MYST ISLAND WALKTHROUGH - by Stan Trevena This file is PRINTER ready - just type: type mystwlk.txt >prn Re-Formatted as a READABLE TXT file by Tal Barenboim Thanks to Xer for getting me this file ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This walkthrough of Broderbund's Myst is broken into 3 parts. This, the first part, covers Myst Island. Part 2 covers the Stoneship Age and Selenitic Age, while part 3 covers the Mechanical Age, Channelwood Age, and the End Game. Since Myst is not linear in nature, these ages can be visited in any order. The big hint in Myst is not to be afraid to try anything in the game. You can neither die nor can you reach a "point of no return," as is so often found in many other adventure games. Ergo, always "go for it." ** Fantasy Island ** After the introduction, you are left staring at the Myst book. Touch this book and it expands to fill your screen. Touch it again and it will open to reveal a small picture window on the right page with no writing. If you wait a few seconds, the picture will spring to life with a flyby tour of Myst Island. Each Myst linking book will do this when opened. It is best to sit back and watch the video, as it gives you a general "lay of the land" that will assist you in finding your way around a new age. Each age consists of a giant puzzle in the form of an island. To learn more about each of these ages, consult the local library. ** The Family Tree ** You will not encounter many people in Myst. Atrus is the progenitor of Myst and all it's ages. He uses an art he learned from his father to link these ages together. It is never really explained, but it seems that whatever Atrus writes in his books becomes reality in the different ages. The 1 reference to this is in the Stoneship Age and the gift he gave to the boys there. It will become obvious later what went wrong with the ship Atrus created. Atrus has 2 sons, Sirrus and Achenar, whom you will learn of early in your adventure in Myst, and a dear wife, Catherine, who is apparently being held hostage in another land. ** Where To Start? ** Myst island is where you start the game: First, Anything you encounter in Myst that can be manipulated should be. In other words, push all buttons, flip all switches, turn all dials, and so forth. One thing is almost certain: if it moves, it has something to do with solving a puzzle. There are no 1-way manipulations, everything can be returned to it's original state. Your first objective on Myst Island is to locate all the marker switches and turn them to the 'up' position. These look like podiums with a large power switches set into the surface. They must all be activated to get off the island. ** On Your Marker ** You'll land on the dock after touching the page in the Myst book. To your left is the outline of a door set into the wall by the dock. If you want, open this door and go in. This is the dimensional imager that you will soon learn of. If you care to venture forth at this point, go down the stairs and at the base turn to your right and click on the page on the wall. When it is in full view, note the list of three items and their associated imager numbers. Press the small blue button above and to the left of the page on the wall. This will slide open an access panel and allow you to key in an imager code. ** Mirror Mirror ** Use the up and down arrows below each digit to set a code into the imager control panel. Now turn around and walk to the imager. Set into its base is a yellow button which, when pressed, displays the image. When no code is set, you will only see what looks like water. After you're familiar with the workings of the imager, it's time to leave. Go back out to the dock and walk towards what looks like a large gear mechanism set on a hill at the top of some stairs. At the base of the stairs you will encounter your first marker switch; go ahead and flip it on. Climb the stairs and flip on the marker switch next to the large gear. ** What A View! ** Take a moment to catch your breath after climbing all those stairs and look around. Hmm... there's a lot more to explore. Go down the stairs towards the rotunda. On your way,pick up the note on the grass. It's from Atrus to his wife Catherine. It tells of a message that's left on the imager in the fore-chamber by the dock.Sound familiar? Onward and (back) upward. The rotunda is used later to decode a sequence of star constellations. For now, flip the marker switch to the left of the door. Walk up the wood steps, past the library, right and out to the spaceship on the point. ** What A Blast! ** There's an elevated walkway leading out to the space-ship. Notice the brick tower to the left as you go out supporting a power line running to the spaceship (you may be back for that switch later if you trip the breaker.) Go out to the spaceship and flip on the marker switch. Go back to the library, follow the grassy path away from the library towards the distant Clock Tower. On your way, you will find a large water filled marble basin with a miniature sunken ship. Maybe this location holds the key to raising that ship? Flip on the marker switch just past the large marble basin and to the left of the path. ** Power Plant ** As you've probably noticed, the power line from the spaceship has been running parallel to the path just beyond