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The Moment of Silence
The Moment of Silence is primarily a conversation based adventure, so remember to exhaust all dialogue branches when you are speaking to someone lest you miss vital clues! Tip: you can use the 'H' (Hint) key at any time to show you all exits from the current area, items you can interact with, and people you can talk to. This feature can be very useful in areas where the navigation is confusing, but be warned that over-use of the Hint key can spoil the game.
IMPORTANT: if you do not download and apply the Update 1.01 patch before playing, you will not be able to complete the game! A clue to a difficult puzzle is transcribed incorrectly, as I found to my dismay. Fortunately, my game was not spoiled as you can apply the patch anytime right up until you need to solve this puzzle.
Peter Wright hears a commotion outside his apartment, and looks through the peephole only to witness his neighbour being hauled away by a SWAT team. You then get control of Peter. You begin with just a Zippo Lighter in your inventory. Pick up the child's Teddy Bear. Then right-click on the bell nameplate to the left of the smashed-in door to learn that the family's name is Oswald. Peter also recalls that he thinks the woman's name is Debbie. Left-click to examine the door, and Peter enters the Oswald's apartment. You can knock on the inner door two or three times, but they aren't answering.
Go back to Peter's apartment. Head south into the living area, then examine the small bedside table. Peter finds his Messenger. Right-click on it in inventory to turn it on (you can also use the 'M' key). Then hit the up-arrow key. The only number you can call is the INFO-CENTER (111). Hit the green button to dial. Ask for the Oswald's Messenger number when prompted. The friendly computer persona downloads the number to your Messenger. Now you can call Mrs. Oswald. She's reluctant to talk to you, and cuts the call short, but at the end you get a chance to mention the Teddy Bear. End the call by pressing the red button, then head over to their apartment. Mrs. Oswald lets you in. She has, of course, no idea why her husband was taken away. Peter promises to check with the police, and Mrs. Oswald asks you to call her back on the Messenger should you discover anything.
Call the INFO-CENTER again, and ask for the number of the New York Police Department. The emergency number (999) is transferred to your Messenger. Call it, and you learn nothing much except that no official police operations have been carried out in that part of Brooklyn since last week. Hmm. Call Mrs. Oswald again, and Peter mentions he will check with "Bob at the kiosk" tomorrow morning. Return to Peter's apartment, and he tucks in for the night.
Open the top desk drawer and get Peter's Business Card. You can sit down at the computer and open a chat message to have a pointless conversation with the vacuous Christine. Then head outside and take the lift down to the street. Bob's kiosk is directly to the south as you exit your apartment building. Talk to Bob about all topics. He saw the raid alright, but you don't learn anything that's apparently useful. Though he does mention some posters that were put up on the telescreen across the street just before the raid by a group calling itself the Alien Attack Club. Head into Brooklyn Park next (steps behind the kiosk), cross the bridge, then go north to the park exit. Listen to the guru. He seems to know something (or perhaps it's just a random rant that hits a raw nerve?) about the tragic death of Peter's wife and son. Check out the 'place to sleep' behind him. You can take a piece of Wire from the skull totem near the bottom right of the screen there. Exit, and talk to the guitar player, who turns out to be deaf - which explains how he manages to tolerate the incessant rantings of the guru. It appears the guru used to be a scientist, perhaps a physicist, but he lost the plot somehow after winning a trip into space. After chatting to the guitarist, go back and talk to Bob again. He tells you a bit more about the guru, but still nothing of much import.
Well, you promised you'd get back in touch with Mrs. Oswald after speaking to Bob, so try calling her, and she's not picking up. However, when you go up to their apartment she lets you in. Talk to Deborah Oswald, and you discover that her husband was a freelance on-line journalist. Probably some story he was working on that got him in trouble. Ask her if you can speak to Tommy, and she seems to indicate no... but you can then break off the conversation with her and speak to Tommy anyway. With a bit of persuasion, you can get the Photo of Tommy's Father from him. You can also offer to trade a Mr. Nuke doll for an alien doll that his father gave him. Go back to your apartment and look in the drawer that is all the way at the bottom of the cupboard in the hallway. Take the Action Toy, then head back to the Oswald's apartment and use it on Tommy. You get the Alien Doll in return. Nothing more you can do here, so leave for now.
Back at Peter's computer, there's another chat message from Chistine. Now you can learn a bit more about her, and you discover that her chat room avatar doesn't look anything like her (probably a good thing), and that one of your co-workers has played a prank with your avatar.
Head back down to the street, and use the Alien Doll on Bob. He remembers that the posters the guys from the Alien Attack Club put up on the telescreen showed an address somewhere on Essex Street on the Lower East Side. Finally, something to go on! So head across the street and get into a SatCar. Peter had mentioned that he should stop at the office, so let's go there first. Select Downtown Manhattan as the destination.
