>SAY “STAY” TO AGADOR
You say “STAY” to Agador-Spartacus. Agador-Spartacus stays.
Aha, there we go.
Is that just a TADS thing? Clearly my Inform/Z-machine bias is showing again…
1 Like
In TADS, the form actor, verb is for giving (or trying to give) instructions/orders to NPC, so I wonder if trying AGADOR, WAIT give the same results (that is, agador stopping being a follower)
Best regards from Italy,
dott. Piergiorgio.
TADS 2 understands the ACTOR, COMMAND syntax for giving orders. This game attempts to replace it with SAY “COMMAND” TO ACTOR, but since the parser in TADS 2 is built into the interpreter rather than implemented within the VM, some cracks show through. If you try AGADOR, WAIT or AGADOR, SIT you’ll get a message telling you the correct syntax, but for some reason AGADOR, STAY triggers a parser error instead.
4 Likes
It seems to be trying to interpret “stay” as a noun? GET STAY gives “You don’t see any stay here.”
indeed “stay” IS an english noun, with multiple means:
seen something which (or whose) is a stay (whatever of the mean given in the wiki disambiguation page I passed) or can have stay as reasonable synonym ?
Best regards from Italy,
dott. Piergiorgio.
I can’t immediately place where one might find a “stay” in this game, but it’s a big game so it’d be very easy to overlook something.
2 Likes
Since we now know all the watch effects, I’ve worked out a nice little algorithm that should let me set the watch to any time I might choose:
- Start with Galileo or Newton, depending on if we want an even or odd hour
- Have Einstein move by increments of 2 hours, if needed
- Use Fibonacci to possibly adjust the minute by 1, 2, or 3
- Finally, use Maxwell to move up in increments of 4 minutes
I don’t think I’ll be doing much watch stuff next part, which I’ve already started playing. I do think I will go with the approach of showing some effects each part after that, though. Maybe an hour’s worth?
3 Likes
That’s pretty much the algorithm I ended up using. I don’t think it’s much of a spoiler to mention that you can TURN STEM COUNTERCLOCKWISE in the occasional case where, for example, you want to go from 3:00 to 1:00 with Einstein rather than going around the whole clock.
There’s plenty more you can do before needing to figure out all the intricacies of the watch, so taking it a bit at a time seems eminently sensible. You might want to keep an open mind as to exactly how much to do in each update as there are some time periods that might require more investigation than others.
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Definitely. I’d guess the 9:00 hour will be one of the most complicated since it seems to control the train. It had a big number “9” on it when I summoned it at 9:00. Even 12:09 showed a movie involving a train, which in retrospect seems like an oblique hint. how much clearer of a hint do you need?)
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Part IV: Setting The Table
Last time out, we got to know our pocket watch. Among other things, we discovered that we can make the video screen disappear and open the way into the dining room, which we will now explore.
Or rather, we will as soon as I make the screen vanish again.
>GET WATCH
Your arms are getting full, but a little rearranging lets you take it anyway. You take the pocket watch out of one of the trouser pockets.>OPEN WATCH
You open the watch cover.On the face of the watch you see an image of Galileo Galilei. Galileo’s arms show the time as 12:00.
>PUSH STEM
You push the watch stem and it springs back up again. The watch beeps. The watch image changes to Benjamin Franklin.>TURN STEM
You turn the stem clockwise. The video screen slides up into the ceiling, revealing two large fish tanks.Ben’s bifocals stop glowing.
Before moving on, let’s finally do this as suggested by the comments.
>SAY “STAY” TO AGADOR
You say “STAY” to Agador-Spartacus. Agador-Spartacus stays.
Incidentally, as we’ll see later, this isn’t the only command the dog understands.
>E
You go through the strands of beads.DINING ROOM (by the west end of the table)
The dining room has a table with four chairs. A crystal chandelier hangs above the table. You are currently at the west end of the table, and you can move north, south, or east to get to the other ends of the table. Here you also see two large fishtanks with strands of beads between them leading westward to the living room.
Beyond the table, the dining room also continues further north and east. On the north wall is a china cabinet. On the east wall is a sideboard.
A long shelf runs across the east and south walls.
You see Agador-Spartacus in the front half of the living room. He’s wagging his tail.
Let’s take a look at what we’ve got here.
>X TABLE
The table is covered by a bright blue table cloth.>X CHAIR
The chair is made of wood.>LOOK UNDER TABLE
You don’t see anything under the table.>X CHANDELIER
The chandelier is made of hanging crystals, with twenty small light bulbs shaped like candle flames. None of the bulbs are lit.
That sounds like a progress meter of some sort to me!
>X SHELF
Wooden shelving runs along the walls here. Mounted on the shelving is some model railroad track that runs along the entire length of the shelving.The track enters the dining room from the northeast corner and continues south along the wall. At this point the shelving widens to form a platform above the side board. Then the track goes south. At the end of the wall it turns and goes west, exiting the dining room through a tunnel-shaped opening in the southwest corner.
This is directly connected to the one in the front half of the living room, for anyone trying to picture what this thing is supposed to look like. (No, I still can’t think of any actual use cases for this yet.)
>N
DINING ROOM (by the north end of the table)
The dining room has a table with four chairs. A crystal chandelier hangs above the table. You are currently at the north end of the table, and you can move east, west, or south to get to the other ends of the table.
Further north, a china cabinet stands against the north wall. Beyond the table, the dining room also continues further east, where you see a sideboard standing along the east wall.
A long shelf runs across the east and south walls.
>N
DINING ROOM (by the china cabinet)
Here near the north wall is a china cabinet.
The dining room continues to the south, where you see a table, and to the southeast, where you see a sideboard along the east wall.
A long shelf runs across the east and south walls.
>X CABINET
The china cabinet has two large wooden doors which are currently closed. The doors are carved with various swirls and designs, including two knobs at the top of the doors that are shaped like small birds. The birds are painted bright blue. Through glass panels in the doors you see four plates and four glasses.A long shelf runs across the east and south walls.
>OPEN CABINET
The china cabinet is now open. In the china cabinet you see four plates and four glasses.>GET ALL FROM CABINET
plate: You’re carrying too much. Perhaps you could put something in your pocket.
Oh, no!
Fortunately, we already have a stash of stuff in the back half of the living room. We’ll make our way there to drop some excess items in a moment.
>X PLATE
The plate, which is blue, is made of a special kind of gyro-china that resists breakage and spilling.>X GLASS
The glass is a large tumbler, used for drinking. It’s made of a special kind of gyro-glass that resists breakage and spilling.
Yay, one less way to make the game unwinnable!
Anyway, we make our way out back south, then west back to the living room, and north to:
LIVING ROOM (back half)
You see five empty boxes and four ordinary cans of spam here.
I’m just guessing at which stuff we won’t need:
>DROP ORDINARY CAN
The ordinary can of spam is now on the floor.>DROP FAKE CAN
The fake can of spam is now on the floor.>DROP RUG
The oriental rug falls and unrolls as it hits the floor.>DROP BOX
The empty box is now on the floor.
Can we take the dishes now? We make our way back and:
DINING ROOM (by the china cabinet)
>GET ALL FROM CABINET
plate: Your arms are getting full, but a little rearranging lets you take it anyway. You take a plate out of the china cabinet.
plate: Your arms are getting full, but a little rearranging lets you take it anyway. You take a plate out of the china cabinet.
plate: Your arms are getting full, but a little rearranging lets you take it anyway. You take a plate out of the china cabinet.
plate: Your arms are getting full, but a little rearranging lets you take it anyway. You take a plate out of the china cabinet.
glass: Your arms are getting full, but a little rearranging lets you take it anyway. You take a glass out of the china cabinet.
glass: Your arms are getting full, but a little rearranging lets you take it anyway. You take a glass out of the china cabinet.
glass: Your arms are getting full, but a little rearranging lets you take it anyway. You take a glass out of the china cabinet.
glass: Your arms are getting full, but a little rearranging lets you take it anyway. You take a glass out of the china cabinet.
