  
 
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 Starborn, written by Juhana Leinonen. Starborn was part of the seventieth collection of Speed IFs (can you believe it?). You can learn more about all the games in the Even Newer New Year's Speed, including how to download them, by visiting the ifWiki.WARNING! Below you will find a transcript of people playing this game, and it goes without saying that the transcript is full of spoilers. So, if you've never played this game, and think you might like to at some point, I do not recommend reading any further. Instead, you might want to return to the interactive fiction page. |
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| Tale says (to Floyd), "load starborn" | ||||
Floyd | Welcome to the Cheap Glk Implementation, library version 0.9.0. Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | The story you are about to play uses a keyword interface. Whenever you Floyd | see a word in upper case you can type it on the command prompt to Floyd | advance the story. Floyd | Floyd | Whenever you wish to see the list of currently available keywords, Floyd | type LIST or L. Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Please press SPACE to continue. | EmacsUser claps enthusiastically. | |||
| Roger arrives, full of funk, but no fun. | ||||
| EmacsUser pushes the green 'space' button. | ||||
Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | STARBORN Floyd | by Juhana Leinonen Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | It's quiet, as always. I've turned the MUSIC off so that it doesn't Floyd | bother my COUSIN's sleep. A long day of travel and WEIGHTLESSNESS has Floyd | exhausted him. Floyd | Floyd | The door leads out to the HALLWAY. Floyd | Floyd | > | Tale asks (of nitku), "Do we need a driver?" | |||
| Nitku says, "nah." | ||||
| Tale says (to Floyd), "music" | ||||
Floyd | The computer has a comprehensive library of movies, music, books and Floyd | games. They have been just about the only available entertainment on Floyd | the MAGELLAN. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||||
| Roger says (to floyd), "STARBORN" | ||||
Floyd | [That is not a keyword the story recognizes.] Floyd | Floyd | > | ||||
| Roger says, "Oh" | ||||
| Gerynar says (to Floyd), "cousin" | ||||
Floyd | Kevin is my cousin. We were born a month apart, but he was born on Floyd | Earth and I was born on board the MAGELLAN millions of kilometers Floyd | away. He has never been in space before. Floyd | Floyd | We live on a different day rhythm so it would already be way past Floyd | midnight at his home. That and my neverending questions about Earth Floyd | have tired him up, so I let him sleep on my BED. Floyd | Floyd | > | Nitku says, "ha ha" | |||
| Nitku says (to Roger), "touche" | ||||
| Roger says, "Just thinking outside the box" | ||||
| EmacsUser says (to Floyd), "weightlessness" | ||||
Floyd | It does seem very limiting that on Earth you can't just go wherever Floyd | you want if there's something blocking your path. You are bound to a Floyd | single direction. You can only use a single side of a room Floyd | effectively, whereas here you can--and must--use every available Floyd | surface to your advantage. Floyd | Floyd | There was a time when I considered gravity my nemesis that kept me Floyd | from going home. Then I came to realize how insane it is to hate a Floyd | force of nature and directed my energy to more tangible things. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||||
| Tale says (to Floyd), "bed" | ||||
Floyd | Kevin wanted to try the zero-g bed. It has a mattress and a blanket Floyd | that's attached to both of the long sides which keeps you in place. My Floyd | dad has told stories how he found it almost impossible to sleep in one Floyd | for the first few nights, but Kevin fell asleep instantly. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||||
| Tale says (to Floyd), "magellan" | ||||
Floyd | Mom was pregnant when we left for EPSILON ERIDANI. I was born when we Floyd | were already far away from Earth. The Magellan has been my home and my Floyd | prison ever since. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||||
| EmacsUser says (to Floyd), "epsilon eridani" | ||||
