Floyd | Welcome to the Cheap Glk Implementation, library version 0.9.0.
Floyd |
Floyd | tadsr - A text-only TADS 2.5.10 Interpreter.
Floyd | Copyright (c) 1993, 2006 by Michael J. Roberts.
Floyd |
Floyd |
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Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd |    What sucks, about being the pro agent for a sociopathic defensive
Floyd | tackle like Tavarian Pittman, is the never-ending, ulcer-inducing,
Floyd | cloud of dark dread that seems to follow him and those that associate
Floyd | with him.  Tavarian is a chiseled 6'4", 313lb athletic monster -- he
Floyd | can run the 40 yard dash in 4.33 seconds, and can throw opposing
Floyd | players around the football field with ease.  While playing, he is a
Floyd | whirling dervish of rage.  Unfortunately, Tavarian displays that same
Floyd | kind of restraint in everyday life.
Floyd |
Floyd |    Four months ago, he celebrated winning an award at the Nokia Sugar
Floyd | Bowl by crashing an off-campus party and proceeded to get roaring drunk
Floyd | with his friends.  It was a theme party -- a pre-med student hosting it
Floyd | had a cadaver on display as the party's centerpiece.  After drinking
Floyd | himself into an almost criminal level of intoxication, Tavarian and his
Floyd | friends started throwing the corpse around the house as if it were an
Floyd | old softball.  Tavarian punched a hole through the back of the thing's
Floyd | neck and started a ventriloquist act in extremely poor taste.
Floyd |
Floyd |    An attending film studies student had brought his camcorder with him
Floyd | and recorded the entire thing.
Floyd |
Floyd |    It made national headlines: Tavarian was called out by sports
Floyd | writers everywhere, denounced as an archdemon, and the summation of
Floyd | What's Wrong With Collegiate Sports.  His nickname soon became 'The
Floyd | Ripper' when one beat writer wondered if his next act was in writing
Floyd | "Dear Boss" letters to the local paper. Tavarian had already declared
Floyd | for the NFL Pro Draft, so he had no option of returning to school and
Floyd | laying low until the incident blew over.  He was likely to go
Floyd | completely undrafted, as no professional team could afford the PR hit
Floyd | they would take by selecting him.
Floyd |
Floyd |    You'd been trying to make it on your own as a sports agent for a
Floyd | while now.  You love the independence of being your own boss, you'd
Floyd | always loved sports and you wanted to be able to provide an affluent
Floyd | living for your wife and the baby that was on the way... but it hasn't
Floyd | been easy.  Becoming successful on your own has been a complete
Floyd | Catch-22 -- you need to sign a high-profile client in order to make any
Floyd | real money, but no normal athlete wants to risk being your first big
Floyd | contract.
Floyd |
Floyd |    Tavarian was looking for an agent when you met him while scouting a
Floyd | winter baseball game a few months back.  You had managed to win a huge
Floyd | arbitration case for the backup shortstop on the Red Sox -- no small
Floyd | prize, considering the perennial all-star he plays behind -- and you
Floyd | started to generate whispers that perhaps you had a talent for working
Floyd | miracles.  Tavarian, who was in need of one, introduced both himself
Floyd | and his girlfriend Theresa during the game.  You in turn introduced
Floyd | your wife, Charlise.  Both girls were five months pregnant with their
Floyd | first child and they completely hit it off.  Charlise practically sold
Floyd | you herself, painting a glorious picture of how hard you work and what
Floyd | a good soul you are -- essentially depicting you in the kind, glowing
Floyd | terms that she sees you with everyday.
Floyd |
Floyd |    Tavarian expressed to you his desire to turn his life around and get
Floyd | drafted by an NFL team in April, and ultimately hired you that day.
Floyd | Since then you have been working the circuit, trying to bend the ear of
Floyd | the 32 NFL general managers.  It hasn't been easy -- being away from
Floyd | your wife for most of the time has been excruciating, really -- and it
Floyd | didn't help when Tavarian spent a night in jail after going berserk on
Floyd | some pizza delivery guy while Theresa was visiting her parents... but
Floyd | with a calming influence around him 24/7 ever since, there have been no
Floyd | other problems.
Floyd |
Floyd |    Really, he doesn't seem to be the psychotic harbinger of death that
Floyd | the media has painted him out to be.  Not when you really get to know
Floyd | him.
Floyd |
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Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd | No Time To Squeal
Floyd | Interactive Fiction
Floyd | Copyright (c) 2001.  Written and programmed by Mike Sousa and Robb
Floyd | Sherwin
Floyd | (First-time players should type HELP)
Floyd | Release 1.0 / Serial number 092801 / TADS 2.55
Floyd |
Floyd | Golf Course
Floyd |    You're on the golf course with the general manager of the New
Floyd | England Patriots.  The meeting is going well, so far, but your mind is
Floyd | really with Charlise, who is now nine months pregnant and due any day
Floyd | now.  Funnily enough, even in your semi-distracted state, this is the
Floyd | first team you've made progress with.  It's a good fit -- they see you
Floyd | as a local boy who can be trusted, and they have some serious defensive
Floyd | issues they could solve with Pittman.  The Patriots are picking
Floyd | twenty-third, and have a history of not being overly concerned with
Floyd | drafting or signing guys with... well, with some question marks.
Floyd | Katzenmoyer, Peter, Meggett, Mowatt -- it's not exactly like
Floyd | quarterback Donny Osmond handing off to halfback Marie.  If you can
Floyd | just convince them to meet Tavarian... then, provided he just acts like
Floyd | himself, he's at least got the opportunity to charm them.  Maybe they
Floyd | don't take him in the first round, but even if he is taken in the
Floyd | second or third it would be a great day for him, *considering* and all,
Floyd | and a major success for yourself.
Floyd |
Floyd | Dan Fonda, the general manager of the Patriots, is here with you.  He's
Floyd | up two strokes on you, but is heading for a triple-bogey on this hole.
Floyd | The other two guys in the foursome -- director of Player Development
Floyd | Terry O'Hare and current player Bucky Johnson, are a dozen strokes
Floyd | behind you two.  You can probably get it into the cup in two strokes
Floyd | from here, and win the match outright.  Or, should you slice, hook or
Floyd | just outright shank it, you'll ensure that Fonda wins.  He seems
Floyd | earnest and sincere, and the kind of guy who wouldn't catch on if you
Floyd | let him win.  But then, he might be the kind of guy who doesn't respect
Floyd | someone who can't "beat" him on the greens.  Just which you're not sure
Floyd | of, yet.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | I don't know the word "win".
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | I don't know the word "learn".
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | Your name is Kieron Scott.  You are an agent within the field of
Floyd | professional sports, and just starting out with your own business.  You
Floyd | are in your late twenties, are about 5'10", 175lbs and have blue eyes
Floyd | and black hair.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | You have a pitching wedge.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | Your pitching wedge.  True, sturdy, and faithful.  You had messed
Floyd | around with graphite clubs before, and still use them occasionally, but
Floyd | when the pressure's on, you want Old Faithful at your side.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | Titleist, #3.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | I don't know the word "toward".
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | Dan Fonda is a former cornerback who worked his way into the NFL by
Floyd | putting in hard time in every league he could find until he could get a
Floyd | look -- the XFL, the Canadian Football League, Arena ball, and some
Floyd | Soviet Prison Conference that he doesn't talk about that much.  A few
Floyd | years past his playing days, he's kept himself in excellent physical
Floyd | shape, and seems to have stepped right out of an old 'Dockers'
Floyd | commercial.  You suspect that he's receptive to bringing in a player
Floyd | like Tavarian, who has a few strikes against him, because he's had to
Floyd | scrape his way to the top himself.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | You swing the club, and sure enough, your aim is sweet.  You land the
Floyd | ball onto the green and manage to sink it in on the next putt.
Floyd |
Floyd | "Good work," beams Dan.  "It's been a long time since I've had any
Floyd | competition, especially playing with these two clowns," he gestures
Floyd | over to Terry and Bucky.
Floyd |
Floyd | "Yeah, you watch out, Fonda, I get this kink out of my swing and I'm
Floyd | all over you," says Bucky.
Floyd |
Floyd | "You had eight mulligans, Bucky," says Dan.  "You've been discarding
Floyd | more balls than the guy who does the neutering over at the local vet."
Floyd |
Floyd | "Ouch," says Terry.  Ouch, indeed.
Floyd |
Floyd | Country Club Parking Lot
Floyd |    Finding your car in the parking lot isn't extremely difficult -- as
Floyd | it's not a Lexus, Porsche or BMW, 99% of the cars are eliminated right
Floyd | away.  Of the two remaining cars, the jet-black Hummer with a woofer
Floyd | completely taking up all available space past the front seats belongs
Floyd | to Bucky, and the 95 Neon is yours.  (Hey, at least it's the two door
Floyd | version with the big engine, and not some wood-grained station wagon
Floyd | that would garner nothing but looks of disdain and sympathy from the
Floyd | other golfers.)  You head over toward it in order to put your clubs
Floyd | away.
Floyd |
Floyd | "Say, Kieron," says Dan, "Why don't you come over to the club house
Floyd | with us.  We could talk some things over regarding Pittman and the
Floyd | draft."
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | I don't see any bucky here.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | Your Neon has served you well -- no headgasket problems yet.  The
Floyd | interior is a little noisy, but overcome with its decent stereo system.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | I don't see any stereo here.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | You can't enter your car while carrying your clubs!
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | Opened.
Floyd |
Floyd | "Tell you what," says Dan, "I'm going over to the club house -- meet us
Floyd | there for lunch."
Floyd |
Floyd | Dan then heads south, over toward the club house.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | You put the clubs away and then shut the trunk.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | You open the car door and get in.
Floyd |
Floyd | Inside your car
Floyd |    Chrysler did some good work with the early model Neons -- although
Floyd | there isn't much room in the backseats, and the dash, save for your
Floyd | built-in cell phone, is kind of spartan, it's plenty comfortable and
Floyd | extremely responsive.  Overall, it kind of moves like a slot car.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | I don't see any stereo here.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | The car hasn't been started.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | It's already closed.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | I don't know how to turn your car on.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | I don't know the word "ignition".
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | I don't know the word "key".
Floyd |

