                           CUTTHROATS  DOCS (INFOCOM)

        HARDSCRABBLE BACKGROUND


% INTRODUCTION %

EZRA GLADSTONE AND HIS FOLLOWERS IN 1692 UNTIL THE DECLINE OF THE FISHING
INDUSTRY IN THE 1920'S, HARDSCRABBLE HARBOR WAS AN IMPORTANT PORT FOR THE
SAILING SHIPS OF THE WORLD.  ITS DEEP CHANNEL OFFERED SUFFICIENT DRAUGHT FOR
EVERYTHING FROM SLOOPS TO THE GIANT FIVE-MASTERS OF THE LATE NINETEENTH
CENTURY.  (ISLANDERS WHO REMEMBER THE HARBOR'S BOOM YEARS SAY THAT AT TIMES
THERE WERE MORE FOREIGN SAILORS ROAMING THE WHARF ROAD THAN THERE WERE
HARDSCRABBLE NATIVES.)

HOWEVER, LIKE ANY OTHER SEAPORT, HARDSCRABBLE HAS ITS TREACHEROUS SHOALS
AD NARROW STRAITS. CONSEQUENTLY, A SIDE EFFECT OF THE GREAT SEA TRADE WAS A
NUMBER OF SHIPWRECKS.  THIS VOLUME CONCERNS 4 OF THE MOST FAMOUS VESSELS
TO GO DOWN IN OUR WATERS:  THE "SAO VERA", THE "H.M.S. INTRANSIGENT", "THE
FIANNA", AND THE "S. S. LEVIATHAN."

MANY STORIES HAVE SPRUNG UP OVER THE YEARS IN REGARD TO THE FATES OF THERE
SHIPS. SOME OF THESE TALES ARE BASED ON FACT; OTHERS ARE LITTLE MORE THAN
STRANDS IN THE FABRIC OF LOCAL LEGEND. BY SEARCHING THROUGH THE TOWN ARCHIVES
(AND IN THE CASE OF THE "LEVIATHAN", CONDUCTING INTERVIEWS WITH SURVIVORS),
WE HAVE ENDEAVORED TO SEPARATE TRUTH FROM FICTION.

WHILE THE SUBJECT OF THIS BOOK IS 1 OF TRAGEDY AND GREAT LOSS OF HUMAN LIFE,
WE HOPE IT WILL PROVE ENLIGHTENING TO THE READER, AS WELL AS VALUABLE TO 
ANYONE WHO MIGHT WISH TO EXPLORE THESE OLD AND HISTORIC WRECKS.
---------------------------------

THE "SAO VERA"

THE "SAO VERA" WAS ONE OF THE FIRST TRANSATLANTIC CARGO SHIPS,CARRYING GOLD
COINS AND JEWELS TO PORTUGAL FROM ITS COLONIES IN THE NEW WORLD. THE SHIP WAS
BUILT TO CARRY A CREW OF 110, AND HAD A WIDE STERN TO ALLOW FOR A GREAT CABIN
AFT IN THE STYLE OF THE LARGE MERCHANTMEN OF THE DAY. ONE OF HER MOST
STRIKING CHARACTERISTICS WAS A FIGUREHEAD IN THE SHAPE OF A LION.

DAME FORTUNE SEEMS TO HAVE SMILED TO "SAO VERA" AT FIRST.  DURING HER MAIDEN
VOYAGE, SHE STRUCK A REEF NEAR THE ISLAND OF SANTO, BUT AGAINST ALL ODS
LIMPED TO THE BRAZIL MAINLAND WITH NO LOSS OF LIFE OR CARGO.  A YEAR LATER,
THE SPANISH SET FIRE-SHIPS LADEN WITH EXPLOSIVES ADRIFT IN THE RECIFE HARBOR,
DESTROYING MUCH OF THE PORTUGUESE MERCHANT FLEET MOORED THERE; THE "SAO
VERA", HOWEVER, WAS IN DRY-DOCK FOR REPAIRS AND ESCAPED UNSCATHED.

