                            UNIVERSE 3

Typed in by ???. Edited by PARASITE.


THE STORY SO FAR...
     The First Stellar expansion began on May 10th, 2029, with a
practical demonstration of the hyperdrive effect at Franklin
Laboratories' Building Number 4 in Hawthorne, Nevada.  Only 11 years
later, the first starship, the SS Gerhardus Mercator, made a successful
jump of over 2 lightyears through hyperspace.  Less than 100 years after
that first jump, the colonies around Earth (known as the Home Cluster)
consisted of planets and over 1 billion people.
     Hyperspace proved to be rather curious.  It was totally devoid of
any energy or matter, yet spacecraft could operate normally within its
bounds. A trip through it (a hyperjump) would take, regardless of the
distance, 6.8 days.  There were, however, two limitations to its use.
One was the enormous amount of energy required to enter hyperspace.  The
other was the so-called "Mass Limit".  Stated simply, it placed a severe
limit on the size of a spacecraft that could enter hyperspace.
     By 2100, the starships, powered by mass conversion, were severely
strained to travel from one side of the Home cluster to the other.
Since all of the Home Cluster colonies still depended on Earth for
support, the experts were predicting an end to the Expansion.
     As usual, the experts were wrong.
     In 2105, a science team travelling through the far reaches of the
Tau Ceti starsystem was shocked to discover a huge alien artifact
drifting through space.  Entire scientific communities came to study the
artifact and, several years later, the purpose of the great object was
discovered. It was a hyperspace booster.  The booster had the capability
to "push" spacecraft not tens but thousands of lightyears through
hyperspace.  Since the booster itself did not enter hyperspace, a ship
right up to the mass limit could travel a thousand lightyears using
virtually no power.
     Years of research continued.  Why had the charon, the
"gatekeepers", as the scientists dubbed them, abandoned a working
booster?  Where had they gone?  The scientists were unable to say.  The
booster contained a mapping system depicting millions of the stars in
the galaxy, but few of them had been specially marked by the Charon.
     Finally, the control system was deciphered and trial boosts began.
They proved the machine to be fully functional and the technician's
knowledge of the control system adequate enough to allow regular use.
The Second Expansion was underway.
     Your home is in a cluster of stars known as the Local Group.  For
years, the Local Group had been receiving CARE packages from the Home
Cluster, to assist them in constructing new colonies and providing
updates to their current technology.  Fifty years ago, the shipments
stopped coming. Officially, the word was that there hadn't been any
indication that they would stop.  The next 10 years were known as the
Great Panic, a period of interstellar war and piracy that nearly
destroyed your civilization.  Fortunately, at the peak of the
hostilities, a hyperspace booster was found inside the Local Group.  The
knowledge that two-way communication might be established acted to calm
the Local Group.  A monumental plan was put underway to move the booster
at entirely sub-light speeds and, in only 20 years, it arrived in orbit
around Cetus Amicus.  But during the years of the move, the Local group
again fell into turmoil, this time to emerge divided into two mutually
hostile governments, the Federated Worlds and the United Democratic
Planets.
     During the years of the divided Local Group, you were employed as a
deep-cover agent for the Federated Worlds.  Your intelligence work
revealed a monstrous plan to destroy the FW; a plan which was designed
by your former lover, Desmona Ret.  Almost singlehandedly, you managed
to thwart the scheme, at the cost of Desmona's life.
     Soon after, the Local Group was reunited into a single government,
a government whose researchers soon discovered the key to operating the
hyperspace booster.  Now, three years later, you have been selected to
command a mission back to the Home Cluster.

(Confirmation fax from the Admiralty, Federated Worlds.  Dated 27 Feb
2374.)

NAVCOM ENCODED TRANSMISSION
CODED LEVEL:  ARCHER

TO:  Captain Alex G. Seward, Ulysses Class Vessel FWS Union
FM:  Admiral Branasa, Fleet Operations, HQ Axia
RE:  Expedition to Ambergris (Tau Ceti III, Home Cluster)

MG:  You have been given orders to proceed to Tau Ceti III (Ambergris)
and establish diplomatic relations.  The Cetus Amicus Booster Station
will power-up and boost your craft at exactly 03:00 hours on 1 Mar 2374.
Transit time is 6.8433 mean solar days.  Upon arrival at Ambergris, you
are to read and execute your sealed mission orders

Good Luck.
Adm. Patrice Brianasa, FLEETOPS, FtA.

END TRANSMISSION

GETTING STARTED
Creating a New Game File
     To create a new game, press F1 (or click the words New Game).  A
dialog box will appear.  Enter a filename ("game1" for example).  You do
not need to add an extender to the name.

