Absence of Law
by mathbrush (2017)
Genres: Science Fiction

Excuse me, can you help me? Yes, you, browsing IFDB games! I need your assistance, but I don't have long. There's so much going on: remote surveillance, unauthorized cloning, forgotten languages, robots playing poker. It's time to take control!

action: %
response: Hello? Can you read this? Yes, you, running this program.
Excellent, I seem to be getting through!

I died, recently, and I'd prefer not to stay that way. I have two hours of backup battery life left, if I hibernate. Can you help me? I run a lab with people who can restore life, but they don't know that I'm dead, and none of their resurrection projects are ready yet.

You can help them. They must complete their projects before my
backup battery dies, or everything that's left of me will be gone. I'll log you into the server right now.

Thank you! Oh, and before I forget:

My name is Dr. Law.
My name is Dr. Law.P.S. My OS is a little...unusual.
Please be patient with him. He'll probably think you are me. Logging you on now...
Remote access enabled...

Starting DaedalOS 2.5

-Dr. Law, thank you for logging back on. It has been 47 hours and 35 minutes since your last login. The search for your body can now be cancelled. The candidate search for your replacement will also be terminated. The flowers are, unfortunately, non-refundable.

-Your brain backup unit has been turned on somehow, and it's running low on battery; you have only 120 minutes of battery time remaining before it dies and its backup memory is flushed. I would have had someone plug it in, of course, but you've ordered the command center to be locked down until after the project judging ceremony.

aud - audiovisual control
help - review basic commands
abt - information on DaedalOS
action: About yourself
response: Your webcamera is not compatible with our OS, Dr. Law.

However, if your past trends have continued over the last two days, then you've gained 1.4 kilograms, shrunken by .05 cm, and lost 3 Facebook friends.

aud - enable audiovisual
help - access help information
abt - information on DaedalOS
action: You examine the hand
response: I'm sorry, Dr. Law, I didn't realize you wanted me to go into more detail. There is a marble hand here that has broken off of one of your statues. Otherwise, the room is exactly like you left it, Dr. Law.

Including the bloody handprint, of course.
action: You examine the handprint
response: Oh, after zooming in, it seems the blood was actually jelly. The handprint matches yours, Dr. Law. It appeared two days ago, after the tremor and blackout, right after you disappeared. You must have run out while making your daily sandwich.

There's a dark patch by your throne, but I can't make it out at this level of zoom.
action: You examine throne
response: Zooming in. Dr. Law, I have to apologize, but I don't usually talk about your throne for a reason. I think it's absolutely deplorable. Your throne is made from a ratty, dirty, foul-smelling cubicle that you rescued from your first researcher job. Its very presence soils the marble dais it rests on.

Oh, right, the dark patch: a puddle of red liquid is trailing out from under the cubicle.
action: You examine the liquid
response: Zooming in further. The red liquid is coming from a crushed jelly jar under the desk.

There is a lumpy human-shaped object next to the jelly jar.
action: You look at the object
response: Zooming in further. Dr. Law, the object is-
Zooming in further. Dr. Law, the object is-You hear a cracking sound. Dr. Law, it seems you have pushed the cameras too far. I am restricting the use of zoom to one level from now on.

In the meantime, please finish reviewing the projects prior to the awards ceremony; several of the researchers seem to be having problems. And I know that you are anxious to bring
you-know-who back from the dead, after all these years.

And please, charge your brain backup unit; it seems to be low on battery.

Travel Commands:
hyd - Observe Project HYDRA
med - Observe Project MEDUSA
moi - Observe Project MOIRAI
action: Charge unit
response: I didn't understand the first word or two that you typed, Dr. Law.
action: Hyd
response: Initiating audiovisual link with Project HYDRA... 

This is a spacious, wood-floored room with poor lighting. Several decaying bookcases are positioned around the room. In the center is a 3 m-radius, circular olive-green rug with tattered edges. On the rug are two paisley armchairs and a single end table with a vase of fresh white roses. Twin walnut doors lead north into the laboratory.
The doors are carved in an abstract swirling shape representing the Hydra.

Dr. Law, it seems as if the connected devices in this room are using an enormous amount of energy, almost 20 jigawatts! Please
disconnect these devices before proceeding, or I may be unable to use my full capacities in this lab.

Multiple connected devices detected. Examining an object will determine if it is connected or not.

A fireplace is glowing and crackling.

[You can review available commands at any time by typing COMMANDS, or just C.]
action: You look at Hydra
response: These doors are completely disconnected from the electrical grid, Dr. Law. I have no capability that would allow me to open them.

Dr. Law, I'm receiving an email...

ema - check e-mail
action: Ema
response: Checking unread messages:

 Also, Dr. Ng keeps giving guns to my animatronics.

Stygicorp was founded with an excellent purpose: to bring life back to the one that you love most, Dr. Law. And I believed in that mission; but do you? It seems to me that no one thinks about that anymore; you're all caught up in power trips and one-upmanship.

I've already accepted an offer in Montana. I wish you the best of luck with your endeavors. Please say goodbye to Ginger for me. Tell Ng I'm sorry for abandoning our project.

I'm sorry, Dr. Law.
action: You look around
response: This is a spacious, wood-floored room with poor lighting. Several decaying bookcases are positioned around the room. In the center is a 3 m-radius, circular olive-green rug with tattered edges. On the rug are two paisley armchairs and a single end table with a vase of fresh white roses. Twin walnut doors lead north into the laboratory.
The doors are carved in an abstract swirling shape representing the Hydra.

Multiple connected devices detected.

A fireplace is glowing and crackling.
action: You look at the rug
response: Well, I'm embarrassed to say, Dr. Law, that I cannot provide any additional information. This is just a 3 m-radius, circular olive-green rug with tattered edges. It seems connected to something, but I can't access it directly.
action: You look under the rug
response: Error: Camera angles are not variable to this degree.
action: You examine the chairs
response: The armchairs seem connected to something, Dr. Law, but I cannot access them directly.
action: You examine table
response: In the great nexus of connections and activated devices and hidden features of this room, Dr. Law, this table stands out by being quite unremarkable.
action: You look at the roses
response: It looks like Dr. Singh is still working on his gardening. These roses are not connected to anything.
action: Go north
response: Dr. Law, there seems to be a power drain on the cameras, and I am unable to operate them.

The main power drain is coming from inside the lab itself. I also detect some energy wastage in this lobby. I will be unable to proceed, Dr. Law, until you can reduce HYDRA's energy usage.

Please find what's using all of the electricity in this room. Altogether this room is wasting 20 jigawatts of electricity!
action: You examine the fireplace
response: The fireplace is a video of a fire, playing on a wall-mounted plasma television. You can turn the fireplace off or on as follows:

tel - Turn TV on and off
action: You turn off the tv
response: Dr. Law, I must remind you that I am incapable of directly affecting the physical world.
action: Tel
response: You turn the fireplace off. A mechanized voice says, "Daytime mode selected."

A bookcase panel slides open to reveal a speaker, which plays an enthusiastic version of "Morning" from the Peer Gynt suite.

The drapes raise, revealing virtual windows which display a mountain sunrise.

Power levels are dropping, Dr. Law. There are too many active devices; this room is now wasting 40 jigawatts of electricity!
action: You examine the drapes
response: The drapes are moth-eaten velvet. They are currently raised, displaying a virtual sunset. You can raise or lower the drapes as follows:

dra - Raise or lower drapes
action: Dra
response: Lowering the drapes, Dr. Law.

As you lower the drapes, the speaker switches to loud, creepy music.

Darkness falls across the room. A robotic voice says, "Spooky mode activated".

Robotic spiders pour from behind the bookshelves and climb along the cobwebs, which begin to glow and pulse through hidden fiber-optics. The spiders begin to dance along the cobwebs. Dr. Spiel has really outdone herself with her animatronics this year, Dr. Law.

The dancing spiders are consuming an enormous amount of power, Dr. Law. This room is now consuming 70 jigawatts of electricity!
I'm beginning to lose computing function!
action: You examine the spiders
response: The cobwebs are filled with dancing spiders, singing spooky songs. They are glowing through hidden fiber-optics. You can activate or deactivate the cobwebs as follows:

web - Activate or deactivate the webs
action: Web
response: Deactivating the cobwebs, Dr. Law.

A robotic voice says, "Goodnight, and goodbye." 'The Star Spangled Banner' plays loudly from the speakers. All of the drapes raise up, and a brilliant ocean sunset is displayed. The spiders sing along loudly, and the fireplace is now displaying fireworks on its screen, flashing as bright as a strobe light. The rug begins to spin, and the armchairs open big, animatronic eyes and singing cushion-mouths.

Power levels are rising to 100 jigawatts! I may not be able
to maintain my core functions at this rate, Dr. Law!
action: Sing
response: Oh, sorry for interrupting, Dr. Law, but Dr. Singh has just opened the HYDRA door. He looks annoyed. He says, "Dr. Spiel! You're supposed to be cleaning the lab. Stop messing with the lobby!" He looks around, but finds no one. He stalks to a bookcase, shoves it aside, revealing a large, rusty metal switch. He pulls the metal switch, and everything in the room powers down. He pushes back the bookcase, sighs, and walks back to the other room. He closes the door behind him.

This room is now wasting 0 jigawatts, Dr. Law. I still feel a
large energy drain from the HYDRA laboratory to the north, but
I'm sure the cameras will be available now.
action: You go north
response: This stone-floored and wood-walled room is lit by candles in niches. A piece of paper is taped to the wall.

One half of the room is filled with boxing trophies and memorabilia, and exercise equipment. The other half of the room is a filthy mess full of trash. A bunk bed lies between the two. Although the camera doesn't show them, I know that doors lead north and
south, Dr. Law.

You can see Doctor Singh and Sphinx here.

Dr. Singh jumps up on the treadmill, and says, "Let's try one more time, Sphinx! We can do it!" Sphinx jumps up, and they start running together.

[New recording - Repeat]

You hear a wet thud and a scurrying sound from the north. Dr.
Singh doesn't seem to notice.

rec - list recordings
action: Rec
response: Dr. Law, per Stygicorp regulations, I am recording all
conversations. However, the microphone quality in some rooms will restrict the usefulness of some recordings.

I've noticed that the microphone on your current device is not compliant with Stygicorp standards, and cannot communicate with our servers, Dr. Law. If you need voice communication, you can replay any recording over the speakers in the room you're in.

say [something] - play one of your listed recordings (for instance, you can SAY REPEAT)

Recordings:
Repeat - "Let's try one more time! We can do it!"
action: You examine singh
response: A male human.

-Height: 180 cm.

-Approx. weight: 90 kg.

-Approx. age: 30.

-Clothing: navy suit, red tie, grey handkerchief. Hairbun, rolled beard.

-Personality: disciplined.

Sphinx gets off and tries to eat a dust bunny from Dr. Spiel's side of the room. Dr. Singh notices her, and stops running. He says, "Don't eat that, Sphinx!"

[New recording - Yuck]

You hear a thud and a scurrying from the north.
action: You examine Sphinx
response: A female cat.

-Height: 24 cm.

-Approx. weight: 3.5 kg.

-Approx. age: 3 years

-Clothing: none

-Personality: curious.

I know that you're obviously not a cat person, Dr. Law, given your history, but Sphinx is quite cute.

Dr. Singh goes to the punching bag, and starts boxing. Sphinx climbs on top of the punching bag and starts scratching it. Dr. Singh backs up and says, "Come here right now, Sphinx!"

[New recording - Come]

You hear a plop and a rustling from the north.
action: Go north
response: You see an enormous room, like the great hall of a castle, filled with a maze made of cardboard boxes, takeout containers, newspapers, broken furniture, and used wrapping paper. In the center is a large, cleared area. The clearing contains a gigantic ball of some metallic liquid, hovering in the air. It seems the cloning machine is finished. You can return to the living quarters to the south.

A remote control lies on the trash, near the hidden speakers.

The surface of the ball begins to bubble and smoke. A clone of Dr. Spiel spills out. You hear a wet thud.

Oh no, Dr. Law; Dr. Spiel seems to have had an accident with the cloning machine again. The cloning machine is set on "repeat". The actions of the clones indicate that it is set to a low resolution--these are poor quality clones, Dr. Law. You'd better stop this.

The clone sees a plate of mac and cheese in the trash, and dives into the clutter.
action: You examine trash
response: A mound composed of trash. I shudder to think what lies at the bottom, Dr. Law.

The clone continues to eat the rotten food.
action: You examine the ball
response: The cloning machine is a gigantic ball of some metallic liquid.

Dr. Spiel finishes the meal and immediately falls to the ground, groaning in pain and massaging her stomach.
action: You examine the ball
response: The cloning machine is a gigantic ball of some metallic liquid.

The clone is rolling on the ground in pain.
action: You look at the remote
response: A remote control lies on the trash. In fact, it is quite near the hidden speakers, Dr. Law.

Perhaps you could get Dr. Spiel to turn off the machine, Dr. Law.

The clone stumbles to its feet with its arms wrapped around its stomach.

It plunges deeper into the maze and is lost from view.

The surface of the ball begins to bubble and smoke. A clone of Dr. Spiel spills out. You hear a wet thud. The clone could stop the machine if they had the remote, Dr. Law.

The clone sees a rotten apple in the trash, and dives into the clutter.
action: Rec
response: Recordings:
Come - "Come here right now!"
Yuck - "Don't eat that!"
Repeat - "Let's try one more time! We can do it!"
action: Yuck
response: The hidden speakers say, "Don't eat that!"

The clone starts up, alert, dropping what it's holding (a rotten apple). It says, "Dr. Singh, is that you? I'm cleaning, I promise!" It looks around, uncertain.

The clone kicks trash into the air.
action: You come
response: The hidden speakers say, "Come here right now!"

The clone looks toward the hidden speakers. It tries to climb toward the trash under the speakers, but gets scared. It says, "I don't think I can do it."

The clone pops its knuckles.
action: You repeat
response: The hidden speakers say, "Let's try one more time! We can do it!"

The clone says, "You're right! I can do it!" The clone leaps up towards the speakers. It finally sees the remote.

"Oh, so that's where that was!" says the clone. It hops down, and runs towards the machine. It points the remote, and presses the off button, but slips on some loose trash and drops the remote. The remote hits the ground with a bang, and pieces go flying everywhere with an electric sizzle.

The clone says, "Uh oh." The cloning machine turns dark and begins to rotate in a turbulent way. The Spiel clone runs away in fear, and is lost in the maze.
action: You look at your surroundings
response: You see an enormous room, like the great hall of a castle, filled with a maze made of cardboard boxes, takeout containers, newspapers, broken furniture, and used wrapping paper. In the center is a large, cleared area. The clearing contains a gigantic ball of some metallic liquid, hovering in the air. You can return to the living quarters to the south.

