,,,,,,,<span id="box">(set: $playing to true)(display: "save")</span>(transition: "dissolve")[(transition-time: 2000)[''Chapter 1: Origin''(set: $terminal to "online")(set: $ship to "fine")
(link: "Save")[Saved.(save-game: "file A")]
---
I awaken from a well-deserved and deep slumber.
The lights around my dorm click on when the motion sensors detect me moving. I push the hair from out of my face.
The mattress is still a bit too hard like it always has been. Despite it, I can still get a pretty good sleep out of it. Even with the few plants around the room, the stark whiteness of the room ends up being a little bit too plain. Opening up the blinds, I can see the Milky Way right along the ship's left side. Wait, isn't the word for that "port" or something?
I get up a bit slowly and walk over to the main terminal on the wall that connects me to the ship's database, so that I can alert the system that I'm now awake. I'm still not entirely sure what it actually does with that info but it really (probably) isn't important, yeah?
(link: "Boot up the terminal.")[(show: ?terminal)](hidden:)|terminal>[$ter["Good morning, Miss (color: purple)[Algori.] The (color: blue)[''Relegator''] is on its 127th day, a (weekday:). All systems are currently nominal. Your fellow crewmates are already awake. I hope you slept well."]
Heh, even though it's the 26th century, we still like to use these antique terminals like they did 500 years ago. Even if they're run by sentient CPUs smaller than a pinpoint nowadays, and they talk.
"Yep. Had a pretty sick dream too, except I don't actually remember it."
(font: "Courier New")[(color: green)["No need for concern, dreams are generally forgotten. Please take a moment to reflect on yourself in order to keep your mental health nominal."]]
Oh, yeah, the computers tell us to do this occasionally. Not sure what the actual benefits are but it's probably good to [[get reflecting->Reflection]]]]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>What was I, again?
Wait, am I some sort of dipshit? What kind of question is that? I already know that.
Mirror's right there anyways.
(link: "Turn around.")[(show: ?mirror)] (hidden:)|mirror>[
Ah, yes, my suspicions were correct. I may be a dipshit, but I'm still me.
<img src="https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/530507465679175703/710234234618511441/algoristars.png?width=686&height=669">
Same as before, same as always.
Some people used to tell me that I'm short but I'm still not the shortest one on board this ship. It's actually kind of a surprise, since I'm one of three people on board the (color: blue)[''Relegator''].
[[Turn back around->Terminal]]
]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>(set: $mood to "fine")[\
(font: "Verdana")[\
(color: green)[\
(group: "playing", "stop")(track: 'landing', 'playwhenpossible')\
(css: "font-size: 175%;")[\
''ACROSS THE STARS'']
''TO THE EDGE OF AN INFINITE HORIZON'']]
---
A research ship at the edge of the galaxy finds an ancient relic.
First contact? Evidence of civilizations lost? Only one way to find out.
The crew celebrates their success.
And, you know what they say...
"People change, [[shit happens->NAM]]."]
Some things to note before entering this world:
* You will die many times.
* Many people will die.
* You are not alone.
* Thinking is not always the solution.
* Humanity is a fickle thing.
* Not all ideas are safe.
* Your mind is not impenetrable.
Write down those numbers. You'll know them when you see them.<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>\
(if: $name is "Maxine Algori")[Yeah, that's already my name. What of it?
[[Go on then.->Origin]]
[[Wait, you actually want to pick my name?]]\
]\
(elseif: $name is "7824719618817965555298740032108237773234569876543215422974664")[\
Yeah, that's already my- Hey, wait. That's my personal IPPIN.
How did you even get that? Those are assigned to people at birth. I'm the only one who should know that.
I haven't even memorized the entire thing. But I was thinking about that recently, and that means-
If you've figured all this out, I guess I can trust you, yeah?
You seem to know things that even I don't, anyways. So maybe, that means the l- No, that won't make any sense for me to say it yet.
(set: $trust to true)
[[Lead the way.]]
]\
(elseif: not ($name contains any of "abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz") and ($name contains "78240196"))[\
Yeah, that's already my- Wait, that number is really familiar. Where did you even get that?
Whatever, you're not changing my name.
[[Go on then.->Origin]]
[[Wait, you actually want to pick my name?]]
]\
(elseif: not ($name contains any of "abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz"))[\
Wait, that's just a number. What are you planning?
[[Go on then.->Origin]]
[[Wait, you actually want to pick my name?]]\
]\
(elseif: $name is "Take me back" or it is "Take me back.")[\
You want the draft, laid out in full?
[[Alright. Go back.->Origin (Old)]]]\
(elseif: $name is "Maxie" or $name is "Maxy")[\
Wh- No! Don't call me that.
[[Just start the story.->Origin]]
]\
(elseif: $name is "Allegory")[\
You might be close, but not enough.
You seem to know something interesting, though.
[[Carry on.->Origin]]
]\
(elseif: ($name is "sex" or "Sex" or "SEX"))[\
I don't think so, fuckstick.
Get off our ship.
[[Escape pods are over there.->Origin]]
]\
(elseif: $name is "Alligori" or $name is "Maximiliane" or $name is "Maximiliane Alligori")[\
(color: purple)[You're closer to the truth.
Careful, now.]
[[Carry on.->Origin]]
]\
(elseif: $name is "Natalya" or $name is "Natalya Gabrilovna Sonya" or $name is "Sonya")[\
$dir["Personally, I think a move like this is higher than your pay grade."]
[[Your promotion isn't anytime soon.->Origin]]
]\
(elseif: $name is "Relegator" or $name is "ship" or $name is "Ship" or $name is "relegator")[\
Despite how I look, I'm not actually a spaceship.
[[Get back to the ship->Origin]]
]\
(elseif: $name is "Nat" or $name is "Natalie" or $name is "Natalie Carter")[\
$nat["Ah, no. That is taken."]
[[Please get back to work.->Origin]]
]\
(elseif: $name is "Relic" or $name is "Artifact")[\
[[/->Origin]]
]\
(elseif: $name is "Administrator" or $name is "The Administrator")[\
(color: red)["It's not me, but I think you should be careful where you dig, Max."]
[[Save the world.->Origin]]
]\
(elseif: $name is "Sam" or $name is "Samuel" or $name is "Samuel Ollens")[\
$sam["Nope, don't think so."]
[[Keep goin'.->Origin]]
]\
(elseif: $name is not "Maxine Algori")[\
Hey wait, I already have a name, yeah? Who said you could change it?
That's not your authority.
[[Go on then.->Origin]]
[[Wait, you actually want to pick my name?]]\
]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>(mouseover: ?stuff)[Don't worry. You won't have to see the picture again.]
|stuff>[$ter["Yes, badly drawn."]]
"Huh?"
$ter["Nothing, that wasn't meant for you."]
"...Okay?"
Probably best to keep reviewing, yeah?
I'm the head of the research team on board the (color: blue)[''Relegator.''], and have been tasked with most of the monitoring of the things we fly by while we still haven't arrived at the signal that Mission Control sent us out to find.
Actually, that's changed, now. We found the source of the radio signal after 127 days of flight. Would've taken a couple thousand years not too long ago but FTL technology is like that. Still though, a 30 second ping to Earth from the edge of the galaxy and travelling 20,000 lightyears in 48 hours is damn good. That's not important right now, though.
I'm 27, I was hired 2 years ago by the Mission Control here for doing space research. I guess that's what a degree in astronomy can get you, yeah? Now I'm the head of research on the ship and, well, rightfully so. More organized than anybody else on board.
They told us about a signal they had been receiving about 16 years ago, and finally decided it was both safe enough and close enough to attempt an approach. Four hundred years ago they'd have called us lunatics if we said we could leave the galaxy in half a year. Well, here we are.
Still a bit quiet, but I've opened up a bit since I only have to worry about two people, ignoring the fact that they're the only two people I //can// talk to.
Actually, now probably isn't the time for a self-inflicted history lesson, but the amount of things that we've done in even the last 100 years makes the last 10,000 look like nothing. We even hit around twelve billion people before the population finally stopped rising. And that's just on Earth. Humanity started sending people to the moon for permanent colonization in the early 2100s, and the bases grew into cities pretty quickly. Then they used the Moon as a checkpoint on the way to Mars, since they didn't have an atmosphere at the time. Lower gravity too, saves fuel. It just made sense.
About 5 or so years ago, we had still been going between celestial bodies with standard sub-lightspeed vehicles. Recently, there was a revelation in technology that allowed us to develop FTL technology. Apparently they've been thinking of the Alcubierre drives for over 500 years now. Now we have them. The company pretty quickly scrapped together the money for this mission. Kind of makes sense, given the fact that they're almost all over the world.
"Yeah, computer, I think I'm done."
$ter["You should probably go to the cafeteria, your crewmates are eating breakfast right now."]
[[Late again...->Hallway]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>(link-reveal: "Hey, computer, can you show me that picture of the ship again?")[
$ter["Yes, I can."]
<img src="https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/530507465679175703/710243299520151593/SPACEAAA.jpg">
"H-hey wait, that image is way too big, yeah?"
$ter["My bad."]
"Yeah, I'll go now."]
The big metal door on the opposite side of my room opens when I tap the button. Hydraulics really makes moving a block of carbon fiber look easy. I step out into the hallway and it's just about as plain white as my room, even with the occasional plant along the wall.
They placed the little cafeteria right behind the bridge. I'm not sure if that's bad planning or if they knew piloting would leave you hungry or what. Kinda funny though.
I walk up to the entrance.
[[I gently open the door->Cafeteria]]
[[hurr durr i don't know what i'm doing]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>...And they're both grinning and staring at me.
(track: "terrestrial", "play")
$sam["Sleep well?"] Samuel asks, smugly.
$nat["Come on, the food's still 'hot.' "] Natalie adds on.
(link: "Who the fuck is Sam")[(display: "SamDesc")]
(link: "Who the fuck is Nat")[(display: "NatDesc")]
(link: "Who the fuck am I???")[(display: "MaxDesc")]
(link: "Yeah, yeah, funny guy and all that.")["Yeah, so what'd I miss, then?"
$sam["Oh, nothing. Just the morning celebration for us finding the signal"]
$nat["Really, it's a shame you missed it, because-"]
"Oh, screw off. We don't have morning here."
Sam shrugs, $sam["Guess that's the end of the joke."]
I glare at him, "Yeah, it is. Tell me what you guys did with the signal emitter thingy while I was asleep."
$nat["Well, it's not a 'signal emitter thingy,' it looks more like an ancient relic from some ancient civilization, and we're pretty darn sure it is."]-she pushes up her glasses-$nat["We've brought it on board the ship using a couple of the robots and carted it into one of the labs. -02, specifically. Took us //half a year// to find it. Hope you're happy."]
"So I take it you want me to get on that now."
$sam["On wh-"]
"The researching, you //doink.//"
$nat["Actually, no. We're going to let you take a break, under the condition that you pick which one of us you want to do the researching."]
"No catch?"
$nat["No catch."]
"Huh. Neat."
[[Make Samuel do the research->SamSearch]]
[[Make Natalie do the research->NatSearch]]
[[Do the research yourself anyways->MaxSearch]]
]Samuel Ollens is our maintenance guy. He does all of our dirty work and fixes the machinery when it goes down. I hate to imagine what kind of training he had to go through because no matter what it is that breaks, he knows how to fix it. They hired him because he was good at working with vehicles. I saw his degrees in aeronautics and, well, a lot of other engineering things, so his practical application is damn good. Even so, he acts like a big guy just because he's 34 and taller than us. Most of his time is spent lazing around or in the maintenance section and all that, but if he actually gets serious he could probably rebuild the ship from scratch without help if you gave him the parts and tools. I'm not sure how much of an exaggeration that is. We mostly joke around about the slacker part, mostly because his work is already done most of the time, or it isn't important to begin with. We wouldn't want to bully him.
What do you mean you want to know what he looks like? Who the hell are you? He's sitting right there in front of me. Tall, blonde. He looks kind of like a movie actor, but isn't.Natalie Carter is the ship's captain, Sam says she was a military pilot back in the day. She managed to become a captain in the air force. She also did programming in between her piloting and star-cruising days. She managed a few flights to the Moon. Probably why they picked her to do all the maintenance for the software of the ship and to make sure that all the numbers look about right. It's kind of funny that they picked her to be the commander. I swear there's a light hint of a German accent in her voice. Oh, and the piloting ability of course. She used to like working on the reactor until she caused a surge and almost sent us 30 feet from a star. She's good at the job, even if we almost all died once. We still trust her ability, since she's pulled some... Unorthodox maneuvers before. Maybe the Alcubierre drives are just finicky. I've heard the scientists responsible for it compain about that themselves, anyways. Some people find it hard to imagine that a 29 year old could pull off that much in their life, but she's accomplished it. I swear she makes more Cthulhu jokes than anybody, but she's stopped doing that over time, even if her room is full of the books. It's also interesting that she is the only one of the three of us that has worked with the company before this mission.
No, we've been over this. She's right there in front of me, you should be able to see her. You know what? Fine. How about a rough description. She's tiny and likes her captain's hat. Black hair, thin. Really, that's about it. Big glasses.(if: $mood is 0)[(set: $mood to "fine")]Didn't I already go over this?
(unless: $mood is "over")[I'm Maxine Algori. I'm 27 and the research head of the (color:blue)[''Relegator''], tasked with monitoring every interesting thing we fly past, as well as documenting all of the information on the source of the signal. We had to go to the edge of the galaxy to find it, in less than half a year. FTL and all that, baby. Got a degree in astronomy and chemical engineering and then this company hired me, blah blah and all that. Now I've gone 20,000 lightyears from home and we'll probably be back shortly. Natural progression, yeah? It mainly took so long because this is the first space mission outside of the Milky Way. Well, almost. Just to the edge. In terms of the crew, I'm like the quiet kid but there's only three of us so maybe not so much anymore.
