Nightlong: Union City Conspiracy

A Walkthrough, by Steve Metzler

Nightlong is an inventory based adventure in the classic vein. You must be prepared to search each screen carefully for 'hotspots' that you can interact with (text description pops up), and solving some of the more obscure puzzles will come down to trying every inventory object with every other object you see!

All you have to remember as far as the controls are concerned is:

And ... be sure to get the description of each object that comes into your inventory. Sometimes, a hint is provided in the description as to how the object may be used. The conventions used throughout this walkthrough are: Now that you're mentally prepared for a moderately difficult game ...

Ruby's Apartment Building

Hugh Martens drops you off on the Rooftop Auto-park of Ruby's apartment building. You begin the game with the following objects already in your inventory: Credit Notes, Minicom, Elevator Card, Magnetic Pen, Small Key. Pick up the piece of Aluminium Foil found between the two Aircars. Enter the Building via the Door, and press the Button to call the Elevator. Oops! Get the Fuse from the Panel, and combine it with the Foil Paper. Then, use this new object on the Panel to repair it. Press the Button once again to call the Elevator, and use the Elevator Card that Hugh gave you in the Slot (inside the Elevator). Ask for the floor to Ruby's apartment. Use the Credit Notes with the Vending Machine to buy a Can of beer. Be sure to retrieve the Coin that comes as change.

Examine all the doors. You find that Ruby lived in Apt. 17, but you don't know what his hand-writing looked like so you can't forge his sig on the Pen Pad. Take the Elevator back to the Rooftop Auto-park. Be sure to look at the Map next to the Letterboxes, or you won't be able to find the Subway later on! Use the Small Key to open the Letterbox for Number 17 (you have to hunt carefully through all the letterboxes to find the right one). Take the Letter, and now you have a sample of Ruby's hand-writing! Head back to Ruby's apartment, then use the Letter on his Pen Pad, and finally, the Magnetic Pen on the Letter. We're in!

Ruby's Apartment

Pick up the Notepaper from the coffee table. Get the Bottle of vodka from the Refrigerator, and the Subway Card that's in the Trashcan. Take the Photo of Ruby and a "gorgeous brunette" from the frame on the kitchen table.

Go through the door on the right to enter Ruby's Bedroom. Opening the Wardrobe and examining the Clothes will reveal a Safe, but you can't open it yet. Examine the Glass on the table. It had vodka in it, and was used recently. Press the down-arrow on the Switch near the Window to lower the Roller Shutter. Then open the Window to reveal a piece of Tape stuck to the inside of the Roller Shutter. Examine the Tape, and you now have another Key. Use this Key to open the Safe. You find a Pistol, a Tube of what turns out to be powerful acid, and a copy of an interesting Report that Ruby sent to Hugh just a short while ago. It looks like Rotmall 17 (which you found a reference to on the Note Paper) is the place where Ruby was supposed to meet the terrorists before he disappeared ...

Exit Ruby's apartment, and take the Elevator to the Rooftop Auto-park. Head out the Door, and examine the Barrier that someone has crashed through on the left-hand side of the screen. Use the Tube of acid on the Barrier to free a Bar, and take it. Re-enter the building and take the Elevator down to the Subway.

Subway Entrance

Talk to the Cop, and find that you're not allowed to take the Escalator to the street because of a bomb alert. Look at the Map above the Ticket Machine, and you will notice Rotmall 17, but only if you previously examined Ruby's Note Paper. Use the Ticket Machine to purchase a trip to Rotmall 17. Only the 5 credit Coin that was returned to you from the Vending Machine upstairs will work, because the slot that takes notes is jammed. Use the Scanner on the Gate to get to the trains.

Rotmall 17 Subway Entrance

Pick up the Plastic Plate underneath the Graffiti, and use it to repair the ID plate of the Fax on the left. Show the Photo to the Bum, but he won't help you out until you give him the Bottle of vodka. Then he remembers that Ruby was with a woman, but not the one in the Photo. Give him the Can of beer next, and he also remembers that the woman Ruby was with owns a nightclub called the Free Climax. Buy the Skate from the poor Bum, and then head up the Escalator.

