Byzantine Perspective by Lea Albaugh - Transcript
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Played January 20, 2025.
Wordcount: ~5900
((Double parentheses indicate player's notes.)) ((Recommended viewing: map of the museum, created by the dev.))Return to homepage
It's your first time doing something quite this big. Well, actually, it's your first time doing anything like this at all, but art school isn't going to pay for itself. Take a deep breath. Your task is simple enough. Just nab the chalice. Byzantine Perspective A Straightforward Burglary by Lea Release 2 / Serial number 100131 / Inform 7 build 5Z71 (I6/v6.31 lib 6/12N) For more information, type ABOUT. The Chalice Room The chalice is the pride of the Museum's collection, and this room -- "vault" is a more appropriate term, really -- is evidence of that. There is only one exit, to the south, which is sternly watched during operating hours and solidly locked at all other times. This is an "other time," and the heavy metallic door looks quite firm. You see a plinth (on which is a gem-encrusted chalice) here. >x plinth White and immobile. >x me There aren't any mirrors around, but you know that your cat burglar getup is darker than the night and twice as cool, and you're wearing a pair of high-tech night-vision goggles. If anyone can get this job done, it's you. >i You reach into your pocket and feel your trusty multitool and a scrap of paper. You're wearing the night-vision goggles you borrowed. >take chalice Though you see the gem-encrusted chalice so clearly in front of you, your hand passes through it as if it were a hologram. >remove goggles The goggles don't belong to you; you can't risk dropping them. Also, they're the only thing separating you from the pitch darkness. >x multitool You take it out of your pocket, and you can feel it -- it feels like the multitool you always carry -- but for some reason you can't see it. >x paper You take it out of your pocket, and you can feel it -- it feels like the scrap of paper your friend shoved into your hands before hurrying away earlier -- but for some reason you can't see it. >touch plinth Though you see the plinth so clearly in front of you, your hand passes through it as if it were a hologram. >s You run into a wall. >close eyes If such a thing is here, you can neither see nor feel it. >drop paper Dropped. >l The Chalice Room The chalice is the pride of the Museum's collection, and this room -- "vault" is a more appropriate term, really -- is evidence of that. There is only one exit, to the south, which is sternly watched during operating hours and solidly locked at all other times. This is an "other time," and the heavy metallic door looks quite firm. You see a plinth (on which is a gem-encrusted chalice) here. For the briefest moment, the east wall seems to flicker. >take paper You fumble around and manage to grasp the scrap of paper. (Taken.) >e The wall looks pretty solid, but you walk through it to The Alberti Memorial Atrium An airy, open space, with walls of alternating courses of green and white Florentine marble. Up above is the skylight you rappelled in through. The atrium continues for a stretch both north and south of here, and there's an arched passageway leading to the Main Hall of the Museum to the east.((So I can feel certain things but not see them, and see certain things but not feel them. If I can see something, I can't touch it, and if I can touch something, I can't see it?))>x walls If such a thing is here, you can neither see nor feel it. >up You can't leave without the chalice. >e You run into a wall. >s The Alberti Memorial Atrium (South End) An airy, open space, with walls of alternating courses of green and white Florentine marble. Up above is the skylight you rappelled in through. Here at the south end, visitors enter from the west at the end of their tour of the Byzantine artifacts. >w Though you can see the Room of Metalwork in front of you, you are stopped by an invisible wall.((Seems like walls and passages are reversed for me. Walls on the map are passages, and passages on the map are walls. Not sure how that's supposed to help me get the chalice, but I guess we'll find out. Let's go look at all the other rooms on the map.))>n The Alberti Memorial Atrium An airy, open space, with walls of alternating courses of green and white Florentine marble. Up above is the skylight you rappelled in through. The atrium continues for a stretch both north and south of here, and there's an arched passageway leading to the Main Hall of the Museum to the east. >w The wall looks pretty solid, but you walk through it to The Chalice Room The chalice is the pride of the Museum's collection, and this room -- "vault" is a more appropriate term, really -- is evidence of that. There is only one exit, to the south, which is sternly watched during operating hours and solidly locked at all other times. This is an "other time," and the heavy metallic door looks quite firm. You see a plinth (on which is a gem-encrusted chalice) here. >w You bump into a large glass box on your way in to The Room of Mosaics This room is a continuation of the Architecture room to the north, and leads into the Musical Instruments exhibit to the west. The walls here are fairly barren, but the floor more than makes up for it. >x floor The floor is lushly covered in glittering tiles. >x tiles They glint greenly through your goggles. >take tiles Though you see the tiles so clearly in front of you, your hand passes through it as if it were a hologram.