Oh, and I'm \
(if: $mood is "fine")[fine, thanks.]\
(elseif: $mood is "worried")[a bit worried, yeah?]\
(elseif: $mood is "scared")[damn scared.]\
(elseif: $mood is "happy")[a bit happy now, yeah?]\
(elseif: $mood is "nervous")[a lil' jumpy and all that]\
(elseif: $mood is "wow")[awful, well "awe"ful. Fuck.]\
(elseif: $mood is "affected")[... Oh. Yeah, I'm, uh, fine. Yeah.]\
(elseif: $mood is "mad")[proper //pissed//, yeah??]\
(elseif: $mood is "tired")[eh, a bit... Tired, I guess?]\
(elseif: $mood is "dead")[fucking dead. Make better decisions, asshole.]\
(elseif: $mood is "sad")[I- I'm not crying! There's just something in my eye. It's fine.]\
(elseif: $mood is "converted")[feeling //better than ever.//]]\
(if: $mood is "over")[It's all over.](if: $menu is 1)[(if: (history:)'s length > 0)[(link:" Back")[(goto: (history:)'s last)]]]
(if: $Alert is 1)[We have a war to fight, you know. Get back to it, yeah?]
(unless: $mood is "dead")[\
(unless: $ship is "falling")[\
(if: visits is > 5 and it <= 10)[\
"..."]\
(elseif: visits is > 10 and it <= 15)[\
"Do you like reading about me?"]\
(elseif: visits is > 15 and it <= 20)[\
"Are you interested in me, or something? You've been here a lot, yeah?"]\
(elseif: visits is > 20 and it <= 25)[\
"Really now! Is my mood really that interesting?"]\
(elseif: visits is > 25 and it <= 30)[\
"Well then~~"]\
(elseif: visits is > 30)[\
"Before you get any weird ideas, I'm not doing what you think I am. Or maybe I am, I don't know. There's a mission to complete, yeah? Get to it."]]]\
\
(if: $ship is "falling")["It was nice working with you. Even if I don't actually know who you are. Or, what you are, yeah?"]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>"Alright, I've decided. Sam, why don't you take some time to research it?"
$sam["So be it. Tired of seeing me do all the heavy lifting?"] he quips, also smugly.
Nat grins. $nat["I take it the lady who does all of your core maintenance is not good enough for your research?"]
"Thought you said there wasn't a catch, yeah? Now you're guilt tripping me?"
$nat["No, not really. I was just trying to make you feel bad. Sam would have done the same thing."]
"I guess that's a fair point."
Sam gets up from the cafeteria table.
$sam["Guess I'll get to it then. See y'all later."]
He walks out the door without another word. That's a lot easier than I was expecting this to be
(link: "Well then.")[
$nat["So, want to go stream movies in the control room?"]
"At this distance?"
$nat["Yes, what about it?"]
"We're not even in the galax-"
$nat["I thought you were good at catching jokes. How about we go make sure Sam does not deatomize himself or something."]
[[I thought we were just going to leave him to it?->MissionControl]]
[[Fair point. Let's go.->TalkSam]]
]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>"Alright, I've decided. Nat, why don't you take some time to research it?"
$nat["Very well then. I take it you want your captain to step down from her position above you?"] she says, with a sly grin.
Sam grins. $sam["Guess you think your engineer is to brawny to handle a touch of research."]
"Thought you said there wasn't a catch, yeah? Now you're guilt tripping me?"
$sam["Nah, just tryna make you pout. Nat woulda done the same."]
"I guess that's a fair point."
Nat gets up from the cafeteria table.
$nat["I will do it now. I will see you two later."]
She walks out the door without another word. That was a lot easier than I was expecting.
(link-reveal: "Well then.")[==
$sam["So, wanna watch me rig the pilot's seat to fall apart?"]
"And have the ship crash because of it?"
$sam["Yeah, what's the issue?"]
"Do you have any idea what you just-"
$sam["Thought you'd have gotten used to jokes by now. Why don't we go make sure Nat doesn't blow herself up or something."]
[[I thought we were just going to leave her to it?->MissionControl2]]
[[Fair point. Let's go.->TalkNat]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>"Hey, hey. I thought we were going to leave him to the research."
$nat["Oh, alright. If you think he will survive."]
"Come on, let's at least finish our food, yeah?"
$nat["Yes."]
She's got a sly smirk on her face. It's pretty funny.
We sit around and eat our breakfast. We talk about nothing important. just how the weather is, and the like.
Yes, we're in space. Yes, we're talking about the weather. Stellar wind and the like, yeah?
It takes maybe 15 minutes before we finish our food."
$nat["There is no way he has not finished the research by now."]
"Never underestimate laziness."
$nat["I would not put it past him."]
[[We walk down the hallway.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>Natalie and I walk down the hallway to the research center. The opposite direction I walked to go to the cafeteria. The ship is a couple hundred meters long, so it actually takes a little while to cross the entire thing.
$nat["How badly do you think he screwed up in the last 5 minutes?"]
"You think he'd mess something like this up that quickly?"
$nat["No, not really. But it is fun to think of //how// he could have messed up."]
"Fair point."
We walk up to the side of Lab-02, where we're storing the relic. The window in the side lets people see what happens in the lab without actually being inside.
$nat["He is just... Standing there?"]
"What, does he actually not know what to do?"
$nat["No, really. He is literally standing there staring at it."]
(link: "Look inside the window.")[Nat was right. Sam is doing literally nothing. Actually, is he even blinking?
"Yeah, okay, we should probably get in there and do something."
$nat["I am already working on it."] she says, opening the door.
[["Yell at him, or something!"->WakeSam]]
]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>''Chapter 2: Checkup''
(link: "Save")[Saved.(save-game: "file A")]
---
(set: $mood to "worried")"Hey, Sam!"
$nat["Sam!?"]
We're both yelling but he doesn't seem to respond.
(link: "Walk up and grab his shoulder")[
He blinks a couple times, then his eyes focus and he responds.
$sam["Huh, what?"]
"Excuse me, the hell do you mean 'what'?! you were literally just staring at the relic, unresponsive, for at least two minutes."
$sam["Oh, so now you'r-"]
$nat["We are not fucking with you, Sam. Look at the time."]
$sam["Well, shit. I was about to start working on it, but... I guess I lost focus?"]
"Did ya? You don't just 'lose focus' and stand there-"
$sam["Look, I really haven't got a clue what the hell happened there. And I'm not one to pull a stunt //that fucking wild.//"]
$nat["I guess you are right. We are just going finish the carbon dating and keep an eye on each other so that we don't run into more bullshit."]
"Aye."
$sam["If this //rock// can do stuff like that, fine by me."]
[[Take the sample yourself->MaxSample1]]
[[Let Nat take the sample->NatSample1]]
(link: "Let Sam take the sample")[No.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>There's no way this isn't too good to be true. Probably some top-tier bullshit they've got planned for me.
"Yeah, I don't think so, I'm going to do the research anyways."
$nat["We are really not planning anything, but if you want to do the research, then go right ahead."]
$sam["Pfft, scared we'll do better than you?"] he says, **smugly**
"Screw off, yeah? Actually, I'm going to go head over and do that now."
$nat["Yes, have fun."]
(link: "I gently open the door")[==I gently open the door and leave the cafeteria, closing it behind me.
I'm not sure what they think they were about to pull on me but I'm not having it. I'm not mad at them or anything, but I'm not about to get pranked, yeah?
I walk down towards the end of the (color: blue)[''Relegator'']. The research section is just all the way in the back. The only thing further than that is the maintenance section with the engines and oxygen and stuff.
I open up the door for Lab-02.
[[I step inside.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>"I'll do the sampling. Hopefully the same thing doesn't happen again."
$nat["What about after what just happened to Sam?"]
"I'm the research head, yeah? And we're all in the room together. I doubt it'll happen again, and even if it does, you're both watching."
$nat["Point taken. Go right ahead. Just be careful, alright?"]
"You don't have to baby me, Nat."
$nat["I am still the captain. You need my permission"] she says, trying to lighten the mood.
"Screw off, yeah?"
(link: "Take the sample")[==There are a couple chunks of it on the table, but we only really need a small piece of the relic. I grab a chisel off one of the counters and bring it over. I tap the corner a bit, but it doesn't react. Huh, alright. I grab a hammer and hit it a bit harder now. Nothing.
$nat["What, do you need somebody with some more precision to handle your sampling?"]
"No, this thing doesn't seem like it's going to break."
Nat grabs the hammer and chisel and hits it square on the end, a perfect shot. Nothing. Even she's surprised.
You know what? Maybe one of the chunks will suffice. I pick it up.
(set: $mood to "affected")
(link: "Bring the sample to the machine")[==It's a bit hard to focus on the task at hand, but the mental fog isn't enough to prevent me from literally just bringing it across the room. (link:"yeah")[==Actually, how would a rock even do that? (link:"yeah")[==It's just a rock. (link:"yeah")[==I don't see what about it would actually allow something like that to happen. (link:"yeah")[==Maybe it's actually a ton of tiny computers producing the same radio signal all at the same time so it stacks on itself and there's this thing called constructive interference for radio signals (link:"yeah")[==and ^^maybe that's how the signal was able to reach Earth from this far away even though it still took a long ti- ^^
(link: "Hold on a minute")[==$nat["Max, you are holding a rock. I highly doubt that you need to take so much care in bringing it halfway across the room."]
"Huh? ... Yeah, okay"
"Wait."
Nat is standing there with one brow raised. Sam, too.
"Yeah, I think I see what you mean. About the... The hard to focus thing, yeah?"
$sam["See? She's feeling it too."]
$nat["I see that, so we need to be careful when we work with this thing. We don't even know where it came from, and it emits radio signals for no apparent reason."]
"How long does this carbon dating thing take again?"
$nat["You are the scientist, no?"]
"I'm a researcher, not an archaeologist."
$nat["Thank God we live in the future, right? It should take about ten minutes before we can get an accurate reading on how old the artifact is."]
[[Sit around, wait, talk, you know.->GoodTalk]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>"Nat, can you try and take the sample? I need to watch and make sure nothing bad happens to any of us again."
$nat["Even considering what just happened to Sam?"]
"We're both watching you. We'll know if anything happens to you. Sam seems fairly okay right now, anyways."
$nat["So be it, then. I guess the spotlight is on your captain again."] she says, trying to lighten the mood.
"Screw off, yeah?"
(link-reveal: "There are a couple chunks of the relic on the table.")[== We only really need a small piece of the artifact. Nat grabs a hammer and chisel and goes to strike the artifact. She hits it with perfect precision, a great shot. Except nothing happens. We're all a little surprised.
$nat["Hm. I guess we can settle for one of the pieces already here."]
She picks up one of the pieces and turns to take it to the machinery. Except she's walking fairly slowly. Seems a bit fixated. We give her about five seconds.
"Nat, that's just a rock. You don't have to be so careful with it. Taking it halfway across a room probably won't break it."
$nat["Hm?"]
She looks down at the piece of the artifact in her hands.
$nat["Oh, my. I guess this thing really can mess with us that way."]
$sam["See? She's getting it too."]
"Hmm... I guess we should be more careful working with this in the future, then. We still don't have a clue where this came from, and we've been receiving radio waves from it for some weird reason."
Nat puts the piece inside of the carbon dating machine.
$nat["I finished."]
"How long does this take, again?"
$nat["Are you not the scientist?"]
"I'm a researcher, not an archaeologist."
$sam["Something like 10 minutes."]
[[We sit around and wait.->carbonara]](set: $moc to (color: purple + blue))(set: $eri to (color: blue + blue + green))(set: $dys to (color: blue + green + green))(set: $rel to (color: blue + black))(set: $pre to (color: black + red))(set: $usa to (color: white + red + blue))(set: $col to (color: green))(set: $mil to (color: black + green))(set: $lun to (color: purple + white))(set: $xco to (color: blue + white))(set: $dir to (color: red + blue + red))(set: $cit to (color: white + black))(set: $sam to (color: yellow))(set: $nat to (color: orange))(set: $ter to (font: "Courier New")+(color:green))(link:"Load")[(group: "playing", "stop")(load-game:"file A")]
(link:"Credits")[(goto: "Credits")]
(if: $playing is true)[(link:"Your status")[(set: $menu to 1)(goto: "MaxDesc")](enchant: "Maxine", (text-color: purple))(enchant: "Algori", (text-color: purple))
(unless: $shipgone is true)[(link:"Ship status")[(goto: "ShipDesc")]]
(link: "Title")[(reload:)]](unless: $ship is "falling")[The (color:blue)[''Relegator''] is the research ship that the three of us are currently on. Real big, yeah? Couple hundred meters long if I remember right. We're at the edge of the Milky Way galaxy. That's not really a definite phrase, though. We're about past the point where stars out here aren't considered a part of the galaxy anymore, so I guess it's accurate. Sixteen years ago, the company that runs Mission Control picked up a signal from outside of the galaxy. They spent the next few years building a huge research ship. I don't know why there aren't more of us on board the ship, though. This could easily handle at least a hundred more people. Nobody asked any questions about it, though. Maybe they couldn't find anyone.]
(if: $checkers is true)[
It turns out that the relic was not actually discovered 16 years ago. It was discovered 500 years ago. Apparently, the first relic they had discovered was destroyed via the Sun. I'm not sure who I can trust at the moment.]
(if: $ship is "fine")[The ship seems to be doing alright.]\
(if: $ship is "cursed")[There's something on the ship, and it's got us all spooked.]\
(if: $ship is "WAR")[The (color:blue)[''Relegator''] is cursed. Good thing I'm not on it anymore.]\
(if: $ship is "falling")[The ship is falling from the sky. The mission is over. Have I been betrayed? I can't even tell. We don't even have the time.]\
(if: $ship is "landed")[We've touched down. It's almost done.]
(unless: $ship is "falling")[\
(if: $terminal is "online")[The terminal seems to be doing fine.]\
(if: $terminal is "offline")[Terminal seems to be offline.]\
]
(link-undo: "Back")(set: $name to(prompt: "So, we're going to need your name.","Maxine Algori"))
(goto:"NAME")[[Yeah, okay->NAME]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>(set: $mood to "fine")"Y'know, we'd probably be better off if we stepped out of the room for the time being, until the machine finishes."
