All text will now be saved to the script file. Type UNSCRIPT at any time to discontinue scripting. >restore Restored. South of house The ground slopes down slightly here, and the wall of the house looms an extra story high because of it. There is a tiny window high in the wall, about 30 feet up. There is a rope dangling from the window. A little path made by you on your many daily walks leads southwest into the woods. You can walk around your house to the northwest and northeast. A beautiful, leafy tree is growing here next to the house, right where you always thought it should. >i You are carrying: a blue pencil a desk lamp a tire a package a perfect blue crystal an old pillowcase a library book a car key a garage door opener a #2 pencil a tourist map a crowbar a divining rod a can of WD-40 a paper napkin a can-opener a shovel a machete a biology book a cannonball the time machine manual a Herring detector a screwdriver a frisbee a rare book >x switch It looks amazingly like nothing in particular at all. >open switch I don't know how to open the secret switch. >close it I don't know how to close the secret switch. >push it Pushing the secret switch doesn't do anything. >x it It looks amazingly like nothing in particular at all. >search switch You find nothing of interest. >search ground You find nothing else of interest. >use herring on switch Not a red herring. >use herring on wall Not a red herring. >use herring on tre I don't know the word "tre". >use herring on tree Not a red herring. >set switch Turning the secret switch doesn't have any effect. >switch switch I don't know how to switch the secret switch. >[arr!] I don't understand the punctuation "[". >sw Path in the woods This little spot is one of your favorite places to sit and think. A well-trod path winds through a natural grove of cedar and live oak trees. A large rock juts up out of the ground right in your way, so the path does an abrupt curve around it. The path leads northeast to your house, and a clearing is visible to the southwest. >sw Clearing The woods part in a marvelous natural clearing here. Moonlight streams prettily through the canopy of leaves above. The ground is hard and flat and clean. Your footpath leaves the clearing to the northeast, heading back to the house. You see a time machine here. Sitting on the time machine platform is a wheelbarrow. >enter machine Okay, you're now standing on the time machine platform. >set dial to 2 Okay, it's now turned to 2. >push button You push the big red button. Click! The time machine vibrates and heats up like a toaster oven. A dull orange light envelops you. The world around you spins into a wild vortex that suddenly vanishes, leaving you to find yourself in a ... Clearing The woods part in a marvelous natural clearing here. Light streams prettily through the canopy of leaves above. The ground is hard and flat and clean. You can see a construction site through the woods to the northeast. You see a time machine here. Sitting on the time machine platform is a wheelbarrow. >ne (first getting off the platform) Okay, you're no longer on the time machine platform. Woods The smell of freshly-sawed wood wafts through this natural grove of cedar and live oak trees. A large rock juts up out of the ground right in your way. A construction site is to the northeast, and a clearing is visible to the southwest. You hear a woman calling your name from the northeast. A vibrant young woman in a professional suit is hurrying to catch up to you. "Wait, wait," she says. "The foreman said they'd seen you going down this way." Paying careful attention to where she is stepping in her heeled shoes, she neglects her hand, which is carrying a dark leather briefcase. When she reaches the bend in the path, she smacks her briefcase directly into the rock. It splits open and tumbles out of her hand, and paper scatters everywhere. "Ooh! This is not my day!" she sighs as she kneels and starts to pick up her papers. >x woman You recognize her as Laura, the woman from the bank. In fact, now that she is older, you remember that you met her before, around this time -- subjectively speaking. She was a junior manager at the bank, and you talked to her on one or two occasions about the mortgage on the house, and setting up your trust fund to pay for it. Since this is one of those occasions, it enters your head that you might have to worry about meeting yourself in the past, but you're pretty sure you don't remember dropping by the construction site on this particular day. Laura is dressed in a knee-length violet skirt and matching shoes, with a sleeveless white blouse that's opened a couple of buttons at the top, a concession to the summery weather. She looks tanned and healthy, but there is a distinct pensiveness in her green eyes. Laura continues to pick up the loose papers and put them hastily back into her briefcase. >get papers Taken. Laura continues to pick up the loose papers and put them hastily back into her briefcase. >read papers I don't know how to read the loose papers. Laura continues to pick up the loose papers and put them hastily back into her briefcase. >x papers The loose papers are various boring bank documents of no relevance to you. You hand the loose papers you've collected to Laura. She crams them all into the briefcase in a hasty fashion. Laura straightens herself up. "Thank you. I'm such a spaz these days." She looks at you straight on for the first time, and a funny look comes over her face. "You look different. Have you suddenly grown older?" She shakes her head. "Never mind. That was rude of me, sorry." She ruffles through the papers, looking for something. "I came to talk to you about your trust fund and issues concerning construction cost ..." she says, "Argh, I can't find the papers, now, of course." >ask her about trust fund I don't know the word "trust". >ask her about fund I don't know the word "fund". >ask her about money She doesn't seem to register that you asked a question. You get the feeling she has a lot of other things on her mind right now. Laura looks at you soberly. She says, "I got a call from Mr. Mayhew concerning certain improvements to the house that you have called for that significantly drive up the cost of construction." She continues her fruitless search for the right document. "Something about a better grade of roofing? Well, there's good news and bad news about this." >ask her about roofing I don't know the word "roofing". >z Time passes... "The good news is, it will lower your insurance significantly, as it significantly reduces the risk of fire damage." She rummages in her briefcase a bit. >z Time passes... "The bad news is, I don't know how you're going to afford this particular modification. You were cutting it close already. Accounting for cost of living increases, I think you're going to run out of money just fifteen years into your thirty year mortgage. If things go in your favor, maybe twenty." She looks at you sympathetically. >z Time passes... "I'm sorry, I just can't make head or tails of my documents now. Do you have a minute? Why don't you come back to the bank with me so we could chat? Thanks. I'm really sorry about this. I'm just a little distracted today anyway." >z Time passes... Laura starts walking to the northeast. You follow her. South of house You are standing on what will be the south side of your house. The house is currently under construction. The wooden frame has gone up, but apart from that, there's not much to see. The ground slopes down slightly here, and the wall of the house looms an extra story high because of it. A little bare path made by you just now leads southwest into the woods. You can walk around the house to the northwest and northeast. To the east is a dirt road leading to town. You see a sapling here. Laura is here. Laura says, "I'm sorry if I'm not up on all of the details of your finances. I only recently accepted a promotion, and had to scramble to get up to speed on a few dozen client histories. My life is suddenly a lot more hectic than I expected. I suddenly have the responsibility to make decisions that affect people's lives." She stares down at the ground as she walks, lost in thought for a minute or two. "If the money hadn't been so good," she says, "If I'd known what I was getting into ..." "Sorry," she says to you. "You probably have enough problems of your own without listening to mine." >ask her about investment Laura says, "What you'd need is about five thousand dollars. I'm sorry, I know that's a lot, but if you trust me with it, I could invest it for you and turn it into more, a lot more. Enough to ensure that you'd never lose this house, which I'm afraid is the way it'll turn out if you don't take steps now." Laura continues walking toward the shopping village. You follow her. Sidewalk The concrete sidewalk that leads away from your house is also recently poured. It follows alongside a dirt road that will soon be paved. The sidewalk disappears to the east, just before the road takes a bend to the north. The construction site is back to the west. Laura is here. Laura says, "I don't know if anyone ever talked to you about what options you have for investing your trust fund. I know the stock market can seem confusing when you're new to it, but the payoffs can be worth it, even within a few years' time frame." "I can tell this isn't very interesting to you. Maybe we should forget about all of this for the moment and talk about something else." >ask her about stock market I don't know the word "market". >ask her about stock Laura types for a moment on her computer. "I hate to break it to you, but you're going to need five thousand dollars before I can make any investments for you. I wish I could help you come up with it, but I can't." Laura continues walking toward the shopping village. You follow her. Bend in path The unpaved dirt road that leads in the direction of the construction site has been crisscrossed by a number of vehicles with large treads. The road bends here from the west to the north, following a scenic paved road into the shopping village. Laura is here. The divining rod vibrates, pulling to the sewer hole. Laura stares at a bird as it passes overhead. "I lost my train of thought just now," she says, distracted by thoughts you can't guess. After a pause, she asks, "Do you ever feel like life is a series of decisions, and you never have quite enough information to make an informed choice? That only in hindsight can you ever see how good or bad a selection you made?" Laura straightens her posture, which had started to slump. "Oh well. What's done is done. You can only go forward, not backward." >tell her about hindsight I don't know the word "hindsight". >yes You sound rather positive. Laura continues walking toward the shopping village. You follow her. Oakwood drive This pleasant road wanders peacefully through the lush tree growths native to the area. In the intervening years, they'll straighten the road and widen it, cutting down dozens of these forty- to ninety-year-old live oaks. The road leads north into the shopping village, and south to a familiar bend in the direction of your house. Laura is here. Laura stops for a moment and takes a deep breath. She looks at the trees lining the road and says, "Aren't they beautiful? I can see why you wanted to build out here." She resumes walking, slowly. "I live on the north end of town, so I don't get out into these older areas much. I probably should. I always tell myself I should take walks out here during lunch. I guess today was my excuse. I just wish I'd planned ahead and brought walking shoes." She smiles and winces. "I'm all right. We're almost there." >undo (Undoing one command) Bend in path The unpaved dirt road that leads in the direction of the construction site has been crisscrossed by a number of vehicles with large treads. The road bends here from the west to the north, following a scenic paved road into the shopping village. Laura is here. >say yes I don't understand that sentence. >laura, yes Laura says, "Whatever you say." Laura continues walking toward the shopping village. You follow her. Oakwood drive This pleasant road wanders peacefully through the lush tree growths native to the area. In the intervening years, they'll straighten the road and widen it, cutting down dozens of these forty- to ninety-year-old live oaks. The road leads north into the shopping village, and south to a familiar bend in the direction of your house. Laura is here. Laura stops for a moment and takes a deep breath. She looks at the trees lining the road and says, "Aren't they beautiful? I can see why you wanted to build out here." She resumes walking, slowly. "I live on the north end of town, so I don't get out into these older areas much. I probably should. I always tell myself I should take walks out here during lunch. I guess today was my excuse. I just wish I'd planned ahead and brought walking shoes." She smiles and winces. "I'm all right. We're almost there." >ask her about shoes She doesn't seem to register that you asked a question. You get the feeling she has a lot of other things on her mind right now. Laura continues walking toward the shopping village. You follow her. In the village The little shopping village looks a little different than you're used to seeing it. Colored signs point you to this merchant and that. To the west is the bank, which seems like it's always been here and always will. To the east is an empty plot of land. The sandwich shop is to the north. The road leading back is south. Laura is here. Laura looks at the sandwich shop. "Geez, I missed lunch again. That's another thing about being promoted -- it's the best diet I've ever been on. Eight pounds so far." She looks at her watch. "If I weren't running late, I'd buy you lunch. But I guess I don't have time for that. I guess I won't have time for that for a long time." She goes silent again, gazing into the distance. "I keep thinking that if I just keep moving onward and upward, into the big office with the big chair and the big desk, I won't have to worry about money any more. I won't have to worry about anything. That's the big thing, right? Not having to worry? I guess that was your plan with the house. Oops, sore subject, sorry." "But sometimes I lie awake wondering, does that make any sense? Doesn't the bigger office just come with bigger worries? And then I see guys who have made it, women in business whom I admire, and they look happy. I sound like a sap. 