Captain Blood manual

1. Captain Blood
2. manual

CAPTAIN BLOOD.
Scenario: Philippe Ulrich.
Software & Graphics: Didier Bouchon.
(c) 1988 Ere Informatique.

THE ARK ACCORDING TO CAPTAIN BLOOD.

CHAPTER 1 (Fishy Goings On):

This sinister little tale started life one grey and drizzly winter's
day. The city was soaked to the bone. A constant honking of angry car
horns drilled and shook the air, even the dry if stuffy kind that hung
around the 20th. floor of 10 Eezy Street, where a sheet of grimy paper
taped to the door of number 7 vibrated arthritically. The writing on
the paper said:

'BOB MORLOK.
'FOR PITY'S SAKE KEEP QUIET.'

"As if angry car horns could read...", thought the postman, shaking
his head in disgust. He knocked. The door opened a fraction.
"You Morlok?"
"Gasp! How did you guess?", yawned a bleary shadow behind the door.
"Special Delivery. Sign here!", snarled the postman wearily, sticking
a greasy pad with ball point attached into Morlok's unshaven face.
Managing a trembly if recognisable cross, Bob Morlok was handed a
letter. Muttering what may have been "Thanks", he shut the door and
looked around for the letter opener.
Then he remembered what had happened the last time he'd used it and
ripped open the envelope with his teeth instead.

'Your Royalties for the second quarter. Total before taxes=35c.
'Best wishes, your publisher.'

Bob tried but couldn't keep back a violent bout of nausea. He smoked
his first Camel of the day.
Thirty five cents to live on for three months!
"I gotta program a major hit", thought Bob, "with a killer storyline.
Or else." This attic room had a skylight. He gazed through it at the
dripping rooftops and sighed.
He was clean out of ideas. He shut his eyes and squeezed. Nothing
came. Total block. Crushing his last butt into an overflowing ashtray,
Bob announced to anyone who cared to listen (no one did):
"Blood's dead. Stone cold dead as a dodo. He'll write no more games
and his pseudonym will as of now disappear from all local Computarama
shelves, forever."
Bob Morlok sighed once more and decided on a breath of air.

The joint in Binary Street was open. Loud music poured out. He walked
over to the bar and ordered a coffee. Beside him, some kids were
noisily wiping out aliens on a video game. Bob turned to look.
Intergalactic robots exploded with inhuman shrieks. The skinny kid
locked onto the joystick was yelling triumphantly - He'd just made the
hi score.
Bob snorted, "What a zero!" The insult had the effect of breaking up
the party atmosphere.
"Oh yeah? Go ahead and beat my score, pops!", skinny snickered.
This was what Bob had been angling for. His right hand closed over the
stick and his left pushed 'PLAY'. The following carnage of screaming
metal, green blood and exploding alien troop ships was all over in a
few seconds.

Enemy losses were so sickeningly enormous that the score blocked on
999999. Without even looking, Bob typed in B-L-O-O-D as the latest hi
scorer.
"Y-you're B-Blood?", stammered skinny, who looked like he'd just
swallowed a live Pac Man.
"Gaze up in awe, junior", drawled Bob, kindly, "You've just lived
through a major moment in your life." With that he turned and
disappeared through the door, leaving behind one unpaid for coffee and
a bunch of amazed kids.
"That really zapped 'em", grinned Bob to himself. He was savouring the
glory so much that he didn't see the old man walking towards him. Bob
Morlok looked down at the old guy sprawling on the sidewalk.
"Gee, I'm really sorry. Are you okay?", he asked, helping the other to
his feet.
"Sure, sure. Don't worry about it, young fella. Not your fault if I'm
so absent minded."
Suddenly, Bob's eyes switched on.
"Wow! You can't be! You aren't! Damn it, you are Charles Darwin, the
famous bio whatever."
"No need to shout it out, son. There may be newspaper hacks lounging
in the trash cans."
"Oh yeah, sure. Say listen. Your books really made a major impression.
All that stuff about super bonus scores for the fastest."
"Yes, well, that's one way of..."
"Hey, wait a minute. Aren't you supposed to be dead, theoretically?"
"Let's just say I'm living incognito for the moment."
"Wow! That's major. Hey, listen. Let me buy you a drink. No, really."
Morlok guided his new friend into a nearby bar. They sat down close to
a pinball machine.
"Beer", said Bob, to the guy who was taking orders.
"Water, please", said Darwin.
"Water, huh?", muttered the waiter, and disappeared.
"Interested in biology, are you, Mr., uh...?"
"Blood. That's my name."
"Blood, eh? My, my. Well, well."
The old man's gaze centered on the pinball machine. He glowered.
"Accursed invention. I've been working on video games for months.
That's the reason I came here to Slick City - but who listens to an
old dodderer called Mortimer Slithe?"
"Slithe. Your pseudonym is Slithe? You could've done better than
that!"
"A long story. And unpleasant. I'm stuck with Slithe. Do you believe
in aliens, Blood?"
Bob was taken aback by the question. He stammered, "Well, you know, I,
er..." But his lack of conviction went unnoticed. Slithe was getting
into gear:
"They're here!", he whispered, waving his cane toward the video game.
Then looking Blood right in the eye, he thundered, "They're here! Pac
Men are reproducing in millions! They actually exist, do you hear me!"
Bob-Blood reeled in shock.
The old man suddenly stood up and left the bar. Bob was too stunned to
stop him. That was the last he ever saw of Charles Darwin.


