text: [Themes: Science Fiction, Espionage, gadgets, memorable NPC, strong NPCs, Guns, science fiction]
  
  > look at your surroundings
  The pen's nib isn't a normal ball tip. It seems to be a sliver of some indigo crystal -- a needle-sharp sliver.
  
  This is the end of a short hallway, which runs southwest back to the main corridor. Three large doorways open to the north, east, and south.
  
  Your toolcase is lying open nearby. Inside are a scan scrambler (connected to a voice module), a key transmitter, a radio module, a minilamp, a timer, a toggle switch, a pushbutton, a blast tab and an acid pack.
  
  You can also see a wrapped package here.
  
  > take all
  wrapped package: Taken.
  toolcase: Taken.
  
  > drop all
  toolcase: Dropped.
  wrapped package: Dropped.
  pen: Dropped.
  voice transmitter: Dropped.
  
  > go to the west
  This is the end of a short hallway, which runs southwest back to the main corridor. Three large doorways open to the north, east, and south.
  
  Your toolcase is lying open nearby. Inside are a scan scrambler (connected to a voice module), a key transmitter, a radio module, a minilamp, a timer, a toggle switch, a pushbutton, a blast tab and an acid pack.
  
  You can also see a pen and a wrapped package here.
  
  > get all
  pen: Taken.
  wrapped package: Taken.
  toolcase: Taken.
  
  > Go southwest
  The corridor runs north and south, like every other hallway in this place. A short hallway branches off to the northeast. To the west is a blank metal door, with attendant black plate beside it.
  
  -- glaring light...
  
  [Hit any key.]
  Interrogation Chamber (imprisoned in the chair)
  You blink away memory. The dim room comes again into focus, and the man behind the desk.
  
  "Mm," the man says slowly. "This grows complex. As I said before, your scrambler leaves traces -- submerged in the scan noise if you use it briefly, as you have been doing, but traces nonetheless. We have since analyzed every sequence of the scan-web data. The results are quite precise; you used the scrambler four times. Four blips, on and off, you understand. So your story, in which you used it seven times, is not possible. Besides, I doubt you would have used the device unnecessarily. Standing around flipping it on and off, or dashing through a room for a cursory glance, would not be worth the risk to you."
  
  He shrugs. "We can play guessing-games all afternoon; but matters would go faster if you stuck to the facts."
  
  ...glaring light --
  
  [Hit any key.]
  Security Annex
  This is the end of a short hallway, which runs southwest back to the main corridor. Three large doorways open to the north, east, and south.
  
  > connect the voice transmitter to the scrambler
  The voice transmitter doesn't have a link; it works through the voice module.
  
  > look at sketches
  Which do you mean, the drawing of a night sky, the seascape or the portrait of a young man?
  
  > go southwest
  The corridor runs north and south, like every other hallway in this place. A short hallway branches off to the northeast. To the west is a blank metal door, with attendant black plate beside it.
  
  -- glaring light...
  
  [Hit any key.]
  Interrogation Chamber (imprisoned in the chair)
  You blink away memory. The dim room comes again into focus, and the man behind the desk.
  
  "And away you went." He considers. "You were searching the storage room for your lockpick, of course. I'm afraid I had it at the time. ...Although whoever left the pen lying out is due a reprimand. Sloppy, and you provided an excellent demonstration of why." His smile is, for the first time, self-satisfied. It's more frightening even than you expected -- but quickly gone.
  
  "And you entered my office looking for... what? I'm sure it wasn't my artwork -- that's still there, and petty vandalism is beneath you in any case. What, then? Passcodes, keys, open drawers and indiscretions?"
  
  > say nothing
  "I'm not at all sorry to have disappointed you. I am good at my job, and I am careful, which is the same thought. If you could have caught me loose, caught me blind or far-eyed, you might have succeeded. You did not." And there is a brief silence.
  
  "What am I to make of you? You are endlessly inventive in your lies, if less subtle than brazen; you flex like grass, sometimes stubborn as stone, sometimes easy with your answers. You have striven to keep this session calm, and I do not think it was out of fear of my anger. Your eyes never, never waver from mine."
  
