>ask john about thingy You don't know about that. >ask john about foo In askabout Here's objwords: 'foo' Yay, you asked about doohickey. Now you know about thingy. >ask john about thingy In askabout Here's objwords: 'thingy' "Thingy." >ask john about doohickey In askabout Here's objwords: 'doohickey' Yay, you asked about doohickey. Now you know about thingy. >ask john about foo Which foo do you mean, the thingy, or the doohickey? >thingy In askabout Here's objwords: 'ones' "Thingy." >ask john about lantern In askabout Here's objwords: 'lantern' Xyzzy. >x lantern It looks like an ordinary lantern to me. >ask john about it In askabout Here's objwords: 'it' This is the second time you've asked about the lantern. >x lantern It looks like an ordinary lantern to me. >tell john about it In tellabout Here's objwords: 'it' In askabout Here's objwords: 'it' Stop asking about the lantern! >tell john about lantern In tellabout Here's objwords: 'lantern' In askabout Here's objwords: 'lantern' Stop asking about the lantern! >ask john about me In askabout Here's objwords: 'me' Yay, you asked about yourself. Here's a yes/no question. >ask john for thingy In askfor Here's objwords: 'thingy' In askabout Here's objwords: 'thingy' "Thingy." >ask john for me In askfor Here's objwords: 'me' "Don't have that." >tell john about me In tellabout Here's objwords: 'me' In askabout Here's objwords: 'me' Yay, you asked about yourself. Here's a yes/no question. >tell john about whatsit In tellabout Here's objwords: 'whatsit' In askabout Here's objwords: 'whatsit' "That's nice." >show bar to john "Wow." >show lantern to john In tellabout Here's objwords: 'lantern' In askabout Here's objwords: 'lantern' Stop asking about the lantern! >give bar to john "Don't want it." >give lantern to john In tellabout Here's objwords: 'lantern' In askabout Here's objwords: 'lantern' Stop asking about the lantern! >john, yes "Hullabaloo" >john, no "Hullabaloo" >ask john about me In askabout Here's objwords: 'me' Yay, you asked about yourself. Here's a yes/no question. >john, yes You answered yes. >john, no "Hullabaloo" >ask john about me In askabout Here's objwords: 'me' Yay, you asked about yourself. Here's a yes/no question. >say "no" to john You answered no. >ask john about me In askabout Here's objwords: 'me' Yay, you asked about yourself. Here's a yes/no question. >yes You answered yes. >thank john "You're welcome." >john, thanks "You're welcome." >say "thank you" Who do you want to thank? >john "You're welcome." >say "thanks" to john "You're welcome." >apologize to john "That's okay." >sorry, john "That's okay." >john, sorry "That's okay." >say "sorry" Who do you want to apologize to? >john "That's okay." >say "sorry" to john "That's okay." >hello, john "Hi there." >hi john "Hi there." >john, hello "Hi there." >say "hello" Who do you want to greet? >john "Hi there." >say "greetings" to john "Hi there." >bye, john "Bye." >john, good bye "Bye." >say "goodbye" Who do you want to say goodbye to? >john "Bye." >say "farewell" to john "Bye." >john, help "Help! Police!" >john, help me "Help! Police!" >john, help me out "Help! Police!" >ask john for help "Help! Police!" >ask john about help "Help! Police!" >john, jump "Don't go ordering me around!" >say "John, you better jump when I say jump." "John, you better jump when I say jump." >say "John, you better jump when I say jump." to John "Yuhhuh. String is 'John, you better jump when I say jump.'" >tell john to jump "Don't go ordering me around!" >ask john to jump "Don't go ordering me around!" >ask john to tell me about the lantern In askabout Here's objwords: 'lantern' Stop asking about the lantern! >tell john to help me "Help! Police!" >tell john to help me out "Help! Police!" >john, look at the lantern In tellabout Here's objwords: 'lantern' In askabout Here's objwords: 'lantern' Stop asking about the lantern! >john, tell me about the thingy In askabout Here's objwords: 'thingy' "Thingy." >john, tell me about yourself In askabout Here's objwords: 'yourself' Yay. That's me. >john, who are you? In askabout Here's objwords: 'you' Yay. That's me. >john, who am I? In askabout Here's objwords: 'me' Yay, you asked about yourself. Here's a yes/no question. >john, what is a doohickey? In askabout Here's objwords: 'doohickey' Yay, you asked about doohickey. Now you know about thingy. >john, what is a whatsit? In askabout Here's objwords: 'whatsit' "Don't know much about that." >say "no." You answered no. >john, give me the bar In askfor Here's objwords: 'bar' "Don't have that." >john, give me the lantern In askfor Here's objwords: 'lantern' "Don't have that." >john, give me the box In askfor Here's objwords: 'box' You asked for the box. >show box to john In tellabout Here's objwords: 'box' In askabout Here's objwords: 'box' Yay. You asked about the box. >john, look at box In tellabout Here's objwords: 'box' In askabout Here's objwords: 'box' You already asked about the box. >john, what is the box In askabout Here's objwords: 'box' You already asked about the