"Faithful Companion" by Matt Weiner. The story headline is "A Ghost Story". The story genre is "Horror". The release number is 2. The story creation year is 2013. Chapter - Inclusions, Settings, Miscellany Use no scoring. Use American dialect. Use the serial comma. Release along with source text and an interpreter. Include Editable Stored Actions by Ron Newcomb. Include Plurality by Emily Short. Include Default Messages by Ron Newcomb. Include Small Kindnesses by Aaron Reed. When play begins: say "'Haunted?' [paragraph break]The caretaker grimaces. 'A year since you visited, you say? Some hooligans smashed the mausoleum up a month back. Since then, well, I'm the only one who'll go near it. And I don't care to stay long. See for yourself if you like, and I'll collect you in the morning.' [paragraph break]Poor Thurnley. No rest even in the tomb." The description of the player is "Older than you once were." [Can't believe I forgot this the first time!] Instead of going nowhere (this is the just list exits rule): if in darkness: issue miscellaneous library message number 17; ["It is pitch dark, and you can't see a thing."] stop the action; try listing exits. The just list exits rule is listed instead of the Small Kindnesses reporting on exits rule in the instead rulebook. The block throwing at rule is not listed in any rulebook. The futile to throw things at inanimate objects rule is not listed in any rulebook. Carry out an actor throwing something at something: move the noun to the holder of the second noun. Report throwing it at: say "You throw [the noun] at [the second noun], but it falls to the [if the holder of the noun is not the location][the holder of the noun][otherwise if in the Cemetery]ground[otherwise]floor[end if]." Report the ghost throwing something at something: say "The leaves swirl around as if throwing [the noun], but it falls to the [if the holder of the noun is not the location][the holder of the noun][otherwise if in the Cemetery]ground[otherwise]floor[end if]." Requesting the credits is an action out of world applying to nothing. Understand "about" or "help" or "credits" or "credit" or "hint" as requesting the credits. After printing the banner text: say "[line break]Type ABOUT for more information about this game." Carry out requesting the credits: say "[italic type]Faithful Companion[roman type] was originally an entry in EctoComp 2013, organized by J.J. Guest. Version 2 retains the same main puzzles and mechanics but has rewritten prose and, with luck, smoother interaction.[paragraph break]Warmest thanks to Paul Lee for beta-testing on Version 2. Thanks also to Healy (Molly) for a transcript and comments on Version 1, and for more useful feedback on Version 1 from Mike Snyder, Angela Shah, Peter Pears, Colin Sandel, David Whyld, Sean M. Shore, and Club Floyd.[paragraph break]Thanks to Buster Hudson for the cover image used on IFDB (Adapted from 'Leaves on the Bench' by Chetin http://chetin.deviantart.com/art/Leaves-on-the-Bench-185815339; released under a CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 license http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/)[paragraph break]Thanks also to Ron Newcomb for writing Editable Stored Actions, without which this game would not be possible.[paragraph break]Please send bug reports, feedback, or hint requests to matt@mattweiner.net or to matt w on the intfiction.org forum. (This version has no in-game hints, sorry!)" Chapter - The Ghost The ghost is a person. The description of the ghost is "Leaves whirl and flutter without falling, around a disturbance in the air that takes a vaguely human shape." The indefinite article of the ghost is "the". The ghost is neuter. The ghost is ambiguously singular. Understand "leaves/figure/human/limn/spirit/wraith/leaf/flutter/disturbance/shape/air/whirl/vaguely/twirling/whirling" as the ghost. Section - Ghost Action Messages Unsuccessful attempt message already printed is a truth state that varies. [For when another rule preempts the message we would print.] Last every turn: Now unsuccessful attempt message already printed is false. First unsuccessful attempt by the ghost doing something when the ghost is not visible or unsuccessful attempt message already printed is true: if the noun is a door and (the action name part of the current action is the opening action or the action name part of the current action is the turning action), continue the action. [We need to print a message that describes what the ghost is doing when it tries to implicitly open a door, even when the player can't see the ghost, if the door is visible] Check the ghost going (this is the ghost can't go through closed doors rule): if the door gone through is not nothing and the door gone through is closed: issue library message going action number 28 for the door gone through; silently try the actor opening the door gone through; if the door gone through is open, continue the action; [otherwise the ghost has failed to open the door; check to see if we can see it and/or the door, and issue an appropriate message] if the ghost is visible: say "[ghost visibly failing to open the door gone through] Then the leaves batter faintly against [the door gone through]."; now unsuccessful attempt message already printed is true; [the