Rotmall 17 Square

Talk to the Doorman outside the Free Climax. You need a membership card to get in. Enter the Liquor Store to the right of the Free Climax and watch the scene between the Storekeeper and his wife. Then look at the Membership Card behind the Counter. Talk to the Storekeeper. When you befriend him, he'll tell you it's illegal to sell alcohol after 8:00 PM. Then ask him what cocktail he's making. He'll tell you it's for Eva Tompson, owner of the Free Climax. Finally, you find out that he'll give you the Membership Card if you manage to bring him a bottle of Chateau Lafitte '85. Hmmm. Exit the Liquor Store and climb over the Railings to the left to enter the Alley.

Use the Tube of acid on the Padlock, then proceed into the basement of the Liquor Store via the Trapdoor. You won't be able to get into the basement until you get the Storekeepers Wife to leave. Go back up to the Alley, and use the Bar on the Manhole. Pick up the dead Rat near the Grating on the right-hand side of the screen, and return to the Liquor Store basement. Combine the Skate with the Rat, and use the Skate to scare off the Storekeepers Wife. Take the Bottle of Lafitte '85 from the Case on the floor. Exit through the alley, and present the Storekeeper with his own Bottle of Lafitte '85 in exchange for the club Membership Card! Use the Membership Card with the Doorman to gain access to the Free Climax.

Free Climax Club

You talk to Eva Tompson. She knows about Ruby, but is obviously being evasive. Nothing more to do here for the moment. Exit to The Square, and head back down to the Subway.

Now that you finally have something to report, call High Martens using the Minicom he gave you. He'll send a Map of the subway system to you via the Fax. Examine the Map. Head back to the Alley, and go down the Manhole. Examine the Grating, and you're finally into the Subway Tunnel.

Subway Tunnel

Use the Pistol on the Door behind you to blow off the Padlock. Enter the Storeroom, and get a rusty old Key from inside the Cabinet on the far right. Take the Poster off the middle Cabinet, then open it and get the Leads, Screwdriver, and socket spanner Tool from the Bag. Exit the Storeroom, and use the Screwdriver to remove the Metal 'S' from the Logo on the bottom right of the large Advertisement. Attach the Metal 'S' to the Chain on the floor, and use the Makeshift Grapple on the overhead Pipe to swing across the gap (this was a very weak puzzle, BTW. When you first try to pick up the Chain, Joshua comments that "it weighs too much"! So ... how he then manages to lift it and throw it over the Pipe once the Metal 'S' is attached is beyond me).

Anyway, you've made it to the other side of the platform. Head for the Passageway. Use the socket spanner Tool to open the Panel on the wall. Then attach the Leads to the Contacts. Pull down the Lever to apply power, then use the Leads with the Magnetic Field in the doorway to short the whole thing out. Now you can enter the Deserted Station which leads to the Zoo.

Deserted Station

Once through the door into the Deserted Station, note the collapsed ceiling that has destroyed the Bridge over the tracks that leads to the Zoo Entrance. Use the 'Go to ...' on the left side of the screen to move down the platform. Use the Bar to knock down the Loudspeaker hanging over the Info Booth, and pick up the Magnet that drops onto the floor. Take the Pliers from the Shelf in the small room at the end of the platform. Open the Trapdoor in the floor, and enter the Passageway. You can't get to the other side, so head back up. Go back to the Deserted Station, and head up the Bridge to where the Sign is hanging from a Cable in the ceiling. Use the Pliers to cut the Cable so that the Sign falls. Now head back down the Staircase, and use the newly created Passage to get across the tracks to the Zoo Entrance.

Zoo Entrance

Enter the concealed doorway near the Palm tree. It's a Bar. Open the yellow Curtain, and take the Cylinder and Broom. Take the Can from the Counter, and the empty beer Can from one of the tables. Exit to the left, and there's an exhibit of a Goddess that you can't do anything with yet. Proceed onwards to the left, and you find yourself at the Bookstore. You can look through the glass, but can't get inside. Go all the way back (past the Goddess and through the Bar) to the Zoo Entrance. Then, take the path by the sign at the left to arrive at the Sphinx exhibit. Right-click on the Sphinx to get the access code. Here it is:

"Under the supreme eye of the father of the gods ... Sits the solar protector of all men ... To the right of he who delights in the eternal coming of his being"

Hmmm. Under the Statue of the dog (actually, the Egyptian god Anubis) there are 3 Wheels used to enter the access code. Have a good look at them to familiarise yourself with the symbols, but unless you happen to be an Egyptologist, you don't know enough yet to solve this puzzle! Exit the Zoo, and proceed all the way back to where you left the Chain hanging from the Pipe in the middle of the subway tracks. Combine the steel Bar with the Magnet to obtain a Magnetic Bar, and use it with the Chain to swing back across. Enter the Storeroom again.

