[page="start"]
[if hear_truth][goto="HT_start"]
[learn_name]
[image="f16_00.cel"]
[colour="#808080"]
You see an F-16 with a green stripe on her tail.
[colour="#ffffff"]

"Hello there.  I'm Fisher."

[link="Who are you?"]
[linkto="name"]
[link="What in Hades are all these dead things for?"]
[linkto="magic"]
[altlink="What are all these dead animals for again?"]
[link="What's your job?"]
[linkto="job"]
[link="Why are some buildings too old?"]
[linkto="buildings"]
[link="What's that on your display?"]
[linkto="display"]
[link="Goodbye"]
[linkto="bye"]
[endpage]


[page="startname"]
[if hear_truth][goto="HT_start"]
[image="f16_00.cel"]
[colour="#808080"]
You see Fisher, a female F-16.
[colour="#ffffff"]

"Hello again."

[am_carrying "tode"]
[if true][if FisherToadQuest][link="I have a toad for you."]
[if true][if FisherToadQuest][linkto="toad3"]
[link="What is your full name?"]
[linkto="name"]
[link="What in Hades are all these dead things for?"]
[linkto="magic"]
[altlink="What are all these dead animals for again?"]
[link="What's your job?"]
[linkto="job"]
[link="Why are some buildings too old?"]
[linkto="buildings"]
[link="What's that on your display?"]
[linkto="display"]
[link="Goodbye"]
[linkto="bye"]
[endpage]


[page="name"]
[image="f16_00.cel"]

"My full name and title is 'Fc. Fisher 102-R', but I much
 prefer just to be called 'Fisher'."

[link="What in Hades are all these dead things for?"]
[linkto="magic"]
[altlink="What are all these dead animals for again?"]
[link="What's your job?"]
[linkto="job"]
[link="What's that on your display?"]
[linkto="display"]
[link="Goodbye"]
[linkto="bye"]
[endpage]


[page="job"]
[image="f16_06.cel"]

"I'm actually a trained quantum physicist.  My jobs
 involved qcomp engines and qcrypto blocks.
 
 But secure data communication is not exactly high on our
 list of priorities right now, so I work with DeLuca to
 try and understand the miracles we've been seeing."

[link="Don't you believe that God is responsible?"]
[linkto="god"]
[link="Tell me about DeLuca."]
[linkto="deluca"]
[link="What's that on your display?"]
[linkto="display"]
[link="Goodbye"]
[linkto="bye"]
[endpage]


[page="magic"]
[image="f16_06.cel"]

"I'm working with DeLuca to try and stimulate magical
 phenomena for study.  It's not working too well, though.

 So far I've sacrificed two cows and a toad, with not
 very much to show for it.

 The toad was quite interesting, though.  Inside the
 skull I found a crystal of some kind that shouldn't
 be there.  It was exhibiting some quite unusual quantum
 phenomena, but it gradually faded after the toad died.
 
 Some Church texts I've read describe a jewel called a
 'todestone', and I think I've found one."
 
[link="Don't you believe God is responsible for magic?"]
[linkto="god"]
[link="Tell me more about the toad."]
[linkto="toad"]
[link="Tell me about DeLuca."]
[linkto="deluca"]
[link="What's that on your display?"]
[linkto="display"]
[link="Goodbye"]
[linkto="bye"]
[endpage]


[page="toad"]
[image="f16_06.cel"]

"The toad kept attacking me.. it spat fire and stuff.

 I'd love to know how that worked, but unfortunately it
 hurt me, and as a result the sacrificing may have been
 a little, er, extreme.  There's not much left to study.

 Now I know what to look for, I think I could have some
 real successes with another specimen.

 Do you think you might be able to get me a live toad?"

[link="Yes, I'll get one for you."]
[linkto="toad2"]
[link="Don't you believe God is responsible for magic?"]
[linkto="god"]
[link="Tell me about DeLuca."]
[linkto="deluca"]
[link="What's that on your display?"]
[linkto="display"]
[link="Goodbye"]
[linkto="bye"]
[endpage]


[page="toad2"]
[set FisherToadQuest]
[image="f16_00.cel"]

"I'd be very grateful if you can!

 My toad was found by the guards.  It was lurking outside
 the base, and as far as I know it was the only one.

 I understand there are swamps in the forest, you should
 be able to find one there.  Or you might try following
 the rivers and streams.

 Be careful when you find one, they are quite dangerous.
 If you can stun it, or drug it to sleep somehow, that
 could save you many burns."

[link="Do you believe God is responsible for magic?"]
[linkto="god"]
[link="Tell me about DeLuca."]
[linkto="deluca"]
[link="What's that on your display?"]
[linkto="display"]
[link="Goodbye"]
[linkto="bye"]
[endpage]


[page="toad3"]
[delete 1 tode]
[image="f16_00.cel"]

"Excellent!"

