ClubFloyd Transcript:
Photograph by Steve Evans
As played on ifMUD on May 9, 2009

The idea behind ClubFloyd is that each week at a pre-arranged time, a group of people meet online to cooperatively play a game of interactive fiction.

Below is a transcript of Photograph, written by Steve Evans. Photograph was originally released as part of the 2002 Interactive Fiction Competition, where it took third place. You can learn more about the game, including how to download it, by visiting the ifWiki.

WARNING! Below you will find a transcript of people playing this game, and it goes without saying that the transcript is full of spoilers. So, if you've never played this game, and think you might like to at some point, I do not recommend reading any further. Instead, you might want to return to the interactive fiction page.

Floyd |

Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd |

Floyd |
Floyd | You're seated comfortably, hunched forward in your armchair. The frame
Floyd | rests on your lap, cradled in both hands, the continuing focus of your
Floyd | attention.
Floyd |
Floyd | You no longer sense change...

Floyd |
Floyd | In the periphery of your vision you see something of the room - the
Floyd | wood stove, a window. Beyond your field of view there is nothing but
Floyd | clutter and increasing irrelevance. You're pleased that you'll never
Floyd | have to look on any of it again.
Floyd |

Floyd | The initial euphoria has subsided. Replaced by a sense of ease, of
Floyd | place, of things being, well... right.
Floyd |
Floyd | It can't be long now...
Floyd |
Floyd | PHOTOGRAPH

Floyd | A Portrait of Reflection
Floyd | Copyright (c)2002, 2003, 2004 by Steve Evans (trout@netspace.net.au)
Floyd | There are some important differences between this and many other works
Floyd | of Interactive Fiction. Please type INFO before playing for the first
Floyd | time.
Floyd | Release 5 / Serial number 040827 / Inform v6.21 Library 6/10

Floyd |
Floyd | Living Room (in the armchair)
Floyd | The frame rests on your lap.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd |
Floyd |

Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd |

Floyd |                              Photograph
Floyd |  N = next subject                                        P = previous
Floyd |  RETURN = read subject                                Q = resume game
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd |    > Playing Interactive Fiction - General information

Floyd |      Important information - Please read before playing
Floyd |      Background
Floyd |      Credits
Floyd |      Release History
Floyd |      Walkthrough
Floyd |      Redisplay Opening Text

Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd |

Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd | Living Room (in the armchair)
Floyd | You are seated in your armchair. The picture-frame rests on your lap.

Floyd | In the periphery of your vision you can see something of your living
Floyd | room - the wood stove, a window.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd |
Floyd |

Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd |

Floyd |                              Photograph
Floyd |  N = next subject                                        P = previous
Floyd |  RETURN = read subject                                Q = resume game
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd |    > Playing Interactive Fiction - General information

Floyd |      Important information - Please read before playing
Floyd |      Background
Floyd |      Credits
Floyd |      Release History
Floyd |      Walkthrough
Floyd |      Redisplay Opening Text

Floyd |
Floyd |                              Photograph
Floyd |  N = next subject                                        P = previous
Floyd |  RETURN = read subject                                Q = resume game

Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd |      Playing Interactive Fiction - General information
Floyd |    > Important information - Please read before playing
Floyd |      Background

Floyd |      Credits
Floyd |      Release History
Floyd |      Walkthrough
Floyd |      Redisplay Opening Text

Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd |

Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd | 'Photograph' features many non-standard verbs and puts some standard
Floyd | interactive fiction verbs to different uses. Most instances of the
Floyd | latter should be self evident, but one new verb that requires special
Floyd | mention is CONSIDER (or synonyms such as THINK ABOUT, REMEMBER, WONDER

Floyd | ABOUT, etc). You can CONSIDER (or 'C') many of the objects, topics, and
Floyd | even abstract concepts in the story. This will sometimes provide useful
Floyd | background detail, but more importantly, its use at certain points is
Floyd | vital to the development of the plot. Also, CONSIDER-ing things at
Floyd | different times may produce different responses. So, CONSIDER and
Floyd | CONSIDER often.

Floyd |
Floyd | Of the verbs that have non-standard uses, one that warrants mention is
Floyd | WAKE. This verb may be used when your character is merely distracted or
Floyd | daydreaming and not actually asleep.
Floyd |
Floyd | Conversation in 'Photograph' uses most of the standard constructs (eg:

Floyd | "ASK X ABOUT Y", "TELL X ABOUT Y", "ASK X FOR Y, "X, Hello", "SAY Y to
Floyd | X", etc.). However, there are other possibilities that can optionally
Floyd | be used, including MENTION Y TO X, DISCUSS Y WITH X, and so on.
Floyd |
Floyd | In short, if you think something should provide a sensible response
Floyd | even though the verb is not standard issue, then try it. If it doesn't

Floyd | work, then please send me a bug report.
Floyd |
Floyd | Please note that the BRIEF and SUPERBRIEF print states have been
Floyd | disabled in this story. VERBOSE is therefore the only printing 'option'
Floyd | available.
Floyd |

Floyd | Something else I should mention is that there are scenes that can be
Floyd | replayed within the story with different outcomes.
Floyd |
Floyd | It shouldn't be possible to put the story into an unfinishable state,
Floyd | and it is exceedingly unlikely that the player character will die
Floyd | during play. Dying is possible, but I'd be surprised if anyone manages

Floyd | to do it without resorting to decompiling the story file.
Floyd |
Floyd | [Please press SPACE.]

Floyd |

Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd |

Floyd |
Floyd |                              Photograph
Floyd |  N = next subject                                        P = previous
Floyd |  RETURN = read subject                                Q = resume game
Floyd |
Floyd |

Floyd |      Playing Interactive Fiction - General information
Floyd |    > Important information - Please read before playing
Floyd |      Background
Floyd |      Credits
Floyd |      Release History

Floyd |      Walkthrough
Floyd |      Redisplay Opening Text

Floyd |
Floyd |

Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd |

Floyd | Living Room (in the armchair)
Floyd | You are seated in your armchair. The picture-frame rests on your lap.
Floyd | In the periphery of your vision you can see something of your living
Floyd | room - the wood stove, a window.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | You can see something of your arms and lap, but not much else.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | [The story read that as "hop a i"].
Floyd | I only understood you as far as wanting to hop.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | You are happier now than you have ever been.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | The wonderful truth is, this time it is not a dream.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | The frame is made from Baltic pine. Within the frame is a rectangle of
Floyd | pure and unrelieved white. You think that perhaps you can discern some
Floyd | flicker of motion there, but then again it may only be your
Floyd | imagination.

Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | The frame is made from Baltic pine. Within the frame is a rectangle of
Floyd | pure and unrelieved white. You think that perhaps you can discern some
Floyd | flicker of motion there, but then again it may only be your
Floyd | imagination.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | It's probably just wishful thinking on your part. There seems to be
Floyd | nothing there but a white rectangle.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | That's not a verb I recognise.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | The window (now closed) looks out over the yard. The afternoon sunlight
Floyd | streams through. You see a bird sitting on the outside sill.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | The bird is a starling. It stands unmoving, with its head slightly
Floyd | cocked, beak open. Starlings are common enough, but you are certain
Floyd | you've seen this particular bird before.
Floyd |

Floyd | >

Floyd | You hear the high-pitched sound of the bird.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd |

Floyd | You lose yourself in thought...

Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd |

Floyd |
Floyd |

Floyd | You stand on a balcony looking out over treetops and distant roofs to
Floyd | the river and the hills beyond. The sky is pink and blue pastels, the

Floyd | sun barely risen above the late morning mists and woodsmoke haze. A fog
Floyd | rolls down the river valley like a lazy cloud.
Floyd |
Floyd | As you move to pull your coat closer about you against the cold a
Floyd | startled bird takes flight from the eaves above your head. You follow
Floyd | its progress to a nearby blue gum.

Floyd |
Floyd | Balcony
Floyd | You are on a wooden balcony that looks out over a river valley. An open
Floyd | door to the west leads back into the house. You are cold.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | Your coat is old and weathered. The pockets are empty.
Floyd |

Floyd | >
Floyd | You are 55 years old, but look (and feel) much older. Although you
Floyd | aren't planning on going far away from your wood fire today, you are
Floyd | nevertheless rugged up in a thick coat.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | You are carrying nothing.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | A dense fog fills the river valley.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | It's a tall blue gum eucalyptus tree. A bird sits on a high branch.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | The bird is a starling. It looks agitated.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | The bird is a starling. It looks agitated.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | You see no frame here.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | A dense fog fills the river valley.

Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | Your singing is abominable.

Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | A dense fog fills the river valley.
Floyd |

Floyd | >

Floyd | You are carrying nothing.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | You are 55 years old, but look (and feel) much older. Although you
Floyd | aren't planning on going far away from your wood fire today, you are
Floyd | nevertheless rugged up in a thick coat.
Floyd |

Floyd | >

Floyd | You take a deep breath of the smoke-laden air (the chill cutting your
Floyd | lungs like little knives), then enter the house.

Floyd |
Floyd | Living Room (East)
Floyd | On entering the living room you find yourself oppressed by the clutter
Floyd | and do your best to ignore it. Your armchair is here in front of the
Floyd | wood stove. A doorway to the north leads to your bedroom and the living
Floyd | area continues west.

Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | [The story read that as "say it it"].
Floyd | (to yourself)

Floyd | There is no reply.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | The room is full to bursting with all manner of items scavenged or
Floyd | bought at auctions or fire-sales; furniture, paintings, tools,
Floyd | bric-a-brac and junk. Most are covered in a substantial layer of dust.
Floyd | You wonder what possessed you. The only thing here that still holds any
Floyd | interest for you rests on an old pine mantel near the window.
Floyd |

Floyd | >

Floyd | You close the back door.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | Your attention inevitably shifts to the mantel and you're reassured by
Floyd | the sight of the picture sitting where you left it.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | The picture-frame is made of Baltic pine. The photograph it contains is
Floyd | slightly overexposed and was taken using a flash.
Floyd |
Floyd | Depicted are a young man and young woman leaning with their backs to

Floyd | the rail of a rough wooden deck, backed by the spray of a narrow
Floyd | waterfall cascading down two tiers of mudstone outcrop. Bordering the
Floyd | waterfall is thick temperate rainforest vegetation: a canopy of tall
Floyd | myrtle and sassafras trees, beneath which are leatherwood and
Floyd | tree-ferns, all covered in moss, lichen, shell-fungus. The boy has his
Floyd | arm around the girl's shoulder. Both are wearing light bushwalking

Floyd | clothes, and he carries a day pack. The boy looks cocky and confident
Floyd | and wears an idiotic 'say cheese' grin. The girl is not smiling. This
Floyd | was not, as you recall it, that she had been unhappy, just unused to
Floyd | having her picture taken.
Floyd |
Floyd | "It's like giving away a piece of your soul," she had once joked.

Floyd |
Floyd | As it happens she had smiled just after the shot was taken; a small,
Floyd | nervous smile of relief (you mimic the smile at the memory).
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | A fool, clearly.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | You smile, again.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | The girl has a stern, set expression.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | The backdrop to the picture is of no interest.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | You can only do that to something animate.

Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | There is nothing about the clothing that interests you.
Floyd |

Floyd | >

Floyd | The girl has a stern, set expression.

Floyd |
Floyd | >
Floyd | You can't see any such thing.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | In your mind you can still picture her clearly as she was on that day -
Floyd | with that long raven hair and those big brown eyes.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | Taken.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | You feel nothing unexpected.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | You see no eyes here.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | You were young then, and too cock-sure for your own good.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd |
Floyd | Living Room (East)
Floyd | Your living room is full of clutter. Your armchair is here in front of
Floyd | the wood stove. A doorway to the north leads to your bedroom and the
Floyd | living area continues west. The back door is to the east.
Floyd |

Floyd | An old pine mantel leans against the wall near the window.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | Your armchair is old and threadbare. You have spent a lot of time in

Floyd | this chair.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | The mantel came from the home of one of your neighbours. He was going
Floyd | to throw it out but you thought it too good to waste. It now takes up
Floyd | space, resting against your wall.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | It's a pot-bellied wood stove. A fire blazes within and there is a
Floyd | supply of firewood beside it.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | It's a pot-bellied wood stove. A fire blazes within and there is a
Floyd | supply of firewood beside it.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | Pushing the mantel around would not achieve anything.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | You turn up your jacket collar and sink back into the faded armchair,
Floyd | elbow patches neatly covering matching holes in the upholstery. You
Floyd | soon begin to feel the warmth radiating from the wood stove.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | The photograph belongs on the mantel.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | You need to be holding the firewood before you can put it into
Floyd | something else.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | The fire is blazing, but you still feel a chill.
Floyd |

Floyd | >

Floyd | You are 55 years old, but look (and feel) much older. Although you
Floyd | aren't planning on going far away from your wood fire today, you are

Floyd | nevertheless rugged up in a thick coat.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | You'll have to get out of the armchair first.

Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | You get out of the armchair.

Floyd |
Floyd | Living Room (East)
Floyd | Your living room is full of clutter. Your armchair is here in front of
Floyd | the wood stove. A doorway to the north leads to your bedroom and the
Floyd | living area continues west. The back door is to the east.
Floyd |

Floyd | An old pine mantel leans against the wall near the window.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | As you enter your bedroom you see a large spider, nearly the size of

Floyd | your hand, crawl under the bed.
Floyd |
Floyd | Bedroom
Floyd | Your bedroom is small and comparatively tidy. The only furnishings are
Floyd | a wardrobe and the bed itself. There is a window here facing north and
Floyd | the living room is to the south.

Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | It was a huntsman spider, but it is now nowhere to be seen. Those
Floyd | things can hide anywhere. You'd be lucky to find it without taking the
Floyd | bed apart. But it's best left alone in any case. They aren't dangerous,

Floyd | and they help keep down the flies. There is a metal box here under your
Floyd | bed.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | It's a closed metal box.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | You pull the metal box out from under the bed.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | You open the metal box, revealing some rolls of $50 notes.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | You have enough money for your needs.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | You can no longer see the spider.
Floyd |

Floyd | >

Floyd | You ended up with a lot of cash when you sold the business, more than
Floyd | enough to meet your simple needs for the rest of your life. You've

Floyd | never trusted banks.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | Nothing of interest occurs to you.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | You can't push the box back under the bed while it's open. It won't

Floyd | fit.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | You close the metal box.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | You push the box back under the bed.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | It's a large solid piece of furniture, made of blackwood. Right now,
Floyd | it's closed.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | You open your wardrobe. It contains clothing.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | That's already open.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | You're already wearing your coat. There is nothing here that you need.
Floyd |
Floyd | >
Floyd | You're already wearing your coat. There is nothing here that you need.
Floyd |

Floyd | >

Floyd | (first taking the clothes)
Floyd | You are already dressed. You don't need the clothing.

Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | Your coat is old and weathered. The pockets are empty.
Floyd |

Floyd | >

Floyd | You've owned this coat for a long while.
Floyd |

Floyd | >

Floyd | Your taste in clothes these days tends towards the 'practical'. 'Style'
Floyd | doesn't get a look in.

Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | You close the wardrobe.
Floyd |

Floyd | >

Floyd | Nothing of interest occurs to you.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd |
Floyd | Bedroom
Floyd | This is your bedroom. The only furnishings are a wardrobe and your bed.
Floyd | There is a window facing north and the living room is to the south.

Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | Your bed is unmade. The top sheet is pulled back and the blankets are
Floyd | strewn about.

Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | It's a bit late to start changing the habits of a lifetime.
Floyd |

Floyd | >

Floyd | It's a small window. Through it you see your four-wheel-drive parked
Floyd | outside.

Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | Nothing of interest occurs to you.
Floyd |

Floyd | >

Floyd | A battered old Landcruiser. You've had it for years.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | The Landcruiser has served you well over the years, despite rough
Floyd | treatment.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | You lie down on the bed.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | You aren't feeling especially drowsy.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | There is nothing on the bed.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | You can't reach the window from here.
Floyd |

Floyd | >

Floyd | You get off the bed.
Floyd |
Floyd | Bedroom
Floyd | This is your bedroom. The only furnishings are a wardrobe and your bed.
Floyd | There is a window facing north and the living room is to the south.
Floyd |

Floyd | >

Floyd | It's a small window. Through it you see your four-wheel-drive parked
Floyd | outside.

Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd |
Floyd | Living Room (East)

Floyd | Your living room is full of clutter. Your armchair is here in front of
Floyd | the wood stove. A doorway to the north leads to your bedroom and the
Floyd | living area continues west. The back door is to the east.
Floyd |
Floyd | An old pine mantel leans against the wall near the window.
Floyd |

Floyd | >

Floyd |
Floyd | Living Room (West)

Floyd | This is the other half of your living area (again heavily cluttered).
Floyd | This space also serves as your kitchen. There is a small sink here, a
Floyd | gas stove, refrigerator and a cupboard. Your bathroom is to the north
Floyd | and a door to the west leads outside.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | You know without looking that the refrigerator contains nothing that
Floyd | could still be called edible.

Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | You open the cupboard.
Floyd |

Floyd | >

Floyd | Nothing of interest occurs to you.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | The cupboard contains nothing of use to you right now.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | Your living area is full of all manner of items scavenged or bought
Floyd | over the years.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd |
Floyd | Bathroom

Floyd | Your bathroom is small but functional. There is a bath, toilet and a
Floyd | hand basin. The room also has a small wall-mounted mirror. The living
Floyd | room is to the south.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | It's just a hand basin.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | It's a small shaving mirror, mounted over the hand basin.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | I beg your pardon?
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | You don't want to do that now.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | You don't have the urge.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | You gaze at your reflection for a moment. Time and the elements have
Floyd | not been kind. You're now aged 55 years, but look far older - with that
Floyd | furrowed brow, drawn face, teeth like an old graveyard and skin that
Floyd | gathers in folds around your jowls. The head of thick dark hair of your
Floyd | youth is now reduced to a thin shock of silver on the trailing
Floyd | hemisphere. But you take some comfort from the fact that you still

Floyd | retain an air of dignity about you; a keenness to your deep-set eyes;
Floyd | that pronounced, almost regal, line of your nose ("that noble nose," as
Floyd | Nadia used to call it). But perhaps these are no more than cruel
Floyd | reminders of what might have been.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | You don't need another seven years bad luck.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | She was not the one for you.

Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | [The story read that as "c nadia"].
Floyd | She was not the one for you.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | She was not the one for you.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | She was not the one for you.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | You feel very cold. It's not a warm day, but the weather doesn't fully
Floyd | account for the way you feel. Perhaps you are unwell.
Floyd |

Floyd | >

Floyd | [The story read that as "wonder about head"].
Floyd | Nothing of interest occurs to you.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd |
Floyd | Bathroom

Floyd | Your bathroom is small but functional. There is a bath, toilet and a
Floyd | hand basin. The room also has a small wall-mounted mirror. The living
Floyd | room is to the south.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd |
Floyd | Living Room (West)
Floyd | This area of your living room doubles as a kitchen. There is a small

Floyd | sink here, a gas stove, refrigerator and a cupboard. Your bathroom is
Floyd | to the north and a door to the west leads outside.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | It's cold outside. You have no wish to leave the house right now.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd |
Floyd | Living Room (East)
Floyd | Your living room is full of clutter. Your armchair is here in front of
Floyd | the wood stove. A doorway to the north leads to your bedroom and the

Floyd | living area continues west. The back door is to the east.
Floyd |
Floyd | An old pine mantel leans against the wall near the window.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | The mantel is too heavy to lift.
Floyd |

Floyd | >

Floyd | The fire doesn't need any more wood right now.
Floyd |

Floyd | >

Floyd | The pine mantel stands propped up against the wall, near the window.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | I only understood you as far as wanting to look.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | Pushing the mantel around would not achieve anything.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | There is nothing on the mantel.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | You find nothing of interest.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | You sit back in your armchair.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | Living Room (East)
Floyd | [Previous turn undone.]
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | You find nothing of interest.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | You sit back in your armchair.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | [The story read that as "search cushions for each"].
Floyd | You see no cushions here.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | You aren't feeling especially drowsy.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | [The story read that as "set"].
Floyd | What do you want to set?
Floyd |

Floyd | >
Floyd | It's a pot-bellied wood stove. A fire blazes within and there is a
Floyd | supply of firewood beside it.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | Time passes.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | You can't reach the wood stove from here.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | [The story read that as "z into fire"].
Floyd | I only understood you as far as wanting to wait.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | That's not a verb I recognise.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | To think about an item or topic, you should use the form "THINK ABOUT
Floyd | item/topic".
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | Nothing of interest occurs to you.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | The picture-frame is made of Baltic pine. The photograph it contains is
Floyd | slightly overexposed and was taken using a flash.
Floyd |
Floyd | Depicted are a young man and young woman leaning with their backs to

Floyd | the rail of a rough wooden deck, backed by the spray of a narrow
Floyd | waterfall cascading down two tiers of mudstone outcrop. Bordering the
Floyd | waterfall is thick temperate rainforest vegetation: a canopy of tall
Floyd | myrtle and sassafras trees, beneath which are leatherwood and
Floyd | tree-ferns, all covered in moss, lichen, shell-fungus. The boy has his
Floyd | arm around the girl's shoulder. Both are wearing light bushwalking

Floyd | clothes, and he carries a day pack. The boy looks cocky and confident
Floyd | and wears an idiotic 'say cheese' grin. The girl is not smiling. This
Floyd | was not, as you recall it, that she had been unhappy, just unused to
Floyd | having her picture taken.
Floyd |
Floyd | "It's like giving away a piece of your soul," she had once joked.

Floyd |
Floyd | As it happens she had smiled just after the shot was taken; a small,
Floyd | nervous smile of relief (you mimic the smile at the memory).
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | You see no nadia here.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | The fire is blazing, but you still feel a chill.
Floyd |

Floyd | >

Floyd | [The story read that as "shine"].
Floyd | What do you want to shine?
Floyd |

Floyd | >

Floyd | The door to the balcony is closed.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | It's a pot-bellied wood stove. A fire blazes within and there is a
Floyd | supply of firewood beside it.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | [The story read that as "wear yourself"].
Floyd | You see no yourself here.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | You see no eyes here.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | You get out of the armchair.
Floyd |

Floyd | Living Room (East)
Floyd | Your living room is full of clutter. Your armchair is here in front of
Floyd | the wood stove. A doorway to the north leads to your bedroom and the
Floyd | living area continues west. The back door is to the east.
Floyd |
Floyd | An old pine mantel leans against the wall near the window.

Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | (first opening the back door)

Floyd |
Floyd | Balcony
Floyd | You are on a wooden balcony that looks out over a river valley. An open
Floyd | door to the west leads back into the house.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | It's a long way down. Jumping from here would only further complicate
Floyd | your day.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | The bird has gone.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | Nothing of interest occurs to you.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | A dense fog fills the river valley.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | There is nowhere to go from here but back inside.
Floyd |

Floyd | >

Floyd | That's not a verb I recognise.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | The dreadful truth is, this is not a dream.
Floyd |

Floyd | >

Floyd | The dreadful truth is, this is not a dream.
Floyd |

Floyd | >

Floyd | There is nowhere to go from here but back inside.

Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd |

Floyd | Living Room (East)
Floyd | Your living room is full of clutter. Your armchair is here in front of
Floyd | the wood stove. A doorway to the north leads to your bedroom and the
Floyd | living area continues west. The back door is to the east.
Floyd |
Floyd | An old pine mantel leans against the wall near the window.

Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | You close the back door.

Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | You sit back in your armchair.
Floyd |

Floyd | >

Floyd | The dreadful truth is, this is not a dream.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | You find nothing of interest.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | You find nothing of interest.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | You get out of the armchair.
Floyd |
Floyd | Living Room (East)

Floyd | Your living room is full of clutter. Your armchair is here in front of
Floyd | the wood stove. A doorway to the north leads to your bedroom and the
Floyd | living area continues west. The back door is to the east.
Floyd |
Floyd | An old pine mantel leans against the wall near the window.
Floyd |

Floyd | >

Floyd | You rummage around in the junk for a while. You get as far as the dusty
Floyd | cardboard carton you found last time you decided to have a clean-up. It

Floyd | was in this same box that you found the photograph, and once more you
Floyd | get no further.
Floyd |
Floyd | There is a cardboard carton here.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | The carton contains a number of old possessions scattered loose,
Floyd | including a pile of photographs and various unrelated oddments. The
Floyd | only things there that hold any interest for you right now are a rather
Floyd | moth-eaten animal skin hat and a small brass ornament.

Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | Some of the photos date from your days at the office, and all feature
Floyd | people or places you either don't remember or would rather forget. The

Floyd | rest of the items are an eclectic mix of bits and pieces that are of no
Floyd | particular interest or worth. The most bizarre of these items is a jar
Floyd | containing your appendix, which was removed when you were a child.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | The ornament is an ankh. A gift from Nadia.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | The hat is made from possum skin. You remember it well.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | You'd rather not.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | It's a glass jar containing your appendix. You have no idea why you
Floyd | kept it.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | Taken.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd |

Floyd | You lose yourself in thought...

Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd |

Floyd |
Floyd |

Floyd | You are on a familiar mountain track. You spend much of your time
Floyd | outdoors by yourself on these bush trails. The surrounding forest

Floyd | extends almost to the back door of your house, which is to the
Floyd | northeast. In effect, the whole of the mountain is your back yard, your
Floyd | playground - from this eucalypt forest, right on up to the mist
Floyd | shrouded boulder fields and sheer dolerite cliffs and tors beneath the
Floyd | summit. It's a bright day, but there is a chill Southerly wind blowing.
Floyd | Your grandmother has told you not to wander far, as your lunch is

Floyd | nearly ready. You know better than to disobey her.
Floyd |
Floyd | Mountain track
Floyd | You are on a rocky track, surrounded by eucalypt forest. The track
Floyd | leads down a gentle slope to the northeast towards your house and
Floyd | continues higher up the mountain to the west. There is a chill

Floyd | Southerly wind blowing.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | You are wearing your possum skin hat.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | It's your favourite hat. You wear it almost wherever you go.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | You take off your possum skin hat.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | You put on your possum skin hat.

Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | You're a scrawny kid, wearing as ever, your possum skin hat and a thick

Floyd | duffel coat. Thin pipe-cleaner legs are visible below your shorts -
Floyd | "Hollow legs", your grandmother calls them, although you wonder how
Floyd | anything so thin could be hollow. On your feet are rather worn leather
Floyd | walking boots.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | Your hat was made for you by your grandfather. It's the subject of
Floyd | jokes and taunts at school, but you don't care, you wear it all the
Floyd | same.
Floyd |

Floyd | >

Floyd | You can't see the photograph here.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | You are wearing your possum skin hat.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | The score is: (Jack 0/Life 0)
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | [The story read that as "c"].

Floyd | What do you want to c?
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | Nothing of interest occurs to you.

Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd |
Floyd | Mountain track

Floyd | You are on a rocky track, surrounded by eucalypt forest. The track
Floyd | rises steeply to the northwest and winds back down the slope to the
Floyd | east. Another narrower path, not much more than an animal trail, leads
Floyd | away to the south.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | Enter saved game to store: Ok.
Floyd |

Floyd | >

Floyd |
Floyd | Part way along the track you spot an echidna, digging for ants on the
Floyd | path. At your approach it abandons its labour and shuffles with

Floyd | surprising speed off the track and into the undergrowth. As you pass
Floyd | you hear it furiously digging itself into the earth, spraying sod and

Floyd | dirt over the long quills on its back.
Floyd |

Floyd | Small clearing
Floyd | You have entered a small, familiar clearing surrounded in all
Floyd | directions except to the south by stands of white gum eucalypt trees
Floyd | and dense undergrowth. To the south rises a large lichen-covered rock.
Floyd | The air here is damp and close - heavy with the scents of eucalyptus
Floyd | and wild flowers. A narrow trail leads back to the north.