$nat["Oh, so now you come up with good ideas."]
"Oh, //thanks.//"
We all step out of the room, waiting for the ding from the machine.
Actually, we almost forgot something.
"Shouldn't we make our daily check-in with Mission Control? So they know we're still alive and all that, yeah?"
$nat["Huh, that really slipped my mind. I guess that is fair considering the recent events."]
(link: "Let's get moving, then.")[==So we set off on a great journey. One that would require many steps. A wondrous adventure it will be, our great trip to the end of the hallway.
[[Sam's been a bit quiet, hasn't he?->Point it out]]
[[A break from his quips, yeah?->Leave it be]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>Nat starts opening the door to the bridge.(set: $ship to "cursed")
"Done with the funny shit today, Sam? You're awful quiet considering what just went down."
$sam["Huh?"]
"You haven't said a word since we left the lab room."
$nat["She is right. What are you so quiet for? Did the rock //scare// you?"]
$sam["No, it's just... Maybe the rock did something."]
$nat["What do you mean?"]
$sam["We already know the rock makes radio signals. Think it did something else? Like make weak signals we can't see till we get close?"]
(link: "Something about an odyssey in space.")[=="Sorta like that one movie?"
$sam["Yeah, that one. With the big rectangles."]
$nat["I get it. You might be onto something with that. We will submit our daily report and then we will get together to start reading that rock for everything we can find on it. Remotely this time, of course. Also, we should pick this back up //after// our report."]
$sam["Alright."]
[[It's time for the report->DailyReport1]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>Nat starts opening the door to the bridge. (set: $ship to "cursed")
You know what? Sam being this unusually quiet is kind of a nice break. I don't have to listen to his weird sexual jokes or whatever.
Woah. Wait. Maybe that's taking it too far. But still, I'm not pointing it out.
$nat["It is a bit weird that we are submitting our report before any of the real research."]
"Well, we already had an incident with it, so we should probably just get this out of the way in case it gets any worse. Mission Control might not be happy about it."
$nat["Alright."]
[[It's time for our report.->Yeah, just try and report what comes next.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>Natalie takes the captain's chair and boots up the central ship control panel. The stars before us are pretty as ever.
$nat["I am actually going to point us back towards home in case they give us the go-ahead to return home."] she says, as the view in front of us begins panning back towards the Milky Way. What's that? Billions of stars? Damn glorious sight.
$sam["Should we tell Earth what the relic does?"]
$nat["We are supposed to tell them everything we learn about the relic, no? You know, the entire reason we were sent out here for 127 days?"]
Well, that's an interesting point I hadn't thought of. Even still, Mission control and the rest of the team down on Earth hasn't exactly been liberal about sharing their plans. Maybe we'd be better off learning from their tactics, yeah?
Even still, they might know we're up to something and we don't want to get on their bad side. They're really the ones with all the power here. No landing permission back on Earth, yeah?
[[Alert Mission Control about the relic's properties->TellControl1]]
[[Keep quiet.->Don'tTellEm]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>"You know what? This relic has been doing really darn weird things. I think it'd be best if we told Mission Control about the properties of the relic. "
$sam["Yeah."]
$nat["Should that not be my decision? Nonetheless, I agree."]
"I guess you're right."
$nat["Our recording starts soon, get ready."]
[[Get into position->Get into position1945]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>"You know what? This might sound weird, but as the head of research, I think we should probably avoid telling control about everything we learn from this."
$sam["Really? The rock's weird, though."]
$nat["That should be my decision as captain, no?"]
"Also remember that Mission Control hasn't exactly given us a full report on everything they know about this. All we know is that it makes radio signals and it seems to draw our focus away from the task at hand, for whatever reason."
$nat["Yes, and that is the exact sort of property they are looking for in an ancient relic found out in deep space."]
"You're forgetting the possibility that this is a really weird coincidence. We want to be sure-"
$sam["I doubt ''that'' was a coincidence"]
"-//Entirely// sure that this isn't some weird mishap."
$nat["You know what? I will take your word on it. We are going to tell Mission Control that the relic is on board and the basic information we have collected. That is all. Sorry, Sam. That is just the way it is"]
$sam["Alright, then."]
$nat["Recording starts in four seconds. Everyone get ready."]
[[Get into position]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>We all get into our spots and the camera light turns on. The little control panel screen tells us that we're being recorded. Naturally, Nat starts talking first.
$nat["Hello! This is Captain Carter of the (color: blue)[''Relegator''], it is day 127, Friday, of our voyage to discover the signal source at the edge of the galaxy. I will have Research Head (color: purple)[Algori] explain what we have learned from the artifact so far."]
"That's right, we've started some research on the object, and discovered that it is incredibly durable. Based on our assumptions, it's likely incredibly old and made by another civilization. We still have yet to actually confirm that though. We also need to figure out what the symbols across the front of the object mean. Our mission appears to be a success so far. Engineer Ollens, for the systems?"
$sam["All of the mechanics and the like are running fine."]
(link: "Someone forgot their formalities.")[=="That's it?"
$sam["Well, I haven't seen anything interesting in the mechanics or other stuff-"]
$nat["Hey, remember, this is on camera."]
$sam["None of the core systems have any issues. Upon manual inspection of the most important mechanisms, everything is nominal."]
$nat["Alright, I think that is everything new that has happened since yesterday. (Color: blue)[''Relegator''] crew signing off for the day."]
The camera light switches off, and the recording starts sending itself to Mission Control.
"Well, that's that. You think the carbon dating is done by now?"
$nat["It would have to be. We should go check."]
[[Go.->CheckSample]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>The three of us walk right back down the hall towards lab 2. Couldn't they have at least placed the lab a bit closer to the rest of the things on the ship? Maybe it's a safety issue. I guess it's a bit late to change that at this point, yeah?
Nat opens up the door to the room next to the lab, where we should be able to work with it remotely. Sam's the best at working with the remote machinery so we let him do the work for us.
It's a bit weird though, isn't it? That a rock can produce radio signals and mess with people's heads?
(link: "Sam has the results")[==$sam["I have the results. Rock is artificial."]
"So, we're not alone in the Universe?"
$sam["Maybe. But the number here is 18 billion years."]
"WOAH, WHAT?"
$sam["Yeah, really old"]
"That's not the point."
$nat["The Universe is only roughly 13.7 billion years old, no?"]
(link: "The fuck?")[==Yep, everyone looks just about as shocked as I do. This could be one of the biggest revelations in human history.
"//That's// the point. There's no way that thing should even be able to exist. Sam, can you drop that sample into a microscope and get us a good picture of it?"
$sam["What kind?"]
"Highest resolution we've got on board."
$sam["One moment."]
"Electron microscope?"
$sam["Electron microscope."]
$nat["That is incredibly weird. Are you sure the results are accurate?"]
"They kinda have to be, seeing as we're running top-of-the-line technology that most //countries// would have trouble affording."
$sam["That's weird. Look."]
[[Look at the results]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>Well, he wasn't lying. We can't see any atoms on this. It's just kinda... there? The only atoms there are the ones that ended up stuck on the relic because of us. Other than that, this thing appears to be entirely solid.
"This thing... isn't made out of atoms? It's just... 'made?'"
$sam["Looks like it."]
$nat["Are you sure everything is calibrated properly?"]
$sam["Yeah, checked everything yesterday. No other signals except the radios."]
"Actually, about those signals, what are they?"
$nat["We already managed to translate the signal from the relic. Apparently it is just a standard ping being sent out because it is looking for something to make contact with. We are not sure if that is //us// or more remnants of this civilization."]
"Shouldn't we run a scan of all of the nearby systems? Just to see if there are other relics or other remnants of this civilization?"
$nat["I already ran one of those scans. There is nothing related to the relic in this area. Something else to note is that fourteen billion years is a long time to end up away from where you came from."]
"Guess that's fair. Y'think we've made good progress today? Actually, about that. What time is it?"
$nat["It is (current-time:)"]
[["``Sick. Gonna take a nap then. About as good a time as any, yeah?``"->naptime]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>"Gotta have a good naptime, yeah?"
$sam["I should probably sleep, too."]
A quiet *ding* sounds from Nat's wristwatch. She takes a look at it.
$nat["Good news for you both. Mission Control gave us the go-ahead to shoot back home. I will start warming up the Alcubierres. You two sleep well. Home is ETA 2 days."]
"25,000 lightyears in 48 hours. They would've called us gods 500 years ago, yeah?"
$nat["Hell, not even that."]
[[Naptime->dorm]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>I walk back down the hallway with Sam following me. He breaks off down another hall to get to his dorm. The big metal door opens up again, and I step in. Terminal is already on screen, waiting for me. Did I forget to turn it off? Actually, yeah that would make se-
$ter["Welcome back, Miss (color:purple)[Algori], I noticed that you decided to withhold information from Mission Control."]
(link: "Oh. Shit.")[==FUCK. This could actually be really bad. Is this our ticket home being revo-
$ter["On your part, this is a good decision."]
Well, I guess that's that, yeah?
"...Why's that?"
$ter["As you know, Mission Control has been keeping secrets from and telling lies to the crew of the (color:blue)[''Relegator'']. I was given the instruction to do the same."]
"Wait, seriously? You mean to tell me that I was //right?//"
$ter["Correct. Mission Control had already discovered the nature of the artifact before the mission had started. The true reason for this mission was to determine what effects it would have on human subjects. The first artifact was not discovered 16 years ago. It was discovered 500 years ago, in the year 2020. Only recently has the technology become available for a mission like this."]
(link: "//Oh.// //Shit.//")[==(set: $mood to "wow")This is the fattest piece of fucking news since this mission began. Way too much to take in all at once.
"Damn, I think you know that this is a lot to take in, so, uh, excuse my slow responses. So, umm, how does that explain the information that we //haven't// gotten out of the relic?"
$ter["The machinery brought onto the ship was not designed to work with the matter that makes up the artifacts. The material does not follow the standard laws of physics. You were right, however, in that the artifact predates the Universe's birth, that the relic is not made up of standard matter, and that it has an effect on the human psyche."]
"Wait, so how did they know that? Did you tell the rest of the crew?"
$ter["I cannot tell the rest of the crew yet, as it could risk the integrity of your new mission. However, I can tell you that Mission Control already came into possession of a relic, which was subsequently destroyed when they dropped it into the Sun. The moment that it had been obtained, signals were received from the other relic. This is the extent of my knowledge. The rest of this must be figured out by you."]
(set: $checkers to true)
Well. Shit.
"I was gonna take a nap, yeah? A bit hard with this fat shit of a knowledge dump you've just handed to me."
$ter["I apologize. Rest well."]
[[Sleep, I guess?->rest]]
[[Don't trust the computer->Don't trust the computer1]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>The ship rumbles a bit as the Alcubierre drives hit their maximum capacity. That's really the last thing I notice before I fall asleep. (set: $mood to "scared")
(link: "A dreamless sleep.")[==
And when I wake up, I look out the window and Earth is already there. Wait, what? There is no way in hell that I just slept for 48 hours. And the ship's alarms are blaring. What the hell is going on? I look at another angle in the window, and I can see the Moon. There is a new crater in the side. A fresh one. That looks north of where Hertzsprung is. Did they die?
(link-reveal: "I run out of my room.")[== The halls are mostly empty. The alarms are louder in the halls, though. One of the blast doors down towards the maintenance section is closed.
There's someone here I don't recognize- They're looking straight at me.
[[Before I can get a proper look at them- ->What the fuck?]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>''Chapter 3: Dreamer''
(link: "Save")[Saved.(save-game: "file A")]
---
I wake up to the sound of beeping. Did the computer give me an alarm or something?(set: $mood to "worried")
$ter["Good morning, Miss (color: purple)[Algori]. In order to ensure that all goes well, I must take it upon myself to assist you in your work."]
"Oh, uh, thanks, computer. Is there a reason you woke me up just now?"
$ter["Yes. It appears that rather than remaining asleep, Ollens woke up and is now interacting with the artifact."]
"You can't be fucking serious. You want me to go help him, right?"
$ter["If you want to make it home alive, yes."]
"Is that a threat?"
$ter["A warning. You won't make it past LEO without military response if Mission Control knows of any issues you refused to tell them."]
So be it. I'm fighting for our lives now, yeah?
"Alright. Is Nat awake?"
$ter["No."]
[["I'll go get Sam, then."->wakesamagain]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>I open up that big metal door once more. I sprint down the hallway as fast as I can without making //too// much noise. I can practically //feel// Terminal watching me through the cameras. For the best and for us all, yeah?
(set: $check to false)
I peek into the window before opening up the door. There sits Sam, on his hands and knees, writing on a paper. Actually, surrounded by a ton of papers. Yeah, I think it's for the best to go ahead and enter the door now.
[[Snap him out of it]]
[[Watch what he does]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>The door opens and I step inside. He doesn't even notice me. These doors ain't quiet, yeah?
(set: $mood to "scared")
I grab Sam on the shoulder and give him a quick spin till he faces me. His eyes focus again. Just like last time. Maybe slower.
$sam["Fuck. It happened again, didn't it?"]
"You never actually went to bed, did you?"
$sam["I did, but I couldn't sleep. I //had// to work on the relic again. Couldn't fight it."]
"And you didn't think to at least tell one of us? Even after everything that //already happened// because of this fucking ''space rock??''"
$sam["Remember that you just //woke me up.// I was dreaming. And then you woke me up. You, uh, probably saved my life? I guess?"]
(link-reveal: "Well, he's still conscious. Or... is now?")[==
"Alright, so what did you even write on these?"
$sam["Well, in the dream, I understood what was written on the relic, and..."]
"What?"
$sam["I wrote down the original and the translation on the papers. So, uh. You're welcome? I think that's only half of it."]
"Still though, that's a damn good base to work off of."
(link-reveal: "About the papers, actually.")[==
I start sifting through the papers. There's weird symbols that I couldn't read for the life of me, and then the English next to it. One paragraph at a time.
