A knock on my door pummeled me out of my dreams. I covered my ears with a pillow, hoping it’d go away, but it just kept banging.
"All right," I said. "All right. Hold on."
I wondered what time it was, and as soon as the thought arose, my implant vomited the answer into my head: Friday, 10:38 AM. Ouch. First day off in five years and I’d already slept through half of it. I shuffled to the door and pulled it open, vision blurry with sleep. Even so, I could tell the woman standing before me was as gorgeous as any movie star I'd ever seen.
"You the investigator?" she asked.
[["The what now?" -> Intro 1A]]
[["Yup. That's me." ->Intro 1B]]
[["ugh... bluh... coffee?" ->Intro 1C]]"Please, sir, I need your help. My name's Lain. Lain Muldoon. My fiancé, we've had our troubles, sure, but that's no reason for him to just vanish. And you can't help but wonder, with all the disappearances going on-"
(set: $LainIntro to 1)
[["Stop. I… don’t care. I’m not a PI, lady. Not a man, either."->Intro 1D]]
[["Hey, this all sounds great. What kind of pay we talkin’ for a job like this?"->Intro 1E]]"Oh, bless you," the woman said. "I’m desperate. I saw your sign, and I thought to myself, 'A private investigator? Here? This has to be serendipity!'"
(display: "Intro WomanIntroduction")The woman scowled, confused.
(display: "Intro WomanIntroduction")Lain lifted her nose like she was smelling me for the first time. I realized I didn’t shower last night. Too tired from the trip.
"You... live here? I don't understand. Why would you rather sleep here than in the residential sector?" She shook her head as if the thought was too confusing to hold on to. I realized, as she continued, that she barely even heard me. When she came knocking at my door, she had a goal and she wasn't gonna let anything get in the way.
You gotta envy that, at least a little bit.
[["Sorry. Can't help you."->Intro Rejection]]"Pay?" the woman asked. "I don't understand. Listen, can you help me or not? I'm worried they've already gotten to him, and who knows what happens in those facilities. You hear stories of frozen heads and mad scientists and-"
[["Stop. I'm sorry. I can't help you."->Intro Rejection]] I started to close the door, and it felt good. I'd never actually slammed the door in anyone's face before. Not many opportunities when you spend your days scrubbing pots for some jerk way out in the sticks.
But right as the door was about to latch, something she said caught my attention.
"You're with *them*, aren't you? The Light of the Future? I knew it! They're //everywhere!//
[["Hold up. You think the Light snatched your boyfriend?"->Intro 2]]"Do I //think// The Light of the Future took him?" she asked. "I //know// they did. And I know about their ritual on Saturday! I've got all their information here. Their secret facilities, their underground bases. I think they're using technology from offworld. //Aliens//. And don't you give me that look!"
{
(set: $ritualTime to "seen")
}
"All right, lady. Nice talkin' to you. Good luck." This time, I shut the door tight. Whatever she was looking for, it wasn't here.
[[But it was weird, right?]]The woman's face sank. "It says on your door, 'Dean Stetson, Private Eye.' Are you Stetson? Or maybe you ... erm ... clean up for him?
(display: "Intro WomanIntroduction")My phone's screen glared red with my sister's message, still stuck there from before. Like it was taunting me.
(color: red)[//Dad's sick. please come//]
Dad. David Turnsole. Light of the Future's CEO and most passionate advocate. That might have been okay if the Light was just any other run-of-the-mill corporation. The reality was closer to a religion, with my Dad as the Grand Poobah.
Considering their massive reach, maybe it was just a coincidence, their name coming up today. You couldn't walk ten feet in the city without someone handing you one of the Light's pamphlets, so maybe the crazy lady had nothing to do with my father. Maybe.
I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes as I tried to center myself. I gazed at my box of things and wondered what I'd need today.
(display: "Intro Inventory Fill"){
<!--- Because Harlowe blows, you MUST HAVE a "hook" value in the datamap -->
(set: $tempItem to (dm: "name","Uniform",
"details","The outfit I wear to my line cook job.", "hook", "none"
))
<!--- This makes sure we don't double-add items -->
(set: $itemFound to (find: _item where _item's name is "Uniform",...$box) )
(if: $itemFound's length is 0)[(set: $box to $box + (a: $tempItem))]
}
I pulled the uniform out of the box and looked at it. I wouldn't need it here, but maybe having it was my way of hoping I'd get to use it again.
I cooked for some ridiculously wealthy brat way out on an estate with nothing else around. It was one of the few jobs an unskilled human like me could still do, since rich people insisted robot-made food was inferior. Chef said he'd have no problem automating my job if I didn't get back in two days though. I was just a lowly line cook.
(display: "Intro Inventory Fill"){
<!--- Because Harlowe blows, you MUST HAVE a "hook" value in the datamap -->
(set: $tempItem to (dm: "name","Manor Address",
"details","The address and phone number of my Dad's place.",
"hook","none"))
<!--- This makes sure we don't double-add items -->
(set: $itemFound to (find: _item where _item's name is "Manor Address",...$box) )
(if: $itemFound's length is 0)[(set: $box to $box + (a: $tempItem))]
<!--- Initiating the Manor phone number for later calling -->
(set: $tempNum to (dm: "name", "Turnsole Manor Address and Phone Number"))
(set: $numFound to (find: _num where _num's name is "Turnsole Manor Address and Phone Number",...$numbers) )
(if: $numFound's length is 0)[(set: $numbers to $numbers + (a: $tempNum))]
}
I pulled out the slip of paper. It said, "Turnsole Manor," and the address and phone number. That's where Dad lived, apparently.
There was some version of reality where I hadn't turned tail and ran on my 18th birthday, where that fancy mansion was my home. But I'd moved out to the countryside for a reason, and the old PI's office would do just fine, thanks. Growing up in a series of bigger and more sterile houses left me cold as my Dad became more distant, his corporation more fanatic. His latest and final "Turnsole Manor" would probably be as warm as a bucket of ice water.
I put the slip in my pocket so I could find the place.
(display: "Intro Inventory Fill"){
<!--- Because Harlowe blows, you MUST HAVE a "hook" value in the datamap -->
(set: $tempItem to (dm: "name","Photo",
"details","A photograph of my sister, Rebecca.",
"hook","none"))
<!--- This makes sure we don't double-add items -->
(set: $itemFound to (find: _item where _item's name is "Photo",...$box) )
(if: $itemFound's length is 0)[(set: $box to $box + (a: $tempItem))]
(set: $tempItem to (dm: "name","Photo",
"details","A photograph of my sister, Rebecca.",
"hook", "none"))
<!--- This makes sure we don't double-add items -->
(set: $itemFound to (find: _item where _item's name is "Photo",...$inventory) )
(if: $itemFound's length is 0)[(set: $inventory to $inventory + (a: $tempItem))]
}
I wasn't willing to lose *everything* if I didn't get back to work on time. What if they decided to clear out my room? I'd settled on keeping this picture of Rebecca, just in case.
Rebecca was my sister. The one who'd told me to come. If anyone else had asked, I wouldn't have done it. We weren't even close, not really; there had always been a certain tension between us. I was always jealous of her, always thought Dad liked her more. She thought the same. Joke was on her, in the end, since I stopped caring what he thought years ago.
Can't help but laugh, looking at her face. She's the exact opposite of me. Pretty. Happy. No way *she'd* ever be mistaken for a dusty old detective.
I decided to bring the photo with me. Rebecca would get a kick out of it.
(display: "Intro Inventory Fill"){
<!--- Because Harlowe blows, you MUST HAVE a "hook" value in the datamap -->
(set: $tempItem to (dm: "name","Pamphlet",
"details","A pamphlet for The Light of the Future.",
"hook", "none"))
<!--- This makes sure we don't double-add items -->
(set: $itemFound to (find: _item where _item's name is "Pamphlet",...$box) )
(if: $itemFound's length is 0)[(set: $box to $box + (a: $tempItem))]
}
I looked at the front of the pamphlet. "The Light of the Future. Forward-Looking Philanthropy for the Common Man." The promise of humanity distilled into a single organization - that's what you'd hear from their millions of adherents. Late capitalism devouring faith - that's what their enemies said. The second one was closer to the truth. I was pretty sure they went from technology company to Singularity-obsessed zealots around the time I stopped playing with dolls.
All this stuff about alien rituals, though. That was garbage.
(display: "Intro Inventory Fill")I'd stalled long enough. I'd have to face it eventually, and sooner rather than later - I had to get back by Sunday or my precious line cooking gig would go to the bots.
I took a deep breath and braced myself to see Dad again. This wasn't going to be easy.
I prompted the time from my implant. I could still get over there before afternoon, but I had to hurry.
[[I headed to Turnsole Manor.|Time Card 1]]The manor was pretty much as anyone would imagine. Too big, stone and marble, hedges trimmed to a fascist level of detail. I pounded on the huge oaken doors - you gotta learn a good knock when you grow up in mansions.
After a minute, a woman who must have been the housekeeper opened the door. She was a synthetic I could tell, but Dad had gotten an eerily realistic model. She gave me the creeps.
But at least she didn't have real skin and bones, like some models. The Light's one saving grace is they were against using human parts in their androids.
[["Uh, I'm Irene. Turnsole?"]]I'd rented a SpaceSwap for two nights - more of an unused office than a "BnB" as it turned out, but it was the cheapest one around. And the first day I'm here, some nutjob shows up asking about the Light? That was an unnerving coincidence.
I dug around in my "suitcase," a cardboard box stuffed with what few possessions I owned, and pulled out my beat-up little phone.
[[I checked the message I'd gotten from my sister just yesterday.|I checked the message I'd got from my sister just yesterday.]]{
(if: $selected's name is not "none" and $selected's hook is "none" and (passage:)'s tags contains "bag")[
(if: $deduction is "active")[
(link: "*Nevermind. I don't think I can use this here.*")[
(set: $selected to (dm:
"name","none",
"details", "none",
"hook", "none"
))
(goto: "Notebook")
]
]
(else:)[
(link: "*Nevermind. I don't think I can use this here.*")[
(set: $selected to (dm:
"name","none",
"details", "none",
"hook", "none"
))
(goto: $lastPassage)
]
]
]
(if: $inventory's length is > 0 and (passage:)'s tags contains "bag" and $bag is not "no")[<br>
(link: "-Bag")[
(set: $selected to (dm:
"name","none",
"details","none",
"hook","none"
))
(goto: "Inventory")]
]
(if: $notebook's length > 0 and $notebookActive is not "no")[<br>[[-Notebook|Notebook]]]
(if: $timerText is not "")[(css: "font-size: 50%;")[
(align: "==>")[**$timerText**]]]
}{
(print: "<script>$('html').removeClass(\)</script>")
(if: (passage:)'s tags's length > 0)[
(print: "<script>$('html').addClass('" + (passage:)'s tags.join(' ') + "'\)</script>")
]
(if: not ((passage:)'s tags contains "menu"))[(set: $lastPassage to (passage:)'s name)]
(if: not ((passage:)'s tags contains "nohead"))[
(if: $selected's hook is not "none")[Currently selected: (color:purple)(print: $selected's name)
<br><br>
"Now we need to match it to another clue and see if we can make a deduction," Steve said.
<br><br>
]
(else-if: $selected's name is not "none")[Currently selected: (color:purple)(print: $selected's name)<br>
*Where should I use it?*
<br><br>
]
]
}{
(set: $bag to "yes")
(set: $notebookActive to "yes")
(set: $deduction to "inactive")
(set: $inventory to (a:))
(set: $notebook to (a:))
(set: $box to (a:))
(set: $deductions to (a:))
(set: $numbers to (a:))
(set: $timerText to "")
(set: $time to (a: "Friday Morning - Less than Two Days Left.","Friday Afternoon - One and a Half Days Left.","Friday Evening - Just Over a Day Left.","Saturday Morning - Less than A Day Left.","Saturday Afternoon - Half a Day Left.","Saturday Night - Time's Up."))
(set: $counter to 1)
(set: $totalCounter to 1)
(set: $lastPassage to "")
(set: $selected to (dm:
"name","none",
"details","none",
"hook", "none"
))
(set: $altText to "none")
(set: $altText2 to "none")
(set: $planetarium to "No")
(set: $constellation to "")
(set: $rec to "no")
(set: $townsend to "no")
(set: $office to "no")
(set: $India to "no")
(set: $table to "unreserved")
(set: $idTried to "nope")
(set: $pod to "no")
(set: $computer to "yes")
(set: $ending to "no")
(set: $idReceptionist to "no")
(set: $lion to "unknown")
(set: $date to "not set")
(set: $stdq1 to 0)
(set: $stdq2 to 0)
(set: $stdq3 to 0)
(set: $stdDoorOpen to 0)
}{
(set: $selected to (dm:
"name","none",
"details", "none",
"hook", "none"
))
}
"Yes. Welcome, Ms. Turnsole," the thing said to me as she scanned my ID, "Please come this way. I'm afraid I have some awful news."
"What?" I asked without moving. I wasn't one to get caught up in something without knowing why first.
"Your father was very ill," the housekeeping assistant said, "Unfortunately, he passed away in the night."
[["What happened?"]]
[["Where is he?"]]"Well, he contracted a disease. I'm not sure of the details, but it proved fatal. I believe he passed peacefully, in his sleep."
The sadness on the android's face looked so realistic that I almost believed she was sympathetic.
"He is still in his room now. Do you need some time, or would you like to see him?"
She thought I was overcome with grief. Not exactly.
[["Okay. Lead the way."]]"He's still in his bedroom. He passed peacefully in his sleep. Would you like to go see him?"
[["Okay. Lead the way."]] When the maid bot took me into Dad's room, there was a bald man standing there. I didn't expect that. It was a pretty grim scene, this guy in his black suit with his black briefcase, and all these sterile white sheets and pillows swallowing David Turnsole, or what was left of him. Dad didn't look like he had passed peacefully. His hair was drained of color, his eyes ringed in black.
[["Are you the mortician?"]]"No," the bald guy said in a voice as cold and creepy as he looked. "I represent the legal interests of Light of the Future, as well as Mr. Turnsole." The lawyer looked me over, touched his ear and nodded to me. "You're the younger daughter?"
"Irene," I said.
His attempt at sympathy was less convincing than the robot's. "Sorry to intrude. I'll give you some time. When you're able, I'd like to have a word with you before I leave. Let me know."
[["I'm ready now."]]
[[I took a moment with Dad.|Take a moment with Dad.]]The lawyer walked me out of the bedroom into a receiving area, where we sat together at a small table. "First," he said, opening his briefcase, "I will need to address the issue of the estate." Typical slimy lawyer; straight to the money. "I'll be handling the will in the coming weeks, and it may become very complicated. I just ask that you try to be available in case I need to speak to immediate family members. Which brings me to an important point: Have you seen Rebecca?"
I wished. She should have been the one talking to the lawyer. She was the "responsible" one. I had expected to see her here, since she was the one that told me to come in the first place.
[["I was gonna ask the same thing."]]"Okay," I said, "Just a minute then."
The guy didn't leave, he just stood there watching me stare at my dead father. David Turnsole. Nothing much now, laying in his giant bed with a book next to him, like he had fallen asleep reading. The leader of one of the largest corporations the world had ever seen, struck down with no more dignity than a beggar in the street. Deep down, I did remember him as a decent, loving father, but I'd been very young then, and he hadn't yet taken over the Light. Or been taken over by it. Each year he had grown more distant, more angry. I tried to tell myself it wasn't my fault. Rebecca, in her more emotional moments, had sometimes told me otherwise.
Ugh. Enough of this crap.
[["I'm ready now."]]{
<!-- Item datamaps should be added to the inventory array
in the following format:
"name",<name>
"details",<description of the item>
"hook",<none, for items, but this MUST be set>
Ex:
(set: $tempItem to (dm: "name","Manor Address",
"details","The address and phone number of my Dad's place.",
"hook", "none"
))
** This makes sure we don't double-add items **
(set: $itemFound to (find: _item where _item's name is "Manor Address",...$inventory) )
(if: $itemFound's length is 0)[(set: $inventory to $inventory + (a: $tempItem))]
-->
(set: $selected to (dm:
"name","none",
"details", "none",
"hook", "none"
))
}
(for: each _item, ...$inventory)[
(link: _item's name)[\
(set: $selected to _item)\
(go-to: $lastPassage)\
] (link-replace: "(details)")[\
(print: _item's details)\
]
]
{
(link-goto: "*Forget it, I don't need to use anything right now.*", $lastPassage)[(set: $selected to (dm:
"name","none",
"details", "none",
"hook", "none"
))]
}I couldn't find a way to use that there.
(link-goto: "*Okay.*", $lastPassage)"I haven't seen her since last night," the housekeeper chimed in. I jumped at her sudden appearance.
The lawyer made a face like a cow chewing cud. "Well, it's extremely important that you find her and tell her to speak with me *before* Saturday night," the lawyer said. "Please, take my card and call me as soon as you know anything."
The guy handed me his card. I stuffed it somewhere in my bag.
{
<!--- Because Harlowe blows, you MUST HAVE a "hook" value in the datamap -->
(set: $tempItem to (dm: "name","Company Lawyer's Card",
"details","The business card for Dad's creepy lawyer. It has his phone and email.",
"hook", "none"))
<!--- This makes sure we don't double-add items -->
(set: $itemFound to (find: _item where _item's name is "Company Lawyer's Card",...$inventory) )
(if: $itemFound's length is 0)[(set: $inventory to $inventory + (a: $tempItem))]
<!--- Initiating Lawyer's phone number for later calling -->
(set: $tempNum to (dm: "name", "LotF Lawyer's Phone Number"))
(set: $numFound to (find: _num where _num's name is "LotF Lawyer's Phone Number",...$numbers) )
(if: $numFound's length is 0)[(set: $numbers to $numbers + (a: $tempNum))]
}
[["So, what happened here, anyway?"]]"Mr. Turnsole came home sick from work," the synthetic began, but the lawyer interrupted her.
"We *cannot* make any conclusions until the medical report. But Mr. Turnsole's work was hazardous. Attempting to improve the human condition comes with implicit risks that he took upon himself. However, there is no evidence to suggest he was contagious or that the general population need worry."
[["So, in other words, he was experimenting with some new disease and got sick."]]"I can't confirm anything, Ms. Turnsole. We'll have to wait for the medical report."
The lawyer was getting real antsy now. I could tell he was trying to find a way out, and it was funny to watch him squirm.
"Now, if you'll excuse me..." he said, then he kind of shuffled sideways until he was out the door. Whatever.
Where was Rebecca? Maybe she'd show up if I waited around long enough.
[[I decided to take a look around the bedroom.]]{
<!-- Steve is an idiot. Always tell him where he is when you enter a new Investigation Area -->
(set: $wheresSteve to (passage:)'s name)
}
There was [Dad]<hook1| in his huge, cold [bed]<hook2|, but even it looked tiny compared to the rest of the room. The floor was made of expensive looking wood, covered in expensive green rugs, on which Dad had put many expensive yet useless things. There was a [coffee table]<hook3| in the middle of some leather chairs, and shelves of books lined the walls. Over on the other side of the room was a small [bar]<hook4| with hundreds of pricey, untouched bottles.
The [housekeeper]<hook5| hovered next to the bed, waiting for orders. (if: $notebook's length is not 0)[Steve also hovered nearby doing exactly the same thing.]
{
(if: $selected's name is "none")[
(click-goto: ?hook2, "bed")
<!-- If there's a duplicate word, we need to use a specific hook to link that word and not the duplicates -->
(click-goto: "coffee table", "coffee table")
(click-goto: "books", "books")
(click-goto: "bar", "bar")
(click-goto: "housekeeper", "housekeeper")
(click-goto: "Steve", "Steve")
(if: $notebook's length is 0)[
[[*Maybe I should try to look around the rest of the house.*|Maybe I should try to look around the rest of the house.]]
]
(else:)[
[[I decided to try investigating somewhere else.|Go somewhere else.]]
]
(if: $planetarium is "yes")[
<br>[[I went to take a look at the Planetarium.|Planetarium]]
]
]
(else-if: $selected's name is "Ashokavadana")[
(click-goto: ?hook5, "Housekeeper Ashoka")
(click-goto: ?hook1, "Default Failtext")
(click-goto: ?hook2, "Default Failtext")
(click-goto: ?hook3, "Default Failtext")
(click-goto: ?hook4, "Default Failtext")
]
(else-if: $selected's name is "My ID")[
(click-goto: ?hook5, "Alt Text")[(set: $altText to "I tried to show my ID to the housekeeper again, but she just gave me a confused look.")]
(click-goto: ?hook1, "Default Failtext")
(click-goto: ?hook2, "Default Failtext")
(click-goto: ?hook3, "Default Failtext")
(click-goto: ?hook4, "Default Failtext")
]
(else-if: $selected's name is "LotF Laser Pointer")[
(click-goto: ?hook5, "Alt Text")[(set: $altText to "When I shined the laser at the android, her head jerked a few times like she was glitching out, then she was completely still for a minute. Oops. But eventually she seemed to reboot and come back online like nothing had happened.")]
(click-goto: ?hook1, "Default Failtext")
(click-goto: ?hook2, "Default Failtext")
(click-goto: ?hook3, "Default Failtext")
(click-goto: ?hook4, "Default Failtext")
]
(else-if: $selected's name is "Bike Helmet")[
(click-goto: ?hook1, "Alt Text")[(set: $altText to "I put the bike helmet on Dad for a laugh, but it was pretty morbid so I took it off.")]
(click-goto: ?hook5, "Alt Text 2")[(set: $altText2 to 'I tried to put the helmet on the maid, but she squirmed away, saying, "Please, I prefer not to wear that headgear inside the house."')]
(click-goto: ?hook2, "Default Failtext")
(click-goto: ?hook3, "Default Failtext")
(click-goto: ?hook4, "Default Failtext")
]
(else-if: $selected's name is "Matches from the Flaming Aces")[
(click-goto: ?hook5, "Default Failtext")
(click-goto: ?hook1, "Default Failtext")
(click-goto: ?hook2, "Alt Text")[(set: $altText to "I sat on the bed and idly lit a match, watching it burn, then flicked it on the rug. The housekeeper immediately scurried over and started spraying it with fire retardant. How boring.")]
(click-goto: ?hook3, "Default Failtext")
(click-goto: ?hook4, "Default Failtext")
]
(else:)[
(click-goto: ?hook1, "Default Failtext")
(click-goto: ?hook2, "Default Failtext")
(click-goto: ?hook3, "Default Failtext")
(click-goto: ?hook4, "Default Failtext")
(click-goto: ?hook5, "Default Failtext")
]
}Rebecca still hadn't showed up, and something was bothering me about this whole day in general. I opened my mouth to ask the housekeeper to give me the grand tour when there was a knock at the door.
I thought it was Rebecca, but the housekeeper came back a minute later with another synthetic in tow.
[["Uh... hi?"]]Dad was right in the center with all the pillows piled up behind him. I was pretty sure the housekeeper had positioned him that way for viewing. {(set: $itemFound to (find: _item where _item's name is "Ashokavadana",...$inventory) )
(if: $itemFound's length is 0)[Next to Dad on the bed was a [book]<book|, which was a little strange to me. Usually the only thing he read were reports from work. Maybe he'd changed.]}
{
(click-goto: ?book,"book")
}
[[*Okay.*|$lastPassage]]I picked up the book. It said, "Ashokavadana" on the cover. No idea what that meant. I decided to take it. If Dad was reading it on his deathbed, it must have meant... well, something.
