Multiple Schroedinger's Cats ??

Hi,

I didn't see this topic so I thought I'd post a question.

My level 30 elven chaotic Mage is returning up the dungeon levels after
having obtained The Amulet of Yendor (never had a better use for
cockatrice eggs than throwing them at Rodney, heh, heh...) and I
realized I hadn't visited Fort Ludios.

So I found the level with the portal and killed everyone in the Fort
and have its gold and jewels. Suddenly, a quantum mechanic appears,
and I have no problem killing it. A box remains.

I open the box and am not surprised to see a dead Schroedinger's cat.
I used my want of Undead Turning and promptly revived and fed my nice
new pet.

On my way out of the Fort, I encountered another quantum mechanic.
Again I killed him, and was intrigued that he left behind a box. Never
saw this before, 2 boxes on the same level.

To my surprise, another dead Schroedinger's Cat was in the box, but I
didn't think to pull out some food into my main inventory before my pet
Schroedinger's Cat promptly tore him to pieces in a wicked catfight
after I revived him. He was immediately eaten by my pet Schroedinger's
Cat, so I guess my pet has gone cannibal - I wonder if his god will
penalize him?

Question: Is this a documented feature of the game? Or, did the
second quantum mechanic beat the odds by generating a box, which had an
X percent chance of having a Schroedinger's Cat in the box?

Does anyone know if this code is correct, that once Schroedinger's Cat
is in the game it is still possible for other Cats to be generated in a
quantum mechanic's box? Let's not debate whether the Cat inside the
box should be dead or alive when you open it, I think that topic has
been explored.

Thanks,

Dave

p.s. I also saw a reference to Nethack: The Next Generation. Is this
a followup to the original game? I haven't updated my version since
3.4.3 came out in December 2003.

.

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