Penthesileia

(set:$independence to 0)In the morning, you wake and turn to your husband. (click:?page)[ “Good morning, dear. Has anyone ever told you how handsome you are?” you ask.] (click:?page)[ “No, honey. But I could stand to hear it one more time.”] (click:?page)[ In the morning, you brew a pot of coffee and watch it lighten by degrees.] (click:?page)[ “Did I get it right?” you ask.] (click:?page)[ He takes a sip from his mug. Steam turns his green eyes opaque.] (click:?page)[ “It’s perfect, my love. Don’t go changing a thing.”] (click:?page)[ In the morning, your husband leaves for work. ] (click:?page)[In the morning, you think about how lucky you are to have a husband like him. ] (click:?page)[ In the afternoon, you rearrange the furniture and vacuum the floors.] (click:?page)[ In the evening, you rearrange the furniture and get dinner going.] (click:?page)[ “How was work, dear?” you ask.] (click:?page)[ “It’s an honor to serve the Prefect.”] (click:?page)[ The front door snaps shut behind your husband, and he slumps onto the couch with a bitter sigh.] (click:?page)[ “A blind mongoose could do his job.”] (click:?page)[ At night, you sleep dreamlessly. In the morning, you wake and turn to your husband.] (click:?page)[ “Good morning, dear. Has anyone ever told you how handsome you are?” you ask.] (click:?page)[ “Only you, honey. Only you.” [[***->Chapter 2]]]

(set:$suspicion to 0)“I have a gift for you.” (click:?page)[ It’s Sunday, late afternoon bordering on evening.] (click:?page)[ The sun sets faster and faster each day.] (click:?page)[ You never noticed until your husband pointed it out.] (click:?page)[ “The Prefect decides when the sun will set,” he once told you with a wink. “I swear: the masses will eat up all kinds of bullshit.”] (click:?page)[ Your husband had paused, then, looking at you expectantly, and…] (click:?page)[ What was it you said?] (click:?page)[ (link: "“Has… has anyone ever told you how… how funny you are?”")[ (set: $independence to it + 1) (go-to: "Chapter 3a")] [[“Has… has anyone ever told you how… how handsome you are?”->Chapter 3b]]]

Your brain hurt. (click:?page)[But your husband only smiled and sighed.] (click:?page)[ “This is why I love you, Penny. You always know exactly what to say.”] (click:?page)[ Another sigh, and Achilles pressed his lips to yours.] (click:?page)[ “You see me—” [[“Penny?”->Chapter 4]]]

Yes—that felt right. (click:?page)[But your husband only shook his head and sighed.] (click:?page)[ “We’ll have to work on that one, Penny.”] (click:?page)[ Another sigh, and Achilles pressed his lips to yours.] (click:?page)[ “But don’t worry. I still love you. I always—” [[“Penny?”->Chapter 4]]]

//That’s you, girl.// (click:?page)[ Whiplash sends you snapping back to the present.] (click:?page)[ It’s Sunday, late afternoon bordering on evening. The sun sets faster and faster each—] (click:?page)[ “Did you hear what I just said?”] (click:?page)[ “Yes.”] (click:?page)[ Your husband frowns. He readjusts the leather strap of his watch. “Prove it, then. Recite it back to me.”] (click:?page)[ “Did you hear what I just—?”] (click:?page)[ “No, not that—” Achilles grabs at his own hair. When he turns back around again, his scowl has transformed into a smile.] (click:?page)[ You have seen this happen many times before.] (click:?page)[ It has never unnerved you; there’s no reason it should now.] (click:?page)[ “I brought you a gift,” Achilles says—repeats, you wager. You watch as he leaves and comes back with a long, red dress draped over his arms. “Beautiful, isn’t it?”] (click:?page)[ “Yes.”] (click:?page)[ “Now,” your husband declares, “what do you say?”] (click:?page)[ “Thank you, dear.”] (click:?page)[ “Very good… Now, what do you //do//?”] (click:?page)[ You step out of your clothes and into his embrace. [[***->Chapter 5]]]

You wear the dress to dinner. (click:?page)[It draws eyes.] (click:?page)[ Or maybe it’s your husband who commands the room. He tends to do that.] (click:?page)[ Achilles has never taken you to this restaurant before. Its name and motto are one and the same: “In Honor of Our Everlasting Prefect.”] (click:?page)[ The restaurant is not far from that great, glass tower you call “home.” You are pretty sure you could have walked it.] (click:?page)[ But your husband never walks anywhere. Your husband is a very important man, he tells you; many would like to put a bullet in his brain.] (click:?page)[ When the waiter comes, Achilles orders for the two of you.] (click:?page)[ When the food comes, he sends back his plate and yours, as well.] (click:?page)[ There’s nothing wrong with the food; he says he likes keeping the waitstaff on their toes.] (click:?page)[ “I just know their lives are flashing past their eyes,” Achilles once laughed. You were sitting beside him in his regime-issued car. (The self-driving kind, he told you, with a fully-functional steering wheel.) “It gets me every time.”] (click:?page)[ Your husband always brings a poison taster with him to dinner. Your husband is a very important man, he tells you; many would like to see his head on a silver platter.] (click:?page)[ Maybe you would send his head back to the kitchen. The thought makes you laugh.] (click:?page)[ “What’s so funny, darling?”] (click:?page)[ (link: "“Nothing.”")[ (set: $independence to it + 1) (go-to: "Chapter 6a")] [[“Your head on a silver platter.”->Chapter 6b]]]

The waiter goes pale as paper. Your husband glares at him until he scuttles for the safety of the kitchen, and then at you. (click:?page)[ “What do you think you’re doing?” Achilles snarls through gritted teeth.] (click:?page)[ Your head spins.] (click:?page)[ //Come on, girl. Think!// What are you supposed to say now?] (click:?page)[ [[“Has anyone ever told you how funny you are?”->Chapter 7b]] [[“Has anyone ever told you how handsome you are?”->Chapter 7b]]]

Your brain hurts. (click:?page)[ A divot forms between his brows.] (click:?page)[ But then he shrugs and begins cutting into his steak.] (click:?page)[ Your husband likes it rare.] (click:?page)[ Almost bloody.] (click:?page)[ There are precious few cows left in the world.] (click:?page)[ They go on a special menu—one reserved for people like Achilles. Your husband is a very important man, you know; many would like to see his—] (click:?page)[ You stare down at your dinner, the green leaves of your salad painstakingly arranged into the form of a rose. It almost seems a shame to desecrate.] (click:?page)[ But then your husband says, “Eat, Penny,” and you remember your hunger. How there is nothing you’d rather do than eat. [[***->Chapter 7a]]]

Sometime later, Achilles excuses himself. (click:?page)[When he is gone, you pick at your salad. Your hunger has waned, and besides, you didn’t like it much to begin with.] (click:?page)[ Now that you think about it, you can't help but wonder why you’ve never been given a choice in the matter.] (click:?page)[ You stare out the nearest window, expecting only to see the horizon, a deep russet, giving way to the inky black of night.] (click:?page)[ Instead, you find a pair of eyes gazing back at you.] (click:?page)[ You turn, tracing the reflection back to a young man bent over a dirty table five booths down from your own. Water drip-drips from the frayed rag in his hand.] (click:?page)[ That night, as you stare up at the ceiling of your bedroom, you find yourself unable to sleep. Your mind wanders back to that restaurant, back to that strange young man and the look in his eyes.] (click:?page)[ You knew that look; you knew its name: (link: "wonder.") [(link: "fear.") [(link-reveal: "recognition.") [ But how can that be? Try as you might, you can’t recall ever (link-reveal: "seeing that man before.") [ Now that you think about it, there’s a lot you can’t recall. [[***->Chapter 8]]]]]]]

In the morning, you wake and turn to your husband. (click:?page)[ “Good morning, dear. Has anyone ever…?”] (click:?page)[ The words die in your throat. For in that moment, you think Achilles looks far from the man you married.] (click:?page)[ In fact, you think he might look quite ugly.] (click:?page)[ So why do you feel the urge to ask your husband if anyone has ever told him how handsome he is?] (click:?page)[ Next to you, Achilles raises an eyebrow. “You were saying?”] (click:?page)[ //Focus, girl!//] (click:?page)[ (link: "“Have you done something to your hair?”")[ (set: $independence to it + 1, $suspicion to it +1) (go-to: "Chapter 9a")] [[“Has anyone ever told you how handsome you are?”->Chapter 9b]]]

You wait for your husband to smile. But all he does is attack his steak with renewed fury. (click:?page)[ Sometime later, Achilles excuses himself.] (click:?page)[ When he is gone, you pick at your salad. You didn’t like it much to begin with.] (click:?page)[ Now that you think about it, you can't help but wonder why you’ve never been given a choice in the matter.] (click:?page)[ You stare out the nearest window, expecting only to see the horizon, a deep russet, giving way to the inky black of night.] (click:?page)[ Instead, you find a pair of eyes gazing back at you.] (click:?page)[ You turn, tracing the reflection back to a young man bent over a dirty table five booths down from your own. Water drip-drips from the frayed rag in his hand.] (click:?page)[ That night, as you stare up at the ceiling of your bedroom, you find yourself unable to sleep. Your mind wanders back to that restaurant, back to that strange young man and the look in his eyes.] (click:?page)[ You knew that look; you knew its name: (link: "wonder.") [(link: "fear.") [(link-reveal: "recognition.") [ But how can that be? Try as you might, you can’t recall ever (link-reveal: "seeing that man before.") [ Now that you think about it, there’s a lot you can’t recall. [[***->Chapter 8]]]]]]]

The words muscle their way off your lips. (click:?page)[ But Achilles only smiles and says, “No. Not unless you count my mom.” He rolls back over with a sigh. Light glints off the face of his watch. He never takes it off.] (click:?page)[ “That foul old bitch.”] (click:?page)[ In the morning, you brew a pot of coffee and add: [[An ounce and a half of milk.->Chapter 10a]] (link: "Two cups of sugar.")[ (set: $independence to it + 1, $suspicion to it +1) (go-to: "Chapter 10b")] (link: "A mysterious amount of vanilla creamer.")[ (set: $independence to it + 1, $suspicion to it +1) (go-to: "Chapter 10b")] (link: "Nothing.")[ (set: $independence to it + 1, $suspicion to it +1) (go-to: "Chapter 10b")]]

Achilles scowls. Light glints off the face of his watch. He never takes it off. (click:?page)[“Don’t you have somewhere to be?”] (click:?page)[ In the morning, you brew a pot of coffee and add: [[An ounce and a half of milk.->Chapter 10a]] (link: "Two cups of sugar.")[ (set: $independence to it + 1, $suspicion to it +1) (go-to: "Chapter 10b")] (link: "A mysterious amount of vanilla creamer.")[ (set: $independence to it + 1, $suspicion to it +1) (go-to: "Chapter 10b")] (link: "Nothing.")[ (set: $independence to it + 1, $suspicion to it +1) (go-to: "Chapter 10b")]]

“Did I get it right?” you ask. (click:?page)[ He takes a sip from his mug. Steam turns his green eyes opaque.] (click:?page)[ “It tastes great, Penny.”] (click:?page)[ In the morning, your husband leaves for work. In the morning, you think about how lucky you are to have a husband like him.] (click:?page)[ But there are things you don’t particularly like about Achilles. (link: "Like how he always orders for you at restaurants.") [(link: "Like how he scares all the waitstaff.") [Like how he talks to you, sometimes—like you’ve got something to prove.]]] (click:?page)[ In the afternoon, you rearrange the furniture and vacuum the floors. You might have to do some cleaning by hand—at least, this is what you tell yourself when you slip into your husband’s office.] (click:?page)[ You give the room a once-over. It looks the same as it has always looked: the plush couch. The bear skin (last of its kind). The monochrome wall art. That vintage rotary telephone Achilles brought home from an auction years ago.] (click:?page)[ But was there always a [[notebook->Chapter 11a]] on that desk? And what could your husband possibly have in that ancient [[filing cabinet->Chapter 11b]]?]

