text: [Themes: Science Fiction, siblings]
  
  > Go down
  You climb down, dropping the last couple of feet to...
  
  Rooftop, at the base of the chimney
  You can see Anton here, hitching up his pants.
  
  Anton is hiding behind the smokestack. Why, or from whom, you couldn't say.
  
  > go northeast
  The visible exits are north, northwest, west and up (to rooftop, halfway up the chimney).
  
  Anton is leaning against the chimney, trying to look cool.
  
  > go northwest
  Rooftop, garden patch
  Like a lot of buildings renovated in the 1990s, it's got a small garden patch. Fifty years later, it's still doing its best to hide the grey concrete and metal beneath. But it comes off as a bit of a green toupee in comparison to the entirely organic, silk-lined wooden skyscrapers they're building today in Mumbai and Shanghai.
  
  Judging by the rows of unruly plants, it's been a while since this garden was actively farmed. The access door is to the south, the chimney is to the southeast and there's an empty corner to the east.
  
  Off in the distance, Anton is making a sad attempt to climb the chimney, but stops when he sees you watching.
  
  > examine garden
  You move some the dense foliage out of the way, revealing two rows of short, bulbous vegetables separated by a plank.
  
  Over a bit, Anton is leaning against the chimney, trying to look cool.
  
  > examine the vegetables
  There's a lot of the squat shiny cucumbers.
  
  Across the rooftop, Anton is hiding behind the smokestack. Why, or from whom, you couldn't say.
  
  > take the cucumbers
  Half-submerged in the ground, the plank is about a dozen feet long.
  
  Off in the distance, Anton is making a sad attempt to climb the chimney, but stops when he sees you watching.
  
  You take one of the vegetables. It's heavier than you would have expected, and sits comfortably in the palm of your hand like it was designed to do so.
  
  Over a bit, Anton is leaning against the chimney, trying to look cool.
  
  > take the plank
  You try, but the plank is stuck too solidly in the ground for your skinny arms to move.
  
  Across the rooftop, Anton is making a sad attempt to climb the chimney, but stops when he sees you watching.
  
  > call Anton
  Anton hears you and trots over. "What? Did you find some silk?"
  
  > take the plank
  Anton leans over and pulls at the edge of the plank. It moves a bit, but then he gives up with a shrug. It's irritating, because you know he's strong enough. When he's angry he's liable to break everything in sight -- you saw him uproot a tree once.
  
  Anton looks at you like you're joking, but when you're not smiling he gets flustered.
  
  > examine the cucumber
  (the vegetable)
  It looks like a hand-sized football-shaped cucumber. The skin is a bit shiny, and as you tilt it in the light you see it's got a hologo of some sort -- a circle with a cross design --  you recognize it as being the same one from the chimney.
  
  Anton's mouth is moving and his eyes are glassy. Suddenly he throws his arms into the air and runs in a victory circle.
  
  > Go east
  Rooftop, northeast corner
  There's a great view of the city from here -- from this distance, if you squint, you can't really tell most of the buildings have been stripped and abandoned. You know that's why Anton's always trying to get you guys to collect up on the rooftops, even though they've mostly been picked clean years ago -- so he can stare at his precious Tower.
  
  At the northernmost edge of the building you can see the street below, which you recognize as the place where you entered the building. The garden patch is to the west, the chimney is to the south and the exit door is southwest.
  
  Off in the distance, Anton thinks he sees a bug in the dirt, but it's just a pebble.
  
  > eat the cucumber
  You're about to, but at the last minute something stops you from biting into the taut green skin. There's something... weird about it.
  
  Across the rooftop, Anton pretends to shovel some dirt in his attempt at anti-farmer satire.
  
  > look at Tower
  The city looks prettier at twilight, when you can't see the busted windows and the fireblackened walls. The Tower, aside from the structural damage, is pretty well off, since the windows at the top are intact -- high enough to ward off the most determined looters. So far.
  
  For some reason, the arachnoids tended to nest in high areas, and there's nowhere higher than the Tower. Even twenty years after the giant mutant spiders died out silk collectors like your brother are still hell-bent on getting the legendary deposits they left on top of the pod.
  
  > go to the southwest
  Rooftop, by the exit
  To the west you can see a nearby building, about the same height as the one you're on.
  
  The garden patch is north, the chimney is east and the empty corner is northeast.
  
  The concrete stairwell exit is a rectangle protruding at least fifteen feet from the rooftop, its only feature a closed metal door.
  
  For (probably ill-advised) reasons of his own, Anton heads to the garden.
  
  > look at the door
  It's a rectangular cube sticking up out of the tarmac like a big white robot tooth. It's featureless except for the outline of a door, and the door is handleless.
  
  Anton comes by, patting his belly. He notices you looking at the door.
  
  "Don't worry, Toph," he says. "I put the bag --"
  
  His face falls when he looks at the door.
  
  "I..." He stares at the handleless door. "Toph, you gotta believe me, I wedged the bag in there real good. I don't..."
  
  > open the door
  There's no handle on this side.
  
  Anton pounds the locked door and yells for help, even though the two of you had walked up the six flights of stairs without seeing another soul.
  
  > look at the building
  It's similar to the one you're on, except that the exit door is hanging off its hinges. Instead of a garden there's a faded billboard for a long forgotten movie. Given its alphanumeric website address it's a few decades old at least.
  
  There's probably a ten foot gap between the buildings.
  
  "I bet I could jump that," Anton says, doing some leg stretches.
  
