SEEING VIKTOR'S LAB MESA (by the waterfall) You are on a flat mesa plateau, partway up the side of a mountain. Here you see a magnificent waterfall that pours down from the mountain into a deep ravine. A rocky path leads southeast and downwards along the edge of the ravine. The mesa continues to the southwest. Difficult terrain blocks travel in all other directions. >raise basket The basket is no longer lowered. >take tape recorder You take the small tape recorder out of the basket. >take cassette You take the yellow audio cassette out of the small tape recorder. >x cassette It's an audio cassette with a yellow label. The label on the yellow audio cassette says "TO DAD". On the flip side the label is blank. >play cassette in headphones You put the yellow audio cassette into the headphones. The cassette begins to play. The voice that you hear belongs to Martin. I wanted to talk to you one more time, Dad, even though I know it's too late for that. I can't stop thinking about that night when I was ten years old, the night that Mom's theatre group held their Mikado cast party in our courtyard. You and I took a walk out back, and I remember being disappointed that the sky was too cloudy for you to quiz me on naming the stars and constellations. We were standing on the mesa by the waterfall. You were trying to tell me something, you said it was important. But the winds got stronger, and a storm was beginning to start. I couldn't hear you. Maybe it was the sound of the wind and the waterfall or maybe it was that I wouldn't listen. You started looking obsessed and a little crazy, like you always did when you tried to talk about sending messages to aliens in outer space. Then I remember a sharp clap of thunder and the rain suddenly slammed down on us. I started running back towards the house and you grabbed my arm to stop me. You told me not to worry, that everything would be all right. I don't think you were talking about the storm. You said that someday I would understand you. ------------- Press space bar to continue ----------------- Well Dad, I think I understand you now. I've been working in research and development for most of my adult life, and I know what it's like to get deep into a project that other people think is crazy. I know what it's like to catch the tail of something almost impossible, and I know what its like to hang on to that thrashing tail until you've invented something that never existed before. And I know what it's like to try to share your discoveries with other people only to have it tossed into the trash by those who don't even take the time to try to understand it. But if you could see what I've done you'd be amazed, Dad. Just take a look at the building blocks of our world. Don't get bogged down with atoms and the molecules, that's just hardware. But if you look at the perceptions of our senses, you'll see the stuff that reality is truly made of. It's the same stuff that you find in fiction -- drama, suspense, passion, irony. Especially irony. And so, with almost fictional irony, I find myself to be a crackpot inventor in his mid-thirties whose work on sensory enhancement devices is even crazier than your sending brain- wave messages to alien pen pals. I suppose I feel cheated that I can't share my work with you. But more importantly, this makes me realize what a disservice I did to both of us when I wouldn't allow you to share YOUR work with ME. Well, maybe it's too late now. Maybe it's too late for me to keep wishing that things had turned out differently, and maybe it's too late for me to be angry with you for spending so many hours talking into a stupid tape recorder when I wanted you to be spending time with me instead, and maybe it's too late for me to keep beating myself up for what I can't help seeing as the ultimate betrayal of your memory --- the unspeakable crime of being a ten-year-old boy who was ashamed of what his father believed in. ------------- Press space bar to continue ----------------- I tried to find the cassettes you'd made containing your laboratory notes, and I found out that Mr. Takamine had taken them. He wouldn't let me listen to them, he wouldn't even let me SEE them. He seems to think that I want to continue your work. That's not it at all, but I couldn't get the words out to tell him that all I really wanted was to hear your voice one more time ...because I was starting to forget.. the sound... Martin's voice is starting to break, and there is a long pause. Then he continues, his voice sounding low and hoarse. Julie understands, of course. I'm thinking of asking her to sneak me into the place where her father keeps your tapes. But I've never known Julie to ever disobey her father. Not yet anyway. ------------- Press space bar to continue ----------------- It's strange how just about everyone reacts with such strong emotions to the subject of your cassettes. Mr. Takamine and Julie seem quite touchy on that subject, and Mom refuses to discuss it at all. The only one who seems immune to this is