OPENING THE BLACK TRUNK DANCE STUDIO >d TUNNEL (south end) You find yourself inside a small underground tunnel. The tunnel extends northward for a short distance. At the other end of the tunnel you see some white stairs going up. On this end of the tunnel, black stairs lead upwards to a large square hole in the floor above. >n TUNNEL (north end) You find yourself inside a small underground tunnel. The tunnel extends southward for a short distance. At the other end of the tunnel you see some black stairs going up. On this end of the tunnel, white stairs lead upwards to a trapdoor that is currently closed. However, it looks like you could open it by pushing up on the trap door. >open trap door The trapdoor is now open. >u GAZEBO You are in a gazebo in the center of a secret garden, the beauty of which takes your breath away. A yellow brick road begins inside the gazebo and then spirals outward counterclockwise. It goes around the garden several times as the spiral gets bigger, until it finally leaves the garden through a round red door in the north wall. The ground surrounding the gazebo and the yellow brick road is completely filled with flowers and lush greenery growing in rich dark soil. The gazebo is painted white. Hanging from a large hook at the top of the gazebo is a basket containing a pot of gardenias supported by a macrame strap. The secret garden is surrounded by walls in all four directions. The center of the garden is right here, and you can also go to the north, south, east, or west wall. To the west you see a fountain. There is a trapdoor here, which is currently open. Stairs lead downward. Your nose itches. The trapdoor slams shut. But it didn't sound like the trapdoor locked itself. You realize that you'll be able to open it again without any problem. >x basket The basket is loosely woven with small open spaces between the fronds. Both ends of the macrame strap are tied to the edges of the basket through the open spaces. The basket is hanging at about your eye level. Inside the basket is a ceramic pot filled with gardenias. >x strap The macrame strap is made of five rope cords that have been woven and knotted together in an intricate pattern. All of the cords have the somewhat colorless look of natural rope fiber. The center of the macrame strap is hooked on the gazebo hook. It hangs down about an arm's length from the hook. You can see that if it weren't doubled over this way, the length of the macrame strap would be about twice as long. Both ends of the macrame strap are tied to the basket. The basket is hanging at about your eye level. >w You follow the yellow brick road around until you are near the west wall. SECRET GARDEN (near the west wall) You are near the west wall of the secret garden. There is a fountain here. Spiraling outward from the gazebo is a yellow brick road. The road exits the garden through a round red door in the north wall, which is currently closed. The ground surrounding the yellow brick road is completely filled with flowers and lush greenery growing in rich dark soil. You can go to the gazebo or go to the north, south, or east wall. >x fountain In the center of the fountain is a statue of a winged buffalo. The wings of the buffalo are pointed down. Water spouts from the edges of the wings and pours into the fountain. >e You follow the yellow brick road around until you are in the center. GAZEBO >pick rose You pick roses. You now have a plucked rose. >pick daisy You pick daisies. You now have a plucked daisy. >pick tulip You pick tulips. You now have a plucked tulip. >open trap door The trapdoor is now open. >d TUNNEL (north end) The trapdoor slams shut. >s TUNNEL (south end) >u DANCE STUDIO You see a coat rack here. >e There's a wall in the way. >hop HOP! >shuffle SHUF-FLE! >flap FL-AP! You've done a Backwards Shuffle-Off-To-Buffalo: hop, shuffle, flap. Suddenly the east wall opens. The large square hole in the floor closes. You see Agador-Spartacus in the back half of the living room. He's wagging his tail. >e LIVING ROOM (back half) On the music stand you see some sheet music. You see three empty boxes, two ordinary cans of spam, and a magic carpet (rolled) here. Agador-Spartacus stands before you, wagging his tail affably. >s LIVING ROOM (front half) You see three empty boxes, three ordinary cans of spam, and a magic carpet (rolled) here. You see Agador-Spartacus in the back half of the living room. He's wagging his tail. >e You go through the strands of beads. DINING ROOM (by the west end of the table) On the west end of the table you see a plate, a fork, a knife, a spoon, and a glass. >ne The blue birds suddenly become alive. They fly off of the china cabinet doors and begin to flit about, making you feel as if you should sing "Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah". Then the blue birds land back on the china cabinet doors and grow still. DINING ROOM (by the china cabinet) >n KITCHEN You see an envelope, a large stack of catalogs, a phone bill, a gold key, "The Bedtime Story Book", "The Boy Who Had No Words", a yellow feather, a small phone book, a short blue sock, a long black sock, a handwritten note, a bath robe, a pair of brown shoes, a short brown sock, a short black sock, some ballet slippers, a fake can of spam, a white pawn, and a mug of black coffee here. >drop daisy The plucked daisy is now on the floor. >drop tulip The plucked tulip is now on the floor. >w PHONE BOOTH, in the pantry 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 "4" to be uplifted. Press "7" to be moved. Press "9" to be transmogrified. If you do not have access to a touch tone phone, please remain on the line and an operator will assist you. >press "7" You pick up the receiver. You press "7". 