The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy - Infocom (Part 2)

           Solution supplied by "Kedenan"
           (Played on an Amstrad PC1512)

@~Continued from last issue where we'd just pushed the switch on
@~the drive ...

The Bugblatter Beast.

When you come out of the dark, you find yourself in the Lair of
the dreaded Bugblatter Beast.  You are here for a purpose, so
you'll just have to do something about the Beast. Consulting the
Guide tells you that Bugblatters are incredibly stupid, which is
certainly the case. In the meantime, the Beast is bearing down on
you, demanding your name. Don't be shy, introduce yourself, then
run like heck East out of the Lair.

Pick up one of the sharp stones, and then cover your head with the
towel.  Old Buggy is so dumb, he thinks that, since you can't see
him, he can't see you. But, this won't last for very long, so you
have to fool him, and quickly. Lucky for you, this isn't hard.

Carve your name on the Bugblatter's memorial. When he sees the
name there, he will think he's already eaten you, which is why he
can't see you (dumb may be an understatement here). The Beast will
then curl up for a nap, leaving you free (after removing the
towel!) to re-enter the Lair and then go SouthWest.

Here you will find the skeleton of some poor soul clutching a
Nutrimat Computer Interface Card. Take the card, and just wait
around for awhile. You will be mistakenly captured as a Bugblatter
Beast (talk about insults!), but you will eventually be freed, and
have some other adventures along the way, before you find yourself
back in the dark again. When you get back to the HOG, you can drop
the asteroid paint chipper and the interface card in the Fore End
before going up to the Bridge (you'll need the interface later,
but there's no need to drag it around with you now).  Once on the
Bridge, push the switch again, and you'll be back in the dark.


Trillian.

The dark ends with something liquidy to the touch. In fact, you
find your fingers bathing in a glass of wine.  Coming to your
senses, you realise that you are now Trillian, and you are at the
party where you (she?) met both Arthur and a mysterious man named
Phil.

Take a good look at Arthur, and you will see he has a huge ball of
fluff on his jacket. Just what you want, but your hands are full.
Drop the plate you're holding, and get the fluff. Open your
handbag and put the fluff in it, then get the plate again
(otherwise, the pushy hostess won't leave you alone).

Now, all you need to do is wait, trying not to be bored to tears
by Arthur's feeble attempts at conversation. Give Phil a look, and
shortly he will come over, and take you out to his scooter. As you
blast off, everything once again becomes.....dark.

Ford.

Now you find yourself standing in a country lane, holding a
satchel.  The place looks familiar. In fact, it's the lane outside
Arthur's home, and this time you seem to be Ford Prefect.

Those Vogons will be arriving soon, so there's not much time. Open
the satchel, and take the satchel fluff, the towel, and the
sub-etha signalling device. Go North, and there you will see
Arthur lying in front of the bulldozer.

With a certain feeling of deja vu, you offer him the towel.
However, instead of taking it, he asks you about his home.  You
suddenly realise what is going on (not that it really matters,
considering what will shortly happen!). In a moment of magnanimity
(or possibly madness), you decide to take Arthur hitchhiking with
you.

But first, you have to deal with Prosser. Go over to him, and ask
him to lie down in front of the bulldozer. He'll make a little
fuss, but you'll manage to persuade him. Now, you and Arthur can
hurry over to the pub, and drink some beer (remember to buy
peanuts).  Sit there, drinking your beer (no more than three!),
meditating on why Arthur is taking the imminent demise of the
world so calmly, until the house falls and Arthur goes tearing
out.

Follow him to the ruins of his home. Drop the satchel, and put the
satchel fluff on top of it. Now wait. The Vogon ships will appear,
the winds will pick up, and you'll start fumbling with the device.

Oops!  You just dropped it! Fortunately, it rolls over by Arthur,
who picks it up and looks at it. Also fortunately, Arthur manages
to push the right button, and everything becomes....dark.

Zaphod.

You come out of the dark to find that you're now Zaphod
Beeblebrox, the President of the Universe. In fact, you're on your
way to steal the Heart of Gold (with a little help from Trillian).

As your speedboat zooms towards its destination, search the seat
carefully and you will find seat fluff and a key. The key opens
the toolbox, but you don't need to do that now. Just make sure you
take the box; you might be needing it later.

Now, if you continue on your present course, you'll never make it
between the cliffs and the spire (or maybe you know that already).
The trick is to make the auto-pilot do the hard work, so steer the
boat towards the rocky spire.

The spire gets closer...closer....closer....and then, at last! the
auto-pilot wakes up, just in time, and steers you to safety!  Whew,
that was a close one. Ok, now you can stand up and go North to the
Dais, where the dedication ceremonies will be held. Wait around,
enjoying the cheers of the crowd (read the banner if you like),
until Trillian appears. She will jump out of the crowd, and hold a
gun to one of your heads. The guards are a little hesitant about
what to do, so now's your chance: tell them not to shoot. After a
few moments, they will drop their rifles into a pile ... just what

you've been waiting for. Tell Trillian to shoot the rifles. As the
weapons disappear, you and Trillian make a break for the HOG!  You
made it!! But...everything seems to be getting....dark.

