text: [Themes: Time Travel, science fiction, sciencefiction]
  
  > put it in the Console
  Taken.
  Taken.
  
  A standard-issue cloaking device. Operating along similar principles to the StreamDive device itself, it causes all photons entering the field to be instantly transported to the far side of the field as if they had passed straight through it, with the net result being that anything within the field is nearly invisible. The relocation effect causes "ghost" photons to be emitted by the inside of the field, allowing any person inside it to see his surroundings with a minimum of visual distortion. The device's battery is currently charged to 100 percent. The cloaking device is currently switched off.
  
  Taken.
  You put the shield chip into the StreamDive console.
  
  > put it in the Console
  (the dive chip)
  Taken.
  You put the dive chip into the StreamDive console.
  
  > look at Dive
  (the StreamDive console)
  Your StreamDive console is a small display device designed to provide you with relevant information about the current dive, and allow access to key StreamDive facilities [Footnote 1]. These facilities are made available by adding chips to its five-slot chiprack. The chiprack currently contains three chips.
  
  > look at the dive chip
  This is the fundamental chip for the StreamDive console. It allows control of the temporal displacement functions.
  Commands Provided:
  RECALL -- Discharge StreamDive capacitors for instant recall
  STATUS -- Display status of Dive system
  TIMESCAN -- Scan local timestream
  
  > check what you're carrying
  Taken.
  You put the DataStore chip into the StreamDive console.
  
  You are carrying:
  a cloaking device
  your StreamDive console
  five chips:
  a DataStore chip
  an interface chip
  a dive chip
  a scan chip
  a shield chip
  
  > look at the cloaking
  This isn't a good time to let your mind wander.
  The floor fades to transparency. There is a brilliant point of light somewhere far below you. Scanning beams trace over your body. Below you, a perfect mirror image of yourself fades into existence, your avatar. You have a sinking feeling as your avatar falls toward the light. Just as you were trained, you roll back on the balls of your feet and close your eyes. In your head, you count to six. Deep down there, your avatar enters the event horizon of the artificial singularity. As always, you have the disconcerting sensation of falling...
  
  Cold.
  
  Hot.
  
  Bright.
  
  Dark.
  
  The pain is gone before you feel it. You want to open your eyes, but you know better. Even if you survived the experience, your sanity would not. You wait for the sensation of falling to end.
  
  It does.
  
  You wait for your perception of local timespace to return.
  
  It does.
  
  You open your eyes.
  
  In the days before all food could be prepared by an automated processing unit, the kitchen was often considered the center of family life. This kitchen is decorated in a country style that was archaic even when it was built. Woodgrain paneling and prominently displayed kitchenwares give the room a rustic look. The stove, refrigerator and other appliances have a more modern look, but clashing with the predominant style is kept to a minimum. Heavier items and food supplies are kept in the pantry to the west, while archways lead north and east.
  
  On the refrigerator door are a report card and a receipt.
  
  > turn on the cloaking
  The cloak hums, and you detect a slight shimmer in the air around you as you are enveloped by the cloak field.
  
  > take the key
  (the dresser drawers)
  You open the dresser drawers, revealing a brass key.
  (the brass key)
  Taken.
  
  > Open dollhouse
  You give a gentle tug at the base, which pops open. Inside, you see two letters (a crumpled letter and a folded letter) and a strange book.
  
  > examine the strange Book
  Ug. Hw. Npxo J teiotslz swo jq zco yum evyt xdru qafib. Gwz air qow? W upigs bio'zv tstgxbpqk kdemb wlwi urnq gmis. Ntgk, T'o oikvrm yljm if msc xng. She vtsubzy pkncri aixf tckg zhkomg rfw jrp mpe xdizuxiv phslyrl cs dvz ijscee ppsocyw lbsz zm oxa ulvwjybj. Da N'p zbrq djoj tl sohrl ztlb odb krr ot oyf wved. Ea abvg't ukw su jxyw cbqh? W'o ixvit W wjrct'm lycz fe ckymj. Ufybyr vgzqo zg depl hn le hjr dxfj bywo leuc.
  
  [The document "Letter (1)" has been added to your DataStore.]
  3
  
  N'q gxtr kib vcijo wn xerb. Gzw iaqrx gmtto, G'ij yfuu hechbg igajnd dpnu jyfivzub nubl oha goect lp, rtzeqpc qi ccf ym tnr qds hexsikp blim pqliv egfw ubi bdmi brjf xqh. N'gk efaiea jldhwc cuh wys icrno bueag, fnu M acxbj xems zuaszl ci vol aw cxs jqnj, sfc lruze igiw S qnd pxn W rohu ec snfkv. Zlwqw X pxecd mtgn txj'io gkdz mf noxmzvx pk suu rnifovig, cldj R jgzbs wunxn Y kjizwk kia pa fxrs dx uir atvvuf, ake lpdv E znczn xczd vin'wv muix df pwe bnx usytgmu ke zkm gue as zjpu. X ccczj L'oz wxaqvuvjji tk fxe rklt mu tf igly ckzbk nvrzd ifa ivbfe, msf prlaeu pbm ez mloihjs tm. Nuz, N'o inmo u siflrj. D'mh iapzqu npzkfx jce. C zad'i sqgr mv bqg kjs tlot asgxbku hq, jpu W ykxcco uwav za hqc coi kdoc aio fzgtw Y qq.
  
