Key & Compass presents:
Uptown 1
by Whit Walton

• Map
• Walkthrough
• Extras
  • Endings, Inventory
• Thank You to my Patreon supporters
• Support me on Ko-Fi
• External links:
  • This game at Homepage, and IFDB.
  • Follow me at Bluesky, Ko-Fi, Mastodon, Patreon, and Wordpress.

Map

Walkthrough

For converting binary to text, I used a Binary to Ascii Text Converter that I found online.

The binary string that prefaces the game means "would you take the red pill?"

Harlem

CAUTION: If you go east, someone pushes you into the river and you drown.

> x me. i. (You have nothing.)

> listen. (buzzing sound)

> s. (You get lost on the trains and return here.)

> n.

Stairwell

Oddly, you can't exit the way you came in. You must go forward.

> n.

Room 606

There's no obvious exit from this room.

> x desk. x computer.

> x keyboard. (Only "W" and "R" were used.)

> x shelf. x CDs. x books. read books.

> x window. (green 0's and 1's)

> open window. (can't)

> x lamp. x clock.

> x key. (The key between W and R is E.)

> e.

The Computer

CAUTION: For each turn you spend in The Computer, the clock in Room 606 advances one minute. After 30 minutes in The Computer, you get disconnected, which is a bad ending.

> w.

Room 606

The computer didn't say this before.

> x computer. ("Take things from this room, and look at how they might change in another.")

> take CDs. take books.

> e.

The Computer

> x CDs. play CDs. (The computer plays a randomly chosen music CD.)

> x books. (The binary says, "You can simply grab the pill out of thin air.")

> take pill. (which? Red or Blue?)

> take red pill. eat it. (You wake up for real.)

*** END 2 ***

Extras

Endings

• ><((((`> >°))))彡 ><((((`> >°))))彡 ><((((`> >°))))彡 ><((((`> >°))))彡><((((`> >°))))彡 ><((((`> >°))))彡 ><((((`> >°))))彡 ><((((`> >°))))彡><((((`> >°))))彡 ><((((`> >°))))彡 ><((((`> >°))))彡˚<((((`> >°))))彡<((((`> >°))))彡˚ . . · ⋆ * ·　 . 　 · ˚ ⊹ ·　 * ✧ ⋆ · * . · . 　 　 · ·　 　　　　　.. 　 . . 　 　　　 · + 　　　 　 ·　 * ✫ * ⊹ * ˚ 　　　 　. . 　　　 　　· ⋆ * ·　 . 　 · 　　　 . 　 　 　 　 　 *　 · 　　　 　 . · 　 · + 　. 　 　　　　 · ** ˚ 　　　 　. . + 　　　 　　· ⋆ * . ·　 . 　 · 　　　 . 　 　 * ˚ ⊹ ·　 * ✧ ⋆ · * . · . 　 　 · ·　 　　　　　.. 　 . . 　 　　　 · + 　　　 　 ·　 * ✫ * ⊹ * ˚ 　　　 　. . 　　　 　. ·　 . 　 · 　　　 . 　 　 　 　 　 *　 · 　　　 　 . · END -1
• if you go east to the Hudson.
• The clock reads 20:30. You have run out of time. The world goes dark as you feel your consciousness get disconnected from the data frame. END 0
• if you spend 30 turns inside The Computer without finding any other ending.
• Back at your desk, in your studio apartment in Harlem. What peculiar dream. END 1
• if you eat the Blue Pill.
• 01000101 01111000 01101001 01110100 00100000 01110100 01101000 01100101 00100000 01001101 01100001 01110100 01110010 01101001 01111000 00101100 00100000 01100001 01101110 01100100 00100000 01101100 01101001 01110110 01100101 00100000 01100010 01100101 01111001 01101111 01101110 01100100 00100000 01110100 01101000 01100101 00100000 00110100 01110100 01101000 00100000 01100100 01101001 01101101 01100101 01101110 01110011 01101001 01101111 01101110. END 2 ************** Thank you to Nico and Rio for coding help, and everyone who playtested.
• if you eat the Red Pill. The binary means "Exit the Matrix, and live beyond the 4th dimension"

Inventory

• a CDs. They're on the shelf in Room 606.
• Play the CDs when inside The Computer to play a random music CD.
• a books. They're on the shelf in Room 606.
• Read the books when inside The Computer. The binary text tells you that the pills are there.
• a Blue Pill. It's in The Computer, unseen until you take it.
• Eat the blue pill if you want to wake up in your studio apartment. You forget you're in a simulation.
• a Red Pill. It's in The Computer, unseen until you take it.
• Eat the red pill if you want to wake up for real, outside the virtual reality.

By the way, the Pills are a reference to the film The Matrix (1999), where eating the blue pill means to stay in blissful ignorance, and eating the red pill means to learn the painful truth.

Thank You to my Patreon supporters

This walkthrough is provided free of charge since the work it's based on has less than fifteen locations. Please consider it a thank you for your support!

I create larger walkthroughs too! 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.

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