unsuccessful attempt could either be going or exiting, and either way we want to preempt it] otherwise if the door gone through is visible: say "[ghost invisibly failing to open the door gone through]"; stop the action. [if neither the ghost nor the door gone through is visible, we can stop the action without saying anything] Unsuccessful attempt by the ghost opening a door: if the reason the action failed is the can't open what's already open rule: if the ghost is visible: say "[ghost opening open noun]"; otherwise if the ghost is visible and the noun is visible: say "[ghost visibly failing to open the noun]"; otherwise if the noun is visible: unless the noun is out of reach of the ghost: say "[ghost invisibly failing to open the noun]". To say ghost visibly failing to open (portal - a door): say "The leaves swirl against the handle of [the portal], but the door does not budge." To say ghost invisibly failing to open (portal - a door): say "A faint scratching comes from the other side of [the portal]. The handle of [the portal] turns, but the door does not open." To say ghost opening open (portal - a door): say "The leaves swirl through the motions of opening [the noun]." [and we restore the normal rule for the player] Check going (this is the player can't go through closed doors rule): if the door gone through is not nothing and the door gone through is closed: issue library message going action number 28 for the door gone through; silently try opening the door gone through; if the door gone through is open, continue the action; stop the action. [and unlist the old rule; fortunately there are no actors other than the ghost and the player] The can't go through closed doors rule is not listed in any rulebook. [Some miscellaneous ones] Unsuccessful attempt by the ghost exiting in the Cemetery: say "[ghost tries to leave]". [The ghost might be trying to echo a previous action where the player typed "exit" or "out" to go out from another room.] Unsuccessful attempt by the ghost going outside in the Cemetery: say "[ghost tries to leave]". To say ghost tries to leave: say "The leaves swirl out toward the rest of the cemetery as if the ghost is trying to go farther from the tomb. But the ghost goes no further." Unsuccessful attempt by the ghost dropping when the reason the action failed is the can't drop what's not held rule: say "The leaves swirl through the motions of putting something down." After the ghost dropping something when the ghost is visible: say "The leaves swirl as though the ghost is putting something down, and [the noun] falls to [if the holder of the noun is not the location][the holder of the noun][otherwise if in the Cemetery]ground[otherwise]floor[end if]." Check the ghost examining something when the ghost cannot see the noun: rule fails. Rule for implicitly taking something (called target) when the ghost is the person asked and the ghost is not visible: silently try the ghost taking the target. [We want the ghost to try taking the target--as when we type "unlock door with key/drop key/in," in a couple turns the ghost should succeed in implicitly taking the key -- but we don't want to hear about it, with a clarification message or a success message.] Rule for implicitly taking something (called target) when the ghost is the person asked and the ghost is visible: if the player holds the target and the ghost can touch the player: have the ghost frighten the player about the target; [see under "Ghost Frightening Touch"] rule fails; otherwise if the player is the target and the ghost can touch the player: have the ghost frighten the player; rule fails; try the ghost taking the target; if the ghost does not carry the target: if the target is not visible: say "The leaves swirl through the motions of picking something up."; otherwise: say "The leaves swirl through the motions of picking up [the target]." Unsuccessful attempt by the ghost doing something: say "The leaves swirl through the motions of [subjectless form of the current action].". Imaginary object is a thing. It is proper-named. The printed name of the imaginary object is "something". [to handle messages when the ghost tries doing something to something we can't see] Printing the subjectless form is a truth state that varies. To say subjectless form of (X - a stored action): [This prints the action name without "the ghost" as the subject] now printing the subjectless form is true; now the ghost is proper-named; let T be a stored action; now T is X; now the actor part of T is yourself; now the request part of T is false; if the noun part of T is not nothing and the noun part of T is not a direction and the noun part of T is not visible, now the noun part of T is the imaginary object; if the second noun part of T is not nothing and the second noun part of T is not a direction and the second noun part of T is not visible, now the second noun part of T is the imaginary object; if the action name part of T is the pushing it to action and (second noun part of T is inside or the second noun part of T is outside or the second noun part of T is down or the second noun part of T is up): say "pushing [the noun part of T] [second noun part of T]"; [getting messages like "pushing the door to inside" got annoying enough that I decided to special-case