Part 7 - World tour, third leg
Despite being more than halfway through the game according to our score, there are still two main areas we’ve not even touched yet (plus two sub-areas to go back and explore now that we have the flashlight). The largest of these, according to the spoiler-free map, is:
>FLY TO WASHINGTON DC
You take off from Airstrip and fly to Andrews Air Force Base. (it’s fast)
Andrews Air Force Base (in the Quotient Jet)
This large Air Force base is west of Washington DC. (In other words, head east). Washington, D.C. was laid out into four quadrants, Northwest (NW), Northeast (NE), Southeast (SE) and Southwest (SW). Each of the quadrants was bounded by axes that radiated out from the U.S. Capitol building. Streets were labeled to indicate their quadrant. It was designed in a baroque style, with avenues emanating out from the many green spaces across the district.
I’m confused by this because the past-tense text has previously indicated text that was copied from The Quantum Contingent, but all this attention paid to how Washington DC is laid out geographically definitely sounds like the kind of text you’d write for an adventure game. Except, according to the map, this information about the quadrants of the city (is it a city? or a district? or some other administrative distinction all of its own?) isn’t going to be relevant in the game anyway, since every location we need to visit is laid out in a west-to-east line!
Regardless, you still need to go east.
Okay!
In the Quotient Jet you can see a treat cupboard (empty).
>OUT
You get out of the Quotient Jet.
Andrews Air Force Base
One of Quotient’s jets is here primed and ready.
>E
The Lincoln Memorial
The Lincoln Memorial sits majestically at the western end of the National Mall, a tribute to the 16th president of the United States. The Statue of Lincoln is seated here in contemplation.
The Reflecting Pool stretches out to the east, leading back to the National Mall. The National Cathedral is a few miles north of here. West returns to Andrews Air Force Base.
As a non-American, I’m vaguely aware of the existence of the Lincoln Memorial, but the name “Reflecting Pool” in my mind is most prominently associated with a Magic: the Gathering card. Aren’t all sufficiently still pools reflecting pools?
Jack, a seasoned spy, is here. He is known for his quick thinking and negotiation skills. He didn’t start out as a spy as his initial contributions were in building Quotient’s quantum computer, Tardis, in space. He is Sarah’s brother and has a complex romantic relationship with Kara.
Trying to X LINCOLN, incidentally, just repeats the location description, but if we want to actually look at the statue we can:
>X STATUE
We get a picture (of the whole memorial, with the statue just visible in the middle), which I’m sure will be visible on the game’s companion website shortly!
The incredible Georgia White Marble statue inside the Lincoln Memorial weights 175 tons and is a scale such that if Lincoln were standing, he would be 28 feet tall.
28 feet tall (I’m assuming that @simpsong00 has done his research here and that this is the correct height) sounds like a pretty big statue! I mention this mostly because my previous Let’s Play involved a statue that was supposedly twenty times that size and made of solid gold.
Anyway, Jack has apparently flown here after eating his fill of Cincinnati cuisine; does he have anything useful to tell us?
>TALK TO JACK
“Hello again, what are you up to.” you say.
“I’m looking for a hidden laser.”
>ASK JACK ABOUT LASER
All I know is that Cassie a laser that would help her with her time experiment by aligning the quantum states.
I feel like Jack is either holding out on us here or his thought process works in very elliptical ways. If Cassie said that she needed a laser, without any other context, why did he immediately conclude that there was probably one hidden in Washington DC? Unless Jack is aware that he’s a character in a game, and is concluding, as a player might, that there must be a laser somewhere in the game and, since this area hasn’t served any other purpose yet, it’s probably here!
>N
The National Cathedral
This neo-gothic cathedral is the sixth largest in the world. Its stunning stone towers stand 676 feet tall. You notice a unique grotesque on the Northwest tower. You enter in reverence. The west rose window is awe inspiring.
A small hallway leads west, south heads back to the Lincoln Memorial.
>X GROTESQUE
One of the gargoyles or grotesques on the Northwest tower looks like a Darth Vader Mask. (Really).
>X VADER
You can’t see any such thing.
Initially I figured that calling the player’s attention to one specific grotesque had to be a clue to a puzzle, but actually I think this could just be the author continuing his tour-guide role and telling us that there really is a Darth Vader lookalike in the National Cathedral!
