Counterfeit Monkey — 124 of 292

Part 2 - Direct Disobedience

Section 1 - Traffic Circle

["The population has often been atomized (turned into a mass of isolated individuals) unable to work together to achieve freedom, to confide in each other, or even do much of anything at their own initiative." -- From Dictatorship to Democracy, Gene Sharp.]

[This scene wraps up Act 2, which has been about themes of concealment and performance, forcing the player to act on a large stage.

Designwise, it attempts to

-- reinforce the teaching about how to use the origin paste, which the player will need again to create the pass

-- establish the restoration-gel rifle and ways of using it well in advance of the endgame; at least hint at the idea of shooting an opponent's gun as well as the opponent himself

-- provide a small, focused set scene as a pacing contrast to the more sprawling, broad passages that come before and (especially) after

Expositionally, it has to

-- establish the symbolism of Atlantida, the propaganda war by which both sides try to lay claim to her, and the special significance of the squid

-- show Alex beginning to move away from his cowardice and embrace the abilities that Andra gives him (though in this case that can be a serious misjudgment)

-- drive home ideas about localized linguistic effectiveness mentioned briefly in the Lena scene

Dramatically, it tries to

-- bookend Act 2, counterbalance the hiding scene with the Authenticator that begins the act, and thus point out the change in Alexandra's courage and attitude.

-- create the first complicity questions about Andra's relationship to Alex: does she want to do the same things he does? Alex's appetite for violence in this scene is stronger than Andra's, though in other places he claims to be a nonviolent person; this is the expression of the rage of an oppressed person finally coming to the top

-- establish that the Bureau is a genuine and serious threat, as this is the first time we see them do something seriously awful

]

After going to Roundabout when the protesters are not off-stage and the player is not in Traffic Circle and seeking Slango has ended:

if the player is hurrying:

say "[path-walked so far][paragraph break][line break]";

clear path-walked for player;

increase path description count by 1;

say "The whole Roundabout has ground to a halt, with protesters walking in the street and in some places completely filling the road. But this is mostly a nuisance until I notice that there are a couple of teenagers handcuffed to a tree.

I give the wheel a yank and run the car up onto the central traffic circle a little way. Call it a parking job. We need to get those kids out of here before their arrest is processed and they go to storage. I might not have the nerve to do anything by myself, but you're with me, and I'm starting to appreciate that's like being Batman.";

if the player is in a car (called target):

move the target to Traffic Circle;

follow the compass-drawing rule instead;

otherwise:

move the player to Traffic Circle;

follow the compass-drawing rule instead.

Sanity-check doing something when the location is Traffic Circle and the player is in a car:

if the noun is a thing and the noun is not enclosed by the car and the noun is not the car:

say "We don't have a good angle on the action from inside the car." instead;

if the second noun is a thing and the second noun is not enclosed by the car and the second noun is not the car:

say "We don't have a good angle on the action from inside the car." instead;

Sanity-check exiting when the player is in an undisguised car and the location is Traffic Circle:

say "I can see an officer making his way between the cars and stopping at the fake ones. Maybe we'd better conceal our car before we leave it [--] we may need to make a quick getaway later." instead.

Check waving the letter-remover at the Traffic Circle when the current setting of the letter-remover is "l":

say "Perhaps a Traffic Circe would be able to turn cars into pigs, but the letter-remover has neither the imagination nor the power to bring this entity to life." instead.

Traffic Circle is inside from the Roundabout. It is a privately-controlled outdoors road.

Procedural rule while dropping the restoration-gel rifle when the location is Traffic Circle:

ignore the no-dropping rule.

Rule for describing the interior of the car when the location is Traffic Circle:

say "Normally no pedestrian ever comes to this circle of grass and litter: the flow of traffic is too constant and too fast. But the protest has stopped the traffic and I'm determined to do something about the two teenagers I saw just now, so here we are. Though we probably have to get out of the car if we're going to be useful.";

rule succeeds.