  He leans back in his own chair, bearing your gaze. "I have tried to treat you as an equal, a companion in our work. That is technique, of course; we both know that. But it is also sincere. And I think you have taken it in that faith. We are faces reflected in the mirror of our countries' border. I think you understand that." He nods.
  
  "You do see that much. You may not be brilliant -- you make mistakes -- but you are determined. You hold that strength to what you believe, and in that you are not so different from me."
  
  He shrugs, and offers a smile as honest as you have seen. "Well? Have I done well? It is my job to know everything about you, after all."
  
  > say yes
  He bows in place, both palms open. "I am delighted."
  
  And then he reaches again for his controls. "But we are nearly done. You have only a few more seconds; and you have yet to show me what becomes of your mysterious cloth-wrapped package."
  
  ...glaring light --
  
  [Hit any key.]
  Diagonal Branch
  This bare stretch of hallway angles from the northwest to the east; another short hall leads south.
  
  You throw yourself to a halt, nearly stumbling, as you hear footsteps approaching from the northwest... and then the guards behind you become audible as well. You duck around the southern corner and glance about desperately.
  
  > look
  This bare stretch of hallway angles from the northwest to the east; another short hall leads south. You are backed into the southern branch.
  
  The guards to the east are drawing closer.
  
  > Go south
  You back down the corridor, as silently as you can.
  
  The hallway ends in a blank white wall. A metal door stands closed to the west.
  
  A discarded filing cabinet is standing by the wall. The drawers are closed.
  
  > Unwrap package
  It's not yet time.
  
  The door snaps open suddenly, and the uniformed figure of a guard begins to step through. "No, what's frustrating is that you can't tell us what's in that blood-cursed lab," he is saying, back over his shoulder.
  
  Then he sees you. He fumbles for his pulse gun.
  
  > stab the guard with pen
  You feint, and then jab the pen into the guard's shoulder, as hard as you can. His reflexive counter hurls you into the wall.
  
  But then he shivers, once, and slides to the ground, and remains there.
  
  The door slides shut.
  
  > search guard
  You pat the body down quickly, but nothing is immediately apparent. And you don't have time for a more thorough search.
  
  > look
  The hallway ends in a blank white wall. A metal door stands closed to the west.
  
  The guard is sprawled unconscious on the floor.
  
  His gun lies near his limp hand.
  
  A discarded filing cabinet is standing by the wall. The drawers are closed.
  
  > get the gun
  Taken.
  
  The footsteps to the north are closer now.
  
  > open the drawers
  You yank on the drawers; two are locked, but one comes open with an internal clank. The drawer is empty.
  
  > search drawer
  The drawer is empty.
  
  The footsteps to the north are closer now.
  
  > Go north
  You make a break up the hallway -- only to come into view of two groups of guards, at once. Their pulse guns knock you sprawling before you can duck back.
  
  *** You have been captured ***
  
  -- glaring light...
  
  [Hit any key.]
  Interrogation Chamber (imprisoned in the chair)
  You blink away memory. The dim room comes again into focus, and the man behind the desk.
  
  "Well done." The man is applauding softly. "A heroic end to your shining tale; and in the large, an accurate one. But not precise. You fell into our hands without those fascinating tools you have been showing off all this time. And without the package, you understand, the one you found in my corridor ceiling. I am very curious to know what you did with those things."
  
  ...glaring light --
  
  [Hit any key.]
  Diagonal Branch
  This bare stretch of hallway angles from the northwest to the east; another short hall leads south.
  
  You throw yourself to a halt, nearly stumbling, as you hear footsteps approaching from the northwest... and then the guards behind you become audible as well. You duck around the southern corner and glance about desperately.
  
  > Go south
  You back down the corridor, as silently as you can.
  
  The hallway ends in a blank white wall. A metal door stands closed to the west.
  
  A discarded filing cabinet is standing by the wall. The drawers are closed.
  
  > Inventory
  You are carrying nothing worthy of attention, except a toolcase (which is open) (in which are a scan scrambler (connected to a voice module), a key transmitter, a radio module, a minilamp, a timer, a toggle switch, a pushbutton, a blast tab and an acid pack), a wrapped package, a pen and a voice transmitter.
  
