Files to build: 125 symbol_export _main.t -> _main.t3s symbol_export file.t -> file.t3s symbol_export tok.t -> tok.t3s symbol_export gramprod.t -> gramprod.t3s symbol_export multmeth.t -> multmeth.t3s symbol_export reflect.t -> reflect.t3s symbol_export action.t -> action.t3s symbol_export actions.t -> actions.t3s symbol_export actor.t -> actor.t3s symbol_export banner.t -> banner.t3s symbol_export console.t -> console.t3s symbol_export disambig.t -> disambig.t3s symbol_export events.t -> events.t3s symbol_export exec.t -> exec.t3s symbol_export exits.t -> exits.t3s symbol_export extras.t -> extras.t3s symbol_export hintsys.t -> hintsys.t3s symbol_export input.t -> input.t3s symbol_export lister.t -> lister.t3s symbol_export menusys.t -> menusys.t3s symbol_export menucon.t -> menucon.t3s symbol_export misc.t -> misc.t3s symbol_export modid.t -> modid.t3s symbol_export numbers.t -> numbers.t3s symbol_export objects.t -> objects.t3s symbol_export output.t -> output.t3s symbol_export parser.t -> parser.t3s symbol_export pov.t -> pov.t3s symbol_export precond.t -> precond.t3s symbol_export report.t -> report.t3s symbol_export resolver.t -> resolver.t3s symbol_export score.t -> score.t3s symbol_export sense.t -> sense.t3s symbol_export settings.t -> settings.t3s symbol_export status.t -> status.t3s symbol_export tips.t -> tips.t3s symbol_export thing.t -> thing.t3s symbol_export travel.t -> travel.t3s symbol_export verify.t -> verify.t3s symbol_export en_us.t -> en_us.t3s symbol_export instruct.t -> instruct.t3s symbol_export msg_neu.t -> msg_neu.t3s symbol_export main.t -> main.t3s symbol_export me.t -> me.t3s symbol_export intro.t -> intro.t3s symbol_export campus.t -> campus.t3s symbol_export dabney.t -> dabney.t3s symbol_export jay.t -> jay.t3s symbol_export stack.t -> stack.t3s symbol_export bridge.t -> bridge.t3s symbol_export library.t -> library.t3s symbol_export bookstore.t -> bookstore.t3s symbol_export career.t -> career.t3s symbol_export synclab.t -> synclab.t3s symbol_export frosst.t -> frosst.t3s symbol_export about.t -> about.t3s symbol_export hints.t -> hints.t3s symbol_export mods.t -> mods.t3s symbol_export pathfind.t -> pathfind.t3s symbol_export elev.t -> elev.t3s symbol_export subtime.t -> subtime.t3s compile _main.t -> _main.t3o compile file.t -> file.t3o compile tok.t -> tok.t3o compile gramprod.t -> gramprod.t3o compile multmeth.t -> multmeth.t3o compile reflect.t -> reflect.t3o compile action.t -> action.t3o compile actions.t -> actions.t3o compile actor.t -> actor.t3o compile banner.t -> banner.t3o compile console.t -> console.t3o compile disambig.t -> disambig.t3o compile events.t -> events.t3o compile exec.t -> exec.t3o compile exits.t -> exits.t3o compile extras.t -> extras.t3o compile hintsys.t -> hintsys.t3o compile input.t -> input.t3o compile lister.t -> lister.t3o compile menusys.t -> menusys.t3o compile menucon.t -> menucon.t3o compile misc.t -> misc.t3o compile modid.t -> modid.t3o compile numbers.t -> numbers.t3o compile objects.t -> objects.t3o compile output.t -> output.t3o compile parser.t -> parser.t3o compile pov.t -> pov.t3o compile precond.t -> precond.t3o compile report.t -> report.t3o compile resolver.t -> resolver.t3o compile score.t -> score.t3o compile sense.t -> sense.t3o compile settings.t -> settings.t3o compile status.t -> status.t3o compile tips.t -> tips.t3o compile thing.t -> thing.t3o compile travel.t -> travel.t3o compile verify.t -> verify.t3o compile en_us.t -> en_us.t3o compile instruct.t -> instruct.t3o compile msg_neu.t -> msg_neu.t3o compile main.t -> main.t3o compile me.t -> me.t3o compile intro.t -> intro.t3o compile campus.t -> campus.t3o compile dabney.t -> dabney.t3o compile jay.t -> jay.t3o compile stack.t -> stack.t3o compile bridge.t -> bridge.t3o compile library.t -> library.t3o compile bookstore.t -> bookstore.t3o compile career.t -> career.t3o compile synclab.t -> synclab.t3o compile frosst.t -> frosst.t3o compile about.t -> about.t3o compile hints.t -> hints.t3o compile mods.t -> mods.t3o compile pathfind.t -> pathfind.t3o compile elev.t -> elev.t3o compile subtime.t -> subtime.t3o link -> ditch3.t3p preinit -> ditch3.t3 add_resources -> ditch3.t3 + gameinfo.txt (gameinfo.txt) (T3VM) Memory blocks still in use: Total blocks in use: 0 Return to Ditch Day Release 2 (QA-TEST-BUILD) Copyright (c)2004, 2013 Michael J. Roberts / Freeware / Type COPYRIGHT for details If this is your first time playing this game, please type ABOUT (or just 'A') for some important information. To restore a position you saved earlier, type RESTORE (or 'R'). To begin the game, just press the Enter key. > Once again, you, Doug Mittling, got stuck with the crappy travel assignment. It's the downside of being a middle manager--your engineers were all too busy with real work, and your vice president had an important fact-finding trip to Maui, but you had no excuse apart from a big pile of process reports to review. So here you are, at an anonymous power plant in a mosquito-infested jungle somewhere in south Asia, the nearest airport a twelve-hour drive away. You've been here six weeks already, trying to get this crappy SCU-1100DX working so you can give the customer a demo, but so far it's still broken. It's starting to feel desperate, especially since you've overheard Guanmgon talking about Mitachron several times recently. If you lose this contract to Mitachron, your VP will be furious. When he gets back from Maui, of course. Return to Ditch Day by Michael J. Roberts Release 2 (QA-TEST-BUILD) Control Room This is the cramped control room of Government Power Plant #6. Even before you arrived, this room was so stuffed with equipment that it was barely possible to turn around. Now that you've added the refrigerator-sized SCU-1100DX to the mix, the room has about as much open space as the "budget economy class" airline seat you were wedged into for fifteen hours on the flight here. The only exit is west. You see a circuit tester and a CT-22 diagnostic module here. Xojo and Guanmgon are standing in the doorway watching you work. >open back cover Opening the tester reveals the circuitry inside, including an XT772-LV chip. Of course! The DynaTest is just the kind of low-power application where you'd find an XT772-LV! A mosquito flies lazily past your head. You hear the opening notes of Beethoven's Fifth as rendered in piezo-electric square waves: Guanmgon's cell phone ringing. He frantically pulls out the phone, drops it, catches it in mid-air, drops it again, picks it up, pokes at the keypad, and finally puts it to his ear. His conversation isn't in English, so you don't have any idea what's being said, but you can tell it's not good news. You'd bet it's his superiors calling for yet another update. Needless to say, the bill of goods they were sold didn't include six long weeks just to get the demo working, and they haven't been hiding their impatience lately. (Your score has just increased by two points.) (If you'd prefer not to be notified about score changes in the future, type NOTIFY OFF.) >put xt772-lv in ct-22 (first taking the XT772-LV chip, then taking the XT772-HV chip from the S901 socket) Done. Guanmgon continues talking on the phone. More listening than talking, actually; even without understanding the language, you can tell that every time he starts to say something he gets interrupted. >put ct-22 in slot (first taking the CT-22 diagnostic module) The module slides into place--not quite smoothly, but at this point it's enough that it fits at all. You give it a firm push to make sure the connectors are all seated properly. Now all that remains is switching on the SCU, and hoping there's not yet another problem lurking. You notice a mosquito land on your arm, and manage to swat it before it can bite. Guanmgon fumbles with the phone, almost dropping it, and puts it away. Xojo asks him something, and you hear "Mitachron" a couple of times in Guanmgon's reply, accompanied by heavy sighs. >turn on scu You cross your fingers and flip the switch. The SCU-1100DX clicks and hums as it starts its power-on self-test sequence. Many seconds pass. You hold your breath. Guanmgon and Xojo lean in from the doorway, as though there were something to see. Then, four short beeps: successful start-up! You carefully scan the modules, and see that everything's working. After six weeks, you've finally done it; at last, you can give the demo and, hopefully, get a contract signed. Guanmgon sees the SCU power up, and squeezes into the room to check the control boards. "It is working," he says with amazement. "This is so wonderful! Dreadful disgrace is not for us now! But we must act quickly. Xojo! Escort Mr. Mittling to see the Colonel at once. Hurry with maximum haste! Do not delay! Quickly, quickly, hurry!" Xojo nods, then turns to you and indicates the doorway. A distant creaking sound echoes through the building. (Your score has just increased by ten points.) >w You let Xojo lead the way. East End of Hallway Like every other part of the plant structure, this wide fifth-floor hallway is built entirely of concrete. The north and south walls are only waist-high, apart from a few widely-spaced columns supporting the roof, leaving the hallway open to the jungle to the north and to the cavernous interior of the plant to the south. The hall ends in a doorway to the east, and continues to the west. Xojo holds his hand out to indicate the far end of the hall, and waits for you to proceed. >w You let Xojo lead the way. West End of Hallway This wide hallway has waist-high walls open to the jungle to the north, and to the enormous plant interior to the south; a few widely-spaced columns support the roof. The hall ends at an elevator door to the west, and continues to the east. Xojo reaches out and pushes the elevator call button. The neon lamp above the button lights dimly. A distant rumbling sound drifts in from somewhere out in the jungle. At first you think it's thunder, but it grows a bit louder and you realize it's an approaching helicopter. A scan of the horizon shows nothing in the air. Suddenly the noise is deafening, and a black shape swoops into view from overhead, racing away toward the buildings across the river. As the helicopter flies past, you spot the yellow Mitachron logo on the tail. >z Time passes... The sound of another approaching helicopter drifts in from the jungle, and within a few moments it appears--along with three others, flying in formation, heading the same way as the previous one. The four fly across the river and land next to the first. >z Time passes... The arrival of the Mitachron people is awfully worrying; they must really want this deal to have sent such a large group. At least they'll have to do their own demo, so you're ahead of them on that count. Even so, direct competitive situations with Mitachron never seem to go well for Omegatron. Maybe if you can get to the Colonel quickly enough, you'll be able to get your contract signed before the Mitachron reps even get a meeting with her. >z Time passes... A loud buzzer sounds from the elevator, and the neon lamp above the call button goes out. Xojo pulls opens the door and pushes aside the elevator's folding metal gate for you, and waits for you to get in. >w You let Xojo lead the way. Elevator This is a big, sturdily-built elevator, like something you'd find in an old warehouse. There's been no attempt at decoration; just dull metal walls, a folding metal gate to the east, a handrail on the back wall, a recessed service panel in the ceiling, a bare bulb dimly burning at the top corner of the back wall. Protruding black buttons are labeled, from the bottom, S2, S1, G, and 2 through 5. Beyond the gate is the bare concrete of the shaft wall. Xojo lets the door swing shut and closes the gate, then pushes the "G" button. The elevator lurches and starts slowly descending. >z Time passes... Xojo clears his throat. "I was wondering," he says, "if your fine company might consider myself for a position of employment." He produces a piece of paper and holds it out for you. "My r‚sum‚," he says. "I would most appreciate your kind consideration." The elevator descends past a door marked "4." (You could ask him about the helicopters, or tell him about the Omegatron hiring freeze.) >z Time passes... "If anything is unclear on my r‚sum‚," Xojo says, "I would be pleased to clarify." The elevator continues its slow descent. >z Time passes... The elevator descends past a door marked "3." >z Time passes... "I would appreciate the opportunity to be considered for opportunities with your wonderful company," Xojo says. The elevator continues its lethargic descent. Rationally, you know that the few minutes of this elevator ride aren't going to cost you the deal, but that doesn't stop the irrational part of your brain from pumping out anxiety hormones. >z Time passes... The elevator descends past a door marked "2." >z Time passes... Xojo looks at you expectantly. The elevator plods on. Come on, come on, come on... >z Time passes... Xojo watches you expectantly. The elevator descends past a door marked "G." Strange; you thought that was your stop. Xojo, looking a little alarmed, starts punching buttons. "No reason for panic," he says, not very convincingly, but then he seems to calm down and stop fooling with the buttons. "The elevator programming is sometimes faulty. We should be halted soon, since the shaft is nearly at bottom." >z Time passes... The elevator continues its slow descent. >z Time passes... The elevator descends past a door marked "S1." >z Time passes... The elevator continues its slow descent. >z Time passes... The elevator descends past a door marked "S2." Xojo grips the handrail tightly. "Be firm, the stopping is ready to be abrupt." You grab the handrail and brace yourself. The shaft wall keeps going by for a few more moments, showing no sign of slowing, then: thud! Not a jerk from the cable above, but the sharp shock of hitting something below. The whole elevator shudders. Outside the gate, the shaft wall is suddenly motionless. "All is safe now," Xojo says, relaxing. "Now we need do no more than wait patiently for rescue." >ask xojo about panel You point to the service panel. "Do you think we could get out through that panel?" Xojo looks at it appraisingly. "Perhaps, but the height is too far above for me to reach it. Perhaps I could lift you, and you could attempt reaching. Shall we try?" >yes "Okay," you say, "let's give it a try." Xojo bends down to let you climb onto his shoulders, which you manage to do with some awkwardness, then he shakily stands up. This puts you in easy reach of the ceiling. "I hope you can see what a high-initiative employee I would be," Xojo says, straining a bit under your weight. >open panel You give the plate a push, and it lifts away easily. You slide it aside, leaving a two-by-three foot opening in the ceiling. >up You lift yourself through the opening, first propping yourself on your elbows, then using the leverage to lift the rest of your body. Just as you're almost through, you hear the sound of tearing cloth--you realize you managed to snag the leg of your pants on the edge of the opening, making a huge rip down half the leg. Elevator Shaft The roof of the elevator car doesn't make a very good place to stand, crowded as it is with mechanical protrusions and cable attachments. A service hatch provides access to the elevator's interior. The main cable hangs limply from the top of the shaft far above. To the east is a door marked "S2", just a little above the top of the elevator. The service hatch cover is lying next to the opening. You extend your hand to Xojo and help him climb up from the elevator. (Your score has just increased by five points.) >put panel in slot (first taking the metal plate) You slide the plate into the slot. You move it up and down a bit, and you feel it catch on something. You give it a little tug; with a click, the door unlatches and pops just a little ajar. You remove the plate from the slot. >e (first opening the door) You give the door a push and it swings open. It's spring-loaded, so you have to hold it open. You climb the couple of feet over the raised threshold. West End of Hallway This is the west end of a dimly-lit corridor. The hall ends here with an elevator door to the west, and continues to the east. You hold the door open for Xojo, then let it swing shut after he comes through. You hear the door latch as it closes. "Your plan of escape was conceived and executed with great excellence," Xojo says. "The main canyon bridge is unfortunately not accessible from this sub- basement level, but I know of an alternative crossing. This way, please." He points down the hall. (Your score has just increased by two points.) >e You let Xojo lead the way. Middle of Hallway This long, dimly-lit corridor extends to the east and west. A low, narrow door leads north. Xojo opens the door. "This way, please," he says, indicating the door. >n You let Xojo lead the way. Storage Room This dark, musty room is packed with boxes, crates, and random junk, jammed into every available space and stacked precariously from the floor to the low ceiling. A narrow path seems to wind through the junk to the north. A door leads south. "The clutter is formidable," Xojo says, "but the way north is passable." >n You let Xojo lead the way. You carefully pick your way through the piles of junk, but the place is so cramped that you can't avoid getting covered with dust and cobwebs. Utility Area This is the north end of a dark, musty storage room. Junk is piled almost from floor to ceiling to the south, except for a narrow path that winds through the clutter. This end of the room is mostly cleared of junk, probably to leave room to access the pipes, conduits, and other utility equipment arrayed near the north wall. A round opening in the north wall leads outside; it looks like it was designed mostly for the pipes and conduits, but there's enough space left over for a person to fit through. Xojo points to the opening. "My apologies, but this is the way for proceeding," he says. >n You let Xojo lead the way. Utility Platform This rickety walkway is little more than a steel grating bolted to the outside of the power plant building, suspended over a six-hundred foot drop into the canyon below. The plant wall continues for another twenty feet below, where it reaches the top of the sheer cliff wall of the canyon. The canyon wall drops almost vertically to the river below. A crude rope bridge over the canyon ends here. This end of the bridge is tied to the steel grating of the platform, and the bridge extends out over the canyon to the north. Numerous pipes and conduits run up and down the wall of the building. Many go in through the round opening in the wall to the south, but there's just enough space left over for a person to fit through the opening. A short distance east, the underside of the main bridge across the canyon is visible. "Apologies once again," Xojo says, indicating the rope bridge. "It is relatively safe, in contrast to appearances." >n You take a deep breath and carefully follow Xojo's lead, holding the main support ropes for balance and hunting around for footing on each step. South End of Rope Bridge Standing on this bridge is a lot more difficult than it looked from the platform. The whole thing wants to fold up under your weight, and the lattice of ropes making up the walkway shifts with every step. Xojo waits for you to catch up. A sharp vibration shudders through the bridge, as though someone struck one of the ropes with a hammer. >n You let Xojo lead the way. Middle of Rope Bridge This is just about halfway across the bridge. From here, the ends of the bridge are so far away they're not readily visible, making it almost feel like the bridge is floating in mid-air over the canyon. Xojo waits for you to catch up. The whole bridge abruptly falls about three feet, then stops with a jerk. Xojo looks back and laughs nervously. >n You let Xojo lead the way. You think you're starting to get the hang of this, and you move forward with a little more confidence. The north end of the bridge finally comes into sight--not much further now. The bridge shudders with a sharp shock and twists to the left. You stop and hold on tight. The vibration fades, but the walkway is still at an odd angle, so you try to shift your weight to right yourself. Another shudder, and the bridge twists even more, then drops about six feet and jerks to a stop. Your heart pounds and you hang on as tightly as you can. Xojo looks back. "Perhaps we should--" The bridge gives way, and you're in free-fall. You hang on to the rope out of reflex, but it's just falling with you. Maybe not, though: the rope jerks tight and starts pulling you toward the north face of the cliff. Suddenly you're falling sideways rather than down, the north cliff approaching fast. You brace yourself for impact just before you slam into the cliff wall. After a couple of bounces, you more or less come to a stop. You take a look at yourself, and it doesn't look like you're bleeding. Maybe you're so drenched with adrenaline that you don't realize how badly you're hurt yet, but you don't seem to have any serious injuries; you're undoubtedly a little bruised, but no major body parts seem broken or missing. It looks like you lost one of your shoes, though. Hanging on a Rope Bridge What was once a rope bridge is now hanging vertically alongside the north cliff of the canyon. Fortunately, the construction of the bridge seems somewhat usable as a ladder. It looks like it's only about fifty feet to the top of the cliff above; the rest of the bridge continues for some distance below. Xojo is just above, hanging on to the ropes. "I think we can climb up from here," he says. >u You let Xojo lead the way. It's a bit of work, but the rope lattice of the former walkway actually makes a pretty good ladder. You make it to the top of the cliff in almost no time, and Xojo helps you up over the edge. Edge of Canyon This is a rough area strewn with rocks and overgrown with vegetation. To the south, the sheer cliff wall of the canyon drops away almost vertically. A little path leading northeast has been cut through the overgrowth. The end of the rope bridge is anchored to a pair of sturdy metal stakes driven into the rock. The bridge itself hangs limply over the edge of the canyon. Xojo sits on the ground, catching his breath. "Ha, ha," he forces a laugh. "Perhaps I should have mentioned. The senior leaders sometimes find it is useful to partially cut the ropes anchoring the bridge, as a surprise to those crossing it. This reminds Junior Peons of the importance of remaining alert." He gets to his feet. "This way," he says, pointing to the path. >ne You let Xojo lead the way. You follow the path through the dense foliage. Courtyard A sizable area of jungle has been cleared to form this courtyard. The vast main administrative office building wraps around the north and east sides of the area, and low wooden fences keep the jungle at bay to the south and west. A narrow path leads southwest into the jungle. A set of doors to the east leads into the building. Several helicopters--you count five--are parked here, rotors still spinning lazily. Dozens of people wearing black Mitachron-logo polo shirts are busily dashing around, many carrying boxes or crates. Xojo points to the doors into the building. The Mitachron people are here in force, all right; all of this activity must be to set up an instant demo. It's a very good thing you let Xojo take you across that rope bridge after all; if it had taken any longer to get here, they might actually have been able to steal this deal away from you. Luckily, it looks like you got here in time. >e (first opening the administration building doors) You let Xojo lead the way. Lobby On past visits to the administration center, this large, open lobby was quite austere and utilitarian, but it's been transformed: it's festive, colorful, almost