Nowheresville — 13 of 60

Section Diner

There is a room called Diner. "This diner is the very picture of the [']50s. The pale green walls and tiled floors look as pristine as a movie set, and all the tables and chairs look brand new. A light grey [counter], lined with chrome, separates the dining area from the kitchen. Assorted taps and pumps can be seen (no doubt used for various sodas and malts).[paragraph break]An exit opens to the east.[if Waitress is in the Diner][paragraph break]A [waitress] leans against the counter.[end if]"

The pale green walls are scenery in the Diner. Understand "walls" or "wall" as the pale green walls.

The description of the pale green walls is "The pristine walls are painted a tasteful mint color."

The tiled floors are scenery in the Diner. Understand "tile" or "floor" or "ground" as the tiled floors.

The description of the tiled floors is "Black and white checkerboard tile... spotless."

The tables are scenery in the Diner. Understand "table" as the tables.

The description of the tables is "The tables are squeaky clean, but of little interest otherwise."

The taps are scenery in the Diner. Understand "tap" or "pump" or "pumps" or "device" or "devices" as the taps.

The description of the taps is "Behind the counter are all manner of devices used for mixing and dispensing beverages."

Instead of pulling the taps:

say "When you pull the tap, the soda runs into a drain.[paragraph break][if the waitress is in the Diner]The waitress switches off the tap with a sigh.[otherwise]The drain looks like it's about to overflow, but it never quite does.[end if]"

Instead of pushing the taps:

try pulling the taps.

The dining area is scenery in the Diner. Understand "dining room" or "diner" as the dining area.

The description of the dining area is "Perhaps the cleanest diner you've ever seen."

The kitchen is scenery in the Diner.

The description of the kitchen is "You can hardly get a good look at the kitchen from here."

The counter is a fixed in place supporter in the Diner.

The description of the counter is "The light grey counter is lined with chrome and separates the dining area from the kitchen."

The chrome is part of the counter.

The description of the chrome is "Shiny."

East of Diner is Main Street South.

[THE CHAIRS]

The chairs are a supporter in the Diner. Understand "chair" as the chairs.

The chairs is scenery.

The chairs is enterable.

The printed name of the chairs is "chair".

The description of the chairs is "The chairs look brand spanking new."

After entering the chairs:

say "The waitress doesn't so much budge toward you as glare at you from across the room.";

now the chairedness of Max is chaired.

After getting off the chairs:

say "The waitress rolls her eyes.";

now the chairedness of Max is unchaired.

[MAX - THE PLAYER]

Max is a man in the Diner. The player is Max. Understand "me" or "myself" or "self" as Max.

The hittability of the Max is hittable.

Description of Max is "Your overall appearance is the epitome of 'neat.' Your hair is parted to one side. You sport [a list of things worn by the player]."

Instead of shooting Max with the toy gun:

say "BANG![paragraph break]You are lying on the floor, quivering. Your face is wet. You cannot move.";

end the story.

Carry out hitting Max with the clawhammer:

say "THWACK![paragraph break]You hoist up the hammer and bring it down onto the other hand as hard as you can.[paragraph break]You think you might have broken something.";

now the injuredness of Max is injured.

[PARTS OF MAX]

Max's hair is part of Max.

The printed name of Max's hair is "your hair".

Understand "hair" or "my hair" or "your hair" as Max's hair.

Description of Max's hair is "Your medium brown hair is parted neatly to one side."

[MAX'S CLOTHES]

Max wears pants. Understand "khaki" or "khaki pants" or "trousers" or "khaki trousers" as the pants.

The description of the pants is "Khaki pants with sharp, even creases."

Instead of taking off the pants:

say "That wouldn't be polite."

Instead of taking off the white shirt:

say "That wouldn't be polite."

Max wears a white shirt. Understand "button-down" or "button down" or "white shirt" or "white button-down" or "white button down" or "white button down shirt" as the shirt.

The description of the shirt is "A white button-down shirt, starched."

Max wears a cardigan. Understand "blue cardigan" or "sweater" or "blue sweater" or "jacket" or "blue jacket" as the cardigan.

The description of the cardigan is "A blue knitted sweater with an open front."

[THE WAITRESS]

The waitress is a woman in the Diner.

Understand "woman" or "mysterious woman" or "her" as Waitress.

The hittability of the Waitress is hittable.