'I just want to be happy! I just want to be loved!' My boss tells me that he gave me the promotion so I could toughen up. He says I'm too compassionate, too lenient on the bank's debtors, too open-hearted about people in need." "In fact, if he finds out I made this trip out to see you, he's not going to be happy. And he wants to be happy, too, just like ... everyone." >z Time passes... Laura enters the bank. You follow her. In the bank The bank interior is polished and impeccable. A desk to the south says "New Accounts." A teller window to the north is labeled "Deposits and Withdrawals." A hallway leads west into the bank's back offices. The exit is east. Laura is here. Laura almost walks toward the new accounts desk, but stops herself. "Bad habit," she says, grinning. "I have an office now, in the back. It used to be a closet or something. I remember thinking, 'Wow, my own office? Cool.' And then I saw it for the first time, and -- oh well. It'll only be for a year or so, and then I'll get promoted again, to one with a window. Maybe I'll be able to see the trees from there. Provided they don't cut the trees down to build something, which is the way things look like they're going." "You're a good listener, I have to give you that. I don't know why you bother with basket cases like me." >z Time passes... Laura invites you to come with her into her office in the back part of the bank. You follow her. Laura's office Laura's office is a small, windowless room with a file cabinet and a plain white desk. The only exit is to the east. Laura is here. A paunchy man with a bald head and a brown suit appears in the doorway. "Laura!" he says, and then casts a judgmental glance at you. "We're holding the meeting for you. Are you ready? Where's your report?" Laura puts her briefcase on the desk. "Right here, I'm coming," she says. The man clicks a ballpoint pen a few times, nods sternly, and exits. You hear the clicking noise disappear down the hall. >z Time passes... Laura sits down at her desk, sighing. Laura dumps her papers onto the desk and begins picking out pieces of her report. Laura sighs. "I'm sorry, I guess I need to get back to work. Thanks for the walk -- and the conversation. If you need anything else, come back and see me. My door's open." She manages to get her report put back together and ushers you back into the lobby. In the bank The bank interior is polished and impeccable. A desk to the south says "New Accounts." A teller window to the north is labeled "Deposits and Withdrawals." A hallway leads west into the bank's back offices. The exit is east. Laura shakes your hand, smooths back her hair, and disappears into the back rooms of the bank. >e In the village The little shopping village looks a little different than you're used to seeing it. Colored signs point you to this merchant and that. To the west is the bank, which seems like it's always been here and always will. To the east is an empty plot of land. The sandwich shop is to the north. The road leading back is south. >s Oakwood drive This pleasant road wanders peacefully through the lush tree growths native to the area. In the intervening years, they'll straighten the road and widen it, cutting down dozens of these forty- to ninety-year-old live oaks. The road leads north into the shopping village, and south to a familiar bend in the direction of your house. >s Bend in path The unpaved dirt road that leads in the direction of the construction site has been crisscrossed by a number of vehicles with large treads. The road bends here from the west to the north, following a scenic paved road into the shopping village. The divining rod vibrates, pulling to the sewer hole. >w Sidewalk The concrete sidewalk that leads away from your house is also recently poured. It follows alongside a dirt road that will soon be paved. The sidewalk disappears to the east, just before the road takes a bend to the north. The construction site is back to the west. >w South of house You are standing on what will be the south side of your house. The house is currently under construction. The wooden frame has gone up, but apart from that, there's not much to see. The ground slopes down slightly here, and the wall of the house looms an extra story high because of it. A little bare path made by you just now leads southwest into the woods. You can walk around the house to the northwest and northeast. To the east is a dirt road leading to town. You see a sapling here. >sw Woods The smell of freshly-sawed wood wafts through this natural grove of cedar and live oak trees. A large rock juts up out of the ground right in your way. A construction site is to the northeast, and a clearing is visible to the southwest. >ne South of house You are standing on what will be the south side of your house. The house is currently under construction. The wooden frame has gone up, but apart from that, there's not much to see. The ground slopes down slightly here, and the wall of the house looms an extra story high because of it. A little bare path made by you just now leads southwest into the woods. You can walk around the house to the northwest and northeast. To the east is a dirt road leading to town. You see a sapling here. >n Inside house You finally step into your house. Not much of a victory, given the circumstances. Just a lot of planks and rafters. A temporary work ladder is nailed into the structure, and leads up to the second floor. >u Second floor The description 'second floor' is misleading, because the floor up here isn't actually finished, so watch your step. From up here you see a nice view of the town square down the road. There is a fancy blueprint of the house sitting on a temporary workdesk. The only exit is down. Sitting on the workdesk is a blueprint. The architect is here. >ask architect about switch He says, "The secret switch will be hidden on the ground next to the wall. Step on the switch, knock on the wall, and the door will open!" >d Inside house You finally step into your house. Not much of a victory, given the circumstances. Just a lot of planks and rafters. A temporary work ladder is nailed into the structure, and leads up to the second floor. >s South of house You are standing on what will be the south side of your house. The house is currently under construction. The wooden frame has gone up, but apart from that, there's not much to see. The ground slopes down slightly here, and the wall of the house looms an extra story high because of it. A little bare path made by you just now leads southwest into the woods. You can walk around the house to the northwest and northeast. To the east is a dirt road leading to town. You see a sapling here. >sw Woods The smell of freshly-sawed wood wafts through this natural grove of cedar and live oak trees. A large rock juts up out of the ground right in your way. A construction site is to the northeast, and a clearing is visible to the southwest. >sw Clearing The woods part in a marvelous natural clearing here. Light streams prettily through the canopy of leaves above. The ground is hard and flat and clean. You can see a construction site through the woods to the northeast. You see a time machine here. Sitting on the time machine platform is a wheelbarrow. >enter machine Okay, you're now standing on the time machine platform. >set dial to 4 Okay, it's now turned to 4. >push button You push the big red button. Click! The time machine vibrates and heats up like a toaster oven. A bright blue light envelops you. The world around you spins into a wild vortex that suddenly vanishes, leaving you to find yourself in a ... Clearing The woods part in a marvelous natural clearing here. Moonlight streams prettily through the canopy of leaves above. The ground is hard and flat and clean. Your footpath leaves the clearing to the northeast, heading back to the house. You see a time machine here. Sitting on the time machine platform is a wheelbarrow. >ne (first getting off the platform) Okay, you're no longer on the time machine platform. Path in the woods This little spot is one of your favorite places to sit and think. A well-trod path winds through a natural grove of cedar and live oak trees. A large rock juts up out of the ground right in your way, so the path does an abrupt curve around it. The path leads northeast to your house, and a clearing is visible to the southwest. >ne South of house The ground slopes down slightly here, and the wall of the house looms an extra story high because of it. There is a tiny window high in the wall, about 30 feet up. There is a rope dangling from the window. A little path made by you on your many daily walks leads southwest into the woods. You can walk around your house to the northwest and northeast. A beautiful, leafy tree is growing here next to the house, right where you always thought it should. >step on switch You put your foot onto the secret switch. It moves under your weight, and you hear some kind of tumbler shift inside the wall. >knock on wall You hear a weight dropping, and a couple of clicks. The secret door springs magically open wide, revealing a darkened entrance. >in Secret passage The secret passage is a narrow hallway of sorts, only about twelve feet long and three and a half feet wide. The walls are bare plaster and sheet rock. Various springs and tumblers are connected together in an elegant set of mechanisms to open the doors. A small light bulb hangs from the ceiling, but it is currently turned off. There is barely enough light seeping in through the closed door to see by. The short hallway dead-ends at a crudely-carved staircase leading down. There is another door to the west, and you can go out the way you came in. [ Your score just went up by 5 points. ] >turn on bulb You switch on the light bulb. >l Secret passage The secret passage is a narrow hallway of sorts, only about twelve feet long and three and a half feet wide. The walls are bare plaster and sheet rock. Various springs and tumblers are connected together in an elegant set of mechanisms to open the doors. A small light bulb hangs from the ceiling, giving the room some gentle illumnation. The short hallway dead-ends at a crudely-carved staircase leading down. There is another door to the west, and you can go out the way you came in. >use herring on bulb Not a red herring. >turn off bulb Okay, it's now turned off. >get bulb You can't have the light bulb. >unscrew bulb You see no way to do that. >d You descend the stairs slowly, unsure of what you might find. The stairs go down deeper under the ground than you expected. It becomes dark and hard to see your footing, but as you keep going, your eyes once again find a dim source of light, which you follow. Finally, you reach the bottom, and find yourself in a ... Secret chamber Whether this nondescript room existed before the secret passage was made is unclear to you, but here it is now. It is made of concrete, about thirty feet square, with a fifteen foot ceiling. The floor of room must be at least twenty feet below the ground. The dim amber light, just enough to see by, seems to be coming from the ceiling itself, rather than any kind of recognizable fixture. The only exit that you can see is back up. You see another time machine here. >x time Which time do you mean, the time machine, or some other stock? >x time machine It's a large contraption that's about the size and shape of an engine block, and made of solid metal. It sits on a platform that is welded firmly to the machine itself. On the front is a knob and a large red button. On the back side of it is a hinged compartment. There is a label on the knob. The machine is covered by a layer of dust, as if it had been sitting here for some time. >open compartment Opened. >look in it There's nothing in the hinged compartment. >x label It reads: -20, -10, 0, +10, +20. >l Secret chamber Whether this nondescript room existed before the secret passage was made is unclear to you, but here it is now. It is made of concrete, about thirty feet square, with a fifteen foot ceiling. The floor of room must be at least twenty feet below the ground. The dim amber light, just enough to see by, seems to be coming from the ceiling itself, rather than any kind of recognizable fixture. The only exit that you can see is back up. You see a time machine here. >x stock Which stock do you mean, the DibbleBits, the Lothario Corporation, or some other stock? >dibble It looks like an ordinary DibbleBits to me. >get dibble You can't have the DibbleBits. >[eh?] I don't understand the punctuation "[". >search room I don't see any room here. >search machine You find nothing of interest. >x some other stock It looks like an ordinary that stock to me. >x ceiling The dim amber light, just enough to see by, seems to be coming from the ceiling itself, rather than any kind of recognizable fixture. Perhaps it is a subtle technology, one you have never seen before. >u Secret passage The secret passage is a narrow hallway of sorts, only about twelve feet long and three and a half feet wide. The walls are bare plaster and sheet rock. Various springs and tumblers are connected together in an elegant set of mechanisms to open the doors. A small light bulb hangs from the ceiling, giving the room some gentle illumnation. The short hallway dead-ends at a crudely-carved staircase leading down. There is another door to the west, and you can go out the way you came in. >w (Opening the west door) The passageway seems to be blocked off by a large piece of furniture, probably your dresser, because that's right where you used to keep it. Perhaps the architect never told the other-you (of the past) about the secret passage once the house was finished. Thus, you never knew not to block it off, if that makes any sense. >push dresser You don't really want to push your dresser over. However, you give it a try. After a bit of struggling and shoving, you discover that you really aren't strong enough to push the heavy dresser out of the way. >x dresser The passageway is blocked by your dresser. >push dresser You don't seem to be strong enough to push it out of the way. >climb it The large obstacle is not suitable for climbing. >turn on bulb You switch on the light bulb. >x dresser The passageway is blocked by your dresser. >search it You find nothing of interest. >turn it Turning the large obstacle doesn't have any effect. >pull it Pulling the large obstacle doesn't have any effect. >push it You don't seem to be strong enough to push it out of the way. >d Secret chamber Whether this nondescript room existed before the secret passage was made is unclear to you, but here it is now. It is made of concrete, about thirty feet square, with a fifteen foot ceiling. The floor of room must be at least twenty feet below the ground. The dim amber light, just enough to see by, seems to be coming from the ceiling itself, rather than any kind of recognizable fixture. The only exit that you can see is back up. You see a time machine here. >enter machine Okay, you're now standing on the time machine platform. >x dial The knob can be turned to settings numbered from 1 to 5. It's currently set to 3. >set dial to 4 Okay, it's now turned to 4. >push button You push the big red button. Click! The time machine vibrates and heats up like a toaster oven. A bright blue light envelops you. The world around you spins into a wild vortex that suddenly vanishes, leaving you to find yourself in a ... Secret chamber Whether this nondescript room existed before the secret passage was made is unclear to you, but here it is now. It is made of concrete, about thirty feet square, with a fifteen foot ceiling. The floor of room must be at least twenty feet below the ground. The dim amber light, just enough to see by, seems to be coming from the ceiling itself, rather than any kind of recognizable fixture. The only exit that you can see is back up. You see a time machine here. >U (first getting off the platform) Okay, you're no longer on the time machine platform. Secret passage The secret passage is a narrow hallway of sorts, only about twelve feet long and three and a half feet wide. The walls are bare plaster and sheet rock. Various springs and tumblers are connected together in an elegant set of mechanisms to open the doors. A small light bulb hangs from the ceiling, but it was left on and burned out long ago. There is barely enough light seeping in through the closed door to see by. The short hallway dead-ends at a crudely-carved