it] otherwise: say T; now printing the subjectless form is false; now the ghost is improper-named. Rule for printing the name of the player when printing the subjectless form is true: say "you". [Because the ghost will be the subject of the sentence. This gives a bad result when the player types "ask ghost for me" but why would you do that?] Rule for printing the name of the ghost when printing the subjectless form is true: say "themselves". [The subject of the sentence should always be "the leaves."] After the ghost examining something when the ghost is visible: say "The leaves swirl toward [the noun] as if the form within them is peering at [it-them]." After the ghost taking something when the ghost is visible: say "The leaves swirl around [the noun] and [it-they] rises into the air among them, where the ghostly figure's hands might be." After the ghost opening a door when the player can see the noun and the player cannot see the ghost: say "[The noun] opens." Answering someone that is talking. Asking someone about is talking. Telling someone about is talking. Asking someone for is talking. Saying yes is talking. Saying no is talking. Saying sorry is talking. After the ghost talking: say "The leaves swirl around as if the ghost is trying to talk." Unsuccessful attempt by the ghost talking: say "The leaves swirl around as if the ghost is trying to talk." [Both of these are necessary because the block asking rule is a report rule, so it won't trigger the unsuccessful attempt rulebook.] Section - Ghost Following Actions The most recent action is a stored action that varies. The next most recent action is a stored action that varies. The third most recent action is a stored action that varies. Every turn: now the third most recent action is the next most recent action; now the next most recent action is the most recent action; now the most recent action is the current action; if the action name part of the most recent action is the keyless locking action: [if the player just typed "lock door" we want to have the ghost try locking it with the key] now the action name part of the most recent action is the locking it with action; now the second noun part of the most recent action is the iron key; otherwise if the action name part of the most recent action is the keyless unlocking action: [ditto for "unlock door"] now the action name part of the most recent action is the unlocking it with action; now the second noun part of the most recent action is the iron key; otherwise if the action name part of the most recent action is the turning action and the noun part of the most recent action is a door: [it's hard to keep track of whether the action succeeded if we redirect a turning action to an opening action, so we just convert turning to opening here] now the action name part of the most recent action is the opening action; otherwise if the noun part of the most recent action is the hidden-key: [and if the player searched the bench by typing "x something," we'll just have the ghost search the bench] now the action name part of the most recent action is the searching action; now the noun part of the most recent action is the bench; now the actor part of the third most recent action is the ghost; now the request part of the third most recent action is true; if the ghost is on-stage: now ghost spontaneously acting is true; try the third most recent action; now ghost spontaneously acting is false. Ghost spontaneously acting is a truth state that varies. Persuasion rule: if ghost spontaneously acting is true, persuasion succeeds. Section - Ghost Frightening Touch Rules Unsuccessful attempt by the ghost taking something when the reason the action failed is the can't take people's possessions rule: have the ghost frighten the player about the noun. To have the ghost frighten the player about (item - a thing): say "The leaves swirl toward [the item] as though to take [it-them] from you. As they brush your hand, you fall to the floor in a dead faint."; now unsuccessful attempt message already printed is true; end the story saying "The caretaker finds you in the morning". To have the ghost frighten the player: say "The leaves swirl toward you as if they plan on [subjectless form of the current action]. You feel an unnatural chill and fall to the floor in a dead faint."; now unsuccessful attempt message already printed is true; end the story saying "The caretaker finds you in the morning". Before taking something when the ghost encloses the noun: say "[The noun] is floating among the swirling leaves, and the thought of touching them is too much to bear." instead. Touching is contacting. Pulling is contacting. Kissing is contacting. Pushing is contacting. Attacking is contacting. Searching is contacting. Wearing is contacting. [Players that wear themselves deserve to die.] Squeezing is contacting. Turning is contacting. Pushing something to is contacting. Cutting is contacting. Drinking is contacting. Tying something to is contacting. Rubbing is contacting. Swinging is contacting. Climbing is contacting. Taking is contacting. [Probably some more.] Instead of contacting when the person asked is the player and the noun is the ghost: say "You reach out, but the thought of touching the leaves is too much to bear." [to be