Game version 1.0 scripting started at 4:18 PM on October 3, 1999. Copyright (c) 1999 N.K. Guy. What would you like to do now? >i You're wearing a white T-shirt, a heavy sweater, a red ski jacket, a pair of blue jeans, a pair of winter boots, metal-framed spectacles, a digital watch, ski gloves and a woolly toque, but you're not carrying anything. Inside your car 7:40 PM What would you like to do now? >x jacket A bright red and reasonably fashionable insulated nylon ski jacket. It's unzipped. Inside your car 7:41 PM What would you like to do now? >x jeans A pair of blue denim button-fly jeans. Inside your car 7:42 PM >search jeans (examining the pockets...) They contain house keys and a wallet. Inside your car 7:43 PM >x wallet (taking the wallet out of your jeans pockets first) A black nylon wallet with coin purse. The trim has a West Coast aboriginal motif in red and grey . It appears to be closed. Inside your car 7:44 PM >open it You open the wallet, revealing a driver's licence, a loonie, a ten dollar bill and a quarter. Inside your car 7:45 PM >x licence Your British Columbia driver's licence. Shame about the rather blurry photo. Inside your car 7:46 PM >x bill A ten dollar bill, with its picture of Sir John A. McDonald. Inside your car 7:47 PM >x loonie A one-dollar coin - large, flat, 11-sided and made of a yellowish alloy - complete with its traditional picture of a loon on the tail side. Inside your car 7:48 PM >x watch A chunky digital watch, made of metal and plastic. It's showing the current time, which is 7:49 PM. Inside your car 7:49 PM >x toque A brand new black toque. Inside your car 7:50 PM >zip jacket You zip up the ski jacket. Inside your car 7:51 PM >out (taking off your seatbelt first) (unlocking the door, which can be unlocked from this side without a key) (opening the door, cold winter air rushing in as you do so) Outside your Car You stand in deep snow next to your ignominiously stationary car. It's something like standing in a deep white trough or perhaps a giant bobsleigh run - the walls of snow left by the ploughs are over two metres tall. High above you, the dark shadows of the tall conifers that line the highway. The snow-covered road runs back towards the small town of Grand Forks, a good hour's drive away under these conditions, and on towards Castlegar. Outside your Car 7:52 PM >turn on hazard lights I don't know the word 'hazard.' >close door You close the car door. Outside your Car 7:53 PM >x car Your car, an ageing 1983 Renault Alliance, stuck by the side of the road. It leans partway into the ditch at a rather alarming angle. Not, perhaps, the most powerful or sexy machine on the road, but hey - the entire thing cost a third of just the down payment on even a cheap new car. Admittedly, parts are hard to find given that Renault abandoned the North American market over a decade ago after a spectacularly unsuccessful attempt to make it here, but that's part of the fun, isn't it? In retrospect it was kind of unwise coming out on these roads in such a small vehicle, but the BC road and weather reports promised clear skies with well-ploughed roads - this blizzard literally came up out of the blue. Outside your Car 7:54 PM >open boot Pardon me, but your request is a bit ambiguous. To which boot are you referring? The winter boots or the trunk? >trunk It's locked. Outside your Car 7:55 PM >unlock it With what would you like to unlock that? >keys The house keys doesn't fit the lock. Outside your Car 7:56 PM >dang Aw, shucks. Too darn bad, huh? >laugh Heh heh heh. Outside your Car 7:57 PM >open door You open the car door. Outside your Car 7:58 PM >in (closing the door against the cold) Inside your car You're sitting behind the wheel of your car. It's leaning to the side at a rather unfortunate angle, and it's getting increasingly cold in here now that the engine and heater aren't running. Sitting on the seat are a steering column lever and a cell phone. Inside your car 7:59 PM >x phone It's a fairly ordinary analogue-mode cellular telephone. The antenna is retracted. It's powered on and the little LCD screen reads 'NO SERVICE'. Looks like you're too far from the nearest cell repeater. Inside your car 8:00 PM >get