ClubFloyd Transcript:
Roofed by Jim Munroe and
Alien Abduction? by Charles Gerlach
As played on ifMUD on June 5, 2010

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

Below is a transcript of Roofed, written by Jim Munroe, and Alien Abduction?, written by Charles Gerlach. The first game of the day, Roofed, was originally released as part of the Casual Gameplay Design Competition 7, where it took fifth place. The second game of the day, Alien Abduction?, was originally released as part of the 1996 Interactive Fiction competition, where it took ninth place. You can learn more about these games, including how to download them, by visiting the the ifWiki sites for Roofed and Alien Abduction?, respectively.

If you'd like, you can skip straight to the Alien Abduction? transcript.

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

Floyd | Welcome to the Cheap Glk Implementation, library version 0.9.0.
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd | Click.
Floyd |
Floyd | You hear it clear across the rooftop. Or more, you feel the cold metal
Floyd | sound in your chest, and it quickly drops down to settle in your
Floyd | belly.
Floyd |
Floyd | Roofed
Floyd | A Karrento Brothers Adventure by Jim Munroe
Floyd | Release 2 / Serial number 100223 / Inform 7 build 5Z71 (I6/v6.31 lib
Floyd | 6/12N)
Floyd | Type CREDITS for the full credits, HELP if you need it, and QUIT to
Floyd | exit the game.
Floyd |
Floyd | Rooftop, halfway up the chimney
Floyd | You're clinging to the side of the chimney. From here you can go down
Floyd | to the rooftop or attempt to climb further up the top of the chimney.
Floyd |
Floyd | And below you, looking up -- instead of standing by the access door to
Floyd | make sure it doesn't close, like you told him to about six times -- is
Floyd | your older brother Anton.
Floyd |
Floyd | Anton notices your frozen posture halfway up the chimney. "What's the
Floyd | holdup?" he says. "Silk's not gonna collect itself, you know."
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | You're wearing a striped sleeveless top, identical to your brother's
Floyd | except for the bush of chest hair he has coming out the top of his.
Floyd | Your chin has also refused to sprout anything that isn't embarrassing.
Floyd |
Floyd | You are carrying nothing.
Floyd |
Floyd | Anton yells some climbing tips from below, which you ignore.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | The brick chimney looks to be the oldest part of the building. On the
Floyd | upper part of the chimney there's a faded graffiti tag -- a circle
Floyd | with a cross within it.
Floyd |
Floyd | Down below you, Anton shades his eyes and watches you.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | Your brother Anton is a broad shouldered, bearded fellow with long
Floyd | tangled brown hair and eyes with a tendency to wander. His features
Floyd | are relaxed and calm.  Like you, he's wearing the typical clothes of a
Floyd | silk collector, including the identical striped sleeveless top. He has
Floyd | the Claw and the containment unit.
Floyd |
Floyd | Down below you, Anton shades his eyes and watches you.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | You try to climb further up, but you can't find any more suitable
Floyd | finger and toe holds.
Floyd |
Floyd | Anton looks up, arms folded and nodding approvingly like he's your
Floyd | supervisor or something.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | You're not really close enough to Anton to do that. Might want to call
Floyd | him over first, or follow him.
Floyd |
Floyd | Anton yells some climbing tips from below, which you ignore.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | Anton sees where you are and points to the ground, indicating that
Floyd | he'll be staying right where he is, thanks.
Floyd |
Floyd | Anton slaps a drumbeat on the chimney that you find distracting.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | You stare at it and realize it's the symbol the Bad Seeds use in their
Floyd | revolutionary communiques.
Floyd |
Floyd | Apparently this rooftop is their territory. One more reason to get the
Floyd | hell out of here.
Floyd |
Floyd | Down below you, Anton shades his eyes and watches you.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | The access door is across the rooftop. You can't tell for sure that
Floyd | it's closed from here, but that click sound does not make you hopeful.
Floyd |
Floyd | Anton looks up, arms folded and nodding approvingly like he's your
Floyd | supervisor or something.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | Your brother Anton is a broad shouldered, bearded fellow with long
Floyd | tangled brown hair and eyes with a tendency to wander. His features
Floyd | are relaxed and calm.  Like you, he's wearing the typical clothes of a
Floyd | silk collector, including the identical striped sleeveless top. He has
Floyd | the Claw and the containment unit.
Floyd |
Floyd | Anton slaps a drumbeat on the chimney that you find distracting.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | You're wearing a striped sleeveless top, identical to your brother's
Floyd | except for the bush of chest hair he has coming out the top of his.
Floyd | Your chin has also refused to sprout anything that isn't embarrassing.
Floyd |
Floyd | You are carrying nothing.
Floyd |
Floyd | Anton yells some climbing tips from below, which you ignore.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | You're not really close enough to Anton to do that. Might want to call
Floyd | him over first, or follow him.
Floyd |
Floyd | Down below you, Anton shades his eyes and watches you.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | You climb down, dropping the last couple of feet to...
Floyd |
Floyd | Rooftop, at the base of the chimney
Floyd | A brick chimney looms above you. You're at the southeast corner of the
Floyd | square rooftop -- the door you came out of is to the west, an
Floyd | overgrown garden patch is to the northwest. You can also go north,
Floyd | though there's nothing that interesting there.
Floyd |
Floyd | Your brother Anton is here, plucking at his red-and-white striped
Floyd | sleeveless top.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | Anton gives the Claw to you.
Floyd |
Floyd | Anton mumbles something about exploring and sets off towards the
Floyd | garden.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | An ingeniously crafted brass pole with pincers on one end, for those
Floyd | hard-to-get caches of spider silk, or as Anton insists on calling it,
Floyd | spizz. Adds another three feet to your reach.
Floyd |
Floyd | Over a bit, Anton pretends to shovel some dirt in his attempt at
Floyd | anti-farmer satire.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | A reinforced silk containment unit made by Harry's pal Rudi. It
Floyd | matches the Claw, which is a nice touch. It also has straps so you can
Floyd | wear it on your .
Floyd |
Floyd | Across the rooftop, Anton is kicking the foliage, making a mess.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | Not from here, you can't.
Floyd |
Floyd | Anton comes over, looking bored. "Remember, if you need any big
Floyd | brother advice on anything you can always ask Anton about silk or
Floyd | whatever."
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | Anton nods. "Oh yeah, we should totally get some silk before we get
Floyd | out of here, otherwise we're gonna be awful hungry tonight." He points
Floyd | at the chimney. "And I bet you there's some in there. I can smell the
Floyd | sweet sweet spizz a mile off."
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | Anton rolls his eyes. "Don't worry, Toph, I used the bag to prop the
Floyd | door open." He doesn't look over at the obviously closed door.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

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

Floyd | Anton gives the containment unit to you.
Floyd |
Floyd | Anton is leaning against the chimney, trying to look cool.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | You put on the containment unit.
Floyd |
Floyd | Anton is making a sad attempt to climb the chimney, but stops when he
Floyd | sees you watching.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | (downward)
Floyd | There's nothing remarkable about the black surface of the rooftop. You
Floyd | just hope you don't end up having to sleep on it tonight.
Floyd |
Floyd | Anton is hiding behind the smokestack. Why, or from whom, you couldn't
Floyd | say.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | Rooftop, at the base of the chimney
Floyd | A brick chimney looms above you. You're at the southeast corner of the
Floyd | square rooftop -- the door you came out of is to the west, an
Floyd | overgrown garden patch is to the northwest. You can also go north,
Floyd | though there's nothing that interesting there.
Floyd |
Floyd | Big brother Anton is here, his beefy arms crossed as he gazes at the
Floyd | city.
Floyd |
Floyd | Anton mumbles something about exploring and sets off towards the
Floyd | northeast corner.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | Near the base, the cracked brick provides enough finger and toe holds
Floyd | to climb to...
Floyd |
Floyd | Rooftop, halfway up the chimney
Floyd | Anton looks up, arms folded and nodding approvingly like he's your
Floyd | supervisor or something.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

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

Floyd | (upward)
Floyd | A darkish sky, a few clouds here and there.
Floyd |
Floyd | Anton looks up, arms folded and nodding approvingly like he's your
Floyd | supervisor or something.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | The brick chimney looks to be the oldest part of the building. On the
Floyd | upper part of the chimney there's a faded graffiti tag -- a circle
Floyd | with a cross within it.
Floyd |
Floyd | Anton yells some climbing tips from below, which you ignore.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | You try to climb further up, but you can't find any more suitable
Floyd | finger and toe holds.
Floyd |
Floyd | Down below you, Anton shades his eyes and watches you.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | You will have to be more specific about what you want to use the Claw
Floyd | with.
Floyd |
Floyd | Anton yells some climbing tips from below, which you ignore.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | Nothing obvious happens.
Floyd |
Floyd | Anton looks up, arms folded and nodding approvingly like he's your
Floyd | supervisor or something.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