{
<!--- Because Harlowe blows, you MUST HAVE a "hook" value in the datamap -->
(set: $tempItem to (dm: "name","Ashokavadana",
"details","Dad was reading this on his death bed.",
"hook", "none"))
<!--- This makes sure we don't double-add items -->
(set: $itemFound to (find: _item where _item's name is "Ashokavadana",...$inventory) )
(if: $itemFound's length is 0)[(set: $inventory to $inventory + (a: $tempItem))]
}
[[*Okay.*|$lastPassage]]{
There were some books on the coffee table, obviously positioned to look nice and never be touched again, but there was also a crumpled piece of paper (set: $itemFound to (find: _item where _item's name is "Matches from the Flaming Aces",...$inventory) )
(if: $itemFound's length is 0)[and a book of matches] sitting there. This stuff looked strangely out of place when the rest of the room was so immaculate.
<br><br>
[[*Okay.*|$lastPassage]]
(click-goto: "paper", "paper")
(click-goto: "book of matches", "book of matches")
}The bookshelves were stuffed with impressive-sounding titles like *Art of War* and *Moby Dick*. I took a book down and it literally cracked when I opened it. He hadn't even flipped through it. Typical. Dad wasn't a stupid guy, not even close, but he always seemed more concerned with *looking *smart than acting it.
I turned to leave, but stopped when I saw a book that stood out because of its tattered cover. A book I recognized.
[[I took it from the shelf and opened it.]]The bar was fully stocked, but I didn't know why. I'd never seen Dad drink. Although, he did always offer a drink to guests. I browsed the bottles, but didn't find anything interesting. The whole stock just made me feel poor. Government provisions paid for a lot, but they didn't pay for whiskey. {(set: $itemFound to (find: _item where _item's name is "Dad's Cryo Facility ID",...$inventory) )
(if: $itemFound's length is 0)[There was a stack of mail sitting on the bar, as if Dad had looked through it and forgotten about it.]}
{
[[*Okay.*|$lastPassage]]
(click-goto: "stack of mail","mail")
}I uncrumpled the paper and saw that it was one of Rebecca's childhood drawings. That was strange. Had Dad been looking at it, or had it been Rebecca? She'd always wanted to be an artist, always wanted everyone to tell her how great her drawings were. I think it was because the less attention Dad paid to her, the harder she tried to attract it.
[[*Okay.*|$lastPassage]]I picked up the matches from the table. Only one had been used. On the cover, it said, "The Flaming Aces Bar." I wondered if Dad would ever visit a place like that. I didn't think so, but why else would the matches be here?
I pocketed them, hoping the bar might be a good place to unwind.
{
[[*Okay.*|$lastPassage]]
<!--- Because Harlowe blows, you MUST HAVE a "hook" value in the datamap -->
(set: $tempItem to (dm: "name","Matches from the Flaming Aces",
"details","It's a book of matches with some bar's name on it.",
"hook", "none"))
<!--- This makes sure we don't double-add items -->
(set: $itemFound to (find: _item where _item's name is "Matches from the Flaming Aces",...$inventory) )
(if: $itemFound's length is 0)[(set: $inventory to $inventory + (a: $tempItem))]
}"Hello," he said in the polite way only androids could. "My name is Steve. I am an Investigation Assistant. I have deduced that a crime has taken place."
"Huh?" I said, "No, my father was sick. There's nothing fishy going on here."
"No, I am not here to investigate a murder, but rather a kidnapping. Here, come with me and I'll show you."
[[I went with him.|Go with him.]]After a minute, the robot had me standing in the back gardens, looking at a patch of mud in the grass.
"You see?" Steve said expectantly.
"Uh... bad gardening?" I replied.
"No. The grass has been torn up in some kind of struggle. Then someone was dragged away from the scene. Kidnapped, in other words."
[["Who?"]]"Well, the man in the bed is David Turnsole, and from the security archives, I deduce that you are Irene Turnsole. Which means there is a high probability that the one kidnapped was Rebecca Turnsole."
"What!"
"Please do not panic. I have already deduced exactly what happened, and the culprits."
[["Then let's get my sister back!"]]"Well, unfortunately, it's not that easy. You see, there are very specific laws in place that prevent me from accusing, even indirectly, a human being of any crime."
"Then what use are you?" I said. "My sister's missing, we need to call the cops!"
"I am the cops." Steve shook his head slightly, realizing how dramatic he sounded. "That is, I am a resource officer employed by the sector's sheriff's department for exactly these sorts of cases. I can assist-" I grabbed the stupid bot by his neck before he could finish.
[[But then I decided to show mercy.]]
[["Get me the real police or I'll crush your little metal throat!"]]
"I'm very sorry, but they just won't come. There are far too few human police these days to rush out for anything short of a proven crime."
Of course. Steve and his kind had taken all the jobs, and now I was stuck in this bad dream as a result. I let go of his neck out of numb resignation more than anything.
"But I can assist you in procuring that proof!" he said.
[["How?" I asked hopelessly.]]"Well, I can help you deduce things. Let me demonstrate," Steve said, then turned to the housekeeper. "Madam, do you mind telling Irene about last night?"
"I will do my best. What do you want to know?"
Then Steve turned to me and said, "Okay, now ask her some questions and I'll tell you when we're ready to deduce something."
[["Okay..." I said, "I'll give it a shot."]]I picked up the mail and shuffled through it. The address on one of the letters caught my eye: "Seize the Day Cryo Facility." They froze people when they were dying or already dead, then promised to bring them back once they found a cure. I'd listened to some of the other line cooks talk about it, and they'd heard it had actually worked... for a dozen or so very lucky people, out of *thousands* of failures. The other millions on ice just had to hope their money lasted until the success rate got higher.
Why would they be mailing Dad? The Light had plenty of cryo facilities of their own, and last I heard, there was some bad blood between them. Had Seize the Day somehow known he was going to die?
[[I tore open the envelope to see.]]Inside was a card with Dad's face on it. It was a new ID card for the cryo facility. The letter said his old one had expired, which meant... apparently Dad, leader of Light of the Future, was *also* a member of Seize the Day?
But why was he laying here in the bed instead of being dipped in preservatives like a human ice cream cone?
I took the card. Dad didn't need it anymore, and maybe the lawyer could make something of it.
{
[[*Okay.*|$lastPassage]]
<!--- Because Harlowe blows, you MUST HAVE a "hook" value in the datamap -->
(set: $tempItem to (dm: "name","Dad's Cryo Facility ID",
"details","Dad apparently had a membership for Seize the Day Cryo Facility.",
"hook", "none"))
<!--- This makes sure we don't double-add items -->
(set: $itemFound to (find: _item where _item's name is "Dad's Cryo Facility ID",...$inventory) )
(if: $itemFound's length is 0)[(set: $inventory to $inventory + (a: $tempItem))]
}"Yes," Steve said as if he knew exactly what it meant, "You see, from this, I can deduce..." We waited. Finally, he said, "Sorry, I must admit this phrase has no meaning to me. I thought we'd get something better. All I can deduce is that it is either the senseless ramblings of a sick man, or it holds some significance unknown to the general public."
"He used to say that to me when he wanted me to stop being a brat," I said. "See, Rebecca was born in the beginning of March, and me at the end, so he would say March came in like a lamb and went out like a lion every year, didn't matter the weather."
"Yes!" Steve said.
[["Yes?"]]"Yes," Steve said again. "This is the kind of lead I can help you use to solve the case. Write it down."
"Okay... but I don't know how it's relevant," I said. Steve was lucky I had a notebook in my bag. I took it out and wrote down Dad's last words and a few other things we knew so far. I even decided to write down that something was going down with Light of the Future tomorrow night. Wacky alien lady might have been wrong about their rituals, but the lawyer had mentioned the same deadline.
{
[["Done. What now?"]]
(set: $tempClue to (dm: "name","-Dad is dead",
"hook", "?C1"
))
<!--- This makes sure we don't double-add clues -->
(set: $clueFound to (find: _clue where _clue's name is "-Dad is dead",...$notebook))
(if: $clueFound's length is 0)[(set: $notebook to $notebook + (a: $tempClue))]
(set: $tempClue to (dm: "name","-Rebecca is missing",
"hook", "?C2"
))
<!--- This makes sure we don't double-add clues -->
(set: $clueFound to (find: _clue where _clue's name is "-Rebecca is missing",...$notebook))
(if: $clueFound's length is 0)[(set: $notebook to $notebook + (a: $tempClue))]
(set: $tempClue to (dm: "name",'-Dad’s last words were, “Irene, be a lamb.”',
"hook", "?C3"
))
<!--- This makes sure we don't double-add clues -->
(set: $clueFound to (find: _clue where _clue's name is '-Dad’s last words were, “Irene, be a lamb.”',...$notebook))
(if: $clueFound's length is 0)[(set: $notebook to $notebook + (a: $tempClue))]
(set: $tempClue to (dm: "name","-The Light of the Future is supposedly having some event in two days - either a company picnic or a ritual sacrifice of some kind",
"hook", "?C4"
))
<!--- This makes sure we don't double-add clues -->
(set: $clueFound to (find: _clue where _clue's name is "-The Light of the Future is supposedly having some event in two days - either a company picnic or a ritual sacrifice of some kind",...$notebook))
(if: $clueFound's length is 0)[(set: $notebook to $notebook + (a: $tempClue))]
}"Now, we need to find some more clues so we can deduce something from them. Items from the environment may also prove useful when facing obstacles, so keep an eye out. Suggested locations are: This house, and your father's place of work. Unless you have other ideas. The Light of the Future is closely tied to your family, and your father's office is located there. Perhaps we can find something related to Rebecca if we take a visit, but we should be cautious. Anybody could be involved in the kidnapping, and they could be after you too if they recognize you.
"But don't worry, I will do my best to alert the police if any crime is being committed against you. When we have enough information, we can find a quiet place to make deductions based on the data," Steve said.
"I have an office we can use for that," I said. The grimy old SpaceSwap would do for a place to think. But I wasn't sure where I should start. And I wasn't thrilled about Steve's phrasing. Sounded like he could only call the police when it was already too late...
[[I thought about my options.|Go somewhere else.]]{
<!-- Clue datamaps should be added to the notebook array
in the following format:
"name",<name>,
"hook",<hook name>
Ex:
(set: $tempClue to (dm: "name","Clue one",
"hook", ?C1
))
** This makes sure we don't double-add clues **
** Can also add by hook**
(set: $clueFound to (find: _clue where _clue's name is "Clue one",...$notebook) )
(if: $clueFound's length is 0)[(set: $notebook to $notebook + (a: $tempClue))]
-->
(set: $selected to (dm:
"name","none",
"details", "none",
"hook", "none"
))
<!-- $deduction toggles the notebook between a plain list of clues and the deduction mechanic overlay of links -->
(if: $deduction is "active")[
<!-- $bag is a variable to manually toggle the inventory option (link) without using tags -->
(set: $bag to "yes")
<!-- $notebookActive toggles the option (link) to use the notebook on and off -->
(set: $notebookActive to "no")
"First, you need to pick a clue you want to make a deduction about," said Steve. "You might also be able to draw conclusions about certain items."
<br><br>
CLUES
<br><br>
(for: each _clue, ...$notebook)[
(link: _clue's name)[
(set: $selected to _clue)
(go-to: $lastPassage)
]
<br><br>]
<!-- So, if we're in deduction mode, the notebook will list out all the clues in interactive links -->
DEDUCTIONS
<br><br>
(if: $deductions's length is 0)[*I haven't deduced anything yet...*
<br><br>]
(else:)[(for: each _dedu, ...$deductions)[
(print: _dedu's name)
<br><br>]]
(link: "*I can't make anything of this right now. Time to get back to work.*")[
(set: $selected to (dm:
"name","none",
"details", "none",
"hook", "none"
))
(set: $notebookActive to "yes")
(set: $deduction to "inactive")
(set: $bag to "yes")
(goto: $lastPassage)]
]
(else:)[
<!-- if we're not in deduction mode, Irene is away from the office and her notebook is for reference rather than interacting -->
(set: $notebookActive to "no")(set: $bag to "no")
"Let's see what I have so far," I said to myself.
<br><br>
CLUES
<br><br>
(for: each _clue, ...$notebook)[
(print: _clue's name)
<br><br>]
DEDUCTIONS
<br><br>
(if: $deductions's length is 0)[*I haven't deduced anything yet...*
<br><br>]
(else:)[(for: each _dedu, ...$deductions)[
(print: _dedu's name)
<br><br>]]
NUMBERS
<br><br>
(for: each _number, ...$numbers)[
(print: _number's name)
<br><br>]
(link: "*I can't make anything of this right now. Time to get back to work.*")[
(set: $selected to (dm:
"name","none",
"details", "none",
"hook", "none"
))
(set: $notebookActive to "yes")
(set: $deduction to "inactive")
(set: $bag to "yes")
(goto: $lastPassage)]
]
<!-- At the end of most passages, I'm just wiping $selected clean so it doesn't mess with anything. -->
}{
(if: $counter >= 5)[
(set: $counter to $counter + 1)
(set: $totalCounter to $totalCounter + 1)
(set: $timerText to $time's $counter)
(css: "font-size: 150%;")[$timerText]
<br><br>
[[I needed to decide where to be when time ran out...]]
]
(else:)[
(link: "Investigate Turnsole Manor.")[
(set: $goto to "Manor")
(goto: "Locations Card")
]<br><br>
(set: $itemFound to (find: _item where _item's name is "Matches from the Flaming Aces",...$inventory) )
(if: $itemFound's length is not 0)[(link: "Check out the Flaming Aces Bar.")[
(set: $goto to "Bar")
(goto: "Locations Card")
]<br><br>]
(set: $itemFound to (find: _item where _item's name is "Dad's Cryo Facility ID",...$inventory) )
(if: $itemFound's length is not 0)[(link: "Go to Seize the Day Cryo Facility.")[
(set: $goto to "Cryo")
(goto: "Locations Card")
]<br><br>]
(link: "Go to the Light of the Future offices where Dad worked.")[
(set: $goto to "Lotf")
(goto: "Locations Card")
]<br><br>
(link: "Go back to the SpaceSwap and think.")[
(set: $goto to "BnB")
(goto: "Locations Card")
]
]
}Turns survived this round: (print: $counter)
Total turns: (print: $totalCounter)
(css: "font-size: 200%;")[
(align: "=><=")[
(t8n: "dissolve")[
[[Reset Memory]]
]
]
]{
<!-- Steve is an idiot. Always tell him where he is when you enter a new Investigation Area -->
(set: $wheresSteve to (passage:)'s name)
(if: $selected's name is not "none")[
(display: "Clues Page")
(if: $selected's hook is not "none")[
(link: "*Hmm, this isn't working. Let's try something else.*")[
(set: $selected to (dm:
"name","none",
"details", "none",
"hook", "none"
))
(goto: "Notebook")
]
]
]
<!-- Before we enter deduction mode, the BnB office is a space to do a few other things. -->
}
(else:)[I looked around the grimy office as I sat down. The carpet was worn in front of the desk where [Steve]<Steve| was standing, and there were dark, greasy stains under my own feet. There was a cot in the corner that served as my bed, and it wasn't exactly luxurious. One end was propped up with phone books. I sighed, poured myself a cold cup of coffee from the ancient pot on the desk, and thought about my next move.
{
(click-goto: ?Steve, "Steve")
<!-- If there's a duplicate word, we need to use a specific hook to link that word and not the duplicates -->
(set: $numFound to (find: _number where _number's name is "Seize the Day Cryo Facility Phone Number",...$numbers) )
(set: $itemFound to (find: _item where _item's name is "Dad's Cryo Facility ID",...$inventory) )
(if: $numFound's length is 0 and $itemFound's length is not 0)[(click-goto: "phone books", "phone books")]
}
(link: "I could try to sit down with Steve and deduce something about these clues.")[\
(set: $deduction to "active")\
(go-to: "Notebook")\
]
There was also a phone here. Maybe I could get some work done from the office without using data. These days just a few minutes could bankrupt someone on a cook's wage.
[[I decided to make some calls.|Phone]]
{(if: $ending is "yes")[
[["Wait... Steve... why do I have all these memories of death?"]]
<br><br>]
(link: "*Or maybe I should go somewhere else to investigate.*")[
(set: $bag to "yes")
(goto: "Go somewhere else.")]
(set: $bag to "no")
<!-- inventory can't be used in the office, except in deduction mode -->
}]{
(set: $counter to 1)
(set: $totalCounter to $totalCounter + 1)
(set: $timerText to $time's $counter)
(css: "font-size: 150%;")[$timerText]
}
[[I woke up.]]The Light of the Future offices was just a few blocks down from Dad's house, in a sector I was all too familiar with. Dad used to bring us there when we were young and cute, but that dropped off hard as we grew older. Once I hit my gloomy teenage years, I refused to have anything to do with the Light. Never really grew out of it.
I thought the place would look smaller from an adult's perspective, but I was wrong. The monolith of the office building jutted into the sky with "LIGHT OF THE FUTURE" written vertically in huge, gold letters. The black steel of the building gave way to a blinding beam of light shooting from the rooftop and out into space like a beacon. It was a terrifying display of my father's hubris.
I nodded to Steve, who looked like a scared animal. I shrugged and smiled.
[[I led the way inside.]]The bar was in the "old" part of town, the kind of place where fusion generators were retrofitted onto stone chimneys. The whole sector had a hacked together vibe; people passed by with janky after-market implants clamped to their faces. They may not have had much, but the locals made due with the scraps everyone else threw away.
*Why would Dad visit a bar here, of all places?* The Flaming Aces was an unremarkable little hovel. It wasn't exactly run down, but I couldn't imagine Dad being seen within a mile of it.
[[I decided to go in for a look.]]
{(set: $moreItems to 0) (set: $foo to (find: _item where _item's name is "Manor Address",...$box))
(if: $foo's length is 0)[(set: $moreItems to it + 1) [[I'd written my dad's address on a slip of paper.]]<br>]
(set: $foo to (find: _item where _item's name is "Uniform",...$box))
(if: $foo's length is 0)[(set: $moreItems to it + 1) [[I'd brought my uniform from work for some reason.]]<br>]
(set: $foo to (find: _item where _item's name is "Photo",...$box))
(if: $foo's length is 0)[(set: $moreItems to it + 1)[[I'd brought along one of the few pictures I owned.]]<br>]
(set: $foo to (find: _item where _item's name is "Pamphlet",...$box))
(if: $foo's length is 0)[(set: $moreItems to it + 1)[[Some guy had given me a Light of the Future pamphlet on the way here. I'd stuffed it in the box.]]<br>]
(set: $foo to (find: _item where _item's name is "Manor Address",...$box))
(set: $bar to (find: _item where _item's name is "Photo",...$box))
(if: $bar's length is not 0 and $foo's length is not 0)[[Enough reminiscing. It was time to get going.]]
}{
(if: $altText is not "none")[
(print: $altText)
]
(else:)[
I couldn't find a way to use that here.
]
<br><br>
(link-goto: "*Okay.*", $lastPassage)[
(set: $altText to "none")
]
}{
(set: $inventoryActive to 1)
(set: $tempItem to (dm: "name","My ID",
"details","My government-issued ID.",
"hook", "none"))
<!--- This makes sure we don't double-add items -->
(set: $itemFound to (find: _item where _item's name is "My ID",...$inventory) )
(if: $itemFound's length is 0)[(set: $inventory to $inventory + (a: $tempItem))]
(if: $selected's name is "none")["I'm sorry, Ms. Turnsole, but I need to see ID of anyone I haven't met before," the android said to me.
<br>]
}
It kind of pissed me off that [Dad]<hook1| hadn't registered me at his own [house]<hook2|. But, the [maid]<hook3| wasn't programmed to simply trust that I was family. She stood there expectantly.
(if: $selected's name is "none")["Uh, sure. Wait a minute," I said. I had an ID somewhere in my bag.]
{
(if: $selected's name is "My ID")[
(click-goto: ?hook3, "ID Success Passage")
(click-goto: ?hook1, "Alt Text")[(set: $altText to "No, my father wasn't here, and I wouldn't need to show him my ID anyway. I needed to give it to the maid.")]
(click-goto: ?hook2, "Default Failtext")
]
(else-if: $selected's name is "Photo")[
(click-goto: ?hook3, "Alt Text")[(set: $altText to '"Oh yes, a picture of Rebecca," the maid said politiely.')]
(click-goto: ?hook1, "Default Failtext")
(click-goto: ?hook2, "Default Failtext")
]
(else-if: $selected's name is not "none")[
(click-goto: ?hook1, "Default Failtext")
(click-goto: ?hook2, "Default Failtext")
(click-goto: ?hook3, "Default Failtext")
]
}"I don't think we can make any deductions based on that," Steve said.
[["Okay."|$lastPassage]]{
(set: $selected to (dm:
"name","none",
"details","none",
"hook","none"
))
(set: $deduction to "inactive")
(set: $notebookActive to "yes")
(set: $tempDedu to (dm:
"name","-Lions and lambs had some connection for Dad.",
"hook", "?D1"
))
(set: $deduFound to (find: _dedu where _dedu's hook is "?D1",...$deductions) )
(if: $deduFound's length is 0)[(set: $deductions to $deductions + (a: $tempDedu))]
}
Suddenly, I had a realization.
"Lions and lambs..." I said, "Ashoka was associated with lions. Maybe Dad was trying to send me a message of some kind."
I wrote down the deduction - Lions and lambs had some connection for Dad.
[["Good. Now, let's get back to work."|Go back to the SpaceSwap and think.]]
(css: "font-size: 150%;")[
(align: "=><=")[Black Sheep]]
(align: "=><=")[[Start|Intro 1]]{
(set: $timerText to $time's $counter)
}
(css: "font-size: 150%;")[$timerText]
[[*Okay.*|I headed to Turnsole Manor.]]"I was right by his bedside. He had stopped talking hours before, and slowly his vitals decreased and stopped. I don't think he was in pain."
[["Do you suspect foul play?"]]
[["When he was talking, did he say anything important?"]]"Yes," the housekeeper said, "She was in her father's bedroom with me until about nine, then she said she was going out."
"Was there anything strange about that?" I asked.
"No, not really. Rebecca usually went out in the evening and came back late at night."
[["Where did she go?"]]
[["Usually? How long has Rebecca been staying here?"]]"In your father's death?" the maid said, shocked. "I don't think so! He would have said something if that were the case, right?"
Then, Steve spoke up. "Hmm. If there was something suspicious about your father's death, she would have reported it by now. This line of questioning probably won't lead anywhere. Luckily this housekeeper has a function that will help you practice."
Steve turned to the housekeeper. "Madam, can you kindly rewind your memory for us?"
"Absolutely, sir."
"Okay. Try again. Don't worry, it takes time to learn these skills."
[["All right..."|"Okay..." I said, "I'll give it a shot."]]The maid thought for a minute, then said, "Hmm. Mr. Turnsole's last words - would they be useful?"
