[Infidel: screen reader documentation and feelies. Transcribed by the “grey box” edition as originally published by Infocom. Material copyright Activision and used with permission. Transcription performed by Drew Cook. For questions or feedback you can reach Drew via email (golmac@golmac.org) or use the contact form at http://golmac.org.] [This document consists of five sections: the journal, the letter, the map, the cube document, and the manual. For easy reference, pages will be designated by both a three letter abbreviation and a page number. For instance, the third page of the manual will be designated MNL 3. Here are the abbreviations: MNL: Expedition Log and Manual LTR: Letter NMP: Map of area near Nile CBE: Document describing the cube ----- [Box art. The folio release of Infidel is packaged in a portfolio-style cardboard folder whose outside cover is printed with a grey-and-tan canvas design. This “portfolio” is held shut with two leather straps. A torn photograph and a note (written in red capital letters) have been slid underneath one of the straps. Atop the folio, someone has scrawled “INFIDEL” in large, red, capital letters. It is a photo of an unsmiling man kneeling close to the camera, which he faces head-on. He is wearing a nemes headdress and aviator sunglasses. Behind him is a saddled camel and, further away, a large pyramid, all framed by blue sky and vast desert. Someone has marked over the man’s face–perhaps with a red carpenter’s pencil.] ----- MNL 0 TAKE THEIR WORDS FOR IT! “Excellent, mind-boggling, great, fantastic, better than ever, unique, and fun. I like it so much because there are no graphics!” Lorie, 13 Lynchburg, Virginia “Awesome.” Glenn, 14 Reno, Nevada “In a word, INFIDEL is fun. Despite the fact that INFIDEL is all-text, there’s no lack of graphics. By providing text descriptions for your interpretation, Infocom lets you supply the pictures. Your mind isn’t limited by the graphic capabilities of your computer. This leads to a vivid game whether you solve it or not.” COMPUTER GAMES magazine “I did not imagine the fun and mental stimulation I could have with a game of this type. Excellent!” Ray, 32, Printer Edmonton, Canada “INFIDEL comes to life through detail.” POPULAR COMPUTING magazine “Excellent (as usual for Infocom).” Brenda, 32, Bookkeeper Sanger, California “A well-nigh perfect re-creation of this classic scenario: the cursed-treasure-in-the-lost-pyramid tale.” GAMES magazine “The absolute very best!!! Just what computers were meant for!!!” Jody, 28, Secretary Brooklyn, New York ----- MNL 1 [A mock-up of the outside cover of a notebook or journal of the sort that can be found in a drugstore or grocery store. On its front cover, someone has handwritten “Expedition Log Ellingsworth Pyramid Search” with a red marker.] ----- MNL 2 July 8 I think I am onto something big. Really big. This is the chance I've been waiting for, the chance to prove to everyone that I'm not just someone's errand boy. After the way Craige treated me on that ridiculous safari I developed a distaste for him. Everyone jumped when he spoke – the great white hunter, puffed up and dressed the part. I knew everything he knew about running a safari and he still treated me like dirt. Even his client, Joshua Rankin, thought Craige was someone really special, someone who had seen everything, been everywhere, was always in control of every situation. The way he always barked orders got to me after a while. "Help the bearers strike the tents," he'd say, or, "Check the supplies." God, how I learned to despise him. I played it smart, though. I knew better than to confront him, to let him know I saw right through him. I bided my time, waited until we were back in the States, then formulated a simple plan. It was risky, and I had no idea what Craige would do if he caught me at it, but I was just as good to him, and all I needed was the break to prove it. [Also on this page: a piece of paper with Rose Ellingsworth’s name, address, and phone number has been taped to the page.] ----- MNL 3 Well that break came this morning, when a Miss Ellingsworth called. Craige was out of the office, so I answered the phone. I told a little lie when I told her who I was. She wanted someone with a lot of experience to find something out in the desert, and I told her I was Craige's partner, and I had all the experience for the job. When she asked for Craige, who was out checking on some new equipment, I told her he was on safari and it was me or no one. She bit! She gave me her address and I went over to talk to her. She was grey-haired spinster type, about 65 or so, living in an old pretty run-down place. [Also on this page: a mocked up boarding pass for a flight to Egypt aboard Air El Menhir Airlines.] ----- MNL 4 This is the story she told me: Her father was an archaeologist in the early part of the century. Somehow he got his hands on an ancient artifact, a pottery shard more than 5000 years old inscribed with strange hieroglyphs. From what he deciphered, the shard pointed to the general location of a pyramid, a pyramid which no one had ever heard of before. He kept as quiet about his discovery as possible and, after your years of bowing, scraping, and petitioning foundations and universities, managed to fund a small expedition in 1920. He took his wife and a newborn daughter along for the trip. After a few months of disheartening searching, he came across something which proved he was on the right track – a small block of limestone inscribed with those same odd hieroglyphs. When he decoded it he discovered it referred to vast riches and a queen. That's as far as he got, though. The desert heat and the local water got to him and he died there. His widow and child returned to the States and, when Tut's tomb was discovered a few years later, Miss Ellingsworth's mother figured they'd dug up her dead husband's pyramid. She stowed all his records and belongings in a steamer chest and forgot about the whole thing. And there it rested for sixty years until the mother died. Miss Ellingsworth went through the stuff in the attic and found the limestone cube, ----- MNL 5 a map, a partial hieroglyphic