text: [Themes: Zorkian, Humor, grue]
  
  > Go downwards
  The stairs come to an end at a closed door leading north, which
  says "Research" on it. There's a black plastic thing sticking out of the wall next to it, which looks a lot like the thing you swipe your credit card through at the grocery.
  
  It's funny, but you know something? In all the years I've worked at the factory, I've never been here before. Usually, I just go straight to my place on the assembly line. A few times, I've been sent to the loading dock to do things, but I've always just gone right past the stairs and never thought what was at the bottom. Well, now that I'm here, I guess it's not real interesting. I do wonder what's behind that door, though.
  
  > Inventory
  I have clean pants (being worn), clean socks (being worn), clean underwear (being worn), a clean shirt (being worn), a pair of shoes (being worn), a coat (being worn), a wristwatch (being worn), a wallet, keys, a flashlight, and a blue widget. The coat pocket seems to contain a book of famous quotations.
  
  > examine the wallet
  This was a birthday present a couple of years ago. It's a fairly ordinary leather wallet.
  
  > open it
  In the wallet I see a driver's license and a five zorkmid bill.
  
  > examine the license
  I hardly ever drive anywhere, but it's good to have a license, just in case. I think the picture on it makes me look kind of goofy.
  
  > examine the doorway
  A pair of swinging doors lead out to the loading dock.
  
  > examine the staircase
  It's an ordinary looking staircase. I'd tell you more about it, but really, I can't think of anything else to stay. You know, it's a staircase. Going down.
  
  > go east
  This is the loading dock for the factory. It's a big old cement platform that trucks can pull up to and load or unload stuff for the factory. I guess that's why they call it a "loading" dock, huh? Actually, I don't know why they call it that. It hasn't got anything to do with boats, so it isn't a dock, is it? Maybe there used to be a river here or something, and when it dried up, they just started using trucks instead of boats, but everyone still calls it a dock because that's what they're used to. I guess that would make sense.
  
  Anyway, there are no trucks or boats here right now. There are a lot of crates piled up here, though. There's also a door going west into the factory.
  
  > Examine crates
  There are a whole bunch of wooden crates stacked up on one side of the loading dock. They all have "USDA GRADE A" stamped on them in big black letters. No idea what that means. They also have arrows pointing downward that say, "This Way Up".
  
  > search them
  crates: I find nothing of interest.
  
  > open them
  crates: There's no way I could open these crates without a crowbar. They're nailed shut.
  
  > Go west
  This is the east end of the hallway. There's a staircase going
  down, and a doorway leading east to the loading dock.
  
  > go to the west
  I'm standing in a hallway that runs between the lobby, to the west, and the end of the building, to the east. North is the door to Mr. Biggs office, which is currently closed.
  
  Mr. Biggs still seems to be talking on the phone. I can hear his voice coming faintly through the door. He sounds upset.
  
  Mr. Biggs still seems to be talking on the phone. I can hear his voice coming faintly through the door. He sounds upset.
  
  > listen at the door
  There's another long pause, and then I hear Mr. Biggs say, "It will be done right away. Exactly as you describe." There's a click as he hangs up the phone, and I hear him getting up from the desk. I quickly move away from the door, since I don't want to get caught listening to him. A moment later, the door opens and he comes out. I'm afraid he'll ask me what I'm doing hanging out in the hallway, but he doesn't even seem to see me. His face is practically white, and as he pulls the door closed behind him, it almost looks like his hand is shaking. He heads east along the hallway, and disappears down the stairs at the end.
  
  > Go west
  This is the lobby of the factory building. There's a potted plant sitting in the corner, only I looked at it closely once and found that it's made of plastic. There are doors going north to the parking lot and south to the main floor of the factory. There are hallways to east and west.
  
  > go to the west
  This is a short hallway connecting the lobby (to the east), the cafeteria (to the west), and the restroom (to the north). There's also a closet here where Rufus, the janitor, keeps his cleaning things.
  
  > look at closet
  The closet is closed.
  
  > open it
  Opening the closet reveals a broom and a uniform.
  
  > examine the broom
  It's an old broom that Rufus uses for cleaning the cafeteria. The word "Cleansweep" is printed on the handle in silver letters.
  
  > wear the uniform
  Why would I want to put on Rufus' uniform? I'm not a janitor!
  
  > Go north
  This is the restroom for all of us who work here. It's pretty
  basic: just a sink and a stall with a toilet. But it does the job pretty well.
  
