READ ME FIRST

The narrative contains a number of "threads" each of which which have many of side-branches. There is no single "correct way"  to follow these and there is, in consequence no "correct solution". This is not a WHO-DUNNIT. It is a novel. It may even be several novels.  Omitting a section does not make it impossible to follow the narrative and it is, at all times, possible to back-track so that issues or events can be re-investigated. As in life, there is no absolute truth. The hero (if that is the correct way to describe him) tries, in his diary entries, to justify his behaviour. It is for the reader to decide if his version is credible.

Some of the branches are blind ends. When the reader reaches a blind end, the browser's BACK facility should be used to retrace. The option of returning directly to a kind of "starting point" called WHAT_NEXT is also available at many places. As a general strategy it is suggested that the reader should sample various threads in order to place these in context, to lay out the evidence as it were, before following any thread to a kind of conclusion.

The reader should also be aware that what looks like a blind end may not be. At certain points the presence of a hyperlink has been disguised by devious stratagems. A certain amount of low cunning, is therefore required on the part of the reader. It should be noted that the graphics play an important role in providing hidden links and so on no account should the browser's NO GRAPHICS option be taken.

It is possible that the author has over-estimated the reader's willingness to play the game of hide and seek which is created by the hidden links feature. A short-cut is therefore provided in the form of a CHEAT facility. This offers several levels of HINT, a FLOWCHART (which is a kind of road map of the hyperlinks) and a GIVE_UP option which takes the reader straight to an end point. It is also possible to read the source and so read the link addresses directly. It is felt, however, that the reader, being honourable, would never do such an unsporting thing.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: The story is fictitious and the characters in it are imaginary. There is a real Paradise Harbour in Antarctica, but the place described here, and given that name, is an invention. Thanks are due to the British Antarctic Survey for access to their library, and to Alan Precious, a veteran with six years experience of Antarctic travel. He read an early draft of the manuscript and told the author where he was going wrong. Any mistakes, however, are entirely the author's fault.

Copyright © Hugh Noble. All rights reserved.

Published by TARTAN HEN - http://www.tartanhen.co.uk

NOW USE YOUR BOWSER'S BACK FACILITY