((Right, I can see them, so I can't take them. But how can I know what I can take if I can't see it? For that matter, what divides objects between what I can see and what I can't see?))>x goggles You can't see them because you're wearing them, but you know that these are a pair of super-advanced ultra-enhanced night vision goggles, on loan from one of your sketchier friends. Truthfully, though, they might be broken: there's something a little weird about what you're seeing. >s The wall looks pretty solid, but you walk through it to The Room of Icons Icons line the wall in a dizzying profusion of symbolism and gilt. There are exhibit rooms to the east and west of here. >x icons You wonder what it would feel like to have light emanating from your head, but figure that these goggles are giving you enough of a headache. >s You run into a wall.((Interesting. The thicker wall on the map *can't* be passed through. Means I don't have many places to go. Let's check north of the chalice room.))>n You bump into a large glass box on your way in to The Room of Mosaics This room is a continuation of the Architecture room to the north, and leads into the Musical Instruments exhibit to the west. The walls here are fairly barren, but the floor more than makes up for it. >n You run into a wall. >e The wall looks pretty solid, but you walk through it to The Chalice Room The chalice is the pride of the Museum's collection, and this room -- "vault" is a more appropriate term, really -- is evidence of that. There is only one exit, to the south, which is sternly watched during operating hours and solidly locked at all other times. This is an "other time," and the heavy metallic door looks quite firm. You see a plinth (on which is a gem-encrusted chalice) here. >n You run into a wall.((Hold on. Why can't I go north from the chalice room? There's a wall north of this room on the map. Let's just wander around until we find something.))>e The wall looks pretty solid, but you walk through it to The Alberti Memorial Atrium An airy, open space, with walls of alternating courses of green and white Florentine marble. Up above is the skylight you rappelled in through. The atrium continues for a stretch both north and south of here, and there's an arched passageway leading to the Main Hall of the Museum to the east. >x skylight The skylight is not letting in much natural light at this hour. >e You run into a wall. >nw You can't go that way. >ne You can't go that way. >n You run into a wall. >s The Alberti Memorial Atrium (South End) An airy, open space, with walls of alternating courses of green and white Florentine marble. Up above is the skylight you rappelled in through. Here at the south end, visitors enter from the west at the end of their tour of the Byzantine artifacts. >s The wall looks pretty solid, but you walk through it to The Inside of the Walls All you can see is marble, but you seem to be breathing alright, so there's no cause for immediate concern.((Oh. I didn't even know this was possible. I guess it kind of makes sense?))>s You run into a wall. >w The wall looks pretty solid, but you walk through it to The Inside of the Walls All you can see is marble, but you seem to be breathing alright, so there's no cause for immediate concern. >w The wall looks pretty solid, but you walk through it to The Inside of the Walls All you can see is marble, but you seem to be breathing alright, so there's no cause for immediate concern. >s You run into a wall. >n You run into a wall. >e The wall looks pretty solid, but you walk through it to The Inside of the Walls All you can see is marble, but you seem to be breathing alright, so there's no cause for immediate concern. >w The wall looks pretty solid, but you walk through it to The Inside of the Walls All you can see is marble, but you seem to be breathing alright, so there's no cause for immediate concern. >w The wall looks pretty solid, but you walk through it to The Inside of the Walls All you can see is marble, but you seem to be breathing alright, so there's no cause for immediate concern.((Wait, how far west can I go? And how do I get out of here?))>w You run into a wall. >n The wall looks pretty solid, but you walk through it to The Room of Manuscripts Cases of manuscripts line the wall at about chest height. The exhibit continues to the east, from the north.((Never mind. Guess I just counted wrong.))>x manuscripts Ordinarily lit with weak spotlights to prevent fading, the manuscripts seem especially vivid through your goggles. You pause to read few lines of ancient Greek, but a mention of the glory of God reminds you to get back to the task at hand. >take manuscripts Though you see the case of manuscripts so clearly in front of you, your hand passes through it as if it were a hologram. >n You run into a door, but it is unlocked. You push it open on your way in to The Room of Musical Instruments The exhibit continues from the east, past rows upon rows of eerily silent instruments in glass cases in this room, to the south. There is also a door to a small restroom to the north.((Oh. I assumed every passage on the map was impassable. Now I need to try other passages to see what I can do with them. I wonder if the unlocked door for me corresponds to a locked door in "real life".))