Swap Wand User is a Glulx interactive fiction game written with Inform 7 and is © 2025 by Sarah Willson. It was an entry in ParserComp 2025, where it placed 2nd in the Classic category. It's also an entrant in Neo-Twiny Jam 2025.
This unusual story is about Lucross's co-founders and their transposition wand. You are presented with a series of short paragraphs (called fragments) where some words are in the wrong positions. Your only option is to swap words of equal length using commands like SWAP WAND USER. This story has two endings.
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.
<fragment 1: documentation: title>
In this game, you are given a string of words. You must SWAP words of comparible length until the string of words makes sense.
> help
> swap wand user (fragment repaired)
<fragment 1: documentation: title>
Lucross Character Transposition Wand User Manual
>> SPACE
<fragment 2: founder's quotation>
> swap cross often
> swap become people
> swap cross stuck
> swap is in
> swap and one
> swap how way
> swap is of
> swap kathleen thinking
> swap kathleen flexible
> swap reality diverse
> swap cross truly
<fragment 2: founder's quotation>
Often people become stuck in one way of thinking, forgetting how flexible and diverse reality truly is. —Kathleen Cross
>> SPACE
<fragment 3: documentation: compatibility>
> swap for the
> swap significantly transposition
> swap more wand
> swap subjects requires
> swap consult exactly
> swap not two
> swap of do
> swap consult attempt
> swap of to
> swap different transpose
> swap compatibility significantly
> swap table sizes
<fragment 3: documentation: compatibility>
The transposition wand requires exactly two subjects. Do not attempt to transpose subjects of significantly different sizes. Consult compatibility table for more information.
>> SPACE
<fragment 4: Lucross mission statement>
> swap all our
> swap sciences research
> swap between bridges
> swap between natural
> swap all and
> swap always social
> swap facilitate unimagined
> swap understanding possibilities
> swap to of
> swap broad above
> swap to we
> swap in to
> swap safety people
> swap mind with
<fragment 4: Lucross mission statement>
Our research bridges natural and social sciences, revealing unimagined possibilities of intercommunication. Above all, we hope to facilitate broad understanding between people, with safety precautions always in mind.
>> SPACE
<fragment 5: article excerpt>
> swap their after
> swap former twelve
> swap might years
> swap of as
> swap benjamin director
> swap said hope
> swap organization laboratories
> swap their Cross
> swap cognitive cofounded
> swap student Lucross
> swap that with
> swap research Benjamin
> swap to Lu
> swap induce former
> swap decline student
> swap her who
> swap that said
> swap are her
> swap our was
> swap allegations devastating
<fragment 5: article excerpt>
After twelve years as director of Hope Laboratories, Cross cofounded Lucross with Benjamin Lu, a former student, who said her hospitalization was "devastating to our organization." Allegations that their research might induce cognitive decline are unverified.
>> SPACE
<fragment 6: police report>
> swap lost call
> swap home from
> swap regarding supermart
> swap confirmed regarding
> swap 39 an
> swap patient elderly
> swap officers customer
> swap person acting
> swap claimed arrived
> swap at in
> swap claimed vehicle
> swap medibridge registered
> swap at to
> swap person Vivian
> swap Cross Brown
> swap and age
> swap as 39
> swap car she
> swap owner owned
> swap and the
> swap got car
> swap with lost
> swap patient driving
> swap with home
> swap owner after
> swap hospital speaking
> swap hospital Kathleen
<fragment 6: police report>
Call from Supermart regarding an elderly customer acting disoriented. Arrived in vehicle registered to Vivian Brown, age 39. Claimed she owned the car and got lost driving home. After speaking with owner, officers confirmed unidentified person as Kathleen Cross, a patient at Medibridge Hospital.
>> SPACE
<fragment 7: documentation: warning>
> swap of do
> swap use not
> swap setting operate
> swap all the
> swap during device
> swap be on
> swap subjects yourself
> swap be an
> swap only must
> swap emergency supervise
> swap operator subjects
> swap by at
> swap revert during
> swap should period
> swap by in
> swap wand case
> swap to of
> swap procedure emergency
> swap used undo
> swap trained setting
> swap by to
> swap should revert
> swap used wand
<fragment 7: documentation: warning>
DO NOT operate the device on yourself. An experimenter must supervise subjects AT ALL TIMES during transposition period. In case of emergency, use UNDO setting to revert procedure. Wand should be used ONLY by a trained operator.
>> SPACE
Restoring character: Benjamin Lu...
<stream of consciousness>
> swap rules broke
> swap own our
we broke our own rules.
> swap research kathleen
> swap me it
kathleen led our research, but people took it more seriously coming from me.
> swap secret device
so we started conducting experiments with the device in secret.
> swap funhouse yourself
nothing prepares you for the experience of talking with yourself. it felt like stepping inside of a funhouse mirror.
> swap myself person
i was neither myself nor kathleen, but another person entirely.
> swap loss side
then we discovered the side effects. rodents had suffered no memory loss, but kathleen...
> swap astonishing personality
our research explores whether personality endures beyond corporeality. now we know: bodies have astonishing influence.
> swap day one
i visited kathleen at medibridge often. one day i brought the device.
> swap compliant heartless
nurse vivian was heartless. she gave kathleen sedatives to keep her compliant.
> swap addled begged
in a lucid moment, kathleen begged me to liberate her from that addled mind.
> swap wrong right
vivian deserves no concern. but what right did i have? now everything is wrong.
<fragment not yet determined—results may be unstable>
> swap vivian choice
i ask myself: is there another choice?
> swap kathleen vivian
*** you have restored order ***
> undo
> swap myself choice
> swap choice vivian
i ask vivian: is there another choice?
> swap kathleen myself
*** you have created chaos ***
The response to ABOUT or CREDITS or INFO is:
Written by Sarah Willson. Many thanks to playtesters Kirk Damato and Ryan Veeder for their valuable feedback.
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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