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. [Your score has just gone up by one point.] >press c2 The piece at c2 presses in smoothly, like a button, then releases. The table seems to drag you whole into a beam of pure energy, which is suddenly sucked up into the jigsaw piece. With a wrench you find yourself rushing through a kind of vortex, weird patterns of light streaking past you, clashing noises in your ear. As you slow down, you briefly make out John Steinbeck's novel "The Grapes of Wrath" being printed and then everything begins to change... [Press SPACE to continue.] Chapter One - Ricochet Flat over the Street A second-floor flat, dilapidated and primitive but with a certain charm about it, decorated with faded Viennese prints. Through the open window you look down on a cafe across the arched, cobbled city street. It is early summer. To one side is a cheap dresser with a mirror and a single drawer. [Your score has just gone up by one point.] >save Ok. >sketch horses You sketch in a picture of the street horses. >unlock dresser with key (first taking the tagged key) You unlock the cheap dresser. >open dresser You open the cheap dresser, revealing an edge piece. The door rattles, unlocked from the outside. The stranger appears, darting in and locking the door again. For the first time your eyes meet. "Welcome to Sarajevo! I knew you wouldn't disappoint me," says Black, extending a friendly hand. >shake black's hand You can't see any such thing. >shake hand (of Black) You shake hands, suddenly shy of physical contact. "June 28th, 1914, if you hadn't guessed already," continues Black. "Kaldecki wasn't quite the fool people thought. I confess I may have helped them a little, writing the biography I did. But that's what he always wanted." [Your score has just gone up by one point.] >get edge Taken. "You see," Black says coolly (almost as if sane), "he was in a quandary. He'd invented something wonderful and terribly dangerous. He'd invented the time machine. It could save the human race, he wrote in the margins of his sketch-book. But there was a catch." [Your score has just gone up by one point.] >x black Just looking again (coyly, in the mirror) reminds you how glad you are you came to the party. Black is clearly one of those people who really enjoys spinning out a story. "The Kaldecki Effect needs an enormous temporal potential to work, you see. You can't just travel from anywhere to anywhere. Time flows downhill like water, he said. If you want to go from event T1 to event T2, you have to ride the wave. So much for Einstein." >kiss black You wish you were more impulsive. Somehow it never quite seems the right moment. Einstein is not, in fact, the person at the front of your mind just now. You are occupied trying to decide whether those eyes are blue or green, a sure sign that you aren't listening closely enough. "...thus, del phi is maximised at great turning points, the way electric charge collects on sharp points - and that's the Kaldecki Effect. His machine works like a lightning conductor. A dilemma. You understand?" >hug black You wish you were more impulsive. Somehow it never quite seems the right moment. >black, yes Black looks pained for a moment. "He'd invented a time machine that could never be demonstrated to science, or tested, and wasn't even much use. It can only take you from one really important event to another really important event. You can't even test it unless you're at a big turning point in history yourself. Tuesday morning in the lab just doesn't cut it. "So he decided to throw a great, big party, so large it would be bound to get into the history books. Welcome to Century Park... He left me instructions about how to use the one chance to get into the time vortex and alter history for the better. "And for my first trick, I'm going to prevent World War One." >x black Just looking again (coyly, in the mirror) reminds you how glad you are you came to the party. >x cafe The kind of just-adequate cafe students hang out in, to argue about Wagner, politics and philosophy. "It's like waiting for the dentist, isn't it?" Black says companionably. >[ All the generals were on holiday. -- A.J.P. Taylor, "How Wars Begin" (1977)] x me As good-looking as ever. >z Time passes. >z Time passes. >z Time passes. Black glances at a watch. "Right, you'd better have this just in case," - and "this" turns out to be a nasty looking sniper's rifle, fetched in from the hallway outside. You gaze at it in horror as Black re-locks the hallway door. "There's just a chance of them finding a modern bullet, so I'd rather a pistol." Which Black proceeds to draw, before standing by the open window. >take rifle You already have that. >turn off safety You slip the safety off. >z Time passes. "Soon, soon," Black says, just as a scruffy-looking type