text: [Themes: Surreal]
  
  > Look around
  A cramped square room, barely lit by windows above you. The north
  and west walls are taken up by tables. A clock and a light switch are just visible next to the stairs on the south wall. In the northwest corner is a tiny drain; in the southeast corner are two large wheels, one on the east wall and one on the south wall. A pile of spheres has claimed part of the east wall beneath the wheel.
  In the middle of the south wall is a heater.
  Sitting on the tables are five balances.
  Frankie is here, sorting and cataloging.
  Bubbles is wandering around, sniffing at things.
  
  > examine Frankie
  Frankie is of middling height, with tousled hair and a sandy brown mustache. He carries a notebook and a sphere. Resting in his shirt pocket are a pair of sunglasses.
  
  > turn east wheel cw
  You give the wheel a clockwise spin. As you do, a groaning, shuddering sound emanates from beneath your feet. The floor tilts alarmingly, sending the balances to chattering. The pyramid of spheres shakes but stays together. Frankie spares you a glance; Bubbles looks surprised. When you are done the north side of the room is higher than it was, the south side lower.
  
  Bubbles comes over, sniffs at your legs, then wanders off again.
  
  > examine notebook
  A spiral-bound notebook, dog-eared and worn. You catch occasional glimpses of pages filled with small writing.
  
  > examine the sunglasses
  Cheap. Black. Plastic.
  
  > ask Frankie about the glasses
  He glances at the sunglasses. "For outside."
  
  > ask Frankie for the glasses
  Frankie snaps his fingers. "You know, I'd really appreciate it if you'd do me a favor." He holds up one of the spheres. "I've had trouble cataloguing this one. Information's available upstairs, but I'd lose too much time if I searched for it myself. Would you mind terribly?" Frankie puts the light sphere in your hands before you can answer, then picks up another sphere from the pile.
  
  > look at the sphere
  Which sphere do you mean, the light sphere, or the pile of spheres?
  
  > Light
  A translucent sphere, about the size of an apple.
  
  Something half-remembered intrudes on your thoughts, then is gone.
  
  > put it on the balances
  Don't worry about the five balances.
  
  Bubbles wanders away.
  
  > check your inventory
  You have a thin coat (being worn), a pair of gloves (being worn), a rucksack, and a light sphere. The rucksack seems to contain a fool and a tuft of insulation.
  
  A birthday party. You remember a birthday party, although you're not sure whose it was.
  
  > get the glasses
  Frankie snaps, "If you want something, why don't you ask for it?" He then sighs heavily. "Sorry. I didn't mean to yell."
  
  > ask Frankie for the glasses
  "I told you, I'll help you if you help me." Frankie grins.
  
  > Light
  You crack the sphere in your hands. A cloud rises from it, a vaguely-familiar smell. The shards evaporate.
  
  Bubbles comes running toward you, barking loudly. Upon seeing you, however, Bubbles calms down and trots nonchalantly up to you.
  
  > Inventory
  You have a thin coat (being worn), a pair of gloves (being worn), a rucksack, and a light sphere. The rucksack seems to contain a fool and a tuft of insulation.
  
  Bubbles comes running toward you, barking loudly. Upon seeing you, however, Bubbles calms down and trots nonchalantly up to you.
  
  > kill Frankie
  As you prepare to attack Frankie, he turns and fixes you with a gimlet glare. "Now, now," he says softly.
  
  > examine staircase
  The staircase curves as it falls to the floor below.
  
  Bubbles takes a running fit, tearing around as fast as possible on short legs.
  
  > Go east
  The library is a dimly-lit backwards L curving around the end of the building. Shelves filled with books take up much of the room; the rest is inhabited by stacks of books. A metal sentinel guards the west exit; on the other side of the exit is a light switch. There is a clock above the sentinel.
  
  Bubbles comes trotting after you.
  
  > look at the shelves
  They are stacked back to back in rows running around the room.
  
  > Examine books
  The books resemble case histories from a law library: leather binding, small type on their spines.
  
  > look at the sentinel
  A dark metal statue, reminiscent of a prop from Fritz Lang's Metropolis. A stern, angular head sits atop a sexless body seven feet tall. Its arms are straight at its sides.
  
  Bubbles takes a running fit, tearing around as fast as possible on short legs.
  
  > Hi
  You have lost your mind.
  
  > examine the arms
  Metal hands, held at the sides of the statue. The arms to which the hands belong are hinged at the elbow.
  
  > show the sphere to the sentinel
  The sentinel isn't impressed.
  
  Bubbles wanders away.
  
  > turn the arms
  Bubbles comes running toward you, barking loudly. Upon seeing you, however, Bubbles calms down and trots nonchalantly up to you.
  
  I don't know the word "bend".
  
  After a bout of experimentation you discover that you can raise and lower the sentinel's hands.
  
  > raise the hands
  You pull the sentinel's arms, which slowly move up. As they do they come together, until the hands are held cupped in front of the statue.
  
  Bubbles takes a running fit, tearing around as fast as possible on short legs.
  
  > put the sphere in the hands
  You place the light sphere in the sentinel's hands. One of the books on the shelves slides out and falls on the floor. The other books close in, eliminating the space left by the defector.
  
  > get the book
  Which book do you mean, the shelved books, or the single book?
  
  > examine it
  A large, leather-bound volume with the title "Attendance 27914414."
  
  > read it
  A long, boring list of back-and-forth arguments about attending a party whose purpose is shrouded in jargon.
  
  > look at the shelved books
  The books resemble case histories from a law library: leather binding, small type on their spines.
  
  > search them
  shelved books: You find nothing of interest.
  
  > get them
  shelved books: You wouldn't know where to begin.
  
  Bubbles wanders away.
  
  > read them
  shelved books: You pull one off a shelf at random and open it. You read of a dilemma, arguments pro and con, and then of the final decision. As you replace the book, you realize that the entire episode seems oddly familiar.
  
  > Go north
  The walkway runs along the east wall of the hallway. A sweeping staircase joins the walkway to the southwest.