Description of Waitress is "A mysterious woman with black hair and pale skin. She wears a shirt and above-knee skirt that are mint with red highlights, and a white apron. She looks at you expectantly."

The black hair is a part of Waitress. Understand "hair" as the black hair.

The description of black hair is "The waitress has black hair, parted down the middle."

The pale skin is part of Waitress. Understand "skin" or "complexion" as the pale skin.

The description of pale skin is "The waitress has a milky complexion."

Waitress wears the diner uniform. Understand "shirt" or "skirt" or "uniform" or "highlights" or "red highlights" as the diner uniform.

The description of the diner uniform is "The waitress wears a shirt and skirt that are mint with red highlights, and a white apron."

Waitress wears the white apron. Understand "apron" as the white apron.

The description of the white apron is "A white apron."

Instead of shooting the waitress with the toy gun:

say "BANG![paragraph break]The waitress dissolves into a cloud of crackling blue light and then is gone.";

now the savedness of the waitress is unsaved;

now the waitress is nowhere.

Carry out hitting the waitress with the clawhammer:

say "CRACK![paragraph break]You've really done it now.[paragraph break]She lies there with blood trailing down her face, but her eyes are open wide, staring straight into your own.[paragraph break]'Not again...' she sighs.";

end the story.

Instead of attacking the waitress:

say "You lunge at the waitress, but she reflexively knees you in the groin so hard you double over. Before you can recover, she brings a fork down into your neck. As soon as you see the blood gushing, it's lights out.[paragraph break]You wake up sometime later to find yourself chained, hand and foot, to a boiler in the junkyard. Your cardigan is stuffed in your mouth and tied around your face. [if the guard dog is in the junkyard] The guard dog is staring at you.[end if]";

end the story.

[TALKING TO WAITRESS]

After asking Waitress about "the/-- diner/work/job":

say "'I had to work to get this place. I don't know why or how.'"

After asking the unsaved Waitress about "hell":

say "'Hell is where God's light isn't. Tell me when you find the church...'"

After asking Waitress about "the/-- church":

say "'Exactly. What church? A place designed like this without a church?'"

After asking Waitress about "the/-- food/menu":

say "'Nothing but grease and cholesterol.'".

After asking Waitress about "the/-- toy/toys/toystore/toyshop":

say "'The old man in the toy store says he loves giving toys to children. I've never seen any children here.'".

Instead of asking Waitress about "the/-- toy store":

try asking Waitress about "toy".

Instead of asking Waitress about "the/-- toy shop":

try asking Waitress about "toy".

After asking Waitress about "the/-- child/kid/children/kids":

say "'I can't remember the last time I saw a kid anywhere.'"

After asking the unsaved Waitress about "the/-- old man":

say "''He seems friendly enough. Just like everyone else.'".

Instead of asking Waitress about "the/-- kindly old man":

try asking Waitress about "old man".

Instead of asking Waitress about "the/-- kind old man":

try asking Waitress about "old man".

After asking Waitress about "the/-- apartment":

say "'I don't think I've ever seen anyone exit or enter. Even the windows seem foggy. Makes me wonder if someone else is trapped there, for all eternity.'".

Instead of asking Waitress about "the/-- apartment building":

try asking Waitress about "apartment".

After asking the unsaved Waitress about "the/-- herself/woman/waitress/her":

say "'I hardly know you. Not enough to tell you about my past.' She tries to give you a coy smile that just seems creepy.".

After asking the unsaved Waitress about "the/-- school":

say "'I tried brute-forcing my way through all the lockers. It didn't go very well.'"

After asking the unsaved Waitress about "the/-- park":

say "'You can walk through there forever and never really get anyway. Imagine making a racetrack out of this place.'".

After asking the unsaved Waitress about "the/-- grocer/grocery":

say "'It's weird seeing the same exact same food in a grocery store. I drew on one of the bananas and it was still there years later.'".

Instead of asking the Waitress about "the/-- grocery store":

try asking Waitress about "grocer".

After asking the unsaved Waitress about "the/-- doctor":

say "'I knocked out the nurse once and there wasn't a doctor in sight.'".

Instead of asking the Waitress about "the/-- doctors office":

try asking Waitress about "doctor".

After asking the unsaved Waitress about "the/-- nurse":

say "'She was a rude lady even before I hit her in the back of the head. Good thing we don't really need medical attention anymore.'"

