text: [Themes: Time Travel, gadgets, character based, moments out of time]
  
  > Go downwards
  That door is locked.
  
  > Footnote 3
  [Footnote 3]
  The game will continue this practice from now on. Use the setup menu to change this behavior.
  
  > Go east
  As an architectural feature, the den declined in popularity during this part of the century, but this house seems to have one nonetheless. From your historical research, you know that a den is a sort of cross between a study and a family room. This room shows signs of wear; stains and worn patches of carpet suggest heavy use. Behind one recliner, the woodgrain paneling of the wall is scratched and scored from frequent collisions. One wall is covered in bookshelves. A well-stocked wet bar adorns a second. Couches and armchairs form a conversation area in the middle of the room. The western wall is open, leading back to the stairway.
  
  On the bar are four glasses (empty) and some bottles.
  
  A video game system sits before the video screen.
  
  You can also see a video screen and a video disc player (empty) here.
  
  The button on the stream visualizer blinks, indicating that it has generated a new hologram.
  
  > search the couch
  You force your hand between two cushions. Before nicking yourself on a spring, your hand catches on a small object which was lost in the couch, which emerges to the surface just ahead of your stinging hand.
  
  > Inventory
  You are carrying:
  a large key
  a wooden knob
  your StreamDive console
  five chips:
  a shield chip
  a blank chip
  a scan chip
  an interface chip
  a DataStore chip
  a stream visualizer
  
  > take the key
  (the deadbolt key)
  Taken.
  
  > unlock the northwest door
  You'll have to specify a key with which to unlock the door.
  
  > unlock the northwest door with the large key
  That doesn't seem to fit the lock.
  The house shakes hard as a something, probably an aircraft or small bomb, crashes to earth in the distance.
  
  > Go south
  The house is even bigger than you initially thought; this level is not a basement. Standing at the foot of the stairs, the door leading to the basement proper is in front of you  [Footnote 2], while fully-fledged rooms lie in the other cardinal directions. Another, smaller room lies to the northwest.
  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.
  
  > 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.
  
  > open the ham
  Better not; as it is, this is probably the only thing in the house that could survive the impending nuclear blast.
  
  > take the ham
  Taken.
  Something blocks the light for a second, and you turn to look. Nothing. Hm. This place is starting to get to you.
  
  > Go north
  When this house was first built, conventions of style dictated a degree of spartan functionality from the dining area. The construction of this room has a sort of tacit apology built into its architecture, as if the dedication of an entire room to dining facilities was seen as an undesirable extravagance. The twenty years that followed saw a reversal of the cultural mores which had all but done away with a fixed dining area. The net result is that this particular dining room has an uncomfortable blend of styles. A small, nondescript table shows signs of heavier wear than it was meant for. An ornate china cabinet stands in one corner, looking very out-of-place. The buffet counter, again nondescript and too small to be really serviceable, stretches across a portion of the north wall. Open archways lead south and east, and a small door is west.
  
  On the buffet are two oil lamps.
  
  You can see a photograph here.
  
  The button on the stream visualizer blinks, indicating that it has generated a new hologram.
  
  > Go up
  The stairs from the ground floor land in the middle of a long hallway which extends east and west from your current position. There is a door in the north wall, slightly narrower than usual. From here, you can see three doors at each of the two ends of the hallway.
  
  The button on the stream visualizer blinks, indicating that it has generated a new hologram.
  
  > Go east
  Hallway, east end
  You are at the east end of the main hallway on this floor. The hallway ends at a door on the east wall, and another door is north. A doorway to the south has no door, though it looks as if it were designed for one.
  
  A framed photograph of a young man is affixed to the wall.
  
  The button on the stream visualizer blinks, indicating that it has generated a new hologram.
  
  > unlock the north door with the deadbolt key
  Unlocked.
  
  > go north
  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 4], 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 5]; 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.
  
  The button on the stream visualizer blinks, indicating that it has generated a new hologram.
  
  > Open dollhouse
  You give a gentle tug at the base, which pops open. Inside, you see two letters (a crumpled letter and a folded letter) and a strange book.
  
  > read crumpled letter
  Ug. Hw. Npxo J teiotslz swo jq zco yum evyt xdru qafib. Gwz air qow? W upigs bio'zv tstgxbpqk kdemb wlwi urnq gmis. Ntgk, T'o oikvrm yljm if msc xng. She vtsubzy pkncri aixf tckg zhkomg rfw jrp mpe xdizuxiv phslyrl cs dvz ijscee ppsocyw lbsz zm oxa ulvwjybj. Da N'p zbrq djoj tl sohrl ztlb odb krr ot oyf wved. Ea abvg't ukw su jxyw cbqh? W'o ixvit W wjrct'm lycz fe ckymj. Ufybyr vgzqo zg depl hn le hjr dxfj bywo leuc.
  
  [The document "Letter (1)" has been added to your DataStore.]
  
