MAKING FRIENDS WITH THE DOG LIVING ROOM (front half) >turn stem (first taking the watch out of the pocket) (first opening the watch) You turn the stem clockwise. The video screen slides up into the ceiling, revealing two large fish tanks. Ben's bifocals stop glowing. >x fish The fish are bizarrely beautiful, displaying a wide variety of sizes, shapes, and colors. The fish seem somewhat subdued, not moving around very much. It occurs to you that they seem bored. Some of the fish are looking directly at you as if they were waiting for something. >x rug The rug is an abstract pattern with delicate swirls of orange, gold, and red on a dark brown-black background. Gold-colored fringe decorates the edges of the rug. >look under rug You don't see anything under the oriental rug except for a tag attached to the back. You'd be able to get a better look at the rug tag if you were to roll up the rug. >roll rug You roll up the oriental rug. On the back of the rug you see a tag. >read tag The rug tag reads: "Unlawful to remove this tag." >unroll rug You unroll the oriental rug. >n LIVING ROOM (back half) There's an armchair on the north wall. To the right of the armchair is a sliding glass door leading north to a courtyard. A pet door has been installed as part of the sliding glass door. The polished dark wood floor is adorned with a fine oriental rug in the center of the living room. There is some model railroad track inlaid into the floor here. On the west wall is a piano. There's a bust of Beethoven on the piano. A piano bench sits in front of the piano. The east wall is covered with bookcases, with a small desk built into the bookcases. On top of the desk is a computer. A wooden desk chair is in front of the desk. The living room continues to the south. >x bookcases The books in the bookcases are mostly fiction. You are particularly interested in a section of children's story books that includes "Go Dog Go", "The Bedtime Story Book", and "The Boy Who Had No Words". Built into the bookcases is a small desk with a computer on it. >take "The Bedtime Story Book" You take "The Bedtime Story Book" off of one of the bookcases. >open book You open "The Bedtime Story Book", and something falls to the floor. It looks like sheet music! A ferret comes out from behind the bookcases. He grabs the sheet music with his teeth. He looks like he's trying to take it behind the bookcases! With extraordinarily fast reflexes you manage to snatch the sheet music away from him before he gets out of your reach. The ferret hops back and forth, apparently thinking that you are playing some sort of a game with him. But when you fail to drop any more sheet music, he gives up on you and slips out of sight behind the bookcases. You search your memory regarding Martin's pets. Yes, you remember Martin saying that he has a ferret named Slinky. It occurs to you that Martin also has a dog, but you can't recall the dog's name. >read book You read a story about three little kittens who lost their mittens. You have the odd feeling that the fish are watching you as you read aloud, almost as if they were trying to read your lips. But you're too far away for them to see you properly. >turn page You turn the page. >read book You read a story about Goldilocks and three bears. You have the odd feeling that the fish are watching you as you read aloud, almost as if they were trying to read your lips. But you're too far away for them to see you properly. >turn page You turn the page. The doorbell rings. You go into the front half of the living room and walk to the front door. You open the front door to see a package delivery man in a light brown uniform standing on the doorstep. He's carrying a small package. You sign for the package and take it. Then you close the door. You return to the back half of the living room. >x package The small package is addressed to Martin. The return address shows that the package is from K. McGillicuddy at SED Limited. >open package You open the package. Sigh. You take out the can of spam. The empty box is now on the floor. >x can It's an ordinary can of spam. >drop can The can of spam is now on the floor. >read book You read a story about three little pigs and a big bad wolf. You have the odd feeling that the fish are watching you as you read aloud, almost as if they were trying to read your lips. But you're too far away for them to see you properly. >turn page You turn back to the beginning. >x sheet music It's Handel's "Water Music", arranged for the piano. >put sheet music on music stand The sheet music is now on the music stand. >sit on piano bench You're now sitting on the piano bench. >play piano You play "Water Music" on the piano. You think you hear drops of water falling. >stand You stand up. You're no longer on the piano bench. >take "The Boy Who Had No Words" You take "The Boy Who Had No Words" off of one of the bookcases. >open book (Closing "The Bedtime Story Book" first) You open "The Boy Who Had No Words" to the first page. >read book You read the first page: "There once was a boy who had no words. No one knew from whence he came for he could not say. But the people of the village gave him food and clothing, and in return he carried their water buckets high up the mountain to fill them with the cold clean water of the mountain spring. All day he filled buckets and brought them back down to people of the village. But each day when the sun grew low in the sky, the boy would go back up the mountain to sit upon a flat rock. Next to a pool where the mountain waters rested before continuing on