[colour="#808080"]
Fisher takes the toad carefully and, after administering
a sedative, attaches probes to it.  DeLuca comes across to
watch.

Fifteen minutes later, during which time the toad has
claimed to be the property of Satan and babbled about
crucifixion in a flat toneless voice, Fisher turns towards
you holding the now silent toad and looking rather happy.
[colour="#ffffff"]

[nextpage="toad4"]
[endpage]

[page="toad4"]
[image="f16_00.cel"]

"I knew watching ZARDOZ was gonna help!

 See, this toad has a crystal implanted in its skull,
 presumably by Pope Harris or his cronies.

 Around the crystal, there's a faint distortion of
 reality at the quantum level, which enables the toad
 to shoot fireballs and project a voice.

 We also think it's allowing the toad to be controlled
 remotely."

[nextpage="toad5"]
[endpage]

[page="toad5"]
[image="su27_00.cel"]

[colour="#808080"]
DeLuca chimes in.
[colour="#ffffff"]

"Now.  This is just a guess, but I THINK the toadstone
 is acting as a focal point to concentrate the magical
 power onto the toad.  We're not quite sure of the
 mechanism yet.

 But, Fisher thinks that if YOU have one of these
 crystals, you might be able to cast spells yourself!

 But it doesn't look like the crystal lattice is very
 stable outside of the toad.  I expect the stone will
 break down after heavy usage."

[link="Can you implant the crystal into me?"]
[linkto="toad.implant"]
[if magical][link="I already know about the crystals."]
[if magical][linkto="toad.knewthat"]
[endpage]


[page="toad.implant"]
[image="f16_00.pcx"]

"Nothing doing!  We really don't know enough about how it
 works to attempt a thing like that.

 Besides which my brain surgery is a little rusty.. you'd
 probably end up with a five-second memory or something."

[if magical][link="I already know about the crystals."]
[if magical][linkto="toad.knewthat"]
[endpage]


[page="toad.knewthat"]
[image="f16_01.cel"]

[colour="#808080"]
Fisher looks at you as if you'd crawled out from under a
rock or something.
[colour="#ffffff"]

"Then if you knew, WHY didn't you TELL us?"

[nextpage="toad7"]
[endpage]



[page="display"]
[image="f16_00.cel"]

"That's LifeSim 4.0, by M-Corporation.

 It's a people simulator.  The objective is to try and
 walk to the chemists to buy aspirins without being run
 into by traffic, shot down by muggers or tripping over.

 There are other missions of course.  It's great fun."

[link="Tell me about your job."]
[linkto="job"]
[link="Goodbye"]
[linkto="bye"]
[endpage]


[page="deluca"]
[image="f16_00.cel"]

"DeLuca's a good friend and mentor, and we work together
 extremely well.  Either of us alone would not have got
 anywhere near our present understanding of magic.

 She is a true friend who I could trust with anything.

 The only thing I can say against her is that she is too
 squeamish.  I seem to end up doing all the messy work."

[link="Tell me about your researches."]
[linkto="magic"]
[link="Don't you believe God is responsible for miracles?"]
[linkto="god"]
[link="What's that on your display?"]
[linkto="display"]
[link="Goodbye"]
[linkto="bye"]
[endpage]



[page="god"]
[image="f16_06.cel"]

"You ever seen ZARDOZ, kid?"

[link="Yes, I've seen it."]
[linkto="wizard1-1"]
[link="No, what is it?"]
[linkto="wizard2-1"]
[link="Goodbye"]
[linkto="bye"]
[endpage]


[page="wizard1-1"]
[image="f16_06.cel"]

"Good!  Then you'll remember the Stone Head was run by
 one of the Immortals to create a figurehead which the
 people worshipped.

 Now I bet you anything you like, that what we are up
 against is another ZARDOZ.

 Pope Harris is the supreme ruler, and somehow he's
 fashioned a pet god which he uses as a front. 
 And when we take him out, we'll find he's just
 another charlatan."
 
[link="What's that on your display?"]
[linkto="display"]
[link="Goodbye"]
[linkto="bye"]
[endpage]


[page="wizard1-2"]
[image="f16_06.cel"]

"Good.
 Then you'll remember that the Wizard was bogus, and just
 some guy who invented a holographic projector and made a
 fake god which the people worshipped.  He used this sham
 to rule the city by proxy.

 Now I bet you anything you like, that what we are up
 against is another Wizard Of Oz.

 Pope Harris is the supreme ruler, and somehow he's
 fashioned a pet god which he uses as a front. 
 And when we take him out, we'll find he's just
 another charlatan."
 
