Gnu in the Zoo — 28 of 30

Section 3 - Middle

The Aviary Middle is a room with printed name "Aviary (Middle)". "The only illumination in this room is a dull red glow spilling through the doorway to the south; an inky-blank rectangle in the north wall suggests another exit that way. On the far side of the room are two perches, one higher than the other. You are separated from the perches by a wooden rail that bisects the room." It is covered. It is south of the Aviary North.

The lower perch is a supporter in the Aviary Middle. It is scenery.

The upper perch is a supporter in the Aviary Middle. It is scenery.

The wooden rail south is a supporter in the Aviary Middle with printed name "wooden rail". "The rail is smooth − varnished, in fact − and very sturdy. The ends jut up flush to the walls to the north and south." It is scenery.

Instead of jumping over the wooden rail south:

say "There’s not enough room in here for that."

[Representing v1.x of the Apache Licence]

Behlendorf the Patchy Eagle is a bird on the lower perch. "The lower perch is occupied by a patchy-looking eagle. The patchy effect comes from the fact that his normally dark plumage contains numerous feathers of bright red and purple, almost like those of a macaw." The description of Behlendorf the Patchy Eagle is "Behlendorf occupies the lower of the two perches and appears older than his companion. He is fast asleep." He is asleep. Understand "lower eagle" as Behlendorf the Patchy Eagle.

Instead of waking Behlendorf the Patchy Eagle:

say "You don’t want to attract attention with too much noise, and you can’t reach to poke him awake. Any other ideas?"

[Representing v2.x of the Apache Licence]

Striker the Patchy Eagle is a bird on the upper perch. "The upper perch is occupied by another, similarly patchy-looking eagle." The description of Striker the Patchy Eagle is "Striker occupies the upper of the two perches. He cuts a slighter figure than his counterpart, and has a youthful restlessness about him." Understand "upper eagle" as Striker the Patchy Eagle. Understand "higher eagle" as Striker the Patchy Eagle.

Striker the Gnu is a gnu with description "He’s a gnu. Agnother gnu, but the lightness of his stance suggests he flew."

[We count the number of successful throws rather than attempts.]

The number of behlendic shakes is a number that varies.

After throwing something at the lower perch:

increment the number of behlendic shakes;

if a random chance of 1 in 3 succeeds:

say "[The noun] glance[if the noun is singular-named]s[end if] off the perch and [if the noun is singular-named]is[otherwise]are[end if] lost in the shadows.[run paragraph on]";

if the noun is a lump of coal and there are no lumps of coal in the coal sack:

move the noun to the coal sack;

otherwise if the noun is the keyring:

say "Oops. You try to recall if you have used all the keys.";

remove the keyring from play;

loseKeyring;

otherwise:

remove the noun from play;

otherwise:

say "[The noun] rebound[if the noun is singular-named]s[end if] off the perch onto the floor in front of you.[run paragraph on]";

now the noun is in the Aviary North;

if the noun is the keyring:

dropKeyring;

say " [if we have examined Behlendorf the Patchy Eagle]Behlendorf[otherwise]The eagle[end if] seems to be oblivious to the vibrations, however, and remains deeply asleep."

Instead of throwing something at the lower perch when the number of behlendic shakes is 2:

say "It looks like Behlendorf could sleep through an earthquake. Perhaps you should concentrate your efforts elsewhere."

After throwing something at the upper perch:

if a random chance of 1 in 3 succeeds:

say "[The noun] glance[if the noun is singular-named]s[end if] off the perch and [if the noun is singular-named]is[otherwise]are[end if] lost in the shadows.[run paragraph on]";

if the noun is a lump of coal and there are no lumps of coal in the coal sack:

move the noun to the coal sack;

otherwise if the noun is the keyring:

say "Oops. You try to recall if you have used all the keys.";

remove the keyring from play;

loseKeyring;

otherwise:

remove the noun from play;

otherwise:

say "[The noun] rebound[if the noun is singular-named]s[end if] off the perch onto the floor in front of you.[run paragraph on]";

now the noun is in the Aviary Middle;

if the noun is the keyring:

dropKeyring;

say " [if we have examined Striker the Patchy Eagle]Striker[otherwise]The eagle[end if], startled by the vibrations, launches into the air. He flaps around the room for a moment before settling on the wooden rail.";

now the initial appearance of Striker the Patchy Eagle is "Another patchy-looking eagle has settled on the wooden rail.";

now Striker the Patchy Eagle is on the wooden rail south;

now Striker the Patchy Eagle is within reach.

Instead of touching Striker the Patchy Eagle when Striker the Patchy Eagle is within reach:

remove Striker the Patchy Eagle from play;

now Striker the Gnu is in the Aviary Middle;

increase the time of day by five minutes;

say "You brush up against the eagle, who gives a sudden screech. You jump back in surprise, but are even more surprised to see Striker bathed in a blue glow. He starts shivering uncontrollably; feathers cascade to the floor, popped from his skin by a fresh growth of dark fur.[paragraph break]Striker soon loses his grip on the rail and slips off. He struggles pathetically on the floor until realizing his wings have realigned themselves as front legs, and drags himself up. A few moments later, the glow fades leaving Striker the Gnu standing in front of you, rapidly coming to terms with his transformation."

Instead of going nowhere in the Aviary Middle when the noun is outside:

try going north.