You arrive at the Great Central Plaza building. Go to the terminal that is at the top of the steps under the 'GcP' sign. Use the Messenger on it to identify yourself, and you gain access to the lobby. Talk to Claire, the security infobot. Oops. You knew the password from 2 weeks ago before you went on leave, but that one has expired. Choose the option of establishing an audio-visual link, and you get through to Mr. Greenberg. Try to write down the password as he's giving it to you, because you must repeat it to Claire... oh alright then, this is a walkthrough so it's 'pl56f9olp4r'. And this isn't Riven, so I don't think it's randomly generated for each game :-) Now you can take the elevator up to your office.
Once in the office, head past the receptionist and to the right. You wind up in front of an empty desk. Locate the steel notice board to the left of this desk, and take the Magnet from the poster with the big X on it. Then head upstairs to the management level and talk to your boss, Mr. Greenberg. Here, you learn a little more about Peter's recent history. It seems that his wife and son were killed when the plane they were on was sabotaged by bombers. Peter's advertising agency are merely pawns of the government. They are working on a campaign to get a very strict anti-cryptography law passed, on the premise that it will stop terrorism. And, Peter's boss is one cold, heartless... person. You need to get to the part where you ask for more time off before you will be allowed to leave the office, but don't leave just yet. Next, head to the right-hand side of the office and you will see Bill there at the upload terminal. Talk to him about all topics. He's preoccupied with the terminal right now, so you can't do anthing more there at the moment. Go talk to Brian (his desk is in the middle of the ofice), and you go into the kitchen for some privacy. You learn that he is an ex con. Now you can leave the office. Once back in the SatCar, select the Lower East Side.
As soon as you exit the SatCar, you will hear a guy shouting curses at you in New York Spanish slang. Ignore him for the moment. Head east, then north up Essex Street. On the right-hand side of the street is the Nuclear Cafe, which must be the headquarters of the Alien Attack Club (you deduce this because it is an adventure game, and there is no other building on the street you can interact with). Knock on the door, but no one answers. Talk to Rita on the other side of the street. Keep talking until you get Rita's Business Card. Now head back to the intersection, then south where you will see a park fence. You then have to click on the car wreck that is right in front of the SatCar. Talk to Juan, and as you are about to call the cops, he mugs you for your Messenger. You witness a cut scene whereby Juan uses a special knock to gain access to the Nuclear Cafe. Go talk to Rita (on the way you see Juan walking out of the Nuclear Cafe with whatever he pawned your Messenger for), and sure enough, she tells you the special knock code: 3 short, 2 long. So now you can get into the cafe...
Once in the cafe, talk to Lou at length. Great music. Great conversation. After the conversation ends, retrieve your Messenger from the small table just to your right. Click on the bar to be taken to the next scene, then head east again. When you try to go into the back room there, Lou discourages you by intimating that Cypher has a gun. Use the Photo of Tommy's Father on Lou, and he will then allow you to enter Cypher's room.
Cypher is one interesting character alright. During the course of the conversation, you learn that he hacked into your company's server! Bill's password is "sexmachine_bill_2044", just in case you might need it. He gives you an Alien Attack Club CD that you agree to upload to the telescreen across the street for one hour. In return, he will analyse the photo of Tommy's father for you. On the way out, you notice a VideoCable on a work bench. But you can't take it yet. Exit the cafe, and talk to Rita about Lou. She has an... interesting way of getting money from her customers. Then get into the SatCar, and head for Downtown Manhattan.
Now there's an additional topic when you talk to Bill: food! You agree to get him this meal he's yearning for. Ok... so into the SatCar once again and back to Brooklyn. Talk to Bob at the kiosk, and you manage to procure one Liteline Microwave Dish. Back to the office, head to the right, and into the office kitchen. The microwave is dead. To the right of the kitchen door is a plug. Use it and... the microwave is still not functioning. Go back to the reception area and access the fuse box. Hit the circuit breaker that is down, head back to the kitchen, use the Liteline Microwave Dish on the microwave, and set the time for 3 minutes. Once the timer counts down, return to Bill and inform him that his lunch is ready. OK, now we can get down to work. Access the upload terminal, use the Alien Attack Club CD on the disk slot, then exit. Bill returns, and your job here is done for now. Head back to the Lower East Side.
If you look at the telescreen behind Rita, you can see that the Alien Attack Club's logo is now interspersed with the rest of the advertising gunk! Go talk to Cypher again. You learn that the photo was taken at the SETI parabolic dish in Arecibo, Puerto Rico. Hmm. As you walk out of Cypher's room, Peter mentions that you should talk to Deborah about the SETI project. So, head back to Brooklyn then.
Go to Peter's apartment, and chat with Christine. Then call Deborah Oswald on her messenger. The important thing you learn here is that flights to Puerto Rico leave from JFK terminal B. Back to the SatCar then, and head for JFK Airport.
