All text will now be saved to the script file. Type UNSCRIPT at any time to discontinue scripting. >restart Are you sure you want to start over? (YES or NO) > y Cerulean Stowaway Copyright 2003 by Roger Descheneaux This game may be freely copied and distributed by anyone for any reason, commercial or non-commercial, as long as it remains unmodified. The aliens come from the planet Cerul, so they're called the Ceruleans, even though that word already means something else. Most people don't care what the name means, though. They're only interested in the fact that the Ceruleans have offered mankind long life, easy living, and the stars, all in exchange for nothing and for no reason that anyone can see. They are willing to share everything they have with humans, all in the spirit of brotherhood. You're the president of a non-profit organization called the Cerulean Fan Club. You spend most of your time working as a janitor at a local supermarket. Night shift, forty hours a week, barely above minimum wage. It's not interesting, but it keeps you alive while you run the Cerulean Fan Cub web site and the Cerulean Fan Club newsletter. Of course, there are the kooks. You have a stack of letters from them on your desk and a disk full of their emails. "Ceruleans want to use humans for food!" they say. Like Ceruleans can travel two hundred light years from Cerul but haven't learned the science of Twinkies. Or the common, "Ceruleans kidnapped me and anally probed me!" It's not always clear from the letters whether the writer likes this or not. And the ever-popular, "I'm pregnant with a Cerulean baby!" Ceruleans aren't even mammals. The world is full of weirdos. You're weird in a different way. You like the Ceruleans. You admire them. So you run their fan club and answer the kooks' email. And when the Ceruleans offer a free trip to their planet at faster-than-light speeds for the world's top scientists, you don't even think twice about quitting your lousy low-pay third-shift job to join them. Nevermind that you're not one of the world's top scientists- you expect to get on that ship. You do everything you can to finagle a ride. Pleas, bribes, threats: nothing works. They're accepting mostly Nobel prize winners, they say apologetically, and a few captains of industry. You qualify on neither count. You've supported the Ceruleans for years. You must get on that ship. They won't give you permission, so there's only one thing to do: sneak on. That's why you drive your battered old Toyota Celica out to the new United Nations Welcome Center that's being built in the cornfields of Kansas, where the Ceruleans have one of their shuttles waiting to bring supplies up to their ship, and try to figure out how to sneak a ride. You arrive at the Welcome Center just at sunset, ten miles from the nearest town and a focus of bucolic beauty. It's a nothing cornfield in the middle of Kansas, but to you, it's a spaceport. It's the gateway to the stars. If this is your first time playing, you can type INFO to get some information about the game. Of particular interest might be the HINT command. Outside the United Nations Welcome Center You're standing on the lawn outside the United Nations Cerulean Welcome Center. Construction of the Welcome Center has essentially been completed, though workmen have been putting finishing touches on it over the course of the last few weeks, washing windows, painting trim, and vacuuming the building into a state which will impress even jaded travellers like the Ceruleans. The gleaming tower of glass and metal stretches skyward; silent, fresh, and clean, it is an offering of hospitality to humanity's new friends. Across a brief expanse of freshly-planted and even more freshly-mown grass is the Cerulean shuttle, a glittering silver oblong resting on the lawn. The iridescent metal of the shuttle shimmers mysteriously, speaking silent volumes on the technology of mankind's new allies. The entrance to the shuttle's access elevator is to the east of you. A wide, low set of marble stairs leads up to the Welcome Center to the north. >[OK, this is a delightfully wacky premise. At first, I thought, 'bah, "To Serve Man"'. But then the next paragraph said, "No, I don't understand the punctuation "[". >[not, that. So yay! Unless it turns into 'To serve man' anyway. But maybe even so.] I don't understand the punctuation "[". >info Cerulean Stowaway A work of interactive fiction by Roger Descheneaux rpd@world-nexus.com Playtesters: Pete Descheneaux Maurice Ribble Copyright 2003 by Roger Descheneaux. Permission is granted to distribute and use this work freely for any purpose, commercial or non-commercial, as long as it remains unmodified. This game has no built-in walkthrough. It does, however, have built-in hints. These hints are location-sensitive, so you get different hints in different areas. Typing 'hint' multiple times will give you additional hints. In some cases these hints are never more than vague ideas, but in others they are explicit explanations of how to solve certain problems. Try it out if you have trouble. There are a number of commands useful in any interactive fiction game. You can move around using compass directions: "e" makes you go east, "w" makes you go west, and so on. You can type "i" (short for "inventory") to see a list of what you are carrying. The "score" command will tell you how you're doing in the game. The "hint" command will give you some hints if you get stuck. >l Outside the United Nations Welcome Center You're standing on the lawn outside the United Nations Cerulean Welcome Center. Construction of the Welcome Center has essentially been completed, though workmen have been putting finishing touches on it over the course of the last few weeks, washing windows, painting trim, and vacuuming the building into a state which will impress even jaded travellers like the Ceruleans. The gleaming tower of glass and metal stretches skyward; silent, fresh, and clean, it is an offering of hospitality to humanity's new friends. Across a brief expanse of freshly-planted and even more freshly-mown grass is the Cerulean shuttle, a glittering silver oblong resting on the lawn. The iridescent metal of the shuttle shimmers mysteriously, speaking silent volumes on the technology of mankind's new allies. The entrance to the shuttle's access elevator is to the east of you. A wide, low set of marble stairs leads up to the Welcome Center to the north. >e In the shuttle's access elevator This is large cubic elevator designed to lift both passengers and cargo. At the moment you are the only person in the elevator. An exit to the west leads back to the Welcome Center. A pair of buttons is set into the wall, one above the other. The upper button is green and the lower button is red. >push green A warm feminine voice admonishes you, "I'm sorry, but you're not authorized to enter the shuttle right now." >push red The button blinks briefly red, but nothing happens. >w Outside the United Nations Welcome Center >verbose Okay, now in VERBOSE mode. Outside the United Nations Welcome Center You're standing on the lawn outside the United Nations Cerulean Welcome Center. Construction of the Welcome Center has essentially been completed, though workmen have been putting finishing touches on it over the course of the last few weeks, washing windows, painting trim, and vacuuming the building into a state which will impress even jaded travellers like the Ceruleans. The gleaming tower of glass and metal stretches skyward; silent, fresh, and clean, it is an offering of hospitality to humanity's new friends. Across a brief expanse of freshly-planted and even more freshly-mown grass is the Cerulean shuttle, a glittering silver oblong resting on the lawn. The iridescent metal of the shuttle shimmers mysteriously, speaking silent volumes on the technology of mankind's new allies. The entrance to the shuttle's access elevator is to the east of you. A wide, low set of marble stairs leads up to the Welcome Center to the north. >[sheesh, turn 'verbose' on by default. Don't they teach you anything at IF school nowadays?] I don't understand the punctuation "[". >[ok, that was a joke.] I don't understand the punctuation "[". >[but turn 'verbose' on.] I don't understand the punctuation "[". >[I'm not kidding about that.] I don't understand the punctuation "[". >l Outside the United Nations Welcome Center You're standing on the lawn outside the United Nations Cerulean Welcome Center. Construction of the Welcome Center has essentially been completed, though workmen have been putting finishing touches on it over the course of the last few weeks, washing windows, painting trim, and vacuuming the building into a state which will impress even jaded travellers like the Ceruleans. The gleaming tower of glass and metal stretches skyward; silent, fresh, and clean, it is an offering of hospitality to humanity's new friends. Across a brief expanse of freshly-planted and even more freshly-mown grass is the Cerulean shuttle, a glittering silver oblong resting on the lawn. The iridescent metal of the shuttle shimmers mysteriously, speaking silent volumes on the technology of mankind's new allies. The entrance to the shuttle's access elevator is to the east of you. A wide, low set of marble stairs leads up to the Welcome Center to the north. >[The ceruleans are jaded! Ha ha! Whew.] I don't understand the punctuation "[". >n The Welcome Center Lobby The inside of the Welcome Center is as impressive as the outside. Three stories high and twice as wide, the lobby is bright and airy. The floor is mostly marble, but it is inset with a gigantic mosaic showing a hand clasping a tentacle in friendship. A long, curving stairway leads up to an observation deck near the top of the lobby where visitors can look through the windows to observe the shuttles as they arrive, and a bank of elevators at the northern end of the room provides access to the Welcome Center's upper stories. There's also a small stairway near the western side of the lobby labelled with a sign reading "Restrooms" and small pictures of a man, a woman, and what looks like a furry traffic cone. >[snort] I don't understand the punctuation "[". >[snort at the hand/tentacle thing] I don't understand the punctuation "[". >[snort at the furry traffic cone, too. Hee!] I don't understand the punctuation "[". >w Restroom Access Stairway You're at the bottom of a steep, narrow staircase that leads to the Welcome Center's restrooms. The lights don't seem to be on, and the little bit of sunlight which filters down here is feeble and dim. The stairway smells of fresh paint and disinfectant cleaners. To the south is a door labelled, "Men", to the north, a door labelled "Women", and to the west is a door with indecipherable writing on it. >w It's pitch black. >turn on light I don't understand that sentence. >i It's pitch black. >e Restroom Access Stairway You're at the bottom of a steep, narrow staircase that leads to the Welcome Center's restrooms. The lights don't seem to be on, and the little bit of sunlight which filters down here is feeble and dim. The stairway smells of fresh paint and disinfectant cleaners. To the south is a door labelled, "Men", to the north, a door labelled "Women", and to the west is a door with indecipherable writing on it. >i You have a wallet. >x wallet You bought this on sale at Wal*Mart. It's genuine leather. >open it Opening the wallet reveals a Cerulean Fan Club branded credit card and a ten dollar bill. >x card This was one of your better ideas as Cerulean Fan Club President. It's a branded credit card. Every time a member uses it, he gets points valid toward purchases at the Cerulean Fan Club online store, for great merchandise like CFC T-shirts, CFC baseball caps, CFC lip gloss, and CFC chia pets. Not only that, but 1% of every purchase made is donated to the Club, and the club uses the money to sponsor events, rent office space, and advertise in magazines like "Boy's Life" and "People". >[Boy's Life and People! I'm dyin' here.] I don't understand the punctuation "[". >n It's pitch black. >s Restroom Access Stairway You're at the bottom of a steep, narrow staircase that leads to the Welcome Center's restrooms. The lights don't seem to be on, and the little bit of sunlight which filters down here is feeble and dim. The stairway smells of fresh paint and disinfectant cleaners. To the south is a door labelled, "Men", to the north, a door labelled "Women", and to the west is a door with indecipherable writing on it. >turn on light I don't understand that sentence. >s It's pitch black. >n Restroom Access Stairway You're at the bottom of a steep, narrow staircase that leads to the Welcome Center's restrooms. The lights don't seem to be on, and the little bit of sunlight which filters down here is feeble and dim. The stairway smells of fresh paint and disinfectant cleaners. To the south is a door labelled, "Men", to the north, a door labelled "Women", and to the west is a door with indecipherable writing on it. >e The Welcome Center Lobby The inside of the Welcome Center is as impressive as the outside. Three stories high and twice as wide, the lobby is bright and airy. The floor is mostly marble, but it is inset with a gigantic mosaic showing a hand clasping a tentacle in friendship. A long, curving stairway leads up to an observation deck near the top of the lobby where visitors can look through the windows to observe the shuttles as they arrive, and a bank of elevators at the northern end of the room provides access to the Welcome Center's upper stories. There's also a small stairway near the western side of the lobby labelled with a sign reading "Restrooms" and small pictures of a man, a woman, and what looks like a furry traffic cone. >e You can't go that way. >u The Welcome Center Observation Deck The setting sun gleams brilliantly off of the iridescent skin of the Cerulean shuttle outside, casting sparkling rays which catch in the glass of the observation deck window and shimmer in patches across the floor. Chairs line the platform, some arranged in a circle, but others set facing the windows to afford the best view of the area outside. Through the window you can see an opening in the shuttle high above you. You can also see a window washers' scaffold just outside the window. Whoever was working here must've left in a hurry, because he left some dirty overalls draped over a chair and his lunchbox lying on the floor beside them. >get overalls Taken. >get lunchbox Taken. >x it It's a battered red lunchbox that's seen better days. How many lunches has this thing held? It looks like a relic from the 1950's. Maybe it belonged to the grandfather of the workman who's using it now, and it's held three generations of turkey on wheat and ham on rye and half a century worth of thermoses of coffee. >[snort] I don't understand the punctuation "[". >open it Opening the battered red lunchbox reveals a cigarette lighter and pack of cigarettes. >get all from it cigarette lighter: Taken. pack of cigarettes: Taken. >wear overalls Okay, you're now wearing the dirty overalls. >x overalls The overalls are splattered with paint, grease, and dried splotches of other liquids of dubious provenance. Lots of pockets and a tool belt make the overalls handy for carrying tools and equipment. >x pockets I don't know the word "pockets". >l The Welcome Center Observation Deck The setting sun gleams brilliantly off of the iridescent skin of the Cerulean shuttle outside, casting sparkling rays which catch in the glass of