>X ROSE WINDOW
Both President Jimmy Carter and Queen Elizabeth II were present for its dedication. It appears as if it would be good at refracting light. It was after all created in reference to God’s line “Let there be light”
The line about refracting light definitely sounds like it’s part of a puzzle though.
>W
The Chapel
You wander into a small chapel that might hold 8 people. A perfect place to meditate or pray. There is a small wooden pew here.
Exit to the east.
>X PEW
A modest wooden pew.
>SIT ON PEW
yourself are now seated on the Pew.
>PRAY
From the distance the sound of a lone trumpet is heard. You can faintly hear a song bird until a loud clunk disturbs your prayer.
I think we accomplished something! But what?
>LOOK
The Chapel (on the Pew)
You wander into a small chapel that might hold 8 people. A perfect place to meditate or pray. There is a small wooden pew here.
Exit to the east.
>X PEW
A modest wooden pew.
>LOOK UNDER IT
You find nothing of interest.
>SEARCH IT
There is nothing on the Pew.
>LOOK BEHIND IT
There’s nothing of any interest behind the Pew.
Let’s hope that whatever we just did will become obvious elsewhere, then?
>E
(first getting off the Pew)
The National Cathedral
A hook is swinging from a rafter near the laser.
A laser has popped up through a stone floor tile. It is mounted on an exquisitely carved wooden stand.
It’s that hidden laser!
>X LASER
The laser is a powerful ruby laser.
The laser is currently switched off.
>TAKE LASER
That’s fixed in place.
>X HOOK
Yeah, it’s a hook alright. Looks sturdy.
>TAKE HOOK
That’s fixed in place.
>PUT LASER ON HOOK
(first taking the laser)
That’s fixed in place.
I can’t quite visualise the relationship between this hook and the laser, but having found the latter, probably we should just tell Jack about it and figure he knows what to do?
>S
The Lincoln Memorial
Jack, a seasoned spy, is here. He is known for his quick thinking and negotiation skills. He didn’t start out as a spy as his initial contributions were in building Quotient’s quantum computer, Tardis, in space. He is Sarah’s brother and has a complex romantic relationship with Kara.
>TELL JACK ABOUT LASER
All I know is that Cassie a laser that would help her with her time experiment by aligning the quantum states.
Yes, but we found the laser, Jack! It popped up out of the floor in the National Cathedral!
Can we get him to come and look?
>JACK, N
Jack has better things to do.
Okay, Jack probably isn’t going to help us after all.
>N
The National Cathedral
A hook is swinging from a rafter near the laser.
A laser has popped up through a stone floor tile. It is mounted on an exquisitely carved wooden stand.
>X STAND
You can’t see any such thing.
>TURN ON LASER
The laser shines through the rose window, and refracts harmlessly to the sides.
The laser shuts off.
I don’t really know what we’re trying to do with this laser, but is this trying to tell us that the rose window is preventing it?
>BREAK WINDOW
Violence isn’t the answer to this one.
>CLIMB HOOK
Little is to be achieved by that.
>PULL HOOK
It is fixed in place.
Are we carrying anything useful that might go on this hook?
>HANG SPYGLASS ON HOOK
You carefully hang the spy glass on the Hook.
That doesn’t look right.
This seems like pretty good confirmation that we’re meant to hang something on the hook, but that the spyglass isn’t it.
>TAKE IT
You take the spy glass.
>HANG PENDANT ON HOOK
You carefully hang the ancient pendant on the Hook.
That doesn’t look right.
>TAKE IT
You take the ancient pendant.
>HANG YOGA MAT ON HOOK
You carefully hang Yoga Mat on the Hook.
That doesn’t look right.
>TAKE IT
You take Yoga Mat.
We’ve still got plenty more exploring to do, so let’s leave the laser for later and hope that we find something more obviously relevant on our travels.
>S
The Lincoln Memorial
Jack, a seasoned spy, is here. He is known for his quick thinking and negotiation skills. He didn’t start out as a spy as his initial contributions were in building Quotient’s quantum computer, Tardis, in space. He is Sarah’s brother and has a complex romantic relationship with Kara.
>E
Reflecting Pool
The Reflecting Pool is a long, rectangular body of water that mirrors the sky and the surrounding monuments. Ducks glide across its surface, and visitors stroll along its edges, taking in the serene view.
