                     MIDWINTER dox by Snuskbuske of Oxygen
                     -------------------------------------

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     ************************************************************************
     *                    Technical Supplement:                             *
     ************************************************************************

     LOADING INSTRUCTIONS
     ====================

     Commodore AMIGA:

     If your computer has KickStart in ROM, insert the Master Disk at the
     Workbench prompt, and the program will auto-load. If your computer
     does not have KickStart in ROM, load the KickStart as normal, insert
     the Master Disk at the Workbench prompt, and the program will auto-load.
     Please follow any on screen prompts.

     SECURITY CLEARANCE
     ==================

     Before playing "Midwinter" you must be security-decleared. You will be
     asked to identify two members of the F.V.P.F. The portraits and names of
     these characters can be found throughout the manual on the Personality
     Profile pages. When you have identified the first portrait (with the
     question mark displayed beneath it) by reference to the manual, click
     on the correct name. then repeat the process for the second portrait.
             (This isn't needed if ya use the DEFJAM/CCS/ACC crack)

     CONTROL METHOD
     ==============

     Mouse:
     You are strongly recommend to use a mouse to play "Midwinter". This
     should be plugged into port 1.
     Controls when using a mouse are fully explained in the main manual
     accompanying "Midwinter". Please refer to the "Common Controls"
     section below for further information.

     Joystick:
     A joystick may be used to play "Midwinter". It should be plugged into
     port 2. Controls are as explained  for mouse control throughout the
     manual. (e.g. to move left, move the joystick to the left).
     The fire button on the joystick replaces the function of the left
     mouse button, and the ">" key on the keyboard replaces the function of
     the light mouse button. Please refer to the "Command Controls" section
     below for further information.

     Keyboard:
     "Midwinter" may be played using keyboard controls alone. Direction is
     controlled by using the numerical key-pad. the following keys are used;

     '8' - Forwards or Up          '4' - Left
     '2' - Backwards or Down       '6' - right
     '<' - The function of the left mouse button
     '>' - The function of the right mouse button

     COMMON CONTROLS
     ===============

     'P' - toggles Pause function On and Off.
     'X' - Exits any Action Mode
     'H' - Activates Help sequence
     'M' - Accesses Main Map from any action mode
     'S' - Toggles between skiing and sniping whilst in one of these Action
           Modes.
     'A' - Ahead view when in cable-car
     'B' - Behind view when in cable-car
     'R' - Right view when in cable-car
     'L' - Left view when in cable-car

     All of the 'Common Controls' are fully explained in the manual.

     ADDITIONAL FEATURES
     ===================

     Please note that indicators have been added to the Action Mode
     Displays. These green lights, found on either side of the display at
     the bottom of the screen, flash to indicate the direction in which
     enemy vehicles may be found. Enemy-held buildings may be entered by
     some civilians.

     QUICK START
     ===========

     "Midwinter" is a highly complex strategy game. It is easy to learn,
     but difficult to master. Many of the screens are driven by easily
     identifiable icons, the function of which are shown in the ICON.PIC.
     When the game has loaded, select your method of control and "Training"
     mode from the 'Game Options' screen. Deselect "Mortars" and "Bombers",
     and click on the "Play" box.
        You are in control of Captain John Stark, leader of the Free
     Villages Peace Force, the law enforcement agency on the island of
     "Midwinter". Enemy forces under the control of the evil General
     Masters have set up their base in the south-east and are attempting to
     capture your Heat Mines which are distributed throughout the island. Your
     objective is to recruit fellow members of the F.V.P.F. (there are 32 in
     total) and ultimately to defeat General Masters by destroying his
     Headquarters in Shining Hollow.
        Click on Captain Stark's portrait from the 'Team Display' to access
     his 'Personality Display'. Please refer to the ICON.MAP for quick
     identification of each icon. Each of the Team's Personality Displays
     give vital information as to their abilities and characteristics. The
     successful interaction of the 32 members of the F.V.P.F. is the key to
     winning. You   must move Stark around the island to meet up with other
     people and hopefully recruit them.
        Select the 'Main Map' icon to ascertain Stark's whereabouts. The
     map of the island shows locations of strategic importance as green
     dots which may be highlighted by selecting the buttons on the
     indicator board. Names of places are shown when the on screen pointer is
     moved over them. Stark's location is shown by a green arrow. The location
     of team members and enemy units are highlighted by selecting "People".
     They are shown as brown men and black crosses respectively. If a
     settlement is shown as a green dot with a white border, the enemy have
     captured it. The map magnification may be increased by clicking on the
     left mouse button, and decreased by clicking on the right. When you have
     found stark and his nearest colleague, select 'Close Map'.
        Select the 'Decisions Display' icon from the Personality Display.
     The Decisions Display shows all options which are open to you . Please
     refer to the ICON.MAP for identification.
        Select the 'Skiing' icon. This accesses the Skiing-3D action mode,
     where you view the landscape through Stark's goggles. Please note that
     action modes can be paused at any time by pressing "P" on the
     keyboard.
        Clicking on the left mouse button sets you walking.
     Your walking speed may be increased by pushing forward on the mouse.
     When you meet a downwards slope you may start skiing properly, and your
     speed will increase quickly. Move the mouse left and right to steer, and
     click on the right mouse button to stop. The mini-map displayed shows
     your surrounding area, showing buildings and settlemets as white dots.
     You should ski in the direction of your nearest colleague. You may refer
     to the Main Map at any time by pressing "M" on the keyboard.
        If at any time you hear a low-pitched drone, it signifies that the
     enemy are nearby. It is the sound of a vehicle engine. The green
     lights below the goggles will flash to indicate the vehicle's
     direction relative to you. If you spot a vehicle, stop skiing by
     clicking the right mouse button and press the "S" key to toggle to
     Sniping Mode. Here you view the landscape through Stark's rifle-sights.
     Line up the enemy vehicle on the cross-hairs and press the "Space Bar"
     to fire bullets.
        Pressing the "S" key will return you to skiing. Pressing the "Space
     Bar" whilst skiing will throw a grenade directly ahead of you. Once
     you are close to a building or settlement, press "X" on the keyboard
     to return to the Decisions Display. You will have the option to enter
     any buildings which are nearby.
        Every buildings in "Midwinter" has a specific function, full
     details of which may be found in the manual. If you are in a
     settlement, once you have selected the enter 'enter buildings' icon
     you will have a choice of building to enter. If a building icon has a
     red person next to it on the choice screen, it contains a recruit or
     potential recruit. If you enter this building, by clicking on it, you
     will have the option to 'join' forces with this person. To find your
     colleagues reply, click on his portrait. If he agrees to join, you will
     have two characters available to control, and further options will be
     open to you.
        Characters are controlled independantly whilst performing most
     functions, and the brown watches you will have seen throughout the game
     shows each character's personal time. The blue watch shows the time at
     which watches must next be synchronised, at which point a Situation
     Report will be recived, telling you how well you are doing. Once a
     character's personal time exceeds the Report Time, he will be unable to
     perform in any action mode until watches have been synchronised. This is
     effected by clicking on the 'Synchronise Watches' icon on the Team
     Display.
        If you manage to find a garage, you will have the opportunity to
     drive a snow-buggy. Enter the garage and select the appropriate icon. You
     will view the landscape through the buggy's windscreen. The speed of the
     buggy is controlled by pushing the mouse forwards (accelerate) or
     backwards (decelerate), and its direction by moving the mouse left or
     righ. The buggies are armed with a variety of missiles, fired by
     clicking on right or left mouse buttons or the space bar on the keyboard.
     Full details of missile specifications are found in the manual. You will
     encounter enemy vehicles in the same way as when you were skiing. The
     buggy can be exited by pressing "X" on the keyboard.
        On entering a cable-car station, selecting the cable-car icon
     allows you to travel up mountainsides quickly and safely. the cable-car
     will automatically leave the station and travel to its destination. On
     arriving at the top station, you will be able to hang-glide back down the
     mountain by selecting the appropriate icon. The view seen whilst
     hang-gliding is that of the pilot, with the canopy filling the top of the
     screen. The launch sequence is effected by clicking the left mouse
     button. Take-off is achieved at speeds in excess of 24 m.p.h. The
     hang-glider controls are similar to that of an aircraft. Pushing
     forwards on the mouse lowers the nose, causing the glider to lose
     height and accelerate. Pulling back on the mouse lifts the nose,
     gaining height but losing speed. The direction of the glider is
     controlled by moving the mouse left or right. Holding down the space
     bar on the keyboard allows you to view the ground at an angle of 45o.
     Missiles are fired by clicking on the left mouse button. Hang -gliding
     is tricky, and you will need to spend some time getting used to the
     controls. Read the manual for hints and tips. If your speed falls
     below 15 m.p.h. the glider will stall - with dire consequences !
     Landing the glider requires you to steer close to the ground at a
     narrow angle, gently descending as you keep the wing-tips level. Once
     you have landed, you may return to the Decisions Display by pressing
     "X" on the keyboard.
        Every character will need to rest, eat and sleep from time to time.
     Keep an eye on your Muscle Power indicator. If this drops to zero you
     will faint. Charactersmay become injured, but can receive First Aid
     from friends. extra supplies of weapons and fuel can be found at
     various buildings, and some provide shelter and a good vantage point for
     sniping.
     "Midwinter" is a game with endless strategic possibilities. You will
     find it nearly impossible to win unless you recruit help. Your
     ultimate objective is to destroy  Master's HQ by blowing it up. You
     will need to learn the techniques of sabotaging buildings to aid you
     in your progress to your goal, and to finally destroy the enemy.
        It is possible to scratch the surface of such a complex and
     challenging game as "Midwinter" in this Quick Start guide. Remember
     that it only descripes the game in "Training" mode. For the ultimate
     challange, allow the enemy full fire-power by selecting "Bombers" and
     "Mortars". But you'll need thge manual to help you this time!

                              Good Luck !!!!!

     ========================================================================
                  From here the FAT manual is starting
     ========================================================================

     *************
     * NEWSFLASH *
     *************

     Reuters International News Agency .. 23 November 2015 .. News Flash ..


     PRESIDENT ESCAPES - ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT
     ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

     Miami, Florida, U.S.A 1430 hrs. An unsuccessful attempt to assassinate
     the President of the United States was made early this morning on the
     seafront at Miami beach.

       Three security guards were murdured as they protected President Ed
     Jackson from eight hooded gunmen, believed to be from the Global Green
     Army who last month bombed the Supreme Soviet Congress of Peoples
     Deputies, injuring the Premier.
       President and Mrs. Jackson were both unharmed, but shaken by the
     attack. Two of the gunmen were shot dead, and the others arrested.
       The Vice-President, Michael Baker, later condemned the attack.
     "We have today witnessed another attempt on a world leader by a 
      terrorist group intent on furthering their cause by murder. the
      cold-blooded killing of members of the security services will only
      strengthen the resolv of the President, and the people of the United
      States, to resist the demands of this group, and to progress with our
      stated plans for the controlling of current climatic trends. We are
      determined that justice be done. Terrorists will pay with their
      lives, whatever their cause."
       He was anxious in his statement to denounce the growing support for
     the "Global Green Army", who have recently attracted publicity for
     their aims, to see governments acting together to combat the problems
     of the greenhouse effect, by a campaign descriped by the GGA as
     "educational terrorism".

     *************
     * NEWSFLASH *
     *************

     Reuters International News Agency ... 4 April 2017 ... News Flash ...


     WASHINGTON, MOSCOW, AND BRUSSELS DISCREDITED IN "I C E G A T E" SCANDAL
     ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

     Washington D.C, Maryland, U.S.A. 1300 hrs. Following the agreement
     issued jointly by the governments of the United States, Soviet Union,
     and Europe in January, stating their plans for combatting global
     warming, it has been reported that a classified section of the
     document has been leaked to an American Newspaper, "The Boston
     Correspontent".

     The study, entitled "The Midwinter Report", appears to be finding of a
     KGB / CIA commission charged with examining mechanisms by which world
     cooling could be triggered. It is claimed that if the leaked documents
     are genuine, they amount to an international conspiracy to create a
     belief that a 'mini ice age' may be the solution to the climatic
     crisis. The Global Green Army have issued the following statement:
     "The governments of the world have taken no effective action to stop
      the accelerating climatic crisis endangering life on Earth. They are
      obviously so desperate for a solution that they have produced a report
      which is sinister in implication, and implausible in practice. It is a
      discredited document, borne of corruption, and indicative of the fact
      that governments will not save the world from oveheating."

     ************************************************************************
     *                     THE MIDWINTER REPORT                             *
     ************************************************************************

     PART 1:
     ~~~~~~~

                       DOCUMENT STATUS:  TOP SECRET
                              Ref CC/Mid/3.1

                           THE CLIMATIC CRISIS

                               SECTION III

                         "THE MIDWINTER REPORT"

     TOP SECRET
     ==========

     'The Climatic Crisis' was jointly commisioned by the governments of
     the United States of America, the Soviet Union, and the Federation of
     European Nations, as a part of a wide-ranging study into the causes,
     effects and possible solutions to global warming.

     This particular briefing - "The Midwinter Report" - is part of the
     third section, examining possible shortcuts to accelerate global
     cooling.

     Part One deals with natural causes of accelerated global cooling, or
     ice-ages. An appendix, Part Two has been prepared, outlining possible
     manufactured routes to the same end. This document is available
     separately, and is for the eyes of heads of state only.

     PART 1:
     ~~~~~~~

                       DOCUMENT STATUS:  TOP SECRET

                                CONTENTS

                         THE FORMATION OF ICE-AGES

                         A) The lessons of history

                         B) A combination of causes

     i) .......................................... The location of continents
     ii) ....................................... A cooling of world climate ?
     iii) .............................. The reduction of the radiation traps
     iv) ....................................... An in crease in reflectivity

                         C) Detonating the Dynamite

     i) ................................................... Volcanic activity
     ii) ..................................................... Meteor Strikes


     PART 11:
     ~~~~~~~

                    ACCESS RESTRICTED: FOR HEADS OF STATE ONLY

                             THE FORMATION OF ICE-AGES

     A) The lessons of History

     Glaciation (the formation of ice) occurs if one basic environmental
     condition is fulfitted: More snow must fall and accumulate in the
     winter than can be wasted or eroded by melting the following summer.
     If this imbalance continues for a few years, a period off glaciation
     will follow.

     Close examination of the start of previous ice-ages has led us to
     believe that two main factors combine to initiate glaciation.

     1) Continental land-masses 'wander' across high latitude areas, where
     ice sheets are normally expected. Ice will affect the land surface
     whilst it remains in this position; but if the land-mass then drifts
     away to lower latitudes the glaciation ceases.

     ii) Under the influence of external factors, the world's climate cools
     so that snowlines are lowered everywhere. In the mountains, glaciers
     develop and ice sheets expand into the middle latitudes. The sea-level
     falls, as the area of sea ice is increased, and many parts of the
     globe not actually affected by glaciers become areas of permafrost.
     Ice, in some shape or form, starts to affect greater areas of the
     worlds surface.

     there are other factors which may possibly contribute:

     iii) Mountain ranges are built up until they reach the regional
     snow-line. If this happens, ice begins to affect the higher parts of
     mountains and flows into glacial valleys.

     iv) A slight warming of the earth's surface causes the base of the
     Antarctic ice sheet to start melting, which releases great amounts of
     ice into the Southern Ocean, to be trapped in wide ice shelves. This
     causes the ocean to cool, and then the air above it, in turn freezing
     the Antarctic and other ice sheets, building them up to ice age
     proportions again. This is called the ice sheet surge theory.

     v) A reduction in solar radiation received in the polar reqions may be
     caused by the Earth's geometrical relationship with the Sun changing. As
     a result of complicated relations between small but systematic variations
     in the inclination and orientation of the Earth's rotational axis,
     coupled with changes caused by its elliptical orbit, these changes occur
     constantly. milankovich, a Yogoslav geophysicist, showed the calculated
     temperature changes associated with this "wobble", indicating four main
     groups of low temperatures within the last 600 000 years,
     corresponding roughly to the onset of ice-ages. But there has been much
     heavy criticism of Milankovich's ideas, on the grounds that the
     variations considered would have much less effect on world climate than
     he claimed, and so his calculations were of dubious worth.

     It is seldom possible to recognise these mechanisms working
     independently of one another. Most Ice Ages have probably had very
     complicated causes, with a contribution from several factors.

     To predict the onset of the next ice-age, we must estimate the next
     time at which two or more of these factors will be exerting a strong
     enough impact to trigger the onset of global cooling.

     +-----------------------------------\
     | NATURAL CLIMATIC COOLING           \
     | Air mass changes cloudiness,        \
     | CO2 levels variable, Volcanic dust.  \
     +-----------------------------\         \
                                    \         \
     +-------------------------------\         \
     | CONTINENTAL ARRANGMENT                   \
     | Land masses near poles or in high         \
     | latitudes arrangement of oceans.           \
     +-----------------------------------\         \
                                          \         \
     +-------------------------------------\         \
     | MOUNTAIN BUILDING                              \           ICE
     | Distrubution of high mountains.                /           AGE
     +-------------------------------------/         /
                                          /         /
     +-----------------------------------/         /
     | ASTRONOMICAL EFFECTS                       /
     | Changes in planetary geometry.            /
     +--------------------------------/         /
                                     /         /
     +------------------------------/         /
     | GLACIOLOGICAL EFFECTS                 /
     | Surges of ice sheets Peak            /
     | ice changes                         /
     +------------------------------------/

     Diagram 1: Factors combining to cause an ice-age.

     B) A Combination of Causes

     1) The location of Continents

     "The primary geophysical requirement for continental glaciation is the
     presence of large land masses in sufficiently high latitudes to catch
     and hold a lot of snow"

     The present location of continents and their expected geologocal
     characteristics as a result of their locations do not always appear to
     match, as the following two examples illustrate.

     A cursory glance at an atlas will show that the Sahara desert today
     lies on the equator, and its climate is as far removed as one can
     imagine from glacial conditions. But scientists have found that great
     expanses of icesratched bedrock, striated erratic boulders and meltwater
     channels, all characteristic of a glaciated enviroment are present.

     When the first accurate maps were drawn, in the eighteenth century, it
     was seen that the west coast of Africa corresponded closely with the
     east coast of South America. In the nineteenth century, geologists
     started to 'date' rocks, and found rocks of similar ages on the west
     coast of Africa and the east coast of South America which fitted
     together when the coast lines were matched.

     Both of these unexpected discoveries have come to be explained by a
     theory known as "Continental Drift", the slow movement of the continents
     from some previous alignment to their present positions, on a deep-lying
     plastic substratum.

     In 1912, it was suggested by Alfred Wegener that Continental Drift
     started with the break up of the great supercontinent of Pangea.
                  (See Pangea.pic for further details....)

     About 100 million years ago the present day continents began to drift
     away from one another, leading to the creation of the South Atlantic
     and South Atlantic and North Atlantic Oceans and the Indian Ocean.
     Antarctica was now migrating towards the south pole while Australia
     moved east and India moved north, from their initial positions
     illustrated in AFANAU.pic.

     In the Northern Hemisphere at the time the north pole lay somewhere
     near the Bering Strait off the coast of Alaska. those land masses now in
     'convenient' positions were bound to be affected by glaciation, and so
     the glaciers of Alaska and Antarctica were formed.

     It has been predicted that the continuation of Continental Drift will
     lead to the continents being in the position illustrated in CONT.PIC;
     but at the present time, their positions fulfill the first criterion
     for glaciation - there are currently sufficent land masses in high
     latitudes for the onset of glaciation.

     2) A cooling of world climate

     When viewed from space, and as seen in photographs taken from the
     moon, the Earth appears to be blue. This is caused by the scattering
     of light by air molecules in the earths atmosphere. Part of the blue
     light from the sun is scattered forward to Earth, which is why the sky
     usually appears blue to us, and part is scattered back to space, which
     is why the Earth appears blue to anyone on the moon. It is estimated
     that the scattering by air molecules has the effect of reflecting 9% of
     the energy of all sunlight incident on the Earth.

     The strongest reflection of sunlight (about 90%) is caused by snow;
     clouds have an average reflectivity of about 50%; ice and deserts about
     35%; land areas between 20% and 10%, depending on the vegetation; and
     the oceans only 3% (which is why they appear dark in pictures of the
     Earth taken from space).

     When all the sources of reflection are added together, we find that
     the Earth, on average, reflects some 36% of the solar radiation
     falling on it. It therefore follows that the Earth has available 64% of
     the energy of incident sunlight.

     It would be possible to calculate the degree of heating caused by the
     sun, although this calcualtion would be anything but precise, since the
     Earth is a very complex body, and a complete calculation including every
     factor would be very complex.

     +----------------------------------------------------------------------+
     | We can approximate the calculation by considering the Earth to be a  |
     | small spherical body which;                                          |
     |   i) absorbs all solar radiation received.                           |
     |  ii) is a good radiator of heat at all wavelengths.                  |
     | iii) has the ability for equilibriation of heat rapidly.             |
     +----------------------------------------------------------------------+

     If we suppose the object moves around the sun in the same orbit as the
     Earth - about 150 million kilometres, it is possible to calculate that
     we would expect the body to have a temperature of 280 Kelvin (7o C), a
     result close to the actual average temperature of the Earth 287 Kelvin
     (14o C). The error in the calculation is 3%.

     To upgrade our model we must make the imaginary body more realistic.
     If we suppose that it reflects 36% of the sunlight inicident upon it,
     as explained earlier, but otherwise keeps the same conditions, the
     calculated temperature is about 250 K (-23o C), giving a 13% error.
     This worsening of the error suggests that the Earth must have a
     mechanism which compensates for the reflection of sunlight.

     That compensating factor is that the Earth is not a perfect heat
     radiator. The atmpsheric gases of the Earth generate a radiation trap,
     mainly made up by two gases, water vapour and carbon dioxide. This is
     what is known as the "Greenhouse Effect".

     The Carbon Dioxide trap absorbs strongly in the wavelengt range from
     14 micrometres to 16.5 micrometres (1 micrometre is one millionth part
     of one metre), and the water vapour trap blocks the escape of heat
     with wavelenghts longer than 20 micrometres.

     When the wavelength falls into one or other of those blocked ranges,
     scarcely any radiant heat generated at ground level succeeds in
     penetrating the trap. There is essentially no escape through the trap
     into the higher atmosphere and thence into space. Blocked radiation is
     either re-admitted (after being absorbed into the trap) downward into
     the ground immediately, or absorbed again by the gas entering the trap,
     in which case there is a further re-emission. Sooner or later, perhaps
     after many absorbtions and re-emissions, the trapped radiation reaches
     the ground, where it is removed by ground absorbtion, so returning the
     heat to where it started.