Success!
>SE
DINING ROOM (by the sideboard)
Here near the east wall is a sideboard.
A long shelf runs across the east and south walls.
The dining room continues to the west, where you see a table, and to the northwest, where you see a china cabinet along the north wall.
>X SIDEBOARD
The sideboard is made of wood and has one drawer.>OPEN IT
The drawer is now open. In the drawer you see four forks, four knives, and four spoons.>X FORK
It’s just a fork.>X KNIFE
It’s just a table knife.>X SPOON
It’s just a spoon.
I think we’ll be having some kind of meal prep puzzle soon. Or at least a need to set the table, given that there’s 4 chairs and 4 of each item.
>W
DINING ROOM (by the east end of the table)
The dining room has a table with four chairs. A crystal chandelier hangs above the table. You are currently at the east end of the table, and you can move north, south, or west to get to the other ends of the table.
Further east, a sideboard stands on the east wall. A long shelf runs across the east and south walls.
Beyond the table, the dining room also continues further north, where you see a china cabinet standing along the north wall.
A long shelf runs across the east and south walls.
>S
DINING ROOM (by the south end of the table)
The dining room has a table with four chairs. A crystal chandelier hangs above the table. You are currently at the south end of the table, and you can move east, west, or north to get to the other ends of the table.
Beyond the table, the dining room continues to the north and to the east. On the north wall is a china cabinet. On the east wall is a sideboard.
A long shelf runs across the east and south walls.
Let’s see if one of our hunches is right:
>PUT PLATE ON TABLE
The plate is now on the south end of the table. You hear a click coming from somewhere overhead.>X CHANDELIER
The chandelier is made of hanging crystals, with twenty small light bulbs shaped like candle flames. One of the bulbs is lit.
Aha. There are in fact 20 items in this room (4 each of plate, glass, fork, knife, and spoon), and 20 light bulbs.
I think it’s time to set the table! Probably to activate something, knowing what we now know of Martin.
>W
DINING ROOM (by the west end of the table)
>PUT PLATE ON TABLE
The plate is now on the west end of the table. You hear a click coming from somewhere overhead.Agador-Spartacus stands before you, wagging his tail affably.
Yes, our dog moves on his own sometimes. In fact he’s moving around during this whole next sequence.
>N
DINING ROOM (by the north end of the table)
>PUT PLATE ON TABLE
The plate is now on the north end of the table. You hear a click coming from somewhere overhead.>E
DINING ROOM (by the east end of the table)
>PUT PLATE ON TABLE
The plate is now on the east end of the table. You hear a click coming from somewhere overhead.>PUT GLASS ON TABLE
You’d need to put the glass in a relative position to something that is already on the east end of the table. For example, you could put the glass to the left of the plate, or to the right of the plate, or above the plate, or below the plate, or above and to the right of the plate, etc.
At least the game helps us out here. I have to take some time to imagine the proper place of everything, but fortunately we get indicators of progress each time we place something correctly.
>PUT GLASS ABOVE AND RIGHT OF PLATE
The glass is now above and to the right of the plate. You hear a click coming from somewhere overhead.>S
DINING ROOM (by the south end of the table)
>PUT GLASS ABOVE AND RIGHT OF PLATE
The glass is now above and to the right of the plate. You hear a click coming from somewhere overhead.
I really do appreciate having copy/paste for this segment; certainly much easier than typing those long commands four times each. Maybe this is the sort of thing that’d work better with graphics, I don’t know.
Nevermind, the Zork III mirror box is much more complicated than this.
>W
DINING ROOM (by the west end of the table)
>PUT GLASS ABOVE AND RIGHT OF PLATE
The glass is now above and to the right of the plate. You hear a click coming from somewhere overhead.>N
DINING ROOM (by the north end of the table)
>PUT GLASS ABOVE AND RIGHT OF PLATE
The glass is now above and to the right of the plate. You hear a click coming from somewhere overhead.>X CHANDELIER
The chandelier is made of hanging crystals, with twenty small light bulbs shaped like candle flames. Eight of the bulbs are lit.
Time to get our silverware!
>E
DINING ROOM (by the east end of the table)
>E
DINING ROOM (by the sideboard)
In the drawer you see four forks, four knives, and four spoons.
>GET ALL FROM DRAWER
fork: Your arms are getting full, but a little rearranging lets you take it anyway. You take a fork out of the drawer.
fork: Your arms are getting full, but a little rearranging lets you take it anyway. You take a fork out of the drawer.
fork: Your arms are getting full, but a little rearranging lets you take it anyway. You take a fork out of the drawer.
fork: Your arms are getting full, but a little rearranging lets you take it anyway. You take a fork out of the drawer.
knife: Your arms are getting full, but a little rearranging lets you take it anyway. You take a knife out of the drawer.
knife: Your arms are getting full, but a little rearranging lets you take it anyway. You take a knife out of the drawer.
knife: Your arms are getting full, but a little rearranging lets you take it anyway. You take a knife out of the drawer.
knife: Your arms are getting full, but a little rearranging lets you take it anyway. You take a knife out of the drawer.
spoon: Your arms are getting full, but a little rearranging lets you take it anyway. You take a spoon out of the drawer.
spoon: Your arms are getting full, but a little rearranging lets you take it anyway. You take a spoon out of the drawer.
spoon: Your arms are getting full, but a little rearranging lets you take it anyway. You take a spoon out of the drawer.
spoon: Your arms are getting full, but a little rearranging lets you take it anyway. You take a spoon out of the drawer.>W
DINING ROOM (by the east end of the table)
>PUT FORK LEFT OF PLATE
The fork is now to the left of the plate. You hear a click coming from somewhere overhead.>S
DINING ROOM (by the south end of the table)
>PUT FORK LEFT OF PLATE
The fork is now to the left of the plate. You hear a click coming from somewhere overhead.>W
DINING ROOM (by the west end of the table)
>PUT FORK LEFT OF PLATE
The fork is now to the left of the plate. You hear a click coming from somewhere overhead.>N
DINING ROOM (by the north end of the table)
>PUT FORK LEFT OF PLATE
The fork is now to the left of the plate. You hear a click coming from somewhere overhead.>E
DINING ROOM (by the east end of the table)
>S
DINING ROOM (by the south end of the table)
>PUT KNIFE RIGHT OF PLATE
The knife is now to the right of the plate. You hear a click coming from somewhere overhead.>W
DINING ROOM (by the west end of the table)
>PUT KNIFE RIGHT OF PLATE
The knife is now to the right of the plate. You hear a click coming from somewhere overhead.>N
DINING ROOM (by the north end of the table)
>PUT KNIFE RIGHT OF PLATE
The knife is now to the right of the plate. You hear a click coming from somewhere overhead.>E
DINING ROOM (by the east end of the table)
>PUT KNIFE RIGHT OF PLATE
The knife is now to the right of the plate. You hear a click coming from somewhere overhead.
Last round!
>PUT SPOON RIGHT OF KNIFE
The spoon is now to the right of the knife. You hear a click coming from somewhere overhead.>S
DINING ROOM (by the south end of the table)
>PUT SPOON RIGHT OF KNIFE
The spoon is now to the right of the knife. You hear a click coming from somewhere overhead.>W
DINING ROOM (by the west end of the table)
>PUT SPOON RIGHT OF KNIFE
The spoon is now to the right of the knife. You hear a click coming from somewhere overhead.>N
DINING ROOM (by the north end of the table)
>PUT SPOON RIGHT OF KNIFE
The spoon is now to the right of the knife. You hear a click coming from somewhere overhead.The china cabinet suddenly moves sideways, revealing a door-sized opening in the north wall.
Woo! I knew there was a point to activating this. And just at the point where it was starting to get repetitive. (Yes, I probably should’ve just done everything at each side of the table in one go. Ah well. Incidentally, I believe I got 5 more points for this.)
