Start of a transcript of PHOTOGRAPH A Portrait of Reflection Copyright 2002-2004, 2024 by Steve Evans (ybosde@gmail.com) There are some important differences between this and many other works of Interactive Fiction. Please type INFO before playing for the first time. Release 6 / Serial number 241027 / Inform v6.42 Library 6/10 SD Standard interpreter 1.1 (1C) / Library serial number 991106 >info 'Photograph' features many non-standard verbs and puts some standard interactive fiction verbs to different uses. Most instances of the latter should be self evident, but one new one that requires special mention is CONSIDER (or synonyms such as THINK ABOUT, REMEMBER, WONDER ABOUT, etc). You can CONSIDER (or 'C') many of the objects, topics, and even abstract concepts in the story. This will sometimes provide useful background detail, but more importantly, its use at certain points is vital to the development of the plot. Also, CONSIDER-ing things at different times may produce different responses. So, CONSIDER and CONSIDER often. Of the verbs that have non-standard uses, one that warrants mention is WAKE. This verb may be used when your character is merely distracted or daydreaming and not actually asleep. Conversation in 'Photograph' uses most of the standard constructs (eg: "ASK X ABOUT Y", "TELL X ABOUT Y", "ASK X FOR Y, "X, Hello", "SAY Y to X", etc.). However, there are other possibilities that can optionally be used, including MENTION Y TO X, DISCUSS Y WITH X, and so on. If you think something should provide a sensible response even though the verb is not standard issue, then try it. If it doesn't work, then please send me a bug report. Please note that the BRIEF and SUPERBRIEF print states have been disabled in this story. VERBOSE is therefore the only printing 'option' available. Something else I must mention is that there are scenes that can be replayed within the story with different outcomes. It shouldn't be possible to put the story into an unfinishable state, and it is exceedingly unlikely that the player character will die during play. Dying is possible, but I'd be surprised if anyone manages to do it without decompiling the story file. As of release 6, there are two regular endings to the story. Prior to that there was only one. [Please press SPACE.] 'Photograph' is my only work of interactive fiction (IF). It was written as an entry in the 2002 Annual Interactive Fiction Competition, in which it placed 3rd out of 38 entries. It was also an XYZZY Award nominee for 'Best Individual Player Character' and 'Best Use of Medium'. I discovered IF (or text adventures, as they were at the time) in the early 80s, when I played many of the old Infocom titles on my Apple II+. In 1998 I was delighted to discover that not only were the old games still being played, but there was a thriving community out there still writing them. Despite having been a huge fan of the early Infocom puzzle-fests, when I eventually decided to make my own game I thought I might attempt something more story- than puzzle-based. Being short on ideas, I looked to some of the short fiction I'd written, to see if there was something that might be fun to translate into IF. For reasons I still don't understand, I ended up choosing a short story that had some peculiar problems when it came to doing an IF conversion. I'm not a programmer by vocation, training or inclination. While 'Photograph' is not the largest piece of coding I've completed, it presented more challenges than I was expecting. For a start, I found the learning curve for Inform to be steeper than I'd expected, even with Graham Nelson's excellent Inform Designer's Manual and all the other great resources out there. At the end of the day there are bits of code in 'Photograph' that still embarrassed me. The best thing I can say about them is that they seem to work. It's been a long time since this thing got out into the wild, but all feedback (bouquets and brickbats) and especially bug reports, are still welcome. Steve Evans ybosde@gmail.com [Please press SPACE.] A number of people either knowingly or unwittingly contributed to this story/game. Firstly, I must thank Graham Nelson for Inform 6, and for the menus library. Thanks also, to Stephen Granade for hosting the 2002 IFComp, to Michael Perlini for IF-IDE, to Roger Firth for his easy to use Inform guides, to Jonathan Rosebaugh for trinitystat.h, to Andrew MacKinnon for easydoors.h, which I modified for my own nefarious purposes, and to Cedric Knight for mistype.h and seeno.h. Thanks as well to all those who made source code available through the IF Archive, without which I wouldn't have got started. I'd like to extend a special thank you to those who beta-tested part or all of 'Photograph', including Caleb Wilson and Brent VanFossen, who provided comments and encouragement on the early portions of the story, and to Fletcher Smyth, Brendan Barnwell, Martin Bays, Jennifer Vaughan, Jessica Knoch, Joao Mendes, Dave Leonard, Michael Cullen and Christos Dimitrakakis for their many suggestions that contributed to making this game much better than it would otherwise have been. Those who reported problems that were fixed in later releases include Beth Moscato, Jacqueline Lott, Cedric Knight and Adrien Beau. My thanks go to Emily Short for the wonderful cover art, provided as part of the 2008 'IF Cover Art Drive'. Lastly, among the short quotes by authors/songwriters/poets dotted throughout 'Photograph', are two that are not credited in the text itself. One such uncredited lyric is an excerpt from 'Hollow Inside' by Pete Shelley of the 1970's UK punk band, Buzzcocks. The other is from John Lennon's 'Imagine'. [Please press SPACE.] Release 1 (26 September 2002) - The initial 2002 Interactive Fiction Competition release. Release 2 (26 November 2002) - The first post-competition release. This version fixed a number of bugs (mostly minor) reported in the first release. It also featured numerous small corrections and additions to the game text, changes to the opening scene, together with several new verbs and synonyms, and the addition of a general introductory guide to playing interactive fiction. Release 3 (4 December 2002) - A minor bug fix release. Release 4 (21 April 2003) - This one featured many small changes to the mechanics of the story (particularly during the later sections), the addition of new 'consider' topics, a sub-title and 'Amusing' section, and a fair bit of minor tweaking based on feedback received since the original competition release. Release 5 (9 August 2004) - This release made use of Cedric Knight's excellent 'mistype' and 'seeno' Inform library extensions, and had a couple of minor text changes. Release 6 (27 October 2024) - This FINAL release fixes several bugs including a fatal error that occurred when running the game in some modern interpreters such as Gargoyle/Bocfel, and finally adds an alternate ending as originally planned. [Please press SPACE.] Living Room (in the armchair) You are seated in your armchair. The picture-frame rests on your lap. In the periphery of your vision you can see something of your living room - the wood stove, a window. >x me You can see something of your arms and lap, but not much else. >c me You are happier now than you have ever been. >x chair Your armchair is old and thread-bare. >c chair It's a comfortable chair - a fitting place to wait. >x photo The frame is made from Baltic pine. Within the frame is a rectangle of pure and unrelieved white. You think that perhaps you can discern some flicker of motion there, but then again it may only be your imagination. >c photo You've given thought to little else since all this began. >x white It's probably just wishful thinking on your part. There seems to be nothing there but a white rectangle. >c white Nothing of interest occurs to you. >x motion It's probably just wishful thinking on your part. There seems to be nothing there but a white rectangle. >l Living Room (in the armchair) You are seated in your armchair. The picture-frame rests on your lap. In the periphery of your vision you can see something of your living room - the wood stove, a window. >x stove The stove is a pot-bellied affair, old but serviceable. It contains a blazing fire - a riot of colour, if not movement. >c stove The stove is a picture of frozen warmth (so to speak). >x fire The stove is a pot-bellied affair, old but serviceable. It contains a blazing fire - a riot of colour, if not movement. >c fire The stove is a picture of frozen warmth (so to speak). >x window The window (now closed) looks out over the yard. The afternoon sunlight streams through. You see a bird sitting on the outside sill. It gradually dawns on you that you can hear something in the background. A shrill high-pitched sound that you can't quite place. It has been there for some time now. The sound seems to be coming from outside the window. >c window Nothing of interest occurs to you. >listen You can hear something in the background. A shrill high-pitched sound that you can't quite place. It has been there for some time now. The sound seems to be coming from outside the window. >x bird The bird is a starling. It stands unmoving, with its head slightly cocked, beak open. You now recognise it as the source of the sound you can hear. Starlings are common enough, but you are certain you've seen this particular bird before. >c bird You lose yourself in thought...[ Come now, my child. If we were planning to harm you, do you think we'd be lurking here, beside the path, in the very darkest part of the forest? -- Kenneth Patchen] You stand on a balcony looking out over treetops and distant roofs to the river and the hills beyond. The sky is pink and blue pastels, the sun barely risen above the late morning mists and woodsmoke haze. A fog rolls down the river valley like a lazy cloud. As you move to pull your coat closer about you against the cold a startled bird takes flight from the eaves above your head. You follow its progress to a nearby blue gum. Balcony You are on a wooden balcony that looks out over a river valley. An open door to the west leads back into the house. You are cold. >*love the box quotes. So far I was trying to just methodically examine/consider everything [The story read that as "love the box quotes. s far i wash trying to dust methodically examine/consider everything"]. That's not a verb I recognise. >save Ok. >x gum It's a tall blue gum eucalyptus tree. A bird sits on a high branch. >x bird The bird is a starling. It looks agitated. >take it You can't do that. >l Balcony You are on a wooden balcony that looks out over a river valley. An open door to the west leads back into the house. >*that makes sense [The story read that as "that make knee"]. That's not a verb I recognise. >pull bird You can't do that. >*good That's not a verb I recognise. >w You take a deep breath of the smoke-laden air (the chill cutting your lungs like little knives), then enter the house. Living Room (East) On entering the living room you find yourself oppressed by the clutter and do your best to ignore it. Your armchair is here in front of the wood stove. A doorway to the north leads to your bedroom and the living area continues west. >x armchair Your armchair is old and threadbare. You have spent a lot of time in this chair. >c it It's been like a home within a home, of late. You've been spending a lot of time in this chair. >e Balcony You are on a wooden balcony that looks out over a river valley. An open door to the west leads back into the house. >c bird It has been around a lot lately. There's probably a nest nearby. >w Living Room (East) Your living room is full of clutter. Your armchair is here in front of the wood stove. A doorway to the north leads to your bedroom and the living area continues west. The back door is to the east. There is a chill breeze. >n As you enter your bedroom you see a large spider, nearly the size of your hand, crawl under the bed. Bedroom Your bedroom is small and comparatively tidy. The only furnishings are a wardrobe and the bed itself. There is a window here facing north and the living room is to the south. >x spider You see no spider here. >*when I saw 'gum' I thought 'is that an australian tree?" [The story read that as "*when i saw 'gum' i thought his that an australian tree"?"]. That's not a verb I recognise. >*now I'm definitely thinking of australia [The story read that as "snow him definitely thinking of australia"]. That's not a verb I recognise. >l Bedroom This is your bedroom. The only furnishings are a wardrobe and your bed. There is a window facing north and the living room is to the south. >x wardrobe It's a large solid piece of furniture, made of blackwood. Right now, it's closed. >look under bed It was a huntsman spider, but it is now nowhere to be seen. Those things can hide anywhere. You'd be lucky to find it without taking the bed apart. But it's best left alone in any case. They aren't dangerous, and they help keep down the flies. There is a metal box here under your bed. >x box It's a closed metal box. >take it You pull the metal box out from under the bed. >open it You open the metal box, revealing some rolls of $50 notes. >x notes You have enough money for your needs. >close box You close the metal box. >put it under bed You push the box back under the bed. >open wardrobe You open your wardrobe. It contains clothing. >*not sure what to do but feels like I'm still in exploring phase [The story read that as "*not sore hat to d but feel lie him sill in exploring chase"]. That's not a verb I recognise. >l Bedroom This is your bedroom. The only furnishings are a wardrobe and your bed. There is a window facing north and the living room is to the south. >x window It's a small window. Through it you see your four-wheel-drive parked outside. >c drive The Landcruiser has served you well over the years, despite rough treatment. >x drive A battered old Landcruiser. You've had it for years. >out But you aren't in anything at the moment. >s Living Room (East) Your living room is full of clutter. Your armchair is here in front of the wood stove. A doorway to the north leads to your bedroom and the living area continues west. The back door is to the east. >w Living Room (West) This is the other half of your living area (again heavily cluttered). This space also serves as your kitchen. There is a small sink here, a gas stove, refrigerator and a cupboard. Your bathroom is to the north and a door to the west leads outside. >x sink The kitchen sink is small and could do with a clean. A cold draft blows through your living room. >e Living Room (East) Your living room is full of clutter. Your armchair is here in front of the wood stove. A doorway to the north leads to your bedroom and the living area continues west. The back door is to the east. >close door You close the back door. >w Living Room (West) This area of your living room doubles as a kitchen. There is a small sink here, a gas stove, refrigerator and a cupboard. Your bathroom is to the north and a door to the west leads outside. >x stove This is where you cook your meals. >x fridge It's more of an icebox than a fridge, really. >open it You know without looking that the refrigerator contains nothing that could still be called edible. >x cupboar [The story read that as "x cupboard"]. Your kitchen cupboard is unremarkable. >open it You open the cupboard. >x it Your kitchen cupboard is unremarkable. It is open. >look in it The cupboard contains nothing of use to you right now. >close it You close the cupboard. >*all good so far [The story read that as "all goods o far"]. That's not a verb I recognise. >l Living Room (West) This area of your living room doubles as a kitchen. There is a small sink here, a gas stove, refrigerator and a cupboard. Your bathroom is to the north and a door to the west leads outside. >w It's cold outside. You have no wish to leave the house right now. >*hmm, okay now I'm not sure what to do [The story read that as "*hmm, okay no him no sore hat to d"]. You seem to want to talk to someone, but I can't see whom. >c window Nothing of interest occurs to you. >e Living Room (East) Your living room is full of clutter. Your armchair is here in front of the wood stove. A doorway to the north leads to your bedroom and the living area continues west. The back door is to the east. >sit in armchair You turn up your jacket collar and sink back into the faded armchair, elbow patches neatly covering matching holes in the upholstery. You soon begin to feel the warmth radiating from the wood stove. Your attention is inevitably drawn to a pine mantel propped against the wall near the window and you're reassured by the sight of the picture sitting where you left it. >x picture You can't make out any details from here. >get up You get out of the armchair. Living Room (East) Your living room is full of clutter. Your armchair is here in front of the wood stove. A doorway to the north leads to your bedroom and the living area continues west. The back door is to the east. An old pine mantel leans against the wall near the window. On the mantel you see a photograph. >x mantel The pine mantel stands propped up against the wall, near the window. The photograph is there sitting on it. >x photo The picture-frame is made of Baltic pine. The photograph it contains is slightly overexposed and was taken using a flash. Depicted are a young man and young woman leaning with their backs to the rail of a rough wooden deck, backed by the spray of a narrow waterfall cascading down two tiers of mudstone outcrop. Bordering the waterfall is thick temperate rainforest vegetation: a canopy of tall myrtle and sassafras trees, beneath which are leatherwood and tree-ferns, all covered in moss, lichen, shell-fungus. The boy has his arm around the girl's shoulder. Both are wearing light bushwalking clothes, and he carries a day pack. The boy looks cocky and confident and wears an idiotic 'say cheese' grin. The girl is not smiling. This was not, as you recall it, that she had been unhappy, just unused to having her picture taken. "It's like giving away a piece of your soul," she had once joked. As it happens she had smiled just after the shot was taken; a small, nervous smile of relief (you mimic the smile at the memory). >*i figured the chair was the only thing I hadn't tried, now things are good [The story read that as "hi fire the chair wash the boy thing i hand tree , no things arm good"]. I only understood you as far as wanting to hi. >smile You smile, again. >l Living Room (East) Your living room is full of clutter. Your armchair is here in front of the wood stove. A doorway to the north leads to your bedroom and the living area continues west. The back door is to the east. An old pine mantel leans against the wall near the window. On the mantel you see a photograph. >x photo The picture-frame is made of Baltic pine. The photograph it contains is slightly overexposed and was taken using a flash. Depicted are a young man and young woman leaning with their backs to the rail of a rough wooden deck, backed by the spray of a narrow waterfall cascading down two tiers of mudstone outcrop. Bordering the waterfall is thick temperate rainforest vegetation: a canopy of tall myrtle and sassafras trees, beneath which are leatherwood and tree-ferns, all covered in moss, lichen, shell-fungus. The boy has his arm around the girl's shoulder. Both are wearing light bushwalking clothes, and he carries a day pack. The boy looks cocky and confident and wears an idiotic 'say cheese' grin. The girl is not smiling. This was not, as you recall it, that she had been unhappy, just unused to having her picture taken. "It's like giving away a piece of your soul," she had once joked. As it happens she had smiled just after the shot was taken; a small, nervous smile of relief (you mimic the smile at the memory). >c it You lose yourself in thought...