staircase leading down. There is another door to the west, and you can go out the way you came in. >W (Opening the west door) Master bedroom This is your bedroom, the one you've been longing all night to get back to. Unfortunately, there is no place to sleep here, even if you could close your eyes to the general nightmare that your house has become. The bed is missing. The large dresser that used to stand in the southeast corner of the room has been toppled over, and its spilled contents have been thoroughly looted, leaving nothing behind but some soiled linens. Ratty curtains are open to the west side of the house, letting some amount of somber, muted light in. The dimensions of the room look slightly smaller than you remember. Perhaps it is a trick of the eyes due to the unsettling damage. The foyer is north through the hallway, and the master bathroom is to the east. A secret door is open to the southeast. >undo (Undoing one command) Secret passage The secret passage is a narrow hallway of sorts, only about twelve feet long and three and a half feet wide. The walls are bare plaster and sheet rock. Various springs and tumblers are connected together in an elegant set of mechanisms to open the doors. A small light bulb hangs from the ceiling, but it was left on and burned out long ago. There is barely enough light seeping in through the closed door to see by. The short hallway dead-ends at a crudely-carved staircase leading down. There is another door to the west, and you can go out the way you came in. >undo (Undoing one command) Secret chamber (on the time machine platform) Whether this nondescript room existed before the secret passage was made is unclear to you, but here it is now. It is made of concrete, about thirty feet square, with a fifteen foot ceiling. The floor of room must be at least twenty feet below the ground. The dim amber light, just enough to see by, seems to be coming from the ceiling itself, rather than any kind of recognizable fixture. The only exit that you can see is back up. You see a time machine here. >undo (Undoing one command) Secret chamber (on the time machine platform) Whether this nondescript room existed before the secret passage was made is unclear to you, but here it is now. It is made of concrete, about thirty feet square, with a fifteen foot ceiling. The floor of room must be at least twenty feet below the ground. The dim amber light, just enough to see by, seems to be coming from the ceiling itself, rather than any kind of recognizable fixture. The only exit that you can see is back up. You see a time machine here. >undo (Undoing one command) Secret chamber (on the time machine platform) Whether this nondescript room existed before the secret passage was made is unclear to you, but here it is now. It is made of concrete, about thirty feet square, with a fifteen foot ceiling. The floor of room must be at least twenty feet below the ground. The dim amber light, just enough to see by, seems to be coming from the ceiling itself, rather than any kind of recognizable fixture. The only exit that you can see is back up. You see a time machine here. >undo (Undoing one command) Secret chamber (on the time machine platform) Whether this nondescript room existed before the secret passage was made is unclear to you, but here it is now. It is made of concrete, about thirty feet square, with a fifteen foot ceiling. The floor of room must be at least twenty feet below the ground. The dim amber light, just enough to see by, seems to be coming from the ceiling itself, rather than any kind of recognizable fixture. The only exit that you can see is back up. You see a time machine here. >undo (Undoing one command) Secret chamber Whether this nondescript room existed before the secret passage was made is unclear to you, but here it is now. It is made of concrete, about thirty feet square, with a fifteen foot ceiling. The floor of room must be at least twenty feet below the ground. The dim amber light, just enough to see by, seems to be coming from the ceiling itself, rather than any kind of recognizable fixture. The only exit that you can see is back up. You see a time machine here. >undo (Undoing one command) Secret passage The secret passage is a narrow hallway of sorts, only about twelve feet long and three and a half feet wide. The walls are bare plaster and sheet rock. Various springs and tumblers are connected together in an elegant set of mechanisms to open the doors. A small light bulb hangs from the ceiling, giving the room some gentle illumnation. The short hallway dead-ends at a crudely-carved staircase leading down. There is another door to the west, and you can go out the way you came in. >undo (Undoing one command) Secret passage The secret passage is a narrow hallway of sorts, only about twelve feet long and three and a half feet wide. The walls are bare plaster and sheet rock. Various springs and tumblers are connected together in an elegant set of mechanisms to open the doors. A small light bulb hangs from the ceiling, giving the room some gentle illumnation. The short hallway dead-ends at a crudely-carved staircase leading down. There is another door to the west, and you can go out the way you came in. >turn off bulb Okay, it's now turned off. >d Secret chamber Whether this nondescript room existed before the secret passage was made is unclear to you, but here it is now. It is made of concrete, about thirty feet square, with a fifteen foot ceiling. The floor of room must be at least twenty feet below the ground. The dim amber light, just enough to see by, seems to be coming from the ceiling itself, rather than any kind of recognizable fixture. The only exit that you can see is back up. You see a time machine here. >enter machine Okay, you're now standing on the time machine platform. >set dial to 4 Okay, it's now turned to 4. >push button You push the big red button. Click! The time machine vibrates and heats up like a toaster oven. A bright blue light envelops you. The world around you spins into a wild vortex that suddenly vanishes, leaving you to find yourself in a ... Secret chamber Whether this nondescript room existed before the secret passage was made is unclear to you, but here it is now. It is made of concrete, about thirty feet square, with a fifteen foot ceiling. The floor of room must be at least twenty feet below the ground. The dim amber light, just enough to see by, seems to be coming from the ceiling itself, rather than any kind of recognizable fixture. The only exit that you can see is back up. You see a time machine here. >u (first getting off the platform) Okay, you're no longer on the time machine platform. Secret passage The secret passage is a narrow hallway of sorts, only about twelve feet long and three and a half feet wide. The walls are bare plaster and sheet rock. Various springs and tumblers are connected together in an elegant set of mechanisms to open the doors. A small light bulb hangs from the ceiling, but it was left on and burned out long ago. There is barely enough light seeping in through the closed door to see by. The short hallway dead-ends at a crudely-carved staircase leading down. There is another door to the west, and you can go out the way you came in. >w (Opening the west door) Master bedroom This is your bedroom, the one you've been longing all night to get back to. Unfortunately, there is no place to sleep here, even if you could close your eyes to the general nightmare that your house has become. The bed is missing. The large dresser that used to stand in the southeast corner of the room has been toppled over, and its spilled contents have been thoroughly looted, leaving nothing behind but some soiled linens. Ratty curtains are open to the west side of the house, letting some amount of somber, muted light in. The dimensions of the room look slightly smaller than you remember. Perhaps it is a trick of the eyes due to the unsettling damage. The foyer is north through the hallway, and the master bathroom is to the east. A secret door is open to the southeast. >search dresser You find nothing of interest. >x it The large dresser that used to stand in the southeast corner of the room has been toppled over. >x curtains I don't see any curtains here. >n Downstairs hallway The hallway is dark and feels cramped due to the collected refuse that has built up along the wall. Graffiti covers every flat surface, as usual. There is no sign of the photographs that used to hang here. The foyer is north, and a doorway into the living room is west. The master bedroom is to the south. A small door leads east into a half bathroom. >e (Opening the small door) Half bathroom The bathroom is tiny and dark, but the sink, the toilet and the mirror seem to be intact and in place. A number of magazines lie in lopsided piles on the floor. The only exit is west, back into the hallway. >x magazines They're pornographic magazines of a somewhat unsavory variety. >search it Those aren't important. >w Downstairs hallway The hallway is dark and feels cramped due to the collected refuse that has built up along the wall. Graffiti covers every flat surface, as usual. There is no sign of the photographs that used to hang here. The foyer is north, and a doorway into the living room is west. The master bedroom is to the south. A small door leads east into a half bathroom. >w Living room The first thing you notice is that your television set is still here, which seems ironic because you never used to watch it and were planning on giving it away. The tv set is no longer on a stand, it sits against the northern wall under a stack of pizza boxes that emit a rude odor. A stained and beaten couch -- not your own -- sits to the south, facing the television set. Some of its cushions are missing, but it doesn't look as if it were particularly comfortable even in its prime. Bent and twisted blinds hang over the west- facing windows. The dining room is north, and a doorway into the hallway is east. >turn on tv There doesn't seem to be any electricity working here. >search couch There's nothing on the couch. >x it This stained and beaten couch is not your own, and doesn't look like it's particularly comfortable. >sit on it Okay, you're now sitting on the couch. Sure enough, it's not particularly comfortable. >get up Okay, you're no longer in the couch. >x blinds They face west out behind the house. >open blinds Those aren't important. >look out window Which window do you mean, the west-facing windows, or the west-facing windows? >any west-facing windows: They face west out behind the house. >n Dining room The dining room, which you had recently converted into a study area, has been kicked around and spraypainted in a similar fashion to the other rooms in the house, but the large table remains standing where you left it. Piled upon it are empty cans and bottles, and its surface is mottled with cigarette burns and knife marks. A bookcase that stood in the southern corner of the room is missing, but a pile of yellow, water-damaged books remains in its place, underneath more trash. Two large windows face west out to the back yard. The fireplace, too, is cluttered with debris. The kitchen is east, and the living room is to the south. A doorway at the southeast corner of the room leads to the foyer. >x books biology book: The title of this book is "Fun With Ferns" by Prof. Roy Hinkley. rare book: A rare scientific volume, detailing the mating habits of small rodents. It looks a bit -- how shall we say? -- sullied, but is otherwise in fine condition. library book: Tonight, like every night, you brought home a book on time- travel theories. This one talks about the paradoxes involved in changing the future from the past, or some such. pile of water-damaged books: The books have been water-damaged and are all worthless. You sadly recognize them as your own collection. >x fireplace The fireplace is cluttered with debris. >search it That isn't important. >x table Piled upon it are empty cans and bottles, and its surface is mottled with cigarette burns and knife marks. >search it That isn't important. >x trash The books have been water-damaged and are all worthless. You sadly recognize them as your own collection. >search it Those aren't important. >l Dining room The dining room, which you had recently converted into a study area, has been kicked around and spraypainted in a similar fashion to the other rooms in the house, but the large table remains standing where you left it. Piled upon it are empty cans and bottles, and its surface is mottled with cigarette burns and knife marks. A bookcase that stood in the southern corner of the room is missing, but a pile of yellow, water-damaged books remains in its place, underneath more trash. Two large windows face west out to the back yard. The fireplace, too, is cluttered with debris. The kitchen is east, and the living room is to the south. A doorway at the southeast corner of the room leads to the foyer. >e Kitchen The kitchen has been looted and trashed, as if anger had been vented upon it once its supplies ran out. Every cabinet and drawer has been opened, and some of the drawers are heaped in a broken pile on the floor. The refrigerator is wide open and full of disgusting green stains and patterns of blackening mold. The stove has been dented and shows evidence of muddy footprints having stood on top of it and kicked it. The small kitchen table has been overturned in the western corner of the room. Windows look out west and east to the back and front yards. The dining room is west, and the foyer is to the south. A back door leads north into the garage. >x table The small kitchen table has been overturned in the western corner of the room. Windows look out west and east to the back and front yards. >n You'll have to open the back door first. >open back door It's locked. >unlock it Unlocked. >open back door As you reach for the door, you hear a thump and a crash from the other side of it. You are startled to see a staggering, red-eyed man with a bloated gut and ill- fitting clothes burst in from the garage before you can open the door. He regards you warily, as if you are trespassing on his territory. "What are you doing here? Get out, go away!" he says, his voice a sooty croak. You are horrified when you recognize that this is Fred, the man from the sandwich shop. Your instinct is to let him be, whatever he thinks his business here is. >x fred Fred looks haggard and unruly. His always-friendly smile is gone, replaced by a largely toothless sneer. His got a pudgy frame now has a gigantic, round gut, and his once dark eyebrows are a twizzled grey. He hasn't shaved in a long time, and the twinkle behind his eyes has gone dark. You hear bits of trash being kicked around in the foyer at the bottom of the staircase. >ask fred about sandwich Fred is no longer here. Fred struggles up the stairs. You hear some muttering and cursing, and then a pause, and then some more muttering. "It's here somewhere," you hear him say. >l Kitchen The kitchen has been looted and trashed, as if anger had been vented upon it once its supplies ran out. Every cabinet and drawer has been opened, and some of the drawers are heaped in a broken pile on the floor. The refrigerator is wide open and full of disgusting green stains and patterns of blackening mold. The stove has been dented and shows evidence of muddy footprints having stood on top of it and kicked it. The small kitchen table has been overturned in the