text: [Themes: Science Fiction, prison, gender choice, vehicle]
  
  > Look around
  A utilitarian shower and a saurian toilet, all lit harshly by fluorescent lights that emit a sickly hum.
  
  Sola looks up at you from the toilet bowl.
  
  > Go outside
  This functional corridor ends in a thick steel door marked "Exit". The bare concrete floor has been scratched and scored by heavy machinery, the breezeblock walls dented and stained.
  
  A small terminal is fixed to the wall beside the door.
  
  You can go forward to the canteen, left to the emergency exit, right to the complex: lower level, or back to the bathroom.
  
  > Forward
  Decorated in a homely style - for saurians. The cactus-print wallpaper is peeling and torn.
  
  Various chairs are scattered around a single long table.
  
  A brightly coloured food dispenser stands against the wall.
  
  > examine the dispenser
  The gaudy advertising copy claims it will combine whatever nutrients your biology requires into "palatable" food. The saurian on the logo certainly seems to be enjoying his snake kebab.
  
  There's a big button smack in the middle of the thing.
  
  > take the banana
  Taken.
  
  > examine gruel
  Capable of sustaining orphans, at least.
  
  > look at the spoon
  Not likely to be much help tunnelling out of here.
  
  > eat the gruel
  You eat the gruel.
  
  > examine the bowl
  "Property of the Long Range Matter Transmission Complex. Please return to dispenser tray after use."
  
  > STATUS
  You're Hunkomeat, the male human.
  
  You've earned 1150 credits after 1 mission.
  
  > examine the tray
  On the dispenser tray are a bowl and a spoon.
  
  > examine the banana
  Yellowest of all fruit, save perhaps the lemon.
  
  > look
  Decorated in a homely style - for saurians. The cactus-print wallpaper is peeling and torn.
  
  Various chairs are scattered around a single long table.
  
  A brightly coloured food dispenser stands against the wall.
  
  On the dispenser tray are a bowl and a spoon.
  
  > Leave
  Before leaving, you return your leftovers to the dispenser.
  
  This functional corridor ends in a thick steel door marked "Exit". The bare concrete floor has been scratched and scored by heavy machinery, the breezeblock walls dented and stained.
  
  A small terminal is fixed to the wall beside the door.
  
  You can go forward to the bathroom, left to the complex: lower level, right to the emergency exit, or back to the canteen.
  
  > Right
  (first trying to open the exit)
  The exit seems to be locked.
  
  > look at the exit
  You suspect the only way this thing moving is with Dr. Sliss' consent. It's closed.
  
  > EXITS
  Obvious exits lead left; right; forwards, to the bathroom; and backwards, back to the canteen.
  
  > Left
  Complex: Lower Level
  An expansive, drab space. Perhaps a factory floor after the machinery has been cleared out. A catwalk crosses the room above, beneath the dusty rays of grubby skylights.
  
  A number of armed cyborgs look down from the catwalk.
  
  You can go forward to the infirmary, left to the antechamber, right to the holding cell, or back to a long corridor.
  
  > Back
  This functional corridor ends in a thick steel door marked "Exit". The bare concrete floor has been scratched and scored by heavy machinery, the breezeblock walls dented and stained.
  
  A small terminal is fixed to the wall beside the door.
  
  You can go forward to the emergency exit, left to the bathroom, right to the canteen, or back to the complex: lower level.
  
  > look at the terminal
  The screen is blank. There's a tempting button beneath it.
  
  > Yes
  Purchase successful.
  
  Your purchase has been matter transmitted to your billing address.
  
  > Yes
  --Please wait... OK.--
  
  Your balance: 1050 credits.
  
  2 - Dryzandia Drift
  3 - Drone Fantasies Illustrated
  4 - Lord Jim
  5 - Introduction to Octopode Art
  
  > 0
  --VALU-NET SHOPPING DIRECTORY--
  Your balance: 1050 credits.
  
  2 - Furniture
  3 - Books
  
  > 2
  --Please wait... OK.--
  
  Your balance: 1050 credits.
  
  2 - Double bed
  3 - Lava lamp
  4 - Saurian sculpture
  5 - Apian glowlamp
  
  > 1
  --Please wait... OK.--
  
  Bring some tentacular culture to your living room with this holo-gallery of works by famous octopode artists.
  
  Price: 1000 credits.
  Your balance: 1050 credits.
  
  > Yes
  --Please wait... OK.--
  
  Your balance: 50 credits.
  
