MISSION 1: SABOTAGE

A frantic dash to recover your Damocles game from an evil influence in

under ten minutes!

Professor Hantzen got extra mad when he learned that you were on the way

to save Eris. So, just before you arrive, he's accepted the President's

offer (after negotiating a very worthwhile reward), and got the ship

intended for you.

Along with one or two other useful items, this has now been blown up.

But not before he set a lump of explosive to destroy the Novabomb on top

of the spaceport tower.

His intention was to sabotage your game. You have a little less than ten

minutes to beat him at his own game!

YOUR MISSION

Starting with the V.I.P. Limo, and no transporter to take you from

Capital City, you've got to get a craft that can fly you up to retrieve

and disarm the explosive before it blows.

BRIEFING

There's a ship for sale for 9000CR at the trading post at 08:14. Pity

you spent 5000CR on Bacchus before arriving. You could sell the car, but

there's not enough time to walk about.

The only way is some frantic motoring around to trade with what you find

until you can afford the Best Cupand.

SOLUTION

Drive to the State Office. Collect the Air Conditioner and Settee and

sell these at the Trading Posts at 12:03 and 13:03. Drive on to the

Power Station at 14:05, to collect the Heat Resistant Suit and sell this

on the way back at 14:03. Drive on up to the Post Office at 12:14 and

collect the A-Z Computer, then sell this at 14:15. Now you can afford

the ship.

It's tight on time. Nigel Mansell could do it. Can you?

MISSION 2: BAD LUCK

By your own doing, you arrive on Eris even later. That's if you can get

there at all.

Finding the facilities on Bacchus irresistable, you've called in on your

way to Eris. While the State President anxiously awaits your arrival,

you've just lost all your money, and your spacecraft, in a "double or

quits" gamble at Uncle's Casino. But all is not lost. The benevolent

casino manager has loaned you his car on the understanding that you are

not about to use the "quit" option. It is somewhat unfortunate that a

previous visitor from Pan has scrambled most of the regular transporter

system.

YOUR MISSION

Check out the modified transporter arrangements and get yourself a new

spacecraft. Then fly on to Eris and accept the President's assignment,

which you need to complete in the time remaining.

BRIEFING

You'll certainly want a flight craft as soon as possible, even if this

is not fitted for space travel. There's an extra-fast spacecraft, the

Bullet, parked at the military base on Thalia. Remember, you'll be going

into areas where Red Beacons are the indicators.

SOLUTION

Drive to Transporter 8 and collect the Red Beacon Indicator from the

airport building. Go through to Transporter 9 and collect the Concord

key from Mentor Airport. Return and then fly Concorde to Transporter 7,

picking up the Red Beacon as a marker, and fly to the Pan Hades Labour

Camp admin office to collect the Bullet key from the first floor. Fly

back to Transporter 6 and through to Transporter 5 on Thalia to then

collect the Bullet. Off you go to Eris for the new challenge!

MISSION 3: GO FOR GOLD

You arrive on Eris, only to find that another mercenary has got there

first.

The main commodity is gold in this trading extravaganza.

Once you've got 4,840,000 CR you can readily save Eris,

but then with only the Lloyds reward to go for......

A selfish mercenary has arrived ahead of you. Rejecting the President's

offer, this oppurtunist has plundered three of the Novatriggers and the

Novabomb, and sold these at Eris trading posts.

Having arrived late, you feel obliged to pick up the pieces and save

Eris knowing that Lloyds will at least reward you for saving the comet.

In preparation for this task you've spent your last 9000CR to buy the

Best Cupand and flown over to Key Island to swap this for the more

versatile Dart II. You've collected some useful and some valuable

objects and done a little trading.

YOUR MISSION

Locate the three Novatriggers and the Novabomb to determine how much

more you need to earn to buy this back. Together with what you hold, six

bars of gold will suffice.

BRIEFING

The Lawson Bank Repository on Tolosa holds four bars of gold, with

others to be found on Chaldea City and at Solon.

Provided you can sell all valuables at the most advantageous prices and

then be lucky at Uncle's Casino you will generate sufficient funds for

the mission. You'll find the trading post at Mentor 05:03 more than

generous, and a firm commodity market in trading posts on Logos, Vesta,

and surprisingly, on Eris.

SOLUTION

Use Geiger Counter to locate Novabomb. The three triggers are in Eris

Capital trading posts around 13:04. Fly via the Transporter to Bacchus

then over to Tolosa. Blow repository door and collect 4 Gold. Return to

Bacchus, take Dart then walk through to Transporter 6 at Chaldea. Take

this transporter outside. Collect Gold from 06:06. Transport to Eris and

fly to Penn School on Solon for the final Gold. Transport to 7, Logos.