  The door snaps open suddenly, and the uniformed figure of a guard begins to step through. "No, what's frustrating is that you can't tell us what's in that blood-cursed lab," he is saying, back over his shoulder.
  
  Then he sees you. He fumbles for his pulse gun.
  
  > stab the guard with pen
  You feint, and then jab the pen into the guard's shoulder, as hard as you can. His reflexive counter hurls you into the wall.
  
  But then he shivers, once, and slides to the ground, and remains there.
  
  The door slides shut.
  
  > put all in the drawer
  toolcase: Done.
  wrapped package: Done.
  pen: Done.
  voice transmitter: Done.
  
  > close the drawer
  You close the drawer.
  
  > Wait
  Time passes.
  
  The footsteps to the north are closer now.
  
  > Go north
  You make a break up the hallway -- only to come into view of two groups of guards, at once. Their pulse guns knock you sprawling before you can duck back.
  
  *** You have been captured ***
  
  -- glaring light...
  
  [Hit any key.]
  Interrogation Chamber (imprisoned in the chair)
  You blink away memory. The dim room comes again into focus, and the man behind the desk.
  
  "Yes, yes, but you still have not bought the details. We were certainly not fools enough to ignore the broken cabinet drawer. You left nothing inside it."
  
  ...glaring light --
  
  [Hit any key.]
  Diagonal Branch
  This bare stretch of hallway angles from the northwest to the east; another short hall leads south.
  
  You throw yourself to a halt, nearly stumbling, as you hear footsteps approaching from the northwest... and then the guards behind you become audible as well. You duck around the southern corner and glance about desperately.
  
  > listen
  Footsteps are approaching.
  
  The guards to the east are drawing closer.
  
  > listen
  Footsteps are still approaching.
  
  The door snaps open suddenly, and the uniformed figure of a guard begins to step through. "No, what's frustrating is that you can't tell us what's in that blood-cursed lab," he is saying, back over his shoulder.
  
  Then he sees you. He fumbles for his pulse gun.
  
  > wait
  Time passes.
  
  The door snaps open suddenly, and the uniformed figure of a guard begins to step through. "No, what's frustrating is that you can't tell us what's in that blood-cursed lab," he is saying, back over his shoulder.
  
  Then he sees you. He fumbles for his pulse gun.
  
  > listen
  Footsteps are still approaching.
  
  > climb the cabinet
  You get onto the filing cabinet.
  
  > examine the wall
  The walls are faced with tough white composite. They are smooth and blank, except for one ventilator grille near the ceiling.
  
  The footsteps to the north are closer now.
  
  > open the grille
  You lever the grille open with your fingers.
  
  > put all except the pen in the grille
  voice transmitter: Done.
  toolcase: Done.
  wrapped package: Done.
  
  The footsteps to the north are closer now.
  
  > stand
  You get down off the filing cabinet.
  
  > get the gun
  Taken.
  
  "Hold you!" comes a shout from the north. You take a quick glance; several guards have come around the corner. Their narrow eyes take in the fallen shape at your feet, and they bring up their weapons.
  
  > Close grille
  The ventilator grille is a bit beyond your reach.
  
  The pulse-guns to the north begins crackling. You dive for cover behind the cabinet, but a bolt slaps into you before you are halfway there.
  
  " he says to the air. "Get down to the hallway where our friend was captured--" There is a muffled interruption. "Yes, I know you have. You missed a leaf. Open up ventilation grille M-2 and search inside. There should be a number of microelectronic tools inside, and a small bundle wrapped in cloth. Report to me immediately." He flicks the connection closed.
  
  The man spreads his hands apologetically. "I must look like a great fool," he says to you.
  
  > Yes
  He chuckles. "Well, I can plead an excuse; we rebuilt our ventilation system from the ground up, less than half a year ago. It's fenced and webbed and wired so that a grain of sand couldn't sneak through -- but only at the external intakes and the junctions. We never thought to check for an object cached just inside a vent. We never thought it would be a danger."
  
  He shrugs. "And it wasn't a danger, in fact, was it?"
  
  > say no
  "No. We got you; you didn't get into the lab, much less get out afterwards. You moved a package from one hiding place to another. I still can't see--"
  
  A flashing light interrupts him. The man touches it, and nods. "I'll see soon. They're bringing it in."
  