Rachel. I remember her trying to talk to me about it a couple of times, something about one of your cassettes that she said she'd found. But for some reason I always seemed to get a nasty migraine whenever she tried to talk to me about it, so I'd keep telling her that we'd have to wait until later. She might still be waiting for a good time -- I never did find out what she wanted to say, and even now it hurts my head to think about it. Actually it's fairly unusual for Rachel to give up on anything so easily, and I'm surprised that she stopped trying to talk to me about it. She always seems to get so obsessed about little mysteries, refusing to let go until she figures the answers out. But that's Rachel. She's always been kind of weird. You hear a click on the tape where Martin apparently stopped recording. ------------- Press space bar to continue ----------------- You hear another click, and the recording continues. The background noise is completely different now, and you can hear the sound of rushing water. It occurs to you that several days may have passed since the first part of the recording was made. Martin's voice certainly sounds different, almost artificially cheerful. Well, Dad, I've been able to listen to your cassettes after all, and it's been an education. I've made some plans. Tomorrow I'm going on a little trip to visit some friends of yours, something that needs to be timed very carefully. I'll be sure to give your regards. You hear a click on the tape as the recording stops. The rest of the cassette is blank. Nothing is recorded on the other side. You feel somewhat embarassed to have listened to a message that was intended for Martin's father. You wish that there was some way that he could have heard what his son wanted to say to him. You take the yellow audio cassette out of the headphones. >sw MESA (by the downward slope) You are on a flat mesa plateau, partway up the side of a mountain. To the south is a downward slope leading to a clearing. It looks like you could scramble down to the clearing but you wouldn't be able to to get back up. In the distance to the west (and below) you can see a grove of aspen trees. However, you can't get down to the grove from here because the mesa ends in a sheer cliff in that direction. The mesa continues to the northeast. You hear rushing water coming from that direction. >s CLEARING The clearing is a flat, rocky area. To the north is a steep slope leading upwards to a mesa plateau. To the west you see a grove of aspen trees. A narrow pathway leads south through thorny bushes. The bushes and difficult terrain block travel in all other directions. >s CURVED PATHWAY This curved pathway leads north towards a clearing, and southeast towards a large flat rock. >se BY THE FLAT ROCK >look through window The other side of the glass seems to be clouded with a covering of dust and soot. But even so, you'd probably be able to get a pretty good look through the window if there were a source of light on the inside. But right now it's too dark in there for you to see anything. >se BY THE RASPBERRY BUSH >s OUTSIDE THE BACK DOOR >w KITCHEN You see an envelope, a large stack of catalogs, a phone bill, a gold key, "The Bedtime Story Book", "The Boy Who Had No Words", a yellow feather, a small phone book, a short blue sock, a long black sock, a handwritten note, a bath robe, a pair of brown shoes, a short brown sock, a short black sock, some ballet slippers, a fake can of spam, a white pawn, a mug of black coffee, a plucked daisy, a plucked tulip, two short white socks, a small Phillips screwdriver, some brightly colored machine tools, and a copper key here. Agador-Spartacus pushes the sink cabinet doors open with his nose and crawls under the kitchen sink. The sink doors swing shut. >drop tape recorder, towel small tape recorder: The small tape recorder is now on the floor. large towel: The large towel is now on the floor. >untie rope You untie the macrame strap from the basket. >drop basket The basket is now on the floor. >s The blue birds suddenly become alive. They fly off of the china cabinet doors and begin to flit about, making you feel as if you should sing "Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah". Then the blue birds land back on the china cabinet doors and grow still. DINING ROOM (by the china cabinet) >sw DINING ROOM (by the west end of the table) On the west end of the table you see a plate, a fork, a knife, a spoon, and a glass. >w You go through the strands of beads. LIVING ROOM (front half) You see three empty boxes, three ordinary cans of spam, and a magic carpet (rolled) here. You see Agador-Spartacus in the back half of the living room. He's sitting down. >n LIVING ROOM (back half) On the music stand you see some sheet music. You see three empty boxes, two ordinary cans of spam, and a magic carpet (rolled) here. Agador-Spartacus is sitting here. >w DANCE STUDIO You see a coat rack here. You see Agador-Spartacus in the back half of the living room. He's sitting down. >step