dictionary, and a rubbing of the cube. From what she could tell, the pyramid was nowhere near Tut's, so she called Craige to see what could be done. "Just think of the historical significance of such a discovery," Miss Ellingsworth said to me, handing over her father's things. Sure, it was a cinch. I looked the pieces over. With the map, the task seemed easy. I could practically see the pyramid in my mind. All the glory would be mine--not Craige's! This was a chance to show the world what a fool Craige was, a chance to prove that I was better than him. [Also on this page: the cover of an issue of “True Tales of Adventure” Magazine. It depicts a man in an old-fashioned, tan safari outfit and hat in a dark jungle. It reads: “In this issue: ‘talking disks’ discovered at the heart of darkness!” ----- MNL 6 There would be enough gold and treasures in the pyramid to set me up for life but, more importantly, it would give me the reputation I deserved but had been denied by the glory grabbing Craige. I've been preparing for something like this to come along. I've saved money, sold the condo and just about everything I had that was worth anything, waiting patiently for the right opportunity. Now it's here and I realize I am undercapitalized. Miss Ellingsworth has no money – all she really wants out of this is to make her Dad into someone famous--so it's all up to me. I packed my bags and got my visa today. Tomorrow I take off for Egypt. I won't bother giving Craige notice. [Also on this page: the corner of a page torn from a magazine. It features an old, sepia-toned photo of a person walking alone atop a massive sand dune. Text below the picture reads: “’IT’S AROUND HERE SOMEWHERE, I SWEAR IT.’ expostulates Spaulding. Mystery shrouds the location of the Captain’s mysterious find. On his return to the site after an extended hospitalization, Spaulding zeroed in on this indistinguishable pile of sand as the entrance to the inner chambers of doom. Miraculously, the phantom pyramid had vanished!”] ----- MNL 7 July 13 We leave for the pyramid site tomorrow at daybreak. I am in El Menhir, a muddy little village on the Nile. I've managed to keep my purpose here a secret – I told the locals I was a scientist, interested in making sonar soundings in the desert. But I did confide in Abdul, the top guide in the area. He'll be the go between for me and the locals he lined up to do the work. He also rounded up all the supplies we need – tents, K-rations, cooking utensils, and the like. July 22 It's been one disaster after another, but none of it is really my fault! First, we hardly get into the real desert area when the navigator box falls off the back of the jeep. Great! I had to radio back to Cairo for a replacement and they said they'd get it to me, air-drop it into the encampment, in a few days – another expense in an already tight expedition $!$!$! Then the dates Abdul bought turned out to be insect infested and spoiled. The locals started grumbling and muttering, and one of them had the nerve to demand more money. I promised everyone a big bonus if all went well. [Also on this page: a flyer for “Abdul Top Guide.” It features a drawing of a camel.] ------ MNL 8 They looked at me as if I were lying. I don't think they trust me, and I don't know how much longer I can keep them digging, and still stay in control. I don't remember Craige ever having these problems. And this kind of thing sure never happened to the heroes in "True Tales of Adventure." August 6 We've been at the site for three weeks now and the new navigation box still hasn't arrived. I figured it would be the best to keep the men busy - "idle hands" and all that - digging in the general area indicated on the map. Without that box, though, it's like looking for a needle in a haystack. Worse, the crew suspects I am trying to pull a fast one on them. Abdul came to me and said I had better do something or there'd be trouble. I laughed at Abdul, telling him that I was in control, that nothing is going to happen that I didn't want to happen. Abdul said "What about the box? Did you want it to break?" I guess I got a little too angry when he said that. I slapped him across the face! Abdul said nothing, but he glared at me. I think I might have handled him better. [Also on this page: another scrap of paper torn from a magazine. This one features a photo of dried dates, a waterskin, and a combination calculator-digital watch. Below it, the text reads: “A ration of fermented camel milk and dried dates kept the Captain alive for over three weeks as he wandered aimlessly through the catacombs. This electronic watch, which was programmed to play ‘Skip to My Lou My Darling’ and the ‘Gregorian Funeral March’ at 15-minute intervals. helped keep Spaulding’s mind from slipping into the hopeless morass of insanity.” ----- MNL 9 August 8 THE BOX STILL ISN'T HERE! Without it, I don't think I'll be able to hold things together much longer. Our food stores are pretty low. The men are grumbling more and more. They stop working unless I stand over them and watch. One of them simply refuse to work at all, and Abdul is no real help. He seems to take their side. August 12 No box!! Radioed Cairo yesterday and the day before. They assure me it's on the way. If it is, where is it? Abdul led the men into the desert to perform some religious ceremony, but I didn't believe it was holyday. All I could think of was that the whole thing was getting out of control. That I was losing the only real chance I ever had. That if I didn't get them back to digging it would be all over. I marched out into the desert to confront Abdul. I asked him to stop this foolishness and get back to [Also on this page: a receipt from El Menhir Equipment Rental for various pieces of equipment (pickaxes and such).] ------ MNL 10 work. Abdul looked very offended! I pushed him, demanding to order the men to work. He didn't push me back, but he did say, "You will regret that, you sacrilegious dog!" Terrific! Looks like I blew it! How was I to know it really was a holy day? They moved off further into the desert to conduct their ceremony out of my sight. A little later, while I was lying on my