“Did I get it right?” you ask. (click:?page)[ He takes a sip from his mug. And spits it back out.] (click:?page)[ “We’ll need to do something about this.”] (click:?page)[ In the morning, your husband leaves for work. In the morning, you think about how lucky you are to have a husband like him.] (click:?page)[ But there are things you don’t particularly like about Achilles. (link: "Like how he always orders for you at restaurants.") [(link: "Like how he scares all the waitstaff.") [Like how he talks about you, sometimes—like you’re something that needs fixing.]]] (click:?page)[ In the afternoon, you rearrange the furniture and vacuum the floors. You might have to do some cleaning by hand—at least, this is what you tell yourself when you slip into your husband’s office.] (click:?page)[ You give the room a once-over. It looks the same as it has always looked: the plush couch. The bear skin (last of its kind). The monochrome wall art. That vintage rotary telephone Achilles brought home from an auction years ago.] (click:?page)[ But was there always a [[notebook->Chapter 11a]] on that desk? And what could your husband possibly have in that ancient [[filing cabinet->Chapter 11b]]?]

You hesitate, your hand hovering over the battered cover. [[You probably shouldn’t be snooping.->Chapter 12a]] (link: "Maybe you should check the filing cabinet instead.")[ (set: $independence to it + 1) (go-to: "Chapter 12b")] (link: "You give in to curiosity.")[ (set: $independence to it + 1) (go-to: "Chapter 12c")]

You hesitate. The drawers seem locked. [[You probably shouldn’t be snooping, anyway.->Chapter 12a]] (link: "Maybe you should check the notebook instead.")[ (set: $independence to it + 1) (go-to: "Chapter 12c")] (link: "You might as well give them a try.")[ (set: $independence to it + 1) (go-to: "Chapter 12b")]

You leave the office. (click:?page)[In the evening, you rearrange the furniture and get dinner going.] (click:?page)[ “How was work, dear?” you ask.] (click:?page)[ “It’s an honor to serve the Prefect.”] (click:?page)[ The front door snaps shut behind your husband, and he slumps onto the couch with a bitter sigh.] (click:?page)[ “If only he could see me as you do.” [[***->Chapter 14]]]

You walk over to the cabinet and try each drawer. (click:?page)[But there is nothing you can do; they are, indeed, locked.] (click:?page)[ Your skin prickles. You know this feeling; you know its name:] (click:?page) [ dread.] (click:?page)[ In the evening, you rearrange the furniture and get dinner going.] (click:?page)[ “How was work, dear?” you ask.] (click:?page)[ “It’s an honor to serve the Prefect.”] (click:?page)[ The front door snaps shut behind your husband, and he slumps onto the couch with a bitter sigh.] (click:?page)[ “If only he could see me as you do.” [[***->Chapter 14]]]

(set: $visited to it +1)(if: visits < 4) [You flip to a random date: (link-storylet: 1) (link-storylet: 2) (link-storylet: 3)] (if: visits >= 4) [In the evening, you rearrange the furniture and get dinner going. Your hands shake, and when the front door swings open, you can’t help it—the question positively leaps off your tongue: [[“How was work, dear?”->Chapter 13a]] (link: "“Would you pluck out my eyes?”")[ (set: $independence to it + 1, $suspicion to it +1) (go-to: "Chapter 13b")] (link: "“Do you love me?”")[ (set: $independence to it + 1) (go-to: "Chapter 13c")]]

(storylet: when visits is 0)//It wasn’t supposed to be this way. She did nothing wrong. She wasn’t supposed to be there. She wasn’t supposed to die. She was so beautiful, Diary. So, so beautiful. I wish you could’ve seen her. I wish I could turn back time. But no one can. Despite everything we’ve told the masses, not even the Prefect has such power. Diary, I can’t stop thinking about her. Diary, I think she might’ve been the love of my life.// [[***->Chapter 12c]]

(storylet: when visits is 0)//Dear Diary, He made Theseus his right hand. Passed right over me like I was a bag of chicken liver. It wasn’t always this way. You know that, don’t you? I mean, how many can say that they were handpicked by the Prefect himself? I know what people say when my back is turned. I know they laugh and whisper, “He had such promise.” Relegated to pencil pushing, snack duty… as if I haven’t proven myself time and time again. I need to do something. I need to find a way for the Prefect to see me again. Because I am worthy, Diary. I am worthy of so much more. A// [[***->Chapter 12c]]

(storylet: when visits is 0)//Dear Diary, R&D finally revealed what they’ve been working on for the past six months: a new method of torture. They call it “Liquid Pain.” But careful! If you don’t measure it down to the exact milliliter, then it becomes “Liquid Death.” What a waste of resources. Really, that whole fucking team’s a waste of air and space. What happened to good ol’ fashioned nail pulling? What happened to plucking out eyeballs? Whatever happened to don’t fix what ain’t broken? I’m surrounded by incompetence, Diary. It really is very lonely at the top. A// [[***->Chapter 12c]]

You let out a breath you never realized you were holding. (click:?page)[ “It’s a privilege to serve the Prefect.”] (click:?page)[ The front door snaps shut behind your husband, and he slumps onto the couch with a bitter sigh.] (click:?page)[ “If only he could see me as you do.” [[***->Chapter 14]]]

Your husband has never looked at you this way before. (click:?page)[But his voice, when he speaks, is oddly, //incongruously//, cheerful:] (click:?page)[ “Where is this coming from, Penny?”] (click:?page)[ Your head spins; dread pools in your stomach.] (click:?page)[ But before you can conjure up a response, Achilles rises…] (click:?page)[ and takes his seat at the dinner table.] (click:?page)[ “I would never hurt you, my love. In fact, I would never hurt anyone.”] (click:?page)[ He touches his watch. His breath is warm against your ear.] (click:?page)[ “Not unless they have it coming.” [[***->Chapter 14]]]

You thought he did. (click:?page)[But isn’t it abundantly clear, now, that his heart belongs to another?] (click:?page)[ Someone who can never love him back.] (click:?page)[ Not as you do.] (click:?page)[ And you do love him. Oh, you love him so very, very much.] (click:?page)[ You just can’t remember why.] (click:?page)[ Achilles stands and closes the distance between the two of you.] (click:?page)[ “Oh, my sweet, little Penny.”] (click:?page)[ He presses his lips to yours.] (click:?page)[ “I have loved you since the moment I laid eyes on you.” [[***->Chapter 14]]]

In the morning, you allow yourself to lie there, for just a moment, before turning onto your side. You can barely look at Achilles. (click:?page)[ Still, you manage to say: [(link: "“Good morning, dear.”")[ (set: $independence to it + 1, $suspicion to it +1) (go-to: "Chapter 14a")] [[“Good morning, dear. Has anyone ever told you how handsome you are?”->Chapter 14b]]]]

He smiles. “That’s more like it.” (click:?page)[ In the morning, you brew a pot of coffee and add: [[An ounce and a half of milk.->Chapter 15a]] (link: "One stick of butter.")[ (set: $independence to it + 1, $suspicion to it +1) (go-to: "Chapter 15b")] (link: "A dash of salt.")[ (set: $independence to it + 1, $suspicion to it +1) (go-to: "Chapter 15b")] (link: "Nothing.")[ (set: $independence to it + 1, $suspicion to it +1) (go-to: "Chapter 15b")]]

You head over to the kitchen before your husband can even utter a sound. (click:?page)[ In the morning, you brew a pot of coffee and add: [[An ounce and a half of milk.->Chapter 15a]] (link: "One stick of butter.")[ (set: $independence to it + 1, $suspicion to it +1) (go-to: "Chapter 15b")] (link: "A dash of salt.")[ (set: $independence to it + 1, $suspicion to it +1) (go-to: "Chapter 15b")] (link: "Nothing.")[ (set: $independence to it + 1, $suspicion to it +1) (go-to: "Chapter 15b")]]

“Did I get it right?” you ask. (click:?page)[ He takes a sip from his mug. Steam turns his green eyes opaque.] (click:?page)[ “Well done.”] (click:?page)[ Achilles has one hand on the front door when he throws a smile over his shoulder.] (click:?page)[ “I’ll be home early today, Penny. It’s been long enough since we made a trip to the doctor, don’t you think?”](click:?page)[ You watch as the door slams shut behind him. You count to three hundred. Then, for the first time ever, you walk, alone, out of that apartment. [[***->Chapter 16]]]

“Did I get it right?” you ask. (click:?page)[ He takes a sip from his mug. And slowly rises to his feet.] (click:?page)[ A sour taste comes crawling up your throat when Achilles comes to a stop before you. He fiddles with his watch, then rests a hand upon your forehead.] (click:?page)[ “Clear your calendar for this evening, my dear… I’d say this calls for a visit to the doctor.”] (click:?page)[ You watch as the door slams shut behind him. You count to three hundred. Then, for the first time ever, you walk, alone, out of that apartment. [[***->Chapter 16]]]

It takes just over ten minutes to walk all the way to the restaurant Achilles took you to on Sunday. (click:?page)[Has it really only been two days? Your head spins, and you put out a hand to steady yourself.] (click:?page)[ What were you thinking, coming out here alone? But even as the thought crosses your mind, you’ve already found the answer:] (click:?page)[ You haven’t been able to stop thinking about him—](click:?page)[no, that’s not quite right. It’s that look in his eyes you can’t stop thinking about, the idea that someone might have memories of you—](click:?page)[memories you can’t remember being a part of.] (click:?page)[ “Keep walking.” A man has appeared right beside you.] (click:?page)[ You’re turning to see who it is when he mutters a string of commands:] (click:?page)[ “Keep looking straight ahead. It can’t look like we’re talking. It can’t look like we know each other.”] (click:?page)[ Your words are slow to come. “I… don’t know… you.”] (click:?page)[ “There’s an alleyway coming up. There’s a blind spot. You go first. I’ll be right behind you.”] (click:?page)[ “But I don’t know… you.”] (click:?page)[ “Don’t you want answers?”] (click:?page)[ You slow to a stop before the mouth of the deserted backstreet… and come to a decision: [(link: "Turn into the alleyway.")[ (set: $independence to it + 1) (go-to: "Chapter 17a")] [[Return to your apartment.->Chapter 17b]]]]

