joystick, no mouse.
b = board             l = leave
w = walk              r = run
o = ok / yes          n = no
cursor up = take      cursor down = drop
cursor left+right = scroll inventory
e = elevator---  0=cellar, g= gound, 1-9 floor 1-9
1 - 0 = speed         + / - = speed              f1-f10 = reverse speed
Keypad= "enter" to open docs, * to read, + for next
Spacecraft: ESC = Escape Velocity
Help: F1 = load, F2 = Save F10 = quit -- Special: F3 load Mercenary 1 save, F4 loads Mercenary second city save

Damocles (aka Mercenary 2) - Cheats and FAQ's
FUN

On Midas reference 577-341 you can find a pyramid which contains a magic crystal. To use it, you'll need the book from the trader at Eris capital city (13-5). Reading the book while in possession of the crystal will allow one wish to be granted. Try some of the following wishes:

I WISH I HAD A CHEESE SANDWICH
I WISH I HAD MORE TIME
I WISH I COULD RECIEVE 1,000,000 CREDITS
I WISH THE UNIVERSE WAS MORE COLOURFUL
I WISH I KNOW HOW TO USE AUTHOR'S COMPUTER
I WISH I HAD MERCENARY 3 NOW

Once you've figured out how to destroy a planet, try the technique on various planets. Especially Gaea, Dion, and Eris.

Blast the lock off the door of the Author's House and steal his computer and his chair. They both have actual uses, and do quite interesting things.

Blow up the Author's Computer with an explosive. Then get well clear... that is, well clear of EVERYTHING.

Each planet and/or moon has some information and history associated with it. Benson (your computer) doesn't always present it upon your visit to said world. Keep trying until you do get it.

Try to land on the sun (Dialis).

Crash your spaceship in the ocean.

Land on the roof of a building, get out, then stroll over the edge...

Get yourself locked into the jail on Metis.

There are lots of nice vantage points to watch Eris's destruction from. Vesta is quite decent. The best place, of course, is on Eris itself. If you're on the right part of the planet, you'll get to see the comet plunging through the atmosphere directly towards you.

Watch the control towers at spaceports; they change color to warn you when your ship gets near.

Lots of the stuff in Damocles is quite closely related to British politics, although the passage of time since its release has obsoleted some of the jokes. For example, the Lawson Banks are named after Nigel Lawson, the chancellor of the Exchequer at the time Damocles was being written (although by the time it actually came out, he wasn't any more...) You can find the Prime Minister's proposal for the poll tax in the basement of the Hall of Government on Vesta; she predicts it will be well-received...

The Novagen offices are full of inside jokes and hints on the game. You will find the keys in a pub on Dion East.

Noticed the road signs near the Novagen building on Dion? Novagen's real offices are on Alcester Road, Birmingham, England, and the one in the game bears an intentional physical resemblance to the real one. The same goes for the Author's House.
THE 5 WINNING WAYS

   1. Find all eight explosives and the timed detonator. Go to Damocles. Drop seven explosives and set the eighth to detonate. Depart posthaste and collect reward: $10,000,000. Note that you can bargain the State President o $25,000,000 by turning down her first offers.
   2. Ditto, but blow up Icarus instead before Damocles passes it. Without Icarus's gravitational pull, Damocles's course is altered so it misses Eris by a good margin. Collect $10,000,000 from the State President and $25,000,000 from Lloyds' for solving the problem without destroying Damocles.
   3. Using the Nova Bomb instead of explosives, repeat #1 or #2 above.
   4. Use the Magic Wishing Crystal on Midas and wish that Eris (or both Eris and Damocles) would be saved. (the "Wishes Solution")
   5. Using the Author's Computer, blow up Damocles (planet #29.)