cot, trying to figure out what to say to them that wouldn't sound too much like an apology, one of the men came into my tent. He seemed real friendly, and asked for the calfskin of Kumiss. I figured they'd gotten over my little flareup and all was forgiven. He brought the calfskin back a few minutes ago. I am going to write to Miss Ellingsworth back in the States to assure her everything's going okay. One thing I don't need is for her to hire someone else for this job, especially after what I've been through. A few swigs of Kumiss should get me through the letter OK. ------ MNL 11 Instruction Manual for INFIDEL You like to think of yourself as a bold and adventurous soldier of fortune, daring to brave the perils of the Egyptian Desert in search of a great lost pyramid. In fact, you're a small-time explorer, and you've just been marooned by your crew. Thoughts of getting lost, starving to death, or dying of thirst cross your mind, but you are sustained by the faint hope that you can somehow find the pyramid in this smouldering heat. You're all alone. Perhaps the sun has affected your thinking. Do you really expect to find a lost pyramid in this vast, endless desert, much less survive? Even if you do find it, can you get inside? Hardest of all, are you capable of matching wits with the ancient Egyptians? Still, you're driven onward against desperate odds. Undreamed-of riches and treasures beyond imagination await you. And your pride and dignity, your reputation and self-esteem, are at stake. For you are branded INFIDEL. If you're experienced with Infocom's interactive fiction, you may not feel like reading this entire manual. However, you should at least look at the appendix of recognized verbs (on page 18). Table of Contents An Overview Page 12 • What is interactive fiction? • Moving around • Turns and scoring Tips for Novices 13 Nine useful pointers about interactive fiction Communicating with INFIDEL 14 • Basic sentences • Complex sentences • Vocabulary limitations Starting and Stopping 16 • Starting INFIDEL ("Booting up") • Saving and restoring • Quitting and restarting Appendix A: Important Commands 17 Appendix B: Some Recognized Verbs 18 Appendix C: INFIDEL Complaints 18 Appendix D: Sample Transcript and Map 20 Appendix E: We're Never Satisfied 23 Appendix F: If You Have Technical Problems 23 Appendix G: About the Author 24 Appendix H: Copyright and Warranty Information Appendix I: Quick Reference Guide This briefly describes the most important things to know about interactive fiction. It is vital that you know all these things before you begin your adventure. ----- MNL 12 An Overview Interactive fiction is a story in which you are the main character. Your own thinking and imagination determine the actions of that character and guide the story from start to finish. Each work of interactive fiction, such as INFIDEL presents you with a series of locations, items, and events. You can interact with these in a variety of ways. To move from place to place, type the direction you want to go. When you find yourself in a new location, it's a good idea to become familiar with your surroundings by exploring the nearby rooms and reading each description carefully. (You may notice that INFIDEL occasionally refers to a location as a "room," even if you are outdoors.) As you explore, it is helpful to make a map of the geography. An important element of interactive fiction is puzzle-solving. You should think of a locked door or a ferocious beast not as a permanent obstacle, but merely as~ puzzle to be tackled. Solving puzzles will frequently involve bringing a certain item with you and then using it in the proper way. In INFIDEL, time passes only in response to your input. You might imagine a clock that ticks once for each sentence you type, and the story progresses only at each tick. Nothing happens until you type a sentence and press the RETURN (or ENTER) key, so you can plan your turns as slowly and carefully as you want. To measure your progress, INFIDEL keeps track of your score. You may get points for solving puzzles, performing certain actions, or visiting certain locations. ----- MNL 13 Tips for Novices 1. Draw a map. It should include each location, the directions connecting it to adjoining locations, and any interesting objects there. (See the small sample map that goes along with the sample transcript on page 20.) Note that there are 10 possible directions, plus IN and OUT. 2. Examine every object you come across. Most objects in the story that you can pick up are important for solving one or more of the puzzles you'll run into. 3. Save your place often. That way, if you mess up or get "killed," you won't have to start over from the beginning. See page 16 for instructions. 4. Read the story carefully. There are often clues in the descriptions of locations and objects, as well as in labels, engravings, books, and so on. Even strange or dangerous actions may provide clues, and might prove to be fun! You can always save your position first if you want. Here's a silly example: >GIVE THE PLAID GERANIUM TO THE WOLF The wolf considers, for a moment, eating the geranium instead of you. Then he decides the better of it. He comes closer and closer. In addition to learning something about the culinary preferences of wolves, you have a clue that perhaps feeding something else (a steak?) to the wolf would be more useful. 5. Unlike other "adventure games" that you may have played, there are many possible routes to the end of INFIDEL. Some puzzles have more than one solution; other puzzles don't need to be solved at all. Sometimes you will have to solve one puzzle in order to obtain the item(s) or information you need to solve another puzzle. 6. You may find it helpful to go through INFIDEL with another person. Different people may find different puzzles easy and can often complement each other. 7. If you really have difficulty, you can order a hint booklet and a complete map using the order form in your package. You don't need this booklet to enjoy the story, but it will make solving the puzzles easier. 8. Read the sample transcript on page 20 to get a feel for how Infocom's interactive fiction works. 