  2 - Lava lamp
  3 - Saurian sculpture
  4 - Apian glowlamp
  
  > 2
  --Please wait... OK.--
  
  This unique product of saurian culture can add a real talking point to your room. Are its ever-moving blobs representative of the ceaseless drive of saurians for progress, or our vibrant, party-loving nature?
  
  Price: 250 credits.
  Your balance: 50 credits.
  
  > 0
  --VALU-NET SHOPPING DIRECTORY--
  Your balance: 50 credits.
  
  2 - Furniture
  3 - Books
  
  > 0
  Have a nice day.
  
  > EXITS
  Obvious exits lead left, to the bathroom; right, to the canteen; forwards; and backwards, back to the complex: lower level.
  
  > Right
  A bare room of white walls. Strip lights glare down from the ceiling, and there's an intercom next to the way out.
  
  A white, saurian-style bed occupies the middle of the floor.
  
  A bookshelf is affixed to one wall.
  
  Pleasing shapes float in the air over an octopode holo-projector.
  
  On the bookshelf is Matter Transmission Made Easy.
  
  > look at holothe -the projector
  A silver widget a bit like a desk lamp.
  
  > get all
  bed: The bed is too heavy.
  
  Matter Transmission Made Easy: Taken.
  Octopode holo-gallery: Taken.
  
  > Go outside
  Complex: Lower Level
  An expansive, drab space. Perhaps a factory floor after the machinery has been cleared out. A catwalk crosses the room above, beneath the dusty rays of grubby skylights.
  
  A number of armed cyborgs look down from the catwalk.
  
  You can go forward to the antechamber, left to a long corridor, right to the infirmary, or back to the holding cell.
  
  > Left
  This functional corridor ends in a thick steel door marked "Exit". The bare concrete floor has been scratched and scored by heavy machinery, the breezeblock walls dented and stained.
  
  A small terminal is fixed to the wall beside the door.
  
  You can go forward to the emergency exit, left to the bathroom, right to the canteen, or back to the complex: lower level.
  
  > check your inventory
  You are carrying Matter Transmission Made Easy and an Octopode holo-gallery, and you're wearing a collar and an orange uniform.
  
  > read the book
  There are those, of course, who say, "Why meddle? Why pick apart the vague beauty of the Multiverse? Why try to expose mysteries and unlock power we are unlikely to use wisely?"
  
  It is worth noting how many of these naysayers are in their thirties or forties. How many are in their fifties, sixties or even older.
  Because it is precisely the drive of intelligent, questioning minds to find out what is true, how things work, to try to unravel the secrets of even something as sacred as the living body - it is precisely that drive which has enabled them to live to such a ripe old age that they can preach nostalgically about more ignorant times.
  
  Some would suggest that to see a flower as an inscrutable object of bright colours is more romantic, more inspiring, than to appreciate its inner workings as a complex structure of intricate cells, nourished by waves of energy from its nearest stars, part of a complex, changing ecosystem and an ancient, unspoken symbiosis.
  
  As someone with a more thorough grounding in science than art, I cannot dispute this view, much as I may feel quite the opposite. But however unromantic the scientist's flower may be, even less appealing is the plague; the child who dies in infancy; the cry for help that travels too slow.
  
  If the role of dispelling mystery, crushing fancy and profaning the sacred is one to be shunned, I still embrace it, as the alternative is far worse still.
  
  > Examine book
  The cover shows a swirl of tesselating shapes that give you a slight headache. The author's picture on the back is disturbingly familiar.
  
  > look at the picture
  "ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Dr. Lisella Sliss is a graduate of Srrisni University with as many widely accepted theories to her name as controversial hypotheses. She is currently working for the Dryzandian government on an undisclosed project."
  
  > give the book to Sola
  "Wait," Sola says, "she wrote this? Ah well, it'll do."
  
  Zie swallows the book whole. "I still need an Octopode holo-gallery, and a lava lamp."
  
  > look at the holo
  A silver widget a bit like a desk lamp.
  
  > give the holo to Sola
  "Excellent," Sola says. "Now I just need to strip out the hyperdimensional EM-threader and unplug the magnetic tape heads."
  
  Zie swallows the projector whole. "Now all I need is a lava lamp."
  
  > Go inside
  An enormous metal dome lit by the distant floodlights that surround an armoured observation window. A huge antenna aims directly down at you from above.
  
  A metal chair is bolted to the floor.
  
  An armoured airlock door leads out.
  
  Dr. Sliss appears at the observation window.
  
