SDI: Countdown To Doom

SDI, doom! SDI, doom! You groan and clutch your aching head. The words keep chasing each other through your fevered brain, never pausing long enough for you to focus on them. Another spasm of pain punches a wave of nausea through your stomach as you try to concentrate on what the Medical Corps captain standing in front of you is saying.

"Don't worry!" he says. "The spasms will pass. The antidote I gave you is starting to take effect. The disorientation, nausea and partial memory losses you are experiencing are due to the gas and the side effects of the antidote, since I had to guess how much to give you."

He turns and paces about the room. "Look, I'll go over what I know one more time to help your memory and try to impress on you the seriousness of our situation here at NORAD headquarters in Cheyenne Mountain.

"Several years ago, we successfully developed our SDI, or Strategic Defense Initiative, more popularly known as 'Star Wars.' Our system of lasers and particle beams is so tight, we estimate only one missile in a thousand has even a slight chance of penetrating it."

He hesitates as a spasm racks his body, then he sits down abruptly, as if his legs have given out. You notice now that he is very ill. "You might remember that the primary computers that make the SDI possible are located here in Cheyenne Mountain. We argued for years for the funds to develop multiple centers, but Congress just wouldn't release the money.

"Well, our worst fears have been realized. Our defenses here at NORAD were penetrated by sleepers - agents who masquerade as normal citizens for years, then strike when the time is right. They activated the nerve-gas defense system in the tunnels and killed almost everyone. Fortunately, I was inventorying medical supplies - including the antidotes for our chemical agents - when the attack came. "

"If you're wondering about outside help, forget it. There won't be any. The blast doors that seal the mountain are closed and their mechanism destroyed." He shakes his head as if to clear his mind. His eyes are beginning to look glassy and unfocused, but he takes a shaky breath and continues.

"The mastermind behind this operation must be a real egomaniac. After he locked himself in the SDI room, he started broadcasting orders to the other spies over our loudspeakers. He is boasting that within a short time his country will launch a massive first strike of several thousand warheads. He also claims that his country's SDI system is now good enough to stop our counterattack. If what he says is true, then this is our doomsday."

Doom, Doom ... The words are finally settling into perspective. The spasms have passed. You get up and test your legs. A little wobbly, but they will do. The doctor slumps in his chair, and as you bend over him, you see he is in worse shape than you first realized.

"I'm afraid you 'II have to handle this alone," he says. "Somehow you 'II have to find a way to defeat the mastermind and his agents and turn the SDI back on before their missiles arrive. He slumps forward, unconscious. There is nothing you can do for him. As you step out of the room, the door closes tightly behind you; you know there's no turning back. You are in the first-floor lobby and on your own in a race to beat the countdown to doom.

SDI: Countdown to Doom is a text Adventure game that requires 32K ECB and is compatible with the CoCo 3.