S L O U C H I N G T O W A R D S B E D L A M by Star Foster and Daniel Ravipinto Complete solution by Michael Martin Slouching Towards Bedlam has a vast amount of backstory. The gameplay proceeds in three phases: - Get your bearings - Investigate the situation - Act upon the situation So far, so traditional. However, the game explicitly has five endings, and refuses to say which -- if any -- is the "right" one. Likewise, this walkthrough is split into three parts, which get progressively more spoily. If you've been failing to get into the game, but still want to know what all the fuss is about, this walkthrough aims to help with minimum spoilage. If you've seen four of the endings and just want to get the final one, the very end of this document gives the quickest way to get each one. DO NOT USE THOSE IF YOU HAVE NOT PLAYED THROUGH PARTS 1 AND 2, or the text produces will make no sense at all. ========== Part 1: Getting your bearings ========== Spoiler level: LOW. This just directs you to look at the stuff that you'd notice with lots of LOOK and EXAMINE anyway. > LOOK > X WINDOW > SEARCH DESK > LOOK UNDER BLOTTER > GET BOX > X IT > OPEN IT > OPEN DRAWER > GET ROD > READ MANUAL [Receive information about Triage. Well, OK, let's turn him on] > PUSH EMERALD > POINT AT PHONOGRAPH > POINT AT SELF [Catastrophic error in CATEGORIZATION, eh? That's amusing. Bug, or Ominous Portent?] > PLAY JANUARY EIGHTH [> WAIT repeatedly, until diary done] > PLAY JANUARY TWENTY-SECOND [> WAIT repeatedly, until diary done] > PLAY MARCH SECOND [> WAIT repeatedly, until diary done] [Yay, backstory. Time to go interact with people.] > S [/(interruptionsinvasionsWEIRDwhatsupwhocaresfornow)\] > W > W > PUT ROD IN KEYHOLE > X VIEWER > PUSH C > X VIEWER > PUSH D > X VIEWER [Looks like this was the inhabited one] > X WRITING > PUSH TRIANGLE > PUSH E > X VIEWER > PUSH F > X VIEWER [Now to check out that writing] > N > N > SW > X WRITING > POINT AT WRITING [OK, so he's THAT sort of nutcase. Great. Let's go to the archives and read his file.] > NE > S > S > GET ROD > E > E > E > TURN DIAL TO F > TURN DIAL TO 6 > TURN DIAL TO A > TURN DIAL TO 1 > TURN DIAL TO 4 > TURN DIAL TO 2 > READ FILE [OK, we've done all our doctor-y things. You can look at the files for the other cases if you want, or ask James about things.] ========== PART 2: INVESTIGATION ========== Spoiler level: MEDIUM. This isn't really a puzzly game, but the closest things to puzzles this game provides occur in this sequence. S P O I L E R S P A C E I F Y O U J U S T W A N T E D T O G E T S T A R T E D > LOOK > GET KEY > W > S > DRIVER, FLEET STREET > OUT > S > SE > U > UNLOCK DOOR WITH IRON KEY > OPEN DOOR > E > X BED > X PLANKS > GET PUZZLE BOX > X IT > X ENGRAVING > POINT AT PUZZLE BOX [Yay Triage!] > PUSH MALKUTH > PUSH KETHER > PUSH KETHER > PUSH MALKUTH > OPEN PUZZLE BOX > READ LETTER > READ DIARY [He mentioned the Order's motto. Let's go see what that is.] > GET PRIMITIVE KEY > W > D > D > UNLOCK DOOR WITH PRIMITIVE KEY > OPEN DOOR > N > GET BOOK > READ IT > X PEDESTAL [And that's all the backstory. SAVE at this point. Now for endings.] ========== PART 3: Reaction ========== Spoiler level: HIGH. Reacting to the backstory is really the point of the game. W H A T T O D O ? W H A T T O D O ? F I R S T S K I P T H E S P O I L E R S P A C E . . . POSSIBLE REACTION: "The Logos must be