Floyd | >

Floyd | Before starting the car, you decide to run over to the club house and
Floyd | tell Dan that you can't stay for lunch.
Floyd |
Floyd | "Dan," you say, "I'd love to be able to stay and chat.  Thing is, my
Floyd | wife is due any moment now.  I've really got to drop by and check up
Floyd | real quick, in case something happened and she was unable to reach me
Floyd | with the phone.  It's odd -- she should have called by now.  Tell you
Floyd | what, though, why don't I meet you and Terry for a couple beers
Floyd | tonight, provided she doesn't go into labor?  I've got a presentation I
Floyd | can give that will explain just why I honestly believe that Tavarian
Floyd | has shaped up, and what he can do for your club."
Floyd |
Floyd | "No problem," says Dan.  "You've got my number, right?  Sounds like a
Floyd | plan."
Floyd |
Floyd | You've actually got no presentation in mind, but you pretty much know
Floyd | what you want to say -- it's just a matter of turning it into a format
Floyd | that Microsoft Powerpoint can understand.  But hey, living life on the
Floyd | edge like this is what being an agent is all about.
Floyd |
Floyd | You say good-bye to both Terry and Bucky and head back toward your car.
Floyd |
Floyd | You place the key into the ignition and give it a turn -- the car fires
Floyd | up without a problem.  (You get a wistful, longing glance from the guy
Floyd | next to you trying to start his MGB, but ignore it.)
Floyd |
Floyd | Your favorite radio station is apparently in the middle of an
Floyd | eight-minute marathon of Third Party Microsoft Certification
Floyd | commercials, so you change over to NPR.
Floyd |
Floyd | Turning out of the country club and heading home, things are pretty
Floyd | slow-going. As it turns out, according to the radio, somebody snapped
Floyd | today and is waving a gun at people a few dozen miles down the freeway.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd |
Floyd | The traffic is still something awful up ahead.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | Always trying to get yourself on Fox's 'World's Most Suicidal Drivers,'
Floyd | aren't you Kieron?
Floyd |
Floyd | You try to drive, but can't get very far because of the backlog of
Floyd | cars.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | I don't know the word "channel".
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | I don't know how to change the radio.
Floyd |
Floyd | Hm... looks like the congestion of cars is starting to thin a little...
Floyd |
Floyd | It probably wouldn't be a bad idea to call Charlise and let her know
Floyd | you're going to be a little late.  She might have heard about the
Floyd | lunatic on the highway and might be, rightfully so, a bit concerned.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | You are empty-handed.
Floyd |
Floyd | The traffic jam has almost completely dispersed.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | The phone rings eight times and the answering machine picks up.
Floyd | Usually the both of you leave a rather detailed message for one another
Floyd | when leaving the house, so she's probably napping or something.
Floyd |
Floyd | A police cruiser goes screaming past you in the breakdown lane.
Floyd |
Floyd | You put the car into gear and drive home.
Floyd |
Floyd | You pull into the garage, close the garage door and get out of the car.
Floyd |
Floyd | Garage
Floyd |    You are in your garage.  It's technically a two-car garage, but as
Floyd | you only have one automobile, you've got a lot of floorspace designated
Floyd | for various tools and around-the-house equipment.  To the east is the
Floyd | laundry room door.  The garage door has been closed behind you.
Floyd |
Floyd | You hear a buzzing sound coming from the laundry room.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | The tools and equipment aren't important.
Floyd |

Floyd | >
Floyd | The tools and equipment aren't important.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | (Opening the laundry door)
Floyd | Laundry room
Floyd |    Sometimes, when you've started to take for granted what an absolute
Floyd | treasure you have as a wife, she goes and pulls a stunt like this and
Floyd | raises the bar.  Even though her water could break at any moment now,
Floyd | she still managed to haul down a few of those bulky sweaters you like
Floyd | lounging about in from the top of your closet, and place them into the
Floyd | dryer.  After all, warm equals sanitary, safe, and clean.  Bringing
Floyd | down one of them is considerate, sure.  But four or five?  So you can
Floyd | pick one out specifically?  That's above and beyond the call of duty,
Floyd | alright.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | The sweaters are in the dryer.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | You open and turn off the dryer, and place the sweaters on top of it.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | Which sweater do you mean, the knitted sweater, the Red Sox jersey, the
Floyd | UCONN sweatshirt, the Scottish knit, or the wool sweater?
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | You'd always suspected that your weren't your aunt's favorite, and this
Floyd | crimson-and-fluorescent oversized monstrosity she gave to you two
Floyd | Christmases ago was the smoking gun as to why.
Floyd |
Floyd | Your dog scratches at the hallway door.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | #5 NOMAR!  MVP!
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | It was a gift from a few years ago when they were doing that
Floyd | inexplicable 'The Team That Makes You Go Hmm' slogan phase.  You're no
Floyd | scholar, but neither a stranger to lore and letters.  But you can
Floyd | perceive no sense there as to why *that* was their slogan.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | This was a gift from Charlise when she went visiting her ancestors in
Floyd | Glasgow a few years back.  It's really held up well over the years, and
Floyd | you get all sentimental thinking of what a great value it was just by
Floyd | looking at it.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | Okay, you don't wear this out in public much, but Charlise digs it, so
Floyd | what can you do.
Floyd |
Floyd | You hear your dog Watson barking in another room.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | Taken.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | You put it on and quickly remove it -- you're a bit warm after being in
Floyd | the sun all day.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | Laundry room
Floyd |    You're within your Laundry Room -- it's a close-quartered little
Floyd | thing that links your house's hallway, which is to the north, with the
Floyd | garage.  There's a washer and dryer here.
Floyd |    Sitting on the dryer is a knitted sweater, a Red Sox jersey, a UCONN
Floyd | sweatshirt, and a wool sweater.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | Done.
Floyd |

Floyd | You hear your dog Watson barking in another room.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | There is nothing in the washing machine.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | There is nothing in the dryer.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | (Opening the hallway door)
Floyd | Hallway
Floyd |    A few pictures line the hallway, but it's otherwise sparse.  Your
Floyd | living room, kitchen, and bedrooms are further down the hall to the
Floyd | north.
Floyd |
Floyd | Your dog Watson runs to your feet.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | The beagle wags his tail at you happily, and returns to his puttering
Floyd | around.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | Watson is a faithful and handsome young beagle, with brown eyes and tan
Floyd | and white fur.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | The beagle rejects the offer.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | You pick up the beagle and pat him on the head a couple of times.  He
Floyd | licks your face and then you gently put him down.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | The beagle wags his tail at you happily, and returns to his puttering
Floyd | around.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | Charlise has a knack for decorating, they complement the hallway
Floyd | nicely.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | Hallway
Floyd |    A few pictures line the hallway, but it's otherwise sparse.  Your
Floyd | living room, kitchen, and bedrooms are further down the hall to the
Floyd | north.
Floyd |    Your beagle is here, puttering around.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | Hallway
Floyd |    You're about halfway down your hallway.  To the west is your living
Floyd | room.  The bedrooms and kitchen are further north, down the hall.
Floyd |
Floyd | Watson runs past your feet down the hallway and disappears into the
Floyd | living room, barking and yelping for your attention.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | Living Room
Floyd |    You enter your living room and automatically take a whiff of the
Floyd | room's scent -- the smell of your new leather couch isn't so new that
Floyd | you don't notice it yet.  It cost you almost the entire commission you
Floyd | made when you got Artero Gueterrez a six-month minor league contract
Floyd | with the Toledo Mud Hens, but both you and Charlise had earmarked this
Floyd | one for years.  (Good kid, that Artero, but couldn't hit a curveball in
Floyd | an airless vacuum.)
Floyd |
Floyd | The room is laid out with the couch in front of your television and
Floyd | stereo speakers.  A couple of Charlise's frescos hang from the walls,
Floyd | and you've started to add stucco to the ceiling.  A couple of your
Floyd | golfing trophies adorn the shelves near the phone, and a signed
Floyd | Garciaparra bat is also hanging up, encased in a plastic preservation
Floyd | shell.
Floyd |
Floyd | Watson's over in front of the couch, sniffing and snorting at
Floyd | something.
Floyd |
Floyd | Your main front window has a long crack running through it.
Floyd |
Floyd | The auxiliary window to the right of that one is completely shattered.
Floyd | Glass from it has sprayed out onto your floor, definitely smashed from
Floyd | something or somebody on the outside.
Floyd |    Your beagle is here, puttering around near the couch.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | After years of sitting and sleeping on a second-hand couch that your
Floyd | older brother gave you from his college years, you were happy to have
Floyd | this nice leather one.  There are claw marks in the carpet near the
Floyd | edge of the sofa -- it appears as if Watson has been trying to get at
Floyd | something.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | The shards of glass are almost everywhere.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | It's hunter green and in good shape, save for the shattered glass and
Floyd | claw marks near the sofa.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | The carpet isn't important.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | You find a baseball, which you promptly pick up.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | It's not one of yours... it's apparently what was thrown through your
Floyd | front window.  There's some writing on it, in a flowery cursive text,
Floyd | not completely unlike an autograph.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | Upon closer inspection, it's not an autograph at all.  You make out the
Floyd | words, slowly, but it says:
Floyd |
Floyd | NO TIME TO SQUEAL KIERON
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | Living Room
Floyd |    Something -- a baseball, a rock, a human fist -- tried getting into
Floyd | your house earlier.  Glass is strewn all about your floor from your
Floyd | (former) right front window.
Floyd |
Floyd | Exits lead north to your kitchen and east to the hallway.
Floyd |    Your beagle is here, puttering around near the couch.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | There is no time.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | The beagle isn't impressed.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | I don't recognize that sentence.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | It would be simpler to just drop the baseball.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | That would hurt, though.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | There's nothing on the couch.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | Living Room
Floyd |    Something -- a baseball, a rock, a human fist -- tried getting into
Floyd | your house earlier.  Glass is strewn all about your floor from your
Floyd | (former) right front window.
Floyd |
Floyd | Exits lead north to your kitchen and east to the hallway.
Floyd |    Your beagle is here, puttering around near the couch.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | Kitchen
Floyd |    Pots, pans, chairs, tables -- and your wife laid out on the floor,
Floyd | not moving, in a puddle of... something.
Floyd |
Floyd | Watson enters the kitchen sheepishly.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | She's breathing.  You try to wake her up, gently.  You go to move her
Floyd | head away from the side of the counter and notice her hair stuck to it
Floyd | in some kind of paste or something.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | It's blood from the side of her head.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | I don't know how to call the number 911.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | There's nothing in your wife.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | Kitchen
Floyd |    Pots, pans, chairs, tables -- but none of that matters right now.
Floyd |    Charlise is here, unconscious or asleep on the floor.
Floyd |    Your beagle is here, puttering around.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | I don't know the word "panic".
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | I don't know the word "cry".
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | Sorcery in that manner seems to fail you.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | You clear her hair away from the side of the counter.  It looks like
Floyd | you might have pulled a little too hard, though, because the pain wakes
Floyd | her up.
Floyd |
Floyd | "Ow!" says Charlise.
Floyd |
Floyd | Not leaving anything to chance, you run into the living room and dial
Floyd | 911, asking for an ambulance -- you then sprint back to be with your
Floyd | wife.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | "Are you okay?  Honey?"  You don't want to shake her or anything -- but
Floyd | if you have to, is that okay?  Maybe, though?  You can't remember what
Floyd | you're supposed to do if this comes up, even though that girl from the
Floyd | breathing classes covered this.
Floyd |
Floyd | Charlise doesn't really respond -- she's still groggy from the fall.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | Kitchen
Floyd |    Pots, pans, chairs, tables -- but none of that matters right now.
Floyd |    Charlise is here, still woozy from the fall.
Floyd |    Your beagle is here, puttering around.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | I don't see any chair here.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | There is no more blood to clean.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | You pick her up and carry her outside the house.  The ambulance comes
Floyd | quickly and whisks you both away.
Floyd |
Floyd | LDR Room
Floyd |    The LDR (labor, deliver, recovery) Room is a warm, yet somewhat
Floyd | generic, setting designed to provide for the comfort of each patient,
Floyd | newborn, and family member throughout the birthing process.  The decor
Floyd | is straight out of Disney Corp's idea of pregnant bliss:  azure walls
Floyd | covered with the occasional sunflower, well-polished teak furniture, an
Floyd | antique rocking chair.  The fetal monitor and other assorted scanning
Floyd | equipment seem almost out of place here.
Floyd |
Floyd | "What happened?" you ask Charlise.
Floyd |
Floyd | Charlise struggles for a bit to remember.  "Watson was barking at
Floyd | something...  I was in the bedroom...  I don't know what happened, I
Floyd | think I slipped or something... oh, God, Kieron, this doesn't feel
Floyd | right at all..."
Floyd |
Floyd | The nurse arrives from the hall.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | "What's up -- is she going to be okay, is the baby -- "
Floyd |
Floyd | "Just one sec," she says, "I'll find out in just a bit."
Floyd |
Floyd | The nurse begins hooking up the various monitors to Charlise.
Floyd |
Floyd | The nurse introduces herself and begins checking on your wife.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | "Hey, chin up, kid" you say.  She gives you a questioning look,
Floyd | something that effectively says Why are you talking to me like you're
Floyd | coaching a tee-ball team?
Floyd |
Floyd | The nurse puts a belly band on your wife.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | The belly band is wrapped around your wife's belly.
Floyd |
Floyd | The nurse patiently waits for the fetal monitor to give a reading.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | It looks like a 17" monitor running some kind of proprietary birthing
Floyd | software.
Floyd |
Floyd | The nurse is reviewing the monitor strip.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | Time passes...
Floyd |
Floyd | The nurse is studying the fetal monitor with a concerned look.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | There is no time.
Floyd |
Floyd | The nurse's face goes white.  She moves over toward the intercom.
Floyd |
Floyd | "Paging Dr. McKinney, I need you in LDR 14 STAT, paging Dr. McKinney,
Floyd | LDR 14 STAT!"
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | I don't know the word "wife's".
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | Time passes...
Floyd |
Floyd | The nurse takes your wife's blood pressure and checks her heart rate.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | Time passes...
Floyd |
Floyd | The nurse continues to study the fetal monitor strip.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | It's difficult to get your arms around her, but you do the best you
Floyd | can.
Floyd |
Floyd | The nurse takes your wife's temperature.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | "Look, I'll give your parents and your sister a call after this," you
Floyd | say.  "Is your sister still living in Colorado?"
Floyd |
Floyd | "I think she just recently moved toward the desert," says Charlise.
Floyd |
Floyd | The doctor arrives from the hall.  He takes a look at the monitors, and
Floyd | does a very poor job of attempting to conceal an expression of horror.
Floyd |
Floyd | "Let's get her over to the operating room," he says.
Floyd |
Floyd | Outside the Operating Room
Floyd |    Charlise was brought into the Operating Room, but you were told to
Floyd | stay outside.  You're not sure if she's okay, if the baby is okay, or
Floyd | what is going on in there, but you have to find out.
Floyd |    There is an orderly here, sitting at the end of a long metal bench.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | "Hey, look man...  that's my wife in there.  Can't you let me in?"
Floyd |
Floyd | The orderly shakes his head in the negative.  "I'm sorry -- can't do
Floyd | it."
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | The orderly punches you back, and then lets the confrontation drop.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | (Undoing one command)
Floyd |
Floyd | Outside the Operating Room
Floyd |    The OR Hall is a big, empty room with aqua tiles and a bench to sit
Floyd | upon.  There is a door that leads into the operating room itself.  To
Floyd | the right of the long metal bench is an intercom.  The orderly won't
Floyd | let you in, though.
Floyd |    There is an orderly here, sitting at the end of a long metal bench.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | You are empty-handed.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | The intercom is a smallish box that is used as a means of paging other
Floyd | staff members.  The only notable feature is a small black button.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | As you go to use it, the orderly looks up at you and you make believe
Floyd | you're doing something else.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | The orderly blocks your path.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | "I'll be sure to let you know when it's okay for you to go in," says
Floyd | the orderly.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | Outside the Operating Room
Floyd |    The OR Hall is a big, empty room with aqua tiles and a bench to sit
Floyd | upon.  There is a door that leads into the operating room itself.  To
Floyd | the right of the long metal bench is an intercom.  The orderly won't
Floyd | let you in, though.
Floyd |    There is an orderly here, sitting at the end of a long metal bench.
Floyd |
Floyd | A janitor arrives from the hall.  He goes over toward the intercom and
Floyd | speaks something into it.
Floyd |
Floyd | As he heads down the hallway, he stops to chat with the orderly.
Floyd |
Floyd | "Hey, Jimmy," says the janitor.  "How are you?"
Floyd |
Floyd | "Good, good," says the orderly.  "I think I finally have this flu beat.
Floyd | And you?"
Floyd |
Floyd | "Oh...  just dandy.  Nice weather we're having, isn't it?"  says the
Floyd | janitor.
Floyd |
Floyd | "Yes, quite comfortable," agrees the orderly.  "Unseasonably warm,
Floyd | even."
Floyd |
Floyd | "Did you hear about that mess on the highway?" asks the janitor.
Floyd |
Floyd | "Actually, I did.  Weird for someone just to lose it that way, wouldn't
Floyd | you say?"
Floyd |
Floyd | The orderly lets out a low whistle.
Floyd |
Floyd | The conversation subsides and the janitor continues down the hallway,
Floyd | disappearing into a utility closet.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | I don't know the word "closet".
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | He is a friendly chap, determined to not let you pass him.  The word
Floyd | "ROGERS" is on his nametag.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | You try and engage in some small talk, but fail miserably.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | I don't recognize that sentence.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | The orderly is wearing the nametag and won't let you have it.
Floyd |
Floyd | >
Floyd | Outside the Operating Room
Floyd |    The OR Hall is a big, empty room with aqua tiles and a bench to sit
Floyd | upon.  There is a door that leads into the operating room itself.  To
Floyd | the right of the long metal bench is an intercom.  The orderly won't
Floyd | let you in, though.
Floyd |    There is an orderly here, sitting at the end of a long metal bench.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | It's a long metal bench.  An orderly currently occupies one end of it.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | (the bench)
Floyd | Okay, you're now sitting on the bench.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | Time passes...
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | I don't know the word "pace".
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | I don't know the word "dance".
Floyd |
Floyd | >