To the west is the Lincoln Memorial, to the north is the National Portrait Gallery and to the east, the Washington Monument rises in the distance.
Once again, this feels like a part of the game that’s just included because the author wanted to tell us a bit about the famous landmarks of Washington DC! Which is completely fine, but since we’re on a mission of global importance (apparently?), we’re going to breeze on through.
>X DUCKS
They are just cruising around on top of the water like normal ducks.
>N
National Portrait Gallery
Occupying part of the old U.S. Patent office and holding a collection of over 23,000 works of art, including the only complete set of presidential portraits outside the White House, The National Portrait Gallery’s sweeping courtyard is a large rectangular venue with a striking, glass-and-steel, wavy canopy overhead, flooding the area with natural light in stark contrast to the deep black granite floors. It is the same light and dark contrast of Quotient and the Contingent.
Exit to the south.
>X PORTRAITS
The only complete set of presidential portraits outside the White House.
https://npg.si.edu/portraits/collection-highlights/presidential-portraits
Yes, the URL appears in the game text. The word “Contingent” is also italicised, which means we can examine it even though (as far as we know) the Quantum Contingent have no specific physical presence here.
>X CONTINGENT
The Contingent was a terrorist group who believed they could solve immortality in less than ten years, soon enough to allow their founding members to become immortal. The Contingent wanted to become an enhanced race of superhumans, who would prevent all, except those they selected, from following in their immortal path. They wanted to control the rest of what they called base-level humans, threatening severe retaliation against any world power that tried to stop them. They were thwarted by Quotient in 2028.
And apparently the whole affair was novelised both in-universe and out, although in-game, the existence of Quotient is still an unconfirmed rumour.
>S
Reflecting Pool
>E
Washington Monument
The Washington Monument stands tall and proud, a towering obelisk that pierces the sky. Its marble facade glows in the sunlight, and the surrounding area is filled with visitors gazing up in awe.
Paths lead to the National Mall to the east, the Reflecting Pool to the west, and to the White House to the north.
>X MONUMENT
This gives us the same response as if we’d just typed LOOK.
>N
The White House
You are quickly ushered into the Oval Office through a secure entrance. You glance at the painting of Washington crossing the Delaware on the wall just outside the office as secret service rushes you in. In the Oval Office, the famous resolute desk, built from the oak timbers of the HMS Resolute (a British Arctic exploration ship) stands out, famed by the gold curtains on the bulletproof windows.
You can exit to the south.
Prime Minister Jason Stevenson is next to the president. He is a skilled martial artist in addition to an ingenious political leader.
President Bridget O’Connor is a wise leader. She has been friends with Martin for many years. Earlier in her career, she ran the NSA and has maintained many of her old contacts with various 3-letter agencies. The President is aware of Quotient’s operations.
A discreet armory cabinet is here.
That was a lot easier than I feared getting into the White House might have been!
>X DESK
The resolute desk was designed by William Evenden and is 6 feet wide. It was made from oak from the HMS Resolute. Queen Victoria sent the desk to the White House in 1880. The HMS Resolute had been abandoned in the Arctic after being trapped in ice. It eventually sailed itself with the currents to the Davis strait, where it was discovered by an American whaling ship in 1855. The Americans returned the ship, and it was decommissioned in 1879. A second resolute desk sits in Buckingham Palace.
>X CABINET
It is a sleek cabinet. Designed to not attract attention.
>OPEN IT
You open The Armory Cabinet, revealing a tranquilizer gun.
>TAKE GUN
You take the tranquilizer gun and examine it carefully.
It’s a handgun, but it’s a little bigger than what one would think of when they think of a handgun. That’s because it fires tranquilizer darts.
We must have pretty good security clearance to be allowed to walk right into the Oval Office and then pick up a gun.
>TALK TO PRESIDENT
“Hello Madam President”
“Hello. I heard Martin has recruited you?”
>G
“Yes Madam President” you say.
“It is important work. Good Luck.”
This is the same conversation we got when we spoke to the President using the SCIF, so I guess coming here in person hasn’t allowed us to do anything new.
Your watch vibrates. You have an incoming text from Florin.
I got an alert that the gun was removed from the White House by you. Good work. Get over here and let’s catch Robert.