  > sit
  (on the metal chair)
  You sit on the metal chair. Restraints clunk into place around your wrists and ankles. As the transmission machinery hums to life, the world elongates into a one-dimensional line - which then disappears.
  
  With the sound of billions of molecules snapping into place, you pop back into existence - falling some distance to the ground.
  
  Asteroid 0 E 0 N (lying on the ground)
  Warped dunes and craters curve dramatically towards the near horizon, beneath a starry, airless sky.
  
  > look at the scanner
  A small, ergonomic gizmo with a bright LCD screen.
  
  The screen shows:
  A moving blip at 3 E, 2 N.
  
  > Go northeast
  (first standing up)
  Asteroid 1 E 1 N
  Warped dunes and craters curve dramatically towards the near horizon, beneath a starry, airless sky.
  
  > Go northeast
  Warped dunes and craters curve dramatically towards the near horizon, beneath a starry, airless sky.
  
  > go east
  Warped dunes and craters curve dramatically towards the near horizon, beneath a starry, airless sky.
  
  A mining drone drills into the rock here.
  
  > Tag drone
  You aim the launcher, squeeze its trigger, and splatter a sticky homing tag onto the mining drone.
  
  The mining drone lifts its drill from the ground and turns to face you.
  
  > Examine scanner
  A small, ergonomic gizmo with a bright LCD screen.
  
  The screen shows:
  A moving blip at 3 E, 2 N. (Tagged.)
  
  The mining drone drills your right arm.
  
  > go to the southwest
  Warped dunes and craters curve dramatically towards the near horizon, beneath a starry, airless sky.
  
  You've escaped the mining drone.
  
  > examine arm
  Which arm do you mean, your right arm, or your left arm?
  
  > Right
  Your right arm is injured.
  
  > Examine scanner
  A small, ergonomic gizmo with a bright LCD screen.
  
  The screen shows:
  A moving blip at 3 E, 2 N. (Tagged.)
  
  > go to the north-west
  Warped dunes and craters curve dramatically towards the near horizon, beneath a starry, airless sky.
  
  > Examine scanner
  A small, ergonomic gizmo with a bright LCD screen.
  
  The screen shows:
  A large blip at -2 E, 6 N.
  A moving blip at 3 E, 2 N. (Tagged.)
  
  > Go north
  Warped dunes and craters curve dramatically towards the near horizon, beneath a starry, airless sky.
  
  You see a gold vein here.
  
  > Tag gold
  You aim the launcher, squeeze its trigger, and splatter a sticky homing tag onto the gold vein.
  
  > Examine scanner
  A small, ergonomic gizmo with a bright LCD screen.
  
  The screen shows:
  A large blip at -2 E, 6 N. (Tagged.)
  A large blip at -5 E, 5 N.
  
  > go west
  Warped dunes and craters curve dramatically towards the near horizon, beneath a starry, airless sky.
  
  You see a meteorite here.
  
  > look at the meteorite
  What other kind of rock would be sitting in the middle of a crater like that?
  
  > tag it
  You aim the launcher, squeeze its trigger, and splatter a sticky homing tag onto the meteorite.
  
  > look at the scanner
  A small, ergonomic gizmo with a bright LCD screen.
  
  The screen shows:
  A large blip at -2 E, 6 N. (Tagged.)
  A large blip at -5 E, 5 N. (Tagged.)
  
  > Examine scanner
  A small, ergonomic gizmo with a bright LCD screen.
  
  The screen shows:
  A large blip at -5 E, 5 N. (Tagged.)
  
  > Examine scanner
  A small, ergonomic gizmo with a bright LCD screen.
  
  The screen shows:
  A large blip at -2 E, 6 N. (Tagged.)
  A large blip at -6 E, -2 N.
  A large blip at -5 E, 5 N. (Tagged.)
  
  > Examine scanner
  A small, ergonomic gizmo with a bright LCD screen.
  
  The screen shows:
  A large blip at -6 E, -2 N. (Tagged.)
  
  A small, ergonomic gizmo with a bright LCD screen.
  
  The screen shows:
  A large blip at -6 E, -2 N. (Tagged.)
  
  > Examine scanner
  A small, ergonomic gizmo with a bright LCD screen.
  
  The screen shows:
  A large blip at -6 E, -2 N. (Tagged.)
  A moving blip at -2 E, -6 N.
  
  > Examine scanner
  A small, ergonomic gizmo with a bright LCD screen.
  
  The screen shows:
  A moving blip at -2 E, -7 N.
  