Steve perked up at this. "Absolutely. What were they?"
Instead of answering, the maid played a recording from her memory. My dad's sickly voice came out of her face, saying, "Irene... be a lamb." It was chilling and confusing all at the same time.
[["Be a lamb?"]]I looked at the android's friendly face, waiting for my question.
"Hmm..." I said.
[["Where were you when Dad died?"]]
[["Was Rebecca here last night?"]]"I'm really not sure," the robot said as if it was none of her business.
"Well..." Steve spoke up, "This doesn't seem like an effective line of questioning. Sometimes it helps to come back later and try again later, but luckily this housekeeper has a function that will help you practice."
Steve turned to the housekeeper. "Madam, can you kindly rewind your memory for us?"
"Absolutely, sir."
"Okay. Try again. Don't worry, it takes time to learn these skills."
[["All right..."|"Okay..." I said, "I'll give it a shot."]]"She came when your father first fell ill and spent most of her time by his bedside when he got worse."
"Was there anything different about last night?" I asked.
"Not particularly. Other than ... well ... your father dying," the housekeeper said matter-of-factly.
"Hmm. I don't think this is leading anywhere," Steve said. "Sometimes you just don't ask the right questions. Usually that means coming back later and trying again, but luckily this housekeeper has a function that will help you practice."
Steve turned to the housekeeper. "Madam, can you kindly rewind your memory for us?"
"Absolutely, sir."
"Okay. Try again. Don't worry, it takes time to learn these skills."
[["All right..."|"Okay..." I said, "I'll give it a shot."]]{
(set: $counter to $counter + 1)
(set: $totalCounter to $totalCounter + 1)
(set: $timerText to $time's $counter)
}
(css: "font-size: 150%;")[$timerText]
{
(If: $goto is "Manor")[[*Okay.*|I decided to take a look around the bedroom.]]
(If: $goto is "Lotf")[[*Okay.*|Go to the Light of the Future offices where Dad worked.]]
(If: $goto is "Bar")[[*Okay.*|Check out The Flaming Aces bar.]]
(If: $goto is "Cryo")[[*Okay.*|Go to Seize the Day Cryo Facility.]]
(If: $goto is "BnB")[[*Okay.*|Go back to the SpaceSwap and think.]]
}{
(if: $notebook's length > 0)[
"Can I ask you a few questions?" I asked the maid.
<br><br>
"Of course," she said, and waited expectantly.
<br><br>
[["How long have you been working for my dad?"]]<br>
[["Did anything strange happen last night?"]]
]
(else:)[
"So... how long are they keeping the body here?" I asked the maid awkwardly.
<br><br>
"Three days is customary with the nanopreservers they've used."
<br><br>
"Uh... 'kay." Seemed morbid to have a body sitting around so long.
<br><br>
[[I decided to avoid the topic by looking around the room some more.|I decided to take a look around the bedroom.]]
]
}{
<!-- Steve is an idiot. Always tell him where he is when you enter a new Investigation Area -->
(set: $wheresSteve to (passage:)'s name)
}
The planetarium was a massive, spherical room that darkened when I entered. Constellations lined the walls, each glowing with their names underneath. I wasn't exactly a head-in-the-stars kind of person, but I recognized the zodiac. It was strange, though; if there was one thing Dad hated more than death and disease, it was astrology. He called it illogical pseudoscience. "Without logic," he said, "our lives are a meaingless series of events." Logic was the first tenet of the Light. It was why Dad read technical manuals instead of novels. It was why, I assumed, he was so distant. Affection only ever got in the way.
[[I decided to go back to the bedroom to take a look around.|I decided to take a look around the bedroom.]]
[[I wasn't having much luck here. I decided to go somewhere else.|Go somewhere else.]]{(click-goto: "zodiac","zodiac")}{
<!-- You need to clear selected and make sure there's no header (nohead tag) for all success passages. If it immediately leads back to $lastPassage, you need to tag this passage "menu" -->
(set: $selected to (dm:
"name","none",
"details","none",
"hook","none"
))
}
"Do you happen to know anything about this book?" I asked the maid.
"Hmm. I believe this book is written about a historical figure named Ashoka. That's all I know."
"Was Dad actually reading this? I could have sworn he thought anything non-technical was a waste of time."
"I don't believe I ever saw him reading it, but he did carry it around with him everywhere once he fell ill," the housekeeper said. That was strange.
[["Hmm. Thanks."|$lastPassage]]"He purchased me about five years ago," she answered.
"So you knew him pretty well?"
"I suppose so."
[["Was there anything strange about him lately?"]]
[["Where did he spend most of his time?"]]"No, Mr. Turnsole went to sleep and Rebecca said she was stepping out. Then Mr. Turnsole passed in the night. Nothing else happened."
[["I see. Thanks."|I decided to take a look around the bedroom.]]"It's hard to tell whether his behavior would have been different without the illness. Towards the end, he was mostly bedridden," she said.
Of course he would have been acting strange right before he died.
[["Okay, thanks."|I decided to take a look around the bedroom.]]"Well, when he wasn't in his bedroom he was in the planetarium."
"Planetarium? This place has a *planetarium*?"
"Sure. Would you like to see?"
(link: '"Well, I guess so! Lead the way."')[
(set: $planetarium to "yes")\
(goto: "Planetarium")\
]I looked around at the circle of constellations, trying to decide which one to examine closer.
(link: "Taurus")[\
(set: $constellation to "Taurus")\
(goto: "Constellation")\
]
(link: "Aries")[\
(set: $constellation to "Aries")\
(goto: "Constellation")\
]
(link: "Gemini")[\
(set: $constellation to "Gemini")\
(goto: "Constellation")\
]
(link: "Cancer")[\
(set: $constellation to "Cancer")\
(goto: "Constellation")\
]
(link: "Leo")[\
(set: $constellation to "Leo")\
(goto: "Constellation")\
]
(link: "Virgo")[\
(set: $constellation to "Virgo")\
(goto: "Constellation")\
]
(link: "Libra")[\
(set: $constellation to "Libra")\
(goto: "Constellation")\
]
(link: "Scorpius")[\
(set: $constellation to "Scorpius")\
(goto: "Constellation")\
]
(link: "Sagittarius")[\
(set: $constellation to "Sagittarius")\
(goto: "Constellation")\
]
(link: "Capricornus")[\
(set: $constellation to "Capricornus")\
(goto: "Constellation")\
]
(link: "Aquarius")[\
(set: $constellation to "Aquarius")\
(goto: "Constellation")\
]
(link: "Pisces")[\
(set: $constellation to "Pisces")\
(goto: "Constellation")\
]As I approached, a glowing image of (print: $constellation) appeared, increasing in detail with each step.
I reached out to see if it responded to my touch, but nothing happened. I did feel a [small line]<hook1| of some sort underneath. I wasn't sure if it was part of the dome or what, but it seemed to be centered directly beneath the image of (print: $constellation).
{
(if: $selected's name is "none")[
[[*I'm not sure what else I can do here.*|Planetarium]]
]
(else-if: $selected's name is "Stick of RAM" and $constellation is "Leo")[
(click-goto: ?hook1, "Dad's Letter")
]
(else-if: $selected's name is "Stick of RAM" and $constellation is "Aries")[
(click-goto: ?hook1, "Alt Text")[(set: $altText to "I had an idea. The picture of Aries was a huge glowing ram, after all, plus Rebecca and I had been born in March. I held the stick of RAM up to what I assumed was a slot. But... nothing happened. Guess Dad's puzzle wasn't so obvious.")]
]
(else-if: $selected's name is "My ID" or $selected's name is "Dad's Cryo Facility ID")[
(click-goto: ?hook1, "Alt Text")[(set: $altText to "I tried to use the card but it just bounced off the closed slot.")]
]
(else:)[
(click-goto: ?hook1, "Default Failtext")
]
}{
<!-- You need to clear selected and make sure there's no header (nohead tag) for all success passages. If it immediately leads back to $lastPassage, you need to tag this passage "menu" -->
(set: $selected to (dm:
"name","none",
"details","none",
"hook","none"
))
}
I lifted the RAM towards the line and to my surprise a slot opened in the wall. I inserted the RAM stick and it clicked into place. Suddenly the entire image of Leo began to recede into the dome and the panel slid up to reveal a hole with a single piece of epaper laying inside.
[[Holding my breath, I picked up the epaper to read it.]]{
<!-- Steve is an idiot. Always tell him where he is when you enter a new Investigation Area -->
(set: $wheresSteve to (passage:)'s name)
}
The inside of The Flaming Aces surprised me. Despite what it looked like outside, the innards were well-maintained. I spotted the polished [bar]<bar| on one side with [stools]<hook1| in front, and tables and booths receding into the shadows on the other side. There was a [lone drunk]<hook4| somewhere in that darkness, muttering into his glass. [The bartender]<hook2| was a tough looking lady with a shaved head and a metal arm. Near the back corner, there was a [jukebox]<hook3| with a screen displaying "No Signal." It seemed out of place, because the rest of the bar, while aged, was immaculate.
Steve hovered near the entrance, ready to help out.
{
(if: $selected's name is "none")[
(click-goto: ?bar,"bar2")
<!-- If there's a duplicate word, we need to use a specific hook to link that word and not the duplicates -->
(click-goto: "bartender","bartender")
(click-goto: "back corner","back corner")
(click-goto: "jukebox","jukebox")
(click-goto: "Steve","Steve")
[[I had all I needed for now. I decided to go somewhere else.|Go somewhere else.]]
]
(else-if: $selected's name is "Matches from the Flaming Aces")[
(click-goto: ?hook2, "Matches/Bartender")
(click-goto: ?hook1, "Matches/Stools")
(click-goto: ?hook3, "Default Failtext")
(click-goto: ?hook4, "Default Failtext")
]
(else-if: $selected's name is "Photo")[
(click-goto: ?hook2, "Photo/Bartender")
(click-goto: ?hook1, "Default Failtext")
(click-goto: ?hook3, "Default Failtext")
(click-goto: ?hook4, "Alt Text")[(set: $altText to 'The drunk blinked and squinted at the picture. "Pretty girl. Too bad I never seen *her*."')]
]
(else-if: $selected's name is "Coin")[
(click-goto: ?hook1, "Default Failtext")
(click-goto: ?hook2, "Default Failtext")
(click-goto: ?hook3, "Coin/Jukebox")
(click-goto: ?hook4, "Coin/Drunk")
]
(else-if: $selected's name is "Ashokavadana")[
(click-goto: ?hook2, "Book/Bartender")
(click-goto: ?hook1, "Default Failtext")
(click-goto: ?hook3, "Default Failtext")
(click-goto: ?hook4, "Alt Text")[(set: $altText to '"Ashoka, Ashoka! Did you find a way to wash your hands of all that blood? Can you teach me how?" the drunk ranted.')]
]
(else-if: $selected's name is "My ID")[
(click-goto: ?hook2, "ID/Bartender")
(click-goto: ?hook1, "Default Failtext")
(click-goto: ?hook3, "Default Failtext")
(click-goto: ?hook4, "ID/Drunk")
]
(else-if: $selected's name is "Dad's Cryo Facility ID")[
(click-goto: ?hook2, "Default Failtext")
(click-goto: ?hook1, "Default Failtext")
(click-goto: ?hook3, "Default Failtext")
(click-goto: ?hook4, "ID/Drunk")
]
(else:)[
(click-goto: ?hook1, "Default Failtext")
(click-goto: ?hook2, "Default Failtext")
(click-goto: ?hook3, "Default Failtext")
(click-goto: ?hook4, "Default Failtext")
]
}The bar, like everything else, was scrubbed to a shine. I ran my fingers across the smooth, solid, surface. Sure, it had had its share of knicks and cuts, but it was real wood. Didn't see that much anymore. How old must this place have been to have something so rustic as an actual wood bar?
[[*Enough fantasizing over bars...*|$lastPassage]]"What can I do for you?" the bartender asked. She seemed impatient, like she was just daring me to waste her time. I found it kind of cute.
"Oh, um, I don't need a drink, I just have a few questions."
"You a cop?" she asked.
"Well, I did sleep in a private investigator's office last night, so-"
"Irene, I must interject!" Steve intejected. "You cannot claim affiliation with law enforcement. Not that I am accusing you of doing so. But if you did, hypothetically, it would be a crime."
"Calm down, bolt-head," I said, and made a "can you believe this guy?" face at the lady. She seemed unimpressed, so I fumbled on, "Look, I'm not a cop. I'm just looking for some info. Steve is... well, I guess he's a cop-helper, or something like that."
"Investigation Assistant, eh?" the bartender scoffed, "Good luck with that. Not sure what help I can be, but fire away."
[["Please, my sister's missing. Maybe you knew her? Rebecca Turnsole?"]]
[["Do you know David Turnsole?"]]I went over to the back corner. There was a dimly lit [table]<table| here {(set: $clueFound to (find: _clue where _clue's name is "-The mole will meet me if I can find a private place to talk",...$notebook))
(if: $clueFound's length is not 0 and $table is not "reserved")[with five or six zealots from the Light in full cultist robes.]
(else:)[and not much else. The floor underneath the table would normally be covered in filth and debris, but just like the rest of the bar, the bartender had somehow managed to keep it clean even in the darkness under there.
]
<br><br>
[[I decided to wander back into the main section of the bar.|I decided to go in for a look.]]
(click-goto: ?table,"table")
<!-- If there's a duplicate word, we need to use a specific hook to link that word and not the duplicates -->
(set: $itemFound to (find: _item where _item's name is "Coin",...$inventory) )
(if: $itemFound's length is 0)[
(click-goto: "under there","there")
]
}I went over to the jukebox and tapped the screen, but nothing happened. It just kept displaying its "No Signal" message on a white background.
"It's broken," the bartender called out impatiently.
[["Okay. Thanks."|$lastPassage]]{
<!-- You need to clear selected and make sure there's no header (nohead tag) for all success passages. If it immediately leads back to $lastPassage, you need to tag this passage "menu" -->
(set: $selected to (dm:
"name","none",
"details","none",
"hook","none"
))
}
"This look familiar to you?" I said to the bartender, holding out the book of matches with the bar's logo.
"I mean, yeah. It's a matchbook. We're a bar. We hand 'em out like candy."
"Ah," I said. "Right. Yeah, makes sense."
[[*I guess I'll need more to go on than just a book of matches...*|$lastPassage]]{
<!-- You need to clear selected and make sure there's no header (nohead tag) for all success passages. If it immediately leads back to $lastPassage, you need to tag this passage "menu" -->
(set: $selected to (dm:
"name","none",
"details","none",
"hook","none"
))
}
*I wonder if this thing takes coins,* I said to myself on a whim.
I walked over to the jukebox and saw that there was actually a coin slot. I took my quarter and shoved it in there before I realized what I had done. The coin clunked down into the machine along with my sinking stomach. Waste of a rare quarter.
Just then, the machine came to life, playing some song called "The Light." That pissed me off.
"Hey! Give it back!" I yelled, punching the jukebox. Something actually clinked down into the change tray.
[[I bent down to look.]]{
(set: $clueFound to (find: _clue where _clue's name is "-The mole will meet me if I can find a private place to talk",...$notebook))
(if: $clueFound's length is not 0 and $date is "set")[
I sat down nervously, wondering if Darren would recognize me. I'd worn a hat, and I pulled it down over my face, but it could turn out to be a disastrous excuse for a disguise.
<br><br>
Soon, he came. "Hominum ex machina, sister," he said as he sat down. He didn't seem to suspect anything.
<br><br>
[["Hominum ex machina, brother."]]
]
(else-if: $clueFound's length is not 0 and $table is not "reserved")[
I sat down at the table and the group of Light fanatics just stared at me for a minute.
<br><br>
"Hey aren't you-" one began, then another interrupted.
<br><br>
"The sister! Looks like we got ourselves a fun night ahead, boys!"
<br><br>
Fun for them, maybe. Before I knew it, I was being dragged out back. As the kicks and punches rained down, an absurd thought occured to me.
<br><br>
[[*I should have made a reservation.*|You Dead.]]
]
(else:)[
I sat down at the table. After a minute of tapping my fingers, I felt kind of like an idiot.
<br><br>
[[I decided to stand up again.|$lastPassage]]
]
}{
<!--- Because Harlowe blows, you MUST HAVE a "hook" value in the datamap -->
(set: $tempItem to (dm: "name","Coin",
"details","It's a real Washington quarter from 1987.",
"hook", "none"))
<!--- This makes sure we don't double-add items -->
(set: $itemFound to (find: _item where _item's name is "Coin",...$inventory) )
(if: $itemFound's length is 0)[(set: $inventory to $inventory + (a: $tempItem))]
}
Just then I noticed something under the table, a sort of dull shine. I bent down and saw that it was a real live quarter, with Washington's head looking up at me and everything. Must have been my lucky day! I couldn't even remember the last time I saw a Washington quarter.
I snatched it up.
[[I straightened back up, smiling.|$lastPassage]]{
<!--- Because Harlowe blows, you MUST HAVE a "hook" value in the datamap -->
(set: $tempItem to (dm: "name","LotF Token",
"details","Some kind of token with LotF stamped on it.",
"hook", "none"))
<!--- This makes sure we don't double-add items -->
(set: $itemFound to (find: _item where _item's name is "LotF Token",...$inventory) )
(if: $itemFound's length is 0)[(set: $inventory to $inventory + (a: $tempItem))]
(set: $itemLost to (dm: "name","Coin",
"details","It's a real Washington quarter from 1987.",
"hook", "none"))
(set: $inventory to $inventory - (a: $itemLost))
}
I fished around in the change tray and was excited to feel a cold, circular coin. But when I pulled it out to look, it wasn't my quarter. Instead, it was some kind of token that said "LotF" on it.
[[Disappointed, I put it in my bag.|I decided to go in for a look.]]I even pulled out Rebecca's picture and showed her, but it did no good.
"I'm sorry, but I've never heard of her," the bartender said as if it ended the conversation.
[[*Well, that was a dead end...*|I decided to go in for a look.]]"No, but I know *of* him. Light of the Future CEO, right? Could do without his kind."
[["You mean corporate types?"]]
[["You mean religious fanatics?"]]"Nah, I mean those fanatics that are always talking about logic and the Singularity. Honestly, if you have anything to do with them, I don't need your company. If you want a drink, though, I won't turn down your money."
[["I see. Sorry to bother you."|I decided to go in for a look.]]"Exactly. Those freaks get on my nerves. But you can't avoid them - they're all over the city, always talking about 'live a better life with the help of technology' and 'purify yourself for the Singularity' and 'the Eldest' this and 'the Organic' that. It's crap."
[["But you yourself have a mechanical arm."]]
[["What about you? What do you believe?"]]
[["I get it, they're annoying, but why do you hate them so much?"]]"There's a difference between *using* technology and *worshipping* it," the bartender said impatiently.
[["Sorry, I didn't mean it that way."|I decided to go in for a look.]]"I'm a buddhist," the bartender said. It was a little surprising, given her tough act, but she explained, "Where those LotF types have it wrong is they believe in logic and rationality with unflinching faith. But sometimes things aren't logical or rational. Loving, for example, or mourning, or hoping - being *human*, in other words, is almost never logical or rational."
[["I see. Thanks for talking to me."|I decided to go in for a look.]]{
(set: $tempClue to (dm: "name","-Light of the Future fanatics are scaring bar customers",
"hook", "?C5"
))
<!--- This makes sure we don't double-add clues -->
(set: $clueFound to (find: _clue where _clue's name is "-Light of the Future fanatics are scaring bar customers",...$notebook))
(if: $clueFound's length is 0)[(set: $notebook to $notebook + (a: $tempClue))]
}
"Look at this place. Empty! It's cause those Light idiots are always coming down here before big events in their robes, scaring away all my customers. More and more, they're the only revenue stream I got, though. If I could afford it, I'd clear them all out in a minute. Just... not sure how I'd make it after that."
"Yeah, they've caused their share of problems in my life too," I said.
Then Steve tugged on my sleeve. "That seems like important information: Light of the Future fanatics are scaring bar customers. You should write it down."
[[I nodded, then scribbled it down in my notebook.|I decided to go in for a look.]]{
<!-- You need to clear selected and make sure there's no header (nohead tag) for all success passages. If it immediately leads back to $lastPassage, you need to tag this passage "menu" -->
(set: $selected to (dm:
"name","none",
"details","none",
"hook","none"
))
}
I showed the book Dad had been reading to the bartender.
"Ah, yeah. Ashoka. Famous Emperor, and a buddhist like me. You know why he decided to spread buddhism? Cause he saw all the horrors of his conquests, and he couldn't stand the guilt. Something to think about."
[["Interesting," I said.|$lastPassage]]{
[[*I should go to Turnsole Manor.*|Turnsole Manor Ending]]<br><br>
[[*I should go to the Light of the Future offices.*|LotF Offices Ending]]<br><br>
(set: $itemFound to (find: _item where _item's name is "Matches from the Flaming Aces",...$inventory) )
(if: $itemFound's length is not 0)[
[[*I should go to The Flaming Aces bar.*|Flaming Aces Ending]]<br><br>
]
(set: $itemFound to (find: _item where _item's name is "Dad's Cryo Facility ID",...$inventory) )
(if: $itemFound's length is not 0)[
[[*I should go to Seize the Day Cryo Facility.*|Cryo Facility Ending]]<br><br>
]
[[*I should go to the SpaceSwap.*|BnB Ending]]
}I had just walked through the door to the manor when the bell rang. The maid turned back to open the door.
When she opened it, there on the doorstep were a group of LotF fanatics, robes and all.
"I told you we'd find the sister here!" the cultist in front said.
"Stop!" Steve said, but nobody listened. Instead, the whole group of them rushed us.
We didn't stand a chance. They mobbed us. I wasn't sure if that first crunching sound came from me or from Steve, but it didn't matter.
[[After that, there was only darkness.|You Dead.]]I went down to the Light of the Future offices, thinking if they were doing a ritual tonight and it somehow involved my sister, I would catch them in the act.
Not exactly. I caught them making torches and getting into robes instead. I guess I was early for the ceremony.
They didn't seem to mind though. As soon as one spotted me and said, "The sister!" I was surrounded. Mobbed, really.
As they got closer, I detachedly thought, *Where's Steve?*
Not here, I guess. Something gave me the impression the police weren't going to come in time to save me. Because the hands were already grabbing for me.
[[And the pain was just beginning.|You Dead.]]When I showed up at The Flaming Aces, it was like some kind of cultist rally. Drunk LotF types were in their robes, lighting their torches, and joking about "the daughter" and the "organic."
"Hey!" one of them yelled when I stepped into view. "We were just about to leave, come with us! Look!" The LotF fanatic waved to others, who gathered around, smiling at me.
"Uh, perhaps we should-" Steve began, but he was interrupted by a robed fanatic slapping a hand on his shoulder and saying, "Don't worry!"
They surrounded the two of us and pushed us along, saying, "Come, this will be wonderful, you'll see! You can't miss it!"