western corner of the room. Windows look out west and east to the back and front yards. The dining room is west, and the foyer is to the south. A back door leads north into the garage. You hear Fred's raspy voice roar, "I'll find it -- I'll find it. Gotta find it!" Fred starts to search the upstairs rooms. "Maybe I left it in here," you hear him say. After a couple of minutes, you hear a prolonged burst of profanity, and then the creak of heavy feet descending the stairs. You hear Fred let out a grunt. "Aha! Here she is," he mutters to himself. You hear nothing for a few moments, and then a wet belch. Just after that, Fred shambles heavily down the stairs. He staggers past you, out into the garage. >n In the garage This room is a total mess, in a totally new and horrible way than the total mess you were used to. A soiled mattress is lumped into one corner, surrounded by filth and discarded bottles. There's a garage door button on the wall. A door leads south into the kitchen. The garage door to the north is closed. You see a wall opener button here. Fred is here, sitting on a soiled mattress. You hear a car pull into your driveway outside. >ask fred about sandwich Fred mutters, "I don't know nothin' about that. Go away." You hear the car engine turn off and three doors open and shut, and a female voice issuing orders that you can't quite hear clearly. >ask fred about find I don't understand that sentence. >ask fred about what's missing I don't know the word "missing". >push button You push the opener button. Click. Nothing happens. >open door Which door do you mean, the garage door, or the back door? >garage It's locked. >unlock garage door Unlocked. >open it Opened. >n North of house The house is burned and crippled, a shadow of its former pleasant beauty. The southern roof has been torn open by the weight of a fallen tree. However, the fire seems not to have spread very far, thanks to the fire-resistant shingles. The driveway extends east, and a small path leads southeast to the front of the house and southwest to the back. A scaled stone wall runs up the side of the house. You hear the car engine turn off and three doors open. Three people in dark suits climb out, two men and one woman. You hear her address them as Carl and Victor. They nod solemnly and take up imposing stances by the car. The woman is the biggest surprise. Twenty years older, but still trim and lovely, you recognize her immediately as Laura, the new accounts clerk at the bank. She recognizes you, too, as it happens, but not for the same reason. "I was going to ask you who you are and what you're doing here, but I see that I don't need to. I recognize you quite well from my files. And yet, still we have a mystery on our hands, hmm?" She approaches you and puts her hand to your face. You feel her manicured nails at the ends of her cold, steely fingers. She moves your head gently from side to side, assessing your features. "The long-lost owner of the house, reported missing ten years ago, arrives unannounced, out of the blue, on the eve of final foreclosure. Coincidence?" She aims the question to Carl and Victor, who wear impenetrable, goon-like stone faces. "Tomorrow we raze the property, and here you are, trying to break in. Here's my question. What's inside that's so important? What did you need to rescue before we hauled it all away to scrap heaps and the city dump?" She paces from left to right and back again, still taking in your features. "Here's another question. Why haven't you aged a day in the last ten years? Wherever it is you disappeared to, they must have taken good care of you there. Now, I don't seriously expect any answers from you. What I do expect is that you'll obey the trespassing laws and go back where you came from, and forget about rescuing whatever it is you came here for. I'll be back later, and you had better not be here. Carl, Victor? Get the car. Let's go." With that, the three of them turn the backs of their tailored jackets to you and walk away. You hear three car doors open and slam shut, and see a dark sedan drive away through the drizzling rain. >e Driveway Your driveway looks much the same, a thankful sight after the ruin your house has become. The road to town still lies to the east. Your front door is to the southwest. You see a newspaper here. >get paper Taken. >x it The name of the paper is the same, but somehow it can't be the same publication to which you have long subscribed. Missing is the thorough science and technology section. In its place are colorful graphics, fluffy self-help editorials, and every decoration short of scratch-n-sniff decals. >read it An item in the business section catches your eye. Apparently, the Lothario Corporation has failed to consume DibbleBits, an upstart technology company, in hostile takeover. It seems DibbleBits is cash-rich right now, its stock value having taken a sudden 80-point jump in the last year, due to technology demand, after having languished at pennies-per-share for 30 years. >w North of house The house is burned and crippled, a shadow of its former pleasant beauty. The southern roof has been torn open by the weight of a fallen tree. However, the fire seems not to have spread very far, thanks to the fire-resistant shingles. The driveway extends east, and a small path leads southeast to the front of the house and southwest to the back. A scaled stone wall runs up the side of the house. >s In the garage This room is a total mess, in a totally new and horrible way than the total mess you were used to. A soiled mattress is lumped into one corner, surrounded by filth and discarded bottles. There's a garage door button on the wall. A door leads south into the kitchen. The garage door to the north is open. You see a wall opener button here. Fred is here, sitting on a soiled mattress. >x mattress It appears to be where Fred lives and sleeps. >search it You find nothing of interest. >ask fred about laura Fred mutters, "I don't know nothin' about that. Go away." >ask fred about me Fred says, "You tell me." >ask fred about shop Fred says, "Eh? What do you know about it, that damn sandwich shop! Ten years of my life I gave that place. I was gonna be manager. I knew that place like nobody. Then they tell me -- they tell me that I'm drinking too much. I says to them, I says, 'Hah! My problem is I don't drink enough, to put up with what I gotta deal with!" He goes silent for a minute, lost in thought, or perhaps just simply lost. "They can tear it down for all I care," he says finally. "In fact, I hear that's what's gonna happen." Fred throws his arm in a wide circle, stifling a bout of coughing. "All this. All this is going to become -- get this, this is what I hear -- a parking lot. And a big building. It's all going to Hell." He looks up at you, looking for a reaction. "Ah, what am I telling you for? You can't do nothin' about it." >n North of house The house is burned and crippled, a shadow of its former pleasant beauty. The southern roof has been torn open by the weight of a fallen tree. However, the fire seems not to have spread very far, thanks to the fire-resistant shingles. The driveway extends east, and a small path leads southeast to the front of the house and southwest to the back. A scaled stone wall runs up the side of the house. >se Front of house This is the front your house, and something is terribly wrong. The front door is boarded up, sealing off all entrance to what should still be your home. The roof is crippled by the weight of a fallen tree, and all of the front windows are cracked. Sopping mounds of rotting leaves that have collected along the edges and corners indicate years of neglect. A pool of dirty yellow water trickles down from the driveway and collects, full of black silt, near the front door. The driveway is to the northeast, and a clearing is visible far to the southwest. The front door is to the west. >sw South of house This is not your house as you expected to find it, but a scene of devastation. The beautiful tree you planted has split from its scorched trunk and smashed into the side of your house. From what you can see, the roof has been torn open by the weight of it, and a terrifying hole gouged out to fully halfway down the wall. However, the fire seems not to have spread thanks to the fire- resistant shingles. Broken splinters of wet and rotting wood lie everywhere, kept moist by recent rains. To the southwest is the old rock and, farther, the clearing. You can walk around your house to the northwest and northeast. >x tree The tree is crippled and broken, a burnt shadow of its once towering presence. >u Mid-way up tree You are mid-way up the tree, or what used to be. The broken top half of the trunk extends at a slight vertical angle, the top branches poking into the broken house. You can climb back down to the ground. More dangerously, you can shimmy north along the slick, broken trunk that leads into the open attic of the house. >n Testing it with gentle pressure, the trunk seems solid and steady, enough for you to believe that it will hold. Fearlessly, for the moment, you straddle your legs around the broken base of the horizontal trunk, and begin to scoot yourself forward. Along the trunk The trunk is slicker than you thought, and the ground is farther away, a wet gray mass that will not be a comfortable landing should you fall. At this point, the base of the tree is still nearby, so after a few deep breaths to collect yourself, you feel secure enough to continue. >n As you shimmy forward, you start to lose your balance. In a moment of utter panic, you lean forward and grab the trunk with both hands, seizing it fast until you assure yourself that you are finally stable. Still, your head spins, and you can't quite trust your sense of equilibrium. Farther along the trunk You have made your way about five feet along the trunk towards the attic. Your distorted sense of equilibrium is starting to induce a sense of fear, because at any odd moment you feel as if you are starting to pitch to one side or the other. Holding fast, you remind yourself that you are not losing your balance, but are only fearing that you might. If you go just a bit farther, you will be halfway there. Seeing this boosts your courage. You have dropped all of your possessions. >n You grit your teeth and loosen up your muscles. Being tense isn't going to help you if you start to totter. You move an inch or so, releasing the grip with your legs and then clamping them tight again. Gradually, your confidence returns. You see the midway point ahead of you. Rain is slicking your eyes, but you don't feel confident letting go with one hand long enough to wipe the drops away. You scoot forward again. A salty taste trickles into the corner of your mouth, and you realize that it's not rain on your face, but sweat. Spitting it out, you keep your eye on the goal: the halfway point. You ignore the still-distant attic, and above all you ignore the ground. Point of no return You realize now that you have reached the point of no return. You are just a little short of the halfway point, and to go forward any more will mean committing to the rest of the crawl. The safety of the tree will be too far behind you to risk moving backwards. >n You stare at your ultimate goal, the opening into the attic, for a long moment. It doesn't seem so very far away. Something about shimmying along the trunk feels vaguely exciting, like something you would have done as a child without thinking twice. Full of youthful courage, you ease yourself forward. Your thigh muscles are starting to tire, so you try to relax them even as you use them to hold yourself steady. Foot by foot, you make your way forward. Halfway along the trunk You have reached a distance halfway between the tree behind you and the attic in front of you. Rather than feeling good about having made it this far, your pulse is quickened when you recognize what you have lost by coming this far: stability. The trunk was solid and stable at the base, where it is connected to the tree, but here in the middle it bows and sways under your weight. You feel it sagging, and when you do not sit still, it bounces and sways. >n You move more slowly than before, with your eyes fixed only on the next six inches, and the six inches after that. Your hands and fingers are hurting. You have been gripping so tightly, with the tendons so tensed, that you have worn the tips raw. The blood has also drained from them, leaving them cold but thankfully not numb. You move forward again, making another foot and a half of progress. Time has elongated. You feel as if you have been clinging to this trunk for at least a half hour, but you can't be sure. Sensing that your thoughts are wandering, you move again. You can't afford to become distracted. Past the halfway point The opening is close now, very close, but your senses are tricking you at every turn now. As you stare at the opening, it seems to recede, as if in a nightmare; this trunk is the hallway that ever extends, that has no end. You look again, and the attic is close, a much shorter distance ahead than the distance you have already traversed. The trunk curves again, making a steeper angle ahead, but the top branches that will be your secure handholds for the last few feet are just ahead, out of reach. Just a little more, and you can grab the nearest of them. Just a little more, and this travail will be over. A small wind, so slight that you would not have noticed it if you were on the ground, assails your already-eroded sense of balance. Losing your ability to control your fear, you lower your chest to the trunk and wrap your arms as far as you can around it. Holding it in a bear grip, you spend several harsh minutes convinced that to loosen your grip even slightly will send you falling. You keep your eyes open, because when you close them you feel that you actually are in free-fall. You realize that you have to move somewhere. You can't stay here, all four limbs wrapped around the tree. With your heart crashing a fast beat in your chest, you adjust your arms, relaxing them a little. Eventually, you make it back up to a sitting position. >n As you start to move, something feels different. The tree is moving; it is starting to shake. You lower yourself into a safer position, hoping to ride it out. Your mind conjures images of some kind of giant animal, like a forest bear, shaking the trunk below you. It then occurs to you that the tree isn't shaking, you are. Your muscles aren't used to this kind of punishment, and your arms are starting to quake involuntarily. You try to relax, and eventually your arms stop shaking, only you still feel the movement in the tree. Perhaps it isn't just you. You look at the ground, at the base of the tree, for the first time in many minutes. You see nothing unusual, but vertigo overtakes you when you see the great distance to the ground. Instinctively, you shut your eyes to block out the sight, but as soon as you shut them your sense of equilibrium completely fails you. Are you slipping? You wrap your limbs completely around the tree again, unable to look, but you feel your body sagging to one side, your weight rotating around the slickened bark of the tree. Panicking, you squeeze tighter and tighter, but you are unable to find friction enough to stop your movement. A sudden twang of reptile-brain fear opens your eyes and puts you into full, unthinking panic. Your body has shifted, and you are starting to fall off the