GAMMA SYSTEM GUIDE
ICARUS (first planet)
    ~152/417 = MINING COMPLEX
    02/01 = HQ: Red Herring (worth nothing special)
ACHERON (moon of Midas)
    ~836/324 = ACHERON RETREAT One of the four "hidden" pyramids contains a communications console.
    * The key to the Acheron/Midas puzzle is in either sphynx. Go in the hidden side door at the sphynx's knee. On the front wall is a pyramid number, but you can only read it if you're carrying the reading glasses from Lucan. Translate it into planetary coordinates:

       1. Divide by 4096 and drop the fraction. Call this PX.
       2. Get the remainder from step 1. Call this PY. The pyramids are arranged in a large square, 4096 pyramids on a side. PX and PY locate the pyramid in this grid.
       3. Divide PX by 4.096 and drop the fraction to get the planetary X coord.
       4. Divide PY by 4.096, drop the fraction and add 250. This is the planetary Y coordinate. Now go to Midas.

MIDAS (second planet): THE MIDAS PROJECT (16 million identical pyramids)
    * Pyramid 68-09-20-33 located at 577,341 contains the Magic Wishing Crystal. You can wish for anything in the Wishful Thinking of a Mercenary book: while holding the crystal, show the wish in the little message window, then hit * and it shall be granted. Note that a lot of stuff in here you can also do for free by fiddling with the Author's Computer.
DION (third planet)
    ~793/574 = BIRMINGHAM ISLAND
    03/14 = Dion Verdant Party HQ. Parked outside: Targ Tourer (car) 1: Teleport Cube 2
    9: Door Key "E"
    00/07 = Lawson-8 Bank
    02/12 = GUM Department Store. 1: Rug
    01/11 = Bank of Gaea branch
    00/10 = Office Building. G: Bed, Table, Notepad (stating that Prof. Hantzen's new address is Ur City 07/01)
    02/11 = Novagen Offices (requires Door Key "D" for entry)
    G: Rubbish Bin (filled with Damocles release dates)
    1: Novagen Files (with random remarks), Table, Ansafone (noting that everyone's on holiday, and you can buy a Blue Beacon Detector at 02/01 Mentor), Novagen Safe (blast open with explosive set to 0, and then read various clues)
    02/02 = GUM Department Store: Washing Machine
    09/00 = GUM Department Store: Bath, Towel Rail
    09/14 = Trading Post: ACME Universal Suit ($25,000)
    * The ACME Universal protects against heat, cold, and vacuum.
    01/05 = "E" Building
    14/13 = Author's House (requires Door Key "A")
    Author's Chair, Desk, Computer
    * The Chair is a spaceship in disguise, and to operate the computer you must be sitting in it. Computer settings: 0 - changes the colors of the Universe. 1 - changes the colors of your control panel. 2 - changes the amount of perspective. 3 - changes the speed at which time passes. 4 - allows you to delete any planet from the system.
    Destroy the computer and the entire solar system comes apart.
    ~807/586 = DION NORTH
    00/03 = Windmill: 1 Box Explosives
    01/04 = Trading Post: Hammer
    04/01 = Empty Trading Post
    06/00 = Annie's Bar: Chair/Table
    ~810/566 = DION EAST
    06/00 = Annie's Bar: Chair/Table, Door Key "D"
    04/01, 01/04 = Empty Trading Posts
    00/03 = Greenhouse: Greenhouse Effect (worth $24,000)
CLOTHO (moon of Dion)
    ~596/322 = CLOTHO NEW TOWN
    01/00 = Lloyds Group 4 Investments. 2: Table, Chair, Lottery Ticket
    * The "4" points to:
    04/00 = Secret Storage. B: Bathroom Scale
    01/01 = Nuclear Power Plant: Fireplace, Chair, Table
    02/01 = Active Marketing
    G: Bench, Table
    2: Fridge
    3: Bed
    4: Settee, Coffee Table, Table Lamp, Sunglasses
ATROPOS (moon of Dion)
    ~009/304 = CITY
    02/02 = Spaceport
    01/02 = Bank of Gaea Branch
    01/01 = GUM Department Store. 1: Shopping Bag
    02/01 = Radar Station
LACHESIS (moon of Dion)
    ~612/506 = Abandoned Pulvin Mines, tractors
GAEA (fourth planet)
    ~125/687 = UR CITY
    07/01 = Prof. Hantzen's House (req. Door Key B) Parked outside: '99 Chevy Inside: Teleport Cube 0, Sideboard (really NOVA TRIGGER 1), Table, Fax (mentioning storage location of expensive piano, and that the power of the Nova Bomb equals 8 maxset explosives)
