OPENING THE WALL SAFE RACHEL'S BEDROOM Although it's clear that Rachel hasn't lived in this room for several years, you can still sense her presence here. It's almost as if her vibrant personality still resides in the furniture and the few personal items that she has behind. Painted across the walls is a colorful mural that continues from wall to wall In a corner of the room you see a rather large birdcage. The birdcage is empty. The bedside table and the dresser appear to be a matched set. Both pieces are stylishly curved with sort of an art deco look. There's a flower vase on the dresser. The secret compartment in the bedside table is open. On the east wall is a glass shelf that appears to have something etched into the glass. The outer edges of the east wall look like an ordinary wall, but in the middle of the wall is a large fuzzy white cube that stands a little taller than you are. The fuzzy cube has a large round hole in it. In the secret compartment you see a whistle. On the glass shelf you see a sketchbook. >look in compartment In the secret compartment you see a whistle. >take whistle You take the whistle out of the secret compartment. >blow whistle You blow the whistle. The whistle makes no sound that you can hear. It occurs to you that this might be a dog whistle, pitched too high for human ears. >e FUZZY CHAMBER >put ear tile in sack As you put the ear tile into the sack, the gold thread begins to vibrate. Then, the tiny fuzzy dice on the gold thread emit a short low buzzing sound. Suddenly the fuzzy chamber changes its orientation. The quarter flip pulls the floor out from under you, and you fall over. After you regain your footing, you see that the large round hole, which used to be to the west, is now beneath you. You manage not to fall through the hole by keeping to the side. Suddenly the fuzzy chamber changes its orientation. The quarter flip pulls the floor out from under you, and you fall over. After you regain your footing, you see that the large round hole, which used to be beneath you, is now to the east. You hear a thump coming from the south wall. Then you hear a grinding noise receding from the south wall, while at the same time you hear a grinding noise approaching the ceiling. This is followed by a thump coming from the ceiling. >e SHORT HALL On the glass shelf you see a white pawn. >s SECOND FLOOR LANDING >w PHONE BOOTH, by the second floor landing 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 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 drops very quickly. Then, just as suddenly, the phone booth comes to a screeching halt. The door opens and you see the kitchen. PHONE BOOTH, in the pantry You see the kitchen to the east. You hear the computerized voice tell you... 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. >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, two short white socks, a small Phillips screwdriver, some brightly colored machine tools, a copper key, a small tape recorder, a large towel, a basket, a brass token, a fan, a rubber duckie, a twenty dollar bill, a sink stopper, and a plucked daisy here. Agador-Spartacus crawls out from under the kitchen sink. The sink cabinet doors swing shut. Agador-Spartacus stands before you, wagging his tail affably. >blow whistle You blow the dog whistle. The whistle makes no sound that you can hear. Agador-Spartacus tilts his head. He is somewhat curious as to why you are whistling at him, but not overly concerned. In fact, he seems remarkably calm, almost serene. This causes you to ponder the question, "Does a dog have Buddha nature?" But the only response that one can give to a question like that is "Mu!" Agador-Spartacus walks over to the small lever and pushes it down with his paw. Water pours out of the round spout into the white pet bowl below it and the small lever pops back up. You hear vigorous lapping sounds as Agador-Spartacus drinks the water. He stands before you, wagging his tail affably. >w PHONE BOOTH, in the pantry You see Agador-Spartacus in the kitchen. He's lying down. 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". You see Agador-Spartacus in the kitchen. He's lying down. 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. >blow whistle You blow the dog whistle. The whistle makes no sound that you can hear. For some reason this makes you think of a Zen monastery in southern China. Birds sing among innumerable kinds of fragrant flowers. >n ELEVATOR >press rectangle You push the tall brown rectangle. The panel to the south closes, and the elevator rises. Then the panel to the south opens, revealing the Fifth Level. >s FIFTH LEVEL >get in barrel You get into the unmarked barrel. You feel an overwhelming sense of nothingness surrounding you, creeping into your consciousness. Gradually the boundary between yourself and the nothingness dissolves, and you realize that your existence inside the barrel has disappeared. ------------- Press space bar to continue ----------------- JAPANESE GARDEN ENTRANCE >blow whistle You blow the dog whistle. The whistle makes no sound that you can hear. For some reason this makes you remember a story in which three unemployed actors are turned away from a joke-casting audition and afterwards they walk into a bar. The bartender refuses to serve the rope, and the talking dog forgets to say "DiMaggio". But the ten-inch violinist keeps insisting that he isn't really too short, it's just that they were only looking for pianists. >s As you go through the gate, you hear the tinkling of unseen wind chimes. A rice paper panel opens and you walk through to find yourself on the First Level of the store. The panel closes behind you. FIRST LEVEL In the small indentation you see a pebble. You see a black bowl containing a spoon here. >clap (your hands) You clap your hands. A panel in the north wall opens, revealing an elevator. >n ELEVATOR >press circle You push the silver circle. The panel to the south closes, and the elevator drops. Then the panel to the south opens, revealing the Fourth Level. >s FOURTH LEVEL >blow whistle You blow the dog whistle. The whistle makes no sound, but suddenly the painting moves sideways, revealing an open wall safe! As you start to look into the wall safe, you hear some footsteps approaching from behind you. Suddenly you feel a sharp blow to the back of your head. A sharp bright light flashes inside of your eyes and then everything goes to black. ------------- Press space bar to continue ----------------- Some time later you regain consciousness and find yourself lying on the floor. You hear two voices speaking mostly in Japanese, an older man and a young