those strange pillars. In front of each pillar is a raised metal marker with a bronze plate set into the face of each that vibrates and glows red when touched. Each plate has a symbol etched into it. Do not touch any of these plates just yet. Instead, sketch each of the symbols etched into the plates. Continue on down the path, past the marble basin, following the power line. Just off to the right is the entrance to the underground power generation plant for the island, which is where the power line ends. ** Shocking ** Go right and you will find the small brick building that houses the entrance to the underground power plant. For now, flip on the marker switch to the left of the door. Don't worry, you'll come back to this building in a bit. Notice there's another brick tower with a breaker switch off behind the brick building. Go back to the path and head for the clock tower in the distance. There's a control box just at the waters edge. On it there's a large and small dial as well as a red button. These dials set the time on the clock tower. There's a marker switch out by the Clock Tower. Unfortunately, you can't swim. ** Trees Through The Forest ** Therefore, follow the shore around to the little log cabin. There's another marker switch to the right of the door. As usual, flip it to the 'on' position. That's a really large tree back behind the cabin. If you want, go take a look at the big tree and poke around the cabin. We'll be waiting for you when you get back here. That's the last marker switch on Myst Island. Remember Catherine's letter? "Enter the number of Marker Switches on this island into the imager to retrieve the message." We've seen 8 marker switches, and were only able to activate 7. Go back to the imager by the docks to get that message. ** Dear Catherine ** Remember the hidden image sequencer panel behind the fake piece of paper on the wall? Press the button and input the number 8. Turn, walk to the imager, and press the button. Atrus will appear and deliver his message. He tells of his library being destroyed and how he suspects his sons. He tells Catherine that he's hidden the remaining undamaged books in their "places of protection." He reminds Catherine that if she's forgotten the access keys, to remember the tower rotation. Okay, then hop it up to the library and do some research. After all,wasn't that a tower that loomed above the library? ** The Book is Better Than the Movie ** Go into the library and directly to the bookshelf on the back wall. When it is in full view you will be able to read each individual book. Atrus was right, most of these books are completely destroyed, burned at the hands of an arsonist,which son could have done this? The Channelwood Journal is the first readable book, it's red and green and is on the left side of the top shelf. Take and read this book. Click on it once to bring it into full view, and again to open it. Clicking on a page will turn it. This book tells of a land of tree dwellers. Each book will chronicle that land and show you some key drawings of it ** Channeling ** Channelwood looks like a land of tree houses. The next book that's still readable is the red and blue Stoneship Age Journal on the right side of the top shelf. This book tells the story of 3 boys and their adventures. Make note of the submersible lamp, the lighthouse, and the 8 constellations of this land. These constellations have matching symbols like those etched into the bronze plates mounted on the markers in front of the pillars that ring the marble basin area. Use the empty journal provided with the game to sketch all pertinent information. Remember, these books will give you many clues to each of the ages. ** Apocalypse Now ** The next readable book is blue and is located on the middle shelf. This journal tells of the Selenitic Age and reads like the Bible's book of Revelations: replete with a land scorched by giant balls of fire from the sky, large craters and burned out wastelands. Make note of the drawing of the keyboard and receiving dish. These items will "play" an important role later during your travels to this age. It's a good idea to sketch the map of each age, they will prove invaluable in your later travels. The next book makes little sense. It's slightly singed, but still readable. ** The Book Of Patterns ** At the far right side of the middle shelf is a book of many different block patterns. They all are based on a 8 x 6 grid. Don't write these down. Instead, remember what the patterns look like, as you will need to reference this book later. There's 1 more book that you can peruse. The brown book on the left side of the bottom shelf is the Mechanical Age Journal. In it you will read of an island fortress and an attacking fleet of ships. Make note of how the fortress works, the fortress floor plan, and the stairs. Do not skip through these books. A little time spent reading here will save you a lot of time later in the game. ** Son Tsu ** On the left wall of the library, behold a red book on a display shelf with a red page sitting next to it. Open the book and insert the red page in it to communicate with Sirrus. Through the heavy static and interference you can see that he is unsure of who you are. He appears to be well mannered, though. As he struggles to see you, he pleads for you to