Spaceship:Puzzles The Torch, or Safecracking for Beginners.
From TextAdventure
Top Line
Retrieve the torch, and more importantly its batteries, with a bit of safecracking using a stethoscope and robotic ears...
Verbose Description
This puzzle relates to the retrieval of a torch (or specifically an auroscope) from the Infirmary. Unfortunately the batteries have been locked away in the drug safe as they had a bad habit of disappearing. Fortunately there is a stethoscope which you can use to help crack the safe. Of course you can't use it in your own ears, as opening your helmet would result in suffocation (again). Instead you need to use a set of robotic ears, rigged to an amplifier to hear the clicks of the safe's drum to allow you to crack it.
See this puzzle in context
Goal 2 (Retrieve the torch)
Which rooms are implicated in the puzzle?
Which objects are involved in the puzzle?
Is this puzzle essential to the plot, or is it a secondary objective?
Essential - the torch is required to further explore the ship and restart the generator.
What actions do you need to take?
- Take auroscope.
- Take stethoscope.
- Open Spares Locker.
- Take Biotec ears
- Connect Biotec ears to calibration device.
- Turn volume up to 11.
- Place stethoscope in Biotec ears.
- Use Stethoscope on safe.
- Turn dial (x2)
- Take batteries.
- Place batteries in auroscope.
- Turn on auroscope.
How many turns do you have to complete the puzzle?
Essentially as many as they like but - if player opens suits helmet and tries to perform puzzle with their own ears they will be initially successful. However at each stage they will receive prompts that they are running out of air- identical to those in the original suit puzzle. If they persevere with their helmet open, despite these repeated warnings, they will run out of oxygen at the second turn of the safe's dial.
What text appears after each action is completed?
- Take auroscope: It's one of those little torches you use to look in people's ears. Attached is a scruffily written note "Dear Battery Thief. I'm sick of you lot stealing batteries from my equipment. From now on I'm locking them all in the drug safe. If you need some, try asking. Cheers, Medical Officer Reynolds." Needless to say there is no sign of Reynolds.
- Turn on auroscope (no batteries): Reynolds may be paranoid, but he's no liar. No batteries, no light.
- Take stethoscope: You take the stethoscope, and immediately feel like George Clooney. In space.
- Wear / use stethoscope: Placing the stethoscope in your ears is likely to be tricky without opening your helmet.
- Wear / use stethoscope with helmet open: You place the little buds in your ears. It's a good fit, but you wonder how well you're going to hear without any air to breathe..
- Open spares locker: You open the locker marked "spares". Inside you find a jumble of what appear to be body parts. Most look well past functioning, but you do notice a set of Biotec TM synthetic ears, as well as a single Biotec TM eye.
- Take Biotec ears: You take the synthetic ears. These are used either for emergency use in humans, or more frequently to replace broken parts in the increasingly popular range of Biotec TM organic androids. There are some leads sticking out the back.
- Take Biotec Eye: You take the synthetic eye designed for Biotec TM organic androids, or for visually impaired humans.
- Examine calibration device: The Biotec Calibration Device is used for testing all of their products. Ordinarily this is a pristine piece of cutting edge technology. The centre piece of Biotec TM's all conquering bio-mechanical empire. Which makes it all the more tragic that someone (probably Johnson), has clearly been using it as a guitar amplifier. It's covered in stickers celebrating the power of "Rawk", and in black marker someone has added the number "11" to the volume control.
- Connect ears to calibration device (Volume not turned up): You connect the ears to the calibration device. You clap your hands next to an ear to ensure it's working, but there's so little air you can barely hear the sound emanating from the speakers.
- Turn volume up to 11: You rack the volume up to 11, and wonder exactly how loud this thing can go.
- Connect ears to calibration device (Volume turned up): You connect the ears and clap your hands to test the device. Despite the thin air your clap is echoed beautifully by the calibrater's speakers
- Test ears (volume at 11, connected to device): You clap your hands to test the device. Despite the thin air your clap is echoed beautifully by the calibration device.
- Connect Biotec eye: You connect the eye, and are rewarded with your own image on the monitor. You've looked better. You also realise with a heavy heart that the Biotec eye is no better than your own, it certainly won't be helping you see through the darkness...
- Use stethoscope on ears: You place the stethoscope in the Biotec ears. It reminds you of George Clooney. In space. Missing the rest of his body. It's really time you got over the whole George Clooney, stethoscope thing...
- Use stethoscope on safe (Not connected to ears): And how, exactly, are you planning on hearing anything?
- Use stethoscope on safe(Connected to ears- either your own, or synthetic + calibration device): You place the stethoscope against the safe door and slowly turn the safe's dial. You can hear the drum rotate and then click into place thanks to the speakers on the calibration device. We'll make a safe cracker of you yet. You spin the dial back to its original position, ready to try and locate the second drum.
- Turn/use dial (first time): Again you hear a satisfying click, as you find the resting place for the second drum.
- Turn/use dial (second time- synthetic ears): A final click, and the safe's door swings open. You see a bunch of vials of highly toxic drugs, and your treasure- a st of batteries for the auroscope.
- Turn/ use dial (second time - own ears): You start to turn the dial, but you can barely lift your arm. You slip back from the safe and collapse on the floor, the lack of oxygen having finally proven too much for you.
- Take batteries: At last! To your relief and amazement they are indeed the correct batteries, they haven't leaked, don't require you to solve a riddle to use, and do not appear to carry a threat of imminent death. You decide you'd better use them before they change their mind...
- Use batteries on auroscope: (See below)
What words do you read when you complete the puzzle?
You place the batteries in the auroscope, and turn it on. Light! It's hardly the synthetic sunlight the ship usually provides, but it's enough. Time to go and explore...
What words do you read if you don't complete the puzzle?
(After collapsing when trying to open safe with helmet open.) Your chest is crushed by the lack of air, and as your vision fades you find yourself wishing that you'd put that damn stethoscope in someone else's ears. Of course, there is no-one else, and so you die here. Alone.
Help! I'm stuck! Give me a hint
(general) - It's not just doctors who use stethoscopes.
(Needs to use synthetic ears) - Sometimes you need an extra pair of hands. Only this time it's not hands you need...
(Needs to turn up volume to 11) - "What we do is, if we need that extra push over the cliff, you know what we do?"
Special development instructions:
As you can see I've added a largely irrelevant synthetic eye, largely because it seemed (even more) ridiculous to have only the ears in the cupboard, and it's nice to have the odd red herring. Of course you may find a use for them with a later puzzle. (Retinal scan or something?) As I've mentioned, if the helmet's open and they're using the stethoscope then they need the warning texts from the earlier puzzle after each action to warn them that death is imminent.
The volume up to 11 clue is of course a Spinal Tap quote. I know it's probably unfair to make a clue dependent on specific movie quotes, but googling that line provides the full "turn it up to 11" quote on the first entry, so I reckon it's reasonably fair in this day an age...
Finally the introduction of the Biotec body parts would allow a further development of some of the "Is the captain really a robot?" ideas contained in the meta-plot discussion. Of course the puzzle works perfectly well without this as well, but it leaves the possibility firmly there should a decision be made to develop it.