[ The memory of a particular image is but regret for a particular moment. -- Marcel Proust] You're standing on the wooden deck with your back to the spray of the waterfall. The German tourist has returned your camera and you watch him briefly as he starts back towards the car park. Melanie is standing beside you, smiling. You put your camera away in the day pack then gesture towards the falls. "C'mon Mel, let's go on to the top," you hear yourself saying. Melanie's smile gives way to a frown. "No, you go," she says. "I'll wait here." Wooden deck (near the waterfall) You stand on a wooden deck at the base of a waterfall. The air is cool, damp and close, rich with the smells of the rainforest. A walking track heads east to the car park. A narrower track leads north towards the top of the falls. Melanie is here with you. >*oh, so is this nested? I'm going to try to 'wake' then undo [The story read that as "*oh, s us this nested? him going to tree to 'wake' then undo"]. I beg your pardon? >wake Everything melts away... ...and you find yourself back in your living room. Living Room (East) Your living room is full of clutter. Your armchair is here in front of the wood stove. A doorway to the north leads to your bedroom and the living area continues west. The back door is to the east. An old pine mantel leans against the wall near the window. On the mantel you see a photograph. >undo Wooden deck (near the waterfall) [Previous turn undone.] >*nice That's not a verb I recognise. >l Wooden deck (near the waterfall) You stand on a wooden deck at the base of a waterfall. A walking track heads east to the car park. A narrower track leads north towards the top of the falls. Melanie is here with you. >x melanie Melanie avoids your gaze and looks out over the rail towards the falls. She is frowning. >c melanie A pretty girl. You know that you could easily fall for her. But it's a pity you have so little in common. You had hoped that she would share your feelings for this place. Melanie turns and gives you an impatient glance, then looks back towards the waterfall. >n You hand Melanie the day pack, smile broadly, then turn and start towards the top of the falls. You're able to set a brisk pace initially but are forced to slow as the path narrows and becomes more steep and slippery. The last few metres are a scramble and you clutch at roots and ferns to gain purchase. Once at the top, you inch your way out along a fallen log towards the edge of the falls and look down through the spray to the observation deck. You are about to wave, but Melanie is nowhere in sight. Top of falls (on the log) You stand precariously on a fallen log jutting out over the edge of the falls. >wave You would wave, but Melanie is nowhere to be seen. >x log The log is wide but slippery. It juts out over the edge of the falls. >out But you aren't in anything at the moment. >x falls It looks like a long way down from here. >c falls This is a very special place for you. You used to come to this forest with your grandparents during school holidays when you were very young. >x log The log is wide but slippery. It juts out over the edge of the falls. >c log Nothing of interest occurs to you. >jump Jumping from the top of the waterfall would certainly make a dramatic statement. But "of what", you are not sure. >l Top of falls (on the log) You stand precariously on a fallen log jutting out over the edge of the falls. >d You leave the log and scramble back down the path. Wooden deck (near the waterfall) You stand on a wooden deck at the base of a waterfall. A walking track heads east to the car park. A narrower track leads north towards the top of the falls. Melanie is no longer here. >e As you start back along the path towards the car park you hear a rustle in the undergrowth nearby, and catch a quick glimpse of something moving away. You're out of breath by the time you catch up to Melanie, part way back along the track. She is crouched on one knee, examining the other, which seems to have been grazed. "Hey, Melanie! What's happened? What have you done to yourself?" There is little sympathy in your voice. Melanie looks up, startled. "What do you care, you bastard? Look at this," she gestures at her knee. "This is your fault. I was ready to go, Jack. And if you'd listened, I wouldn't have been scared half out of my wits. There was some creature back there, near the waterfall - in the bush. It charged out at me." "It was a pademelon, Mel. I saw it." "A what?" "A pademelon. A wallaby." "Look Jack, I don't care what it was. I'm a city girl, remember. At least in town if something jumps at me I've a fair idea what it is and what it's after. I've had enough of this bush shit for one day. Let's get back to the cottage, ok?" Rainforest path You are on a walking track that leads east to the car park. Melanie is here, crouched on one knee. The day pack is on the ground beside her. >*I looked up what wallabies look like [The story read that as "hi looked up hat wallaby look lie"]. I only understood you as far as wanting to hi. >help melanie You pick up the day pack, then help Melanie to her feet and walk together back towards the car park. The light is fading fast. Tea coloured water cascades and swirls over pebbles and sand in the bed of the shallow stream running beside the track. You hear the harsh cry of a currawong. Although only twenty minutes from the car park, you could easily be many miles from civilisation. You would normally have been at ease in these surroundings, but you are not. For an instant, you see Melanie lying face down in the stream, water-boatmen in her raven hair, then you shudder and look ahead through the growing gloom. "How's the knee?" "It hurts like hell, since you ask. How much further?" "Not far. Here, take my arm." The cottage is a log cabin with a grey shingled roof of untreated timber. Covered with a tracery of yellow-green lichen, and surrounded by stands of rainforest trees, it has a rustic charm. After tending Melanie's knee, you share the cooking of a meal and eat together in silence. "Jack?" You glance up from your empty plate to find Mel looking at you intently, with those big dark eyes you know you could drown in. The anger has gone from her face, replaced by a more familiar gentleness. "Have we made up?" she asks. "I guess so," you reply, without conviction. "Well, here we are then," she says. "And there's no TV. So, how about bed?" You lie in bed watching Mel undress, admiring her pale skinned beauty. Your resolve does not waver on contact with her softness, the touch of her breasts and thighs, her smell. Her fingers press into your back, yours into hers, feeling the outline of her ribs and arch of her spine as you move together. "Careful of my knee." You enjoy each other's presence and bodies, with a tenderness and sureness that comes from knowing one another well. But only you know it will be for the last time. Later, lying close: "Do you love me, Jack?" "You know I do." (How could you have doubted it?) "So are you ready to go ahead with it? Are you finally ready to move out of that dump of yours and show some commitment to this relationship?" "It's late, Mel. Sleep now. We'll talk about it in the morning." "Uh-uh, Jack Downer. You don't get out of it that easily. We'll talk about it now." "Tomorrow, Mel. I'm tired." (Why couldn't you have said "yes"? How different things may have been.) You break the news the next morning while packing the car ready to leave; reeling off practised phrases about "not being ready", "needing to slow down", "needing time to think". Melanie says nothing, just fixing her attention on putting things in boxes, then the boxes in the car. The silence grows as you drive back towards town, finally erupting into a heated argument, ending with the last words ever spoken between you. "Watch out for that tree, you crazy bastard!!" Stupid bastard, more like... It's just a good thing no-one was seriously injured... Everything melts away... ...and you find yourself back in your living room. Living Room (East) Your living room is full of clutter. Your armchair is here in front of the wood stove. A doorway to the north leads to your bedroom and the living area continues west. The back door is to the east. An old pine mantel leans against the wall near the window. On the mantel you see a photograph. The afternoon sun shines weakly through the window. >x photo The picture-frame is made of Baltic pine. The photograph it contains is slightly overexposed and was taken using a flash. Depicted are a young man and young woman leaning with their backs to the rail of a rough wooden deck, backed by the spray of a narrow waterfall cascading down two tiers of mudstone outcrop. Bordering the waterfall is thick temperate rainforest vegetation: a canopy of tall myrtle and sassafras trees, beneath which are leatherwood and tree-ferns, all covered in moss, lichen, shell-fungus. The boy has his arm around the girl's shoulder. Both are wearing light bushwalking clothes, and he carries a day pack. The boy looks cocky and confident and wears an idiotic 'say cheese' grin. The girl is not smiling. This was not, as you recall it, that she had been unhappy, just unused to having her picture taken. "It's like giving away a piece of your soul," she had once joked. As it happens she had smiled just after the shot was taken; a small, nervous smile of relief (you mimic the smile at the memory). >c photo You lose yourself in thought...[ The memory of a particular image is but regret for a particular moment. -- Marcel Proust] You're standing on the wooden deck with your back to the spray of the waterfall. The German tourist has returned your camera and you watch him briefly as he starts back towards the car park. Melanie is standing beside you, smiling. You put your camera away in the day pack then gesture towards the falls. "C'mon Mel, let's go on to the top," you hear yourself saying. Melanie's smile gives way to a frown. "No, you go," she says. "I'll wait here." Wooden deck (near the waterfall) You stand on a wooden deck at the base of a waterfall. The air is cool, damp and close, rich with the smells of the rainforest. A walking track heads east to the car park. A narrower track leads north towards the top of the falls. Melanie is here with you. >wake Everything melts away... ...and you find yourself back in your living room. Living Room (East) Your living room is full of clutter. Your armchair is here in front of the wood stove. A doorway to the north leads to your bedroom and the living area continues west. The back door is to the east. An old pine mantel leans against the wall near the window. On the mantel you see a photograph. >*just checking That's not a verb I recognise. >l Living Room (East) Your living room is full of clutter. Your armchair is here in front of the wood stove. A doorway to the north leads to your bedroom and the living area continues west. The back door is to the east. An old pine mantel leans against the wall near the window. On the mantel you see a photograph. >get up (first opening the back door) Balcony You are on a wooden balcony that looks out over a river valley. An open door to the west leads back into the house. >e There is nowhere to go from here but back inside. >w Living Room (East) Your living room is full of clutter. Your armchair is here in front of the wood stove. A doorway to the north leads to your bedroom and the living area continues west. The back door is to the east. An old pine mantel leans against the wall near the window. On the mantel you see a photograph. >w Living Room (West) This area of your living room doubles as a kitchen. There is a small sink here, a gas stove, refrigerator and a cupboard. Your bathroom is to the north and a door to the west leads outside. >*I'm going to try waking again [The story read that as "*i'm lino to my walking again"]. That's not a verb I recognise. >wake The dreadful truth is, this is not a dream. >l Living Room (West) This area of your living room doubles as a kitchen. There is a small sink here, a gas stove, refrigerator and a cupboard. Your bathroom is to the north and a door to the west leads outside. >n Bathroom Your bathroom is small but functional. There is a bath, toilet and a hand basin. The room also has a small wall-mounted mirror. The living room is to the south. >x mirror It's a small shaving mirror, mounted over the hand basin. >x me You gaze at your reflection for a moment. Time and the elements have not been kind. You're now aged 55 years, but look far older - with that furrowed brow, drawn face, teeth like an old graveyard and skin that gathers in folds around your jowls. The head of thick dark hair of your youth is now reduced to a thin shock of silver on the trailing hemisphere. But you take some comfort from the fact that you still retain an air of dignity about you; a keenness to your deep-set eyes; that pronounced, almost regal, line of your nose ("that noble nose," as Nadia used to call it). But perhaps these are no more than cruel reminders of what might have been. >s Living Room (West) This area of your living room doubles as a kitchen. There is a small sink here, a gas stove, refrigerator and a cupboard. Your bathroom is to the north and a door to the west leads outside. >e Living Room (East) Your living room is full of clutter. Your armchair is here in front of the wood stove. A doorway to the north leads to your bedroom and the living area continues west. The back door is to the east. An old pine mantel leans against the wall near the window. On the mantel you see a photograph. >x photograph The picture-frame is made of Baltic pine. The photograph it contains is slightly overexposed and was taken using a flash. Depicted are a young man and young woman leaning with their backs to the rail of a rough wooden deck, backed by the spray of a narrow waterfall cascading down two tiers of mudstone outcrop. Bordering the waterfall is thick temperate rainforest vegetation: a canopy of tall myrtle and sassafras trees, beneath which are leatherwood and tree-ferns, all covered in moss, lichen, shell-fungus. The boy has his arm around the girl's shoulder. Both are wearing light bushwalking clothes, and he carries a day pack. The boy looks cocky and confident and wears an idiotic 'say cheese' grin. The girl is not smiling. This was not, as you recall it, that she had been unhappy, just unused to having her picture taken. "It's like giving away a piece of your soul," she had once joked. As it happens she had smiled just after the shot was taken; a small, nervous smile of relief (you mimic the smile at the memory). >*lost track of where I was. Mabe I'll enter again [The story read that as "*lost track of her i wash. make sill enter again"]. That's not a verb I recognise. >enter photo That's not something you can enter. You find yourself becoming aware of the clutter around you. It is beginning to weigh on your mind. >*oh this hint is nice [The story read that as "*oh this hit us ice"]. That's not a verb I recognise. >l Living Room (East) Your living room is full of clutter. Your armchair is here in front of the wood stove. A doorway to the north leads to your bedroom and the living area continues west. The back door is to the east. An old pine mantel leans against the wall near the window. On the mantel you see a photograph. >x clutter The room is full to bursting with all manner of items scavenged or bought at auctions or fire-sales; furniture, paintings, tools, bric-a-brac and junk. Most are covered in a substantial layer of dust. One day you'll have to clear up this mess and give yourself room to breathe. >x furniture You are not interested in those right now. >x paintings You are not interested in those right now. >x tools You are not interested in those right now. >x bric I beg your pardon? >x junk The room is full to bursting with all manner of items scavenged or bought at auctions or fire-sales; furniture, paintings, tools, bric-a-brac and junk. Most are covered in a substantial layer of dust. One day you'll have to clear up this mess and give yourself room to breathe. >clean junk You start your clean-up with a dusty cardboard carton near the armchair. It was in this same box that you found the photograph last time you resolved to clear some space for yourself, and once more you get no further. There is a cardboard carton here. >x carton The carton contains a number of old possessions scattered loose, including a pile of photographs and various unrelated oddments. The only things there that hold any interest for you right now are a rather moth-eaten animal skin hat and a small brass ornament. >x hat The hat is made from possum skin. You remember it well. >x ornament The ornament is an ankh. A gift from Nadia. >x ornament The ornament is an ankh. A gift from Nadia. >c ornament You lose yourself in thought...