>x instruments They are lovely, but even more than the other artifacts, it is bizarre to see musical instruments out of context. >take instruments Though you see the instruments so clearly in front of you, your hand passes through it as if it were a hologram. >x cases They are lovely, but even more than the other artifacts, it is bizarre to see musical instruments out of context. >x door The door is marked with the symbols for a unisex wheelchair-accessible restroom. It has a vertical metal plate in place of a handle. >n Though you can see the Restroom in front of you, you are stopped by an invisible wall.((Dang.))>close door Though you see the restroom door so clearly in front of you, your hand passes through it as if it were a hologram. >e Though you can see the Room of Mosaics in front of you, you are stopped by an invisible wall.((I hate this.))>s You run into a door, but it is unlocked. You pull it open on your way in to The Room of Manuscripts Cases of manuscripts line the wall at about chest height. The exhibit continues to the east, from the north. >e The Room of Icons Icons line the wall in a dizzying profusion of symbolism and gilt. There are exhibit rooms to the east and west of here. >e Though you can see the Room of Metalwork in front of you, you are stopped by an invisible wall.((Wait, I can actually go between Manuscripts and Iconography? Why? There's a passage between those two on the map. And why can't I go from Iconography and Metalwork in that case? Maybe I just need to test every wall manually. That's very tedious.))>s You run into a wall. >n This time, you maneuver around the glass box on your way in to The Room of Mosaics This room is a continuation of the Architecture room to the north, and leads into the Musical Instruments exhibit to the west. The walls here are fairly barren, but the floor more than makes up for it. >n You run into a wall. >e The wall looks pretty solid, but you walk through it to The Chalice Room The chalice is the pride of the Museum's collection, and this room -- "vault" is a more appropriate term, really -- is evidence of that. There is only one exit, to the south, which is sternly watched during operating hours and solidly locked at all other times. This is an "other time," and the heavy metallic door looks quite firm. You see a plinth (on which is a gem-encrusted chalice) here. >s You run into a wall. >n You run into a wall. >e The wall looks pretty solid, but you walk through it to The Alberti Memorial Atrium An airy, open space, with walls of alternating courses of green and white Florentine marble. Up above is the skylight you rappelled in through. The atrium continues for a stretch both north and south of here, and there's an arched passageway leading to the Main Hall of the Museum to the east. >n You run into a wall. >w The wall looks pretty solid, but you walk through it to The Chalice Room The chalice is the pride of the Museum's collection, and this room -- "vault" is a more appropriate term, really -- is evidence of that. There is only one exit, to the south, which is sternly watched during operating hours and solidly locked at all other times. This is an "other time," and the heavy metallic door looks quite firm. You see a plinth (on which is a gem-encrusted chalice) here. >n You run into a wall. >e The wall looks pretty solid, but you walk through it to The Alberti Memorial Atrium An airy, open space, with walls of alternating courses of green and white Florentine marble. Up above is the skylight you rappelled in through. The atrium continues for a stretch both north and south of here, and there's an arched passageway leading to the Main Hall of the Museum to the east. > I beg your pardon? >e You run into a wall. >up You can't leave without the chalice. >s The Alberti Memorial Atrium (South End) An airy, open space, with walls of alternating courses of green and white Florentine marble. Up above is the skylight you rappelled in through. Here at the south end, visitors enter from the west at the end of their tour of the Byzantine artifacts. >s The wall looks pretty solid, but you walk through it to The Inside of the Walls All you can see is marble, but you seem to be breathing alright, so there's no cause for immediate concern. >s You run into a wall. >e You run into a wall. >w The wall looks pretty solid, but you walk through it to The Inside of the Walls All you can see is marble, but you seem to be breathing alright, so there's no cause for immediate concern. >s You run into a wall. >n At the north side of the room, you run into what feels like a vault door. Running your hands over its smooth, cool surface, you feel a multitude of rivets, but no handles. Immediately to the right of the door, you feel twelve rubbery buttons arranged in a grid.((Woah, something new.))((Hold on... there's no reason for this to be here, inside the walls. Maybe my earlier assumption is wrong. Am I in some kind of reversed museum? Is what I'm seeing the geographic reverse of the reality? Or is it rotated somehow? What's going on?))