Thanks, Florin! He seems to think it’s totally natural that when we discovered we needed to bring an escaped criminal to justice, our first instinct was to head to the White House to find a weapon, so let’s not tell him that we were just wandering randomly around.
>G
One of the President’s aides comes over and politely signals for you to move on.
>S
Washington Monument
>E
National Mall
You are standing on the expansive lawn of the National Mall, a green stretch in the heart of Washington, DC. The air is filled with the murmur of tourists and the scent of blooming flowers.
The Capitol is to the east, the Smithsonian Castle is to the north, and the National Air and Space Museum is to the south. West leads back to the Washington Monument.
>N
Smithsonian Castle
The distinctive red sandstone architecture and charming tower makes this building stand out on the mall. It serves as the administrative heart of the Smithsonian Institution. Its towers and turrets give it a fairy-tale appearance, and the surrounding gardens are a peaceful retreat.
Head south to return to the mall.
A gazette is on display.
No nouns are highlighted, so I guess the Smithsonian is just here to serve as a place to find this gazette?
>TAKE GAZETTE
You take the Gazette. and examine it carefully.
It is kind of like a newspaper. Maybe you should read it instead.
[Your score has just gone up by two points.]
>READ IT
The fugitive Robert Clayton was last seen in Africa and is rumored to be carrying an ancient Crystal he stole from Professor Cassandra Eaton, Lucasian Professor of Mathematics and head of all quantum studies at Oxford.
There’s nothing here we didn’t know already, but I will say that this game definitely steers clear of the problem where key pieces of background infusion are mentioned only once in some easily-missable piece of text; there have been lots of opportunities for us to find out that Clayton and the crystal are in Africa. (Of course, we also know this because we flew to Africa and found Clayton standing around there holding the crystal!)
>S
National Mall
>S
National Air and Space Museum
The National Air and Space Museum is filled with the wonders of flight and space exploration. There is a large, modern, mural on one wall. Other exhibits include historic aircraft, spacecraft, and interactive displays.
Head north to return to the mall.
>X WONDERS OF FLIGHT
Old space capsules, shuttles, and a replica of the original Wright flyer are suspended here.
>X MURAL
A large wall mural showing an airshow of different planes, each with a succulent on top!
The game is also pretty keen to make sure we don’t miss the hint about putting a succulent on top of the Quotient jet.
>N
National Mall
>E
US Capitol
The US Capitol stands at the eastern end of the National Mall, an iconic symbol of American democracy. Its grand dome is topped with the Statue of Freedom.
The National Mall stretches out to the west, and there is a deli to the north.
>X DOME
The magnificent dome is 288 feet tall and 96 feet in diameter. The dome is actually cast iron, painted to look like it is made of stone.
>X STATUE
A bronze statue depicting woman with a military helmet holding a sheathed sword in one hand and a laurel wreath and shield in the other. It was designed by Thomas Crawford.
>N
Lawsons Deli
Lawson’s Deli is a purveyor of fine foods.
Exit to the south.
There is a widescreen TV here. (type TVTUNER for instructions)
You can also see Entertainment Weekly and a Pretzel here.
Something about the Pretzel reminds you of Germany.
Unless I’m missing something, this place is not quite so famous as the other DC landmarks we’ve just been touring? But I guess it either has some personal significance to the author or it plays a role in the Quotient novels.
Anyway, we’ve been given a verb to try out:
>TVTUNER
If you turn it on, you can tune it to a channel using the command TUNE tv TO number
>TAKE WEEKLY
You take Entertainment Weekly and examine it carefully.
List of TV Channels! Coming next month, our All-Ads Edition!
4 Netflix Fireplace Special
8 24 hour News
15 The DWTS Channel!
16 The Rocket League Channel
23 The LOST Channel
The channel numbers (the same numbers from LOST once again) spell out the code for the access hatch on the TARDIS station, which I guess means we could have skipped completing the puzzle and finding the spyglass?
>TURN ON TV
yourself switch the widescreen TV on.
>TUNE TV TO 4
You tune the widescreen TV to channel 4.
The screen of the widescreen TV is just showing a roaring fire.
>TUNE TV TO 8
You tune the widescreen TV to channel 8.