carnival-like. The room is crowded with people talking and dancing. Balloons and confetti fill the air, a live band plays from a stage, tables spread with food line the walls, waiters weave through the crowd with big trays of drinks. A set of doors leads outside to the west. Xojo taps you on the shoulder. "Behold, Colonel Magnxi!" he shouts, pointing to the Colonel. You hadn't picked her out of the crowd yet, but now you see her standing nearby. So this is your chance. You wish you didn't look like you'd just been hit by a bus, but this is no time to worry about trivial details such as looking presentable. Besides, the Colonel looks a little ridiculous herself--the military uniform she's wearing is funny-looking enough, but she's worn that every other time you've met with her. It's the hat she has on that crosses the line from eccentric to bizarre. The music changes to a slower dance song. >talk to colonel "Colonel Magnxi!" you shout, trying to be heard over the music, but the brass section picks just this moment to get really loud. The Colonel doesn't seem to hear you. The tempo of the music slows down a little, and things get a little less noisy. >again You push your way through the crowd and wave your arms, shouting a little louder. "Colonel! Colonel Magnxi!" She looks your way like she actually heard you this time, but a waiter cuts in front of you. The waiter moves off, but Colonel Magnxi is talking to someone else again now. "Excuse me!" a waiter shouts. You make enough room for him to get past, and he moves away through the crowd. >g You shout at the top of your lungs. "Colonel Magnxi!" Just as you do, the music stops--your shout echoes through the suddenly quiet room. Everyone turns and looks at you. The Colonel stares at you along with everyone else for a moment, then smiles. "Oh, how lovely to see you again," the Colonel says in her perfect English accent. She squints and wobbles a little, like she's had a bit to drink. "Mister, um, Mister Muddling, isn't it? Well, do join us. We were all just celebrating our new partnership with the Mitachron Corporation. Isn't this a lovely party Mitachron are throwing for us?" New partnership? "But, but..." you stutter, not believing what you're hearing. The band starts a new song, a bit less deafening than the last one. "And did you see my brilliant new hat?" she asks, running her fingers around the oversized brim. "It's a gift from Mr. Belker here. Really, Frosst, it's too much." Oh, no. You didn't see him here until just now. The slight, pale man standing next to Magnxi is Frosst Belker, a junior executive at Mitachron. You've crossed paths with him before, always on occasions just like this. "Ah, Mr. Mittling," Belker says with that damned smirk of his. He speaks with a faint accent you've never been able to place, his vowels a bit elongated and nasal, his consonants a little too crisply enunciated. "Again we see there is no customer you can court which I cannot take away." He finishes his champagne and hands the glass to a passing waiter. "Colonel, a pleasure doing business, as always. I must be on my way, but do enjoy the party." He and the Colonel embrace like diplomats, and then he turns to go, but he stops for a moment and looks your way. "You too, of course, Mr. Mittling," he says with another smirk, then chuckles and walks off, disappearing into the crowd. The colonel goes back to mingling. A group of laughing people pushes past you. (Your score has just increased by one point.) >z Time passes... Xojo taps you on the shoulder and hands you a piece of paper--a print-out from an old-style line printer, with alternating green and white horizontal stripes across the page. "This arrived in the nightly batch of electronic e-mail," he says. "I express my sympathy for your unfortunate non-success," he adds. "I wish you improvement of fortune for your future endeavors. Now, I must return to assist Guanmgon in dismantling your very wonderful SCU-1100DX product." You shake hands, and he disappears into the crowd. The band plays a slightly quieter passage briefly, then the tempo picks up and they're even louder than before. >read print-out It's a print-out from an old-style line printer, printed on continuous fan-fold paper with alternating stripes of white and pale green. It's an e-mail message from your boss; he must be back from Maui. It's in his distinctive all-lower- case style; he does that to impress upon people that he's too important to waste his valuable time pressing the Shift key. His spelling and punctuation styles are similarly streamlined. *** doug- hope your done with the demo by now.....when you get back i need you to go down to la to recrute a cal tech student named brian stamer. rudyb saw an artical about him someware hes all hot to hir ehim. do you no him....anyway rudyb wants you to go cause you went to cal tech. thx carl btw- im out of the office next month....important conference in fiji. im getting burned out from all this travel so im going to take some time off when i get back. if you need anything just email. bbtw- o-travel got you a grate!!! price on you're return flight. they found a downgrade to economy-minus, it has a couple xtra connectoins, im sure you wont mind. saves big $$$ in the bujit, fiji kind of pushed it over, rudyb is all like your overspending to much again so we all have to pitch in to costcut more. have fun in la!!!!!!!!!!!!! *** Great. You're not even back from this miserable trip yet and you already have another one scheduled. Oh, well. Might as well arrange for the ox cart back to the airport, or whatever it is the new, lower budget will allow... Three weeks later... The airport shuttle drops you off at the end of San Pasqual St., at the east edge of the Caltech campus, and drives off. You'd forgotten how incredibly heinous LA traffic can be. The 105 was solid tail-lights all the way from LAX to downtown, and the 110 was a parking lot most of the way up to Pas. You had thought you might poke around campus a little before your appointment, but that's out of the question now; better get straight to the Career Center Office. Speaking of which, it seems like they move the Career Center to a new building every time you're down here; this time it's in the Student Services building, a short distance up Holliston. San Pasqual St. This is the end of a wide residential street. Parked cars line both sides of the street, which continues to the east, out into Pasadena. The street ends here and becomes a walkway to the west, leading deeper into the campus. Tall bushes along the south side of the street partially conceal a wall, which encloses the rear of the North Houses complex. Holliston Ave., which ends here in a T-intersection, continues north. >n Holliston Ave. This is a typically wide Pasadena residential street, running north and south. The back side of the Physical Plant machine shop is to the west, and the Student Services building is on the east side of the street. >e Student Services Lobby A brightly-colored sofa and a couple of big potted plants lend some cheer to this small lobby. Several doors lead to adjoining rooms: to the north is a door labeled "Office of Graduate Studies"; to the east, a door marked "Student Affairs"; and to the south, "Career Center Office." A doorway to the west leads out to the street. >s Career Center Office This room seems to be loosely divided into an office area and a public area. Several desks are grouped on one side of the room, making up the office area. On the other side, a couple of couches (one large and one small) are arranged in an "L" around a square glass coffee table. A literature rack stands near the couches. A door to the north leads out to the lobby. A woman is sitting at one of the desks, talking on the phone. She sees you come in, gives you a little wave, and holds up her index finger in the standard "just a moment" gesture. (Your score has just increased by one point.) >z Time passes... >z Time passes... >z Time passes... The woman covers the phone with her hand and says to you loudly, "Hold your horses--I'll be with you in a minute." She goes back to her phone call. >z Time passes... >z Time passes... You hear someone coming through the door, and look over to see a slender man in a white double-breasted jacket and white slacks sauntering into the room. You almost groan out loud when you realize that it's none other than Frosst Belker. You just hope he's not here to interview the same student you are--as tough as it is to beat them at selling, it's even harder to beat them at hiring. Belker surveys the room. He looks at the woman on the phone, then at you, then smiles--not warmly, not like he's glad to see you, more like he's amused at a private joke. "Mr. Mittling," he says with his slight accent, "what a pleasant surprise. Our respective employers evidently have similar tastes in prospective employees as well as in clients. Let us hope that on this occasion, your reach is more consonant with your grasp, as it were, than it has so often proved in our past encounters." >z Time passes... The woman hangs up the phone and walks over to you and Belker, carrying a manila folder. She looks the two of you over. "Would you two be..." She searches her folder for a moment, the continues, "Belker and Mittling?" "Yes, I'm Frosst Belker," Belker says, offering his hand, which she shakes briskly. "I'm Ms. Dinsdale," she says, "but you can call me `ma'am.'" She suddenly bursts into laughter, literally slapping her knee and throwing her head back, and then, just as suddenly, she's all business again. "No, seriously, `Ms. Dinsdale' will be fine." She turns to you. "And you would be Mittling, from Omegatron?" >yes "That's right," you say, shaking her hand. She looks again at her folder, speaking while flipping through its contents. "And you both came to see Mr. Stamer, I see." She looks up and shakes her head. "Well," she says in a peevish tone, "don't shoot the messenger, but I'm afraid Stamer won't be seeing you today. It seems he had something more `important' to do, namely Ditch Day. I don't suppose either of you have ever heard of that before?" >yes "I'm actually an alum," you say. "Good," Ms. Dinsdale replies. "I hate explaining things. Belker, what about you?" "This `Ditch Day' would be the tradition wherein the seniors abandon the campus for the day, yes? Leaving behind all manner of creative puzzles and challenges which are known, I believe, as `stacks,' hmm? Ah, and the underclassmen all strive to overcome these challenges to gain access to the rooms of the seniors. Am I informed properly?" "Yep," Ms. Dinsdale says, "that's basically it." "So," Belker says, "I take it we are to arrange new appointments with Mr. Stamer?" Ms. Dinsdale draws closer, speaks almost conspiratorially. "Let me tell you, if I were you, and he pulled something like this with me, I'd flush the little punk right down the john. Here, look at this note he left for you and tell me this isn't the most arrogant thing you've never seen." She hands a note to Belker; he reads it quickly and hands it to you. >read note Dear Ms. Dinsdale, Sorry to spring this on you with no notice, but I have an unusual request for the Mitachron and Omegatron reps. I'd like to ask them to take a stab at solving my stack. If they do, I'll take a job at the winner's company, assuming they want to make an offer. Sorry if it seems arrogant of me to want to interview the interviewers like this, but most of the recruiters I've met so far weren't technical enough to change a lightbulb. As you know, I want to work someplace where I'll be around smart people, and I thought this would be a good filter. --Brian (Dabney, room 4) (You could accept the challenge, or decline the challenge.) >accept challenge You hardly have a choice, given Rudy's personal interest in hiring Stamer; even so, this could be kind of fun. "Count me in," you tell Ms. Dinsdale. Belker chuckles. "I also accept, of course." She gives you both a shocked look. "Really? Well, I think you're both crazy, but I guess it's your cheesecake. Stamer lives in Dabney House, room 4. I hope you kept the campus maps I sent you because you're not getting new ones." She slaps her knee again and guffaws. "No, seriously, we're out of maps. Anyway. I think Ditch Day goes until five PM, so you've got a whole day to blow." She shakes her head, rolls her eyes, gives you and Belker a little mock salute, and returns to her desk. Belker watches her, looking amused. He finally turns to you. "It seems we find ourselves once again in a friendly rivalry." He pulls a cell phone out of his pocket and absently keys in a number. "May the better man prevail, as always." With a little nasal chuckle, he turns and heads out the door, talking into his cell phone. (Your score has just increased by one point.) >n Student Services Lobby A brightly-colored sofa and a couple of big potted plants lend some cheer to this small lobby. Several doors lead to adjoining rooms: to the north is a door labeled "Office of Graduate Studies"; to the east, a door marked "Student Affairs"; and to the south, "Career Center Office." A doorway to the west leads out to the street. Frosst Belker is walking briskly through while talking to someone on a cell phone. Belker leaves to the west. >w Holliston Ave. This is a typically wide Pasadena residential street, running north and south. The back side of the Physical Plant machine shop is to the west, and the Student Services building is on the east side of the street. Frosst Belker is walking briskly through while talking to someone on a cell phone. Belker leaves via San Pasqual Street. >s San Pasqual St. This is the end of a wide residential street. Parked cars line both sides of the street, which continues to the east, out into Pasadena. The street ends here and becomes a walkway to the west, leading deeper into the campus. Tall bushes along the south side of the street partially conceal a wall, which encloses the rear of the North Houses complex. Holliston Ave., which ends here in a T-intersection, continues north. Frosst Belker is walking briskly through while talking to someone on a cell phone. Belker leaves via the walkway. >w San Pasqual Walkway This broad paved walkway curves through a well-maintained lawn surrounded by campus buildings. The entrance to Jorgensen lab is to the north, the Physical Plant offices are to the northeast, and the back of Page House is to the southeast. The walkway continues west, and abuts the end of San Pasqual Street to the east. A narrower intersecting walkway leads south. Frosst Belker is walking briskly through while talking to someone on a cell phone. Belker leaves via the intersecting walkway. >s Quad This open lawn area is known as the Quad, for its rectangular shape. Several walkways meet here: the Olive Walk leads east and west, the Orange Walk leads down a few steps to the south, and another walkway leads north. To the northwest is the campus bookstore. The two main student house complexes lie a short distance to the east: the North Houses on the north side of the Olive Walk, and the older South Houses on the south side. Alongside the Olive Walk, a couple of workers are standing by an open rectangular manhole, which they've cordoned off with yellow "Caution" tape strung around some stakes in the ground. Several big spools of wire are piled up next to the manhole, along with a piece of electronic gear. Frosst Belker is walking briskly through while talking to someone on a cell phone. Belker leaves via the Orange Walk. >s Orange Walk This north-south walkway is named for the orange trees planted alongside. A few steps ascend to the north. To the south, the walkway ends at California Boulevard, which forms the southern limit of the campus. An unpaved path through the orange trees leads west. To the east, a passage leads into Dabney Hovse. Frosst Belker is walking briskly through while talking to someone on a cell phone. Belker leaves to the east. >e Breezeway This wide passageway opens onto a courtyard to the east, and to the west leads out of the house to the Orange Walk. A dimly-lit hallway leads into the house to the north; painted on the wall alongside the hallway is the legend "1-9". Frosst Belker is walking briskly through while talking to someone on a cell phone. Belker leaves to the north. >n Alley One South Some of the other houses give fanciful names to their alleys, but for some reason the Darbs never bothered; they just refer to their alleys by number, this one being Alley One. Room 1 is to the east and room 2 to the west; the hallway continues north, and a doorway leads south. The walls are heavily adorned with graffiti, as they were when you were a student here. Frosst Belker is walking briskly through while talking to someone on a cell phone. Belker leaves to the north. >n Alley One North Alley One ends here in a stairway leading up. Room 3 is to the east and room 4 is to the west. The hallway continues south. Next to the door to room 4 is a small table, on which is a black metal box that looks like it could once have been a microwave oven. A sign (really just a sheet of paper) is fastened to the door above the box. Two students are looking at the black box, and talking quietly to each other. One is a tall, skinny guy with frizzy red hair; the other is a short blonde woman. Belker is here, pacing in little circles as he talks into his cell phone. (Your score has just increased by one point.) >read sign It's a laser-printed set of instructions for the stack: *** Brian's Black Box of Mystery My stack is the black box you see before you. It controls the door to my room. All you have to do is figure out how to make the box open the door. This is a "finesse" stack, which means you're not allowed to use physical force to break the stack--so no breaking down my door. You're also not allowed to force open the black box, or move it, or disturb its external wiring. Apart from all that, you can use pretty much any means you like to figure out how the box works. I'll give you one hint: electronic test equipment might be helpful. For your convenience, I've left a bunch of equipment in my lab (022 Bridge). You can help yourself to anything on the shelves on the back wall. The key to the lab is on top of the box. P.S. If there are a couple of non-Techers working on the stack, that's okay. They're recruiters who came here to interview me, and I invited them to join in the Ditch Day fun. One special rule for them: you're allowed as many helpers as you want and any equipment you want, but everything you use has to be on- campus. It wouldn't be fair to just phone it in from headquarters. *** The young woman approaches you. "Hi," she says. "I'm curious--are you guys the recruiters?" "Yeah," you answer. "He's with Mitachron. I'm Doug, from Omegatron." "Greetings, Doug from Omegatron," the guy with the frizzy hair says. "I'm Aaron." "Me, too," the young woman says, "only I spell it E-R-I-N." She takes something out of her pocket and shows it to you: a key. "I've got the key to the lab, by the way," she says, and puts it away. "You guys are welcome to come with us when we go to the lab, if you want." >z Time passes... >z Time passes... Frosst rotates his cell phone away from his mouth, still holding it to his ear. "Excuse me," he says to Aaron and Erin, "might I ask what subject you two young people are studying at this university?" "We're both double-E's--electrical engineers," Erin says. "Then surely you have encountered the Pauli principle of exclusion," he says. Erin and Aaron look at each other, confused. "The principle that allows semiconductors to function and makes all modern electronics possible? Well. I mention this because it seems we have our own exclusion principle of sorts. In our case, it is not electrons that interest us but we several persons, who will presently find it difficult to occupy the same space while working on the same... stack. This is why I would like to offer you a certain sum, merely for finding another stack to pursue. There are many, I understand." Erin looks insulted. "You think you can just buy us off?" Belker uses his shoulder to pin the cell phone to his ear and reaches into his pocket, taking out a wad of cash. "It is more of the nature of a token in recompense," he says. "A collection of large equipment will be arriving presently, which will make this hallway cramped and unpleasant. My offer is by way of apology for the inconvenience I am sure to cause. Perhaps a fair amount would be, hmm, five dollars?" Aaron and Erin look at each other incredulously. "Five dollars?" Erin asks. "Five dollars each, of course." "Whoa!" says Aaron. The two happily accept the money and start to leave, but Erin abruptly halts, turns around, and takes out a key. "I guess I won't be needing this," she says, tossing you the key. Then they race off down the hall. You glance at the key and see that it's labeled "Lab." You put it on your keyring to make sure you don't lose it. >s Alley One South Some of the other houses give fanciful names to their alleys, but for some reason the Darbs never bothered; they just refer to their alleys by number, this one being Alley One. Room 1 is to the east and room 2 to the west; the hallway continues north, and a doorway leads south. The walls are heavily adorned with graffiti, as they were when you were a student here. >s Breezeway This wide passageway opens onto a courtyard to the east, and to the west leads out of the house to the Orange Walk. A dimly-lit hallway leads into the house to the north; painted on the wall alongside the hallway is the legend "1-9". Several movers carrying boxes and crates come in from the Orange Walk, look around briefly, then head into the north hallway. As they trudge into the hallway, you see that their uniforms bear the Mitachron logo. More movers arrive behind them. Several empty-handed movers stream past. >w Orange Walk This north-south walkway is named for the orange trees planted alongside. A few steps ascend to the north. To the south, the walkway ends at California Boulevard, which forms the southern limit of the campus. An unpaved path through the orange trees leads west. To the east, a passage leads into Dabney Hovse. Mitachron movers are working their way up from California Boulevard and into Dabney, carrying loads of boxes and crates. >n Quad This open lawn area is known as the Quad, for its rectangular shape. Several walkways meet here: the Olive Walk leads east and west, the Orange Walk leads down a few steps to the south, and another walkway leads north. To the northwest is the campus bookstore. The two main student house complexes lie a short distance to the east: the North Houses on the north side of the Olive Walk, and the older South Houses on the south side. Alongside the Olive Walk, a couple of workers are standing by an open rectangular manhole, which they've cordoned off with yellow "Caution" tape strung around some stakes in the ground. Several big spools of wire are piled up next to the manhole, along with a piece of electronic gear. >nw Bookstore Most of this large, bright space is crammed with low bookshelves in narrow rows, but the front part is a little more open, with books displayed on a series of tables. The exit is southeast, and next to it is the check-out counter and a small newspaper stand. Next to one of the tables is a display bin filled with stuffed animals. A clerk is standing behind the counter. >x newspaper stand It's just a little basket on legs, for holding a stack of folded newspapers. It contains a copy of the California Tech. >get newspaper Taken. >read it You glance through the few pages of the paper. There's an article on some esoteric matter of politics in Ricketts, another on proposed changes to the undergrad humanities requirements, a review of a new local restaurant, another of a Theater Arts play. You read through an amusing article about Jay Santoshnimoorthy, a current Darb, who got on the Wayne Alders show (the late- night cable talk show) with