In this surreal extravaganza, you seek fulfilment by learning more about Rybread Celsius, that fabled interactive fiction author who is both regaled as a master wordsmith and reviled as a gibbering gargoyle. Find a dictionary and enjoy mad textdumps! Hic! Haec! Hoc! Who loves ya, baby?
This solution is by David Welbourn, and is based on Release 1 of the game.
SPOILERS AHEAD. Reading a walkthrough prematurely can sometimes diminish one's enjoyment of an interactive fiction game. Please make an honest effort to play the game before reading this walkthrough.
> x beaver. x cloth.("you must get slightly dyslecik and open the piT")
> s. s. d.
Base of the tooth
> x tomatoes.
> d.(no: "Your allergic to dust.")
> u. u.
Tip of the tooth
> x tip. open tip.
> i. x dictionary. open it.
Interview with Rybread Celsius, Part I: Bet you wish you could read this in the status line
This is in a Denny's.
> look.(Two people enter.)
Cody Sandifer and Rybread Celsius begin talking to each other in long textdumps. In the midst of all this text, Rybread will suggest taking a fork and a costume, and eventually to type "punkrock" which takes you to the next location.
> z. z. z. z.
I assume you probably want to try to mess around with the items here, to the limited extent that you can, before moving on.
> x Cody. x Rybread.
> take fork. bend fork.(can't)
> x costume. take it.(no: It drips. But if you had a spoon...?)
> take spoon.(What spoon?)
I note that the debugging command TREE shows that there is a spoon object here, but I think it's there just for "take spoon" command response. If you cheat and purloin the spoon, you still cannot do anything with the costume.
> punkrock.(You are now in...)
BarrelLand
> look. x barrels. x kegs.
> s.
The Pope and the Glory
> x hat. x designs. x crucifix. x thread.
> pull thread. in.
Inside the Pope's Hat
The opening you made is sewn up again. "Drop Lucy from the Two Cities!" is your only clue on what to do next. This is a reference to the character of Lucie Manette in "A Tale of Two Cities" by Charles Dickens, and how in the book, she is refered to as the "golden thread".
> drop thread.(You are sent to...)
Latin Grammar Book
> x law.(If you break the law, Latindom crumbles.)
> x Hic. x Haec. x Hoc.
> ask Hic about Hic.
> ask Hic about Haec.
> ask Hic about Hoc.
> ask Hic about law.
> ask Haec about Hic.
> ask Haec about Hoc.
> ask Hoc about Hic.
> ask Hoc about Haec.
> break law.(You are now in...)
Englishlandville
> x puddle. sip it.(You are now at...)
Blarg!
Part II of the interview happens here. Just wait it out and read the text dumps.
> z. z. z. z. z.
They go to the airport and you're now at...
Stuffy Room
> look. x bone. z. z.
A giant hand grabs you!
In The Fleshy Massive Hand
> z. z. z.(You're lowered to...)
Cement plane
> look. x legs. w.
Cave Entrance
If you don't mind, I'm going to drag out this walkthrough by visiting anything of interest in the caves before leading you to where you actually need to go.
> w. n. n. w.
Cave (where the screen is)
> x screen.(mentions Avalon, Plotkin, and Stiffy)
> sw.(Sorry, but no.)
A Java Script Alert box is displayed.
> x banner. click banner.
Clicking the banner seems to have no effect. Let's go see an etching next.
> e. s. s. w. w. s. s. e.
Cave (where the etching is)
> x etching.("Pigroy Wuz Here")
> w. n. w.
Cave (the quivering one)
> e. n. n. w.
Cave (with the vents)
> x vents.
> * (You now have a third testicle, if male.)
> n.
Cave (at gigantic key)
> x key. take key.(no, too big)
This room is referencing the mouse-maze puzzle in "Curses" by Graham Nelson.
> e.(can't go that way; the authors meant west.)
> w.
Celebration
All you can really do in this room is wait and watch the story of the birth of Graham Nelson and one other.
The "Baby cries!" line is a reference to "Congratulations!" by Frederick J. Hirsch.
> x mice.(ignore them)
> z.(Repeat waiting about 15 times until the mice notice you.)
When the mice attack you, you run to...
XEvil Mutant Strain (at sign)
> x sign. take sign.
> e.(One-way trip to...)
XEvil Mutant Strain (at crumb)
> x crumb. take it.
