text: [Themes: Espionage, Mystery, Science Fiction, conversation, mystery, science fiction, nonhuman protagonist, male protagonist, terraforming, Mars]
  
  "Is this alright?" asks the young cop. "Do you need the lights lower, or incense, or something?"
  
  "This is fine. I just need to see him, ask some questions."
  
  "Okay," he nods. "Just buzz the buzzer when you're done." He leaves, pulling the metal door to with the click of a magnetic lock. Across the table from you the man stiffens, waiting for you to speak.
  
  The six walls are metal. This is a box in which nothing happens but people talk, and fans whir air in and out to help the words move along. By the door in the north wall is a small red button that rings the buzzer for the guard, and it's smart enough to know who's pushing. This isn't a place people leave of their own accord, and they rarely come here that way either.
  
  The man across the table from you is no different. His eyes are sagging from lack of sleep, and he is sweating just a little even though the air is regulated to be cold.
  
  > About yourself
  You look just as you would expect to.
  
  > examine man
  Mackenzie is a broad man, with receding spiky hair and the slow march of middle-age filling out his stomach. His fingers are the only delicate thing about him, long and arachnid, somehow out of place on the ends of his bulky hands. He watches you, afraid, perhaps guarding something. He fidgets nervously.
  
  > ask the man about the crime
  "Poison, did they say? I have a lab, it could have been anything." He is jittery, his face twitching. "She might have eaten one of my bulbs or something. I don't know why it's being called a murder."
  
  > Prompt man
  "I don't know! A lab is full of poisons, that's how I work! She must have got into it."
  
  It is a little difficult to follow the man's speech. His accent is thick, and the language is still unfamiliar.
  
  > ask the man about her
  His language is something you only started learning two weeks ago, when this crime was reported and he was put on the ship back home. You're still sufficiently rusty that there are some things (such as that) you still do not know how to say.
  
  > ask the man about the poison
  "I don't know! A lab is full of poisons, that's how I work! She must have got into it."
  
  > ask man about the the victim
  He flinches. "Do you have to put it like that? She was my wife."
  
  > ask the man about his wife
  His face pales. "She's dead, I know," he whispers.
  
  > What is your wife's name
  "My name's Mackenzie. But... I guess you already know that. Yes," he says.
  
  > ask the man about the language
  "I don't know! A lab is full of poisons, that's how I work! She must have got into it."
  
  "I'm monolingual; I never even learnt English. My wife used to say it made it fairer. She didn't understand what I did, but I didn't understand a word of her documents."
  
  > Can i call you the mac
  He frowns, confused. It seems your two-week attendance at the language course hasn't totally paid off.
  
  > ask the man about the documents
  "What documents? I don't know what you're talking about," he replies, looking quite confused.
  
  > ask the man about the job
  "I'm a genetic designer. I design plants for the soil, to grow naturally. To fill up the atmosphere. I'm at the top of my field," he adds, nervously.
  
  > ask the man about the confession
  "Just because I had the lab. That doesn't mean anything."
  
  > ask the man about the genetics
  "It's my field; designing organisms. Sorry, no offence intended," he quails. "I mean, I only work with plants. My company invented oxyalg."
  
  > ask the man about the oxyalg
  "Oxyalg. You know what it is. Three quarters of Mars does. It's growing us the atmosphere up there. Why are you asking this? What does it matter to... you know."
  
  > Prompt man
  "It's almost finished with, then we have a little bacterial agent to release which will destroy the stuff. And that's it."
  
  > keep going
  He sighs, helplessly. "We have a thousand tanks of bacteria ready to release, to mop up all the algae once its finished its job. If we don't do it, it'll just keep on spreading. And then it's flat-out colonisation. The only thing to slow it are the windstorms."
  
  > ask the man about the windstorms
  "The windstorms have been a problem since the atmosphere started to grow. I was working on solutions, using plants. Would you like to know how they work, is that it?"
  
  > Continue
  "The idea is to grow plants with some pollination that'll trigger in high winds, but with pollen redesigned to clump together in the air, act as a biological thickener. If enough is released, the air will be locally very viscous, and the wind will slow. Of course," he adds, "we'd need a lot of these plants if it was ever to work. Or in strategic places. I think it's unlikely," he finishes. "Whatever the papers might think."
  