    09/02 = Storage Center. B: Piano (worth $18,000), NOVA BOMB
    09/03 = Trading Post: Stove
    05/02 = Industrial Co-Op HSE2
    B: 1 Box Explosive
    G: Table/Chair
    00/01 = Spaceport "E"
    03/00 = Empty Storage Center
    01/03 = GUM Department Store: Shower
    01/02 = Industrial Co-Op HSE1
    B: 1 Box Explosive
    G: Chair/Desk
    ~065/440 = CHALDEA METROPOLIS
    07/14 = Spaceport
    06/06 = Bank of Gaea Building
    G: Desk, Settee, Chair, Receipt (describing how the package from Prof. Hantzen was sold locally)
    B: Gold (worth $45,000)
    04/01 = Marillion Apartments
    G: Sink, Wall Clock (hinting towards Icarus solution), Wardrobe
    1: Cooker
    03/00 = Empty Storage
    06/08 = Real Estate Offices (lose money to buy house 02/05 Eris Capital)
    05/06 = Trading Post: Stereo (really NOVA TRIGGER 3)
    08/08 = Trade Center: Teleport cube 6, key to '22 CV (parked outside)
    ~751/314 = VULCAN ISLAND
    Volcano, Blue Beacon, 1 Box Explosives
CRONUS (moon of Gaea)
    ~626/463 = Mercenary I Museum. 05/05: Museum Guide
CYCLOPES (moon of Gaea)
    ~851/602 = IDI CAMP COMPLEX
    02/02 = IDI Palace of Fun: Amplifier (lottery being held) * The ticket is in the Lloyds Group 4 building on Clotho.
ERIS (5th Planet)
    ~016/283 = CAPITAL CITY
    07/08 = Spaceport: VIP Limo, VIP Limo Key [ YOU START HERE ]
    09/09 = Moorby School of Flying: Electric Fire, Eagle-9SE Spaceship
    09/08 = State President's Office
    B: Eagle-9SE Key
    G: Damocles File (describing Damocles), Coffee Table
    1: Air Conditioner
    2: Bench, Settee
    11/08 = "E" Building. B: Teleport Cube 5
    01/01 = Exchequer District A (lose all cash to pay back taxes)
    04/04 = Statue
    04/10, 14/03, 13/03, 12/03 = Empty Trading Posts
    04/11 = GUM Department Store: King-Size Spanner
    09/02 = Playtester Stores (Red Beacon) B: Antigrav
    * Antigrav allows you to pick up vehicles and teleport cubes.
    15/03 = Trading Post: Pressure Suit (permitting excursions in vacuum)
    08/14 = Trading Post: Key to Bestcupand (parked outside)
    12/04 = Open Area: Sunshade
    14/05 = Eris Power Generation: Heat Resist Suit
    ??/?? = Trading Post: _The Wishful Thinking of a Mercenary_ book
    * This is somewhere near the nuclear power plant and the 08/14 T.P. The book is part of the "wishes" solution.
    02/01 = Post Office: Table
    01/04 = Another "E"
    15/12 = Lawson Bank HQ. B: Vault (open with Key C) - 25 million ECUs
    * note that you can't seem to actually GET $25 mil for this...
    12/14 = Eris Post Office HQ -- A to Z computer
    * Carry the computer and activate it. It shows your location, and names the building if you're near someplace special. Note that the phone message in the NIC on Mentor does NOT have the correct location! Argh!
    02/01 = Airport: Table
    ~375/438 = VELOS
    03/07 = Trading Post: TV Controller
    04/06 = Empty Trading Post
    04/05 = EKMPV S Ad Agency. 1: Coffee Table, Settee, Standard Lamp
    04/01 = Eris TV Studios
    1: Settee, Desk, Chair
    2: Table, Video Player
    9: TV (use TV Controller to watch), Chair, Table
    ~750/375 = BARE ISLAND
    05/05 = "E" Building
    06/06 = GUM Department Store. 1: Thermal Undies
    06/05 = Professor Hantzen's Labs
    B: Door Key B
    3: 3 Boxes of Explosives
    4: Top Secret File (describing the Nova Bomb), Table, Memo Pad (describing how the four triggers have been lost by the Post Office Sorting Branch, Snow Island), Processor's Desk and Chair
    02/04 = Hantzen Airport
    07/04 = Hantzen Admin. 9: Table, Chair, Geiger Counter
    * The Geiger Counter clicks when you get near the Novabomb, and clicks faster and faster as you get closer to it.
    06/02 = Low Office Building
    B: Timed Detonator (sets off explosives)
    G: Teleport Cube 1
    1: '99 Chevy Key
    ~007/507 = SNOW ISLAND
    07/04 = Landing Strip
    06/04 = Wine Bar: Table, Chair, Bottle
    03/00 = Post Office Sorting Branch: Table, Clipboard (describing where the four triggers may have gotten to), Storage Boxes, Cupboard (in reality NOVA TRIGGER 2)