There's nothing else to see in this mini-maze of corridors except a book and death-by-monster. Avoid the monster. Go directly to the book.
> e. e. u. u. u. w. w.
XEvil Mutant Strain (at Necronomicon)
> take book. x it. open it.
The fourth wall collapses, and you become one with Cody's mind.
Part 3 of the interview is held.
Then there is a preview of Candy.
*** You won! Stop sweating! ***
> amusing
Extras
Amusing
After winning the game, type AMUSING and open the fourth menu-item called Preview:
Lack of Stuff
The day has dragged on, its knuckles scraping on the soft terrain. From the feel of the velveteen grass, this is a saturated area. The air is pregnant with humidity, the same way Shakespeare's charecters are pregnant in thought. Wonder if its going to rain. And if anyone is going to repare that flimsy rope bridge (which is the only way of this island.)
Suddenly, a screaming comes across the sky, despratly chasing its owner, a small jet. The jet is pulling a large sign that reads "Hurricane in 2 Minutes. Parking will not be validated." Oh, mi.
A CHANGE IN THE TEATHER
The east shore of this isle isn't one of the most populated areas; the maze leading here from the west is probably the primary reason.
Coming soon. Bwhaha.
Artwork
There is one bit of ASCII art in the game, an etching in one of the cave locations. There's not much to say about it:
| Pigroy Wuz Here |
| /\_/\ |
| ( x x ) |
*****************oo0*(o o)*0oo*****************
Characters
A Tooth Beaver is in the Hermit's R00m. He helped hollow out the tooth.
Cody Sandifer is a nice looking chap who interviews Rybread at three points in the game.
Rybread Celsius is an eldritch horror who wrote several surreal works of interactive fiction.
Hic is a gremlin-like guy in love with Haec.
Haec is a gremlin-like gal in love with Hoc.
Hoc is a gremlin-like enby in love with Haec, but the neuter law prevents Hoc from doing anything about their feelings.
A fleshy massive hand takes you from the stuffy room and deposits you on the cement plane.
Several robot mice are having a celebration.
Graham Nelson (as a newborn baby) and his parents are in the presentation shown at the celebration.
Cameos:
A flock of flying turtles flies over the tip of the tooth.
The waitress at Denny's brings the check then tears it to pieces.
A Giger alien tears you apart if you enter its lair.
A pilot in part III of the interview dies mysteriously.
Mentioned:
Tilly the Tacky is a hermit who's normally in his room, but not when you visit.
Ren and Stimpy is who Tilly rented the beaver from.
[Bette] Midler, Rachel Crocker (Rybread's first kiss), his hairless badger, Larry (God's only son), his lawyer, The Kids in the Hall, Laura Palmer, and Al Gore are mentioned during part I of the interview.
The Pope left his sixty-meter-tall hat at "The Pope and the Glory".
The voice of a sophmore English teacher whispers to you inside the Pope's hat.
Cooper, Tolkien, Alexander, Lovecraft, Noam Chomsky, Jerry Springer and various characters from other Rybread games are mentioned during part II of the interview.
Pigroy is the subject of the cave etching.
Jerry, Scratchy, Henson, the muppets are mentioned by the mice at the celebration.
ET and Alice (of Through the Looking-Glass) are mentioned by the narrator during the celebration.
George Caswell is quoted by the 2d sign.
Laurie Anderson, Crass, Jim Rose, and Crocodile Dunagroo are mentioned during part III of the interview.
Aunt Lydia and Gwenni Kraig are mentioned in the "Candy" preview.
GOTO
>goto 24
(limbo) Hell or a Game? How'd you get here. Your a cheater! Cheater, cheater, goat bleater! Had a fife, but then you mistreat 'er. Fuedalism: Vassles of the world unite!
You can see a Cody, a costume and a Rybread here.
The walkthrough offered within the game is just two commands: GOTO 104. OPEN BOOK. Which is fine if you're okay with skipping the game entirely, I guess.
But 104 isn't the only valid number that can be used. You can actually teleport anywhere! CAUTION: It's risky to teleport outside the defined gameworld.
Here's a directory of which numbers go where. If you use the TREE command, you can see the object numbers with the room names easily. The SHOWOBJ command (for example, SHOWOBJ LEGS) told me that if you teleport somewhere dark, you're actually inside a game object.