  > ask the man about the plants
  "They've been a hobby for a while. I've been growing things around the house. I'm particularly proud of the bush outside the front."
  
  "But just tell me," he says suddenly. "Is this going to hurt me? Is it like torture?"
  
  > Is what like torture
  "I'm sorry," Mackenzie replies. "I didn't quite follow that."
  
  > ask the man about the bush
  "That bush is one of my personal collection; I made it. Its sap is laced with a chemical that briefly sharpens your reflexes, muscle control, that sort of thing. I use it before I drive."
  
  > Keep going
  "It's not illegal or anything. It's just like caffeine; that comes from plants too."
  
  > ask the man about the papers
  "I read 'The Native'. It's a hackrag, but it's the only paper in my language after all."
  
  > Continue
  "There's been a lot of rubbish recently about Knassion," he remarks. "It's a big thing up there."
  
  > ask the man about the Knassion
  "Knassion?" he smiles. "Everyone else calls it 'Genus K' like it was a codename." He smiles bitterly. "It's a plant designed to reduce the windstorms." There is a pause, and he sighs. "They're a problem for everyone," he replies. "We've been working on it at AlgCorp. But that's not why I'm here, surely?"
  
  > Keep going
  "It's a plant designed to reduce the windstorms." There is a pause, and he sighs. "They're a problem for everyone," he replies. "We've been working on it at AlgCorp. But that's not why I'm here, surely?"
  
  > ask the man about AlgCorp
  "AlgCorp. Nice enough company, too, I suppose. They gave us the house."
  
  > continue
  "AlgCorp. Nice enough company, too, I suppose. More or less the only one we've got," he finishes.
  
  > ask the man about the house
  "We've been in Olympia about ten years now. I like it. I think Laura did too."
  
  > Continue
  "It's a beautiful area," he says wistfully. "The long red deserts and the cracked-up horizon." You feel like reminding him its bone-dry sand, but refrain.
  
  > ask the man about Laura
  "She was American by birth, and came up here to act as a scientific interpreter. She was always gifted with languages; she picked up mine in about a month."
  
  > keep going
  "She worked as a translator," he says, voice shaking.
  
  > Prompt man
  "How could I have poisoned her? I loved her!"
  
  > ask the man about the mars
  "I love my planet. I've never wanted to leave it. We've managed to do without all the problems you have down here. No overcrowding, employment. It's an idyll."
  
  > ask the man how did he fall in the love
  He shakes his head. "I wish I could talk to you in English," he says, "but I never learnt."
  
  > ask the man about torture
  "Look," he says, his voice shaking and his fingers winding around one other like olive trees. "I'm just a scientist. That's all. Just a scientist. You don't have to hurt me."
  
  The door opens briefly and the guard appears. "Brought you some tea, sir," he says politely, and brings a mug over to put on the table. Mackenzie looks startled by this appearance and is offered nothing himself. The guard leaves with a nod and a click of a magnetic lock.
  
  > examine the tea
  The tea is black, no sugar; the mug is white and marked "EUPD" below the department's badge.
  
  > give the tea to the man
  (first taking the mug of tea)
  He looks suspiciously at the mug. "No, thank you."
  
  > take the tea
  You already have that.
  
  > drink the tea
  You sip a little of the tea.
  
  > ask the man about the torture
  "Look," he says, his voice shaking and his fingers winding around one other like olive trees. "I'm just a scientist. That's all. Just a scientist. You don't have to hurt me."
  
  > ask the man about the genus a.
  "Genus A - alaphabax. That one didn't work because it didn't pollinate enough."
  
  > ask the man about the earth
  "The first Earth creature to spread on Mars was the ant, you know that? Building its scurrying colonies, a thousand creatures crawling on each other's backs. Just like your world here; that's waiting to come and infest mine."
  
  > Prompt man
  "You can keep your planet," he spits. "Let me keep mine."
  
  "You can keep your planet," he spits. "Let me keep mine."
  
  > Keep going
  "You can keep your planet," he spits. "Let me keep mine."
  
  > ask the man about crime
  "I don't know! A lab is full of poisons, that's how I work! She must have got into it."
  
  > ask the man about the lab
  "My lab? It's newly installed - only a week ago. I haven't even been in it yet. I don't even know if it's stocked; I didn't oversee the installation, we spent that weekend away. Honestly, I didn't take anything from in there."
  