Side note: I wonder if this sequence plays harder depending where you live? Pretty sure that convention of table setting isn’t universal, and would welcome comments one way or the other. At worst this could lead to issues of the Zork II “baseball maze” variety. Though I think it’s mitigated here, at least a little, by the fact you get a little notification every time you place an item correctly.
Anyway, onward!
>N
DINING ROOM (by the china cabinet)
Here near the north wall is a china cabinet. Next to the china cabinet is a door-sized opening. The china cabinet is open.
The dining room continues to the south, where you see a table, and to the southeast, where you see a sideboard along the east wall.
A long shelf runs across the east and south walls.
>N
KITCHEN
On the east wall is an archway containing a stone door. Next to the stone door is an electrical outlet, and next to the outlet is a large Black Box. You also see a long shelf running along the east wall.
Along the north wall you see two bowls on the floor. A small video screen is in the center of the north wall.
On the west wall is the kitchen sink. When facing the sink, you see a door labeled “PANTRY” to the left of the sink and a door labeled “LAUNDRY ROOM” to the right of the sink.
On the south wall is a doorway leading to the dining room.
Whew, no sooner do we solve one elaborate mechanism then we have another room with loads of stuff to mess with. Let’s start taking a look!
>X BOX
The Black Box is a perfectly smooth black cube that stands about as high as your shoulders.The Black Box is topped with a large lid, currently closed. On the lid you see some writing etched in silvery letters.
On the front of the Black Box you see a report card being held on by some refrigerator magnets.
>READ LID
The silvery letters say “Everything But the Kitchen Sink”.
Yeah, I did notice that there’s relatively little in the way of conventional kitchen equipment (no oven, etc.) in here. Of course Martin’s food prep operation is just as strange as everything else!
>X CARD
The report card is from the Good Doggy Training Academy. It lists the following grades:
SIT B
STAY B-
BEG C
LIE DOWN C-
HEEL B+
TRACK A->GET IT
Your arms are getting full, but a little rearranging lets you take it anyway. You take the report card off of the front of the Black Box.
So it seems like we can command the dog to do any or all of these things. I’m not sure all of them will be useful - and I don’t think my earlier idea of having the dog go under the bed because e’s smaller than us can be expressed in these commands - but I’ll have more to try. (The dog did show up in the kitchen while i started messing around with stuff.)
At least we get some help so we’re not trying to guess the verb!
Also, I only realized after doing this that the magnet that it was attached to is in fact portable. I’ll grab it next time just in case we need it.
>OPEN BOX
You don’t see any way to open the Black Box lid.>X LID
The Black Box lid, which is currently closed, has some writing etched in silvery letters. The silvery letters say “Everything But the Kitchen Sink”.Agador-Spartacus crawls out from under the kitchen sink. The sink cabinet doors swing shut.
Agador-Spartacus stands before you, wagging his tail affably.
>X BOWL
Which bowl do you mean, the white pet bowl, or the red pet bowl?>WHITE
It’s the type of pet bowl that is designed not to tip over. The white pet bowl is empty. Above the bowl is a round spout with a small lever mounted on the north wall.>X RED BOWL
It’s the type of pet bowl that is designed not to tip over. The red pet bowl is empty. Above the bowl is a square spout with a large lever mounted on the north wall.>X LEVER
Which lever do you mean, the large lever, or the small lever?>LARGE
The large lever is the type of lever that you can push down on.>X OUTLET
It looks like an ordinary electrical outlet.Agador-Spartacus is sitting here.
>X SHELF
Wooden shelving runs along the east wall. Mounted on the shelving is some model railroad track that runs along the entire length of the shelving.The track enters the kitchen from the northeast corner and continues south along the wall. It drops to floor level to go past the back door. The track is inlaid into the floor there. The track then rises back onto the shelving and rises steeply to pass over the Black Box. At this point the shelving widens to form a platform. Then the track goes south, exiting the kitchen through a tunnel-shaped opening in the southeast corner.
>X DOOR
Which door do you mean, the stone door, the pantry door, or the laundry room door?>STONE
The stone door under the archway looks large and heavy. It’s currently closed and you don’t see any way to open it.There are some mysterious scratches carved into the top of the stone door.
You suspect that the mysterious scratches might be some sort of writing, but you are unable to read them. If you were feeling more imaginative you might think that the scratches could mean something interesting (like “Maori Do It Counterclockwise”). But right now your best guess is that the scratches translate as “Back Door”.
Agador-Spartacus is sitting here.
>OPEN STONE DOOR
You can’t see any way to open the stone door.Agador-Spartacus stands up. He pushes the sink cabinet doors open with his nose and crawls under the kitchen sink. The sink doors swing shut.
>X PANTRY DOOR
Labeled “PANTRY”, it is a door-sized panel in the west wall with no obvious way to open it.>W
Both the pantry door and the laundry room door are closed.>X LAUNDRY DOOR
Labeled “LAUNDRY ROOM”, it is a door-sized panel in the west wall with no obvious way to open it.>X SINK
The kitchen sink has two basins and one faucet. The faucet can be pushed left or right.The faucet is currently turned off and positioned over the left basin.
There’s no water in the right basin.
There’s no water in the left basin.
On the back of the sink you see a sink stopper. Under the sink you see the sink cabinet with two wooden doors.
>X STOPPER
The sink stopper is a plug that can stop water from draining out of a basin. It looks quite old.>GET IT
Your arms are getting full, but a little rearranging lets you take it anyway. You take the sink stopper off of the kitchen sink.>X CABINET
The sink cabinet is located under the kitchen sink. There are two wooden doors that swing freely back and forth.>OPEN IT
You open the sink cabinet doors to take a look in the cabinet under the sink. You see some plumbing pipes here. At the back of the cabinet is a small, square passageway about the size of an air vent. You also see a pair of black tap shoes here under the cabinet. As you let go of the cabinet doors they swing shut again.>GET SHOES
Your arms are getting full, but a little rearranging lets you take them anyway. You take the black tap shoes out of the sink cabinet.>X SHOES
Which shoes do you mean, the brown shoes, or the black tap shoes?>BLACK
The shoes are a pair of men’s tap shoes, shiny black and a little bit smaller than your size. They are badly mangled. It looks like some animal has been chewing on them.
Seems useless for right now. Although I’m pretty sure one of Martin’s relatives was a tap dancer, for whatever that’s worth.
Checking the thread: Yep, it was his mom. We saw a photo in the bedroom.
>X SCREEN
The video screen is blank.You feel a bit sorry for the blank video screen, looking so empty and unfulfilled. Sort of like a pocket without a pocket watch.
>TURN STEM
You turn the stem clockwise. The video screen goes up into the ceiling and disappears from sight.Ben’s bifocals stop glowing.
>L
KITCHEN
On the east wall is an archway containing a stone door. Next to the stone door is an electrical outlet, and next to the outlet is a large Black Box. You also see a long shelf running along the east wall.
Along the north wall you see two bowls on the floor.
On the west wall is the kitchen sink. When facing the sink, you see a door labeled “PANTRY” to the left of the sink and a door labeled “LAUNDRY ROOM” to the right of the sink.
On the south wall is a doorway leading to the dining room.
>TURN STEM
You turn the stem clockwise. A small video screen slides down to the middle of the north wall.Ben’s bifocals begin to glow.
Note that, unlike the one in the living room, this screen doesn’t appear to be covering up anything. Therefore, it might be more beneficial to do any future watch experiments in here, since it’s safe to leave this screen down.
Okay, anyway, we’ve looked around. Let’s start messing with stuff!
>PULL LARGE LEVER
You push the large lever. Nothing happens. The large lever pops back up.>PULL SMALL LEVER
You push the small lever. Water pours out of the round spout into the white pet bowl below it and the small lever pops back up.>PULL LARGE LEVER
You push the large lever. Nothing happens. The large lever pops back up.>G
You push the large lever. Nothing happens. The large lever pops back up.Agador-Spartacus crawls out from under the kitchen sink. The sink cabinet doors swing shut.
Agador-Spartacus stands before you, wagging his tail affably.
