text: > wait for a while
  Time passes...
  
  > examine the duck
  The duck is made from clear crystal that looks exactly like a rush of spring water, frozen in time. Its curves are unblemished, and its form is serene and beautiful.
  
  > Go northeast
  You start heading back up the path toward your house. As the trail curves around a large tree, you are startled to find an alien standing in the middle of the path, shaking its head.
  
  There's a sharp prick in your neck, and you slap at the pain and spin around to see what it was. You are dismayed to find that the world continues spinning past you even though you are sure your body has stopped. You slump to the ground...
  
  and awaken in the woods near the contraption.
  
  > Inventory
  You are empty-handed.
  
  > examine the contraption
  The large metal contraption is fairly straightforward in design. It has a platform that comes up to your chest, supporting a hollow, transparent cylinder. It also has an axe, connected to a large, tightly wound spring arm, ready to sweep horizontally across the top of the cylinder. Presumably, the purpose of the axe is to discourage the theft of the beautiful crystalline duck, resting serenely in the cylinder.
  
  > examine the spring
  The torsional spring about the axis of this arm looks very strong and very strained. Practically anything could set it off.
  
  > take the duck
  You reach into the cylinder, wondering how good of an idea this is. You lift the duck, and are knocked to the ground by explosive noise and pain.
  
  Shortly before you go into shock, you realize that your arm is missing below the elbow. Shortly after, you stop caring.
  
  > go northeast
  The wooded path curves to the southwest here.
  
  > Go north
  The kitchen is just as small as you remember, but completely renovated, just like the outside of the house. The appliances and the linolium on the floor are new. There's a space-saving microwave oven installed above the range.
  
  > Go west
  The gravel road into town is long and boring. It would be a lot easier to drive.
  
  > Go southwest
  The garden that you let go to weed is flourishing here. Tulips add color to the first greens of the vegetables pushing up through the ground. The well is here, surrounded by flowers. The front of the house is to the northeast and the back is to the southeast.
  
  > ask Dad about the duck
  "They had me solve that duck puzzle too. Huh. Guess they're seeing if we work the same way. After I got the duck, I wondered what would have happened if I had just grabbed the duck without..." He looks at you, realizing that he's about to give too much away. "...solving it first." He finishes lamely.
  
  Click.
  
  > look at the microwave
  The appliances aren't important.
  
  All of the appliances look new and spotless. In fact, they look quite unused.
  
  > go to the south
  You walk about twenty feet before coming to a wall of dense fog. You press into it, but come out right where you entered, even though you never felt yourself turn around.
  
  > About yourself
  Assuming you haven't lost your grip on reality, you are Isaiah Knott, a twenty-seven year old man from the Appalachian mountains. You are wearing your comfortable jeans, a thick flannel shirt, and hiking boots.
  
  > Go west
  The bedroom has also learned of the wonders of carpeting, and your shoddy mattress has been replaced with a beautiful brass bed. In the south-west corner of the room is a giant metal cylinder with rounded ends. It stands well over eight feet tall, and comes close to brushing the ceiling. The only break in the seamless metal is a pad protruding out of its side.
  
  > Examine pad
  In many of the abduction stories that you read, there were cylinders like this one that contained other abductees. This one is certainly large enough.
  
  A keypad protrudes from the cylinder's side and has nine keys, each with a different alien symbol on it.
  
  Since you stand little chance of deciphering the nine different alien symbols, you decide to treat the three by three grid of buttons as a touch-tone phone and mentally number it that way.
  
  > Type 123456789
  (on the keypad)
  You start pressing buttons. The keypad buzzes sharply at you when you finish.
  
  > look at the pad
  Since you stand little chance of deciphering the nine different alien symbols, you decide to treat the three by three grid of buttons as a touch-tone phone and mentally number it that way.
  
  > ask Dad about the pad
  "Never heard of it. Sorry."
  
  Click.
  