     Heat radiation from the Earth occurs at wavelengths both within and
     outside the wavelengths of the traps. The fraction of the energy of the
     radiation within the traps is 42%, with the carbon dioxide blocking about
     15% of the heat energy, and the water vapour about 27%. The effect of the
     traps is therefore to reduce the radiating efficiency of the surface of
     the Earth to about 58% of the imaginary body used in the calculations
     above. The surface of the Earth cannot cool itself as efficiently as the
     imaginary body would be able to do.

     The inability of the Earth to cool itself is compouded by partial
     trapping at wavelengths outside those just considered. As well as the
     more or less total trap for wavelengths greater than 20 micrometres,
     water vapour generates a partial trap at wavelengths between 16.5 and 20
      micrometres, while Carbon Dioxide creates a partial trap between 13 and
     14 micrometres. A partial trap is one in which a significant amount of
     radiation does get away into space, although a considerable fraction
     also returns to the ground, where it is reabsorbed.

     There is additional partial trapping of all wavelengths if there
     happens to be an appreciable quantity of water droplets or ice crustals
     suspended in the atmosphere. This is most marked when cloud is heavy,
     which is the effect which produces a hot, stifling effect before a
     thunderstorm. The air is 'cleared' with heavy rainfall, removing the
     radiation trap caused by water droplets. The partial traps are usually
     estimated to increase the blocking of heat energy from the 42% given
     above to approximately 63%. The calculation cannot be axact, because the
     cloud distribution varies around the Earth. We can say that, of the heat
     energy radiated from the heats surface, approximately one third escapes
     into space and two-thirds are reabsorbed.

     This is not quite the complete picture. There is way in which the heat
     traps can be circumvented, involving evaporation of water from the ocean
     surface. When water evaporates, it cools the ocean surface. The water
     vapour rises with updrafts of air, producing clouds. When the clouds are
     big enough a fraction of the water is carried above the radiation trap.
     That water vapour condenses into water droplets, or into ice crystals,
     with a release of latent energy (energy which was trapped within it).
     Because this happens above the radiation trap, the energy is released
     into space, and cannot be reabsorbed. This bypassing of the traps is by
     no means complete, but it has the effect of reducing their blocking
     ability from the previous 63% back to about 40%. We now have an equation
     to balance. We have earlier seen that the earth's surface receives 36%
     less solar energy per square metre because of reflection, and we have
     now seen that this is compensated by a 40% reduction in the rate of heat
     radiation. This small energy profit of 4% raises the temperature of 280K
     obtained for the imaginary body to about 283% (10o C) for the average
     temperature of the Earth.
     The diagrams (JANUARY.pic & JULY.pic,, sorry but i didn't have the time
     to paint em ... but i hope ya enjoy the game !!!) show world temperatures
     for January and July. Considering that half the total surface of the Earth
     lies in an equatorial belt between latitudes 30o south and 30o North, it
     is clear that the average temperature of the Earth is in fact about
     14o C. Indeed, the average annual temperature in the equatorial zone is
      about 25o C, in mid-latitudes about 10o C, and in high latitudes about
     -10o C, so that, by weighting these three areas 3:2:1, one obtains 14o C
     (287K) for the average temperature. It would be possible to close the
     gap between observation (287K) and calculation (283K) still further in a
     more detailed calculation. But we have illustrated the two important
     points: The heat radiation traps in the lower atmosphere, "the
     greenhouse effect" compensate very closely for the loss of solar
     radiation due to the reflectivity of the Earth; and that about one-fifth
     of the incident solar energy goes in the evaporation of water vapour.

     We have now reached a crucial question. We must ask how a planet with
     an average temperature of 14o C above the freezing point of water could
     develop an ice-age. Either it must arise spontaneously, or one of the
     important quantities used in the above calculations must change. It
     seems unlikely that it could possibly occur spontaneously, as the Earth
     is very efficient at transferring heat from one region to another,
     namely from temperate equatorial regions to polar reqions, via wind and
     oceanic currents. This enables the Earth to keep a climatic equilibrium
     in a steady state. Some external factor must be influential in altering
     one of the mechanisms which keeps the Earth's climate so finely balanced
     - either or both the radiation traps in the atmosphere must be reduced,
     or the reflectivity of the Earth must be increased.

     The reduction of the radiation traps

     With an average temperature of 14o C (and 25o C at the tropics), the
     evaporation rate of water into the atmosphere must always be very much
     greater than is necessary to maintain the water vapour trap. Therefore
     we need only consider the carbon dioxide trap. We have seen that carbon
     dioxide blocks radiation over a particular wavelength, reducing the
     earth's radiating capacity by 15%. If this trap were removed, it has
     been calculated that the average temperature of the Earth would fall
     back to 270K (-3o C), at which point an ice age certainly could occur.
     Two factors lead us to the conclusion that this is an unlikely cause of
     past or future ice ages. Firstly, if the Carbon Dioxide in the
     atmosphere were to be so significantly reduced, it would have a
     catastrophic effect on plant life, which need carbon dioxide for
     photosynthesis, the means by which they, and ultimately we, as they area
     vital part of the food chain, survive. And secondly, the major current
     concerns to environmental scientists, and the reason for the preparation
     of this report, is the effect our output of carbon dioxide is having on
     the atmosphere, and the way it is increasing, not decreasing the very
     radiation trap we have been discussing.

     An increase in reflectivity.

     As warm air rises from the Earth, it cools. And as it cools, the water
     vapour within it tends to condense into liquid droplets or into ice
     crystals - the higher it goes, the cooler it gets, until saturation point
     is reached. the height and temperature at which saturation is reached
     depends upon the initial water vapour content and temperature of the air.
     Humid air becomes saturated low in the atmosphere, with a condensed swarm
     of tiny water droplets (it would take 1000 such droplets to cover 1
     centimetre if placed end to end), which scatter light, behaving as a
     'fog'.

     Drier air has to rise higher before its water vapour becomes
     saturated. When the air is particulararly dry, the temperature may have
     to fall below frezzing point before saturation occurs, and then the
     vapour would be expected to form ice crystals. However, this does not
     happen automatically. Nor do water droplets frezze automatically at such
     temperatures. If left undisturbed, they remain as liquid, becoming
     "supercooled".

     In the higher atmosphere, (at temperatures of about -20o C), there are
     a comparatively small number of particles called condensation nucleii,
     which act as a catalyst to freeze supercooled droplets, forming ice
     crystals as they pass over them. The ice crystals will then grow and
     begin to fall back to Earth under gravity, but may occur rising air
     which lifts them up again, causing a swirling motion, during which they
     will collide with other water droplets, freeze them, and grow bigger
     still. Eventually, the ice crystals grow large enough to break free of
     this swirling effect, and fall back to Earth. If the ice melts before it
     reaches the ground it will fall as rain. In winter, however, the lower
     air may be too cool to melt the ice, in which case it will fall as snow.
     It is because of the processes of swirling and freezing other water
     droplets in a slow build up of ice crystals that snow flakes have such
     beautiful and intricate patterns.

     The crucial condensation nucleii are formed by ice surrounding around
     what are called "freezing nucleii",which are often tiny grains of salt
     sprayed up from the sea. However, if they are not present in sufficient
     quantity to act as a catalyst, the supercooled water vapour will rise
     still further, and cool as it rises. If its temperature becomes lower
     than -40o C, it will eventually change from droplets into ice crystals,
     themselves being "freezing nucleii" around which more ice condenses.
     These are the ice particles known to Artic Explorers as "Diamond Dust".

     Ice crystals reflect and refract light, just like diamonds. Refraction
     produces a separation of light into its particular colours, giving the
     familiar spectrum of red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and
     violet. The reason you cannot see this effect from falling snow is
     because of the random joining of the ice crystals to form snow flakes as
     described. The crystals tend to jumble up the effects of refraction, so
     all we see is a whitish haze. "Diamond Dust" is astonishingly reflective
     of sunlight. If a layer of water with a thickness as little as one
     hundredth of a millimetre were turned into tiny ice-crystals it would be
     so reflective as to reflect all the sunlight back into space, were it
     present everywhere in the upper atmosphere. To an observer on the moon,
     the Earth would the appear featureless and white, just as Venus does to
     us from Earth.

     +----------------------------------------------------------------------+
     | We have calculated that the loss of solar energy caused by normal    |
     | reflection is slightly more than compensated for by radiation traps  |
     | - however, "Diamond Dust" adds nothing to the radiation traps, as    |
     | only a tiny amount is present, despite its high reflectivity.        |
     +----------------------------------------------------------------------+

     We need not search any longer for the phenomena which would cause an
     ice age. Turning only 0.1% of the amount of water normally present in the
     Earth's atmosphere into fine ice crystals would have an immediate,
     catastrophic effect on the world's climate. The temperature of the land
     would collapse in a few weeks and the temperature of the oceans within a
     few years. Advanced global cooling would be upon us.

     What is apparent is that "Diamond Dust" is not widespread at present.
     This is because the water vapour in the atmosphere does not attain a
     temperature as low as -40o C easily. The main sources of water vapour
     in the atmosphere are the oceans; it is the surface temperature of the
     oceans which determines the temperature of the water vapour as it
     begins its ascent into the upper atmosphere. Whilst the temperature of
     the oceans are warm, the water vapour will not become cool enough to
     form "Diamond Dust" in the upper atmosphere, so sunlight will still be
     able to penetrate to Earth to keep the surface of the ocean warm, and so
     on, in a self-maintaining cycle. This state of events is aided by the
     fact that the oceans, due to their enormous size, have a "heat supply"
     which will last up to about ten years, even if a significant reduction
     in the amount of sunlight occured.

     +----------------------------------------------------------------------+
     | The only possibility of "Diamond Dust" forming would be if a second  |
     | agent were to temporarily lower the amount of sunlight reaching the  |
     | oceans, to cool them, for a considerable length of time, We need a   |
     | detonator for our dynamite                                           |
     +----------------------------------------------------------------------+

     This detonator must be a process which injects a sufficient quantity of
     small particles into the atmosphere at a height above 12 kilometres,
     the region known as the stratosphere. Fine particles have an
     interesting and significant property. They do not stay aloft
     indefinitely. Gravity pulls them downwards through the air. Large, heavy
     particles fall quickly, whilst very small ones remain suspended for much
     longer. What is remarkable is that particles of the sizes most effective
     for the reflection of sunlight (about half a micrometre) take about ten
     years to fall through the upper atmosphere. Once they get below 12
     kilometres, they fall very much quicker, as they become incorporated into
     much larger ice crystals and water droplets. This ten year process is of
     just the right 'fuse length' for our potential detonator.

     When Mount St. Helens volcano. Washington State, erupted in June 1980,
     an Eastern Airlines pilot was the first to spot a plume of ash and steam
     at a height of 15,000 metres, creating violent lightning displays and
     darkening the whole sky. The eruption affected large areas of the Western
     States, with acidic ash accumulating to a depth of 1.5 cm at a distance
     of 800 km. In East Washington the ash fell so thickly that automatic
     street lightning was switched on. Within five days, the ash had reduced
     visibility to 5 km in parts of Canada, 2000 km away.

     The St. Helens eruption was mild compared to that of Mount Tambora in
     the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia) in 1815 when an immense amount of
     fine dust was thrown into the atmosphere. It had far reaching effects on
     the world's climate. In New England, Canada and Western Europe the summer
     1816 was extraordinarily cold. A meteorological record kept for New Haven
     since 1779 records June 1816 as the coldest june un that city, with a
     mean temperature that would normally be expected some 200 miles north of
     the city of Quebec. The Lancashire plain in England had its coldest July,
     and the summer as a whole ranks as the coldest on record in the Swiss
     city of Geneva for the period from 1753 to 1960. In New England the loss
     of most of the staple crop of Indian Corn and the great reduction in the
     hay crop caused so much hardship on isolated subsistence farms that the
     year became enshrined in folklore as "Eighteen Hundred and Froze to
     Death".

     Climatologists rank the eruption as the greatest producer of
     atmospheric dust between 1600 and the present. The dust circled the air
     for severla years, reflecting the sunlight back into space and reducing
     the amount of it reaching the groud.

     It is highly conceivable that in the next couple of decades, with
     tectonic plates constantly shifting, that such a huge volcanic explosion
     might occur. If it were to, and consequently led to a teetering on the
     brink of catastrphe. The formation of "Diamond Dust" would explosively
     accelerate global cooling. It is possible that past ice ages were caused
     by volcanoes bigger than any which has erupted over the past ten
     millenia. With the continents located in their present positions, it
     could mean the onset of "Midwinter". However, we must consider other
     potential detonators.

     It has been estimated that about 5000 giant meteorites with diameters of
     more than a kilometre have hit the Earth over the past 600 million years,
     with an average strike rate of one per 120 000 years. Meteorites with a
     diameter greater than 300 metres must hit the Earth once in every 10 000
     years, producing a crater similar to those found on the surface of the
     moon. It is the siza of the meteorite which would be crucial for
     detonation of an ice age.

     A tiny micrometeorite experiences a sudden flash of heating as it
     enters the Earth's atmosphere. For a typical particle, 1 micrometre in
     size, the temperature rises to about 500 K in two seconds. The flash
     heating becomes stronger as the size of the meteorite increases, until
     for a meteorite the size of a pinhead the temperature becomes sufficient
     to vapourise it completely. It becomes a trail of bright light, seen as
     a 'shooting star'.

     If the incoming body is the size of a clenched fist, the air pressure
     on the body is large enough to slow down its very high speed, happening
     before the heat can evaporate the whole of the material. A residue
     remains which cools and falls to the ground at a comparatively low
     speed. The pressure of air on the incoming body grows in proportion to
     its size. When the pressure becomes great enough, (at a size of a few
     metres), the body will burst into fragments which fall as a meteorite
     shower. If the body is several hundred metres across, the body no longer
     bursts into fragments, as there is insufficient time for them to fly
     apart as the body crashes down through the atmosphere, to create an
     explosion pit or crater where it lands. The explosion causes material
     torn from the ground to be splashed outwards and upwards with the
     disintegrating meteorite, radiating from the point of impact.

     Entery speeds of 30 kilometres per second are typical, but in
     exceptional cases the speed can be as high as 70 kilometres per second.
     If the body were 300 metres in diameter, with an entery speed of 300
     kilometres per second, the energy per ton of meteorite (typical mass = 50
     million tons) would be enough to throw 1000 tons of debris up to a height
     of 50 kilometres, or a total of 50,000 million tons. Only a few per cent
     of the particles, in the form of tiny dust particles would be ample to
     cause an ice age. The dust particles would spread gradually overthe
     earth, reflecting much of the sun's radiation, over a period of ten
     years as it fell back to Earth. A giant meteorite is potentially more
     dangerous than a volcano because, although the amount of material in a
     giant meteorite is no greater than that blown off by a volcano, each ton
     of material has about a thousand times more energy, and is far more
     capable of being blown up into the upper atmosphere.

     The possibility of such an object colliding with the Earth is high due
     to the orbits they have. At times they pass closer to the sun than the
     Earth ever does, and at other times they are further away from the sun
     than the Earth. In other words, they have to cross our path twice in
     every orbit they make. There are probably 10 000 of them with such a
     path. The odds seem stacked against us escaping for ever - and if there
     were to be impact, the detonator would explode, the deadly dust would
     form, and a new ice age would have dawned.

     ************************************************************************
     *                         THE STORY SO FAR...                          *
     ************************************************************************

     On Friday 8th September 2039, New York Radio's early evenning new
     bulletin carried reports of a fast-moving white light, seen travelling
     east over Florida. Eye-witnesses claimed that the size and velocity of
     the light ruled out the possibilities of known military or commercial
     aircraft. Strangely, most seemed happy to assume it was a alien
     life-form, rekindling tales from their youth, and at the same time
     giving the media a much needed story. They wanted light relief from the
     politicians, endlessly glorifying the centenary of the outbreak of the
     last World War, overstated by the new President of the Federation of
     Europe as "a celebration of a hundred years of global alliance." As
     always the politicians preferred to highlight their achievements, such as
     their united environmental policies, which looked like thwarting the
     "greenhouse effect", and ignore the diplomatic Cold War still present in
     many parts of the world. That light in the sky was about to give "Cold
     War" a totally different connotation.
        The shock waves were felt as far afield as London and Sydney. In
     Beijing and Bombay, buildings were rased to the ground, and near the
     epicentre, on the eastern border of Burma, there was little chance of
     surviving the initial blast. Fortyeight hours later, the tidal wave hit
     the west coast of North America, and daylight never came over Moscow.
        The political tension mounted as nations searched for the
     aggressor, aiming swift retribution. Despite having hundreds of thousands
     of its people killed, the Soviet Union was eyed nervously by the West.
     And although the most densely populated areas of the flooded western
     seaboard of the United States could not be contacted from Washington,
     the Kremlin pointing an accusing finger at the Pentagon. The peoples of
     Asia and the Pacific Islands struggled for survival, where millions of
     people were reported to have perished in dark, flooded, chaotic villages,
     towns and cities. Alliances crumbled at the time they were needed most -
     man was about to go to war with the Earth.
        Satellites had shown the superpowers that the devastation caused by
     the explosion was that expexted from a ten thousand megaton hydrogen
     bomb. Over one hundred square kilometres of forest had been laid to
     waste; burnt and charred buildings lay in ruins up to 300 kilometres
     from the blast; there were no signs of human life. Millions of tons of
     dirt and dust had been ejected into the atmosphere, already blanketing
     half the globe, and spreading. Out of the blue, another holocaust had
     occurred.
        It was not until the following Christmas that stories began to
     emerge from China, recounting that horrific night when it all began with
     "the ball of fire from space". Word of mounth passed on tales of the
     death of millions after a giant rock had crashed to Earth in the night.
     The news backed theories that the detonation of a huge nuclear weapon
     could not have taken place due to the absence of any significant amount
     of radioactive fallout. It dawned on the world that it had been struck
     by a meteorite of enormous proportions, and that it's effects would be
     felt for a long time to come.

     2040:

     The following year's grain harvest was largely destroyed in the Soviet
     Union due the falling back to earth of thousands of tons of debris, and
     the total darkness which had only just begun to ease. The Kremlin had,
     for several years, been building up their grain stores, as western
     agricultural technology was now widely used following the raising of the
     iron curtain in the 1990's, and were sure that they could survive a
     freak year. What was more worrying to them was news that the thundra of
     the Siberian plains seemed to be suffering a cruel drop in temperature,
     which was leading to its spreading south.
        European countries in high latitudes were also become worried as
     temperatures had remained at those usually experienced in February for
     the whole summer - and were now starting to drop again. The Scottish
     government had appealed to their counterparts in London to allow their
     people free access across the border, to the warmer climes of Southern
     England, which was refused as the area was, in the words of the Home
     Office, "becoming dangerously overcrowded". Mediterranean countries had
     found that their economies were in danger of colapse, with no visiting
     trade, and north-east Africa was still seriously flooded hundreds of
     miles either side of the Nile.
        The religious wars of the middle east intensified, as Arab states
     realised that, despite their huge wealth, no-one was looking to export
     commodites to them which were needed at home. Australia and New Zeeland
     were deluged with refugees who had survived in south-east Asia and the
     Pacific islands, and had made the arduous crossing by a variety of means.
     But it was in the United States and Canada that the breakdown of law and
     order was the most marked.
        The President of the United States, on the advice of top scientists,
     had decided to go on national  television to explain what was expected to
     happen to the world's climate over the coming decade. The following day's
     newspapers screamed "Diamond Dust to end life as we know it", as the full
     effects of global cooling became known. Hundreds of thousands of Canadian
     immigrants were seeking shelter in the northern United States, attempting
     to escape the falling temperatures which had driven most of its
     population as far south as Toronto, and the American people were
     preparing to defend their territory. Elsewhere in the country shops were
     looted in the search for tinned foodstuffs, and the army were deployed
     on the streets of the cities. Then the marines invaded Mexico.

     2045:

     Over the next five years the average temperature across Europe dropped to
     2o C, often freezing the major rivers. Throughout Scandinavia, and across
     the Pyrenees and Alps, huge areas of permafrost and ice developed.
     Harvests failed repeatedly, and people tried in vain to travel from one
     country to another in search of more clement conditions. Attempts to
     cultivate large areas of Africa were partly successful, and developed
     nations hungrily eyed the previously "Third World" countries. On the
     continent of America, the peoples of the United States were following
     their troops south, leaving behind food crises and freezing lands. The
     inhabitants of the Soviet Union had nowhere to go - to the south lay the
     most damaged areas of Asia, and to the north, expanding glaciers. Some
     managed to escape to western Europe, but a fierce war was now raging
     along Eastern bloc borders with a re-unified Germany, Austria and Italy.
     The economies of all countries concerned were falling apart under the
     strain of food shortages and sustained military conflict. Man was
     beginning to ignore his battle with the Earth as he fought with himself.
     Then the Earth upped it's fire-power.
        For half a decade, politicians had been warned by natural scientists
     that conditions would get worse before they got better. The politicians
     paid lip service to their requests for a massive injection of funds into
     climatic research, offering encouragement at the expense of hard cash,
     which was diverted for military and agro-scientific purposes. The price
     was about to be paid for ignoring their real enemy.
        South Maerica had, despite the deaths of millions of its inhabitants,
     maintained its population level as refugees swarmed through Mexico from
     the United States. It was almost as if the Earth could feel the
     concentration of people on the Central American isthmus when, in
     December 2045, as global temperatures were nudging an all time low, the
     strain that had been building between the Cocos and South American plates
     was released. The earth shuddered, heaved, bucked and split for ten days,
     spewing its insides over inhabitants and volcanic dust high into the
     atmosphere, blackening the skies again in a cruel reminder of the events
     which first plunged the world into chaos, compounding thgeir effects.
        The repercussions of the 'quake spread quickly, as sub-oceanic ridges
     widened, and previously dormant volcanoes were uncorked across Europe,
     and down into the Pacific Basin. The most spectacular sight occured near
     the triple joint of the African, North American, and the Eurasain plates,
     2,000 kilometres off the coast of Portugal, where a string of islands,
     from Madeira to the Azores went off like a row of Roman candles at a
     fireworks display. The few who survived the initial storms and flooding
     of the islands fled to watch from the Portuguese mainland, from where
     the plumes of ash and dust were clearly visible. Spots of uncontrolable
     heat were speckling the rapidly freezing globe.