  > say no
  The man absently waves you to silence.
  
  A chime sounds. The man pounces on his controls, and then gestures impatiently towards the doorway.
  
  A guard enters. She gives you only a brief professional glance. Approaching the desk, she lays out a handful of small items.
  
  The man nods, dismissing her without a thought, and then stares. "This was all? Where's the package?"
  
  "With'?" asks the guard, puzzled.
  
  "Never mind. Go." His eyes are blazing on you as the guard slips out the doorway. "You. You have lied to me, and I am tired of it. I have had enough."
  
  > say can i go now
  There is no reply.
  
  "You have not told me where the package really is."
  
  > tell the man about the package
  To simplify the problem of dialogue in interactive fiction, the "tell" and "ask" commands are not used in this game. Type "about" for details.
  
  > say yes
  "Curse that, curse you, and curse all your blood," says the man flatly. His finger stabs down.
  
  A killing light slams you behind the eyes. Images fall through it, helplessly -- door, hall -- leap -- open door -- chair --
  
  But the light doesn't let you go.
  
  On the whole, it was worth the trip. The plains really were broad and grain-gold, if scarred with fences and agricultural crawlers. The mountains were overwhelming. And however much of the capital city is crusted with squat brick and faceless concrete hulks, there are still flashes of its historic charm. You've seen spires above the streets -- tiny green parks below tenements -- hidden jewels of fountains beyond walls. Any bland alley can conceal balconies wrought into iron
  gardens, fiery mosaics, a tree or bed of flowers nurtured by who knows who.
  
  This alley, however, is a total washout. It ends in flat bare dirty brick, and you've found nothing but a door which lacks even the courtesy of a handle. Maybe you should call it a day.
  
  It's a narrow dead end here, with walls rising oppressively high in three directions. The alley is quite empty, bare even of trash. (Your guidebook warned you: the police are as efficient about litter laws as about everything else they do.) You can retreat to the south.
  
  A plain metal door faces you to the east, near the alley's end. It's firmly shut.
  
  > look
  You are in a dim room, bounded by metal walls. A scarred pedestal stands empty where the chair was; facing it is an instrument-covered desk. Otherwise the room is sterile. The bright hallway waits to the south.
  
  The man is stretched on the floor, dazed and unmoving. The lines of
  his face are merely age, now.
  
  Scraps of metal lie around the pedestal, still visibly decaying.
  
  Your legs are beginning to itch fiercely.
  
  > go to the south
  You step gingerly under the scan-web band. Silence. You recall, with some relief, that the man failed to turn it back on after the guard left.
  
  This is the end of a short hallway, which runs southwest back to the main corridor. Three large doorways open to the north, east, and
  south.
  
  > Go southwest
  The corridor runs north and south, like every other hallway in this place. A short hallway branches off to the northeast. To the west is a blank metal door, with attendant black plate beside it.
  
  > Go south
  The white corridor runs east to west here, with a branch leading off
  to the north, and a closed metal door to the south. You can see that the east hall reaches a dead end a short distance away.
  
  > go east
  The corridor ends here, blank, with a single steel door on the north wall. The door is closed.
  
  The itch in your legs is nearly unbearable.
  
  > put the pick on the plate
  The pick locks itself rigidly to the black plate by the door. Its status dot flashes to yellow.
  
  > wait
  Time passes.
  
  The lockpick's status dot fades to pure green, and flicks steady blue.
  
  The door snaps open.
  
  The itching is slowly fading.
  
  > get the pick
  The pick comes free with a faint magnetic snap.
  
  The door begins to slide shut as soon as the pick loses its link.
  
  > Go north
  You slide hastily through the closing door. This time, you are careful to keep a firm grip on your lockpick.
  
  You have barely room to spread your arms; this tiny square chamber is lined with cables, pipes, wires, and junction nodes. The only exit is the closing door to the south, which has a small white pad beside it.
  
  Resting on one of the larger junction nodes is a blast tab (connected to a radio module).
  
  The door closes completely.
  
  > examine the blast tab
  It's a small purple cube, which contains enough stabilized gel to blow a foot-wide hole in approximately anything. There's a minus link on
  one edge, which is connected to a radio module.
  