Once in the terminal, go up the stairs, and then straight ahead for Terminal B Check-In. Oops. You need a ticket, and Peter is broke at the moment. Back to the office then, and up to the management level. Click on Mr. Greenberg's desk, and you notice a bit of the rubber mat to the right is sticking up. Take the Key from there, and use it to open the desk drawer. Take the Free-Flight Check Book. Once more to JFK Airport, use the Free-Flight Check Book on the Terminal B Check-In, and we're away!
Head into the research center and talk to Dr. Price. Make sure to ask him about a visitor he had recently, and he remembers Graham Oswald (though he was going by the alias of Drake). He just disappeared when Price was showing him the parabolic dish. He left his bag behind, and Price says he'll be telling Paul to expect you in the souveneir shop to pick it up. Exit the research center, and head north to the shop. Paul just throws the Bag out the door! Examining it reveals: a piece of Thread, a Sharp Knife, and a Video Camera. Head back to the Oswald's apartment.
Talk to Deborah about your trip to the SETI. You talk about the old Video Camera you found, and the airport. She recalls that Graham spent a lot of time at the airport, and had a safe deposit box there (we'll get to that in a bit). Then mention the Thread you found in Graham's bag, and she says it was used to repair Tommy's teddy bear. Talk to Tommy, and ask to borrow the teddy bear for a while. Use the Sharp Knife on it, and an old magnetic Video Tape is revealed! Talk to Deborah about it. Looks like you will need to find an old VCR to play it in. Now, remember that safe deposit key you were going to look for? Well, a Locker Key is on the top of the bookshelf just to the left of where you and Deborah are standing. Head back to Cypher next.
Talk to Cypher about the Video Tape. He thinks you'll be needing an adapter to read it. Hmm. Ask him about the Video Cable that you saw on the work bench earlier. It's yours, but you need to give him something for it first. Now, head back to your office and talk to Bill about the Video Tape. Bill sends you to Greenwich Village, to look up an old guy by the name of Huntington, who deals in antiquated electronic gear. So into the SatCar once again, and head for Greenwich Village.
As he arrives, just to Peter's left is an antiques shop. The entrance is locked, but through the door window you can see a sign that has fallen onto the floor. OK, intrepid adventure gamers, here is your chance to shine! Combine the Thread with the Wire to make a sort of fishing pole. Then add the Magnet. Use this ensemble on the mailbox, and you are able to fish out the sign. You now have Huntington's messenger number. Use your Messenger to call it, and he reluctantly agrees to open up. Examine the pigeon cage to your left, then work your way to the back of the shop to speak with Huntington. Wow. This is the most poignant conversation I've had in an adventure game since Pandora Directive. Absolutely fascinating! After talking to Huntington, make your way over to the right of the shop and locate the VCR. Take it, and Peter tells Huntington he'll pay him as soon as he gets some cash. Hmm. Now it looks like we need that old Video Cable that's languishing on Cypher's work bench. Go back to the other side of the shop, and examine the left-hand bookcase right in the middle where it says 'Shelf'. You discover a copy of the original War of the Worlds Radio Play by Orson Welles. Take it and examine in inventory. Peter comments that it would make a perfect souveneir for the guys at the Nuclear Cafe. Bullseye! Before you leave, head back behind Huntington and notice the Mysterious Door there brimming with locks. You can mention this to Huntington, but he basically tells you to mind your own business. Exit the shop and head for the Lower East Side once again.
Go to the back room of the Nuclear Cafe and use the Radio Play on Cypher. Now you can finally take the Video Cable from the work bench. Then go back to Peter's apartment.
Put the VCR on the livingroom table. Then use the Video Cable on the telescreen. Finally, use the VideoTape on the VCR. Hmm. You don't seem to get much out of that experience, but the information you have gleaned is, of course, quite important. Firstly, you have learned that at 1:46 on 20th September 2044, something happened. Was that perhaps the time at which your wife's plane crashed? The moment of silence? A zeppelin is involved somehow. Then, you also get 2 coordinates that look like the ones you saw at the children's observatory the SETI in Arecibo. Back to Puerto Rico it is then...
Go to the children's observatory, and access one of the virtual telescopes. Key in the coordinates you saw on Oswald's videotape (8227.9347 and 2234.6621) and print them out. You now have two Satellite Photos (looks a lot like that spy satellite you saw at the start of the game)! Head back to the Lower East Side and use one of them on Cypher. He'd love to have them, but Peter decides to hold on to them... for now. Go to Huntington's place next.
When you talk to Huntington after discovering the Satellite Photos, he invites you into his back room, beyond the Mysterious Door. Use the light switch on the back wall, then have a look at some of the articles, especially the one about zeppelins. Talk to Huntington afterwards, and he thinks you should check out these zeppelins. Make sure to take the Carrier Pigeon from the shop window on the way out. Head back to your apartment. Peter falls asleep on the living room sofa, and is the recipient of a strange visitation. Was it a dream? In the morning, go to JFK airport once again.
