The Orion Conspiracy Game Synopsis The future is not bright. Our planet has followed the inevitable course that greed brings. In the never ending pursuit of profit and riches, the most powerful institutions are no longer national governments, but vast, far-flung megacorporations and multiconglomerates. It is not unknown for whole national governments to be traded between corporations for fun and profit. Company employees are not hired, but born into a company. Eerily echoing the practices of ancient feudal earth, whole families, generation after generation, live and die in the service of one company. Defections are rare, and more often than not lead to not just the contract being terminated. Just like today, scientific discoveries are zealously pursued for further profits. The discovery of Intersteller space travel facilitates this greatly and allows these corporations to literally go to the ends of the universe to find lucre. After a period of massive expansion into space, each of Earth's companies begin to invest heavily in the exploration of uncharted star systems, looking for the mineral deposit or scientific discovery that will replace the barren resources back home. One such intergalactic conglomerate, Yamagashi, is on the cutting edge of the market for Interstellar Drive Technology. On one of the further outposts of discovered space, Yamagashi has built a small research facility near a black hole, more commonly known as "Devil's Gate". The research center is aptly named Cerberus, the mythological creature that guarded the Greek gates of Hell. In order to avoid a spiraling fall into the black hole, engines are in place to keep the asteroid in geostationary orbit above the Black Hole. The stable position above Devil's Gate allows the facility to have normal gravity. The competitive circumstances of Interstellar space explorations have forced these multiconglomerates to cooperate. Though most of these cooperative efforts are stable and secure, they are often undermined by the devious and fickle nature of the competitive environment. Yamagashi has one such tenuous alliance with a medical specialist company called Nataka-Trump, whom they've allowed to set up a small lab on Cerberus, ostensibly to research effects of radiation from Black Holes on human beings, but the Nataka-Trump employees keep their work to themselves. For supply and security measures, a Yamagashi transport ship visits the outpost every seven days. Enter Danny McCormack, one of the youngest Yamagashi scientists on Cerberus. Going alone in a one-man shuttle, Danny is sent to investigate a malfunctioning probe near the Devil's Gate horizon. The approach to the probe is difficult due to the intense gravity of Devil's Gate. On opening the service panel, he is overwhelmed by the flash of an explosion, is killed instantly, and floats away into the black hole. The unofficial verdict by the Cerberus' crew is that Danny's death was accidental. They proceed to hold a memorial service in the station's hydroponic garden where they plan to erect a small plaque in his memory. Devlin McCormack, a veteran Yamagashi engineer and Danny's father, pulls some strings with some of his ex-colleagues and arrives for the funeral on the otherwise restricted station. After the service, as Devlin settles down in his quarters, waiting for his transport shuttle to rendezvous with the station for pick-up, a typed note is pushed underneath his door. It tells him that Danny's death was not an accident, but cold-blooded murder. It is signed, " A Friend". Shocked, Devlin runs out into the hallway - only to find no one there. What happened to Danny McCormack? Key Features: *100 hand painted SVGA screens *Full digitized speech with subtitles *CD quality music and spot FX throughout *Rendered, animated cut sequences *Easy to use point and click interfaces *Highly involved storyline Product Information *IBM compatible only *CPU:486-25 Mhz or better *DOS 5 or greater *4MB RAM minimum;8MB recommended *10MB hard disk space required *VESA compliant SVGA card required *Keyboard,mouse, or joystick *supports most major sound cards Company Information *Developed by Divide by Zero *Published by Domark Software *Distributed by Spectrum Holobyte ***For more info on this product or other Domark Software titles or to order, please call 1-800-695-GAME.