Part 52: Day Three- Page 51

Ugh. It's getting harder and harder to stay on time with these updates because of Skyrim.
I haven't been this distracted since Fallout 3.

BUT, Miranda Carter must continue her own quest!




Worth a shot.

>pull lever
You feel something click as the lever activates a hidden releasing mechanism; then, suddenly, the chain snaps up into the air with a loud metallic rattle. You quickly step back as a large block of heavy equipment -- attached to the other end of the chain -- comes plummeting down from the ceiling. At the last instant, a system of reducing pulleys slows the block's descent and prevents it from crashing into the floor.

>stand on block
You get onto the block of heavy equipment.

>push button
You can't quite reach the button while standing on the piece of heavy equipment.

Hmmm... Maybe if Miranda had something long.

>push button with umbrella
(first taking the umbrella)
The umbrella doesn't reach that far.

>put umbralla in coat
You can't see any such thing.

>oops umbrella
You slip the umbrella into the pocket of your trenchcoat.

Maybe something Longer, then.
Something like a broom?

>get down
You get off the block of heavy equipment.

Mill Floor

A large block of heavy equipment sits here next to the control bank, attached to the end of the chain.

On a side note, I looked up some hints (there aren't many places to look them up) and someone found a way through the Narrow Aisles maze. It's apparently six rooms and it's timed.
I just never gave it a thought when I played on my own.


It's worth a try.

>push button
You hear the sound of something large and mechanical powering up, a low whirring sound, and the block of heavy equipment is lifted gently from the floor and carried up into the air. The other end of the chain snakes down from above, its last few feet coming to rest in a small pile of links next to the control bank.

>tie chain around self
I didn't understand that sentence.

>tie chain to self
You wrap the chain around your waist a few times.

>pull lever
You feel something click as the lever activates a hidden releasing mechanism; then, suddenly, the chain pulls taut and jerks you off your feet, hauling you up through the air -- narrowly missing a piece of heavy equipment sailing past you on its way down -- all the way up to the catwalk, where the chain slows and finally stops, depositing you safely, though left somewhat breathless, on the grilled surface.


Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!

Catwalk
The catwalk stretches north, a narrow ribbon of metal grillwork dangling fifty feet over the factory floor and shuddering dangerously in time with the machines beneath it. There are no railings of any kind. At the far end you can see what looks like a wide balcony with several large banks of equipment.

A long chain dangles from overhead, its last few feet wrapped securely around your waist.

Your score has just gone up by two points.

>untie chain
You disentangle yourself from the chain.

>n

Workshop
Several workbenches and racks of arcane electronic equipment have been dragged together to form a sort of open laboratory on this wide balcony overlooking the mill. A wide table dominates the area, strewn with precision tools, bits of wire, and scribbled calculations. To the south, a narrow catwalk hangs above the mill floor, and a metal ladder leads down into the machinery below.

Prominent among the strange tools scattered across the table is a strange caliper-like instrument.

On the workbenches are some notes and some arcane electronic equipment.

One of the racks contains a number of circular mirrors, stacked side by side like dishes in a dishwasher.

Tacked up on the wall is a large technical blueprint.

Wow. Where to begin with this place.

>look at calculations
The notes are a mess of incomprehensibly scrawled numbers; long printouts of technical data, tangled diagrams and complex formulae. Even if you had the slightest idea what all the calculations meant, the numbers are barely even legible.

Lifting up a sheet of cribbed equations, you notice what looks to be a general memo to all mill workers.

All this for making paper?

>read memo
It's a flimsy sheet of paper with the following message printed on it:

!!NOTICE TO ALL BRETHREN!!
The focusing mirrors must be kept absolutely clean at ALL TIMES. Even the slightest smudge of dirt or grease can create dangerous instabilities in the refraction patterns.

All mirrors must receive ionization treatment as a matter of course. As an extra precaution, however, always use sterilized surgical gloves when handling them.

In the Name of He Who Is Named Not,
the Mgt.

All this for making mirrors.

>look at mirrors
Which do you mean, the mirror labeled #1, the mirror labeled #2, the mirror labeled #3 or the mirror labeled #4?

>#1
The mirror is perfectly round and exquisitely polished. It is very slightly concave on its reflecting surface, distorting the edges of your face as you stare into it. On the back is a small label with the number 1 written on it.

What the heck are they for? Maybe this blueprint will make more sense.

>look at blueprint
The blueprint is a technical schematic for some extremely complicated device, the exact purpose of which is anything but clear. It looks a bit like a telescope, a bit like a microwave oven turned inside out, and a bit like the "industrial laser" from Goldfinger. The inner workings of the device involve a complicated arrangement of lenses and mirrors and a hopeless tangle of circuitry that vaguely resembles several dozen street maps of Manhattan laid across each other. Some of the notations on the circuitry don't even look like technical symbols; they look more like cabbalistic runes.

Next to what must represent the main focusing mirror of the device, someone has written the number "0.0113"; someone else, in another handwriting, has scratched that number out and written below it, "0.0162".

I'm sure that won't come in handy.

>look at caliper
Made of stainless steel, molded in a strangely flowing, almost organic design, the calipers -- if that is what they are -- resemble no other tool you've ever seen. It has three independently adjustable arms, each ending in a needle-point pincer, which fold back on themselves at grotesque, asymetrical angles toward a floating center point. There is a calibrated readout set near the base, which presumably provides a measure of whatever strange contortion of space is occupied by whatever object is placed between the pincers at the tool's other end.

