S U S P E N D E D
-----------------
- A Cryogenic Nightmare...

A goodie from Infocom (again), in which you are in control of 6 robots.

Here is the introduction:


Contra Central
Lottery Commission Headquarters

Congratulations. You have been chosen as the winner of the semi-millenial
Lottery, and as such will have the honor of serving as Contra's Central
Mentality for the next 500 years.

Naturally, this title brings with it certain responsibilities, not the
least of which is ensuring the survival of life on this planet. To this
end, in accordance with Procedural Substatute 2.5X:845A77b, you will be
placed in a state of limited cryogenic suspension. In this sleep-like
mode, your mind will monitor the Filtering Computers that maintain the
delicate balance of our surface-side systems. Should an emergency occur
which causes a Filtering Computer imbalance, you will be awakened. It will
then be up to you to ascertain the problem and perform such remedial
actions as you deem necessary. The penalties for failure are all too
obvious.

This briefing bas been prepared to familiarize you with your duties in
your new role. It has been revised and amended to enable you to avoid the
tragic errors of your predecessor, the lamentable George Franklin. This
briefing suspensedes and countermands all previous briefings issued by
the Lottery Commission.

It may be material at this time to review the Franklin Incident. The
report of the event appearing in the Contra Citizen of two months ago,
while editorial in nature, sums up the circumstances succinctly:

...But Franklin was not destined to completed his tour of duty. After
467 years, he awoke by mistake and, not being extremely bright to start
with, lost what little sense and sanity he had. He looked around the
Underground Complex for an emergency, found none, and decided to create
one of hix own.

Overriding the three Filtering Computers, he directed the transportation
system to kill whoever happened to be walking outside or riding in any
of the mass transit systems. Psychologists believe that he must have
possessed a twisted sense of humor - to have people maimed, run over,
chased by robot-taxis provided him with pleasure for the moment. However,
he soon tired of this, and decided to eliminate a larger section of the
population in a far easier manner.

Ever since weather had been controlled, dwellings had not been designed
to withstand snow and sleet. Franklin altered the pressure in the Weather
Towers near the cities, setting off ragingstorms and creating freezing
temperatures. Thousands perished from exposure; thousands more became
popsicles.

The surviving authorities decided to send an extermination squad down
into the Underground Complex to remove Franklin from his suspension
capsule. They got there just in time. When they arrived, Franklin
had the six maintenance robots snipping wires and causing havoc with
the Filtering Computers and automated systems.

In the tragedy's aftermath, several known malcontents protested that the
system had proven itself infeasible; these complaints were dealt with
summarily by the Authority, which assures all citizens that new
improvements in the system and the method for selecting future central
mentalities have eliminated any cause for alarm...

With this in mind, you can well understand why the Authority insisted on
a comprehensive briefing before you enter the Complex. You are therefore
requested to read the following with the greatest car before entering
the suspended state

Ignatz Feroukin
VP/Memos

Addendum: The Office of Cloning and Personnel Development informs us
that a number of replicates of you are currently under production, for
use in the event that we find it necessary to remove you. This should
in no way be construed as a reflection on you as a person; despite the
fact that your psychological profile revealed a few characteristics
which could be termed "deviant," we have only the highest expectations
for you. Needless to say, however, the Authority desires no repeats of
Franklin's performance. Therefore, remember: you can be replaced


Robots:Communications & Characteristics
---------------------------------------
If you want to talk to one of the six robots, type the name of it, a ","
and what you want to tell it (read the 'PlayingInfocom' manual). After
you have addressed a robot once, you don't have to type it's name more.
Notice that you can use the ALL ROBOTS command, e.g: ALL ROBOTS, REPORT
YOUR LOCATIONS. The following also works: BOTH SENSA AND IRIS,(do
something).
ARR = ALL ROBOTS, REPORT
ARL = ALL ROBOTS, REPORT LOCATIONS

