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 >e The lunar soil is slippery underfoot, like walking on clay made of tiny marbles. Bear Mountain The mountains are deceptive: no smooth and rolling foothill this, for Bear Mountain suddenly rises at a thirty-degree angle, littered with jagged landslide debris fit to puncture the suit of a careless astronaut. This is the farthermost finger of the Vitruvius mountain. A gnomon stands upright here, beside a boulder. >restore Ok. >script off End of transcript. 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 You trip over, but fall so slowly that you have time to turn and catch your footing again. Emory Crater One of the dozen or so big impact craters in the valley, five hundred meters wide and too steep to comfortably descend. The regolith is scattered with flat boulders like stepping stones. Everywhere is crater upon crater, the piled debris of one meteor strike after another, uneroded by wind or water. In the centre of the brightest craters are little glass-lined pits. >s Craters are hard to see edge on: the eye underestimates distances. It is a confusing world to explore, and you stumble back to... A Magnificent Desolation As Buzz Aldrin put it. A ridged, furrowed plain of unraked powdery soil, dotted with pebbles and boulders of subdued grey and brown which gleam here and there with splashes of glass. Mountains rise like sand dunes from the overcurved horizon. You have landed in the southeast corner of the Taurus-Littrow Valley, an embayment between two-kilometer high Massifs to north and south, which runs eight kilometers wide to the west until it climbs foothills bordering the Mare Serenitas. The valley floor ends suddenly with Bear Mountain to the southeast. A ladder rises through the shade into the airlock of the squat and beautiful Lunar Module "Othello". The Lunar Rover, a stripped-down jeep, rests neatly here. >e The lunar soil is slippery underfoot, like walking on clay made of tiny marbles. Bear Mountain The mountains are deceptive: no smooth and rolling foothill this, for Bear Mountain suddenly rises at a thirty-degree angle, littered with jagged landslide debris fit to puncture the suit of a careless astronaut. This is the farthermost finger of the Vitruvius mountain. >e You can kick the soil loosely with your toes, like powdered charcoal. Each time your foot falls, dust spins away with machine-like precision. The ground is too dangerously uneven: the Lunar Module stands to the northwest. >u The ground is too dangerously uneven: the Lunar Module stands to the northwest. >u The ground is too dangerously uneven: the Lunar Module stands to the northwest. >x clod A paperweight-sized rock of emerald green, shot through with calcium-rich spherules of glass. A beautiful find for any geologist. >enter rover You can't see any such thing. >w You have settled onto a loping tiptoe walk, as if on a trampoline: but it is exhausting to stop and start, because although you weigh very little your momentum is the same as it would be on Earth. Regolith Walking on the surface regolith, the cement-grey rock dust which fills lunar valleys several meters deep, you leave perfect 1/8th-inch deep footprints. The ground bears weight like freshly ploughed soil, or wet beach sand. The blue crescent of Earth hangs in a starless and Bible black sky. This is an unforgettable place. >e You trip over, but fall so slowly that you have time to turn and catch your footing again. A Magnificent Desolation As Buzz Aldrin put it. A ridged, furrowed plain of unraked powdery soil, dotted with pebbles and boulders of subdued grey and brown which gleam here and there with splashes of glass. Mountains rise like sand dunes from the overcurved horizon. You have landed in the southeast corner of the Taurus-Littrow Valley, an embayment between two-kilometer high Massifs to north and south, which runs eight kilometers wide to the west until it climbs foothills bordering the Mare Serenitas. The valley floor ends suddenly with Bear Mountain to the southeast. A ladder rises through the shade into the airlock of the squat and beautiful Lunar Module "Othello". The Lunar Rover, a stripped-down jeep, rests neatly here. >enter rover You get into the lunar rover. In the lunar rover you can see a joystick. >x joystick There's a switch on the joystick. The joystick is currently switched off. >turn on joystick You switch the joystick on. >x joystick There's a switch on the joystick. The joystick is currently switched on. >push joystick north Is that the best you can think of? >n The lunar rover comes to life, sturdily driving as it bounces around a little on scattered rocks. Regolith (in the lunar rover) Driving on the surface regolith, the cement-grey rock dust which fills lunar valleys several meters deep, you leave perfect 1/8th-inch deep tracks. The ground bears weight like freshly ploughed soil, or wet beach sand. The blue crescent of Earth hangs in a starless and Bible black sky. This is an unforgettable place. >s You're getting the hang of this now. Anyway maximum speed is only about 10 miles an hour, so not much can go wrong. A Magnificent Desolation (in the lunar rover) As Buzz Aldrin put it. A