Your heart rails against its bony confines. Straining, you hear the sound of footsteps drawing rapidly closer. (click:?page)[A young man draws into view—the one you were looking for.] (click:?page)[ “I was hoping I’d see you again,” he says. “I’m Cal, by the way.”] (click:?page)[ “My name is Penny… Do I… know you?”] (click:?page)[ “I-I guess I wouldn’t expect you to… I-I just remember every face from that night.” Cal takes a deep, shuddering breath.] (click:?page)[ “I remember everyone who died.” [[***->Chapter 18a]]]

You should not be out here. Your body knows; you put as much distance between that strange, young man and yourself as you can without taking off at a run. (click:?page)[ Back in the apartment, you slam the front door shut and take a seat on the couch. Your stomach churns; you can barely sit still.] (click:?page)[ “The doctor will be able to sort everything out,” you whisper to yourself. “Yes… they’ll know what’s gone wrong.”] (click:?page)[ The sun has just touched the horizon when Achilles returns home. He holds the front door open.] (click:?page)[ “Shall we?”] (click:?page)[ You take a deep breath and follow him out the door. [[***->Chapter 18b]]]

Your brain hurts—oh, it really, //really// hurts.(click:?page)[ “I didn’t always work here. I got my first job wiping down tables at Down on Our Knees Before Our Beloved Prefect. I know… a mouthful. Despite the name, I heard rumors that the opposition liked dining there.] (click:?page)[ “Well, I wasn’t supposed to be working that Friday. But Thoon didn’t show up, so of course it was me they called in. All off the books, you see. That’s why I’m standing in front of you right now.] (click:?page)[ “I was cleaning up in the back when pandemonium broke loose. It must’ve only lasted ten minutes, and by the time things went…] (click:?page)[ quiet, there was…] (click:?page)[ nothing left. The Prefect’s people didn’t leave anyone alive.] (click:?page)[ “I was about to make my escape when a man walked into the restaurant. I would’ve recognized his face anywhere. He was—”] (click:?page)[ “A very important man.”] (click:?page)[ Cal looks at you with sad eyes. “He walked around the room, giving orders to bring the bodies out, to burn them all. And then he…] (click:?page)[ stopped. He was close enough, at that point, that I could see what’d caught his attention: one of the dead.] (click:?page)[ A woman…] (click:?page)[ “You.” [[***->Chapter 19a]]]

You stare down at your hands, as though they might wither and fall off at any moment. (click:?page)[ Maybe Cal is lying. But you have felt, for days now, as though your mind is not quite your own. As though someone else has taken the reins, tampered with the parts of you that make you… //you//.] (click:?page)[ But if Cal really is telling the truth, then that would mean you were dead. And now you are alive.] (click:?page)[ //How is that possible?//] (click:?page)[ “Penny?”] (click:?page)[ You look up at the sound of Cal’s voice.] (click:?page)[ “I’m really sorry.”] (click:?page)[ You struggle to get the words off your tongue. “Achilles is… taking me… to the doctor.”] (click:?page)[ “The doctor?” His eyes widen. “Do you think that’s who… brought you back?”] (click:?page)[ “Yes.”] (click:?page)[ “Then you can’t go.”] (click:?page)[ “I must.” Because here is how you see it: if they created you, then they must also have the means to destroy you.] (click:?page)[ So you’ll just have to get to them first. [[***->Chapter 20a]]]

Back in the apartment, you slam the front door shut and take a seat on the couch. Your stomach churns; you can barely sit still. (click:?page)[ The sun has just touched the horizon when Achilles returns home. He holds the front door open.] (click:?page)[ “Shall we?”] (click:?page)[ You take a deep breath and follow him out the door. [[***->Chapter 21]]]

Achilles fills the twenty-minute car ride with the sound of his own voice. (click:?page)[Electronic billboards flash past. They leave stars in your eyes, the vague impression of children laughing and women dancing.] (click:?page)[ At last, the car comes to a stop outside a small, rectangular building devoid of windows.] (click:?page)[ You do not remember ever coming here. But you must’ve, at some point. Your husband tells you so.] (click:?page)[ Inside, you take an elevator down to the basement and walk down a long corridor. Your footsteps echo softly. Two humanoid guards stand sentinel before the lone, slate gray door at the very end of the hallway. Humming, Achilles lifts a hand and presses his thumb to a little red pad. A gentle beeping fills the stale air, and the door clicks open.] (click:?page)[ There are two beds in the room beyond: one for sleeping, one for operating. A number of strange gadgets and machines litter the floor. Hastily drawn schematics rest in piles upon the large metal desk in the corner of the room.] (click:?page)[ A woman, her hair short and scraggly, sits before it, licking pizza grease off her fingers.] (click:?page)[ Only people like Achilles are allowed to eat pizza. Important people.] (click:?page)[ So why is he looking at her with his lip curled back in manifest disgust?] (click:?page)[ You do not like the smile she gives your husband. You like the smile she gives you even less.] (click:?page)[ “I’ll be back before you know it, my love,” Achilles murmurs. He kisses you. And then he is gone, leaving you alone with your doctor.] (click:?page)[ “Lie down on the operating table.” She has a strident sort of voice. A familiar one.] (click:?page)[ //That’s you, girl.//] (click:?page)[ //Come on, girl. Think!//] (click:?page)[ //Focus, girl!//] (click:?page)[ Yes—you have heard her before…] (click:?page)[ in your head.] (click:?page)[ //But how can that be?//] (click:?page)[ “Lie down, girl.”] (click:?page)[ The clock is ticking. You… [[Do as she says.->Chapter 19b]] [(link: "Lunge at her.")[ (set: $independence to it + 1) (go-to: "Chapter 19c")]]]

The table is cold against your bare skin. (click:?page)[Or perhaps it is regret that turns your blood cold.] (click:?page)[ You think about making a run for it.] (click:?page)[ But then a strange sort of darkness comes closing in, and…] (click:?page)[ Nothing. [[***->Chapter 20b]]]

And your hands are inches from her neck when the world (after: 1s)[= (text-colour:#868e96)[(text-style:"blur")[fades]] (after: 2s)[= (text-colour:#adb5bd)[(text-style:"blurrier")[to black.]] (after: 3s)[= (go-to: "Chapter 20c")

(set: $visitedH to it +1)Achilles fills the twenty-minute car ride with the sound of his own voice. (click:?page)[Electronic billboards flash past. They leave stars in your eyes, the vague impression of children laughing and women dancing.] (click:?page)[ The car comes to a stop outside a small, rectangular building devoid of windows.] (click:?page)[ You do not remember ever coming here. But you must’ve, at some point. How else would you be sitting here right now?] (click:?page)[ Inside, you take an elevator down to the basement and walk down a long corridor. Your footsteps echo softly. Two humanoid guards stand sentinel before the lone, slate gray door at the very end of the hallway. Humming, Achilles lifts a hand and presses his thumb to a little red pad. A gentle beeping fills the stale air, and the door clicks open.] (click:?page)[ There are two beds in the room beyond: one for sleeping, one for operating. A number of strange gadgets and machines litter the floor. Hastily drawn schematics rest in piles upon the large metal desk in the corner of the room.] (click:?page)[ A woman, her hair short and scraggly, sits before it, licking pizza grease off her fingers.] (click:?page)[ Only people like Achilles are allowed to eat pizza. Important people.] (click:?page)[ So why is he looking at her with his lip curled back in manifest disgust?] (click:?page)[ You do not like the smile she gives you.] (click:?page)[ “I’ll be back before you know it, my love,” Achilles murmurs. He kisses you. And then he is gone, leaving you alone with your doctor.] (click:?page)[ “Lie down on the operating table.” She has a strident sort of voice. A familiar one.] (click:?page)[ //That’s you, girl.//] (click:?page)[ //Come on, girl. Think!//] (click:?page)[ //Focus, girl!//] (click:?page)[ Yes—you have heard her before…] (click:?page)[ in your head.] (click:?page)[ //But how can that be?//] (click:?page)[ “Lie down, girl.”] (click:?page)[ The clock is ticking. You… [(link: "Look at her and say, “I know what happened… to me.”")[ (set: $independence to it + 1) (go-to: "Chapter 22a")]] [(link: "Lunge at her.")[ (set: $independence to it + 1) (go-to: "Chapter 22b")]]]

You don’t really know how you expect the doctor to react; all you know is that she should not be beaming.(click:?page)[ “How fascinating!” She claps her hands together. “So it seems that you are gaining independence from my original programming…] (click:?page)[ Oh, I could just //cry//. Baby Penny’s all grown up.”] (click:?page)[ Your voice shakes. “What did you do… to me?”] (click:?page)[ “You find it hard to speak sometimes, yes? That just means you’re not all the way there. You were only programmed to say certain things, respond to certain questions.” Her smirk widens. “To be amenable.”](click:?page)[ “What did you do to me?”] (click:?page)[ “Well, I suppose you already know about your untimely demise. There you were, as much life left in you as a dirty rag, when darling Achilles caught sight of you. And, oh, his heart was aflutter.] (click:?page)[ “A man like Achilles does not beg. He came close to it, though, when he came to me. Built me this whole lab just so you could live again. Just so he could have you—but, you know, with a few minor changes here and there.”] (click:?page)[ “You are… in my head.”] (click:?page)[ The doctor shrugs. “As I said: a few minor changes.”] (click:?page)[ “//Minor?// You… violated me. You… erased me!”] (click:?page)[ “Do you know how many would kill to be in your position? You are married to one of the most powerful men on the planet. He showers you with expensive dinners and the most luxurious silks. And what does he ask for in return? An ego boost? The occasional afternoon delight? Things could be much, much worse for you, girl.” The doctor breathes out a laugh.] (click:?page)[ “You could be //dead//.”] (click:?page)[ “You had no right—”] (click:?page)[ “To give you another chance at life?”] (click:?page)[ Slowly, she stalks toward you. “Will you squander it?”] (click:?page)[ You feel your jaw move. But no sound escapes from between your lips.] (click:?page)[ “Keep out of my way, and I’ll keep out of yours. If I so much as hear a peep from Achilles again…] (click:?page)[ Well, let’s just say that I have no problem cutting short this second life of yours.”] (click:?page)[ “You didn’t… tell me your name.”] (click:?page)[ “Antiope,” the doctor replies, after a beat.] (click:?page)[ “Antiope. Who was I?”] (click:?page)[ Her eyes soften.] (click:?page)[ She looks away—] (click:?page)[ As if, for the first time in her life, she might actually be sorry about something.] (click:?page)[ “I-I don’t know.” [[***->Chapter 24]]]

