text: > look around
  This is career-making stuff. A period survival shelter, fully intact and operational. The ceiling and walls form a single-piece dome, which, you recall, increased the structural stability with the building materials they had available. The eastern end, nearest the exit, seems to be some kind of living area, with a table and several chairs. Past it, you can see four bunked beds. At the far end of the shelter is a curtained area, holding the minimal sanitation facilities.
  The smashed and broken pieces of some electronic device are scattered around the room.
  
  A small metal box is mounted on one wall.
  
  On the table are an electronic device and a portable computer.
  Two corpses lay on opposite cots.
  
  > Examine box
  In the metal box is a red pill.
  
  > Interface laser
  Attempting to interface...
  Interface failed.
  Something blocks the light for a second, and you turn to look. Nothing. Hm. This place is starting to get to you.
  
  > look under the bed
  This is career-making stuff. A period survival shelter, fully intact and operational. The ceiling and walls form a single-piece dome, which, you recall, increased the structural stability with the building materials they had available. The eastern end, nearest the exit, seems to be some kind of living area, with a table and several chairs. Past it, you can see four bunked beds. At the far end of the shelter is a curtained area, holding the minimal sanitation facilities.
  The smashed and broken pieces of some electronic device are scattered around the room.
  
  A small metal box is mounted on one wall.
  
  On the table is a portable computer.
  Two corpses lay on opposite cots.
  
  (the bunk bed)
  You find nothing of interest.
  
  > Go east
  The doorway is blocked by toppled boxes.
  
  > Inventory
  You are carrying:
  a prosthetic eye
  a diary
  an autokey
  your StreamDive console
  five chips:
  a library chip
  a cryptography chip
  a blank chip
  an interface chip
  a shield chip
  
  > 3
  Analyzing...
  Format not recognized.
  Attempting to download...
  Download failed: Insufficient space.
  Blank StreamDive chip detected in console. Do you wish to download to it?
  
  > Yes
  Download successful.
  
  Press the number of your selection, 1-3, 0 to redisplay or Q to quit. Three relevant documents found:
  1     Recent Document 1: untitled text document
  2     Recent Document 2: Current events HW 4/25
  3     Data Snapshot
  
  > go to the east
  The basement of this house is a simple, large room with cinderblock walls. Boxes, crates, and other large items are scattered haphazardly about. A lightweight wooden door in the east wall appears to be an exterior exit, presumably to allow heavy gardening equipment, such as the lawnmower in one corner, to be removed. The stairs up to the rest of the house are along the south wall.
  And something unusual. The west wall is metal, with a very large, robust door set in it.
  The house shakes hard as a something, probably an aircraft or small bomb, crashes to earth in the distance.
  
  The stack of boxes teeters unsteadily. Another shake like that could bring all of these down on top of you.
  
  > Go upwards
  You are in the main entryway of the house. Aside from its functional purpose as the central hub of the building, it also serves as a showcase of the owner's prowess as a decorator. This room is tasteful and ornate. A coatrack stands abandoned in a corner, beside a highly polished small wooden table. The front door is due south, and the hallway opens west onto the kitchen, and east to the living room. A large staircase to the north leads up to the second floor, and down.
  
  On the wooden table is a letter.
  
  > examine the letter
  Dear Julia,
  I hope to God you get this letter. We waited for you as long as we could, but they're saying that the bombs could fall any day. There's a shelter out in New Calvert, we're going there. Daddy says its the safest place in a hundred miles. Try to get there if you can, but don't take any risks. The most important thing is that you stay safe. I left some money and your grandmom's jewels in the hidden place for you. Your dad bought a gun and bullets, and put them there too, but be careful. We all love you and hope to see you again.
  
  Love,
  Mom.
  
  > look at the photo
  This image shows a young man in his mid-teens. He sports a pathetic attempt at a moustache. Though he shows all the awkwardness of adolescence, he apparently does know, at least, how to pose for a photograph. He has a very slight smile, and a look of interested curiosity on his face. He does show the awkward pockmarks of severe acne, made worse by the extreme fullness of his face. He is wearing a black shirt with a suede vest, which bears a small lapel pin, of the sort distributed by academic honor societies.
  