    ~626/126 = KEY WEST
    02/01 = Spaceport
    01/04 = "E" building
    07/10, 08/08, 04/00 = Empty Trading Posts
    09/08 = Lawson-8 Bank: Antique Clock (worth $799.90)
    07/07 = Newton Ltd. Research. B: Anti-Grav (worth $100,000)
    00/07 = Spaceport
METIS (moon of Eris)
    ~616/511 = JUDICIARY COMPLEX
    00/06 = Office Building (lose all cash to lawsuit) 9: Processor's Desk & Chair, Filofax (describing various trivial stuff), Teleport Cube #?
    02/00 = Spaceport with Beacon
    01/03 = Lawson-8 bank: Door Key "C"
    02/06 = Jail (do not enter -- you get locked up 'till Mercenary III is released...)
    05/06 = Nixon Interstellar Court of Justice (NIC) Inside: Table, Wall Phone (mentioning that the A-Z Computer at Eris Post Office at 14/11 could be most useful) Through secret door at back: something which is actually NOVA TRIGGER #?
VESTA (moon of Eris)
    ~264/326 = POLITBURO CITY
    04/06 = Government Hall (requires Door Key E for entry/exit)
    B: Teleport Cube 4
    G: Bench
    1: Key to Targ Tourer, Processor's Desk and Chair
    2: Scroll (describing trivial proposed new legislation), Table
    3: Briefcase (increasing number of things you can carry)
    05/03, 06/03 = Empty Trading Posts
    06/04 = Lawson-8 Bank
    05/04 = Lloyd's Group 4 Building. From 4th floor the four becomes an arrow, pointing to:
    04/04 = Traffic Circle with Red Beacon Locator
    03/07 = GUM Department Store. (be 2nd customer, win $10,000)
    2: Table, Cash Register (worth $1,555)
    03/01 = Bank of Gaea Branch (?)
LUCAN (moon of Eris)
    ~???/??? = ONE OF A RING OF 12 ISLANDS
    00/07 = Red Beacon, Reading Glasses
    * The huge glyphs on the islands are actually the 12 signs of the zodiac. The beacon is located in the "eye" of Leo. The glasses are required to solve the Midas puzzle.
SOLON (moon of Eris)
    ~969/596 = PENN SCHOOL OF LITERATURE
    ??/?? = Blue Beacon, Mazelike Underground Complex
    Nesbitt Library: Table, Stool, Bookcase; Gold (worth $75,000)
THEON (moon of Eris)
    ~???/??? = INTERSTELLAR COMMUNICATIONS LINK
    02/03 = Radar: 1 Box Explosives
    01/02 = Landing Strip, Blue Beacon
    03/01 = Radar: Communications Console, Chair
    Assorted communications towers outside the central complex
LOGOS (sixth planet)
    ~316/896 = CITY
    04/02 = Bridge Office Building
    3: Photocopier (mentions teleport cubes can be flown through)
    4: Teleport Cube 6
    06/03 = Charlene's Disco: Ghetto Blaster (providing loud, irritating music)
    06/00 = Spaceport
    07/00, 08/00, 06/02, 08/03, 07/03 = Empty Trading Posts
    * You get the best prices for found equipment at "Frank's Bargain TP."
PAN (moon of Triton)
    ~102/688 = HADES LABOR CAMP
    04/00 = Spaceport, Red Beacon
    04/01 = Offices. 1: Key to Bullet spaceship
    Numerous jails and (immobile) tractors
THALIA (moon of Triton)
    ~487/042 = MILITARY BASE
    06/03 = Spaceport: Red Beacon, Bullet spaceship
PERSEUS (moon of Juno)
    ~940/456 = ALKANE BASE
    04/06 = Emergency Facility. B: Bed, Life-Support
    05/02 = Research Lab: Battery, Davey Jones' Locker
TOLOSA (moon of Juno)
    ~667/633 = ERISIAN CURRENCY REPOSITORY (defended)
    * It's not real difficult to destroy the drone ship: go to a low altitude and keep moving at low speed so you won't be hit. Keep turning around and fire whenever you see something moving. A direct hit is NOT required...
    ??/?? = Currency Repository (requiring Door Key "H" to enter): Gold
BACCHUS (moon of Juno)
    ~405/638 = CITY
    02/08 = Spaceport: Concorde III plane, Transporter Cube 8
    01/03 = Casino: Table, Phone Message (asking why you're in the fleshpots of Bacchus when there's work to be done) Bet all your money, double or nothing
    01/02 = GUM Department Store: Fishtank
    00/03 = Dance Hall
MENTOR (ninth planet)
    ~689/316 = SETTLEMENT
    09/07 = Spaceport: Teleport Cube #9, Concorde III Key
    02/01 = Trading Post: Blue Beacon Detector (costs $100,000)
    06/05 = Trading Post: Antique Sextant
    04/03 = Trading Post: CB Rig
    Numerous other trading posts

