It’s not only more text heavy, it has simply the most complex event scheme of all (in the endgame, depending on whether you did certain actions or not, different events occur). In all of the scenes, actually.
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Well, this was a truly stupid thing to say. Tempting fate and all that.
But I at last seem to be functional again, and can actually return to this! We just got out of the Pluto door, losing our splinter but gaining a skink, a lantern, and a radio.
Now, let’s go check out Neptune.
>s
Barrow
…
>turn key
…
>d
…
The lantern’s light is getting dimmer.The skink squirms in your pocket.
No! Already?! I’ve only been out of the Pluto door for three turns and the lantern is starting to die!
Well, let’s restore and turn it off first.
>restore
[RESTORE completed.]
Ossuary
>turn off lantern
You turn off the lantern’s switch.>s
It’s completely dark.The skink squirms in your pocket.
Something sharp closes around your throat. It caresses your chin and the nape of your neck, delighting in the living warmth. Then, with a quick, practiced snap, it breaks your neck at the collarbone.
Oh. Right. I can’t move around the hub without a light source either!
I’m guessing I spent too much time in the Pluto area and doomed myself in the process. But until I figure that out—and know what else the lantern is necessary for—I’m going to rewind to before we tried that door, and stick with my splinter.
Splinter in hand, let’s head off to Neptune!
You step gingerly across the fallen oak, and leap onto the mesa.
Mesa
The mesa’s summit is a flat platform of stone, surrounded on every side by a deep chasm. A fallen oak bridges the gulf to the south.
A giant toadstool has somehow taken root in the solid rock. The white door in its stem is wide open.
A triangular shadow lies across the ground. Its sharp point rests exactly on the open door in the toadstool.
>in
You cross the brink of the white door.
[Many blank lines later…]
Scaffold
Whoever threw this place together wasn’t too worried about permanence. Tin walls rise on flimsy studs to a ceiling that sags under its own weight. It reminds you of a prefab tool shed, several stories high.
You’re standing beside a monstrous conglomeration of pipes, compressors and pressure valves that fills most of the building. The only familiar equipment is the open white door set into one of the storage tanks.
A stairway leads downward.
Ooh! Equipment!
>x equipment
Warnings indicate the presence of radioactivity.
The various components redirect to the same message. Shame we don’t have a Geiger counter, but I’m guessing this might be our nuclear test device.
>d
You descend the stairway.Bottom of Scaffold
A maze of plumbing rises before you like the back of a giant refrigerator. Stairs lead up to a scaffold overlooking the equipment. Turning south, you see a closed set of sliding doors, with a small box and a loudspeaker mounted on the wall beside them.
>x box
The box is closed.>x speaker
It’s an ordinary loudspeaker; a bit old-fashioned, perhaps.>open box
You swing the box open.A toggle switch and a red button are mounted inside.
>x switch
The toggle switch is turned off. The letters “P” and “A” are scrawled underneath.>x button
The red button isn’t labeled.
I have no idea what “P” and “A” mean on a nuclear test device. Prime and Arm?
>s
The sliding doors are closed.>open doors
The sliding doors are much too big.
Looks like we need to figure out the controls.
>flip switch
You turn on the toggle switch.The loudspeaker emits a burst of static, then a steady hiss.
>flip switch
You turn off the toggle switch.The loudspeaker emits a burst of static, then falls silent.
Oh. So maybe it’s just PA, as in Public Address system.
>push button
You push the red button.With an electric whirr, the heavy doors slide open.
There we go! Though I’m not sure why they’d put fancy button-operated doors on a temporary scaffold like this.
>s
South BeachThe waters of a peaceful lagoon reflect the tropical dawn like a fiery mirror. A few stars are still visible in the rosy sky.
The glorified tool shed dominates this little island, leaving room only for a narrow strip of sand that curves to the northeast and northwest. A red button is mounted on the wall beside the open sliding doors of the shed.
>x stars
You can’t see any stars here.
A rare response in this game! A lot of scenery has at least a default “you don’t need to mess with that” response.
>x waters
The tide is slowly rising.>ne
You follow the curve of the shore.East Beach
Palm trees far across the lagoon stand in dark relief against the eastern sky. The shore continues northwest and southwest, around the equipment shed.
>nw
You follow the curve of the shore.North Beach
A square wooden extension juts out of the side of the building, stretching away across the lagoon as far as you can see.
The beach continues around the equipment shed to the southeast and southwest.
A gray fin is gliding across the lagoon.
