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 >set clock to 59 The clock starts, silently and slowly, and the jigsaw board pulses with a flickering amber light, warm and erratic as though from an oil lamp. >press d3 The piece at d3 presses in smoothly, like a button, then releases. You are sucked up once again into the time vortex. As you slow down, you briefly make out an Arab chattering about the Camp David accord and then everything begins to change... [Press SPACE to continue.] Chapter Eleven - Banburismus Cabbage Fields A brightly overcast day of clouds and light rain, the cabbage crops luridly green in the broad loam fields. On the horizon there's nothing but some grey trucks some way to the north; nearer to hand, to east, is some sort of barn, guarded by rather bored soldiers in German army uniform. >save Ok. >x device A highly curious device, like a wood-mounted gimballed compass, with dials and swinging arrows, inscribed "tempora mutantur, nos et mutamur in illis". The main feature is a white button. The easiest arrow to read points to 41. >n You approach the grey trucks, almost bouncing on the springy loam. It's a military convoy going nowhere in particular, but you're captivated by the curiously beautiful but distant sound of the drivers sitting about under a tarpaulin tent, singing the "Wacht am Rhein". And yet you drift backward again, and have gone nowhere. >e Inside the Barn For a barn this is a solid building, with a tiled floor, spear-thick walls and a high, decently water-tight roof. Benches are covered with paper, black and white maps and boxes of electrical gear. An exceedingly tall wardrobe reaches up almost to the ceiling. Black, dressed in uniform, is sat at a bench in front of a weird typewriter. A slip of paper, bearing the Wehrmacht stamp, has fallen from Black's pocket. >get paper (the Wehrmacht paper) Your presence here seems somehow too insubstantial for that. >x paper (the Wehrmacht paper) In Black's handwriting: Stngs 11, 7, ? [That third number is indecipherable, where the paper has been torn.] a - g w - c v - t u - j y - r [...At which point the tear cuts off the paper.] >u There's only one door to the barn, back out west. >look on top of wardrobe I only understood you as far as wanting to look. >x wardrobe The wardrobe's very tall; there's nothing underneath or behind it as far as you can see, and your ghostly self seems too insubstantial to get the door open. >x top of wardrobe The wardrobe's very tall; there's nothing underneath or behind it as far as you can see, and your ghostly self seems too insubstantial to get the door open. >look over wardrobe I only understood you as far as wanting to look. >climb wardrobe Your presence here seems somehow too insubstantial for that. >fly Amazingly, your ghost can fly! You swoop around the room in childish delight, while Black doggedly works through some message below. Before you sink back to earth, you swipe at the wheels marked I and III (on top of the wardrobe), but of course your hand passes through them. >jump You jump up on the spot, your ghostly self rising impossibly high. This is exhilarating but unrevealing, except that at the highest point you notice (still above you) two cogged wheels of some description on top of the wardrobe. >x black Black is dressed in a cypher clerk's uniform, and looks keen. Although Black seems slightly more substantial to you than everything else, there's still no sign of recognition. >x machine It bears the legend "Enigma", but you can see almost nothing of it because Black is so intently hunched over the keys. There are three odd wires, the kind used for joining two terminals together, thrown to one side. >touch black Your presence here seems somehow too insubstantial for that. >out Cabbage Fields A brightly overcast day of clouds and light rain, the cabbage crops luridly green in the broad loam fields. On the horizon there's nothing but some grey trucks some way to the north; nearer to hand, to east, is some sort of barn, guarded by rather bored soldiers in German army uniform. >jump You jump on the spot, fruitlessly. >fly Your ghostly spirit rises up and away, into the clouds, far, far across the fields and then the ocean! Night and day pass but still you fly, captivated. The mist gathers. Then, with a thump, you bang your head against something. Disc Room This is a tiny tetrahedral