IRIS
----
Iris is a visual robot, wohse mobility is limited. Her ability to describe
things approaches what a human being might see in most circumstances.
Since Frobozz Engineering Company built her, she was not designed to do a
lot of grasping, carrying, etc., and has only two grasping, carrying, etc.,
and has only two grasping extensions. She has proved to be the butt of many
design and implementation jokes on the planet's surface, one of which was
"The eyes have it." Humor of this sort has, for obvious reasons, since
been outlawed on Contra. Iris has limited mobility and her internal mapping
does not extend throughout the Complex. This design restriction was
based on the following consideration: Iris can wander about the areas in
which she can perform a useful function.

WALDO
-----
Waldo is an industrious robot, built primarily for manipulation objects.
Since his primary purpose is to manipulated objects, he has been provided
with six grasping extensions. He travels by using a sonar-feedback mecha-
nism and, when close or touching an object, can detect quite a bit about
its inherent characteristics based on this sonar. In addition, he has a
highly developed sense of touch and can prove to be a delicate workman.

SENSA
-----
Sensa is a peculiar mixtue of sensory apparatuses. She can detect
vibrational activity, photon emission sources, and ionic discharges. She
is also rigged to automatically perform such sensory tasks as the analysis
of diffraction indexes. Sensa has five extensions, two of which are used
exclusively for sensory input. The other three extensions are grasping
extensions.

AUDA
----
Auda is all ears, capable of processing and interpreting auditory signals
within the Complex. Her presence there was required by the CLU
(Consolidated Lisners Union), and thought Auda may not be very helpful in
the high-tech sense, in case of human intervention, she is absolutely
required. Auda has but one grasping extension.

POET
----
Poet is a peculiar robot whose function was somehow altered over time by
the Filtering Computers. Poet was originally intended as a diagnostic
robot. He has been equipped with a diagnostic sensor which is activated
when he has been directed to TOUCH something. Unless Poet is actually
doing his tihng, he makes the best of what he perceives, translating
his input into sometimes bewildering output. Despite the sometiems
seeming lack of sense to his statements, they provide an accurate
representation of reality. In addition to representation of reality. In
addition to his "touching" extension, Poet has been provided with three
grasping extensions.

WHIZ
----
Whiz is an interfacing device between you and the Central Library Core, a
huge data bank available to your queries. Whiz can PLUG IN to any of the
four CLC peripherals and find information for you. This information
pertains to objects and the Complex in general. The CLC contains no
information about any of the rooms your robots can visit. Although Whiz
is extremely helpful, he does not have his limitations. There was once
a robot-joke about Whiz being a real airhead and, if he could have
understood it, he would have taken offense. Whiz has two grasping
extensions.

NOTE
----
There is a seventh robot. Standing almost two meters tall and featuring
sixteen grasping extensions, verbal circuits, and heavy-duty shielding
against acid damage, this model is optimized for a multitude of
applications. It should be mentioned that this robot was attended to by
Georgory Franklin, who abandoned it within the Complex after brutally
mangling it beyond recognition or hope of repair.

The CLC is composed of several distinct parts: Whiz, the Peripherals, and
the Library Core.

Whiz can be plugged into the following Peripherals:

The Index Peripheral - ask about object
The Technical Peripheral - technical data on some objects.
The Advisory Peripheral - When you need advice
The Historical Peripheral - Historical references for certain objects found.


Special Commands:

ADVANCED - HARDER - EXPERT : the level of play

CONFIGURE - You can configure your own game ! Only use this option if you
have completed the game, so you don't spoil the fun.

DRAG (robot) TO - to drag a disabled robot to a different area.

IMPOSSIBLE - Beyond Advanced, beyond Configure - the ultimate challenge

LISTEN - Activated Auda's Auditory Sensors. Whatever she hears from then
on will be elayed directly to you.

QUERY ABOUT - Whiz can query about an object once he's been plugged in.

STOP - this stops a robot from continuing on its present course.


Have fun.....

The League