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

Floyd | You decide to not sing to the orderly.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | You're not going anywhere until you get out of the bench.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | I don't know the word "weather".
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | I don't see any tavarian here.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | Okay, you're no longer in the bench.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | You feel compelled to stay as close to Charlise as possible.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | I don't know the word "someone".
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | You wonder what the orderly has to say instead, so you ask him about
Floyd | it.
Floyd |
Floyd | "Um...  Did you say something?" asks the orderly.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | You wonder what the orderly has to say instead, so you ask him about
Floyd | it.
Floyd |
Floyd | "I don't know much about that," says the orderly.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | "There's just something about that guy.  He looks like the Unabomber,"
Floyd | says the orderly.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | "Heh...  I'm telling ya," he says, "could be his twin..."
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | I don't know the word "threaten".
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | You wonder what the orderly has to say instead, so you ask him about
Floyd | it.
Floyd |
Floyd | "Heh...  I'm telling ya," he says, "could be his twin..."
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | I don't know the word "build".
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | I don't know the word "bomb".
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | Time passes...
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | Time passes...
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | You try and engage in some small talk, but fail miserably.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | I don't know the word "gunman".
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | I don't know the word "shooter".
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | "Some whacko tied up traffic for hours -- been all over the news, " he
Floyd | replies.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | I don't know the word "wacko".
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | I don't know the word "news".
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | "Some whacko tied up traffic for hours -- been all over the news, " he
Floyd | replies.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | "I don't really know," states the orderly.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | You speak into the intercom and hope that the orderly doesn't notice.
Floyd |
Floyd | "James Rogers, please report to LDR 14, James Rogers, to LDR 14."
Floyd |
Floyd | "Whoops," says the orderly.  "I'll be right back."
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | (Opening the OR door)
Floyd | Operating Room
Floyd |    The Operating Room is fairly dark, save for the operating table
Floyd | illuminated by the strong lights that Charlise is on.  There is a
Floyd | doctor and nurse here working by her table.
Floyd |
Floyd | "How did he get in here?"  asks the nurse.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | I don't know the word "judo".
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | "I just want to know what's going on," you say to the nurse.
Floyd |
Floyd | "The doctor is attempting a c-section.  Stand over there, and be quiet,
Floyd | please," says the nurse.  "As soon as we know something, we'll let you
Floyd | know."
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | Time passes...
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | Time passes...
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | "We're not getting many life signs from the baby," says the nurse.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | "I'm not sure what it is, right yet," she says.
Floyd |
Floyd | You overhear a bit of the conversation between the doctor and his
Floyd | assistants.  It doesn't sound good, it doesn't sound like the baby made
Floyd | it...
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | Please specify the name of the game to save in double quotes, for
Floyd | example, SAVE "GAME1".
Floyd |
Floyd | Dr.  McKinney comes over to you.  "Mr. Scott, I'm sorry..." he begins.
Floyd |
Floyd | The words slough off your ears, you stare off, in disbelief...
Floyd |
Floyd | "Charlise is going to make a full recovery, but the baby, we
Floyd | couldn't... she didn't make it."
Floyd |
Floyd | Gone?  Like that?  But why, for what reason...
Floyd |
Floyd | Your knees buckle briefly, and you fall to the ground.  You need to get
Floyd | up, you know that you need to get up, 'she'?  A baby girl, your baby
Floyd | girl, gone, you imagine your wife's eventual tears, that she has yet to
Floyd | find this out, you have to be there for her, buck up, get it together,
Floyd | but everything your hear and see meshes into a horrible cacophony...
Floyd |
Floyd | *** You have failed to save the life of a newborn ***
Floyd |
Floyd | You may restore a saved game, start over or quit.
Floyd | Please enter RESTORE, RESTART or QUIT:  >

Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd | "You can't possibly want another one."
Floyd |
Floyd | But Mother, I can!
Floyd |
Floyd | "Oh, you *are* the fickle one, aren't you, Sweet Pea?"
Floyd |
Floyd | O, I'm dainty!
Floyd |
Floyd | "If I can not put up a reasoned, well-thought out resistance as to why
Floyd | we should not be waddling our way over to the refrigerator and
Floyd | consuming yet another batch of old-fashioned brined dill pickles, then
Floyd | how on earth am I going to have the parental confidence to tackle such
Floyd | inevitable topics like The Truth Behind Santa Claus, Braces & Social
Floyd | Ostracization, and The Senior Prom?"
Floyd |
Floyd | .  .  .
Floyd |
Floyd | "Exactly.  Although there is no manual, per se, on any of this, I'm
Floyd | fairly confident that brazenly conforming to your every wish and desire
Floyd | is probably the wrong way to tackle parenting."
Floyd |
Floyd | "Though...  they *would* be quite tasty."
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd | No Time To Squeal
Floyd | Interactive Fiction
Floyd | Copyright (c) 2001.  Written and programmed by Mike Sousa and Robb
Floyd | Sherwin
Floyd | (First-time players should type HELP)
Floyd | Release 1.0 / Serial number 092801 / TADS 2.55
Floyd |
Floyd | Bedroom, on the comfy chair
Floyd |    Inexplicable vegetable cravings aside, this room leaves you quite
Floyd | content for the moment.  You're curled up in what you and Kieron call
Floyd | 'the comfy chair', reading one of the Dean Koontz novels you missed in
Floyd | hardcover.  Being 39 weeks pregnant, you've had ample time to catch up
Floyd | on your reading.
Floyd |
Floyd | Your bedroom is paneled with a kind of faux wooden interior, to kind of
Floyd | make it look like the inside of a log cabin.  To your left is your bed,
Floyd | and just beyond that is a dresser.
Floyd |    Your beagle is here, puttering around.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | Watson is a faithful and handsome young beagle, with brown eyes and tan
Floyd | and white fur.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | The beagle wags his tail at you happily, and returns to his puttering
Floyd | around.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | The dresser complements the other furniture nicely.
Floyd |
Floyd | Watson's ears perk up, and he leaves to the hallway.
Floyd |
Floyd | You feel the baby squirm about... and find yourself talking to her, for
Floyd | just a bit.
Floyd |
Floyd | "The first time he came home from work, after we got back from our
Floyd | honeymoon... he was drenched in sweat after having beaten some kid ten
Floyd | years younger than him in basketball.  The kid eventually signed with
Floyd | one of the larger branches, No Limit, or something like that.  Kieron
Floyd | came in with that sad, exhausted look on his face... I think he knew at
Floyd | that point that he wasn't going to sign him.  I was fussing over this
Floyd | one painting -- trying to get colored lighting for it, before the paint
Floyd | congealed -- and he dropped his briefcase on the floor and said 'I
Floyd | think one of us needs a hug.'  I turned, looked over toward him,
Floyd | somewhat slightly confused.  After a beat he said, 'It's not you is it?
Floyd | Ah, ah right... must be *me* then.'"
Floyd |
Floyd | "And that's how it began, married life.  You never really prepare
Floyd | yourself for that moment.  You can read all the articles you want on
Floyd | the subject, but you don't know... when that critical moment comes...
Floyd | if you'll be looking at the rest of your life with someone who is
Floyd | really just a stranger.  Or someone who will remain just as fresh,
Floyd | funny, and driven as the day you met him."
Floyd |
Floyd | "I took the next day.  To commence with the props, I mean.  And we've
Floyd | traded off and on like that ever since.  And on those days where he
Floyd | utterly failed to get a signature on a deal he was assured was a 'lock'
Floyd | and on those days when my greens and oranges have turned to blue and
Floyd | red, we've sounded off to each other, individually and in concert.  And
Floyd | I hope, sure, that one day you'll feel this -- get this -- as well,
Floyd | Sweet Pea."
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | You recall a few verses that you had been reading earlier before, some
Floyd | nonsense nursery rhymes, really:
Floyd |
Floyd | "He thought he saw an Elephant,
Floyd | That practised on a fife:
Floyd | He looked again, and found it was
Floyd | A letter from his wife.
Floyd | 'At length I realise,' he said,
Floyd | 'The bitterness of Life!'"
Floyd |
Floyd | "He thought he saw a Rattlesnake
Floyd | That questioned him in Greek:
Floyd | He looked again, and found it was
Floyd | The Middle of Next Week.
Floyd | 'The one thing I regret,' he said,
Floyd | 'Is that it cannot speak!'"
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | You're preoccupied with food for the moment and decide to not go
Floyd | looking through your dresser.
Floyd |
Floyd | Watson starts barking.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | Bedroom, on the comfy chair
Floyd |    Inexplicable vegetable cravings aside, this room leaves you quite
Floyd | content for the moment.  You're curled up in what you and Kieron call
Floyd | 'the comfy chair', reading one of the Dean Koontz novels you missed in
Floyd | hardcover.  Being 39 weeks pregnant, you've had ample time to catch up
Floyd | on your reading.
Floyd |
Floyd | Your bedroom is paneled with a kind of faux wooden interior, to kind of
Floyd | make it look like the inside of a log cabin.  To your left is your bed,
Floyd | and just beyond that is a dresser.
Floyd |
Floyd | Watson continues barking, most likely to be let out.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | Oof!  You're not too sure about the feasibility of that.  Maybe in a
Floyd | bit.
Floyd |
Floyd | You hear a crash -- it sounds like one of the windows in your living
Floyd | room!
Floyd |
Floyd | You can hear Watson barking.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | Ah, almost there.  Trivial tasks have really become grand gestures
Floyd | lately for you.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | Okay, you're no longer on the comfy chair.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | You momentarily forget that your hallway is west, so you head that way
Floyd | instead.
Floyd |
Floyd | Hallway
Floyd |    The hallway leads to your kitchen, and beyond that, the room where
Floyd | the crash came from.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | I don't see any living room here.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | You've never really gotten used to locomotion at this weight... you
Floyd | enter the kitchen, and slip upon something, a spill of some kind...
Floyd |
Floyd | You hit your head on the counter on your way down...
Floyd |
Floyd | Shapes fade in and out of view... some time passes, but you have no
Floyd | idea how much...  you vaguely remember Kieron coming home... hear
Floyd | passages of sound -- an ambulance, sharp words at a hospital...
Floyd |
Floyd | And you awake to news you aren't prepared to hear.
Floyd |
Floyd | *** You have failed to save the life of a newborn ***
Floyd |
Floyd | You may restore a saved game, start over or quit.
Floyd | Please enter RESTORE, RESTART or QUIT:  >

Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd | Another enormously hectic day at the Saint Columbia Veteran's Hospital,
Floyd | but hectic in a good way -- there's a palatable energy in the air with
Floyd | the recent flood of newborns and the successful bypass surgery of a
Floyd | minor (although, incredibly talented and quite gracious) celebrity
Floyd | having been recently completed.
Floyd |
Floyd | Your friend -- and fellow nurse -- Jessica has been talking up a
Floyd | double-blind date that the two of you are to be going on this weekend,
Floyd | which will at least be interesting if nothing else.  Last time the two
Floyd | of you tried this, she found a couple guys from an Internet Go Server.
Floyd | While they were definitely amusing, (and definitely available) they
Floyd | were a little too preoccupied with moving stones around a monitor
Floyd | screen.
Floyd |
Floyd | Trying to get them out of the house again proved to be almost
Floyd | excruciatingly difficult.  So Jess has things planned with some other
Floyd | guys she met over Relay Chat.
Floyd |
Floyd | "They are into something," Jess said, "called Magic: The Gathering.
Floyd | See?  That implies that they are into social get-togethers and
Floyd | gatherings.  It's all been taken care of.  Plus, they sent me gifs of
Floyd | themselves and they have that David Copperfield meets Harry Houdini
Floyd | thing going on, as all magicians do.  Trust me!"
Floyd |
Floyd | Well, you seem to recall something about that being a card game, but
Floyd | why not give her the benefit of the doubt?  It's good to get out and
Floyd | mix things up socially again, especially since the last creep you dated
Floyd | finally got the message and stopped coming around the hospital.
Floyd |
Floyd | You can't help but notice the clock -- 1:17pm.  Still another thirteen
Floyd | minutes left of this break.  Excellent.
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd | No Time To Squeal
Floyd | Interactive Fiction
Floyd | Copyright (c) 2001.  Written and programmed by Mike Sousa and Robb
Floyd | Sherwin
Floyd | (First-time players should type HELP)
Floyd | Release 1.0 / Serial number 092801 / TADS 2.55
Floyd |
Floyd | Break Room
Floyd |    You're inside one of the many break rooms here at the Hospital, just
Floyd | recharging with some apple chips and a bottle of Evian before heading
Floyd | back to your shift.
Floyd |
Floyd | The door leading out of the break room is to the west.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | You eat some apple chips.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | You drink the water.  Very refreshing.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | You drink the water.  Very refreshing.
Floyd |
Floyd | Your friend Jessica pops her head into the room for a moment.
Floyd |
Floyd | "Sarah, it's Freddie," she says.  Freddie.  Your ex-boyfriend.  He
Floyd | hadn't come to work in order to stalk you for almost two weeks now.  It
Floyd | would be too soon if he held out for two more centuries.  "I tried to
Floyd | tell him that you weren't working today, but he says that he saw your
Floyd | car.  Do you want me to -- "
Floyd |
Floyd | "No, it's okay," you say.  You've tried being nice.  You've tried being
Floyd | stern.  You've tried to gently break the news to him that you no longer
Floyd | wish to see him, and you've told him point blank to his face.  Enough
Floyd | is enough.  It's time to start being a complete bitch -- anything to
Floyd | let him know you're serious.
Floyd |
Floyd | Jen gives you a thumbs-up sign and wishes you luck.  She leaves the
Floyd | room and goes toward the reception area.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | (Opening the door)
Floyd | Reception Area
Floyd |    This is where the patients' guests and loved ones congregate before
Floyd | entering the rest of the hospital and the individual rooms.
Floyd |    Freddie is here, looking grim.
Floyd |
Floyd | "Thank God you're here," he says.  "I have something to say to you,
Floyd | please, just hear me out."  He can't help instinctively giving you a
Floyd | visual once-over; must be the uniform.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | Freddie's about 5'9", and 150 pounds.  He's very handsome on the
Floyd | outside, in a young-Robert-Redford way, but just not someone you want
Floyd | to be around because of what he's like on the inside.  He's a bit of an
Floyd | aspiring inventor, and tinkers around with electronics but has no real
Floyd | formal education and gets frustrated easily.  He's obsessed with a girl
Floyd | being around while he works away at one of his many poorly-conceived
Floyd | mechanical devices, but then goes into total ignore mode once you -- or
Floyd | one of his other previous girlfriends -- comes over.  And you stopped
Floyd | being That Girl somewhere between age 14 and 15.  Also, when things
Floyd | start to go wrong with one of his projects he swears like a blue-faced
Floyd | sailor.  And he gets *mean*.  Etcetera, etcetera.  It just got
Floyd | pointless to be around him.
Floyd |
Floyd | "I was working on the refrigeration unit -- you know, the one I was
Floyd | telling you about before," he says, as he brings a hand up to brush his
Floyd | fair hair out of his face.  "And I knew, really, that I had to have you
Floyd | back.  I have a poem for you.  Can I -- is this okay?"
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | "This really is not the time, Freddie.  Listen, I don't want you coming
Floyd | here any more.  Do you understand?"  "Please," he says.  "Just listen.
Floyd | Hear me."
Floyd |
Floyd | Freddie pulls out a piece of paper.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | Probably best not to do that, he'd interpret it to mean that you still
Floyd | want his bod.
Floyd |
Floyd | Freddie clears his throat and continues.
Floyd |
Floyd | "And if I say to you tomorrow," Freddie says, in a very bad British
Floyd | falsetto, "Take my hand, child, come with me.  It's to a castle I will
Floyd | take you, Where what's to be, they say will be."  He looks up briefly.
Floyd | You try to remember where that is from.
Floyd |
Floyd | "Catch the wind, see us spin,` he continues, "Sail away, leave today,
Floyd | Way up high in the sky."
Floyd |
Floyd | "But the wind won't blow, You really shouldn't go, It only goes to show
Floyd | That you will be mine By takin' our time.  Oooh, oooooh....."
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | You'd hate to give him the wrong idea -- besides, he's really pissed
Floyd | you off by coming down here.
Floyd |
Floyd | Freddie licks his lips and continues singing.
Floyd |
Floyd | "And if you say to me tomorrow, Oh what fun it all would be, Then
Floyd | what's to stop us, pretty baby, But What Is And What Should Never Be."
Floyd |
Floyd | He looks up at you with puppy-dog eyes.  As if reading the lyrics --
Floyd | badly -- to an old Led Zeppelin song is somehow going to instantly
Floyd | change the fact that he's a mite desperate oil-covered stalker without
Floyd | a hint of real social charm?
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | Time passes...
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | "What on earth was that, Freddie?"
Floyd |
Floyd | "It was 'What Is And What Should Never Be' from Zep's second album.  I
Floyd | -- "
Floyd |
Floyd | "I know what it was.  You had to come down here, and interrupt my break
Floyd | for that?  You simply had to state that, hm?  What on earth does that
Floyd | even mean, anyway?  'You will be mine by taking our time'?  Is that
Floyd | what you think?  How can I put this into words you'll understand -- Go
Floyd | away.  Leave me alone, and never speak to me again.  Am I getting
Floyd | through to you?"
Floyd |
Floyd | "But -- "
Floyd |
Floyd | "Apparently not.  Look, I'll put this into words that you can
Floyd | understand."  You clear your voice and start singing a quick impression
Floyd | of the Led Zeppelin song called "D''yer Mak'er."  "Go, go, go, go, go!"
Floyd |
Floyd | Freddie digs through his jacket.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | You start to speak, but he cuts you off in mid sentence.
Floyd |
Floyd | Freddie shows you a gun, briefly.
Floyd |
Floyd | "See this, bitch?  I'm going to make you sorry you ever met me."
Floyd |
Floyd | Freddie puts the gun away and storms out of the hospital.
Floyd |
Floyd | A moment later, your name comes up on the intercom.
Floyd |
Floyd | "Sarah Thompson, please report to LDR 14, Sarah Thompson, LDR 14."
Floyd |
Floyd | The LDR -- the labor, delivery, and recovery room -- is just north of
Floyd | the reception area.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | I don't see any freddie here.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | You enter the LDR Room, one of many here at the hospital -- a bit of
Floyd | oversentimental tedium designed to keep the expectant couples thinking
Floyd | pleasant thoughts, and introduce yourself to the patient and husband.
Floyd |
Floyd | "Hi, I'm -- "
Floyd |
Floyd | "Sarah, right," says the man, "I know.  Look, I am really concerned
Floyd | about my wife here, can you --"
Floyd |
Floyd | "You bet, don't worry.  I will take a look and see what's up."  You
Floyd | suspect that everything will probably be okay -- it was just a nasty
Floyd | shock to her head, not a gunshot wound to the belly or anything, but
Floyd | you feel the need to play it cool in case something is the matter.
Floyd |
Floyd | You hook the belly band up to the woman and turn on the various
Floyd | monitors.
Floyd |
Floyd | "So, do you follow the Red Sox?"  you ask the husband, in an attempt to
Floyd | liven his mood a bit and get him thinking of another kind of tragedy.
Floyd |
Floyd | "Yeah, a little -- hopefully this'll be the year," says the husband.
Floyd | "I mean, we get Garrett back, we have new management..."
Floyd |
Floyd | You take a look at the monitor strip.  Things do not look good, but you
Floyd | continue to play your poker face.
Floyd |
Floyd | "New management, right?"  you say absent-mindedly.  "Wait, wasn't that
Floyd | one guy who those crazies put out on a stake and -- "
Floyd |
Floyd | "Well, yeah, Duquette, the GM.  Kind of a shame seeing him on fire like
Floyd | that, but I guess we New England denizens can only go so many centuries
Floyd | without burning witches and heretics at -- "
Floyd |
Floyd | You study the fetal monitor.
Floyd |
Floyd | Everything makes sudden, horrible sense.
Floyd |
Floyd | Something -- the umbilical? -- is wrapped around the baby's neck.
Floyd |
Floyd | Your face goes white.  The husband stops in mid-sentence.
Floyd |
Floyd | After getting to the intercom, you send out a page:
Floyd |
Floyd | "Dr. McKinney, I need you in LDR 14 STAT, paging Dr. McKinney, LDR 14
Floyd | STAT!"
Floyd |
Floyd | The husband looks confused and alarmed, but you have work to do.  You
Floyd | take his wife's blood pressure, temperature and heart rate.
Floyd |
Floyd | "We're going to need to get to the OR," you tell the husband, softly.
Floyd |
Floyd | Dr. McKinney does his best to save the little girl.  The poor baby had
Floyd | a nucal cord -- they're just so damn hard to predict.  You head over to
Floyd | the OR table to see if CPR can save a life, but before you arrive, you
Floyd | stop dead in your tracks as you watch the father's face fill with
Floyd | horror.
Floyd |
Floyd | You overhear a bit of the conversation between the doctor and his
Floyd | assistants.  It doesn't sound good, it doesn't sound like the baby made
Floyd | it...
Floyd |
Floyd | The doctor shakes his head and leaves the operating table.  You can
Floyd | tell from the manner in which he carries himself that the baby didn't
Floyd | make it.
Floyd |
Floyd | He passes you, just a shell of his regular self.  This is the first
Floyd | time you've seen him like this -- he's usually a bastion of security
Floyd | and success.
Floyd |
Floyd | Dr. McKinney goes to break the news to Kieron, the woman's husband.
Floyd |
Floyd | You leave the Operating Room.  You wander back over to the break room
Floyd | to pick up your stuff.  Jessica meets you half-way there.
Floyd |
Floyd | "Did you hear yet?"  she says.  "Freddie's on the news.  They've got a
Floyd | camera on him.  Over on channel 5."
Floyd |
Floyd | "I don't really want to hear about Freddie right now," you say.
Floyd |
Floyd | "What's wrong?"
Floyd |
Floyd | "The baby, the baby from LDR 14, you know, that couple?"
Floyd |
Floyd | "Oh, yeah."
Floyd |
Floyd | "The baby died.  Dr. McKinney just -- well, I just got back."
Floyd |
Floyd | "That's so sad," says Jessica.  She pauses a couple of respectful
Floyd | beats.  "Let's go get some lunch."
Floyd |
Floyd | *** You have failed to save the life of a newborn ***
Floyd |
Floyd | You may restore a saved game, start over or quit.
Floyd | Please enter RESTORE, RESTART or QUIT:  >

Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd | The shrieking squeals of the damned bring you back into a hazy
Floyd | consciousness.  As you begin to soak in the unbearable ambiance around,
Floyd | you attempt to shake off your rising awareness for a few moments more
Floyd | of self-ignorance.
Floyd |
Floyd | Your jailer enters from the palpable darkness; all business this
Floyd | morn(?).  It checks the integrity of your shackles, in a horrible
Floyd | pantomime of surface world care.  Where does it expect you to go?
Floyd | Where does it suspect you will scurry to?  His actions relating to
Floyd | internal security only bring forth a dull hope into your mind, a hope
Floyd | that he will torture away without expression.
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd | No Time To Squeal
Floyd | Interactive Fiction
Floyd | Copyright (c) 2001.  Written and programmed by Mike Sousa and Robb
Floyd | Sherwin
Floyd | (First-time players should type HELP)
Floyd | Release 1.0 / Serial number 092801 / TADS 2.55
Floyd |
Floyd | Hell
Floyd |    Being damned for all eternity, this is your 'home'.  This particular
Floyd | cell of yours has no real name or identifiable markings.  You can't
Floyd | even recall if you've always been in this particular station, or some
Floyd | other any longer.  It appears to be a claustrophobic, hollowed-out cave
Floyd | within the heart of an active volcano.  If you strain, you can make out
Floyd | passageways to other caves, but turning your head to the side is often
Floyd | prohibitively painful.
Floyd |    A brawny, sinewy Cacofiend stands before you, prepping you for the
Floyd | punishment you are about to receive.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | The Cacofiend is eight or nine feet tall, proportionally wide, and
Floyd | enormously muscular.  Its skin appears to be a kind of unearthly,
Floyd | fire-charred, thick crimson hide.  Its face is grotesque, misshapen --
Floyd | with caking and protruding horns screaming out from its skull, angry
Floyd | daggers for eyes, a rotting, bulbous nose... it's incapable of bearing
Floyd | personal malice, and carries itself like a mindless automation.
Floyd |
Floyd | The Cacofiend digs its nails into your flesh, right into the little
Floyd | divot above your breastbone.  You squirm, to no avail.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | You begin to speak but the cacofiend screams for your silence -- you
Floyd | quickly comply.
Floyd |
Floyd | The Cacofiend rips the skin of your chest, exposing your ribcage,
Floyd | stomach and various entrails.  One of your intestines slithers down to
Floyd | the hot floor.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | Time passes...
Floyd |
Floyd | Something's beeping.
Floyd |
Floyd | The Cacofiend looks over toward your right for the source of the
Floyd | beeping.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | I don't know the word "right".
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | Hell
Floyd |    Being damned for all eternity, this is your 'home'.  This particular
Floyd | cell of yours has no real name or identifiable markings.  You can't
Floyd | even recall if you've always been in this particular station, or some
Floyd | other any longer.  It appears to be a claustrophobic, hollowed-out cave
Floyd | within the heart of an active volcano.  If you strain, you can make out
Floyd | passageways to other caves, but turning your head to the side is often
Floyd | prohibitively painful.
Floyd |    A Cacofiend is here.
Floyd |
Floyd | Something continues to beep.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | It sounds like a pager.  Well, the parts that don't sound like souls
Floyd | burning in agony, anyway.
Floyd |
Floyd | The Cacofiend hands you the pager.
Floyd |
Floyd | "It's for you..." he says with a shrug.
Floyd |
Floyd | Your Office
Floyd |    You never thought of yourself having some sort of 'God' complex, so
Floyd | awakening from a dream where you were being burned alive in hell,
Floyd | purgatory or whatever is easily brushed off with a swig of Mr. Pibb and
Floyd | a couple moments to simply compose yourself.  You're on a hot streak
Floyd | now, anyway -- after successfully delivering quintuplets for that rock
Floyd | star two days ago (the lead singer for -- what was that band's name?
Floyd | -- Scatbag or something, you think) you got the admiration of not only
Floyd | every Gen X-er on the staff, but your daughter as well, for delivering
Floyd | the offspring of "the voice of her generation".  But impending fame has
Floyd | its ups and downs -- while you're due to be interviewed by Salon.com
Floyd | for saving the woman's life, it looks like your interviewer... will be
Floyd | Au James Wagner.
Floyd |
Floyd | You win some, you lose some.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | From the extension, it looks like you're needed STAT in LDR 14.
Floyd |
Floyd | You let out a loud gassy burp; that Mr. Pibb was really carbonated.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | I don't see any baby here.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | You can exit the office by going north.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | You exit the office and rush over to the LDR.  You're updated by the
Floyd | nurse and quickly head over to mom.  You take a look at the monitors,
Floyd | and do a very poor job of attempting to conceal an expression of
Floyd | horror.  You turn toward the nurse.
Floyd |
Floyd | "Let's get her over to the operating room," you say.
Floyd |
Floyd | Operating Room
Floyd |    The Operating Room is fairly dark, save for the operating table
Floyd | illuminated by the strong lights that the patient is on.  The nurse
Floyd | updates you on the woman's condition.
Floyd |
Floyd | Before you is the patient's belly, prep'd for the C-Section.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | The patient is draped and ready for the C-Section.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | You have a scalpel.
Floyd |
Floyd | A small burp escapes from your mouth, definitely Mr. Pibb.  Thankfully,
Floyd | the nurse didn't hear it.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | (the patient)
Floyd | (with the scalpel)
Floyd | You make a low transverse incision, and cut through the layers of
Floyd | muscle.  You can now see the baby.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | You notice the baby girl has a nucal cord.  You try to reduce it by
Floyd | slipping the umbilical cord over the baby's head, but it's too tight.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | (with the scalpel)
Floyd | You double clamp the cord and cut it in the middle.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | I don't know the word "cpr".
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | The OR door swings open and somebody enters the room.  The nurse rushes
Floyd | over to him and has a quick conversation -- he takes a few steps back
Floyd | and watches intently.
Floyd |
Floyd | You reach in and extract the head.  The nurse suctions the head and
Floyd | nose, getting the amniotic fluid out of the airway.  You then deliver
Floyd | the shoulders and the baby slides out -- it doesn't make a sound.  You
Floyd | hand the baby girl to waiting pediatrician where they attempt CPR.
Floyd | After several minutes of frantic resuscitation, the baby stirs for a
Floyd | moment, a split-second so short that you wonder if it existed at all.
Floyd | They continue to attempt to revive her, but she collapses further.
Floyd | It's as if something more than a simple umbilical cord has taken her
Floyd | life...
Floyd |
Floyd | You see the worry and sweat pouring off the baby's father.  This won't
Floyd | be easy... it never has been before.
Floyd |
Floyd | *** You have failed to save the life of a newborn ***
Floyd |
Floyd | You may restore a saved game, start over or quit.
Floyd | Please enter RESTORE, RESTART or QUIT:  >

Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd | Where did all this fog come from?
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd | No Time To Squeal
Floyd | Interactive Fiction
Floyd | Copyright (c) 2001.  Written and programmed by Mike Sousa and Robb
Floyd | Sherwin
Floyd | (First-time players should type HELP)
Floyd | Release 1.0 / Serial number 092801 / TADS 2.55
Floyd |
Floyd | Alley
Floyd |    A filthy place, mongrels and predators scurry and skulk about the
Floyd | edges of your vision, seemingly self-satisfied in their hidden snark
Floyd | just beyond your focus.
Floyd |
Floyd | The alley wall behind you rises until it seems that you shall never
Floyd | grow tall enough to surpass it.  It melts away in its own acclivity,
Floyd | merging into a starless night.  Walls to both sides reflect a build of
Floyd | age and accompanying deterioration.  Your skin crawls with the
Floyd | sensations of spying from some things, some group of denizens choosing
Floyd | themselves to be, as of yet, unrevealed.
Floyd |
Floyd | Fogging spoils your far sight to the west, while it reveals your sole
Floyd | path for this continued evening venture.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | So thick... it continually swirls, you are unable to see through it to
Floyd | the street beyond.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | A beautiful seven year old girl!
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | You are empty-handed.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | The occasional chirp of a nearby salesman can be heard to the west.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | Alley
Floyd |    Before you is the door to a home, a crumbling dwelling lost in the
Floyd | alley.  The air here is thick, as if you are uncomfortably supporting
Floyd | it and propping it up.  The glow of a gas streetlight throws flickery
Floyd | shadows upon the lone window of the slum apartment.  The alleyway
Floyd | street is still quite sticky here, and each footstep concludes in
Floyd | release from an audible 'glop.'
Floyd |
Floyd | The alley continues into further fog to the west and east and to the
Floyd | north is the rotting apartment.
Floyd |
Floyd | The occasional chirp of a nearby salesman can be heard to the west.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | I don't see any salesman here.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | The door appears withered, yet is locked from within quite forcibly.
Floyd |
Floyd | A bit of light escapes from the door underneath.
Floyd |
Floyd | You hear a cry from behind the door!
Floyd |
Floyd | A woman's voice, struggling: "O... Murder!"
Floyd |
Floyd | Further sounds of thrashing emote from within.  You hear something wet
Floyd | and sticky strike the other side of the door and fall.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | You knock on the door.  Eerie silence.
Floyd |
Floyd | A wiry, black rat wriggles its way out from underneath the door and
Floyd | scurries away to the alley to the west.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | The rat has scurried far away by now.
Floyd |
Floyd | The occasional chirp of a nearby salesman can be heard to the west.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | The rat has scurried far away by now.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | The alley opens into a thicker white fog.
Floyd |
Floyd | Alley
Floyd |    You are at the western edge of what was once a filthy, urban alley.
Floyd | It has morphed into a quieter, nigh angelic scene.  Thick clouds have
Floyd | touched down and billow endlessly, within continual waves defined by
Floyd | their own soft motion.  The alleyway stretches away until it, seemingly
Floyd | hundreds of yards away, bubbles away into the night into an
Floyd | effervescent rise of environmental content.
Floyd |    A man stands nearby, smiling vacantly, shifting his weight from foot
Floyd | to foot.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | His inherent, learned honesty betrays any possibility of The Ruse.
Floyd |
Floyd | "Hello, little one," he says.  "My name is John."
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | You wonder what he has to say instead, so you ask him about it.
Floyd |
Floyd | "Always such a bother coming from in there!"
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | I don't know the word "murder".
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | You wonder what he has to say instead, so you ask him about it.
Floyd |
Floyd | "Always such a bother coming from in there!"
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | "Me?  My name is John.  I just sell wares."
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | "They are quite delightful," says John.  "Not much call for them
Floyd | nowadays, though.  Oh, well."
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | "They are quite delightful," says John.  "Not much call for them
Floyd | nowadays, though.  Oh, well."
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | John bends his brittle frame over, to speak to you eye-to-eye.
Floyd |
Floyd | "Do you know what this is?  What's contained within?  Alright.  I'll
Floyd | tell you.  But where to begin?  I can see you have no coin or copper,
Floyd | but I'll presume your credit's good.  It can be our little secret, if
Floyd | we like, and I definitely suspect, even... that we should."
Floyd |
Floyd | John brings down the potion and hands it to you.
Floyd |
Floyd | "Something wonderful is sure to happen, usually your prayers will be
Floyd | answered in kind.  Just be certain of your intentions and faith, for if
Floyd | you react with a curse or a whine, these wares of mine are liable... to
Floyd | get all mixed up!"
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | The potion looks quite pure, no suspended particles of any kind.
Floyd |
Floyd | It is purple.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | "Something wonderful is sure to happen, usually your prayers will be
Floyd | answered in kind.  Just be certain of your intentions and faith, for if
Floyd | you react with a curse or a whine, these wares of mine are liable... to
Floyd | get all mixed up!"
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | Alley
Floyd |    You are at the western edge of what was once a filthy, urban alley.
Floyd | It has morphed into a quieter, nigh angelic scene.  Thick clouds have
Floyd | touched down and billow endlessly, within continual waves defined by
Floyd | their own soft motion.  The alleyway stretches away until it, seemingly
Floyd | hundreds of yards away, bubbles away into the night into an
Floyd | effervescent rise of environmental content.
Floyd |    A man stands nearby, smiling vacantly, shifting his weight from foot
Floyd | to foot.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | Gulp!
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | (Undoing one command)
Floyd |
Floyd | Alley
Floyd |    You are at the western edge of what was once a filthy, urban alley.
Floyd | It has morphed into a quieter, nigh angelic scene.  Thick clouds have
Floyd | touched down and billow endlessly, within continual waves defined by
Floyd | their own soft motion.  The alleyway stretches away until it, seemingly
Floyd | hundreds of yards away, bubbles away into the night into an
Floyd | effervescent rise of environmental content.
Floyd |    A man stands nearby, smiling vacantly, shifting his weight from foot
Floyd | to foot.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | The thick white fog dissipates and you wander back to...
Floyd |
Floyd | Alley
Floyd |    Before you is the door to a home, a crumbling dwelling lost in the
Floyd | alley.  The air here is thick, as if you are uncomfortably supporting
Floyd | it and propping it up.  The glow of a gas streetlight throws flickery
Floyd | shadows upon the lone window of the slum apartment.  The alleyway
Floyd | street is still quite sticky here, and each footstep concludes in
Floyd | release from an audible 'glop.'
Floyd |
Floyd | The alley continues into further fog to the west and east and to the
Floyd | north is the rotting apartment.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | Gulp!
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | The apartment grows before your very eyes!
Floyd |
Floyd | You are momentarily disoriented and the beaker slips out of your tiny
Floyd | hands, shattering on the ground.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | Alley
Floyd |    Before you is the door to a home, a crumbling dwelling lost in the
Floyd | alley.  The air here is thick, as if you are uncomfortably supporting
Floyd | it and propping it up.  The glow of a gas streetlight throws flickery
Floyd | shadows upon the lone window of the slum apartment.  The alleyway
Floyd | street is still quite sticky here, and each footstep concludes in
Floyd | release from an audible 'glop.'
Floyd |
Floyd | The alley continues into further fog to the west and east and to the
Floyd | north is the rotting apartment.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | The apartment is rotting before you, its construction as poor as its
Floyd | likely tenants.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | You'll have to tell me how to do that.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | There's no verb in that sentence!
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | There's no verb in that sentence!
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | I don't see any hole here.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | The door appears withered, yet is locked from within quite forcibly.
Floyd |
Floyd | A bit of light escapes from the door underneath.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | I don't know the word "crawl".
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | The door is locked.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | I don't recognize that sentence.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | There is four inches of space in between the bottom edge of the door
Floyd | and the road.  You peer as best you can into the apartment itself and
Floyd | see little, save for the motions of one in light footwear skirting
Floyd | around a positioned bed.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

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

Floyd | You knock on the door.  Eerie silence.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | There seems to be one way in, but you are too tall to fit.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | I don't know the word "shrink".
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | Is the door getting taller?  Further from the alleyway?
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | There seems to be one way in, but you are too tall to fit.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | After your words, you realize that it is, of course, you who are
Floyd | shrinking.  You are certainly no larger than twelve inches in size.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | There seems to be one way in, but you are too tall to fit.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | You shrink further.  It seems like you are three, perhaps three and a
Floyd | half inches tall.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | Being quite small in size, you run under the door and into the
Floyd | apartment...
Floyd |
Floyd | Apartment
Floyd |    You are within a cramped apartment, no greater than 12 feet square.
Floyd | Directly across from the front door is a fireplace, full of deep soot
Floyd | and organs.  To your right is a compact board table, adjacent to a bed
Floyd | propped approximately one foot high by a secondary, mildewey mattress.
Floyd |
Floyd | A human-sized, upright Hare breaks from ripping the intestines of a
Floyd | bound, human woman and carefully peers at your entrance.
Floyd |
Floyd | The woman moans -- a strained wail -- her head slumped over and eyes
Floyd | appearing dead.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | He is wearing a glossy top hat, a mirrored monocle over his left eye,
Floyd | and a swashbuckler's vest.  His nose twitches irregularly, as if a
Floyd | symptom of a spastic, involuntary syndrome.  His white fur is stained
Floyd | crimson in splashes, where the woman's blood and flesh has splattered
Floyd | and soaked into it.
Floyd |
Floyd | The hare rips away a purplish, engorged organ and some fleshy, meaty
Floyd | sections of the woman's stomach.  He hurls these parts at the left
Floyd | wall, splashing her blood everywhere and he does so with meticulous
Floyd | strain and patience.
Floyd |
Floyd | The woman cries forth with cursing, swearing, and explicatives that you
Floyd | have never, ever heard before in your life.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | You are much too small and insignificant to hurt the Hare.
Floyd |
Floyd | The Hare snaps off a piece of intestine and throws it at you!
Floyd |
Floyd | The intestine shifts into an ugly garden snake mid-flight, and snares
Floyd | itself around your neck!
Floyd |
Floyd | The woman's eyes close, a terrible wheeze of air leaves her esophagus.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | Nothing happens.
Floyd |
Floyd | The Hare snaps the neck of the woman.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | I don't know the word "cry".
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | The fireplace is filled with organs, sweat, blood and soot.  Looking
Floyd | within it, it appears to get lighter at the other end, not darker.
Floyd |
Floyd | The Hare squats down and enters the fireplace.  It leaps once, and
Floyd | appears to have left the apartment completely.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | There is no time.
Floyd |
Floyd | "Sing another song for me, sweetie, and I shall certainly return myself
Floyd | to sleep and slumber," says the snake.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | You make your way into the fireplace.
Floyd |
Floyd | Apartment, in the fireplace
Floyd |    The fireplace is filled with organs, sweat, blood and soot.  Looking
Floyd | up, it appears to get lighter at the other end, not darker.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

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

Floyd | I don't know how to climb the fireplace.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | You are not tall enough.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | You are not tall enough.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | Nothing happens.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

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

Floyd | You have a snake (wrapped around your neck).
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | Nothing happens.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | The snake would never dream of letting you do such a thing.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | I don't know the word "unwrap".
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | You have nothing sharp enough to cut the snake with.
Floyd |
Floyd | The snake flashes briefly animate for a moment to tighten its grip.
Floyd | "Snug, isn't it, my lovely?"  he whispers before quieting once again.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

