I was up late one night, thinking about the mystery of the flagpole in the original Super Mario Bros. The topic had vexed me even as a child, as I tried again and again to pass the unsurmountable object. I had heard others who had succeeded, like mad fishermen speaking of monsters of the deep. Then I started to think about the excuse for a game Mario is Missing, and in my sleep-deprived state, the two subjects seemed to corelate. I still like to think this is what actually happened.