text: [Themes: laboratory, profanity, experimentation, psychic, medical]
  
  > look at your surroundings
  Basement Hall, Mt Airy Hospital
  At this end of the dingy basement hall, the only intact door is labelled with a black sign reading "Autopsy Room/Morgue".
  
  A white 10-digit keypad is attached to the wall beside the door.
  
  In the adjoining wall, a bent doorframe holds a severely dented metal door that has been very badly dented toward you.
  
  The green light on the keypad winks out.
  There's a click from the door as the lock reengages.
  
  > go to the east
  You shove the bent door experimentally. It does not even budge.
  Even with tools, it would take hours to get through this door.
  
  The green light on the keypad winks out.
  There's a click from the door as the lock reengages.
  
  > Go north
  You open the autopsy room door.
  
  Autopsy Room, Mt Airy Hospital
  The air here is thin with an astringent, chemical smell that makes you feel light-headed. Counters and cabinets line the west and north walls of the room, with a pair of sinks in the middle of each. Every surface you see is immaculate save for the metal table in the center of the room. On it, a corpse in a cut-up suit has been laid in a spread-eagled position, with dozens of surgical tools protruding from its dissected torso. Flaps of skin from the corpse's torso stretch towards the ceiling, suspended by thin pieces of surgical thread.
  
  A sheet of typewriter paper lies on the floor very near the hallway door.
  
  A door made of heavy, insulated glass leads to another room to the east.
  
  The door to the hallway lies to the south.
  
  > take paper
  (the sheet of typewriter paper)
  You pick up the sheet of typewriter paper.
  
  You add the sheet of typewriter paper to your existing collection of pages.
  
  > read the notes
  The sheet of typewriter paper reads:
  
  Unofficial log, April 15, 11:00 am
  I suppose someone must have listened to Elaine's assertion that
  this test subject was different from the rest, since we've just gained a new member of the team.
  This was not a pleasant cup of chicory to down first thing in the morning. Don't get me wrong -- I would love, more than anything, to welcome Simon Cross to our ranks, and G-d knows that we could stand to gain another team member. Of all of the positions we had open prior to today, however, I'm not sure I ever would have counted "Company Spook" among them.
  Perhaps I am being unfair, but it is my opinion that hypnotizing yourself into believing that a knife is a rolling pin will not prevent you from needing stitches after trying to make bread dough. Cross's official title is "auditor." He claims that he is here to oversee Corona's professional interests in the Project, and I don't doubt him one bit. Cross oozes "professional interests." He brushes his teeth with it, or he wouldn't be able to give me that sharkish grin.
  Still, we are bedfellows now. There's nothing to do but see to it
  that he is comfortable ... and bored.
  - Theo Yehuda
  
  The hallway door swings closed. There's a click as the lock reengages.
  
  > examine the corpse
  Until very recently, this body belonged to a precisely-handsome man in his late twenties or early thirties, wearing a finely-pressed and very expensive suit. Now both the suit and body have been peeled open, exposing everything within. The flaps of skin that once held the corpse's organs in place are stretched in four directions, one for each flap. Surgical thread embedded in the ceiling with heavy needles stretches the skin upward, giving a coliseum view to the gore within. The man's vivisected torso is littered with dozens of surgical instruments - scalpels, forceps, hypodermic needles - each one driven in with such force as to be stuck in place. Some are barely visible. Only a surgical bonesaw, currently half-bisecting the man's neck, looks extricable. The man's face is distorted in a silent scream, and, upon closer inspection, you can just see something stuck inside his mouth.
  
  The corpse's right hand is curled desperately around a small black pistol, the kind you're used to seeing in spy films.
  
  > examine the pistol
  A small, sleek black pistol with a short barrel. It reminds you of the Walther PPK from 60s spy movies.
  
  > take the pistol
  The corpse's hand maintains a death-grip on the pistol, rendered unbreakable by rigor mortis.
  
  > examine the mouth
  You peer into the mouth of the corpse.
  
  In the corpse's mouth is a wad of crumpled paper.
  
  > take crumpled
  (the wad of crumpled paper)
  You gingerly reach inside the corpse's mouth and extract the piece of paper, trying not to touch the dry-yet-tacky sides of the mouth as you do so. Then, you flatten it into legibility.
  