    Planets not mentioned in this guide are probably void.
    DOOR KEYS

        * found ??? unlocks Author's House, 14/13 Birmingham Island, Dion
        * found Hantzen Labs, 06/05 Bare Island, Eris; unlocks Hantzen's House, 07/01 Ur City, Gaea
        * found in Lawson Bank, 01/03 Metis; unlocks vault in basement, Lawson Bank HQ, 15/12 Capital City, Eris
        * found in bar, 06/00 Dion East, Dion; unlocks Novagen Offices, 02/11 Birmingham Island, Dion
        * found in Dion Verdant Party HQ, 03/14 Birmingham Island, Dion; unlocks Government Hall, 04/06 Vesta
        * found in a Lawson Bank, second floor -- unlocks ?
        * ???
        * found ??? unlocks Eris Currency Repository ??/?? Tolosa

    NOTE: Yyou can get through locked doors another way: set an explosive to 0, drop it next to the door, and back off. The explosive will blast the lock off the door.
    VEHICLES AND KEYS

    VIP Limo (car):
        Capital City Spaceport, 07/08 Capital City, Eris; key inside building 
    Eagle-9SE (spaceship):
        Moorby School of Flying, 09/09 Capital City, Eris; key in basement of State President's Office at 09/08 
    Bestcupand (spaceship):
        Trading post, 08/14 Capital City, Eris; key inside trading post 
    '99 Chevy (car):
        Hantzen's House, 07/01 Ur City, Gaea; key inside 06/02 office, Bare Island, Eris 
    Targ Tourer (car):
        Dion Verdant Party HQ, 03/14 Birmingham Island, Dion; key on 1st floor, Government Hall, 04/06 Vesta 
    Free Ship:
        Spaceport, 00/07 Key West, Eris 
    Concorde III (plane):
        Spaceport 02/08 Bacchus; key inside spaceport, 09/07 Mentor 
    '22 CV (car):
        Office, 08/08 Chaldea Metropolis, Gaea key inside building 
    Bullet (military spaceship):
        Spaceport 06/03 Thalia; key in offices, 04/01 Pan

    TRANSPORTER CUBES

    0: Hantzen's House, 07/01 Ur City, Gaea
    1: G, 06/02 Bare Island, Eris
    2: 1, Dion Verdant Party HQ, 03/14 Birmingham Island, Dion
    4: B, Government Hall, 04/06 Vesta
    5: B, 11/08 Capital City, Eris
    6: 4, 04/02 Logos
    ?: Offices 08/08 Chaldea Metropolis, Dion
    8: Outside 02/08 Bacchus
    9: Outside 09/07 Mentor
    ?: 9, 00/06 Metis
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