text: > Describe the surroundings
  There's a perfectly spherical gap in the forest here, thirty feet in diameter, where nothing can grow. Tall maple and birch trees bend around this bubble of unlife. Distant blackbirds call.
  
  A path has been hacked through the forest to the east, and you can see something to the northeast.
  
  In the fused earth at your feet, you see a hint of something yellow.
  
  > Go northeast
  Trickling through the forest is a small, clear stream.
  
  > look at the stream
  You peer into the flowing stream and see something darting among the rocks.
  
  The stream contains water.
  
  > Drink water
  (the water bottle)
  You quaff water, leaving the water bottle empty.
  
  > Drink stream
  You scoop some water in your hands and slurp it refreshingly.
  
  > fill the bottle
  (with the stream)
  The water bottle cannot contain any more than it already holds.
  
  > Search stream
  By being patient, you finally see what's darting around in the water--tadpoles!
  
  The stream is empty.
  
  > look at the tadpoles
  By being patient, you finally see what's darting around in the water--tadpoles!
  
  > go to the south-west
  There's a perfectly spherical gap in the forest here, thirty feet in diameter, where nothing can grow. Tall maple and birch trees bend around this bubble of unlife. Distant blackbirds call.
  
  A path has been hacked through the forest to the east, and you can see something to the northeast.
  
  In the fused earth at your feet, you see a hint of something yellow.
  
  > Empty bottle
  You pour out the bottle.
  
  > go east
  The forest presses around this narrow throughway leading west to east.
  
  > look up the tadpoles in Almanac
  Just to make sure, you skim through the ontogeny section. Yeah, you were right. Not only is the metatarsal tubercule completely different, but larval Overlords are typically the size of small planets. Otherwise they're quite like tadpoles, though.
  
  Your very first night is over in your new house. It still seems surreal that you are now the proud owner of this place. It doesn't quite feel like home yet since you haven't been able to get your furniture. However, you can't get the rental truck until tomorrow. Maybe today would be a good idea to explore those woods behind your house. It'll be a good way to kill time until you can get properly moved in tomorrow.
  
  Type "about" for more information.
  
  Master Bedroom (on the mattress)
  All that's unpacked in the room is your mattress with a sheet thrown over the top of it. Your dresser is still in storage. Windows look out to the north and west, and the closet lies to the south. The hallway is to the east.
  
  > stand
  You get off the mattress.
  
  All that's unpacked in the room is your mattress with a sheet thrown over the top of it. Your dresser is still in storage. Windows look out to the north and west, and the closet lies to the south. The hallway is to the east.
  
  > open the closet
  You open the closet, revealing a backpack and a swibble.
  
  > take the backpack
  Taken.
  
  > take the sheet
  Taken.
  
  Your vision goes blurry for a second, and a voice seems to be speaking to you right out of your brain.
  
  "Dave? Dave? Can you hear me?" says the voice. "Hang on, we're trying to get you out of there."
  
  > go to the east
  Peeling paint greets you as you gaze down the hallway. Once you get moved in and get your car back, a trip to the paint store is on your list of things to do. The threadbare carpet leads you south, or you can step into your bedroom to the west. The bathroom lies to the north, and there's a spare bedroom to the east.
  
  The voice continues. If you concentrate, you can just place the voice as Leslie's. "Listen. I think we can do this, but we need your help. We need to calibrate on this end with something you've held on that end. Can you describe something you've picked up, or something you're holding? Try telling me about it."
  
  > tell Leslie about Bedroom
  Which do you mean, the Master Bedroom, or the Spare Bedroom?
  
  > Master
  "Ah, perfect! Analyzing the Master Bedroom now..."
  
  "Great, we have that room now. That should help. Re-calibrating..."
  
  > check your inventory
  You are carrying:
  a sheet
  a backpack (open but empty)
  a house key
  Every Child's Almanac of Lunar Conspiracy
  
  "We still need an item you've picked up," Leslie tells you.
  
  > tell Leslie about Almanac
  "Aha! Got it! Analyzing now..."
  
  "Perfect! OK, we've noted Every Child's Almanac of Lunar Conspiracy as characteristic of this section, which should help us get a bead on your location.
  
