Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, The

Don't Panic!

Relax, because everything you need to know about playing THE HITCHHIKER'S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY is contained in the pages of this manual. In this story, you will be Arthur Dent, a rather ordinary earth creature who gets swept up in a whirlwind of interstellar adventures almost beyond comprehension. As the story begins, bulldozers are waiting to reduce your house to rubble to make way for a motorway bypass. While you attempt to deal with your problem, your rather strange friend Ford Prefect drops by to tell you that the Earth is about to be demolished to make way for an interstellar bypass! If you survive this double threat, you'll embark on a series of inter-galactic misadventures even funnier than your worst nightmares! And, because anything is possible in THE HITCHHIKER'S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY, you may soon not even be sure of your own identity!

If you're experienced with Infocom's interactive fiction, you may not feel like reading the entire manual. However, you should at least read the appendices of important commands and recognized verbs. The sample transcript will give you ideas for some of the weird things you can do in HITCHHIKER'S.

A special note for people who have read the book THE HITCHHIKER'S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY: Although the opening of the game is fairly similar to the book, the story quickly diverges, with lots of new material and different twists. Familiarity with the story may make a few of the early puzzles easier, but if you rely too heavily on this previous knowledge, you will certainly befuddle yourself.

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Manual - Table Of Contents

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 HITCHHIKER'S, presents you with a series of locations, items, characters, 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 HITCHHIKER'S 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 a puzzle to be tackled. Solving puzzles will frequently involve bringing a certain item with you and then using it in the proper way.

In HITCHHIKER'S, 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, HITCHHIKER'S keeps track of your score. You may get points for solving puzzles, performing certain actions, or visiting certain locations. Keeping track of what actions increase your score will help you learn what the goal of the story is.

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Manual - Table Of Contents

Tips for Novices

Draw a map. It should include each location and the directions connecting it to adjoining locations. When you find yourself in a new location, make a note of any interesting objects there. (See the small sample map that goes along with the sample transcript.) There are 10 possible directions plus IN and OUT.
Most objects that you can pick up are important for solving one or more of the puzzles you'll run into in the story.
Save your place often. That way, if you mess up or get "killed," you won't have to start over from the beginning.
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 TARNISHED COIN TO THE USHER
The user looks unimpressed, and begins leading you toward the last row of the theatre. You've just learned there is something (such as the crisp bill) which might convince the usher to give you a front row seat...perhaps even a front row seat next to Queen Isameera and her dreadfully expensive and easy-to-steal diamond-studded tiara.
Unlike other "adventure games" you may have played, there are many possible routes to the end of HITCHHIKER'S. 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.
You might find it helpful to go through HITCHHIKER'S with another person. Different people may find different puzzles easy and can often complement each other.
If you really get stuck, 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 HITCHHIKER'S easier.
Read the sample transcript to get a feel for how Infocom's interactive fiction works.
You can word a command in different ways. For example, if you were tired, or wanted to climb between the sheets for some other reason, you can type in any of the following:

>PUT ON THE GOWN

>WEAR THE TATTY DRESSING GOWN

>DON GOWN

In fact, if the gown is the only article of clothing present, just typing WEAR is enough, since HITCHHIKER'S will assume you mean the gown. But more about that in the next section.

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Manual - Communicating

Communicating with HITCHHIKER'S

In HITCHHIKER'S, you type your commands in plain English each time you see the prompt (>). HITCHHIKER'S usually acts as if your commands begin with "I want to...," although you shouldn't actually type those words. You can use the words like THE if you want, and you can use capital letters if you want; HITCHHIKER'S doesn't care either way.

When you have finished typing a sentence, press the RETURN (or ENTER) key. HITCHHIKER'S will then respond, telling you whether your request is possible at this point in the story, and what happened as a result.

HITCHHIKER'S recognizes your words by their first six letters, and all subsequent letters are ignored. Therefore BULLDOg, BULLDOgs, BULLDOzer, and BULLDOckpokingham (a small town in Dockpokinghamshire) would all be treated as the same word by HITCHHIKER'S.

