Oblivion: a prize riddle

Deep within my vaults you’ll find

Coin of finest metal mined

Yet why, dear reader, have a mind,

Am I, as title, named and signed?

To solve this riddle, you must look

In chapters one to three of book

Then you will find outlined therein

Solution to the riddle: win!

$25 to be won!

Read the story so far

Out of Oblivion

Oblivion: two

Oblivion: three

Oblivion revisited

Any comments, criticism, helpful feedback or other useful thoughts, gratefully received. Please don't hesitate to share your views in any way, shape or form. Thanks and best wishes from a fellow author.

As I say, any comments, critique or other views, will always be received with gratitude. I am not precious about my writing and so, if you think it is crap, please do say so and accept my thanks for your honesty.

Be the first to solve the riddle, and win a $10 prize!

Please also give reasons/explanations. You have but two weeks to do so, after which, if anyone has correctly solved the riddle and provided an accurate answer (I'll be the sole judge of accuracy), and they are the first (chronologically) to do so, they will win the $10 prize as a tip. If you are not a Stripe-verified, Vocal+ registered user, your prize will be forfeit and will go to the next person with the correct answer. Anyone else solving the riddle correctly, by the deadline, will win a $5 tip, (2nd and 3rd place) with an additional $5 for the best, most original or funniest incorrect answer.

To enter, just give your solution to the riddle, below, in comments, with explanation. To qualify for entering, you have to be a Stripe-verified Vocal+ registered user. Anyone else may enter but will not qualify for a prize tip. I reserve the right to award the top prize to the first person who correctly answers the riddle, or who comes sufficiently close in my estimation. Likewise, the runner up prizes. I may extend the deadline if there is not an overall winner, to give others the chance to enter, or for any other reason. I will not do this more than twice, probably not at all. Just a caveat for my benefit. I'm sure you will understand.

If you have read any of the chapters, one to three, of Out of Oblivion and have any comments, suggestions or criticisms, please voice them, and anything provided will be gratefully received.

Deadline for qualification for the $10, or any of the $5 prizes, is Friday 31 July, 2026 @ 23:59 EST... work it out for your own time zone. You do know how to use Google? Deadline is subject to change, at the whim of the sponsor (me)... eat my shorts if you don't like it! Winner and answer won't be announced until after the deadline. So if you think the answer isn't as obvious as others think, do please continue to enter.

First correct entry wins $10, 2nd, 3rd entries win $5 each, one final $5 to the person with the best, funniest, rudest, or otherwise most original incorrect answer.

If there are not many entries I will start to add clues so please...

Watch this space

Some clues to help

If you would like to try again please do. Only one entry per person but you can guess again and your latest attempt only will count.

What’s in a name? Some great answers and some interesting and helpful thoughts for me to continue the story, thanks. But so far all are answering the wrong question. Look again at the first two lines and think again about who (or what) is asking the question. Lines 3 asks the question why, not what.

More clues to assist

1. The question is being asked, not by a person, but by an institution.

2. The second line of the riddle should make it clear what kind of an institution.

3. Lines three and four give the question that the institution is asking.

Thanks for reading and many, many thanks if you choose to enter.