Floyd |
Floyd | >
Floyd |
Floyd | You clamber up the side of the rock, deftly finding those hand and
Floyd | footholds that you know so well.
Floyd |

Floyd | On the rock
Floyd | This rock is your favourite place - a place where you like to come to
Floyd | sit and think, or just to be alone. It's only after making the short
Floyd | climb from the clearing that you can see the rock for what it is - and
Floyd | get some idea of its magnitude. Before you it drops away sharply,
Floyd | towering over the trees of the forest below, giving you a superb view

Floyd | out over of the rolling foothills of the mountain and the wide river
Floyd | valley beyond. Out on the rock you're exposed to the full force of the
Floyd | Southerly wind and you brace yourself against it. As you do so, you
Floyd | catch sight of something you hadn't noticed before in a crack near the
Floyd | rock's far edge.
Floyd |

Floyd | >

Floyd | There's a small white gum seedling growing in the dirt that has
Floyd | collected in the crack. On seeing the seedling you immediately feel an
Floyd | affinity with it, and can't help feeling concerned for its predicament.

Floyd | It has no chance of growing into a tree where it is.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | Nothing of interest occurs to you.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | You cautiously pull the seedling from the crack, taking care not to
Floyd | damage the roots.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd |
Floyd | You carefully climb back down to the clearing.
Floyd |
Floyd | Small clearing
Floyd | You are in a small, familiar clearing surrounded in all directions
Floyd | except to the south by stands of white gum eucalypt trees and dense

Floyd | undergrowth. To the south rises a large lichen-covered rock. The air
Floyd | here is damp and close - heavy with the scents of eucalyptus and wild
Floyd | flowers. A narrow trail leads back to the north.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | [The story read that as "plant me"].
Floyd | (first taking yourself)
Floyd | You are always self-possessed.

Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | The ground here is too rocky.

Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | The ground here is too rocky.

Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | You are wearing your possum skin hat.
Floyd | You are carrying a white gum seedling.

Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | [The story read that as "c me"].
Floyd | You are happy with your life here on the mountain.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | Nothing of interest occurs to you.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd |
Floyd | Mountain track
Floyd | You are on a rocky track, surrounded by eucalypt forest. The track
Floyd | rises steeply to the northwest and winds back down the slope to the
Floyd | east. Another narrower path, not much more than an animal trail, leads
Floyd | away to the south.

Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd |
Floyd | Verge (beside the road)

Floyd | You've come up a steep incline onto a cleared dirt verge beside the
Floyd | mountain summit road. This is a bend in the gravel road, which runs on
Floyd | and up towards the north like a ragged scar across the face of the
Floyd | mountain, and back to the southwest where it winds its way steadily
Floyd | down through the foothills and towards the city. On the far side of the
Floyd | road is a ditch, etched out over the years by the elements and run-off.

Floyd | Just beyond the ditch is a sheer cliff several times your height,
Floyd | marking where this part of the road has been cut into the
Floyd | mountain-side. A rocky track leads back down to the southeast.
Floyd |
Floyd | You hear your grandmother calling. Your lunch must be ready.
Floyd |

Floyd | >

Floyd | It's a narrow channel running along the far side of the road - etched
Floyd | out over time by run-off and melting snow.

Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | (the seedling)

Floyd | You dig a small hole and carefully plant the seedling.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd |
Floyd | Mountain track
Floyd | You are on a rocky track, surrounded by eucalypt forest. The track
Floyd | rises steeply to the northwest and winds back down the slope to the

Floyd | east. Another narrower path, not much more than an animal trail, leads
Floyd | away to the south.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd |
Floyd | Mountain track
Floyd | You are on a rocky track, surrounded by eucalypt forest. The track
Floyd | leads down a gentle slope to the northeast towards your house and
Floyd | continues higher up the mountain to the west.
Floyd |

Floyd | >

Floyd | Nothing of interest occurs to you.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd |
Floyd | Back door
Floyd | You are at the back door to your grandparents' house which is to the

Floyd | east. The forest extends almost down to the back veranda and a rocky
Floyd | track to the southwest leads back into the bush. Through a window you
Floyd | can see into the kitchen, where your grandmother and grandfather are
Floyd | sitting at the table having lunch. They seem to be arguing about
Floyd | something. You can hear their raised voices. You could probably listen
Floyd | without being noticed.

Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | You hear your grandparents arguing. As usual, it is your grandmother
Floyd | who has the most to say. She is angry as it seems your grandfather has

Floyd | loaned a lot of money to Mr Timpson, who runs the local store. Your
Floyd | grandmother doesn't think they can spare the money and obviously
Floyd | doesn't think they'll ever see it again. You've never liked Mr Timpson,
Floyd | but you know his father and your grandfather were friends.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | You hear your grandparents arguing. As usual, it is your grandmother
Floyd | who has the most to say. She is angry as it seems your grandfather has
Floyd | loaned a lot of money to Mr Timpson, who runs the local store. Your
Floyd | grandmother doesn't think they can spare the money and obviously

Floyd | doesn't think they'll ever see it again. You've never liked Mr Timpson,
Floyd | but you know his father and your grandfather were friends.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | Enter saved game to store: Ok.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd |
Floyd | As you open the back door and enter the kitchen your grandparents
Floyd | abruptly stop their argument. Your grandfather looks up from his food,
Floyd | and gives you a conspiratory wink. Your grandmother snorts, and points
Floyd | towards your seat. The air at the table is tense, but you barely notice

Floyd | as you hungrily eat your lunch.
Floyd |
Floyd | Those days seem such a long time ago now...
Floyd |

Floyd | Everything melts away...
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd |

Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd | ...and you find yourself back in your living room.
Floyd |
Floyd |

Floyd | Living Room (East)
Floyd | Your living room is full of clutter. Your armchair is here in front of
Floyd | the wood stove. A doorway to the north leads to your bedroom and the
Floyd | living area continues west. The back door is to the east.
Floyd |
Floyd | An old pine mantel leans against the wall near the window.

Floyd |
Floyd | There is a cardboard carton here.
Floyd |
Floyd | The afternoon sun shines weakly through the window.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | You miss your grandmother and all her sagely advice.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | Your grandfather was a kind and practical man.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | Bill Timpson has the only general store up on this part of the
Floyd | mountain. You never feel comfortable around him, so you try to keep
Floyd | your trips to his shop to a minimum.

Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | You are carrying a possum skin hat and the picture-frame.
Floyd |

Floyd | >

Floyd | The picture-frame is made of Baltic pine. The photograph it contains is
Floyd | slightly overexposed and was taken using a flash.
Floyd |

Floyd | Depicted are a young man and young woman leaning with their backs to
Floyd | the rail of a rough wooden deck, backed by the spray of a narrow
Floyd | waterfall cascading down two tiers of mudstone outcrop. Bordering the
Floyd | waterfall is thick temperate rainforest vegetation: a canopy of tall
Floyd | myrtle and sassafras trees, beneath which are leatherwood and
Floyd | tree-ferns, all covered in moss, lichen, shell-fungus. The boy has his

Floyd | arm around the girl's shoulder. Both are wearing light bushwalking
Floyd | clothes, and he carries a day pack. The boy looks cocky and confident
Floyd | and wears an idiotic 'say cheese' grin. The girl is not smiling. This
Floyd | was not, as you recall it, that she had been unhappy, just unused to
Floyd | having her picture taken.
Floyd |

Floyd | "It's like giving away a piece of your soul," she had once joked.
Floyd |
Floyd | As it happens she had smiled just after the shot was taken; a small,
Floyd | nervous smile of relief (you mimic the smile at the memory).
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | The carton contains a number of old possessions scattered loose,
Floyd | including a pile of photographs and various unrelated oddments. The
Floyd | only thing there that holds any interest for you right now is a small
Floyd | brass ornament.

Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | The ornament is an ankh. A gift from Nadia.

Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | Bill Timpson has the only general store up on this part of the
Floyd | mountain. You never feel comfortable around him, so you try to keep

Floyd | your trips to his shop to a minimum.
Floyd | That's not a verb I recognise.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | Taken.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd |

Floyd | You lose yourself in thought...
Floyd |
Floyd |

Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd |

Floyd | It's Saturday and as usual you're at your market stall. You make the
Floyd | journey here once a week to sell old tools, books and assorted junk.
Floyd | The weekly market is set outdoors among the convict-built sandstone
Floyd | buildings near the city's waterfront - once warehouses, seedy pubs and

Floyd | brothels, but now mostly converted to art galleries, craft shops and
Floyd | caf?s. Beyond these colonial buildings and the modest high-rises behind
Floyd | them, you see the mountain - a stark and imposing backdrop to the city,
Floyd | and for once not covered in clouds. The surrounding stalls have
Floyd | brightly coloured awnings, making yours appear somewhat drab in
Floyd | comparison. To the south a busker plays a violin, while from the north

Floyd | come the strains of South American folk music played on guitar and
Floyd | pan-pipes. Nearby, a man dressed as a clown twists balloons into animal
Floyd | shapes.
Floyd |
Floyd | It's a hot day and the place is busy, though not for you. You haven't
Floyd | sold a thing all morning. To top it off, Nadia should be here helping

Floyd | with the stall, but you haven't seen her in nearly two days. You wonder
Floyd | what her excuse might be, this time.
Floyd |
Floyd | At the Market (behind your stall)
Floyd | You are tending your stall at the weekly outdoor market near the city's
Floyd | waterfront. Nearby, a man dressed as a clown is making balloon animals.

Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | The score is: (Jack 1/Life 1)
Floyd |

Floyd | >

Floyd | Although well into your thirties, you're still pretty fit.
Floyd |

Floyd | >

Floyd | You are carrying nothing.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | Your stall consists of two covered wooden trestle tables, set out with
Floyd | the old tools, books and assorted junk you've brought along to sell.
Floyd |

Floyd | >

Floyd | There is nothing remarkable about any of the items you have for sale.
Floyd | You sometimes have rare, or sought-after stuff, but not today. It's
Floyd | therefore small wonder that you haven't sold anything.

Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | I beg your pardon?
Floyd |

Floyd | >

Floyd | You are carrying nothing.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | Which do you mean, the clown or the busker?
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | The clown is twisting helium-filled balloons into the shape of a dog.
Floyd | To entertain the waiting children he sings a nursery rhyme.
Floyd |

Floyd | "Hey, diddle, diddle,
Floyd | The cat and the fiddle,
Floyd | The cow jumped over the moon,
Floyd | The little dog laughed to see such sport,
Floyd | And the dish ran away with the spoon."
Floyd |

Floyd | On noticing your attention the clown winks, then waves, accidentally
Floyd | bursting one of the balloons in the process and uttering a very
Floyd | un-clown-like exclamation.
Floyd |
Floyd | An elderly lady arrives at your stall and begins carefully considering
Floyd | an 'antique' porcelain cat. She looks up as though about to ask

Floyd | something, then changes her mind and hobbles away.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | The busker is an old man, raggedly dressed. He is dancing and playing a
Floyd | jig on a violin. A battered violin case lies open on the ground in
Floyd | front of him. The area around the busker is one of the few uncrowded
Floyd | spaces at the market. The lack of an audience doesn't seem to be
Floyd | concerning him one bit.
Floyd |

Floyd | >

Floyd | To talk to someone you should use the form "TALK TO person ABOUT
Floyd | topic".
Floyd |

Floyd | You can't help noticing that the clown is having more problems with his
Floyd | balloon animals. It's always reassuring to see someone having a worse
Floyd | day than you.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | The clown is preoccupied and doesn't respond.
Floyd |
Floyd | Things are going very slowly. You really do wonder where Nadia is. You

Floyd | could do with a break.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | The busker smiles and plays a little faster.

Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd |
Floyd | At the Market (behind your stall)

Floyd | You are tending your stall at the weekly outdoor market near the city's
Floyd | waterfront. It's a bright, sunny day and the place is bustling with
Floyd | activity. Beyond the colonial sandstone buildings that line the
Floyd | marketplace and the modest high-rises behind them, you see the
Floyd | mountain. Nearby, a man dressed as a clown is making balloon animals.
Floyd | To the south a raggedly dressed busker plays a violin, while further

Floyd | away to the north a crowd gathers around a band playing South American
Floyd | folk music.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | The market is a lively place today. It's bustling with people from all
Floyd | walks of life.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | The band are dressed in traditional South American costume, brightly
Floyd | coloured woollen hats and ponchos, and must be sweltering on a day like
Floyd | today. There is a large crowd gathering to hear their music.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | You first met Nadia on the night of your thirtieth birthday, several
Floyd | years after you broke up with Melanie. You were on a night out with the
Floyd | boys and found yourself instantly hooked by her smile. It was a smile
Floyd | that lit up her face and almost made you go weak at the knees. That

Floyd | night was the beginning of a tempestuous casual relationship.
Floyd |
Floyd | Nadia looks for the hidden beauty in everything and everyone; believing
Floyd | in astrology, the healing powers of crystals and reincarnation (to her
Floyd | everyone has been someone in a former life). You, on the other hand,
Floyd | consider yourself to be practical and down-to-earth. Despite your

Floyd | differences, you initially found Nadia's optimism refreshing - were
Floyd | almost prepared to believe that you had known each other previously (in
Floyd | a Biblical sense, and era) and enjoyed being called Akhnaten: "my
Floyd | little sun king" (to her Nefertiti).
Floyd |
Floyd | Within a few months of meeting, it was Nadia - while remarking on your

Floyd | tenseness, offering short-term relief through massage, then telling you
Floyd | to "be true to the creature you are" - who gave you the impetus to
Floyd | return to the mountain.
Floyd |
Floyd | You sold your business and moved together to a caravan on a steep block
Floyd | high in the foothills while building your bush home from mud brick,

Floyd | local stone and recycled materials. Later, to keep yourself busy, you
Floyd | began trading in second-hand furniture and junk (a passion for which
Floyd | you acquired in the course of getting the materials together for the
Floyd | house) and, much to Nadia's horror and chagrin, by cutting and selling
Floyd | firewood. ("Trees have feelings too, you know.")
Floyd |

Floyd | But recently things have not been going well. Nadia is beginning to
Floyd | tire of your scepticism, and you, of the Bohemian world she inhabits.
Floyd | You frequently get on each other's nerves. She is sometimes away from
Floyd | home for days at a time, often without explanation. Although your
Floyd | relationship appears to be foundering, in many ways you are relieved.
Floyd | The strain of it all has been starting to get to you.

Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd |
Floyd | At the Market (behind your stall)

Floyd | You are tending your stall at the weekly outdoor market near the city's
Floyd | waterfront. It's a bright, sunny day and the place is bustling with
Floyd | activity. Beyond the colonial sandstone buildings that line the
Floyd | marketplace and the modest high-rises behind them, you see the
Floyd | mountain. Nearby, a man dressed as a clown is making balloon animals.
Floyd | To the south a raggedly dressed busker plays a violin, while further

Floyd | away to the north a crowd gathers around a band playing South American
Floyd | folk music.
Floyd |
Floyd | A man dressed in overalls walks by. He suddenly notices something among
Floyd | the old tools you've laid out on a trestle table. "Hey, I haven't seen
Floyd | one of those in years!" he exclaims. Then he laughs and disappears back

Floyd | into the crowd.
Floyd |
Floyd | Through the crowds you catch a glimpse of Nadia. She seems to be
Floyd | heading your way, and has someone with her.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | The busker is an old man, raggedly dressed. He is dancing and playing a
Floyd | jig on a violin. A battered violin case lies open on the ground in
Floyd | front of him. The area around the busker is one of the few uncrowded
Floyd | spaces at the market. The lack of an audience doesn't seem to be

Floyd | concerning him one bit.
Floyd |
Floyd | Nadia pushes her way through the crowd and arrives at your stall. She's
Floyd | wearing a thin, ankle-length blue dress and is well bedecked with
Floyd | jewellery - gaudy paste rings, gold-coloured bangles and bands coiled
Floyd | around her bare arms and large lapis lazuli earrings shaped like asps.

Floyd | At her side is someone you haven't met. He's a youngish man, perhaps in
Floyd | his early twenties, tall and athletic - all chin, with a physique that
Floyd | looks as though it could have been carved from marble - and a crop of
Floyd | short dark curly hair. Nadia has a firm grip on his elbow.
Floyd |
Floyd | "Hello, Jack." (There's that smile.)

Floyd |
Floyd | "'lo, Nadia. It's been a while. Are you going to introduce us?" You
Floyd | glance towards her companion.
Floyd |
Floyd | "This is Mark," says Nadia. "He's an artist. Mark, meet Jack. Jack
Floyd | Downer."

Floyd |
Floyd | "Hello, Mark."
Floyd |
Floyd | "Er...It's Michael, actually...," stammers Nadia's friend.
Floyd |
Floyd | "You're Mark Anthony," corrects Nadia, and he nervously shifts his

Floyd | feet.
Floyd |
Floyd | "I see," you reply, then turning to Nadia - "And you are...?"
Floyd |
Floyd | "I was Cleopatra, of course. Time moves on, Jack, and we must move with
Floyd | it. We had our share of good times, but now it's over. You know it as

Floyd | well as I. Mark and I are going up to the house to get my stuff. I came
Floyd | to say good-bye."
Floyd |
Floyd | For once you find yourself lost for words. Looking away from Nadia's
Floyd | face your attention is drawn to the brass ankh she wears around her
Floyd | neck. She once bought it for you as a present, a symbol, as she put it,

Floyd | "of the life-energy we share". Needless to say, you thought it looked
Floyd | better on her.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | (Nadia)

Floyd | "Don't you worry about Nadia. I'll look after her."
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | 'Mark' has nothing to say about that.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | 'Mark' has nothing to say about that.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | "We had our time, Jack. Some of it was fun. I'm with Mark now."
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | [The story read that as "eat the shit out of mark"].
Floyd | You see no the here.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | (first taking the ankh)
Floyd |
Floyd | "Hey, if you wanted the ankh back, you only had to ask." Nadia takes
Floyd | off the ankh, unthreads it from its chain and hands it to you.
Floyd | "Good-bye, Jack." She turns and walks back into the crowd, 'Mark' in
Floyd | tow.

Floyd |
Floyd | You'd considered throwing the thing away. But, of course you never
Floyd | did...
Floyd |

Floyd | Everything melts away...
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd |

Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd | ...and you find yourself back in your living room.
Floyd |
Floyd |

Floyd | Living Room (East)
Floyd | Your living room is full of clutter. Your armchair is here in front of
Floyd | the wood stove. A doorway to the north leads to your bedroom and the
Floyd | living area continues west. The back door is to the east.
Floyd |
Floyd | An old pine mantel leans against the wall near the window.

Floyd |
Floyd | There is a cardboard carton here.
Floyd |
Floyd | It is getting late in the day. The shadows in the room are lengthening.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | At the Market (behind your stall)
Floyd | [Previous turn undone.]
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | Nothing of interest occurs to you.
Floyd |

Floyd | >

Floyd | You take a wild swing at 'Mark' and manage to get a lucky punch right
Floyd | on that marble chin of his. Buoyed by this success and barely able to
Floyd | resist a gleeful cackle, you circle him looking for another opening.