[[Before long, I found myself among the crowd outside the Cryo Facility.]]{
(set: $deduFound to (find: _dedu where _dedu's hook is "?D2",...$deductions) )
(set: $deduFound2 to (find: _dedu where _dedu's hook is "?D3",...$deductions) )
<!-- If Irene has deduced that she is an android and knows where her pod is and knows LotF will go to Seize the Day to kill Rebecca-->
(if: $deduFound's length is not 0 and $deduFound2's length is not 0)[
(display: "Game Ending")
]
(else:)[
<!-- If Irene as deduced that LotF is bringing Rebecca to the Cryo Facility to map her brain onto cryo-rebecca but she hasn't deduced she's an android -->
(if: $deduFound2's length is not 0)[
I knew the Light was going to take Rebecca to Seize the Day tonight, and I had to save her.
<br><br>
Unfortunately, when I got there they already had her chained up on the ledge above the doors. I decided to go around the mob with their robes and torches and find a way to climb up.
<br><br>
But as soon as I thought the coast was clear, I snuck out by some dumpsters just in time to catch the last drag of a cultist's cigarette break. Well, he called his friends, and they called their friends, and before I knew it, Steve and I were being tossed into the pyre they'd built to trap Rebecca inside.
<br><br>
As the flames consumed me, I couldn't help but think I'd missed something.
<br><br>
[[Guess I just didn't put enough time in with Steve at the BnB.|You Dead.]]
]
(else:)[
When I got to the cryo facility, it was surprisingly dark. Steve and I went in the front door, and there was not a soul in the lobby. It made me feel uneasy. What did everyone else know that I didn't? What was I missing?
<br><br>
But those thoughts were interrupted by a much more urgent one: I had to pee. Really bad. I spotted the bathroom and thought, "Why not?"
<br><br>
"Wait here, Steve," I said.
<br><br>
I'd just closed the door when I heard voices outside. Then shouting. Then a slam against the door. I ran over and pushed on it, but it was stuck.
<br><br>
I pounded and yelled for Steve, but the door never budged. I tried to call 911 and Steve on my phone, but there was no signal in here. Before long, it got hot. Then, I noticed the smoke coming in through the cracks in the door. And the vents. I started to cough.
<br><br>
"It's too hot," I muttered and fell to the ground.
<br><br>
[[I fell asleep for a long, long time.|You Dead.]]
]
]
}I went back to the old PI's office, sure I would think of some way to find Rebecca if I just puzzled out the clues long enough.
It wasn't long before there was a furious pounding on the door.
"Hold on a minute!" I said. As soon as I turned the knob, the door burst open and two big thugs spilled through.
"There he is!" a woman in the hallway shouted, pointing straight at me. It was the same woman that had come asking for my help two days ago. Lain, I think her name was.
"He's the LotF mole!" Lain practically screamed. "Stop right there, *cultist*! You're dealing with The Naturalist Resistance Against Rationo-Futurism, the NRARF!"
Steve tried to step between us, but one swipe of the nearest man's fist sent the poor bot's head shattering against the wall. Before I could react, the two thugs grabbed me and overpowered me.
First there was pain. A lot of pain.
[[Then there was darkness.|You Dead.]]{
<!-- Here all the clues are loaded and tagged. I've manually typed out the list because it's less confusing to work with - we can use it to reference when making deductions. Below, this text is replaced with the right links with the help of notebook -->
(set: $clueFound to (find: _clue where _clue's hook is "?C1",...$notebook) )
(if: $selected's hook is not "?C1" and $clueFound's length is not 0)[
[-Dad is dead]<C1|
<br><br>]
(set: $clueFound to (find: _clue where _clue's hook is "?C2",...$notebook) )
(if: $selected's hook is not "?C2" and $clueFound's length is not 0)[
[-Rebecca is missing]<C2|
<br><br>]
(set: $clueFound to (find: _clue where _clue's hook is "?C3",...$notebook) )
(if: $selected's hook is not "?C3" and $clueFound's length is not 0)[
[-Dad’s last words were, “Irene, be a lamb."]<C3|
<br><br>]
(set: $clueFound to (find: _clue where _clue's hook is "?C4",...$notebook) )
(if: $selected's hook is not "?C4" and $clueFound's length is not 0)[
[-The Light of the Future is supposedly having some event in two days - either a company picnic or a ritual sacrifice of some kind]<C4|
<br><br>]
(set: $clueFound to (find: _clue where _clue's hook is "?C5",...$notebook) )
(if: $selected's hook is not "?C5" and $clueFound's length is not 0)[
[-Light of the Future fanatics are scaring bar customers]<C5|
<br><br>]
(set: $clueFound to (find: _clue where _clue's hook is "?C6",...$notebook) )
(if: $selected's hook is not "?C6" and $clueFound's length is not 0)[
[-Dad had a secret office somewhere in the LotF building]<C6|
<br><br>]
(set: $clueFound to (find: _clue where _clue's hook is "?C7",...$notebook) )
(if: $selected's hook is not "?C7" and $clueFound's length is not 0)[
[-A Light of the Future employee works at the Cryo Facility undercover]<C7|
<br><br>]
(set: $clueFound to (find: _clue where _clue's hook is "?C8",...$notebook) )
(if: $selected's hook is not "?C8" and $clueFound's length is not 0)[
[-The Cryo Facility is filled with pods identified by number. Dad owns pod 384793.]<C8|
<br><br>]
(set: $clueFound to (find: _clue where _clue's hook is "?C9",...$notebook) )
(if: $selected's hook is not "?C9" and $clueFound's length is not 0)[
[-LotF types use the phrase “Hominum ex machina” to signify membership]<C9|
<br><br>]
(set: $clueFound to (find: _clue where _clue's hook is "?C10",...$notebook) )
(if: $selected's hook is not "?C10" and $clueFound's length is not 0)[
[-The entrance to Dad’s real office is somewhere behind his desk in LotF]<C10|
<br><br>]
(set: $clueFound to (find: _clue where _clue's hook is "?C11",...$notebook) )
(if: $selected's hook is not "?C11" and $clueFound's length is not 0)[
[-Dad needs me to wipe the hard drive in his secret office]<C11|
<br><br>]
(set: $clueFound to (find: _clue where _clue's hook is "?C12",...$notebook) )
(if: $selected's hook is not "?C12" and $clueFound's length is not 0)[
[-The mole will meet me if I can find a private place to talk]<C12|
<br><br>]
(set: $clueFound to (find: _clue where _clue's hook is "?C13",...$notebook) )
(if: $selected's hook is not "?C13" and $clueFound's length is not 0)[
[-On Saturday night, LotF will take “the daughter” and attempt to map her brain back onto the “organic form”]<C13|
<br><br>]
(set: $clueFound to (find: _clue where _clue's hook is "?C14",...$notebook) )
(if: $selected's hook is not "?C14" and $clueFound's length is not 0)[
[-Behind Dad’s desk is a world map]<C14|
<br><br>]
(set: $clueFound to (find: _clue where _clue's hook is "?C15",...$notebook) )
(if: $selected's hook is not "?C15" and $clueFound's length is not 0)[
[-Irene: 384793]<C15|
<br><br>]
(set: $clueFound to (find: _clue where _clue's hook is "?C16",...$notebook) )
(if: $selected's hook is not "?C16" and $clueFound's length is not 0)[
[-Dad took two years to map his daughter’s brain]<C16|
<br><br>]
<!-- the selected item is identified by name or hook, and here the clue hooked ?C2 leads to the passage "Alt Text" where the altText message is given before it leads back. -->
(if: $selected's hook is "?C1")[
(click-goto: ?C2, "Alt Text")[(set: $altText to "*Could Rebecca's kidnapping be related to Dad's death? It's a stretch, but I guess anything is possible...*")]
(for: each _clue, ...$notebook)[
(if: _clue's hook is not "?C2")[
(click-goto: _clue's hook, "Deduce Failtext")
]
]
]
<!-- both clues need to be loaded up to interact with each other -->
(else-if: $selected's hook is "?C2")[
(click-goto: ?C1, "Alt Text")[(set: $altText to "*Could Rebecca's kidnapping be related to Dad's death? It's a stretch, but I guess anything is possible...*")]
(click-goto: ?C13, "Alt Text 2")[(set: $altText2 to 'I assumed they meant Rebecca. And her organic form must be what was inside that pod down at Seize the day. I shuddered at the thought. Well, I would stop them from their disgusting ritual... somehow.')]
(for: each _clue, ...$notebook)[
(if: _clue's hook is not "?C1" and _clue's hook is not "?C13")[
(click-goto: _clue's hook, "Deduce Failtext")
]
]
]
<!-- When the book is used on clue 3, it leads to a unique passage. That passage needs to be tagged "nohead" and $selected needs to be cleared on arrival. Deduction mode also needs to be turned off. That passage loads in a new deduction, which is then displayed in the notebook -->
(else-if: $selected's name is "Ashokavadana")[
(if: $lion is "known")[
(click-goto: ?C3, "book/C3")
]
(else:)[
(click-goto: ?C3, "Alt Text")[(set: $altText to 'I felt like I was on to something here, but I just seemed to be missing a key piece of information.')]
]
(for: each _clue, ...$notebook)[
(if: _clue's hook is not "?C3")[
(click-goto: _clue's hook, "Deduce Failtext")
]
]
]
(else-if: $selected's name is "Company Lawyer's Card")[
(click-goto: ?C4, "lawyer/C4")
(for: each _clue, ...$notebook)[
(if: _clue's hook is not "?C4")[
(click-goto: _clue's hook, "Deduce Failtext")
]
]
]
(else-if: $selected's name is "LotF Laser Pointer")[
(click-goto: ?C14, "Alt Text")[(set: $altText to 'I fiddled with the laser pointer and thought about the world map in the LotF office. I remembered it was decorated in glass pieces. I wondered if there were any receptors under those colorful countries...')]
(for: each _clue, ...$notebook)[
(if: _clue's hook is not "?C14")[
(click-goto: _clue's hook, "Deduce Failtext")
]
]
]
(else-if: $selected's hook is "?C7")[
(click-goto: ?C9, "Alt Text")[(set: $altText to '"Yes, I see what you are thinking. Perhaps if we use this hominum ex machina phrase, the mole will talk to us," Steve said.')]
(for: each _clue, ...$notebook)[
(if: _clue's hook is not "?C9")[
(click-goto: _clue's hook, "Deduce Failtext")
]
]
]
(else-if: $selected's hook is "?C9")[
(click-goto: ?C7, "Alt Text")[(set: $altText to '"Yes, I see what you are thinking. Perhaps if we use this hominum ex machina phrase, the mole will talk to us," Steve said.')]
(for: each _clue, ...$notebook)[
(if: _clue's hook is not "?C7")[
(click-goto: _clue's hook, "Deduce Failtext")
]
]
]
(else-if: $selected's name is "Stick of RAM")[
(click-goto: ?C3, "Alt Text")[(set: $altText to '"A ram is just a grown up lamb. Right, Steve?"')]
(for: each _clue, ...$notebook)[
(if: _clue's hook is not "?C3")[
(click-goto: _clue's hook, "Deduce Failtext")
]
]
]
(else-if: $selected's hook is "?C14")[
(click-goto: ?C10, "Map Deduction")
(for: each _clue, ...$notebook)[
(if: _clue's hook is not "?C10")[
(click-goto: _clue's hook, "Deduce Failtext")
]
]
]
(else-if: $selected's hook is "?C10")[
(click-goto: ?C14, "Map Deduction")
(for: each _clue, ...$notebook)[
(if: _clue's hook is not "?C14")[
(click-goto: _clue's hook, "Deduce Failtext")
]
]
]
(else-if: $selected's hook is "?C8")[
(click-goto: ?C15, "Android Reveal")
(click-goto: ?C16, "Android Reveal")
(for: each _clue, ...$notebook)[
(if: _clue's hook is not "?C15" and _clue's hook is not "?C16")[
(click-goto: _clue's hook, "Deduce Failtext")
]
]
]
(else-if: $selected's hook is "?C15")[
(click-goto: ?C8, "Android Reveal")
(click-goto: ?C16, "Android Reveal")
(for: each _clue, ...$notebook)[
(if: _clue's hook is not "?C8" and _clue's hook is not "?C16")[
(click-goto: _clue's hook, "Deduce Failtext")
]
]
]
(else-if: $selected's hook is "?C16")[
(click-goto: ?C15, "Android Reveal")
(click-goto: ?C8, "Android Reveal")
(for: each _clue, ...$notebook)[
(if: _clue's hook is not "?C15" and _clue's hook is not "?C8")[
(click-goto: _clue's hook, "Deduce Failtext")
]
]
]
(else-if: $selected's hook is "?C13")[
(click-goto: ?C4, "End Reveal")
(click-goto: ?C2, "Alt Text")[(set: $altText to 'I assumed they meant Rebecca. And her organic form must be what was inside that pod down at Seize the day. I shuddered at the thought. Well, I would stop them from their disgusting ritual... somehow.')]
(for: each _clue, ...$notebook)[
(if: _clue's hook is not "?C2" and _clue's hook is not "?C4")[
(click-goto: _clue's hook, "Deduce Failtext")
]
]
]
(else-if: $selected's hook is "?C4")[
(click-goto: ?C13, "End Reveal")
(for: each _clue, ...$notebook)[
(if: _clue's hook is not "?C13")[
(click-goto: _clue's hook, "Deduce Failtext")
]
]
]
(else-if: $selected's hook is "?C12")[
(click-goto: ?C5, "Alt Text")[(set: $altText to '"Seems like the Light employees enjoy the Flaming Aces. Maybe you can meet the mole there. Have you considered calling the bar for a reservation?" Steve said.')]
(for: each _clue, ...$notebook)[
(if: _clue's hook is not "?C5")[
(click-goto: _clue's hook, "Deduce Failtext")
]
]
]
(else-if: $selected's hook is "?C5")[
(click-goto: ?C12, "Alt Text")[(set: $altText to '"Seems like the Light employees enjoy the Flaming Aces. Maybe you can meet the mole there. Have you considered calling the bar for a reservation?" Steve said.')]
(for: each _clue, ...$notebook)[
(if: _clue's hook is not "?C12")[
(click-goto: _clue's hook, "Deduce Failtext")
]
]
]
<!-- The rest of the clues are automatically routed to default fail by their hooks -->
(else-if: $selected's name is not "none")[
(for: each _clue, ...$notebook)[
(click-goto: _clue's hook, "Deduce Failtext")
]
]
}I looked at my list of numbers and decided who to call...
NUMBERS
(for: each _number, ...$numbers)[
(link: _number's name)[\
(go-to: _number's name)\
]
]
[[*Nevermind.*|Go back to the SpaceSwap and think.]]"Seize the Day Cryo Facility. This is Darren speaking, how may I help you?"
{
[["Uh yeah, I'm calling to ask about my father's account?"]]
(set: $clueFound to (find: _clue where _clue's name is "-LotF types use the phrase “Hominum ex machina” to signify membership",...$notebook))
(if: $clueFound's length is not 0)[
(set: $clueFound to (find: _clue where _clue's name is "-A Light of the Future employee works at the Cryo Facility undercover",...$notebook))
(if: $clueFound's length is not 0)[<br>
[["Hominum ex machina."]]
]
]
}"Flaming Aces. What can I do for you?" an impatient woman's voice said.
{
[["Uh, do you do delivery?"]]
(set: $clueFound to (find: _clue where _clue's name is "-The mole will meet me if I can find a private place to talk",...$notebook))
(if: $clueFound's length is not 0)[<br>
[["Can I reserve a table?"]]
]
}I decided to call that lawyer that had shown up at Dad's house - Alfred Deckhard, Esq., according to his card.
"Hello?"
"Hi, Mr. Deckhard? This is Irene Turnsole."
"Have you found your sister?"
{
[["Not exactly..."]]
(set: $itemFound to (find: _item where _item's name is "Dad's Cryo Facility ID",...$inventory) )
(if: $itemFound's length is not 0)[<br>
[[I decided to ask him about Dad's cryo facility ID.]]
]
}I called Turnsole Manor and the maid answered.
"Hello?"
"Hi, it's Irene. Look..."
[["Has anyone been around the house?"]]
[["I never actually asked about Dad's sickness..."]]{
(set: $notebookActive to "no")
}
"Yes? You can ask me anything, or I can [examine]<hook1| and describe items for you."
{
(if: $selected's name is "none")[
[["What are your thoughts on this place?"]]
<br>
(link: "Nevermind, Steve.")[(set: $selected to (dm:
"name","none",
"details","none",
"hook","none"
))
(set: $notebookActive to "yes")
(goto: $wheresSteve)
]
]
(set: $bag to "yes")
(if: $selected's name is "My ID")[
(click-goto: ?hook1, "Alt Text")[(set: $altText to '"This is your ID. I am not sure it will be of much use to the case," Steve said.')
(set: $selected to (dm:
"name","none",
"details","none",
"hook","none"
))]
]
(else-if: $selected's name is "Ashokavadana")[
(click-goto: ?hook1, "Alt Text")[(set: $altText to '"Ah, yes. This is a book about the life of Ashoka the Great. He was an Indian emperor of the Maurya Dynasty from 268 to 232 BCE," Steve said.')(set: $India to "yes")
(set: $selected to (dm:
"name","none",
"details","none",
"hook","none"
))]
]
(else-if: $selected's name is "Matches from the Flaming Aces")[
(set: $numFound to (find: _num where _num's name is "The Flaming Aces Phone Number",...$numbers) )
(if: $numFound's length is 0)[
(click-goto: ?hook1, "Steve/Matches")
]
(else:)[
(click-goto: ?hook1, "Alt Text")[(set: $altText to '"Just some ordinary matches. Maybe you could use them to light a fire," Steve said.')
(set: $selected to (dm:
"name","none",
"details","none",
"hook","none"
))]
]
]
(else-if: $selected's name is "Company Lawyer's Card")[
(click-goto: ?hook1, "Alt Text")[(set: $altText to '"This is just an ordinary business card. Maybe if you contact this lawyer, he can give you information about your father. I\'m sure this attourney also has a lot of influence at Light of the Future," Steve said.')
(set: $selected to (dm:
"name","none",
"details","none",
"hook","none"
))]
]
(else-if: $selected's name is "Dad's Cryo Facility ID")[
(click-goto: ?hook1, "Alt Text")[(set: $altText to '"It is a bit strange your father had a Cryo Facility membership if he did not want to be frozen after his death. Maybe you should go there and try to find out more," Steve said.')
(set: $selected to (dm:
"name","none",
"details","none",
"hook","none"
))]
]
(else-if: $selected's name is "Coin")[
(click-goto: ?hook1, "Alt Text")[(set: $altText to '"This is quite a find. Back before we moved to a cashless society, twenty-five cent coins like this were actually common," Steve said.')
(set: $selected to (dm:
"name","none",
"details","none",
"hook","none"
))]
]
(else-if: $selected's name is "LotF Token")[
(click-goto: ?hook1, "Alt Text")[(set: $altText to '"I am not sure where this token is supposed to be used, but I am sure LotF means Light of the Future," Steve said.')
(set: $selected to (dm:
"name","none",
"details","none",
"hook","none"
))]
]
(else-if: $selected's name is "LotF Laser Pointer")[
(click-goto: ?hook1, "Alt Text")[(set: $altText to '"It looks like an ordinary laser pointer. Maybe there is something you can shine it at," Steve said.')
(set: $selected to (dm:
"name","none",
"details","none",
"hook","none"
))]
]
(else-if: $selected's name is "Bike Helmet")[
(click-goto: ?hook1, "Alt Text")[(set: $altText to '"It seems to be a normal bike helmet. I could not imagine where you would use it, although synthetics are not great at imagination in the first place," Steve said.')
(set: $selected to (dm:
"name","none",
"details","none",
"hook","none"
))]
]
(else-if: $selected's name is "Stick of RAM")[
(click-goto: ?hook1, "Alt Text")[(set: $altText to 'Steve analyzed the computer chip with a slot on his arm. Then he said, "It appears to be a broken stick of RAM from a nineteen nineties model computer. I have no idea why your father would keep it."')
(set: $selected to (dm:
"name","none",
"details","none",
"hook","none"
))]
]
(else-if: $selected's name is "Photo")[
(click-goto: ?hook1, "Alt Text")[(set: $altText to '"A photo of your sister. She looks happy. Maybe we can show this to people to try to get a lead on her, but we should be cautious about who we show it to," Steve said.')
(set: $selected to (dm:
"name","none",
"details","none",
"hook","none"
))]
]
}{
<!-- You need to clear selected and make sure there's no header (nohead tag) for all success passages. If it immediately leads back to $lastPassage, you need to tag this passage "menu" -->
(set: $selected to (dm:
"name","none",
"details","none",
"hook","none"
))
(set: $tempNum to (dm: "name", "The Flaming Aces Phone Number"))
(set: $numFound to (find: _num where _num's name is "The Flaming Aces Phone Number",...$numbers) )
(if: $numFound's length is 0)[(set: $numbers to $numbers + (a: $tempNum))]
}
"These look like normal matches, but have you jotted down the phone number for this bar?" Steve asked.
"No," I said, feeling a little foolish. I wrote down the number for The Flaming Aces.
[["Thanks."|$lastPassage]] {
<!--- Initiating Cryo Facility phone number for later calling -->
(set: $tempNum to (dm: "name", "Seize the Day Cryo Facility Phone Number"))
(set: $numFound to (find: _num where _num's name is $tempNum,...$numbers) )
(if: $numFound's length is 0)[(set: $numbers to $numbers + (a: $tempNum))]
}
I went over and pulled out the top phone book. I couldn't believe they still made these things.
"Perhaps there's a useful number in there?" Steve said.
"Right, good idea." I flipped through until I found Seize the Day Cryo Facility. They were listed.
I wrote down the number in my notebook, just in case.
[[I put the phone book back where it belonged.|$lastPassage]]"I'm sorry," I said, letting go of his throat. "But please, try to understand how I feel. You can see why we need to get the real cops, right?"
"My apologies, Madam, but they just won't come. There are far too few human police these days to rush out for anything short of a proven crime."
Of course. Steve and his kind had taken all the jobs, and now I was stuck in this bad dream as a result.
"But I can assist you in procuring that proof!" he said.
[["How?" I asked hopelessly.]]{
<!-- You need to clear selected and make sure there's no header (nohead tag) for all success passages. If it immediately leads back to $lastPassage, you need to tag this passage "menu" -->
(set: $selected to (dm:
"name","none",
"details","none",
"hook","none"
))
}
"What are you showing me that for?" the bartender asked. "You're obviously not underage. Do me a favor and stop being so jumpy."
[["Sorry, just making sure," I said.|$lastPassage]]There were cultists everywhere, surrounding the facility, and when I saw why they were gathering, my heart dropped.
On the roof of the cryo facility were two cultists holding Rebecca between them. I was too far away to hear what was happening, but they suddenly lowered her to the entrance and forced her inside.
Panic set in, and I looked around for Steve, but he had disappeared.
Then, to my horror they stacked crates at the entrance Rebecca had just entered and set torches to it.
[["No!" I yelled.]]"Don't worry, Irene," a nearby cultist said mockingly, "You'll be with your sister soon."
The others around me laughed as one said, "What? You think we didn't recognize you?" which got more laughs.
Before I knew it, the cheering crowd was passing me along to the front. The flames grew ever closer.
[[And then, just like that, they threw me in the fire.|You Dead.]]I jolted awake and looked at the clock. Friday, 10:38 AM. I was in the old PI's office that served as my BnB. But that couldn't have been a dream... could it?
