3. Spire

Scene 1
The STRANGER materializes in a small liking chamber on the age of Spire. It has clearly been badly damaged by some kind of explosion - shards of broken glass and twisted pieces of metal lie everywhere.

STRANGER: Whoa. What happened here?

She steps to the front of the chamber and gasps. She stands at the top of an enormous stone spire, the wind howling around her. Above, the moon and stars shine brightly in the night sky; far below, the lower part of the Age is hidden by a thick layer of cloud.

STRANGER: My God… this is so beautiful! It almost makes up for that stupid fireplace puzzle.

She looks around the chamber. A book with some kind of metal lock on it lies on a bench nearby.

NECKLACE: Ting!

STRANGER (irritated) Oh, not you again. What is it now?

NECKLACE: That's the sound I make when I've got something to show you, remember?

STRANGER: Oh, yeah... Did something important happen here, then?

NECKLACE: Yeah, I guess. Something vaguely interesting, at least. (Before STRANGER can react) Shhh, let me show you…

The voices of YEESHA and SIRRUS are heard.

YEESHA: Dad told me you never wanted to learn D'ni when you were little. That's why he never taught you.

SIRRUS: I guess I didn't, back then. I was having too much 'fun' doing 'other stuff', heheheh. Ahahahaha. AHAHAHA- (Suddenly remembers himself and coughs loudly.) Uh, yeah… I was pretty stupid back then.

YEESHA: Why don't you try learning now, with me?

SIRRUS: (Very fake 'shocked' voice) You'd teach me D'ni?

YEESHA: Why not? Someone has to help you find a way to escape before you're supposed to.

The memory ends.

STRANGER: Hmm… you know, I'm having my doubts about Sirrus's 'reformation' already.

She leaves the chamber and walks down the flight of stone steps that spirals around the rock. SIRRUS's theme from Myst plays softly in the background.

STRANGER: (Suddenly stops) Hang on, who carved these steps? Surely there's no way the wind could have done it?

NECKLACE: Ah, but you see, this is another universe where the normal laws of probability don't apply. (Seeing her look) No, nobody else buys it either.

A few stories down, the STRANGER passes an elevator shaft separate from the main body of the rock. On closer inspection, it becomes clear that the elevator is broken; the bottom of the shaft is too far down to be seen.

STRANGER: Guess there must be another way down.

She continues down the steps, turning another few corners, then once more she stops and gasps. In front of her is a wide platform, on which stands a beautiful crystal sculpture. As the STRANGER draws closer, she sees that it closely resembles the picture she saw in ATRUS's bedroom.

NECKLACE: Ting!

STRANGER (exasperated): Oh, will you shut up!

NECKLACE: But this one's really moving and touching and designed to make you think that maybe Sirrus isn't so bad after all!

STRANGER: (Sighs) Alright, maybe Sirrus isn't so bad after all. Happy?

She spots what looks like the remains of a campfire nearby, and bends over to look at it.

NECKLACE (nervously): Ting?

STRANGER: Just get on with it.

The NECKLACE shows a wild-eyed, shivering SIRRUS huddled in a blanket.

SIRRUS (snarls): I thought I was the only devious one in this family… but this! This is classic! (Shudders) No book, Father… no linking… BOOK! OH! (Stares wildly ahead of him.) Think, Sirrus, think…

The vision fades. There is a pause.

STRANGER: Sirrus isn't big on subtlety, is he?

NECKLACE: Oh, believe me, it gets worse…

A short way away, through an archway, a bridge leads to a strange crystal pillar with some kind of gauge beneath it. The STRANGER walks up to inspect it, but her attention is distracted by a dark hole in the rock by the side of the bridge.

STRANGER: (Leans over) Hmm, I wonder what's down he-

NECKLACE: Ting!

Distracted, the STRANGER loses her balance and falls into the hole.

STRANGER: AAAAAAAAARGH!

She screams and closes her eyes as she hurtles down the tube like a child on a waterslide. It is a very, very long way down

Scene 2
The STRANGER finally emerges at the bottom of the 'slide', shooting out and landing on the floor with a bump. It is a full minute before she can speak again. Finally she grabs the necklace and lifts it up, a terrible glint in her eyes.

STRANGER: You

NECKLACE (squeaks): I'm sorry! I'm sorry!

STRANGER: (Breathes deeply) If you ever do anything like that again I'll throw you off the edge of the Age, understand?