CHAPTER 2 (And Bob Made Blood):

Back in his apartment, Bob's mind was still reeling. Darwin, Pac
People, aliens...What if it was true?
"Ye gods! If it's really happening, something's gotta be done!",
thought Bob.
"I know", he cried, "I'll infiltrate them. That's my new masterpiece!
I'll need to create a being based on man, a kind of superman,
completely competent like...like, MYSELF!"
And while he raved, Bob was already at the keyboard, typing in the
vital first instructions.

Months passed. List-outs snaked through all the available space.
Ashtrays were piled on ashtrays. Bob programmed on.

Six months later, he had created a vessel called ARK, fitted with an
onboard computer called a bio-consciousness.
Still later, the ARK was placed under the command of his computer
double: Captain BLOOD. His mission: Fight evil in all the computerised
universe...
Lastly, he created a bio-writer whose task would be to recount the
amazing saga in detail.
Finally came the great day. He typed in the final momentous
instruction: 'RUN'...

At that moment, something major happened: Bob winked out. I mean, he
physically DISAPPEARED!


CHAPTER 3 (Report From Ark's Bio-Writer):

The Ark had materialised somewhere near Andromeda. Its shape
corresponded down to the last hump to what Bob had programmed. You
couldn't tell it apart from any other boring asteroid. Its stupendous
mass prevented it from landing anywhere, but that was compensated for
by the sheer amazingness of its biotech systems.
Inside, in a very snappy conapt, lovingly done up by the program, a
mummy looking like Bob sat in a padded armchair, in front of which a
multitude of instruments flickered in the phosphorescent blue light
diffracted by and enormous 3D screen that filled one whole wall of the
conapt.
The Ark bobbed gently in the magnetic tide. The bridge clock showed
'000' when the screen came on, prolonging the conapt into infinity.
The diamond-dust brilliance of Andromeda sparkled in the distance.

Blood came to life very suddenly. The first pains were awful: A
tearing noise in his head, as if something had split his skull open.
The pain gave way to a strange feeling. His first thoughts filled him
with a sense of well-being: The passage from nothingness to superior
Beinghood was now possible.

He tested his memory implants. Nostalgia filled his mind: A sandy
beach at summer's end. Salty breeze, childhood, Disneyworld...
"HONK here. Check sum implant: 10/10."
"Medicheck in progress."
The voice of Ark's bio-consciousness tore Blood from his daydreams.
"Mission recall", it barked, "Please state orders."
"Activate the neutrino scanner", croaked Blood, "and for pity's sake,
don't bark so loudly. Try being normal."
"Understood, Mr. Blood. Scanner on."
"Attaboy", approved Blood, "Now, Mr. Honk, activate the local map."
The map appeared instantaneously on the conapt screen. Blood studied
it carefully.
"Superimpose the radar image", he ordered. A myriad of flashing points
covered the map. They were all converging on the centre, the Ark's
position. Blood shrieked:
"They're all over the bloody place." He wasn't exaggerating. The
attack was as terrifying as it was sudden. The 3D screen revealed a
pack of Invader-type craft, 5th. generation, bristling with weaponary.
Blood didn't hesitate. Only one thing to do: Get out of there, fast!