Go up the stairs, and then turn right for Terminal C, where the cargo-zeppelins depart from. You can try to use Check-in Terminal C, but only service personnel are allowed in there, and Peter comments that you need a security ID. Hmm. Head on over to the other side of the terminal, and enter the information center. Talk to Ms. Allen about the zeppelins and Terminal C. Security has been made very tight in the wake of that bomb attack. You get nowhere, but as you are leaving you notice a Window to the right of the exit back to the terminal. Use it, and Ms. Allen runs off to chase away the homeless people outside. Go behind the counter, and access the Surveillance System. Note the date in the display: 20th September 2044. If you look at the monitor for Camera 6, you will notice a man in a blue shirt approaching the safe deposit boxes. Could this be a recording of Graham Oswald?! Peter zooms in, and notes the locker that is being accessed in addition to the combination: 2-5-4-3. Head over there, and you can now examine one of the safe deposit boxes. Use the Locker Key you took from the Oswald's apartment, then key in the combination. The locker contains a single item: Oswald's Diary!
Reading the diary, you note the following items of interest:
* Graham has had several meetings with a Luddite from Greenwich Village named Delbridge.
* He's also chatting regularly with a woman from Cleveland called Mary, who continually probes him for intimate details about his journalistic investigations. Could there be some connection here with your Christine?
* Delbridge has told him that a man named Emerson used to be in charge of the top secret Echelon II programme (which Huntington mentioned), but defected and is now leader of the Luddites.
* There are 5 main satellite stations scattered across the globe that the government uses for surveillance, and SETI is definitely involved.
* You get a code for shutting down power to the stations. It's difficult to make out the handwriting, but the Code looks like: 'TR M BR B - BL T TR'. (Note: after applying the patch it changes(!) to: 'TR M BR B - BL B BR')
* It appears that Emerson perished with your wife and son on Flight 878 from London on his way to meet Graham Oswald. So that means the government was behind the bombing?
* On the last page is a complex diagramme that looks like it has something to do with those 5 satellite stations.
Now that we've found the Diary, let's go chat to Deborah about it.
Deborah is surprised to learn that her husband was keeping a paper diary, which is illegal. She of course wants to read it. But knowing that there is all kinds of stuff in there about Mary, Peter refuses to hand it over.
Head back to Peter's apartment and open the latest chat message from Christine. You become angry with her and break off the conversation. Then initiate a chat with her again and apologise. After this second chat you can hear your doorbell ringing. A nice Man In Black called Mr. Pratt is there, and it appears someone entered you in the Lunar 5 lottery, which you have just won. What a coincidence... or is it? He hands you a Lunar 5 Prize Coupon. So we're off to JFK Airport to cash in. Use your Prize Coupon on Check-In Terminal A, and enjoy the trip!
Talk to Hostess Linda. Then, a few cocktails later, Peter winds up in his cabin. Examine the washing facility, and take the Towel and Toothbrush Cup. Press Switch 3 near the cabin door. Everything seems fine. Now use the Towel on the air shaft above the door and press Switch 3 again. You learn that the cabin atmoshpere now deviates from the normal composition of 21% oxygen, 1% carbon dioxide, and 78% nitrogen. Exit to the cabin area, remembering that your cabin number is 28, and then hang a left (you can't get anywhere by going to the right). Head towards the pool area when you see the signs on the floor... or, is it the ceiling? :-)
Just to your left when you enter the pool area, you'll see a Door to the Engine Room, and a Cover that Peter says you will need a key to access. Cross the bridge over the pool, and then head past the space suit display to the recreation area. Talk to Dr. Jenkins (if he's not there at first, go back towards the pool area and then return). Aha! This explains what happened to the guru in the park. Anyone not conforming to society norms apparently gets a free trip up to Lunar 5 courtesy of the state to be, um, rehabilitated. Anyway, Sector B sounds like a place we want to see.
Continue north, and you bump into the over-amorous Mrs. Winter. Helen Winter. The wife of your boss at Greenberg and Winter. This further confirms your suspicions that only the perceived loonies are sent up here. Continue north and talk to Mr. Stiller. That nails it. He 'won' the lottery too. And it sounds like it was someone just like Christine who put him up for it!
Near where Stiller is standing, at the end of the Secta Bar, is a tray. Take a drugged Cocktail from it. If you examine it, Peter remarks that there's something almost dissolved at the bottom of the glass. At the other end of the bar, you'll see an area called "Dr. Jenkins' favorite place at the bar". Examine it to find a Coffee Cup. Hmm. Head back to your cabin. Make sure to speak at length to Linda on your way back. It appears that the guru in the park was a Luddite, and Mrs. Winter was one of his followers! You also learn that Jenkins is the person who has the key to Sector B, allegedly in case of an emergency.