TRAGICALLY, HER LUCK FAILED TO HOLD OUT THROUGH THE SUCCESSION OF VIOLENT 
GALES THAT PUMMELED HER IN THE FALL OF 1698. THE FIRST OF THESE BLEW THE SHIP
OFF COURSE FOR RIO DO JANEIRO IN MID-OCTOBER, CAUSING SEVERE DAMAGE TO
THE HULL.  BEFORE THIS COULD BE REPAIRED, A SECOND GALE SWEPT DOWN ON
THE "SAO VERA", CARRYING HER INTO THE WATERS NEAR HARDSCRABBLE ISLAND, WHERE
SHE FOUNDERED FOR DAYS.  THE FATAL BLOW WAS STRUCK WHEN A THIRD VICIOUS STORM
BROKE UPON THE DISABLED VESSEL.  THE CAPTAIN, JUAN ESTABAN DEL CANO, WENT
DOWN WITH HIS SHIP, AND ALL HANDS SAVE TWO WERE LOST. THE SURVIVORS MANAGED 
TO MAKE THEIR WAY TO CHOCTEAGUE NECK BY CLINGING TO A BROKEN SPAR. THEY WERE
PULLED FROM THE ICY WATERS, FROSTBITTEN AND NEAR THE POINT OF HYSTERIA, BY
PASSING FISHERMEN TWO DAYS LATER.
------------------------------

THE "H.M.S. INTRANSIGENT"

THE INTRANSIGENT WAS A BRITISH WARSHIP OF THE FRIGATE VARIETY. SHE WAS USED 
BY THE ROYAL NAVE PRIMARILY FOR PATROLLING THE SEA LANES BETWEEN AFRICA AND 
NORTH AMERICA IN THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY, ALTHOUGH IT WAS RUMORED THAT ONE OF
HER SKIPPERS, "ICY WILL" BOSE, SECRETLY EMPLOYED THE SHIP FOR SMUGGLING 
SLAVES AND IVORY TO THE COLONIES.

THIS MAN-O'-WAS WAS ARMED WITH 40 GUNS AND LED A COLORFUL HISTORY.  IN 1745,
FOR EXAMPLE, SHE WAS ATTACKED BY CORSAIRS WHILE ANCHORED OFF THE IVORY
COAST, BUT MANAGED TO ESCAPE BY CUTTING HER CABLE.  THREE YEARS LATER, SHE 
WAS ENGAGED IN AN ACTION AGAINST A FRENCH CONVOY NEAR GIBRALTAR.  DISASTER 
WAS TURNED TO VICTORY, HOWEVER, WHEN THE CAPTAIN OF THE INTRANSIGENT, SIR 
HARLE PERKINS,SKILLFULLY LURED THE ENEMY INTO THE STRAITS, WHERE A DETACHMENT
OF THE BRITISH WARSHIPS WAYLAID AND OUTED THE FRENCH FORCES. PIRATES 
COMMANDEERED HER FOR A BRIEF TIME IN 1759 BY ATTACKING AT NIGHT AND 
OVERPOWERING THE SLEEPING CREW, BUT THEY WERE CAUGHT AND HUNG ON WHAT WAS 
THEN KNOWN AS THE HISPANIOLA (AN ISLAND WHICH HAS SINCE BEEN DIVIDED INTO THE
CARIBBEAN NATONS OF HAITI AND THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC) SHORTLY THEREAFTER.