Ok, now you should have collected the four fluffs, the
ultra-plasmic awl, the paint chipper, the nutrimat computer
interface, and the tool box. After you have done the last scenario
(whichever one that is), don't go back to the Bridge. Pick up the
interface, and go to the Nutrimat. It's tea time!

Open the panel on the Nutrimat, remove the circuit board, and
replace it with the interface. Now, touch the pad. With a clearer
idea of just what it is you want, the Nutrimat begins to have some
problems.  Its own limited circuitry can't handle it (well, it's
just a dumb machine, after all), so it ties into the main
shipboard computer.

Don't spend time here watching the Nutrimat go through its
gyrations.  Head for the bridge, and plug the large plug into the
large receptacle. The moment is almost here: the HOG has arrived
at the legendary lost planet of Magrathea, and the natives aren't
friendly.

In fact, they are sending up a bunch of missiles to vaporise the
HOG (hmmm, they really AREN'T friendly!). Now, push the switch on
the spare drive. Wow! Talk about improbabilities! The missiles
have turned into a giant sperm whale!

After accepting the congratulations of Ford, Zaphod, and Trillian
(who conveniently disappear into the sauna again), return to the
Nutrimat, where you will find, at last, a cup of REAL tea. Get the
cup (you will drop the No Tea), but don't drink it!! Bring it to
the Bridge.  Drop the real tea (you will automatically pick up the
No Tea).  Remove the dangly bit from the tea substitute, and put
it in the real tea.  You have one more little trip to make. First,
however, drop everything you are carrying except the Babel Fish
and the Aunt's Thing (yes, you have it again, you just can't get
rid of it).

Push the switch on the Drive. After a short stay in the dark, you
will find yourself in the whale's tummy (it may, however, take
more than one try to get here, but you will make it eventually).
There's a flowerpot here! Get the pot, and put it in the Aunt's
Thing.  Now, wait around (you really don't have a choice), and
soon you will be in the dark again.

Ah, back on the HOG at last. If you take inventory, you'll notice
you don't have the Aunt's Thing. Don't panic! It will, as always,
turn up. In the meantime, go around picking up the various fluffs.
The Zaphod fluff, along with the tool box, will be by the hatch.
Trillian's, of course, is in her handbag, and Ford's is on the
satchel, and the last one is in the pocket of your gown (unless
you took it out earlier and dropped it somewhere).  The Aunt's
Thing has reappeared by now, so go up to the Bridge.

Take the flowerpot, plant all four fluffs, drop the pot, and wait
awhile.  When you see a tiny sprout has formed, take the pot into
the sauna.  When you emerge, a changed man, you will also have a
changed plant.  However, there is another problem! The HOG has
landed on Magrathea, but Eddie, overprotective as usual, has
jammed the hatch shut. And, he's not going to open it, no matter
how long it takes him to check for dangers on the planet (which
will be quite a few years).

You are almost ready! First, eat the fruit from the plant (mmm,
tasty!).  You have a vision, and pay close attention to it:  the
vision shows you what tool Marvin will need to open the hatch.
This varies from game to game, and there is no way to know which
one it is until you eat the fruit. That is also why you have to
collect all those tools. Get the tool that you saw in the vision.
If it happens to be one you haven't seen yet, then you'll find it
in Marvin's pantry.

The trick now is to find Marvin, and he's in his pantry, behind
the screening door. First, get the real tea. You automatically
drop the No Tea. But, you don't have your common sense anymore,
so....pick up the No Tea! Now, you have both Tea and No Tea at the
same time!!  Go to the Screening Door. Open it. The Door,
impressed by your being able to have both Tea and No Tea will let
you through!  However, WAIT!!! Don't go through the door yet! If
you set foot in the pantry, you will be overwhelmed by depression!
So, that magic moment has arrived, the moment you've been waiting
for ever since you left Earth: drink the real tea!! (Ahhhhhh, good
to the last drop!)

All right!  Now you can go into the Pantry (yay)! Marvin will be
there, sulking as usual. Tell him to fix the hatch.  Marvin will
grumble, but he will agree to it, and tell you to meet him at the
Hatch Access Space, with the proper tool, in twelve moves. As you
already have the tool (thanks to the fruit), you can go directly
to the Access space (drop everything but the tool and the Fish),
and wait for Marvin. When he arrives and asks for the tool, give
it to him.  Marvin will fiddle briefly, and the hatch will slide
open. Go out to the Hatch, and then down the Hatch. Wow! You have
now set foot on the legendary lost planet of Magrathea, and...
And what comes next, will have to wait for the sequel!

                  *****  THE  END  *****