A remote control lies on the trash, missing many essential parts.

Dr. Singh walks in, looking concerned. He finds the remote on the ground, smoking, and picks it up. He looks at the sphere in alarm, and touches it with a single fingertip. An alarm begins to sound. Dr. Singh looks at his arm, which turns grey.

Before he can speak, he crumbles into dust.

Dr. Law, the cloning machine seems to have been set to the lowest quality possible. I am concerned about this situation. The night crew will have a fit cleaning up the mess.

I cannot control the machine directly, but it accesses some schematics in my database each time it copies someone. I can edit an implant into the schematics that will allow you to control the clone. The additional power should keep it from decaying for a while.

You need to fix and use the remote to turn off the clone machine. With all this interference, you need a signal strength of at least 99 jigawatts! There should be some spare parts lying around that can boost the remote's power.

A clone of Dr. Singh, holding a broken remote, emerges from the sphere and lands on his feet.

clo - Control Singh's clone
action: Clo
response: Initiating audiovisual link... 

HYDRA Laboratory (as Dr. Singh)
Dr. Singh is standing in a large clearing in the center of a maze of trash. The clone machine hovers above in silence. Dr. Singh can hear a murmur of voices from the maze, with occasional laughs, screams, and yells from Dr. Spiel's clones. Dr. Singh can also hear his own heavy breathing. Dr. Singh can move to the north, south, east or
west.

A mound of lenses is piled up here.

n,e,s,w - movement
take- pick up an object
rem- attempt to use remote
dis- disconnect from the clone

Dr. Singh's right ear is turning to ash. You don't have much time, Dr. Law; grab as much as you can to boost the signal, then turn on the remote.
action: You take all
response: lens mound: Dr. Singh fishes out a lens.

Taken.

Dr. Singh is breathing heavily.
action: You go to the north
response: Electronics Pile (as Dr. Singh)
This section of the maze is filled with smashed-in monitors, old VGA chips, outdated smart phones, and cables which, I can tell you, Dr. Law, absolutely do not fit any of the electronics here. Everything is piled on metal shelving that is spaced a little too wide, so that the spare parts have spilled down to lower levels. Dr. Singh can return to the south.

Only two items seem to be of any use.

A pile of antennas has been artfully arranged into a nest here. Dr. Singh may be able to grab one.

Thousands of batteries lined up like dominoes are here.

Dr. Singh's fingertips are turning gray.
action: You take all
response: nest of antennas: Dr. Singh tugs on the antenna, muscles bulging, but it only slides out a foot or two.
battery dominoes: Dr. Singh carefully leans down and grabs a cell phone battery.

Taken.

Dr. Singh swallows nervously.
action: Go south
response: HYDRA Laboratory (as Dr. Singh)
Dr. Singh is standing in a large clearing in the center of a maze of trash. The clone machine hovers above in silence. Dr. Singh can hear a murmur of voices from the maze, with occasional laughs, screams, and yells from Dr. Spiel's clones. Dr. Singh can also hear his own heavy breathing. Dr. Singh can move to the north, south, east or
west.

A mound of lenses is piled up here.

Dr. Singh's vision is getting blurry.
action: Rem
response: Dr. Singh is preparing the remote:

-Dr. Singh opens a slot in the remote, revealing a black, crusted battery; whoever used the remote last must have fried it. He removes it, and inserts the new battery. Power levels increasing by 30 jigawatts.

-Dr. Singh screws on the lens to the end of the remote. It focuses
the signal by a miniscule amount. Power levels increasing by 5 jigawatts.

Jigawatts.

Dr. Singh aims the remote at the machine and presses the button. The remote is trembling and flashing, but the signal is too weak. We need a final power level of at least 99 Jigawatts, Dr. Law. I'm
sorry.

Dr. Singh's body collapses into a pile of ash, including the remote.

A new clone falls out of the device with a thud, holding a broken remote.


Taking control of the new clone...
action: You go north
response: ## HYDRA Laboratory (as Dr. Singh)
Dr. Singh is standing in a large clearing in the center of a maze of trash. The clone machine hovers above in silence. Dr. Singh can hear a murmur of voices from the maze, with occasional laughs, screams, and yells from Dr. Spiel's clones. Dr. Singh can also hear his own heavy breathing. Dr. Singh can move to the north, south, east or
west.

A mound of lenses is piled up here.

Dr. Law, the last clone could not stop the device because the remote needed more power. You must increase the remote's power to at
least 99 Jigawatts; this last time, you only reached 0
Jigawatts. Perhaps you should gather different items.

Dr. Singh's left ear is turning to ash.
action: Go north
response: Electronics Pile (as Dr. Singh)
This section of the maze is filled with smashed-in monitors, old VGA chips, outdated smart phones, and cables which, I can tell you, Dr. Law, absolutely do not fit any of the electronics here. Everything is piled on metal shelving that is spaced a little too wide, so that the spare parts have spilled down to lower levels. Dr. Singh can return to the south.

Only two items seem to be of any use.

A pile of antennas has been artfully arranged into a nest here. Dr. Singh may be able to grab one. One antenna has been pulled partially out.

Thousands of batteries lined up like dominoes are here.

Dr. Singh is breathing heavily.
action: You take the batteries
response: Dr. Singh carefully leans down and grabs a cell phone battery.

Taken.

From experience, Dr. Law, this should increase the remote's power by 30 jigawatts. We need to reach 99 jigawatts to turn
off the machine!

Dr. Singh's fingertips are turning gray.
action: Go south
response: HYDRA Laboratory (as Dr. Singh)
Dr. Singh is standing in a large clearing in the center of a maze of trash. The clone machine hovers above in silence. Dr. Singh can hear a murmur of voices from the maze, with occasional laughs, screams, and yells from Dr. Spiel's clones. Dr. Singh can also hear his own heavy breathing. Dr. Singh can move to the north, south, east or
west.

A mound of lenses is piled up here.

Dr. Singh wipes sweat from his eyes.
action: You go east
response: Car Parts (as Dr. Singh)
Dr. Singh is surrounded by car parts organized in bizarre sculptures. Car frames have been welded into giant dog statues. A small greenhouse has been constructed from windshields, with fake plants made from sideview mirrors. The floor is covered with random detritus up to Dr. Singh's ankles. Dr. Singh can return to the west.

Almost everything here is bolted or welded down.

A delicately balanced mobile is here with two pans on either side. One side contains a miniature city made of quartz crystals, ripe for the taking.

The other side contains a sort of rock garden made of parabolic headlight mirrors. Also ripe for the taking.

The crystals and mirrors bobble up and down.

Dr. Singh's vision is getting blurry.
action: You take all
response: delicate mobile: The mobile itself is, ironically, immobile.

Dr. Singh swallows nervously.
action: You take the mirrors
response: Dr. Singh snatches a parabolic mirror. However, the imbalance sets the pans in motion.

I'm afraid the quartz crystals are beyond your reach, now, at least until they settle down.

Taken.

Dr. Singh's toes turn to ash and fall off.
action: You go west
response: HYDRA Laboratory (as Dr. Singh)
Dr. Singh is standing in a large clearing in the center of a maze of trash. The clone machine hovers above in silence. Dr. Singh can hear a murmur of voices from the maze, with occasional laughs, screams, and yells from Dr. Spiel's clones. Dr. Singh can also hear his own heavy breathing. Dr. Singh can move to the north, south, east or
west.

A mound of lenses is piled up here.

Dr. Singh is breathing heavily.
action: You go east
response: Car Parts (as Dr. Singh)
Dr. Singh is surrounded by car parts organized in bizarre sculptures. Car frames have been welded into giant dog statues. A small greenhouse has been constructed from windshields, with fake plants made from sideview mirrors. The floor is covered with random detritus up to Dr. Singh's ankles. Dr. Singh can return to the west.

Almost everything here is bolted or welded down.

A delicately balanced mobile is here with two pans on either side. One side contains a miniature city made of quartz crystals, not ripe for the taking.

The other side contains a sort of rock garden made of parabolic headlight mirrors. It is not ripe for the taking.

The crystals and mirrors bobble up and down.

Dr. Singh swallows nervously.
action: You take the crystals
response: The quartz city is temporarily beyond the reach of Dr. Singh, it seems.

Dr. Singh stumbles. This clone can't last much longer!
action: You go west
response: HYDRA Laboratory (as Dr. Singh)
Dr. Singh is standing in a large clearing in the center of a maze of trash. The clone machine hovers above in silence. Dr. Singh can hear a murmur of voices from the maze, with occasional laughs, screams, and yells from Dr. Spiel's clones. Dr. Singh can also hear his own heavy breathing. Dr. Singh can move to the north, south, east or
west.

A mound of lenses is piled up here.

Dr. Singh wipes sweat from his eyes.
action: Rem
response: Dr. Singh is preparing the remote:

-Dr. Singh slides the mirror into a groove on the remote. A row of indicators begin to light up. Power levels increasing by 30
jigawatts.

-Dr. Singh opens a slot in the remote, revealing a black, crusted battery; whoever used the remote last must have fried it. He removes it, and inserts the new battery. Power levels increasing by 30 jigawatts.

Jigawatts.

Dr. Singh aims the remote at the machine and presses the button. The remote is trembling and flashing, but the signal is too weak. We need a final power level of at least 99 Jigawatts, Dr. Law. I'm
sorry.

Dr. Singh's body collapses into a pile of ash, including the remote.

A new clone falls out of the device with a thud, holding a broken remote.


Taking control of the new clone...
action: You go west
response: ## HYDRA Laboratory (as Dr. Singh)
Dr. Singh is standing in a large clearing in the center of a maze of trash. The clone machine hovers above in silence. Dr. Singh can hear a murmur of voices from the maze, with occasional laughs, screams, and yells from Dr. Spiel's clones. Dr. Singh can also hear his own heavy breathing. Dr. Singh can move to the north, south, east or
west.

A mound of lenses is piled up here.

Dr. Law, the last clone could not stop the device because the remote needed more power. You must increase the remote's power to at
least 99 Jigawatts; this last time, you only reached 0
Jigawatts. Perhaps you should gather different items.

Dr. Singh's right ear is turning to ash.
action: Go west
response: Trash Stacks (as Dr. Singh)
Dr. Singh is wading through piles of trash. He can hear a variety of crunches and pops from plastic cup lids, styrofoam peanuts, and bubble wrap underfoot. Dr. Singh's adrenaline levels are very high due to the occasional soft organic matter underneath. Dr. Singh can return to the east.

Only two items stand out.

There is a large, spinning disco ball here, Dr. Law. It seems to be constructed of chewing gum wrappers.

A massive boulder of rock candy is here.

Dr. Singh swallows nervously.
action: You take all
response: wrapper disco ball: Dr. Singh can't reach the disco ball, Dr. Law. He could touch it with a 10 ft. pole, though.
rock candy boulder: Dr. Singh knocks off a piece of rock candy.

Taken.

Dr. Singh's fingertips are turning gray.
action: Rem
response: Dr. Singh is preparing the remote:

-Dr. Singh pushes the rock candy into a resonance chamber. It does very little. Power levels increasing by 5 jigawatts.

Jigawatts.

Dr. Singh aims the remote at the machine and presses the button. The remote is trembling and flashing, but the signal is too weak. We need a final power level of at least 99 Jigawatts, Dr. Law. I'm
sorry.

Dr. Singh's body collapses into a pile of ash, including the remote.

A new clone falls out of the device with a thud, holding a broken remote.


Taking control of the new clone...
action: Go west
response: ## HYDRA Laboratory (as Dr. Singh)
Dr. Singh is standing in a large clearing in the center of a maze of trash. The clone machine hovers above in silence. Dr. Singh can hear a murmur of voices from the maze, with occasional laughs, screams, and yells from Dr. Spiel's clones. Dr. Singh can also hear his own heavy breathing. Dr. Singh can move to the north, south, east or
west.

A mound of lenses is piled up here.

Dr. Law, the last clone could not stop the device because the remote needed more power. You must increase the remote's power to at
least 99 Jigawatts; this last time, you only reached 0
Jigawatts. Perhaps you should gather different items.

Dr. Singh's left ear is turning to ash.
action: You take the lens
response: Dr. Singh fishes out a lens.

Taken.

From experience, Dr. Law, this should increase the remote's power by
5 jigawatts.

Dr. Singh is breathing heavily.
action: You go to the west
response: Trash Stacks (as Dr. Singh)
Dr. Singh is wading through piles of trash. He can hear a variety of crunches and pops from plastic cup lids, styrofoam peanuts, and bubble wrap underfoot. Dr. Singh's adrenaline levels are very high due to the occasional soft organic matter underneath. Dr. Singh can return to the east.

Only two items stand out.

There is a large, spinning disco ball here, Dr. Law. It seems to be constructed of chewing gum wrappers.

A massive boulder of rock candy is here.

Dr. Singh's fingertips are turning gray.
action: You take the candy
response: Dr. Singh knocks off a piece of rock candy.

Taken.

From experience, Dr. Law, this should increase the remote's power by
5 jigawatts.

Dr. Singh wipes sweat from his eyes.
action: You go east
response: HYDRA Laboratory (as Dr. Singh)
Dr. Singh is standing in a large clearing in the center of a maze of trash. The clone machine hovers above in silence. Dr. Singh can hear a murmur of voices from the maze, with occasional laughs, screams, and yells from Dr. Spiel's clones. Dr. Singh can also hear his own heavy breathing. Dr. Singh can move to the north, south, east or
west.

A mound of lenses is piled up here.

Dr. Singh's vision is getting blurry.
action: You go north
response: Electronics Pile (as Dr. Singh)
This section of the maze is filled with smashed-in monitors, old VGA chips, outdated smart phones, and cables which, I can tell you, Dr. Law, absolutely do not fit any of the electronics here. Everything is piled on metal shelving that is spaced a little too wide, so that the spare parts have spilled down to lower levels. Dr. Singh can return to the south.

Only two items seem to be of any use.

A pile of antennas has been artfully arranged into a nest here. Dr. Singh may be able to grab one. One antenna has been pulled partially out.

Thousands of batteries lined up like dominoes are here.

Dr. Singh swallows nervously.
action: You take the battery
response: (the battery dominoes)
Dr. Singh carefully leans down and grabs a cell phone battery. His feet become unbalanced, and he knocks over the dominoes in an enormous cascade. A wail of anguish comes from beyond the stacks as the Spiel clones mourn their loss.

Taken.

From experience, Dr. Law, this should increase the remote's power by 30 jigawatts. We need to reach 99 jigawatts to turn
off the machine!

Dr. Singh's toes turn to ash and fall off.
action: Go south
response: HYDRA Laboratory (as Dr. Singh)
Dr. Singh is standing in a large clearing in the center of a maze of trash. The clone machine hovers above in silence. Dr. Singh can hear a murmur of voices from the maze, with occasional laughs, screams, and yells from Dr. Spiel's clones. Dr. Singh can also hear his own heavy breathing. Dr. Singh can move to the north, south, east or
west.