>PULL SMALL
You push the small lever. Nothing happens. The small lever pops back up.Agador-Spartacus stands before you, wagging his tail affably.
No clue what this is about. We can’t take the bowls, and seemingly only got the one reaction.
What I did make progress on, however, is the sink.
>TURN ON FAUCET
The faucet is now turned on. Water starts flowing into the left basin.Agador-Spartacus stands before you, wagging his tail affably.
You notice some activity in the kitchen sink.
Water from the faucet is pouring into the left basin. The water is going straight down the left drain without leaving any standing water in the left basin.
Sometimes when dealing with a complicated device, it’s okay to just watch for a few turns. This is mostly me just messing with the sink with no clear purpose.
>Z
Time passes…You notice some activity in the kitchen sink.
Water from the faucet is pouring into the left basin. The water is going straight down the left drain without leaving any standing water in the left basin.
>PUT STOPPER IN LEFT BASIN
The sink stopper is now in the left drain.You notice some activity in the kitchen sink.
Water from the faucet is pouring into the left basin. A sink stopper is in the left drain. The level of the standing water in the left basin is almost one-third full and rising.
>Z
Time passes…You notice some activity in the kitchen sink.
Water from the faucet is pouring into the left basin. A sink stopper is in the left drain. The level of the standing water in the left basin is almost two-thirds full and rising.
>Z
Time passes…You notice some activity in the kitchen sink.
Water from the faucet is pouring into the left basin. A sink stopper is in the left drain. The level of the standing water in the left basin is almost completely full and rising.
The left basin now is completely full and water begins overflowing into the right basin.
>Z
Time passes…Agador-Spartacus is sitting here.
You notice some activity in the kitchen sink.
Water from the faucet is pouring into the left basin. A sink stopper is in the left drain. The left basin is full, and water is overflowing into the right basin. The water overflowing from the left basin is going straight down the right drain without leaving any standing water in the right basin.
Hmm, that didn’t have any clear impact. Let’s try moving things to the other side:
>GET STOPPER
Your arms are getting full, but a little rearranging lets you take it anyway. You take the sink stopper out of the left drain.You notice some activity in the kitchen sink.
Water from the faucet is pouring into the left basin. The left drain is keeping pace with the new water pouring in from the faucet, so the water level in the left basin is holding steady even as some of the water swirls clockwise down the left drain. The left basin remains completely full.
>PUSH FAUCET RIGHT
The faucet is now pushed right.You notice some activity in the kitchen sink.
Water from the faucet is pouring into the right basin. The water is going straight down the right drain without leaving any standing water in the right basin.
The water level in the left basin is two-thirds full and dropping. You find the clockwise swirling of water down the drain to be almost hypnotic.
>PUT STOPPER IN RIGHT DRAIN
The sink stopper is now in the right drain.Agador-Spartacus stands up. He pushes the sink cabinet doors open with his nose and crawls under the kitchen sink. The sink doors swing shut.
You notice some activity in the kitchen sink.
Water from the faucet is pouring into the right basin. A sink stopper is in the right drain. The level of the standing water in the right basin is almost one-third full and rising.
The water level in the left basin is one-third full and dropping. You find the clockwise swirling of water down the drain to be almost hypnotic.
>Z
Time passes…You notice some activity in the kitchen sink.
Water from the faucet is pouring into the right basin. A sink stopper is in the right drain. The level of the standing water in the right basin is almost two-thirds full and rising.
The water in the left basin is draining away. The left basin is almost empty. You find the clockwise swirling of water down the drain to be almost hypnotic.
The left drain gurgles as the last of the standing water there swirls down the drain. At the instant that you hear the gurgling of the drain the pantry door slides open, disappearing into the wall.
Whoa! What happened here?
It looks like if we move the stopper and faucet over, it’ll cause the other basin to drain out. And the two doors in the west wall open whenever either basin drains fully. We just drained the full left basin, thus opening the left (pantry) door. If we drain the right basin instead (by moving the faucet back over) we can instead open the laundry room, although probably closing the pantry in the process.
What will we find in the pantry? Well, I can say right now that it is no ordinary pantry. But for more, you’ll have to wait until Part V!
Status check!
>SCORE
Score: 35 out of 360 Turns: 652 Menu: Whatever
I believe we got 5 points when we set the table, and more points for opening the pantry door.
We’re only 10% of the way through? This is gonna be a really long game, folks.
>I
You are carrying:
some khaki trousers (being worn)
a brown sock (being worn)
a black sock (being worn)
a pair of brown shoes (being worn)
a flannel shirt (being worn)
an envelope
a large stack of catalogs
a phone bill
a gold key
an audio cassette with a red label
an audio cassette with a green label
“Go Dog Go”
“The Bedtime Story Book”
“The Boy Who Had No Words”
a optical filter
a yellow feather
a white sock
a red rubber ball
a security badge
a small phone book
a large phone book
a pocket watch
a report card
a pair of black tap shoes
3 Likes
A bit less gameplay this time, mostly because so much was one somewhat repetitive puzzle.
Depending on if I have time I might try to get another part out this weekend. Let’s just say that the “pantry” is seeming to open up a *lot* of options! (I get the feeling that anyone here who knows the game is probably very excited right now.)
1 Like
I think that the report card is an excellent digetic mean for offering to the player the commands available to the canine NPC.
What intrigues me is the TRACK command and that has the highest grade. Considering the quantity of takeable and arbitrarly-droppable objects, seems to me also a very sensible command, perhaps worth of a try ?
Best regards from Italy,
dott. Piergiorgio
2 Likes
While I remember to ask (and I’m doing it now before the situation arises, not because this has already happened): if it looks like you might have ended up in an unwinnable situation and don’t seem to be aware of the fact, would you welcome being told, or not?
2 Likes
Sure, by all means. I have reason to believe that I might be encountering the circumstances in the intro where it talked about how you might “go on a journey” and put the game in an unwinnable state.
I think I definitely already caught one for something that comes up next part. Or at least, I got in a state I had no clue how to get out of and had to undo. (Specifically: I transmogrified myself in the phone booth and seemingly couldn’t get at my stuff).
Next session is played, I just have to get it together. It’s a wild one!
1 Like
This one is actually fine. Did you try waiting for a few turns?
1 Like
Ah, that did it.
I still have no clue what I actually *accomplish* when I do that, though. Presumably I’m meant to do something while the process is happening? But i have no idea what, yet.
I won’t go into specifics, but let’s just say that there’s plenty of stuff going on right now that’s still in “pay very close attention because it will be extremely important in about another ten hours of gameplay” territory.
2 Likes
Part V: The Magic Schoolbu-Umm, Phone Booth
Last time out, we found our way into Martin’s kitchen after setting his dining room table. Along with some stuff we don’t know what to do with, we found some doors that open via causing the kitchen sink to drain. We just got the first of these to open into what claimed to be a pantry.
Spoiler: It’s not. Things are about to get weird (well, even weirder…) this update. And we’re still not even 15% of the way done!
But before we do that: Let’s begin our systematic watch exploration. I went through the 12:00 hour this session.
We already saw what happened at 12:00:
The video screen begins to show the movie “High Noon”. “Do Not Forsake Me, Oh My Darling…”
We know that we can change the watch face to Maxwell to move in increments of four minutes, so let’s do that:
>PUSH STEM
You push the watch stem and it springs back up again. The watch cover pops open.On the face of the watch you see an image of Benjamin Franklin. Ben’s arms show the time as 12:00. Ben’s bifocals are glowing.
>G
You push the watch stem and it springs back up again. The watch beeps. The watch image changes to Albert Einstein.>G
You push the watch stem and it springs back up again. The watch beeps. The watch image changes to James Clerk Maxwell.
I’ve come up with a simple thing to paste in to try each time:
>TURN STEM. PUT WATCH IN POCKET. GET WATCH
You turn the stem clockwise. Maxwell’s arms now show the time as 12:04.(first closing the watch)
The pocket watch is now in one of the trouser pockets.The video screen begins to show the movie “Casa Blanca”. “Play It Sam.”