  > examine the sink
  It's white and shiny and hard, just like most sinks. Rufus does a nice job of keeping it clean, I guess, but somehow I don't feel like it has much character.
  
  > look at the stall
  It's a toilet. What else is there to say about it?
  
  > go to the south
  This is a short hallway connecting the lobby (to the east), the cafeteria (to the west), and the restroom (to the north). There's also a closet here where Rufus, the janitor, keeps his cleaning things.
  
  > go to the west
  This is where we all eat lunch. Except Mr. Biggs, who I guess
  must bring his own lunch since I never see him here. There's a bunch of tables and chairs here, and a long window that you walk past to pick up your food. The window is closed right now, since it won't be lunch time for a while yet.
  You see a newspaper here.
  
  > Examine newspaper
  It's a copy of The Daily Wombat that someone left in the cafeteria.
  
  > read it
  Hey! There's an article about the Frobworks plant on the front page! It says... hold on a minute while I read this... It's talking about the factory being sold. It says there's some group of foreign investors who are buying it, but they don't want anyone to know who they are. Something about a holding company, whatever that is. And a lot of people are wondering what they plan to do with it...
  
  > read it
  I flip through the rest of the newspaper, but the article about the Frobworks plant is the only one that looks really interesting. Except for an article about how to raise orchids, and it says that if you know what you're doing, you can earn hundreds of dollars just by having a bunch of plants sitting around your house. Maybe I should try that out. And there's an article here about how clear plastic bathing suits are going to be the big new fashion this summer, and everyone on the beach out in California will be wearing them. That sounds kind of uncomfortable, but I guess if that's what everyone else is doing...
  
  > read it
  I don't see anything else interesting. Just a lot of boring stories about wars and things like that.
  
  > examine it
  It's a big opening in the wall between the cafeteria and the kitchen, where they make the food. It's closed right now, since they aren't serving lunch yet.
  
  > Go east
  I'm standing in a hallway that runs between the lobby, to the west, and the end of the building, to the east. North is the door to Mr. Biggs office, which is currently closed.
  
  > go to the north
  (Opening the door)
  Mr. Biggs' Office
  This has got to be one of the most boring offices in the world. No pictures on the walls, no fake plants, nothing. Just a big desk in the middle of the room. There aren't even any chairs, except the one Mr. Biggs sits in, so you have to stand up the whole time you're talking to him. You'd think he didn't like having people come see him or something. The office door, to the south, is open.
  
  > examine it
  It's a huge wooden desk, with a couple of drawers on one side, and enough space underneath that you could practically sleep under it. A big black telephone sits on one side. Some papers are spread out over the desk, like Mr. Biggs was looking at them.
  
  > examine papers
  It looks like some sort of a letter. The letterhead at the top says it's from 'Grue Industries, Incorporated', whatever that is. I try to read through the first few pages, but it's pretty hard to understand. Whoever wrote it likes to use lots of big words, things like "capital depreciation" and "market penetration" and "speculative revenue projections". I think they're unhappy because the factory isn't making as much money as they want it to.
  
  > examine the telephone
  You know how in movies, the President of the United States always has this big telephone that sits on his desk, and when it rings there's a light that flashes on it, and you know something terrible has just happened? That's what this telephone looks like. Like a phone you really don't want to get a call on.
  
  > look at the drawers
  They're big wooden drawers, exactly the kind you would expect to find in a big wooden desk.
  
  > open them
  drawer: Opening the drawer reveals a lunchbox and a plastic card.
  
  > get all from the drawer
  lunchbox: Taken.
  plastic card: Taken.
  
  > look at the lunchbox
  It's a Dimwit Flathead lunchbox. I used to have one just like it back in grade school! It's made of metal, and covered with pictures of Lord Dimwit in famous places, like Mt. Rushmore and Flood Control Dam Number Three. The lunchbox is closed.
  
  > open it
  Opening the lunchbox reveals a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and an apple.
  
  > examine the card
  It's the size and shape of a credit card, made of white plastic. On one side it says in really small letters, "This card is the private property of Grue Industries, Inc. If you are not authorized to possess this card, you are currently in violation of the law. Please contact the police immediately so you can be arrested and duly prosecuted." There's a black strip on the other side, just like the one on the back of a credit card. Other than that, it's completely blank.
  