  [The document "Letter (2)" has been added to your DataStore.]
  This is a small, very worn notebook containing a number of pages covered with random sequences of hand-printed characters.
  [The document "Strange Book" has been added to your DataStore.]
  
  > search the painting
  Under your scrutinty, a very slight distortion in the picture is visible. You slide your hand between the sheet and its support, and turn up a very small book.
  
  > go to the east
  That door is locked.
  
  You manage to unlock the door with the brass key.
  
  From the architecture of the house, you can tell that this is the only bedroom to have its own walk-in closet, which no doubt was an issue of some discussion when bedrooms were assigned. The majority of the closet is taken up by clothing, but you can see a few boxes toward the back.
  
  > Search boxes
  Pushing a box to the side, you discover a thin composition book, which had been secreted between two of the boxes.
  
  > examine the composition book
  Page: 0 Diary
  
  P = previous page    N = next page
  Q = resume story    G = Go to page
  
  > Scissors
  Coming, as you do, from an enlightened time period where man has, by and large, learned to overcome prejudicial assumptions about people on the basis of gender or background [Footnote 4], you know better than to jump to conclusions about the occupant based on the cultural stereotypes of their living space.
  Nevertheless, you can always tell a girl's room. It isn't some particular thing [Footnote 5]; rather, an air of femininity issues more from the juxtaposition of objects than the contents themselves. The dollhouse; the partially completed watercolor on an easel in the corner; the ornate, hand-carved chest at the foot of the bed; the paper ribbons affixed to the vent cover on the floor, all suggest, but do not insist that the occupant of this room is female. And yet, there is a certain something about this space that rarely arises in a man's quarters.
  The walls are a soft, uniform pastel. The desk stands opposite the bed, well stocked, but uncluttered. There is a closet door on the east wall. The exit to the hall is south.
  
  On the nightstand is a charger.
  
  Hallway, east end
  You are at the east end of the main hallway on this floor. The hallway ends at a door on the east wall, and another door is north. A doorway to the south has no door, though it looks as if it were designed for one.
  
  A framed photograph of a young man is affixed to the wall.
  
  You are in a small room which you suspect has no fixed purpose. There is a table in the center of the room, with a faux-wooden chair at it, and a long bench-seat under the window. The door along the north wall has been removed, presumably in an attempt to turn the room into some sort of work alcove.
  
  You open the bench seat, revealing a sewing machine, some fabric, a needle, some thread, a scissors and a magnetic handle.
  
  magnetic handle: Taken.
  scissors: Taken.
  The house shakes hard as a something, probably an aircraft or small bomb, crashes to earth in the distance.
  
  You never were any good with those child-safety devices.
  
  > examine the fabric
  A few pieces of cloth, cut to various sizes.
  
  > go north
  Hallway, east end
  You are at the east end of the main hallway on this floor. The hallway ends at a door on the east wall, and another door is north. A doorway to the south has no door, though it looks as if it were designed for one.
  
  A framed photograph of a young man is affixed to the wall.
  
  The stairs from the ground floor land in the middle of a long hallway which extends east and west from your current position. There is a door in the north wall, slightly narrower than usual. From here, you can see three doors at each of the two ends of the hallway.
  That door is locked.
  
  You manage to unlock the door with the magnetic handle.
  
  Although the primary function of this room seems to be as a linen closet, its size suggests that it was intended for even heavier storage. Three of the walls bear shelves, neatly stocked with towels and bed linens.
  Somewhere, probably a few kilometers away, there is an explosion. The house rocks, and you have a hard time keeping your footing.
  
  You hear a great crash below.
  
  > search the linens
  You poke around at the sheets, and find, hidden in the folds of a large bedsheet toward the back, a pack of cigarettes, either squirreled away for an emergency, or hidden from a disapproving family member.
  
  > examine the cigarettes
  Toward the end of the twenty-first century, various lobbies finally succeeded in banning the manufacture and sale of these particular items, citing their known carcinogenic effects and the ongoing tendencies of their manufacturers to indulge in unethical business practices. Like the bans on so many other harmful intoxicants, the cigarette ban would have undoubtedly failed, had genetic engineering not coupled a non-toxic smoking mixture with powerful antidepressants, resulting in a new, safe cigarette, which provided an even better high. These, however, are still quite lethal, you're sure.
  
  > scan the cigarettes
  The scanner reveals nothing of interest.
  Something blocks the light for a second, and you turn to look. Nothing. Hm. This place is starting to get to you.
  
  > wait
  Time passes.
  Somewhere near the coast of Alaska, an intercontinental missile generates a high-frequency electrical field, rendering it invisible to the defensive screen covering much of the North American continent.
  
  > wait awhile
  Time passes.
  You hear someone trying to force the lock on the front door. Better stay out of sight.
  
  > Wait
  Time passes.
  The front door isn't going to keep whoever's on the other side out much longer.
  
  > wait for a while
  Time passes.
  The front door finally yields. On the other side, you see a shabbily-dressed man, holding a pistol. He steps inside.
  
  > examine man
  That would give away your presence.
  Looking around the entry hall, the man, clearly a thief, walks over to the table. He sets down a newspaper, an action almost comic in its domesticity.
  
  > examine man
  That would give away your presence.