Once upon a time, in a faraway land, there lived a brave and curious young girl named Lily. Lily was always seeking adventure and loved exploring the world around her. One day, while walking through the enchanted forest near her village, Lily stumbled upon an ancient book hidden amongst the trees. Curiosity got the best of her, and she quickly opened the book to discover that it was to be her guide on a magical word adventure. The book revealed that hidden throughout the land were special words that held extraordinary powers and abilities. These words could transform ordinary objects, bring kindness and joy to those who spoke them, and even grant wishes if used wisely.
These words could transform ordinary objects, bring kindness and joy to those who spoke them, and even grant wishes if used wisely. Eager to embark on this enchanting quest, Lily set off to find the first magical word. As she journeyed through shimmering valleys, crossed babbling brooks, and climbed towering mountains, Lily encountered various challenges and met new friends along the way.
Magic word adventire
Hidden XYZZY in printer firmware
I have worked with United Barcode Industries "UBI" programmable bar code printers for many years. UBI was bought by Intermec in the 1990's and Intermec was bought by Honeywell a few years ago.
These printers use a basic-like language called Fingerprint. It is interactive or interpreted.
There were "SYSTEM" commands of the form SYSTEM and a number in the interactive part and SYSTEM 1138 had some special meaning. I'm betting the 1138 came from THX 1138.
SYSTEM 0, SYSTEM 10, SYSTEM 20 and SYSTEM 40 did things like memory dumps, listing loaded modules, etc. None of this was documented for the developer community.
Intermec came out with what is known as the XP series of printers (no relation to Windows XP) which had faster processors and more memory. These were flash ROM-based machines whereas the UBI printers used ROM chips and battery backed RAM.
I had to see what commands survived in the XP platform and to my surprise in one of the SYSTEM commands I received the prompt "Enter Meta Guru password:"
Gee, were my Amiga days coming back?
One brief flash of lightning later I entered XYZZY and the printer responded with "Meta Guru mode ON."
After rebooting the printer I entered XYZZY in Fingerprint interactive mode and the printer responded with "Nothing happens."
It's still there to this day on the latest printers.
You find mentions of it everywhere. 'XYZZY' (along with other phrases from the game such as ". you are in a twisty maze of passageways, all alike") can be found in computer documentation, classroom discussions, and in many other surprising contexts.
Origins of XYZZY
But where did XYZZY come from? Is it totally a nonsense word, or was there some hidden meaning? There are two stories on its origins.
Bernie Cosell, a friend of Crowther's at the time Adventure was originally coded, says that he was unaware of any special meaning for the word:
"Will Crowther says he made up the term out of whole cloth when he was putting ADVENT together.
"As for 'out of whole cloth,' I meant just what the idiom means: he devised this little pseudo-puzzle and needed a magic word to make it happen, and he just made one up. It has no antecedent nor is it an acronym or anything like that."
XYZZY: a mathematics 'in-joke?'
But Ron Hunsinger believes there is a more meaningful origin to the 'XYZZY' word:
"'Cross products?' you ask.
"Indeed. The cross product of two three-dimensional vectors is the vector whose length is the area of the parallelogram with the two given vectors as adjacent sides, and direction perpendicular to the plane of that parallelogram.
"There is a 'simple' formula for the cross product. If A = B x C, where A, B, and C are the vectors (Ax, Ay, Az), (Bx, By, Bz), and (Cx, Cy, Cz), then:
Ax = By Cz - Bz Cy
Ay = Bz Cx - Bx Cz
Az = Bx Cy - By Cx
"Notice that the second and third equations can be obtained from the first by simply rotating the subscripts, x -> y -> z -> x. The problem, of course, is how to remember the first equation.
"You do that by remembering the 'magic word,' consisting of the subscripts, taken in order: xyzzy.
"And that, friends, is the origin of the magic word xyzzy. This use of the word was around long before Adventure (or Colossal Caves or whatever name you knew it by) was ever written.
"When I first played Adventure, finding 'xyzzy' in it was like finding an old friend in an unlikely place. Or an inside joke."
There were "SYSTEM" commands of the form SYSTEM and a number in the interactive part and SYSTEM 1138 had some special meaning. I'm betting the 1138 came from THX 1138.
Each encounter brought her closer to unlocking the potential of the magical words. One by one, Lily discovered words that could open doors, create portals to distant lands, and even change the weather. Along with the power of these words, she learned the importance of using them wisely and responsibly. Through her adventures, Lily grew in knowledge and understanding of the magical world. As Lily approached the final destination of her quest, she faced the most difficult challenge yet. She had to resist the temptation of using a word that was said to grant ultimate power but had the potential for great destruction. Remembering the lessons she had learned, Lily made the courageous choice to preserve the balance of nature and protect the world she loved. In the end, Lily completed her magical word adventure with newfound wisdom and a deep appreciation for the power of words. She shared her experiences with her village, inspiring others to embark on their own quests for knowledge and discovery. The world became a brighter place as kindness and joy spread through the land, all because of a brave young girl and her magical word adventure. And so, the tale of Lily's magical word adventure teaches us the importance of curiosity, responsibility, and the incredible power held within the words we speak. With that power, we have the ability to shape our world and make it a better place for all..
Reviews for "Venturing through Time and Space with Magic Words"
1. Alex - 2 stars - I found "Magic word adventure" to be quite underwhelming. The game's graphics were outdated and the gameplay was repetitive. The magic word concept seemed interesting at first, but it quickly became monotonous and lacked depth. Additionally, I encountered numerous bugs and glitches throughout my playthrough, which significantly hindered my overall experience. I was disappointed with the game and would not recommend it to others.
2. Emily - 2.5 stars - While "Magic word adventure" had an intriguing premise, it failed to deliver on its potential. The storyline was weak and predictable, with little character development. The puzzles were not challenging enough, and I quickly lost interest in the game. The graphics were average, but the controls were clunky and unresponsive at times. Overall, I found "Magic word adventure" to be a forgettable gaming experience that I wouldn't recommend to fellow gamers.
3. Mark - 2 stars - I have to admit, I was excited to try "Magic word adventure," but it quickly disappointed me. The game's mechanics were confusing, and I struggled to grasp the concept of the magic words. There were no clear instructions or tutorials to guide me through the gameplay, leaving me frustrated and confused. The graphics were mediocre, and the music was repetitive and annoying. I found myself losing interest within the first few minutes of playing. Unfortunately, "Magic word adventure" did not live up to its potential, and I would not recommend it.
4. Sarah - 1 star - "Magic word adventure" was a complete letdown. The game felt rushed and unfinished. The puzzles were too easy, and the magic words felt arbitrary and lacking any real impact on the gameplay. The graphics were outdated and unimpressive, and the sound effects were annoying. Additionally, the game crashed multiple times, forcing me to restart and lose progress. Overall, "Magic word adventure" is not worth the time or money. Save yourself the disappointment and skip this one.