slides into a cafe chair. "Ah, there he is. Good, this must be the right place." You have a terrible feeling of events relentlessly proceeding out of your control. Time seems to slow down as you see it all with helpless clarity. >save Ok. >x window Down in the arched, cobbled city street, horses pass by and pedestrians dawdle beside the shops. Opposite is a cafe. Down in the cafe, a scruffy student sits drinking coffee. >z Time passes. "It's like this," Black says coolly. "The Archduke Ferdinand is about to come down the road in an open carriage for a day out with his wife, who's only a duchess, so back home nobody will talk to her. Everybody hates the Archduke, except her I suppose, and nobody's going to miss him..." >z Time passes. >z Time passes. "...For one thing, it's Serbian National Day today and Ferdinand's an Austrian. See that student drinking at the cafe down there? He's panicking because the carriage hasn't turned up yet, but it will. Then he's going to shoot the Archduke, deliberately, and his wife, by accident. But that was last time. "This time, it'll be different," says Black, cocking the pistol, facing up to a murderous duty with reckless bravado. >close window The window's too stiff to budge. >fire rifle Whom do you want to fire the sniper's rifle at? >air You can't see any such thing. >shoot cafe Rather a large target, surely? "Here they come!" And so they do: the carriage pulls in to view and halts a moment in confusion. It looks as if the coachmen are lost. The student suddenly looks up. Black aims the pistol at him with a certain panache. The Archduke chats complacently to the Duchess, unaware of all this... attention. You feel sharply tense. This is no time for indecision. >shoot window Not a very specific target. >shoot horses Spare the animals, please! Black murmurs, training the pistol carefully at the student. >shoot black It might well be the best thing all round, but you just can't bring yourself to do it. >kiss black You wish you were more impulsive. Somehow it never quite seems the right moment. "Here goes!" And Black fires the pistol, wounding the student and causing the student to miss and shoot one of the horses. The Archduke and Duchess are hustled safely away, but the scene is chaos as the horse bleeds terribly and militia seize the luckless revolutionary. Fortunately nobody thinks to look up at you. Black smiles in frightened triumph, taking the rifle back, and you swallow with nervousness. >restore Ok. >look Flat over the Street A second-floor flat, dilapidated and primitive but with a certain charm about it, decorated with faded Viennese prints. Through the open window you look down on a cafe across the arched, cobbled city street. It is early summer. Down in the cafe, a scruffy student sits drinking coffee. Black stands here, as tantalising as ever, even if no longer a stranger. To one side is a cheap dresser with a mirror and a single drawer. >x clock On the base of the ormolu clock is engraved "Labuntur et imputantur" together with the maker's mark (William Snelson the Clockmaker). Via clockwork you can set the position of the single hand, and around the back is a small latch with two positions: to judge from the engraved icons, alarm on and alarm off. Presently, the latch is on. The clock is running and stands at 49. "It's like this," Black says coolly. "The Archduke Ferdinand is about to come down the road in an open carriage for a day out with his wife, who's only a duchess, so back home nobody will talk to her. Everybody hates the Archduke, except her I suppose, and nobody's going to miss him..." >z Time passes. >z Time passes. "...For one thing, it's Serbian National Day today and Ferdinand's an Austrian. See that student drinking at the cafe down there? He's panicking because the carriage hasn't turned up yet, but it will. Then he's going to shoot the Archduke, deliberately, and his wife, by accident. But that was last time. "This time, it'll be different," says Black, cocking the pistol, facing up to a murderous duty with reckless bravado. >z Time passes. >z Time passes. "Here they come!" And so they do: the carriage pulls in to view and halts a moment in confusion. It looks as if the coachmen are lost. The student suddenly looks up. Black aims the pistol at him with a certain panache. The Archduke chats complacently to the Duchess, unaware of all this... attention. You feel sharply tense. This is no time for indecision. >set clock to 1 You shorten the time left on the clock. >z Time passes. Suddenly you are wrenched out into the time vortex once more, and find yourself back... (Something heavy seems to be missing.) Disc Room This is a tiny tetrahedral annexe of a room, whose only clear feature is a broad black disc embedded in the floor. >i You are carrying: an edge piece a tagged key the Victorian ormolu clock Emily's sketch book a charcoal pencil a canvas rucksack (which is open) a curious device a white party ticket a sparkler (providing light) >list You may only do so near the jigsaw board. >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 frigid. 