Bureaucracy

*IMPORTANT!

Our records show that you do not have a license to operate this software.

Normally, you would be required to complete a License Application Form and mail it (with proof of purchase) to our Licensing Department, and then wait the customary four to six months for processing.

Luckily, for your convenience, we have, at the last minute and at great expense, installed a remarkable new on-line electronic application form on this very disk, which will be processed by our modern 24-hour computer service moments after you fill it in. BUREAUCRACY! Everyone, at one time or another, feels bound up in an endless swathe of red tape. In Bureaucracy*, best-selling humorist Douglas Adams draws on his own battles with beadledom to create a hilarious misadventure. You'll find yourself in the midst of a bureaucratic muddle so convoluted that you can't help but laugh.

You've just landed a great new job and moved to a spiffy house in a nice little town. You're even being sent to Paris this very afternoon for a combination training seminar and vacation. What could possibly go wrong? The answer, of course, is everything. When the bank refuses to acknowledge your change-of-address form, you'll find yourself entangled in a series of bureaucratic mishaps that take you from the feeding trough of a greedy llama to the lofty branches of a tree deep in the Zalagasan jungle.

The distinctive humor that made The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy a runaway success will keep you in stitches as you confront a series of bureaucratic puzzles and experience the thrill of outsmarting the powers that be.

Source:

Back of box cover

Douglas Adams' Bureaucracy

Not very long ago, Douglas Adams (who is, as everyone knows, the best-selling author of that zany interactive story The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy) moved from one apartment in London to another. He dutifully notified everyone of his new address, including his bank. In fact, he personally went to the bank and filled out a change-of-address form.

Soon after, Douglas found that he was unable to use his credit card. He discovered that the card had been invalidated by the bank. Apparently, the bank had sent a new card to his old address.

For weeks, Douglas tried to get the bank to acknowledge his change-of-address form. He talked to bank officials, and filled out new forms, and applied for another credit card, but nothing worked. He had no credit, and the bank behaved like... well, like a bank.

It's a sad story, one that's replayed every day for millions of people worldwide. Of course, it's not always a bank at fault. Sometimes it's the postal service, or the telephone company, or an airline, or the government. All of us, at one time or another, feel persecuted by a bureaucracy. What can be done?

Only Douglas Adams would exact such sweet revenge. He retaliated by writing Bureaucracy, a hilarious interactive journey through masses of red tape.

You begin Bureaucracy in your spiffy new apartment. You're going to Paris this very afternoon for a combination training seminar and vacation, so you'll need to leave as soon as you get the money order your boss has mailed you. Unless, of course, there's some problem with the mail...

You'll soon find yourself entangled in a series of bureaucratic mishaps as you attempt the seemingly simple task of getting to Paris. Along the way, you'll wrangle with a very bureaucratic bank. And a very bewildering airport. And an eccentric assortment of characters ranging from a greedy llama to the paranoid owner of a camouflaged house. When you find yourself hanging upside down from a tree deep in the Zalagasan jungle, you know you're experiencing the outer limits of bureaucracy.

To make sure you are prepared for any eventuality, the packaging includes an official letter from your boss; a credit card application form (in triplicate); a skinny pencil; a helpful brochure from your bank; and a charter membership flyer for Popular Paranoia magazine.

Douglas Adams was assisted in writing Bureaucracy by the staff of Infocom, primarily the mysterious hacker W.E.B. "Fred" Morgan. He (she?) has worked on most Infocom products at one time or another. Mr. Morgan refuses to reveal any personal information about himself (herself?) other than a mailing address for cash and bearer bonds.

Bureaucracy will be available in March for the IBM, Apple II series, Macintosh, Atari ST, Commodore 128, and Amiga. Retail price is $34.95 for the Commodore 128, and $39.95 for all other computer systems.

Source:

From The Status Line, Vol.VI No.1 Winter/Spring 1987

Douglas Adams's interactive version of THE HITCHHIKER'S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY was a runaway success. Now the distinctive humor that made HITCHHIKER'S a #1 bestseller will keep you in stitches in BUREAUCRACY.

Everyone, at one time or another, feels bound up in an endless swathe of red tape. In BUREAUCRACY, Adams draws on his own battles with beadledom to create a hilarious misadventure.

The goal of the story is to get your bank to acknowledge your change-of-address form. Sounds easy, eh? Not when Douglas Adams adds his outrageous twists to the plot! While trying to complete this seemingly simple task, you become entangled in a series of bureaucratic mishaps that take you from the feeding trough of a greedy llama to the lofty branches of a tree deep in the Zalagasan jungle.

BUREAUCRACY was designed by Douglas Adams specifically for Infocom. The absurd characters and situations will keep you laughing as you confront an array of bureaucratic puzzles and experience the thrill of outsmarting the powers that be.

Source:

From The Master Storytellers Infocom catalog, 1987