[ She wears an Egyptian ring, That sparkles before she speaks, She's a hypnotist collector, You are a walking antique. -- Bob Dylan ] It's Saturday and as usual you're at your market stall. You make the journey here once a week to sell old tools, books and assorted junk. The weekly market is set outdoors among the convict-built sandstone buildings near the city's waterfront - once warehouses, seedy pubs and brothels, but now mostly converted to art galleries, craft shops and cafés. Beyond these colonial buildings and the modest high-rises behind them, you see the mountain - a stark and imposing backdrop to the city, and for once not covered in clouds. The surrounding stalls have brightly coloured awnings, making yours appear somewhat drab in comparison. To the south a busker plays a violin, while from the north come the strains of South American folk music played on guitar and pan-pipes. Nearby, a man dressed as a clown twists balloons into animal shapes. It's a hot day and the place is busy, though not for you. You haven't sold a thing all morning. To top it off, Nadia should be here helping with the stall, but you haven't seen her in nearly two days. You wonder what her excuse might be, this time. At the Market (behind your stall) You are tending your stall at the weekly outdoor market near the city's waterfront. Nearby, a man dressed as a clown is making balloon animals. >*nice. and good quote [The story read that as "*nice. and food quote"]. That's not a verb I recognise. >x man Which do you mean, the clown or the busker? >clown The clown is twisting helium-filled balloons into the shape of a dog. To entertain the waiting children he sings a nursery rhyme. "Hey, diddle, diddle, The cat and the fiddle, The cow jumped over the moon, The little dog laughed to see such sport, And the dish ran away with the spoon." On noticing your attention the clown winks, then waves, accidentally bursting one of the balloons in the process and uttering a very un-clown-like exclamation. >x busker The busker is an old man, raggedly dressed. He is dancing and playing a jig on a violin. A battered violin case lies open on the ground in front of him. The area around the busker is one of the few uncrowded spaces at the market. The lack of an audience doesn't seem to be concerning him one bit. >x balloon The balloon dog now has just three legs. It is not laughing. You can't help noticing that the clown seems to be having even more problems with his balloon animals. It's always reassuring to see someone having a worse day than you. >x case The busker is an old man, raggedly dressed. He is dancing and playing a jig on a violin. A battered violin case lies open on the ground in front of him. The area around the busker is one of the few uncrowded spaces at the market. The lack of an audience doesn't seem to be concerning him one bit. >c busker Nothing of interest occurs to you. >c case Nothing of interest occurs to you. An elderly lady arrives at your stall and begins carefully considering an 'antique' porcelain cat. She looks up as though about to ask something, then changes her mind and hobbles away. >x stall Your stall consists of two covered wooden trestle tables, set out with the old tools, books and assorted junk you've brought along to sell. >x tables Your stall consists of two covered wooden trestle tables, set out with the old tools, books and assorted junk you've brought along to sell. >x tools There is nothing remarkable about any of the items you have for sale. You sometimes have rare, or sought-after stuff, but not today. It's therefore small wonder that you haven't sold anything. Things are going very slowly. You really do wonder where Nadia is. You could do with a break. >e You can't leave your stall unattended. >l At the Market (behind your stall) You are tending your stall at the weekly outdoor market near the city's waterfront. It's a bright, sunny day and the place is bustling with activity. Beyond the colonial sandstone buildings that line the marketplace and the modest high-rises behind them, you see the mountain. Nearby, a man dressed as a clown is making balloon animals. To the south a raggedly dressed busker plays a violin, while further away to the north a crowd gathers around a band playing South American folk music. >talk to clown To talk to someone you should use the form "TALK TO person ABOUT topic". >talk to clown about nadia The clown is preoccupied and doesn't respond. >talk to busker about nadia The busker smiles and plays a little faster. >i You are carrying nothing. A man dressed in overalls walks by. He suddenly notices something among the old tools you've laid out on a trestle table. "Hey, I haven't seen one of those in years!" he exclaims. Then he laughs and disappears back into the crowd. >n You can't leave your stall unattended. >s You can't leave your stall unattended. >shout I didn't understand that sentence. >l At the Market (behind your stall) You are tending your stall at the weekly outdoor market near the city's waterfront. It's a bright, sunny day and the place is bustling with activity. Beyond the colonial sandstone buildings that line the marketplace and the modest high-rises behind them, you see the mountain. Nearby, a man dressed as a clown is making balloon animals. To the south a raggedly dressed busker plays a violin, while further away to the north a crowd gathers around a band playing South American folk music. >x market (your market stall) Your stall consists of two covered wooden trestle tables, set out with the old tools, books and assorted junk you've brought along to sell. Again, you find yourself wondering about Nadia. Where has she got to this time? >*not sure how to find nadia [The story read that as "*not sore show to wind nadia"]. That's not a verb I recognise. >think about nadia You first met Nadia on the night of your thirtieth birthday, several years after you broke up with Melanie. You were on a night out with the boys and found yourself instantly hooked by her smile. It was a smile that lit up her face and almost made you go weak at the knees. That night was the beginning of a tempestuous casual relationship. Nadia looks for the hidden beauty in everything and everyone; believing in astrology, the healing powers of crystals and reincarnation (to her everyone has been someone in a former life). You, on the other hand, consider yourself to be practical and down-to-earth. Despite your differences, you initially found Nadia's optimism refreshing - were almost prepared to believe that you had known each other previously (in a Biblical sense, and era) and enjoyed being called Akhnaten: "my little sun king" (to her Nefertiti). Within a few months of meeting, it was Nadia - while remarking on your tenseness, offering short-term relief through massage, then telling you to "be true to the creature you are" - who gave you the impetus to return to the mountain. You sold your business and moved together to a caravan on a steep block high in the foothills while building your bush home from mud brick, local stone and recycled materials. Later, to keep yourself busy, you began trading in second-hand furniture and junk (a passion for which you acquired in the course of getting the materials together for the house) and, much to Nadia's horror and chagrin, by cutting and selling firewood. ("Trees have feelings too, you know.") But recently things have not been going well. Nadia is beginning to tire of your scepticism, and you, of the Bohemian world she inhabits. You frequently get on each other's nerves. She is sometimes away from home for days at a time, often without explanation. Although your relationship appears to be foundering, in many ways you are relieved. The strain of it all has been starting to get to you. >recall akhnaten That's not a verb I recognise. >remember akhnaten Nothing of interest occurs to you. >c akhnaten Nothing of interest occurs to you. >*very interesting [The story read that as "every interesting"]. That's not a verb I recognise. >*sounds rough, with her [The story read that as "sounds rough, with her"]. You seem to want to talk to someone, but I can't see whom. >z Time passes. Through the crowds you catch a glimpse of Nadia. She seems to be heading your way, and has someone with her. >x nadia Nadia is not here yet. Nadia pushes her way through the crowd and arrives at your stall. She's wearing a thin, ankle-length blue dress and is well bedecked with jewellery - gaudy paste rings, gold-coloured bangles and bands coiled around her bare arms and large lapis lazuli earrings shaped like asps. At her side is someone you haven't met. He's a youngish man, perhaps in his early twenties, tall and athletic - all chin, with a physique that looks as though it could have been carved from marble - and a crop of short dark curly hair. Nadia has a firm grip on his elbow. "Hello, Jack." (There's that smile.) "'lo, Nadia. It's been a while. Are you going to introduce us?" You glance towards her companion. "This is Mark," says Nadia. "He's an artist. Mark, meet Jack. Jack Downer." "Hello, Mark." "Er...It's Michael, actually...," stammers Nadia's friend. "You're Mark Anthony," corrects Nadia, and he nervously shifts his feet. "I see," you reply, then turning to Nadia - "And you are...?" "I was Cleopatra, of course. Time moves on, Jack, and we must move with it. We had our share of good times, but now it's over. You know it as well as I. Mark and I are going up to the house to get my stuff. I came to say good-bye." For once you find yourself lost for words. Looking away from Nadia's face your attention is drawn to the brass ankh she wears around her neck. She once bought it for you as a present, a symbol, as she put it, "of the life-energy we share". Needless to say, you thought it looked better on her. >*well, I won't fight this You seem to want to talk to someone, but I can't see whom. >x ankh It's a small brass ornament on a gold chain. >c ankh Nothing of interest occurs to you. >l At the Market (behind your stall) You are tending your stall at the weekly outdoor market near the city's waterfront. It's a bright, sunny day and the place is bustling with activity. Beyond the colonial sandstone buildings that line the marketplace and the modest high-rises behind them, you see the mountain. Nearby, a man dressed as a clown is making balloon animals. To the south a raggedly dressed busker plays a violin, while further away to the north a crowd gathers around a band playing South American folk music. Nadia is here, with a friend. >*missing a blank line before 'Nadia is here' [The story read that as "*missing a black pine before nadia us her"]. That's not a verb I recognise. >out But you aren't in anything at the moment. >n You can't leave your stall unattended. >w You can't leave your stall unattended. Nadia seems to recall your attention on the ankh. "Oh, I nearly forgot. This is yours." She takes the chain from her neck, unthreads the ankh and hands it to you. "Good-bye, Jack." Nadia turns and walks back into the crowd, 'Mark' in tow. You'd considered throwing the thing away. But, of course you never did... Everything melts away... ...and you find yourself back in your living room. Living Room (East) Your living room is full of clutter. Your armchair is here in front of the wood stove. A doorway to the north leads to your bedroom and the living area continues west. The back door is to the east. An old pine mantel leans against the wall near the window. On the mantel you see a photograph. There is a cardboard carton here. It is getting late in the day. The shadows in the room are lengthening. >x carton The carton contains a number of old possessions scattered loose, including a pile of photographs and various unrelated oddments. The only things there that hold any interest for you right now are a rather moth-eaten animal skin hat and a small brass ornament. >c hat You lose yourself in thought...[ I can't find my hat, and my head was in it. -- Tom Verlaine] You are on a familiar mountain track. You spend much of your time outdoors by yourself on these bush trails. The surrounding forest extends almost to the back door of your house, which is to the northeast. In effect, the whole of the mountain is your back yard, your playground - from this eucalypt forest, right on up to the mist shrouded boulder fields and sheer dolerite cliffs and tors beneath the summit. It's a bright day, but there is a chill Southerly wind blowing. Your grandmother has told you not to wander far, as your lunch is nearly ready. You know better than to disobey her. Mountain track You are on a rocky track, surrounded by eucalypt forest. The track leads down a gentle slope to the northeast towards your house and continues higher up the mountain to the west. There is a chill Southerly wind blowing. >x me You're a scrawny kid, wearing as ever, your possum skin hat and a thick duffel coat. Thin pipe-cleaner legs are visible below your shorts - "Hollow legs", your grandmother calls them, although you wonder how anything so thin could be hollow. On your feet are rather worn leather walking boots. >*nice That's not a verb I recognise. >w Mountain track You are on a rocky track, surrounded by eucalypt forest. The track rises steeply to the northwest and winds back down the slope to the east. Another narrower path, not much more than an animal trail, leads away to the south. >s Part way along the track you spot an echidna, digging for ants on the path. At your approach it abandons its labour and shuffles with surprising speed off the track and into the undergrowth. As you pass you hear it furiously digging itself into the earth, spraying sod and dirt over the long quills on its back. Small clearing You have entered a small, familiar clearing surrounded in all directions except to the south by stands of white gum eucalypt trees and dense undergrowth. To the south rises a large lichen-covered rock. The air here is damp and close - heavy with the scents of eucalyptus and wild flowers. A narrow trail leads back to the north. >s You clamber up the side of the rock, deftly finding those hand and footholds that you know so well. On the rock This rock is your favourite place - a place where you like to come to sit and think, or just to be alone. It's only after making the short climb from the clearing that you can see the rock for what it is - and get some idea of its magnitude. Before you it drops away sharply, towering over the trees of the forest below, giving you a superb view out over of the rolling foothills of the mountain and the wide river valley beyond. Out on the rock you're exposed to the full force of the Southerly wind and you brace yourself against it. As you do so, you catch sight of something you hadn't noticed before in a crack near the rock's far edge. >x crack There's a small white gum seedling growing in the dirt that has collected in the crack. On seeing the seedling you immediately feel an affinity with it, and can't help feeling concerned for its predicament. It has no chance of growing into a tree where it is. >take seedling You cautiously pull the seedling from the crack, taking care not to damage the roots. >n You carefully climb back down to the clearing. Small clearing You are in a small, familiar clearing surrounded in all directions except to the south by stands of white gum eucalypt trees and dense undergrowth. To the south rises a large lichen-covered rock. The air here is damp and close - heavy with the scents of eucalyptus and wild flowers. A narrow trail leads back to the north. >*you know, I think I vaguely remembered this interaction You seem to want to talk to someone, but I can't see whom. >*because later on I made a game where you replant a sapling [The story read that as "*because eater on i make a me her my plant a sapling"]. That's not a verb I recognise. >n Mountain track You are on a rocky track, surrounded by eucalypt forest. The track rises steeply to the northwest and winds back down the slope to the east. Another narrower path, not much more than an animal trail, leads away to the south. >e Mountain track You are on a rocky track, surrounded by eucalypt forest. The track leads down a