“How fascinating.”(click:?page)[ Your eyes shoot open. You scramble upright, nearly losing your balance in the process.] (click:?page)[ “So it seems that you are gaining independence from my original programming.”] (click:?page)[ The doctor smirks, turning away from a large, whirring machine feet away from you. “Baby Penny’s all grown up.”] (click:?page)[ Your voice shakes. “What did you do… to me?”] (click:?page)[ “You find it hard to speak sometimes, yes? That just means you’re not all the way there. You were only programmed to say certain things, respond to certain questions.” Her grin widens. “To be amenable.”](click:?page)[ “What did you do to me?”] (click:?page)[ “Well, I suppose there’s no harm starting from the very beginning. Before you were //you//, it seems you got caught in the crosshairs of our //wonderful// regime and those bumbling opposition fuckers. So there you were, as much life left in you as a dirty rag, when darling Achilles caught sight of you. And, oh, his heart was aflutter.] (click:?page)[ “A man like Achilles does not beg. He came close to it, though, when he came to me. Built me this whole lab just so you could live again. Just so he could have you—but, you know, with a few minor changes here and there.”] (click:?page)[ “You are… in my head.”] (click:?page)[ The doctor shrugs. “As I said: a few minor changes.”] (click:?page)[ “//Minor?// You… violated me. You… erased me!”] (click:?page)[ “Do you know how many would kill to be in your position? You are married to one of the most powerful men on the planet. He showers you with expensive dinners and the most luxurious silks. And what does he ask for in return? An ego boost? The occasional afternoon delight? Things could be much, much worse for you, girl.” The doctor breathes out a laugh.] (click:?page)[ “You could be //dead//.”] (click:?page)[ “You had no right—”] (click:?page)[ “To give you another chance at life?”] (click:?page)[Slowly, she stalks toward you. “Will you squander it?”] (click:?page)[ You feel your jaw move. But no sound escapes from between your lips.] (click:?page)[ “Keep out of my way, and I’ll keep out of yours. If I so much as hear a peep from Achilles again…] (click:?page)[ Well, let’s just say that I have no problem cutting short this second life of yours.”] (click:?page)[ “You didn’t… tell me your name.”] (click:?page)[ “Antiope,” the doctor replies, after a beat.] (click:?page)[ “Antiope. Who was I?”] (click:?page)[ Her eyes soften.] (click:?page)[ She looks away—] (click:?page)[ As if, for the first time in her life, she might actually be sorry about something.] (click:?page)[ “I-I don’t know.” [[***->Chapter 24]]]

“How fascinating.”(click:?page)[ Your eyes shoot open. You scramble upright, nearly losing your balance in the process.] (click:?page)[ “So it seems that you are gaining independence from my original programming.”] (click:?page)[ The doctor smirks, turning away from a large, whirring machine feet away from you. “Baby Penny’s all grown up.”] (click:?page)[ Your voice shakes. “What did you do… to me?”] (click:?page)[ “You find it hard to speak sometimes, yes? That just means you’re not all the way there. You were only programmed to say certain things, respond to certain questions.” Her grin widens. “To be amenable.”](click:?page)[ “What did you do to me?”] (click:?page)[ “Well, I suppose there’s no harm starting from the very beginning. Before you were //you//, it seems you got caught in the crosshairs of our //wonderful// regime and those bumbling opposition fuckers. So there you were, as much life left in you as a dirty rag, when darling Achilles caught sight of you. And, oh, his heart was aflutter.] (click:?page)[ “A man like Achilles does not beg. He came close to it, though, when he came to me. Built me this whole lab just so you could live again. Just so he could have you—but, you know, with a few minor changes here and there.”] (click:?page)[ “You are… in my head.”] (click:?page)[ The doctor shrugs. “As I said: a few minor changes.”] (click:?page)[ “//Minor?// You… violated me. You… erased me!”] (click:?page)[ “Do you know how many would kill to be in your position? You are married to one of the most powerful men on the planet. He showers you with expensive dinners and the most luxurious silks. And what does he ask for in return? An ego boost? The occasional afternoon delight? Things could be much, much worse for you, girl.” The doctor breathes out a laugh.] (click:?page)[ “You could be //dead//.”] (click:?page)[ “You had no right—”] (click:?page)[ “To give you another chance at life?”] (click:?page)[ Slowly, she stalks toward you. “Will you squander it?”] (click:?page)[ You feel your jaw move. But no sound escapes from between your lips.] (click:?page)[ “I shut you down temporarily just now—yes, I can do that. So can Achilles. He hates that I can. It’s a very nice bargaining chip, you know.] (click:?page)[ Anyway, keep out of my way, and I’ll keep out of yours. If I so much as hear a peep from Achilles again…] (click:?page)[ Well, let’s just say that I have no problem cutting short this second life of yours.”] (click:?page)[ “You didn’t… tell me your name.”] (click:?page)[ “Antiope,” the doctor replies, after a beat.] (click:?page)[ “Antiope. Who was I?”] (click:?page)[ Her eyes soften.] (click:?page)[ She looks away—] (click:?page)[ As if, for the first time in her life, she might actually be sorry about something.] (click:?page)[ “I-I don’t know.” [[***->Chapter 24]]]

“How fascinating.”(click:?page)[ Your eyes shoot open. You scramble upright, nearly losing your balance in the process.] (click:?page)[ “So it seems that you are gaining independence from my original programming.”] (click:?page)[ The doctor smirks, turning away from a large, whirring machine feet away from you. “Baby Penny’s all grown up.”] (click:?page)[ Your voice shakes. “What did you do… to me?”] (click:?page)[ “You find it hard to speak sometimes, yes? That just means you’re not all the way there. You were only programmed to say certain things, respond to certain questions.” Her grin widens. “To be amenable.”](click:?page)[ “What did you do to me?”] (click:?page)[ “Well, I suppose there’s no harm starting from the very beginning. Before you were //you//, it seems you got caught in the crosshairs between our //wonderful// regime and those bumbling opposition fuckers—](click:?page)[Oh, you already know? Well, alright then—so there you were, as much life left in you as a dirty rag, when darling Achilles caught sight of you. And, oh, his heart was aflutter.] (click:?page)[ “A man like Achilles does not beg. He came close to it, though, when he came to me. Built me this whole lab just so you could live again. Just so he could have you—but, you know, with a few minor changes here and there.”] (click:?page)[ “You are… in my head.”] (click:?page)[ The doctor shrugs. “As I said: a few minor changes.”] (click:?page)[ “//Minor?// You… violated me. You… erased me!”] (click:?page)[ “Do you know how many would kill to be in your position? You are married to one of the most powerful men on the planet. He showers you with expensive dinners and the most luxurious silks. And what does he ask for in return? An ego boost? The occasional afternoon delight? Things could be much, much worse for you, girl.” The doctor breathes out a laugh.] (click:?page)[ “You could be //dead//.”] (click:?page)[ “You had no right—”] (click:?page)[ “To give you another chance at life?”] (click:?page)[ Slowly, she stalks toward you. “Will you squander it?”] (click:?page)[ You feel your jaw move. But no sound escapes from between your lips.] (click:?page)[ “I shut you down temporarily just now—yes, I can do that. So can Achilles. He hates that I can. It’s a very nice bargaining chip, you know.] (click:?page)[ Anyway, keep out of my way, and I’ll keep out of yours. If I so much as hear a peep from Achilles again…] (click:?page)[ Well, let’s just say that I have no problem cutting short this second life of yours.”] (click:?page)[ “You didn’t… tell me your name.”] (click:?page)[ “Antiope,” the doctor replies, after a beat.] (click:?page)[ “Antiope. Who was I?”] (click:?page)[ Her eyes soften.] (click:?page)[ She looks away—] (click:?page)[ As if, for the first time in her life, she might actually be sorry about something.] (click:?page)[ “I-I don’t know.” [[***->Chapter 24]]]