their way downstream, the boy could be seen sitting quietly and staring at the fish whose colors gleamed like jewels in the fire of the setting sun. Now some will say that the patterns of the fish in this mountain pool have always been strangely beautiful. Others will say the fish were changed by a rock that fell from the sky and sank to the bottom of the pool. And still others will tell you that the fish had been touched by the fire spirit of the mountain, which sometimes bubbles up from below and heats the water with puffs of steam. But the boy who watched the fish understood none of these stories. He watched the fish and studied the tiny flaps on their mouths that looked so much like mustaches. Each evening he saw fish entering the pool and fish leaving the pool. But always the fish who chose to remain were the ones with the most spectacular colors and most intricate patterns. These are the fish who lived their lives in the mountain pool, there with the boy who watched them in silence as the sun set into darkness and cold stars filled the night." You have the odd feeling that the fish are watching you as you read aloud, almost as if they were trying to read your lips. But you're too far away for them to see you properly. >turn page You turn the page. >read book You read: "One day the village received a visit from an important man who had traveled from afar. This man asked many questions, and as the villagers spoke he nodded and made marks upon parchment with brush and ink. When he asked to see the jeweled fish of the mountain, the villagers sent the boy with no words to lead him up the mountain. At first the important man became puzzled when he looked at the boy, who seemed to possess some similarity of face to a great poet and philosopher that he had once met in the imperial city. The man became excited as he began to make plans to use the boy to further his own position. A reward perhaps? Could he pass the child off as a long lost relative of the great philosopher, perhaps an infant who had wandered from home and grew up as a wilding? But when the man and the boy reached the mountain pool and the man saw the fish, his excitement turned into awe. It seemed that the impossible rumors were indeed true -- The patterns on these fish were in the form of letters and words, characters that matched the brushstrokes on his parchment! And then the man looked back at the boy's face, and he tried to shake from his mind a disturbing idea. What if the fish were speaking with words that had been trapped inside of the boy? No, no, an absurd idea, the man told himself. The man left hurriedly, but before the next full moon he returned with servants and a large tar-coated basket to take the fish down from the mountain. They also took the boy, although he ran from them and tried to hide. These strange and beautiful fish would make fine gifts to the emperor, the important man thought." You have the odd feeling that the fish are watching you as you read aloud, almost as if they were trying to read your lips. But you're too far away for them to see you properly. >turn page You turn the page. >read book You read: "But before reaching the imperial city they were attacked by foreigners. The man was killed and his servants ran away. The boy and the fish were put aboard a black ship and taken to a faraway land, where a powerful sorceress imprisoned them in a cave. Inside the cave, a giant cauldron was hung by black chains above a bubbling mudpot. The basket containing the fish was laid upon on the ground next to cages filled with small animals. The boy was put to work stirring the cauldron with a long stick. Inside the cauldron bubbled a magical potion that contained the power of all the words that had ever been and all the languages ever known. That night the sorceress returned to the cave and the animals in their cages became agitated. They called out to the boy, saying "Save us, save us!" The boy saw their fear but he did not understand the words that they were saying to him. The sorceress took a hawk from its cage. Holding its feet in her hand, she spoke an incantation and plunged the hawk into the boiling cauldron. The bird let forth a scream as it died, and the hand of the sorceress contorted painfully in the hissing liquid. But her face was filled with ecstasy as the knowledge of all words and all languages passed into her. But the spirit of the sorceress was full of evil ambitions and wicked plans, and so there was not enough room inside her to keep what she had taken from the cauldron. Her face grew angry as the words escaped her memory and the knowledge of the languages was forgotten. Lost again! She needed more time, more animals. The potion was not strong enough yet! Then the sorceress transformed herself into the shape of a hawk, let forth a course birdlike cry, and flew from the cave." You have the odd feeling that the fish are watching you as you read aloud, almost as if they were trying to read your lips. But you're too far away for them to see you properly. >turn page You turn the page. >read book You read: "The boy was afraid and didn't know what to do. If he freed the animals, the sorceress would surely put him into the pot instead! And away from the glow of the heated cauldron, the cave was so dark that he would not be able to find the way out. But he opened the cages anyway, and the animals scurried off into the darkness. Then the boy did the only thing he knew how to do. He sat down beside the basket of fish and watched them quietly. After a time the cave floor beneath him began