After asking the unsaved Waitress about "the/-- butcher":

say "'As strange as his character is, he's kinder than most.'"

Instead of asking Waitress about "the/-- meat man":

try asking Waitress about "butcher".

After asking the unsaved Waitress about "the/-- gun":

if the player carries the toy gun:

say "'Don't you have better things to do than playing with toys?' she sighs.";

otherwise:

say "'What are you talking about?'"

Instead of asking Waitress about "the/-- toy gun":

try asking Waitress about "gun".

After asking the unsaved Waitress about "the/-- my hair":

say "'Do you have lice or something?'"

Instead of showing Max's hair to the unsaved Waitress:

say "'Do you have lice or something?'"

After asking the unsaved Waitress about "the/-- your hair":

say "'I don't mind never washing it. Feels nice. Always wanted it this way. Guess hell has a minor perk.'"

Instead of showing the black hair to the unsaved Waitress:

say "'I don't mind never washing it. Feels nice. Always wanted it this way. Guess hell has a minor perk.'"

After asking the unsaved Waitress about "the/-- pants":

say "'They're a little long for you.'"

Instead of showing the pants to the unsaved Waitress:

say "'They're a little long for you.'"

After asking the unsaved Waitress about "the/-- white shirt":

say "'I...uh...it looks fine.'"

Instead of showing the white shirt to the unsaved Waitress:

say "'I...uh...it looks fine.'"

After asking the unsaved Waitress about "the/-- cardigan":

say "'You look very comfortable.'"

Instead of showing the cardigan to the unsaved Waitress:

say "'You look very comfortable.'"

After asking the unsaved Waitress about "the/-- bullet":

if the player carries the bullet:

say "'A single bullet, huh?' She makes a finger gun motion. 'If you want, we could stick our heads together and fire, but that wouldn't be very fun.'";

otherwise:

say "'I don't like Steve McQueen.'"

Instead of showing the bullet to the unsaved Waitress:

say "'A single bullet, huh?' She makes a finger gun motion. 'If you want, we could stick our heads together and fire, but that wouldn't be very fun.'".

After asking the unsaved Waitress about "the/-- card":

if the player carries the card:

say "She takes the card and reads it. 'It looks like numbers to me. Try the school.' She hands it back to you.";

otherwise:

say "'Card? What? Do you think if I had alcohol here I would give a shit if you were technically underage?'".

Instead of showing the card to the unsaved Waitress:

say "She takes the card and reads it. 'It looks like numbers to me. Try the school.' She hands it back to you.".

After asking the unsaved Waitress about "the/-- pamphlet":

if the player carries the pamphlet:

say "'Purgatory is a thing? Does this mean everyone eventually enters purgatory? Interesting. I've definitely put some thought into why I was sent here. I'm going to trust your judgement...seems prudent. You're smarter in general than I am.'";

otherwise:

say "'What pamphlet?'".

Instead of showing the pamphlet to the unsaved Waitress:

say "'Purgatory is a thing? Does this mean everyone eventually enters purgatory? Interesting. I've definitely put some thought into why I was sent here. I'm going to trust your judgement...seems prudent. You're smarter in general than I am.'".

After asking the unsaved Waitress about "the/-- tome":

if the player carries the dusty tome:

say "'The writing looks like calligraphy, but I can't read it.'";

otherwise:

say "'What are you talking about? Some sort of book?'".

Instead of showing the dusty tome to the unsaved Waitress:

say "'The writing looks like calligraphy, but I can't read it.'".

After asking the unsaved Waitress about "the/-- pin":

if the player carries the pin:

say "'They use these pins for clothing don't they? Sewing things together. You gotta be careful not to poke yourself with it. That'll hurt.'";

otherwise:

say "'I don't have any. Like I'm going to do anything to my hair now.'"

Instead of showing the pin to the unsaved Waitress:

say "'They use these pins for clothing don't they? Sewing things together. You gotta be careful not to poke yourself with it. That'll hurt.'".

After asking the unsaved Waitress about "the/-- oily rag":

if the player carries the oily rag:

say "'Are you just showing me random junk now?'";

otherwise:

say "'What oily rag?'"

Instead of showing the oily rag to the unsaved Waitress:

say "'Are you just showing me random junk now?'".

