Homeworld - From Ooze to Apes

Written by Reiko

Last time we finished talking to all the digitized people, including a girl named Miki, who had the code to get into the zoo areas. We have to go that way to get around the dangerous spider robot that's protecting the main corridor leading to the computer control room.

Heechee numbers on the obelisk

Miki's code works as advertised on the zoo door, and it slides open, revealing another blue tunnel [20]. I walk through the tunnel and end up in an "Obelisk Room" containing a blue obelisk with Heechee numbers scratched on the side, a red force field portal, and a glowing red sphere.When I examine the obelisk, I automatically get the numbers written down on my scratch paper with the other codes, although it doesn't give me the equivalent numerals. I may actually need to figure out which number symbol goes to which digit eventually. If these codes work like the ones in the original Gateway, they may be coordinates to the planet where the zoo inhabitants were originally collected.

Activating the portal with the rod turns it blue

I then try to touch the red portal with the key rod, which turns both the portal and the sphere blue [15]. Now I can step through it into the zoo itself. I get a short cutscene to mark the occasion:

One second you are in the mysterious obelisk room on board the alien starship. The next thing you know, you pass through the force field and wind up... somewhere else. You take stock of your surroundings with growing disbelief. The ship's deck is gone, replaced by soil and rocks. Before you is a large pool of green ooze, a miniature lake of a bubbling, tar-like substance. Beyond the ooze is a wall of spiny plants. The environment is huge. It feels like the surface of an alien world. It even smells different.

You look up. The sky is blue-green and cloudy, but you can see the bright spots in the clouds where three suns are shining. The sky stretches away on every side of you, fading to infinity. Behind you is the only link to reality as you knew it seconds before: a glowing force field portal with the familiar floating sphere.

We're not in Kansas any more...

You begin to realize that this environment is partly real and partly an illusion. The ground under you is real enough. The sky above must be a hologram. This is a recreation of an alien ecosystem; a zoo, with some elements being very real and some being mere computer generated figments. The overall effect is compelling and not a little frightening.

A triple sun world, how interesting. And yet the atmosphere seems completely normal and breathable. The environment is certainly alien, though, with a pool of green ooze and a strange blobby creature nearby, reaching for me. If I don't move, it briefly climbs all over me, seemingly looking for something in particular that it doesn't find, and then returns to where it sits.

The blob is hungry, apparently.

I look around a bit more and notice a small tentacled creature that touches the pool of ooze, gets caught by the stickiness, and sinks into the pool. I think we want to avoid that, but we're also much bigger than the ill-fated creature, so I can touch the ooze and even try entering it, and I just get momentarily stuck. I just can't wade through the ooze, but it's not even a very large pool, so I can just jump over it to continue north.

Past the ooze, I find a thicket of spiny plants which aren't immediately dangerous but block my path any further. While I was playing with the ooze, I noticed some spines from the thicket getting blown toward the blobby creature, which ate them hungrily. I can pick another spiny twig from the plants [10] and bring it back for the blobby creature. It seems to enjoy eating it and then is content to stay wrapped around my body for a turn and come with me as I jump the ooze again, with some difficulty.

Blobby creature finds food...

...and eats way too much.

When it notices that it's now surrounded by the same tasty plants, it happily sets to work eating them [10], opening a new path for us. When it's done, it's much larger but also very satiated, like a snake digesting a huge meal.

We're immediately trapped by velociraptors.

In the new area, we find a large spiky tree as well as three hostile dinosaur-like bipedal aliens. Sadly, these creatures are very dangerous, but fortunately, I can climb the tree to get away from them [10]. They're very much like a Compsognathus or Velociraptor, but they're persistent like wolves, staying by the tree and hoping I'll come back down again.

Throwing fruit pods at the dinosaurs is surprisingly effective.

The tree is full of spiny fruit pods. I don't really have any other weapons, so I guess I'll try throwing the pods at the dinosaur creatures. I pick a fruit pod [5] and throw it as hard as I can at one of the creatures - I am apparently a good shot and manage to knock one out [10]. I can't tell from here if it's actually dead, but it's certainly out of commission. I do the same thing again and succeed a second time [10]. Can we do it three times? Apparently so [10], but then we indulge in a bit of horseplay and manage to fall out of the tree. Whoops. Well, as long as none of the creatures are awake, we seem to be fine.

That was silly of me...

...especially when it results in stolen inventory!