At that moment, a deafening explosion shook the Alk.
The stalboard side of the Alk had taken a dilect hit flom a multiple
walhead missile.
"Hypelspace light now, dammit!", scleamed Blood.
"Understood, Mistel Blood. Do you lequile a vessel status update in
tliplicate?", came the walm and calessing voice of the
bio-consciousness.
"Get us out of hele, you molon!" Haldly had he finished, when he was
thlust violently against the armchail by a phenomenal folce. The Alk
was plunging into Hypelspace.
"Wow, we leally outwikked those guys", sniggeled Blood.
"My lepolk, Capkain: The ship has no significank damage. Some minol
ploblems with the bio-wlikel. I'll lepail ik immediakely. The
Hypelspace jump did nok confolm enkilely ko skandald plocedule.
/.../... the jump was nok inkellupked, howevel. Oh, Gleak Heavens!"
"Whak! Kalk! Whak's happening?", loaled Blood. Feal glipped his soul.
"The mulkiplexel failed duling the jump...Oh no!...The kelepolkel has
cloned you! Ak leask thilky copies ale roose in the deskination
galaxy!"
"Whak? Ale you clazy?"
"Aflaid nok, Capkain. And thele's wolse...You'le sholt of vikal fluid.
The plocess of degenelation has already skalked." Kl kl kl kl kl kl
klkllkklllkllkk...k.../////


CHAPTER 4 (Clones):

Kss ksystem bio-kss re-aksssvated sk as kssoon askss the
bio-consciousnesskss completed repairkss...

BIO WRITER TEST:
ESSAY
Subject: Describe a space ship bobbing in inter-galactic space.

UNIVERSAL TIME 45372.

Essay:
The space ship bobbed gently in the magnetic tide. The galaxy shone
with the brilliance of diamond-dust.

Mark: 7/10.
Not a bad effort, but could do better. Temper those poetic flights.
END TEST: Apt for service.

Blood had had a close shave. Moreover, during the jump, every space
jock's nightmare had come true: cloning.

(The effects of cloning are hair-raising. There are now an army of
Bloods, all but one of whom are fakes. The cloning process has
triggered a gradual cellular degeneration in the original Blood. His
only hope of survival is to find all those clones in the destination
galaxy, in order to recover the vital fluid.)

A daunting prospect. Finding the NUMBERS (that was the name Blood gave
his clones) among that mass of stars wasn't going to be easy.
Meanwhile, Honk, Ark's bio-consciousness was working on a series of
complex biomech supports designed to back up the Captain's weakening
life systems. One by one, his heart, lungs, liver and kidneys were
replaced by artificial organs.

Blood struggled corageously against a formidable force summoning him
to become a wholly synthetic being: a ROBOT...


CHAPTER 5 (The OORXX Layer):

One night, Blood was violently aroused from post surgical coma (His
cerebellum had just been removed):
"Captain, I'm getting a weird message. The neutrino radar is
saturated. Something's closing in on us!", exclaimed the
bio-consciousness.
"Glasp. Garks. Wha...", answered Blood. He was having trouble getting
words out. His tongue felt swollen and his 100% teflon skull hurt
horribly.
He managed to add, "Standard procedure, whatever that is."
"Aye aye, Captain", replied the bio-consciousness, somewhat dubiously.
Blood suddenly sat up.
"What? Why didn't you wake me up, dummy? Activate magnetic shield,
stop everything, switch on the radar screen."
The screen glittered, then filled with radar echo. Not far from Ark, a
vaguely oval object was speeding. Fast.
At that instant, an alarm sounded and a message came up on the screen,
printed in Universal Protocol/Communication: UPCOM(1).
"SOS AM IN DISTRESS SOS GL GL HOC..."
"Wow! Who the blazing Darwins are you?", rasped Blood.
"I FEMALE OORXX SOS FAST..."
"Boy, what a zappy dream I'm having", chuckled Blood.
"WELL WHERE'S THE HELP...", the OORXX's message said on the UPCOM.
"Sure, sure. Let's not get hysterical", retorted Blood, just a little
irritated, "She's in a hurry as well. What do we do now, Honk?"
The bio-consciousness thought for a moment.
"The regulations are pretty strict on this. Ever since the NOSTROMO
affair, it's forbidden to teleport strangers on board, Captain, unless
they're in temporary cryogenic death status. I suggest teleporting her
to the FRIDGITORIUM. She must, however, be willing. Otherwise the
teleport won't work, as you know, Captain."
"Yeah, yeah, I know. I tumbled the old Ripley dame before she got
command of the old folk's home on Proxima. She told me about it",
explained Blood, typing in the following message on the UPCOM
keyboard:
"Okay, we'll teleport you."