[link="What's that on your display?"]
[linkto="display"]
[link="Goodbye"]
[linkto="bye"]
[endpage]


[page="wizard2-1"]
[image="f16_07.cel"]

"It's a film!  You're missing some classic human cinema,
 you know that?
 
 But you've seen The Wizard Of Oz, though, haven't you?"

[link="Yes, I've seen that."]
[linkto="wizard1-2"]
[link="No, I haven't seen that either."]
[linkto="wizard2-2"]
[link="Goodbye"]
[linkto="bye"]
[endpage]




[page="wizard2-2"]
[image="f16_04.cel"]

"Pfff.  What HAVE you watched?

 Anyway.  At the end of the Wizard of Oz, it turned out
 that the Wizard, a terrifying deity, was actually a
 holograph run by some clever guy. He made a god which
 the people worshipped and used the sham to rule the city
 by proxy.  ZardoZ took the same theme and amplified it.
 
 Now I bet you anything you like, that what we are up
 against is another Wizard Of Oz.

 Pope Harris is the supreme ruler, and somehow he's
 fashioned a pet god which he uses as a front. 
 And when we take him out, we'll find he's just
 another charlatan."

[link="What's that on your display?"]
[linkto="display"]
[link="Goodbye"]
[linkto="bye"]
[endpage]


[page="buildings"]
[image="f16_06.cel"]

"Ah, so you've noticed that some of the buildings are
 over 300 years old, when the colony itself was only
 established 40 years ago.

 To be perfectly frank, I don't know.  But from what I
 do know, or have guessed, something very scary has
 happened!

 You can guess the panic when we found that huge
 buildings were being put up overnight.

 At first, I thought that WE had been put into stasis.
 That would have been horrible!  All the humans we know
 on Earth would be long-dead.."

[nextpage="buildings2"]
[endpage]

[page="buildings2"]
[image="f16_06.cel"]

"But when we contacted Earth, we found that it still was
 the year we thought it was.

 That came as a relief, but it doesn't make sense.

 As near as I can guess, the Pope has somehow speed up
 the rate of time for SOME places, but not others.
 For the areas affected, a year seems to have passed for
 each day that went by.
 The effect lasted for exactly one year, then stopped.

 And that brings me to another point."

[nextpage="buildings3"]
[endpage]

[page="buildings3"]
[image="f16_07.cel"]

[colour="#808080"]
Fisher begins to lose composture.
[colour="#ffffff"]

"The initial surveys on Weytus recorded the planet's
 year as 379.2 days.

 After the.. time thing.. happened, we discovered that
 this figure was no longer correct.  The Weytus year is
 now precisely 360.00 days.

 Or to put it another way, Pope Harris has slowed down
 the rotation of the planet, apparently on a whim.

 What kind of man, or devil is he?  And what can protect
 us from that kind of power..?"

[link="What in Hades are all these dead things for?"]
[linkto="magic"]
[altlink="What are all these dead animals for again?"]
[link="What's your job?"]
[linkto="job"]
[link="What's that on your display?"]
[linkto="display"]
[link="Goodbye"]
[linkto="bye"]
[endpage]




[page="lord1"]
[image="f16_07.cel"]

[colour="#808080"]
A wisp of smoke rises out from the toad, and becomes
solid.  Then it begins to glow..
[colour="#ffffff"]

"Oh my God.."

[nextpage="lord2"]
[endpage]


[page="lord2"]
[image="lord.jpg"]

"EXACTLY.


 NOW, FISHER...  YOU'VE BEEN A BAD LITTLE PLANE.
 YOU BROKE MY TOAD.  I'M GOING TO HAVE TO PUNISH YOU."

[nextpage="lord3"]
[endpage]


[page="lord3"]
[image="f16_07.cel"]

"Oh God Oh God Please I don't wanna die, I don't wanna die.."

[nextpage="lord4"]
[endpage]


[page="lord4"]
[image="lord.jpg"]

"THAT DEPENDS.  IF YOU WORSHIP ME, I SHALL BE PLEASED.
 IF I AM PLEASED, I MIGHT NOT KILL YOU."

[nextpage="lord5"]
[endpage]


"Hmm.  The jury's still out on that one.  I still reckon
 we're dealing with an alien Jesus."



[page="bye"]
[image="f16_00.cel"]

"Fly high, land well!"

[nextpage="exit"]
[endpage]


[page="attacked"]
[image="f16_00.cel"]

"Guards!  Help me!"

[nextpage="exit"]
[endpage]


[page="HT_start"]
[image="f16_08.cel"]
[clear hear_truth]
[colour="#808080"]
Fisher doesn't look at all well.
[colour="#ffffff"]

"Jesus, I feel terrible..."

[nextpage="exit"]
[endpage]