  > open closet
  Opening the closet reveals a flashlight. The previous owners must have forgotten it when they moved out.
  
  Leslie pipes up again. "OK! I'm going to send you a detangler. You should be able to use it to escape as-is, but if not, I can try sending you some attachments. I've attuned it to your signal in the simulator, so it should stay with you.
  
  A strange beam of green light bathes you, then disappears.
  
  > take flashlight
  (putting Every Child's Almanac of Lunar Conspiracy into the backpack to make room)
  Taken.
  
  > Fire detangler
  (the detangler base)
  Taking a deep breath, you pull the trigger and shoot the detangler. Blue static washes over you and the Spare Bedroom, but then dissipates. And you're still in the same room as before.
  
  "Dave? We caught a power surge in your location. That wasn't... drat, the detangler didn't work, did it? OK, we'll try again. Let me send you the focuser; I think the area of effect was too wide." You wait for the green light again.
  
  After a few moments, you hear cursing from inside your head. "Um... Dave, I'm sorry, but the lock I had for your location is busted.
  You'll need to find your way somewhere else, and try again from there. Sorry about that. I'll work on the focuser; you work on finding your way forward."
  
  > go west
  (first opening the front door)
  (first unlocking the front door)
  (with the house key)
  
  A neatly manicured lawn greets you and runs all the way to the sidewalk. Your driveway is to the south and you can step back inside to the east.
  
  > take all
  cobwebs: You obliterate the unclean thing. Hopefully you can forget that your beautiful new home ever contained such inappropriate filth. dead flies: (putting the sheet into the backpack to make room)
  Taken. Ick.
  house key: (putting the detangler base into the backpack to make room) Taken.
  Every Child's Almanac of Lunar Conspiracy: (putting the flashlight into the backpack to make room)
  Taken.
  
  > take the mantid
  It nestles into your arms and leans against your shoulder, its chitinous spines gently pricking your skin.
  
  The lesser mantid writhes.
  
  > Go north
  A neatly manicured lawn greets you and runs all the way to the sidewalk. Your driveway is to the south and you can step back inside to the east.
  
  You reposition the lesser mantid to hold its weight better.
  
  > close the door
  You close the front door.
  
  > lock the door
  (with the house key)
  You lock the front door.
  
  You turn the lock in the doorknob to lock the front door.
  
  The lesser mantid snuggles its head against your shoulder. Its antennae tickle your chin.
  
  > go to the east
  A small kitchen, perfect for one. Cupboards line the north wall, and there's a refigerator in the corner next to the oven. Oh, and there's also a kitchen sink. You can walk west to the living room, or east down some steps into the sun room.
  
  The lesser mantid snuggles its head against your shoulder. Its antennae tickle your chin.
  
  > go to the east
  Are you going to leave your house open when you explore?
  
  The lesser mantid gently squeezes your arm in its powerful mandibles.
  
  > close the door
  You close the barn door.
  
  > Go east
  With anticipation, trepidation and excitement, you enter the woods.
  
  Looking back through the trees, you can still make out your house. Looking forward, you see the vast wilderness surrounds you that is just begging to be explored. A path meaders through the trees leading east.
  
  A Great Master stands by the path in watchful posture. You are awestruck. No one mentioned when you bought the house that you would be graced with such a blessing.
  
  The Great Master acknowldeges you with a wave of its foreclaw, and you hear its voice resonate in your head: GREETINGS, SOFT ONE. ACCESS TO THE WOODS IS RESTRICTED.
  
  > ask Master about the access
  THE WOODS HIDE A TERRIBLE THING. ACCESS IS PERMITTED ONLY TO THOSE OF ASSURED LOYALTY.
  
  > ask Master about the loyalty
  A SERVICE IS REQUIRED. RESTORE THE BELOVED TO US.
  
  > give mantid to Master
  You place it on the ground in front of the Great Master, who places its foreclaws around its neck protectively. You hear the Great Master's voice in your head: WE THANK YOU FOR THE RETURN OF THE BELOVED. YOU ARE LOYAL, SOFT ONE.
  
  The lesser mantid stridulates plaintively.
  
