In this sci-fi espionage game, you again play as the hero Galaxy Jones. Sirius Syndicate cyborgs have turned Phobos into a giant missile and intend to smash Mars with it. Your mission is to sneak into their secret base on Phobos and stop them. And don't kill anyone unnecessarily. Save who you can.
This solution is by David Welbourn, and is based on Release 2 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.
The signage is in Siriusian, which seems to be mostly the letter L with different accent marks.
> i.
> x module.(scan text with it)
> x pistol.(kill enemies with it)
> x suit.(You can "power on" the suit to supercharge your next attack. Note that you don't earn points when using the suit to solve a puzzle, so this walkthrough won't use the suit that way.)
> x KIM.(hack something with it)
> x bar. x sled.
> scan door.(no: not enough text)
> x door. touch scanner.
> hack door.(+1)
> n. w.
Storeroom
> scan form. read form. take it.
> read sign.
> e. n. w. n.
Science Lab
> take notebook. scan it. read it.
> s.
Western Spoke
> x yellow door. hack it.
The KIM shows nine red numbered buttons and a reset button. You want to turn the buttons blue.
> push 3. push 5. push 7.
> push 9. push 2.(+1. success!)
> w.
Reactor Room
> take manual. scan it. read it.
> e.
Western Spoke
> x red door. hack it.
Your KIM shows 9 numbered buttons. The 6 is blue; the others are red.
For this one, push the 1 and the prime numbers to turn all the buttons blue:
> push 1. push 2. push 3.
> push 5. push 7.(+1; the door opens)
> s.
Armory
> x cybercarapace. take it. wear it.
> n. e. e. n.
North Barracks
> x poster. x pods.
> x cabinet. open it.
> x helmet. take it.
> s. s.
South Barracks
> x locker. open it. hack it.
The KIM shows four numbered buttons. The 1 and 4 are red; the 2 and 3 are blue.
> push 1. push 4.(+1; the locker opens)
> take diary. scan it. read it.
> n.
Eastern Spoke
> save.
> x blue door. hack it.
This time the KIM is showing nine buttons with the Siriusian characters on them. There's no RESET button. Pushing a button turns it blue. Pushing another button afterwards swaps the characters and the buttons are all red again. Clearly, the nine characters need to be put into order, but which order?
> wear helmet. z.
You're now hearing numbers. And it's counting down. And the Siriusian characters in the announcements should be read right-to-left. Looking at the recent announcements in scrollback, I deduced:
1 is Ľ (LATIN CAPITAL LETTER L WITH CARON)
2 is ľ (LATIN SMALL LETTER L WITH CARON)
3 is Ŀ (LATIN CAPITAL LETTER L WITH MIDDLE DOT)
4 is ŀ (LATIN SMALL LETTER L WITH MIDDLE DOT)
5 is Ł (LATIN CAPITAL LETTER L WITH STROKE)
6 is ł (LATIN SMALL LETTER L WITH STROKE)
7 is Ĺ (LATIN CAPITAL LETTER L WITH ACUTE)
8 is ĺ (LATIN SMALL LETTER L WITH ACUTE)
9 is Ļ (LATIN CAPITAL LETTER L WITH CEDILLA)
0 is ļ (LATIN SMALL LETTER L WITH CEDILLA)
The target sequence is: Ľ ľ Ŀ ŀ Ł ł Ĺ ĺ Ļ
Put the Siriusian digits in numerical order to open the blue door, and don't confuse the carons with acutes! Push a button then another button to swap them.
Unfortunately, the original order of the buttons is randomized, so I can't tell you exact button pushes.
> push 1. push Ľ.(capital L caron)
> push 2. push ľ.(small L caron)
> push 3. push Ŀ.(captial L dot)
> push 4. push ŀ.(small L dot)
> push 5. push Ł.(capital L stroke)
> push 6. push ł.(small L stroke)
> push 7. push Ĺ.(capital L acute)
> push 8. push ĺ.(+1; blue door opens)
> e.