annexe of a room, whose only clear feature is a broad black disc embedded in the floor. >fly Without wings you're unable to fly. >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 | | | +----------------------------------------------------+ >list a1 a growth of mould in a Petri dish (solved) a2 a 33 r.p.m. vinyl long-playing record (solved) a3 a wall covered with graffiti a4 parklands strobed by laser light (solved) b1 a moustachioed invalid in bed (solved) b2 rolling, low sand dunes (solved) b3 a silver USAF-marked plane (solved) b4 white folds of snow (solved) c1 a cocktail in a glass, with tonic and ice (solved) c2 a horse-drawn state carriage (solved) c3 a racing steam train (solved) c4 the full moon in a blue sky (solved) d1 parklands with wrought iron gates d2 a lady wearing a crinoline dress d3 a Victorian country house (visited) d4 a shipping barge in a canal >x d3 A large jigsaw piece, six inches on a side and square. It bears a picture of a Victorian country house. It is currently this way up: >set clock to 59 You give the clock a little longer to run. >press d3 The piece at d3 presses in smoothly, like a button, then releases. You are sucked up once again into the time vortex. As you slow down, you briefly make out hand-held cine film of Kennedy's assassination and then everything begins to change... Hiding from Bletchley Park Dusk on an overcast day of clouds and light rain, in which the Victorian awfulness of Bletchley Park country house seems especially dismal. It is surrounded by crude war-time huts all over the grounds, the nearest some way to the north. You crouch in an old birdwatchers' hide by the lake, while disconcertingly alert military police patrol up and down. The hide extends a little east. Among some lead shot scattered over the mud is a spent cartridge. [Your score has just gone up by one point.] >save Ok. >x shot That's not something you need to refer to in the course of this game. >x cartridge Fired from a shotgun, perhaps. >get cartridge Taken. >e Sheltered The hide is, indeed, sheltered from the elements, about two meters on a side and unbroken but for a slit window and the muddy climb out to the west. An old flat cloth cap hangs on a nail. >get cap (the cloth cap) (putting the "Atlas of the Moon" into the canvas rucksack to make room) Taken. >wear it You put on the cloth cap. >x cap Which do you mean, the cloth cap or the green cap? >cloth You see nothing special about the cloth cap. >wear uniform Which do you mean, the British Army officer's uniform or the Sixth Officer's jacket? >british (first taking the British Army officer's uniform) You disguise yourself as an officer in the British Army. The effect will pass, if nobody looks too closely. >w Hiding from Bletchley Park Dusk on an overcast day of clouds and light rain, in which the Victorian awfulness of Bletchley Park country house seems especially dismal. It is surrounded by crude war-time huts all over the grounds, the nearest some way to the north. You crouch in an old birdwatchers' hide by the lake, while disconcertingly alert military police patrol up and down. The hide extends a little east. >n The MPs catch you at once, or as near as makes no difference. Exposed Two burly young men have you pinioned immobile, in the middle of the lawn halfway between the hide and the hut. A third, who has a corporal's stripes, wants answers, and wants them quickly. "All right, you," begins the Corporal, and then suddenly notices your uniform and salutes. But then his trained eye latches on something. "Aren't you a little young for Boer War campaign ribbons, sir?" The Corporal's patience having run out, you're stripped of your belongings and marched off, past the Testery, past the Newmanry, down Wilton Drive to the nearest police cells. This is a civilised country, so see you in 1962. *** You have been stranded in the past *** In that game you scored 83 out of a possible 100, in 1811 turns, giving you the rank of Master Puzzler. Would you like to RESTART, RESTORE a saved game, give the FULL score for that game or QUIT? > undo Hiding from Bletchley Park [Previous turn undone.] >take off uniform Which do you mean, the British Army officer's uniform or the Sixth Officer's jacket? >british You take off the British Army officer's uniform. >wear sixth (first taking the Sixth Officer's jacket) (putting the Geiger counter into