Storeroom

Use the Small Can (of oil!) on the Hasp of the Door, and now you can finally open it. Proceed inside, and try to turn on the light using the Switch, but the Bulb has gone. Remove the burnt-out Bulb from the light fixture. Open the Trapdoor on the floor, and go through it. Aha! We're on the other side of that impassable fissure. Use the Key you got earlier (from one of the Cabinets in the Storeroom) on the Door ... and you emerge through the Well into the Bookstore!

Bookstore

On the middle shelf just to the left are some books on Egyptology (how convenient). Take the Book and examine it. You'll see pictures of the gods that correspond to those found on the code Wheels near the Sphinx, along with a description of the gods. Take the Bulb from the Reading Light on the Desk. Exit through the Well, and head back to the ...

Storeroom

Put the good Bulb into the light fixture Socket, and use the Switch to turn on the light. Take the Three-way Adaptor from the Shelf on the right. Now, return to the Sphinx exhibit at the Zoo.

Sphinx

Using the Book as a reference, set the 3 code Wheels on the Statue as follows:

Top wheel - Ra ("father of the gods" - hawk's head with sun symbol above)
Bottom left wheel - Kheprer ("delights in the eternal coming of his being" - scarab beetle holding sun symbol)
Bottom right wheel- Horus ("solar protector" - falcon symbol)

and press the Button. Now you can enter the Sphinx, which is actually a ...

Control Room

Pick up the microwave Gun. Set all the Buttons on all the functioning Control Panels to green. This turns off all the magnetic fields that are protecting the exhibits. Exit the Control Room, and head left to the ...

Fissures

Cross the Footbridge, and you are attacked by a mechanical Dinosaur. Use the microwave Gun to zap him into oblivion. Cross the other Footbridge, and enter the Cave. Take the Flare from the Table, and head back to the Zoo Entrance. Back through the Bar again, to the Goddess (the snakes should not be moving. If they are, return to the Control Room and ensure that all of the Buttons on the functioning Control Panels are green). Examining the Bush at the base of the statue of Kali reveals a Faucet. If you turn it once, the Flames in the Brazier are extinguished. Use the Faucet a second time, and you may now collect some Fuel in the empty beer Can. Head back to the Zoo Entrance,  and this time proceed to the exit on the right of the screen which leads to ...

The Pond

Some strange things happening here! Notice the Kid (wearing a jet propulsion pack?) who is mysteriously hovering in the distance. If you examine the Panel on the Machinery to your left, Joshua will rip the Panel right off, shorting out some circuits in the process. The Kid drops to the ground across the pond. Now, use the gas Cylinder on the Tank of the Machinery, and do the same with the beer Can full of fuel. Then use the Flare on the Tank to ignite the fuel mixture, blowing open the Sluice Gate and making it possible to cross the previously submerged Bridge. Take the Remote Control from the Kid, and head back to the Cave in the Fissures. Use the Remote Control on the Key set into the wall (that opens and closes the Cage), and the entrance to a secret Elevator is revealed! Use the Elevator to enter a large Warehouse.

Warehouse

Get the telescopic Pincers and the hologram Projector from the open Crate to the left. Head up the Elevator to the top of the Warehouse. Use the Push-buttons in the ceiling to open the Trapdoor, and go up the Staircase to the Roof. Oops! Locked out. Use the Magnetic Bar to jimmy open the Door of the maintenance Building (you lose the Magnetic Bar in the process, but you don't need it any longer). Use the Lever on the red Mixer Faucet to cut off the gas supply. Then, use the Pliers to cut the flexible Pipe coming out of the Mixer Faucet. Use the cut Pipe to bend it upwards. Go back outside and detach the Hose from the water Faucet, then attach it to the flexible Pipe through the Window (huh? I thought there was glass in the Window, so this one had me stumped for a bit). Go back inside and use the Lever to restore the gas supply, then head back outside once again and place the damaged Minicom on the trapdoor Lock. Use the Hose on the sparking Minicom to create a home-made torch and Joshua uses it to cut through the Trapdoor, but sets off the fire alarm in the process. A workman comes out of a secret entrance to shut off the alarm, but accidentally leaves the Control Panel open and also drops a Match on the floor.

