Start of a transcript of TRAFFIC An adventure at five miles an hour Copyright (C) 2024, by D.S. Yu. Portions copyright Graham Nelson and David Griffith. 'TRAFFIC' comes with ABSOLUTELY NO WARRANTY Release 1 / Serial number 240828 / Inform v6.33 Library v6.12.6 SD Standard interpreter 1.1 (1C) / Library Serial Number 220219 >about That's not a verb I recognise. >credits That's not a verb I recognise. >help Ah, if only life were so easy. You'd like to ask the world at large for help for your rather unique predicament, but given the actual confines of your predicament, you'll need to ask someone for help, or manage on your own. >l The corner of Jones and Elm It's mid-morning, and you are waiting at the intersection of Jones street and Elm street. Traffic is moving slowly along Jones headed east, and along Elm headed north. The traffic lights are working, and if the pedestrian walk light would ever change, you could walk across Jones and head north back to the lab. A 5-foot tall metal box sits bolted to the sidewalk nearby, under one of the traffic light posts. The sidewalks are mostly devoid of pedestrians, although you do notice a woman slowly walking towards Elm street pushing a baby stroller. You notice a bus slowly trying to get through the intersection. >x box It appears to be a five-foot tall metal box, with no noteworthy markings, painted gray. There are some vents on the side, possibly for airflow, and you suspect it contains electronics of some sort. On the front is a metal door with a recessed handle that likely opens outwards. As you examine the box, a middle-aged man in a reflective safety vest, who was partly obscured by the box, examines something on the box, looks up at the lights, notices you watching him, and then quickly walks away. >open box The metal box seems to be locked. >pull handle You're unable to. >look through vents You find nothing of interest. Suddenly, out of the corner of your eye you see a remarkably unremarkable car speeding rather aggressively up Elm Street, wildly changing lanes and weaving between cars. At the same time, you watch as the woman pushing the baby stroller starts to push the stroller across Elm, oblivious of the car racing towards her. As she pushes the stroller into traffic, the speeding car swerves out of the way, driving up onto the sidewalk. 'I hope he knows driving on the sidewalk is frowned upon,' you manage to think, just as the car, without so much as a 'hello', plows straight into you. Your last thought is of the safety of the package you carry, already crushed into pieces against your equally crushed chest, before a sudden white light sweeps over the entire scene. *** You have died *** Or, hold on just a minute. There's something beyond all this white it seems. [Please press SPACE to continue.] In a moment you'd call 'gut-wrenching' if you still had a gut, the whiteness that defines your immediate universe is suddenly permeated by color, and you find yourself pulled, pushed, and squeezed through time and space. You have been transported, somehow, without moving an inch. You are standing at the same street corner you occupied moments ago, but the traffic is different, the sounds are different, and even the sunlight is different -- missing, actually. It seems to be early evening, at least that is certain. Your body feels out of sorts, and as you glance at your hands, you see hands that are not your own, but bigger, with more scars and dirt. As you check the rest of your body you realize that you are not yourself. Your mind occupies someone else's body. Also, you suddenly realize you are not alone. The corner of Jones and Elm You are at the corner of Jones and Elm. It's night-time, which means for this not-so-lively part of town, there's no one to be seen, and almost no cars driving along either street. A man is standing here, wearing a reflective safety vest and holding a clipboard. A large metal box painted gray is standing here, bolted to the sidewalk. "Getting colder these days. Next time I'm bringing my coat." >i You're carrying: a key >x key A single steel key, stamped "X9000". The man rubs his hands together, possibly to warm them up. >x me You appear to be a stout fellow wearing the sort of clothing someone in the construction business wears. >talk to man That's not a verb I recognise. >ask man about box "The StopNGo X9000 is your basic traffic controller box used to set the timing of the traffic lights at the nearby intersections." "You'll probably want to open it up first. They usually keep them locked, you know, so kids don't mess with them, but you brought the key, right?" >open box with key You unlock the metal box. The man scratches his neck for a moment. >open box You open the metal box, revealing a controller panel. >x panel A shiny metal panel with an embossed grid-like pattern. The pattern appears to be map of street intersections, including street names and directions. Additionally, various numbers are printed at the start and end of each street, along with printed letters along each street. There's also a small screen where a number could be displayed under the Oak street letter (D) and a green button labeled 'DONE' at the bottom of the panel. Umber Elm v ^ v ^ 500 520 | | | | Jones >> 600 --+--------B--------+-- 610 >> | | | | A C | | | | Oak >> 610 --+--------D--------+-- 560 >> | ___ | | | 520 500 v ^ v ^ The man rubs his hands together, possibly to warm them up. >type on panel I didn't understand that sentence. >x panel A shiny metal panel with an embossed grid-like pattern. The pattern appears to be map of street intersections, including street names and directions. Additionally, various numbers are printed at the start and end of each street, along with printed letters along each street. There's also a small screen where a number could be displayed under the Oak street letter (D) and a green button labeled 'DONE' at the bottom of the panel. Umber Elm v ^ v ^ 500 520 | | | | Jones >> 600 --+--------B--------+-- 610 >> | | | | A C | | | | Oak >> 610 --+--------D--------+-- 560 >> | ___ | | | 520 500 v ^ v ^ >press button You hesitate briefly, your finger hovering over the green button. Then, confidently, you press the oddly enticing button. The box emits a sharp buzz and the button appears to reset itself. "You need to enter a value in that screen first," the man says. >enter c610 What do you want to enter that into? >enter c610 into screen After a bit of fiddling around, you realize the screen is a small touchscreen. Is every screen nowadays a touchscreen? It certainly seems that way. You try and use the touchscreen controls to set the value shown in the display. Unfortunately the screen only allows numeric values between 1 and 999. The man rubs his hands together, possibly to warm them up. >enter 610 into screen You use the touchscreen controls to set the value. The screen now reads 610. You hear a howl from some animal off in the distance. Maybe it's someone's dog? >press button You hesitate briefly, your finger hovering over the green button. Then, confidently, you press the oddly enticing button. There is a click from the box. A white haze like a strange dimensional snow-storm blankets you into a place between 'here' and 'there'. A sensation best described as a 'visual sneeze' blows past and unthaws brand new objects in a new location. You blink a couple times. Everything is exactly as it was when you started out in all of this. Did you just imagine everything? The corner of Jones and Elm It's mid-morning again, and you are waiting at the intersection of Jones street and Elm street. Traffic is moving slowly along Jones headed east, and along Elm headed north. The traffic lights are working, and if the pedestrian walk light would ever change, you could walk across Jones and head north back to the lab. The StopNGo X9000 sits bolted to the sidewalk nearby, under one of the traffic light posts. The sidewalks are mostly devoid of pedestrians, although you do notice a woman slowly walking towards Elm street pushing a baby stroller. You notice a bus slowly trying to get through the intersection. >i You're carrying: a package >n North of here is the lab, and a day filled with more tedious errands. You'd be there already, if the traffic lights would change so you could cross the street. >l The corner of Jones and Elm It's mid-morning again, and you are waiting at the intersection of Jones street and Elm street. Traffic is moving slowly along Jones headed east, and along Elm headed north. The traffic lights are working, and if the pedestrian walk light would ever change, you could walk across Jones and head north back to the lab. The StopNGo X9000 sits bolted to the sidewalk nearby, under one of the traffic light posts. The sidewalks are mostly devoid of pedestrians, although you do notice a woman slowly walking towards Elm street pushing a baby stroller. You notice a bus slowly trying to get through the intersection. >get behind post You can't see any such thing. >x light post I only understood you as far as wanting to examine the traffic lights. >x light The traffic lights control the flow of traffic in their usual red-means-stop, green-means-go, and yellow-means-go-faster way. You've been noticing something odd about the lights. The timing is all off -- sometimes the light stays red for a moment before switching to green, sometimes it stays red for an uncomfortably long time. Suddenly, out of the corner of your eye you see a remarkably unremarkable car speeding rather aggressively up Elm Street, wildly changing lanes and weaving between cars. At the same time, you watch as the woman pushing the baby stroller starts to push the stroller across Elm, oblivious of the car racing towards her. As she pushes the stroller into traffic, the speeding car swerves out of the way, driving up onto the sidewalk. 'I hope he knows driving on the sidewalk is frowned upon,' you manage to think, just as the car, without so much as a 'hello', plows straight into you. Your last thought is of the safety of the package you carry, already crushed into pieces against your equally crushed chest, before a sudden white light sweeps over the entire scene. *** You have died *** Or, hold on just a minute. There's something beyond all this white it seems. [Please press SPACE to continue.] Cue the fade to white. This time you were more prepared, but it still happens in a way that manages to catch you a little off guard. Even the nearly indescribable detached sensation that follows is starting to feel familiar. In less than a moment, you find yourself in a new place. You've looped back to where this all started once again. The corner of Jones and Elm It's mid-morning again, and you are waiting at the intersection of Jones street and Elm street. Traffic is moving slowly along Jones headed east, and along Elm headed north. The traffic lights are working, and if the pedestrian walk light would ever change, you could walk across Jones and head north back to the lab. The StopNGo X9000 sits bolted to the sidewalk nearby, under one of the traffic light posts. The sidewalks are mostly devoid of pedestrians, although you do notice a woman slowly walking towards Elm street pushing a baby stroller. You notice a bus slowly trying to get through the intersection. >open box The metal box seems to be locked. >unlock box (with the package) The package doesn't seem to fit the lock. >w There's really nothing on Jones west of here except drab offices of companies you've never heard of. Probably best to head back to the lab. >e While it's tempting to head east and visit that little bookstore near Jones and Racine you like so much, you probably should head back to the lab. >s The only mildly interesting thing you saw south of here while you were picking up the package was Oswell's Steak House, and they're closed. Probably best to head back to the lab. Suddenly, out of the corner of your eye you see a remarkably unremarkable car speeding rather aggressively up Elm Street, wildly changing lanes and weaving between cars. At the same time, you watch as the woman pushing the baby stroller starts to push the stroller across Elm, oblivious of the car racing towards her. As she pushes the stroller into traffic, the speeding car swerves out of the way, driving up onto the sidewalk. 'I hope he knows driving on the sidewalk is frowned upon,' you manage to think, just as the car, without so much as a 'hello', plows straight into you. Your last thought is of the safety of the package you carry, already crushed into pieces against your equally crushed chest, before a sudden white light sweeps over the entire scene. *** You have died *** Or, hold on just a minute. There's something beyond all this white it seems. [Please press SPACE to continue.] From some distorted magic wand a splash of white is cast across your senses. It's easy to dismiss this as some sort of 'magic', but you lack the ability to describe the feeling in a way that would have any real-world meaning. Brushing off the higher-order pixie dust, you blink into a new place. You've looped back to where this all started once again. The corner of Jones and Elm It's mid-morning again, and you are waiting at the intersection of Jones street and Elm street. Traffic is moving slowly along Jones headed east, and along Elm headed north. The traffic lights are working, and if the pedestrian walk light would ever change, you could walk across Jones and head north back to the lab. The StopNGo X9000 sits bolted to the sidewalk nearby, under one of the traffic light posts. The sidewalks are mostly devoid of pedestrians, although you do notice a woman slowly walking towards Elm street pushing a baby stroller. You notice a bus slowly trying to get through the intersection. >talk to woman That's not a verb I recognise. >wave at woman You wave at the woman, feeling foolish. >get on bux You can't see any such thing. >get on bus You're not really at a bus stop, so the driver isn't exactly going to let you on. Also, you'd have to walk through moving traffic to get to the bus from here. >get behind box You can't see any such thing. >x box The StopNGo X9000 appears to be a five-foot tall metal box, with no noteworthy markings, painted gray. There are some vents on the side, possibly for airflow, and you suspect it contains electronics of some sort. On the front is a metal door with a recessed handle that likely opens outwards. As you examine the box, a middle-aged man in a reflective safety vest, who was partly obscured by the box, examines something on the box, looks up at the lights, notices you watching him, and then quickly walks away. >talk to man That's not a verb I recognise. >ask man about lights You can't see any such thing. >ask man about box You can't see any such thing. >hit box Violence isn't the answer to this one. >n North of here is the lab, and a day filled with more tedious errands. You'd be there already, if the traffic lights would change so you could cross the street. Suddenly, out of the corner of your eye you see a remarkably unremarkable car speeding rather aggressively up Elm Street, wildly changing lanes and weaving between cars. At the same time, you watch as the woman pushing the baby stroller starts to push the stroller across Elm, oblivious of the car racing towards her. As she pushes the stroller into traffic, the speeding car swerves out of the way, driving up onto the sidewalk. 'I hope he knows driving on the sidewalk is frowned upon,' you manage to think, just as the car, without so much as a 'hello', plows straight into you. Your last thought is of the safety of the package you carry, already crushed into pieces against your equally crushed chest, before a sudden white light sweeps over the entire scene. *** You have died *** Or, hold on just a minute. There's something beyond all this white it seems. [Please press SPACE to continue.] Like a really impatient fog, whiteness rushes in to replace your world. The fog doesn't stick around very long though, and soon you start to see objects unveiled in the fog. You steady yourself for someplace new. You have been transported, somehow, without moving an inch. You are standing at the same street corner you occupied moments ago, but the traffic is different, the sounds are different, and even the sunlight is different -- missing, actually. It seems to be early evening, at least that is certain. Your body feels out of sorts, and as you glance at your hands, you see hands that are not your own, but bigger, with more scars and dirt. As you check the rest of your body you realize that you are not yourself. Your mind occupies someone else's body. Also, you suddenly realize you are not alone. The corner of Jones and Elm You are at the corner of Jones and Elm. It's night-time, which means for this not-so-lively part of town, there's no one to be seen, and almost no cars driving along either street. A man is standing here, wearing a reflective safety vest and holding a clipboard. The StopNGo X9000 traffic controller box is bolted to the sidewalk here. >talk to man That's not a verb I recognise. >ask man about box "The StopNGo X9000 is your basic traffic controller box used to set the timing of the traffic lights at the nearby intersections." "You'll probably want to open it up first. They usually keep them locked, you know, so kids don't mess with them, but you brought the key, right?" "Getting colder these days. Next time I'm bringing my coat." >i You're carrying: a key "Hey, did I tell you I quit smoking? Oh, I did?" >open box The metal box seems to be locked. >unlock box (with the key) You unlock the metal box. >open box You open the metal box, revealing a controller panel. >x panel A shiny metal panel with an embossed grid-like pattern. The pattern appears to be map of street intersections, including street names and directions. Additionally, various numbers are printed at the start and end of each street, along with printed letters along each street. There's also a small screen where a number could be displayed under the Oak street letter (D) and a green button labeled 'DONE' at the bottom of the panel. Umber Elm v ^ v ^ 500 520 | | | | Jones >> 600 --+--------B--------+-- 610 >> | | | | A C | | | | Oak >> 610 --+--------D--------+-- 560 >> | ___ | | | 520 500 v ^ v ^ >enter 520 on panel You can't see any such thing. >enter 520 into screen You use the touchscreen controls to set the value. The screen now reads 520. >n You can't go that way. >x lights The traffic lights control the flow of traffic in their usual red-means-stop, green-means-go, and yellow-means-go-faster way. The lights seem to be behaving normally. >n You can't go that way. >w You can't go that way. The man rubs his hands together, possibly to warm them up. >s You can't go that way. The man rubs his hands together, possibly to warm them up. >e You can't go that way. You hear a howl from some animal off in the distance. Maybe it's someone's dog? >ask man about 520 "Sorry, I don't know anything about that." The man rubs his hands together, possibly to warm them up. >ask man about lights "Sorry, I don't know anything about that." >ask man about traffic "Sorry, I don't know anything about that." >l The corner of Jones and Elm You are at the corner of Jones and Elm. It's night-time, which means for this not-so-lively part of town, there's no one to be seen, and almost no cars driving along either street. A man is standing here, wearing a reflective safety vest and holding a clipboard. The StopNGo X9000 traffic controller box is bolted to the sidewalk here. The box door is open, revealing a control panel inside. >get clipboard The clipboard seems to belong to John. >ask john for clipboard "I don't think I have that, Tom." >* you clearly do, John! [Comment recorded.] >get vest The vest seems to belong to John. The man rubs his hands together, possibly to warm them up. >ask john for vest "I don't think I have that, Tom." The man rubs his hands together, possibly to warm them up. >* that is some hardcore gas lighting, john [Comment recorded.] >i You're carrying: a key >give key to man "You better hold on to that. I'll probably just lose it, and that'll come out of my pay." >l The corner of Jones and Elm You are at the corner of Jones and Elm. It's night-time, which means for this not-so-lively part of town, there's no one to be seen, and almost no cars driving along either street. A man is standing here, wearing a reflective safety vest and holding a clipboard. The StopNGo X9000 traffic controller box is bolted to the sidewalk here. The box door is open, revealing a control panel inside. "Hey, did I tell you I quit smoking? Oh, I did?" >press button You hesitate briefly, your finger hovering over the green button. Then, confidently, you press the oddly enticing button. There is a click from the box. The world fades to white again. You could see a foggy whiteness at the corner of your vision, but now it abruptly rushes in, and everything pulls away, only to pop back a moment later. Where are you now? You've looped back to where this all started once again. The corner of Jones and Elm It's mid-morning again, and you are waiting at the intersection of Jones street and Elm street. Traffic is moving slowly along Jones headed east, and along Elm headed north. The traffic lights are working, and if the pedestrian walk light would ever change, you could walk across Jones and head north back to the lab. The StopNGo X9000 sits bolted to the sidewalk nearby, under one of the traffic light posts. The sidewalks are mostly devoid of pedestrians, although you do notice a woman slowly walking towards Elm street pushing a baby stroller. You notice a bus slowly trying to get through the intersection. >x panel You can't see any such thing. >get behind bus You can't see any such thing. >go to woman You can't see any such thing. >x woman A young woman is dutifully pushing a covered baby stroller that you're fairly sure holds a baby. She seems somewhat distracted, with most of her attention diverted to her rather large mobile device. But wait, just now, you saw the top of a tiny little bald head appear from within the stroller. Two tiny blue eyes meet your gaze, before the baby disappears back into the stroller. >talk to baby That's not a verb I recognise. >talk to woman That's not a verb I recognise. >ask woman about baby You can't seem to get her attention at all. She's completely distracted by her phone. >get phone You rush up to the woman pushing the stroller and try to take her phone. She pulls her phone away from you, acting as if you are trying to steal her most prized possession. The woman screams and cowers, clearly distracted and disturbed by your actions. Moments later, a speeding car dashes by, just barely missing both you and the woman (and her stroller, thankfully). You check yourself and determine that you successfully evaded death and broke the loop. "That was simple," you think to yourself. "Why didn't I try that sooner?" A moment later, several bystanders appear from nowhere and tackle you to the ground. One person calls the police, who arrive within minutes. You try and explain your actions to the officer, but he finds your story unconvincing, handcuffs you, and puts you in his squad car to take to the station. Dr. Roth's package delivery will have to wait, it seems. *** You have been incarcerated *** In that game you scored 0 out of a possible 0, in 59 turns. Would you like to RESTART, RESTORE a saved game or QUIT? >restart Let's be honest. When you took the position as Junior Research Lab Assistant at the Orzel Particle Physics Institute, you weren't expecting anything glamorous. 'A post-doc has to start somewhere,' you told yourself. 'I don't want to teach a bunch of over-privileged undergrads,' you convinced yourself. 'I'd be working for Dr. Roth, who has a pretty good reputation,' you pondered. And finally 'It pays enough to move out of my parent's house,' you realized, with just a tiny amount of glee. But here you are, seven months later, wondering if you made the right choice. Working for Dr. Roth at the Institute has been some of the most uninspiring work you've ever done. It doesn't help that most of the time, the 'research' tasks he gives you are mostly manual labor. How many times does a person really need to clean the plates for the proportional drift chamber? And moving heavy spectrometers from lab room to lab room isn't what you had in mind when you were told the Institute was working on problems that required 'heavy lifting'. So this morning, when you were interrupted and told to pick up the shipment of unstable Cesium-7 isotopes that had erroneously been dropped off by the post office to an address three blocks away, you were disappointed, but not surprised. 'At least you'll get some fresh air,' Dr. Roth told you with a thin veneer of disdain. After obtaining the package, you're finally on your way back to the lab. TRAFFIC An adventure at five miles an hour Copyright (C) 2024, by D.S. Yu. Portions copyright Graham Nelson and David Griffith. 'TRAFFIC' comes with ABSOLUTELY NO WARRANTY Release 1 / Serial number 240828 / Inform v6.33 Library v6.12.6 SD The corner of Jones and Elm It's mid-morning, and you are waiting at the intersection of Jones street and Elm street. Traffic is moving slowly along Jones headed east, and along Elm headed north. The traffic lights are working, and if the pedestrian walk light would ever change, you could walk across Jones and head north back to the lab. A 5-foot tall metal box sits bolted to the sidewalk nearby, under one of the traffic light posts. The sidewalks are mostly devoid of pedestrians, although you do notice a woman slowly walking towards Elm street pushing a baby stroller. You notice a bus slowly trying to get through the intersection. >x womaon You can't see any such thing. >x woman A young woman is dutifully pushing a covered baby stroller that you're fairly sure holds a baby. She seems somewhat distracted, with most of her attention diverted to her rather large mobile device. But wait, just now, you saw the top of a tiny little bald head appear from within the stroller. Two tiny blue eyes meet your gaze, before the baby disappears back into the stroller. >get baby I don't suppose the woman would care for that. >yell You let out a scream, which is oddly cathartic. >yell at woman You scream some helpful tips to the woman, mostly about not looking at her phone while she crosses a busy street, but she is so engrossed with whatever is on her screen that she doesn't even look your way. >i You're carrying: a package Suddenly, out of the corner of your eye you see a remarkably unremarkable car speeding rather aggressively up Elm Street, wildly changing lanes and weaving between cars. At the same time, you watch as the woman pushing the baby stroller starts to push the stroller across Elm, oblivious of the car racing towards her. As she pushes the stroller into traffic, the speeding car swerves out of the way, driving up onto the sidewalk. 'I hope he knows driving on the sidewalk is frowned upon,' you manage to think, just as the car, without so much as a 'hello', plows straight into you. Your last thought is of the safety of the package you carry, already crushed into pieces against your equally crushed chest, before a sudden white light sweeps over the entire scene. *** You have died *** Or, hold on just a minute. There's something beyond all this white it seems. [Please press SPACE to continue.] In a moment you'd call 'gut-wrenching' if you still had a gut, the whiteness that defines your immediate universe is suddenly permeated by color, and you find yourself pulled, pushed, and squeezed through time and space. You feel stretched and then squashed into a new form. Everything feels unfamiliar, bright, too loud. You open your eyes and find yourself on your back, looking up at the blue sky. You try to get up, and your body refuses to respond, instead twisting and popping in an awkward fashion. You reach a hand out to grab something, anything, and notice that your hand, your arm, your whole body, is tiny and undeveloped. Tiny little fingers on a tiny little hand flex open and closed. Your body has become that of a tiny infant, lying in a bed of a stroller of some sort. You feel the great urge to let out a loud wail. On Elm Between Jones and Oak (inside stroller) You are on the sidewalk on Elm street, likely somewhere between Jones and Oak streets. More specifically, you are inside a baby stroller with raised walls on all sides and a curved half-canopy above, being pushed along the sidewalk on Elm street. There is a woman slowly pushing the stroller. You can also see a blanket here. >x me You appear to be a small, adorable, semi-helpless baby. >cry You find it shockingly easy to start crying, quite loudly. This does nothing to change your situation. The woman pushing the stroller doesn't react. >yell You let out a scream, which is oddly cathartic. >coo That's not a verb I recognise. >touch woman You decide that's not such a good idea. >get blanket As you grab the blanket, you uncover a pacifier that was hidden underneath it. >get pacifier Taken. >drop pacifier Dropped. The woman continues to push the stroller and reaches the edge of the sidewalk. Still absorbed in her phone, she starts to push the stroller across the street, when a car moving far too fast narrowly avoids the woman (and you, in the stroller) by driving up on the sidewalk and continuing onwards, also on the sidewalk. There is an awful screech followed by a more awful crashing noise. "What was that?" the woman asks, looking up from her phone for the first time. Like a really impatient fog, whiteness rushes in to replace your world. The fog doesn't stick around very long though, and soon you start to see objects unveiled in the fog. You steady yourself for someplace new. You blink a couple times. Everything is exactly as it was when you started out in all of this. Did you just imagine everything? The corner of Jones and Elm It's mid-morning again, and you are waiting at the intersection of Jones street and Elm street. Traffic is moving slowly along Jones headed east, and along Elm headed north. The traffic lights are working, and if the pedestrian walk light would ever change, you could walk across Jones and head north back to the lab. A 5-foot tall metal box sits bolted to the sidewalk nearby, under one of the traffic light posts. The sidewalks are mostly devoid of pedestrians, although you do notice a woman slowly walking towards Elm street pushing a baby stroller. You notice a bus slowly trying to get through the intersection. >x me You are a respectable young lab assistant. >push woman You rush up to the woman pushing the stroller, and try to forcibly redirect both her and her stroller. The woman screams and cowers, clearly distracted and disturbed by your actions. Moments later, a speeding car dashes by, just barely missing both you and the woman (and her stroller, thankfully). You check yourself and determine that you successfully evaded death and broke the loop. "That was simple," you think to yourself. "Why didn't I try that sooner?" A moment later, several bystanders appear from nowhere and tackle you to the ground. One person calls the police, who arrive within minutes. You try and explain your actions to the officer, but he finds your story unconvincing, handcuffs you, and puts you in his squad car to take to the station. Dr. Roth's package delivery will have to wait, it seems. *** You have been incarcerated *** In that game you scored 0 out of a possible 0, in 13 turns. Would you like to RESTART, RESTORE a saved game or QUIT? >restart Let's be honest. When you took the position as Junior Research Lab Assistant at the Orzel Particle Physics Institute, you weren't expecting anything glamorous. 'A post-doc has to start somewhere,' you told yourself. 'I don't want to teach a bunch of over-privileged undergrads,' you convinced yourself. 'I'd be working for Dr. Roth, who has a pretty good reputation,' you pondered. And finally 'It pays enough to move out of my parent's house,' you realized, with just a tiny amount of glee. But here you are, seven months later, wondering if you made the right choice. Working for Dr. Roth at the Institute has been some of the most uninspiring work you've ever done. It doesn't help that most of the time, the 'research' tasks he gives you are mostly manual labor. How many times does a person really need to clean the plates for the proportional drift chamber? And moving heavy spectrometers from lab room to lab room isn't what you had in mind when you were told the Institute was working on problems that required 'heavy lifting'. So this morning, when you were interrupted and told to pick up the shipment of unstable Cesium-7 isotopes that had erroneously been dropped off by the post office to an address three blocks away, you were disappointed, but not surprised. 'At least you'll get some fresh air,' Dr. Roth told you with a thin veneer of disdain. After obtaining the package, you're finally on your way back to the lab. TRAFFIC An adventure at five miles an hour Copyright (C) 2024, by D.S. Yu. Portions copyright Graham Nelson and David Griffith. 'TRAFFIC' comes with ABSOLUTELY NO WARRANTY Release 1 / Serial number 240828 / Inform v6.33 Library v6.12.6 SD The corner of Jones and Elm It's mid-morning, and you are waiting at the intersection of Jones street and Elm street. Traffic is moving slowly along Jones headed east, and along Elm headed north. The traffic lights are working, and if the pedestrian walk light would ever change, you could walk across Jones and head north back to the lab. A 5-foot tall metal box sits bolted to the sidewalk nearby, under one of the traffic light posts. The sidewalks are mostly devoid of pedestrians, although you do notice a woman slowly walking towards Elm street pushing a baby stroller. You notice a bus slowly trying to get through the intersection. >x me You are a respectable young lab assistant. >n North of here is the lab, and a day filled with more tedious errands. You'd be there already, if the traffic lights would change so you could cross the street. >open box The metal box seems to be locked. >break box Violence isn't the answer to this one. >talk to woman That's not a verb I recognise. >talk to man That's not a verb I recognise. >ask woman about baby You can't seem to get her attention at all. She's completely distracted by her phone. Suddenly, out of the corner of your eye you see a remarkably unremarkable car speeding rather aggressively up Elm Street, wildly changing lanes and weaving between cars. At the same time, you watch as the woman pushing the baby stroller starts to push the stroller across Elm, oblivious of the car racing towards her. As she pushes the stroller into traffic, the speeding car swerves out of the way, driving up onto the sidewalk. 'I hope he knows driving on the sidewalk is frowned upon,' you manage to think, just as the car, without so much as a 'hello', plows straight into you. Your last thought is of the safety of the package you carry, already crushed into pieces against your equally crushed chest, before a sudden white light sweeps over the entire scene. *** You have died *** Or, hold on just a minute. There's something beyond all this white it seems. [Please press SPACE to continue.] In a moment you'd call 'gut-wrenching' if you still had a gut, the whiteness that defines your immediate universe is suddenly permeated by color, and you find yourself pulled, pushed, and squeezed through time and space. You blink a couple times. Everything is exactly as it was when you started out in all of this. Did you just imagine everything? The corner of Jones and Elm It's mid-morning again, and you are waiting at the intersection of Jones street and Elm street. Traffic is moving slowly along Jones headed east, and along Elm headed north. The traffic lights are working, and if the pedestrian walk light would ever change, you could walk across Jones and head north back to the lab. A 5-foot tall metal box sits bolted to the sidewalk nearby, under one of the traffic light posts. The sidewalks are mostly devoid of pedestrians, although you do notice a woman slowly walking towards Elm street pushing a baby stroller. You notice a bus slowly trying to get through the intersection. >x me You are a respectable young lab assistant. >ask woman about baby You can't seem to get her attention at all. She's completely distracted by her phone. >ask baby about woman You can't seem to get her attention at all. She's completely distracted by her phone. >get blanket You can't see any such thing. >get stroller I don't suppose the woman would care for that. >l The corner of Jones and Elm It's mid-morning again, and you are waiting at the intersection of Jones street and Elm street. Traffic is moving slowly along Jones headed east, and along Elm headed north. The traffic lights are working, and if the pedestrian walk light would ever change, you could walk across Jones and head north back to the lab. A 5-foot tall metal box sits bolted to the sidewalk nearby, under one of the traffic light posts. The sidewalks are mostly devoid of pedestrians, although you do notice a woman slowly walking towards Elm street pushing a baby stroller. You notice a bus slowly trying to get through the intersection. Suddenly, out of the corner of your eye you see a remarkably unremarkable car speeding rather aggressively up Elm Street, wildly changing lanes and weaving between cars. At the same time, you watch as the woman pushing the baby stroller starts to push the stroller across Elm, oblivious of the car racing towards her. As she pushes the stroller into traffic, the speeding car swerves out of the way, driving up onto the sidewalk. 