The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy - Infocom (Part 1) Solution supplied by "Kedenan" (Played on an Amstrad PC1512) Here you are, mild-mannered Arthur Dent, about to start the worst day of your life, although you don't know that ... yet! Actually, the day is already getting off to a bad start, since you've just woken up in the dark, with a really bad headache (and it's all downhill from here). The first thing you need to do is stand up and turn on the light. That's a little better, anyway! Or maybe not, since you're having a hard time getting co-ordinated. Grab the dressing gown and put it on, then look in the pocket. Ah, an analgesic! Take that, then get the screwdriver and the toothbrush, and head South to the porch (did you hear a tree fall? Rather ominous, isn't it?). Here you find something no modern home should be without: junk mail. Take the mail, and go on outside. Uh-oh! There's a very big bulldozer on its way to level your home, and there's Prosser standing by, watching it all. Are you going to take this lying down? You bet you are! That's the only way to stop it: lie down in front of the bulldozer. No matter how close the thing gets, don't panic; it won't run you over (of course, in a short time, it really won't matter what happens to the house, but you don't know that yet). Just wait awhile until Ford Prefect shows up (read the junk mail while you wait). Ford seems a trifle preoccupied with the sky, but he is aware enough of you to try and give you back your towel. Don't take it, or he'll leave and you will be a lot worse off than you ever imagined (can things be worse than this? They sure can!). Instead of taking the towel, ask Ford about your home. He will eventually come to his senses, and realise what is going on. When that happens, he will be able to persuade Prosser to take your place in front of the bulldozer while the two of you head off to the pub to hoist a few. As soon as Prosser takes your place, go South and West to the pub. Buy a cheese (?) sandwich while you wait for him to arrive (when you read the description, you'll understand about the "?"). When Ford gets there, he'll buy you a few beers. Drink only three of them. Around about the time you've finished the third one, there will be a loud crash. In fact, it's the sound of your home being demolished by the bulldozer (that will teach you to trust anyone who wears a digital watch!). Don't take that sitting down, leave the pub and return to where your house used to be. Along the way, you'll see a starving dog. While you may wonder if anything could eat that sandwich and survive, give it to the dog, who will (amazingly!) enjoy it immensely, ignoring a microscopic space fleet that whizzes past (remember that fleet). Then continue on to the ruins of your home (Ford will be right behind you). And just about now, to put a perfect ending to a perfect day (which has barely begun), the Vogon construction ships appear, to demolish the Earth to make way for a new Hyper-space Bypass (hmmm, maybe Ford wasn't kidding when he said he was from another planet, or that Earth would be destroyed in a short time). Still, don't panic...wait until Ford drops the Sub-etha signalling device. There won't be much time after that, so pick up the device, push the green button (if you dropped the Aunt's thing, have no fear: it will turn up again later), and you will be in....the dark. Get used to that, you'll be spending a lot of time there before this adventure is over. Notice that, at first, you can't do much. All your five senses seem to be out of order. However, if you wait, and read the descriptions very carefully, you will see that eventually, it mentions only 4 of your senses. The one that's missing is the one you can use. Keep this in mind, it will come in handy later. Right now, your nose seems to be working again, so smell. Sniff, sniff. Ugh! Whatever it is, it sure is strong! You are also now dimly aware of a shadow, so look at it. Well, well, it turns out to be Ford Prefect! And, looking around, you find yourself in the hold of a Vogon ship. Certainly better than being on Earth (or where Earth used to be). There's a glass case with an Atomic Vector Plotter inside, but don't bother with it yet. You have something else to do first, namely, obtain a Babel Fish. That shouldn't be hard, right? All you need to do is push the button on the dispensing machine, and you'll have one, right? Hehehehehehe! Those Babel Fish are pretty slippery characters (but, you may have found that out already for yourself!). And the cleaning robots are certainly no help; they seem to have only one mission in life: grabbing your Fish away from you. Well, we really can't let that happen! So, first thing to do is remove your gown and hang it on the hook. Now, wait for Ford to curl up, then get the towel and the satchel. Put the towel over the drain, and the satchel in front of the robot panel. Now comes the part that drives most people crazy: they don't know how to stop the upper-half-of-the-room cleaning robot. But, it's so simple: just put the junk mail on top of the satchel. Now you can push the button! Then step back and watch the Rube Goldberg shenanigans, which end with the Babel Fish stuck solidly in your ear (squish!). Bet you never thought outer space would be like this! However, now that you have the Fish, you'll be able to understand anyone who talks to you. By the way, somewhere