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

Floyd | Your attempt to take the chimney with the Claw makes you look as silly
Floyd | as Anton.
Floyd |
Floyd | Down below you, Anton shades his eyes and watches you.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | You climb down, dropping the last couple of feet to...
Floyd |
Floyd | Rooftop, at the base of the chimney
Floyd | You can see Anton here, hitching up his pants.
Floyd |
Floyd | Anton is hiding behind the smokestack. Why, or from whom, you couldn't
Floyd | say.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | The visible exits are north, northwest, west and up (to rooftop,
Floyd | halfway up the chimney).
Floyd |
Floyd | Anton is leaning against the chimney, trying to look cool.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd |
Floyd | Rooftop, garden patch
Floyd | Like a lot of buildings renovated in the 1990s, it's got a small
Floyd | garden patch. Fifty years later, it's still doing its best to hide the
Floyd | grey concrete and metal beneath. But it comes off as a bit of a green
Floyd | toupee in comparison to the entirely organic, silk-lined wooden
Floyd | skyscrapers they're building today in Mumbai and Shanghai.
Floyd |
Floyd | Judging by the rows of unruly plants, it's been a while since this
Floyd | garden was actively farmed. The access door is to the south, the
Floyd | chimney is to the southeast and there's an empty corner to the east.
Floyd |
Floyd | Off in the distance, Anton is making a sad attempt to climb the
Floyd | chimney, but stops when he sees you watching.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | You move some the dense foliage out of the way, revealing two rows of
Floyd | short, bulbous vegetables separated by a plank.
Floyd |
Floyd | Over a bit, Anton is leaning against the chimney, trying to look cool.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | There's a lot of the squat shiny cucumbers.
Floyd |
Floyd | Across the rooftop, Anton is hiding behind the smokestack. Why, or
Floyd | from whom, you couldn't say.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | Half-submerged in the ground, the plank is about a dozen feet long.
Floyd |
Floyd | Off in the distance, Anton is making a sad attempt to climb the
Floyd | chimney, but stops when he sees you watching.
Floyd |
Floyd | >
Floyd | You take one of the vegetables. It's heavier than you would have
Floyd | expected, and sits comfortably in the palm of your hand like it was
Floyd | designed to do so.
Floyd |
Floyd | Over a bit, Anton is leaning against the chimney, trying to look cool.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | You try, but the plank is stuck too solidly in the ground for your
Floyd | skinny arms to move.
Floyd |
Floyd | Across the rooftop, Anton is making a sad attempt to climb the
Floyd | chimney, but stops when he sees you watching.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | Anton hears you and trots over. "What? Did you find some silk?"
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | Anton leans over and pulls at the edge of the plank. It moves a bit,
Floyd | but then he gives up with a shrug. It's irritating, because you know
Floyd | he's strong enough. When he's angry he's liable to break everything in
Floyd | sight -- you saw him uproot a tree once.
Floyd |
Floyd | Anton looks at you like you're joking, but when you're not smiling he
Floyd | gets flustered.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | Anton leans over and pulls at the edge of the plank. It moves a bit,
Floyd | but then he gives up with a shrug. It's irritating, because you know
Floyd | he's strong enough. When he's angry he's liable to break everything in
Floyd | sight -- you saw him uproot a tree once.
Floyd |
Floyd | Anton looks at you like you're joking, but when you're not smiling he
Floyd | gets flustered.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | (the vegetable)
Floyd | It looks like a hand-sized football-shaped cucumber. The skin is a bit
Floyd | shiny, and as you tilt it in the light you see it's got a hologo of
Floyd | some sort -- a circle with a cross design --  you recognize it as
Floyd | being the same one from the chimney.
Floyd |
Floyd | Anton's mouth is moving and his eyes are glassy. Suddenly he throws
Floyd | his arms into the air and runs in a victory circle.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd |
Floyd | Rooftop, northeast corner
Floyd | There's a great view of the city from here -- from this distance, if
Floyd | you squint, you can't really tell most of the buildings have been
Floyd | stripped and abandoned. You know that's why Anton's always trying to
Floyd | get you guys to collect up on the rooftops, even though they've mostly
Floyd | been picked clean years ago -- so he can stare at his precious Tower.
Floyd |
Floyd | At the northernmost edge of the building you can see the street below,
Floyd | which you recognize as the place where you entered the building. The
Floyd | garden patch is to the west, the chimney is to the south and the exit
Floyd | door is southwest.
Floyd |
Floyd | Off in the distance, Anton thinks he sees a bug in the dirt, but it's
Floyd | just a pebble.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | You're about to, but at the last minute something stops you from
Floyd | biting into the taut green skin. There's something... weird about it.
Floyd |
Floyd | Across the rooftop, Anton pretends to shovel some dirt in his attempt
Floyd | at anti-farmer satire.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | The city looks prettier at twilight, when you can't see the busted
Floyd | windows and the fireblackened walls. The Tower, aside from the
Floyd | structural damage, is pretty well off, since the windows at the top
Floyd | are intact -- high enough to ward off the most determined looters. So
Floyd | far.
Floyd |
Floyd | For some reason, the arachnoids tended to nest in high areas, and
Floyd | there's nowhere higher than the Tower. Even twenty years after the
Floyd | giant mutant spiders died out silk collectors like your brother are
Floyd | still hell-bent on getting the legendary deposits they left on top of
Floyd | the pod.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

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

Floyd |
Floyd | Rooftop, by the exit
Floyd | To the west you can see a nearby building, about the same height as
Floyd | the one you're on.
Floyd |
Floyd | The garden patch is north, the chimney is east and the empty corner is
Floyd | northeast.
Floyd |
Floyd | The concrete stairwell exit is a rectangle protruding at least fifteen
Floyd | feet from the rooftop, its only feature a closed metal door.
Floyd |
Floyd | For (probably ill-advised) reasons of his own, Anton heads to the
Floyd | garden.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | It's a rectangular cube sticking up out of the tarmac like a big white
Floyd | robot tooth. It's featureless except for the outline of a door, and
Floyd | the door is handleless.
Floyd |
Floyd | Anton comes by, patting his belly. He notices you looking at the door.
Floyd |
Floyd | "Don't worry, Toph," he says. "I put the bag --"
Floyd |
Floyd | His face falls when he looks at the door.
Floyd |
Floyd | "I..." He stares at the handleless door. "Toph, you gotta believe me,
Floyd | I wedged the bag in there real good. I don't..."
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | There's no handle on this side.
Floyd |
Floyd | Anton pounds the locked door and yells for help, even though the two
Floyd | of you had walked up the six flights of stairs without seeing another
Floyd | soul.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | It's similar to the one you're on, except that the exit door is
Floyd | hanging off its hinges. Instead of a garden there's a faded billboard
Floyd | for a long forgotten movie. Given its alphanumeric website address
Floyd | it's a few decades old at least.
Floyd |
Floyd | There's probably a ten foot gap between the buildings.
Floyd |
Floyd | "I bet I could jump that," Anton says, doing some leg stretches.
Floyd |
Floyd | "You bet your life?" you say, pointing to the ground below.
Floyd |
Floyd | Anton stops doing leg stretches.
Floyd |
Floyd | Anton's slumped down on the ground. "OK. We need a plan." He looks at
Floyd | you hopefully.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

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

Floyd | Anton nods, but clearly he wasn't listening.
Floyd |
Floyd | Anton's still nervous, his eyes wide and his nostrils occasionally
Floyd | flaring.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | (the access door)
Floyd | Anton seems less freaked out.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | Anton punches the door and then immediately regrets it.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd |
Floyd | Rooftop, garden patch
Floyd | There's a plank between the rows of plants.
Floyd |
Floyd | You can also see a row of vegetables here.
Floyd |
Floyd | For (probably ill-advised) reasons of his own, Anton heads to the exit
Floyd | door.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | You're not really close enough to Anton to do that. Might want to call
Floyd | him over first, or follow him.
Floyd |
Floyd | Over a bit, Anton is sitting on the ground. He's discovered that the
Floyd | tarmac is slightly soft and is pressing his hand into it to make a
Floyd | print.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | Anton hears you and trots over. "What? Did you think of a plan?"
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | Anton leans over and pulls at the edge of the plank. It moves a bit,
Floyd | but then he gives up with a shrug. It's irritating, because you know
Floyd | he's strong enough. When he's angry he's liable to break everything in
Floyd | sight -- you saw him uproot a tree once.
Floyd |
Floyd | Anton looks at you like you're joking, but when you're not smiling he
Floyd | gets flustered.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | "You thinking what I'm thinking?" Anton says. "We can chop it up and
Floyd | sell it on the chopstick market!"
Floyd |
Floyd | >

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

Floyd | What do you want to dig the plants with?
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | That's a precision instrument -- you shudder to think what Harry would
Floyd | say if you got it all clogged up with dirt.
Floyd | Your attempt to dig the garden with the Claw makes Anton snicker.
Floyd |
Floyd | Anton is kicking the foliage, making a mess.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | It makes you think about that girl at the market who's always
Floyd | encouraging you to come down to help out on their farm. But no, Anton
Floyd | would never go for that.
Floyd |
Floyd | Anton's mouth is moving and his eyes are glassy. Suddenly he throws
Floyd | his arms into the air and runs in a victory circle.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