revised] Instead of the ghost contacting when the noun is the player: have the ghost frighten the player. Chapter - Doors Section - Handles [Implementing the handle as a part of the door turned out to be impossibly difficult, because the basic accessibility rule prevented the ghost from doing anything with a handle when it was on the other side of the door from the player. It seems that the handle floats to the room where the player is, and the basic accessibility rule can't be contravened; adding the handle to the ghost's scope appears to do nothing, nor does adding a reaching inside rule. The better part of valor is to say to hell with it.] Understand "handle" as a door. Instead of an actor turning a door: try the person asked opening the noun. Section - Disambiguating Doors Does the player mean examining the granite door: it is likely. [Because at this point the player will have gone through the marble door.] Does the player mean locking the granite door with something: it is very unlikely. [The marble door is the one that locks.] Does the player mean unlocking the granite door with something: it is very unlikely. Does the player mean keyless locking the granite door: it is very unlikely. Does the player mean keyless unlocking the granite door: it is very unlikely. Does the player mean closing a closed door: it is very unlikely. Does the player mean opening an open door: it is very unlikely. Does the player mean opening the granite door when the granite door is closed and no latch is closed: it is likely. [And it would be a bit too much to try to guess whether the player means to open a locked door or the latched marble door, so we'll let that disambiguate.] Section - Keyless Unlocking [This needs to be in there in order to have disambiguation work on "unlock door"] Keyless unlocking is an action applying to one thing. Understand "unlock [something]" as keyless unlocking. Before keyless unlocking when the player cannot see the iron key: say "You don't seem to have a key to unlock [the noun] with." instead. Keyless locking is an action applying to one thing. Understand "lock [something]" as keyless locking. Before keyless locking when the player cannot see the iron key: say "You don't seem to have a key to lock [the noun] with." instead. Carry out an actor keyless locking: Try the person asked locking the noun with the iron key. Carry out an actor keyless unlocking: Try the person asked unlocking the noun with the iron key. Section - Kludge for Accessibility [The accessibility rules for doors are messed up, so that the ghost would be able to do things to a door even when two rooms away. This attempts to fixt that.] To decide whether (portal - a door) is out of reach of (subject - a person): if the holder of the subject is the front side of the portal, decide no; if the holder of the subject is the back side of the portal, decide no; decide yes. [This should also take care of the case where the ghost attempts to open a door from the coffin, though in fact that would only arise if you've already locked the ghost in the coffin and so won.] Before the ghost doing something when the noun is a door (called the portal): if the ghost is on the bench and action requires a touchable noun, try the ghost exiting; [otherwise we get the unsuccessful action for the ghost doing something to the door without the ghost getting off the bench] if the portal is out of reach of the ghost: stop the action. Chapter - The Cemetery The Cemetery is a room. "Visitors used to sit on the bench here to contemplate their mortality. Apparently the reminders of their mortality have become all too great. A marble door leads inside." The bench is an enterable scenery supporter in the Cemetery. The description of the bench is "[If the ghost is off-stage]The bench is covered with a light drift of leaves. Apparently the caretaker no longer cares to rake here. But there seems to be something under the leaves.[notice the hidden-key][otherwise]The leaves have risen from this bench." Understand "leaves" as the bench when the ghost is off-stage. To say notice the hidden-key: set pronouns from the hidden-key. A rule for reaching outside the bench: if the person reaching is the player: say "(first getting off the bench)[command clarification break]"; try silently exiting; if the person reaching is on the bench, stop the action; otherwise: [but we also need a special case for doors, because of the rule that we use to get around the door accessibility bug; see under the door chapter] try the ghost exiting; if the person reaching is on the bench, stop the action. After entering the bench: say "You sit down on the bench." After the ghost entering the bench: say "The leaves swirl back onto the bench." There is an iron key. The description is "A heavy iron key that seems to fit the lock of the crypt's marble door." Instead of searching or looking under the bench when the iron key is off-stage: say "An iron key is under the leaves."; now the iron key is on the bench. The hidden-key is privately-named scenery in the Cemetery. Understand "something" as the hidden-key when we have examined the bench and the iron key is off-stage. [This allows us to intercept commands about "something" after we've said that something is under the leaves.] Before doing anything when the noun is the hidden-key: try the person asked searching the bench; if the key is on the bench: change the noun to the key; say "([the current action])[command clarification break]"; otherwise: [probably this shouldn't happen] stop the action. The marble door is a locked door. It is scenery. It is inside from the Cemetery. The description is "[if the location is the cemetery]The inscription on the heavy marble door reads 'I May Have Peace When I Rest.'