A Very Strong Gland is a Glulx work of interactive fiction written with Inform 7 and is © 2024 by Arthur DiBianca. It was an entry in IF Comp 2024 where it took 19th place.
In this sci-fi puzzlefest that uses limited commands, you are abducted by aliens to their vessel so they can test your intelligence gland. During the testing, the vessel crashes. Gain their trust and help them fix their own vessel, proving you have a very strong gland indeed!
This solution is by David Welbourn, and is based on Release 1 of the work.
SPOILERS AHEAD. Reading a walkthrough prematurely can sometimes diminish one's enjoyment of a work of interactive fiction. Please make an honest effort to play the work before reading this walkthrough.
Note: This game uses a single-keystroke command system. As a consequence, I must be even more verbose than usual with my commentary, otherwise this walkthough would look like a bunch of random letters.
Also, the aliens are genderless and use it/its pronouns, but I hope you will forgive me if I use their first initials as alternative pronouns. For example, I'll refer to Klanku as K, just you must in your commands.
Empty Chamber
> H
> L
> XO (You examine the outline.)
> Z (Repeat waiting until a bird and tulip appear.)
> XB (You examine the bird.)
> XT (You examine the tulip.)
You hear: "Fro morbleko in perunia. Wizzy wiz opple."
> Z (Repeat waiting until you understand the voice:)
You hear: "Planet creature listen. Touch the bird." You can now use T for TOUCH.
> TB
The voice explains you've been abducted. A window appears and you see three space aliens who want to test your brain. The purple alien is Jopho; the pinkish one is Zona, and the olive drab one is Klanku.
The bird and tulip vanish.
> XJ (examine Jopho: a purple alien)
Jopho tells you that the quorz on your head is translating their language for you. You can now use I for INFO.
> I
> XQ (examine quorz: You can't really see it on your head.)
> TQ (touch quorz: It tingles.)
> TW (touch window)
A cube, sphere, and pyramid appear. Jopho says to touch the scary thing, then touch the loud thing.
> XC (gray cube with rounded corners)
> XS (gray sphere with large very-dark holes)
> XP (gray pyramid with very pointy corners)
> TPTS (correct! The objects vanish.)
> XZ (Zona is pink-orange; it will test your numbers.)
> Z
A green blob appears. Zona says it changes. You need to reach eleven.
> Z (It turns blue.)
> Z (It turns black.)
> Z (It turns green.)
> Z (blue again)
> Z (black again)
> Z (green again)
By simple observation while just waiting, you learn that the blob cycles through the green, blue, and black colors.
When you touch the blob, a number is said, starting with Zero. Touching the green blob adds 1 to the current total. Touching the blue blob multiplies the total by 2. Touching the black blob resets the total to 0.
Probably the quickest way to 11 is this sequence: 0, 1, 2, 4, 5, 10, 11.
Wait until the blob is green and do this:
> TB ("One"; now blue)
> TB ("Two"; now black)
> ZZTB ("Four"; now black)
> ZTB ("Five"; now blue)
> TB ("Ten"; now black)
> ZTB ("Eleven")
Zona says you've achieved it; the blob vanishes.
> XK (Klanku is olive-colored.)
They are convinced you have a gland. The new test will be more serious. You hear a thump.
> L (There's a pear and a banana. Your challenge is to make them disappear.)
This challenge will get interrupted, so feel free to attempt the challenge however you like.
> XP (imitation Bartlett pear)
> XB (yellow banana)
> TP (suitcase appears)
There's another thump.
> XSTS (nothing)
You and the aliens lurch sideways.
> TB (It vanishes, and a fork appears.)
There's a louder thump, a crunch. The lights dim, the gravity lessens, and you black out.
>> SPACE
It's later. The window is again an outline and everything else is gone.
> I (You still have the quorz.)
> TO
> Z
You hear a loud sizzling. A part of one wall disappears. You decide that the outline is NORTH and the exit is EAST.
> E
Pinstripe Room
> XC (silvery cylinder)
> TC (nothing happens)
> N
Blue Room
Klanku sees you, thinks you'll kill everyone, and vanishes.