A mound of lenses is piled up here.

Dr. Singh wipes sweat from his eyes.

Dr. Singh hears the dominoes falling throughout the maze.
action: Go east
response: Car Parts (as Dr. Singh)
Dr. Singh is surrounded by car parts organized in bizarre sculptures. Car frames have been welded into giant dog statues. A small greenhouse has been constructed from windshields, with fake plants made from sideview mirrors. The floor is covered with random detritus up to Dr. Singh's ankles. Dr. Singh can return to the west.

Almost everything here is bolted or welded down.

A delicately balanced mobile is here with two pans on either side. One side contains a miniature city made of quartz crystals, ripe for the taking.

The other side contains a sort of rock garden made of parabolic headlight mirrors. Also ripe for the taking.

The crystals and mirrors bobble up and down.

Dr. Singh is breathing heavily.

The sound of the dominoes falling down is almost deafening. It sounds like the Spiel clones are cheering.
action: You take the crystals
response: Dr. Singh dextrously abstracts a quartz crystal. However, the imbalance sets the pans in motion.

I'm afraid the parabolic mirrors are beyond your reach, now, at least until they settle down.

Taken.

Dr. Singh stumbles. This clone can't last much longer!

The dominoes reach a crescendo, then fade away. Perhaps you should be more careful next time, Dr. Law.
action: You go west
response: HYDRA Laboratory (as Dr. Singh)
Dr. Singh is standing in a large clearing in the center of a maze of trash. The clone machine hovers above in silence. Dr. Singh can hear a murmur of voices from the maze, with occasional laughs, screams, and yells from Dr. Spiel's clones. Dr. Singh can also hear his own heavy breathing. Dr. Singh can move to the north, south, east or
west.

A mound of lenses is piled up here.

Dr. Singh wipes sweat from his eyes.
action: Rem
response: Dr. Singh is preparing the remote:

-Dr. Singh pushes the quartz crystal into a resonance chamber. The remote begins to hum and jitter. Power levels increasing by 20 jigawatts.

-Dr. Singh opens a slot in the remote, revealing a black, crusted battery; whoever used the remote last must have fried it. He removes it, and inserts the new battery. Power levels increasing by 30 jigawatts.

-Dr. Singh pushes the rock candy into a resonance chamber. It does very little. Power levels increasing by 5 jigawatts.

-Dr. Singh screws on the lens to the end of the remote. It focuses
the signal by a miniscule amount. Power levels increasing by 5 jigawatts.

Jigawatts.

Dr. Singh aims the remote at the machine and presses the button. The remote is trembling and flashing, but the signal is too weak. We need a final power level of at least 99 Jigawatts, Dr. Law. I'm
sorry.

Dr. Singh's body collapses into a pile of ash, including the remote.

A new clone falls out of the device with a thud, holding a broken remote.


Taking control of the new clone... 
## HYDRA Laboratory (as Dr. Singh)
Dr. Singh is standing in a large clearing in the center of a maze of trash. The clone machine hovers above in silence. Dr. Singh can hear a murmur of voices from the maze, with occasional laughs, screams, and yells from Dr. Spiel's clones. Dr. Singh can also hear his own heavy breathing. Dr. Singh can move to the north, south, east or
west.

A mound of lenses is piled up here.

Dr. Law, the last clone could not stop the device because the remote needed more power. You must increase the remote's power to at
least 99 Jigawatts; this last time, you only reached 0
Jigawatts. Perhaps you should gather different items.

Dr. Singh's right ear is turning to ash.
action: You take the lens
response: Dr. Singh fishes out a lens.

Taken.

From experience, Dr. Law, this should increase the remote's power by
5 jigawatts.

Dr. Singh swallows nervously.
action: Go east
response: Car Parts (as Dr. Singh)
Dr. Singh is surrounded by car parts organized in bizarre sculptures. Car frames have been welded into giant dog statues. A small greenhouse has been constructed from windshields, with fake plants made from sideview mirrors. The floor is covered with random detritus up to Dr. Singh's ankles. Dr. Singh can return to the west.

Almost everything here is bolted or welded down.

A delicately balanced mobile is here with two pans on either side. One side contains a miniature city made of quartz crystals, ripe for the taking.

The other side contains a sort of rock garden made of parabolic headlight mirrors. Also ripe for the taking.

The crystals and mirrors bobble up and down.

Dr. Singh's fingertips are turning gray.
action: You take mirror
response: Dr. Singh snatches a parabolic mirror. However, the imbalance sets the pans in motion.

I'm afraid the quartz crystals are beyond your reach, now, at least until they settle down.

Taken.

From experience, Dr. Law, this should increase the remote's power by 30 jigawatts.

Dr. Singh wipes sweat from his eyes.
action: You go west
response: HYDRA Laboratory (as Dr. Singh)
Dr. Singh is standing in a large clearing in the center of a maze of trash. The clone machine hovers above in silence. Dr. Singh can hear a murmur of voices from the maze, with occasional laughs, screams, and yells from Dr. Spiel's clones. Dr. Singh can also hear his own heavy breathing. Dr. Singh can move to the north, south, east or
west.

A mound of lenses is piled up here.

Dr. Singh's vision is getting blurry.
action: You go west
response: Trash Stacks (as Dr. Singh)
Dr. Singh is wading through piles of trash. He can hear a variety of crunches and pops from plastic cup lids, styrofoam peanuts, and bubble wrap underfoot. Dr. Singh's adrenaline levels are very high due to the occasional soft organic matter underneath. Dr. Singh can return to the east.

Only two items stand out.

There is a large, spinning disco ball here, Dr. Law. It seems to be constructed of chewing gum wrappers.

A massive boulder of rock candy is here.

Dr. Singh is breathing heavily.
action: You take the candy
response: Dr. Singh knocks off a piece of rock candy.

Taken.

From experience, Dr. Law, this should increase the remote's power by
5 jigawatts. We need to reach 99 jigawatts to turn
off the machine!

Dr. Singh's toes turn to ash and fall off.
action: Go east
response: HYDRA Laboratory (as Dr. Singh)
Dr. Singh is standing in a large clearing in the center of a maze of trash. The clone machine hovers above in silence. Dr. Singh can hear a murmur of voices from the maze, with occasional laughs, screams, and yells from Dr. Spiel's clones. Dr. Singh can also hear his own heavy breathing. Dr. Singh can move to the north, south, east or
west.

A mound of lenses is piled up here.

Dr. Singh swallows nervously.
action: Go north
response: Electronics Pile (as Dr. Singh)
This section of the maze is filled with smashed-in monitors, old VGA chips, outdated smart phones, and cables which, I can tell you, Dr. Law, absolutely do not fit any of the electronics here. Everything is piled on metal shelving that is spaced a little too wide, so that the spare parts have spilled down to lower levels. Dr. Singh can return to the south.

Only two items seem to be of any use.

A pile of antennas has been artfully arranged into a nest here. Dr. Singh may be able to grab one. One antenna has been pulled partially out.

Thousands of batteries lined up like dominoes are here. Well, they were lined up, Dr. Law, until you interfered.

Dr. Singh wipes sweat from his eyes.
action: You take battery
response: (the battery dominoes)
Dr. Singh grabs a battery from the pile.

From experience, Dr. Law, this should increase the remote's power by 30 jigawatts.

Dr. Singh stumbles. This clone can't last much longer!
action: You take the antenna
response: Dr. Singh pulls again, and the antenna slides halfway out. He wipes the sweat off his head.

Dr. Singh swallows nervously.
action: You take the antenna
response: Dr. Singh heaves, and the whole nest shifts, letting the antenna come almost all the way out.

I'm sorry, Dr. Law; you didn't have enough time to use the remote. Fortunately, there should be another clone coming soon.

Dr. Singh's body collapses into a pile of ash, including the remote.

A new clone falls out of the device with a thud, holding a broken remote.


Taking control of the new clone... 
## HYDRA Laboratory (as Dr. Singh)
Dr. Singh is standing in a large clearing in the center of a maze of trash. The clone machine hovers above in silence. Dr. Singh can hear a murmur of voices from the maze, with occasional laughs, screams, and yells from Dr. Spiel's clones. Dr. Singh can also hear his own heavy breathing. Dr. Singh can move to the north, south, east or
west.

A mound of lenses is piled up here.

HYDRA Laboratory (as Dr. Singh)
Dr. Singh is standing in a large clearing in the center of a maze of trash. The clone machine hovers above in silence. Dr. Singh can hear a murmur of voices from the maze, with occasional laughs, screams, and yells from Dr. Spiel's clones. Dr. Singh can also hear his own heavy breathing. Dr. Singh can move to the north, south, east or
west.

A mound of lenses is piled up here.

Dr. Law, the last clone could not stop the device because the remote needed more power. You must increase the remote's power to at
least 99 Jigawatts; this last time, you only reached 0
Jigawatts. Perhaps you should gather different items.
action: You take the antenna
response: Dr. Singh grabs the antenna with both hands, and gives a mighty pull. The antenna comes out completely.

Taken.

Dr. Singh's fingertips are turning gray.
action: You take the battery
response: (the battery dominoes)
Dr. Singh grabs a battery from the pile.

From experience, Dr. Law, this should increase the remote's power by 30 jigawatts.

Dr. Singh swallows nervously.
action: You go east
response: Car Parts (as Dr. Singh)
Dr. Singh is surrounded by car parts organized in bizarre sculptures. Car frames have been welded into giant dog statues. A small greenhouse has been constructed from windshields, with fake plants made from sideview mirrors. The floor is covered with random detritus up to Dr. Singh's ankles. Dr. Singh can return to the west.

Almost everything here is bolted or welded down.

A delicately balanced mobile is here with two pans on either side. One side contains a miniature city made of quartz crystals, ripe for the taking.

The other side contains a sort of rock garden made of parabolic headlight mirrors. Also ripe for the taking.

The crystals and mirrors bobble up and down.

Dr. Singh is breathing heavily.
action: You take the mirror
response: Dr. Singh snatches a parabolic mirror. However, the imbalance sets the pans in motion.

I'm afraid the quartz crystals are beyond your reach, now, at least until they settle down.

Taken.

From experience, Dr. Law, this should increase the remote's power by 30 jigawatts. We need to reach 99 jigawatts to turn
off the machine!

Dr. Singh's toes turn to ash and fall off.
action: You take candy
response: Dr. Singh knocks off a piece of rock candy.

Taken.

From experience, Dr. Law, this should increase the remote's power by
5 jigawatts.

Dr. Singh stumbles. This clone can't last much longer!
action: You take the lens
response: Dr. Singh fishes out a lens.

Taken.

From experience, Dr. Law, this should increase the remote's power by
5 jigawatts.

I'm sorry, Dr. Law; you didn't have enough time to use the remote. Fortunately, there should be another clone coming soon.

Dr. Singh's body collapses into a pile of ash, including the remote.

A new clone falls out of the device with a thud, holding a broken remote.


Taking control of the new clone... 
## HYDRA Laboratory (as Dr. Singh)
Dr. Singh is standing in a large clearing in the center of a maze of trash. The clone machine hovers above in silence. Dr. Singh can hear a murmur of voices from the maze, with occasional laughs, screams, and yells from Dr. Spiel's clones. Dr. Singh can also hear his own heavy breathing. Dr. Singh can move to the north, south, east or
west.

A mound of lenses is piled up here.

Dr. Law, the last clone could not stop the device because the remote needed more power. You must increase the remote's power to at
least 99 Jigawatts; this last time, you only reached 0
Jigawatts. Perhaps you should gather different items.
action: Go south
response: Office Supplies (as Dr. Singh)
This portion of the maze is almost completely bare. Row after row of cabinets, boxes, and shelves are completely cleaned off. At the end of the row, Dr. Singh sees a Spiel clone grabbing the last stapler and stuffing it in his pocket, but the clone runs when they see him. From somewhere nearby, there is a murmur of many multitudes; the clones must be nearby. Dr. Singh can return to the north.

A box of paperclips is on the floor, Dr. Law.

A pile of smooth wooden sticks lies on the floor.

A case full of cubes (which I suspect are camera flashes, or rechargeable batteries) is here. It's enormous, with each cube fitting tightly in the square.

Dr. Singh is breathing heavily.
action: You get the flash
response: Dr. Singh carefully and nimbly fishes out a red cube.

Taken.

Dr. Singh's fingertips are turning gray.
action: You get mirror
response: Dr. Singh snatches a parabolic mirror. However, the imbalance sets the pans in motion.

I'm afraid the quartz crystals are beyond your reach, now, at least until they settle down.

Taken.

From experience, Dr. Law, this should increase the remote's power by 30 jigawatts. We need to reach 99 jigawatts to turn
off the machine!

Dr. Singh wipes sweat from his eyes.
action: Go west
response: HYDRA Laboratory (as Dr. Singh)
Dr. Singh is standing in a large clearing in the center of a maze of trash. The clone machine hovers above in silence. Dr. Singh can hear a murmur of voices from the maze, with occasional laughs, screams, and yells from Dr. Spiel's clones. Dr. Singh can also hear his own heavy breathing. Dr. Singh can move to the north, south, east or
west.

A mound of lenses is piled up here.

Dr. Singh's toes turn to ash and fall off.
action: You go north
response: Electronics Pile (as Dr. Singh)
This section of the maze is filled with smashed-in monitors, old VGA chips, outdated smart phones, and cables which, I can tell you, Dr. Law, absolutely do not fit any of the electronics here. Everything is piled on metal shelving that is spaced a little too wide, so that the spare parts have spilled down to lower levels. Dr. Singh can return to the south.

Only two items seem to be of any use.

A pile of antennas has been artfully arranged into a nest here. Dr. Singh may be able to grab one.

Thousands of batteries lined up like dominoes are here. Well, they were lined up, Dr. Law, until you interfered.

Dr. Singh swallows nervously.
action: You get the battery
response: (the battery dominoes)
Dr. Singh grabs a battery from the pile.

From experience, Dr. Law, this should increase the remote's power by 30 jigawatts.

Dr. Singh wipes sweat from his eyes.
action: You get the antenna
response: Dr. Singh tugs on the antenna, muscles bulging, but it only slides out a foot or two.

Dr. Singh stumbles. This clone can't last much longer!
action: You get the antenna
response: Dr. Singh pulls again, and the antenna slides halfway out. He wipes the sweat off his head.

Dr. Singh swallows nervously.
action: Go south
response: HYDRA Laboratory (as Dr. Singh)
Dr. Singh is standing in a large clearing in the center of a maze of trash. The clone machine hovers above in silence. Dr. Singh can hear a murmur of voices from the maze, with occasional laughs, screams, and yells from Dr. Spiel's clones. Dr. Singh can also hear his own heavy breathing. Dr. Singh can move to the north, south, east or
west.