gentle slope to the northeast towards your house and continues higher up the mountain to the west. >w Mountain track You are on a rocky track, surrounded by eucalypt forest. The track rises steeply to the northwest and winds back down the slope to the east. Another narrower path, not much more than an animal trail, leads away to the south. >nw Verge (beside the road) You've come up a steep incline onto a cleared dirt verge beside the mountain summit road. This is a bend in the gravel road, which runs on and up towards the north like a ragged scar across the face of the mountain, and back to the southwest where it winds its way steadily down through the foothills and towards the city. On the far side of the road is a ditch, etched out over the years by the elements and run-off. Just beyond the ditch is a sheer cliff several times your height, marking where this part of the road has been cut into the mountain-side. A rocky track leads back down to the southeast. You hear your grandmother calling. Your lunch must be ready. >*don't want to ignore grandma [The story read that as "*don't ant to ignore grandma"]. That's not a verb I recognise. >e The scrub beside the road is thick and thorny. You'll get into trouble if you rip or dirty your clothes. >se Mountain track You are on a rocky track, surrounded by eucalypt forest. The track rises steeply to the northwest and winds back down the slope to the east. Another narrower path, not much more than an animal trail, leads away to the south. >e Mountain track You are on a rocky track, surrounded by eucalypt forest. The track leads down a gentle slope to the northeast towards your house and continues higher up the mountain to the west. >ne Back door You are at the back door to your grandparents' house which is to the east. The forest extends almost down to the back veranda and a rocky track to the southwest leads back into the bush. Through a window you can see into the kitchen, where your grandmother and grandfather are sitting at the table having lunch. They seem to be arguing about something. You can hear their raised voices. You could probably listen without being noticed. >listen You hear your grandparents arguing. As usual, it is your grandmother who has the most to say. She is angry as it seems your grandfather has loaned a lot of money to Mr Timpson, who runs the local store. Your grandmother doesn't think they can spare the money and obviously doesn't think they'll ever see it again. You've never liked Mr Timpson, but you know his father and your grandfather were friends. >g You hear your grandparents arguing. As usual, it is your grandmother who has the most to say. She is angry as it seems your grandfather has loaned a lot of money to Mr Timpson, who runs the local store. Your grandmother doesn't think they can spare the money and obviously doesn't think they'll ever see it again. You've never liked Mr Timpson, but you know his father and your grandfather were friends. >ne The only places to go from here are into the house or back along the rocky track to the southwest. >in As you open the back door and enter the kitchen your grandparents abruptly stop their argument. Your grandfather looks up from his food, and gives you a conspiratory wink. Your grandmother snorts, and points towards your seat. The air at the table is tense, but you barely notice as you hungrily eat your lunch. Those days seem such a long time ago now... Everything melts away... ...and you find yourself back in your living room. Living Room (East) Your living room is full of clutter. Your armchair is here in front of the wood stove. A doorway to the north leads to your bedroom and the living area continues west. The back door is to the east. An old pine mantel leans against the wall near the window. On the mantel you see a photograph. There is a cardboard carton here. The light is failing. It is nearly evening. The flicker from the wood stove casts eerie shadows around the room. >*I wonder if I could change things by my actions in the past [The story read that as "hi wonder of i cold changes things y my actions in the past"]. I only understood you as far as wanting to hi. >x photo The picture-frame is made of Baltic pine. The photograph it contains is slightly overexposed and was taken using a flash. Depicted are a young man and young woman leaning with their backs to the rail of a rough wooden deck, backed by the spray of a narrow waterfall cascading down two tiers of mudstone outcrop. Bordering the waterfall is thick temperate rainforest vegetation: a canopy of tall myrtle and sassafras trees, beneath which are leatherwood and tree-ferns, all covered in moss, lichen, shell-fungus. The boy has his arm around the girl's shoulder. Both are wearing light bushwalking clothes, and he carries a day pack. The boy looks cocky and confident and wears an idiotic 'say cheese' grin. The girl is not smiling. This was not, as you recall it, that she had been unhappy, just unused to having her picture taken. "It's like giving away a piece of your soul," she had once joked. As it happens she had smiled just after the shot was taken; a small, nervous smile of relief (you mimic the smile at the memory). You're beginning to feel quite tired. >sit in chair You sit back in your armchair. >sleep You can keep awake no longer. You get up from the armchair, walk wearily to the wood stove and build up the fire. You then close the door to the balcony, before heading to your bedroom. After climbing into bed you toss and turn for a while then settle into an uneasy sleep... And in this sleep, you dream...[ Hail, thou [Ra], thou lord of rays, who risest on the horizon day by day...May the soul of the [Pharaoh], whose word is truth, come forth with thee into heaven! May he set out with thee in the Matet Boat in the morning, may he come into port in the Sektet Boat in the evening, and may he cleave his path among the stars of heaven which never rest. ...Grant thou that I may reach the heaven of eternity. -- The Book of the Dead ] In your dream you are Akhnaten, the pharaoh of Nadia's fancy, standing on a sandy shore gazing out over dark waters. You are dressed in white robes, in your right hand is a flail, and in your left is a shepherd's crook. The night sky is a terrible serpent that slithers and uncoils above you, blood leaching from its foul skin into the waters of the East. There are four sealed jars laid out on the sand before you, and from your side come the guttural sounds, the snufflings and snarls, of some kind of animal, or worse. Reeds grow about you, wrapping themselves around your feet, tugging at your ankles. But you know that you must not shift your gaze from the horizon, not at any cost. Sandy shore You stand on a sandy shore, gazing out through darkness to the horizon in the East. There are four sealed jars set on the sand before you. Something is growling beside you, and reeds grow about your feet, wrapping themselves around your ankles. >*when I browsed the help menu earlier I saw an akhnaten part mentioned, so i've been waiting for it! [The story read that as "*when i robes the help mend earlier i saw an akhnaten art mentioned, s i've been waiting for it!"]. You seem to want to talk to someone, but I can't see whom. >c jars These earthenware containers are canopic jars. Each has a lid shaped like the head of one of the sons of Horus. The sons are the jackal-headed Duamutef, the ape-headed Hapy, the falcon-headed Qebsennuef, and the human-headed Imsety. The jars contain your stomach, lungs, intestines and liver, respectively. >x jars These earthenware containers are canopic jars. Each has a lid shaped like the head of one of the sons of Horus. The sons are the jackal-headed Duamutef, the ape-headed Hapy, the falcon-headed Qebsennuef, and the human-headed Imsety. The jars contain your stomach, lungs, intestines and liver, respectively. >l Sandy shore You stand on a sandy shore, gazing out through darkness to the horizon in the East. There are four sealed jars set on the sand before you. Something is growling beside you, and reeds grow about your feet, wrapping themselves around your ankles. >x horizon You are watching the eastern horizon for Matet, the boat of Ra the sun god, that will take you to the afterlife. And not without some trepidation. With the benefit of hindsight you wonder at the wisdom, during your reign, of banning the worship of Ra and the rest of the panoply of Egyptian gods in favour of Aten, a single god of your own invention. Then again, even pharaohs make mistakes. How long must you wait? Surely, it can't be long now. >x reeds The reeds are growing before your eyes. They are wrapping themselves around your ankles, trying to bring you down. You are becoming aware of a burning sensation in your chest. >x chest You mustn't take your attention away from the horizon. >c chest You mustn't take your attention away from the horizon. >touch chest You drop the flail and reach beneath your robes with your right hand. You can feel the jagged edges of the flesh of your chest-wall, and beneath that, nothing, an empty cavity. This doesn't auger well for your meeting with Osiris (the weigher of hearts). Surely, morning must come soon... You awake before dawn and lie in your bed in the dim half-light of early morning listening to the gentle spattering of sleet or snow against the windowpane. You are lying on your back with your arms folded across your chest. Normally, you sleep curled on your side, or sprawled on your stomach. You are also bathed in sweat. Bedroom (on the bed) This is your bedroom. The only furnishings are a wardrobe and your bed. There is a window facing north and the living room is to the south. >*wild [The story read that as "wild"]. That's not a verb I recognise. >out You get off the bed. Bedroom This is your bedroom. The only furnishings are a wardrobe and your bed. There is a window facing north and the living room is to the south. Your stomach rumbles. There's no food in the house. Like it or not, you know you'll have to brave the cold today and go to the store to buy some supplies. >wake up The dreadful truth is, this is not a dream. >s Living Room (East) Your living room is full of clutter. Your armchair is here in front of the wood stove. A doorway to the north leads to your bedroom and the living area continues west. The back door is to the east. An old pine mantel leans against the wall near the window. On the mantel you see a photograph. There is a cardboard carton here. >w Living Room (West) This area of your living room doubles as a kitchen. There is a small sink here, a gas stove, refrigerator and a cupboard. Your bathroom is to the north and a door to the west leads outside. >w With barely a backwards glance at the photograph on the mantel, you step out of the door and onto the path. Fresh snow is beginning to settle on the gravel. It crunches under your feet as you walk, and dark clouds billow up over the mountain, obscuring the stars. As you leave the house you have a feeling you may have forgotten something. Front Path You are on the gravel path near your front door, which is to the east. The path leads north to your driveway and continues south to your yard. The trees of the surrounding forest come nearly to the edge of the path. >i You are carrying nothing. >e Living Room (West) This area of your living room doubles as a kitchen. There is a small sink here, a gas stove, refrigerator and a cupboard. Your bathroom is to the north and a door to the west leads outside. >close door You close the front door. >e Living Room (East) Your living room is full of clutter. Your armchair is here in front of the wood stove. A doorway to the north leads to your bedroom and the living area continues west. The back door is to the east. An old pine mantel leans against the wall near the window. On the mantel you see a photograph. There is a cardboard carton here. > I beg your pardon? >n Bedroom This is your bedroom. The only furnishings are a wardrobe and your bed. There is a window facing north and the living room is to the south. >open wardrobe That's already open. >wear clothes (your coat) But you are already wearing your coat. >take box You pull the metal box out from under the bed. >open it You open the metal box, revealing some rolls of $50 notes. >take rolls You take a roll of fifties. >close box You close the metal box. >push it You push the box back under the bed. >s Living Room (East) Your living room is full of clutter. Your armchair is here in front of the wood stove. A doorway to the north leads to your bedroom and the living area continues west. The back door is to the east. An old pine mantel leans against the wall near the window. On the mantel you see a photograph. There is a cardboard carton here. >w Living Room (West) This area of your living room doubles as a kitchen. There is a small sink here, a gas stove, refrigerator and a cupboard. Your bathroom is to the north and a door to the west leads outside. >w Front Path You are on the gravel path near your front door, which is to the east. The path leads north to your driveway and continues south to your yard. The trees of the surrounding forest come nearly to the edge of the path. >d You can't go that way. >n Bottom of driveway You are standing at the bottom of your driveway. The drive heads up to the northwest. Leading off the driveway to the south is a path that takes you around to the front of the house. Your old Landcruiser is parked here, near the house. >enter landcruiser (the Landcruiser) You get into the Landcruiser. >turn it on You start the engine. >drive You'll have to say which compass direction to go in. >drive s You can't drive the Landcruiser down your front path! >drive nw The Landcruiser coughs into life and in a shower of gravel, rattles on up towards the road, windscreen wipers waving noisily. At the top of your drive you turn and start the winding descent towards the store. As you drive you sit forward, hunched over the steering wheel, pot-holes jarring your craned neck as you struggle to make out the line of the road. The snow is falling more heavily now, making visibility poor. Mountain road (in the Landcruiser) You're heading south along a narrow stretch of the mountain summit road. This part of the road has been cut from the mountain-side. It has rocky cliffs rising on its western edge and drops away sharply into the forest to the east. The road here is badly corrugated, making driving difficult. >drive s Suddenly, out of nowhere, a wallaby jumps onto the road in front of you, is caught briefly in the headlights and then is gone, in one bound, back into the bush. As you swerve to avoid it the Landcruiser leaves the road, coming to rest heavily in a ditch. You gun the engine and press the accelerator to the floor, a spray of yellow mud erupting from the wheel-arches as the vehicle slues further from the road. For a while you sit rigid and unmoving in the cabin of the Toyota, then with a deep sigh, you kill the engine and relax your white-knuckled grip on the wheel. With resignation you begin to feel all tension and panic drain away, and with them, all resolve and sense of purpose. "Bloody wallaby," you mutter to yourself. You gaze absently at the criss-crossed patterns of ice forming in the arcs of the still screeching wiper-blades, and at the sleet and snow hitting the windscreen like glass bugs. Then you begin to shake uncontrollably...