tree. Your fingernails search for a hold, your legs clamp as if to snap the trunk in two, but you can't hang on much longer. Hanging for dear life You are hanging for dear life, with your body slipping around the trunk of the tree. Soon you'll be upside down, trying to support your weight with atrophied muscles, with fingers that can't find a grip on waterlogged bark. You feel your body shift again. >n You have to stop yourself from falling. You feel your body shift again. >u You strain your over-tensed, over-taxed muscles, desperately trying to find some leverage, some way of making it back upright, back on top of the branch. You find you cannot. Every effort you make, effort to the point of snapping your super-taut tendons, only serves to increase your pain, your desperation, and your chances of falling any second now. You shift again, and are now sideways on the tree and slipping around faster. >n You have to stop yourself from falling. Your body shifts all the way around, and you are now clinging to the underside of the tree. You will soon lose your hold completely. >w You have to stop yourself from falling. You let go of the trunk with your legs, and the weight of them dropping is enough to pull your hands free of the slippery bark. You plummet far and fast, and a terrible jolt shocks its way from your feet up to your skull, jamming all of your bones and innards upward in a series of collisions, like a cue cracking into a line of billiard balls. When the final ball, your brain, is concussed against the top of your cranium, you black out. When you come to, you find yourself shivering from shock, and unfortunately unable to tell the extent of your injuries. A slight movement of your leg brings a searing pain that tells you that you have, at the very least, broken an ankle. South of house This is not your house as you expected to find it, but a scene of devastation. The beautiful tree you planted has split from its scorched trunk and smashed into the side of your house. From what you can see, the roof has been torn open by the weight of it, and a terrifying hole gouged out to fully halfway down the wall. However, the fire seems not to have spread thanks to the fire- resistant shingles. Broken splinters of wet and rotting wood lie everywhere, kept moist by recent rains. To the southwest is the old rock and, farther, the clearing. You can walk around your house to the northwest and northeast. You see a blue pencil, a desk lamp, a tire, a package, and a newspaper here. The package seems to contain a perfect blue crystal, an old pillowcase, a biology book, a cannonball, the time machine manual, a Herring detector, a screwdriver, a frisbee, and a rare book. >undo (Undoing one command) Hanging for dear life You are now upside down, hanging on for dear life from the underside of the tree, trying to support your weight with atrophied muscles, with fingers that can't find a grip on waterlogged bark. You will soon lose your hold on the tree completely. >undo (Undoing one command) Hanging for dear life You are hanging for dear life, with your body slipping around the trunk of the tree. Soon you'll be upside down, trying to support your weight with atrophied muscles, with fingers that can't find a grip on waterlogged bark. >undo (Undoing one command) Hanging for dear life You are hanging for dear life, with your body slipping around the trunk of the tree. Soon you'll be upside down, trying to support your weight with atrophied muscles, with fingers that can't find a grip on waterlogged bark. >undo (Undoing one command) Hanging for dear life You are hanging for dear life, with your body slipping around the trunk of the tree. Soon you'll be upside down, trying to support your weight with atrophied muscles, with fingers that can't find a grip on waterlogged bark. >undo (Undoing one command) Past the halfway point The opening is close now, very close, but your senses are tricking you at every turn now. As you stare at the opening, it seems to recede, as if in a nightmare; this trunk is the hallway that ever extends, that has no end. You look again, and the attic is close, a much shorter distance ahead than the distance you have already traversed. The trunk curves again, making a steeper angle ahead, but the top branches that will be your secure handholds for the last few feet are just ahead, out of reach. Just a little more, and you can grab the nearest of them. Just a little more, and this travail will be over. >n As you start to move, something feels different. The tree is moving; it is starting to shake. You lower yourself into a safer position, hoping to ride it out. Your mind conjures images of some kind of giant animal, like a forest bear, shaking the trunk below you. It then occurs to you that the tree isn't shaking, you are. Your muscles aren't used to this kind of punishment, and your arms are starting to quake involuntarily. You try to relax, and eventually your arms stop shaking, only you still feel the movement in the tree. Perhaps it isn't just you. You look at the ground, at the base of the tree, for the first time in many minutes. You see nothing unusual, but vertigo overtakes you when you see the great distance to the ground. Instinctively, you shut your eyes to block out the sight, but as soon as you shut them your sense of equilibrium completely fails you. Are you slipping? You wrap your limbs completely around the tree again, unable to look, but you feel your body sagging to one side, your weight rotating around the slickened bark of the tree. Panicking, you squeeze tighter and tighter, but you are unable to find friction enough to stop your movement. A sudden twang of reptile-brain fear opens your eyes and puts you into full, unthinking panic. Your body has shifted, and you are starting to fall off the tree. Your fingernails search for a hold, your legs clamp as if to snap the trunk in two, but you can't hang on much longer. Hanging for dear life You are hanging for dear life, with your body slipping around the trunk of the tree. Soon you'll be upside down, trying to support your weight with atrophied muscles, with fingers that can't find a grip on waterlogged bark. You feel your body shift again. >u You strain your over-tensed, over-taxed muscles, desperately trying to find some leverage, some way of making it back upright, back on top of the branch. You find you cannot. Every effort you make, effort to the point of snapping your super-taut tendons, only serves to increase your pain, your desperation, and your chances of falling any second now. You feel your body shift again. >u You strain your over-tensed, over-taxed muscles, desperately trying to find some leverage, some way of making it back upright, back on top of the branch. You find you cannot. Every effort you make, effort to the point of snapping your super-taut tendons, only serves to increase your pain, your desperation, and your chances of falling any second now. You shift again, and are now sideways on the tree and slipping around faster. >u You strain your over-tensed, over-taxed muscles, desperately trying to find some leverage, some way of making it back upright, back on top of the branch. You find you cannot. Every effort you make, effort to the point of snapping your super-taut tendons, only serves to increase your pain, your desperation, and your chances of falling any second now. Your body shifts all the way around, and you are now clinging to the underside of the tree. You will soon lose your hold completely. >s You have to stop yourself from falling. You let go of the trunk with your legs, and the weight of them dropping is enough to pull your hands free of the slippery bark. You plummet far and fast, and a terrible jolt shocks its way from your feet up to your skull, jamming all of your bones and innards upward in a series of collisions, like a cue cracking into a line of billiard balls. When the final ball, your brain, is concussed against the top of your cranium, you black out. When you come to, you find yourself shivering from shock, and unfortunately unable to tell the extent of your injuries. A slight movement of your leg brings a searing pain that tells you that you have, at the very least, broken an ankle. South of house This is not your house as you expected to find it, but a scene of devastation. The beautiful tree you planted has split from its scorched trunk and smashed into the side of your house. From what you can see, the roof has been torn open by the weight of it, and a terrifying hole gouged out to fully halfway down the wall. However, the fire seems not to have spread thanks to the fire- resistant shingles. Broken splinters of wet and rotting wood lie everywhere, kept moist by recent rains. To the southwest is the old rock and, farther, the clearing. You can walk around your house to the northwest and northeast. You see a blue pencil, a desk lamp, a tire, a package, and a newspaper here. The package seems to contain a perfect blue crystal, an old pillowcase, a biology book, a cannonball, the time machine manual, a Herring detector, a screwdriver, a frisbee, and a rare book. >undo (Undoing one command) Hanging for dear life You are now upside down, hanging on for dear life from the underside of the tree, trying to support your weight with atrophied muscles, with fingers that can't find a grip on waterlogged bark. You will soon lose your hold on the tree completely. >undo (Undoing one command) Hanging for dear life You are hanging for dear life, with your body slipping around the trunk of the tree. Soon you'll be upside down, trying to support your weight with atrophied muscles, with fingers that can't find a grip on waterlogged bark. >undo (Undoing one command) Hanging for dear life You are hanging for dear life, with your body slipping around the trunk of the tree. Soon you'll be upside down, trying to support your weight with atrophied muscles, with fingers that can't find a grip on waterlogged bark. >undo (Undoing one command) Hanging for dear life You are hanging for dear life, with your body slipping around the trunk of the tree. Soon you'll be upside down, trying to support your weight with atrophied muscles, with fingers that can't find a grip on waterlogged bark. >undo (Undoing one command) Past the halfway point The opening is close now, very close, but your senses are tricking you at every turn now. As you stare at the opening, it seems to recede, as if in a nightmare; this trunk is the hallway that ever extends, that has no end. You look again, and the attic is close, a much shorter distance ahead than the distance you have already traversed. The trunk curves again, making a steeper angle ahead, but the top branches that will be your secure handholds for the last few feet are just ahead, out of reach. Just a little more, and you can grab the nearest of them. Just a little more, and this travail will be over. >undo (Undoing one command) Halfway along the trunk You have reached a distance halfway between the tree behind you and the attic in front of you. Rather than feeling good about having made it this far, your pulse is quickened when you recognize what you have lost by coming this far: stability. The trunk was solid and stable at the base, where it is connected to the tree, but here in the middle it bows and sways under your weight. You feel it sagging, and when you do not sit still, it bounces and sways. >undo (Undoing one command) Point of no return You realize now that you have reached the point of no return. You are just a little short of the halfway point, and to go forward any more will mean committing to the rest of the crawl. The safety of the tree will be too far behind you to risk moving backwards. >undo (Undoing one command) Farther along the trunk You have made your way about five feet along the trunk towards the attic. Your distorted sense of equilibrium is starting to induce a sense of fear, because at any odd moment you feel as if you are starting to pitch to one side or the other. Holding fast, you remind yourself that you are not losing your balance, but are only fearing that you might. If you go just a bit farther, you will be halfway there. Seeing this boosts your courage. >undo (Undoing one command) Along the trunk The trunk is slicker than you thought, and the ground is farther away, a wet gray mass that will not be a comfortable landing should you fall. At this point, the base of the tree is still nearby, so after a few deep breaths to collect yourself, you feel secure enough to continue. >undo (Undoing one command) Mid-way up tree You are mid-way up the tree, or what used to be. The broken top half of the trunk extends at a slight vertical angle, the top branches poking into the broken house. You can climb back down to the ground. More dangerously, you can shimmy north along the slick, broken trunk that leads into the open attic of the house. >undo (Undoing one command) South of house This is not your house as you expected to find it, but a scene of devastation. The beautiful tree you planted has split from its scorched trunk and smashed into the side of your house. From what you can see, the roof has been torn open by the weight of it, and a terrifying hole gouged out to fully halfway down the wall. However, the fire seems not to have spread thanks to the fire- resistant shingles. Broken splinters of wet and rotting wood lie everywhere, kept moist by recent rains. To the southwest is the old rock and, farther, the clearing. You can walk around your house to the northwest and northeast. >nw Behind house The house is burned and crippled, a shadow of its former pleasant beauty. The southern roof has been torn open by the weight of a fallen tree. However, the fire seems not to have spread very far, thanks to the fire-resistant shingles. The dead trees that line the west edge of the property seem to regard the scene with a sagelike sadness. A gravel path extends northeast and southeast. >ne North of house The house is burned and crippled, a shadow of its former pleasant beauty. The southern roof has been torn open by the weight of a fallen tree. However, the fire seems not to have spread very far, thanks to the fire-resistant shingles. The driveway extends east, and a small path leads southeast to the front of the house and southwest to the back. A scaled stone wall runs up the side of the house. >u You climb gingerly up the stone wall. North roof This is the north end of the roof. The shingles are in good shape, even after twenty years of weather and recent natural disaster. Someone obviously took the time and care to do this roof job right. A gutter trap, clogged with leaves, runs along the length of the west side of the house. The roof itself continues south. The stone wall, which turns out to be the outside of your chimney, leads back down. >s South roof The shingles are in good shape, even after twenty years of weather, but you can't say much for the roof itself. It is dangerous to walk very far along the south roof, because most of it is gone now, chewed open by the trunk of a large tree, planted too close too the house and felled by a severe lightning strike. The roof shingles seem to have kept the fire from spreading, but nothing could stop the sheer damage caused by the massive tree trunk slashing into the house like a troll's axe through a soft elven skull. The only exit is north. >d You will fall off the roof if you go in that direction. >i You are carrying: a blue pencil a desk lamp a tire a package a perfect