Incidentally, the kitchen sink is still active and giving messages every turn while I’m doing this. I’ve cut them out here. In fact, this is repetitive, so I’m just gonna list each time and what happens on the screen:
12:08:
The video screen begins to show the movie “Ben Hur”. It’s the part with the chariot race.
12:12:
The video screen begins to show Charlie Chaplin’s “The Great Dictator”. Chaplin, playing a comic version of Adolph Hitler, tosses a balloon globe of the world into the air.
12:16:
The video screen begins to show the movie “Laura”. It’s a mystery about a detective who falls in love with a woman he sees in a painting.
12:20:
The video screen begins to show the movie “Arsenic and Old Lace”. Teddy is blowing “Charge” on his bugle.
12:24:
The video screen begins to show the movie “Tarzan”. Tarzan is swinging on a vine in the jungle.
12:28:
The video screen begins to show the movie “The Three Musketeers”. Athos, Porthos, and Aramis are showing their excellent fencing skills.
“Athos” was also on that list of things along with Bashful the dwarf in the phone book, so it’s possible this one was an explicit hint. That phone book will be extremely relevant in a moment.
12:32:
The video screen begins to show the movie “Desk Set”. Kathryn Hepburn answers the phone in the research department and supplies the names of the seven dwarves.
12:36:
The video screen begins to show the older version of “Miracle on 34th Street”. It’s the part where the post office brings in bags and bags of mail for Santa.
12:40:
The video screen begins to show the movie “The Time Machine”. It’s the old Rod Taylor version. The fashions change on the store mannequin as he travels through time.
12:44:
The video screen begins to show the movie “Some Like it Hot”. Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon masquerade in drag in order to work as musicians in an all girls band with Marilyn Monroe.
12:48:
The video screen begins to show the movie “King Kong”. Fay Wray is screaming.
12:52:
The video screen begins to show the movie “Journey to the Center of the Earth”. It looks like they might end up in a volcano.
12:56:
The video screen begins to show the movie “Spartacus”. A slave is leading a hopeless rebellion against imperial Rome. His chin looks a little like yours does.
Is that supposed to be a good thing or not, I wonder?
Anyway, that’s all. In fact, I checked, and the other minutes all round down to the nearest multiple of four minutes, with one exception at 12:09:
The video screen begins to show the movie “Murder on the Orient Express”. This Agatha Christie mystery takes place on a train.
Even 12:10 and 12:11 give the same effect as 12:08. This is probably just another way to hint at the link between the train and times involving 9.
Anyway, let’s see what’s beyond that pantry door!
>W
PHONE BOOTH, in the pantry
You’re in the phone booth.
The phone booth door is open to the east, leading to the kitchen. A telephone is attached to the opposite wall. It’s a little difficult to see in here because the only light seems to be coming from outside the phone booth.
Wow, this is cool. Definitely no ordinary pantry. There’s not much in the way of other scenery, so let’s take a look at the big thing here:
>X PHONE
The large black telephone looks pretty much like what you would expect to find in a phone booth except that there are no slots for depositing coins. There is, however, a small round hole on the top of the telephone that is about as wide as your finger.The receiver for the telephone is currently hung up. You also see the usual keypad buttons, from the one button through the nine button, plus a star button, a zero button and a pound button.
Built into the base of the telephone is a square metal device.
You see Agador-Spartacus in the kitchen. He’s sitting down.
>X DEVICE
The metal device is built into the base of the telephone so that only the front of it is visible. However, the edges of the phone surrounding it have been cut somewhat irregularly. It occurs to you that this device was most likely not a part of the original design of the telephone.There appear to be some words engraved on the device but the lighting in here is too dim to read it.
The metal device has a rectangular drawer about the size of a match box and a lever next to the drawer.
Of course Martin messed with what was probably just a normal phone. But what did he do with it?
>OPEN DRAWER
The only way to open the drawer is by pushing the lever up.>PUSH LEVER
As you push the lever up, the drawer slides open. There is nothing inside.>X HOLE
The hole is small and round. It smells vaguely like coconuts.
Anyway, we had an idea of what to try as soon as we found a phone. There were some cryptic messages in a phone book we found in the bedroom. Here’s a reminder of what that was:
>OPEN SMALL BOOK
(closing “The Boy Who Had No Words” first)
You open the small phone book to the first page.>READ IT
There are no numbers on the first page, but you see the following words:
TWEEDLE DEE
BASHFUL
ATHOS
SATURN
BLITZEN>TURN PAGE
You turn the page.>READ IT
The second page advises you that in order to access the “Metaphysical Assistance Hotline”, you should dial “*” followed by your five-digit access code.
So, we thought that we needed to find the number of things in the group referred to each line on the first page. I thought this was 2 (for Tweedle Dee/Dum), then 7 (dwarves, then 3 (Musketeers), then 8 (planets), then 8 (Santa’s reindeer). Except, as was pointed out in the thread, this game dates to before the demotion of Pluto, so the expected answer to line 4 was probably 9. Therefore we should try:
>GET PHONE
You pick up the receiver.You hear a dial tone.
>DIAL “*27398”
You dial “*27398”.Through the receiver you hear a line ringing, “br-rr-rrr-p. br-rr-rrr-p. br-rr-rrr-p.” After three rings the call is answered by a computerized recording that speaks to you in celestial tones.
“Welcome to the Metaphysical Assistance Hotline.”
You hear the computerized voice tell you…
Press “1” to be enlightened.
Press “2” to be empowered.
Press “3” to be cleansed.
Press “4” to be uplifted.
Press “5” to be enriched.
Press “6” to be inspired.
Press “7” to be moved.
Press “8” to be informed.
Press “9” to be transmogrified.
If you do not have access to a touch tone phone, please remain on the line and an operator will assist you.
Success!
I had to try, and this is what happens if you guess wrong:
>DIAL “*27388”
You dial “*27388”.You hear “That access code is invalid. Please hang up now and begin your call again. When you hear the dial tone, dial “*” followed by your five digit access code.”
Anyway, wow. So we have options for every number from 1 to 9 to choose from. No option seems better than any other (and we’ll likely need them all) so let’s just start at the top!
>PRESS “1”
You press “1”.You hear a click coming from inside the ceiling of the phone booth as a light turns on. You can see much better now.
------------- Press space bar to continue -----------------
[more]
You see Agador-Spartacus in the kitchen. He’s lying down.
You hear the computerized voice tell you…
Press “1” to be enlightened.
Press “2” to be empowered.
Press “3” to be cleansed.
Press “4” to be uplifted.
Press “5” to be enriched.
Press “6” to be inspired.
Press “7” to be moved.
Press “8” to be informed.
Press “9” to be transmogrified.
If you do not have access to a touch tone phone, please remain on the line and an operator will assist you.
Yes, the “press space” appears any time you use the phone. We were told we couldn’t see much in here before when we looked at something, so let’s try again:
>X DEVICE
The metal device is built into the base of the telephone so that only the front of it is visible. However, the edges of the phone surrounding it have been cut somewhat irregularly. It occurs to you that this device was most likely not a part of the original design of the telephone.Engraved on the device are the words "Kessler-Takamine Drive ". Other writing is engraved on it as well, but it is in Japanese and you can’t read it.
The metal device has a rectangular drawer about the size of a match box and a lever next to the drawer.
Kessler is Martin’s last name, confirming this was his (or at least his family’s) invention. DOn’t recall hearing of anyone named Takamene yet, though.
The phone continues to repeat its menu on each turn. I’m gonna cut out most of that, too. No need for you reading this to see it again, although it’s helpful for me as a player.
Next up is 2, empowered.
>PRESS “2”
You press “2”.A thin rubber rod rises up from the hole in the telephone. On top of the rod is a tiny round battery of the type that might be used in a wristwatch or a camera. You take the battery. The rod descends back into the hole.