'I hope he knows driving on the sidewalk is frowned upon,' you manage to think, just as the car, without so much as a 'hello', plows straight into you. Your last thought is of the safety of the package you carry, already crushed into pieces against your equally crushed chest, before a sudden white light sweeps over the entire scene. *** You have died *** Or, hold on just a minute. There's something beyond all this white it seems. [Please press SPACE to continue.] Like a really impatient fog, whiteness rushes in to replace your world. The fog doesn't stick around very long though, and soon you start to see objects unveiled in the fog. You steady yourself for someplace new. You've looped back to where this all started once again. The corner of Jones and Elm It's mid-morning again, and you are waiting at the intersection of Jones street and Elm street. Traffic is moving slowly along Jones headed east, and along Elm headed north. The traffic lights are working, and if the pedestrian walk light would ever change, you could walk across Jones and head north back to the lab. A 5-foot tall metal box sits bolted to the sidewalk nearby, under one of the traffic light posts. The sidewalks are mostly devoid of pedestrians, although you do notice a woman slowly walking towards Elm street pushing a baby stroller. You notice a bus slowly trying to get through the intersection. >x me You are a respectable young lab assistant. >block woman That's not a verb I recognise. >get behind woman You can't see any such thing. >hide behind woman That's not a verb I recognise. >pinch myself That's not a verb I recognise. >kill myself Violence isn't the answer to this one. >l The corner of Jones and Elm It's mid-morning again, and you are waiting at the intersection of Jones street and Elm street. Traffic is moving slowly along Jones headed east, and along Elm headed north. The traffic lights are working, and if the pedestrian walk light would ever change, you could walk across Jones and head north back to the lab. A 5-foot tall metal box sits bolted to the sidewalk nearby, under one of the traffic light posts. The sidewalks are mostly devoid of pedestrians, although you do notice a woman slowly walking towards Elm street pushing a baby stroller. You notice a bus slowly trying to get through the intersection. >l The corner of Jones and Elm It's mid-morning again, and you are waiting at the intersection of Jones street and Elm street. Traffic is moving slowly along Jones headed east, and along Elm headed north. The traffic lights are working, and if the pedestrian walk light would ever change, you could walk across Jones and head north back to the lab. A 5-foot tall metal box sits bolted to the sidewalk nearby, under one of the traffic light posts. The sidewalks are mostly devoid of pedestrians, although you do notice a woman slowly walking towards Elm street pushing a baby stroller. You notice a bus slowly trying to get through the intersection. >l The corner of Jones and Elm It's mid-morning again, and you are waiting at the intersection of Jones street and Elm street. Traffic is moving slowly along Jones headed east, and along Elm headed north. The traffic lights are working, and if the pedestrian walk light would ever change, you could walk across Jones and head north back to the lab. A 5-foot tall metal box sits bolted to the sidewalk nearby, under one of the traffic light posts. The sidewalks are mostly devoid of pedestrians, although you do notice a woman slowly walking towards Elm street pushing a baby stroller. You notice a bus slowly trying to get through the intersection. Suddenly, out of the corner of your eye you see a remarkably unremarkable car speeding rather aggressively up Elm Street, wildly changing lanes and weaving between cars. At the same time, you watch as the woman pushing the baby stroller starts to push the stroller across Elm, oblivious of the car racing towards her. As she pushes the stroller into traffic, the speeding car swerves out of the way, driving up onto the sidewalk. 'I hope he knows driving on the sidewalk is frowned upon,' you manage to think, just as the car, without so much as a 'hello', plows straight into you. Your last thought is of the safety of the package you carry, already crushed into pieces against your equally crushed chest, before a sudden white light sweeps over the entire scene. *** You have died *** Or, hold on just a minute. There's something beyond all this white it seems. [Please press SPACE to continue.] A white haze like a strange dimensional snow-storm blankets you into a place between 'here' and 'there'. A sensation best described as a 'visual sneeze' blows past and unthaws brand new objects in a new location. You've looped back to where this all started once again. The corner of Jones and Elm It's mid-morning again, and you are waiting at the intersection of Jones street and Elm street. Traffic is moving slowly along Jones headed east, and along Elm headed north. The traffic lights are working, and if the pedestrian walk light would ever change, you could walk across Jones and head north back to the lab. A 5-foot tall metal box sits bolted to the sidewalk nearby, under one of the traffic light posts. The sidewalks are mostly devoid of pedestrians, although you do notice a woman slowly walking towards Elm street pushing a baby stroller. You notice a bus slowly trying to get through the intersection. >x me You are a respectable young lab assistant. >n North of here is the lab, and a day filled with more tedious errands. You'd be there already, if the traffic lights would change so you could cross the street. >n North of here is the lab, and a day filled with more tedious errands. You'd be there already, if the traffic lights would change so you could cross the street. >n North of here is the lab, and a day filled with more tedious errands. You'd be there already, if the traffic lights would change so you could cross the street. >n North of here is the lab, and a day filled with more tedious errands. You'd be there already, if the traffic lights would change so you could cross the street. Suddenly, out of the corner of your eye you see a remarkably unremarkable car speeding rather aggressively up Elm Street, wildly changing lanes and weaving between cars. At the same time, you watch as the woman pushing the baby stroller starts to push the stroller across Elm, oblivious of the car racing towards her. As she pushes the stroller into traffic, the speeding car swerves out of the way, driving up onto the sidewalk. 'I hope he knows driving on the sidewalk is frowned upon,' you manage to think, just as the car, without so much as a 'hello', plows straight into you. Your last thought is of the safety of the package you carry, already crushed into pieces against your equally crushed chest, before a sudden white light sweeps over the entire scene. *** You have died *** Or, hold on just a minute. There's something beyond all this white it seems. [Please press SPACE to continue.] From some distorted magic wand a splash of white is cast across your senses. It's easy to dismiss this as some sort of 'magic', but you lack the ability to describe the feeling in a way that would have any real-world meaning. Brushing off the higher-order pixie dust, you blink into a new place. You've looped back to where this all started once again. The corner of Jones and Elm It's mid-morning again, and you are waiting at the intersection of Jones street and Elm street. Traffic is moving slowly along Jones headed east, and along Elm headed north. The traffic lights are working, and if the pedestrian walk light would ever change, you could walk across Jones and head north back to the lab. A 5-foot tall metal box sits bolted to the sidewalk nearby, under one of the traffic light posts. The sidewalks are mostly devoid of pedestrians, although you do notice a woman slowly walking towards Elm street pushing a baby stroller. You notice a bus slowly trying to get through the intersection. >x me You are a respectable young lab assistant. >dance That's not a verb I recognise. >x bus It's one of those local lines that goes along Jones St, but it must be behind schedule (no thanks to all the traffic). It looks like it might not make it through the intersection before the light changes. As you look at the all the riders packed in the bus, you notice one particular businessman, glancing through the window your way. The expression on his face is one of acute discomfort. >wave to businessman You can't see any such thing. >talk to businessman That's not a verb I recognise. >ask businessman about bus You can't see any such thing. >x businessman You can't see any such thing. >x bus It's one of those local lines that goes along Jones St, but it must be behind schedule (no thanks to all the traffic). It looks like it might not make it through the intersection before the light changes. >hail bus That's not a verb I recognise. >wave at bus You wave at the bus, feeling foolish. >l The corner of Jones and Elm It's mid-morning again, and you are waiting at the intersection of Jones street and Elm street. Traffic is moving slowly along Jones headed east, and along Elm headed north. The traffic lights are working, and if the pedestrian walk light would ever change, you could walk across Jones and head north back to the lab. A 5-foot tall metal box sits bolted to the sidewalk nearby, under one of the traffic light posts. The sidewalks are mostly devoid of pedestrians, although you do notice a woman slowly walking towards Elm street pushing a baby stroller. You notice a bus slowly trying to get through the intersection. Suddenly, out of the corner of your eye you see a remarkably unremarkable car speeding rather aggressively up Elm Street, wildly changing lanes and weaving between cars. At the same time, you watch as the woman pushing the baby stroller starts to push the stroller across Elm, oblivious of the car racing towards her. As she pushes the stroller into traffic, the speeding car swerves out of the way, driving up onto the sidewalk. 'I hope he knows driving on the sidewalk is frowned upon,' you manage to think, just as the car, without so much as a 'hello', plows straight into you. Your last thought is of the safety of the package you carry, already crushed into pieces against your equally crushed chest, before a sudden white light sweeps over the entire scene. *** You have died *** Or, hold on just a minute. There's something beyond all this white it seems. [Please press SPACE to continue.] A white haze like a strange dimensional snow-storm blankets you into a place between 'here' and 'there'. A sensation best described as a 'visual sneeze' blows past and unthaws brand new objects in a new location. As the world rushes back, you find yourself seated. On a bus. A bus packed with people, uncomfortably warm, with loud with noises from every direction. You feel sweat dripping along your brow, and as you raise your arm to wipe it off, you notice you're wearing a well-fitting business suit. You've swapped bodies with an average-height business man, possibly in his late 30s, likely late to work. You feel the bus lurch forward, only to shudder to a stop a few seconds later. You glance out the window and realize you're on that bus trying to cross the Elm and Jones street intersection. On Jones heading towards Racine (in bus) You're sitting on a hot crowded bus barely moving along Jones Street. There's a boombox on the floor of the bus right in front of you blasting music at a remarkably high volume. You can also see an elderly woman here. >x me You appear to be a casually dressed man. >i You're carrying: a snack >turn off boombox As you turn the boombox off, there's a collective sigh of relief from people nearby, including the elderly woman. The bus lurches forward half a foot, then stops. >open window You reach over and push open the window slightly, letting a cool breeze into the bus. Several people, including the elderly woman, silently nod in thanks. >talk to woman That's not a verb I recognise. >ask woman about baby There is no reply. >throw snack to baby I only understood you as far as wanting to throw the snack. >x baby You can't see any such thing. >l On Jones heading towards Racine (in bus) You're sitting on a crowded bus barely moving along Jones Street. There's a boombox on the floor of the bus right in front of you, switched off. You can also see an elderly woman here. >talk to woman That's not a verb I recognise. >ask woman about boombox "Obnoxious things, glad someone turned it off." >out The bus is so crowded you can't even see the doors from where you are. Rather than push through the wall of passengers, you decide to stay where you are. You watch a car aggressively drive past the bus, only to screech to a stop shortly after. >l On Jones heading towards Racine (in bus) You're sitting on a crowded bus barely moving along Jones Street. There's a boombox on the floor of the bus right in front of you, switched off. You can also see an elderly woman here. Suddenly, the elderly woman decides she can't take it anymore. She aggressively shoves her way through the crowd until she reaches the back door. Then, with a surprising show of strength, she forces the back doors open. This causes the bus to come to a screeching halt, at which point the passenger hops off the bus and walks off into the street. A white haze like a strange dimensional snow-storm blankets you into a place between 'here' and 'there'. A sensation best described as a 'visual sneeze' blows past and unthaws brand new objects in a new location. You've looped back to where this all started once again. The corner of Jones and Elm It's mid-morning again, and you are waiting at the intersection of Jones street and Elm street. Traffic is moving slowly along Jones headed east, and along Elm headed north. The traffic lights are working, and if the pedestrian walk light would ever change, you could walk across Jones and head north back to the lab. A 5-foot tall metal box sits bolted to the sidewalk nearby, under one of the traffic light posts. The sidewalks are mostly devoid of pedestrians, although you do notice a woman slowly walking towards Elm street pushing a baby stroller. You notice a bus slowly trying to get through the intersection. >x me You are a respectable young lab assistant. >x woman A young woman is dutifully pushing a covered baby stroller that you're fairly sure holds a baby. She seems somewhat distracted, with most of her attention diverted to her rather large mobile device. But wait, just now, you saw the top of a tiny little bald head appear from within the stroller. Two tiny blue eyes meet your gaze, before the baby disappears back into the stroller. >x baby A young woman is dutifully pushing a covered baby stroller that you're fairly sure holds a baby. She seems somewhat distracted, with most of her attention diverted to her rather large mobile device. >x me You are a respectable young lab assistant. >give package to baby You can't seem to get her attention at all. She's completely distracted by her phone. Suddenly, out of the corner of your eye you see a remarkably unremarkable car speeding rather aggressively up Elm Street, wildly changing lanes and weaving between cars. At the same time, you watch as the woman pushing the baby stroller starts to push the stroller across Elm, oblivious of the car racing towards her. As she pushes the stroller into traffic, the speeding car swerves out of the way, driving up onto the sidewalk. 'I hope he knows driving on the sidewalk is frowned upon,' you manage to think, just as the car, without so much as a 'hello', plows straight into you. Your last thought is of the safety of the package you carry, already crushed into pieces against your equally crushed chest, before a sudden white light sweeps over the entire scene. *** You have died *** Or, hold on just a minute. There's something beyond all this white it seems. [Please press SPACE to continue.] The world fades to white again. You could see a foggy whiteness at the corner of your vision, but now it abruptly rushes in, and everything pulls away, only to pop back a moment later. Where are you now? You feel stretched and then squashed into a new form. Everything feels unfamiliar, bright, too loud. You open your eyes and find yourself on your back, looking up at the blue sky. You try to get up, and your body refuses to respond, instead twisting and popping in an awkward fashion. You reach a hand out to grab something, anything, and notice that your hand, your arm, your whole body, is tiny and undeveloped. Tiny little fingers on a tiny little hand flex open and closed. Your body has become that of a tiny infant, lying in a bed of a stroller of some sort. You feel the great urge to let out a loud wail. On Elm Between Jones and Oak (inside stroller) You are on the sidewalk on Elm street, likely somewhere between Jones and Oak streets. More specifically, you are inside a baby stroller with raised walls on all sides and a curved half-canopy above, being pushed along the sidewalk on Elm street. There is a woman slowly pushing the stroller. You can also see a blanket here. >x woman A young woman is dutifully pushing the baby stroller that you currently occupy. She is completely focused on the large fancy mobile phone she awkwardly holds in one of her hands. >get mobile The woman's phone is far out of reach of your tiny baby limbs. >get blanket As you grab the blanket, you uncover a pacifier that was hidden underneath it. >get pacifier Taken. >throw pacifier at mobile It takes quite a bit of effort, but you manage to throw the pacifier at the woman's phone. You're a bit off the mark and end up hitting the woman in the neck. "That wasn't very nice," the woman says. "Now I have to pick up your pacifier. I'm going to miss at least 3 text messages." The woman stops pushing the stroller and stoops down to look for the pacifier. At the same time, a car, driving well over the speed limit, races by, narrowly missing the stroller. Without much warning, everything around you fades to a clean white nothingness. You'd be blinking furiously right about now if you still had eyelids under your control. Distinct figures appear in the whiteness just as suddenly, and you take a moment to place yourself. You've looped back to where this all started once again. The corner of Jones and Elm It's mid-morning again, and you are waiting at the intersection of Jones street and Elm street. Traffic is moving slowly along Jones headed east, and along Elm headed north. The traffic lights are working, and if the pedestrian walk light would ever change, you could walk across Jones and head north back to the lab. A 5-foot tall metal box sits bolted to the sidewalk nearby, under one of the traffic light posts. The sidewalks are mostly devoid of pedestrians, although you do notice a woman slowly walking towards Elm street pushing a baby stroller. You notice a bus slowly trying to get through the intersection. >x woman The young woman is dutifully pushing a covered baby stroller that you happen to know holds a baby. Most of her attention is diverted to her rather large mobile device. You'll withhold judgement on her child care skills for the time being. >n North of here is the lab, and a day filled with more tedious errands. You'd be there already, if the traffic lights would change so you could cross the street. >x bus It's one of those local lines that goes along Jones St, but it must be behind schedule (no thanks to all the traffic). It looks like it might not make it through the intersection before the light changes. As you look at the all the riders packed in the bus, you notice one particular businessman, glancing through the window your way. The expression on his face is one of acute discomfort. >x me You are a respectable young lab assistant. Suddenly, out of the corner of your eye you see a remarkably unremarkable car speeding rather aggressively up Elm Street, wildly changing lanes and weaving between cars. At the same time, you watch as the woman pushing the baby stroller starts to push the stroller across Elm, oblivious of the car racing towards her. Fortunately, at the last moment, the woman pauses, distracted by something happening in the stroller, and the car races by. You breathe a sigh of relief. Then, the ear-shattering sound of screeching brakes direct your attention to a large city bus, trying and failing to cross Jones Street due to unusually heavy traffic. As it stops right in the middle of the intersection, blocking all traffic coming up Elm, the speeding car swerves, in what seems to be a foolhardy attempt to get around the bus. 'Surely he realizes that there's not enough road for that,' you manage to think, just as the car jumps over the sidewalk, wheels spinning, and without so much as a 'hello', plows straight into you. Your last thought is of the safety of the package you carry, already crushed into pieces against your equally crushed chest, before a sudden white light sweeps over the entire scene. *** You have died *** Or, hold on just a minute. There's something beyond all this white it seems. [Please press SPACE to continue.] Like a really impatient fog, whiteness rushes in to replace your world. The fog doesn't stick around very long though, and soon you start to see objects unveiled in the fog. You steady yourself for someplace new. As the world rushes back, you find yourself seated. On a bus. A bus packed with people, uncomfortably warm, with loud with noises from every direction. You feel sweat dripping along your brow, and as you raise your arm to wipe it off, you notice you're wearing a well-fitting business suit. You've swapped bodies with an average-height business man, possibly in his late 30s, likely late to work. You feel the bus lurch forward, only to shudder to a stop a few seconds later. You glance out the window and realize you're on that bus trying to cross the Elm and Jones street intersection. On Jones heading towards Racine (in bus) You're sitting on a hot crowded bus barely moving along Jones Street. There's a boombox on the floor of the bus right in front of you blasting music at a remarkably high volume. You can also see an elderly woman here. >turn off boombox As you turn the boombox off, there's a collective sigh of relief from people nearby, including the elderly woman. >ask woman about snack "I can't really chew hard stuff these days on account of these," she says, and proudly displays her dentures in a wide smile.There is no reply. You watch a car aggressively drive past the bus, only to screech to a stop shortly after. >x snack It appears to be some sort of snack bar, "Healthy Granola and Chocolate", still unopened. >x car You can't see any such thing. >x bux You can't see any such thing. >x bus You can't see any such thing. >get off bus You can't see any such thing. >l On Jones heading towards Racine (in bus) You're sitting on a hot crowded bus barely moving along Jones Street. There's a boombox on the floor of the bus right in front of you, switched off. You can also see an elderly woman here. You watch a car aggressively drive past the bus, only to screech to a stop shortly after. >get box You can't see any such thing. >get boombox You consider picking up the boombox, but it's hard to determine where you would put it, other than on the floor where it already is. Also, it must belong to someone, right? Ultimately, you leave the boombox where it is. You briefly smell something rather noxious, maybe fuel, then it goes away. >smell The unpleasent scents of sweat and burning motor oil pervade the air. >i You're carrying: a snack >x woman There's an elderly woman standing here. She looks rather bothered, and mumbles something angrily. >give snack to woman The elderly woman refuses your offer. "Can't stand those things," she says, somewhat bitterly. "So hard to chew." Suddenly, the elderly woman decides she can't take it anymore. She aggressively shoves her way through the crowd until she reaches the back door. Then, with a surprising show of strength, she forces the back doors open. This causes the bus to come to a screeching halt, at which point the passenger hops off the bus and walks off into the street. A white haze like a strange dimensional snow-storm blankets you into a place between 'here' and 'there'. A sensation best described as a 'visual sneeze' blows past and unthaws brand new objects in a new location. You've looped back to where this all started once again. The corner of Jones and Elm It's mid-morning again, and you are waiting at the intersection of Jones street and Elm street. Traffic is moving slowly along Jones headed east, and along Elm headed north. The traffic lights are working, and if the pedestrian walk light would ever change, you could walk across Jones and head north back to the lab. A 5-foot tall metal box sits bolted to the sidewalk nearby, under one of the traffic light posts. The sidewalks are mostly devoid of pedestrians, although you do notice a woman slowly walking towards Elm street pushing a baby stroller. You notice a bus slowly trying to get through the intersection. >x bus It's one of those local lines that goes along Jones St, but it must be behind schedule (no thanks to all the traffic). It looks like it might not make it through the intersection before the light changes. As you look at the all the riders packed in the bus, you notice one particular businessman, glancing through the window your way. The expression on his face is one of acute discomfort. >x businessman You can't see any such thing. >l The corner of Jones and Elm It's mid-morning again, and you are waiting at the intersection of Jones street and Elm street. Traffic is moving slowly along Jones headed east, and along Elm headed north. The traffic lights are working, and if the pedestrian walk light would ever change, you could walk across Jones and head north back to the lab. A 5-foot tall metal box sits bolted to the sidewalk nearby, under one of the traffic light posts. The sidewalks are mostly devoid of pedestrians, although you do notice a woman slowly walking towards Elm street pushing a baby stroller. You notice a bus slowly trying to get through the intersection. >l The corner of Jones and Elm It's mid-morning again, and you are waiting at the intersection of Jones street and Elm street. Traffic is moving slowly along Jones headed east, and along Elm headed north. The traffic lights are working, and if the pedestrian walk light would ever change, you could walk across Jones and head north back to the lab. A 5-foot tall metal box sits bolted to the sidewalk nearby, under one of the traffic light posts. The sidewalks are mostly devoid of pedestrians, although you do notice a woman slowly walking towards Elm street pushing a baby stroller. You notice a bus slowly trying to get through the intersection. >l The corner of Jones and Elm It's mid-morning again, and you are waiting at the intersection of Jones street and Elm street. Traffic is moving slowly along Jones headed east, and along Elm headed north. The traffic lights are working, and if the pedestrian walk light would ever change, you could walk across Jones and head north back to the lab. A 5-foot tall metal box sits bolted to the sidewalk nearby, under one of the traffic light posts. The sidewalks are mostly devoid of pedestrians, although you do notice a woman slowly walking towards Elm street pushing a baby stroller. You notice a bus slowly trying to get through the intersection. >l The corner of Jones and Elm It's mid-morning again, and you are waiting at the intersection of Jones street and Elm street. Traffic is moving slowly along Jones headed east, and along Elm headed north. The traffic lights are working, and if the pedestrian walk light would ever change, you could walk across Jones and head north back to the lab. A 5-foot tall metal box sits bolted to the sidewalk nearby, under one of the traffic light posts. The sidewalks are mostly devoid of pedestrians, although you do notice a woman slowly walking towards Elm street pushing a baby stroller. You notice a bus slowly trying to get through the intersection. Suddenly, out of the corner of your eye you see a remarkably unremarkable car speeding rather aggressively up Elm Street, wildly changing lanes and weaving between cars. At the same time, you watch as the woman pushing the baby stroller starts to push the stroller across Elm, oblivious of the car racing towards her. Fortunately, at the last moment, the woman pauses, distracted by something happening in the stroller, and the car races by. You breathe a sigh of relief. Then, the ear-shattering sound of screeching brakes direct your attention to a large city bus, trying and failing to cross Jones Street due to unusually heavy traffic. As it stops right in the middle of the intersection, blocking all traffic coming up Elm, the speeding car swerves, in what seems to be a foolhardy attempt to get around the bus. 'Surely he realizes that there's not enough road for that,' you manage to think, just as the car jumps over the sidewalk, wheels spinning, and without so much as a 'hello', plows straight into you. Your last thought is of the safety of the package you carry, already crushed into pieces against your equally crushed chest, before a sudden white light sweeps over the entire scene. *** You have died *** Or, hold on just a minute. There's something beyond all this white it seems. [Please press SPACE to continue.] The proverbial white curtain drops once again, enshrouding you in whiteness. The players in the next scene of this surreal play start to reveal themselves, uncovered from the disappearing white. Next time you'll remember to ask the powers above for a peek at the script. For now, you can only get ready for the next act. As the world rushes back, you find yourself seated. On a bus. A bus packed with people, uncomfortably warm, with loud with noises from every direction. You feel sweat dripping along your brow, and as you raise your arm to wipe it off, you notice you're wearing a well-fitting business suit. You've swapped bodies with an average-height business man, possibly in his late 30s, likely late to work. You feel the bus lurch forward, only to shudder to a stop a few seconds later. You glance out the window and realize you're on that bus trying to cross the Elm and Jones street intersection. On Jones heading towards Racine (in bus) You're sitting on a hot crowded bus barely moving along Jones Street. There's a boombox on the floor of the bus right in front of you blasting music at a remarkably high volume. You can also see an elderly woman here. >ask woman about boombox You can't seem to get the elderly woman's attention due to the noise from the boom box. >turn off boombox As you turn the boombox off, there's a collective sigh of relief from people nearby, including the elderly woman. The bus lurches forward half a foot, then stops. >ask woman about boombox "Obnoxious things, glad someone turned it off." You watch a car aggressively drive past the bus, only to screech to a stop shortly after. >ask woman about herself There is no reply. The bus lurches forward half a foot, then stops. >l On Jones heading towards Racine (in bus) You're sitting on a hot crowded bus barely moving along Jones Street. There's a boombox on the floor of the bus right in front of you, switched off. You can also see an elderly woman here. >ask woman about snack "I can't really chew hard stuff these days on account of these," she says, and proudly displays her dentures in a wide smile.There is no reply. >ask woman about dentures There is no reply. >lock door You can't see any such thing. >x door You can't see any such thing. >turn on boombox The boombox starts blasting loud music through the bus. It seems to have only one volume level -- LOUD. The elderly woman grimaces at the loud music. You watch a car aggressively drive past the bus, only to screech to a stop shortly after. >l On Jones heading towards Racine (in bus) You're sitting on a hot crowded bus barely moving along Jones Street. There's a boombox on the floor of the bus right in front of you blasting music at a remarkably high volume. You can also see an elderly woman here. Suddenly, the elderly woman decides she can't take it anymore. She aggressively shoves her way through the crowd until she reaches the back door. Then, with a surprising show of strength, she forces the back doors open. This causes the bus to come to a screeching halt, at which point the passenger hops off the bus and walks off into the street. Rudely, everything fades to white once again. Just as you were starting to get a grasp of things again too. As before, whiteness gives way to a loud pop of color and form, leaving you literally and figuratively disoriented. You've looped back to where this all started once again. The corner of Jones and Elm It's mid-morning again, and you are waiting at the intersection of Jones street and Elm street. Traffic is moving slowly along Jones headed east, and along Elm headed north. The traffic lights are working, and if the pedestrian walk light would ever change, you could walk across Jones and head north back to the lab. A 5-foot tall metal box sits bolted to the sidewalk nearby, under one of the traffic light posts. The sidewalks are mostly devoid of pedestrians, although you do notice a woman slowly walking towards Elm street pushing a baby stroller. You notice a bus slowly trying to get through the intersection. >x bus It's one of those local lines that goes along Jones St, but it must be behind schedule (no thanks to all the traffic). It looks like it might not make it through the intersection before the light changes. As you look at the all the riders packed in the bus, you notice one particular businessman, glancing through the window your way. The expression on his face is one of acute discomfort. >l The corner of Jones and Elm It's mid-morning again, and you are waiting at the intersection of Jones street and Elm street. Traffic is moving slowly along Jones headed east, and along Elm headed north. The traffic lights are working, and if the pedestrian walk light would ever change, you could walk across Jones and head north back to the lab. A 5-foot tall metal box sits bolted to the sidewalk nearby, under one of the traffic light posts. The sidewalks are mostly devoid of pedestrians, although you do notice a woman slowly walking towards Elm street pushing a baby stroller. You notice a bus slowly trying to get through the intersection. >l The corner of Jones and Elm It's mid-morning again, and you are waiting at the intersection of Jones street and Elm street. Traffic is moving slowly along Jones headed east, and along Elm headed north. The traffic lights are working, and if the pedestrian walk light would ever change, you could walk across Jones and head north back to the lab. A 5-foot tall metal box sits bolted to the sidewalk nearby, under one of the traffic light posts. The sidewalks are mostly devoid of pedestrians, although you do notice a woman slowly walking towards Elm street pushing a baby stroller. You notice a bus slowly trying to get through the intersection. >l The corner of Jones and Elm It's mid-morning again, and you are waiting at the intersection of Jones street and Elm street. Traffic is moving slowly along Jones headed east, and along Elm headed north. The traffic lights are working, and if the pedestrian walk light would ever change, you could walk across Jones and head north back to the lab. A 5-foot tall metal box sits bolted to the sidewalk nearby, under one of the traffic light posts. The sidewalks are mostly devoid of pedestrians, although you do notice a woman slowly walking towards Elm street pushing a baby stroller. You notice a bus slowly trying to get through the intersection. >l The corner of Jones and Elm It's mid-morning again, and you are waiting at the intersection of Jones street and Elm street. Traffic is moving slowly along Jones headed east, and along Elm headed north. The traffic lights are working, and if the pedestrian walk light would ever change, you could walk across Jones and head north back to the lab. A 5-foot tall metal box sits bolted to the sidewalk nearby, under one of the traffic light posts. The sidewalks are mostly devoid of pedestrians, although you do notice a woman slowly walking towards Elm street pushing a baby stroller. You notice a bus slowly trying to get through the intersection. Suddenly, out of the corner of your eye you see a remarkably unremarkable car speeding rather aggressively up Elm Street, wildly changing lanes and weaving between cars. At the same time, you watch as the woman pushing the baby stroller starts to push the stroller across Elm, oblivious of the car racing towards her. Fortunately, at the last moment, the woman pauses, distracted by something happening in the stroller, and the car races by. You breathe a sigh of relief. Then, the ear-shattering sound of screeching brakes direct your attention to a large city bus, trying and failing to cross Jones Street due to unusually heavy traffic. As it stops right in the middle of the intersection, blocking all traffic coming up Elm, the speeding car swerves, in what seems to be a foolhardy attempt to get around the bus. 