A mound of lenses is piled up here.

I'm sorry, Dr. Law; you didn't have enough time to use the remote. Fortunately, there should be another clone coming soon.

Dr. Singh's body collapses into a pile of ash, including the remote.

A new clone falls out of the device with a thud, holding a broken remote.


Taking control of the new clone... 
## HYDRA Laboratory (as Dr. Singh)
Dr. Singh is standing in a large clearing in the center of a maze of trash. The clone machine hovers above in silence. Dr. Singh can hear a murmur of voices from the maze, with occasional laughs, screams, and yells from Dr. Spiel's clones. Dr. Singh can also hear his own heavy breathing. Dr. Singh can move to the north, south, east or
west.

A mound of lenses is piled up here.

Dr. Law, the last clone could not stop the device because the remote needed more power. You must increase the remote's power to at
least 99 Jigawatts; this last time, you only reached 0
Jigawatts. Perhaps you should gather different items.
action: Go south
response: Office Supplies (as Dr. Singh)
This portion of the maze is almost completely bare. Row after row of cabinets, boxes, and shelves are completely cleaned off. From somewhere nearby, there is a murmur of many multitudes; the clones must be nearby. Dr. Singh can return to the north.

A box of paperclips is on the floor, Dr. Law.

A pile of smooth wooden sticks lies on the floor.

A case full of cubes (which I suspect are camera flashes, or rechargeable batteries) is here. It's enormous, with each cube fitting tightly in the square.

Dr. Singh wipes sweat from his eyes.
action: You get the flash
response: Dr. Singh carefully and nimbly fishes out a red cube.

Taken.

Dr. Singh's fingertips are turning gray.
action: Go north
response: Electronics Pile (as Dr. Singh)
This section of the maze is filled with smashed-in monitors, old VGA chips, outdated smart phones, and cables which, I can tell you, Dr. Law, absolutely do not fit any of the electronics here. Everything is piled on metal shelving that is spaced a little too wide, so that the spare parts have spilled down to lower levels. Dr. Singh can return to the south.

Only two items seem to be of any use.

A pile of antennas has been artfully arranged into a nest here. Dr. Singh may be able to grab one. One antenna has been pulled partially out.

Thousands of batteries lined up like dominoes are here. Well, they were lined up, Dr. Law, until you interfered.

Dr. Singh swallows nervously.
action: You get the battery
response: (the battery dominoes)
Dr. Singh grabs a battery from the pile.

From experience, Dr. Law, this should increase the remote's power by 30 jigawatts. We need to reach 99 jigawatts to turn
off the machine!

Dr. Singh is breathing heavily.
action: You go south
response: HYDRA Laboratory (as Dr. Singh)
Dr. Singh is standing in a large clearing in the center of a maze of trash. The clone machine hovers above in silence. Dr. Singh can hear a murmur of voices from the maze, with occasional laughs, screams, and yells from Dr. Spiel's clones. Dr. Singh can also hear his own heavy breathing. Dr. Singh can move to the north, south, east or
west.

A mound of lenses is piled up here.

Dr. Singh stumbles. This clone can't last much longer!
action: Rem
response: Dr. Singh is preparing the remote:

-Dr. Singh opens a slot in the remote, revealing a black, crusted battery; whoever used the remote last must have fried it. He removes it, and inserts the new battery. Power levels increasing by 30 jigawatts.

-Dr. Singh slides the mirror into a groove on the remote. A row of indicators begin to light up. Power levels increasing by 30
jigawatts.

-Dr. Singh places the red cube into a battery socket. It flashes, temporarily blinding Singh. Power levels increasing by 40
jigawatts.

Jigawatts.

Dr. Singh aims the remote at the machine and presses the button. Dr. Law, the clone machine is shutting down! You did it!

You hear a chorus of cries from the stacks as Dr. Spiel's clone army crumbles to ash.
crumbles to ash.The latest clone of Dr. Singh wipes his brow. He gingerly touches the cloning device, but it doesn't respond. Smiling, he pushes the clone machine out of the room. I believe he's headed for the command center, Dr. Law. Testing is complete on the clone machine.

You have done everything you can do in the HYDRA Lab, Dr. Law. Returning you to your last known location...
action: Look around
response: You see an enormous room, like the great hall of a castle, filled with a maze made of cardboard boxes, takeout containers, newspapers, broken furniture, and used wrapping paper. In the center is a large, cleared area. The clearing contains a gigantic ball of some metallic liquid, hovering in the air. You can return to the living quarters to the south.

A remote control lies on the trash, missing many essential parts.


Project HYDRA Complete 

-Evaluate Project MEDUSA
-Evaluate Project MOIRAI
-Make your final selection at the project judging ceremony
-Dr. Law, your brain backup unit's battery light just went from
green to yellow. I don't know what you have in there,
but it will be erased if you don't charge it.

hom - home folder
hyd, med, moi - Observe Project HYDRA, MEDUSA, or MOIRAI
action: Med
response: Initiating audiovisual link with Project MEDUSA... 

The Project MEDUSA lobby is a squat, dim and dirty steel cylinder. The entrance to the laboratory to the north is covered with an
elaborate engraving of Medusa's head, with the snakes extending around to fill the walls. On the floor is a carving of Perseus, his eyes covered by one hand, and the other hand raised in defense. Where his shield should be is a circular depression.

The camera doesn't point up, Dr. Law, but I know that the ceiling is bare except for a few recessed lights and a centrally located fire sprinkler. The sprinkler is not turned on.

I detect one connected device, Dr. Law.

Oh, Dr. Law, I just remembered. Dr. Ng went to bed almost an hour ago. She's really uptight about security, you know, especially since her partner quit. She said that she was going to password protect the lab, but that she'd leave the password "in a way that Dr. Law will understand."
action: You examine the sprinklers
response: The sprinkler is off.

spr - Turn sprinkler on and off
action: Spr
response: Activating sprinkler.

The circular depression fills with the water to form a pool.

(A hidden drain keeps you from flooding Project MEDUSA, Dr. Law.)
action: You examine the pool
response: The depression has filled up to become a reflective pool, Dr. Law. You can see the reflection of the Medusa in the pool.
action: You examine medusa
response: (Medusa's Head)
On closer inspection, Medusa's snakes all terminate in weapons instead of heads. I count approximately 423 types of weaponry, including RPG's, nuclear warheads, and boards with rusty nails. Medusa's pupils are in the shape of the biohazard sign, which I believe is a deplorable error, as the MEDUSA team does not work with biological agents.

There is a post-it note on the Medusa that says "CODE: WOW". This must be the access code Dr. Ng promised you.
action: Wow
response: Attempting to access lab... access denied. There must be something wrong with the code, Dr. Law.
action: You examine the note
response: I didn't understand the object in that command, Dr. Law.
action: Mom
response: Access granted, Dr. Law. The MEDUSA Living Quarters to the
north is now unlocked.
action: Go north
response: Please be careful around the war robot this time, Dr. Law. It has been placed in the arena to the north to avoid any more problems with testing. Also, Dr. Ng's hair has begun to grow back.

You see a mid-sized, bunker-like room covered with movie posters. The room is dominated by a large desk and a couch. Someone is sleeping on the couch, probably Dr. Ng. A TV faces the front of a couch.

The TV shows a live feed from the arena to the north,
displaying the motionless war robot Angel. The lobby is back to the south.

You hear the quiet hum of air conditioning.

A notepad on the desk seems to have some writing on it.

You can see a bookcase and a large desk (on which are a pencil, a squeaky alien toy and a cute robot mini-figure) here.
action: You examine the robot
response: (the live feed)
The television displays a live feed of the arena to the north, displaying the motionless war robot.
action: You look at the notepad
response: The notepad says "War Robot Bluetooth access code: WAR." It is signed by Dr. Long.

war - Access attack robot
action: Examine toy
response: A small, green squeaky alien toy that Dr. Long bought for Dr. Ng.
action: You look at the minithe -the figure
response: Dr. Ng's toy version of his war robot. This one is called Smasher, I believe.
action: You examine the conditioner
response: A small ventilation grille opens up directly above the bookcase.
action: You look at the bookcase
response: The bookcase is filled with movie memorabilia.
action: You examine the posters
response: You see posters for westerns, for dinosaur movies, for urban warfare films. You see a poster of dogs playing poker.
action: You examine the desk
response: This is a large desk with two rectangles outlined by cracks in the desk. There is a small button on the left-hand side.

On the large desk are a pencil, a squeaky alien toy, a cute robot mini-figure and a notepad.
action: You examine the pencil
response: A standard yellow pencil with a pink eraser.
action: You look at Ng
response: -A cyborg human.

-Height: 170 cm.

-Approx. weight: 200 kg.

-Approx. age: unable to estimate.

-Clothing: metallic foil suit.

-Personality: driven.
action: You examine the couch
response: A dilapidated psychedelic reupholstered couch.
action: You go to the north
response: You see a circular room with brick walls and a floor covered in sand. The MEDUSA Living Quarters are to the south.

Scattered about the room are a small green punching bag, a stack of wooden crates, an unopened bottle, a small sapling and a stone boulder.

You see Angel standing motionless in the center of the room.

A wooden hatch is in the center of the floor.
action: WAR
response: Accessing Bluetooth...connecting...Access granted! Type EXT to exit the war robot program at any time.

Southwestern Platform (as Smasher)
Allow me to adapt to this new feed...

Internal compass detected...

You are on a large wooden platform with steep drop-offs to the south and west. The platform extends to the north and east.

las - fire laser
ham - swing hammer
fir - shoot flame
bot - open bottle
gun - shoot gun
saw - use chainsaw
n,e,s,w - movement
ext - exit from war robot control

You see a massive wooden spear with a black tip.
action: Describe the surroundings
response: Southwestern Platform (as Smasher)
You are on a large wooden platform with steep drop-offs to the south and west. The platform extends to the north and east.

You see a massive wooden spear with a black tip.
action: Go east
response: Southeastern Platform (as Smasher)
You are on a large wooden platform with steep drop-offs to the south and east.

The platform extends to the north and west.

You can see a giant green alien here.
action: You go north
response: Northeastern Platform (as Smasher)
This portion of the platform is a large rectangle outlined by a series of cracks and hinges. The robot is in the middle of the rectangle.

The platform extends to the south and west.

A large yellow dais of some spongy material is here, covered in black streaks. It covers up much of the rectangle outlined by the cracks.
action: Swing
response: What do you want to swing?
action: Ham
response: What do you want to ham?
action: Ham dais
response: The robotic arm presses against the large yellow dais ineffectively.
action: Go west
response: Northwestern Platform (as Smasher)
This portion of the platform is a large rectangle outlined by a series of cracks and hinges. A nearby cube says "OPEN DRAWER 1", but it appears to be broken.

The platform extends to the south and east.
action: Ham cube
response: The hammer smashes down the cube. You hear a sound like a broken spring.
action: Go down
response: This vessel is blocked from moving that direction, Dr. Law.
action: EXT
response: Disconnecting...returning to audiovisual mode.

You see a circular room with brick walls and a floor covered in sand. The MEDUSA Living Quarters are to the south.

Scattered about the room are a small green punching bag, a stack of wooden crates, an unopened bottle, a small sapling and a stone boulder.

You see Angel standing motionless in the center of the room.

A wooden hatch is in the center of the floor.
action: EXT
response: There is nothing to disconnect from, Dr. Law.
action: You examine the punching bag
response: How ironic, Dr. Law, that Angel is not capable of punching.
action: Examine crates
response: It was convenient, Dr. Law, that all of the other arena props came in these nice crates.
action: You examine bottle
response: (the unopened bottle)
A bottle that is, sadly, unopened.
action: You look at the sapling
response: I'm not really sure why we brought this in, Dr. Law. There may have been a mixup with the gardening department.

Now that I think about, this might mean there is a land mine planted in the back garden. I'll make a note to the gardening staff.
action: You look at the boulder
response: This boulder was surprisingly hard to obtain, Dr. Law, given that Stygicorp is surrounded by boulders.
action: You look at the hatch
response: This is a wooden hatch covering something on the floor. It seems quite fragile, Dr. Law.
action: You open it
response: Dr. Law, I am unable to open anything except files and folders. Unless it's connected to the internet, in which case you need to use a different command.
action: You examine angel
response: A 2 m steel humanoid robot.

Attachments: laser, flamethrower, handgun, hammer, bottle opener, chainsaw.
action: You examine the laser
response: This camera has been restricted to only one level of zoom, Dr. Law.
action: Go downward
response: The cameras are not operational in that direction, Dr. Law.
action: WAR
response: Accessing Bluetooth...connecting...Access granted! Type EXT to exit the war robot program at any time.

Northwestern Platform (as Smasher)
This portion of the platform is a large rectangle outlined by a series of cracks and hinges. A nearby cube says "OPEN DRAWER 1", but it appears to be broken.

The platform extends to the south and east.
action: You go east
response: Northeastern Platform (as Smasher)
This portion of the platform is a large rectangle outlined by a series of cracks and hinges. The robot is in the middle of the rectangle.

The platform extends to the south and west.

A large yellow dais of some spongy material is here, covered in black streaks. It covers up much of the rectangle outlined by the cracks.
action: You go south
response: Southeastern Platform (as Smasher)
You are on a large wooden platform with steep drop-offs to the south and east.

The platform extends to the north and west.

You can see a giant green alien here.
action: Saw alien
response: A pen knife swings out, and the robot attempts to cut the alien. The rubbery skin compresses, and begins to split, showing a plastic squeaker ring inside, but then the whole alien slips off and bounces away to the distant floor, rolling under the platform.
action: Las alien
response: A plastic bulb lights up at the end of the laser arm. You hear a "pew pew" sound. The giant green alien is unaffected, Dr. Law.
action: Gun alien
response: You shoot a plastic pellet at the giant green alien. The pellet bounces away and is lost.

The alien is silent and motionless.
action: Fir alien
response: You hear a 'click' and a small flame comes from the end of one of Smasher's arms.

Smasher holds the flame to the alien and it goes up in a big ball of greasy smoke, leaving only a plastic squeaker ring that rolls to the ground far below and under the platform. The smoke is sucked into the ventilation grille.
action: You go north
response: Northeastern Platform (as Smasher)
This portion of the platform is a large rectangle outlined by a series of cracks and hinges. The robot is in the middle of the rectangle.

The platform extends to the south and west.

A large yellow dais of some spongy material is here, covered in black streaks. It covers up much of the rectangle outlined by the cracks.
action: Las dais
response: A plastic bulb lights up at the end of the laser arm. You hear a "pew pew" sound. The large yellow dais is unaffected, Dr. Law.
action: Fir dais
response: You hear a clicking sound, and see a small flame come from the robot's arm. The dais is on fire. It's burning away into cinders that are caught up into the ventilation grille on the far edge of the room, by the bookshelf.