his amazing ability to program pocket calculators. On the show, the article says, he programmed a basic four-function solar- powered calculator to speak the little catch-phrases that Wayne's announcer/sidekick Phil is always saying. There's also a home-grown comic strip; in this episode, the characters are in some kind of sleep-deprivation economics experiment. >look in bin The bin contains lots of animals, including a plush rat toy, a plush rhesus monkey, and a plush guinea pig. >get rat Taken. >put rat on counter As you put the plush rat toy on the counter, the clerk picks it up, carefully turns it over, and punches some keys on the cash register. "Is that everything?" he asks. >open wallet and give credit card to clerk (first taking the wallet from your pocket) Opening the wallet reveals a Consumer Express card, an alumni ID card, and a driver's license. (first taking the Consumer Express card from the wallet) You hand over your card. The clerk turns it over a couple of times, looking at it carefully, almost suspiciously. "I haven't seen one of these in a long while," he says. "I didn't know they still made them." He shrugs and runs it through the register, then waits a few moments until the register starts printing a receipt. He hands you back the card along with the receipt. "Thanks for coming in," he says. >get rat (first closing the wallet, then putting it in your pocket to make room) Taken. >out Quad This open lawn area is known as the Quad, for its rectangular shape. Several walkways meet here: the Olive Walk leads east and west, the Orange Walk leads down a few steps to the south, and another walkway leads north. To the northwest is the campus bookstore. The two main student house complexes lie a short distance to the east: the North Houses on the north side of the Olive Walk, and the older South Houses on the south side. Alongside the Olive Walk, a couple of workers are standing by an open rectangular manhole, which they've cordoned off with yellow "Caution" tape strung around some stakes in the ground. Several big spools of wire are piled up next to the manhole, along with a piece of electronic gear. >w West Olive Walk The olive walk runs east and west here through a broad lawn flanked by academic buildings. On the north side is the beige, rectilinear expanse of Thomas. Firestone, to the southeast, and Guggenheim, to the southwest, are joined together by a second-story bridge over the wide gap between them; a paved walkway leads south under the bridge. >n (first opening the door to Thomas) Thomas Lobby This wide, high-ceilinged entryway is paneled in dark wood, making it feel a little gloomy. Doors lead off the lobby to the east and west, and a wide double door leads outside to the south. A hand-written sign taped to the east doorway reads "Robotics Competition," with an arrow pointing east. >e (first opening the east door) Robotics Lab This is a large, open room, with a door leading out to the west. A miniature obstacle course fills the floor: little orange traffic cones, sheet metal half- cylinders serving as tunnels, wooden ramps. Everything is about the right scale for a Chihauhau, although given the sign outside, it must be for pint- sized robots. A small toy car is lying on the floor at one corner of the obstacle course; someone must have been driving it around the course for fun. Next to it is a little box that must be its remote control. >get toy car, remote control toy car: (first opening the tote bag, then putting the note from Brian Stamer in it to make room) Opening the tote bag reveals a campus map and an information sheet. It looks like the car has just been sitting here for a while, so you figure it's probably okay to borrow it for the day. Taken. remote control: (first putting the California Tech in the tote bag to make room) Taken. >w Thomas Lobby This wide, high-ceilinged entryway is paneled in dark wood, making it feel a little gloomy. Doors lead off the lobby to the east and west, and a wide double door leads outside to the south. A hand-written sign taped to the east doorway reads "Robotics Competition," with an arrow pointing east. >s West Olive Walk The olive walk runs east and west here through a broad lawn flanked by academic buildings. On the north side is the beige, rectilinear expanse of Thomas. Firestone, to the southeast, and Guggenheim, to the southwest, are joined together by a second-story bridge over the wide gap between them; a paved walkway leads south under the bridge. >w Rock Garden The walkway winds its way through a rock garden set within a terraced series of ponds. The path ascends the hillside to the west, and leads to the Olive Walk to the east. A distance off to the west, you can see the Millikan library towering above. >w Millikan Pond The nine-story obsidian tower of the Millikan Library is to the west, rising above the wide rectangular pond that fills the large open area north of the walkway. A combination abstract sculpture and fountain in the center of the pond shoots several streams of water into the air. Bridge Lab is a short distance to the south, and the entrance to the library is to the west. A path leads east, down a hill. >s Bridge Lab Entryway This entry hall reflects the different sense of proportion architects had in the 1920s: it's a bit too narrow and a bit too tall to the modern eye. At the south end of the hall, stairs lead up and down, and a doorway at the north end leads outside. A display case is set into the east wall. >d Basement Hall It's just the basement, but this hallway has an almost oppressively subterranean feel, as though it were buried deep underground: the air is damp and musty, the lighting dim, the slightly-arched ceiling so low that you can't quite stand up straight. The hall continues west, and ends to the east in a stairway leading up, back to the land of the surface dwellers. A door labeled 021 leads south, and another numbered 022 leads north. The hall continues to the west. >n (first putting the Consumer Express card in the tote bag to make room, then taking the keyring from your pocket, then unlocking door 022, then opening it) Lab 022 Improvised equipment is packed into this small lab, which feels a bit like an underground parking garage thanks to the low ceiling and concrete surfaces. The room is dominated by a big steel lab bench roughly in the center of the lab, and pieces of equipment are arrayed around the bench and along the walls. A set of shelves on the back wall are laden with yet more equipment. On the lab bench are a pocket calculator and a report folder. >get signal generator (first putting the bookstore receipt in the tote bag to make room, then putting the plush rat toy in the tote bag to make room) You start to lift the signal generator off the shelf, but it gets stuck on something. You feel around the sides and find some tangled cords, and finally manage to get the signal generator free. As you pull it away from the shelf, you notice a small white ball, connected to a blue cable, dropping onto the shelf. Taken. >get oscilloscope (first putting the toy car in the tote bag to make room, then putting the remote control in the tote bag to make room) Taken. (Your score has just increased by two points.) >get calculator (first putting the keyring in your pocket to make room) Technically, Stamer's note only invited you to help yourself to what's on the shelves, but you doubt anyone would mind if you borrowed the calculator for the day. Taken. >get report (first putting the signal generator in the tote bag to make room) You figure no one will need this today; you'll just have to remember to return it later. Taken. >read report "Spin Decorrelation and Bulk Matter Decoherence Isolation - DRAFT." It seems to be a recent draft of a research paper that Stamer's lab group is working on. You make it about halfway into the abstract before you realize you have no idea what it's about. You flip through the paper a bit, but the only thing you really remember about quantum physics is some stuff about semiconductor band- gaps from EE 11. At the back are a bunch of bibliographic references that mostly look as intimidating as the paper itself, although a couple are called out as "introductory": a paper in the journal Quantum Review Letters number 70:11c, an article in Science & Progress magazine number XLVI-3, and a chapter in a textbook, Introductory Quantum Physics by Bl”mner. >look Lab 022 Improvised equipment is packed into this small lab, which feels a bit like an underground parking garage thanks to the low ceiling and concrete surfaces. The room is dominated by a big steel lab bench roughly in the center of the lab, and pieces of equipment are arrayed around the bench and along the walls. A set of shelves on the back wall are laden with yet more equipment. >pull wire (the network cable) You pull the wire away from the wall plate, not hard enough to break it but enough to take up any slack in the behind-the-wall wiring. You pull it a couple of inches, and a little paper tag wrapped around the wire pops out from behind the wall plate. You get a couple more inches of wire before the runs out of slack. >read tag The bright green tag is marked with the digits 3349-2016. You can also make out faint, tiny type on the edge reading "NIC." The tag is folded over the wire and glued in place with a strong adhesive. > I beg your pardon? >s Basement Hall It's just the basement, but this hallway has an almost oppressively subterranean feel, as though it were buried deep underground: the air is damp and musty, the lighting dim, the slightly-arched ceiling so low that you can't quite stand up straight. The hall continues west, and ends to the east in a stairway leading up, back to the land of the surface dwellers. A door labeled 021 leads south, and another numbered 022 leads north. The hall continues to the west. >w Basement Hall West The low, dimly-lit hallway ends here and continues to the east. On the south side of the hall is a door labeled 023, and on the north side another labeled 024. At the west end of the hall, a very narrow, steep stairway leads down into shadow. >d Sub-basement Hall The ceiling in this short hallway is too low for you to stand up straight, and the walls are just unpainted concrete. It would be too cruel to put anyone's office down here--even grad students--so this sub-basement is used mainly for storage and the building's systems. The hall is piled with junk, evidently overflow from the storage rooms. Faded lettering on the north door reads "Electro-Mechanical," and the east and south doors are unlabeled. To the west, a steep stairway leads up. >n (first opening the north door) Wiring Closet When you were a student, you helped wire a couple of the Bridge labs for a primitive computer network, which involved pulling a bunch of garden-hose-sized cables through the walls and connecting them to a bank of transponder boxes in this wiring closet. All of that has been long since ripped out and replaced with more modern phone-style wiring. A door leads south, out to the hall. >x wires There's a huge mass of wires here, mostly along the north wall, coming into the room through small openings in the ceiling and walls. The wires are in numerous colors: blue, red, white, yellow, orange, green. One blue wire stands out, because it's been pulled tight--you can see it's the one you tugged on upstairs. >x blue wire It's a blue network cable, pulled tight so that it stands by itself in front of the mass of wire. Like many of the other wires, it threads in through an opening in the ceiling. You trace the wire through the mass of cabling to see where it's connected, and find that it disappears into a tiny hole drilled in the north wall. >s Sub-basement Hall The ceiling in this short hallway is too low for you to stand up straight, and the walls are just unpainted concrete. It would be too cruel to put anyone's office down here--even grad students--so this sub-basement is used mainly for storage and the building's systems. The hall is piled with junk, evidently overflow from the storage rooms. Faded lettering on the north door reads "Electro-Mechanical," and the east and south doors are unlabeled. To the west, a steep stairway leads up. >e (first opening the east door) Storage Room This is a huge storage area, mostly for old furniture: the room is stacked with desks, file cabinets, bookcases. Cardboard boxes are also piled here and there, and a bunch of scrap wood is leaning against the wall in the northwest corner of the room. A door leads out to the west. >move wood You manage to shove the pile of wood a couple of feet over, which reveals a door leading north. You move the wood far enough to clear the way to the door. >n (first opening the north door) Steam Tunnel at Door This is a section of steam tunnel running east and west past a door, which leads out of the tunnel to the south. Pipes and conduits run along the walls, and bare, low-wattage light bulbs are spaced every ten feet or so along the ceiling, providing just enough light to see by. One of the pipes vibrates visibly for a few moments. >e Sloping Tunnel This section of tunnel runs east and west, sloping sharply down to the east. The steam pipes follow the slope of the tunnel. It seems to be getting a little warmer. >e Bend in Tunnel The steam tunnel turns a corner here, continuing to the north and to the west. The pipes and conduits running in from each branch of the tunnel intersect, some making the turn and others continuing straight on through the walls. >n T-Intersection Two steam tunnels meet here, forming a T: one tunnel runs north and south, and another tunnel continues off to the east. >put rat on car (first taking the plush rat toy from the tote bag) The plush rat's hand opening fits nicely over the toy car, leaving the wheels sticking out just enough to let it drive around. A deep rumbling reverberates briefly through the tunnel. >drop car (first taking the toy car from the tote bag) Dropped. A wave of hot, dry air blows past. >move joystick east (first taking the remote control from the tote bag) You nudge the joystick east. The toy car zips out of the room to the east. You hear girlish shrieking from nearby, then a worker comes running down the tunnel in a panic. He practically crashes into you, but stops and grabs you by the arms. "Rat!" he shouts at you. "Huge, ugly, mean! It's not safe down here!" He lets you go and continues running, disappearing down the tunnel. >east Bottom of Shaft A column of sunlight spills in from a shaft above, piercing the gloom of the tunnel. A ladder built into the wall ascends into the shaft. The tunnel continues west, and descends a few concrete steps to the east. Several big wooden spools of wire are piled up along the tunnel wall. An overstuffed three-ring binder is on the floor next to the spools. You see a toy car (disguised as a rat) here. You hear a worker above call down. "Hey, Plisnik, what's going on down there?" His voice becomes taunting. "You see a rat or something?" He chuckles. Something creaks and groans overhead. >yes "Yeah, a big, ugly one, but he's gone now," you say, hoping they don't notice it's not Plisnik's voice. You hear the workers above laugh and laugh. A sharp clang sounds right beside you, as though someone smacked one of the pipes with a wrench. >ask for network analyzer "Hey, can you hand down the Netbisco?" you call up to the workers above. One of them reaches down into the shaft, lowering the network box. "Watch out, Plisnik," he says. "I think I saw a rat inside it earlier. Har! Har!" (first putting the oscilloscope in the tote bag to make room) You reach up and take it from him, being careful to stay in shadow. A tapping noise echoes down one of the pipes for a few moments, then stops. (Your score has just increased by ten points.) >get binder Taken. >read it As you open the binder, a dingy sheet of paper falls out and flutters to the floor. The binder is stuffed with paper. Flipping through, it seems to be a collection of official Network Installer Company "Work Order" forms. You sample a few at random, and find they're all pretty much the same: install network port wiring for office X in building Y. These guys must have a contract to rewire the whole campus, from the looks of it. The forms seem to be sorted in order of the Job Number stamped at the top of each form, so it'd be easy to look up a specific one given the number. >get dingy paper (first putting the pocket calculator in the tote bag to make room) Taken. One of the pipes makes a sudden loud hissing noise. >w T-Intersection Two steam tunnels meet here, forming a T: one tunnel runs north and south, and another tunnel continues off to the east. A distant rumbling, like the sound of a big truck, comes closer and closer until you're sure one of the pipes is about to burst, but it goes right past and fades into the distance. >s Bend in Tunnel The steam tunnel turns a corner here, continuing to the north and to the west. The pipes and conduits running in from each branch of the tunnel intersect, some making the turn and others continuing straight on through the walls. >w Sloping Tunnel This section of tunnel runs east and west, sloping sharply down to the east. The steam pipes follow the slope of the tunnel. A deep rumbling reverberates briefly through the tunnel. >w Steam Tunnel at Door This is a section of steam tunnel running east and west past a door, which leads out of the tunnel to the south. Pipes and conduits run along the walls, and bare, low-wattage light bulbs are spaced every ten feet or so along the ceiling, providing just enough light to see by. >w Narrow Tunnel The steam tunnel is quite narrow here; it widens a bit to the east and west. You notice a tiny point of light in the south wall--a small hole, almost hidden behind one of the big steam pipes. You never would have noticed it, except that you have the sense this spot is roughly aligned with the wiring closet. Something creaks and groans overhead. >w T-Intersection This is a T-intersection, with a north-south tunnel meeting another tunnel continuing east. The pipes are arranged in an elaborate network of crossings, some going straight past the intersection, others turning the corner. You notice a blue wire concealed behind one of the large-diameter steam pipes. >s Dim Tunnel The lights must be spaced out a little more widely than usual here, because this section of north-south tunnel seems especially dark. You can make out a blue wire concealed behind one of the large pipes. A distant rumbling, like the sound of a big truck, comes closer and closer until you're sure one of the pipes is about to burst, but it goes right past and fades into the distance. >x wire The wire is concealed behind one of the large pipes. It follows the pipe to the north, but it seems to disappear to the south. You trace it carefully, and discover that it goes into an opening low in the west wall. The opening is well concealed in shadows under the pipes; you wouldn't even have seen it if you hadn't been following the wire. >w You crouch down on the floor and crawl into the opening head-first. It's an uncomfortably tight squeeze, but you manage to work your way through the eight feet or so of the passage, finally emerging into another tunnel. Dead End You spent a lot of time exploring the steam tunnel system during your years here as a student, but you don't think you've encountered this section before. The steam tunnel from the south reaches a dead end here; it widens slightly at the northeast corner, creating a shadowy nook a couple of feet deep. On the west side of the tunnel is a door labeled "Supplies." A small opening low on the east wall leads into a crawlspace. You notice a blue wire partially concealed behind the steam pipes. It seems to be getting a little warmer. (Your score has just increased by ten points.) >stand in shadow You step into the nook's shadows. >z Time passes... Someone on the other side of the door opens it slightly. You hear a male voice say, "Come on, let's go." >z Time passes... A sharp clang sounds right beside you, as though someone smacked one of the pipes with a wrench. The door opens fully and two workers in bright green overalls step out, closing the door behind them. You pretend you're in a spy film and press yourself against the wall, hiding behind some steam pipes near the corner. Which seems to work--the two don't seem to notice you. They shut the door and head south down the tunnel. After a few steps, you hear one of them say "Hang on, I forgot something." You watch from behind the cover of the pipes as the smaller guy returns to the door and enters a combination, which you manage to make out: 5-7-2-1-2. He slips into the room for a moment, then he's back, closing the door behind him. The two head south; you hear their steps recede down the tunnel. >z Time passes... One of the pipes vibrates visibly for a few moments. >enter 57212 on lock keypad (first getting out of the nook) You push the buttons in sequence: 5-7-2-1-2. The mechanism in the keypad clicks with each button push. A tapping noise echoes down one of the pipes for a few moments, then stops. >w (first opening the door) The lock mechanism clicks and whirs, and the door swings open. Network Room The door outside is labeled "Supplies," but that's apparently out of date; it looks like this is actually being used as a network control room. The room is dominated by a floor-standing network router box, connected to which are hundreds of orange, white, and yellow network cables. The cables are gathered into giant bundles the size of fire hoses, which feed into conduits leading out through the walls. A lone blue network cable comes in through a small hole in the wall next to the door, which leads out of the room to the east. (Your score has just increased by five points.) >x blue wire The blue wire is threaded through a small hole in the wall, next to the door. It joins into one of the big bundles of cables--but it's the only blue wire, so it's easy to follow it to the router box, where it terminates in one of the router sockets. There's obviously no way to trace the blue wire's physical connection any further; the router must connect to the main campus network, so the camera is effectively connected to every computer on campus. The only way to trace it from here would be to hook up a network analyzer and see where the data packets are going. >x router It's a big piece of equipment, the size of a tall bookcase. Hundreds of network wires are connected to sockets arrayed across the front of the box. One one side is a multi-prong diagnostic jack. >look up 3349-2016 in binder You scan through the binder and find a page with that job number: *** ATTENTION: All IP address assignments MUST be made through the Campus Network Office (Jorgensen Lab). Report ALL IP changes to the CNO. Job desc: Install SPY-9 in Bridge Lab, room 022. Std cat5 cabling. Std cam wiring profile - pull via s/b wiring closet, tunnel 7g, term at router S-24. Special notes: NITE CREW ONLY. Position cam for clear view of main bench area. REF 3312-8622. *** >look up 3312-8622 in binder You scan through the binder and find a page with that job number: *** ATTENTION: All IP address assignments MUST be made through the Campus Network Office (Jorgensen Lab). Report ALL IP changes to the CNO. Job desc: Need static IP address for SPY-9. Special notes: *** Below this are big hand-written numbers: 192.168.72.214. >plug network analyzer into router (first putting the network analyzer on the floor) As soon as you plug in the connector, the display screen flashes a series of random gibberish, then displays "READY." >type 09C0A848D6 on network analyzer You key in the sequence. The display clears, then it shows C0A80B26. In a few moments, the same number repeats on a new line, then on a third line. You watch for a little bit, but all the packets seem to be going to the same place. That's good--it means there's only one computer you need to track down. You