'Surely he realizes that there's not enough road for that,' you manage to think, just as the car jumps over the sidewalk, wheels spinning, and without so much as a 'hello', plows straight into you. Your last thought is of the safety of the package you carry, already crushed into pieces against your equally crushed chest, before a sudden white light sweeps over the entire scene. *** You have died *** Or, hold on just a minute. There's something beyond all this white it seems. [Please press SPACE to continue.] Cue the fade to white. This time you were more prepared, but it still happens in a way that manages to catch you a little off guard. Even the nearly indescribable detached sensation that follows is starting to feel familiar. In less than a moment, you find yourself in a new place. As the world rushes back, you find yourself seated. On a bus. A bus packed with people, uncomfortably warm, with loud with noises from every direction. You feel sweat dripping along your brow, and as you raise your arm to wipe it off, you notice you're wearing a well-fitting business suit. You've swapped bodies with an average-height business man, possibly in his late 30s, likely late to work. You feel the bus lurch forward, only to shudder to a stop a few seconds later. You glance out the window and realize you're on that bus trying to cross the Elm and Jones street intersection. On Jones heading towards Racine (in bus) You're sitting on a hot crowded bus barely moving along Jones Street. There's a boombox on the floor of the bus right in front of you blasting music at a remarkably high volume. You can also see an elderly woman here. >x womna You can't see any such thing. >x woman There's an elderly woman standing here. She looks quite upset and bothered. "I hate this bus," she keeps yelling at no one in particular. Someone in the back of the bus has a brief coughing fit, and recovers. >turn off boombox As you turn the boombox off, there's a collective sigh of relief from people nearby, including the elderly woman. Someone in the back of the bus has a brief coughing fit, and recovers. >ask woman about boombox "Obnoxious things, glad someone turned it off." >ask woman about me There is no reply. >ask woman about traffic There is no reply. >l On Jones heading towards Racine (in bus) You're sitting on a hot crowded bus barely moving along Jones Street. There's a boombox on the floor of the bus right in front of you, switched off. You can also see an elderly woman here. >hold woman hand I only understood you as far as wanting to hold the elderly woman. >l On Jones heading towards Racine (in bus) You're sitting on a hot crowded bus barely moving along Jones Street. There's a boombox on the floor of the bus right in front of you, switched off. You can also see an elderly woman here. You briefly smell something rather noxious, maybe fuel, then it goes away. >l On Jones heading towards Racine (in bus) You're sitting on a hot crowded bus barely moving along Jones Street. There's a boombox on the floor of the bus right in front of you, switched off. You can also see an elderly woman here. >l On Jones heading towards Racine (in bus) You're sitting on a hot crowded bus barely moving along Jones Street. There's a boombox on the floor of the bus right in front of you, switched off. You can also see an elderly woman here. Suddenly, the elderly woman decides she can't take it anymore. She aggressively shoves her way through the crowd until she reaches the back door. Then, with a surprising show of strength, she forces the back doors open. This causes the bus to come to a screeching halt, at which point the passenger hops off the bus and walks off into the street. Like a really impatient fog, whiteness rushes in to replace your world. The fog doesn't stick around very long though, and soon you start to see objects unveiled in the fog. You steady yourself for someplace new. You've looped back to where this all started once again. The corner of Jones and Elm It's mid-morning again, and you are waiting at the intersection of Jones street and Elm street. Traffic is moving slowly along Jones headed east, and along Elm headed north. The traffic lights are working, and if the pedestrian walk light would ever change, you could walk across Jones and head north back to the lab. A 5-foot tall metal box sits bolted to the sidewalk nearby, under one of the traffic light posts. The sidewalks are mostly devoid of pedestrians, although you do notice a woman slowly walking towards Elm street pushing a baby stroller. You notice a bus slowly trying to get through the intersection. >x bus It's one of those local lines that goes along Jones St, but it must be behind schedule (no thanks to all the traffic). It looks like it might not make it through the intersection before the light changes. As you look at the all the riders packed in the bus, you notice one particular businessman, glancing through the window your way. The expression on his face is one of acute discomfort. >l The corner of Jones and Elm It's mid-morning again, and you are waiting at the intersection of Jones street and Elm street. Traffic is moving slowly along Jones headed east, and along Elm headed north. The traffic lights are working, and if the pedestrian walk light would ever change, you could walk across Jones and head north back to the lab. A 5-foot tall metal box sits bolted to the sidewalk nearby, under one of the traffic light posts. The sidewalks are mostly devoid of pedestrians, although you do notice a woman slowly walking towards Elm street pushing a baby stroller. You notice a bus slowly trying to get through the intersection. >l The corner of Jones and Elm It's mid-morning again, and you are waiting at the intersection of Jones street and Elm street. Traffic is moving slowly along Jones headed east, and along Elm headed north. The traffic lights are working, and if the pedestrian walk light would ever change, you could walk across Jones and head north back to the lab. A 5-foot tall metal box sits bolted to the sidewalk nearby, under one of the traffic light posts. The sidewalks are mostly devoid of pedestrians, although you do notice a woman slowly walking towards Elm street pushing a baby stroller. You notice a bus slowly trying to get through the intersection. >l The corner of Jones and Elm It's mid-morning again, and you are waiting at the intersection of Jones street and Elm street. Traffic is moving slowly along Jones headed east, and along Elm headed north. The traffic lights are working, and if the pedestrian walk light would ever change, you could walk across Jones and head north back to the lab. A 5-foot tall metal box sits bolted to the sidewalk nearby, under one of the traffic light posts. The sidewalks are mostly devoid of pedestrians, although you do notice a woman slowly walking towards Elm street pushing a baby stroller. You notice a bus slowly trying to get through the intersection. >l The corner of Jones and Elm It's mid-morning again, and you are waiting at the intersection of Jones street and Elm street. Traffic is moving slowly along Jones headed east, and along Elm headed north. The traffic lights are working, and if the pedestrian walk light would ever change, you could walk across Jones and head north back to the lab. A 5-foot tall metal box sits bolted to the sidewalk nearby, under one of the traffic light posts. The sidewalks are mostly devoid of pedestrians, although you do notice a woman slowly walking towards Elm street pushing a baby stroller. You notice a bus slowly trying to get through the intersection. Suddenly, out of the corner of your eye you see a remarkably unremarkable car speeding rather aggressively up Elm Street, wildly changing lanes and weaving between cars. At the same time, you watch as the woman pushing the baby stroller starts to push the stroller across Elm, oblivious of the car racing towards her. Fortunately, at the last moment, the woman pauses, distracted by something happening in the stroller, and the car races by. You breathe a sigh of relief. Then, the ear-shattering sound of screeching brakes direct your attention to a large city bus, trying and failing to cross Jones Street due to unusually heavy traffic. As it stops right in the middle of the intersection, blocking all traffic coming up Elm, the speeding car swerves, in what seems to be a foolhardy attempt to get around the bus. 'Surely he realizes that there's not enough road for that,' you manage to think, just as the car jumps over the sidewalk, wheels spinning, and without so much as a 'hello', plows straight into you. Your last thought is of the safety of the package you carry, already crushed into pieces against your equally crushed chest, before a sudden white light sweeps over the entire scene. *** You have died *** Or, hold on just a minute. There's something beyond all this white it seems. [Please press SPACE to continue.] Without much warning, everything around you fades to a clean white nothingness. You'd be blinking furiously right about now if you still had eyelids under your control. Distinct figures appear in the whiteness just as suddenly, and you take a moment to place yourself. As the world rushes back, you find yourself seated. On a bus. A bus packed with people, uncomfortably warm, with loud with noises from every direction. You feel sweat dripping along your brow, and as you raise your arm to wipe it off, you notice you're wearing a well-fitting business suit. You've swapped bodies with an average-height business man, possibly in his late 30s, likely late to work. You feel the bus lurch forward, only to shudder to a stop a few seconds later. You glance out the window and realize you're on that bus trying to cross the Elm and Jones street intersection. On Jones heading towards Racine (in bus) You're sitting on a hot crowded bus barely moving along Jones Street. There's a boombox on the floor of the bus right in front of you blasting music at a remarkably high volume. You can also see an elderly woman here. >x woman There's an elderly woman standing here. She looks quite upset and bothered. "I hate this bus," she keeps yelling at no one in particular. >x box You can't see any such thing. >x boombox It seems to be some cheap import model, the size of a small suitcase, with two huge speakers. It's on and turned up to a head-splittingly high volume. It is currently playing a news segment about the causes of Tinnitus. >listen Loud music from the boombox on the floor is blasting throughout the bus, drowning out almost every other sound. >turn down boom box I only understood you as far as wanting to turn the ground. >turn off boombox As you turn the boombox off, there's a collective sigh of relief from people nearby, including the elderly woman. >x woman There's an elderly woman standing here. She looks rather bothered, and mumbles something angrily. You briefly smell something rather noxious, maybe fuel, then it goes away. >open window You reach over and push open the window slightly, letting a cool breeze into the bus. Several people, including the elderly woman, silently nod in thanks. >ask woman about her There is no reply. You watch a car aggressively drive past the bus, only to screech to a stop shortly after. >x car You can't see any such thing. >lock door You can't see any such thing. >close door You can't see any such thing. >stand up You stand up out of your seat. Within seconds, someone quickly slides into the vacated seat and sighs with relief. You briefly smell something rather noxious, maybe fuel, then it goes away. >l On Jones heading towards Racine (in bus) You're standing on a crowded bus barely moving along Jones Street. There's a boombox on the floor of the bus right in front of you, switched off. You can also see an elderly woman here. Suddenly, the elderly woman decides she can't take it anymore. She aggressively shoves her way through the crowd until she reaches the back door. Then, with a surprising show of strength, she forces the back doors open. This causes the bus to come to a screeching halt, at which point the passenger hops off the bus and walks off into the street. From some distorted magic wand a splash of white is cast across your senses. It's easy to dismiss this as some sort of 'magic', but you lack the ability to describe the feeling in a way that would have any real-world meaning. Brushing off the higher-order pixie dust, you blink into a new place. You've looped back to where this all started once again. The corner of Jones and Elm It's mid-morning again, and you are waiting at the intersection of Jones street and Elm street. Traffic is moving slowly along Jones headed east, and along Elm headed north. The traffic lights are working, and if the pedestrian walk light would ever change, you could walk across Jones and head north back to the lab. A 5-foot tall metal box sits bolted to the sidewalk nearby, under one of the traffic light posts. The sidewalks are mostly devoid of pedestrians, although you do notice a woman slowly walking towards Elm street pushing a baby stroller. You notice a bus slowly trying to get through the intersection. >x me You are a respectable young lab assistant. >x bus It's one of those local lines that goes along Jones St, but it must be behind schedule (no thanks to all the traffic). It looks like it might not make it through the intersection before the light changes. As you look at the all the riders packed in the bus, you notice one particular businessman, glancing through the window your way. The expression on his face is one of acute discomfort. >l The corner of Jones and Elm It's mid-morning again, and you are waiting at the intersection of Jones street and Elm street. Traffic is moving slowly along Jones headed east, and along Elm headed north. The traffic lights are working, and if the pedestrian walk light would ever change, you could walk across Jones and head north back to the lab. A 5-foot tall metal box sits bolted to the sidewalk nearby, under one of the traffic light posts. The sidewalks are mostly devoid of pedestrians, although you do notice a woman slowly walking towards Elm street pushing a baby stroller. You notice a bus slowly trying to get through the intersection. >l The corner of Jones and Elm It's mid-morning again, and you are waiting at the intersection of Jones street and Elm street. Traffic is moving slowly along Jones headed east, and along Elm headed north. The traffic lights are working, and if the pedestrian walk light would ever change, you could walk across Jones and head north back to the lab. A 5-foot tall metal box sits bolted to the sidewalk nearby, under one of the traffic light posts. The sidewalks are mostly devoid of pedestrians, although you do notice a woman slowly walking towards Elm street pushing a baby stroller. You notice a bus slowly trying to get through the intersection. >l The corner of Jones and Elm It's mid-morning again, and you are waiting at the intersection of Jones street and Elm street. Traffic is moving slowly along Jones headed east, and along Elm headed north. The traffic lights are working, and if the pedestrian walk light would ever change, you could walk across Jones and head north back to the lab. A 5-foot tall metal box sits bolted to the sidewalk nearby, under one of the traffic light posts. The sidewalks are mostly devoid of pedestrians, although you do notice a woman slowly walking towards Elm street pushing a baby stroller. You notice a bus slowly trying to get through the intersection. Suddenly, out of the corner of your eye you see a remarkably unremarkable car speeding rather aggressively up Elm Street, wildly changing lanes and weaving between cars. At the same time, you watch as the woman pushing the baby stroller starts to push the stroller across Elm, oblivious of the car racing towards her. Fortunately, at the last moment, the woman pauses, distracted by something happening in the stroller, and the car races by. You breathe a sigh of relief. Then, the ear-shattering sound of screeching brakes direct your attention to a large city bus, trying and failing to cross Jones Street due to unusually heavy traffic. As it stops right in the middle of the intersection, blocking all traffic coming up Elm, the speeding car swerves, in what seems to be a foolhardy attempt to get around the bus. 'Surely he realizes that there's not enough road for that,' you manage to think, just as the car jumps over the sidewalk, wheels spinning, and without so much as a 'hello', plows straight into you. Your last thought is of the safety of the package you carry, already crushed into pieces against your equally crushed chest, before a sudden white light sweeps over the entire scene. *** You have died *** Or, hold on just a minute. There's something beyond all this white it seems. [Please press SPACE to continue.] Like a really impatient fog, whiteness rushes in to replace your world. The fog doesn't stick around very long though, and soon you start to see objects unveiled in the fog. You steady yourself for someplace new. As the world rushes back, you find yourself seated. On a bus. A bus packed with people, uncomfortably warm, with loud with noises from every direction. You feel sweat dripping along your brow, and as you raise your arm to wipe it off, you notice you're wearing a well-fitting business suit. You've swapped bodies with an average-height business man, possibly in his late 30s, likely late to work. You feel the bus lurch forward, only to shudder to a stop a few seconds later. You glance out the window and realize you're on that bus trying to cross the Elm and Jones street intersection. On Jones heading towards Racine (in bus) You're sitting on a hot crowded bus barely moving along Jones Street. There's a boombox on the floor of the bus right in front of you blasting music at a remarkably high volume. You can also see an elderly woman here. >turn off boombox As you turn the boombox off, there's a collective sigh of relief from people nearby, including the elderly woman. >open window You reach over and push open the window slightly, letting a cool breeze into the bus. Several people, including the elderly woman, silently nod in thanks. Someone in the back of the bus has a brief coughing fit, and recovers. >x woman There's an elderly woman standing here. She looks a bit troubled, and squints angrily. >give seat to woman The elderly woman sighs in relief and eagerly takes your vacated seat. "Thank you, young man," she says. >l On Jones heading towards Racine (in bus) You're standing on a crowded bus barely moving along Jones Street. There's a boombox on the floor of the bus right in front of you, switched off. You can also see an elderly woman here. The bus lurches forward half a foot, then stops. >l On Jones heading towards Racine (in bus) You're standing on a crowded bus barely moving along Jones Street. There's a boombox on the floor of the bus right in front of you, switched off. You can also see an elderly woman here. >l On Jones heading towards Racine (in bus) You're standing on a crowded bus barely moving along Jones Street. There's a boombox on the floor of the bus right in front of you, switched off. You can also see an elderly woman here. >l On Jones heading towards Racine (in bus) You're standing on a crowded bus barely moving along Jones Street. There's a boombox on the floor of the bus right in front of you, switched off. You can also see an elderly woman here. The bus lurches forward half a foot, then stops. >l On Jones heading towards Racine (in bus) You're standing on a crowded bus barely moving along Jones Street. There's a boombox on the floor of the bus right in front of you, switched off. You can also see an elderly woman here. The bus lurches towards the intersection of Jones Street and Elm Street. You watch as the light changes to yellow just as the bus enters the intersection. Unfortunately, the traffic is bad enough that the cars ahead of the bus leave no room for the bus to get through. The bus slams on the brakes and grinds to a stop, right in the middle of the intersection. From some distorted magic wand a splash of white is cast across your senses. It's easy to dismiss this as some sort of 'magic', but you lack the ability to describe the feeling in a way that would have any real-world meaning. Brushing off the higher-order pixie dust, you blink into a new place. You've looped back to where this all started yet again. How many more times will this happen? The corner of Jones and Elm It's mid-morning again, and you are waiting at the intersection of Jones street and Elm street. Traffic is moving slowly along Jones headed east, and along Elm headed north. The traffic lights are working, and if the pedestrian walk light would ever change, you could walk across Jones and head north back to the lab. A 5-foot tall metal box sits bolted to the sidewalk nearby, under one of the traffic light posts. The sidewalks are mostly devoid of pedestrians, although you do notice a woman slowly walking towards Elm street pushing a baby stroller. You notice a bus slowly trying to get through the intersection. >x box It appears to be a five-foot tall metal box, with no noteworthy markings, painted gray. There are some vents on the side, possibly for airflow, and you suspect it contains electronics of some sort. On the front is a metal door with a recessed handle that likely opens outwards. As you examine the box, a middle-aged man in a reflective safety vest, who was partly obscured by the box, examines something on the box, looks up at the lights, notices you watching him, and then quickly walks away. >z Time passes. >z Time passes. >z Time passes. >z Time passes. Suddenly, out of the corner of your eye you see a remarkably unremarkable car speeding rather aggressively up Elm Street, wildly changing lanes and weaving between cars. At the same time, you watch as the woman pushing the baby stroller starts to push the stroller across Elm, oblivious of the car racing towards her. Fortunately, at the last moment, the woman pauses, distracted by something happening in the stroller, and the car races by. You breathe a sigh of relief. Then, the ear-shattering sound of screeching brakes direct your attention to a large city bus, trying and failing to cross Jones Street due to unusually heavy traffic. As it stops right in the middle of the intersection, blocking all traffic coming up Elm, the speeding car swerves, in what seems to be a foolhardy attempt to get around the bus. 'Surely he realizes that there's not enough road for that,' you manage to think, just as the car jumps over the sidewalk, wheels spinning, and without so much as a 'hello', plows straight into you. Your last thought is of the safety of the package you carry, already crushed into pieces against your equally crushed chest, before a sudden white light sweeps over the entire scene. *** You have died *** Or, hold on just a minute. There's something beyond all this white it seems. [Please press SPACE to continue.] The world fades to white again. You could see a foggy whiteness at the corner of your vision, but now it abruptly rushes in, and everything pulls away, only to pop back a moment later. Where are you now? You have been transported, somehow, without moving an inch. You are standing at the same street corner you occupied moments ago, but the traffic is different, the sounds are different, and even the sunlight is different -- missing, actually. It seems to be early evening, at least that is certain. Your body feels out of sorts, and as you glance at your hands, you see hands that are not your own, but bigger, with more scars and dirt. As you check the rest of your body you realize that you are not yourself. Your mind occupies someone else's body. Also, you suddenly realize you are not alone. The corner of Jones and Elm You are at the corner of Jones and Elm. It's night-time, which means for this not-so-lively part of town, there's no one to be seen, and almost no cars driving along either street. A man is standing here, wearing a reflective safety vest and holding a clipboard. A large metal box painted gray is standing here, bolted to the sidewalk. >x man A somewhat pudgy, somewhat droopy-shouldered middle-aged man. He seems like the kind of fellow who's dependable at work and doesn't complain, but would rather be home with his wife and kids. He's dressed in a clean white shirt, slacks, and sensible but professional shoes. His reflective safety vest, worn loosely over his shirt, has a bit of wear-and-tear, but is still serviceable. He's holding a clipboard with some papers clipped to it. >x papers John is holding a plastic clipboard with a bunch of disorganized papers clipped to it. "Getting colder these days. Next time I'm bringing my coat." >open box with key You unlock the metal box. >open box You open the metal box, revealing a controller panel. >x panel A shiny metal panel with an embossed grid-like pattern. The pattern appears to be map of street intersections, including street names and directions. Additionally, various numbers are printed at the start and end of each street, along with printed letters along each street. There's also a small screen where a number could be displayed under the Oak street letter (D) and a green button labeled 'DONE' at the bottom of the panel. Umber Elm v ^ v ^ 500 520 | | | | Jones >> 600 --+--------B--------+-- 610 >> | | | | A C | | | | Oak >> 610 --+--------D--------+-- 560 >> | ___ | | | 520 500 v ^ v ^ You hear a howl from some animal off in the distance. Maybe it's someone's dog? >push button You hesitate briefly, your finger hovering over the green button. Then, confidently, you press the oddly enticing button. The box emits a sharp buzz and the button appears to reset itself. "You need to enter a value in that screen first," the man says. The man rubs his hands together, possibly to warm them up. >enter 500 on screen You can't see any such thing. >x panel A shiny metal panel with an embossed grid-like pattern. The pattern appears to be map of street intersections, including street names and directions. Additionally, various numbers are printed at the start and end of each street, along with printed letters along each street. There's also a small screen where a number could be displayed under the Oak street letter (D) and a green button labeled 'DONE' at the bottom of the panel. Umber Elm v ^ v ^ 500 520 | | | | Jones >> 600 --+--------B--------+-- 610 >> | | | | A C | | | | Oak >> 610 --+--------D--------+-- 560 >> | ___ | | | 520 500 v ^ v ^ The man scratches his neck for a moment. >enter 500 on panel You can't see any such thing. >enter 520 on screen You can't see any such thing. >press button You hesitate briefly, your finger hovering over the green button. Then, confidently, you press the oddly enticing button. The box emits a sharp buzz and the button appears to reset itself. "You need to enter a value in that screen first," the man says. >enter 500 in screen After a bit of fiddling around, you realize the screen is a small touchscreen. Is every screen nowadays a touchscreen? It certainly seems that way. You use the touchscreen controls to set the value. The screen now reads 500. >press button You hesitate briefly, your finger hovering over the green button. Then, confidently, you press the oddly enticing button. There is a click from the box. From some distorted magic wand a splash of white is cast across your senses. It's easy to dismiss this as some sort of 'magic', but you lack the ability to describe the feeling in a way that would have any real-world meaning. Brushing off the higher-order pixie dust, you blink into a new place. You've looped back to where this all started yet again. How many more times will this happen? The corner of Jones and Elm It's mid-morning again, and you are waiting at the intersection of Jones street and Elm street. Traffic is moving slowly along Jones headed east, and along Elm headed north. The traffic lights are working, and if the pedestrian walk light would ever change, you could walk across Jones and head north back to the lab. A 5-foot tall metal box sits bolted to the sidewalk nearby, under one of the traffic light posts. The sidewalks are mostly devoid of pedestrians, although you do notice a woman slowly walking towards Elm street pushing a baby stroller. You notice a bus slowly trying to get through the intersection. >x box It appears to be a five-foot tall metal box, with no noteworthy markings, painted gray. There are some vents on the side, possibly for airflow, and you suspect it contains electronics of some sort. On the front is a metal door with a recessed handle that likely opens outwards. As you examine the box, a middle-aged man in a reflective safety vest, who was partly obscured by the box, examines something on the box, looks up at the lights, notices you watching him, and then quickly walks away. >l The corner of Jones and Elm It's mid-morning again, and you are waiting at the intersection of Jones street and Elm street. Traffic is moving slowly along Jones headed east, and along Elm headed north. The traffic lights are working, and if the pedestrian walk light would ever change, you could walk across Jones and head north back to the lab. A 5-foot tall metal box sits bolted to the sidewalk nearby, under one of the traffic light posts. The sidewalks are mostly devoid of pedestrians, although you do notice a woman slowly walking towards Elm street pushing a baby stroller. You notice a bus slowly trying to get through the intersection. >l The corner of Jones and Elm It's mid-morning again, and you are waiting at the intersection of Jones street and Elm street. Traffic is moving slowly along Jones headed east, and along Elm headed north. The traffic lights are working, and if the pedestrian walk light would ever change, you could walk across Jones and head north back to the lab. A 5-foot tall metal box sits bolted to the sidewalk nearby, under one of the traffic light posts. The sidewalks are mostly devoid of pedestrians, although you do notice a woman slowly walking towards Elm street pushing a baby stroller. You notice a bus slowly trying to get through the intersection. >l The corner of Jones and Elm It's mid-morning again, and you are waiting at the intersection of Jones street and Elm street. Traffic is moving slowly along Jones headed east, and along Elm headed north. The traffic lights are working, and if the pedestrian walk light would ever change, you could walk across Jones and head north back to the lab. A 5-foot tall metal box sits bolted to the sidewalk nearby, under one of the traffic light posts. The sidewalks are mostly devoid of pedestrians, although you do notice a woman slowly walking towards Elm street pushing a baby stroller. You notice a bus slowly trying to get through the intersection. Suddenly, out of the corner of your eye you see a remarkably unremarkable car speeding rather aggressively up Elm Street, wildly changing lanes and weaving between cars. At the same time, you watch as the woman pushing the baby stroller starts to push the stroller across Elm, oblivious of the car racing towards her. Fortunately, at the last moment, the woman pauses, distracted by something happening in the stroller, and the car races by. You breathe a sigh of relief. Then, the ear-shattering sound of screeching brakes direct your attention to a large city bus, trying and failing to cross Jones Street due to unusually heavy traffic. As it stops right in the middle of the intersection, blocking all traffic coming up Elm, the speeding car swerves, in what seems to be a foolhardy attempt to get around the bus. 