Head back down the Stairs and the Elevator, and open the Control Panel. Use the Screwdriver to remove the inside Cover. Use the middle Wire to free one end of it from the Earth contact. Then, use it again, attaching the free end to the ground Contact (right next to the Switch). Finally, put the Cover back on and pick up the Match the workman dropped in the middle of the floor. Head back up the Elevator, and combine the Match with the Broom to obtain a makeshift Torch. Use it on the Sensor in the ceiling to set off the fire alarm again. This time, when the workman opens the Control Panel and throws the Switch, he gets a shock and is rendered unconscious. You can now enter the terrorist's Hideout via the secret door he left open on the way out!

Hideout

Use the Three-way Adaptor on the wall Socket just inside the entrance. Insert the hologram Projector into the Three-way Adaptor, and turn on the Projector. The remaining terrorist comes to investigate, and Joshua knocks him out. Search the terrorist to obtain a Laser gun and yet another Key. Take the Elevator to a Deserted Room, and use the Key to open the desk Drawer. A Security Card is in the Drawer. Use the Computer on the Desk to view an important email that leads Joshua to suspect that Hugh Martens knows a lot more about this affair than he has so far revealed. Examining the Picture on the wall produces a hidden Piece of Paper. Head back to the Hideout, and use the Laser gun to blow open the blue Panel that houses the Security System. Use the security Card to enable it. Then, hit the Buttons according to the order of the black to white transitioning colours on the Piece of Paper. If you number the Buttons 1 to 7 from top to bottom, the order to press the Buttons is as follows:

6, 4, 3, 7, 2, 1, 5

The Security System is now disabled. Go back into the Elevator, then enter the Door on the far right of the Deserted Room. Examine the green Panel. It's Ruby! Open the white Panel to obtain a Stethoscope, Syringe, and a Report on Ruby's critical health situation. Go back to the Deserted Room, and use the Stethoscope on the other Door to eavesdrop on a conversation between Eva Tompson and one of the terrorists. Then, Joshua figures he has nothing to lose and enters the room. A long explanation of what has been happening ensues ...

Cyberspace

Of course, you lose all your worldly possessions once you enter cyberspace. You have a Positioner though. You can record your present position by pressing the red button, and go to any previously saved position by using one of the yellow buttons underneath the display.

Proceed straight ahead into the maze. Now, this is a very simple maze to negotiate, so it's not even worth bothering to map it out. Just follow the 'Go To ...' indicators to visit places you haven't been yet. You must find the following 4 locations:

After you've found all 4 of these places, use the first yellow button to return to the place where you first entered cyberspace (Slot Machine). Go to the next screen on the left-hand side, and use the Hammer with the Drum to hit the Bell. The Hammer breaks, and you almost knocked the Bell off. Pick up what's left of the Hammer. Go to the right again to return to the Slot Machine. Use the Hammer on the Spider, and the Spider's damaged leg will now hold one of the skulls for you. Put the Coin in the Slot, then use the Slot Machine. Wahey! "In cyberspace, no one can see you cheat" (sorry, Alien joke :-) Collect the 6 silver half credit Coins you just won, and go to the next screen on the left again. Enter the Hut via the Door. Go down the stairs to the basement. Use the Cloth on the boiler Handle. Once the spider is gone, pick up the Gunk from the floor, and scrape the Mildew off the wall. Exit the Hut. Go left to the Shooting Range. Use the Mud with the Runners to slow the targets down. Put the Coins in the slot on the pillar, and then use the Gun. Collect the Puppet as your prize.

Return to the Hut, Open the left-hand Drawer of the Ticket Office, and take the Packet of matches. Open the right-hand Drawer, and place the Puppet inside. Go back outside and get into the Cage. Use the Remote Control, and you wind up at the ...