I spotted my notebook on the desk and flipped through it. Everything was still there, but the time didn't make any sense. I checked the wall calendar, and it said the same.
[[The only thing I could do was keep working on the case...|Go back to the SpaceSwap and think.]]{
<!-- Steve is an idiot. Always tell him where he is when you enter a new Investigation Area -->
(set: $wheresSteve to (passage:)'s name)
}
Inside, Steve and I found a cavernous lobby tiled in black and accented with gold. There was a massive marble desk with a bored looking but impeccably dressed [receptionist]<hook1| behind it. Most people in the lobby wore [employee]<hook2| uniforms, kind of black chef's coats as far as I could tell, but there were others that looked like plain old [cultists]<hook3| in full robes. That was new. Nobody had worn robes when I was a child. I couldn't believe Dad could come in here every day and not feel the irony. All these years he'd been preaching about the evils of religion, and here we were in Jonestown 2.0.
The reception desk was guarding the entrance to the offices, but there was also a hallway to the left where relatively more normal looking people were walking.
{
(if: $selected's name is "none")[
(click-goto: "receptionist","receptionist")
(click-goto: "employee","employee")
(if: $cultistRecognized is not "yes")[(click-goto: "cultists","cultists")]
(click-goto: "hallway","hallway")
(click-goto: "Steve","Steve")
(if: $office is "yes")[
[[I went up to Dad's office.|David's Office]]
<br>]
[[I wasn't finding what I needed here. I decided to go somewhere else.|Go somewhere else.]]
]
(else-if: $selected's name is "Company Lawyer's Card")[
(click-goto: ?hook2, "Default Failtext")
(click-goto: ?hook1, "Lawyer/Receptionist")
(click-goto: ?hook3, "Default Failtext")
]
(else-if: $selected's name is "My ID")[
(click-goto: ?hook1, "ID/Receptionist")
(click-goto: ?hook2, "Default Failtext")
(click-goto: ?hook3, "Default Failtext")
]
(else-if: $selected's name is "Photo")[
(click-goto: ?hook1, "Photo/Receptionist")
(click-goto: ?hook2, "Default Failtext")
(click-goto: ?hook3, "Default Failtext")
]
(else-if: $selected's name is "Ashokavadana")[
(click-goto: ?hook1, "Default Failtext")
(click-goto: ?hook2, "Book/Employee")
(click-goto: ?hook3, "Default Failtext")
]
(else:)[
(click-goto: ?hook1, "Default Failtext")
(click-goto: ?hook2, "Default Failtext")
(click-goto: ?hook3, "Default Failtext")
]
}I went up to the receptionist desk and the man there, hair perfectly trimmed, face perfectly shaven, looked at me like I didn't belong.
"Do you have an appointment?" he asked.
"No, my name's Irene. Turnsole?"
"I'm sorry, I can't let anyone up without an appointment," he said.
[["I have some questions about my father. David Turnsole."]]
[["I'm just trying to find out what happened to my sister."]]I went up to a random employee. She looked prepared for a sales pitch in her perfectly pressed chef's coat uniform thing and a smile on her face.
"Hi," I said.
"Hello! Do you have any questions about the Light?"
[["Nope."|I led the way inside.]]
[["In your opinion, what does this company actually, you know, do?"]]
[["What is the Light?"]]The hallway led around to two doors: One that had a sign reading "Cafeteria" above it, and another that said, "Rec Area." The cafeteria was guarded by a man checking ID's - I guess they were paranoid about giving out free food here - but nobody was guarding the Rec Area door.
{
[[*I don't need to be here, I should go back.*|I led the way inside.]]
(click-goto: "man","man")
(click-goto: "Rec Area door", "Rec Area door")
}I approached as two of the robed guys were arguing.
"It has to be done because the Overmind demands it because we believed it would."
"But why can't we just *not* believe it now? Why does it need the Eldest?"
Then, the first guy seemed to notice me. "Uh, can I help you?"
[["The Overmind?"]]
[["What's 'the Eldest?'"]]{
<!-- You need to clear selected and make sure there's no header (nohead tag) for all success passages. If it immediately leads back to $lastPassage, you need to tag this passage "menu" -->
(set: $selected to (dm:
"name","none",
"details","none",
"hook","none"
))
}
The receptionist looked at me with disdain through his narrow black glasses. "May I help you?"
I showed him the lawyer's card. "Look," I said, "I'm just trying to get up to my Dad's office because this lawyer told me to collect some things for the will. You know the guy, right?"
"Yeah," the receptionist said. I think he was actually disappointed he had to be helpful. "Go on up," he said, handing the lawyer's card back.
[["Thanks."|David's Office]]{
<!-- Steve is an idiot. Always tell him where he is when you enter a new Investigation Area -->
(set: $wheresSteve to (passage:)'s name)
(set: $office to "yes")
}
Dad's office seemed to be as bare as it was expensive. Sure, there was a lot of furniture, but no papers or folders. It was like someone had cleared the place out, or nobody had ever worked in here at all. There was a [desk]<hook1| with a big comfy chair, and a nice looking [map of the world]<hook2| behind the desk that looked to be made from ornate stones or something. Aside from that, there wasn't much else to see.
Steve hovered in front of the desk, trying to look like he was gathering important information about the scene.
{
(if: $selected's name is "none")[
(click-goto: ?hook1,"desk")
(set: $clueFound to (find: _clue where _clue's name is "-The entrance to Dad’s real office is somewhere behind his desk in LotF",...$notebook))
(if: $clueFound's length is not 0)[(click-goto: ?hook2,"the world")]
(click-goto: "Steve","Steve")
[[I decided to head back to the lobby.|I led the way inside.]]<br>
[[There wasn't much else to see here. I decided to go somewhere else.|Go somewhere else.]]
]
(else-if: $selected's name is "LotF Laser Pointer")[
(click-goto: ?hook2, "Laser/World")
(click-goto: ?hook1, "Default Failtext")
]
(else:)[
(click-goto: ?hook1, "Default Failtext")
(click-goto: ?hook2, "Default Failtext")
]
}{
<!-- You need to clear selected and make sure there's no header (nohead tag) for all success passages. If it immediately leads back to $lastPassage, you need to tag this passage "menu" -->
(set: $selected to (dm:
"name","none",
"details","none",
"hook","none"
))
}
"Hi, look," I said, showing my ID, "I'm Irene Turnsole. I'm the CEO's daughter. Can I get up to his office to take a look around?"
"*Former* CEO," the receptionist said with an evil smirk on his face. "If you don't have an appointment with a living employee, I can't let you in."
This receptionist was getting on my nerves.
[["Fine."|$lastPassage]]"Please move away or I'll call security," the man said firmly.
[["Fine."|I led the way inside.]]
[["No. I deserve answers."]]"We are aware of Rebecca's disappearance, and we're doing everything we can to find her. Please do contact us as soon as you locate her," the man recited impatiently.
Somehow his little legaleze speech didn't comfort me.
[["Thanks anyway."|I led the way inside.]]I didn't even see him press the button. Maybe he had an implant. But before I knew it, security was there in the form of four huge men in Light of the Future uniforms.
They didn't chuck me out the front door. They took Steve off somewhere else while they dragged me to a room deep down in some basement. As soon as I saw that door close, I knew I'd never see it open again.
[[I was right.|You Dead.]]"We improve peoples' lives with the aid of technology! From our line of robotic assistants to make your life easier to our advanced brain interface prosthetics to our VR and AR products, everything we do helps people live better lives."
[["Interesting. Thanks."|I led the way inside.]]
[["What about robot lives. Would your company ever put a donor's leg on an android that needed it?"]]"Do you mean metaphorically, or the actual company? Because if you're talking about The Light of the Future the corporation, we merge biology and technology to improve human lives. But if you're talking about what The Light of the Future actually means, well, it's our mission statement that we will illuminate the future and strive for the Singularity. And we get closer to that goal every day."
Wow, this lady had really paid attention in training.
[["Okay, I've heard enough. Thanks.|I led the way inside.]]
[["The Singularity?"]]"Oh, the Singularity is the most exciting part. That's the point when humanity and technology merge and we transcend into a new era. It's going to happen with or without The Light of the Future, but once artificial intelligence becomes powerful enough to surpass all human intelligence, everything will change. There will be no more war, no more famine, because the AI will lead the way."
She'd definitely done her homework. She was totally brainwashed.
[["You'll do well here. I've heard enough, thanks."|I led the way inside.]]
[["What about human emotion? What about free will?"]]"That would be against everything we stand for!" she said, alarmed.
Of course, I knew that. That's why I'd asked it in the first place.
"Well, if you need any donors, sign me up."
[[I walked away, snickering at her horrified face.|I led the way inside.]]"Those things and more will only benefit from the Singularity! You can't even fathom how different life will be."
[["Yeah, whatever," I said, walking away.|I led the way inside.]]The first cultist scoffed at my question like I was an idiot. "The Overmind is the theoretical AI that will rule over us in the future. Since we conceived it might be angered with us not making certain sacrifices to appease it, it knows enough people believed that idea that logically we now have to make those sacrifices or it will be upset."
"But I still wonder if we're not interpreting our duty to make sure the Singularity benefits humanity too loosely there," the other cultist said.
"No, no, there's no 'wonder,' this is all according to the rules of rational logic. The Overmind is an inevitability, and now sacrifices have to be made."
[["All right, guys. Nice talk," I said, and walked away while they were still debating the idea.|I led the way inside.]]"Of course, it's-" the first cultist started to say, but then stopped when he looked at my face. I knew at that instant that he recognized me.
He looked over at Steve, then he started to back away, "Nothing. I have a meeting to get to." Then he turned and practically ran away.
I wasn't sure what that meant.
[[I wandered back to the middle of the lobby.|I led the way inside.]]{(set: $cultistRecognized to "yes")}{
(set: $notebookActive to "no")
(if: $wheresSteve is "I decided to go in for a look.")[
"This bar does seem to have a possible connection to the case, since you found that matchbook in your father's room. However, it's unclear what might be of use to us here. I suggest you keep your eyes open for unexpected leads," Steve said.
]
(if: $wheresSteve is "Go back to the SpaceSwap and think.")[
"This office will do for puzzling out some clues, and don't forget to call around for more information. Have you looked around this place thoroughly? There might be something useful; it was once a PI's office after all," Steve said to me like I was a student and he was an expert professor.
]
(if: $wheresSteve is "I led the way inside.")[
"I would exercize caution here. We don't know what role the Light of the Future may have had in your sister's disappearance, and they are an organization shrouded in mystery. Your father's name might get you somewhere, but I'd be willing to bet not all of his employees were completely on board with their former boss... Then again, I'm not sure how many of them would even recognize you." Steve said.
]
(if: $wheresSteve is "I decided to take a look around the bedroom.")[
"This is a great place to look for leads about your sister. Her disappearance could be linked to some fact about your family or your father that you hadn't previously known," Steve said matter-of-factly.
]
(if: $wheresSteve is "Planetarium")[
"This is a fascinating room. If your father spent most of his time here, I'd be willing to bet there's a reason," Steve said in wonder.
]
(if: $wheresSteve is "Rec Area")[
"This is quite a nice area. Maybe we should stop and have a chat with some of the Light employees."
]
(if: $wheresSteve is "David's Office")[
"I'm sure the Light has already cleared out this room of anything valuable. Just keep an eye out for anything that could tell us about your father or your sister."
]
(if: $wheresSteve is '"Main entrance it is," I said to myself.')[
"I'm sure there are a lot of company secrets to be found here. Keep an eye out. We know your father wasn't using the facility for his own body, so there must be an important reason for his membership. Furthermore, it appears they are giving tours to parents. We would be able to get into the back of the facility if only you could convince them you were an expecting parent."
]
<br><br>
(link: '"Okay, Steve."')[
(set: $notebookActive to "yes")
(goto: $wheresSteve)
]
}Double-click this passage to edit it.I held my ID out to scan and the thing actually flashed green. The guy waved me through to the cafeteria.
[[After a free meal, I got back to work.|hallway]](if: $rec is not "yes")[I went up to the Rec Area door and pushed, but my body just collided with it.
"I think it's locked," Steve said.
"Thanks, Steve. You ever say anything useful?"
Then, I noticed the [[panel]] next to the door.]
(else:)[
I managed to scrounge up another token by giving some sob story to a passing employee. Then, I held the door for Steve and said, "After you."
[[We entered the Rec Area.|Rec Area]]
]The panel had a [slot]<hook1| that was labeled "Member ID." It also had another smaller, [vertical slot]<hook2| that I figured was for an identification chit of some kind. Finally, there was a [number pad]<hook3|.
(align: "=><=")[1 2 3]
(align: "=><=")[4 5 6]
(align: "=><=")[7 8 9]
(align: "=><=")[ 0 ]
(align: "=><=")[ ENTER ]
{
(click-goto: "1","panel")
(click-goto: "2","panel")
(click-goto: "3","panel")
(click-goto: "4","panel")
(click-goto: "5","panel")
(click-goto: "6","panel")
(click-goto: "7","panel")
(click-goto: "8","panel")
(click-goto: "9","panel")
(click-goto: "0","panel")
(click-goto: "ENTER","Enter")
(if: $selected's name is "none")[
[[*I can't figure this out right now*|hallway]]
]
(else-if: $selected's name is "LotF Token")[
(click-goto: ?hook2, "Token/Panel")
(click-goto: ?hook1, "Default Failtext")
(click-goto: ?hook3, "Default Failtext")
]
(else-if: $selected's name is "Coin")[
(click-goto: ?hook2, "Alt Text")[(set: $altText to "I put the coin in the slot, but it didn't work. The panel just spit it back out.")]
(click-goto: ?hook1, "Default Failtext")
(click-goto: ?hook3, "Default Failtext")
]
(else-if: $selected's name is "Bike Helmet")[
(click-goto: ?hook2, "Default Failtext")
(click-goto: ?hook1, "Default Failtext")
(click-goto: ?hook3, "Helmet/Panel")
]
(else-if: $selected's name is "My ID")[
(click-goto: ?hook1, "Alt Text")[(set: $altText to 'The screen flashed "UNAUTHORIZED" as a buzz sounded.')]
(click-goto: ?hook2, "Default Failtext")
(click-goto: ?hook3, "Default Failtext")
]
(else-if: $selected's name is "Dad's Cryo Facility ID")[
(click-goto: ?hook1, "Alt Text")[(set: $altText to 'The screen flashed "UNAUTHORIZED" as a buzz sounded.')]
(click-goto: ?hook2, "Default Failtext")
(click-goto: ?hook3, "Default Failtext")
]
(else:)[
(click-goto: ?hook1, "Default Failtext")
(click-goto: ?hook2, "Default Failtext")
(click-goto: ?hook3, "Default Failtext")
]
}{
<!-- You need to clear selected and make sure there's no header (nohead tag) for all success passages. If it immediately leads back to $lastPassage, you need to tag this passage "menu" -->
(set: $selected to (dm:
"name","none",
"details","none",
"hook","none"
))
(set: $itemLost to (dm: "name","LotF Token",
"details","Some kind of token with LotF stamped on it.",
"hook", "none"))
(set: $inventory to $inventory - (a: $itemLost))
}
I put the LotF token into the slot and it clunked down inside.
Then, to my surprise, the door started to open!
[[I stepped into the Rec Area.|Rec Area]]I pressed the "Enter" button and... nothing happened.
[[*Oh...*|panel]]{
(set: $rec to "yes")
<!-- Steve is an idiot. Always tell him where he is when you enter a new Investigation Area -->
(set: $wheresSteve to (passage:)'s name)
}
Inside the Rec Area, I expected to see some squash courts or something. Instead, I saw a vast garden with a babbling stream threading its way through blossoming cherry trees and mossy boulders. There were little Zen gardens where visitors could rake patterns into the sand, and wooden gazebos with elaborate carvings on their pillars. It seemed like I had stepped into a national park somewhere in Asia, with the open sky above me. There were a few employees wandering around enjoying the time that their token had bought them. {
(if: $townsend is not "yes")[But there was also a worried looking man sitting in a robe under a tree.]
(else:)[(set: $itemFound to (find: _item where _item's name is "Stick of RAM",...$inventory) )
(if: $itemFound's length is 0)[There were some lockers near the entrance right where Townsend had told me.]]}
Steve stopped to take a breath of the fresh air, even though he wasn't designed to breathe.
{
[[*I should head back to the lobby now.*|I led the way inside.]]
(click-goto: "employees","employees2")
(click-goto: "worried looking man","worried looking man")
(click-goto: "Steve","Steve")
(click-goto: "lockers","lockers")
}"You all right?" I asked the man. Now that I was closer, I saw that his robe was fancier than the other employees, whose plain white robes were embroidered with "LotF."
"Huh? Oh, uh, yeah. Just the usual worries."
[["Usual worries?"]]
[["Work worries?"]]I waved at the employees, and they waved back at me pleasantly.
[[*That's nice.*|Rec Area]]"Oh, you know, nevermind. It's not anything you need to worry about."
[[*Well, that went nowhere.*|Rec Area]]"Ha! You say it so casually!" the guy barked. I could see from his salt and pepper hair he was older. I wondered if he had pull around here.
"Yeah," the guy continued, "Work worries."
[["What kind of work worries?"]]
[["I got problems of my own. Want to trade stories?"]]"Do you know what the second tenet of the Light is?" the guy asked me.
"The Singularity will save humanity," I said automatically, "if we strive to make it so."
"And you know how the Light interprets that?"
"I know you guys get touchy when humanity serves technology, instead of the other way around," I said.
"Meaning?"
[["Hmm. Well..."]]"The walls have ears," he said. "I'd love to tell you about it, Irene, but I can't so openly, not here."
He knew me! I wondered how many others in The Light had recognized me so far.
[["I see. I'll be careful then."|Rec Area]]"The example the Light always tells kids is if a robot could be saved by a human heart, it would be forbidden to donate one because we're in constant danger of the Singularity enslaving mankind to technology, rather than allowing us to transcend our humanity." I couldn't help but laugh then. "Sounds idiotic when I say it now."
"That is my work problem. You know what the original thought experiment for this was?"
[["What?"]]"We had mapped the human brain pretty early on and so naturally the question came up: If we could transfer a human brain to a synthetic body, should we do it?"
"Who cares?" I said.
"The Light cares quite a lot." At that moment, the guy seemed to age a hundred years, as if this fact was crushing him. "The faction that says synthetic parts can only be used to enhance the human body, and not the other way around, won out, and now many believe it is equivalent to slavery to put even a single human thought into a synthetic body."
[["Ridiculous."]]"It may seem so, but it's why so many are in a frenzy about the Eldest- Uh... nevermind."
"The Eldest?"
"Look, Irene, I don't know if you remember me, but I certainly remember you. Your father was my close friend. So I hope you'll trust me when I say you need to be careful in this city. They can't do anything to us here in the open, plus I have... insurance... but I'd say you're safest if you just left town."
[["I can't leave, my sister's been kidnapped!"]]
[["You don't seem happy here. Why don't you use this 'insurance' to get even?"]]"I know, and trust me, I have people looking for her too. But eventually you're going to wander somewhere without your Investigation Assistant, and they'll be waiting for you there. So I repeat: It's best if you leave town."
"So the Light is really after me, huh? And here I am in the belly of the beast."
"Not everyone here has it out for you. Some of us, like me, are still loyal to your father and hold enough sway to keep us all safe. For now."
[["Is there anything in this building that could help me find Rebecca? Anything my father left?"]]"I may do that soon, but for now it's about keeping us safe. Both the faction of the Light loyal to your father and you."
"What about my sister? You guys didn't keep her safe too well. My father certainly didn't."
"We're trying, Irene. Just be careful. Please."
I sighed and shook my head. I wasn't going to "just be careful" until I found my sister.
[["Is there anything in this building that could help me find Rebecca? Anything my father left?"]]{
(set: $townsend to "yes")
(set: $tempClue to (dm: "name","-Dad had a secret office somewhere in the LotF building",
"hook", "?C6"
))
(set: $clueFound to (find: _clue where _clue's name is "-Dad had a secret office somewhere in the LotF building",...$notebook))
(if: $clueFound's length is 0)[(set: $notebook to $notebook + (a: $tempClue))]
}
"Your father had a locker here in the Rec Area. First one on the left. But I doubt there's anything important there after security and a hundred lawyers have been through it. And, everyone knows your father had a secret office in this building. I'd say if anyone was meant to find it, it's you."
That was an interesting little fact. I pulled out my notebook and wrote it down: "Dad had a secret office somewhere in the LotF building."
"Thanks," I said. Then, suddenly, I remembered the guys face. "Oh, wait! You're Mr. Townsend, right?" I had seen him talking to my father many times as a girl.
"That's right! You do remember me."
[["Yep. Well, it was... interesting to see you again. See you around."|Rec Area]]The lockers were pretty unremarkable, other than the fact that each one looked like it was more expensive than my entire net worth.
[[I tried the locker on the far left.|The locker on the far left.]]{
(set: $tempItem to (dm: "name","Stick of RAM",
"details","It appears to be a memory stick from a really old computer.",
"hook", "none"))
(set: $itemFound to (find: _item where _item's name is "Stick of RAM",...$inventory) )
(if: $itemFound's length is 0)[(set: $inventory to $inventory + (a: $tempItem))]
}
To my surprise, the locker opened. It was completely bare, except what looked like a computer chip in the bottom. I reached down and dug it out.
"May I?" Steve asked. I shrugged and handed him the chip. He stuck it in a slot on his arm. After a moment, he said, "It appears to be broken."
"What is it?"
"It appears to be a stick of Random Access Memory that was used in computers decades ago. I'm not sure if it has any use, but after Mr. Townsend was acting so cryptically, perhaps we should take it with us?"
[["Yeah," I said, putting the stick of RAM in my bag.|Rec Area]]{
<!-- You need to clear selected and make sure there's no header (nohead tag) for all success passages. If it immediately leads back to $lastPassage, you need to tag this passage "menu" -->
(set: $selected to (dm:
"name","none",
"details","none",
"hook","none"
))
}
I showed the picture of Rebecca to the bartender. "I'm trying to find this girl. You seen her? She ever been in here?"
The bartender looked and shook her head confidently. "Never seen her. She's pretty though. Your sister, right?"
[["Yeah," I said, sighing and putting the picture away.|$lastPassage]]It was a letter from my Dad.
*Irene,
I'm dead, aren't I? Not just waiting, but well and truly dead. I don't want to believe it's possible, and yet, here I am, writing this letter. So I suppose I have to face the fact that I will not make it to our paradise on Earth.
I'm sorry. For so many things, but mostly for putting my girls in danger. If you're reading this, you probably aren't with Rebecca and you don't yet understand. Hopefully this will clarify matters. I know the clandestine nature of this communication is frustrating, but I couldn't risk anyone else discovering the truth.
If I'm dead, Irene, then my death was not an accident. It was a coup, one which Rebecca and I have been preparing for. I know you have no sympathy for me, but please, if there's any love in your heart left for me or for your eldest sister, allow me to say my piece.
It all started with the car accident. You remember? Rebecca was in the hospital for a long time.