  You add the small page torn from a compact notebook to your existing collection of pages.
  
  > read the notes
  The small page torn from a compact notebook reads:
  
  S.C. - Entry 1978-05-12-0230
  
  Doctor, Doctor, Doctor.
  I know that you're not used to people sifting through your notes, but you should know by now that you are out of your element. I'm sure that you have a private diary that I won't find, but keeping crib notes of your experiments on the side is simply not a very good survival technique.
  Tyramine? Diazepam? Dead samples of the symbiont? I may not be a doctor, Doctor, but I am not a fool and I am in a facility chock full of useful texts.
  "Curing" Ian will not save him, and your attempt has sealed your fate. This is bigger than you or me, Doctor. We are but tiny satellites floating in the corona of the sun. Dive too deep and you will burn away.
  You have dived too deep, Doctor. Now I must burn you.
  
  > examine the bonesaw
  A rather old-fashioned looking bonesaw, it has a molded grip made of painted wood and a sharp steel blade that is mostly hidden by being buried in the corpse's neck.
  
  > take the bonesaw
  You grasp the handle of the bonesaw and pull upward. With a sucking sound, it pulls free of the corpse's neck, still smeared with partly-congealed blood.
  
  > cut the hand with the bonesaw
  [This command only takes one input. Ignoring "with bonesaw".)]
  
  You grasp the corpse by the wrist. You set the edge of the bonesaw against the edge of the hand where its fingers begin, and set your teeth for an unpleasant task. You brace your shoulder and begin sawing the fingers at the joint, easily slicing through the first layers of flesh and grating against the hardened muscle. After a few moments of nauseating work, you feel the grate of bone beneath the saw. You set your back into a few more passes, trying to neither see nor hear the flesh shredding under the bonesaw.
  
  At last you are rewarded for your gruesome work: the pistol clatters to the ground amid curled, severed fingers.
  
  Unfortunately, you do not anticipate the sudden success. The weight of your shoulder throws the saw forward, driving it solidly into the side of the metal table and bending it nearly in half. You discard the ruined bonesaw.
  
  > take the pistol
  You pick up the small-caliber pistol.
  
  > look at the sinks
  Literally the cleanest sink you have ever seen, the polished steel of the basin gleams like a mirror. A long faucet curves in a neat arc over the sink and its long handles flank the faucet like wings.
  
  In the sink is a small brass key.
  
  > take brass key
  You pick up the small brass key.
  
  > examine the key
  Which do you mean, the small brass key or the typewriter key?
  
  > look in the sink
  The sink is empty.
  
  > look at the cabinets
  The cabinets are curiously empty. Many of the instruments from them are likely buried in the corpse's chest now.
  
  > examine counters
  The polished stone of the counter is spotless, with no hint of dust or scoring on its immaculate surface. It almost seems as though the room was recently built, though you have trouble believing so.
  
  > look at the corpse
  Until very recently, this body belonged to a precisely-handsome man in his late twenties or early thirties, wearing a finely-pressed and very expensive suit. Now both the suit and body have been peeled open, exposing everything within. The flaps of skin that once held the corpse's organs in place are stretched in four directions, one for each flap. Surgical thread embedded in the ceiling with heavy needles stretches the skin upward, giving a coliseum view to the gore within. The man's vivisected torso is littered with dozens of surgical instruments - scalpels, forceps, hypodermic needles - each one driven in with such force as to be stuck in place. Some are barely visible. The man's face is distorted in a silent scream.
  
  > examine suit
  At one point, this suit was probably worth over a thousand dollars. Its cut is precise, its silk fine. Sadly, it has been shredded by its owner's impromptu vivisection, and is now worth nothing to no one. A quick check of the suit's remaining pockets reveals nothing.
  
  > examine the glass door
  A door made from two panes of thick glass mounted in a metal frame, with rubber seals on all sides.
  
  > go east
  You open the glass door.
  
  Morgue, Mt Airy Hospital
  The astringent smell is even stronger in the morgue than in the autopsy room. The single working fluorescent light here flickers slightly, giving your movement a cinematic cast to it. The east wall of the morgue is lined with large drawers for corpse storage, like a giant, morbid filing cabinet. Along the north wall is a counter with a large industrial sink. Nearby, a hospital gurney squats at an odd angle, one of its wheels bent sharply to the side. There is a spatter of dried blood on the drawers, marring the otherwise spartan cleanliness of the area.
  
