When in Rome 2: Far from Home — 11 of 22

Chapter 3 - The Player's Clothing and Inventory

The slide is a thing.

The salami is edible and stinky and fleshy. Understand "bow" or "ribbon" or "sausage" or "meat" as the salami. The description of the salami is "Rich in garlic and meatiness."

The printed name of the slide is "slide rule". Understand "rule" as the slide. The description of the slide is "One of those things you've carried around instinctively since college. Esther likes to make fun of you for it, but you never know when you're going to have to calculate something."

The player wears a fedora, a jacket, a shirt, an undershirt, a pair of slacks, a pair of undershorts, a pair of socks, and a pair of shoes. The socks are stinky. Understand "shorts" as the undershorts. Understand "pants" or "trousers" as the slacks. Understand "hat" as the fedora. The fedora, the jacket, and the shoes are leathery. The collar is leathery. The description of the collar is "An ordinary strap with a buckle, the kind you might put on a dog."

Instead of wearing the collar: say "Your neck is insufficiently willowy."

Instead of examining something which underlies something (called the covering): say "It is hard to see [the noun] under [the covering]."

Report taking off undershorts for the first time:

say "You strip off your shorts, feeling distinctly self-conscious." instead.

Instead of taking inventory:

say "You're carrying [a list of things carried by the player][if the player wears something]. You are wearing [a list of uppermost things worn by the player][end if]."

Instead of examining the player:

if the player wears the jacket and the player wears the slacks and the player wears the fedora, say "You look sharp in your suit and fedora." instead;

if the number of things worn by the player is 0, say "You are down to your birthday suit." instead;

if the number of things worn by the player is 1

begin;

if the player wears the fedora, say "Aside from your stylish hat, you are nude." instead;

if the player wears the undershorts, say "At least you still have your undershorts." instead;

if the player wears the undershirt, say "You're down to only your undershirt, and it is not as long as it could be." instead;

end if;

if the player is indecent, say "You're not quite decently clad, put it that way." instead;

say "You are feeling a little wilted in the heat.";

Definition: a person is nude if the number of things worn by it is 0. Definition: a person is indecent if it is not wearing the slacks.

Definition: a thing is uppermost if it is not under something.

Underlying relates one thing to various things. The verb to underlie (it underlies, they underlie, it is underlying, it is underlaid) implies the underlying relation. The verb to be under implies the underlying relation.

The shirt underlies the jacket. The pair of socks underlies the pair of shoes. The undershorts underlie the slacks. The undershirt underlies the shirt.

Check taking off:

if the noun underlies something (called the impediment) which is worn by the player, say "[The impediment] is in the way." instead.

Carry out taking off:

now the noun is not underlaid by anything.

Report taking off something:

say "You take off [the noun], and are now wearing [a list of uppermost things worn by the player]." instead.

Overlying relates one thing to various things. The verb to overlie (it overlies, they overlie, it is overlying) implies the overlying relation.

The jacket overlies the shirt. The shoes overlie the socks. The slacks overlie the undershorts. The shirt overlies the undershirt.

Before wearing something when something (called the impediment) which overlies the noun is worn by the player:

try taking off the impediment;

if the player is wearing the impediment, stop the action.

Before taking off something which underlies something (called the impediment) which is worn by the player:

try taking off the impediment;

if the impediment is worn by the player, stop the action.

Carry out wearing:

if the noun overlies something (called the hidden item) worn by the player, now the hidden item underlies the noun.

Instead of looking under something which is worn by the player:

if something (called the underwear) underlies the noun, say "You peek at [the underwear]. Yup, still there.";

otherwise say "Just you in there.".

The ballpoint pen is a thing. The description of the pen is "It's a Parker 'Jotter', and cost you five dollars, which the Office of Alien Protocol was too mean to pick up, though they were the ones who suggested you avoid fountain pens in your office. [paragraph break]It is not quite out of ink yet."

The brown paper sack is a container. In the brown paper sack is some bread, and a wedge of cheese.

Understand "bag" as the sack. The description of the sack is "An ordinary lunch bag, such as anyone might take to work." The sack is papery. The sack is openable and closed.