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

Floyd | You're wearing a striped sleeveless top, identical to your brother's
Floyd | except for the bush of chest hair he has coming out the top of his.
Floyd | Your chin has also refused to sprout anything that isn't embarrassing.
Floyd |
Floyd | You are carrying a vegetable, the containment unit (being worn and
Floyd | empty) and the Claw.
Floyd |
Floyd | Anton thinks he sees a bug in the dirt, but it's just a pebble.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | Knocking some sense into your brother is tempting, but you know from
Floyd | experience that it's a waste of time.
Floyd |
Floyd | Anton pretends to shovel some dirt in his attempt at anti-farmer
Floyd | satire.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | (the vegetable at Anton)
Floyd | Convincing yourself that an old fashioned food fight will let off some
Floyd | steam, you throw the veggie at Anton. It smashes into his chest, and
Floyd | -- disturbingly -- grey-green vines burst forth from the mess at a
Floyd | shocking speed to encircle your brother.
Floyd |
Floyd | There's a moment where he's tied up as effectively as if with rope,
Floyd | and then his stunned expression starts to darken.
Floyd |
Floyd | Anton's arms strain. "No... trap... from a stupid FARMER," bursting
Floyd | through the tendrils, "...can hold a Karrento!"
Floyd |
Floyd | The vines fall off of him into a pile at his feet and begin to rot.
Floyd |
Floyd | Anton's still mad, kicking at the tarmac.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | He funnels his rage into pulling the plank free of the dirt in a cloud
Floyd | of dust!
Floyd |
Floyd | Anton picks up the plank.
Floyd |
Floyd | Anton seems to have cooled down.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | You grab another of the cucumbery vegetables.
Floyd |
Floyd | Anton's mouth is moving and his eyes are glassy. Suddenly he throws
Floyd | his arms into the air and runs in a victory circle.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd |
Floyd | Rooftop, at the base of the chimney
Floyd | Off in the distance, Anton is kicking the foliage, making a mess.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | Leaving your hand like a green oblong snowball, it smacks into the
Floyd | chimney and sends out its viney tendrils around and around the
Floyd | structure until the tough vines cover the surface.
Floyd |
Floyd | Anton strolls by and lets out a low whistle. "Those farmers are
Floyd | getting trickier every year."
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | Near the base, the cracked brick provides enough finger and toe holds
Floyd | to climb to...
Floyd |
Floyd | Rooftop, halfway up the chimney
Floyd | Anton looks up, arms folded and nodding approvingly like he's your
Floyd | supervisor or something.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | The latticework of vines helps you scale the surface...
Floyd |
Floyd | Rooftop, top of the chimney
Floyd | You're on the lip of the chimney, the inside of which has been mostly
Floyd | bricked up.
Floyd |
Floyd | You can see the whole rooftop from here.
Floyd |
Floyd | Inside an alcove you spot a small amount of spider silk.
Floyd |
Floyd | Down below you, Anton shades his eyes and watches you.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | It's white, with just a tiny bit of a shimmer in certain lights. Weird
Floyd | to think it'll end up in some organic skyscraper in Asia somewhere,
Floyd | reinforcing a wooden beam or strut.
Floyd |
Floyd | Down below you, Anton shades his eyes and watches you.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | Silk's reactive with organic substances, which is why it's so valuable
Floyd | for reinforcing building materials. If you're wondering how reactive,
Floyd | you only have to look at Harry's friend Two-Fingers Nancy.
Floyd |
Floyd | "Toph, you see any of the white stuff up there? We gotta get us some
Floyd | spizz..." Anton calls from below.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | Carefully you pinch the silk with the Claw and gently wind the strands
Floyd | around. Harry gives you a slightly better price for it when it's in
Floyd | one piece and free of debris.
Floyd |
Floyd | You put it into the containment unit and engage the lock. Success!
Floyd |
Floyd | "Toph, you see any of the white stuff up there? We gotta get us some
Floyd | spizz..." Anton calls from below.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | You take a moment to appreciate the view before you climb down, to
Floyd | appreciate the lack of Anton's inane chatter that fills every moment
Floyd | of every day.
Floyd |
Floyd | Something about the top of the access door cube across the rooftop
Floyd | catches your eye. It seems to have a bulge.
Floyd |
Floyd | Down below you, Anton shades his eyes and watches you.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | You have to squint to see it across the rooftop -- it's easy to miss,
Floyd | being white-on-white, but you realize that the top of the access door
Floyd | cube has a lump of spider silk.
Floyd |
Floyd | You've never seen a deposit that big. It's like, good-ol-days big.
Floyd |
Floyd | Down below you, Anton shades his eyes and watches you.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd |
Floyd | Rooftop, halfway up the chimney
Floyd | Anton looks up, arms folded and nodding approvingly like he's your
Floyd | supervisor or something.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | The visible exits are up (to rooftop, top of the chimney) and down (to
Floyd | rooftop, at the base of the chimney).
Floyd |
Floyd | Anton looks up, arms folded and nodding approvingly like he's your
Floyd | supervisor or something.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | You climb down, dropping the last couple of feet to...
Floyd |
Floyd | Rooftop, at the base of the chimney
Floyd | Anton is here.
Floyd |
Floyd | Anton is hiding behind the smokestack. Why, or from whom, you couldn't
Floyd | say.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd |
Floyd | Rooftop, garden patch
Floyd | You can see a rotting mess and a row of vegetables here.
Floyd |
Floyd | For (probably ill-advised) reasons of his own, Anton heads to the exit
Floyd | door.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | As you grab another veggie Anton gives you a poke in the bum and you
Floyd | drop it into the patch.
Floyd |
Floyd | It explodes, and the vegetable it hit explodes, and so on around the
Floyd | patch until all the vegetables are gone.
Floyd |
Floyd | Anton shakes his head and wanders off. "Smooth as silk, Toph. Smooth.
Floyd | As. Silk."
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | You're not really close enough to Anton to do that. Might want to call
Floyd | him over first, or follow him.
Floyd |
Floyd | Over a bit, Anton is examining the exit door minutely.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | Anton hears you and trots over. "What? Did you think of a plan?"
Floyd |
Floyd | Anton squeezes you on the shoulder. "Nice grab!" You go on to tell him
Floyd | about the much larger cache you've spotted. His eyes grow bigger and
Floyd | bigger until you think they might pop out of his head.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | You're wearing a striped sleeveless top, identical to your brother's
Floyd | except for the bush of chest hair he has coming out the top of his.
Floyd | Your chin has also refused to sprout anything that isn't embarrassing.
Floyd |
Floyd | You are carrying the Claw and the containment unit (being worn),
Floyd | inside which is a small amount of spider silk.
Floyd |
Floyd | Anton points off to another point of the rooftop. "Gonna see what I
Floyd | can see," he says as he walks away. "Just give a call when you need
Floyd | me."
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | Your brother Anton is a broad shouldered, bearded fellow with long
Floyd | tangled brown hair and eyes with a tendency to wander. His features
Floyd | are relaxed and calm.  Like you, he's wearing the typical clothes of a
Floyd | silk collector, including the identical striped sleeveless top. He has
Floyd | a plank.
Floyd |
Floyd | Across the rooftop, Anton appears to be negotiating with the door, but
Floyd | it doesn't seem to be going well.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | It's about a dozen feet long.
Floyd |
Floyd | Off in the distance, Anton appears to be negotiating with the door,
Floyd | but it doesn't seem to be going well.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd |
Floyd | Rooftop, by the exit
Floyd | Anton is here.
Floyd |
Floyd | The concrete stairwell exit is a rectangle protruding at least fifteen
Floyd | feet from the rooftop, its only feature a closed metal door.
Floyd |
Floyd | Anton is examining the exit door minutely.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | It's too high to jump to, and the cube's surface has no climbable
Floyd | nooks and crannies.
Floyd |
Floyd | Anton punches the door and then immediately regrets it.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | Anton gives the plank to you.
Floyd |
Floyd | Anton is sitting on the ground. He's discovered that the tarmac is
Floyd | slightly soft and is pressing his hand into it to make a print.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

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

Floyd | You like climbing for climbing's sake, but even so you don't see the
Floyd | point of that.
Floyd |
Floyd | Anton farts, pretends you did it, and then heads off, shooting back
Floyd | disgusted looks from the garden.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | You do your best, leaning the plank against the wall of the fifteen
Floyd | foot cube. Then Anton wanders by and notices what you're up to. "You
Floyd | could just climb me, Toph, I'm way more useful than that stupid
Floyd | farmer's plank."
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | To free your hands for climbing a bit, you drop the plank.
Floyd | With ease that you've had since childhood, you scramble up your
Floyd | brother's body and end up standing on his shoulders. The body memory
Floyd | makes you recall, with a twinge, how proud your parents were of this
Floyd | ability when you were a toddler.
Floyd |
Floyd | The top of the exit cube is now only a few inches from your
Floyd | fingertips.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | You'd rather leave it in the containment unit, unless you have some
Floyd | specific idea of what you'd like to do with it.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