the canvas rucksack to make room) Too big for you, but if nobody looks very closely... >n The MPs catch you at once, or as near as makes no difference. Exposed Two burly young men have you pinioned immobile, in the middle of the lawn halfway between the hide and the hut. A third, who has a corporal's stripes, wants answers, and wants them quickly. "All right, you! Tell me just what you are." >corporal, time traveller "A likely story! Now come on, the truth." >corporal, spy The rest, as they say, is silence. *** You have been summarily shot *** In that game you scored 83 out of a possible 100, in 1815 turns, giving you the rank of Master Puzzler. Would you like to RESTART, RESTORE a saved game, give the FULL score for that game or QUIT? > undo Exposed [Previous turn undone.] >corporal, hunter "He might be, Corp," a voice behind your left ear opines. "Careless talk," the Corporal admonishes. "As for you... the Officer of the Watch comes on at midnight, and until then a little confinement is in order!" You are escorted to the nearest hut and shoved inside: a guard is placed. "Get some kip, you'll be needing it," advises the Corporal as he slams and locks the door. Hut 31 One of the impromptu huts disfiguring the grounds of Bletchley, this crudely heated asbestos and corrigated iron shelter offers little comfort. It has no very obvious function. An intercept, a thin yellow strip of paper, is pinned up on the wall. A heavy-looking crate occupies one corner, with a War Office seal across the top and very stern instructions upon it. [Your score has just gone up by one point.] >x intercept "hzsruuzstcrlumftbavtjifulzucnhsrivevvzffuzvoz" "One for you to practice on when it arrives - remember the principle of Banburismus!" is pencilled below, and signed just "Newman". >x crate "Danger! Do Not Open! Danger!" And a skull and crossbones. >open crate But that would break the seal. >break seal You boldly and irrevocably break the seal, opening the crate. >open crate (boldly and irrevocably breaking the seal) It's already open. >search crate In the war office crate are an Enigma machine and wheels I, II, III, IV and V. >/undo Hut 31 [Previous turn undone.] >/undo Hut 31 [Previous turn undone.] >/undo Hut 31 [Previous turn undone.] >open crate (boldly and irrevocably breaking the seal) You open the war office crate, revealing an Enigma machine and wheels I, II, III, IV and V. >x machine The Enigma cypher machine looks a little like a lap-top computer built with 1930s technology. There is a German-standard typewriter (QWERTZUIO...) keyboard, a lever switch, an array of little lamps (one for each letter) in the same pattern above, a steckerboard below and a square red button. Behind the lamp-board are three slots made to take special wheels. At present, the three wheel slots are empty. The lever is switched on (in forward, encryption position). >x steckerboard The steckerboard is an array of wire terminals, one for each letter, arranged in a typewriter pattern. There are ten "stecker" wires which may connect together pairs of terminals. [You might try "stecker a to b" to make such a connection, "unstecker x" to unplug the wire connected to x, or just "unstecker" to tear the lot out.] "x" is steckered to "e" "f" is steckered to "g" "y" is steckered to "j" "o" is steckered to "n" "m" is steckered to "r" "c" is steckered to "a" "i" is steckered to "z" "l" is steckered to "s" "u" is steckered to "v" "b" is steckered to "d" >x square You see nothing special about the square red button. >i You are carrying: a Sixth Officer's jacket (being worn) a British Army officer's uniform a cloth cap (being worn) a spent cartridge a RZ-ROV gadget a beige folder a sparkler (providing light) a canvas rucksack (which is open) a Geiger counter Rukl's "Atlas of the Moon" a wooden broom a cargo capsule (which is empty) a gnomon Waldo a lump of corn bread a mandolin a box of mosquito powder 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 two newspapers: an historic edition of Pravda Le Figaro 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 >/undo Hut 31 [Previous turn undone.] >/undo Hut 31 [Previous turn undone.] >/undo Hut 31 [Previous turn undone.] >/undo Hut 31 [Previous turn undone.] >put rz-rov on crate That's already open. >/undo Hut 31 [Previous turn undone.] >/undo Hut 31 [Previous turn undone.] >put rz-rov on crate The magnet