  > go north
  That door is locked.
  
  You manage to unlock the door with the autokey.
  
  Coming, as you do, from an enlightened time period where man has, by and large, learned to overcome prejudicial assumptions about people on the basis of gender or background [Footnote 6], you know better than to jump to conclusions about the occupant based on the cultural stereotypes of their living space.
  Nevertheless, you can always tell a girl's room. It isn't some particular thing [Footnote 7]; rather, an air of femininity issues more from the juxtaposition of objects than the contents themselves. The dollhouse; the partially completed watercolor on an easel in the corner; the ornate, hand-carved chest at the foot of the bed; the paper ribbons affixed to the vent cover on the floor, all suggest, but do not insist that the occupant of this room is female. And yet, there is a certain something about this space that rarely arises in a man's quarters.
  The walls are a soft, uniform pastel. The desk stands opposite the bed, well stocked, but uncluttered. There is a closet door on the east wall. The exit to the hall is south.
  
  On the nightstand is a charger.
  Somewhere, probably a few kilometers away, there is an explosion. The house rocks, and you have a hard time keeping your footing.
  
  You hear a great crash below.
  
  > put the eye in the charger
  You let the optical unit charge for a few minutes. When you remove it, it's warm to the touch. Hm. The device seems to think that the eye is fully charged. That doesn't make sense; this charger is supposed to, if your memory serves, take several hours. There's no way that the technology of this period could build a charger capable of such speed.
  
  > Interface eye
  Attempting to interface...
  Interface established.
  Examining device...
  Selecting protocol...
  Compatible protocol found.
  Device: LZ-50 Optical Prosthetic. Manufacturer: Optitron BioTechnics
  
  Downloading images...
  
  The viewpoint of the camera suggests that the wearer is seated in front of a portable computer. Her hand reaches out and picks up a small device beside the computer. She turns it over, presumably examining it from all angles. The hand turns the device until its barrel-end points directly into the camera. A finger twitches, pressing a button. A flash of light issues from the end of the device, and the image flickers, distorts, and breaks up.
  
  When the image returns, the device has been dropped to the table. The wearer stands, and the camera reels in unsteady ascent. Again a hand reaches out, this time to switch the computer off. It takes a small red pill from the table, and then moves to the wearer's mouth.
  
  The camera turns quickly, and moves toward one of the bunked beds. It focuses on the motionless body of a beautiful blonde girl. The image switches to infrared, showing the characteristic cooling of a recently deceased body, then the camera changes back to the visual spectrum. The camera bobs up and down, as if slowly nodding. It moves toward the face of the dead girl, and stays very close to one cheek for a long time. The camera withdraws, and the wearer extends a hand, tracing the shoulder and arm of the corpse, finally coming to rest atop the folded hands. The wearer's hand squeezes the dead hands once, then the camera turns toward the opposite cot.
  
  The camera moves toward the cot, then turns and lowers, finally pitching back as the wearer lies down. A hand moves toward the camera, and as it passes in front of it, the recording ends.
  
  > look at the charger
  Some kind of electronic charging apparatus. It is designed to hold a small spheroid object, which, presumably, would store electricity routed to it by the receptacle. You look at it more closely... It could be... No... Hm... Yes. It's the charging unit for an Optitron LZ-model prosthetic eye. As you recall, this was the first consumer-model bionetic replacement, a revolutionary medical advance that restored sight to countless injured persons. It would pave the way to a whole line of medical implant technology.
  
  > Research charger
  No relevant entry found.
  Something blocks the light for a second, and you turn to look. Nothing. Hm. This place is starting to get to you.
  
  > look at the dollhouse
  A scale model of a late Victorian home. It appears to be in a state of some disrepair, probably abandoned when its owner outgrew it.
  
  > examine the desk
  This is a fairly small desk, essentially little more than a table. The desk is tightly packed with office supplies and other sundries
  
  > Open chest
  You open the chest, revealing a glass eye and an eyepatch.
  
  > examine the glass eye
  This is a hemispherical piece of colored glass, with a hook at the back. It looks to be the sort of "eye" found on stuffed toys.
  