  > examine the radio
  It's a small purple box with a short antenna on one side, and a plus link on the other. The link is connected to a blast tab.
  
  > Inventory
  You are carrying a lockpick, a pen, a toolcase (which is open but empty), a pushbutton, a toggle switch, a scan scrambler (connected to
  a timer), a minilamp, a key transmitter and a voice transmitter.
  
  > Disconnect radio
  You disconnect the blast tab, and take the radio module as it turns black again. The key transmitter turns black as well.
  
  The itching is slowly fading.
  
  > touch the white pad
  Nothing happens. You stare at the door in some embarrassment; of
  course it won't open without power.
  
  You sit down calmly to wait. It isn't too long before the guards come with crowbars to investigate the problem.
  
  > Tangle
  Enter saved game to load: Ok.
  
  > Go south
  You step gingerly under the scan-web band. Silence. You recall, with some relief, that the man failed to turn it back on after the guard left.
  
  This is the end of a short hallway, which runs southwest back to the main corridor. Three large doorways open to the north, east, and
  south.
  
  Your legs are beginning to itch fiercely.
  
  > Go southwest
  The corridor runs north and south, like every other hallway in this place. A short hallway branches off to the northeast. To the west is a blank metal door, with attendant black plate beside it.
  
  > Go south
  The white corridor runs east to west here, with a branch leading off
  to the north, and a closed metal door to the south. You can see that the east hall reaches a dead end a short distance away.
  
  > put rod on the plate
  The pick locks itself rigidly to the black plate by the door. Its status dot flashes to yellow.
  
  The itch in your legs is nearly unbearable.
  
  > wait
  Time passes.
  
  The lockpick's status dot fades to pure green, and flicks steady blue.
  
  The door snaps open.
  
  > Go north
  You have barely room to spread your arms; this tiny square chamber is lined with cables, pipes, wires, and junction nodes. The only exit is the open door to the south, which has a small white pad beside it.
  
  Resting on one of the larger junction nodes is a blast tab (connected to a radio module).
  
  The itching is slowly fading.
  
  > Disconnect radio
  You disconnect the blast tab, and take the radio module as it turns black again. The key transmitter turns black as well.
  
  > attach the voice to the blast tab
  The voice transmitter doesn't have a link; it works through the voice module.
  
  > look at what you're carrying with you
  You are carrying a radio module, a pen, a toolcase (which is open but empty), a pushbutton, a toggle switch, a scan scrambler (connected to
  a timer), a minilamp, a key transmitter and a voice transmitter.
  
  > Go south
  Dead End South (in dimness)
  The corridor ends here, blank, with a single steel door on the north wall. The door is open.
  
  The lockpick is clinging to the black plate by the door.
  
  > get the rod
  The pick comes free with a faint magnetic snap.
  
  > Go west
  Tee Junction (in dimness)
  The white corridor runs east to west here, with a branch leading off
  to the north, and a closed metal door to the south.
  
  > go to the west
  Diagonal Branch (in dimness)
  This bare stretch of hallway angles from the northwest to the east; another short hall leads south.
  
  > Go northwest
  Corridor Boundary (in dimness)
  The corridor angles here, and crosses a boundary of some sort as it does. A few strides down the southeast branch, a dotted red line crosses the floor. You can retreat from the boundary to the west.
  
  > go west
  White Junction (in dimness)
  You are in a bare tiled corridor, white tiles and cold white walls.
  The ceiling is acoustical panelling divided by barely-illuminated strips of plastic. The hall runs north and east, with a branch curving away to the southeast.
  
  > Go north
  Corner At Doors (in dimness)
  The hallway runs both east and south from here. There's a featureless metal door to the west, which is closed; a more normal one stands closed to the north.
  
  One of the ceiling panels is missing, leaving a rectangular gap above you.
  
  > open the vent
  You shift your weight to one hand and reach out -- almost... you swing yourself desperately, kicking. Your fingers brush the grille. You claw at it, a wild swipe -- and the grille flops open.
  
  Inside, you can see your gun.
  
  > get the gun
  (with one hand, hanging by the other)
  Taken.
  
  You move your hands a bit, one at a time, to ease the strain.
  