[ HAIKU To con-vey one's mood in sev-en-teen syll-ab-les is ve-ry dif-fic -- John Cooper Clarke] It's difficult to say when the wheels started falling off your life. You were fine when Nadia left you. Your depression came years later, the onset gradual and seemingly without cause. You began to withdraw from the things and people around you, as though a filter had been placed between you and the rest of the world, or perhaps a small rip had developed in the fabric that bound you to it. Your fondness for the bush and those of the local community began to pale, and your recollections became tinged with sadness and regret. Over time you found it more difficult to keep your mind focused and you developed a propensity for self-doubt - doubts that led to failures, perceived as well as actual, that further fuelled your lack of confidence. Eventually, you fell into a descending spiral of despondency and despair, and the small rip in the fabric of your existence became a gaping rift. By the time you realised something had gone wrong, you were already powerless to do anything about it, and had nothing left to fight with. While still physically fit, you were an emotional cripple. And in this state, you would sit in your armchair for hours on end, wrestling inner demons, rerunning the events of your life in your mind, looking for someone or something to blame, before ultimately deciding that at some point in your life... ...you had taken a wrong turn. As you sit in the cabin of your Landcruiser, watching the snow fall through the frosted windscreen, you see a small boy standing on the dirt verge on the other side of the road. The boy is wearing a duffel coat, shorts and an animal skin hat. You recognise the child's bright eyes and stoic expression - can almost imagine him calling out "Hey, mister. What's the problem? Shall I get help?" You want to yell to the boy, to warn him, but as you go to get out of the car, he turns, looks over his shoulder as though someone has called him, then disappears down the bank and into the bush. Bend in the road (in the Landcruiser) You are sitting in your Landcruiser. The vehicle rests precariously with one rear wheel in a ditch and the opposing front wheel high in the air. Near the Landcruiser, to the west, rises a cliff and on the opposite side of the road is a dirt verge. >*wallabies sure cause a lot of problems [The story read that as "*wallabies sore case a lit of problems"]. That's not a verb I recognise. >*so far the game has been real smooth [The story read that as "*so far the me gas end read shot"]. That's not a verb I recognise. >version PHOTOGRAPH A Portrait of Reflection Copyright 2002-2004, 2024 by Steve Evans (ybosde@gmail.com) There are some important differences between this and many other works of Interactive Fiction. Please type INFO before playing for the first time. Release 6 / Serial number 241027 / Inform v6.42 Library 6/10 SD Standard interpreter 1.1 (1C) / Library serial number 991106 >out As you step from the Landcruiser you find yourself thankful for the fact that it is equipped with a winch. That is, until you realise that there is nothing in reach to attach it to. If only there was a tree or something here. Bend in the road You are standing near your Landcruiser. The vehicle rests precariously with one rear wheel in a ditch and the opposing front wheel high in the air. Near the Landcruiser, to the west, rises a cliff and on the opposite side of the road is a dirt verge. The gravel road heads back to the north, and leads on around the bend to the southwest. >*ah, the kid version of me could have planted it! [The story read that as "*ah, the lid version of me cold haze land its"]. You seem to want to talk to someone, but I can't see whom. >wake up The dreadful truth is, this is not a dream. >i You are carrying a roll of $50 notes. >w The cliff is too sheer to climb. >e The undergrowth is too dense to walk through. >n You reluctantly abandon the Toyota and begin the long walk back to the house. Bottom of driveway You are standing at the bottom of your driveway. The drive heads up to the northwest. Leading off the driveway to the south is a path that takes you around to the front of the house. >in You can only get into something free-standing. >e You don't want to go into the bush right now. >s Front Path You are on the gravel path near your front door, which is to the east. The path leads north to your driveway and continues south to your yard. The trees of the surrounding forest come nearly to the edge of the path. >s Yard (West) You are in the yard that runs along the side of the house. It's a rough, steep bush block, and scattered about are the rusting carcasses of motorbikes, broken machinery and other past follies. They look strangely grotesque in the pre-dawn light. The yard slopes down to the east and the path leading to the front door is to the north. Snow is settling around you. >*oh I hadn't been there yet [The story read that as "*oh i hand knee three yes"]. That's not a verb I recognise. >e Yard (East) You are in the yard that runs along the side of the house. It's a rough, steep bush block, and scattered about are the rusting carcasses of motorbikes, broken machinery and other past follies. The yard falls away very sharply further to the east. To the north is the door to your workshop which is under the house, and the yard extends back to the west. Snow is settling around you. >n (first opening the workshop door) Workshop Your workshop has an old wooden workbench, paint spattered and generally well used. The walls and almost every surface of the room are covered with tools, tins and containers, none of which you need right now. There is a single grimy window near the only exit, which is to the south. >x window You can see your yard through the window. >x tools The workshop is full of tools of every size and type. Many are hung from the walls on wire hooks. >x bench It's a large solid wooden workbench, that is covered with spatters of paint and other scars of past work. It was on this bench that you made the frame for the photograph. >take tools You don't need any of the tools at the moment. >s Yard (East) You are in the yard that runs along the side of the house. It's a rough, steep bush block, and scattered about are the rusting carcasses of motorbikes, broken machinery and other past follies. The yard falls away very sharply further to the east. To the north is the door to your workshop which is under the house, and the yard extends back to the west. Snow is settling around you. >w Yard (West) You are in the yard that runs along the side of the house. It's a rough, steep bush block, and scattered about are the rusting carcasses of motorbikes, broken machinery and other past follies. They look strangely grotesque in the pre-dawn light. The yard slopes down to the east and the path leading to the front door is to the north. Snow is settling around you. >n Front Path You are on the gravel path near your front door, which is to the east. The path leads north to your driveway and continues south to your yard. The trees of the surrounding forest come nearly to the edge of the path. >in Living Room (West) This area of your living room doubles as a kitchen. There is a small sink here, a gas stove, refrigerator and a cupboard. Your bathroom is to the north and a door to the west leads outside. >e Living Room (East) Your living room is full of clutter. Your armchair is here in front of the wood stove. A doorway to the north leads to your bedroom and the living area continues west. The back door is to the east. An old pine mantel leans against the wall near the window. On the mantel you see a photograph. There is a cardboard carton here. >x carton The carton contains a number of old possessions scattered loose, including a pile of photographs and various unrelated oddments. The only things there that hold any interest for you right now are a rather moth-eaten animal skin hat and a small brass ornament. >c skin You lose yourself in thought...[ I can't find my hat, and my head was in it. -- Tom Verlaine] You are on a familiar mountain track. You spend much of your time outdoors by yourself on these bush trails. The surrounding forest extends almost to the back door of your house, which is to the northeast. In effect, the whole of the mountain is your back yard, your playground - from this eucalypt forest, right on up to the mist shrouded boulder fields and sheer dolerite cliffs and tors beneath the summit. It's a bright day, but there is a chill Southerly wind blowing. Your grandmother has told you not to wander far, as your lunch is nearly ready. You know better than to disobey her. Mountain track You are on a rocky track, surrounded by eucalypt forest. The track leads down a gentle slope to the northeast towards your house and continues higher up the mountain to the west. There is a chill Southerly wind blowing. >i You are wearing your possum skin hat. >w Mountain track You are on a rocky track, surrounded by eucalypt forest. The track rises steeply to the northwest and winds back down the slope to the east. Another narrower path, not much more than an animal trail, leads away to the south. >w The scrub here is thick and thorny. You'll get into trouble if you rip or dirty your clothes. You'd best keep to the track. >s Small clearing You have entered a small, familiar clearing surrounded in all directions except to the south by stands of white gum eucalypt trees and dense undergrowth. To the south rises a large lichen-covered rock. The air here is damp and close - heavy with the scents of eucalyptus and wild flowers. A narrow trail leads back to the north. >s You clamber up the side of the rock, deftly finding those hand and footholds that you know so well. On the rock This rock is your favourite place - a place where you like to come to sit and think, or just to be alone. It's only after making the short climb from the clearing that you can see the rock for what it is - and get some idea of its magnitude. Before you it drops away sharply, towering over the trees of the forest below, giving you a superb view out over of the rolling foothills of the mountain and the wide river valley beyond. Out on the rock you're exposed to the full force of the Southerly wind and you brace yourself against it. As you do so, you catch sight of something you hadn't noticed before in a crack near the rock's far edge. >take sapling You cautiously pull the seedling from the crack, taking care not to damage the roots. >n You carefully climb back down to the clearing. Small clearing You are in a small, familiar clearing surrounded in all directions except to the south by stands of white gum eucalypt trees and dense undergrowth. To the south rises a large lichen-covered rock. The air here is damp and close - heavy with the scents of eucalyptus and wild flowers. A narrow trail leads back to the north. >n Mountain track You are on a rocky track, surrounded by eucalypt forest. The track rises steeply to the northwest and winds back down the slope to the east. Another narrower path, not much more than an animal trail, leads away to the south. >nw Verge (beside the road) You've come up a steep incline onto a cleared dirt verge beside the mountain summit road. This is a bend in the gravel road, which runs on and up towards the north like a ragged scar across the face of the mountain, and back to the southwest where it winds its way steadily down through the foothills and towards the city. On the far side of the road is a ditch, etched out over the years by the elements and run-off. Just beyond the ditch is a sheer cliff several times your height, marking where this part of the road has been cut into the mountain-side. A rocky track leads back down to the southeast. You hear your grandmother calling. Your lunch must be ready. >plant sapling You dig a small hole and carefully plant the seedling. >se Mountain track You are on a rocky track, surrounded by eucalypt forest. The track rises steeply to the northwest and winds back down the slope to the east. Another narrower path, not much more than an animal trail, leads away to the south. >e Mountain track You are on a rocky track, surrounded by eucalypt forest. The track leads down a gentle slope to the northeast towards your house and continues higher up the mountain to the west. >e The scrub here is thick and thorny. You'll get into trouble if you rip or dirty your clothes. You'd best keep to the track. >ne Back door You are at the back door to your grandparents' house which is to the east. The forest extends almost down to the back veranda and a rocky track to the southwest leads back into the bush. Through a window you can see into the kitchen, where your grandmother and grandfather are sitting at the table having lunch. They seem to be arguing about something. You can hear their raised voices. You could probably listen without being noticed. >in As you open the back door and enter the kitchen your grandparents abruptly stop their argument. Your grandfather looks up from his food, and gives you a conspiratory wink. Your grandmother snorts, and points towards your seat. The air at the table is tense, but you barely notice as you hungrily eat your lunch. Those days seem such a long time ago now... Everything melts away... ...and you find yourself back in your living room. Living Room (East) Your living room is full of clutter. Your armchair is here in front of the wood stove. A doorway to the north leads to your bedroom and the living area continues west. The back door is to the east. An old pine mantel leans against the wall near the window. On the mantel you see a photograph. There is a cardboard carton here. >nw You can't go that way. >out (first opening the back door) Balcony You are on a wooden balcony that looks out over a river valley. An open door to the west leads back into the house. It is early morning. Dark clouds are building and snow is settling on the ground. >w Living Room (East) Your living room is full of clutter. Your armchair is here in front of the wood stove. A doorway to the north leads to your bedroom and the living area continues west. The back door is to the east. An old pine mantel leans against the wall near the window. On the mantel you see a photograph. There is a cardboard carton here. >w Living Room (West) This area of your living room doubles as a kitchen. There is a small sink here, a gas stove, refrigerator and a cupboard. Your bathroom is to the north and a door to the west leads outside. >w Front Path You are on the gravel path near your front door, which is to the east. The path leads north to your driveway and continues south to your yard. The trees of the surrounding forest come nearly to the edge of the path. >n Bottom of driveway You are standing at the bottom of your driveway. The drive heads up to the northwest. Leading off the driveway to the south is a path that takes you around to the front of the house. >n You don't want to go into the bush right now. >nw You lean forward into the wind and snow, and wearily begin the long walk back to the Landcruiser. Bend in the road You are standing near your Landcruiser. The vehicle rests precariously with one rear wheel in a ditch and the opposing front wheel high in the air. Near the Landcruiser, to the west, rises a cliff and on the opposite side of the road is a dirt verge. The gravel road heads back to the north, and leads on around the bend to the southwest. There is a tall white gum eucalypt growing on the verge. >*woohoo! That's not a verb I recognise. >*and is 'eucalypt' the right term? it sounds right, I just haven't seen it [The story read that as "hand us 'eucalypt' the right me it sounds right, i dust haven't seven it"]. You can't talk to your arms. >*without the 'us' That's not a verb I recognise. >x tree It's a tall white gum tree. >tie truck to tree You would achieve nothing by this. >l Bend in the road You are standing near your Landcruiser. The vehicle rests precariously with one rear wheel in a ditch and the opposing front wheel high in the air. Near the Landcruiser, to the west, rises a cliff and on the opposite side of the road is a dirt verge. The gravel road heads back to the north, and leads on around the bend to the southwest. There is a tall white gum eucalypt growing on the verge. >x truck A battered old Toyota Landcruiser. You've had it for years. It has a winch at the front that is of particular interest to you right now. >x winch The winch is attached to the front of the vehicle. There's a hook on the end of the steel winch cable. >attach hook to tree But you don't have the winch cable. >take cable You take the end of the winch cable. >attach it to tree Having attached the winch to the tree, you pull the four-wheel-drive free of the ditch. Then in a flurry of gravel and snow you continue down the road towards Timpson's store. You drive carefully, but still have to fight for grip on the ice and snow. By the time you swing into the small parking bay at the front of the store you're sweating profusely and your fingers ache from gripping the wheel. It would be well into the morning by now, but the weather has closed right in and it is still quite dark. The mountain slopes above you are completely obscured by clouds. Outside Timpson's store (in the Landcruiser) You are sitting in your Landcruiser parked at the front of Timpson's store which is to the west. The store is a somewhat dilapidated double-storey weatherboard building with a veranda, and an old advertising hoarding out the front. The shop itself is on the ground floor. Bill Timpson lives above it. The summit road heads back to the northeast and continues as a sealed road towards the small local township to the south. >out You turn off the engine, jump from the Landcruiser, and quickly climb the two steps up to the front veranda of the shop. It's only when you get to the door that you notice the rough cardboard sign tacked to it. >x sign The sign says, "CLOSED". The wind whistles through the uprights of the veranda, whipping the falling snow into circles that dance at your feet as you stand staring at the sign. You feel your temper rising. >knock (the front door) You pound at the door, perhaps more vigorously than was necessary. Several moments later you hear the sound of a window being opened above you. "Go, away! It's Sunday. We're closed." It's Timpson. In frustration, you pound the door again. "Look, I mean it, whoever you are. Get lost. Now!...or I call the police." You step back from the veranda and look up to the second-storey window where you see, glaring down at you, a tiny wisp of a man, dressed in pyjamas. "Oh, it's you, Downer y'mad bugger. Well, we're closed. So you'd better go back to that mud hut of yours." >talk to timpson about food "I can't help you, Jack. It's Sunday. Go home." >talk to timpson about truck The old man doesn't seem interested. >enter car (the Landcruiser) You get into the Landcruiser. >s You have no wish to go into the township. Just coming to the store has been traumatic enough. >l Outside Timpson's store (in the Landcruiser) You are sitting in your Landcruiser parked at the front of Timpson's store which is to the west. The store is a somewhat dilapidated double-storey weatherboard building with a veranda, and an old advertising hoarding out the front. The shop itself is on the ground floor. The summit road heads back to the northeast and continues as a sealed road towards the small local township to the south. Bill Timpson is glaring down at you from a second-storey window. >ne As you begin driving cautiously home, you have a vague recollection of something you overheard in your childhood that may have made a difference to Timpson's temperament. You can't quite recall it at the moment. Bottom of driveway (in the Landcruiser) You are sitting in your Landcruiser parked at the bottom of your driveway. The drive heads up to the northwest. Leading off the driveway to the south is a path that takes you round to the front of the house. >*ah That's not a verb I recognise. >out You get out of the Landcruiser. Bottom of driveway You are standing at the bottom of your driveway. The drive heads up to the northwest. Leading off the driveway to the south is a path that takes you around to the front of the house. Your old Landcruiser is parked here, near the house. >in You get into the Landcruiser. >out You get out of the Landcruiser. Bottom of driveway You are standing at the bottom of your driveway. The drive heads up to the northwest. Leading off the driveway to the south is a path that takes you around to the front of the house. Your old Landcruiser is parked here, near the house. >s Front Path You are on the gravel path near your front door, which is to the east. The path leads north to your driveway and continues south to your yard. The trees of the surrounding forest come nearly to the edge of the path. >in Living Room (West) This area of your living room doubles as a kitchen. There is a small sink here, a gas stove, refrigerator and a cupboard. Your bathroom is to the north and a door to the west leads outside. >e Living Room (East) Your living room is full of clutter. Your armchair is here in front of the wood stove. A doorway to the north leads to your bedroom and the living area continues west. The back door is to the east. An old pine mantel leans against the wall near the window. On the mantel you see a photograph. There is a cardboard carton here. >c cap [The story read that as "c lap"]. Nothing of interest occurs to you. >c hat You lose yourself in thought...