Waker
by Kevin Jackson-Mead (2010)

You were never much of a history buff. You've always preferred learning how things work to learning useless facts about the past. But when your friend returned from the capital with tales of the moving statues in the Waker exhibit of the history museum, you decided it was finally time to see the capital for yourself.

action: %
response: ....

You were never much of a history buff. You've always preferred learning how things work to learning useless facts about the past. But when your friend returned from the capital with tales of the moving statues in the Waker exhibit of the history museum, you decided it was finally time to see the capital for yourself.

After arriving, you headed straight for the museum and found your way to the Waker exhibit.

Type CREDITS to see who helped me with this.

Waker Exhibit, First Room
The first thing you notice upon entering the first room of the Waker Exhibit is the life-sized statue atop a pedestal in the middle of the room. This must be one of the moving statues your friend talked about. The rest of the room is unremarkable, with stone walls, featureless except for the diorama behind glass on one end. The rest of the museum is to the south, and the exhibit continues to the north.
action: You examine statue
response: This life-size statue of a person appears to be made of wax. It is of a bald, fat man on the far side of middle age, and it is wearing a plain robe and slippers. It is standing on a pedestal and is motionless, although it appears to be built to allow its head to swivel. The pedestal has a large red button on it.
action: About yourself
response: You're the same as ever, wearing the same clothes you always wear: trousers, shirt, vest, and boots, all in black.
action: Inventory
response: You are carrying:
a black shirt (being worn)
a black vest (being worn)
black trousers (being worn)
black boots (being worn)
action: You examine the diorama
response: Yes, there is a diorama at one end of the room, but you find yourself unable to concentrate on it with that fascinating statue sitting in the middle of the room. Once you figure out how it moves, you'll be able to concentrate on the other parts of the room.
action: You examine the pedestal
response: An ordinary stone pedestal, upon which stands a statue. The only interesting feature of the pedestal is a large red button.
action: You examine the diorama
response: The area around the diorama is dark, and there is a bright spotlight shining on the diorama itself. The miniature chamber represented is a very lavish bedroom. The most striking feature, and the focus of the spotlight, is some sort of metallic box in the middle of the room.

The statue of Vel says, "The first Waking was thrust upon me, and I was ill-prepared."
action: You look at the box
response: The box is made of metal, longer than it is wide or tall. It has many wires around it, and several tubes go from the box into the floor. It almost appears as if there is a horizontal seam down the length of the box.

You get a strange feeling looking at the box, as if staring at it a bit longer might be the key to interacting with the diorama.

The statue of Vel says, "For a look into the first Waking, please interact with the diorama in front of you."
action: Continue
response: You stare intently at the metallic box. The spotlight seems to gradually get brighter as the rest of the room fades away. The box gets larger. Or are you moving closer to the box? You can't tell, and you can't look away as the box continues to get larger and larger. You suppose this is what the statue meant by "interacting."

When it doesn't seem like the box can get any larger or any brighter everything . . . changes.

Everything is blackness. You gradually feel another presence, and you hear a voice. It sounds like the voice of the statue, Vel.

Yesterday was a glorious day. After weeks of lobbying and debate, the council had finally voted unanimously to awaken the God-King to deal with the crisis with war-like Chelny. The whole priesthood had been out celebrating last night. Well, the whole priesthood except for you, that is, good old Vel, the High Priest's assistant. He never minds being left behind to mind the temple.

God-King's Bedroom
It took you a few moments to build up the nerve to enter the room, since only the High Priest is supposed to come in here. A lavish bed sits at the far end of the room, with an ornate wardrobe to the side. To the east lies what you presume is the God-King's bathing room, and to the south is the hallway leading out of the God-King's rooms.

The dominant feature of the room, sitting directly in the center and lit by a recessed spotlight, is a large metallic box: the God-King's sleep chamber, where you presume he is sleeping deeply.
action: About yourself
response: As always, you are dressed in your humble robe and slippers. Your slippers, though, are getting harder and harder to see as your belly has grown larger as you have aged.
action: You examine the bed
response: This must be where the God-King sleeps when he's not in his sleeping chamber. You'd better not disturb it.

You must hurry and wake the God-King if he is going to be ready for the ceremony.
action: You open the box
response: The God-King's sleep chamber is made of metal, and it is slightly bigger in all dimensions than an ordinary coffin. It has many wires around it, and several tubes go from the box into the floor. There is a keypad on top of the sleep chamber, and a horizontal seam defines the lid.

You try to pry the lid open, but it is securely shut.

You must hurry and wake the God-King if he is going to be ready for the ceremony.
action: You examine keypad
response: Wires lead from the bottom of the sleep chamber to a keypad on top of the lid. There are ten keys numbered 0 through 9, along with a red key and a green key. You've overheard the High Priest talking about this, so you know that you're supposed to press the keys. However, you have no idea which keys to press.