Instead of going to Traffic Circle:

if the player is in the car:

say "Parking on or next to the Traffic Circle is a terrible idea when the traffic is moving at all.";

otherwise:

say "We'd get killed crossing traffic if we tried to cross there.";

[Sanity-check going nowhere in Traffic Circle:

if the noun is up or the noun is down:

make no decision;

otherwise:

try going out instead.]

A description-concealing rule when the player is in a car (called target car) and the location is Traffic Circle:

now everything which is not enclosed by the target car is not marked for listing.

A ranking rule for the giant Atlantida statue:

increase the description-rank of the giant Atlantida statue by 50.

The giant Atlantida statue is a distant fixed in place enterable supporter in Traffic Circle.

"A [giant Atlantida statue] stands at the cen[ter][if something unsuitable is on the giant Atlantida statue], decorated in an unorthodox fashion with [a list of unsuitable things on the giant Atlantida statue][end if][if the signet is on the giant Atlantida statue]. [A signet], outsized, representing the seal of the Bureau, hangs around her neck in classic albatross fashion[end if][if the restoration-gel rifle is in the location]. [The restoration-gel rifle] is propped against the base of the statue[end if]."

The introduction is "Atlantida is to us a bit as Uncle Sam might be to you, except that she embodies the spirit of the people rather than the government. In recent years she's become a symbol of opposition to the Bureau."

The huge-metal-arm is part of the giant Atlantida statue. It is a distant fixed in place enterable supporter. The printed name is "huge metal arm". Understand "huge" or "enormous" or "metal" or "arm" as the huge-metal-arm. The description of the huge-metal-arm is "It is bare and muscular, as though Atlantida is envisioned championing her people through a series of arm-wrestling matches."

Rule for writing a topic sentence about someone (called the target) who is on the huge-metal-arm:

say "[The target] has climbed partway out along Atlantida's [huge-metal-arm]."

The olive branch is on the huge-metal-arm. The description is "A metal olive branch, complete with metal leaves and metal olives." Understand "leaves" or "metal" or "olives" as the olive branch.

A description-concealing rule when the location is Traffic Circle:

now the olive branch is not marked for listing;

now every car is not marked for listing;

To decide what object is home for (item - the olive branch):

decide on huge-metal-arm.

To decide what object is home for (item - the live branch):

decide on huge-metal-arm.

After waving the letter-remover at the olive branch creating the live branch:

now the live branch is part of the huge-metal-arm;

say "[one of]It takes a little more care with aim than usual, but we do manage to strike the olive branch, turning it into a live branch. It goes green and healthy at once[or]Confidently we reconvert the olive branch[stopping].

[irritation reaction].";

Irritation count is a number that varies.

Last irritation is a time that varies.

To say irritation reaction:

if the irritation count is:

-- 0: say "The All-Purpose Officer glances around, but [if the player encloses the rifle]you've made us stand so our body conceals the rifle from his angle[otherwise]he doesn't notice us[end if]. He growls in annoyance. 'Station,' he says, apparently to thin air. 'I need back-up.'[paragraph break][i]Understood[/i], says a tinny distant voice";

-- 1: say "'The power of the people!' shouts one of the protesters approvingly.[paragraph break]'Station,' comments the All-Purpose Officer. 'Aborting work on the statue until back-up arrives. Situation here is volatile.'[paragraph break][i]NEGATIVE[/i], replies his tinny interlocutor. [i]Statue to remain clear as first priority. This is from Oracle[/i]";

-- 2: say "The protesters are cheering and stamping their feet. People in the cars are honking. The All-Purpose Officer tries to crane his head around and see who exactly is making all the trouble, but he quickly realizes he can't do that and hold on at the same time";

-- 3: say "'[i]Guillemets[/i],' swears the All-Purpose Officer, daringly.[paragraph break][i]Did not copy, say again?[/i] asks the tinny invisible radio.[paragraph break]'Did Oracle happen to say why the statue was top priority?' asks the Officer.[paragraph break][i]That's a negative,[/i] responds the radio";