[ I can't find my hat, and my head was in it. -- Tom Verlaine] You are on a familiar mountain track. You spend much of your time outdoors by yourself on these bush trails. The surrounding forest extends almost to the back door of your house, which is to the northeast. In effect, the whole of the mountain is your back yard, your playground - from this eucalypt forest, right on up to the mist shrouded boulder fields and sheer dolerite cliffs and tors beneath the summit. It's a bright day, but there is a chill Southerly wind blowing. Your grandmother has told you not to wander far, as your lunch is nearly ready. You know better than to disobey her. Mountain track You are on a rocky track, surrounded by eucalypt forest. The track leads down a gentle slope to the northeast towards your house and continues higher up the mountain to the west. There is a chill Southerly wind blowing. >w Mountain track You are on a rocky track, surrounded by eucalypt forest. The track rises steeply to the northwest and winds back down the slope to the east. Another narrower path, not much more than an animal trail, leads away to the south. >w The scrub here is thick and thorny. You'll get into trouble if you rip or dirty your clothes. You'd best keep to the track. >s Small clearing You have entered a small, familiar clearing surrounded in all directions except to the south by stands of white gum eucalypt trees and dense undergrowth. To the south rises a large lichen-covered rock. The air here is damp and close - heavy with the scents of eucalyptus and wild flowers. A narrow trail leads back to the north. >s You clamber up the side of the rock, deftly finding those hand and footholds that you know so well. On the rock This rock is your favourite place - a place where you like to come to sit and think, or just to be alone. It's only after making the short climb from the clearing that you can see the rock for what it is - and get some idea of its magnitude. Before you it drops away sharply, towering over the trees of the forest below, giving you a superb view out over of the rolling foothills of the mountain and the wide river valley beyond. Out on the rock you're exposed to the full force of the Southerly wind and you brace yourself against it. As you do so, you catch sight of something you hadn't noticed before in a crack near the rock's far edge. >take sapling You cautiously pull the seedling from the crack, taking care not to damage the roots. >n You carefully climb back down to the clearing. Small clearing You are in a small, familiar clearing surrounded in all directions except to the south by stands of white gum eucalypt trees and dense undergrowth. To the south rises a large lichen-covered rock. The air here is damp and close - heavy with the scents of eucalyptus and wild flowers. A narrow trail leads back to the north. >n Mountain track You are on a rocky track, surrounded by eucalypt forest. The track rises steeply to the northwest and winds back down the slope to the east. Another narrower path, not much more than an animal trail, leads away to the south. >nw Verge (beside the road) You've come up a steep incline onto a cleared dirt verge beside the mountain summit road. This is a bend in the gravel road, which runs on and up towards the north like a ragged scar across the face of the mountain, and back to the southwest where it winds its way steadily down through the foothills and towards the city. On the far side of the road is a ditch, etched out over the years by the elements and run-off. Just beyond the ditch is a sheer cliff several times your height, marking where this part of the road has been cut into the mountain-side. A rocky track leads back down to the southeast. You hear your grandmother calling. Your lunch must be ready. >plant sapling You dig a small hole and carefully plant the seedling. >se Mountain track You are on a rocky track, surrounded by eucalypt forest. The track rises steeply to the northwest and winds back down the slope to the east. Another narrower path, not much more than an animal trail, leads away to the south. >e Mountain track You are on a rocky track, surrounded by eucalypt forest. The track leads down a gentle slope to the northeast towards your house and continues higher up the mountain to the west. >e The scrub here is thick and thorny. You'll get into trouble if you rip or dirty your clothes. You'd best keep to the track. >ne Back door You are at the back door to your grandparents' house which is to the east. The forest extends almost down to the back veranda and a rocky track to the southwest leads back into the bush. Through a window you can see into the kitchen, where your grandmother and grandfather are sitting at the table having lunch. They seem to be arguing about something. You can hear their raised voices. You could probably listen without being noticed. >listen You hear your grandparents arguing. As usual, it is your grandmother who has the most to say. She is angry as it seems your grandfather has loaned a lot of money to Mr Timpson, who runs the local store. Your grandmother doesn't think they can spare the money and obviously doesn't think they'll ever see it again. You've never liked Mr Timpson, but you know his father and your grandfather were friends. >x kitchen It's a simple, homely kitchen, with a wooden table and chairs and a wood stove. Your grandmother and grandfather are sitting at the table having lunch. They seem to be arguing about something. >talk to grandma about timpson Your grandmother doesn't seem to notice that you are there. >*i don't know how to fix this [The story read that as "hi don't snow show to fix this"]. I only understood you as far as wanting to hi. >i You are wearing your possum skin hat. >remove hat You take off your possum skin hat. >x it It's your favourite hat. You wear it almost wherever you go. >wear it You put on your possum skin hat. >w The only places to go from here are into the house or back along the rocky track to the southwest. >s The only places to go from here are into the house or back along the rocky track to the southwest. >sw Mountain track You are on a rocky track, surrounded by eucalypt forest. The track leads down a gentle slope to the northeast towards your house and continues higher up the mountain to the west. You hear your grandmother calling you. You'd better get back to the house soon or she might feed your lunch to the dogs, again. >*okay, one hint [The story read that as "*okay, one hit"]. You seem to want to talk to someone, but I can't see whom. >help What do you want to help? >info OUT READ SIGN KNOCK ON DOOR MENTION GRANDFATHER TO TIMPSON (LOAN works as well) WEST BUY FOOD (if you have no money then see "Akhnaten") ENTER LANDCRUISER NORTHEAST [Please press SPACE.] Mountain track You are on a rocky track, surrounded by eucalypt forest. The track leads down a gentle slope to the northeast towards your house and continues higher up the mountain to the west. >*ah That's not a verb I recognise. >wake up Everything melts away... ...and you find yourself back in your living room. Living Room (East) Your living room is full of clutter. Your armchair is here in front of the wood stove. A doorway to the north leads to your bedroom and the living area continues west. The back door is to the east. An old pine mantel leans against the wall near the window. On the mantel you see a photograph. There is a cardboard carton here. >w Living Room (West) This area of your living room doubles as a kitchen. There is a small sink here, a gas stove, refrigerator and a cupboard. Your bathroom is to the north and a door to the west leads outside. >w Front Path You are on the gravel path near your front door, which is to the east. The path leads north to your driveway and continues south to your yard. The trees of the surrounding forest come nearly to the edge of the path. >w You don't want to go into the bush right now. >n Bottom of driveway You are standing at the bottom of your driveway. The drive heads up to the northwest. Leading off the driveway to the south is a path that takes you around to the front of the house. Your old Landcruiser is parked here, near the house. >enter landcruiser (the Landcruiser) You get into the Landcruiser. >nw You drive very cautiously and slowly back towards the store. Outside Timpson's store (in the Landcruiser) You are sitting in your Landcruiser parked at the front of Timpson's store which is to the west. The store is a somewhat dilapidated double-storey weatherboard building with a veranda, and an old advertising hoarding out the front. The shop itself is on the ground floor. Bill Timpson lives above it. The summit road heads back to the northeast and continues as a sealed road towards the small local township to the south. >knock door (the front door) You'll have to get out of the four-wheel-drive first. >out You get out of the Landcruiser. Outside Timpson's store You are at the front of Timpson's store which is to the west. The store is a somewhat dilapidated double-storey weatherboard building with a veranda, and an old advertising hoarding out the front. The shop itself is on the ground floor. Bill Timpson lives above it. There is a sign tacked to the front door (which is closed). The summit road heads back to the northeast and continues as a sealed road towards the small local township to the south. Your Landcruiser is parked nearby. >knock door (the front door) You knock at the door again, then stand back from the veranda. A few moments later the old man opens the upstairs window, sticks his head out and yells, "I told you Downer, we're closed!! Now be off with ya." >talk to timpson abou tloan [The story read that as "talk to timpson about loan"]. At the mention of your grandfather Timpson softens noticeably. He hesitates for a moment, then glances skywards, before saying, "Yeah okay, Jack. Just this once, for your granddad's sake. I owe him. But if you've damaged my door with all that banging, I'll take it outta ya hide. I'll be down in a minute." He steps back from the window, pulls it shut and draws the curtain. A short time later you hear the front door being unlocked and opened. >w Timpson's store Timpson keeps a musty, old-style, general store. The place hasn't changed much since you first came here with your grandparents all those years ago. Then, he used to keep a sweet jar on the counter, and you wondered whether one day he might offer you one. But, of course, he never did. You somehow still feel like that child whenever you come here. The old man doesn't keep a lot of stock, but he generally has most of the basic food and hardware items you need. Timpson is standing behind the counter, still in his pyjamas. "Well?" he asks. >pay timpson (to Bill Timpson) (first taking Bill Timpson) I don't suppose Bill Timpson would care for that. >give money to timpson You quickly select the supplies you need, pay for them with a couple of the fifties from the roll you carry and turn to leave the store. As you reach the veranda with your bag of purchases you suddenly become disoriented, and falter in your step. For an instant your vision blurs and a wave of nausea sweeps over you. Beads of sweat form on your brow. Timpson comes out from behind his counter. "You alright, Downer? You look as though you seen a ghost." The feeling passes. "Yeah, Bill. I'm fine. See you, Timpson." You step down from the veranda as Bill Timpson shakes his head, then closes and locks the door to his store. Outside Timpson's store You are at the front of Timpson's store which is to the west. The store is a somewhat dilapidated double-storey weatherboard building with a veranda, and an old advertising hoarding out the front. The shop itself is on the ground floor. Bill Timpson lives above it. There is a sign tacked to the front door (which is closed). The summit road heads back to the northeast and continues as a sealed road towards the small local township to the south. Your Landcruiser is parked nearby. >enter car (the Landcruiser) You climb into the Landcruiser and put your supplies on the passenger's seat beside you. >drive You'll have to say which compass direction to go in. >s You have no wish to go into the township. Just coming to the store has been traumatic enough. >ne The drive home is not going to be easy. You drive cautiously, at a crawl. Your progress is not only threatened by the weather, but by something else as well - you are having trouble maintaining your concentration, sweat from your palms loosens your grip on the wheel and there is a pounding in your head. You wonder if you might be going mad. Eventually you make it safely back to your driveway. Bottom of driveway (in the Landcruiser) You are sitting in your Landcruiser parked at the bottom of your driveway. The drive heads up to the northwest. Leading off the driveway to the south is a path that takes you round to the front of the house. Your bag of supplies is on the passenger's seat beside you. >*the reason I go the wrong direciton [The story read that as "the rear i go the wrong direciton"]. That's not a verb I recognise. >*is just habit I have in games of just spamming quick directions until something works [The story read that as "his dust hat i haze in gums of dust spamming quick directions unlit something works"]. That's not a verb I recognise. >*you've indicated the exits very clearly [The story read that as "*you've indicated the exit every collar"]. That's not a verb I recognise. >take supplies Taken. >out You step from the vehicle with your bag of supplies. You are feeling very unwell. Bottom of driveway You are standing at the bottom of your driveway. The drive heads up to the northwest. Leading off the driveway to the south is a path that takes you around to the front of the house. Your old Landcruiser is parked here, near the house. >s Front Path You are on the gravel path near your front door, which is to the east. The path leads north to your driveway and continues south to your yard. The trees of the surrounding forest come nearly to the edge of the path. >in As you enter the house you find yourself breathing heavily and fighting back fatigue. You put the bag of supplies down on the kitchen floor, then look towards the mantel and feel some composure return at the sight of the photograph sitting there. But you quickly begin to feel uneasy. Something about the photograph isn't right. Living Room (West) This area of your living room doubles as a kitchen. There is a small sink here, a gas stove, refrigerator and a cupboard. Your bathroom is to the north and a door to the west leads outside. There's a bag of supplies on the floor near the door. >x photograph You can't make out any details from here. >sit in chair You see no chair here. >e Living Room (East) Your living room is full of clutter. Your armchair is here in front of the wood stove. A doorway to the north leads to your bedroom and the living area continues west. The back door is to the east. An old pine mantel leans against the wall near the window. On the mantel you see a photograph. There is a cardboard carton here. >sit in chair You sit back in your armchair. >x photo You can't make out any details from here. >get up You get out of the armchair. Living Room (East) Your living room is full of clutter. Your armchair is here in front of the wood stove. A doorway to the north leads to your bedroom and the living area continues west. The back door is to the east. An old pine mantel leans against the wall near the window. On the mantel you see a photograph. There is a cardboard carton here. >take photo You take the frame in both hands, then as you stand there your hands begin to tremble, sweat pours into your eyes and your mind is numbed by the clamour of your racing heart and the rattle in your chest. You stare in disbelief at the photograph, rub the sweat and tears from your eyes with your sleeve, then look again - at the smile. With a grimy, callused finger you prod the picture trying to wipe away the smile on Melanie's face, that small nervous smile of relief so often recalled in your memory, the smile that you know can not be there, because it happened after the picture was taken. But the smile is not the only change in the photograph. You can also see your own arm reaching towards the camera. In horror, you drop the photograph, the frame smashing on contact with the floor, then you back away towards the bedroom. Lying in a foetal position, your body heaving, you fall into a long, deep dreamless sleep - the sleep of the dead...