  A heavy glass door to the west leads back to the autopsy room.
  
  > look at the gurney
  It's a hospital gurney of dated design that has seen heavy use. It is currently stripped of any bedclothes, its surface flat and uncomfortable-looking. One of its legs has bent near the wheel, causing the wheel to rest on its side and causing the whole gurney to lean slightly.
  
  > look at the sink
  The large industrial sink is empty.
  
  > look at the counter
  A heavy-duty industrial sink sits in the middle of the counter.
  Below the sink is a concealed storage cabinet.
  
  > open the storage cabinet
  You open the concealed doors, revealing some pipes and a bulky wastebasket stashed beneath the sink.
  
  > examine the pipes
  Just ordinary pipes. You don't see anything strange about them, which in and of itself is sort of strange.
  
  > look at the wastebasket
  The wastebasket is awkwardly large. It's possible to reach and see into the wastebasket in its current position, but wrestling it out from its niche among the pipes would be a chore.
  
  In the bulky wastebasket is a bloodstained lab coat.
  
  > examine the coat
  The neck, back, and shoulder of the lab coat are wet with disconcertingly fresh blood. However, the lower half, including the pockets, are unstained. Through the scarlet stain, you read the embroidered name: Dr. Theodore M. Yehuda
  
  In the bloodstained lab coat is a typewritten page.
  
  > take the page
  (the typewritten page)
  You pick up the typewritten page.
  
  You add the typewritten page to your existing collection of pages.
  
  > read the notes
  The typewritten page reads:
  
  Unofficial log, May 6th, 8:00pm
  Ian's test was strange today.
  As I've said in my notes, Ian is showing a great deal of promise in remote viewing. He's able to come up with at least one salient, unique detail about anything he is asked to see. Over the past day or two, his "scrying" has been strikingly accurate, including not only corroborating details but also an understanding of the situations he has been asked to view.
  Today's trial, though, has left me with a nasty sense of
  foreboding. Dr. Atwater had just excused himself to make a run to the convenience store, so I proposed to Ian that he perform a viewing on the doctor. I was initially merely disappointed when Ian described an office within the facility, indicating guesswork on Ian's part. After that, the boy became seriously agitated, babbling about being in danger. He dissolved into a panic attack and spoke very fast. It was hard to understand him, but he seemed to be saying that Cross and Dr. Atwater were "out to get him," claiming that "they want to terminate me."
  I did my best to placate the poor boy, but he was having none of
  it. By the look in his eyes, he seemed to be caught in the vision and unable to escape it. After a few minutes, I saw no recourse but to tranquilize him and have him moved back to his room under supervision. Once awake, he was very paranoid, still believing firmly that Cross and Dr. Atwater were conspiring to end his life. By my estimation, this must have been his nightmares bleeding over into his visions, tainting them with the paranoia of being chased on a nightly basis. It's possible that Ian's abilities interpreted Dr. Atwater's departure from the facility as abandonment, termination. It's the best that I can guess.
  There is a part of me that believes that I should have put all of
  this into the official report. Instead, I used the most generic terms I could. Panic attack. Adverse effects. Unexpected delusions.
  Why not the truth, Theo? You are a Doctor and an employee of
  Corona. They don't pay you to omit details.
  The truth is ... by now, I trust Ian's abilities more than I trust
  Dr. Atwater's belief in the project. When Ian told me that Dr. Atwater wanted him to die, well, it was very difficult not to believe him.
  Where is this project going, and why are we in a handbasket?
  - Theo Yehuda
  
  > look at the blood
  (the spatter of dried blood)
  The blood is dry, and there wasn't much of it to begin with. Its spray and drip pattern indicates a violently inflicted wound. You note that apart from the spray, there is a smear of dried blood on drawer 6.
  
  > open the drawer 6
  You open drawer 6 and slide its metal tray partway out. On the tray are a pair of corpses, stacked atop one another face-to-face in some gross parody of intimacy. The upper corpse is fresh and sports a nasty-looking head wound; the lower corpse is paler and clearly embalmed.
  
