My name is Diamond. Dan Diamond. And I'm in deep, deep trouble. A PI's life ain't easy at the best of times. It's a nasty, dirty business full of nasty, dirty people doing nasty, dirty things and looking for plumbers to fix their baths. When I first took on this case, I had no idea that what started out as a short jaunt to a nearby graveyard would turn into the biggest myster since Taft's election...

As private investigator Dan Diamond, you have plumbed the depths of Franklin's Tomb, become Lost in Space and finally been stranded on a desert island on a watery world. As you approach the end of your long quest, you decide something is afoot, and it smells like Fishy Business...

Fishy Business is an adventure game for one player and comes with a fully illustrated case file. This adventure can be played on its own, but you may enjoy it more if played as the third part of the Dan Diamond Trilogy.

The Dan Diamond Trilogy:

Part 1. Franklin's Tomb
Part 2. Lost in Space
Part 3. Fishy Business

"Go away ... now" a nauseatingly piercing voice came out of a small speaker by the door.

Since there weren't any brick walls to talk to, I decided to perSist with this refugee from Detroit.

"Do you know how I can get out of this place?"

"No, but if you hum a few bars I can fake it" came the reply.

I was sure I heard an undertone of metallic Snicker, like a Jaguar revving up. I don't know what bunch of clowns designed this heap of junk, but if you ask me, I think they should all be taken out, lined up against a wall, and shot.

Twice.

I sat down in the sand. Overhead, the sun hung motionless in the dead air, a mute reminder that time might well be running out for whoever sent me the note. Sunlight glistened, glancing off the tops of the waves. The temperature plummeted upwards, reaching a crescendo of heat and light.

I sat there for several hours, trying to unravel the Gordian knot that fate had tied me up with. I didn't manage to get any answers, or even find the ends of the string, but I did get one hell of a tan.

Now it seems I have only two choices, either evolve into a palm tree or take the plunge. After all, it's been a long time since I was wet behind the ears. I only hope that life and Civilization is closer than it looks, otherwise I may be in for one hell of a swim.

Confucius, he say, "Ajourney of a thousand miles begins with but a single step."

Confucius, he too smart for his own good....

To successfully complete Fishy Business, you must find the person or people who sent you a message for help in Franklin's Tomb, discover what their problem is, and solve it for them. This adventure is the third in a series of three, and although it is not necessary to play the first two adventures first, you may find clues in them which will help in Fishy Business.

Fishy Business uses a formatted display. On the left hand side of the screen is a description of the room or corridor you are currently in. The bottom line of this description tells you which exits are available to you (e.g. N, S, UP, DOWN). The right hand side of the screen displays a list of the items you are currently carrying. You are only allowed to carry up to six items. These two displays are always shown so that you don't have to keep asking the computers for this information. The bottom lines are reserved for the user input and the computer's responses.

Fishy Business is an adventure game. As such, it is up to you, the player, to find your way around the maze of rooms, carrying and using any items you find, as appropriate. To do this, you must issue instructions to the computer. These instructions take the form of a verb and a noun, separated by a space. An example would be TAKE BOOK.

When you've finished typing the command, press ENTER and the computer will respond.

When referring to items that you find in rooms, only the last word should be used to refer to the items. For instance, the JADE CONCH would be referred to as CONCH.

Most words can be abbreviated to three letters. For example, TAKE can be shortened to TAK. The only exceptions to this rule are when giving directions. The cardinal compass points may be shortened to a single letter (N, S, E or W). When giving directions, the verb GO is also optional. Thus, the instruction "GO NORTH" can also be typed in as "GO N", "NORTH" or just "N". The other exceptions are UP and DOWN, which must be typed in full (but you can still say DOWN instead of GO DOWN).

At any point during the game, you can save the current situation by typing the command "SAVE GAME". Before you save the game, make sure that the cassette you are using to save on is correctly positioned. To restore the game to the saved position, you can issue the instruction "LOAD GAME" at· any time during the game.

Note for Dragon 32 owners: This function will only work if your cassette player has remote motor control.

1. Keep track of where you are and where you've been.
2. Don't take anything for granted. Some useful looking items may be no good at all, and vice versa.
3. There are magic words.
4. Try some lateral thinking if you get stuck. Don't be afraid to do stupid things.
5. Don't go around doing stupid things all the time.
6. There are sometimes clues hidden in the room descriptions and illustrations. Watch out for red herrings and blue kippers.
7. Don't just save the game when you quit a session. It can save time later if you can save the game at various points.

CLOADM (ENTER)

The game will run automatically.