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. On board a ship, you'll want to use the directions PORT (or P), STARBOARD (of SB), FORE (or F), and AFT.

HITCHHIKER'S understands many different kinds of sentences. Here are several examples. (Note that some of these objects do not actually appear in HITCHHIKER'S.)

>WALK TO THE NORTH

>GO DOWN

>NE

>GO AFT

>U

>TAKE BOX

>PICK UP THE CARDBOARD BOX

>DROP IT

>PUSH THE BUTTON

>OPEN THE AIRLOCK DOOR

>EXAMINE THE PRESSURE SUIT

>LOOK UNDER THE TABLE

>ENJOY THE RHODODENDRON BUSH

>SHOOT THE BEAST WITH THE PEA SHOOTER

>ATTACK THE BUREAUCRAT WITH THE COURT ORDER

>PUT THE BANANA PEEL IN FRONT OF THE BEGGAR

You can use multiple objects with certain verbs if you separate them by the word AND or by a comma. Some examples:

>TAKE PENCIL, PAPER, STAMP

>DROP THE MAP, THE FORK, AND THE THERMO-NUCLEAR WEAPON

>PUT THE EGGS AND THE BACON IN THE FRYING PAN

>GIVE THE SHINY PENNY AND THE TARNISHED PENNY TO THE MONKEY

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.

>TAKE ALL

>TAKE ALL STAMPS

>TAKE ALL THE STAMPS EXCEPT THE RED STAMP

>TAKE ALL FROM THE DESK

>GIVE ALL BUT THE PENCIL TO THE ROBOT

>DROP ALL EXCEPT THE PEA SHOOTER

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:

>EAST, TAKE THE GUN THEN PUT THE BULLET IN IT. SHOOT GERTRUDE

If HITCHHIKER'S doesn't understand one of the sentences on your input line, or of something unusual happens, it will ignore the rest of your input line (see "HITCHHIKER'S Complaints").

There are three kinds of questions that HITCHHIKER'S understands: WHAT, WHERE and WHO. Here are examples that you can try in HITCHHIKER'S:

>WHAT IS ADVANCED TEA SUBSTITUTE?

>WHERE IS THE TOWEL?

>WHO IS ZAPHOD BEEBLEBROX?

You will meet other people and creatures in HITCHHIKER'S You can "talk" to these beings by typing their name, then a comma, then whatever you want to say to them. Here are some examples:

>BARTENDER, GIVE ME A BEER

>FORD, OPEN THE SATCHEL

>CAPTAIN, WHAT ABOUT THE METEOR HOLE?

>FRED, TAKE THE TOWEL THEN FOLLOW ME

>MARVIN, KILL THE ALIEN. ENTER THE CLOSET

Notice that in the last two examples, you are giving a person more than one command on the same input line.

You can use quotation marks to answer a question or say something "out loud," or type something on a keyboard. For example:

>SAY "HELLO"

>ANSWER "ZEKE FITZBERRY"

>TYPE "LOGOUT"

HITCHHIKER'S 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, HITCHHIKER'S will sometimes decide that there is only one possible object you could mean. When it does so, it will tell you. For example:

>SHOOT THE DOGGIE

(with the ray gun)
The cute little doggie is incinerated.

or

>GIVE THE TOWEL

(to the hitchhiker)
The hitchhiker naturally already has a towel, but thanks you politely for your offer.

If your sentence is ambiguous, HITCHHIKER'S 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:

>CUT THE BREAD
What do you want to cut the bread with?

>THE KNIFE
The bread is stale to the point of being petrified.

or

>KILL THE FLY WITH THE AXE
Which axe do you mean, the teensy axe or the atomic-powered supersonic planet-smashing axe?

>TEENSY
The fly expires.

HITCHHIKER'S uses many words in its descriptions that it will not recognize in your sentences. For example, you might read, "Disgusting gobs or yellow goo ooze out of the monster's elbows." However, if HITCHHIKER'S doesn't recognize the words GOO or ELBOWS 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. HITCHHIKER'S recognizes over 800 words, nearly all that you are likely to use in your sentences. If HITCHHIKER'S 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 the story.

