text: [Themes: The Owl Consults Extended Universe, superhero]
  
  > Go downward
  I can see a display case here.
  
  > read the book
  Very well, if you insist. Here, under protest, is an excerpt from the book.
  
  And I, the illustrious Captain Rex Dashing, bravely set out to
  fight the sludge monster! A lesser man might have blenched at such a foe, but not Rex Dashing! Years of bravely exploring the farthest corners of the earth had proven my resolve! Besides, the hero never backs down! I fired a few rounds from my shotgun into it, but it didn't even notice! I even smote it with the butt of my gun, but the gelatinous fiend just ignored it! But every gentleman explorer has a backup plan! I wrested a spear from one of my guides and pierced the monster with it! Even though shooting or bludgeoning was ineffective against the monster, the sharp point of the spear cut through its slimy hide like paper! When I returned to the ship, the unspoiled women of the village were so impressed with my valor that---
  
  I think that's a good place to stop.
  
  > check what you're carrying
  I've got the zeta-transmitter your man gave me, concealed in a cameo I'm wearing around my neck. I'm also carrying:
  a set of lockpicks
  a green book
  a harpoon
  a paper fan
  a scarf
  an aquamarine punch card
  an access card
  a black bag (which is open but empty)
  a gecko tail
  
  > go west
  Motionless robots litter the deck. Even deactivated, they're still imposing.
  
  I can also see an orange striped lever here.
  
  > Answer line 2
  You switch back to Dirk on line 2.
  
  This room is filled with the trophies from Dashing's safaris throughout the world, or at least what he claims to be his trophies. It used to be filled with my awards and accolades for SCIENTIFIC BRILLIANCE, rather than the grubby souvenirs of a cretinous lout. But the world will soon feel my ATOMIC FURY once again, with your help.
  
  Exits lead fore, port, and starboard (the last through a heavy metal door), and a staircase leads up.
  
  I can see a cudgel and a display case here.
  
  > Go upwards
  My deactivated robots are stationed around the deck.
  
  I can also see a harpoon and an orange striped lever here.
  
  > go to the west
  A disgusting sludge monster blocks the way further inside.
  
  I can also see a vacuum flask (which is closed) and a mace here.
  
  > hit monster with the harpoon
  Prepare to die, monster! You have no chance against DIRK RADON, SCIENTIFIC SUPERGENIUS!
  
  I've dealt it a sharp blow, Owl. It's getting weaker.
  
  > Continue
  Take that, monster! Nothing can stop DIRK RADON, the UNIRRADIATABLE MAN!
  
  I've dealt it a sharp blow, Owl. It's getting weaker.
  
  > Continue
  Prepare to die, monster! You have no chance against DIRK RADON, SCIENTIFIC SUPERGENIUS!
  
  I've dealt it a severe blow, Owl. It's getting weaker.
  
  > Continue
  Prepare to die, monster! You have no chance against DIRK RADON, SCIENTIFIC SUPERGENIUS!
  
  Huzzah, the monster is slain! Another GLORIOUS VICTORY for genius scientist DIRK RADON! I've hacked it into a series of gelatinous pieces, which have oozed into the floor. Mostly, anyway; there's a bit of residue congealing on the ground. I also seem to have suffered a slight cut---from the aggressive monster, of course, and not from carelessly nicking myself on the spear. Ah, well; the bloodstain will serve as a reminder to my foes that I'm willing to risk ANYTHING to advance the cause of science.
  
  [Your fee has just gone up by $2 million.]
  
  > put the flask in the pool
  Done. There's a bit of hissing and smoke as the dewar warms up.
  
  > get it
  All right, I've laboriously pulled the dewar out of the pool.
  
  > open it
  All right, I've opened the vacuum flask, revealing a lead box.
  
  > get box
  It looks like some sort of natural "science" apparatus, probably for gathering tissue samples or some such nonsense. I'd rather not deal with something that grubby.
  
  > get the rods
  I can raise or lower the rods, but they're otherwise fixed in place.
  
  > examine the wheel
  It's heavily corroded---curse you, Dashing!---but still turns.
  