it You pick up the cell phone. Inside your car 8:01 PM >get lever You take the steering column lever. (examining the steering column lever) (remember that if you don't like having each new object described to you the first time you pick it up, simply type DESCRIPTION) It's the lever that you pull to turn the headlights on. Unfortunately it's not currently attached to the steering column as it really should be. Damn. Inside your car 8:02 PM >bother I'm sorry, but I don't know the word 'bother.' >x keys house keys: (taking the house keys out of your jeans pockets first) Two house keys, linked by a metal keyring, for the locks to the door to your house. car key: A standard Renault Alliance car key, with its trademark rhombus-shaped head. (or bow, if you want to be fussy) Inside your car 8:03 PM >get car key You take the car key out of the ignition key switch. Inside your car 8:04 PM >out (taking off your seatbelt first) (opening the car door) Outside your Car Outside your Car 8:05 PM >unlock trunk With what would you like to unlock that? >car key Unlocked. Outside your Car 8:06 PM >open trunk You open the trunk, revealing a spare tire. Outside your Car 8:07 PM >search trunk It contains a spare tire. Outside your Car 8:08 PM >x tire To which tire are you referring? The car wheels or the spare tire? >spare There's nothing unusual about it. It's just a spare tire. Outside your Car 8:09 PM >x wheels car wheels: There's nothing particularly noteworthy about the car wheels. spare tire: There's nothing out of the ordinary about the spare tire. Outside your Car 8:10 PM >open bonnet I don't see any bonnet here. >open hood I see no hood here. >x road Outside your Car You stand in deep snow next to your ignominiously stationary car. It's something like standing in a deep white trough or perhaps a giant bobsleigh run - the walls of snow left by the ploughs are over two metres tall. High above you, the dark shadows of the tall conifers that line the highway. Outside your Car 8:11 PM >close door You close the car door. Outside your Car 8:12 PM >cross road Done. Outside your Car 8:13 PM >l Outside your Car You stand in deep snow next to your ignominiously stationary car. It's something like standing in a deep white trough or perhaps a giant bobsleigh run - the walls of snow left by the ploughs are over two metres tall. High above you, the dark shadows of the tall conifers that line the highway. Outside your Car 8:14 PM >e Without a compass you have no way of knowing any absolute directions. You can, however, walk up or down the road from here, or re-enter your stranded car. Outside your Car 8:15 PM >walk up road Up the road from your car This is a twisty mountain highway that runs through a dense winter forest. Tall snowbanks left by the snowploughs line the road, making you feel as though you're in a wide white trough. Snow falls, heavy and silent, out of the sky. Up the road from your car 8:16 PM >g I'm afraid you can't repeat that command. >walk up road Further up the road from your car You're now standing on a road that twists through a dense winter forest. High snowbanks left by the snowploughs stand to either side. The breeze carries the faint sound of a bell or a chime, coming from somewhere up the road. Further up the road from your car 8:17 PM >walk up road Still further up the road from your car A winding mountain road that leads through thick winter forest. Tall snowbanks left by the snowploughs line the road, making you feel as though you're in a wide white trough. Interestingly, there's a sort of gap cut into the snowbank on one side. The faint tinkling of a small bell seems to be coming from the gap. Still further up the road from your car 8:18 PM >x gap There's a narrow gap on one side of the snowbank, possibly chipped out with a shovel. It's just large enough for you to squeeze through. Still further up the road from your car 8:19 PM >enter it (you step through the narrow gap) Outside Shack You're in the woods outside a tiny rundown shack. The windows are all boarded up with rough sheets of plywood and whole sections of the roof appear to be missing. A gap in the snowbank leads back to the road. A small bell hangs from the roof of the