Days went by. Honk happily analyzed, studied and dissected the OORXX.
One day...
"Captain, hey, it's completely major, Cap, wow!" Honk seemed rather
excited.
"What? Calm down, kid, and don't call me cap. Now, what gives?" Blood
wasn't in one of his better moods. The day before, Honk had fixed him
up with bionylon skin (hi temperature no-shrink wash. Drip dry), and
they'd been testing the hi temperature wash feature.

"If we modify, just a teeny weeny bit, the OORXX's genes, we can
control the eggs and put together some really zappy biomissiles, with
all space fish characteristics and amazing firepower as well. We could
easily train the OORXX babies to go on suicide missions for you! You'd
radio control them. You'd see through their eyes. Think of it. You
could visit every planet in the galaxy without leaving the conapt.
It's completely major!" Honk shut up for a moment, waiting for his
master's verdict.

"You are DISGUSTING!", exploded Blood, "You are INHUMAN!"

"But, master, they're only OORXX!", protested the bio-consciousness.
"Yeah, well, that's true", admitted Blood, pinching his silicon
earlobe, "They are only OORXX. And they are officially extinct. And
I'd be right here in my padded armchair, wouldn't I? Okay, let's give
it a try!"

And so Honk reactivated the OORXX layer, and the first second
generation OORXX babies were born.


CHAPTER 6 (Mastochok):

Honk spent a long time experimenting on the mother OORXX's genes.
Sometimes the eggs were too big, sometimes too long. Huge babies were
born that had to be ejected from the Ark immediately. The long babies
had to be reeled onto special spools which were difficult to stock.
Blood wasn't satisfied. He was too well aware of time passing, and
with it his chances of survival. It was becoming more and more urgent
to catch some NUMBERS so he could recuperate the vital fluid he so
desperately needed.
One night...

"Captain, Captain, I've got it! It works!", yelled Honk, "We can start
testing."
"At last!", exclaimed Blood, rubbing his original hands together. They
were now covered in scales and the sound produced was like two
crocodiles having sex in a packet of cornflakes.
"Hyperspace. Target galaxy: Xunk 07. That's where I'd go", he added,
confidently, "If I were them."
"But Captain, you ARE them!", cried the bio-consciousness.
"Eh? Sure. You're right. Let's go anyway."

Ark thundered. Several moments later, it fused into hyperspace. Blood
admired the pretty time-space twirls on the 3D screen, their
mathematical convolutions hovering at the brink of human
understanding, hurling the mind into a vortex sublimated by the
theoretical vacuum thus evoked and whose description is but a pale
reflection in the rank and brackish water of a foul and bottomless
swamp from which no escape may be envisaged...

Then, quite majestically, appeared a round and greenish ball in the
infinite blue light.

"Mastochok", murmured Blood, "Planet of the CROOLIS!" He seemed
ecstatic before the magnificent sight that was the planet Mastochok.
"That's where they are", he declared, with the utter certainty of one
who knows.
He breathed raspingly to the accompaniment of hisses from his
pneumatic lungs.
He twiddled some very nice knobs on the control panel, selecting the
Landing option. The baby OORXX slid into the lubrified ejection tube.
"EJECT!", he cried, his eyes popping with emotion.
The OORXX shot from the tube with a sound like a bottle being
uncorked.
"Ejected!", replied Honk, "I'm switching on the video circuits. From
now on, the OORXX is you. Go easy on the stick."
The OORXX came up on the 3D screen. The tormented surface of Mastochok
was approaching fast. Too fast!
"For pity's sake, pull back the stick. You're going to crash!",
screamed Honk.
Blood pulled back on the stick. Lots of pointy mountains appeared. The
OORXX was skimming over them.
"Down, down, gently. There!" Honk was clearly troubled by the
Captain's lack of experience. "Careful! Aaah!"

A shuddering thump indicated that the OORXX had flown into a mountain
top. The baby spacefish squealed in pain, bounced, then came to a halt
nose to nose with the mountain.
"YOU'RE GOING TO KILL THE THING!", roared the bio-consciousness,
trembling with rage.
"Okay, okay, calm down. Anyone can make a mistake. Anyway, the OORXX
isn't damaged. Look, everything works fine." Blood handled the stick
carefully, and the image began to move again. The OORXX once more
travelled through the wild if strangely wonderful terrain.
Suddenly, Blood saw the entrance to a gigantic canyon, and flew in.
"The canyon of the CROOLIS", he murmured.
The OORXX slid through the air with incredible agility, responding
instantly to the slightest move of Blood's hand.
The steep canyon walls sped by in a sound of gliders. Blood was in
total control of the OORXX. And that's the mark of a true hero, whose
speed of adaptation leaves common mortals far behind. And true heroes
are immortal, as Blood felt himself to be.