  More static, and you hear Leslie's voice again. "You dropped off our old lock, so it looks like you've made it to a new section. Tell us about something you've held and about a room you see, and I'll try to send a focuser.
  
  > tell Leslie about the mantid
  "Aha! Got it! Analyzing now..."
  
  "Perfect! OK, we've noted the lesser mantid as characteristic of this section, which should help us get a bead on your location.
  
  > tell Leslie about Woods
  "Ah, perfect! Analyzing the Edge of the Woods now..."
  
  "Great, we have that room now. That should help. Re-calibrating..."
  
  The lesser mantid cocks its head.
  
  > look at what you're carrying with you
  You are carrying:
  a focuser
  Every Child's Almanac of Lunar Conspiracy
  a house key
  water bottle, which contains water
  a backpack (open)
  a flashlight
  detangler base (with a trigger attached.)
  a sheet
  
  The lesser mantid uses a foreclaw to clean its large, soulful compopund eyes.
  
  > attach the focuser to the base
  With a click and a pop, you permanently attach the focuser to the detangler base.
  
  The Great Master casually snips off the lesser mantid's head, then picks up and eats its body.
  
  > take the head
  Taken.
  
  > Fire detangler
  (the detangler base)
  With the focuser attached, you pull the trigger once more. Bright blue static pours out of it and crackles around your feet. For a moment, the scene seems to shift... but then it dies out, and you're back to where you were before.
  
  "Not again!" Leslie complains. "Let me check my readouts. Hmm. OK, maybe you just need more power. If you can get to a new section and get me a lock there, I'll send you an extra power source.
  
  > go east
  Fallen leaves crunch underfoot as you trundle exploritatively down the sun-dappled path. Fresh air, exercise, the beauty of nature: all is good. Until, quite suddenly, you get an uncanny feeling, like someone stepped on your grave.
  
  You can't put your finger on it at first. Then you notice that the small clearing you've stepped into is perfectly spherical, the trees bending around it and in some cases cut by an invisible field. And you understand: this is a blast site. Unwholesome relic of the war, a zone of anti-life created by the humans' weapons when they tried to... to...
  
  You choke back tears. How could people have ever been so foolish?
  
  There's a perfectly spherical gap in the forest here, thirty feet in diameter, where nothing can grow. Tall maple and birch trees bend around this bubble of unlife. Distant blackbirds call.
  
  A path has been hacked through the forest to the east, and you can see something to the northeast.
  
  In the fused earth at your feet, you see a hint of something yellow.
  
  > look at the trees
  On the very edge of the blast radius, you can see older trees that were partly sheared away, and healed over. The newer growth simply bends around the dead zone, as if growing around a wall. Branches hang down to within several inches of the upper boundary.
  
  > climb trees
  I don't think much is to be achieved by that.
  
  Leslie says, "Looks like you've gotten to a new section. I'll need another room and object to reestablish a lock. After that, I can send you a power pack."
  
  > Search stream
  The stream is empty.
  
  > take the tadpoles
  Try as you might, the tadpoles slip through your fingers and under the rocks.
  
  > put the tadpoles in the water
  (the water bottle)
  The water bottle cannot contain any more than it already holds.
  
  > Drink bottle
  You quaff water, leaving the water bottle empty.
  
  > put the tadpoles in the bottle
  You fill the water bottle up with water from the stream.
  
  > examine bottle
  The water bottle is full of water, and there's a tadpole swimming around in it!
  
  > look at the tadpole
  (the tadpole)
  It swims around in the bottle.
  
  For a moment, you suspect it might be a larval Overlord, but the metatarsal tubercule is all wrong.
  
  > check what you're carrying
  You are carrying:
  a lesser mantid head
  Every Child's Almanac of Lunar Conspiracy
  a house key
  water bottle, which contains water, and a tadpole
  a backpack (open)
  a flashlight
  detangler base (with a trigger and a focuser attached.)
  a sheet
  
  > tell Leslie about tadpole
  (tadpoles)
  "Aha! Got it! Analyzing now..."
  
  "Perfect! OK, we've noted tadpoles as characteristic of this section, which should help us get a bead on your location.