Start of a transcript of JIGSAW An Interactive History Copyright (c) 1995 by Graham Nelson Release 3 / Serial number 951129 / Inform v1600 Library 6/1 Standard interpreter 1.1 Interpreter 1 Version C / Library serial number 951024 >s Eastern Hotel Room A sweaty, mouldering hotel room in a third-rate establishment. A three-bladed fan lazily pushes the air about, to little effect. Cockroaches crawl along the edges of the floor, but at least shutters are provided to keep out the mosquitos. There's a door in the northern wall. The management have done their best to provide you with the English papers, in as much as the latest edition of the "Eagle" comic is laid out on the dresser. The shutters are closed again. The door stands open. >open window You open the shutters. >out Faded Landing The hotel landing was designed to resemble an opulent Parisian staircase of the 1870s, but time, neglect, misunderstanding and poor taste have made the result more like a brothel. At least the bathroom door (northeast) is slightly concealed. At the foot of the off-red stairs, a half-dozen Egyptian soldiers in not much of a uniform are standing around, gesticulating and chattering to each other. There's enough hostility to make your presence seem ill-advised. The mosquito twitches pathetically on the soap. >s Eastern Hotel Room A sweaty, mouldering hotel room in a third-rate establishment. A three-bladed fan lazily pushes the air about, to little effect. Cockroaches crawl along the edges of the floor, but at least shutters are provided to keep out the mosquitos. There's a door in the northern wall. The management have done their best to provide you with the English papers, in as much as the latest edition of the "Eagle" comic is laid out on the dresser. The shutters are open onto a beautiful, slow red sunset. The door stands open. The mosquito twitches pathetically on the soap. >e There's nowhere to go, unless you count the door. The mosquito twitches pathetically on the soap. >enter window Faded Landing The hotel landing was designed to resemble an opulent Parisian staircase of the 1870s, but time, neglect, misunderstanding and poor taste have made the result more like a brothel. At least the bathroom door (northeast) is slightly concealed. At the foot of the off-red stairs, a half-dozen Egyptian soldiers in not much of a uniform are standing around, gesticulating and chattering to each other. There's enough hostility to make your presence seem ill-advised. >s Eastern Hotel Room A sweaty, mouldering hotel room in a third-rate establishment. A three-bladed fan lazily pushes the air about, to little effect. Cockroaches crawl along the edges of the floor, but at least shutters are provided to keep out the mosquitos. There's a door in the northern wall. The management have done their best to provide you with the English papers, in as much as the latest edition of the "Eagle" comic is laid out on the dresser. The shutters are open onto a beautiful, slow red sunset. The door stands open. Remarkably conveniently, a grappling iron has been thrown up to the shutters and hooked over the lip. A rope now leads down out of the window. >x iron You see nothing special about the grappling iron and rope. >restore Ok. >s Eastern Hotel Room A sweaty, mouldering hotel room in a third-rate establishment. A three-bladed fan lazily pushes the air about, to little effect. Cockroaches crawl along the edges of the floor, but at least shutters are provided to keep out the mosquitos. There's a door in the northern wall. The management have done their best to provide you with the English papers, in as much as the latest edition of the "Eagle" comic is laid out on the dresser. The shutters are closed again. The door stands open. The mosquito twitches pathetically on the soap. >z Time passes. >open window You open the shutters. Remarkably conveniently, a grappling iron has been thrown up to the shutters and hooked over the lip. A rope now leads down out of the window. The mosquito twitches pathetically on the soap. >get iron The rope is being held fast at the other end. >d You drop down off the rope, and land with a jolt on the... Quayside You're on a quayside alley, running between the Canal bank and the side of the hotel. The rope hanging from your window tails off eight or nine feet above ground, and it wasn't a happy descent. A small tarpaulin-roofed barge is moored alongside you, in which a short flight of wooden steps leads below deck. [Your score has just gone up by one point.] >undo Eastern Hotel Room [Previous turn undone.] >climb rope You drop down off the rope, and land with a jolt on the... Quayside You're on a quayside alley, running between the Canal bank and the side of the hotel. The rope hanging from your window tails off eight or nine feet above ground, and it wasn't a happy descent. A small tarpaulin-roofed barge is moored alongside you, in which a short flight of wooden steps leads below deck. The mosquito twitches pathetically on the soap. [Your score has just gone up by one point.] >w The quayside is busy, even in the early evening, and you don't want to attract attention. The mosquito twitches pathetically on the soap. >e The quayside is busy, even