to tremble. The ground began to shake vigorously and a crack broke open in the rock, revealing a torrent of rushing water that was a great underground stream. The boy poured the fish into the stream and dropped the basket, hoping to jump into the basket as it fell and thereby make his escape. At that moment the sorceress appeared screaming in fury, just in time to see the ground beneath the cauldron give way. The cauldron tipped over, and drops of liquid spilled onto the boy and onto the two tiny fish as they fell. The sorceress extended her hand and a cold spell of vengeance flew from her fingers. But before the spell could strike the boy's chest, she saw the boy using the power of the cauldron to transform his body into sparks of fire. The boy had disappeared! The sparks flew into the mouths of the two tiny fish as they fell into the roaring stream, and the spirit of the boy became joined with the fish." You have the odd feeling that the fish are watching you as you read aloud, almost as if they were trying to read your lips. But you're too far away for them to see you properly. The doorbell rings. You go into the front half of the living room and walk to the front door. You open the front door to see a package delivery man in a light brown uniform standing on the doorstep. He's carrying a small package. You sign for the package and take it. Then you close the door. You return to the back half of the living room. >x package The small package is addressed to Martin. The return address shows that the package is from K. McGillicuddy at SED Limited. >open package You open the package and take out the can of spam. You're getting very tired of this. The empty box is now on the floor. >x can It's an ordinary can of spam. >drop can The can of spam is now on the floor. >turn page You turn the page. >read book You read: "Then the sorceress transformed herself into an otter and she jumped into the stream, swimming and chasing after the fish. She chased them until the stream poured into the sea, and she chased them across the sea throughout the night. As the sun rose the next morning, the two fish came to an island beach of white sand. The fish transformed themselves into rabbits and sprinted across the sand into the tall grass beyond. The sorceress then turned herself into a greyhound to chase them. But the rabbits soon reached a large lake, and in the center of the lake was a volcano. The rabbits transformed themselves into swallows and flew across the lake towards the peak of the volcano. The sorceress then took the form of a hawk and followed in swift pursuit. The trees surrounding the lake bent in welcome to the swallows, waving exotic purple flowers and lush green fronds. So the swallows changed back into tiny jewel-colored fish and began to fall down towards the lake. As they fell, they spoke to the volcano in the language of fire. "Rano," said the fish. "Ani," said the other fish. "Aku he gaukauha ki te kaiga." The sorceress, still in the form of a hawk, began a steep dive to intercept the fish before they reached the lake. But the volcano rumbled and shook, and a fiery blast lashed out to destroy the sorceress, burning her completely and leaving nothing but smoke and ash to be scattered by the wind. The fish remained in this lake, taking nourishment from the purple flowers and bringing prosperity and safety to the people who lived under the shadow of the volcano. In the years to come there would be many generations of these fish, sometimes leaving to wander through distant lands, but always returning home to the lake to share their tales of adventure with the other fish. Tiny fish with beautiful patterns of white and red and blue and yellow and black, with tiny mustaches, sharing the spirit of a little boy and the power of all words and all languages ever known." You have the odd feeling that the fish are watching you as you read aloud, almost as if they were trying to read your lips. But you're too far away for them to see you properly. >x computer The computer is turned off. >turn on computer You turn on the computer. >x computer The computer is turned on. You might want to you sit down on the desk chair so that you can use the computer. >sit on desk chair You're now sitting on the desk chair. >use computer You start using the computer. But after a careful search, you realize that all of these programs, documents, games, and saved e-mails are not going to be of any use to you. The only thing you still need to look at is the new incoming e-mail, so you pull these up on the screen. Reading the incoming e-mails on Martin's computer is like falling into a black hole. The spam is coming in faster that you can go through them! It seems that there is no limit to the exciting opportunities for obtaining low mortgage rates, male enhancement pills, discount merchandise, hot chicks who are eager to meet you, and ways to spy on your friends and neighbors. There might be an important e-mail in here somewhere, but it seems unlikely that you'll be able to find it amidst all the spam. You notice that the spam filter is currently turned off. It occurs to you that if you were to turn on the spam filter you would be able to look through the e-mail more efficiently. >turn on spam filter The spam filter is now turned on. >read e-mail The e-mail has no subject line, but it appears to have been sent by Phouthavong Bochandilay from his office e-mail account at SED Limited. The body of the e-mail reads "Circular reasoning is irrational." There also appears to be an attachment. Unfortunately the