Starting and Stopping

Starting the story: Now that you know what to expect when you venture into HITCHHIKER'S, it's time for you to "boot" your disk. To load HITCHHIKER'S, follow the instructions on the Reference Card in your package.

Following the copyright notice and the release number of the story, you will see the opening message.

Here are a couple of quick exercises to help you get accustomed to interacting with HITCHHIKER'S. Try typing the following next to the prompt (>):

>TURN ON THE LIGHT

Then press the RETURN (or ENTER) key. HITCHHIKER'S will respond with:

Good start to the day. Pity it's going to be the worst one of your life.
The light is now on.

You will also now see the description of the Bedroom, the opening location of the story. Try typing:

>TAKE THE TATTY DRESSING GOWN

After you press the RETURN (or ENTER) key, HITCHHIKER'S will respond:

You can't reach it from the bed. The effort of reaching is almost too much for you to stand.

Saving and restoring: It will probably take you many days to complete HITCHHIKER'S. Using the SAVE feature, you can continue the story at a later time without having to start over from the beginning, just as you can place a bookmark in a book you are reading. SAVE puts a "snapshot" of your place in the story onto another disk. You should also save your place before (or after) trying something dangerous or tricky. That way, even if you get lost or "killed" in the story, you can return to your saved position.

To save your place in the story, type SAVE at the prompt (>), and 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, or saves. Using a disk with data on it (not counting other Leather Goddesses of Phobos saves) may result in the loss of that data, depending on your computer. You can save your position as often as you like by using additional blank disks.

You can restore a saved position any time you want. To do so, type RESTORE at the prompt (>), and 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, HITCHHIKER'S 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. Once again, HITCHHIKER'S 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.

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Manual - Appendix A

APPENDIX A

Quick Reference Guide

To start the story ("boot up"), see the separate Reference Card in your HITCHHIKER'S package.
When you see the prompt (>) on your screen, HITCHHIKER'S is waiting for your input. There are four kinds of sentences or commands that HITCHHIKER'S understands:
1. Direction commands: to move from place to place, just type the direction you want to go: NORTH, SOUTH, EAST, WEST, NORTHEAST, NORTHWEST, SOUTHWEST, SOUTHEAST, UP, DOWN, IN or OUT, P (or PORT), SB, F, AFT.
2. Actions: Just type whatever you want to do. Some examples: READ THE BOOK or OPEN THE DOOR or LOOK THROUGH THE WINDOW or GIVE THE BALL OT THE CAT. Once you're familiar with simple commands, try the more complex ones described in "Communicating with HITCHHIKER'S."
3. Commands given to other characters: To talk to characters in the story, type their name, then a comma, then what you want to say to them. For example: RALPH, GIVE ME THE WELDING TORCH or YOUNG MAN, GO WEST.
4. Special one-word commands, such as INVENTORY or DIAGNOSE:
A list of these appears in the "Special Commands" section.
Important! After typing your sentence or command, you must press the RETURN (or ENTER) key before HITCHHIKER'S will respond.
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 so far in the story.
You can pick up and carry many of the items you'll find in the story. For example, if you type TAKE THE SPOON, you will be carrying it. Type INVENTORY to see a list of the items you are carrying.
When you want to stop, save your place for later, or start over, read the "Starting and Stopping" section.
If you have trouble, refer to the specific section of the manual for more detailed instructions.

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Manual - Appendix B

APPENDIX B

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 - HITCHHIKER'S will usually respond as if you had repeated your previous sentence. Among the cases where AGAIN will not work is if you were just talking to another character. You can abbreviate AGAIN to G.

BRIEF - This command tells HITCHHIKER'S to give you the full description of a location only the first time you enter it. On subsequent visits, HITCHHIKER'S will tell you only the name of the location and the objects present. This is how HITCHHIKER'S will normally act, unless you tell it otherwise using the VERBOSE or SUPERBRIEF commands.

DIAGNOSE - HITCHHIKER'S will give you a brief medical report of your physical condition.