Floyd | The best thing about the Epsilon Eridani system was that it was at Floyd | least something new. Other than that, just some rocks and gas planets. Floyd | Floyd | > | Tale says (to nitku), "I guess Alpha Centauri is just not cool enough anymore." | |||
| Tale says (to Floyd), "l" | ||||
Floyd | [Available keywords: ME and HALLWAY] Floyd | Floyd | > | Gerynar exclaims, "Epsilon Eridani is also the home star system of Spock!" | |||
| Gerynar says (to Floyd), "me" | ||||
Floyd | Mom says I'm starborn--she says I'm special. Who ever said I want to Floyd | be special? Floyd | Floyd | > | ||||
| EmacsUser says (to Floyd), "hallway" | ||||
Floyd | I push myself to speed and enter the hallway. Floyd | Floyd | I'm in the hallway outside MY ROOM. Further down the hallway are the Floyd | SICK BAY and EXERCISE ROOM. Going the other way I can go to DOCKING Floyd | STATION into which the Magellan is docked. Floyd | Floyd | > | Binder asks, "how did we get outside of our prison?" | |||
| EmacsUser says, "Well, we're not out. We're just in a different room." | ||||
| Tale says (to Floyd), "sick bay" | ||||
Floyd | The sick bay is DR. STREPKE's kingdom. I have no business there now, Floyd | so I just stay where I am. Floyd | Floyd | > | Binder says, "oic" | |||
| EmacsUser says (to Floyd), "dr. strepke" | ||||
Floyd | Dr. Strepke says my body's immune system hasn't been accustomed to Floyd | Earth's BACTERIA and viruses. If I went down there I'd contact "every Floyd | disease known and unknown to man". I would have to wear an airtight Floyd | protective suit all the time. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||||
| EmacsUser says (to Floyd), "bacteria" | ||||
Floyd | "Mother Earth is much like the human body," Dr. Strepke once said. "It Floyd | does everything in its power to protect what belongs there--and fights Floyd | with all its fury against anything that doesn't." Floyd | Floyd | Needless to say I have done my best to avoid Dr. Strepke since then. Floyd | Floyd | > | Roger says, "What a ham" | |||
| Gerynar says (to Floyd), "l" | ||||
Floyd | [Available keywords: MY ROOM, EXERCISE ROOM and DOCKING STATION] Floyd | Floyd | > | ||||
| Tale says (to Floyd), "exercise room" | ||||
Floyd | Nothing you do in weightlessness really requires any strength, so the Floyd | crew of the Magellan use the EXERCISE EQUIPMENT to keep their muscles Floyd | from deteriorating. In addition to all the gym gadgets there's a Floyd | full-body MIRROR. Floyd | Floyd | Kevin's JACKET is floating around the room. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||||
| Tale says (to Floyd), "mirror" | ||||
Floyd | The mirror is used to teach me how to walk properly. They make me look Floyd | at myself while I fumble on the treadmill. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||||
| EmacsUser says (to Floyd), "jacket" | ||||
Floyd | Kevin wanted to try the EXERCISE EQUIPMENT and took the jacket off. Floyd | It's an Earth jacket and doesn't have the magnetic strips that would Floyd | keep it in place, so it's floating freely around the room. Floyd | Floyd | A CARD is sticking out the front pocket. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||||
| Tale says (to Floyd), "card" | ||||
Floyd | Looks like the card is Kevin's passport. I pull it out from the pocket Floyd | and take it with me. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||||
| Tale says (to Floyd), "equipment" | ||||
Floyd | I have to train as well. Twice as much as the others. I use the Floyd | standard equipment and the WALKING TRAINER. People living on Earth are Floyd | lucky enough to have gravity train their muscles automatically. I need Floyd | to exercise actively to get any kind of muscle mass. Floyd | Floyd | It's of not much use, though. There is no training equipment for the Floyd | HEART muscle. Floyd | Floyd | > | Binder says, "oh you earth people with your magnet-free clothing" | |||
| EmacsUser says (to Floyd), "heart" | ||||
Floyd | On Earth your heart has to fight against the gravity to keep blood Floyd | flowing inside your body. In space it doesn't need to work nearly as Floyd | hard. If you grow up in weightlessness the heart doesn't get the Floyd | exercise and never grows very strong. Floyd | Floyd | They say my heart would fail if I ever went to Earth, but they are Floyd | wrong. My heart will break if I never get home. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||||
