8.7. Moving things

We have now seen how to change the properties of rooms and things, and also any freestanding values which may have a bearing on the model world. We are not allowed to change the kind of anything during play. Our remaining freedom is to move things around. It would make no sense to move rooms around, because rooms are the fixed reference points in our geography, but anything else is mobile. This even includes things which are supposedly "fixed in place", for unlike the player, we have god-like powers. (There are minor restrictions: backdrops are trickier to move, since they are present in several rooms at once - see the next section. And doors, at the junction between two rooms, cannot be moved.)

move (object) to (object)

This phrase moves the first-named object to the second. Example:

move the genie's lamp to Aladdin's Cave;

The first object named has to be a thing; the destination must be a room, as here, a container, a supporter, or a person. When something is moved, all its parts and contents (and all their contents, and so on) move with it. If the thing being moved is a person, then the destination is required to be a room or an enterable container. (In particular, a person cannot be carried by another person.)

Two options can be used if the object being moved is the player.

move the player to Aladdin's Cave, without printing a room description

omits the description which would otherwise be produced. A compromise is to use:

move the player to Aladdin's Cave, printing an abbreviated room description

which gives a full description if the player has never been here before, but only a brief one if it is a familiar scene. These options have no effect for any other objects being moved.

then it will be carried rather than worn. We could arrange for it to be worn instead by writing

119

ExampleMeteoric I and II
A meteor in the night sky which is visible from many rooms, so needs to be a backdrop, but which does not appear until 11:31 PM.

The game below begins at half past eleven, and one turn later, it's meteor time:

"Meteoric I"

The time of day is 11:30 PM.

At 11:31 PM:
now the meteor is in the great outdoors;
say "A meteor streaks across the sky.".

The great outdoors is a region. The Spanish Balcony is east of the Inner Court. The Court and Balcony are in the great outdoors. Inside from the Court is the Swimming Pool.

The meteor is a backdrop. Instead of doing something to the meteor, say "The meteor is no longer visible, now nothing more than a memory."

Test me with "wait / wait / examine meteor / west / examine meteor / in / examine meteor".

Or for something a little slower-moving and with no after-image:

"Meteoric II"

The time of day is 4:30 PM.

At 4:31 PM:
    now Phobos is in the great outdoors;
    say "Phobos rises from the western horizon."
At 10:06 PM:
    now Phobos is nowhere;
    say "Phobos sets over the eastern horizon."

The great outdoors is a region. The Martian Balcony is east of the Inner Court. The Court and Balcony are in the great outdoors. Inside from the Court is the Heavy Water Swimming Pool.

Phobos is a backdrop. Instead of doing something to Phobos, say "Phobos orbits a mere 6000km above you, which is practically touching range for astronomy. On the other hand, astronomy isn't all that practical."

Test me with "wait / wait / examine phobos / west / examine phobos / in / examine phobos".

Though we should not really use Earthly time-keeping, since the Martian day is about half an hour longer than ours.

	Start of Chapter 8: Change
	Back to §8.6. Whose property?
	Onward to §8.8. Moving backdrops