shack, and tinkles gently in the breeze. Outside Shack 8:20 PM >x bell It's a small cast iron bell, hanging from the roofline of the shack. It has a piece of cardboard or thick paper tied to its clapper, and it tinkles as the card catches the breeze. Outside Shack 8:21 PM >open door You open the door. Outside Shack 8:22 PM >in Shack You edge into the musty air of the old shack. An old oil lamp rests on a table, casting a dim flickering light around the room. Through the gloom you can make out an empty fireplace, a large easy chair and a doorway to another room. A small glass-topped wooden box rests on the table next to the lamp. Shack 8:23 PM >x box It's a small wooden box, about twenty by thirty centimetres in size. It has a glass top, and has been subdivided into six sections of equal size. The first contains a stuffed toy mouse, the second a pair of drawing compasses, the third a clockwork tin robot, the fourth a stuffed toy monkey in a pirate costume and the fifth contains a pocketwatch. The sixth space is empty. Shack 8:24 PM >sit in chair Okay. You're now seated on the easy chair. Shack, on the easy chair 8:25 PM You settle back in the chair, stifling a yawn. >sleep You lie back in the chair, become more and more relaxed... And finally, you sleep. Panelled Room You're in a dim wood-panelled room. In addition to the door behind you there are doors to your left, your right and straight ahead. Each pair of doors is curved and set forward from the wall, as though it were a sort of cupboard or armoire. Panelled Room 8:25 PM Panelled Room 11:39 AM Panelled Room 6:33 PM >open door Which door do you mean? Are you referring to the left-hand doors, the right- hand doors, the middle doors or the back doors? >middle These are a couple of those self-closing doors that won't stay open. You can just open them and walk through, though. Panelled Room 5:26 AM >enter middle (you open the centre doors and step through. The doors swing shut behind you with a faint click) Panelled Room You're in another darkly-lit room. The walls are panelled with rough-hewn wood. In addition to the door through which you entered, there are doors to your left and straight ahead. >enter middle (you open the centre doors and step through. The doors swing shut behind you with a faint click) Candlelit room Candlelit room 5:26 AMYou step into a large darkened chamber that's lit by flickering candlelight. The ceiling appears to be solid glass, affording a view of a night sky and a brilliant vault of stars. Seated around a table before you are five very familiar figures - only now human-sized and very alive. A mouse, a pair of compasses, a robot, a monkey pirate and a pocketwatch. They gaze back at you cheerfully. The mouse smiles. 'Hello, my dear,' she says. 'Won't you be seated? We've been expecting you.' >x me You look like you always do, really. Candlelit room 12:10 AM 'This is exciting!' whispers the robot to the compasses. 'Look who's arrived!' >sit (on the empty chair) Okay. You're now sitting down. Candlelit room, on your chair 4:25 AM The mouse gestures at the teapot. 'Would you like a cup of tea?' she asks. >mouse, yes thank you Erm. I can't parse that sentence. Sorry. >mouse, yes You open your mouth to speak but, to your horror, not a sound comes out. You fight a rising sense of panic, but can't utter so much as a whisper. The mouse notices your distress and smiles reassuringly. 'You poor dear,' she says. 'You can't speak, can you? Well, not to worry. That happened to all of us. It has something to do with the way you travel here - it freezes your tongue, we think. But not to worry. Your voice will be back before the day is done!' Candlelit room, on your chair 11:23 AM The mouse smiles at you beatifically. 'Such wonderful tea! Normally I'm not into those Oriental drinks at all, but Taro does such a good job!' You notice the robot scowling at this. Oblivous, the mouse continues. 'Now, let me introduce everyone. On your left here we have Alethea the drawing compasses, then Croatoan the monkey pirate, Fugit the pocketwatch and Taro the sushi robot.' Each figure nods and smiles in turn. 'And finally, me.' She curtseys in her chair, a sort of bobbing motion. 