~11 minute readScorpion's Tale
Circuit's Edge: As Told By Scorpia
WARNING! This article contains spoilers. Avert your eyes!
Warning: Although "The Scorpion's Tale" is a warm and comfortable tavern of the mind with a nice cozy fire of vibrant images, our resident storyteller conjures up illuminating hints about games. If the gentle reader eschews hints, let him beware!
Well, well, here we are in July already. The year certainly seems to be moving along at a good clip... As usual, Fred is looking forward to the annual Grues Convention in the Dark Room of Colossal Cave, so he may be a little absent-minded about orders right now. As long as he doesn't mistake your hand for a snack, though, everything should be all right. If he should happen to nosh on your knuckles, however, no problem; a quick trip to the medical clinic in the Budayeen will set things to rights.
The Budayeen is the setting for Circuit's Edge, written by George Alec Effinger and based on characters from his science fiction books When Gravity Fails and A Fire in The Sun. You do not, however, need to read them in order to play the game, as the action in Edge takes place between them, so to speak. You might learn a bit more about the characters, but it won't help to solve the mystery.
Anything can happen in the Budayeen, and usually does. It is a walled-off slum sector of an unnamed Arab city. Crime of all kinds is rampant. Anything—from weapons to sex to the body beautiful—can be bought for a price. This delightful place is overseen by Friedlander Bey, popularly called "Papa", a man of great wealth and power.
Papa, however, has a problem. Someone walked off with a notebook of his, and he wants it back very badly. He has hired Marid Audran, a sometimes private investigator, to retrieve it. The twisting trail of treachery, bodies and even more unpleasant things that leads to this notebook makes up the action of the game.
It is a sort of mystery, then, although not of the usual variety. You don't have to worry about collecting a bunch of clues for the police. Papa could care less about that. All you have to do is find the notebook and bring it to him. Should you need to kill a person or two along the way, well, business is business (and action is action!). As long as you have Papa on your side, the police are the least of your worries.
There are some nice features here, and one that will set your teeth on edge. Mapping is a breeze. The Budayeen is small, being only sixteen blocks wide, so you can't get lost. You can call up an overall map of the place at any time to see your exact location (there is also a map in the game booklet). A little map box in the lower right shows your location and direction while you're walking around. So you can put away your graph paper for this one.
Another neat thing is Marid's ability to "recall events". Choosing this from the menu (everything except movement is menudriven) allows you to scroll back through the last fifty events of importance in the game. The only drawback is that you have to go through them one by one, starting with the most recent; you can't pick and choose. However, if you didn't take good notes (for shame!), you can use this feature to refresh your memory.
Saving the game is another matter. You can save only in Marid's apartment, and you get only one save position. Why only one (especially when the save file is very small) is a mystery that you won't be able to solve. . . just keep it in mind. On the bright side, you can restore your position from almost anywhere in the game; you don't have to be "at home" to do this.
Money is important in this game. Marid needs it to buy various items, hand out bribes, and eat a meal now and then. He starts with some, but it isn't much. Papa will provide some kiam (the unit of currency in the game), and Marid can run a few errands for a couple of the merchants to make more.
The quickest way to build up cash, however, is to gamble at either baccarat or roulette. I preferred baccarat, as it played faster, and you can make higher bets (the games, as far as I could tell, were honest). Naturally, you should save before you start a gambling session, in case you have a run of bad luck. However, with a little good luck and some patience, you can build up your initial two hundred or so kiam into quite a tidy sum.
Since the game is set in the future (although not too far), you need to become familiar with "moddies" and "daddies". These are little chips that Marid can plug directly into his skull. They provide him with skills and knowledge he doesn't have on his own, and also have effects (good and bad) on his physical attributes.
Moddies provide special skills, and minor personality changes. They are very minor; Marid never forgets who he is, or what he's doing. He does get some odd thoughts and impulses from time to time, however. Daddies can also provide skills, or do other things such as monitor body functions or project the current time on his vision. My favorites to have chipped in were Kung Fu Master (a moddy) and Alpine Jack (a daddy) which did very nice things for Marid's stats, as well as making him a darn good fighter (which is handy when jumped by muggers).
The Story So Far
So here's Marid just hanging out in his apartment when his good buddy Saied calls and asks him to pick up a package. The package business is just to get Marid out of the house and into the game. Shortly after he finishes this little task, the real action begins when he's directed by Papa to see a man about a notebook.
Unfortunately, the man is dead (very dead). Not only dead, but horribly mutilated in a way that would make Jack the Ripper wince. Get used to these gruesome descriptions, because there are more to come.
Naturally, at this moment, a cop walks in the door, and things look bleak for our boy Marid. But he has Papa on his side, so he doesn't get arrested after all. Instead, he ends up taking a trip to see Papa in person and getting some background info on his assignment.
Now it's time for some detective work. Marid has a few clues to work with, and the police will cooperate (if reluctantly) to a point, by providing Marid with a couple of items.
After a little work on his part, Marid's got an answering chip but no answering machine to play it on, a holodisk, and a pawn ticket for a shop that went out of business. Terrific stuff, eh? Well, there's a place you can view the holo, and it wouldn't hurt to ask around about Mustafa's.
It wouldn't hurt to ask people about other things, either, like certain names you've come across. This is something that's very important in the game; often Marid will pick up interesting or important information by questioning others. Check out the street dealers, too; sometimes they have interesting items for sale.