You hear the faint whooshing of liquid from the tubes connected to the sleep chamber.
action: You check your inventory
response: You are carrying:
a robe (being worn)
slippers (being worn)
action: Disrobe
response: What do you want to disrobe?
action: You look at the keypad
response: Wires lead from the bottom of the sleep chamber to a keypad on top of the lid. There are ten keys numbered 0 through 9, along with a red key and a green key. You're supposed to press the keys, but you have no idea which ones.
action: You look around
response: God-King's Bedroom
A lavish bed sits at the far end of the room, with an ornate wardrobe to the side. To the east lies what you presume is the God-King's bathing room, and to the south is the hallway leading out of the God-King's rooms.

The dominant feature of the room, sitting directly in the center and lit by a recessed spotlight, is a large metallic box: the God-King's sleep chamber, where you presume he is sleeping deeply.

You must hurry and wake the God-King if he is going to be ready for the ceremony.
action: You examine the spotlight
response: A recessed spotlight shines down on the focal point of the room, a large metallic box: the God-King's sleep chamber.
action: You look under the bed
response: This must be where the God-King sleeps when he's not in his sleeping chamber. You'd better not disturb it.
action: You look at the wardrobe
response: Yes, it's the God-King's wardrobe. It's where he puts his clothes. You can worry about dressing him after you've woken him.
action: You listen to the chamber
response: You hadn't noticed before, but there is a faint humming sound coming from the sleep chamber. You can also hear the faint sound of liquid rushing through the tubes.
action: You listen to the tubes
response: You hear nothing unexpected.

You must hurry and wake the God-King if he is going to be ready for the ceremony.
action: Examine tubes
response: There are two tubes coming out of each end of the sleep chamber and going into the floor. At each end, one tube is filled with a clear liquid going into the sleep chamber, and one tube is filled with a grayish liquid going into the floor.

You must hurry and wake the God-King if he is going to be ready for the ceremony.
action: Xyzzy
response: Gesundheit!
action: You wake yourself
response: That seems unnecessary.
action: But do it gently
response: You can only do that to something animate.
action: You look around
response: God-King's Bedroom
A lavish bed sits at the far end of the room, with an ornate wardrobe to the side. To the east lies what you presume is the God-King's bathing room, and to the south is the hallway leading out of the God-King's rooms.

The dominant feature of the room, sitting directly in the center and lit by a recessed spotlight, is a large metallic box: the God-King's sleep chamber, where you presume he is sleeping deeply.
action: You go to the east
response: No need to examine the bathing room first. Even though it's likely much fancier than any bathing room you've seen, you're sure you'll be able to figure it out when it's time. Your first priority is to awaken the God-King.
action: You go south
response: As much as you would like to retreat and go about your normal duties, someone has to waken the God-King. And since no one else can do it right now, that someone has to be you.
action: Kick chamber
response: You take out some of your frustration on the sleep chamber. It results in nothing except some soreness. If you really wanted to damage the sleep chamber, the keypad and tubes seem like good targets.
action: You knock on the chamber
response: You rap your knuckles on the God-King's sleep chamber. Other than the dull metallic clang, nothing seems to happen.
action: Kick tubes
response: You yank on a tube, and liquid spills all over the floor. The other tubes empty of liquid, and the faint humming stops. Louder shirrs and clanks come from the sleep chamber. Then those noises stop, and you hear a loud CRACK as the lid of the sleep chamber pops open. A hand pushes it the rest of the way open, and a figure sits up.

You had of course seen paintings of the God-King, but secretly you always thought the beauty of the God-King was an exaggeration. You now know that the paintings were the merest shadow of the God-King's full radiance. He is magnificent, beyond description. You love him without reservation and would do anything for him. You would die for him.

The God-King coughs and looks around, eyes focusing on you.

"Who are you?" the God-King asks. Before you can find your tongue to reply, the God-King's face becomes confused. "Where am I?" the God-King asks, more of himself than of you. His voice becomes almost panicked as he asks, "Who . . . who am I?"

The scene goes black, and you hear Vel's voice. "Yes, I am ashamed to admit that I was so desperate that I just wrecked the God-King's sleep chamber, not thinking about how it might affect the God-King. I later learned, to my relief, that the memory loss was inherent to the sleep process, not a result of anything I had foolishly done. In his inscrutable wisdom, the God-King chose me to counsel him during the first crisis, and so I became the first Waker."

The blackness slowly fades as you come back to yourself. You can still feel inside you Vel's love for the God-King, but that too is fading.

Waker Exhibit, First Room
The main feature of the room is the life-sized statue atop a pedestal in the middle of the room. The rest of the room is unremarkable, with stone walls, featureless except for the diorama behind glass on one end. The rest of the museum is to the south, and the exhibit continues to the north.
action: You press the button
response: You press the large red button. You hear a faint whirring sound from the statue of Vel. Its eyes light up, and its head moves slowly back and forth.

The statue of Vel says, "I am Vel. I was the first Waker of the God-King. Unlike the Wakers to follow me, I was not trained for the task."
action: You go to the north
response: Waker Exhibit, Second Room

That's all for now.