in the early evening, and you don't want to attract attention. The mosquito twitches pathetically on the soap. >s The quayside is busy, even in the early evening, and you don't want to attract attention. The mosquito twitches pathetically on the soap. >n The quayside is busy, even in the early evening, and you don't want to attract attention. The mosquito twitches pathetically on the soap. >u Dan Dare could climb up that rope. Even a moderately trained athlete could. Enough said. The mosquito twitches pathetically on the soap. >x barge An inviting means of escape. The mosquito twitches pathetically on the soap. >enter barge As you descend the wooden steps, suddenly you're grabbed from behind, something unpleasantly sharp is jabbed into your ribs and someone hisses "Who the hell are you?" The whole barge shakes and suddenly jerks. Twenty seconds of extreme embarrassment follow. Black clearly hasn't forgotten the handcuffs incident. Refuge The tarpaulin-laid interior of the barge, lit by candles, the deck strewn with old blankets and cans of "essence". A short flight of steps leads steeply up into the evening. Black sits here, facing the wooden steps, shivering (though it isn't cold). Black catches sight of the revolting, rancid mess of soap in your hands. Explanation would take too long, and you end up throwing it out into the bilges. >black, sorry "The soldiers caught me... had to get away..." Black looks more frightened than anyone you've ever met before. "If I didn't rescue you, though... who did?" >x black Black looks scared and weary. >pronouns At the moment, "it" means the small barge, "him" is unset and "her" means the snow leopard. >hug black Opportunism, concern or affection? A question Black might be in better condition to consider in the morning. * -- * -- * -- * In the middle of the night, a flash fire burns out the barge, killing you and Black almost immediately. The trouble with being killed, of course, is that it gives you so little opportunity to find out what's really going on. *** You have died *** In that game you scored 95 out of a possible 100, in 2330 turns, giving you the rank of Grandmaster Puzzler. Would you like to RESTART, RESTORE a saved game, give the FULL score for that game or QUIT? > undo Refuge [Previous turn undone.] >z Time passes. >i You are carrying: a photograph of Nasser a delivered note a Cyrillic-lettered key a basket-weave purse (which is open but empty) a cloth cap (being worn) a sparkler (providing light) a canvas rucksack (which is open) a berliner wheels III and I a spent cartridge a RZ-ROV gadget a beige folder a Geiger counter Rukl's "Atlas of the Moon" a British Army officer's uniform a wooden broom a cargo capsule (which is empty) a gnomon Waldo a mandolin a box of mosquito powder a Sixth Officer's jacket Place Names of Carolina a green cap a Richard's anemometer a paper dart a madeleine cake Black's Kaldecki detector a second note from Black a first aid box (which is closed) the 1911 Boy's Book of the Sea a curious device the Victorian ormolu clock Emily's sketch book a charcoal pencil three keys: a little key a elegant key a tagged key an intercept a travel permit a checklist a chit signed by Lenin a handwritten invitation card a White Star Line scribbled-on towel a folded note a white party ticket three newspapers: a crumpled newspaper an historic edition of Pravda Le Figaro "Oh, I got what I came for, by the way," Black mumbles in a roundabout kind of way. "The deal. Took some doing - the local hotheads didn't like it at all, but the older ones signed in the end." And Black passes you a paper, not without a subdued mood of triumph. >x paper Which do you mean, the signed paper, the paper dart, Emily's sketch book, the intercept, the crumpled newspaper, the edition of Pravda or Le Figaro? >signed It seems to be some kind of signed preliminary agreement to a steady handover of shares in the Suez Canal Company, with limited compensation, in exchange for a slightly longer lease period. Dull legality. >z Time passes. >z Time passes. >z Time passes. >show paper to black (the signed paper to Black) It doesn't look as if that would make Black feel any better. >u It seems that the barge cut loose when Black pounced on you, for it's now drifting downstream in the centre of the canal. >look Refuge The tarpaulin-laid interior of the barge, lit by candles, the deck strewn with old blankets and cans of "essence". A short flight of steps leads steeply up into the evening. Black sits here, facing the wooden steps, shivering (though it isn't cold). >get blanket You can't see any such thing. >get blankets You can't see any such thing. >x cans Tucked behind the cans, not quite casually, is a metal strongbox. >x box (the metal strongbox) It has rounded edges, is made of a thick grey metal and is about one foot by half by half. Not all that heavy. >open box (the metal strongbox) 1956 wasn't the Dark Ages, you know - they knew how to make a solid strong-box all right, and a decent lock. >put rz-rov on box Which do you mean, the metal strongbox, the box of mosquito powder or the first aid box? >metal The gadget clings to the strongbox, runs briefly and then falls off as the mechanism