9. You can word a command in many different ways. For example, if you were lying on an army cot and wished to stand up, you could type any of the following: STAND STAND UP GET OFF THE COT GET OUT OF THE ARMY COT In fact, if you were on the army cot and nothing else, just typing GET OFF would have been understood. But more about that in the next section ... ------ MNL 14 Communicating with INFIDEL In INFIDEL, you type your sentence in plain English each time you see the prompt ( >). INFIDEL usually acts as if your sentence begins "I want to ... ," although you shouldn't actually type those words. You can use words like THE if you want, and you can use capital letters if you want; INFIDEL doesn't care either way. When you have finished typing a sentence, press the RETURN (or ENTER) key and INFIDEL will process your request. INFIDEL will respond, telling you whether your request is possible at this point in the story, and what happened as a result. INFIDEL recognizes your words by their first six letters, and all subsequent letters are ignored. Therefore, SILVER, SILVERsmith, and SILVERware would all be treated as the same word by INFIDEL. To move around, just type the desired direction. You can use the eight compass directions: NORTH, SOUTH, EAST, WEST, NORTHEAST, NORTHWEST, SOUTHEAST, and SOUTHWEST. You can abbreviate these to N, S, E, W, NE, NW, SE, and SW, respectively. You can use UP (or U) and DOWN (or D). IN and OUT will also work in certain places. INFIDEL understands many different kinds of sentences. Here are several examples. (Note that some of these objects do not actually appear in INFIDEL.) WALK NORTH DOWN NE GOUP TAKE THE KNAPSACK PUT ON THE SILVER HELMET LOOK UNDER THE COT GO OUT DROP THE MATCHBOOK INTO THE FIREPIT EXAMINE THE LARGE RED MACHINE PUSH THE BLACK BUTION SHOOT THE MUMMY WITH THE LOADED GUN TAKE THE FRAGILE SECOND-CENTURY VASE LOOK UNDER THE STATUE READ THE CRUMBLY YELLOW SCROLL You can use multiple objects with certain verbs if you separate them by the word AND or by a comma. Some examples: TAKE SILVER HELMET, FRAGILE VASE, YELLOW SCROLL DROP THE SMALL GEM AND THE BROKEN TELESCOPE PUT THE SAND AND THE WATER IN THE BOWL You can include several sentences on one input line if you separate them by the word THEN or by a period. (Note that each sentence will still count as a turn.) You don't need a period at the end of the input line. For example, you could type all of the following at once, before pressing the RETURN (or ENTER) key: READ THE MATCHBOOK. BURN THE MAP WITH THE MATCH. OPEN THE DOOR THEN GO SOUTH THEN TIE THE ROPE TO THE RAILING The words IT and ALL can be very useful. For example: TAKE THE BOOK. READ IT. PUT IT ON THE BOOKSHELF CLOSE THE HEAVY METAL DOOR. LOCK IT TAKE THE SILVER HELMET. SHINE IT. PUT IT ON TAKE ALL EXAMINE ALL THE JEWELED CLUSTERS TAKE ALL EXCEPT THE WET TOWEL AND THE ROPE DROP ALL BUT THE PENCIL ------ MNL 15 The word ALL refers to every visible object except those inside something else. If there were an apple on the ground and an orange inside a cabinet, TAKE ALL would take the apple but not the orange. If INFIDEL doesn't understand one of the sentences in your input line, or if something unusual happens, it will ignore the rest of your input line (see "INFIDEL Complaints" on page 18). There are only two kinds of questions that INFIDEL understands: the first is WHAT IS (something), and the other is WHERE IS (something). For example: WHAT IS THE LIQUID? WHERE IS THE BOOK? You can use quotes to say something "out loud." For example: SAY "HELLO" INFIDEL tries to guess what you really mean when you don't give enough information. For example, if you say that you want to do something, but not what you want to do it to or with, INFIDEL will sometimes decide that there is only one possible object that you could mean. When it does so, it will tell you. For example: >UNLOCK THE DOOR (with the key} The door is now unlocked. If your sentence is ambiguous, INFIDEL will ask what you really mean. You can answer most of these questions briefly by supplying the missing information, rather than typing the entire input again. You can do this only at the very next prompt. For example: >BURN THE MAP What do you want to burn the map with? >A MATCH You'd better light a match first. INFIDEL uses many words in its descriptions that it will not recognize in your sentences. For example, you might read, "The wind-swept dunes look eerie in the moonlight." However, if INFIDEL doesn't recognize the words DUNES or MOONLIGHT in your input, you can assume that they are not important to your completion of the story, except to provide you with a more vivid description of where you are or what is going on. INFIDEL recognizes over 600 words, nearly all that you are likely to use in your sentences. If INFIDEL doesn't know a word you used, or any of its common synonyms, you are almost certainly trying something that is not important in continuing your adventure. ------ MNL 16 Starting and Stopping Starting the story: Now that you know what to expect in INFIDEL, it's time for you to "boot" your disk. To load INFIDEL, follow the instructions on the Reference Card in your package. Following the copyright notice and the release number of the story, you will see a message which begins the story. Here are a couple of quick exercises to help you get accustomed to interacting with INFIDEL. Try typing the following next to the prompt ( >): STAND UP Then press the RETURN (or ENTER) key. INFIDEL will respond with: You push yourself up and manage to get out of the cot. Your legs are a little wobbly, though, and your head swims. You hear a plane flying high overhead, outside the tent. Now try typing: LOOK UP After you press the RETURN (or ENTER) key, INFIDEL will respond: You see canvas. What else? Saving and restoring It will probably take you many days to complete INFIDEL. Using the SAVE feature, you can continue at a later time without having to . start over ~om the beginning, just as you can place a bookmark ma book you are reading. SAVE puts a "snapshot" of your place in the story onto another ! disk. If you are cautious, you may want to save your place'. before (or after) trying something dangerous or tricky. That way, you can go back to that position later, even if you have gotten lost or "killed" since then. To save your place in the story, type SAVE at the prompt(>), and then press the RETURN (or ENTER) key. Then follow the instructions for saving and restoring on your Reference Card. Some computers require a blank disk, initialized and formatted, for saves. Using a disk with data on it (not counting other INFIDEL saves) may result in the loss of that data, depending on your computer. You can restore a saved position any time you want. To do so, type RESTORE at the prompt(>), and then press the RETURN (or ENTER) key. Then follow the instructions on your Reference Card. You can then continue the story from the point where you used the SAVE command. You can type LOOK for a description of where you are. Quitting and restarting: If you want to start over from the beginning, type RESTART and press the RETURN (or ENTER) key. (This is usually faster than re-booting.) Just to make sure, INFIDEL will ask if you really want to start over. If you do, type Y or YES and press the RETURN (or ENTER) key. If you want to stop entirely, type QUIT and press the RETURN (or ENTER) key. Once again, INFIDEL will ask if this is really what you want to do. Remember when you RESTART or QUIT: if you want to be able to return to your current position, you must first do a SAVE. ------ MNL 17 Appendix A Important Commands There are a number of one-word commands which you can type instead of a sentence. You can use them over and over as needed. Some count as a turn, others do not. Type the command after the prompt (>)and press the RETURN (or ENTER) key. AGAIN-INFIDEL will usually respond as if you had repeated your previous sentence. Among the cases where AGAIN will not work is if you had just used a "movement" command like GO WEST. You can abbreviate AGAIN to G. BRIEF-This tells INFIDEL to give you the full description of a location only the first time you enter it. On subsequent visits, INFIDEL will tell you only the name of the location and the objects present. This is how INFIDEL will normally act, unless you tell it otherwise using the VERBOSE or SUPERBRIEF commands. INVENTORY-INFIDEL will list what you are carrying. You can abbreviate INVENTORY to I. LOOK-This tells INFIDEL to describe your location in full detail. You can abbreviate LOOK to L. QUIT -This lets you stop. If you want to save your position before quitting, follow the instructions in the "Starting and Stopping" section on page 16. You can abbreviate QUIT to Q. RESTART -This stops the story and starts over from the beginning. RESTORE-This restores a position made using the SAVE command. See "Starting and Stopping" on page 16 for more details. SAVE-This makes a "snapshot" of your current position onto your storage disk. You can return to a saved position in the future using the RESTORE command. See "Starting and Stopping" on page 16 for more details. SCORE-INFIDEL will show your current score and a ranking which is based on that score. SCRIPT -This command tells your printer to begin making a transcript of the story as you venture onwards. A transcript may aid your memory but is not necessary. It will work only on certain computers; read your Reference Card for details. SUPERBRIEF-This commands INFIDEL to display only the name of a place you have entered, even if you have never been there before. In this mode, INFIDEL will not even ment10n which objects are present. Of course, you can always get a description of your location, and the items there, by typing LOOK. In SUPERBRIEF mode, the blank line between turns will be eliminated. This mode is meant for players who are already very familiar with the geography. Also see VERBOSE and BRIEF. UNSCRIPT -This commands your printer to stop making a transcript. VERBOSE-This tells INFIDEL that you want a complete description of each location, and the objects in it, every time you enter a location, even if you've been there before. Also see BRIEF and SUPERBRIEF. VERSION-INFIDEL responds by showing you the release number and the serial number of your copy of the story. Please include this information if you ever report a "bug" in the story. WAIT -This will cause time in the story to pass. Normally, between turns, nothing happens in the story. You could leave your computer, take a nap, and return to the story to find that nothing has changed. You can use WAIT to make time pass in the story without doing anything. For example, you can wait for a specific time, or wait for an event to happen, etc. You can abbreviate WAIT to Z. ------ MNL 18 Appendix B Some Recognized Verbs This is only a partial list of the verbs that INFIDEL understands. There are many more. Remember that you can use a variety of prepositions with them. For example, LOOK can become LOOK INSIDE, LOOK BEHIND, LOOK UNDER, LOOK THROUGH, LOOK AT and so on. ASK FILL ATTACK FIND CLIMB FOLLOW CLOSE GIVE CUT HIDE DESTROY JUMP DRINK KILL DROP KNOCK EAT LIGHT ENTER LISTEN EXAMINE LOCK EXIT LOOK MOVE OPEN PICK POUR PULL PUT RAISE READ REMOVE SEARCH SHAKE SIT SLEEP SMELL STAND TAKE TELL THROW TIE TOUCH TURN WALK Appendix C INFIDEL Complaints INFIDEL will complain if you type a sentence that confuses it completely. INFIDEL will then ignore the rest of the input line. (Unusual events, such as being attacked, may also cause INFIDEL to ignore the rest of the sentences you typed, since the event may have changed your situation drastically.) Some of INFIDEL' s complaints: I DON'T KNOW THE WORD "(yourword)." The word you typed is not in the story's vocabulary. Sometimes using a synonym or rephrasing will help. If not, INFIDEL probably doesn't know the idea you were trying to get across. I CAN'T USE THE WORD "(your word)" HERE. INFIDEL knows the word you typed, but couldn't use it in that sense. Usually this is because INFIDEL knows the word as a different part of speech. For example, if you typed TURN ON THE LIGHT, you are using LIGHT as a noun, but INFIDEL might know LIGHT only as a verb, as in LIGHT THE LAMP. ------ MNL 19 I CAN'T FIND A VERB IN THAT SENTENCE! Unless you are answering a question, each