Commander's Quarters
> take log. scan it. read it.("Important: The new security key for control is .....")
The security key is randomized. Write it down!
Also, since you've now scanned all five documents in the game, this is a good time to re-read them.
> x form. x notebook. x manual. x diary.
> w. w.
Hub Junction
NOTE: You must be wearing both the helmet and the carapace before the KIM is able to stick to this door.
> hack purple door.
It shows sixteen red buttons with Siriusian characters. The code is the security key seen in the commander's log. Sorry, but because the code is randomized, I can't tell you which exact buttons to push this time.
> push N1.(button number of 1st character)
> push N2.(button number of 2nd character)
> push N3.(button number of 3rd character)
> push N4.(button number of 4th character)
> push N5.(button number of 5th character; +1)
> n.
Control Room
> x guard.
One button is Launch, and the other is Self-Destruct, but which is red and which is green is randomized.
> x red button. x green button.
If you have any questions for the guard, this is the time to do it. I assume that the helmet does the translations.
When you're done chatting, be kind or reveal a cruel truth; pick one:
> give bar to guard.(They love chocolate!)
> show log to guard.(They were betrayed!)
> remove carapace.(+1. They recognize you as a good human.)
The guard pushes the self-destruct button, then heads south. Follow them to the reactor.
> s. w. w.
Reactor Room
The guard tells you to pull the right lever.
> pull right lever.(+1)
The countdown is now at 19! And the guard warns you that others may be summoned.
> e. e. n.
Control Room
A pair of Siriusian commandos arrive from the flight deck, one short and one tall, with weapons drawn. "16"
> hit tall commando.("15")
> hit short commando.("14")
Unfortunately, the guard dies. But you can save these other two.
> take tall.("13")
> n.("12")
Flight Deck
> enter ship —or— in —or— n.("11")
The Siriusian Ship
> drop tall.("10")
> s. s.("9" ... "8")
Control Room
> take short.("7")
> n. n.("6" ... "5")
The Siriusian Ship
> drop short.("4")
> fly ship.(+3)
*** Galaxy Jones has saved Mars from the Sirius Syndicate. ***
Extras
Characters
Galaxy Jones is the protagonist. She's a trained hero authorized to solve problems on or near Mars.
Beck is Jones's handler. He's only heard from in the prologue. Normally, he advises her by radio, but for this mission, radio silence is needed.
<ĺłīŁłΐ> is the Siriusian guard in the control room, assigned to take the final watch. They are the diary author and a free-thinker.
Two commandos, one tall and one short, confront you and the guard in the control room after the reactor's self-destruct countdown has begun.
Mentioned:
<ıΐĿŀĿŀ> is the Siriusian base commander.
<ĹļıĽĻ>, the guard's love, was killed in a protest. The commander ordered their death.
<ĹľĿłŁŧ> is the cyborg whose carapace you're using.
Credits
This is the response to CREDITS:
Standard Rules version 3/120430 by Graham Nelson
Conversation Framework version 11 by Eric Eve
Epistemology version 9 by Eric Eve
Undo Output Control version 5/170902 by Erik Temple
Formatting Capture version 1/221012 by Daniel Stelzer
Text Capture version 8 by Eric Eve (with contributions from Dannii Willis)
Playtesting by Mike Russo, Drew Cook, John Ayliff, hidnook, Tabitha, and Leon Lin.
Invaluable assistance from Laura Taalman.
Endings
Here are the endings I found:
The Sirius Syndicate has destroyed Mars.
if the launch countdown completes. (Just type Z six hundred or so times. Like anyone would do that.)
Galaxy Jones has destroyed Mars.
if you push the green Launch button in the control room while the guard isn't there.
Galaxy Jones has been terminated by a Siriusian guard.
if the guard kills you.