Once back in your cabin, examine the Table in the centre of the cabin. Use the Toothbrush Cup on the Table, then use the Towel on the Toothbrush Cup to make a crude filter. Finally, use the Cocktail on the Towel and Glass to obtain Two Capsules. Take the Towel and Toothbrush Cup again. Head back to the Secta Bar. If Jenkins is there complaining about the coffee, walk back to the other end of the pool and to the reception area. Keep going back to the recreation area pool until Jenkins appears at the end of the pool. Then head for the Secta Bar again. Try to use the Two Capsules on Jenkins' Coffee Cup, but Peter says it's not working this way. So use the Sharp Knife on the Two Capsules, and then they go into the Coffee Cup. Now exit the recreation area and keep returning till Jenkins is no longer at the pool. Go to the bar then, and Jenkins... takes his first sick day in 28 years :-) Pick up the Radio Transmitter that he left on the bar. Then head for that Engine Room Door, and use the Radio Transmitter on the Cover to the right of the door. The Cover retracts, and the switch that is revealed takes you into...
...a pressure chamber. Access the blue-lit display. Remember how you learned about the Composition of Air when you placed the Towel over your cabin's air shaft? Well, you need to get the bottom left display showing '21', the top left display '78', and the top right display '1'. You have to use the bottom part of the hand icon instead of the fingers on the up-arrows. Took me a while to twig that! Anyway, once you do get it right the button in the middle lights green and you can push it to open the bulkhead. Then get into the elevator.
At the the bottom of the elevator, head south until you come to a discarded object (it's a surveillance droid). Take the Energy Stick and Tool from it. Head further south, and you see a row of these objects. Aha! The penny drops. This is one of the things that spied on Peter through his apartment window a few nights ago. And they're being mass produced up here. Looks like the government is spying on its citizens big time!
In the area where the droids are being launched, you can get through the railing to access the conveyor belt. Wait for a droid to be positioned in front of you, then use the Energy Stick on it. Peter uses the Tool to replace a live energy stick in the droid with the dead one you have. That should do the trick. Sure enough, when you head back up the eleveator and into the cabin area, Linda rushes up to tell you there has been an emergency and the station must be evacuated. You've found a way out of your temporary prison!
Lou is at the top of the stairs in the terminal when you arrive. He's all excited because Chypher picked up the "UFO" crash you caused on his tracking devices, and he's already left for Nevada to go looking for it. Heh heh. After talking to Lou, head into the airport lounge. Talk to Gerald, who coincidentally works on the zeppelins. What luck! His ID card was stolen by a prostitute on the Lower East Side who has a modus operandi that sounds exactly like Rita's...
Talk to Rita about Gerald. Without too much fuss, she hands you Gerald's Security ID.
Before heading back to the airport, stop in at the office and talk to Brian. He's really pissed off because the cops paid him a visit due to your recent antics. Then go talk to Bob. Peter tells him he's going to be away for a few days, and not to let anyone know of his whereabouts.
Now go back to JFK Airport and use it on Check-in Terminal C. Peter comments that he should put his stuff in a safe place before taking off. Just use the now open locker to the west of Terminal C where you discovered Oswald's Diary. Peter gets rid of all but four non-essential items and closes the locker. Now use Gerald's Security ID on Check-in Terminal C once more, and... oops, Peter decides he'd better leave the Locker Key somewhere safe as well. Hmm. Use the Locker Key on Huntington's Carrier Pigeon, then go outside. Peter releases the pigeon, and your key is safely on its way back to Huntington. Inventory management has never been easier. You are left with Oswald's Diary and Gerald's Security ID. Finally, you can get out of here...
You wind up on that platform you heard about earlier that is in the Bermuda Triangle. Head up the stairs onto the platform, and examine the control unit that is attached to the elevator. Hit the green touch switch and a 2-character LCD display lights up. Now... remember the Code from Oswald's Diary that I originally noted as:
TR M BR B - BL T TR
Well, after applying the patch it changes(!) to:
TR M BR B - BL B BR
Fortunately, I had applied the patch halfway through the game because I thought it might fix another problem, or I would have been stuck forever! Those letters are actually shorthand for Top-Right, Middle, Bottom-Right, etc. In other words, it's telling you which segments of the LCD display need to be lit up. So, for the left-hand character you must select the symbol that corresponds to segments:
Top-Right, Middle, Bottom-Right, Bottom (looks like a '3' with the top missing)
And the right-hand symbol corresponds to segments:
Bottom-Left, Bottom, Bottom-Right (looks like a small 'u')
When you then turn the large switch, you should hear a faint beep. You can now take the elevator up. But when you try to key the same symbols into the control unit there... nothing happens. But you do notice a fuse box with 500-megawatt fuses. A lot of power coursing through there. Hmm. Head down to the platform again and access the elevator in the pillar next, using the same symbols. You go down this time. Take the stairs down to the mooring and get in the boat. Notice the Mine floating in the water, but Peter says it's to dangerous to go directly for it. So click on the pillar behind it and then you can take it. Peter automatically heads topside and places the mine gently on the platform. Go back down to the boat again.
