text: [Themes: Espionage, supernatural, Evil protagonist]
  
  It's a mistake to anthropomorphize humans. For all their rationality and free will, they won't do anything if left to their own devices. Instead, it falls to my organization to push them in the right, or
  more often wrong, direction. We operate with secrecy and subtlety: a hint here, a nudge there, and eventually an empire collapses.
  
  A few situations require more direct intervention. Recently, a station in the town of ������������������������ in the earthly realm suddenly went silent.
  It's probably nothing serious; the most likely explanation is that its cover was compromised, and the officer in charge had to abandon it.
  The day before, we intercepted a highly encrypted communiqu�� from the Other Side sent to one of their agents in the area. Again, it's probably nothing; they send a lot of messages.
  
  "Probably" isn't good enough for me, though. Our rival organization is also engaged in a complex war of manipulation, and we both have elaborate systems of measures and countermeasures to ensure that the other side plays fairly. Officially, I'm here to look over the station and make sure the place is clean. Unofficially, I'm here to make sure the Other Side isn't cheating at the Great Game.
  
  You can't trust angels.
  
  The casino complex looming before me is a converted seaside chateau. Only the most discreet glimpses of opulence are visible through the windows: checkerboard marble floors, liveried valets roaming the hallways, tiny but undoubtedly very expensive objets d'art sitting on oversized tables, and so on. As a warm breeze from the beach ruffles the palm trees, humans in formalwear stride through the grounds, staring longingly at the casino's beckoning entrance to the north.
  
  A suspiciously large quantity of salt forms an arc around the doorway.
  
  A bouncer kicks idly at the pile of salt.
  
  A thief watches, hoping for the bouncer to get distracted.
  
  [Author's Note: The memoir of a demonic spy in the Cold War between Heaven and Hell.]
  
  > About yourself
  Me? There's not much to say, really. My name is Sidewinder.
  
  (That's a lie. "Sidewinder" is a cryptonym; my real name is classified.)
  
  I'm a legal counsel to Hell's Office of Mortal Trade and Economic Development.
  
  (That's also a lie, or more accurately a cover. I'm an
  intelligence officer, or more accurately a spy.)
  
  My job is to build peaceful, productive relations with mortals and to prevent my opposite number from expanding their influence in the
  mortal realm.
  
  (That one's true, although the methods by which I go about it are
  far outside the ambit of my cover job.)
  
  I am, of course, a demon. Rather than the slavering mass of fangs and claws humans tend to expect, though, I'm a noncorporeal entity who moves in the spiritual realm and has some ability to influence humans in the physical realm.
  
  (Also true, although I could probably have the research department
  whip me up some fangs and claws if I really needed them.)
  
  To put it simply: I'm from Hell, and I'm here to help.
  
  (Absolutely true, though I'm not going to say whom I'm going to
  help.)
  
  The bouncer greets a well-dressed visitor.
  
  The thief watches, hoping for the bouncer to get distracted.
  
  > examine the salt
  The mostly likely explanation of the salt is that it's just a random, unremarkable accident, probably spilled by someone delivering kitchen supplies. The most worrying possibility is that it was placed here deliberately, probably by some useful idiot on the casino's staff who managed to dredge up some bit of folklore about demons and was trying to be helpful.
  
  The bouncer shuffles from foot to foot.
  
  The thief watches, hoping for the bouncer to get distracted.
  
  > examine the bouncer
  A burly, ill-tempered human standing next to the door. Even if it is
  an exclusive place, the casino doesn't benefit from turning too many people away; the role of the bouncer is to keep an eye out for troublemakers.
  
  The bouncer slowly surveys the crowd.
  
  The thief sidles up to the bouncer and has an animated conversation with it, but to no avail.
  
  > examine thief
  It's wearing a black-and-white striped shirt and a domino mask. It doesn't fit in.
  
  > ENTER
  the casino.
  
  It goes without saying that my kind have certain affordances when it comes to dealing with mortals. We may not be much for the shuffling around of physical objects, but when it comes to humans' intentions,
  we can pluck them out, give them to others, and generally treat them
  as playthings.
  
  The bouncer leans against the doorway, idly watching the thief.
  
  The thief watches, hoping for the bouncer to get distracted.
  
  > take enter
  I extract the enter intent from the thief.
  
  The bouncer leans against the doorway, idly watching the thief.
  
  > put enter on the bouncer
  I give the enter intent to the bouncer, who now intends to enter the casino.
  