>x buttons You can't see any such thing. >feel buttons You feel nothing unusual. >n At the north side of the room, you run into what feels like a vault door. Running your hands over its smooth, cool surface, you feel a multitude of rivets, but no handles. Immediately to the right of the door, you feel twelve rubbery buttons arranged in a grid. >press buttons You push a couple of buttons randomly. (To enter a particular number into the button panel, try "enter>".) >enter 1 You hear the sort of beep that implies that the code you entered has been rejected. >enter 100131 If such a thing is here, you can neither see nor feel it. >s You run into a wall. >w The wall looks pretty solid, but you walk through it to The Inside of the Walls All you can see is marble, but you seem to be breathing alright, so there's no cause for immediate concern. >n You run into a wall. >s You run into a wall. >n You run into a wall. >w The wall looks pretty solid, but you walk through it to The Inside of the Walls All you can see is marble, but you seem to be breathing alright, so there's no cause for immediate concern. >n The wall looks pretty solid, but you walk through it to The Room of Manuscripts Cases of manuscripts line the wall at about chest height. The exhibit continues to the east, from the north. >n You run into a door, but it is unlocked. You push it open on your way in to The Room of Musical Instruments The exhibit continues from the east, past rows upon rows of eerily silent instruments in glass cases in this room, to the south. There is also a door to a small restroom to the north. >n Though you can see the Restroom in front of you, you are stopped by an invisible wall. >s You run into a door, but it is unlocked. You pull it open on your way in to The Room of Manuscripts Cases of manuscripts line the wall at about chest height. The exhibit continues to the east, from the north. >e The Room of Icons Icons line the wall in a dizzying profusion of symbolism and gilt. There are exhibit rooms to the east and west of here. >n You maneuver around the glass box on your way in to The Room of Mosaics This room is a continuation of the Architecture room to the north, and leads into the Musical Instruments exhibit to the west. The walls here are fairly barren, but the floor more than makes up for it. >n You run into a wall. >e The wall looks pretty solid, but you walk through it to The Chalice Room The chalice is the pride of the Museum's collection, and this room -- "vault" is a more appropriate term, really -- is evidence of that. There is only one exit, to the south, which is sternly watched during operating hours and solidly locked at all other times. This is an "other time," and the heavy metallic door looks quite firm. You see a plinth (on which is a gem-encrusted chalice) here. >w You maneuver around the glass box on your way in to The Room of Mosaics This room is a continuation of the Architecture room to the north, and leads into the Musical Instruments exhibit to the west. The walls here are fairly barren, but the floor more than makes up for it. >w You cautiously head west, but run into a closed door. Your groping hands find a door handle, but pressing it does nothing. It must be locked. ((Okay, that's really weird. I don't know what it means. Maybe that's the entrance to the security office and everything I'm seeing is one room south of where I really am? It would explain me being able to go into the south wall, at least.))((And then the weird passage between Musical Instruments and Manuscripts would be the bathroom door, which automatically closes itself...))((That might actually be it.))>s The wall looks pretty solid, but you walk through it to The Room of Icons Icons line the wall in a dizzying profusion of symbolism and gilt. There are exhibit rooms to the east and west of here. >e Though you can see the Room of Metalwork in front of you, you are stopped by an invisible wall.((Except that doesn't explain how I was able to get into the chalice room. And how am I supposed to get the chalice, still?))((Well, I guess the chalice room I was seeing earlier wasn't the real chalice room. I would've been in the Maps & History room.))((I think I get it. Earlier, when I was inside the walls and feeling the number pad, I was actually feeling the number pad that controls the locked southern entrance to the chalice room. I need to figure out the number to get in. But I don't know how to find the number. Maybe if I could get into the security office, but since I can only see one room south of where I actually am, the entire north side of the museum is visually inaccessible to me.))((This is incredibly weird. I'm still not sure what to do.))((But it does make a few things clear. I'm not actually going through walls, because I can't. It's just my goggles that are broken. But I don't know how to take advantage of that.))>n Though the wall looks solid, you find that you can walk right through it; you bump into a large glass box on your way in to The Room of Mosaics This room is a continuation of the Architecture room to the north, and leads into the Musical Instruments exhibit to the west. The walls here are fairly barren, but the floor more than makes up for it. >w You cautiously head west, but run into a closed door. Your groping hands find a door handle, but pressing it does nothing. It must be locked.((Right, so now it looks like I'm in Mosaics, but I'm actually in Architecture and the door to the security room is to the west. I just can't open it.))>i You reach into your pocket and feel your trusty multitool and a scrap of paper. You're wearing the night-vision goggles you borrowed. >unlock door (with the pocket) Your lockpicking skills were never that great. >unlock door with multitool Your lockpicking skills were never that great. >x scrap You take it out of your pocket, and you can feel it -- it feels like the scrap of paper your friend shoved into your hands before hurrying away earlier -- but for some reason you can't see it.((Wait, hold on! There has to be something useful on the paper. But I can't see it here... so I need to drop it somewhere where I can see it, and then look for it.))((I can't drop it here, because the north side of the museum is invisible to me. But if I go south to what looks like Iconography (actually Mosaics), drop the paper, and go back up to what looks like Mosaics (actually Architecture)...))