FOOTNOTE - Occasionally, the text in HITCHHIKER'S will mention the existence of a footnote. To read the footnote, simply type FOOTNOTE followed by the appropriate footnote number (for example, FOOTNOTE 7). This will not count as a turn.

INVENTORY - HITCHHIKER'S will list what you have You can abbreviate INVENTORY to I.

LOOK - This tells HITCHHIKER'S 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. You can abbreviate QUIT to Q.

RESTART - This stops the story and starts it over from the beginning.

RESTORE - This restores a saved position made using the SAVE command. See "Starting and Stopping" 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" for more details.

SCORE - HITCHHIKER'S will show your current score and the number of turns you have taken.

SCRIPT - This command tells your printer to begin making a transcript of the story as you go along. 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 command tells HITCHHIKER'S to display only the name of a place you have entered, even if you have never been there before. In this mode, HITCHHIKER'S will not even mention 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 know their way around. Also see VERBOSE and BRIEF.

UNSCRIPT - This commands your printer to stop making a transcript.

VERBOSE - The VERBOSE command tells HITCHHIKER'S 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 - HITCHHIKER'S responds by showing you the release number and the serial number of your copy of the story. Please include this information is you ever report a "bug".

WAIT - This will cause time in the story to pass. Normally, between turns, nothing happens in the story. You could leave your computer, have a snack, take a walk around the block, hitchhike to Procyon VII, spend fourteen years working in the slime pits, 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, if you encounter an alien being, you could WAIT to see what it will do. Or, if you are in a moving vehicle, you could WAIT to see where it will go. You can abbreviate WAIT to Z.

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Manual - Appendix C

APPENDIX C

Some Recognized Verbs

These are only some of the verbs that HITCHHIKER'S understands. There are many more. Remember 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.

ANSWER
APPROACH
ASK
BLOCK
BUY
CARVE
CLIMB
CLOSE
CONNECT
CONSULT
COVER
DANGLE
DESTROY
DRINK
DROP
ENJOY
ENTER
ESCAPE
EXAMINE
EXIT
FILL
FIND
FOLLOW
GIVE
HANG
HIDE
JUMP
KILL
KNOCK
LIE
LIGHT
LISTEN
LOOK
MOVE
PANIC
PULL
OPEN
PICK
PLUG
POINT
PUSH
PUT
READ
RELAX
REMOVE
SAY
SHOOT
SHOW
SIT
SLEEP
SMELL
STAND
TAKE
TASTE
THROW
TOUCH
TURN
TYPE
WAKE
WALK

ANSWER
APPROACH
ASK
BLOCK
BUY
CARVE
CLIMB
CLOSE
CONNECT
CONSULT
COVER
DANGLE
DESTROY
DRINK
DROP

ENJOY
ENTER
ESCAPE
EXAMINE
EXIT
FILL
FIND
FOLLOW
GIVE
HANG
HIDE
JUMP
KILL
KNOCK
LIE

LIGHT
LISTEN
LOOK
MOVE
PANIC
PULL
OPEN
PICK
PLUG
POINT
PUSH
PUT
READ
RELAX
REMOVE

SAY
SHOOT
SHOW
SIT
SLEEP
SMELL
STAND
TAKE
TASTE
THROW
TOUCH
TURN
TYPE
WAKE
WALK

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Manual - Appendix D

APPENDIX D

HITCHHIKER'S Complaints

HITCHHIKER'S will complain if you type a command that confuses it completely. HITCHHIKER'S will then ignore the rest of the input line. (Certain events, such as being attacked or walking into a wall, may also cause Leather Goddesses of Phobos to ignore the rest of your command, since the event may have changed your situation drastically.) Some of HITCHHIKER'S complaints:

I don't know the word "______________." The word you typed is not in the story's vocabulary. Sometimes using a synonym or rephrasing will help. If not, HITCHHIKER'S probably doesn't know the idea you were trying to get across.

You used the word "__________" in a way that I don't understand. HITCHHIKER'S knows the word you typed, but couldn't use it in that sense. Usually this is because HITCHHIKER'S knows the word as a different part of speech. For example, if you typed LOWER THE FLAG, you are using LOWER as a verb, but HITCHHIKER'S might know LOWER only as an adjective, as in LOWERTHE BOOM.