Floyd | But that's where everything starts to go pear-shaped. Within a few
Floyd | seconds you're lying flat on your back in front of your stall, bleeding
Floyd | profusely from the nose. Nadia looks totally disgusted with both of you
Floyd | and turns to leave. As she does so she takes off the ankh, unthreads it
Floyd | from its chain and drops it on your blood stained T-shirt. "You always
Floyd | were a fool, Jack. I think you've got more need of this than me." She

Floyd | turns and walks back into the crowd, alone.
Floyd |
Floyd | It didn't happen that way, of course, but hey, perhaps it should
Floyd | have...
Floyd |
Floyd | You'd considered throwing the ankh away. But, you never did...

Floyd |

Floyd | Everything melts away...
Floyd |
Floyd |

Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd |

Floyd | ...and you find yourself back in your living room.
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd | Living Room (East)
Floyd | Your living room is full of clutter. Your armchair is here in front of
Floyd | the wood stove. A doorway to the north leads to your bedroom and the

Floyd | living area continues west. The back door is to the east.
Floyd |
Floyd | An old pine mantel leans against the wall near the window.
Floyd |
Floyd | There is a cardboard carton here.
Floyd |

Floyd | It is getting late in the day. The shadows in the room are lengthening.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | The carton contains a number of old possessions scattered loose,

Floyd | including a pile of photographs and various unrelated oddments. There
Floyd | is nothing there that holds any interest for you right now.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | Taken.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd |

Floyd | You lose yourself in thought...
Floyd |
Floyd |

Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd |

Floyd | It's Saturday and as usual you're at your market stall. You make the
Floyd | journey here once a week to sell old tools, books and assorted junk.
Floyd | The weekly market is set outdoors among the convict-built sandstone
Floyd | buildings near the city's waterfront - once warehouses, seedy pubs and
Floyd | brothels, but now mostly converted to art galleries, craft shops and
Floyd | caf?s. Beyond these colonial buildings and the modest high-rises behind

Floyd | them, you see the mountain - a stark and imposing backdrop to the city,
Floyd | and for once not covered in clouds. The surrounding stalls have
Floyd | brightly coloured awnings, making yours appear somewhat drab in
Floyd | comparison. To the south a busker plays a violin, while from the north
Floyd | come the strains of South American folk music played on guitar and
Floyd | pan-pipes. Nearby, a man dressed as a clown twists balloons into animal

Floyd | shapes.
Floyd |
Floyd | It's a hot day and the place is busy, though not for you. You haven't
Floyd | sold a thing all morning. To top it off, Nadia should be here helping
Floyd | with the stall, but you haven't seen her in nearly two days. You wonder
Floyd | what her excuse might be, this time.

Floyd |
Floyd | At the Market (behind your stall)
Floyd | You are tending your stall at the weekly outdoor market near the city's
Floyd | waterfront. Nearby, a man dressed as a clown is making balloon animals.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | Time passes.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | Time passes.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | You first met Nadia on the night of your thirtieth birthday, several
Floyd | years after you broke up with Melanie. You were on a night out with the
Floyd | boys and found yourself instantly hooked by her smile. It was a smile

Floyd | that lit up her face and almost made you go weak at the knees. That
Floyd | night was the beginning of a tempestuous casual relationship.
Floyd |
Floyd | Nadia looks for the hidden beauty in everything and everyone; believing
Floyd | in astrology, the healing powers of crystals and reincarnation (to her
Floyd | everyone has been someone in a former life). You, on the other hand,

Floyd | consider yourself to be practical and down-to-earth. Despite your
Floyd | differences, you initially found Nadia's optimism refreshing - were
Floyd | almost prepared to believe that you had known each other previously (in
Floyd | a Biblical sense, and era) and enjoyed being called Akhnaten: "my
Floyd | little sun king" (to her Nefertiti).
Floyd |

Floyd | Within a few months of meeting, it was Nadia - while remarking on your
Floyd | tenseness, offering short-term relief through massage, then telling you
Floyd | to "be true to the creature you are" - who gave you the impetus to
Floyd | return to the mountain.
Floyd |
Floyd | You sold your business and moved together to a caravan on a steep block

Floyd | high in the foothills while building your bush home from mud brick,
Floyd | local stone and recycled materials. Later, to keep yourself busy, you
Floyd | began trading in second-hand furniture and junk (a passion for which
Floyd | you acquired in the course of getting the materials together for the
Floyd | house) and, much to Nadia's horror and chagrin, by cutting and selling
Floyd | firewood. ("Trees have feelings too, you know.")

Floyd |
Floyd | But recently things have not been going well. Nadia is beginning to
Floyd | tire of your scepticism, and you, of the Bohemian world she inhabits.
Floyd | You frequently get on each other's nerves. She is sometimes away from
Floyd | home for days at a time, often without explanation. Although your
Floyd | relationship appears to be foundering, in many ways you are relieved.

Floyd | The strain of it all has been starting to get to you.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd |
Floyd | At the Market (behind your stall)
Floyd | You are tending your stall at the weekly outdoor market near the city's
Floyd | waterfront. It's a bright, sunny day and the place is bustling with
Floyd | activity. Beyond the colonial sandstone buildings that line the
Floyd | marketplace and the modest high-rises behind them, you see the

Floyd | mountain. Nearby, a man dressed as a clown is making balloon animals.
Floyd | To the south a raggedly dressed busker plays a violin, while further
Floyd | away to the north a crowd gathers around a band playing South American
Floyd | folk music.
Floyd |
Floyd | Through the crowds you catch a glimpse of Nadia. She seems to be

Floyd | heading your way, and has someone with her.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | [The story read that as "in weapon"].

Floyd | I only understood you as far as wanting to in.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | Your stall consists of two covered wooden trestle tables, set out with
Floyd | the old tools, books and assorted junk you've brought along to sell.
Floyd |

Floyd | Nadia pushes her way through the crowd and arrives at your stall. She's
Floyd | wearing a thin, ankle-length blue dress and is well bedecked with
Floyd | jewellery - gaudy paste rings, gold-coloured bangles and bands coiled
Floyd | around her bare arms and large lapis lazuli earrings shaped like asps.
Floyd | At her side is someone you haven't met. He's a youngish man, perhaps in
Floyd | his early twenties, tall and athletic - all chin, with a physique that

Floyd | looks as though it could have been carved from marble - and a crop of
Floyd | short dark curly hair. Nadia has a firm grip on his elbow.
Floyd |
Floyd | "Hello, Jack." (There's that smile.)
Floyd |
Floyd | "'lo, Nadia. It's been a while. Are you going to introduce us?" You

Floyd | glance towards her companion.
Floyd |
Floyd | "This is Mark," says Nadia. "He's an artist. Mark, meet Jack. Jack
Floyd | Downer."
Floyd |
Floyd | "Hello, Mark."

Floyd |
Floyd | "Er...It's Michael, actually...," stammers Nadia's friend.
Floyd |
Floyd | "You're Mark Anthony," corrects Nadia, and he nervously shifts his
Floyd | feet.
Floyd |

Floyd | "I see," you reply, then turning to Nadia - "And you are...?"
Floyd |
Floyd | "I was Cleopatra, of course. Time moves on, Jack, and we must move with
Floyd | it. We had our share of good times, but now it's over. You know it as
Floyd | well as I. Mark and I are going up to the house to get my stuff. I came
Floyd | to say good-bye."

Floyd |
Floyd | For once you find yourself lost for words. Looking away from Nadia's
Floyd | face your attention is drawn to the brass ankh she wears around her
Floyd | neck. She once bought it for you as a present, a symbol, as she put it,
Floyd | "of the life-energy we share". Needless to say, you thought it looked
Floyd | better on her.

Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | [The story read that as "ask nadia"].
Floyd | What do you want to ask Nadia about?

Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | Nothing would be gained from resorting to violence against Nadia.

Floyd |
Floyd | An elderly lady arrives at your stall and begins carefully considering
Floyd | an 'antique' porcelain cat. She looks up as though about to ask
Floyd | something, then changes her mind and hobbles away.

Floyd |
Floyd | >
Floyd | "It's too late for that now, Jack." Nadia keeps her distance.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | "I'm sorry about leaving you in the lurch with the stall, but nobody
Floyd | buys this junk any more anyway. Perhaps you should give it up."
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd |
Floyd | "The ankh? Sorry, Jack. I'd forgotten It was yours." Nadia takes the
Floyd | chain from around her neck, unthreads the ankh and hands it to you.

Floyd | "Good-bye, Jack." She turns and walks back into the crowd, 'Mark' in
Floyd | tow.
Floyd |
Floyd | You'd considered throwing the thing away. But, of course you never
Floyd | did...
Floyd |

Floyd | Everything melts away...
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd |

Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd | ...and you find yourself back in your living room.

Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd | Living Room (East)
Floyd | Your living room is full of clutter. Your armchair is here in front of
Floyd | the wood stove. A doorway to the north leads to your bedroom and the
Floyd | living area continues west. The back door is to the east.

