Introduction
Circuit's Edge is based upon characters and situations created by George Alec Effinger in When Gravity Falls published by Bantam Books, and Fire in the Sun published by Doubleday. A third book in the series was published in 1990, The Exile Kiss.
The graphic adventure story is set in the Islamic world, between romantic Casablanca on the Atlantic coast of Morocco and the ancient capitals of Persia far in the east. The city is one of the unnamed which has a suburb called the Budayeen, the one quarter of the Moslem city where crime is not only tolerated, but where it flourishes.
The year is 1629 A.H. in the Muslim calendar, which is roughly 2202 A.D. in the Christian era. You take the role of Marid Audran, a fun-loving, smart Algerian refugee with your brain wired to accept "moddies" and "daddies." Moddies are modules which let you be someone else, entirely real or fictional. Daddies are add-ons that give you temporary knowledge of any subject under the sun.
Your goal is to retrieve a notebook misplaced by Friedlander Bey, called Papa by you, who is one of the reigning crime lords of the city. If you fail Papa or if you are too slow you will die, and you will need to start the game over.
General Advice
The Budayeen is a dangerous place where you can be attacked by various thugs and punks on the street. Immediately acquire the Kung Fu Master moddie and the Alpine Jack daddie from Leila's Mod Shop (424 S. 3rd Street). Keep these two chipped in at all times when travelling in the city and you should be protected against punks, muggers, and suspects.
If you are damaged in a fight, reboot to the last save or heal up at the Medical Clinic (271 Street). TALK to the NURSE to BUY NUCLEAR HEALING.
People are in their shops from dusk until dawn. Most shops are closed during the day from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. When you reach a location, keep pressing LOOK and reading the description until the last message is repeated. You may need to look as many as four times to find what you are looking for.
Do not take drugs or chemically alter yourself or Papa will kill you. Do not kill anyone who does not attack you first or Papa will kill you.
Inventory Management
You only have space for eleven items and eleven chips. There are three essential items: the kiam (money), your chip rack which holds eleven chips, and the belt phone. Initially take your 628 kiam out of any automated teller and drop your bank card.
It is recommended that you sell items to one of the two pawn shops: Friendly's Pawn Shop (1522 Street) or Mustafa's Pawn Shop (258 S. 1st Street).
Making Money
Money can be made by calling Papa (111BWS64), hunting for muggers, and gambling at the Gambling Den (426 S. 5th Street). You need to accumulate 1500 to 2000 kiam in order to afford to save the kidnap victim.
Part 1: Getting Started
You start the game in your apartment. Select GAME and TURN BRIEF MODE ON. Select ACTION, then CHIP-IN your BIO-SCANNER.
Within two hours of starting the game, Saied will call to give you his phone number and ask you to pick up a package from Fuad at a club (Chiriga's or Cafe De La Fee Blanche).
Go to Chiriga's club (821 Street). TALK to Fuad and say "package." Use your BELT PHONE to dial Saied's commcode: 131AEP69. Go to Frenchy's Nightclub (956 Street) and GIVE Saied the COLOGNE PACKAGE. He will give you a Chrono-2000 chip.
Papa calls and wants you to pick up his notebook. Go to the Bougainvillea Apartments (402 S. 1st Street). You will find Carter murdered and get arrested. After your release, withdraw your 628 kiam from the bank (bankcode: 4D424C).
Get the Kung Fu Master chip from Laila's Mod Shop if you haven't already. Exit Budayeen by the East Gate and take Bill's cab to FRIEDLANDER BEY. Papa tells you to find the murderer of Kenji Carter and recover the notebook.
Take Bill's cab to the Police Station. TALK to SGT. HAJJAR ABOUT "KENJI" to get the answering chip. TALK ABOUT "MORGUE" to get a morgue pass.
Go to the Morgue and show the MORGUE PASS. Get the HOLODISK and LEATHER WALLET from Kenji's effects. The wallet contains a tag from Mustafa's Pawn Shop.
Mustafa's Pawn Shop is out of business. Go to The Leather Goddesses and talk to MADAME ABOUT "MUSTAFA" — the merchandise was bought by Friendly's Pawn Shop. Go there and SHOW Mustafa's tag, then GIVE 20 kiam to get half a brass ring. BUY an ANSWERING MACHINE.
You will need Laila's language chip. Go to Laila's Mod Shop and ask about "JAPANESE" — she sold it to a jeweler. At Jewels of Morocco, the JEWELER says you must solve the burglary of the star sapphire to get the chip.
Go to Franco's Tattoo Parlor and ask about "SERPENT." Two suspects: Marco and Manny. Return to your apartment and SLEEP until around 6:00 p.m.
Part 2: Back on the Streets
Eat at Cafe Solace until you are full. Now track down the burglary suspects.
Go to AAA Secured Loans and ask Guido about "MANNY." He gives you a matchbook — the initials "S.P." stand for The Silver Palm Nightclub. Talk to HEIDI about "MANNY" — he has unnaturally blue eyes. At The Eyes Of Texas, the SHOPKEEPER says Manny was involved in card-counting. At The Gambling Den, KARIM says Manny lives with a red-haired, green-eyed dancer.
Find FANYA at the Red Light Lounge and ask about "MANNY" — he lives at the Ad Dur House. Go there and GIVE the landlord 100 kiam to open Manny's door. Get the CRUMPLED NOTE — Manny is meeting someone named Tamara at the warehouse on South 1st Street.