     2056:

     The winter of 2056 saw temperatures in London drop, and stay below
     -25o C. Rainfall across parts of Southern Europe reached a total of 10
     metres for the year, freezing as it fell, and accelerating the formation
     of ice-sheets, as the glaciers crept south. The sea level had dropped by
     over 500 metres in places, creating sheer cliffs where sloping beaches
     had been, as the glaciated land masses rose. The ice-sheet in North
     America had streched as far south as Kentucky, submerging the greater
     part of the North American continent beneath a mantle of ice over a
     thousand metres thick. The Scandinavian ice-sheet covered Denmark and
     was approaching Poland and Germany. In Britain the area above a line from
     The Wash to Cheshire was under permanent glaciation. The landscape of
     the Northern Hemisphere had changed completely. Billions of people had
     died from cold, famine and war. In the tropics 300 million people lived
     an existence closer to medieval times than the twenty-fitrst century.
        The Earth was calming down, and its inhabitants, having learnt that
     when the planet led, they must follow, were becoming more peaceful. Old
     political structures had broken down. Nation states had fragmented into
     local thinly-spread communities, scavanging for food. The only borders
     not crossed were those between hunting grounds, defended to the death by
     people struggling for survival. As the temperature fell, time was running
     out for mankind, and he had nowhere to hide.

     2060

     The worsening conditoions had led to the continuing movement towards
     the equator of the peoples of many lands. Much of southern Europe,
     around the Mediterranean, was heavily overpopulated, and the shortage
     of habitable space, as well as the shortage of food was becoming acute.
        Where the sea level had fallen dramatically, more land for
     occupation was created, but the coasts of France, Spain and Portugal
     were drawing refugees who arrived daily, in their thousands, with the
     fading hope of getting a passage across to the haven of Africa by boat,
     or to chance crossing the land which was reported to be rising out of the
     sea across the Straits of Gibraltar.
        Local boat owners sold places on over-laden out-dated craft, many of
     which never made the difficult journey. Some resentful refugees put
     this down to the weight of money carried by the boatmen, who were often
     found murdered or beaten, robbed of money and boat.
     Attempts to capitalise on the new found tourist trade were not, on the
     whole, successful.
        Near the Portuguese coastal town of Viana do Castelo,
     seventeen-year-old Carlos Garcia waited in his father's wheat field,
     which had not seen crops harvested for six years, witching the skies.
     Straining his eyes against the setting western sun, he picked out a
     tiny speck wobbling in the distance. The man from Denmark was late.
        The Jaguar Tomahawk bumped to a stop five metres from the road. The
     fifty year old 'plane turned through ninety degrees and crept into the
     cowshed which served as its home. Carlos bounded into the gloom after
     it.

     "The doors. Shut the doors !" cried the emerging pilot, his wild blond
     hair as excited as his words. He gasped for air, and hugged the boy.

     "I think we've found it", he whispered.

     They stared at each other in the cold darkness, their breathlessness
     sending plumes of condensation upwards, as a second man clambered from
     the two-seater 'plane.

     "Hello Arthur" grinned Carlos.

     Arthur Randles drew himself up to his full height, puffed out his
     chest, and saluted.
     "Young man, prepare yourself for an adventure. The professor and I
     have found the promised land. We're going to Atlantis."

     The three men poured over the map, and Arthur scratched his head.

     "So much of this bit looked different from up here" he said, waving his
     hand up and down the Portuguese coast.

     "But look ! That island is completely new. There's no land mass big
     enough marked. It must have been two or three hundred miles across."

     "Is it really Atlantis ?", asked Carlos wide-eyed withexcitement.

     "It must be the Azores", mused the professor. "But the Azores were an
     archipelagos, not one island"

     "What ?", said Carlos, puzzled at the language used by the older men.
     The Englishman explained,

     "The Azores were a group of nine small islands, but the seas around
     them were very shallow. With all the volcanoes that erupted there, and
     the sea level dropping, I suppose that the island we saw could have
     been the Azores. Atlantis has risen higher !"

     The professor screwed his forehead into a frown. You could almost hear
     him thinking, the wheels of his mind forming yet another plan. "Is it
     habitable ?", he asked, knowing the answer. Randles shrugged.

     "What we need is a source of energy. Heat mines." Randles was a
     trained engineer, and liked turning his hand, and his mind, to all
     aspects of science.

     "Nothing is hot anywhere, not since the rock" offered Carlos, eager to
     help.

     "Old mother earth is still burning up inside 'though" explained
     Randles. He could have told the boy anything, from the puzzled look on
     his face.

     "Yes, Olaf, I remember. Heat mines, like in Iceland. Especially with
     all that volcanic activity bringing the stuff near the surface....
     Shall we go ?"

     "We have to get out of this place. It seems as good as anywhere. And
     if we keep it quiet, maybe only take a dozen, we might just survive. We
     might be the only ones."

     It took them six days to find a suitable boat, and six hours to fill it.
     Carlos and his sister, Randles, Professor Kristiansen, the Italian
     boatowner, an American and his wife, two young Japanese children, a
     French soldier (a friend of Carlos), an English nurse (on the professor's
     advice), and her stunningly attractive friend, Amelia (on Randles'
     insistence).
        It was a difficult journey. On the fifth night, with storms lashing
     the trawler, "Lindberg", one of the children sighted a light, glowing
     with such ferocity that most of the sky began to light up as they
     neared. Cliffs loomed out of the darkness. The boatowner battled
     against the forty foot waves which tossed the vessel relentlessly towards
     the shore. A landing looked out of the question in such conditions.

     "It would be suicide to try to get close" yelled Grazzini, his voice
     barely audible.

     "And it will be curtains if we stay at sea any longer." cried Randles,
     as a huge surge of water crashed onto the deck, as if to underline his
     point, and their desperate plight.

     "Head for that Cove" begged the professor. "It may be calmer in the
     shelter of the cliffs"

     "Not a chance of it. But the seas are deciding that it is our
     destination."

     The Italian crossed himself.
        As he took pleasure in reminding them some hours later, the
     professor was right.

     2060 - The first few days

     "The Lindberg" was finally made secure after a treacherous night spent
     by several of the men diving into the chilling waters, and clambering
     over the jagged rocks. In the Quiet Cove, as Kristiansen had dubbed
     the inlet, it was finally possible to float the foar-man rowing boat,
     and shuttle the twelve pioneers ashore, where they huddled toghter,
     exhausted and hungry. They erected tents, lit a fire, and ate plenty
     of the food they had brought.
        After a couple of hours rest, Randles, Kristiansen and Charles
     Stark, the American, set off to climb the cliffs and survey the
     surrounding land. Carlos pleaded to be allowed to tag along, but was
     persuaded that he should stay and watch over the others. The men were
     greeted after their climb by the sight of three mountains filling the
     westward and northern horizons. There was little vegetation and no
     sign of life. To the south lay milesof snowcovered flatlands.

     "Where to ?" asked Stark.

     "We'll head north, to the highest peak. We would be able to see
     more from there." Randles was warming to his assumed role of leader.

     They had walked slowly for about half an hour, battling against the
     drifts and wind. The omnipotent glare of the snow and their crunching
     footsteps in the snow, rhythmically disturbing the deafening silence,
     were mesmeric. They spoke rarely, all overawed by the landscape.
        A loud roar thundered around the hilltops, and ahead of them they
     saw the snow begin to slide towards them.

     "It's an avalanche !" yelled Kristiansen.

     They were transfixed. Amidst the tumbling snow they could pick out a
     speck of brown, thrashing as itfell, and finally coming to a halt,
     about two hundred metres in front of them. The creature reared up and
     let out a deep cry, before turning tail and fleeing.

     "What was that ?" asked Stark, wide-eyed.

     "It looked like a bear, but it couldn't have been, not here" said
     Randles, trying to convince himself as well as his comrades.

     "I think we'd better head back" spluttered the professor.

     The return journey was made in half the time.

     The story was relayed to the others on their return, who listened in
     amazement. Even Stark, who had kept them amused with his anecdotes
     throughout the crossing, was finding it difficult to convey the scale
     of the white landscape they had seen. With three mountains to describe,
     as well as miles of flatlands, everyone was getting confused.

     "What we need are names for everything. Then we would be like real
     explorers", suggested Amelia.

     "My dear, we are real exploresrs. I'm looking forward to quite an
     adventure together", said Randles with a wink.
     Amelia blushed.

     "We could call it Bear Mountain" chirped the nurse.

     Bear Mountain it was. Whilst the men began the arduous task of
     unloading the ship, the children were kept busy by the thinking of names
     for other things they had seen, arguing incessantly over them. The
     nearest mountains was named White Fell, and Mrs. Stark persuaded them
     to call the remaining peak Mount Charles, after her husband. Everyone
     wanted to name something after the ship, and as no agreement could be
     reached, both the sea and the lowlands were called Lindberg Bay and
     Lindberg Plateau.
        The following day the party set off south, away from Bear Mountain,
     and across the Lindberg Plateau. Excitement grew as they sighted a
     cluster of buildings on the horizon.

     "It looks like a settlement" said Chaburn, the French soldier.

     "And there's smoke rising" exclaimed Grazzini, peered ahead.
        They nervously advanced within thirty metres of the six wooden
     huts, and watched for signs of life. Nothing penetrated the silence.
     Stark whispered quietly to Kristiansen,

     "I think we're being watched"

     A loud click swung their heads to the right, as Chabrun flung himself
     to the ground, rolled, and stiffened himself prone on the ice. In his
     hands was a revolver.

     "Get down" he yelled.

     In a flash they were all flat on their stomachs. It dawned on Randles
     that the click was the sound of a gun hammer being cocked, as Chabrun
     whispered "You were right. And who ever is watching us has us well and
     truly in his sights."

     Randles managed a forced grin, more in response to their predicament
     than the soldiers humour.

     "Is anybody there ?", he shouted.

     After the longest few seconds of his life, releif came.

     "Tell him to throw his gun", said a calm voice from the shadows.

     "Do it, Chabrun", barked Randles.

     He addressed the invisible voice. "We are friendly, we do not want a
     fight"

     "Where have you come from ?", asked the voice.

     Randles explained, at some length, their arrival from the mainland,
     which eventually dragged the gunman from his lair. Randles offered his
     hand, which wasshaken warmly. The stranger was gaunt and shivering.

     "Are you alright ?", asked the nurse.

     "Hungry and cold, and our baby son is dying", he replied, his
     eyes dropping to the ground.

     "I am a nurse. Take me to him." she said.

     His face beamed as he scurried off towards one of the huts. Everyone
     followed.
        The life of Victor Grice was saved, and the relieved group, along
     with their food, were welcomed heartily by the fifteen members of the
     settlement on Lindberg Plateau.
        The two groups spent a couple of days swopping tales of life on the
     mainland and life on the island. The leader of the settlers, Randolph
     Courtenay, was a British exile, and he and Randles got along famously.
     Courtenay explained that the onset of the ice-age had led to the sea
     levels dropping drastically around the islands of the Azores, and that
     the prodigious volcanic activity had built up the land to create new
     glaciated hills and valleys. His village were a combination of
     stranded travellers and refugees, and they knew of no other settlement
     on the island. It had been a slice of luck that Randles' group had
     landed where they had, for both parties.
        The settlers were able to explain the geography of the island as
     they knew it. The Azores island of Pico, Sao Jorge and Terceira now
     formed the highest mountains, with a huge volcanic upgrowth dominating
     the south-west of the island. The coast was a combination of creeks,
     coves and wide swepping bays, but no boats had been seen landing. They
     had seen a low flying aircraft about a week ago.
        They had no source of power except fire, and they hunted some wild
     animals, but they were becoming fewer. Fishing was difficult without
     boats, although they had seen seals in a creek to the north, and
     otters in lakes to the south. Life was tough in the small community,
     and they explained, they would be happy for the newcomers to stay as
     long as possible, even to join forces as a larger settlement.
        Randles was happy to rest awhile after the long journey. It made
     sense to keep a large group, for tasks could be easily divided, and it
     gave a ready made base for hunting and exploration. And it would give
     him some time to get to know Amelia.

     2063 The early years

     Through the following two years, the south-eastern area of the island
     was explored, which proved to be well populated with wildlife. Otters,
     Seals, Snowgeese and Beavers were all hunted, and small areas of
     Spurce and Pines were found, in which some edible vegetation was
     found. The children enjoyed each new discovery, as it gave them a new
     site to name. Two newborn additions, Charles Ambler and Konrad Rudel,
     were focus of much attention, and friendships and bonds of trust
     flowered within the community, not to mention a growing romance
     between Randles and Amelia.
        Kristiansen had a meeting of minds with Dr. Nansen, a Swedish
     chemist, and they worked avidly on schemes to farm crops and source
     power. They knew that the hunted food supply was finite, and that, with
     the climate likely to worsen, a source of heat other than fire was vital.
     Kristiansen was sure that the volcanic activity was certain to mean that
     utilisable heat must be close to the surface, but without a turbine it
     would be difficult to tap. Nansen had devised a system of growing crops
     without sowing them in the ground, on a small scale. By feeding seeds in
     water, it was possible to harvest edible beans by a system known as
     hydroponics. The settlement was subsisting, if not thriving.
        The land which had been above sea level twenty years ago was
     difficult to explore, as it meant anarduous journey into territory which
     was littered with the remains of the previous habitation, and despite the
     extreme cold, the scientists were wary of disease and infestation. It was
     during May 2063, on one such exploration in the westfoothills of the
     Terceria Mountains, that they made an amazing discovery.
        The few buildings which had withstood the turmoil of the previous
     twenty years were buried deep beneath snow and compacted ice.
     Whilst descending into the Vale of Fools, Francois Revel, at the rear
     of the scouting party, fell through the soft snow into a hidden ravine,
     where he lay motionless. The other men, in their haste to reach him,
     caused several feet of snow to cave in above him. He was buried.
        They struggled frantically to rescue him, digging with their bare
     hands, and calling to him. Eventually they dug down to a depth of about
     ten feet, where they found him, just alive, laying on the flat roof of a
     submerged building. He was hauled out and tended to by Dr. Nansen, and
     has pronounced unhurt, but suffering from the extreme cold. The party
     returned quickly to Lindberg Plateau, where Revel could receive expert
     attention from Nurse Maddocks, but not before the Professor had carefully
     marked the spot where the incident occured. The others thought it a
     sensible precaution, to warn others of the danger. The professor had
     other ideas - he was coming back to examine the building.
        That subsequent examination yielded the most significant discovery
     made during the colonisation of the island. It took nearly a week to
     clear sufficient snow to allow access, which even then was difficult as
     much of the inside of the building was filled with the freezing white
     dust which crept everywhere. To most of the settlers it would have looked
     like a run down factory. To the scientists it was a treasure trove.
     From the machinery left in the one-storey building, the professor
     deduced that its purpose had been the manufacture of the small-engined
     bikes which had been the commonest mode of transport in the Azores
     before the meteorite struck. But more exciting was the fact that it had
     its own generator, now defunct, but seemingly undamaged.

     2070 The island grows up

     The generator was to prove the key which unlocked the problems of
     developing technology to survive in the harsh climate. It gave a means of
     harnessing the power of the sub-surface heat, and utilising it to run the
     machinery on which equipment could be built. It took three years to site
     the first heat mine, in White Horse Valley, and two years to sink it.
     Finally the power was unleashed for the construction of transport,
     buildings and arms, and with them the further colonisation of the island.
        The settlers moved westwards across the island, at last thriving as
     the hydropics plants were developed, new villages constructed, and new
     sights seen. There were marriages, including that of Arthur and Amelia
     Randles, births, including sons to the Revels, Starks, and newly-wed
     Chabruns, and the sad death of randolph Courtenay.
     Arthur Randles built around him a team of strong leaders, each helping to
     develop settlements, and teach the youngsters the skills of construction,
     farming and hunting. Heat Mines were sunk at Storm Head, Thunder
     Mountains, Snowgoose Valley and Shining Valley, and the Professor and
     Dr. Nansen worked tirelessly to develop motorised buggies to allow the
     flourishing communities to have easier access between one another, over
     the hundreds of miles now discovered.
        Life was improving for the brave adventurers. They began to refer to
     the island as home, and with every new birth, the sense of a bright
     future on the isle increased. There was no contact from the mainland;
     nor was it possible for them to return. The "Lindberg" was holed and
     sunk as she was sailing close to Devils Head, in Dynamite Bay, when she
     probably collided with a mine layed over twenty years earlier - the
     island was peaceful, but it served as a timely reminder of the war man
     was fighting elsewhere on the globe.

     2081 The next generation

     The population of the island now stood close to five hundred, and,
     with an average age of about twelve, the society was very different to
     that which the older settlers were used to. The birth rate was high, and
     child care took much of the time of the women.
        Consequently, the young males were quickly taught the life-skills
     required for survival on the island, and began work. They were far more
     adept at survival than many of their older counterparts, having known no
     other life-style, and explored the island expertly; to master the
     environment they had to know its layout and its dangers.
     It had claimed lives with its harsh climate and deadly terrain. Charles
     Stark was mauled to death by a savage animal on Wildcat Heath, which his
     son, John later shot. Carlos Garcia had perished when an avalanche
     swamped him on Snowstorm Pass, and the valley in which his body was found
     was renamed after him. And John Rudel, the most gifted hunter and
     explorer, was lost and presumed dead whilst trying to find an impassible
     route through the Sao Jorge range. The blocked route was cruelly named
     Mad John's Pass, and the moor he had discovered earlier was similarly
     renamed.
        Randles and Kristiansen, along with Courtenay's son, Howard, had
     organised a dozen of the men into a law-enforcement team. They also
     organised the health care for the villagers, and were well accepted as a
     vital link in the network between the settlements. The society forming on
     the island was a peaceful one, but as the number of inhabitants grew,
     individual feuds and quarrels sometimes broke out, and the peace force
     were seen, by consensus, to work with the right blend of gentle
     persuasion and good humour.
        This balanced equilibrium was violently disturbed one November night
     in 2081. The settlement at Redwitch Lowlands announced on the island
     radio that a ship had weighed anchor five hundred yards off Whals Point,
     and appeared to be carrying hundreds of people. They did not know wheter
     they were armed. Randles organised the settlements around the coast to
     watch for any movement from the ship, and the islanders prepared
     themselves for any inevitability. The following morning the ship sailed
     west, around the Southern Shore, and into Halfmoon Bay, were again it
     rested, as the skies darkened. A storm was coming.
        The islanders watched warily as the ship battened down its hatches for
     the coming rain, and began to be tossed about the bay by the swell. The
     first pioneers whispered to each other, remembering the foul weather in
     which they had arrived, hoping that the visitors were not here hoping to
     capture their proze. Then the heavens opened.
        The first survivors made it ashore an hour after dawn, and five
     minutes after the mast top of their ship was covered by the ocean. The
     welcoming party was fronted by the business end of a rifle, closely
     followed by Randles. The shipwrecked passengers scrambled ashore by a
     variety of means, with survival their only thought. There was to be no
     danger to the island, and gun-sights were lowered, to be replaced by
     comfort and medicine. Nearly four hundred people of all ages and
     nationalities had been aboard. About half made it ashore.
        The huge influx of people, many of them injured, meant more mounths
     to feed and homes to find. The islanders worked hard at caring for the
     newcomers, whose tales of death and devastation from the mainland were
     quickly spread, convincing the settlers that their island home was the
     only safe haven. They heard how people in Europe had known about the
     islands existence, but had assumed that it was uninhabitable. It had
     been dubbed "Midwinter Isle", a name which quickly caught on.
        The arrival of the newcomers was resented by some people, most notably
     Professor Kristiansen, who was upstaged by a fine young scientist from
     Germany, who helped the islanders to develop snow buggies for the
     flatlands and construct cable cars on hillsides. The Professor withdrew
     from social contact for many years, living in his laboratory with his
     wife and children, and even after the German was killed by a freak
     accident at a heat mine, the Professor was reluctant to rekindle
     friendships.

     2089

     Fifty years after the grounding of the giant meteorite, life in one part
     of the world was as normal as possible in an enviroment where
     temperatures rarely rose close to freezing. Over fifty settlements had
     been built, across the whole island, and each was home to families,
     friends and workmates, employed at the dozen heat mines, in syn thesis
     plants which produced fuel, and at hydroponics farms or in hunting
     parties. The Free Villages Peace Force had been moulded in to an
     effective, friendly policing body under Arthur Randles. He was, however,
     desperately ill, and as Amelia had been unable to bear children, there
     was no obvious successor to his leadership. Howard Courtenay, his deputy,
     was reluctant to assume the reins of power, and he suggested that John
     Stark, son of the first American pioneers, was the best man for the job.
     Youth was on his side, and he had proved himself to be an able,
     conscientious and popular officer. With the death of Arthur Randles on
     5 August 2089, the island went into mourning. The stories of his
     leadership during the colonisation of "Midwinter Isle" passed into
     folklore.
        Amelia Randles was heart broken. She had always been happy to play
     second fiddle to her husband, but his death left her with a deep feeling
     of emptiness and she began to think of home often. John Stark, as
     Arthur's successor, took it upon himself to counsel and care for Amelia,
     partly from a sense of duty, and partly because her knowledge of the
     island was unparalleled. He knew he could learn a lot from her, and
     picked her brain on numerous occasions when a particularly thorny
     problem arose. Stark realised that to be truly effective, the FVPF
     needed the help of ordinary members of the community who would be
     prepared to serve alongside the peace officers in times of emergency,
     and so invited Amelia to help him list possible volunteers from the
     villages.
        However, Stark was surprised by some of the names Amelia suggested.
     Could Kristiansen be coaxed back into the fold ? Would Gunn remain sober
     for long enough to be of any help ? She even suggested Gregory Flint, a
     petty crook of no scruples ! Ameli was adamant.

     "They may not be paragons of virtue, John, but they're all good hearted
     people", she insisted.

     The potential of the Force was strengthened and with it prosperity on
     the island spread. The land had been fully mapped, and potential sites
     for new settlements and heat mines found. The disaster of the meteorite
     faded in the memories of the older settlers, but the constant reminder
     of the climate occasionally jogged them back to remember the harsh
     early days of colonisation. It was as if life on Earth was evolving
     all over again - but this time man had the benefot of modern technology
     and a whole string of mistakes from which to learn.