the observation deck window and shimmer in patches across the floor. Chairs line the platform, some arranged in a circle, but others set facing the windows to afford the best view of the area outside. Through the window you can see an opening in the shuttle high above you. You can also see a window washers' scaffold just outside the window. >x shuttle I don't see any shuttle here. >open window It's locked. >unlock it What do you want to unlock it with? >lighter I don't know how to unlock anything with the cigarette lighter. >unlock it with card It doesn't fit the lock. >x lock I don't understand that sentence. >l The Welcome Center Observation Deck The setting sun gleams brilliantly off of the iridescent skin of the Cerulean shuttle outside, casting sparkling rays which catch in the glass of the observation deck window and shimmer in patches across the floor. Chairs line the platform, some arranged in a circle, but others set facing the windows to afford the best view of the area outside. Through the window you can see an opening in the shuttle high above you. You can also see a window washers' scaffold just outside the window. >enter scaffold The window is closed. >l The Welcome Center Observation Deck The setting sun gleams brilliantly off of the iridescent skin of the Cerulean shuttle outside, casting sparkling rays which catch in the glass of the observation deck window and shimmer in patches across the floor. Chairs line the platform, some arranged in a circle, but others set facing the windows to afford the best view of the area outside. Through the window you can see an opening in the shuttle high above you. You can also see a window washers' scaffold just outside the window. >x chairs I don't know the word "chairs". >x chair I don't know the word "chair". >d The Welcome Center Lobby The inside of the Welcome Center is as impressive as the outside. Three stories high and twice as wide, the lobby is bright and airy. The floor is mostly marble, but it is inset with a gigantic mosaic showing a hand clasping a tentacle in friendship. A long, curving stairway leads up to an observation deck near the top of the lobby where visitors can look through the windows to observe the shuttles as they arrive, and a bank of elevators at the northern end of the room provides access to the Welcome Center's upper stories. There's also a small stairway near the western side of the lobby labelled with a sign reading "Restrooms" and small pictures of a man, a woman, and what looks like a furry traffic cone. >x mosaic The mosaic is a picture made of tiny pieces of glass about the size of the fingernail on your pinky finger. Each piece of glass is a single color, but together they form the image of a human hand clasping a Cerulean tentacle in friendship. >get glass You can't get the mosaic. >enter elevators The elevator doors are all closed. >x elevators The elevators are all identical- a row of identical gleaming brass doors, each equipped with an identical call button and a gauge saying what floor it's on. All of the gauges read "1", but the doors are all closed. It doesn't look like the Welcome Center is open for business yet. >push button You jab one of the call buttons a couple of times, but there's no response. >s Outside the United Nations Welcome Center You're standing on the lawn outside the United Nations Cerulean Welcome Center. Construction of the Welcome Center has essentially been completed, though workmen have been putting finishing touches on it over the course of the last few weeks, washing windows, painting trim, and vacuuming the building into a state which will impress even jaded travellers like the Ceruleans. The gleaming tower of glass and metal stretches skyward; silent, fresh, and clean, it is an offering of hospitality to humanity's new friends. Across a brief expanse of freshly-planted and even more freshly-mown grass is the Cerulean shuttle, a glittering silver oblong resting on the lawn. The iridescent metal of the shuttle shimmers mysteriously, speaking silent volumes on the technology of mankind's new allies. The entrance to the shuttle's access elevator is to the east of you. A wide, low set of marble stairs leads up to the Welcome Center to the north. >w You can't go that way. >ne You can't go that way. >nw You can't go that way. >e In the shuttle's access elevator This is large cubic elevator designed to lift both passengers and cargo. At the moment you are the only person in the elevator. An exit to the west leads back to the Welcome Center. A pair of buttons is set into the wall, one above the other. The upper button is green and the lower button is red. >push green A warm feminine voice admonishes you, "I'm sorry, but you're not authorized to enter the shuttle right now." >w Outside the United Nations Welcome Center You're standing on the lawn outside the United Nations Cerulean Welcome Center. Construction of the Welcome Center has essentially been completed, though workmen have been putting finishing touches on it over the course of the last few weeks, washing windows, painting trim, and vacuuming the building into a state which will impress even jaded travellers like the Ceruleans. The gleaming tower of glass and metal stretches skyward; silent, fresh, and clean, it is an offering of hospitality to humanity's new friends. Across a brief expanse of freshly-planted and even more freshly-mown grass is the Cerulean shuttle, a glittering silver oblong resting on the lawn. The iridescent metal of the shuttle shimmers mysteriously, speaking silent volumes on the technology of mankind's new allies. The entrance to the shuttle's access elevator is to the east of you. A wide, low set of marble stairs leads up to the Welcome Center to the north. >x grass The lawn is bright green and freshly-mowed. It stretches in a regular rectangle around the Welcome Center, about fifty feet around on each side, and a little wider to the east, where the Cerulean shuttle rests on it. You notice that the lawn at the base of the shuttle is not burned or damaged in any way. Cerulean ships are notoriously smooth and quiet when they move. >hint Try exploring a little. Maybe there will be something more interesting here later. >n The Welcome Center Lobby The inside of the Welcome Center is as impressive as the outside. Three stories high and twice as wide, the lobby is bright and airy. The floor is mostly marble, but it is inset with a gigantic mosaic showing a hand clasping a tentacle in friendship. A long, curving stairway leads up to an observation deck near the top of the lobby where visitors can look through the windows to observe the shuttles as they arrive, and a bank of elevators at the northern end of the room provides access to the Welcome Center's upper stories. There's also a small stairway near the western side of the lobby labelled with a sign reading "Restrooms" and small pictures of a man, a woman, and what looks like a furry traffic cone. >hint I have no hints to give you in this area. >w Restroom Access Stairway You're at the bottom of a steep, narrow staircase that leads to the Welcome Center's restrooms. The lights don't seem to be on, and the little bit of sunlight which filters down here is feeble and dim. The stairway smells of fresh paint and disinfectant cleaners. To the south is a door labelled, "Men", to the north, a door labelled "Women", and to the west is a door with indecipherable writing on it. >hint I have no hints to give you in this area. >n It's pitch black. >hint Bet that lighter would be good at making light. Try lighting it. >light lighter You switch on the cigarette lighter, lighting the area. Welcome Center Ladies' Room The ladies' room gleams a lurid orange in the light of your lighter. Strange shadows flicker across the sinks and cast weird shadows under the walls of the stalls. You catch a glimpse of your face in the mirror above the sinks, all flickering and shadowy like the visage of some strange hellsent demon. There is a door in the east wall labelled, 'Cleaning Suplies'. You're not sure what a 'suply' is, but you think that someone should probably check the spelling of the signs in the Welcome Center before it opens for business. You find it strange that there is a handicapped stall here, but the only access to the bathroom was by walking down a steep, narrow staircase. You find yourself grinning as you imagine an angry woman in a wheelchair complaining to the receptionist, who calls the building manager, who complains to the building owner, who furiously berates the architect, while all the while the handicapped woman is wheeling desperately in circles because it's ten miles to the next bathroom in this uninhabited patch of Kansas. >e You can't go that way. >open door It's locked. >open it with card Snick. Snick. You unlock the door easily. This is not the first time your trusty Cerulean Fan Club credit card has been used as a lockpick. >e You can't go that way. >open door Opening the supply closet door reveals some heavy duty wire cutters, a mop, a can of bathroom cleaner, and a bucket. >get all from closet heavy duty wire cutters: Taken. mop: Taken. can of bathroom cleaner: Taken. bucket: Taken. >s Restroom Access Stairway You're at the bottom of a steep, narrow staircase that leads to the Welcome Center's restrooms. The lights don't seem to be on, and the little bit of sunlight which filters down here is feeble and dim. The stairway smells of fresh paint and disinfectant cleaners. To the south is a door labelled, "Men", to the north, a door labelled "Women", and to the west is a door with indecipherable writing on it. >w Alien Bathroom The floor of this room is indented slightly, like a very shallow bowl. Higher at the walls, it slopes to a strange cone in the center of the room. The cone is three feet tall and seems to be made of a strange, pulpy substance. It has small holes set into its base, near the floor, and is painted brown. At least, you assume that it's paint. >[ewww.] I don't understand the punctuation "[". >x cone The cone appears to be brand new. You imagine that it would bring a fine price on eBay- Cerulean artifacts always do. Unfortunately, it appears to be quite firmly affixed to the floor. >e Restroom Access Stairway You're at the bottom of a steep, narrow staircase that leads to the Welcome Center's restrooms. The lights don't seem to be on, and the little bit of sunlight which filters down here is feeble and dim. The stairway smells of fresh paint and disinfectant cleaners. To the south is a door labelled, "Men", to the north, a door labelled "Women", and to the west is a door with indecipherable writing on it. >s Welcome Center Men's Room The men's room gleams a lurid orange in the light of your lighter. Strange shadows flicker across the sinks and gleam off of a row of urinals large enough to make a football stadium proud. You catch a glimpse of your face in the mirror above the sinks, all flickering and shadowy like the visage of some strange hellsent demon. >n Restroom Access Stairway You're at the bottom of a steep, narrow staircase that leads to the Welcome Center's restrooms. The lights don't seem to be on, and the little bit of sunlight which filters down here is feeble and dim. The stairway smells of fresh paint and disinfectant cleaners. To the south is a door labelled, "Men", to the north, a door labelled "Women", and to the west is a door with indecipherable writing on it. >e The Welcome Center Lobby The inside of the Welcome Center is as impressive as the outside. Three stories high and twice as wide, the lobby is bright and airy. The floor is mostly marble, but it is inset with a gigantic mosaic showing a hand clasping a tentacle in friendship. A long, curving stairway leads up to an observation deck near the top of the lobby where visitors can look through the windows to observe the shuttles as they arrive, and a bank of elevators at the northern end of the room provides access to the Welcome Center's upper stories. There's also a small stairway near the western side of the lobby labelled with a sign reading "Restrooms" and small pictures of a man, a woman, and what looks like a furry traffic cone. >u The Welcome Center Observation Deck The setting sun gleams brilliantly off of the iridescent skin of the Cerulean shuttle outside, casting sparkling rays which catch in the glass of the observation deck window and shimmer in patches across the floor. Chairs line the platform, some arranged in a circle, but others set facing the windows to afford the best view of the area outside. Through the window you can see an opening in the shuttle high above you. You can also see a window washers' scaffold just outside the window. >i You have a wallet, some dirty overalls (being worn), a battered red lunchbox, a cigarette lighter (providing light), pack of cigarettes, some heavy duty wire cutters, a mop, a can of bathroom cleaner, and a bucket. The wallet seems to contain a Cerulean Fan Club branded credit card and a ten dollar bill. The pack of cigarettes seems to contain a cigarette. >open window with cutters You can't use the heavy duty wire cutters to open things. >hint Try looking through the window. >look through window This is a long, wide window which displays the landing field outside the observation deck. The landing field is, quite literally, a field, since Cerulean technology doesn't require much in the way of primitive concrete landing strips. The silvery Cerulean spaceship rests outside, like a long, slim finger beckoning invitingly. Or maybe it's just making a crude gesture- but you can never imagine the Ceruleans being crude. It's just not in their nature. Hanging just outside the window is a painters' scaffold. Balanced just on the very edge of the scaffold is a small, round key, probably dropped by someone who was working on the scaffold. It's hanging so far off the edge that it's a wonder no one has knocked it off by now. The observation deck window is closed. >hit window What do you want to attack it with? >mop Attacking the observation deck window doesn't appear productive. >get key You can't get the maintenance key. >jump You jump up and down. It's like being on a pogo stick, except without the pogo stick. >[you know what would be fun? If by stowing away, I caused the Ceruleans to leave Earth forever.] I don't understand the punctuation "[". >d The Welcome Center Lobby The inside of the Welcome Center is as impressive as the outside. Three stories high and twice as wide, the lobby is bright and airy. The floor is mostly marble, but it is inset with a gigantic mosaic showing a hand clasping a tentacle in friendship. A long, curving stairway leads up to an observation deck near the top of the lobby where visitors can look through the windows to observe the shuttles as they arrive, and a bank of elevators at the northern end of the room provides access to the Welcome Center's upper stories. There's also a small stairway near the western side of the lobby labelled with a sign reading "Restrooms" and small pictures of a man, a woman, and what looks like a furry traffic cone. >out You can't go that way. >s Outside the United Nations Welcome Center You're standing on the lawn outside the United Nations Cerulean Welcome Center. Construction of the Welcome Center has essentially been completed, though workmen have been putting finishing touches on it over the course of the last few weeks, washing windows, painting trim, and vacuuming the building into a state which will impress even jaded travellers like the Ceruleans. The gleaming tower