[ All at once is what eternity is. -- Kenneth Patchen ] The discovery of the photograph had been largely fortuitous. Some time after the onset of your depression, you had been sitting in your armchair feeling choked by the clutter that surrounded you and had resolved to do something about it. Your clean up began with a dust covered cardboard box of old possessions from before your return to the mountain, and that was as far as you got. As you went through the contents of the box you came across a number of photographs scattered loose, among them the photo of Melanie and yourself at the waterfall. For a moment you had trouble recalling the photograph, where it had been taken, and even who the girl was that you were with. Then you remembered, and were instantly overwhelmed by feelings of melancholy and nostalgia. It was an almost palpable experience, like breaking open an exotic fruit and being immersed in the smell of its rich fleshy pulp - sickly sweet, but turning at the core. The scene in the photograph, which you had barely given a thought for years, was instantly transformed into a pivotal moment; while only one point in the millions that had made up your life, for you it became the critical one, the point where your life had started to go wrong. You made a frame for the photograph, and set it in a prominent position on the mantel. Over the following months you became more and more drawn to the picture, spent increasing amounts of time looking at it, running the frame through your hands, and running the events of that day and evening through your mind, thinking about how they might have been different. In time, you came to reinterpret everything that had happened before the day of the photograph as preparation for that moment and everything after as a mistake. Your waking hours were spent striving to regain the moment, and set it to rights in your mind. The world and your needs within it paled into insignificance, were merely inconvenient distractions from your true focus. And you became increasingly frustrated by the fact that with each passing hour you were a little further from the only junction in your life that had mattered, the only point where you could have put your life back on track... You open your eyes to find that you are once more lying on your back, feet together with arms folded across your chest. It is daylight and bright. You can hear the calls of birds outside. You feel strangely calm and rested, your breath coming easily and without pain. Even your hunger has abated. You have not forgotten the photograph lying in its shattered frame in the next room, but you don't feel pressed to do anything about it. There is no rush. A huntsman spider crawls along the beam above your head, towards a fly at the opposite end. The fly is caught in the strand of another spider's web, and it spins noisily and stupidly, like a fish on a hook. You are resigned to the fly's fate well before it is, and look away no longer interested before the spider reaches it. Bedroom (on the bed) This is your bedroom. The only furnishings are a wardrobe and your bed. There is a window facing north and the living room is to the south. >save Ok. >out As you climb out of bed, you feel well in yourself but your movements seem impeded, as though the air around you had taken on a viscous quality - not requiring any extra effort to move through but somehow slowing your progress nonetheless. Bedroom This is your bedroom. The only furnishings are a wardrobe and your bed. There is a window facing north and the living room is to the south. >x me You are feeling quite relaxed. >s Living Room (East) Your living room is full of clutter. Your armchair is here in front of the wood stove. A doorway to the north leads to your bedroom and the living area continues west. The back door is to the east. An old pine mantel leans against the wall near the window. The picture-frame is lying broken on the floor. There is a cardboard carton here. >x frame (the photograph) Taking care to avoid the broken glass you bend down to look at the photograph. You brace yourself for what you might see, anticipating that your heart may skip a beat. The smile is still there, although it is different, the angle of Melanie's head having altered. And there in your right hand is your camera that the German tourist used to take the shot. >take photo (the photograph) Carefully avoiding the broken glass you bend down and pick up the picture-frame. While the glass has shattered and the frame itself is broken, you realise that they would be repairable. >i You are carrying the picture-frame (which is broken) and a roll of $50 notes. >take photo (the photograph) You already have that. >w Living Room (West) This area of your living room doubles as a kitchen. There is a small sink here, a gas stove, refrigerator and a cupboard. Your bathroom is to the north and a door to the west leads outside. There's a bag of supplies on the floor near the door. >x supplies The bag contains a range of food items and other supplies that you need. >put away supplies [The story read that as "put a supplies"]. What do you want to put the supplies in? >cupboard You need to be holding the supplies before you can put them into something else. >take supplies You are quite hungry, but there's no rush. You're content to wait until after you've repaired the picture-frame. >w Front Path You are on the gravel path near your front door, which is to the east. The path leads north to your driveway and continues south to your yard. The trees of the surrounding forest come nearly to the edge of the path. >s Yard (West) You are in the yard that runs along the side of the house. It's a rough, steep bush block, and scattered about are the rusting carcasses of motorbikes, broken machinery and other past follies. The yard slopes down to the east and the path leading to the front door is to the north. There is a thick covering of snow on the ground. >e Yard (East) You are in the yard that runs along the side of the house. It's a rough, steep bush block, and scattered about are the rusting carcasses of motorbikes, broken machinery and other past follies. The yard falls away very sharply further to the east. To the north is the door to your workshop which is under the house, and the yard extends back to the west. There is a thick covering of snow on the ground. >n Workshop Your workshop has an old wooden workbench, paint spattered and generally well used. The walls and almost every surface of the room are covered with tools, tins and containers. There is a single grimy window near the only exit, which is to the south. >repair frame (the photograph) You put the frame down on the workbench and get the tools you'll need. Having selected your tools, you begin by removing the remaining shards from the picture-frame, then you carefully fix the joins in the wood of the frame and cut and fit a new piece of glass. As you work you glance at the photo, trying to discern movement in the scene. While not noticing any changes in the picture as you watch it, you find that after looking away to get a piece of glass or a tool and returning to the scene there seem to be minute differences in detail in the spray from the waterfall, the refraction of light through the trees, or the features or posture of Melanie and yourself. You work slowly, wanting to make it as good as it was, and when finished you put away your tools and pick up the restored frame. >x frame (the photograph) The smile is still there, although it is different, the angle of Melanie's head having altered. And there in your right hand is your camera that the German tourist used to take the shot. >s Yard (East) You are in the yard that runs along the side of the house. It's a rough, steep bush block, and scattered about are the rusting carcasses of motorbikes, broken machinery and other past follies. The yard falls away very sharply further to the east. To the north is the door to your workshop which is under the house, and the yard extends back to the west. There is a thick covering of snow on the ground. >w Yard (West) You are in the yard that runs along the side of the house. It's a rough, steep bush block, and scattered about are the rusting carcasses of motorbikes, broken machinery and other past follies. The yard slopes down to the east and the path leading to the front door is to the north. There is a thick covering of snow on the ground. >n Front Path You are on the gravel path near your front door, which is to the east. The path leads north to your driveway and continues south to your yard. The trees of the surrounding forest come nearly to the edge of the path. >in Living Room (West) This area of your living room doubles as a kitchen. There is a small sink here, a gas stove, refrigerator and a cupboard. Your bathroom is to the north and a door to the west leads outside. There's a bag of supplies on the floor near the door. >e Living Room (East) Your living room is full of clutter. Your armchair is here in front of the wood stove. A doorway to the north leads to your bedroom and the living area continues west. The back door is to the east. An old pine mantel leans against the wall near the window. There is a cardboard carton here. >sit in chair You sit back in your armchair. Your stomach rumbles. >x frame (the photograph) The smile is still there, although it is different, the angle of Melanie's head having altered. And there in your right hand is your camera that the German tourist used to take the shot. >out You get out of the armchair. Living Room (East) Your living room is full of clutter. Your armchair is here in front of the wood stove. A doorway to the north leads to your bedroom and the living area continues west. The back door is to the east. An old pine mantel leans against the wall near the window. There is a cardboard carton here. >w Living Room (West) This area of your living room doubles as a kitchen. There is a small sink here, a gas stove, refrigerator and a cupboard. Your bathroom is to the north and a door to the west leads outside. There's a bag of supplies on the floor near the door. >put supplies in cupboard You need to be holding the supplies before you can put them into something else. >take supplies You take what you need from the bag of supplies and prepare a good solid breakfast, your first decent meal in weeks. You feel relaxed and in control as you prepare, then eat your meal. You feel as though you've been relieved of all your worries. Your approach to the activities of the day has been unhurried, and conducted with a degree of ceremony, as though in deference to fate. You really feel like Nadia's Egyptian king, with your final die cast and with organs safely tucked into jars, awaiting the arrival of the boat of Ra. You finish your meal and pick up the photograph. The changes in the scene have now become obvious - your head is fully turned towards the waterfall and your left arm is extended, pointing towards the top of the falls, while the smile on Melanie's face has gone, replaced by the beginnings of a frown. >c photo (the photograph) You can think of little else. >e Living Room (East) Your living room is full of clutter. Your armchair is here in front of the wood stove. A doorway to the north leads to your bedroom and the living area continues west. The back door is to the east. An old pine mantel leans against the wall near the window. There is a cardboard carton here. >sit in chair You sit back in your armchair. >x photo (the photograph) In the photograph, you are now standing with your left arm pointing towards the waterfall. Melanie has begun to frown. >c photo (the photograph) You can think of little else. >z Time passes. >z Time passes. You're becoming increasingly conscious of an odour of stale sweat from your clothes. >x clothes (your coat) Your coat is old and weathered. The pockets are empty. >remove clothes (your coat) You remove your coat. >g (your coat) You remove your coat. >l Living Room (East) (in the armchair) Your living room is full of clutter. Your armchair is here in front of the wood stove. A doorway to the north leads to your bedroom and the living area continues west. The back door is to the east. An old pine mantel leans against the wall near the window. There is a cardboard carton here. >out You get out of the armchair. Living Room (East) Your living room is full of clutter. Your armchair is here in front of the wood stove. A doorway to the north leads to your bedroom and the living area continues west. The back door is to the east. An old pine mantel leans against the wall near the window. There is a cardboard carton here. >w Living Room (West) This area of your living room doubles as a kitchen. There is a small sink here, a gas stove, refrigerator and a cupboard. Your bathroom is to the north and a door to the west leads outside. There's a bag of supplies on the floor near the door. >remove clothes (your coat) You remove your coat. >e Living Room (East) Your living room is full of clutter. Your armchair is here in front of the wood stove. A doorway to the north leads to your bedroom and the living area continues west. The back door is to the east. An old pine mantel leans against the wall near the window. There is a cardboard carton here. >drop coat Dropped. >w Living Room (West) This area of your living room doubles as a kitchen. There is a small sink here, a gas stove, refrigerator and a cupboard. Your bathroom is to the north and a door to the west leads outside. There's a bag of supplies on the floor near the door. >remove clothes (first taking the clothing) That seems to be a part of the photograph. >i You are carrying the picture-frame and a roll of $50 notes. >n Bathroom Your bathroom is small but functional. There is a bath, toilet and a hand basin. The room also has a small wall-mounted mirror. The living room is to the south. >take bath You fill the tub with warm water, then undress, leave the photograph on the floor well away from the water and have a long, leisurely bath. As you bathe you notice that the sensation of impeded movement is still there, but is much more pronounced than when you woke. It is almost as though your mind and body are operating at different speeds, with messages from your brain taking time to filter through your nervous system. After you've bathed and dressed you pick up the photograph, then take it to the armchair and sit with it on your lap. The couple at the waterfall are now facing each other. Melanie has her mouth open and you are now sure you can see the movement in the picture, although it is agonisingly slow. She is speaking and you silently mouth the words in anticipation of the horror of your worst mistake being repeated before your eyes. "No, you go. I'll wait here." Sweat pours from your hands and forehead and your heart is in your mouth as you watch for over an hour while the image of your younger self removes the day pack from his shoulder and hands it to Melanie. As the broad grin begins to appear on the face of the boy, you desperately wish you could reach into the scene to wipe away the conceited expression and shake some sense into the young fool. You wait with resignation for the boy to turn and start up the track to the top of the falls, but for a long time he just stands there unmoving - then by degrees he moves towards the girl and puts his arm around her waist. Only when the boy has taken the pack and the pair begin walking back along the track together do you start to breathe normally. This, you know, is how it was meant to be. As you sit in your armchair you look up from the photograph and notice that the fire is getting low. Living Room (East) (in the armchair) Your living room is full of clutter. Your armchair is here in front of the wood stove. A doorway to the north leads to your bedroom and the living area continues west. The back door is to the east. You can also see your coat here. An old pine mantel leans against the wall near the window. There is a cardboard carton here. >*sounds like she was the problem [The story read that as "sounds lie se wash the pole"]. That's not a verb I recognise. >sleep You aren't feeling especially drowsy. >l Living Room (East) (in the armchair) Your living room is full of clutter. Your armchair is here in front of the wood stove. A doorway to the north leads to your bedroom and the living area continues west. The back door is to the east. You can also see your coat here. An old pine mantel leans against the wall near the window. There is a cardboard carton here. >x photo (the photograph) You can now see the movement in the photo, although it is very slow. You and Melanie are walking together back along the track. >c it You can think of little else. >out You get out of the armchair. Living Room (East) Your living room is full of clutter. Your armchair is here in front of the wood stove. A doorway to the north leads to your bedroom and the living area continues west. The back door is to the east. You can also see your coat here. An old pine mantel leans against the wall near the window. There is a cardboard