When in Rome 2: Far from Home — 18 of 22

Section 2 - Major Plot Events

To leave space:

say paragraph break; say paragraph break;

say paragraph break; say paragraph break.

The current level is medium.

To simplify the game:

choose a random row in the Table of Alien Characteristics;

while the difficulty entry is not the current level:

choose a random row in the Table of Alien Characteristics;

now moon of the creature is moon entry;

now mood of the creature is attitude entry;

now the odor sensitivity of the creature is nostrils entry;

now metabolism of the creature is feed time entry;

now gravity of the creature is the mass entry;

now speed of the creature is the dexterity entry;

now carrying capacity of the creature is the arms entry;

if carrying capacity of the creature is 0, now carrying capacity of the creature is 2;

follow the setup rules;

now food of the creature is taste entry;

if food of creature is meaty, now tongue of creature is "sharp carnivore teeth";

if food of creature is wood-pulpy, now tongue of creature is "a long raspy tongue";

if food of creature is earthly, now tongue of creature is "a round pink tongue";

if food of creature is textile, now tongue of creature is "a forked tongue";

now intelligence of the creature is brain entry;

if the creature lies nearer than Luna, now the color of the creature is a random color between red and yellow;

if the creature lies beyond Venus and creature lies nearer than Mars, now the color of the creature is a random color between yellow and cyan;

if the creature lies beyond Luna and creature lies nearer than Saturn, now the color of the creature is a random color between green and purple;

if the creature lies beyond Jupiter, now the color of the creature is a random color between tan and grey;

if the moon of the creature is Triton, now the color of the creature is grey.

The sampler platter is a portable supporter. The description of the sampler platter is "One of Esther's brainwaves, based on a few months of this work. If you let her, she'd probably add toothpicks and pimientoed olives."

After examining the platter when something is on the platter: say "Arrayed on the platter are [a list of things on the platter]."

The scrap of wrapping paper is a papery thing on the platter. The knitted scarf is a wearable thing on the platter. The meatball is an edible thing on the platter. The meatball is stinky and fleshy. The carrot is an edible thing on the platter. The description of the carrot is "It looks almost distressingly healthy: if you were an alien, you wouldn't want any part of it." The description of the meatball is "Fetched from the shop down the road, which is more than Esther will do for you these days. It is spiced." The description of the scarf is "Unattractively tartan[if we have not examined the scarf]. Esther has a variety of hideous accessories, gifts from her mother. 'She doesn't want me dating,' was Esther's response, when you dared comment[end if]." The description of the wrapping paper is "Festive, with little snowflakes on the outside."

When play begins:

now the right hand status line is "[time of day]";

remove the sack from play; remove the salami from play;

now the time of day is 10:13 AM;

move slide to the player; move ballpoint to player;

move sampler platter to the desk;

move the glue to the drawer; move the Guide to the drawer;

move the blank label to the Kit;

move the paperwork to the drawer; move the lamp to the desk;

move the creature to the Office;

if the player wears the jacket, silently try taking off the jacket; if the player wears the fedora, silently try taking off the fedora; remove the jacket from play; remove the fedora from play;

now the left hand status line is "Tuesday, July 13, 1954";

simplify the game.

When play begins:

leave space;

center "[story title]";

center "[story headline]";

center "by [story author]";

leave space;

pause the game;

say "Weeks go by; the weather turns hot. Communist spies are investigated, Alan Turing commits suicide, Britain ends food rationing. The Yankees win nine games in a row.

You, you spend many hours within the grey walls of the Office of Alien Protocol. Your blood is tested for alien pathogens. You take memory tests and guess what cards are hidden behind a screen. You have a physical roughly once a week. You are, as you tell Esther, probably the healthiest specimen in New York City, to which she says, 'Hunh.'";

pause the game;

say "[paragraph break][bold type]Tuesday, July 13, 1954[roman type] [paragraph break]'Sir--' Esther pokes her head in. 'I can bring the radio in later, if you like.' In case you're not done by 1:30, she means, when the All-Star game begins.

'Whitey Ford is starting pitcher,' you point out.

'I understand the significance of this moment,' she says, withdrawing. You're making progress."

After going to Office:

say "'Oh, and the boys said it might be getting hungry, they didn't know,' Esther calls after you. 'They fed it twenty minutes ago.'

'Did they say [italic type]what[roman type] they fed it?' you holler back. But she's already out of range, and the only answer you get is the clacking of the typewriter.";

continue the action.

Table of Happy Endings

To decide whether (inner - a thing) lies within (external object - a thing):

if external object encloses inner, yes;

no.

To decide whether (inner - a thing) lies outside (external object - a thing):

if inner lies within external object, no;

yes.