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. There are two played pieces. You shake your head, confused. Why did the mad London-born architect Kettering build this monument? Why did the government of the Franco-British Republic ever allow Century Park to be built here at Versailles? Never mind: time to go and get a drink of potato brandy from the commissars and toast the new millennium. *** You have wrecked the course of history *** In that game you scored 14 out of a possible 100, in 139 turns, giving you the rank of Prowler. Would you like to RESTART, RESTORE a saved game, give the FULL score for that game or QUIT? > restore Ok. >turn on rifle You slip the safety on. >shoot student The trigger seems stuck. "It's like this," Black says coolly. "The Archduke Ferdinand is about to come down the road in an open carriage for a day out with his wife, who's only a duchess, so back home nobody will talk to her. Everybody hates the Archduke, except her I suppose, and nobody's going to miss him..." >burn curtains You can't see any such thing. >burn bed You can't see any such thing. >look Flat over the Street A second-floor flat, dilapidated and primitive but with a certain charm about it, decorated with faded Viennese prints. Through the open window you look down on a cafe across the arched, cobbled city street. It is early summer. Down in the cafe, a scruffy student sits drinking coffee. Black stands here, as tantalising as ever, even if no longer a stranger. To one side is a cheap dresser with a mirror and a single drawer. >burn window (with the sparkler) It seems futile and pyromanic to do so. "...For one thing, it's Serbian National Day today and Ferdinand's an Austrian. See that student drinking at the cafe down there? He's panicking because the carriage hasn't turned up yet, but it will. Then he's going to shoot the Archduke, deliberately, and his wife, by accident. But that was last time. "This time, it'll be different," says Black, cocking the pistol, facing up to a murderous duty with reckless bravado. >x rifle A triumph of twentieth century engineering over twentieth century morality, the kind of gun 10-year old boys think is the best thing ever invented. There is one concession to common sense, though: a safety catch. The sniper's rifle is currently switched on. >turn off safety You slip the safety off. "Here they come!" And so they do: the carriage pulls in to view and halts a moment in confusion. It looks as if the coachmen are lost. The student suddenly looks up. Black aims the pistol at him with a certain panache. The Archduke chats complacently to the Duchess, unaware of all this... attention. You feel sharply tense. This is no time for indecision. >shoot princip You can't see any such thing. >shoot student Black shoots at the student too, but the pistol misfires. Your shot is luckier (for some). The student is winged in the arm and drops his own gun. The Archduke's entourage rides past, having noticed nothing, into who knows what future. Black gives a grin of pure relief as the student is taken into the cafe, arm wrapped in a tablecloth. Dazed, you give the rifle back. >look Flat over the Street A second-floor flat, dilapidated and primitive but with a certain charm about it, decorated with faded Viennese prints. Through the open window you look down on a cafe across the arched, cobbled city street. It is early summer. Black stands here, as tantalising as ever, even if no longer a stranger. To one side is a cheap dresser with a mirror and a single drawer. >z Time passes. >z Time passes. >z Time passes. >z Time passes. 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. Black notices too and smiles winningly. "Lend me that device, please? I have business in The Land..." Dazzled, you hand it over, and this ever more mysterious stranger does something very complicated, muttering and giving a devil-may-care grin. "Don't worry, I know what I'm doing!" The air suddenly condenses into a black sphere, but your friend (or foe) enters it and it vanishes again. You begin to feel bewildered, manipulated... and deviceless. >z Time passes. >set clock to 1 You shorten the time left on the clock. Suddenly you are wrenched out into the time vortex once more, and find yourself back... 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 frigid. 