------------- Press space bar to continue -----------------
[more]
>X BATTERY
It’s a tiny round battery of the type that might be used in a wristwatch or a camera.
Doesn’t seem immediately useful, but we keep it anyway.
Also, something interesting has happened to the phone’s menu:
You hear the computerized voice tell you…
Press “1” to be enlightened.
Press “3” to be cleansed.
Press “4” to be uplifted.
Press “5” to be enriched.
Press “6” to be inspired.
Press “7” to be moved.
Press “8” to be informed.
Press “9” to be transmogrified.
If you do not have access to a touch tone phone, please remain on the line and an operator will assist you.
Notice that 2 is gone; getting the battery was all we can do with that option. (In fact we get an error if we try again.) i didn’t in this session, but 1 is still an option; it makes the light even brighter, but doesn’t seem to do anything on repeated pressing.
Next is 3: cleansed.
>PRESS “3”
You press “3”.Hot water sprays down at you from a sprinkler system inside the ceiling of the phone booth.
In quick succession the cleansing process moves through the recommended procedure of shampoo, rinse, repeat shampoo, rinse again.
Then there is a pause while some clicking sounds come from the ceiling. Since nothing happens, you assume that the phone booth has run out of hair conditioner.
A blast of hot air begins to blow down upon you from the ceiling. The hot air lasts for only a short while but it is blowing so hard that you soon find yourself dried completely.
You notice that your hair is standing on end and crackling with static electricity. No doubt this is because the phone booth ran out of hair conditioner.
------------- Press space bar to continue -----------------
[more]
That bit about static electricity sounds like an effect that is either (1) impossible to revert, or (2) is only active for a limited time, so I need to do some action fairly quickly while I have the electric buildup. I undo, just in case. 3 continues to be an option after this, so we can do it more than once for whenever we need an electric buildup.
Next is 4: uplifted.
>PUSH “4”
You press “4”.You hear the sound of a motor grinding, the door slams Mclosed, and the phone booth suddenly rises upwards very quickly. Then, just as suddenly, the phone booth comes to a screeching halt. The phone booth door opens.
PHONE BOOTH, by the second floor landing
You see the second floor landing to the east.
>L
PHONE BOOTH, by the second floor landing
You’re in the phone booth.
The phone booth door is open to the east, leading to the second floor landing. A telephone is attached to the opposite wall. Light is coming from the ceiling of the phone booth.
The rectangular drawer is open.
You hear the computerized voice tell you…
Press “1” to be enlightened.
Press “3” to be cleansed.
Press “4” to be uplifted.
Press “5” to be enriched.
Press “6” to be inspired.
Press “7” to be moved.
Press “8” to be informed.
Press “9” to be returned.
If you do not have access to a touch tone phone, please remain on the line and an operator will assist you.
Two things are notable about the menu now. First, note that 9 has been changed to “returned”. I’ll show what that means later.
Secondly, option 4 has not been removed. So I try pushing 4 again, and something strange happens:
>PRESS “4”
You press “4”.The telephone voice speaks again: “Additional uplift requires pre-programmed GSC coordinates. Please wait while your Phantom Phone booth accesses this information.”
After a pause the voice resumes. “Pre-programmed GSC coordinates have been found. Estimated transit time using standard drive capabilities exceeds the expected life expectancy of this vehicle. Please wait while your Phantom Phone Booth scans for any custom drive mechanisms that may have been previously installed.”
After a pause the voice resumes. “A custom drive mechanism has been located. Recalculated transit time using the custom drive mechanism is twelve minutes.”
You hear the sound of a motor grinding and a high pitched whistle. The door slams closed.
------------- Press space bar to continue -----------------
[more]
Then, the grinding of the motor and the whistle is suddenly silenced. The voice says, “Uplift preparation has been terminated. Inadequate fuel conditions exist because the fuel previously residing in the custom drive mechanism has failed to meet the minimum potency threshhold and has therefore been destroyed. Drive specifications require fuel that has not been exposed to organic decomposition in excess of 216 hours.”
So, I guess that is an option. We just need to find an appropriate sort of fuel. What kind of fuel does a teleporting phone booth use? I have no clue!
Anyway, we’ve gotten to a new part of the house. What will we find?
>E
The phone booth door is closed.>OPEN DOOR
The phone booth door is now open.>E
You drop the receiver.
SECOND FLOOR LANDING
To the north is a short hall. Here on the landing you are surrounded by walls in all of the other directions.
On the west wall you see a door-sized opening leading to the phone booth.
Nothing to do here. Let’s move along.
>N
SHORT HALL
On the east wall you see a door, which is currently closed.
On the north wall is a glass shelf that appears to have something etched into the glass.
To the south is the second floor landing.
The west wall has a very strange appearance. The outer edges of the wall look like the other walls here (painted orange), but in the middle of the west wall is a large fuzzy white square that stands a little taller than you are. Your view of the square is somewhat obscured by a large square pillar that stands in front of the wall.
>X WEST WALL
The outer edges of the west wall look like the other walls here (painted orange), but in the middle of the wall is a large fuzzy white square that stands a little taller than you are. Your view of the square is somewhat obscured by a large square pillar that stands in front of the wall.In the exact center of the fuzzy square is a round metal depression that appears to be a sort of socket. The socket is at about the level of your waist. The pillar stands rather close to the west wall, perhaps half an arm’s length away.
>X DOOR
The east door is closed. The east door has a lock that requires a key on this side.>OPEN IT
The door is locked.>UNLOCK DOOR WITH KEY
Which door do you mean, the east door, or the phone booth door?>EAST
The gold key doesn’t fit the lock.
Of course we don’t have the key, yet.
>X SHELF
Etched into the glass shelf is a picture of a checkerboard. Nothing else is currently on the shelf.>X PILLAR
The large square pillar runs from floor to ceiling. It’s painted orange, matching the walls here. The pillar stands rather close to the west wall, perhaps half an arm’s length away.The square pillar is featureless except for a round metal device on the back side of the pillar. The device is about the size of a manhole cover with its center close to the level of your waist. The device looks something like the iris of a camera, currently closed.
>X DEVICE
It’s a round metal device about the size of a manhole cover. The device looks something like the iris of a camera, currently closed.>OPEN IT
You can’t.>X DEPRESSION
In the exact center of the fuzzy square is a round metal depression that appears to be a sort of socket. The socket is at about the level of your waist.
I try something real quick, just to see:
>PUT BATTERY IN SOCKET
The battery wouldn’t be a good fit for the depression. The shape of the depression looks like it’s part of an automated mechanism that doesn’t need you to put anything inside of it.
So, it’s not a matter of putting something in the socket to activate it. Maybe we need to figure out what to do with that checkerboard etching instead?
In short: There are a few new mysteries on the second floor, but no solutions yet open to me (that I could find anyway).
>S
SECOND FLOOR LANDING
>W
PHONE BOOTH, by the second floor landing
You’re in the phone booth.
The phone booth door is open to the east, leading to the second floor landing. A telephone is attached to the opposite wall. Light is coming from the ceiling of the phone booth.
The rectangular drawer is open.
Okay, with no progress on that front, let’s continue pushing buttons!
(Continued in next post)
2 Likes
(Part V, continued)
Next is 5, enriched.
>PRESS “5”
You pick up the receiver.You press “5”.
A thin rubber rod rises up from the hole in the telephone. Wrapped around the rod is a fifty dollar bill. You take the fifty dollar bill. The rod descends back into the hole.
This is the only money we can get, as 5 disappears from the menu. No infinite money loopholes this game!
>X BILL
Which bill do you mean, the phone bill, or the fifty dollar bill?>FIFTY
It’s just an ordinary fifty dollar bill.
Next is 6, inspired.
>PRESS “6”
You press “6”.The telephone voice speaks again: "Today’s inspiring message is brought to you by the Holistic Studies Institute, which asks you to ponder the following profound question. How many metaphysicists does it take to change an inspirational quote into a light bulb joke? The answer of course is fifteen: Two with the wisdom to stop topologists from dunking coffee cups into their doughnuts, three with the serenity to recharge all of the world’s lightbulbs through transcendental meditation, four with the patience to put all of the brightly colored machine tools back into the Klein bottle, five with sufficient martial arts skills to keep the surrealists away from the bathtub, and one with the courage to explain it all to the giraffe.”