  The bouncer sighs, looks at its watch, and decides to duck into the casino for a quick break. As it shuffles inside, it conveniently kicks aside enough of the salt to break the barrier. The thief gamely
  follows after it.
  
  > go inside
  The center floor is a pandemonium of human activity. Machines flash a garish array of lights to beckon them closer, competing with barkers calling out the inscrutable results of their games. Crowds fed from
  the main entrance to the south swarm over the floor, peeling off to join games or just to socialize in the cacophony. A less crowded area of the floor lies to the west, and a hallway leads east.
  
  At the north end of the room, kept apart from the gaming tables, is an imposing door.
  
  The thief sidles toward the door, but a guard notices and glares menacingly. The thief slinks back to the casino floor.
  
  The bouncer disappears further into the casino and is soon lost in the crowd.
  
  > examine the door
  It's an enormous door of brass and wood. It's probably locked
  (footnote 1).
  
  The thief sidles toward the door, but the guard notices and glares menacingly. The thief slinks back to the casino floor.
  
  > Footnote 1
  (1) ...probably locked.: Not that a locked door is an
  obstacle to me.
  
  > examine the guard
  A somberly dressed human posted to guard the door. Despite the boredom of its job, it's focused and professional.
  
  > BLOCK
  entry into the vault.
  
  The thief tries to subtly watch the guard.
  
  > look at the thief
  It's wearing a black-and-white striped shirt and a domino mask. It doesn't fit in.
  
  The thief looks longingly at the guarded door.
  
  > examine the machines
  The machines attract a steady stream of humans with their incessant noise and lights. The humans drawn in don't look like they're enjoying themselves, though; their expressions are flat or even mildly annoyed.
  
  The thief sidles toward the door, but the guard notices and glares menacingly. The thief slinks back to the casino floor.
  
  > examine the humans
  Awash in an amorphous mass of greed and bedazzlement.
  
  The thief sidles toward the door, but the guard notices and glares menacingly. The thief slinks back to the casino floor.
  
  > take the block
  I extract the block intent from the guard.
  
  The thief inches toward the door, but the guard notices and glares aggressively. Apparently it's more alert than I thought.
  
  > Inventory
  Intentions:
  the block intent
  
  Other possessions:
  a detector
  an intercepted communiqu��
  
  > look at the detector
  The device is a convenient detector attuned to items tagged by demons from my home office, such as the chief of station here. When spun, it indicates how many of those items are in my present location (but not yet in my possession) and how many are in the same portion of the compound.
  
  The thief inches toward the door, but the guard notices and glares aggressively. Apparently it's more alert than I thought.
  
  > read the communique
  43999 10698 03659 31802 08678 65629 67043 24095 85994
  
  The thief inches toward the door, but the guard notices and glares aggressively. Apparently it's more alert than I thought.
  
  > turn on the detector
  It isn't something I can switch.
  
  The thief watches hopefully for the guard to get distracted.
  
  > use the detector
  The detector produces three high whistles, indicating three unattained codebooks in this region of the compound, but none in this specific location.
  
  The thief watches hopefully for the guard to get distracted.
  
  > look
  The center floor is a pandemonium of human activity. Machines flash a garish array of lights to beckon them closer, competing with barkers calling out the inscrutable results of their games. Crowds fed from
  the main entrance to the south swarm over the floor, peeling off to join games or just to socialize in the cacophony. A less crowded area of the floor lies to the west, and a hallway leads east.
  
  At the north end of the room, kept apart from the gaming tables, is an imposing door.
  
  The thief is skulking nearby, trying unsucessfully to avoid looking suspicious.
  
  The guard is watching the door.
  
  > Go west
  If the rest of the casino is a place of leisure, this lair is a place of business. Shark-faced humans in formal attire loom over tables playing some incomprehensible card game, accepting both wins and
  losses with aloof detachment. Aside from a desultory appreciative or sympathetic murmur from onlookers following a particularly involved hand, the room has the quiet intensity of an art museum. Whorls of cigarette smoke drift across the glaring lights overhead.
  
  The main area of the of the casino lies to the east.
  
  side.
  
  A card sharp is watching the other gamblers.
  
  > Go north
  From here, I can only go east.
  