  > examine the eyepatch
  A covering of stiff cloth, designed to cover a damaged eye. This may well be part of a costume, as at this time period, prosthetic replacements were the preferred means of concealing a permanently damaged eye.
  
  > examine the watercolor
  Watercolor seems to be an inappropriate choice for the subject matter, but watercolor is, of course, much easier to work with than oil paints. The picture shows a serene lake, what should be a quaint scene of pastoral bliss. But the colors don't fit well with the subject. Though dark colors are largely absent, a few areas suggest that this is due purely to the painting's incomplete state. At the center of picture, without enough detail to recognize at first glance, is the disturbing figure of a drowning victim. Trails of unpainted canvas might form what might be a burial shroud around the figure, still lacking enough in detail to discern the gender. The figure's arms are spread wide, in what is still called the "Dead Man's Float".
  
  Most of the dark areas, and, indeed one or two of the light areas, are unfinished. The overwhelming historical likelihood is that they will remain that way.
  
  > examine the eye
  (the prosthetic eye)
  Remarkable. This is an LZ-50 prosthetic optical unit, the first commercial replacement eye. This explains the sunken eyelid on the poor dead girl -- she must have had a prosthetic eye. But this... You could stand here all day and admire the workmanship. You would never have suspected that the technology of this period could develop something that could actually replace a human eye. And here you are... it's in your hand. You turn it over and over. It looks amazingly realistic.
  
  > look in the vent
  The vent is empty.
  
  > examine the closet
  This house has many doors. Very few of them are worthy of note [Footnote 8].
  This particular door is a sliding one, secured by a brass lock.
  
  > go east
  That door is locked.
  
  You manage to unlock the door with the autokey.
  
  From the architecture of the house, you can tell that this is the only bedroom to have its own walk-in closet, which no doubt was an issue of some discussion when bedrooms were assigned. The majority of the closet is taken up by clothing, but you can see a few boxes toward the back.
  
  > look at the clothing
  The closet is full of clothing. Most of it is fairly gender-neutral; it's only under close examination that you can discern that the bulky black clothing is indeed sized for a young woman. Only one or two items are more distinctly feminine.
  
  > Open boxes
  You open each box, finding nothing of note. However, pushing a box to the side, you discover a thin composition book, which had been secreted between two of the boxes.
  
  > go north
  Page: 1 April 17-25
  
  P = previous page    N = next page
  Q = resume story    G = Go to page
  
  April 17 - Mom found my diary and read it. I'm ashamed at how I acted. I'm very angry at her for invading my privacy, but I understand that she's just worried about me.
  
  She doesn't want me to see CJ anymore because he's a bad influence. I guess I see her point, but I really care about him.
  
  I have to start seeing a therapist again. Maybe he will help me feel better about myself.
  
  April 18 - Jimmy pulled a prank on me. It was mean. I didn't tell mom, but I hope she finds out and punishes him.
  
  April 19 - Met with the doctor today. It was really good to talk with someone.
  
  April 21 - We had lima beans with dinner tonight. I hate lima beans.
  
  April 22 - It looks like there's going to be a war. I'm really scared.
  
  April 24 - I saw my old friend Donna today. I hope I get to talk to her. She's nice. It would be good to have a friend again.
  
  April 25 - Jimmy has some new idea for a computer program. I wish I was that smart. Maybe he'll get rich and famous.
  
  > go north
  Page: 2 April 26-May 1
  
  P = previous page    N = next page
  Q = resume story    G = Go to page
  
  April 26 - I saw the doctor again. I think I'm making progress.
  
  April 27 - I had a nightmare about the accident last night. I remember Donna's mom screaming when the guy ran that red light. The car got hit on Donna's side, so she's so lucky just to be alive. I wouldn't have been hurt at all if I'd had my seat belt on. I got thrown over top of Donna when the car spun around and landed face down on what was left of her window. I remember Donna screaming for her mom, because she was out cold, but I don't remember doing anything myself. Just laying there with a big piece of glass through my eye.
  
