~2 minute readDouglas Adams' Bureaucracy
Adams' wit in triplicate
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 treedeep 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.
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