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

Floyd | That's not something you can enter.
Floyd |
Floyd | Anton shifts and looks up with a pained look, and since you're not
Floyd | doing anything you decide to climb down off his shoulders.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | You climb Anton, amazed at his pungent smell given that you'd bathed
Floyd | just yesterday. One of his many mysteries.
Floyd |
Floyd | The top of the exit cube is now only a few inches from your
Floyd | fingertips.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | You bend your knees and with a jump you get your fingers hooked around
Floyd | the ridge of the roof. Anton goes sprawling, but a few seconds later
Floyd | you've pulled yourself up to...
Floyd |
Floyd | Rooftop, on top of the exit cube
Floyd | The top of the access door structure is a bit weathered but solid,
Floyd | holding you easily. You can go down from here.
Floyd |
Floyd | You half-think the silk is a trick of the light, but no. Here it is. A
Floyd | big sticky lump of spider silk.
Floyd |
Floyd | Down below you, Anton shades his eyes and watches you.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | (the large amount of spider silk with the Claw)
Floyd | You use the Claw to stuff the container full of silk. You've never
Floyd | filled the container before. You can't wait to see the look on Harry's
Floyd | face -- you'll be able to eat for weeks on this. You close the
Floyd | container.
Floyd |
Floyd | Anton looks up, arms folded and nodding approvingly like he's your
Floyd | supervisor or something.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd |
Floyd | Rooftop, by the exit
Floyd | Anton is here.
Floyd |
Floyd | The concrete stairwell exit is a rectangle protruding at least fifteen
Floyd | feet from the rooftop, its only feature a closed metal door.
Floyd |
Floyd | You can also see a plank here.
Floyd |
Floyd | Anton appears to be negotiating with the door, but it doesn't seem to
Floyd | be going well.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | Taken.
Floyd |
Floyd | Anton is examining the exit door minutely.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | It's similar to the one you're on, except that the exit door is
Floyd | hanging off its hinges. Instead of a garden there's a faded billboard
Floyd | for a long forgotten movie. Given its alphanumeric website address
Floyd | it's a few decades old at least.
Floyd |
Floyd | There's probably a ten foot gap between the buildings.
Floyd |
Floyd | Anton wanders off to the northeast corner.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | The plank now provides a very narrow escape route to the west.
Floyd |
Floyd | Off in the distance, Anton is staring at the sky, a goofy grin on his
Floyd | face.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | Anton arrives at Rooftop, garden patch from the east.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | Channelling your tightrope-walking ancestors, you place one foot in
Floyd | front of the other, trying not to think about--
Floyd |
Floyd | CRACK
Floyd |
Floyd | --you've never backstepped this fast but it might not be fast enough
Floyd | but then Anton grabs you in a big bear hug and pulls you to safety.
Floyd |
Floyd | Rooftop, by the exit (in Anton's bear hug)
Floyd | To the west you can see a nearby building, about the same height as
Floyd | the one you're on.
Floyd |
Floyd | The garden patch is north, the chimney is east and the empty corner is
Floyd | northeast.
Floyd |
Floyd | On the nearby building is a plank.
Floyd |
Floyd | The concrete stairwell exit is a rectangle protruding at least fifteen
Floyd | feet from the rooftop, its only feature a closed metal door.
Floyd |
Floyd | "TOPH!" At first you think you're shaking, but then you realize it's
Floyd | Anton.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | It's about a dozen feet long with a crack in the middle.
Floyd |
Floyd | Anton's eyes are darting around fearfully, he's muttering "Careful,
Floyd | careful careful..."
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | What hasn't been bleached by the sun has been soaked through by the
Floyd | rain. But you can just make out the URL: www.ghostswithshitjobs.com.
Floyd |
Floyd | You give your brother a squeeze and a pat on the back and the
Floyd | catatonic look leaves his face. He looks at you happily and then
Floyd | shakes you, pushes you away.
Floyd |
Floyd | The plank is still in one piece, barely. You lean over to pull it in
Floyd | but seeing the pavement below gives you a sick fantasy of having your
Floyd | brains spread over them. You take a few stumbling steps back from the
Floyd | edge and sit on the tarmac.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | I only understood you as far as wanting to pull the plank.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | It's too lightweight a tool for that.
Floyd |
Floyd | Anton sees what you're trying to do and pulls in the plank himself.
Floyd |
Floyd | "That was a close one, Toph. Geez. The closest."
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | Anton nods. "I could make that jump easy, Toph. But then where would
Floyd | that leave you?"
Floyd |
Floyd | Anton looks at you like you're joking, but when you're not smiling he
Floyd | gets flustered.
Floyd |
Floyd | The plank sticks up where it's cracked and Anton stomps it flat.
Floyd |
Floyd | "You shoulda tied off. Collectors die every day from being stupid."
Floyd |
Floyd | "Tied off?" you say, "With the rope in the bag YOU LOST?!" The
Floyd | familiar rage you feel at your brother burns away the last of nausea
Floyd | in your belly.
Floyd |
Floyd | "No," he says with a sullen kick at the tarmac.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | Don't fiddle about with the SCU. It's for spider silk-related things
Floyd | only.
Floyd |
Floyd | Anton's still nervous, his eyes wide and his nostrils occasionally
Floyd | flaring.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | Which do you mean, the large amount of spider silk or the small amount
Floyd | of spider silk?
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | You lay it over the length of the wood, making sure to cover the
Floyd | crack. It hisses and smokes dramatically, the wood blackening wherever
Floyd | the white fibre makes contact.
Floyd |
Floyd | Blinking the smoke from your eyes, you panic that it's the wrong kind
Floyd | of wood -- but the hissing has stopped.
Floyd |
Floyd | Anton looks at the board and at you with a baffled look on his face.
Floyd |
Floyd | Anton seems less freaked out.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | Your brother Anton is a broad shouldered, bearded fellow with long
Floyd | tangled brown hair and eyes with a tendency to wander. His features
Floyd | are relaxed and calm.
Floyd |
Floyd | Anton punches the door and then immediately regrets it.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | It's about a dozen feet long with a crack in the middle and shiny
Floyd | black veins where the silk has reacted with it.
Floyd |
Floyd | Anton wanders off to the exit door.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | There's a ten foot gap. You could always climb pretty much anything,
Floyd | but long jump was never your strong suit.
Floyd |
Floyd | Anton is sitting on the ground. He's discovered that the tarmac is
Floyd | slightly soft and is pressing his hand into it to make a print.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | You need to be holding the plank before you can put it on top of
Floyd | something else.
Floyd |
Floyd | Anton appears to be negotiating with the door, but it doesn't seem to
Floyd | be going well.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | Taken.
Floyd |
Floyd | Anton is sitting on the ground. He's discovered that the tarmac is
Floyd | slightly soft and is pressing his hand into it to make a print.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | The plank now provides a very narrow escape route to the west.
Floyd |
Floyd | Anton is examining the exit door minutely.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | You look back at your brother. "OK, Anton. I'll go across first to
Floyd | make sure it's safe. Then you."
Floyd |
Floyd | Anton looks anxious. "I don't think so, Toph. I mean, you almost got
Floyd | turned into sidewalk jam the last time. Can't you just go down and
Floyd | open the the door from the inside?"
Floyd |
Floyd | It's a bad idea to leave your brother alone. The last time you left
Floyd | Anton by himself he got his pinky finger stuck in a pipe so bad he
Floyd | ended up sleeping with it for a week. But it's obvious he's not going
Floyd | to go across in this nervous state. You need to get his mind off the
Floyd | danger.
Floyd |
Floyd | Anton punches the door and then immediately regrets it.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | You've gotta show Anton something that'll take his mind off the very
Floyd | real chance of death first.
Floyd |
Floyd | Anton farts, pretends you did it, and then heads off, shooting back
Floyd | disgusted looks from the northeast corner.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | Which do you mean, the large amount of spider silk or the small amount
Floyd | of spider silk?
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | Anton flips open the container and his eyes bug out of his head when
Floyd | he sees how much silk there is. "Wha--"
Floyd |
Floyd | Anton is blazing with excitement, all anxieties forgotten.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | Before you step out onto the plank, you look back at your brother.
Floyd | "Now we gotta be extremely careful with--"
Floyd |
Floyd | Anton makes a contemptuous sound. "Careful!?! If we were careful we
Floyd | never would have gotten trapped on a roof and made the score of the
Floyd | century," Anton raves, his face beaming. "Let's go! I can't wait to
Floyd | see Harry's face!"
Floyd |
Floyd | He pushes you to the side and strides out onto the plank.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | Time passes.
Floyd |
Floyd | Half way across, right on the crack, he turns around and looks at you
Floyd | with his big, puppy-dog eyes.
Floyd |
Floyd | He raises his arms in the air. "Take that, Pachenkos! You can't trap
Floyd | the Karrento Brothers!"
Floyd |
Floyd | Not wanting to draw attention to the incredible danger he's in, you
Floyd | just raise your arms and try to smile.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | Time passes.
Floyd |
Floyd | Anton throws his head back and guffaws, then walks safely to the other
Floyd | end of the plank.
Floyd |
Floyd | "C'mon Toph, let's go blow Harry's mind!"
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | You cross the plank -- still totally stable, the spizz really works --
Floyd | and join your brother.
Floyd |
Floyd | Arm in arm, you head down the stairs, chanting "KAR-REN-TO!"
Floyd |
Floyd | Heading to Harry's to cash in your silk, you pass the alley between
Floyd | the buildings where you could have fallen to your death. You look
Floyd | away, not willing to face what could have happened, and instead
Floyd | clamber up on your brother's shoulders. You grab his thick mane of
Floyd | hair as he starts to gallop like a horse, just like when you were
Floyd | kids.
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd |     *** You have won ***
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd | Would you like to RESTART, RESTORE a saved game or QUIT?
Floyd | >

Floyd | Please give one of the answers above.
Floyd |
Floyd | Would you like to RESTART, RESTORE a saved game or QUIT?
Floyd | >

Floyd |

Floyd | Welcome to the Cheap Glk Implementation, library version 0.9.0.
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd | [pausing to show unread error message]

Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd |                Display Help Menu           :     M
Floyd |                Start Game -                :   [SPACE]
Floyd |                           - from Saved     :     R
Floyd |                Exit Game                   :     Q

Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | Conciousness is slowly returning...
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | Something inside is telling you to wake up. Part of your mind says
Floyd | "Sunrise approaches."
Floyd |
Floyd | Underneath your dream you feel a deep shiver... It is a chime, the
Floyd | bell of a clock-tower. Another follows, and another. You count them,
Floyd | fully awake suddenly, counting them down. Six. Five. Four. Three.
Floyd |
Floyd | Your eyes close, and your stomach tightens in anticipation. The sheets
Floyd | around you feel very safe.
Floyd |
Floyd | Two. One.
Floyd |
Floyd | The first ray of sunlight lances through the slats in the
Floyd | window-blind. It strikes your eyes, and you feel yourself go.
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd |

Floyd | [Press any key]
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd |                     [Please press SPACE to begin.]

Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd | Standing on tip-toes.
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd | Scaffold in the City Square
Floyd | Your head is pulled back, held by the rope pressing on your throat.
Floyd | Your toes pivot on a rickety stool, which shakes as your legs shake.
Floyd | The crowd filling the square are chattering like monkeys, but they are
Floyd | just flits of colour in the corners of your eyes. You cannot look
Floyd | round - instead you gaze straight across the Square, to the great dial
Floyd | of the Clock.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | Are you sure you want to quit?