Floyd |
Floyd | An old pine mantel leans against the wall near the window.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | At the Market (behind your stall)
Floyd | [Previous turn undone.]
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | 'Mark' doesn't believe you.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | [The story read that as "ask michael about smile"].
Floyd | 'Mark' has nothing to say about that.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | I beg your pardon?
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | 'Mark' has nothing to say about that.
Floyd |
Floyd | Nadia seems to recall your attention on the ankh. "Oh, I nearly forgot.
Floyd | This is yours." She takes the chain from her neck, unthreads the ankh
Floyd | and hands it to you. "Good-bye, Jack." Nadia turns and walks back into

Floyd | the crowd, 'Mark' in tow.
Floyd |
Floyd | You'd considered throwing the thing away. But, of course you never
Floyd | did...
Floyd |

Floyd | Everything melts away...
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd |

Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd | ...and you find yourself back in your living room.
Floyd |

Floyd |
Floyd | Living Room (East)
Floyd | Your living room is full of clutter. Your armchair is here in front of
Floyd | the wood stove. A doorway to the north leads to your bedroom and the
Floyd | living area continues west. The back door is to the east.
Floyd |

Floyd | An old pine mantel leans against the wall near the window.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | You are carrying a cardboard carton, an ankh, a possum skin hat and the
Floyd | picture-frame.
Floyd |

Floyd | >

Floyd | There is no obvious way of putting it on. It has no chain.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | The picture-frame is made of Baltic pine. The photograph it contains is
Floyd | slightly overexposed and was taken using a flash.
Floyd |
Floyd | Depicted are a young man and young woman leaning with their backs to

Floyd | the rail of a rough wooden deck, backed by the spray of a narrow
Floyd | waterfall cascading down two tiers of mudstone outcrop. Bordering the
Floyd | waterfall is thick temperate rainforest vegetation: a canopy of tall
Floyd | myrtle and sassafras trees, beneath which are leatherwood and
Floyd | tree-ferns, all covered in moss, lichen, shell-fungus. The boy has his
Floyd | arm around the girl's shoulder. Both are wearing light bushwalking

Floyd | clothes, and he carries a day pack. The boy looks cocky and confident
Floyd | and wears an idiotic 'say cheese' grin. The girl is not smiling. This
Floyd | was not, as you recall it, that she had been unhappy, just unused to
Floyd | having her picture taken.
Floyd |
Floyd | "It's like giving away a piece of your soul," she had once joked.

Floyd |
Floyd | As it happens she had smiled just after the shot was taken; a small,
Floyd | nervous smile of relief (you mimic the smile at the memory).
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | In your mind you can still picture her clearly as she was on that day -
Floyd | with that long raven hair and those big brown eyes.

Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | Nothing of interest occurs to you.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd |

Floyd | You lose yourself in thought...
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd |

Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd |

Floyd | You're standing on the wooden deck with your back to the spray of the
Floyd | waterfall. The German tourist has returned your camera and you watch
Floyd | him briefly as he starts back towards the car park. Melanie is standing
Floyd | beside you, smiling. You put your camera away in the day pack then
Floyd | gesture towards the falls.
Floyd |

Floyd | "C'mon Mel, let's go on to the top," you hear yourself saying.
Floyd |
Floyd | Melanie's smile gives way to a frown. "No, you go," she says. "I'll
Floyd | wait here."
Floyd |
Floyd | Wooden deck (near the waterfall)

Floyd | You stand on a wooden deck at the base of a waterfall. The air is cool,
Floyd | damp and close, rich with the smells of the rainforest. A walking track
Floyd | heads east to the car park. A narrower track leads north towards the
Floyd | top of the falls. Melanie is here with you.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | "Get off, Jack. No time for that. Get going. It'll be dark soon."
Floyd |
Floyd | Mel pushes you away.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | You don't feel like smiling right now.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | [The story read that as "curses"].
Floyd | Having vented your frustration, you feel a little better.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | Nothing happens.
Floyd |
Floyd | Melanie looks at you impatiently.
Floyd |

Floyd | >

Floyd | "I'm sorry about the picture. You know I don't like having my photo

Floyd | taken."
Floyd |
Floyd | >
Floyd | Violence is rarely the answer.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | "I'm sorry about the picture. You know I don't like having my photo
Floyd | taken."
Floyd |

Floyd | >

Floyd | "This place is okay, I guess. I know it's special to you, but give me
Floyd | the city any day."
Floyd |

Floyd | >

Floyd | Melanie seems preoccupied and doesn't answer.
Floyd |

Floyd | >

Floyd | You are carrying a day pack (which is closed).

Floyd |
Floyd | >
Floyd |
Floyd | Wooden deck (near the waterfall)
Floyd | You stand on a wooden deck at the base of a waterfall. A walking track
Floyd | heads east to the car park. A narrower track leads north towards the

Floyd | top of the falls. Melanie is here with you.
Floyd |
Floyd | Melanie is looking angry.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | You can't see any such thing.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | You open the day pack, revealing your camera and some sandwiches.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | Melanie avoids your gaze and looks out over the rail towards the falls.
Floyd | She is frowning.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | The waterfall is tall, narrow, and bordered by thick rainforest
Floyd | vegetation. The water cascades down two outcrops of mudstone into a
Floyd | shallow pool at the base. Below the observation deck the pool narrows
Floyd | into a swift-flowing stream running east.
Floyd |
Floyd | "Well, go on then. Up you go. What are you waiting for?"

Floyd |
Floyd | Melanie stamps her foot.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | (first taking the sandwiches)
Floyd | "I'm not that hungry right now," says Melanie. "Save them for later."
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd |
Floyd | You hand Melanie the day pack, smile broadly, then turn and start
Floyd | towards the top of the falls. You're able to set a brisk pace initially
Floyd | but are forced to slow as the path narrows and becomes more steep and
Floyd | slippery. The last few metres are a scramble and you clutch at roots
Floyd | and ferns to gain purchase.

Floyd |
Floyd | Once at the top, you inch your way out along a fallen log towards the
Floyd | edge of the falls and look down through the spray to the observation
Floyd | deck. You are about to wave, but Melanie is nowhere in sight.
Floyd |
Floyd | Top of falls (on the log)

Floyd | You stand precariously on a fallen log jutting out over the edge of the
Floyd | falls.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | It looks like a long way down from here.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | Jumping from the top of the waterfall would certainly make a dramatic
Floyd | statement. But "of what", you are not sure.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | A pretty girl. You know that you could easily fall for her. But it's a
Floyd | pity you have so little in common. You had hoped that she would share
Floyd | your feelings for this place.

Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | The log is wide but slippery. It juts out over the edge of the falls.

Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | [The story read that as "tell"].
Floyd | I didn't understand that sentence.

Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | You can see the observation deck through the spray below. Melanie is no
Floyd | longer there.

Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | This is a very special place for you. You used to come to this forest
Floyd | with your grandparents during school holidays when you were very young.

Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | The rainforest is dark, still and damp. A canopy of giant
Floyd | myrtle-beeches and sassafras arches overhead, above leatherwoods and

Floyd | tree-ferns. Both the trunks of trees and the forest floor are covered
Floyd | in mosses and lichens. The rainforest floor is dappled with brightly
Floyd | coloured fungi. Undergrowth prevents you from straying far from the
Floyd | paths.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | Jumping from the top of the waterfall would certainly make a dramatic
Floyd | statement. But "of what", you are not sure.
Floyd |

Floyd | >

Floyd | I don't think much is to be achieved by that.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | Your grandfather died several years ago, now. He was a good man,
Floyd | mostly, but weak willed. You have long resolved not to be like him.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | You are carrying some sandwiches.
Floyd |

Floyd | >

Floyd | Your grandmother died quite recently. She was a strong and opinionated
Floyd | woman. But she meant well.

Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | [The story read that as "c"].
Floyd | (the sandwiches)
Floyd | Nothing of interest occurs to you.
Floyd |

Floyd | >

Floyd | You eat the sandwiches. Not bad.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd |
Floyd | Top of falls (on the log)
Floyd | You stand precariously on a fallen log jutting out over the edge of the

Floyd | falls.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | Jumping from the top of the waterfall would certainly make a dramatic

Floyd | statement. But "of what", you are not sure.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | There is nowhere to go from here but back the way you came.

Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | This is a very special place for you. You used to come to this forest
Floyd | with your grandparents during school holidays when you were very young.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | Nothing of interest occurs to you.
Floyd |

Floyd | >

Floyd | Your years at boarding school were not the happiest times of your life.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | Nothing of interest occurs to you.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | You barely remember your parents. But you've never really forgiven them
Floyd | for dying so young and leaving you alone in the world.
Floyd |

Floyd | >

Floyd | You leave the log and scramble back down the path.
Floyd |
Floyd | Wooden deck (near the waterfall)

Floyd | You stand on a wooden deck at the base of a waterfall. A walking track
Floyd | heads east to the car park. A narrower track leads north towards the
Floyd | top of the falls. Melanie is no longer here.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | Your years at boarding school were not the happiest times of your life.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | Nothing of interest occurs to you.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | As you start back along the path towards the car park you hear a rustle
Floyd | in the undergrowth nearby, and catch a quick glimpse of something
Floyd | moving away. You're out of breath by the time you catch up to Melanie,
Floyd | part way back along the track. She is crouched on one knee, examining
Floyd | the other, which seems to have been grazed.
Floyd |

Floyd | "Hey, Melanie! What's happened? What have you done to yourself?" There
Floyd | is little sympathy in your voice.
Floyd |
Floyd | Melanie looks up, startled. "What do you care, you bastard? Look at
Floyd | this," she gestures at her knee. "This is your fault. I was ready to
Floyd | go, Jack. And if you'd listened, I wouldn't have been scared half out

Floyd | of my wits. There was some creature back there, near the waterfall - in
Floyd | the bush. It charged out at me."
Floyd |
Floyd | "It was a pademelon, Mel. I saw it."
Floyd |
Floyd | "A what?"