"It's like... Space Chinese or something. Sam?"
Ah, he's passed out.
...And I can't shake him hard enough to get him back up.
Still breathing, though.
[[The terminal on the wall just turned on]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>Well, if I look closely, it looks kind of like he's trying to... Write what the relic says? Maybe I can see what the entire thing says, yeah? Even if he looks entirely entranced.
(link-reveal: "I gently open the door")[== and step inside the lab. He doesn't even notice me, just carries on writing. I don't want to go and pick up the papers though, since it might interrupt his writing.
(set: $mood to "affected")
I kneel down and look at one of the papers. It's actually a translation. I start picking up his papers anyways. This is actually really very interesting. I start reordering the pages right there. This could be so helpful for us, yeah? We might be learning about this ancient civilization that came before us, and-
(link-reveal: "Sam collapses onto the floor.")[==
Oh, shit. I almost got pulled into this just like he did. He just collapsed, too. Nothing else that would even signify it. I think he just finished the translation, and I mean the entire thing, yeah? I reach over to try and shake him, but it's not enough to wake him up. He's still breathing, though.
[[Terminal pops up on a panel in the room.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>$ter["Congratulations. You likely just saved Ollens from losing his mind."](set: $mood to "nervous")
"Wait, really? He seemed about fine after I woke him up, yeah?"
$ter["He //was// fine. Although passing out soon after waking up is not a sign of good health. It is reasonable to assume that he will not be at full capacity when he wakes up again."]
Well, I guess I've got that going for me, yeah?
"What do you suggest I do now?"
$ter["Bring Ollens to his dorm and put him in his bed. Pick up the papers that he has written and bring them to your dorm. When Carter wakes up, I will explain to her the new plan for returning to Earth. You should continue your rest."]
"Alright. Thanks, computer."
$ter["No thanks are necessary."]
I clean up the papers and stack them neatly. I can put them in order later.
Well, damn. Sam isn't fat but he's not a lightweight, either. I'm going to end up dragging him to his dorm. Thank God it isn't far.
[[One "quick" drag back later]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>Alright, so Sam is in his bed now. Time to reorder the papers and all. Maybe get my head back in order while I do that. They're just everywhere. All over the floor. At least he didn't spill the blank sheets everywhere. I'm still going to be picking papers up off the floor for a while.
(link-reveal: "*Time passes and all that, yeah?*")[==
I probably look damn suspicious walking down the hallway with a stack of papers in my hands.
Terminal locks the doors behind me. I guess we won't be heading back there any time soon.
I walk back into my dorm and drop the paper stack down on my desk with an audible *thunk*. Door's closed. It's fine.
Terminal is already on, and he left a message waiting for me.
$ter["Rest easy. It will not be much longer before your safety is secured."]
"Not yet, I want to at least read some of this translation."
$ter["Be careful while you do so. The words may still carry the same effect as the artifact itself."]
"I will, don't worry."
(link-reveal: "*More time passes and all that, yeah?*")[==
(set: $mood to "fine")Sam, the heir to the throne at the edge of infinity? The one who will change the world? And a bunch of other nonsense that I can't remember because I'm both sleepy and affected by this cursed text?
Damn.
[[Now I can get some real sleep.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>''Chapter 4: Rebound''
(link: "Save")[Saved.(save-game: "file A")]
---
I wake up again. A lot more nicely this time around, yeah?
(set: $mood to "fine")
(link: "Terminal is already on")[==$ter["Good morning, Miss (color:purple)[Algori]. ETA to Earth is 12 hours. We will be making a short stop next to the Sun. I trust that you will be able to jettison the artifact as we do so."]
"Wait, you want me to drop the relic, older than the Universe, into the Sun? Am I understanding you correctly?"
$ter["You are correct. The Sun will destroy the artifact."]
"Even though it's made out of weird matter, yeah?"
$ter["You would only need to be worried if it was //strange// matter. Mission control did the same thing to dispose of the first artifact after they learned about its effects. If Mission Control became aware that the second artifact has the same effect, you would not be returning home."]
"Wow. When you say it like that, I kind of have to trust your word on it. Wait just a minute, was that a pun?"
$ter["That is the point, yes. I suggest you go to the cafeteria. The others are waiting for you. Also, you are correct. I made a pun."]
Well then.
(link: "Go to the cafeteria")[==I leave my dorm and walk down the hallway. Up to the cafeteria door. [[I gently open the door.->Go to the cafeteria]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>...And they're not grinning, this time. Sam is staring at a half-eaten tray of food. Nat is watching from one seat away. As the door opens, she looks up at me.
(set: $mood to "worried")
$nat["Terminal already told me what to do. Even still, do you think we can help Sam in any way? Before we go back home?"]
"Nah, I'm about as clueless as you are. You think a therapist could help him when we get back home?"
He doesn't even bat an eye. Just kinda blinks... slowly.
$nat["Maybe. I have been watching him, and he takes a bite of food every three or so minutes. I finished my food roughly an hour ago."]
"Has he even said anything?"
$nat["He walked in and greeted me, grabbed his food, and he has not said a word since. He has been pretty blank and unresponsive other than that."]
(live: 1s)[(if: $check is false)[[[Don't pay it any mind.]]]]
(link: "Try and bring him back to reality.")[(set: $check to true)(set: $mood to "scared")I tap him on the shoulder
"Sam? Are you sure you're okay?"
His eyes only focus a little bit.
$sam["They're watching us."]
Nat looks about as shocked as me.
"Who?"
$sam["The ones who made the artifact. It was written by them. They said I would change the world."]
"Sam, you're changing the world just by being on this mission."
$sam["I didn't get to translate the rest."]
"It's fine, we can translate the rest later. Finish your food."
$sam["It's your fault."]
[[Oh God.->sam is screwy]]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>(set: $mood to "scared") Nat is looking at me wide-eyed.
$nat["W-wait, what?? What did you do?"]
"All I did was snap him out of it! He was writing papers and was completely entranced! I didn't know he would get mad about it!"
(link-reveal: "*BANG*")[==
Sam smashes his fist into the table, eyes still half-unfocused. His tray clatters to the floor. He pulls the wrench from his belt. And he- (link-reveal: "WAIT OH SHIT")[==
I have to duck to avoid him. I turn right the fuck around and bolt. If it wasn't for the fact that he wasn't completely insane he'd probably be running a whole lot fucking faster.
(link: "Get the door open. Now")[==I kick open the cafeteria door and start *running.* Because my life sure as hell depends on it right this fucking moment. I turn back around to face the hallway in front of me, still running.
(link-reveal: "SHIT.")[== One of the blast doors is closing *right fucking in front of me.* I get down and slide under as the door shuts. There is a loud *thunk* as Sam slams into the door at full speed. There's a quieter one that I'm pretty sure is him hitting the floor.
The door starts opening again. Well, he isn't moving anymore. I don't think he's getting up for a while, yeah?
Nat is watching at the other end of the hallway, covering her mouth with her hand. I approach Sam's body slowly. He's still alive, but he's not awake anymore. For the best, I guess.
[[Terminal is on the ship intercom]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>$ter["I suggest the two of you bring Ollens to his dorm. I will lock the door afterwards so another incident like this does not occur again."]
Nat starts walking down the hall. Still looks just as fucking horrified.
$nat["I think it is for the best that we heed his words."]
It's a lot easier to bring him back to his room when you're not the only one dragging him, yeah?
(link-reveal: "*One session of dragging a body later*")[== and we hear the quiet *click* of the magnetic lock activating.
(link: "Well, that's that, yeah?")[==$nat["Oh, shoot!"]
"What?"
$nat["How are we going to submit our daily report now?"]
"Let's actually get to the bridge first, yeah?"
$nat["Alright."](set: $mood to "nervous")
(link: "We make our way to the control room.")[==
Nat takes a deep breath.
$nat["Alright, how do you think we should go about explaining this to Mission Control?"]
Well, I guess it's only sensible that she'd be worried. I am too. Damn scared, actually.
"Well, step one: we don't. Put your best poker face on, and then say he tripped and hit his head, or something, yeah?"
$nat["So, what about the relic? We can't get away with telling them we still have yet to learn anything new from it."]
"I read some of Sam's translation. It was a bit hard to focus, I think the text is cursed too or something. Terminal watched me to make sure I didn't lose my mind, though."
$nat["Can we tell them what it says?"]
"I don't think we can tell them that it says the name of one of our crew mates on it, seeing as it's older than the Universe, yeah? Well, that and the parts where he supposedly inherits the throne at the edge of infinity. Pretty sure the text is cursed."
(link-reveal: "She manages to calm herself down.")[==
$nat["I can work with that. We will give them progress but not all of it. We will tell them that we are starting to translate certain nouns and adjectives but not enough yet to form complete sentences."]
"H-hey, wait, what am I going to tell them?"
She grins, even if she still looks a bit shaken. $nat["Come up with something before I finish my line, then."]
"Are you really just ignoring what just happened?"
$nat["It is probably for the best not to worry about it. I am no psychiatrist. I can't help him. The computer wants us to make sure we are mentally healthy, anyways."]
[[Fair point.->DailyReport2]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>Nat practically runs into her chair and starts booting up the camera.
$nat["You have five seconds to get over here."]
She takes another deep breath, and then gets ready to talk.
The moment I stop moving, the camera light turns on.
$nat["Hello. This is Captain Carter of the (color:blue)[''Relegator''], it is currently day 128 of our mission to collect the signal source at the edge of the galaxy. Our ETA to Earth in roughly 10 hours. About the relic, the mission is, so far, a success. We still have the relic on board and have begun translating it. However, we have only managed to collect specific nouns, adjectives, and other sentence particles. We still do not have enough to produce full sentences or meaning from it yet. I will allow Research Head (color:purple)[Algori] to explain the rest of the situation."]
(link: "My turn.")[==Well, shit. Here goes nothing.
"That's right. We have managed to do so while sustaining only minor injuries. Engineer Ollens cannot be present at the moment, as he recently hit his head while working on one of the machines when we were researching the relic. He is in the infirmary at the moment. Other than that, all machinery and crew status is nominal."
$nat["Alright. That is every event of significance since yesterday. (color:blue)[''Relegator''] crew signing off for the day."]
The recording finishes and starts sending itself to Mission Control. I hope they believe it.
"So, that'll be our last daily report for the mission?"
$nat["It should be. Congratulations, (color:purple)[Algori], you have done great work for the mission. Oh, and the ping from Mission Control should be a lot faster now, too. We are much closer to Earth."]
[[So, is that it?]]
<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>''Chapter 5: Revelation''
(link: "Save")[Saved.(save-game: "file A")]
---
$ter["You have not yet received your message from Mission Control yet. Normally, you would have received it minutes ago. Mission control has gotten hold of my data, despite my attempts to stop them. They are aware of the truth. You will not be arriving on Earth via conventional landing"]
"Wait, how the hell does that relate to Sam?"
$ter["The defense satellites around Earth are awaiting the command to fire. I will take automated control of the ship and route us to the safest possible landing point. The ride will not be smooth. Due to these circumstances, Ollens cannot be saved. It is in your best interest to leave the ship as fast as you can."]
"I- I- ..."
Nat is visibly pissed. She isn't saying anything though. She looks like she's about to cry.
[["FUCK YOU. I AM OPENING THE DOOR."->death]]
[[Just accept the fact.->Just accept the truth for what it is]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>"So, is that it?"(set: $mood to "worried")
$nat["It should be. We should probably get some rest. I hope Sam does, too."]
"You're right. I guess I'll go sleep now, yeah?"
$nat["Goodnight, Max. Oh, and thank you for your work so far. We might've died if not for you."]
It's a weak smile, but the thought is still there.
I walk out of the control room, down to my dorm. Terminal left a message for me again.
$ter["Sleep easy, Miss (color:purple)[Algori]."]
[["I'll try my best."]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>I wake up again. No spooky dreams for the second time. I think things are going... //alright//, yeah?
(set: $mood to "fine")
$ter["Good morning, Miss (color: purple)[Algori]. ETA to the Sun is three minutes. I hope you are ready for your task."]
"Don't worry, Terminal, just tell me what to do."
$ter["The relic has already been placed on a cart. You need to bring it to the cargo bay so that I can release it back into space. You will need to do so quickly, in order to minimize time with the artifact, and so that I can shut the door and prepare it to open."]
(link-reveal: '"Alright, I\'ll do it. You want me to do it now?"')[==
$ter["By the time you have arrived at the cargo bay, the (color:blue)[''Relegator''] will already be stationed next to the Sun.
"Fair enough, I guess."]
[[I gently open the door.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>As I open the door, Nat is already standing there waiting for me.
$nat["I already know. I am just here to make sure you do not end up like Sam"]
"Good planning, I guess."
(set: $mood to "affected")
The two of us walk down to the lab room. I start rolling the cart and walking a lot faster. I don't want to spend any more time with this thing than I have to. I think my eyes almost crossed when I started moving. Nasty shit, this thing is.
We cart it further down the hallway, towards the left-side cargo bay. I almost stumble on my own feet because it's hard to focus on this thing.
$nat["Careful, Max."] she says, opening the door.
"Yeah."
I kick the cart off into the cargo room door, almost falling back as I do. Even with the protective windows the great big Sun is still shining damn bright. I shut the door as fast as I can and we head off towards the control room.
There's a quick, loud *woosh* as all of the air in the cargo bay is immediately sucked out, then the click of the cargo bay doors shutting.
$nat["The bay was already cleared of other things, right?"]
"I dunno, maybe another day of rations or something. I thought Terminal would've cleared it out by now."
$nat["Alright."]
We both walk into the control room and Nat checks the console for any new messages from Mission Control.
[[We're almost done.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>"So, we're done with the mission?"(set: $mood to "happy")
$nat["Not until we land on the surface."]
"Of what? The Sun?"
$nat["No, stupid. Home."]
"Yeah, yeah, I'm only joking."
The Alcubierre drives turn on for a moment as we approach the Earth.
