text: [Themes: Espionage, Science Fiction, sidekick NPC, science fiction]
  
  > look around
  The cage is a simple framework of poles connected to a metal floor. Attached to one of the poles, about midway up, is a pair of levers. A few inches above the levers, a yellow note is taped to the pole.
  The cage is hanging over the glass, about fifty feet from the north edge, and about sixty feet from the west edge.
  Your boss Mr. Teeterwaller is here.
  The fire hose stretches off through a gap in the pipes to the north.
  
  Teeterwaller looks around purposefully.
  
  > pull right
  With a lurch, the cage starts moving to the north. The cage travels about twenty-five feet, then stops, leaving it hanging over the glass, about fifty feet south of the north edge, and sixty feet east of the west edge. You release the lever, and a spring returns it to the upright position; after a few wide swings, the cage gradually settles into its new location.
  
  You manage to hold on to the fire hose, which drags along the ground as the cage moves.
  
  Mr. Teeterwaller seems to be lost in thought.
  
  > pull left
  With a lurch, the cage starts moving to the west. The cage travels about twenty-five feet, then stops, leaving it hanging over the glass, about fifty feet south of the north edge, and sixty feet east of the west edge. You release the lever, and a spring returns it to the upright position; after a few wide swings, the cage gradually settles into its new location.
  
  You manage to hold on to the fire hose, which drags along the ground as the cage moves.
  
  Lightning flashes across the sky directly above.
  
  Mr. Teeterwaller looks around.
  
  > pull left
  With a lurch, the cage starts moving to the west. The cage travels about twenty-five feet, then stops, leaving it hanging over the glass, about fifty feet south of the north edge, and thirty-five feet east of the west edge. You release the lever, and a spring returns it to the upright position; after a few wide swings, the cage gradually settles into its new location.
  
  You manage to hold on to the fire hose, which drags along the ground as the cage moves.
  
  Teeterwaller looks around purposefully.
  
  > pull left
  With a lurch, the cage starts moving to the west.
  
  The fire hose suddenly snags on a pipe and refuses to go any further. You scramble to keep your hold on the hose, but the cage's motor is too strong and forces you to let go. The nozzle luckily doesn't break the glass, but skitters away as the coil retracts the hose.
  
  The cage travels about twenty-five feet, then stops, leaving it hanging over the glass, about fifty feet south of the north edge, and ten feet east of the west edge. You release the lever, and a spring returns it to the upright position; after a few wide swings, the cage gradually settles into its new location.
  
  A lightning bolt rips through the sky nearby to the east.
  
  > pull left
  Nothing seems to happen. You release the lever, and a spring returns it to the upright position.
  
  A lightning bolt flashes through the sky a short distance to the north.
  
  Teeterwaller looks through his pockets for something.
  
  > pull right
  With a lurch, the cage starts moving to the north. The cage travels about twenty-five feet, then stops, leaving it hanging over the glass, about twenty-five feet south of the north edge, and sixty feet east of the west edge. You release the lever, and a spring returns it to the upright position; after a few wide swings, the cage gradually settles into its new location.
  
  > pull right
  With a lurch, the cage starts moving to the north. The cage travels about twenty-five feet, then stops, leaving it about sixty feet east of the west edge of the glass. You release the lever, and a spring returns it to the upright position; after a few wide swings, the cage gradually settles into its new location.
  
  > pull left
  With a lurch, the cage starts moving to the west. The cage travels about twenty-five feet, then stops, leaving it about thirty-five feet east of the west edge of the glass. You release the lever, and a spring returns it to the upright position; after a few wide swings, the cage gradually settles into its new location.
  
  A lightning bolt rips through the sky nearby to the east.
  
  > go north
  You can't go that way.
  
  Mr. Teeterwaller mumbles something to himself.
  
  > examine station
  The enclosure is about seven feet tall and open on one side to provide access to the equipment within. A gray fire hose is coiled up neatly on a giant reel.
  
  Teeterwaller looks through his pockets for something.
  
  > Examine reel
  The hose is neatly coiled on a giant reel; next to the coil is a valve with a brass control wheel. The hose ends in a nozzle, attached to which is a lever.
  
  Teeterwaller tells you about the latest episode of his favorite TV show, "Shadow Man." You never liked the show very much--too much silly conspiracy theory stuff--but you listen politely.
  
  > examine the valve
  The valve is big, obviously meant to control a substantial flow of water. At the top is a brass control wheel.
  
  A lightning bolt rips through the sky nearby to the east.
  
  > examine the control wheel
  The valve is big, obviously meant to control a substantial flow of water. At the top is a brass control wheel.
  
  > turn it
  You turn the wheel clockwise until it stops. The hose gradually depressurizes.
  
  Teeterwaller looks through his pockets for something.
  
  > Turn wheel
  You turn the wheel counterclockwise until it stops. You can hear water rush through the valve for a few moments as the hose pressurizes.
  
  Mr. Teeterwaller looks around.
  
  > Turn wheel
  You turn the wheel clockwise until it stops. The hose gradually depressurizes.
  
  Mr. Teeterwaller watches you expectantly.
  
