Counterfeit Monkey — 159 of 292

Chapter 1 - Storage and Secrets

Section 1 - Display Reloading Room

[ The Display Reloading Room is meant to deliver the anagramming gun to the eager player (after some earlier hints that we'd never get our hands on it). It also provides a kind of link back to the world of normal people even though the PC has now wandered into a situation where she is isolated and beyond help. The television shows the reactions of the ordinary security guards and tourists upstairs, who have a very different relationship to the items on display than the player does.

At the same time, we want to discourage the player from thinking that there is something to be won by trying to communicate with those back upstairs. So while the tourists are shown to have reactions to certain types of item, they remain on a tight cycle and can't be broken out of their basic behavior.]

Display Reloading Room is south of Equipment Archive. It is indoors and forbidden. "This area [if the display-platform is not in the location]is more or less empty. [Hazard-tape] marks off an area of the floor to indicate that [you] shouldn't stand there[otherwise]is mostly taken up with the [display-platform] descended from the room above[end if]."

A tv monitor is a fixed in place device in the Display Reloading Room. It is switched on. Understand "black" or "white" or "black and white" or "television" or "security" as the tv monitor. "A black and white [tv monitor] is embedded in the wall."

Rule for writing a topic sentence about the tv monitor:

say "[initial appearance of tv monitor] [description of the tv monitor] [run paragraph on]".

Instead of switching off the tv monitor:

say "There's no switch."

Instead of listening to the tv monitor:

say "There is no sound pickup."

Instead of examining the tv monitor:

say tv description;

say paragraph break.

Definition: a thing is display-foreign:

if it is the etymological reversing chamber:

no;

if it is the anagramming gun:

no;

if it is the model t:

no;

yes.

To say tv description:

say "[one of]It is showing images of the Tools Exhibit upstairs, one of the few parts of the Bureau open to the public[or][You] have another look at what is going on up in the Tools Exhibit[stopping]. ";

if the display-platform is in the display case:

say "[one of][tourist-face][or]A small child is gawking at [the random thing on the display-platform][or]The room appears to be temporarily empty of guests[or][fake-incident][cycling].[no line break]";

otherwise:

say "[one of]Some tourists are frowning at the blacked-out display case[or]One of the tourists upstairs taps the blacked-out display case in irritation[or]The tourists are gathered in an angry cluster, pointing at a guidebook and waving their arms at each other[or]A security guard strolls into the room. The tourists round on him and wave their arms. Their mouths are moving and they point vehemently at the display[or]The security guard is holding his hands up placatingly[or]The largest and heftiest of the tourists is leaning forward and yelling at the security guard[or]The largest and heftiest of the tourists is in the midst of being arrested[or]The tourists are all gone and the room is empty, with only the blacked out case visible[stopping].[no line break]";

To say fake-incident:

if a display-foreign thing is on the display-platform:

say "[one of]The security guard on his rounds notices [the list of display-foreign things on the display-platform]. He gets out a pad of paper as though to write up an incident report, but makes a gesture that even through closed circuit recording reads plainly as Inability To Be Bothered, and strolls away again[or]The security guard from before enters the room, looks at his watch, and heartily ignores [the list of display-foreign things on the display-platform][or]This time when a security guard comes into the room, it's a different one from previously. He goes over to the display case and frowns at [the list of display-foreign things on the display-platform]. Then he talks to someone on his radio[or]Two security guards enter the room and look into the display case. They appear to be having a vehement argument about what to do[or]Two security guards are talking to a manager about the situation in the display case[or]A manager is taking notes about the display-case disturbance[or]Some All-Purpose Officers are taking depositions and someone is photographing [the list of display-foreign things on the display-platform][stopping]";

otherwise:

say "[one of]A security guard pokes his head into the room, decides all is well, and strolls away again[or]The security guard returns for another pass through the area[or][You] get another view of the security guard's balding head as he takes a turn around the room[or]The security guard is in the middle of checking the place out again[stopping]".

To say tourist-face:

if a display-foreign thing (called distraction) is on the display-platform:

if the distraction is naughty-sounding:

say "A family notices [the distraction] and the mother covers her daughter's eyes, frog-marching them both out. The father is left behind to gawk in peace";

otherwise if the distraction is illegal:

say "A female couple come in, notice [the distraction], and hold a short whispered conversation. They then turn and look at the security camera, look at each other, and walk briskly out again";

otherwise if the distraction is an animal:

say "A small boy taps on the glass, trying to get the attention of [the distraction]";

otherwise if the distraction is edible:

say "A little girl presses her face to the glass near [the distraction] and then [--] this is clearly visible from the camera [--] [i]licks the glass[/i]. Rather startled parents call her away";

otherwise:

say "Tourists are looking at [the distraction] in some confusion";

otherwise:

say "[Random-passerby] is gazing curiously at [the random thing on the display-platform]";

A hazard-tape is scenery in the Display Reloading Room. The description is "It's striped yellow and red, and describes an area on the floor. Come to that, there's an area in the ceiling immediately above the hazard tape that looks separate from the rest of the ceiling." The indefinite article of the hazard-tape is "some". The printed name of the hazard-tape is "[if looking]Hazard[otherwise]hazard[end if] tape". Understand "hazard tape" as the hazard-tape. Understand "tape" as the hazard-tape when the tape is not visible.

A small black push-button is fixed in place in the Display Reloading Room. "There is [an item described] on the wall." Understand "button" or "push button" as the push-button. The description is "It is unlabeled."

Does the player mean pushing the small black push-button:

it is very likely.

Instead of pushing the small black push-button:

if the display-platform is in the location:

if an essential thing (called essential item) is on the display-platform:

say "Best not to part with [the list of essential things on the display-platform]." instead;

raise the display;

otherwise:

lower the display.

To lower the display:

say "A heavy clunk sounds. On the [tv monitor], [you] see the display case black out.

Then there is a groaning of moving metal, and part of the ceiling lowers. [one of]This is, apparently, how displays are swapped out for the tools exhibit upstairs: the [display-platform] is lowering to our level, providing access[or]The [display-platform] descends again until level with the floor[stopping][if something is on the display-platform]. This brings [the list of things on the display-platform] down into the room[end if].";

now the display-platform is in the location.

To raise the display:

say "There is a groaning of gears and hydraulics, and the [display-platform][if something is on the display-platform], loaded with [the list of things on the display-platform],[end if] rises back up to the exhibit level.";

now the display-platform is in the display case.

Test television with "tutorial off / x television / x tv / g / g / g / g / g / g / g / press button / watch tv / g / g / g / g / g / g / g / put armband on platform / press button / watch tv / g / g / g / g / g / g / press button / get armband / put cock on platform / press button / x tv / g / g / g / g / g / g / g / press button / get cock / put dove on platform / press button / x tv / g / g / g / g / g / g / press button / put cate on platform / get dove / press button / x tv / g / g / g / g / g / g / g / g" in the Display Reloading Room holding the armband and the cock and the cate and the dove.

[It turned out to be possible to divest yourself of the anagramming gun (and thus be unprepared to face Atlantida) by returning it upstairs on the display platform. So we now check that nothing essential is on the platform before allowing it to rise.]

Test gun-taking with "tutorial off / press button / g / g / get gun / press button / g / put gun on platform / press button" in the Display Reloading Room.