Castle

Go into the entrance to the right of the Spider. Open the Brazier, and get the Dust. Pick up the Skull from inside the Pentacle (I think it's actually a Pentagram), and on the way out, get the Torch from the right-hand side of the steps. Exit the Church to the Courtyard, use the entrance to the left of the Spider this time to enter the Alchemist's Study. Get the small Bag and the Jar from the shelves on the right. Read both Parchments on the Table. One tells you how to make gunpowder (but we already knew that. We're seasoned adventurers, aren't we?) and the other tells us we have to fog up this mirror over the fountain. Read the Book on the pedestal, and learn how to kill werewolves. You also learn that their blood is able to corrode metal. Pick up the small Shaft leaning against the wall near the fountain. Use the Skull with the Tile under the fountain. Put the Torch in the Skull. Light the Torch with the Match, and then use the Torch again to kick the Skull out of the way. The Mirror fogs up, and you can read the numbers:

7, 8, 4, 5

Exit the Alchemist's Study, and take the entrance at the base of the Tower to the right of the screen. Use the Shaft on the Meridian Circle to place it in the centre hole, then right-click on the holes near the Roman numerals to move the shaft to each one in the order you found on the Mirror:

VII, VIII, IV, V

The housing of the Meridian Circle opens, revealing a Book. Click on the Book to finally get the lowdown on what Hugh Martens has been up to! You are transported to Hugh's cyberspace office.

Hugh's Cyberspace Office

This receptionist is one tough cookie to get past! So, use the small Bag of sleeping drug on the Chocolates. When she conks out, press the Button on the panel next to her. This unlocks the door to the Meeting Room. Take the Pistol and the Iron Balls from the Showcase, and the Club from the suit of Armour. Then use the first yellow button on the Positioner to return to
the place where you first entered cyberspace. Go left to the Cablecar, and use the Club to strike the Drum, this time knocking the Bell clear off the Totem. Pick up the Bell, and use the Positioner again to return to the Sculpture with flowing lava. Put the Bell into the Lava. Place the silver Coin into the Bell, followed by one of the Iron Balls. Use the Cloth with the Bell, and pick the Ball up from the ground. Use the Positioner one more time to return to the location of the Werewolf. Combine the Saltpetre with the Charcoal Slack, then combine the Powder with the Jar. Finally, use the Powder with the Pistol. Use the Pistol to shoot the Werewolf, then collect his Blood in the empty Jar. Use the Positioner to return to Hugh's cyberspace office, and use the Jar to corrode the Lock on the Door in the Meeting Room. Look at the Sheet of Paper on Hugh's desk. Open the desk Drawer, and get the Slide. Go back into the Meeting Room and use the Slide in the Projector. What you see projected is a mask that can be used with a 7-segment LCD numerical display (such as the one hanging right above the unconscious Receptionist in the next room)! When you apply the mask across 6 digits (red means: leave out segment), you get the following:
 
 _ 
|_ 
 _| 
 
 _ 
|_ 
|_|
 _ 
 _| 
|_
 _ 
 _| 
 _|
 _ 
|_| 
 _|
 _ 
|_ 
|_|
562396

Go back into Hugh's office and key this number into the Computer on his Desk. Now we're really clued in as to what's going on! Joshua exits cyberspace and travels with Al and Eva in the Aircar to the prison island of Rocas Perdida in an attempt to track down Hugh Martens. Al gives you a high tech device called a Parallel Cutter to aid in the break-in on the island.

Rocas Perdida

You're deposited on a beach. Right-click on the portion of the turtle Tracks nearest you to obtain an Egg. Head off to the right, and use the Egg on the Snake. Then zap the Snake with the Laser. Pick up part of the Snake using the Pincers. Return to the Beach, and continue onwards past the Aircar to the Pond. Use the Laser again to break the Padlock so that the Grating swings open to allow access to a large Conduit. Use the Snake on the Pond to distract the Piranhas therein, and Joshua goes up the Conduit.

Laundry Room

Close the Conduit Grating (you have to pixel hunt for this one)! Move the Sheets on the shelves to reveal a box of Detergent. Use the Detergent on the Bucket, then use the Bucket. Joshua empties the contents into the Conduit. Put the empty Cans into the Washing Machine, turn it on, and watch the show. One less guard. Be sure to take the Keys the guard left in the Door, then head into the ...