     2095

     As the years passed, the people of Midwinter became increasingly
     certain that there's was the only peaceful land left on Earth. They
     welcomed refugees and helped most of them enthusiastically to build
     settlements and make a new life for themselves on the island.
       Most of the indigenous population had migrated towards the north-west
     of the island where the volcanic beds were most accessiable. Life was
     kinder near the Heat Mines. As the population grew, the south-east corner
     of the island began to house more and more new settlers, whose attitudes
     to life were often tainted by their experiences on the mainlands. Some
     resented the life-styles enjoyed by Stark and his people over the past
     ten years. Feuds and disputes were more commonplace in the region they
     had come to inhabit, but the Peace Force concentrated its attention
     elsewhere, turning a blind eye to much of thegoings-on around Shining
     Hollow. Stark had heard rumours that an individual calling himself
     General Masters was trying to set up an alternative agency of law
     enforcement in the settlements of the south-east. So long as Masters
     remained where he was, and the Free Villages remained unaffected, Stark
     thought that he would let things ride.

     2099

     General Masters twitched.

     "Prisoners ?" he rasped, "of course we take prisoners, De falco".
     Colonel De Falco looked both surprised and disappointed. The General
     smiled briefly before continuing.

     "I need a rapid victory, De Falco. We have limited fuel, limited
     amunitions. We must do everything we can to encourage surrender. We will
     take prisoners and we will treat them well.
     Is that understood ?"

     De Falco nodded curtly.

     "There will be no executions, sir," he said

     "And no experiments, De Falco," hissed Masters.

     "No sir. No experiments."

     Masters gazed out of his window.

     "When Midwinter is mine, De Falco, there will be great celebrations. I
     shall drive in triumph through every village in the land ! Then is the
     time to deal with our prisoners. Discipline is what these people need,
     De Falco, discipline !"

                    --------------------------------

     "John"

     Stark swivelled round and nearly fell off his bar stool in amazement.

     "Kristiansen ! How nice to see you" blurted Stark, incredulous at the
     appearance of the hermit professor in the Marianbad Inn.

     "To what do we owe the pleasure", sneered Courtenay. The three men eyed
     each other, knowing that Kristiansen had little time for either of the
     FVPF officers.

     "John, I'm a little worried. Please listen to whatI have to say
     carefully", whispered the professor through pursed lips.

     "Go ahead. What's the problem" said Stark, halfheartedly.

     "I've been trying to contact the radio stations in the south-east. It
     took me three hours to get through."

     "Probably just some local difficulty with the weather", shrugged the
     Captain.

     "I think not", insisted Kristiansen. "Whilst I was trying to find an
     open frequency I overheard something which shook me."

     "Tell me more," Stark grunted.

     The first message was faint and crackly. It sounded like "Sierra
     Garcia is all quiet. One Peace Officer only."
     The reply came through loud and clear.
     "Message received. Operation Snowstorm to proceed as planned."

     ************************************************************************
     *                               THE GAME                               *
     ************************************************************************

     Captain John Stark swiftly and silently skied down a steep slope. The
     ease with which he moved belied his strength and ability. He was a true
     expert. An innocent spectator watching Stark that day in the wintry ice-
     clad wilderness of Midwinter could have been forgiven for presuming Stark
     was merely rejoicing in his athletic prowess. But he was not out for a
     day's sport.
        He was travelling with a purpose; the fate of Midwinter rested on his
     shoulders and despite all his manly strength, it was a responsibility
     which weighed him down. Stark knew this landscape well - he knew it,
     loved it and respected it and longed to enjoy it. But he could find no
     pleasure in it whilst the population which he served was threatened with
     enslavement.
        At that moment, Stark was a man obsessed with a hatred and fear and
     that hatred and fear could be summed up in two words: General Masters.
     He hated Masters for turning Midwinter environment against him.
        For all his life he had felt at home in this terrain. He had felt at
     one with the arctic landscape. Now because of Masters he felt alone,
     isolated and exposed. The iceclad hills and valleys were no longer a
     thing of beauty. They were freezing obstacles which maliciously hampered
     his movements.
        He hated Masters for keeping him away from Sarah. It was because of
     Masters that he spent days, sometimes weeks patrolling the southeastern
     border. He hated Masters for his cruelty and he feared him too. He
     feared for the peaceful people of Midwinter. What would happen to them
     if Masters invaded ?
        In his heart, Stark knew it wasn't "if" but "when". How was he to
     protect the whole population with a force of 19 Peace Officers including
     himself ? If the worst came to the worst, there was only a dozen or so
     of the civil population whom he could rely on - and half of them weren't
     talking to one another. In fact, some of them weren't even talking to
     him !
        He feared for Sarah. Sarah the nurse, Sarah the healer. If Midwinter
     were overrun, what fate would Masters have in store for her ?
     Stark skied on for several miles. There was a lot of uphill climbing,
     and he was getting tired. He had just side-stepped his way up an almost
     vertical snow wall, arriving at a small plateau where a lone pine tree
     grew. He was so tired he started to greyout - he would have to rest,
     otherwise he'd lose consciousness completely.
        He leant against the tree trunk for ten minutes and gradually his
     vision returned to normal. He looked at his watch. It was just on twelve
     o'clock. Time to contact his team for the two hourly situation report.
     Over the past few days, even this simple task had become a chore. The
     air was full of static. Messages had to be repeated over and over again
     before they were understood. Professor Kristiansen, the cantankerous
     scientist at Diamond Valley had warned Stark that Masters was jamming the
     Free People's radio network. Just for once, Stark hoped that it was just
     another of Kristiansen's attempts to aggravate him. If there was
     jamming, the invasion was imminent.
        Stark took the radio from his back pack and turned to Garcia's
     frequency. He always started with Garcia whose station was closest to
     Masters' frontier. The indicator on the set showed that the correct
     frequency had been selected but instead of Garcia's friendly voice
     responding with his call-sign, Stark's radio emitted a piercing,
     high-pitched squeal. Although concerned, Stark was not unduly worried.
     Transmissions had been bad. However, over the course of the next half
     hour Stark tried to raise over 30 stations. No-one on Midwinter was
     receiving or transmitting radio messages. For the first and last time in
     his life, Stark experienced mortal terror.
        The invasion had started. He was on his own in the wilderness. He had
     no radio communication, no snow-buggy, no hang-glider. It couldn't have
     been worse. Stark got a grip on himself. He had been made leader of the
     Free Villages Peace Force because of his qualities as a leader and lead
     he would. His destiny was at hand !
        He packed away his gear and got ready to move off. He had just reached
     the edge of the plateau when he heard the drone of an aero-engine.
     Looking above him, he saw a small remote-controlled aircraft. The next
     thing he knew all hell let loose. To the left of him a pattern of mortar
     bombs went off. He moved to the right and a further pattern went off.
     He was in trouble.
        The enemy had moved with astonishing speed and caught him out in the
     open. The hovering plane was calling down fire on him. Shrapnel was
     flying all around him, but he wasn't harmed. If he didn't do something
     quickly he would be dead. He took the standard issue sniper's rifle from
     his back and took careful aim. One shot and the small plane exploded
     with a bright flash and a bang. Quickly Stark climbed the tree looking
     through the telescopic sights.
        Far into the distance, coming out of the perpetual Midwinter mist
     shroud was one of Masters' attack vehicles. What was worse, Stark could
     see quite clearly that it had just launched a guided missile and it
     seemed reasonable to assume it would be coming his way.
        Stark reassessed his predicament with cool determination. He had to
     make contact quickly with his men and organize resistance. He looked at
     his map and worked out the best route to the various stations. With luck
     he would make it before the enemy had a chance to strike hard.


     Please refer to the Technical Supplement accompanying this manual for
     Loading Instructions. (At the top of the MANUAL)

     GAME OPTIONS

     Once the game has fully loaded, the Game Options Screen will be
     displayed. This shows six icons which are used to select your method of
     control and difficulty options. "Midwinter" can be played by using
     mouse, joystick or keyboard controls by selecting the appropriate icons.
      (either the JOYSTICK.icon or the MOUSE.icon or the KEYBOARD.icon!!!!)

     Please note that throughout the manual, the game description refers to
     mouse control mode. It is recommended that you use a mouse, if you have
     one, to play "Midwinter". For details of joystick and keyboard controls,
     please refer to the Technical Supplement.

     There are three difficulty options to choose from, which can be selected
     in any combination. Training allows you to play the game against unarmed
     enemy vehicles which can do no damage to the Free Villages Peace Force
     members. If the Bombers icon is selected before play, the enemy have
     additional fire power in the form of unmanned bomber aircraft. Mortars
     allows the enemy to direct long-range shelling at your forces, guided by
     unmanned spotter planes which will seek out and circle your forces.
        For the ultimate challenge select Bombers and Mortars but skip
     Training !
     Finally, click over the Play area to start the game.
        You are now in control of Captain John Stark, leader of the Free
     Villages Peace Force on the island of Midwinter. Your people are in
     trouble, and time is against you. Your territory has been invaded by
     thousands of hostile troops under the dictatorship of General Masters.
     His troops are heavily armed and have travelled inland by ski and
     snow-buggy from their Headquarters in Shining Hollow. General Masters
     and his men have reconnaissance drones, which are unmanned computer
     controlled gliders, aiding them in their searches as they probe across
     the island and unmanned bombers for long-range attacks on your forces.
        Enemy units are already advancing on your settlements, heading for
     their final objectives, the heat mines of the Free Villages. Heat mines
     are the source of the very life-blood of the island, the power by which
     your people survive. If they are all captured or put out of action you
     will have no choice but to surrender.
        Enemy radio stations at Deathwatch Crag, Snowgoose Fell and Sierra
     Madre are now being used to broadcast a jamming signal which is
     preventing the transmission of radio messages anywhere on the island.
        You, as Captain Stark, therefore have no immediate means of
     contacting the other members of the Free Villages Peace Force, who are
     on duty, at work, or at home. You know where they should be, and you
     have a detailed map of the island. You know that General Masters will
     continue to advance across the island in search of his ultimate goal -
     the domination of the last oasis in the icy desert which the world has
     become. You know you will have to cross hundreds of miles of bleak
     wilderness before you can mobilize the Peace Force. Only then can you
     launch the counter-attack that will bring masters to his knees !

     THE TEAM

     When you have selected Play on the Game Options screen, you will be shown
     the Team Display. At the start of the game, Captain Stark is the only
     member of the team under your control - it's up to your to use him to
     recruit the others. His portrait is displayed, along with seven icons,
     as explained below:

     Digital watch - The team's next report time. (See the section on
      'The Situation Report' for further details)

     Two analog watches with a line between them - Synchronize Watches.
      (See the section on 'The Situation Report' for further details)

     A white flag - Surrender. Selecting this icon hoists the white flag of
      surrender, and hands control of Midwinter isle to the enemy. The game
      is over - you have lost. You then have the opportunity to try again.
      This is the only way to abandon a game and start afresh.

     Disk with the text "SAVE" under - Save Game. (See the section on
      'Saving and Loading the game' for further details)

     Disk with the text "LOAD" under - Load a saved game. (See the section
      on 'Saving and Loading the game' for further details)

     Pages with left and right arrows - Scrolls to previous/next page of
      Team Display.

     When you recruit additional team members the Team Display includes their
     portraits. Up to six portraits are displayed on one page. Use the Scroll
     icons to view other pages.
        At the start of the game you should move the on-screen pointer over
     Captain Stark's portrait and click once on the left mouse button, to
     show Captain Stark's Personality Display.
        The 32 Personality Displays give all the essential personal
     information about the members of the Free Villages Peace Force whom you
     have recruited, and your ability to understand and utilize this
     information is the key to playing and winning "Midwinter".
        For each individual the display shows his or her name, occupation
     (and rank if they are a Peace Officer), age, current location and
     portrait. Also included is a brief biography, a state of health diagram,
     and an assessment of the individual's fourteen qualities and skills. At the
     bottom of the display are two clocks, a muscle power indicator, and six
     option icons.

     Biographies

     These biographies, which is reproduced at the end of this manual..
     with the title "Personal Files", give many clues to the individual's
     personalities and traits. Significantly, each biography mentions some of
     the person's friends and enemies. This information is vital when
     planning your recruiting campaign. People are much more likely to join
     the resistance if they're asked by one of their friends.

     STATE OF HEALTH:

     The state of health of an individual is shown by the physical damage
     sustained by each of the four limbs, the body and the head, displayed by
     the outlined figure behind the 'Qualities and Skills' display. When a
     particular limb is in fine health, it shows green. When it is hurt it
     shows orange, and when it is out of action it shows red. Hurt limbs may
     still be used but the individual runs the risk of putting the hurt limb
     out of action, when it becomes useless. An out of action head renders
     the individual unconscious, making any movement impossible.
        Different activities are curtailed according to whichever limb is out
     of action. Sniping needs two arms. Skiing needs two functioning legs.
     Hang-gliding needs all four limbs, whilst Snow-buggying needs at least
     one arm and one leg. Sabotage, likewise, needs one arm and one leg.
        All activities are influenced to some degree by the individual's
     overall state of health. Damage to a particular part of the body is more
     critical in some activities than in others. For example, in skiing,
     damaged legs will reduce performance more than damaged arms, but in
     sniping the opposite applies.
        Recovery from injury is basically by rest, but can be accelerated by
     receiving First Aid. See the section on 'First Aid' for further details.

     QUALITIES AND SKILLS:

     Every individual has nine qualities and five skills which are detailed
     on his personality display. All fourteen may, at any given time, be rated
     as Excellent, Good, Fairly Good, Average, Below Par, Poor or Abysmal.
     Three of the qualities (Morale, Energy and Alertness) associated with a
     particular individual may vary throughout the game, depending on what he
     does and what happens to him. The other six qualities are fixed for a
     particular individual, but govern the individual's response to actions
     and events, and hence influence the three variable qualities. The action
     skills of skiing, hang-gliding, snow-buggy driving, sniping and sabotage
     ability are fixed for each particular individual. Actual performance
     depends both upon skill and upon state of health.

     MORALE:

     Morale influences every aspect of an individual's performance, with
     those individuals whose morale is high performing better in every way.
     Morale is determined by a combination of the overall successes of the
     Free Villages Peace Force and individual success.

     ENERGY:

     An individual's Energy level is an indication of his energy reserves,
     which may be used to replenish the individual's Muscle Power when it is
     low (see "Muscle Power" section below). When an individual rests or
     sleeps, energy is transferred from Energy reserves to Muscle Power.
     Energy reserves can only be replenished by eating.

     ALERTNESS:

     An individual's Alertness influences his technical performance rather
     than muscle performance so that skills such as sabotage, sniping and
     snow-buggying are influenced more strongly than skiing and hang-gliding.
     Alertness depends fundamentally on how much sleep an individual gets.

     ENDURANCE:

     The individual's Endurance, which is fixed, determines the rate at which
     his Energy and Alertness are depleted.

     STURDINESS:

     The individual's Sturdiness, which is fixed, determines his rate of
     recovery from physical damage and how great a benefit he derives from
     rest or sleep in terms of Energy and Alertness.

     OPTIMISM:

     The individual's level of Optimism, which is fixed, determines how much
     his morale is affected by setbacks or failures encountered personally or
     by the whole Peace Force.

     STRENGTH:

     The individual's Strength level, which is fixed, determines how easily he
     becomes physically damaged.

     STAMINA:

     The individual's Stamina quality, which is fixed, determines his maximum
     level Energy.

     SHARPNESS:

     The individual's Sharpness, which is fixed, determines his maximum level
     of Alertness. When sending individuals on missions or using them to
     perform difficult functions, it is important to determine that they have
     the qualities or skills necessary for its successful completion.
     Remember that the biographies give vital clues for the solving of such
     problems.

     THE MUSCLE POWER INDICATOR:

     The Muscle Power Indicator shows the amount of energy available to the
     individual for movement and activity. Muscle Power is used up when you
     are skiing, sniping, driving a snow-buggy or hang-gliding. It is used up
     more quickly if you lack the necessary skill or if you're in a poor
     state of health.
        Individuals whose energy falls to zero must rest or sleep. Whilst
     resting or sleeping, energy is transferred from the individual's Energy
     reserve to Muscle Power. It is therefore important that Energy reserves
     are also kept topped up by eating.
        When at maximum value, the indicator is red. The red drains away
     leaving the figure white at zero Muscle Power. You should not allow an
     individual's Muscle Power to fall to zero whilst in action mode. If this
     occurs, the individual is liable to faint from exhaustion. As a
     individual faints, color drains from the scene, and the world is seen in
     shades of gray for a few moments before finally fading away to black.
     You should bring the individual to a standstill and exit to the Decisions
     Display as soon as he begins to faint. If he is still moving when he
     loses consciousness, he will fall over or crash, with injury resulting.
        It is possible to rest an individual for a period of five minutes
     from the Decisions Display, with a resulting gain in Muscle Power. Simply
     click on the Muscle Power indicator. Muscle POwer will increase, Energy
     Reserves will decrease slightly and five minutes will be added to the
     individual's personal clock.
        The Muscle Power gained by rest depends on the individual's
     surroundings. Resting in cozy buildings is more beneficial than in
     harsh, cold factories or warehouses, but even these are preferable to
     resting out of doors. An individual automatically rests for the whole
     of a cable-car journey.

     THE WATCHES:

     "Midwinter" is a race against time. The enemy forces which have invaded
     will try to overrun your villages and capture your heat mines, moving
     steadily from their base in the south-east across the island in a general
     north-westerly direction. Your objective is to capture the enemy
     Headquarters at Shining Hollow. However, if you allow the enemy free
     passage across the island, they will probably capture your last heat
     mine before you reach Shining Hollow. You must attempt to delay their
     progress whilst advancing to your goal.
        Achieving this will require the careful deployment of your 32
     individuals, once you have recruited them, and they will often be
     carrying out independent tasks many miles apart from each other. To keep
     track of all these individuals moving around independently, two types of
     clock are used for the timing of the game, which are periodically
     synchronized. The synchronizing of watches takes you automatically to
     the "Situation Report" screen, which is described later. Each individual
     has a brown watch which shows his personal time. The blue watch shows
     the team's next report time.
        The team's report time is simply the time when the next situation
     report is due and when watches are due to be synchronized again.
        A team member's personal time shows the time of day for that
     particular person. This primarily depends upon the amount of time he or
     she has spent in action or attack mode (i.e. skiing, driving,
     hang-gliding, travelling by cable-car, sniping or sabotaging).
        If a team member's personal time has overrun the report time he or
     she has to wait until the next situation report before he or she can do
     anything further. They can, however, finish whatever they are doing in
     their current action or attack mode.
        If a team member's personal time has not reached the report time, he
     or she has spare time. This can be used up in any of the action modes.
        When watches are synchronized, by clicking on the synchronize watches
     icon shown on the "Team Display", team members with spare time
     automatically rest for that period of time which is spare, and their
     personal watches are synchronized to the report time.
        Note: The game starts with personal watches showing 12:00 hrs. The
     enemy have already advanced from their base at Shining Hollow for the
     equivalent of twelve game hours.

     THE SITUATION REPORT:

     The Situation Report is due every two hours. The time when one is next
     due is always shows by the blue report time watch. The Situation Report
     is made when you decide to synchronize team members' watches. To do
     this, click on the synchronize watches icon shown on the Team Display.
        The Situation Report lists F.V.P.F. successes and enemy successes,
     concentrating on items of strategic importance. In particular, you
     should keep a close check on the number of Heat Mines held by the
     F.V.P.F. When this falls to zero your surrender is inevitable.
        When a Situation Report is received you get fresh information about
     the enemy dispositions and when you next look at the Main Map, it too
     has been updated accordingly.
        Your team members' watches are synchronized each time a Situation
     Report is received. Team members with spare time automatically rest, so
     make sure you have moved everyone your want to move ! Team members who
     have overrun the report time will have less spare time in the following
     two hours.
        The watch at the bottom of the Situation Report Display shows the
     next report time, not the current report time.
        You always receive a situation report before you win or lose the game.
     Even when you have achieved your goal by blowing up the enemy HQ, or
     Masters has achieved his by capturing all your Heat Mines, you must
     receive confirmation of your success or failure.
        You click on the synchronize watches icon. You read of your success
     or failure and assess how well or badly you have done. Then, after
     clicking on the team icon, victory or defeat will unfold.

     THE OPTION ICONS:

     The six option icons which are present on the Personality Display mode
     are:

     Map - Selects the Main Map

     Man thinking - Selects the 'Decisions Display'

     Four people - Selects the 'Team Display'

     Pages with left and right arrows - Selects previous/next 'Personality
      Display'

     Flare with S.O.S. on bottom - Triggers 'Emergency Rescue'.
     (See the section on 'Rescue')

     At the start of the game, select the 'Main Map' icon so that you may
     ascertain your whereabouts and those of the other members of the FVPF.

     THE MAIN MAP:

     The main map display screen is used frequently throughout the game, and
     it is worth spending some time familiarising yourself with its appearance
     and layout, and learning to use it to your advantage. With nearly
     160,000 square miles of playing area, it's easy to get lost !
        The display is divided into two sections. The left hand section shows
     the map of the island in color relief form, with the color used to
     indicate height above sea level (as often seen in atlases). The map is
     at its lowest magnification (1 x 1) when the display is first accessed,
     showing the whole of the island, with locations of major strategic
     importance as green dots. Magnification is increased by moving the white
     box surrounding the on-screen pointer over the area which you wish to
     magnify, and clicking once on the left mouse button. The section of the
     map previously enclosed in the white box will expand to fill the left
     hand section of the display, at 2 x 2 magnification. This process may be
     repeated three times, to give a maximum magnification of 16 x 16. At
     this magnification every significant detail is marked out on the map, and
     the white box disappears. By clicking on the right mouse button the map
     may be shrunk back to the next lowest magnification (8 x 8), and so on
     back to the full map.
        The right hand section shows the key for the map, five option
     selectors, and the name of a location. As the pointer is moved around
     the map, you will notice the place name shown at the top of the right
     hand section change; this is the name of the location under the pointer.
     If the pointer is moved over any green dot you are told what it
     represents.
        The center part of the right hand section shows either of two keys
     which are used to read the map. The first is an indicator board with
     buttons for each type of building in "Midwinter". Clicking on a button
     lights up all buildings of that type on the current map. For example,
     if the button labeled "Heat Mine" is selected, by clicking with the left
     mouse button, all of the heat mines visible on the map will be
     illuminated. Buttons are turned off by clicking on them again. When the
     whole island is displayed, only the settlements and the enemy held radio
     stations are visible. Increasing magnification will reveal increasing
     detail !
        With the indicator board accessed, it's easy to identify the
     buildings at any location. Just move the pointer over a green dot on the
     map. Immediately, various buttons on the key will light up, showing you
     what types of buildings are to be found at that spot.
        There are two special buttons labeled "Settlements" and "Multiple
     Buttons". These allow you to control the indicator board in four
     different ways:

          i) SETTLEMENTS OFF, MULTIPLE BUTTONS OFF

     Only one type of building can be lit up at a time. Selecting another
     button automatically switches the previous type off.

         ii) SETTLEMENTS ON, MULTIPLE BUTTONS OFF

     Initially all settlements are lit. After selecting a building type, only
     settlements with that type of building are lit. Again, only one type of
     building can be lit up at a time.

        iii) SETTLEMENTS OFF, MULTIPLE BUTTONS ON

     Many types of building can be lit up at one time. For example, if you
     click on "church", "factory" and "house", all churches and factories and
     houses on the map will light up.

     iv) SETTLEMENTS ON, MULTIPLE BUTTONS ON

     Initially all settlements are lit. After selecting a building type, only
     settlements with that type of building are lit. Then, further building
     types can be selected and settlements with those types of building will
     also light up. For example, if you click on "church", "factory" and
     "house", all settlements with churches or factories or houses will be
     illuminated.
        The other key shows the heights above sea level represented by each
     of the colors used to shade the main map and an indication of scale.
     Use the "Key" icon to select and toggle between the two keys.