blue crystal an old pillowcase a library book a car key a garage door opener a #2 pencil a tourist map a crowbar a divining rod a can of WD-40 a paper napkin a can-opener a shovel a machete a biology book a cannonball the time machine manual a Herring detector a screwdriver a frisbee a rare book a newspaper >n North roof This is the north end of the roof. The shingles are in good shape, even after twenty years of weather and recent natural disaster. Someone obviously took the time and care to do this roof job right. A gutter trap, clogged with leaves, runs along the length of the west side of the house. The roof itself continues south. The stone wall, which turns out to be the outside of your chimney, leads back down. >d You climb gingerly down the stone wall. North of house The house is burned and crippled, a shadow of its former pleasant beauty. The southern roof has been torn open by the weight of a fallen tree. However, the fire seems not to have spread very far, thanks to the fire-resistant shingles. The driveway extends east, and a small path leads southeast to the front of the house and southwest to the back. A scaled stone wall runs up the side of the house. >s In the garage This room is a total mess, in a totally new and horrible way than the total mess you were used to. A soiled mattress is lumped into one corner, surrounded by filth and discarded bottles. There's a garage door button on the wall. A door leads south into the kitchen. The garage door to the north is open. You see a wall opener button here. Fred is here, sitting on a soiled mattress. >s Kitchen The kitchen has been looted and trashed, as if anger had been vented upon it once its supplies ran out. Every cabinet and drawer has been opened, and some of the drawers are heaped in a broken pile on the floor. The refrigerator is wide open and full of disgusting green stains and patterns of blackening mold. The stove has been dented and shows evidence of muddy footprints having stood on top of it and kicked it. The small kitchen table has been overturned in the western corner of the room. Windows look out west and east to the back and front yards. The dining room is west, and the foyer is to the south. A back door leads north into the garage. >s Foyer The entryway to your home has been used as a dumping ground for trash and broken bottles. The tiled floor has been scuffed and scarred, and swirled with what looks suspiciously like tire treads. Open doorways lead to various areas of the house. A broken staircase leads up to the second floor. The front door is east. A hallway leads south, and the dining room is through a doorway to the west. >e You'll have to open the front door first. >open door The outside of the door has been nailed shut with boards and cannot be opened. >u You ascend the staircase. Upstairs hallway You are in the upstairs hallway, but it has been desecrated nearly beyond recognition. The once pristine white carpeting has been stained and burned, and a section of it has been torn up, revealing the shredded matting underneath. The walls have been spraypainted with unreadable graffiti, shocking swirls of black and silver paint. A fist sized hole has been smashed into the east wall, and the light fixture in the ceiling has been torn out, leaving gangly dangling wires and a darkness that oppresses. The hatch ladder leads back up into the attic. A rickety staircase leads down to the bottom floor. To the east is the upstairs bathroom, and a bedroom is to the south. A smaller bedroom is north. Perhaps it is just as well that the lights are out, as they would only illuminate more ugliness, perhaps more than you could bear. >x hole The hole looks like it was made by a fist striking the wall. >look in it For a moment, you are reluctant to put your hand down into the hole, cautious about what you might find. With care, you slip your hand in. You find a bottle of cheap liquor, which you take. >x it The label says "Crow's Feet". >x wires The light fixture has been yanked out of the ceiling, leaving only dangling wires. >get wires They're fixed in place. >pull wires Enough damage has been done already. >u You climb the ladder into the attic. Attic A little attic space, once barely tall enough for you to stand in, now has a huge, gaping hole raked open in the roof and the southern wall. Silvery rivulets of rain water drizzle down from above, pooling in the uneven floorboards. The twisted top of the tree provides a gnarled support structure for the damaged roof. The jagged, splayed ends of a thick brass pipe jut up through the floor. There is a monkey wrench lying lengthwise here, spanning the gap between two floorboards. A ladder attached to a hatch leads down into the darkened house below. >get wrench It's a spanner, but you take it. >[heh.] I don't understand the punctuation "[". >x pipe It looks like it burst open and broke. Sections are missing from the middle, and the ends are sharp jags of splayed metal. >x tree I don't see any tree here. >s The trunk is too unstable to risk a return trip. >[Good thing I didn't risk it, I guess ;-] I don't understand the punctuation "[". >x pipe It looks like it burst open and broke. Sections are missing from the middle, and the ends are sharp jags of splayed metal. >search it You find nothing of interest. >d You descend the hatch ladder. Upstairs hallway You are in the upstairs hallway, but it has been desecrated nearly beyond recognition. The once pristine white carpeting has been stained and burned, and a section of it has been torn up, revealing the shredded matting underneath. The walls have been spraypainted with unreadable graffiti, shocking swirls of black and silver paint. A fist sized hole has been smashed into the east wall, and the light fixture in the ceiling has been torn out, leaving gangly dangling wires and a darkness that oppresses. The hatch ladder leads back up into the attic. A rickety staircase leads down to the bottom floor. To the east is the upstairs bathroom, and a bedroom is to the south. A smaller bedroom is north. >e (Opening the small door) Upstairs bathroom This is a hideous scene of waste and ruin. It looks as if someone took a sledgehammer to the place, destroying the tub and breaking tiles off the walls. The sink has been ripped out, it is gone. Someone attempted to do the same to the toilet, leaving it yanked out at an angle but still attached to the floor. Swimming in the bowl is a foul brackish that fills the room with a rancid stench. The mirror above the sink area is cracked but still attached by its hinges to the medicine cabinet behind it. A broken window looks out into the front yard. The only exit is west, back into the hallway. >x water Swimming in the bowl is a foul brackish that fills the room with a rancid stench. >search it You find nothing of interest. >get it It's fixed in place. >x mirror It's attached to the medicine cabinet. >open it The medicine cabinet is already open! >look in cabinet There's nothing in the medicine cabinet. >x window Outside you see the front of the house. >move toilet You can't move the toilet. >pee >[Another 1010] I don't understand the punctuation "[". >l Upstairs bathroom This is a hideous scene of waste and ruin. It looks as if someone took a sledgehammer to the place, destroying the tub and breaking tiles off the walls. The sink has been ripped out, it is gone. Someone attempted to do the same to the toilet, leaving it yanked out at an angle but still attached to the floor. Swimming in the bowl is a foul brackish that fills the room with a rancid stench. The mirror above the sink area is cracked but still attached by its hinges to the medicine cabinet behind it. A broken window looks out into the front yard. The only exit is west, back into the hallway. >x tiles That isn't important. >w Upstairs hallway You are in the upstairs hallway, but it has been desecrated nearly beyond recognition. The once pristine white carpeting has been stained and burned, and a section of it has been torn up, revealing the shredded matting underneath. The walls have been spraypainted with unreadable graffiti, shocking swirls of black and silver paint. A fist sized hole has been smashed into the east wall, and the light fixture in the ceiling has been torn out, leaving gangly dangling wires and a darkness that oppresses. The hatch ladder leads back up into the attic. A rickety staircase leads down to the bottom floor. To the east is the upstairs bathroom, and a bedroom is to the south. A smaller bedroom is north. >s Upstairs bedroom The larger of the two upstairs bedrooms has been looted, but the mattress and bedframe remain. The graffiti on the walls is sadistic and nasty. A pile of random debris clogs the northern corner of the room. The hallway is to the north. >x mattress That isn't important. >search it That isn't important. >x graffiti The graffiti covers the walls. It is the markings of territorial youth, strange symbols and stylized lettering. What little of it makes sense to you is obscene. >read it The graffiti covers the walls. It is the markings of territorial youth, strange symbols and stylized lettering. What little of it makes sense to you is obscene. >x debris That isn't important. >n Upstairs hallway You are in the upstairs hallway, but it has been desecrated nearly beyond recognition. The once pristine white carpeting has been stained and burned, and a section of it has been torn up, revealing the shredded matting underneath. The walls have been spraypainted with unreadable graffiti, shocking swirls of black and silver paint. A fist sized hole has been smashed into the east wall, and the light fixture in the ceiling has been torn out, leaving gangly dangling wires and a darkness that oppresses. The hatch ladder leads back up into the attic. A rickety staircase leads down to the bottom floor. To the east is the upstairs bathroom, and a bedroom is to the south. A smaller bedroom is north. >n Smaller upstairs bedroom The smaller of the two upstairs bedrooms has a sloped ceiling where it meets the edge of the north roof. Two windows face east, miraculously unbroken but fogged with dirt and sediment from rains. The furniture is all gone -- the bed, the small dresser, the old writing desk -- all that you remember. A picture frame hangs on the wall, but the photo it held is gone, and the glass has been spraypainted over. The hallway is to the south. >x frame I don't see any frame here. >x picture I don't see any picture here. >open window Those aren't important. >s Upstairs hallway You are in the upstairs hallway, but it has been desecrated nearly beyond recognition. The once pristine white carpeting has been stained and burned, and a section of it has been torn up, revealing the shredded matting underneath. The walls have been spraypainted with unreadable graffiti, shocking swirls of black and silver paint. A fist sized hole has been smashed into the east wall, and the light fixture in the ceiling has been torn out, leaving gangly dangling wires and a darkness that oppresses. The hatch ladder leads back up into the attic. A rickety staircase leads down to the bottom floor. To the east is the upstairs bathroom, and a bedroom is to the south. A smaller bedroom is north. >w There is nowhere to go in that direction. >exits The hatch ladder leads back up into the attic. A rickety staircase leads down to the bottom floor. To the east is the upstairs bathroom, and a bedroom is to the south. A smaller bedroom is north. >d You descend the staircase. Foyer The entryway to your home has been used as a dumping ground for trash and broken bottles. The tiled floor has been scuffed and scarred, and swirled with what looks suspiciously like tire treads. Open doorways lead to various areas of the house. A broken staircase leads up to the second floor. The front door is east. A hallway leads south, and the dining room is through a doorway to the west. >exits A broken staircase leads up to the second floor. The front door is east. A hallway leads south, and the dining room is through a doorway to the west. >s Downstairs hallway The hallway is dark and feels cramped due to the collected refuse that has built up along the wall. Graffiti covers every flat surface, as usual. There is no sign of the photographs that used to hang here. The foyer is north, and a doorway into the living room is west. The master bedroom is to the south. A small door leads east into a half bathroom. >w Living room The tv set is no longer on a stand, it sits against the northern wall under a stack of pizza boxes that emit a rude odor. A stained and beaten couch -- not your own -- sits to the south, facing the television set. Some of its cushions are missing, but it doesn't look as if it were particularly comfortable even in its prime. Bent and twisted blinds hang over the west-facing windows. The dining room is north, and a doorway into the hallway is east. >move couch You can't move the couch. >x boxes As you near the pizza boxes, they suddenly shift. With a violent surge, more cockroaches than you care to count run crazy out of the boxes in all directions. Within seconds, they have all disappeared again into various nooks and crannies of the room. >[ack!] I don't understand the punctuation "[". >search boxes Those aren't important. Also, you're not sure that you want to stir up any more of the local wildlife. >e Downstairs hallway The hallway is dark and feels cramped due to the collected refuse that has built up along the wall. Graffiti covers every flat surface, as usual. There is no sign of the photographs that used to hang here. The foyer is north, and a doorway into the living room is west. The master bedroom is to the south. A small door leads east into a half bathroom. >w Living room The tv set is no longer on a stand, it sits against the northern wall under a stack of pizza boxes that emit a rude odor. A stained and beaten couch -- not your own -- sits to the south, facing the television set. Some of its cushions are missing, but it doesn't look as if it were particularly comfortable even in its prime. Bent and twisted blinds hang over the west-facing windows. The dining room is north, and a doorway into the hallway is east. >n Dining room The dining room, which you had recently converted into a study area, has been kicked around and spraypainted in a similar fashion to the other rooms in the house, but the large table remains standing where you left it. Piled upon it are empty cans and bottles, and its surface is mottled with cigarette burns and knife marks. A bookcase that stood in the southern corner of the room is missing, but a pile of yellow, water-damaged books remains in its place, underneath more trash. Two large windows face west out to the back yard. The fireplace, too, is cluttered with debris. The kitchen is east, and the living room is to the south. A doorway at the southeast corner of the room leads to the foyer. >s Living room The tv set is no longer on a stand, it sits against the northern wall under a stack of pizza boxes that emit a rude odor. A stained and beaten couch -- not your own -- sits to the south, facing the television set. Some of its cushions are missing, but it doesn't look as if it were particularly comfortable even in its prime. Bent and twisted blinds hang over the west-facing windows. The dining room is north, and a doorway into the hallway is east. >e Downstairs hallway The hallway is dark and feels cramped due to the collected refuse that has built up along the wall. Graffiti