This is GNN reporting. Our sources say that Robert Clayton of The Quantum Contingent has escaped from The Abyss, a prison in Gore, Ethiopia and has stolen an ancient artifact.
Given how high profile this news is, I wonder why we didn’t see any police or other law enforcement in Tanzania or Ethiopia trying to apprehend him?
Does any more news come on if we keep watching?
>Z
Time passes.
>Z
Time passes.
>TUNE TV TO 15
You tune the widescreen TV to channel 15.
Welcome to Dancing with the Stars, Season 96! Today, two dancers, one a pro, and one a celebrity, will perform an energetic rumba in sparkling outfits!
>TUNE TV TO 16
You tune the widescreen TV to channel 16.
The World Rocket League Championships final is close, all tied up with only 2 seconds to go! Wait! The car with the succulent on top just scored another goal making his team of teal teammates into World Champions!
>TUNE TV TO 23
You tune the widescreen TV to channel 23.
Reruns of Lost 24x7. Jack is standing by a hatch. They are talking about a code.. 48 something…
I’m going to go out on a limb and suggest that @simpsong00 is quite a fan of this show.
>TAKE PRETZEL
You take the Pretzel. and examine it carefully.
A perfectly browned knot with just the right amount of large salt crystals.
[Your score has just gone up by two points.]
>THINK ABOUT GERMANY
Ahhhh, baking Pretzels in Germany was a treat, but I’m not sure this memory will help me in my mission at all. Must FOCUS!
>FOCUS
Ok… that’s better. Let’s get on with the mission.
Uh, what was that about?
Anyway, we seem to have exhausted everything immediately available to do in Washington DC until we figure out what the laser is for, so we return to the jet.
>FLY TO AFRICA
You take off from Andrews Air Force Base and fly to Maasai Encampment. (it’s fast)
Maasai Encampment (in the Quotient Jet)
We get the whole story again about taking a bush flight and a jeep ride to the encampment, then we get out of the jet and:
>S
Ngorongoro Crater
Robert Clayton is an outdoorsman. He carries a knife on his hip and looks like he knows his way around.
Let’s see if the obvious solution is the correct one:
>SHOOT CLAYTON
You must supply a second noun.
>SHOOT CLAYTON WITH GUN
You shoot Robert Clayton with the tranquilizer gun and take the crystal from him.
[Your score has just gone up by five points.]
Sometimes it is!
>X CLAYTON
Robert Clayton is an outdoorsman. He carries a knife on his hip and looks like he knows his way around.
He is sleeping like a baby.
I stop and think, “Jet lag is real.”
X CRYSTAL
The Crystal is a brilliant blue color.
Well, we’ve accomplished one of the parts of our mission, so let’s see if we can do anything new when we return to:
Cassie’s Lab
Professor Cassandra Eaton is here. Her thing of beauty is a deep understanding of quantum mechanics and time. She is tall and her silvery-blond hair is wavy, almost to her shoulders. Her piercing blue eyes have both put dread in the hearts of students during oral exams and have enraptured a few men’s hearts over the years.
A quantum console is here, it appears to have a place to hold a long cylindrical object. It also has a digital display.
A wireless keyboard is here.
You can also see a wooden door here.
>PUT CRYSTAL IN CONSOLE
The Quantum Console is closed.
>OPEN CONSOLE
The console is locked with a password. You’ll need to type it on the keyboard to unlock the console.
The password is apparently that anagram of “the oldest log” that we haven’t deciphered yet
>GIVE CRYSTAL TO CASSIE
Cassie shakes her head, “You keep it. We need some way to contain it’s power before it is of use to me.”
I think there was something mentioned earlier about needing to find a special housing for the crystal before it could be used, so maybe we can’t do anything here yet anyway.
>X CONSOLE
The console is a complex apparatus. It appears to have a place to hold a long cylindrical object and is also connected to other pieces of equipment by various tubes and wires. It also has a keyboard and a digital display.
The Quantum Console is currently switched off.
>X DISPLAY
The display is a long series of spinning zeros.
So we’ve got the crystal, which was clearly important, but we still can’t do anything further right now. Once we’ve explored the remaining areas (Cleveland, the barn and the museum basement), we need to figure out what to do with the laser and find the appropriate housing for the crystal, as well as finishing the scavenger hunt that Martin set for us. Anything else obvious?