  > Turn wheel
  A lead barrier wall rises up from the floor.
  
  > Continue
  A lead barrier wall sinks into the floor.
  
  > examine rods
  To think, these pathetic cylinders of metal are all that stand between me and my REVENGE! They're currently lowered, meaning that they're inhibiting the reaction rate.
  
  > Lift rods
  Done.
  
  The reactor pool is bubbling as it heats up with beautiful NUCLEAR ENERGY.
  
  > Turn wheel
  A lead barrier wall rises up from the floor.
  
  The reactor pool is bubbling as it heats up with beautiful NUCLEAR ENERGY.
  
  > go south
  The barrier blocks the way.
  
  The reactor pool is bubbling as it heats up with beautiful NUCLEAR ENERGY.
  
  > Turn wheel
  A lead barrier wall sinks into the floor.
  
  The reactor pool is bubbling as it heats up with beautiful NUCLEAR ENERGY.
  
  You hear a loud bell and a mechanized voice over the line: Danger! Danger! Meltdown imminent! Evacuate immediately! Danger!
  
  > Go south
  I can see a sludge deposit, a bloodstain, and a mace here.
  
  You hear a loud bell and a mechanized voice over the line: Danger! Danger! Meltdown imminent! Evacuate immediately! Danger!
  
  > go to the east
  My deactivated robots are stationed around the deck.
  
  I can also see an orange striped lever here.
  
  You hear a loud bell and a mechanized voice over the line: Danger! Danger! Meltdown imminent! Evacuate immediately! Danger!
  
  > Go north
  I can see a vacuum flask (which is open and contains a lead box) and a reactor pool (which contains some control rods) here.
  
  The reactor pool is bubbling as it heats up with beautiful NUCLEAR ENERGY.
  
  You hear a loud bell and a mechanized voice over the line: Danger! Danger! Meltdown imminent! Evacuate immediately! Danger!
  
  > Go upward
  I'm now atop my ship, the wind whipping around me dramatically. Apparently that blasted dandy Dashing took afternoon tea here; a lounge chair sits out of the worst of the wind, with a footstool---a FOOTSTOOL, of all things---delicately placed in front of it. A waist-high mahogany barrier encircles this narrow lookout post, providing a modest insurance against accidents but little shelter.
  
  A ladder leads down to the main deck.
  
  You hear a loud bell and a mechanized voice over the line: Danger! Danger! Meltdown imminent! Evacuate immediately! Danger!
  
  > examine the chair
  Dashing is responsible for this worthless indulgence, not me. I built an efficient, spartan airship; that idiot ruined it with his worthless frivolities.
  
  You hear a loud bell and a mechanized voice over the line: Danger! Danger! Meltdown imminent! Evacuate immediately! Danger!
  
  > look at the footstool
  The plush footstool is a gaudy salmon-pink, like the rest of the upholstery. It's undoubtedly for Dashing to rest his feet on, the lazy ass.
  
  You hear a loud bell and a mechanized voice over the line: Danger! Danger! Meltdown imminent! Evacuate immediately! Danger!
  
  > open it
  That's not something I can open.
  
  You hear a loud bell and a mechanized voice over the line: Danger! Danger! Meltdown imminent! Evacuate immediately! Danger!
  
  > Go upward
  I can't go that way.
  
  You hear a loud bell and a mechanized voice over the line: Danger! Danger! Meltdown imminent! Evacuate immediately! Danger!
  
  > switch on the jetpack
  The jetpack sputters but fails to start.
  
  You hear a loud bell and a mechanized voice over the line: Danger! Danger! Meltdown imminent! Evacuate immediately! Danger!
  
  > jump
  Before I do this, Owl, make sure that there's nothing else I need to do on the airship. There's obviously no coming back once I jump off and the airship explodes in a nuclear fireball.
  
  You hear a loud bell and a mechanized voice over the line: Danger! Danger! Meltdown imminent! Evacuate immediately! Danger!
  
  > sit on the chair
  Bah! I have more important things to do than lounge about.
  
  You hear a loud bell and a mechanized voice over the line: Danger! Danger! Meltdown imminent! Evacuate immediately! Danger!