CAPTAIN BOSE TOOK COMMAND OF THE "INTRANSIGENT" IN 1761.  IT SANK UNDER
EXTREMELY MYSTERIOUS CIRCUMSTANCES FIVE YEARS LATER,IN 1766. BOSE, WHO WAS 
SAID TO HAVE SURVIVED, WAS NEVER HEARD FROM AGAIN.  A NUMBER OF UNRELIABLE 
SOURCES REPORTED HIM LIVING IN LUXURY SOMEWHERE IN THE WEST INDIES, AND ONE 
STORY CLAIMED THAT HE EVENTUALLY DIED IN A DUEL OVER A CERTAIN LADY OF 
BRITISH NOBILITY.  NONE OF THESE TALES HAS EVER BEEN SUBSTANTIATED.
----------------------------

"THE FIANNA"

"THE FIANNA" WAS ORIGINALLY KNOWN AS THE "GLORIA DIEU",A BRITISH TEA CLIPPER
BUILT FOR SPEED TO RACE ACROSS GREAT DISTANCES OF THE CHINA TRADE ROUTES.
SHE WAS DESIGNED BY PHINEAS HAYES, THEN COMMISSIONER OF CHATAM YARD, AND WAS
LAID DOWN IN WOOLRICH IN 1869.  THE VESSEL WAS COMPOSITE-BUILT; THAT IS,
WHILE SHE WAS AN IRONCLAD, HER KEEL, STEM, AND STERNPOST WERE OF WOOD.

THE "GLORIA DIEU" DID VERY WELL AT THE TEA TRADE, AND LATER, WHEN THE SUEZ
CANAL PUT IT AT A DISADVANTAGE TO THE NEWER STEAMSHIPS IN THAT LINE, SHE WAS
CONVERTED OVER TO THE AUSTRALIAN WOOL TRADE.  IT WAS WHILE SHE WAS SAILING
FROM MELBOURNE TO LIVERPOOL, LATE 1878 THAT SHE WAS ATTACKED, BOARDED, AND
HIJACKED BY "IRON MIKE" QUINN, THE LAST O THE GREAT PIRATES. IRON MIKE'S MEN
RUTHLESSLY MURDERED THE ENTIRE CREW OF THE "GLORIA DIEU", AND THE PIRATE KING
HIMSELF RE-CHRISTENED THE CLIPPER "THE FIANNA" AFTER A LEGENDARY NAD OF GAELIC
WARRIOR HEROES.  THE NEXT NINE YEARS WERE BLOODY PAGES IN THE STORY OF THE
VESSEL.  UNDER IRON MIKE'S IRON HAND, THE COLD-BLOOODED EFFICIENT BUCCANEERS
PILLAGED AND PLUNDERED THE HIGH SEAS, RAIDING MORE THAN 150 MERCHANT SHIPS.

THERE ARE SEVERAL WIDELY DISPARATE VERSIONS OF HOW "THE FIANNA" FINALLY
WENT DOWN. THE MOST BELIEVABLE OF THESE STORIES IS THAT AFTER IRON MIKE AND 
HIS CREW RELIEVED THE SCOTTISH MERCANTILE VESSEL "DONALWALD" OF ITS CARGO OF 
RARE WHISKEY IN 1887,THEY FAILED TO NOTICE A PARTIALLY SUBMERGED LEDGE CLOSE
TO THE NORTHWEST OF HARDSCRABBLE ISLNAD. IT IS BELIEVED THAT CURRENTS CAUSED
HER TO DRIFT FROM THE POINT WHERE SHE WAS LOST.
--------------------------

THE "S. S. LEVIATHAN"

IN 1903, HOLLYWOOD CRUISE LINES ANNOUNCED ITS INTENTION OF CONSTRUCTING
ANEW 30,000-TON EXPRESS STEAMER.  THE LEVIATHAN WAS TO BE THE LAST WORD IN 
ALL THAT CONSTITUTED LUXURY, FROM THE EXTREMELY RARE MATERIALS USED IN THE
DECORATION AND PANELING OF THE SHIP'S MANY SALOONS AND LOUNGES TO THE
EXTRAORDINARY PLUSHNESS OF THE PRIVATE SUITES AND CABINS.  THE "LEVIATHAN" 
WAS ALSO DESIGNED TO BE FASTER THAN ANY COMPETING CRUISESHIP OF HER
TIME--WITHOUT SACRIFICING PASSENGER COMFORT.

