A Mind Forever Voyaging (AMFV) is an interactive fiction
game designed and implemented by Steve Meretzky and published by Infocom in 1985. The name is taken from book three of The Prelude by
William Wordsworth:
- The antechapel where the statue stood of Newton with his prism and silent face, the marble index of a mind for ever
Voyaging through strange seas of Thought, alone.
AMFV was not a conventional Infocom adventure, having only a single puzzle near the end of the game. Unlike most other
Infocom titles, particularly those written by Steve Meretzky, the game had a serious tone and a political theme; attributes which
the company would revisit with the following year's Trinity. The game is
among Infocom's most respected titles, although it was not a commercial success. It was also the first of the "Interactive
Fiction Plus" line, meaning that AMFV had greater memory requirements, unlike earlier Infocom games that used a less
advanced version of the company's "Z-machine" interpreter. It is Infocom's
seventeenth game.
Plot
The player controls PRISM, the world's first sentient computer, in the year
2031. The economy of the United States of North America (USNA) is
failing. Great numbers of youths are turning to "Joybooths" (a device which directly stimulates the sensory input of the
brain) and committing suicide by overstimulation. A new
arms race involving nuclear weapons no larger than the
size of a common pack of cigarettes threatens to turn the USNA into a police state. Unaware that it is a sophisticated computer, PRISM has been living for 11 years (in
real-time, 20 years within the simulation) as an ordinary human, "Perry Simm." Dr. Abraham Perelman, PRISM's "father", informs
Perry of his true nature and gently brings him from simulation mode into reality. Perelman explains that he has awakened PRISM so
a vital mission can be performed: running a simulation of a revitalization plan (dubbed the Plan for Renewed National Purpose),
sponsored by Senator Richard Ryder. The plan calls for "renewed national purpose" through de-regulation of government and
industry, military conscription, a unilateral approach to diplomatic relations, and a return to traditional and fundamental
values.
Note: The following description is based on the player making the correct choices and successfully completing the
game.
While in simulation mode, Perry is able to record experiences in a buffer which will be analyzed to evaluate the success of
the plan. If Perry "dies" in the simulation, it is not catastrophic; the simulation can simply be reset and reentered. The
simulation initially focuses on the fictional small town of Rockvil, South Dakota, 10 years
after the plan has been implemented. Given a list of public, civil, and private areas to record for evaluation, Perry enters the
simulation to find a revitalized Rockvil. The government is more efficient, the economy has improved, food is plentiful, and his
simulated wife (Jill) and son (Mitchell) are hopeful for the future. When the recordings are brought back and evaluated, the plan
is deemed viable and preparations to implement it are begun.
Perelman, however, feels uneasy recommending such a sweeping plan based on relatively little data. He is also distrustful of
the plan. (When PRISM asks Perelman about himself, Perelman mentions that politically, he has "always been pretty liberal...."
Conservative elements are considered to be the plan's strongest supporters based on statistical sampling, although the plan has
the support of a majority of both liberals and conservatives.) In a passing comment to PRISM, Perelman notes that further
simulation might allow more in-depth evaluation of the long-term effects of the plan. With nothing further to do, PRISM enters
sleep mode; he has no physical body that requires rest, but since his mind is based on that of a human, sleep is necessary for
his mental well-being.
After waking, PRISM finds that the Simulation Controller has correlated enough data from the initial test period to provide a
further projection of 20 years into the future. With Dr. Perelman occupied with other concerns, PRISM begins the new simulation.
By 2051, Rockvil has begun to decline, as the optimism granted by the plan wanes. Pollution
has increased as woodlands are stripped and converted into filthy industrial districts. The Border Security Force, created to
defend the nation against Soviet nuclear terrorism, conducts warrantless raids on people seemingly at random, including Perry's
family. Capital punishment is imposed for relatively minor offenses. Due to rising
crime, a government-initiated curfew is now in effect. The quality and supply of food dwindles. A
new cult, The Church of God's Word, arises and finds many supporters within
the increasingly discontented public. Perry quietly records all this and presents it to Perelman for evaluation.
Examining PRISM's recordings, Perelman expresses alarm and cautiously suggests further investigation. Once again, the
Simulation Controller has gathered enough information to create another new simulation era, this one 30 years after the plan's
implementation. Perry enters to find matters even worse. Air and water pollution are nearing catastrophic levels. The BSF and
local police treat the public savagely. Public executions of criminals are televised and are extremely popular. Vandalism and cruelty to people and animals alike are rampant. Public services are in disarray. The Church of
God's Word has grown to gain a stranglehold on the nation, establishing a caste-like system of
social classes and seducing Perry's son Mitchell to abandon his family. Once again, PRISM discreetly records the chaos.
Perelman is deeply disturbed by the recordings, but is acutely aware of the powerful people behind the plan. Exhaustive
evidence will be needed to discredit the plan, so he asks PRISM to enter a simulation set 40 years in the future. By 2071, the
future is grim indeed. The Church has installed itself as a new totalitarian government.
A Church newsletter reveals that higher-echelon Church members are allowed to own slaves. Mitchell, now fully under the Church's
power, leads a raid on his parents' home and has Jill arrested for heresy. ("She
spake[sic] against the Church," Mitchell charges, "[and] tried to poison the mind
of a child too young to know the Truth.") Strict rationing is in effect for the miserable food available; if Perry attempts to
use his ration card twice within one day, he is arrested, beaten, and quickly tried and executed. Attempting to enter one of the
few food establishments leads to a violent dismissal, since patronage is reserved for Church members. The public executions of
the past have given way to bloody gladiatorial matches between condemned criminals.
Sudden and random death is frequent: Perry is shot by a drunken officer after curfew, and he is stoned to death in a schoolyard
by Church youths, who view the sickly, malnourished Perry as little more than an animal.
