<!--

	Title: Douglas Adams' Bureaucracy
	Subtitle: Bureaucracy: Adams' wit in triplicate
	Author: Infocom
	Source: The Status Line v6(1)
	Date: Winter/Spring 1987
	Transcription by Steve Derby
-->

<figure class="float-left">
	<img src="/public/img/articles/status-line-douglas-adams-bureaucracy/bureaucracy-cover.png" alt="Bureaucracy Cover">
	<figcaption>Creative Services Manager Carl Genatossio slaved over a hot
		drafting table for over two years before completing the cover
		art for Bureaucracy</figcaption>
</figure>

Not very long ago, Douglas Adams (who is, as everyone knows, the best-selling
author of that zany interactive story *The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy™*)
moved from one apartment in London to another. He dutifully notified everyone
of his new address, including his bank. In fact, he personally went to the
bank and filled out a change-of-address form.

Soon after, Douglas found that he was unable to use his credit card. He
discovered that the card had been invalidated by the bank. Apparently, the
bank had sent a new card to his old address.

For weeks, Douglas tried to get the bank to acknowledge his change-of-address
form. He talked to bank officials, and filled out new forms, and applied for
another credit card, but nothing worked. He had no credit, and the bank
behaved like... well, like a bank.

It's a sad story, one that's replayed every day for millions of people
worldwide. Of course, it's not always a bank at fault. Sometimes it's the
postal service, or the telephone company, or an airline, or the government.
All of us, at one time or another, feel persecuted by a bureaucracy. What can
be done?

Only Douglas Adams would exact such sweet revenge. He retaliated by writing
*Bureaucracy™*, a hilarious interactive journey through masses of red tape.

You begin *Bureaucracy* in your spiffy new apartment. You're going to Paris this
very afternoon for a combination training seminar and vacation, so you'll need
to leave as soon as you get the money order your boss has mailed you. Unless,
of course, there's some problem with the mail...

You'll soon find yourself entangled in a series of bureaucratic mishaps as you
attempt the seemingly simple task of getting to Paris. Along the way, you'll
wrangle with a very bureaucratic bank. And a very bewildering airport. And an
eccentric assortment of characters ranging from a greedy llama to the paranoid
owner of a camouflaged house. When you find yourself hanging upside down from
a treedeep in the Zalagasan jungle, you know you're experiencing the outer
limits of bureaucracy.

To make sure you are prepared for any eventuality, the packaging includes an
official letter from your boss; a credit card application form (in
triplicate); a skinny pencil; a helpful brochure from your bank; and a charter
membership flyer for *Popular Paranoia* magazine.

Douglas Adams was assisted in writing *Bureaucracy* by the staff of Infocom,
primarily the mysterious hacker W.E.B. "Fred" Morgan. He (she?) has worked on
most Infocom products at one time or another. Mr. Morgan refuses to reveal any
personal information about himself (herself?) other than a mailing address for
cash and bearer bonds.

*Bureaucracy* will be available in March for the IBM, Apple II series,
Macintosh, Atari ST, Commodore 128, and Amiga. Retail price is $34.95 for the
Commodore 128, and $39.95 for all other computer systems.