[otherwise]The heavy marble door leads back outside.[end if]". The iron key unlocks the marble door. Understand "heavy" or "inscription" as the marble door. Every turn when (the player holds the key or the turn count is greater than 2) and the ghost is off-stage: say "You feel a chill. There is no wind, but the leaves fly up from the bench and twirl in the air. Somehow they describe a faintly human shape[if the key is off-stage]. [paragraph break]There was a key under the leaves on the bench[end if]."; now the ghost is in the Cemetery; if the key is off-stage, now the key is on the bench. Chapter - The Reliquary The Reliquary is inside from the marble door. "When you were here last, jeweled crosses and marble statues adorned this room. Only fragments remain.[paragraph break]A granite door leads inside. It seems to be held shut by three latches of unusual design, bronze, steel, and copper.[paragraph break]The marble door leads back out." The fragments are scenery in the Reliquary. First instead of doing something when the current action involves the fragments: say "They're nothing but smashed bits. The caretaker will clean them up, if she can bring herself to stay here long enough." Understand "bits/crosses/statues" as the fragments. The granite door is a closed scenery door. The granite door is inside from the Reliquary. The description is "The door is a plain slab with three latches. The steel latch is [if the steel latch is open]open[otherwise]closed[end if]; the copper latch is [if the copper latch is open]open[otherwise]closed[end if]; the bronze latch is [if the bronze latch is open]open[otherwise]closed[end if]." Section - The Latches A latch is a kind of thing. A latch can be open or closed. A latch is usually closed. The bronze latch is a latch. The bronze latch is part of the granite door. The copper latch is a latch. The copper latch is part of the granite door. The steel latch is a latch. The steel latch is part of the granite door. The description of a latch is "This latch is designed so that merely pushing it will open it, and pushing it again in the same way will close it again. It is currently [if open]open[otherwise]closed[end if]." [code to let the player examine all the latches at once but not do anything else with them as a collective. Introducing a dummy object is more convenient here than allowing "latches" to refer to the plural of the latches, because it makes it easier to convert it into a ghost action.] The scenery-latches are scenery in the Reliquary. The scenery-latches are plural-named. The printed name of the scenery-latches is "latches". Understand "latches" as the scenery-latches. Instead of examining the scenery-latches: repeat with item running through latches: say "[item]: [description of the item]." Instead of doing something when the current action involves the scenery-latches: say "You must specify a single latch." Instead of an actor opening the granite door when a latch is closed: if the person asked is the player, say "The granite door won't open when [the list of closed latches] [if more than one latch is closed]are[otherwise]is[end if] closed." Before an actor opening, closing, switching on, rubbing, touching, pulling, turning, or switching off a latch: try the actor pushing the noun instead. Carry out an actor pushing a latch: if the noun is closed: now the noun is open; otherwise: now the noun is closed. After pushing a closed latch: say "You push [the noun] closed." After pushing an open latch: say "You push [the noun] open." After pushing an open latch when the granite door is open: say "You push [the noun], which spins in place on the open door." After the ghost pushing a closed latch: if the ghost is visible, say "The ghost pushes [the noun] closed." After the ghost pushing an open latch: if the ghost is visible, say "The ghost pushes [the noun] open." After the ghost pushing an open latch when the granite door is open: if the ghost is visible, say "The ghost pushes [the noun], which spins in place on the open door." Chapter - The Crypt The Crypt is inside from the granite door. "The sconces on the walls have been smashed, and the [coffin] gapes open in the middle of the crypt.[paragraph break]The granite door leads back out." The sconces are scenery in the Crypt. Understand "sconce" as the sconces. First instead of doing something when the current action involves the sconces: say "They're for the caretaker to deal with. Perhaps she can clean up the tomb, if you can lay poor Thurnley to rest." The coffin is an enterable open unopenable scenery container in the Crypt. The description of the coffin is "[if the lid is not part of the coffin]The massive coffin gapes open. A few poor bones are scattered around the edges of its decayed satin lining. Its hinges are still intact, but the lid is missing.