That sentence isn't one I recognize. The sentence you typed may have been gibberish, such as GIVE TROLL WITH SWORD. Or, you may have typed a reasonable sentence but used a syntax that HITCHHIKER'S does not recognize, such as SMELL UNDER THE ROCK. Try rephrasing the sentence.

There was no verb in that sentence! Unless you are answering a question, each sentence must have a verb (or a command) in it somewhere.

There seems to be a noun missing in that sentence. This usually means your sentence was incomplete, such as EAT THE BLUE.

There were 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 HITCHHIKER'S can digest in a single action.

You can't use multiple (in)direct objects with __________. 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 ATTACK; you say ATTACK ALL or ATTACK THE ALIEN AND THE ROBOT.

You can't see any ___________ here! The object you referred to was not accessible. It may be somewhere else, for instance, or present but in a closed container.

The other object(s) that you mentioned isn't (aren't) here. You referred to one or more objects in the same sentence, some of which aren't present or accessible.

Be Specific: What do you want to ___________? You used HIM, HER,or IT, but HITCHHIKER'S isn't sure what person or object you meant.

I beg your pardon? You pressed the RETURN (or ENTER) key without typing anything.

It's too dark to see! In the story, there was not enough light to perform your action.

You can't go that way. There is no passage or exit in the direction you want to move.

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Manual - Appendix E

APPENDIX E

Sample Transcript and Map

This transcript is not from HITCHHIKER'S, but it does show many of the typical commands you might use in the story. it contains some simple puzzles and their solutions, and it will give you a good idea of how Infocom's interactive fiction works. The player's command appears in capital letters after each prompt (>). The map represents the terrain in the sample transcript as you might have drawn it.

 
                                      Table
                                      Workbench
                                      Hypodermic needle
                                      rock
      !---------!     !---------!     !------------!
      ! Outside !-----! Waiting !     !            !               
      ! Blood   !     ! Room    !-----! Laboratory !                
      ! Bank    !     !         !     !            !            
      !----!----!     !----|----!     !-----|------!             
           !Sign            Bench           To Taxi                     
           !Doorbell        Smelling       
           !                Salts                
           !                                      
           !                                                     
     !-----|----!                                        
     !          !                                    
     !Street    !                  
     !Corner    !
     !----|-----!
          ! From Taxi

>GET OUT OF THE TAXI

The door is locked

"Hey, that's four pounds thirty, old chap."

>GIVE THE FIVE POUND NOTE TO THE DRIVER

"Thanks, chum."

>UNLOCK THE DOOR

The taxi door is now unlocked.

>GET OUT OF THE TAXI

Street Corner

You are on a street corner on the outskirts of London. A signpost reveals that you are on the corner of Foomingster and Frobbington. The sidewalk continues north and east. Because of the heavy traffic here, crossing the street is out of the question.

>WHO AM I?

You are Chester Smith, an unemployed granola salesman.

>WHAT IS THE OBJECT OF THE GAME?

Well, the superficial object of the game is to get to the end of the story and achieve the maximum score.

The real object of the game is to show a bunch of novices how interactive fiction works.

>WALK NORTH

Outside Blood Bank

You are in the middle of the block on a street that runs north-south. Immediately to the east is the entrance to a massive granite (Footnote 9) building. Next to the entrance is a sign and a doorbell.

>FOOTNOTE 9

Well, concrete actually. We wanted a granite building for the story, but we couldn't afford it because constructing that giant spaceship for the Aldebaran Battle scene took such a big bite our of the budget. But the concrete IS covered with a plastic veneer that does LOOK a lot like granite.

>READ THE SIGN

"OUTSKIRTS OF LONDON BLOOD BANK: We pay $30 for a pint of blood. Painless, takes only an our. Ring doorbell for admittance.

>EAST

The Blood Bank door is closed.

>OPEN IT

It's locked

>RING THE DOORBELL

You already did that, didn't you?