along the line, you will get a message that one of the phrases you've used was instrumental in starting a war that wiped out most of a small galaxy. There is nothing you can do about this; no matter how you try, it will come to pass. Rather unfortunate, isn't it? Even more unfortunate, sooner or later, the survivors will figure out how that happened, and they will be looking for revenge....but more about that charming prospect later. Right now, press the switch on the case. This will tell you what the code word is that will open the case so you can snatch the plotter. Make careful note of what word is required; it is chosen randomly each time. Too bad you have to listen to some pretty rotten poetry to get the word. Speaking of poetry, in a short while, you and Ford will be hustled into the Captain's quarters, and strapped into Poetry Appreciation Chairs (worse things could happen, but right now, you probably can't think of any). After the Vogon Captain has tortured you with the first verse, grit your teeth and enjoy the poetry. He will then, to your dismay, read you the next verse. While you could easily live without hearing it, in this case, you do need to listen so you know the word to type in. Fortunately, after the second verse, you don't have to enjoy the poetry. Unfortunately, since you survived both verses, the Captain is going to have you and Ford shoved out the airlock (you have now found something worse than appreciating Vogon poetry). While Ford tries to talk the guard out of spacing the two of you, type in the word from the poem. You must put quotes around the word, or it won't go through. Then get the plotter when the case opens. Now just wait awhile, and you and Ford will soon be in the airlock, with very little time left. In fact, time has just run out, and there you are in the depths of space. Lucky for you, the Guide explained how to survive all of 30 seconds out there! Well, perhaps not so lucky, since, considering the vastness of space, it's quite improbable that another ship will come by to pick you up before the 30 seconds run out. So naturally, 29 seconds later, the Heart of Gold (the HOG) comes past and picks you up. There you are in the dark again. Wait and watch the display, until it no longer says you can't hear. Then listen, and you will hear the sound of the star drive. Now it gets cute: the program will lie to you, and say there is an exit to port. Don't you believe it! Go Aft instead, and you will be in Entry Bay 2. You can ignore the brochure, if you like. Go Aft again, and you're in the Fore End of the corridor. Here, Ford will find you you, and take you up to the bridge, where you meet Zaphod and Trillian. Actually, you've seen them both before, at a party you attended a short time ago. While you listen to the chatter between Zaphod and Ford, you can begin to drop some items here. You can drop the plotter, screwdriver, gown, and signalling device. By this time, everyone else has gone to the sauna, leaving you alone on the Bridge with Eddie, the shipboard computer. Don't mind Eddie, he's a little over-protective, but he's a good sort at heart. In fact, you can pretty much ignore him, as well as Marvin the Paranoid Robot, although Marvin will be important much later on (depressing as that may sound). Ok, time to prepare for some pretty weird happenings! First you'll need the spare improbability drive. So, go down, then Aft. Keep going Aft. The program will tell you that the Engine Room is dangerous. It LIES! Don't listen to it, just keep going Aft. Eventually, you'll get there. Of course, as soon as you're there, you'll want to look around. The program will tell you there is nothing to see. That, too, is a lie! Keep looking, and you'll find that there are some things to see here, especially the spare drive. Don't worry about the tools for now; you can leave them where they are. Once you have the drive, go back to the Fore End corridor, then head Port where you'll find the Nutrimat (try consulting the Guide about the Nutrimat). Touch the pad, and you will be provided with a delicious (?) cup of advanced tea substitute. Fortunately, you don't have to drink it. Take the cup (ignore the carton, it's useless) and return to the bridge. Drop the cup and the drive. Now, plug the small plug in to the small receptacle, and put the plotter's dangly bit into the tea substitute. Ok, you are about to have some pretty strange experiences, but before you throw the switch, some words of advice and caution. There are five scenarios (all rather short, but all of them important) that have to be completed. They come up in random order, so each one has its own little section of the walkthru. The lead-in to each of them is that familiar dark area, where you have to wait until one of your senses is working again. You will be in the dark area again when the scenario ends (and you will have to listen for the drive sound), which will then bring you back to the HOG. Also, be aware there are times that you may briefly go back to one of the scenarios you have already completed. You just sort of bounce in and out of those, but you do have to spend time waiting in the dark. I couldn't find a way around this, so you'll just have to live with it. Finally, it's a good idea to save the game after you complete each scenario, just in case. With that said, it's time, so push the switch!..... @~To find out what happens next, read Issue 19 of SynTax.