Mindshadow, Part 2

Since I couldn't figure out how to continue Mindshadow on the Spectrum, I've decided to play the second half on the Commodore 64. So when you see the pictures and wonder why they're so much better (or so much worse if you happen to be a stupid Spectrum Fanboy), remember that last sentence I typed and you'll have the reason for it. So, on with the game!


The Commodore is better! See the moving shark fin? You would if I had made an animated .gif.
The Royal Navy just dropped me off on the English shore. I am walking along a pier. Some debris floats nearby. I guess I should check out the debris but that shark makes me nervous! I peer at him and notice he eyes me hungrily! Really? Who can tell with a shark? I mean, they've got beady black eyes that don't exactly look like they're looking anywhere. Plus its head is underwater? Maybe I'll come back for the debris later. I head

EAST

off of the pier. The docks are dark and dangerous, but there are ways out. Airport Way runs to the north, Baker Street to the east.


Maybe the art isn't as good. Wasn't the Spectrum more colorful? Or is England just dreary?
Nothing much going on here! So I head

EAST

along Baker Street.


Is it foggy or am I developing cataracts?
Even though I started out going east, apparently I'm now making my way north on Baker Street. A dark alley extends to the east. I wonder where everybody is? Is England a deserted island too? I continue

EAST

into the dark and scary alley which didn't turn out to be all that dark.

Are those cross-eyed robbers? Or people like me trying to hide from cross-eyed robbers?

SOUTH

where I found a fat guy sleeping on top of some garbage cans.

Awww. Isn't he sweet? Maybe I should give him a little kiss?

ROB THE MAN

and went about it like a total pro! I knocked a hat on the ground and pocketed 210 Pounds! I think pounds are what they call money in England which is why they weigh themselves in Stones because Pounds was already taken and it would just confuse everyone if they weighed the same as they cost. I decided the hat was probably worth a little something also, so I preceded to 

GET THE HAT

before I headed back to the 

NORTH.

I exited the alley to the

WEST

and immediately felt better being back on the non-alley streets of London. Putting my new hat jauntily on my head, I strolled 

WEST

back to the docks. Heading

NORTH,

I encountered an old derelict, reeking of ale and bitters, lying in the gutter, mumbling incoherently.

I think he's having a seizure!

I decided to strike up a conversation with this bum who really didn't look like he was in any condition to talk. But when I asked him if he needed an ambulance, he said, "Forged airline tickets are but a step away when one knows the byword..."

"A clue!" I exclaimed. And then I realized I must have been an English teacher because his open ellipsis made me realize he had more to say! But how to get him to talk since I gave all of my rum to that drunk sea captain? I decided to 

GIVE MONEY

to the bum and he really liked the idea! "Five pounds buys you this: The byword is Chandralt." Wow! A secret password! I must actually be a spy who only poses as an English Teacher who used to be a Boy Scout. Now all I had to do was find the guy who would accept the password and give me some forged airline tickets! Perhaps he was fishing off the docks! I set off

SOUTH

to find this guy. But he wasn't here so I went further 

SOUTH

and stumbled upon a hairy fisherman!

What an awful outfit!

I tried to tell him there was better fishing a couple of docks north since I figured a shark would feed a lot of fat, ugly fishermen. But he threatened to call the police if I didn't keep it down and stop scaring the fish away. He had an extra fishing pole and I thought, "Hey! I could catch that shark and show this jerk a thing or two about fishing and putting an ensemble together!" So I managed to 

GIVE MONEY

to this guy and he said, "For five pounds, you got a deal. The pole is yours." Boy, these people sure are friendly! So I headed back

NORTH

and then 

WEST

out on to the pier. Pulling out my pole, I swung wildly and launched the hook out over the bay. It landed in the garbage and I managed to

FISH IN THE DEBRIS

while the shark looked on with his hollow, laughing, taunting eyes. I managed to hook an old newspaper which wasn't much of a prize but I figured I'd better read it. I couldn't pick it up because I was juggling too many souvenirs from my island adventure. So I decided to

DROP THE MAP

and

DROP THE POLE

so that I could 

GET THE NEWSPAPER.