[otherwise if the coffin is open]The coffin stands open.[otherwise]The coffin is shut.[end if][first time][paragraph break]Thurnley's bones rest here, but his spirit is not at rest.[only]". Understand "hinges" as the coffin. Understand "decayed" and "satin" as the coffin when the coffin is open. Carry out examining the coffin when the lid is not part of the coffin or we have not examined the coffin (this is the don't mention the bones twice rule): unless something that is not the bones is in the coffin, rule succeeds. The don't mention the bones twice rule is listed after the standard examining rule in the carry out examining rulebook. Some bones are in the coffin. They are fixed in place. The description of the bones is "Poor things...." Understand "corpse/body/bone" as the bones. Instead of taking the bones: say "They are where they belong." The heavy lid is in the Crypt. "The coffin's heavy leaden lid lies on the floor." The description of the heavy lid is "Made of solid lead, this lid looks to heavy to lift by yourself. But who would dare accompany you here?" Understand "lead/leaden" as the heavy lid. Lid lifted this turn is a truth state that varies. Last every turn: now lid lifted this turn is false. Instead of an actor putting the lid on something: try the actor taking the lid. Instead of taking the lid: say "You strain to lift the lid, but you can only raise one edge of it."; now lid lifted this turn is true. Understand "lift [something]" as taking. Instead of the the ghost taking the lid when lid lifted this turn is false and the lid is not part of the coffin: say "The ghost whirls around one edge of the lid, which just rises from the floor. But the lid soon falls back."; rule succeeds. Instead of the ghost taking the lid when lid lifted this turn is true and the lid is not part of the coffin: say "The ghost whirls around the other edge of the lid, and almost without your willing it the lid rises into the air. Before you realize that you have put it down, the lid stands upright on the coffin's hinges."; now the lid is part of the coffin; now the coffin is openable; rule succeeds. Instead of the ghost taking the lid when the lid is part of the coffin: say "The ghost goes through the motions of picking up the lid, but it does not budge from its hinges."; rule succeeds. Instead of an actor opening the lid when the lid is part of the coffin: try the actor opening the coffin. Instead of an actor closing the lid when the lid is part of the coffin: try the actor closing the coffin. Coffin count is a number that varies. Coffin count is 0. Every turn when the player is in the closed coffin: increment coffin count; if coffin count is greater than 2: say "You cannot escape the coffin, and the caretaker will not open it to look for you. The air inside it will run out before long[if the ghost is in the coffin]. [paragraph break]The leaves rustle against you, and their touch is not as chilly as you had thought[end if]."; end the story saying "Your bones lie among Thurnley's". Check opening the coffin when the player is in the coffin: say "The lid of the coffin is too heavy to budge from the inside." instead. Every turn when the player is not in the closed coffin: now coffin count is 0. Every turn when the ghost is in the closed coffin and the player is not in the closed coffin: say "You hear the leaves swirling in the coffin, then all at once they stop. Thurnley can rest again."; end the story finally saying "Your faithful companion has been laid to rest". After entering the coffin: say "You climb in to lie among Thurnley's bones." After the ghost entering the coffin: say "The leaves swirl into the coffin." Instead of an actor climbing the open coffin: try the person asked entering the coffin. Understand "climb on [something]" and "climb onto [something]" and "climb into [something]" as climbing. [Perhaps someone will use this form of command.] After exiting from the coffin: say "You climb back out of the coffin, careful to disturb the bones no further." After the ghost exiting from the coffin: say "The leaves swirl back out of the coffin." Chapter - Replacing Library Messages Table of custom library messages (continued) library-action library-message-id library-message-text -- 9 "You are left in darkness." -- 17 "It is too dark to see." -- 25 "The ghost doesn't seem to understand." -- 30 "That's not something you can see." -- 32 "You aren't holding that." -- 36 "You excepted something not included anyway." -- 44 "There is nothing available for 'all' to refer to." -- 72 "[The noun] doesn't seem to understand." -- 73 "I didn't understand that; you may have used a word I don't understand, or referred to something you can't see, or used a word I understand in a way I don't understand." Attacking action 1 "This place has been vandalized enough." Burning action 1 "This place has been vanadalized enough." Buying action 1 "This is not the place for any such thing." Climbing action 1 "Climbing on that will do no good." Closing action 4 "[The person asked] close[s] [the noun]." Cutting action 1 "You've nothing to cut with." Eating action 1 "There is nothing to eat here." Entering action 1 "But you're already [if noun is a supporter]on[otherwise]in[end if] [the noun]." Entering action 2 "[Cap That's-They're noun] not something