  > go south
  Warped dunes and craters curve dramatically towards the near horizon, beneath a starry, airless sky.
  
  An insectoid sea skater glides over the water.
  
  The science rover leaves to the west.
  
  > Examine scanner
  A small, ergonomic gizmo with a bright LCD screen.
  
  The screen shows:
  A moving blip at -3 E, -7 N.
  
  > go west
  Warped dunes and craters curve dramatically towards the near horizon, beneath a starry, airless sky.
  
  An insectoid sea skater glides over the water.
  
  > Examine scanner
  A small, ergonomic gizmo with a bright LCD screen.
  
  The screen shows:
  A moving blip at -3 E, -7 N.
  
  Your watch starts vibrating. Everything begins to glow. You feel a sensation like being pulled backwards down your own throat.
  
  You materialise in the matter transmission chamber with a pop, and fall flailing to the ground.
  
  Transmission Chamber (lying on the floor)
  An enormous metal dome lit by the distant floodlights that surround an armoured observation window. A huge antenna aims directly down at you from above.
  
  A metal chair is bolted to the floor.
  
  An armoured airlock door leads out.
  
  Dr. Sliss looks down at you from the observation window.
  
  "Welcome home, Hunkomeat," the doctor booms over the tannoy. "It looks like 4 of our retrieval tanks received salvage. Let's see what you tagged..."
  
  "A mining drone full of valuable space rocks. Don't mind if I do thanks."
  [Cash +500]
  
  "Oh ho ho, some bona fide gold. You're one sharp prospector, Hunkomeat."
  [Cash +500]
  
  "An asteroid full of valuable space metals."
  [Cash +300]
  
  "An asteroid full of valuable space metals."
  [Cash +300]
  
  Dr. Sliss literally jumps for joy. "Hoo boy, what a treasure trove! I could kiss you, Hunkomeat - you know, if you weren't a monkey."
  
  > Tag rover
  You aim the launcher, squeeze its trigger, and splatter a sticky homing tag onto the science rover.
  
  The science rover flees to the west.
  
  Your watch starts vibrating. Everything begins to glow. You feel a sensation like being pulled backwards down your own throat.
  
  You materialise in the matter transmission chamber with a pop, and fall flailing to the ground.
  
  Transmission Chamber (lying on the floor)
  An enormous metal dome lit by the distant floodlights that surround an armoured observation window. A huge antenna aims directly down at you from above.
  
  A metal chair is bolted to the floor.
  
  An armoured airlock door leads out.
  
  Dr. Sliss looks down at you from the observation window.
  
  "Welcome home, Hunkomeat," the doctor booms over the tannoy. "All five retrieval tanks received salvage! Let's see what you tagged..."
  
  "A mining drone full of valuable space rocks. Don't mind if I do thanks."
  [Cash +500]
  
  "Oh ho ho, some bona fide gold. You're one sharp prospector, Hunkomeat."
  [Cash +500]
  
  "An asteroid full of valuable space metals."
  [Cash +300]
  
  "An asteroid full of valuable space metals."
  [Cash +300]
  
  "Someone else's robotic probe, and all their lovely research data. The very best kind of theft, in my experience."
  [Cash +250]
  
  Dr. Sliss literally jumps for joy. "Hoo boy, what a treasure trove! I could kiss you, Hunkomeat - you know, if you weren't a monkey."
  
  > go outside
  (first standing up)
  
  A long, narrow room, the walls bulging with strange pipes and machinery. The most notable feature is the thickly armoured airlock door leading further in. Either side of the airlock are an equipment rack and a glass tube. A more conventional exit leads back out.
  
  You can go forward to the complex lower level, or back to the transmission chamber.
  
  You change out of your environment suit and return your equipment to the racks.
  
  The exit unlocks with a click.
  
  > Leave
  (first opening the exit)
  
  Complex: Lower Level
  An expansive, drab space. Perhaps a factory floor after the machinery has been cleared out. A catwalk crosses the room above, beneath the dusty rays of grubby skylights.
  
  A number of armed cyborgs look down from the catwalk.
  
  You can go forward to the holding cell, left to the infirmary, right to a long corridor, or back to the antechamber.
  
  > Left
  A single white bed stands in the centre of the room, overlooked by an expansive observation window.
  
  A long mechanical arm hangs from the ceiling, ending in the torso of a white auto-doc.
  
  The auto-doc tends to your injuries. "Be sure to get a check-up before you shed your next exoskeleton."
  
  You feel much better now.
  