In the morning, you wait for Achilles to leave before heading over to the restaurant. (if: $visitedH is 0)[You soon find yourself walking beside the stranger once more. This time, you turn into the alleyway.(click:?page)[ “Who are you?” you ask the young man from the restaurant.] (click:?page)[ “You can call me Cal,” he replies.] (click:?page)[ “My name is Penny. Do I… know you?”] (click:?page)[ “I-I guess I wouldn’t expect you to… I-I just remember every face from that night.” Cal takes a deep, shuddering breath.] (click:?page)[ “I remember everyone who died.”] (click:?page)[ Your breath hitches. “You were… there?”] (click:?page)[ “I didn’t always work here. I got my first job wiping down tables at Down on Our Knees Before Our Beloved Prefect. I know… a mouthful. Despite the name, I heard rumors that the opposition liked dining there.] (click:?page)[ “Well, I wasn’t supposed to be working that Friday. But Thoon didn’t show up, so of course it was me they called in. All off the books, you see. That’s why I’m standing in front of you right now.] (click:?page)[ “I was cleaning up in the back when pandemonium broke loose. It must’ve only lasted ten minutes, and by the time things went…] (click:?page)[ quiet, there was…] (click:?page)[ nothing left. The Prefect’s people didn’t leave anyone alive.] (click:?page)[ “I was about to make my escape when a man walked into the restaurant. I would’ve recognized his face anywhere. He was—”] (click:?page)[ “A very important man.”] (click:?page)[ Cal looks at you with sad eyes. “He walked around the room, giving orders to bring the bodies out, to burn them all. And then he… stopped. He was close enough, at that point, that I could see what’d caught his attention: one of the dead. A woman.”] (click:?page)[ “Me.”] (click:?page)[ “I’m really sorry.” ] (click:?page)[Cal chews on his bottom lip, then hands you a rectangular object the size of your little finger. “This is a flash drive. It has data on it—photos, videos, redacted reports—evidence of the regime’s worst offenses.”] (click:?page)[ “Including… my death?”] (click:?page)[ Cal nods. “Yes.”] (click:?page)[ “Why give me… everything?”] (click:?page)[ “Because we need your help.”] (click:?page)[ He continues before you can even think to respond. “Have you heard of the Public Dissemination Network?”] (click:?page)[ “No.”] (click:?page)[ “It’s the only form of mass-distributed media. Anything uploaded there will instantly feed into every single channel, station, and electronic billboard across the country. It’s highly regulated. The red tape is… unbelievable. But if you rank highly enough in the regime, you can sidestep it all.”] (click:?page)[ “You are talking about people like Achilles.”] (click:?page)[ “He certainly has high enough clearance to directly access the Network.”] (click:?page)[ “You work for… the bumbling opposition fuckers.”] (click:?page)[ Cal snorts out a laugh. “Is that what he calls us?”] (click:?page)[ “No. Someone else.”] (click:?page)[ He shrugs. “I guess that’s one way of putting it.”] (click:?page)[ “Is that why… I died?”] (click:?page)[ The smile slips off his face.] (click:?page)[ “Was I one of you?”] (click:?page)[ “No. I-I don’t think you were.”] (click:?page)[ “You said… that you remember everyone… from that night.” Your voice trembles, but you force out the question, anyway.] (click:?page)[“Who was I with?”] (click:?page)[ “Just one other person,” Cal whispers.] (click:?page)[ “A young woman. She… she looked like you.] (click:?page)[ Like you might have been sisters.”] (click:?page)[ Something inside you burns. Your vision blurs.] (click:?page)[ You blink down at the flash drive, pinched between your fingers.] (click:?page)[ “I’m sorry.”] (click:?page)[ “You keep saying that.”] (click:?page)[ “I do.”] (click:?page)[ Slowly, you look back up. “But that’s not why you’re here.”] (click:?page)[ Cal says nothing. Sometimes, silence is more telling than words. (click:?page)[ “Why do I… matter?” you ask. “Why do you need me?”](click:?page)[ Cal runs a hand through his hair. “Achilles has a computer at home, yes?”] (click:?page)[ “Yes.”] (click:?page)[ “That’s all you need to access the Network.] (click:?page)[ Well… that and his unique identifier.] (click:?page)[ It’s an eight-digit code,” Cal adds, presumably because of some confused look on your face.] (click:?page)[ “What is it?”] (click:?page)[ “I don’t know. I was hoping you might have an idea.”] (click:?page)[ “No.”] (click:?page)[ “Can you try to look for it?”] (click:?page)[ “How will… this help?”] (click:?page)[ “People are getting angrier and angrier each day. And those who choose to remain ignorant… Well, they won’t be able to turn a blind eye any longer.”] (click:?page)[ “Are you… certain?”] (click:?page)[ “No,” Cal sighs. “But we have to try.”(click:?page)[ He pauses. “You know, I never really cared for fighting the good fight.] (click:?page)[ But that all changed the night you died.] (click:?page)[ Thoon disappeared days later. So did every single person working that night.] (click:?page)[ The regime can spin as many tales as it’d like, but I know they’re all dead. And Thoon’s dead when really I should be the one six feet under…] (click:?page)[ So who would I be if I didn’t try to make things right with the second chance that I’ve been given?” [[***->Chapter 27]]]]]](if: $visitedH is 1)[In the morning, you head over to the restaurant and find Cal already waiting in the alleyway. “If all goes well with your… doctor, can you find a way to come back?” he’d asked before parting ways. (click:?page)[ Now, Cal looks at you with some wariness.] (click:?page)[ It fades, once you recount the events that transpired the evening before.] (click:?page)[ “I’m glad you’re all right,” Cal murmurs.] (click:?page)[ “Thank you.”] (click:?page)[ “You must be wondering why I asked you to come back.”] (click:?page)[ “Yes.”] (click:?page)[ Cal chews on his bottom lip, then hands you a rectangular object the size of your little finger.] (click:?page)[ “This is a flash drive,” he explains. “It has data on it—photos, videos, redacted reports—evidence of the regime’s worst offenses.”] (click:?page)[ “Including… my death?”] (click:?page)[ Cal nods. “Yes.”] (click:?page)[ “Why give me… everything?”] (click:?page)[ “Because we need your help.”] (click:?page)[ He continues before you can even think to respond. “Have you heard of the Public Dissemination Network?”] (click:?page)[ “No.”] (click:?page)[ “It’s the only form of mass-distributed media. Anything uploaded there will instantly feed into every single channel, station, and electronic billboard across the country. It’s highly regulated. The red tape is… unbelievable.] (click:?page)[ But if you rank highly enough in the regime, you can sidestep it all.”] (click:?page)[ “You are talking about Achilles.”] (click:?page)[ “He certainly has high enough clearance to directly access the Network.”] (click:?page)[ “You work for… the bumbling opposition fuckers.”] (click:?page)[ Cal snorts out a laugh. “Is that what he calls us?”] (click:?page)[ “No. Someone else.”] (click:?page)[ He shrugs. “I guess that’s one way of putting it.”] (click:?page)[ “Is that why… I died?”] (click:?page)[ The smile slips off his face.] (click:?page)[ “Was I one of you?”] (click:?page)[ “No. I-I don’t think you were.”] (click:?page)[ “You said… that you remember everyone… from that night.” Your voice trembles, but you force out the question, anyway.] (click:?page)[ “Who was I with?”] (click:?page)[ “Just one other person,” Cal whispers.] (click:?page)[ “A young woman. She… she looked like you.] (click:?page)[ Like you might have been sisters.”] (click:?page)[ Something inside you burns. Your vision blurs.] (click:?page)[ You blink down at the flash drive, pinched between your fingers.] (click:?page)[ “I’m sorry.”] (click:?page)[ “You said that last time.”] (click:?page)[ “I did.”] (click:?page)[ Slowly, you look back up. “But that’s not why you’re here.”] (click:?page)[ Cal says nothing. Sometimes, silence is more telling than words. (click:?page)[ “Why do I… matter?” you ask. “Why do you need me?”](click:?page)[ Cal runs a hand through his hair. “Achilles has a computer at home, yes?”] (click:?page)[ “Yes.”] (click:?page)[ “That’s all you need to access the Network. Well… that and his unique identifier.] (click:?page)[ It’s an eight-digit code,” Cal adds, presumably because of some confused look on your face.] (click:?page)[ “What is it?”] (click:?page)[ “I don’t know. I was hoping you might have an idea.”] (click:?page)[ “No.”] (click:?page)[ “Can you try to look for it?”] (click:?page)[ “How will… this help?”] (click:?page)[ “People are getting angrier and angrier each day. And those who choose to remain ignorant… Well, they won’t be able to turn a blind eye any longer.”] (click:?page)[ “Are you… certain?”] (click:?page)[ “No,” Cal sighs. “But we have to try.”] (click:?page)[ He pauses. “You know, I never really cared for fighting the good fight.] (click:?page)[ But that all changed the night you died.] (click:?page)[ Thoon disappeared days later. So did every single person working that night.] (click:?page)[ The regime can spin as many tales as it’d like, but I know they’re all dead. And Thoon’s dead when really I should be the one six feet under…] (click:?page)[ So who would I be if I didn’t try to make things right with the second chance that I’ve been given?” [[***->Chapter 27]]]]]

(storylet: when visits is 0 and $filingcabinet is 1)(exclusivity: 1)It opens with ease. There is nothing inside. [[***->Chapter 26a]]

(storylet: when visits is 0 and $filingcabinet is 1)(exclusivity: 1)It opens with ease. There is nothing inside, except for a little, plastic arrowhead. [[***->Chapter 26a]]

(storylet: when visits is 0 and $filingcabinet is 1)(exclusivity: 1)It opens with ease. There is something inside. (click:?page)[ At first, you think it might be a mirror—why else would your own face be staring right back at you?] (click:?page)[ Understanding is slow to arrive, but when it does, you feel the breath leave your lungs:] (click:?page)[ It’s a photo.] (click:?page)[ It’s a photo of you.] (click:?page)[ It’s a photo of you on a sheet of paper with rows upon rows of blacked-out lines: Citizenship Status: CONFIRMED Citizen Number: (font:'sans-serif')+(background:gray)+(text-colour:gray)[YOUR CITIZEN NUMBER] Given Name: LEIA Surname: (font:'sans-serif')+(background:gray)+(text-colour:gray)[YOUR FAMILY NAME] Date of Birth: (font:'sans-serif')+(background:gray)+(text-colour:gray)[YOUR BIRTHDATE] Place of Birth: (font:'sans-serif')+(background:gray)+(text-colour:gray)[YOUR BIRTHPLACE] Date of Death: (font:'sans-serif')+(background:gray)+(text-colour:gray)[YOUR DEATHDATE] Manner of Death: (font:'sans-serif')+(background:gray)+(text-colour:gray)[YOUR UNTIMELY END, ALONG WITH YOUR DEAR SISTER, A CASUALTY OF THE REGIME AND ITS WORST EXCESSES] Biological Sex: FEMALE Blood Type: (font:'sans-serif')+(background:gray)+(text-colour:gray)[BT] Education: (font:'sans-serif')+(background:gray)+(text-colour:gray)[YOUR ELEMENTARY, HIGH SCHOOL, COLLEGE] Known Affiliations: CONFIRMED Loyalty: TESTING Known Relationships: (font:'sans-serif')+(background:gray)+(text-colour:gray)[YOUR MOTHER], MOTHER, DECEASED (font:'sans-serif')+(background:gray)+(text-colour:gray)[YOUR FATHER], FATHER, DECEASED (font:'sans-serif')+(background:gray)+(text-colour:gray)[YOUR SISTER], SISTER, ELIMINATED - //refer to “Manner of Death” above// (font:'sans-serif')+(background:gray)+(text-colour:gray)[YOUR COUSIN], COUSIN, ELIMINATED (font:'sans-serif')+(background:gray)+(text-colour:gray)[YOUR AUNT], AUNT, DECEASED (font:'sans-serif')+(background:gray)+(text-colour:gray)[YOUR BEST FRIEND], FRIEND, PROCESSED (font:'sans-serif')+(background:gray)+(text-colour:gray)[YOUR FRIEND], FRIEND, ELIMINATED (font:'sans-serif')+(background:gray)+(text-colour:gray)[YOUR FAVE CO-WORKER], CO-WORKER, ELIMINATED (font:'sans-serif')+(background:gray)+(text-colour:gray)[YOUR CO-WORKER], CO-WORKER, PROCESSED (font:'sans-serif')+(background:gray)+(text-colour:gray)[YOUR NEIGHBOR], NEIGHBOR, ELIMINATED (font:'sans-serif')+(background:gray)+(text-colour:gray)[YOUR BUS DRIVER], BUS DRIVER, PROCESSED [[***->Chapter 26a]]]