ridged, furrowed plain of unraked powdery soil, dotted with pebbles and boulders of subdued grey and brown which gleam here and there with splashes of glass. Mountains rise like sand dunes from the overcurved horizon. You have landed in the southeast corner of the Taurus-Littrow Valley, an embayment between two-kilometer high Massifs to north and south, which runs eight kilometers wide to the west until it climbs foothills bordering the Mare Serenitas. The valley floor ends suddenly with Bear Mountain to the southeast. A ladder rises through the shade into the airlock of the squat and beautiful Lunar Module "Othello". >e It is oddly fascinating how the wheels kick up dust to a height of two or three feet, which then falls so slowly back to the ground that it makes almost a continuous fountain. Bear Mountain (in the lunar rover) The mountains are deceptive: no smooth and rolling foothill this, for Bear Mountain suddenly rises at a thirty-degree angle, littered with jagged landslide debris fit to puncture the suit of a careless astronaut. This is the farthermost finger of the Vitruvius mountain. >u You'll have to get out of the lunar rover first. >e The ground is too dangerously uneven: the Lunar Module stands to the northwest. >w Regolith (in the lunar rover) Driving on the surface regolith, the cement-grey rock dust which fills lunar valleys several meters deep, you leave perfect 1/8th-inch deep tracks. The ground bears weight like freshly ploughed soil, or wet beach sand. The blue crescent of Earth hangs in a starless and Bible black sky. This is an unforgettable place. >n Emory Crater (in the lunar rover) One of the dozen or so big impact craters in the valley, five hundred meters wide and too steep to comfortably descend. The regolith is scattered with flat boulders like stepping stones. Everywhere is crater upon crater, the piled debris of one meteor strike after another, uneroded by wind or water. In the centre of the brightest craters are little glass-lined pits. >n Apollo 17 Landing Site (in the lunar rover) Just about the exact centre of the Taurus-Littrow plain, ringed about chaotically with footprints and Lunar Rover tracks which will, perhaps, remain for millions of years. Some way off to the west, scientific instruments gleam. A sun-white ladder rises to the airlock of the lion-faced Lunar Module "Challenger", which is over three times your height. It has one leg in a small crater, and is tilting gently backwards. On another leg is a ceremonial plaque. The American flag stands here, held out by a wire frame. >s Emory Crater (in the lunar rover) One of the dozen or so big impact craters in the valley, five hundred meters wide and too steep to comfortably descend. The regolith is scattered with flat boulders like stepping stones. Everywhere is crater upon crater, the piled debris of one meteor strike after another, uneroded by wind or water. In the centre of the brightest craters are little glass-lined pits. >s Regolith (in the lunar rover) Driving on the surface regolith, the cement-grey rock dust which fills lunar valleys several meters deep, you leave perfect 1/8th-inch deep tracks. The ground bears weight like freshly ploughed soil, or wet beach sand. The blue crescent of Earth hangs in a starless and Bible black sky. This is an unforgettable place. >s A Magnificent Desolation (in the lunar rover) As Buzz Aldrin put it. A ridged, furrowed plain of unraked powdery soil, dotted with pebbles and boulders of subdued grey and brown which gleam here and there with splashes of glass. Mountains rise like sand dunes from the overcurved horizon. You have landed in the southeast corner of the Taurus-Littrow Valley, an embayment between two-kilometer high Massifs to north and south, which runs eight kilometers wide to the west until it climbs foothills bordering the Mare Serenitas. The valley floor ends suddenly with Bear Mountain to the southeast. A ladder rises through the shade into the airlock of the squat and beautiful Lunar Module "Othello". >x othello A four-legged platform supporting a mis-shapen, four-meter diameter golf ball. The upper half looks like a box of mirrors bolted together along the edges. You can't help noticing a Cyrillic letter K where the American flag ought to be. >n Regolith (in the lunar rover) Driving on the surface regolith, the cement-grey rock dust which fills lunar valleys several meters deep, you leave perfect 1/8th-inch deep tracks. The ground bears weight like freshly ploughed soil, or wet beach sand. The blue crescent of Earth hangs in a starless and Bible black sky. This is an unforgettable place. >n Emory Crater (in the lunar rover) One of the dozen or so big impact craters in the valley, five hundred meters wide and too steep to comfortably descend. The regolith is scattered with flat boulders like stepping stones. Everywhere is crater upon crater, the piled debris of one meteor strike after another, uneroded by wind or water. In the centre of the brightest craters are little glass-lined pits. >n Apollo 17 Landing Site (in the lunar rover) Just about the exact centre of the Taurus-Littrow plain, ringed about chaotically with footprints and Lunar Rover tracks which will, perhaps, remain