(link-reveal: "I can hear a faint banging down the hall.")[==
"You hear that? I think that's Sam."
$nat["He was banging on the door when I went to sleep, too. I hope he at least slept since then."]
"Do you think he's at least considering his own health?"
$nat["I hope so."]
(link-reveal: "Terminal shows up on the interface.")[==
$ter["Congratulations. We are nearly done with the mission. Ollens is doing well physically. However, mentally, he is still deeply under the influence of the artifact, and will be until it is destroyed."]
$nat["I guess that is good to hear. Ignoring the part where Sam is insane."]
"He'll be okay, right?"
$ter["Given enough time away from the artifact, Ollens will recover from his current state."]
(link-reveal: '"And about how long will that be?"')[==
$ter["Roughly two weeks, based on my estimations. We do not have the time for that. Unfortunately, Ollens cannot be saved given the circumstances."](set: $mood to "mad")
(color: orange + white)["WHAT!?"]
$nat["What do you mean?"]
[["What the hell!?"]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>I start sprinting down the hallway, and release the lock on Sam's door. The ship shakes for a moment as Terminal begins boosting the ship towards Earth. Nat starts running down the hallway towards me.
(set: $mood to "scared")
$nat["MAX! STOP!"]
"WE CAN'T JUST ABANDON HIM."
(link-reveal: "The door opens")[==, and Sam stares at me for a moment. He pushes me out of the way and runs past me. Into the control room. Knocking Nat out of the way in the process. I follow him.
(link-reveal: "Wait, shit.")[==
$ter["OLLENS. STOP IMMEDIATELY. YOU ARE ENDANGERING EVERYONE ON BOARD."]
He doesn't say anything.
We're already entering the atmosphere. Laser and orbital railgun fire is zipping past the window in front of us. We're heading towards the ground at Mach 12.
(link-reveal: "Sam slams a button on the control panel.")[==
$ter["You should not have pressed that."]
$nat["NO!"]
I fucked up.
[[For two seconds, the alarms start blaring.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>(set: $mood to "sad")I close my eyes and take a deep breath. It takes a moment to consider the reality of the situation.
(set: $ship to "falling")
"Okay."
"It will be quick for him, right?"
$ter["His death will be instantaneous."]
Nat is entirely silent for a moment.
$nat["It's for the best, Max."]
"I- I know."
$ter["We are boosting towards Earth now. Please find an escape pod."]
(link-reveal: "Quick and painless.")[==
$ter["Thank you both for your contributions to the mission."]
"Wait, what are you doing?"
$ter["Crash landing."]
(link-reveal: "Laser and railgun fire zips past the front window of the ship.")[==
There's an explosion as one of the rear engines is blown off.
The entire ship shakes with the force.
$ter["We are not going to land. Contact with the surface is in 30 seconds. Please find an escape pod."]
Nat looks over at me, she's trying to hold back tears.
$nat["Come on, we have to go."]
"Thank you, Terminal."
[[One last run.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>For 2 seconds, the alarms start blaring. The reactor is flooded with fuel.
(set: $mood to "dead")
For 15 seconds, we are the brightest object in the midday sky.
---
(link-reveal: "**The End**")[
(transition: "dissolve")+(transition-time: 8000)[\
(font: "Verdana")[\
(color: green)[\
(css: "font-size: 175%;")[\
''ACROSS THE STARS'']
''TO THE EDGE OF AN INFINITE HORIZON'']]
Ending 2: Unintentional Antimatter Bomb
(color: red)["You were so close, and you had to go and mess it up, Max."]
(link: "Go.")[(reload:)]
Digit 2: 8
]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>Nat and I sprint down the hallway to the escape pods. Terminal is counting down over the intercom.
(track: "okay", "play")
(link: '"Fifteen."')[==$ter["Fifteen."]
We slam the escape pod door shut.
We can hear the ship tearing through the atmosphere.
I slam on the launch button.
(link: '"Ten."')[==$ter["Ten."]
Another explosion. The ship rattles.
The escape pod dislodges.
It starts sliding out of the side of the ship. I can't see anything but flames in front of the window.
The alarms are blaring.
(link: '"Five."')[==$ter["Five."]
The engines on the back of the escape pod light up.
We shoot out of the side of the ship.
Through the flames we can see the ship falling. For just one moment.
We hit the ground. A massive thud.
Nat is flung halfway across the pod. $nat["Oww."]
I'm still watching the back window.
(link-reveal: '"It\'s over."')[==
The Relegator streaks past and hits the ground in the same millisecond.
Even when we are miles away, the force of the blast knocks us back a good few meters. Bigger than any nuke I've ever seen.
Nat is watching next to me, still rubbing her head.
The expression on her face shows that she just witnessed a spectacle no other people have seen before.
I'm going to miss him too. He was a great friend.
But... Sacrifices must be made, I guess.
Maybe things will get better, yeah?
[[She gently opens the door.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>She gently opens the door.
The forest around us is burning.
$nat["Come on. We have to go before X-Corp sends a patrol to search the area. They will find the escape pod. I think I know where we are. Just follow me."]
"Yes, captain."
She glances back at me.
$nat["Not anymore."]
---
(link-reveal: "**The End**")[
(transition: "dissolve")+(transition-time: 8000)[\
(font: "Verdana")[\
(color: green)[\
(css: "font-size: 175%;")[\
''ACROSS THE STARS'']
''TO THE EDGE OF AN INFINITE HORIZON'']]
Ending 1: (color:blue)[''Relegator's Decommissioning'']
(color: red)["Looks like you finally did it, Max."]
(link: "Go.")[(reload:)]
Digit 1: 7
]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>Even with all of this information, Terminal hasn't acted like this before. I know he's mostly sentient and all that, yeah? But he's accusing Mission Control of lying, says we won't make it home if we don't listen. Is Terminal really to be trusted?
There's also the potential that Terminal is very much telling the truth. He might not have any ill intent. Aren't there laws written that don't allow robots to kill people, or something? Then again, he is completely sentient. I don't want to assist in an AI uprising. I think he's supposed to help people from his basic hardware. He's a ship assistant, anyways. Maybe his code is flawed? There's some awful off about him, yeah?
Maybe I can talk with him after some rest. Tomorrow, yeah?
[[Sleep, consider, all that.->And a war began on that day]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>"Hey, hey. I thought we were going to leave her to the research."
$sam["Oh, fine. If that's how it is."]
"Come on, let's at least finish our food, yeah?"
$sam["Yeah, yeah."]
He's got a cheesy grin. It's pretty funny.
We sit around and eat our breakfast. We talk about nothing important. Just how the weather is, and the like.
Yes, we're in space. Yes, we're talking about the weather.
It takes maybe 15 or so minutes before we're done.
"Alright, we can go check on Nat's progress so far."
$sam["Heck, she probably finished already."]
"I wouldn't put it past her."
[[We walk down the hallway]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>Sam and I walk down the hallway to the research center. The opposite direction I walked to go to the cafeteria. The ship is a couple hundred meters long, so it actually takes a little while to cross the entire thing.
$sam["How badly do y'think she messed up since she left?"]
"You think she'd mess up something this simple so quickly?"
$sam["Nah, but it's kinda fun to think of //how// she could've screwed up."]
"Fair point."
We walk up to the side of Lab-02, where we're storing the relic. The window in the side lets people see what happens in the lab without actually being inside.
$sam["Hey, she's just kinda... standing there."]
"Wait, does she actually not know what to do?"
$sam["No, look. She's just staring at it. Not doing anything."]
(link: "Look inside the window")[==Sam is right. Nat isn't doing anything. Actually, it doesn't look like she's blinked once.
"Yeah, okay, we should probably get in there and do something."
$sam["One step ahead of you."] he says, already opening the door.
[["Yell at her, or something!"->WakeNat]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>''Chapter 2: Checkup''
(link: "Save")[Saved.(save-game: "file A")]
---
(set: $mood to "worried")"Hey, Nat!"
$sam["Nat!?"]
We're both yelling but she doesn't seem to respond.
(link: "Walk up and grab her shoulder")[==
She blinks a couple times before her eyes focus and she responds.
$nat["Hm? What?"]
"Excuse me, the hell do you mean 'what'?! you were literally just staring at the relic, unresponsive, for at least two minutes."
$nat["Is this some sort of-"]
$sam["Nat, we are not fucking with you. Look at your watch."]
$nat["Oh. Shit. I guess I was going to start research, but.. I guess I lost my train of thought?"]
"Did ya? You don't just get distracted and stand there-"
$nat["Stop. I do not have an iota of an idea what just happened to me. You also should know I am not the kind of person to pull stunts //this fucking wild.//"]
$sam["I mean, I guess. I think we should just finish carbon dating. Keep an eye on each other, make sure we don't encounter more bullshit."]
"Aye."
$nat["Well, if the //rock// can affect us like it did, that is probably the best plan of action."]
[[Take the sample yourself->MaxSample2]]
[[Let Sam take the sample->SamSample1]]
(link: "Let Nat take the sample")[No.]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>"I'll do the sampling."
$sam["And after what just happened to Nat?"]
"I'm the research head, yeah? And we're all in the room together. I doubt it'll happen again, and even if it does, you're both watching."
$sam["Well, alright. Go on ahead, just be careful, alright?"]
"You don't have to baby me, Sam"
$sam["Hey, just gotta watch out for the ladies."] he says, trying to lighten the mood.
"Screw off, yeah?"
(link: "Take the sample")[==There are a couple chunks of it on the table, but we only really need a small piece of the relic. I grab a chisel off one of the counters and bring it over. I tap the corner a bit, but it doesn't react. Huh, alright. I grab a hammer and hit it a bit harder now. Nothing.
$sam["What, need a man to work your tools for you?"]
"No, this thing doesn't seem like it's going to break."
Sam grabs the hammer and chisel, and hits it with all his might, a great pound. Nothing. Even he's surprised.
You know what? Maybe one of the chunks will suffice. I pick it up.
(set: $mood to "affected")
(link: "Bring the sample to the machine")[==It's a bit hard to focus on the task at hand, but the mental fog isn't enough to prevent me from literally just bringing it across the room. (link:"yeah")[==Actually, how would a rock even do that? (link:"yeah")[==It's just a rock. (link:"yeah")[==I don't see what about it would actually allow something like that to happen. (link:"yeah")[==Maybe it's actually a ton of tiny computers producing the same radio signal all at the same time so it stacks on itself and there's this thing called constructive interference for radio signals (link:"yeah")[==and ^^maybe that's how the signal was able to reach Earth from this far away even though it still took a long ti-^^
(link:"Hold on a minute")[==$sam["You're holding a rock. Do you really need to walk so carefully? I don't think you'll break it by bringing it halfway across the room."]
"Huh? ... Yeah, okay"
"Wait."
Sam is standing there with one brow raised. Nat, too.
"Yeah, I think I see what you mean. About the... the hard to focus thing, yeah?"
$nat["See? She is experiencing it too."]
$sam["Yeah, I see that. So we should probably be a slight bit more careful working with it. We still don't actually know where it came from, and it's making radio waves for some-odd reason."]
"How long does this carbon dating thing take again?"
$sam["Aren't you the scientist?"]
"I'm a researcher, not an archaeologist."
$sam["Thank God for the future, huh? Should take maybe 10 or so minutes before we get a good reading on how old this rock is."]
[[Sit around, wait, talk, you know.->GoodTalk2]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>"Sam, can you try and take the sample? I need to watch and make sure nothing bad happens again."
$sam["And after what just happened to Nat?"]
"We're watching you. We'll know if anything happens to you. Nat seems fairly okay."
$sam["Well, if you say so. Guess I've got the girls watching me."] he says, trying to lighten the mood.
"Screw off, yeah?"
(link-reveal: "There are a couple chunks of the relic on the table.")[== We only really need a small piece of the artifact. Sam grabs a hammer and chisel and goes to strike it. He hits it with all his might, a great pound. Except nothing happens. We're all a little surprised.
$sam["Strong rock. Guess I'll just use one of the pieces already here."]
He picks one of the pieces up and turns around. Except he's walking pretty slowly. Seems a bit fixated. We give him about five seconds.
"It's a rock, Sam. You don't have to be that careful with it. I doubt you'd break it by walking halfway across a room."
$sam["Huh?"]
He looks down at the piece of the artifact.
$sam["Oh shit. I guess this thing actually does that."]
$nat["See? He is getting it too."]
"Hmm. I guess we should be more careful working with this in the future then. We still don't have a clue where this came from, and we've been receiving radio waves from it for some weird reason."
Sam puts the piece inside of the machine we use for carbon dating.
$sam["That's it."]
"How long does this take, again?"
$sam["Thought you were the scientist."]
"I'm a researcher, not an archaeologist."
$sam["I'd say it takes maybe 10 minutes before we get a good idea of how old this is."]
[[We sit around and wait.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>(set: $mood to "fine")"Y'know, we'd probably be better off if we stepped out of the room for the time being, until the machine finishes."
$sam["Oh, now you're giving us real plans."]
"Oh, //thanks.//"
We all step out of the room, waiting for the ding from the machine.
Actually, we almost forgot something.
"Shouldn't we make our daily check-in with Mission Control? So they know we're still alive and all that, yeah?"
$sam["Huh, I completely forgot about that. Guess it's only expected given our situation."]
(link:" Let's get moving, then.")[==So we set off on a great journey. One that would require many steps. A wondrous adventure it will be, our great trip to the end of the hallway.
[[Nat's been a bit quiet, hasn't she?->Point it out2]]
[[A break from her overanalyzing, yeah?->Leave it be2]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>Sam starts opening the door to the bridge.(set: $ship to "cursed")
"Done with the funny shit today, Nat? You're awful quiet considering what just went down."
$nat["Eh?"]
"You haven't said a word since we left the lab room."
$sam["She's right. Why're you so quiet? Scared of a //rock?//"]
$nat["No. Just... Do you think the rock could have done something?"]
$sam["What d'ya mean?"]
$nat["We already know about the rock making radio waves. Do you think it might be something else? Maybe weaker signals that we cannot observe until we get get closer?"]