(if: visits is 1)[You slip into Achilles’s office and make a beeline for the filing cabinet. You’ll have to be quick.](if: visits < 4)[ You try: (link-storylet: 1) (link-storylet: 2) (link-storylet: 3)](if: visits >= 4)[In the morning, you wait for Achilles to leave before heading over to the restaurant. (if: $visitedH is 0) [You soon find yourself walking beside the stranger once more. This time, you turn into the alleyway.(click:?page)[ “Who are you?” you ask the young man from the restaurant.] (click:?page)[ “You can call me Cal,” he replies.] (click:?page)[ “My name is Penny. Do I… know you?”] (click:?page)[ “I-I guess I wouldn’t expect you to… I-I just remember every face from that night.” Cal takes a deep, shuddering breath.] (click:?page)[ “I remember everyone who died.”] (click:?page)[ Your breath hitches. “You were… there?”] (click:?page)[ “I didn’t always work here. I got my first job wiping down tables at Down on Our Knees Before Our Beloved Prefect. I know… a mouthful. Despite the name, I heard rumors that the opposition liked dining there.] (click:?page)[ “Well, I wasn’t supposed to be working that Friday. But Thoon didn’t show up, so of course it was me they called in. All off the books, you see. That’s why I’m standing in front of you right now.] (click:?page)[ “I was cleaning up in the back when pandemonium broke loose. It must’ve only lasted ten minutes, and by the time things went…(click:?page)[ quiet, there was…] (click:?page)[ nothing left. The Prefect’s people didn’t leave anyone alive.] (click:?page)[ “I was about to make my escape when a man walked into the restaurant. I would’ve recognized his face anywhere. He was—”] (click:?page)[ “A very important man.”](click:?page)[ Cal looks at you with sad eyes. “He walked around the room, giving orders to bring the bodies out, to burn them all. And then he…] (click:?page)[ stopped. He was close enough, at that point, that I could see what’d caught his attention: one of the dead. A woman.”] (click:?page)[ “Me.”] (click:?page)[ “I’m really sorry.”] (click:?page)[ Cal chews on his bottom lip, then hands you a rectangular object the size of your little finger. “This is a flash drive. It has data on it—photos, videos, redacted reports—evidence of the regime’s worst offenses.”] (click:?page)[ “Including… my death?”] (click:?page)[ Cal nods. “Yes.”] (click:?page)[ “Why give me… everything?”] (click:?page)[ “Because we need your help.”] (click:?page)[ He continues before you can even think to respond. “Have you heard of the Public Dissemination Network?”] (click:?page)[ “No.”] (click:?page)[ “It’s the only form of mass-distributed media. Anything uploaded there will instantly feed into every single channel, station, and electronic billboard across the country. It’s highly regulated. The red tape is… unbelievable.] (click:?page)[ But if you rank highly enough in the regime, you can sidestep it all.”] (click:?page)[ “You are talking about people like Achilles.”] (click:?page)[ “He certainly has high enough clearance to directly access the Network.”] (click:?page)[ “You work for… the bumbling opposition fuckers.”] (click:?page)[ Cal snorts out a laugh. “Is that what he calls us?”] (click:?page)[ “No. Someone else.”] (click:?page)[ He shrugs. “I guess that’s one way of putting it.”] (click:?page)[ “Is that why… I died?”] (click:?page)[ The smile slips off his face.] (click:?page)[ “Was I one of you?”] (click:?page)[ “No. I-I don’t think you were.”] (click:?page)[ “You said… that you remember everyone… from that night.” Your voice trembles, but you force out the question, anyway.] (click:?page)[“Who was I with?”] (click:?page)[ “Just one other person,” Cal whispers.] (click:?page)[ “A young woman. She… she looked like you.] (click:?page)[ Like you might have been sisters.”] (click:?page)[ Something inside you burns. Your vision blurs.] (click:?page)[ You blink down at the flash drive, pinched between your fingers.] (click:?page)[ “I’m sorry.”] (click:?page)[ “You keep saying that.”] (click:?page)[ “I do.”] (click:?page)[ Slowly, you look back up. “But that’s not why you’re here.”] (click:?page)[ Cal says nothing. Sometimes, silence is more telling than words. (click:?page)[ “Why do I… matter?” you ask. “Why do you need me?”](click:?page)[ Cal runs a hand through his hair. “Achilles has a computer at home, yes?”] (click:?page)[ “Yes.”] (click:?page)[ “That’s all you need to access the Network.] (click:?page)[ Well… that and his unique identifier.] (click:?page)[ It’s an eight-digit code,” Cal adds, presumably because of some confused look on your face.] (click:?page)[ “What is it?”] (click:?page)[ “I don’t know. I was hoping you might have an idea.”] (click:?page)[ “No.”] (click:?page)[ “Can you try to look for it?”] (click:?page)[ “How will… this help?”] (click:?page)[ “People are getting angrier and angrier each day. And those who choose to remain ignorant… Well, they won’t be able to turn a blind eye any longer.”] (click:?page)[ “Are you… certain?”] (click:?page)[ “No,” Cal sighs. “But we have to try.”] (click:?page)[ He pauses. “You know, I never really cared for fighting the good fight.] (click:?page)[ But that all changed the night you died.] (click:?page)[ Thoon disappeared days later. So did every single person working that night.] (click:?page)[ The regime can spin as many tales as it’d like, but I know they’re all dead. And Thoon’s dead when really I should be the one six feet under…] (click:?page)[ So who would I be if I didn’t try to make things right with the second chance that I’ve been given?” [[***->Chapter 27]]]]]](if: $visitedH is 1)[In the morning, you head over to the restaurant and find Cal already waiting in the alleyway. “If all goes well with your… doctor, can you find a way to come back?” he’d asked before parting ways. (click:?page)[ Now, Cal looks at you with some wariness.] (click:?page)[ It fades, once you recount the events that transpired the evening before.] (click:?page)[ “I’m glad you’re all right,” Cal murmurs.] (click:?page)[ “Thank you.”] (click:?page)[ “You must be wondering why I asked you to come back?”] (click:?page)[ “Yes.”] (click:?page)[ Cal chews on his bottom lip, then hands you a rectangular object the size of your little finger.] (click:?page)[ “This is a flash drive,” he explains. “It has data on it—photos, videos, redacted reports—evidence of the regime’s worst offenses.”] (click:?page)[ “Including… my death?”] (click:?page)[ Cal nods. “Yes.”] (click:?page)[ “Why give me… everything?”] (click:?page)[ “Because we need your help.”] (click:?page)[ He continues before you can even think to respond. “Have you heard of the Public Dissemination Network?”] (click:?page)[ “No.”] (click:?page)[ “It’s the only form of mass-distributed media. Anything uploaded there will instantly feed into every single channel, station, and electronic billboard across the country. It’s highly regulated. The red tape is… unbelievable.] (click:?page)[ But if you rank highly enough in the regime, you can sidestep it all.”] (click:?page)[ “You are talking about people like Achilles.”] (click:?page)[ “He certainly has high enough clearance to directly access the Network.”] (click:?page)[ “You work for… the bumbling opposition fuckers.”] (click:?page)[ Cal snorts out a laugh. “Is that what he calls us?”] (click:?page)[ “No. Someone else.”] (click:?page)[ He shrugs. “I guess that’s one way of putting it.”] (click:?page)[ “Is that why… I died?”] (click:?page)[ The smile slips off his face.] (click:?page)[ “Was I one of you?”] (click:?page)[ “No. I-I don’t think you were.”] (click:?page)[ “You said… that you remember everyone… from that night.” Your voice trembles, but you force out the question, anyway.] (click:?page)[“Who was I with?”] (click:?page)[ “Just one other person,” Cal whispers.] (click:?page)[ “A young woman. She… she looked like you.] (click:?page)[ Like you might have been sisters.”] (click:?page)[ Something inside you burns. Your vision blurs.] (click:?page)[ You blink down at the flash drive, pinched between your fingers.] (click:?page)[ “I’m sorry.”] (click:?page)[ “You said that last time.”] (click:?page)[ “I did.”] (click:?page)[ Slowly, you look back up. “But that’s not why you’re here.”] (click:?page)[ Cal says nothing. Sometimes, silence is more telling than words. (click:?page)[ “Why do I… matter?” you ask. “Why do you need me?”](click:?page)[ Cal runs a harried hand through his hair. “Achilles has a computer at home, yes?”] (click:?page)[ “Yes.”] (click:?page)[ “That’s all you need to access the Network.] (click:?page)[ Well… that and his unique identifier.] (click:?page)[ It’s an eight-digit code,” Cal adds, presumably because of some confused look on your face.] (click:?page)[ “What is it?”] (click:?page)[ “I don’t know. I was hoping you might have an idea.”] (click:?page)[ “No.”] (click:?page)[ “Can you try to look for it?”] (click:?page)[ “How will… this help?”] (click:?page)[ “People are getting angrier and angrier each day. And those who choose to remain ignorant… Well, they won’t be able to turn a blind eye any longer.”] (click:?page)[ “Are you… certain?”] (click:?page)[ “No,” Cal sighs. “But we have to try.”] (click:?page)[ He pauses. “You know, I never really cared for fighting the good fight.] (click:?page)[ But that all changed the night you died.] (click:?page)[ Thoon disappeared days later. So did every single person working that night.] (click:?page)[ The regime can spin as many tales as it’d like, but I know they’re all dead. And Thoon’s dead when really I should be the one six feet under…] (click:?page)[ So who would I be if I didn’t try to make things right with the second chance that I’ve been given?” [[***->Chapter 27]]]]]]

Back in the car, Achilles reaches for his watch, then takes your hand in his instead. (click:?page)[ “How do you feel, my dear?”] (click:?page)[ You take a deep breath. “Like new.” [[***->Chapter 25]]]

(set: $filingcabinet to it +1)It’s nearly eight by the time you arrive home. You get dinner going. Achilles hops in the shower. (click:?page)[Your husband has this habit of leaving his dirty clothes on the floor of the bedroom; you have a habit of picking them up.] (click:?page)[ This time is no different.] (click:?page)[ Except your hand slips into each of his pockets, searching for keys.] (click:?page)[ It doesn’t take long; your fingers have barely disappeared within the pocket of his trousers when you touch cold, jagged metal.] (click:?page)[ You take it out.] (click:?page)[ And hesitate.] (click:?page)[ What if (link: "this is the wrong key?") [(link: "he finds out?") [you do not like what you find in that filing cabinet you can’t seem to cast out of your mind?]]] (click:?page)[ You take a deep breath and… [(link: "Take the key.")[ (set: $independence to it + 1) (go-to: "Chapter 26a")]] [[Put the key back where you found it.->Chapter 26b]]]

(set:$filingcabinet to 0)You spend the better part of Saturday watching Achilles pace in endless circles around the apartment. A rumpled heap of suit jackets and trousers lies two feet away. You have never seen Achilles in such a state before. You can’t decide whether it unnerves you or makes you want to laugh. (click:?page)[ “It’s because of his dad,” Achilles complains—for the seventh time today and twenty-ninth time this week. “How else could Theseus have gotten his grubby, little hands on Aristois Hall?”] (click:?page)[ At last, Achilles slows to a stop before you.] (click:?page)[ His eyes soften. “Do you like the dress I got you?”] (click:?page)[ It’s a beautiful, white gown. He doesn’t wait for you to respond.](click:?page)[ “Of course you do. You’ll be the most stunning woman in the room, Penny…] (click:?page)[ They won’t be able to look away.”] (click:?page)[ His smile turns sardonic. “But just remember: I’ll do the talking.”] (click:?page)[ Outside, billboards flash and spark: a woman with bright, shiny teeth stands in a field of golden wheat and beams at you. [[***->Chapter 28]]]

(set:$identifier to it +1)Every year, Theseus hosts a dinner party for the regime’s highest-ranking officials, Achilles tells you. (click:?page)[He has outdone himself this time—at least, this is what the tall, red-lipped blonde standing across from you claims.] (click:?page)[ “Oh, you flatter me,” Theseus purrs. He has a roguish sort of look. You can feel Achilles contorting beside you.] (click:?page)[ The four of you have formed a neat little circle. A crystal-laden chandelier hangs overhead.] (click:?page)[ Your gaze lands back on the woman. What was her name again? You think it might begin with an //H//.] (click:?page)[ A waiter comes by, balancing a silver platter of truffle and goat cheese tartlets. You reach for one.] (click:?page)[ Achilles reaches for you.] (click:?page)[ “She has a very limited appetite,” he explains, tugging the tartlet from your grip, and you imagine his head on that silver platter instead. ] (click:?page)[ Theseus gives you a measuring look. “I don’t think we’ve met.”] (click:?page)[ “Of course,” Achilles smoothly interjects, and his smile is like flint.] (click:?page)[ “This is Theseus, dear Penny, the Right Hand of our beloved Prefect—”] (click:?page)[ “Please, Achilles… there’s no need for formalities among friends…”] (click:?page)[ “—and Theseus, this is Penny, my wife.”] (click:?page)[ “I had no idea you were spoken for, Achilles,” the woman remarks.] (click:?page)[ Beside you, Achilles goes rigid. “It all happened very quickly.] (click:?page)[ We kept the wedding…] (click:?page)[ intimate.”] (click:?page)[ As the two of you leave, you hear the woman snicker, “It’s almost more embarrassing that he didn’t just say, ‘small.’”] (click:?page)[ Achilles must hear her, too. His face turns ruddy; he snatches a champagne flute from a passing waiter and downs it in a single gulp.] (click:?page)[ When dinner is announced, you take a seat next to Achilles. It’s almost overwhelming, the plates piled high with caviar and foie gras and raw tuna, an assault on the senses.] (click:?page)[ Your stomach turns. You look away and find your gaze falling upon the only man standing.] (click:?page)[ “I promise I won’t keep you from the reason you came,” Theseus says, eliciting a chuckle here and there.] (click:?page)[ “You’re like a family to me. Truly. I’m so honored to be surrounded by such love and warmth.” Theseus raises his glass of champagne.] (click:?page)[ “A toast, then: may the Regime ever last, may we live and serve and die in the shadow of our One True Prefect!”] (click:?page)[ [[You join in the chant.->Chapter 29a]] (link: "You stay quiet.")[ (set: $independence to it + 1, $suspicion to it +1) (go-to: "Chapter 29b")]]

