text: > Look around
  There is no question what this place is. The room is high, brightly lit, and filled with arcane, half-built, and unlabelled machinery. The heavy door stands closed to the east; there is a small white pad and
  an access panel beside it.
  
  At the center of the chaos, and its focus, is a great silver platform which is wrapped in a glittering cage of scan-web. A control console stands next to it. Cables run out across the floor, from the platform to the console, from the console to the walls, and tangle around a low cabinet off to one side.
  
  Much paper and clutter rests on a long wooden table against one wall. The table also supports a notably large black device. By the other
  wall is a clear space ringed with red, with some sort of mat inside
  it. A steel cube sits on the mat.
  
  > look at the console
  There is a free-standing console next to the cage, facing it, with a view off to the side of the padded mat. On the console are two
  buttons, a grey oval of contact-pad substrate, a small rectangular display above the oval, and a readout strip. Hand-written labels are marked by each control.
  
  The readout strip says, "Shut down for logic adjustment."
  
  "The lock circuitry is knotted," comes a mumble from outside the door. "...must have done something..."
  
  > open it
  That's not something you can open.
  
  "We've got shock grenades. Should we blast?" There is a pause, and someone replies, "No, wait on that. Whatever's in the lab, the tech crowd will burst themselves if we fill it full of shrapnel."
  
  > look at the labels
  Scribbled between the grey oval and the display is the phrase "Destination waveform." The upper button says "Ready," and the lower button is labelled "Light the fire."
  
  > open the cabinet
  Opened. The cabinet is stuffed with blocks of subcircuitry and nests
  of ribbon-wiring. There is a gap at one point, however, as if a single logic plate had been removed.
  
  A voice says, "Someone ask around for a gas cutter."
  
  > shoot the cabinet
  (with the gun)
  A corona of sparks showers out of the cabinet. Blue light crackles along the subcircuit paths and across the ribbon wiring.
  
  > look at the logic
  (finding the logic plate under the papers)
  It's a logic plate like most, though fairly large -- wider than your two spread hands. Circuit paths are dimly visible inside the smoky resin, and the edges sparkle with link bands.
  
  > shoot logic
  (with the gun)
  A corona of sparks surrounds the logic plate. Blue light crackles
  along the circuit paths.
  
  "Got anywhere with the lock?" you hear. There is an irritated mutter
  in reply.
  
  > check your inventory
  You are carrying a lockpick, your gun, a radio module, a pen, a toolcase (which is open but empty), a toggle switch, a scan scrambler (connected to a timer), a minilamp, a key transmitter and a voice transmitter.
  
  > Tangle2
  Enter saved game to load: Ok.
  
  > Search table
  You quickly sort through the papers, as best you can from your
  briefing lectures. In a few moments, you have piled up a single stack of the most critical diagrams, tables, formulae, and notes. Everything else is left scattered across the table in more disarray than when you started.
  
  While sorting, you discovered a logic plate buried under a spread of scribbled diagrams.
  
  > get the papers
  (the stack of important papers)
  Taken.
  
  You hear voices outside. "Well?"
  
  > open the cabinet
  Opened. The cabinet is stuffed with blocks of subcircuitry and nests
  of ribbon-wiring. There is a gap at one point, however, as if a single logic plate had been removed.
  
  > put the plate in the cabinet
  You slide the logic plate into the gap in the cabinet.
  
  "The lock circuitry is knotted," comes a mumble from outside the door. "...must have done something..."
  
  > Close cabinet
  You close the cabinet.
  
  "We've got shock grenades. Should we blast?" There is a pause, and someone replies, "No, wait on that. Whatever's in the lab, the tech crowd will burst themselves if we fill it full of shrapnel."
  
  > look at the console
  There is a free-standing console next to the cage, facing it, with a view off to the side of the padded mat. On the console are two
  buttons, a grey oval of contact-pad substrate, a small rectangular display above the oval, and a readout strip. Hand-written labels are marked by each control.
  
  The readout strip says, "Shut down for logic adjustment."
  
  > look at the display
  The display shows a complex waveform. Several different components slice across the rectangle, like a rainbow of mountain ranges. You haven't the least understanding of what they mean.
  
  > put all except the papers on table
  lockpick: Done.
  gun: Done.
  radio module: Done.
  pen: Done.
  toolcase: Done.
  toggle switch: Done.
  scan scrambler: Done.
  minilamp: Done.
  key transmitter: Done.
  voice transmitter: Done.
  
  "Got anywhere with the lock?" you hear. There is an irritated mutter
  in reply.
  
  > open flap
  You peel the flap of web away from its magnetic seals; it hangs open.
  
