Blue Lacuna — 425 of 467

Chapter - Egg Flashback

[In old windsigh, now dead. Workbench not built. He's holding the cylinder. Progue discovers the Egg. We learn his mental state: there is a reason they came here after all. In despair/loss, this gives him a purpose.]

[puzzles: any but mysterious door, finding the Egg.

getting to lawn: progue thinks about design of power systems.

opening pyramid: thinks about echo chamber.

powering both: thinks about ways to increase power to system. intuits will need to be high up.

contacting all: reels off trees he's seen. (they all came from here!)

]

Dream-Egg is a flashback-room in Dreamlands. The printed name is " The Egg ".

[To setup Dream-Egg-hints:

let active puzzle be preeminent puzzle;

if active puzzle is Getting-To-The-Lawn or active puzzle is Powering-Both-Devices begin;

now de-idea is 1;

otherwise if active puzzle is Opening-The-Pyramid;

now de-idea is 3;

otherwise if active puzzle is Contacting-All-The-Trees;

now de-idea is 4;

end if.]

de-idea is a number that varies.

[Every turn when location is Dream-Egg and a random chance of 1 in 3 succeeds and dr-idea > 0 and we have not examined de-hint-thought:

say "A [o]thought[x] struggles around the end of your consciousness, trying to find a way in.".

The de-hint-thought is a setpiece in Dream-Egg. Understand "thought/thoughts" as de-hint-thought. The description is "[dehint]".

To say dehint:

if dr-idea is 1, say "{hint not yet written.}";

if dr-idea is 3, say "{hint not yet written.}";

if dr-idea is 4, say "{hint not yet written.}"; [bug]]

DE-Progue is a dream-progue in Dream-Egg.

The description of Dream-Egg is "Rising from the ground of this hidden hollow, walled in by dense jungle on all sides, is your discovery: a massive rounded shape, perfectly smooth, a giant [o]egg[x] with one side smashed and crumbling. A [d]gash[x] in its side is completely filled in with jungle overgrowth. Near the gash is a tall and ancient [o]windsigh[x], its yellow leaves fading to burnt tones of copper, its vines growing withered and sickly[one of].[paragraph break]You lean against the side of the egg for a moment, nearly trembling with sudden exhaustion. You can't explain why this discovery has so thrilled you, unless it is because it validates your existence here, provides some hint of purpose at why you brought your shattered, mourning family to this empty place. Perhaps it is not so empty[or][stopping].[paragraph break][exits].". The exits text of Dream-Egg is "The slope [down] to the beach with those noisy seals, or the climb back [up] out of the crater seem your only ways out".

Dream-Egg-stuff is stuff in Dream-Egg. Understand "hollow/jungle/leaves/vines/cave/crater" as Dream-Egg-stuff when location is Dream-Egg.

[Every turn when location is Dream-Egg and a random chance of 1 in 4 succeeds: fire one off by frequency from Table of Really Sleepy Messages, definitely selecting.]

The d-egg is a setpiece in Dream-Egg. Understand "egg/discovery" as d-egg. The printed name is "Egg". The description is "What does it mean? Is it a spaceship? Was there a crew? What happened to them? Thoughts whirl through your head. Yes, you think, it must have had a crew. It's a colonization ship, it must be. Somehow you're sure of it.[paragraph break]But if it had a crew, where are they?".

The egg-gash is part of the d-egg. The printed name is "gash". Understand "gash/side/overgrowth/mound/silt" as egg-gash. Instead of examining or entering egg-gash, say "It will take you days to excavate all the silt and jungle growth that has filled the interior of the egg. For now, you will have to be content with studying its exterior[if d-eggtube is in Dream-Egg].[paragraph break]As you take another look at the mound of slit blocking the gash, however, you spot something strange: a silver [o]tube[x], just poking up from the dirt[end if].". Instead of entering d-egg: try entering egg-gash. First instead of going inside when location is Dream-Egg: try entering egg-gash. Check digging when location is Dream-Egg: if d-eggtube is not held, try taking d-eggtube instead; else say "You don't have the energy to start excavating right now." instead.

The d-eggtube is an undescribed container in Dream-Egg. It is closed and openable. Understand "silver/tube/cap/cylinder" as d-eggtube. The printed name is "silver tube". First report taking d-eggtube: say "You grip the slippery end of the metal tube and pull. It is deeply embedded in the caked soil, but as you wriggle, it begins to give, and finally bursts free in a torrent of moist earth and roots." instead. Instead of dropping d-eggtube: say "You have no idea what secrets this small thing might unearth. You're going to hold on to it for now.". The description of d-eggtube is "[if player holds d-eggtube][one of]Brushing clumps of soil from the tube, y[or]Y[stopping]ou marvel at it, some unknown piece of alien technology, perfectly molded. As you rotate it lightly in your hands you can feel something tumbling around inside it[one of], and looking, spot a metal cap almost perfectly flush with one end of the cylinder[or][stopping][otherwise]You can only see one end, poking out from the mound of dirt[end if].". Instead of opening d-eggtube when player is not holding d-eggtube, say "If it's openable, you can't tell while it's still buried in the mound of dirt.". First Report opening d-eggtube: move d-seedpod to player; say "Gripping the cap firmly, you rotate it until it suddenly gives way, as if attached magnetically. Some pointy spherical [o]pod[x] falls from the end; you instinctually snatch it from the air with your hand and bounce it there lightly." instead. First Report closing d-eggtube: say "You reattach the cap." instead.

A d-seedpod is a thing. Understand "seed/pod/seedpod" or "seed pod" as d-seedpod when location is Dream-Egg. The printed name is "seed pod". The description is "Incredibly light, the seed pod is filled with a myriad of tiny holes, complex vortices of negative space.". Understand "plant [d-seedpod]" or "bury [d-seedpod]" as a mistake ("Perhaps later. You want to study it first, figure out as much as you can. Maybe you can build a workbench, right here, so you don't have to cart things across half the island."). Instead of dropping d-seedpod: say "You shouldn't leave this just lying around. Who knows what might grow from it.".

The ancient-windsigh is a setpiece in Dream-Egg. Understand "windsigh/ancient/tree9" as ancient-windsigh when location is Dream-Egg. The printed name is "ancient windsigh". The description is "The tree is undoubtedly old and near the end of its life. Its roots twine around and through the mound of earth near the gash in the side of the smashed Egg, and it rises high above it, like some lonely sentinel.". Instead of climbing ancient-windsigh: say "You're too exhausted to think about doing that right now.". Instead of touching ancient-windsigh: say "You press your palm against the trunk of the ancient tree, and for a moment almost think you can feel a faint tingling.". Instead of greeting ancient-windsigh: say "It's just a tree."

First Instead of going up when location is Dream-Egg: say "You're too exhausted to climb back out of the crater right now. Later, you'll need to bring your tools, clean out the interior of the ship, study what you find... but now, all you can think about is sleep."

First Instead of going down when location is Dream-Egg: say "You just finished investigating the cave down there on the hidden island, and your mind is whirling with ideas. Such beautiful echoes, and those fluted shapes... you wonder if, with a bit of sculpting, you could create something rather interesting. But at the moment, the Egg and its contents push all artistic concerns from your mind.".

Instead of sleeping when location is Dream-Egg: say "Too tired to make the trek back through the rain forest to the cabin on the beach, you find a bank of dry leaves at the base of the ancient windsigh and curl up on your side. Your mind is racing with ideas, plans, speculations, but above all, a single, almost overpowering urge.[paragraph break]You must get inside the Egg. You must find out what's inside...[line break]{(*inside*)}[line break][end-flashback]".