doesn't take on that surface. >break seal You boldly and irrevocably break the seal, opening the crate. >take machine With enormous effort, you manage to lift the machine up to a table. >x machine The Enigma cypher machine looks a little like a lap-top computer built with 1930s technology. There is a German-standard typewriter (QWERTZUIO...) keyboard, a lever switch, an array of little lamps (one for each letter) in the same pattern above, a steckerboard below and a square red button. Behind the lamp-board are three slots made to take special wheels. At present, the three wheel slots are empty. The lever is switched on (in forward, encryption position). >x steckerboard The steckerboard is an array of wire terminals, one for each letter, arranged in a typewriter pattern. There are ten "stecker" wires which may connect together pairs of terminals. [You might try "stecker a to b" to make such a connection, "unstecker x" to unplug the wire connected to x, or just "unstecker" to tear the lot out.] "x" is steckered to "e" "f" is steckered to "g" "y" is steckered to "j" "o" is steckered to "n" "m" is steckered to "r" "c" is steckered to "a" "i" is steckered to "z" "l" is steckered to "s" "u" is steckered to "v" "b" is steckered to "d" >x lamps You can't see any such thing. >x keyboard The screen reads: * FORWARD 2 * RTURN 2 * FORWARD 2 * SAMPLE 1 * LTURN 4 * FORWARD 2 * LTURN 2 * FORWARD 2 * and the "memory full" light is on. >x slots You can't see any such thing. >x slot You can't see any such thing. >x wheel Which do you mean, wheel I, wheel II, wheel III, wheel IV or wheel V? >i You are carrying: a Sixth Officer's jacket (being worn) a British Army officer's uniform a cloth cap (being worn) a spent cartridge a RZ-ROV gadget a beige folder a sparkler (providing light) a canvas rucksack (which is open) a Geiger counter Rukl's "Atlas of the Moon" a wooden broom a cargo capsule (which is empty) a gnomon Waldo a lump of corn bread a mandolin a box of mosquito powder 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 two newspapers: an historic edition of Pravda Le Figaro 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 >x wheel i This is one of the five wheels in the Enigma set, its ten cogs in sequence bearing the numbers 1 3 5 6 8 11 20 2 4 7. >x wheel ii This is one of the five wheels in the Enigma set, its ten cogs in sequence bearing the numbers 23 11 14 5 7 9 1 6 2 10. >x wheel iii This is one of the five wheels in the Enigma set, its ten cogs in sequence bearing the numbers 4 16 7 21 11 22 8 17 1 3. >x wheel iv This is one of the five wheels in the Enigma set, its ten cogs in sequence bearing the numbers 25 24 23 1 5 10 15 6 8 7. >x wheel v This is one of the five wheels in the Enigma set, its ten cogs in sequence bearing the numbers 6 18 5 4 21 23 14 2 8 17. >look Hut 31 One of the impromptu huts disfiguring the grounds of Bletchley, this crudely heated asbestos and corrigated iron shelter offers little comfort. It has no very obvious function. An Enigma machine, captured from a weather-boat off Greenland, sits on the table. An intercept, a thin yellow strip of paper, is pinned up on the wall. The once-sealed crate rests here. >get intercept Taken. >read it "hzsruuzstcrlumftbavtjifulzucnhsrivevvzffuzvoz" "One for you to practice on when it arrives - remember the principle of Banburismus!" is pencilled below, and signed just "Newman". >press red Which do you mean, the square red button or the first aid box? >square Nothing happens. >set lever to decode No, you can't set that to anything. >pull lever You set the lever switch backward. >put ii in machine You need to be holding it before you can put it into something else. >get ii then put ii in machine (putting the beige folder into the canvas rucksack to make room) Taken. You put wheel II (which is now at 23) into the Enigma machine. >set ii to 11 You set wheel II (which is now at 11). >get iv then put iv in machine Taken. You put wheel IV (which is now at 25) into the Enigma machine. >set iv to 7 You set wheel IV (which is now at 7). >get v then put v in machine Taken. You put wheel V (which is now at 6) into the Enigma machine. >x v This is one of the five wheels in the Enigma set, its ten cogs in sequence bearing the numbers 6 18 5 4 21 23 14 2 8 17. >put intercept in machine The three slots can only take specially-made wheels. >unstecker You