* * * * *

                                  WTF INRAC?

The only guide I have to INRAC is the Racter FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)
[1] and running the program itself. But there are times when I have no idea
how to interpret the code.

> CAST  >47*2.7(20)P >48*2.7(20)N #
> X >31*2.8()47  >33*2.8()48 #
> X >35*7()47     >34*7()48        #
> X >30*2.1()47  >32*2.1()48 #
> X >36*3()47  >37*3()48
>

Normally, the “>” will signify a variable assignment, but that tends to look
like >47=foo, not >47*2.7(20)P. The “*” is a (for lack of a better term)
subroutine call, like *26CAST (which actually calls the first line above),
and I've kind of figured out what *2.8&N would do—I think it calls the code
in section 2 where the “label” is any character followed by an “N”:

> AN boredom 8 bored 7 bore 7 gloom 8 gloomy 8 empty 8 hollow
> BN stupidity 8 stupid 7 idiot 7 folly 8 silly 7 fool 7 jerk
> CN feeling 12 feel 7 emotion 7 passion 8 passionate 8 hysterical
> DN craziness 8 crazy 8 bananas 8 random 8 strange 8 weird
> DN humor 7 joke 7 jokes
> EN doubt
> GN junk 12 stinks 8 cruel 8 useless 8 lousy 8 bad 7 garbage
> HN idleness 8 lazy 7 loafer 8 easy
> JN art 8 creative 7 artist 7 life 8 alive
> KN fascist 8 communist 7 communism 7 fascism
> LN poetry 8 poetic 7 poet
> MN damn 7 hell 8 damned
> NN coward
> PN pessimistic
> QN foolish 7 fool
> RN rock 7 jazz 7 pop
> TN poor
> UN fucking 15 fuck 15 shit 15 piss
> WN hate 8 mad 8 angry
> XN sick 8 weak
> AN depression 8 depressed 7 depressive
> AN gloom 7 sourpuss 8 gloomy
> AN unhappiness 8 unhappy 7 frowner
> BN ignorance 7 ignoramous 8 ignorant
> BN imbecility 8 fatuous 7 imbecile
> BN stupidity 8 stupid 7 dolt
> CN emotion 8 emotional 7 feeler
> CN feeling 7 feeler 8 feeling
> CN hysteria 8 hysterical 7 hysteric
> CN passion 8 passionate 7 feeler
> DN craziness 8 crazy 7 lunatic
> DN humor 8 funny 7 humorist
> DN lunacy 8 bonkers 7 lunatic
> DN weirdness 8 weird 7 weirdo
> EN scepticism 7 sceptic 8 sceptical
> FN crime 8 criminal 7 criminal
> FN falsehood 8 dishonest 7 liar
> FN politics 8 political 7 politician
> GN badness 8 bad 7 wrongdoer
> GN evil 8 evil 7 sinner
> GN foulness 8 foul 7 stinker
> HN idleness 8 lazy 7 loafer
> IN apathy 8 apathetic 7 depressive
> IN boredom 8 bored 7 bore
> JN art 8 creative 7 artist
> JN flesh 8 living 7 human
> KN communism 7 communist 8 communist
> KN conservatism 8 conservative 7 republican
> KN reaction 7 right-winger 8 reactionary
> KN tradition 8 conventional 7 conformist
> LN poetry 8 poetic 7 poet
> MN atheism 7 atheist 8 unbelieving
> NN cowardice 8 cowardly 7 coward
> PN pessimism 8 pessimistic 7 pessimist
> QN folly 8 foolish 7 fool
> RN rock 8 funky 7 rock-star
> SN boxing 8 pugilistic 7 pugilist
> SN dueling 8 honorable 7 duelist
> TN poverty 8 impoverished 7 pauper
> UN obscenity 8 obscene 7 libertine
> VN complexity 8 complicated 7 muddlehead
> WN hatred 8 hateful 7 hater
> XN weakness 8 weak 7 wimp
>

So, any of those lines could be called. But this block of code has a “parse
type” (I think) of 1 so this is just a list of terms. I suspect the 8 in
*2.8&N has to do with the 8s in the list above. I think that if you were to
do *2&N, and if the line picked was “JN” then you would get back either “art”
or “flesh,” but the 8 modifies the selection so it's possible you would get
(again, assuming the label of “JN” was picked) “creative” or “living.”

At least, that makes the most sense to me, although I've yet to actually test
this theory.

But *2.7(20)P? Or even >31*2.8()47? I can see I have a lot of testing ahead
of me.

[1] https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/rec.arts.int-fiction/RTV5CUkJ8fs

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