'Surely he realizes that there's not enough road for that,' you manage to think, just as the car jumps over the sidewalk, wheels spinning, and without so much as a 'hello', plows straight into you. Your last thought is of the safety of the package you carry, already crushed into pieces against your equally crushed chest, before a sudden white light sweeps over the entire scene. *** You have died *** Or, hold on just a minute. There's something beyond all this white it seems. [Please press SPACE to continue.] The proverbial white curtain drops once again, enshrouding you in whiteness. The players in the next scene of this surreal play start to reveal themselves, uncovered from the disappearing white. Next time you'll remember to ask the powers above for a peek at the script. For now, you can only get ready for the next act. You have been transported, somehow, without moving an inch. You are standing at the same street corner you occupied moments ago, but the traffic is different, the sounds are different, and even the sunlight is different -- missing, actually. It seems to be early evening, at least that is certain. Your body feels out of sorts, and as you glance at your hands, you see hands that are not your own, but bigger, with more scars and dirt. As you check the rest of your body you realize that you are not yourself. Your mind occupies someone else's body. Also, you suddenly realize you are not alone. The corner of Jones and Elm You are at the corner of Jones and Elm. It's night-time, which means for this not-so-lively part of town, there's no one to be seen, and almost no cars driving along either street. A man is standing here, wearing a reflective safety vest and holding a clipboard. A large metal box painted gray is standing here, bolted to the sidewalk. >unlock box (with the key) You unlock the metal box. >open box You open the metal box, revealing a controller panel. "Hey, did I tell you I quit smoking? Oh, I did?" >* good for you, john! [Comment recorded.] >x panel A shiny metal panel with an embossed grid-like pattern. The pattern appears to be map of street intersections, including street names and directions. Additionally, various numbers are printed at the start and end of each street, along with printed letters along each street. There's also a small screen where a number could be displayed under the Oak street letter (D) and a green button labeled 'DONE' at the bottom of the panel. Umber Elm v ^ v ^ 500 520 | | | | Jones >> 600 --+--------B--------+-- 610 >> | | | | A C | | | | Oak >> 610 --+--------D--------+-- 560 >> | ___ | | | 520 500 v ^ v ^ The man rubs his hands together, possibly to warm them up. >enter 610 in screen You use the touchscreen controls to set the value. The screen now reads 610. >press button You hesitate briefly, your finger hovering over the green button. Then, confidently, you press the oddly enticing button. There is a click from the box. The proverbial white curtain drops once again, enshrouding you in whiteness. The players in the next scene of this surreal play start to reveal themselves, uncovered from the disappearing white. Next time you'll remember to ask the powers above for a peek at the script. For now, you can only get ready for the next act. You've looped back to where this all started yet again. How many more times will this happen? The corner of Jones and Elm It's mid-morning again, and you are waiting at the intersection of Jones street and Elm street. Traffic is moving slowly along Jones headed east, and along Elm headed north. The traffic lights are working, and if the pedestrian walk light would ever change, you could walk across Jones and head north back to the lab. A 5-foot tall metal box sits bolted to the sidewalk nearby, under one of the traffic light posts. The sidewalks are mostly devoid of pedestrians, although you do notice a woman slowly walking towards Elm street pushing a baby stroller. You notice a bus slowly trying to get through the intersection. >l The corner of Jones and Elm It's mid-morning again, and you are waiting at the intersection of Jones street and Elm street. Traffic is moving slowly along Jones headed east, and along Elm headed north. The traffic lights are working, and if the pedestrian walk light would ever change, you could walk across Jones and head north back to the lab. A 5-foot tall metal box sits bolted to the sidewalk nearby, under one of the traffic light posts. The sidewalks are mostly devoid of pedestrians, although you do notice a woman slowly walking towards Elm street pushing a baby stroller. You notice a bus slowly trying to get through the intersection. >l The corner of Jones and Elm It's mid-morning again, and you are waiting at the intersection of Jones street and Elm street. Traffic is moving slowly along Jones headed east, and along Elm headed north. The traffic lights are working, and if the pedestrian walk light would ever change, you could walk across Jones and head north back to the lab. A 5-foot tall metal box sits bolted to the sidewalk nearby, under one of the traffic light posts. The sidewalks are mostly devoid of pedestrians, although you do notice a woman slowly walking towards Elm street pushing a baby stroller. You notice a bus slowly trying to get through the intersection. >l The corner of Jones and Elm It's mid-morning again, and you are waiting at the intersection of Jones street and Elm street. Traffic is moving slowly along Jones headed east, and along Elm headed north. The traffic lights are working, and if the pedestrian walk light would ever change, you could walk across Jones and head north back to the lab. A 5-foot tall metal box sits bolted to the sidewalk nearby, under one of the traffic light posts. The sidewalks are mostly devoid of pedestrians, although you do notice a woman slowly walking towards Elm street pushing a baby stroller. You notice a bus slowly trying to get through the intersection. >l The corner of Jones and Elm It's mid-morning again, and you are waiting at the intersection of Jones street and Elm street. Traffic is moving slowly along Jones headed east, and along Elm headed north. The traffic lights are working, and if the pedestrian walk light would ever change, you could walk across Jones and head north back to the lab. A 5-foot tall metal box sits bolted to the sidewalk nearby, under one of the traffic light posts. The sidewalks are mostly devoid of pedestrians, although you do notice a woman slowly walking towards Elm street pushing a baby stroller. You notice a bus slowly trying to get through the intersection. Suddenly, out of the corner of your eye you see a remarkably unremarkable car speeding rather aggressively up Elm Street, wildly changing lanes and weaving between cars. At the same time, you watch as the woman pushing the baby stroller starts to push the stroller across Elm, oblivious of the car racing towards her. Fortunately, at the last moment, the woman pauses, distracted by something happening in the stroller, and the car races by. You breathe a sigh of relief. Then, the ear-shattering sound of screeching brakes direct your attention to a large city bus, trying and failing to cross Jones Street due to unusually heavy traffic. As it stops right in the middle of the intersection, blocking all traffic coming up Elm, the speeding car swerves, in what seems to be a foolhardy attempt to get around the bus. 'Surely he realizes that there's not enough road for that,' you manage to think, just as the car jumps over the sidewalk, wheels spinning, and without so much as a 'hello', plows straight into you. Your last thought is of the safety of the package you carry, already crushed into pieces against your equally crushed chest, before a sudden white light sweeps over the entire scene. *** You have died *** Or, hold on just a minute. There's something beyond all this white it seems. [Please press SPACE to continue.] The proverbial white curtain drops once again, enshrouding you in whiteness. The players in the next scene of this surreal play start to reveal themselves, uncovered from the disappearing white. Next time you'll remember to ask the powers above for a peek at the script. For now, you can only get ready for the next act. You've looped back to where this all started yet again. How many more times will this happen? The corner of Jones and Elm It's mid-morning again, and you are waiting at the intersection of Jones street and Elm street. Traffic is moving slowly along Jones headed east, and along Elm headed north. The traffic lights are working, and if the pedestrian walk light would ever change, you could walk across Jones and head north back to the lab. A 5-foot tall metal box sits bolted to the sidewalk nearby, under one of the traffic light posts. The sidewalks are mostly devoid of pedestrians, although you do notice a woman slowly walking towards Elm street pushing a baby stroller. You notice a bus slowly trying to get through the intersection. >x box It appears to be a five-foot tall metal box, with no noteworthy markings, painted gray. There are some vents on the side, possibly for airflow, and you suspect it contains electronics of some sort. On the front is a metal door with a recessed handle that likely opens outwards. As you examine the box, a middle-aged man in a reflective safety vest, who was partly obscured by the box, examines something on the box, looks up at the lights, notices you watching him, and then quickly walks away. >l The corner of Jones and Elm It's mid-morning again, and you are waiting at the intersection of Jones street and Elm street. Traffic is moving slowly along Jones headed east, and along Elm headed north. The traffic lights are working, and if the pedestrian walk light would ever change, you could walk across Jones and head north back to the lab. A 5-foot tall metal box sits bolted to the sidewalk nearby, under one of the traffic light posts. The sidewalks are mostly devoid of pedestrians, although you do notice a woman slowly walking towards Elm street pushing a baby stroller. You notice a bus slowly trying to get through the intersection. >l The corner of Jones and Elm It's mid-morning again, and you are waiting at the intersection of Jones street and Elm street. Traffic is moving slowly along Jones headed east, and along Elm headed north. The traffic lights are working, and if the pedestrian walk light would ever change, you could walk across Jones and head north back to the lab. A 5-foot tall metal box sits bolted to the sidewalk nearby, under one of the traffic light posts. The sidewalks are mostly devoid of pedestrians, although you do notice a woman slowly walking towards Elm street pushing a baby stroller. You notice a bus slowly trying to get through the intersection. >l The corner of Jones and Elm It's mid-morning again, and you are waiting at the intersection of Jones street and Elm street. Traffic is moving slowly along Jones headed east, and along Elm headed north. The traffic lights are working, and if the pedestrian walk light would ever change, you could walk across Jones and head north back to the lab. A 5-foot tall metal box sits bolted to the sidewalk nearby, under one of the traffic light posts. The sidewalks are mostly devoid of pedestrians, although you do notice a woman slowly walking towards Elm street pushing a baby stroller. You notice a bus slowly trying to get through the intersection. >l The corner of Jones and Elm It's mid-morning again, and you are waiting at the intersection of Jones street and Elm street. Traffic is moving slowly along Jones headed east, and along Elm headed north. The traffic lights are working, and if the pedestrian walk light would ever change, you could walk across Jones and head north back to the lab. A 5-foot tall metal box sits bolted to the sidewalk nearby, under one of the traffic light posts. The sidewalks are mostly devoid of pedestrians, although you do notice a woman slowly walking towards Elm street pushing a baby stroller. You notice a bus slowly trying to get through the intersection. Suddenly, out of the corner of your eye you see a remarkably unremarkable car speeding rather aggressively up Elm Street, wildly changing lanes and weaving between cars. At the same time, you watch as the woman pushing the baby stroller starts to push the stroller across Elm, oblivious of the car racing towards her. Fortunately, at the last moment, the woman pauses, distracted by something happening in the stroller, and the car races by. You breathe a sigh of relief. Then, the ear-shattering sound of screeching brakes direct your attention to a large city bus, trying and failing to cross Jones Street due to unusually heavy traffic. As it stops right in the middle of the intersection, blocking all traffic coming up Elm, the speeding car swerves, in what seems to be a foolhardy attempt to get around the bus. 'Surely he realizes that there's not enough road for that,' you manage to think, just as the car jumps over the sidewalk, wheels spinning, and without so much as a 'hello', plows straight into you. Your last thought is of the safety of the package you carry, already crushed into pieces against your equally crushed chest, before a sudden white light sweeps over the entire scene. *** You have died *** Or, hold on just a minute. There's something beyond all this white it seems. [Please press SPACE to continue.] A white haze like a strange dimensional snow-storm blankets you into a place between 'here' and 'there'. A sensation best described as a 'visual sneeze' blows past and unthaws brand new objects in a new location. You have been transported, somehow, without moving an inch. You are standing at the same street corner you occupied moments ago, but the traffic is different, the sounds are different, and even the sunlight is different -- missing, actually. It seems to be early evening, at least that is certain. Your body feels out of sorts, and as you glance at your hands, you see hands that are not your own, but bigger, with more scars and dirt. As you check the rest of your body you realize that you are not yourself. Your mind occupies someone else's body. Also, you suddenly realize you are not alone. The corner of Jones and Elm You are at the corner of Jones and Elm. It's night-time, which means for this not-so-lively part of town, there's no one to be seen, and almost no cars driving along either street. A man is standing here, wearing a reflective safety vest and holding a clipboard. A large metal box painted gray is standing here, bolted to the sidewalk. "Getting colder these days. Next time I'm bringing my coat." >unlock box (with the key) You unlock the metal box. >open box You open the metal box, revealing a controller panel. >x panel A shiny metal panel with an embossed grid-like pattern. The pattern appears to be map of street intersections, including street names and directions. Additionally, various numbers are printed at the start and end of each street, along with printed letters along each street. There's also a small screen where a number could be displayed under the Oak street letter (D) and a green button labeled 'DONE' at the bottom of the panel. Umber Elm v ^ v ^ 500 520 | | | | Jones >> 600 --+--------B--------+-- 610 >> | | | | A C | | | | Oak >> 610 --+--------D--------+-- 560 >> | ___ | | | 520 500 v ^ v ^ >enter 560 in screen You use the touchscreen controls to set the value. The screen now reads 560. "Hey, did I tell you I quit smoking? Oh, I did?" >press button You hesitate briefly, your finger hovering over the green button. Then, confidently, you press the oddly enticing button. There is a click from the box. Without much warning, everything around you fades to a clean white nothingness. You'd be blinking furiously right about now if you still had eyelids under your control. Distinct figures appear in the whiteness just as suddenly, and you take a moment to place yourself. You've looped back to where this all started yet again. How many more times will this happen? The corner of Jones and Elm It's mid-morning again, and you are waiting at the intersection of Jones street and Elm street. Traffic is moving slowly along Jones headed east, and along Elm headed north. The traffic lights are working, and if the pedestrian walk light would ever change, you could walk across Jones and head north back to the lab. A 5-foot tall metal box sits bolted to the sidewalk nearby, under one of the traffic light posts. The sidewalks are mostly devoid of pedestrians, although you do notice a woman slowly walking towards Elm street pushing a baby stroller. You notice a bus slowly trying to get through the intersection. >x bus It's one of those local lines that goes along Jones St, but it must be behind schedule (no thanks to all the traffic). It looks like it might not make it through the intersection before the light changes. As you look at the all the riders packed in the bus, you notice one particular businessman, glancing through the window your way. The expression on his face is one of acute discomfort. > l The corner of Jones and Elm It's mid-morning again, and you are waiting at the intersection of Jones street and Elm street. Traffic is moving slowly along Jones headed east, and along Elm headed north. The traffic lights are working, and if the pedestrian walk light would ever change, you could walk across Jones and head north back to the lab. A 5-foot tall metal box sits bolted to the sidewalk nearby, under one of the traffic light posts. The sidewalks are mostly devoid of pedestrians, although you do notice a woman slowly walking towards Elm street pushing a baby stroller. You notice a bus slowly trying to get through the intersection. >l The corner of Jones and Elm It's mid-morning again, and you are waiting at the intersection of Jones street and Elm street. Traffic is moving slowly along Jones headed east, and along Elm headed north. The traffic lights are working, and if the pedestrian walk light would ever change, you could walk across Jones and head north back to the lab. A 5-foot tall metal box sits bolted to the sidewalk nearby, under one of the traffic light posts. The sidewalks are mostly devoid of pedestrians, although you do notice a woman slowly walking towards Elm street pushing a baby stroller. You notice a bus slowly trying to get through the intersection. >l The corner of Jones and Elm It's mid-morning again, and you are waiting at the intersection of Jones street and Elm street. Traffic is moving slowly along Jones headed east, and along Elm headed north. The traffic lights are working, and if the pedestrian walk light would ever change, you could walk across Jones and head north back to the lab. A 5-foot tall metal box sits bolted to the sidewalk nearby, under one of the traffic light posts. The sidewalks are mostly devoid of pedestrians, although you do notice a woman slowly walking towards Elm street pushing a baby stroller. You notice a bus slowly trying to get through the intersection. Suddenly, out of the corner of your eye you see a remarkably unremarkable car speeding rather aggressively up Elm Street, wildly changing lanes and weaving between cars. At the same time, you watch as the woman pushing the baby stroller starts to push the stroller across Elm, oblivious of the car racing towards her. Fortunately, at the last moment, the woman pauses, distracted by something happening in the stroller, and the car races by. You breathe a sigh of relief. Then, the ear-shattering sound of screeching brakes direct your attention to a large city bus, trying and failing to cross Jones Street due to unusually heavy traffic. As it stops right in the middle of the intersection, blocking all traffic coming up Elm, the speeding car swerves, in what seems to be a foolhardy attempt to get around the bus. 'Surely he realizes that there's not enough road for that,' you manage to think, just as the car jumps over the sidewalk, wheels spinning, and without so much as a 'hello', plows straight into you. Your last thought is of the safety of the package you carry, already crushed into pieces against your equally crushed chest, before a sudden white light sweeps over the entire scene. *** You have died *** Or, hold on just a minute. There's something beyond all this white it seems. [Please press SPACE to continue.] From some distorted magic wand a splash of white is cast across your senses. It's easy to dismiss this as some sort of 'magic', but you lack the ability to describe the feeling in a way that would have any real-world meaning. Brushing off the higher-order pixie dust, you blink into a new place. As the world rushes back, you find yourself seated. On a bus. A bus packed with people, uncomfortably warm, with loud with noises from every direction. You feel sweat dripping along your brow, and as you raise your arm to wipe it off, you notice you're wearing a well-fitting business suit. You've swapped bodies with an average-height business man, possibly in his late 30s, likely late to work. You feel the bus lurch forward, only to shudder to a stop a few seconds later. You glance out the window and realize you're on that bus trying to cross the Elm and Jones street intersection. On Jones heading towards Racine (in bus) You're sitting on a hot crowded bus barely moving along Jones Street. There's a boombox on the floor of the bus right in front of you blasting music at a remarkably high volume. You can also see an elderly woman here. >turn off boombox As you turn the boombox off, there's a collective sigh of relief from people nearby, including the elderly woman. You briefly smell something rather noxious, maybe fuel, then it goes away. >open window You reach over and push open the window slightly, letting a cool breeze into the bus. Several people, including the elderly woman, silently nod in thanks. You briefly smell something rather noxious, maybe fuel, then it goes away. >give seat to woman The elderly woman sighs in relief and eagerly takes your vacated seat. "Thank you, young man," she says. >l On Jones heading towards Racine (in bus) You're standing on a crowded bus barely moving along Jones Street. There's a boombox on the floor of the bus right in front of you, switched off. You can also see an elderly woman here. >l On Jones heading towards Racine (in bus) You're standing on a crowded bus barely moving along Jones Street. There's a boombox on the floor of the bus right in front of you, switched off. You can also see an elderly woman here. >l On Jones heading towards Racine (in bus) You're standing on a crowded bus barely moving along Jones Street. There's a boombox on the floor of the bus right in front of you, switched off. You can also see an elderly woman here. >l On Jones heading towards Racine (in bus) You're standing on a crowded bus barely moving along Jones Street. There's a boombox on the floor of the bus right in front of you, switched off. You can also see an elderly woman here. The bus lurches forward half a foot, then stops. >l On Jones heading towards Racine (in bus) You're standing on a crowded bus barely moving along Jones Street. There's a boombox on the floor of the bus right in front of you, switched off. You can also see an elderly woman here. >l On Jones heading towards Racine (in bus) You're standing on a crowded bus barely moving along Jones Street. There's a boombox on the floor of the bus right in front of you, switched off. You can also see an elderly woman here. The bus lurches towards the intersection of Jones Street and Elm Street. You watch as the light changes to yellow just as the bus enters the intersection. Unfortunately, the traffic is bad enough that the cars ahead of the bus leave no room for the bus to get through. The bus slams on the brakes and grinds to a stop, right in the middle of the intersection. The world fades to white again. You could see a foggy whiteness at the corner of your vision, but now it abruptly rushes in, and everything pulls away, only to pop back a moment later. Where are you now? You've looped back to where this all started yet again. How many more times will this happen? The corner of Jones and Elm It's mid-morning again, and you are waiting at the intersection of Jones street and Elm street. Traffic is moving slowly along Jones headed east, and along Elm headed north. The traffic lights are working, and if the pedestrian walk light would ever change, you could walk across Jones and head north back to the lab. A 5-foot tall metal box sits bolted to the sidewalk nearby, under one of the traffic light posts. The sidewalks are mostly devoid of pedestrians, although you do notice a woman slowly walking towards Elm street pushing a baby stroller. You notice a bus slowly trying to get through the intersection. >x box It appears to be a five-foot tall metal box, with no noteworthy markings, painted gray. There are some vents on the side, possibly for airflow, and you suspect it contains electronics of some sort. On the front is a metal door with a recessed handle that likely opens outwards. As you examine the box, a middle-aged man in a reflective safety vest, who was partly obscured by the box, examines something on the box, looks up at the lights, notices you watching him, and then quickly walks away. >l The corner of Jones and Elm It's mid-morning again, and you are waiting at the intersection of Jones street and Elm street. Traffic is moving slowly along Jones headed east, and along Elm headed north. The traffic lights are working, and if the pedestrian walk light would ever change, you could walk across Jones and head north back to the lab. A 5-foot tall metal box sits bolted to the sidewalk nearby, under one of the traffic light posts. The sidewalks are mostly devoid of pedestrians, although you do notice a woman slowly walking towards Elm street pushing a baby stroller. You notice a bus slowly trying to get through the intersection. >l The corner of Jones and Elm It's mid-morning again, and you are waiting at the intersection of Jones street and Elm street. Traffic is moving slowly along Jones headed east, and along Elm headed north. The traffic lights are working, and if the pedestrian walk light would ever change, you could walk across Jones and head north back to the lab. A 5-foot tall metal box sits bolted to the sidewalk nearby, under one of the traffic light posts. The sidewalks are mostly devoid of pedestrians, although you do notice a woman slowly walking towards Elm street pushing a baby stroller. You notice a bus slowly trying to get through the intersection. >l The corner of Jones and Elm It's mid-morning again, and you are waiting at the intersection of Jones street and Elm street. Traffic is moving slowly along Jones headed east, and along Elm headed north. The traffic lights are working, and if the pedestrian walk light would ever change, you could walk across Jones and head north back to the lab. A 5-foot tall metal box sits bolted to the sidewalk nearby, under one of the traffic light posts. The sidewalks are mostly devoid of pedestrians, although you do notice a woman slowly walking towards Elm street pushing a baby stroller. You notice a bus slowly trying to get through the intersection. >l The corner of Jones and Elm It's mid-morning again, and you are waiting at the intersection of Jones street and Elm street. Traffic is moving slowly along Jones headed east, and along Elm headed north. The traffic lights are working, and if the pedestrian walk light would ever change, you could walk across Jones and head north back to the lab. A 5-foot tall metal box sits bolted to the sidewalk nearby, under one of the traffic light posts. The sidewalks are mostly devoid of pedestrians, although you do notice a woman slowly walking towards Elm street pushing a baby stroller. You notice a bus slowly trying to get through the intersection. Suddenly, out of the corner of your eye you see a remarkably unremarkable car speeding rather aggressively up Elm Street, wildly changing lanes and weaving between cars. At the same time, you watch as the woman pushing the baby stroller starts to push the stroller across Elm, oblivious of the car racing towards her. Fortunately, at the last moment, the woman pauses, distracted by something happening in the stroller, and the car races by. You breathe a sigh of relief. Then, the ear-shattering sound of screeching brakes direct your attention to a large city bus, trying and failing to cross Jones Street due to unusually heavy traffic. As it stops right in the middle of the intersection, blocking all traffic coming up Elm, the speeding car swerves, in what seems to be a foolhardy attempt to get around the bus. 'Surely he realizes that there's not enough road for that,' you manage to think, just as the car jumps over the sidewalk, wheels spinning, and without so much as a 'hello', plows straight into you. Your last thought is of the safety of the package you carry, already crushed into pieces against your equally crushed chest, before a sudden white light sweeps over the entire scene. *** You have died *** Or, hold on just a minute. There's something beyond all this white it seems. [Please press SPACE to continue.] The world fades to white again. You could see a foggy whiteness at the corner of your vision, but now it abruptly rushes in, and everything pulls away, only to pop back a moment later. Where are you now? You have been transported, somehow, without moving an inch. You are standing at the same street corner you occupied moments ago, but the traffic is different, the sounds are different, and even the sunlight is different -- missing, actually. It seems to be early evening, at least that is certain. Your body feels out of sorts, and as you glance at your hands, you see hands that are not your own, but bigger, with more scars and dirt. As you check the rest of your body you realize that you are not yourself. Your mind occupies someone else's body. Also, you suddenly realize you are not alone. The corner of Jones and Elm You are at the corner of Jones and Elm. It's night-time, which means for this not-so-lively part of town, there's no one to be seen, and almost no cars driving along either street. A man is standing here, wearing a reflective safety vest and holding a clipboard. A large metal box painted gray is standing here, bolted to the sidewalk. The man rubs his hands together, possibly to warm them up. >unlock box (with the key) You unlock the metal box. >open box You open the metal box, revealing a controller panel. The man scratches his neck for a moment. >enter 560 in screen You use the touchscreen controls to set the value. The screen now reads 560. "Hey, did I tell you I quit smoking? Oh, I did?" >l The corner of Jones and Elm You are at the corner of Jones and Elm. It's night-time, which means for this not-so-lively part of town, there's no one to be seen, and almost no cars driving along either street. A man is standing here, wearing a reflective safety vest and holding a clipboard. A large metal box painted gray is standing here, bolted to the sidewalk. The box door is open, revealing a control panel inside. >press button You hesitate briefly, your finger hovering over the green button. Then, confidently, you press the oddly enticing button. There is a click from the box. The proverbial white curtain drops once again, enshrouding you in whiteness. The players in the next scene of this surreal play start to reveal themselves, uncovered from the disappearing white. Next time you'll remember to ask the powers above for a peek at the script. For now, you can only get ready for the next act. You've looped back to where this all started yet again. How many more times will this happen? The corner of Jones and Elm It's mid-morning again, and you are waiting at the intersection of Jones street and Elm street. Traffic is moving slowly along Jones headed east, and along Elm headed north. The traffic lights are working, and if the pedestrian walk light would ever change, you could walk across Jones and head north back to the lab. A 5-foot tall metal box sits bolted to the sidewalk nearby, under one of the traffic light posts. The sidewalks are mostly devoid of pedestrians, although you do notice a woman slowly walking towards Elm street pushing a baby stroller. You notice a bus slowly trying to get through the intersection. >l The corner of Jones and Elm It's mid-morning again, and you are waiting at the intersection of Jones street and Elm street. Traffic is moving slowly along Jones headed east, and along Elm headed north. The traffic lights are working, and if the pedestrian walk light would ever change, you could walk across Jones and head north back to the lab. A 5-foot tall metal box sits bolted to the sidewalk nearby, under one of the traffic light posts. The sidewalks are mostly devoid of pedestrians, although you do notice a woman slowly walking towards Elm street pushing a baby stroller. You notice a bus slowly trying to get through the intersection. >l The corner of Jones and Elm It's mid-morning again, and you are waiting at the intersection of Jones street and Elm street. Traffic is moving slowly along Jones headed east, and along Elm headed north. The traffic lights are working, and if the pedestrian walk light would ever change, you could walk across Jones and head north back to the lab. A 5-foot tall metal box sits bolted to the sidewalk nearby, under one of the traffic light posts. The sidewalks are mostly devoid of pedestrians, although you do notice a woman slowly walking towards Elm street pushing a baby stroller. You notice a bus slowly trying to get through the intersection. >l The corner of Jones and Elm It's mid-morning again, and you are waiting at the intersection of Jones street and Elm street. Traffic is moving slowly along Jones headed east, and along Elm headed north. The traffic lights are working, and if the pedestrian walk light would ever change, you could walk across Jones and head north back to the lab. A 5-foot tall metal box sits bolted to the sidewalk nearby, under one of the traffic light posts. The sidewalks are mostly devoid of pedestrians, although you do notice a woman slowly walking towards Elm street pushing a baby stroller. You notice a bus slowly trying to get through the intersection. >l The corner of Jones and Elm It's mid-morning again, and you are waiting at the intersection of Jones street and Elm street. Traffic is moving slowly along Jones headed east, and along Elm headed north. The traffic lights are working, and if the pedestrian walk light would ever change, you could walk across Jones and head north back to the lab. A 5-foot tall metal box sits bolted to the sidewalk nearby, under one of the traffic light posts. The sidewalks are mostly devoid of pedestrians, although you do notice a woman slowly walking towards Elm street pushing a baby stroller. You notice a bus slowly trying to get through the intersection. Suddenly, out of the corner of your eye you see a remarkably unremarkable car speeding rather aggressively up Elm Street, wildly changing lanes and weaving between cars. At the same time, you watch as the woman pushing the baby stroller starts to push the stroller across Elm, oblivious of the car racing towards her. Fortunately, at the last moment, the woman pauses, distracted by something happening in the stroller, and the car races by. You breathe a sigh of relief. Then, the ear-shattering sound of screeching brakes direct your attention to a large city bus, trying and failing to cross Jones Street due to unusually heavy traffic. As it stops right in the middle of the intersection, blocking all traffic coming up Elm, the speeding car swerves, in what seems to be a foolhardy attempt to get around the bus. 'Surely he realizes that there's not enough road for that,' you manage to think, just as the car jumps over the sidewalk, wheels spinning, and without so much as a 'hello', plows straight into you. Your last thought is of the safety of the package you carry, already crushed into pieces against your equally crushed chest, before a sudden white light sweeps over the entire scene. *** You have died *** Or, hold on just a minute. There's something beyond all this white it seems. [Please press SPACE to continue.] A white haze like a strange dimensional snow-storm blankets you into a place between 'here' and 'there'. A sensation best described as a 'visual sneeze' blows past and unthaws brand new objects in a new location. You've looped back to where this all started yet again. How many more times will this happen? The corner of Jones and Elm It's mid-morning again, and you are waiting at the intersection of Jones street and Elm street. Traffic is moving slowly along Jones headed east, and along Elm headed north. The traffic lights are working, and if the pedestrian walk light would ever change, you could walk across Jones and head north back to the lab. A 5-foot tall metal box sits bolted to the sidewalk nearby, under one of the traffic light posts. The sidewalks are mostly devoid of pedestrians, although you do notice a woman slowly walking towards Elm street pushing a baby stroller. You notice a bus slowly trying to get through the intersection. >x box It appears to be a five-foot tall metal box, with no noteworthy markings, painted gray. There are some vents on the side, possibly for airflow, and you suspect it contains electronics of some sort. On the front is a metal door with a recessed handle that likely opens outwards. As you examine the box, a middle-aged man in a reflective safety vest, who was partly obscured by the box, examines something on the box, looks up at the lights, notices you watching him, and then quickly walks away. >z Time passes. >z Time passes. >z Time passes. >z Time passes. Suddenly, out of the corner of your eye you see a remarkably unremarkable car speeding rather aggressively up Elm Street, wildly changing lanes and weaving between cars. At the same time, you watch as the woman pushing the baby stroller starts to push the stroller across Elm, oblivious of the car racing towards her. Fortunately, at the last moment, the woman pauses, distracted by something happening in the stroller, and the car races by. You breathe a sigh of relief. Then, the ear-shattering sound of screeching brakes direct your attention to a large city bus, trying and failing to cross Jones Street due to unusually heavy traffic. As it stops right in the middle of the intersection, blocking all traffic coming up Elm, the speeding car swerves, in what seems to be a foolhardy attempt to get around the bus. 