After opening the sack when a stinky thing is in the sack:

say "As you open the sack, you catch the pungent smell of [the list of stinky things in the sack] inside[if something which is not stinky is in the sack]. Less offensive to the nostrils [is-are the list of inoffensive things in the sack][end if]."

The cheese is edible and stinky. The description of the cheese is "Pungent: you conclude it must be European cheese. You certainly haven't seen anything like that since Italy." The bread is edible. The description of the bread is "A round and crusty roll." Understand "round" and "crusty" and "roll" as the bread.

The tube of holdall glue is a stinky thing. The description is "A truly miraculous substance that sets up rock-hard and air-tight in a matter of milliseconds. It is also covered with toxicity warnings."

Instead of eating the holdall glue:

say "You decide to disregard the numerous warnings on the outside of the tube and experiment with the taste of the glue. It turns out that it produces a strong burning sensation in the lining of the mouth and throat, accompanied by lung-filling noxious fumes and coughing. Your eyes water and then you fall into a semi-comatose state for a long, long time. The good news is that there is not permanent brain damage, just a lot of misery.";

end the story saying "Esther has to take you to the hospital, which is never a good end to the day"

Report eating a poisoned edible thing:

say "You eat [the noun], careful to avoid the blob of glue, of course."

Instead of putting the glue on something which is not a supporter:

if the player is not carrying the glue, try taking the glue;

if the player is not carrying the glue, stop the action;

now the second noun is poisoned;

say "You apply a dab of [the glue] to [the second noun]."

The blank label is a thing.

The Guide is a thing. The printed name of the guide is "Guide to Alien Habitats". Understand "book" or "guidebook" or "Guide to Alien Habitats" or "alien habitats" or "guide to habitats" as the Guide.

The description of the guide is "A Guide To Alien Habitats, for use in the identification and labeling of your little Visitors.

The table of contents reveals that the book contains the following charts:".

After examining the guide:

repeat through Table of Guide Information

begin;

say "[line break] [category entry]";

end repeat;

say paragraph break.

header is a kind of value. The headers are Roughness, Reflexes, Power, Atmosphere, Behavior, and Digestion. Understand "period" or "periodicity" or "day" or "days" or "year" or "years" as reflexes. Understand "surface" or "roughness" or "surface roughness" as roughness. Understand "gravity" or "equatorial" or "mass" or "equatorial gravity" or "surface gravity" or "gravities" or "equatorial surface gravity" as Power. Understand "air" or "atmospheres" or "smell" or "smells" as atmosphere. Understand "mood" or "attitude" or "attitudes" or "behaviour" as Behavior. Understand "food" as digestion.

Understand "look up [header] in [something]" as studying in it about (with nouns reversed). Understand "consult [something] on/about [header]" as studying in it about. Understand "read about [header] in [something]" as studying in it about (with nouns reversed). Understand "read [header] in [something]" as studying in it about (with nouns reversed). Understand "read about [header] in [guide]" as studying in it about (with nouns reversed). Understand "read [header] in [guide]" as studying in it about (with nouns reversed).

Understand "look up [header]" as wondering about.

Wondering about is an action applying to one header. Before wondering about when the player can see the Guide and the player is not carrying the guide: try taking the guide; if the player is not carrying the guide, stop the action. Check wondering about: if the player is not carrying the guide, say "You don't have the Guide, in which you do most of your current research." instead. Carry out wondering about: try studying in the Guide about the header understood.

Studying in it about is an action applying to one thing and one header. Carry out studying in something about: say "You find no useful information."

Instead of studying in the Guide about:

if there is a category of the header understood in the Table of Guide Information

begin;

say "You flip through the Guide and find the following:[paragraph break]";

choose row with a category of the header understood in the Table of Guide Information; say "[reply entry][paragraph break]";

otherwise;

say "You flip through the guide unavailingly, though you do notice that a few pages have apparently been ripped out." instead;

end if.

Table of Guide Information

To say foods:

say "List of Alien Home-worlds in Sol System (by Food type):[line break]";

let current food be meaty;

repeat through Table of Alien Characteristics in taste column order

begin;

if taste entry is not current food

begin;

now current food is taste entry;

say "[line break] [bold type][current food][roman type]: ";

otherwise;

say ", ";

end if;

say "[moon entry]";

end repeat;

say paragraph break.