  > Go east
  Corridor Boundary (in dimness)
  The corridor angles here, and crosses a boundary of some sort as it does. A few strides down the southeast branch, a dotted red line crosses the floor. You can retreat from the boundary to the west.
  
  You're about to run out of options -- the intersection to the
  southeast is occupied. The guards there are not moving. They're watching in both directions, with their backs to a closed metal door. They don't seem to have seen you; you slide deeper into the shadows nonetheless.
  
  > shoot the guards
  (with the gun)
  You smile in the darkness.
  
  Two of the guards are unconscious in as many heartbeats. You shift
  your gun, straining for a better target among the shadows, and fire again. A third figure jerks and collapses. Then pulses are raining up the corridor at you, and you flatten yourself into cover.
  
  > Go southeast
  Sharp Corner (in dimness)
  The corridor cuts around a sharp angle, from the northwest to the north. To the south, in the end wall, is the standard featureless
  metal door; it is closed.
  
  Three guards are standing in the angle, with three more motionless on the floor.
  
  You hit the corner at a dead run. The remaining guards break and fall aside, trying to aim and roll for cover simultaneously.
  
  > Go north
  Lab Junction (in dimness)
  The white corridor runs south and east from here, with a wide branch curving northwest towards the laboratory.
  
  You can see brighter light shining around the curve to the northwest.
  
  You tear up the hall, chased by pulse-fire.
  
  You freeze; there is movement up the corridor, to the south. It sounds like yet another group of guards, moving slowly but steadily in the darkness.
  
  > go northwest
  The hallway curves west until it reaches the black door.
  
  The corridor from the east ends here, and a single door looms to the west. It's no larger than the doors you've seen elsewhere; but it somehow looks... heavy. Unyielding. Reinforcing struts cross the
  door's face, and the surface is sheathed with some black coating.
  
  The end of the hallway is still well-lit.
  
  You spin around, ready for pursuit, but no one appears.
  
  > put the rod on the plate
  The pick locks itself rigidly to the black plate by the door. Its status dot flashes to yellow.
  
  You hear a voice from around the curve: "Wait."
  
  > Wait
  Time passes.
  
  You hear a startled "What?" from the southeast.
  
  The lockpick's status dot is sliding towards green.
  
  Your legs still itch. Just a bit.
  
  > Wait
  Time passes.
  
  Voices drift up the hall. "It's only one..." "...armed, took down nearly..." There appears to be some little debate.
  
  The lockpick's status dot is sliding towards green.
  
  > wait awhile
  Time passes.
  
  "Look then, we'll get a pulse grenade, is that...?"
  
  The lockpick's status dot fades to pure green, and flicks steady blue.
  
  There is a hollow clunk somewhere. A moment later, the door swings towards you. The scent of ozone brushes through the doorway.
  
  > get the rod
  The pick comes free with a faint magnetic snap.
  
  The door begins to swing shut as soon as the pick loses its link.
  
  "Fine." "Fine then." "...Fine." Some of the guards sound a bit peeved.
  
  > Go west
  You duck through the closing door, keeping the lockpick firmly in
  hand.
  
  There is no question what this place is. The room is high, brightly
  lit -- this part of the building must have its own power supply -- and filled with arcane, half-built, and unlabelled machinery. The heavy door stands open 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.
  
  The door booms shut.
  
  > open the panel
  You pull the panel open, revealing a layer of subcircuitry.
  
  > shoot the circuitry
  (with the gun)
  The layer of subcircuitry showers a corona of sparks. Blue light crackles along the subcircuit paths.
  
  > Tangle2
  Enter saved game to store: Ok.
  
  > examine table
  There is a long wooden table against one wall. It is covered with astonishing piles of paper -- scraps, notes, diagrams, all spread unevenly around in varying stages of sortedness and immediacy.
  
  At one end of the table is a notable black device.
  
  > look at the papers
  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.
  
  > look at the plate
  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.
  
  You hear voices outside. "Well?"
  
  > get the papers
  (the stack of important papers)
  Taken.
  
  "The lock circuitry is knotted," comes a mumble from outside the door. "...must have done something..."
  
  > 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.
  
  "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."
  