Floyd |

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 |
Floyd | Useful information about the game is contained in the "hint" menu.
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd |    Coming over the crest of the thickly wooded hill, you see the
Floyd | decrepit shack that has always been your home.  Your long walks
Floyd | through the Appalachian hills usually help clear your mind.  You had
Floyd | hoped that the throbbing, insistent pain behind your eyes would go
Floyd | away with this one.  You still don't want to admit it, but this pain
Floyd | is exactly how it felt the last two times.  You better get your
Floyd | camera.  After all, this is why you bought it.
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd | Hill Top
Floyd |    You are on the top of the hill just south of your house, standing
Floyd | ankle deep in autumn leaves.  The path you are walking on leads to the
Floyd | south.  Your trusty thinking stump is right beside the path here.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | You have many fond memories of sitting on this stump in the dappled
Floyd | shade and contemplating life.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | You sit, but all of your thoughts focus on the pain in your head and
Floyd | how much worse that pain will get if you don't get out to the clearing
Floyd | soon.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

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

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

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

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

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

Floyd | You're not going anywhere until you get off of the stump.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | You push to your feet.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | Back Door
Floyd |    The peeling paint reveals the low quality lumber used to build this
Floyd | house.  You've noticed that the house groans and protests more every
Floyd | winter.  In many ways, you're amazed it has survived this long.  The
Floyd | screen door leans against the house, having pulled free of the rotting
Floyd | door frame several months ago.  There is a huge patch of weeds to the
Floyd | northwest that used to be a garden.  The back door is to the north,
Floyd | and the path back over the hill leads south.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | It's too far away.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | In a total of 7 turns, you have achieved a score of 0 points out of a
Floyd | possible 200.
Floyd |
Floyd | Do you really want to quit?  (YES or NO) >

Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd | Watch the skies!

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 |
Floyd | Useful information about the game is contained in the "hint" menu.
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd |    Coming over the crest of the thickly wooded hill, you see the
Floyd | decrepit shack that has always been your home.  Your long walks
Floyd | through the Appalachian hills usually help clear your mind.  You had
Floyd | hoped that the throbbing, insistent pain behind your eyes would go
Floyd | away with this one.  You still don't want to admit it, but this pain
Floyd | is exactly how it felt the last two times.  You better get your
Floyd | camera.  After all, this is why you bought it.
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd | Hill Top
Floyd |    You are on the top of the hill just south of your house, standing
Floyd | ankle deep in autumn leaves.  The path you are walking on leads to the
Floyd | south.  Your trusty thinking stump is right beside the path here.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | Back Door
Floyd |    The peeling paint reveals the low quality lumber used to build this
Floyd | house.  You've noticed that the house groans and protests more every
Floyd | winter.  In many ways, you're amazed it has survived this long.  The
Floyd | screen door leans against the house, having pulled free of the rotting
Floyd | door frame several months ago.  There is a huge patch of weeds to the
Floyd | northwest that used to be a garden.  The back door is to the north,
Floyd | and the path back over the hill leads south.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | You dread going past what's left of your garden in order to get to
Floyd | your well.  The weeds stand tall in the cool fall air, mocking you.
Floyd |
Floyd | The pain in your head gets much worse, whether from getting a closer
Floyd | look at you garden or from the impending 'visit', you aren't sure.  It
Floyd | goes away when you return to the back door.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | It's too far away.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | You and Maybel planted the garden together in the spring, before your
Floyd | headaches started.  After the headaches and the visits started, you
Floyd | picked what you could and let the rest go to seed.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

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

Floyd | Your house is to the north, and the path is to the south.  There's no
Floyd | sense in plundering through the woods until it's absolutely necessary.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | As you grab the doorknob, the pain in your head gets worse.  You rub
Floyd | the bridge of your nose, hoping that will help.  It doesn't.  You
Floyd | don't have much time now, so you press into the house.
Floyd |
Floyd | "Is your headache gone?"  Maybel turns from the sink to look at you.
Floyd | Soapy water drips from the ends of her fingers as she looks at you
Floyd | carefully, taking in your shaking hands, the wild look in your eyes.
Floyd | Her fingers clench.  "When you asked me to move in with you, we made
Floyd | some ground rules.  I don't talk about your dad, and you don't act
Floyd | like him.  No you-ef-ohs and no skits-o-frenia, right?  I've been
Floyd | holdin' up my end.  Where the hell is yours?" She swears and turns
Floyd | back to the sink.
Floyd |
Floyd | Kitchen
Floyd |    Your tiny kitchen barely has room for you and Maybel, let alone
Floyd | your small appliances.  The living room is to the north, and the back
Floyd | door is south.
Floyd |    Maybel is washing dishes.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | Living Room
Floyd |    This is really the only room in your house that seems somewhat
Floyd | homey.  The plywood floor is mostly covered by a large throw rug.  The
Floyd | wood-burning stove casts a cheery glow on the sagging couch and the
Floyd | coffee table overflowing with books.  The front door leads north, your
Floyd | bedroom is to the west, and the kitchen is to the south.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | Bedroom
Floyd |    This is the only bedroom in the house.  Once you shared it with
Floyd | your parents.  Then you had it to yourself when your mom moved out and
Floyd | your dad went to the asylum.  Now you share it with Maybel.  Clothes
Floyd | and the old mattress that you use as a bed mostly cover the dirty
Floyd | plywood floor.  There is one meticulously clean spot near the bed,
Floyd | reserved for the camera and the pictures. The living room is back
Floyd | east.
Floyd |    You see a Polaroid camera, a photo, and a set of grainy pictures
Floyd | here.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

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

Floyd | Taken.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | This is the one photo that you managed to take the last time this
Floyd | happened.  You couldn't take pictures when "it" was overhead because
Floyd | of all of the wild, incomprehensible thoughts they sent screaming
Floyd | through your brain.  They let go of your mind only when you were
Floyd | almost unconscious.  The ship started moving off over the tree-tops.
Floyd | You managed to get the polaroid up to snap a picture of the receding
Floyd | light through the branches of the trees.  It's not enough to convince
Floyd | anyone else, but it might be enough for you.  Something to help you
Floyd | believe that you're not as crazy as your father-- if your father
Floyd | really is crazy.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | Every time you look at these pictures you think of your father giving
Floyd | the film to you.  He was home just to pick up some clothes before the
Floyd | sheriff drove him out to the asylum.  He pulled the undeveloped roll
Floyd | out from under the mattress and pressed it into your hand, saying,
Floyd | "Believe.  You're my son.  They'll come for you too."  That was ten
Floyd | years ago.  The developed pictures are blurred and grainy, but
Floyd | unmistakably the same thing that has already visited you twice.
Floyd | Judging from the pain in your head, a third visit is on the way.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | Living Room
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | Kitchen
Floyd |    Maybel is washing dishes.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | Okay, now in VERBOSE mode.
Floyd | Kitchen
Floyd |    Your tiny kitchen barely has room for you and Maybel, let alone
Floyd | your small appliances.  The living room is to the north, and the back
Floyd | door is south.
Floyd |    Maybel is washing dishes.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | "Oh, go take yer pictures in the woods," Mabel spits the words at you,
Floyd | "Maybe you can sell 'em to the Nah-shun-el En-choir-er!"  She snorts.
Floyd | "Wouldn't that be funny.  You makin' money off this.  Ha!"
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | Assuming you haven't lost your grip on reality, you are Isaiah Knott,
Floyd | a twenty-seven year old man from the Appalachian mountains.  You are
Floyd | wearing your comfortable jeans, a thick flannel shirt, and hiking
Floyd | boots.
Floyd |
Floyd | You have a hellishly bad headache that's threatening to get worse.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | This is your treasured camera, the thing that will (hopefully) prove
Floyd | your sanity-- at least to yourself.  You had to save up for a month
Floyd | before you could buy it.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | Living Room
Floyd |    This is really the only room in your house that seems somewhat
Floyd | homey.  The plywood floor is mostly covered by a large throw rug.  The
Floyd | wood-burning stove casts a cheery glow on the sagging couch and the
Floyd | coffee table overflowing with books.  The front door leads north, your
Floyd | bedroom is to the west, and the kitchen is to the south.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | Looking at the books reminds you of meeting Maybel at the library.
Floyd | When you first started dating her you were both reading every trashy
Floyd | thriller and spy novel you could get your hands on, often over the
Floyd | other's shoulder.  Recently, though, you've started getting more and
Floyd | more books about UFO's and mental health.  Your reading material has
Floyd | slowly diverged until now you have two completely separate piles of
Floyd | books, encamped on opposite ends of the coffee table.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | You pick up one of the mental health books and open it.  The letters
Floyd | are blurred, and trying to push your eyes into focus aggravates the
Floyd | pain behind your nose.  The best thing for your mental health right
Floyd | now is to get you camera and get out to the clearing.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | You pick up one of the mental health books and open it.  The letters
Floyd | are blurred, and trying to push your eyes into focus aggravates the
Floyd | pain behind your nose.  The best thing for your mental health right
Floyd | now is to get you camera and get out to the clearing.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