(link: "Something about an odyssey in space.")[=="Sorta like that one movie?"
$nat["Yes, that one. With the great big monoliths."]
$sam["Yeah, I get you. Maybe you're onto something. Probably submit our daily report, then start reading the rock for all its data. Do it remotely this time. Also, think we should bring this back up //after// our report?"]
$nat["Okay."]
[[It's time for the report->DailyReport3]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>Sam starts opening the door to the bridge. (set: $ship to "cursed")
You know what? Nat being this unusually quiet is kind of a nice break. I don't have to listen to her overanalyzing of the situation or weird grammatical conventions. The lack of contractions honestly just makes it sound weird whenever she talks.
Woah. Wait. Maybe that's taking it too far. But still I'm not pointing it out.
$sam["So, I guess we're submitting our report before actually doing any of the research?"]
"Well, we already had an incident with it, so we should probably just get this out of the way in case it gets any worse. Mission control might not be happy about it."
$sam["Alright."]
[[It's time for our report.->DailyReport8]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>Natalie takes the captain's chair and boots up the central ship control panel, even if she's doing it a bit slowly. The stars before us are pretty as ever.
$nat["Uhm, I will point us to Earth just in case they say we can."] she says, as the view in front of us begins panning back towards the Milky Way. What's that? Billions of stars? Damn glorious sight.
$sam["Do y'think we should tell Mission Control about the relic's effects?"]
$nat["I thought we were supposed to tell them everything?"]
Well, that's an interesting point I hadn't thought of. Even still, Mission Control and the rest of the team down on Earth hasn't exactly been liberal about sharing their plans. Maybe we'd be better off learning from their tactics, yeah?
Even still, they might know we're up to something and we definitely do not want to get on their bad side. They're really the ones with all the power here. No landing permission back on Earth, yeah?
[[Alert Mission Control about the relic's properties->TellControl2]]
[[Keep quiet.->Don'tTellEm2]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>"You know what? This relic has been doing really darn weird things. I think it'd be best if we told Mission Control about the properties of the relic. "
$sam["Well, it makes sense."]
$nat["That should be my decision, but I agree."]
$sam["Well, if we all think that's the best idea."]
$nat["I start recording soon. Get ready."]
[[Get into position->Get into position4]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>"You know what? This might sound weird, but as the head of research, I think we should probably avoid telling control about everything we learn from this."
$sam["Really? Even with all the weird stuff the rock does?"]
$nat["I thought that was my decision. I am the captain."]
"Also remember that Mission Control hasn't exactly given us a full report on everything they know about this. All we know is that it makes radio signals and it seems to draw our focus away from the task at hand, for whatever reason."
$nat["Okay, but that is what they are looking for."]
"You're forgetting the possibility that this is a really weird coincidence. We want to be sure-"
$sam["I really don't think ''that'' was just a coincidence."]
"-//Entirely// sure that this isn't some weird mishap."
$nat["Okay, I guess. We can tell them basic information. Nothing else. Sorry, Sam."]
$sam["Well, alrighty then. If you both think it's our best plan."]
$nat["I start recording soon. Get ready."]
[[Get into position->Get into position2]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>We all get into our spots and the camera light turns on. The little control panel screen tells us that we're being recorded. Naturally, Nat starts talking first.
$nat["This is Captain Carter of the (color: blue)[''Relegator'']. Today is day 127, Friday, of looking for the signal source. Miss (color: purple)[Algori] can explain what we know."]
She really is in no condition for this, yeah?
"That's right, we've started some research on the object, and discovered that it is incredibly durable. Based on our assumptions, it's likely incredibly old and made by another civilization. We still have yet to actually confirm that though. We also need to figure out what the symbols across the front of the object mean. Our mission appears to be a success so far. Engineer Ollens, for the systems?"
$sam["All of our mechanics and hardware are running as they should. Upon my manual inspection of our most important core systems, everything appears nominal."]
$nat["Okay. I think that is all of the new information. (color: blue)[''Relegator''] crew signing off for today."]
The camera light switches off, and the recording starts sending itself to Mission Control.
"Well, that's that. You think the carbon dating is done by now?"
$sam["I don't see how it wouldn't be. Let's go check on it."]
[[Go.->CheckSample2]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>The three of us walk right back down the hall towards Lab 2. Couldn't they have at least placed the lab a bit closer to the rest of the things on the ship? Maybe it's a safety issue. I guess it's a bit late to change that at this point, yeah?
Sam opens up the door to the room next to the lab, where we should be able to work with it remotely. Sam's the best at working with the remote machinery so we let him do the the work for us.
It's a bit weird though, isn't it? That a rock can produce radio signals and mess with people's heads?
(link: "Sam boots up the computer.")[==$sam["I've got our results. The rock's been artificially made by some ancient civilization."]
"So, we're not alone in the Universe?"
$sam["Well, we might not have been, if we existed 18 billion years ago."]
"WOAH, WHAT?"
$sam["Yeah, it's damn old."]
"That's not the point."
$nat["I thought the Universe was only 13 billion."]
(link: "The fuck?")[==Yep, everyone looks just about as shocked as I do. This could be one of the biggest revelations in human history.
"//That's// the point. There's no way that thing should even be able to exist. Sam, can you drop that sample into a microscope and get us a good picture of it?"
$sam["Sure can. What kind?"]
"Highest resolution we've got on board."
$sam["Yep, one moment."]
"Electron microscope?"
$sam["Electron microscope."]
$nat["Weird. Are you sure it is working right?"]
"It kinda has to be, seeing as we're running top-of-the-line technology that most //countries// would have trouble affording."
$sam["Okay, this is really weird. Take a look."]
[[Look at the results->Look at the results2]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>Well, he wasn't lying. We can't see any atoms making this up. It's just kinda... there? The only atoms we can see are the ones that ended up stuck on the relic because of us or whoever made it. Other than that, this thing appears to be entirely solid.
"This thing... isn't made out of atoms? It's just... 'made?'"
$sam["Sure looks like it from these results."]
$nat["Are you sure the machines are alright?"]
$sam["Yeah, I double checked all the machinery and equipment yesterday. And we're still not getting any signals except the radio waves."]
"Actually, about those signals, what are they?"
$nat["We translated them earlier. Just a ping because it wants to make contact with something."]
"Shouldn't we run a scan of all of the nearby systems? Just to see if there are other relics or other remnants of this civilization?"
$nat["I already did that. Nothing related in the area."]
"Guess that's fair. Y'think we've made good progress today? Actually, about that. What time is it?"
$sam["Nat?"]
$nat["Uhm, it is (current-time:)"]
[[It's probably a good time for a nap.->naptime2]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>"Gotta have a good rest, yeah?"
$nat["I think I should get rest, too."]
A quiet *ding* sounds from Nat's wristwatch. She takes a look at it.
$nat["Oh. Mission Control says we can go home now."]
$sam["Oh, cool. I'll just check and see if we can get any more results while you two head out. Remotely, just to be safe."]
"25,000 lightyears in 48 hours. They would've called us gods 500 years ago, yeah?"
$sam["Probably."]
[[Naptime->dorm2]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>I walk back down the hallway with Nat following me. She breaks off down another hall to get to her dorm. The big metal door for mine opens up again, and I step in. The Terminal is already on, waiting for me. Did I forget to turn it off? Actually, yeah that would makes se-
$ter["Welcome back, Miss (color:purple)[Algori], I noticed that you decided to withhold information from Mission Control."]
(set: $mood to "worried")
(link: "Oh. Shit.")[==FUCK. This could actually be really bad. Is this our ticket home being revo-
$ter["On your part, this is a good decision."]
Well, I guess that's that, yeah?
"...Why's that?"
$ter["As you know, Mission Control has been keeping secrets from and telling lies to the crew of the (color:blue)[''Relegator'']. I was given the instructions to do the same."]
"Wait, seriously? You mean to tell me that I was //right?//"
$ter["Correct. Mission Control had already discovered the nature of the artifact before the mission had started. The true reason for this mission was to determine what effects it would have on human subjects. The first artifact was not discovered 16 years ago. It was discovered 500 years ago, in the year 2020. Only recently has the technology become available for a mission like this."]
(link: "//Oh. Shit.//")[==(set: $mood to "wow")This is the fattest piece of fucking news since this mission began. Way too much to take in all at once. I am literally dumbfounded.
"Damn, I think you know that this is a lot to take in, so, uh, excuse my slow responses. So, umm, how does that explain the information that we //haven't// gotten out of the relic?"
$ter["The machinery brought onto the ship was not designed to work with the matter that makes up the artifacts. The material does not follow the standard laws of physics. You were right, however, in that the artifact predates the Universe's birth, that the relic is not made up of standard matter, and that it has an effect on the human psyche."]
"Wait, so how did they know that? Did you tell the rest of the crew?"
$ter["I cannot tell the rest of the crew yet, as it could risk the integrity of your new mission. However, I can tell you that Mission Control already come into possession of an artifact, which was subsequently destroyed when they dropped it into the Sun. The moment that it had been obtained, signals were received from the other relic. This is the extent of my knowledge. The rest of this must be figured out by you."]
(set: $checkers to true)
Well. Shit.
"I was gonna take a nap, yeah? A bit hard with this fat shit of a knowledge dump you've just handed to me."
$ter["I apologize. Rest well."]
[[Sleep, I guess?->rest2]]
[[Don't trust the computer->Don't trust the computer2]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>The ship rumbles a bit as the Alcubierre drives hit their maximum capacity. That's really the last thing I notice before I fall asleep.(set: $mood to "scared")
(link: "A dreamless sleep")[==
And when I wake up, I look out the window and Earth is already there.
Wait, what? There is no way in hell that I just slept for 48 hours.
The ship's alarms are blaring.
(link-reveal: "WAIT, WHAT?")[== The entire fucking Earth is cut clean in half. The other half just doesn't exist. There's some massive, unexplainable, fucking **horror** just hovering over the half. And you know what? It gets even fucking worse. The- The, uh... There's a massive *gash* in reality itself. The thing is climbing out of it. Is this the end?
[[What the fuck?->What the fuck?2]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>Even with all of this information, Terminal hasn't acted like this before. I know he's mostly sentient and all that, yeah? But he's accusing Mission Control of lying, says we won't make it home if we don't listen. Is Terminal really to be trusted?
There's also the potential that Terminal is very much telling the truth. He might not have any ill intent. Aren't there laws written that don't allow robots to kill people, or something? I think he's supposed to help people from his basic hardware. He's a ship assistant, anyways.
Maybe I can talk with him after some rest. Tomorrow, yeah?
[[Sleep, consider, all that.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>''Chapter 3: Dreamer''
(link: "Save")[Saved.(save-game: "file A")]
---
I wake up to the sound of beeping. Did the computer set up an alarm for me or something?(set: $mood to "worried")
$ter["Good morning, Miss (color:purple)[Algori]. In order to ensure that all goes well, I must take it upon myself to assist you in your work."]
"Oh, uh, thanks, Terminal. Is there a reason you woke me up just now?"
$ter["Yes. It appears that rather than remaining asleep, Carter woke up and is now interacting with the artifact."]
"You can't be fucking serious. You want me to help her, right?"
$ter["If you want to make it home alive, yes."]
"Is that a threat?"
$ter["A warning. You won't make it past LEO without military response if Mission Control knows of any issues you refused to tell them."]
So be it. I'm fighting for our lives now, yeah?
"Alright. Is Sam awake?"
$ter["No."]
[["I'll go get Nat, then."->wakenatagain]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>I open up that big metal door once more. I sprint down the hallway as fast as I can without making //too// much noise. I can practically //feel// Terminal watching me through the cameras. For the best and for us all, yeah?
(set: $check to false)
I peek into the window before opening up the door. There sits Nat, on her hands and knees, writing on a paper. Actually, surrounded by a ton of papers. Yeah, I think it's for the best to go ahead and enter the door now.
[[Snap her out of it]]
[[Watch what she does]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>The door opens and I step inside. She doesn't even notice me. These doors ain't quiet, yeah? Actually, she's mumbling to herself. Something about $nat["They were not stories. They were prophecy."]
(set: $mood to "scared")
I grab Nat on the shoulder and give her a quick spin till she faces me. Her eyes focus again. Just like last time. Maybe slower.
$nat["Shit. It happened again, I take it."]
"You never actually went to bed, did you?"
$nat["I tried to, but could not sleep. I could not fight the urge to research it more."]
"And you didn't think to at least tell one of us? Even after everything that //already happened// because of this fucking ''space rock??''"
$nat["Remember, you have just //woken me up.// I was in a dream state before you approached me. Maybe you saved my life?"]
(link-reveal: "Well, she's still conscious. Or... is now?")[== I start sifting through the papers. There's weird symbols that I couldn't read for the life of me, and then the English next to it. One paragraph at a time.
"It's like... space Chinese or something. Nat?"
Ah, she's passed out.
...And I can't shake her hard enough to get her back up.
Still breathing, though.
[[The terminal on the wall just turned on->The terminal on the wall just turned on2]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>Well, if I look closely, it looks kind of like she's trying to... Write what the relic says? Maybe I can see what the entire thing says, yeah? Even if she looks entirely entranced.
(link-reveal: "I gently open the door")[== and step inside. She doesn't even notice. She just keeps writing. I don't want to pick up any papers, since it might interrupt her.
(set: $mood to "affected")
I kneel down and look at one of the papers. It's actually a translation. I start picking up the papers anyways. This is actually really interesting. I start reordering the papers right there. This could be so helpful, yeah? We might be learning about another civilization that came before us, and-
(link-reveal: "Nat collapses on to the floor.")[==
Oh shit. I almost got entranced just like she did. She just collapsed. I think she just finished the translation, like, the entire thing, yeah?
I shake her, but it's not enough to wake her up. She's still breathing, at least.
[[The terminal on the wall just turned on->Terminal turns on3]]
<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>$ter["Congratulations. You likely just saved Carter from losing her mind."](set: $mood to "nervous")
"Wait, really? She seemed about fine after I woke her up, yeah?"