She stands up shakily and looks around her. They are beneath the first layer of clouds, and a violent storm rages above them. Nearby, a variety of electrical equipment hums and fizzes.

STRANGER (sarcastically): So who built all the electrical stuff? Did the wind do that as well?

NECKLACE: I think Sirrus did it.

STRANGER: Wow. (Shakes her head) He's not stupid, I'll say that for him…

Out in the 'sea' of cloud, a series of floating lights make a path towards an island in the distance. The STRANGER steps forward to take a closer look.

NECKLACE: Um… (The STRANGER nods wearily, and SIRRUS's voice is heard.)

SIRRUS (gleefully): YESSSS! I knew it would work! I knew there was enough static electricity out there to be gathered by my conductors. HAHA! (The STRANGER rolls her eyes.) Now to stop wasting it in a useless display of light and actually channel it somewhere…

STRANGER: So there's a way out there? (She looks round and sees a control box nearby.) Ah. Puzzle time…

NECKLACE: Take a look around first.

A ladder of metal steps is attached to one wall. The STRANGER climbs up it, pushes open the trapdoor on the top and emerges onto the next level. In front of her is another ladder; to the left is a dark passageway, and to the right is some sort of garden.

STRANGER: Hang on, there are plants here? How on earth do they survive on a place made entirely of rock and crystal?

She walks into the garden area, where there is a long stone bench, cluttered with devices constructed by SIRRUS. Around a corner is a 'glade' of strange green plants, with a vat of bright-green bubbling liquid resting on a bench nearby. At the end stands a crystal statue of YEESHA, holding a bowl which contains a beautiful white flower.

STRANGER: Aww, how sweet. (Moves closer.) Anything to show me here, Necklace?

SIRRUS speaks.

SIRRUS: Your faith in me is truly amazing, Mother… (Laughs.) How long before I kill this one?

The STRANGER steps back in shock.

STRANGER: Kill this one? Well, there goes the whole 'whodunnit' aspect of this game…

She walks off in the other direction, through the passageway. A chessboard lies on a table beside a hard and uncomfortable-looking bed. SIRRUS's research notes are scattered everywhere; the STRANGER picks one up and looks at it.

STRANGER (reading from note): 'Success at last! I have found the correct combination of frequencies for Nara. If I divide the total number of power units in a 5:3:29 ratio between the three cables, then multiply them together and raise the result to the power of 7, the result is equal to 46 times the square root of the rock and quartz frequencies added together…' (She drops the paper in disgust.) For Christ's sake, who writes themselves notes like this? Why couldn't he just write down the combination?

NECKLACE: But then there would be no inane puzzle to solve, would there? (The STRANGER nods wearily.) Oh, and I forgot… you're not allowed to pick up the papers, only to photograph them.

STRANGER: Oh, bloody hell. (Snarls to herself as she wanders around snapping pictures of the notes.) Grrrrr… Myst… hate… kill…

Suddenly she spots a hole leading down into the ground, like the one she fell through earlier.

STRANGER: (Holds up a warning finger to NECKLACE) Don't you dare.

Very carefully she lowers herself into the hole and slides down it. She emerges in a chamber made of green crystal. In the centre of the room is a strange 'throne' surrounded by spider-like metal legs.

STRANGER: Now where have I seen something like that before? Oh, yeah… every other Myst game.

NECKLACE: You'll have to go out to the island to set the power supply, or it'll overload the chair.

STRANGER: How do I know how much power I need?

NECKLACE: Sorry, I'm not allowed to tell you. (The STRANGER groans.) But I bet you'll have a lot of fun finding out…

STRANGER: Yeah, I'll bet.

Scene 3
Having finally figured out how much power she needs, the STRANGER has managed to reach the nearby island in SIRRUS's hover-ship-thingy. The only available path ends by a rope ladder which leads down to the bottom of the Age, far below. The Stranger climbs down it.

At the bottom, everything is lit with a strange green glow, emanating from a sea of molten green stuff miles below. Nearby is a sort of telescope device, which the STRANGER begins to investigate. The bottom of the main Spire can be seen in the distance, floating in space.

NECKLACE: Ting! This is a good one, I promise!

STRANGER: All right, fire away.

We see SIRRUS climbing down the rope ladder. When he sees that there is no linking book, his face freezes in horror. Dramatic music plays.

SIRRUS: No… NO! (Falls to his knees, banging his head repeatedly against the ground.) NO NO NO NO NO NO NO!