I thought we had worked through these destructive urges, Dr. Law.

Now that the fire is out, you see a recessed cube that was hidden underneath.
action: You look at the cube
response: A recessed cube that says "OPEN DRAWER 2".
action: Ham cube
response: The robotic arm hammers the recessed button. A compartment in the floor opens, flinging the robot across the room.

High Platform (as Smasher)
You have a high view of the entire room. A massive ventilation grille is next to you, to the north. It is held closed by several studs.
action: Saw the studs
response: A dull-bladed pen-knife pops out, trying to cut the studs, but it is not sharp enough, Dr. Law.
action: Bot studs
response: The arm extends, gripping the studs, and pops them off one at a time. The ventilation grille pops off and falls down behind the high platform. The way to the north is now open.
action: Go north
response: Airduct (as Smasher)
The robot is in a tight metal hallway that bends from the south
to the west.
action: Go west
response: The robot tumbles down an unexpected hole in the shaft. It comes to rest on a far larger robot in the room below.

Angel's Head (as Smasher)
The robot is up high on an another, enormous robot's head. Far below is an endless ocean of sand.

The head is flat and almost featureless. A small ramp leads
down into the darkness.
action: Go downward
response: The small robot docks into the larger robot's head.


Interfacing with Angel... 
You now have access to the larger robot's capabilities.

MEDUSA Arena (as Angel)
You see a circular room with brick walls and a floor covered in sand. There are no obvious exits.

Scattered about the room are a small green punching bag, a stack of wooden crates, an unopened bottle, a small sapling and a stone boulder.

A wooden hatch is in the center of the floor.

x [something] - zoom in camera
say [something] - play one of your listed recordings
las - fire laser
ham - swing hammer
fir - shoot flame
gun - shoot gun
bot - open bottle
saw - use chainsaw
n,e,s,w,u,d - movement
ext - exit from war robot control
z - wait
action: Ham hatch
response: The robot's hydraulic hammer smashes the wooden hatch into millions of pieces. A vacuum attachment emerges to suck up the remains.

A dark ramp is now visible, leading downward.
action: Bot bottle
response: (the unopened bottle)
The bottle opener gently opens the bottle.
action: You examine bottle
response: (the opened bottle)
A bottle that is cheerily opened.
action: Go south
response: This vessel is blocked from moving that direction, Dr. Law.
action: Go downward
response: Wild West Challenge (as Angel)
The robot rolls down the ramp into complete darkness.

The ramp retracts into the ceiling, and the lights go on. You hear Dr. Long's recorded voice saying: "First Challenge: Wild West Environment". Dr. Ng's voice chimes in, saying, "Now with three times the firepower!" The camera feed jiggles; Angel seems to be on a platform. The lights go on.

You see a room painted with murals of red-rock desert country. Angel is standing on top of a train that is rocking and bumping on hydraulics; hidden speakers are playing train noises. The train is being pursued by an outlaw drone and a bandit drone, riding stationary mechanical horses.

The train and horses are bucking wildly, making it hard to aim.

The outlaw drone draws its gun and aims it at you.

The bandit drone pulls out its revolver and points it at you.
action: Las boulder
response: A double-barreled 500 jigawatt laser fires at the stone boulder, punching two holes in it.
action: Saw bottle
response: (the opened bottle)
The chainsaw starts up with a harsh rattle, and shreds the opened bottle.
action: Ham punching bag
response: The robot's hydraulic hammer smashes into the small green punching bag. You hear a loud thud, but the small green punching bag stands firm.
action: Gun crates
response: The stack of wooden crates disintegrates in a hail of bullets.
action: Fir boulder
response: A massive burst of flame emerges from the robot, engulfing the stone boulder. However, the stone boulder is unscathed.
action: Gun boulder
response: The stone boulder is resistant to your bullets, which spray around the room wildly.
action: Go downward
response: Wild West Challenge (as Angel)
The robot rolls down the ramp into complete darkness.

The ramp retracts into the ceiling, and the lights go on. You hear Dr. Long's recorded voice saying: "First Challenge: Wild West Environment". Dr. Ng's voice chimes in, saying, "Now with three times the firepower!" The camera feed jiggles; Angel seems to be on a platform. The lights go on.

You see a room painted with murals of red-rock desert country. Angel is standing on top of a train that is rocking and bumping on hydraulics; hidden speakers are playing train noises. The train is being pursued by an outlaw drone and a bandit drone, riding stationary mechanical horses.

The train and horses are bucking wildly, making it hard to aim.

The outlaw drone draws its gun and aims it at you.

The bandit drone pulls out its revolver and points it at you.
action: Gun bandit
response: The rocking train makes the bullets spray wildly. They miss the drone, but hit the horse. Sparks fly, and the horse stops moving.

The outlaw drone shoots at you, but the shot goes wild.

The bandit drone whoops and hollers, shooting its gun in the air.
action: Gun outlaw's horse
response: The rocking train makes the bullets spray wildly. They miss the drone, but hit the horse. Sparks fly, and the horse stops moving.

The outlaw drone aims carefully, and shoots.
Angel's laser has been damaged, Dr. Law. It is no longer functional.

The bandit drone aims carefully, and shoots.
Angel's chainsaw has been damaged, Dr. Law. It is no longer functional.
action: Ham bandit
response: The drone and its horse are too far away, Dr. Law.

The outlaw drone shoots at you, but the shot goes wild.

The bandit drone whoops and hollers, shooting its gun in the air.
action: Las bandit
response: The rocking of the train and the horse makes the laser go wild, Dr. Law. You are unable to lase the drone. It's too small a target.

The outlaw drone aims carefully, and shoots.
Angel's laser has been damaged, Dr. Law. It is no longer functional.

The bandit drone aims carefully, and shoots.
Angel's chainsaw has been damaged, Dr. Law. It is no longer functional.
action: Gun bandit
response: With the horse not moving, it's easy to attack the drone. It disintegrates in a hail of bullets.

The outlaw drone aims carefully, and shoots.
Angel's laser has been damaged, Dr. Law. It is no longer functional.
action: Gun outlaw
response: With the horse not moving, it's easy to attack the drone. It disintegrates in a hail of bullets.

The bandit drone aims carefully, and shoots.
Angel's laser has been damaged, Dr. Law. It is no longer functional.
action: Gun train
response: The train is resistant to your bullets, which spray around the room wildly.

The bandit drone aims carefully, and shoots.
Angel's chainsaw has been damaged, Dr. Law. It is no longer functional.
action: Saw train
response: The chainsaw struggles against the train, sending up sparks but causing little damage.

The outlaw drone shoots at you, but the shot goes wild.

The bandit drone whoops and hollers, shooting its gun in the air.
action: Saw the outlaw
response: The drone is too far away, Dr. Law.

The outlaw drone aims carefully, and shoots.
Angel's laser has been damaged, Dr. Law. It is no longer functional.

The bandit drone aims carefully, and shoots.
Angel's chainsaw has been damaged, Dr. Law. It is no longer functional.
action: Fir bandit
response: The flames envelope the drone and the horse. The drone glows white-hot, then explodes. A cleaner bot swoops down to vacuum the ashes, then disappears.

The outlaw drone shoots at you, but the shot goes wild.
action: Fir outlaw
response: The flames envelope the drone and the horse. The drone glows white-hot, then explodes. A cleaner bot swoops down to vacuum the ashes, then disappears.

A voice speaks, saying: "First Challenge Successful. Please proceed to the next Challenge."

A ramp in the top of the train opens downwards.
action: You descend
response: Pirate Challenge (as Angel)
Angel travels down the ramp into darkness. The ramp retracts into the ceiling. Dr. Long's voice says: "Second Challenge: Ocean Environment." Dr. Ng's voice chimes in, saying, "Now with pirates!"

The lights go on. The robot is on the deck of a wooden sailing ship, in the rain. A dark ship flying the skull and crossbones lies nearby. The pirate ship is teeming with pirate drones.

The pirate captain drone stalks the deck of the pirate ship, shouting orders. It is almost completely screened by the wooden rail.

The captain points to a pirate drone and barks out an order. The pirate drone charges and swings across to your schooner, brandishing its cutlass.
action: Gun pirate
response: (the pirate drone)
The bullets pierce through the drone. The drone glows white-hot, then explodes.
action: Saw rail
response: That's too far away to saw!
action: Gun rail
response: The railing explodes into splinters, but the captain is unharmed. It leaps up into the rigging.

The captain points to a pirate drone and barks out an order. The pirate drone charges and swings across to your schooner, brandishing its cutlass.
action: Gun captain
response: The pirate captain leaps out of the way. The rigging is shredded to pieces. The captain dives belowdecks.
action: Saw the captain
response: That's too far away to saw!

The captain points to a pirate drone and barks out an order. The pirate drone charges and swings across to your schooner, brandishing its cutlass.
action: Gun captain
response: The gun misses the captain, and sprays holes all over the ship. The ship slowly sinks into the water, with all pirates jumping in and swimming away.

The captain remains with the ship until the end, saluting you as it sinks under the water.

A ramp opens down in your schooner.
action: Las captain
response: The laser misses the captain, and gouges a huge gash into the ship. The ship slowly sinks into the water, with all pirates jumping in and swimming away.

The captain remains with the ship until the end, saluting you as it sinks under the water.

A ramp opens down in your schooner.
action: Go downwards
response: There is not a path downward at this time, Dr. Law.
Refreshing...

Pirate Challenge (as Angel)
The robot is on the deck of a wooden sailing ship, in the rain. A dark ship flying the skull and crossbones lies nearby. The pirate ship is teeming with pirate drones.

The captain runs back and forth belowdecks, visible through the portholes.

x [something] - zoom in camera
say [something] - play one of your listed recordings
las - fire laser
ham - swing hammer
fir - shoot flame
gun - shoot gun
bot - open bottle
saw - use chainsaw
n,e,s,w,u,d - movement
ext - exit from war robot control
z - wait

Let me know if you need anything else, Dr. Law.
action: Saw the portholes
response: That's too far away to saw!

The captain points to a pirate drone and barks out an order. The pirate drone charges and swings across to your schooner, brandishing its cutlass.
action: Gun pirate
response: (the pirate drone)
The bullets pierce through the drone. The drone glows white-hot, then explodes.
action: Bot captain
response: The bottle opener is ineffective in this current situation, Dr. Law. If we find rum later, we can pull it out again.
action: Go downwards
response: Final Challenge (as Angel)
Angel travels down the ramp into the darkness. The ramp retracts into the ceiling. Dr. Ng's voice speaks alone, saying, "Final Challenge: Drones Playing Poker".

The lights go on. Angel is pulled up to a circular green felt table with six drones, most with a cigar, cigarette, or pipe. There is a rootbeer bottle on the table. Angel has been dealt three aces and a few other cards. The drone next to Angel passes a fourth ace under the table. A pipe-smoking drone watches you expectantly.

It looks like the current bet is $1000. You are the last one to make your bet.

fol - fold
cal - call
rai - raise
action: You open the bottle
response: (the rootbeer bottle)
My connection with this vessel does not allow for detailed commands, Dr. Law. Please try one of the following:

fol - fold
cal - call
rai - raise
action: Bot bottle
response: (the rootbeer bottle)
Angel pries open the bottle. The drones grab at it and pass it around, each taking a swallow. The last drone eats the bottle, crunching it greedily.
action: Gun next drone
response: The cynical drone glares at you, pointing to a nearby sign. The sign says, "No disintegrations."
action: Rai
response: Angel pushes all of its chips into the pot. The room goes silent. The drone next to you shakes its head.

Angel lays down its cards. Four aces.

The cigarette-smoking drone grins and laughs mechanically (and maniacally). It lays down a royal flush, in hearts. A vacuum attachment extends from its chest to suck up the chips.

The drone next to Angel pats it and whispers, "Sorry!" before heading out with the other drones.

It seems that you've lost $6000, Dr. Law. I'm sorry.

down.
action: Fol
response: Angel throws the cards in the muck. The drone next to Angel sighs.

The cigar-smoking drone throws down a full house. It chortles, and collects all the chips.

The drones call it a night, throwing down the cards and filing out one by one.

You played it safe, Dr. Law. Your funds have increased by $0.

The table flips over and becomes a ramp going down.
action: Cal
response: Angel pushes 20 chips forward. The drones look at each other, straight-faced.

"Show us what you've got," growls a pipe-smoking drone.

Angel lays down the cards. Everyone groans, except for the drone next to you, who gives you a wink. The drones file out one at a time.

It seems your funds have gone up by $12,000, Dr. Law. I'll invest it for you in a money market mutual fund. It should be available to withdraw in one year.

The poker table rotates over, and becomes a dark ramp leading downward.
action: You go downward
response: Angel is in darkness in a large room.

The lights go on. The room is a bare concrete cube, with a large banner that says "Congratulations Angel!"

"Pomp and Circumstance" plays on a small, tinny speaker. A small panel opens in the ceiling to release confetti, but it jams halfway.

A door opens in the wall, and a conveyor belt in the floor begins moving Angel out.

I'll take it from here, Dr. Law; Angel will be in the command center awaiting your final judgment.

You have completed your review of Project MEDUSA. Your connection with Angel is severed. Returning you to your last known location....
MEDUSA Arena
You see a circular room with brick walls and a floor covered in sand. The MEDUSA Living Quarters are to the south.

Scattered about the room are a small green punching bag, a small sapling and a stone boulder.


Project MEDUSA Complete 

-Evaluate Project MOIRAI
-Make your final selection at the project judging ceremony
-Dr. Law, your brain backup unit's battery light just went from
yellow to orange. I don't know what you have in there,
but it will be erased if you don't charge it.

hom - home folder
hyd, med, moi - Observe Project HYDRA, MEDUSA, or MOIRAI
action: Hom
response: Now exiting audiovisual mode.

-Your brain backup unit has been turned on somehow, and it's running low on battery; you have only 110 minutes of battery time remaining before it dies and its backup memory is flushed.

ema - check e-mail
aud - enable audiovisual
help - access help information
abt - information on DaedalOS
hyd, med, moi - Observe Project HYDRA, MEDUSA, or MOIRAI
say [something] - play one of your listed recordings
action: Moi
response: Initiating audiovisual link with Project MOIRAI... 

This is a hollow cavern lit by underwater lights underneath a rippling pool. The walls are covered with an etching of the Moirai: one is spinning a thread, one is measuring the thread, and another cuts the thread. The etchings are filled with silver.

Around the edges of the ceiling are thick curtains, which are currently raised. In the pool is a dog-shaped fountain that is streaming weakly.

The three women are eyeless. There is a door to the north in
the wall. The door is etched with a table on which a single eye rests. The pupil of the eye is a peephole in the door.

Dr. Law, I detect two connected devices in this room.