After asking the unsaved Waitress about "the/-- clean rag":

if the player carries the clean rag:

say "'It's a rag. You wipe things up with it. Why are you asking me about this?'";

otherwise:

say "'What rag?'"

Instead of showing the clean rag to the unsaved Waitress:

say "'It's a rag. You wipe things up with it. Why are you asking me about this?'".

After asking the unsaved Waitress about "the/-- rag":

if the player carries the oily rag:

say "'Are you just showing me random junk now?'";

if the player carries the clean rag:

say "'It's a rag. You wipe things up with it. Why are you asking me about this?'";

otherwise:

say "'What rag?'"

After asking the unsaved Waitress about "the/-- paper":

if the player carries the paper:

say "'This is an unused piece of paper. There is no hidden writing or anything on it. I don't understand why you're showing me this.'";

otherwise:

say "'I haven't seen them delivering any.'"

Instead of showing the paper to the unsaved Waitress:

say "'This is an unused piece of paper. There is no hidden writing or anything on it. I don't understand why you're showing me this.'"

After asking the unsaved Waitress about "the/-- brass key":

if the player carries the brass key:

say "'It's a key. I don't know why you're bringing it to me, you're the one screwing with the doors of buildings.'";

otherwise:

say "'I haven't seen any.'"

Instead of showing the brass key to the unsaved Waitress:

say "'It's a key. I don't know why you're bringing it to me, you're the one screwing with the doors of buildings.'"

After asking the unsaved Waitress about "the/-- ornate key":

if the player carries the ornate key:

say "'It's a key. I don't know why you're bringing it to me, you're the one screwing with the doors of buildings.'";

otherwise:

say "'I haven't seen any.'"

Instead of showing the ornate key to the unsaved Waitress:

say "'It's a key. I don't know why you're bringing it to me, you're the one screwing with the doors of buildings.'"

After asking the unsaved Waitress about "the/-- figurine of yourself":

if the player carries the figurine of yourself:

say "'Okay...wow, that's not something I was expecting to see in hell.'";

otherwise:

say "'Someone made a figurine of you?'"

Instead of showing the figurine of yourself to the unsaved Waitress:

say "'Okay...wow, that's not something I was expecting to see in hell.'"

After asking the unsaved Waitress about "the/-- medicine bottle":

if the player carries the medicine bottle:

say "'Unpleasant stuff, but if you've been hurt badly, it's helpful for the pain. And you probably won't die if you administer it to yourself, unlike fentanyl. You could probably knock someone out really well with this stuff if you used enough of it though.'";

otherwise:

say "'Try the pharmacy?'"

Instead of asking Waitress about "the/-- medicine/bottle/morphine":

try asking Waitress about "medicine bottle".

Instead of showing the medicine bottle to the unsaved Waitress:

say "'Unpleasant stuff, but if you've been hurt badly, it's helpful for the pain. And you probably won't die if you administer it to yourself, unlike fentanyl. You could probably knock someone out really well with this stuff if you used enough of it though.'"

After asking the unsaved Waitress about "the/-- drugged beef":

if the player carries the drugged beef:

say "'Honey, when women say they want to see your meat, this isn't what they're talking about...wait, you've been carrying that in your pocket? Yeugh!'";

otherwise:

say "'I think the burgers are supposed to be real beef.'"

Instead of showing the drugged beef to the unsaved Waitress:

say "'Honey, when women say they want to see your meat, this isn't what they're talking about...wait, you've been carrying that in your pocket? Yeugh!'".

After asking the unsaved Waitress about "the/-- raw beef":

if the player carries the raw beef:

say "'Honey, when women say they want to see your meat, this isn't what they're talking about...wait, you've been carrying that in your pocket? Yeugh!'";

otherwise:

say "'I think the burgers are supposed to be real beef.'"

Instead of showing the raw beef to the unsaved Waitress:

say "'Honey, when women say they want to see your meat, this isn't what they're talking about...wait, you've been carrying that in your pocket? Yeugh!'".

After asking the unsaved Waitress about "the/-- beef/meat":

if the player carries the drugged beef:

say "'Honey, when women say they want to see your meat, this isn't what they're talking about...wait, you've been carrying that in your pocket? Yeugh!'";

if the player carries the raw beef:

say "'Honey, when women say they want to see your meat, this isn't what they're talking about...wait, you've been carrying that in your pocket? Yeugh!'";

otherwise:

say "'I think the burgers are supposed to be real beef.'"

