The Labyrinth was a huge hit. The idea had been popular from the start. It became even more popular once people got a chance to see it on their TVs. The promotions helped too.
Rex surprised people by forbidding any maps to be made. The public expected that they would be able to buy some to help them through. The idea that visitors would really and truly be going in there blind only increased the excitement.
There were measures taken to help anyone who was trapped and couldn’t get out. Emergency buttons would be placed at regular intervals. Anyone could use these if they were lost. The route to the nearest exit would be lit up. All that they needed to do was follow the path and they’d get out.
Lines were long to get in. Every morning there would be a crowd waiting for entry. Evenings became difficult, as it was harder and harder to get people back out before it got dark. The buttons helped but they soon found a problem that they hadn’t even thought about.
Some people actually wanted to stay in overnight. They’d bring camping gear in with their backpacks and picnic baskets. Small tents were pitched in out of the way corners. The sheer size of the place made it hard to police. If they wanted to overnight, Rex couldn’t easily stop them.
Sometimes you just have to roll with the punches. It was announced that overnight camping would be allowed Tuesday through Friday. The other nights, everyone must be out by an hour past sunset.
Every Sunday night, they’d fly a helicopter overhead with an infrared sensor. If they found people still in there, they would send in security to oust them. They’d be charged with trespassing and fined. Word soon got around that would be campers should play by the rules. It was easier (and cheaper) than trying to cheat.
Rex let two weeks go by before he made any changes to the walls. The adjustments were small, only effecting one major pathway. A handful of repeat visitors were confused but no one said anything. After that they made regular changes early on Monday mornings.
There had been a few people that had made their own maps. When they came back, they might find that the path they’d taken was no longer available. Eventually, word got back to a local news station and they decided to try and find out what was going on.
Rex quickly agreed to their interview. He gave them facts and statistics about his Great Labyrinth. Told them that he couldn’t be happier with it’s opening. When they asked about changing walls, he quickly shut them down. He wouldn’t answer any questions about the design of the Labyrinth. Anything that might be real information, was given a curt “No comment”.
News quickly spread online. Rex had hoped this would happen. He had a few agents ready to go on chat sites and both stir up the mystery and give wrong information. Rex developed a habit of reading these sites late at night. He sometimes stayed in his office and simply laughed at the posters.
The trick was to stay mysterious. As soon as the public felt that it was a tame Wonder, interest would die off. Subtle, yet continuous changes would stop that. At least that’s what Rex told himself. His marketing people didn’t know what to think but he was the one signing the checks. It was also hard to argue against success. The number of visitors was higher than they’d dreamed of.
The thing has been terribly expensive to build. He’d make the money back eventually but it wouldn’t be quick. Not unless he won the contest. That would take care of everything. That was the goal that Rex kept in mind.