     The "Relief" icon toggles between the color relief map described earlier
     and a photographic relief map showing a light source shaded landscape
     viewed from above. This satellite view shows greater ground detail, and
     incorporates every ridge and gully of the landscape, which is useful
     information when planning a journey across unfamiliar terrain. (At
     maximum magnification each pixel corresponds to a facet of the solid
     graphics landscape.)
        Selecting the "Full Map" icon immediately displays the full map of
     the island at 1 x 1 magnification.
        Selecting the "People" icon will show the current location of all 32
     members of the Free Villages Peace Force and the enemy attack units.
        The Peace Force members are shown as brown markers if they are yet to
     be recruited, becoming white when they join the team. By moving the
     pointer over a marker you can discover the identity of that member and
     his location, which will be shown in the center of the right hand
     section of the display. If two or more people are together in one
     location, all names will be listed, even if only one marker is visible
     on the main map. The individual currently under your control is shown as
     a green arrow. People are located most easily when the map is at 1 x 1
     magnification. Once you have found the desired person, the map be
     magnified to reveal greater detail of his surroundings.
        You can directly select a recruited member's personality display by
     illuminating the 'select' button, moving the on-screen mouse pointer the
     white marker showing his location, and clicking the left mouse button.
     This option is not open to you if you have accessed the map during an
     action mode.
        The enemy attack units are shown as black crosses. Each unit may
     consist of up to a hundred vehicles, details of which can be found in
     the "The Enemy and their movements" section. If a settlement or building
     has been captured by the enemy, it is shown as a green dot with a white
     border.
        At the start of a new game you will notice that Captain Stark
     (represented by the green arrow), is on top of, and under attack from an
     enemy unit ! This puts you immediately into the thick of the action, so
     make sure you know where the nearest place of safety is !

     Finally, selecting the "Close Map" option returns you to the display
     from which you accessed the main map.

     The Decisions Display may be accessed from the Personality Display by
     selecting the Decisions icon.

     The Decisions Display shows the individual's portrait, name, occupation
     (and rank if a Peace Officer), age and current location.

     The report time watch and personal time watch are shown along with the
     Muscle Power indicator at the top-right of the screen. The central
     picture shows the individual's mode of transport, or which building they
     are in. The options open to you in Decisions mode will vary according to
     the location and state of health of the person you are controlling. The
     decision icons which may appear are:

     INFORMATION DISPLAYS:

     Map - Selects Main Map

     A standing man - Selects Personality Display

     Four people - Selects the Team Display

     ACTION MODES:

     Skier - Selects Skiing

     Buggy with "WOLF" on top - Selects Snow-Buggy. (Any of the three types
      of buggy may be displayed. The Wolf is shown here.)

     Cable-Car - Selects Cable-Car

     Glider - Selects Hang-gliding

     Picture with "snipe" on bottom - Selects Sniping

     SPECIAL ACTIVITIES:

     Man entering door - Enter building

     Picture with 2 hands but toghther with "join" on bottom - Recruiting

     Three people - Companions

     Picture with detonator on right and dynamite on the left - Sabotage

     Plate of food - Eat

     Person lying in a sleepingbag and sleeping - Sleep

     White box with a red cross on it - First Aid

     Hand holding wrench - Repair Vehicle

     Gas pump - Refuel Vehicle

     Two missile with "re-arm" on bottom - Re-arm Vehicle

     Three stacked boxes - Supplies

     Walkie-talkie - Radio Messages

     INFORMATION DISPLAYS:

     Options to select the Main Map, Personality Display or Team Display are
     always open to you, even if the individual has overrun the team report
     time or if he is badly injured or even unconscious. Whilst on the Team
     Display, Personality Display or Decisions Display, assistance in
     identifying any of the solid objects can be sought by pressing the "H"
     key on the keyboard. This HELP sequence will run through all buildings,
     snow-buggies and enemy aircraft, identifying each by name.

     ACTION MODES:

     The action mode options open to you will depend on the individual's
     location and state of health. As explained in the "State of Health"
     section above (in the begining of "THE TEAM" ) injury and damage to
     particular limbs may make it impossible for him to perform certain
     functions. As long as his health permits, skiing will always be an
     option wherever he is, and is the 'default' mode of movement. Travelling
     by snow-buggy is facilitated by entering a garage and selecting the
     appropriate icon. Garages are found both in settlements and singly in
     the wilderness. Cable-car stations are found in pairs on mountainsides,
     with one near the top and one at the bottom. By entering either station
     the individual may travel to its pair by selecting similarly for quick
     mountain descents !

     SPECIAL ACTIVITIES:

     If an individual is near to a building or in a settlement, the enter
     building icon will appear. If he has dynamite with him, the Sabotage
     icon will also appear. Entering inhabited buildings allows him to
     recruit new team members. Once he is in the company of one or more
     people you will have the option to select the Companions Display.
        The First Aid icon will automatically appear if the person you are
     controlling is in the company of an F.V.P.F. member who has been injured.
     Other options are only available once he has entered specific buildings.
     Eating will be possible in houses or stores, whilst sleeping is possible
     in a wide variety of buildings. Vehicles may be repaired, refueled and
     rearmed whilst at garages and supplies may be collected at stores,
     warehouses and magazines.
        The Radio Message icon only appears when Professor Kristiansen enters
     a radio station. Professor Kristiansen, an electronics researcher, has a
     wide and detailed knowledge of radio operation. If he can get to a radio
     station which is not enemy held, he has the chance to recruit Peace Force
     members by overriding the enemy's jamming signal with a message of his
     own. The power needed for such transmissions is such that Kristiansen is
     limited to recruiting up to four colleagues, and as the signal is sent
     out at random, it is impossible to predict which F.V.P.F. member will
     receive it. The signal is sent by selecting the radio icon on
     Kristiansen's Decision Display.

     ************************************************************************
                              THE ACTION MODES 
     ************************************************************************

     All action modes are viewed in the first person. You are the skier, the
     snow-buggy driver, the hang-glider pilot. All action modes may be paused
     by pressing the "P" key on the keyboard, and restarted by pressing "P"
     again.

     SKIING:

     As the skiing mode is loading, a picture of a skier is shown. After a
     few seconds you will see the Skiing Display.

     The main window shows the view through your skiing goggles, with eight
     gauges and graphics at the top of the display. These show:

     Close up of face - The skier's portrait.

     Skier - The skier's stance. There are five positions, showing the skier
     stationary, walking, skiing, turning left and turning right.

     Red man (may be partially or all white) - The skier's Muscle Power.

     Digital watch - The skier's personal watch.

     Picture of three bars - The speed at which the skier is travelling,
      displayed as a speed bar and in figures.

     Far away view of skier - The slope encountered by the skier, shown by
      the incline of the white slope in the box; and the skier's height above
      sea level, shown in tens of feet.

     Picture of three bars with compass on top - The compass direction in
          which the skier is travelling, displayed by the rotating bar with
          North (N), South (S), East (E) and West (W) indicated, and a
          'spirit' level turn indicator displaying which direction the skier
          is turning in. If the red dot is centered between the two red
          lines, the skier is travelling in a straight line, and the rotating
          compass will be stationary. If the red dot is to the left or right
          of center, the skier is turning in the direction indicated, and the
          compass will be rotating.

     A map with a white arrow in the middle - The mini-map. This is a section
     of the main map showing your immediate surroundings. Your position and
     direction are indicated by the arrow. The locations of buildings are
     shown by white dots.
        In addition, your remaining stock of hand grenades is shown to the
     left and right of the goggles. Each graphic represents five grenades.

     HOW TO SKI:

     The view through the skiing goggles shows the realtime action of your
     movements. Initially the speed indicator will be at zero, and it is wise
     to have a look at your surroundings before setting off. You may turn
     around 'on the spot' by moving the mouse to the left or the right. The
     icy landscape has no truly flat plains.

     Everywhere you look you will see gently undulating slopes, ridges and
     gullies, or steep mountainsides. The 3-D light-source shading techniques
     used in generating the landscape show distant features as hazy, shadowy
     shapes, which loom out of the mist as you hurtle towards them and
     swiftly attain a sharp and terrifying solidity.
        You will also notice that the shading on the slopes range from nearly
     black, through a whole range of grays and blues, to white, and that the
     shadowing effect is darkest on north-facing sides of slopes and hills.
     This directional effect is created by the 'light-source shading' used, in
     which the sunlight is always coming from the south of the island, nearest
     to the equator, and the resulting shadows are faithfully created.
     Therefore, when you are moving in a southerly direction, most of the
     hillsides will appear dark. When moving in a northerly direction, most
     will appear pale.
        Luckily, this is not your sole method of navigation. As you turn, you
     will notice that the compass is revolving, the 'spirit level' turn
     indicator is off-center, and the directional arrow on the mini-map
     rotates through eight points depending on compass orientation. Whilst
     skiing, take care not to get carried away by the breathtaking views
     through your goggles - remember to glance at these indicators to ensure
     that you are not going around in circles !
        Depending on your location, you may be able to see a variety of
     buildings and vehicles. (Consult the sections on buildings and vehicles
     for identification). To familiarize yourself with the techniques of
     skiing, ignore the buildings and vehicles for awhile and set off on a
     quick tour around your surroundings.
        Please study carefully study the next few paragraphs before starting to
     ski - noting carefully guidance on how to stop, as it is difficult to
     read the manual at 60 m.p.h. !

     ************************************************************************
     *  Walking and Skiing                                                  *
     *                                                                      *
     * When starting to ski, unless you are standing on a steep slope, it   *
     * is necessary to begin by 'walking', pushing yourself along with your *
     * ski sticks and gliding forward rather like an ice-skater until you   *
     * reach a slope steep enough to allow you to tuck your sticks under    *
     * your arms, bend your knees, and let gravity do the hard work.        *
     *                                                                      *
     * Click on the left mouse button once to start walking. Your speed     *
     * will remain at a steady 'walking speed' until you reach a downward   *
     * slope. Once the slope is steep enough you automatically stop walking *
     * and begin to ski properly. Travelling downhill your speed will       *
     * increase, but if you meet an incline you will slow down, eventually  *
     * coming to a halt. The stance indicator shows whether you are walking *
     * or skiing, and both motions have a distinctive sound. Your skiing    *
     * speed can be modified slightly by pushing forward with the mouse (to *
     * increase your speed) and pulling back on the mouse (to decrease your *
     * speed). (look at SKIIER.pic for further info)                        *
     ************************************************************************

     TURNING:

     Your direction is controlled by moving the mouse left or right. As you
     turn, the 'spirit-level' indicator will move off-center, the compass
     will revolve, the directional arrow will rotate, and the stance
     indicator will show all but the gentlest of turns. More immediately,
     the view through your goggles will change.

     You cannot stop skiing immediately, as the low friction between your
     skis and the ground mean that, whilst on the flat, your speed will
     decrease quite slowly. You must turn sharply to the left or right and
     dig the edge of your skis into the snow to increase friction.
        Execution of this technique is effected by clicking once on the right
     mouse button. You will hear the scrape of your skis on the snow as you
     quickly come to a stop. If you approach a steep incline your speed will
     quickly drop as you meet the rising ground. If your speed drops below
     walking speed, clicking on the left mouse button will set you walking
     again.

     FALLING OVER:

     You will fall over and crash if you collide with a building or a vehicle.
     You will also fall over is you ski too fast into a deep gully. The
     steeper the gully, the slower you must ski to stay on your feet - a very
     sharp upward turn of slope throws you off balance. Expert skiers, of
     course, find it easier to stay upright at high speeds.

     SKILL:

     How well you perform is governed by a combination of skill and state of
     health. Your performance influences your maximum speed both skiing and
     walking and also determines how easily you fall over in difficult
     terrain.

     MUSCLE POWER:

     Walking uses up a lot of Muscle Power, especially if you're going up a
     steep hill. Skiing smoothly downhill uses a moderate amount of Muscle
     Power but turns and bumps use up extra power, especially if you are going
     fast. You use no Muscle Power when standing still.
        The more skillful and healthy you are, the less Muscle Power is used
     when you move.

     THE MINI-MAP:

     If you are in a settlement, and ski away from it, you will notice the
     arrow on the mini-map move as you do, to reveal a white dot. This dot
     shows the position of the settlement you have just left, and you should
     practice skiing away from it, turning in a 180o arc, and skiing back to
     your original position. If you ski a certain distance away from the
     settlement, the buildings will have disappeared over the horizon when
     you turn around, and you will have to use the dot on the mini-map for
     reference.
        Depending upon your location, other white dots may be visible on the
     mini-map. These represent other features, which may be identified by
     reference to the main-map. To access the main map directly from skiing
     mode, press the "M" key on the keyboard. Closing the map will return you
     directly to skiing mode.

     TACTICS:

     If the gentle swishing of your skis on snow becomes interrupted by
     either a low-pitched drone or a loud fizzing, beware ! These are your
     first indications that the enemy is nearby, and you must decide whether
     to switch to sniping or to ski off in an attempt to avoid the trouble.
        The low-pitched drone is the sound of an enemy vehicle, and if you
     turn whilst the vehicle is within earshot, you will hear the volume of
     its sound change. When you are facing directly towards the vehicle the
     ound is at its loudest. This means that you can actually hear the
     direction of the sound. (On the Amiga this effect is sterophonic as
     well !)
        If the vehicle is still out of sight, use the directional sound to
     locate its approximate position. But don't waste time ! Having made a
     decision whether to stay and fight or ski away, act on it. The enemy
     vehicle may have spotted you. If it has, there's probably a homing
     missile bearing down on you right now. Whilst skiing you are at your
     most vulnerable, having only three forms of defense, and nowhere to
     hide. The first is to ski away.  The second is the rifle strapped to
     your back, and the third are the grenades you carry

     SELF-DEFENSE:

     Grenades can be thrown whilst skiing, by pressing the Space Bar on the
     keyboard. They are effective only at close range, and are usually used
     as the last line of defense if you come under attack. Your supply is
     limited.
        To use your rifle, you must select sniping mode. First you must stop.
     Then just press the "S" key on the keyboard.  You can return to skiing
     from sniping mode at any time by pressing "S" again.
        To quit skiing mode, and return to the "Decisions Display", you must
     first stop, and then press the "X" on the keyboard. Unless you need to
     rest, it is advisable to ensure that you are close by a building when
     quitting skiing mode, so that you can enter its relative safety.

     SNIPING:

     The option to select sniping mode is available to an individual whenever
     is out of doors (but not whilst hang-gliding) or in a church or in a
     bunker, providing his health permits.
        A picture of a sniper is shown as sniping mode loads. The Sniping
     Display will then appear:
        The main window shows the view through your telescopic rifle sight,
     with he red cross-hairs centered on your line of fire. The five
     information icons around the main window show the following;

     Close up of face - The skier's portrait.

     Picture of three bars with compass on top - The compass

     Red man (may be partially or all white) - The individual's Muscle Power
      indicator.

     Digital watch - The individual's personal time clock

     Four bullets - The supply of bullets he has left. Each bullet represents
      a clip of five.

     CONTROLS:

     The telescopic sights have a zoom lens. You can zoom in or zoom out on
     your target by holding down the left or right mouse button respectively.
        The sights are moved in the following way:

        Move the sights to the right - Move the mouse to the right. 

        Move the sights to the left - Move the mouse to the left. 

        Move the sights up - Push the mouse forward. 

        Move the sights down - Pull the mouse back. 

        When you have spotted your target, use the mouse to line up the
     cross-hairs on it, magnify its image if necessary, and fire. Bullets are
     fired by pressing the space bar on the keyboard. Your high-velocity
     rifle is of such power that it only takes a single accurate shot to
     disable an enemy vehicle or bring down an enemy aircraft.

     SKILL:

     The steadiness of the rifle sights depends upon the individual's sniping
     ability and his overall state of health. It may be seriously impaired by
     any damage done previously to his arms.

     MUSCLE POWER:

     Very little Muscle Power is used when sniping. Violent movements of the
     rifle use up some, the kick-back of the rifle butt when you fire a bullet
     uses up a little more. Muscle Power is used up more quickly if you lack
     the necessary skill or if you're in a poor state of health.

     TACTICS:

     Your supply of bullets is limited, but your stocks can be replenished at
     a magazine.
        If you enter a church you will be given the option to snipe from its
     steeple, affording you a much better view of the surrounding area.
     Bunkers are also designed for sniping from, and their sturdy concrete
     walls offer a degree of safety from enemy attack. If you are near an
     enemy unit whilst skiing in the wilderness advantage may be gained by
     skiing up close to a tree, and pressing the "S" key on the keyboard to
     select sniping mode. You will find yourself sniping from the tree-top,
     with a better view of your attackers.
        If you accessed the sniping display from skiing mode, you can return
     by pressing the "S" key on the keyboard. To quit sniping mode, and return
     to the Decisions Display, press the "X" key on the keyboard.

     THE SNOW-BUGGY DISPLAY:

     As the snow-buggy mode is loading, a picture of a snow-buggy will be
     displayed. After a few seconds you will see the Snow-Buggy Display. The
     screen shows the view from the cockpit of the snow-buggy. Below the main
     window are ten gauges and graphics.

     These icons show;

     The driver's portrait

     The mini-map. This is a section of the main map showing your immediate
      surroundings. Your position and direction are indicated by the arrow.
      The locations of buildings are shown by white dots.

     A box with 3 bars - The speed at which the buggy is travelling,
      displayed as a speed bar in figures.

     A box with a buggy in it - the approximate angle of slope encountered
      by the buggy, and the height above sea level of the land, shown as tens
      of feet.

     Picture of three bars with compass on top - The compass

     Digital watch - The individual's personal time clock

     The fuel gauge is shown as a bar graph next to the 3 ammunition
     indicators. The numbers tell you how many racks of ground-to-ground
     missiles, surface-to-air missiles and snow torpedoes you have left.
     There are five missiles or torpedoes to a rack.
        There are three types of snow-buggy available to you. The snow-fox is
     a two-person vehicle. It is the quickest, but carries the least weapons;
     the snow-cat can seat up to four people, and is slower than the fox but
     carriers more missiles; and the snow-wolf can transport up to six, being
     the slowest in speed but strongest in firepower.

     CONTROLS:

     The buggies are controlled in the following way;

     Mouse pushed forward - Accelerate

     Mouse pulled backward - Brake

     Mouse moved left - Steer left

     Mouse moved right - Steer right

     ************************************************************************
     *    Missiles and Torpedoes                                            *
     *                                                                      *
     * Buggies are the best mode of transport from which to attack enemy    *
     * vehicles and planes, being armed with three types of weapon. The     *
     * Surface-to-Air missiles are used to take out attacking planes, and   *
     * are launched by clicking the right mouse button. Enemy vehicles may  *
     * be destroyed with Ground-to-Ground missiles, launched by clicking    *
     * the left mouse button, or with Torpedoes, launched by pressing the   *
     * Space Bar on the keyboard.                                           *
     *                                                                      *
     *    Surface-to-Air and Ground-to-Ground missiles are high velocity    *
     * weapons which travel in straight lines until locking-on to enemy     *
     * vehicles or planes, which they will then chase and hopefully         *
     * destroy. However, their radar range is limited in comparison to the  *
     * Torpedo, which can lock onto enemy vehicles at greater distances.    *
     * The Torpedo is very difficult for the enemy to dodge, despite the    *
     * fact that it moves more slowly than the missiles, and is often       *
     * effective even when firing 'blind' with only the noise of the        *
     * enemy's engines to help you.                                         *
     *   ( Look at MISSILE.pic for further info !!!! )                      *
     ************************************************************************

     ROUGH TERRAIN:

     Your vehicle tilts and rolls as it goes over rough terrain. It will
     grind to a halt if you attempt to climb too steep a hill. Worst still,
     it will tip over and crash if it rolls too severely ! This makes it
     virtually impossible to take your snow-buggy into the mountains.

     SKILL:

     Your skill and state of health govern your maximum speed and determine
     how steep a slope you can coax your snow-buggy up.

     MUSCLE POWER:

     Very little Muscle Power is used when driving, but the more violently
     your maneuver, the more is used. It is used up more quickly if you lack
     the necessary skill or if you're in a poor state of health.

     TACTICS:

     The buggies, which are powered by high efficiency fan-ducted engines,
     can be driven quickly by excellent drivers on flat ground, but find it
     difficult to negotiate rough or mountainous terrain at any great speed.
     Planning a route which avoids steep inclines is advisable if you want to
     lessen the risk of crashing, but may bring you into contact with more
     enemy units.
        It is wise to take good care of your vehicles. Once they have been hit
     by enemy fire or crashed by reckless drivers they are rendered useless.
     If you manage to survive such events with limbs intact, you'll be back
     on skis.
        You can find a snow-buggy by going to a garage. It may be fully 
     operational already, or it may be in need of repair (in which case you
     may have to wait four and a half hours before it's fixed). You will also
     need to visit a garage to refuel or re-arm your buggy. Garages are few
     and far between, so plan your route carefully.

     THE CABLE-CAR DISPLAY:

     As cable-car mode is loading, a picture of a cable-car is shown. Once
     loaded, you will see the Cable-Car Display.