THE VESSEL'S SPEED MIGHT HAVE SAVED HER HAD IT NOT BEEN FOR A LAST-MINUTE
COMPROMISE BY THE DIRECTORS. A DECISION WAS REACHED TO INCREASE THE AMOUNT OF
SPACE ALLOTTED TO FIRST-CLASS PASSENGERS.  HOWEVER, BECAUSE OF THE
EXTRAVAGEN SIZE OF EACH FIRST-CLASS COMPARTMENT, IT WAS NECESSARY TO
"BORROW" SPACE FROM OTHER PARTS OF THE SHIP.

THIS ULTIMATELY RESULTED IN A MODIFICATION OF THE HULL, WHICH
COMPROMISED THE LEVIATHAN'S ABILITY TO ACHIEVER HER ORIGINALLY SPECIFIED TOP
SPEED.  OTHERWISE, SHE MIGHT HAVE BEEN ABLE TO OUTDISTANCE THE GERMAN WARSHIP
THAT SENT HER TO THE BOTTOM NEAR HARDSCRABBLE ISLAND IN 1916--AT LEAST
LONG ENOUGH FOR HELP TO HAVE ARRIVED. AS IT WAS, ALL PASSENGERS ESCAPED
INLIFEBOATS, BUT MR. ALEXANDER MOOREHEAD'S FAMED STAMP COLLECTION,
ENCASED IN GLASS, WAS LOST, ALONG WITH MANY OTHER ITEMS OF VALUE. THE GERMANS
LATER EXCUSED THE SINKING BY CLAIMING THAT THE U.S. WAS USING THE "LEVIATHAN"
TO SHIP WEAPONS TO EUROPE, BUT HIS ACCUSATION WAS NEVER SUBSTANTIATED.
-------------------------

        OUTFITTERS INTERNATIONAL
  FALL/WINTER SUPPLEMENTAL PRICE LIST

DIVING BOOK.........................$20
NAUTICAL CHARTS....................$150
FLASHLIGHT..........................$24
DRY CELL.............................$5
SMALL AIR COMPRESSOR (RENTAL)......$100
TUBE OF PUTTY.......................$15
C BATTERY............................$1
NET.................................$50
SPEAR GUN...........................$45
COMPASS.............................$50
LOCATION BOX......................$1000
PORTABLE ELECTROMAGNET.............$250
DIVING CAGE (RENTAL)...............$575
SHARK REPELLENT.....................$20
WINCH..............................$300
ANCHOR..............................$50
------------------------
        SHIP RENTAL INFORMATION

(:THE NIGHT WIND:)

44' TRAWLER, STURDY, STEADY, FAST. CAPABLE OF HANDLING HEAVY FISHING AND
DIRTY WEATHER.  MAINE BUILT 1970. WHEELHOUSE, SPLIT DEME WINCHES AND
RIGGING NEW 1981.  LORAN, RADAR, RECORDER.  RIGGED FOR SNAPPER/GROUPER
FISHING.  1000 GALS. FUEL, 500 GALS. WATER CAPACITY.  10,000 LBS. FISH HOLD.
453 DETROIT DIESEL.  POST HAULER, HYDRAULIC STEERING.  2" SHAFT, QUAD
NIKEL PROPELLER, DECK HATCH,BILGE PUMP, FUEL-WATER STRAINERS, 8" FIBERGLASS
MUFFLER. CAN BE TRANSPORTED ON EXISTING TRIPLE AXLE TRAILER.  NOW IN WATER 
AND COMPLETELY SEAWORTHY.