Sell the Greenhouse Effect at 08:03, Briefcase at 07:00 and Gold at

08:00, 07:03 and 06:02. Back on Eris sell Gold at 15:15 and Beacon

Indicator at 14:15. Fly to Vesta and sell Gold at 05:03 and 06:03.

Transport to Mentor to sell Anti-Grav at 05:03. Transport to Bacchus and

at Uncle's Casino, gamesave, then double your money. On Eris, at trading

posts with triggers, turn each "on". Buy Novabomb. Transport to Chaldea

to buy the fourth trigger, then blow Icarus before 1 hr:40 mins.

MISSION 4: NIGHTMARE

Just when you thought you had succeeded, magnificently, you receive some

bad news.

You're into explosive action with this alternative to the Novabomb solution.

Congratulations. You've used the Novabomb to save Eris and the Comet.

You've gained the reward for both, done a little trading and now have

mega-millions in credits. You owe yourself a holiday, and where better

than at the Cyclopes IDI Camp? And then the news comes through. The

Group 4 scientists have miscalculated. The precise moment that you took

out Icarus is not working to the predicted effect. Damocles moves

relentlessly on. Lloyds were covered with cock-up insurance, so they

won't take the rewards back, and Margaret will come across with an

additional 25,000,000 CR for you to now destroy the comet.

YOUR MISSION

With the Novabomb gone, you need to use the explosives equivalent:

eight pieces of explosive placed together at setting 9 will blow

Damocles. There are nine pieces in their usual locations.

BRIEFING

With just 1 hr :30 mins to go, you'll need to get moving. Boarding your

Targ Tourer, take the exit road and go left at the first junction to

regain your Dart II. Chart the optimum course to call at Gaea, Eris and

Theon to get eight explosives and the Timed Detonator. The penalty if

you find just seven at these locations is a trip to Dion.

SOLUTION

Fly to 08-08 Vulcan Island, Gaea, then on to the Industrial Co-ops 1 and

2, at 01-02 and 05-02 Ur City for the first three. Fly over to 08-08 at

Chaldea Metropolis to use the transporter through to No. 1, for the

timed detonator. Then transport to No. 4, to collect the briefcase.

Return to transporter 6, and fly to Eris.

The 4th set of explosives is to be found in the basement (yes!) of

Hathaway's on Snow Island.

At the Hantzen Lab, you increase your holding to seven and then fly to

02-03 on the moon Theon to collect the eighth. You should now have

enough time to make it to Damocles!

MISSION 5: THE WISHES SOLUTION

Significant help with one of the oblique solutions to the challenge of

Damocles.

The Midas puzzle unravelled - at least as far as

finding the pyramid number that you require. But

then, to find the pyramid!!! Not recommended for

players of an impatient disposition.

One of the more oblique solutions to Damocles is hinted at in the

Briefing File with a reference to the Mystical Order of Carpenters.

Their Membership Secretary has decided that, if you can collect the

President's Reward, you might just afford their joining fee. So a few

strings have been pulled to help you on the way. The Novagen Office on

Birmingham Island is a good source of clues. This is where you start and

you are already in possession of a valuable book!

YOUR MISSION

Check the file in your Inventory display and then read the contents of

the Novagen Safe for a spectacular clue. Set off on the trail indicated.

Two Red Beacons have been strategically placed to assist. Find the

hidden number that identifies the pyramid on Midas that holds the Magic

Crystal.

BRIEFING

Now where did you see those twelve star-sign markings? Look an' you

should find the means to translate that alien script hidden on Acheron.

Given the pyramid number, you should remember that not all scripts read

from left to right.

SOLUTION

As well as the LEO clue in the Novagen Cabinet, you'll find helpful

information under the titles YOU WISH and MILLIONS in the Novagen Safe.

Board the Dart, and fly to 03-14 to use the transporter on the 1st

floor. Carrying the Dart, transport to No. 5 (Eris 11-08). Fly to Lucan

to find a pair of reading glasses. Return to Capital City 11-08 and go

back through to transporter No. 2, once again carrying the ship. Fly

from Dion to Acheron, and at the Sphinx at 03-06, a concealed door is

indicated by a red beacon. By holding the glasses alien characters are

translated for you to give you the number of the Midas pyramid.

On Midas, a knowledge of hexadecimal is useful, an appreciation of which

number pairings are most significant is almost essential, and a lot of

patience is invaluable.

End.