sentence must have a verb (or a command) in it somewhere. I THINK THAT SENTENCE WAS MISSING A NOUN. This usually means that your sentence was incomplete, such as EAT THE BLUE or PUT THE BOOK IN THE. I FOUND TOO MANY NOUNS IN THAT SENTENCE. An example is PUT THE SOUP IN THE BOWL WITH THE LADLE, which has three noun "phrases," one more than INFIDEL can digest in a single action. I BEG YOUR PARDON? You hit the RETURN (or ENTER) key without typing anything. I CAN'T SEE ANY (object) HERE. The object you referred to was not accessible to you. It may be somewhere else, inside a closed container, and so on. I CAN'T USE MULTIPLE (IN)DIRECTOBJECTS WITH "(your verb)." You can use multiple objects (that is, nouns or noun phrases separated by AND or a comma) or the word ALL only with certain verbs. Among the more useful of these verbs are TAKE, DROP, and PUT. An example of a verb that will not work with multiple objects is EXAMINE; you couldn't say EXAMINE ALL or EXAMINE THE BOWL AND THE SWORD. I DON'T UNDERSTAND THAT SENTENCE. The sentence you typed may have been gibberish, such as TAKE ROPE WITH READ. Or, you may have typed a reasonable sentence but used a syntax that INFIDEL does not recognize, such as WAVE OVER THE TENT. Try rephrasing the sentence. ------ MNL 20 Appendix D Sample Transcript and Map This transcript is not from INFIDEL, but it does show most of the usual things you can do in the story. It contains several simple puzzles and their solutions, and it will give you a good idea of how Infocom' s interactive fiction works. The player's sentences appear in capital letters after each prompt ( >). The map represents the terrain in the sample transcript as you might have drawn it. [A hand drawn map appears on the page, featuring eight locations.] In Front of Sphinx You are in the middle of a desert, standing in front of the colossal Sphinx of Jedidiah. The air is stifling and oppressive. You may walk around the crouching leonine body of the sphinx to the southeast or the southwest, or you may go between its immense paws to the south. >GO SOUTH Between Paws You are between the immense stone paws of the colossal Sphinx of Jedidiah. The air is noticeably cooler here, as the stone walls tower above you on either side and the huge head of the sphinx blocks out the sun entirely. The eyes of the sphinx seem to look down, staring at you. In front of you, directly beneath the sphinx's towering head, is a stone door leading south. >OPEN THE DOOR The door doesn't budge. >PUSH THE DOOR The door doesn't budge . >KICK THE DOOR You get a sore foot. The door doesn't budge. >EXAMINE THE DOOR The door stands eight feet tall and five feet wide, and is made of solid rock. Three hieroglyphic symbols are intricately carved onto the stone: a sun on top, a rodent's foot on the bottom, and an outline of a human hand in between. >PUSH THE HIEROGLYPHIC SYMBOL Which hieroglyphic symbol do you mean, the sun, the rodent's foot, or the outline of the human hand? >OUTLINE Nothing happens. >INVENTORY You are carrying: a walking stick a box The box contains: a mirror a rope a box of matches a pistol two pieces of cheese a canteen containing one sip of water ----- MNL 21 > NORTH In Front of Sphinx > TAKE THE MIRROR THEN EXAMINE IT Taken. The mirror is small, approximately four inches square, and rests on a tilting, swiveling stand. The sun reflects brightly off the mirror onto your face. > DROP THE MIRROR Dropped. > TILT THE MIRROR TOWARD THE SPHINX The sun reflects brightly off the mirror onto the sphinx's face. > TILT THE MIRROR TOWARD THE SUN HIEROGLYPH The sun reflects brightly off the mirror onto the sun hieroglyph. > SOUTH Between Paws > PUSH THE HUMAN HAND HIEROGLYPH A small hole opens up next to the rodent's foot hieroglyph. > LOOK INTO THE HOLE It's black as pitch in the hole; you can't see anything. > LOOK AT THE DOOT I don't know the word "doot". > LOOK AT THE DOOR The door stands eight feet tall and five feet wide, and is made of solid rock. Three hieroglyphic symbols are intricately carved onto the stone: a sun on top, a rodent's foot on the bottom, and an outline of a human hand in between. The sun's reflection from the mirror brightly illuminates the sun hieroglyph. There's a small hole next to the rodent's foot hieroglyph. > GO NORTH As you step away, the small hole next to the rodent's foot hieroglyph closes. In Front of Sphinx There is a mirror here. >SOUTHEAST East of Sphinx's Head You are in the middle of a desert, standing east of the head of the colossal Sphinx of Jadidah. The air is stifling and oppressive. The front of the sphinx is to the northwest, and its crouching leonine body continues to the south. The sun is beating down on you. > SOUTH East of Sphinx You are in the middle of a desert, standing east of the colossal Sphinx of Jadidah. The air is stifling and oppressive. The front of the sphinx is to the north, and the back of the sphinx is to the south. The sun is getting hotter, making you very thirsty. > FIND A RODENT Find it yourself. The sun is getting hotter, making you very thirsty. > WHERE IS WATER? There is one sip of water in your canteen. There's also a nice, blue, cool lake to the east. > RUN EAST Edge of Oasis There's a nice, blue, cool lake right in front of you. >DRINK THE WATER FROM THE LAKE You crouch down, put your face close to the edge of the lake, bring your lips right up to the cool water's surface… and the water disappears and turns into sand. The lake was a mirage. You are very, very thirsty. ------ MNL 22 >LOOK AROUND Desert You are in the middle of the desert. The air is stifling and oppressive. The colossal Sphinx of Jedidiah lies to the west. You're so thirsty you may pass out… >DRINK THE WATER FROM THE CANTEEN You take the canteen from the box and open it. Gulp! Ahhhh... Your canteen is now empty. >SOUTHWEST East of Back Haunches You are in the middle of a desert, standing east of the back haunches of the colossal Sphinx of Jadidah. The air is stifling and oppressive. The front of the sphinx is to the north, and the back of the sphinx is to the southwest. Part of the sphinx has cracked here, so there's a small crevice to the west. The sun is beating down on