carton here. >w Living Room (West) This area of your living room doubles as a kitchen. There is a small sink here, a gas stove, refrigerator and a cupboard. Your bathroom is to the north and a door to the west leads outside. There's a bag of supplies on the floor near the door. >n Bathroom Your bathroom is small but functional. There is a bath, toilet and a hand basin. The room also has a small wall-mounted mirror. The living room is to the south. >s Living Room (West) This area of your living room doubles as a kitchen. There is a small sink here, a gas stove, refrigerator and a cupboard. Your bathroom is to the north and a door to the west leads outside. There's a bag of supplies on the floor near the door. >e Living Room (East) Your living room is full of clutter. Your armchair is here in front of the wood stove. A doorway to the north leads to your bedroom and the living area continues west. The back door is to the east. You can also see your coat here. An old pine mantel leans against the wall near the window. There is a cardboard carton here. >n Bedroom This is your bedroom. The only furnishings are a wardrobe and your bed. There is a window facing north and the living room is to the south. >enter bed You lie down on the bed. >sleep You aren't feeling especially drowsy. >out You get off the bed. Bedroom This is your bedroom. The only furnishings are a wardrobe and your bed. There is a window facing north and the living room is to the south. >s Living Room (East) Your living room is full of clutter. Your armchair is here in front of the wood stove. A doorway to the north leads to your bedroom and the living area continues west. The back door is to the east. You can also see your coat here. An old pine mantel leans against the wall near the window. There is a cardboard carton here. >i You are carrying the picture-frame and a roll of $50 notes. >w Living Room (West) This area of your living room doubles as a kitchen. There is a small sink here, a gas stove, refrigerator and a cupboard. Your bathroom is to the north and a door to the west leads outside. There's a bag of supplies on the floor near the door. >e Living Room (East) Your living room is full of clutter. Your armchair is here in front of the wood stove. A doorway to the north leads to your bedroom and the living area continues west. The back door is to the east. You can also see your coat here. An old pine mantel leans against the wall near the window. There is a cardboard carton here. >x carton The carton contains a number of old possessions scattered loose, including a pile of photographs and various unrelated oddments. The only things there that hold any interest for you right now are a rather moth-eaten animal skin hat and a small brass ornament. >c ornament You are no longer interested in the ankh. >l Living Room (East) Your living room is full of clutter. Your armchair is here in front of the wood stove. A doorway to the north leads to your bedroom and the living area continues west. The back door is to the east. You can also see your coat here. An old pine mantel leans against the wall near the window. There is a cardboard carton here. >x mantel The pine mantel stands propped up against the wall, near the window. >x mantel The pine mantel stands propped up against the wall, near the window. >*not sure what to do next but I assume a nudge will come [The story read that as "*not sore hat to d then but i mess a mud wild comb"]. That's not a verb I recognise. >talk to photo You can only do that to something animate. >talk to me To talk to someone you should use the form "TALK TO person ABOUT topic". >talk to melanie You can only do that to something animate. >x photo (the photograph) You can now see the movement in the photo, although it is very slow. You and Melanie are walking together back along the track. >g (the photograph) You can now see the movement in the photo, although it is very slow. You and Melanie are walking together back along the track. >g (the photograph) You can now see the movement in the photo, although it is very slow. You and Melanie are walking together back along the track. >g (the photograph) You can now see the movement in the photo, although it is very slow. You and Melanie are walking together back along the track. >g (the photograph) You can now see the movement in the photo, although it is very slow. You and Melanie are walking together back along the track. >g (the photograph) You can now see the movement in the photo, although it is very slow. You and Melanie are walking together back along the track. >g (the photograph) You can now see the movement in the photo, although it is very slow. You and Melanie are walking together back along the track. >g (the photograph) You can now see the movement in the photo, although it is very slow. You and Melanie are walking together back along the track. >take photo (the photograph) You already have that. >take me You are always self-possessed. >take melanie That seems to be a part of the photograph. >w Living Room (West) This area of your living room doubles as a kitchen. There is a small sink here, a gas stove, refrigerator and a cupboard. Your bathroom is to the north and a door to the west leads outside. There's a bag of supplies on the floor near the door. >e Living Room (East) Your living room is full of clutter. Your armchair is here in front of the wood stove. A doorway to the north leads to your bedroom and the living area continues west. The back door is to the east. You can also see your coat here. An old pine mantel leans against the wall near the window. There is a cardboard carton here. >burn photo (the photograph) This dangerous act would achieve little. >w Living Room (West) This area of your living room doubles as a kitchen. There is a small sink here, a gas stove, refrigerator and a cupboard. Your bathroom is to the north and a door to the west leads outside. There's a bag of supplies on the floor near the door. >take supplies You don't need food right now. >w Front Path You are on the gravel path near your front door, which is to the east. The path leads north to your driveway and continues south to your yard. The trees of the surrounding forest come nearly to the edge of the path. >e Living Room (West) This area of your living room doubles as a kitchen. There is a small sink here, a gas stove, refrigerator and a cupboard. Your bathroom is to the north and a door to the west leads outside. There's a bag of supplies on the floor near the door. >close door You close the front door. >think To think about an item or topic, you should use the form "THINK ABOUT item/topic". >think about me You are feeling happy. >think about chair Nothing of interest occurs to you. >think about photo (the photograph) You can think of little else. >n Bathroom Your bathroom is small but functional. There is a bath, toilet and a hand basin. The room also has a small wall-mounted mirror. The living room is to the south. >x mirror It's a small shaving mirror, mounted over the hand basin. >x me You gaze at your reflection for a moment. Time and the elements have not been kind. You're now aged 55 years, but look far older - with that furrowed brow, drawn face, teeth like an old graveyard and skin that gathers in folds around your jowls. The head of thick dark hair of your youth is now reduced to a thin shock of silver on the trailing hemisphere. But you take some comfort from the fact that you still retain an air of dignity about you; a keenness to your deep-set eyes; that pronounced, almost regal, line of your nose ("that noble nose," as Nadia used to call it). But perhaps these are no more than cruel reminders of what might have been. >s Living Room (West) This area of your living room doubles as a kitchen. There is a small sink here, a gas stove, refrigerator and a cupboard. Your bathroom is to the north and a door to the west leads outside. There's a bag of supplies on the floor near the door. >e Living Room (East) Your living room is full of clutter. Your armchair is here in front of the wood stove. A doorway to the north leads to your bedroom and the living area continues west. The back door is to the east. You can also see your coat here. An old pine mantel leans against the wall near the window. There is a cardboard carton here. >*really stuck but don't want hint [The story read that as "*really stick but don't ant hit"]. That's not a verb I recognise. >x armchair Your armchair is old and threadbare. >put photo on mantel (the photograph on the mantel) You don't want to let the photograph out of your grasp right now. >x photo (the photograph) You can now see the movement in the photo, although it is very slow. You and Melanie are walking together back along the track. >enter photo (the photograph) That's not something you can enter. >info GET FOOD OUT SOUTH ENTER HOUSE EAST EXAMINE PHOTO STAND SOUTH TAKE FRAME EXAMINE IT WEST WEST SOUTH EAST NORTH REPAIR FRAME SOUTH WEST NORTH EAST MAKE MEAL (EAT FOOD, etc. will also work here) NORTH RUN BATH (or TAKE BATH, ENTER BATH, RUN WATER, etc.) STAND OPEN STOVE (or GET FIREWOOD) SLEEP SOUTH EXAMINE PHOTO [Please press SPACE.] Living Room (East) Your living room is full of clutter. Your armchair is here in front of the wood stove. A doorway to the north leads to your bedroom and the living area continues west. The back door is to the east. You can also see your coat here. An old pine mantel leans against the wall near the window. There is a cardboard carton here. >stand You are already standing. >x stove It's a pot-bellied wood stove. The fire has almost burned out. There is a supply of firewood beside it. >*ah, I forgot the fire was low [The story read that as "*ah, i roof the fire wash low"]. You seem to want to talk to someone, but I can't see whom. >*the hint help me [The story read that as "the hit help me"]. That's not a verb I recognise. >*helped That's not a verb I recognise. >open stove You take the firewood, set the fire then close the stove and sit back in the armchair with the photograph. Throughout the rest of the day you sit there following the couple's slow progress back along the track. You afford yourself a wry chuckle as the startled pademelon bounds across the path in front of them - Melanie jumping and the boy comforting her, then their laughter at the episode. You can almost feel the shape of her through her clothes, the sparkle and comfort of her presence beside you. The rate of change in the photograph has increased steadily through the day, more a slow motion movie than portrait by day's end. All the while your own movements seem more and more sluggish, as though you're pushing your way through molasses. While it's hard to drag yourself away from the unfolding scene, in time you find yourself too tired to keep watching. Living Room (East) (in the armchair) Your living room is full of clutter. Your armchair is here in front of the wood stove. A doorway to the north leads to your bedroom and the living area continues west. The back door is to the east. You can also see your coat here. An old pine mantel leans against the wall near the window. There is a cardboard carton here. >n You'll have to get out of the armchair first. >out You get out of the armchair. Living Room (East) Your living room is full of clutter. Your armchair is here in front of the wood stove. A doorway to the north leads to your bedroom and the living area continues west. The back door is to the east. You can also see your coat here. An old pine mantel leans against the wall near the window. There is a cardboard carton here. >n Bedroom This is your bedroom. The only furnishings are a wardrobe and your bed. There is a window facing north and the living room is to the south. >enter bed You lie down on the bed. >sleep You get up from your bed and put the photograph on the mantel. Then you close the door to the balcony, before heading back to your bed. You sleep fitfully. While awake you toss and turn, noticing the increasing lag in your movements and feeling like an insect caught in a web or trapped in hardening resin. But you understand the reason for this feeling, and are not concerned. The one thing that does concern you is missing something in the developing scene in the next room, and so you leave your bed well before dawn. Bedroom This is your bedroom. The only furnishings are a wardrobe and your bed. There is a window facing north and the living room is to the south. >s Living Room (East) Your living room is full of clutter. Your armchair is here in front of the wood stove. A doorway to the north leads to your bedroom and the living area continues west. The back door is to the east. You can also see your coat here. An old pine mantel leans against the wall near the window. On the mantel you see a photograph. There is a cardboard carton here. >x photo (the photograph) You take the photograph, sit back down in the armchair and look to the scene in the picture. Melanie and your younger self are eating a meal in the cottage. You watch every mouthful of food as it leaves the plate to their mouths, then the empty forks return to the plate, and you see Melanie's inquiring gaze well before it is noticed by the boy. Then you smile to yourself as the boy looks up into those big dark eyes you know he must drown in, and follows the girl to the bedroom. As voyeur you are with them as they make love, and afterwards you watch them talk in soft tones and laugh at shared jokes as they lie in each other's arms. By the time they are packing the car ready to return to town the scene in the picture is changing at life speed, and you feel as though you are there as they chat and joke on the journey in the car. You tense as they approach a forested turn, anticipating the screech of brakes and thud of impact, but then relax as they round the bend without incident. The pace of the unfolding scene continues to increase. And as the world in the photograph gains momentum you are increasingly aware of things around you slowing down. You have no difficulty in following the couple's return to the city, the boy moving in with Melanie, and something of their first days of living together. While the scene is soon moving too quickly to follow, you know what will happen. You know that you will stay in your legal practice, that you and Melanie will have children, that your lives together will be happy. You have been there many times in your mind and don't need the visual confirmation. The photograph is now only a blur, a rectangle of unrelieved white, and you sit staring and motionless before it, as though embedded in a world of amber... Epilogue [ Epilogue #42 ] Jack Downer felt that he was in a good place now that he'd finally retired. Following some questionable life decisions in his early years, he'd eventually found his way and didn't have any regrets about his life. His business had been successful, and by his early fifties he'd been able shift some of the responsibility to other staff and find more time to spend with his family and do the things he enjoyed - bushwalking, carpentry and tinkering with old machinery. It was strange now to think how desperately miserable he'd been in his late-20s when his marriage to first wife, Mel was falling apart. "How did we ever get together in the first place?" he wondered. "We had absolutely nothing in common." "Ah, the folly of youth!" It was indeed fortunate then, that at his lowest ebb, he met Janet, his second wife, and soulmate. Then the first of the boys was born and he became directly responsible for someone other than himself. When young, he'd never imagined himself as a family man. Jack was doing a bit of spring cleaning and had before him a cardboard box of some possessions from his youth, including childhood books, photos, a tennis racquet. He felt nostalgic as he flicked through the photos of his childhood - of the bush he loved, and his grandparents. Then near the bottom of the box, under some books, he found an old wooden-frame containing a photograph. The frame was nice, "Baltic pine" by the look of it - but he didn't recognise the haggard face looking back at him from the photo, of the man sitting in a threadbare armchair, in a rustic room surrounded by clutter. Jack regarded the man staring so intently from the photo - took in the eerie look of something approaching rapture etched in the man's face - and he shuddered, as though someone had stepped on his grave. "Well that's got to go," Jack muttered to himself. He removed the photograph from the frame and carefully returned the Baltic pine frame to the box. He placed the photo next to the jar containing his appendix, that he'd also found in the box. "I don't know why I kept that," he thought. "They can go out together." ...and await the arrival of the boat of Ra. *** Congratulations! You have reached one of the endings of the story *** Would you like to RESTART, RESTORE a saved game, see some suggestions for vaguely AMUSING things to do, or QUIT? > *very cool! Please give one of the answers above. > amusing GET FOOD OUT SOUTH ENTER HOUSE EAST EXAMINE PHOTO STAND SOUTH TAKE FRAME EXAMINE IT WEST WEST SOUTH EAST NORTH REPAIR FRAME SOUTH WEST NORTH EAST MAKE MEAL (EAT FOOD, etc. will also work here) NORTH RUN BATH (or TAKE BATH, ENTER BATH, RUN WATER, etc.) STAND OPEN STOVE (or GET FIREWOOD) SLEEP SOUTH EXAMINE PHOTO [Please press SPACE.] Would you like to RESTART, RESTORE a saved game, see some suggestions for vaguely AMUSING things to do, or QUIT? > undo Living Room (East) [Previous turn undone.] >save Ok. >*how do I get the other ending? [The story read that as "show to i get the other ending?"]. You see no to i here. >