unstecker all the terminals, and now have ten pairs of steckers free. >stecker a to g You stecker "a" to "g". >stecker w to c You stecker "w" to "c". >stecker v to t You stecker "v" to "t". >stecker u to j You stecker "u" to "j". >stecker y to r You stecker "y" to "r". >type hzsruuzstcrlumftbavtjifulzucnhsrivevvzffuzvoz There's nothing sensible to type into. >type h You press "h". Wheel II moves the letter eleven places back to "w". Wheel IV moves the letter seven places back to "p". Wheel V moves the letter six places back to "j". Current runs back through the steckerboard, from "j" to "u". Lamp "u" comes on. Wheel II rotates to show 14. [Your score has just gone up by one point.] >type z You press "z". Wheel II moves the letter fourteen places back to "l". Wheel IV moves the letter seven places back to "e". Wheel V moves the letter six places back to "y". Current runs back through the steckerboard, from "y" to "r". Lamp "r" comes on. Wheel II rotates to show 5. >type s You press "s". Wheel II moves the letter five places back to "n". Wheel IV moves the letter seven places back to "g". Wheel V moves the letter six places back to "a". Current runs back through the steckerboard, from "a" to "g". Lamp "g" comes on. Wheel II rotates to show 7. >type r You press "r". Current runs through the steckerboard, from "r" to "y". Wheel II moves the letter seven places back to "r". Wheel IV moves the letter seven places back to "k". Wheel V moves the letter six places back to "e". Lamp "e" comes on. Wheel II rotates to show 9. >type u You press "u". Current runs through the steckerboard, from "u" to "j". Wheel II moves the letter nine places back to "a". Wheel IV moves the letter seven places back to "t". Wheel V moves the letter six places back to "n". Lamp "n" comes on. Wheel II rotates to show 1. >type u You press "u". Current runs through the steckerboard, from "u" to "j". Wheel II moves the letter one place back to "i". Wheel IV moves the letter seven places back to "b". Wheel V moves the letter six places back to "v". Current runs back through the steckerboard, from "v" to "t". Lamp "t" comes on. Wheel II rotates to show 6. >type z You press "z". Wheel II moves the letter six places back to "t". Wheel IV moves the letter seven places back to "m". Wheel V moves the letter six places back to "g". Current runs back through the steckerboard, from "g" to "a". Lamp "a" comes on. Wheel II rotates to show 2. >set ii to 11 You set wheel II (which is now at 11). >type h. type z. type s. type r. type u. type u. type z. type s. type t. type c. You press "h". Wheel II moves the letter eleven places back to "w". Wheel IV moves the letter seven places back to "p". Wheel V moves the letter six places back to "j". Current runs back through the steckerboard, from "j" to "u". Lamp "u" comes on. Wheel II rotates to show 14. You press "z". Wheel II moves the letter fourteen places back to "l". Wheel IV moves the letter seven places back to "e". Wheel V moves the letter six places back to "y". Current runs back through the steckerboard, from "y" to "r". Lamp "r" comes on. Wheel II rotates to show 5. You press "s". Wheel II moves the letter five places back to "n". Wheel IV moves the letter seven places back to "g". Wheel V moves the letter six places back to "a". Current runs back through the steckerboard, from "a" to "g". Lamp "g" comes on. Wheel II rotates to show 7. You press "r". Current runs through the steckerboard, from "r" to "y". Wheel II moves the letter seven places back to "r". Wheel IV moves the letter seven places back to "k". Wheel V moves the letter six places back to "e". Lamp "e" comes on. Wheel II rotates to show 9. [For more dramatic effects, you might try >type "message"] You press "u". Current runs through the steckerboard, from "u" to "j". Wheel II moves the letter nine places back to "a". Wheel IV moves the letter seven places back to "t". Wheel V moves the letter six places back to "n". Lamp "n" comes on. Wheel II rotates to show 1. There's nothing sensible to type into. >set ii to 11 You set wheel II (which is now at 11). >type "hzsruuzstcrlumftbavtjifulzucnhsrivevvzffuzvoz" [To make this a little easier in future, you might like to "type intercept".] You type "hzsruuzstcrlumftbavtjifulzucnhsrivevvzffuzvoz" at the Enigma machine, which works away producing "urgentadricanofdensivekmminentstoxadriapfstox". >set ii