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

Floyd | Kitchen
Floyd |    Your tiny kitchen barely has room for you and Maybel, let alone
Floyd | your small appliances.  The living room is to the north, and the back
Floyd | door is south.
Floyd |    Maybel is washing dishes.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | Back Door
Floyd |    The peeling paint reveals the low quality lumber used to build this
Floyd | house.  You've noticed that the house groans and protests more every
Floyd | winter.  In many ways, you're amazed it has survived this long.  The
Floyd | screen door leans against the house, having pulled free of the rotting
Floyd | door frame several months ago.  There is a huge patch of weeds to the
Floyd | northwest that used to be a garden.  The back door is to the north,
Floyd | and the path back over the hill leads south.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | Hill Top
Floyd |    You are on the top of the hill just south of your house, standing
Floyd | ankle deep in autumn leaves.  The path you are walking on leads to the
Floyd | south.  Your trusty thinking stump is right beside the path here.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | Path
Floyd |    This is the path that most of your walks follow.  In general, your
Floyd | walks are more pleasant than this one is turning out to be.  The path
Floyd | curves off to the southwest, but you know that if you don't head for
Floyd | the clearing to the southeast, the pain will start making you throw
Floyd | up.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd |
Floyd |    You plunge off of the beaten path through the underbrush.  The pain
Floyd | in your head pushes you through a blur of brambles and branches.  Your
Floyd | body presses on even after your will has given up, as if it were
Floyd | possible to outrun this spike of pain.  Droplets of water spattering
Floyd | your face bring you around long enough to realize that you've just
Floyd | splashed through a wide, shallow stream.  There isn't one within miles
Floyd | of your house.
Floyd |
Floyd |    It's only when your legs give out completely and you end up
Floyd | sprawled on a grassy clearing that you realize the pain has stopped:
Floyd | you've arrived.  The "ship" is already here, hovering about 30 feet up
Floyd | and quietly humming.  Amazingly, they aren't clouding your thoughts
Floyd | like they did the last two times. You roll onto your back, bring the
Floyd | polaroid up, and start photographing the ship between labored breaths.
Floyd | The mechanical whine of your Polaroid drowns out the gentle hum of the
Floyd | ship.  Picture after picture comes spewing out of the camera's mouth.
Floyd |
Floyd |    The fatigue from running catches up with you, forcing your head
Floyd | back into the thick grass.  Once your head is relaxed, there isn't
Floyd | much keeping your eyelids open.  You find yourself relaxing into
Floyd | darkness.  As your conciousness recedes, you start to feel things
Floyd | crawling into your hair, crawling in and you need to lift your head,
Floyd | lift your head up right now and push out of the darkness, get away
Floyd | from the things crawling in your hair, lift your head and
Floyd |
Floyd | wake up.
Floyd |
Floyd |    You blink your eyes, and see that you're in a hospital ward.  Even
Floyd | after getting up, it takes you several moments to realize that this
Floyd | can't possibly be a hospital.  There's no bed, no instruments-- no
Floyd | doors, for that matter.  There is only blinding whiteness and
Floyd | sterility all around you.
Floyd |
Floyd | White Room
Floyd |    The room is of uniform whiteness, and far too bright.  The air
Floyd | tastes odd; perhaps it is the lack of any detectable odors that makes
Floyd | it strange.
Floyd |
Floyd | A deep breath brings in a faint hint of nervous sweat-- your own.  At
Floyd | least you can smell something.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | There is just the faintest hint of nervous sweat about you.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

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

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

Floyd | You're already standing!
Floyd |
Floyd | A section of one wall turns to a thick white mist.  An alien steps
Floyd | through the mist, which becomes seamless wall again.  The alien raises
Floyd | its slender hand, palm toward you.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

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

Floyd | You strike at the alien, but your blows are stopped by an invisible
Floyd | force.  The alien shakes its head and steps through the wall.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | (Undoing one command)
Floyd |
Floyd | White Room
Floyd |    The room is of uniform whiteness, and far too bright.  The air
Floyd | tastes odd; perhaps it is the lack of any detectable odors that makes
Floyd | it strange.
Floyd |
Floyd |    An alien is here.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

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

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

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

Floyd | The alien stands and blinks its large eyes for a few seconds.  Finally
Floyd | you see its mouth curl into a tiny smile and its head bobs politely.
Floyd |
Floyd | The alien gestures to its right, and a yellow square slides out of the
Floyd | wall and hovers by its hand.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | If ever there were a perfectly two dimensional object, this would be
Floyd | it.  It looks like someone has found a way to apply yellow paint
Floyd | directly onto a square swatch of thin air.
Floyd |
Floyd | The alien is repeatedly opening and closing its tiny mouth and
Floyd | patiently gesturing with its delicate arms.  First it points to the
Floyd | yellow square, then it points to its own mouth, and repeats.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | The yellow square doesn't appear appetizing.
Floyd |
Floyd | The alien is repeatedly opening and closing its tiny mouth and
Floyd | patiently gesturing with its delicate arms.  First it points to the
Floyd | yellow square, then it points to its own mouth, and repeats.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

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

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

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

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

Floyd | You should say what you want to say in double quotes, for example, SAY
Floyd | "HELLO".
Floyd |
Floyd | The alien moves toward you and gently pushes your jaw up and down
Floyd | before retreating again and pointing at the square.  It seems the
Floyd | alien wants you to say something.  Something about the square,
Floyd | probably.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | I suppose you can talk to it, but it can't hear you.
Floyd |
Floyd | The alien is repeatedly opening and closing its tiny mouth and
Floyd | patiently gesturing with its delicate arms.  First it points to the
Floyd | yellow square, then it points to its own mouth, and repeats.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | As soon as the word 'yellow' leaves your mouth, you can feel the flesh
Floyd | on your scalp tingle and crawl in lazy waves down to the nape of your
Floyd | neck.  The alien gently turns the yellow square around an invisible
Floyd | vertical axis.  The other side is red.
Floyd |
Floyd | The alien is repeatedly opening and closing its tiny mouth and
Floyd | patiently gesturing with its delicate arms.  First it points to the
Floyd | red square, then it points to its own mouth, and repeats.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | The alien cocks its head as though listening.  It shakes its head.
Floyd | Apparently, you didn't say what it wanted to hear.
Floyd |
Floyd | The alien is repeatedly opening and closing its tiny mouth and
Floyd | patiently gesturing with its delicate arms.  First it points to the
Floyd | red square, then it points to its own mouth, and repeats.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | The same tingling sensation washes over your head.  The alien turns
Floyd | the square again, but now the other side is blue.  Odd.
Floyd |
Floyd | The alien is repeatedly opening and closing its tiny mouth and
Floyd | patiently gesturing with its delicate arms.  First it points to the
Floyd | blue square, then it points to its own mouth, and repeats.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | It feels like an army of millipedes is wending through your hair.  The
Floyd | colored square slips silently back into the wall, and a gray sphere
Floyd | slides out in its place.
Floyd |
Floyd | The alien is repeatedly opening and closing its tiny mouth and
Floyd | patiently gesturing with its delicate arms.  First it points to the
Floyd | gray sphere, then it points to its own mouth, and repeats.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | You can't decide whether the tingling on your scalp is relaxing or
Floyd | annoying.  It certainly makes you think that there's something on your
Floyd | head besides your hair.  The alien pushes down on the sphere, which
Floyd | sprouts points and becomes a pyramid.
Floyd |
Floyd | The alien is repeatedly opening and closing its tiny mouth and
Floyd | patiently gesturing with its delicate arms.  First it points to the
Floyd | gray pyramid, then it points to its own mouth, and repeats.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | The prickles spread out on your head.  The alien pushes on the
Floyd | pyramid, causing its top point to flattens and spread, turning it into
Floyd | a cube.
Floyd |
Floyd | The alien is repeatedly opening and closing its tiny mouth and
Floyd | patiently gesturing with its delicate arms.  First it points to the
Floyd | gray cube, then it points to its own mouth, and repeats.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | The alien cocks its head as though listening.  It shakes its head.
Floyd | Apparently, you didn't say what it wanted to hear.
Floyd |
Floyd | The alien is repeatedly opening and closing its tiny mouth and
Floyd | patiently gesturing with its delicate arms.  First it points to the
Floyd | gray cube, then it points to its own mouth, and repeats.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | As the final mass of tingles complete their journey across your scalp,
Floyd | the alien politely bows toward you.  The gray shape vanishes the same
Floyd | way that it came.
Floyd |
Floyd | Three colored shapes rise up out of the floor and hover in front of
Floyd | you.  A large green button blossoms at your feet.  The alien holds up
Floyd | its hand, as if to say 'Patience'.  It presses the green button, and
Floyd | looks at the three multi-colored spots that briefly spin around its
Floyd | head.  Then the alien gets lost in a bizarre sequence of pushing and
Floyd | turning the shapes, making them change shape and color.  Every now and
Floyd | then it presses the green button again and looks thoughtfully at the
Floyd | spots that momentarily appear.
Floyd |
Floyd | It turns one last shape with a decisive flair, and pushes the green
Floyd | button.  The three spots that appear are all green, and a part of the
Floyd | wall dissolves into mist.  The alien makes a final bow towards you and
Floyd | walks through the misty doorway, which solidifies behind it.
Floyd |
Floyd | The three shapes buck and spin, resetting themselves.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

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

Floyd | Which shapes do you mean, the red cube on the left, the yellow sphere
Floyd | in the middle, or the blue pyramid on the right?
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | A soft red light effuses from the floating cube.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | White Room
Floyd |    The room is of uniform whiteness, and far too bright.  The air
Floyd | tastes odd; perhaps it is the lack of any detectable odors that makes
Floyd | it strange.
Floyd |
Floyd | There are three floating shapes and a large green button in the floor.
Floyd |    You see a red cube on the left, a yellow sphere in the middle, and
Floyd | a blue pyramid on the right here.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | It is a sturdy green button set in the floor.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | A green spot, a yellow spot and a black spot twirl into existence.
Floyd | They dance about your head for a moment, and then spin out of sight.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

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

Floyd | You tug on the cube, trying to pull it out of its appointed spot.  It
Floyd | refuses to budge, although it seems like you could turn it or push it.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | Poking the red cube on the left doesn't seem to have any effect.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | As you push down on the cube, its sides bulge and its corners vanish.
Floyd | When you let up it settles back into place as a sphere.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | Which sphere do you mean, the red sphere on the left, or the yellow
Floyd | sphere in the middle?
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | You grab the floating sphere and turn it.  It seems to click into
Floyd | place, changing the color from red to yellow.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | White Room
Floyd |    The room is of uniform whiteness, and far too bright.  The air
Floyd | tastes odd; perhaps it is the lack of any detectable odors that makes
Floyd | it strange.
Floyd |
Floyd | There are three floating shapes and a large green button in the floor.
Floyd |    You see a yellow sphere on the left, a yellow sphere in the middle,
Floyd | and a blue pyramid on the right here.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