  > Go outside
  Complex: Lower Level
  An expansive, drab space. Perhaps a factory floor after the machinery has been cleared out. A catwalk crosses the room above, beneath the dusty rays of grubby skylights.
  
  A number of armed cyborgs look down from the catwalk.
  
  You can go forward to a long corridor, left to the holding cell, right to the antechamber, or back to the infirmary.
  
  > R.
  A bare room of white walls. Strip lights glare down from the ceiling, and there's an intercom next to the way out.
  
  A white, saurian-style bed occupies the middle of the floor.
  
  A bookshelf is affixed to one wall.
  
  A lava lamp throws strange patterns against the wall.
  
  > examine the lamp
  A cheap plastic tube full of glowing, slowly undulating fluid.
  
  > take it
  Taken.
  
  > Go outside
  Complex: Lower Level
  An expansive, drab space. Perhaps a factory floor after the machinery has been cleared out. A catwalk crosses the room above, beneath the dusty rays of grubby skylights.
  
  A number of armed cyborgs look down from the catwalk.
  
  You can go forward to the antechamber, left to a long corridor, right to the infirmary, or back to the holding cell.
  
  > give the lamp to Sola
  "Okay," Sola says. "This should have the isotopes I need."
  
  Zie swallows the lamp whole. "That's it! It'll take some time to get this thing assembled and transmitting, so you might like to get some sleep or take a mission or something. After that, the cavalry should be here in an instant..."
  
  Sola disappears down the U-bend.
  
  > R.
  A bare room of white walls. Strip lights glare down from the ceiling, and there's an intercom next to the way out.
  
  A white, saurian-style bed occupies the middle of the floor.
  
  A small wardrobe stands beside your bed.
  
  A bookshelf is affixed to one wall.
  
  > examine the wardrobe
  It's closed.
  
  > open it
  Opening the wardrobe reveals an LRMT uniform.
  
  > look at uniform
  (the orange uniform)
  It identifies you as convict #76954, albeit not in human numerals.
  
  > examine lrmt
  (the LRMT icon)
  A small image of Dryzandia with a beam shooting out of it.
  
  > take it
  You can't have that; it's part of the LRMT uniform.
  
  > examine the lrmt uniform
  A practical blue uniform with a flashy icon on one shoulder and your rank ("Test Subject") on the other.
  
  > wear it
  You remove your orange uniform. You put on the LRMT uniform.
  
  > put the orange uniform in the wardrobe
  (first taking the orange uniform)
  Done.
  
  > Exit
  Complex: Lower Level
  An expansive, drab space. Perhaps a factory floor after the machinery has been cleared out. A catwalk crosses the room above, beneath the dusty rays of grubby skylights.
  
  A number of armed cyborgs look down from the catwalk.
  
  You can go forward to the antechamber, left to a long corridor, right to the infirmary, or back to the holding cell.
  
  Dr. Sliss is leaning over the catwalk, smoking a cigarette.
  
  > look at sliss
  Her skin consists of shimmering green scales, and her golden, slit-pupil eyes hold a calculating beauty. She is standing on the catwalk.
  
  Dr. Sliss is carrying a cigarette, and she's wearing a labcoat, a white blouse, a grey skirt, and red shoes.
  
  > examine the skirt
  Rather smart and elegant. At least as much as it can be with her tail poking out the back.
  
  > look up skirt
  What do you want to look that up in?
  
  > R.
  A bare room of white walls. Strip lights glare down from the ceiling, and there's an intercom next to the way out.
  
  A white, saurian-style bed occupies the middle of the floor.
  
  A small wardrobe stands beside your bed.
  
  A bookshelf is affixed to one wall.
  
  The wardrobe contains some pyjamas and an orange uniform.
  
  > examine the pyjamas
  Warm and comfortable flannel pyjamas, with a flap in the back for a saurian's tail.
  
  > wear the pyjamas
  (first taking the pyjamas)
  You remove your LRMT uniform. You put on the pyjamas.
  
  > Sleep
  You never learned to sleep standing up. Or if you did, you've unlearned it.
  
  > lie on the bed
  You lie down awkwardly on the bed. It's not very comfortable.
  
  > Sleep
  You manage to get slightly comfortable and doze for a while. You're woken by a bright flash. When you open your eyes, there are several soldiers in desert camouflage in the room. Before you can do or say anything, several of the soldiers jump on you.
  
  Prison Van (standing in the restraints)
  Cramped; windowless; the thickly armoured walls are painted regulation grey. Steel chains dangle from the ceiling and tantalisingly open doors lead out.
  