box. >say hello to john You should type what you want to say in double quotes, for example, SAY "HELLO" or SAY "HELLO" TO JOHN. >say here's a long complicated sentence that isn't quoted You should type what you want to say in double quotes, for example, SAY "HELLO" or SAY "HELLO" TO JOHN. >say prepositions and special words in the of her in me jump jump You should type what you want to say in double quotes, for example, SAY "HELLO" or SAY "HELLO" TO JOHN. >ask john about myself In askabout Here's objwords: 'myself' Yay, you asked about yourself. Here's a yes/no question. >banana John is now deaf. >yes John can't hear you. He has a banana in his ear. >john, no John can't hear you. He has a banana in his ear. >say "yap yap" "yap yap" >say "hi" to john John can't hear you. He has a banana in his ear. >say "boo" to john John can't hear you. He has a banana in his ear. >tell john about me John can't hear you. He has a banana in his ear. >ask john about me John can't hear you. He has a banana in his ear. >john, tell me about lantern John can't hear you. He has a banana in his ear. >john, what is lantern John can't hear you. He has a banana in his ear. >ask john for lantern John can't hear you. He has a banana in his ear. >john, give me lantern John can't hear you. He has a banana in his ear. >john, look at lantern John can't hear you. He has a banana in his ear. >show lantern to john John doesn't notice. >give lantern to john John doesn't notice your offer. >john, jump John can't hear you. He has a banana in his ear. >john, hi John can't hear you. He has a banana in his ear. >john, thanks John can't hear you. He has a banana in his ear. >john, sorry John can't hear you. He has a banana in his ear. >banana John can hear again. >ask john about myself In askabout Here's objwords: 'myself' Yay, you asked about yourself. Here's a yes/no question. >laryngitis You now have laryngitis. >yes You can't speak. >john, no You can't speak. >say "yap yap" You can't speak. >say "hi" to john You can't speak. >say "boo" to john You can't speak. >tell john about me You can't speak. >ask john about me You can't speak. >john, tell me about lantern You can't speak. >john, what is lantern You can't speak. >ask john for lantern You can't speak. >john, give me lantern You can't speak. >john, look at lantern You can't speak. >show lantern to john In tellabout Here's objwords: 'lantern' In askabout Here's objwords: 'lantern' Stop asking about the lantern! >give lantern to john In tellabout Here's objwords: 'lantern' In askabout Here's objwords: 'lantern' Stop asking about the lantern! >john, jump You can't speak. >john, hi You can't speak. >john, thanks You can't speak. >john, sorry You can't speak. >laryngitis You can speak again. >talk to john [You are now in conversation with John. Type "talk help" for assistance, "talk off" to exit.] >me In askabout Here's objwords: 'me' Yay, you asked about yourself. Here's a yes/no question. >foo Which foo do you mean, the thingy, or the doohickey? >thingy In askabout Here's objwords: 'ones' "Thingy." >jump Wheeee! >east Closet It's a closet. >foo The person you were talking to doesn't seem to be present any longer. >west Room You see some tribbles and a book 1 here. John is here. >ask east In askabout Here's objwords: 'east' You asked about east. >tell east In tellabout Here's objwords: 'east' In askabout Here's objwords: 'east' You asked about east. >east passage In askabout Here's objwords: 'east' 'passage' You asked about east. >it In askabout Here's objwords: 'it' Yay. That's me. >x box It looks like an ordinary box to me. >it In askabout Here's objwords: 'it' You already asked about the box. >her box In askabout Here's objwords: 'hers' 'box' You already asked about the box. >her lantern In askabout Here's objwords: 'hers' 'lantern' "Don't know much about that." >himself In askabout Here's objwords: 'himself' Yay. That's me. >john, jump "Don't go ordering me around!" >tell john to help "Help! Police!" >me john There are words after your command that I couldn't use. >tell life In tellabout Here's objwords: 'life' That's nice. >talk off [Exiting conversation mode.] >john There's no verb in that sentence! >x john There's nothing in John. >who is he? That's John. >who is that? That's John. >who are you? You'll have to address that question to someone. >what is a box It's cubical. >x box It looks like an ordinary box to me. >what is that? It's cubical. >john, what is that? In askabout Here's objwords: 'it' You already asked about the box. >x tribbles They looks like an ordinary tribbles to me. >john, what are they? In askabout Here's objwords: 'it' Tribbles are trouble. >what are they? They're trouble. >who am I? You'll have to discover that for yourself. >john, what is the book In askabout Here's objwords: 'book' "Don't know much about that." >what is the book You'll have to discover that for yourself. >show book to john "Wow." >x john There's nothing in John. >ask john about him In askabout Here's objwords: 'him' Yay. That's me. >tell john about him