> XP (blue pedestal with rounded top)
> XR (dull metallic ring fills most of the floor)
> XC (gray object similar to cashew)
> XH (gray object similar to hazelnut)
> XS (gray object similar to sponge)
> TR (The ring is cold and smooth.)
> TP
The pedestal gives a system report when touched.
The cashew, hazelnut, and sponge are controls. Touch the sponge to try to activate the power ring.
> TS (The ring flashes and vibrates. "Failure. The power ring was not warm.")
Touch the cashew to change the ring's temperature:
> TC (Ring glows briefly.)
> TR (Ring feels warm and smooth.)
Try to activate the ring again:
> TS (Ring flashes and vibrates. "Failure. The power ring was not prickly.")
Touch the hazelnut to change the ring's texture:
> TH (Ring glows briefly.)
> TR (Ring feels cold and rough.)
> THTR (Ring feels cold and prickly.)
I'm not sure why the ring is cold again, so:
> TCTR (Ring feels warm and prickly!)
> TS
The ring glows, rises, contracts into a shining dot. "Upstarting action worked." The barriers and hovering objects vanish.
> XD (very bright)
> TD (You can't get your hand closer than six inches.)
> TP
That's quite a list of problems. Let me explain some of the unfamiliar terms.
> W
Yellow Room
Zona can't defend itself. Z won't move because it will lose too much powder.
> XZ (Zona has a gash, and puffs of dark powder are leaking.)
> XPTP (The pad is round and doesn't react.)
> XS (The shards are sharp.)
> XC (The console exploded.)
> TT (touch trapezoid: You hear faint sizzling sound.)
> TE (touch emerald: The outline becomes a window.)
> TT (You see part of the wall in the other room disappear.)
So the emerald controls the window's transparency, and the trapezoid opens and closes the test chamber's door. You can ignore the shards; they're not the "clutter" that the pedestal was concerned with.
> ES
Pinstripe Room
Note that the cylinder is now glowing.
> TC (You acquire a white aura. A hovering robot emerges from a wall panel. "It is currently a stacker.")
> XR
> TR (It's now a patcher.)
> TR (It's now a stacker.)
> TR (It's now a patcher.)
> NW (The robot follows you to...)
Yellow Room
> TZ
The robot patches Zona. Zona now believes you are helpful. It glides onto the pad, which glows, but when Z speaks, cacophony is heard elsewhere. "The shouter is wild."
Yellow Room
> TC (The console cannot be patched.)
> TS (The shards cannot be patched.)
> TQ (Both your white aura and the robot go away.)
> EN
Black Room
> XETE (The window shows a blizzard outside.)
> XCTC (The console does nothing.)
> XB (beige disc with 4 holes)
> XL (red sphere with spots)
> XD (squat cylinder)
> TB ("The finder is lost.")
> TL ("The pusher is activated. All surplus power is now being pushed into the spacesquare defense.")
> ZZZZ ("The pusher has stopped. It is tired.")
> TD ("The propeller is dead.")
> SE
Bumpy Room
Jopho thinks you're attacking. J fires a red beam from an apple-shaped device over your shoulder. You retreat.
>> SPACE
Blue Room
> W
Yellow Room
> TP (Zona tries again to use the shouter, but now says it sounds too powerful.)
What if Zona tries to use the shouter when the pusher is active?
> EN
Black Room
> TL (Surplus power to pusher.)
> SW
Yellow Room
> TP (Zona relays its message, suggesting that the aliens should not be scared of you.)
> E
Blue Room
Jopho is here and tells you that Klanku is a vanisher, so Klanku didn't hear Zona's messsage.
Jopho also says it is sort of in charge, but doesn't understand spacesquares very well. J goes north.
> N
Black Room
> TJ (Jopho only repeats what it said about Klanku.)
> SE
Bumpy Room
> XTTT (The table itself does nothing.)
> XH (The hemisphere glows softly.)
> XF (brown funnel)
> XE (dark green egg)
> XP (purple plum)
> TH (You get a red aura.)
> TQ (The aura fades.)