  April 29 - The fighting keeps getting worse in china and the middle east.
  April 30 - I got to talk to Donna. She's doing well, but she lives with her dad now. I invited her over to dinner tomorrow. Hope mom doesn't mind. I wanted to talk to her longer but mom worries if I don't get home right away after school.
  
  May 1 - Mom made her "famous" squash stuffing with pork chops. I like it better with steak. Jimmy made himself look bad by asking her about the scar she has from the accident. After dinner we talked and did homework. She's a much better friend than CJ.
  
  > Go north
  Page: 4 May 8-15
  
  P = previous page    N = next page
  Q = resume story    G = Go to page
  
  May 8 - Donna met a new guy named Tom. I think he's nice. It's good for her to be dating someone
  
  May 9 - Dad cooked something new with lots of sprouts. Sprouts are supposed to be healthy, but doesn't it cancel them out if you fry them?
  
  May 10 - I saw the doctor. I don't think we got to anything new. There was something funny about him, like he kept wanting to tell me something but never got up the nerve.
  
  May 11 - My eye didn't work today. Daddy got all upset and shouted about crummy workmanship. Mom thought I should go out to the mall with Donna anyway, but I don't like people seeing me with my eyepatch so we just stayed in.
  
  May 12 - It worked today. Daddy told me to clean the charger and be more careful.
  
  May 13 - Donna's dad is going off to serve in the navy. Mom says she can stay with us until the end of school, since she can't stay with her mom. I'm glad.
  
  May 14 - There's a party friday for the boys who are going to war. Mom says I can't go. It's not fair.
  
  May 15 - Happy Birthday! Mom changed her mind about the party, since I'm 18 now and she says I can be trusted to make my own decisions. I got some nice stuff. Donna's boyfriend got drafted, and she's really upset.
  
  > go north
  Page: 5 May 17-31
  
  P = previous page    N = next page
  Q = resume story    G = Go to page
  
  May 17 - The party wasn't much fun so we left early. Good thing since we're kind of sick today.
  
  May 18 - The war keeps getting worse. I wish they'd just find a peaceful answer.
  
  May 19 - Donna wanted some fun so we tried on each other's clothes. We're about the same size, but her boobs are bigger, so some of the stuff fit funny.
  
  May 20 - The war keeps getting worse. Some kids at school are saying that they might start bombing the US, but daddy says that there's a big electronic shield that stops bombs from getting through.
  
  May 21 - I had a nightmare about the bombs dropping.
  
  May 22 - School seems so empty. Lots of guys in my class got drafted.
  
  May 24 - The doctor said some stuff I didn't like. I told mom about it and she told me I didn't have to go anymore.
  
  May 27 - The air raid drills in school are kind of weird. I don't think hiding under a desk will really help. But it did get us out of third period.
  
  May 28 - * Almost a week early. I'm usually a metronome.
  
  May 30 - Not feeling very good. Yeech.
  
  May 31 - I'm worried about Donna. She seems upset all the time.
  
  > Go north
  Page: 6 June 1-15
  
  P = previous page    N = next page
  Q = resume story    G = Go to page
  
  June 1 - I'm not having a good day. But Donna looks like I feel. Hope she gets over it.
  
  June 4 - I heard Jimmy making out with his "study partner" last night. I guess it's good he's got a girlfriend.
  
  June 5 - There isn't going to be a graduation this year. Why does my class always get the short end of the stick?
  
  June 6 - I'm still worried about Donna.
  
  June 8 - Okay. I know I shouldn't have, but I listened at the vent while Jimmy was in his room with his girlfriend. Get this. He was more or less begging her for sex. He kept making appeals to how we could all die at any time with the war. Sounds like pillow talk to me.
  
  June 9 - We got news from the front that one of the guys who graduated a year ago and enlisted back then got killed in Vietnam. There's a service Monday.
  
  June 11 - Lazy day.
  
  June 12 - I think the rolly-polly girl gave in.
  
  Donna's worse than ever. But we're going to a party tonight at Rusty's, which should cheer her up.
  
  June 15 - Jimmy finally worked out that you could hear into my room by listening at the vent. He overheard a private conversation between me and Donna. Guess we can't talk freely in my room any more.