unlocks itself. Black picks up the gadget, fascinated. "Heavens!" And you just haven't the heart to insist on having it back, so into Black's pocket it goes. >open strongbox You open the metal strongbox, revealing a British passport and a charter document. >x passport An old black board-bound British passport. While it is, naturally, Property of Her Britannic Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, and is to be returned to her Secretary of State at the earliest opportunity, it is more specifically the passport of Mr and Mrs J. P. Swithin. Mr Swithin gives his occupation as "engineer". The photographs are very poor indeed, but bear a passing resemblance to Black and yourself. >x charter Congratulations on your honeymoon, by the way. That appears to be the reason for your Suez barge adventure. The two-deck barge, stamped "no cargo", with no duties to pay, is heading down from Port Faid and aiming, rather ambitiously, for Suez itself. >show charter to black (first taking the charter document) (putting the basket-weave purse into the canvas rucksack to make room) It doesn't look as if that would make Black feel any better. >show passport to black (first taking the British passport) (putting the Cyrillic-lettered key into the canvas rucksack to make room) It doesn't look as if that would make Black feel any better. >x cans Water, perhaps. Hard to say. >open cans That's not something you can open. >search cans You find nothing of interest. >search box (the metal strongbox) The metal strongbox is empty. >take metal box (putting the delivered note into the canvas rucksack to make room) Taken. >u It seems that the barge cut loose when Black pounced on you, for it's now drifting downstream in the centre of the canal. >d There's only the one little room. >look Refuge The tarpaulin-laid interior of the barge, lit by candles, the deck strewn with old blankets and cans of "essence". A short flight of steps leads steeply up into the evening. Black sits here, facing the wooden steps, shivering (though it isn't cold). >x candles You can't see any such thing. >x steps You can't see any such thing. >x black Black looks scared and weary. >kiss black Opportunism, concern or affection? A question Black might be in better condition to consider in the morning. * -- * -- * -- * In the middle of the night, a flash fire burns out the barge, killing you and Black almost immediately. The trouble with being killed, of course, is that it gives you so little opportunity to find out what's really going on. *** You have died *** In that game you scored 95 out of a possible 100, in 2357 turns, giving you the rank of Grandmaster Puzzler. Would you like to RESTART, RESTORE a saved game, give the FULL score for that game or QUIT? > undo Refuge [Previous turn undone.] >kiss black Opportunism, concern or affection? A question Black might be in better condition to consider in the morning. * -- * -- * -- * In the middle of the night, a flash fire burns out the barge, killing you and Black almost immediately. The trouble with being killed, of course, is that it gives you so little opportunity to find out what's really going on. *** You have died *** In that game you scored 95 out of a possible 100, in 2357 turns, giving you the rank of Grandmaster Puzzler. Would you like to RESTART, RESTORE a saved game, give the FULL score for that game or QUIT? > undo Refuge [Previous turn undone.] >z Time passes. >z Time passes. >z Time passes. >z Time passes. >kiss black Opportunism, concern or affection? A question Black might be in better condition to consider in the morning. * -- * -- * -- * In the middle of the night, a flash fire burns out the barge, killing you and Black almost immediately. The trouble with being killed, of course, is that it gives you so little opportunity to find out what's really going on. *** You have died *** In that game you scored 95 out of a possible 100, in 2361 turns, giving you the rank of Grandmaster Puzzler. Would you like to RESTART, RESTORE a saved game, give the FULL score for that game or QUIT? > undo Refuge [Previous turn undone.] >kiss black Opportunism, concern or affection? A question Black might be in better condition to consider in the morning. * -- * -- * -- * In the middle of the night, a flash fire burns out the barge, killing you and Black almost immediately. The trouble with being killed, of course, is that it gives you so little opportunity to find out what's really going on. *** You have died *** In that game you scored 95 out of a possible 100, in 2361 turns, giving you the rank of Grandmaster Puzzler. Would you like to RESTART, RESTORE a saved game, give the FULL score for that game or QUIT? > undo Refuge [Previous turn undone.] >wait until 8:00 am I only understood you as far as wanting to wait. >save Ok. >x tarp You can't see any such thing. >x tarpaulin You can't see any such thing. >hint Refuge The tarpaulin-laid interior of the barge, lit by candles, the deck strewn with old blankets and cans of "essence". A short flight of steps leads steeply up into the evening. Black sits here, facing the wooden steps, shivering (though it isn't cold). >x wooden You see nothing special about the wooden broom. >touch