convert the hex numbers to decimal, and come up with 192.168.11.38. Now you just need to find out where the computer with that address is. (Your score has just increased by five points.) >e Dead End The steam tunnel from the south reaches a dead end here; it widens slightly at the northeast corner, creating a shadowy nook a couple of feet deep. On the west side of the tunnel is a door labeled "Supplies." A small opening low on the east wall leads into a crawlspace. You notice a blue wire partially concealed behind the steam pipes. One of the pipes makes a sudden loud hissing noise. >e You crawl head-first into the passage, and drag yourself along for eight feet or so before emerging into another steam tunnel. Dim Tunnel The lights must be spaced out a little more widely than usual here, because this section of north-south tunnel seems especially dark. In the shadows, low on the west wall, an opening is just barely visible. You can make out a blue wire concealed behind one of the large pipes. A wave of hot, dry air blows past. >n T-Intersection This is a T-intersection, with a north-south tunnel meeting another tunnel continuing east. The pipes are arranged in an elaborate network of crossings, some going straight past the intersection, others turning the corner. You notice a blue wire concealed behind one of the large-diameter steam pipes. >e Narrow Tunnel The steam tunnel is quite narrow here; it widens a bit to the east and west. You notice a tiny point of light in the south wall--a small hole, almost hidden behind one of the big steam pipes. You never would have noticed it, except that you have the sense this spot is roughly aligned with the wiring closet. A tapping noise echoes down one of the pipes for a few moments, then stops. >e Steam Tunnel at Door This is a section of steam tunnel running east and west past a door, which leads out of the tunnel to the south. Pipes and conduits run along the walls, and bare, low-wattage light bulbs are spaced every ten feet or so along the ceiling, providing just enough light to see by. It seems to be getting a little warmer. >s Storage Room This is a huge storage area, mostly for old furniture: the room is stacked with desks, file cabinets, bookcases. Cardboard boxes are also piled here and there, and a bunch of scrap wood is leaning against the wall in the northwest corner, next to door leading north. A door leads out to the west. >w Sub-basement Hall The ceiling in this short hallway is too low for you to stand up straight, and the walls are just unpainted concrete. It would be too cruel to put anyone's office down here--even grad students--so this sub-basement is used mainly for storage and the building's systems. The hall is piled with junk, evidently overflow from the storage rooms. Faded lettering on the north door reads "Electro-Mechanical," and the east and south doors are unlabeled. To the west, a steep stairway leads up. >u Basement Hall West The low, dimly-lit hallway ends here and continues to the east. On the south side of the hall is a door labeled 023, and on the north side another labeled 024. At the west end of the hall, a very narrow, steep stairway leads down into shadow. >e Basement Hall It's just the basement, but this hallway has an almost oppressively subterranean feel, as though it were buried deep underground: the air is damp and musty, the lighting dim, the slightly-arched ceiling so low that you can't quite stand up straight. The hall continues west, and ends to the east in a stairway leading up, back to the land of the surface dwellers. A door labeled 021 leads south, and another numbered 022 leads north. The hall continues to the west. >u Bridge Lab Entryway This entry hall reflects the different sense of proportion architects had in the 1920s: it's a bit too narrow and a bit too tall to the modern eye. At the south end of the hall, stairs lead up and down, and a doorway at the north end leads outside. A display case is set into the east wall. >n Millikan Pond The nine-story obsidian tower of the Millikan Library is to the west, rising above the wide rectangular pond that fills the large open area north of the walkway. A combination abstract sculpture and fountain in the center of the pond shoots several streams of water into the air. Bridge Lab is a short distance to the south, and the entrance to the library is to the west. A path leads east, down a hill. >e Rock Garden The walkway winds its way through a rock garden set within a terraced series of ponds. The path ascends the hillside to the west, and leads to the Olive Walk to the east. A distance off to the west, you can see the Millikan library towering above. >e West Olive Walk The olive walk runs east and west here through a broad lawn flanked by academic buildings. On the north side is the beige, rectilinear expanse of Thomas. Firestone, to the southeast, and Guggenheim, to the southwest, are joined together by a second-story bridge over the wide gap between them; a paved walkway leads south under the bridge. >e Quad This open lawn area is known as the Quad, for its rectangular shape. Several walkways meet here: the Olive Walk leads east and west, the Orange Walk leads down a few steps to the south, and another walkway leads north. To the northwest is the campus bookstore. The two main student house complexes lie a short distance to the east: the North Houses on the north side of the Olive Walk, and the older South Houses on the south side. Alongside the Olive Walk, a couple of workers are standing by an open rectangular manhole, which they've cordoned off with yellow "Caution" tape strung around some stakes in the ground. Several big spools of wire are piled up next to the manhole. >s Orange Walk This north-south walkway is named for the orange trees planted alongside. A few steps ascend to the north. To the south, the walkway ends at California Boulevard, which forms the southern limit of the campus. An unpaved path through the orange trees leads west. To the east, a passage leads into Dabney Hovse. >e Breezeway This wide passageway opens onto a courtyard to the east, and to the west leads out of the house to the Orange Walk. A dimly-lit hallway leads into the house to the north; painted on the wall alongside the hallway is the legend "1-9". >e Courtyard This large interior courtyard is dominated by what looks to be a papier-mƒch‚ scale-model mountain: a two-story edifice of cliffs and boulders, rising in the center of the courtyard to a peak higher than the surrounding courtyard walls. Piled randomly around the base are metal canisters marked with radiation warnings, many split open and leaking green goo. This must all be a decoration for a recent multi-house party. It's pretty remarkable; back in your day, the Darbs couldn't usually be bothered to pick a theme for those parties, much less implement one, much less so elaborately. The courtyard itself follows the Mediterranean style of the south houses: red brick floor, stucco walls, casement windows, columns supporting an arcaded overhang to the east, terra cotta tiles on the gently-sloped roofs. Under the overhang, doors lead east into the lounge. The alley 3 entrance is to the southwest, and alley 5 is to the southeast. A small alcove lies to the south. To the west is a breezeway leading outside, and a long concrete stairway goes up. >s Pinball Room You don't know what this small room off the courtyard was originally intended for, but to you it's the pinball room, since there was always an old 1960s- vintage pinball machine or two in here. It looks like they've finally gotten with the 80s: in place of a pinball machine is Positron, a classic video game. The courtyard is outside, to the north. A yellow note reading "Out of Order" is on the Positron display. >n Courtyard This large interior courtyard is dominated by what looks to be a papier-mƒch‚ scale-model mountain: a two-story edifice of cliffs and boulders, rising in the center of the courtyard to a peak higher than the surrounding courtyard walls. Piled randomly around the base are metal canisters marked with radiation warnings, many split open and leaking green goo. The courtyard itself follows the Mediterranean style of the south houses: red brick floor, stucco walls, casement windows, columns supporting an arcaded overhang to the east, terra cotta tiles on the gently-sloped roofs. Under the overhang, doors lead east into the lounge. The alley 3 entrance is to the southwest, and alley 5 is to the southeast. A small alcove lies to the south. To the west is a breezeway leading outside, and a long concrete stairway goes up. >sw Alley Three Entry This is the middle of Alley Three, which runs east and west from here. The exit to the courtyard is to the north, and next to it a stairway leads up. The door to room 13 is to the south. >e Alley Three East The hallway ends here, continuing west. It's partially blocked by an elaborately decorated, refrigerator-sized cardboard box outside the door to room 12, on the south side of the hall. The door to room 10 is across the hall on the north side, and room 11 is at the end of the hall. A gray notebook is hanging on a string on the door to room 12. Several giant chickens are standing around the hall, talking quietly among themselves. The chickens flap their wings excitedly. >enter box Chickenator The box is as decorated inside as it is outside. An instruction sign is posted above a huge knife switch, and colored lights all along the walls and ceiling twinkle. Several coat hooks are arranged along one wall, near the ceiling. A narrow opening in the side of the box leads back out. A chicken suit is hanging from one of the hooks. >drop all tote bag: Dropped. research paper: Dropped. remote control: Dropped. three-ring binder: Dropped. dingy sheet of paper: Dropped. >wear suit (first taking the chicken suit) It takes a bit of doing, especially in this cramped space, but you manage to wrestle your way into the suit. It covers you head to toe, and it's not very easy to see out of it. >out It's really hard to see where you're going with the chicken suit on; you have to go slowly and feel your way along the wall. Alley Three East The hallway ends here, continuing west. It's partially blocked by an elaborately decorated, refrigerator-sized cardboard box outside the door to room 12, on the south side of the hall. The door to room 10 is across the hall on the north side, and room 11 is at the end of the hall. A gray notebook is hanging on a string on the door to room 12. Several giant chickens are standing around the hall, talking quietly among themselves. >ask chickens about scott "Has anyone seen Scott around?" you ask, your voice muffled through the suit. One of the chickens, a colorful red one, waves. "I'm Scott," he says. A couple of chickens arrive from the down the hall. >ask scott about positron "Are you the owner of the Positron machine?" you ask. "Yeah," he says. A couple of the chickens depart down the hall, probably leaving on a mission. (You could ask what's wrong with it, or offer to repair it.) >offer to repair it "I know a bit about electronics," you say. "I'd be happy to try fixing it." "Have you repaired anything like this before?" The chickens mill about, flapping their wings. >yes "Sure," you say. "It's been a while, but I've done lots of work on computers and video displays before." "So why are you so interested in fixing an old video game?" he asks, skepticism in his voice. "I usually have to harangue my double-E friends for weeks to get anyone to help." (You could explain about Stamer's stack, or say you need the practice.) >explain about stamer's stack "I'm working on Brian Stamer's stack," you say. "It's some kind of electronics debugging puzzle, and I really need some practice on something simpler before I tackle it." "Practice?" He sounds a little annoyed. "You want to practice on my video game? I mean, I appreciate the offer and all, but how do I know you're not going to make it worse?" A couple of chickens arrive from the down the hall. (You could promise not to break it, or say you'll pay for repairs if you break it.) >promise not to break it "I promise I won't make it any worse," you say. "I'll just take a look to see if I can figure out what's wrong, and if I'm not sure I can fix it, I won't try." He pauses for a long time. "Okay," he says, "sounds fair." He searches around in his chicken suit for a while, then fishes out a key and hands it to you. "Here's the key to the machine." You take the key, which is difficult with the suit on, and fumble through the suit to find your own keyring, which is even more difficult. After a few tries you manage to put the key on your keyring and put the keyring in your pocket. "Thanks!" you say. "I'll let you know if I can fix it." (Your score has just increased by five points.) >enter box It's really hard to see where you're going with the chicken suit on; you have to go slowly and feel your way along the wall. Chickenator The box is as decorated inside as it is outside. An instruction sign is posted above a huge knife switch, and colored lights all along the walls and ceiling twinkle. Several coat hooks are arranged along one wall, near the ceiling. A narrow opening in the side of the box leads back out. You see a tote bag, a research paper, a remote control, a three-ring binder, and a dingy sheet of paper here. The tote bag contains a campus map, an information sheet, a note from Brian Stamer, a copy of the California Tech, a Consumer Express card, a bookstore receipt, a signal generator, an oscilloscope, and a pocket calculator. >put suit on hook (first taking off the chicken suit) Done. >get all but suit tote bag: Taken. research paper: Taken. remote control: Taken. three-ring binder: Taken. dingy sheet of paper: Taken. >out Alley Three East The hallway ends here, continuing west. It's partially blocked by an elaborately decorated, refrigerator-sized cardboard box outside the door to room 12, on the south side of the hall. The door to room 10 is across the hall on the north side, and room 11 is at the end of the hall. A gray notebook is hanging on a string on the door to room 12. Several giant chickens are standing around the hall, talking quietly among themselves. A couple of the chickens depart down the hall, probably leaving on a mission. >w Alley Three Entry This is the middle of Alley Three, which runs east and west from here. The exit to the courtyard is to the north, and next to it a stairway leads up. The door to room 13 is to the south. >n Courtyard This large interior courtyard is dominated by what looks to be a papier-mƒch‚ scale-model mountain: a two-story edifice of cliffs and boulders, rising in the center of the courtyard to a peak higher than the surrounding courtyard walls. Piled randomly around the base are metal canisters marked with radiation warnings, many split open and leaking green goo. The courtyard itself follows the Mediterranean style of the south houses: red brick floor, stucco walls, casement windows, columns supporting an arcaded overhang to the east, terra cotta tiles on the gently-sloped roofs. Under the overhang, doors lead east into the lounge. The alley 3 entrance is to the southwest, and alley 5 is to the southeast. A small alcove lies to the south. To the west is a breezeway leading outside, and a long concrete stairway goes up. >w Breezeway This wide passageway opens onto a courtyard to the east, and to the west leads out of the house to the Orange Walk. A dimly-lit hallway leads into the house to the north; painted on the wall alongside the hallway is the legend "1-9". >w Orange Walk This north-south walkway is named for the orange trees planted alongside. A few steps ascend to the north. To the south, the walkway ends at California Boulevard, which forms the southern limit of the campus. An unpaved path through the orange trees leads west. To the east, a passage leads into Dabney Hovse. >n Quad This open lawn area is known as the Quad, for its rectangular shape. Several walkways meet here: the Olive Walk leads east and west, the Orange Walk leads down a few steps to the south, and another walkway leads north. To the northwest is the campus bookstore. The two main student house complexes lie a short distance to the east: the North Houses on the north side of the Olive Walk, and the older South Houses on the south side. Alongside the Olive Walk, a couple of workers are standing by an open rectangular manhole, which they've cordoned off with yellow "Caution" tape strung around some stakes in the ground. Several big spools of wire are piled up next to the manhole. >w West Olive Walk The olive walk runs east and west here through a broad lawn flanked by academic buildings. On the north side is the beige, rectilinear expanse of Thomas. Firestone, to the southeast, and Guggenheim, to the southwest, are joined together by a second-story bridge over the wide gap between them; a paved walkway leads south under the bridge. >w Rock Garden The walkway winds its way through a rock garden set within a terraced series of ponds. The path ascends the hillside to the west, and leads to the Olive Walk to the east. A distance off to the west, you can see the Millikan library towering above. >w Millikan Pond The nine-story obsidian tower of the Millikan Library is to the west, rising above the wide rectangular pond that fills the large open area north of the walkway. A combination abstract sculpture and fountain in the center of the pond shoots several streams of water into the air. Bridge Lab is a short distance to the south, and the entrance to the library is to the west. A path leads east, down a hill. >w Millikan Lobby This first floor of the library is a large, open lobby. A receptionist sits behind a wide counter; a sign on the counter reads "Please show ID." On the north side of the lobby is an elevator, with a floor directory on the wall alongside it. The exit is to the east. >open wallet (first taking the wallet from your pocket) Opening the wallet reveals an alumni ID card and a driver's license. >show id (to the receptionist) You hold out your alumni ID card, and the receptionist gives it a good looking over. "You can go on up," he says, waving his hand toward the elevator. >push up You tap the button, and it lights up. The elevator doors slide open with a soft "ding." >n Elevator The elevator's doors, which lead south, are currently open. Alongside the doors is a column of buttons numbered 1 to 9, and above the buttons is a digital display, currently reading "1." >push 3 (elevator button 3) The button lights as you touch it. >z Time passes... The elevator doors slide shut. >z Time passes... The elevator starts moving. The display changes at each floor until it reaches 3. The elevator stops, and the doors slide open with a chime. >s Third floor This is the third floor of library, which is devoted to books and journals about electrical engineering. Rows of floor-to-ceiling bookshelves fill the entire floor. The elevator is to the north. >look up morgen (in the rows of bookshelves) You scan through the shelves and find what you're looking for: the Electronics Lectures textbook. (first putting the research paper in the tote bag to make room) You take the book from the shelf. >look up townsend (in the rows of bookshelves) You scan through the shelves and find what you're looking for: the lab manual. (first putting the remote control in the tote bag to make room) You take the book from the shelf. The elevator doors slide shut. (Your score has just increased by two points.) >push up You tap the button, and it lights up. The elevator doors slide open with a soft "ding." >n Elevator The elevator's doors, which lead south, are currently open. Alongside the doors is a column of buttons numbered 1 to 9, and above the buttons is a digital display, currently reading "3." >push 6 (elevator button 6) The button lights as you touch it. >z Time passes... The elevator doors slide shut. >z Time passes... The elevator starts moving. The display changes at each floor until it reaches 6. The elevator stops, and the doors slide open with a chime. >s Sixth floor This is the sixth floor of library, which is devoted to books and journals about math and physics. Rows of floor-to-ceiling bookshelves fill the entire floor. The elevator is to the north. >find bloemner in shelves You scan through the shelves and find what you're looking for: the Introductory Quantum Physics textbook. (first closing the wallet, then putting it in your pocket to make room) You take the book from the shelf. >find 70:11c in shelves You scan through the shelves and find what you're looking for: Quantum Review Letters number 70:11c. (first putting the three-ring binder in the tote bag to make room) You take the issue from the shelf. The elevator doors slide shut. >push down You tap the button, and it lights up. The elevator doors slide open with two soft "dings." >n Elevator The elevator's doors, which lead south, are currently open. Alongside the doors is a column of buttons numbered 1 to 9, and above the buttons is a digital display, currently reading "6." >push 2 (elevator button 2) The button lights as you touch it. >z Time passes... The elevator doors slide shut. >z Time passes... The elevator starts moving. The display changes at each floor until it reaches 2. The elevator stops, and the doors slide open with a chime. >s Second floor This is the second floor of library, which is devoted to books and journals about chemistry, and also houses the library's collection of periodicals. Rows of floor-to-ceiling bookshelves fill the entire floor. The elevator is to the north. >look up s&p xlvi-3 in shelves You scan through the shelves and find what you're looking for: Science & Progress issue XLVI-3. (first putting the dingy sheet of paper in the tote bag to make room) You take the issue from the shelf. >read bloemner You find the chapter Stamer mentioned and start reading. Going through the material, you find you actually do remember a fair amount of it. All that bizarre stuff about how subatomic particles act like both waves and particles at the same time, how a particle can be in a "superposition" of several states at once, how a property of a particle isn't determined until someone measures it. You skip over the equations, but you still manage to get a qualitative grasp of the concepts. The chapter ends with a discussion of the philosophical questions that QM raises. One big mystery is the strange duality of nature: that systems sometimes behave according to quantum mechanics, and sometimes according to classical mechanics. Even the same system behaves both ways: a quantum system has its strange quantum behavior, where its reality is just a probability distribution--but only until someone measures the system's properties. Measuring a property of the system "collapses the wavefunction," turning it into a classical, deterministic system. "The quantum mechanics stridently defies our intuition," Herr Professor Bl”mner writes, "but it is only our human arrogance that allows us to expect it should be otherwise. For why should our intuition, evolved to interpret the decidedly non-quantum phenomena of the primitive environment of our ancestors, have any application in this exotic realm? We must learn ruthlessly to crush this inner protest, to bend our intuition to the iron will of Nature." The elevator doors slide shut. >read 70:11c You flip past a bunch of papers that look impenetrable, finding the one mentioned in Stamer's paper: "Decoherence Tolerance in Quantum Computation." It's by another Caltech research group. The article isn't exactly light reading. It's about some of the problems involved in building quantum computers--computers that exploit the ability of a quantum system to be in many states at once to quickly perform calculations that are extremely slow on conventional computers. One of the biggest practical problems in building quantum computers, the article explains, is the difficulty of isolating