(:THE MARY MARGARET:)

55' SALVAGER, IDEAL FOR DEEP-WATER RECLAMATION JOBS.  OAK CONSTRUCTION.
OVERHAULED V8-71 DETROIT DIESEL,ALLISON GEAR.  ELECTRONICS, RIGGING, GROUND
TACKLE.  NOT FAST, BUT WELL-OUTFITTED AND DEPENDABLE.  FINISHED FO'C'SLE, 
20' TOWER, 16' PULPIT.  CUTTYHUNK BUILT 1975.  SONAR 1/2 MILE COLOR, COLOR
SOUNDER, RADAR, LORAN, VHF, CB, HYDRAULIC STEERING, S/S HYDRAULIC AND
FUEL SYSTEM,S/S PROP AND RUDDER BASKET. 1400 GALS. FUEL, 600 GALS. WATER
CAPACTIY.  MAINLY RENTED BY A LOCAL SALVAGE OUTFIT FOR WORK OUT OF
HARDSCRABBLE HARBOR, BUT OTHER PARTIES ARE WELCOME TO RENT WHENEVER 
AVAILABLE. COMES COMPLETE WITH DEEP-SEA DIVING GEAR, INCLUDING COMPRESSOR.
===========================================================================
			C U T T H R O A T S
			-------------------

The League presents the things needed in Infocom's Cutthroats.

In the manual there are the following things: Pricelist from the 
Outfitter and a map showing where 4 shipwrecks can be found
(you can find two of them).

You don't need the pricelist, since the program has a bug which
accepts that you can type BUY ALL at the outfitter, and then 
the program lists all items for sale, and their price.
You can then take a note of them.

Where are the shipwrecks then ? Here are the coordinates:

SAO VERA   Below 200 feet  45 degrees Longitude  40 degrees Lattitude
LEVIATHAN  Above 200 feet  25 degrees Longitude  25 degrees Lattitude

Remember, which wreck to chose depends on what Red shows you at the 
lighthouse.

Here is a few lines from 'The New Zork Times' (summer '84 issue):

 Nights on Hardscrabble Island are lonely and cold when the 
lighthouse barely pierces the gloom. You sit on your bed, thinking of
better times and far-off places. A knock on your door stirs you, and
Hevlin, a shipmate you haven't seen for years staggers in.
 "I'm in trouble," he says. "I had a few too many at The Shanty. I 
was looking for Red, but he wasn't around, and I started talking
about.... Here," he says, handing you a slim volume that you
recognize as a shipwreck book written years ago by the Historical
Society.
 You smile. Every diver on the island has looked for those wrecks,
without even an old boat to show for it. You open the door, hoping the
drunken fool will leave. "I know what you're thinking'," Hevlin
scowls, "but look!" He points to the familiar map, and you see new
locations marked for two of the wrecks.
 "Keep it for me," he says. "Just for tonight. It'll be safe here with
you. Don't let-." He stops and broods for a moment. "I've got to go 
find Red!" And with that, Hevlin leaves.
 You put the book in your dresser and think about following
Hevlin. Then you hear a scuffle outside. You look through your win-
dow and see two men struggling. One falls to the ground in a heap. The
other man bends down beside him, then turns as if startled and runs
away. Another man then approaches the wounded figure. He kneels
beside him for a long moment, then takes off after the other man.
 It isn't long before the police arrive to tell you that Hevin's been
murdered. You don't mention the book, and hours later, and you lie
awake in your bed, you wonder if the book could really be what it
seems.

The story takes place on Hardscrabble Island, a dying little seaport
all but forgotten. The island hasn't got much to offer, and diving off 
the treacherous reef has long since lost its charm. So when the chance
of a lifetime is dropped into your hands, you're ready for action. 
True, your cohorts are untrustworthy. Granted, keeping the sunken 
treasure a secret is practically impossible on such a small island.
Naturally, diving alone in new areas is dangerous. But if you keep
your head and get the treasure, the riches will more than offset the
risk you have to take.
 There are a number of new twists in Cutthroats. Dealing with a group 
of shady characters is one thing, but having to cooperate with them
as you do in Cutthroats is another. The character interaction differ
from those in other Infocom stories (older ones (Red.)) since the 
plot requires everyone involved to agree on taking risks together. In
Cutthroats, you're not the leader of the expedition, you're one of 
four people whose survival depends on working together. 

Happy adventuring


Mr.Who ???