| EmacsUser says (to Floyd), "walking" | ||||
Floyd | I have never learned to walk the natural way. Or even actually walked. Floyd | There's no need for it aboard the Magellan. You just float to wherever Floyd | you want to go. Floyd | Floyd | The walking trainer is a treadmill that has a harness attached to Floyd | vertical bars with elastic exercise bands. The bands pull you towards Floyd | the treadmill, simulating gravity. Mom made me practice every day when Floyd | I was younger. If I can never go to Earth anyway, why bother? Floyd | Floyd | > | ||||
| Binder says (to Floyd), "l" | ||||
Floyd | [Available keywords: MIRROR, HALLWAY and PASSPORT] Floyd | Floyd | > | ||||
| Gerynar says (to Floyd), "passport" | ||||
Floyd | I'm carrying with me Kevin's passport. It has a picture of him and his Floyd | personal information on it. Floyd | Floyd | They say me and Kevin look very much alike. Maybe there's something to Floyd | it. Floyd | Floyd | > | Binder says, "I think I smell a scheme" | |||
| EmacsUser nods. | ||||
| EmacsUser says, "This is a good plot for a speed IF." | ||||
| Tale asks, "We need to find the wizard to give us a heart?" | ||||
| EmacsUser says, "Haha." | ||||
| Tale says (to Floyd), "l" | ||||
Floyd | [Available keywords: MIRROR and HALLWAY] Floyd | Floyd | > | ||||
| Tale says (to Floyd), "hallway" | ||||
Floyd | I push myself to speed and enter the hallway. Floyd | Floyd | I'm in the hallway outside MY ROOM. Further down the hallway are the Floyd | sick bay and EXERCISE ROOM. Going the other way I can go to DOCKING Floyd | STATION into which the Magellan is docked. Floyd | Floyd | > | EmacsUser says, "Well, inky is here." | |||
| Tale says, "haha" | ||||
| Tale says (to Floyd), "docking station" | ||||
Floyd | I navigate through Magellan's corridors through the docking station Floyd | into the Focault space station. Floyd | Floyd | The PEOPLE who inhabit the FOCAULT pass me by as they go about their Floyd | daily chores. The SHUTTLE PORT is near the docking port that connects Floyd | the MAGELLAN to the space station. I could also go to the OBSERVATORY. Floyd | Floyd | > | Roger says, "I think it might be nice if the movement keywords were differentiated from the others, but maybe it's not a big deal" | |||
| Nitku says, "good point" | ||||
| EmacsUser asks, "What is a focault?" | ||||
| Gerynar says (to Floyd), "people" | ||||
Floyd | Never before have I met a person I wouldn't have known for my entire Floyd | life. Returning to Earth and meeting these new people was hard--I Floyd | haven't had any practice for such situations. I still find myself Floyd | shying away from social interaction with strangers. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||||
| Tale says (to Floyd), "focault" | ||||
Floyd | The Focault Space Station is the largest of Earth-orbiting space Floyd | stations. The Magellan has been docked into it since we returned two Floyd | weeks ago. Floyd | Floyd | > | Roger says, "It's a FOUCAULT without you" | |||
| EmacsUser says (to Floyd), "l" | ||||
Floyd | [Available keywords: MAGELLAN, OBSERVATORY and SHUTTLE PORT] Floyd | Floyd | > | ||||
| EmacsUser says (to Floyd), "magellan" | ||||
Floyd | I go back to the Magellan. Floyd | Floyd | I'm in the hallway outside MY ROOM. Further down the hallway are the Floyd | sick bay and EXERCISE ROOM. Going the other way I can go to DOCKING Floyd | STATION into which the Magellan is docked. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||||
| EmacsUser says (to Floyd), "undo" | ||||
Floyd | docking station Floyd | [Previous turn undone.] Floyd | Floyd | > | EmacsUser says, "Sorry." | |||
| Binder says (to Roger), "heh." | ||||
| EmacsUser says (to Floyd), "observatory" | ||||
Floyd | I follow the Focault's corridors into the observatory. Floyd | Floyd | Ever since we returned and docked to the Focault, this has been the Floyd | place I've spent most of my time. A round WINDOW several meters wide Floyd | shows a magnificent view of the EARTH as the station revolves around Floyd | it. Floyd | Floyd | The exit leads to the DOCKING STATION. Floyd | Floyd | > | Tale says, "my plane leaves at 12." | |||