I have no clue which, if any, of that seeming nonsense is going to be game-relevant! In any case, 6 also is gone from the menu now.
Next is 7, moved.
>PRESS “7”
You press “7”.The computerized voice goes on to tell you
Please specify the destination to which you would like to be moved…
Press “1” to go to the zoo.
Press “2” to go to the beach.
Press “3” to go to work.
Press “4” to go to the store.
Press “5” to go to the veterinarian’s office.
Press “6” to visit Mom.
All other options will return you to the main menu. Please be advised that the previously mentioned destinations can be reached only through the Phantom Phone Booth object-oriented navigational system.>PRESS “1”
You press “1”.The telephone voice tells you, “The Phantom Phone Booth navigational system is object-oriented. Unfortunately you didn’t bring the right object to go to the zoo.”
I suppose this is a neat design choice, limiting which areas we can get to by gating them behind objects. We’ll test the other options later. In the meantime, I next move on to 8, informed.
>PRESS “8”
You press “8”.The telephone voice speaks again: “Today’s informational message is a first-aid tidbit regarding treatment of jellyfish stings. First and foremost, do not touch the jellyfish with your hands or fingers. Nevertheless, it is important to make sure that the jellyfish is completely removed from the skin as soon as possible. The application of a slightly acidic liquid such as vinegar is also advised. One traditional folk remedy, disputed by some medical professionals, holds that an acceptable treatment for a jellyfish sting would be to piss on it. The popular opinion seems to be that the likelihood of obtaining a beneficial effect from this treatment is higher than the probability that anyone will happen to have a bottle of vinegar nearby when someone is stung by a jellyfish.”
Unlike with the inspirational joke, this definitely feels like a hint! I would say that I have no clue how we’d encounter a jellyfish in this game, but we did just learn one of the teleportation destinations is a beach, so…
Last is 9, currently “returned”.
>PRESS “9”
You press “9”.You hear the sound of a motor grinding, the door slams closed, and the phone booth suddenly drops very quickly. Then, just as suddenly, the phone booth comes to a screeching halt. The door opens and you see the kitchen.
PHONE BOOTH, in the pantry
You see the kitchen to the east.
You hear the computerized voice tell you…
Press “1” to be enlightened.
Press “3” to be cleansed.
Press “4” to be uplifted.
Press “7” to be moved.
Press “9” to be transmogrified.
If you do not have access to a touch tone phone, please remain on the line and an operator will assist you.
So, that’s how we get back from somewhere. Note that 9 is “returned” seemingly everywhere other than the pantry, but changes here. Let’s see what “transmogrification” is:
>PRESS “9”
You press “9”.You hear the sound of a motor grinding and a high pitched whistle.
The grinding noises continue while the voice on the phone says “Parity considerations require that there must be exactly two objects located within the phone booth at the time of transmogrification, not counting shielded telephone equipment and protective eyewear (if worn). Please stand by while the current object count is determined.”
Crisscrossing laser beams scan the phone booth as the voice says:
“human 1
undershorts 1
khaki trousers 1
brown sock 1
black sock 1
brown shoes 2
flannel shirt 1
envelope 1
large stack of catalogs 1
phone bill 1
gold key 1
red audio cassette 1
green audio cassette 1
dog book 1
bedtime book 1
boy book 1
optical filter 1
yellow feather 1
white sock 1
red rubber ball 1
security badge 1
small phone book 1
large phone book 1
report card 1
black tap shoes 2
pocket watch 1
battery 1
fifty dollar bill 1”The voice continues. “The count of objects has been determined to be 30. Please remove 28 objects from the phone booth. Transmogrification will automatically begin when the count of objects reaches 2. Press “9” to abort transmogrification and to return to the main menu.”
>PRESS “9”
You press “9”.You hear the computerized voice tell you…
Press “1” to be enlightened.
Press “3” to be cleansed.
Press “4” to be uplifted.
Press “7” to be moved.
Press “9” to be transmogrified.
If you do not have access to a touch tone phone, please remain on the line and an operator will assist you.
Okay, so whatever this does, we need to drop all our stuff, probably including most of our clothes.
(My favorite bit is that it’s apparently smart enough to count the pairs of shoes as two objects. Very clever.)
Anyway, let’s look at the movement destinations under 7 again:
>PRESS “7”
You press “7”.The computerized voice goes on to tell you
Please specify the destination to which you would like to be moved…
Press “1” to go to the zoo.
Press “2” to go to the beach.
Press “3” to go to work.
Press “4” to go to the store.
Press “5” to go to the veterinarian’s office.
Press “6” to visit Mom.
All other options will return you to the main menu. Please be advised that the previously mentioned destinations can be reached only through the Phantom Phone Booth object-oriented navigational system.>PRESS “2”
You press “2”.The telephone voice tells you, “The Phantom Phone Booth navigational system is object-oriented. Unfortunately you didn’t bring the right object to go to the beach.”
I try all the other destinations. Pressing 4, 5, or 6 has the same result; we don’t have the needed object.
However, when we press 3 to go to work, something does happen!
>PRESS “3”
You press “3”.You hear the sound of a motor grinding, the door slams closed, and the phone booth suddenly rises upwards very quickly. It passes the second floor landing and goes through the roof, flying high into the air.
The telephone voice tells you, “Estimated travel time for this ten mile trip is five minutes, using standard travel speed.”
The phone booth flies south. After about five minutes of flying you see some sort of parking structure below. The phone booth enters the parking structure and travels to an underground level before landing.
The phone booth door pops open.
PHONE BOOTH, in the Employee Parking Area
You see the Employee Parking Area to the east.
Wow, instant commute! Again, where do i get one of these things?
I do an inventory check to see what I have that might be the key object to get here. The most obvious candidate is probably the employee security badge we found in the bedroom dresser, which was explicitly Martin’s.
I’m not yet ready to explore here, so undo. I want to see what transmogrification does. So we undo back to the pantry and go:
>E
You drop the receiver.
KITCHEN
>DROP ALL
envelope: The envelope is now on the floor.
large stack of catalogs: The large stack of catalogs is now on the floor.
phone bill: The phone bill is now on the floor.
gold key: The gold key is now on the floor.
red audio cassette: The red audio cassette is now on the floor.
green audio cassette: The green audio cassette is now on the floor.
dog book: “Go Dog Go” is now on the floor.
bedtime book: “The Bedtime Story Book” is now on the floor.
boy book: “The Boy Who Had No Words” is now on the floor.
optical filter: The optical filter is now on the floor.
yellow feather: The yellow feather is now on the floor.
white sock: The white sock is now on the floor.
red rubber ball: The red rubber ball is now on the floor.
security badge: The security badge is now on the floor.
small phone book: (closing the small phone book first)
The small phone book is now on the floor.
large phone book: The large phone book is now on the floor.
report card: The report card is now on the floor.
black tap shoes: The black tap shoes are now on the floor.
pocket watch: The pocket watch is now on the floor.
battery: The battery is now on the floor.
fifty dollar bill: The fifty dollar bill is now on the floor.
Whew, we’ve already got a lot of excess stuff!
>W
PHONE BOOTH, in the pantry
>PRESS “9”
You pick up the receiver.You press “9”.
You hear the sound of a motor grinding and a high pitched whistle.
The grinding noises continue while the voice on the phone says “Parity considerations require that there must be exactly two objects located within the phone booth at the time of transmogrification, not counting shielded telephone equipment and protective eyewear (if worn). Please stand by while the current object count is determined.”