  > ask the man about the lab
  "My lab? I can't detail it, I've not been there. I suppose there's something poisonous in there, I don't know."
  
  > ask the man who did it
  He is looking blank, again.
  
  > ask the man about AlgCorp
  "AlgCorp. Nice enough company, too, I suppose. More or less the only one we've got," he finishes.
  
  > ask the man about the america
  "I don't know much else about it. I don't speak the language, I have - I had - no interest in visiting Earth."
  
  > ask man about the Earth
  "You can keep your planet," he spits. "Let me keep mine."
  
  > ask the man about the europe
  "What? I don't know... I don't really know anything about it. It's all so far from home. That's why she was doing it, impartiality, or something. Avoid bias in the language used. As though she wouldn't have a bias," he adds, strangely bitter.
  
  > ask man about the face on mars
  "Could you rephrase that?" he says, timidly. "I didn't quite understand."
  
  > ask the man about yourself
  "You're from the police. I know. I know all about you. It's not my field, but it's close."
  
  > ask the man about the europe
  "This is not my idea of a holiday, no."
  
  "What? I don't know... I don't really know anything about it. It's all so far from home. That's why she was doing it, impartiality, or something. Avoid bias in the language used. As though she wouldn't have a bias," he adds, strangely bitter.
  
  > Why did you kill her
  You think very hard, but cannot come up with the right vocabulary to say it in his language.
  
  "But I loved her. Why would I kill the thing I love the most?" His voice is shaking, he may even be close to tears. "She was the beautiful... beautiful thing." He turns away, screwing up his eyes, his fingers curling into themselves. "And I couldn't have killed her."
  
  > Prompt man
  "You have no idea," he says quietly. "You have no idea what you're saying."
  
  > throw the tea at the man
  There is no need for crude torture methods. You are more evolved than that.
  
  > scare man
  MAN, WHY DID YOUR WIFE NEVER LOVE YOU
  
  He has not understood your words, again.
  
  Mackenzie is already quivering right down to his feet.
  
  > Threaten man
  Mackenzie is already quivering right down to his feet.
  
  > look at file
  An A4 brown envelope marked: "MACKENZIE CASE". It is sealed.
  
  > open the envelope
  You slide a finger under the corner of the flap and tear open the envelope.
  
  > read the file
  The Mackenzie case file: It reads:
  
  Summary of crime: Murder - Mackenzie, Laura, 32.
  Prime suspect: Mackenzie, Doctor Yogi, husband, 41.
  Date of crime: 23.5.63
  Location: Bubble 4563. Body found in main bedroom.
  Cause of death: Poison - type unknown.
  Motive: Unknown.
  
  Please clarify unknown variables.
  
  > Inventory
  You are carrying:
  a brown envelope (which is open)
  a case file
  a printed fax
  a plastic card
  
  > read the fax
  A fax-printout photograph of the body, as found by police called to the scene by Dr. Mackenzie. The woman depicted is lying on a bed, her face constricted and her fingers quite stiff and splayed. Her skin has gone a pale white, maybe nearing blue. She is fully clothed, and wearing shoes.
  
  > examine the card
  (the plastic card)
  A standard plastic card, taken from Mackenzie's wallet, that has his house number on it: 4563.
  
  > examine the bush
  A line of bushes growing to about waist-height which border the track for about twenty metres from the house. They are unfamiliar to you, sprawling, with a purple tinge to the leaves.
  
  > eat the leaves
  (first taking the line of bushes)
  You pluck a leaf from the bush with a thick snap. In response the branch moves backwards, far more than just a recoil, curling up into itself. The movement seems to disrupt other branches, sparking a wave that travels down the hedgerow in an uncoordinated squirm of fauna. It is several minutes before it is still once more; by then the leaf in your hand has leaked a fine sap as far as your wrist.
  
  > look at what you're carrying with you
  You are carrying:
  a purple leaf
  a brown envelope (which is open)
  a case file
  a printed fax
  a plastic card
  
  > eat the leaf
  The leaf is tough to chew, and waxy, and taste of little until you have pulped the outer skin when a thin banana-like flavour leaks out. Eventually you cannot swallow the residue of the hide and spit it out.
  
  > eat fax
  (first taking the printed fax)
  That's plainly inedible.
  