     The cable-car will immediately begin to move out of the cable-car station
     and travel automatically along its route to the destination station.
     Some of the most stunning views in 'Midwinter' can be seen whilst
     travelling by cable car. Initially you view the scene directly ahead of
     you. The view behind you, to the right of you, or to the left of you may
     be seen by pressing 'B', 'R', or 'L' respectively. To return to the view
     ahead, press 'A'.
        No gauges are displayed in the cable-car mode. Just sit back and enjoy
     the ride. You can use the cable-car ride to survey the surrounding
     landscape. Alternatively you can press the "X" key on the keyboard at
     any time during your journey. The scene will switch immediately to your
     arrival, but your personal watch will have been updated in accordance
     with the time normally take for the journey.
        Cable-car journeys are both safe and beneficial. You never come under
     enemy attack in a cable-car. Also you automatically rest for the 
     duration of the journey.
        On arriving at the top or bottom station you will return to the
     Decisions Display. You can't take a vehicle with you on the cable-car,
     so on arrival you will only be able to ski, or hang-glide. Hang-gliders
     are only available at top stations.

     THE HANG-GLIDING DISPLAY:

     Whilst hang-gliding mode is loading, a picture of a hang-glider is shown.
     After a few seconds you will see the Hang-Gliding Display.

     The following icons is shown at the top of the Hang-gliding Display:

     Close up of face - The skier's portrait.

     The pilot's muscle power indicator.

     A digital watch - The pilot's personal time.

     A box with 3 bars on it - The speed at which the hang-glider is
     travelling, displayed as a speed bar and in figures.

     The approximate angle of ascent or descent of the hang-glider, and the
     hang-glider's height above the ground in tens of feet.

     Picture of three bars with compass on top - The compass direction in
     which the hang-glider is travelling, and the rate of turn of the
     hang-glider, indicated by the 'spirit' level turn indicator.

     A map with a white arrow in the middle - The mini-map. This is a section
     of the main map showing your immediate surroundings. Your position and
     direction are indicated by the arrow. The locations of buildings are
     shown by white dots.

     HOW TO HANG-GLIDE:

     TAKE-OFF:

     Hang-gliding is a quick way to negotiate mountainous terrain and gives
     excellent views of the island and the enemy. But first you have to get
     airborne. You will find that you are standing outside the cable-car
     station, strapped into the hang-glider, and wearing your skis. In order
     to take off, you must ski towards a ledge at speed, and launch yourself.
     Once again, it is worth reading through the next few paragraphs before
     attempting to hang-glide, as things happen very quickly once the thermal
     currents fill your canopy !
        Begin by clicking the left mouse button, which starts the launch
     sequence. Your speed will increase until you reach the takeoff speed of
     24 miles per hour. At this speed your feet will leave the ground as
     horizontal velocity quickly translates into vertical lift. If possible,
     keep the nose of the hang-glider level for a few moments until you have
     gained some height. For this reason, it's wiser to avoid taking off
     uphill !
        In terrain where there's a very strong updraught, you'll take off with
     great ease. Where the updraught it not so strong, taking off is much
     trickier. As the hang-glider rises, it begins to lose lift and speed.
     To counteract immediate stalling, you must adjust the nose of the hang-
     glider downwards as it rises. If the speed drops below 15 miles per
     hour, the glider will stall and the nose will drop, causing you to
     plummet to earth.
        This delicate balancing act is what makes hang-gliding so exhilarating
     and so dangerous. At take-off point there is an immediate huge swing of
     power away from you, the pilot (having provided the force to reach
     takeoff speed), to the glider, leaving you helpless for a split second
     until you take control, edging the nose down until your speed and lift
     steadies.
        Learning the art of takeoff will probably take some practice, let
     alone developing the knack of using the thermal currents and updraughts
     to greatest effect and honing to perfection the techniques needed to
     land smoothly and safely. Once you are airborne the hang-glider is
     controlled in the following way.

     CONTROLS:

     Moving the mouse to the left - Banks the hang-glider to the left.

     Moving the mouse to the right - Banks the hang-glider to the right.

     Moving the mouse backwards - Lifts the nose of the hang-glider in order
      to gain height, but lose speed.

     Moving the mouse forwards - Dips the nose of your hang-glider to lose
      height but gain speed.

     Hold the Space Bar on the keyboard down - View the ground below an angle
      of 45o.

     TURNING:

     Hang-gliding demands gentle mouse movements as the controls are very
     responsive. When banking, the golden rule is that the sharper the turn,
     the more height you are likely to lose and the greater the danger of
     stalling. It is far better to anticipate any changes of direction which
     you may need to make during the course of a flight and bank gently in
     good time.

     LEVEL FLIGHT:

     If your speed begins to drop in level flight, gently nudge the nose down;
     you will lose a little height but regain speed. Once you have gained
     speed, gently level off again - it's a delicate balancing act with dire
     consequences if you get it wrong.
        Keep an eye on your height indicator at all times. Remember that the
     higher you are, the more potential speed you have in reserve.

     CRASHING:

     Hang-gliders will crash if they hit the ground at too steep an angle or
     if they land on water ! Once a hang-glider has crashed it is useless and
     you will have to ski instead.

     ************************************************************************
     * LANDING:                                                             *
     *                                                                      *
     * If you are attempting to land near a building or settlement, it is   *
     * pointless approaching at great height. In the course of losing height*
     * you'll gain speed, and it is difficult to land a rapidly accelerating*
     * hang-glider. Come in to land as level as possible with the ground;   *
     * let yourself gently sink rather than dive towards your objective.    *
     * Landing is far easier on relatively flat ground, and it may prove    *
     * safer to land a little distance from your objective and ski the last *
     * few yards rather than 'attacking' the target directly. If you land   *
     * successfully, you will be able to take off again, providing you've   *
     * got sufficient lift an that location.                                *
     *   (see LANDING.pic for further dedtails.....)                        *
     ************************************************************************

     SKILL:

     Your skill and state of health govern how well you hang-glide. Your
     maximum speed is influenced by these, and also your lift. Expert pilots
     make better use of the updraughts and so get more lift. Grazzini, for
     instance, is able to take off even from low ground, but Amelia Randles
     would need to start high in the mountains.

     MUSCLE POWER:

     A lot of Muscle Power is used in taking off. Thereafter, each twist and
     turn takes its toll. Muscle Power is used up more quickly if you lack
     the necessary skill or if you're in a poor state of health.

     TACTICS:

     The secret of successful hang-gliding is the use of thermal currents and
     updraughts to best effect. These rising currents of air give your hang-
     glider lift. Thermals and updraughts are accurately simulated in
     "Midwinter". They are strongest over high ground and over the cliffs
     around the coast-line. Over the tallest mountain ranges you can soar
     thousands of feet into the air. However, uplift is at a minimum over
     water, and is slight over valleys and flat plains.
        The close you fly to the ground, the stronger the updraught, enabling
     you to fly faster or further, but at greater risk. As you fly low or
     come into land you will notice the wind begin to have greater effect,
     roaring loudly and cushioning you slightly from the ground.
        If you plan a long journey, the most direct route may not be the
     easiest. "Hopping" from mountain range to mountain range, flying along
     ridges or hugging the coastline can extend your range dramatically.
        Whilst in the air you may encounter enemy planes, or see enemy snow-
     buggies on the ground below you. The hang-gliders used on "Midwinter"
     have been especially developed by the F.V.P.F. and are armed with air-
     launched homing missiles. To launch a missile at an airborne target,
     simply press the left mouse button. You cannot launch a missile until
     you are airborne.

     ENTERING BUILDINGS:

     When an individual is near a building or in a settlement the enter
     building icon will appear in the Decisions Display. Click on that icon.
        If there is only one building in the vicinity, he will automatically
     enter that building and the Decisions Display will update to show any
     new options which are now available, with the interior of the building
     pictured in the center of the screen.
        If the individual is at a settlement, the Enter Buildings display
     will appear. Icons indicating which buildings are in the settlement are
     displayed across the screen. Other icons which are displayed are;

     The driver's portrait

     Digital watch (1) - personal time clock

     Digital watch (2) - situation report time.

     Red man (may be partially or all white) - Muscle Power indicator

     Picture with "move" at bottom - Return to last action mode

     A standing man - Selects Personality Display

     Man thinking - Select Decisions Display

     Four people - Select Team Display

     Click on a building and the individual will enter it (returning to the
     Decisions Display) unless it is held by enemy troops. During the course
     of the game, the enemy will capture numerous settlements (marked with
     white circles on the main map). Troops will be left to guard buildings
     of strategic importance - Police Stations, Heat Mines, Factories,
     Synthesis Plants, Warehouses, Radio Stations and, of course, General
     Masters' HQ ! The F.V.P.F. cannot enter these (but can sabotage them).
     Other types of building in an enemy held village can still be freely
     entered.
        A red man next to a building indicates that another F.V.P.F. member is
     inside. This may be a recruit or a potential recruit. You may find that
     the potential recruit is in an enemy held building which you can't
     enter ! You can rescue him by blowing up the building. It becomes a
     ruin, which you can then enter.
        Each time an individual enters a building, one minute is added to his
     personal time.

     RECRUITING:

     Fellow F.V.P.F. members can be asked to join the fight against General
     Masters army. Enter the building the potential recruit is in. Then
     click on the 'join' icon (on the Decisions Display). The Resistance
     Display now appears.

     The lower portrait shows the potential recruit. He is asked if he will
     join the resistance. Click on his portrait to discover his response.
        He is more likely to agree if he is friendly with the person asking
     the question. Remember that there are complicated personal relationships
     within the game - don't be surprised or too dismayed by a refusal. That
     individual can be persuaded to join in by someone else later in the game.
     Once a reply has been received, you must select the Decisions Display.

     COMPANIONS:

     If an individual you are recruiting is in the same building or vehicle
     as other team members, the Companions icon will appear on the Decisions
     Display. Click on it to access the Companions Display.

     Using this display team members can take part in some activities as a
     group. They can travel together by snow-buggy or by cable-car. They can
     eat or sleep or enter other buildings. It is also possible to use First
     Aid from the Companions Display. Note that the snow-buggy icon only
     appears if the buggy is large enough to carry all the companions !
     (Snow-Foxes can carry two people, Snow-Cats can carry four, and
     Snow-Wolves can carry six).
        The individual you are controlling is shown in the top left hand
     corner with his companions shown below him. It is this individual who
     leads the others. When the group is travelling by snow-buggy, he is the
     driver, and it is his skill which applies. If you don't feel that he is
     the best leader for the party, he can be swapped with any of his
     companions by clicking on the companion you wish to become leader.
        When you select the Decisions Display, it will always be that of the
     leader. Whenever a character is in a settlement, or close to a building,
     the sabotage icon appears on the Decisions Display. Click on this to
     access the Sabotage Display.

     The icons across the top of the screen show those buildings which you
     are near enough to sabotage. Each building icon is accompanied by the
     following information;

     Picture of building - Type of building.

     Dynamite sticks - Number of sticks of dynamite necessary to blow-up the
      building.

     Circles - Length of time needed to plant the explosives. Each full red
      circle represents one hour, with half and quarter red segments
      representing half and quarter hours respectively.

     Close up of face - The individual's portrait.

     A detonator - the detonator.

     Digital watch - The individual's personaltime watch.

     Boxes - The stock of dynamite available to you. Each box of dynamite
      contains two bundles of six sticks.

     Man thinking - Select Decisions Display

     Sabotaging buildings involves strategically laying dynamite around them,
     wiring the explosives to a detonator box, retiring a safe distance and
     BANG ! Another building useful to the enemy has been eliminated.
        The art of laying dynamite has been mastered by your 32 team members
     to differing degrees, and it is their level of sabotage skill and their
     state of health, combined with the size and strength of the building
     which determines how much dynamite is needed. The time it takes to lay
     the explosives varies according to the type of building.
        Plant the dynamite by clicking on the building you want to blow up.
     This wires the building to the detonator and adds the appropriate time
     to the personal watch. Your stockpile of dynamite dwindles.
        The dynamite can be removed by clicking on the building again. The
     personal watch is reset to its previous time, and the sticks are
     returned to the stockpile.
        Any number of buildings can be wired up simultaneously if the stocks
     of dynamite permit. When you are ready, click on the detonator icon to
     depress the plunger. The building, or buildings, will explode in
     sequence. The sabotage display then shows ruins where buildings once
     stood.
        Some combinations of buildings take such a time to wire that the
     saboteur's personal time overruns the report time by several hours.
     After such sabotage, he will be unable to do anything else until the
     next report time.
        Select the Decisions Display by clicking on the appropriate icon.
     When you subsequently select on of the 3-D action modes, any buildings
     which you have destroyed will be found in ruins.
        If the enemy have captured one of your Police Officers and imprisoned
     him in the cells of a Police Station, he can be liberated by destroying
     the station. He may then be recruited by entering the ruins and asking
     him for help in the normal way.
        Sabotage is of great strategic importance. Blowing up Factories
     deprives the enemy of ammunition, blowing up Synthesis Plants deprives
     him of fuel and blowing up Warehouses deprives him of both ! Sabotage of
     all his radio stations enables you to recruit a full team of 32 members.
     Ultimately, to win, you must blow the enemy HQ to smithereens !

     ************************************************************************
     * REST                                                                 *
     * Muscle Power is drained by strenuous activities such as skiing and   *
     * must be replenished from time to time by rest. Energy is then        *
     * transferred from the Energy Reserves to Muscle Power. You can rest   *
     * for five minutes by clicking on the Muscle Power indicator on the    *
     * Decisions Display. In other situations, rest is automatic. After a   *
     * blackout in any action mode the individual you are controlling will  *
     * always take five minutes rest. An individual rests for the whole     *
     * duration of a cable-car journey, and also when he is eating or       *
     * sleeping. Individuals with spare time when watches are synchronized  *
     * automatically rest for that period.                                  *
     *    The benefit given by rest depends on the individual's location.   *
     * The cozier the building the quicker Muscle Power is restored. Resting*
     * out in the wilderness gives the least benefit.                       *
     *                                                                      *
     * EAT                                                                  *
     * All the individuals in the game need to eat from time to time to     *
     * replenish their energy reserves. The level of energy reserves an     *
     * individual has is shown as one of the Qualities and Skills on his    *
     * Personality Display. Excessive use of Muscle Power soon makes demands*
     * on their energy reserves.                                            *
     *    Meals can be taken in a House, a Store, a Police Station, or a    *
     * Mountain Hut. When an individual enters one of these buildings, the  *
     * 'eat' icon will be displayed. Clicking on this allows him to eat a   *
     * meal, which will take him half an hour. The time will automatically  *
     * be added to the individual's personal time and his Energy will be    *
     * replenished. The individual is then free to select any further       *
     * options available to him. You can eat as much as you like, but there *
     * is little point once your Energy level is at maximum.                *
     *                                                                      *
     * SLEEP                                                                *
     * Alertness gradually decreases during any action mode and must be     *
     * replenished from time to time by sleep. Otherwise, an individual's   *
     * performance can be severely affected. An individual can sleep in a   *
     * House, a Hut or a Police Station. When he enters one of these        *
     * buildings, the "Sleep" icon appears on the Decisions Display.        *
     * Clicking on this allows him to sleep until the next Situation Report.*
     * Further time can be spent sleeping, but this is not automatic.       *
     ************************************************************************

     RESCUE:

     Rescue normally happens automatically. If an individual is so badly
     injured in a crash that he cannot move, after the crash he will find
     himself inside the nearest building. He has been rescued by members of
     the local population. Occasionally he'll find that he's been rescued by
     the enemy and imprisoned in a Police Station (if this happens another
     person will have to blow up the Police Station before he can move).
     Likewise, a person will always be rescued if he crashes into a lake or
     into the sea.
        There are occasions when an individual is injured but not immobilized;
     he is forced to move very slowly. In this sort of situation it would be
     very useful to be rescued. For this purpose, each team member has a
     distress flare. This can be fired at any time during the game by
     clicking on the S.O.S. icon on the Personality Display. Once it is fired
     he will be rescued immediately. You must choose you moment carefully
     because each team member only has one distress flare throughout the game.

     FIRST AID:

     From time to time individuals may be injured in action. As explained
     earlier, the State of Health of a individual is shown on the Personality
     Display by the color of the figure behind the Qualities and Skills list.
     If an individual becomes injured (i.e. one of his limbs turns orange or
     red), he can be helped in his recovery by receiving First Aid from a
     fellow Peace Force member. However, for this to be possible, the injured
     party must be in the company of another individual.
        The Peace Force members have all received First Aid tuition as part
     of their training, but Nurse Maddocks and Doctor Revel are obviously far
     more skilled than the others in the treatment of ailments. Receiving
     First Aid speeds up recovery from injury - it does not make an individual
     instantly healthy - and treatment from either of the experts will hasten
     recovery to a greater degree than if treatment is form non-specialists.
        If an individual is in the company of an injured person the First Aid
     icon will appear on the Decisions Display. Selecting this will access
     the First Aid display, showing the individual's portrait in the top left
     hand corner, and those of the injured companions below. Icons are also
     present allowing you to scroll pages (in case there is a party of
     wounded people !), and to return to decisions mode. Select the person
     you wish to treat by click on his portrait.

     The portraits of the 'nurse' and 'patient' are displayed along with the
     personal time watch of the 'nurse', and the report time watch. The
     scroll icons allow you to select another patient. The state of health
     display of the 'patient' is shown, indicating in the usual way which
     limbs are damaged. Each damaged limb has a number next to it, which
     shows how many minutes it will take to bandage that limb.
        Limbs are bandaged individually by moving the on-screen pointer over
     the selected limb and clicking the left mouse button. Medical experts
     will apply white bandages, whilst others will apply gray bandages ! As the
     bandages are applied, the personal time clock is updated.

     REFUEL:

     If an individual has been driving a snow-buggy and he then enter a
     garage, the refuel icon will appear on the Decisions Display. Click on
     this to refuel the snow-buggy. Five minutes will be added to the
     driver's personal time.

     RE-ARM

     If an individual has been driving a snow-buggy and he then enters a
     garage or a magazine, the rearm icon will appear on the Decisions
     Display. Click on this to rearm the snow-buggy. Five minutes will be
     added to the driver's personal time.

     SUPPLIES:

     When an individual enters a magazine or a store, the supplies icon will
     appear on the Decision Display. Click on this and the individual will
     get a fresh stock of bullets, grenades and dynamite. Five minutes will
     be added to his personal time. Not that Stores only have limited stocks
     of dynamite. Also, an individual can carry more dynamite if he's got a
     snow-buggy.

     RADIO MESSAGES:

     Professor Kristiansen is able to override enemy jamming signals using
     his experimental equipment and specialist knowledge. When he enters a
     radio station (not held by the enemy) the radio message icon appears.
     Click on this. The Radio Message Display then appears showing the first
     person Kristiansen manages to contact. Kristiansen can send up to three
     more messages by clicking on the radio icon, but after that his
     equipment overloads and breaks down completely.
        The people he contacts immediately join the team. If there is nobody
     further left to recruit the radio message icon will not appear.
     Kristiansen's messages are crackly and faint, and it is impossible to
     predict who will actually receive them.

     **************************** BUILDINGS *********************************

     BUNKERS:

     Bunkers are scattered at key points around the landscape, and their
     primary function is to provide a vantage point for sniping at the enemy
     through the slits in the concrete walls. The enemy are still likely to
     fire at you, but bunkers afford a greater margin of safety than sniping
     in open country. Bunkers may also be used to shelter in overnight.

     CABLE-CAR STATIONS:

     Cable-Car stations are found in pairs, a bottom stations and a top
     station, and are connected by a lint of pylons. It is unlikely that you
     will be able to see one station from another - but you can travel between
     them easily. At the top station you will always find a hang-glider. The
     stations themselves provide little comfort, and although safe from enemy
     attack there, there is little to be gained by sheltering in them.

     CHURCHES:

     Churches provide shelter and sanctuary. An individual's first visit to a
     church raises his morale somewhat. You can snipe from the church-
     steeples, which gives you an excellent view of the surrounding landscape.
     Churches are usually found in settlements, but a few are dotted around
     the wilderness or high in the mountains as chapels for the weary
     traveller.

     FACTORIES:

     Factories are large industrial buildings, always found in settlements.
     They manufacture ammunition, making them valuable assets. The other
     goods they produce are of little strategic importance, but sabotaging
     them may reduce the firepower available to the enemy.

     GARAGES:

     Garages are vital buildings to visit if you don't want to be always
     skiing at a snail's pace around the island. The snow-buggies are found
     there, giving quick and safe transport for up to six people. The
     vehicles carry a range of weapons, and a subsequent visit to a garage
     allows your vehicles to be refueled and rearmed. The enemy vehicles are
     supplied by the huge tankers present in their convoys, and so they will
     leave garages alone.
        On arriving at a garage it may become apparent that one of your
     fellow F.V.P.F. members has been there before you - and taken the
     snow-buggy ! If this is case you will be presented with the option to
     "Repair" a snow-buggy. This involves using the facilities offered by the
     garage to repair wrecked or damaged buggies. Choosing "repair" is a
     gamble. You don't know beforehand how long the repairs will take. You may
     find yourself spending up to four hours in the workshop; but, on the
     other hand, a fully functional snow-buggy could be yours within minutes.

     HEADQUARTERS:

     The enemy headquarters is located at Shining Hollow, and is guarded like
     a fortress. It is your goal to destroy it, eliminating General Masters.
     Getting there will prove dangerous and difficult. But worth it. Use
     your cunning !

     HEAT MINES:

     Heat Mines are the means by which all power is generated on the island,
     and as such are the most sought after assets in the game. They are the
     enemy's primary targets, and once all your Heat Mines have been captured
     or destroyed, they will have total control of the island. Your people
     will be forced to surrender.
        There is little point in sabotaging heat mines, even if they have
     been captured. When the enemy attack a settlement, the local heat mine
     will be their first port of call, so be wary of sheltering there. You
     may be caught out.

     HOUSE:

     Houses provide warmth, shelter and food to your people. Civilian members
     of the Peace Force are often to be found at home in settlements, or
     occasionally in the wilderness. The enemy are not particularly
     interested in private houses, concentrating their attentions on buildings
     of strategic importance. Houses are good places to eat, sleep and find
     refuge from the rigours of battle.

     MOUNTAIN HUTS:

     These small buildings, set high in the hills, were built to offer shelter
     to stranded travellers. Food and a bed are present, and being in the
     mountains, the huts may offer a good base for ambushing enemy vehicles
     in the valleys below.

     MAGAZINES:

     Mostly dotted around the hinterland, magazines provide vital stocks of
     ammunition for the traveller. Dynamite, bullets and grenades can be
     found in these tiny wooden shacks. Vehicles can also be rearmed with
     missiles and torpedoes.