These records still aren't quite enough to satisfy Perelman. The doctor feels that there might yet be some small hope for
revival (perhaps a result of his own personal idealism), and sends PRISM to the final projection of 2081, 50 years after the
implementation of the plan promised to save the nation.
There is no salvation. The environment has been devastated. The small area of Rockvil that can be survived is a wasteland, and
society has collapsed into complete chaos. Telephone poles have been chopped down for firewood. Buildings collapse into rubble.
Defenseless people are ripped to shreds both by packs of wild dogs and barbaric humans. Barely any recognizable or edible food
remains. Perry makes recordings of several brief moments of life cut violently short, and then leaves the hellish projection for
good.
At last Perelman feels that enough evidence exists to declare the plan a complete disaster. As he prepares to leave and
present PRISM's findings to the government, he thanks the computer for its efforts; without them, the nation, and perhaps even
the entire world, would have been doomed. Left once again with nothing else to do, PRISM enters Sleep Mode.
The computer "wakes" again hours later to find that the facility where it is housed is under lockdown by the Dakota-Manitoba National
Guard. Senator Ryder sees the discrediting of "his" plan as a personal insult. Incensed, he ignores the evidence of its
disastrous consequences and decides to make Perelman pay. Ryder bursts into Perelman's office and proceeds to berate him until
his implied threats escalate to explicit ones. PRISM surreptitiously begins recording the senator's abuse via an audio/video
link. Delivering a final spate of insults and promises of violence, Ryder leaves. PRISM waits for an interface to a global
newsfeed to become active so the recorded incident can be transmitted.
Shortly after Ryder storms off, a small craft lands on the building's roof and two men dressed as maintenance workers make
their way towards PRISM's maintenance core. They seem suspiciously out of place, especially when they start tinkering with the
cooling systems. Realizing that the men are goons of Ryder's, PRISM closes the ventilation to the area; fumes accumulate quickly
and render the assailants unconscious. They are soon discovered by the National Guard and arrested, and Ryder's attempts at
intimidation are broadcast around the world.
The plan is thoroughly discredited and Senator Ryder is publicly disgraced. Perelman lauds PRISM for the initiative it has
shown in recording the incident and in protecting itself from harm. As a reward for the outstanding service it has performed for
the nation, PRISM — or rather, Perry — is allowed to "retire" into a final simulation. All traces of the plan have been erased,
and Perry is reunited with his family in the year 2091, 60 years in the future of a more peaceful timeline. He, his wife and son
are happy and prosperous, and Perry looks towards his golden years with joy and anticipation.
The Plan for Renewed National Purpose and other political elements
AMFV was unique among Infocom titles (with the possible exception of Trinity) in that it addressed political issues, with the author's own views directly
available to the player. The adventure takes place in the United States of North
America, a country that embraces all of the present-day United States of
America and Canada, including Quebec, and whose laws and
customs are strongly modeled on the United States. Washington, DC, remains the capital city. The climax of the adventure takes
place after PRISM determines that the Plan for Renewed National Purpose is deeply flawed, and will send the nation into
chaos.
The plan is a critique of both right-wing and populist political prescriptions that were popular in the mid 1980s. The plan consisted of the following
points:
Legislative action:
Constitutional amendments:
- increase the powers of the Executive Branch
- increase the Presidential term of office to eight years
If the player reaches the optimum ending, he is placed in simulation mode and sent to live out the rest of his life in the
year 2091. It is revealed that a new political "plan" was enacted after the defeat of the Plan for Renewed National Purpose.
Although not spelled out in great detail, this plan was apparently was one of pacifism and
social welfare-statism.
Given that the Plan for Renewed National Purpose resulted in the collapse of civilization in the USNA, it appears that the
author's intent was to warn against the possible consequences of some policy choices made during the Reagan administration: specifically, a more aggressive foreign/military policy, the cutting of social
welfare benefits to permit tax cuts, and an emphasis on religious values.
Also, in the fictional year 2031, Greece and Guatemala are
considered anti-American nations (along with North
Korea and Albania) and the black-dominated South
African government faces attacks from a radical white terrorist group called WIZO. Libyan
leader Muammar al-Qaddafi had been killed during a Libyan nuclear test in the early
2010s. Significantly, the Soviet Union continues to exist, and presents security threats to
the United States. Indeed, the Eastern bloc appears
to have had something of a renaissance by the year 2031 in this fictional world.
Feelies
Although AMFV was an atypical Infocom game, it nonetheless contained the extra package content known as
feelies. The game package included:
- A printed copy of Dakota Online Magazine from April, 2031, featuring an article about "Perry Simm"/PRISM
- An advertisement presented by the "Joybooth Manufacturers of North America" arguing that "Joybooths are not the problem"
- A "PRISM Project Facility Class One Security Mode Access Decoder", a paper wheel device that provided access codes needed
in-game
- A map of Rockvil, "Jewel of the Quad-State Area" (the quad-state area consisting of South
Dakota, North Dakota, Montana and Wyoming)
- A ballpoint pen from QUAD Mutual Insurance. ("From seafarms to spacelabs, you're
covered by QUAD.")
Notes
Author Steve Meretzky noted that he had hoped for some controversy with the political
content of AMFV. When the game generated nearly no uproar at all, he "decided to write something with a little bit of sex
in it, because nothing generates controversy like sex". [1] The resulting game with "a little bit of sex" was Leather Goddesses of Phobos.
A Mind Forever Voyaging carried a difficulty rating of "Advanced".
The game has 178 locations.[1]
AMFV is the first Infocom game with the Oops feature.
Tagline
And you thought you were just like everyone else.
See also
References
- ^ Infocom Fact Sheet, Section VI, Game Statistics
External links
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