black Keep your hands to yourself! >search black You find nothing of interest. >look behind cans I only understood you as far as wanting to look. >look under cans You find nothing of interest. >look under box Which do you mean, the metal strongbox, the box of mosquito powder or the first aid box? >metal You find nothing of interest. >i You are carrying: a metal strongbox (which is open but empty) a British passport a charter document a signed paper a photograph of Nasser a cloth cap (being worn) a sparkler (providing light) a canvas rucksack (which is open) a basket-weave purse (which is open but empty) a berliner wheels III and I a spent cartridge a beige folder a Geiger counter Rukl's "Atlas of the Moon" a British Army officer's uniform a wooden broom a cargo capsule (which is empty) a gnomon Waldo a mandolin a box of mosquito powder a Sixth Officer's jacket Place Names of Carolina a green cap a Richard's anemometer a paper dart a madeleine cake Black's Kaldecki detector a second note from Black a first aid box (which is closed) the 1911 Boy's Book of the Sea a curious device the Victorian ormolu clock Emily's sketch book a charcoal pencil three newspapers: a crumpled newspaper an historic edition of Pravda Le Figaro a delivered note an intercept a travel permit a checklist a chit signed by Lenin a handwritten invitation card a White Star Line scribbled-on towel a folded note a white party ticket four keys: a Cyrillic-lettered key a little key a elegant key a tagged key >open cans That's not something you can open. >out But you aren't in anything at the moment. >x me As good-looking as ever. >x black Black looks scared and weary. >hold black I don't suppose Black would care for that. >x barge You can't see any such thing. >z Time passes. >z Time passes. >z Time passes. >u It seems that the barge cut loose when Black pounced on you, for it's now drifting downstream in the centre of the canal. >x canal You can't see any such thing. >x water You can't see any such thing. >x cargo This isn't 70s technology at all: it looks new even to you, and military at that, but bears no flag or insignia. Unmanned, of course (since it's only a two-foot barrel) it must be designed for storage of some kind. >look Refuge The tarpaulin-laid interior of the barge, lit by candles, the deck strewn with old blankets and cans of "essence". A short flight of steps leads steeply up into the evening. Black sits here, facing the wooden steps, shivering (though it isn't cold). >x candles You can't see any such thing. >x candle You can't see any such thing. >x interior You can't see any such thing. >x deck You follow the line of the floorboards in the deck and discover a loose one. Beneath is a long fuse, and it's burning! There's no time to pick and choose a reaction, and you grab at the first thing you can to smother the flame. Which is unfortunate, from one point of view, as it's the negotiated deal that gets charred to ashes in your hands. Black looks on, wordless and aghast, as scared as ever. [Your score has just gone up by one point.] >undo Refuge [Previous turn undone.] >put signed in strongbox (the signed paper in the metal strongbox) You put the signed paper into the metal strongbox. >close strongbox You close the metal strongbox. >x deck You follow the line of the floorboards in the deck and discover a loose one. Beneath is a long fuse, and it's burning! There's no time to pick and choose a reaction, and you grab at the first thing you can to smother the flame. Which is unfortunate, from one point of view, as it's the negotiated deal that gets charred to ashes in your hands. Black looks on, wordless and aghast, as scared as ever. [Your score has just gone up by one point.] >x strongbox It has rounded edges, is made of a thick grey metal and is about one foot by half by half. Not all that heavy. "So much for the deal," says Black, tight-lipped. "I suppose certain people would much rather wake up to read in the newspaper about the nice English honeymoon couple, firebombed in the barge they innocently hired, wouldn't they? Much better copy." >close strongbox It's already closed. >sit next to black I didn't understand that sentence. >black, yes Black is awesomely fed up, and not entirely with people other than you. But then Black is also terrified, and so are you, to be honest. >x deck The deck is charred and torn up from your moment of panic. >hug black Opportunism, concern or affection? A question Black might be in better condition to consider in the morning. * -- * -- * -- * You are jolted awake by a distant, but unrepeated explosion. It's a warm morning, and sunlight streams in through the barge's open hatch. >x black Black looks refreshed and wary. >black, good morning Black yawns, coolly, with nothing much to say. Is Black always like this in the morning? you can't help wondering. >look Refuge The tarpaulin-laid interior of the barge looks rather scruffy in the fresh morning light, and not at all cosy. A short flight of steep wooden steps leads up, as you probably remember. Black sits here, looking warily at you. The two of you seem to be having one of those "don't mention the previous evening" kind of mornings. The air here suddenly