>NO

I think you're wrong. I'm a computer, so I have a really terrific memory, and I'm almost positive you already range the doorbell. Couldn't you be mistaken?

>NO

Hmmm...well, I just looked back, and I guess you didn't ring the doorbell after all. Do you still want to ring the doorbell?

>YES

The bell rings. A minute later, a stooped man opens the door and beckons you to enter.

>ENTER THE BLOOD BANK

Waiting Room

This is a dim room with exits to the east and west. A narrow, winding stair leads downward. The room is sparsely furnished with several uncomfortable-looking benches. There is no one waiting ahead of you. There is a bottle of smelling salts here.

The stooped man slams the front door and bolts it. "Please...have a seat. It will only be several...minutes." He exits to the east.

>SIT DOWN

What do you want to sit down on?

>THE BENCH

You are now sitting on the bench.

>ENJOY THE BENCH

Easier said than done, considering how hard and uncomfortable the bench is.

>TAKE THE BOTTLE OF SMELLING SALTS

You can't reach it from the bench.

>STAND UP

You are on your own feet again.

>TAKE THE BOTTLE OF SMELLING SALTS

Your load is too heavy

>INVENTORY

You have:
  a briefcase
  a suit
  it looks like the suit contains:
    a ten-pound note
  a grapefruit

>OPEN THE BRIEFCASE

Opening the briefcase reveals an array of granola samples

>DROP THE GRAPEFRUIT THEN TAKE THE BOTTLE OF SMELLING SALTS

Dropped

Taken

>WAIT

After all, what's a waiting room for? Time passes... The stooped man enters, pushing a wheelbarrow full of bones. You're no expert on the subject, but they sure don't look like chicken bones. He spills the bones down the winding stairway.

>WEST

The front door is closed

>OPEN THE DOOR

Which door do you mean, the front door or the laboratory door?

>FRONT

It's bolted

>LOOK

Waiting Room

This is a dim room with exits to the east and west. A narrow, winding stair leads downward. The room is sparsely furnished with several uncomfortable-looking benches.

There is no one waiting ahead of you.

There is a grapefruit here.

The stooped man is here, pushing a wheelbarrow.

>STOOPED MAN, OPEN THE FRONT DOOR

"Who are you calling stooped? I've got a name you know--Igor."

>IGOR, OPEN THE FRONT DOOR

Igor chuckles. "Don't be nervous. It's completely...painless. There's nothing to worry about."

>IGOR, WHAT ABOUT THE BONES?

"Oh! Um, they're just...fake bones...we use for the ...anatomy class on Wednesdays!"

A gaunt man emerges from the doorway to the east.

"Igor, bring in the next subject." He exits.

>BREAK DOWN THE STREET DOOR

This results in a very sore shoulder.

"If you'll just...step this way," says Igor, producing a cattle prod.

>DON'T WALK EAST

You bravely hold your ground. Igor pokes you with the prod. You feel less brave.

>WALK EAST

Laboratory

This is an even dimmer room filled with strange apparatus. A person-sized table fills the center of the room.

The mad scientist is here, rubbing his hands. Igor enters behind you and locks the door.

>DON'T PANIC

You try your best. You fail.

"The table...please lie down...on the table," says Igor, fondling the prod.

>LIE DOWN ON THE TABLE

You are now lying on the table. The mad scientist quickly shackles your wrists and ankles.

>MAD SCIENTIST, LET ME GO

"Who are you calling mad? They called me mad at Oxford also, but I'll show them!" The mad scientist produces a hypodermic needle filled with a bubbling green fluid. He slowly inserts the needle into your arm.

Everything becomes dark and fuzzy...

>LOOK

Everything is dark and fuzzy.

>NORTH

If you recall, you passed out a few moves ago.

>DIAGNOSE

If you recall, you passed out a few moves ago.

>LOOK ST ME

Everything is dark and fuzzy.

>WAIT

Time passes...

The fuzziness clears, and you find yourself in a strange new location.

>LOOK

West of House

You are standing in an open field west of a white house, with a boarded front door. There is a small mailbox here.