bring more red pages. On the other wall you will find the book that contains Achenar. He seems a bit, shall we say, disturbed. He,like his brother, demands that you bring more blue pages. We at last have a direction to proceed in this quest. What purpose do these pages serve? ** Are We On The Map? ** The map on the left wall of the library holds the key to your travels through the different ages of Myst. Examine it. When you are close enough, all locations where you activated marker switches at are illuminated. Just behind the library you will see a blinking circular marker. Press on this marker and a line will appear. If you hold down on the marker, the line will rotate. As it passes over key landmarks, it will turn red. Release at the docks and you will hear creaks and groans as the tower aligns with this location. After that pretty impressive display, and now that the tower is rotated, what do you do? ** Secret Tower Passage ** There are 2 framed pictures by the bookcase. On the left wall is a picture of a set of stairs, on the right a set of book shelves that look awfully familiar. Touch the picture of the stairs. The image will swirl and the shelf of books will slide away to reveal a passage. At the end of that wood paneled hallway sits an elevator. Once in the elevator, press the blue button to be delivered to the tower. The indicator above the button will display "Tower" when you arrive, just to make sure. Exit the elevator and go straight to the ladder that has an open book plaque behind it, climb the ladder to the platform. ** I Can See Clearly Now ** Looking out the window,the landmark highlighted during the tower rotation will be visible,in this case he docks. Could this point the way to the place of protection for 1 of the remaining books? Climb down and go to the other ladder. A key plaque is mounted on the wall behind it. Climbing to the top reveals yet another plaque. This one gives 3 dates and times: 10/11/1984 10:04am, 1/17/1207 5:46am, and 11/23/9791 6:57pm. The rotunda holds a decoder that will translate these dates. In order to leave the library, return to the pictures and touch the bookcase picture to close the passage. ** Take A Break ** This concludes the first part of the Myst Walkthrough. We've covered quite a bit of ground so far. The island of Myst is a beautiful place, the likes of which have never been seen on a PC screen. The beauty of Myst is only matched by the rich aural experience. Take a break from your travels now, pick a place on the island and sit back and relax. In the second part of this Walkthrough you'll explore the Stoneship and Mechanical Ages. So, for now, enjoy these tranquil surroundings and stay tuned. Hopefully, you're well rested. We are going to set out to explore the Stoneship and Mechanical Ages today -- a major undertaking. You will need to draw on your experiences on Myst Island in these travels. The keys to all the ages of Myst are contained on Myst Island itself. As you'll recall, we've just completed our first tower rotation using the map on the wall of the library. We have several dates and times that were taken from the key plaque for decoding at the rotunda building. ** It's A Date ** Start with a quick trip to the rotunda building. Open the door and go in. Next to the door is a switch that will turn off the lights. Click, the whole room then looks like a planetarium. Take a seat in the chair and pull down the control panel. Input the dates from the key platform plaque. Each date will display a constellation that will match one of the drawings in the journal. The matching symbol icons from this translation will be: Leaf, Snake, and Beetle. Go down to the marble basin and find the columns with these icons. Press the matching bronze plates for these symbols and they'll turn green (don't worry, they're not jealous). ** Raise The Titanic ** Upon pressing the last plate, a loud rush of water will be heard -- like something big is draining. Aha, the ship in the bird bath raised. But that couldn't have made all that noise. What about the bigger ship? Yes! The ship by the dock is also raised. Board it and go below deck to find the first linking book on the blue chair. Open it and watch the flyby of the Stoneship Age. Touch the picture and you will be taken there. You'll find yourself standing at the aft of a ship that appears to have, itself, materialized on a large, stone island. A wood plank leads out to a sunken lighthouse to the right and an umbrella structure to the left. ** Walk The Plank ** There are several objectives on this island. First, restore power to the island structures. Walk out to the umbrella structure where there are 3 large buttons. Pressing the right button will pump out the lighthouse. Return there and find the key chained to the walkway. Down the spiral stairs is a large locked trunk. A small valve is set in the left side of the trunk -- open it to drain the trunk, then close it and return to the pump switches. Press the right button and return to the lighthouse. The trunk is floating alongside the key that's bolted to the walkway. Unlock the trunk and remove the key hidden inside. ** Going Up ** Climb the ladder to the right of the chest. Use the key and open the attic door. There's a hand generator here and a battery pack. Crank the handle on the generator