Aaron A. Reed

Chapter - Inside-Manta

After going to Inside-Manta: if night, move im-rayfish to Inside-Manta; else remove im-rayfish from play; continue the action. Some im-rayfish are a minor setpiece in Inside-Manta with printed name "rayfish". Understand "rayfish/manta/mantas/ray/rays" as im-rayfish. First check examining im-rayfish: say "The ghostly [rayfish] glide silently through the waters of the lagoon around you, each longer than you are tall. From within the sculpture, you have a strange sense of spatial vertigo, as if you float in deep space while luminous star creatures ripple through infinite black void." instead [this is the avoid the "most things indoors can't be examined at night" rule.]. The provoke message of im-rayfish is "They're in the water on the other side of the crystal.".

The prose name of Inside-Manta is "inside the manta sculpture". The printed name of Inside-Manta is "Inside the Manta, Under the Waves". The description of Inside-Manta is "[insidemanta-desc]". Inside-Manta is indoorsy. Check sleeping in Inside-Manta: say "That may not be the best idea. You're not really sure how much air there is in here.[sleepsuggest]" instead.

To say insidemanta-desc:

if night:

say "Phosphorescent glows drift through the black lagoon around you as the [o]rayfish[x] glide effortlessly through the lagoon[dot]";

otherwise:

say "Surrounding you on all sides is a fantastic underwater vista. Brightly colored [o]fish[x] twirl and dart among coral reefs and gently waving plants of red and green. [if sunup]Sunlight[else if moonup]Moonlight[else]Starlight[end if] filters heavily through the waves and the transparent crystal of the sculpture; the facets are so expertly carved you hardly notice it's there[dot]";

say "The hatchway above leads [outside], though you probably don't want to use it while you're underwater. A large wooden [o]wheel[x] on the floor seems to interface with the track on the ocean floor, which ends beneath you[dot]";

if Progue is fulfilling and the animus of Progue is swimming:

say "Above you through the crystal, you can see [the Progue], floating languidly on the surface of the water.";

move distant-Progue to location;

else:

fire one off by frequency from Table of Inside-Manta Ambience, definitely selecting, no extra spacing.

InsideManta-Stuff is stuff in Inside-Manta. Understand "vista/underwater/sides/coral/reef/reefs/plant/plants/waves/crystal/sculpture/facet/facets" as InsideManta-Stuff when location is Inside-Manta.

The manta-apparatus is a minor setpiece in Inside-Manta with printed name "apparatus" and provoke message "The mechanism seems designed to allow one to move the sculpture back up the track to dry land again under one's own power.". Understand "interface/apparatus/track/gear/gears" as manta-apparatus when location is Inside-Manta.

A manta-wheel is a prop in Inside-Manta. Understand "wheel/handle" as manta-wheel. The printed name is "large wooden wheel". The description is "The wheel lies flat against the crystal floor of the manta, through which you can dimly see some gears and the track below. It looks like by gripping the handle you could make a wide stirring motion to turn the wheel.". Check turning manta-wheel: try going outside instead.

Report going from Inside-Manta to Lower Beach: say "Gripping the handle, you begin turning the wheel. The gears below you spin, and you feel the manta slowly pulling back up the track.[paragraph break]It takes a few minutes, but you slowly emerge from the waves until you're resting on the lower beach again, and climb out of the sculpture."

Some fish are a minor backdrop in Inside-Manta. Understand "school/minnow/minnows/eels/goldfish/turtle" as some fish. The description is "[fishdesc]". To say fishdesc: fire one off by frequency from Table of Inside-Manta ambience, definitely selecting, no extra spacing. The provoke message of some fish is "You're completely sealed in here; you can't reach them."

The ambience table of Inside-Manta is the Table of Inside-Manta ambience.

Table of Inside-Manta ambience

freq	start time	end time	text	table	trigger	flag
frequent	dawn	twilight	"[one of]Tens of dozens of[or]A few dozen[or]Hundreds of[or]A few[or]A handful of[in random order] [one of]skinny silvery fish[or]tiny crimson minnows[or]lacy black fish[or]goldfish with stripes of cerulean blue[or]bright yellow fish the size of your hand[or]tall and skinny aqua fish like pancakes on end[in random order] [one of]float by[or]slip through the blue[or]swim near you[in random order], [fishfun1]." [plural]
frequent	dawn	twilight	"[one of]A school of[or]A[or]A cluster of[or]A dense grouping of[in random order] [one of]stout, ugly fish with scales like rock[or]bright orange fish covered in spines[or]long silver fish the size of your leg[or]beautiful red fish with long, graceful fins like bridal veils[in random order] [one of]swims past you[or]floats nearby[or]glides past[in random order] [fishadverb1]." [singular]
frequent	dawn	twilight	"A [one of]larger wave[or]wave[or]energetic swell[in random order] [one of]surges by above your head[or]swirls chaotically past the surface above you[at random], [one of]tugging at the green and red fronds on the floor and causing them to bob and sway hypnotically[or]pulling all the fish along in its momentary disruption of the current[or]sending whorls of surf bubbles spiraling down towards you[in random order]."
frequent	dawn	twilight	"A[one of] silver-red fish the size of your arm[or] huge deep blue fish dotted with brown and orange spots[or]n electric green fish with fins four times longer than its body[or] wriggling black eel with midnight blue stripes[in random order] [one of]darts up to the surface, about a body's length above you, to snatch some morsel floating on the swell[or]snatches a smaller fish in its jaws and darts away[or]pokes languidly at a crevice in the coral reef with its mouth[or]snatches some floating morsel out of the water nearby[in random order]."
common	dawn	twilight	"A [one of]fat[or]slender[or]rounded[at random] [one of]purple-black[or]pink[or]white[or]indigo[at random] fish momentarily fights with a [one of]larger[or]smaller[at random] [one of]silver[or]turquoise[or]blue-grey[or]bronze[at random] one over some [one of]disintegrating morsel[or]bit of food[or]edible flotsam[at random] before beating a hasty retreat."
uncommon	dawn	twilight	"A translucent jellyfish swims delicately by, its body glimmering prismatically in the light of the [light-source] slanting through the waves."
uncommon	dawn	twilight	"[one of]A sea turtle swims[or]Two sea turtles swim[at random] above the reef in the distance, kicking stubby legs but somehow managing to seem graceful."
guaranteed	twilight	night	"[one of]Glowing[or]Spectral[or]Luminescent[at random] rayfish [one of]glide effortlessly[or]swim in graceful ripples[or]float serenely[at random] through [one of]the black lagoon[or]the dark waters[or]the darkness outside[at random][if a random chance of 1 in 3 succeeds]. One spooks, ejecting a cloud of jet-black ink before speeding away into the dimness[end if]."

To say fishfun1: say "[one of]dodging first this way, then that[or]drifting lazily in the swells[or]feeding on tiny specks suspended in the water[or]staying close together[or]weaving through sinuous stands of seaweed[or]skimming the surface of the coral reef[or]darting in and out of hiding places in the coral reef[in random order]".

To say fishadverb1: say "[one of]grumpily[or]appraisingly[or]cautiously[or]confidently[or]languidly[or]hungrily[in random order]".

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