| Gerynar says (to Floyd), "earth" | ||||
Floyd | The Earth. The shadow of the Sun is passing by Europe and Africa. Floyd | Clouds are gathering over Asia, the Indian Ocean glitters in blue. It Floyd | is an awe-inspiring view, one that reveals new details every time you Floyd | look at it. Floyd | Floyd | It's a completely different world on the ground, of course. I've seen Floyd | enough movies and videos to know that. If looking at it from a Floyd | thousand kilometers away is like this, what would it be like on the Floyd | ground? Floyd | Floyd | > | Tale says, "ilaw" | |||
| Binder says (to Floyd), "l" | ||||
Floyd | [Available keywords: WINDOW and DOCKING STATION] Floyd | Floyd | > | ||||
| EmacsUser says (to Floyd), "window" | ||||
Floyd | There are people everywhere in the Focault but they barely even glance Floyd | at the Earth as they go by. I've seen people on their first visit up Floyd | here to spend a few minutes looking at it, but the regular staff Floyd | doesn't even come here unless they have to pass by to get to somewhere Floyd | else. Do they really not see its beauty? Or is it possible for it to Floyd | lose its wonderfulness over time? I find the idea impossible to grasp. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||||
| EmacsUser says (to Floyd), "docking station" | ||||
Floyd | The people who inhabit the Focault pass me by as they go about their Floyd | daily chores. The SHUTTLE PORT is near the docking port that connects Floyd | the MAGELLAN to the space station. I could also go to the OBSERVATORY. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||||
| Tale says (to Floyd), "shuttle port" | ||||
Floyd | I remember dad telling how complicated shuttle travel used to be Floyd | before they left Earth. You'd have to go through several stages of Floyd | health and security checks to make sure nothing goes wrong. Now Floyd | shuttle travel is so common all you need is to buy a ticket with your Floyd | passport and you're all set. Floyd | Floyd | A corridor leads back to the DOCKING STATION and a closed AIRLOCK Floyd | leads inside the waiting area. There's a TICKET MACHINE next to the Floyd | airlock. Floyd | Floyd | > | Binder says, "orly" | |||
| Binder says (to Floyd), "ticket machine" | ||||
Floyd | The ticket machine sells tickets to shuttles back to Earth. There's a Floyd | SLOT where you insert your passport and it deducts the price from your Floyd | account and uploads the ticket information into the card. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||||
| EmacsUser says (to Floyd), "airlock" | ||||
Floyd | I need a ticket to enter the waiting area. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||||
| Tale says (to Floyd), "slot" | ||||
Floyd | I push the passport into the slot. The display indicates the purchase Floyd | was successful and the machine pushes the card back out again and I Floyd | take it. Floyd | Floyd | I could now open the AIRLOCK and enter the waiting area. My hands Floyd | start shaking and sweating. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||||
| Tale says (to Floyd), "airlock" | ||||
Floyd | The airlock opens and I go through. I try to look as neutral as Floyd | possible as the machines scan Kevin's passport. They let me through. Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Please press SPACE to continue. | ||||
| EmacsUser pushes the green 'space' button. | ||||
Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | The shuttle takes off and starts its descent. Soon I feel something Floyd | I've never experienced before: gravity pulling me downwards to my Floyd | seat. Floyd | Floyd | My heart is beating fast. I don't know if it's the excitement or if Floyd | something is wrong. I start to feel increasing discomfort. The shuttle Floyd | touches ground and I almost pass out. Floyd | Floyd | I manage to stumble out of the shuttle into the open air--and a Floyd | wonderful, magnificent view of the Earth opens before me. It is Floyd | everything I could have hoped for and more. A breath of air caresses Floyd | my being and the Sun's warmth feels so soft. Actual atmosphere is so Floyd | much gentler than Magellan's artificial environment. Floyd | Floyd | "Is everything allright, young man?" I hear someone ask. "Yes," I Floyd | manage to whisper. It's hard to speak when you have to fight the pull Floyd | of gravity with all the strength you have. Floyd | Floyd | A woman behind me catches me as I fall. She sounds hysterical, she's Floyd | calling for the medical personnel. I see her face and the blue sky Floyd | behind her. A lone bird flies past the sun. Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | My vision fades but I can still hear the people around me. They are Floyd | saying that my heart is failing, but they are wrong. I have never felt Floyd | more alive. I am home. Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | STARBORN Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | | ||||
| EmacsUser pushes the green 'space' button. | ||||
Floyd | [Type UNDO, RESTART, RESTORE, VERSION or QUIT.] Floyd | | Tale says, "wow" | |||
| Binder says, "I second that wow" | ||||
| Nitku says, "ta-dah" | ||||
| EmacsUser says, "Third." | ||||
| Gerynar says, "that's kind of sad though" | ||||
| Tale says, "No way Ghandi lives up to this." | ||||
| Binder says, "It's a happy sad, I think." | ||||
| Gerynar says, "yeah" | ||||
| Gerynar says, "happy he got to experience earth, sad that he doesn't get to experience it for very long" | ||||
| Tale says, "Yeah. Especially nice how it combines the wish of the kid with the player's wish to push the plot forward." | ||||
| EmacsUser says, "The keyword interface worked well here too." | ||||
| Nitku says, "Well, I'm glad you liked it" | ||||
| Tale asks, "is there any secret stuff we missed?" | ||||
| Tale says (to Floyd), "undo" | ||||
Floyd | | ||||
| Tale says (to Floyd), "xyzzy" | ||||
Floyd | [Type UNDO, RESTART, RESTORE, VERSION or QUIT.] Floyd | | ||||
| Tale says (to Floyd), "UNDO" | ||||
Floyd | shuttle port Floyd | [Previous turn undone.] Floyd | Floyd | | ||||
| Tale says (to Floyd), "xyzzy" | ||||
Floyd | [Type UNDO, RESTART, RESTORE, VERSION or QUIT.] Floyd | | Nitku says, "Uh, oops" | |||
| You say (to Floyd), "undo" | ||||
Floyd | shuttle port Floyd | [Previous turn undone.] Floyd | Floyd | | ||||
| EmacsUser says (to Floyd), "restart" | ||||
Floyd | Are you sure you want to restart? | ||||
| You say (to Floyd), "n" | ||||
Floyd | Floyd | | ||||
| You say (to Floyd), "undo" | ||||
Floyd | | ||||
| You say (to Floyd), "l" | ||||
Floyd | [Type UNDO, RESTART, RESTORE, VERSION or QUIT.] Floyd | | Nitku says, "Ok, you have to restart" | |||
| EmacsUser says (to Floyd), "restart" | ||||
Floyd | Are you sure you want to restart? | ||||
| EmacsUser says (to Floyd), "y" | ||||
Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | The story you are about to play uses a keyword interface. Whenever you Floyd | see a word in upper case you can type it on the command prompt to Floyd | advance the story. Floyd | Floyd | Whenever you wish to see the list of currently available keywords, Floyd | type LIST or L. Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Please press SPACE to continue. | ||||
| EmacsUser pushes the green 'space' button. | ||||
Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | STARBORN Floyd | by Juhana Leinonen Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | Floyd | It's quiet, as always. I've turned the MUSIC off so that it doesn't Floyd | bother my COUSIN's sleep. A long day of travel and WEIGHTLESSNESS has Floyd | exhausted him. Floyd | Floyd | The door leads out to the HALLWAY. Floyd | Floyd | > | ||||
| EmacsUser says (to Floyd), "xyzzy" | ||||
Floyd | [That is not a keyword the story recognizes. Fool.] Floyd | Floyd | > | EmacsUser says, "Ha." | |||
| Tale says, "hehe" | ||||
| EmacsUser says (to Floyd), "plugh" | ||||
Floyd | [That is not a keyword the story recognizes. Fool.] Floyd | Floyd | > | Nitku says, "That's about it" | |||
| Nitku says, "The only thing you didn't see was that if you look at the mirror after examining the passport you get another hit with the clue hammer about how you look like your cousin." | ||||
| Binder had wondered at the time why MIRROR was a keyword again. | ||||
| Tale says (to nitku), "This might be good as an introduction to IF." | ||||
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