  Dr. Sliss is chained up next to you. She looks really, really angry.
  
  An officious looking apian stands before you in desert camouflage.
  
  > look at Apian
  A burly apian worker with a battle-scarred exoskeleton and one antenna missing.
  
  The commander is carrying a clipboard and a shock stick.
  
  "Dr. Sliss," the apian says, "this Core Alliance Enforcement Team is arresting you on behalf of the Dryzandian government."
  
  "I work for the Dryzandian government," Dr. Sliss hisses.
  
  "Your project is being shut down," the apian continues, "and you are being remanded to prison."
  
  (You could defend Sliss, repudiate her, or say nothing.)
  
  > defend myself
  You try to argue, but the apian cuts you off. "I don't wanna hear it."
  
  "It's not his fault!" Dr. Sliss shouts. "Didn't you hear him? I'm the bad guy! When I get out of these restraints, I'm gonna-"
  
  The apian touches her shock stick to the doctor's throat. The saurian yelps and then slumps forward.
  
  The apian sighs. "Much better."
  
  > look at clipboard
  You can't read it from here, but there are photos of you and Dr. Sliss on it.
  
  The apian is about to leave when Sola squirms into the van. "Commander Zrzh! Wait! What are you doing? Didn't you get my report? Give these two immunity, let them testify against the Dryzandian-"
  
  The apian shakes her head. "It's politics, agent Sola. Do you have any idea how many prisoners the Core has sent to Dryzandia over the years? You want them to start sending them back?"
  
  The commander stomps off. Sola looks at you sadly for a second, and then follows after her.
  
  > cry
  There there.
  
  Dr. Sliss sobs quietly to herself. Or is she laughing? Her tail appears with a keyring dangling from its tip, and she stretches lazily.
  
  "Very few saurians have prehensile tails," the doctor explains as she unlocks her chains. "Which is why cops from other species rarely know to restrain them. Not that I've ever been arrested before. Much."
  
  As her restraints fall to the floor, she puts her hands on her hips. "Come on: who's the greatest?"
  
  (You could tell her she's the greatest, or say nothing.)
  
  > tell her she's the greatest
  Dr. Sliss listens to your compliment with pride. "Don't I know it."
  
  She unlocks your restraints. "Naturally, I have an escape plan. You can tag along if you want. It should halve my chances of getting shot."
  
  > Leave
  The two of you burst out of the prison van.
  
  Desert sand stretches as far as you can see, mercilessly reflecting the harsh sunlight. The complex itself is a low dome sunken into wind-blasted rock.
  
  The prison van stands beside a road that curves off into the distance.
  
  Dr. Sliss is standing here in brazen defiance of the Core Alliance.
  
  An octopode in desert camouflage stands guard beside an apian with a plasma blaster.
  
  Dr. Sliss tail-whips the apian, who collapses into an unconscious heap.
  
  The octopode charges you with tentacles outstretched!
  
  > kick the octopode
  You dodge the octopode's tentacles and punch him in his boneless head. Concussed, he falls to the ground unconscious.
  
  Dr. Sliss picks up the plasma blaster. "You know, I once paid good money to see a human wrestle an octopode, and here you are giving it away for free."
  
  > search the octopode
  There's nothing unusual in the octopode guard.
  
  Somewhere nearby, you hear alarmed shouts.
  
  Dr. Sliss kicks off her heels and sprints forwards towards the complex. "Follow me if you wanna live!"
  
  > follow Sliss
  You chase after the doctor. The voices draw nearer. A few bolts of plasma flash overhead.
  
  A dimly lit maze of concrete pillars. White lines divide the floor into empty parking spaces.
  
  Something sits in one of the spaces, covered in tarpaulin.
  
  Dr. Sliss is taking cover behind one of the columns.
  
  She waves you over. "Get that tarp off! I'll cover you!"
  
  > remove the tarp
  You grab the edge of the tarpaulin and pull... unveiling a sleek red vehicle that looks like a jet engine mounted between two huge wheels.
  
  Dr. Sliss shrugs. "Yeah, I don't look the type. But I've always been an impulse buyer. I mean, I bought you, didn't I?"
  
  > Yes
  "My dearest, favourite human," the doctor says, "let's talk when we're not being shot at."
  
  "Okay," the doctor says, "you drive, I'll shoot."
  
  > enter the vehicle
  You climb onto the jet bike's leather saddle and take a firm hold of the handlebars.
  