After asking the unsaved Waitress about "the/-- coathanger":

if the player carries the coathanger:

say "'It's a coathanger. You put it in your closet to hang clothes. You do know what those things are right?'";

otherwise:

say "'You use them to hang clothes.'"

Instead of showing the coathanger to the unsaved Waitress:

say "'It's a coathanger. You put it in your closet to hang clothes. You do know what those things are right?'".

After asking the unsaved Waitress about "the/-- straightened hanger":

if the player carries the straightened hanger:

say "'If you had something to apply force to the inside of a lock you could probably pick it. You could probably poke someone from a good distance away with this thing.'";

otherwise:

say "'Isn't that just a long wire?'"

Instead of showing the straightened hanger to the unsaved Waitress:

say "'If you had something to apply force to the inside of a lock you could probably pick it. You could probably poke someone from a good distance away with this thing.'".

After asking the unsaved Waitress about "the/-- hammer/clawhammer":

if the player carries the clawhammer:

say "'It looks like you could hit something with it, or maybe pry something with the other side.'";

otherwise:

say "'They're pretty simple machines, what's to understand?'"

Instead of showing the clawhammer to the unsaved Waitress:

say "'It looks like you could hit something with it, or maybe pry something with the other side.'".

After asking the unsaved Waitress about "the/-- envelope":

if the player carries the envelope:

say "'It's an envelope. You put pieces of paper with writing inside and send it to people. They open it and discover what shocking things you've said.'";

otherwise:

say "'You know, there isn't a post office around here. Been so long that I've forgotten you even could mail a letter.'"

Instead of showing the envelope to the unsaved Waitress:

say "'It's an envelope. You put pieces of paper with writing inside and send it to people. They open it and discover what shocking things you've said.'"

After asking the unsaved Waitress about "the/-- max/me/self/myself/player":

say "'I don't know anything about you, do I?'"

After asking the unsaved Waitress about "the/-- candy":

say "'DO YOU LIKE CANDY AND NUTS!? If I could still sleep, he would occupy my nightmares.'"

Instead of asking the Waitress about "the/-- candy man":

try asking Waitress about "candy".

After asking the unsaved Waitress about "the/-- dressmaker/lady":

say "'I could do with a nice dress, but that attitude is how I got here.'"

Instead of asking Waitress about "the/-- dress maker":

try asking Waitress about "dressmaker".

Instead of asking Waitress about "the/-- fancy lady":

try asking Waitress about "dressmaker".

After asking the unsaved Waitress about "the/-- clothing/clerk":

say "'There's something off about that guy.'".

Instead of asking the Waitress about "the/-- clothing clerk":

try asking Waitress about "clothing".

After asking Waitress about "the/-- library":

say "'It's amazing what you can read if you have the time. Geheel ander talen. It's almost a boon...almost.'".

After asking the unsaved Waitress about "the/-- librarian":

say "'She's a very nice lady.'".

After asking the unsaved Waitress about "the/-- pharmacist":

say "'He keeps talking about how everyone in town is on medication, but I never see anyone entering or leaving.'".

After asking the unsaved Waitress about "the/-- teller":

say "'For a gossip, she sure doesn't hear much of it.'".

After asking the unsaved Waitress about "the/-- secretary":

say "'She's not much more intelligent when she is lucid, but at least right now she's pleasant to talk to.'".

After asking Waitress about "the/-- name":

say "'Some other time.'".

After asking Waitress about "the/-- town/city/here/location/whereabouts":

say "'Who knows where and what this place is supposed to be. It is Hell.'".

After asking Waitress about "the/-- escape/breakout/again":

say "'The last time you were awake, you were pretty manic. You were carrying around all sorts of random junk, staring at walls and chairs, asking a lot of weird questions, saying it was just like one of your text adventures.'"

After asking Waitress about "the/-- game/adventure":

say "'I don't know, man. You say some out-there stuff.'"

Instead of asking Waitress about "the/-- text adventure":

try asking waitress about "game".

Instead of asking Waitress about "the/-- text adventures":

try asking waitress about "game".

Instead of asking Waitress about "the/-- break out":

try asking waitress about "escape".