  > examine the upper corpse
  This corpse is fresh, and, from what you can tell, hastily-stowed in this drawer. Before death, Dr. Yehuda was a somewhat overweight middle-aged man. Although he was stacked face down, his head is turned to the side, away from his grisly companion, so you can see that his face looks tired but kindly. The neat bullet-wound between the corpse's eyes has dried, but the messy exit wound in the back glistens with still-drying blood. Behind a thick pair of black-rimmed glasses, the skin around his eyes shows clear laugh lines.
  
  > examine the lower corpse
  Judging from what you can see of this corpse, it was once a white man of average build and below average height. His features are those of a man in his middle age, but his face is craggy for its youth. The corpse has bags under its closed eyes and stress lines on its brow. The corpse has clearly been autopsied and embalmed, as its naked, pale skin shows no sign of decay. There are also no visible injuries on this corpse.
  
  > move yehuda
  Which do you mean, the fresh corpse, the face, Yehuda 4/15, Yehuda 4/2 or typewritten page?
  
  > Corpse
  Which do you mean, the embalmed corpse or the fresh corpse?
  
  > move upper corpse
  You'd prefer not to disturb Dr. Yehuda's corpse. He surely deserves whatever measure of peace he has achieved.
  
  > examine the face
  (the embalmed corpse)
  Judging from what you can see of this corpse, it was once a white man of average build and below average height. His features are those of a man in his middle age, but his face is craggy for its youth. The corpse has bags under its closed eyes and stress lines on its brow. The corpse has clearly been autopsied and embalmed, as its naked, pale skin shows no sign of decay. There are also no visible injuries on this corpse.
  
  > close drawer 6
  You slide the tray back into the drawer, then close the door and lock it in place.
  
  > look at the drawers
  (drawer number 1)
  These are morgue drawers just like the ones you've seen in the movies, with heavy latched doors like those on industrial refrigerators; the doors are labeled 1 to 12. There is a spatter of dried blood on the doors. The spray and drip pattern indicates a violently inflicted wound. You note that apart from the spray, there is a smear of dried blood on drawer 6.
  
  > open the drawer 1
  You open the door to drawer 1. Rather than a metal tray on rails, you see a reddish, pulsating, fleshy tunnel that extends into a darkness you cannot see.
  
  > close it
  You close drawer number 1, hiding the abomination from sight.
  
  > open the drawer 2
  You open the door to drawer 2. Rather than a metal tray on rails, you see a reddish, pulsating, fleshy tunnel that extends into a darkness you cannot see.
  
  > close it
  You close drawer number 2, hiding the abomination from sight.
  
  > open the drawer 12
  You open the door to drawer 12. Rather than a metal tray on rails, you see a reddish, pulsating, fleshy tunnel that extends into a darkness you cannot see.
  
  > close it
  You close drawer number 12, hiding the abomination from sight.
  
  > Go west
  Autopsy Room, Mt Airy Hospital
  The air here is thin with an astringent, chemical smell that makes you feel light-headed. Counters and cabinets line the west and north walls of the room, with a pair of sinks in the middle of each. Every surface you see is immaculate save for the metal table in the center of the room. On it, a corpse in a cut-up suit has been laid in a spread-eagled position, with dozens of surgical tools protruding from its dissected torso. Flaps of skin from the corpse's torso stretch towards the ceiling, suspended by thin pieces of surgical thread.
  
  A door made of heavy, insulated glass leads to another room to the east.
  
  The door to the hallway lies to the south.
  
  You can also see a ruined bonesaw and some severed fingers here.
  
  You hear the meaty thunk of something large hitting the ground to the east.
  
  > Go east
  Morgue, Mt Airy Hospital
  The astringent smell is even stronger in the morgue than in the autopsy room. The single working fluorescent light here flickers slightly, giving your movement a cinematic cast to it. The east wall of the morgue is lined with large drawers for corpse storage, like a giant, morbid filing cabinet. Along the north wall is a counter with a large industrial sink. Nearby, a hospital gurney squats at an odd angle, one of its wheels bent sharply to the side. There is a spatter of dried blood on the drawers, marring the otherwise spartan cleanliness of the area. The doors beneath the large counter stand open, exposing steel pipes and a wastebasket.
  