attachment has been encrypted by Mr. Bochandilay with a password. You would need to type the password on the computer in order to see what Mr. Bochandilay has to say. >stand You stand up. You're no longer on the desk chair. >open sliding door The sliding glass door is now open. >n WEST COURTYARD Looking up, you see some fluffy clouds over the mountaintops to the north and west. The spring weather is rather windy but pleasant. You find the high altitude mountain air to be refreshingly clean and lacking in humidity, although a bit thinner than what you're used to. An open sliding glass door leads south into the house. You notice that this section of the house is taller than what you remember seeing from the front of the house. To the north and the west you see the walls of the courtyard, which are made of reddish colored rock. Against the north wall is a cast-iron loveseat. Model railroad track cuts a curved path along the moss covered ground towards the bench and then rises onto a shelf that runs east along the north wall. The ground is hard and rocky here, with a thin layer of moss. The courtyard continues to the east. A dog is staring at you from the east part of the courtyard. >e EAST COURTYARD To the east you see a section of the house that is topped with a black dome. In the center of the east wall is pair of metal doors, which are currently closed. A rusty chain is circled several times through the door handles. You can see that the doors, if opened, would swing outwards from each other to form a single wide opening of a type commonly used on sheds and storage rooms. There is a patch of loose dirt in the southeast corner of this part of the courtyard. The south wall is part of the house. Looking up you can see that this section of the house is taller than what you remember seeing from the front of the house. There is a balcony protruding slightly from the house at about the same level as the black dome. The ground is hard and rocky here, with a thin layer of moss. The north wall is made of the same reddish colored rock that you have seen in the other walls that surround the courtyard. A shelf runs along the north wall. The courtyard continues to the west. The dog stands before you, just out of reach. You hear a low growl coming from him as he eyes you with suspicion. >read brass tag On this side the tag reads "Spartacus". Spartacus stands before you, just out of reach. You hear a low growl coming from him as he eyes you with suspicion. >turn tag You touch the tag and Spartacus backs away, growling ominously. But the tag spins enough for you to see that the other side of the tag reads "Agador". Agador-Spartacus stands before you, just out of reach. You hear a low growl coming from him as he eyes you with suspicion. >x patch of loose dirt As you begin to look closer at the patch of dirt, you suddenly are gripped with a sharp pain inside your head and an overwhelming feeling of nausea that forces you to double over and squeeze your eyes tightly shut. You are fairly certain that the patch of dirt was just an ordinary patch of dirt with nothing growing there. But at the same time you can't help thinking that you also experienced the possibility of a sycamore tree, growing in that very spot! You find the uncertainty extremely uncomfortable, so you force yourself not to think about it right now. After a while you begin to feel better, so you straighten up and open your eyes again. Agador-Spartacus stands before you, just out of reach. You hear a low growl coming from him as he eyes you with suspicion. >w WEST COURTYARD Agador-Spartacus enters the west part of the courtyard from the east part of the courtyard. Agador-Spartacus stands before you, just out of reach. You hear a low growl coming from him as he eyes you with suspicion. >s LIVING ROOM (back half) On the music stand you see some sheet music. You see two empty boxes and two cans of spam here. Agador-Spartacus enters the back half of the living room from the west part of the courtyard. Agador-Spartacus stands before you, just out of reach. You hear a low growl coming from him as he eyes you with suspicion. >s LIVING ROOM (front half) You see three empty boxes and three cans of spam here. Agador-Spartacus enters the front half of the living room from the back half of the living room. Agador-Spartacus stands before you, just out of reach. You hear a low growl coming from him as he eyes you with suspicion. >w HALLWAY This short hallway leads south to the bedroom and west to the bathroom. The living room is to the east. On the north wall you see a cuckoo clock. Agador-Spartacus enters the hallway from the front half of the living room. Agador-Spartacus stands before you, just out of reach. You hear a low growl coming from him as he eyes you with suspicion. >x cuckoo clock The cuckoo clock hands show the time as 12:00. The cuckoo clock pendulum is not moving. Agador-Spartacus stands before you, just out of reach. You hear a low growl coming from him as he eyes you with suspicion. >start pendulum The pendulum starts swinging back and forth. Agador-Spartacus stands before you, just out of reach. You hear a low growl coming from him as he eyes you with suspicion. >x clock The cuckoo clock hands show the time as 12:00. The cuckoo clock pendulum is swinging back and forth. Agador-Spartacus stands before you, just out of reach. You hear a low growl coming from him as he eyes you with suspicion. >w BATHROOM The bathtub is filled with water. The bathroom has all of the usual facilities that you would expect to see in a bathroom. You