They landed at the end of the canyon, as majestically as a bird of
prey. Blood knew the CROOLIS were watching.
A CROOLIS appeared onscreen.
"UPCOM on, Honk", ordered Blood.
Honk activated the UPCOM.
"VAREUX OR ULVES?", asked the CROOLIS, sternly.
"Vareux or Ulves?", repeated Blood, somewhat at a loss.
"Uh", stammered the bio-consciousness, "better not answer that one.
Vareux CROOLIS and Ulves CROOLIS are hereditary enemies."
"I MAN", typed Blood, "I SEARCH NUMBERS, YOU KNOW?"
"(LAUGH) I KNOW, BUT YOU TAKE ME TO PLANET ASCODA, THEN I TELL."
"Ascoda, that's real bad, Captain. That's where the most dangerous
MIGRAX on the universe hang out."
"OKAY", typed Blood, "WE TELEPORT YOU."
He pressed a button on the left side of the control panel. The Croolis
vapourised on the 3D screen and rematerialised in the FRIDGITORIUM. It
took on a blue colouring and looked fairly dead.
"You're not going to accept, are you?", asked the bio-consciousness,
horrified by his master's suicidal streak.
"Yes", replied Blood, shortly, "I've got an idea. How do we get the
OORXX back into Ark?"
"Ah, well. That's something I haven't given much thought to. You see,
they resist badly to landing. As a matter of fact, they self
destruct", admitted Honk, ruefully.

Blood said nothing. Loudly.

"Hyperspace", he murmured. The plop of a new OORXX entering the
ejection tube was heard.
"Hyperspace on", replied Honk.
Ark shot forward...

Ark rematerialised beside a pockmarked asteroid called OX1 45A (300).
Blood ejected the new OORXX, who landed gently on OX1 45A (300). Then
he activated the inverse teleport process. The Croolis disappeared
from the Fridgitorium and found itself on an ugly, pockmarked
asteroid. Blood watched on the 3D screen.

The UPCOM was working:
"PLANET NOT BE ASCODA (SWEAR)", swore the Croolis.
"Wow! That guy's been zapped!", chortled Blood.
"Yeah!", sniggered the bio-consciousness.
"Okay, let's see if he'll tell us where the NUMBERS are", said Blood.
He typed on the UPCOM keyboard:
"WHERE BE NUMBERS? ANSWER CROOLIS!"
"(SWEAR!) (SWEAR!) YOU BRING BACK ME THEN?", asked the Croolis.
"YES", keyed in Blood.
"PLANET ZULU COORDINATES 124/674", admitted the Croolis, grudgingly.
"THANKS BYE", answered the Captain, on the UPCOM, "And now let's get
to Zulu. Hyperspace, Mr. Honk!"
"Hyperspace, sure thing, Captain." Honk was relieved. Ark tore off.

On asteroid OX1 45A (300), the Croolis was babbling insane diatribes:
"I'll get that son of a Vareux, by the glabration of my Croolas..."


CHAPTER 7 (The Final 5 NUMBERS):

800 years later on the edge of galaxy BABY1...

The medireport came through on the telox. An incadescent meteor tore
through space with a scissors sound. Blood read the report slowly.
Cellular degeneration was increasing since the last report. A
frightening question came up from his synthetic throat:

"Honk, how long can I live without the vital fluid of the NUMBERS?"

"312 Universal Time Units", replied the bio-consciousness, "Permit me
to augment your optimism levels: Your metabolism can't afford despair,
and I've isolated a suicide impulse in the B Cortex of a bulb gene in
your right brain."
"Go ahead", acquiesced Blood, "Have the last 5 NUMBERS been located?"
"Negative. They are equipped with radar scramblers."

'Five NUMBERS are left, hidden somewhere among those stars', thought
Blood. Five damned NUMBERS, waiting for him, warned by the MIGRAX, who
were only too willing to sell the information for a price. Five clones
of himself, ready to defend their stinking NUMBER hides: one, two,
three, four and that son of a bitch NUMBER 5.