stopped! But it spreads to everyone I meet. We'll have to burn this infection away in its entirety." > S > U > NW > N > DRIVER, BEDLAM > OUT > N > KILL JAMES > S > KILL DRIVER [Now, only we are left and infected. We can solve this little problem in several ways, but let's do it with style, and with a nod to justice; after all, we are a cold-blooded multiple murderer] > DRIVE TO PRISON > W > N > PUSH BUTTON > WEAR NOOSE [ This gives us APPENDIX D. To get APPENDIX E, kill James and the Driver, but don't kill yourself -- just WAIT until the game ends. ] [Oh, but wait. Doesn't the Logos infection allow us to travel in time? We can handle this little problem much less bloodily.] > RESTART >>yes > JUMP OUT WINDOW [And that's how to get APPENDIX A.] POSSIBLE REACTION: "I must inform someone who knows better than I!" > S > U > U > E > GET DIARY > W > D > NW > S > SHOW HER DIARY [ Oops. Well, this is one of many ways to get APPENDIX B. ] POSSIBLE REACTION: "This Logos is the key to humanity's transcendence! Let us spread it as rapidly as possible!" [The radio broadcaster is the key. But we said in our diary that it was too weak. Well, but we'd ordered an amplifier. Let's go pick it up.] > S > U > NW > N > DRIVER, HOME > OUT > UNLOCK DOOR WITH SMALL KEY > OPEN DOOR > N > X TABLE > X TRADE CARD > GET TRADE CARD > S > DRIVER, FLEET STREET > OUT > S > S > SHOW DU MONDE TRADE CARD > GET MODULE [Now to install it] > N > N > DRIVER, HOME > OUT > N > X MAGNETOPHONE > OPEN PANEL > X MODULE > PUT MODULE IN SOCKET > CLOSE PANEL [And to spread the word] > TURN VALVE > TOGGLE SWITCH [Oops. I guess that's not good enough. First we get their attention...] > PUSH TRANSMIT >>CALLING CQ [...then we get Logos's attention the same way Cleve did.] > PUSH TRANSMIT >>NOTHING WILL BE RESTRAINED FROM THEM WHICH THEY HAVE IMAGINED [So do we get APPENDIX C.] "And the Lord said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do." Genesis 11:6 ========== RAPID ENDINGS ========== In which we give the quickest sequence of commands from the beginning of the game to get each class of endings. ENDING A: Xavier stops the Logos without committing murder > JUMP OUT WINDOW [Ending A occurs if you die and nobody else was ever infected.] ENDING B: The Logos spreads without Xavier's assistance > S > E > JUMP OFF PLATFORM [Ending B occurs if you die or are controlled by the Logos while others are still infected and alive.] ENDING C: The Logos spreads with Xavier's assistance > LOOK UNDER BLOTTER > S > S > DRIVER, HOME > OUT > UNLOCK DOOR WITH KEY > UNLOCK DOOR > N > GET TRADE CARD > S > DRIVER, FLEET STREET > OUT > S > S > GIVE TRADE CARD > GET MODULE > N > N > DRIVER, HOME > OUT > N > OPEN PANEL > PUT MODULE IN SOCKET > TURN VALVE > TOGGLE SWITCH > PUSH TRANSMIT >>CALLING CQ > PUSH TRANSMIT >>NOTHING WILL BE RESTRAINED FROM THEM WHICH THEY HAVE IMAGINED [Ending C is triggered by broadcasting the Logos over the aether.] ENDING D: Xavier stops the Logos with a murder-suicide > S > KILL JAMES > E > JUMP OFF PLATFORM [Ending D is triggered if you die, infected at least one NPC, and killed all infected NPCs before you died.] ENDING E: As per D, but the Logos stops Xavier before he can kill himself > S > KILL JAMES > Z (24 more Z commands) [Ending E is triggered if you are controlled by the Logos, infected at least one NPC, and killed all infected NPC before you lost control.]