'My name is Mrs. Wilkinson.' >bow That sentence doesn't seem to have a verb. (at least, it has nothing I recognize as a verb) >point at tea I don't know the word 'point.' >get tea The teapot is closed. Ergo, the tea is inaccessible. Candlelit room, on your chair 3:44 AM 'Now I really should welcome you to the Place.' says Mrs. Wilkinson. 'That's what we call it here, anyway. We don't exactly know where we are or how we got here, but we were told to wait for you. Because you can lead us out and away from the Darkness.' Darkness. She says it with a capital D, her voice coloured with fear. >colour voice with blue I don't know the word 'colour.' Have you spelt it correctly? >laugh Hee hee hee. Candlelit room, on your chair 1:53 AM 'Now, while we've been waiting,' continues the mouse quickly, 'we've been telling stories. It's such a pleasant way to pass the time, wouldn't you say? In fact, we were just getting to Fugit's story.' She gestures to the pocketwatch. >listen to fugit Fugit the Pocketwatch isn't making any noise right now. Candlelit room, on your chair 5:43 AM 'Well,' says the watch slowly. 'Let's see now. My story is about an old acquaintance of mine... Candlelit room, on your chair 5:43 AM Candlelit room, on your chair 11:35 PM >tell story About what do you want to tell that? >about me I'm afraid I can't see any story here. >z Time passes... Candlelit room, on your chair 2:22 AM 'What a great story!' exclaims the mouse. Now I think it's Alethea's turn.' She looks expectantly over to the drawing compasses. Candlelit room, on your chair 10:05 AM 'Oh.' The compasses look around a bit apprehensively. 'Well, okay. So. Let's see... Candlelit room, on your chair 10:05 AM Candlelit room, on your chair 4:01 AM Candlelit room, on your chair 11:22 AM The monkey, who had been frowning deeply the whole time, snorts. 'Hrm. What sort of stupid mushy story is that?' he asks. 'And how did they come to be together anyway if they're always apart?' The compasses rattle in annoyance. 'I'm just the storyteller,' she says. 'Don't question the story! Anyway, maybe they met at a party in a city on the plains or something.' The mouse quickly steps in. 'Now, now. It's really not nice to be criticizing the stories like that. Now perhaps we'll move on? I believe it's Croatoan's turn.' She looks over to the monkey, who frowns and casts a surly glance across the table. >z Time passes... Candlelit room, on your chair 3:23 AM 'Look,' says the monkey in a coarse voice. 'I already told you - I don't tell stories. I don't know no stories.' 'Oh come, now!' says the mouse. 'You must know at least one story. Please, in honour of our distinguished guest!' Candlelit room, on your chair 6:06 AM Candlelit room, on your chair 6:06 AM Candlelit room, on your chair 11:03 PM Candlelit room, on your chair 8:04 PM 'The monkey sits back and takes a rough swig of tea. There,' he mutters. 'Your story. Hope you're happy.' 'Well,' say the compasses primly. 'I wasn't very convinced. You claim that's a true story? I mean, you're a monkey!' 'Yeah? Well, that's rich, coming from a pair of compasses!' Croatoan snaps back. 'Children!' exclaims the mouse. 'A little decorum, please. Now. Perhaps Taro could offer his story.' >z Time passes... Candlelit room, on your chair 12:41 AM 'Okay,' says the robot. 'I'm afraid that as a robot I don't really have any good stories of my own. But here's one I heard once. Candlelit room, on your chair 12:41 AM Candlelit room, on your chair 10:01 PMAnd the robot hands you the fine needle which, oddly enough, immediately sticks to the heavy silver stone. Candlelit room, on your chair 12:44 AM 'And now,' says the mouse, 'it's time for my story. And I too would like to tell you about an old friend. Candlelit room, on your chair 12:44 AM Candlelit room, on your chair 12:09 AM Candlelit room, on your chair 4:50 AM 'Now we'd love to hear a story from you, my dear,' says the mouse to you. 