Dr. Law, I'm receiving an email. It is now available in your
inbox.
action: Ema
response: Checking unread messages:


Third message of three 

Subject: Armed Combat

From: ngbot@stygi.corp

Text:

Law,

I'm excited by the new weapons capabilities that I've built into Angel. I believe that we can take this program further than you've ever imagined. A military contract, perhaps with multiple states.

Don't close the door when you see good fortune opening the gate, Law. I know you had a different, more personal purpose in mind when you started the resurrection projects. But however much you cared about Cerberus, they are only one being.

-Dr. Ng
action: You look around
response: This is a hollow cavern lit by underwater lights underneath a rippling pool. The walls are covered with an etching of the Moirai: one is spinning a thread, one is measuring the thread, and another cuts the thread. The etchings are filled with silver.

Around the edges of the ceiling are thick curtains, which are currently raised. In the pool is a dog-shaped fountain that is streaming weakly.

The three women are eyeless. There is a door to the north in
the wall. The door is etched with a table on which a single eye rests. The pupil of the eye is a peephole in the door.

Dr. Law, I detect two connected devices in this room.
action: You examine the eye
response: A single eye is carved in the middle of the door. I cannot see through the eye at this angle, Dr. Law. I hope Ginger's not using the peephole for light again; she's had enough eyestrain already from using her grown-up glasses.

This eye seems to be a reference to the Graeae, Dr. Law, which is odd, as I understand that they are distinct entities in mythology.
action: You look at the fountain
response: The fountain is shaped in the form of Orthrus, the two-headed mythical guardian dog. One head is lapping from the pool while another is supposed to spew out water with a cheery expression.

This fountain is streaming weakly.

tur - Turn fountain right
rot - Turn fountain left
action: You look at the curtains
response: Heavy curtains on a mechanized roll are pulled up to the top of the room.

cur - Raise and lower curtain
action: Tur
response: The fountain rotates, changing the water flow.

The water stream is completely dead, now.
action: Rot
response: The fountain rotates, changing the water flow.

The fountain is now at its original strength. The stream is pointing at Clothos.
action: Rot
response: The fountain rotates, changing the water flow.

The fountain is now at twice its original strength. The stream is pointing at Lachesis, and nearly reaches the edge of the pool.
action: You examine Lachesis
response: On closer inspection, the thread being handled by the Fates is actually a data stream of 1's and 0's. The women themselves are modelled on famous scientists: Hypatia as Atropos, Ada Lovelace as Clothos, and Emmy Noether as Lachesis.
action: You look at the pool
response: Lights are shimmering from underneath the pool. A fountain shaped like the two-headed dog Orthrus rises from the center of the pool. The fountain seems to be connected.
action: Cur
response: The curtains lower from the ceiling.

They almost reach the eye, but not quite, Dr. Law. There seems to be a snag in the motor.
action: You examine motor
response: Heavy curtains on a mechanized roll are pulled up to the top of the room.
action: You look at your surroundings
response: This is a hollow cavern lit by underwater lights underneath a rippling pool. The walls are covered with an etching of the Moirai: one is spinning a thread, one is measuring the thread, and another cuts the thread. The etchings are filled with silver.

Around the edges of the ceiling are thick curtains, which are currently lowered. In the pool is a dog-shaped fountain that is flowing at a moderate pace, pointed at Lachesis.

The three women are eyeless. There is a door to the north in
the wall. The door is etched with a table on which a single eye rests. The pupil of the eye is a peephole in the door.

Dr. Law, I detect two connected devices in this room.
action: You examine the fountain
response: The fountain is shaped in the form of Orthrus, the two-headed mythical guardian dog. One head is lapping from the pool while another is supposed to spew out water with a cheery expression.

This fountain is flowing at a moderate pace, pointed at Lachesis.
action: You look at Moirai
response: The thread being handled by the Fates is a data stream of 1's and 0's. The women themselves are modelled on famous scientists: Hypatia as Atropos, Ada Lovelace as Clothos, and Emmy Noether as Lachesis. Don't forget, Dr. Law, that I've restricted you to a single level of zoom. There is nothing more to learn from this etching.
action: Rot
response: The fountain rotates, changing the water flow.

The fountain is now at three times its original strength. The stream is pointing at Atropos, and is spraying out onto the floor.
action: You examine the eye
response: A single eye is carved in the middle of the door. I cannot see through the eye at this angle, Dr. Law. I hope Ginger's not using the peephole for light again; she's had enough eyestrain already from using her grown-up glasses.

This eye seems to be a reference to the Graeae, Dr. Law, which is odd, as I understand that they are distinct entities in mythology.
action: Rot
response: The fountain rotates, changing the water flow.

The fountain is now at four times its original strength. The stream is pointing at the table with the eye, and is spraying onto the door, just missing the eye.

The water is spraying directly on the curtains. The extra weight causes them to sag until they cover the eye.
You hear a child make a startled sound from the laboratory. You see a light click on from the other side.

Ginger slowly pushes open the door and peeks out her head. She pushes up her glasses and gathers up her oversized lab coat. Ginger steps quickly to the pool and fishes her hand around the bottom, and the fountain turns off. The curtains raise back to their original position. She walks back into the laboratory, which is now illuminated, and pulls the door shut.
action: You go to the north
response: This laboratory is primarily lit by random electrical discharges. It contains 69,105 visible mechanical gadgets. The largest gadget is a square dais inscribed with a circle. Cables and cords connect the dais to other gadgets, control panels and monitors. You hear hums, snaps and sizzles from the electrical discharges. The rest of the MOIRAI facilities can be found to the north and south.

You can see young Ginger here, standing on a chair, typing on a terminal.

A light blinks on her terminal. She looks straight up at the camera, and types into her terminal: "Is that you? Are you logged on, Fred? Fred, we've got to hurry before the presentation. It's a team eat team world out there.

"We've got to get back to our original ages. I'm still recalibrating the machine after the quake, and I've been testing it out on a wide variety of objects."

She takes off her huge glasses and rubs her eyes. She says, "It's been exhausting, Fred! Here, let's play a game to make it go faster. I call it: Binary or Bust. I'll tell you more about it, but I need you to run the rejuvenator remotely. Turn it on, real quick."

ene - Energize the rejuvenator

Ginger is waiting patiently.
action: Ene
response: The eye-shaped rejuvenator begins to hum, and the pupil begins to glow. Ginger types, "Thanks, Fred, you're the sweetest.

"I want you to split up the objects by a binary classification; you know, like hot vs. cold, or soft vs. hard. But don't use those, obviously.

"Age everything in one category, and de-age everything in the other category. If I can guess the pattern, I win. If not, we keep playing. That'll help me test a lot of objects." She looks at her watch. "We only have time for two or three games; if I win, I'll stop there," she types with a smile.

Ginger types, "I'll start with a bulky antique quilt, a tin can, a wool baby sock, a bearskin rug, a diamond ring, and a slice of quiche lorraine. Try and find some way of splitting them into two groups. And don't tell me the pattern! Let me guess."

She grabs a bulky antique quilt and puts it on the rejuvenator.

new - De-age the object on the rejuvenator
old - Age the object on the rejuvenator
action: New tin
response: I have a primitive set of commands, Dr. Law; I believe you just want to new.
action: Old
response: The quilt ages gracefully. The price label changes to read $40000, then $100000.

Then a small rip appears in the quilt, and the label changes to $12.59. Ginger takes the transformed bulky antique quilt and places it in a large box.

Ginger writes, "Interesting, Fred." Ginger grabs a tin can and places it on the rejuvenator, over the pupil of the eye.
action: New
response: The can leaps into the air with a bang and comes down as a chunk of tin and a much larger chunk of iron, with a pile of carbon. Ginger takes the transformed tin can and places it in a large box.

Ginger writes, "I've got some ideas about which classification you chose, but I'm not quite there yet." Ginger grabs a wool baby sock and places it on the rejuvenator, over the pupil of the eye.
action: Old
response: The wool baby sock becomes thin. Holes develop. The holes are darned, and the sock is filled with birdseed and hung. The birdseed is eaten, and the sock withers away until only a scant few threads are left. Ginger takes the transformed wool baby sock and places it in a large box.

Ginger writes, "I definitely have a theory, Fred. Keep them coming! I want to win." Ginger grabs a bearskin rug and places it on the rejuvenator, over the pupil of the eye.
action: Old
response: The bearskin rug becomes patchy, and then bald. It then grows hairy again with thick, green, shaggy mold, before crumbling away to a pile of mold. Ginger takes the transformed bearskin rug and places it in a large box.

Ginger writes, "Aha! My theory has been confirmed. Just one more experiment, and I'll tell you what I think." Ginger grabs a diamond ring and places it on the rejuvenator, over the pupil of the eye.
action: Old
response: The ring gets scuffed and dinged. The diamond falls out of the setting, but not much else happens. Diamonds are forever, Dr. Law. Ginger takes the transformed diamond ring and places it in a large box. Ginger sighs, and types, "I'm sorry, Fred, I can't figure out! Looks like you win this round.

"I guess we'll need to start over."

Ginger says, "This time I'll use a tin can, a quart of milk, a slice of quiche lorraine, a bulky antique quilt, a vat of quicksilver, and a quartz pebble. Try and find some way of splitting them into two groups. And don't tell me the pattern! Just age one group and de-age the other and let me guess."

Ginger grabs a tin can and places it on the rejuvenator, over the pupil of the eye.
action: New
response: The can leaps into the air with a bang and comes down as a chunk of tin and a much larger chunk of iron, with a pile of carbon. Ginger takes the transformed tin can and places it in a large box.

Ginger writes, "Interesting, Fred." Ginger grabs a quart of milk and places it on the rejuvenator, over the pupil of the eye.
action: Old
response: The carton churns and pops as something inside moves about violently. The carton begins to blacken and decay. It peels off to reveal a perfect gorgonzola cheese. Ginger takes the transformed quart of milk and places it in a large box.

Ginger writes, "I've got some ideas about which classification you chose, but I'm not quite there yet." Ginger grabs a slice of quiche lorraine and places it on the rejuvenator, over the pupil of the eye.
action: Old
response: The slice of quiche lorraine turns grey, and then green. Large mold colonies sprout out, forming towers of red, green, and gold. Ginger takes the transformed slice of quiche lorraine and places it in a large box.

Ginger writes, "I definitely have a theory, Fred. Keep them coming! I want to win." Ginger grabs a bulky antique quilt and places it on the rejuvenator, over the pupil of the eye.
action: Old
response: The quilt ages gracefully. The price label changes to read $40000, then $100000.

Then a small rip appears in the quilt, and the label changes to $12.59. Ginger takes the transformed bulky antique quilt and places it in a large box.

Ginger writes, "Aha! My theory has been confirmed. Just one more experiment, and I'll tell you what I think." Ginger grabs a vat of quicksilver and places it on the rejuvenator, over the pupil of the eye.
action: New
response: The vat of quicksilver bubbles and boils and settles down as a vat of cinnabar. Ginger takes the transformed vat of quicksilver and places it in a large box.

Ginger writes triumphantly, "Well, I guessed it, Fred. You've been deaging everything that's inorganic and aging everything else. Great idea! I love it!" She writes SUCCESS in her journal in giant letters.

"Well", she types, "I guess it's time to try it out."

She stands on the rejuvenator, and presses a button. There is a bright flash of light, and a middle-aged woman reappears. Ginger checks that her lab coat and glasses still fit. She snaps by her ears, and smiles; her hearing defect must be repaired again.

An alarm buzzes, and the terminal flashes a message: FIRE IN SECTOR 3. Ginger sees the message.

She looks at the camera and says, "Thanks Fred, I love you!" before running out of the room. She bumps into the rejuvenator on the way out, and sparks fly out for a second before fading.

[New recording - Love]

It seems Ginger broke something in the rejuvenator. You should really get that fixed before the judging ceremony, Dr. Law.
action: You examine the rejuvenator
response: The rejuvenator is a metal platform shaped like an elaborately carved eye whose pupil is glowing. It is capable of supporting one or two individuals. It is a single step up from the floor.
action: Go up
response: There are no cameras in that direction, Dr. Law.
action: Go north
response: You see a natural cavern filled with gold coins and jewelry. A bunk bed shaped like a miniature Spanish galleon is on one side of the room. The other side contains a nook with a desk and shelves filled with pirate ships in glass bottles. You can return to the laboratory to the south. Fred's eye-shaped computer is blinking red.

I detect two connected devices in this room, Dr. Law.

Fred is at his desk, napping.

There is a glass porthole set into the wall.

The alarm on Fred's computer is blaring.
action: You look at Fred
response: A male human.

-Height: 170 cm.

-Approx. weight: 120 kg.

-Approx. age: 92.

-Clothing: Black pants with suspenders over white dress shirt, no tie.

-Costume: A felt pirate hat.

-Personality: Mischievous.

The alarm on Fred's computer is blaring.
action: You look at the computer
response: (Fred's computer)
Fred's computer is molded in the shape of an eye, just like the rejuvenator in the other room. It has a blinking red alarm; perhaps you should turn it off. Fred has enabled remote access to the alarm, mostly so Ginger can wake him up after naps.

ala - turn alarm on and off.

The alarm on Fred's computer is blaring.
action: Ala
response: The alarm stops. Fred still seems half-awake, though.
action: You examine the desk
response: Fred's desk is made from the deck of a salvaged wooden sailing ship, Dr. Law.
action: You look at Fred
response: A male human.

-Height: 170 cm.

-Approx. weight: 120 kg.

-Approx. age: 92.

-Clothing: Black pants with suspenders over white dress shirt, no tie.

-Costume: A felt pirate hat.

-Personality: Mischievous.
action: Love
response: The hidden speakers say, "I love you, Fred."

Fred blushes, and looks around, squinting. When he doesn't see anyone, he stands up, smiles, and wanders into the room to the south.
action: Go south
response: You can hear the movie in the other room turn off.

This laboratory is primarily lit by random electrical discharges. It contains 69,105 visible mechanical gadgets. The largest gadget is a square dais inscribed with a circle. Cables and cords connect the dais to other gadgets, control panels and monitors. You hear hums, snaps and sizzles from the electrical discharges. The rest of the MOIRAI facilities can be found to the north and south.

Fred looks deep in thought for a moment.

Fred looks for Ginger, but only finds her journal, which still says SUCCESS written in giant letters.

He cackles, and climbs on the platform. He pushes a button, and pulls a lever. The machine is building up.
action: You wait
response: Okay, Dr. Law. I'll wait.

There is a flash of brilliant light. You now see a young version of Fred, approximately 5 years old. He looks around the room with wide eyes. A hiss of steam from a machine startles him, and he says, "Mytyeh gogo?" A light flashes on the terminal, and he says, "Mytyeh gogo?" in a higher voice.