Blood shouted, "How many OORXX does Ark have?"
"18 adults. The bionic layer has laid 14 missiles which will be
operational in 5 Times", replied the metallic voice of Honk.

"Direction Ondoya", ordered Blood, "Reactivate the layer, lock the
georadar on target, pump up the nuke shield, we'll need it. We're
gonna zap those guys!"

Ark tore off thunderously. Down in the Pram Zone, the OORXX layer
squeaked in pain, and three more slimy missiles rolled down the birth
ramp.

End of report from Ark's bio-writer.


(1) UPCOM. Universal Protocol/Communication. A system conceived by
Honk, in response to the difficulty of talking with people who use
unfamiliar languages. Honk's system translates simultaneously, using
icons to signify words or ideas. UPCOM is able to detect those signs
that are understood by the being you're talking with. This allows a
speedy evaluation of the being's personality. If its vocabulary
contains only icons symbolizing food and drink, it's pretty easy to
figure out the being's intellectual level.

A BRIEF GLOSSARY OF FAUNA ON HYDRA:

IZWAL: Peaceful and generous beings. Look almost human. Very cultured.
Masters of science.

BUGGOL: Beings with a particular social behaviour, being obsessively
democratic. All belong to YATANGA, which is the only political party
around and whose one aim is to defend democracy as obsessively as
possible. The President's term of office is not fixed. As soon as a
BUGGOL attains a majority, he is elected. Since all are eligible for
high office, Presidents tend to change very frequently, sometimes
every 5 minutes. At the time this story begins, the BUGGOL remains on
ROSKO. He can't be elected, owing to the shortage of electors. He
would need two more votes to become President of planet ROSKO. An
imposter (a YUKAS), who doesn't even live on ROSKO has got himself
elected in a fixed election. ROSKO is now in political upheaval.

YUKAS: Belligerent and underhand characters. No class at all. Little
is known of their customs.

CROOLIS: Seperated into two distinct evolutionary branches: Vareux and
Ulves. Each has always hated the other.

MIGRAX: As their name suggests, they are great travellers. Highly
intelligent, they carry the news around the galaxy. Excellent
negotiators. Their slyness is legendary.

ONDOYANTES: Originally from planet Ondoya, these are dream creatures.
They appear beautiful to those whom they like, and ghastly to those
they detest. This way, everyone knows where he stands.

TRICEPHALS: Very interesting genetically. These guys have three
android heads, each of which is equipped with an amazing tongue.

SINOX: Hardworking and intelligent, the Sinox are the technology
whizzkids of the galaxy.

ANTENNA: Simple creatures, the Antennas are really very friendly.
Maybe too friendly.

TUBULAR BRAINERS: The only race so far known to have tubular brains.
Their intelligence is quite particular and difficult to grasp.

TROMPS: Inoffensive creatures, if somewhat stubborn. Their hair is
highly prized as snuff by the Sinox.

ROBHEADS: In a far off age, Hydra was invaded by bionic armies of
android combat-robots with orders to take charge for a few thousand
years. When the Hydrans got fed up with them, things went hideously
sour for the robots. A few decapitated units managed to keep some
systems functioning. They are the Robheads. They're just robot heads
with a few memory zones still working. Completely harmless, they just
lie there. They can't even reproduce, unless some passing
geneticist...

KINGPAKS: Ridiculous creatures who smoke Tromp tails (supposedly
aphrodisiac) and eat pills. Not very smart. Rumour has it that they
inspired the early Pac Man versions.

NUMBERS: Blood's clones. There are 5 of them; Number 1, number 2,
number 3, number 4 and that son of a bitch number 5...

INSTRUCTIONS FOR PLAY.

SAVE TO DISK:

In CONTROL PANEL mode, insert an unprotected formatted disk into your
drive. Click on the DISK icon when the onboard clock has passed 5
minutes. You cannot save a game during the first five minutes of play.
The icon should flash for several moments if the save has aborted. In
that case you should check your disk and try again. The saved file is
called 'BLOOD.GAM'.

LOADING A SAVED GAME FROM DISK:

In CONTROL PANEL mode, insert your disk containing the saved file
'BLOOD.GAM'. Click on the DISK icon BEFORE the onboard clock has
reached 5 minutes. You cannot load a saved game after five minutes of
play.

Should you wish to load a save game after the five-minute time limit,
you'll have to reset the compuer and reload the program.