'Surely he realizes that there's not enough road for that,' you manage to think, just as the car jumps over the sidewalk, wheels spinning, and without so much as a 'hello', plows straight into you. Your last thought is of the safety of the package you carry, already crushed into pieces against your equally crushed chest, before a sudden white light sweeps over the entire scene. *** You have died *** Or, hold on just a minute. There's something beyond all this white it seems. [Please press SPACE to continue.] The proverbial white curtain drops once again, enshrouding you in whiteness. The players in the next scene of this surreal play start to reveal themselves, uncovered from the disappearing white. Next time you'll remember to ask the powers above for a peek at the script. For now, you can only get ready for the next act. You have been transported, somehow, without moving an inch. You are standing at the same street corner you occupied moments ago, but the traffic is different, the sounds are different, and even the sunlight is different -- missing, actually. It seems to be early evening, at least that is certain. Your body feels out of sorts, and as you glance at your hands, you see hands that are not your own, but bigger, with more scars and dirt. As you check the rest of your body you realize that you are not yourself. Your mind occupies someone else's body. Also, you suddenly realize you are not alone. The corner of Jones and Elm You are at the corner of Jones and Elm. It's night-time, which means for this not-so-lively part of town, there's no one to be seen, and almost no cars driving along either street. A man is standing here, wearing a reflective safety vest and holding a clipboard. A large metal box painted gray is standing here, bolted to the sidewalk. >unlock box (with the key) You unlock the metal box. >open box You open the metal box, revealing a controller panel. You hear a howl from some animal off in the distance. Maybe it's someone's dog? >enter 610 in screen You use the touchscreen controls to set the value. The screen now reads 610. >press button You hesitate briefly, your finger hovering over the green button. Then, confidently, you press the oddly enticing button. There is a click from the box. A white haze like a strange dimensional snow-storm blankets you into a place between 'here' and 'there'. A sensation best described as a 'visual sneeze' blows past and unthaws brand new objects in a new location. You've looped back to where this all started yet again. How many more times will this happen? The corner of Jones and Elm It's mid-morning again, and you are waiting at the intersection of Jones street and Elm street. Traffic is moving slowly along Jones headed east, and along Elm headed north. The traffic lights are working, and if the pedestrian walk light would ever change, you could walk across Jones and head north back to the lab. A 5-foot tall metal box sits bolted to the sidewalk nearby, under one of the traffic light posts. The sidewalks are mostly devoid of pedestrians, although you do notice a woman slowly walking towards Elm street pushing a baby stroller. You notice a bus slowly trying to get through the intersection. >z Time passes. >z Time passes. >z Time passes. >z Time passes. Suddenly, out of the corner of your eye you see a remarkably unremarkable car speeding rather aggressively up Elm Street, wildly changing lanes and weaving between cars. At the same time, you watch as the woman pushing the baby stroller starts to push the stroller across Elm, oblivious of the car racing towards her. Fortunately, at the last moment, the woman pauses, distracted by something happening in the stroller, and the car races by. You breathe a sigh of relief. Then, the ear-shattering sound of screeching brakes direct your attention to a large city bus, trying and failing to cross Jones Street due to unusually heavy traffic. As it stops right in the middle of the intersection, blocking all traffic coming up Elm, the speeding car swerves, in what seems to be a foolhardy attempt to get around the bus. 'Surely he realizes that there's not enough road for that,' you manage to think, just as the car jumps over the sidewalk, wheels spinning, and without so much as a 'hello', plows straight into you. Your last thought is of the safety of the package you carry, already crushed into pieces against your equally crushed chest, before a sudden white light sweeps over the entire scene. *** You have died *** Or, hold on just a minute. There's something beyond all this white it seems. [Please press SPACE to continue.] Like a really impatient fog, whiteness rushes in to replace your world. The fog doesn't stick around very long though, and soon you start to see objects unveiled in the fog. You steady yourself for someplace new. You've looped back to where this all started yet again. How many more times will this happen? The corner of Jones and Elm It's mid-morning again, and you are waiting at the intersection of Jones street and Elm street. Traffic is moving slowly along Jones headed east, and along Elm headed north. The traffic lights are working, and if the pedestrian walk light would ever change, you could walk across Jones and head north back to the lab. A 5-foot tall metal box sits bolted to the sidewalk nearby, under one of the traffic light posts. The sidewalks are mostly devoid of pedestrians, although you do notice a woman slowly walking towards Elm street pushing a baby stroller. You notice a bus slowly trying to get through the intersection. >x cab Glancing down Elm street, you see what looks like a cab stuck in traffic, as a police car tries to quickly drive past it. You can just make out the perturbed look on the cab driver's face through the dirty cab windshield. >undo The corner of Jones and Elm [Previous turn undone.] >l The corner of Jones and Elm It's mid-morning again, and you are waiting at the intersection of Jones street and Elm street. Traffic is moving slowly along Jones headed east, and along Elm headed north. The traffic lights are working, and if the pedestrian walk light would ever change, you could walk across Jones and head north back to the lab. A 5-foot tall metal box sits bolted to the sidewalk nearby, under one of the traffic light posts. The sidewalks are mostly devoid of pedestrians, although you do notice a woman slowly walking towards Elm street pushing a baby stroller. You notice a bus slowly trying to get through the intersection. >l The corner of Jones and Elm It's mid-morning again, and you are waiting at the intersection of Jones street and Elm street. Traffic is moving slowly along Jones headed east, and along Elm headed north. The traffic lights are working, and if the pedestrian walk light would ever change, you could walk across Jones and head north back to the lab. A 5-foot tall metal box sits bolted to the sidewalk nearby, under one of the traffic light posts. The sidewalks are mostly devoid of pedestrians, although you do notice a woman slowly walking towards Elm street pushing a baby stroller. You notice a bus slowly trying to get through the intersection. >l The corner of Jones and Elm It's mid-morning again, and you are waiting at the intersection of Jones street and Elm street. Traffic is moving slowly along Jones headed east, and along Elm headed north. The traffic lights are working, and if the pedestrian walk light would ever change, you could walk across Jones and head north back to the lab. A 5-foot tall metal box sits bolted to the sidewalk nearby, under one of the traffic light posts. The sidewalks are mostly devoid of pedestrians, although you do notice a woman slowly walking towards Elm street pushing a baby stroller. You notice a bus slowly trying to get through the intersection. >l The corner of Jones and Elm It's mid-morning again, and you are waiting at the intersection of Jones street and Elm street. Traffic is moving slowly along Jones headed east, and along Elm headed north. The traffic lights are working, and if the pedestrian walk light would ever change, you could walk across Jones and head north back to the lab. A 5-foot tall metal box sits bolted to the sidewalk nearby, under one of the traffic light posts. The sidewalks are mostly devoid of pedestrians, although you do notice a woman slowly walking towards Elm street pushing a baby stroller. You notice a bus slowly trying to get through the intersection. >l The corner of Jones and Elm It's mid-morning again, and you are waiting at the intersection of Jones street and Elm street. Traffic is moving slowly along Jones headed east, and along Elm headed north. The traffic lights are working, and if the pedestrian walk light would ever change, you could walk across Jones and head north back to the lab. A 5-foot tall metal box sits bolted to the sidewalk nearby, under one of the traffic light posts. The sidewalks are mostly devoid of pedestrians, although you do notice a woman slowly walking towards Elm street pushing a baby stroller. You notice a bus slowly trying to get through the intersection. Suddenly, out of the corner of your eye you see a remarkably unremarkable car speeding rather aggressively up Elm Street, wildly changing lanes and weaving between cars. At the same time, you watch as the woman pushing the baby stroller starts to push the stroller across Elm, oblivious of the car racing towards her. Fortunately, at the last moment, the woman pauses, distracted by something happening in the stroller, and the car races by. You breathe a sigh of relief. Then, the ear-shattering sound of screeching brakes direct your attention to a large city bus, trying and failing to cross Jones Street due to unusually heavy traffic. As it stops right in the middle of the intersection, blocking all traffic coming up Elm, the speeding car swerves, in what seems to be a foolhardy attempt to get around the bus. 'Surely he realizes that there's not enough road for that,' you manage to think, just as the car jumps over the sidewalk, wheels spinning, and without so much as a 'hello', plows straight into you. Your last thought is of the safety of the package you carry, already crushed into pieces against your equally crushed chest, before a sudden white light sweeps over the entire scene. *** You have died *** Or, hold on just a minute. There's something beyond all this white it seems. [Please press SPACE to continue.] Rudely, everything fades to white once again. Just as you were starting to get a grasp of things again too. As before, whiteness gives way to a loud pop of color and form, leaving you literally and figuratively disoriented. You've looped back to where this all started yet again. How many more times will this happen? The corner of Jones and Elm It's mid-morning again, and you are waiting at the intersection of Jones street and Elm street. Traffic is moving slowly along Jones headed east, and along Elm headed north. The traffic lights are working, and if the pedestrian walk light would ever change, you could walk across Jones and head north back to the lab. A 5-foot tall metal box sits bolted to the sidewalk nearby, under one of the traffic light posts. The sidewalks are mostly devoid of pedestrians, although you do notice a woman slowly walking towards Elm street pushing a baby stroller. You notice a bus slowly trying to get through the intersection. >x road You can't see any such thing. >x street Which do you mean, the Elm street or the Jones street? >x elm Elm street runs north-south from here, with the traffic limited to one-way going north. >x jones Jones street runs east-west from here, with the traffic limited to one-way going east. >x traffic Traffic seems to be pretty heavy on both Jones and Elm. >x cars Traffic seems to be pretty heavy on both Jones and Elm. >l The corner of Jones and Elm It's mid-morning again, and you are waiting at the intersection of Jones street and Elm street. Traffic is moving slowly along Jones headed east, and along Elm headed north. The traffic lights are working, and if the pedestrian walk light would ever change, you could walk across Jones and head north back to the lab. A 5-foot tall metal box sits bolted to the sidewalk nearby, under one of the traffic light posts. The sidewalks are mostly devoid of pedestrians, although you do notice a woman slowly walking towards Elm street pushing a baby stroller. You notice a bus slowly trying to get through the intersection. Suddenly, out of the corner of your eye you see a remarkably unremarkable car speeding rather aggressively up Elm Street, wildly changing lanes and weaving between cars. At the same time, you watch as the woman pushing the baby stroller starts to push the stroller across Elm, oblivious of the car racing towards her. Fortunately, at the last moment, the woman pauses, distracted by something happening in the stroller, and the car races by. You breathe a sigh of relief. Then, the ear-shattering sound of screeching brakes direct your attention to a large city bus, trying and failing to cross Jones Street due to unusually heavy traffic. As it stops right in the middle of the intersection, blocking all traffic coming up Elm, the speeding car swerves, in what seems to be a foolhardy attempt to get around the bus. 'Surely he realizes that there's not enough road for that,' you manage to think, just as the car jumps over the sidewalk, wheels spinning, and without so much as a 'hello', plows straight into you. Your last thought is of the safety of the package you carry, already crushed into pieces against your equally crushed chest, before a sudden white light sweeps over the entire scene. *** You have died *** Or, hold on just a minute. There's something beyond all this white it seems. [Please press SPACE to continue.] Rudely, everything fades to white once again. Just as you were starting to get a grasp of things again too. As before, whiteness gives way to a loud pop of color and form, leaving you literally and figuratively disoriented. You've looped back to where this all started yet again. How many more times will this happen? The corner of Jones and Elm It's mid-morning again, and you are waiting at the intersection of Jones street and Elm street. Traffic is moving slowly along Jones headed east, and along Elm headed north. The traffic lights are working, and if the pedestrian walk light would ever change, you could walk across Jones and head north back to the lab. A 5-foot tall metal box sits bolted to the sidewalk nearby, under one of the traffic light posts. The sidewalks are mostly devoid of pedestrians, although you do notice a woman slowly walking towards Elm street pushing a baby stroller. You notice a bus slowly trying to get through the intersection. >x cab Glancing down Elm street, you see what looks like a cab stuck in traffic, as a police car tries to quickly drive past it. You can just make out the perturbed look on the cab driver's face through the dirty cab windshield. >l The corner of Jones and Elm It's mid-morning again, and you are waiting at the intersection of Jones street and Elm street. Traffic is moving slowly along Jones headed east, and along Elm headed north. The traffic lights are working, and if the pedestrian walk light would ever change, you could walk across Jones and head north back to the lab. A 5-foot tall metal box sits bolted to the sidewalk nearby, under one of the traffic light posts. The sidewalks are mostly devoid of pedestrians, although you do notice a woman slowly walking towards Elm street pushing a baby stroller. You notice a bus slowly trying to get through the intersection. >l The corner of Jones and Elm It's mid-morning again, and you are waiting at the intersection of Jones street and Elm street. Traffic is moving slowly along Jones headed east, and along Elm headed north. The traffic lights are working, and if the pedestrian walk light would ever change, you could walk across Jones and head north back to the lab. A 5-foot tall metal box sits bolted to the sidewalk nearby, under one of the traffic light posts. The sidewalks are mostly devoid of pedestrians, although you do notice a woman slowly walking towards Elm street pushing a baby stroller. You notice a bus slowly trying to get through the intersection. >l The corner of Jones and Elm It's mid-morning again, and you are waiting at the intersection of Jones street and Elm street. Traffic is moving slowly along Jones headed east, and along Elm headed north. The traffic lights are working, and if the pedestrian walk light would ever change, you could walk across Jones and head north back to the lab. A 5-foot tall metal box sits bolted to the sidewalk nearby, under one of the traffic light posts. The sidewalks are mostly devoid of pedestrians, although you do notice a woman slowly walking towards Elm street pushing a baby stroller. You notice a bus slowly trying to get through the intersection. >l The corner of Jones and Elm It's mid-morning again, and you are waiting at the intersection of Jones street and Elm street. Traffic is moving slowly along Jones headed east, and along Elm headed north. The traffic lights are working, and if the pedestrian walk light would ever change, you could walk across Jones and head north back to the lab. A 5-foot tall metal box sits bolted to the sidewalk nearby, under one of the traffic light posts. The sidewalks are mostly devoid of pedestrians, although you do notice a woman slowly walking towards Elm street pushing a baby stroller. You notice a bus slowly trying to get through the intersection. Suddenly, out of the corner of your eye you see a remarkably unremarkable car speeding rather aggressively up Elm Street, wildly changing lanes and weaving between cars. At the same time, you watch as the woman pushing the baby stroller starts to push the stroller across Elm, oblivious of the car racing towards her. Fortunately, at the last moment, the woman pauses, distracted by something happening in the stroller, and the car races by. You breathe a sigh of relief. Then, the ear-shattering sound of screeching brakes direct your attention to a large city bus, trying and failing to cross Jones Street due to unusually heavy traffic. As it stops right in the middle of the intersection, blocking all traffic coming up Elm, the speeding car swerves, in what seems to be a foolhardy attempt to get around the bus. 'Surely he realizes that there's not enough road for that,' you manage to think, just as the car jumps over the sidewalk, wheels spinning, and without so much as a 'hello', plows straight into you. Your last thought is of the safety of the package you carry, already crushed into pieces against your equally crushed chest, before a sudden white light sweeps over the entire scene. *** You have died *** Or, hold on just a minute. There's something beyond all this white it seems. [Please press SPACE to continue.] Rudely, everything fades to white once again. Just as you were starting to get a grasp of things again too. As before, whiteness gives way to a loud pop of color and form, leaving you literally and figuratively disoriented. As you open your eyes, you clench your teeth as you realize you are sitting in the driver's seat of a car. More specifically, a cab that has seen better days. Your grizzled hands are gripping the steering wheel in the usual 10-and-2-o'clock position and your feet are ready to brake or give it more gas. You recognize parts of Elm street as you acclimate to moving with traffic north, along two lanes. You check the rear-view mirror and see that you've been transported into the body of a scruffy-looking cab driver with a face that probably hasn't smiled in years. A quick glance confirms that you're not carrying any passengers, thank goodness. Looking around, you notice a car with "STUDENT DRIVER" printed on the sides in the lane to your left. Behind, you see a police car. As you're taking all of this in, you watch as the "STUDENT DRIVER" car moves ahead in the lane to your left. In cab (on Elm St heading north) You're in the driver's seat of a well-used cab, driving along the two-lane, one-way Elm St, headed north in the right (eastmost) lane. You see the "STUDENT DRIVER" car 1 car-length ahead of you in the lane to your left. You see the police car 1 car-length behind you in your lane. Over the radio, you hear: a catchy jingle for "Crisp Crackers". >i You're carrying nothing. The police car behind you turns on its lights and sirens and starts accelerating. The "STUDENT DRIVER" car moves ahead of you in the lane to your left, ending up 2 car-lengths ahead of you in the lane to your left. Over the radio, you hear: "...just in, folks driving downtown might want to avoid Umber and Elm north-south streets, and Jones and Oak east-west streets. We're hearing there's a serious traffic situation..." >x police car I only understood you as far as wanting to examine the police car. >* exactly! [Comment recorded.] >x student You see the "STUDENT DRIVER" car 2 car-lengths ahead of you in the lane to your left.The police car, formerly 1 car-length behind you in your lane, moves in the opposite lane so it is alongside you and then manages to find a gap in the traffic and speeds ahead of your car. The police car drives off, sirens and lights in full force. This will, of course, ultimately result in your demise yet again. Maybe there's some way to block it from getting ahead of you? The world fades to white again. You could see a foggy whiteness at the corner of your vision, but now it abruptly rushes in, and everything pulls away, only to pop back a moment later. Where are you now? You've looped back to where this all started yet again. How many more times will this happen? The corner of Jones and Elm It's mid-morning again, and you are waiting at the intersection of Jones street and Elm street. Traffic is moving slowly along Jones headed east, and along Elm headed north. The traffic lights are working, and if the pedestrian walk light would ever change, you could walk across Jones and head north back to the lab. A 5-foot tall metal box sits bolted to the sidewalk nearby, under one of the traffic light posts. The sidewalks are mostly devoid of pedestrians, although you do notice a woman slowly walking towards Elm street pushing a baby stroller. You notice a bus slowly trying to get through the intersection. >x police car I only understood you as far as wanting to examine the police car. >x police You can see the flashing blue and white lights of a police car, trying to weave through the dense traffic. You can't see into the car at all, however. The windows appear to be darkly tinted. >x cab Glancing down Elm street, you see what looks like a cab stuck in traffic, as a police car tries to quickly drive past it. You can just make out the perturbed look on the cab driver's face through the dirty cab windshield. >l The corner of Jones and Elm It's mid-morning again, and you are waiting at the intersection of Jones street and Elm street. Traffic is moving slowly along Jones headed east, and along Elm headed north. The traffic lights are working, and if the pedestrian walk light would ever change, you could walk across Jones and head north back to the lab. A 5-foot tall metal box sits bolted to the sidewalk nearby, under one of the traffic light posts. The sidewalks are mostly devoid of pedestrians, although you do notice a woman slowly walking towards Elm street pushing a baby stroller. You notice a bus slowly trying to get through the intersection. >l The corner of Jones and Elm It's mid-morning again, and you are waiting at the intersection of Jones street and Elm street. Traffic is moving slowly along Jones headed east, and along Elm headed north. The traffic lights are working, and if the pedestrian walk light would ever change, you could walk across Jones and head north back to the lab. A 5-foot tall metal box sits bolted to the sidewalk nearby, under one of the traffic light posts. The sidewalks are mostly devoid of pedestrians, although you do notice a woman slowly walking towards Elm street pushing a baby stroller. You notice a bus slowly trying to get through the intersection. >l The corner of Jones and Elm It's mid-morning again, and you are waiting at the intersection of Jones street and Elm street. Traffic is moving slowly along Jones headed east, and along Elm headed north. The traffic lights are working, and if the pedestrian walk light would ever change, you could walk across Jones and head north back to the lab. A 5-foot tall metal box sits bolted to the sidewalk nearby, under one of the traffic light posts. The sidewalks are mostly devoid of pedestrians, although you do notice a woman slowly walking towards Elm street pushing a baby stroller. You notice a bus slowly trying to get through the intersection. Suddenly, out of the corner of your eye you see a remarkably unremarkable car speeding rather aggressively up Elm Street, wildly changing lanes and weaving between cars. At the same time, you watch as the woman pushing the baby stroller starts to push the stroller across Elm, oblivious of the car racing towards her. Fortunately, at the last moment, the woman pauses, distracted by something happening in the stroller, and the car races by. You breathe a sigh of relief. Then, the ear-shattering sound of screeching brakes direct your attention to a large city bus, trying and failing to cross Jones Street due to unusually heavy traffic. As it stops right in the middle of the intersection, blocking all traffic coming up Elm, the speeding car swerves, in what seems to be a foolhardy attempt to get around the bus. 'Surely he realizes that there's not enough road for that,' you manage to think, just as the car jumps over the sidewalk, wheels spinning, and without so much as a 'hello', plows straight into you. Your last thought is of the safety of the package you carry, already crushed into pieces against your equally crushed chest, before a sudden white light sweeps over the entire scene. *** You have died *** Or, hold on just a minute. There's something beyond all this white it seems. [Please press SPACE to continue.] Like a really impatient fog, whiteness rushes in to replace your world. The fog doesn't stick around very long though, and soon you start to see objects unveiled in the fog. You steady yourself for someplace new. As you open your eyes, you clench your teeth as you realize you are sitting in the driver's seat of a car. More specifically, a cab that has seen better days. Your grizzled hands are gripping the steering wheel in the usual 10-and-2-o'clock position and your feet are ready to brake or give it more gas. You recognize parts of Elm street as you acclimate to moving with traffic north, along two lanes. You check the rear-view mirror and see that you've been transported into the body of a scruffy-looking cab driver with a face that probably hasn't smiled in years. A quick glance confirms that you're not carrying any passengers, thank goodness. Looking around, you notice a car with "STUDENT DRIVER" printed on the sides in the lane to your left. Behind, you see a police car. As you're taking all of this in, you watch as the "STUDENT DRIVER" car moves ahead in the lane to your left. In cab (on Elm St heading north) You're in the driver's seat of a well-used cab, driving along the two-lane, one-way Elm St, headed north in the right (eastmost) lane. You see the "STUDENT DRIVER" car 1 car-length ahead of you in the lane to your left. You see the police car 1 car-length behind you in your lane. Over the radio, you hear: a catchy jingle for "Crisp Crackers". >turn left You turn the car (via the steering wheel) to the left, attempting to drive in the north-west direction. You can't move there because the "STUDENT DRIVER" car is in the way. Because you can't drive where you wanted to go, you bring the car to a momentary stop instead. Several cars behind you sound their horns. The police car behind you turns on its lights and sirens and starts accelerating. The "STUDENT DRIVER" car moves ahead of you in the lane to your left, ending up 2 car-lengths ahead of you in the lane to your left. Over the radio, you hear: "...just in, folks driving downtown might want to avoid Umber and Elm north-south streets, and Jones and Oak east-west streets. We're hearing there's a serious traffic situation..." >turn left You turn the car (via the steering wheel) to the left, attempting to drive in the north-west direction. You drive in the northwest direction.The police car, formerly 2 car-lengths behind you in the lane to your right, moves in close enough to be directly behind you (but in the opposite lane) and then manages to move up so it is alongside your car. The "STUDENT DRIVER" car moves ahead of you, ending up 2 car-lengths ahead of you in your lane. Over the radio, you hear: "...police are on the scene in some sort of car chase. More information forthcoming..." >z You bring the car to a momentary stop while you wait. Time passes. Several cars behind you sound their horns.The police car, formerly alongside you in the lane to your right, zips forward, manages to find a gap in the traffic, and speeds ahead of your car. The police car drives off, sirens and lights in full force. This will, of course, ultimately result in your demise yet again. Maybe there's some way to block it from getting ahead of you? A white haze like a strange dimensional snow-storm blankets you into a place between 'here' and 'there'. A sensation best described as a 'visual sneeze' blows past and unthaws brand new objects in a new location. You've looped back to where this all started yet again. How many more times will this happen? The corner of Jones and Elm It's mid-morning again, and you are waiting at the intersection of Jones street and Elm street. Traffic is moving slowly along Jones headed east, and along Elm headed north. The traffic lights are working, and if the pedestrian walk light would ever change, you could walk across Jones and head north back to the lab. A 5-foot tall metal box sits bolted to the sidewalk nearby, under one of the traffic light posts. The sidewalks are mostly devoid of pedestrians, although you do notice a woman slowly walking towards Elm street pushing a baby stroller. You notice a bus slowly trying to get through the intersection. >x cab Glancing down Elm street, you see what looks like a cab stuck in traffic, as a police car tries to quickly drive past it. You can just make out the perturbed look on the cab driver's face through the dirty cab windshield. >l The corner of Jones and Elm It's mid-morning again, and you are waiting at the intersection of Jones street and Elm street. Traffic is moving slowly along Jones headed east, and along Elm headed north. The traffic lights are working, and if the pedestrian walk light would ever change, you could walk across Jones and head north back to the lab. A 5-foot tall metal box sits bolted to the sidewalk nearby, under one of the traffic light posts. The sidewalks are mostly devoid of pedestrians, although you do notice a woman slowly walking towards Elm street pushing a baby stroller. You notice a bus slowly trying to get through the intersection. >l The corner of Jones and Elm It's mid-morning again, and you are waiting at the intersection of Jones street and Elm street. Traffic is moving slowly along Jones headed east, and along Elm headed north. The traffic lights are working, and if the pedestrian walk light would ever change, you could walk across Jones and head north back to the lab. A 5-foot tall metal box sits bolted to the sidewalk nearby, under one of the traffic light posts. The sidewalks are mostly devoid of pedestrians, although you do notice a woman slowly walking towards Elm street pushing a baby stroller. You notice a bus slowly trying to get through the intersection. >l The corner of Jones and Elm It's mid-morning again, and you are waiting at the intersection of Jones street and Elm street. Traffic is moving slowly along Jones headed east, and along Elm headed north. The traffic lights are working, and if the pedestrian walk light would ever change, you could walk across Jones and head north back to the lab. A 5-foot tall metal box sits bolted to the sidewalk nearby, under one of the traffic light posts. The sidewalks are mostly devoid of pedestrians, although you do notice a woman slowly walking towards Elm street pushing a baby stroller. You notice a bus slowly trying to get through the intersection. >l The corner of Jones and Elm It's mid-morning again, and you are waiting at the intersection of Jones street and Elm street. Traffic is moving slowly along Jones headed east, and along Elm headed north. The traffic lights are working, and if the pedestrian walk light would ever change, you could walk across Jones and head north back to the lab. A 5-foot tall metal box sits bolted to the sidewalk nearby, under one of the traffic light posts. The sidewalks are mostly devoid of pedestrians, although you do notice a woman slowly walking towards Elm street pushing a baby stroller. You notice a bus slowly trying to get through the intersection. Suddenly, out of the corner of your eye you see a remarkably unremarkable car speeding rather aggressively up Elm Street, wildly changing lanes and weaving between cars. At the same time, you watch as the woman pushing the baby stroller starts to push the stroller across Elm, oblivious of the car racing towards her. Fortunately, at the last moment, the woman pauses, distracted by something happening in the stroller, and the car races by. You breathe a sigh of relief. Then, the ear-shattering sound of screeching brakes direct your attention to a large city bus, trying and failing to cross Jones Street due to unusually heavy traffic. As it stops right in the middle of the intersection, blocking all traffic coming up Elm, the speeding car swerves, in what seems to be a foolhardy attempt to get around the bus. 