment into a test to regain a sense of control.
- Metaphysical & Solipsistic Theories:
- “what if it was the black room itself who brought us all here?” This suggests determinism—that the system or environment is the true agent, not a person.
- “What if we are… dreaming?” This is the ultimate skeptical argument, questioning the very nature of their reality.
Key Themes and Symbols
- The Black Box: A symbol of the unknown, the subconscious, or a constrained reality (like Plato’s Cave). It is featureless, forcing the men to rely only on their internal state.
- The Black Uniforms: This represents a loss of individuality. They are all “in the same boat,” stripped of external identity, yet they remain intellectually and experientially separate.
- The “Guards”: An allegory for a “First Cause” or a higher power. They are the “creators” of the men’s situation. The inability to agree on their nature (one vs. many, male vs. female, red vs. blue vs. green) mirrors humanity’s fragmented and conflicting views on God, fate, or the origin of the universe.
- Existentialism: The men are “thrown” into a situation they did not choose. Their first questions are “who they were,” “where they were,” and “how they had arrived.” This is the classic existential progression: a crisis of identity, followed by a crisis of place, followed by a search for meaning and cause.
The Resolution: A Methodology, Not an Answer
The story’s climax is not the discovery of the true answer. The story wisely avoids providing one. Instead, the climax is the proposal of a methodology.
The man who speaks last, the one who “had not spoken,” represents reason, philosophy, or the scientific method. He observes the chaos of conflicting individual accounts (“a multitude of varying accounts”) and provides a solution:
“I believe the best course of action is to collect each account and discourse amongst ourselves, investigating thoroughly each account and adding it to the pool of knowledge in order to find common truths.”
This is the story’s thesis. It argues that truth—or the closest humanity can get to it—is not found in isolated, individual revelation. It is a collective, laborious process.
The “super-account” being formed at the end is this synthesized truth. It is the sum of all their subjective experiences, interrogated for “common truths.” The story champions discourse, collaboration, and critical investigation as the only path forward when faced with an absurd and unknowable reality.