THE STAR PORTAL
a Science Fiction Adventure Game
Suggested by the Damon Knight short story "Ticket to Anywhere"
Game and Text © 1988 by Michael Detlefsen
Version 1.03 - March 1989
NOTES
To repeat a command, use G (for AGAIN, useful for PUSH LEVER or WAIT commands).
If you want to explore some of the locations (off the walkthrough): there are three portals where
you cannot
go outside without dying (no. 6 [loc. 24 'grey blankness extends'], no. 3 [loc. 21
'through the exit you
can see stars'] and no. 9 [loc. 27 'you are bathed in a ferocious blast of light and
heat']).
The game maps are numbered in the order you have to solve the adventure.
SOLUTION
(you start in a vast desert), I (you are wearing a blue envirosuit and a compact ATD), EX SUIT AND
ATD, W, S, S, EX RAGGEDY SUIT, OPEN RAGGEDY SUIT, LOOK, GET KEY AND EX IT, GET LENS AND EX THEM, N,
N, W, W, EX HOLE, PUT KEY INTO HOLE AND PUSH IT, GET SUIT AND WEAR IT, GET ATD AND WEAR IT, S, W, EX
DESK, OPEN DESK, L, GET FLASHLIGHT AND BLASTER, E, S, S, PUSH LEVER (you are transported to Portal
no. 6 [loc. 24 'grey blankness extends']), PUSH LEVER (repeat until you arrive at Portal
10 [loc. 28 'you see a broad avenue']).
N, E, GET TRASH, N (to the Lower Floor; repeat N if necessary if you are still in the Trash Room), N
(to the East/West Avenue; repeat N if necessary if you are still in the Lower Floor), E (to the East
End of Avenue; repeat E if necessary if you are still in the East/West Avenue), N, EX NORTH MURAL,
EX EAST MURAL, WAIT (repeat until the lizards have droven off), S, W, OPEN CARTON, L, GET TABLET AND
EX IT, READ TABLET, GET SHOVEL, W, S, S, S, PUSH LEVER (repeat until you are at Portal 8 [loc. 26
'you see an open area and some buildings']).
N, N, N, N, N, READ MARKINGS, N, E, DIG, E, GET ROCK, W, N, S, S, S, S, S, S, PUSH LEVER (repeat
until you get to Portal 2 [loc. 20 'you can see the leaves of the plants']).
N, N, NW, TURN FLASHLIGHT ON, L, EX SKELETON, MOVE SKELETON, L, GET DEVICE AND EX IT, ENTER, D, SE,
E, NE, N, U, S, S, THROW ROCK AT THING, L, EX MESS, EX RUBBLE, GET ROPE AND ROCK, N, N, D, S, SW, W,
NW, U, EXIT, SE, TURN FLASHLIGHT OFF, S, S, DROP ROCK, PUSH LEVER (repeat until you reach Portal 5
[loc. 23 'you see a forest outside']).
OPEN BLASTER, EX BLASTER, GET BATTERY, PUT BATTERY IN DEVICE, N, NW, N, N, NE, N, PUSH DEVICE ON
CIRCLE (a door opens), ENTER, TOUCH PANEL, GET ALL, TOUCH SHAPE, EXIT, W, W, N, N, N, E, EX BOX,
TOUCH SHAPE (Daar wakes up), W, W, E, S, S, S, E, E, ENTER (Daar is here), TOUCH PANEL (repeat until
the airlock doors open), EXIT, S, SE, S, S, SW, S, PUSH LEVER (repeat until you arrive at Portal 4
[loc. 22 'you see muck and swampy things']).
N, N, N, N, E, SCREAM (the Alligator vanishes, Odie appears and will follow you from now on), W, W,
S, SHOW ROPE TO DAAR, SWING ON ROPE (you land on the other side of the quicksand), EX UNIT, READ
UNIT (made on Earth), EX ANTENNA, PULL ANTENNA (you get a metal wire), SWING ON ROPE, GET BRANCH AND
EX IT (it's dry), S, S, S, PUSH LEVER (repeat until you are at Portal 11 [loc. 29 'you see
a footpath']).
N, NE, NE, E, EX PORCH, EX ORNAMENTS, EX NW ORNAMENT, EX SW ORNAMENT, TURN NW ORNAMENT, TURN SW
ORNAMENT, E, E, E, S, E, E, E, E, U, U, U, U, W, W, W, W, N, W, EX DOOR, OPEN DOOR, WAIT, (repeat
until OZ appears), / OZ, YES / OZ, YES / (the door to the west flickers), W, GET SWORD, EX KNIFE, EX
ALTAR, MOVE ALTAR, D (28 times [!] until you reach the End of the Stairs), EX FLAGSTONES, PUSH
FLAGSTONE, U (continue until you arrive in the Treasure Room again), E, / OZ, CANDLE / E, E (OZ asks
you if he can come with you), / OZ, YES / E, S, E, E, E, E, D, D, L (there's an open door to
the east), E, EX SIGN, READ SIGN, OPEN OPENER, UNSCREW SIGN WITH KNIFE, L (you see a small recess
with a t-handle in it), PULL HANDLE, L (you have opened a storage compartment), GET FLARE, W, D, D,
W, W, W, W, N, W, W, W, W, SW, SW, S, PUSH LEVER (repeat until you get to Portal 7 [loc. 25
'outside the booth you see snow']).
N, N, N, WAIT (repeat until the snowstorm has stopped), LIGHT BRANCH, E, E, SE, DROP TRASH AND BURN
IT (the heat is melting a part of the ice wall), TURN FLASHLIGHT ON, L, ENTER, N, W, W, W, W, LIGHT
FLARE, DROP FLARE (you see an opening in the west wall far below the bridge), W, W, TIE ROPE TO
BRIDGE, D, TURN FLASHLIGHT OFF, W, W, W, NW, NW, N, W, W, W, D, D, S, E, EX DOOR, EX LOCK, PICK LOCK
WITH WIRE, E, E, E, E (Odie vanishes), E, PUSH LEVER (Congratulations. You have won the game. Your
score is 410 [!] out of a possible 400 points.)
Solution by boldir, February 2022