  Of course, as a disembodied force made of spiritual energy rather than physical matter, I can theoretically go to and fro in the earth wherever I please. As in any business involving demons, though, terms and conditions apply. The particular summoning spell that I used to access the mortal plane ties my presence here to the premises of the casino, and I can't wander too far away from it. It also requires me
  to begrudgingly respect the human fiction of its walls.
  
  Besides, I take the responsibilities of my position seriously. It
  might be nice to wander away from the casino and the nagging problems of its humans, float out to some deserted island, and spend a well-deserved vacation alone on the beach; but ultimately, I've got a job to do, and I don't have time to waste idly drifting around the mortal realm.
  
  > examine the door
  I don't see the imposing door here. It was on the casino floor.
  
  > look
  If the rest of the casino is a place of leisure, this lair is a place of business. Shark-faced humans in formal attire loom over tables playing some incomprehensible card game, accepting both wins and
  losses with aloof detachment. Aside from a desultory appreciative or sympathetic murmur from onlookers following a particularly involved hand, the room has the quiet intensity of an art museum. Whorls of cigarette smoke drift across the glaring lights overhead.
  
  The main area of the of the casino lies to the east.
  
  The card sharp is watching the other gamblers.
  
  I can also see the gambler here.
  
  > examine the gambler
  The well-dressed guest hovers around the poker tables with evident curiosity. It also carries an attach�� case that is sparkling with faint spiritual energy.
  
  > EXPLORE
  the poker tables without getting sucked in.
  
  The gambler looks longingly at a poker table but remains off to the side.
  
  > take explore
  I extract the explore intent from the gambler.
  
  The gambler looks longingly at a poker table but remains off to the side.
  
  The card sharp looks at the bunch of unobservant, unwary gamblers in the casino optimistically.
  
  > examine sharp
  A wily human wearing a green visor and a charcoal suit. It looks like it's been here for quite a while, and it watches the other gamblers with a predatory manner.
  
  > CLEAN
  up at poker.
  
  The gambler looks longingly at a poker table but remains off to the side.
  
  > take clean
  I extract the clean up intent from the card sharp.
  
  The gambler looks longingly at a poker table but remains off to the side.
  
  The card sharp looks around the room predatorily.
  
  > check your inventory
  Intentions:
  the clean up intent
  the explore intent
  the block intent
  
  Other possessions:
  a detector
  an intercepted communiqu��
  
  > Go east
  The center floor is a pandemonium of human activity. Machines flash a garish array of lights to beckon them closer, competing with barkers calling out the inscrutable results of their games. Crowds fed from
  the main entrance to the south swarm over the floor, peeling off to join games or just to socialize in the cacophony. A less crowded area of the floor lies to the west, and a hallway leads east.
  
  At the north end of the room, kept apart from the gaming tables, is an imposing door.
  
  The thief inches toward the door, but the guard notices and glares aggressively. Apparently it's more alert than I thought.
  
  > go east
  This ballroom is a cavernous hall in which well-dressed humans are attacking the serious business of entertainment, conducting intrigues and little negotiations as they stomp across the parquet floor. A string quartet perched on a loggia running around the hall is playing some forgettable piece of classical music energetically. A breeze from the nearby sea occasionally rustles the curtains around the French doors leading outside to the east, but the room is still stuffy in the summer heat. The hall continues to the north, and the casino floor
  lies to the west.
  
  Some musicians play an intricate fugue.
  
  > look at the musicians
  A string quartet is stationed in the upper reaches of the hall to entertain the humans dancing below.
  
  > PLAY
  music.
  
  The musicians play a lively scherzo.
  
  > take the play
  I extract the play intent from the musicians.
  
  The musicians take the opportunity to drink some water.
  
  > look at the humans
  (the musicians)
  A string quartet is stationed in the upper reaches of the hall to entertain the humans dancing below.
  
  The musicians rosin their bows.
  
  > Go north
  The casino's bar is a lively retreat for the dancers in the ballroom, with a steady stream of patrons drifting in and out. The bar itself is a giant mahogany beast with a bewildering array of decanters, bottles, and vials set against the mirror behind it. Floor-length windows fill the room with orange light.
  
  The ballroom is south of here.
  
  A bartender folds some towels at the bar.
  
  A waiter sweeps through the room and attends to the guests.
  