  > ask Dad about the cylinder
  "You noticed that too, huh? When I first got here, I was real suspicious about that thing, so I hung around the bedroom a lot. An alien came in and punched in a code, and a window opened up in it.
  The code was 5222." He types on an imaginary keypad in front of him. "I guess my watching made them suspicious. That night, when I tried to look through the window, they snuck up and hit me with one o' those hypos-- took me right out. I woke up in my bed the next morning. I went back and looked through the window again, but it was empty." He stops and thinks for a minute. "I think that was when they took the wires out of my head, too." He reaches over and gives one of the wires on your head a playful tweak.
  
  Click.
  
  > examine the head
  You run your fingers back over your head, and are shocked to discover four wires (tubes? It's hard to tell from touching them) coming out of the top of your head and re-entering your skull at the base of your neck. What have they done to you?
  
  Click.
  
  > feel the wires
  Without a mirror, it's really difficult to examine them. Just from touch, all four wires are about a quarter-inch thick, and they seamlessly attach to your attach to your skull.
  
  Click.
  
  > pull the wires
  You firmly pull on one of the wires. It's like pulling on a large clump of your own hair. It might come free, but how much will it hurt?
  
  Click.
  
  > Type 5222
  (on the keypad)
  You start pressing buttons. When you finish with the sequence, a large section of the metal cylinder slowly becomes transparent. The keypad chimes when the process completes.
  
  > examine the cylinder
  In many of the abduction stories that you read, there were cylinders like this one that contained other abductees. This one is certainly large enough.
  
  Now you have a chance to see what is inside the enigmatic cylinder. A large rectangle of the cylinder has become a dark window to the interior.
  
  A keypad protrudes from the cylinder's side and has nine keys, each with a different alien symbol on it.
  
  > examine the window
  Without any light coming from within the cylinder, you are forced to press your face up against the window and cup your hands around your eyes. At first you can see nothing but a small ball of faintly glowing blue light. As your eyes adjust to the darkness within, you can tell that the faint glow is like a turbulent lightning storm; there are localized pockets of activity which occasionally leap across the length of the ball, lighting up new regions in a chaotic pattern.
  
  You continue to watch, fascinated, until you realize that the blue glow is faintly illuminating what's beneath it: your face. Somehow, you are looking at your own body inside of the cylinder, except that your head is open and there is a glowing ball where your brain should be.
  
  Tingles slide down your scalp, and the faintly glowing brain within the cylinder explodes with arcs of color and flashes of light. As the shock passes, the tingles on your scalp recede, and the glowing brain dims to its previous state.
  
  Your heart crawls into your throat as you wait for what you think might happen. Finally, you see your alternate self blink, and hear a faint 'tik' through the skin of the cylinder.
  
  > About yourself
  Assuming you haven't lost your grip on reality, you are Isaiah Knott, a twenty-seven year old man from the Appalachian mountains. You are wearing your comfortable jeans, a thick flannel shirt, and hiking boots.
  
  There are four wires protruding out of your head.
  
  > look at the window
  You press against the window again, grotesquely fascinated with your doppleganger inside. The chaotic lightshow emanating from its open skull is fascinating and disconcerting. The faint, regular ticks float out to you as your other self blinks.
  
  > pull the wire
  You firmly pull on one of the wires. It's like pulling on a large clump of your own hair. It might come free, but how much will it hurt?
  
  > ask Dad about the wires
  "Aw, don't worry about those. They'll take 'em out after a couple days." He proffers the top of his slightly balding head for your inspection. "See?"
  
  Click.
  
  > ask Dad about yourself
  "I told ya' they'd come for you." His forehead creases a notch. "I thought they'd give you more than a couple o' months, though."
  
  Click.
  
  > ask Dad,  to go west
  "I'm tellin' you, it's empty. Code's 5222, go look yourself."
  
  Click.
  
  "I just don't feel like doin' much of anything."
  
  Click.
  
  > go east
  You can't go that way.
  
  Click.
  
  > Go north
  The lawn is freshly mowed, the north side of the house looks just
  as good as the south side, and off to the southwest, the garden is a prize winner.
  You see a big, blue Pontiac here.
  
  > drive
  As you drive into town, you carefully scan the oppressive fog for any weakness. Occasionally you drive down one of the other side roads, but you always end up heading toward town. You roll to a stop in front of Pop's market.
  
