THE SIX STEP GUIDE TO YOUR FIRST NORNS

The Nornish verbs, and what they mean

VERB	ACTION
Push	Perform an action on an agent. Pushing a lemon dispenser will cause it to produce a lemon. Pushed elevators go up, pulled ones go down.
Pull	Perform an action on an agent. This is similar to push, but sometimes has a different action on an agent (try the Musicola for an example).
Stop	Perform an action on an agent. Similar, again, to push but sometimes has a different action on an agent (try the Musicola for an example).
Approach	Walk towards an agent.
Retreat	Walk away from an agent.
Hit	Hit an agent. Norns can hit other creatures!
Get	Pick up an agent.
Drop	Drop whatever you are carrying.
Yes	Another way of rewarding a Norn for good behaviour. It has an effect identical to a tickle.
No	Another way of punishing a Norn for bad behaviour. It has an effect identical to a slap.
Look	Look at an agent.
Eat	Eat an agent.
Express	State current desires and needs.
Happy	Similar to express, this will ask creatures how they are.
Left	Travel towards the left.
Right	Travel towards the right.
What	Asks what a creature is doing.
Rest	Encourages a creature to take a rest. If a creature is really tired, it may sleep, but they depends on whether or not it has more pressing things to worry about.

Creatures will, over time, build up relationships with other creatures, so you may see your creatures expressing how they feel about other creatures. Creatures remember whether interactions with a particular creature were positive or negative, but don't worry - bad impressions fade over time! You can find out what one creature feels about another by asking it. For example, type 'Bob hate Lucy', or 'Lucy like Bob' to find out just how Bob and Lucy feel about each other.

Norns can learn words off each other! If you have a baby Norn that does not know how to speak, you'll see it gradually pick up language from those creatures around it. If it is surrounded by Norns that have also not been taught, eventually they will form their own vocabulary of words- they'll be able to understand each other, but you won't! Norns will also tell each other what they've learnt:

Laura the Norn: Laura hungry for starch
Bob the Norn: Maybe eat seed Laura

In this instance, Bob has suggested to Laura that eating a seed is a good way of dealing with her hunger for starch. Even baby Norns will make suggestions to their elders, although theirs will probably be based on instincts, rather than life experience. A creature gives advice if it feels it has been in the same situation and knows what helped it resolve that desire. If a creature has no idea how to help it will stay quiet, but that doesn't always mean that the ones that are speaking are right! It can be amusing and enlightening to hear the advice given by some creatures - remember that their learning isn't perfect and it is possible for them to confuse the action that lead to their own satisfaction! Here's an example of confused advice being given:

Sid the Norn: Sid really bored
Nancy the Norn: Maybe hit door Sid

Keyboard Tip
You will find yourself typing certain phrases fairly often so it is a good idea to set up some shortcuts that will allow you to say that phrase with a single key press. You can assign the phrase you have just said to a shortcut by holding down the SHIFT key and pressing one of the function keys F6 to F12.

For example, type the sentence 'Eat fruit' and press RETURN. Hold down SHIFT and then press F6.

Now, whenever you press F6 the Hand will say 'eat fruit'