OPENING THE SECRET PANEL (ON THE FIRST LEVEL OF THE STORE) SOUTH EXHIBIT There is a mother hippo and a baby hippo here. The sign says that their names are Olga and Katrinka. The baby hippo is looking with longing at your rubber duckie. The south exhibit shares water with the southeast exhibit. A closed gate separates the two exhibits. There is a lever mounted near the gate. The lever is currently pushed down. A fence surrounds the exhibit. The center of the zoo is to the north. The way is blocked in all of the other directions. The penguins are standing next to you. >n ZOO CENTER There are exhibits to the northwest, north, northeast, east, southeast, south, and southwest. The zoo entrance is to the west. The penguins are standing next to you. >w ZOO ENTRANCE Looking at the large map installed at the zoo entrance, you can see that all of the exhibits must be reached from the center of the zoo, which is directly east of here. You are currently at the zoo entrance, which is on the west side of the zoo. The center of the zoo is to the east. The phone booth is to the west. The penguins are standing next to you. >w You and the penguins enter the phone booth. PHONE BOOTH, at the zoo entrance You hear the computerized voice tell you (somewhat faintly since the receiver is hanging down on its cord) ... "Press "1" to be enlightened. Press "3" to be cleansed. Press "9" to be returned. If you do not have access to a touch tone phone, please remain on the line and an operator will assist you." >press "9" You pick up the receiver. You press "9". You hear the sound of a motor grinding, the door slams closed, and the phone booth suddenly rises upwards very quickly, flying high into the air. The telephone voice tells you, "Estimated travel time for this twenty mile trip is ten minutes, using standard travel speed." The phone booth flies southwest. After about ten minutes of flying it drops down through an opening Martin's roof and comes to an abrupt halt at the upstairs landing. The penguins open the door and get out of the phone booth. Then the door closes and the phone booth drops again to stop in the pantry. The phone booth door opens. PHONE BOOTH, in the pantry You see the kitchen to the east. You see Agador-Spartacus in the kitchen. He's wagging his tail. >press "7" You press "7". You see Agador-Spartacus in the kitchen. He's wagging his tail. The computerized voice goes on to tell you "Please specify the destination to which you would like to be moved... Press "1" to go to the zoo. Press "2" to go to the beach. Press "3" to go to work. Press "4" to go to the store. Press "5" to go to the veterinarian's office. Press "6" to visit Mom. All other options will return you to the main menu. Please be advised that the previously mentioned destinations can be reached only through the Phantom Phone Booth object-oriented navigational system." >press "4" You press "4". You hear the sound of a motor grinding, the door slams closed, and the phone booth suddenly rises upwards very quickly. It passes the upstairs landing and goes through the roof, flying high into the air. The telephone voice tells you, "Estimated travel time for this six mile trip is three minutes, using standard travel speed." The phone booth flies northwest. After about three minutes of flying it sets itself down. The phone booth door pops open. PHONE BOOTH, in the WalMart parking lot You see the WalMart parking lot to the east. >e You drop the receiver. WALMART PARKING LOT You're at the far end of the WalMart parking lot, quite some distance from the WalMart entrance. The lot is jammed with cars and people, and you don't see any empty parking spots. To the west is the phone booth, which has managed to squeeze itself in between a little Nash Rambler and a big black Cadillac. Throngs of people are hurrying southward, headed for the WalMart entrance. Even more people are streaming out of WalMart doors, bumping into each other and pushing through the crowd as they carry their bags back to their cars. To the north is a much smaller store, rather oddly-shaped. It's tall and narrow, with sloping eves that curve upwards like a pagoda. >s You start to walk south, but the throngs of people are too thick for you to get through. A woman carrying several bags and a small child bumps into you. You see something drop from one of her bags as she changes direction and disappears into the crowd. Looking down you see a plastic bottle of hair conditioner. >take bottle You take the bottle of hair conditioner. >look under nash rambler Under the little Nash Rambler you see a mother cat and several kittens that appear to be about six-weeks old. The kittens are nursing. The mother cat eyes you warily. >take kitten The mother cat hisses, and you quickly withdraw. She doesn't seem inclined to let anyone touch her or her kittens right now. Perhaps you should come back later. >n As you walk north towards Takamine's General Store, two men pass in front of you. One of the men is short and squat, with a pot belly and a large, sloppy mustache that reminds you of a walrus. The taller man has several tattoos on his heavily muscled arms and is wearing a toolbelt with a hammer tucked into it. Both men are carrying shopping bags that appear to be completely filled with egg cartons. The mustachioed man takes a look at his wristwatch and says something to the effect that it's time for the two of them to have a discussion about a variety of different subjects, and then the tattooed man says something that sounds like his mouth is full of peanut butter. "Goo goo k'joob"? No, surely not, you must have heard wrong since you can't imagine why anyone would say something like that. This all seems eerily familiar to you, but when you try to approach the two men they just clam up and scurry away. Suddenly they are gone from your sight, and you have trouble remembering which way they went. So you continue north and walk into the store. ------------- Press space bar to continue ----------------- FIRST LEVEL As you enter the store your feet crunch slightly on the loosely packed cobblestone floor. Inside the store you see a handful of tourists, eagerly picking out crystal amulets from the large selection of chains and crystals that hang from the ceiling here. Judging from the maps and brochures in their pockets you conclude that most of the tourists are on their way from Chaco Canyon to Sedona, Arizona or vice versa, perhaps in search of a mystical vortex experience. You realize that a store with a location like this could make a solid income selling New Age trinkets. The tourists seem to largely be ignoring the statue of the warrior king in the center of room, and the stone table on the east wall with the large book upon it. However, they seem fascinated by the two statues of foo dogs that stand on either side of the store entrance. The east foo dog has an open mouth and the west foo dog has a closed mouth. Since the proprietor of the store is nowhere to be seen, one of the tourists decides to try to pay for her crystals by placing a twenty dollar bill in the east foo dog's mouth. As she walks out of the store, the east foo dog closes his mouth and the west foo dog opens her mouth, revealing the appropriate change. The tourist takes her change and the mouths of the dog statues return to their original setting. The east foo dog lets out a satisfied sound that resembles the lowing of a water buffalo, sounding something like a deep "mu". The onlookers are delighted, and the absence of foo dog saliva seems to have enhanced the experience for everyone involved. Eventually the tourists leave and you find yourself alone. >x large book The large book is open. >read book This page of the book has some Japanese characters with English words beside them. The English words say: "First Level: Crystals, Stones, Souvenirs". >turn page You turn the page. >read book This page of the book has some Japanese characters with English words beside them. The English words say: "Second Level: Garden and Pond Supplies". >turn page You turn the page. >read book This page of the book has some Japanese characters with English words beside them. The English words say: "Third Level: Candles and Incense". >turn page You turn the page. >read book This page of the book has some Japanese characters with English words beside them. The English words say: "Fourth Level: Kawasaki Maintenance". >turn page You turn the page. >read book This page of the book has some Japanese characters with English words beside them. The English words say: "Fifth Level: Organic Vegetables". >turn page You turn back to the beginning. >take book That's an awfully big book to be trying to move around. And it's open, too! >close book As you close the large book, you notice that there is a small indentation in the stone table. >take pebble You take the pebble. >put pebble in indentation You put the pebble in the indentation. It fits perfectly! Suddenly a rice paper panel in the east wall slides open, revealing a stone staircase that leads upwards.