While Marid's making the rounds, a hooker will ask for his phone number. She has other things on her mind than the usual, however, so it might be a good idea to find out what she's up to.
Sooner or later she calls and tells you where to meet her. Guess what you'll find when you get there? Right, another corpse, in just as delightful a condition as the last one. No items to grab this time, but you need to take a closer look (though your stomach may protest) at the body for a clue.
You may have noticed a computer in the police station (and been kicked off when you tried to use it). You need something official before you can go snooping into the files. When you have it, pay attention to what you see on the screen.
By this time, Marid should have bought the answering machine and discovered, not surprisingly, that it's in a language he can't understand. Well, there's one person in the Budayeen with skills for sale, so you might want to ask there. Of course, you have to know what language you want. Did you look at the holodisk?
Ring of Truth
So, now Marid is set on a different path, tracking down a thief. This is a long trail, that leads from place to place (all of them obvious, once you get started with the right one) until it ends at a warehouse, with (of course) another body in extremely unpleasant condition. (Boy, the population of the Budayeen is certainly thinning out fast).
The only object to be found here is half of a ring. It would be nice if Marid had the other half. Come to think of it, he should have the other half, too. In that case, you know when and where Marid needs to be, so be there.
It wouldn't hurt to show that half ring to a few people, either. Someone might recognize it. Marid might even learn something helpful. Too bad that when he tries to use the computer again, he's recognized and tossed out of the police station. Ah, well. Tough luck, Marid, but you're a canny guy and you have other ways of getting on that machine.
Finally, Marid has tracked down the thief (yeah, another body, but at least this one is in decent condition for a change) and gets the language chip he needs, although whether or not the message is really helpful is another matter. There isn't time to worry about that, however, because, soon afterwards, a frantic call comes in from Muhammad.
It looks like somebody just kidnapped Abdul-Hassan and wants a pile of kiam for his return. That midnight deadline is a real DEADline, and the boy will certainly be killed unless he's found in time.
Ah, poor Marid. He's done so much, yet he seems farther than ever from that elusive notebook. Every time he turns around, something else happens. Hey, at least it's an interesting life.
Anyway, time to track down Abdul. The ransom note is a good place to start. Interesting scent it has. Of course, Marid doesn't know much about such things, but there could be a place or two where he might learn more.
After a little breaking and entering, then, before long, Marid gets a call. The suspect only left a phone number. Why not call it? Maybe it's not what you're expecting, but going there and asking a few questions can't hurt.
Following up on this lead nets Marid the advice that he has to come "very close to death". Gee, hasn't he been there since almost the start of the game? Well, in this instance, you want a place, not a condition. There're only two places that fit the bill; if one doesn't pan out, try the other.
Hah! Nasty fight, although the guy got away before you could finish him off. Fortunately, he left a clue behind. This is pretty easy, especially if you have the right item from Electroniques. Still, blowing off the door may take a little skill (and something that goes "boom!"). Has Marid been showing things around?
After a quick dash around the Budayeen to buy a few needed items, the door is history, and so is the kidnapper (okay, so you have to fight him again; this time he won't get away). Abdul is rescued, and you get a couple of things from a grateful Muhammad. Now what?
Well, you never were able to track down Tamara, right? Moved, no forwarding address, and all that? Although, if you played the holo and talked to the landlord, you should know pretty well what it was that Tamara had in mind to do. And there's only one place in the Budayeen for to do that.
However, Marid will have to run one more errand before he gets the information he wants. Luckily, this is pretty simple, and there are no bodies to worry about (for a change). Just a few questions on the street, and a certain purchase (did you read the description of the jewelry carefully?), and at last, Marid gets to talk to the very elusive Tamara.
As they say, "It ain't over 'til the fat lady sings", and the fat lady hasn't even opened her mouth yet! Once again, Marid has to wait for a phone call telling him where to go (heh). When he gets there, he finds. . . a note. Surprise! (You were expecting another body, right).? Well, if you don't go where the note directs you, there just might be another one.
Finally, Marid is face to face with the perpetrator of these outrageous murders. In the time-honored fashion of all villains at these penultimate moments, he gloats over his victory, and adds a little more information for Marid's benefit. He then goes on to explain, in disgusting detail, exactly what he plans to do to the helpless Tamara, who is tied to a torture machine.
There is only one thing to do, which is to kill this despicable person, so don't waste any time about it (why do you think you were given the gun?). However, before he dies, he starts his infernal machine. Boy Marid, I sure hope you have the black key, because there isn't much time to free Tamara. If you don't have it, you better move fast to get it.
Whew! Tamara is saved, the notebook (at last!) is found, and Marid is Papa's fair-haired boy, at least for the moment. Take a little rest, Marid, you've certainly earned it (and you'll want to get your strength up for the promised sequel).
Well, I see by the old invisible clock on the wall that it's that time again. If you need help with an adventure game, you can reach me in the following ways:
On Delphi: Stop by the GameSIG (under the Groups and Clubs menu). On Genie: Visit the Games RoundTable (type: Scorpia to reach the Games RT). By US Mail (remember to enclose a self-addressed, stamped envelope if you live in the United States): Scorpia, PO Box 338 Gracie Station, New York NY 10028.
Until next time, happy adventuring!
This article appeared in
Computer Gaming World
Jul-Aug 1990
These historical, out-of-print articles and literary works have been GNUSTOed onto InvisiClues.org for academic and research purposes.