several turns until the power gauge on the battery pack shows solid white (i.e., you have a full charge). Go back to the pump station and press the middle button. This drains the tunnels in the large rock structure. Sirrus' room is down the passage leading from the aft platform where you entered this age. Look around this ornate area. There's lots to look at, but all you need to recover is the single red page in the bottom dresser drawer. ** Return To Myst Island ** There's a telescope at the pinnacle of the rock formation at the center of this island. Just to the left of the walkway to the lighthouse, there is a stone passage which you should follow as it leads up to the telescope. Look through the telescope and pan around. Stop on the roof of the lighthouse with the blinking light. This will be at the 135 degree mark. Go back down the passage to Sirrus' room. On the wall, 1 landing up from either brothers room, will be a large recessed plate. Pressing it will reveal a secret passage to the compass room. On the floor of this room is a large antique compass. Now you're getting somewhere... ** Due East ** Circling this compass are a series of small buttons. Press the 12th button from the north portion, but beware! If you press the wrong one, you will trip the lights and have to go back up to the lighthouse to recharge the battery pack. A light goes on if you press the right button. How strange, the light is underwater and can be seen through the windows in this room. Time to go back up to the pump station. Press the left button and the aft ship chamber will drain. Go below deck and note that the light you just activated with the compass button is illuminating this room. At the bottom of the hold is a book room. Go to the table. ** Can I Check Out This Book? ** Touch the table top and the linking book will materialize. Remember, you can go into any of the chambers without the benefit of light. Both bed chambers appear to have independent energy sources and are lit up regardless of battery charge. However, if the underwater light is not lit, the book will not appear on the table. With the Myst linking book before you, open it and touch the picture to return to the library on Myst Island. Insert the red page in the red book and listen to Sirrus. He thanks you for the page and tells you that his brother is guilty, and that he is wrongfully imprisoned, emploring you to bring more pages. ** Back For The Blue Page ** The return trip is a breeze. Just go down to the ship by the dock, below deck, use the linking book, and you're back in the Stoneship Age. Recharge the battery pack and press the middle button at the pumping station to drain the center passages. Off the fore section of the ship is a passage leading down to Achenar's bed chamber. Achenar is not at all like his brother. From the looks of his room, you might say that he is a little on the twisted side. There's a lamp that looks strangely like a human rib cage. There, on the bed, is the blue page. Off to 1 side of the room is a large dresser with a strange apparatus perched on top. ** Only Half The Story ** On top of the dresser is a holographic unit. Turn it on and a rose appears, slide the lever and it morphs into a human skull. The second from the bottom drawer of this dresser has a surprise. This is the left half of a torn page from a journal -- something to do with marker switches and a vault. This could be important, so make a note of it's contents. With the blue page in hand, go to the pumping station and press the left button. Return to the book room and use the linking book to return to Myst Island. In the library, return the blue page to the blue book and listen to Achenar. He seems to be getting crazier, doesn't he? ** Rubber Room ** Achenar says that his brother cannot be trusted, that he was falsely imprisoned and that he will seek retribution for his brothers acts. The image is clearer this time, with less static. Maybe the more pages returned to the books, the better the communications link. With the way Achenar is cracking up, though, how well do you want that link to be? Use the map to rotate the tower again. This time, position the rotating pointer to the spaceship out on the point. Sure enough, looking out from the tower shows the spaceship in view. The key plaque displays a single message, 59 volts." Keep that number "current." ** Snacks Are Available In The Lobby ** A trip to the power plant seems to be in order. The trip down the hill from the library is quick enough. Go in the brick building and down to the door at the bottom, then press the blue button and go in the door. There's a control panel with 10 switches in 2 columns. There are also 2 dials: the left is for island power, the right for power to the spaceship. Each switch powers up a generator. The trick is to flip the right combination of switches to total 59 volts on each dial. To do this press button 1 and 3 on the left column and buttons 3 and 4 on the right -- carefully! The number 59 should now be displayed on each dial. ** What A Trip ** If you press the wrong combination of switches you will trip 1 of the 2 tower breakers. If this occurs, shut down all generators, go out, find the tripped breaker, and then start again. Once you hit the 59s, enter the space ship and you will see a keyboard at one end