'Surely he realizes that there's not enough road for that,' you manage to think, just as the car jumps over the sidewalk, wheels spinning, and without so much as a 'hello', plows straight into you. Your last thought is of the safety of the package you carry, already crushed into pieces against your equally crushed chest, before a sudden white light sweeps over the entire scene. *** You have died *** Or, hold on just a minute. There's something beyond all this white it seems. [Please press SPACE to continue.] From some distorted magic wand a splash of white is cast across your senses. It's easy to dismiss this as some sort of 'magic', but you lack the ability to describe the feeling in a way that would have any real-world meaning. Brushing off the higher-order pixie dust, you blink into a new place. As you open your eyes, you clench your teeth as you realize you are sitting in the driver's seat of a car. More specifically, a cab that has seen better days. Your grizzled hands are gripping the steering wheel in the usual 10-and-2-o'clock position and your feet are ready to brake or give it more gas. You recognize parts of Elm street as you acclimate to moving with traffic north, along two lanes. You check the rear-view mirror and see that you've been transported into the body of a scruffy-looking cab driver with a face that probably hasn't smiled in years. A quick glance confirms that you're not carrying any passengers, thank goodness. Looking around, you notice a car with "STUDENT DRIVER" printed on the sides in the lane to your left. Behind, you see a police car. As you're taking all of this in, you watch as the "STUDENT DRIVER" car moves ahead in the lane to your left. In cab (on Elm St heading north) You're in the driver's seat of a well-used cab, driving along the two-lane, one-way Elm St, headed north in the right (eastmost) lane. You see the "STUDENT DRIVER" car 1 car-length ahead of you in the lane to your left. You see the police car 1 car-length behind you in your lane. Over the radio, you hear: a catchy jingle for "Crisp Crackers". >stop You bring the car to a momentary stop while you wait. Time passes. Several cars behind you sound their horns. The police car behind you turns on its lights and sirens and starts accelerating. The "STUDENT DRIVER" car moves ahead of you in the lane to your left, ending up 2 car-lengths ahead of you in the lane to your left. Over the radio, you hear: "...just in, folks driving downtown might want to avoid Umber and Elm north-south streets, and Jones and Oak east-west streets. We're hearing there's a serious traffic situation..." >turn left You turn the car (via the steering wheel) to the left, attempting to drive in the north-west direction. You drive in the northwest direction.The police car, formerly 2 car-lengths behind you in the lane to your right, moves in close enough to be directly behind you (but in the opposite lane) and then manages to move up so it is alongside your car. The "STUDENT DRIVER" car moves ahead of you, ending up 2 car-lengths ahead of you in your lane. Over the radio, you hear: "...police are on the scene in some sort of car chase. More information forthcoming..." >forward That's not a verb I recognise. >press gas You can't see any such thing. >turn right You turn the car (via the steering wheel) to the right, attempting to drive in the north-east direction. You drive in the northeast direction.The police car, formerly 1 car-length behind you in your lane, moves in the opposite lane so it is alongside you and then manages to find a gap in the traffic and speeds ahead of your car. The police car drives off, sirens and lights in full force. This will, of course, ultimately result in your demise yet again. Maybe there's some way to block it from getting ahead of you? A white haze like a strange dimensional snow-storm blankets you into a place between 'here' and 'there'. A sensation best described as a 'visual sneeze' blows past and unthaws brand new objects in a new location. You've looped back to where this all started yet again. How many more times will this happen? The corner of Jones and Elm It's mid-morning again, and you are waiting at the intersection of Jones street and Elm street. Traffic is moving slowly along Jones headed east, and along Elm headed north. The traffic lights are working, and if the pedestrian walk light would ever change, you could walk across Jones and head north back to the lab. A 5-foot tall metal box sits bolted to the sidewalk nearby, under one of the traffic light posts. The sidewalks are mostly devoid of pedestrians, although you do notice a woman slowly walking towards Elm street pushing a baby stroller. You notice a bus slowly trying to get through the intersection. >x cab Glancing down Elm street, you see what looks like a cab stuck in traffic, as a police car tries to quickly drive past it. You can just make out the perturbed look on the cab driver's face through the dirty cab windshield. >l The corner of Jones and Elm It's mid-morning again, and you are waiting at the intersection of Jones street and Elm street. Traffic is moving slowly along Jones headed east, and along Elm headed north. The traffic lights are working, and if the pedestrian walk light would ever change, you could walk across Jones and head north back to the lab. A 5-foot tall metal box sits bolted to the sidewalk nearby, under one of the traffic light posts. The sidewalks are mostly devoid of pedestrians, although you do notice a woman slowly walking towards Elm street pushing a baby stroller. You notice a bus slowly trying to get through the intersection. >l The corner of Jones and Elm It's mid-morning again, and you are waiting at the intersection of Jones street and Elm street. Traffic is moving slowly along Jones headed east, and along Elm headed north. The traffic lights are working, and if the pedestrian walk light would ever change, you could walk across Jones and head north back to the lab. A 5-foot tall metal box sits bolted to the sidewalk nearby, under one of the traffic light posts. The sidewalks are mostly devoid of pedestrians, although you do notice a woman slowly walking towards Elm street pushing a baby stroller. You notice a bus slowly trying to get through the intersection. >l The corner of Jones and Elm It's mid-morning again, and you are waiting at the intersection of Jones street and Elm street. Traffic is moving slowly along Jones headed east, and along Elm headed north. The traffic lights are working, and if the pedestrian walk light would ever change, you could walk across Jones and head north back to the lab. A 5-foot tall metal box sits bolted to the sidewalk nearby, under one of the traffic light posts. The sidewalks are mostly devoid of pedestrians, although you do notice a woman slowly walking towards Elm street pushing a baby stroller. You notice a bus slowly trying to get through the intersection. >l The corner of Jones and Elm It's mid-morning again, and you are waiting at the intersection of Jones street and Elm street. Traffic is moving slowly along Jones headed east, and along Elm headed north. The traffic lights are working, and if the pedestrian walk light would ever change, you could walk across Jones and head north back to the lab. A 5-foot tall metal box sits bolted to the sidewalk nearby, under one of the traffic light posts. The sidewalks are mostly devoid of pedestrians, although you do notice a woman slowly walking towards Elm street pushing a baby stroller. You notice a bus slowly trying to get through the intersection. Suddenly, out of the corner of your eye you see a remarkably unremarkable car speeding rather aggressively up Elm Street, wildly changing lanes and weaving between cars. At the same time, you watch as the woman pushing the baby stroller starts to push the stroller across Elm, oblivious of the car racing towards her. Fortunately, at the last moment, the woman pauses, distracted by something happening in the stroller, and the car races by. You breathe a sigh of relief. Then, the ear-shattering sound of screeching brakes direct your attention to a large city bus, trying and failing to cross Jones Street due to unusually heavy traffic. As it stops right in the middle of the intersection, blocking all traffic coming up Elm, the speeding car swerves, in what seems to be a foolhardy attempt to get around the bus. 'Surely he realizes that there's not enough road for that,' you manage to think, just as the car jumps over the sidewalk, wheels spinning, and without so much as a 'hello', plows straight into you. Your last thought is of the safety of the package you carry, already crushed into pieces against your equally crushed chest, before a sudden white light sweeps over the entire scene. *** You have died *** Or, hold on just a minute. There's something beyond all this white it seems. [Please press SPACE to continue.] From some distorted magic wand a splash of white is cast across your senses. It's easy to dismiss this as some sort of 'magic', but you lack the ability to describe the feeling in a way that would have any real-world meaning. Brushing off the higher-order pixie dust, you blink into a new place. As you open your eyes, you clench your teeth as you realize you are sitting in the driver's seat of a car. More specifically, a cab that has seen better days. Your grizzled hands are gripping the steering wheel in the usual 10-and-2-o'clock position and your feet are ready to brake or give it more gas. You recognize parts of Elm street as you acclimate to moving with traffic north, along two lanes. You check the rear-view mirror and see that you've been transported into the body of a scruffy-looking cab driver with a face that probably hasn't smiled in years. A quick glance confirms that you're not carrying any passengers, thank goodness. Looking around, you notice a car with "STUDENT DRIVER" printed on the sides in the lane to your left. Behind, you see a police car. As you're taking all of this in, you watch as the "STUDENT DRIVER" car moves ahead in the lane to your left. In cab (on Elm St heading north) You're in the driver's seat of a well-used cab, driving along the two-lane, one-way Elm St, headed north in the right (eastmost) lane. You see the "STUDENT DRIVER" car 1 car-length ahead of you in the lane to your left. You see the police car 1 car-length behind you in your lane. Over the radio, you hear: a catchy jingle for "Crisp Crackers". >turn left You turn the car (via the steering wheel) to the left, attempting to drive in the north-west direction. You can't move there because the "STUDENT DRIVER" car is in the way. Because you can't drive where you wanted to go, you bring the car to a momentary stop instead. Several cars behind you sound their horns. The police car behind you turns on its lights and sirens and starts accelerating. The "STUDENT DRIVER" car moves ahead of you in the lane to your left, ending up 2 car-lengths ahead of you in the lane to your left. Over the radio, you hear: "...just in, folks driving downtown might want to avoid Umber and Elm north-south streets, and Jones and Oak east-west streets. We're hearing there's a serious traffic situation..." >turn left You turn the car (via the steering wheel) to the left, attempting to drive in the north-west direction. You drive in the northwest direction.The police car, formerly 2 car-lengths behind you in the lane to your right, moves in close enough to be directly behind you (but in the opposite lane) and then manages to move up so it is alongside your car. The "STUDENT DRIVER" car moves ahead of you, ending up 2 car-lengths ahead of you in your lane. Over the radio, you hear: "...police are on the scene in some sort of car chase. More information forthcoming..." >n You drive in the north direction.The police car, formerly 1 car-length behind you in the lane to your right, moves in the opposite lane so it is alongside you and then manages to find a gap in the traffic and speeds ahead of your car. The police car drives off, sirens and lights in full force. This will, of course, ultimately result in your demise yet again. Maybe there's some way to block it from getting ahead of you? A white haze like a strange dimensional snow-storm blankets you into a place between 'here' and 'there'. A sensation best described as a 'visual sneeze' blows past and unthaws brand new objects in a new location. You've looped back to where this all started yet again. How many more times will this happen? The corner of Jones and Elm It's mid-morning again, and you are waiting at the intersection of Jones street and Elm street. Traffic is moving slowly along Jones headed east, and along Elm headed north. The traffic lights are working, and if the pedestrian walk light would ever change, you could walk across Jones and head north back to the lab. A 5-foot tall metal box sits bolted to the sidewalk nearby, under one of the traffic light posts. The sidewalks are mostly devoid of pedestrians, although you do notice a woman slowly walking towards Elm street pushing a baby stroller. You notice a bus slowly trying to get through the intersection. >x cab Glancing down Elm street, you see what looks like a cab stuck in traffic, as a police car tries to quickly drive past it. You can just make out the perturbed look on the cab driver's face through the dirty cab windshield. >l The corner of Jones and Elm It's mid-morning again, and you are waiting at the intersection of Jones street and Elm street. Traffic is moving slowly along Jones headed east, and along Elm headed north. The traffic lights are working, and if the pedestrian walk light would ever change, you could walk across Jones and head north back to the lab. A 5-foot tall metal box sits bolted to the sidewalk nearby, under one of the traffic light posts. The sidewalks are mostly devoid of pedestrians, although you do notice a woman slowly walking towards Elm street pushing a baby stroller. You notice a bus slowly trying to get through the intersection. >l The corner of Jones and Elm It's mid-morning again, and you are waiting at the intersection of Jones street and Elm street. Traffic is moving slowly along Jones headed east, and along Elm headed north. The traffic lights are working, and if the pedestrian walk light would ever change, you could walk across Jones and head north back to the lab. A 5-foot tall metal box sits bolted to the sidewalk nearby, under one of the traffic light posts. The sidewalks are mostly devoid of pedestrians, although you do notice a woman slowly walking towards Elm street pushing a baby stroller. You notice a bus slowly trying to get through the intersection. >l The corner of Jones and Elm It's mid-morning again, and you are waiting at the intersection of Jones street and Elm street. Traffic is moving slowly along Jones headed east, and along Elm headed north. The traffic lights are working, and if the pedestrian walk light would ever change, you could walk across Jones and head north back to the lab. A 5-foot tall metal box sits bolted to the sidewalk nearby, under one of the traffic light posts. The sidewalks are mostly devoid of pedestrians, although you do notice a woman slowly walking towards Elm street pushing a baby stroller. You notice a bus slowly trying to get through the intersection. >l The corner of Jones and Elm It's mid-morning again, and you are waiting at the intersection of Jones street and Elm street. Traffic is moving slowly along Jones headed east, and along Elm headed north. The traffic lights are working, and if the pedestrian walk light would ever change, you could walk across Jones and head north back to the lab. A 5-foot tall metal box sits bolted to the sidewalk nearby, under one of the traffic light posts. The sidewalks are mostly devoid of pedestrians, although you do notice a woman slowly walking towards Elm street pushing a baby stroller. You notice a bus slowly trying to get through the intersection. Suddenly, out of the corner of your eye you see a remarkably unremarkable car speeding rather aggressively up Elm Street, wildly changing lanes and weaving between cars. At the same time, you watch as the woman pushing the baby stroller starts to push the stroller across Elm, oblivious of the car racing towards her. Fortunately, at the last moment, the woman pauses, distracted by something happening in the stroller, and the car races by. You breathe a sigh of relief. Then, the ear-shattering sound of screeching brakes direct your attention to a large city bus, trying and failing to cross Jones Street due to unusually heavy traffic. As it stops right in the middle of the intersection, blocking all traffic coming up Elm, the speeding car swerves, in what seems to be a foolhardy attempt to get around the bus. 'Surely he realizes that there's not enough road for that,' you manage to think, just as the car jumps over the sidewalk, wheels spinning, and without so much as a 'hello', plows straight into you. Your last thought is of the safety of the package you carry, already crushed into pieces against your equally crushed chest, before a sudden white light sweeps over the entire scene. *** You have died *** Or, hold on just a minute. There's something beyond all this white it seems. [Please press SPACE to continue.] Rudely, everything fades to white once again. Just as you were starting to get a grasp of things again too. As before, whiteness gives way to a loud pop of color and form, leaving you literally and figuratively disoriented. As you open your eyes, you clench your teeth as you realize you are sitting in the driver's seat of a car. More specifically, a cab that has seen better days. Your grizzled hands are gripping the steering wheel in the usual 10-and-2-o'clock position and your feet are ready to brake or give it more gas. You recognize parts of Elm street as you acclimate to moving with traffic north, along two lanes. You check the rear-view mirror and see that you've been transported into the body of a scruffy-looking cab driver with a face that probably hasn't smiled in years. A quick glance confirms that you're not carrying any passengers, thank goodness. Looking around, you notice a car with "STUDENT DRIVER" printed on the sides in the lane to your left. Behind, you see a police car. As you're taking all of this in, you watch as the "STUDENT DRIVER" car moves ahead in the lane to your left. In cab (on Elm St heading north) You're in the driver's seat of a well-used cab, driving along the two-lane, one-way Elm St, headed north in the right (eastmost) lane. You see the "STUDENT DRIVER" car 1 car-length ahead of you in the lane to your left. You see the police car 1 car-length behind you in your lane. Over the radio, you hear: a catchy jingle for "Crisp Crackers". >n You drive in the north direction. The police car behind you turns on its lights and sirens and starts accelerating. The "STUDENT DRIVER" car moves ahead of you in the lane to your left, ending up 1 car-length ahead of you in the lane to your left. Over the radio, you hear: "...just in, folks driving downtown might want to avoid Umber and Elm north-south streets, and Jones and Oak east-west streets. We're hearing there's a serious traffic situation..." >n You drive in the north direction.The police car, formerly 3 car-lengths behind you in your lane, moves forward in the lane behind you (2 behind) and then moves in close enough to be directly behind you The "STUDENT DRIVER" car moves ahead of you in the lane to your left, ending up 1 car-length ahead of you in the lane to your left. Over the radio, you hear: "...police are on the scene in some sort of car chase. More information forthcoming..." >n You drive in the north direction.The police car, formerly 2 car-lengths behind you in your lane, moves in close enough to be directly behind you and then tries to get around your car but can't, so it remains where it is, stuck in traffic. The "STUDENT DRIVER" car moves ahead of you in the lane to your left, ending up 1 car-length ahead of you in the lane to your left. Over the radio, you hear: "...the driver's daughter, first name Sarah, is a student at Elman Elementary school..." >n You drive in the north direction. In the left lane ahead, a car is parked badly, sticking part-way into the lane.The police car, formerly 2 car-lengths behind you in your lane, moves in close enough to be directly behind you and then tries to get around your car but can't, so it remains where it is, stuck in traffic. The "STUDENT DRIVER" car moves ahead and merges into the right lane to avoid a badly parked car in the left lane, ending up 1 car-length ahead of you in your lane. Over the radio, you hear: "...last seen heading north on Elm so stay clear..." >n You can't move there because the "STUDENT DRIVER" car is in the way. Because you can't drive where you wanted to go, you bring the car to a momentary stop instead. Several cars behind you sound their horns. In the left lane ahead, a car is parked badly, sticking part-way into the lane.The police car, formerly 1 car-length behind you in your lane, moves in the opposite lane so it is alongside you and then manages to find a gap in the traffic, narrowly dodges a badly parked car in the left lane, and speeds ahead of your car. The police car drives off, sirens and lights in full force. This will, of course, ultimately result in your demise yet again. Maybe there's some way to block it from getting ahead of you? Like a really impatient fog, whiteness rushes in to replace your world. The fog doesn't stick around very long though, and soon you start to see objects unveiled in the fog. You steady yourself for someplace new. You've looped back to where this all started yet again. How many more times will this happen? The corner of Jones and Elm It's mid-morning again, and you are waiting at the intersection of Jones street and Elm street. Traffic is moving slowly along Jones headed east, and along Elm headed north. The traffic lights are working, and if the pedestrian walk light would ever change, you could walk across Jones and head north back to the lab. A 5-foot tall metal box sits bolted to the sidewalk nearby, under one of the traffic light posts. The sidewalks are mostly devoid of pedestrians, although you do notice a woman slowly walking towards Elm street pushing a baby stroller. You notice a bus slowly trying to get through the intersection. >l The corner of Jones and Elm It's mid-morning again, and you are waiting at the intersection of Jones street and Elm street. Traffic is moving slowly along Jones headed east, and along Elm headed north. The traffic lights are working, and if the pedestrian walk light would ever change, you could walk across Jones and head north back to the lab. A 5-foot tall metal box sits bolted to the sidewalk nearby, under one of the traffic light posts. The sidewalks are mostly devoid of pedestrians, although you do notice a woman slowly walking towards Elm street pushing a baby stroller. You notice a bus slowly trying to get through the intersection. >l The corner of Jones and Elm It's mid-morning again, and you are waiting at the intersection of Jones street and Elm street. Traffic is moving slowly along Jones headed east, and along Elm headed north. The traffic lights are working, and if the pedestrian walk light would ever change, you could walk across Jones and head north back to the lab. A 5-foot tall metal box sits bolted to the sidewalk nearby, under one of the traffic light posts. The sidewalks are mostly devoid of pedestrians, although you do notice a woman slowly walking towards Elm street pushing a baby stroller. You notice a bus slowly trying to get through the intersection. >l The corner of Jones and Elm It's mid-morning again, and you are waiting at the intersection of Jones street and Elm street. Traffic is moving slowly along Jones headed east, and along Elm headed north. The traffic lights are working, and if the pedestrian walk light would ever change, you could walk across Jones and head north back to the lab. A 5-foot tall metal box sits bolted to the sidewalk nearby, under one of the traffic light posts. The sidewalks are mostly devoid of pedestrians, although you do notice a woman slowly walking towards Elm street pushing a baby stroller. You notice a bus slowly trying to get through the intersection. >l The corner of Jones and Elm It's mid-morning again, and you are waiting at the intersection of Jones street and Elm street. Traffic is moving slowly along Jones headed east, and along Elm headed north. The traffic lights are working, and if the pedestrian walk light would ever change, you could walk across Jones and head north back to the lab. A 5-foot tall metal box sits bolted to the sidewalk nearby, under one of the traffic light posts. The sidewalks are mostly devoid of pedestrians, although you do notice a woman slowly walking towards Elm street pushing a baby stroller. You notice a bus slowly trying to get through the intersection. >l The corner of Jones and Elm It's mid-morning again, and you are waiting at the intersection of Jones street and Elm street. Traffic is moving slowly along Jones headed east, and along Elm headed north. The traffic lights are working, and if the pedestrian walk light would ever change, you could walk across Jones and head north back to the lab. A 5-foot tall metal box sits bolted to the sidewalk nearby, under one of the traffic light posts. The sidewalks are mostly devoid of pedestrians, although you do notice a woman slowly walking towards Elm street pushing a baby stroller. You notice a bus slowly trying to get through the intersection. Suddenly, out of the corner of your eye you see a remarkably unremarkable car speeding rather aggressively up Elm Street, wildly changing lanes and weaving between cars. At the same time, you watch as the woman pushing the baby stroller starts to push the stroller across Elm, oblivious of the car racing towards her. Fortunately, at the last moment, the woman pauses, distracted by something happening in the stroller, and the car races by. You breathe a sigh of relief. Then, the ear-shattering sound of screeching brakes direct your attention to a large city bus, trying and failing to cross Jones Street due to unusually heavy traffic. As it stops right in the middle of the intersection, blocking all traffic coming up Elm, the speeding car swerves, in what seems to be a foolhardy attempt to get around the bus. 'Surely he realizes that there's not enough road for that,' you manage to think, just as the car jumps over the sidewalk, wheels spinning, and without so much as a 'hello', plows straight into you. Your last thought is of the safety of the package you carry, already crushed into pieces against your equally crushed chest, before a sudden white light sweeps over the entire scene. *** You have died *** Or, hold on just a minute. There's something beyond all this white it seems. [Please press SPACE to continue.] Cue the fade to white. This time you were more prepared, but it still happens in a way that manages to catch you a little off guard. Even the nearly indescribable detached sensation that follows is starting to feel familiar. In less than a moment, you find yourself in a new place. You've looped back to where this all started yet again. How many more times will this happen? The corner of Jones and Elm It's mid-morning again, and you are waiting at the intersection of Jones street and Elm street. Traffic is moving slowly along Jones headed east, and along Elm headed north. The traffic lights are working, and if the pedestrian walk light would ever change, you could walk across Jones and head north back to the lab. A 5-foot tall metal box sits bolted to the sidewalk nearby, under one of the traffic light posts. The sidewalks are mostly devoid of pedestrians, although you do notice a woman slowly walking towards Elm street pushing a baby stroller. You notice a bus slowly trying to get through the intersection. >x student Looking down Elm street, you can just make out what looks like a car marked "STUDENT DRIVER" slowly making its way through traffic. Glancing through the windshield, you can't quite see the driver, but you can see a nervous man in the passenger seat, likely a driving instructor. >l The corner of Jones and Elm It's mid-morning again, and you are waiting at the intersection of Jones street and Elm street. Traffic is moving slowly along Jones headed east, and along Elm headed north. The traffic lights are working, and if the pedestrian walk light would ever change, you could walk across Jones and head north back to the lab. A 5-foot tall metal box sits bolted to the sidewalk nearby, under one of the traffic light posts. The sidewalks are mostly devoid of pedestrians, although you do notice a woman slowly walking towards Elm street pushing a baby stroller. You notice a bus slowly trying to get through the intersection. >l The corner of Jones and Elm It's mid-morning again, and you are waiting at the intersection of Jones street and Elm street. Traffic is moving slowly along Jones headed east, and along Elm headed north. The traffic lights are working, and if the pedestrian walk light would ever change, you could walk across Jones and head north back to the lab. A 5-foot tall metal box sits bolted to the sidewalk nearby, under one of the traffic light posts. The sidewalks are mostly devoid of pedestrians, although you do notice a woman slowly walking towards Elm street pushing a baby stroller. You notice a bus slowly trying to get through the intersection. >l The corner of Jones and Elm It's mid-morning again, and you are waiting at the intersection of Jones street and Elm street. Traffic is moving slowly along Jones headed east, and along Elm headed north. The traffic lights are working, and if the pedestrian walk light would ever change, you could walk across Jones and head north back to the lab. A 5-foot tall metal box sits bolted to the sidewalk nearby, under one of the traffic light posts. The sidewalks are mostly devoid of pedestrians, although you do notice a woman slowly walking towards Elm street pushing a baby stroller. You notice a bus slowly trying to get through the intersection. >l The corner of Jones and Elm It's mid-morning again, and you are waiting at the intersection of Jones street and Elm street. Traffic is moving slowly along Jones headed east, and along Elm headed north. The traffic lights are working, and if the pedestrian walk light would ever change, you could walk across Jones and head north back to the lab. A 5-foot tall metal box sits bolted to the sidewalk nearby, under one of the traffic light posts. The sidewalks are mostly devoid of pedestrians, although you do notice a woman slowly walking towards Elm street pushing a baby stroller. You notice a bus slowly trying to get through the intersection. Suddenly, out of the corner of your eye you see a remarkably unremarkable car speeding rather aggressively up Elm Street, wildly changing lanes and weaving between cars. At the same time, you watch as the woman pushing the baby stroller starts to push the stroller across Elm, oblivious of the car racing towards her. Fortunately, at the last moment, the woman pauses, distracted by something happening in the stroller, and the car races by. You breathe a sigh of relief. Then, the ear-shattering sound of screeching brakes direct your attention to a large city bus, trying and failing to cross Jones Street due to unusually heavy traffic. As it stops right in the middle of the intersection, blocking all traffic coming up Elm, the speeding car swerves, in what seems to be a foolhardy attempt to get around the bus. 'Surely he realizes that there's not enough road for that,' you manage to think, just as the car jumps over the sidewalk, wheels spinning, and without so much as a 'hello', plows straight into you. Your last thought is of the safety of the package you carry, already crushed into pieces against your equally crushed chest, before a sudden white light sweeps over the entire scene. *** You have died *** Or, hold on just a minute. There's something beyond all this white it seems. [Please press SPACE to continue.] Cue the fade to white. This time you were more prepared, but it still happens in a way that manages to catch you a little off guard. Even the nearly indescribable detached sensation that follows is starting to feel familiar. In less than a moment, you find yourself in a new place. This time you find yourself transported into the passenger seat of an economical used car. Out the front you see a traffic-filled Elm St. A quick glance to the side reveals a young man in the driver's seat, hands gripping the steering wheel, teeth clenched, fixated on the road ahead. You yourself appear to be a balding, middle-aged man with a somewhat stiff neck. You feel unmistakenly nervous. In the lane to your right you see an oddly familiar-looking cab. Some distance behind you, you see a police car. In "STUDENT DRIVER" car (on Elm St heading north) You're in the passenger seat of a car that has seen better days. A young, nervous-looking man is driving the car north along the two-lane, one-way Elm St in the left (westmost) lane. You see the cab alongside you in the lane to your right. You see the police car 1 car-length behind you in the lane to your right. A young man is sitting in the driver's seat, looking a bit nervous. >x me You appear to be a mildly irritated middle-aged man. The young man says, "I'll go ahead and keep driving, sir." "Looks like I can just drive straight," he says and moves forward one car length. The cab pulls up from behind and settles alongside to your right, ending up alongside you in the lane to your right. The police car behind you turns on its lights and sirens and starts accelerating. The young man says, "Sir, should I pull over? The police car is getting pretty close." >say yes (to the Felix) There is no reply. The young man says, "I'll go ahead and keep driving, sir." "Looks like I can just drive straight," he says and moves forward one car length. The cab pulls up from behind and settles alongside to your right, ending up alongside you in the lane to your right. The police car, formerly 3 car-lengths behind you in the lane to your right, moves forward behind you in the opposite lane (2 behind) and then moves in close enough to be directly behind you (but in the opposite lane) The young man says, "Sir, should I pull over? The police car is getting pretty close." >tell man to pull over "Yes sir, I'll pull over right here." As the young man pulls over, the police car surges past you and continues speeding ahead. The proverbial white curtain drops once again, enshrouding you in whiteness. The players in the next scene of this surreal play start to reveal themselves, uncovered from the disappearing white. Next time you'll remember to ask the powers above for a peek at the script. For now, you can only get ready for the next act. You've looped back to where this all started yet again. How many more times will this happen? The corner of Jones and Elm It's mid-morning again, and you are waiting at the intersection of Jones street and Elm street. Traffic is moving slowly along Jones headed east, and along Elm headed north. The traffic lights are working, and if the pedestrian walk light would ever change, you could walk across Jones and head north back to the lab. A 5-foot tall metal box sits bolted to the sidewalk nearby, under one of the traffic light posts. The sidewalks are mostly devoid of pedestrians, although you do notice a woman slowly walking towards Elm street pushing a baby stroller. You notice a bus slowly trying to get through the intersection. >l The corner of Jones and Elm It's mid-morning again, and you are waiting at the intersection of Jones street and Elm street. Traffic is moving slowly along Jones headed east, and along Elm headed north. The traffic lights are working, and if the pedestrian walk light would ever change, you could walk across Jones and head north back to the lab. A 5-foot tall metal box sits bolted to the sidewalk nearby, under one of the traffic light posts. The sidewalks are mostly devoid of pedestrians, although you do notice a woman slowly walking towards Elm street pushing a baby stroller. You notice a bus slowly trying to get through the intersection. >l The corner of Jones and Elm It's mid-morning again, and you are waiting at the intersection of Jones street and Elm street. Traffic is moving slowly along Jones headed east, and along Elm headed north. The traffic lights are working, and if the pedestrian walk light would ever change, you could walk across Jones and head north back to the lab. A 5-foot tall metal box sits bolted to the sidewalk nearby, under one of the traffic light posts. The sidewalks are mostly devoid of pedestrians, although you do notice a woman slowly walking towards Elm street pushing a baby stroller. You notice a bus slowly trying to get through the intersection. >l The corner of Jones and Elm It's mid-morning again, and you are waiting at the intersection of Jones street and Elm street. Traffic is moving slowly along Jones headed east, and along Elm headed north. The traffic lights are working, and if the pedestrian walk light would ever change, you could walk across Jones and head north back to the lab. A 5-foot tall metal box sits bolted to the sidewalk nearby, under one of the traffic light posts. The sidewalks are mostly devoid of pedestrians, although you do notice a woman slowly walking towards Elm street pushing a baby stroller. You notice a bus slowly trying to get through the intersection. >l The corner of Jones and Elm It's mid-morning again, and you are waiting at the intersection of Jones street and Elm street. Traffic is moving slowly along Jones headed east, and along Elm headed north. The traffic lights are working, and if the pedestrian walk light would ever change, you could walk across Jones and head north back to the lab. A 5-foot tall metal box sits bolted to the sidewalk nearby, under one of the traffic light posts. The sidewalks are mostly devoid of pedestrians, although you do notice a woman slowly walking towards Elm street pushing a baby stroller. You notice a bus slowly trying to get through the intersection. Suddenly, out of the corner of your eye you see a remarkably unremarkable car speeding rather aggressively up Elm Street, wildly changing lanes and weaving between cars. At the same time, you watch as the woman pushing the baby stroller starts to push the stroller across Elm, oblivious of the car racing towards her. Fortunately, at the last moment, the woman pauses, distracted by something happening in the stroller, and the car races by. You breathe a sigh of relief. Then, the ear-shattering sound of screeching brakes direct your attention to a large city bus, trying and failing to cross Jones Street due to unusually heavy traffic. As it stops right in the middle of the intersection, blocking all traffic coming up Elm, the speeding car swerves, in what seems to be a foolhardy attempt to get around the bus. 