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 second floor 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 >n You walk north and enter Takamine's General Store. FIRST LEVEL In the small indentation you see a pebble. You see a black bowl containing a spoon here. >u You climb the stone staircase. It leads you upwards in a spiral to the Second Level. SECOND LEVEL >sit on turtle You try to get on the turtle stack, but it begins to collapse. After several jerking moves downwards there is only one turtle left visible. You sit on the sea turtle, straddling it as if you were riding a horse. Suddenly you hear some mechanical grinding noises coming from the floor and from inside the turtle. With a jerking motion the turtle rises upwards a little ways and then stops. You look down and see that your turtle is now resting on the back of a SECOND turtle underneath it! Then comes another jerking motion that lifts you even higher. Now you find yourself sitting on the top of a stack of THREE sea turtles. The process continues until you are lifted up through an opening in the ceiling to the Third Level. It's turtles all the way down! You're fairly certain that there aren't any more turtles on the way, but you get off the turtle anyway, just in case. ------------- Press space bar to continue ----------------- THIRD LEVEL >take green candle You take the green candle off of the shelving. >d You sit on the sea turtle. Suddenly you hear mechanical grinding noises. With a series of jerking motion the turtle drops downwards, lowering you back down to the Second Level. You get off the turtle. ------------- Press space bar to continue ----------------- SECOND LEVEL >d You climb down the stone staircase to the First Level. FIRST LEVEL In the small indentation you see a pebble. You see a black bowl containing a spoon here. >s You find yourself unable to pass between the foo dog statues. They seem to be staring at you accusingly. Perhaps you should put some money in the east foo dog's mouth to pay for what you've taken from the store. >put ten dollar bill in mouth The ten dollar bill is now in the east foo dog's mouth. >s The east foo dog closes his mouth. Then the west foo dog opens her mouth and reveals your change, a five dollar bill. After you take the change, the west foo dog closes her mouth. The east foo dog opens his and lets out a deep "Mu-u- u!!" ------------- Press space bar to continue ----------------- You continue leaving the store. WALMART PARKING LOT 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. >w PHONE BOOTH, in the WalMart parking lot 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 six mile trip is three minutes, using standard travel speed." The phone booth flies southeast. After about three minutes of flying it drops down through an opening Martin's roof and comes to an abrupt halt in the pantry. The phone booth door opens. PHONE BOOTH, in the pantry You see the kitchen to the east. >press "7" You press "7". 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 "3" You press "3". You hear the sound of a motor grinding, the door slams closed, and the phone booth suddenly rises upwards very quickly. It passes the second floor landing and goes through the roof, flying high into the air. The telephone voice tells you, "Estimated travel time for this ten mile trip is five minutes, using standard travel speed." The phone booth flies south. After about five minutes of flying you see some sort of parking structure below. The phone booth enters the parking structure and travels to an underground level before landing. The phone booth door pops open. PHONE BOOTH, in the Employee Parking Area You see the Employee Parking Area to the east. >e You drop the receiver. EMPLOYEE PARKING AREA You're in the Employee Parking Area, which is inside of a parking structure that is mostly underground. To the west you see the phone booth, which is parked in one of empty parking spots. You don't see any people here. The entrance to the building complex lies in the distance to the north. >n You start to walk northwards, but a small vehicle suddenly drives up to you and blocks your way. Then the cart scans you from head to toe with a bar of white light, pausing for a moment as it reaches the security badge that you're wearing. An atonal mechanical voice coming from the cart greets you, saying "Welcome, Martin Kessler". ------------- Press space bar to continue ----------------- The voice of the robot cart continues, "Please board the security vehicle so that you may be escorted onto the building premises and delivered to your authorized work area." You get on the cart and a seatbelt fastens itself automatically across you. The cart begins to move. It takes you through gates, doorways, tunnels, and passages. Then the cart drives down a particularly long hallway heading north. The robot cart stops at the end of the hallway. The seatbelt releases, and you get off the cart. Then the cart turns around and heads back down the hallway, disappearing from sight. NORTH END OF THE LONG HALLWAY To the north is a closed door marked 15-G. A long hallway leads south. >open door The door marked 15-G squeaks as you open it. >n DEPARTMENT RECEPTION AREA Mellow elevator music is playing here in the reception area. There's no one sitting at the desk. The fishbowl is gone too. The east door is closed. The north door is open. The west door is closed. The south door is open. >n COFFEE ROOM There's a coffee pot on the counter. It occurs to you that this must be coffee made by Mr. Pendergast. You wonder how it will taste. A memo is posted on the wall. The door to the reception area is open. You look through it nervously, hoping that Mr. Pendergast won't see that you're in here. >close door The door is now closed. You hear a door opening and the sounds of someone moving around in the reception area. >wait Time passes... You hear a squeaky door closing. Someone is still moving around in the reception area. >wait Time passes... You hear another door closing. Then all is quiet. >open door The door is now open. >s DEPARTMENT RECEPTION AREA Mellow elevator music is playing here in the reception area. There's no one sitting at the desk. The