a quantum system well enough that it will remain a quantum system long enough to finish its calculation. If the system isn't isolated well enough, interactions with its environment will cause "decoherence," destroying the quantum effects. Even more problematic is the self-interaction that results from scaling up a quantum computer to the point where it can perform useful real-world calculations: the computer's quantum elements actually start interacting with one another strongly enough to cause decoherence. The bulk of the article proposes some ways of working around the self- interaction problem, by adopting some of the features of conventional computers that make them more fault-tolerant. One proposal is to encode information in the quantum state using error-correcting codes, so that a loss of coherence in one part of the system can be compensated for by the other parts. Another proposal--and this one catches your eye, because Stamer's paper had this in the title--is that "spin decorrelation" can be used to partially isolate the system internally and from its environment. The paper starts in with dense math at that point, so you mostly skim over the rest. >read s&p You scan through this issue and find the article referenced in Stamer's paper: "Beyond Copenhagen: The Quantum/Classical Transition." The article is about a nagging weakness in the "Copenhagen Interpretation" of quantum mechanics. You hadn't heard the term before, but apparently it refers to the mainstream QM model, which is essentially what you learned in Ph 2. A key part of the Copenhagen doctrine is the idea that a quantum system evolves in its bizarre quantum way until someone observes the system, at which point the quantum-mechanical wavefunction "collapses" and the system becomes classically deterministic. The problem, it seems, is that there's no rigorous definition of what it means to "observe" the system. "One idea is that a conscious observer is required, but most scientists don't like this one because it just replaces one ill-defined term with an even iller- defined one, and anyway, it smells like metaphysics. The mainstream view is that interaction with `bulk matter' is what constitutes a measurement. That at least sounds like a solid, no-nonsense, scientific definition, but it's still a bit of a dodge: are we talking a dozen atoms or a quadrillion? No one can say. And numerous recent experiments call into question the whole idea by showing that certain exotic kinds of large ensemble systems can exhibit quantum behavior for prolonged periods, so mere `bulk' can't be the key." The article points out that most scientists are willing to live with one fuzzy definition in a theory so empirically successful, but a few physicists find it troubling enough to look for a better answer to this key question. The article surveys some of the proposed alternatives to the Copenhagen interpretation, with names like Many Worlds, Hidden Variables, and Transactional. It also talks about some promising recent work that frames the quantum/classical transition in terms of "decoherence" of the wavefunction. This idea is based on wave theory that came out of the invention of the laser; it says that quantum systems turn into classical systems when their wavefunctions interact in specific ways with the wavefunctions of other systems, which causes the wavefunctions to lose their coherence--their ability to superpose multiple quantum states at once. You feel like you're starting to catch on to some of the ideas in Stamer's research report. You make a mental note to go back and read the report again in more detail, when you have the time. >read report "Spin Decorrelation and Bulk Matter Decoherence Isolation - DRAFT." It seems to be a recent draft of a research paper that Stamer's lab group is working on. Parts of the paper are well beyond your grasp of the subject, but all of the background reading you've done actually lets you follow a lot of the material. Stamer's group is apparently working on a way to prevent a quantum system from "decohering," not only when it comes into contact with its surroundings, but when parts of the system itself interact with one another. According to the paper, they've successfully suppressed decoherence for a matter of seconds at a time throughout tens of grams of material--apparently quite stunning results in a realm more typically numbered in femtoseconds and picograms. They hope to use this to create large-scale quantum computers built out of ordinary components. At the end are some bibliographic references, including the "introductory" material you've already seen: a paper in the journal Quantum Review Letters number 70:11c, an article in Science & Progress magazine number XLVI-3, and a chapter in a textbook, Introductory Quantum Physics by Bl”mner. You notice a reference to another article by Stamer's group, this one published in Quantum Review Letters number 73:9a. (Your score has just increased by five points.) >push up You tap the button, and it lights up. The elevator doors slide open with a soft "ding." >n Elevator The elevator's doors, which lead south, are currently open. Alongside the doors is a column of buttons numbered 1 to 9, and above the buttons is a digital display, currently reading "2." >push 6 (elevator button 6) The button lights as you touch it. >z Time passes... The elevator doors slide shut. >z Time passes... The elevator starts moving. The display changes at each floor until it reaches 6. The elevator stops, and the doors slide open with a chime. >s Sixth floor This is the sixth floor of library, which is devoted to books and journals about math and physics. Rows of floor-to-ceiling bookshelves fill the entire floor. The elevator is to the north. >look up 73:9a in shelves You scan through the shelves and find what you're looking for: Quantum Review Letters number 73:9a. (first putting the Electronics Lectures textbook in the tote bag to make room) You take the issue from the shelf. >read it You find Stamer's group's paper: "Applications of Nondecohering Heterogeneous Bulk Ensembles." The paper talks about a number of possible applications of decoherence suppression, but the main thrust is that it could provide a whole new approach to building quantum computers. "In principle, if we are successful in suppressing decoherence in bulk matter, we could create an effectively quantum computer as a superposition of states of an ordinary computer, such as a PC, or even a pocket calculator... Of course, special algorithms would need to be designed for such a device. The computation must consist of a series of unitary transformations. In the final state vector, the components representing incorrect results must cancel out, and the correct result must reinforce via constructive interference... Mapping a conventional algorithm to our hybrid quantum-conventional computer is surprisingly straightforward, as we'll show..." The article goes through an extended example, showing how to use the technique to find the prime factors of a large integer. The number theory is a bit beyond you, but what's interesting is how simple the program is; it's just a series of simple arithmetic steps that would take a matter of seconds to run, in quantum mode. On an ordinary computer, of course, factoring large integers takes enormous amounts of time. "This technique isn't limited to prime factorization," the paper adds. "The methods we've shown here could be equally well applied to other conventionally superpolynomial-time problems: discrete logarithms, Hovarth functions, etc." The elevator doors slide shut. >push down You tap the button, and it lights up. The elevator doors slide open with two soft "dings." >n Elevator The elevator's doors, which lead south, are currently open. Alongside the doors is a column of buttons numbered 1 to 9, and above the buttons is a digital display, currently reading "6." >push 1 (elevator button 1) The button lights as you touch it. >z Time passes... The elevator doors slide shut. >z Time passes... The elevator starts moving. The display changes at each floor until it reaches 1. The elevator stops, and the doors slide open with a chime. >s Millikan Lobby This first floor of the library is a large, open lobby. A receptionist sits behind a wide counter; a sign on the counter reads "Please show ID." On the north side of the lobby is an elevator, with a floor directory on the wall alongside it. The exit is to the east. >give morgen to librarian (first putting the lab manual in the tote bag to make room, then taking the Electronics Lectures textbook from the tote bag) The receptionist looks inside the book, rubber-stamps it, and hands it back. "Due back in two weeks," he says. >give townsend to librarian (first putting the Introductory Quantum Physics textbook in the tote bag to make room, then taking the lab manual from the tote bag) The receptionist looks inside the book, rubber-stamps it, and hands it back. "Due back in two weeks," he says. The elevator doors slide shut. >give s&p to librarian The receptionist looks inside the book, rubber-stamps it, and hands it back. "Due back in two weeks," he says. >give 73:9a to librarian The receptionist looks inside the book, rubber-stamps it, and hands it back. "Due back in two weeks," he says. >give 70:11c to librarian The receptionist looks inside the book, rubber-stamps it, and hands it back. "Due back in two weeks," he says. >give bloemner to librarian (first putting Quantum Review Letters number 70:11c in the tote bag to make room, then taking the Introductory Quantum Physics textbook from the tote bag) The receptionist looks inside the book, rubber-stamps it, and hands it back. "Due back in two weeks," he says. >e Millikan Pond The nine-story obsidian tower of the Millikan Library is to the west, rising above the wide rectangular pond that fills the large open area north of the walkway. A combination abstract sculpture and fountain in the center of the pond shoots several streams of water into the air. Bridge Lab is a short distance to the south, and the entrance to the library is to the west. A path leads east, down a hill. >e Rock Garden The walkway winds its way through a rock garden set within a terraced series of ponds. The path ascends the hillside to the west, and leads to the Olive Walk to the east. A distance off to the west, you can see the Millikan library towering above. >e West Olive Walk The olive walk runs east and west here through a broad lawn flanked by academic buildings. On the north side is the beige, rectilinear expanse of Thomas. Firestone, to the southeast, and Guggenheim, to the southwest, are joined together by a second-story bridge over the wide gap between them; a paved walkway leads south under the bridge. >e Quad This open lawn area is known as the Quad, for its rectangular shape. Several walkways meet here: the Olive Walk leads east and west, the Orange Walk leads down a few steps to the south, and another walkway leads north. To the northwest is the campus bookstore. The two main student house complexes lie a short distance to the east: the North Houses on the north side of the Olive Walk, and the older South Houses on the south side. Alongside the Olive Walk, a couple of workers are standing by an open rectangular manhole, which they've cordoned off with yellow "Caution" tape strung around some stakes in the ground. Several big spools of wire are piled up next to the manhole. >s Orange Walk This north-south walkway is named for the orange trees planted alongside. A few steps ascend to the north. To the south, the walkway ends at California Boulevard, which forms the southern limit of the campus. An unpaved path through the orange trees leads west. To the east, a passage leads into Dabney Hovse. >e Breezeway This wide passageway opens onto a courtyard to the east, and to the west leads out of the house to the Orange Walk. A dimly-lit hallway leads into the house to the north; painted on the wall alongside the hallway is the legend "1-9". >e Courtyard This large interior courtyard is dominated by what looks to be a papier-mƒch‚ scale-model mountain: a two-story edifice of cliffs and boulders, rising in the center of the courtyard to a peak higher than the surrounding courtyard walls. Piled randomly around the base are metal canisters marked with radiation warnings, many split open and leaking green goo. The courtyard itself follows the Mediterranean style of the south houses: red brick floor, stucco walls, casement windows, columns supporting an arcaded overhang to the east, terra cotta tiles on the gently-sloped roofs. Under the overhang, doors lead east into the lounge. The alley 3 entrance is to the southwest, and alley 5 is to the southeast. A small alcove lies to the south. To the west is a breezeway leading outside, and a long concrete stairway goes up. >s Pinball Room You don't know what this small room off the courtyard was originally intended for, but to you it's the pinball room, since there was always an old 1960s- vintage pinball machine or two in here. It looks like they've finally gotten with the 80s: in place of a pinball machine is Positron, a classic video game. The courtyard is outside, to the north. A yellow note reading "Out of Order" is on the Positron display. >open positron (first putting Science & Progress issue XLVI-3 in the tote bag to make room, then taking the keyring from your pocket, then unlocking the service compartment) Opening the service compartment reveals a brown paper sack. Several large circuit boards are inside the compartment. >turn it on You flip the switch, but there's no obvious effect. >attach scope to board (first putting Quantum Review Letters number 73:9a in the tote bag to make room, then putting the Electronics Lectures textbook in the tote bag to make room, then taking the oscilloscope from the tote bag, then putting it on the floor, then turning it on) (Note that you can't permanently attach the scope to anything, since its needle tip only allows momentary contact with the circuit you're probing.) Since the game's display isn't showing anything, you decide to start with the video amplifiers. It would be nice to have a set of schematics, but you figure it's actually better practice for Stamer's stack without them. You probe around a little with the scope, but it's been a while since you looked at a video amp in this much detail. Maybe if you spent a little time reading about video amps in the lab manual, you'd have a better idea how to proceed. >read about video amps in lab manual You find a whole lab exercise on video amps. You go through it carefully, refreshing your memory on how these things work. You reach the end of the section, feeling that you have a good idea how to handle this kind of circuit now. >attach scope to board (Note that you can't permanently attach the scope to anything, since its needle tip only allows momentary contact with the circuit you're probing.) You go back and look at the video amplifiers again. You carefully step through the video amp circuits, and after a bit you're convinced that they're okay and that the problem lies elsewhere. The next thing to check is probably the main logic board. You identify the CPU as a 1A80. You built a few projects with these many years ago, but you certainly don't remember all the little details of pin layout and so forth, so you'll need to look up the 1A80 in the lab manual before you can test the logic board properly. >read about 1a80 (in the lab manual) You find a pretty good section on the 1A80, with details on the pin-outs and electrical characteristics. This is a very simple chip by modern standards, and it doesn't take you long to reacquaint yourself with it. >attach scope to board (Note that you can't permanently attach the scope to anything, since its needle tip only allows momentary contact with the circuit you're probing.) You look again at the main logic board. You check around the CPU. After a bit of probing, it becomes apparent that the problem is on the clock signal coming into the CPU, and once you know that, you quickly identify a bad part, which is probably the source of the problem: a crystal with the faded marking "9.8304MHZ," indicating its frequency. The crystal will need to be replaced with a working one. Fortunately, it's not soldered into the board--it's in a socket for easy replacement. >look for good 9.8304MHz crystal in bag You sift through the parts for a few moments, coming across a brand new-looking 9.8304 MHz crystal, which you take. >put good crystal in socket (first taking the old 9.8304 MHz crystal from the socket X-7) You turn off the Positron game first, to make sure you don't damage any parts. Done. >turn on positron You flip the switch, and a power-up test screen gradually fades in on the display. After a few moments, the display switches to the game's "attract mode." That must have done the trick! You fiddle with the internal controls to give yourself a free game, and you start playing. The aliens quickly clobber you, but it looks like everything's working properly. (Your score has just increased by ten points.) >get scope (first putting the lab manual in the tote bag to make room) Taken. >n Courtyard This large interior courtyard is dominated by what looks to be a papier-mƒch‚ scale-model mountain: a two-story edifice of cliffs and boulders, rising in the center of the courtyard to a peak higher than the surrounding courtyard walls. Piled randomly around the base are metal canisters marked with radiation warnings, many split open and leaking green goo. The courtyard itself follows the Mediterranean style of the south houses: red brick floor, stucco walls, casement windows, columns supporting an arcaded overhang to the east, terra cotta tiles on the gently-sloped roofs. Under the overhang, doors lead east into the lounge. The alley 3 entrance is to the southwest, and alley 5 is to the southeast. A small alcove lies to the south. To the west is a breezeway leading outside, and a long concrete stairway goes up. >w Breezeway This wide passageway opens onto a courtyard to the east, and to the west leads out of the house to the Orange Walk. A dimly-lit hallway leads into the house to the north; painted on the wall alongside the hallway is the legend "1-9". >n Alley One South Some of the other houses give fanciful names to their alleys, but for some reason the Darbs never bothered; they just refer to their alleys by number, this one being Alley One. Room 1 is to the east and room 2 to the west; the hallway continues north, and a doorway leads south. The walls are heavily adorned with graffiti, as they were when you were a student here. >n Alley One North Alley One ends here in a stairway leading up. Room 3 is to the east and room 4 is to the west. The hallway continues south. Next to the door to room 4 is a small table, on which is a black metal box that looks like it could once have been a microwave oven. A sign (really just a sheet of paper) is fastened to the door above the box. A huge machine reminiscent of a 1960s mainframe computer nearly blocks the hall, leaving barely enough space to get past. Several technicians are busily operating it. Belker is slowly pacing back and forth, supervising the technicians as they operate the test equipment. Belker gets out his phone, says a few words into it, and returns it to his pocket. >read morgen You open the book and start reading. At first it seems a little heavy on the math, but as you get further into it you start to recognize the standard building blocks--Fourier series, Laplace transforms, PDE's. You're pleased to find that the concepts and the math are less distant in your memory than you'd thought. You keep reading, skimming over some parts but slowing down to digest others. Eventually, your eyes start glazing over a bit, and you realize that you've been standing here reading for quite a while. You decide you've absorbed just about as much theory as you can for the moment; what you really need now is something a little more hands-on. You notice in the book's front matter a reference to an accompanying lab manual by E.J. Townsend; that might be worth looking at. A technician holds out a wand-like apparatus connected by a thick cable to the MegaTester, running it slowly around the outside of the black box. After a couple of passes around the box, he returns to the MegaTester and puts away the wand. (Your score has just increased by one point.) >attach signal generator to black box (first putting the keyring in your pocket to make room, then putting the Introductory Quantum Physics textbook in the tote bag to make room, then taking the signal generator from the tote bag, then putting it on the small table) Done. "Clear!" someone shouts. The technicians all rush to the end of the hall and huddle with their backs to the MegaTester, which is making a sound like a jet engine starting up. The sound abruptly stops, and nothing happens for several moments, then the hall fills with a flash of blinding light for an instant. Everything seems to turn dark blue with yellow spots. You blink and squint, and your vision gradually returns to normal, by which time the technicians are back at their stations like nothing happened. >turn on signal generator You switch on the signal generator. You try a few settings, but there's no obvious response from the black box. An oscilloscope would probably help to see if anything's going on. A couple of the technicians tending the MegaTester switch places, forcing them to squeeze past each other in the narrow space alongside the machine. >attach scope to black box (first putting the oscilloscope on the small table) You're eager to take another look at the black box now that you've had a chance to reacquaint yourself with this stuff. You make some adjustments on the scope and pick up the probe. Just as you're about to connect the probe, the entire alley fills with a blinding blue-white light and a deafening crash. A wave of pressure hits you and slams you against the wall. You reach out for something to hold on to for balance, but find nothing; you feel yourself stumbling sideways, your ears ringing, your eyes filled with dark green blotches, and you have the sensation of being caught in a stampede, of trying to push your way through a crowd rushing in the opposite direction. As the after-images start to fade from your eyes, you see that you've somehow made your way out to the breezeway outside Alley One, along with the Mitachron technicians. Thick black smoke billows out from the alley entrance. Frosst Belker emerges nonchalantly from the cloud of smoke, brushing bits of ash off his white clothes. At the same time, a group of fire fighters rush in from the Orange Walk. They see Belker, talk to him briefly, then rush into the alley. As they leave, you notice the Mitachron logos on their uniforms. Belker turns to you. "This building," he says, flicking a bit of ash from his lapel, "it is not, er, `up to code,' you might say. Not to worry, though. I am assured that repairs will be complete within the hour." He glances at his watch. "Ah, just enough time for lunch." He points his finger around the crowd of technicians, snaps his fingers, and points outside. The technicians all file out, and Belker follows. >e As you're leaving, Aaron and Erin come in from the courtyard. Aaron goes to check out the smoke, and Erin stops you for a moment. "We're about to go have lunch," she says. "You should join us, if you feel like it." The two head across the courtyard toward the dining room. Courtyard This large interior courtyard is dominated by what looks to be a papier-mƒch‚ scale-model mountain: a two-story edifice of cliffs and boulders, rising in the center of the courtyard to a peak higher than the surrounding courtyard walls. Piled randomly around the base are metal canisters marked with radiation warnings, many split open and leaking green goo. The courtyard itself follows the Mediterranean style of the south houses: red brick floor, stucco