He sees something that makes him smile and runs out of the room. You can hear him to the north.

Dr. Law, with the machine malfunctioning, Fred has reverted
mentally to his 5-year-old self, who, unfortunately, only speaks Old Gwyndyngwah.

I do not speak Old Gwyndyngwah, Dr. Law, but I'll do what I can to help. Fred speaks so slowly and clearly that I split up his recordings into fragments that you can combine. The more you use them, the more information I can gather on their meaning.

link [a recording] to [another recording] - combine two halves of a sentence.

[New phrase - Myt]

[New phrase - Gogo]
action: You link the myt to Gogo
response: Recombination successful, Dr. Law. The sentence you've created is "Mytyeh gogo?"

[New phrase - MytGogo]
action: Rec
response: Recordings:
Love - "I love you, Fred."
Come - "Come here right now!"
Yuck - "Don't eat that!"
Repeat - "Let's try one more time! We can do it!"
Opening fragments:
Myt - "Mytyeh..."
Closing fragments:
Gogo - "...gogo."
Linked sentences:
MytGogo - "Mytyeh gogo?"
action: Myt
response: The hidden speakers turn on, saying: "Mytyeh..." You can hear Fred stop in the next room to listen, but he starts playing again.
action: You go north
response: You see a natural cavern filled with gold coins and jewelry. A bunk bed shaped like a miniature Spanish galleon is on one side of the room. The other side contains a nook with a desk and shelves filled with pirate ships in glass bottles. You can return to the laboratory to the south. Fred's eye-shaped computer is silent.

There is a glass box labeled "OPEN IN CASE OF ADVENTURE" containing a small plastic sword. Fred must have pulled it out from the piles of treasure when he came in.

There is a glass porthole set into the wall.

Fred sees the box and opens his eyes wide. He opens it and grabs the sword,  bravely fending off imaginary pirates.
action: MytGogo
response: The hidden speakers say, "Mytyeh gogo?"

Fred waves his sword and says, "Gym!"

[New phrase - Gym]

Then he looks at the speakers, and searches around the room, and says, "Laly Ly?"

[New phrase - Laly]

[New phrase - Ly]
action: Rec
response: Recordings:
Love - "I love you, Fred."
Come - "Come here right now!"
Yuck - "Don't eat that!"
Repeat - "Let's try one more time! We can do it!"
Opening fragments:
Laly - "Laly..."
Myt - "Mytyeh..."
Closing fragments:
Ly - "...ly."
Gym - "...gym."
Gogo - "...gogo."
Linked sentences:
MytGogo - "Mytyeh gogo?"
action: You link Laly to the ly
response: Recombination successful, Dr. Law. The sentence you've created is "Laly ly?"

[New phrase - LalyLy]

Fred tries to juggle the sword, but fails.
action: Lalyly
response: The hidden speakers say, "Laly ly?"

Fred looks astonished, and points to himself. He says, "Wo lydo!" He then peers around the room. "Laly ly? Vyn wo!"

[New phrase - Wo]

[New phrase - Vyn]

[New phrase - Lydo]
action: Link Laly to Gogo
response: Recombination successful, Dr. Law. The sentence you've created is "Laly gogo?"

[New phrase - LalyGogo]

Fred stops for a moment and rubs his temples.

He seems to be in pain, Dr. Law; the machine's malfunction, his mind has been forced back into its 5-year-old self. According to Ginger's computerized notes, this is a painful condition that will cause more and more damage to Fred. I suggest you return him to his proper age as soon as possible.
action: Lalygogo
response: The hidden speakers say, "Laly gogo?"

Fred looks around, puzzled, and says, "Mytyeh?"
action: You link Laly to the Gym
response: Recombination successful, Dr. Law. The sentence you've created is "Laly gym?"

[New phrase - LalyGym]

Fred is taking pebbles from his pocket, Dr. Law. He seems to be looking around the room for something to throw them at.
action: Lalygym
response: The hidden speakers say, "Laly gym?"

Fred points to the box, and says, "Lydo!"
action: You link Laly to Lydo
response: My analysis suggests that this combination will not be useful, Dr. Law.

Fred offers the pebbles towards the speakers. He says, "Ly ling syk?"

[New phrase - Ling]

[New phrase - Syk]
action: Rec
response: Recordings:
Love - "I love you, Fred."
Come - "Come here right now!"
Yuck - "Don't eat that!"
Repeat - "Let's try one more time! We can do it!"
Opening fragments:
Ling - "Ly ling..."
Vyn - "Vyn...!"
Laly - "Laly..." (This seems to be a question word.)
Myt - "Mytyeh..."
Closing fragments:
Syk - "...syk."
Lydo - "...lydo."
Wo - "...wo."
Ly - "...ly."
Gym - "...gym."
Gogo - "...gogo."
Linked sentences:
LalyGym - "Laly gym?"
LalyGogo - "Laly gogo?"
LalyLy - "Laly ly?"
MytGogo - "Mytyeh gogo?"
action: You link Laly to the syk
response: Recombination successful, Dr. Law. The sentence you've created is "Laly syk?"

[New phrase - LalySyk]

Fred throws the rocks in the air, then looks around for something else to do.
action: Lalysyk
response: The hidden speakers say, "Laly syk?"

Fred thinks for a moment, then points to his pocket, and says, "Lydo!"
action: You link myt to the Gym
response: Recombination successful, Dr. Law. The sentence you've created is "Mytyeh gym?"

[New phrase - MytGym]

Fred grabs a fork from the clutter and looks around the room for something to do with it.
action: Link wo to syk
response: I can only combine opening fragments to closing fragments, Dr. Law, and the first thing you typed was not an opening fragment.

Fred sticks the fork into the socket. The electricity fries his hair, and the fork flies away and is lost.

Fred plays by the pit.
action: Mytgym
response: The hidden speakers say, "Mytyeh gym?"

Fred shrugs, and makes a chopping motion with his hand.
action: You link Vyn to Lydo
response: Recombination successful, Dr. Law. The sentence you've created is "Vyn Lydo!"

[New phrase - VynLydo]

Fred leaps on the bed, swinging his sword, before jumping down again.
action: Vynlydo
response: The hidden speakers say, "Vyn Lydo!"

Fred runs towards the speaker, obediently.
action: Rec
response: Recordings:
Love - "I love you, Fred."
Come - "Come here right now!"
Yuck - "Don't eat that!"
Repeat - "Let's try one more time! We can do it!"
Opening fragments:
Ling - "Ly ling..."
Vyn - "Vyn...!"
Laly - "Laly..." (This seems to mean "Where is...")
Myt - "Mytyeh..." (This seems to be a question word.)
Closing fragments:
Syk - "...syk."
Lydo - "...lydo."
Wo - "...wo."
Ly - "...ly."
Gym - "...gym."
Gogo - "...gogo."
Linked sentences:
VynLydo - "Vyn Lydo!"
MytGym - "Mytyeh gym?"
LalySyk - "Laly syk?"
LalyGym - "Laly gym?"
LalyGogo - "Laly gogo?"
LalyLy - "Laly ly?"
MytGogo - "Mytyeh gogo?"
action: You go to the south
response: You can hear the movie in the other room turn off.

This laboratory is primarily lit by random electrical discharges. It contains 69,105 visible mechanical gadgets. The largest gadget is a square dais inscribed with a circle. Cables and cords connect the dais to other gadgets, control panels and monitors. You hear hums, snaps and sizzles from the electrical discharges. The rest of the MOIRAI facilities can be found to the north and south.

You can hear Fred scampering in the next room.
action: VynLydo
response: The hidden speakers say, "Vyn Lydo!"

You can see Fred poke his head through the door, but he runs away when a machine makes a hissing sound. Maybe he needs something to make him feel more courageous, Dr. Law.
action: You link Vyn to the Gym
response: Recombination successful, Dr. Law. The sentence you've created is "Vyn gym!"

[New phrase - VynGym]
action: You go north
response: You see a natural cavern filled with gold coins and jewelry. A bunk bed shaped like a miniature Spanish galleon is on one side of the room. The other side contains a nook with a desk and shelves filled with pirate ships in glass bottles. You can return to the laboratory to the south. Fred's eye-shaped computer is silent.

There is a glass box labeled "OPEN IN CASE OF ADVENTURE" containing a small plastic sword.

There is a glass porthole set into the wall.

Fred tries to juggle the sword, but fails.
action: Vyngym
response: The hidden speakers say, "Vyn gym!"

Fred nods, then rushes up to the box, next to the sword.
action: Link ling to Gym
response: Recombination successful, Dr. Law. The sentence you've created is "Ly ling gym."

[New phrase - LingGym]

Fred stops for a moment and rubs his temples.

His condition seems to be worsening, Dr. Law.
action: You wait for a while
response: Okay, Dr. Law. I'll wait.

Fred is taking pebbles from his pocket, Dr. Law. He seems to be looking around the room for something to throw them at.
action: LingGym
response: The hidden speakers say, "Ly ling gym."

Fred nods, and stretches and grabs the sword, swinging it bravely.
action: Go south
response: This is a hollow cavern lit by underwater lights underneath a rippling pool. The walls are covered with an etching of the Moirai: one is spinning a thread, one is measuring the thread, and another cuts the thread. The etchings are filled with silver.

Around the edges of the ceiling are thick curtains, which are currently lowered. In the pool is a dog-shaped fountain that is currently turned off.

The three women are eyeless. There is a door to the north in
the wall. The door is etched with a table on which a single eye rests. The pupil of the eye is a peephole in the door.

Dr. Law, I detect two connected devices in this room.
action: VynLydo
response: The hidden speakers say, "Vyn Lydo!"

Fred runs into the room, waving his sword and pointing it at the machines.

Fred looks at the laboratory in fear.
action: Rec
response: Recordings:
Love - "I love you, Fred."
Come - "Come here right now!"
Yuck - "Don't eat that!"
Repeat - "Let's try one more time! We can do it!"
Opening fragments:
Ling - "Ly ling..."
Vyn - "Vyn...!" (This seems to be a command.)
Laly - "Laly..." (This seems to mean "Where is...")
Myt - "Mytyeh..." (This seems to be a question word.)
Closing fragments:
Syk - "...syk."
Lydo - "...lydo."
Wo - "...wo."
Ly - "...ly."
Gym - "...gym." (This seems to mean "...sword.")
Gogo - "...gogo."
Linked sentences:
LingGym - "Ly ling gym."
VynGym - "Vyn gym!"
VynLydo - "Vyn Lydo!"
MytGym - "Mytyeh gym?"
LalySyk - "Laly syk?"
LalyGym - "Laly gym?"
LalyGogo - "Laly gogo?"
LalyLy - "Laly ly?"
MytGogo - "Mytyeh gogo?"
action: Link vyn to Gogo
response: Recombination successful, Dr. Law. The sentence you've created is "Vyn gogo!"

[New phrase - VynGogo]

Fred looks at the laboratory in awe.
action: Vyngogo
response: The hidden speakers say, "Vyn gogo!"

Fred looks around, puzzled, and says, "Mytyeh?"

Fred looks at the laboratory in fear.
action: You link myt to the wo
response: Recombination successful, Dr. Law. The sentence you've created is "Mytyeh wo?"

[New phrase - MytWo]

Fred looks at the laboratory in awe.
action: Mytwo
response: The hidden speakers say, "Mytyeh wo?"

Fred shrugs and shakes his head. He guesses, "Dagei?"

[New phrase - Dagei]

Fred looks at the laboratory in fear.
action: You link Myt to the dagei
response: Recombination successful, Dr. Law. The sentence you've created is "Myt dagei?"

[New phrase - MytDagei]

Fred looks at the laboratory in awe.
action: Mytdagei
response: The hidden speakers say, "Myt dagei?"

Fred makes robot motions, then points to the machine and says, "Dagei!"

Fred looks at the laboratory in excitement.
action: You link Vyn to the dagei
response: Recombination successful, Dr. Law. The sentence you've created is "Vyn dagei!"

[New phrase - VynDagei]

Fred looks at the laboratory in fear.
action: Vyndagei
response: The hidden speakers say, "Vyn dagei!"

Fred rushes onto the rejuvenator, and stands on the pupil of the eye.

Fred waits anxiously on the rejuvenator.
action: Ene
response: It seems Ginger left the energizer on when she left, Dr. Law.

Fred waits patiently on the rejuvenator.
action: You look at the rejuvenator
response: The rejuvenator is a metal platform shaped like an elaborately carved eye whose pupil is glowing. It is capable of supporting one or two individuals. It is a single step up from the floor.

Fred waits with a bored expression on the rejuvenator.
action: Old
response: The rejuvenator activates, and flashes brightly. Fred screams in a voice that becomes more and more low pitched. He stretches and fills out into a middle-aged man. A normal-aged Fred is now on the Rejuvenator.

He looks at himself in surprise, then hears Ginger shouting in the distance, and runs off towards the depths of the laboratory.
You hear some banging and cursing, and then Fred and Ginger come back.

They hug each other, and then they lift the rejuvenator on either side. Fred notices the burnt-out part of the machine  and fixes it, then they carry the rejuvenator out of the room.

Dr. Law, Project MOIRAI is now ready for the final judging ceremony.


Project MOIRAI Complete 

-Make your final selection at the project judging ceremony
-Dr. Law, your brain backup unit's battery light just went from
orange to red. I don't know what you have in there, but
it will be erased if you don't charge it.

hom - home folder
hyd, med, moi - Observe Project HYDRA, MEDUSA, or MOIRAI
action: Hom
response: Now exiting audiovisual mode.

-Your brain backup unit has been turned on somehow, and it's running low on battery; you have only 105 minutes of battery time remaining before it dies and its backup memory is flushed.

say [something] - play one of your listed recordings
x [something] - zoom in camera
link [a recording] to [another recording] - combine two halves of a sentence.
ema - check e-mail
aud - enable audiovisual
help - access help information
abt - information on DaedalOS
hyd, med, moi - Observe Project HYDRA, MEDUSA, or MOIRAI

I've sent the following message to all staff, Dr. Law. Displaying shortly...
shortly...Subject: Final meeting

From: DaedalOS@stygi.corp

Text:

Dear staff members,

All testing is now completed. Please proceed to the command center, where Dr. Law will award one project the Golden Apple, and the chosen project will demonstrate the first official resurrection. Please be presentable.

Refreshing...

say [something] - play one of your listed recordings
x [something] - zoom in camera
link [a recording] to [another recording] - combine two halves of a sentence.
ema - check e-mail
aud - enable audiovisual
help - access help information
abt - information on DaedalOS
hyd, med, moi - Observe Project HYDRA, MEDUSA, or MOIRAI

Let me know if you need anything else, Dr. Law.
action: Aud
response: Now entering audiovisual mode. Type HOM to return to the home folder at any time.


Initiating audiovisual link...