This time, examine the pillar furthest from the mooring and read the information sign at its base. There's an arrow pointing downwards, and sure enough if you examine the water near the pillar it indicates you can go diving there, but we will need some gear to do that. Dock the boat, go back up the stairs, and use the control unit there to activate the elevator. This time though, don't get inside. Instead, use the touch switch to the right to send the elevator up empty. When the grating pulls back, examine the elevator. Look in the opening to the left of the mechanism. Take the Dive Gear, and head back to the far pillar in the boat. Use the Dive Gear on Peter, and then go Diving. Examine the switch box down there, open the flap, and throw the big switch. Now get out of there, and make your way back up to the platform.
Now when you take the elevator to the top, you are able to open the door that previously wouldn't operate! Take the Rope from just inside the door, and examine the coordinates display in the middle of the bank of displays. Note the coordinates for later:
N -50023
OK, mission accomplished here, let's blow this joint! Use the Rope on the Mine, and Peter says you need to tie the other end to something. So use the Rope on the zeppelin next, and you're outta there! Enjoy the cut scene as the zeppelin pulls the mine and the whole rig blows sky high. Once you get control of Peter again, head for the rear of the zeppelin. Use the flap in the ceiling, and Peter hides there.
The zeppelin automatically returns to the airport, and armed guards immediately board it searching for Peter. But Peter blocks the hatch with his feet, and they give up figuring he must have got off somewhere else. Peter exits the terminal after they've gone, and hails a SatCar using a Messenger he (conveniently) finds on the pavement. He heads for his apartment, but guards have it staked out, so he naturally goes to Greenwich Village... only to find yourself and Huntington being arrested.
You wind up in a maximum security prison. After the spiel from the nice prison officer, and the pleasant dental procedure, you get control of Peter in his cell. Every time you sit down on the plank bed, some time elapses and another officer comes in to search your cell. Notice how he leaves his hat on the bed while he is searching. Exit the cell at your first opportunity, and talk to officer Smith. He was a "guest" at Lunar 5 too! You note that he is rather insecure, and stutters a lot. After this conversation, head down towards the other end of the cell wing and talk to Brett. He remarks that when officer Smith is scared, there is a good chance he might pass out. Ask him for the ketchup, but he of course refuses. Continue on all the way to the end of the cell wing, and into the yard. Note the magpie, which just flies away if you try to touch it. In the far corner there is a tree, but a recorded voice tells Wright to back off when you try to reach it. Hmm. How does a recorded voice know your name? Wait a minute. I'll bet they implanted a tracking device in your tooth. That's what that gruelling dental procedure was all about! We'll never be able to get out of here if we don't find a way to get rid of it.
Head back to your cell, and take the Bread that has been placed on the small table. Go back into the yard, use the Bread on the magpie, and you can pick him up now. But Peter releases him when you go back into the cell wing. Go back to your cell once more, and use the plank bed. Hey, Brett is not in his cell this time! Take the Ketchup, go back to your cell, and use the plank bed. Then use the Ketchup on Smith's hat while he is searching the cell. He catches himself on the cell door as usual on the way out, but thinks the ketchup is blood and faints. Examine him and take the Key. Use it to open the trellised gate, and you're into the guards room. Examine the window, and take Mr. Longneck. You wind up with him, and the String he was hanging by, in your inventory.
Close the trellised gate and plant the Key on the unconscious officer Smith. He comes to again. Return to your cell, and use the plank bed. Quickly use the String on the door bars before the door opens and... argh! But you now have Peter's Tooth in inventory, and sure enough there was a transmitter implanted in it. Go back to the yard, use the Bread on the magpie, and then in inventory use the Tooth on the magpie. Peter ties the tooth to the magpie's leg. Try to use the tree again, but of course the magpie is still on your person, and you can't do this in broad daylight. Head back to your cell a final time (Peter unties the tooth and releases the magpie on the way in). The cell door should now be closed. When you try to use the plank bed this time, Peter says "Not now". Wait for the cell to open, and go back to the yard. It's nighttime! Feed the magpie, attach the Tooth, and then release the magpie into the night sky. Now that you're rid of that blasted transmitter, you can use the tree in the far corner of the yard to escape!
After a brilliant cut scene, whereby the magpie gets it, and the authorities now assume that that Peter is dead, you wind up on the street near Bob's kiosk. Talk to Bob, and he agrees to give you a MagTrain Ticket. Use it on the MagTrain station, which is just behind the row of SatCars across from Peter's apartment building...
You wind up outside Huntington's place. The shop is empty. Hmm. Remember when Huntington was being led away he mentioned something about a light? Well, if you search the chandelier over by the pigeon cage, you'll recover the Locker Key! Exit the shop, and Peter takes the MagTrain to JFK Airport.