Uh oh!
>x shark
“Don’t be so sure,” grumbles a voice in your ear.
Oh?
The gray fin glides closer.
With a sudden splash, the gray fin shoots upward! You shriek and cover your face with your hands as a mouthful of sharp teeth leaps from the lagoon…
A friendly chatter encourages you to open your eyes. It’s a bottle-nosed dolphin, standing on its tail just offshore.
A friend!
>x dolphin
The dolphin stands on its tail.
Let’s keep exploring.
>sw
You duck under the extension and follow the curve of the shore.West Beach
The sand curves northeast and southeast, skirting the dark outline of the equipment shed.
A tiny islet is visible a short distance offshore.
A coconut is floating in the lagoon.
The dolphin glides into view nearby.
It seems like our goal in these areas is generally to get portable items (as opposed to intangible things like information), and this is the first portable item seen so far. So my IF senses say we need it for something.
>x coconut
The coconut floating in the water looks especially plump and juicy.The coconut is beginning to float away.
>x islet
The islet is just a barren crescent of sand, gradually shrinking away in the rising tide.A lone coconut tree stands near one end of the islet.
>z
Time passes.The tide is making the sand squishy.
The coconut floats further away. It’s almost out of sight.
“Gnomon can tether time or tide,” whispers a voice in your ear.
Hmm.
If we wait a bit longer:
The dolphin chatters happily.
The coconut disappears across the lagoon.
The dolphin gives you a playful splash.
The dolphin looks at you with bright, intelligent eyes.
Your tropical vacation is cut short by a multimegaton thermonuclear detonation, centered in the nearby equipment shed.
It seems we are, in fact, on Bikini Atoll!
>restore
[RESTORE completed.]
This time, I’m going to leave the PA on so we can hear what’s happening.
“Zero minus seven minutes.”
And we can run right over to the dolphin and then to the coconut, without any delay!
“Switch to one zero three.”
“Zero minus six minutes.”
A wave washes up underfoot. It looks as if the tide is rising.
“Gnomon can tether time or tide,” grumbles a voice in your ear.
Oh, so that message is coming earlier this time?
There’s no coconut yet…
“Detonator check, go.”
The distant islet is shrinking in the rising tide.
“Zero minus five minutes.”
A faint plop draws your eyes to the islet. There’s now a coconut lying at the water’s edge.
Coconut!
>get coconut
You couldn’t do that from where you’re standing.“Geo, sync at three, two, one, mark.”
Not from where I’m standing, no…
>dolphin, get coconut
The dolphin sees the coconut on the islet and tries to nudge it with its snout. But the tide hasn’t risen high enough yet.
Looks like we have a bit longer to wait.
The tide creeps towards the coconut under the distant tree.
“Zero minus four minutes.”
The coconut floats away from the distant islet on the rising tide.
There we go!
>dolphin, get coconut
The dolphin sees the floating coconut, snatches it out of the lagoon and tosses it into the sand at your feet.>get coconut
You pick up the coconut.[Your score just went up by 3 points. The total is now 40 out of 100.]
“Patch to Alpha Echo Three Five.”
>x coconut
The coconut looks especially plump and juicy.>dolphin, thanks
The dolphin struggles to respond, but can only chatter.>dolphin, goodbye
The dolphin responds with a stream of chatter.>dolphin, i’m sorry
[Refer to your Trinity manual for the correct way to address characters.]>se
You follow the curve of the shore.South Beach
The waters of a peaceful lagoon reflect the tropical dawn like a fiery mirror. A few stars are still visible in the rosy sky.
“Zero minus three minutes.”
If we stick around to see the remainder of the messages:
“Seismographic, confirm.”
“Zero minus two minutes.”
“Zero minus ninety seconds.”
“Zero minus one minute.”
“Zero minus forty-five seconds.”
“Zero minus thirty seconds.”
“Zero minus fifteen seconds. Personnel not issued protective goggles should face away from Zero at this time.”
“Five. Four. Three. Two. One.”
But we’ll exit before that happens, leaving our new friend behind. We return to the Wabe, one coconut richer.
06.txt (25.8 KB)
06.sav (1.7 KB)
neptune.sav (1.6 KB)
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You could have tried going/swimming west to get to the coconut. Not that it would have worked, but the game does anticipate it.
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Will we see any more of the great Trinity tests?
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I’m hoping to continue this once I’ve got a moment; some recent irl problems have been taking most of my attention for a while now.
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Take care!