'Surely he realizes that there's not enough road for that,' you manage to think, just as the car jumps over the sidewalk, wheels spinning, and without so much as a 'hello', plows straight into you. Your last thought is of the safety of the package you carry, already crushed into pieces against your equally crushed chest, before a sudden white light sweeps over the entire scene. *** You have died *** Or, hold on just a minute. There's something beyond all this white it seems. [Please press SPACE to continue.] Without much warning, everything around you fades to a clean white nothingness. You'd be blinking furiously right about now if you still had eyelids under your control. Distinct figures appear in the whiteness just as suddenly, and you take a moment to place yourself. You've looped back to where this all started yet again. How many more times will this happen? The corner of Jones and Elm It's mid-morning again, and you are waiting at the intersection of Jones street and Elm street. Traffic is moving slowly along Jones headed east, and along Elm headed north. The traffic lights are working, and if the pedestrian walk light would ever change, you could walk across Jones and head north back to the lab. A 5-foot tall metal box sits bolted to the sidewalk nearby, under one of the traffic light posts. The sidewalks are mostly devoid of pedestrians, although you do notice a woman slowly walking towards Elm street pushing a baby stroller. You notice a bus slowly trying to get through the intersection. >x student Looking down Elm street, you can just make out what looks like a car marked "STUDENT DRIVER" slowly making its way through traffic. Glancing through the windshield, you can't quite see the driver, but you can see a nervous man in the passenger seat, likely a driving instructor. >z Time passes. >z Time passes. >z Time passes. >z Time passes. Suddenly, out of the corner of your eye you see a remarkably unremarkable car speeding rather aggressively up Elm Street, wildly changing lanes and weaving between cars. At the same time, you watch as the woman pushing the baby stroller starts to push the stroller across Elm, oblivious of the car racing towards her. Fortunately, at the last moment, the woman pauses, distracted by something happening in the stroller, and the car races by. You breathe a sigh of relief. Then, the ear-shattering sound of screeching brakes direct your attention to a large city bus, trying and failing to cross Jones Street due to unusually heavy traffic. As it stops right in the middle of the intersection, blocking all traffic coming up Elm, the speeding car swerves, in what seems to be a foolhardy attempt to get around the bus. 'Surely he realizes that there's not enough road for that,' you manage to think, just as the car jumps over the sidewalk, wheels spinning, and without so much as a 'hello', plows straight into you. Your last thought is of the safety of the package you carry, already crushed into pieces against your equally crushed chest, before a sudden white light sweeps over the entire scene. *** You have died *** Or, hold on just a minute. There's something beyond all this white it seems. [Please press SPACE to continue.] Without much warning, everything around you fades to a clean white nothingness. You'd be blinking furiously right about now if you still had eyelids under your control. Distinct figures appear in the whiteness just as suddenly, and you take a moment to place yourself. This time you find yourself transported into the passenger seat of an economical used car. Out the front you see a traffic-filled Elm St. A quick glance to the side reveals a young man in the driver's seat, hands gripping the steering wheel, teeth clenched, fixated on the road ahead. You yourself appear to be a balding, middle-aged man with a somewhat stiff neck. You feel unmistakenly nervous. In the lane to your right you see an oddly familiar-looking cab. Some distance behind you, you see a police car. In "STUDENT DRIVER" car (on Elm St heading north) You're in the passenger seat of a car that has seen better days. A young, nervous-looking man is driving the car north along the two-lane, one-way Elm St in the left (westmost) lane. You see the cab alongside you in the lane to your right. You see the police car 1 car-length behind you in the lane to your right. A young man is sitting in the driver's seat, looking a bit nervous. >young man, drive n "Ok Sir," the young man says as he drives in the north direction as you requested. The cab pulls up from behind and settles alongside to your right, ending up alongside you in the lane to your right. The police car behind you turns on its lights and sirens and starts accelerating. The young man says, "Sir, should I pull over? The police car is getting pretty close." >n You're not in control of the car, and you can't get out of the car while it's in motion. The young man says, "I'll go ahead and keep driving, sir." "Looks like I can just drive straight," he says and moves forward one car length. The cab pulls up from behind and settles alongside to your right, ending up alongside you in the lane to your right. The police car, formerly 3 car-lengths behind you in the lane to your right, moves forward behind you in the opposite lane (2 behind) and then moves in close enough to be directly behind you (but in the opposite lane) The young man says, "Sir, should I pull over? The police car is getting pretty close." >young man, drive n "Ok Sir," the young man says as he drives in the north direction as you requested. The cab pulls up from behind and settles alongside to your right, ending up alongside you in the lane to your right. The police car, formerly 2 car-lengths behind you in the lane to your right, moves in close enough to be directly behind you (but in the opposite lane) and then tries to get around your car but can't, so it remains where it is, stuck in traffic. The young man says, "Sir, should I pull over? The police car is getting pretty close." >young man, drive n "Ok Sir," the young man says as he drives in the north direction as you requested. The cab pulls up from behind and settles alongside to your right, ending up alongside you in the lane to your right. The police car, formerly 2 car-lengths behind you in the lane to your right, moves in close enough to be directly behind you (but in the opposite lane) and then tries to get around your car but can't, so it remains where it is, stuck in traffic. The young man says, "Sir, should I pull over? The police car is getting pretty close." >young man, drive n "Sir, I'm afraid of hitting that badly parked car in the left lane, so I can't go in that direction." Because the young man is unable to go where you wanted him to go, he brings the car to a momentary stop. Several cars behind you sound their horns. The cab is stopped and does not move. The police car, formerly 1 car-length behind you in the lane to your right, moves in close enough to be directly behind you (but in the opposite lane) and then tries to get around your car but can't, so it remains where it is, stuck in traffic. The young man says, "Sir, should I pull over? The police car is getting pretty close." >young man, stop "Yes sir, I'll stop and wait right here." The young man brings the car to a momentary halt. The cab is stopped and does not move. The police car, formerly 1 car-length behind you in the lane to your right, moves in close enough to be directly behind you (but in the opposite lane) and then tries to get around your car but can't, so it remains where it is, stuck in traffic. You've sufficiently delayed the police car enough that it won't be able to continue its pursuit. A white haze like a strange dimensional snow-storm blankets you into a place between 'here' and 'there'. A sensation best described as a 'visual sneeze' blows past and unthaws brand new objects in a new location. You've looped back to where this all started yet again. How many more times will this happen? The corner of Jones and Elm It's mid-morning again, and you are waiting at the intersection of Jones street and Elm street. Traffic is moving slowly along Jones headed east, and along Elm headed north. The traffic lights are working, and if the pedestrian walk light would ever change, you could walk across Jones and head north back to the lab. A 5-foot tall metal box sits bolted to the sidewalk nearby, under one of the traffic light posts. The sidewalks are mostly devoid of pedestrians, although you do notice a woman slowly walking towards Elm street pushing a baby stroller. You notice a bus slowly trying to get through the intersection. >z Time passes. >z Time passes. >z Time passes. >z Time passes. >z Time passes. Suddenly, out of the corner of your eye you see a remarkably unremarkable car speeding rather aggressively up Elm Street, wildly changing lanes and weaving between cars. At the same time, you watch as the woman pushing the baby stroller starts to push the stroller across Elm, oblivious of the car racing towards her. Fortunately, at the last moment, the woman pauses, distracted by something happening in the stroller, and the car races by. You breathe a sigh of relief. Then, the ear-shattering sound of screeching brakes direct your attention to a large city bus, trying and failing to cross Jones Street due to unusually heavy traffic. As it stops right in the middle of the intersection, blocking all traffic coming up Elm, the speeding car swerves, in what seems to be a foolhardy attempt to get around the bus. 'Surely he realizes that there's not enough road for that,' you manage to think, just as the car jumps over the sidewalk, wheels spinning, and without so much as a 'hello', plows straight into you. Your last thought is of the safety of the package you carry, already crushed into pieces against your equally crushed chest, before a sudden white light sweeps over the entire scene. *** You have died *** Or, hold on just a minute. There's something beyond all this white it seems. [Please press SPACE to continue.] The world fades to white again. You could see a foggy whiteness at the corner of your vision, but now it abruptly rushes in, and everything pulls away, only to pop back a moment later. Where are you now? You've looped back to where this all started yet again. How many more times will this happen? The corner of Jones and Elm It's mid-morning again, and you are waiting at the intersection of Jones street and Elm street. Traffic is moving slowly along Jones headed east, and along Elm headed north. The traffic lights are working, and if the pedestrian walk light would ever change, you could walk across Jones and head north back to the lab. A 5-foot tall metal box sits bolted to the sidewalk nearby, under one of the traffic light posts. The sidewalks are mostly devoid of pedestrians, although you do notice a woman slowly walking towards Elm street pushing a baby stroller. You notice a bus slowly trying to get through the intersection. >x student Looking down Elm street, you can just make out what looks like a car marked "STUDENT DRIVER" slowly making its way through traffic. >man, drive n You seem to want to talk to someone, but I can't see whom. >man, drive n You seem to want to talk to someone, but I can't see whom. >young man, drive n To talk to someone, try "someone, hello" or some such. >young man, hello To talk to someone, try "someone, hello" or some such. >l The corner of Jones and Elm It's mid-morning again, and you are waiting at the intersection of Jones street and Elm street. Traffic is moving slowly along Jones headed east, and along Elm headed north. The traffic lights are working, and if the pedestrian walk light would ever change, you could walk across Jones and head north back to the lab. A 5-foot tall metal box sits bolted to the sidewalk nearby, under one of the traffic light posts. The sidewalks are mostly devoid of pedestrians, although you do notice a woman slowly walking towards Elm street pushing a baby stroller. You notice a bus slowly trying to get through the intersection. >x student Looking down Elm street, you can just make out what looks like a car marked "STUDENT DRIVER" slowly making its way through traffic. >z Time passes. >z Time passes. Suddenly, out of the corner of your eye you see a remarkably unremarkable car speeding rather aggressively up Elm Street, wildly changing lanes and weaving between cars. At the same time, you watch as the woman pushing the baby stroller starts to push the stroller across Elm, oblivious of the car racing towards her. Fortunately, at the last moment, the woman pauses, distracted by something happening in the stroller, and the car races by. You breathe a sigh of relief. Then, the ear-shattering sound of screeching brakes direct your attention to a large city bus, trying and failing to cross Jones Street due to unusually heavy traffic. As it stops right in the middle of the intersection, blocking all traffic coming up Elm, the speeding car swerves, in what seems to be a foolhardy attempt to get around the bus. 'Surely he realizes that there's not enough road for that,' you manage to think, just as the car jumps over the sidewalk, wheels spinning, and without so much as a 'hello', plows straight into you. Your last thought is of the safety of the package you carry, already crushed into pieces against your equally crushed chest, before a sudden white light sweeps over the entire scene. *** You have died *** Or, hold on just a minute. There's something beyond all this white it seems. [Please press SPACE to continue.] Cue the fade to white. This time you were more prepared, but it still happens in a way that manages to catch you a little off guard. Even the nearly indescribable detached sensation that follows is starting to feel familiar. In less than a moment, you find yourself in a new place. You've looped back to where this all started yet again. How many more times will this happen? The corner of Jones and Elm It's mid-morning again, and you are waiting at the intersection of Jones street and Elm street. Traffic is moving slowly along Jones headed east, and along Elm headed north. The traffic lights are working, and if the pedestrian walk light would ever change, you could walk across Jones and head north back to the lab. A 5-foot tall metal box sits bolted to the sidewalk nearby, under one of the traffic light posts. The sidewalks are mostly devoid of pedestrians, although you do notice a woman slowly walking towards Elm street pushing a baby stroller. You notice a bus slowly trying to get through the intersection. >x student Looking down Elm street, you can just make out what looks like a car marked "STUDENT DRIVER" slowly making its way through traffic. >z Time passes. >z Time passes. >z Time passes. >z Time passes. Suddenly, out of the corner of your eye you see a remarkably unremarkable car speeding rather aggressively up Elm Street, wildly changing lanes and weaving between cars. At the same time, you watch as the woman pushing the baby stroller starts to push the stroller across Elm, oblivious of the car racing towards her. Fortunately, at the last moment, the woman pauses, distracted by something happening in the stroller, and the car races by. You breathe a sigh of relief. Then, the ear-shattering sound of screeching brakes direct your attention to a large city bus, trying and failing to cross Jones Street due to unusually heavy traffic. As it stops right in the middle of the intersection, blocking all traffic coming up Elm, the speeding car swerves, in what seems to be a foolhardy attempt to get around the bus. 'Surely he realizes that there's not enough road for that,' you manage to think, just as the car jumps over the sidewalk, wheels spinning, and without so much as a 'hello', plows straight into you. Your last thought is of the safety of the package you carry, already crushed into pieces against your equally crushed chest, before a sudden white light sweeps over the entire scene. *** You have died *** Or, hold on just a minute. There's something beyond all this white it seems. [Please press SPACE to continue.] From some distorted magic wand a splash of white is cast across your senses. It's easy to dismiss this as some sort of 'magic', but you lack the ability to describe the feeling in a way that would have any real-world meaning. Brushing off the higher-order pixie dust, you blink into a new place. You've looped back to where this all started yet again. How many more times will this happen? The corner of Jones and Elm It's mid-morning again, and you are waiting at the intersection of Jones street and Elm street. Traffic is moving slowly along Jones headed east, and along Elm headed north. The traffic lights are working, and if the pedestrian walk light would ever change, you could walk across Jones and head north back to the lab. A 5-foot tall metal box sits bolted to the sidewalk nearby, under one of the traffic light posts. The sidewalks are mostly devoid of pedestrians, although you do notice a woman slowly walking towards Elm street pushing a baby stroller. You notice a bus slowly trying to get through the intersection. >x cab Glancing down Elm street, you see what looks like a cab weaving its way through traffic. >z Time passes. >z Time passes. >z Time passes. >z Time passes. Suddenly, out of the corner of your eye you see a remarkably unremarkable car speeding rather aggressively up Elm Street, wildly changing lanes and weaving between cars. At the same time, you watch as the woman pushing the baby stroller starts to push the stroller across Elm, oblivious of the car racing towards her. Fortunately, at the last moment, the woman pauses, distracted by something happening in the stroller, and the car races by. You breathe a sigh of relief. Then, the ear-shattering sound of screeching brakes direct your attention to a large city bus, trying and failing to cross Jones Street due to unusually heavy traffic. As it stops right in the middle of the intersection, blocking all traffic coming up Elm, the speeding car swerves, in what seems to be a foolhardy attempt to get around the bus. 'Surely he realizes that there's not enough road for that,' you manage to think, just as the car jumps over the sidewalk, wheels spinning, and without so much as a 'hello', plows straight into you. Your last thought is of the safety of the package you carry, already crushed into pieces against your equally crushed chest, before a sudden white light sweeps over the entire scene. *** You have died *** Or, hold on just a minute. There's something beyond all this white it seems. [Please press SPACE to continue.] From some distorted magic wand a splash of white is cast across your senses. It's easy to dismiss this as some sort of 'magic', but you lack the ability to describe the feeling in a way that would have any real-world meaning. Brushing off the higher-order pixie dust, you blink into a new place. You've looped back to where this all started yet again. How many more times will this happen? The corner of Jones and Elm It's mid-morning again, and you are waiting at the intersection of Jones street and Elm street. Traffic is moving slowly along Jones headed east, and along Elm headed north. The traffic lights are working, and if the pedestrian walk light would ever change, you could walk across Jones and head north back to the lab. A 5-foot tall metal box sits bolted to the sidewalk nearby, under one of the traffic light posts. The sidewalks are mostly devoid of pedestrians, although you do notice a woman slowly walking towards Elm street pushing a baby stroller. You notice a bus slowly trying to get through the intersection. >x me You are a respectable young lab assistant. >restart Are you sure you want to restart? y Let's be honest. When you took the position as Junior Research Lab Assistant at the Orzel Particle Physics Institute, you weren't expecting anything glamorous. 'A post-doc has to start somewhere,' you told yourself. 'I don't want to teach a bunch of over-privileged undergrads,' you convinced yourself. 'I'd be working for Dr. Roth, who has a pretty good reputation,' you pondered. And finally 'It pays enough to move out of my parent's house,' you realized, with just a tiny amount of glee. But here you are, seven months later, wondering if you made the right choice. Working for Dr. Roth at the Institute has been some of the most uninspiring work you've ever done. It doesn't help that most of the time, the 'research' tasks he gives you are mostly manual labor. How many times does a person really need to clean the plates for the proportional drift chamber? And moving heavy spectrometers from lab room to lab room isn't what you had in mind when you were told the Institute was working on problems that required 'heavy lifting'. So this morning, when you were interrupted and told to pick up the shipment of unstable Cesium-7 isotopes that had erroneously been dropped off by the post office to an address three blocks away, you were disappointed, but not surprised. 'At least you'll get some fresh air,' Dr. Roth told you with a thin veneer of disdain. After obtaining the package, you're finally on your way back to the lab. TRAFFIC An adventure at five miles an hour Copyright (C) 2024, by D.S. Yu. Portions copyright Graham Nelson and David Griffith. 'TRAFFIC' comes with ABSOLUTELY NO WARRANTY Release 1 / Serial number 240828 / Inform v6.33 Library v6.12.6 SD The corner of Jones and Elm It's mid-morning, and you are waiting at the intersection of Jones street and Elm street. Traffic is moving slowly along Jones headed east, and along Elm headed north. The traffic lights are working, and if the pedestrian walk light would ever change, you could walk across Jones and head north back to the lab. A 5-foot tall metal box sits bolted to the sidewalk nearby, under one of the traffic light posts. The sidewalks are mostly devoid of pedestrians, although you do notice a woman slowly walking towards Elm street pushing a baby stroller. You notice a bus slowly trying to get through the intersection. >* lots of trouble with hidden nouns, walkthrough did not work [Comment recorded.] >* trying from scratch [Comment recorded.] >x box It appears to be a five-foot tall metal box, with no noteworthy markings, painted gray. There are some vents on the side, possibly for airflow, and you suspect it contains electronics of some sort. On the front is a metal door with a recessed handle that likely opens outwards. As you examine the box, a middle-aged man in a reflective safety vest, who was partly obscured by the box, examines something on the box, looks up at the lights, notices you watching him, and then quickly walks away. >z Time passes. >z Time passes. >z Time passes. >z Time passes. Suddenly, out of the corner of your eye you see a remarkably unremarkable car speeding rather aggressively up Elm Street, wildly changing lanes and weaving between cars. At the same time, you watch as the woman pushing the baby stroller starts to push the stroller across Elm, oblivious of the car racing towards her. As she pushes the stroller into traffic, the speeding car swerves out of the way, driving up onto the sidewalk. 'I hope he knows driving on the sidewalk is frowned upon,' you manage to think, just as the car, without so much as a 'hello', plows straight into you. Your last thought is of the safety of the package you carry, already crushed into pieces against your equally crushed chest, before a sudden white light sweeps over the entire scene. *** You have died *** Or, hold on just a minute. There's something beyond all this white it seems. [Please press SPACE to continue.] In a moment you'd call 'gut-wrenching' if you still had a gut, the whiteness that defines your immediate universe is suddenly permeated by color, and you find yourself pulled, pushed, and squeezed through time and space. You have been transported, somehow, without moving an inch. You are standing at the same street corner you occupied moments ago, but the traffic is different, the sounds are different, and even the sunlight is different -- missing, actually. It seems to be early evening, at least that is certain. Your body feels out of sorts, and as you glance at your hands, you see hands that are not your own, but bigger, with more scars and dirt. As you check the rest of your body you realize that you are not yourself. Your mind occupies someone else's body. Also, you suddenly realize you are not alone. The corner of Jones and Elm You are at the corner of Jones and Elm. It's night-time, which means for this not-so-lively part of town, there's no one to be seen, and almost no cars driving along either street. A man is standing here, wearing a reflective safety vest and holding a clipboard. A large metal box painted gray is standing here, bolted to the sidewalk. >unlock box (with the key) You unlock the metal box. The man scratches his neck for a moment. >open box You open the metal box, revealing a controller panel. >press button You hesitate briefly, your finger hovering over the green button. Then, confidently, you press the oddly enticing button. The box emits a sharp buzz and the button appears to reset itself. "You need to enter a value in that screen first," the man says. >ask man for screwdriver "Here you go, but I want that back." He hands over the screwdriver. You hear a howl from some animal off in the distance. Maybe it's someone's dog? >enter 506 in screen After a bit of fiddling around, you realize the screen is a small touchscreen. Is every screen nowadays a touchscreen? It certainly seems that way. You use the touchscreen controls to set the value. The screen now reads 506. >press button You hesitate briefly, your finger hovering over the green button. Then, confidently, you press the oddly enticing button. There is a click from the box. Like a really impatient fog, whiteness rushes in to replace your world. The fog doesn't stick around very long though, and soon you start to see objects unveiled in the fog. You steady yourself for someplace new. You blink a couple times. Everything is exactly as it was when you started out in all of this. Did you just imagine everything? The corner of Jones and Elm It's mid-morning again, and you are waiting at the intersection of Jones street and Elm street. Traffic is moving slowly along Jones headed east, and along Elm headed north. The traffic lights are working, and if the pedestrian walk light would ever change, you could walk across Jones and head north back to the lab. A 5-foot tall metal box sits bolted to the sidewalk nearby, under one of the traffic light posts. The sidewalks are mostly devoid of pedestrians, although you do notice a woman slowly walking towards Elm street pushing a baby stroller. You notice a bus slowly trying to get through the intersection. >x bus It's one of those local lines that goes along Jones St, but it must be behind schedule (no thanks to all the traffic). It looks like it might not make it through the intersection before the light changes. As you look at the all the riders packed in the bus, you notice one particular businessman, glancing through the window your way. The expression on his face is one of acute discomfort. >z Time passes. >z Time passes. >z Time passes. Suddenly, out of the corner of your eye you see a remarkably unremarkable car speeding rather aggressively up Elm Street, wildly changing lanes and weaving between cars. At the same time, you watch as the woman pushing the baby stroller starts to push the stroller across Elm, oblivious of the car racing towards her. As she pushes the stroller into traffic, the speeding car swerves out of the way, driving up onto the sidewalk. 'I hope he knows driving on the sidewalk is frowned upon,' you manage to think, just as the car, without so much as a 'hello', plows straight into you. Your last thought is of the safety of the package you carry, already crushed into pieces against your equally crushed chest, before a sudden white light sweeps over the entire scene. *** You have died *** Or, hold on just a minute. There's something beyond all this white it seems. [Please press SPACE to continue.] Without much warning, everything around you fades to a clean white nothingness. You'd be blinking furiously right about now if you still had eyelids under your control. Distinct figures appear in the whiteness just as suddenly, and you take a moment to place yourself. As the world rushes back, you find yourself seated. On a bus. A bus packed with people, uncomfortably warm, with loud with noises from every direction. You feel sweat dripping along your brow, and as you raise your arm to wipe it off, you notice you're wearing a well-fitting business suit. You've swapped bodies with an average-height business man, possibly in his late 30s, likely late to work. You feel the bus lurch forward, only to shudder to a stop a few seconds later. You glance out the window and realize you're on that bus trying to cross the Elm and Jones street intersection. On Jones heading towards Racine (in bus) You're sitting on a hot crowded bus barely moving along Jones Street. There's a boombox on the floor of the bus right in front of you blasting music at a remarkably high volume. You can also see an elderly woman here. >open window You reach over and push open the window slightly, letting a cool breeze into the bus. Several people, including the elderly woman, silently nod in thanks. Someone in the back of the bus has a brief coughing fit, and recovers. >turn off boombox As you turn the boombox off, there's a collective sigh of relief from people nearby, including the elderly woman. >give seat to woman The elderly woman sighs in relief and eagerly takes your vacated seat. "Thank you, young man," she says. >z Time passes. >z Time passes. The bus lurches forward half a foot, then stops. >z Time passes. >z Time passes. >z Time passes. The bus lurches forward half a foot, then stops. >z Time passes. The bus lurches towards the intersection of Jones Street and Elm Street. You watch as the light changes to yellow just as the bus enters the intersection. Unfortunately, the traffic is bad enough that the cars ahead of the bus leave no room for the bus to get through. The bus slams on the brakes and grinds to a stop, right in the middle of the intersection. The world fades to white again. You could see a foggy whiteness at the corner of your vision, but now it abruptly rushes in, and everything pulls away, only to pop back a moment later. Where are you now? You've looped back to where this all started once again. The corner of Jones and Elm It's mid-morning again, and you are waiting at the intersection of Jones street and Elm street. Traffic is moving slowly along Jones headed east, and along Elm headed north. The traffic lights are working, and if the pedestrian walk light would ever change, you could walk across Jones and head north back to the lab. A 5-foot tall metal box sits bolted to the sidewalk nearby, under one of the traffic light posts. The sidewalks are mostly devoid of pedestrians, although you do notice a woman slowly walking towards Elm street pushing a baby stroller. You notice a bus slowly trying to get through the intersection. >x baby A young woman is dutifully pushing a covered baby stroller that you're fairly sure holds a baby. She seems somewhat distracted, with most of her attention diverted to her rather large mobile device. But wait, just now, you saw the top of a tiny little bald head appear from within the stroller. Two tiny blue eyes meet your gaze, before the baby disappears back into the stroller. >z Time passes. >z Time passes. >z Time passes. >z Time passes. Suddenly, out of the corner of your eye you see a remarkably unremarkable car speeding rather aggressively up Elm Street, wildly changing lanes and weaving between cars. At the same time, you watch as the woman pushing the baby stroller starts to push the stroller across Elm, oblivious of the car racing towards her. As she pushes the stroller into traffic, the speeding car swerves out of the way, driving up onto the sidewalk. 'I hope he knows driving on the sidewalk is frowned upon,' you manage to think, just as the car, without so much as a 'hello', plows straight into you. Your last thought is of the safety of the package you carry, already crushed into pieces against your equally crushed chest, before a sudden white light sweeps over the entire scene. *** You have died *** Or, hold on just a minute. There's something beyond all this white it seems. [Please press SPACE to continue.] Cue the fade to white. This time you were more prepared, but it still happens in a way that manages to catch you a little off guard. Even the nearly indescribable detached sensation that follows is starting to feel familiar. In less than a moment, you find yourself in a new place. You feel stretched and then squashed into a new form. Everything feels unfamiliar, bright, too loud. You open your eyes and find yourself on your back, looking up at the blue sky. You try to get up, and your body refuses to respond, instead twisting and popping in an awkward fashion. You reach a hand out to grab something, anything, and notice that your hand, your arm, your whole body, is tiny and undeveloped. Tiny little fingers on a tiny little hand flex open and closed. Your body has become that of a tiny infant, lying in a bed of a stroller of some sort. You feel the great urge to let out a loud wail. On Elm Between Jones and Oak (inside stroller) You are on the sidewalk on Elm street, likely somewhere between Jones and Oak streets. More specifically, you are inside a baby stroller with raised walls on all sides and a curved half-canopy above, being pushed along the sidewalk on Elm street. There is a woman slowly pushing the stroller. You can also see a blanket here. >get blanket As you grab the blanket, you uncover a pacifier that was hidden underneath it. >get pacifier Taken. >throw pacifier at phone It takes quite a bit of effort, but you manage to throw the pacifier at the woman's phone. You're a bit off the mark and end up hitting the woman in the neck. "That wasn't very nice," the woman says. "Now I have to pick up your pacifier. I'm going to miss at least 3 text messages." The woman stops pushing the stroller and stoops down to look for the pacifier. At the same time, a car, driving well over the speed limit, races by, narrowly missing the stroller. From some distorted magic wand a splash of white is cast across your senses. It's easy to dismiss this as some sort of 'magic', but you lack the ability to describe the feeling in a way that would have any real-world meaning. Brushing off the higher-order pixie dust, you blink into a new place. You've looped back to where this all started once again. The corner of Jones and Elm It's mid-morning again, and you are waiting at the intersection of Jones street and Elm street. Traffic is moving slowly along Jones headed east, and along Elm headed north. The traffic lights are working, and if the pedestrian walk light would ever change, you could walk across Jones and head north back to the lab. A 5-foot tall metal box sits bolted to the sidewalk nearby, under one of the traffic light posts. The sidewalks are mostly devoid of pedestrians, although you do notice a woman slowly walking towards Elm street pushing a baby stroller. You notice a bus slowly trying to get through the intersection. >z Time passes. >z Time passes. >z Time passes. >z Time passes. Suddenly, out of the corner of your eye you see a remarkably unremarkable car speeding rather aggressively up Elm Street, wildly changing lanes and weaving between cars. At the same time, you watch as the woman pushing the baby stroller starts to push the stroller across Elm, oblivious of the car racing towards her. Fortunately, at the last moment, the woman pauses, distracted by something happening in the stroller, and the car races by. You breathe a sigh of relief. Then, the ear-shattering sound of screeching brakes direct your attention to a large city bus, trying and failing to cross Jones Street due to unusually heavy traffic. As it stops right in the middle of the intersection, blocking all traffic coming up Elm, the speeding car swerves, in what seems to be a foolhardy attempt to get around the bus. 