Use the Locker Key on Oswald's safe deposit box to recover your stuff. Hey, there's a message from Huntington on your Messenger, but you can only see his lips moving, no sound. Aha! Use a SatCar to travel back to Brooklyn, then go into Brooklyn Park. The deaf guitar player is sitting on a bench sheltering from the rain. Use your Messenger on him, and he reads Huntington's lips. The message was to... get rid of your Messenger because they can track you with it. Too late! The guitar player gets it this time (you're a dangerous person to be associated with. First the magpie and now the guitar player). Peter drops the Messenger and runs for it, into the...
Head north for the passage you see there, but turn left before you arrive and cross the bridge. Then take the passage on the other side. Head south next around the bend, then all the way north. Turn left there, and all the way north again. Head down the stairs, and through the door at the bottom. Hit the light switch just inside the door. You're in Fulton St. station. Go to the far end of the platform and take the Subway Map from the broken showcase. Retrace your steps all the way back to the bridge, cross it, turn left, and through the passage. Pick up the old Shoe you see to the north. Then keep going, through the passage, down the stairs, and through the door into Lafayette Avenue station.
Head up the platform and try to speak to Charlie. No dice. Juri is further up the platform. Same response to your questions: silence. Then head onto the train and talk to the professor. On first impression they are a group of Luddites, because they only agree to let you stay once they are sure you have no electronic devices with you. But talking to the professor after that initial conversation reveals a lot more. Graham Oswald is here! He escaped from Governor's Island like you did, though he's badly injured. The professor is a computer whiz. Emerson was actually one of his students. And this group are not Luddites, but they are sympathetic. He's been taking care of the orphan Charlie since the poor lad wandered into a subway station when he was only 6 years old. After the conversation, go to see Graham via the passage behind the professor.
You tell Oswald that you've been to the platform in the Bermuda Triangle, and have one of the coordinates. He tells you that another one is on his computer at home, and the password is: doublethink. He also says that there is a private plane at the airport that you could take once you have the second coordinate. Then you witness a cut scene whereby Mrs. Oswald and Tommy are placed under house arrest. You have to figure out a way to get up there! Talk to the professor again, and he says that you can use the tunnels. He advises you to talk to Juri, because Juri knows the way, or can at least tell you where you might find a map. But we already did that :-)
Talk to Charlie, and... oh no, the deaf guitarist in the park was one of Charlie's best friends, and he holds you responsible for his death. Well, you manage to patch things up a bit anyway. Then try talking to Juri. Still no joy. Go talk to the professor about Juri then. Ah. It's Juri's shoe you've found. So, use the Shoe on Juri, and... hmm. Then use the Thread on the Shoe to repair it, and use the Shoe on Juri once more. He tells you how to get through the tunnels to your apartment building using the Subway Map, and you are miraculously spared having to go through all that. You wind up in the basement of your apartment building. The doorway to the building is bricked up, but pick up a Plank there, and Peter places it on top of the stairway railing. Then use the Plank, and Peter climbs onto it. Pull down the air shaft cover grill, then climb up the air shaft. You wind up in that locked toilet on the 23rd floor of your apartment building!
Open the door to the hallway, and Peter calls Tommy over. He tells him to get Debbie to type the password into Graham's computer, print out the resulting display, and find a way for both of them to get back to Peter. Now you wind up controlling Debbie. Examine the computer, and Debbie prints out the map. Then talk to the agent. Go into the hallway of the Oswald's apartment next, and into the children's (Tommy's) room. Examine the table with the box on it at the far side of the room. Take the Jelly Beans. Then exit and go into the bathroom. Use the Jelly Beans on the toilet. Then use the toilet flush above the toilet. The toilet clogs up and overflows. Go to the agent again, and tell him you have a little... problem. He agrees to let you use the communal toilet in the hall. Access the corridor door, and Debbie and Tommy make their way to meet Peter. You all wind up back in the subway. Graham passes away, and Peter promises that his death will not be in vain...
Peter intersects the coordinates he found on the map Debbie gave him with the ones from the Bermuda Triangle platform, and takes the private plane that Graham mentioned to where the coordinates meet, in Alaska. Examine the ice hole, and upon exiting, Peter remarks that someone has been fishing there. Make your way onto the path to the south, and enter the Ice Lake Inn, noting the jet sleighs parked there outside the entrance. Talk to the eskimo behind the counter and ask about the jet sleighs, but he will not lend you one. Note the key box behind him. Hmm. Go back outside, and around the back of the place you see a plank pile. Examine the pile, and use the Planks. Peter throws one of them into the water. The eskimo, thinking a fish has taken the bait, runs to the frozen lake. Head back into the Ice Lake Inn, access the key box behind the counter, and then use the Key on the jet sleigh outside...