  > examine the bubble
  The bubble is a standard home on a standard road, which runs a few hundred metres back to the west. It rises about three metres high and is made of a solid white material over which the dust and winds move quite harmlessly. There are a few windows; thick and acting as mirrors to the seas of dust. There is a door near to you, which a line of bushes lead up on either side of the track.
  
  > open the door
  The door is locked.
  
  > examine the door
  The standard design of door for one of these buildings, with two main doors and a porch between so that the atmosphere inside can be kept slightly fuller. The lock is set into the centre. The door is closed and locked.
  
  > unlock the door with the card
  (the plastic card)
  (first taking the plastic card)
  The doorlock beeps distantly through the thin air, and the light flicks to a pale green.
  
  > open the door
  You push open the door and step into the porch.
  
  The porch is just a short space of corridor, with two large fans built into the walls behind a white-mesh grille. The air is a little better regulated here, and smells fresh and tart, straight from an algae-tank. There is little else here - a rack for shoes and a hook for coats. Either end of this space are the large doors that seal inside from outside, they are east and west respectively.
  
  On the shoe rack are a pair of lady's shoes.
  
  > look in the shoe
  (the lady's shoes)
  You tip up one shoe, then the second, and peer inside. After a little more shaking the left is revealed to contain a small, hardy cactus spine.
  
  > get the spine
  You lift the spine very gingerly indeed.
  
  > look at the spine
  A multi-barbed cactus spine, with a central point from which nine separate needles radiate outward.
  
  You feel momentarily dizzy.
  
  > eat the spine
  That would hardly be wise.
  
  > wear the shoes
  A cyan wire rack for placing shoes on. There is space for four or five pairs, and the rack is worn down, but now it is almost empty. Only one pair of shoes is in attendance.
  
  (your clothing)
  You are already wearing it.
  
  > examine the fan
  The grilles are several feet square; enough to quickly vent this room if pressures demanded it.
  
  > open the fan
  They're just part of the walls.
  
  > Go east
  You open the door with a soft hiss, and go through into the hallway. The lights inside come on automatically.
  
  The hallway of Mackenzie's home is bare but homely, one wall hung with a photograph of some Earth lake surrounded by mountains, and an antiquated-looking coat-stand by the porch door to the west. Doorways lead off in two other directions; the east appears to be a kitchen and the north is a living room. There is no upstairs in the house; the entire upper metre or so is filled solid with various forms of algae, to grow oxygen, regulate temperature and recycle waste.
  
  In one corner is a stubby yucca tree.
  
  > examine the coat stand
  An antique wooden coat-stand.
  
  > move it
  You are unable to.
  
  > examine the tree
  A hardy plant, quite probably capable of growing as easily outside as in.
  
  > take the tree
  The tree is fairly bulky.
  
  > examine photo
  The photograph depicts a lake surrounded by snowy peaks; it is from Ontario or somewhere in the North American continent.
  
  > look behind the photo
  It is securely vacuumed-sealed to the wall.
  
  > go east
  The kitchen is largely uninteresting - a small functional room, a laboratory of life, with the various implements of cooking arranged around the walls. For all the advances in materials over the last thousand years; roasting, baking and boiling still work as before. Just with the addition of microwave generators and plasmacoil hobs.
  
  So against the northwest wall, is a sink; and in one corner a freezer hums quietly to itself.
  
  The floor is seamless bar a square of plexiplastic.
  
  > look at the sink
  A white porcelain sink with a stud marked with a tap, built into the wall.
  
  > examine the square
  A frosted crystal plexiplastic sheet in the centre of the floor.
  
  > take square
  You lift up the hinged sheet of plastic, and lay it to one side, revealing a ladder leading down into the cellar.
  
  > open the freezer
  A blast of cold air hits you from inside. You open the freezer, revealing a shelf of food and some frozen biosamples.
  
  The water shuts off automatically.
  
  > examine the biosamples
  Thirteen frozen biosamples stacked up on the top shelf of the freezer, happily coexisting with a frozen pizza and a chicken. They are labelled "GENUS A" through "GENUS N". Needless to say: one is missing.
  
  > examine the genus k.
  There is a gap where genus K should be.
  
  > look at the Genus E.
  You find the sample for Genus E. Its full name is written on the top: edisonia.