fishbowl is gone too. The east door is closed. The north door is open. The west door is closed. The south door is closed. >open west door You open the west door and see the research lab. >w RESEARCH LAB Five research technicians are working here. In their white lab coats they all look similarly uninspired. Their names are visible to you on their employee badges, identifying them as Ben, Ken, Glen, Sven, and Jen. Ben is working with a allen wrench. Ken is working with a small flathead screwdriver. Glen is working with a wire stripper. Sven is working with a soldering iron. Jen is working with a small Phillips screwdriver. No one appears to be using the Bunsen burner, which is currently turned off. You can't discern any purpose for the activities being performed by the research technicians. It occurs to you that they may simply be trying to appear busy so that they can continue to keep their jobs. The door to the reception area is open. >wear lab coat You put on the lab coat. >turn on burner You turn on the Bunsen burner. Ben gives the allen wrench to Ken. Ken gives the small flathead screwdriver to Glen. Glen gives the wire stripper to Sven. Sven gives the soldering iron to Jen. Jen gives the small Phillips screwdriver to you. Ben takes the long-nosed pliers from you. >light candle You light the green candle with the Bunsen burner. A small flame burns from the candle's wick. The burning wax smells strongly like pine trees. >e DEPARTMENT RECEPTION AREA Mellow elevator music is playing here in the reception area. There's no one sitting at the desk. The fishbowl is gone too. The east door is closed. The north door is open. The west door is open. The south door is closed. >open south door The south door squeaks as you open it. >s NORTH END OF THE LONG HALLWAY To the north, through an open door, is the reception area for department 15-G. A long hallway leads south. >s The security cart appears and prevents you from walking past it. The voice of the cart says, "Please board the security cart if you wish to be escorted to the Employee Parking Area." >get on cart You get on the security cart. A seatbelt fastens itself automatically across you, and the cart takes you back down the long hallway. The security cart takes you through the same passages, tunnels, doorways, and gates that you saw on the way in. It stops in the Employee Parking Area near the phone booth. The seat belt releases and you get off the cart. The cart then drives away and disappears from sight. EMPLOYEE PARKING AREA You're in the Employee Parking Area, which is inside of a parking structure that is mostly underground. To the west you see the phone booth, which is parked in one of empty parking spots. You don't see any people here. The entrance to the building complex lies in the distance to the north. >w PHONE BOOTH, in the Employee Parking Area 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 ten mile trip is five minutes, using standard travel speed." The phone booth flies north. After about five minutes of flying it drops down through an opening Martin's roof and comes to an abrupt halt in the pantry. The phone booth door opens. PHONE BOOTH, in the pantry You see the kitchen to the east. >e You drop the receiver. KITCHEN You see an envelope, a large stack of catalogs, a phone bill, a gold key, "The Bedtime Story Book", "The Boy Who Had No Words", a yellow feather, a small phone book, a short blue sock, a long black sock, a handwritten note, a bath robe, a pair of brown shoes, a short brown sock, a short black sock, some ballet slippers, a fake can of spam, a white pawn, a mug of black coffee, a plucked daisy, and a plucked tulip here. >s The blue birds suddenly become alive. They fly off of the china cabinet doors and begin to flit about, making you feel as if you should sing "Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah". Then the blue birds land back on the china cabinet doors and grow still. DINING ROOM (by the china cabinet) >sw DINING ROOM (by the west end of the table) On the west end of the table you see a plate, a fork, a knife, a spoon, and a glass. >w You go through the strands of beads. LIVING ROOM (front half) You see three empty boxes, three ordinary cans of spam, and a magic carpet (rolled) here. You see Agador-Spartacus in the back half of the living room. He's wagging his tail. >n LIVING ROOM (back half) On the music stand you see some sheet music. You see three empty boxes, two ordinary cans of spam, and a magic carpet (rolled) here. Agador-Spartacus stands before you, wagging his tail affably. >w DANCE STUDIO You see a coat rack here. You see Agador-Spartacus in the back half of the living room. He's wagging his tail. >dance with coat rack You begin dancing, spinning gracefully about with the coat rack as your partner. You almost feel as if you're in a Fred Astaire movie. Looking in the mirror you see that you indeed look just like Fred Astaire! With renewed confidence you dance on the walls, you dance on the mirror, and you dance on the ceiling. As you dance across the ceiling you slip through the open skylight, which causes the coatrack to clatter to the floor of the dance studio... ------------- Press space bar to continue ----------------- ATTIC On the black trunk you see a bottle of hair conditioner. >give candle to white trunk The elephant takes the green candle and twirls it around a bit. The elephant tosses it in the air, sniffs deeply, and catches it. Then the elephant tosses the green candle onto the old black trunk. The green latch pops open. >give rose to white trunk The elephant takes the plucked rose and twirls it around a bit. The elephant tosses it in the air, sniffs deeply, and catches it. Then the elephant tosses the plucked rose onto the old black trunk. The red latch pops open. >open trunk You open the trunk. A bottle of hair conditioner, a green candle (lit), and a plucked rose fall to the floor. In the trunk you see a top hat, a fan, and a copper key.