covers every flat surface, as usual. There is no sign of the photographs that used to hang here. The foyer is north, and a doorway into the living room is west. The master bedroom is to the south. A small door leads east into a half bathroom. >s Master bedroom This is your bedroom, the one you've been longing all night to get back to. Unfortunately, there is no place to sleep here, even if you could close your eyes to the general nightmare that your house has become. The bed is missing. The large dresser that used to stand in the southeast corner of the room has been toppled over, and its spilled contents have been thoroughly looted, leaving nothing behind but some soiled linens. Ratty curtains are open to the west side of the house, letting some amount of somber, muted light in. The dimensions of the room look slightly smaller than you remember. Perhaps it is a trick of the eyes due to the unsettling damage. The foyer is north through the hallway, and the master bathroom is to the east. A secret door is open to the southeast. >se Secret passage The secret passage is a narrow hallway of sorts, only about twelve feet long and three and a half feet wide. The walls are bare plaster and sheet rock. Various springs and tumblers are connected together in an elegant set of mechanisms to open the doors. A small light bulb hangs from the ceiling, but it was left on and burned out long ago. There is barely enough light seeping in through the closed door to see by. The short hallway dead-ends at a crudely-carved staircase leading down. There is another door to the west, and you can go out the way you came in. >s (Opening the main door) South of house This is not your house as you expected to find it, but a scene of devastation. The beautiful tree you planted has split from its scorched trunk and smashed into the side of your house. From what you can see, the roof has been torn open by the weight of it, and a terrifying hole gouged out to fully halfway down the wall. However, the fire seems not to have spread thanks to the fire- resistant shingles. Broken splinters of wet and rotting wood lie everywhere, kept moist by recent rains. To the southwest is the old rock and, farther, the clearing. You can walk around your house to the northwest and northeast. A secret door is open to the north. >n Secret passage The secret passage is a narrow hallway of sorts, only about twelve feet long and three and a half feet wide. The walls are bare plaster and sheet rock. Various springs and tumblers are connected together in an elegant set of mechanisms to open the doors. A small light bulb hangs from the ceiling, but it was left on and burned out long ago. The only light in the passage is from the open door. The short hallway dead-ends at a crudely-carved staircase leading down. There is another door to the west, and you can go out the way you came in. >d Secret chamber Whether this nondescript room existed before the secret passage was made is unclear to you, but here it is now. It is made of concrete, about thirty feet square, with a fifteen foot ceiling. The floor of room must be at least twenty feet below the ground. The dim amber light, just enough to see by, seems to be coming from the ceiling itself, rather than any kind of recognizable fixture. The only exit that you can see is back up. You see a time machine here. >enter machine Okay, you're now standing on the time machine platform. >push button You push the big red button. Click! The time machine vibrates and heats up like a toaster oven. A bright blue light envelops you. The world around you spins into a wild vortex that suddenly vanishes, leaving you to find yourself in a ... Storage room This room is barely big enough to hold the time machine. It is full of filing cabinets, old computer equipment, stacks of old ledgers and printouts, and other discards. Fluorescent lighting fixtures flicker overhead. The air is conditioned and cold, almost antiseptic smelling. A door leads east. You see a time machine here. >x cabinets I see nothing special about the filing cabinets. >search it There's nothing in the filing cabinets. >x equipmetn I don't know the word "equipmetn". >x equipment The only thing of note about the old computer equipment is that, upon inspection, you see that it actually dates from what you consider to be the present. Wherever you are now, it's considered obsolete junk. >[Heh.] I don't understand the punctuation "[". >get it That isn't important. >x lighting The sky is like a lake a molten fire, the first sunset you ever thought to describe as ugly, as a blight. The sun is a fiery red globe in the west, sizzling and oppressive. >[I can see the sun from the storage room?] I don't understand the punctuation "[". >l Storage room (on the time machine platform) This room is barely big enough to hold the time machine. It is full of filing cabinets, old computer equipment, stacks of old ledgers and printouts, and other discards. Fluorescent lighting fixtures flicker overhead. The air is conditioned and cold, almost antiseptic smelling. A door leads east. You see a time machine here. >x ledgers Those aren't important. >e There is nowhere to go in that direction. >open door It's locked. >unlock it Unlocked. >open it Opened. >e There is nowhere to go in that direction. >enter door Sub-basement hallway You find yourself in a long hallway stretching north and south. Faceless, identical doors line both sides. The floor and ceiling are white, but the walls are a muted blue. To the north the hallway hits a T-intersection, and to the south you see the hallway turn a corner to the east. Immediately to the west is the storage room door. Around the corner to the south, you hear a tiny ringing noise. It sounds like an elevator has just arrived. >[OK, that was weird.] I don't understand the punctuation "[". >w Storage room This room is barely big enough to hold the time machine. It is full of filing cabinets, old computer equipment, stacks of old ledgers and printouts, and other discards. Fluorescent lighting fixtures flicker overhead. The air is conditioned and cold, almost antiseptic smelling. A door leads east. You see a time machine here. >close door Closed. >z Time passes... >z Time passes... >z Time passes... >e (Opening the door) Sub-basement hallway You find yourself in a long hallway stretching north and south. Faceless, identical doors line both sides. The floor and ceiling are white, but the walls are a muted blue. To the north the hallway hits a T-intersection, and to the south you see the hallway turn a corner to the east. Immediately to the west is the storage room door. >s Corner The hallway turns a corner here, from north to east. Just ahead to the east, the hallway dead-ends at a trio of elevators. >e Elevator room The hallway dead-ends here, but this is probably as far as you need to go. The elevators for this floor are here. One of them has recently arrived. The only way back is to the west. >x elevator Two of the elevators are moving in halting steps between high-level floors. One of them has recently arrived here. >w Corner The hallway turns a corner here, from north to east. Just ahead to the east, the hallway dead-ends at a trio of elevators. >n Sub-basement hallway You find yourself in a long hallway stretching north and south. Faceless, identical doors line both sides. The floor and ceiling are white, but the walls are a muted blue. To the north the hallway hits a T-intersection, and to the south you see the hallway turn a corner to the east. Immediately to the west is the storage room door. >n T-intersection The halls intersect here, with the north-going hall meeting a seeming-endless east-west hall. They stretch as far as you can see, splitting off into other intersections, and with more faceless doors spaced evenly along the way. The hallway returns south. The hallways heading east and west from here are endless and are not worth exploring. >x doors I see nothing special about the faceless doors. >s Sub-basement hallway You find yourself in a long hallway stretching north and south. Faceless, identical doors line both sides. The floor and ceiling are white, but the walls are a muted blue. To the north the hallway hits a T-intersection, and to the south you see the hallway turn a corner to the east. Immediately to the west is the storage room door. >s Corner The hallway turns a corner here, from north to east. Just ahead to the east, the hallway dead-ends at a trio of elevators. >e Elevator room The hallway dead-ends here, but this is probably as far as you need to go. The elevators for this floor are here. One of them has recently arrived. The only way back is to the west. >e There is nowhere to go in that direction. >enter elevator In the elevator You are in a spacious, gleaming little elevator car. A brass panel near the doors contains a large array of possible destinations. The only exit is out. >x panel The panel has a set of numbered buttons that go from 2 to 70, as well as buttons labeled SB, B, and L. >push sb You push the SB button. Nothing happens. >push b You push the B button. The elevator begins to move. After a smooth ride, it arrives at the basement. >out Nabbed by guards The elevator doors part to reveal a set of massive security guards, each itching for a reason to withdraw their weapons and take you down violently. A walkie-talkie crackles to life on someone's hip. "We have the suspect," someone responds. Hands grab you and pin your arms back. "Don't you know that trespassing is a serious offense? You could do jail time for this." A different voice leans close to your ear and whispers, "These people ain't known for their lenience, you know? You don't want to be messing with them. Whatever they tell you to do, you do it, hear?" You are escorted to an empty holding room on the top floor of the building. The door shuts, and is locked from outside. Holding room There is nothing to see here, nowhere to sit, and nothing to do. The walls are painted a severe midnight blue. The ceiling, twelve feet high, holds a row of fluorescent lights. The door, painted the same color as the walls, is only barely visible. There is no knob or handle on this side of the door. There are no exits from the room, as far as you can tell. All of your possessions have been taken from you. >undo (Undoing one command) In the elevator You are in a spacious, gleaming little elevator car. A brass panel near the doors contains a large array of possible destinations. The only exit is out. >x panel The panel has a set of numbered buttons that go from 2 to 70, as well as buttons labeled SB, B, and L. >push 70 You push the button for floor 70. The elevator begins to move. After a smooth ride, it arrives at floor 70. >out Floor 70 Elevators The elevator doors part to reveal someone massive blocking your way. Your first instinct is to assume it is a set of muscular security guards but, perhaps more frighteningly, it is just one, really imposing, man. His bulk has been fitted into a tailored, double-breasted wool suit at great expense and to the textile industry's tremendous gain. "You certainly know how to attract attention," he says to you. "Don't you know that there are security cameras everywhere? Either you're dumber than you look, or you wanted to be seen." He escorts you, with no further words, to an empty holding room on the top floor of the building. "Please wait here," he says politely, as if you had some choice in the matter. The door shuts, and is locked from outside. Holding room There is nothing to see here, nowhere to sit, and nothing to do. The walls are painted a severe midnight blue. The ceiling, twelve feet high, holds a row of fluorescent lights. The door, painted the same color as the walls, is only barely visible. There is no knob or handle on this side of the door. There are no exits from the room, as far as you can tell. All of your possessions have been taken from you. >undo (Undoing one command) In the elevator You are in a spacious, gleaming little elevator car. A brass panel near the doors contains a large array of possible destinations. The only exit is out. >push sb You push the SB button. The elevator begins to move. After a smooth ride, it arrives at the sub-basement. >out Elevator room The hallway dead-ends here, but this is probably as far as you need to go. The elevators for this floor are here. One of them has recently arrived. The only way back is to the west. >w Corner The hallway turns a corner here, from north to east. Just ahead to the east, the hallway dead-ends at a trio of elevators. >n Sub-basement hallway You find yourself in a long hallway stretching north and south. Faceless, identical doors line both sides. The floor and ceiling are white, but the walls are a muted blue. To the north the hallway hits a T-intersection, and to the south you see the hallway turn a corner to the east. Immediately to the west is the storage room door. >w Storage room This room is barely big enough to hold the time machine. It is full of filing cabinets, old computer equipment, stacks of old ledgers and printouts, and other discards. Fluorescent lighting fixtures flicker overhead. The air is conditioned and cold, almost antiseptic smelling. A door leads east. You see a time machine here. >save Saved. >enter machine Okay, you're now standing on the time machine platform. >set dial to 1 Okay, it's now turned to 1. >push button You push the big red button. Click! The time machine vibrates and heats up like a toaster oven. A deep red light envelops you. The world around you spins into a wild vortex that suddenly vanishes, leaving you to find yourself in a ... Secret chamber Whether this nondescript room existed before the secret passage was made is unclear to you, but here it is now. It is made of concrete, about thirty feet square, with a fifteen foot ceiling. The floor of room must be at least twenty feet below the ground. The dim amber light, just enough to see by, seems to be coming from the ceiling itself, rather than any kind of recognizable fixture. The only exit that you can see is back up. You see a time machine here. >z Time passes... >z Time passes... >z Time passes... >z Time passes... >z Time passes... >z Time passes... >push button You push the big red button. Click! Nothing seems to happen. I wonder why. >push button You push the big red button. Click! The time machine vibrates and heats up like a toaster oven. A deep red light envelops you. The world around you spins into a wild vortex that suddenly vanishes, leaving you to find yourself in a ... Crystal cavern You are in a large cavern that seems to be an enormous natural geode, with crystals as big as your head growing in splints and shafts from every direction. A pool of white water catches the reflected and refracted light and spins it back into the room, where it is caught and re-refracted. The original source of the light seems to be a series of pinholes in the roof of the cavern high above, but you don't think it could be sunlight. You have lost track of how deep you have gone, perhaps twenty, perhaps forty feet under the surface, but too far down to see sunlight, you would have thought. It is possible that sunlight has periscoped down a set of small crystal encrusted shafts that lead far enough up to see the open sky. In any case, it is literally mesmerizing to be here. The only exit is a tunnel to the west. You see crystals and a time machine here. The divining rod vibrates, pulling to the water. >[Hey, neat.] I don't understand