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

Floyd | Apartment, in the fireplace
Floyd |    The fireplace is filled with organs, sweat, blood and soot.  Looking
Floyd | up, it appears to get lighter at the other end, not darker.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | The snake flashes animate once more, and begins to join your song.  In
Floyd | between slurred humming, he says, "I understand, you know, your clever,
Floyd | clever ruse.  Really!  I do!  But, my love, I am no savage beast to be
Floyd | beaten with a song.  I feel our love can't quite continue like this for
Floyd | very long.  For I am your special friend this eve, and I am very, very
Floyd | wrong."
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | Apartment
Floyd |    You are within a cramped apartment, no greater than 12 feet square.
Floyd | Directly across from the front door is a fireplace, full of deep soot
Floyd | and organs.  To your right is a compact board table, adjacent to a bed
Floyd | propped approximately one foot high by a secondary, mildewey mattress.
Floyd | There is a prostitute here, tied up, shredded and destitute.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | I don't know the word "soot".
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | The snake just hisses...
Floyd |
Floyd | >

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

Floyd | She is a wisp of a woman, approximately 5'7" and slight of build.  She
Floyd | is laying in tattered clothes on a stinking mattress, her hands and
Floyd | left leg bound to the apartment walls with thick chain.  She has been
Floyd | viciously ripped from just below her neck straight down toward her
Floyd | pelvis, Her internal organs are scattered about her gaping chest
Floyd | cavity, although some have leaked over to the bed and others smear the
Floyd | walls, slowly crawling down to the floor.  Her long blonde hair is
Floyd | matted with blood and pulp into the sheets upon her bed, and she seems
Floyd | unable to focus, articulate her horror, or die.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | The snake just hisses...
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | You decide to not sing to the woman.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | She is dead.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | I don't see any mom here.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | The mattress isn't important.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | I don't know the word "unchain".
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | It's too late for help.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | I don't see any knife here.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | Ruptured, leaking, and disgusting!
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | I don't see any sword here.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | I don't see any blade here.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | There's nothing hiding under the bed.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | Nothing happens.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | The snake chortles deeply and tightens itself slightly around your
Floyd | neck.  Though as small as yourself, it frustrates all attempts at
Floyd | discovery, exploration, and conversation.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | "Ahh..." breathes the snake, "deliciousss...!"
Floyd |
Floyd | You have grown a little larger.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | You make your way into the fireplace.
Floyd |
Floyd | Apartment, in the fireplace
Floyd |    The fireplace is filled with organs, sweat, blood and soot.  Looking
Floyd | up, it appears to get lighter at the other end, not darker.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | "Wonderful," whispers the snake, "wouldn't you sssay...?"
Floyd |
Floyd | You have grown a little larger.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | "I am within ecstatic delights," breathes the snake.
Floyd |
Floyd | You have grown much larger, and are almost full size.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | "Now this is most comfortable, sweeeetieeee....!"  The snake breathes
Floyd | up close against your ear.
Floyd |
Floyd | You are now your natural size.
Floyd |
Floyd | The snake tightens its grip around your neck once more.  "Not too tight
Floyd | just yet, I hope," he mutters.  The snake returns, quickly, to its
Floyd | pseudo-slumber.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | You are not tall enough.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | You grow again, past the container of the fireplace itself and you find
Floyd | yourself within a reserved, quiet study...
Floyd |
Floyd | Study
Floyd |    This is a long, open drawing room evidently used for study and soft
Floyd | research.  A rich, teak desk sits in solitude, equidistant from the
Floyd | west wall (upon which hangs a set of somber oil paintings) and the east
Floyd | wall (almost completely defined by stained glass).  Near the desk is
Floyd | Rumford fireplace, the same portal from which you arrived.  Toward the
Floyd | far wall is an ornament stand, and wire stairs that lead up to an
Floyd | in-house second level and black door.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | You have a snake (wrapped around your neck).
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | The ornament stand is right before a door that leads, presumably,
Floyd | outside.  It has two legs, sits two feet high and two feet across.  The
Floyd | tabletop has been buffed and polished to a satiny sheen.
Floyd |
Floyd | On the ornament stand is a battle scene.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | A tiny, yet exquisitely detailed figurine made up of several different
Floyd | autonomous pieces that, together, depicts a swordsman brandishing a
Floyd | steel blade against several cornered beasties.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | It is about the length of the swordsman's torso.  The sword would
Floyd | appear to be detachable.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | Taken.
Floyd |
Floyd | It is terribly small.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | Nothing else happens.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | Your surroundings appear to grow in size.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | Your surroundings appear to grow in size again.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | The sword is very small.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | A beautiful seven year old girl!
Floyd | How old did you say you were?  Six months, seven years?
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | After your words, you realize that it is, of course, you who are
Floyd | shrinking.  You are certainly no larger than twelve inches in size.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | The sword is tiny.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | (with the sword)
Floyd | The blade of the sword is not sharp enough to cut the snake.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | "Wonderful," whispers the snake, "wouldn't you sssay...?"
Floyd |
Floyd | You have grown a little larger.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | "I am within ecstatic delights," breathes the snake.
Floyd |
Floyd | You have grown much larger, and are almost full size.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | Dropped.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | Your surroundings appear to grow in size again.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | Taken.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | The sword is small in size.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | Dropped.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | After your words, you realize that it is, of course, you who are
Floyd | shrinking.  You are certainly no larger than twelve inches in size.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | You shrink further.  It seems like you are three, perhaps three and a
Floyd | half inches tall.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | Taken.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | (with the sword)
Floyd | The blade of the sword is not sharp enough to cut the snake.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | Poking the snake doesn't seem to have any effect.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | Study
Floyd |    This is a long, open drawing room evidently used for study and soft
Floyd | research.  A rich, teak desk sits in solitude, equidistant from the
Floyd | west wall (upon which hangs a set of somber oil paintings) and the east
Floyd | wall (almost completely defined by stained glass).  Near the desk is
Floyd | Rumford fireplace, the same portal from which you arrived.  Toward the
Floyd | far wall is an ornament stand, and wire stairs that lead up to an
Floyd | in-house second level and black door.
Floyd |
Floyd | You choke, suddenly!  The snake arises for mere moments, to simply
Floyd | increase the pressure around your neck.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | The sword is small in size.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | I don't recognize that sentence.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | You slowly ascend the stairs.
Floyd |
Floyd | Terrace
Floyd |    This platform looks over the study below.  Before you, to the west,
Floyd | is a black door.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | (opening the door first)
Floyd | Fog, of makeup you have seen before, spills out from the locale beyond
Floyd | and into yours.  A slavering roar splits your eardrums -- a terrible
Floyd | gyre and gimble that nearly knocks you down!
Floyd |
Floyd | Emerging from the clouded beyond is a single monstrosity, a grotesque
Floyd | jabberwock with jaws that bite and claws that catch!  Its beady,
Floyd | squinty eyes ooze thick pus as it contorts its vision in order to find
Floyd | you.  The beast now blocks your path.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | (with the sword)
Floyd | You are too small in size to cause any damage.
Floyd |
Floyd | The jabberwock gives you a once over... but the beast displays no
Floyd | intelligent cunning whatsoever.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | "Ahh..." breathes the snake, "deliciousss...!"
Floyd |
Floyd | You have grown a little larger.
Floyd |
Floyd | The jabberwock wails a mournful tune!  The jabberwock knocks the sword
Floyd | from your hand!  It goes flying to the floor below, beneath the stairs!
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | (Undoing one command)
Floyd |
Floyd | Terrace
Floyd |    This platform looks over the study below.  Before you, to the west,
Floyd | is a black door.
Floyd |    A grotesque beastie is lurking about.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | The jabberwock blocks your path.
Floyd |
Floyd | The jabberwock wails a mournful tune!  The jabberwock knocks the sword
Floyd | from your hand!  It goes flying to the floor below, beneath the stairs!
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | (Undoing one command)
Floyd |
Floyd | Terrace
Floyd |    This platform looks over the study below.  Before you, to the west,
Floyd | is a black door.
Floyd |    A grotesque beastie is lurking about.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | (Undoing one command)
Floyd |
Floyd | Terrace
Floyd |    This platform looks over the study below.  Before you, to the west,
Floyd | is a black door.
Floyd |    A grotesque beastie is lurking about.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | (Undoing one command)
Floyd |
Floyd | Terrace
Floyd |    This platform looks over the study below.  Before you, to the west,
Floyd | is a black door.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | (Undoing one command)
Floyd |
Floyd | Study
Floyd |    This is a long, open drawing room evidently used for study and soft
Floyd | research.  A rich, teak desk sits in solitude, equidistant from the
Floyd | west wall (upon which hangs a set of somber oil paintings) and the east
Floyd | wall (almost completely defined by stained glass).  Near the desk is
Floyd | Rumford fireplace, the same portal from which you arrived.  Toward the
Floyd | far wall is an ornament stand, and wire stairs that lead up to an
Floyd | in-house second level and black door.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | "Ahh..." breathes the snake, "deliciousss...!"
Floyd |
Floyd | You have grown a little larger.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | "Wonderful," whispers the snake, "wouldn't you sssay...?"
Floyd |
Floyd | You have grown a little larger.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | "I am within ecstatic delights," breathes the snake.
Floyd |
Floyd | You have grown much larger, and are almost full size.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | "Now this is most comfortable, sweeeetieeee....!"  The snake breathes
Floyd | up close against your ear.
Floyd |
Floyd | You are now your natural size.
Floyd |
Floyd | The purple potion has worn off.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | The sword is very large.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | You slowly ascend the stairs.
Floyd |
Floyd | Terrace
Floyd |    This platform looks over the study below.  Before you, to the west,
Floyd | is a black door.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | You decide to not sing to the sword.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | (opening the door first)
Floyd | Fog, of makeup you have seen before, spills out from the locale beyond
Floyd | and into yours.  A slavering roar splits your eardrums -- a terrible
Floyd | gyre and gimble that nearly knocks you down!
Floyd |
Floyd | Emerging from the clouded beyond is a single monstrosity, a grotesque
Floyd | jabberwock with jaws that bite and claws that catch!  Its beady,
Floyd | squinty eyes ooze thick pus as it contorts its vision in order to find
Floyd | you.  The beast now blocks your path.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | (with the sword)
Floyd | You unleash the sword in a quick, wide arc, ripping through its
Floyd | stinking flesh with an audible 'snicker-snack!'  Its eyes convulse and
Floyd | burn away as it settles into a heap of seared entrails besides a
Floyd | gawking maw.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | Terrace
Floyd |    This platform looks over the study below.  Before you, to the west,
Floyd | is a black door.
Floyd |    The last of the great beasts, the jabberwock, lies slain upon the
Floyd | floor.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | A formerly grotesque beastie with jaws that bit and claws that caught.
Floyd | It leaks sickly pus and fluid from every possible pore, but especially
Floyd | from the severe gash you inflicted upon it.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | I don't know the word "gash".
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | I don't know the word "pus".
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | It's a long, open drawing room evidently used for study and soft
Floyd | research.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | You alone enter the fog and clouds, your possessions are shunted behind
Floyd | you...
Floyd |
Floyd | Forest path
Floyd |    The Hare witnesses your emergence and blitzes down the path, three
Floyd | steps for every one of yours.  Sufficiently in the lead, he pauses for
Floyd | a moment and produces a shiny timepiece from one of the pockets of his
Floyd | leather vest.  Wiping its brow (and streaking crusts of haemoglobin
Floyd | everywhere!) the Hare does a backflip and gives you a wave.  Though a
Floyd | vial drops from its half-jacket, it fails to notice and immediately
Floyd | continues its sprint until the path meets with the horizon.  You are
Floyd | centered within a dark forest path.  The lit, full moon provides more
Floyd | than ample light with which to comport yourself in your usual angelic
Floyd | sway.
Floyd |
Floyd | The plant-life and vegetation all carry a healthy glow around them,
Floyd | they grow thick amongst each other, intertwining to prevent passage in
Floyd | all directions except those that please them.  You spot a vial at the
Floyd | edge of the forest path.
Floyd |
Floyd | The path seems to lead in all directions, yet none appear inviting.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | Taken.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | Inside the vial is fermented pickle juice and a half-kidney.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | The vial doesn't appear appetizing.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | You don't hear anything unusual.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | It's thick and uninviting.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | I don't know how to climb the vegetation and plant life.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | You follow the forest path a ways, it winds about, and eventually leads
Floyd | to a clearing...
Floyd |
Floyd | Clearing
Floyd |    Fine, powdery dust and shards make up a solid foundation for this
Floyd | out-of-the-way little vortex in the forest.  The clearing is in the
Floyd | shape of an oval, and twenty yards across.  Two creatures bicker back
Floyd | and forth.  They are little more than giant heads with distended, ugly
Floyd | feet attached to them.
Floyd |
Floyd | "I'll devour you, Oaf!" says one.  "I'll munch upon that ugly face,
Floyd | bite by tantalizing bite and you shall witness it all, for the last
Floyd | morsel will be that pinched, sickly eye!"
Floyd |
Floyd | "Not before I, Roaf!" exclaims the other one.  "You may bark and wheeze
Floyd | in your misguided, pathetic attempts to frighten, but I shall skewer
Floyd | you into meaty, tasty strips and use that ridiculous eyewear to magnify
Floyd | the light and heat them!"
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | He is a flighty, wavy head, bright in tone, with wavy auburn hair and a
Floyd | lone, suspicious eyeball.  Two mangled, twisted feet poke out from
Floyd | neath his chin.  He possesses no torso, arms or legs.
Floyd |
Floyd | "Oh, why look, Roaf!" exclaims Oaf.  "A little girl has wandered into
Floyd | our little stead!  Why hello there, little one!  Would you care to stay
Floyd | for a meal?"
Floyd |
Floyd | "You're ruining it, you great, stupid Oaf!" screeches Roaf.  "A
Floyd | mindless, blue-skinned deafened mute could see through your terrible
Floyd | ruse!"
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | I don't know the word "eyeball".
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | He is a darkened, malformed head, shadowed in tint, with fuzzy black
Floyd | hair and oversized eyewear.  Two mangled, twisted feet poke out from
Floyd | neath his chin.  He possesses no torso, arms, or legs.
Floyd |
Floyd | "Why surely her daddy has yet to inform her of the seductive stylings
Floyd | of strangers," says Oaf.  "Besides, she has a nasty little pusher
Floyd | around her neck. Her time runs negative toward forward!"
Floyd |
Floyd | "Oh no, praytell," states Roaf.  "I have it on positively smashing
Floyd | authority that her daddy knows all about you and I, my witless and
Floyd | quite stupid chum!  He truckles up to them like a suckling leech,
Floyd | pulling away their spirit and cares!"
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | "It is a difficult path at first," says Roaf, "but I will make it all
Floyd | worthwhile."
Floyd |
Floyd | "Are your fatted lobes growing larger, Roafie old boy?" asks Oaf.
Floyd | "They look positively delectable.  I think I would enjoy chewing them
Floyd | like flavoured rubber for the better part of the upcoming fortnight.
Floyd | Or perhaps basted in a rich creme sauce!"
Floyd |
Floyd | "Mind your manners, you," mutters Roaf, while staring you up and down.
Floyd | Saliva glistens and drips off his teeth, and he grins a positively...
Floyd | Cheshire grin!  "I think it would be best if we let the hopeless little
Floyd | venger choose."
Floyd |
Floyd | "Choose what, Roaf?" asks Oaf.  "Surely you mustn't let fair play get
Floyd | in the way.  Not now, not ever!  What ever do you mean?"
Floyd |
Floyd | "All I mean is that I ache for the completed set," says Roaf.  "Don't
Floyd | you see?  It is this way in which I may have it all."  He refuses to
Floyd | look at anyone or anything but you.  "Go ahead, my light-hearted
Floyd | friend," whispers Roaf.  "Choose the loser of the game."
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | Inside the vial is fermented pickle juice and a half-kidney.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | You have a snake (wrapped around your neck) and a vial.
Floyd |
Floyd | Roaf looks at you in anticipation.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | File to save game in >
Floyd | Saved.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | There's no verb in that sentence!
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | I don't know the word "roa".
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | Roaf gasps!
Floyd |
Floyd | Oaf pounces, with quickness like a cobra, onto Roaf and begins savagely
Floyd | tearing away his features.  Roaf kicks, flails, rolls...  anything to
Floyd | scatter and free himself.  Oaf snares the eyewear with his teeth and
Floyd | crunches them into powdered dust.
Floyd |
Floyd | Roaf's horrible howls cause you to drop to your knees and cover your
Floyd | ears.  Rather than watch the consumption, you bury your head until the
Floyd | wailing and screaming stops.
Floyd |
Floyd | With the return of the forest's eerie silence, you look up again.  Oaf
Floyd | chews on something with excessive pantomime, before meeting eyes with
Floyd | you and spitting a wad of flesh onto the ground.
Floyd |
Floyd | Oaf wanders off the way you came before finally disappearing.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | (Undoing one command)
Floyd |
Floyd | Clearing
Floyd |    Fine, powdery dust and shards make up a solid foundation for this
Floyd | out-of-the-way little vortex in the forest.  The clearing is in the
Floyd | shape of an oval, and twenty yards across.
Floyd |    Roaf and Oaf are waddling about.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | "Delightful," muses Roaf.
Floyd |
Floyd | Roaf thrusts himself over toward Oaf and knocks him into the ground.
Floyd | He strikes, quick as a cobra, and sits atop him, his teeth gnawing and
Floyd | biting away chunks of Oaf's face.  He rips shredded specks of skin and
Floyd | flesh and spits them out to one side.
Floyd |
Floyd | Oaf howls, a cry more of defeated agony than that of rage or directed
Floyd | anger.
Floyd |
Floyd | Roaf finishes his meal.  Ultimately, not a scrap of Oaf remains.
Floyd |
Floyd | His hunger unsatiated, he then jumps on you and continues to enjoy his
Floyd | repast.
Floyd |
Floyd | *** You have failed to save the life of a newborn ***
Floyd |
Floyd | You may restore a saved game, start over, undo or quit.
Floyd | Please enter RESTORE, RESTART, UNDO or QUIT:  >