and a set of 5 slider switches and a lever at the other end. Using the diagram from the Selenitic Age Journal of the keyboard, press the 1 key from the diagram and then adjust the first slider so that the note generated matches the note played on the keyboard. Repeat for each of the 5 notes. When you think you have the right settings, pull the handle. ** Music To The Ears ** If the settings were correct, the linking book should now be displayed in the view screen. Touch the screen and watch a flyby of the Selenitic Age (which is pretty desolate). Like the first puzzle, 5 sounds must be identified and set into an access panel before you can return to Myst Island. Like the marker switches on Myst Island, there are sound transmitters scattered about at 5 locations that must be activated. Locate each and press the button. Make a note of each icon at each transmitter's site. Also note the sound that emanates from each location. WARNING: This is possibly the most difficult of all the puzzles of Myst. ** An Oasis ** Cross the elevated walkway and follow the path through the pass to the left of the mountain. Set into the base of the mountain is a small brick structure with a coded access panel. The first small trail that branches left off the main trail leads around the left side of a large crater. Follow it to the oasis. It is here that you will find the blue page on a wood bench, to the left of the transmitter switch. Take it. The icon at this transmitter location is of 2 drops of water. Press the red button and listen to the sound of the water, you will need to remember this sound later. ** Water To Fire ** Go back to the large brick staircase just past the Oasis trail head. This leads to the chasm Atrus spoke of in his journal of this age. Activate this transmitter switch and make a note of the sound of the furnace below. The icon at this location is a chasm with steam rising. Go back down the stairs and continue down the path away from oasis and chasm. You will quickly come to the remnants of a once mighty clock tower. Activate the transmitter switch. Listen and note the sound of the clock. The icon here is of 2 clock hands. Continue down to the fork in the path, go right and up the hill towards the crystal forest. ** Crystal Forest ** In the crystal forest, you will find another transmitter switch. There's a unique sound produced here as the wind whistles through the crystal formations. The icon here is of a shard of crystal. There's a red page sitting atop the transmitter pedestal, so pick it up. (Where did the blue page go?) Return to the path and walk out to the jetty to a subsurface tunnel. The loud rush of wind exiting the tunnel is almost deafening. Activate the transmitter switch. The icon is a hole with air swirling out. Next, climb down the ladder into the underground tunnel. Turn on the light switch at the ladder's base. ** The Light at the End of the Tunnel ** Climb the ladder at the other end of the tunnel, then climb the brick stairs to a large set of metal doors. Open the doors to expose a control panel, complete with video monitor, 2 directional arrows, a receiver coordinates display, 5 icon buttons that match the transmitter icons, and a sum button. The trick here is to rotate the receiver to lock in on each individual transmitter. When you get close, a directional arrow will flash in the direction of the signal. You will hear a clear sound played over the speaker when the right direction is locked in. IMPORTANT: Record the direction coordinates for each icon. ** The Coordinates ** The various coordinates are: Oasis-153.4, Chasm-130.3, Clock Tower-55.6, Crystal Forest-15.0, and the Underground Tunnel-212.2. Once all coordinates are set, press the sum button and the sounds will be played back in a specific sequence: Crystal Forest, Oasis, Underground Tunnel, Chasm, and Clock Tower. Return to the access panel back at the start of this age. By moving the sliders, different sounds will play. Set the sliders so the sounds play in the same sequence as above. When all the sliders are set, press the red button to open the doors. Go down the stairs to the rail car. Press the blue button and go in and take a seat. ** Which Way Do I Go? ** Press 'FORWARD' to start your trip in the rail car. Once lowered to the track, use the directional arrows to set a compass direction, forward to move forward, and backtrack to reverse your last movement. The correct sequence of directions is: N, W, N, E, E, S,S,W,SW,W,NW,NE,N,SE,and exit. At the end of the ride, exit and follow the passage. There you will find the Myst linking book, so use it to return to Myst Island. Back in the library, place the red page in the red book. Sirrus is easier to see and hear now with another page inserted. He begs that you bring more pages and warns you not to release his brother. ** The Blue Page ** The return trip is easy this time. The code is still set in the spaceship, so simply use the already displayed linking book to travel to the Selenitic Age. Return to the oasis and retrieve the blue page. When you go back to the maze entrance, the sliders are still set. Press the button and go down to the rail car which has magically returned to the start of the maze. Run the exact same directions through the maze. Use the Myst linking book to return to the library and insert