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Key & Compass presents:
Piece of Mind
by Giles Boutel

Piece of Mind is a Z-machine version 5 text adventure game written with Inform 5 and is © 1996 by Giles Boutel. It was entered in IF Comp 1996 where it took 16th place.

In this surreal first-person game, you start up some old financial software called "Piece of Mind" but find yourself in someone else's bedroom who's been trapped there for ages, literally unable to move until you tell them to. The two of you will have to explore several virtual realities before you figure out what's going on.

This solution is by David Welbourn, and is based on Release 1 of the game. I belatedly note that Release 3 was made available in 1997.


Map

(auto, onto bed) (auto return) entertunnel openbook enter tv x out (onto bed) touch screen u closebook TheCopyrightOffice MachineRoom Inside theWardrobe. Lost in theElectronicKaleidoscope By theWardrobe The MusicCorner At one end ofa million milespaceship Bedroom Doorway EndlessCorridor Entrance-way Chamberof theMeko-mind Beside thebookcase By thetelevision Lost inthe Fog. A Labor-atory

Walkthrough

Lost in the Fog.

It doesn't matter much what you do here. In three turns, the PC will wake on his bed in the bedroom.

> x me. listen. z.

Bedroom

> stand. i. x bottle. take it. x wine. smell it. taste it.

> x bed. look under it. g.

> x posters. x lump. ne.

The Music Corner

Strictly speaking, you don't need the guitar or do anything with the window. But the guitar, when played, gives a song lyric that sometimes hints what you're supposed to do in the current location.

CAUTION: Opening the window is fatal.

> x guitar. take it. x curtains. open curtains.

> x eclipse. play guitar. s.

Doorway

> x desk. x printout. take it. read it.

>> yes

>> no

>> yes

> x pc. x screen. e.

Endless Corridor

> e. w. nw.

By the Wardrobe

Of course, the wardrobe is a blatant reference to The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C. S. Lewis.

> x wardrobe. open it. n.

Inside the Wardrobe.

> x suit. take it. wear it. x fur. n.

The Copyright Office

You'll probably want to let the man have a few turns to say what he wants to say.

> x man. x desk. x papers. x doors. open doors. ask man about copyright.

> show printout to man. take papers. z. z. z.

> x artifact. x symbol. touch symbol.

> s. s. s. se.

By the television

CAUTION: It's fatal to enter the crawlway unless the TV is on and tuned to the second channel. The remote control still affects the TV's settings even after the TV is smashed. Entering the crawlway when the TV is off leads to a grey void. Entering the crawlway when the TV is tuned to the first channel leads to death by violent commercial.

> x tv. x remote. take it.

> push button. (TV turns on.)

> x tv. g. g. g. (Note that the first channel is all violent ads.)

> push button. (TV changes to a second channel.)

> x tv. g. g. g. (The second channel is a show, sometimes broken by ads.)

> play guitar. hit tv. look. x tv.

> enter crawlway.

A Laboratory

> x alien. give bottle to alien. x bench.

> put bottle in drain. pour wine.

> open cupboard. x wirecutter.

> z. (Continue waiting until the show breaks for commercial. You'll be automatically returned to "By the television".)

By the television

> w.

Beside the bookcase

> x books. x book. take it. read it. n.

Bedroom

> get on bed. open book.

At one end of a million mile spaceship

You'll probably want to let Jeff have a few turns to say what he wants to say.

> x Jeff. x mesh. x lever. pull lever.

> give papers to Jeff. cut mesh. take mesh.

> look. enter tunnel.

Machine Room

> x panel. x lcd. push button two. u.

At one end of a million mile spaceship

> pull lever. close book.

Bedroom

> stand. e.

Doorway

> x screen. touch screen.

Lost in the Electronic Kaleidoscope.

> x box. hit box. x code. take code. put mesh in code. out.

Bedroom

> stand. e.

Doorway

Note that you have to "enter" the password; you can't "type" it. The e-mail only appears after you've helped Jeff. It's Jeff who disables the Endless Corridor. Note also that you can only refer to the e-mail as "mail", not "e-mail" or "email".

> enter password. x mail. read mail. e.

Endless Corridor

> e.

Entranceway

Don't waste too much time here, otherwise the knight kills you.

> x knight. push button. kill knight. x knight. e.

Chamber of the Meko-mind

> x web. x cat. cut web. look. x face. look behind eyes.

> x Stinky. x slab. x knife.

> quit. (Win! The "quit" command isn't meta in the context of this puzzle.)

***We have won! Yeeeeeeeeeeeha!! ***


Extras

Characters

In order of appearance in this walkthrough:


Inventory

In order of appearance in this walkthrough:


Thank You to my Patreon supporters

This walkthrough is provided free of charge since I wrote this walkthrough prior to January 2015 when I began my Patreon account. I've since reformatted this walkthrough to use my currently preferred style. I hope you enjoy it!

I'm still creating new walkthroughs! Please visit my Patreon account if you're interested in helping me create more interactive fiction walkthroughs. I appreciate all the help I can get! Thanks again.