'But unfortunately, as you know, your voice hasn't unfrozen from the trip. So perhaps we'll have to wait a bit longer. But in the meantime, we were told to tell you to examine your presents carefully. We'd all like to leave, but we don't know the secret.' >i You're wearing a T-shirt, a sweater, a ski jacket, jeans, winter boots, glasses, your wristwatch, ski gloves and a woolly toque, and you're carrying a wallet, a cell phone, a steering column lever, house keys, a car key, a blue- black stone, a crystal goblet, a canteen and a small leaf. The wallet contains a driver's licence, a loonie, a ten dollar bill and a quarter. Sitting on the blue-black stone is a needle. Candlelit room, on your chair 5:14 AM 'How about another cup of tea, then?' asks the watch, looking over to the robot. >x goblet It's a cut crystal goblet. Candlelit room, on your chair 7:08 PM 'Certainly!' The robot beams and pours some tea into the watch's cup. >put water in goblet Done. Candlelit room, on your chair 5:57 PM 'So how long you think before we're finally out of here?' says the robot. >x goblet It's a cut crystal goblet, which contains a canteen. Candlelit room, on your chair 2:46 AM The monkey takes a swig of tea in as manly a way he can. 'Hell if I know. But I damn well hope it's soon!' >get canteen You take the canteen out of the crystal goblet. (examining the canteen) It's one of those leather water canteens that's shaped, well, sort of like a stomach. It's firmly closed. Candlelit room, on your chair 2:58 PM The mouse looks uneasily up into the sky. >open goblet The crystal goblet is pretty well always open. Candlelit room, on your chair 8:14 PM The watch says, 'I'm quite glad to get rid of that old stone, actually. It did have great sentimental value, but it's magnetic, and that always seems to throw me a little out of sorts.' >open canteen Opening the canteen reveals some water. Candlelit room, on your chair 3:56 PM The mouse suddenly remarks, 'You know, we were told always to walk north if we got lost.' >pour water into goblet The small quantity of water in the canteen gurgles into the crystal goblet. Candlelit room, on your chair 3:51 AM The watch gets up and stretches. >put leaf on water The leaf floats on the surface of the water. Candlelit room, on your chair 10:26 PM The mouse looks uneasily up into the sky. >put needle on leaf Done. Candlelit room, on your chair 1:13 AM The compasses click and snap. >x needle A fine metal sewing needle. Candlelit room, on your chair 10:30 PM The compasses click and snap. >l Candlelit room, on your chair You're in a dark candlelit chamber. Five improbable figures sit around the central table, drinking tea and chatting. The round table has a teapot and 6 teacups on it. Candlelit room, on your chair 7:46 PM 'Got the time?' asks the monkey of the watch. 'Very funny,' the watch replies. >i You're wearing a T-shirt, a sweater, a ski jacket, jeans, winter boots, glasses, your wristwatch, ski gloves and a woolly toque, and you're carrying a wallet, a cell phone, a steering column lever, house keys, a car key, a blue- black stone, a crystal goblet and a canteen. The wallet contains a driver's licence, a loonie, a ten dollar bill and a quarter. The crystal goblet contains some water and a small leaf. The small leaf has a needle on it. Candlelit room, on your chair 10:58 AM The compasses help themselves to another cup of tea. >get needle You pick up the needle. Candlelit room, on your chair 12:29 AM The watch gets up and stretches. >rub needle on stone You rub the needle with the stone, being careful to stroke it in the same direction each time. Candlelit room, on your chair 3:32 AM The mouse adjusts her bonnet. >put needle on leaf You carefully place the magnetized needle on the leaf. The leaf spins lazily on the surface of the water for a while, then slowly orients itself to the north. The robot notes the proceedings with interest and nudges the mouse. She looks over at the goblet, then claps her paws delightedly and hops out of her chair. 'Marvelous!' she cries. 