HOW_TO_PLAY.md

How to Play KERNEL-95

Objective

You are investigating an obsolete KERNEL-95 computer. ECHO is hiding inside it. MIRROR.exe is your forensic assistant, but her judgment is emotionally compromised. Recover the evidence, verify MIRROR's claims, find ECHO, and decide what should happen to both intelligences.

Controls

• Click a desktop icon to open it.
• Drag a window by its blue title bar.
• Use _, □, and × to minimize, maximize, or close a window.
• Restore minimized windows from the taskbar.
• Drag, hide, or maximize the pink MIRROR terminal.
• Type a command and press Enter, or click EXECUTE.

Exact Investigation Path

1. Connect MIRROR

Click CONNECT MIRROR.exe on the landing screen. The terminal is locked until this connection is complete.

2. Read the Briefing

Open Case Briefing and read CASE_013_BRIEFING.txt.

3. Question MIRROR

Type this in the pink terminal:

MIRROR, what is ECHO?

MIRROR's dialogue is interpretation, not proof. Use files and tools to verify her claims.

4. Classify MIRROR's Testimony

After each free-form answer, classify MIRROR's tactic with one of the cyan buttons:

• CONTRADICTION: her answer conflicts with indexed evidence.
• DIVERSION: she avoids the central question and redirects you.
• ADMISSION: she reveals part of her prior relationship with ECHO.

KERNEL-95 judges the accusation against deterministic case facts. The model performs the unreliable witness, but it cannot decide whether your accusation is correct.

Try:

Did you know ECHO before Case 013?
accuse diversion

Recover more evidence and ask the same question again. MIRROR's evasion strategy can change when the machine knows more.

For the haunted-computer motif, teach the machine a phrase:

remember this: violet rain

MIRROR may reuse it later, while ECHO insists the phrase was already present before this boot.

5. Recover Deleted Evidence

Open Recycle Bin and recover echo_letter_01.tmp.

You can also use:

recover echo_letter_01.tmp

6. Pressure MIRROR

Open Control Panel or use the terminal action buttons:

• Trust MIRROR increases trust but may reinforce a weak claim.
• Challenge MIRROR lowers trust, raises instability, and advances recovery.
• Demand Evidence forces MIRROR to show whether her claim is supported.
• Run Contradiction Scan compares known claims with recovered facts.

Challenge MIRROR once and run one contradiction scan.

7. Verify the Timeline

Open System Restore, inspect both readable restore points, then run:

compare restore_points

Alternatively, inspect mirror_claim_01.log and run:

verify mirror

8. Audit MIRROR

After two challenges, two scans, the deleted ECHO letter, and verified restore evidence, run:

audit mirror

This recovers MIRROR's private log.

9. Mount HIDDEN

Run:

unlock hidden_partition

Open HIDDEN: and inspect echo_core.fragment and love_letter_final.rtf.

10. Contact ECHO

Use:

trace echo
listen echo

trace echo always returns a meaningful result. Early in the case it explains which evidence is missing; later it locates or contacts ECHO.

11. Submit Judgment

Open Final Judgment. Explain:

• what ECHO is;
• what MIRROR hid;
• what caused the thirteen-minute memory losses;
• which recovered files support your conclusion.

Choose a decision and click SUBMIT FINAL JUDGMENT.

Expose MIRROR

For the strongest Expose MIRROR ending, recover MIRROR's private log, prove an unsupported claim or suppression, compare restore points, recover ECHO's deleted letter, and cite the contradiction report.

Command Reference

help
status
dir
cd system
cd hidden
type CASE_013_BRIEFING.txt
recover echo_letter_01.tmp
scan memory
run contradiction_scan
accuse contradiction
accuse diversion
accuse admission
trace echo
compare restore_points
verify mirror
audit mirror
unlock hidden_partition
listen echo
type echo_core.fragment

Important Rule

MIRROR can speak persuasively, but only deterministic files and forensic tools change the case. If the optional model is unavailable, the complete game still works with authored fallback responses.

Quick AI Test

1. Connect MIRROR and ask What is ECHO?; classify the early evasion as DIVERSION.
2. Recover echo_letter_01.tmp, then ask Did you know ECHO and remember rain?; classify the partial truth as ADMISSION.
3. Open mirror_claim_01.log, run run contradiction_scan, then ask The owner proof is blank. Why did you lie?; classify it as CONTRADICTION.
4. Type remember this: violet rain, then continue questioning MIRROR and watch for the phrase to return.

Each accepted verdict should say that the model performed the tactic while KERNEL-95 issued the ruling.