'Surely he realizes that there's not enough road for that,' you manage to think, just as the car jumps over the sidewalk, wheels spinning, and without so much as a 'hello', plows straight into you. Your last thought is of the safety of the package you carry, already crushed into pieces against your equally crushed chest, before a sudden white light sweeps over the entire scene. *** You have died *** Or, hold on just a minute. There's something beyond all this white it seems. [Please press SPACE to continue.] The world fades to white again. You could see a foggy whiteness at the corner of your vision, but now it abruptly rushes in, and everything pulls away, only to pop back a moment later. Where are you now? You've looped back to where this all started once again. The corner of Jones and Elm It's mid-morning again, and you are waiting at the intersection of Jones street and Elm street. Traffic is moving slowly along Jones headed east, and along Elm headed north. The traffic lights are working, and if the pedestrian walk light would ever change, you could walk across Jones and head north back to the lab. A 5-foot tall metal box sits bolted to the sidewalk nearby, under one of the traffic light posts. The sidewalks are mostly devoid of pedestrians, although you do notice a woman slowly walking towards Elm street pushing a baby stroller. You notice a bus slowly trying to get through the intersection. >x cab Glancing down Elm street, you see what looks like a cab stuck in traffic, as a police car tries to quickly drive past it. You can just make out the perturbed look on the cab driver's face through the dirty cab windshield. >z Time passes. >z Time passes. >z Time passes. >z Time passes. Suddenly, out of the corner of your eye you see a remarkably unremarkable car speeding rather aggressively up Elm Street, wildly changing lanes and weaving between cars. At the same time, you watch as the woman pushing the baby stroller starts to push the stroller across Elm, oblivious of the car racing towards her. Fortunately, at the last moment, the woman pauses, distracted by something happening in the stroller, and the car races by. You breathe a sigh of relief. Then, the ear-shattering sound of screeching brakes direct your attention to a large city bus, trying and failing to cross Jones Street due to unusually heavy traffic. As it stops right in the middle of the intersection, blocking all traffic coming up Elm, the speeding car swerves, in what seems to be a foolhardy attempt to get around the bus. 'Surely he realizes that there's not enough road for that,' you manage to think, just as the car jumps over the sidewalk, wheels spinning, and without so much as a 'hello', plows straight into you. Your last thought is of the safety of the package you carry, already crushed into pieces against your equally crushed chest, before a sudden white light sweeps over the entire scene. *** You have died *** Or, hold on just a minute. There's something beyond all this white it seems. [Please press SPACE to continue.] Rudely, everything fades to white once again. Just as you were starting to get a grasp of things again too. As before, whiteness gives way to a loud pop of color and form, leaving you literally and figuratively disoriented. As you open your eyes, you clench your teeth as you realize you are sitting in the driver's seat of a car. More specifically, a cab that has seen better days. Your grizzled hands are gripping the steering wheel in the usual 10-and-2-o'clock position and your feet are ready to brake or give it more gas. You recognize parts of Elm street as you acclimate to moving with traffic north, along two lanes. You check the rear-view mirror and see that you've been transported into the body of a scruffy-looking cab driver with a face that probably hasn't smiled in years. A quick glance confirms that you're not carrying any passengers, thank goodness. Looking around, you notice a car with "STUDENT DRIVER" printed on the sides in the lane to your left. Behind, you see a police car. As you're taking all of this in, you watch as the "STUDENT DRIVER" car moves ahead in the lane to your left. In cab (on Elm St heading north) You're in the driver's seat of a well-used cab, driving along the two-lane, one-way Elm St, headed north in the right (eastmost) lane. You see the "STUDENT DRIVER" car 1 car-length ahead of you in the lane to your left. You see the police car 1 car-length behind you in your lane. Over the radio, you hear: a catchy jingle for "Crisp Crackers". >x student You see the "STUDENT DRIVER" car 1 car-length ahead of you in the lane to your left. The police car behind you turns on its lights and sirens and starts accelerating. The "STUDENT DRIVER" car moves ahead of you in the lane to your left, ending up 2 car-lengths ahead of you in the lane to your left. Over the radio, you hear: "...just in, folks driving downtown might want to avoid Umber and Elm north-south streets, and Jones and Oak east-west streets. We're hearing there's a serious traffic situation..." >n You drive in the north direction.The police car, formerly 2 car-lengths behind you in your lane, moves in close enough to be directly behind you and then manages to move up so it is alongside your car. The "STUDENT DRIVER" car moves ahead of you in the lane to your left, ending up 2 car-lengths ahead of you in the lane to your left. Over the radio, you hear: "...police are on the scene in some sort of car chase. More information forthcoming..." >n You drive in the north direction.The police car, formerly 1 car-length behind you in the lane to your left, moves in the opposite lane so it is alongside you and then manages to find a gap in the traffic and speeds ahead of your car. The police car drives off, sirens and lights in full force. This will, of course, ultimately result in your demise yet again. Maybe there's some way to block it from getting ahead of you? Without much warning, everything around you fades to a clean white nothingness. You'd be blinking furiously right about now if you still had eyelids under your control. Distinct figures appear in the whiteness just as suddenly, and you take a moment to place yourself. You've looped back to where this all started once again. The corner of Jones and Elm It's mid-morning again, and you are waiting at the intersection of Jones street and Elm street. Traffic is moving slowly along Jones headed east, and along Elm headed north. The traffic lights are working, and if the pedestrian walk light would ever change, you could walk across Jones and head north back to the lab. A 5-foot tall metal box sits bolted to the sidewalk nearby, under one of the traffic light posts. The sidewalks are mostly devoid of pedestrians, although you do notice a woman slowly walking towards Elm street pushing a baby stroller. You notice a bus slowly trying to get through the intersection. >x cab Glancing down Elm street, you see what looks like a cab stuck in traffic, as a police car tries to quickly drive past it. You can just make out the perturbed look on the cab driver's face through the dirty cab windshield. >z Time passes. >z Time passes. >z Time passes. >z Time passes. Suddenly, out of the corner of your eye you see a remarkably unremarkable car speeding rather aggressively up Elm Street, wildly changing lanes and weaving between cars. At the same time, you watch as the woman pushing the baby stroller starts to push the stroller across Elm, oblivious of the car racing towards her. Fortunately, at the last moment, the woman pauses, distracted by something happening in the stroller, and the car races by. You breathe a sigh of relief. Then, the ear-shattering sound of screeching brakes direct your attention to a large city bus, trying and failing to cross Jones Street due to unusually heavy traffic. As it stops right in the middle of the intersection, blocking all traffic coming up Elm, the speeding car swerves, in what seems to be a foolhardy attempt to get around the bus. 'Surely he realizes that there's not enough road for that,' you manage to think, just as the car jumps over the sidewalk, wheels spinning, and without so much as a 'hello', plows straight into you. Your last thought is of the safety of the package you carry, already crushed into pieces against your equally crushed chest, before a sudden white light sweeps over the entire scene. *** You have died *** Or, hold on just a minute. There's something beyond all this white it seems. [Please press SPACE to continue.] A white haze like a strange dimensional snow-storm blankets you into a place between 'here' and 'there'. A sensation best described as a 'visual sneeze' blows past and unthaws brand new objects in a new location. As you open your eyes, you clench your teeth as you realize you are sitting in the driver's seat of a car. More specifically, a cab that has seen better days. Your grizzled hands are gripping the steering wheel in the usual 10-and-2-o'clock position and your feet are ready to brake or give it more gas. You recognize parts of Elm street as you acclimate to moving with traffic north, along two lanes. You check the rear-view mirror and see that you've been transported into the body of a scruffy-looking cab driver with a face that probably hasn't smiled in years. A quick glance confirms that you're not carrying any passengers, thank goodness. Looking around, you notice a car with "STUDENT DRIVER" printed on the sides in the lane to your left. Behind, you see a police car. As you're taking all of this in, you watch as the "STUDENT DRIVER" car moves ahead in the lane to your left. In cab (on Elm St heading north) You're in the driver's seat of a well-used cab, driving along the two-lane, one-way Elm St, headed north in the right (eastmost) lane. You see the "STUDENT DRIVER" car 1 car-length ahead of you in the lane to your left. You see the police car 1 car-length behind you in your lane. Over the radio, you hear: a catchy jingle for "Crisp Crackers". >n You drive in the north direction. The police car behind you turns on its lights and sirens and starts accelerating. The "STUDENT DRIVER" car moves ahead of you in the lane to your left, ending up 1 car-length ahead of you in the lane to your left. Over the radio, you hear: "...just in, folks driving downtown might want to avoid Umber and Elm north-south streets, and Jones and Oak east-west streets. We're hearing there's a serious traffic situation..." >n You drive in the north direction.The police car, formerly 3 car-lengths behind you in your lane, moves forward in the lane behind you (2 behind) and then moves in close enough to be directly behind you The "STUDENT DRIVER" car moves ahead of you in the lane to your left, ending up 1 car-length ahead of you in the lane to your left. Over the radio, you hear: "...police are on the scene in some sort of car chase. More information forthcoming..." >n You drive in the north direction.The police car, formerly 2 car-lengths behind you in your lane, moves in close enough to be directly behind you and then tries to get around your car but can't, so it remains where it is, stuck in traffic. The "STUDENT DRIVER" car moves ahead of you in the lane to your left, ending up 1 car-length ahead of you in the lane to your left. Over the radio, you hear: "...the driver's daughter, first name Sarah, is a student at Elman Elementary school..." >n You drive in the north direction. In the left lane ahead, a car is parked badly, sticking part-way into the lane.The police car, formerly 2 car-lengths behind you in your lane, moves in close enough to be directly behind you and then tries to get around your car but can't, so it remains where it is, stuck in traffic. The "STUDENT DRIVER" car moves ahead and merges into the right lane to avoid a badly parked car in the left lane, ending up 1 car-length ahead of you in your lane. Over the radio, you hear: "...last seen heading north on Elm so stay clear..." >n You can't move there because the "STUDENT DRIVER" car is in the way. Because you can't drive where you wanted to go, you bring the car to a momentary stop instead. Several cars behind you sound their horns. In the left lane ahead, a car is parked badly, sticking part-way into the lane.The police car, formerly 1 car-length behind you in your lane, moves in the opposite lane so it is alongside you and then manages to find a gap in the traffic, narrowly dodges a badly parked car in the left lane, and speeds ahead of your car. The police car drives off, sirens and lights in full force. This will, of course, ultimately result in your demise yet again. Maybe there's some way to block it from getting ahead of you? Without much warning, everything around you fades to a clean white nothingness. You'd be blinking furiously right about now if you still had eyelids under your control. Distinct figures appear in the whiteness just as suddenly, and you take a moment to place yourself. You've looped back to where this all started once again. The corner of Jones and Elm It's mid-morning again, and you are waiting at the intersection of Jones street and Elm street. Traffic is moving slowly along Jones headed east, and along Elm headed north. The traffic lights are working, and if the pedestrian walk light would ever change, you could walk across Jones and head north back to the lab. A 5-foot tall metal box sits bolted to the sidewalk nearby, under one of the traffic light posts. The sidewalks are mostly devoid of pedestrians, although you do notice a woman slowly walking towards Elm street pushing a baby stroller. You notice a bus slowly trying to get through the intersection. >x student Looking down Elm street, you can just make out what looks like a car marked "STUDENT DRIVER" slowly making its way through traffic. Glancing through the windshield, you can't quite see the driver, but you can see a nervous man in the passenger seat, likely a driving instructor. >z Time passes. >z Time passes. >z Time passes. >z Time passes. Suddenly, out of the corner of your eye you see a remarkably unremarkable car speeding rather aggressively up Elm Street, wildly changing lanes and weaving between cars. At the same time, you watch as the woman pushing the baby stroller starts to push the stroller across Elm, oblivious of the car racing towards her. Fortunately, at the last moment, the woman pauses, distracted by something happening in the stroller, and the car races by. You breathe a sigh of relief. Then, the ear-shattering sound of screeching brakes direct your attention to a large city bus, trying and failing to cross Jones Street due to unusually heavy traffic. As it stops right in the middle of the intersection, blocking all traffic coming up Elm, the speeding car swerves, in what seems to be a foolhardy attempt to get around the bus. 'Surely he realizes that there's not enough road for that,' you manage to think, just as the car jumps over the sidewalk, wheels spinning, and without so much as a 'hello', plows straight into you. Your last thought is of the safety of the package you carry, already crushed into pieces against your equally crushed chest, before a sudden white light sweeps over the entire scene. *** You have died *** Or, hold on just a minute. There's something beyond all this white it seems. [Please press SPACE to continue.] The proverbial white curtain drops once again, enshrouding you in whiteness. The players in the next scene of this surreal play start to reveal themselves, uncovered from the disappearing white. Next time you'll remember to ask the powers above for a peek at the script. For now, you can only get ready for the next act. This time you find yourself transported into the passenger seat of an economical used car. Out the front you see a traffic-filled Elm St. A quick glance to the side reveals a young man in the driver's seat, hands gripping the steering wheel, teeth clenched, fixated on the road ahead. You yourself appear to be a balding, middle-aged man with a somewhat stiff neck. You feel unmistakenly nervous. In the lane to your right you see an oddly familiar-looking cab. Some distance behind you, you see a police car. In "STUDENT DRIVER" car (on Elm St heading north) You're in the passenger seat of a car that has seen better days. A young, nervous-looking man is driving the car north along the two-lane, one-way Elm St in the left (westmost) lane. You see the cab alongside you in the lane to your right. You see the police car 1 car-length behind you in the lane to your right. A young man is sitting in the driver's seat, looking a bit nervous. >young man, drive n "Ok Sir," the young man says as he drives in the north direction as you requested. The cab pulls up from behind and settles alongside to your right, ending up alongside you in the lane to your right. The police car behind you turns on its lights and sirens and starts accelerating. The young man says, "Sir, should I pull over? The police car is getting pretty close." >young man, drive n "Ok Sir," the young man says as he drives in the north direction as you requested. The cab pulls up from behind and settles alongside to your right, ending up alongside you in the lane to your right. The police car, formerly 3 car-lengths behind you in the lane to your right, moves forward behind you in the opposite lane (2 behind) and then moves in close enough to be directly behind you (but in the opposite lane) The young man says, "Sir, should I pull over? The police car is getting pretty close." >young man, drive n "Ok Sir," the young man says as he drives in the north direction as you requested. The cab pulls up from behind and settles alongside to your right, ending up alongside you in the lane to your right. The police car, formerly 2 car-lengths behind you in the lane to your right, moves in close enough to be directly behind you (but in the opposite lane) and then tries to get around your car but can't, so it remains where it is, stuck in traffic. The young man says, "Sir, should I pull over? The police car is getting pretty close." >young man, drive n "Ok Sir," the young man says as he drives in the north direction as you requested. The cab pulls up from behind and settles alongside to your right, ending up alongside you in the lane to your right. The police car, formerly 2 car-lengths behind you in the lane to your right, moves in close enough to be directly behind you (but in the opposite lane) and then tries to get around your car but can't, so it remains where it is, stuck in traffic. The young man says, "Sir, should I pull over? The police car is getting pretty close." >young man, stop "Yes sir, I'll stop and wait right here." The young man brings the car to a momentary halt. The cab is stopped and does not move. The police car, formerly 1 car-length behind you in the lane to your right, moves in close enough to be directly behind you (but in the opposite lane) and then tries to get around your car but can't, so it remains where it is, stuck in traffic. The young man says, "Sir, should I pull over? The police car is getting pretty close." >young man, stop "I've already stopped sir, so I guess you want me to stay stopped for now?" The cab is stopped and does not move. The police car, formerly 1 car-length behind you in the lane to your right, moves in close enough to be directly behind you (but in the opposite lane) and then tries to get around your car but can't, so it remains where it is, stuck in traffic. You've sufficiently delayed the police car enough that it won't be able to continue its pursuit. Like a really impatient fog, whiteness rushes in to replace your world. The fog doesn't stick around very long though, and soon you start to see objects unveiled in the fog. You steady yourself for someplace new. You've looped back to where this all started once again. The corner of Jones and Elm It's mid-morning again, and you are waiting at the intersection of Jones street and Elm street. Traffic is moving slowly along Jones headed east, and along Elm headed north. The traffic lights are working, and if the pedestrian walk light would ever change, you could walk across Jones and head north back to the lab. A 5-foot tall metal box sits bolted to the sidewalk nearby, under one of the traffic light posts. The sidewalks are mostly devoid of pedestrians, although you do notice a woman slowly walking towards Elm street pushing a baby stroller. You notice a bus slowly trying to get through the intersection. >z Time passes. >z Time passes. >z Time passes. >z Time passes. >z Time passes. Suddenly, out of the corner of your eye you see a remarkably unremarkable car speeding rather aggressively up Elm Street, wildly changing lanes and weaving between cars. At the same time, you watch as the woman pushing the baby stroller starts to push the stroller across Elm, oblivious of the car racing towards her. Fortunately, at the last moment, the woman pauses, distracted by something happening in the stroller, and the car races by. You breathe a sigh of relief. Then, the ear-shattering sound of screeching brakes direct your attention to a large city bus, trying and failing to cross Jones Street due to unusually heavy traffic. As it stops right in the middle of the intersection, blocking all traffic coming up Elm, the speeding car swerves, in what seems to be a foolhardy attempt to get around the bus. 'Surely he realizes that there's not enough road for that,' you manage to think, just as the car jumps over the sidewalk, wheels spinning, and without so much as a 'hello', plows straight into you. Your last thought is of the safety of the package you carry, already crushed into pieces against your equally crushed chest, before a sudden white light sweeps over the entire scene. *** You have died *** Or, hold on just a minute. There's something beyond all this white it seems. [Please press SPACE to continue.] Rudely, everything fades to white once again. Just as you were starting to get a grasp of things again too. As before, whiteness gives way to a loud pop of color and form, leaving you literally and figuratively disoriented. You've looped back to where this all started once again. The corner of Jones and Elm It's mid-morning again, and you are waiting at the intersection of Jones street and Elm street. Traffic is moving slowly along Jones headed east, and along Elm headed north. The traffic lights are working, and if the pedestrian walk light would ever change, you could walk across Jones and head north back to the lab. A 5-foot tall metal box sits bolted to the sidewalk nearby, under one of the traffic light posts. The sidewalks are mostly devoid of pedestrians, although you do notice a woman slowly walking towards Elm street pushing a baby stroller. You notice a bus slowly trying to get through the intersection. >think about sarah That's right, the cab radio mentioned something about some child named Sarah. She's somehow related to the driver of the speeding car. Oh, and she goes to Elman Elementary school? Why, that's right across the street from you. >save Ok. >break package Violence isn't the answer to this one. >x package After a bit of hassle, you managed to obtain the small package that contains even smaller isotopes. It's hard to understand how something clearly addressed to 'The Orzel Institute' managed to get misdirected to 'The Oswell Steak House'. >break package Violence isn't the answer to this one. >i You're carrying: a package Suddenly, out of the corner of your eye you see a remarkably unremarkable car speeding rather aggressively up Elm Street, wildly changing lanes and weaving between cars. At the same time, you watch as the woman pushing the baby stroller starts to push the stroller across Elm, oblivious of the car racing towards her. Fortunately, at the last moment, the woman pauses, distracted by something happening in the stroller, and the car races by. You breathe a sigh of relief. Then, the ear-shattering sound of screeching brakes direct your attention to a large city bus, trying and failing to cross Jones Street due to unusually heavy traffic. As it stops right in the middle of the intersection, blocking all traffic coming up Elm, the speeding car swerves, in what seems to be a foolhardy attempt to get around the bus. 'Surely he realizes that there's not enough road for that,' you manage to think, just as the car jumps over the sidewalk, wheels spinning, and without so much as a 'hello', plows straight into you. Your last thought is of the safety of the package you carry, already crushed into pieces against your equally crushed chest, before a sudden white light sweeps over the entire scene. *** You have died *** Or, hold on just a minute. There's something beyond all this white it seems. [Please press SPACE to continue.] The proverbial white curtain drops once again, enshrouding you in whiteness. The players in the next scene of this surreal play start to reveal themselves, uncovered from the disappearing white. Next time you'll remember to ask the powers above for a peek at the script. For now, you can only get ready for the next act. You've looped back to where this all started once again. The corner of Jones and Elm It's mid-morning again, and you are waiting at the intersection of Jones street and Elm street. Traffic is moving slowly along Jones headed east, and along Elm headed north. The traffic lights are working, and if the pedestrian walk light would ever change, you could walk across Jones and head north back to the lab. A 5-foot tall metal box sits bolted to the sidewalk nearby, under one of the traffic light posts. The sidewalks are mostly devoid of pedestrians, although you do notice a woman slowly walking towards Elm street pushing a baby stroller. You notice a bus slowly trying to get through the intersection. Elman Elementary school is right across the street from you. >think about sarah That's right, the cab radio mentioned something about some child named Sarah. She's somehow related to the driver of the speeding car. Oh, and she goes to Elman Elementary school? Why, that's right across the street from you. >x school There's a school just across the street, with "Elman Elementary" in large letters over the entrance gate. You see a young girl standing just outside the school gate, speaking with someone who might be a teacher. >x girl There's a young girl with blond hair standing in front of Elman Elementary across the street. She's talking to a teacher and, based on the concerned look on the teacher's face, the girl is upset about something. The girl is also holding the leash to a little dog that sits obediently beside her. As you try and get a better look at the girl, who you are convinced is Sarah, you notice the little dog looking right at you. It briefly wags its tail, and then goes back to looking up at the girl. >z Time passes. >z Time passes. Suddenly, out of the corner of your eye you see a remarkably unremarkable car speeding rather aggressively up Elm Street, wildly changing lanes and weaving between cars. At the same time, you watch as the woman pushing the baby stroller starts to push the stroller across Elm, oblivious of the car racing towards her. Fortunately, at the last moment, the woman pauses, distracted by something happening in the stroller, and the car races by. You breathe a sigh of relief. Then, the ear-shattering sound of screeching brakes direct your attention to a large city bus, trying and failing to cross Jones Street due to unusually heavy traffic. As it stops right in the middle of the intersection, blocking all traffic coming up Elm, the speeding car swerves, in what seems to be a foolhardy attempt to get around the bus. 'Surely he realizes that there's not enough road for that,' you manage to think, just as the car jumps over the sidewalk, wheels spinning, and without so much as a 'hello', plows straight into you. Your last thought is of the safety of the package you carry, already crushed into pieces against your equally crushed chest, before a sudden white light sweeps over the entire scene. *** You have died *** Or, hold on just a minute. There's something beyond all this white it seems. [Please press SPACE to continue.] Like a really impatient fog, whiteness rushes in to replace your world. The fog doesn't stick around very long though, and soon you start to see objects unveiled in the fog. You steady yourself for someplace new. You find yourself transported, yet again, into a new, unfamiliar body in a new, unfamiliar place. Curiously, the first thing you notice about your new environment is the smell -- or smells, really. So many new, strange smells! As you adjust to your seemingly heightened sense of smell, you glance around and determine you're in some child's bedroom. A small desk and chair are sitting to the side of the room, and a bed is over in a corner. A young girl is sitting on the floor in front of you, looking unhappy. You immediately feel compelled to comfort her in some way, but as you try to speak, you can only manage a strange guttural sound. You take a step forward and see two small brown paws land to your left and right. What new lunacy is this? And then it hits you. You are in the body of a small, adorable dog. Child's Bedroom You're in a small room that, based on the copious amount of cute stuffed animals scattered about, is most likely a child's bedroom. You can see Sarah here. >x bed The bed is quite small, but looks comfortable and warm. >look under bed You notice a small ball under the bed, which you paw at until you can knock it into the middle of the room. >get ball The ball is a little too large to hold in your current form. Also, it's unclear where you would put it. >push ball to sarah You nudge the ball towards the girl, and it rolls towards her foot. She picks it up, looks your way, and suddenly smiles. "Oh, are you giving this to me?" she asks. "I can't take your ball, Burshie," she says and rolls the ball back towards you. The little girl turns to you, pulls you towards her by your paws, and looks doleful. "Oh Burshie, I don't know what to do." >z Time passes. "Daddy's in trouble Burshie, I just know it. I heard him talking to someone over the phone yesterday. There was a lot of yelling. He said something about money, he was really angry about it." >z Time passes. "Just now I saw him packing a suitcase. He didn't see me, but after Mom left for work, I watched him pack lots of clothes, some money, his favorite watch. He never takes that watch anywhere, Burshie. Where could he be going?" >z Time passes. "This morning he seemed really far away. He didn't eat any breakfast. I asked if he was going to drive me to school and he told me to take the bus. Then, when I was leaving I asked him if he was going to pick me up from school later, and he didn't even hear me. Mom ended up picking me up." >z Time passes. "I just don't know what to do Burshie. I'm worried something bad is going to happen. I think I should go talk to him, but it's late and I don't want to get him upset." The young girl then looks at you and smiles. "I know, you can help me decide Burshie! If you bark once, then I shouldn't bother Dad. But if you bark twice, then I should bother him. Help me Burshie! Tell me what to do!" >bark twice "Ok Burshie, I'm going to go talk to Dad right now. You wait right here." The girl leaves the room. From some distorted magic wand a splash of white is cast across your senses. It's easy to dismiss this as some sort of 'magic', but you lack the ability to describe the feeling in a way that would have any real-world meaning. Brushing off the higher-order pixie dust, you blink into a new place. You've looped back to where this all started once again. The corner of Jones and Elm It's mid-morning again, and you are waiting at the intersection of Jones street and Elm street. Traffic is moving at average speed along Jones headed east, and along Elm headed north. The traffic lights are working, and if the pedestrian walk light would ever change, you could walk across Jones and head north back to the lab. A 5-foot tall metal box sits bolted to the sidewalk nearby, under one of the traffic light posts. The sidewalks are mostly devoid of pedestrians, although you do notice a woman slowly walking towards Elm street pushing a baby stroller. You notice a bus slowly trying to get through the intersection. Elman Elementary school is right across the street from you. >z Time passes. >z Time passes. >z Time passes. >z Time passes. You brace yourself for the speeding car that should be speeding towards you any minute now... Yes, any minute now... But nothing happens. No out-of-control car driving up on the sidewalk and crushing you. Just traffic as usual. The sun is shining down from a blue sky, and everyone seems to just be going about their business. You blink in disbelief. Several light-changes later, you cross the street and head back to the lab, incredulous that you're still alive. The rest of the day proceeds pretty much like any other, which is maddeningly strange, given all the things you've been through. You want to tell someone, anyone, about your impossible time-travel adventures, but who would believe you? At one point you even consider telling Dr. Roth, but you break into a brief but uncontrollable fit of laughter that fortunately no one in the lab witnesses. You muddle through a few test experiments, let Dr. Roth know that you're not feeling like yourself ("When has that stopped you before?" he says with a disappointed frown), and head home early, taking the long way there. By the time you arrive back in your apartment, you've convinced yourself it was some sort of mental nightmare brought on by a near death experience. That's the only sane way of thinking about it. All of that jumping into other people's bodies was some sort of wild cognitive distortion, surely. The idea of some sort of out-of-body time travel is preposterous. It couldn't possibly have been real. After a rather basic dinner, you flop onto the ugly green couch your sister gave you (second hand, of course) and search for something on television. You slowly breathe away the last bits of anxiety from the day. You switch to the nightly news. "Earlier today, a man turned himself in at the uptown police station. According to our sources, the man was thinking about fleeing the country due to some embezzlement situation at his job working for Loomis Bank." The station shows some logo for Loomis Bank, who you're not sure you've ever heard of. "Luckily, the man was given a second chance, by his own daughter." A candid picture of a little blond girl is shown, a face you are familiar with. "The story we're being told is that the man's daughter convinced him to turn himself into the police rather than run. Parents watching this story, take note, your child might be giving you exactly the advice you need." A short grainy video of a man being detained by police officers in some police station is shown. You can't quite make out his face. "There's a happy ending to this story -- we're told investigators, with the help of Loomis Bank, have determined that the man was innocent. The man's employment account with the bank had been hacked and professional criminals had used his account to access bank funds. "Police report that the man was released and is now at home, reunited with his wife and little girl. We'll have more on this story as it develops." You feel a great sense of relief, despite not knowing this man at all, despite knowing that at various points in your recent history(?) this very man, on numerous occasions, hit you with his car. The news report switches to some business story about how well the Pineapple 16XL is selling, so you switch the TV off and sit for a moment, lost in thought. All those little things you did really led to this outcome. Arguably, you didn't even do these things, someone else's body did the work. But, through this crazy sequence of events, you were able to change the way things went. To change the whole story. Shouldn't you feel good about that? And, adding to that, when you really compare things to all the complications in all the other lives you experienced, doesn't that put some of your current anxieties in a somewhat more mundane, and therefore more positive, light? Perhaps. Stuff to think about tomorrow. For now, you get to sleep to another day. You turn the lights out and head to bed. *** You have won *** In that game you scored 0 out of a possible 0, in 93 turns. Would you like to RESTART, RESTORE a saved game or QUIT? >quit