  Dr. Sliss gets on behind you, wrapping an arm around your waist.
  "Punch it, Hunkomeat!"
  
  You fire up the bike's jet engine and roar unsteadily out of the garage, plasma bolts flying past you in every direction.
  
  Wasteland Throughway 13 (left lane)
  Black tarmac bisects the sun-bright glare of the desert sand, a thin line of darkness that stops only at the boundary to the clear blue sky.
  
  You're in the saddle of a sleek red jet bike, hurtling forward at breakneck speed.
  
  Dr. Sliss is behind you, one arm tight around your waist, the other wielding a plasma blaster.
  
  "You have ridden a jet bike before, right?" Dr. Sliss shouts out from behind you. "Accelerate, brake, left, right... A chimp could do it. Which is fortunate."
  
  > About yourself
  How do you get in these predicaments?
  
  "Nobody's following us?" Dr. Sliss says. "I'm almost disappointed."
  
  > Inventory
  You are carrying nothing, and are wearing some pyjamas and a collar.
  
  With the throaty roar of a personal rocket pack, an Alliance Enforcer appears behind you.
  
  Dr Sliss readies her plasma blaster. "Me and my big mouth."
  
  > accelerate
  With a thunderous roar, the afterburner kicks in. You cling to the handlebars with all your strength.
  
  The enforcer seems to have no trouble keeping pace with you.
  
  Dr. Sliss yells into your ear. "Hit the gas! We've gotta lose our new friend!"
  
  > Continue
  With a thunderous roar, the afterburner kicks in. You cling to the handlebars with all your strength.
  
  The enforcer seems to have no trouble keeping pace with you.
  
  Dr. Sliss aims the plasma blaster and squeezes off a shot at the enforcer.
  
  > Wait
  Dr. Sliss fires another shot at the enforcer. "Hold still, damn you!"
  
  > Wait
  Dr. Sliss yells into your ear. "She's gaining on us! Can't you go any faster?"
  
  > accelerate
  With a thunderous roar, the afterburner kicks in. You cling to the handlebars with all your strength.
  
  The enforcer seems to have no trouble keeping pace with you.
  
  Dr. Sliss fires wildly at the enforcer, bolts of plasma churning up the tarmac behind you.
  
  > continue
  With a thunderous roar, the afterburner kicks in. You cling to the handlebars with all your strength.
  
  The enforcer seems to have no trouble keeping pace with you.
  
  The doctor finally gets off a lucky shot, hitting the enforcer's rocket pack. Straining her wings, the enforcer manages to land in a roll.
  
  Dr. Sliss whoops and punches the air. "In your face!"
  
  You hear a familiar sound - another rocket pack! This time a saurian enforcer is approaching you from behind.
  
  > Brake
  The jet engine winds down.
  
  The enforcer hits the brakes too, narrowly avoiding running into your back.
  
  "Watch out!" Dr. Sliss shouts. "He's trying to get alongside us!"
  
  > Brake
  The jet engine winds down.
  
  The enforcer hits the brakes too, narrowly avoiding running into your back.
  
  Dr. Sliss yells into your ear. "Get us out of here!"
  
  > accelerate
  With a thunderous roar, the afterburner kicks in. You cling to the handlebars with all your strength.
  
  The enforcer seems to have no trouble keeping pace with you.
  
  Dr. Sliss turns to fire several shots at the enforcer. "Back off!"
  
  > accelerate
  With a thunderous roar, the afterburner kicks in. You cling to the handlebars with all your strength.
  
  The enforcer seems to have no trouble keeping pace with you.
  
  Dr. Sliss keep shooting. "You know, I've never really fired one of these before today."
  
  > Right
  You steer into the right lane.
  
  The enforcer sees his chance to accelerate up alongside of you.
  
  "Eat this!" the doctor screams firing at the enforcer.
  
  > Brake
  The jet engine winds down.
  
  The enforcer slows to keep pace with you.
  
  A shot from the doctor's plasma blaster hits the enforcer's rocket pack, and he suddenly launches up into the sky, exploding at his apex like a firework full of jet fuel.
  
  "I'm sure he'll be fine," Dr. Sliss says.
  
  "That's it!" Dr. Sliss says triumphantly. "They can't have more than two rocket packs. We're home free."
  
  Along the horizon ahead you can see a row of blinking blue lights.
  
  > accelerate
  With a thunderous roar, the afterburner kicks in. You cling to the handlebars with all your strength.
  