Moving Around
     There are four ways to move your character.  They are:
1)  Using the arrows.  Click an arrow icon to move in the desired
direction. The four arrow keys on the keyboard will function the same
way.
2)  Tracing a path.  Click on your character and hold the mouse button
down. Drag the mouse pointer to the desired location within the room.
A series of lines indicating the path will appear.  Release the button
to move. If you don't have a mouse, you can press the "P" key to select
Trace Path.  Use the arrow keys to draw the path and press [return] to
move. You cannot trace a path when your character is not alone in the
room.
3)  Jumping from room to room.  Selecting any arrow icon or key with a
shift key held down will jump your character from one room to the next.
Your character may only jump if the path in the desired direction is
clear and there is another room in the direction of your current facing.
4)  Using the Enter Command.  Occasionally in the game there will be times
when you cannot move your character onto squares which appear to be
entryways. You may, however, be able to enter a particular object on such
a square.

Saving Your Position
     There are times during the course of the game that you may wish to
save your progress before proceeding into a hazardous situation.  You
have two ways to save:
1)  Selecting "Save" by pressing F3 will save your progress to the file
you named with New Game or selected with Restore Game.
2)  Selecting "Save as" by pressing F4 will pop up a dialog box.  Enter
a new name under which your progress is to be stored.  Subsequent calls
of the "Save" command (F3) will save your progress under this new name.

PLAYING UNIVERSE 3
Key Commands
[F1]  New Game
      Create a new game file.  The game will always begin in the
      Captain's Quarters.
[F2]  Resume Game
      Resume a game you have already been playing.  Select the game you
      wish to play by clicking the mouse pointer over its name or high-
      light its name using the arrow keys and press [return].
[F3]  Save Game in Progress
      This will add any progress you have made to the current game
      file.
[F5]  Close Game in Progress
      This will close your current game and allow you to start or
      resume another one.  Close Game gives you the chance to save any
      progress you might have made before closing the game.
[F6]  Delete Game
      This will delete the selected game from the disk.  Choose the game
      you wish to delete by clicking the mouse pointer over its name or
      highlight its name using the arrow keys and press [return].
[F7]  Sound Switch
      Use this function to enable/disable the sound effects.
[F8]  Animation Switch
      Use this function to enable/disable animated movement.  Universe
      3 automatically defaults to non-animated.
[F9]  About Universe 3
      This will display information about Universe 3 and its authors.
      Use this function to find out which version of the game you have
      when calling for technical assistance.
[F10] Exit Universe 3
      Leave the Universe 3 program with this command.  Exit Universe 3
      gives you the chance to save any progress you might have made
      before leaving the program.
[D]  Drop Object
     Drop Objects displays all of the objects currently held.  Select
     the object you wish to drop by clicking the mouse pointer over
     its name using the arrow keys and press [return].
[E]  Examine Current Room
     This will print a text description of your current room and list
     all of the non-player characters and objects in it.
[F]  Facing
     This allows you to change the direction your character is currently
     facing.  This is very useful in combat.  Press or click any arrow
     to select a new facing.
[H]  Highlight Objects/Persons
     This lists all of the objects and non-player characters in your
     current room that are not held.  A highlighting box will appear
     around each object or person as it is listed.  Its name will be
     displayed in the text window.

     More than one object or person can occupy the same square at the
     same time and not all objects or persons are visible in the map
     window.  For example, if two objects occupy the same square, the
     larger object may hide a smaller one behind it.  Some objects, which
     are parts of another larger object, are invisible under any
     conditions.
[I]  Inventory
     This lists all the objects your character currently holds.  It will
     not list objects held by other characters.  Your character can hold
     up to 10 objects maximum.

     The inventory list is also used to "zoom" (a magnified view) any
     any objects you are holding.  Select the object you wish to "zoom"
     by clicking the mouse pointer over its name or highlight its name
     using the arrow keys and press [return].  If a selected object
     does not appear as a "zoom", then the object does not have a
     magnified view.
[L]  Change Level
     Press this key to change levels any time you are standing on a
     ladder or liftshaft.
[O]  Open/Close Door
     This will try to open or close any adjacent door.  Select the door
     you wish to open or close by clicking the mouse pointer over it or
     select the appropriate direction using the arrow keys.  If the door
     does not open or close you may have to do something else to move
     it.  Not all doors in the game can be opened or closed.
[P]  Trace Path
     Use the arrow keys to draw the path you wish your character to take
     within the room and press [return] to move him.  You can only
     trace a path if your character is alone in the room.
[S]  Status
     The status box displays your character's current health, your
     percentage chance to hit in combat, the total number of moves
     you've made so far in the current game, and the weapon with which
     you are currently armed.
[T]  Take Object
     Select the object you wish to take by clicking the mouse pointer on
     it or select the appropriate direction using the arrow keys.  If
     your character is in the same square as the object, select it by
     pressing the [home] key.