You arrive at what looks like, quite accurately according to what the eskimo said, a large igloo. Head around to the left-hand side of it, and you find Entrance A, but it is blocked by a large dirft of ice and snow. Go back to the jet sleigh then, and examine it. Open the cover, and take the Gas Canister and Rag. Back to Entrance A again, and use the Gas Canister on the snow field. Then use the Rag on the Gas Canister, and finally the Zippo Lighter. Kablooi! But you still can't get in until you examine the camera that is positioned above and left of the entrance.
Head towards the bulkhead in the distance, but be sure to examine the body to your right at the halfway mark. Take the Disk from his hand, and the Note from the pocket just above the unfortunate soldier Johnson's name badge. In inventory, use the Zippo Lighter on the Note, and you can just make out near the top of the Note:
NA-EU-AF-AU-SA
Hmm. Looks like continents to me. That would be: North America, Europe, Africa, Australia, South America. Continue towards the bulkhead then, and you wind up in some sort of huge communications centre. It looks like every digital signal on the planet converges here! In fact, if you head down the stairs and talk to the computer there, you will find that this is indeed the case. The computer has seized the reigns of power from the human race and is effectively running the world from this very spot. I suppose we must find a way to put a stop to this then! Exit and take note of the switch panel at the top of the stairs outside the computer room. There are 5 panels arranged in the shape of a pentagon. Notice how the bottom right panel is intermittently flashing: NO INPUT SIGNAL. Head back into the corridor (Peter remarks that we must stop all communications to create a "moment of silence"), and examine the switch panel on the door across the corridor from where Johnson's body is. Touch the continents in the order described on the Note you found on Johnson's body. We're in!
First thing to do is walk around a bit to get a feel for the layout of the place. There are 5 satellite dishes arranged in a pentagonal shape inside this building, corresponding to the switch panel you saw outside the computer room. Using the stairs that connect the rooms, go to each room and note the setting in degrees on the switch panel. Also note the map display between each set of rooms that indicates what continent a dish is pointing at. But which dish corresponds to which map display? Well, a little experimentation is required to determine that. But first we need to take a survey of what's on each map display before we move anything. The 'Between Rooms' column corresponds to which dish rooms a map is between if you take the stairs down from the northeast corner of each room:
| Dish | Setting | Map | Between Rooms | | 1 | 036 | AU | 1 and 4 | | 2 | 108 | SA | 2 and 5 | | 3 | 180 | NA | 3 and 1 | | 4 | 252 | AF | 4 and 2 | | 5 | 324 | EU | 5 and 3 |
So... the next bit is quite tedious. We have to move each dish from its original postion all the way to the right, one at a time, and see which map has changed. That's the only way we can find out which dish corresponds to which map. Remember to put each dish back to its original position before trying the next one, or you'll get confused! We suspect that we shouldn't have to move dish 2, because that's the one corresponding to the 2nd dish on the switch panel outside the computer room - you blew up the station in the Bermuda Triangle, and that's where that dish is pointing. Anyway, after having moved each dish to the extreme right, the 'Map' and 'Between Rooms' columns have now changed to reflect which dish corresponds to which map, and the 'Changed To' column shows what continents the dish is getting a signal from when we moved it all the way to the right:
| Dish | Setting | Map | Between Rooms | Changed To | | 1 | 066 | SA | 2 and 5 | SA and AU | | 2 | 108 | NA | 3 and 1 | -- | | 3 | 210 | AF | 4 and 2 | AF and NA | | 4 | 282 | EU | 5 and 3 | EU and AF | | 5 | 354 | AU | 1 and 4 | AU and EU |
OK, that was a bit of work, but it tells us quite a lot! Next, let's move each dish in a way that it at least partly covers, or moves closer to, NA. That is:
Move Dish 1 all the way to the left (006).
Move Dish 3 all the way to the right (210).
Move Dish 4 all the way to the right (282).
Move Dish 5 all the way to the left (288).
Hmm. No miracles happen after that, but now that all the dishes are beginning to converge on North America, let's see if we can get other dishes to move a bit further, shall we? So, Dish 3 now goes from 210 to 216. And finally, move Dish 1 from 006 to 000 and... there is our Moment of Silence :-)
Peter goes to the communications centre and watches as all the communications shut down. A fly finishes off your handiwork, causing a system crash. Go to where Johnson's body is, and the door is now open there leading the way to the evacuation units. Once there, make your way across the bridge to the evacuation area. By reading the scrolling LED sign above the entrance, you note that unit 3 is still unlocked. Enter the area, and use the lever next to evacuation capsule 3 to open it. Then head inside. Just as you do that, 3 missiles are launched. Uh oh. Once in the capsule, examine the rocket control to the bottom right. Use Johnson's Disk on the disk slot to reprogramme the missile targets. Then pull the red lever, and hit the touch switch. Watch as disaster in New York is narrowly averted, and the missiles return to Alaska to destroy Pentanet. Game, set, and match!
Read the Quandary Moment of Silence review.
Copyright © Steve Metzler 2004.
All rights reserved.
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