you. >WEST Inside Crevice You are in a small crevice on the eastern side of the sphinx. You're grateful to be out of the sun. You notice tiny animal tracks in the sand all over the floor of the crevice. >I You are carrying: a walking stick an empty canteen a box The box contains: a rope a pistol a box of matches two pieces of cheese >TAKE ONE PIECE OF CHEESE AND THE PISTOL DROP THE ONE PIECE OF CHEESE one piece of cheese: Taken. pistol: Taken. Dropped. >WAIT Time passes… After a moment, a mouselike rodent comes out of a small hole at the base of the wall. It sniffs the air, scampers to the cheese, and starts eating it. >SHOOT THE MOUSELIKE RODENT WITH THE PISTOL Fortunately for the mouselike rodent, your pistol isn't loaded. >GRAB THE RODENT You reach for the mouselike rodent, but you're too slow. It scampers back into its small hole, cheese in mouth. >TAKE THE ROPE, ONE PIECE OF CHEESE, MATCHES rope: Taken. one piece of cheese: Taken. box of matches: Taken. >TIE THE ROPE TO THE WALKING STICK The rope is now tied to the walking stick. >LEAN THE WALKING STICK ON THE WALL The walking stick is now leaning against the wall. >LEAN THE BOX AGAINST THE WALKING STICK The box is now leaning against the walking stick. >PUT THE CHEESE UNDER THE BOX The one piece of cheese is now lying under the box. >Z Time passes ... After a moment, a mouselike rodent comes out of a small hole at the base of the wall. It sniffs the air, scampers to the cheese, and starts eating it. ------ MNL 23 >BLOCK THE SMALL HOLE WITH THE CANTEEN The canteen is now lying in front of the small hole. >PULL THE ROPE As you pull the rope, the walking stick falls down. Simultaneously, the box falls on top of the mouselike rodent, trapping it inside. >TAKE THE RODENT As you lift up the box, the mouselike rodent runs toward its small hole. However, when it sees the canteen in its way, it stops, obviously frightened and confused. >TAKE THE RODENT Taken. > E.N.N.NW.S East of Back Haunches East of Sphinx East of Sphinx's Head In Front of Sphinx There is a mirror here. Between Paws >TOUCH THE HAND HIEROGLYPH A small hole opens up next to the rodent's foot hieroglyph. >PUT THE RODENT INTO THE SMALL HOLE As you put the rodent into the small hole, the ground starts to shake and rumble violently, and the face of the sphinx above you starts to crumble. >PUSH THE DOOR The stone door slides open easily, revealing a huge stone stairway leading down. The ground is shaking and rumbling more violently now, and stones are crumbling down all around you. >GO INTO THE SPHINX Top of Stairs As you step into the sphinx at the top of the stairway, the entire head of the sphinx crashes down outside, forever blocking that entrance {and, you realize, exit), and shutting off all outside light. You are in total darkness, trapped inside the sphinx. Appendix F We're Never Satisfied Here at Infocom, we take great pride in the quality of our stories. Even after they're "out the door," we're constantly improving, honing and perfecting. Your input is important. No matter how much testing we do, it seems that some "bugs" never crawl into view until thousands of you begin doing all those wild and crazy things to the story. If you find a bug, or if you think a certain puzzle was too hard or too easy, or if you have some other suggestion, or if you'd just like to tell us your opinion of the story, drop us a note! We love every excuse to stop working, and a letter from you is just such an excuse! Write to: Infocom, Inc. 55 Wheeler Street Cambridge, MA 02138 Attn: NEPHTHYS Appendix F If You Have Technical Problems You can call the Infocom Technical Support Team to report "bugs" and technical problems, but not for hints to solve puzzles, at (617) 576-3190. If your disk develops a problem within ninety (90) days after purchase, we will replace it at no charge. Otherwise, there is a replacement fee of $5 (U.S. currency). If you call to report a bug, please provide your release number, which you can find by typing VERSION. Please return your registration card if you'd like to be on our mailing list and receive our newsletter, THE NEW ZORK TIMES. ------ MNL 24 Appendix G About the Author Michael Berlyn is a writer whose books include The Integrated Man and Crystal Phoenix from Bantam Books. He is the author of SUSPENDED, INFIDEL, and CUTTHROATS , all from Infocom. He lives in the Cambridge area and is married to M. M. McClung, a writer and artist. [Copyright and Warranty Information omitted] ------ MNL 25 Appendix I Quick Reference Guide 1. To start the story ("boot up"), see the separate Reference Card m your INFIDEL package. 2. When you see the prompt ( >) on your screen, INFIDEL is waiting for your input. There are three kinds of sentences or commands that INFIDEL understands: A. Direction commands: To move from place to place, just type the direction you want to go: N (or NORTH), E, S, W, NE, SE, NW, SW, U (or UP), D, IN, OUT. B. Actions: Just type whatever you want to do. Some examples: READTHE BOOK or OPEN THE DOOR or LOOK THROUGH THE WINDOW. Once you're familiar with simple commands, you'll want to use more complex ones as described in "Communicating with INFIDEL" on page 14. C. Special one-word commands: Some one-word commands, such as INVENTORY or DIAGNOSE give you specific information or affect your output. A list of these appears in the "Important Commands" appendix on page 17. 3. Important! After typing your sentence or command, you must press the RETURN (or ENTER) key before INFIDEL will respond. 4. On most computers, your screen will have a special line called the status line. It tells you the name of your current location, your score, and the number of turns you have taken. 5. You can pick up and carry many of the items you'll find in the story. For example, if you type TAKE THE FLASK, you will be carrying it. Type INVENTORY to see a list of the items you are carrying. 6. When you want to stop, save your place for later ~r start over, read the "Starting and Stopping" section on page 16. 