At the warehouse, use a STILETTO or SWITCHBLADE to cut the rope around the crate. Manny has been murdered. You find the second half of the brass ring: together the inscriptions read "Shimaal Mosque, 1 AM."
Go to Electroniques and ask SAMPSON about "MARCO" — his full name is Marco Herrera. At Shoukri's Adult Video Holos, view the holodisk from the morgue. At Franco's, BUY a POLICE BADGE from the street dealer (appears after 10 p.m.).
Stock up on chips at Laila's: RAD HACKER, ALPINE JACK, SUPER SPY, and PHANTOM.
At the Police Station, USE COMPUTER with the badge. Look up "KENJI CARTER," "TAMARA CARTER," and "MARCO HERRERA" (his brother is Alejandro Herrera).
At the Shimaal Mosque at 1 AM, someone gives you the code to the police computer. BUY a DATA LINK TERMINAL from Electroniques and UPLINK CABLES from Friendly's. CHIP-IN RAD HACKER and USE DATA LINK TERMINAL. Dial 054AJR86, logon code: "GRAVITY." Look up "ALEJANDRO HERRERA" — he lives in The Medinah Apartments.
At The Medinah Apartments, CHIP-IN SUPER SPY to pick the lock. Marco is dead. Get the BULLET and STAR SAPPHIRE. Return to the Jewels of Morocco and GIVE the star sapphire. You receive 300 kiam and the Japan-easy chip.
CHIP-IN JAPAN-EASY and USE ANSWERING MACHINE. Tamara, Kenji's daughter, has the notebook. At the Medical Clinic, ask the NURSE about "TAMARA" — she needs to see Tamara's picture.
Part 3: The Kidnapping
Mahmoud calls at 6 AM — Hassan has been kidnapped! The RANSOM NOTE has a floral scent. At The Scarlet Orchid, the scent is tiger orchid perfume made by Heavenly Fragrances. The shopkeeper needs tiger orchid, which you can find at The Ad Dur Docks.
At the docks, CHIP-IN ALPINE JACK to climb, then CHIP-IN PHANTOM to bypass security. Get the tiger orchid and a Cuban cigar box. Return to Heavenly Fragrances and give the tiger orchid.
SLEEP until the shopkeeper calls — the odd woman's phone number is 774TFF60, which belongs to Mohammad's Glass. SLEEP until 6 p.m.
At Mohammad's Glass, the odd woman ordered a crystal ball for Madame Mimi at the Tarot Den. GIVE her the crystal ball and ask about "COLOGNE" — she says you must come very close to death. Go to the Cemetery (exit West Gate).
Fight the man who jumped you in Kenji's apartment. He drops a broken radio direction finder set to frequency 6229. BUY a new RADIO DIRECTION FINDER and WIRES from Electroniques. Use it to locate a warehouse between North 14th and 15th Streets.
At the Smoke Shop, the Cuban cigar box contains explosives. At Maq'-allah's News, learn about a terrorist named Luigi killed by police. At the Morgue, get the DEMOLITIONIST chip from Luigi's body.
Get a DETONATOR from Crazy Abdul (100 kiam) and a COUNTDOWN TIMER from Friendly's Pawn Shop. CHIP-IN DEMOLITIONIST and USE EXPLOSIVES to blow the warehouse door.
Fight Alejandro Herrera to the death. He confesses to kidnapping Hassan. FREE Hassan and go to Hassan's Tourist Paradise. Mahmoud gives you a static pistol and a holodisk viewer!
Part 4: Finding Tamara
At the Medical Clinic, USE HOLOVIEWER — the nurse recognizes Tamara but wants emerald earrings. At Jewels of Morocco, the jeweler sold them to a street dealer. At Chiriga's, the street dealer sold them to a blond dancer for 50 kiam.
Find KANDY, who says LILY has the earrings. Lily wants something green. Go to the House of Snakes and BUY a GREEN SNAKE. Give it to Lily — she faints and you grab the earrings!
Give the EMERALD EARRINGS to the nurse. Tamara has changed her identity to Arissa. Find Arissa in the clubs and TALK to her. She promises to call after retrieving the notebook.
Arissa calls and tells you to go to 1744, the Gray House. She has been taken to the warehouse on South 1st Street by Abu Salah.
Endgame
Fight Abu Salah to the death at the warehouse. GET the NOTEBOOK. Abu starts a torturing machine — you have 60 minutes of game time to find the black key.
The black key is in Abu Salah's Rug Shop. Enter the shop and LOOK to get the key. Return to the warehouse and USE BLACK KEY. Tamara is saved!
Have Bill take you to Friedlander Bey. TALK to PAPA. The case is solved — sit back and watch the ending.
Additional Notes
- You can SHOW the RANSOM NOTE to Saied for interesting responses. Call him after 6 or 7 PM to find out where he is.
- The clue about Tamara living at Red Dunes Apartments (renamed Saharah's Apartments) leads nowhere.
- Try typing "Friedlander Bey" and "Marid Audran" into the police computer for interesting reading.
- The writing on the wall "MCDIX" is a Roman numeral. Buying the Julius Caesar chip reveals its meaning, but it serves no purpose in finishing the game.
- To set off an explosion, you need: explosives, wires, countdown timer, detonator, and the demolitionist chip.
Originally authored by The Awesome Dude. Walkthrough sourced from The Spoiler Centre.