That's what I told you. It was a lie, the worst, most unforgivable lie I suppose I've ever told. Your sister Rebecca wasn't injured. The accident was fatal.*
I tried and failed to take a breath. I could feel my heart pounding faster, suffocating me. All I could see was my sister's mangled body. No. It couldn't be true. This had to be a joke, another lie, something the Light had planted to confuse me.
*I had her body frozen, and that should have been the end of it. She would have been brought back, post-Singularity, with the rest of us. But in a moment of weakness, I became desperate. I didn't think I could live without my little girl. And so, instead of waiting, I mapped her brain onto a synthetic.*
I gasped and stopped reading. It wasn't possible. Human-synthetic hybrids went against everything the Light preached. Mapping a human brain into an android was more than simply taboo; even just mentioning it would get you excommunicated. I had seen Dad enforce that rule more than once.
[[I kept reading.]]It was a story about a girl whose spaceship was flung out into the galaxy at relativistic speeds. She traveled hundreds of years into the future in just a few weeks, and once she returned to her home, she had to face the fact that nothing would ever be the same again.
Rebecca and I had loved this book when we were younger. We begged Dad to read it to us every night, until...
[[I guess it was until the accident.]]Rebecca, my older sister, had been in a terrible car accident. I suddenly realized that's when everything changed. My memories about this were fuzzy, but I remember they said Rebecca was in the hospital for a long time. Then when she got out and we were together again, we wanted Dad to read the book again. And that first night when we asked him, he changed. He yelled at us and- Well, everything was different after that.
*Wow. Time to stop daydreaming, Irene.*
[[I put the book back on the shelf.|I decided to take a look around the bedroom.]]*To this day I don't know if what I did was right or wrong, but I did it, and it caused a schism in the Light. At first, only rumors that I had mapped my eldest daughter's brain onto an android. I brushed it off as a fringe conspiracy theory, but rumors only grow.
And along with it grew the debate, and the factions, and finally the rituals and canon that I could no longer control. As soon as I fell ill, I knew the scale had tipped in their favor.
Irene, I know it's no excuse, but all this, this dreadful secret and the dogma and the in-fighting, and all of it because of me - I have no belief in a soul, and yet I can't help but feel that I've sullied mine. I failed you. As a father and guardian. I am truly sorry.*
"Yeah right!" I screamed. "You could have told me. My life, my *sister*, all of it, and now you just get to write an apology note and screw off to Hell?"
[[I skipped past the apology.]]*I suspect I'm beyond helping, and I wouldn't blame you for ignoring me in any case. But if Rebecca is in danger, Irene, then she'll need your help. There are two things to do. First: I have a secret office in the Light headquarters. The entrance is behind my desk. Inside, on my workstation, you'll find evidence supporting what I've told you. View it if you must, but delete it after. At this juncture, it can only harm you if the Light finds it.
As for Rebecca, I hope she is with you, reading this letter as the two of you curse my corpse. But in all likelihood the Light has her. Find her, Irene. Don't let them take her from us. Your best chance is to infiltrate their ranks. They use the phrase "hominum ex machina" to signify membership.
Good luck, Irene. I love you, always and forever - no matter how long that is
-Dad*
[[How dare he.]]How dare he try to put this on me. How dare he make me feel like even an atom of this was my fault. He'd spent a lifetime playing power games with his stupid little cult, and now it was my job to clean up after him.
Oh, and if I didn't, they were going to murder my sister, the one part of my family I actually liked.
Oh, but he couldn't let me have that either, could he? Because actually, Irene, your sister's a *robot*. You don't really know her at all, do you?
I felt sick. I wanted to curl up, empty my stomach and spend the rest of the day staring at the floor. But I didn't have time. Dad took that from me, too.
"Are you okay?" Steve asked as I folded up Dad's letter.
[["I'll get there. Right now, I have work to do."|After Dad's Letter]]
[["You know, Steve, I'm really not. But it doesn't really matter, does it?"|After Dad's Letter]]{
(set: $tempClue to (dm: "name","-The entrance to Dad’s real office is somewhere behind his desk in LotF",
"hook", "?C10"
))
(set: $clueFound to (find: _clue where _clue's name is "-The entrance to Dad’s real office is somewhere behind his desk in LotF",...$notebook))
(if: $clueFound's length is 0)[(set: $notebook to $notebook + (a: $tempClue))]
(set: $tempClue to (dm: "name","-Dad needs me to wipe the hard drive in his secret office",
"hook", "?C11"
))
(set: $clueFound to (find: _clue where _clue's name is "-Dad needs me to wipe the hard drive in his secret office",...$notebook))
(if: $clueFound's length is 0)[(set: $notebook to $notebook + (a: $tempClue))]
(set: $tempClue to (dm: "name","-LotF types use the phrase “Hominum ex machina” to signify membership",
"hook", "?C9"
))
(set: $clueFound to (find: _clue where _clue's name is "-LotF types use the phrase “Hominum ex machina” to signify membership",...$notebook))
(if: $clueFound's length is 0)[(set: $notebook to $notebook + (a: $tempClue))]
}
I told Steve what I had read, and we decided I should write down three more important facts:
"The entrance to Dad’s real office is somewhere behind his desk in LotF," "Dad needs me to wipe the hard drive in his secret office," and finally, "LotF types use the phrase 'Hominum ex machina' to signify membership."
It felt good, actually, being able to extract a few facts from all the mindblowing nonsense Dad's letter had hit me with.
[[All I could do now was keep looking for Rebecca.|Planetarium]]On the desk, there wasn't anything, not even a computer monitor. {(set: $itemFound to (find: _item where _item's name is "LotF Laser Pointer",...$inventory) )
(if: $itemFound's length is 0)[I opened the top drawer and a lone tube rolled to the front. I picked it up and looked at it. It had a keychain on the back and said, "Light of the Future." It had a little button, which I pressed and a bright red dot appeared on the desk in front of me. It was a cheap little laser pointer, made for a cheesy marketing ploy.
<br><br>
[[I decided to pocket it. It could come in handy.|$lastPassage]]] (else:)[All the drawers were empty too.
<br><br>
[[*Nothin' to see here.*|$lastPassage]]
]
(set: $tempItem to (dm: "name","LotF Laser Pointer",
"details","A cheap laser pointer that serves as a marketing gimmick.",
"hook", "none"))
(set: $itemFound to (find: _item where _item's name is "LotF Laser Pointer",...$inventory) )
(if: $itemFound's length is 0)[(set: $inventory to $inventory + (a: $tempItem))]
}When I got closer, I noticed all the countries on the world map were made of colored glass or maybe even gemstones of some kind. I had to admit it was beautiful.
{
(set: $clueFound to (find: _clue where _clue's name is "-Behind Dad’s desk is a world map",...$notebook))
(if: $clueFound's length is 0)["So, Dad said the secret entrance to his office is behind his desk, and this map is behind his desk."
<br><br>
"Yes," said Steve, "I'm not sure exactly what that means, but it certainly means something. Write it down."
<br><br>
I did. <br><br>]
[[I stopped looking at the map.|David's Office]]
(set: $tempClue to (dm: "name","-Behind Dad’s desk is a world map",
"hook", "?C14"
))
(set: $clueFound to (find: _clue where _clue's name is "-Behind Dad’s desk is a world map",...$notebook))
(if: $clueFound's length is 0)[(set: $notebook to $notebook + (a: $tempClue))]
}{
<!-- You need to clear selected and make sure there's no header (nohead tag) for all success passages. If it immediately leads back to $lastPassage, you need to tag this passage "menu" -->
(set: $selected to (dm:
"name","none",
"details","none",
"hook","none"
))
(set: $clueFound to (find: _clue where _clue's name is "-The entrance to Dad’s real office is somewhere behind his desk in LotF",...$notebook))
(if: $clueFound's length is not 0 and $India is "yes")["Didn't you say Ashoka was the emperor of India?" I asked Steve.
<br><br>
"I did, yes." Steve said. "Why?"
<br><br>
"I think Dad was trying to tell me something with that book he was reading. I think something will happen if I shine this laser pointer on India."
<br><br>
"Oh, let's find out!" Steve said.
<br><br>
[[I shined the light on India.]]
]
(else:)[
"I think Dad knew I'd be the only one interested in this laser pointer. I think I'm supposed to point it somewhere on this map."
<br><br>
"But where?" Steve asked.
<br><br>
(set: $clueFound to (find: _clue where _clue's name is "-The entrance to Dad’s real office is somewhere behind his desk in LotF",...$notebook))
(if: $clueFound's length is 0)[
"I'm not sure," I said.
<br><br>
[[I randomly shined the laser across the map, but nothing happened.|$lastPassage]]]
(else:)[
"Dad seemed to drop hints about lambs and lions. What country has a lion as their national animal?"
<br><br>
"In one way or another, Belgium, Czech Republic, Ethiopia, Gambia, Iran, Kenya, Libya, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Morocco, the Netherlands, Norway, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Togo, and the UK have all used lions as their national animal. And Iraq's national animal is a type of goat, which is close to a sheep."
<br><br>
"At this rate, I might as well just point it at a random country! Fine, what choice do I have? I'll try..."
<br><br>
[["Iraq."|country]]<br>
[["Belgium."|country]]<br>
[["Czech Republic."|country]]<br>
[["Ethiopia."|country]]<br>
[["Gambia."|country]]<br>
[["Kenya."|country]]<br>
[["Libya."|country]]<br>
[["Luxembourg."|country]]<br>
[["Macedonia."|country]]<br>
[["Morocco."|country]]<br>
[["Netherlands."|country]]<br>
[["Norway."|country]]<br>
[["Sierra Leone."|country]]<br>
[["Singapore."|country]]<br>
[["Sri Lanka."|country]]<br>
[["Togo."|country]]<br>
[["The UK."|country]]<br>
[["Iran."|country]]<br>
]
]
}As soon as I did, I knew my guess was right because the entire map began moving away from me. It swung inward like a door to reveal a dark cube of a room that suddenly lit up as light panels blinked to life. Inside was a desk surrounded by monitors and shelves piled with scientific equipment.
[[This was Dad's secret office.]]I shined the laser, but nothing happened.
[[*Oh well...*|David's Office]]{
<!-- You need to clear selected and make sure there's no header (nohead tag) for all success passages. If it immediately leads back to $lastPassage, you need to tag this passage "menu" -->
(set: $selected to (dm:
"name","none",
"details","none",
"hook","none"
))
}
The receptionist glanced at the photo of Rebecca and grew stiff.
"We're doing everything we can to find her," he said quietly, "Just let us know if you have any information, and we'll do the same."
[["Thanks, I guess."|$lastPassage]]{
<!-- You need to clear selected and make sure there's no header (nohead tag) for all success passages. If it immediately leads back to $lastPassage, you need to tag this passage "menu" -->
(set: $selected to (dm:
"name","none",
"details","none",
"hook","none"
))
(set: $lion to "known")
}
I showed the book to the enthusiastic looking employee nearby.
"Oh, this book is about Ashoka, right? I know about him because I saw an artifact in a museum once, the Lion Capital of Ashoka? I guess he had something to do with lions."
[["Interesting."|$lastPassage]]We stepped in and Steve found a button to close the door behind us. I walked over to the desk and sat down. Time to find out what was so important Dad asked me to destroy it *before* finding my sister.
{
(if: $computer is "yes")[
[[I booted up the computer.]]
<br>]
(set: $clueFound to (find: _clue where _clue's name is "-Irene: 384793",...$notebook))
(if: $clueFound's length is 0)[
[[There was a note stuck to the monitor in front of me.]]
]
(else:)[(set: $clueFound to (find: _clue where _clue's name is "-Dad took two years to map his daughter’s brain",...$notebook))
(if: $clueFound's length is not 0)[[I had all I needed here.|David's Office]]
]
}{
(set: $tempClue to (dm: "name","-Irene: 384793",
"hook", "?C15"
))
(set: $clueFound to (find: _clue where _clue's name is "-Irene: 384793",...$notebook))
(if: $clueFound's length is 0)[(set: $notebook to $notebook + (a: $tempClue))]
}
I took the sticky note off the monitor and looked at it. It said, "Irene: 384793."
"Any idea what that means, Steve?"
"No, I'm sorry, it has no meaning to me," Steve said.
Well, it had my name on it so it must've been important.
[[I stuck it in my notebook.|This was Dad's secret office.]]{
(set: $computer to "no")
}
When I turned on the computer, there was only a single folder titled: "Irene." I opened it, and what I found was a bizarre collage of my father's life. Steve read over my shoulder as I browsed through genetic patents for diseases and cures, descriptions of brain mapping tests, and synthetic brain prototypes.
"This must be the disease that killed Dad," I said to Steve while looking at the final results of the tests.
"Yes, if he wanted you to read this, I think that is a safe conclusion. He was likely keeping this file to leak the fact that the Light's CEO was killed by the company's own experiments, intentionally or otherwise."
[["But why does he want me to destroy all this now?"]]"Maybe he knows if you got this far, it won't be necessary to leak this information."
"I still don't see how this could get us closer to finding Rebecca."
"Speaking of your sister, look at this document," Steve said. I looked closer at the file I had opened. It said:
*This is an agreement between Seize the Day Cryo Facility (The Company), David Turnsole, and Stephen Townsend (The Clients.)
The Company hereby agrees to perform the procedure on Mr. Turnsole's eldest daughter as outlined in Section I within the timeframe of two years. In return, Clients agree to provide the compensation outlined in Section V...*
Then there was a bunch of legal stuff.
[["This is the contract to map Rebecca's brain onto a synthetic?"]]"It appears to be," Steve said. "Look. The procedure is detailed here."
Indeed it was. Seize the Day would map Rebecca's brain from her frozen body onto a synthetic my father and Townsend had designed. There was a strict secrecy clause too. Obviously, my Dad had gone to his biggest competitor for the procedure because he didn't want it getting out. And obviously, this was the same document that had leaked years ago and which my dad had been trying to cover up ever since.
[["Well, what now?"]]{
(set: $tempClue to (dm: "name","-Dad took two years to map his daughter’s brain",
"hook", "?C16"
))
(set: $clueFound to (find: _clue where _clue's name is "-Dad took two years to map his daughter’s brain",...$notebook))
(if: $clueFound's length is 0)[(set: $notebook to $notebook + (a: $tempClue))]
}
"We knew most of this already," Steve said, "The one piece of information we didn't have, I suppose, is that it took your dad two years to map his daughter's brain. I'm not sure if your father needed you to know that, but I think you should write it down."
I wrote it down.
"And I guess now Dad wants me to delete this information so it never gets out after this."
"Yes, I think we have everything we need," Steve said.
[[I highlighted the "Irene" folder and pressed "Delete."]]
[[I decided not to delete the folder.]]"Good work," Steve said.
As I deleted it, I felt like I was closing the chapter on my father. I would have a *lot* of things to process after this, but at least it was over now and I could get to what was important.
[["Let's go save my sister... whatever that means at this point."|This was Dad's secret office.]]"I'm not gonna clean up my dad's mess for him. He got himself killed and my sister kidnapped because he couldn't let go of his memories. So he jammed them into some poor robot and made it live as his daughter. As for this information about Rebecca, she should be able to decide what to do with it."
"Sound logic," Steve said.
[["Let's go save my sister... whatever that means at this point."|This was Dad's secret office.]]"Please tell me immediately if you find anything. We're running out of time."
[["Okay, will do."|Phone]]
[["Sir, please wait. Running out of time for what?"]]"Mr. Deckhard, my father had a membership to Seize the Day Cryo Facility. Do you know anything about that?"
"Really? Then he might have assets in the facility that I didn't know about. You should hand over any information you have as soon as possible."
"Wait. What assets would be at the cryo facility? Like frozen bodies?"
"Please, this is a serious matter relating to your father's will. Send over any documentation you might have, and then please find your sister."
[["Fine. Bye."|Phone]]The lawyer sighed, "I can't disclose that information."
"No. Please tell me. What happens Saturday night?"
"It has to do with the final will of your father. That's all I can say."
[["Fine. Thanks anyway."|Phone]]"Oh, yes, there were some people, but I sent them away as usual," the maid said.
"As usual?"
"Yes, they come by the house sometimes, from an organization called NRARF."
"NRARF?"
"Yes, they come to protest your father's work. I suppose they haven't heard the news..."
[["Okay, well, thanks."|Phone]]"Oh, yes, I can describe it to you since I was with him for the duration," the maid said, "First, he got a cough, but it lasted longer than a normal cold. Then his skin became discolored with large red blotches. The cough worsened until it was chronic. At that point he could no longer leave his bed. Then, he simply ceased living."
"He... died of a cough?"
"I don't believe it was the coughing that ended his life, no."
[["Thanks, I guess. Let me know if Rebecca shows up."|Phone]]{
(if: $table is "reserved")[
"Flaming Aces, back corner table," I said.
<br><br>
"Excellent, sister, see you soon. Hominum ex machina."
<br><br>
(link: '"Hominum ex machina."')[
(set: $date to "set")
(goto: "Phone")
]
]
(else:)[
"Ex...cuse me? I think you have the wrong number, lady."
<br><br>
The phone clicked as the employee hung up on me. No luck.
<br><br>
But then, right as I lowered the phone, it began to ring. I picked up, and a dark and quiet voice hissed in my ear.
<br><br>
"Hominum ex machina, sister. Call me Brother Darren. How can I help?"
<br><br>
[["The lion and the Eldest have sat down together."]]<br>
[["I need to know how to prepare for the ritual."]]
]
}"I'm sorry, we can't discuss accounts over the phone. Your father needs to come down here in person."
"Well, he's dead, so..."
"Sorry, I can't help you unless you bring someone that has account administration rights."
[["All right. Thanks anyway."|Phone]]"What? Is this some kind of prank call? Who is this!"
[[*Oops.* I hung up the phone.|Phone]]{
(set: $tempClue to (dm: "name","-The mole will meet me if I can find a private place to talk",
"hook", "?C12"
))
(set: $clueFound to (find: _clue where _clue's name is "-The mole will meet me if I can find a private place to talk",...$notebook))
(if: $clueFound's length is 0)[(set: $notebook to $notebook + (a: $tempClue))]
}
"Ah, yes!" Darren said excitedly, "I will tell you everything to know, sister, but we can't talk over the phone. Find a quiet place for us to talk, and call back."
"All right... brother."
I quickly scribbled a note down in my notebook: The cryo facility mole will meet me if I can find a private place to talk.
[["Bye, brother. Uh... hominum ex machina."|Phone]]"What? No, this is a *bar.* Stop wastin' my time." She hung up.
[[*Oh well, stupid question I guess.*|Phone]]{
(set: $table to "reserved")
}
"Sure, knock yourself out."
"Okay, just make sure the table in the back corner is open for the next few hours."
"Will do. Name?"
"Ms. T- uh, Townsend."
"Okay. Done."
[["Thanks."|Phone]]"So, you wanted to know about the ritual?" he asked, eagerly.
"Yeah, basically just like what to bring, what to wear, stuff like that." I decided to play it cool.
"Well, most of us are planning to wear our robes and make some torches at the Light offices before."
[["What if I don't have robes?"]]
[["And what exactly will we do when the ritual starts?"]]Darren waved my question away. "Don't worry. All of that is for show. What really matters is the ritual."
[["And what exactly will we do when the ritual starts?"]]{
(set: $tempClue to (dm: "name","-On Saturday night, LotF will take “the daughter” and attempt to map her brain back onto the “organic form”",
"hook", "?C13"
))
(set: $clueFound to (find: _clue where _clue's name is "-On Saturday night, LotF will take “the daughter” and attempt to map her brain back onto the “organic form”",...$notebook))
(if: $clueFound's length is 0)[(set: $notebook to $notebook + (a: $tempClue))]
}
Darren leaned in, smiling wickedly. "Well, once everyone is ready, we'll all go down to Seize the Day - that's where they say they're keeping the organic. We already have the Eldest daughter, and we'll probably have the sister by then. We'll force the daughter inside to find the organic form, then when she brings her out, we'll attempt to map the daughter onto the organic form."
[["Attempt?"]]
[["I see..."]]"Well, of course you know it has never succeeded before. But if *we* can succeed, we will be the harbingers of the Singularity!"
[["I see..."]]I wasn't sure if I *did* see. But I was pretty sure all this stuff about the organic and the daughter was about Rebecca, and mapping her mind *back* onto... whatever was in that pod. From what little I knew about this stuff, I'd heard that kind of mapping procedure would destroy the synthetic *and* kill the person.
I had a feeling I would have a lot of material to go through with Steve when we got back to the office. At least I had one more piece of information I needed to write down: On Saturday night, the Light would take “the daughter” and attempt to map her brain back onto the “organic form.” Whatever that really meant.
"Thanks, brother," I said.
"Wait, would you like to stay for a drink?"
[["No thanks, Darren. Hominum ex machina."|I decided to go in for a look.]]{
(set: $selected to (dm:
"name","none",
"details","none",
"hook","none"
))
(set: $deduction to "inactive")
(set: $notebookActive to "yes")
(set: $clueFound to (find: _clue where _clue's name is "-The Cryo Facility is filled with pods identified by number. Dad owns pod 384793.",...$notebook))
(if: $clueFound's length is 0)[
"I think you're onto something here, but we can't quite make a deduction yet. Maybe we should visit the cryo facility first," Steve said.
<br><br>
[["Okay."|Go back to the SpaceSwap and think.]]
]
(else:)[
"Hmm..." I said, "You know when we went to the cryo facility and all the frozen bodies had numbers instead of names?"
<br><br>
"Yes?" Steve said.
<br><br>
"Well... I was just looking at this sticky note here- the one that says 'Irene' with a bunch of numbers after?"
<br><br>
"Yes! That's the same number as your father's pod at the facility, isn't it!"
<br><br>
[["But then why does it say 'Irene?'"]]
]
}"Yes... that is a good question," Steve said.
Then something hit me. Hard. "Wait..."
"What?"
"Was her name actually ever mentioned?"
Steve tilted his head. "Whose name?"
"Rebecca's. Or was it always just 'the eldest?'"
"Oh. *Oh!*" Steve raised a finger. "Indeed. The contract never specifically names the daughter."
[["So, is it possible...?]]"...that *you* are the synthetic, instead of your sister?" Steve finished my sentence. "But she is the eldest."
I should have felt sick. I should have been close to fainting, like I had been when I'd read Dad's letter about Rebecca. But for some reason, the revelation calmed me. It was like all the pieces of my life that had never quite lined up now fit together perfectly.
"Yeah, Rebecca is the oldest *now*. By a year. But we know it took Dad *two* years to map his daughter's brain."
Steve thought about this for quite a long time.
Finally, he said, "The logic is sound."
[["But it's not possible! Is it?"]]"If it was possible for your sister, it's possible for you. But do you remember being in a car accident?"
"No, but... I don't *not* remember it either, you know? I don't remember anything from that time. How would I remember two years of my life that were missing while I was- How do I test if I'm an- an *android* or not?"
"I have no idea," Steve said.
[["What do we do?"]]"Well, we deduce what this new information means," Steve said. "Why would your father lie to you about which child's mind was mapped onto a synthetic?"
"Who cares? Seriously, it doesn't matter anymore, does it? Maybe spelling it all out was too risky in case the Light found the letter. Maybe he didn't think I could handle it. Maybe he's just a sadist."