Floyd | (Undoing one command)
Floyd |
Floyd | Clearing
Floyd |    Fine, powdery dust and shards make up a solid foundation for this
Floyd | out-of-the-way little vortex in the forest.  The clearing is in the
Floyd | shape of an oval, and twenty yards across.
Floyd |    Roaf and Oaf are waddling about.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | Roaf gasps!
Floyd |
Floyd | Oaf pounces, with quickness like a cobra, onto Roaf and begins savagely
Floyd | tearing away his features.  Roaf kicks, flails, rolls...  anything to
Floyd | scatter and free himself.  Oaf snares the eyewear with his teeth and
Floyd | crunches them into powdered dust.
Floyd |
Floyd | Roaf's horrible howls cause you to drop to your knees and cover your
Floyd | ears.  Rather than watch the consumption, you bury your head until the
Floyd | wailing and screaming stops.
Floyd |
Floyd | With the return of the forest's eerie silence, you look up again.  Oaf
Floyd | chews on something with excessive pantomime, before meeting eyes with
Floyd | you and spitting a wad of flesh onto the ground.
Floyd |
Floyd | Oaf wanders off the way you came before finally disappearing.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | Clearing
Floyd |    Fine, powdery dust and shards make up a solid foundation for this
Floyd | out-of-the-way little vortex in the forest.  The clearing is in the
Floyd | shape of an oval, and twenty yards across.
Floyd |    You see a wad here.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | It is an earlobe.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | Taken.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | You can't put anything into the vial.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | I don't know the word "dust".
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | You make your way into the vegetation and come to a clearing...
Floyd |
Floyd | Clearing
Floyd |    Before you is a brick wall that extends into perilous overgrowth.
Floyd | The wall is several times your height and quite impassable.  There is a
Floyd | small table set before the wall itself.
Floyd |
Floyd | You notice a single meter-high creature swinging back and forth on a
Floyd | brass bell that emerges from the top two layers of the wall.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | On the table are numerous stones, with single-digit numbers upon most
Floyd | of them.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | It is an animate, swinging egg.  A completely blank face, it has four
Floyd | impossible limbs arranged like that of a person's, and is clad in fuzzy
Floyd | jams.
Floyd |
Floyd | The egg speaks:
Floyd |
Floyd | "I thought I saw a little girl
Floyd | Free from the black murder:
Floyd | I looked again and found it was
Floyd | Covered in filthy burr.
Floyd | Have we have met once before my child?
Floyd | How old ja say joo were?"
Floyd |
Floyd | The creature holds out one of its hands.  The other holds tightly to
Floyd | the bell, and it continues to swing back and forth.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | Taken.
Floyd |
Floyd | "I think," says the snake, "that I'd like to play a quick game.  I'll
Floyd | swallow my own tail!"  The snake gets tighter around your neck, but
Floyd | makes a show of failing to bite its end.  "Oh, sorry, my lovely.  I'll
Floyd | just have to get closer, later!"
Floyd |
Floyd | The snake returns to its sleep once more.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | "I thought I saw a little girl,
Floyd | Upon her final day.
Floyd | Eager to play my riddles and
Floyd | Friendly all the way.
Floyd | And though we'd never met, your age
Floyd | Is what you'll never say!"
Floyd |
Floyd | The egg releases its handhold on the bell!
Floyd |
Floyd | The egg tumbles toward you, and knocks you down!
Floyd |
Floyd | The egg hops back up into the air and with a somersault and twist,
Floyd | grabs the bell once again.
Floyd |
Floyd | He then promptly eats the seven stone.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | It's out of reach!  It is too tall for you.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | It looks like the purple potion has worn off.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | Which stones do you mean, the one stone, the nine stone, the two stone,
Floyd | the eight stone, the three stone, the four stone, the blank stone, the
Floyd | five stone, or the six stone?
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | It is a tiny, rounded stone.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | You're not carrying the nine stone.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | Taken.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | The egg speaks:
Floyd |
Floyd | "I thought I saw a little girl
Floyd | Who understood my ruse.
Floyd | She liked to play and listen to
Floyd | Her helpful, dimwit muse.
Floyd | Joo wish to pick just one more time?
Floyd | 'Cos as of now, you lose!"
Floyd |
Floyd | The egg drops the stone and it lands on the small table.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | Taken.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | The egg speaks:
Floyd |
Floyd | "My heart, my heart, oh hateful day!
Floyd | You've never said before!
Floyd | Your age is quite foreign to me,
Floyd | Quite clever, mi amour.
Floyd | And though we've never met, my heart
Floyd | Just leaps upon the floor!"
Floyd |
Floyd | The creature shifts violently to one side and rings the bell.  The
Floyd | sounding of it sends a audial wave that knocks you back into tumbles
Floyd | for several meters.
Floyd |
Floyd | As you slowly right yourself you see the egg cracked open with a
Floyd | beating heart left behind, and that the wall has been broken into
Floyd | crumbly bits, allowing passage.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | The heart is about the size of two of your fists.  It beats slowly, to
Floyd | a steady, hollow beat.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | Taken.
Floyd |
Floyd | >