Well, sort of fine. I try to look around for a few turns and find that due to the fall, I am too winded to do anything except observe as a smaller eight-legged lizard approaches me, examines me carefully, steals the red crystal rod from me, and wanders off! Hey, get back here! Way to take agency away from the player in the service of plot, I suppose. Naturally, we have to get the rod back, or we won't be able to get out of the zoo again.

I follow the lizard to the northwest. Aha, here's the exit portal. We also have some weird tentacles and stalks with crystal eggs on top. I poke at the tentacles a bit, but they sort of twist around and block me from taking an egg. I look at my inventory a bit and wonder if I could use the flammable alcohol to burn them or something, but I don't have a way to start a fire at the moment.

Aww, it's a cute little thief!

After a bit of flailing, I realize that there's another exit, which explains why there's no sign of our lizard thief here - it's run off to another location with a nest. I find it holding the rod in its mouth, and the nest also contains some red fragments, which seems to indicate that the lizard really likes red objects. I can't really do much with it either, though. Finally I think of going back to the earlier locations and realize that I can get some of the sticky ooze in the bowl [10].

The ooze is great for sticking tentacles together.

I can't get the lizard stuck to the ooze, but I can gum up the works by putting it on the tentacles [20] - they flail around and get all stuck together, and then I can get a red crystal egg [5] without any further difficulty.

Fortunately the lizard likes the egg better than the rod.

I go back to the nest and give the egg to the lizard, which seems very happy to grab it and run off with it, leaving me the rod again [15]. At this point, I notice that the music changes to a happy, triumphant sort of tune, whereas before it was a slightly ominous techno-ish track. Sadly, it switches back to the previous tune as soon as I move back to the portal room with the tentacles. I take another egg, just in case I need it for something, and move on.

I touch the rod to the portal, as I did before, and again the music changes, this time to a quick bassy tune that sounds rather anticipatory. "What's next?" it seems to ask. We've made it to another obelisk room that bookends the zoo. Through another tunnel we go, and then into an obelisk room with a different code: we have a second zoo area. The sheet of paper automatically updates with the codes after I examine the latest obelisk and even identifies the first zoo as "the blob zoo" to help us remember.

Beautiful meadow area, not so beautiful dead thing.

The portal dumps us into a small underground area shot through with roots; I climb up into a rather ordinary-looking meadow with a small pool of mud and the carcass of some unidentifiable animal. The skin of the carcass is loose and dried, so I take it [5]. A northwest exit takes me to a small forest area with a loose branch, which I also take [5].

The forest is apparently too dense to continue further.

The other exit triggers a brief cutscene:

You are approaching a series of rock formations when two hairy, bipedal humanoids block your path. They are as startled to see you as you are to see them, and they react by bobbing up and down and making agitated "Agh! Agh!" noises. You stare at them for a moment. They look familiar. Suddenly it hits you: they are proto-humans! This environment, which has been strangely familiar since you arrived, is Earth!

The Heechee must have visited Earth 500,000 years ago and collected samples of the local flora and fauna. You have been wandering around in a perfectly maintained re-creation of Earth's distant past...

It's not surprising that nothing looks alien to us if it's actually from Earth. But this sort of begs the question of how the ship has kept it in the same condition as it was half a million years ago - in other words, why didn't any parallel evolution happen in the intervening time? Let's not get into a discussion on evolution here though, as that's not likely to end well.

Ape creatures that aren't alien.

For the purposes of the story, it's enough to say that we have some intelligent apes to deal with, who are wearing animal skins and carrying simple spears. I can fit in a bit better if I'm wearing the animal skin I found, so I do that [5]. The apes aren't satisfied, though, and periodically bash me over the head with their spears. Ow, stop that! I retreat to think about what else to do.

The entry chamber has some roots that seem like they could be useful, but I can't see any way to take any. What I can do, though, is play in the mud. I actually just tried to take some mud, but what ends up happening is that we get completely covered in mud [10]. "When you're done, you look like the Swamp Thing." Now I'm disguised enough that the apes allow me to pass [10].

These creatures have fire as well as tools.

I continue into a valley bordered by cliffs and interesting rock formations, one of which holds a cave entrance. I find a leather thong on the ground inside the cave, which is lit by a fire. A figure sits by the fire. Before I approach, I anticipate something for later and try tying the hypo to the branch with the thong. However, the branch isn't really a spear, so the game doesn't let me leave it like that. I know we're going to have to use the hypo as a weapon later, but I don't remember exactly yet. We even get a bit of fourth-wall breaking: "[Gamewriter: Whew!]"