Corridor

Use the Keys to open the door to the LA-5 Detention Area. Look in the Window of Cell 2, and talk to Dr. Moreau. Ask him how to open his cell door. Then ask him about the governor, and where the laboratory is. Leave him for the moment. Exit to the Corridor, and head to the right of the screen. Take the MDVD camera from the Desk, and use it on the Keypad next to the red Door. Return to Dr. Moreau, and Joshua gives him the camera with all possible keystrokes recorded. The combination for the red door is: 446677. Return to the Sentry Post, and use the Keypad. Joshua enters the combination and we're into ...

Laboratory

Pick up the Gloves off the Chair. Take the Tester and Tubes from the shelf. Then look at the Symbols on the Blackboard. Rather than just giving you the solution to this puzzle outright, I'll attempt to show you how to actually solve it. Please bear with me! In the place of the symbols, I'm going to substitute letters, because they're easier to work with, so let's translate the symbols on the board to:

ABC x DC = DEFC

 DEFC
+CBFC
-----
AGECB

Immediately, we can deduce that 'A' = 1, because two numbers summed could never produce a carry into the last column that was greater than 1.

Next thing we notice is that the last digit, 'C', is the same in all 3 numbers in the multiplication at the top. The only numbers this can hold true for are: 0, 1, 5, 6 because: 0 x 0 = 0, 1 x 1 = 1, 5 x 5 = 25, 6 x 6 = 36! We can rule out 'C' = 1 because we already know that 'A' = 1.

In the sum at the bottom, 'C' + 'C' = 'B'. Therefore, 'C' cannot = 0. Here comes the slightly tricky part ... that still leaves 5 and 6 as possibilities for 'C'. Let's try 6. Then 6 + 6 produces a carry out of the 1st column, but this won't work, since 'F' + 'F' + 1 in the 2nd column must produce an odd number, and 6 is an even number. So ... 'C' = 5! That means that 'B' = 0, and 'F' + 'F' + 1 = 5. So 'F' = 2 as well. Now we're really getting somewhere. Here's what we know so far:

105 x D5 = DE25

 DE25
+5025
-----
1GE50

Some further work on the sum at the bottom eliminates 3 and 4 as possibilities for 'D'. Since 'E' + 0 cannot produce a carry out of the 3rd column, then neither 3 + 5 or 4 + 5 is sufficient to produce the necessary carry out of the 4th column. 6 is eliminated because 6 + 5 = 11, and 'G' cannot = 1 as 'A' = 1. Same for 7, because 7 + 5 = 12 and 'F' = 2, not 'G'. 'D' cannot = 9 because: 105 x 95 = 9975, but the result must end in 25. So ... 'D' = 8! And finally: 105 x 85 = 8925, so 'E' = 9. Thus:

105 x 85 = 8925

 8925
+5025
-----
13950

Was that fun, or what?

Exit the Lab, and use the Screwdriver to open the Panel under the Window. Joshua converses with Al, but we already know how to figure out which wire carries 100,000 volts. Use the Tester on the box, then use the Parallel Cutter on the Box. Al and Eva get inside, but are surprised by Martens and his men. Poor Al is killed, and Eva is locked up to be dealt with later. Exit to the Corridor, then use the Keys again to open the Infirmary Door (underneath the cross).

Infirmary

Look out the Window of the Infirmary, then right-click on the middle Window in the outdoor view to talk to Eva. Afterwards, get back into the Infirmary. Examine the Coat behind the bars to get a Thermometer and dental Floss. Use the Gloves with the Cylinder inside the bars to inflate them. Then use the Tubes with the Syringe, the Floss with the Syringe, and finally the Syringe with the Gloves. Look out the Window again, then use the Syringe on Eva's cell Window. After Eva uses the Syringe on the Guard, use the Keys to re-enter the Detention Area. Joshua searches the Guard and comes up with a Laser. Talk to Eva in Cell 1, and she gives you the Code. Have a look. Having done our homework already in the Lab, we know the number at the bottom is:

958320

Click on the Keypad behind you, key this number in, sit back and relax as you watch the conclusion.


Copyright © Steve Metzler  for the Games Domain, November 1998. Not to be reproduced without the author's permission.
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