text: [Themes: Science Fiction, virtual reality, transformation, changing environment, gender-neutral protagonist, library]
  
  > Look around
  This square tower is built of granite blocks braced by high iron beams. The roof is a broad sweep of lead-framed glass, hammered by the roaring rain outside.
  
  A complex apparatus dominates the room: a heavy brass tank, surmounted by copper and glass tubing. Wires drape from the roof down to the apparatus, hanging every which way.
  
  Your workspace sits in the center of the lab. Inside it move four icons.
  
  > examine the wires
  Wires run from the tank up to the roof, or from the roof down to the tank, as you like. They are connected above to antennas which thrust from the roof, up into the storm.
  
  The workspace quivers. You glance at it, and notice the icons moving jerkily inside. Strange.
  
  > examine the workspace
  The workspace is represented by a clear, waist-high cube. Within it are the charge icon, the light icon, the heat icon, and the pressure icon, all moving jerkily.
  
  Lightning flashes somewhere nearby. At the same moment, you notice the vapor in the tank suddenly whirl and dance.
  
  > Examine tank
  A fat brass vessel, a riveted cauldron of a thing, squats before you. A narrow copper pipe curves from the tank's top; the pipe spirals up inside of a wider glass flask.
  
  Through a small porthole you can see the contents of the tank: a heap of rusty brown flakes lying in a cloud of sparkling vapor.
  
  Thunder rumbles.
  
  > examine flask
  A wide glass flask is suspended above the tank. The copper pipe runs up to it, and then spirals up the flask's interior. You notice the inside of the flask, and the pipe within it, show a dry white crust -- as if the flask had boiled dry.
  
  > look at the flakes
  In the brass tank is a small heap of some flaky mineral; the substance is rusty brown with faint flecks of gold. Sparkling vapor rises from the material and swirls within the tank.
  
  Lightning flashes somewhere in the distance. At the same moment, you notice the vapor in the tank suddenly whirl and dance.
  
  > drop the torch
  As the flaming torch leaves your grasp, it shimmers and transforms into a brass compass.
  
  The workspace quivers as the icons move.
  
  > examine compass
  The compass is a palm-sized instrument, precisely engraved. The needle wavers uncertainly in this charged atmosphere.
  
  Thunder rumbles.
  
  > invoke the pressure
  You invoke the pressure icon, and the environment shifts into a new form.
  
  White marble rises in smooth, heavy columns to an arching vault. The walls are worked in geometric traceries; a rich red carpet runs up the room's length, to the brass pipes which stand at its north end. Air throbs from the pipes and thunders quietly across the chamber.
  
  To the south stands a graceful marble altar, which supports a small open offering box.
  
  Your workspace is a squat cube in the center of the room. Inside it move four icons.
  
  > drop the compass
  As the brass compass leaves your grasp, it reverts to being a pewter chalice full of water.
  
  The workspace quivers as the icons move.
  
  > take the chalice
  Taken.
  
  A gust of air brushes past you.
  
  > Wait
  Time passes. Your deadline creeps closer.
  
  Hair-fine red crystals, like frost, are beginning to form at the top of the pipe.
  
  > examine the crystals
  A delicate snowflake of red crystal is forming at the top of the copper pipe, above the flask. It grows before your eyes.
  
  The workspace quivers as the icons move.
  
  A red crystalline snowflake is condensing on the copper spike.
  
  > examine the snowflake
  A delicate snowflake of red crystal is forming at the top of the copper pipe, above the flask. It grows before your eyes.
  
  The red crystal continues to solidify.
  
  > Wait
  Time passes.
  
  The last of the vapor is drawn from the tank, as the red crystal finishes filling out; it is now a solid polyhedral mass.
  
  > touch the crystal
  You feel nothing unexpected.
  
  Lightning illuminates the storm overhead, followed instantly by a deafening crack of thunder.
  
  > take it
  It appears that the crystal is an archetype: weight. You reach out and compile; it shrinks obligingly into a small icon, which you take.
  
  > Press weight
  You push the weight icon towards the workspace -- but it skids to the side. You tighten your grip to try again. With some careful pressure, the icon slides into place.
  