This laboratory is primarily lit by random electrical discharges. It contains 69,105 visible mechanical gadgets. The largest gadget is a square dais inscribed with a circle. Cables and cords connect the dais to other gadgets, control panels and monitors. You hear hums, snaps and sizzles from the electrical discharges. The rest of the MOIRAI facilities can be found to the north and south.
action: History
response: The speakers play, saying, "In a world where accidents, violence, and large carnivorous mammals are all too common, one company has dared to stand alone: Stygicorp.

"For the last 10 years, Stygicorp has had one dream, one united vision, one common goal: to overcome death itself.

"Three teams of scientists, led by their brilliant supervisor, me, have worked tirelessly for the day when man, woman, and beast need no longer fear death.

"That day has come. Let's hear from our distinguished colleagues!"

Everyone claps loudly.

Everyone is excited for the presentation.

You have 3 recordings left to play.
action: Lig
response: The lights go on, making it impossible to see the spotlight.

Dr. Ng rubs her eyes and says, "Weird, is it over already?"

Dr. Spiel says, "I don't think so; Dr. Law must be having some kind of technical problems."

Now the MEDUSA group, the MOIRAI group and the HYDRA group are getting their presentation ready.

You have 3 recordings left to play.
action: Lig
response: The lights go off again.

It seems the MEDUSA group, the MOIRAI group and the HYDRA group are waiting for their turn.

You have 3 recordings left to play.
action: Spo angel
response: Dr. Ng looks annoyed. She mutters, "Dr. Law was supposed to introduce me first," but shrugs it off.

Dr. Ng stands forward, her metal feet clanking rhythmically.

She says, "Behold, my greatest creation yet, Angel the interactive robot!"

She pulls out a tablet and begins to type. She says, "With the departure of my 'loyal' assistant, Igor Long, I have been able to fully outfit our--my robot with the most powerful technology.

"Behold, the laser!" Lasers spray out of Angel's gun, carving off part of the wooden dummy's ear. The other scientists ooh and ahh.

"Behold, the flamethrower!" Dr. Ng points to the wooden dummy. A massive burst of flame envelopes the dummy, which flares up and disintegrates to ash. A vacuum from Angel sucks up the ash.

"Behold, the bottle opener!" Dr. Ng grabs a bottle and hands it to Angel, who opens it easily. Ginger leans over to Fred and says, "Now that would be useful at parties, eh?" Fred nods absentmindedly.

"And of course", she says, "my project allows for the prolongation of life, by allowing the transfer of a human or animal mind, using a simple USB cable."

She bows, and everyone claps.
action: Bots
response: The speakers play, saying: "Robots are cool, right? This was my personal favorite project." Dr. Ng beams while the others shift uncomfortably. Your recorded voice says, "The idea of one day inhabiting a perfect metal body is thrilling. The departure of Dr. Long from the group dashed my hopes-" Dr. Ng's face falls, "But Dr. Ng has my full confidence. As long as she keeps her dangerous side under control."

"In any case, ladies and gentlemen, I present to you, Project MEDUSA!"

Everyone claps with moderation.

You still need to spotlight the MEDUSA group, the MOIRAI group and the HYDRA group.

You have 2 recordings left to play.
action: Spo angel
response: Dr. Ng stands forward, her metal feet clanking rhythmically.

She says, "Behold, my greatest creation yet, Angel the interactive robot!"

She pulls out a tablet and begins to type. She says, "With the departure of my 'loyal' assistant, Igor Long, I have been able to fully outfit our--my robot with the most powerful technology.

"Behold, the laser!" Lasers spray out of Angel's gun, carving off part of the wooden dummy's ear. The other scientists ooh and ahh.

"Behold, the flamethrower!" Dr. Ng points to the wooden dummy. A massive burst of flame envelopes the dummy, which flares up and disintegrates to ash. A vacuum from Angel sucks up the ash.

"Behold, the bottle opener!" Dr. Ng grabs a bottle and hands it to Angel, who opens it easily. Ginger leans over to Fred and says, "Now that would be useful at parties, eh?" Fred nods absentmindedly.

"And of course", she says, "my project allows for the prolongation of life, by allowing the transfer of a human or animal mind, using a simple USB cable."

She bows, and everyone claps.

Dr. Law, your brain backup unit is flashing red. You have
something very large stored in there; but whatever it is, it's going to be deleted very soon.
action: Cloner
response: The speakers play, saying: "A doctor cloned herself, and asked the clone to do chores around the house. Every day, though, the clone started being more and more rebellious, and talking back to the doctor. Eventually, the doctor had enough, took them to a secluded bridge, and pushed them off.

"The jury couldn't decide if it was homicide, or suicide; so they ruled it as an obscene clone fall."

Fred and Ginger shake their heads, while Dr. Spiel giggles and the others groan.

The speaker continues, saying, "And now, I present to you, Project HYDRA!"

Everyone claps politely.

Everyone is excited for the presentation.

You have 1 recording left to play.
action: Spo hydra
response: Dr. Spiel looks up with a start. "Ooh," she says, "I'm not ready yet! Hold on." She cracks her knuckles and takes a deep breath.

Dr. Singh starts manipulating the machine while Dr. Spiel steps in front of the group and says, "Do you ever argue with your bowling team? Is football no fun because of a foul-mouthed fullback? Have you ever wished you could just play all the positions yourself?

"Well, the future is now, thanks to science!"

Dr. Singh steps back from the machine, and ten clones come out, one after another. The original kicks over a football, and they play a quick round of soccer.

"Of course, our technology extends lives in the case of accidental death or even aging. It is safe; of all clones that we have created, only ten have died." She checks her notes, and says, "Well, not counting the ones in the maze." She shakes her head, and says, "I still can't believe Dr. Singh knocked over my dominoes."

Dr. Singh says, "Oh, that reminds me," and pulls out the remote. The clones scramble, but he pushes the button, and they collapse into dust, which he blows away with his breath. He says, "Easy clean-up."

Fred and Ginger eye each other with concern, but join with Dr. Ng in clapping for Project HYDRA.
action: Temporal
response: The speakers play, saying, "Can a man be born again? Project MOIRAI wants to find out! After the failure of my own Project KRONOS to have any enduring effects, I asked Fred and Ginger to find a way to reverse time on a local, personal level.

"Although there were some rough points (we had to ban fossils from the lab!), Project MOIRAI has succeeded beyond our wildest dreams. Ladies and Gentlemen, I present to you, Project MOIRAI! "

Everyone claps loudly.

Now the MOIRAI group are getting their presentation ready.
action: Spo moirai
response: Ginger and Fred step forward, dragging the rejuvenator. They remove their labcoats, revealing that Fred is wearing a tuxedo while Ginger is wearing a vintage red gown.

In complete silence, Fred wheels a frame with a curtain over it onto the rejuvenator. Ginger waves to the others and steps into the curtain. Fred pulls a wand from his sleeves, winks at the audience, and waves it at the rejuvenator while nudging the controls with his toe.

The machine flashes, and a younger version of Ginger comes out from behind the curtain. Dr. Ng laughs and applauds, and the HYDRA group look nervous. Ginger and Fred take a bow, then Ginger reenters the curtain to re-age herself. They then pull the rejuvenator away.

Dr. Spiel whispers to Dr. Singh, "I'm surprised Fred didn't try to be a pirate magician again this year."

I think this is going very well, Dr. Law; don't you? Let's begin Phase 2 of your presentation.

By the way, Dr. Law, the brain backup device is shutting down in
ten minutes.
ten minutes.The spotlight winks off, and two smaller spotlights
shine onto two spots on the floor.

bie - raise the funeral bier
app - raise the golden apple

spo - aim the spotlight

[New recording - Faithful]

[New recording - Reward]

You have 2 recordings left to play.
action: Bie
response: A panel on the floor beneath one of the spotlights opens up. A shrouded bier arises from the hole and locks in place. Everyone watches in silence.

You have 2 recordings left to play.
action: App
response: A panel on the floor beneath one of the spotlights opens up. A pedestal arises with a Golden Apple. Everyone gasps.

You have 2 recordings left to play.
action: Faithful
response: The speakers play, saying, "My faithful and loyal companion, Cerberus, lies upon this bier. No dog has ever lived a greater life; so no dog will receive a greater reward. For ten years, I have labored night and day to restore Cerberus to life. While I am pleased that we have branched into reviving other mammals, including humans, my heart has always belonged to my friend, Cerberus."

Dr. Spiel mouths, "Their dog?" Dr. Singh nods and shrugs.

You have 1 recording left to play.
action: Winner
response: The speakers play, saying, "And the winner is...."

Everyone leans forward in anticipation. It's time Dr. Law; spotlight the team you want to win.

spo - aim the spotlight

Please make a decision, Dr. Law. We are all waiting.
action: Spo hydra
response: You have made your final choice.

The lights go dark, and a drumroll plays, until a cymbal crashes, and the spotlight shines on Project HYDRA! Dr. Singh is thrilled and steps forward, claiming the Golden Apple. Fred, Ginger, and Dr. Ng cheer and clap graciously.

Suddenly, Fred screams and points at the desk. Dr. Singh runs and ducks under the desk. After a short struggle, he pulls out....

You, Dr. Law. Your body, with the brain backup unit attached.

Dr. Law, this is you: the same arch in your eye sockets, the same cheekbones, the same hair (with two days' worth of growth). Dr. Law, I... do you have a twin, Dr. Law? And why is the brain backup unit full?

The doctors are whispering about something. Now they are nodding. They point to your body, Dr. Law, and carry you over.

They are putting you into the cloning sphere, Dr. Law, with the brain backup unit still attached.
action: Spo moirai
response: You have made your final choice.

The lights go dark, and a drumroll plays, until a cymbal crashes, and the spotlight shines on Project MOIRAI! Fred and Ginger are thrilled and step forward, claiming the Golden Apple. Dr. Singh and Dr. Ng cheer and clap graciously.

Suddenly, Fred screams and points at the desk. Dr. Singh runs and ducks under the desk. After a short struggle, he pulls out....

You, Dr. Law. Your body, with the brain backup unit attached.

Dr. Law, this is you: the same arch in your eye sockets, the same cheekbones, the same hair (with two days' worth of growth). Dr. Law, I... do you have a twin, Dr. Law? And why is the brain backup unit full?

The doctors are whispering about something. Now they are nodding. They point to your body, Dr. Law, and carry you over.

They are putting you on the rejuvenator, Dr. Law. The brain backup unit is attached to the machine.
action: Wait
response: Okay, Dr. Law. I'll wait.

There is a flash from the rejuvenator, and your body emerges, alive and...shrunken? A young version of yourself steps off the platform.

It looks at its body, then smiles and says, "The rejuvenator must have worked! Thank you, Fred and Ginger." But they look confused, and I must say, I feel confused myself, Dr. Law.

Dr. Ng says, "Dr. Law, if you were dead, who was running the presentation?"

The young version of yourself says, pointing to the cameras, "A good Samaritan ran into my distress call from my battery backup, and ended up taking over my role for the day."

Ohhhh, of course... You really aren't Dr. Law! I wondered why you didn't have me send over your daily cookie dough ice cream.
didn't have me send over your daily cookie dough ice cream.The young Dr. Law goes on, saying, "I didn't anticipate that I would be this young"--Fred and Ginger look at each other and shrug--"But I'm excited at the chance to be alive again! And not just me"--Dr. Law removes the covering on the bier, revealing a cryogenically frozen Labrador--"but also Cerberus, for whom this company was founded."

Young Dr. Law struggles to lift the dog from the bier, and carries it over to the rejuvenator. "Rejuvenate now!" says Dr. Law, but nothing happens. Fred reaches over and pushes a button. The rejuvenator flashes, and Cerberus is transformed into a young puppy.

Cerberus the puppy licks young Dr. Law's face. Dr. Law turns to the camera and say, "Goodbye, good Samaritan! I have some catching up to do, so I'll let you go, but I just wanted to say, thank you." Dr. Law nods to the camera and says, "DaedalOS, show them to the door. Metaphorically speaking."
action: Spo medusa
response: You have made your final choice.

The lights go dark, and a drumroll plays, until a cymbal crashes, and the spotlight shines on Project MEDUSA! Dr. Ng is thrilled, and steps forward, claiming the Golden Apple. Fred, Ginger, and Dr. Singh cheer and clap graciously.

Suddenly, Fred screams and points at the desk. Dr. Singh runs and ducks under the desk. After a short struggle, he pulls out....

You, Dr. Law. Your body, with the brain backup unit attached.

Dr. Law, this is you: the same arch in your eye sockets, the same cheekbones, the same hair (with two days' worth of growth). Dr. Law, I... do you have a twin, Dr. Law? And why is the brain backup unit full?

The doctors are whispering about something. Now they are nodding. They point to your body, Dr. Law, and carry you over.

They are attaching cables to Angel, Dr. Law. Now they're running the cables to you and your brain backup unit.
action: You wait
response: Okay, Dr. Law. I'll wait.

The cables flash, and the brain backup is downloaded into Angel.

Angel stirs, and stands erect. Your voice comes from the speakers: "I'm alive...I'm alive!"

Angel looks at itself, and says, "How marvelous..." Angel notices that everyone is staring.

Angel says, "It's me, Dr. Law! During the earthquake, I cracked my head, and only my battery backup kept me alive."

Dr. Singh says, "Then who was running the presentation?"

Dr. Law gestures towards a camera, and accidentally activates the machine gun on Angel's body, shattering the camera to pieces. "Oh, I'll need to get used to that," Dr. Law says, "but to answer your question, I was able to contact a new friend while I was in the battery backup. They took over my role for the day."

Oh. So you're not Dr. Law, reading this, are you? That explains why you didn't spend all morning telling me knock knock jokes like usual.
you didn't spend all morning telling me knock knock jokes like usual.Ginger frowns, and says, "You could have told us!" but Dr. Law shrugs. Dr. Law says, "In any case, I can now fulfill my long-held dream of reviving my beloved Labrador, Cerberus!" and with that, Dr. Law opens the bier, revealing Cerberus" body.

Dr. Ng rummages around her gatherings and pulls out a small dog-shaped robot model. Cerberus is attached to the robot by cables. After a bright flash, Cerberus comes to life again, in robot form!

"Good boy!" says Dr. Law, rubbing Cerberus's back. Cerberus barks, and a small missile streaks from his mouth towards the ceiling and blasts a hole in the roof, sending everyone to the ground. It whines sheepishly.

Oh dear... I should go. Thank you, New Friend.
action: Thanks
response: Greetings from Stygicorp! I wanted to send you a final progress report on your achievements today. Today you:

-Revived Dr. Law using 317 commands

Thank you again, and good luck!

Would you like to RESTART, RESTORE a saved game, see some suggestions for AMUSING things to do, QUIT, UNDO the last command, READ acknowledgments or read THANKS from DaedalOS?