text: [Themes: Collegiate, conspiracy, espionage, college]
  
  [Author's Note: Take on the roles of Hal, Benj, and Janet -- the three newest members of the shadowy conspiratorial group known only as the Weishaupt Foundation. Vie against rival conspiracies and your own baffling superiors to reach the Awful Truth.]
  
  > examine the cabinets
  They're mostly ordinary looking file cabinets, though they have various runes and alchemical symbols painted on them.
  
  > examine the runes
  Tsk. This is regular Modern English, just written down in the Anglo-Saxon Futhorc. Sloppy, and it doesn't say much for how authentic the rest of this stuff is.
  
  You hear footsteps somewhere above you. Someone must be working late.
  
  > read the runes
  Tsk. This is regular Modern English, just written down in the Anglo-Saxon Futhorc. Sloppy, and it doesn't say much for how authentic the rest of this stuff is.
  
  One of the cultists appears to be stirring. Janet hops over and gently kicks him in the head with her steel-toed boot.
  
  > search the cabinets
  You can't see inside, since the cabinets are closed.
  
  One of the cultists appears to be stirring. Janet hops over and gently kicks him in the head with her steel-toed boot.
  
  > open the cabinets
  You open the cabinets, revealing some files.
  
  Somewhere, papers rustle in the air conditioning.
  
  > examine files
  Oy. These files are all written in modern English, just written down using the Anglo-Saxon Futhorc. The membership file you were looking for is easy enough to find, though.
  
  You hear soft chanting in the distance.
  
  > read the membership file
  Names and basic contact info for the alchemical cult that's been stealing material from the local chemistry labs, no doubt for some heinous scheme or other. That part wasn't really in the mission description.
  
  You hear soft chanting in the distance.
  
  > listen to the chanting
  Soft chanting wafts in from above. It's from far enough away that you don't have to worry. Probably. In any event, they don't seem to be coming in to challenge you -- you suspect they haven't even worked out that you're here.
  
  I didn't understand that sentence.
  
  > About yourself
  You won't be starring in any spy movies anytime soon, except maybe as Smug Bureaucrat #3. Still, you're living proof that athleticism isn't everything in this field.
  
  One of the cultists appears to be stirring. Janet hops over and gently kicks him in the head with her steel-toed boot.
  
  > check your inventory
  You are carrying:
  a pager
  
  Somewhere, papers rustle in the air conditioning.
  
  > take the file
  Taken.
  
  You look at Janet. She nods and gestures at the door. You run for it. You'll have to drop this off with your secret masters, and then you can deal with the things that are truly important...
  
  It's not palatial, but it's pretty big for a student apartment; that's why he tends to host the game nights on weekends. Of course, the game night has pretty much wound up by now, so there's mostly just the remnants of the night's Risk game and snack fragments left.
  
  You can see Isaac and Bian here.
  
  You're now wrapping up your wild tale of why you couldn't make the game night. "... and so, after a harrowing journey, I finally managed to make it here. It took a little longer than I'd expected, because I had to ensure I wasn't being traced. I wouldn't want to bring any secret wars here. Of course I would never skip out on you guys without explanation, but I was obviously incommunicado."
  
  They seem unimpressed.
  
  Bian manages an "I'm touched by your concern" before Isaac starts speaking. "Really, I don't mind if you can't make a session, but if you have to cancel, it would be kind of nice if you called first. You don't have to pull some story out of one of Bian's RPGs."
  
  Bian eyes Isaac for a moment. "Hey, don't blame me for this. He was like this even when we were in high school together. It's his fault I started fringewatching to begin with."
  
  You shrug. "Clearly, the heavy responsibilities are all mine. Need any help cleaning up?"
  
  "Be my guest."
  
  Bian snickers. "He's just trying to get an excuse to raid your fridge."
  
  [1] Resignedly accept accusation
  [2] Proclaim innocence
  
  > 2
  You attempt your best look of wide-eyed innocence. It's actually kind of hard through glasses as thick as yours. "I am shocked -- shocked -- that you would make such an insinuation."
  
  Bian lifts an eyebrow and smirks. "Insinuation? You wound me. That was a direct statement."
  
  You bow deeply in reply. "As you wish."
  
  > look at Bian
  You and Bian have been friends since high school, and you've known each other quite a bit longer than that.
  
  Her family immigrated here from Vietnam under less than ideal circumstances, and you suspect it's really only due to her intelligence (and the fellowships that brought) that she's able to afford going here.
  
  Bian shoulders her backpack and straightens out her dress.
  
  > clean up
  You separate the game pieces into separate piles. It'll take some more work to clean it up.
  
  Bian waves and heads out the door. "See you next week, Isaac. Catch you later, Hal."
  
  Isaac waits around for you to finish picking up the remnants of the game like you promised.
  
  > clean up
  You pack the game away in its box and pick it up to hand to Isaac. As you pick up the box, you notice a square of plastic beneath it. Some kind of keycard?
  
  > examine the plastic
  It's a keycard to the Psychology building. It must be Bian's.
  
  Isaac tilts his head at the square of plastic on the table.
  
  > take the plastic
  Taken.
  
  "Hey, Bian left her keycard here."
  
  "Hm. She'll be needing that. And you'll be seeing her again before I do; I suppose you should take it with you."
  
  "You're probably right. Hopefully I'll be able to make next week. See you then." You clear out.
  
  Active Agent: Benj
  
  Hal's status: OK
  Benj's status: OK
  Janet's status: OK
  
  You have to admit, it's a more interesting way than most to work your way through college. But you swear, ever since you took the Weishaupt Foundation up on their offer, you've become visible to every single wacko this side of Neptune. And if you didn't know better, you'd think the Universe itself was in on the gag.
  
  Take today, for instance. The religious fanatics worshipping some god named Bob (What was it Hal had called them? "The Subgenie" or something...) have been getting more prevalent for weeks. But when they decide to take a more, ahem, active approach to recruitment, who's the first person they target?
  
  You.
  
  And your pager went off just as class ended, so you're going to have to dodge cultists all the way to the train.
  
  Well, at least life is never boring...
  
  Most of Knuth Hall's second floor is taken up by the lecture hall in room 203. The rest of the floor is mostly taken up by little lounges (accessible to the east and west). Across from the main lecture hall is a staircase leading up and down.
  
  > Inventory
  You are carrying:
  your keycard
  a pager
  
  > examine the pager
  This is the pager the Weishaupt Foundation gave to you when you signed on. It lets them summon you without using any probably tapped phone lines. God only knows what else it does.
  
  > examine the keycard
  Your keycard is a nondescript rectangle of green plastic, about the size of a credit card but twice as thick. It's got a tiny transmitter in it that unlocks the doors to floors you're cleared to enter. Yours unlocks the basement computer lab in Knuth Hall.