woman. You open your eyes and watch the two people talking. You realize that this is the store owner, Mr. Takamine, talking with his daughter Julie. Your headphones translate for you. Julie says, "I don't think we need an ambulance, Papa. He seems to be coming around now." "I already know that there is no need for an ambulance. This man is a criminal! At such times there is a need for the police, not for an ambulance. Daughter, call the police at once and tell them that a thief has broken into the wall safe of my mechanic." "It doesn't look like a break-in, Papa, nothing is damaged. Why don't you call your mechanic first and find out whether or not this man is supposed to be here?" "This I cannot do. She has taken leave of absence." ------------- Press space bar to continue ----------------- "I wonder what she keeps in the wall safe anyway," Julie muses as she reaches into safe and takes out two objects, a crystal box and an audio cassette with a yellow label. Inside the translucent crystal box you see a pair of gloves. "Papa, what's going on? What are these things she's keeping in the safe?" Mr. Takamine remains silent for a few moments. When he speaks, his voice is deep and hoarse. You pull yourself up to sit on the floor so that you can hear him better. "I told her that she must stop this project of hers. I explained to her why it is too dangerous. The future must not cause the past, it is unnatural. A motorcycle mechanic must be practical, this I told her." Mr. Takamine touches the motorcycle wheel that is lying on the metal work table, his mind nostalgically thinking of the mechanical expertise that he has passed on to his young pupil. But then the hub of the wheel falls out and all of the spokes clatter onto the work table. "I should have known that she would not listen. These Kesslers never listen. She is not a good girl like you, my daughter." Now it is Julie's turn to look uncomfortable. She puts the objects back in the wall safe and closes the painting. "Papa, there's something I haven't told you yet. I think we need this man's help." ------------- Press space bar to continue ----------------- "You think that this man can help?" Mr. Takamin asks. "No, you are mistaken. There is nothing that he can do to help." "How do we know until we let him try?" "Look, I will show you." Mr. Takamine takes a yellowed newspaper clipping out of his wallet and gives it to you. You read the newspaper clipping. It's an obituary for Martin's father, dated more than 25 years ago. The article says that Viktor Kessler died in his home on October 13 of that year, due to an accidental explosion in his laboratory. You look up to see Mr. Takamine watching you. He nods as if you have demonstrated his point, but for some reason he also seems disappointed, almost as if he had been hoping that you would prove him wrong. You hand the clipping back to him. "You see, my daughter? This man reads about the accident and does not become ill. He feels no uncertainty about what has happened, and therefore he will have no window of opportunity in which to act. Besides this, we already know that Viktor cannot be saved. If he had been saved then you and I would remember that this is the way that it had already happened, for only the agent of the causation would be sick from the uncertainty. But you see that this does not make him ill. No one can help Viktor, what is done is done." ------------- Press space bar to continue ----------------- "I'm not talking about Mr. Kessler, Papa. I'm talking about Martin!" "Martin? Martin doesn't need any help." Mr. Takamine says in an annoyed tone of voice. "Always I have told you to stay away from Martin. Why do you think Martin needs help?" "Because I've been seeing him every Tuesday at the zoo and this week he didn't come," Julie tells her father, her voice almost a whisper. "You have been seeing Martin?" Her father's stern voice is full of shock and disapproval. "At the zoo?" "What difference does it make where I've been seeing him!" Julie shouts in exasperation. Now Mr. Takamine is truly stunned. You suspect that Julie has never raised her voice to her father before. ------------- Press space bar to continue ----------------- "And seeing him isn't all I've done," Julie confesses mournfully. "I told him how to get into the tea house in your garden so that he could listen to his father's audio cassettes. And today when I looked in the tea house I found out that your space travel drive was missing. I think Martin took it and got lost somewhere and it's all my fault!" Julie wails, bursting into tears. Mr. Takamine pulls his daughter into his arms and tries to comfort her. "Now, now, do not cry. Everything will be all right, you will see. The drive prototype would not be of any use without fuel. Martin would not be able to get very far using with the broccoli that they sell at an ordinary supermarket. Such broccoli is full of contaminants and is almost always more than nine days old. My own broccoli is organically grown and harvested fresh every week. But how could Martin ferret out any of my broccoli when I have been keeping a lock on the barrel? You didn't give him the key, did you?" "No, he didn't ask for any keys," Julie whimpers, somewhat comforted. "Papa, did Rachel say anything about why she was taking a leave of absence?" "She said she needed to help with a linked meditation. Some sort of family emergency. She goes to be with her mother in New York City." ------------- Press space bar to continue ----------------- "Linked meditation? That doesn't sound Zen," says Julie. "Not Zen. Indian." "I didn't know the Tiwa did meditation." "I do not mean American-Indian, I mean to say Asian-Indian. Rachel says that in the apartment building her mother lives next to a Mahareeshi. He is to organize a group trance. We must not disturb them, Rachel says this is important." Julie nods her head in understanding. "They're trying to help Martin," she says. "Papa, you can't call the police, you need to let this man go so that he can help Martin too. And I think he might need to use those things in the wall safe." With a frown, Mr. Takamine claps his hands. A panel in the north wall opens, revealing an elevator. As he walks into the elevator you realize that he has decided not to interfere with your activities here. But Julie kneels at your side. "Go do what you're going to do," Julie tells you in English. "My father won't hit you again. But please be careful! It sounds like this could be dangerous." As you stand up, Julie walks into the elevator to join her father. Mr. Takamine claps his hands and the elevator closes. You find yourself alone again.