Crisscrossing laser beams scan the phone booth as the voice says:
“human 1
undershorts 1
khaki trousers 1
brown sock 1
black sock 1
brown shoes 2
flannel shirt 1”The voice continues. “The count of objects has been determined to be 8. Please remove 6 objects from the phone booth. Transmogrification will automatically begin when the count of objects reaches 2. Press “9” to abort transmogrification and to return to the main menu.”
As suspected, we need to move our clothes elsewhere too.
>E
You drop the receiver.
KITCHEN
>REMOVE ALL
khaki trousers: You take off the khaki trousers.
brown sock: If you want to take off any socks you’d have to take off your shoes first.
black sock: If you want to take off any socks you’d have to take off your shoes first.
brown shoes: You take off the brown shoes.
flannel shirt: You take off the flannel shirt.>DROP ALL
khaki trousers: The khaki trousers are now on the floor.
brown shoes: The brown shoes are now on the floor.
flannel shirt: The flannel shirt is now on the floor.
I guess it’s logical we need to remove the shoes before the socks, but man that’s kind of annoying.
>REMOVE BROWN SOCK
You take off the brown sock.>REMOVE BLACK SOCK
You take off the black sock.>DROP BROWN SOCK, BLACK SOCK
brown sock: The brown sock is now on the floor.
black sock: The black sock is now on the floor.>W
PHONE BOOTH, in the pantry
You’re in the phone booth.
The phone booth door is open to the east, leading to the kitchen. A telephone is attached to the opposite wall. Light is coming from the ceiling of the phone booth.
The rectangular drawer is open.
You see Agador-Spartacus in the kitchen. He’s sitting down.
The grinding noises continue while the voice on the phone says, somewhat faintly since the receiver is hanging down on its cord, “Parity considerations require that there must be exactly two objects located within the phone booth at the time of transmogrification, not counting shielded telephone equipment and protective eyewear (if worn). Please stand by while the current object count is determined.”
Crisscrossing laser beams scan the phone booth as the voice says:
“human 1
undershorts 1”The voice continues. “The count of objects has been determined to be 2. Transmogrification will begin now.”
------------- Press space bar to continue -----------------
[more]
The phone booth door closes.
You feel an odd twist inside of you that causes you to wince and close your eyes. After a while you open your eyes again. You look through the slightly tinted glass of the phone booth door and realize that you’re not in the pantry anymore. The phone booth seems to be floating in a thick, gray, rainy mist.
Then, you suddenly find yourself transported a second time, this time without the phone booth. The slow drifting movement of the phone booth instantly changes into impossibly rapid flight. It’s almost as if you have been sucked into a dimension where speed is more important than time or space.
Bizarre and spooky music begins to play – loud, dramatic notes that seem to eminate from nowhere and everywhere at the same time. Five notes are played. They seem oddly familiar to you, but not in any obvious way that you can put your finger on.
NOT IN THE PANTRY ANYMORE
You are flying at an incredible speed through a multi-colored display of light patterns.
NOT IN THE PANTRY ANYMORE
I love how it’s set up to let us keep our underwear (and nothing else!) while doing this.
Anyway, it looks like we might be in trouble, but let’s let things play out:
>Z
Time passes…You continue to fly rapidly through the ever-changing light patterns.
>Z
Time passes…You continue to fly rapidly through the ever-changing light patterns.
Although the number of dimensions you are experiencing is actually greater than what you are used to observing, for some reason you perceive this effect as causing your visual field to seem flattened between two-dimensional surfaces.
>Z
Time passes…You continue to fly rapidly through the ever-changing light patterns.
>Z
Time passes…You continue to fly rapidly through the ever-changing light patterns.
>Z
Time passes…You suddenly find yourself transported back into the phone booth. You drift in the gray rainy mist for a while. Then you and the phone booth are transported back into the pantry.
PHONE BOOTH, in the pantry
You’re in the phone booth.
The phone booth door, which faces east, is closed. Through its slightly tinted glass you see the kitchen. A telephone is attached to the opposite wall. Light is coming from the ceiling of the phone booth.
The rectangular drawer is open.
You see the kitchen to the east.------------- Press space bar to continue -----------------
[more]
You hear the computerized voice tell you (somewhat faintly since the receiver is hanging down on its cord) …
Press “1” to be enlightened.
Press “3” to be cleansed.
Press “4” to be uplifted.
Press “7” to be moved.
Press “9” to be transmogrified.
If you do not have access to a touch tone phone, please remain on the line and an operator will assist you.>PRESS “9”
Your hands cannot make a connection with the telephone. It’s almost as if you’re not really here.
Uh oh! Can we at least get out?
>OPEN DOOR
Your hands cannot make a connection with the phone booth door. It’s almost as if you’re not really here.
Oh, dear. I think we might be stuck. So, time to undo a bunch!
(Except, as I was later clued in, waiting a few more turns lets us get back into a normal state.)
I still have no clue what exactly “transmogrification” accomplishes. My current guess is that if we bring in the right additional object, we will be able to get some benefit from it. Unfortunately I do not know what the right object could be.
Anyway, we undo until we get back into:
KITCHEN
You see an envelope, a large stack of catalogs, a phone bill, a gold key, an audio cassette with a red label, an audio cassette with a green label, “Go Dog Go”, “The Bedtime Story Book”, “The Boy Who Had No Words”, a optical filter, a yellow feather, a white sock, a red rubber ball, a security badge, a small phone book, a large phone book, a report card, a pair of black tap shoes, a pocket watch, a battery, a fifty dollar bill, some khaki trousers, a pair of brown shoes, a flannel shirt, a brown sock, and a black sock here.
I spend some time getting all my stuff, putting my clothes on, etc. I’ll just show my returned inventory when I finish.
When it’s done, we go back into the booth.
>W
PHONE BOOTH, in the pantry
We first have to press a number again, since we’re still on standby for transmogrification (with far too many objects). Then, we can go ahead again and:
>PRESS “7”
You press “7”.You see Agador-Spartacus in the kitchen. He’s lying down.
The computerized voice goes on to tell you
Please specify the destination to which you would like to be moved…
Press “1” to go to the zoo.
Press “2” to go to the beach.
Press “3” to go to work.
Press “4” to go to the store.
Press “5” to go to the veterinarian’s office.
Press “6” to visit Mom.
All other options will return you to the main menu. Please be advised that the previously mentioned destinations can be reached only through the Phantom Phone Booth object-oriented navigational system.>PRESS “3”
You press “3”.You hear the sound of a motor grinding, the door slams closed, and the phone booth suddenly rises upwards very quickly. It passes the second floor landing and goes through the roof, flying high into the air.
The telephone voice tells you, “Estimated travel time for this ten mile trip is five minutes, using standard travel speed.”
The phone booth flies south. After about five minutes of flying you see some sort of parking structure below. The phone booth enters the parking structure and travels to an underground level before landing.
The phone booth door pops open.
PHONE BOOTH, in the Employee Parking Area
You see the Employee Parking Area to the east.
What will we find at SED Limited? Well, that’s coming in Part VI!
>I
You are carrying:
some khaki trousers (being worn)
a brown sock (being worn)
a black sock (being worn)
a pair of brown shoes (being worn)
a flannel shirt (being worn)
an envelope
a large stack of catalogs
a phone bill
a gold key
an audio cassette with a red label
an audio cassette with a green label
“Go Dog Go”
“The Bedtime Story Book”
“The Boy Who Had No Words”
a optical filter
a yellow feather
a white sock
a red rubber ball
a security badge
a small phone book
a large phone book
a report card
a pair of black tap shoes
a battery
a fifty dollar bill
a pocket watchYou hear the computerized voice tell you…
Press “1” to be enlightened.
Press “3” to be cleansed.
Press “9” to be returned.
If you do not have access to a touch tone phone, please remain on the line and an operator will assist you.>SCORE
Score: 40 out of 360 Turns: 939 Menu: Whatever
We got 5 more points for using the phone access code.
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Whew, that was a lot.
Remember, there’s still a whole second door past the kitchen, supposedly into a laundry room, that’s still unexplored (and needs opening via the kitchen sink). But I’m committed to checking out work right now.
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