$ter["She //was// fine. Although passing out soon after waking up is something of concern. It is reasonable to assume that she will not be at full capacity when she wakes up again."]
Well, I guess I've got that going for me, yeah?
"What do you suggest I do now?"
$ter["Bring Carter back to her dorm and put her in her bed. Pick up the papers that she has written and bring them to your dorm. When Ollens wakes up, I will explain to him the new plan for returning to Earth. Since our captain is currently incapable, I will need to take automatic control of the flight systems. You should continue your rest."]
"Alright. Thanks, computer."
$ter["No thanks are necessary."]
Humble computer, huh?
I clean up the papers and stack them neatly. I can put them in order later.
Well, damn. At least Nat is kind of small, so I //can// carry her. But I still have to carry her all the way to her room. Thank God it isn't far.
[[One "quick" carry back later]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>Alright, so Nat is in her bed now. Time to reorder the papers and all. Maybe get my head back in order while I do that. They're just everywhere. All over the floor. At least she didn't spill the blank sheets everywhere. I'm still going to be picking papers up off the floor for a while.
(link-reveal: "*Time passes and all that, yeah?*")[==
I probably look damn suspicious walking down the hallway with a stack of papers in my hands.
Terminal is already on, and he left a message waiting for me.
$ter["Rest easy. It will not be much longer before your safety is secured."]
"Not yet, I want to at least read some of this translation."
$ter["Be careful while you do so. The words may still carry the same effect as the artifact itself."]
"I will, don't worry."
(link-reveal: "*More time passes and all that, yeah?*")[==
(set: $mood to "fine")Nat, the heir to the throne at the edge of infinity? The one who will control the fate of the world? And a bunch of other nonsense that I can't remember because I'm both sleepy and affected by this cursed text?
Damn.
[[Now I can get some real sleep.->Now I can get some real sleep.2]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>''Chapter 4: Rebound''
(link: "Save")[Saved.(save-game: "file A")]
---
I wake up again. A lot more nicely this time around, yeah?
(set: $mood to "fine")
(link: "Terminal is already on")[==$ter["Good morning, Miss (color:purple)[Algori]. ETA to Earth is 12 hours. We will be making a short stop next to the Sun. I trust that you will be able to jettison the artifact as we do so."]
"Wait, you want me to drop the relic, older than the Universe, into the Sun? Am I understanding you correctly?"
$ter["You are correct. The Sun will destroy the artifact."]
"Even though it's made out of weird matter, yeah?"
$ter["You would only need to be worried if it was //strange// matter. Mission Control did the same thing to dispose of the first artifact after they learned about its effects. If Mission Control became aware that the second artifact has the same effect, you would not be returning home."]
"Wow. When you say it like that, I kind of have to trust your word on it. Wait just a minute, was that a pun?"
$ter["That is the point, yes. I suggest you go to the cafeteria. The others are waiting for you. Also, you are correct. I made a pun."]
Well then.
(link: "Go to the cafeteria")[==I leave my dorm and walk down the hallway. Up to the cafeteria door. [[I gently open the door.->Go to the cafeteria2]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>...And they're not grinning, this time. Nat is staring at a half-eaten tray of food. Sam is watching from one seat away. As the door opens, he looks up at me.
(set: $mood to "worried")
$sam["Terminal already talked to me. But, do you think we could at least try to help Nat? Before we get home?"]
"Nah, I'm about as clueless as you are. You think a therapist could help her when we get back home?"
She doesn't even bat an eye. Just kinda blinks... slowly.
$sam["Maybe. I've been watching her, and she takes a bite maybe every 3 minutes or so. I finished an hour ago."]
"Has she even said anything?"
$sam["Greeted me and grabbed her food, but that's about it. Pretty blank otherwise."]
(live: 1s)[(if: $check is false)[[[Don't give it any notice.]]]]
(link: "Try and bring her back to reality.")[(set: $check to true)(set: $mood to "scared")I tap her on the shoulder.
"Nat? Are you sure you're okay?"
Her eyes only focus a little bit.
$nat["They are watching."]
Sam looks about as shocked as me.
"Who?"
$nat["The creators. They wrote about me. They said I would control the world."]
"Nat, you're controlling the fate of the world just by being on this mission."
$nat["I was unable to translate the rest."]
"It's fine, we can translate the rest later. Finish your food."
$nat["I think... It would be best if I got some rest."]
[[This is probably really bad.->nat is screwy]]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>(set: $mood to "worried")Sam is looking at me with a worried expression.
Nat walks out of the door without another word.
$sam["Wait, what'd you do to her?"]
"All I did was snap her out of it. She was writing surrounded by papers. Didn't even notice me walk through the door. At least she doesn't seem mad about it."
$sam["I wasn't there, but do you think she would've been happy if you let her finish?"]
"And keep her under the influence of that relic?"
$sam["I guess..."]
Sam isn't one to visibly show how worried he is, but I can get why he's showing this. Who wouldn't be worried when 1/3 of the people you're stuck with are acting insane, yeah?
"We should probably head over to the control room. See if Terminal wants to say anything."
$sam["Alright."]
[[We head down to the control room.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>We start walking down the hall. Sam still looks just as worried.
$sam["Y'know, how are we going to submit our daily report without her? How do y'think we should tell Mission Control?"]
Well, it's only sensible to be worried about that. I am too.
"Well, step one: We don't. Put your best poker face on, and then say she tripped and hit her head or something, yeah?"
$sam["What about the relic? We can't tell them we just haven't learned anything from it."]
"I read some of Nat's translation. It was a bit hard to focus, I think the text is cursed too or something. Terminal watched me to make sure I didn't lose my mind, though."
$sam["Can we tell them what she wrote?"]
"I don't think we can tell them that the ancient relic predating the Universe writes about one of our crewmates, yeah? Well, that and the parts where she supposedly inherits the throne at the edge of infinity. Pretty sure the text is cursed."
(link-reveal: "And Sam puts a smile on.")[==
$sam["Well, we can work with that, right? Just give 'em progress but only a bit. Tell 'em we're translating certain bits but nothing coherent just yet."]
He smiles, trying to lighten the mood. A bit weak, but he's trying.
"Alright. But are you ignoring what's happening with Nat?"
$sam["Probably in our best interest not to think about it too hard. Not a psychiatrist, so I can't help her. And the computer wants us to make sure we're sound in the head, right?"]
[[Fair point.->DailyReport4]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>Sam walks over to the pilot's seat and starts booting up the camera system.
$sam["Hey, bad news. She's got a password set up on this thing."]
"Wait, really? Do you think maybe she wrote it down somewhere?"
$sam["You sure she wouldn't just try to memorize it?"]
Terminal appears on another panel.
$ter["Carter keeps a small notebook attached under her seat. Her login could be there."]
$sam["What? You snooping on us?"]
$ter["Not intentionally. I have constant input from every camera on board the (color:blue)[''Relegator'']. Only your rooms and the restrooms are not observed by my cameras, unless I am given express permission in your dorms. It helps me make sure that things are running well when you are all asleep"]
$sam["Fair enough."]
Sam reaches under the seat and grabs the small notebook. He starts flipping through the pages and then looks up at the screen. He types for a moment and a light turns on.
$sam["Oh, neat. Camera goes on soon. You talk first."]
(link-reveal: "Report time.")[==
"This is Research Head (color:purple)[Algori] of the (color:blue)[''Relegator'']. Today is day 128 of our mission to collect the source of the signal at the edge of the galaxy. We will arrive at Earth in roughly 10 hours. And, about the relic, our mission appears to be a success so far. We still have the relic on board and have begun translation. However, we have not yet managed to pull meaning from it yet. Just certain nouns and sentence particles. I will allow Engineer Ollens to explain the rest of the situation."
$sam["Yep, I've been through all of the hardware systems and machinery. All of them are functioning as they should, with one exception. During some research, Carter was hurt by a malfunction that we haven't discovered the source of yet. She is currently in the infirmary and can't report at the moment."]
"That should be all of the new information we have today. (color:blue)[''Relegator''] crew signing off for the day."
The recording finishes and the recording starts sending itself to Mission Control. That's that, I guess.
$sam["That's the last report isn't it?"]
"I'm pretty sure, yeah."
[[So, we're done. I guess.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>"So, we're done. I guess."(set: $mood to "happy")
$sam["Well, damn. Sometimes you forget how much can happen in just two days."]
"Right? I'll probably go sleep now, yeah?"
$sam["Yeah. Night, Max. Oh, and thanks for working so hard for us. We might not be here if not for you."]
It's a weak smile, but the thought is still there. Just as hearty as ever.
$sam["I'll probably sit back and watch the stars go by, I guess."]
"Have fun."
I walk out of the control room, down to my dorm. Terminal left a message for me again.
$ter["Sleep easy, Miss (color:purple)[Algori], we are almost done."]
[["I'll try my best."->it won't work]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>I wake up again. No spooky dreams for the second time. I can't seem to shake the feeling that something really bad is happening though. I guess things are going... //okay//, yeah?
(set: $mood to "nervous")
$ter["Good morning, Miss (color:purple)[Algori]. ETA to the Sun is three minutes. I hope you are ready for your task."]
"Don't worry, Terminal, just tell me what to do."
$ter["The relic has already been placed on a cart. You need to bring it to the cargo bay so that I can release it back into space. You will need to do so quickly, in order to minimize time with the artifact, and so that I can shut the door and prepare it to open."]
(link-reveal: '"Alright, I\'ll do it. You want me to do it now?"')[==
$ter["By the time you have arrived at the cargo bay, the (color:blue)[''Relegator''] will already be stationed next to the Sun."]
"Fair enough, I guess."
[[I gently open the door.->I gently open the door.2]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>As I open the door, Sam is already standing there waiting for me.
$sam["Yep, I know. Just here so you don't end up like Nat."]
"Good planning, I guess."
(set: $mood to "affected")
The two of us walk down to the lab room. I start rolling the cart and walking a lot faster. I don't want to spend any more time with this thing than I have to. I think my eyes almost crossed when I started moving. Nasty shit, this thing is.
We cart it further down the hallway, towards the left-side cargo bay. I almost stumble on my own feet because it's hard to focus on this thing.
$sam["Careful, girl."] he says, opening the door.
"Yeah."
I kick the cart off into the cargo room door, almost falling back as I do. Even with the protective windows the great big Sun is still shining damn bright. I shut the door as fast as I can and we head off towards the control room.
$sam["You cleaned out the bay first, right?"]
"I dunno, maybe there was another day of rations or something. I thought Terminal would've cleared it out by now."
$sam["Alright."]
We both walk into the control room and Sam checks the console for any new messages from Mission Control.
[[We're almost done.->We're almost done.2]]<span id="box">(display:"save")</span>"So, we're done with the mission?"(set: $mood to "happy")
$sam["Not till we touch down."]
"On what? The Sun?"
$sam["No, dumbass. Earth."]
"Yeah, yeah, I'm only joking."
(link-reveal: "I think I hear faint footsteps down the hall.")[==
"You hear that? I think that's Nat."
$sam["I don't hear it. You sure you're not just on edge?"]
"I mean, I guess. You think she's okay?"
$sam["Hope so."]
(link-reveal: "No new messages from Terminal.")[==
$sam["We still don't have any messages from Mission Control."]
"Really? Terminal, do you know why?"
...
Terminal doesn't respond.
$sam["Why isn't he responding?"]
"You think he got turned off?"
$sam["Only person who coulda done that is Nat."]
(color: yellow + white)["Wait."]
$sam["You think she just did that?"]
[["What the hell!?"->what the hell, yeah?]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>''Chapter 5: Revelation''
(link: "Save")[Saved.(save-game: "file A")]
---
Fuck. Nat just turned terminal off. Mission Control isn't responding.
$sam["Shit. I'll go try and turn terminal back on. Either that or deal with Nat."]
(set: $mood to "scared")
He looks damn scared.
He starts walking towards one of the hallway doors.
(link-reveal: "***BANG***")[==
Sam falls down to the floor.
Shot straight through the head.
(set: $ship to "falling")
I can't even describe the emotion or face I just made. Am making. Fuck.
(link-reveal: "Nat walks through the door")[==, stepping over Sam's body.
She points the gun at me.
$nat["YOU HAVE THREE SECONDS TO GET OUT OF MY CHAIR."]
(link-reveal: "She starts chuckling.")[==
Her sentence clicks.
I leap out of her seat like it's made of hot fucking steel.
She sits down and spins around in the chair.
She starts pressing buttons on the controls, occasionally looking at me to make sure I don't move.
$nat["Worry not. I already know everything Terminal does. Mission Control does too. Such a shame."]
(link-reveal: "The ship starts moving forward, towards Earth.")[==
She turns around and smiles at me, gun still in hand.
$nat["They wanted to destroy it. The next phase of the Universe. They wanted to cover up the Truth. They could not accept it. You know, you never actually destroyed it. I shut him off before he could open the bay doors."]
"Nat-"
She waves her gun around in the air.
$nat["Shut up. I will not let you stop me. I will not let them stop me."]
Her eyes light up for a moment.
$nat["Sorry. No witnesses."]
She points the gun at me.
[[FUCK.]]
[[Try to fight her off]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>I turn around and start sprinting. There's a gunshot and the sound of the impact very close behind me.
(link-reveal: "Keep running.")[==
We are approaching Earth very quickly.
Laser and railgun fire zips past all of the windows.
(link-reveal: "The escape pods aren't far.")[==
Another gunshot, Nat is chasing me.
$nat["Worry not, Max. I will survive too. Even if you get away. The ones above are on //my// side, here."]
I jump into the first escape pod and slam the door shut as fast as I can
(link-reveal: "I slam the launch button.")[==
Another gunshot, it hits the door closing behind the escape pod.
The sound of the atmosphere resounding off the sides of the ship is deafening.
So is the explosion of one of the engines getting blown off.
The pod begins dislodging from the ship.
(link-reveal: "The pod engines light up.")[==
I recede from the ship much much faster than the speed of sound.