  Shelves loom here in rank and file. It is only at a second glance that you realize they are not stacked with books. Instead, arms are arrayed in tidy rows: swords, knives, spears, and weapons of every other description. More blades hang overhead, point-down and silently menacing.
  
  A single bookcase stands to the west -- that is, one case which is full of books, as opposed to metal. It is fitted with doors, however, and they are closed.
  
  Your workspace rests by one wall. Inside it bounce five icons.
  
  > drop the chalice
  As the pewter chalice leaves your grasp, it shimmers and transforms into a silver key.
  
  The blades overhead clink gently.
  
  > unlock door
  Taken.
  
  (with the silver key)
  You prod at the doors, but you see no way to insert a key at all.
  
  The workspace vibrates to the icons' sharp movements.
  
  > open door
  The bookcase's doors are closed and locked. You see no keyhole.
  
  > Examine books
  The books, like the weapons, vary wildly in size and heft. No titles are evident, but they are bound in all shades of green and brown. And since they are locked away behind a steel screen, you have no idea what they contain.
  
  > take the swords
  Unfortunately, they're all strapped tightly to the shelves. Except for the blades that are hanging from chains from the roof, and you can't reach those. Apparently this is not a lending library.
  
  > invoke the light
  You invoke the light icon, and the environment transforms into a new form.
  
  You are underground, by the echoes and the irregular rock underfoot. But the space is lost in darkness. A chill stream trickles past, and the faintest phosphorescence trickles with it. Beyond arm's reach, however, you see only black.
  
  Your workspace stands beside you. Inside it bounce five icons.
  
  The workspace vibrates to the icons' sharp movements.
  
  > drop the key
  As the silver key leaves your grasp, it reverts to being a rusty axe.
  
  > take the axe
  Taken.
  
  Air flutters, somewhere overhead.
  
  > examine the workspace
  The workspace is represented by a clear, waist-high cube. Within it are the weight icon, the charge icon, the light icon, the heat icon, and the pressure icon, all bouncing around.
  
  (Your workspace, of course, is not visually rendered. It would be visible even in total darkness.)
  
  The workspace vibrates to the icons' sharp movements.
  
  > Press weight
  You invoke the weight icon, and the environment shifts around you.
  
  Shelves loom here in rank and file. On them, arms are arrayed in tidy rows: swords, knives, spears, and weapons of every other description. More blades hang overhead, point-down and silently menacing.
  
  A single bookcase stands to the west -- that is, one case which is full of books, as opposed to metal. It is fitted with doors, however, and they are closed.
  
  Your workspace rests by one wall. Inside it bounce five icons.
  
  > hit the screen with the axe
  You whack the bookcase with the axe, but it is solid. And the axe isn't that sharp.
  
  The blades overhead clink gently.
  
  > examine the bookcase
  The bookcase is a tall wooden affair, finely built; the wood is inlaid with an abstract pattern of tree branches. Behind the steel-mesh doors are rows of books, bound in old green and brown leather.
  
  The workspace vibrates to the icons' sharp movements.
  
  > invoke the pressure
  You invoke the pressure icon, and the environment changes into a new form.
  
  White marble rises in smooth, heavy columns to an arching vault. The walls are worked in geometric traceries; a rich red carpet runs up the room's length, to the brass pipes which stand at its north end. Air throbs from the pipes and thunders quietly across the chamber.
  
  To the south stands a graceful marble altar, which supports a small open offering box.
  
  Your workspace is a squat cube in the center of the room. Inside it bounce five icons.
  
  The west wall is now filled by an enormous stained-glass window, which certainly wasn't there before. The window depicts a tall green tree, standing in a field of lesser greenery.
  
  > examine the window
  The glass tiles are not set in lead; perhaps the mosaic is fused or cemented. However the window was made, it shines with thousands of tints of green.
  
  A puff of air brushes over you.
  
  > open the window
  There's no way to open that.
  
  The workspace vibrates to the icons' sharp movements.
  
  > break the window
  You raise the axe, and chop down at the window. Glass splinters, and the window cracks alarmingly. Then, with a towering crash, the entire window shatters into a cascade of broken green glass.
  
  When the catastrophe ends, the window frame is a jagged hole, beyond which is a blank white marble wall.
  