the blue page into the blue book. Achenar now claims that Sirrus murdered their father and commands you to bring more pages. The plot thickens... ** Shore Leave ** That concludes the second installment of this Myst walkthrough. The two brothers offer a truly perplexing problem. Which of them is rightfully imprisoned and which is telling the truth? Does sanity count for anything, or has Achenar been driven to his insanity by his grief over the murder of his father? The time is coming when a decision must be made. Which brother will you free? In part 3 of this walkthrough, we will explore the Mechanical and Channelwood Ages, as well as the End Game. THE MECHANICAL AGE, CHANNELWOOD AGE AND THE END GAME Have you come to any conclusions? Which brother is sane and which is really guilty? How did they get into their separate books anyway? Why are their pages scattered throughout the lands of Myst? So many questions and so few answers. Maybe you will find some more answers in the remaining ages of Myst. If not, how will you decide which brother to release? Your decision will ultimately lead to either your escape or permanent residency. ** Trained Mechanics ** You've probably already guessed which landmark holds the linking book to the Mechanical Age; it's the large set of gears on the hill above the docks. Using the map in the library, rotate the tower to align with this spot. A trip to the tower will show proper alignment and disclose the key 2:40 2,2,1. That first part is a time, and where is time used on Myst Island? The controls on the shore by the Clock Tower, of course. After arriving at the control box, turn the dials for hours and minutes to set the clock to 2:40. Press the red button and a hidden walkway of gears will rise from the water. ** What Was The Combination? ** Inside the tower is a strange device. It consists of 3 numbered dials in a vertical stack, and at the base are 2 levers on either side: one on the wall to the right, and a counter weight on a chain to the left. Pull and release the lever on the left and the bottom 2 dials will rotate 1 digit. Pull and hold this lever and the bottom number dial rotates 1 position while the middle dial continues to rotate until released. Pull and release the right lever and the top 2 dials rotate 1 position. Pull and hold the right lever and the top number rotates 1 position and the middle dial continues to rotate until released. Simple, right? ** Get It In Gear ** You are limited on the number of times you can pull the levers because, as you rotate dials, the counterweight drops. If it hits the ground you have to pull the lever on the wall to reset the dials and raise the counterweight. The quickest solution to this puzzle is: Pull and release right lever twice. Hold the left lever down until the 2 comes around on the middle dial, then release the lever. There will be a cranking sound as a mini-gear set in the base of the device rotates open. It looks a lot like the larger gear on the hill by the docks. Time to get up there and check if it has opened like this miniature model has. ** Fortress Island ** Sure enough, the gear is open and the linking book is just inside. Use it to get to the Mechanical Age, a place full of gears. Upon arrival, to your left is a gear set on a pedestal with a control panel. There are 4 icons that can be changed by pressing the green buttons. There's also a large red button under the row of icon buttons. Across a steel foot bridge sits a small fortress set on yet more gears. The track that encircles the fortress, and the long trap door guarded by railings, look just like a few of the drawings in Atrus journal of this age. Cross the foot bridge to the fortress and go right once inside. ** Around And Around We Go ** Achenar's room is even weirder than those found in the other ages. There are all sorts of weapons laying about surrounded by strange wall decorations. There's a fortress rotation simulator here. By manipulating the levers, you will see a graphic of the fortress rotate through the 4 compass directions. When you find the real rotation device, you will not have the benefit of a graphic display. Practice enough to be able to do this with your eyes closed. Listen carefully to the directional sounds. There's a recessed panel to the right of the simulator marked by a yellow stripe, press on this panel and enter the secret chamber. ** Torture Chamber ** The Blue page is beneath a shelf with poison bottles. Find the other exit from the bed chamber, follow it to the end, and you will be at the back entrance of Sirrus' room. Midway between these is a red button and another hallway. There appears to be a column at the end of the hallway. Pressing the red button opens a door in the floor. In the lower,level there's a small table with a display of 2 semicircles, with 1 set inside the other, and a lever. Pull the lever and rotate the circles lining up the openings, then return upstairs. Push the red button again to close the stairs and go down the hall to the elevator. ** Going Up ** The elevator has an up and down arrow with a square button set in the middle that serves as a timer. Go to the top floor and press the timer. Exit the elevator and, when the timer expires, the elevator will close and lower out of sight revealing the rotation device. Use the device to