of glass and metal stretches skyward; silent, fresh, and clean, it is an offering of hospitality to humanity's new friends. Across a brief expanse of freshly-planted and even more freshly-mown grass is the Cerulean shuttle, a glittering silver oblong resting on the lawn. The iridescent metal of the shuttle shimmers mysteriously, speaking silent volumes on the technology of mankind's new allies. The entrance to the shuttle's access elevator is to the east of you. A wide, low set of marble stairs leads up to the Welcome Center to the north. >look up I don't understand that sentence. >x scaffold The bottom of the platform is perhaps fifteen or twenty feet above you- well out of your reach. >throw mop at scaffold The mop clunks solidly into the scaffold. A tiny object falls from the scaffold and thunks quietly onto the grass below it. >get all mop: Taken. maintenance key: You've already got your hands full. >i You have a wallet, some dirty overalls (being worn), a battered red lunchbox, a cigarette lighter (providing light), pack of cigarettes, some heavy duty wire cutters, a can of bathroom cleaner, a bucket, and a mop. The wallet seems to contain a Cerulean Fan Club branded credit card and a ten dollar bill. The pack of cigarettes seems to contain a cigarette. >put all in lunchbox wallet: Done. dirty overalls: (Taking off the dirty overalls first) Done. battered red lunchbox: You can't put the battered red lunchbox in itself! cigarette lighter: The lighter goes out when you let go of it. Done. pack of cigarettes: Done. heavy duty wire cutters: You can't fit those in the battered red lunchbox. can of bathroom cleaner: Done. bucket: You can't fit that in the battered red lunchbox. mop: This I'd like to see. There's no way the mop's going to fit in there. >get key Taken. >n The Welcome Center Lobby The inside of the Welcome Center is as impressive as the outside. Three stories high and twice as wide, the lobby is bright and airy. The floor is mostly marble, but it is inset with a gigantic mosaic showing a hand clasping a tentacle in friendship. A long, curving stairway leads up to an observation deck near the top of the lobby where visitors can look through the windows to observe the shuttles as they arrive, and a bank of elevators at the northern end of the room provides access to the Welcome Center's upper stories. There's also a small stairway near the western side of the lobby labelled with a sign reading "Restrooms" and small pictures of a man, a woman, and what looks like a furry traffic cone. >u The Welcome Center Observation Deck The setting sun gleams brilliantly off of the iridescent skin of the Cerulean shuttle outside, casting sparkling rays which catch in the glass of the observation deck window and shimmer in patches across the floor. Chairs line the platform, some arranged in a circle, but others set facing the windows to afford the best view of the area outside. Through the window you can see an opening in the shuttle high above you. You can also see a window washers' scaffold just outside the window. >unlock window (with the maintenance key) Unlocked. >open window Opened. >out You can't go that way. >enter window Window Washers' Scaffold This is a scaffolding set about twenty feet up the side of the Welcome Center. It's stained with paint- paint splotches, paint footprints, and even a little painted smiley face drawn crudely with wide strokes. The paint is all old and dried, though. It looks like this scaffold has most recently been used to wash windows. A window to the west leads back into the Welcome Center's observation deck. A thick rope stretches upward from the scaffold to the top of the building >x rope The thick rope is stained with paint of many colors. It winds up toward the top of the building. You can't see where it goes very clearly, but it seems to be very firmly affixed to both the scaffold and something far above. >u You can't go that way. >climb (the thick rope) You're not in the shape you used to be. You can't climb the rope. >x scaffold I don't see any scaffold here. >l Window Washers' Scaffold This is a scaffolding set about twenty feet up the side of the Welcome Center. It's stained with paint- paint splotches, paint footprints, and even a little painted smiley face drawn crudely with wide strokes. The paint is all old and dried, though. It looks like this scaffold has most recently been used to wash windows. A window to the west leads back into the Welcome Center's observation deck. A thick rope stretches upward from the scaffold to the top of the building >pull rope You grasp the rope with both hands and throw your back into the effort of raising the scaffold. With a creak and a groan the scaffold rises skyward. Window Washers' Scaffold This is a scaffolding set about thirty feet up the side of the Welcome Center. It's stained with paint- paint splotches, paint footprints, and even a little painted smiley face drawn crudely with wide strokes. The paint is all old and dried, though. It looks like this scaffold has most recently been used to wash windows. A rope stretches upward toward the top of the Welcome Center, high above you. Across a small gap to the east is the open hatchway of the Cerulean ship. Falling into the gap would most likely be fatal, but you're certain that you can jump into the spaceship with little difficulty. >x hatchway I don't know the word "hatchway". >pull rope You grasp the rope with both hands and throw your back into the effort of lowering the scaffold. With a creak and a groan the scaffold lurches downward. Window Washers' Scaffold This is a scaffolding set about twenty feet up the side of the Welcome Center. It's stained with paint- paint splotches, paint footprints, and even a little painted smiley face drawn crudely with wide strokes. The paint is all old and dried, though. It looks like this scaffold has most recently been used to wash windows. A window to the west leads back into the Welcome Center's observation deck. A thick rope stretches upward from the scaffold to the top of the building >undo (Undoing one command) Window Washers' Scaffold This is a scaffolding set about thirty feet up the side of the Welcome Center. It's stained with paint- paint splotches, paint footprints, and even a little painted smiley face drawn crudely with wide strokes. The paint is all old and dried, though. It looks like this scaffold has most recently been used to wash windows. A rope stretches upward toward the top of the Welcome Center, high above you. Across a small gap to the east is the open hatchway of the Cerulean ship. Falling into the gap would most likely be fatal, but you're certain that you can jump into the spaceship with little difficulty. >e Cerulean Landing Vehicle The interior of the Cerulean landing vehicle is made of the same shimmering metal as the outside of it. Red-green shimmers wash constantly over it, lighting the interior of the ship in magical glowing waves of color. You can see that it is clearly a cargo ship, because there is no seating of any kind, but there are containers of various sorts filling the cargo area. The largest part of the cargo bay is taken up by a huge metallic tank labelled "water" and a gigantic box labelled "freezer". An opening to the west leads back to the Welcome Center. You see a large plastic box, a huge plastic box, and a small metal box here. >x lighter The cigarette lighter seems to have plenty of fluid remaining in it. >i You have a battered red lunchbox, some heavy duty wire cutters, a bucket, a mop, and a maintenance key. The battered red lunchbox seems to contain a wallet, some dirty overalls, a cigarette lighter, pack of cigarettes, and a can of bathroom cleaner. >[I bet the lighter is still on, isn't it?] I don't understand the punctuation "[". >turn off lighter The cigarette lighter isn't turned on. >turn on lighter You switch on the cigarette lighter. >undo (Undoing one command) Cerulean Landing Vehicle The interior of the Cerulean landing vehicle is made of the same shimmering metal as the outside of it. Red-green shimmers wash constantly over it, lighting the interior of the ship in magical glowing waves of color. You can see that it is clearly a cargo ship, because there is no seating of any kind, but there are containers of various sorts filling the cargo area. The largest part of the cargo bay is taken up by a huge metallic tank labelled "water" and a gigantic box labelled "freezer". An opening to the west leads back to the Welcome Center. You see a large plastic box, a huge plastic box, and a small metal box here. >x container I don't know the word "container". >x plastic Which plastic do you mean, the large plastic box, or the huge plastic box? >large This is a large plastic box labelled in Cerulean. >open it Opening the large plastic box reveals a gigantic wad of raw hamburger. >[eww] I don't understand the punctuation "[". >get hamburger Your load is too heavy. >open small Which small do you mean, the maintenance key, or the small metal box? >metal Opening the small metal box reveals a pair of dark glasses and a tiny earpiece. >get glasses Taken. >wear earpiece (First taking the tiny earpiece) Taken. Okay, you're now wearing the tiny earpiece. >x earpiece This is a tiny earpiece which was clearly made to fit a human ear. It fits over one's right ear and has a small bulb which covers the ear entirely. The earpiece is made of some kind of red plastic. It doesn't look unusual, but it feels slightly warm to the touch. >wear glasses Okay, you're now wearing the pair of dark glasses. >take off overalls You're not wearing the dirty overalls. >[er?] I don't understand the punctuation "[". >wear overalls (First taking the dirty overalls) Taken. Okay, you're now wearing the dirty overalls. >[Oh, I took 'em off when I store everything in the box] I don't understand the punctuation "[". >l Cerulean Landing Vehicle The interior of the Cerulean landing vehicle is made of the same shimmering metal as the outside of it. Red-green shimmers wash constantly over it, lighting the interior of the ship in magical glowing waves of color. You can see that it is clearly a cargo ship, because there is no seating of any kind, but there are containers of various sorts filling the cargo area. The largest part of the cargo bay is taken up by a huge metallic tank labelled "water" and a gigantic box labelled "freezer". An opening to the west leads back to the Welcome Center. You see a large plastic box, a huge plastic box, and a small metal box here. The large plastic box seems to contain a gigantic wad of raw hamburger. >x tank For all you know the label could be a lie and the tank could be filled with raspberry jam, since you don't see any visible way of opening it. >[snort] I don't understand the punctuation "[". >x box Which box do you mean, the battered red lunchbox, the large plastic box, the huge plastic box, the small metal box, or the freezer? >open freezer The freezer has no handle, hinges, door, or latches. You don't know how you could open it. Perhaps the opening is on the outside of the ship, or perhaps it opens magically through some weird Cerulean gigantic appliance technology. >open large box The large plastic box is already open! >open huge box Opening the huge plastic box reveals a strange sculpture. >x sculpture This is a sculpture, a small statue which is clearly human in origin. It seems to be a sculpture of- well, of something. You're not really sure what it is. It must be female, because it has breasts, and it seems to have a lot of hair, and not just on its head. It is strangely twisted and particularly ugly. Using it to hold a door open would be a treatment too kind for it. >get it Your load is too heavy. >l Cerulean Landing Vehicle The interior of the Cerulean landing vehicle is made of the same shimmering metal as the outside of it. Red-green shimmers wash constantly over it, lighting the interior of the ship in magical glowing waves of color. You can see that it is clearly a cargo ship, because there is no seating of any kind, but there are containers of various sorts filling the cargo area. The largest part of the cargo bay is taken up by a huge metallic tank labelled "water" and a gigantic box labelled "freezer". An opening to the west leads back to the Welcome Center. You see a large plastic box, a huge plastic box, and a small metal box here. The large plastic box seems to contain a gigantic wad of raw hamburger. The huge plastic box seems to contain a strange sculpture. >e You can't go that way. >n You can't go that way. >w Window Washers' Scaffold This is a scaffolding set about thirty feet up the side of the Welcome Center. It's stained with paint- paint splotches, paint footprints, and even a little painted smiley face drawn crudely with wide strokes. The paint is all old and dried, though. It looks like this scaffold has most recently been used to wash windows. A rope stretches upward toward the top of the Welcome Center, high above you. Across a small gap to the east is the open hatchway of the Cerulean ship. Falling into the gap would most likely be fatal, but you're certain that you can jump into the spaceship with little difficulty. >e Cerulean Landing Vehicle The interior of the Cerulean landing vehicle is made of the same shimmering metal as the outside of it. Red-green shimmers wash constantly over it, lighting the interior of the ship in magical glowing waves of color. You can see that it is clearly a cargo ship, because there is no seating of any kind, but there are containers of various sorts filling the cargo area. The largest part of the cargo bay is taken up by a huge metallic tank labelled "water" and a gigantic box labelled "freezer". An opening to the west leads back to the Welcome Center. You see a large plastic box, a huge plastic box, and a small metal box here. The large plastic box seems to contain a gigantic wad of raw hamburger. The huge plastic box seems to contain a strange sculpture. >e You can't go that way. >enter large I don't know how to enter the water tank. >enter large plastic There's no room for you to squeeze into the large box. >empty it There's no verb in that sentence! >empty large plastic There's no verb in that sentence! >[ok, this is somewhat loosely implemented here] I don't understand the punctuation "[". >[and elsewhere] I don't understand the punctuation "[". >hint The ship won't launch for hours yet. You may as well make yourself comfortable, sit back, and wait for it to launch. >z You wait, and then you wait some more. Nothing happens for several hours, but then, as you expected, the cargo bay door slides shut. >z Time passes... Through the window of the cargo bay you see that the Welcome Center seems to be sinking into the ground. Without realizing it you drift toward the window, staring out of it, and you experience a moment of vertigo when you realize that the Welcome Center isn't sinking at all, but rather that the ship is rising slowly into the air. You feel no sense of motion whatsoever. >look out window I don't recognize that sentence. >z Time passes... The Welcome Center gains acceleration, sliding out of view entirely. In a moment, clouds are drifting by outside the window. >x clouds I don't see any clouds here. >z Time passes... A velvety midnight sprinkled with stars washes away the cerulean sky as the landing ship leaves the confines of Earth behind. >z Time passes... You see another ship made of the same metal of the landing ship. Red and blue curtains of color wash slowly over it, making it look like a living thing. A door