7. If you have trouble, refer to the specific section of the manual for more detailed instructions. ------ END MNL ------ [LTR. The letter is written on stationary from the “Hotel American”] LTR 1 August 12 Dear Rose, Here we are at the site, the same site that your father's expedition occupied almost 65 years ago, and things could hardly be any better. The weather is about average for a season - it'd be around 105º in the shade, if there were any shade—and aside from the occasional sandstorms, our camp has remained a merry one. Abdul and the boys are having a wonderful time, and we are all hitting it off just fine. I guess it's true what they say about us all being brothers under the skin. Notwithstanding the archaeological importance of the find and the profits it may accrue, the greatest treasure I'll bring back from this journey is the wealth of understanding I've gained through our brisk cultural exchange of customs and ideas. The other night, for instance, I treated the fellows to their first omelettes, and you should have heard the exclamations with which they greeted this new culinary experience. For my part, I am rapidly acquiring a taste for kumiss, a refreshing native beverage made from fermented ------ LTR 2 camel's milk. At first the flavor seemed strange to my western palate, but of late I've grown exceedingly familiar with it. In fact, I am enjoying a stoup of kumiss right now. I shall be sure to bring you a bottle or two of this zesty concoction upon my return. Of course everything can't be perfect. We've had a slight delay while we wait for the new navigation box to arrive. (I may have forgotten to mention in my previous letter that the old box became damaged just as we were setting out.) Nevertheless, such is the spirit of camaraderie and good fellowship here in camp that the boys voluntarily continued digging on the off chance that we might locate the pyramid without the aid of scientific instrumentation. This steadfastness in the face of adversity is truly heartwarming, and I've rewarded the crew by giving them today off. This has given me a chance to get off myself and relax. The strain of command must be telling on me - just now, as I was sipping some kumiss, I began to feel lightheaded, and my knees buckled slightly. Or perhaps I'm just intoxicated with the awe-inspiring vastness of this solitude that surrounds me. In any case, I shall have to lay this letter aside for the time being, until this numbness leaves my hands and the landscape stops writhing around so violently... Hello I hat have been staring at the same grain of sand for last hour and have you ever heard it said ------ LTR 3 [note: over the course of the remaining pages, the handwriting grows increasingly erratic, and by the end the author can not write in a straight line. It is a gradual effect that begins with irregularly sized letters and grows progressively worse] that if you move one grain of sand you change the course of history? Well here goes nothing. There, I done it, hope I've made the world a better place to live in..... My, my doesn't don't I feel strange tonight I wonder what's come over me but wait!!!! there was something very important I meant to tell you about this waistland Oh yes now I remember Did you ever stop to think that T.S. Eliot's name is an anagram for "toilets"? I think I now understand what he was trying to tell us all, Rosetta --------------- must be the desert sun’s played mischiff with my eyes for now as i gaze across the moonlit dunes who are in no way related to lorna dune I see theyve turned into crashing curling waves in an endless sea to shining sea how they cast strange shadowshapes of wild arabian demons [At this point, in the center of the page, the author has made a rough drawing of a demonic head with horns and a turban. The text of the letter wraps around it.] who are coming for me with my final summons in the kitchen with Dinah so possibly its the kumiss that's causing these tiny little spots to dance and swirl before my eyes like granes of sand through an hourglass so are the daze of our life savings blown on a hopeless expidision thats gonna get yors trully killed just so i can watch these spots as they grow and grow and get furrier and furrier… ------ LTR 4 until theyve changed into gnarled blue men about two foot tall with evilgrins behind their twisting bristly green wiskers that hang all the way to their shinnyshinshins as the three little pigs used to say in Piglatin eeway eeway eeway all the way home home on the range [Here, the author has made a drawing of a stovetop with a steaming teakettle.] where there's no place like home theres no place like home is where the heartbreak of psoriasis is that A shadow I see moving or cood it be abdul returning cood it be mack the knife cood it be desert sickness what cood it be this cotton mouthed icysweating brain feverish rubber arms and legs and head for the hills are alive with the sound of musicher and Sicker may be its something I ate guess i shouldve left that last deviledhammeat ball alone [The last few words are written down, rather than across, the page. The letter ends here.] ------ NMP 1 [A hand-drawn map on stiff, old paper in sepia ink. The Nile River runs north-to-south on the west (left) side of the map. A large square labeled “Encampment” occupies the center west of the map, just east of the river. The area above the Encampment contains text that reads: 20 September 1920 Encampment approx. 12 days overland S.S.E. El Menhir Dig site S.E. of camp To the right of the bottom-right corner of the Encampment is an “X.” It is labeled: “Hieroglyphic cube found here 27 September 1920.” The coordinates of this mark are 24 degrees 11 minutes 3 seconds N latitude, 32 degrees 12 minutes 43 seconds E longitude.] ------ CBE 1 [Notes on paper similar to the map. Old, hand-written] Hieroglyphic cube Found 27 September 1920 Cube measures 4” x 4” x 4” with hieroglyphics on side. Composition nummulitic limestone. Below is a charcoal rubbing of the cube’s surface, revealing the following characters: #!@!::(())!@!//\\ Hieroglyphics on cube match the symbols from pottery shard. Deciphered symbols support the “lost pyramid” hypothesis. English translations of hieroglyphic symbols: # the #: this :: and (( )) all !@! queen _ sits/lies/rests / to/toward -> through !-! door