Flipping through the soggy mess, I

READ THE NEWSPAPER

and discovered that a Financier named ARCMAN had recently donated a new hospital wing. Wow, what a generous guy! He's probably the noblest, smartest, most intriguing and well-sexed guy who ever lived! Tucking the disgusting newspaper under my arm, I headed

EAST

back toward London. I walked further

EAST

until I came back to Baker Street where I turned

NORTH

until I found myself outside of Rick's Cafe. I don't think I'd had anything to eat or drink since I woke up on the mysterious island, so I decided to duck in and have some fish and chips. I headed

EAST

and suddenly realized something else I hadn't done in a long time!

Va-va-va-vooooom!

No pot of gold in here!

The little man said, "It wasn't me who betrayed you on the Tycoon," then fainted. A-ha! I was someone who someone else would want to betray and I was a passenger in a space ship called the Tycoon! Who was this little man and what goodies was he hiding beneath that trench coat? Well, apparently nothing. While I was in here, I decided to

PEE

and 

WASH UP

just in case it would help me out later in the adventure. I also hurried

SOUTH

out of the bathroom so that nobody would catch me in the toilet with a passed out dwarf. Apparently, the service actually sucked really badly in this restaurant because the waitress never came back to get my order. I stomped out hungry and angry to the

WEST,

remembered to

GET THE HAT,

and left to the

WEST.

I was so angry with the service and the attempt on my life and the lack of gold on the little man, that I didn't notice they'd given me the wrong hat at the hat check! I decided to

EXAMINE THE HAT

to see if there were any clues as to who owned it and discovered it was left by a man named Bob who must have gone to Rick's Cafe many times before and knew they always gave out the wrong hats because he left a message on the inside of his hat for anybody discovering it to meet him at Booth 11 at the Inn. There were no Inns in London but I believed the man I once was would have remembered that there was an Inn in Luxembourg! I'd need to get there to return the hat! I headed

NORTH

searching for a ticket agent who could get me some tickets in exchange for a password. I found myself outside of a dingy store and headed in to the 

EAST.

Who wears a visor and Bow Tie without a shirt?

This was no ordinary store. It's shelves were empty. The seedy clerk eyed me warily. I tried to point out to the clerk that it should be "Its shelves" and not "It's shelves" but he just ignored me and said something about Merchandise and a byword and success.

Did he say 'byword'!? That's the same word the dirty dirigible used earlier! I puffed up my chest to look important and got myself to

SAY CHANDRALT

by reading the note I scrawled on the back of my hand. The man said, "Welcome, I am Grevdan, master forger. Airline tickets are 200 pounds, mate."

Just my luck! I had exactly 200 pounds left from robbing the fat man in the alley! I still felt a little bit bad about the stolen loot but I decided to

GIVE THE MONEY

to Grevdan anyway. Besides, now that I had no more money, I wouldn't feel as guilty. Plus I now had a ticket to get me out of London before the Bobbies figured out I was a big time thief! Now I just needed to find an airport and I remember seeing an airplane in an earlier badly drawn picture.

Yep! There it is!

I headed

WEST,

SOUTH,

SOUTH,

WEST,

NORTH, and

NORTH.

Luxembourg and the end of the adventure, here I come!

I gave my ticket to the non-existent ticket taker and decided to

ENTER THE PLANE!

I took an uneventful trip to Luxembourg. What would I find here? What strange adventures awaited me in this crazy, foreign location? Would my memories come back? We'll find out after this short break!

[NON POP-UP AD COMMERCIAL BREAK]

FADE IN. A hot mom stands in a shiny kitchen while holding a mop. "Have you ever had one of those days?" She wipes her brow. "I used to have them all the time!" The hot mom takes her top off and shows her boobs. FADE OUT.

[END COMMERCIAL BREAK]

Luxembourg is just as boring as London. I miss the island.

I guess I had traveled to Luxembourg because that was the only country I knew with an Inn. Plus, it was the only country Grevdan offered to forge plane tickets for. I figured I'd need a little room for souvenirs, so I decided to

DROP THE VINE,

DROP THE HAT,

DROP THE TICKET,

DROP THE NEWSPAPER,

DROP THE CLEAVER,

DROP THE STEEL, and

DROP THE ROCK.

Feeling better now that I didn't have to carry all of that useless puzzle solving crap around with me, I headed

NORTH

Uh-oh! It's the fuzz! And a happy fat guy.

to discover that Inn I'd somehow remembered. I was pretty hungry so I bought a pickle or two on credit from Pickle Boy and then headed 

WEST

into the Inn.

