An Escape To RememberAn interactive fiction by the IF Whispers Team (2006) - the Inform 7 source text | |
| Home page Contents Previous Next Complete text | Section 1
Whisper 14 is a scene. Whisper 14 begins when Whisper 13 ends. Instead of listening during Whisper 14, say "Nothing but the wail of wind." Instead of taking during Whisper 14, say "Too many things! You don't need any of them, anymore. Not out here." Instead of examining something held by the player during Whisper 14, say "The more you think about it, the more it reminds you of... [the random thing]." When Whisper 14 begins: say "And now that you made it out, the last thing you are looking for is..."; try silently closing the metal door; if the metal door is closed, say "... a gust of wind howls up out of the canyon, banging shut the metal door with a hollow boom! The mouse jumps, scampers back towards the closed door, then reverses course and darts off into the endless sands. Luckily for it, the noise seems to have frightened the yipping desert life as well, as those noises quickly fade into the distance."; now the mouse is not tame; now the metal door is not openable. Instead of opening the metal door when the metal door is not openable, say "That slam bent it into the frame oddly - it won't budge." Instead of examining the metal door when the metal door is not openable, say "Set in a simple entrance mound is the solid metal door, a bit bent on the hinges where it slammed closed. On the outside, you see fanciful inscriptions, most of which appear to be a plea to keep the people of the canyon and their [random thing] away from the peaceful desert inhabitants." Instead of reading the metal door, try examining the metal door. The Sheer Drop is a room. The Sheer Drop is south of the Eastern Reach and south of the Western Reach. Instead of going to the Sheer Drop, say "Gravity tugs gently as you approach the canyon lip... you catch a glimpse of rubble-strewn doorways, small as specks... then the wind wails, and you stumble back." The Eastern Reach is east of the Open Desert. "Wearying expanses of featureless sand follows the crumbling edge of the canyon east. The metal door lies west, and a marked flatness in the dunes lies northwest." Instead of going east in the Eastern Reach, say "You trudge on, but the canyon seems interminable, and the small mound isn't getting any further off." Before going west from the Eastern Reach, say "With relief you turn back towards one of this landscape's only features." The Western Reach is west of the Open Desert. "Monotonous stretches of unremarkable gravel hug the canyon's western like a barren beach. The stairway mound is east, and a space between dunes lies inland to the northeast." Instead of going west in the Western Reach, say "You trudge on, but the canyon seems endless, and the metal door isn't getting any further off." Before going east from the Western Reach, say "With relief your turn back towards one of this landscape's only features." The Edge of Nowhere is north of the Open Desert, northeast of the Western Reach, and northwest of the Eastern Reach. "Out in this clear space, just out of sight of the canyon, the world seems totally empty. The sun and the sky overhead are overwhelming." The Desert of Reflections is a region. The Open Desert and the Edge of Nowhere are in the Desert of Reflections. The Clifftop is a region. The Clifftop is in the Desert of Reflections. The Sheer Drop, The Eastern Reach, and the Western Reach are in the Clifftop. Instead of throwing something (called the throwee) in the Clifftop: say "Such a simple act, and so permanent... it hovers a split second, then recedes from view."; remove the throwee from play. Instead of jumping in the Clifftop: say "You surprise yourself with your own impulse... you hover, for a split second, catching sight of [random thing] in a cloud, and [random thing] in a rock face. Then the cliff edge is crumbling around you, and gravity remembers you.[paragraph break]You descend."; end the game in death. Forgetting is a number variable. Forgetting is 0. Hopeful breeze is a scene. Hopeful breeze begins when Forgetting is 3. Every turn during hopeful breeze: say "A refreshingly cool breeze whispers through[if location is not The Last Oasis] from [the best route from the location to The Last Oasis][otherwise], coming up off the still water[end if]."; The mirage is a backdrop. The mirage is in the Desert of Reflections. The description of the mirage is "In the vast space, everything ripples and swims. In the midst of it, you catch a glimpse of [random thing which is scenery]... no. No... [random thing]...." After examining the mirage: change Forgetting to Forgetting + 1; After examining the mirage three times: change Forgetting to Forgetting + 1; change the north exit of the Edge of Nowhere to the Last Oasis; change the south exit of the Last Oasis to the Edge of Nowhere. Instead of examining the mirage more than four times: say "...but the spell is breaking. You aren't longing to fill this landscape with bits and pieces of memories. anymore, so they are losing their hold on you. Now to wash away the last of them." The reflection sand is a backdrop. The reflection sand is in the Desert of Reflections. Understand "gravel" as the reflection sand. The description of the reflection sand is "Dull and uniform, windscourged and sun beaten, unmarked even by your tracks." Instead of examining the reflection sand for the second time: say "You stare into it...."; try examining the mirage; say "You feel closer to finding something - or letting it go." The blazing sun is a backdrop. The blazing sun is in the Desert of Reflections. The description of the blazing sun is "Low enough to hope for evening soon... unless it is morning." Instead of examining the blazing sun for the second time: say "You stare into it...."; try examining the mirage; say "You feel closer to finding something - or letting it go." The canyon mouth is a backdrop. It is in the Clifftop. The description is "A rift in the earth stretching as far as the eye can see, and brimming with emptiness." Instead of examining the canyon mouth for the second time: say "You stare into it...."; try examining the mirage; say "You feel closer to finding something - or letting it go." The sky is a backdrop. The sky is in the Desert of Reflections. The description is "A blue mirror held up to this empty stretch of earth." Instead of examining the sky for the second time: say "You stare into it...."; try examining the mirage; say "You feel closer to finding something - or letting it go." Instead of going nowhere from the Desert of Reflections: if the noun is not up and the noun is not down, say "You march off into the desert in a direction that seems promising...[paragraph break]and a few minutes later are relieved just to end up right back where you started.[line break]"; otherwise continue the action. The Last Oasis is a room. "Impossibly real amidst a wasteland of illusions, this dark pool of still water must be deep enough to go down into. The wind off the canyon still wails faintly in the background, but here the sand and the sky are smaller - and the wind is little more than a whisper." The pool of still water is scenery in the Last Oasis. The description is "An emptiness that is already full, it seems to call you down into it." Instead of doing something other than examining to the pool of still water, say "The water reminds you of... well, of nothing. Nowhere left to go but down." Waters of Lethe is below the Last Oasis. "A score of lifetimes of emptiness and dust, and finally you are enveloped by quiet waters. They flow over and through you." The printed name of Waters of Lethe is "In the Waters of Lethe". Whisper 14 ends when the player is in Waters of Lethe. When Whisper 14 ends: end the game saying "You have remembered to forget." Definition: a thing is descriptionated if it provides the property description. When play ends: if the player is in Waters of Lethe, say "As the whispering waters wash away what remains of you (or what there was to begin with), schools of thoughts - of [random thing] and of [random thing] - flicker past your face like fish. Somehow, something about [random thing] in [the random room]... [the random thing]... [description of a random descriptionated thing] You almost understand [the random thing] now, clustering it into a constellation of [random thing] and [random thing]. But it is all going. Not just [the random room], or [the random room], but All The Places. No more [random thing] in [the random room]. No thing. No where.[paragraph break]It is fading... it is gone.[paragraph break][paragraph break]So are you.[paragraph break]." Carry out skipping ahead during Whisper 14: say "Skipping scene 14. You have hopped, skipped, and jumped right out of the final scene!"; end the game saying "Well, that didn't make much sense. Maybe without skipping...."; rule succeeds. |