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. There are two played pieces. Sitting on the jigsaw table, evidently left for you by Black, is the curious device. You shake your head, confused. Why did the mad London-born architect Kettering build this monument? Why did the government of the Franco-British Republic ever allow Century Park to be built here at Versailles? Never mind: time to go and get a drink of potato brandy from the commissars and toast the new millennium. *** You have wrecked the course of history *** In that game you scored 14 out of a possible 100, in 144 turns, giving you the rank of Prowler. Would you like to RESTART, RESTORE a saved game, give the FULL score for that game or QUIT? > restore Ok. >look Flat over the Street A second-floor flat, dilapidated and primitive but with a certain charm about it, decorated with faded Viennese prints. Through the open window you look down on a cafe across the arched, cobbled city street. It is early summer. Down in the cafe, a scruffy student sits drinking coffee. Black stands here, as tantalising as ever, even if no longer a stranger. To one side is a cheap dresser with a mirror and a single drawer. >z Time passes. "It's like this," Black says coolly. "The Archduke Ferdinand is about to come down the road in an open carriage for a day out with his wife, who's only a duchess, so back home nobody will talk to her. Everybody hates the Archduke, except her I suppose, and nobody's going to miss him..." >z Time passes. >z Time passes. "...For one thing, it's Serbian National Day today and Ferdinand's an Austrian. See that student drinking at the cafe down there? He's panicking because the carriage hasn't turned up yet, but it will. Then he's going to shoot the Archduke, deliberately, and his wife, by accident. But that was last time. "This time, it'll be different," says Black, cocking the pistol, facing up to a murderous duty with reckless bravado. >z Time passes. >z Time passes. "Here they come!" And so they do: the carriage pulls in to view and halts a moment in confusion. It looks as if the coachmen are lost. The student suddenly looks up. Black aims the pistol at him with a certain panache. The Archduke chats complacently to the Duchess, unaware of all this... attention. You feel sharply tense. This is no time for indecision. >assassinate archduke franz ferdinand I only understood you as far as wanting to assassina Archduke Ferdinand. >assassinate archduke ferdinand With a clean fateful shot, you assassinate the Archduke yourself. At almost the same moment, the student in the cafe fires, killing the Duchess by mistake. There is mayhem below. "You missed him!" Black exclaims, lowering the pistol. But it's too late, the Archduke is dead. The student has escaped, not that that matters now. Black looks guiltily relieved not to have needed to kill anyone. Which is more than you do. With a sickened calm, you throw the rifle away. History is safe - for you. [Your score has just gone up by one point.] >look Flat over the Street A second-floor flat, dilapidated and primitive but with a certain charm about it, decorated with faded Viennese prints. Through the open window you look down on a cafe across the arched, cobbled city street. It is early summer. Black stands here, as tantalising as ever, even if no longer a stranger. To one side is a cheap dresser with a mirror and a single drawer. >z Time passes. >z Time passes. >z Time passes. >z Time passes. 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. Black notices too and smiles winningly. "Lend me that device, please? I have business in The Land..." Dazzled, you hand it over, and this ever more mysterious stranger does something very complicated, muttering and giving a devil-may-care grin. "Don't worry, I know what I'm doing!" The air suddenly condenses into a black sphere, but your friend (or foe) enters it and it vanishes again. You begin to feel bewildered, manipulated... and deviceless. >set clock to 1 You shorten the time left on the clock. >z Time passes. Suddenly you are wrenched out into the time vortex once more, and find yourself back... 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 frigid. 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. There are two played pieces. Sitting on the jigsaw table, evidently left for you by Black, is the curious device. >get device (putting the charcoal pencil into the canvas rucksack to make room) Taken. >x it 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 99. >press button Nothing obvious happens. >x edge piece A large jigsaw piece, six inches on a side and square. It's a dull grey-white, perhaps depicting the side of a battleship. It is currently this way up: O OOOOOOO OOOOOOO OOOOOOOOO OOOOOOO OOOOOOO >x grid "Nec deus intersit nisi dignus vindice nodus inciderit" 1 2 3 4 +----------------------------------------------------+ | ooooooooooooo| a | Park o| | oooooo oooooo| | | b | | | | | oooooo oooooo | c | Carriage oo | | ooooooooooooo | | o | d | | | | +----------------------------------------------------+ >save Ok. >