walls, casement windows, columns supporting an arcaded overhang to the east, terra cotta tiles on the gently-sloped roofs. Under the overhang, doors lead east into the lounge. The alley 3 entrance is to the southwest, and alley 5 is to the southeast. A small alcove lies to the south. To the west is a breezeway leading outside, and a long concrete stairway goes up. >e Lounge This large common room is essentially the Hovse's living room. It must have been necessary to clear the courtyard to make room for the mountain, because the piles of junk normally out there seem to be in here. Several couches are shoved together near the fireplace to make room for the heaps of stuff filling the south side of the room. The courtyard is out the doors to the west, and a wide passage leads north into the dining room. >n Dining Room This is the Hovse's dining room. Several long wooden tables are arranged into a couple of rows, and chairs are lined up on either side of each table. A wide passage leads south, to the lounge, and a pair of swinging doors to the east leads to the kitchen. The room is about half full of students, sitting around the tables eating lunch. You spot Aaron and Erin at one of the tables. Erin takes you into the kitchen and shows you where to buy a meal pass, and gives you a quick tour of the lunch options. The set-up hasn't changed much since you were a student, nor, apparently, has the quality of the food. You load up a tray, go back to the dining room, and sit down with Aaron and Erin. >s (first standing up) You spend a leisurely hour or so eating lunch and chatting with Aaron and Erin. Eventually, the dining room starts to clear out, and Aaron mentions that he and Erin need to get back to their stack. You finish up the edible parts of your lunch and drop off your tray. Erin and Aaron head toward Alley Seven; you wish them luck on their way out. Lounge This large common room is essentially the Hovse's living room. It must have been necessary to clear the courtyard to make room for the mountain, because the piles of junk normally out there seem to be in here. Several couches are shoved together near the fireplace to make room for the heaps of stuff filling the south side of the room. The courtyard is out the doors to the west, and a wide passage leads north into the dining room. >w Courtyard This large interior courtyard is dominated by what looks to be a papier-mƒch‚ scale-model mountain: a two-story edifice of cliffs and boulders, rising in the center of the courtyard to a peak higher than the surrounding courtyard walls. Piled randomly around the base are metal canisters marked with radiation warnings, many split open and leaking green goo. The courtyard itself follows the Mediterranean style of the south houses: red brick floor, stucco walls, casement windows, columns supporting an arcaded overhang to the east, terra cotta tiles on the gently-sloped roofs. Under the overhang, doors lead east into the lounge. The alley 3 entrance is to the southwest, and alley 5 is to the southeast. A small alcove lies to the south. To the west is a breezeway leading outside, and a long concrete stairway goes up. >w Breezeway This wide passageway opens onto a courtyard to the east, and to the west leads out of the house to the Orange Walk. A dimly-lit hallway leads into the house to the north; painted on the wall alongside the hallway is the legend "1-9". >n Alley One South Some of the other houses give fanciful names to their alleys, but for some reason the Darbs never bothered; they just refer to their alleys by number, this one being Alley One. Room 1 is to the east and room 2 to the west; the hallway continues north, and a doorway leads south. The walls are heavily adorned with graffiti, as they were when you were a student here. >n Alley One North Alley One ends here in a stairway leading up. Room 3 is to the east and room 4 is to the west. The hallway continues south. Next to the door to room 4 is a small table, on which is a black metal box that looks like it could once have been a microwave oven. A sign (really just a sheet of paper) is fastened to the door above the box. On the small table are a signal generator and an oscilloscope. A huge mainframe computer fills the hall, leaving very little space to pass. Several Mitachron technicians are standing near it, working the controls. One of the technicians working on the computer is Xojo. Belker is walking around slowly, supervising the technicians. >plug generator into black box The signal generator is already attached to the black box. >turn it on The signal generator is already on. One of the technicians points something out to Belker, who nods and returns to his pacing. >plug scope into box You make some adjustments on the scope, and start probing the contacts. The patterns jump right out at you now: this is a simple serial data communication circuit, but it's disguised well enough with weird voltages and wave patterns that you didn't recognize it before. Ideally, you'd go build a compatible interface, then plug in a terminal to see what the message is. But there's no time for that; you'll have to just try to read the data right off the scope. It's a good thing you memorized ASCII in binary a long time ago. It takes you a couple of minutes to get the hang of it again, but the bit patterns finally start looking like letters and numbers: 3... 9... 2... )... H... O... V... A... Eventually the sequence starts repeating; it's just repeating a short message in a loop. You watch it go by a few times until you're convinced it really is repeating the same message each time: HOVARTH(17281392) This is almost trivial! "Hovarth" is one of those obscure math functions; the solution to the stack must simply be to calculate the result and key in the number. All you need to do is to find a copy of the DRD math tables, and look up this Hovarth number. You put down the scope probe, and suddenly realize Belker is hovering behind you. "I take it you have discovered a hidden message," he says. "Perhaps you will be more efficient than my inferiors at formulating a response." He chuckles and goes back to watching the technicians. (Your score has just increased by ten points.) >s Alley One South Some of the other houses give fanciful names to their alleys, but for some reason the Darbs never bothered; they just refer to their alleys by number, this one being Alley One. Room 1 is to the east and room 2 to the west; the hallway continues north, and a doorway leads south. The walls are heavily adorned with graffiti, as they were when you were a student here. >s Breezeway This wide passageway opens onto a courtyard to the east, and to the west leads out of the house to the Orange Walk. A dimly-lit hallway leads into the house to the north; painted on the wall alongside the hallway is the legend "1-9". >w Orange Walk This north-south walkway is named for the orange trees planted alongside. A few steps ascend to the north. To the south, the walkway ends at California Boulevard, which forms the southern limit of the campus. An unpaved path through the orange trees leads west. To the east, a passage leads into Dabney Hovse. >n Quad This open lawn area is known as the Quad, for its rectangular shape. Several walkways meet here: the Olive Walk leads east and west, the Orange Walk leads down a few steps to the south, and another walkway leads north. To the northwest is the campus bookstore. The two main student house complexes lie a short distance to the east: the North Houses on the north side of the Olive Walk, and the older South Houses on the south side. Alongside the Olive Walk, a couple of workers are standing by an open rectangular manhole, which they've cordoned off with yellow "Caution" tape strung around some stakes in the ground. Several big spools of wire are piled up next to the manhole. >n San Pasqual Walkway This broad paved walkway curves through a well-maintained lawn surrounded by campus buildings. The entrance to Jorgensen lab is to the north, the Physical Plant offices are to the northeast, and the back of Page House is to the southeast. The walkway continues west, and abuts the end of San Pasqual Street to the east. A narrower intersecting walkway leads south. >n Jorgensen Lobby This is a large, open area, decorated by framed photos along the walls. Classrooms lie to the east and west, and a corridor leads north. The building's exit is to the south. >n Corridor This is a hallway running north and south. Doors line the hall on both sides; apart from the door to the west, which is labeled "Campus Network Office," the doors appear to be to private offices. The hallway ends a short way to the north, and opens into a lobby to the south. >w Network Office This room is set up roughly like a private office. A desk is positioned across the center of the room, facing the door, and behind the desk are floor-to- ceiling bookshelves, crammed with print-outs, binders, folders, and loose papers. Most of the space on the desk is occupied by several terminals and workstations. The door leads out to the east. The bookshelves contain some papers. A man is sitting behind the desk. The man looks up as you enter. "Hi," he says. >talk to man "Hi," you say, "I'm Doug." He gives you a little nod. "I'm Dave," he says. "What can I do you for?" (You could ask him about 192.168.11.38.) >ask him about 192.168.11.38 "Could you look up an IP address for me?" you ask. He frowns and scrutinizes your face for a few moments. "Why would you want me to do that?" he asks suspiciously. (You could tell him about the SPY-9 camera, or say you're a private detective.) >tell him about spy-9 You hesitate to say too much, because you can't be sure who was involved with planting the camera. "I'm trying to track down some monitoring equipment," you say. "We're not sure exactly where it's plugged in." He seems to accept that. "Okay, let me see what I can find." He types on his terminal, looks at the screen, types some more. "Hmm." He rolls his chair over to the wall and scans his fingers over some binders, then pulls one out and flips through it. He puts it back and returns to the terminal. "That's in a block we gave to NIC," he says. "The contractors we have doing some new wiring." He taps away at the terminal. "They're supposed to tell us how they're using these, but they're not always all that prompt." He goes back to the shelf and pulls out another binder, and scans through it. "Here we are. Sorry, bad news. All they gave us is a job number, which won't do either of us a fat lot of good." He puts the binder back. >ask him about job number "Just out of curiosity, what was that job number?" He shrugs and pulls out the binder again, and finds the right page. "Here it is. 1082-9686. Won't do you much good, though--they have their own private system for those." >look up 1082-9686 in binder (first taking the three-ring binder from the tote bag) You scan through the binder and find a page with that job number: *** ATTENTION: All IP address assignments MUST be made through the Campus Network Office (Jorgensen Lab). Report ALL IP changes to the CNO. Job desc: Install new network port, Sync Lab Office (2nd floor). Special notes: Door combo is 16974. *** (Your score has just increased by ten points.) >e Corridor This is a hallway running north and south. Doors line the hall on both sides; apart from the door to the west, which is labeled "Campus Network Office," the doors appear to be to private offices. The hallway ends a short way to the north, and opens into a lobby to the south. >s Jorgensen Lobby This is a large, open area, decorated by framed photos along the walls. Classrooms lie to the east and west, and a corridor leads north. The building's exit is to the south. >s San Pasqual Walkway This broad paved walkway curves through a well-maintained lawn surrounded by campus buildings. The entrance to Jorgensen lab is to the north, the Physical Plant offices are to the northeast, and the back of Page House is to the southeast. The walkway continues west, and abuts the end of San Pasqual Street to the east. A narrower intersecting walkway leads south. >ne Physical Plant Office A service counter divides this small room roughly in half, the south side being for customers and the north side for employees. A doorway to the southwest leads outside; on the other side of the counter, a narrow hallway leads north. On the service counter are several colored index cards (one pink, one yellow, one blue, and one green) and a memo. >get cards blue index card: Taken. green index card: Taken. yellow index card: Taken. pink index card: (first putting the old 9.8304 MHz crystal in the tote bag to make room) Taken. >sw San Pasqual Walkway This broad paved walkway curves through a well-maintained lawn surrounded by campus buildings. The entrance to Jorgensen lab is to the north, the Physical Plant offices are to the northeast, and the back of Page House is to the southeast. The walkway continues west, and abuts the end of San Pasqual Street to the east. A narrower intersecting walkway leads south. >w Lawn near Beckman The circular Beckman Auditorium is just north of this expansive lawn area; a towering double door leads inside. A leafy oak tree leans over the grass, providing some shade. A walkway leads east. A gardener is standing in the raised basket of a cherry picker, trimming branches from the oak. >give yellow card to gardener "Here," you say, holding the card up for the gardener. He lowers the basket enough to reach the card, and looks it over. "They said trim this tree!" he says. He reads the card again, then looks resigned. "Ja wohl," he says, "now I go trim this other tree." He lowers the basket, muttering in German. The gardener steers the cherry picker away down the east walkway. >e San Pasqual Walkway This broad paved walkway curves through a well-maintained lawn surrounded by campus buildings. The entrance to Jorgensen lab is to the north, the Physical Plant offices are to the northeast, and the back of Page House is to the southeast. The walkway continues west, and abuts the end of San Pasqual Street to the east. A narrower intersecting walkway leads south. The gardener is driving through in a cherry picker. The gardener steers the cherry picker away down the intersecting walkway. >s Quad This open lawn area is known as the Quad, for its rectangular shape. Several walkways meet here: the Olive Walk leads east and west, the Orange Walk leads down a few steps to the south, and another walkway leads north. To the northwest is the campus bookstore. The two main student house complexes lie a short distance to the east: the North Houses on the north side of the Olive Walk, and the older South Houses on the south side. Alongside the Olive Walk, a couple of workers are standing by an open rectangular manhole, which they've cordoned off with yellow "Caution" tape strung around some stakes in the ground. Several big spools of wire are piled up next to the manhole. The gardener is driving through in a cherry picker. The gardener steers the cherry picker away down the east walkway. >w West Olive Walk The olive walk runs east and west here through a broad lawn flanked by academic buildings. On the north side is the beige, rectilinear expanse of Thomas. Firestone, to the southeast, and Guggenheim, to the southwest, are joined together by a second-story bridge over the wide gap between them; a paved walkway leads south under the bridge. >s Lauritsen-Downs Courtyard This is a small courtyard bounded by lab buildings: Guggenheim to the north, Firestone to the east, and Lauritsen-Downs to the south and west. A walkway leads north under a second-story bridge connecting Firestone and Guggenheim. The entrance to Lauritsen-Downs is to the south; the other buildings are just blank walls here, except for a door marked "Emergency Exit" in the northwest corner of Guggenheim. A tall, rotund man is walking slowly along the outside of Lauritsen, looking closely at the building. >x rotund man He's a tall, rotund, ruddy man with curly hair, wearing denim overalls with an embroidered nametag reading "Ernst." You surmise that he's an electrician, from the tools hanging off his belt--voltmeters, crimpers, wire cutters. He's walking slowly near Lauritsen, looking closely at the building. >give blue card to ernst "Excuse me," you say, holding out the card. He reads it over and says something in German, then hands the card back to you. He stops what he was doing and starts putting things away and rearranging things on his toolbelt. >n West Olive Walk The olive walk runs east and west here through a broad lawn flanked by academic buildings. On the north side is the beige, rectilinear expanse of Thomas. Firestone, to the southeast, and Guggenheim, to the southwest, are joined together by a second-story bridge over the wide gap between them; a paved walkway leads south under the bridge. >e Quad This open lawn area is known as the Quad, for its rectangular shape. Several walkways meet here: the Olive Walk leads east and west, the Orange Walk leads down a few steps to the south, and another walkway leads north. To the northwest is the campus bookstore. The two main student house complexes lie a short distance to the east: the North Houses on the north side of the Olive Walk, and the older South Houses on the south side. Alongside the Olive Walk, a couple of workers are standing by an open rectangular manhole, which they've cordoned off with yellow "Caution" tape strung around some stakes in the ground. Several big spools of wire are piled up next to the manhole. >s Orange Walk This north-south walkway is named for the orange trees planted alongside. A few steps ascend to the north. To the south, the walkway ends at California Boulevard, which forms the southern limit of the campus. An unpaved path through the orange trees leads west. To the east, a passage leads into Dabney Hovse. >z Time passes... >z Time passes... Ernst enters via the steps. Ernst walks over to a lighting fixture alongside the walkway, and starts taking it apart. >give ernst the pink card "Excuse me," you say, holding out the card. He reads it over and says something in German, then hands the card back to you. He stops what he was doing and starts putting things away and rearranging things on his toolbelt. >n Quad This open lawn area is known as the Quad, for its rectangular shape. Several walkways meet here: the Olive Walk leads east and west, the Orange Walk leads down a few steps to the south, and another walkway leads north. To the northwest is the campus bookstore. The two main student house complexes lie a short distance to the east: the North Houses on the north side of the Olive Walk, and the older South Houses on the south side. Alongside the Olive Walk, a couple of workers are standing by an open rectangular manhole, which they've cordoned off with yellow "Caution" tape strung around some stakes in the ground. Several big spools of wire are piled up next to the manhole. >e East Olive Walk The Olive Walk is named for the olive trees lining both sides of the brick- paved walkway and arching overhead. The walkway runs east and west between the two main undergraduate house complexes: the newer North Houses on the north side, and the older South Houses on the south side. The front entrances to the houses face the walkway. An antique cannon sits in front of Fleming to the south. A gardener is standing in the raised basket of a cherry picker, trimming branches from one of the olive trees. >give gardener the green card "Here," you say, holding the card up for the gardener. He lowers the basket enough to reach the card, and looks it over. "They said trim this tree!" he says. He reads the card again, then looks resigned. "Ja wohl," he says, "now I go trim this other tree." He lowers the basket, muttering in German. The gardener steers the cherry picker away down the west walkway. You hear a commotion from somewhere nearby. >w Quad This open lawn area is known as the Quad, for its rectangular shape. Several walkways meet here: the Olive Walk leads east and west, the Orange Walk leads down a few steps to the south, and another walkway leads north. To the northwest is the campus bookstore. The two main student house complexes lie a short distance to the east: the North Houses on the north side of the Olive Walk, and the older South Houses on the south side. A cherry picker is parked here. Alongside the Olive Walk, a couple of workers are standing by an open rectangular manhole, which they've cordoned off with yellow "Caution" tape strung around some stakes in the ground. Several big spools of wire are piled up next to the manhole. Ernst runs toward you, a panicked look on his face, nearly crashing into you before swerving sharply to one side. A gardener is right behind him, chasing him with a pair of tree clippers. Ernst abruptly stops running from the gardener and turns around, holding out a pair of wire cutters. He yells something in German, and starts chasing the gardener. The two run off to the north. (Your score has just increased by five points.) >get in cherry picker Okay, you're now standing in the basket of the cherry picker. >w You step on the pedal, and the cart accelerates to a full two miles per hour. You steer the cart along the path. West Olive Walk (standing in the basket of the cherry picker) The olive walk runs east and west here through a broad lawn flanked by academic buildings. On the north side is the beige, rectilinear expanse of Thomas. Firestone, to the southeast, and Guggenheim, to the southwest, are joined together by a second-story bridge over the wide gap between them; a paved walkway leads south under the bridge. You steer the cherry picker to a spot off the path, right next to the wall of Firestone, and park. >raise basket You push the lever all the way forward, and a whining electric motor slowly raises the basket until the boom is fully extended. You release the lever, and it springs back to the center position. The latticework grill facing Firestone is now within arm's reach. >climb building (first putting everything away) You carefully climb up onto the edge of the basket and reach out for the Firestone grill. The pattern of the latticework offers surprisingly easy handholds. You feel you have a secure grip on the wall, so you take one foot off the basket and search for a toehold. No problem so far. You take a deep breath and commit yourself, taking your other foot off the basket, shifting your full weight to the wall. You don't immediately fall, so you try moving up the wall a few inches. It's actually pretty easy; almost like climbing a ladder. You move up a few feet, getting the hang of it. Climbing Firestone This point is about halfway up the side of Firestone. The latticework grill facing the building is relatively easy to climb; it extends above to the roof, and below to about one story above ground level. The cherry picker is parked next to the building, almost directly below. >u You work your way up to the top of the wall. Once you're at the top, you roll yourself over the edge and onto the roof. Roof of Firestone A knee-level lip runs around the perimeter of this flat, tar-coated roof, providing a modicum of protection against walking off the edge. Numerous vents, pipes, and other fixtures protrude at random spots. The roof narrows and continues west, over the bridge connecting Firestone and Guggenheim. The latticework grill facing the north side of the building comes up to the roofline, so it should be possible to climb down that way. At the southeast corner, a ladder leads down the south wall. >se Roof of Sync Lab The surface of the roof seems to be asphalt. The roof is flat, but the surface is uneven from numerous patches and repairs. Near the west edge, a rectangular fixture of unpainted sheet metal rises up a couple of feet. The roof ends to the north at the back wall of Firestone, which rises up another story from here. A ladder is bolted to the wall, leading up the side