-- 4: say "'Station,' growls the All-Purpose Officer into thin air. 'I am underpowered and back-up is not arriving. We need three vans and a DP tank.' His face is shiny with sweat";

-- 5: say "[i]DP tank? Confirm request![/i] insists the tinny radio.[paragraph break]'That's what I said,' the All-Purpose Officer responds.[paragraph break][i]I'll have to clear this with Herself,[/i] the radio complains";

-- 6: say "Tormented, the All-Purpose Officer seems beyond speech, while the crowd has lost interest in the symbolic potency of the statue and is starting to lapse back into irritability. You overhear someone asking where to find soft-serve ice cream. From far off there is a rumbling of heavy vehicles approaching";

if irritation count is greater than 1 and the teenagers are not in the location:

say "[one of].[paragraph break]This is fun. I'm actually doing something, for once[or].[paragraph break]Poor bastard. You've got good aim. Like one of those western sheriffs who can shoot the gun out of his enemy's hand[or][stopping]";

increase the irritation count by 1;

now last irritation is the time of day.

The protest-sign is on the giant Atlantida statue. The printed name is "sign". Understand "sign" as the protest-sign.

The description of the protest-sign is "It reads:

The Spirit of Atlantis is the Spirit of Referendum!

NO MORE 'NON-REFERRABLE PROCEDURES'...[line break]

...ON INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS[line break]

...ON ECONOMIC POLICY[line break]

...ON HUMAN RIGHTS".

The stuffed octopus is a thing. It is on the giant Atlantida statue. The flexible appearance of the stuffed octopus is "The discarded stuffed octopus lies on the ground[one of], looking sadly at us[or], googly eyes fixed on the heavens[at random]."

The description of the stuffed octopus is "Slightly wrong, actually, but I suppose they didn't have a stuffed squid handy. Of the four symbols associated with Atlantis, the squid [--] representing invention and individuality [--] is the one that has greatest resonance for protesters[if the stuffed octopus in on the giant Atlantida statue].

This one has been tied to Atlantida's hand alongside the olive branch she traditionally carries[end if]."

Some traffic-island-protesters are a plural-named man. The printed name is "protesters". Understand "protesters" or "crowd" as the traffic-island-protesters. "Protesters clog the street and sit or stand around the base of the statue."

The All-Purpose-Officer is a privately-named man in Traffic Circle. The printed name is "All-Purpose Officer". Understand "all" or "purpose" or "all-purpose" or "officer" as the All-Purpose-Officer. The description is "He is uniformed and has a look of serious determination." The All-Purpose-Officer is carrying a diminutive affixer and a restoration-gel rifle.

The description of the diminutive affixer is "A piece of special[ize]d equipment resembling a copper-plated staple gun. It shoots 'ette's and 'ling's and the odd 'mini' into words capable of receiving such endings."

Report taking the restoration-gel rifle for the first time:

say "[You] pick up the rifle. It fits well in your hand: good heft. I feel like we know how to aim this thing. It's illegal to carry, but that doesn't seem to be bothering you right now." instead.

[The film crew is a man in Traffic Circle. "In addition to everything else, there's a small film crew [--] cameraman, someone with a mike, and what appears to be a reporter or narrator [--] filming the whole thing. The Bureau must love this."

The description of the film crew is "It's curious how a familiar place in a TV show makes the show seem more authentic, but a film crew on location makes the [i]location[/i] seem fake. The protesters are giving the film crew an unreasonable amount of space, more than they'd allow to anyone else."]

Check waving the letter-remover at the teenagers when the current setting of the letter-remover is "s":

say "Reducing the pair of teenagers to a single teenager would just add our own war crimes to this mix." instead.