Galaxy Jones has been terminated by a pair of Siriusian commandos.
if either commando kills you because you weren't attacking during the battle.
Galaxy Jones has been terminated because she is an idiot.
if you kill the guard during the battle; the commandos kill you easily.
Galaxy Jones has saved Mars and died a hero's death.
if you're still on Phobos when the base explodes.
Galaxy Jones has saved Mars from the Sirius Syndicate.
if the reactor's self-destruct countdown has started and you escape Phobos.
Inventory
Initial equipment
a Linguistic Module. You're carrying it.
Scan any document you find to gain more fluency in reading anything written in Siriusian. The more documents you can scan, more of their text is translated.
Note that signs and the poster in North Barracks do not have enough text on them to be worth scanning.
a disruptor pistol. You're carrying it.
You can shoot an enemy with the pistol, but you can only shoot to kill. The pistol has no "stun" setting.
It's in your best interests to not use the pistol at all. Just hit the commandos, one after the other, to knock them unconscious.
a Galaxy Suit. You're wearing it.
You can POWER ON the suit, then ATTACK something with enhanced strength. You can smash through most of the locked doors this way, but you earn no points for that.
The purple door has a force field protecting it. You can't smash through that one.
You will not remove the suit.
a chocolate bar. You're carrying it.
Nothing special happens if you eat the bar.
Give the bar to the guard; they eat and enjoy it. Now you can remove the carapace and change their loyalties.
a KIM. You're carrying it.
You can HACK something, usually a locked door, with it. A lock's mechanism is represented by a series of numbered buttons colored either red or blue. Push the buttons until they are all blue, or in the appropriate order, as appropriate for the particular lock.
Note that the flight deck door is not hackable.
Cyber stuff
a Cybercarapace. It's in the Armory.
Wear it and the helmet to disguise yourself as a cyborg. Make sure you're in disguise before entering the control room.
After either giving the chocolate bar or the commander's log to the guard, remove the carapace to reveal you're human. The guard switches loyalties to your cause.
a Cyberhelmet. It's in the cabinet in North Barracks.
Wear it. Now you can understand spoken Siriusian.
If you're also wearing the carapace, you're disguised as a cyborg.
Documents
All of these documents are written in Siriusian. Scan them with your Linguistic Module, then read them. The more documents you've scanned, the more you can read of every document.
a form. It's in the Storeroom.
The form has no vital information.
a science notebook. It's in the Science Lab.
The notebook only tells you that the reactor is a fusion reactor, and that they argued about the colors of the buttons in the Control Room.
a reactor manual. It's in the Reactor Room.
The manual tells you that the self-destruct is initiated from the Control Room, and must be confirmed by two people pulling the levers in the Reactor Room simultaneously.
a diary. It's in the locker in the South Barracks.
The diary tells you about the guard's lost love and their wish to find a good human.
Note: If you show the diary to the guard, they grabs it from you angrily, saying "That's private!"
a commander's log. It's in the Commander's Quarters.
The log tells you that they ordered the death of the guard's love. It also tells you the code for the Control Room, which is not translated.
Show the log to the guard; now they know the commander betrayed them.
Score
This is the response to SCORE:
You have so far scored N out of a possible 11, in T turns.
At game's end, your score is reported with a rank:
In that game you scored N out of a possible 11, in T turns.
This earns Galaxy the rank of rank.
Points are awarded as follows:
1 point for hacking open the green door in Passage End, leading into the rest of the base.
1 point for hacking open the yellow door in Western Spoke, leading into the Reactor Room.
1 point for hacking open the red door in Western Spoke, leading into the Armory.
1 point for hacking open the locker in South Barracks.
1 point for hacking open the blue door in Eastern Spoke, leading into the Commander's Quarters.
1 point for hacking open the purple door in Hub Junction, leading into the Control Room.
1 point for changing the Siriusian guard's loyalties.
1 point for starting the reactor self-destruct countdown.
