Starting screen Wrote:The seat is hard and the popcorn is tasteless. A pair of teenagers play-fight in the back row - they probably sneaked in without paying. A distressingly huge and sweaty bulk lowers itself into the seat next to yours, engulfing the armrest.

This had better be worth it...
The teenagers snort at some whispered wisecrack.

Suddenly the lights dim. The murmur of conversation dies and all eyes turn toward the screen.

*****

New players type INFO or HELP

wut Wrote:Downtown Tokyo
Present Day

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Prologue

Shadowed streets writhe with coulour and movement. A tide of pedestrians flow through gorges of concrete and glass, rippling and eddying against the store-fronts.

In the backwater of a street cafe sits an English newspaper. The pages lower and we catch a first glimpse of our hero, reading an editorial over his bowl of soup.

A Streetside Cafe
The man sits at an outdoor table surrounded by swirling crowds. He turns a page of his newspaper and takes a sip from a bowl of steaming soup.

INFO Wrote:>About the game
>How to contact the author
>Credits
>Disclaimer
>How to play this game
>Hints
>Walk-through [Not allowed.]
>For your amusement

Bacon Wrote:Hm.

"Help"

How to play this game Wrote:You choose the course of this game by entering simple commands, to which the game will (hopefully) respond. Commands should be typed at the ">" prompt, and executed by pressing the ENTER key. At a few stages in the game, you will need to press a key, any key, in order for the action to continue - it should be obvious when this applies.

Some of the commands you may use when playing the game include LOOK, EXAMINE, GO, PUSH, PULL, GET IN, GET OUT, EAT, SMELL, and FLY. Many more are possible, though, so use your imagination. Don't be afraid: it should always be immediately obvious if you do something that makes it impossible to win the game, allowing you to UNDO it. Other commands you may find useful include SAVE, RESTORE, and RESTART.

Credits Wrote:Many thanks to:

Kathryn leGrove, Shona Lamoureaux, and Gillian Dennis for beta-testing;
all those involved in Competition 98, but especially it's organiser, David Dyte'
and of course Graham Nelson for Inform.

Without their efforts, this game would have been even worse than it already is.

Fly into movie screen Wrote:You can't see any such thing.

Order a bowl of ramen Wrote:That's not a verb I recognise.

disclaimer Wrote:All similarities between this game and certain cult movies is purely coincidental. The author has never seen any movie set in Japan, nor (with the exception of the "Die Hard" series) any starring a grotesquely overgrown animal. In particular, this game was conceived and sketched out before the release of a certain recent Hollywood blockbuster, which the author hasn't seen either. In fact, the author has absolutely no idea if this game resembles anything at all, including interactive fiction.

You be the judge.

Examine newspaper Wrote:It is The Times (imported), but we aren't close enough to make out the date. The front page headline reads "GENETIC MISHAP AT JAPANESE AGRICULTURAL LABORATORY"

Go to Japanese Agricultural Laboratory Wrote:You can't see any such thing.

Go into the cafe Wrote:You can't see any such thing.

Go cafe Wrote:That doesn't seem to be important in the current scene.