> TF (Changing room is now unsettled state)
> TF (Changing room is now a relaxing room)
> TF (Changing room is now a testing room)
> TFTF (...relaxing room)
> WSW
Dotted Room (formerly Empty Chamber)
> XS (red and abstract)
> TS (The sculpture changes its shape)
> XD (hexagonal display of symbols)
> XA (toy amethyst)
> TA (display changes. "This is some important advice")
> TA ("This is some facts about planet creatures.")
> TA ("This is what Zona shouted.")
> TA ("This is an amusing story.")
> TA ("This is some important advice.")
Looks like you'll need to learn how to read the alien symbols or get someone or something else to read them for you.
Investigate the "unsettled" option for this room:
> ENE
Bumpy Room
> TFTF ("...unsettled state")
> WS
Pinstripe Room
The west exit is blocked with a field.
> XFTF (Like a soap bubble, but firm.)
> NW
Yellow Room
I'm assuming you left the window open.
> XW (It's a swirl of colors in there.)
> TT (The trapezoid does nothing currently.)
> EE
Bumpy Room
The egg and plum appear to control doors:
> TE ("That door cannot be corrected, because the age-stopper room is exposed.")
> TP ("That door cannot be corrected without authority.")
> TF ("...relaxing room")
> TH (You get a red aura.)
> WW
Yellow Room
Zona says you have a red jacket, and it makes red things be strange. You've seen two red things so far: the sculpture in the Dotted Room, and the ladybug in the Black Room.
But perhaps you should check out the south exit of the Bumpy Room before experimenting.
> TQ (Your red aura fades away.)
> EES
White Room
If you choose to follow the swishing sound, it leads you into the dotted room and back here.
> XP (round black pad)
> XD (hex display)
> XO (silvery obelisk)
> XC (shiny metallic coil)
> XT (cylinder with indentations)
> XB (orange lima bean)
> XY (black yo-yo without string)
> XM (fuzzy shoe)
> TD (nothing)
> TP (feels soft, does nothing)
> TO (You get an amber aura.)
> NWW
Yellow Room
With an amber aura, Zona says you can make protective jackets with that.
> TZ (Nothing. Maybe it doesn't work on living creatures.)
> TQ (The aura fades.)
> EES
White Room
> TC (Coil doesn't react)
> TT (Rumble, characters on the display change)
> TB (Thunk, characters on the display change)
> TY (Gurgling, characters on the display change)
> TM (Gurgling, characters on the display change)
Hm. Time to experiment with the red aura.
> N
Bumpy Room
> TH (You get a red aura.)
> WSW
Dotted Room
With red aura:
> TS (The sculpture spins madly.)
> ENN
Black Room
With red aura:
> TL (Power is pulled FROM defense.)
> ZZZ (Power is back to normal.)
> SES
White Room
Wait a minute. What if that soft swishing sound is Klanku? Lead K into the Dotted Room.
> NWSW
Dotted Room
> TQ (get rid of the red aura)
Now touch the amethyst until the display shows what Zona shouted.
> TATA
> ENESNWSW (bring the swishing here)
Klanku reads the display and appears. K now knows you're helpful, and K has an idea. Follow K back to the White Room.
> ENES
White Room
Klanku is now wearing the coil. K says K has the hide-stitcher to stitch the hide, but we need to enliven the in-out first, which is actually the pad in this room. K wants you to use the controls.
Don't touch anything until Klanku asks you to. Wait instead.
The first step is to learn the four alien words for the four controls in this room.
Loop through this sequence until you know what they are.
> Z (Klanku asks you to touch the oblu, glur, jorp, or mok.)
> TT —or— TB —or— TY —or— TM
Klanku says "Yes" if you're correct, or "That's not the one." if you're incorrect.
When I played, glur meant thimble, oblu meant mocassin, jorp meant yo-yo, and mok meant bean. As far as I know, these associations are not randomized.
Now, for the next part, you want to follow Klanku's directions, but make sure to wait again to see if K changes its mind on what you should touch. So now cycle through this loop:
> Z (Klanku asks you to touch something.)
> Z (Klanku might correct itself, and ask you to touch something else.)