  "Okay," Dr. Sliss says, grabbing your shoulders painfully tight.
  "Don't panic! We can punch through. Give it all you've got!"
  
  > Continue
  With a thunderous roar, the afterburner kicks in. You cling to the handlebars with all your strength.
  
  You ram through between two police cars, saurian cops scattering out of your way as the vehicles are tossed to the side. A few of the cops get off shots at you, but you're out of range in seconds.
  
  "Can I open my eyes now?" Dr. Sliss asks. "Alright! I knew you could do it. Look out!"
  
  As you thunder down the road at incredible speed, you're hurtling towards a billboard on a sharp bend.
  
  > look at the billboard
  The bilboard advertises Eggulax, helping saurian women pass unfertilised eggs when it's "that time of the year".
  
  The few seconds you spend reading the advertisement is all that's needed to hit it. Your bike erupts into a bright red explosion, incinerating its two passengers in the process.
  
  > Brake
  The jet engine winds down. You slam on the brakes. The bike's huge tyres lock tight, but you keep going, leaving twin streaks of molten rubber on the road.
  
  Dr. Sliss screams and grabs you so tight you can barely breathe.
  
  And then suddenly you're clear. You've made it safely around the corner and you're racing off down the open road once more.
  
  Dr. Sliss collapses limply against your back. "Holy shit, I don't think I can take any more of this."
  
  > Wait
  Time passes...
  
  Ahead of you, great towers rise from the desert.
  
  Dr. Sliss leans over your shoulder to point at a small and shabby tower block. "I don't like our chances of getting far into the city, but we should be able to reach my apartment. From there, well..."
  
  It's... a mess. Clothes and books are thrown haphazardly on every surface, along with circuitboards, tools and spare parts. Beneath all the clutter you can just make out a sofa and an aquarium.
  
  In the centre of the room is a small platform beneath a familiar-looking antenna.
  
  Dr. Sliss spins around, hands outstretched. "Of course you're not surprised I built one in my spare time, are you? It should be able to safely fire a couple of times. Before blowing out power across the city."
  
  (You could ask her about the exploding collar, or her plans.)
  
  > ask Sliss about the collar
  "I suppose I owe it to you not to let your head explode," Dr. Sliss says, grabbing a screwdriver from a nearby surface.
  
  After a little poking and prodding, the collar drops to the floor.
  
  > ask Sliss about the plans
  She winks. "Oh, don't worry about me. I've got somewhere nice lined up. You can come if you want. I mean, I kind of like you as a test subject - maybe even a friend. Or I can send you off somewhere by yourself and you'll never see me again."
  
  > ask Sliss about the platform
  "It's nice to finally talk to you as if we were equals," Dr. Sliss says, "but any second now the cops are going to be bashing down that door."
  
  > follow Sliss
  Dr. Sliss is right here.
  
  The doctor looks at her aquarium. "Let me just get my..."
  
  Her shoulders slump. "Great. I forgot to fucking feed them."
  
  > examine the aquarium
  Full of dead fish floating belly-side up.
  
  Dr. Sliss looks around nervously. "When you're ready, get on the platform."
  
  > take the collar
  Taken.
  
  "By the way," Dr. Sliss says, "call me Lisella. No, wait, I changed my mind. Keep calling me Dr. Sliss."
  
  > stand on the platform
  Okay, you're now standing on the platform.
  
  Dr. Sliss looks around her apartment and sighs. "Well, this is it then. Do you want to go where I'm going?"
  
  (You could say yes or no.)
  
  > Yes
  She tries not to smile too widely as she works the controls to her homemade matter transmitter. "Oh really? Well, for what I have in store next, I think we should be equal partners. Almost equal partners. Sixty-forty my way. Seventy-thirty. We'll negotiate."
  
  With a hop and a skip, Dr. Sliss jumps onto the platform with you, and you feel the familiar sensation of being beamed through time, space and alternate realities.
  
  Today's the day of the big demonstration. Of course you'll turn up. What you'll do once you get there is another question.
  
  A raised platform surrounded by a precarious railing. From here you can look out across smoking chimneys and slate tiled roofs, or watch airships churn stubbornly into the rain-shrouded sky.
  
  A cable car can take you down to the streets.
  
  > examine the hat
  You'd think a world with headwear like this would have taller doorways.
  
  > examine the suit
  It actually has a lot more than three pieces. You think you've remembered them all.
  
  > look at the airships
  From luxury liners to ragtag cutters.
  
  > examine the cable car
  Rusted and well used, but otherwise mostly stable.