  A heavy glass door to the west leads back to the autopsy room.
  
  The fresh corpse lies face-down on the floor here.
  
  Drawer number 6 is open, exposing a tray with a prepared and embalmed corpse on it.
  
  The corpse on the ground seems to melt and grow, its flesh pouring rapidly along the ground from its sleeves, pantlegs and collar.
  
  > look at the fresh corpse
  The fresh corpse lies face-down on the floor, unmoving. The exit wound in the back of the skull glistens dark and red.
  
  The flesh pours from Dr. Yehuda's corpse, expanding rapidly in all directions. The edges form coherent, fleshy tendrils that glisten like fresh, exposed muscle, and the tendrils reach toward you hungrily.
  
  > shoot it
  You raise the gun and fire a bullet into the prone corpse. You are immediately seized with a sense of dread, feeling that you have made a terrible mistake. The corpse's hideous mutation continues unabated, and now you are out of bullets. Perhaps you should have waited until the thing displayed an obvious weak point....
  
  Lightning fast, one of the fleshy tentacles wraps around you with crushing force. You set your heels and lean back against the pull of the tentacle, but you are unable to maintain your footing. With a sudden jerk, the fleshy muscle jerks you forward and you stumble directly into the mass of pulsating flesh. You hit the stuff face-first, and you can feel it wrap around you as soon as you touch it. You attempt to scream, but the noise is cut off as something warm and soft expands down your throat. Deprived of air, you can only struggle helplessly as you feel your flesh begin to prickle. Every contact point between your body and the mass of flesh begins to burn, almost as though you are being digested....
  Press any key to continue.
  
  Consciousness returns. You muzzily realize that you are gazing at the ceiling of the Corona Labs test chamber just before the door slams open. Dr. Shaunessy, the neurologist, hurries into the room. Dr. Ephart follows close enough behind to step on his heels. "How many fingers do you see?" Dr. Shaunessy asks, kneeling down beside you, and Dr. Ephart rests light fingers on your wrist to take your pulse. In short order, they conclude that you suffered a vasovagal syncope and struck your head in the fall.
  
  You try to talk to the doctors, but your words are confused and disjointed. Your gaze drags across the fallen photograph, half-shadowed by the folder above it, and you see the gaunt young man screaming. You can't find the words to make them understand. Though you can nearly stand on your own, the doctors firmly escort you from the room and off to bed.
  
  Dr. Shaunessy leaves, but Dr. Ephart stays with you as the sedatives take hold. "Don't worry," she says, resting a gentle hand on your shoulder. "Everything will be all right."
  
  Six days later, the past repeats itself in Corona Labs.
  No one escapes alive.
  
  > examine fresh corpse
  The flesh of the corpse has become a glistening red, like exposed muscle. The clothes now seem to float in a sea of the stuff as the substance takes over the entire room. You should probably get out of here.
  
  Lightning fast, one of the fleshy tentacles wraps around you with crushing force. You set your heels and lean back against the pull of the tentacle, but you are unable to maintain your footing. With a sudden jerk, the fleshy muscle jerks you forward and you stumble directly into the mass of pulsating flesh. You hit the stuff face-first, and you can feel it wrap around you as soon as you touch it. You attempt to scream, but the noise is cut off as something warm and soft expands down your throat. Deprived of air, you can only struggle helplessly as you feel your flesh begin to prickle. Every contact point between your body and the mass of flesh begins to burn, almost as though you are being digested....
  
  > look at the door
  Which do you mean, the glass door or the hallway door?
  
  > Hallway
  You don't see a keypad on this side, or even a lock.
  
  The corner of a white piece of paper is visible beneath the door.
  
  A wet sliding noise emanates from the morgue, starting quiet but getting louder by the second.
  
  > take the paper
  (your notes)
  You already have that.
  
  Through the door to the east, you can see a writhing, pulsating mass of what appears to be raw red muscle. It is filling the morgue and rapidly approaching the autopsy room.
  
  > take the white piece of the paper
  I only understood you as far as wanting to take EGB 4/20/78.
  
  > take the white
  (the tiled floor)
  That's not really feasible.
  