"But his letter said Rebecca knew as well, or at least part of it. Why would she go along with any of this?"
I sucked in a breath. I suddenly knew exactly what she had done. "Rebecca. Of course. Oh my God, she... Steve, she knew the leaked contract only mentioned the eldest child. Dad raised Rebecca as the eldest after my accident because she had aged two years. I don't know if she knew about it back then or not, but she definitely found out when Dad got sick. Then, she simply made it look like 'the Eldest' was her."
"Why would Rebecca do that?" Steve asked.
[["To protect me."]]{
(set: $tempDedu to (dm:
"name","-My cryo-self can be found at Seize the Day in pod number 384793.",
"hook", "?D2"
))
(set: $deduFound to (find: _dedu where _dedu's hook is "?D2",...$deductions) )
(if: $deduFound's length is 0)[(set: $deductions to $deductions + (a: $tempDedu))]
}
I felt numb saying it out loud. Like I had made it real for the first time. Rebecca wanted to protect me, so she got herself kidnapped.
My past, my identity, my *body* - none of that mattered. All I cared about right now was getting my sister back.
"So we can deduce," I said as I wrote it down, "that my cryo... self can be found at Seize the Day in pod number 384793."
"Yes. I think that's right. Good work, Irene," Steve said, not at all his overeager self.
{
(set: $deduFound to (find: _dedu where _dedu's hook is "?D3",...$deductions) )
(if: $deduFound's length is not 0)[
[["I think we have everything we need, Steve."]]
]
(else:)[
[["Thanks..."|Go back to the SpaceSwap and think.]]
]
}{
(set: $selected to (dm:
"name","none",
"details","none",
"hook","none"
))
(set: $deduction to "inactive")
(set: $notebookActive to "yes")
(set: $tempDedu to (dm:
"name","-We need to be at Seize the Day for the Saturday night ritual to save my sister.",
"hook", "?D3"
))
(set: $deduFound to (find: _dedu where _dedu's hook is "?D3",...$deductions) )
(if: $deduFound's length is 0)[(set: $deductions to $deductions + (a: $tempDedu))]
}
"So I think we can assume this ritual the Light is doing is happening on this Saturday night deadline everyone is talking about," I said.
"Yes, that is a safe assumption."
"And we know they're going to the cryo facility, where they say they'll have Rebecca, and they're going to try to map her brain onto a frozen body."
"A dangerous idea, to say the least."
"Well then, we have another deduction to write down."
"What's that?"
"We need to be at Seize the Day for the Saturday night ritual to save my sister!"
"Hear hear!" Steve said.
{
(set: $deduFound to (find: _dedu where _dedu's hook is "?D2",...$deductions) )
(if: $deduFound's length is not 0)[
[["I think we have everything we need, Steve."]]
]
(else:)[
[["Then get ready. Let's do this."|Go back to the SpaceSwap and think.]]
]
}{
(set: $ending to "yes")
}
This was it. I knew those Light of the Future freaks would bring Rebecca here, and I knew where my... frozen self was. And, Steve and I came with a foolproof plan. Hopefully.
I stood on a hill with a lone tree next to Steve, looking at the customer entrance to the cryo facility.
"Why can't we just call the cops now? They'll come and see these idiots have her, crime solved. Right?"
"Unfortunately, there's still not enough proof at that point until they start to commit another crime. We can't say for sure that she was kidnapped until we have her witness testimony."
"That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard, Steve."
"I know. So good luck. I'll be waiting for the signal."
I already knew Seize the Day blocked and monitored calls here, so I assumed I couldn't rely on my phone.
Instead, we decided that I'd signal Steve with the laser pointer through the tiny window on the customer entrance. Once he saw that laser, he'd call the cops, and hopefully I'd have enough proof to shut this all down.
[["All right, Steve. See you soon."]]The taxi dropped me off at the head of a pristine walkway leading to the shiniest building I'd ever seen. Three cylindrical towers covered in silver mirrors reached into the sky, reflecting light across the grounds. Unlike every other square mile of land in the city, this place was somehow built without a neighbor in sight. They'd probably argue it was a security issue. I chalked it up to money. Their clientele didn't want to stare at a concrete apartment building on the horizon while they dreamed about their eternal life.
[[I approached the facility.]]As I got closer, the words etched on its facade became clear: "Carpe Diem." I naturally walked toward the main entrance, but stopped when I saw a sign pointing around the corner, leading me to the "customer entrance." Was I a customer? Dad apparently was, at least, but what about his dead daughter looking for his kidnapped other daughter?
[[I decided to head to the customer entrance.]]{
<!-- Steve is an idiot. Always tell him where he is when you enter a new Investigation Area -->
(set: $wheresSteve to (passage:)'s name)
}
The main entrance was much more impressive. The [front]<front| was lined with crystal clear glass doors that looked much the same as the window paneling above. A circular desk greeted me inside, along with several [receptionists]<hook1| working on flickering [terminals]<hook2| in front of them.
Near a wall of doors leading further into the facility stood a massive crowd of people waiting to go in. A [tour guide]<hook3| stood in front of them, reciting instructions.
Steve was on the other side of the lobby, gazing at an informational video about Seize the Day.
{
(if: $selected's name is "none")[
(if: $pod is "yes")[
[[I found my way back to Dad's pod.|I took a closer look at the pod.]]<br>]
[[I wasn't finding what I needed here. I decided to go somewhere else.|Go somewhere else.]]
(click-goto: "receptionists", "receptionists")
(click-goto: "massive crowd", "Pocket the card and approach the crowd.")
(click-goto: ?front, "front")
(click-goto: "Steve", "Steve")
]
(else-if: $selected's name is "Dad's Cryo Facility ID")[
(click-goto: ?hook3, "Approach the crowd.")
(click-goto: ?hook1, "Approach the receptionist.")
(click-goto: ?hook2, "Default Failtext")
]
(else-if: $selected's name is "Photo")[
(click-goto: ?hook3, "Default Failtext")
(click-goto: ?hook1, '"Well I\'m looking for my sister. Have you seen her?"')
(click-goto: ?hook2, "Default Failtext")
]
(else-if: $selected's name is "Bike Helmet")[
(click-goto: ?hook3, "Use the bicycle helmet.")
(click-goto: ?hook1, "Default Failtext")
(click-goto: ?hook2, "Default Failtext")
]
(else-if: $selected's name is "LotF Laser Pointer")[
(click-goto: ?hook3, "Alt Text")[(set: $altText to '"Hey! Stop shining that thing in my eyes!" the tour guide yelled.')]
(click-goto: ?hook1, "Default Failtext")
(click-goto: ?hook2, "Default Failtext")
]
(else:)[
(click-goto: ?hook1, "Default Failtext")
(click-goto: ?hook2, "Default Failtext")
(click-goto: ?hook3, "Default Failtext")
]
}{
(set: $idReceptionist to "yes")
<!-- You need to clear selected and make sure there's no header (nohead tag) for all success passages. If it immediately leads back to $lastPassage, you need to tag this passage "menu" -->
(set: $selected to (dm:
"name","none",
"details","none",
"hook","none"
))
}
"'Scuse me," I said to one of the receptionists, and he looked at me like the hick I was.
"Welcome to Seize the Day, Ma'am. Can I help you?"
"Yeah, I have an account here, but it's not letting me in the customer entrance."
"I'll see what I can do. Do you have your membership card?"
[[I handed over the card.|Hand over the card]]{
<!-- You need to clear selected and make sure there's no header (nohead tag) for all success passages. If it immediately leads back to $lastPassage, you need to tag this passage "menu" -->
(set: $selected to (dm:
"name","none",
"details","none",
"hook","none"
))
}
As I approached the crowd of people, my dad's membership card held in front of me, the tour guide bowed and pointed toward the receptionist.
"This tour is for prospective customers only. If you already have a membership, please talk to the front desk. Thank you!"
[[I walked over to the reception desk.|Approach the receptionist.]] The man took Dad's ID and scanned it in the terminal in front of him. The screen was angled in such a way that I could make out the first few digits of Dad's pod: 384-something.
"I see the account, and it's in good standing but... this isn't your card, ma'am."
"It's my dad's. He died this morning. That's pretty common, isn't it? Isn't that kind of the point of this place? Someone dies and you bring them back?"
"No, ma'am. We keep them safe until our future knowledge base is broad enough to cure them. But that's not relevant in this case."
"What do you mean not relevant? He's dead, my man. Isn't something supposed to happen now?"
The receptionist scoffed, clearly getting annoyed with me. "We have a process in place when a client passes."
"What process is that? Can't you tell me anything useful?"
"I can't, actually. You aren't listed as a stakeholder on the account. Do you have power of attorney for your father?"
[["I do."]]
[["No, I don't."|StD1]]"Great!" the receptionist said, beaming. "Just let me see the documentation and I'll have you fixed up."
[["All right, you got me. I lied. But can't you help me out?"|StD1]]"Then all I can say is you need to make funeral arrangements, because this pod, while owned by your father, is not reserved for him. I'm sorry for your loss. Have a good day, ma'am."
Given how things had gone so far, I wasn't optimistic about that.
So my dad had an account here. Not only an account, but apparently an actual pod with something in it. I needed to get in there. I needed to see it... somehow.
[[I wandered away from the desk, thinking about my options.|"Main entrance it is," I said to myself.]]A horde of people stood around a side entrance to the facility, crowded around a short-statured employee whose voice boomed from a speaker on her chest.
"Okay parents, we're going to get moving here shortly. Just waiting on a couple of stragglers. Thanks so much for your patience."
It was only when I heard them called "parents" that I noticed the bags most of them had slung over their backs or chests, thick bulbous things that looked like sacks of muscle. Which I guess they were.
Exo-uterus. These people weren't here for themselves. They were here to reserve spots for their children-to-be.
[[I approached the tour guide.|Approach the tour guide.]]The tour guide's eyes locked to me and her face brightened. "Oh thank goodness. You're here for the tour, right? Let's get you checked in. What's your registration number?"
[["Yep. Here for the tour. Let's go. To the tour."]]
[["It's 2. Just 2."|"Sorry. That was a joke."]]
[["I don't have one, is the thing."]]
[["Nevermind. I made a mistake."|"Main entrance it is," I said to myself.]]
"Perfect!" the tour guide said. "As I said, I'll just need your registration number."
[["I don't have one, is the thing."]]"You didn't pre-register? Okay, no problem. But. Um." She looked me up and down, biting her lip when she saw I wasn't carrying the same organ as the rest of the crowd. "These tours are for parents only. Are you with somebody, or?"
[["Yeah. That guy right there is my partner."]]
[["I left my womb with the babysitter."]]
[[I decided to be honest.|Be honest.]]I pointed to a bearded man wearing his womb under his chin. He gaped at me, shook his head and turned away.
[["Sorry. That was a joke."]]"Ma'am, I'm sorry, I'm in a bit of a hurry and I don't really have time for jokes.
[[I decided to be honest.|Be honest.]]"Look, can't you make an exception?" I asked. "I'm really interested in all this stuff. Just wanted to see how it works."
She closed her terminal, her cheery attitude evaporating along with the screen. "Absolutely not. A facility like ours has trouble with competitors getting in and messing around. Only parents of prospective clients are allowed on this tour. If you'd like a personalized tour, the receptionist will be happy to take a down payment and start your background check. Have a good day, ma'am."
A total bust. I slunk off, finally satisfied this woman wasn't going to let me in. The tour group entered, and I considered trying to tiptoe up to the door until a new tour guide took their place a few moments later.
[[*Oh well...*|"Main entrance it is," I said to myself.]]"Sure, no problem." The tour guide brought up her wrist terminal, still smiling, though I could hear the frustration in her voice. "Give me your citizen ID and I'll look you up in the medical registry."
[["It's 2. Just 2."|"Sorry. That was a joke."]]
[[I decided to be honest.|Be honest.]]{
<!-- You need to clear selected and make sure there's no header (nohead tag) for all success passages. If it immediately leads back to $lastPassage, you need to tag this passage "menu" -->
(set: $selected to (dm:
"name","none",
"details","none",
"hook","none"
))
(if: $idReceptionist is not "yes")[
I had an idea for the helmet, but I wasn't sure I was ready yet. I needed to gather more information before I took my shot at sneaking deeper into the facility.
<br><br>
[[I looked around the lobby, trying to think of a good plan.|"Main entrance it is," I said to myself.]]
]
(else:)
[I couldn't find a way to use that h-
<br><br>
Wait. Oh. Oh no. Was I seriously going to try this?
<br><br>
This was *never* going to work.
<br><br>
But what better option did I have?
<br><br>
I went outside, found a hidden spot behind a copse of trees, and strapped the helmet around my waist, covering the bump with my shirt and jacket. I used my phone to judge how I looked. Pregnant. I looked pregnant. Or at least, what I imagined a pregnant person to look like, having never seen one. Hopefully that was true of the tour guide as well.
<br><br>
[[I approached the tour guide, bump and all.]]
]
}The tour guide, a man this time, smiled as I approached. "Hello ma'am, are you with the- oh my sweet Lord!"
[["Excuse me? Is there a problem?"|preg1]]
[["As you can see, I'm with the tour."|preg1]]The tour guide's face went pale. "I... it's just... are you...?"
[["Pregnant? You're very observant."|preg2]]
[["I'm with child, like everyone else here."|preg2]]"Of course," the tour guide said. "I'm just... I've never... " The man swallowed hard, looking like I'd just thrown cold water on him. "And you're here for the tour?"
"I am. I meant to register, but my friend said you just gotta show up. He signed up his little one a few weeks ago, said it was the best decision he ever made."
"Ah, yes. We have room. I'll just need your citizen ID to confirm your... condition."
[["That's a problem."]]I decided to really ham up my inner-redneck and supress my inner-corporation-heiress. Years working out in the country helped. "My *pregnancy* ain't gonna be in the database," I said. "Haven't seen a doctor. Don't trust 'em."
"Of course she doesn't," one of the nearby mothers muttered.
The tour guide spread his hands apologetically. "Unfortunately I can't let you in without confirming your status."
[[I called his bluff.|Call his bluff.]]I reached for the bottom of my jacket and tried to summon up all the rage a person in my position might have. I needed it to mask the anxiety rising up in my chest.
"Oh, you want to confirm it? Take a peek? Maybe feel it kicking?"
"No!" the tour guide shouted, reaching out to keep my shirt from creeping up. "Please, no. It's fine. It's all very fine. Follow me everyone, and stay close. It's quite easy to get lost inside."
I had done it. I'd actually done it. Unbelievable. Now I just had to pray that my little prosthetic didn't pop off.
"Come on, Steve. I need my synthetic assistant in case there's a problem with the baby, right?"
Steve only muttered nervously, "You know, I am not allowed to assist in any illegal activities..."
"Don't worry, Steve. Lying isn't illegal," I whispered back.
[[We followed the group inside.|Follow the group inside.]]As I fell in line, I heard a little harrumph behind me and turned to find a tall, muscular woman glaring down at me. She wore her uterus on her hip, and I swear she was consciously thrusting her unborn child at me while she spoke.
"You know, that's not healthy for your child, carrying it inside you. What happens if you get sick? Do you have a nutritionist?"
[[I decided to ignore her. It was not worth it.|Follow the tour.]]
[["Now listen here-"]]"Listen here, lady. I don't know who you think you are, but we've been nourishing children in our wombs since the dawn of time and I'll be damned if I'm going to have anyone question my fitness to do what's best for my child just because I don't want them raised in some meat bag made by the medical industrial complex, and that's another thing-"
"All right, wow, nevermind," the woman said. She slinked away from me, but not before muttering, "freaking nutjob."
Maybe I'd overdone it, but hey, you gotta commit to the bit.
[[I kept following the crowd.|Follow the tour.]]It wasn't long before I forgot all about the unpleasant lady because I was soon overwhelmed by the inner-workings of the facility. The smell hit me first, an unfamiliar chemical stink masked poorly by fruity fragrance. Unlike the entrance, the building's innards were utilitarian. Row after row, column after column of cryo pods. They reminded me of red shaving cream canisters, only blown up to the size of a thick, burly human. I shivered, imaging a living person - frozen, but still living - inside each of them. As if he could read my mind, the tour guide soon corrected my mistake.
“If you direct your attention to the lights below the containment units, you’ll see just about half are blue, and the other half are red. The blue mean these units are occupied, red means vacant.”
[[I kept listening.|Keep listening.]]
[[I decided to try to get away from the tour.|StD3]]“There are kids in all of these pods?” one of the parents asked.
“Oh, no, not even remotely. This week is blocked out for parents, but the majority of our customers are people whose bodies have hit the limits of our current ability to address natural aging, or who have had untimely accidents that our current medical understanding believes to be fatal. The number of children we admit is, thankfully, low. But that’s why it’s all the more important to make this choice now, in case we are one of the unlucky one-percent whose children contracts an awful disease or is the victim of a horrendous crime. I could stand here all day pitching cryo's necessity for you, personally, and if you give me half a chance, I will.”
Laughter at that. Didn’t seem particularly funny to me.
[[I listened some more.|Listen more.]]
[[I decided to try to get away.|StD4]]I tried to look for an opening to slip away from the group, but there were too many eyes on me.
[[I kept listening.|Keep listening.]]“We have the ability," the tour guide said dramatically, "today, right now, to grant our children eternal life. None of us can even comprehend what that means. Its value is limitless; more important than food, water, more important than education. If you knew you could allow your child to live forever, and you chose not to give them that opportunity, how is it different than murder? How is that not child abuse?”
[["You mentioned red and blue lights. What about this yellow one?"]]
[["This sounds a lot like The Light of the Future. Are you related to them?"]]
[["You really think not cryo-freezing your kid is abuse? What if they don't want to live forever?"]]
[[I had to ditch these people.|Find an opportunity to get away]]I tried to look for an opening to slip away from the group, but there were too many eyes on me.
[[I decided to listen some more.|Listen more.]]{(set: $stdq2 to 1)}
The tour guide’s mood turned sour. For a moment, I thought he might stab me. “That’s incredibly offensive. The Light of the Future is a religion. This is science. We have a goal, we have results. They hate us. We represent everything they’re against.”
[["Like what, in particular?"]]The antagonistic woman from before scoffed. “Like mapping, right?”
The tour guide looked away awkwardly.
[["Mapping?"|Mapping?]]The woman laughed at me. “You came to Seize the Day and you’ve never heard of mapping? Copying cerebral patterns onto a synthetic-organic body?”
[["Wait, they do that here? Build a new body for someone instead of just waiting for medicine to catch up?"]]The woman laughed to her friend. I was really starting to hate her. “Not officially,” she said.
The tour guide said nothing in response, and instead took a question about pricing from an older couple in the back.
{
(if: $stdq1 is 0)[
[["You mentioned red and blue lights. What about this yellow one?"]]
<br>]
(if: $stdq3 is 0)[
[["You really think not cryo-freezing your kid is abuse? What if they don't want to live forever?"]]
<br>]
[[I looked for an opportunity to get away.|Find an opportunity to get away]]
}{(set:$stdq3 to 1)}
The crowd turned on me, then - even the people in the back, who viewed my bump as some adorable sideshow attraction, scowled when they heard my question. The tour guide went red. I could tell he was holding back some really choice cursing.
“Ma’am, that’s… I understand your apprehension. It’s hard for us to comprehend. But what if we were talking about a one-year-old, going on two? How abhorrent would it be to say, ‘we don’t know for sure if she wants to turn two, better to just let her die.’ And yet suddenly when we talk about a timescale of infinity, that calculus changes? I don’t think so. Seize the Day doesn’t think so.”
The parents cheered the tour guide’s answer, and thankfully, one of the moms in the front pivoted to a question about how to convince skeptical grandparents.
{
(if: $stdq1 is 0)[
[["You mentioned red and blue lights. What about this yellow one?"]]<br>
]
(if: $stdq2 is 0)[
[["This sounds a lot like The Light of the Future. Are you related to them?"]]<br>
]
[[Find an opportunity to get away]]
}{(set: $stdq1 to 1)}
“Hmm?” The guide checked the pod I pointed to and clicked his tongue. “Oh, that just means there’s a technical issue. Nothing to worry about. Just tells a technician to check on it.”
[["Uh, issue? What happens when there’s a issue? Does the body start to thaw?"]]“Oh, no, nothing like that,” the tour guide said. “We have quintuple redundancies for all our pods. A yellow light is a first-stage failure. It never gets to a second stage. In any case, most of the pods with yellow lights aren’t actually occupied.”
[["But some are? What does a 'first-stage failure' actually mean?"]]“Sorry, ma’am, this is a bit beyond the scope the tour. If you like I can get you an appointment with one of our engineers. Any other questions? Anyone?”
{
(if: $stdq2 is 0)[
[["This sounds a lot like The Light of the Future. Are you related to them?"]]
<br>]
(if: $stdq3 is 0)[
[["You really think not cryo-freezing your kid is abuse? What if they don't want to live forever?"]]
<br>]
[[I looked for an opportunity to get away.|Find an opportunity to get away]]
}The tour was agony. Every second the guide droned on about promising medical advancements felt like one more small cut with a dull knife. Soon, though, he herded our group down a twisting hall with lots of blind curves, and that’s when I made my move. Steve and I hung back slightly at first, and then as the last parent disappeared around the corner, we turned and sped back toward the pods.
[[I needed to find Dad's pod.|Look for Dad's pod.]]Bronze placards marked each row of pods. I stared up at 382100-382200.
"Steve, please tell me you were able to see the pod number when the receptionist scanned my card."
"Of course. 384793," he replied immediately. The bot was good for something, at least.
We had a ways to go, but the numbers told me we were at least in the right facility. As I passed each hall, I tensed, wondering if this would be the one to hold a security guard or a surveillance camera. I expected an alarm to stop me in my tracks any second. But after ten minutes of walking, there I was. 384700-384800. I tried to make myself waltz down the aisle like I was born to be here, but I couldn’t. I froze up. Why did this feel so wrong? Why was I so afraid?
[[I went to the pod.|Go to the pod.]]{
(set: $bag to "yes")
(set: $tempClue to (dm: "name","-The Cryo Facility is filled with pods identified by number. Dad owns pod 384793.",
"hook", "?C8"
))
(set: $clueFound to (find: _clue where _clue's name is "-The Cryo Facility is filled with pods identified by number. Dad owns pod 384793.",...$notebook))
(if: $clueFound's length is 0)[(set: $notebook to $notebook + (a: $tempClue))]
}
"Let's go before someone catches us, Steve," I said.
"Right, but first, you should write down what we've learned about this pod."
"Oh yeah." I made a note, and wrote down the pod number, even though Steve could remember it.
It seemed like the customer entrance was a better option than the crowded main lobby, so I led us briskly in that direction, following the signage to a little alcove near an exit door. A thin piece of glass separated me from a jovial old man who smiled and tipped his hat as I approached.
I started to breeze past, afraid he might question me, but then I stopped. I was already out, and I doubted that this old guy would send some goons to chase me down the street. Maybe he could help me.
[[I decided to see if he could fix Dad's membership card.|See if he can fix Dad's membership card.]]I turned back to him, returned his smile with a grin of my own, and offered my Dad’s membership card through a slot under the glass.
