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What is Interactive Fiction?

Interactive Fiction is a type of role-playing game where the computer describes your surroundings, and responds to your input. Here are some sample sentences that you would find useful if Enlightenment actually allowed them to do anything useful:

> WALK EAST
> GO UP
> WEST
> NE
> TAKE MY TEMPERATURE
> EAT MY SHORTS
> PUT ALL EXCEPT THE BIRD INTO THE CAGE
> EXAMINE THE INVISIBLE MAN
> PUSH BIG RED BUTTON
> HIT THE ROOF
> KILL TIME
Should you get a headache from all the capital letters, you may also type in lower or mixed case; for instance:
> PusH sTudLyCaps tO THe maX > look at eecummings

Some other verbs you may find useful (by no means a comprehensive list):
Attack, Close, Cut, Drop, Eat, Examine, Get, Inventory, Look, Open, Pull, Push, Put, Search, Tie, Throw, Untie

Also some meta-verbs:
Oops - To replace an incorrectly typed word with another incorrectly typed word.
Again - To repeat an action Save - To save a game.
Restore - To load a game.
Undo - To undo a move that you'd rather not have done.
Footnote - To read a listed footnote.
Hint - To access Enlightenment's online adaptive hints.
Quit - Strangely enough, to quit.

Verbs other than directions can be abbreviated:
Inventory ("I"), Again ("G"), Examine ("X"), Wait ("Z") and Look ("L")

You may communicate with intelligent lifeforms as follows:
> ASK BEEBOP ABOUT RAPSTEADY
> WAITER, GIVE ME WATER
> COMPUTER, TEA. EARL GREY. HOT
Alternatively, you can turn off the computer and talk to some real people.
Should you come across an intelligent lifeform in Enlightenment, please contact the author as he certainly didn't put one in the game, and it will come as a great surprise to him.

In the following sample script, player input is on the lines beginning with ">"

    You wake to the sound of music blaring from your bedside radio. You
    attempt to open your bedroom door, and are not amused when the
    handle falls off. At this rate, you'll be late. 

Stuck A One-Room Non-Interactive Mundanity

In Your Bedroom Your bedroom is sparsely furnished; it only contains your bed and a bedside table. Morning light streams in from the window, while the door in the south wall is unfortunately broken.
> OPEN THE DOOR You can't even think while that radio is blaring.
> BREAK THE RADIO As you smash the radio, you wonder if there was a better way.
> UNDO In Your Bedroom [Previous turn undone.]
> TURN RADIO OFF With a *click* the room falls silent.
> OPEN HANDLE That's not something that can be opened.
> OPEN DOOR It's broken.
> PUSH ON IT The door opens inwards.
> PULL IT You can't get a grip on it.
> KNOCK ON IT You hammer on the door, but get no answer.
> BREAK IT You try your best, but only get a sore shoulder.
> PUT HANDL IN IT I don't understand the word "handl"
> OOPS HANDLE You attempt to fit the handle into the door, but fail. It really seems broken.
> DROP HANDLE Dropped.
> INVENTORY You have nothing except your wits.
> EXAMINE BED It's a sturdy wooden bed. Its blankets and sheets are still messed up because you just got out of it.
> LOOK UNDER BED There's nothing but dust there.
> LOOK In Your Bedroom Your bedroom is sparsely furnished; it only contains your bed and a bedside table. Morning light streams in from the east window, while the door in the south wall is unfortunately broken.
Someone has dropped the door's handle.
> OPEN WINDOW The window opens a little.
> AGAIN You manage to force the window open.
> LOOK THROUGH WINDOW You see your garden below.
> JUMP INTO GARDEN That's too great a leap.
> LOOK AT BED It's a heavy king-sized bed with soft sheets and warm blankets.
> GET SHEETS Done.
> TIE SHEETS TO BED Tied.
> PUT SHEETS THROUGH WINDOW You put the sheets through the window, and note with satisfaction that they end only a few feet from the ground.
> CLIMB DOWN SHEETS But you're still wearing your pajamas.
> LOOK AT TABLE It's a wooden single-drawer type.
> OPEN DRAWER Inside are some clothes.
> GET CLOTHES (first taking the clothes) You pull your clothes out of the drawer.
> WEAR THEM (removing your pajamas first) You put on the clothes.
> I You are carrying your pajamas.
> E You climb down the sheets into your garden.

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