  > enter the platform
  You step through the open flap and onto the platform.
  
  The console readout blinks; it now says, "Accumulators charging: pulse in 4. Note: scan-web coverage not yet complete."
  
  "Yes, he cursed has." The tone is dry and amused, but the familiar voice chills you. "What's the situation?"
  
  > read the papers
  (the stack of important papers)
  You have no notion what any of it means, but it all matches the
  profile you were given of material relevant to the work done here.
  
  The console readout blinks; it now says, "Accumulators charging: pulse in 2."
  
  There is a choking sound. "Trapped in the-- in--" In all the hours you spent in his chair, you never heard that voice lost for words.
  
  > Wait
  Time passes.
  
  "Nowhere..." the familiar voice begins, and there is a terrible silence.
  
  Then, "Blast it down," he says, very quietly. And screams, "BLAST IT!"
  
  But a light is pouring out around you, a sourceless glow that seems to shine straight through solidity, as if metal and plastic were starlit ice. The light builds and builds...
  
  Beyond the light you see the door burst open, with a distant,
  dreamlike roar. The lucent faces that crowd through seem to move in slow motion. Their guns are firing, but the pulses are frozen in
  space. You can see their eyes slide across you, the cage around you, the papers in your hand, the light.
  
  Then the world vanishes. Blackness slaps into you with a silent snap.
  
  > open the web
  Which do you mean, the cage or the lockpick matrix disc?
  
  > Cage
  You peel the flap of web away from its magnetic seals; it hangs open.
  
  The console readout blinks; it now says, "Accumulators charging: pulse in 2. Note: scan-web coverage not yet complete."
  
  There is a choking sound. "Trapped in the-- in--" In all the hours you spent in his chair, you never heard that voice lost for words.
  
  > go outside
  You step off of the platform.
  
  The console readout blinks; it now says, "Accumulators charging: pulse in 1. Note: scan-web coverage not yet complete."
  
  "There's only one entrance, with-commander. We're standing in front of it," the voice continues, a little nervously now. "The walls are armor plate underneath. The ventilation system is secure. We haven't been briefed on any explosive or cutting equipment in the lab inventory. There's simply nowhere to go."
  
  > Cage
  You push the flap back against its seals.
  
  "Nowhere..." the familiar voice begins, and there is a terrible silence.
  
  Then, "Blast it down," he says, very quietly. And screams, "BLAST IT!"
  
  But a light is pouring out of the scan-web cage, a sourceless glow
  that seems to shine straight through solidity, as if metal and plastic were starlit ice. The light builds and builds...
  
  ...and vanishes with a silent snap.
  
  You shake your head in slow wonder. Unfortunately, a moment later, the guards outside recall you to yourself. There is a deafening roar; the door tears into flying shards of metal. A hail of pulse-gun fire follows the blast in. You don't stand a moment's chance.
  
  > open flap
  You peel the flap of web away from its magnetic seals; it hangs open.
  
  > drop the papers
  (the stack of important papers)
  Dropped.
  
  The console readout blinks; it now says, "Accumulators charging: pulse in 4. Note: scan-web coverage not yet complete."
  
  "Yes, he cursed has." The tone is dry and amused, but the familiar voice chills you. "What's the situation?"
  
  > enter the platform
  You step through the open flap and onto the platform.
  
  The console readout blinks; it now says, "Accumulators charging: pulse in 3. Note: scan-web coverage not yet complete."
  
  "It's under control, with'," someone says calmly. "The target is trapped in the lab. We're bringing up a cutter."
  
  > Close flap
  You pull the flap back against its seals, closing yourself in the
  cage.
  
  The console readout blinks; it now says, "Accumulators charging: pulse in 2."
  
  There is a choking sound. "Trapped in the-- in--" In all the hours you spent in his chair, you never heard that voice lost for words.
  
  > Wait
  Time passes.
  
  "Nowhere..." the familiar voice begins, and there is a terrible silence.
  
  Then, "Blast it down," he says, very quietly. And screams, "BLAST IT!"
  
  But a light is pouring out around you, a sourceless glow that seems to shine straight through solidity, as if metal and plastic were starlit ice. The light builds and builds...
  
  Beyond the light you see the door burst open, with a distant,
  dreamlike roar. The lucent faces that crowd through seem to move in slow motion. Their guns are firing, but the pulses are frozen in
  space. You can see their eyes slide across you, the cage around you, the light.
  
  Then the world vanishes. Blackness slaps into you with a silent snap.
  
