Blue Lacuna — 400 of 467

Aaron A. Reed

Release 4

Chapter - Dream 3

Section - Nexus 3

Dream3Nexus is a nexus-room in Dreamlands. The printed name of Dream3Nexus is "the windowed veranda". The description of Dream3Nexus is "Sunlight streams through the [o]windows[x], brightening the warm interior of the porch and the nicknacks and curios that line its walls: [dream thing] and [remembered thing] and [remembered thing] and [dream thing]. Yes, you remember this place. This was home, for a time. Wrinkled relatives with forgotten names and faces had taken you in, and gave you this place to paint in. Before it happened. Before you could wayfare.[paragraph break]An old easel stands in the center of the room, your [o]landscape[x] atop it, almost finished. Beside, atop an old hope chest, is a yellow plastic box of [o]watercolors[x]."

Dream3Nexus-stuff is stuff in Dream3Nexus. Understand "sunlight/porch/nicknacks/curios/home/relatives" as Dream3Nexus-stuff when location is Dream3Nexus.

A dn3-canvas is an undescribed setpiece in Dream3Nexus. The printed name is "easel and canvas". Understand "canvas/painting/landscape" as dn3-canvas when location is Dream3Nexus. The description of dn3-canvas is "Ah, you remember this one. You started to [d]paint[x] it years ago. Though it might look done to an untrained eye, you remember there are still hours of work to do. It's an epic tropical landscape, showing a [if player is female]wo[end if]man sleeping [if saved location is Fork]near a fork in an overgrown forest path[otherwise if saved location is Big Tree or saved location is Treehouse]in an overgrown treehouse draped with vines[otherwise if saved location is Cinder Cone]at the base of a strange tree growing within a volcano caldera[otherwise if saved location is Forest9]at the base of a strange tree in a sprawling rain forest[otherwise if saved location is Saddle or saved location is Atop]at the base of a huge tree growing on a ridge of a tropical island[otherwise if saved location is Egg]in a crater buried inside rain forest[otherwise]in a mossy hollow among a tumbling rockslide[end if].". Instead of vague painting when location is Dream3Nexus: try painting dn3-canvas. Instead of touching dn3-canvas: try painting dn3-canvas. Instead of painting dn3-canvas when dream-door-locked is true, say "Your thoughts are muddled; you can't decide what still needs to be done on the painting.". Instead of painting dn3-canvas: say "Finally, you see what needs to be done. Just a touch up on the sleeping [if player is female]wo[end if]man. You reach out your brush to retouch the head...[paragraph break]Something tickles you, and you awaken."; wake up now. Instead of taking dn3-canvas: say "It's small and light, but you have nowhere else to be but here.". Instead of touching or entering dn3-canvas, say "No, this is just a regular painting; you won't leave this world for another year yet.".

Some veranda-windows are a setpiece in Dream3Nexus. Understand "window/windows" as veranda-windows when location is Dream3Nexus. The printed name is "windows". The description is "The windows admit warm rays of summer light, but through them a static grainland gyrates instead of a view, a fuzz-blur where strange [if d3-portal-trigger is on-stage][d]images[x][otherwise]images[end if] flicker and die and flicker again, their motions jerky, leaving trails of compression artifacts behind.". Check opening veranda-windows when d3-portal-trigger is on-stage: try examining d3-portal-trigger instead. Check opening veranda-windows: say "Somehow now the windows cannot be opened; they seem in fact to be painted over, as if they haven't opened in years and years." instead.

d3-portal-trigger is part of veranda-windows. Understand "images" as d3-portal-trigger when location is Dream3Nexus.

Instead of examining d3-portal-trigger: say "You step up to the windows, the golden sunlight piercing your skin with a translucent glow, and throw them wide, letting the static in to tune your mind...[paragraph break]{(*mind*)}[line break]"; begin-flashback-sequence; remove d3-portal-trigger from play.