  The opening to the morgue fills now with pulsating red flesh, pouring over the sides of the door like a sideways drain overflowing with sludge, all the while making a ghastly wet sliding noise. In the center of the mass, a pale bubble forms. It appears at first to be a blister, but its features define until you recognize a face - that of Dr. Yehuda. The face's expression is wracked with pain; it lets out an anguished sound as the mass of flesh pushes its way into the room.
  
  "I didn't know! I'm so sorry!" the face moans.
  
  > shoot the face
  (the pale face)
  You raise your pistol toward the face-blister and pull the trigger. With a deafening report, the gun kicks in your hand. A spray of white liquid splatters from the face's forehead where the bullet lands. The white liquid runs in rivulets down the front of the face as it contorts in even further agony.
  
  "God, why?" the face moans. "Why did I die?"
  
  The mass of bloody flesh begins to retract, pulling away from the walls and leaving a glistening red trail as it goes. Steam billows from the flesh as the white liquid runs onto it and burns it away.
  The face begins to lose coherency, melting as it cries.
  
  "My only sin was ignorance," the dissolving face murmurs. "Please forgive me my part in this."
  
  After a minute, the mass has retreated entirely into the morgue. Through the door, you see it retract back to the center of the room, curl into a small ball, and collapse into a small pile of ash with a peculiar clinking sound.
  
  After several seconds of empty silence, you hear a click from the door to the south.
  
  > Go east
  Morgue, Mt Airy Hospital
  The astringent smell is even stronger in the morgue than in the autopsy room. The single working fluorescent light here flickers slightly, giving your movement a cinematic cast to it. The east wall of the morgue is lined with large drawers for corpse storage, like a giant, morbid filing cabinet. Along the north wall is a counter with a large industrial sink. Nearby, a hospital gurney squats at an odd angle, one of its wheels bent sharply to the side. There is a spatter of dried blood on the drawers, marring the otherwise spartan cleanliness of the area. The doors beneath the large counter stand open, exposing steel pipes and a wastebasket.
  
  A heavy glass door to the west leads back to the autopsy room.
  
  There's a small, circular pile of ash below drawer 6.
  
  Drawer number 6 is open, exposing an empty tray.
  
  > look at the ash
  It's a small pile of gray ash. Nothing more remains of the corpse of Dr. Yehuda. You note a faint glint of metal in the ash.
  
  > search the ash
  Upon closer examination, the small piece of metal turns out to be a ridged key. You pick up the ridged key.
  
  > examine the ridged key
  This is a typical office door key. It has a slightly ridged handle.
  
  > Go west
  Autopsy Room, Mt Airy Hospital
  The air here is thin with an astringent, chemical smell that makes you feel light-headed. Counters and cabinets line the west and north walls of the room, with a pair of sinks in the middle of each. Every surface you see is immaculate save for the metal table in the center of the room. On it, a corpse in a cut-up suit has been laid in a spread-eagled position, with dozens of surgical tools protruding from its dissected torso. Flaps of skin from the corpse's torso stretch towards the ceiling, suspended by thin pieces of surgical thread.
  
  A door made of heavy, insulated glass leads to another room to the east.
  
  The door to the hallway lies to the south.
  
  You can also see a ruined bonesaw and some severed fingers here.
  
  > examine the fingers
  (the severed fingers)
  These four severed fingers used to belong to the corpse in the autopsy room.
  
  > take the fingers
  (the severed fingers)
  You pick up the severed fingers.
  
  > open it
  The hidden lock releases under your hand.
  
  You open the hallway door.
  
  > take the paper
  (your notes)
  You already have that.
  
  > go south
  Basement Hall, Mt Airy Hospital
  At this end of the dingy basement hall, the only intact door is labelled with a black sign reading "Autopsy Room/Morgue".
  
  A white 10-digit keypad is attached to the wall beside the door.
  
  A sheet of typewriter paper lies on the floor very near the hallway door.
  
  In the adjoining wall, a bent doorframe holds a severely dented metal door that has been very badly dented toward you.
  
  The autopsy room door swings closed. There's a click as the lock reengages.
  
  > take the sheet
  Which do you mean, Pearce 5/8/78, Pearce 4/16/78 or Pearce 5/1/78?
  
  > take the paper
  (sheet of typewriter paper)
  You pick up sheet of typewriter paper.
  
  You add sheet of typewriter paper to your existing collection of pages.
  