Some teenagers are a woman in Traffic Circle. Understand "teens" or "teenage" or "girls" or "girl" or "teenager" or "defiant" or "nervous" or "handcuffs" or "cuff" or "cuff" or "handcuff" as the teenagers. "Two [teenagers] are cuffed to [a tree], apparently for safe-keeping while [the All-Purpose-Officer] undoes their vandalism." The description of the teenagers is "One of them looks nervous, the other defiant[one of]. When she catches us looking her way, she contorts herself uncomfortably in order to be able to give us the finger[or][stopping]."

Instead of saying hello to the teenagers:

say "We try shouting to them over the hubbub of the crowd, but it doesn't really work. [one of]The defiant one waggles her tongue at us obscenely.[or]The nervous one swallows pathetically.[at random]".

Instead of saying hello to the All-Purpose-Officer:

say "Aside from the fact that he's thoroughly distracted at the moment, I don't think we really [i]want[/i] his attention. He'll lock us up if he pays any attention at all to who and what we are."

A brown tree is a fixed in place thing in Traffic Circle. Understand "leaves" or "leaf" as the brown tree. The description is "It's a tree of indeterminate species. I'm pretty sure it wasn't here yesterday. Though the leaves are dusty and brown, there's no leaf-fall at all underneath the tree, and it's not one of the palms that usually grow in this area."

Instead of putting the restoration gel on the tree:

say "There's too much intervening crowd for us to get there with any speed."

When play begins:

now the brown tree is not proffered by the brown tree;

now the brown tee proffers the tree.

Every turn when the brown tree is not in Traffic Circle and the teenagers are in Traffic Circle:

remove the teenagers from play;

say "Freed from attachment to the tree, the teenagers look at each other and then run off into the crowd[if the stuffed octopus is in the location]. After a moment, the defiant one comes back, picks up the stuffed octopus, and re-enters the fray[end if].";

if the stuffed octopus is in the location:

remove the stuffed octopus from play;

say "[line break][irritation reaction].";

[record "rescuing a couple of teenagers" as achieved; ]

Sanity-check doing something when the noun is the tee or the second noun is the tee:

move the tee to the repository;

say "...come to mention it, where [i]is[/i] that tee? It must be somewhere in the grass, but we can't see it any more. Oh well. It's not as though I was planning an urgent golf game this afternoon." instead.

Instead of climbing the giant Atlantida statue:

say "It doesn't look safe, and it would only make us more conspicuous."

Instead of going out from Traffic Circle during protest-scenario:

say "The way is still blocked by protesters."

Protest-scenario is a scene. Protest-scenario begins when the location is Traffic Circle and the player is not in a car.

Definition: a thing is unsuitable:

if it is the live branch:

yes;

if it is the stuffed octopus:

yes;

if it is the protest-sign:

yes;

no.

A distant stuff rule when the person asked is the All-Purpose-Officer:

rule succeeds.

Every turn when the player is in Traffic Circle:

if the teenagers are in the location:

say "[one of]'Go ahead, put us in Cold Storage!' shouts the defiant teenager. 'I'm happy to sleep through all this shit and wake up when we have jet packs and a government that respects the rights of its people.'[or]The nervous teenager looks unhappy. 'We won't get out of here until our families are all dead and global warming has reduced Atlantis to three square feet of hilltop.'[or]The nervous teenager struggles against her bonds.[or]One of the other protesters tries to free the teenagers while the All-Purpose Officer isn't paying attention, but the bonds are too strong.[or]The teenagers look at us rather desperately.[stopping]";

if All-Purpose-Officer can see an unsuitable thing (called the target) which is enclosed by the giant Atlantida statue:

if the target is the live branch and the All-Purpose-Officer carries the restoration-gel rifle:

try the All-Purpose-officer shooting the live branch with the restoration-gel rifle;

make no decision;

if the All-Purpose-Officer is not enclosed by the giant Atlantida statue:

try the All-purpose-officer entering the giant Atlantida statue;

make no decision;

if the All-Purpose-Officer is not on the huge-metal-arm:

try the all-purpose-officer entering the huge-metal-arm;

make no decision;