  > look at the hole
  Shards of broken green glass spill across the floor. Behind the window casing is only blank white marble.
  
  > invoke the weight
  You invoke the weight icon, and the environment transforms around you.
  
  Shelves loom here in rank and file. On them, arms are arrayed in tidy rows: swords, knives, spears, and weapons of every other description. More blades hang overhead, point-down and silently menacing.
  
  The bookcase still stands, but its doors have been torn open; they hang in pieces. The books have tumbled out in a heap at your feet.
  
  Your workspace rests by one wall. Inside it bounce five icons.
  
  The workspace vibrates to the icons' sharp movements.
  
  > Examine books
  You pick up a book and open it. The pages are all blank.
  
  > take the books
  You open another book; this one, too, is blank.
  
  The blades overhead clink gently.
  
  > Inventory
  You are carrying:
  a rusty axe
  
  The workspace vibrates to the icons' sharp movements.
  
  > take the book
  Still blank.
  
  > Again
  Still blank.
  
  The workspace vibrates to the icons' sharp movements.
  
  > drop all
  You invoke the heat icon, and the environment shifts into a new form.
  
  You stand in a long, low hall of smoke-darkened timbers. The floor is earth, benches line the walls, and you are washed by heat from the blazing fire-pit that runs the hall's entire length.
  
  At the south end the hall rises, and an enormous wooden chest stands on an earthen mound. The chest is open and empty.
  
  The cube that is your workspace rests nearby. Inside it bounce five icons.
  
  Something new lies here, on the west side of the hall. It's a dead, gnarled tree, lying uprooted where certainly you saw no tree before. Its leaves have fallen into a yellow heap, drifted around the bare branches.
  
  (the rusty axe)
  As the rusty axe leaves your grasp, it reverts to being a flaming torch.
  
  Sweat begins to drip from you.
  
  > burn books with the torch
  You invoke the weight icon, and the environment changes around you.
  
  Shelves loom here in rank and file. On them, arms are arrayed in tidy rows: swords, knives, spears, and weapons of every other description. More blades hang overhead, point-down and silently menacing.
  
  The bookcase still stands, but its doors have been torn open; they hang in pieces. The books have tumbled out in a heap at your feet.
  
  Your workspace rests by one wall. Inside it bounce five icons.
  
  A silver key shines gently on the floor.
  
  I only understood you as far as wanting to burn the books.
  
  > take the torch
  You invoke the heat icon, and the environment transforms into a new form.
  
  You stand in a long, low hall of smoke-darkened timbers. The floor is earth, benches line the walls, and you are washed by heat from the blazing fire-pit that runs the hall's entire length.
  
  At the south end the hall rises, and an enormous wooden chest stands on an earthen mound. The chest is open and empty.
  
  The cube that is your workspace rests nearby. Inside it bounce five icons.
  
  A torch is lying on the ground, burning unsteadily.
  
  The old tree has been uprooted; it lies dead on the west side of the hall. Its leaves have fallen into a yellow heap, drifted around the bare branches.
  
  The workspace vibrates to the icons' sharp movements.
  
  Taken.
  
  > burn the books with the torch
  You invoke the weight icon, and the environment shifts around you.
  
  Shelves loom here in rank and file. On them, arms are arrayed in tidy rows: swords, knives, spears, and weapons of every other description. More blades hang overhead, point-down and silently menacing.
  
  The bookcase still stands, but its doors have been torn open; they hang in pieces. The books have tumbled out in a heap at your feet.
  
  Your workspace rests by one wall. Inside it bounce five icons.
  
  I only understood you as far as wanting to burn the books.
  
  > Burn books
  That's a horrible idea, even for blank books.
  
  The workspace vibrates to the icons' sharp movements.
  
  > search the books
  You dig into the pile of books, but there are many of them, and none stand out.
  
  The blades overhead clink gently.
  
  > invoke the heat
  You invoke the heat icon, and the environment changes into a new form.
  
  You stand in a long, low hall of smoke-darkened timbers. The floor is earth, benches line the walls, and you are washed by heat from the blazing fire-pit that runs the hall's entire length.
  
  At the south end the hall rises, and an enormous wooden chest stands on an earthen mound. The chest is open and empty.
  