  > Inventory
  You have your temporary ID card, a map, a garage opener, a jacket, a Project Tyche manual, a DUFON journal, a flashlight (providing light), a Blottnian textbook, a hand pump, a dog harness, a portable hand-held scanner, a looseleaf page, a deck of punched cards, a newer gas mask (being worn), a silver balloon, and a yellow hard-hat (being worn).
  The garage opener compartment seems to contain a battery.
  
  Mr. Teeterwaller looks around.
  
  > stand on the hose
  I don't know how to stand on the coiled fire hose.
  
  Mr. Teeterwaller looks around.
  
  > put the balloon on nozzle
  There's no good surface on the fire hose nozzle.
  
  Lightning flashes across the sky directly above.
  
  > put the hose in the balloon
  You can't put the coiled fire hose anywhere.
  
  A bolt of lightning streaks down from the sky and strikes the ground a short distance to the west.
  
  > inflate the balloon with the hose
  I don't know how to inflate anything with the coiled fire hose.
  
  Teeterwaller looks through his pockets for something.
  
  > get the hose
  You take hold of the end of the fire hose, and unreel the hose a couple of feet. The reel remains under tension as you pull it, but it allows you to unreel the hose.
  
  A bolt of lightning streaks down from the sky and strikes the ground a short distance to the west.
  
  Teeterwaller looks through his pockets for something.
  
  > go to the southeast
  You have to crawl underneath a large pipe about three feet above the ground, but once you're past the pipe, you're able to stand again. You pull the hose along with you, carefully holding onto it as you crawl under the pipe.
  
  Mr. Teeterwaller comes with you.
  
  This opening in the pipes is large enough to stand in, but not much more. To the northwest is a low crawl-way, but there are no other openings large enough to travel through. The dense wall of pipes to the south is, however, broken in one spot by a six-inch gap.
  The fire hose stretches through the crawl-way to the northwest.
  
  A lightning bolt flashes through the sky a short distance to the north.
  
  > stand on the hose
  I don't know how to stand on the end of the fire hose.
  
  A lightning bolt rips through the sky nearby to the east.
  
  > look at the lever
  The lever is attached to the nozzle.
  
  A lightning bolt flashes through the sky a short distance to the north.
  
  Mr. Teeterwaller seems to be lost in thought.
  
  > examine the nozzle
  The nozzle directs the flow of water from the hose. A lever is attached to the nozzle.
  
  Teeterwaller looks around purposefully.
  
  > pull the lever
  Nothing happens. You let go of the lever, and a spring pulls it back to its normal position.
  
  Lightning flashes across the sky directly above.
  
  Teeterwaller tells you about the latest episode of his favorite TV show, "Shadow Man." You never liked the show very much--too much silly conspiracy theory stuff--but you listen politely.
  
  > go northwest
  The hose retracts as you travel back toward the reel.
  
  Mr. Teeterwaller comes with you.
  
  The forest of pipes opens up a little here into a large clear area.
  In the center of the clearing stands a tall metal enclosure topped with a brightly-lit red sign:
  
  An opening in the pipes leads northeast, and another passage leads south. You may also be able to squeeze through a narrow crawl-way to the southeast.
  
  > Go southeast
  You have to crawl underneath a large pipe about three feet above the ground, but once you're past the pipe, you're able to stand again. You pull the hose along with you, carefully holding onto it as you crawl under the pipe.
  
  Mr. Teeterwaller comes with you.
  
  This opening in the pipes is large enough to stand in, but not much more. To the northwest is a low crawl-way, but there are no other openings large enough to travel through. The dense wall of pipes to the south is, however, broken in one spot by a six-inch gap.
  The fire hose stretches through the crawl-way to the northwest.
  
  > put the hose in the gap
  You shove the nozzle into the gap. It's a tight squeeze, but it fits through. The lever on the side of the nozzle catches slightly on the pipes, holding the nozzle in place as you let go of the hose.
  
  A lightning bolt rips through the sky nearby to the east.
  
  Mr. Teeterwaller watches you expectantly.
  
  > Go northwest
  Mr. Teeterwaller comes with you.
  
  The forest of pipes opens up a little here into a large clear area.
  In the center of the clearing stands a tall metal enclosure topped with a brightly-lit red sign:
  
  An opening in the pipes leads northeast, and another passage leads south. You may also be able to squeeze through a narrow crawl-way to the southeast.
  A fire hose stretches out of the enclosure and through the crawl-way
  to the southeast.
  
  Lightning flashes across the sky directly above.
  
  > Go south
  Mr. Teeterwaller comes with you.
  
  panels, stretching hundreds of feet to the south and as far to the east. The pipes that are everywhere in this compound bend around the sea of glass leaving the area above open to the sky; white cylindrical towers rising up above the pipes are scattered around the perimeter of the glass. A passage through the pipes opens to the north, and the pipes leave enough space for a walkway southwest along the edge of the glass.
  A metal cage, suspended a few inches off the ground by a cable
  hanging from a beam overhead, is just this side of the glass.
  About fifty feet to the east, you can see the nozzle of the fire
  hose sticking out through the pipes.
  
  A lightning bolt rips through the sky nearby to the east.