for millions of years. Some way off to the west, scientific instruments gleam. A sun-white ladder rises to the airlock of the lion-faced Lunar Module "Challenger", which is over three times your height. It has one leg in a small crater, and is tilting gently backwards. On another leg is a ceremonial plaque. The American flag stands here, held out by a wire frame. >n North Massif (in the lunar rover) Perhaps thrown by a moonquake, perhaps by long-extinct volcanic action, perhaps even smashed by meteorite strikes: boulders have tumbled down the slopes of the North Massif and left spectacular tracks down the dusty soil. The big one to the east, for instance, could have fallen and shattered any time from yesterday to four billion years ago. The sunshade experiment, a strip of gold foil a foot or so long, is deployed here. >get foil Taken. >e Station 6 Rock (in the lunar rover) This boulder, the size of a house, is sliced into five like an irregularly-cut farmhouse loaf. There's nothing like it across the whole plain. The North Massif, Wessex Cleft and the Sculptured Hills lie across the magnificent north panorama, but the slopes are far too gruelling for any rover. >x boulder The house-sized boulder is sliced into five like an irregularly-cut farmhouse loaf. You feel quite dwarfed by it. Actually, you're the first to see it: the only rover tracks here are your own. But the astronauts are bound to come and take a look at something like this. >s Apollo 17 Landing Site (in the lunar rover) Just about the exact centre of the Taurus-Littrow plain, ringed about chaotically with footprints and Lunar Rover tracks which will, perhaps, remain for millions of years. Some way off to the west, scientific instruments gleam. A sun-white ladder rises to the airlock of the lion-faced Lunar Module "Challenger", which is over three times your height. It has one leg in a small crater, and is tilting gently backwards. On another leg is a ceremonial plaque. The American flag stands here, held out by a wire frame. >e The regolith extends in every direction, but there's little near enough that way of interest. >n North Massif (in the lunar rover) Perhaps thrown by a moonquake, perhaps by long-extinct volcanic action, perhaps even smashed by meteorite strikes: boulders have tumbled down the slopes of the North Massif and left spectacular tracks down the dusty soil. The big one to the east, for instance, could have fallen and shattered any time from yesterday to four billion years ago. >w The regolith extends in every direction, but there's little near enough that way of interest. >n The regolith extends in every direction, but there's little near enough that way of interest. >ne The regolith extends in every direction, but there's little near enough that way of interest. >nw The regolith extends in every direction, but there's little near enough that way of interest. >se The regolith extends in every direction, but there's little near enough that way of interest. >sw The regolith extends in every direction, but there's little near enough that way of interest. >s Apollo 17 Landing Site (in the lunar rover) Just about the exact centre of the Taurus-Littrow plain, ringed about chaotically with footprints and Lunar Rover tracks which will, perhaps, remain for millions of years. Some way off to the west, scientific instruments gleam. A sun-white ladder rises to the airlock of the lion-faced Lunar Module "Challenger", which is over three times your height. It has one leg in a small crater, and is tilting gently backwards. On another leg is a ceremonial plaque. The American flag stands here, held out by a wire frame. >e The regolith extends in every direction, but there's little near enough that way of interest. >se The regolith extends in every direction, but there's little near enough that way of interest. >w Silver Cairns (in the lunar rover) A clear patch of regolith, two hundred meters west of the "Challenger". To the north is an extraordinary view: dead flat plain, then the North Massif rising like a cliff. The trails of rover prints lead roughly southwest. It is home to the ALSEP scientific station, five weird-shaped instruments laid out on the lunar soil and cabled together to a nuclear reactor and a skyward antenna. A stiff cable snakes away, ready to be hooked up to some experiment or other. Some kind of two-foot long rod is propped up next to the ALSEP. There's a hairline crack around part of its midriff. >w Between Horatio and Victory (in the lunar rover) The valley is getting smoother as you head roughly west from the "Challenger". Boulders mark the rims of the craters either side, and the soil is deep and clinging, fresh soil that's been thrown up by the wire-rimmed wheels of a Rover. >n The regolith extends in every direction, but there's little near enough that way of interest. >s The regolith extends in every direction, but there's little near enough that way of interest. >w Shorty Crater (in the lunar rover) A dark-rimmed minor crater the size of a football field, whose inner wall and central mound is scattered with blocks. Lunar Rover tracks turn from southwest to east, and footprints are stamped about, scuffing the soil to reveal