if the target is the stuffed octopus and the All-Purpose-Officer carries the target:

try the All-Purpose-Officer dropping the target;

make no decision;

try the All-Purpose-Officer touching the target;

otherwise:

if the All-Purpose-Officer is on the huge-metal-arm:

move the All-Purpose-Officer to the giant Atlantida statue;

say "[The all-purpose-officer] begins to climb down.";

make no decision;

if the All-Purpose-Officer is on the giant Atlantida statue:

try the All-purpose-officer exiting;

make no decision;

if the restoration-gel rifle is in the location:

try the All-Purpose-Officer taking the restoration-gel rifle;

make no decision;

if the player encloses the restoration-gel rifle:

say "The All-Purpose Officer, no longer distracted by the pressing business of tidying up the Atlantida statue, notices us with the rifle.

He has no qualms about hitting us with the diminutive affixer. It turns out that Alexandrette is a goldilocked poppet with a minimal capacity for self-def[ense] and no gun skills whatever. We're ignominiously [i]carried[/i] back to the Bureau and our subsequent trials are humiliation in a frilly pink dress.";

end the story saying "That was careless";

Before the All-Purpose-Officer entering the giant Atlantida statue when the All-Purpose-Officer carries something (called target) which is not the diminutive affixer:

try the All-Purpose-Officer dropping the target instead.

Before the All-Purpose-Officer touching an unsuitable thing which is on the giant Atlantida statue when the All-Purpose-Officer carries the stuffed octopus:

try the All-Purpose-Officer dropping the stuffed octopus instead.

Instead of the All-Purpose-Officer dropping the stuffed octopus:

move the stuffed octopus to the Traffic Circle;

say "The All-Purpose Officer tosses the stuffed octopus away. It falls pathetically to earth.";

rule succeeds.

Instead of the All-Purpose-Officer touching the stuffed octopus:

try the All-Purpose-Officer taking the stuffed octopus.

Report the All-purpose-officer taking the stuffed octopus:

say "Lab[our]iously and with obvious irritation, the All-Purpose Officer pries the arms of the stuffed octopus off the statue's wrist, where they appear to have been fixed with glue." instead.

Report the All-purpose-officer dropping the restoration-gel rifle:

say "[The actor] shift[s] the [noun] from one hand to another; looks around; and then props it against the foot of the statue." instead.

Report dropping the restoration-gel rifle in the presence of the giant Atlantida statue:

say "[You] prop the rifle back at the foot of the statue." instead.

Report the All-purpose-officer entering the giant Atlantida statue:

say "[one of][The actor] goes around to the back of the statue and begins to climb up the leg, finding footholds in the folds of Atlantida's gown. It looks like a precarious business, but he's determined[or][irritation reaction].[paragraph break][The actor] begins to climb Atlantida once more[stopping]." instead.

Report the All-purpose-officer entering the huge-metal-arm:

say "[one of]Gritting his teeth, [the actor] climbs for access out onto Atlantida's [huge-metal-arm]. It looks about as sturdy as a substantial tree branch, but more slippery, and inconveniently angled[or][irritation reaction]. [The actor] clambers back onto the arm[stopping]." instead.

Report the All-purpose-officer exiting when the All-purpose-officer is on the giant Atlantida statue:

say "[The all-purpose-officer] climbs back onto Atlantida's torso[if the player carries the restoration-gel rifle]. We'd better not let him catch us with this rifle[end if]." instead.

Instead of the All-Purpose-Officer touching the live branch:

say "The All-Purpose Officer reaches out and touches [the noun][one of]. He must have a small restoration gel applicator[or] with his gel-covered finger[stopping]. ";

gel-convert the live branch.

Instead of the All-Purpose-Officer touching the protest-sign:

say "[one of]Once the All-Purpose Officer comes level with [the protest-sign], he shoots it with [the diminutive affixer], turning it into a signet[or]Forced to repeat himself, [the actor] jams the diminutive affixer into the sign a little harder than strictly necessary, with predictable results[or]Stony-faced with fury, [the actor] punches [the protest-sign] again with the diminutive affixer[stopping]. [run paragraph on][signet description][paragraph break]";

diminish the protest-sign.