rotate and visit the islands north and east of this one. On each, you will find half of the 4 icon sequence needed to open the stairway at the start of this age. Return the tower to it's original location (south) and use this 4-icon code sequence to open the stairway. Finally, go down to the room and use the linking book to return to Myst Island. ** Mental Case ** Back at Myst Island, insert the blue page in the blue book. Achenar gets a little further down the road to the big rubber walled room on each return trip. He of course wants "more blue pages", so what else is new? He tells of Sirrus being the guilty party. He explains how Sirrus has a greed that cannot be quenched. Most of the conversation is the same old paranoid babble that Achenar seems only capable of vocalizing. Get back to the gear on the hill and the Mechanical Age linking book. Once back at the island, again cross the catwalk to the fortress, go left inside the door. This will take you to Sirrus' room. ** Sirrus Stuff ** Sirrus' room is filled with miniature models of all the devices on Myst Island. Each can be closely examined. Since the fortress is symmetrical, it only makes sense that there would also be a hidden room here. Below and to the right of Sirrus' "throne," behind the tapestry, is where the panel is located. Here is where his greed manifested itself in the gold bars and coins that litter the room. Laying in a chest of gold bars, in the back corner of the room, is a red page. There's a threatening note rolled up with the wine bottles from Achenar. Return to Myst Island with the fourth red page and insert it into the red book. ** The Fourth Red Page ** Sirrus actually seems a little calmer. With each page he says he can see more clearly and that soon he will be free of his prison. He sure is appreciative of the red pages and promises great wealth if the last one is retrieved. As is always the case with these 2 brothers, he mixes no words where his brother's concerned. He claims that Achenar is demented and took advantage of their father. He warns that,if released, Achenar will destroy both of you. He is anxious for the last page to be returned from the last unexplored age. The only other landmark that will activate the tower is the large tree. ** Channelwood Age ** Use the map in the library to rotate the tower to the large tree behind the small cabin just up from the Clock Tower. A quick check through the window in the tower confirms the tower position, and the key plaque only displayed the numbers 7,2,4. What the heck could those numbers mean? Just inside of the door and to the left in the small log cabin by the large tree is a wall safe. Setting the three tumblers to 7,2,4 and pulling the handle opens the safe. There's a box of matches in the safe. Is anything on this island normal? Before leaving the wall safe, strike the match on the box to ignite it. Things will heat up soon. ** Fire It Up ** Turn around and go to the furnace. Start by cranking the large wheel to the right to get the gas going, then touch the match to the pilot set in the lower left of the furnace base. Keep cranking the gas up until the temperature readout gauge is maxxed out. The loud thundering sound is the tree moving up out of the base. Cut the gas and run out to the tree and you will be able to jump into a compartment set in the tree for a ride down. At the bottom, there's a room with the Channelwood Age linking book sitting on a tree stump. Use this book to get to the Channelwood Age. Just as the journal had stated, this place is filled with trees. ** Myst Family Robinson ** There are 3 levels to the Channelwood Age; the water level walkways, the mid-level huts, and the upper level bed chambers of Achenar and Sirrus. The lower level is a very simple tree structure branching out from the windmill. The mid-level huts are mapped in the Channelwood Age Journal, and the upper level consists of a winding walkway that connects the 2 brothers' bed chambers. Also on this level is Achenar's imaging chamber. All mechanisms in this age are powered by a series of water pipes that emanate from the windmill. The windmill is to your left at the start of this age, so you'd best make your way there. ** Open The Valve ** Inside the windmill there's a water valve at the base of a large tank. Open the valve and you will hear the water run into the pipes. All through this level, you will know if the pipes at your feet are filled with running water by the sound -- no sound, no water. Also, at each fork of the walkway there's a 2-way valve. Move the red valve bar parallel to the pipe you want the water to go down. The spiral staircase seems like the logical way up, but the door is locked with no key. From the windmill, route the water left, then right 3 times. This will bring you to an elevator. Use the red lever in the elevator to go up. ** Open Sesame ** On the drawing of the middle level in the Channelwood Age Journal there's a line connecting a hut to the spiral staircase. Go straight from the elevator, then right 3 times, then out to the hut with the switch for the spiral staircase door on the middle level. Pull the red handle to open the door. From this "switch hut," go straight through the first hut, right 2 times, through the square hut, elbow through the next square hut, and straight to the