24: (limbo)
25: ("Cody")
26: ("costume")
27: ("Rybread")
28: ("designs")
29: Womb with a view
30: ("ancient yellow scroll")
31: Puzzle One
32: ("button")
33: Serpant's Tooth
34: ("crevice")
35: ("doorway")
36: Base of the tooth
37: ("dust tomatoes")
38: Tip of the tooth
39: ("tip")
40: ("dictionary")
41: Inside the T00th
42: Hermit's R00m
43: ("Tooth Beaver")
44: ("Cheese Cloth")
45: Interview with Rybread Celsius, Part I: Bet you wish you could read this in the status line
46: ("fork")
47: ("spoon")
48: BarrelLand
49: ("barrels")
50: ("powder kegs")
51: Shallow Barrels
52: ("barrels")
53: ("powder kegs")
54: The Pope and the Glory
55: ("pope's hat")
56: ("designs")
57: ("crucifix")
58: ("thread")
59: Inside the Pope's Hat
60: Latin Grammar Book
61: ("Hic")
62: ("Haec")
63: ("Hoc")
64: ("Neuter Law")
65: Englishlandville
66: ("Puddle of Pure English (PoPE)")
67: Blarg!
68: Stuffy Room
69: ("Giant Bone")
70: In The Fleshy Massive Hand
71: Cement plane
72: ("Giant Legs")
73: Cement sea
74: Cave Entrance
75: Cave (just west of the entrance)
76: Cave (nearly pitch black)
77: Cave (east of the screen)
78: Cave (with screen)
79: ("Screen")
80: ("banner")
81: Cave (twice west from the entrance)
82: Cave (thrice west from the entrance)
83: Cave (with Zodiacesque exits)
84: Cave (quivers with Science-Fiction Mirth)
85: Cave (west of the etching)
86: Cave (deadend with etching)
87: ("etching")
88: Cave (east of the vents)
89: Cave (with vents)
90: ("vents")
91: Cave (with key)
92: ("Giant Key")
93: Celebration
94: XEvil Mutant Strain (with sign)
95 ("2d Sign")
96: XEvil Mutant Strain (with bread crumb)
97: ("bread crumb")
98: XEvil Mutant Strain (east of crumb)
99: XEvil Mutant Strain (base of long ladder, west of screams)
100: XEvil Mutant Strain (one level up, on the right ladder)
101: XEvil Mutant Strain (two levels up, on the right ladder)
102: XEvil Mutant Strain (three levels up, top of right ladder)
103: XEvil Mutant Strain (two levels up, east of Necronomnicon)
104: XEvil Mutant Strain (where Necronomnicon is)
105: ("Necronomnicon")
106: XEvil Mutant Strain (two levels up, far right)
107: XEvil Mutant Strain (one level up, left of the long ladder)
108: XEvil Mutant Strain (one level up, far left)
109: XEvil Mutant Strain (two levels up, far left)
if the Giger Alien tears you apart because you went the wrong way in the XEvil Mutant Strain maze.
You won! Stop sweating!
if you open the Necronomnicon.
Inventory
an ancient yellow scroll. It's in the womb with a view.
Read it. It's a preface of the game from Cody Sandifer.
a dictionary. Acquire it by opening the tip at the "Tip of the tooth".
Open the dictionary to continue to enter the book and continue to the next part of the game.
a fork. It's in the restaurant where the first part of the interview takes place.
There's nothing you need the fork for.
a thread. To find the thread at "The Pope and the Glory", examine the hat, then examine the designs, then examine the crucifix. Pull the thread to obtain it.
Inside the pope's hat, drop the thread to continue to the next location.
a 2d Sign. It's at the first "XEvil Mutant Strain" location.
Examine the sign, but you don't need to take it nor read it.
a bread crumb. It's at the second "XEvil Mutant Strain" location.
There's nothing you need the crumb for. You cannot eat it.
a Necronomnicon. It's in the "XEvil Mutant Strain" location that's the most awkward to get to. See map 3.
Open the book to win the game.
Score
The response to SCORE is:
You have scored 0 out of 0, in this many turns: T.... not very impressive.... not very impressive..
the support of Robin Johnson, Ville Lavonius, Andrew Schultz, Kenneth Hon, Carl Muckenhoupt, Mark Musante, Phil Tatro, Allyson Gray, Daniel Stelzer, and Tabitha;
the generous support of Janice M Eisen, Matthew Foxley, Thomas Insel, Brian Long, and Andy Volk;