To say roughnesses:

say "List of Alien Home-worlds in Sol System (by Roughness):[line break]";

let count be -1;

repeat through Table of Alien Characteristics in arms column order

begin;

if arms entry is not count

begin;

now count is arms entry;

say "[line break] [bold type][count as roughness][roman type]: ";

otherwise;

say ", ";

end if;

say "[moon entry]";

end repeat;

say paragraph break.

To say (count - a number) as roughness:

if count is 0, say "Gaseous";

if count is 1, say "Very smooth";

if count is 2, say "Smooth";

if count is greater than 2 and count is less than 5, say "Rough/cratered";

if count is greater than 4, say "Very rough/cratered";

To say systems:

say "List of Alien Home-worlds in Sol System (by System):[line break]";

let planetoid be Pluto;

repeat through Table of Alien Characteristics in system column order

begin;

if system entry is not planetoid

begin;

now planetoid is system entry;

say "[line break] [bold type][planetoid][roman type]: ";

otherwise;

say ", ";

end if;

say "[moon entry]";

end repeat;

say paragraph break.

To say atmospheres:

say "List of Alien Home-worlds in Sol System (by Atmosphere):[line break]";

let scent be inverse;

repeat through Table of Alien Characteristics in nostrils column order

begin;

if nostrils entry is not scent

begin;

now scent is nostrils entry;

say "[line break] [bold type][scent in words][roman type]: ";

otherwise;

say ", ";

end if;

say "[moon entry]";

end repeat;

say paragraph break.

To say (scent - an odor sensitivity) in words:

if scent is weak, say "None";

if scent is strong, say "Primarily oxygen, hydrogen, or nitrogen";

if scent is inverse, say "Significant sulfuric or methane components";

To say periodicities:

say "List of Alien Home-worlds in Sol System (by periodicity category):[line break]";

let rapidity be lightning;

repeat through Table of Alien Characteristics in dexterity column order

begin;

if dexterity entry is not rapidity

begin;

now rapidity is dexterity entry;

say "[line break] [bold type][rapidity in words][roman type]: ";

otherwise;

say ", ";

end if;

say "[moon entry]";

end repeat;

say paragraph break.

To say (rapidity - a speed) in words:

if rapidity is lightning, say "Less than one Earth day";

if rapidity is fast, say "One to six Earth days";

if rapidity is moderate, say "One Earth week to one Earth month";

if rapidity is slow, say "More than one Earth month".

To say gravities:

say "List of Alien Home-worlds in Sol System (by effective weight at surface):[line break]";

let size be negligible;

repeat through Table of Alien Characteristics in reverse mass column order

begin;

if mass entry is not size

begin;

now size is mass entry;

say "[line break] [bold type][size][roman type]: ";

otherwise;

say ", ";

end if;

say "[moon entry]";

end repeat;

say paragraph break.

Color is a kind of value. The colors are red, orange, yellow, green, cyan, blue, indigo, purple, tan, black, white, and grey. The creature has a color.

The creature is an animal. The description is "It's an attractive shade of [color of creature], really, when you think about it, and it looks a little bit like a [if the creature is slothful]sloth[otherwise]chimpanzee[end if][if the carrying capacity of the creature is not 2] -- with [carrying capacity of the creature in words] arm[s], and [otherwise]. Only with [end if]a [if the odor sensitivity of the creature is strong or the odor sensitivity of the creature is inverse]larger, more sensitive[otherwise]smaller[end if] nose, and ears that come to points, and [tongue of creature]... [paragraph break][if the creature has something]It carries [a list of things carried by the creature]. It wears [a list of things worn by the creature].[otherwise]Odd, really.[end if]"

Understand the color property as describing the creature.

The creature has a moon. The creature has a speed. The creature has an intelligence. The creature has a food. The metabolism of the creature is 50.

The creature wears a collar. Understand "Visitor" or "animal" or "alien" or "arms" or "arm" or "paw" or "paws" or "nose" or "tongue" or "teeth" as the creature. The creature has some text called tongue. The tongue of the creature is "raspy tongue".