STEP! You see Agador-Spartacus in the back half of the living room. He's sitting down. >flap FL-AP! You see Agador-Spartacus in the back half of the living room. He's sitting down. >step STEP! You see Agador-Spartacus in the back half of the living room. He's wagging his tail. >hop HOP! You see Agador-Spartacus in the back half of the living room. He's wagging his tail. >shuffle SHUF-FLE! You've done a Backwards Time Step: step, flap, step, hop, shuffle. The mirror is very impressed. It clouds over and shows you a brief vision of the number nine, written in flames. Then the mirror clears and goes back to its normal state. You see Agador-Spartacus in the back half of the living room. He's wagging his tail. >drop rope The macrame strap is now on the floor. >dance with coat rack You begin dancing, spinning gracefully about with the coat rack as your partner. You almost feel as if you're in a Fred Astaire movie. Looking in the mirror you see that you indeed look just like Fred Astaire! With renewed confidence you dance on the walls, you dance on the mirror, and you dance on the ceiling. As you dance across the ceiling you slip through the open skylight, which causes the coat rack to clatter to the floor of the dance studio... ------------- Press space bar to continue ----------------- ATTIC You see a bottle of hair conditioner, a green candle (lit), and a plucked rose here. >take candle You take the green candle. >d DANCE STUDIO You see a coat rack and a macrame strap here. >put candle on platform The green candle is now on the dance studio platform. >swing watch (first taking the watch out of the pocket) The watch swings back and forth hypnotically. It's difficult to see the watch while it's swinging, but for a moment you think that you see the misty image of a train conductor on the cover of the watch. The conductor seems confused and looks as if he needs you to tell him what time it is. >say "9:00" to conductor You say "9:00" to the train conductor. The conductor smiles and nods his head briefly before his image fades and disappears. Then the watch stops swinging and pops open. Archimedes' arms now show the time as 9:00. >put watch in pocket (first closing the watch) The pocket watch is now in one of the trouser pockets. You hear a train whistle blowing in the distance from the south. The train enters the dance studio from the southwest corner and turns to go east along the wall. It then comes to a stop at the platform on the south wall. You see Agador-Spartacus in the back half of the living room. He's wagging his tail. >swing watch (first taking the watch out of the pocket) The watch swings back and forth hypnotically. It's difficult to see the watch while it's swinging, but for a moment you think that you see the misty image of a train conductor on the cover of the watch. The conductor seems confused and looks as if he needs you to tell him what time it is. >say "9:30" to conductor You say "9:30" to the train conductor. The conductor smiles and nods his head briefly before his image fades and disappears. Then the watch stops swinging and pops open. Archimedes' arms now show the time as 9:30. >put watch in pocket (first closing the watch) The pocket watch is now in one of the trouser pockets. The train, which is at the platform on the south wall, blows its whistle. A small white hand comes out of the side of the train. The hand takes the green candle off of the platform and holds it on top of the train. >swing watch (first taking the watch out of the pocket) The watch swings back and forth hypnotically. It's difficult to see the watch while it's swinging, but for a moment you think that you see the misty image of a train conductor on the cover of the watch. The conductor seems confused and looks as if he needs you to tell him what time it is. You see Agador-Spartacus in the back half of the living room. He's wagging his tail. >say "9:50" to conductor You say "9:50" to the train conductor. The conductor smiles and nods his head briefly before his image fades and disappears. Then the watch stops swinging and pops open. Archimedes' arms now show the time as 9:50. >put watch in pocket (first closing the watch) The pocket watch is now in one of the trouser pockets. The train, which is at the platform on the south wall, blows its whistle. >e LIVING ROOM (back half) On the music stand you see some sheet music. You see three empty boxes, two ordinary cans of spam, and a magic carpet (rolled) here. Agador-Spartacus stands before you, wagging his tail affably. >s LIVING ROOM (front half) You see three empty boxes, three ordinary cans of spam, and a magic carpet (rolled) here. You see Agador-Spartacus in the back half of the living room. He's wagging his tail. >e You go through the strands of beads. DINING ROOM (by the west end of the table) On the west end of the table you see a plate, a fork, a knife, a spoon, and a glass. >ne The blue birds suddenly become alive. They fly off of the china cabinet doors and begin to flit about, making you feel as if you