In this sci-fi rescue adventure, you play as Amos Newton, an archaeology student. Your friend, Professor Baumbeker, rings you up. He babbles excitedly that the strange Incan sphere he found in Peru is showing him an unknown dimension. But in his lab, you only find the sphere. Not him. As you touch the sphere, you see a vision of the professor before you're teleported to the dimension yourself. And it's pitch dark.
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.
Your torch has very little battery life left to it. Don't waste time examining the boulder or stalactites.
> i. turn on torch.
> x chest.(has triangular hole)
> n. n. w.
East-West Tunnel
> take glowing. x shell.
> break shell.(You now have a luminescent sponge providing light.)
> x shell.(scoop-shaped with sharp edge)
> x sponge.
> e. e.
End of Tunnel
> x door. e.
Labyrinth
The door slams shut behind you. When I played this part, I blundered through here and luckily found the medallion and the exit.
Much later, I mapped the labyrinth using the drop-different-objects technique to make sure I didn't miss anything. I hadn't. The medallion is the labyrinth's only prize.
> save
> n. e. e. e.
There should be a silver medallion here. If it's not, perhaps it's randomly-placed. If that's the case, use map 1 to help you traverse the entire labyrinth.
> take medallion. x it. wear it.
> s. s.
Entrance to Dark Tunnel
In the hot dry air, your sponge dries up into dust and blown out of your hands.
> w.
Sea of Green Grass and Flowers (daffodils)
This is another maze, but much smaller; see map 2.
> x grass. x flowers. smell daffodils.
> s.
Sea of Green Grass and Flowers (daisies)
> x flowers. smell daisies.
> n.
Sea of Green Grass and Flowers (poppies)
> x flowers. smell poppies.
> dig.(using the shell)
> take bundle. x it. open it.
> x raincoat. x umbrella.
> w. w. w. w. n.
Rock Face
This is the other side of the same boulder you saw in the game's first location.
> x boulder.
> s. w. n.
Small Plateau
> x farmer. x rifle. x matches. x shack.
> talk to farmer.(He's upset about a thief)
> ask farmer about thief.
> ask farmer about pipe.
> ask farmer about wife.
> ask farmer about himself.
> ask farmer about professor.
> ask farmer about medallion.
> ask farmer about cave.
> ask farmer about well.
> ask farmer about rope.
> ask farmer about meadow.
> ask farmer about yellow substance.
> ask farmer about rifle.
> ask farmer about matches.
> ask farmer for matches.(He gives them.)
> count matches.(plenty)
> w.
Middle of Clearing
> x well. x roof.
> e. s. s.
End of Dirt Road
> x tree. x tractor. search it.
> x oil can. take it.
> e.
Large Clearing
CAUTION: Touching the yellow substance is fatal.
> x yellow. smell it.
> s.
Small Meadow
CAUTION: Touching the rope with your bare hands is fatal.
> x tree.(The rope starts moving.)
> x rope.(covered in yellow substance)
> x hole.
A man crawls out and dies. He's now a mummified corpse.
> x corpse. x paper.(It's a drawing of a man next to a well with an umbrella.)
You dare not take or touch the paper either.
> take match. light match. burn corpse.
> x corpse. search it. take pipe. x it.
> n. e. e. s. s.
Foot of Monument
> x bowl. take it.
> x monument. climb it.(no: need a ladder)
There is a ladder in the game, but if you climb it here, you find nothing at the top of the monument.
Return to the farmer.
> n. n. w. w. w. n. n
Small Plateau
> give pipe to farmer.
> give matches to farmer.(You're now welcome to enter his shack.)
> enter shack —or— n.
Inside Shack
> x planks. x dust. x furniture.
> x ladder. x boots. x trunk. open trunk.
> x gloves. x batteries.
> take batteries. put batteries in torch.
> take boots. wear boots.
> take gloves. wear gloves.
> wear raincoat.
As should be obvious now, all this protective gear is for protecting you from the yellow substance, not from rain.
> s. s. s. e. s.
Small Meadow
With the gloves on:
> untie rope. take rope.
For what it's worth, this is when I mapped the labyrinth, but I'm not going to make you do that.
> n. w. n. n. w.
Middle of Clearing
> tie rope to well. turn on torch.
> d.
Bottom of Well
> n.
Start of Long Tunnel
> x waterfall.
> s. s.
Long Tunnel
> x outlet. x staircase.
> u.
Top of Stone Staircase
> x door. x niche. x lever.