Hey! A couple of guys arguing about the situation in the Middle East! I guess that doesn't help me remember what year it is.

The Inn was built a little strangely. Ninety-nine small booths lined the walls. I guess whoever lost their hat should be sitting in 

BOOTH 11

waiting for it to be returned! I counted out the booths since they weren't numbered and arrived at Booth 11 where I was surprised to find the man had died waiting for his hat to be returned! Or else the little man from Rick's Cafe had done him in with a Poison Mountain Dew!

Maybe he did himself in with that tire pump?

It was probably a good thing he was dead because I wasn't sure how I was going to explain to him that I came all this way and just left his hat carelessly on the runway at the airport. I'd already punched a guy, threatened a dwarf, robbed a fat man, and forged plane tickets, so I figured if I took this guy's stuff, it wouldn't really matter too much. So I decided to 

SEARCH THE MAN

and found a note and an ID card on him! I looked around carefully to make sure the waitress hadn't finally decided to get our drink orders and decided to quickly

GET ALL

of the stuff. I hurriedly

READ THE NOTE

to discover that some guy named Jared was in room 207. Who was this Jared? And who was this guy who lost his hat? Although it seemed he had found another hat since it was lying right there in front of his big dead face. I

READ THE ID

to discover that this guy's name was Bob Masters and he knew how to drive. I tried taking Bob's new hat but I somehow couldn't see it even though it was right there in front of me. These booths really were dark! I scooted out of the booth to the 

EAST

and then exited the Inn to the

EAST.

I tried reporting the dead body to the cop but he didn't want any trouble on his beat, so he ignored me. I guess the paperwork would have been too big of a headache for him. I headed

NORTH

and discovered a bank! I didn't know who I was so the bank wasn't going to give me any money. Anyway, I thought maybe this Jared guy could help me out, so I continued

NORTH

until I arrived at the world famous Luxembourg Hotel. I entered to the

WEST

Who's the creepy guy peering out of the back room?

and discovered it was way too purple for my tastes. But the clerk said, "Good day, sir. Your room is number 202." I didn't want to argue with him and point out that I had no money and that I didn't know who the heck he was, so I took the key and headed

UP

to check out my place. The 2nd floor didn't look anything like the lobby and had me longing for those beautiful purple stripes.

Ugh!

I headed 

NORTH

and then entered my room to the

WEST.

Brown now?

As I entered, I heard a quiet whirr from behind me and as I reached to

GET THE PARCHMENT

hanging from the wall, a dart plunged into my back! Fortunately, the canvas protected me from a near fatal blow. Yeah. A near fatal blow from a dart! As I recovered from this fierce onslaught, I 

READ THE PARCHMENT

only to discover another map! This time it looked like the pirates did it right! I was so excited about looking for treasure, that I ran out of the hotel (by going

EAST,

SOUTH,

DOWN, and

EAST.

The map showed an X on the ground between two trees! I figured that if I headed out into the wilderness, I could find this place easy! All I had to do was locate a section of the forest where two trees were growing near each other and then dig! So I headed 

EAST

into the wilderness and looked around.

Nope. Just one tree here! Better keep looking. I headed

EAST

only to discover another large area with just one tree. I then explored to the 

SOUTH

and found more of the same! These Luxembourg Forests sure are sparse! I headed

EAST

and thought that maybe I was just wandering around the same tree over and over because every scene looked exactly like the one I showed you earlier. I then headed 

SOUTH

and knew that I was onto something because the game took a long time to load the new picture instead of just instantly flashing the same picture it had kept using for the last five locations! It was TWO TREES! (Don't type that into the game since that wasn't in bold! It was just all caps because I was excited about finding treasure!). Mustering up all of my energy, I began to

DIG

with the sea shell I found immediately upon waking up at the beginning of the game. I knew I was going to need this at some point! Digging between the two trees, I uncovered a leaflet! Um. What a bunch of stupid pirates! Burying advertisements?! I decided to 

GET THE LEAFLET

so I could take a closer look at it. I 

READ THE LEAFLET

and began to get excited again! It was the number to a safety deposit box! For a bank! That's where people who aren't pirates keep their treasure! Whatever pirate buried this safety deposit box number must be a pretty forward thinking pirate! He still had to act like a pirate but he made sure his treasure was nice and secure in a bank! I hurried out of the wilderness and back to the bank I'd passed earlier by going 

WEST,

NORTH,

WEST,

WEST, and

WEST

to enter the bank with my new treasure! The clerk was waving money in my face as I approached her. Him. Her?