VOICE OFFSCREEN: (Calls) Hey, tone it down a bit. You're supposed to be playing Sirrus, not Saavedro.

SIRRUS: (Looks up) Sorry. Er… how's this? (Stands up, raising his clenched fists skyward.) I… am… Sirrus. AND I WILL NOT BE DEFEATEEEEED!

There is a pause.

VOICE OFFSCREEN: (Sighs) Oh… whatever. It'll do. (The vision fades.)

STRANGER: (Looks at NECKLACE) Is he going to be like that for the whole game?

NECKLACE: Pretty much, I'm afraid.

Scene 4
After changing the power supply, the STRANGER returns to the throne room and sits down in the chair. She presses a button and a complex control panel, covered in sliders and lights, slides into place in front of her. Pulling one of the sliders down causes the throne to sink down through the floor; it emerges into a vast cavern, with rows of tiny Yeesha statues surrounding the chair. In front of it is yet another crystal statue, this time of ATRUS and CATHERINE

STRANGER: Whoa… (Stares around her) Say what you like about Sirrus, you can't deny that he's got a sense of theatre.

She pulls the slider down another notch; the throne sinks lower, and the three cables on the control panel become active. When she tries adjusting one of them, it makes a horrible noise.

STRANGER: Ugh. What's wrong with it?

NECKLACE: You have to tune the cables first.

The STRANGER taps a panel on the control board, which opens to reveal another button. When she presses it, the throne moves down once again to the underside of the Age, where there are three gears used for tuning the cables.

STRANGER: Hold on. What positions should I set them to?

NECKLACE (innocently): Oh… didn't I mention that? You've got to hunt around the Age for clues.

STRANGER: (Bangs her head against the panel in front of her.) Oh, thanks a lot. Now you tell me…

Much puzzling later, she finally manages to tune the cables and returns to set them to their correct frequencies, which she has painstakingly worked out using SIRRUS's notes. The task is slightly complicated by the fact that all four frequency 'locks' must be set in motion simultaneously.

STRANGER: (Messing with cables) Damn these sliders! You'd think in a timed puzzle, they'd at least make the controls accurate…

Eventually she accomplishes her task, and a set of steps rises up in front of the panel. The STRANGER presses the release button to free herself from the throne and walks up the steps into SIRRUS's bomb-making factory. His journal lies on a bench.

STRANGER: (Flicks through journal) Right… so Sirrus wants revenge on Atrus for imprisoning him, he figured out a way to blow up the linking chambers using Nara bombs, and he's tricked Yeesha into teaching him the Art so that he can become all-powerful. (Grins at NECKLACE.) I hardly need you at all, do I?

NECKLACE (hurriedly): Well, I wouldn't say that…

The STRANGER looks around the room. SIRRUS's bomb-making machine stands to one side; in the centre is the bottom of an elevator shaft, blocked by a large piece of rock.

STRANGER: Oh… that must have been the shaft I saw earlier. (Something occurs to her.) Hang on… that means I've seen all of the Age now. So what happens next?

NECKLACE: You need to find a way to clear the elevator shaft.

STRANGER: (Shrugs) If you say so…

She switches on the bomb machine and returns to the throne. Setting the Nara frequency causes one of the 'statues' in the chamber above to be released. It falls to the floor and explodes, blasting away the rock that was blocking the elevator.

The STRANGER returns to the elevator and pulls the handle. Exciting music plays as it shoots upwards in a haze of bright lights, showers of electrical sparks flying everywhere. Eventually it screeches to a halt at the top of the shaft, near the linking chamber.

STRANGER (expectantly): So… what now?

NECKLACE (slightly embarrassed): Well, um…

Slowly, realisation dawns on the STRANGER.

STRANGER: Hold on… are you telling me that's it? That's my reward for solving the Age? I've spent a whole day working on those stupid puzzles just so that I could end up exactly where I started?

NECKLACE (brightly): Not quite. Look behind you.

The STRANGER looks behind her and pulls a lever on the elevator. A small wheel appears containing circles of six different colours.

STRANGER (sarcastically): A colour combination. Oh, wonderful. (She shakes her head in disgust, snaps a picture, and then begins to walk back up the steps towards the linking chamber.) This has to be the biggest let-down in the entire Myst series.

NECKLACE: I think you may be forgetting the ending of the original Myst.

STRANGER: Oh, yeah. Good point. (Heavy with disappointment, she slowly enters the chamber, opens the book and links back to Tomahna.)