Floyd |
Floyd | "A pademelon. A wallaby."
Floyd |
Floyd | "Look Jack, I don't care what it was. I'm a city girl, remember. At
Floyd | least in town if something jumps at me I've a fair idea what it is and
Floyd | what it's after. I've had enough of this bush shit for one day. Let's

Floyd | get back to the cottage, ok?"
Floyd |
Floyd | Rainforest path
Floyd | You are on a walking track that leads east to the car park. Melanie is
Floyd | here, crouched on one knee. The day pack is on the ground beside her.
Floyd |

Floyd | >

Floyd | The knee has a nasty graze.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | That's already open.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | In the day pack is your camera.
Floyd |

Floyd | >

Floyd | Now is not a good time to take another picture.
Floyd |

Floyd | >

Floyd | Nothing of interest occurs to you.

Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | "Ouch! That hurts." Melanie winces. "Just help me up will you?"
Floyd |

Floyd | >

Floyd | You pick up the day pack, then help Melanie to her feet and walk
Floyd | together back towards the car park.
Floyd |
Floyd | The light is fading fast. Tea coloured water cascades and swirls over
Floyd | pebbles and sand in the bed of the shallow stream running beside the
Floyd | track. You hear the harsh cry of a currawong. Although only twenty

Floyd | minutes from the car park, you could easily be many miles from
Floyd | civilisation. You would normally have been at ease in these
Floyd | surroundings, but you are not. For an instant, you see Melanie lying
Floyd | face down in the stream, water-boatmen in her raven hair, then you
Floyd | shudder and look ahead through the growing gloom.
Floyd |

Floyd | "How's the knee?"
Floyd |
Floyd | "It hurts like hell, since you ask. How much further?"
Floyd |
Floyd | "Not far. Here, take my arm."
Floyd |

Floyd | The cottage is a log cabin with a grey shingled roof of untreated
Floyd | timber. Covered with a tracery of yellow-green lichen, and surrounded
Floyd | by stands of rainforest trees, it has a rustic charm. After tending
Floyd | Melanie's knee, you share the cooking of a meal and eat together in
Floyd | silence.
Floyd |

Floyd | "Jack?" You glance up from your empty plate to find Mel looking at you
Floyd | intently, with those big dark eyes you know you could drown in. The
Floyd | anger has gone from her face, replaced by a more familiar gentleness.
Floyd | "Have we made up?" she asks.
Floyd |
Floyd | "I guess so," you reply, without conviction.

Floyd |
Floyd | "Well, here we are then," she says. "And there's no TV. So, how about
Floyd | bed?"
Floyd |
Floyd | You lie in bed watching Mel undress, admiring her pale skinned beauty.
Floyd | Your resolve does not waver on contact with her softness, the touch of

Floyd | her breasts and thighs, her smell. Her fingers press into your back,
Floyd | yours into hers, feeling the outline of her ribs and arch of her spine
Floyd | as you move together. "Careful of my knee." You enjoy each other's
Floyd | presence and bodies, with a tenderness and sureness that comes from
Floyd | knowing one another well. But only you know it will be for the last
Floyd | time. Later, lying close:

Floyd |
Floyd | "Do you love me, Jack?"
Floyd |
Floyd | "You know I do." (How could you have doubted it?)
Floyd |
Floyd | "So are you ready to go ahead with it? Are you finally ready to move

Floyd | out of that dump of yours and show some commitment to this
Floyd | relationship?"
Floyd |
Floyd | "It's late, Mel. Sleep now. We'll talk about it in the morning."
Floyd |
Floyd | "Uh-uh, Jack Downer. You don't get out of it that easily. We'll talk

Floyd | about it now."
Floyd |
Floyd | "Tomorrow, Mel. I'm tired." (Why couldn't you have said "yes"? How
Floyd | different things may have been.)
Floyd |
Floyd | You break the news the next morning while packing the car ready to

Floyd | leave; reeling off practised phrases about "not being ready", "needing
Floyd | to slow down", "needing time to think". Melanie says nothing, just
Floyd | fixing her attention on putting things in boxes, then the boxes in the
Floyd | car. The silence grows as you drive back towards town, finally erupting
Floyd | into a heated argument, ending with the last words ever spoken between
Floyd | you.

Floyd |
Floyd | "Watch out for that tree, you crazy bastard!!"
Floyd |
Floyd | Stupid bastard, more like...
Floyd |
Floyd | It's just a good thing no-one was seriously injured...

Floyd |

Floyd | Everything melts away...
Floyd |
Floyd |

Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd |

Floyd | ...and you find yourself back in your living room.
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd | Living Room (East)
Floyd | Your living room is full of clutter. Your armchair is here in front of
Floyd | the wood stove. A doorway to the north leads to your bedroom and the

Floyd | living area continues west. The back door is to the east.
Floyd |
Floyd | An old pine mantel leans against the wall near the window.
Floyd |
Floyd | The light is failing. It is nearly evening. The flicker from the wood
Floyd | stove casts eerie shadows around the room.

Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | You're too tired to concentrate.
Floyd |

Floyd | You're beginning to feel quite tired.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | It's a pot-bellied wood stove. A fire blazes within and there is a
Floyd | supply of firewood beside it.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | They are eerie.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | The fire doesn't need any more wood right now.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | [The story read that as "tie to take jack to bed."].
Floyd | You see no to here.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | You are already standing.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd |
Floyd | Living Room (West)
Floyd | This area of your living room doubles as a kitchen. There is a small
Floyd | sink here, a gas stove, refrigerator and a cupboard. Your bathroom is

Floyd | to the north and a door to the west leads outside.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | Living Room (East)

Floyd | [Previous turn undone.]
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd |

Floyd | Bedroom
Floyd | This is your bedroom. The only furnishings are a wardrobe and your bed.
Floyd | There is a window facing north and the living room is to the south.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | You lie down on the bed.
Floyd |

Floyd | >

Floyd |
Floyd | You can keep awake no longer.
Floyd |

Floyd | But you know you can't go to bed until you've seen to the fire. So you

Floyd | drag yourself up from the bed, walk wearily to the wood stove and build
Floyd | up the fire before heading back to your bedroom. After climbing into
Floyd | bed you toss and turn for a while then settle into an uneasy sleep...
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd |

Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd |

Floyd | And in this sleep, you dream...
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd |

Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd |

Floyd | In your dream you are Akhnaten, the pharaoh of Nadia's fancy, standing

Floyd | on a sandy shore gazing out over dark waters. You are dressed in white
Floyd | robes, in your right hand is a flail, and in your left is a shepherd's
Floyd | crook. The night sky is a terrible serpent that slithers and uncoils
Floyd | above you, blood leaching from its foul skin into the waters of the
Floyd | East. There are four sealed jars laid out on the sand before you, and
Floyd | from your side come the guttural sounds, the snufflings and snarls, of

Floyd | some kind of animal, or worse. Reeds grow about you, wrapping
Floyd | themselves around your feet, tugging at your ankles.
Floyd |
Floyd | But you know that you must not shift your gaze from the horizon, not at
Floyd | any cost.
Floyd |

Floyd | Sandy shore
Floyd | You stand on a sandy shore, gazing out through darkness to the horizon
Floyd | in the East. There are four sealed jars set on the sand before you.
Floyd | Something is growling beside you, and reeds grow about your feet,
Floyd | wrapping themselves around your ankles.
Floyd |

Floyd | >

Floyd | You are watching the eastern horizon for Matet, the boat of Ra the sun
Floyd | god, that will take you to the afterlife. And not without some
Floyd | trepidation. With the benefit of hindsight you wonder at the wisdom,
Floyd | during your reign, of banning the worship of Ra and the rest of the

Floyd | panoply of Egyptian gods in favour of Aten, a single god of your own
Floyd | invention.
Floyd |
Floyd | Then again, even pharaohs make mistakes.
Floyd |
Floyd | How long must you wait? Surely, it can't be long now.

Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | Of all your wives, Nefertiti was the one who meant the most to you. You
Floyd | were devastated when she was forced into exile.

Floyd |
Floyd | You are becoming aware of a burning sensation in your chest.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | Nothing of interest occurs to you.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | You are watching the eastern horizon for Matet, the boat of Ra the sun
Floyd | god, that will take you to the afterlife. And not without some
Floyd | trepidation. With the benefit of hindsight you wonder at the wisdom,
Floyd | during your reign, of banning the worship of Ra and the rest of the
Floyd | panoply of Egyptian gods in favour of Aten, a single god of your own
Floyd | invention.

Floyd |
Floyd | Then again, even pharaohs make mistakes.
Floyd |
Floyd | How long must you wait? Surely, it can't be long now.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | You are wearing white robes and carrying a shepherd's crook and a
Floyd | flail.
Floyd |
Floyd | You are becoming aware of a burning sensation in your chest.

Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | You are watching the eastern horizon for Matet, the boat of Ra the sun
Floyd | god, that will take you to the afterlife. And not without some

Floyd | trepidation. With the benefit of hindsight you wonder at the wisdom,
Floyd | during your reign, of banning the worship of Ra and the rest of the
Floyd | panoply of Egyptian gods in favour of Aten, a single god of your own
Floyd | invention.
Floyd |
Floyd | Then again, even pharaohs make mistakes.

Floyd |
Floyd | How long must you wait? Surely, it can't be long now.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | You mustn't take your attention away from the horizon.
Floyd |
Floyd | You are becoming aware of a burning sensation in your chest.
Floyd |
Floyd | >