to 11 You set wheel II (which is now at 11). >set iv to 7 You set wheel IV (which is now at 7). >x v This is one of the five wheels in the Enigma set, its ten cogs in sequence bearing the numbers 6 18 5 4 21 23 14 2 8 17. >set v to 6 You set wheel V (which is now at 6). >type intercept You type "hzsruuzstcrlumftbavtjifulzucnhsrivevvzffuzvoz" at the Enigma machine, which works away producing "urgentadricanofdensivekmminentstoxadriapfstox". >stecker d to f You stecker "d" to "f". >stecker x to p You stecker "x" to "p". >set ii to 7 You set wheel II (which is now at 7). >set iv to 11 This wheel has no such setting. >set ii to 11 You set wheel II (which is now at 11). >set iv to 7 You set wheel IV (which is now at 7). >set v to 6 You set wheel V (which is now at 6). >type intercept You type "hzsruuzstcrlumftbavtjifulzucnhsrivevvzffuzvoz" at the Enigma machine, which works away producing "urgentafricanoffensiveimminentstopafriendstop", which must surely be Black's encoded message! Just as you experience a moment of pure triumph, officers and boffins burst into the room, a crestfallen Corporal behind them. You're seized at once, of course. "My God," says the leading boffin, "This spy has the secret of the machine! This compromises everything we keep hearing from 'Agent Black'! Devilish cunning ploy." For you, though, such elevated debate is a thing of the past. Inescapable Conclusion The cell to end all cells, this one is remarkably bleak and secure. One can only pray for some supernatural escape. [Your score has just gone up by one point.] >i You are carrying: an intercept a Sixth Officer's jacket (being worn) a British Army officer's uniform a cloth cap (being worn) a spent cartridge a RZ-ROV gadget a sparkler (providing light) a canvas rucksack (which is open) a beige folder a Geiger counter Rukl's "Atlas of the Moon" a wooden broom a cargo capsule (which is empty) a gnomon Waldo a lump of corn bread a mandolin a box of mosquito powder 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 two newspapers: an historic edition of Pravda Le Figaro 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 >pray Do you really deserve divine intervention, I wonder? >[ I sometimes wonder, especially during the night, how many sailors I drowned. But a la guerre comme a la guerre. -- William Millward, in Hinsley and Stripp (1992), "Codebreakers: The Inside Story of Bletchley Park"] pray Do you really deserve divine intervention, I wonder? 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. >press device button The cloud of disturbed air condenses into a kind of spherical ink-black ball, large enough to swallow you up whole. >enter sphere You can't see any such thing. >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. 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. >save Ok. >n 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. >footnote d3 [ Footnote d3: ] The Enigma (a modified commercial cypher machine) was considered absolutely unbreakable in Germany, but a team of mathematicians led by Newman and Turing found a laborious way to crack it, exploiting the fact that steckering is reciprocal (i.e. A goes to B means B goes to A). This technique was called Banburismus after Banbury, the town from which their supply of writing paper came. Beyond paper, they used "bombes" - mechanical combination-checkers invented in Poland before its fall, and run by teams of girls sworn to secrecy who had no idea what they were doing - until finally Turing invented the computer: the valve-driven Colossus (which could execute a form of program with conditional branches). Bletchley Park, halfway along the now-closed railway between Oxford and Cambridge, is no longer in use, and the huts (the Newmanry, after Newman, the Testery, after Major Tester, and so on) are demolished. The real Enigma machine has a set of 8 wheels with 28 settings each, but the one in this game has the right idea. The information found was an enormous (Churchill claimed, decisive) advantage to the Allied forces: from the Battle of Britain onward, essentially all German military communications were read, though less imaginative generals (notably Montgomery) often failed to act on these because they were too good to be true. (Amazingly, one of Rommel's orders from Berlin actually reached Montgomery first.) >save Ok. >quit Are you sure you want to quit? y