Instead of asking Waitress about "the/-- breaking out":

try asking waitress about "escape".

After telling the unsaved waitress about "the/-- void/basement":

if the blue void is in Eerie Basement:

say "The waitress looks startled, 'Really? I've got to see this. I'll meet you there.'[paragraph break]The woman dashes out of the diner in a rush.";

now the waitress is in Eerie Basement;

now the savedness of the waitress is saved;

otherwise:

say "'What are you trying to say?'".

Instead of telling Waitress about "the/-- blue void":

try telling Waitress about "void".

Instead of asking the unsaved waitress about "the/-- void/basement":

try telling Waitress about "void".

Instead of asking the unsaved waitress about "the/-- blue void":

try telling Waitress about "void".

Instead of showing the toy gun to the unsaved Waitress:

say "'Don't you have better things to do than playing with toys?' she sighs."

Check talking to the Waitress:

if the kindly old man is injured:

say "The waitress says, 'I can't believe you'd torture that poor old man! That's it, I'm done talking to you.'";

now the waitress is unsaved;

stop the action;

otherwise:

continue the action.

Check asking the Waitress about something:

if the kindly old man is injured:

say "The waitress says, 'I can't believe you'd torture that poor old man! That's it, I'm done talking to you.'";

now the waitress is unsaved;

stop the action;

otherwise:

continue the action.

Check telling the Waitress about something:

if the kindly old man is injured:

say "The waitress says, 'I can't believe you'd torture that poor old man! That's it, I'm done talking to you.'";

now the waitress is unsaved;

stop the action;

otherwise:

continue the action.

Carry out talking to the unsaved Waitress:

say "She looks offended, 'Cut the inane chatter. If you have something important to ask me, ask me.'"

Report telling Waitress about something:

say "[one of]'I simply don't know what you mean.'[or]'Is that so?'[cycling]".

Report asking Waitress about something:

say "[one of]'That's simply not important now.'[or]'That seems irrelevant.'[cycling]".

The block asking rule does nothing when asking the Waitress about something.

The block telling rule does nothing when telling the Waitress about something.

[TALKING TO WAITRESS (SAVED)]

Carry out talking to the saved Waitress:

say "'You've helped me out. I guess I owe you some sort of explanation.'"

After asking the saved Waitress about "hell":

say "'This is Hell. [i]My[/i] Hell.'"

After asking the saved Waitress about "the/-- old man":

say "''I think I killed him. I think I killed them all...'"

After asking the saved Waitress about "the/-- candy man":

say "''I think I killed him. I think I killed them all...'"

After asking the saved Waitress about "the/-- herself/woman/waitress/her":

say "'I was a terrorist, I forget what it was we were fighting for. I wasn't the one who deployed the resulting bomb, but I developed the agent we used. I remember the FBI were raiding our base...and I activated some explosives we had.'[paragraph break]She sighs. 'Funny, you're too smart to be in the FBI. You must have been someone nearby who got caught in the blast, there were a lot more from the biological agent we unleashed. Sorry. You didn't deserve to get dragged into this.'".

After asking the saved Waitress about "the/-- gun":

say "'I guess it came in handy after all, huh?'"

After asking the saved Waitress about "the/-- max/me/self/myself/player":

say "'Sorry...'"

After asking the saved Waitress about "the/-- candy":

say "'If he's a cop, I think I did the world a small favor. Not that it matters much...'"

After asking the saved Waitress about "the/-- dressmaker/lady":

say "'I think I killed her. I think I killed them all...'"

After asking the saved Waitress about "the/-- librarian/nurse/secretary/teller":

say "'I think I killed her. I think I killed them all...'"

After asking the saved Waitress about "the/-- clerk/butcher/grocer/deputy/waiter/bartender/pharmacist":

say "'I think I killed him. I think I killed them all...'"

After asking the saved Waitress about "the/-- others":

say "'I wouldn't try waking them. Even if they are nice enough they haven't learned the same lessons we have.'"

Instead of showing the toy gun to the saved Waitress:

say "'I guess it came in handy after all, huh?'"

After telling the saved waitress about "the/-- void/basement":

say "'Somehow I think that blue void is our ticket out of here.'"

Instead of telling the saved waitress about "the/-- blue void":

try telling the Waitress about "void".

Instead of asking the saved waitress about "the/-- void/basement":

try telling Waitress about "void".