you can [quoted verb posture]." Entering action 3 "You can't get into the closed [noun]." Entering action 5 "You get [if noun is a supporter]onto[otherwise]into[end if] [the noun]." Entering action 6 "(getting [if the library message object is a supporter]off[otherwise]out of[end if] [the library message object])[ignore library line break]" Entering action 8 "The leaves swirl into [the noun]." Entering action 9 "The leaves swirl onto [the noun]." Examining action 1 "It is too dark to see." Exiting action 1 "You aren't inside anything at the moment." Exiting action 4 "You aren't [if library message object is a supporter]on[otherwise]in[end if] [the library message object]." Getting off action 1 "You aren't on [the library message object] at the moment." Giving it to action 2 "You already have [the noun]." Giving it to action 3 "You hesitate to touch [the second noun]." Going action 7 "You'll have to say which direction to go in." Going action 10 "The leaves swirl away to the [noun][ignore library line break]" [CHANGED] Going action 13 "The leaves swirl in from the [library message object][ignore library line break]" [CHANGED] Jumping action 1 "You jump on the spot." Kissing action 1 "You kiss [the noun]." Looking action 4 "On [the library message object] [list the contents of library message object with as a sentence list option + tersely list option + not listing concealed items list option + is-are list option + including contents list option + giving brief inventory information list option + listing marked items only list option]." Looking action 5 "[if library message object is not the location and library message object is a supporter]On [the library message object] you[otherwise if library message object is not the location and library message object is a container]In [the library message object] you[otherwise]You[end if] can also see [list the contents of library message object with as a sentence list option + tersely list option + not listing concealed items list option + including contents list option + giving brief inventory information list option + listing marked items only list option][if library message object is not the location].[otherwise] here." Looking action 6 "[if library message object is not the location and library message object is a supporter]On [the library message object] you[otherwise if library message object is not the location and library message object is a container]In [the library message object] you[otherwise]You[end if] can see [list the contents of library message object with as a sentence list option + tersely list option + not listing concealed items list option + including contents list option + giving brief inventory information list option + listing marked items only list option][if library message object is not the location].[otherwise] here." Looking under action 3 "The leaves swirl as if looking under [the noun]." Pushing action 1 "[Cap It-Those noun] [is-are] fixed in place." Putting it on action 9 "[The person asked] put[s] [the noun] on [the second noun]." Rubbing action 1 "You rub [the noun]." Saying No action 1 "There is no reply." Saying sorry action 1 "[if the ghost is in the location]The ghost seems to bow its head slightly[otherwise]No one hears you[end if]." Saying Yes action 1 "There is no reply." Searching action 1 "It's too dark to search." Searching action 2 "There is nothing on [the noun]." Searching action 8 "The leaves swirl around [the noun] as if looking for something." Showing it to action 2 "[The second noun] show[s] no reaction." Singing action 1 "You sing a bit of Thurnley's favorite hymn. The echoes soon die away." Sleeping action 1 "You nod off for a moment." Squeezing action 1 "You squeeze [the noun]." Squeezing action 2 "You squeeze [the noun]." Squeezing action 3 "The leaves swirl around [the noun] as if to squeeze [it-they]." Swearing mildly action 1 "Quite." Swearing obscenely action 1 "You swear." Taking action 2 "You cannot lift yourself." Taking action 6 "[Cap That-Those the noun] seem[s] to belong to [the library message object]." Taking action 7 "[Cap That-Those the noun] seem[s] to be a part of [the library message object]." Taking action 8 "[Cap That-Those library message object] [is-are]n't available." Taking action 9 "[The library message object] [is-are]n't open." Taking action 10 "[Cap That's-They're library message object] hardly portable." Taking action 11 "[Cap That's-They're library message object] fixed in place." Taking inventory action 5 "The leaves swirl as if the ghost is looking at something it is carrying." Taking off action 1 "You're not wearing [that-those noun]." Thinking action 1 "You stop to think." Touching action 1 "You touch [the noun]." Touching action 2 "You touch [the noun]." Touching action 3 "You press your hand to your forehead." Touching action 4 "[The person asked] touch[es] [it-them of noun]self." Touching action 5 "[The person asked] touch[es] you." Touching action 6 "[The person asked] touch[es] [the noun]." Turning action 1 "[Cap It-Those noun] [is-are] fixed in place." Waking action 1 "If only you knew how." Waking up action 1 "Did you nod off? You rouse yourself." Waving action 2 "You wave [the noun]." Waving action 3 "[The person asked] wave[s] [the noun]." Waving Hands action 1 "You