     POLICE STATIONS:

     The Police Stations are the best places to visit to recruit a Peace
     Officer, and also provide a good meal and a place to sleep (even if the
     beds in the cells are a little uncomfortable). The enemy forces will
     storm any Police Station they encounter, and if Peace Officers are caught
     whilst on duty they will suffer the embarrassment of being locked in
     their own cells. Rescuing such prisoners will require you to stealthily
     enter enemy held settlements to lay the dynamite necessary to reduce the
     Station to ruins and liberate its occupants.

     RADIO STATIONS:

     The Radio Stations are strategically vital as, on the island of
     "Midwinter", they are often the only means of communication with remote
     settlements. Professor Kristiansen, one of the early pioneers, used all
     his expertise as an electronics researcher to build up the network of
     stations and to ensure that every home had handsets (which were often
     needed in emergencies by the inhabitants).
        The enemy holds three stations at the start of the game - those at
     Deathwatch Crag, Snowgoose Fell and Sierra Madre. As the game
     progresses, they will quickly capture others, strengthening the jamming
     signal which is preventing anyone in the F.V.P.F from radioing for
     assistance. If you manage to destroy all enemy held radio stations, a
     message will automatically be broadcast to all unrecruited members of the
     F.V.P.F. You will then find a full team of 32 members on your side after
     the next Situation Report.
        Kristiansen himself is also able to attempt to override the jamming
     signal, if you can first recruit him and get him to a radio station not
     held by the enemy. He may recruit up to four comrades, at random, by
     broadcasting a high-powered signal across all frequencies. After that
     his equipment overloads and breaks down completely.

     STORES:

     The stores are good places to find a meal and personal supplies -
     bullets, grenades and occasionally dynamite. The stocks held in the
     stores are of little interest to the enemy however - they need the large
     warehouses to supply their huge army.

     SYNTHESIS PLANTS:

     At the synthesis plants, energy from the heat mines is used to
     synthesize, amongst other things, fuel for the vehicles, making them key
     targets in the game. If the enemy captures a refinery, the mobility of
     their armored units will be greatly enhanced. If you can get there first
     and destroy the plants, the enemy's advanced can be slowed.

     WAREHOUSES:

     Warehouses are captured by the enemy for two reasons; to acquire stocks
     of fuel, and stock of ammunition. If Warehouses fall into enemy hands
     they serve to increase the enemy's mobility and fire-power. This makes
     them key targets. Once they have been captured, your only option is to
     blow them up.
     The enemy forces under the control of General Masters consist of 32
     mobile units, each of about 60 vehicles, and, (if you have selected them
     at the start of the game), long-range bombers and spotter planes
     directing mortar fire.

     THE ENEMY'S OBJECTIVES:

     General Masters directs his troop movements from his headquarters in
     Shining Hollow. The mobile units are concentrated around this area in
     the southeast of the island at the start of the game. They advance
     across the island in a general northwesterly direction, causing havoc as
     they go. The enemy's primary targets are you heat mines, which are
     dotted around the island, each providing power to its region.
        As the enemy only travel by snow-buggy, they are forced to keep to
     the relatively flat lowlands. They move from settlement to settlement,
     advancing along the valleys and across the plateaus. When they capture a
     settlement they will occupy any buildings of strategic importance.
        Each enemy unit has its own supply train of fuel tankers and
     ammunition trucks, which enables it to keep moving and to keep fighting.
     The unit gets its supplies from settlements held or captured by the
     enemy. If it ventures too far from its sources of fuel and ammunition it
     will move more slowly and open fire less frequently. The same happens if
     it loses too many tanker and ammo trucks. Synthesis Plants are its
     sources of fuel, Factories its sources of ammunition and Warehouses are
     a source of both.
        One possible strategy for you is a 'scorched earth' policy,
     destroying any building which is of benefit to the enemy, sometimes in
     anticipation of the enemy's arrival at the settlements.
        You are fighting a guerilla war. You are heavily outnumbered and
     outgunned. Some of your best men are able to engage the enemy head on,
     and may even wipe out an entire unit on their own. However, cunning and
     stealth are equally important.
        General Masters does not suspect that the civilians will fight for
     their freedom. Consequently, enemy units and enemy vehicles are less
     likely to attack the civilian members of your team. The innocent looking
     children or the elderly Mrs. Randles can slip past an enemy attack unit
     where Captain Stark or his lieutenants are likely to fail. All of the
     Peace Officers will be locked in their own cells if the enemy captures
     their villages before you recruit them.

     ENEMY MOBILE UNITS:

     General Masters' army is led by six colonels. Each colonel commands a
     brigade of five attack squadrons. One squadron is under the direct
     command of the colonel, the other four each being led by a Captain. Each
     squadron consists of about 60 vehicles of 6 different varieties.
        There are two way of eliminating an enemy squadron. Firstly, wiping
     out its command vehicle will destroy its morale and the troops will
     desert. Secondly, wiping out a high proportion of the squadron's
     vehicles will demoralize the surviving troops and encourage them to
     flee. Some squadrons however will fight to the bitter end. If you
     destroy a Colonel's squadron, his whole brigade will disband.
        Each type of enemy vehicle has a different function. The types of
     enemy vehicles are;

     SNOW-WITCH:

     This well armed command vehicle is the brains for each squadron,
     carrying its Captain or Colonel. They are not easy to find, but if you
     do encounter one you will be able to strike a mortal blow.

     SNOW-WOLF:

     The Snow-Wolves are the equivalent of heavy tanks. Armed to the teeth
     with a vast array of military hardware, they are dangerous to engage but
     vital to destroy. Your best chance if you are in a buggy may be to turn
     tail and attempt to outrun these lumbering vehicles. They are however
     vulnerable to a hill-top sniper.

     SNOW-CAT:

     The equivalent of light tanks, Snow-Cats are well-armed and highly
     maneuverable, but are sometimes used as cannon fodder by over
     enthusiastic captains. The problem with picking them off is that no
     sooner have you taken out one, another arrives.

     SNOW-FOX:

     The nippy Snow-Fox acts as a scout car for mobile units, often popping up
     from over a hillside at high speed before scurrying off to the nearest
     gully. They are lightly armed but difficult to out-run. As the eyes and
     ears of the mobile unit they are a valuable scalp, worth taking out
     before the big guns learn of your presence.

     SNOW-BULL:

     The Snow-Bulls carry the ammunition and weaponry for the other vehicles
     in the convoy, and, although unarmed themselves, are protected by the
     other vehicles. Slow moving in comparison to the attack vehicles, taking
     them out will have a disastrous effect on the squadron's fire power.

     SNOW-BEAR:

     These massive fuel tankers are the life-line of the enemy squadrons.
     Each unit's speed and mobility depends on its Snow-Bears. They are
     unarmed and slow moving.
        Attack vehicles and command vehicles roam the countryside in search
     of targets. They can appear unexpectedly from behind any hillside and
     are deadly opponents. The supply vehicles move in convoy along a fixed
     route and are easy targets if you can find them. Because they move in
     convoy they are highly vulnerable to ambushes. Find one and you can be
     sure that another will be coming the same way shortly.
        All enemy ground vehicles are vulnerable to sniper fire, grenades,
     ground missiles and torpedoes. The attack and command vehicles are armed
     with homing missiles which are of a similar specification to yours.
     These missiles can be dodged with violent evasive maneuvers. They are
     fitted with a proximity fuse; sometimes they explode very close to your
     without a direct hit. If you are hit, whether on skis, in a buggy, or in
     a hang-glider, you are likely to be badly hurt.

     THE ENEMY AIRCRAFT

     General Masters and his troops have at their disposal two types of
     aircraft, both of which are unmanned and controlled by computer. They
     have on board sophisticated tracking and camera equipment, enabling them
     to locate your people even if they are skiing high in the mountains.
     They roam the whole of Midwinter, regardless of the positions of General
     Masters' ground forces.

     BOMBERS:

     These aircraft are armed with free-fall bombs. You will see them
     approach from the distant horizon. They will circle a few times before
     spotting you and barreling in on a bombing run. Then more bombing runs
     will follow. Although the accuracy of their bombing varies, your best
     chance of survival is to fire at the bomber whilst it is still circling.

     SPOTTER PLANES:

     The spotter planes signal your position to the long-range mortar
     batteries. These batteries fire massive volleys of shells which land
     around you in deafening and sometimes deadly proximity, their sheer
     number making them difficult to dodge. Each salvo falls in a straight
     line. After the second shell has landed, you should be able to predict
     roughly where the other three will land. This gives you some chance of
     avoiding them if you turn sharply enough. As with the bombers, however,
     your best form of defense is to shoot the plane down before it gets a
     fix on you.
        Both types of aircraft are vulnerable to sniper fire, the
     surface-to-air missiles of your snow-buggies, and the air-launched
     missiles of your hang-gliders.

     ************************************************************************
     *                  SAVING AND LOADING GAMES                            *
     * SAVE:                                                                *
     * You can save your current game at any time. You must use a blank,    *
     * formatted disk. "Midwinter" uses its own special disk routines which *
     * may corrupt other data.                                              *
     *    To save a game, click on the "Save" icon on the Team Display. A   *
     * message will appear asking you to "Insert game data disk". Remove the*
     * "Midwinter" graphics disk from the drive and insert your blank,      *
     * formatted disk. Then press any key.                                  *
     * The Save Game Display then appears. After a few moments the saved    *
     * game directory is displayed. You can save up to ten games on one     *
     * disk. Each game is represented by its own icon, and is labeled "full"*
     * or "empty". Click on any "empty" icon and the game will be saved to  *
     * disk. You can click on a "full" icon, but this will delete a         *
     * previously saved game.                                               *
     *    If you change your mind and decide not to save a game, click on   *
     * the "Team" icon to leave this display.                               *
     *                                                                      *
     * LOAD:                                                                *
     * To load a saved game click on the "Load" icon on the Team Display. A *
     * message will appear asking you to "Insert game data disk". Remove the*
     * "Midwinter" graphics disk from the drive and insert the disk holding *
     * your saved games. Then press any key.                                *
     *   The "Load Game" Display then appears. After a few moments the game *
     * directory appears, allowing you to select the game you wish to load. *
     *   If you change you mind and decide not to load a game, click on the *
     * "Team" icon to leave this display.                                   *
     ************************************************************************

     SURRENDERING:

     If you feel that you situation is hopeless and you want to start a fresh
     game, the only way to abandon the current game is by surrendering to
     General Masters. You can do this at any time by clicking on the
     "Surrender" icon on the Team Display. You will then be asked of
     confirmation of your decision by General Masters himself. You can start
     a fresh game after surrendering by pressing any key.

     LOSING:

     If your Situation Report shows that you have lost all your Heat Mines,
     you have also lost the game. Take as long as you like to peruse the
     Report, before clicking on the "Team" icon to watch General Masters
     gloat.

     WINNING:

     If you manage to blow up General Masters' headquarters you have won the
     game, but you must synchronize watches one final time for confirmation
     of this. Take as long as you like to peruse the Report, before clicking
     on the "Team" icon to watch the victory celebrations.
        To start a new game, then press any key.
        There is also a very rare situation which also gives you victory. If
     you can hold out for more than 40 days, General Masters' troops will
     rebel, and desert him entirely. There are no stalemates in "Midwinter"
     - only winners.

             ***   ***   ***  ****     *     *   *  **** *   *
            *     *   * *   * *   *    *     *   * *     *  *
            *  ** *   * *   * *   *    *     *   * *     ***
            *   * *   * *   * *   *    *     *   * *     *  *
             ***   ***   ***  ****     *****  ***   **** *   *

     ========================================================================
                                Personel Files
     ========================================================================

     Captain John Stark
     Peace Officer
     Age 33 years
     Current Location: On patrol

     In recent years, John Stark has made the FVPF into a disciplined and
     effective force. He is a fair man but equally a man convinced that his
     way is best. He has never had much time for romance and many were
     surprised when he fell for Sarah Maddocks. Stark's nearest friends are
     Howard Courtenay and Karl Rudinski.

      QUALITIES AND SKILLS

     MORALE ......... GOOD
     ENERGY ......... EXCELLENT
     ALERTNESS ...... EXCELLENT
     ENDURANCE ...... EXCELLENT
     STURDINESS ..... GOOD
     OPTIMISM ....... GOOD
     STRENGHT ....... GOOD
     STAMINA ........ EXCELLENT
     SHARPNESS ...... EXCELLENT
     SKIING ......... GOOD
     HANG-GLIDING ... GOOD
     DRIVING ........ EXCELLENT
     SNIPING ........ GOOD
     SABOTAGE ....... POOR

               ----------------------------------------------

     Constable Harvey Pringle
     Peace Officer
     Age 28 years
     Current Location: Dogstar Bay

     Easily taken in, Harvey Pringle has been swindled many a time by Flint
     without even realising it. He regards Macleod and Flynn as good friends
     but, in truth, they have little time for him. Pringle blames Chabrun
     entirely for leading his wife astray and now suspects, quite falsely,
     that Rudinski and Jessop have the same intentions.

          QUALITIES AND SKILLS

     MORALE ......... GOOD
     ENERGY ......... GOOD
     ALERTNESS ...... FAIRLY GOOD
     ENDURANCE ...... BELOW PAR
     STURDINESS ..... AVERAGE
     OPTIMISM ....... BELOW PAR
     STRENGHT ....... AVERAGE
     STAMINA ........ AVERAGE
     SHARPNESS ...... POOR
     SKIING ......... AVERAGE
     HANG-GLIDING ... POOR
     DRIVING ........ AVERAGE
     SNIPING ........ FAIRLY GOOD
     SABOTAGE ....... POOR

               ----------------------------------------------

     Constable Fergus Flynn
     Peace Officer
     Age 26 years
     Current Location: Eagle Mountain

     Fergus Flynn sees the funny side of most things. He has a sharp wit,
     and a knack of deflating more pompous men, his favourite targets being
     Lt. Gaunt and Dr. Revel. Flynn and his wife are still wildly in love and
     Flynn has just learnt that he's going to be a father soon. Chaburn,
     Macleod and Gregory Flint are all good friends if his.

          QUALITIES AND SKILLS

     MORALE ......... EXCELLENT
     ENERGY ......... GOOD
     ALERTNESS ...... EXCELLENT
     ENDURANCE ...... FAIRLY GOOD
     STURDINESS ..... FAIRLY GOOD
     OPTIMISM ....... EXCELLENT
     STRENGHT ....... GOOD
     STAMINA ........ AVERAGE
     SHARPNESS ...... GOOD
     SKIING ......... GOOD
     HANG-GLIDING ... BELOW PAR
     DRIVING ........ POOR
     SNIPING ........ FAIRLY GOOD
     SABOTAGE ....... GOOD

               ----------------------------------------------

     Sergeant George Tasker
     Peace Officer
     Age 36 years
     Current Location: Fox Valley

     Tasker is stern but reliable, a man who has devoted his life to his
     job. His young son died of pneumonia some years ago and Tasker has not
     forgiven Dr. Revel for allowing a blizzard to prevent him from reaching
     the boy. The sergeant disapproves of 'time-servers and faint-hearts', in
     particular both Jeremaih and Sgt.Ambler.

          QUALITIES AND SKILLS

     MORALE ......... EXCELLENT
     ENERGY ......... EXCELLENT
     ALERTNESS ...... GOOD
     ENDURANCE ...... FAIRLY GOOD
     STURDINESS ..... AVERAGE
     OPTIMISM ....... AVERAGE
     STRENGHT ....... GOOD
     STAMINA ........ EXCELLENT
     SHARPNESS ...... AVERAGE
     SKIING ......... AVERAGE
     HANG-GLIDING ... BELOW PAR
     DRIVING ........ FAIRLY GOOD
     SNIPING ........ GOOD
     SABOTAGE ....... BELOW PAR

               ----------------------------------------------

     Sergeant Tom Llewellyn
     Peace Officer
     Age 29 years
     Current Location: Barefoot Valley

     Tom Llewellyb is happily married, with five young children. He's a man
     who bears few grudges and can count most of his colleagues as his
     friends. Guant, however, dislikes his light-hearted manner, imagining he
     lacks moral fibre. Gregory Flint a grudge against Llewellyn, who jailed
     him once for selling watered-down whisky as best malt.

          QUALITIES AND SKILLS

     MORALE ......... EXCELLENT
     ENERGY ......... GOOD
     ALERTNESS ...... GOOD
     ENDURANCE ...... FAIRLY GOOD
     STURDINESS ..... GOOD
     OPTIMISM ....... EXCELLENT
     STRENGHT ....... BELOW PAR
     STAMINA ........ AVERAGE
     SHARPNESS ...... FAIRLY GOOD
     SKIING ......... FAIRLY GOOD
     HANG-GLIDING ... AVERAGE
     DRIVING ........ AVERAGE
     SNIPING ........ FAIR
     SABOTAGE ....... BELOW PAR

               ----------------------------------------------

     Sergeant Victor Grice
     Peace Officer
     Aged 40 years
     Current Location: Badger Heath

     Grice is a bitter man. He has seen John Stark and Barnaby Gaunt, men
     with less years of service than himself, promoted above him and he
     resents the two of them deeply. The one man he respects is Lt. Courtenay
     who was his sergeant when Grice was just a young constable. Grice has no
     friends to speak of and his wife finds him dull and dreary.

               QUALITIES AND SKILLS

     MORALE ......... POOR
     ENERGY ......... GOOD
     ALERTNESS ...... GOOD
     ENDURANCE ...... AVERAGE
     STURDINESS ..... AVERAGE
     OPTIMISM ....... POOR
     STRENGHT ....... AVERAGE
     STAMINA ........ AVERAGE
     SHARPNESS ...... AVERAGE
     SKIING ......... BELOW PAR
     HANG-GLIDING ... POOR
     DRIVING ........ AVERAGE
     SNIPING ........ AVERAGE
     SABOTAGE ....... AVERAGE

               ----------------------------------------------

     Constable Frederico Garcia
     Peace Officer
     Age 24 years
     Current Location: Sierra Garcia

     Frederico Garcia and Kurt Muller grew up together in the same village.
     They remain the firmest of friends, despite the fact that Garcia married
     Muller's ex-wife. Garcia is quick to take offence, once slugging Harry
     Cropper for a joke about moustaches. Muller and Doughty often have to
     restrain him.

          QUALITIES AND SKILLS

     MORALE ......... EXCELLENT
     ENERGY ......... EXCELLENT
     ALERTNESS ...... FAIRLY GOOD
     ENDURANCE ...... GOOD
     STURDINESS ..... GOOD
     OPTIMISM ....... FAIRLY GOOD
     STRENGHT ....... EXCELLENT
     STAMINA ........ EXCELLENT
     SHARPNESS ...... POOR
     SKIING ......... GOOD
     HANG-GLIDING ... GOOD
     DRIVING ........ POOR
     SNIPING ........ FAIRLY GOOD
     SABOTAGE ....... ABYSMAL

               ----------------------------------------------

     Constable Homer Wright
     Peace Officer
     Age 27 years
     Current Location: Mountains of Summer

     A quiet and thoughtful man, Homer Wright is devoted to his wife and
     his small daughter. His unassuming ways and impartial kindness have
     made him popular througout the community. Wright haas three loyal
     friends, Muller, Jesop and Iwanoto. He is loathed intensely by PC
     Jackson, who can't stand his infuriating niceness.

          QUALITIES AND SKILLS

     MORALE ......... EXCELLENT
     ENERGY ......... GOOD
     ALERTNESS ...... GOOD
     ENDURANCE ...... FAIRLY GOOD
     STURDINESS ..... FAIRLY GOOD
     OPTIMISM ....... FAIRLY GOOD
     STRENGHT ....... FAIRLY GOOD
     STAMINA ........ FAIRLY GOOD
     SHARPNESS ...... FAIRLY GOOD
     SKIING ......... FAIRLY GOOD
     HANG-GLIDING ... FAIRLY GOOD
     DRIVING ........ FAIRLY GOOD
     SNIPING ........ FAIRLY GOOD
     SABOTAGE ....... FAIRLY GOOD

               ----------------------------------------------

     Constable Harry Cropper
     Peace Officer
     Age 32 years
     Current Location: Cormorant Cove

     The jovial Harry Cropper is a popular officer and has a host of
     friends. Although he loves a good joke, there is a serious side to
     Harry Cropper. In his spare time he studies philosophy and devotes a
     lot of hours to charity. He has a devoted wife, a young son and
     another baby due in the next three months.

               QUALITIES AND SKILLS

     MORALE ......... EXCELLENT
     ENERGY ......... FAIRLY GOOD
     ALERTNESS ...... EXCELLENT
     ENDURANCE ...... POOR
     STURDINESS ..... FAIRLY GOOD
     OPTIMISM ....... EXCELLENT
     STRENGHT ....... POOR
     STAMINA ........ POOR
     SHARPNESS ...... GOOD
     SKIING ......... POOR
     HANG-GLIDING ... ABYSMAL
     DRIVING ........ AVERAGE
     SNIPING ........ POOR
     SABOTAGE ....... GOOD

               ----------------------------------------------

     Constable Shigeru Iwanoto
     Peace Officer
     Age 20 years
     Current Location: Millpond Flats

     Shigeru Iwanoto is probably the fittest man in the Peace Force and
     certainly the only Zen Buddhist. He lives alone and spends most of his
     spare time in physical training or in meditation. When he relaxes,
     Iwanoto enjoys a quiet game of Go with his friend and colleague, Homer
     Wright.

          QUALITIES AND SKILLS

     MORALE ......... EXCELLENT
     ENERGY ......... EXCELLENT
     ALERTNESS ...... EXCELLENT
     ENDURANCE ...... EXCELLENT
     STURDINESS ..... EXCELLENT
     OPTIMISM ....... EXCELLENT
     STRENGHT ....... EXCELLENT
     STAMINA ........ EXCELLENT
     SHARPNESS ...... EXCELLENT
     SKIING ......... GOOD
     HANG-GLIDING ... GOOD
     DRIVING ........ AVERAGE
     SNIPING ........ GOOD
     SABOTAGE ....... ABYSMAL

               ----------------------------------------------

     Constable Bill Doughty
     Peace Officer
     Age 29 years
     Current Location: Glen Darrow

     Hard-working and staunchly loyal to his friends Muller and Garcia,
     Bill Doughty is the driving force behind the Constables Union and is a
     dry-witted spokesman in pay talks. Courtenay considers him a noisey
     troublemaker. Doughty was suspended briefly last year after breaking
     Chabrun's nose in a fist-fight over Doughty's wife.