irises slowly open. You're startled by a gentle female voice which seems to come from right beside you. It takes you a moment to realize that it's some kind of intercom system. Some change from the subway, this. The voice says, "Welcome home, Remora." The door of the cargo ship slides silently open again. You can see the shimmering floor of a larger room just outside the cargo ship's door. Strange- when you launched, this bay was thirty feet in the air, but now, the exit leads directly onto the floor. A short, squat robot rolls into the area. >x robot This robot is three feet long by three feet wide by three feet tall. It looks like a cross between a cube and- well, a cube. Four sturdy mechanical arms jut out of its sides. It seems to move on wheels. The small robot picks up the small metal box. >talk to robot "Hello there," you say to the short, squat robot. "How about that weather, huh?" The short, squat robot pretends not to understand what you said, though you're sure that it must. The small robot rolls off on some mission of its own. >e You can't go that way. >w Launch Bay The launch bay of the Cerulean mothership is a huge cavern of a room lit by a gentle white light. It's large enough to hold a dozen of the small cargo ships which brought you here, though currently it's nearly empty. Only the top part of the cargo ship which brought you is present in the bay. The bottom part, which you assume might have held engines or propulsion devices of some kind, is nowhere to be seen. What remains of the ship is now at floor level to the east side of the launch bay. A security door to the west is currently standing open. A small, cubical robot is rolling through the room, looking very busy. The robot rolls through the open security door and into the corridor beyond. The security door slides closed with an impressive CLANG. >undo (Undoing one command) Cerulean Landing Vehicle The interior of the Cerulean landing vehicle is made of the same shimmering metal as the outside of it. Red-green shimmers wash constantly over it, lighting the interior of the ship in magical glowing waves of color. You can see that it is clearly a cargo ship, because there is no seating of any kind, but there are containers of various sorts filling the cargo area. The largest part of the cargo bay is taken up by a huge metallic tank labelled "water" and a gigantic box labelled "freezer". The open door to the west leads out to the launch bay. You see a large plastic box and a huge plastic box here. The large plastic box seems to contain a gigantic wad of raw hamburger. The huge plastic box seems to contain a strange sculpture. >undo (Undoing one command) Cerulean Landing Vehicle The interior of the Cerulean landing vehicle is made of the same shimmering metal as the outside of it. Red-green shimmers wash constantly over it, lighting the interior of the ship in magical glowing waves of color. You can see that it is clearly a cargo ship, because there is no seating of any kind, but there are containers of various sorts filling the cargo area. The largest part of the cargo bay is taken up by a huge metallic tank labelled "water" and a gigantic box labelled "freezer". The open door to the west leads out to the launch bay. You see a large plastic box and a huge plastic box here. The large plastic box seems to contain a gigantic wad of raw hamburger. The huge plastic box seems to contain a strange sculpture. >w Launch Bay The launch bay of the Cerulean mothership is a huge cavern of a room lit by a gentle white light. It's large enough to hold a dozen of the small cargo ships which brought you here, though currently it's nearly empty. Only the top part of the cargo ship which brought you is present in the bay. The bottom part, which you assume might have held engines or propulsion devices of some kind, is nowhere to be seen. What remains of the ship is now at floor level to the east side of the launch bay. There is a closed door to the west. A small, cubical robot is rolling through the room, looking very busy. The small robot faces the door and emits a series of beeps and chirps. The door says, "I'm sorry, but I cannot open at this time because there are unauthorized persons in the launch bay." >x robot This robot is three feet long by three feet wide by three feet tall. It looks like a cross between a cube and- well, a cube. Four sturdy mechanical arms jut out of its sides. It seems to move on wheels. The small robot faces the door and emits a series of beeps and chirps. The door says, "I'm sorry, but I cannot open at this time because there are unauthorized persons in the launch bay." >enter box Which box do you mean, the battered red lunchbox, or the small metal box? >metal I don't know how to enter the small metal box. The small robot faces the door and emits a series of beeps and chirps. The door says, "I'm sorry, but I cannot open at this time because there are unauthorized persons in the launch bay." >undo (Undoing one command) Launch Bay The launch bay of the Cerulean mothership is a huge cavern of a room lit by a gentle white light. It's large enough to hold a dozen of the small cargo ships which brought you here, though currently it's nearly empty. Only the top part of the cargo ship which brought you is present in the bay. The bottom part, which you assume might have held engines or propulsion devices of some kind, is nowhere to be seen. What remains of the ship is now at floor level to the east side of the launch bay. There is a closed door to the west. A small, cubical robot is rolling through the room, looking very busy. >undo (Undoing one command) Launch Bay The launch bay of the Cerulean mothership is a huge cavern of a room lit by a gentle white light. It's large enough to hold a dozen of the small cargo ships which brought you here, though currently it's nearly empty. Only the top part of the cargo ship which brought you is present in the bay. The bottom part, which you assume might have held engines or propulsion devices of some kind, is nowhere to be seen. What remains of the ship is now at floor level to the east side of the launch bay. There is a closed door to the west. A small, cubical robot is rolling through the room, looking very busy. >undo (Undoing one command) Cerulean Landing Vehicle The interior of the Cerulean landing vehicle is made of the same shimmering metal as the outside of it. Red-green shimmers wash constantly over it, lighting the interior of the ship in magical glowing waves of color. You can see that it is clearly a cargo ship, because there is no seating of any kind, but there are containers of various sorts filling the cargo area. The largest part of the cargo bay is taken up by a huge metallic tank labelled "water" and a gigantic box labelled "freezer". The open door to the west leads out to the launch bay. You see a large plastic box and a huge plastic box here. The large plastic box seems to contain a gigantic wad of raw hamburger. The huge plastic box seems to contain a strange sculpture. >undo (Undoing one command) Cerulean Landing Vehicle The interior of the Cerulean landing vehicle is made of the same shimmering metal as the outside of it. Red-green shimmers wash constantly over it, lighting the interior of the ship in magical glowing waves of color. You can see that it is clearly a cargo ship, because there is no seating of any kind, but there are containers of various sorts filling the cargo area. The largest part of the cargo bay is taken up by a huge metallic tank labelled "water" and a gigantic box labelled "freezer". The open door to the west leads out to the launch bay. You see a large plastic box and a huge plastic box here. The large plastic box seems to contain a gigantic wad of raw hamburger. The huge plastic box seems to contain a strange sculpture. A small, cubical robot is rolling through the room, looking very busy. >undo (Undoing one command) Cerulean Landing Vehicle The interior of the Cerulean landing vehicle is made of the same shimmering metal as the outside of it. Red-green shimmers wash constantly over it, lighting the interior of the ship in magical glowing waves of color. You can see that it is clearly a cargo ship, because there is no seating of any kind, but there are containers of various sorts filling the cargo area. The largest part of the cargo bay is taken up by a huge metallic tank labelled "water" and a gigantic box labelled "freezer". The open door to the west leads out to the launch bay. You see a large plastic box, a huge plastic box, and a small metal box here. The large plastic box seems to contain a gigantic wad of raw hamburger. The huge plastic box seems to contain a strange sculpture. A small, cubical robot is rolling through the room, looking very busy. >save Saved. >enter huge There's no room for you to squeeze into the huge box. The small robot picks up the small metal box. >empty huge There's no verb in that sentence! >w Launch Bay The launch bay of the Cerulean mothership is a huge cavern of a room lit by a gentle white light. It's large enough to hold a dozen of the small cargo ships which brought you here, though currently it's nearly empty. Only the top part of the cargo ship which brought you is present in the bay. The bottom part, which you assume might have held engines or propulsion devices of some kind, is nowhere to be seen. What remains of the ship is now at floor level to the east side of the launch bay. There is a closed door to the west. A short, squat robot rolls into the area. >z Time passes... The small robot faces the door and emits a series of beeps and chirps. The door says, "I'm sorry, but I cannot open at this time because there are unauthorized persons in the launch bay." >e Cerulean Landing Vehicle The interior of the Cerulean landing vehicle is made of the same shimmering metal as the outside of it. Red-green shimmers wash constantly over it, lighting the interior of the ship in magical glowing waves of color. You can see that it is clearly a cargo ship, because there is no seating of any kind, but there are containers of various sorts filling the cargo area. The largest part of the cargo bay is taken up by a huge metallic tank labelled "water" and a gigantic box labelled "freezer". The open door to the west leads out to the launch bay. You see a large plastic box and a huge plastic box here. The large plastic box seems to contain a gigantic wad of raw hamburger. The huge plastic box seems to contain a strange sculpture. >w Launch Bay The launch bay of the Cerulean mothership is a huge cavern of a room lit by a gentle white light. It's large enough to hold a dozen of the small cargo ships which brought you here, though currently it's nearly empty. Only the top part of the cargo ship which brought you is present in the bay. The bottom part, which you assume might have held engines or propulsion devices of some kind, is nowhere to be seen. What remains of the ship is now at floor level to the east side of the launch bay. A security door to the west is currently standing open. A small, cubical robot is rolling through the room, looking very busy. The robot rolls through the open security door and into the corridor beyond. The security door slides closed with an impressive CLANG. >hint You need to get past that security door. >hint The robot can get past the door. >hint The robot carries things past the door. Maybe it could carry you. >hint The robot only carries boxes. What if you were in a box? >e Cerulean Landing Vehicle The interior of the Cerulean landing vehicle is made of the same shimmering metal as the outside of it. Red-green shimmers wash constantly over it, lighting the interior of the ship in magical glowing waves of color. You can see that it is clearly a cargo ship, because there is no seating of any kind, but there are containers of various sorts filling the cargo area. The largest part of the cargo bay is taken up by a huge metallic tank labelled "water" and a gigantic box labelled "freezer". The open door to the west leads out to the launch bay. You see a large plastic box and a huge plastic box here. The large plastic box seems to contain a gigantic wad of raw hamburger. The huge plastic box seems to contain a strange sculpture. >get sculpture Your load is too heavy. >drop all battered red lunchbox: Dropped. heavy duty wire cutters: Dropped. bucket: Dropped. mop: Dropped. maintenance key: Dropped. pair of dark glasses: (Taking off the pair of dark glasses first) Dropped. tiny earpiece: (Taking off the tiny earpiece first) Dropped. dirty overalls: (Taking off the dirty overalls first) Dropped. >get sculpture Taken. >drop it Dropped. >get all but sculpture large plastic box: Taken. huge plastic box: You've already got your hands full. battered red lunchbox: Your load is too heavy. heavy duty wire cutters: Taken. bucket: You've already got your hands full. mop: You've already got your hands full. maintenance key: Taken. pair of dark glasses: Taken. tiny earpiece: You've already got your hands full. dirty overalls: You've already got your hands full. >wear earpiece (First taking the tiny earpiece) You've already got your hands full. A short, squat robot rolls into the area. >enter box Which box do you mean, the freezer, or the battered red lunchbox? >huge You don't see any huge box here. >enter huge Your belongings are too bulky to allow you to squeeze into the box. You'd better drop something before you try to get in there. The small robot picks up the huge plastic box. >undo (Undoing one command) Cerulean Landing Vehicle The interior of the Cerulean landing vehicle is made of the same shimmering metal as the outside of it. Red-green shimmers wash constantly over it, lighting the interior of the ship in magical glowing waves of color. You can see that it is clearly a cargo ship, because there is no seating of any kind, but there are containers of various sorts filling the cargo area. The largest part of the cargo bay is taken up by a huge metallic tank labelled "water" and a gigantic box labelled "freezer". The open door to the west leads out to the launch bay. You see a huge plastic box, a battered red lunchbox, a bucket, a mop, a tiny earpiece, some dirty overalls, and a strange sculpture here. The battered red lunchbox seems to contain a wallet, a cigarette lighter, pack of cigarettes, and a can of bathroom cleaner. A small, cubical robot is rolling through the room, looking very busy. >undo (Undoing one command) Cerulean Landing Vehicle The interior of the Cerulean landing vehicle is made of the same shimmering metal as the outside of it. Red-green shimmers wash constantly over it, lighting the interior of the ship in magical glowing waves of color. You can see that it is clearly a cargo ship, because there is no seating of any kind, but there are containers of various sorts filling the cargo area. The largest part of the cargo bay is taken up by a huge metallic tank labelled "water" and a gigantic box labelled "freezer". The open door to the west leads out to the launch bay. You see a huge plastic box, a battered red lunchbox, a bucket, a mop, a tiny earpiece, some dirty overalls, and a strange sculpture here. The battered red lunchbox seems to contain a wallet, a cigarette lighter, pack of cigarettes, and a can of bathroom cleaner. A small, cubical robot is rolling through the room, looking very busy. >restore Restored. Cerulean Landing Vehicle The interior of the Cerulean landing vehicle is made of the same shimmering metal as the outside of it. Red-green shimmers wash constantly over it, lighting the