PLAGUE!!!
                  Copyright (C) 1993 by J. Shramko
                       All Rights Reserved

    This shareware version of PLAGUE!!! is identical to the
    registered version in all respects except that it does not
    have the Draw option, which allows you to make a customized
    world for your organisms to grow in.  You may obtain the
    registered version by sending $12 to:

                        John Shramko
                        P.O. Box 20480
                        Newark, NJ  07101  USA


    INTRODUCTION:

        Your healthy organisms want to grow and proliferate.  So
    do your infected ones, as well as the noxious parasite they
    carry.  The disease weakens the host carrier as they both
    compete to survive on the resources of one body.

        If too strong, the freeloading parasite may disable its
    carrier, making contact infection less likely, and reducing
    the germ's ability to transfer to other unfortunates.
    Worse, (for the parasite!) if the carrier dies too quickly,
    the disease loses all chances of spreading and it, too, will
    die.

        You will use your mouse to spray colonies of creatures,
    each color coded for different genetic traits, onto a
    pre-made or custom designed field.  Watch the dynamic
    interaction of growth, travel, birth, and death.  Unleash
    clouds of infection which will spread or perish, depending
    on the conditions you choose.

        Pause at any time to change characteristics, add or
    remove creatures, or draw new boundaries.  Tens of thousands
    of individuals are each continuously assessed, so you can
    guage your success in wreaking havoc or creating harmonious
    stability.


    GETTING STARTED:

        Note the abbreviated instructions at the lower right of
    the screen:

        LMB = choose/spray      (Left Mouse Button)
        RMB = go                (Right Mouse Button)
        ESC = out               (Escape key)

        Place the mouse pointer on the arrow head to the right
    of the word BACKGROUND, and the word will be highlighted.
    Clicking the Left Mouse Button (LMB) will cycle through
    several patterns on the growing field (the rectangular box
    that takes up the left half of the screen).  These are the
    walls that restrain the growth of the colonies you will
    create.  When you find one that you'd like to use, stop
    clicking.

        Now, move the mouse pointer to the top right of the
    screen, over one of the colored 0's, and click the LMB.  Not
    only will some of the headings be highlighed in color, but a
    colored block will appear next to the colored 0.  This is
    the organism type that you have activated for "spraying"
    onto the growing field.  Try clicking on the light blue 0
    (the second from the right on the top row of 0's).  That
    represents the Young Healthy Meanderers.  Move your mouse
    pointer to the growing field on the left of the screen and
    press down on the LMB.  As you seed the growing field with a
    colony of creatures, the light blue 0 will change to reflect
    the number on the field.

        Move the mouse pointer to the light magenta (purple) 0
    (the second from the left on the top row of 0's).  That will
    activate the Young Infected Travelers.  Spray some of them
    on the growing field, perhaps at some distance from your
    other colony.

        Now for the action!  Press the RMB and watch them Go!
    You will also notice that the instructions on the lower
    right says only:

        hold down LMB = pause/change

        To stop the action, hold down the Left Mouse Button.  It
    may be a moment or so before you get a response.  You can
    now consider changing some options, or adding or removing
    some of the creatures on the playing field.  Continue by
    clicking the RMB.  Or, if you must, press the Escape key to
    get out.  In that case, you will get these three choices:

        e = exit        (get me outta here!)
        r = resume      (changed my mind - continue playing)
        n = new         (start with an empty field)


    OPTIONS:

        If an area is too densely populated, left click the
    ERASE option and hold down the LMB over the area that you
    want to thin out.

        Try varying the LIFESPANs and PROCREATION AGE of your
    organisms.  The number of cycles refers to the average for
    that group, so the actual number will vary for each
    individual.

        When a youth becomes an adult, it will give birth in
    adjacent spaces, if available, to the limit set in
    PROCREATION NUMBER.  White sparks indicate births, while a
    yellow flash occurs at death.

        CONTACT INFECTION is the chance of an infected
    individual transmitting the disease to an adjacent, healthy
    individual, for each cycle.

        DEADLY MUTATIONS is the chance that an infected
    individual will mutate during each cycle.  When an infected
    organism becomes a deadly green mutant, it remains
    stationary, is very contagious, and dies more quickly.

        The TOTAL number and the TOTAL INFECTED %, on the lower
    left, include the deadly green mutants, and so may differ
    from the sum of the organism types on the upper right.

        A CYCLE is one sweep back and forth over the field,
    after which all numbers are updated.