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

Floyd | You grab the floating sphere and turn it.  It seems to click into
Floyd | place, changing the color from yellow to blue.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | You grab the floating sphere and turn it.  It seems to click into
Floyd | place, changing the color from blue to red.
Floyd |
Floyd | >
Floyd | You grab the floating sphere and turn it.  It seems to click into
Floyd | place, changing the color from red to yellow.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | You grab the floating sphere and turn it.  It seems to click into
Floyd | place, changing the color from yellow to blue.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | You grab the floating sphere and turn it.  It seems to click into
Floyd | place, changing the color from blue to red.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | A green spot, a red spot, and a black spot twirl into existence.  They
Floyd | dance about your head for a moment, and then spin out of sight.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | A green spot, a red spot, and a black spot twirl into existence.  They
Floyd | dance about your head for a moment, and then spin out of sight.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | Which shape do you mean, the red sphere on the left, the yellow sphere
Floyd | in the middle, or the blue pyramid on the right?
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | You grab the floating pyramid and turn it.  It seems to click into
Floyd | place, changing the color from blue to red.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | A green spot and two yellow spots twirl into existence.  They dance
Floyd | about your head for a moment, and then spin out of sight.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

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

Floyd | You grab the floating sphere and turn it.  It seems to click into
Floyd | place, changing the color from yellow to blue.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | A yellow spot, a red spot, and a black spot twirl into existence.
Floyd | They dance about your head for a moment, and then spin out of sight.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | You grab the floating sphere and turn it.  It seems to click into
Floyd | place, changing the color from blue to red.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | You grab the floating sphere and turn it.  It seems to click into
Floyd | place, changing the color from red to yellow.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | A green spot and two yellow spots twirl into existence.  They dance
Floyd | about your head for a moment, and then spin out of sight.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | As you push down on the sphere, four points start growing out of its
Floyd | smooth surface.  When you let up it settles back into place as a
Floyd | pyramid.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | Two green spots and a red spot twirl into existence.  They dance about
Floyd | your head for a moment, and then spin out of sight.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | As you push down on the pyramid, its edges begin to flow and multiply.
Floyd | When you let up it settles back into place as a cube.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | Three green spots twirl into existence.  They dance about your head
Floyd | for a moment, and then spin out of sight.  The tingles are
Floyd | particularly intense and cover your entire skull before fading.  A
Floyd | part of the wall dissolves into mist, forming a doorway out.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | Okay, "O frabjous day!  Callooh!  Callay!".
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | You step through the door, which promptly disappears.  It takes you a
Floyd | few seconds to adjust to the scene around you.  Eventually, the
Floyd | message gets through to your brain that something is terribly,
Floyd | terribly wrong.
Floyd |
Floyd | Hill Top
Floyd |    You are on the top of the hill just south of your house, surrounded
Floyd | by trees and spring-time air.  The familiar path beneath your feet
Floyd | leads south, just like it always has.  A thick fog in the distance
Floyd | obscures a normally beautiful view of the surrounding hilltops.
Floyd | There's something subtly wrong with the whole situation, but you can't
Floyd | quite put your finger on it-- something about the trees.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | You stare at the trees for a long time before you realize what's
Floyd | wrong.  Even though the surface of the trees looks rough, their edges
Floyd | are perfectly smooth.  It's as though someone took a smooth cylinder
Floyd | and pasted a picture of rough bark on top of it.
Floyd |
Floyd | As you get caught up in this discovery, you almost fail to notice the
Floyd | initials carved into one of the prominent trees near the path.  A tree
Floyd | that you don't remember at all.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | This tree stands precisely on the spot where your thinking stump
Floyd | should be.  As you look at the tree, and the initials carved in it,
Floyd | you can almost feel a glimmer of recognition in the back of your mind,
Floyd | but you're still too befuddled by the loss of your stump.  Worse yet,
Floyd | there's no good place to sit and think about this.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

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

Floyd | The initials are the classic lovers pair, wrapped in a heart:
Floyd |
Floyd |            P. K.
Floyd |              +
Floyd |            E. M.
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd | Peter Knott and Esther Minnow.  Mom and Dad.  The ten year old memory
Floyd | pushes its way to the front of your mind:  Mom tearfully packing her
Floyd | few things, Dad alternately yelling at her and pleading with her.  It
Floyd | wasn't until Aunt Betty picked her up and they drove out of sight that
Floyd | it really hit Dad.  He took an axe out the back door and attacked the
Floyd | tree that had witnessed his proposal to her.  It was a thick tree.
Floyd | Curses and saliva kept flying out of his mouth in an almost constant
Floyd | stream as he kept chopping.  You couldn't bear to watch him and took a
Floyd | long walk through the woods, but it didn't help.  The relentless
Floyd | chopping echoed off of the hilltop like rifle fire.  It was a couple
Floyd | hours later that you heard the tree fall.
Floyd |
Floyd | After he went to the asylum, you sawed off all of the splinters and
Floyd | turned the stump into a seat.  Now, amazingly, it's a tree once
Floyd | again-- initials and all.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

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

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

Floyd | You stand still and carefully listen to the woods.  No birds are
Floyd | singing, no leaves are rustling.  The trees are still and silent.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | Back Porch
Floyd |    The building to the north looks far too good to be your house.  It
Floyd | sports new aluminum siding and shingles; the screen door is in place
Floyd | and freshly painted.  Off to the northwest, the garden is an explosion
Floyd | of color.  The path through the woods leads back south.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | Garden
Floyd |    The garden that you let go to weed is flourishing here.  Tulips add
Floyd | color to the first greens of the vegetables pushing up through the
Floyd | ground.  The well is here, surrounded by flowers.  The front of the
Floyd | house is to the northeast and the back is to the southeast.
Floyd |    You see a broken hoe here.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

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

Floyd | It is painfully obvious that the hoe is broken beyond repair.  The
Floyd | break in the middle of the handle is completely smooth; it looks sawed
Floyd | through, not broken.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | You can't have the garden.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

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

Floyd | Taken.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | Back Porch
Floyd |    The building to the north looks far too good to be your house.  It
Floyd | sports new aluminum siding and shingles; the screen door is in place
Floyd | and freshly painted.  Off to the northwest, the garden is an explosion
Floyd | of color.  The path through the woods leads back south.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | The screen door doesn't even squeak.  Amazing.
Floyd |
Floyd | Kitchen
Floyd |    The kitchen is just as small as you remember, but completely
Floyd | renovated, just like the outside of the house.  The appliances and the
Floyd | linolium on the floor are new.  There's a space-saving microwave oven
Floyd | installed above the range.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | Your eyes try to take stock of the familiar-yet-not living room, but
Floyd | they are instead immediately drawn to the figure on the couch, who
Floyd | rises and walks toward you, hand extended.  "Isaiah!  You're here!
Floyd | Let me have a look at you!"
Floyd |
Floyd | Your brain reels.  It's your father, looking exactly like he did
Floyd | before he went insane ten years ago.
Floyd |
Floyd | "You've really grown up, huh?  Having to take care of your mom these
Floyd | past couple months?  Well, now that they've got you too, maybe this
Floyd | testing will go faster.  They'll take us home soon.  Have a seat."  He
Floyd | resumes his place on the couch.
Floyd |
Floyd |
Floyd | Click.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | You try to make a little polite conversation, but with a ten-year gulf
Floyd | and who knows what else between you, awkward silences dominate your
Floyd | conversation.  Soon you give up.
Floyd |
Floyd | Click.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

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

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

Floyd | You listen carefully for the noise, and eventually determine that it's
Floyd | coming from your dad.  You watch him attentively, and see that the
Floyd | noise happens when he blinks.  It's kind of like the clicking of a
Floyd | camera shutter.
Floyd |
Floyd | Click.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

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

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

Floyd | Your father's face is a memory come true.  He is almost precisely the
Floyd | man taken to the asylum ten years ago-- except his eyes have lost
Floyd | their spark.  He looks complacent and lifeless.
Floyd |
Floyd | Click.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

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

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

Floyd | It is painfully obvious that the hoe is broken beyond repair.  The
Floyd | break in the middle of the handle is completely smooth; it looks sawed
Floyd | through, not broken.
Floyd |
Floyd | Click.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | With all the other changes, it really shouldn't bother you that the
Floyd | front door works and leads down nice concrete steps to the yard and
Floyd | driveway.  It gives you the willies anyway.
Floyd |
Floyd | Driveway
Floyd |    The lawn is freshly mowed, the north side of the house looks just
Floyd | as good as the south side, and off to the southwest, the garden is a
Floyd | prize winner.
Floyd |    You see a big, blue Pontiac here.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | The old, familiar Pontiac sits in the driveway.  It looks to be in
Floyd | pretty good shape, considering you sold it to the scrap yard four
Floyd | years ago.  The keys are in the ignition.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | Living Room
Floyd |    The living room is tastefully decorated.  Plush wall-to-wall
Floyd | carpeting soothes your feet while your eyes marvel at the new sofa and
Floyd | coffee table.  The wood-burning stove is the only real reminder of the
Floyd | house you live in.  The front door to the north opens out on the
Floyd | driveway, the sparkly new kitchen is to the south, and the bedroom is
Floyd | west.
Floyd |    Your dad is sitting on the couch.
Floyd |
Floyd | Click.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | You grapple with your father, who pushes who back with incredible
Floyd | strength.  "What the hell was that for?"
Floyd |
Floyd | Click.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | (Undoing one command)
Floyd |
Floyd | Living Room
Floyd |    The living room is tastefully decorated.  Plush wall-to-wall
Floyd | carpeting soothes your feet while your eyes marvel at the new sofa and
Floyd | coffee table.  The wood-burning stove is the only real reminder of the
Floyd | house you live in.  The front door to the north opens out on the
Floyd | driveway, the sparkly new kitchen is to the south, and the bedroom is
Floyd | west.
Floyd |    Your dad is sitting on the couch.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | Driveway
Floyd |    The lawn is freshly mowed, the north side of the house looks just
Floyd | as good as the south side, and off to the southwest, the garden is a
Floyd | prize winner.
Floyd |    You see a big, blue Pontiac here.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | You can't go that way.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | Okay, you're now in the big, blue Pontiac.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | You'll have to get out of the big, blue Pontiac first.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd |
Floyd |    You begin to follow the gravel road towards town simply because
Floyd | that seems like the best place to go.  It doesn't take long for you to
Floyd | realize that you don't have a choice.  The view of the road in front
Floyd | of you is unobstructed, but about fifty feet off the road on either
Floyd | side is a thick, opaque fog.  You turn off on one of the side streets,
Floyd | thinking, "It's only fog."  When the car pushes into the fog, you
Floyd | literally cannot see anything beyond the car itself.  You nudge the
Floyd | car forward at about five miles per hour, and eventually see a trace
Floyd | of road in front of you.  With your eyes fixed on the line down the
Floyd | middle of the road, you slowly accelerate until the fog starts to
Floyd | lift.  Looking up, you see that you're back on the road heading into
Floyd | town.
Floyd |
Floyd |    Resignedly, you follow the road into town.  If you were expecting
Floyd | to be comforted by the sight of other people, you remain unconsoled.
Floyd | No one else is driving on the streets, no one is out walking.  The few
Floyd | houses brave enough to stick out of the fog are all dark and silent.
Floyd | The marked path of road comes to a stop right in front of Pop's
Floyd | market.  You park in the prime two-hour spot right in front of the
Floyd | store.  There doesn't seem to be a lot of competition for it.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | Outside Pop's, in the big, blue Pontiac
Floyd |    Now that you're at the end of the road, the fog has spread out just
Floyd | enough to give you a taste of town.  What you can see is exactly like
Floyd | you remember it, perhaps a little cleaner, a bit newer.  Pop's store
Floyd | stands before you to the south, and the library sits regally to the
Floyd | north, the two real landmarks of Springfield.
Floyd |    You see a big, blue Pontiac here.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