interior of the ship in magical glowing waves of color. You can see that it is clearly a cargo ship, because there is no seating of any kind, but there are containers of various sorts filling the cargo area. The largest part of the cargo bay is taken up by a huge metallic tank labelled "water" and a gigantic box labelled "freezer". The open door to the west leads out to the launch bay. You see a large plastic box, a huge plastic box, and a small metal box here. The large plastic box seems to contain a gigantic wad of raw hamburger. The huge plastic box seems to contain a strange sculpture. A small, cubical robot is rolling through the room, looking very busy. >i You have a battered red lunchbox, some heavy duty wire cutters, a bucket, a mop, a maintenance key, a pair of dark glasses (being worn), a tiny earpiece (being worn), and some dirty overalls (being worn). The battered red lunchbox seems to contain a wallet, a cigarette lighter, pack of cigarettes, and a can of bathroom cleaner. >drop box, cutters, bucket, mop, key battered red lunchbox: Dropped. heavy duty wire cutters: Dropped. bucket: Dropped. mop: Dropped. maintenance key: Dropped. The small robot picks up the small metal box. >get statue Taken. The small robot rolls off on some mission of its own. >drop it Dropped. >enter huge box Okay, you're now in the huge plastic box. >close box Closed. >l It's too cramped in the closed box to see much of anything. >z Time passes... >z Time passes... >z Time passes... >open box Opened. >l Cerulean Landing Vehicle, in the huge plastic box The interior of the Cerulean landing vehicle is made of the same shimmering metal as the outside of it. Red-green shimmers wash constantly over it, lighting the interior of the ship in magical glowing waves of color. You can see that it is clearly a cargo ship, because there is no seating of any kind, but there are containers of various sorts filling the cargo area. The largest part of the cargo bay is taken up by a huge metallic tank labelled "water" and a gigantic box labelled "freezer". The open door to the west leads out to the launch bay. You see a large plastic box, a huge plastic box, a battered red lunchbox, some heavy duty wire cutters, a bucket, a mop, a maintenance key, and a strange sculpture here. The large plastic box seems to contain a gigantic wad of raw hamburger. The battered red lunchbox seems to contain a wallet, a cigarette lighter, pack of cigarettes, and a can of bathroom cleaner. A short, squat robot rolls into the area. >close box Closed. The small robot picks up the large plastic box. >z Time passes... >z Time passes... >open it Opened. >l Cerulean Landing Vehicle, in the huge plastic box The interior of the Cerulean landing vehicle is made of the same shimmering metal as the outside of it. Red-green shimmers wash constantly over it, lighting the interior of the ship in magical glowing waves of color. You can see that it is clearly a cargo ship, because there is no seating of any kind, but there are containers of various sorts filling the cargo area. The largest part of the cargo bay is taken up by a huge metallic tank labelled "water" and a gigantic box labelled "freezer". The open door to the west leads out to the launch bay. You see a huge plastic box, a battered red lunchbox, some heavy duty wire cutters, a bucket, a mop, a maintenance key, and a strange sculpture here. The battered red lunchbox seems to contain a wallet, a cigarette lighter, pack of cigarettes, and a can of bathroom cleaner. >get lunchbox You can't reach that from the huge plastic box. >restore Restored. Cerulean Landing Vehicle The interior of the Cerulean landing vehicle is made of the same shimmering metal as the outside of it. Red-green shimmers wash constantly over it, lighting the interior of the ship in magical glowing waves of color. You can see that it is clearly a cargo ship, because there is no seating of any kind, but there are containers of various sorts filling the cargo area. The largest part of the cargo bay is taken up by a huge metallic tank labelled "water" and a gigantic box labelled "freezer". The open door to the west leads out to the launch bay. You see a large plastic box, a huge plastic box, and a small metal box here. The large plastic box seems to contain a gigantic wad of raw hamburger. The huge plastic box seems to contain a strange sculpture. A small, cubical robot is rolling through the room, looking very busy. >drop box Dropped. The small robot picks up the small metal box. >get statue Your load is too heavy. The small robot rolls off on some mission of its own. >drop mop, bucket mop: Dropped. bucket: Dropped. >get statue Your load is too heavy. >i You have some heavy duty wire cutters, a maintenance key, a pair of dark glasses (being worn), a tiny earpiece (being worn), and some dirty overalls (being worn). >drop cutters, key heavy duty wire cutters: Dropped. maintenance key: Dropped. >get statue Taken. >drop it Dropped. >get box Which box do you mean, the large plastic box, the huge plastic box, or the battered red lunchbox? >lunchbox Taken. >enter huge Okay, you're now in the huge plastic box. >undo (Undoing one command) Cerulean Landing Vehicle The interior of the Cerulean landing vehicle is made of the same shimmering metal as the outside of it. Red-green shimmers wash constantly over it, lighting the interior of the ship in magical glowing waves of color. You can see that it is clearly a cargo ship, because there is no seating of any kind, but there are containers of various sorts filling the cargo area. The largest part of the cargo bay is taken up by a huge metallic tank labelled "water" and a gigantic box labelled "freezer". The open door to the west leads out to the launch bay. You see a large plastic box, a huge plastic box, a mop, a bucket, some heavy duty wire cutters, a maintenance key, and a strange sculpture here. The large plastic box seems to contain a gigantic wad of raw hamburger. >get key Taken. >get cutters Taken. >enter box Which box do you mean, the battered red lunchbox, the huge plastic box, or the freezer? >huge Okay, you're now in the huge plastic box. A short, squat robot rolls into the area. >undo (Undoing one command) Cerulean Landing Vehicle The interior of the Cerulean landing vehicle is made of the same shimmering metal as the outside of it. Red-green shimmers wash constantly over it, lighting the interior of the ship in magical glowing waves of color. You can see that it is clearly a cargo ship, because there is no seating of any kind, but there are containers of various sorts filling the cargo area. The largest part of the cargo bay is taken up by a huge metallic tank labelled "water" and a gigantic box labelled "freezer". The open door to the west leads out to the launch bay. You see a large plastic box, a huge plastic box, a mop, a bucket, and a strange sculpture here. The large plastic box seems to contain a gigantic wad of raw hamburger. >get mop, bucket mop: Taken. bucket: Taken. A short, squat robot rolls into the area. >enter huge Okay, you're now in the huge plastic box. The small robot picks up the large plastic box. >i You have a pair of dark glasses (being worn), a tiny earpiece (being worn), some dirty overalls (being worn), a battered red lunchbox, a maintenance key, some heavy duty wire cutters, a mop, and a bucket. The battered red lunchbox seems to contain a wallet, a cigarette lighter, pack of cigarettes, and a can of bathroom cleaner. >put key in lunch Done. The small robot rolls off on some mission of its own. >put cutters in box Which box do you mean, the battered red lunchbox, or the huge plastic box? >put cutters in lunch You can't fit those in the battered red lunchbox. >put bucket in lunch You can't fit that in the battered red lunchbox. >x bucket This reminds you of an old Monty Python skit, but you can't remember the punchline. Though there aren't really punchlines in them anyway, so maybe you haven't forgotten it after all. >[snort[ I don't understand the punctuation "[". >x mop This reminds you uncomfortably of what you do to get money to feed your Cerulean habit. Being club president isn't actually a paying position. >x cutters This is pair of heavy duty wire cutters is meant to be used two-handed. It has black rubber grips and looks like it could cut through a transatlantic cable. >['a' transatlantic cable. Because there are so many.] I don't understand the punctuation "[". >z Time passes... >z Time passes... >z Time passes... >z Time passes... >z Time passes... >z Time passes... >z Time passes... A short, squat robot rolls into the area. >z Time passes... The small robot picks up the huge plastic box. >z Time passes... Launch Bay The launch bay of the Cerulean mothership is a huge cavern of a room lit by a gentle white light. It's large enough to hold a dozen of the small cargo ships which brought you here, though currently it's nearly empty. Only the top part of the cargo ship which brought you is present in the bay. The bottom part, which you assume might have held engines or propulsion devices of some kind, is nowhere to be seen. What remains of the ship is now at floor level to the east side of the launch bay. There is a closed door to the west. A small, cubical robot is rolling through the room, looking very busy. >z Time passes... The small robot faces the door and emits a series of beeps and chirps. The door says, "I'm sorry, but I cannot open at this time because there are unauthorized persons in the launch bay." >close box Which box do you mean, the battered red lunchbox, or the huge plastic box? >huge Closed. The small robot faces the door and emits a series of beeps and chirps. The security door slides open. >z Time passes... You hear the robot's wheels rolling and feel the box moving. >open box Opened. Mothership Corridor The corridor bends here, leading north and west. A small door set into the east wall has an octagonal button beside it. A small, cubical robot is rolling through the room, looking very busy. >z Time passes... Evacuation Chamber One wall of this small room has a strange pattern on it, like a giant swirl or whirlpool of metal. The shimmering of the metal on it has a vaguely hypnotic effect. To the west is a door leading out of the room. A small, cubical robot is rolling through the room, looking very busy. >z Time passes... The robot drops the huge plastic box. >l Evacuation Chamber, in the huge plastic box One wall of this small room has a strange pattern on it, like a giant swirl or whirlpool of metal. The shimmering of the metal on it has a vaguely hypnotic effect. To the west is a door leading out of the room. You see a huge plastic box here. A small, cubical robot is rolling through the room, looking very busy. The small robot rolls off on some mission of its own. >get up Okay, you're no longer in the huge plastic box. Without warning, the western door slams shut with a bang loud enough to make your ears ring. >x wall The wall looks like a giant swirling pattern of metal. The colors which swirl across the metal in all of the Cerulean ship also swirl into the center of the pattern in a clockwise fashion, disappearing in the center with a strange hypnotic blending and pulsing of colors. You're not sure whether this is a natural effect of the shimmering and shape of the metal, or whether the pattern has some meaning. You hear a tremendous whirring noise and feel a wind pushing against you. Turning in horror, you see that the eastern wall is irising open, revealing the terrible cold blackness of space. >enter metal I don't see any metal here. >enter wall I don't know how to enter the wall with a strange swirling pattern. A tremendous gust of wind, like a reverse vacuum cleaner, pushes you out of the Cerulean mothership and into space. There's no way there was enough air in this small room to force you out of that room, so you imagine that the room itself must have generated some extra thrust to push you out of the ship. You instinctively hold your breath as you tumble into the vacuum, for all the good it does. Your ears start to bleed, then your nose does too. As your mind darkens, you cannot help thinking that space is so very beautiful and so very, very cold. Then you crash into unconsciousness, never to wake again. *** You have died *** In a total of 160 turns, you have achieved a score of 13 points out of a possible 161, asking for 6 hints. You may restore a saved game, start over, quit, or undo the current command. Please enter RESTORE, RESTART, QUIT, or UNDO: >undo ( Undoing one command) Evacuation Chamber One wall of this small room has a strange pattern on it, like a giant swirl or whirlpool of metal. The shimmering of the metal on it has a vaguely hypnotic effect. To the west is a door leading out of the room. You see a huge plastic box here. >undo (Undoing one command) Evacuation Chamber One wall of this small room has a strange pattern on it, like a giant swirl or whirlpool of metal. The shimmering of the metal on it has a vaguely hypnotic effect. To the west is a door leading out of the room. You see a huge plastic box here. >undo (Undoing one command) Evacuation Chamber One wall of this small room has a strange pattern on it, like a giant swirl or whirlpool of metal. The shimmering of the metal on it has a vaguely hypnotic effect. To the west is a door leading out of the room. You see a huge plastic box here. >undo (Undoing one command) Evacuation Chamber, in the huge plastic box One wall of this small room has a strange pattern on it, like a giant swirl or whirlpool of metal. The shimmering of the metal on it has a vaguely hypnotic effect. To the west is a door leading out of the room. You see a huge plastic box here. >undo (Undoing one command) Evacuation Chamber, in the huge plastic box One wall of this small room has a strange pattern on it, like a giant swirl or whirlpool of metal. The shimmering of the metal on it has a vaguely hypnotic effect. To the west is a door leading out of the room. You see a huge plastic box here. A small, cubical robot is rolling through the room, looking very busy. >undo (Undoing one command) short, squat robot, in the huge plastic box >open box Which box do you mean, the battered red lunchbox, or the huge plastic box? >huge The huge plastic box is already open! The robot drops the huge plastic box. >undo (Undoing one command) short, squat robot, in the huge plastic box >undo (Undoing one command) short, squat robot, in the huge plastic box >undo (Undoing one command) It's too cramped in the closed box to see much of anything. >open box Opened. Mothership Corridor The corridor bends here, leading north and west. A small door set into the east wall has an octagonal button beside it. A small, cubical robot is rolling through the room, looking very busy. >out Mothership Corridor The corridor bends here, leading north and west. A small door set into the east wall has an octagonal button beside it. A small, cubical robot is rolling through the room, looking very busy. The small robot rolls off on some mission of its own. >push button The thick metal door slides closed with a ship-shaking crash. >undo (Undoing one command) Mothership Corridor The corridor bends here, leading north and west. A small door set into the east wall has an octagonal button beside it. >n Mothership Corridor This is an access corridor in the Cerulean mothership. East of you is the launch bay. The corridor continues to the north and to the south. >e Launch Bay The launch bay of the Cerulean mothership is a huge cavern of a room lit by a gentle