When I move toward the fire, the figure approaches me and I find that he's the chief of the ape tribe, wearing a bone necklace around his neck to mark his station. He sniffs me and looks disgusted - I wonder if he can tell that the mud is just a disguise. When I try to move past him, he stops me, looking fearful at the idea of continuing into the passageway. He pulls out a red crystal sphere, which tells me I have the right idea - the other portal should be that way.

Well, I have a red crystal thing too. I show it to the chief, which triggers a short cutscene:

My rod is bigger and brighter than his sphere, for what that's worth.

You take out the crystal rod and show it to the ape man. The chief looks nonplussed. He growls softly, a long, drawn out rumble that ends in a question mark. He leans toward you, pulls out his crystal sphere, and compares it to the rod. The rod is glowing with cloudy patterns of red light. The sphere is dull and dark.

The chief looks at you with a mixture of interest and fear while he ponders his next move. After a few moments he reaches into his animal skin and takes out a pouch, from which he withdraws a pinch of powder.

The chief throws the powder on the fire, which hisses, spits, and burns brightly for a moment. The ape man looks back at you with a satisfied expression, gestures at the fire, and settles back.

Okay, now it's my turn to do something interesting to the fire. I think for a moment and, just for fun, try putting my branch on the fire. I thought it might make the fire flare or something, but that's not how it plays out. "You put the end of the branch in the fire. The branch ignites, giving you a crude but serviceable torch. The chief is not terribly impressed by your torch. You wave the torch around, chant mysteriously, and once again try to move past the chief to the north. He doesn't buy your act for a second. He grabs the branch away from you, beats the flames out on the floor of the cave, and hands the branch back to you. He shakes his head as if he can't belive that you would try such a ridiculous thing."

Haha. That wasn't what I was going for, but that was amusing, anyway. Well, I have something better: the vial of alcohol. I meant to just pour the alcohol on the fire, but I automatically toss the whole thing in the fire, with predictably dramatic results:

The vial breaks on impact and a spectactular ball of blue flame leaps into the air. The chief jumps backward with an amazed grunt. As the fire returns to normal, he looks at you with respect and fear. Then he seems to reach some decision, and he grabs your arm with one of his large, hairy hands. You struggle briefly, but the chief has a grip like steel.

The chief lopes out to the entrance of the cave, dragging you along as he goes. Once outside, he bellows to the ape men standing guard near the rock formations. They come running, and after a brief conference of hoots, growls, and other incomprehensible sounds, the ape men gather up some extra spears and the four of you head off to the west.

Sabretooth tiger hunting.

After several minutes of trotting at a fast pace, your arm hurting from where the chief maintains his relentless grip, you arrive near the bank of a river. The chief releases your arm, then motions you forward. You walk towards the river with some measure of curiosity. You hear a savage roar at the same time that you see the two sabre-tooth tigers sitting on the river bank. You let out an involuntary yelp and move back at a brisk pace.

The chief and the other ape men seem quite amused by your reaction. They hoot and make "Arh! Arh!" noises as they point at you. After a few moments of mirth, they seem to decide that the time for levity is past. The mood turns serious. One of the ape men holds up the collection of spears, counts out three, drops the rest, and turns to the chief. The chief gravely accepts one of the three spears offered to him.

He hefts the spear, assumes a throwing stance, and sights on one of the tigers. He releases the spear with a deep grunt and watches as it nicks the shoulder of one of the tigers. Both tigers become extremely pissed off, and turn to face you and the group of ape men with a great deal of snarling and growling.

A second spear is handed to the chief. He once again aims at the tigers and hurls the spear. This time the throw is a clean miss, the spear digging out a clump of earth to one side of the intended target.

The chief shows off his hunting prowess.

The ape men chatter excitedly as the chief takes the last spear. The chief seems to meditate for a moment before holding the spear up and preparing to throw. He is almost ready when one of the tigers suddenly rushes towards him. You and the other ape men start racing backward, but the chief holds his ground and throws his last spear as the tiger bounds toward him.

The chief's aim is true. The spear finds its target and rolls the tiger on its back. The tiger thrashes wildly, its death throes kicking up dust and clods of earth. Finally, after a few last twitches, the tiger is still. The chief howls in triumph, and the other ape men hoot and cheer. Now it is your turn.

One of the ape men counts out three spears and hands you one of them. You heft the spear. It is much heavier than you had originally thought. It is heavy enough that you wonder if you can even reach the remaining tiger with it, much less do any damage.