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

Floyd | You can't reach that from the big, blue Pontiac.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | Outside Pop's
Floyd |    Now that you're at the end of the road, the fog has spread out just
Floyd | enough to give you a taste of town.  What you can see is exactly like
Floyd | you remember it, perhaps a little cleaner, a bit newer.  Pop's store
Floyd | stands before you to the south, and the library sits regally to the
Floyd | north, the two real landmarks of Springfield.
Floyd |    You see a big, blue Pontiac here.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | The Pop's isn't important.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | It's too far away.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | You head towards the library, not quite sure what you're looking for,
Floyd | but hopeful that you'll find something useful.  You stride up the
Floyd | steps, pull the door open, and come up against a wall of fog, just
Floyd | beyond the doorway.  Holding your arms out in front of you, you press
Floyd | into the fog, but you still end up coming back out of the library.
Floyd | You retreat to Pop's stoop.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | Inside Pop's
Floyd |    The comforting familiarity of Pop's storefront vanishes when you
Floyd | enter.  All of the aisles are barren and empty.  The candy display
Floyd | visible from outside is conspicuously absent.  The only reason you
Floyd | have to think that this is actually Pop's store is a young-looking Pop
Floyd | standing behind the counter.
Floyd |
Floyd | Pop looks at you and grins.  "Howdy, Isaiah!  Looks like you got on
Floyd | board okay."  He takes in your slack-jawed expression for a moment.
Floyd | "I 'spose you're wonderin' how old Pop got himself on board this ship
Floyd | when you probably saw him just a couple of days ago in town, lookin' a
Floyd | lot older.  The answer is that I ain't Pop, just a robot that looks
Floyd | and acts a lot like him.
Floyd |    "I'm tellin' you this up front so you won't think I'm trying to
Floyd | hide stuff from you.  We tried not telling your dad right away, but
Floyd | when he figured it out, boy was he sore!  He still won't come into
Floyd | town.
Floyd |    "Anyhow, I'm here to help you out.  I'll tell you everything I
Floyd | know, but I warn you now that I don't know everything.  If anything
Floyd | breaks, bring it to me and I'll try to fix it.  'Kay?"
Floyd |    Pop is standing behind the counter.
Floyd |
Floyd | Click.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

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

Floyd | Pop takes the pieces of the broken hoe and looks them over.  "Broke
Floyd | again, eh?  That's only the fourth time this month.  I think our hosts
Floyd | are finally startin' to realize that they just can't make good tools
Floyd | with their fields.  Lucky for you, they picked up an actual hoe when
Floyd | they got you.  Only costs a crystal duck."
Floyd |
Floyd | Click.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

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

Floyd | "To tell you the truth, our hosts are gettin' a bit worried about him.
Floyd | When he first looked like he was down in the dumps, they figured it
Floyd | was just the stress of the asylum and what-not.  They figured out how
Floyd | to make him forget all about that, but he still doesn't seem up to his
Floyd | old self, you know?  That's one of the big reasons they started
Floyd | talkin' to you.  Maybe you can snap him out of it."
Floyd |
Floyd | Click.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

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

Floyd | You carefully watch Pop to make sure.  Yep, he clicks when he blinks.
Floyd |
Floyd | Click.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | "A little curious about your 'hosts', eh?  Well, it seems to me
Floyd | they're a pretty friendly bunch, but that they can't figure out how we
Floyd | think.  I think all this abduction nonsense is designed to get us
Floyd | where they can figure us out. They've got more of a hive mind, if you
Floyd | know what I mean."
Floyd |
Floyd | Click.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

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

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

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

Floyd | "Haven't seen the duck yet?  Well, it's at the fork in the path behind
Floyd | your house.  Of course you'll have to figure out how to get it on your
Floyd | own."
Floyd |
Floyd | Click.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | Outside Pop's
Floyd |    Now that you're at the end of the road, the fog has spread out just
Floyd | enough to give you a taste of town.  What you can see is exactly like
Floyd | you remember it, perhaps a little cleaner, a bit newer.  Pop's store
Floyd | stands before you to the south, and the library sits regally to the
Floyd | north, the two real landmarks of Springfield.
Floyd |    You see a big, blue Pontiac here.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | Okay, you're now in the big, blue Pontiac.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | It's a relief to be driving out of town.  There usually aren't a lot
Floyd | of people at your house, so at least you can pretend that things are
Floyd | normal when you don't see any.
Floyd |
Floyd | Eventually you pull in the driveway.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | Driveway
Floyd |    The lawn is freshly mowed, the north side of the house looks just
Floyd | as good as the south side, and off to the southwest, the garden is a
Floyd | prize winner.
Floyd |    You see a big, blue Pontiac here.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | Living Room
Floyd |    The living room is tastefully decorated.  Plush wall-to-wall
Floyd | carpeting soothes your feet while your eyes marvel at the new sofa and
Floyd | coffee table.  The wood-burning stove is the only real reminder of the
Floyd | house you live in.  The front door to the north opens out on the
Floyd | driveway, the sparkly new kitchen is to the south, and the bedroom is
Floyd | west.
Floyd |    Your dad is sitting on the couch.
Floyd |
Floyd | Click.
Floyd |
Floyd | >
Floyd | Kitchen
Floyd |    The kitchen is just as small as you remember, but completely
Floyd | renovated, just like the outside of the house.  The appliances and the
Floyd | linolium on the floor are new.  There's a space-saving microwave oven
Floyd | installed above the range.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | Back Porch
Floyd |    The building to the north looks far too good to be your house.  It
Floyd | sports new aluminum siding and shingles; the screen door is in place
Floyd | and freshly painted.  Off to the northwest, the garden is an explosion
Floyd | of color.  The path through the woods leads back south.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | Hill Top
Floyd |    You are on the top of the hill just south of your house, surrounded
Floyd | by trees and spring-time air.  The familiar path beneath your feet
Floyd | leads south, just like it always has.  A thick fog in the distance
Floyd | obscures a normally beautiful view of the surrounding hilltops.  You
Floyd | are surrounded by artificial trees.  One of them has initials carved
Floyd | into it.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | The path leads north and south here.
Floyd |
Floyd | >
Floyd | Path Bend
Floyd |    The wooded path curves to the southwest here.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | Path Bend
Floyd |    The wooded path curves to the southwest here.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | Woods
Floyd |    This is the major hub of this path.  It splits to the south and
Floyd | west, and taking either fork will eventually get you back here from
Floyd | from the other direction.  Right at the forking of the path is a huge,
Floyd | menacing contraption.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | The large metal contraption is fairly straightforward in design.  It
Floyd | has a platform that comes up to your chest, supporting a hollow,
Floyd | transparent cylinder.  It also has an axe, connected to a large,
Floyd | tightly wound spring arm, ready to sweep horizontally across the top
Floyd | of the cylinder.  Presumably, the purpose of the axe is to discourage
Floyd | the theft of the beautiful crystalline duck, resting serenely in the
Floyd | cylinder.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

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

Floyd | You reach into the cylinder, wondering how good of an idea this is.
Floyd | You lift the duck, and you simultaneously hear a mechanical chuff and
Floyd | feel your forearm explode in pain.  You grab at the axe with your
Floyd | other hand, and pull it back far enough to let your arm escape with
Floyd | the duck.  The bruise is already becoming visible.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | (Undoing one command)
Floyd |
Floyd | Woods
Floyd |    This is the major hub of this path.  It splits to the south and
Floyd | west, and taking either fork will eventually get you back here from
Floyd | from the other direction.  Right at the forking of the path is a huge,
Floyd | menacing contraption.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

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

Floyd | You reach into the cylinder, wondering how good of an idea this is.
Floyd | You lift the duck, and you simultaneously hear a mechanical chuff and
Floyd | feel your forearm explode in pain.  You grab at the axe with your
Floyd | other hand, and pull it back far enough to let your arm escape with
Floyd | the duck.  The bruise is already becoming visible.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | Which arm do you mean, the spring arm, or the bruise on your arm?
Floyd |
Floyd | >

Floyd | Every time you look at it, the bruise on your arm seems to have spread
Floyd | a little more.  The yellowish edge grows more pronounced, and the
Floyd | blacks, blues and purples have deepened.
Floyd |
Floyd | >

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