     Take will attempt to add all of the objects in the selected square
     that can be taken.  If an object cannot be taken, the computer
     will beep when you select it.

     You cannot carry more than 10 objects at a time.

[V]  Verb List
     The verb list is the basic form of communication between you and
     your character.

     There are 13 commands on the verb list.  Select a command by
     clicking the mouse pointer on it or highlight it using the arrow
     keys.  Most of the verbs will require that you select an object or
     person on which to carry out the command.

[W]  Use Weapon
     Your character will attack the nearest target he is facing with a
     readied weapon.  If no weapon is available, your character will
     fight barehanded.

[Z]  Zoom Object/Person
     Select the object you wish to "zoom" by clicking the mouse pointer
     over its name or highlight its name using the arrow keys and press
     [return].  If your character is in the same square as the object,
     select it by pressing the [home] key.  If a selected object does
     not appear as a "zoom", then it does not have a magnified view.

     Use the zoom mode to manipulate objects by clicking on any details
     of the picture.  For example:  The safe in your cabin cannot be
     opened using the Open/Close Door command.  You display the Verb
     List by pressing [V] and select Examine.  The program displays a
     list of all the objects and people you can examine in the room.
     You select the safe.  The program tells you that there is a small
     control panel on the safe.  You select Zoom and indicate the safe.
     A picture of the safe will appear where the room map usually is.
     You click on the open button and the safe pops open.

[Space]  Wait
     This causes your character to wait at his current location for a
     few seconds, allowing other characters to move and other actions to
     occur.

[Arrows]  Move Character/Jump Character
     This will move your character in the selected direction if the
     destination is a terrain square your character can occupy.

     Holding a shift key down while pressing an arrow will jump the
     character into the next room in the direction of the arrow.  You
     can only jump if there is a straight path out of the room in that
     direction.

Mouse Commands
Left click on your character and drag.
     This traces a path from your character to any point in the room.
Your character will not move until the left mouse button is released.
You can only trace a path when your character is alone in the room.  The
trace path command will not trace over any squares onto which you cannot
normally move.

Right click on any adjacent door.
     This will open or close the door that you clicked on.  If you
cannot open or close the door with the mouse button, it may be necessary
to use a key or other such object first.

Click left button on a square adjacent to your character.
     This will move your character into the selected space if it is a
terrain square your character can occupy.

Shift click left button on a square adjacent to your character.
     This works the same as holding a shift key and pressing an arrow
key.

Click the right button on any adjacent object or person.
     If any of the objects or persons selected has a close-up or "zoom"
picture, it will be displayed.  Click with the left mouse button on any
part of the object that you wish to manipulate.  If you want to leave the
zoom mode without selecting any part of the object displayed, click
outside the map window.

Click the left mouse button on the Room Name window
     Redisplays the room description.  This is the same as pressing the
[E] key.

Icon Commands
Click the Take Icon.
     Select the object you wish to take by clicking the mouse pointer on
it. Take will attempt to add all of the objects in the selected square
that can be taken.  If an object cannot be taken, the computer will beep
when you select it.
     You cannot carry more than 10 objects at a time.

Click the Drop Icon.
     Drop Objects displays all of the objects currently held.  Select
the object you wish to drop by clicking the mouse pointer over its name.

Click the Inventory Icon.
     This lists all the objects your character currently holds.  It will
not list objects held by other characters.  Your character can hold up
to 10 objects maximum.
     The inventory list is also used to "zoom" (a magnified view) any
objects you are holding.  Select the object you wish to "zoom" by
clicking the mouse pointer over its name.  If a selected object does not
appear as a "zoom", then the object does not have a magnified view.

Clicking an Arrow Icon
     Clicking an arrow does the same thing as pressing an arrow key.

Shift Clicking an Arrow Icon
     Shift clicking an arrow icon does the same thing as shift clicking
an arrow key.

Clicking the Ladder Icon
     Click this icon to change levels any time you are standing on a
ladder or a liftshaft.

Clicking the Verb Icon
     The verb list is the basic form of communication between you and
your character.  There are 13 commands on the verb list.  Select a
command by clicking the mouse pointer on it.

Clicking the Status Icon
     The status box displays your character's current health, your
percentage chance to hit in combat, the total number of moves you've
made so far in the game, and the weapon with which you are currently
armed.

Clicking the Weapon Icon
     Your character will attack the nearest target he is facing with a
readied weapon.  If no weapon is available, your character will fight
barehanded.