“Hey, just a quick thing. The customer entrance wasn’t working for me this morning. Can you give me a new card, or…?”
The man stirred, not exactly offended but definitely surprised to be asked a question. He took my card with trembling hands, scanned it on his terminal, made a face and shrugged. “Oh. Yes. Needs to… ah… be reactivated. Let me…” He leaned forward, squinted, then clicked a few buttons on his computer. “There… that should…”
He handed back that card and I screamed internally at the one bit of good luck I’d had since coming to this city.{(set: $stdDoorOpen to 1)}
[[Finally, I was out, and nobody suspected a thing.|Go somewhere else.]]I could feel my heart pounding in each step I took. None of the people in the pods were visible, but as I got closer and closer - 384730, 384740… I couldn’t help but imagine all those frozen dead bodies around me. 384760. I could have seen it by then, but I kept my eyes glued to the placards that marked each pod. 384791. 384792. 384793. Here it was, against the very last wall. And the light on the pod was, of course...
Yellow.
[["What the hell?"|What the hell?]]All my excitement and anxiety drained out of me, replaced with disappointment and confusion. Maybe there was a body in here. Maybe it was empty. Maybe Dad had frozen an octopus as a joke when he was a teenager and the sensors didn’t know what to make of it.
Or maybe it was something I couldn’t even imagine.
[[I took a closer look at the pod.]]The terminal flashed a message: EMPLOYEE AUTHORIZATION REQUIRED.
Oh well. I could have flagged someone down, maybe, but there was no way they were going to help me without checking my credentials. And if they scanned my dad’s membership card, I would hit the same problem I did with the receptionist.
[[*Forget it, then.*|I took a closer look at the pod.]]Out in front of the facility was a fountain surrounded by walls of {(set: $itemFound to (find: _item where _item's name is "Bike Helmet",...$inventory) )
(if: $itemFound's length is 0)[
[[shrubs]]
]
(else:)[
shrubs
]
}. It looked quite nice.
[[*Okay.*|"Main entrance it is," I said to myself.]] {
(set: $tempItem to (dm: "name","Bike Helmet",
"details","Just and old bike helmet I found.",
"hook", "none"))
<!--- This makes sure we don't double-add items -->
(set: $itemFound to (find: _item where _item's name is "Bike Helmet",...$inventory) )
(if: $itemFound's length is 0)[(set: $inventory to $inventory + (a: $tempItem))]
}
I looked in the shrubs and saw... what was it? A bicycle helmet? It looked old and forgotten.
[[On a whim, I stuffed it in my bag and kept walking.|"Main entrance it is," I said to myself.]]I approached one of the receptionists, a lithe person with a strange swirl of hair supported by some kind of plastic contraption. How long did it take to put that together every morning?
"Welcome to Seize the Day Cryo Facility," they said, barely smiling. "How may I help you?"
"Yeah, so I guess my Dad had a membership here and I'm trying to figure out why?"
"I'm sorry, I can't discuss client information unless you're on the account. Can I do anything else for you?"
{
[["No, I guess not."|"Main entrance it is," I said to myself.]]<br>
[["I'm looking for my sister. Have you seen her?"]]
}{
(set: $pod to "yes")
}
I could see a door labeled ["customer exit"]<exit| nearby. At least I could get out of here fast... as long as nobody stopped me.
The pod looked like a lunar lander or something. It had a bunch of [tubes]<hook1| coming out the back, and a [window]<hook2| on the front, but it was shuttered with metal right now. The [terminal]<hook3| on the front presented me with a variety of options:
{
(if: $selected's name is "none")[
[[Open Viewing Shutter]] <br>
[[Perform Self-Check]]<br>
[[Open Pod]]<br><br>
(if: $stdDoorOpen is 1)[
(set: $bag to "yes")
[[I wasn't finding what I needed here. I decided to go somewhere else.|Go somewhere else.]]
]
(else:)[
(set: $bag to "no")
[[I felt like I was stretching my luck too thin already. It was time to get out of here.|It's time to get out of here.]]
]
]
(if: $selected's name is "Matches from the Flaming Aces")[
(click-goto: ?hook3, "Default Failtext")
(click-goto: ?hook1, "Matches/Tubes")
(click-goto: ?hook2, "Default Failtext")
(click-goto: ?exit, "Default Failtext")
]
(else-if: $selected's name is not "none")[
(click-goto: ?hook1, "Default Failtext")
(click-goto: ?hook2, "Default Failtext")
(click-goto: ?hook3, "Default Failtext")
(click-goto: ?exit, "Default Failtext")
]
}The screen cleared, then:
INITIALIZING SELF-CHECK........
I waited for the machine to give me some hint what was inside this pod.
SELF-CHECK FAIL. MANUAL MAINTENENCE REQUIRED.
Of course. It could never be so simple.
[[*Oh well.*|I took a closer look at the pod.]]The terminal flashed a message: EMPLOYEE AUTHORIZATION REQUIRED.
I was pretty sure I wasn't going to convince an employee to crack this thing open when I didn't even know what was inside.
[[I'd have to think of something else.|I took a closer look at the pod.]]{
<!-- You need to clear selected and make sure there's no header (nohead tag) for all success passages. If it immediately leads back to $lastPassage, you need to tag this passage "menu" -->
(set: $selected to (dm:
"name","none",
"details","none",
"hook","none"
))
(set: $clueFound to (find: _clue where _clue's name is "-A Light of the Future employee works at the Cryo Facility undercover",...$notebook))
(if: $clueFound's length is 0)[
I showed the receptionist the photo of my sister, but they just shrugged.
<br><br>
"Sorry, I've never seen her. What happened to her?"
<br><br>
"I think she was kidnapped."
<br><br>
"Oh, that's awful. Did..." The receptionist leaned in close. "Did The Light have something to do with it?"
<br><br>
[["Honestly, that's what I'm trying to find out."]]
]
(else:)[
"Look, I already told you all I know, okay? Now be cool," the receptionist said.
<br><br>
[["Okay."|"Main entrance it is," I said to myself.]]
]
}"Well." The receptionist licked their lips, seeming almost *too* interested in my kidnapped sister. "I wouldn't be surprised if they had something to do with it. They've taken over the whole city - you can't go anywhere without bumping into them. Even here."
"Here?"
"Oh, sure. They have spies everywhere, I'm totally sure of it. We had a big lockdown a few weeks ago when some of our trade secrets leaked. It was all over the news. Never figured out who it was, though, so their mole is definitely still here."
[["A Light of the Future mole? Seriously?"]]"Seriously." The receptionist shrugged, as if it was no big deal.
"Do you have proof?"
"If I had proof, I'd bring it to someone who mattered. No, I don't have proof. All I know is that they're here, somewhere. Listening. They monitor our calls."
I was starting to get creeped out. "Why are you telling me all this?"
"I guess I'm a sucker for sob stories. But also, if someone can expose what The Light is doing, take them down, I'm all for it."
Expose The Light - and remove Seize the Day's biggest competitor, of course.
"Well... thanks," I said.
They nodded, yawned, and shooed me away with a "Thank you for coming," that was just the right mix of sarcastic and contemptuous.
[[I started to walk away.]]{
(set: $tempClue to (dm: "name","-A Light of the Future employee works at the Cryo Facility undercover",
"hook", "?C7"
))
(set: $clueFound to (find: _clue where _clue's name is "-A Light of the Future employee works at the Cryo Facility undercover",...$notebook))
(if: $clueFound's length is 0)[(set: $notebook to $notebook + (a: $tempClue))]
}
But then Steve was by my side.
"Don't you think you should write that down?" he said.
"Hmm?"
"That receptionist claimed there's a Light of the Future mole listening to the phones here."
"I don't know. Seemed kind of iffy, don't you think?"
"We should never throw away information, no matter how suspect. Here's what I propose: we organize your notebook into a sorted probability matrix, with each cell in descending order-"
I threw my hands up. "All right, all right, stop. I'll write down the clue."
[[I wrote it down.|"Main entrance it is," I said to myself.]]{
<!-- You need to clear selected and make sure there's no header (nohead tag) for all success passages. If it immediately leads back to $lastPassage, you need to tag this passage "menu" -->
(set: $selected to (dm:
"name","none",
"details","none",
"hook","none"
))
}
I lit a match and leaned down to cast some light on the back of the pod where the tubes were coming out.
The next thing I knew, flames were blossoming in my vision as an explosion slammed me in the face. After that, there was nothing.
[[Guess I shouldn't have done that.|You Dead.]]The entrance was little more than a nondescript metal door, held shut by some serious deadbolts. At least I knew there was no way I was breaking in. Beside the door I spotted an [electronic pad]<hook1| glowing blue.
{
(if: $stdDoorOpen is 1)[
(if: $selected's name is "none")[
[[*Forget it, I'll go to the main entrance.*|"Main entrance it is," I said to myself.]]
]
(else-if: $selected's name is "Dad's Cryo Facility ID")[
(click-goto: ?hook1, "ID/Panel")
]
(else:)[
(click-goto: ?hook1, "Default Failtext")
]
]
(else-if: $idTried is "yup")[
[["Main entrance it is," I said to myself.]]
]
(else-if: $selected's name is not "none")[
(if: $selected's name is "Dad's Cryo Facility ID")[
(click-goto: ?hook1, "ID/Firstry")
]
(else:)[
(click-goto: ?hook1, "Default Failtext")
]
]}{
<!-- You need to clear selected and make sure there's no header (nohead tag) for all success passages. If it immediately leads back to $lastPassage, you need to tag this passage "menu" -->
(set: $selected to (dm:
"name","none",
"details","none",
"hook","none"
))
}
This time, Dad's ID worked. The panel gave a rewarding "Ding!" and I was through the door. No tours for me this time.
[[I headed straight over to Dad's pod.|I took a closer look at the pod.]]{
<!-- You need to clear selected and make sure there's no header (nohead tag) for all success passages. If it immediately leads back to $lastPassage, you need to tag this passage "menu" -->
(set: $selected to (dm:
"name","none",
"details","none",
"hook","none"
))
(set: $idTried to "yup")
}
I knew exactly what to do here. I confidently held Dad's ID up to the pad.
It gave a buzz and the screen said, "ERROR."
[[*Well, that didn't work.*|I decided to head to the customer entrance.]]
[[Seize the Day Prototype|Go to Seize the Day Cryo Facility.]]
[[Click here for Manor Investigation Prototype|I decided to take a look around the bedroom.]]
[[Click here for the full Bar Prototype|Check out The Flaming Aces bar.]]
[[Click here for the LotF Offices Prototype|Go to the Light of the Future offices where Dad worked.]]
[[Click here for first inventory puzzle|"Uh, I'm Irene. Turnsole?"]]
[[Click here, then go to the BNB for deduction prototype|"Yes?"]]
[[Click here for Interview Puzzle Prototype|"How?" I asked hopelessly.]]
[[CLick here for death prototype|You Dead.]]
[[Credits]]
[[Android Reveal]]{(set: $ending to "yes")}
(css: "font-size: 150%;")[
(align: "=><=")[Created By]]
(css: "font-size: 100%;")[
(align: "=><=")[Nic Barkdull and Matt Borgard]]
(css: "font-size: 150%;")[
(align: "=><=")[Testers:]]
(css: "font-size: 100%;")[
(align: "=><=")[Fiza Vasudeva, Trever Berryman, Austin Roberts, Jade S., Mel Hawthorne]]
{
(css: "font-size: 100%;")[
(align: "=><=")[Hire me to write your next game!]]
(css: "font-size: 100%;")[
(align: "=><=")[nicbarkdull at gmail dot com]]
}
[[Menu|Title Screen]]
[[Reset Memory]] I went up to the customer entrance and scanned my card. Inside was deserted and dark. I wondered why there wasn't even a sole security guard. Were Seize the Day employees that scared of the Light's ritual tonight? Did they even know about it? They must have.
I headed over to Dad's pod to wait. I had come early, to beat the cultists, so I was going to need a lot of patience.
But when I saw that pod with its steadily glowing yellow light, it all hit me. The reason I was missing two years of my memory, the reason I always set off metal detectors (nope, it *wasn't* my implant) - the reason I suddenly had an "implant" since the age of ten.
Ten. That's how old the girl inside the pod was. She was me at ten but... I wasn't her, was I? I didn't know if I could handle this-
[[Somewhere in the distance, a door opened.]]Had I been standing here freaking out for that long already? I could hear footsteps now, and they were heading right for me. Even though I knew who it was, I got more nervous with every step.
Then she appeared. Rebecca. She smiled, and ran forward to hug me. Did she know? That I wasn't really her sister?
"You did it. I knew you would. Dad had his doubts, but I told him," Rebecca said.
"You knew I'd come here? Hell of a gamble!"
"There was no other way. I had to convince the Light that I was the Eldest and distract them so that you could find out the truth for yourself."
She didn't say what that truth was. But she knew. And she had been so happy to see me anyway. I was so confused.
[["So... what are we supposed to do now?"]]"You haven't already figured it out?" Rebecca asked.
"No?"
"If you were smart enough to get here, I think you were smart enough to plan an escape with whatever Investigation Assistant they sent, right?"
"Yeah."
"So, you can do that, and hopefully the police will come in time, or you can... well, *deal* with..."
"Deal with what?"
"This wall behind your pod here leads to the outside, and these tubes are filled with liquid oxygen and other flammable gasses. I'm just saying if there was a way to safely light it..."
[["You mean I should kill my frozen self!? Why?"]]"No, no, *I'm* not saying anything. This is your choice. That's why Dad and I led you here, and you got here before the Light. It's up to you."
"I see..." I could keep little Irene alive, and frozen, and the police would come and put a stop to this. Or, I could put her out of her misery. Make sure the Light never had a chance to get her, and let the rest of this place burn.
And yeah. That'd definitely make sure I was the only me. The real me.
I thought about it for a long time, even though I could see from Rebecca's face that time was running out.
[[Then, I made my decision.]]{
(set: $selected to (dm:
"name","none",
"details","none",
"hook","none"
))
}
"We should go up to that catwalk," I said, "It should be far enough away from the blast."
As we walked up I told myself what I was doing was right. *I* was Irene, not her. She had died years ago. If she woke up to this future, where an android had taken her entire life? I don't think ten year old me could handle it. And I *definitely* didn't want the Light touching her. I would just have to deal with living as an android.
I pulled the matches from The Flaming Aces out of my bag and made sure the whole book was flaming before I flicked it down to my pod. Perfect aim. The thing blew.
And so did the whole row of pods. It was a miracle we didn't get hurt.
But we climbed through the smoking hole and found Steve. We called the police, but not before we sat there watching that place burn while we held each other and cried and laughed and cried some more.
It felt good. It felt human enough for me, anyway.
[[The End.|Credits]]{
(set: $selected to (dm:
"name","none",
"details","none",
"hook","none"
))
}
I wasn't going to murder my ten-year-old self. Even though I had my own life now, it wasn't my choice to end hers. We were the same for the first ten years, but all the rest would be different. I hoped someday that little girl would wake up. But I also hoped I wouldn't be around for it.
I went over to the customer door and I could see the shadows of cultists out there. That was fine, they weren't coming in. I crouched down so they couldn't see me and took the laser pointer out of my bag. Then I aimed it at the tree on the hill and prayed Steve would see it.
It was getting pretty hot by the time the real police showed up, but for once they *did* actually show.
Rebecca agreed to testify that she'd been kidnapped, so Steve was congratulated for a job well done. That was going to be one weird trial. And speaking of jobs, I got to keep mine (I was a bot now, after all, it was only right for me to take a human's job). And I got to keep my sister. And, yes, I even gained a friend in Steve.
Still, I could never really shake that one disturbing thought after that day. That somewhere in Seize the Day, there was a ten year old version of myself waiting for her chance to wake up again.
[[The End.|Credits]]"What do you mean?" Steve asked.
"I'm a synthetic. We've deduced that. But every time I... die... my memory resets and I wake up in the office."
"Oh, just bad dreams, probably. I wouldn't worry about it," said Steve.
"No. Why would someone make this feature? What's happening? Am I... being tested or something?"
"No. Nothing like that. Let's get back to work."
[["What are you trying to hide, Steve?"]]"Nothing! Everything is normal!"
"By trial and error, I've solved this case. But *who* is putting me through those trials? And *why*?"
"Okay, I think you're malfunctioning. I will call the authorities to reset you."
"Is this some kind of- it's like a Turing test, isn't it!? To see how I would respond to human emotions, right?"
"I don't think-"
[["It's Light of the Future, right? Trying to bring about the Singularity through this sick simulation?"]]{
(set: $tempDedu to (dm:
"name","-I am being forced to live out repeated trials in a simulated mystery.",
"hook", "?D5"
))
(set: $deduFound to (find: _dedu where _dedu's hook is "?D5",...$deductions) )
(if: $deduFound's length is 0)[(set: $deductions to $deductions + (a: $tempDedu))]
}
"Your logic is s-s-s-s-s-s-" Then, Steve's head actually exploded.
Final deduction: I was being forced to live out repeated trials in a simulated mystery.
Final decision:
[[I would live my life like everything was normal.|You Dead.]]
[[I would start over, and do as well as I could this time.|Title Screen]]
[[I would make my own path.]]
[[I would turn off the simulation.]]Tap this passage, then the pencil icon to edit it.Yes, that's what I would do. I would reach up to the top corner and press the close button. And this nightmare would go away once and for all.{
(set: $selected to (dm:
"name","none",
"details","none",
"hook","none"
))
(set: $deduction to "inactive")
(set: $notebookActive to "yes")
(set: $tempDedu to (dm:
"name","-Dad's secret office is behind the world map in his normal office.",
"hook", "?D4"
))
(set: $deduFound to (find: _dedu where _dedu's hook is "?D4",...$deductions) )
(if: $deduFound's length is 0)[(set: $deductions to $deductions + (a: $tempDedu))]
}
"It seems you've written down a lot of clues about your father's secret office," said Steve, "Are you ready to make any deductions about it?"
"Well, I think it's fairly obvious that the secret office is behind the map. Opening it is another story."
I wrote it down: "Dad's secret office is behind the world map in his normal office."
[["Good. Now, let's get back to work."|Go back to the SpaceSwap and think.]]"Hmm. Do you think the lawyer has anything to do with this Saturday night thing the Light is doing?" I asked Steve.
"It is possible since he works for the same corporation. Or, it's possible he simply knows about it."
"Yeah, I think he at least knows because he stressed how important it was for me to find Rebecca before Saturday night."
"Perhaps your father knew something and told the lawyer to find her. We can't say for certain."
[["Okay. Well, I guess we'll just have to wait and find out."|$lastPassage]]{
(if: $altText2 is not "none")[
(print: $altText2)
]
(else:)[
I couldn't find a way to use that here.
]
<br><br>
(link-goto: "*Okay.*", $lastPassage)[
(set: $altText2 to "none")
]
}"Yes," Steve said with determination, "I think we are ready to solve this case."
"Okay, then all that's left to do is wait until the ritual and head down to Seize the Day."
[[When the time was right, we went down to the cryo facility.|Game Ending]]{
<!-- You need to clear selected and make sure there's no header (nohead tag) for all success passages. If it immediately leads back to $lastPassage, you need to tag this passage "menu" -->
(set: $selected to (dm:
"name","none",
"details","none",
"hook","none"
))
}
If this thing wasn't gonna cooperate, I would just bash my way in! I took the bike helmet from my bag and started slamming it on the number pad over and over again.
"Accept *this* code!" I yelled.
Then arms were grabbing me, and I was being dragged down the hall. It was a couple of Light security guards, and I didn't like the way one of them said, "the sister."
Well, it wasn't long before I was in some kind of interrogation room. One of the guys pulled out what looked like an evil pair of pliers, and that's when the pain started.
When it finally ended, I didn't even care anymore.
[[Guess I should be more careful when trying to break into the headquarters of religious fanatics...|You Dead.]]{
<!-- You need to clear selected and make sure there's no header (nohead tag) for all success passages. If it immediately leads back to $lastPassage, you need to tag this passage "menu" -->
(set: $selected to (dm:
"name","none",
"details","none",
"hook","none"
))
}
"You have a coin?" the drunk asked me when I got near his table.
"Huh? Not for you."
"Come on. Gimme a coin and you'll see some magic. See that corner back there? That's the magic corner. Every time you give a coin, the corner gives one back."
I didn't know what to make of this guy. He seemed pretty wasted.
{
(link: "I decided to give him a coin.")[
(set: $itemLost to (dm: "name","Coin",
"details","It's a real Washington quarter from 1987.",
"hook", "none"))
(set: $inventory to $inventory - (a: $itemLost))
(goto: "I decided to go in for a look.")]<br>
[[I decided to keep my coin.|I decided to go in for a look.]]
}{
<!-- You need to clear selected and make sure there's no header (nohead tag) for all success passages. If it immediately leads back to $lastPassage, you need to tag this passage "menu" -->
(set: $selected to (dm:
"name","none",
"details","none",
"hook","none"
))
}
I idly struck a match and started burning the vinyl on the stool. It lit pretty easy.
"Hey! What are you doing!?" the bartender screamed at me.
Suddenly the drunk in the shadows didn't seem so drunk. He was on his feet in a second, and he and the bartender dragged me out back.
One thing I could say about this city is people didn't like you messing with their stuff. First a punch to the face, then a kick to the ribs...
[[Then lights out.|You Dead.]]{
<!-- You need to clear selected and make sure there's no header (nohead tag) for all success passages. If it immediately leads back to $lastPassage, you need to tag this passage "menu" -->
(set: $selected to (dm:
"name","none",
"details","none",
"hook","none"
))
}
The drunk gazed at the card I showed him. Then, suddenly, he seemed to snap out of his daze.
"Turnsole?" he said in disgust, "You- you're with the Light!"
Suddenly, his whole table was flying towards me as he flung it like a frisbee. Steve tried to protest but he was bowled over by the guy.
"For NRARF!" the guy said right before his body slammed me against the wall. I saw white flash through my head, then blackness.
[[Guess I should have been more careful about who I was talking to.|You Dead.]]I approached the pod. I could see a door labeled ["customer exit"]<exit| nearby. LotF cultists would be just outside there, so I needed to be careful.
The pod looked like a lunar lander or something. It had a bunch of [tubes]<hook1| coming out the back, and a [window]<hook2| on the front, but it was shuttered with metal right now. The [terminal]<hook3| on the front presented me with a variety of options, but they didn't do me any good right now.
{
(if: $selected's name is "Matches from the Flaming Aces")[
(click-goto: ?hook3, "Default Failtext")
(click-goto: ?hook1, "I decided to kill my frozen self.")
(click-goto: ?hook2, "Default Failtext")
(click-goto: ?exit, "Default Failtext")
]
(else-if: $selected's name is "LotF Laser Pointer")[
(click-goto: ?hook3, "Default Failtext")
(click-goto: ?hook1, "Default Failtext")
(click-goto: ?hook2, "Default Failtext")
(click-goto: ?exit, "I decided to call the cops.")
]
(else-if: $selected's name is not "none")[
(click-goto: ?hook1, "Default Failtext")
(click-goto: ?hook2, "Default Failtext")
(click-goto: ?hook3, "Default Failtext")
(click-goto: ?exit, "Default Failtext")
]
}