  > examine the device
  The black device doesn't have the half-built, rigged quality of the other machinery nearby. It is curved, polished, and sleek. It has faired vents along the top. There is a round alcove in its front,
  which contains a glass pot. The only control is a tiny black switch.
  
  > get the pot
  Taken.
  
  A voice says, "Someone ask around for a gas cutter."
  
  > examine the pot
  It's a fat glass pot with a spout and a close-fitting lid, which
  leaves the spout open. There is a wooden handle on one side. The pot
  is empty; but the inside bottom surface seems to be crusted with some burnt substance.
  
  > Smell the pot
  It smells faintly burnt.
  
  > put the papers in the alcove
  (the stack of important papers in the notable device)
  You put the stack of important papers into the notable device.
  
  "Got anywhere with the lock?" you hear. There is an irritated mutter
  in reply.
  
  > 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 stack of important papers is yellowing with the heat.
  
  > Close cabinet
  You close the cabinet.
  
  "One of the techs thinks there's a cutter in South Storage," someone reports.
  
  Smoke begins to curl from the stack of important papers.
  
  > wait awhile
  Time passes.
  
  A corner of the stack of important papers flares alight.
  
  > get the papers
  (the stack of important papers)
  Taken.
  
  The stack of important papers is burning brightly now.
  
  > put all on the table
  stack of important papers: Done.
  glass pot: Done.
  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.
  
  "Right, bring that over here."
  
  The stack of important papers has set one of the other papers on the table alight.
  
  > examine 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."
  
  You hear a faint pop from the other side of the door. It is followed
  by vicious swearing.
  
  More of the papers on the table are burning now.
  
  Half of the stack of important papers has burned away.
  
  > examine 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.
  
  The flames on the table spread.
  
  > open flap
  You peel the flap of web away from its magnetic seals; it hangs open.
  
  > wait awhile
  Time passes.
  
  You catch, "...could be doing in there?" "Cursed if I know. They don't tell me what kind of toys they play with."
  
  With a hiss, fire leaps to another pile of paper. Most of the papers
  on the table are now aflame.
  
  The stack of important papers is submerged in the greater fire.
  
  > wait a while
  Time passes.
  
  "Got it!" you hear. The door does not move. "Or, perhaps not," the voice continues irritably.
  
  The surface of the table is a sheet of fire, in-swept and pulled high in the center.
  
  > wait
  Time passes.
  
  The flames crackle.
  
  > Wait
  Time passes.
  
  "Understand, it's been too long. Are there any explosives, things of that sort in there?" Someone farther away replies, "No, not that we've been told of."
  
  > wait awhile
  Time passes.
  
  The wall above the table is beginning to catch. You can feel heat shining on your skin.
  
  > wait awhile
  Time passes.
  
  You hear running footsteps outside. "Found another one!" Someone exhales in relief.
  
  > wait a while
  Time passes.
  
  There is a tight hiss from outside. "There it runs," someone says.
  
  > wait
  Time passes.
  
  "Keep it steady, understand. We only need a hole big enough to fire through."
  
  The table itself is burning hotly now.
  
  > 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?"
  
  Flames are crawling up the wall. Smoke is thick across the ceiling -- fortunately, high enough that you are still below it.
  
  > 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 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 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 -- the flames that are devouring everything that you leave behind.
  
  Then the world vanishes. Blackness slaps into you with a silent snap.
  
  > open flap
  You peel the flap of web away from its magnetic seals; it hangs open.
  
  The console readout blinks; it now says, "Unable to initiate: scan-web coverage not complete."
  
  "Nowhere," the familiar voice begins, but someone interrupts: "The power is showing a dropoff, look at that."
  
  "All right," the man continues after a moment. "All right. Blast the door down. Now, please."
  
  Orders, apparently, are orders. 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.
  
  > I just wanted to leave with the cool one-liner
  Please give one of the answers above.
  
  > Tangle2
  Enter saved game to load: Ok.
  
  > shoot device
  (with the gun)
  The notable device showers a corona of sparks. Lacking a nervous system, however, it is unaffected by the pulse.
  
  > shoot black device
  (with the gun)
  The notable device showers a corona of sparks. Lacking a nervous system, however, it is unaffected by the pulse.
  
  You hear voices outside. "Well?"