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story
December
31, 2012: The city of Tokyo,
Japan
is preparing
for the public unveiling of its latest architectural wonder, the eponymous
monumental broadcast/observation tower, the tallest free-standing structure
on the continent. The city's entire population has turned out, along wih
thousands more from around Japan, to celebrate this creation. With suppoprts
wrought of indestructible titanium alloy, gracefully framed by a brilliant
red arch, and boasting a broadcast
span that reaches over the boundaries of Europe, the Tokyo Tower is a
truly an unprecdented engineering accomplishment.
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On
this clear and starry New Year's eve, all of the city is eager to welcome a
rosy and auspicious 2013. The air reverberates with excitement as the clock
display's numbers blink, 10, 9, 8…3, 2, 1…
But then
a forceful thunder roars from below and shatters the optimistic harmony at the
heart of the city. It violently seizes the arch and sends the shining new tower
crashing down over the streets of Tokyo.
Announced
by an earth-shattering cry, a chasm opens up beneath the site of the disastrous
collapse. Those present to bear witness are unable to describe the ensuing terrors
with clarity--furious, flashing eyes, a livid, scaly mass, razor-sharp icy-blue
spikes…
ShenLong,
the Tokyo dragon, has been rudely roused from millennia of peaceful slumber!
Angered by the ruckus of the celebratory gathering, he has rushed out from the
depths of the earth to silence the disruptive merrymaking above his lair. Intent
on leveling the entire city, he thrashes and slashes his way through the streets
of Tokyo without mercy. All of Tokyo is on the brink of destruction; no one
can dream to combat this unspeakable horror…except…
YOU! Armed
with the Enchanted Laser Beam and Projectiles of Promise you alone, if you should
accept the challenge, stand a true chance of defeating the beast. The city of
Tokyo calls to you! Take up the magical weapons and face the formidable ShenLong…
GOOD LUCK!!!
Rules
The lighted
display counts down to midnight on the eve of the new year; on reaching 0 the
red signal at the peak of the tower flashes, a prelude to the unexpepected collapse
of the tower. Thereupon ShenLong emerges from his lair beneath the site and
charges madly through the metropolis. The boundary of the city is marked by
a white line, which the dragon can not be allowed to cross.
Your mission
is to overcome this destructive terror with the two enchanted weapons, an enchanted
laser beam and the magincal projectiles of promise. ShenLong, for all of his
terrifying powers, concedes two secret weaknesses:
1) an aversion
to laser beam: particularly vulnerable if zapped in the snout area
2) a fear
of foil projectiles: a heart-shaped patch on his chest marks a target--hit him
here and he feels the wound
by executing
these two attacks in any order, before ShenLong oversteps the boundary of the
city, you can slay the dragon, which will trigger the raising of the tower and
save all of Tokyo...
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allow
ShenLong to break through the boundary of the city and he will be free to
wreak havoc all over Japan, and continue his streak of destruction throughout
the world(!) Thus warned, do take up arms and endeavor to protect humanity
from the jaws of doom. |
Secrets
The engineers of TTII
would like to share with you, the hero of this story, a few notes about the
design of their project...
The Tower
Constructed
of Lego axles, universal joints, bushings and connectors, this boasts a fully
collapsible frame that hangs from a pulley wheel at the peak of its arch. The
cable leads to and winds around a spool that is attached to a motor at the base
of the arch. Acricket installed here controls the tower's motor, along with
the countdown LED and the red signal blinker at the top. The tower's cricket
is positioned to receive IR signals from another cricket on ShenLong's back.
ShenLong
The skeleton is a Lego
composition, a train of three cars: chest/neck and head, abdomen (on which a
Handy Board is carried) and tail. The neck, of classic crankable "grabber" construction,
supports a Dixie cup (lightweight) head.
The dragon's two driving
front wheels are powered by one motor each, with gear trains similar in design
to the Sci-Borg model robot (with additional gear reduction for extra torque).
The eyes are LEDS that can blink both red and green; these have been wired in
series and take another motor port on the HB. A "signal" LED takes the final
HB motor port. While this is unlit, a light sensor from an additional cricket
on the dragon understands a message to set the neck in motion.
Finally, the cricket on
ShenLong's back, as soon as he has been defeated (known when the LED starts
to flash), sends an IR message to the tower's cricket (these have been positioned
to face each other). The signal triggers the tower motor in the opposite direction,
effecting the triumphant rise of the tower.
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