white light. It's large enough to hold a dozen of the small cargo ships which brought you here, though currently it's nearly empty. Only the top part of the cargo ship which brought you is present in the bay. The bottom part, which you assume might have held engines or propulsion devices of some kind, is nowhere to be seen. What remains of the ship is now at floor level to the east side of the launch bay. There is a closed door to the west. >w When you approach the door a very polite female voice says, "I'm sorry, but you're not authorized to leave the launch bay. Please remain here until someone arrives to escort you to your destination." >undo (Undoing one command) Launch Bay The launch bay of the Cerulean mothership is a huge cavern of a room lit by a gentle white light. It's large enough to hold a dozen of the small cargo ships which brought you here, though currently it's nearly empty. Only the top part of the cargo ship which brought you is present in the bay. The bottom part, which you assume might have held engines or propulsion devices of some kind, is nowhere to be seen. What remains of the ship is now at floor level to the east side of the launch bay. There is a closed door to the west. >n You can't go that way. >undo (Undoing one command) Launch Bay The launch bay of the Cerulean mothership is a huge cavern of a room lit by a gentle white light. It's large enough to hold a dozen of the small cargo ships which brought you here, though currently it's nearly empty. Only the top part of the cargo ship which brought you is present in the bay. The bottom part, which you assume might have held engines or propulsion devices of some kind, is nowhere to be seen. What remains of the ship is now at floor level to the east side of the launch bay. There is a closed door to the west. >undo (Undoing one command) Mothership Corridor This is an access corridor in the Cerulean mothership. East of you is the launch bay. The corridor continues to the north and to the south. >n Mothership Corridor You're at a jog in the access corridor within the Cerulean mothership. The corridor bends here- it goes south and west. North and east of you are doors leading to a storage room and the ship's kitchen, respectively. >n Storage Room This nondescript little room has a shelf set up on the side of it made of the same shimmering metal as the rest of the ship. It, too, is lit by the same sourceless pearly glow as the other areas you've seen. You see a small metal box here. Sitting on the shelf is a can of floor wax and a jar of peanut butter. >x peanut butter This looks like a normal jar of peanut butter, but someone has added a warning label to the jar in large red Cerulean glyphs. Unfortunately, you're highly allergic to peanut butter. Touching the jar would be okay, since it hasn't been opened, but eating it would very likely be fatal. >read warning Some English writing on the jar of peanut butter reads, "Pete's Peanut Butter". Interesting. There's some Cerulean writing on the jar of peanut butter, but the sunglasses glow slightly and a caption appears beneath the writing, translating the writing into English for you. These appear to be Cerulean-to- English translator glasses. The Cerulean writing on the jar of peanut butter reads, "WARNING: This substance is a human food from the planet Earth, but it is highly toxic to Ceruleans. Even touching this substance can potentially be deadly, and eating it will cause cause anaphylactic shock followed by almost certain death. DO NOT EAT. Do not discard this substance. It is being transported to Cerul for biological analysis. May also cause a similar reaction in some humans.". >[sweet.] I don't understand the punctuation "[". >get peanut butter Taken. >l Storage Room This nondescript little room has a shelf set up on the side of it made of the same shimmering metal as the rest of the ship. It, too, is lit by the same sourceless pearly glow as the other areas you've seen. You see a small metal box here. Sitting on the shelf is a can of floor wax. >x floor wax The can of floor wax has some writing on it. >read it Some English writing on the can of floor wax reads, "Floor Wax. Warning: Highly Flammable! Keep away from fire". Highly flammable floor wax? Is that safe? You suspect that they the Ceruleans got a really good price for this at some liquidation center. There's also some Cerulean text on the can of floor wax reading, "Dessert topping.". >[snort] I don't understand the punctuation "[". >get floor wax Taken. >l Storage Room This nondescript little room has a shelf set up on the side of it made of the same shimmering metal as the rest of the ship. It, too, is lit by the same sourceless pearly glow as the other areas you've seen. You see a small metal box here. >open metal box The small metal box is already open! >x it This is a small metal box labelled in Cerulean >read it Some English writing on the small metal box reads, "Glasses and Earpieces". There's also some Cerulean text on the small metal box reading, "English- Cerulean Translation Devices: Verbal and Written". >[Ah, got it.] I don't understand the punctuation "[". >s Mothership Corridor You're at a jog in the access corridor within the Cerulean mothership. The corridor bends here- it goes south and west. North and east of you are doors leading to a storage room and the ship's kitchen, respectively. >e Kitchen Funny- alien kitchens look very much like human kitchens, and it is clear that this is a kitchen. A bloodstained counter runs through the center of the kitchen. It has a wide aisle around it. Various cabinets surround the counter on the other side of the aisle. To the east is the entrance to a meat locker. To the west is the main corridor. Sitting on the counter is a metal cooking pot. >x pot It's a hefty-looking piece of kitchen equipment. >open it I don't know how to open the metal cooking pot. >look in it In the metal cooking pot you see a spoon and a human hand. >[eeeagh] I don't understand the punctuation "[". >x spoon Even aliens use spoons, it seems. This alien spoon looks just like a human spoon. So much your two races have in common! >x hand The hand is pale in spots and stained black with blood in others. It looks like it's been chewed on. >get it Taken. >get spoon Taken. >[good lord] I don't understand the punctuation "[". >l Kitchen Funny- alien kitchens look very much like human kitchens, and it is clear that this is a kitchen. A bloodstained counter runs through the center of the kitchen. It has a wide aisle around it. Various cabinets surround the counter on the other side of the aisle. To the east is the entrance to a meat locker. To the west is the main corridor. Sitting on the counter is a metal cooking pot. >x counter Oooh, an island counter. This must be an upscale mothership. >x cabinets These are sturdy cabinets made of the same metal as the rest of the ship. You doubt you could break them open. The kitchen cabinets are locked. >unlock cabinets with card It doesn't fit the lock. >e Meat Locker Your breath forms frost clouds in the air before your eyes. This room is quite chilly- cold, even. Two human corpses, a man and a woman, hang on meat hooks which dangle on chains from the ceiling. Blood is spattered below them and around them. From the way its sprayed around the room you suspect that the corpses were still fresh when they were placed here. An open doorway to the west leads back out to the kitchen. You see a large plastic box here. The large plastic box seems to contain a gigantic wad of raw hamburger. >[It *is* 'To Serve Man'. How... mundane.] I don't understand the punctuation "[". >x corpses I don't know the word "corpses". >x man The man's agonized face indicates that he did not die of natural causes. The hook seems to have penetrated him from front to back, and his left hand is grasping at the hook as if to pull it free. The man's pants are stained with frozen excrement. Clasped in the man's right fist is a small piece of paper. >x paper The paper has English writing on it. It reads, '33 17 8'. >get it You've already got your hands full. >x woman The woman's body is stiffened, whether by rigor mortis, the cold, or both, you can't tell. Her face is twisted into an expression of agony. Her hands are wrapped around the hook which protrudes from her stomach as though trying to push it back through her body. You have the unpleasant suspicion that she was still alive when she was placed on this hook >i You have a pair of dark glasses (being worn), a tiny earpiece (being worn), some dirty overalls (being worn), a battered red lunchbox, some heavy duty wire cutters, a mop, a bucket, a jar of peanut butter, a can of floor wax, a human hand, and a spoon. The battered red lunchbox seems to contain a wallet, a cigarette lighter, pack of cigarettes, a can of bathroom cleaner, and a maintenance key. >[OK, this inventory limit is seriously annoying me now.] I don't understand the punctuation "[". >put jar in box Which box do you mean, the battered red lunchbox, or the large plastic box? >lunchbox You can't fit that in the battered red lunchbox. >x large plastic box This is a large plastic box labelled in Cerulean. >get it Your load is too heavy. >read it Some Cerulean writing on the large plastic box reads, "Contents: beef. Keep refrigerated". >put can in lunchbox You can't fit that in the battered red lunchbox. >put hand in lunchbox You can't fit that in the battered red lunchbox. >put spoon in lunchbox You can't fit that in the battered red lunchbox. >x lunchbox It's a battered red lunchbox that's seen better days. How many lunches has this thing held? It looks like a relic from the 1950's. Maybe it belonged to the grandfather of the workman who's using it now, and it's held three generations of turkey on wheat and ham on rye and half a century worth of thermoses of coffee. >put hand in overalls Done. >get paper Taken. >put it in overalls Done. >put cutters in overalls The pockets on the overalls aren't big enough to hold the heavy duty wire cutters. >l Meat Locker Your breath forms frost clouds in the air before your eyes. This room is quite chilly- cold, even. Two human corpses, a man and a woman, hang on meat hooks which dangle on chains from the ceiling. Blood is spattered below them and around them. From the way its sprayed around the room you suspect that the corpses were still fresh when they were placed here. An open doorway to the west leads back out to the kitchen. You see a large plastic box here. The large plastic box seems to contain a gigantic wad of raw hamburger. >[should be "it's", BTW.] I don't understand the punctuation "[". >w Kitchen Funny- alien kitchens look very much like human kitchens, and it is clear that this is a kitchen. A bloodstained counter runs through the center of the kitchen. It has a wide aisle around it. Various cabinets surround the counter on the other side of the aisle. To the east is the entrance to a meat locker. To the west is the main corridor. Sitting on the counter is a metal cooking pot. >w Mothership Corridor You're at a jog in the access corridor within the Cerulean mothership. The corridor bends here- it goes south and west. North and east of you are doors leading to a storage room and the ship's kitchen, respectively. >w Mothership Corridor The corridor runs east-west here. There's a small door to the north labelled maintenance in Cerulean. >read door I don't see any door here. >n Maintenance Room This is a maintenance facility for the Cerulean mothership. Vents, ducts, wires, pipes, and cables fill the room. One particularly large cable stretches entirely across the floor of the area. In the center of the floor is a grated metal drain. On the east wall is what is very clearly a circuit breaker. A large table made of a weird black plastic substance is in the western part of the room. >x cable The large cable has some Cerulean writing on it. >read it Some Cerulean writing on the cable reads, "Main Power Line". >x vents There are dozens of them. You can't imagine why the ship needs so many vents in one place, but here they are. >x ducts There are scores of them. You can't imagine why the ship needs so many ducts in one place, but here they are. >x pipes One of the pipes has a rather large valve on it. The valve is closed. >open valve The valve is tightly closed. You'd need some kind of a tool to open it. >x cables You wonder if it would be possible to somehow splice into one of these and get free HBO. >[snort] I don't understand the punctuation "[". >x breaker The circuit breaker is in the on position. >x table The table is made out of something almost like rubber. You're not sure why it's here. Perhaps as a non-grounded bench for doing electrical work, since quite a bit of that kind of activity seems to go on here. >search it You find nothing of interest. >look under it There's nothing under the black plastic table. >l Maintenance Room This is a maintenance facility for the Cerulean mothership. Vents, ducts, wires, pipes, and cables fill the room. One particularly large cable stretches entirely across the floor of the area. In the center of the floor is a grated metal drain. On the east wall is what is very clearly a circuit breaker. A large table made of a weird black plastic substance is in the western part of the room. >x drain This drain is about nine inches across. You can't see how far down it goes, but you bet it's pretty far. You'd never fit down it unless you were cut up into pretty small pieces. Even then, it's possible that you'd get jammed in there. >[snort] I don't understand the punctuation "[". >s Mothership Corridor The corridor runs east-west here. There's a small door to the north labelled maintenance in Cerulean. >w Mothership Corridor The corridor bends here, going south and east. To the west is a large, thick door with some Cerulean writing on it. The door is closed. >x door Some Cerulean writing on the thick door reads, "Arms Locker". >w The western door is closed. >open it It's locked. >open it with card You don't see how you could employ the credit card to open the thick door. >x thick door Some Cerulean writing on the thick door reads, "Arms Locker". >n You can't go that way. >s Mothership Corridor The corridor runs north to south here. Or south to north. It depends which way you're going. It could also be said to be running left to right, if you were facing the wall, or right to left, even if you were facing the same wall but were thinking about something else. And on top of all that, you're in outer space, so the whole thing with compass directions doesn't really apply. Of course, since you're on a ship, I suppose we could start talking about starboard and port. You know what? Forget about it. Let's just say it runs north to south and drop the whole subject. An opening to the west leads to a spiral ramp. >[snort] I don't understand the punctuation "[". >s Mothership Corridor The corridor bends here, going north and east. An open doorway leads to a small room to the south, and another doorway leads west. >s Sleeping Chamber You recognize this as a Cerulean sleeping chamber from the information on the Cerulean Fan Club's web page. As a matter of fact, it's not just a sleeping chamber- it's the sleeping chamber, the very one in the glossy photographs distributed by the Ceruleans which you scanned in to put on the site. Set into one wall is a small metal door with three dials on it. You see a large round sleeping mat here. >x dials I don't know the word "dials". >x door This small metal door has three dials set into it. It has