//“May the Regime ever last, may we live and serve and die in the shadow of our One True Prefect!”//(click:?page)[ When the last of the dishes are cleared away, a train of serving boys wheels in crates piled high with leftovers.] (click:?page)[ “Food waste is an absolute travesty,” Theseus declares, to much giggling and sideyeing. “No child will be going hungry under my watch. So, as is custom, everything left over from our meal tonight will be donated.”] (click:?page)[ He pauses, his smile turning wicked. “And, as is custom, each of us will be adding a very personal touch.”] (click:?page)[ You’re still trying to make sense of that last part when its meaning is revealed quite suddenly and without much warning:] (click:?page)[ Diomedes saunters up to the first of the crates and sneezes into it.] (click:?page)[ A tall man in an emerald suit hacks up a glob of phlegm.] (click:?page)[ When Menelaus steps forward, his hand is already reaching for the zipper of his belt.] (click:?page)[ You avert your gaze as laughter fills the room.] (click:?page)[ But there’s nothing you can do when Theseus calls your name.] (click:?page)[ “Go on,” he says, and Achilles shoots you a meaningful look.] (click:?page)[ “Don’t be shy.”] (click:?page)[ Slowly, you walk forward and… [[Spit in the food.->Chapter 30a]] [[Blow your nose in the food.->Chapter 30b]] (link: "Turn away without defiling the food.")[ (set: $independence to it + 1) (go-to: "Chapter 30c")]]

All around you, people raise their glasses in false praise: (click:?page)[ //“May the Regime ever last, may we live and serve and die in the shadow of our One True Prefect!”//] (click:?page)[ Achilles places a hand over your own; you pretend not to see the look of warning in his eyes.] (click:?page)[ When the last of the dishes are cleared away, a train of serving boys wheels in crates piled high with leftovers.] (click:?page)[ “Food waste is an absolute travesty,” Theseus declares, to much giggling and sideyeing. “No child will be going hungry under my watch. So, as is custom, everything left over from our meal tonight will be donated.”] (click:?page)[ He pauses, his smile turning wicked. “And, as is custom, each of us will be adding a very personal touch.”] (click:?page)[ You’re still trying to make sense of that last part when its meaning is revealed quite suddenly and without much warning:] (click:?page)[ Diomedes saunters up to the first of the crates and sneezes into it.] (click:?page)[ A tall man in an emerald suit hacks up a glob of phlegm.] (click:?page)[ When Menelaus steps forward, his hand is already reaching for the zipper of his belt.] (click:?page)[ You avert your gaze as laughter fills the room.] (click:?page)[ But there’s nothing you can do when Theseus calls your name.] (click:?page)[ “Go on,” he says, and Achilles shoots you a meaningful look.] (click:?page)[ “Don’t be shy.”] (click:?page)[ Slowly, you walk forward and… [[Spit in the food.->Chapter 30a]] [[Blow your nose in the food.->Chapter 30b]] (link: "Turn away without defiling the food.")[ (set: $independence to it + 1) (go-to: "Chapter 30c")]]

You watch as your saliva bruises a loaf of bread. (click:?page)[ A sour taste climbs up the back of your throat.] (click:?page)[ “Well done, my love,” Achilles murmurs, just as an unfamiliar voice rises high above the din:] (click:?page)[ “The Prefect’s coming!”] (click:?page)[ The smile freezes on Achilles’s face. “Shit.”] (click:?page)[ The double doors swing wide on their hinges.] (click:?page)[ Achilles wraps a tight arm around your waist as a figure appears, silhouetted, momentarily by a shower of lamplight from the hallway beyond.](click:?page)[ Slowly, the Prefect makes his way down the steps and into the hall. One by one, the people around you drop to their knees in genuflection, and the air grows thick with a single recitation:] (click:?page)[ //“It is an honor to serve.”// [[You follow suit.->Chapter 31a]] (link: "You remain as you are.")[ (set: $independence to it + 1, $suspicion to it +1) (go-to: "Chapter 31b")]]

You watch as your snot speckles a loaf of bread. (click:?page)[ A sour taste climbs up the back of your throat.] (click:?page)[ “Well done, my love,” Achilles murmurs, just as an unfamiliar voice rises high above the din:] (click:?page)[ “The Prefect’s coming!”] (click:?page)[ The smile slides from Achilles’s face. “Shit.”] (click:?page)[ The double doors swing wide on their hinges.] (click:?page)[ Achilles wraps a tight arm around your waist as a figure appears, silhouetted, momentarily by a shower of lamplight from the hallway beyond.] (click:?page)[ Slowly, the Prefect makes his way down the steps and into the hall. One by one, the people around you drop to their knees in genuflection, and the air grows thick with a single recitation:] (click:?page)[ //“It is an honor to serve.”// [[You follow suit.->Chapter 31a]] (link: "You remain as you are.")[ (set: $independence to it + 1, $suspicion to it +1) (go-to: "Chapter 31b")]]

Well—not quickly enough. (click:?page)[A single tear dribbles off your chin and splashes onto a loaf of bread.] (click:?page)[ //I’m sorry… I’m so, so—//] (click:?page)[ “What do you think you’re doing?” Achilles mutters through his winning smile.] (click:?page)[ Your mind spins as you search desperately for a response.] (click:?page)[ But then an unfamiliar voice rises high above the din:] (click:?page)[ “The Prefect’s coming!”] (click:?page)[ “Go to the bathroom,” Achilles commands. “//Now//.”] (click:?page)[ (link: "You stay where you are.")[ (set: $independence to it + 1, $suspicion to it +1) (go-to: "Chapter 31c")] [[You do as you are told.->Chapter 31d]]]

But it’s too late. (click:?page)[ You’ve only taken three steps when the double doors swing wide on their hinges, and a figure appears, silhouetted, momentarily by a shower of lamplight from the hallway beyond.] (click:?page)[ “Shit,” Achilles mutters, before pulling you back to his side.] (click:?page)[ Slowly, the Prefect makes his way down the steps and into the hall. One by one, the people around you drop to their knees in genuflection, and the air grows thick with a single recitation:] (click:?page)[ //“It is an honor to serve.”// [[You follow suit.->Chapter 31a]] (link: "You remain as you are.")[ (set: $independence to it + 1, $suspicion to it +1) (go-to: "Chapter 31b")]]

Fury twists Achilles’s features into something monstrous. (click:?page)[ But then the double doors swing wide on their hinges, and a figure appears, silhouetted, momentarily by a shower of lamplight from the hallway beyond.] (click:?page)[ “Shit,” Achilles mutters, before pulling you to his side.] (click:?page)[ Slowly, the Prefect makes his way down the steps and into the hall. One by one, the people around you drop to their knees in genuflection, and the air grows thick with a single recitation:] (click:?page)[ //“It is an honor to serve.”// [[You follow suit.->Chapter 31a]] (link: "You remain as you are.")[ (set: $independence to it + 1, $suspicion to it +1) (go-to: "Chapter 31b")]]

You catch a glimpse of Achilles kneeling right beside you. (click:?page)[ What a strange sight; you have never seen Achilles prostrate himself before. You didn’t think there was a single person in the world he would have deemed deserving of such respect.] (click:?page)[ Well, no—not respect. But fear. Yes—you know fear when you see it.] (click:?page)[ You rise when Achilles rises. Lifting your gaze, you catch the Prefect’s eyes.] (click:?page)[ Though a smile plays across his lips, his eyes remain cold as stone.] (click:?page)[ “Carry on, then,” he says, turning on his shiny, black heels.] (click:?page)[ “I was only passing through.” [[***->Chapter 32a]]]

There is a collective intake of breath. (click:?page)[ Achilles pulls you down to your knees.] (click:?page)[ The Prefect smiles. It never reaches his eyes.] (click:?page)[ “Carry on, then,” he says, turning on his shiny, black heels.] (click:?page)[ “I was only passing through.” [[***->Chapter 32b]]]

The next morning, you watch the front door click shut behind Achilles. Then, you head over to the kitchen. Your heart rattles. You open the jar of sugar, plunge your hand into its grainy depths, and pull out a tiny, plastic bag. Scattering sugar everywhere, you pry open the bag and retrieve the flash drive nestled within. For a moment, you can do nothing but stand there, each drawn breath a foghorn in your ears. (click:?page)[ And you think about (link:"Cal.")[(link:"Antiope.")[(link:"the crates of soiled food, well on their way to food banks across the country.")[the life you could have lived—the one with a (link:"family.")[sister.]]]]] (click:?page)[ //What will you do with this second life of yours?//] (click:?page)[ //Will you squander it? Or will you…//] (click:?page)[ [[Destroy the flash drive?->Chapter 33a]] [[Destroy the Regime?->Chapter 33b]]]

(set:$crash to it +1)Achilles waits for the car door to slam shut before rounding on you: (click:?page)[ “What were you thinking?”] (click:?page)[ Your ears ring.] (click:?page)[ You have never noticed it before, the way his fingers inch towards the watch on his left wrist when he speaks to you.] (click:?page)[ When you disobey.] (click:?page)[ “This was the single most important night of my life, Penny,” Achilles continues on.] (click:?page)[ “//Our// lives.”] (click:?page)[ You turn away. Billboards grow small in the distance—children plucking apples from trees, a young man silhouetted against the rising sun.] (click:?page)[ “Penny? Are you even listening?”] (click:?page)[ Your hands tighten into fists upon your lap. And as though from somewhere far away, you hear Achilles address his automated driver:] (click:?page)[ “Change of plans, Automedon.] (click:?page)[ I think it’s time we made another visit to the doctor.”] (click:?page)[ Of course, there’s only one thing that can mean.] (click:?page)[ (if:$independence >= 10)[(link-goto: "You lunge for the steering wheel.", "Chapter 33c")](if:$independence < 10)[(link-goto: "You lunge for the steering wheel.", "Chapter 33d")]]

