LURKING HORROR (Infocom) (?)

You're a student at G.U.E. Tech. It's late on a cold, winter night, but your 20-page report is due tomorrow. To work on your assignment, you make your way to the Computer Center through the worst storm of the winter. The game starts with you standing in the Terminal Room. There is a PC before you, so have a seat and log on, please. Your user ID is printed on the Student ID Card included in the game package. Your password is written in the back of the 'G.U.E. at a Glance Guide for Freshmen' (also included in the package). Once you've logged on, you'll see a menu on the PC. Use the PC's mouse by clicking on MENU then YAK. Read the strange document which has replaced your paper.

You'll faint and awaken in 'a place.' Go down into the bowl, look at the platform, and take the small stone. Wait a couple of turns and you'll wake up in the Terminal Room. Look at the PC's screen. The hacker will attempt to fix the PC, but your paper will be lost. It was mixed up on the file server with some files from the Department of Alchemy. The hacker will suggest, 'Maybe they could help you down there.'

Look at the hacker and notice the keyring. Ask the hacker about the keys and he'll show you one you haven't noticed -- a Master Key. Ask him about it and he'll say, 'It'll open three out of five doors at Tech.'Then he'll complain of hunger. That's your cue. Go to the kitchen and get the Chinese food from the refrigerator. The hacker won't like it cold so heat it in the microwave oven for about two minutes on 'HI.' In case you have problems controlling the microwave, set the timer to 200, press HI, then press START. Give the food to the hacker in exchange forhis master key.

A NOTE ABOUT GETTING TIRED. When you get tired, drink from the bottle of Coke which you will find in the refrigerator in the kitchen.

Go south twice to the elevator. Enter the elevator, open the panel, and take the flashlight. Go down to the Basement then east to the Temporary Basement. Take the gloves and crowbar then go up to the Temporary Lab. Take the flask and return to the Basement then go west twice to the Aero Basement. Get on the forklift and drive east until you reach Dead Storage. Use the forklift to move the junk until you've cleared a path to Ancient Storage. In Ancient Storage, open the manhole with the crowbar and go down to the Brick Tunnel. Go north and down to the Altar. Take the knife, open the iron plate, and look in the pit. Return to the Brick Tunnel and go south. Try to open the trap door.

Return to the Basement then go west, west, and up to the Aero Lab. Now go south to the Infinite Corridor. Take the plastic container and go east in the corridor until you reach the stairs. Go up to the Great Dome, wear the gloves and climb rope. On the Catwalk, open the small metal door and exit north to the Roof of the Great Dome. Climb up to the top of the dome, remove the plug and take the paper -- it's a suicide note. Go back inside the Great Dome.

Take the ladder and put it on the Catwalk. Go down the ladder and return to the Infinite Corridor. Go east to the glass fronted cabinet, break glass, and take the axe. Go west to the wall socket where the waxer cord is plugged in and cut the cord with the axe. When the maintenance man starts toward you, open the plastic container and pour the liquid on the floor. Go east to the end of the corridor then north to Fruits & Nuts. Go down to the Cluttered Passage and southeast to the Brown Basement. Take the rubber boots and wear them.

Go up to the Brown Building then up to the Top Floor. Read the sign over the door then unlock it with the master key. Exit the door (north) to reach the Skyscraper Roof. Go up to the Semi-Transparent Dome, look in the tub, and take the hand. I had a little trouble concerning the hand and the winged creature. It appears the creature always takes the hand away if you're holding it when he enters the dome. My solution was to put the hand in the plastic container before the creature entered the dome. When the winged creature enters the dome, he will block your exit. Throw the stone at creature, retrieve it and go down. The creature will be waiting for you at the bottom, so throw the stone at him again. Both the stone and the creature will go off the south end of the building. Go east, down, then south to the Courtyard and get the stone. Go north, down, northwest, and up to Fruits & Nuts. Then go south until you reach the Department of Alchemy.

The door to the Department of Alchemy is locked and the master key will not unlock it. Knock on the door and wait. The professor will open the door and usher you into the room. Read the sign-up sheet, show the suicide note to the professor, then go south. Oops! You're in a pentagram. Wait until the professor has entered another pentagram and has begun his ritual. Cut the line with the knife and exit the pentagram. Move the lab bench, open the trap door, and go down. If you time your moves just right, the mist will grab the professor just as you go through the trap door. Wait a turn below the trap door then re-enter the lab through it. Put the dead hand in the vat and it comes to life! Take the hand. You can put the professor's ring on the hand if you wish;it fits nicely.

Look for an urchin slouching somewhere. I found one in the Computer Center. Show the living hand to the urchin and take the bolt cutter which the urchin will drop. Return to the Basement, go west twice to the Stairway and down to the Sub-Basement. Now go northwest to the Tomb and read the graffiti. Unlock the padlock with master key, and take the padlock. Open the hatch and go down You hear rats! Go east and open the pressure release valve with the crowbar.

Timing is important here for your objective is to scald the rats. When you see them, open the valve. Examine the dead rat; it has a strange symbol branded on its neck. Close the valve and go east until you reach the brick wall. Move the loose brick with the crowbar and look in the hole. Use the crowbar to move the second brick and you will have made a hole in the brick wall through which you can see a reinforcing rod and a small room containing some machinery. Think about the levels of the building and try to place where you are now in relation to what's above you. You must be somewhere near the elevator.

Go back to the Basement and send the elevator to the first floor. Then open the elevator doors in the Basement. Wedge the doors open with the crowbar and go down the elevator shaft to the Concrete Box. Take the chain and put the chain on the reinforcing rod. Put the padlock on the chain and go back up. Put the chain on the hook, remove the crowbar and the elevator will start moving. You'll hear a tearing, rending sound, then a rumbling crash. Open the elevator doors again, wedge them open with the crowbar, and go down to the Concrete Box. The brick wall will have an enormous hole ripped in it. This is the opening you need for those objects which will not fit through the opening to the Tomb. You'll need the bolt cutter, the flask, the axe, the stone, the flashlight, the master key, the boots, the gloves, and the hand for the puzzles that follow.

From the hole in the brick wall, go north then west until you reach the Tunnel Entrance then go down to the Muddy Tunnel. From the Muddy Tunnel, go down to the Large Chamber and look at the slots; a wire goes to each. Cut the wire with bolt cutter. Go down to the Wet Tunnel, the hand will start pointing the way so go as the hand directs but watch out for the curtain of slime. When you find it, open the flask and pour the liquid on the curtain. A wooden door will be revealed. Unlock the door with the master key and enter the Inner Lair. Reach in the pool and take the line. Cut the line with the axe and take the line again. Open the box, unplug the coaxial cable, and put the line in the socket. The huge mass will change shape. Wait until it becomes a winged creature with its mouth open and the stone has turned red. Throw the stone at the creature then take the stone again. The hacker will ask,'Can I have my key back?' Your score should be 100 out of a possible 100 Graded on the curve, you are in the class of President of the Institute.

THE END!

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