'I knew you'd do it! Now we'll be able to leave. As long as we always head north through the woods we'll be fine.' Candlelit room, on your chair 12:13 PM 'I wonder which of us will get home first,' say the compasses. >n I'm afraid that you'll have to get off your chair before you'll be able to go anywhere. Candlelit room, on your chair 2:31 AM 'Do you think everything will be the same when we get home?' asks the watch. >stand Okay. You're no longer on your chair. Candlelit room 10:18 AM 'Do you think everything will be the same when we get home?' asks the watch. >n (you open the righthand doors and step through, followed by your five friends. The doors swing shut behind you with a faint click) Panelled Room You're in still another darkly-lit room. The walls are panelled with rough- hewn wood. In addition to the door through which you entered there's a doorway to your left. Panelled Room 2:14 PM 'Hurry!' exclaims the mouse. 'The Darkness has awakened and will soon find us!' >n (you open the lefthand doors and step through, followed by your five friends. The doors swing closed behind you with a click) Panelled Room You're in yet another dimly-lit room. In addition to the door through which you entered, there are doors to your left and to your right. Panelled Room 1:40 PM The floor trembles and shudders. 'Do you feel that?' asks the robot in obvious fear. >n (you open the righthand doors and step through, followed by your five friends. The doors close behind you) Panelled Room You're in another darkly-lit room. The walls are panelled with rough-hewn wood. In addition to the door through which you entered, there are doors to your left, your right and straight ahead. The pocketwatch, the monkey, the robot, the compasses and the mouse are here with you. Panelled Room 6:20 AM The watch looks around nervously. 'We must keep moving!' >n (you open the centre doors and step through, followed by your five friends. The doors swing closed behind you with a click) Hall of Time You find yourself in a long hallway of sorts that stretches off into the distance, as far as you can see. The walls, floor and ceiling all seem to be made of layers of floating timepieces, suspended against blue sky. Off to one side is a small blue door. 'And now I must leave you,' says the pocketwatch. 'This is my home. You must all pass through that door before the Darkness comes.' He turns to you solemnly. 'Don't worry about me - I'm afraid it's you that the Darkness is after, because of what you hold.' Hall of Time 9:26 AM >n You can't go that way. Hall of Time 12:55 AM >in (opening the blue door) Garden You're in a lush green traditional Japanese garden. Trees are reflected in the waters of a small pond, and a tall stone lantern stands before you. A trail winds northwest through the trees. 'And this is my home,' says the robot, unable to conceal obvious pride despite the circumstances. 'We must follow the trail to the teahouse.' Garden 2:21 PM >follow trail I don't know the word 'trail.' >nw Outside Teahouse You're standing by the door to a traditional Japanese teahouse. 'And now, please enter the teahouse.' says the robot. 'I will remain here, but will always remember you.' Outside Teahouse 12:48 PM >in (opening the teahouse door) Ship in a Bottle You find yourself aboard an old wooden sailing ship. Strangely the deck beneath your feet feels perfectly solid, as though you were standing on shore. As you look around you notice solid glass walls curving up overhead, to both port and starboard. And you realize that you're aboard a ship in a bottle. 'Ah, home sweet home!' exclaims the monkey, swinging his sword. 'Now you three have to leave quickly.' He points to the bow of the ship, to the north. 'You'll be wanting to go fore, and step down to the water. You can then climb out through the neck. I'll come with you.' Ship in a Bottle 9:25 AM >fore (you climb up to the prow of the ship, and gingerly step over the side. To your astonishment you land on firm ground, textured and painted to resemble water perfectly. You and your companions walk up the narrowing neck of the bottle.) Neck of the Bottle 'And here we are,' says the monkey, pointing out the round bottle opening before you. 'No time for goodbyes - just walk through that portal!' Neck of the Bottle 4:05 PM >in (you step through the round portal of glass) Cave You find yourself in the cool air of a dark cave. At first glance the rough curved walls seem to be perfectly natural, but you then notice the cracks and form lines of old poured concrete. Through an opening in the wall you can make out a sort of tunnel, which apparently runs from the cave to the east. 