> pull lever with umbrella.(door opens)
> s.(Again, the door slams shut behind you.)
Dark Corridor (by door)
> e.
Dark Corridor (near dripping yellow)
You better be wearing the boots and raincoat.
> x pool. x ceiling.
> open umbrella. e.
Muddy Corridor
This location is directly below the meadow.
> s.
End of Corridor
> x symbols. x carvings. x depression.
> remove medallion. put it in depression.(An east exit opens.)
> wear medallion.
> e.
Sacred Chamber
> x bar. take it.
> x pit. x hieroglyphs.
> d.(no: need a ladder)
> e.
Sanctuary
> x statue. x base.(has scratches)
> x mirror.(ripples)
> x sphere.(like the one the prof had)
> turn statue. x bomb.
> oil spring. take bomb.
> touch mirror.
Foot of Monument
> close umbrella. turn off torch.
> n. n. w. w. w. n. e. n.
Rock Face
> drop bomb. push trigger. s.
Long Dusty Path
> z. z. n.
Rock Face
> x debris. turn on torch.
> n.
Huge Cavern
Just leave the torch on from now on. Trust that the new batteries will last.
> put bar in hole. x liquid. fill bowl.
> s. s. w. n.
Small Plateau
> ask farmer about chest.
> show liquid to farmer.
> ask farmer about tractor.
> ask farmer about monument.
> n.
Inside Shack
> take ladder.
> s. s. e. n. n. n. n. w.
East-West Tunnel
> throw ladder(over the waterfall).
> e. s. s. s. s. w. n. w. d. n.
Start of Long Tunnel
Yes, yes, you climbed down the rope while holding a bowl of green liquid in your mouth. You are just that amazing.
> take ladder.
> s. s. u.
Top of Stone Staircase
> pull lever with umbrella.
> s.
Dark Corridor
> open umbrella.
> e. e. s. e.
Sacred Chamber
> drop ladder. d.
Deep Pit
> x professor. give bowl to him.
> x him. talk to him.
> u. e.
Sanctuary
> touch sphere.
*** You have won ***
Extras
Characters
You are Amos Newton, a student of archaeology.
A farmer sits in front of his shack. He's old and thin. He's got a rifle and a box of matches, and he's quite upset that a thief stole his ivory pipe.
A man emerges from the hole in the meadow and dies horribly before your eyes. He's also the thief that the farmer mentioned.
Professor Baumbeker is your friend and missing. You eventually find him in a dark pit, emaciated and fearful.
Mentioned:
The farmer's wife gave the ivory pipe to the farmer as a gift. She's since passed on.
Another farmer crashed the tractor into the old tree.
Incas are somehow involved with the central mystery of this game. The prof found the first metallic sphere in an Incan archaeological dig site, and you find Incan hieroglyphs in the sacred chamber.
A religious cult ("nutters") think that alien gods built the monument, according to what the farmer tells you.
Credits
This is the response to ABOUT:
This game is an adaptation of the Italian adventure 'Dimensione Sconosciuta' by Bonaventura Di Bello. This was his first game. It was originally written using The Quill for the ZX Spectrum and circulated amongst his friends. He then entered it in a competition hosted by Arcadia S.r.l. in the magazine 'Load'n'Run'. He wasn't allowed to enter, but the game was published on the cover tape of 'Load'n'Run', no. 37, April 1987 for the ZX Spectrum.
The game was later rewritten as 'Amos Newton: Incubo' using The Quill and Illustrator and published by Edizioni Hobby S.r.l. on the cover tape of 'Explorer', no. 8, June 1987 for the Commodore 64 and MSX.
The data was extracted from the C64 version using UnQuill, translated to English and rewritten for a modern audience with the original author's permission. The new version includes many enhancements that weren't in either of the original versions. The coding was done using Inform 6 and the PunyInform library.
Original concept, game design and coding by Bonaventura Di Bello.
English translation, game redesign and coding by Garry Francis.
Play testing by Charles Moore Jr, Gianluca Girelli, Pablo Maria Martinez Merino and Robert Eggleston.
Special thanks to Gianluca Girelli for ideas and feedback during the redesign.
Endings
You have died
if you touch the rope, paper, or corpse (each covered in deadly yellow substance) with your bare hands.
if, at the top of the stone staircase, you pull the lever with your hand. A dart shoots out and pierces your skin. I assume it's poisonous.
if you enter the muddy corridor location without the raincoat on or without the boots on or without an open umbrella over your head. The yellow substance gets onto you and you soon collapse dead.
if you're near the bomb when it explodes.