> TT —or— TB —or— TY —or— TM (as appropriate for what Klanku really wants you to touch.)
When you finally complete a correct sequence, Klanku glides onto the pad and disappears. Since K is now outside the vessel, head for the Black Room where there's a window.
> NWN
Black Room
While you wait here, you may see Klanku go past the window. Sometimes it'll talk to you via your quorz. Eventually K says the hide is torn near the age-stopper corner, which is the northwest.
> Z (repeat until K says the defense is in its way)
> SE
Bumpy Room
> TH (You have a red aura)
> WN
Black Room
> TLZZZ (Repeat pulling power from defense and waiting thrice until K stitches the hide.)
> Z (Now repeat waiting until Klanku asks you to touch the mok so it can re-enter.)
> SES
White Room
> TQTB
Klanku reappears but is now very hungry.
> NWS
Pinstripe Room
> TK (Klanku wants the "feeder room" for some juice.)
> NE
Bumpy Room
> TFTF ("...unsettled state")
> TE ("The door has now been corrected"; the egg vanishes.)
> WN
Black Room
The west exit is now open.
> W
Damaged Room
> TJ ("The age-stoppers are under that clutter.")
> XCXD
> ESS
Pinstripe Room
> TC ("patcher")
> NNW
Damaged Room
> TC (The robot patches the crack.)
> TR (It's now a stacker.)
> TD ("Those pieces have a dangerous surface.")
Ah. You need to touch the debris with amber, then fetch the stacker robot before the amber wears off!
> ESES
White Room
> TO (Get amber; lose white and robot)
> NWNW
Damaged Room
> TD (amber applied)
> ESS
Pinstripe Room
> TCNNW
Damaged Room
> TD (The debris is stacked. Modules are revealed; they are the age-stoppers.)
> XM (I guess they're cryostorage pods.)
> TQ (Robot leaves.)
> L (You notice a box.)
> XBTB (You get a blue aura.)
> ESW
Yellow Room
Zona says the blue jacket calms unsettled states.
> ES
Pinstripe Room
> TF (The field vanishes, and Klanku goes west.)
> W
Orange Room
> XB (has mushroom)
> XS (few feet up)
> XC (capsule drenched with brown goop from ceiling)
> TQ (aura gone)
> TM (bottle starts to hum)
> ZZZ (bottle stops humming)
> ENW
Yellow Room
Zona is looking at the window.
> TZ (Zona says the mixer used to be a different color than brown.)
> EE
Bumpy Room
> TH (You have a red aura)
> WSW
Orange Room
With a red aura:
> TC (The capsule shakes the goop off! The capsule is red, and there's a diamond on it.)
> TQ (aura gone)
> XD (It's another control, like the emerald.)
> TD (There's an empty grinding sound.)
> TM (bottle hums)
> TD (The capsule chugs. Orange liquid pours out of the spout and onto Klanku. Hooray. K leaves, sated.)
> ENE
Bumpy Room
Klanku is now here.
> TP (Klanku goes to tell Jopho.)
> ZZ (Klanku has told Jopho.)
> TP ("The door has now been corrected."; plum goes)
> WNE
Complicated Room
The bulb turns green.
> TJ ("The finder is hard to understand.")
Jopho isn't kidding. There's four controls here, and every turn, one of them changes color. The controls change in this order: wheel, then triangle, then scallop, then bulb, then wheel, etc. There's also four colors: black turns green, green turns yellow, yellow turns blue, and blue turns black.
Touch a control to interfere with color-changing. If you touch a control when it's its turn to change color, it doesn't change.
After several turns here, Jopho leaves, saying it's too much.
The goal is to get all four controls the same color. It doesn't matter which color, as long as they're all the same.
So, the strategy is to first get the wheel and triangle the same color, then get the triangle and scallop the same color, then get the scallop and bulb the same color.
The wheel turns blue.
> XP (The triangle turns black.)
> XW (It's blue. The scallop turns green.)
> XS (It's green. The bulb turns yellow.)
> XB (It's yellow. The wheel turns black.)
> XT (It's black. It turns green.)
When you touch a control, it shivers. If you touch it when it would normally change, it doesn't change.
