UNDER PRESSURE
by Simon Lane
from Popular Computing Weekly 2nd September 1982


You are a marine engineer, working on the Yoshima oil rig in the North
Sea. Your main task is to carry out underwater inspection and
maintenance of the pipe lines carrying the oil from the rig to a
refinery in Scotland.

Instruments monitoring the oil flow indicate that the main pipe line
has sprung a leak, about 1000 metres away from the Yoshima rig. You
are despatched in a propeller-driven diving bell to investigate the
leak.

Cruising just above the pipe line, looking for the tell-tale black
wisps that denote a leak, you suddenly become aware of a strong smell
of smoke. Turning round you see that your engine has caught fire.
Grabbing the chemical fire extinguisher from under your seat, you
douse the engine in a mass of foam.

With the fire out, the immediate danger is over, but the engine is a
twisted heap of burnt-out wire and metal. You are trapped on the
sea-bed.

Fortunately, the diving bell is equipped with an aqualung and a
wet-suit. However, as you are putting on the aqualung you notice that
the air cylinder seems strangely light. On checking the cylinder's
gauge, you discover that it is virtually empty.

With the air inside the diving bell starting to become stale, you have
few choices. Entering the air lock, you flood it with water and open
the outer hatch. You must attempt to swim to the surface before your
air runs out. But, if you rise too fast you will suffer from "the
bends" and die from decompression.

When you have loaded and run the program, a man in a wet-suit will
appear on the screen. Two dials will also appear on the top of the
display, indicating your depth and the amount of air you have left.

Type "0" to use your flippers. This uses more air, but doubles your
speed. You must watch out for shoals of fish and clumps of seaweed on
your way up. Hitting either of them will delay your ascent.

A flashing square appears beside the oxygen dial when your air supply
is almost exhausted. The key to the game is to keep rising slightly
faster than your air supply diminishes.

If you reach the surface, the computer will tell you how long you took
and give you a percentage score based on your time and your remaining
air. My best score so far is 63 percent. Can you beat it?

Typed by JimG