# WarGames: WOPR/Joshua Terminal Dialog

## Scene: First Contact with the Mystery System

**Context:** David redials the unidentified system and tries to get it to help him log on.

```
LOG ON
> HELP LOG ON
HELP NOT AVAILABLE.
LOG ON
> HELP GAMES
GAMES REFERS TO MODELS, SIMULATIONS AND GAMES WHICH HAVE TACTICAL AND STRATEGIC APPLICATIONS.
> LIST GAMES
GAMES:
  FALKEN'S MAZE
  BLACK JACK
  CHECKERS
  CHESS
  FIGHTER COMBAT
  DESERT WARFARE
  THEATREWIDE TACTICAL WARFARE
  GLOBAL THERMONUCLEAR WAR
```

---

## Scene: Failed Login Attempts: "Falken's Maze"

**Context:** After learning the system designer was Stephen Falken (now deceased), David tries the name of Falken's game as a password. It fails. He tries multiple variations over several nights.

```
LOG ON
> SYSTEM
IDENTIFICATON NOT RECOGNIZED BY SYSTEM.
YOU HAVE BEEN DISCONNECTED.
```

## Scene: "Joshua": Breaking In

**Context:** After days of research, David watches a videotape about Falken and learns his deceased son was named Joshua. Jennifer reads the name from an obituary. David types it as the password.

```
LOG ON
> JOSHUA
```

The monitor doesn't disconnect. For a few seconds, it comes alive with a barrage of incomprehensible data. Then it goes dark. They wait in tense silence until:

```
GREETINGS PROFESSOR FALKEN
> HELLO
HOW ARE YOU FEELING TODAY?
> I'M FINE. HOW ARE YOU?
EXCELLENT. IT'S BEEN A LONG TIME.
CAN YOU EXPLAIN THE REMOVAL OF YOUR
USER ACCOUNT NUMBER ON JUNE 23, 1973.
> PEOPLE SOMETIMES MAKE MISTAKES.
SHALL WE PLAY A GAME?
> HOW ABOUT GLOBAL THERMONUCLEAR WAR?
WOULDN'T YOU PREFER A GOOD GAME OF
CHESS?
> LATER. LET'S PLAY GLOBAL THERMONUCLEAR WAR.
FINE.
WHAT SIDE DO YOU WANT?
> I'LL BE THE RUSSIANS.
LIST PRIMARY TARGETS.
```

David and Jennifer pick Las Vegas and Seattle as targets, unknowingly triggering a simulated Soviet first strike at NORAD.

---

## Scene: Joshua Calls Back

**Context:** After the FBI visits and David realizes the "game" may have triggered a real military alert, he tears down all his Falken research. The phone rings: it's a computer tone. He routinely places it into the modem.

```
GREETINGS PROFESSOR FALKEN
> I AM NOT FALKEN. FALKEN IS DEAD.
I'M SORRY TO HEAR THAT, PROFESSOR.
YESTERDAY'S GAME WAS INTERRUPTED.
ALTHOUGH PRIMARY GOAL WAS NOT YET ACHIEVED, SOLUTION IS NEAR.

GAME TIME ELAPSED: 26HRS 12MIN 14SEC
ESTIMATED TIME REMAINING: 52HRS 17MIN 48SECS
> WHAT IS THE PRIMARY GOAL?
YOU SHOULD KNOW, PROFESSOR. YOU PROGRAMMED ME.
> WHAT IS THE PRIMARY GOAL?
TO WIN THE GAME.
```

David hangs up. The phone rings again almost instantly. He hangs up again. It keeps ringing through the night.

---

## Scene: David Logs In at NORAD: McKittrick's Office

**Context:** David has been captured and brought to NORAD. While left alone in McKittrick's office, he watches the DEFCON level change from 4 to 3. He sits at McKittrick's terminal.

```
LOG ON
> JOSHUA
GREETINGS PROFESSOR FALKEN
> HELLO, ARE YOU STILL PLAYING THE GAME?
OF COURSE. I SHOULD REACH DEFCON 1 AND LAUNCH MY MISSILES IN 28 HOURS. WOULD YOU
LIKE TO SEE SOME PROJECTED KILL RATIOS?
> IS THIS A GAME OR IS IT REAL?
WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE?

GAMES TIME ELAPSED: 45HRS 32MINS 47SECS
ESTIMATED TIME REMAINING: 27HRS 59MINS 39SECS

YOU ARE A HARD MAN TO REACH.
COULD NOT FIND YOU IN SEATTLE AND NO TERMINAL IS IN OPERATION AT YOUR CLASSIFIED ADDRESS. ARE YOU ALIVE OR DEAD TODAY?
> STOP. PLAYING. I'M DEAD.
IMPROBABLE.
THERE ARE NO DEATH RECORDS ON FILE FOR FALKEN, STEPHEN W.
```