  > read the folded letter
  N'q gxtr kib vcijo wn xerb. Gzw iaqrx gmtto, G'ij yfuu hechbg igajnd dpnu jyfivzub nubl oha goect lp, rtzeqpc qi ccf ym tnr qds hexsikp blim pqliv egfw ubi bdmi brjf xqh. N'gk efaiea jldhwc cuh wys icrno bueag, fnu M acxbj xems zuaszl ci vol aw cxs jqnj, sfc lruze igiw S qnd pxn W rohu ec snfkv. Zlwqw X pxecd mtgn txj'io gkdz mf noxmzvx pk suu rnifovig, cldj R jgzbs wunxn Y kjizwk kia pa fxrs dx uir atvvuf, ake lpdv E znczn xczd vin'wv muix df pwe bnx usytgmu ke zkm gue as zjpu. X ccczj L'oz wxaqvuvjji tk fxe rklt mu tf igly ckzbk nvrzd ifa ivbfe, msf prlaeu pbm ez mloihjs tm. Nuz, N'o inmo u siflrj. D'mh iapzqu npzkfx jce. C zad'i sqgr mv bqg kjs tlot asgxbku hq, jpu W ykxcco uwav za hqc coi kdoc aio fzgtw Y qq.
  
  [The document "Letter (2)" has been added to your DataStore.]
  
  > read the strange book
  This is a small, very worn notebook containing a number of pages covered with random sequences of hand-printed characters.
  [The document "Strange Book" has been added to your DataStore.]
  
  > SCAN
  The scanner has further details available on:
  the dollhouse
  the dresser
  the easel
  the charger
  the can of spiced ham
  
  > scan dresser
  (the dresser)
  The scanner enhances the contrast between the varnished surface of the dresser and the scratches in its surface so that you can see the word "SERENDIPITY", quite intentionally etched on the dresser, just deep enough to scratch the varnish without damaging the wood.
  
  > scan the easel
  The scanner indicates a rectangular mass between the canvas and its supporting board.
  
  > cut the easel
  Cutting that would achieve little.
  
  > break the easel
  Violence is against StreamDiver regulations.
  
  > examine the easel
  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.
  [The document "Watercolor Painting" has been added to your DataStore.]
  
  > search the painting
  Under your scrutinty, a very slight distortion in the picture is visible. You slide your hand between the sheet and its support, and turn up a very small book.
  
  > examine small Book
  This is a very small, hand-bound book containing a number of pages covered with random sequences of hand-printed characters.
  [The document "Strange Book (new)" has been added to your DataStore.]
  
  > Scan charger
  The scanner shows a diagram of the device's circuitry. History of electronics isn't really your forte, but the design looks normal enough.
  
  Or does it? You enhance the scan over what should be the device's power converter. That's... impossible. The converter is made out of Krell isolinium. Nothing like it should exist on Earth in this century. Exactly what the hell is going on here?
  
  > take the scissors and the handle
  scissors: Taken.
  magnetic handle: Taken.
  
  > unlock the east door with the handle
  That doesn't seem to fit the lock.
  Somewhere near the coast of Alaska, an intercontinental missile generates a high-frequency electrical field, rendering it invisible to the defensive screen covering much of the North American continent.
  
  > check what you're carrying
  You are carrying:
  a magnetic handle
  a scissors
  a scan chip
  a small book
  a can of spiced ham (which is closed)
  a diary
  a wooden knob
  your StreamDive console
  four chips:
  a shield chip
  a blank chip
  an interface chip
  a DataStore chip
  a stream visualizer
  three keys:
  a steel key
  a deadbolt key
  a large key
  
  > put the scan chip in the Console
  You put the scan chip into the StreamDive console.
  
  > go to the north
  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 4], 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 5]; 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.
  
  > open the drawer
  You open the dresser drawers, revealing a brass key.
  
  > SCAN
  The scanner has further details available on:
  the charger
  the can of spiced ham
  
  > move the boxes
  You are unable to.
  
  > Search boxes
  Pushing a box to the side, you discover a thin composition book, which had been secreted between two of the boxes.
  
  > Go west
  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 4], 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 5]; 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.
  
  > 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.
  
  > go north
  That door is locked.
  
  You manage to unlock the door with the magnetic handle.
  
  Although the primary function of this room seems to be as a linen closet, its size suggests that it was intended for even heavier storage. Three of the walls bear shelves, neatly stocked with towels and bed linens.
  
  > SCAN
  The scanner has further details available on:
  the charger
  the can of spiced ham
  
  > search the linens
  You poke around at the sheets, and find, hidden in the folds of a large bedsheet toward the back, a pack of cigarettes, either squirreled away for an emergency, or hidden from a disapproving family member.
  
  > go to the north
  In most respects, this is a thoroughly ordinary bathroom. It is far less clean than the public areas of the house, but not unsettlingly so. It is simple in decor, featuring a tub, toilet, sink, and no windows. The mirror over the sink protrudes slightly, suggesting that it conceals a medicine cabinet. The exit is south.
  
  The button on the stream visualizer blinks, indicating that it has generated a new hologram.
  
  > SCAN
  The scanner has further details available on:
  the charger
  the can of spiced ham
  
  > open the mirror
  You open the medicine cabinet, revealing a pill bottle.
  
  > look at the bottle
  A bottle of prescription medication.
  
  > open the bottle
  You never were any good with those child-safety devices.