  > read the notes
  The sheet of typewriter paper reads:
  
  Unofficial log, April 15, 11:00 am
  I suppose someone must have listened to Elaine's assertion that
  this test subject was different from the rest, since we've just gained a new member of the team.
  This was not a pleasant cup of chicory to down first thing in the morning. Don't get me wrong -- I would love, more than anything, to welcome Simon Cross to our ranks, and G-d knows that we could stand to gain another team member. Of all of the positions we had open prior to today, however, I'm not sure I ever would have counted "Company Spook" among them.
  Perhaps I am being unfair, but it is my opinion that hypnotizing yourself into believing that a knife is a rolling pin will not prevent you from needing stitches after trying to make bread dough. Cross's official title is "auditor." He claims that he is here to oversee Corona's professional interests in the Project, and I don't doubt him one bit. Cross oozes "professional interests." He brushes his teeth with it, or he wouldn't be able to give me that sharkish grin.
  Still, we are bedfellows now. There's nothing to do but see to it
  that he is comfortable ... and bored.
  - Theo Yehuda
  
  > look at the notes
  [To see the next page of your notes, just TURN the page.]
  
  Your notes consist of a sheaf of various papers that you found scattered about this facility. Currently, a sheet of typewriter paper written on 4/15 by Yehuda is the topmost page.
  
  This is a piece of paper punched for a three-ring binder, its words typed out from an old self-correcting machine.
  
  > look at the bent door
  This metal door is damaged beyond repair, dented inward and fused with its frame as though struck from the other side by a car moving at high speed. Whatever hit it must have been incredibly strong, given how sturdy the door seems to be. The doorknob is missing from the door completely. A sign on the door reads "stairs".
  
  > wait awhile
  The elevator comes to a halt with a quiet ding. The third floor button stops glowing, and the doors slide open.
  
  > go east
  You step through the elevator doors into a familiar hallway. In front of you, the lurid orange biohazard symbol all but glows from the end of the east hall, and a broader hallway stretches away to the left and right.
  
  Hall Intersection, Mt Airy Hospital
  Cold fluorescent lights pace the ceiling from north to south and lead off east along the T intersection. To the west, a pair of metal elevator doors sits silently closed. There's a call button beside the elevator and a floor indicator above the call button.
  
  A building map is posted on the wall.
  
  > Go east
  As you walk away, you hear a peculiar fluttering noise behind you.
  
  Side Hall, Mt Airy Hospital
  The off-white walls and dull, stain-resistant tiles of this hallway match those of the main hall to the west. Windowless doors marked with small brass signs branch off to the north and south.
  
  > unlock the north door with brass key
  [This command only takes one input. Ignoring "with brass key".)]
  
  You insert the ridged key into the lock of the door to room 322 and turn it, successfully unlocking the door
  
  > Go north
  You open the door to room 322.
  
  Room 322, Mt Airy Hospital
  While spacious, this office is surprisingly austere. The office is clearly separated into two sides. On the west side, a large but inexpensive-looking metal desk is festooned with decorations; a calendar covers its center, while several photos are proudly displayed with their faces to the door. The desk on the east side is a standing oak desk, precisely arranged and nearly bare. All of the decoration on that side of the room is on the walls, an array of diplomas and commendations. An office chair stands in front of each desk.
  
  Only a single object dares to split the room: a wall-mounted television displaying half of a grainy black-and-white picture.
  
  To your south, a door leads back to the hallway.
  
  Below the television, there is a wall button with a typewritten sign taped next to it.
  
  A piece of unlined paper lies face-down on the floor, half in and half out of the oak desk's shadow.
  
  > take the unlined paper
  You pick up the piece of unlined paper.
  
  You add the piece of unlined paper to your existing collection of pages.
  
  > read it
  The piece of unlined paper reads:
  
  4/7/78
  I've found him!
  
  It's hard not to doubt myself. I've written about candidates before. I believed in each and every one of them. They all had that spark, that brilliant glint of possibility. It shone in them like a tiny sun. How could I not believe? And with each failure it became harder to believe in myself.
  
  But he's different, McMoneagle. Ian. A skinny boy from the suburbs of Olney with nothing spectacular about him but chronic nightmares, headaches, and emotional problems. But that sun, his sun. So much brighter than any I've seen.
  