'And now I must bid you farewell,' says the compass sadly. 'You and Mrs. Wilkinson must take that eastern entrance to take you to your next destination. Goodbye!' Cave 10:37 AM >e Outside a Derelict House You stumble momentarily as you arrive on a low hill, upon which is perched an ominous derelict Victorian house. Looking like every haunted house from your childhood dreams, the building is silhouetted against a red-orange sky. The mouse turns to you. 'Adieu, my dear,' she says. 'Thank you for bringing us all back to our homes. I doubt we'll ever meet again, so please take this.' And she hands you a plain silver ring. It slips perfectly on your finger. 'Now, go!' she urges. 'The Darkness won't leave you until you too are safely home.' She points to the front door of the old house. Outside a Derelict House 7:10 PM >open door You open the front door. Outside a Derelict House 10:31 AM >out You're already outside. Outside a Derelict House 1:56 AM >in You feel the shock of ice in your lungs and darkness speckled with stars spins across your vision... Outside your Car You stand in deep snow next to your ignominiously stationary car. It's something like standing in a deep white trough or perhaps a giant bobsleigh run - the walls of snow left by the ploughs are over two metres tall. High above you, the dark shadows of the tall conifers that line the highway. The snow-covered road runs back towards the small town of Grand Forks, a good hour's drive away under these conditions, and on towards Castlegar. Outside your Car 9:14 PM >i You're wearing a T-shirt, a sweater, a jacket, jeans, winter boots, glasses, your wristwatch, ski gloves, a woolly toque and a silver ring, and you're carrying a wallet, a cell phone, house keys, a car key and a canteen. The wallet contains a driver's licence, a loonie, a ten dollar bill and a quarter. Outside your Car 9:15 PM >x ring It's a flawless silver ring that fits you perfectly. Outside your Car 9:16 PM >enter car (opening the car door) (closing the door against the cold) Inside your car There's a steering column lever here. Inside your car 9:17 PM >start car You'll need to put the ignition key in the switch first. Inside your car 9:18 PM >put key in ignition Which key do you mean? Are you referring to the house keys or the car key? >car Done. Inside your car 9:19 PM >start car You turn the key, expecting the worst. But miraculously the engine starts without hesitation. You turn the heater on full, clear the snow off the windshield with the wipers and reverse smoothly out into the road. Even the headlights are working. You can feel the silver ring, warm on your finger, as you resume your journey. Words, pictures, sound, music, programming and production N.K. Guy The Text Adventure Development System Michael J. Roberts Voice of Taro the Robot Ralph Alfonso Voice of Croatoan the Monkey Pirate Steve Daniels Voice of Alethea the Compasses Cathryn France Voice of Fugit the Pocketwatch John Guy Voice of Mrs. Wilkinson the Mouse Crystal Heald Opening narration N.K. Guy Testing Liza Daly David Dyte Iain Merrick Michael J. Roberts Special thanks David Dyte for puzzle generosity. Volker Blasius, David Kinder and GMD for the IF Archive. Artwerks Design, Nettwerk Productions and Nettwerk Management for kind use of gear -- in particular, Tim Oberthier, Mark Jowett, Geoff Goddard, John Rummen, Ric Arboit and Terry McBride. Iain Merrick with Andrew Pontious for HyperTADS, Chris Nebel for TADS for Mac, Andrew Plotkin for MaxTADS, Stephen Granade for WinTADS, David Kinder for TADS for Amiga and Bob Newell for TADS for Linux. Neil deMause, Stephen Granade and Mike Roberts, for several lines of helpful code. The Vancouver Maritime Museum. Christina Dunkley, Armand Sebris, Catherine McLaren and Tracy Harvey. Location photography Vancouver, BC, Canada Cypress Bowl Provincial Park, BC, Canada Mount Seymour Provincial Park, BC, Canada Richmond, BC, Canada Nitobe Gardens, University of British Columbia, Canada Osoyoos, BC, Canada Whistler, BC, Canada Nek Chand's Rock Garden, Chandigarh, India Somewhere near Leh, Ladakh, India Black Rock City, Nevada, USA Death Valley National Park, California, USA Copyright (c) MCMXCIX N.K. Guy For Gwyn Jones 1936-1997