  It occurs to me that I should clarify that what I'm glossing as moving from place to place is actually a complicated warping of my spiritual probability field to move the mean of the distribution to another
  point in space while preserving the decay rate of the tails. I'm told that humans use muscles and tendons for their locomotion, and I
  suppose that works too. Most of my experience, however, is completely alien to humans' frame of reference, and I'm trying to meet you halfway. If I mention, say, that I have a headache, I don't mean to imply that I have a literal head that literally hurts; I'm referring
  to some part of my non-human non-physical non-anatomy that would make absolutely no sense to you, so I've put it in terms of the closest human equivalent. Similarly, I can't pick up and hold even a spiritual object such as an intention; I don't have hands (or, despite the unflattering paintings you may have seen, horns and a tail). Instead, to keep something like that nearby, I'm doing something impossibly complex that nevertheless has the same effect as your holding a teacup with your grubby, meaty human hands. To avoid confusion, I'm just
  going to describe myself as, say, holding the communiqu��, and I'll leave it to you to wonder about how a spiritual being such as myself navigates the physical realm.
  
  That having been said, I do wonder how you all manage with only five basic senses, and not particularly well-developed ones at that. Birds can see more colors than you, and they even get to fly. I don't think humans are any good at flying (though I have confirmed that humans are great at falling), which strikes me as a major design flaw. If you're stuck in only three spatial dimensions, you might as well get the most out of them.
  
  > examine bartender
  A human who's dressed tidily but unobtrusively to look respectable and approachable.
  
  > FOLD
  napkins.
  
  The bartender folds some linen napkins at the bar.
  
  The waiter sweeps through the room and attends to the guests.
  
  > take the fold
  I extract the fold intent from the bartender.
  
  The waiter sweeps through the room and attends to the guests.
  
  > examine waiter
  The waiter's uniform includes a half-apron with a pocket, in which rests a small notepad.
  
  > WAIT
  on the various guests.
  
  The waiter sweeps through the room and attends to the guests.
  
  > take the wait
  I extract the wait intent from the waiter.
  
  The waiter loafs in the corner.
  
  > examine the notepad
  If I understand the procedure correctly, the notepad is something the waiter uses to take customers' orders. It therefore holds no interest to me; I give orders to humans, not take them.
  
  The waiter loafs in the corner.
  
  > Go west
  From here, I can only go south.
  
  > Go south
  This ballroom is a cavernous hall in which well-dressed humans are attacking the serious business of entertainment, conducting intrigues and little negotiations as they stomp across the parquet floor. A string quartet perched on a loggia running around the hall is tuning
  up as the crowd below them mingles. A breeze from the nearby sea occasionally rustles the curtains around the French doors leading outside to the east, but the room is still stuffy in the summer heat. The hall continues to the north, and the casino floor lies to the
  west.
  
  The musicians are chatting quietly among themselves and setting up for the next piece.
  
  > go west
  The center floor is a pandemonium of human activity. Machines flash a garish array of lights to beckon them closer, competing with barkers calling out the inscrutable results of their games. Crowds fed from
  the main entrance to the south swarm over the floor, peeling off to join games or just to socialize in the cacophony. A less crowded area of the floor lies to the west, and a hallway leads east.
  
  At the north end of the room, kept apart from the gaming tables, is an imposing door.
  
  The thief inches toward the door, but the guard notices and glares aggressively. Apparently it's more alert than I thought.
  
  > go to the north
  Unlike the rest of the casino, this small room is refreshingly severe and empty. Bookshelves filled with identical logbooks line the windowless walls, occasionally broken up by racks of electronic equipment. The only exit is an imposing door to the south.
  
  An elaborate laser grid encloses a metal strongbox, which is sparkling with faint spiritual energy.
  
  > examine the strongbox
  A heavy metal strongbox designed for storing valuables. It's sparkling with faint spiritual energy.
  
  As I approach, I feel an odd kind of tension or humming in the air. I gingerly tap the strongbox, and my curiosity is punished with a
  painful surge of energy. I grit my teeth and push through it, but the strongbox is completely sealed shut. It's like the surface is coated
  in something dense and completely smooth, without any handholds or purchase. I'm not sure what could be causing���
  
  Ah! I remember my colleague Whiptail mentioning developing some sort
  of protective device like this in a briefing a few centuries back. It functions as the spiritual equivalent of a diplomatic pouch: It makes the thing inside completely inaccessible to spiritual entities such as angels or my kind. Humans, being entirely corporeal, should be unaffected.
  