You have won
if you touch the sphere in the sanctuary while the professor is with you.
Inventory
Items are listed in the order they're acquired in this walkthrough.
a torch. You're carrying this flashlight.
You're in darkness. Turn on the torch so you can see.
CAUTION: The torch's original batteries are very low on power. Acquire the glowing sponge as soon as possible before the torch goes dark.
When you acquire new batteries, put them into the torch. You automatically throw the old ones away. The torch is now a reliable source of light.
When you're again in dark locations, turn on the torch for light.
a sea shell. It's the glowing something in the water in the east-west tunnel.
Take and break the shell; it's now a broken sea shell. You also acquire the glowing sponge that was inside.
In the grassy field that has poppies, dig (using the broken shell) to find a plastic bundle.
At the top of the stone staircase, pull the lever with the umbrella to open the door there.
In the dark corridor, open the umbrella to protect you from falling yellow substance in the muddy corridor. After you're past that dangerous location, you may close the umbrella until you pass through that way again.
a matchbox. The farmer on the small plateau has it.
After chatting with the farmer about the thief, pipe, and matches, ask the farmer for the matches. He gives them to you.
In the meadow, after the thief dies, take a match, light it, then burn the corpse to make it safe to search.
Back on the small plateau, after giving the pipe to the farmer, he asks for the matches. Give the matches back to him. Now you may enter his shack and take everything not nailed down in there.
an oil can. Acquire it by searching the old tractor at the end of the dirt road.
Oil the spring (of the bomb) to make the bomb usable.
an ivory pipe. At the small meadow, after the thief crawls out of the hole and dies, burn the corpse with a lit match then search the burnt corpse to find the ivory pipe.
On the small plateau, give the pipe and matchbox to the farmer. You may now enter and loot his shack.
a wooden bowl. It's at the foot of the monument.
In the huge cavern, after opening the chest (see crystal bar), fill the bowl with green liquid.
While the bowl is full, you are unwilling to put the bowl down because the liquid will spill. If you opt to empty the bowl, you can always refill it from the chest.
Amazingly, you can climb down the rope into the well without spilling much of the liquid by expertly holding the bowl with your teeth.
Ask the farmer about the green liquid to learn it's the gift of life, a panacea.
In the deep pit, give the filled bowl to the professor. He drinks the liquid and is restored to health, both physically and mentally. You can take the bowl back, but it's no longer needed.
a ladder. It's inside the farmer's shack; see pipe for entry.
While you can drop the ladder at the monument and climb the ladder there, there's nothing at the top of the monument, so that effort is wasted.
In the sacred chamber, try to go down. You learn you need a ladder there.
To get the ladder to the sacred chamber, you must first remove the rock face's boulder with the bomb, then continue to the east-west tunnel then throw the ladder (over the waterfall). The ladder is now at the start of the long tunnel and you can carry the ladder the rest of the way without incident.
In the sacred chamber, drop the ladder. Now you can go down into the pit.
a pair of rubber boots. They're inside the farmer's shack; see pipe for entry.
Put them on and keep them on. They protect you from the puddles of yellow substance when walking through the muddy corridor.
a pair of rubber gloves. They're in the unlocked trunk in the farmer's shack; see pipe for entry.
Put them on and keep them on. They protect you from directly touching the yellow substance that's all over the long rope.
a pair of batteries. They're in the unlocked trunk in the farmer's shack; see pipe for entry.
Put the batteries into your torch. The torch is now a reliable light-source.
a long rope. In the meadow, the rope is tied to the tree.
CAUTION: The rope is covered in deadly yellow substance. You dare not touch it even for an instant with unprotected hands.
While wearing gloves, raincoat, and boots, untie the rope from the tree. Take the rope.
In the small meadow, tie the rope to the well. Now you can climb down that way.
a crystal bar. It's in the sacred chamber.
In the huge cavern, put the bar into the chest's triangular hole to open the chest. The bar is gone.
a strange bomb. In the sanctuary, turn the statue; the bomb is found inside the statue's base.
At the rock face (where there's a boulder), drop the bomb, push the trigger, then run south. Wait two turns for the bomb to explode, then return. The boulder is gone. The debris left behind doesn't block you from entering the huge cavern.
XYZZY
This is the response to XYZZY, PLUGH, PLOVER, or YOHO:
You have a vision of Professor Baumbeker. [either] He looks horribly emaciated, almost non-human. [or] He looks weak and frail, but he's smiling. [as appropriate] Then the vision fades.