  The cube that is your workspace rests nearby. Inside it bounce five icons.
  
  The old tree has been uprooted; it lies dead on the west side of the hall. Its leaves have fallen into a yellow heap, drifted around the bare branches.
  
  > Search leaves
  You grab a handful of leaves; they crumble away. Well, you think, and dig in with both hands. Leaves disintegrate in clumps and wafts, filling the air with dust. It doesn't take long before the entire heap is gone.
  
  A single leaf remains, lying against the fallen tree. Unlike the others, this one gleams bright metallic gold.
  
  The workspace vibrates to the icons' sharp movements.
  
  > examine tree
  The tree lies uprooted upon the earth. A single gold leaf remains, lying against the wood.
  
  Sweat begins to drip from you.
  
  > take the gold leaf
  You realize that the gold leaf is not real; it is painted on the fallen tree.
  
  > Burn tree
  The leaves are already gone.
  
  > invoke the weight
  You invoke the weight icon, and the environment transforms around you.
  
  Shelves loom here in rank and file. On them, arms are arrayed in tidy rows: swords, knives, spears, and weapons of every other description. More blades hang overhead, point-down and silently menacing.
  
  The bookcase still stands, but its doors have been torn open; they hang in pieces. A single book remains, a small golden volume. It is chained to the bookcase with a gold padlock.
  
  Your workspace rests by one wall. Inside it bounce five icons.
  
  The workspace vibrates to the icons' sharp movements.
  
  > Examine book
  The remaining book is a small volume, the size of your palm, but its leather cover is leafed in gold. It is chained to the bottom shelf with a gold chain and padlock. You see immediately that the book is an archetype of form.
  
  > drop the torch
  As the flaming torch leaves your grasp, it reverts to being a silver key.
  
  The blades overhead clink gently.
  
  > take the book
  You take the book and compile. It shrinks obligingly into a small icon.
  
  > put the icon in the workspace
  (the form icon in the workspace)
  You raise the form icon, and feel the tangible resistance beating from the workspace. What a mess. You lean against it, and slowly shove the icon into its place.
  
  You stand on mossy earth, surrounded by the silhouettes of dark and massive standing stones. It is night. But the sky shows no stars at all.
  
  Your workspace sits in the center of the circle. Inside it the six icons whirl.
  
  > look at the stones
  The stones are massive, worn, and very old. You can make out little else.
  
  You count eight stones around you. Seven of them are of similar height; one is much taller.
  
  > examine the tall stone
  The taller stone is to the... the...
  
  Hang on. You're not sure which direction that is. How bizarre.
  
  The workspace is shaking.
  
  > press charge
  You invoke the charge icon, and the environment shifts into a new form.
  
  This square tower is built of granite blocks braced by high iron beams. The roof is a broad sweep of lead-framed glass, hammered by the roaring rain outside.
  
  A complex apparatus dominates the room: a heavy brass tank, surmounted by copper and bubbling glass tubing. Wires drape from the roof down to the apparatus, hanging every which way.
  
  Your workspace sits in the center of the lab. Inside it the six icons whirl.
  
  > drop key
  As the silver key leaves your grasp, it reverts to being a brass compass.
  
  The workspace is shaking.
  
  > take compass
  Taken.
  
  Lightning illuminates the storm overhead, followed instantly by a deafening crack of thunder.
  
  > look at the icons
  Within the workspace you see the form icon, the weight icon, the charge icon, the light icon, the heat icon, and the pressure icon, all whirling rapidly.
  
  > Invoke form
  You invoke the form icon, and the environment changes around you.
  
  You stand on mossy earth, surrounded by the silhouettes of dark and massive standing stones. It is night. But the sky shows no stars at all.
  
  Your workspace sits in the center of the circle. Inside it the six icons whirl.
  
  The workspace is shaking.
  
  > examine the tall stone
  The taller stone is to the... the...
  
  Hang on. You're not sure which direction that is. How bizarre.
  
  > examine compass
  You bend over the compass. The needle turns slowly, as if seeking something more subtle than magnetic north. It gleams, catching the moonlight...
  
  Wait. There is no moon. Something glows in your cupped hand -- no longer a brass compass -- and then it crawls between your fingers and flutters upward.
  
  The workspace is shaking.