  I don't know how exactly the barrier works, and I've never seen it deployed in the field before. I have heard rumors that they're
  starting to be used at embassies and other diplomatic posts, so it's not unreasonable to assume that Krait, the officer in charge here, would have had one. He must have had to stash something important in the complex; maybe he had to escape through enemy territory and didn't want to keep it on his person, or maybe this post was suddenly compromised and had to find a safe hiding place at a moment's notice. Regardless, if Krait considered something important enough to keep out of the greedy claws of the Other Side's agents even as he was under attack or forced to abandon this station, then I consider it important too.
  
  Inside the strongbox are a confidential codebook and some stacks of banknotes. As long as it's closed, though, I can't get inside.
  
  > examine the codebook
  Cryptographic information that is useful in deciphering the communiqu��. As a metaphysical item, it is is invisible to humans but tangible to me, or at least it would be if I could get it out of that mystically sealed container.
  
  > check your inventory
  Intentions:
  the wait intent
  the fold intent
  the play intent
  the clean up intent
  the explore intent
  the block intent
  
  Other possessions:
  a detector
  an intercepted communiqu��
  
  > put the explore on the guard
  I give the explore intent to the guard, who now vaguely intends to explore.
  
  The thief inches toward the door, but the guard notices and glares aggressively. Apparently it's more alert than I thought.
  
  > put the play on the guard
  I give the play intent to the guard, taking the explore intent in exchange. It now intends to play some casino games.
  
  The thief inches toward the door. The guard is apparently not completely engrossed in the game, though, and pulls itself away long enough to bark at the thief.
  
  > put clean on guard
  I give the clean up intent to the guard, taking the play intent in exchange. It now vaguely intends to clean up.
  
  The thief watches hopefully for the guard to get distracted.
  
  > take clean
  I extract the clean up intent from the guard.
  
  The thief inches toward the door, but the guard notices and glares aggressively. Apparently it's more alert than I thought.
  
  > go west
  If the rest of the casino is a place of leisure, this lair is a place of business. Shark-faced humans in formal attire loom over tables playing some incomprehensible card game, accepting both wins and
  losses with aloof detachment. Aside from a desultory appreciative or sympathetic murmur from onlookers following a particularly involved hand, the room has the quiet intensity of an art museum. Whorls of cigarette smoke drift across the glaring lights overhead.
  
  The main area of the of the casino lies to the east.
  
  The gambler looks longingly at a poker table but remains off to the side.
  
  The card sharp is watching the other gamblers.
  
  > put the fold on gambler
  I give the fold intent to the gambler, who now intends to fold in the poker game.
  
  The gambler looks longingly at a poker table but remains off to the side.
  
  The card sharp sizes up its fellow players.
  
  > wait
  Time passes.
  
  The gambler looks longingly at a poker table but remains off to the side.
  
  > take the fold
  I extract the fold intent from the gambler.
  
  The gambler looks longingly at a poker table but remains off to the side.
  
  The card sharp looks at the bunch of unobservant, unwary gamblers in the casino optimistically.
  
  > put the play on the gambler
  I give the play intent to the gambler, who now intends to play poker.
  
  With evident trepidation, the gambler approaches the poker table and starts a game.
  
  The cards are dealt, and the gambler and the card sharp toss some
  chips onto the table and look at each other warily.
  
  > examine the cards
  Cards shuffle across the felt as the onlookers rap on the tabletop, make inscrutable gestures to the dealer, and grimly flick chips into a small pile in the center.
  
  The fine details of the game are alien to me. The fine details of
  human nature are not, though; and judging from its expression, I'd say that the gambler has quite a good hand.
  
  The gambler and the card sharp study their cards intently. I don't
  know the details of the game, but based on its expression and bearing, the gambler thinks it has the better hand.
  
  > Inventory
  Intentions:
  the fold intent
  the clean up intent
  the explore intent
  the wait intent
  the block intent
  
  Other possessions:
  a detector
  an intercepted communiqu��
  
  > put clean up on the gambler
  I give the clean up intent to the gambler, taking the play intent in exchange. It now intends to clean up its act and avoid gambling.
  
  The gambler raises. The card sharp stares at its opponent's face for a moment, then tosses its cards onto the table.
  
  The gambler happily takes the pile of chips from the table and becomes marginally richer. Despite its loss, the card sharp still has quite a bit of money remaining, and it shows no indication of slowing down.
  
  > put the play on the gambler
  I give the play intent to the gambler, taking the clean up intent in exchange. It now intends to play poker.
  
  With evident trepidation, the gambler approaches the poker table and starts a game.
  