  > eat the apple
  You know how in Snow White the witch gives Snow White a poisoned apple, and she eats it and falls asleep so everyone thinks she is dead? As I'm biting into the apple, it occurs to me that this one looks exactly like the apple in Snow White.
  
  It's OK though. Nothing bad happens to me when I eat it, except my fingers are now a bit sticky from the juice on them.
  
  > close the drawer
  Closed.
  
  > Go south
  I'm standing in a hallway that runs between the lobby, to the west, and the end of the building, to the east. North is the door to Mr. Biggs office, which is currently standing open.
  
  > Swipe card
  There's a click, and the light on the card reader turns green.
  
  > open the door
  Opened.
  
  > go north
  I'm standing in a short hallway. There are doors to north, east, south, and west. Otherwise, the walls are completely blank. I can faintly hear voices coming through the door to the east.
  
  > listen at the door
  I can hear people talking on the other side of the door. I can't quite make out what they're saying, but I'm pretty sure that one of the voices is Mr. Biggs.
  
  > open the north door
  It's locked.
  
  > Go west
  I put my head carefully through the door, but immediately pull it back again. There's someone in there! I'm really not supposed to be down here, and I could be in a lot of trouble if I get caught. I need some sort of disguise so I won't attract attention.
  
  > go to the west
  A man in a white coat looks up at me as I step into the room. I smile and show him my broom. He looks away without saying anything, and goes back to whatever he was doing. Good! I think my disguise is working!
  
  (Opening the west door)
  Workshop
  This is a really weird room. It almost looks like a mad
  scientist's workshop. There are bits of machinery all over the place, like someone has been putting things together or taking them apart. I have no idea what any of it is, though, and I'm not sure I want to know. I don't know why, but I'm getting a really creepy feeling from this place. What is it doing here? What does it have to do with the factory?
  
  There's a door leading east back to the hallway, and another one to the west.
  
  A man in a white coat is doing something with the bits of machinery. He's ignoring me, which is just fine as far as I'm concerned.
  
  > examine machinery
  I have no idea what any of this stuff is. There are gears, wires, tubes, pipes, motors, and I don't know what else scattered all over the place. It looks like someone's been building something. Or maybe taking something apart.
  
  > examine man
  It's a tall man wearing a white coat. You know the kind that mad scientists always wear in movies? One like that. I don't remember ever seeing him before. It looks like he's doing something with a piece of machinery, but I can't tell what.
  
  > go to the west
  (Opening the west door)
  Machine Room
  As I step into the room, the first thing I notice is the loud
  clanking sound. There's a big machine sitting here noisily doing something. It looks like it's... No. Oh God, no. Please no, it can't be. No! Please!.
  
  It's the most horrifying thing I've ever seen in my life. There are two conveyor belts running into the machine, one carrying widgets and the other wodgets. And it's fitting them together. It's doing exactly what I do, but a hundred times faster. I can hardly follow it with my eyes, it's fitting them together so quickly. I could never keep up with this thing. What do they need me for, now they've got this machine? All I've ever wanted to do was put widgets together. I thought I was the best, I had it made for life. And now with this thing... what am I? What am I good for? I'm so useless now, I don't even want to think about it. Will anyone care anymore if I live or die?
  
  > examine the machine
  There's a big machine in the middle of the room, clanking away. There are two conveyor belts running into it, one carrying widgets and the other wodgets, and the assembled widget-wodgets are coming out a chute on the other side and falling into a box
  
  What a fool I've been. I see now what Mr. Biggs was talking about. They're going to replace us with machines. All of us! We've been doing our jobs up above, happily going along doing whatever they asked us. And they've been down here, building these robots to take our places. Talk about giving opium to the masses! What is it they've been giving us?
  
  > break the machine
  That's what I want to do. But how?
  
  > put the widget in the machine
  I can't put anything into the machine.
  
  I saw this movie once about these two guys who wrote music. One of them was really popular, but the other one wrote better music, and the first one knew it. He couldn't stand knowing someone else was better than him, so he tried to kill him.
  
  I think I understand now what that guy must have felt. I've always thought of myself as an artist. I put widgets together, and I always thought I was really good at it. No one could put those widgets together like I could. I guess it's like that for all artists. We go along doing our thing and thinking we're really good. And then one day we meet someone who's so much better, we don't know why we even bother trying. You've either got to give up, or find a way to get rid of them. They say art isn't easy. I finally know what they mean.