of the building. >open door Opening the door reveals a wrought-iron ladder leading down a shaft. >d (first standing on the rectangular fixture) Your eyes slowly adjust to the dim interior as you climb down the ladder. After about twenty rungs, you reach a landing. Catwalk near Ladder This is a narrow metal walkway clinging to the west wall of a cavernous interior space. Weak yellow light filters down from fixtures overhead, but only darkness is visible below. A wrought-iron ladder, bolted to the wall, leads up to a small opening overhead. A patch of sky is visible through the opening. The catwalk continues north along the wall, and ends to the south at a stairway leading down. >d Sync Lab near Stairs This corner of the Sync Lab floor is closed in by boxes and crates stacked high all around, with just enough space left open to form a walkway. The area along the west wall is mostly clear, providing access to a metal stairway, which leads up to the north. A path is open to the northeast as well. >ne Open Area This is a large clearing in the clutter of boxes and crates filling the Sync Lab. Yellow light trickles down from fixtures high overhead, faintly illuminating the tightly-packed stacks of crates bounding the area to the east, west, and south. A narrow passage leads between stacks to the southwest, and the way north is mostly open. Another small opening between boxes leads to the southeast. The way west is blocked by an especially large metal crate. >n Under Catwalk This is an open area among the crates. The clearing extends to the south; dense stacks of boxes and crates wall off the other directions, although a passage has been left clear to the east, and a narrow opening might be passable to the southwest. Overhead, about one story up, the underside of a metal catwalk is just visible in the dim light. The catwalk runs east and west, but it's interrupted directly overhead by a wide gap of about ten feet. >sw Under Stairs This is a cramped, dark nook underneath a stairway, which slopes down until it reaches the floor at the south end of the area. Boxes and crates are stuffed into the sloping space, leaving little space to move around. A narrow opening through the crates leads northeast. A huge metal crate is blocking the way east. >push crate You lean against the huge crate and give it a good, solid push. It slowly starts rolling, and you step forward, digging in your heels, still pushing it. A few feet in, you notice the other crates and boxes stacked alongside start wobbling precariously. You urgently push the wall of aluminum forward, and you just manage to get out of the way as piles of boxes come tumbling in from all directions to fill the gap. Open Area This is a large clearing in the clutter of boxes and crates filling the Sync Lab. Yellow light trickles down from fixtures high overhead, faintly illuminating the tightly-packed stacks of crates bounding the area to the east, west, and south. A narrow passage leads between stacks to the southwest, and the way north is mostly open. Another small opening between boxes leads to the southeast. You let the crate roll to a stop in the center of the area. >push it north You give the crate a strong push, and it starts rolling north. You keep pushing it, picking up speed, when suddenly it slams to a halt with a loud metal-on-metal crash that echoes from overhead. You look up, and you realize that the crate has wedged itself between the two ends of the catwalk, filling in the gap. Under Catwalk This is an open area among the crates. The clearing extends to the south; dense stacks of boxes and crates wall off the other directions, although a passage has been left clear to the east, and a narrow opening might be passable to the southwest. Overhead, about one story up, the underside of a metal catwalk is just visible in the dim light. The catwalk runs east and west, but it's interrupted directly overhead by a wide gap of about ten feet. The metal crate is wedged between the ends of the catwalk. >s Open Area This is a large clearing in the clutter of boxes and crates filling the Sync Lab. Yellow light trickles down from fixtures high overhead, faintly illuminating the tightly-packed stacks of crates bounding the area to the east, west, and south. A narrow passage leads between stacks to the southwest, and the way north is mostly open. Another small opening between boxes leads to the southeast. >sw Sync Lab near Stairs This corner of the Sync Lab floor is closed in by boxes and crates stacked high all around, with just enough space left open to form a walkway. The area along the west wall is mostly clear, providing access to a metal stairway, which leads up to the north. A path is open to the northeast as well. >n Catwalk near Ladder This is a narrow metal walkway clinging to the west wall of a cavernous interior space. Weak yellow light filters down from fixtures overhead, but only darkness is visible below. A wrought-iron ladder, bolted to the wall, leads up to a small opening overhead. A patch of sky is visible through the opening. The catwalk continues north along the wall, and ends to the south at a stairway leading down. >n Catwalk, at Corner This is a corner in the raised metal walkway. The catwalk continues south, along the west wall of the building, and east into the murky twilight. >e Catwalk at Gap The catwalk extends west, and abruptly ends to the east. Another section of catwalk, apparently the continuation of this one, is barely visible about ten feet further east. Above the gap, high overhead, the underside of what looks to be a bridge is visible. Just this side of the gap is a control panel. A huge metal crate is wedged between the ends of the catwalk. Its top is roughly level with the catwalk, creating a bridge across the gap. >e On the Crate This is the top of a crate, which is wedged between the ends of the catwalk to the east and west. The crate is easily large enough to stand on, providing a bridge across the gap. Overhead, another section of catwalk is visible, suspended from above. >e Catwalk at Gap The catwalk stretches east, and ends here to the west. Dimly visible across a gap of about ten feet is another section of catwalk, apparently a continuation of this one; high overhead, above the gap, the underside of what looks to be a bridge is visible. A huge metal crate is wedged between the ends of the catwalk. Its top is roughly level with the catwalk, creating a bridge across the gap. (Your score has just increased by five points.) >e Catwalk, Outside Office This section of catwalk runs along the front of a wooden structure, to the north. The structure resembles a small house; a gray door (closed) in the wall is labeled "Office." The catwalk continues west, and ends in a concrete wall to the east. To the south, a stairway leads down. >enter 16974 on door You push the buttons in sequence. The mechanism clicks softly. >n (first opening the gray door) Office This small, low-ceilinged room is lit mostly by the glow of a bank of video monitors arrayed along one wall. In the center of the room, facing the monitors, sits a wrap-around desk with an office chair; a computer is on the desk. Opposite the monitors is a set of shelves lined with rows of identical black binders. A gray door leads out to the south. (Your score has just increased by ten points.) >x computer It's not actually a computer; it's really one of those awful MitaMail e-mail terminals. No one claims to like them, but Mitachron has somehow sold millions of them; they're even ubiquitous at Omegatron. The terminal is a one-piece unit with an amber text display and a keyboard. >x keyboard The keyboard has a row of function keys above the regular keys. You've used these just enough to know that you press the F7 key to advance to the next mesage, and F13 to go to the previous message. >x display Which display do you mean, the computer display, or the calculator display? >push f7 The display flashes a few times, then updates: *** From: normf@mitachron.com To: frosstb@mitachron.com Subj: Re: research leads Frosst - We're very pleased with the progress so far. Please expedite the remaining installations. Pay particular attention to the anti-decoherence experiment: the Galvani-2 team has taken an interest in this and believes it is highly relevant. -Norm *** >g The display flashes a few times, then updates: *** From: frosstb@mitachron.com To: normf@mitachron.com Subj: Re: research leads We have completed installation of all video equipment. Per your direction, we are monitoring the anti-decoherence project with particular interest. The project appears to be proceeding well; we are capturing data on an ongoing basis and will report as appropriate. -fb *** >g The display flashes a few times, then updates: *** From: Cindy Anderson To: frossta@mitachron.com, frosstb@mitachron.com, frosstc@mitachron.com, frosstd@mitachron.com, frosste@mitachron.com, frosstf@mitachron.com, frosstg@mitachron.com, frossth@mitachron.com, frossti@mitachron.com, frosstj@mitachron.com, frosstk@mitachron.com, frosstl@mitachron.com, frosstm@mitachron.com, frosstn@mitachron.com, frossto@mitachron.com, frosstp@mitachron.com, frosstq@mitachron.com, frosstr@mitachron.com, frossts@mitachron.com, frosstt@mitachron.com, frosstu@mitachron.com, frosstv@mitachron.com, frosstw@mitachron.com, frosstx@mitachron.com, frossty@mitachron.com, frosstz@mitachron.com Subj: lower your mortgage rate! axjshe0193098 intense nowhere Are you paying 10%, 15%, even 20% for your mortgage?!? No more! Now you can get the lowest mortgage rates period! >>>CLICK HERE!!!<<< Also the world's lowest price on herbal Vigara! (This is NOT SPAM! If you are receiving this message, it is because you are on a carefully selected OPT-IN list. It is not physically possible for this to be SPAM because you are OPTED IN. To be removed from this list, which you have OPTED IN for so this is NOT SPAM, just come visit our offices and ask us in person to be removed. You can find our offices through our ISP - but that's not because we get kicked out, we are legitimate business people and NOT SPAMMERS, our ISP's can't kick us out for SPAMMING because WE ALREADY LEFT THEM! HA!) *** >g The display flashes a few times, then updates: *** From: izrum@mitachron.com To: frosstb@mitachron.com Subj: anti-decoherence data Frosst - Norm instruct to contact you in regard anti-decoherence experiment you are perform. My team have perform first Galvani-2 field deployment test. Success only partial, due to same localization limits encountered in G-1. Are now convinced of anti-decoherence technology to solve problem. Have overnight-sent (DefEx) report on experiment at you in Pasadena location. For security reason, is in black status report binder with title of Efficiency Study #37. Review please. /IhM. *** >g The display flashes a few times, then updates: *** From: frosstb@mitachron.com To: izrum@mitachron.com Subj: re: anti-decoherence data Izru - Attached are our data collected from the anti-decoherence experiment. We have performed some preliminary analysis, and I believe you will find it quite applicable to Galvani-2. -fb @#@ATTACHMENT:<> #@#ATTACHMENT DELETED PER VIRUS SCAN POLICY *** >g The display flashes a few times, then updates: *** From: normf@mitachron.com To: frosstb@mitachron.com Subj: diversion Great job so far in Pasadena. Izru tells me Galvani-2 is going to benefit greatly. Interested in taking a day or two for an amusing diversion? We just heard O. is bidding a big power plant contract in Asia. We don't really want it, but I know how you enjoy playing with those guys. If you're interested, take the co. jet and go do your wine-and-dine. Sarah has the details. -Norm *** >g The display flashes a few times, then updates: *** From: izrum@mitachron.com To: frosstb@mitachron.com Cc: normf@mitachron.com Subj: re: anti-decoherence data Frosst - effusive thanks for data spreadsheet. Most interesting. All now convinced of relevance. Unfortunately, current expertise of area now insufficient. To recommend hiring member of experiment team from Caltech. Norm has approve headcount; select please candidate and recruit. /IhM. *** >g The display flashes a few times, then updates: *** From: frosstb@mitachron.com To: izrum@mitachron.com Cc: normf@mitachron.com Subj: re: anti-decoherence data Izru - per your request, we have identified candidates on the anti-decoherence experiment team. The top candidate is a Mr. B. Stamer. He is a graduating senior, so we will easily obtain him through the standard college recruiting channels. -fb *** >g The display flashes a few times, then updates: *** From: normf@mitachron.com To: frosstb@mitachron.com Subj: re: anti-decoherence data The student hire plan is exactly right. Frosst, I want you to handle this personally. Galvani-2 is growing in strategic importance and we need this expertise quickly. -Norm *** >g The display flashes a few times, then updates: *** @@# 392003-29903: AT SPOOL EOF {[F7]} NOT LEGAL @#@ 392770-92903: BAD FKEY PRESS, SEE SUBEXC @@# 392060-23990: USE {[F13]} FOR RESUMPTION OF FUNCTION *** >g The display flashes a few times, then updates: *** @@# 392003-29903: AT SPOOL EOF {[F7]} NOT LEGAL @#@ 392770-92903: BAD FKEY PRESS, SEE SUBEXC @@# 392060-23990: USE {[F13]} FOR RESUMPTION OF FUNCTION *** >find efficiency study #37 in binders You scan through the shelves and find what you're looking for: Efficiency Study #37. You take the book from the shelf. >s Catwalk, Outside Office This section of catwalk runs along the front of a wooden structure, to the north. The structure resembles a small house; a gray door (open) in the wall is labeled "Office." The catwalk continues west, and ends in a concrete wall to the east. To the south, a stairway leads down. >w Catwalk at Gap The catwalk stretches east, and ends here to the west. Dimly visible across a gap of about ten feet is another section of catwalk, apparently a continuation of this one; high overhead, above the gap, the underside of what looks to be a bridge is visible. A huge metal crate is wedged between the ends of the catwalk. Its top is roughly level with the catwalk, creating a bridge across the gap. >w On the Crate This is the top of a crate, which is wedged between the ends of the catwalk to the east and west. The crate is easily large enough to stand on, providing a bridge across the gap. Overhead, another section of catwalk is visible, suspended from above. >w Catwalk at Gap The catwalk extends west, and abruptly ends to the east. Another section of catwalk, apparently the continuation of this one, is barely visible about ten feet further east. Above the gap, high overhead, the underside of what looks to be a bridge is visible. Just this side of the gap is a control panel. A huge metal crate is wedged between the ends of the catwalk. Its top is roughly level with the catwalk, creating a bridge across the gap. >w Catwalk, at Corner This is a corner in the raised metal walkway. The catwalk continues south, along the west wall of the building, and east into the murky twilight. >s Catwalk near Ladder This is a narrow metal walkway clinging to the west wall of a cavernous interior space. Weak yellow light filters down from fixtures overhead, but only darkness is visible below. A wrought-iron ladder, bolted to the wall, leads up to a small opening overhead. A patch of sky is visible through the opening. The catwalk continues north along the wall, and ends to the south at a stairway leading down. >u You make your way up the ladder, climbing out through the opening when you reach it. Roof of Sync Lab (standing on the rectangular fixture) The surface of the roof seems to be asphalt. The roof is flat, but the surface is uneven from numerous patches and repairs. Near the west edge, a rectangular fixture of unpainted sheet metal rises up a couple of feet. The roof ends to the north at the back wall of Firestone, which rises up another story from here. A ladder is bolted to the wall, leading up the side of the building. >u (first getting off of the rectangular fixture) Roof of Firestone A knee-level lip runs around the perimeter of this flat, tar-coated roof, providing a modicum of protection against walking off the edge. Numerous vents, pipes, and other fixtures protrude at random spots. The roof narrows and continues west, over the bridge connecting Firestone and Guggenheim. The latticework grill facing the north side of the building comes up to the roofline, so it should be possible to climb down that way. At the southeast corner, a ladder leads down the south wall. >w Roof of Guggenheim The whole south side of the roof is dominated by the Guggenheim wind tunnel: a long, low steel structure, resembling an extremely elongated storage shed. The roof continues east, narrowing over the bridge connecting Guggenheim to Firestone. >x structure The structure runs the full east-west extent of Guggenheim, but it's low and narrow. A complex network of pipes and conduits runs along the walls of the structure, turning and twisting around one another. A group of pipes makes right-angle turns around a small panel low on the wall. >x panel The panel looks to be a small door, about a meter square, near the bottom of the wall. It's probably an access door for mechanical work on the tunnel apparatus. It's closed. >open it Opening the panel reveals a passage that seems to lead inside the structure. >s You get down on all fours and crawl through the passage. Wind Tunnel Lab This is a long, low, narrow space, crammed with equipment. It doesn't seem to be the sort of wind tunnel with a gigantic fan at one end of a big, empty room. Instead, the "tunnel" looks more like a cement mixer: a bright blue metal cylinder about ten feet long and six feet in diameter, lying on its side. The cylinder is tapered to a smaller diameter at each end, where it's connected to stacks of heavy industrial machinery that would look at home in an auto plant. A wrought-iron spiral stairway leads down a narrow shaft. A low door to the north, almost hidden under pieces of equipment, leads outside. >x hatch It's a round metal hatch, about two feet in diameter. It's currently closed. >open it Opening the metal cylinder reveals a squirrel action figure. >get squirrel Taken. >n You get on your hands and knees and crawl out through the passage. Roof of Guggenheim The whole south side of the roof is dominated by the Guggenheim wind tunnel: a long, low steel structure, resembling an extremely elongated storage shed. A small, low door leads into the structure. The roof continues east, narrowing over the bridge connecting Guggenheim to Firestone. >e Roof of Firestone A knee-level lip runs around the perimeter of this flat, tar-coated roof, providing a modicum of protection against walking off the edge. Numerous vents, pipes, and other fixtures protrude at random spots. The roof narrows and continues west, over the bridge connecting Firestone and Guggenheim. The latticework grill facing the north side of the building comes up to the roofline, so it should be possible to climb down that way. At the southeast corner, a ladder leads down the south wall. >n (first putting everything away) You back up to the north edge of the roof and lie down on the lip, then lower your legs over the edge. You find a toehold and start working your way down the wall. Climbing Firestone This point is about halfway up the side of Firestone. The latticework grill facing the building is relatively easy to climb; it extends above to the roof, and below to about one story above ground level. The cherry picker is parked next to the building, almost directly below. >d You carefully climb down the grill until you're level with the basket, then ease yourself into the basket. West Olive Walk (standing in the basket of the cherry picker) The olive walk runs east and west here through a broad lawn flanked by academic buildings. On the north side is the beige, rectilinear expanse of Thomas. Firestone, to the southeast, and Guggenheim, to the southwest, are joined together by a second-story bridge over the wide gap between them; a paved walkway leads south under the bridge. >d (out of the basket of the cherry picker) (first lowering the basket of the cherry picker) You pull the lever all the way back, and the basket slowly descends. Once the boom is fully retracted, the descent stops, and you let the lever spring back to the center position. Okay, you're no longer in the basket of the cherry picker. >e Quad This open lawn area is known as the Quad, for its rectangular shape. Several walkways meet here: the Olive Walk leads east and west, the Orange Walk leads down a few steps to the south, and another walkway leads north. To the northwest is the campus bookstore. The two main student house complexes lie a short distance to the east: the North Houses on the north side of the Olive Walk, and the older South Houses on the south side. Alongside the Olive Walk, a couple of workers are standing by an open rectangular manhole, which they've cordoned off with yellow "Caution" tape strung around some stakes in the ground. Several big spools of wire are piled up next to the manhole. >s Orange Walk This north-south walkway is named for the orange trees planted alongside. A few steps ascend to the north. To the south, the walkway ends at California Boulevard, which forms the southern limit of the campus. An unpaved path through the orange trees leads west. To the east, a passage leads into Dabney Hovse. >e Breezeway This wide passageway opens onto a courtyard to the east, and to the west leads out of the house to the Orange Walk. A dimly-lit hallway leads into the house to the north; painted on the wall alongside the hallway is the legend "1-9". >e Courtyard This large interior courtyard is dominated by what looks to be a papier-mƒch‚ scale-model mountain: a two-story edifice of cliffs and boulders, rising in the center of the courtyard to a peak higher than the surrounding courtyard walls. Piled randomly around the base are metal canisters marked with radiation warnings, many split open and leaking green goo. The courtyard itself follows the Mediterranean style of the south houses: red brick floor, stucco walls, casement windows, columns supporting an arcaded overhang to the east, terra cotta tiles on the gently-sloped roofs. Under the overhang, doors lead east into the lounge. The alley 3 entrance is to the southwest, and alley 5 is to the southeast. A small alcove lies to the south. To the west is a breezeway leading outside, and a long concrete stairway goes up. >sw Alley Three Entry This is the middle of Alley Three, which runs east and west from here. The exit to the courtyard is to the north, and next to it a stairway leads up. The door to room 13 is to the south. >u Alley Four This is the middle of Alley Four, where the hallway widens into a good-sized lounge area. The two wings of the alley lead off to the east and west, respectively, and to the north, a stairway leads down. A large round table and some chairs are set up here. About a half dozen students are sitting or standing around the table, working on a pile of papers spread out over the surface. >ask about jay (asking the students) "Excuse me," you say, "but I'm looking for Jay Santoshnimoorthy." Everyone looks at one of the students, who looks up at you. "I'm Jay," he says. With the aloha shirt, his build, and his long hair, Jay looks like a surfer dude. >ask jay about calculator You describe the calculator to Jay and ask him if he knows anything about it. "Sounds pretty generic," he says. "Maybe if I could take a look at it..." >show calculator to jay (first taking the pocket calculator from the tote bag) "Have a look at this," you say, handing Jay the calculator. He turns it over a couple of times, turns it on, taps on the keys for a bit. The calculator starts beeping a little tune. One of the other students groans and playfully tries to grab the calculator from Jay, but Jay dodges out of the way. "Don't encourage him," the other guys says. "He just