seems disturbed, and a kind of cloud gathers from light winds and currents. From inside the rucksack, you hear a bell ring. >get all disturbed air: Of the many hard-to-grasp things you have encountered this evening, this the hardest. Black: I don't suppose Black would care for that. cans of "essence": That's hardly portable. >undo Refuge [Previous turn undone.] >press white button The cloud of disturbed air condenses into a kind of spherical ink-black ball, large enough to swallow you up whole. All lassitude gone, Black suddenly gets up and (with a half-smile in your direction, which is arguably more than you deserve) strides into the black ball. Rather expertly, since somehow the ball survives intact, which is more than it ever does when you try this. >enter ball You climb into blackness, which draws you... Inside the Black Ball You stand in absolute blackness, as if in space, but a space without stars. You can imagine the six spatial directions, but although there seems to be light and you can see your arms and possessions, there is nothing else. All you can hear is your own breathing. >z Time passes. >z Time passes. As suddenly as it enveloped you, the blackness begins to thaw and melt, like snow into an ash-grey slush which drifts and piles into landscape. You have returned to the Land. Grim, monochrome steppes, wide and exposed beneath a brooding sky, the colour of boiled bruised potatoes. Bleak mountain crags surround a huge plain. The pyramid gleams gold like a beacon, like lamplight in the window of a farmhouse at night. Octahedron The sharp mountain walls to east and south meet here at a basalt pinnacle, on which a perfectly-cut octahedron two yards across is balanced. >save Ok. >n Ash River Culvert To the north, the Ash River, sick with grey sludge, drains into a culvert in the sheer mountain wall which runs along the eastern border of the Land. >n Toll Gate Here, the eastern rock face meets the Ash River just to the south. Cut into the rock face is a square-cut doorway, radiating cold and open only onto blackness. Above it is an adamantine plaque, bearing the simple word "TOLL" and a graph. >n Dodecahedron The sharp mountain walls to east and north meet here at a basalt pinnacle, on which a perfectly-cut dodecahedron two yards across is balanced. >w Scree Fall A sharp, steep mountain wall rises to the north, and scree rattles down with each gust of wind, jagged as flint. >w Clouded Crags A sharp, steep mountain wall rises to the north. Clouds gather and part with furious speed on the crags above. A slowly-rotating, holographic projection hangs in mid-air beneath the churning clouds, in the shape of a torus. The hologram slowly turns, now showing a demonstration of the Doppler effect. >w Cube The sharp mountain walls to west and north meet here at a basalt pinnacle, on which a perfectly-cut cube two yards across is balanced. >s Glacier Milk A violently rapid glacier-milk river plunges down the western rock face into a canal just to the south, which flows away east. >s At the Pagoda The western rock face meets the glacier-milk canal just to the north. A Chinese Pagoda, or pavilion, is placed serenely on this bank, its doorway open. >s Icosahedron The sharp mountain walls to west and south meet here at a basalt pinnacle, on which a perfectly-cut icosahedron two yards across is balanced. >e Streaks and Bones The steep mountain wall to the south is streaked here with foul white deposits, and tiny broken bones are scattered about where you stand. >e Carved Faces The southern mountain wall is carved here with a mass of faces, each on top of another: glaring, happy, bemused, tragic. At the top of the pile, your own face stares out impassively. >e Octahedron The sharp mountain walls to east and south meet here at a basalt pinnacle, on which a perfectly-cut octahedron two yards across is balanced. >nw Southeast of Pyramid Open field south of a slow, sludgy Ash River, which flows out of the east corner of the golden Pyramid. In the centre of the southeast face is a gleaming doorway. >nw Disc Room This is a tiny tetrahedral annexe of a room, whose only clear feature is a broad black disc embedded in the floor. >nw Inside the Monument A sloping crevice of metal, sunken into the ground some way to make a larger-than-expected room. Short flights of steps lead up to west and southeast. The air is hot as a bakery. At the centre is a heavy old table whose top is a beautiful mahogany jigsaw-board, with room for sixteen pieces arranged in a square. The board is full. >x board "Nec deus intersit nisi dignus vindice nodus inciderit" 1 2 3 4 +----------------------------------------------------+ | | a | Mould Record Wall Park | | | | | b | Invalid Dunes Plane Snow | | | | | c | Glass Carriage Train Moon | | | | | d | Park Lady House Barge | | | +----------------------------------------------------+ >x grid "Nec deus intersit nisi dignus vindice nodus inciderit" 1 2 3 4 +----------------------------------------------------+ | | a | Mould Record Wall Park | | | | | b | Invalid Dunes Plane Snow | | | | | c | Glass Carriage Train Moon | | | | | d | Park Lady House Barge | | | +----------------------------------------------------+ >