Take a deep breath and, wait until the wheel changes color to green:
> ZZZ
Now touch the triangle when it would normally change:
> TT (The triangle shivers and remains green.)
Both the wheel and triangle are green.
> TS (The scallop shivers and remains yellow.)
> Z (The bulb turns black.)
> Z (The wheel turns yellow.)
> Z (The triangle turns yellow.)
> TS (The scallop remains yellow.)
Now you just need to stop the bulb from changing on its turns until the other three change to match it.
> TB (The bulb remains black.)
> ZZZ (The other three turn blue.)
> TB (The bulb remains black.)
> ZZZ (The other three turn black.)
When all of the controls are the same color, they all turn white: "The finder will now begin to find itself."
> TP ("The finder is able to find now.")
> WS
Blue Room
> TP ("The propeller is dead.")
> N
Black Room
> Z (repeat waiting until the button wiggles a bit)
> TB (Jopho learns the finder is finding, but a new voice interrupts.)
>> SPACE
Ungru, a slate-colored alien, is by the east exit pointing an apple at you. U says the propeller can't be enlivened because it took the burb out of it, indicating a fragment it has.
> XU
Ungru says it hid in the finder room and didn't need an age-stopper because it's a self-stopper.
> XA (The apple is bright yellow.)
Ungru admits to destroying the power ring too.
> XF (The fragment is multicolored.)
Ungru hoped either you would kill the others or that they'd starve without juice.
> Z
Ungru wanted to steal the square and sell you.
> Z
Ungru says maybe it'll put everyone into the age-stoppers. You hear a soft swish: Klanku!
> S (Ungru won't let you leave.)
> ZZ
Klanku grabs Ungru from behind. The apple and fragment fall; Jopho takes them. Ungru runs south. Klanku gives chase.
> S
Blue Room
Ungru goes east.
> ZZZ (Ungru emerges and goes west.)
> Z (Ungru emerges and goes south.)
> W
Yellow Room
You see Ungru glide into the orange room.
> TT (nothing happens)
Ungru leaves the orange room.
> EE
Bumpy Room
> TF (relaxing)
> TF (testing)
> WW
Yellow Room
Unfortunately, Ungru never goes into the Testing Room when it has that setting.
> TT (The testing room's exit closes. This is an important step.)
> EE
Bumpy Room
> TF (feeder room)
> TF (relaxing room)
> WW
Yellow Room
> TZ (Zona suggests trapping Ungru and maybe she can help.)
> EN
Black Room
> TJ (He's guarding this section.)
> SES
White Room
> TK (Klanku is guarding the in-out.)
> N
Bumpy Room
This is a timing puzzle. I assume the changing room is still the relaxing Dotted Room? If not, touch the funnel until it is.
Wait until Ungru heads west from here...
> Z (repeat as necessary)
... then wait four turns and then change the changing room when Ungru is inside it:
> ZZZZTF (Zona says Ungru is now trapped in the testing room.)
> WW
Yellow Room
> XW (You see Ungru in the testing room.)
> TZ (Z is glad Ungru is trapped, but doesn't understand Ungru's actions.)
> E
Blue Room
> TP ("The propeller is dead.")
> N
Black Room
As you enter, Jopho puts the fragment onto the console which swallows it. The propeller is fixed. Zona and Klanku enter. Jopho invites you to start the propeller.
> TD
Through the window, you see the blizzard receed as the spacesquare rises into Earth's orbit.
They intend to return you to your home, then they'll go home too. Zona says to keep the quorz as a memory.
>> SPACE
*** THE END ***
There is no QUIT command. Close your interpreter.
Note that all the aliens are short and not gendered.
When referring to something, only use the first letter of its name.
Oddly, QUIT and Q are not special commands. You have to close your interpreter instead.
These credits are displayed when the game begins:
Special thanks to Andy Fleming, Chandler Groover, Lorne Harris, Aubrey Orf, Luke Pebler, and Amanda Walker for testing, and to Nadia Bellazola for cover art.
Note that you can only have one aura at a time. Whenever you acquire an aura when you have another one, the new aura replaces the old one.
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!
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