wave your hands." Wearing action 1 "You can't wear [that-those noun]." Wearing action 2 "You're not holding [that-those noun]." Wearing action 3 "You're already wearing [that-those noun]." To decide what text is Cap That's-They're of/-- (item - an object): mark item in output; if the item acts plural or the item is the player, decide on "They're"; otherwise decide on "That's". To decide what text is Cap It-Those of/-- (item - an object): mark item in output; if the item acts plural or the item is the player, decide on "Those"; otherwise decide on "It". To say #if American dialect: (- #ifdef DIALECT_US; -) . To say #if Z-machine: (- #ifdef TARGET_ZCODE; -) . To say #otherwise: (- #ifnot; -) . To say #end if: (- #endif; -) . To decide which snippet is the quoted verb: (- ((verb_wordnum * 100) + 1) -). [if command is TAKE OFF HAT, gives just TAKE] To decide which text is (quoted word - a snippet) posture: if the quoted word matches "stand", decide on "stand on"; if the quoted word matches "sit", decide on "sit down on"; if the quoted word matches "lie", decide on "lie down on"; otherwise decide on "enter". Section - List the Contents of Something, with added options To say list the contents of (X - object) with (N - number): (- WriteListFrom(child({X}), {N}); -). The as a sentence list option is a number that varies. The as a sentence list option variable translates into I6 as "ENGLISH_BIT". The tersely list option is a number that varies. The tersely list option variable translates into I6 as "TERSE_BIT". The is-are list option is a number that varies. The is-are list option variable translates into I6 as "ISARE_BIT". The suppressing all articles list option is a number that varies. The suppressing all articles list option variable translates into I6 as "NOARTICLE_BIT". The using the definite article list option is a number that varies. The using the definite article list option variable translates into I6 as "DEFART_BIT". The capitalise first article list option is a number that varies. The capitalise first article list option variable translates into I6 as "CFIRSTART_BIT". With newlines list option is a number that varies. The with newlines list option variable translates into I6 as "NEWLINE_BIT". The indented list option is a number that varies. The indented list option variable translates into I6 as "INDENT_BIT". With extra indentation list option is a number that varies. The with extra indentation list option variable translates into I6 as "EXTRAINDENT_BIT". The giving brief inventory information list option is a number that varies. The giving brief inventory information list option variable translates into I6 as "PARTINV_BIT". The giving inventory information list option is a number that varies. The giving inventory information list option variable translates into I6 as "FULLINV_BIT". The including contents list option is a number that varies. The including contents list option variable translates into I6 as "RECURSE_BIT". The including all contents list option is a number that varies. The including all contents list option variable translates into I6 as "ALWAYS_BIT". The not listing concealed items list option is a number that varies. The not listing concealed items list option variable translates into I6 as "CONCEAL_BIT". The listing marked items only list option is a number that varies. The listing marked items only list option variable translates into I6 as "WORKFLAG_BIT". Chapter - Plurality Modification Section - Ambiguously Singular (in place of Section 4 - Enumeration in Plurality by Emily Short) [This adds a new option, "ambiguously singular." Ambiguously singular things act like ambiguously plural things for the purposes of all the pronoun-setting stuff that is going on in this section, but they don't "act plural" for the purpose of the things that are happening in section 1 of Plurality, so they should use singular verbs etc.] A thing can be ambiguously plural, ambiguously singular, or ordinarily enumerated. A thing is usually ordinarily enumerated. Definition: A thing is ambiguous if it is ambiguously plural or it is ambiguously singular. This is the update ambiguous pronouns for actions rule: if the noun is a thing and the noun is ambiguous: notice the plurality of the noun; if the second noun is a thing and the second noun is ambiguous: notice the plurality of the second noun. The update ambiguous pronouns for actions rule is listed after the set pronouns from items from multiple object lists rule in the action-processing rules. After printing the name of an ambiguous thing (called the suspect) (this is the notice plurality of printed ambiguous object rule): if the manual pronouns option is active: do nothing; otherwise: notice the plurality of the suspect. To notice the plurality of (suspect - an object): (- PlugPlural({suspect}); -) Include (- [ PlugPlural obj; SetPronoun('them', obj); SetPronoun('it', obj); ]; -) Use Manual Pronouns translates as (- Constant MANUAL_PRONOUNS; -) To have the parser notice (o - an object): if o is ambiguous, notice the plurality of o; otherwise set pronouns from o. [The following is a legacy item in case people are still using it in their code, but "set pronouns from..." will work just as well.] To notice (o - an object) boringly: (- PronounNotice({o}); -)