can't help showing off his nerdly trick." Jay laughs. "Sorry," he says. He turns off the calculator and hands it back. (You could ask him about programming hovarth numbers.) >ask him about hovarth numbers "Have you heard of Hovarth numbers?" you ask. "Yes, most definitely," he says. "We had a phys homework a few weeks ago that was all about Hovarth numbers. Entirely heinous stuff." >ask him about programming hovarth numbers "Could you program a Hovarth function on my calculator?" you ask. Jay looks nonplussed. "Um, dude, are you out of your mind? I mean, I could, but nobody has that kind of time. We're talking heat death of the universe." >give him 73:9a (first taking Quantum Review Letters number 73:9a from the tote bag) "You might find this interesting," you say, offering the journal to Jay. He takes it and scans over the abstract. "Hm," he says, then sits down and starts reading through the article. >z Time passes... >z Time passes... >z Time passes... Jay gets up and hands you the journal. "That's pretty bizarre stuff. I wonder if it would really work?" He ponders something for a few moments, then smiles. "Hey, that would be perfect for Hovarth numbers! Maybe I could program your calculator to figure Hovarth-of-X, and we could try it out." >z Time passes... >give him calculator You offer Jay the calculator, but he doesn't take it. "Tell you what," he says. "We need someone to rescue Turbo Power Squirrel. We've figured out that he's in the Guggenheim wind tunnel, but no one's got any time to go get him. If you could go rescue him and bring him back here, I'll help you out with programming your calculator." >give him squirrel (first taking the squirrel action figure from the tote bag) You offer the squirrel action figure to Jay. "Hey! That's great!" He takes the squirrel and holds it up for everyone to see. "Turbo Power Squirrel is safe!" Everyone cheers. Jay puts the figure on the table. (Your score has just increased by five points.) >give him calculator You hand Jay the calculator. He starts tapping furiously at the keypad with both thumbs, almost too fast to see. "This is perfect," he says, still typing away. "The chipset in this model has an unstable flip-flop on the key debouncer that we can use as a true random source." He finally finishes, smiling broadly at his handiwork. "There," he says, handing the calculator back to you. "It's the least I could do for the man who rescued Turbo Power Squirrel." He points to the "+" key. "All you have to do is enter the number for the Hovarth function, then press `plus' three times in a row, really fast. So type the number, then type plus-plus-plus. Make sure the quantum thingy is going when you do. The result should come right up." >d Jay goes back to the table. Alley Three Entry This is the middle of Alley Three, which runs east and west from here. The exit to the courtyard is to the north, and next to it a stairway leads up. The door to room 13 is to the south. >n Courtyard This large interior courtyard is dominated by what looks to be a papier-mƒch‚ scale-model mountain: a two-story edifice of cliffs and boulders, rising in the center of the courtyard to a peak higher than the surrounding courtyard walls. Piled randomly around the base are metal canisters marked with radiation warnings, many split open and leaking green goo. The courtyard itself follows the Mediterranean style of the south houses: red brick floor, stucco walls, casement windows, columns supporting an arcaded overhang to the east, terra cotta tiles on the gently-sloped roofs. Under the overhang, doors lead east into the lounge. The alley 3 entrance is to the southwest, and alley 5 is to the southeast. A small alcove lies to the south. To the west is a breezeway leading outside, and a long concrete stairway goes up. >w Breezeway This wide passageway opens onto a courtyard to the east, and to the west leads out of the house to the Orange Walk. A dimly-lit hallway leads into the house to the north; painted on the wall alongside the hallway is the legend "1-9". >w Orange Walk This north-south walkway is named for the orange trees planted alongside. A few steps ascend to the north. To the south, the walkway ends at California Boulevard, which forms the southern limit of the campus. An unpaved path through the orange trees leads west. To the east, a passage leads into Dabney Hovse. >n Quad This open lawn area is known as the Quad, for its rectangular shape. Several walkways meet here: the Olive Walk leads east and west, the Orange Walk leads down a few steps to the south, and another walkway leads north. To the northwest is the campus bookstore. The two main student house complexes lie a short distance to the east: the North Houses on the north side of the Olive Walk, and the older South Houses on the south side. Alongside the Olive Walk, a couple of workers are standing by an open rectangular manhole, which they've cordoned off with yellow "Caution" tape strung around some stakes in the ground. Several big spools of wire are piled up next to the manhole. >w West Olive Walk The olive walk runs east and west here through a broad lawn flanked by academic buildings. On the north side is the beige, rectilinear expanse of Thomas. Firestone, to the southeast, and Guggenheim, to the southwest, are joined together by a second-story bridge over the wide gap between them; a paved walkway leads south under the bridge. A cherry picker is parked next to Firestone. >w Rock Garden The walkway winds its way through a rock garden set within a terraced series of ponds. The path ascends the hillside to the west, and leads to the Olive Walk to the east. A distance off to the west, you can see the Millikan library towering above. >w Millikan Pond The nine-story obsidian tower of the Millikan Library is to the west, rising above the wide rectangular pond that fills the large open area north of the walkway. A combination abstract sculpture and fountain in the center of the pond shoots several streams of water into the air. Bridge Lab is a short distance to the south, and the entrance to the library is to the west. A path leads east, down a hill. >s Bridge Lab Entryway This entry hall reflects the different sense of proportion architects had in the 1920s: it's a bit too narrow and a bit too tall to the modern eye. At the south end of the hall, stairs lead up and down, and a doorway at the north end leads outside. A display case is set into the east wall. >d Basement Hall It's just the basement, but this hallway has an almost oppressively subterranean feel, as though it were buried deep underground: the air is damp and musty, the lighting dim, the slightly-arched ceiling so low that you can't quite stand up straight. The hall continues west, and ends to the east in a stairway leading up, back to the land of the surface dwellers. A door labeled 021 leads south, and another numbered 022 leads north. The hall continues to the west. >n Lab 022 Improvised equipment is packed into this small lab, which feels a bit like an underground parking garage thanks to the low ceiling and concrete surfaces. The room is dominated by a big steel lab bench roughly in the center of the lab, and pieces of equipment are arrayed around the bench and along the walls. A set of shelves on the back wall are laden with yet more equipment. >put calculator on platform (first taking the clear plastic dome from the glass platform) Done. >push green button You push down on the giant button. There's an immediate clunk from somewhere in the room, then a deep humming sound that gradually rises in pitch. The humming keeps rising and getting louder until it sounds like a car horn. The air over the glass platform in the center of the ring of magnets starts to shimmer. >type 17281392+++ on calculator (first turning on the pocket calculator) Your hand becomes slightly blurry as you reach into the shimmering air over the platform. This makes it hard to be sure you're finding the right keys, but you try your best. You pull your hand back as soon as you're done. The calculator's display blurs, the digits turning into fuzzy blobs of light. For that matter, the entire calculator seems oddly out of focus. The humming of the equipment starts dropping in pitch like a turbine winding down. The calculator suddenly snaps into sharp focus, the display reading "35506392.". The noise of the equipment fades out and then stops entirely. Assuming Jay's programming worked, that should be the number for the stack. Now you just have to go enter it into the black box. Fortunately, that should be relatively easy: earlier, when you were looking at the black box with the oscilloscope, you noticed that part of the circuit was a ten-level voltage digitizer. That must be the input device. All you need is a way to produce voltages in the right range, which you should be able to do with the signal generator. (Your score has just increased by ten points.) >get calculator Taken. >s Basement Hall It's just the basement, but this hallway has an almost oppressively subterranean feel, as though it were buried deep underground: the air is damp and musty, the lighting dim, the slightly-arched ceiling so low that you can't quite stand up straight. The hall continues west, and ends to the east in a stairway leading up, back to the land of the surface dwellers. A door labeled 021 leads south, and another numbered 022 leads north. The hall continues to the west. >u Bridge Lab Entryway This entry hall reflects the different sense of proportion architects had in the 1920s: it's a bit too narrow and a bit too tall to the modern eye. At the south end of the hall, stairs lead up and down, and a doorway at the north end leads outside. A display case is set into the east wall. >n Millikan Pond The nine-story obsidian tower of the Millikan Library is to the west, rising above the wide rectangular pond that fills the large open area north of the walkway. A combination abstract sculpture and fountain in the center of the pond shoots several streams of water into the air. Bridge Lab is a short distance to the south, and the entrance to the library is to the west. A path leads east, down a hill. >e Rock Garden The walkway winds its way through a rock garden set within a terraced series of ponds. The path ascends the hillside to the west, and leads to the Olive Walk to the east. A distance off to the west, you can see the Millikan library towering above. >e West Olive Walk The olive walk runs east and west here through a broad lawn flanked by academic buildings. On the north side is the beige, rectilinear expanse of Thomas. Firestone, to the southeast, and Guggenheim, to the southwest, are joined together by a second-story bridge over the wide gap between them; a paved walkway leads south under the bridge. A cherry picker is parked next to Firestone. >e Quad This open lawn area is known as the Quad, for its rectangular shape. Several walkways meet here: the Olive Walk leads east and west, the Orange Walk leads down a few steps to the south, and another walkway leads north. To the northwest is the campus bookstore. The two main student house complexes lie a short distance to the east: the North Houses on the north side of the Olive Walk, and the older South Houses on the south side. Alongside the Olive Walk, a couple of workers are standing by an open rectangular manhole, which they've cordoned off with yellow "Caution" tape strung around some stakes in the ground. Several big spools of wire are piled up next to the manhole. >s Orange Walk This north-south walkway is named for the orange trees planted alongside. A few steps ascend to the north. To the south, the walkway ends at California Boulevard, which forms the southern limit of the campus. An unpaved path through the orange trees leads west. To the east, a passage leads into Dabney Hovse. >e Breezeway This wide passageway opens onto a courtyard to the east, and to the west leads out of the house to the Orange Walk. A dimly-lit hallway leads into the house to the north; painted on the wall alongside the hallway is the legend "1-9". >n Alley One South Some of the other houses give fanciful names to their alleys, but for some reason the Darbs never bothered; they just refer to their alleys by number, this one being Alley One. Room 1 is to the east and room 2 to the west; the hallway continues north, and a doorway leads south. The walls are heavily adorned with graffiti, as they were when you were a student here. >n Alley One North Alley One ends here in a stairway leading up. Room 3 is to the east and room 4 is to the west. The hallway continues south. Next to the door to room 4 is a small table, on which is a black metal box that looks like it could once have been a microwave oven. A sign (really just a sheet of paper) is fastened to the door above the box. On the small table are a signal generator and an oscilloscope. A huge mainframe computer fills the hall, leaving very little space to pass. Several Mitachron technicians are standing near it, working the controls. One of the technicians working on the computer is Xojo. Belker is walking around slowly, supervising the technicians. Belker confers quietly with one of the technicians for a few moments. >plug signal generator into box You turn on the generator, then attach it to the connector pin you think is the "clear" switch, to make sure the box's internal number memory is zeroed. You give it a few moments, then you attach the connector to the pins going to the voltage digitizer, and you adjust the generator settings to the right voltage range. It should now be set up to enter digits, one at a time, using the amplitude knob. A couple of the technicians trade places on the Mitavac. >turn it on The signal generator is already on. The Mitavac's throbbing seems to get a little quieter. The black box emits a soft beep. You'd assume that this means the box accepted the current digit. >turn dial to 3; turn it to 5; z Okay, the amplitude knob is now set to 3. The black box emits a soft beep. Frosst Belker wanders over to watch what you're doing. Okay, the amplitude knob is now set to 5. "So, Mr. Mittling," Belker says, "you have deduced the method by which digits are entered, I see." The black box emits a soft beep. Time passes... Belker clucks his tongue. "If I were you, Mr. Mittling, I would not be wasting the scant time remaining trying digits at random." The black box emits a soft beep. >turn it to 0; turn it to 6; turn it to 3 Okay, the amplitude knob is now set to 0. Belker shakes his head. "Your determination is admirable," he says, "but surely you realize the impossibility of solving Mr. Stamer's riddle by exhaustive enumeration." The black box emits a soft beep. Okay, the amplitude knob is now set to 6. "At this pace," Belker says, "you might find the number you are seeking in, perhaps, thirty years." The black box emits a soft beep. Okay, the amplitude knob is now set to 3. "You know," Belker says, "my engineers will have the correct number very soon. Perhaps I could persuade them to allow you to use their equipment afterwards. It would, of course, be too late for you to win, but at least you might have the satisfaction of solving the riddle for yourself." The black box emits a soft beep. >turn it to 9 Okay, the amplitude knob is now set to 9. Belker chuckles. "Mr. Mittling, I begin to wonder if you even know what riddle you are attempting to solve. Given the lateness of the hour, I think it safe to offer you a small hint: it has something to do with a mathematician named Hovarth." The black box emits a soft beep. >turn it to 2 Okay, the amplitude knob is now set to 2. Belker sighs. "I cannot bear to watch these pointless exertions of yours for much longer." The black box emits a soft beep. Then, after a few moments, it makes a loud "Ding." You realize that a crowd has formed in the hallway. The technicians have all abandoned the Mitavac and are standing watching you, and a couple dozen students have arrived as well. Everyone's silently watching you. Belker looks confused. "What does this dinging noise signify?" he asks sharply. As though to answer, the black box clicks, and the door to room 4 swings open. The crowd cheers and applauds--even the Mitachron technicians are smiling. Belker just stands there with his jaw hanging open. Some of the students start heading into room 4 to claim their share of the bribe. Belker makes his way over to you through the crowd. He's regained his composure now; he smiles faintly. "Congratulations," he says. "I am suitably impressed with your resourcefulness. I should like my technicians to study your methods someday." He seems about to say something else, but his cell phone rings; he takes it out of his pocket and answers. He moves away through the crowd. (Your score has just increased by ten points.) >w Room 4 The room has the cluttered yet spartan look of a student room. It's a single, so it's small; not quite so small that you can touch opposing walls at the same time, but close enough. Packed into the seventy or so square feet are a desk, a chair, and a bed. Bookshelves cover the wall above the desk. A door leads out to the alley. Spread out on the desk is a nice selection of snack foods, arranged in a party platter: chocolates, cookies, crackers, grapes, strawberries, cheese. Some of the students and technicians follow you into the room to help celebrate. They head straight for the snacks and start digging in. >z Time passes... A couple more students make their way into the room. >z Time passes... Aaron and Erin make their way into the room. They see you and come over to say hello. "Congratulations on solving the stack," Erin says. She and Aaron then wander over to the snacks. >z Time passes... A couple of the technicians make their way out into the hall. >z Time passes... >z Time passes... There's a lull in the noise of the crowd. A lanky, pale student, looking slightly disheveled, comes in through the door, saying hello to the other students as he makes his way through the crowd. He finally comes to you and stops. "Hi," he says. "I'm Brian Stamer. I'm guessing you're the one who solved my stack?" (You could say yes, introduce yourself, or tell him about Project Galvani-2, or the SPY-9 camera.) >hello "Yes," you say. "I'm Doug Mittling, from Omegatron." You shake hands. "So," Brian says, "what did you think of the stack?" (You could tell him about the stack, the black box, the calculator, Project Galvani-2, or the SPY-9 camera.) >tell him about stack "Your stack was definitely a learning experience," you say. "Your experiment is quite something." "You said you work for Omegatron?" Brian asks. >yes "Yes, I work for Omegatron," you say. This would be a good chance to tell him about the company. >tell him about company "I do work for Omegatron," you say. You start telling Brian about the company, what your group does, what you do, what Brian might do as a new hire--your standard spiel for candidates. Mid-way through, it strikes you that your heart really isn't in it; but you press on anyway. "So," you conclude, "there are some great opportunities, and we'd love to have you on board." Stamer listens and nods. "Sounds okay," he says, not sounding very enthusiastic. "Excuse me," a voice says from alongside you. You and Brian turn to see Belker standing there. "My name is Frosst Belker," he says to Brian. "I am with the Mitachron Company. You must be Brian Stamer--a pleasure at last to meet you." He opens a bag he's carrying, and starts taking things out and handing them to Brian: first a t-shirt, then a brochure, then a gigantic novelty baseball cap. "Please accept these tokens of our esteem." He holds up the baseball cap. "This article, perhaps it is the wrong size for you. Please, allow me to assess the situation, if you would be so kind..." Belker tries to put the cap on Brian's head, but Brian deftly ducks, takes the cap from Belker, and sets it on the desk along with the other things. "That's okay," he says. "I'll try it on later." >z Time passes... Belker flashes you a thin smile. "Before you expend too much energy on the particulars of employment negotiations, Mr. Mittling, I bring news that will be of considerable interest to you. Moments ago I have spoken with my company's headquarters, and I am pleased to say that Mitachron initiated a hostile takeover of Omegatron early today." He turns to Brian. "So, you see, while Mr. Mittling unarguably prevailed in the stack competition, he was technically already an employee of Mitachron while doing so. The victory is therefore Mitachron's." Belker turns back to you, smirking. "Once again, Mr. Mittling, we see that however diligent your efforts, in the end it is I who prevails. And do not fret, Mr. Stamer; you can be assured that Mitachron's employment terms will be most agreeable." >z Time passes... "I'll think about your offer," Brian says to Belker. He turns to you. "Actually, there's something else I wanted to talk to you about. A few friends and I have been putting together a start-up company, based on the technology in my lab. The thing is, we need some people with industry experience, to keep the investors happy. We don't want just anyone, though." He shoots a sideways glance at Belker. "That's the real reason I put together this stack--I figured anyone who could solve it must be pretty good with technology. The point is, I'd like to hire you as our VP of engineering. Interested?" >yes You almost say no just out of habit, out of fear of the unknown. But thinking back on your day, on all of the new and interesting challenges, on all of the cool technology that Stamer's been working on, you realize how complacent you've become at Omegatron, and how little reason you have to stay. And with this Mitachron takeover, you really want to get out of there. "I'd love to," you say, surprising yourself a little. "Great," Brian says. You shake hands on the deal. "No!" Belker yells. "This is not possible. Mr. Stamer, you gave assurances that you would accept a job at the winner's company. Mr. Mittling won, and Mitachron is his company, therefore you must accept a job at Mitachron." (You could tell Belker you quit, offer Brian a job, or tell him about Project Galvani-2, or the SPY-9 camera.) >offer job "I don't think you understand," you tell Belker. "I don't work for Omegatron or Mitachron any longer. I work for Brian's company now." You turn to Stamer. "I know Mitachron will make you a good offer, but you did say you'd come work for the winner's company. So, what'll it be? Will you come work for my new company?" "Why, yes," Brian says. "I'd be thrilled to. Sorry, Mr. Belker, but a deal's a deal, and he did win the stack." Frosst stands there looking like steam is about to come shooting out his ears. He starts flailing his arms wildly. "No! No, no, no! This is intolerable!" A couple of Mitachron technicians come running over and try to calm him down, but this just makes him more furious. "You think you are so clever, both of you." More technicians have come over now, and they've started dragging him away through the crowd. "You have not heard the last of Frosst Belker, I assure you. You will see..." His voice trails off as the technicians drag him away. Over the next few weeks, Brian's start-up comes together amazingly quickly. By the time the school year ends, you've already hired enough people to fill up the new office space, including Xojo, who turns out to have some great experience with semiconductor fab operations. You know you have a lot of work ahead of you, and a lot to learn, but you can already tell it's going to be a great ride. (Your score has just increased by five points.) *** YOU HAVE SUCCEEDED *** In 438 moves, you have scored 148 of a possible 150 points. Would you like to RESTORE a saved position, RESTART the story, UNDO the last move, see your FULL SCORE, read the AFTERWORD, see some AMUSING things to try, see the CREDITS, or QUIT? >q Thanks for playing Return to Ditch Day! (T3VM) Memory blocks still in use: Total blocks in use: 0