  > Exit
  Now that you're at the end of the road, the fog has spread out just enough to give you a taste of town. What you can see is exactly like you remember it, perhaps a little cleaner, a bit newer. Pop's store stands before you to the south, and the library sits regally to the north, the two real landmarks of Springfield.
  You see a big, blue Pontiac here.
  
  > go to the south
  The comforting familiarity of Pop's storefront vanishes when you enter. All of the aisles are barren and empty. The candy display visible from outside is conspicuously absent. The only reason you have to think that this is actually Pop's store is a young-looking Pop standing behind the counter.
  Pop is standing behind the counter.
  
  Click.
  
  > ask Pop about cylinder
  "That big cylinder in your room? It's just monitoring stuff. Don't worry about it."
  
  Click.
  
  > ask Pop about 5222
  I don't know how to ask anything about the number 5222.
  
  Click.
  
  > tell Pop about the cylinder
  It doesn't look as though Pop is interested.
  
  Click.
  
  > ask Pop about the wires
  "Aw, don't worry about those. Once the aliens get all their stuff set up right, they'll take those out again."
  
  Click.
  
  > ask Pop about the axe
  Pop scratches his chin. "I'm afraid I wasn't told 'bout any axe. Maybe if you showed me."
  
  Click.
  
  > ask Pop about the contraption
  "Reckon I don't know too much about that."
  
  Click.
  
  > show the bruise to pop
  "Hoo! That's a doozy!"
  
  Click.
  
  > show the bruise to Dad
  "Huh! Helluva bruise, son."
  
  Click.
  
  > examine well
  This well, like the wood-burning stove inside of the house, was one of the few things of quality you've always had. For as long as you can remember, it has always provided clear, sweet water. It's about two and a half feet in diameter and lined with white stones. A board is mortared into the top of it as an anchor for the rope.
  
  > examine the board
  This board is firmly attached to the top of the well. Its purpose is simply to stop the rope from falling in.
  
  > look at the rope
  The rope is tied to the board at the top of the well, the rest dangles down into darkness.
  
  > take the rope
  You haul the bucket up out of the darkness.
  
  > look at the bucket
  The tall, narrow bucket is cool to the touch. It is full of water.
  
  > Inventory
  You are empty-handed.
  
  > take the bucket
  You untie it from the rope and carry it with you.
  
  > throw the water at Dad
  You miss.
  
  Click.
  
  > pour the water on Dad
  Just as you are about to tip the bucket out onto onto your father, he catches your hand. "Not on me! I'm real! You can pour water on anything else, though. Won't bother me a bit."
  
  Click.
  
  > Inventory
  You have a bucket. The bucket seems to contain some water.
  
  > pour the water in the cylinde
  The water fills the cylinder, covering the duck.
  
  > take the duck
  You gently reach into the water and lift the crystalline duck out. Once you get the duck past the sweep of the axe, you realize that you had been holding your breath. You let it explode out of your mouth with a gust of relief. A fresh wave of tingles crawls across your scalp.
  
  > check your inventory
  You have a bucket and a duck.
  
  > tell Dad about the duck
  "They had me solve that duck puzzle too. Huh. Guess they're seeing if we work the same way. After I got the duck, I wondered what would have happened if I had just grabbed the duck without..." He looks at you, realizing that he's about to give too much away. "...solving it first." He finishes lamely.
  
  Click.
  
  "They had me solve that duck puzzle too. Huh. Guess they're seeing if we work the same way. After I got the duck, I wondered what would have happened if I had just grabbed the duck without..." He looks at you, realizing that he's about to give too much away. "...solving it first." He finishes lamely.
  
  Click.
  
  > show duck to pop
  Pop lifts the crystal duck out of your hands and admires it. "Well, didn't take you too long to get that, did it?" He grins and stashes the duck behind the counter. "I'll go get that new hoe." He wanders into the back room and emerges with a brand new hoe, which he gives to you.
  
  Click.
  
  > dig the garden
  What do you want to dig in it with?
  
  > dig with the hoe
  What do you want to dig in?
  
  > hoe the vegetables
  Although the garden itself doesn't need hoeing, you would like to hack out that unsightly clod of dirt. With a couple of well placed swings, you sever the roots clinging to the clod.
  
  > look at the clod
  It looks like an ordinary clod of dirt to me.