staircase. Go down the staircase and open the door on the first level. Go back to the first fork from the windmill and redirect the water right to the spiral staircase. ** Top Of The World ** Go up the spiral staircase and use the elevator to the left at the top of the stairs (which now has power). This will take you to the top level and the 2 bed chambers. Leave the elevator and head for the first hut that's visible. This is another of Achenar's play rooms (Achenar is a sick puppy). There's an imager that will activate when you enter the room, although it has no real purpose. Continuing on past this hut will bring you to Achenar's bed chambers and the master control for the imager. Flip through the 4 messages and see the nice message from Sirrus. The fifth blue page is at the base of the imaging controller. ** Linking Paths ** At the other end of the winding walkway is Sirrus' bed chamber (we'll come back for the red page later). Go back down the elevator and staircase to the first level. Return to the first valve after the windmill and set the valves: left twice, then right to a dead end with a lever. Pull the red handle and a hidden walkway will float up. Follow the walkway in a half-circle past the elevator, and around to another dead end. Turn the crank here to extend a hidden pipe and connect it to the other side. Go back to the first valve again and set the valves: left, right twice and then left. Go back to the elevator across the floating bridge. ** Return Trip ** Go up the elevator to the Myst linking book. Use it to return to the library. Insert the blue page and wait for psycho boy to be freed. Achenar will speak of yet another page and a trap. He warns of a green book that is a trap. To get to his final page, pattern number 158 from the odd book of patterns in the library must be entered in the fireplace located here in the library. Before getting this last page, go back and get the blue page left behind. Retrace the path and actions through the log cabin, the large tree, and all the valve settings to get back up to the top level of Channelwood. ** Sirrus' Room ** Exiting the elevator, swing left and go to the hut at the opposite end from Achenar's. As always, the room is the model of perfection. The sought-after page can be found in the desk drawer under the window with a view of the windmill. In the right drawer under the bed is the other half of the page found earlier giving instructions for access to the hidden vault on Myst Island. Seems there are now 2 things to do back on Myst Island. By now, the way back is easy. Reset the valves yet again to power the linking book elevator and return to Myst Island, insert the red page in the library for the "other story." ** Sirrusly Now ** Sirrus now owes a debt of gratitude for returning the fifth page. He still claims that he is the innocent party and that his brother should not be released for both of your safety. The secret code on page 158 is given along with another dire warning about not touching the green book. Follow the directions on the reassembled journal page. Go to the dock and turn the marker switch off (all the others should still be "on," not "off" as written on the page --this is important). There, in a secret compartment in the base of the marker switch, sits a white page. But there are no white books. Mu-hu-ha-ha-ha! The plot thickens! ** Stoke Up A Fire ** Go back to the library and get the code book (middle shelf, far right). Carefully turn to page 158. Sketch this pattern and go over to the fireplace on the right wall, by the blue book. Crawl in and hit the red button to the left of the opening. Pressing on the metal plate that drops down will raise squares on the metal, duplicate the pattern found on page 158. Push the red button again and the fireplace rotates around to a small chamber. Here sits the last 2 pages and a green book. Let's see, both brothers are more than a little whacked. If they both warned you not to touch the green book, what should you do? ** The $64,000 Question ** If you really are a glutton for punishment, go back and insert the blue and red pages into the brothers' books. You will quickly know what it feels like to be imprisoned in a book and watch anxiously as each brother removes your pages while having the last laugh. If you, instead, open the green book, you will get to meet Atrus in person and hear the true story. You'll know what to do with the white page after Atrus is done talking. If you hurried through Myst using this walkthrough, or you just want to go do some sight seeing in some of the best graphics available on a PC, use the book Atrus gives you to go back to Myst. ** An Open Book ** All the ages of Myst are open now for you to explore (at least until a Myst II, if any, is released). Atrus did say that he would summon you when he needed your assistance to rescue his wife (can you say "sequel?).Go back to the library and at least take a look at the brothers final fate (which shows that you don't want to get on Atrus' bad side). This concludes the Myst walkthrough but there are many things to see in this game that were not touched upon here. While they do not play a key role in solving the game, many of the items are very detailed and you may spend considerably more time just exploring Myst. Enjoy! END OF SOLVE ------------