  > look at what you're carrying with you
  You are carrying a lockpick, your gun, a radio module, a pen, a toolcase (which is open but empty), a toggle switch, a scan scrambler (connected to a timer), a minilamp, a key transmitter and a voice transmitter.
  
  "Nowhere..." the familiar voice begins, and there is a terrible silence.
  
  Then, "Blast it down," he says, very quietly. And screams, "BLAST IT!"
  
  But a light is pouring out around you, a sourceless glow that seems to shine straight through solidity, as if metal and plastic were starlit ice. The light builds and builds...
  
  Beyond the light you see the door burst open, with a distant,
  dreamlike roar. The lucent faces that crowd through seem to move in slow motion. Their guns are firing, but the pulses are frozen in
  space. You can see their eyes slide across you, the cage around you, the light.
  
  Then the world vanishes. Blackness slaps into you with a silent snap.
  
  > put the papers on the platform
  (the stack of important papers on the platform)
  You put the stack of important papers into the cage.
  
  The console readout blinks; it now says, "Accumulators charging: pulse in 4. Note: scan-web coverage not yet complete."
  
  "Yes, he cursed has." The tone is dry and amused, but the familiar voice chills you. "What's the situation?"
  
  > Close flap
  You push the flap back against its seals.
  
  The console readout blinks; it now says, "Accumulators charging: pulse in 3."
  
  "It's under control, with'," someone says calmly. "The target is trapped in the lab. We're bringing up a cutter."
  
  > wait a while
  Time passes.
  
  The console readout blinks; it now says, "Accumulators charging: pulse in 2."
  
  There is a choking sound. "Trapped in the-- in--" In all the hours you spent in his chair, you never heard that voice lost for words.
  
  > wait awhile
  Time passes.
  
  The console readout blinks; it now says, "Accumulators charging: pulse in 1."
  
  "There's only one entrance, with-commander. We're standing in front of it," the voice continues, a little nervously now. "The walls are armor plate underneath. The ventilation system is secure. We haven't been briefed on any explosive or cutting equipment in the lab inventory. There's simply nowhere to go."
  
  > Wait
  Time passes.
  
  "Nowhere..." the familiar voice begins, and there is a terrible silence.
  
  Then, "Blast it down," he says, very quietly. And screams, "BLAST IT!"
  
  But a light is pouring out of the scan-web cage, a sourceless glow
  that seems to shine straight through solidity, as if metal and plastic were starlit ice. The light builds and builds...
  
  ...and vanishes with a silent snap. The stack of important papers vanishes as well, leaving the cage empty.
  
  You shake your head in slow wonder. Unfortunately, a moment later, the guards outside recall you to yourself. There is a deafening roar; the door tears into flying shards of metal. A hail of pulse-gun fire follows the blast in. You don't stand a moment's chance.
  
  > drop all
  stack of important papers: Dropped.
  lockpick: Dropped.
  gun: Dropped.
  radio module: Dropped.
  pen: Dropped.
  toolcase: Dropped.
  toggle switch: Dropped.
  scan scrambler: You drop the scan scrambler (and the timer connected
  to it.)
  minilamp: Dropped.
  key transmitter: Dropped.
  voice transmitter: Dropped.
  
  The console readout blinks; it now says, "Accumulators charging: pulse in 4. Note: scan-web coverage not yet complete."
  
  "Yes, he cursed has." The tone is dry and amused, but the familiar voice chills you. "What's the situation?"
  
  > enter the platform
  You step through the open flap and onto the platform.
  
  The console readout blinks; it now says, "Accumulators charging: pulse in 3. Note: scan-web coverage not yet complete."
  
  "It's under control, with'," someone says calmly. "The target is trapped in the lab. We're bringing up a cutter."
  
  > Close flap
  You pull the flap back against its seals, closing yourself in the
  cage.
  
  The console readout blinks; it now says, "Accumulators charging: pulse in 2."
  
  There is a choking sound. "Trapped in the-- in--" In all the hours you spent in his chair, you never heard that voice lost for words.
  
  > Wait
  Time passes.
  
  "Nowhere..." the familiar voice begins, and there is a terrible silence.
  
  Then, "Blast it down," he says, very quietly. And screams, "BLAST IT!"
  
  But a light is pouring out around you, a sourceless glow that seems to shine straight through solidity, as if metal and plastic were starlit ice. The light builds and builds...
  
  Beyond the light you see the door burst open, with a distant,
  dreamlike roar. The lucent faces that crowd through seem to move in slow motion. Their guns are firing, but the pulses are frozen in
  space. You can see their eyes slide across you, the cage around you, the light.
  
  Then the world vanishes. Blackness slaps into you with a silent snap.