What the heck is it?
What's a Caliper?


>take all
blueprint: The blueprint curls up into a loose tube as you pull it from the wall.

>put blueprint in coat
You slip the blueprint into the pocket of your trenchcoat.

>take caliper
Taken.

>take mirror
Which do you mean, the mirror labeled #1, the mirror labeled #2, the mirror labeled #3 or the mirror labeled #4?

>all
mirror labeled #1: Your hands are full.
mirror labeled #2: Your hands are full.
mirror labeled #3: Your hands are full.
mirror labeled #4: Your hands are full.

So we've finally run into this problem.

Honestly, we've been taking Miranda's Trenchcoat of Holding for granted.

>i
You are wearing a hooded robe, a gold locket, a silver locket, your clothes and your wedding ring; in addition, you have in your hands a pair of calipers, a keyring, on which are eight keys (a long steel key, a tarnished bronze key, a small steel key, an old-fashioned brass key, a small copper key, an old-fashioned iron key, a key to the house and a key to the cellar), a lantern (providing light) and your trenchcoat.

>put all in coat
calipers: You slip the calipers into the pocket of your trenchcoat.
keyring: You slip the keyring into the pocket of your trenchcoat.
lantern: It wouldn't be very wise to put the lantern in your pocket while it's still burning.

Since this caliper is for measuring things, I imagine we'll have to check all these mirrors.

>use caliper on mirror #1
That's not a verb I recognise.

>look at mirror #2
The mirror is perfectly round and exquisitely polished. It is very slightly concave on its reflecting surface, distorting the edges of your face as you stare into it. On the back is a small label with the number 2 written on it.

They all say the same thing if I look at them.

But if I measure them, we get a different reading.

>measure mirror #1 with caliper
(first taking the calipers)
The instrument holds the mirror delicately clamped between its pincers; the readout reads "0.0112".
>measure mirror #2 with caliper
The instrument holds the mirror delicately clamped between its pincers; the readout reads "0.0131".
>measure mirror #3 with caliper
The instrument holds the mirror delicately clamped between its pincers; the readout reads "0.0162".
>measure mirror #4 with caliper
The instrument holds the mirror delicately clamped between its pincers; the readout reads "0.0110".

Looks like Mirror #3 is what we want.

>put mirror in coat
Which do you mean, the mirror labeled #1, the mirror labeled #2, the mirror labeled #3 or the mirror labeled #4?

>1
(first taking the mirror labeled #1)
You slip the mirror labeled #1 into the pocket of your trenchcoat.

Oh man. This is gonna take a while.
Just imagine I typed that 3 more times.
Miranda has all the mirrors.

>down

Narrow Aisle
You are picking your way through a narrow gap between high banks of vibrating machinery. Twisting aisles branch off in numerous directions, some of them so narrow you'd have to turn sideways to make your way through.

Bolted to the side of one of the machines is a steel ladder, leading up.

And this would be the end point of the maze.
If you didn't figure out the chain puzzle, nor had the broom, you could possibly snake yourself here after many Saves.

>up

Workshop

On the workbenches are a printed memo, some notes and some arcane electronic equipment.

You can also see a rack (which is empty) here.

>south

Catwalk

A long chain dangles from overhead, its last few feet dangling in the air just beyond the edge of the catwalk. Its other end is looped over a pulley system up in the ceiling, and continues all the way down, past the catwalk, to the floor.

>down
You slide down the chain, landing awkwardly on the large block of heavy equipment at the bottom.

Mill Floor, on the block of heavy equipment
Waves of heat and noise assault you from every corner. Towering above you on all sides are the enormous vats, presses and sundry machinery, the ever-churning inner workings of the paper mill. An opening in the base of the south wall leads back to the maintenance crawlway, and narrow aisles lead in several other directions through the chugging machinery. A grilled catwalk high over your head provides a more direct route across the factory; however, you see no way to get up there from here.

I find it interesting that it gives me a full description here. Kind of means being on the equipment block is it's own room.

>get down
You get off the block of heavy equipment.

Mill Floor

A large block of heavy equipment sits here next to the control bank, attached to the end of the chain.

>s

Maintenance Access Tunnel

The hatch is open.

>s

Maintenance Access Tunnel

>s

Maintenance Access Tunnel

A large metal valve wheel juts out from the middle of one of the many fat, sweating pipes lining the walls. Just to its left is a gauge of some sort.

>s

Bare Foundations

Set into the base of the mill wall, nearly covered by the thickets, is a metal hatch.

>ne
The path curves to the north, leading you around to the front of the mill.

Entrance to the Paper Mill

Finally, we can get out of this place. Maybe find Michael, smack him on the side of the head, and drag him away from this crazy town.

>east
As you cross the railroad tracks, the air seems to lift slightly, becoming more breathable once again.

Mill Road

A distant flicker of movement draws your eyes to the faraway lighthouse. A lone figure, tiny in the distance, makes its way stealthily around the small spur of rock at the end of the breakwater and slips inside the door at the tower's base. It's impossible to see the person's face from this distance, but the hair, the way he walks... you'd swear it was Michael.

Speak of the Devil.

>

Items



In Trenchcoat