>OPEN THE MAILBOX

Opening the small mailbox reveals a leaflet.

>INVENTORY

You have:
  a briefcase
  it looks like the briefcase contains:
    an array of granola samples
  a suit
  It looks like the suit contains:
    a ten-pound note
  a bottle of smelling salts

>SMELL THE SMELLING SALTS

It smells just like the lid of a bottle of smelling salts.

>OPEN THE BOTTLE

Opened

>SMELL THE SMELLING SALTS

The smell is overpowering. Your surroundings blur and grow indistinct...

Laboratory

Sitting on the table are:
  some bones Sitting on your workbench is:
  a hypodermic needle
  a book

>IGOR, REMOVE THE BONES

"Yes, master." Igor clears the table. 'There's another subject waiting outside."

>IGOR, BRING IN THE NEXT SUBJECT

"Yes, master."

>WHO AM I?

You are Baron von Edelstein, the "Mad Professor of Oxford."

>EXAMINE THE HYPODERMIC NEEDLE

It is filled with a bubbling green fluid, your identity transfer serum.

>READ THE BOOK

(taking the book first)

The book is entitled "Who's Who in Interactive Fiction Sample Transcripts." It would take hours and hours to read the whole thing; perhaps you'd like to consult the book about a specific individual?

>CONSULT THE BOOK ABOUT ME

The entry about Baron von Edelstein reads, "A minor and poorly developed character in the HITCHHIKER'S sample transcript."

Igor prods the subject into the room and onto the table.

>INJECT SUBJECT WITH THE SERUM

You're not holding the hypodermic needle

>TAKE THE HYPODERMIC NEEDLE

Taken

>INJECT THE SUBJECT WITH THE SERUM

The subject, whom you forgot to shackle to the table, pushes you away. In the ensuing struggle, you accidentally inject yourself with the serum. Lights whirl around your head. Especially red, yellow, and green lights. The lights slow down and finally stop whirling, and you realize that... Your taxi is stopped at a traffic light. It's been an hour since your last fare. Suddenly, someone pulls open the door and slides into the back seat. "Corner of Frobbington and Foominster, please."

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Manual - Appendix F

APPENDIX F

We're Never Satisfied

>Here at Infocom, we take great price in the quality of our stories, spending months on the tiniest detail. Even after the disks are "out the door", we keep improving, honing, and perfecting.

Your input is important. Despite a load of testing, some "bugs" lie dormant until thousands of you begin brutally assaulting the program in your various inimitable fashions. If you find a bug, or if you think a certain puzzle was too hard or too easy, or if you just want to tell us what a lascivious group of degenerate perverts we are, 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.
125 CambridgePark Drive
Cambridge, MA 02140

Attn: MARVIN

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Manual - Appendix G

APPENDIX G

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. funds). 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 Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Manual - Appendix H

APPENDIX H

Author Biographies

Douglas Adams graduated from Cambridge in 1974, where he was an active member of the Footlights Club, which has launched the careers of many of Britain's great comics. He has collaborated on several projects with Monty Python's Graham Chapman, and has served as a writer and script editor for the TV series "Dr. Who". THE HITCHHIKER'S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY began in 1978 as a BBS radio serial, and its popularity soon propelled it into four books, a television series, two records, and a stage show. Adams has the distinction of being the number one entry (thanks to alphabetical order) in the "British Guide to Tall Zany Comic Space Fiction Writers," where his entry reads "Mostly harmless."

Steven Meretzky was born in mid-1957, frightening the Soviet union into the early launching of its Sputnik satellite. Meretzky's gestalt was shaped by a number of painful childhood experiences, including rooting for the New York Mets. He blames his interactive fiction on a combination of growing up in Yonkers and studying at MIT. (We use "studying" in the most general sense.) Meretzky has never been a rutabaga farmer, and believes that eating granola is a decision that should be left to the individual's conscience. Meretzky now lives near Boston, and has been working for Infocom since 1982 as an experimental alternative lifestyle to unemployment. He apologizes for PLANETFALL and SORCERER.

© 1986 Infocom

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