To diminish (item - a thing):

move the signet to the holder of the item;

move the item to the repository;

now the signet is not proffered by anything;

now the item proffers the signet.

Carry out shooting the signet with the restoration-gel rifle:

increase the iteration of the signet by 1.

Report shooting the signet with the restoration-gel rifle:

say "[irritation reaction].";

[Somewhat cheaply, to explain why we can't just gel the depluralized pedestrians and why we don't want to keep the rifle anyway, we have the player run out of pellets just before the scene concludes. But it fits, anyhow: gives the idea of a limited and rare resource in contrast with the other items that we'll be using more constantly.]

Instead of shooting something with the restoration-gel rifle when the irritation count is 6 and protest-scenario is happening:

say "We take a shot, but the rifle is out of gel pellets. It clicks uselessly in our hands.

[irritation reaction]."

Sanity-check taking the restoration-gel rifle when the All-Purpose-Officer is not enclosed by the giant Atlantida statue and protest-scenario is happening:

say "[The All-Purpose-officer] is right here. You have too much sense to make a move until he's a little more distracted." instead.

[When protest-scenario begins:

say "[An All-Purpose-officer] is scaling the statue, [diminutive affixer] under his arm. His restoration gel rifle is abandoned at the statue base, probably because it's not plausible to carry both at once.";]

Protest-scenario ends in DP-tanking when irritation count is 7.

When protest-scenario ends in DP-tanking:

say "There's a bright light and a catastrophic bang and world goes eerily silent. The protesters are gone; all but one.

A policeman in blue is cuffing a single old woman in a Not Guilty shirt. Her eyes are wild with fury and fear and simple madness.

And that, my friend, is why civil disobedience doesn't work around here. We've just seen a deplural[ization][if the teenagers are not in the location].

At least the teenagers got away[end if].";

wait for any key;

say "[paragraph break]You know they'll be restored in a few hours, but not confined to that singular form. Most of them will probably get off with fines[if the teenagers are in the location], except the teenagers, who have committed specific crimes against the majesty of the state[end if]. You know it's unlikely anyone has died just there. You know that within minutes, the international news organ[ization]s will be running satellite pictures of a 'suspected deplural[izing] event' on the island.

It's not, so to speak, our business any more.";

remove the protesters from play;

remove the All-purpose-officer from play;

remove the traffic-island-protesters from play;

if the player encloses the restoration-gel rifle:

say "[line break]I ditch the rifle [--] it's too large to fit in the car. ";

now the restoration-gel rifle is carried by atlantida-woman;

say "Traffic is starting to move again. We'd better get on to the dead drop. [run paragraph on]";

if a car (called target car) is in the location:

try entering the target car;

move the target car to the Roundabout;

try looking.

Every turn when Traffic Circle is the location and the teenagers are not in the location:

let difference be the time of day minus the last irritation;

if difference is 1 minute:

say "The crowd is parting. We might be able to leave soon."

Protest-scenario ends in departure when the player is in the car and the teenagers are not in the location.

When protest-scenario ends in departure:

say "We climb back in the car, and no one seems to be much the wiser about what just happened. I have to say, you know what you're doing. ";

remove the protesters from play;

remove the All-purpose-officer from play;

remove the traffic-island-protesters from play;

if the player encloses the restoration-gel rifle:

say "I ditch the rifle out the window [--] it's too large to fit in the car.";

now the restoration-gel rifle is carried by atlantida-woman;

say "Traffic is starting to move again. We'd better get on to the dead drop.";

if a car (called target car) is in the location:

move the target car to the Roundabout;

try looking.

Protest-scenario ends in early time-out when the teenagers are not in the location and the time of day minus the last irritation is at least five minutes.