should sing "Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah". Then the blue birds land back on the china cabinet doors and grow still. DINING ROOM (by the china cabinet) >n KITCHEN You see an envelope, a large stack of catalogs, a phone bill, a gold key, "The Bedtime Story Book", "The Boy Who Had No Words", a yellow feather, a small phone book, a short blue sock, a long black sock, a handwritten note, a bath robe, a pair of brown shoes, a short brown sock, a short black sock, some ballet slippers, a fake can of spam, a mug of black coffee, a plucked daisy, a plucked tulip, two short white socks, a brass token, a copper key, a large towel, a small Phillips screwdriver, a small tape recorder, and a basket here. Agador-Spartacus crawls out from under the kitchen sink. The sink cabinet doors swing shut. Agador-Spartacus stands before you, wagging his tail affably. >e OUTSIDE THE BACK DOOR Agador-Spartacus comes to the area outside the back door from the kitchen. Agador-Spartacus stands before you, wagging his tail affably. >n BY THE RASPBERRY BUSH Agador-Spartacus comes to the area by the raspberry bush from the area outside the back door. Agador-Spartacus stands before you, wagging his tail affably. >nw BY THE FLAT ROCK Agador-Spartacus comes to the area by the flat rock from the area by the raspberry bush. Agador-Spartacus stands before you, wagging his tail affably. >swing watch (first taking the watch out of the pocket) The watch swings back and forth hypnotically. It's difficult to see the watch while it's swinging, but for a moment you think that you see the misty image of a train conductor on the cover of the watch. The conductor seems confused and looks as if he needs you to tell him what time it is. Agador-Spartacus sits down. >say "9:00" to watch There's nothing to be gained by talking to a pocket watch. Agador-Spartacus is sitting here. The watch swings back and forth hypnotically. It's difficult to see the watch while it's swinging, but for a moment you think that you see the misty image of a train conductor on the cover of the watch. The conductor seems confused and looks as if he needs you to tell him what time it is. >say "9:00" to conductor You say "9:00" to the train conductor. The conductor smiles and nods his head briefly before his image fades and disappears. Then the watch stops swinging and pops open. Archimedes' arms now show the time as 9:00. Agador-Spartacus is sitting here. >put watch in pocket (first closing the watch) The pocket watch is now in one of the trouser pockets. You hear a train whistle blowing in the distance from the southwest. Agador-Spartacus is sitting here. >wait Time passes... Agador-Spartacus stands up. >g Time passes... Looking through the window you see that the train, carrying a green candle (lit), enters the lab from the southeast corner and goes north along the wall. It then comes to a stop at the platform above the lab bench. Agador-Spartacus stands before you, wagging his tail affably. >swing watch (first taking the watch out of the pocket) The watch swings back and forth hypnotically. It's difficult to see the watch while it's swinging, but for a moment you think that you see the misty image of a train conductor on the cover of the watch. The conductor seems confused and looks as if he needs you to tell him what time it is. Agador-Spartacus stands before you, wagging his tail affably. >say "9:40" to conductor You say "9:40" to the train conductor. The conductor smiles and nods his head briefly before his image fades and disappears. Then the watch stops swinging and pops open. Archimedes' arms now show the time as 9:40. Agador-Spartacus stands before you, wagging his tail affably. >put watch in pocket (first closing the watch) The pocket watch is now in one of the trouser pockets. The train, which is at the platform above the lab bench, blows its whistle. Looking through the window you see that the small white hand takes the green candle off of the train and puts it on the platform. Agador-Spartacus stands before you, wagging his tail affably. >look through window The other side of the glass seems to be clouded with a covering of dust and soot. Flickering candle light illuminates the room, giving it an eerie appearance. The room looks like it used to be sort of laboratory, but now it is covered in dust and soot. Your eye is immediately drawn to a bizarre machine standing in the center of the lab. It looks like it was made out of parts taken from household appliances. On the east wall is a lab bench, with a metal stool nearby. There is a large lever mounted in the center of the lab bench. The lever is currently pushed up. The black dome above is closed. Shelving with model railroad track runs along the north and east walls. The shelving widens into a platform above the lab bench, quite close to the large lever. The train is stopped at the platform above the lab bench. You see a green candle (lit) on the platform above the lab bench. Agador-Spartacus stands before you, wagging his tail affably.