vivid, bright orange earth, the most spectacular colour-burst you have seen on the Moon. >x soil The soil is rich in titanium, and unfortunately not volcanic (as some astronauts might be led to believe). >s The regolith extends in every direction, but there's little near enough that way of interest. >n The regolith extends in every direction, but there's little near enough that way of interest. >w The regolith extends in every direction, but there's little near enough that way of interest. >sw In the distance you can just make out the other lunar rover. It seems unwise to drive further southwest. >nw The regolith extends in every direction, but there's little near enough that way of interest. >e Between Horatio and Victory (in the lunar rover) The valley is getting smoother as you head roughly west from the "Challenger". Boulders mark the rims of the craters either side, and the soil is deep and clinging, fresh soil that's been thrown up by the wire-rimmed wheels of a Rover. >s The regolith extends in every direction, but there's little near enough that way of interest. >nw The regolith extends in every direction, but there's little near enough that way of interest. >sw Shorty Crater (in the lunar rover) A dark-rimmed minor crater the size of a football field, whose inner wall and central mound is scattered with blocks. Lunar Rover tracks turn from southwest to east, and footprints are stamped about, scuffing the soil to reveal vivid, bright orange earth, the most spectacular colour-burst you have seen on the Moon. >e Between Horatio and Victory (in the lunar rover) The valley is getting smoother as you head roughly west from the "Challenger". Boulders mark the rims of the craters either side, and the soil is deep and clinging, fresh soil that's been thrown up by the wire-rimmed wheels of a Rover. >e Silver Cairns (in the lunar rover) A clear patch of regolith, two hundred meters west of the "Challenger". To the north is an extraordinary view: dead flat plain, then the North Massif rising like a cliff. The trails of rover prints lead roughly southwest. It is home to the ALSEP scientific station, five weird-shaped instruments laid out on the lunar soil and cabled together to a nuclear reactor and a skyward antenna. A stiff cable snakes away, ready to be hooked up to some experiment or other. Some kind of two-foot long rod is propped up next to the ALSEP. There's a hairline crack around part of its midriff. >sw Between Horatio and Victory (in the lunar rover) The valley is getting smoother as you head roughly west from the "Challenger". Boulders mark the rims of the craters either side, and the soil is deep and clinging, fresh soil that's been thrown up by the wire-rimmed wheels of a Rover. >ne The regolith extends in every direction, but there's little near enough that way of interest. >e Silver Cairns (in the lunar rover) A clear patch of regolith, two hundred meters west of the "Challenger". To the north is an extraordinary view: dead flat plain, then the North Massif rising like a cliff. The trails of rover prints lead roughly southwest. It is home to the ALSEP scientific station, five weird-shaped instruments laid out on the lunar soil and cabled together to a nuclear reactor and a skyward antenna. A stiff cable snakes away, ready to be hooked up to some experiment or other. Some kind of two-foot long rod is propped up next to the ALSEP. There's a hairline crack around part of its midriff. >get cable You pull at the cable, which pulls the reactor door open slightly, but as soon as you release it again the door closes on a spring. >x door Dead cairns like these, scattered across the trackless lunar mountains, will reflect Earthlight forever. Eventually the solar radiation will tarnish them; but perhaps there will be life of a kind before then, if the ALSEP can be activated. >x reactor Dead cairns like these, scattered across the trackless lunar mountains, will reflect Earthlight forever. Eventually the solar radiation will tarnish them; but perhaps there will be life of a kind before then, if the ALSEP can be activated. >plug cable into rover There's nowhere suitable on the lunar rover to plug the cable into. >plug cable into sunshade There's nowhere suitable on the sunshade foil to plug the cable into. >x rover There are two webbed seats, a great gossamer-thin dish antenna, a joystick to steer with, an electric motor mounted on the back and four big black rubber tyres. >search rover The lunar rover is empty. >put green clod in rover You put the Green Clod into the lunar rover. >get it Taken. >e Apollo 17 Landing Site (in the lunar rover) Just about the exact centre of the Taurus-Littrow plain, ringed about chaotically with footprints and Lunar Rover tracks which will, perhaps, remain for millions of years. Some way off to the west, scientific instruments gleam. A sun-white ladder rises to the airlock of the lion-faced Lunar Module "Challenger", which is over three times your height. It has one leg in a small crater, and is tilting gently backwards. On another leg is a ceremonial plaque. The American flag stands here, held out by a wire frame. >u You'll have to get out of the lunar rover first. >script off End of transcript.