When protest-scenario ends in early time-out:

say "The situation is calming down. ";

remove the protesters from play;

remove the All-purpose-officer from play;

remove the traffic-island-protesters from play;

if the player encloses the restoration-gel rifle:

say "I ditch the rifle [--] it's too large to fit in the car. ";

now the restoration-gel rifle is carried by atlantida-woman;

say "Traffic is starting to move and the car behind ours is not delighted that someone is parked in front of it.";

if a car (called target car) is in the location:

try entering the target car;

say "I have to say, that was impressive. I wouldn't have had the nerve and focus for that on my own. And I can't shoot, either. But we'd better get on to the dead drop.";

move the target car to the Roundabout;

try looking.

Instead of shooting the All-purpose-officer with the restoration-gel rifle:

say "[one of]We shoot [the all-purpose-officer] in the back. He doesn't change forms, of course, but he flinches and cries out. That must have hurt, a lot. The back of his shirt is covered with gel.[paragraph break][irritation reaction][or][You] shoot again. He'll have some bruises tonight.[paragraph break][irritation reaction][stopping]."

[As "shooting something that the enemy is holding" sets up a parallel with the solution to the Atlantida endgame puzzles, we want to reward the line of thinking rather than discouraging it.

In re. the leaflet, this happens only if the player hasn't already found the leaflet in the crate (where it functions as a possible preparation for this scene). In general, we don't play many magician's choice tricks in Counterfeit Monkey, but it's worth cheating a little occasionally to make sure that the player not only finds what we want him to find but does so in an order that fits the pace and flavor of what's going on around him in the game. Running across this leaflet *after* the protest is still conceivably possible if the player doesn't find the crate earlier *and* doesn't shoot the affixer, but it's less likely.]

Instead of shooting the diminutive affixer with the restoration-gel rifle when the All-purpose-officer is enclosed by the giant Atlantida statue:

say "[one of]You take exact aim and fire[or]You shoot again, very precisely[stopping]. ";

if the leaflet is unseen:

say "The diminutive affixer doesn't change into anything, but thanks to the impact, the Officer misfires it into a leaf from Atlantida's olive branch.

A single [leaflet] flutters to the ground.

[irritation reaction].";

now the leaflet is not proffered by anything;

now the leaflet is proffered by the leaf;

move the leaflet to the location;

otherwise:

say "The diminutive affixer doesn't change into anything, but the impact jars the Officer's hand and the affixer punches firmly into the statue.

The statue scales down abruptly into a ten-inch statuette. The Officer falls with it, though apparently without serious injury. The crowd goes silent, unsure what to do with (from their point of view) the total disappearance of a major landmark.

The Officer realizes that something unthinkable has just happened, and gels the statuette at once. The status quo is thus restored, more or less, except that the Officer is now clinging precariously to the statue's leg.

[irritation reaction].";

now the All-Purpose-Officer is on the giant Atlantida Statue.

Instead of shooting the giant Atlantida statue with the restoration-gel rifle:

say "We fire. The statue itself doesn't change, of course, but there's now a spray of gel across its gown. The people nearest us react to this with at best moderate enthusiasm, as the symbolism of actually destroying Atlantida is appealing to no one.

[irritation reaction]."

Instead of shooting the huge-metal-arm with the restoration-gel rifle:

try shooting the giant Atlantida statue with the restoration-gel rifle instead.

Test circlewait with "get out / put paste on car / get out / wave o-remover at olive branch / get rifle / shoot tree / shoot affixer / shoot signet / g / g ".

Test circletimeout with "get out / put paste on car / get out / z / get rifle / shoot tree / drop rifle / z / z / z / z".

Test circlewalkout with "get out / put paste on car / get out / z / get rifle / shoot tree / drop rifle / enter car".

Test caughtinact with "get out / put paste on car / get out / z / get rifle / z / z / z / z".

[Often the concept -- of the self, of the democracy, of the other -- stands in the way of the process that would lead to understanding, effective compromise, and the construction of an integrated identity; a process that is never easy.]