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I offer breathing without breath
and dancing up and down, round and round
in (mostly) perfect time
and, I promise,
I'll never miss a step.

Though diving, flying or driving
it's all upon my stairs
from Kitty Hawk to Clermont
moving from wherever, to wherever
with whoever, doing whatever
but if you want the truth
nothing here has been anywhere
(except perhaps, round the bend)

There's no two ways about it
my brother's never told a lie.
But I'll deceive you any way I can,
and if you stumble upon these steps
you won't find me
I never stop, I never rest
and though it may appear that I have left
nothing on these steps
has ever felt the need to die.

What am I?

First Hint

Here's half a way to solve
a clue, in fact, it's key
and a door is like a lens
altogether but unseen;
however long your eyes persist
I can certainly tell you this,
you'll never walk through
my locked doors
(after all, what is a door
when a door does not exist) 

Second Hint

To and from, and Inbetweens
cascade across my steps
and though there are no doors
no walls, no metal bars
there are cels to always
keep things kempt

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    $\begingroup$ Is it DNA? A double helix? $\endgroup$
    – Ian MacDonald
    Commented Jun 16, 2015 at 4:22
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    $\begingroup$ I have a thought that its the moon [with the hints of movement/orbit], with an off reference to "One small step for man one giant leap for mankind"... However I am struggling to fill the gaps. (Maybe about the moon landing/conspiracy?) $\endgroup$
    – Mark N
    Commented Jun 16, 2015 at 12:57
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    $\begingroup$ I like your ideas guys! Unfortunately it's not what I had in mind, so I'll post a hint later today! $\endgroup$
    – zfrisch
    Commented Jun 16, 2015 at 15:31
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    $\begingroup$ I'm wondering if there is something involving lines of latitude, as KittyHawk and Claremont are only a few degrees apart vertically. Interestingly, the route between the two cities is very straightforward. $\endgroup$
    – tfitzger
    Commented Jun 16, 2015 at 16:12
  • $\begingroup$ @tfitzger I changed that line to make it easier - I feel like it may have been too broad a clue before! :) $\endgroup$
    – zfrisch
    Commented Jun 16, 2015 at 18:42

5 Answers 5

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I have some more pieces to fill in, but are you

Hand Drawn Animation

I offer breathing without breath

It's possible to animate a character breathing without actually breathing

and dancing up and down, round and round in (mostly) perfect time and, I promise, I'll never miss a step.

Animated dancers will always hit their cues

Though diving, flying or driving it's all upon my stairs

In this form of animation, all movement is done by moving cels in 'steps'

from Kitty Hawk to Clermont moving from wherever, to wherever with whoever, doing whatever

It's possible for animated characters to do pretty much anything

but if you want the truth nothing here has been anywhere (except perhaps, round the bend)

While animation can represent any place, it physically doesn't really move

There's no two ways about it my brother's never told a lie.

This could be in reference to other forms of media. Cameras show us the real world (even though we can mock things up)

But I'll deceive you any way I can,

but animation can defy all reality

and if you stumble upon these steps you won't find me

if you mess up the steps of cels, you are likely to mess up the entire animation

I never stop, I never rest and though it may appear that I have left nothing on these steps has ever felt the need to die.

Hand drawn animation has fallen out of vogue recently because of the advent of CG. However, the images on the cels, now forever recorded to film and later digital media, will never truly disappear from the world.

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I think it is

Pi or 22/7 (the division symbol indicating the step)

but i am not sure, and only these lines make sense

and dancing up and down, round and round in (mostly) perfect time and, I promise, I'll never miss a step.

Different numbers in Pi

Though diving, flying or driving it's all upon my stairs

pi contains sequences which can describe any thing

I never stop, I never rest,

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    $\begingroup$ Interesting thought, but not what I had in mind! I'll post a new hint later today! $\endgroup$
    – zfrisch
    Commented Jun 16, 2015 at 15:28
  • $\begingroup$ @valuable-asset new hint is up! $\endgroup$
    – zfrisch
    Commented Jun 16, 2015 at 18:17
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Are you

a dream? like an invisible staircase, a dream carries us, invisibly, to a different place

nothing here has been anywhere

we may dream of many places, but we are not actually there

breathing without breath

a dream is not real, but seems like real life while we experience it

diving, flying or driving -- moving from wherever, to wherever with whoever, doing whatever

movement in a dream is completely unrestrained; we can go anywhere by any means

my brother's never told a lie

sleep and death are often depicted as brothers; while dreams can seem like real life, death is unambiguous

I'll deceive you any way I can

dreams can be confusing and enigmatic; people and things in dreams morph and change places

nothing on these steps has ever felt the need to die.

we often dream of our own death, which (happily) has not actually happened

altogether but unseen however long your eyes persist

we "see" many things, vividly, in dreams, but we are not actually seeing through our eyes

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  • $\begingroup$ You are by far the closest - buuuut not quite! Your logic is going mostly the right way and it looks like you picked up on a lot of the clues that others had missed, you just took it to a different, not-as-complete conclusion. $\endgroup$
    – zfrisch
    Commented Jun 16, 2015 at 21:20
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Is it

The heart

in (mostly) perfect time and, I promise, I'll never miss a step.

I never stop, I never rest

Referencing the heart always beating in time (mostly)

But I'll deceive you any way I can,

reference to the bible verse saying the heart is deceitful above all things

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Is it

time

nothing here has been anywhere

cant have the same moment of time twice

we may dream of many places, but we are not actually there

we can think of the future

diving, flying or driving -- moving from wherever, to wherever with whoever, doing whatever

time flies

nothing here has been anywhere (except perhaps, round the bend)

anything outside a (round) clock?

my brother's never told a lie

time and place?

I'll deceive you any way I can

times will change i guess

nothing on these steps has ever felt the need to die.

cant understand this one

altogether but unseen however long your eyes persist

cant see time

you ll never walk through my locked doors again

cant go back in time

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  • $\begingroup$ It's a good guess, though no, it's not Time! I did put in another hint if you're interested in taking another crack at it! $\endgroup$
    – zfrisch
    Commented Jun 17, 2015 at 19:39

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