Now we have to match the chief's feat. Easier said than done, for sure. I can't imagine we have much skill in spear-throwing, nevermind the physical prowess needed to do it well. I look at the spear nervously and make a couple of tentative throws, unable to do more than scratch the tiger's skin. (I made a save before making any throws and proceeded to deliberately try various things just to see what would happen: failing the contest is fatal, as you'd imagine, and so is attacking the chief instead of the tigers.)

Maybe scratching the skin is enough, though. I remember that this is the point where we need to use the hypo as a weapon, now that we have an actual spear to attach it to. However, the first time I try this, I run into an interesting bug.

Attaching the hypo and throwing it with no effect.

I restore back to before making any throws and then try attaching the hypo to the spear and throwing it at the tiger. I can attach it without a problem [10], and in fact this is what we need to do, but throwing the spear does literally nothing. I'm only supposed to get three spears, but I can at this point throw as many as I want, to no effect. I'm not even reaching the tiger - it just says "One of the ape men hands you another spear." What's worse is that no matter how many I throw, the hypo is still attached to the spear in my hands.

Throwing multiple spears, each one with the hypo attached, supposedly.

I think this is behavior meant to avoid a walking dead situation, but it's rather inexplicable except for one detail: it only does this when the hypo is not set to administer sedative. I wanted to see what would happen if I could hype up the tiger with adrenalin, but instead I'm just not actually throwing the hypo spear. But when I switch the hypo to sedative instead and throw the spear [20], the music immediately switches to the triumphant tune again, and we get this cutscene:

The spear hits the flank of the remaining tiger with just enough force to break the skin and then falls to the ground beside the angry animal. The hypo releases a maximum dose of sedative on impact, however, and the tiger feels the effects within seconds.

The beast shakes its head groggily. It looks puzzled as it turns its head and watches its hindquarters sag and then collapse. The tiger seems even more bewildered as its front legs give out next. Finally, the tiger's eyes close, its head flops over, and it sinks into a deep, drug induced sleep.

I have met and exceeded the chief's feat.

The chief and the other ape men stare at the tiger in stunned silence, obviously impressed with your performance. They seem especially amazed that you knocked the tiger flat without even visibly wounding it. The chief grunts, bows his head in your direction, and then looks at you with respect. His self assurance is shaken, and his face is filled with uncertainty.

The chief slowly removes the bone necklace. He holds it up to the other ape men and begins a monologue in a quiet voice. They stare at the necklace, riveted by the ceremony that is now underway.

The chief finishes his speech and looks at the necklace. His face is both dignified and sad at the same time. He presents the necklace to you with a somber, formal gesture. You take the necklace, and the ape men bow submissively to you. You appear to be the new leader of the tribe.

After an appropriate length of time during which you keep your features absolutely wooden, you reach up to the chief and place the necklace back around his neck. He accepts it quietly, pride and confidence flowing back into his face. The other ape men bow to him. Then all three bow to you and file slowly off to the east. You look after them until they disappear, and then you recover the hypo unit from beside the sleeping tiger.

So there you have it: that's how to defeat a sabretooth tiger and win the respect of an ape tribe with nothing but a crude spear and some drugs. I gather up the thong and the spear again, just in case, and go back to the cave. The chief isn't there now, so I can proceed.

I finally use the branch properly, as a torch.

The passageway is dark, so I put the branch in the fire to make a torch [10], as I did before, and by its light I can follow the cave back to the portal, observing on the way that the walls hold some crude petroglyphs. I trigger the portal and proceed into the last obelisk room.

Next time we'll find out what's past the zoos and whether we've managed to get around the evil robot spider.

Deaths:

Failing to climb the tree, I get eaten by dinosaurs. (#12)

Climbing back down the tree before knocking out all the dinosaurs is just as dangerous as not climbing it in the first place. (#13)

Attacking the chief instead of the tigers results in the apes killing me with their spears. (#14)

Failing the spear-throwing contest leaves me with a pissed-off tiger, which promptly kills me. (#15)

Throwing the hypo without the spear enrages the tiger, which attacks. (#16)

I thought I'd remembered an image of the tiger jumping at us, which is why I tried so many things and found several different deaths here, but the game never actually shows the tiger jumping. We first see them standing off to the side, in the cutscene, then standing together (and if you look carefully at the cutscene pictures, the left tiger's teeth visibly change for some reason from before the other one is killed by the chief to afterward), and then incapacitated in turn. But the tigers never jump visibly, only in text.

Score: 475
Deaths: 16

Inventory: egg, leather thong, spear, crystal rod, hypo unit, white badge, tuning fork, slip of paper (wearing: animal skin, blue coverall)

Session Time: 2.5 hours
Total Time: 6.5 hours

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