Maybe there’s more than one way this can end.(click:?page)[ Someone screams—a high-pitched yelp—](click:?page)[or it might be the car squealing as you jerk the steering wheel, and the vehicle goes careening.] (click:?page)[ A blinding flash of light explodes across your field of vision.] (click:?page)[ Something jabs you in the side, hard enough to force a groan from your lips.] (click:?page)[ At last, you feel your body come to a jostling stop.] (click:?page)[ The acrid scent of smoke fills your nostrils.] (click:?page)[ For a moment, you can only sit there, blinking into the sudden darkness.] (click:?page)[ And then you turn to look at Achilles.] (click:?page)[ He’s freshly dead.] (click:?page)[ He still has a finger pressed to the large, red (background:red)[//Deactivate//] button on his watch. Which can only mean (link:"one thing:")[two things:]] (click:?page)[ You resisted the command.] (click:?page)[ You are finally free.] (click:?page)[ You pry the watch from Achilles’s wrist and stagger out of the car. It’s a wreck now, barely a trace left of the beautiful, regime-issued machine Achilles had raved about for weeks on end.](click:?page)[ The authorities must already be on their way. You race to the end of the block. From here, you can see your apartment building, glittering like a beacon in the dark. You’ll have to get back there. You’ll have to return home—] (click:?page)[ But it was never //your// home, was it?] (click:?page)[ A peculiar sensation comes sweeping through your chest.] (click:?page)[ So why must you return?] (click:?page)[ You stare down at the watch, clutched tightly between your white-knuckled fingers.] (click:?page)[ //What will you do with this second life of yours?//] (click:?page)[ //Will you squander it? Or will you…// [[Smash the watch underfoot and take off into the night?->Chapter 34c]] [[Pocket the watch and set off for that beacon in the night?->Chapter 34d]]]

And your hands are inches from the dashboard when the world (after: 1s)[= (text-colour:#868e96)[(text-style:"blur")[fades]] (after: 2s)[= (text-colour:#adb5bd)[(text-style:"blurrier")[to black.]] (after: 3s)[= (go-to: "Chapter 34e")

(align:"=><=")+(size:2)[ [[THE END->Credits]]]

You think about (link:"the crates of soiled food, well on their way to food banks across the country.")[the flash drive, tucked safely away in a jar of sugar.] (click:?page)[ And then you think about the life you could have lived—the one with a (link:"family.")[sister.]] (click:?page)[ This was never your fight.] (click:?page)[ And yet, haven’t you (link:"made the ultimate sacrifice?") [given up enough already?]] (click:?page)[ You have no idea who you were.] (click:?page)[ But what does it matter? That version of you is long dead.] (click:?page)[ What matters is that you’re alive now.] (click:?page)[ //You.//] (click:?page)[ And you’re no longer Penny, no—] (click:?page)[you’re someone new.] (click:?page)[ You—] (click:?page)[ Owe nothing to anyone. (click-append: "anyone") [, except [[yourself->Chapter 35b]]]]

There’s something you need to do. (click:?page)[Something you should’ve done a long time ago.] (click:?page)[ Back at the apartment, you slam the door shut, and you make a beeline for the kitchen. Your heart rattles. You open the jar of sugar, plunge your hand into its grainy depths, and pull out a tiny, plastic bag. Scattering sugar everywhere, you pry open the bag and retrieve the flash drive nestled within. For a moment, you can do nothing but stand there, each drawn breath a foghorn in your ears.] (click:?page)[ And then you do what you came here to do:] (click:?page)[ You slip into Achilles’s office and power on his computer.] (click:?page)[ Four words light up the screen:] (click:?page)[ (background:red)[//Please Input Your Identifier//]] (click:?page)[ And your heart sinks.] (click:?page)[ You never managed to get the code out of Achilles.] (click:?page)[ So [[what now?->Chapter 35c]]]

[[//One Month Later//->Chapter 36a]]

Moonlight sends shadows scuttling for the company of other shadows. (click:?page)[ Taking a deep breath, you walk through the rusting door and head on over to that silver-haired woman lounging by the counter of her workshop.] (click:?page)[ She speaks without looking your way:] (click:?page)[ “Yes?”](click:?page)[ “I seem to have… misplaced my papers,” you respond.](click:?page)[ “Pity,” the woman sighs. “That’ll be two thousand credits.”] (click:?page)[ You reach into your backpack and pull out a beautiful, white gown.] (click:?page)[ “Will this do?”] (click:?page)[ At last, the woman looks at you.] (click:?page)[ Slowly, her lips curl into a grin. “I suppose I’ll have to find a way to make this work.”] (click:?page)[ She takes the dress from you, folds it end over end between her hands. “Come back in two hours.”](click:?page)[ “One.”] (click:?page)[ The woman holds your gaze for a moment longer.] (click:?page)[ “I’ll need a name.”] (click:?page)[ Outside, snow drifts from the sky like so many falling stars.] (click:?page)[ You close your eyes.] (click:?page)[ “You can call me //Penthesileia//.” [[***->End]]]

(storylet: when visits is 0 and $identifier is 1)(exclusivity: 1)You scan the first couple pages. (click:?page)[But other than the dates scrawled across the top of each sheet, you see no numbers. [[***->Chapter 35c]]]

(storylet: when visits is 0 and $identifier is 1)(exclusivity: 1)You heave the skin over. (click:?page)[But there’s nothing underneath.] (click:?page)[ You snake an arm into the creature’s mouth, only to resurface empty handed. [[***->Chapter 35c]]]

(storylet: when visits is 0 and $identifier is 1)(exclusivity: 1)You pick up the phone and press it to your ear. (click:?page)[But silence is the only voice that greets you.](click:?page)[ You set the phone back down.] (click:?page)[ Your gaze lands on the rotary dial, cast in bronze.] (click:?page)[ The identifier is an eight-digit number. That’s what Cal told you.] (click:?page)[ But what if it actually spells out a (link:"word.")[name.]] (click:?page)[ ACHILLES] (click:?page)[ 22445537] (click:?page)[ Your heart hammers; with shaking fingers, you rouse the computer once more and punch in the numbers.] (click:?page)[ Two words light up the screen:] (click:?page)[ (background:green)[//Access Granted//]] (click:?page)[ Of course it (link:"worked.")[could never have been anything else—he who has never loved anyone more than himself.]] (click:?page)[ The thought hurts more than it should. Some small part of you must have clung to the hope that (link:"Achilles might truly have cared for you.")[you didn’t know Achilles as well as you think you did.]] (click:?page)[ You slide the flash drive into a small, rectangular port and click on the corresponding icon.] (click:?page)[ A second passes.] (click:?page)[ Two.] (click:?page)[ Three—] (click:?page)[ And a myriad of folders and files explodes across the screen.] (click:?page)[ You click on a video at random.] (click:?page)[ It’s enough to turn your stomach inside out.] (click:?page)[ You take a deep, fortifying breath.] (click:?page)[ Somewhere in here, your death has been captured, immortalized in thousands of grainy pixels.] (click:?page)[ Today, your death will finally mean something.] (click:?page)[ It only takes a moment for you to locate the violet icon, the one labeled (background:purple)[//Public Dissemination Network//].] (click:?page)[ You click on it, drag over the files, then let your cursor hover above the (background:red)[//Upload//] button. (if:$crash is not 0)[(link-goto: "***", "Chapter 36b")](if:$crash is 0)[(link-goto: "***", "Chapter 35a")]]

(storylet: when visits is 0 and $identifier is 1)(exclusivity: 1)You pull the cushions apart. (click:?page)[But find nothing besides old candy wrappers. [[***->Chapter 35c]]]

Because there was only ever one way this could end. (click:?page)[No more of this senseless half-life.] (click:?page)[No more of this endless capitulation: Let this be your final act of rebellion.] (click:?page)[ Strapped to the operating table, you stare into Antiope’s red-rimmed eyes.] (click:?page)[ “I told you not to squander it.”] (click:?page)[ “I hope I was worth… all your fancy machines.”] (click:?page)[ And the world around you goes dark. [[***->End]]]

(if: visits is 1)[You cast a desperate gaze around the room. Maybe, somewhere in here, a clue lies hidden in plain sight.] (if: visits < 5)[ You… (link-storylet: 1) (link-storylet: 2) (link-storylet: 3) (link-storylet: 4)]

Somewhere in the distance, you hear a door slam, echoing, shut. (click:?page)[ They’re coming for you.] (click:?page)[ But all you can think about (link:"are the crates of soiled food, well on their way to food banks across the country.")[is the life you could have lived—the one with a (link:"family.")[sister.]]] (click:?page)[ “No more,” you whisper.] (click:?page)[ “No more.”] (click:?page)[ And you upload the files.] (click:?page)[ Out on the balcony, a breeze comes whispering past your ear.] (click:?page)[ You’d rather listen to that than the pounding on the front door.] (click:?page)[ The shouting.] (click:?page)[ You were never allowed out on the balcony, not unless Achilles was there with you.] (click:?page)[ A flare of bright, orange light arcs through the night.] (click:?page)[ You watch as the nearest billboard flickers between images of women dancing through fields of wheat and a platoon of men, bearing the Prefect’s violet crest, smashing through the windows of a hospital.] (click:?page)[ A loud, crashing noise tells you that the apartment door has finally blown off its hinges.] (click:?page)[ Somewhere close behind you, footsteps thunder ever closer.] (click:?page)[ No matter.] (click:?page)[ You keep your gaze fixed on the (link:"flooded streets below.")[(link:"sparks you have ignited.")[ fires blooming everywhere. [[***->End]]]]]

This was never your fight. (click:?page)[ And yet, haven’t you (link:"made the ultimate sacrifice?") [given up enough already?]] (click:?page)[ You have no idea who you were.] (click:?page)[ But what does it matter? That version of you is long dead.] (click:?page)[ What matters is that you’re alive now.] (click:?page)[ //You.//] (click:?page)[ And you—] (click:?page)[ Owe nothing to anyone. (click-append: "anyone") [, except [[yourself->Chapter 34a]]]]

You slip into Achilles’s office and power on his computer. (click:?page)[ Four words light up the screen:] (click:?page)[ (background:red)[//Please Input Your Identifier//]] (click:?page)[ And your heart sinks.] (click:?page)[ You never managed to get the code out of Achilles.] (click:?page)[ So [[what now?->Chapter 34b]]]

In the evening, you get dinner going. (click:?page)[ “How was work, dear?”] (click:?page)[ “It’s an honor to serve the Prefect.”] (click:?page)[ The front door snaps shut behind your husband, and he slumps onto the couch with a sigh of satisfaction.] (click:?page)[ “Life is good.”] (click:?page)[ //Yes.// You smile.] (click:?page)[ //It sure is.// [[***->End]]]

“No more,” you whisper. (click:?page)[ “No more.”] (click:?page)[ And you upload the files.] (click:?page)[ Out on the balcony, a breeze comes whispering past your ear.] (click:?page)[ You were never allowed out on the balcony, not unless Achilles was there with you.] (click:?page)[ He will never set foot in this apartment again. Perhaps, at this very moment, the Prefect’s men are dragging Achilles, kicking and screaming, over to the guillotine.] (click:?page)[ Your husband once told you that he is a very important man; many would like to see his head on a silver platter.] (click:?page)[ You think you might be one of them.] (click:?page)[ A smile touches your lips. You’ll have to leave soon. But for now…] (click:?page)[ You rest your chin on the balcony. Keep your gaze fixed on the (link:"flooded streets below.")[(link:"sparks you have ignited.")[fires blooming everywhere. [[***->End]]]]]

(align:"=><=")[(size:2)[ [[PENTHESILEIA->Chapter 1]]] by: Sophia Zhao]

(align:"=><=")[(size:2)[ PENTHESILEIA] By: Sophia Zhao Many thanks to first readers / players L. Mao and Yinyu Ji!]