Only sneaky types and defective clones save the game after every
action! You're neither of those, are you?

EXTERIOR VISION:

Simply click on this icon to switch from CONTROL PANEL mode to
EXTERIOR VISION.

To come back from EXTERIOR VISION to CONTROL PANEL mode, click on any
inactive button (eye).

GALACTIC MAP (CHOOSING A DESTINATION):

In CONTROL PANEL mode, click on the GALACTIC MAP icon to access a view
of the HYDRA galaxy.

HOW TO USE THE GALACTIC MAP:

First select your destination's X co-ordinate. You do this by clicking
on the red vertical selection bar, which you then drag onto the
desired X co-ordinate. In the left window you can see the co-ordinates
of Blood's finger. The right window displays the chosen co-ordinates
(the co-ordinates for the point of intersection of the selection
bars).

Next, select your destination's Y co-ordinate. You do this by clicking
on the red horizontal selection bar which you then place on the Y
co-ordinate of your choice. As previously stated, the chosen
destination co-ordinates are at the point where the two selection bars
meet.

When you have chosen your destination co-ordinates, strap yourself in
and click on the HYPERSPACE icon.

To speed up the HYPERSPACE sequence, click the right mouse button at
the beginning or during the sequence.

OORXX CONTACT MISSION (LANDING AND PILOTING THE OORXX):

In EXTERIOR VISION mode, click on the OORXX CONTACT MISSION icon. The
OORXX is teleported and lands immediately. You then have total flight
control of the OORXX with your mouse. You can climb, dive and turn.
You are advised not to fly into mountains. If the planet has defence
systems, you should fly as low as possible. When the OORXX is detected
by the enemy, two red arrows will start to cross the screen towards
each other. When they meet in centre-screen, the OORXX blows up. To
avoid having your OORXX destroyed in this way, dive as far as you can,
until the arrows disappear.

Lifeforms in the Hydra galaxy have a weird habit of living at the very
end of canyons. You'll have to find the canyons. The OORXX is equipped
with a lifeform detector, which is a red aim symbol. It will follow
the mouse's movement on the screen. When the detector flashes, that
means you're flying the OORXX in the right direction. If an arrow
shows up beside the detector, that means you must turn in the
direction the arrow is pointing to get onto the right heading.

When a lifeform is found at the end of a canyon, the OORXX is
programmed to land immediately. If the planet is deserted, the OORXX
will land, extremely exhausted. If you are currently transporting a
being in the Ark's fridgitorium, the TELEPORT icon will activate so
that you can teleport the being onto the planet, if you want. To do
so, just click on the TELEPORT icon.

OORXX DESTROY MISSION (DESTRUCTION OF A PLANET):

In EXTERIOR VISION mode, you can teleport an OORXX onto a planet, in
order to destroy it. Just click on the OORXX DESTROY MISSION icon. The
planet will be irretrievably zapped.

OORXX GEOPHOTO MISSION (SURFACE SCAN):

In EXTERIOR VISION mode, you can teleport an OORXX into low orbit to
collect aerial pictures of the planet. A special detector will
indicate whether the planet is equipped with a defence system. To
activate this mission, click on the OORXX GEOPHOTO MISSION icon, once
for a medium altitude scan, and once again for a low altitude scan. To
return to normal mode, click on the EXTERIOR VISION icon.

UPCOM MODULE (UNIVERSAL PROTOCOL OF COMMUNICATION):

Once contact has been established with a sentient lifeform in a
canyon, or when a being has been teleported from the Ark's
fridgitorium, the UPCOM comes on automatically.

The UPCOM is a system of communication using icons. The UPCOM uses a
number of windows, which will each be described.

The dictionary window: at the bottom of the screen. This icon
dictionary uses two sideways scrollings, one rapid (activated by
clicking on a red elevator bar situated under the dictionary icon),
the other slow (activated by placing Blood's finger over two
red-striped boxes situated on either side of the dictionary icon).

By moving Blood's finger over the dictionary icon, you can read a
simultaneous translation of the icon into human language. The
translation window is just above the UPCOM.