something written on it. >read it Some Cerulean writing on the small metal door reads, "Biometric Combination Safe: For added security, the dials on this safe may be set only when an authorized operator is in the room. Thank you for purchasing another fine Grizzchickle product.". >read paper Some English writing on the piece of paper reads, "33 17 8". >set first dial to 33 The dial won't budge. >x mat This is a Cerulean sleeping mat. It's a soft disk about three inches thick made of some kind of quilted cloth. >get it Taken. >n Mothership Corridor The corridor bends here, going north and east. An open doorway leads to a small room to the south, and another doorway leads west. >w It's pitch black. >turn on lighter You switch on the cigarette lighter, lighting the area. Alien Bathroom The floor of this room is indented slightly, like a very shallow bowl. Higher at the walls, it slopes to a strange cone in the center of the room. The cone is three feet tall and seems to be made of a strange, pulpy substance. It has small holes set into its base, near the floor, and is painted vermillion. At least, you assume that it's paint. Someone seems to have been doing some repair work here, because a large tool with a clampy sort of end is lying on the floor. You guess it must be a wrench. >get wrench You've already got your hands full. >put pad in pocket I don't know the word "pad". >put mat in pocket I don't know the word "pocket". >put mat in overalls Done. >get wrench Taken. >x cone The cone appears to be slightly used. You imagine that it would bring a fine price on eBay- Cerulean artifacts always do. Unfortunately, it appears to be quite firmly affixed to the floor. >kick it You drive your foot into the strange cone. You seem to have done it no harm. >e Mothership Corridor The corridor bends here, going north and east. An open doorway leads to a small room to the south, and another doorway leads west. >e Mothership Corridor This is an access corridor which runs east to west. You hear a strange humming coming from a door to the north. >n Security Center Glittering lights, huge monitors, the whisper of filtered air: the Cerulean mothership's security center looks like a modern television station. A bank of monitors fills most of the north wall, and a huge control console fills the west wall. A Cerulean is here, watching the monitor intently. It doesn't seem to have noticed you. There is a scene playing on the monitor. The main monitor on the north wall is showing a scene which is clearly somewhere within the Cerulean ship. A pair of humans, a man and a woman, are facing a pair of Ceruleans. Both of them are wearing sunglasses and earpieces. One of the Ceruleans on the monitor says, "Your quarters? You will not require any quarters." >z Time passes... The scene playing on the monitor continues. "I don't mean quarters that you, like, put in a vending machine," says the man. The man looks so familiar. Where have you seen him before? "I mean a place to sleep." >z Time passes... The scene playing on the monitor continues. The Cerulean replies with, "You will not require a place to sleep. You will be dead." The woman gasps and the man puts his arm around her. You recognize the man now. He is Dr. Cecil Morin, the Nobel-prize-winning biologist who was sent as part of the mission to the Cerulean homeworld. And the woman- yes, you know her, too. She's Dr. Laura something. You forgot her last name, but she's a chemist who was on the same mission. Another world- class scientist, as you recall. "Dead? What do you mean, dead?" the man replies. What a set of wits on this guy. He's a Nobel prize winner? >z Time passes... The scene playing on the monitor continues. The Cerulean on the tape says, "I mean that we are going to eat you." Oh, please," scowls the woman. "That's so B-movie. I mean, you must already have plenty of food." >z Time passes... The scene playing on the monitor continues. The Cerulean laughs a deep-throated, gurgling laugh. Funny, but that laugh always sounded gentle and fatherly to you before. Now it sounds indescribably sinister- yes, in a B-movie kind of way, as Laura said. The Cerulean says, "Of course we have plenty to eat. You don't even taste particularly good. But we love the way you scream and beg for mercy when we eat you. It hurts you so very, very much." >z Time passes... The scene playing on the monitor continues. "But why bring us here, then," shrieks the man. He sounds almost like a woman, his voice is so shrill. "Why the whole charade about a trip to visit your planet?" The Cerulean laughs its sinister laugh again and says, "What better way to get the most intelligent, bravest people out of the gene pool than to offer award- winning scientists the chance to visit a strange world?" to the humans. >z Time passes... The scene playing on the monitor continues. Dr. Laura spits defiance at her captor. "You can get a few of us, but humans are tougher than you think. Stronger, smarter, braver. You'll regret ever having come to this world!" The second Cerulean laughs again and picks up Dr. Morin in a gigantic tentacle, lifting him high into the air. It drags him close and opens its mouth filled with sharp, white teeth. The Cerulean watching the monitor howls in glee and slaps its tentacles on the table. It really seems to be enjoying watching this videotape. Perhaps this is why it hasn't seen you on the security monitors, which it really should be watching. "NO! Please, no!" cries Dr. Morin, as the woman screams wordlessly. The Cerulean darts forward and bites off his nose. Blood gushes from his face. Dr. Laura screams again, and Dr. Morin howls a sound of indescribable agony as the Cerulean uses the tip of a tentacle to pluck out Dr. Morin's eyeball and pop it into its mouth. >[oy gevalt] I don't understand the punctuation "[". >hit cerulean with wrench The Cerulean doesn't even notice that you tried to kill it. The scene playing on the monitor continues. The Ceruleans continue to methodically dismember both of the PhD's in an unfathomably painful manner, ripping bits and pieces off of them and eating each and every part in a bloody, howling frenzy of power and pain. The two Ceruleans eat every bloody scrap and bone, even crunching on the skulls when they're done and licking the tips of their tentacles afterward. The scene ends and the monitor goes black. The Cerulean watching the monitor taps a button on the console to its left. The screen flickers and the scene begins again. The Cerulean seems to be watching this little movie over and over again. >open peanut butter with hand You can't use the human hand to open things. There is a scene playing on the monitor. The main monitor on the north wall is showing a scene which is clearly somewhere within the Cerulean ship. A pair of humans, a man and a woman, are facing a pair of Ceruleans. Both of them are wearing sunglasses and earpieces. One of the Ceruleans on the monitor says, "Your quarters? You will not require any quarters." >open peanut butter Opened. The scene playing on the monitor continues. "I don't mean quarters that you, like, put in a vending machine," says the man. "I mean a place to sleep." >put hand in peanut butter Done. The scene playing on the monitor continues. The Cerulean replies with, "You will not require a place to sleep. You will be dead." The woman gasps and the man puts his arm around her. "Dead? What do you mean, dead?" the man replies. What a set of wits on this guy. He's a Nobel prize winner? >get hand You've already got your hands full. The scene playing on the monitor continues. The Cerulean on the tape says, "I mean that we are going to eat you." Oh, please," scowls the woman. "That's so B-movie. I mean, you must already have plenty of food." >put peanut butter in overalls Done. The scene playing on the monitor continues. The Cerulean laughs a deep-throated, gurgling laugh. The Cerulean says, "Of course we have plenty to eat. You don't even taste particularly good. But we love the way you scream and beg for mercy when we eat you. It hurts you so very, very much." >get hand Taken. The scene playing on the monitor continues. "But why bring us here, then," shrieks the man. He sounds almost like a woman, his voice is so shrill. "Why the whole charade about a trip to visit your planet?" The Cerulean laughs its sinister laugh again and says, "What better way to get the most intelligent, bravest people out of the gene pool than to offer award- winning scientists the chance to visit a strange world?" to the humans. >give hand to cerulean The Cerulean rejects the offer. The scene playing on the monitor continues. Dr. Laura spits defiance at her captor. "You can get a few of us, but humans are tougher than you think. Stronger, smarter, braver. You'll regret ever having come to this world!" The second Cerulean laughs again and picks up Dr. Morin in a gigantic tentacle, lifting him high into the air. It drags him close and opens its mouth filled with sharp, white teeth. The Cerulean watching the monitor howls in glee and slaps its tentacles on the table. It really seems to be enjoying watching this videotape. Perhaps this is why it hasn't seen you on the security monitors, which it really should be watching. "NO! Please, no!" cries Dr. Morin, as the woman screams wordlessly. The Cerulean darts forward and bites off his nose. Blood gushes from his face. Dr. Laura screams again, and Dr. Morin howls a sound of indescribable agony as the Cerulean uses the tip of a tentacle to pluck out Dr. Morin's eyeball and pop it into its mouth. >throw peanut butter at cerulean You throw the jar of peanut butter at the Cerulean. The Cerulean whirls to face you and glares at you with glee in its eyes. It says, "So, little human, you have learned our little secret, have you?" The Cerulean, curious, picks up the jar of peanut butter in its tentacles. It asks, "What's this, then? Some kind of weapon?" It picks up the jar of peanut butter in its tentacles and crushes the jar easily. Peanut butter covers the tentacle tips. The Cerulean, curious, tastes the peanut butter, then, smiling, licks is tentacles eagerly. It seems to like the flavor. The scene playing on the monitor continues. The Ceruleans continue to methodically dismember both of the PhD's in an unfathomably painful manner, ripping bits and pieces off of them and eating each and every part in a bloody, howling frenzy of power and pain. The two Ceruleans eat every bloody scrap and bone, even crunching on the skulls when they're done and licking the tips of their tentacles afterward. The scene ends and the monitor goes black. The Cerulean watching the monitor taps a button on the console to its left. The screen flickers and the scene begins again. The Cerulean seems to be watching this little movie over and over again. The Cerulean lashes out with a tentacle almost indolently, knocking you to the floor, and shuffles over to lean down on you with the other three tentacles, pinning you down. >get up You're already standing! There is a scene playing on the monitor. The main monitor on the north wall is showing a scene which is clearly somewhere within the Cerulean ship. A pair of humans, a man and a woman, are facing a pair of Ceruleans. Both of them are wearing sunglasses and earpieces. One of the Ceruleans on the monitor says, "Your quarters? You will not require any quarters." The Cerulean drags you to its mouth. Its breath is the odor of rotting meat; its teeth are sticky with gooey saliva. The Cerulean seems to be breaking out in red splotches. >s You're pinned by the Cerulean's tentacles. You can't budge an inch. The scene playing on the monitor continues. "I don't mean quarters that you, like, put in a vending machine," says the man. "I mean a place to sleep." The Cerulean's other two tentacles whip out. Their tips are quite hard. Slowly, but with increasing pressure, the Cerulean digs them into your chest and back until it they meet in the center of your chest. You're still screaming when it suddenly twists them and rips out your heart, stuffing it into its mouth. You don't see that, though, because by the time it begins chewing on your heart, you're already quite dead. * * * * * The Ceruleans bide their time for a couple of centuries until their main colonization force arrives. Humans blindly do whatever the Ceruleans order, stupidly believing whatever lies the aliens want to tell, greedy for the tiny tidbits of medicine and labor-saving devices the Ceruleans can offer the lazy people of Earth. When their fleet arrives, the Ceruleans quickly make Earth's situation clear. Ceruleans will be the overlords. Humans will be the livestock. Humans don't like it, but they're powerless to resist. The human lifespan becomes one of idle luxury for fifteen or twenty years, followed by two or three minutes of excruciating pain and an early death. Most of the Galaxy has never even heard of them. Scholarly notes refer to them as "Cerulean crops", not even realizing that humans are animals rather than plants. It doesn't matter, though, because no one knows the difference and if they did, they wouldn't be particularly interested. *** You have died *** In a total of 262 turns, you have achieved a score of 13 points out of a possible 161, asking for 6 hints. You may restore a saved game, start over, quit, or undo the current command. Please enter RESTORE, RESTART, QUIT, or UNDO: >undo (Undo ing one command) Security Center Glittering lights, huge monitors, the whisper of filtered air: the Cerulean mothership's security center looks like a modern television station. A bank of monitors fills most of the north wall, and a huge control console fills the west wall. An angry, ravenous Cerulean is here, chittering and howling. >undo (Undoing one command) Security Center Glittering lights, huge monitors, the whisper of filtered air: the Cerulean mothership's security center looks like a modern television station. A bank of monitors fills most of the north wall, and a huge control console fills the west wall. An angry, ravenous Cerulean is here, chittering and howling. >undo (Undoing one command) Security Center Glittering lights, huge monitors, the whisper of filtered air: the Cerulean mothership's security center looks like a modern television station. A bank of monitors fills most of the north wall, and a huge control console fills the west wall. A Cerulean is here, watching the monitor intently. It doesn't seem to have noticed you. >x peanut butter This looks like a normal jar of peanut butter, but someone has added a warning label to the jar in large red Cerulean glyphs. Unfortunately, you're highly allergic to peanut butter. Touching the jar would be okay, since it hasn't been opened, but eating it would very likely be fatal. The scene playing on the monitor continues. The Ceruleans continue to methodically dismember both of the PhD's in an unfathomably painful manner, ripping bits and pieces off of them and eating each and every part in a bloody, howling frenzy of power and pain. The two Ceruleans eat every bloody scrap and bone, even crunching on the skulls when they're done and licking the tips of their tentacles afterward. The scene ends and the monitor goes black. The Cerulean watching the monitor taps a button on the console to its left. The screen flickers and the scene begins again. The Cerulean seems to be watching this little movie over and over again. >read it Some English writing on the jar of peanut butter reads, "Pete's Peanut Butter". There's also some Cerulean text on the jar of peanut butter reading, "WARNING: This substance is a human food from the planet Earth, but it is highly toxic to Ceruleans. Even touching this substance can potentially be deadly, and eating it will cause cause anaphylactic shock followed by almost certain death. DO NOT EAT. Do not discard this substance. It is being transported to Cerul for biological analysis. May also cause a similar reaction in some humans.". There is a scene playing on the monitor. The main monitor on the north wall is showing a scene which is clearly somewhere within the Cerulean ship. A pair of humans, a man and a woman, are facing a pair of Ceruleans. Both of them are wearing sunglasses and earpieces. One of the Ceruleans on the monitor says, "Your quarters? You will not require any quarters." >hint The people of Earth need to understand how terrible the Ceruleans are. If you could only transmit that recording of the terrible things the Ceruleans did to them, they'd never trust the Ceruleans again. >hint The people of Earth need to understand how terrible the Ceruleans are. If you could only transmit that recording of the terrible things the Ceruleans did to them, they'd never trust the Ceruleans again. >x monitor A scene from the security monitor discs is currently playing on the monitor. The scene playing on the monitor continues. "I don't mean quarters that you, like, put in a vending machine," says the man. "I mean a place to sleep." >l Security Center Glittering lights, huge monitors, the whisper of filtered air: the Cerulean mothership's security center looks like a modern television station. A bank of monitors fills most of the north wall, and a huge control console fills the west wall. A Cerulean is here, watching the monitor intently. It doesn't seem to have noticed you. The scene playing on the monitor continues. The Cerulean replies with, "You will not require a place to sleep. You will be dead." The woman gasps and the man puts his arm around her. "Dead? What do you mean, dead?" the man replies. What a set of wits on this guy. He's a Nobel prize winner? >x console The control console has three basic panels on it: an output panel, an input panel, and an action panel. Each of these panels has further controls on it. The scene playing on the monitor continues. The Cerulean on the tape says, "I mean that we are going to eat you." Oh, please," scowls the woman. "That's so B-movie. I mean, you must already have plenty of food." >x output panel The output panel has an output control dial and some writing on it. The scene playing on the monitor continues. The Cerulean laughs a deep-throated, gurgling laugh. The Cerulean says, "Of course we have plenty to eat. You don't even taste particularly good. But we love the way you scream and beg for mercy when we eat you. It hurts you so very, very much." >read it Some Cerulean writing on the output panel reads, "Output panel. Select output location using the dial below". The scene playing on the monitor continues. "But why bring us here, then," shrieks the man. He sounds almost like a woman, his voice is so shrill. "Why the whole charade about a trip to visit your planet?" The Cerulean laughs its sinister laugh again and says, "What better way to get the most intelligent, bravest people out of the gene pool than to offer award- winning scientists the chance to visit a strange world?" to the humans. >x output dial The output control dial has some writing on it. The scene playing on the monitor continues. Dr. Laura spits defiance at her captor. "You can get a few of us, but humans are tougher than you think. Stronger, smarter, braver. You'll regret ever having come to this world!" The second Cerulean laughs again and picks up Dr. Morin in a gigantic tentacle, lifting him high into the air. It drags him close and opens its mouth filled with sharp, white teeth. The Cerulean watching the monitor howls in glee and slaps its tentacles on the table. It really seems to be enjoying watching this videotape. Perhaps this is why it hasn't seen you on the security monitors, which it really should be watching. "NO! Please, no!" cries Dr. Morin, as the woman screams wordlessly. The Cerulean darts forward and bites off his nose. Blood gushes from his face. Dr. Laura screams again, and Dr. Morin howls a sound of indescribable agony as the Cerulean uses the tip of a tentacle to pluck out Dr. Morin's eyeball and pop it into its mouth. >read it Some Cerulean writing on the output control dial reads, " (1) Security Center Monitors (2) Homeworld System (3) Blanket Override This Solar System". The scene playing on the monitor continues. The Ceruleans continue to methodically dismember both of the PhD's in an unfathomably painful manner, ripping bits and pieces off of them and eating each and every part in a bloody, howling frenzy of power and pain. The two Ceruleans eat every bloody scrap and bone, even crunching on the skulls when they're done and licking the tips of their tentacles afterward. The scene ends and the monitor goes black. The Cerulean watching the monitor taps a button on the console to its left. The screen flickers and the scene begins again. The Cerulean seems to be watching this little movie over and over again. >set output dial to 3 Okay, it's now turned to 3. There is a scene playing on the monitor. A small note in the bottom left corner of the screen indicates that this message is being broadcast as an override transmission to the entire solar system. The main monitor on the north wall is showing a scene which is clearly somewhere within the Cerulean ship. A pair of humans, a man and a woman, are facing a pair of Ceruleans. Both of them are wearing sunglasses and earpieces. One of the Ceruleans on the monitor says, "Your quarters? You will not require any quarters." >read input dial Some Cerulean writing on the input control dial reads, " (1) Security Disk 1: The Quarters Conversation (2) Copy of most recent transmission to homeworld (3) Current ship security display". The scene playing on the monitor continues. A small note in the bottom left corner of the screen indicates that this message is being broadcast as an override transmission to the entire solar system. "I don't mean quarters that you, like, put in a vending machine," says the man. "I mean a place to sleep." >set input dial to 1 It's already set to 1! The scene playing on the monitor continues. A small note in the bottom left corner of the screen indicates that this message is being broadcast as an override transmission to the entire solar system. The Cerulean replies with, "You will not require a place to sleep. You will be dead." The woman gasps and the man puts his arm around her. "Dead? What do you mean, dead?" the man replies. What a set of wits on this guy. He's a Nobel prize winner? >x action panel The action control panel has some writing on it. Three buttons are set into it: one red, one green, and one blue. The scene playing on the monitor continues. A small note in the bottom left corner of the screen indicates that this message is being broadcast as an override transmission to the entire solar system. The Cerulean on the tape says, "I mean that we are going to eat you." Oh, please," scowls the woman. "That's so B-movie. I mean, you must already have plenty of food." >read it Some Cerulean writing on the control panel reads, "Action control panel. Select action using the buttons below". The scene playing on the monitor continues. A small note in the bottom left corner of the screen indicates that this message is being broadcast as an override transmission to the entire solar system. The Cerulean laughs a deep-throated, gurgling laugh. The Cerulean says, "Of course we have plenty to eat. You don't even taste particularly good. But we love the way you scream and beg for mercy when we eat you. It hurts you so very, very much." >z Time passes... The scene playing on the monitor continues. A small note in the bottom left corner of the screen indicates that this message is being broadcast as an override transmission to the entire solar system. "But why bring us here, then," shrieks the man. He sounds almost like a woman, his voice is so shrill. "Why the whole charade about a trip to visit your planet?" The Cerulean laughs its sinister laugh again and says, "What better way to get the most intelligent, bravest people out of the gene pool than to offer award- winning scientists the chance to visit a strange world?" to the humans. >z Time passes... The scene playing on the monitor continues. A small note in the bottom left corner of the screen indicates that this message is being broadcast as an override transmission to the entire solar system. Dr. Laura spits defiance at her captor. "You can get a few of us, but humans are tougher than you think. Stronger, smarter, braver. You'll regret ever having come to this world!" The second Cerulean laughs again and picks up Dr. Morin in a gigantic tentacle, lifting him high into the air. It drags him close and opens its mouth filled with sharp, white teeth. The Cerulean watching the monitor howls in glee and slaps its tentacles on the table. It really seems to be enjoying watching this videotape. Perhaps this is why it hasn't seen you on the security monitors, which it really should be watching. "NO! Please, no!" cries Dr. Morin, as the woman screams wordlessly. The Cerulean darts forward and bites off his nose. Blood gushes from his face. Dr. Laura screams again, and Dr. Morin howls a sound of indescribable agony as the Cerulean uses the tip of a tentacle to pluck out Dr. Morin's eyeball and pop it into its mouth. >z Time passes... The scene playing on the monitor continues. A small note in the bottom left corner of the screen indicates that this message is being broadcast as an override transmission to the entire solar system. The Ceruleans continue to methodically dismember both of the PhD's in an unfathomably painful manner, ripping bits and pieces off of them and eating each and every part in a bloody, howling frenzy of power and pain. The two Ceruleans eat every bloody scrap and bone, even crunching on the skulls when they're done and licking the tips of their tentacles afterward. The scene ends and the monitor goes black. The Cerulean watching the monitor taps a button on the console to its left. The screen flickers and the scene begins again. The Cerulean seems to be watching this little movie over and over again. >z Time passes... There is a scene playing on the monitor. A small note in the bottom left corner of the screen indicates that this message is being broadcast as an override transmission to the entire solar system. The main monitor on the north wall is showing a scene which is clearly somewhere within the Cerulean ship. A pair of humans, a man and a woman, are facing a pair of Ceruleans. Both of them are wearing sunglasses and earpieces. One of the Ceruleans on the monitor says, "Your quarters? You will not require any quarters." >s Mothership Corridor This is an access corridor which runs east to west. You hear a strange humming coming from a door to the north. >s You can't go that way. >e Mothership Corridor The corridor bends here, leading north and west. A small door set into the east wall has an octagonal button beside it. A small, cubical robot is rolling through the room, looking very busy. >s You can't go that way. >n Mothership Corridor This is an access corridor in the Cerulean mothership. East of you is the launch bay. The corridor continues to the north and to the south. >n Mothership Corridor You're at a jog in the access corridor within the Cerulean mothership. The corridor bends here- it goes south and west. North and east of you are doors leading to a storage room and the ship's kitchen, respectively. >n Storage Room This nondescript little room has a shelf set up on the side of it made of the same shimmering metal as the rest of the ship. It, too, is lit by the same sourceless pearly glow as the other areas you've seen. You see a small metal box here. >s Mothership Corridor You're at a jog in the access corridor within the Cerulean mothership. The corridor bends here- it goes south and west. North and east of you are doors leading to a storage room and the ship's kitchen, respectively. >e Kitchen Funny- alien kitchens look very much like human kitchens, and it is clear that this is a kitchen. A bloodstained counter runs through the center of the kitchen. It has a wide aisle around it. Various cabinets surround the counter on the other side of the aisle. To the east is the entrance to a meat locker. To the west is the main corridor. Sitting on the counter is a metal cooking pot. >w Mothership Corridor You're at a jog in the access corridor within the Cerulean mothership. The corridor bends here- it goes south and west. North and east of you are doors leading to a storage room and the ship's kitchen, respectively. >w Mothership Corridor The corridor runs east-west here. There's a small door to the north labelled maintenance in Cerulean. >w Mothership Corridor The corridor bends here, going south and east. To the west is a large, thick door with some Cerulean writing on it. The door is closed. >w The western door is closed. >knock on western door I don't know the word "western". >s Mothership Corridor The corridor runs north to south here. An opening to the west leads to a spiral ramp. >n Mothership Corridor The corridor bends here, going south and east. To the west is a large, thick door with some Cerulean writing on it. The door is closed. >s Mothership Corridor The corridor runs north to south here. An opening to the west leads to a spiral ramp. >w Spiral Ramp A spiral ramp leads upward here from the corridor to another level of the mothership above. You can hear Cerulean voices talking just at the top of the ramp, but you can't see the top of the ramp. A sign reads, "To Control Center" and has an arrow pointing up. You suspect that right now the Control Center, whatever it may be, is a very dangerous place to be right now. To the east is the lower level's main corridor. A ramp leads up. >listen The Ceruleans are talking about how much money they're going to make when they get back to Cerul by selling their new dessert topping. >u Control Center You've found the Cerulean mothership's control center. It's filled with all kinds of fascinating equipment, but the sight of the Ceruleans here distracts you from the exact details of what one might find in a Cerulean control center. Several Ceruleans are here engaged in an animated conversation, mouths whistling and tentacles waving. They all notice you at the same time. One jabs out a tentacle and hits a button on a control panel. Before you can budge a metal security door slides closed behind you, blocking your escape. Fear tightens your throat. You feel your hands shaking. The Ceruleans advance on you, one and then another. They're fast- very fast. If there were one, perhaps you could dodge, or fight back, but the odds are very much in their favor. They take their time eating you, as is their wont. You thought you knew pain, but you have never known anything like this. They rip, they tear- teeth grip your flesh and strip it from your bones while blood spurts out of your body in bursts which fountain over the equipment, the Ceruleans, and the floor. Luckily for you, shock sets in relatively quickly. You lose consciousness long before they finish stripping the flesh from your bones. * * * * * The transmission of the recording of the Ceruleans eating the scientists shook the world. The people of Earth were disgusted and horrified and fe