In tellabout Here's objwords: 'him' In askabout Here's objwords: 'him' Yay. That's me. >john, tell me about him In askabout Here's objwords: 'him' Yay. That's me. >talk to john [You are now in conversation with John. Type "talk help" for assistance, "talk off" to exit.] >hers Please be more specific. >his Please be more specific. >my Please be more specific. >mine Please be more specific. >john's Please be more specific. >talk to john about me You can ask about a topic, or tell about a topic. Please be more specific. >talk help You can enter into conversation mode by typing "talk to [character]". Thereafter, you can simply type a topic to ask the selected character about that topic. You can also tell the character about a topic (this is sometimes a significant distinction) by typing "tell [topic]". This will last until you type "talk off" at the prompt, or you type "talk to [another character]", in which case the conversation target will switch to them. If, while in conversation mode, you type what does not appear to be a simple noun phrase, parsing will proceed as usual. So you need not exit conversation mode to do other things: >TALK TO MERLIN [You are now in conversation with Merlin. Type "talk help" for assistance, "talk off" to exit.] >EXCALIBUR "Have you gotten it out of the stone yet?" he replies. >JUMP You jump on the spot, fruitlessly. Note that conversation mode will favor no-object verbs over topics. So, for instance, if you type "east", and there is an "east passage" topic, you will go east rather than asking about that topic. To override this behavior, you can type "ask east" or "tell east" instead, or explicitly type "east passage". You can only ask about one topic at a time, and you can't mix topics and regular commands on the same line. For instance, this won't work: >EXCALIBUR. MAGIC WAND. If you type "talk to [person]" while in consult mode (see "consult help"), the game will exit consult mode before entering into conversation. >consult book on tribbles Yay tribbles. >read about tribbles (in the book 1) You asked me about tribbles again. >read about tribbles in book You asked me about tribbles again. >look up tribbles in book You asked me about tribbles again. >consult book on it You asked me about tribbles again. >x tribbles They looks like an ordinary tribbles to me. >look them up in the book You asked me about tribbles again. >consult book [Exiting conversation mode.] [You are now consulting the book 1. Type "consult help" for assistance, "consult off" to exit.] >consult help Consult mode is an extension of conversation mode, as documented under "talk help". It works quite similarly. You can enter into consult mode by typing "consult [source]", where [source] is an information source such as a dictionary or encyclopedia. Thereafter, you can simply type a topic to look up that topic in the selected source. This will last until you type "consult off" at the prompt, or until you type "consult [another source]", in which case the target will switch to that. If, while in consult mode, you type what does not appear to be a simple noun phrase, parsing will proceed as usual. So you need not exit consult mode to do other things: >CONSULT DICTIONARY [You are now consulting the dictionary. Type "consult help" for assistance, "consult off" to exit.] >ZEPHYR A zephyr is a light breeze. >JUMP You jump on the spot, fruitlessly. Note that consult mode will favor no-object verbs over topics. So, for instance, if you type "east", and there is an "east passage" topic, you will go east rather than looking up that topic. To override this behavior, you should explicitly type "east passage". You can only look up one topic at a time, and you can't mix topics and regular commands on the same line. For instance, this won't work: >ZEPHYR. TUQUE. If you type "consult [source]" while in conversation mode, the game will exit conversation mode before going into consult mode. >east Closet >west Room You see some tribbles and a book 1 here. John is here. >east passage There's no entry for that topic. >tribbles You asked me about tribbles again. >consult off [Exiting consult mode.] >consult book [You are now consulting the book 1. Type "consult help" for assistance, "consult off" to exit.] >talk to john [Exiting consult mode.] [You are now in conversation with John. Type "talk help" for assistance, "talk off" to exit.] >comehither >lantern In askabout Here's objwords: 'lantern' Stop asking about the lantern! >consult book Which book do you mean, the book 1, or the book 2? >1 [Exiting conversation mode.] [You are now consulting the book 1. Type "consult help" for assistance, "consult off" to exit.] >tribbles You asked me about tribbles again. >consult off [Exiting consult mode.] >printrecords Asked about: Topics: doohickey, thingy, lantern, yourself, John, box, east passage, tribbles Status codes: true, true, 2, true, true, true, true, true Told about: Topics: life Status codes: true Asked for: Topics: box Status codes: true Book: Topics: tribbles Status codes: true