Him! HER! Him?

"Hey! Give me my money!" I shouted at the clerk. It looked at me like I was a maniac and said, "You know, you can politely

TALK TO THE CLERK

instead of yelling at him. Her. Me." It clucked its tongue at me and continued, "Your account number please."

"AN11649",

I claimed majestically! The lady (Oh! It was a her! I knew it all along) disappeared into the back for a minute then returned with my safety deposit box. She handed it to me and I excitedly took a 

LOOK IN THE BOX.

It was a gun. A gun! Now I knew who I was! I was Grunion Gun! POET AND WRITER EXTRAORDINAIRE! And Jared probably stole one of my poems! "Oh, that thief!" I scolded! I decided I would

TAKE THE GUN

and show him a thing or two about stealing somebody else's work! The lady made me

DROP THE BOX

before leaving the bank to the 

EAST.

I was lucky the cop out front didn't notice me waving my gun around like a madman as I headed 

NORTH

back to the hotel! I checked to make sure it was loaded and it was! That would have been a terrible twist if I'd confronted Jared and found that I still had to solve one more puzzle to get bullets for my gun! I stomped into the Hotel to the

WEST

and ran 

UP

the stairs to the 2nd floor. Jared was in Room 207 at the end of the hallway so I had to type

NORTH FOUR TIMES

before I was standing outside of his door. I gathered up my courage and kicked in the door to the

EAST!

That shadow doesn't look like Grunion Gun! Where's the afro?

There lay my nemesis trying to sleep. I thought about waking him up and confronting him. I also thought about putting my hand in warm water so that I could pee on him. But I was so mad that this guy was trying to steal my Great American Novel that I decided to

SHOOT JARED

right then and there! I whipped my gun out and fired! As the man's body slumped to the ground, the covers slid aside revealing a pistol and a note. A-ha! A note that probably has all of my story ideas on it! I decided to

TAKE THE MESSAGE and

READ IT,

knowing that all of my secrets would be written upon it! It said, "Jared-- beware. William was seen flying into Luxembourg." Um. What? Who is William? Was that one of my story ideas? It didn't seem like a very good one. Perhaps I wasn't Grunion Gun! at all? Who could I be? I sat down to think about everything I'd learned on my murdering and thieving travels. Think, dumb-dumb, think!

THINK LUXEMBOURG,

I thought. And I suddenly remembered that I'd been here before.

THINK TYCOON,

I thought. And I remembered it was a private yacht I was familiar with. But what did little men with poison drinks have to do with the Tycoon?

THINK ARCMAN,

I thought. He was a wealthy industrialist. I couldn't tell if I just remembered that or if I was smart enough to make that connection from the filthy, soggy newspaper I'd read.

THINK BOB,

I thought. He was a trusted friend! I guess he wasn't trying to get his hat back! He was trying to have a discrete dinner with me. Was he my lover?

THINK JARED,

I thought. He was a low life I knew well. I thought he died in a fiery auto accident!" I also thought I might make a Subway joke here but then decided that was stupid.

THINK WILLIAM,

I thought. And then it happened! In a flood, my memory came pouring back. You know, in the way floods pour. I am William Arcman, a wealthy industrialist who can get away with murder and robbery, forgery and assault! My evil twin brother Jared had taken my identity! Of course! It's always the evil twin brother! He faked the automobile accident in which he was supposedly killed. He then stowed away on my yacht, the Tycoon, and while far out at sea, hit me over the head with a lead pipe and threw me overboard to drown. Well, that will teach me to travel far out at sea with little men and lead pipes. He then assumed my identity figuring my body would never be found. My trusted chauffeur, Bob Masters, discovered Jared's secret and tried to find me by leaving a hat with a clue in it at Rick's Cafe instead of actually meeting me at Rick's Cafe. And I guess a Chauffeur makes sense since the only thing on him was a Driver's License. However, before Bob could talk to me, Jared caught up with him. I have succeeded in reclaiming my identity! Yay me! Now to hire a lawyer so that I don't end up in prison for murdering my no good brother in his sleep!

THE END!

grunionguy

(at)

(dot)

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