notice, however, that the towel rack is empty and the bathtub and the sink do not have any visible means of turning the water on or off. There is a medicine cabinet with a small mirror over the sink. A long shelf runs along the west wall. The door on the east wall leads to the hallway. The bathroom smells soapy. This makes your nose itch. Agador-Spartacus enters the bathroom from the hallway. Agador-Spartacus stands before you, just out of reach. You hear a low growl coming from him as he eyes you with suspicion. >scratch nose You scratch the side of your nose. However, it still itches. It must be the soapy smell of the bathtub. You have the odd feeling that your nose could use a little assistance in trying to understand the smell. Agador-Spartacus stands before you, just out of reach. You hear a low growl coming from him as he eyes you with suspicion. >x mirror Looking in the mirror you see yourself, a man in his mid- thirties with red hair, green eyes, and a dimple in his chin. You're wearing a flannel shirt. You hear a slight creaking sound coming from the medicine cabinet. Is it possible that the mirror could sense that you were looking at it? At any rate, the sound is gone now. Agador-Spartacus stands before you, just out of reach. You hear a low growl coming from him as he eyes you with suspicion. >take bath But you have no towel! Agador-Spartacus stands before you, just out of reach. You hear a low growl coming from him as he eyes you with suspicion. >e HALLWAY Agador-Spartacus enters the hallway from the bathroom. Agador-Spartacus stands before you, just out of reach. You hear a low growl coming from him as he eyes you with suspicion. >s BEDROOM The bedroom is almost entirely filled by a very large bed, which is oriented with its head on the south wall. A dresser also stands on the south wall just to the right of the bed. To the west is a closet door that is currently closed. There is a dartboard on the closet door. A shelf runs along the east, south, and west walls. The bedroom door is to the north, leading to the hallway. On the floor near the closet you see a yellow feather. Agador-Spartacus enters the bedroom from the hallway. Agador-Spartacus stands before you, just out of reach. You hear a low growl coming from him as he eyes you with suspicion. >take feather You take the yellow feather. Agador-Spartacus stands before you, just out of reach. You hear a low growl coming from him as he eyes you with suspicion. >x feather It's a small yellow feather. Looking closer you can see that it's only a small part of a feather that has been cut with a straight edge. The edge bears some remnants of hardened glue. Agador-Spartacus stands before you, just out of reach. You hear a low growl coming from him as he eyes you with suspicion. >x closet The closet door is currently closed. There is a dart board hanging on the closet door. Agador-Spartacus stands before you, just out of reach. You hear a low growl coming from him as he eyes you with suspicion. >x dart board The center of the dartboard has a small picture of an unpleasant-looking man with narrowed eyes and pursed lips. The effect of his expensive-looking three-piece suit is undermined by a badly considered toupee. Agador-Spartacus stands before you, just out of reach. You hear a low growl coming from him as he eyes you with suspicion. >x dresser The dresser is made of dark wood and is three drawers tall. The top of the dresser has a glass surface, and under the glass you can see several photographs. Agador-Spartacus stands before you, just out of reach. You hear a low growl coming from him as he eyes you with suspicion. >x photographs You look at the photographs under the glass on the dresser. There's a picture of two women, with their arms around each others' waists. Judging from the age difference between them and some similarities in appearance, you assume that this is a fairly recent photo of Martin's mother and his sister Rachel. You find Rachel's intense brown eyes to be oddly disturbing, so you quickly shift your gaze to the other items under the glass. There are some older photographs here: a black-and-white wedding picture that you assume to be of Martin's parents, and a candid shot of Martin's father (at age thirty-five or so) assembling a tricycle in the living room of this house while a calico cat sits on the diagrams and assembly instructions. You look at a old clipping from a local newspaper showing Martin's mother tap dancing in a community theatre production of "42nd Street". The most recent photo shows Agador-Spartacus playing in the overgrown grass on the front lawn, jumping up to catch a red rubber ball. But there are no photographs of Martin here. Agador-Spartacus stands before you, just out of reach. You hear a low growl coming from him as he eyes you with suspicion. >throw ball You throw the red rubber ball. Agador-Spartacus races after the red rubber ball and retrieves it. He runs around the room twice, and then he turns and runs around in the other direction. After a little more running about, the dog trots over to stand in front of you. Agador-Spartacus is no longer suspicious of you now that you have proven your true character as one who throws balls. His soulful brown eyes shine with the trust and loyalty reserved for comrades who have shared a noble adventure. Suddenly Agador-Spartacus crouches, his body close to the floor, tense and excited and extremely eager to repeat the red rubber ball game. The red rubber ball drops out of Agador-Spartacus's mouth and falls to floor, rolling slightly towards you.