  The cards are dealt, and the gambler and the card sharp toss some
  chips onto the table and look at each other warily.
  
  > look at the gambler
  The well-dressed guest hovers around the poker tables with evident curiosity. It also carries an attach�� case that is sparkling with faint spiritual energy.
  
  > PLAY
  poker.
  
  The gambler and the card sharp study their cards intently. I don't
  know the details of the game, but based on its expression and bearing, the card sharp thinks it has the better hand.
  
  > put the fold on sharp
  I give the fold intent to the card sharp, who now intends to fold in the poker game.
  
  The card sharp quickly folds.
  
  The gambler happily takes the pile of chips from the table and becomes marginally richer. Despite its loss, the card sharp still has quite a bit of money remaining, and it shows no indication of slowing down.
  
  > take the fold
  I extract the fold intent from the card sharp.
  
  With evident trepidation, the gambler approaches the poker table and starts a game.
  
  The cards are dealt, and the gambler and the card sharp toss some
  chips onto the table and look at each other warily.
  
  > examine sharp
  A wily human wearing a green visor and a charcoal suit. It looks like it's been here for quite a while, and it watches the other gamblers with a predatory manner.
  
  The gambler and the card sharp study their cards intently. I don't
  know the details of the game, but based on its expression and bearing, the card sharp thinks it has the better hand.
  
  > put the fold on sharp
  I give the fold intent to the card sharp, who now intends to fold in the poker game.
  
  The card sharp summarily folds.
  
  The gambler happily takes the pile of chips from the table and becomes marginally richer. Despite its loss, the card sharp still has quite a bit of money remaining, and it shows no indication of slowing down.
  
  > take the clean up
  I already have that.
  
  The gambler and the card sharp study their cards intently. I don't
  know the details of the game, but based on its expression and bearing, the card sharp thinks it has the better hand.
  
  > take the play
  I extract the play intent from the gambler.
  
  The gambler loses its nerve and folds.
  
  The gambler watches its opponent take the pile of chips. Despite the gambler's glum expression, the loss was only a small fraction of its total money, and it shows no indication of slowing down.
  
  > Go east
  The center floor is a pandemonium of human activity. Machines flash a garish array of lights to beckon them closer, competing with barkers calling out the inscrutable results of their games. Crowds fed from
  the main entrance to the south swarm over the floor, peeling off to join games or just to socialize in the cacophony. A less crowded area of the floor lies to the west, and a hallway leads east.
  
  At the north end of the room, kept apart from the gaming tables, is an imposing door.
  
  The thief inches toward the door, but the guard notices and glares aggressively. Apparently it's more alert than I thought.
  
  > go to the east
  This ballroom is a cavernous hall in which well-dressed humans are attacking the serious business of entertainment, conducting intrigues and little negotiations as they stomp across the parquet floor. A string quartet perched on a loggia running around the hall is tuning
  up as the crowd below them mingles. A breeze from the nearby sea occasionally rustles the curtains around the French doors leading outside to the east, but the room is still stuffy in the summer heat. The hall continues to the north, and the casino floor lies to the
  west.
  
  The musicians look through their sheet music.
  
  > Go north
  The casino's bar is a lively retreat for the dancers in the ballroom, with a steady stream of patrons drifting in and out. The bar itself is a giant mahogany beast with a bewildering array of decanters, bottles, and vials set against the mirror behind it. Floor-length windows fill the room with orange light.
  
  The ballroom is south of here.
  
  The bartender stands behind the bar.
  
  The waiter loafs in the corner.
  
  > put the clean up on the waiter
  I give the clean up intent to the waiter, who now intends to clean up the general area.
  
  The waiter dusts a spot with a rag.
  
  > wait for a while
  Time passes.
  
  The waiter straightens some furniture.
  
  > take the clean up
  I extract the clean up intent from the waiter.
  
  The waiter loafs in the corner.
  
  > Go south
  This ballroom is a cavernous hall in which well-dressed humans are attacking the serious business of entertainment, conducting intrigues and little negotiations as they stomp across the parquet floor. A string quartet perched on a loggia running around the hall is tuning
  up as the crowd below them mingles. A breeze from the nearby sea occasionally rustles the curtains around the French doors leading outside to the east, but the room is still stuffy in the summer heat. The hall continues to the north, and the casino floor lies to the
  west.
  
  The musicians are chatting quietly among themselves and setting up for the next piece.
  
  > Wait
  Time passes.