  Dr. Atwater is of course convinced that he'll fail just like all the others, and refuses to refer to him even by his first name since we picked him up. Even Dr. Yehuda is cautious, given our track record. I have to convince him, both of them.
  
  He's the one. He's our hope.
  
  > look at the calendar
  A large desktop calendar with disposable pages. The currently-displayed month is May of 1978. While notes are scrawled on the calendar, little are of any use; most are for day-to-day activities centered around someone named "Ian". Several other names are mentioned: "Atwater", "Elaine", and occasionally "Pearce". A quick page-flip reveals that little is filled out for future months in the calendar. Whoever was using this lived in the moment, or at least by the month.
  
  > look at the oak desk
  This desk is smaller than the one on the other side of the room, but taller and made of fine varnished oak. Upon closer inspection, it is in fact conspicuous in its barren appearance. There is literally nothing on this desk, as though it had been cleaned out but not taken away. The diplomas on the wall remain, but the desk itself is a suspense story of a departed occupant.
  
  > examine the diplomas
  Several diplomas, commendations and awards adorn the wall around the standing desk. Each one is awarded to an Edward Atwater, Ph.D, MD, and each one congratulates the man for his astonishing skill and study in the field of medicine. Apparently, Dr. Atwater both knew his stuff and wanted everyone around him to know it.
  
  > examine the metal desk
  While somewhat cheap, this steel desk is large and provides a good deal of real estate for its user. A large desk calendar sits on its surface, stained with rings of coffee and marked with a near-illegible scrawl. Several framed photos sit on the right corner of the desk.
  
  A black safe with a prominent dial has been bracketed beneath the left side of the desk. The safe was obviously manufactured separately and attached in a somewhat haphazard fashion, but the metalwork is effective even if it isn't attractive. The safe is currently closed.
  
  Are you sure you want to quit? 
  
  Please be advised that One Eye Open is a horror game. It contains mature content (including blood, gore, human injury and death, mild language, tobacco reference, violence, and violent references.)
  
  We do not recommend this game for a younger audience.
  
  > Y.
  After only ten days, you're becoming surprisingly comfortable with life as a Corona Corporation guinea pig. It helps that your routine is so reliable - meals, exercise, rest, and sleep are clearly arranged on a schedule hanging beside the white clock in your room. As for the tests - well, you've grown used to the sight of your blood in a sample vial, and the rest is mostly paperwork. Personality tests, aptitude tests, intelligence tests, psychological tests, Rorschach and the MMPI and even kinetic family drawing... you're starting to worry that they'll run out of tests by the end of the month.
  
  Although 7:30 PM is always the day's last test, you never leave your room alone, so you were still watching American Beauty when Dr. Marnie Ephart knocked at the door. "Oh, you're almost to the end!" she said brightly, seeing the screen. "I can wait until you're through."
  
  "No, that's fine." You hit PAUSE to freeze Angela in mid-motion as you got up from the couch. "I've seen it before." Last Monday, actually. The video collection isn't that good, and, considering what they're paying you, it's a pity Corona couldn't invest in a few more options. It's hard to complain, though; the staff is friendly, the tests aren't hard, and the salary is great.
  
  During the day, Raymond, Best, or one of the scientists might be around, but at night, it's usually just the two of you, and the hall you cross now is deserted. You accompany her through the antechamber and into the main testing chamber. By now, you're used to being watched from behind one-way glass, but the observational room is fully lit today, and you can easily see inside.
  
  "Back in a moment," Dr. Ephart says cheerfully. "See you on the other side!"
  
  Test Chamber, Corona Labs
  In the center of the room, a single black office chair sits in front of a broad, heavy desk. The desk and chair are familiar, but the wireless keypad sitting on the desk is new. There are five large white buttons on the keypad, each displaying a different symbol in broad black strokes. The symbols are a circle, a cross, a set of three wavy lines, a square, and a five-pointed star. As always, you are quite aware of the cameras watching you from above.
  
  To the west, a windowless door separates the testing room from the antechamber outside.
  
  The familiar black office chair sits invitingly nearby.
  
  Through the thick pane of glass, you can see the curved desk in the observational room.
  I beg your pardon?