the punctuation "[". >x crystals Crystals as big as your head and as delicately small as your fingernail are growing in splints and shafts from every direction. >get crystals There aren't any other crystals loose enough to take. >set dial to 4 Okay, it's now turned to 4. >push button You push the big red button. Click! The time machine vibrates and heats up like a toaster oven. A bright blue light envelops you. The world around you spins into a wild vortex that suddenly vanishes, leaving you to find yourself in a ... Broken cavern You are in a large cavern that seems to have once been an enormous natural geode, with crystals as big as your head growing in splints and shafts from every direction. What you see now are shattered shards. The rock ceiling from which the crystals grew overhead has crumbled, sending a half-ton of debris smashing down, burying what has not destroyed. Whether by accident or design you cannot guess, but the time machine has arrived in perhaps the only clear area amid the rubble. Still, it doesn't feel safe here. You hear the pounding and trampling of construction work going on directly overhead, and with each thump more rock clatters down from above. If you stay long, you will probably take a large stone to the head. There are no exits from this cavern. You see a time machine here. The divining rod vibrates, pulling to the water. >[Aw, how sad.] I don't understand the punctuation "[". >x water I don't see any water here. >follow rod I don't know how to follow the divining rod. >w (first getting off the platform) Okay, you're no longer on the time machine platform. The rubble has sealed off all exits from the cavern. >s The rubble has sealed off all exits from the cavern. >enter machine Okay, you're now standing on the time machine platform. >push button You push the big red button. Click! The time machine vibrates and heats up like a toaster oven. A bright blue light envelops you. The world around you spins into a wild vortex that suddenly vanishes, leaving you to find yourself in a ... Secret chamber Whether this nondescript room existed before the secret passage was made is unclear to you, but here it is now. It is made of concrete, about thirty feet square, with a fifteen foot ceiling. The floor of room must be at least twenty feet below the ground. The dim amber light, just enough to see by, seems to be coming from the ceiling itself, rather than any kind of recognizable fixture. The only exit that you can see is back up. You see a time machine here. >search room I don't see any room here. >search What do you want to search? >chamber I don't see any chamber here. >search floor You find nothing of interest. >search walls I don't see any walls here. >search all You can't use 'all' with that verb. >x ceiling The dim amber light, just enough to see by, seems to be coming from the ceiling itself, rather than any kind of recognizable fixture. Perhaps it is a subtle technology, one you have never seen before. >u (first getting off the platform) Okay, you're no longer on the time machine platform. Secret passage The secret passage is a narrow hallway of sorts, only about twelve feet long and three and a half feet wide. The walls are bare plaster and sheet rock. Various springs and tumblers are connected together in an elegant set of mechanisms to open the doors. A small light bulb hangs from the ceiling, giving the room some gentle illumnation. The short hallway dead-ends at a crudely-carved staircase leading down. There is another door to the west, and you can go out the way you came in. >d Secret chamber Whether this nondescript room existed before the secret passage was made is unclear to you, but here it is now. It is made of concrete, about thirty feet square, with a fifteen foot ceiling. The floor of room must be at least twenty feet below the ground. The dim amber light, just enough to see by, seems to be coming from the ceiling itself, rather than any kind of recognizable fixture. The only exit that you can see is back up. You see a time machine here. >x machine It's a large contraption that's about the size and shape of an engine block, and made of solid metal. It sits on a platform that is welded firmly to the machine itself. On the front is a knob and a large red button. On the back side of it is a hinged compartment. There is a label on the knob. You feel heat radiating from the machine. The machine is covered by a layer of dust, as if it had been sitting here for some time. >push machine u There are words after your command I couldn't use. >push machine Pushing the time machine doesn't do anything. >push machine s You can't seem to do that. >i You are carrying: a blue pencil a desk lamp a tire a package a perfect blue crystal an old pillowcase a library book a car key a garage door opener a #2 pencil a tourist map a crowbar a divining rod a can of WD-40 a paper napkin a can-opener a shovel a machete a biology book a cannonball the time machine manual a Herring detector a screwdriver a frisbee a rare book a newspaper a bottle of cheap liquor a monkey wrench >s Secret passage The secret passage is a narrow hallway of sorts, only about twelve feet long and three and a half feet wide. The walls are bare plaster and sheet rock. Various springs and tumblers are connected together in an elegant set of mechanisms to open the doors. A small light bulb hangs from the ceiling, giving the room some gentle illumnation. The short hallway dead-ends at a crudely-carved staircase leading down. There is another door to the west, and you can go out the way you came in. >s (Opening the main door) South of house The ground slopes down slightly here, and the wall of the house looms an extra story high because of it. There is a tiny window high in the wall, about 30 feet up. There is a rope dangling from the window. A little path made by you on your many daily walks leads southwest into the woods. You can walk around your house to the northwest and northeast. A secret door is open to the north. A beautiful, leafy tree is growing here next to the house, right where you always thought it should. >ne Front of house This is the front of your house. A couple of stones laying about make up your half-hearted attempt at landscaping. Your driveway is to the northeast. A small path leads northwest and southwest. The front door stands invitingly to the west. You see a doormat here. >ne Driveway This is your front driveway, which leads west to the north side of your house. A small path leads southwest to the front door. To the east is the road into town. You see a little car here. The trunk seems to contain a spare tire and a jack. >e Sidewalk The concrete sidewalk that leads away from your house is starting to show the wear and tear of the hot summers and cool winters. The sections are uneven and tufts of grass poke up through the cracks. The sidewalk wanders east alongside the road away from your house and toward the nearby shopping village. Your driveway is back to the west. You see a mailbox here. >e Bend in path As you approach the local nub of suburban civilization, you again are reminded that community expansion has a price. A small shrubbery here serves, apparently, as an excuse for people to litter, as it is full of bits of trash. The footpath bends here from west to north, leading into the shopping village. You see a sewer grating here. The divining rod vibrates, pulling to the sewer hole. >n In the village This little shopping village is attractively decorated with colored signs pointing you to this merchant and that. To the west is the bank, and to the east is the public library. Because it is late, the only thing open is the sandwich shop, which is to the north. The sidewalk leading home is south. >n In the sandwich shop The room is painted a gaudy yellow color. On closer inspection, it is merely spattered with mustard stains. That's the kind of shop this is, I guess -- heavily frequented because it's the only one nearby. There's a counter, a menu, a big advertisement, and a row of tables and chairs. The door is to the south. Fred, the sandwich guy, is standing at the counter. Fred swats away a pesky fly. >ask fred about drinking Fred says, "I drink a little bit, after work. I mean, a couple of shots of whiskey, maybe four or five beers. I mean, that's not too much, right? That's normal, huh?" Fred says, "Sorry, I don't know why I'm telling you this. I guess I'm trying to tell myself I'll be all right, huh? You know, sometimes I wish I could see myself in the future, so that I knew I was going to turn out all right. I think I will, I mean, I hope so. I mean..." Fred puts on a cheerful face. "Hey, I'm just talking. Talk talk talk. Maybe you should tell me something I don't know." >show liquor to fred He says, "I stay away from that cheap stuff. My dad used to drink that rotgut. Not that I really drink." He winks at you and says, "Not on the job, anyway." >fred, you're going to ruin your life I don't know the word "you're". >give liquor to fred Fred doesn't want the bottle of cheap liquor. Fred swats away a pesky fly. >tell fred about drinking You can't think of anything interesting to say about that. >tell fred about liquor You tell Fred what you know about the bottle of cheap liquor, but it doesn't amount to much, and the conversation sort of ends there. >s In the village This little shopping village is attractively decorated with colored signs pointing you to this merchant and that. To the west is the bank, and to the east is the public library. Because it is late, the only thing open is the sandwich shop, which is to the north. The sidewalk leading home is south. >w You'll have to open the bank first. >open bank It's locked. >unlock it What do you want to unlock it with? >key It doesn't fit the lock. >w You'll have to open the bank first. >s Bend in path As you approach the local nub of suburban civilization, you again are reminded that community expansion has a price. A small shrubbery here serves, apparently, as an excuse for people to litter, as it is full of bits of trash. The footpath bends here from west to north, leading into the shopping village. You see a sewer grating here. The divining rod vibrates, pulling to the sewer hole. >n In the village This little shopping village is attractively decorated with colored signs pointing you to this merchant and that. To the west is the bank, and to the east is the public library. Because it is late, the only thing open is the sandwich shop, which is to the north. The sidewalk leading home is south. >s Bend in path As you approach the local nub of suburban civilization, you again are reminded that community expansion has a price. A small shrubbery here serves, apparently, as an excuse for people to litter, as it is full of bits of trash. The footpath bends here from west to north, leading into the shopping village. You see a sewer grating here. The divining rod vibrates, pulling to the sewer hole. >w Sidewalk The concrete sidewalk that leads away from your house is starting to show the wear and tear of the hot summers and cool winters. The sections are uneven and tufts of grass poke up through the cracks. The sidewalk wanders east alongside the road away from your house and toward the nearby shopping village. Your driveway is back to the west. You see a mailbox here. >s There is nowhere to go in that direction. >w Driveway This is your front driveway, which leads west to the north side of your house. A small path leads southwest to the front door. To the east is the road into town. You see a little car here. The trunk seems to contain a spare tire and a jack. >s There is nowhere to go in that direction. >sw Front of house This is the front of your house. A couple of stones laying about make up your half-hearted attempt at landscaping. Your driveway is to the northeast. A small path leads northwest and southwest. The front door stands invitingly to the west. You see a doormat here. >sw South of house The ground slopes down slightly here, and the wall of the house looms an extra story high because of it. There is a tiny window high in the wall, about 30 feet up. There is a rope dangling from the window. A little path made by you on your many daily walks leads southwest into the woods. You can walk around your house to the northwest and northeast. A secret door is open to the north. A beautiful, leafy tree is growing here next to the house, right where you always thought it should. >sw Path in the woods This little spot is one of your favorite places to sit and think. A well-trod path winds through a natural grove of cedar and live oak trees. A large rock juts up out of the ground right in your way, so the path does an abrupt curve around it. The path leads northeast to your house, and a clearing is visible to the southwest. >sw Clearing The woods part in a marvelous natural clearing here. Moonlight streams prettily through the canopy of leaves above. The ground is hard and flat and clean. Your footpath leaves the clearing to the northeast, heading back to the house. You see a time machine here. Sitting on the time machine platform is a wheelbarrow. >enter machine Okay, you're now standing on the time machine platform. >set dial to 2 Okay, it's now turned to 2. >push button You push the big red button. Click! The time machine vibrates and heats up like a toaster oven. A dull orange light envelops you. The world around you spins into a wild vortex that suddenly vanishes, leaving you to find yourself in a ... Clearing The woods part in a marvelous natural clearing here. Light streams prettily through the canopy of leaves above. The ground is hard and flat and clean. You can see a construction site through the woods to the northeast. You see a time machine here. Sitting on the time machine platform is a wheelbarrow. >push wheelbarrow ne (first getting off the platform) Okay, you're no longer on the time machine platform. Woods The smell of freshly-sawed wood wafts through this natural grove of cedar and live oak trees. A large rock juts up out of the ground right in your way. A construction site is to the northeast, and a clearing is visible to the southwest. You see a wheelbarrow here. >g South of house You are standing on what will be the south side of your house. The house is currently under construction. The wooden frame has gone up, but apart from that, there's not much to see. The ground slopes down slightly here, and the wall of the house looms an extra story high because of it. A little bare path made by you just now leads southwest into the woods. You can walk around the house to the northwest and northeast. To the east is a dirt road leading to town. You see a sapling and a wheelbarrow here. >g Front of house You are standing in what will be the front of your house. The house is currently under construction. The wooden frame has gone up, but apart from that, there's not much to see. A construction blockade is to the northeast, preventing you from stepping on the freshly-poured cement driveway. You can walk around the house to the northwest and southwest. You can go around the driveway and find the road into town to the southeast. You see a wheelbarrow here. >g You can't walk across the newly-poured cement driveway. You can't walk across the newly-poured cement driveway. >undo >undo >[ack! I don't understand the punctuation "[". >[(stack overflow)] I don't understand the punctuation "[". >push wheelbarrow sw >l >l >[arr.] I don't understand the punctuation "[". >restore >quit >restore >