>i You reach into your pocket and feel your trusty multitool and a scrap of paper. You're wearing the night-vision goggles you borrowed. >s The wall looks pretty solid, but you walk through it to The Room of Icons Icons line the wall in a dizzying profusion of symbolism and gilt. There are exhibit rooms to the east and west of here. >drop paper Dropped. >n This time, you maneuver around the glass box on your way in to The Room of Mosaics This room is a continuation of the Architecture room to the north, and leads into the Musical Instruments exhibit to the west. The walls here are fairly barren, but the floor more than makes up for it. You see a scrap of paper here. >x paper Under the heading "Optidyne Far-Vu Goggles: the best in early-warning vision enhancement" is a neat isometric rendering of a pair of goggles. A scrawl of unreadable handwriting draws your attention to a button on the right side of the goggles. >x button A smooth button about the size of a dime, with a satisfying divot in the center. >press button You hear a click, and suddenly everything looks different. The Inside of the Walls All you can see is marble, but you seem to be breathing alright, so there's no cause for immediate concern.((Okay. What.))((At a guess... maybe this reversed it so that instead of seeing one room south of where I am, I now see one room north of where I am?))>press button You hear a click, and suddenly everything looks different. The Maps & History Room The walls are covered with beautifully rendered maps of ancient empires here in the first room of the Museum's Byzantine Hall. The exhibit continues to the west, and the north end of the grand atrium is to the east.((What... this is nuts.))>press button You hear a click, and suddenly everything looks different. The Security Office A small but tidy headquarters for the daytime security staff of the Museum. There is a door to the east. You see a notice here.((This is absolutely crazy.))>x notice "Due to a recent rash of attempted robberies, the chalice vault has been recoded. The new code is 6802."((And just like that, I have the code!))((I think I understand now. Pressing the button shifts which direction the goggles are off by. With this setting, the goggles show me the room to the west, which is conveniently the security office.))>press button You hear a click, and suddenly everything looks different. The Room of Mosaics This room is a continuation of the Architecture room to the north, and leads into the Musical Instruments exhibit to the west. The walls here are fairly barren, but the floor more than makes up for it. You see a scrap of paper here.((And like that, we're back. South, north, east, west, repeat.))((This is really clever. I'm a fan.))>s The wall looks pretty solid, but you walk through it to The Room of Icons Icons line the wall in a dizzying profusion of symbolism and gilt. There are exhibit rooms to the east and west of here. >take paper You fumble around and manage to grasp the scrap of paper. (Taken.)((Gotta clean up after myself. So now I'm in Mosaics, which looks like Iconography. Let's just keep it this way to prevent confusion. Should be west, south, east, east, then enter 6802 to the north to get into the actual chalice room, which will appear to be Metalwork.))>w The Room of Manuscripts Cases of manuscripts line the wall at about chest height. The exhibit continues to the east, from the north. >s The wall looks pretty solid, but you walk through it to The Inside of the Walls All you can see is marble, but you seem to be breathing alright, so there's no cause for immediate concern. >e The wall looks pretty solid, but you walk through it to The Inside of the Walls All you can see is marble, but you seem to be breathing alright, so there's no cause for immediate concern. >e The wall looks pretty solid, but you walk through it to The Inside of the Walls All you can see is marble, but you seem to be breathing alright, so there's no cause for immediate concern. >n At the north side of the room, you run into what feels like a vault door. Running your hands over its smooth, cool surface, you feel a multitude of rivets, but no handles. Immediately to the right of the door, you feel twelve rubbery buttons arranged in a grid. >enter 6802 You hear the vault door slide open. >n The wall looks pretty solid, but you walk through it to The Room of Metalwork Or rather, the Room of Metalwork of Lesser Quality Than the Chalice. Even the mundane artifacts have a certain mysterious charm, though, and the jewelry is downright dazzling. This is the penultimate room of the exhibit, after the Iconography room to the west. An arched exit leads back to the atrium to the east, but, more importantly, the Chalice vault is to the north.((Aw yeah.))>take chalice You ignore the lesser metal things and reach out for the chalice. Once you feel its cold, bumpy surface in your hands, you deftly navigate out of the museum and melt into the night. Of course, you left fingerprints all over the Museum, so to keep your prints off file, you'll probably have to take a long break from crime. But that's not sounding like such a bad idea to you anyway. *** You have won ***((Nice!))((Was expecting a bit more of an ending, but this is cool. Guess navigating out of the museum would be a piece of cake if we already have the chalice. Wonder if there was anything I missed? Besides the description of the Architecture room, obviously.))((The walkthrough is very barebones, so it doesn't seem like it.))((Pretty fun game, overall.))