  "You bet your life?" you say, pointing to the ground below.
  
  Anton stops doing leg stretches.
  
  Anton's slumped down on the ground. "OK. We need a plan." He looks at you hopefully.
  
  > take the plank
  Anton nods, but clearly he wasn't listening.
  
  Anton's still nervous, his eyes wide and his nostrils occasionally flaring.
  
  > follow
  (the access door)
  Anton seems less freaked out.
  
  > follow you
  Anton punches the door and then immediately regrets it.
  
  > Go north
  Rooftop, garden patch
  There's a plank between the rows of plants.
  
  You can also see a row of vegetables here.
  
  For (probably ill-advised) reasons of his own, Anton heads to the exit door.
  
  > take the plank
  You're not really close enough to Anton to do that. Might want to call him over first, or follow him.
  
  Over a bit, Anton is sitting on the ground. He's discovered that the tarmac is slightly soft and is pressing his hand into it to make a print.
  
  > call Anton
  Anton hears you and trots over. "What? Did you think of a plan?"
  
  > get the the plank
  Anton leans over and pulls at the edge of the plank. It moves a bit, but then he gives up with a shrug. It's irritating, because you know he's strong enough. When he's angry he's liable to break everything in sight -- you saw him uproot a tree once.
  
  Anton looks at you like you're joking, but when you're not smiling he gets flustered.
  
  > tell Anton about the plank
  "You thinking what I'm thinking?" Anton says. "We can chop it up and sell it on the chopstick market!"
  
  > Dig
  What do you want to dig?
  
  > dig the garden
  What do you want to dig the plants with?
  
  > dig the plants with Claw
  That's a precision instrument -- you shudder to think what Harry would say if you got it all clogged up with dirt.
  Your attempt to dig the garden with the Claw makes Anton snicker.
  
  Anton is kicking the foliage, making a mess.
  
  > examine the foliage
  It makes you think about that girl at the market who's always encouraging you to come down to help out on their farm. But no, Anton would never go for that.
  
  Anton's mouth is moving and his eyes are glassy. Suddenly he throws his arms into the air and runs in a victory circle.
  
  > Inventory
  You're wearing a striped sleeveless top, identical to your brother's except for the bush of chest hair he has coming out the top of his. Your chin has also refused to sprout anything that isn't embarrassing.
  
  You are carrying a vegetable, the containment unit (being worn and empty) and the Claw.
  
  Anton thinks he sees a bug in the dirt, but it's just a pebble.
  
  > hit Anton
  Knocking some sense into your brother is tempting, but you know from experience that it's a waste of time.
  
  Anton pretends to shovel some dirt in his attempt at anti-farmer satire.
  
  > throw the cucumber at Anton
  (the vegetable at Anton)
  Convincing yourself that an old fashioned food fight will let off some steam, you throw the veggie at Anton. It smashes into his chest, and -- disturbingly -- grey-green vines burst forth from the mess at a shocking speed to encircle your brother.
  
  There's a moment where he's tied up as effectively as if with rope, and then his stunned expression starts to darken.
  
  Anton's arms strain. "No... trap... from a stupid FARMER," bursting through the tendrils, "...can hold a Karrento!"
  
  The vines fall off of him into a pile at his feet and begin to rot.
  
  Anton's still mad, kicking at the tarmac.
  
  > get the the plank
  He funnels his rage into pulling the plank free of the dirt in a cloud of dust!
  
  Anton picks up the plank.
  
  Anton seems to have cooled down.
  
  > take the cucumber
  You grab another of the cucumbery vegetables.
  
  Anton's mouth is moving and his eyes are glassy. Suddenly he throws his arms into the air and runs in a victory circle.
  
  > Go southeast
  Rooftop, at the base of the chimney
  Off in the distance, Anton is kicking the foliage, making a mess.
  
  > throw the cucumber at the chimney
  Leaving your hand like a green oblong snowball, it smacks into the chimney and sends out its viney tendrils around and around the structure until the tough vines cover the surface.
  
  Anton strolls by and lets out a low whistle. "Those farmers are getting trickier every year."
  
  > Go upwards
  Near the base, the cracked brick provides enough finger and toe holds to climb to...
  
  Rooftop, halfway up the chimney
  Anton looks up, arms folded and nodding approvingly like he's your supervisor or something.
  
  > Go upwards
  The latticework of vines helps you scale the surface...
  
  Rooftop, top of the chimney
  You're on the lip of the chimney, the inside of which has been mostly bricked up.
  
  You can see the whole rooftop from here.
  
  Inside an alcove you spot a small amount of spider silk.
  
  Down below you, Anton shades his eyes and watches you.
  
  > examine the silk
  It's white, with just a tiny bit of a shimmer in certain lights. Weird to think it'll end up in some organic skyscraper in Asia somewhere, reinforcing a wooden beam or strut.
  
  Down below you, Anton shades his eyes and watches you.
  
  > take it
  Silk's reactive with organic substances, which is why it's so valuable for reinforcing building materials. If you're wondering how reactive, you only have to look at Harry's friend Two-Fingers Nancy.
  
  "Toph, you see any of the white stuff up there? We gotta get us some spizz..." Anton calls from below.
  
  > take the silk with Claw
  Carefully you pinch the silk with the Claw and gently wind the strands around. Harry gives you a slightly better price for it when it's in one piece and free of debris.
  
  You put it into the containment unit and engage the lock. Success!
  
  "Toph, you see any of the white stuff up there? We gotta get us some spizz..." Anton calls from below.