          QUALITIES AND SKILLS

     MORALE ......... GOOD
     ENERGY ......... FAIRLY GOOD
     ALERTNESS ...... GOOD
     ENDURANCE ...... GOOD
     STURDINESS ..... GOOD
     OPTIMISM ....... GOOD
     STRENGHT ....... BELOW PAR
     STAMINA ........ BELOW PAR
     SHARPNESS ...... AVERAGE
     SKIING ......... FAIRLY GOOD
     HANG-GLIDING ... ABYSMAL
     DRIVING ........ BELOW PAR
     SNIPING ........ FAIRLY GOOD
     SABOTAGE ....... POOR

               ----------------------------------------------

     Lieutenant Howard Courtenay
     Peace Officer
     Age 54 years
     Current Location: Salyut Flats

     Howard Courtenay is the longest serving officer in the Peace Force and
     had a lot to do with Stark's promotion to Captain. He believes that the
     Force should be given a wider authority. Married, but childless,
     Courtenay treats his niece, Virginia Caygill, like a daughter. He is
     unaware of her contempt for his friend, Dr. Revel.

          QUALITIES AND SKILLS

     MORALE ......... FAIRLY GOOD
     ENERGY ......... FAIRLY GOOD
     ALERTNESS ...... EXCELLENT
     ENDURANCE ...... POOR
     STURDINESS ..... BELOW PAR
     OPTIMISM ....... FAIRLY GOOD
     STRENGHT ....... BELOW PAR
     STAMINA ........ BELOW PAR
     SHARPNESS ...... GOOD
     SKIING ......... FAIRLY GOOD
     HANG-GLIDING ... ABYSMAL
     DRIVING ........ GOOD
     SNIPING ........ FAIRLY GOOD
     SABOTAGE ....... GOOD

               ----------------------------------------------

     Constable Bob Hammond
     Peace Officer
     Age 30 years
     Current Location: Mackenzie Head

     Bob Hammond is an affable man, having a friendly word for everyone but
     deep down he's a born worrier. He has lots of acquaintences but only has
     one real friend, Harry Cropper. His wife is a pushy, ambitious woman who
     nags hoim about promotion but he now suspects she's planning to leave
     him for Dr. Revel.

          QUALITIES AND SKILLS

     MORALE ......... GOOD
     ENERGY ......... GOOD
     ALERTNESS ...... FAIRLY GOOD
     ENDURANCE ...... GOOD
     STURDINESS ..... AVERAGE
     OPTIMISM ....... POOR
     STRENGHT ....... AVERAGE
     STAMINA ........ FAIRLY GOOD
     SHARPNESS ...... BELOW PAR
     SKIING ......... AVERAGE
     HANG-GLIDING ... BELOW PAR
     DRIVING ........ FAIRLY GOOD
     SNIPING ........ AVERAGE
     SABOTAGE ....... BELOW PAR

               ----------------------------------------------

     Constable Oliver Jessop
     Peace Officer
     Age 32 years
     Current Location: Mull of Tears

     In his youth, Jessop was cruelly betrayed in love and ever since he
     has held a deep distrust of women. Jessop is an easy man to antagonise
     and he dislikes Flynn and Macleod intensely for the way they joke about
     him. Jessop, however, is fiercely loyal to his closest comrades, Homer
     Wright and Shigeru Iwanoto.

          QUALITIES AND SKILLS

     MORALE ......... FAIRLY GOOD
     ENERGY ......... GOOD
     ALERTNESS ...... EXCELLENT
     ENDURANCE ...... GOOD
     STURDINESS ..... FAIRLY GOOD
     OPTIMISM ....... GOOD
     STRENGHT ....... AVERAGE
     STAMINA ........ FAIRLY GOOD
     SHARPNESS ...... EXCELLENT
     SKIING ......... FAIRLY GOOD
     HANG-GLIDING ... GOOD
     DRIVING ........ BELOW PAR
     SNIPING ........ BELOW PAR
     SABOTAGE ....... FAIRLY GOOD

               ----------------------------------------------

     Lieutenant Barnaby Gaunt
     Peace Officer
     Age 35 years
     Current Location: White Horse Valley

     Brought up by strict and puritanical parents, Barnaby Gaunt is a
     humourless and ambitious man. He respects Stark and Tasker for their
     devotion to duty but he is openly scornful of those he sees as frivolous.
     Llewellyn, Ambler, Flynn and Cropper all fall into this category.

          QUALITIES AND SKILLS

     MORALE ......... AVERAGE
     ENERGY ......... GOOD
     ALERTNESS ...... GOOD
     ENDURANCE ...... FAIRLY GOOD
     STURDINESS ..... AVERAGE
     OPTIMISM ....... BELOW PAR
     STRENGHT ....... GOOD
     STAMINA ........ AVERAGE
     SHARPNESS ...... FAIRLY GOOD
     SKIING ......... ABYSMAL
     HANG-GLIDING ... FAIRLY GOOD
     DRIVING ........ GOOD
     SNIPING ........ AVERAGE
     SABOTAGE ....... BELOW PAR

               ----------------------------------------------

     Constable Kurt Muller
     Peace Officer
     Age 25 years
     Current Location: Sao Jorge Plateau

     Muller is dependable, slow to angerbut fearsome when roused. Divorced
     five years ago, he lives with his elderly mother and his two small sons.
     His ex-wife married PC Garcia but Muller was glad to be rid of her.
     Garcia, Doughty and Muller are all close friends. Muller dislikes
     Iwanoto, finding him too smug and self-righteous.

          QUALITIES AND SKILLS

     MORALE ......... EXCELLENT
     ENERGY ......... GOOD
     ALERTNESS ...... AVERAGE
     ENDURANCE ...... GOOD
     STURDINESS ..... EXCELLENT
     OPTIMISM ....... GOOD
     STRENGHT ....... FAIRLY GOOD
     STAMINA ........ AVERAGE
     SHARPNESS ...... ABYSMAL
     SKIING ......... GOOD
     HANG-GLIDING ... POOR
     DRIVING ........ AVERAGE
     SNIPING ........ BELOW PAR
     SABOTAGE ....... ABYSMAL

               ----------------------------------------------

     Constable Luke Jackson
     Peace Officer
     Age 27 years
     Current Location: Devils Valley

     Jackson is a surly, ill-tempered man. Two years ago he was nearly
     thrown thrown out of the Peace Force by Captain Stark, who suspected him
     of stealing goods. He has hated Stark ever since. Jackson cannot abide
     kids, foreigners or preachers and has few friends. Only Garcia, Flint
     and his timid wife have any time for him.

          QUALITIES AND SKILLS

     MORALE ......... POOR
     ENERGY ......... AVERAGE
     ALERTNESS ...... EXCELLENT
     ENDURANCE ...... POOR
     STURDINESS ..... BELOW PAR
     OPTIMISM ....... ABYSMAL
     STRENGHT ....... AVERAGE
     STAMINA ........ ABYSMAL
     SHARPNESS ...... GOOD
     SKIING ......... POOR
     HANG-GLIDING ... POOR
     DRIVING ........ FAIRLY GOOD
     SNIPING ........ BELOW PAR
     SABOTAGE ....... GOOD

               ----------------------------------------------

     Sergeant Charles Ambler
     Peace Officer
     Age 38 years
     Current Location: Otter Valley

     An easy going sort, Charles Ambler allows few things to worry him. He
     is fond of children but he and his wife have tried without success to
     start a family. His favourite pastime is a game of poker, usually with
     Rudinski and Cropper. Ambler gets on well with most people but finds
     Barnaby Gaunt too over-bearing.

          QUALITIES AND SKILLS

     MORALE ......... GOOD
     ENERGY ......... FAIRLY GOOD
     ALERTNESS ...... GOOD
     ENDURANCE ...... FAIRLY GOOD
     STURDINESS ..... AVERAGE
     OPTIMISM ....... GOOD
     STRENGHT ....... BELOW PAR
     STAMINA ........ BELOW PAR
     SHARPNESS ...... FAIRLY GOOD
     SKIING ......... ABYSMAL
     HANG-GLIDING ... FAIRLY GOOD
     DRIVING ........ BELOW PAR
     SNIPING ........ AVERAGE
     SABOTAGE ....... AVERAGE

               ----------------------------------------------

     Franco Grazzini
     Pilot
     Age 29 years
     Current Location: Lindberg Plateau

     Grazzini is a fearless flier. Rather boastful by nature, he is not
     overly popular amongst the menfolk of the Free Villages but he has a
     certain charm for the ladies, especially Nurse Maddocks. Grazzini is in
     love with Virginia Caygill and nurses a jealous hatred of Rudinski. He
     drowns his sorrows nightly with Jeremiah Gunn.

          QUALITIES AND SKILLS

     MORALE ......... ABYSMAL
     ENERGY ......... GOOD
     ALERTNESS ...... FAIRLY GOOD
     ENDURANCE ...... GOOD
     STURDINESS ..... AVERAGE
     OPTIMISM ....... ABYSMAL
     STRENGHT ....... GOOD
     STAMINA ........ FAIRLY GOOD
     SHARPNESS ...... BELOW PAR
     SKIING ......... FAIR
     HANG-GLIDING ... EXCELLENT
     DRIVING ........ ABYSMAL
     SNIPING ........ BELOW PAR
     SABOTAGE ....... FAIRLY GOOD

               ----------------------------------------------

     Karl Rudinski
     Snowbuggy Driver
     Age 24 years
     Current Location: Western Plains

     Intelligent and fiery, Rudinski is reckoned to be the fastest
     snowdriver in the Free Villages. His engagement to Virginia Caygill has
     quietened his temper a little but he still rages at Gunn and Grazzini
     whose self-pity he finds despicable. As a boy, Rudinski was taught to
     drive by John Stark, and the two are closest of friends.

          QUALITIES AND SKILLS

     MORALE ......... FAIRLY GOOD
     ENERGY ......... EXCELLENT
     ALERTNESS ...... EXCELLENT
     ENDURANCE ...... EXCELLENT
     STURDINESS ..... EXCELLENT
     OPTIMISM ....... FAIRLY GOOD
     STRENGHT ....... GOOD
     STAMINA ........ GOOD
     SHARPNESS ...... EXCELLENT
     SKIING ......... POOR
     HANG-GLIDING ... AVERAGE
     DRIVING ........ EXCELLENT
     SNIPING ........ GOOD
     SABOTAGE ....... GOOD

               ----------------------------------------------

     Jean-Luc Chaburn
     Hunter
     Age 31 years
     Current Location: Thunder Coast

     Unruly and obstinate, Chaburn is equally at home deep in the solitude
     of the mountains or spinning wild yarns to the crowd in a smoke-filled
     tavern. His favourite drinking companions are Flynn and Macleod, who can
     match him glass for glass. His fondness for other men's wives has earnt
     him the hatred of Grice, Pringle and Doughty.

          QUALITIES AND SKILLS

     MORALE ......... GOOD
     ENERGY ......... EXCELLENT
     ALERTNESS ...... EXCELLENT
     ENDURANCE ...... EXCELLENT
     STURDINESS ..... GOOD
     OPTIMISM ....... EXCELLENT
     STRENGHT ....... FAIRLY GOOD
     STAMINA ........ EXCELLENT
     SHARPNESS ...... EXCELLENT
     SKIING ......... FAIRLY GOOD
     HANG-GLIDING ... GOOD
     DRIVING ........ BELOW PAR
     SNIPING ........ EXCELLENT
     SABOTAGE ....... GOOD

               ----------------------------------------------

     Dr. Pierre Revel
     Physician
     Age 35 years
     Current Location: Coldheart Pass

     Revel is a competent doctor but he lacks self-control. Despite being
     married with two children, he has had a number of passionate affairs
     with female patients. Bob Hammond's wife is his latest conquest. Revel
     is a keen chess player, and his closest friend, Howard Courtenay, is
     also his toughest opponent.

          QUALITIES AND SKILLS

     MORALE ......... GOOD
     ENERGY ......... FAIRLY GOOD
     ALERTNESS ...... EXCELLENT
     ENDURANCE ...... BELOW PAR
     STURDINESS ..... EXCELLENT
     OPTIMISM ....... EXCELLENT
     STRENGHT ....... FAIRLY GOOD
     STAMINA ........ POOR
     SHARPNESS ...... GOOD
     SKIING ......... POOR
     HANG-GLIDING ... ABYSMAL
     DRIVING ........ GOOD
     SNIPING ........ EXCELLENT
     SABOTAGE ....... POOR

               ----------------------------------------------

     Konrad Rudel
     Hunter
     Age 38 years
     Current Location: Whispering Mountains

     Rudel, a tough and skilful hunter, resents township folk. He despises
     the Peace Force, saying that the law of nature is the only law men should
     follow. The one person he has a friendly word for is Davy Hart. Rudel
     sees in the boy some of the steel of a true hunter and harbors hope that
     one day the boy will follow in his footsteps.

          QUALITIES AND SKILLS

     MORALE ......... AVERAGE
     ENERGY ......... EXCELLENT
     ALERTNESS ...... EXCELLENT
     ENDURANCE ...... EXCELLENT
     STURDINESS ..... GOOD
     OPTIMISM ....... POOR
     STRENGHT ....... EXCELLENT
     STAMINA ........ EXCELLENT
     SHARPNESS ...... EXCELLENT
     SKIING ......... GOOD
     HANG-GLIDING ... POOR
     DRIVING ........ FAIRLY GOOD
     SNIPING ........ EXCELLENT
     SABOTAGE ....... AVERAGE

               ----------------------------------------------

     Virginia Caygill
     Ski Teacher
     Age 21 years
     Current Location: Snowstorm Valley

     Virginia Caygill travels from village to village giving skiing lessons
     to the children of each community. Both Davy Hart and Jenny Adams are
     pupils of hers. She is engaged to Rudinski, the snowdriver, but has many
     admirers. Virginia despises Revel, having been the unwilling subject of
     the doctor's affections in the past.

          QUALITIES AND SKILLS

     MORALE ......... EXCELLENT
     ENERGY ......... EXCELLENT
     ALERTNESS ...... EXCELLENT
     ENDURANCE ...... EXCELLENT
     STURDINESS ..... FAIRLY GOOD
     OPTIMISM ....... GOOD
     STRENGHT ....... GOOD
     STAMINA ........ EXCELLENT
     SHARPNESS ...... EXCELLENT
     SKIING ......... EXCELLENT
     HANG-GLIDING ... FAIR
     DRIVING ........ GOOD
     SNIPING ........ AVERAGE
     SABOTAGE ....... ABYSMAL

               ----------------------------------------------

     Professor Olaf Kristiansen
     Electronics Researcher
     Age 60 years
     Current Location: Diamond valley

     Kristiansen finds little solance in companionship. He has a deep
     distrust of those who lay claim to authority and dislikes Stark and
     Courtenay in partucular. In accord with his beliefs, he gives his
     grandson Davy a good deal of freedom. Kristiansen has an unlikely
     friendship with Gregory Flint, the pedlar.

          QUALITIES AND SKILLS

     MORALE ......... POOR
     ENERGY ......... FAIRLY GOOD
     ALERTNESS ...... EXCELLENT
     ENDURANCE ...... POOR
     STURDINESS ..... ABYSMAL
     OPTIMISM ....... BELOW PAR
     STRENGHT ....... POOR
     STAMINA ........ BELOW PAR
     SHARPNESS ...... EXCELLENT
     SKIING ......... ABYSMAL
     HANG-GLIDING ... ABYSMAL
     DRIVING ........ GOOD
     SNIPING ........ BELOW PAR
     SABOTAGE ....... EXCELLENT

               ----------------------------------------------

     Jeremiah Gunn
     Mining Engineer
     Age 33 years
     Current Location: Morgans Cove

     A widower for some years, Gunn has still not come to terms with the
     loss of his wife. He is given to bouts of black despair, during which he
     drinks himself senseless. The only two people he has any time for are
     Franco Grazzini, whose moods are sometimes blacker than his own, and the
     understanding Nurse Maddocks.

          QUALITIES AND SKILLS

     MORALE ......... POOR
     ENERGY ......... GOOD
     ALERTNESS ...... GOOD
     ENDURANCE ...... FAIRLY GOOD
     STURDINESS ..... BELOW PAR
     OPTIMISM ....... ABYSMAL
     STRENGHT ....... GOOD
     STAMINA ........ FAIRLY GOOD
     SHARPNESS ...... FAIRLY GOOD
     SKIING ......... ABYSMAL
     HANG-GLIDING ... ABYSMAL
     DRIVING ........ GOOD
     SNIPING ........ BELOW PAR
     SABOTAGE ....... EXCELLENT

               ----------------------------------------------

     Davy Hart
     Schoolboy
     Age 12
     Current Location: Devils Valley

     Davy lives with his grandfather, Professor Kristiansen, who leaves the
     boy much to his own devices. Davy's hero is Rudel the hunter and the boy
     often tags along with him on expeditions. Davy has a girlfriend, Jenny
     Adams, who lives in the next valley, but he has a secret crush on his
     ski teacher, Virginia Caygill.

          QUALITIES AND SKILLS

     MORALE ......... EXCELLENT
     ENERGY ......... EXCELLENT
     ALERTNESS ...... EXCELLENT
     ENDURANCE ...... FAIRLY GOOD
     STURDINESS ..... EXCELLENT
     OPTIMISM ....... EXCELLENT
     STRENGHT ....... EXCELLENT
     STAMINA ........ EXCELLENT
     SHARPNESS ...... GOOD
     SKIING ......... GOOD
     HANG-GLIDING ... POOR
     DRIVING ........ BELOW PAR
     SNIPING ........ GOOD
     SABOTAGE ....... BELOW PAR

               ----------------------------------------------

     Jenny Adams
     Schoolgirl
     Age 11 years
     Current Location: Deathwatch Pass

     Jenny is the youngest of three sisters. She resents being treated as
     the baby of the family and is always trying to prove herself to people.
     The person she admires most is Sarah Maddocks, but Jenny plans to be a
     doctor, not a nurse, when she is older. She's fond of her boyfriend,
     Davy Hart, and envies his freedom.

          QUALITIES AND SKILLS

     MORALE ......... EXCELLENT
     ENERGY ......... EXCELLENT
     ALERTNESS ...... EXCELLENT
     ENDURANCE ...... GOOD
     STURDINESS ..... EXCELLENT
     OPTIMISM ....... EXCELLENT
     STRENGHT ....... GOOD
     STAMINA ........ GOOD
     SHARPNESS ...... EXCELLENT
     SKIING ......... GOOD
     HANG-GLIDING ... ABYSMAL
     DRIVING ........ POOR
     SNIPING ........ BELOW PAR
     SABOTAGE ....... ABYSMAL

               ----------------------------------------------

     Nurse Sarah Maddocks
     Nurse
     Age 24 years
     Current Location: Mount Shackleton

     Sarah Maddocks id full of warmth and good humour and she is devoted to
     her work as a nurse. Sarah tends to fall for older men. She and Captain
     Stark have been lovers for some time and plan to marry next year. Sarah
     is still very fond of Franco Grazzini, her previos love. She has lttle
     regard for amorous Dr. Revel.

          QUALITIES AND SKILLS

     MORALE ......... GOOD
     ENERGY ......... EXCELLENT
     ALERTNESS ...... EXCELLENT
     ENDURANCE ...... EXCELLENT
     STURDINESS ..... EXCELLENT
     OPTIMISM ....... EXCELLENT
     STRENGHT ....... POOR
     STAMINA ........ GOOD
     SHARPNESS ...... GOOD
     SKIING ......... AVERAGE
     HANG-GLIDING ... GOOD
     DRIVING ........ FAIRLY GOOD
     SNIPING ........ BELOW PAR
     SABOTAGE ....... ABYSMAL

               ----------------------------------------------

     Gregory Flint
     Pedlar
     Age 36 years
     Current Location: Garcia Valley

     Gregory Flint Has few scruples when there's a profit to be made and is
     as much a confidence trickster as a pedler. He claims the Peace Force
     victimize him, blaming Stark, Gaunt and Llewellyn most of all. He
     sometimes helps Kristiansen with his experiments, and is also friendly
     with Luke Jackson and Fergus Flynn.

          QUALITIES AND SKILLS

     MORALE ......... FAIRLY GOOD
     ENERGY ......... FAIRLY GOOD
     ALERTNESS ...... EXCELLENT
     ENDURANCE ...... AVERAGE
     STURDINESS ..... POOR
     OPTIMISM ....... BELOW PAR
     STRENGHT ....... EXCELLENT
     STAMINA ........ POOR
     SHARPNESS ...... EXCELLENT
     SKIING ......... BELOW PAR
     HANG-GLIDING ... ABYSMAL
     DRIVING ........ GOOD
     SNIPING ........ ABYSMAL
     SABOTAGE ....... GOOD

               ----------------------------------------------

     Mrs. Amelia Randles
     Storekeeper
     Age 68 years
     Current Location: Harpers Lake

     Amelia Randles and her late husband Arthur were two of the earliest
     pioneers. Amelia knows everyone in the Free Villages, remebering most of
     them as small children, and is respected and liked throughout the
     community. Despite her frail looks, Amelia Randles has hidden reserves
     of strenght and courage.

          QUALITIES AND SKILLS

     MORALE ......... EXCELLENT
     ENERGY ......... GOOD
     ALERTNESS ...... EXCELLENT
     ENDURANCE ...... POOR
     STURDINESS ..... FAIRLY GOOD
     OPTIMISM ....... EXCELLENT
     STRENGHT ....... GOOD
     STAMINA ........ AVERAGE
     SHARPNESS ...... EXCELLENT
     SKIING ......... BELOW PAR
     HANG-GLIDING ... ABYSMAL
     DRIVING ........ ABYSMAL
     SNIPING ........ POOR
     SABOTAGE ....... ABYSMAL

               ----------------------------------------------

     Constable Gordon Macleod
     Peace Officer
     Age 30 years
     Current Location: Heavens Gate

     Gordon Macleod is a man never afraid to speak his mind, a trait which
     has not endeared him to everyone. Grazzini in particular dislikes
     Macleod and the feeling is mutual. He is well thought of by Sergeant
     Tasker and Captain Stark and has hopes of promotion. Macleod's two
     friends, Flynn and Chabrun hold him in high regard.

          QUALITIES AND SKILLS

     MORALE ......... GOOD
     ENERGY ......... EXCELLENT
     ALERTNESS ...... EXCELLENT
     ENDURANCE ...... GOOD
     STURDINESS ..... GOOD
     OPTIMISM ....... FAIR
     STRENGHT ....... GOOD
     STAMINA ........ EXCELLENT
     SHARPNESS ...... GOOD
     SKIING ......... FAIRLY GOOD
     HANG-GLIDING ... GOOD
     DRIVING ........ GOOD
     SNIPING ........ BELOW PAR
     SABOTAGE ....... AVERAGE

               ----------------------------------------------