The conversation windows: situated above the dictionary icon, and
seperated by a central mouth.

a) the left hand window: reserved for the lifeform you're
communicating with. To translate his (or its) messages, move Blood's
finger over them. As long as the central mouth is moving, the being
hasn't finished saying what he wants to say. Click on the central
mouth to read the next sentence. When the mouth stops moving, you can
start sending your message.
It is possible to understand the sentences spoken by the being, if you
learn his language. Each icon represents a specific speech sound.

b)The right hand window: reserved for your use. You can enter your
messages by clicking on the icons of your choice in the icon
dictionary. A small cursor under that window may be moved in order to
insert an icon. Simply click on it. A delete option is available -
Click on the icon situated to the right, under the window. To transmit
your sentences, click on the central mouth.

You can teleport a being into the fridgitorium, if the being agrees.
At that moment, the TELEPORT icon will be enabled. To teleport the
lifeform, click on the TELEPORT icon.

Your conversational partner can, for reasons best known to himself,
break off the discussion at any time.

If you want to leave the UPCOM during a conversation, click on the
triangle at the right of the screen, under the DELETE arrow.

TELEPORT:

This icon is used to teleport a being from the planet into the Ark's
fridgitorium. The icon will not be enabled until a being with whom
you are in conversation consents to be teleported. If the icon is
enabled and if you want to teleport the lifeform, just click on the
icon.

DISINTEGRATE THE TELEPORTED BEING:

When a life-form is teleported to the fridgitorium, yu can decide to
destroy the lifeform by disintegrating it. If it's one of the numbers,
Blood will recover some of his vital fluid and survive a little
longer.

FRIDGITORIUM:

It's a cryonization container where teleported beings are conserved.
The beings in question must give their consent because the teleport
system uses psychic energy generated by the being's will, a little
like hypnosis. For security reasons, living beings cannot be
teleported into the Ark, so they must be cryonized and stocked in the
fridgitorium. The fridgitorium has a disintegrate crematorium feature,
which you can use if you feel like it. This feature recovers vital
fluid, and so Blood can use it on the Numbers. All other forms of
vital fluid are unfortunately incompatible with Blood's organism.
NOTE: Pacemakers are automatically extracted before cremation, so
there is no risk of explosion during the disintegration phase.

THE OORXX BIRTH RAMP:

The layer is incorporated into the Ark's structure, in the pram zone.
This area is completely sterile, of course. The newly-laid baby OORXX
are propelled onto the birth ramp immediately after a stress-free
birth. The layer is able to lay endless numbers of babies.

TIME:

Onboard time is displayed on the clock, in Earthling minutes and
seconds. The UPCOM takes account of the minutes only. 60.45 means 60
minutes and 45 seconds, which comes to HOUR 60 for the UPCOM.
The game is limited to 45 realtime hours.

THE ARK'S POSITION (X, Y):

This window indicates the X, Y co-ordinates of the Ark in the Hydra
galaxy.

THE ? COMMAND:

When the OORXX has already been placed on a planet, it may be
reactivated, which saves you from having to pilot another through all
those dangerous mountains.

When the Ark stops after a hyperspace jump, near a planet you've
already visited, simply switch to CONTROL PANEL mode by clicking on a
closed (disenabled) button. The ? command is then available and
enabled. Click on it to reactivate the OORXX. You will inevitably
catch up with the character you talked to the last time.

PLAYING HINTS:

CAPTAIN BLOOD's Ark stops near an inhabited planet at the start of the
game. The HYDRA galaxy is biggish, boasting 32,768 inhabitable planets
noted on the map. Not all of them actually have thinking lifeforms
living on them, so it's easy to get very lost and see nobody for
millions of years. That's why it's a damned good idea to note down the
precise co-ordinates of inhabited planets before plunging into the
immensity of unknown space. That way, you can always get back to a
familiar place. Ask any space jock: trusting your luck is a non-viable
survival option.

The program recreates the galaxy each time you begin a game. This
means that co-ordinates of inhabited planets are not valid from one
game to the next.

Bear in mind that Blood is degenerating. Don't be surprised if his
hand gets the shakes from time to time: it's normal. It's also a bad
sign! HE MUST GET HIS VITAL FLUID BACK. That's the only way he can
regenerate. To recover the vital fluid, Blood has to find the NUMBERS
and disintegrate them in the Ark's fridgitorium.

This software explores a new concept, the BIOGAME. The characters can
evolve, be born, die, trade information and generally get on with
their own independent lives. Strange things can happen: planets can
appear or disappear overnight, the behaviour of matter is out of our
control!

You can transport beings from one planet to another but you'll have to
win their trust first. Study their behaviour closely, because knowing
who you're dealing with can mean the difference between life and
death.