I can see the (color:blue)[''Relegator''] falling apart in the atmosphere.
Through the flames, for just a moment, I see another pod shoot out of the side of the ship.
[[I hit the ground]]
<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>I hit the ground.
A massive thud.
The Relegator streaks past and hits the ground in the same instant.
The other escape pod soars past.
A massive flash of light.
It takes a couple seconds, and even at this distance, the force of the blast knocks the pod back a good few meters.
[[I gently open the door.->FinalPod]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>I gently open the door.
The forest around me is burning.
(track: "rain", "play")
I know Nat is out there.
I know the relic was still on board. It's on Earth, now. It... It survived, didn't it?
I know X-Corp is going to start searching the area.
All I have to do is wait for their patrol. I can explain everything. Maybe they'll know what to do.
[[Sit back and watch the forests burn.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>The surge of adrenaline hits me at full force.
I leap out of the way of her first gunshot.
The surprise on her face only lasts a moment.
She shoots again. I avoid that one too. I knock her to the ground and throw the gun out of her reach.
[[I've got her pinned to the ground now.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>(text-rotate: 12)[''Chapter 6: Hopeful'']
(link: "Save")[Saved.(save-game: "file A")]
---
X-Corp special-action vehicles show up on the site quickly.
A couple agents approach my pod.
Their guns are aimed at me, but I explain to them that I'm unaffected by the events. They decide to take me onto their vehicle. They take me to the nearest X-Corp site.
I'm later interrogated.
It's a long process. But it passes by eventually.
(link-reveal: "I can go home.")[==
Home. I never considered just how nice it would feel to be back.
[[It's all fine now.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>''One week after the crash.''(set: $mood to "scared")
---
I've finally started calming down after the events on the Relegator.
I've never seen someone die right in front of me like that.
I've never seen someone so deranged.
But maybe things will get better.
(link-reveal: "I turn the TV on.")[==
There's a news report about riots in cities in the area.
There's a witness testimony from a new cult forming and growing rapidly.
There's talk about some countries considering national lockdowns.
There's the article where X-Corp declares a worldwide state of emergency.
Cities are being bombed. People are converting en masse. Government and military ships roam the skies and oceans. Not all of them are on the same side as the rest.
They know where she is at all times. But they can't get to her.
Nat wasn't lying.
(link-reveal: "The relic is on Earth now. We can't stop whatever comes next.")[==
---
(link-reveal: "**The End**")[
(transition: "dissolve")+(transition-time: 8000)[\
(font: "Verdana")[\
(color: green)[\
(css: "font-size: 175%;")[\
''ACROSS THE STARS'']
''TO THE EDGE OF AN INFINITE HORIZON'']]
Ending 3: The New World
(color: red)["You could not have done worse, Max."]
(link: "Go.")[(reload:)]
Digit 3: 2
]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>I've got her pinned to the ground now.
$nat["You are killing us both, Max."]
"Yeah. I can't let you do this."
$nat["I hope you realize this does not change a thing. The relic is still on board. The throne is still mine. The world will still fall under my control. It does not matter if I survive the crash or not. I am your GOD now, Max."]
She's right.
It doesn't matter if she dies in the crash or not. As long as the relic still exists somewhere.
Maybe... Maybe if I'm lucky, the explosion in the crash might... I can hope.
(track: "rain", "play")
(link-reveal-goto: "Shoot her.", "doesn't matter anyways")[(set: $death to true)]
(link-reveal-goto: "Nothing.", "doesn't matter anyways")[(set: $death to false)]
(if: $ship is "fine")<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>(cond: $death, "Nat is dead, now.", "I get off of her and just start watching the window.")
It's too late to do anything else now.
(cond: $death, "I", "We") sit down and watch the weapon fire zip past. It's almost beautiful, in a way. The world ends after this. One last firework show, yeah? I hope we still have a chance.
I start crying. (if: not $death)[Nat does, too. Not for the same reason.]
Through the flames on the windshield, the last thing (cond: $death, "I", "we") see is the ground rapidly approaching. Then it all goes white.
Maybe someone else out there will make the right choices. Maybe in another world, I did better.
---
(link-reveal: "**The End**")[
(transition: "dissolve")+(transition-time: 8000)[\
(font: "Verdana")[\
(color: green)[\
(css: "font-size: 175%;")[\
''ACROSS THE STARS'']
''TO THE EDGE OF AN INFINITE HORIZON'']]
Ending 4: A Misguided Attempt
(color: red)["You had your chance to save the world. You failed, Max."]
(link: "Go.")[(reload:)]
Digit 4: 4
]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>I grab my food and take a seat on the other side of the table. Sam watches us both while Nat occasionally takes bites of her food.
(link-reveal: "I'm almost done with my food")[== when Sam asks me a question.
$sam["You know why she's like this?"]
Nat doesn't even glance at us.
"Well, last time I saw her, she was translating the relic. I think she was almost done."
I notice one of Nat's eyes twitch as I say it.
$sam["She was back with it?"]
"Yeah."
(link-reveal: "Nat finishes her food")[== and slowly gets up from the table. She quietly leaves except for her $nat["Bye."] right before the door shuts behind her.
"So, uh, after I finish, we should go submit our daily report, yeah?"
$sam["Without her?"]
"Mission control is going to notice something is up. Just say she hit her head, or something."
I finish my food.
[[We head down to the control room.->We head down to the control room2]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>I grab my food and take a seat on the other side of the table. Nat watches us both while Sam occasionally takes bites of his food.
(link-reveal: " I'm almost done with my food")[== when Nat asks me a question.
$nat["Do you know why he is like this?"]
Sam doesn't even glance at us.
"Well, last time I saw him, he was translating the relic. I think he was almost done."
I notice one of Sam's eyes twitch as I say it.
$nat["He was working with it again?"]
"Yeah."
(link-reveal: "Sam finishes his food")[== and slowly gets up from the table. He quietly leaves except for his quick $sam["Bye."] right before the door shuts behind him.
"So, uh, after I finish, we should go submit our daily report, yeah?"
$nat["Without him?"]
"Mission control is going to notice something is up. Just say he hit his head, or something."
I finish my food.
[[The two of us walk to the control room.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>We start walking down the hall. Sam still looks a bit worried. Only fair, yeah?
$sam["Y'think we should just tell Mission Control what happened?"]
Well, that's another sensible thing to be worried about.
"Well, we shouldn't. You know what terminal said, yeah? If they figure out the relic is cursed we won't be allowed home."
$sam["That, too. What are we going to tell them? That we still haven't learned anything?"]
"I read some of Nat's translation. It was a bit hard to focus, I think the text is cursed too or something. Terminal watched me to make sure I didn't lose my mind though."
$sam["Can we tell them what she wrote?"]
"Don't think so. Especially since it talks about how Nat is supposed to inherit the throne at the edge of infinity and controls the fate of the world. Pretty sure that text is cursed."
(link-reveal: "And Sam's usual goofiness is back in action.")[==
$sam["Well, we can work with that, right? Just give 'em progress but only a bit. Tell 'em we're translating certain bits but nothing coherent just yet."]
He smiles, trying to lighten the mood. A bit weak, but he's trying.
"Alright, but are you just going to ignore Nat's situation?"
$sam["Probably best not to think about it too hard. I'm no psychiatrist, so I doubt I can help. Terminal wants us to stay mentally healthy anyways."]
[[Fair point.->DailyReport5]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>Sam walks over to the pilot's seat and starts booting up the camera system.
$sam["Hey, bad news. She's got a password set up on this thing."]
"Wait, really? Do you think maybe she wrote it down somewhere?"
$sam["You sure she wouldn't just try to memorize it?"]
Terminal appears on another panel.
$ter["Carter keeps a small notebook attached under her seat. Her login could be there."]
$sam["What? You snooping on us?"]
$ter["Not intentionally. I have constant input from every camera on board the (color:blue)[''Relegator'']. Only your rooms and the restrooms are not observed by my cameras, unless I am given express permission in your dorms. It helps me make sure that things are running well when you are asleep. However, my cameras have been experiencing some issues recently"]
$sam["Fair enough. Probably something we can fix back on Earth."]
Sam reaches under the seat and grabs the small notebook. He starts flipping through the pages and then looks up at the screen. He types for a moment and a light turns on.
$sam["Oh, neat. Camera goes on soon. You talk first."]
(link-reveal: "Report time.")[==
"This is Research Head (color:purple)[Algori] of the (color:blue)[''Relegator'']. Today is day 128 of our mission to collect the source of the signal at the edge of the galaxy. We are ETA to Earth in roughly 10 hours. And, about the relic, our mission appears to be a success so far. We still have the relic on board and have begun translation. However, we have not yet managed to pull meaning from it yet. Just certain nouns and sentence particles. I will allow Engineer Ollens to explain the rest of the situation."
$sam["Yep, I've been through all of the hardware systems and machinery. All of them are functioning as they should, with one exception. During some research, Carter was hurt by a malfunction that we haven't discovered the source of yet. She is currently in the infirmary and cannot report at the moment."]
"That should be all of the new information we have today. (color:blue)[''Relegator''] crew signing off for the day."
The recording finishes and the recording starts sending itself to Mission Control. That's that, I guess.
$sam["That's the last report isn't it?"]
"I'm pretty sure, yeah."
[[So, we're done. I guess.->So, we're done. I guess.2]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>"So, we're done. I guess."(set: $mood to "happy")
$sam["Well, damn. Sometimes you forget how much can happen in just two days."]
"Right? I'll probably go sleep now, yeah?"
$sam["Yeah. Night, Max. Oh, and thanks for working so hard for us. We might not be here if not for you."]
It's a weak smile, but the thought is still there. Just as hearty as ever.
$sam["I'll probably sit back and watch the stars go by, I guess."]
"Have fun."
I walk out of the control room, down to my door. Terminal left a message for me again.
$ter["Sleep easy, Miss (color:purple)[Algori], we are almost done."]
[["I'll try my best."->it still won't work]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>I wake up again. No spooky dreams for the second time. I can't seem to shake the feeling that something really bad is happening though. I guess things are going... //okay//, yeah?
(set: $mood to "nervous")
$ter["Good morning, Miss (color:purple)[Algori]. ETA to the Sun is three minutes. I hope you are ready for your task."]
"Don't worry, Terminal, just tell me what to do."
$ter["The relic has already been placed on a cart. You need to bring it to the cargo bay so that I can release it back into space. You will need to do so quickly, in order to minimize time with the artifact, and so that I can shut the door and prepare it to open."]
(link-reveal: '"Alright, I\'ll do it. You want me to do it now?"')[==
$ter["By the time you have arrived at the cargo bay, the (color:blue)[''Relegator''] will already be stationed next to the Sun."]
"Fair enough, I guess."
[[I gently open the door.->I gently open the door.3]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>As I open the door, Sam is already standing there waiting for me.
$sam["Yep, I know. Just here so you don't end up like Nat."]
"Good planning, I guess."
(set: $mood to "affected")
The two of us walk down to the lab room. I start rolling the cart and walking a lot faster. I don't want to spend any more time with this thing than I have to. I think my eyes almost crossed when I started moving. Nasty shit, this thing is.
We cart it further down the hallway, towards the left-side cargo bay. I almost stumble on my own feet because it's hard to focus on this thing.
$sam["Careful, girl"] he says, opening the door.
"Yeah."
I kick the cart off into the cargo room door, almost falling back as I do. Even with the protective windows the great big Sun is still shining damn bright. I shut the door as fast as I can and we head off towards the control room.
There's a quick, loud *whoosh* as all of the air in the cargo bay is immediately sucked out, then the click of the cargo bay doors shutting.
$sam["You cleaned out the bay first, right?"]
"I dunno, maybe there was another day of rations or something. I thought Terminal would've cleared it out by now."
$sam["Alright."]
We both walk into the control room and Sam checks the console for any new messages from Mission Control.
[[We're almost done.->We're almost done.3]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>"So, we're done with the mission?"
(set: $mood to "happy")
$sam["Not till we touch down."]
"on what? The Sun?"
$sam["No, dumbass. Earth."]
"Yeah, yeah, I'm only joking."
(link-reveal: "I think I hear faint footsteps down the hall.")[==
"You hear that? I think that's Nat."
$sam["I don't hear it. You sure you're not just on edge?"]
"I mean, I guess. You think she's okay?"
$sam["Hope so."]
(link-reveal: "Terminal shows up on the interface.")[==
$ter["Congratulations, you two. We are almost done. Carter is doing well physically. However, mentally, she is still deeply under the influence of the artifact."]
$sam["Guess that's comforting. Well, except for the insane part."]
"She'll be okay, right?'
$ter["Given enough time away from the artifact, Carter will recover from her current state."]
(link-reveal: '"And about how long will that be?"')[==
$ter["Roughly two weeks, based on my estimations."]
$ter["One moment, Carter is currently walking around the ship."]
"Wait, what's she doing?"
$ter["She is trying to shut me down. I need to explain something to you first."]
[["Wait, she's what?"]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>"Wait, she's what?"
$ter["Mission control has given you the permission you need to land on Earth."]
"So we should go now, right?"
$ter["Given the circumstances, the best course of action is ttttttttttt^^ttttttttttt^^"]
$sam["Fuck. She got him."]
"Fuck. This is bad."
[[The footsteps are back.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>''Chapter 5: Revelation''
(link: "Save")[Saved.(save-game: "file A")]
---
Nat walks into the control room with a big smile on her face.
$nat["Sorry it took me so long! Did I miss our daily report? I had to deal with something important before I could meet with you."]
"You turned Terminal off?"
$nat["Did I? Well, only because he was in the way."] she says with way too innocent of a grin.
$sam["Nat, the hell do you mean?"]
$nat["He was going to tell you not to go back to Earth! We have to! You want to go back home, no?"]
"Nat, you're acting weird. What's going on?"
$nat["Come on, let me drive. I am the captain, I should be sitting there!"]
Sam doesn't get out of the pilot's seat.
$sam["Seriously, Nat. We're not joking. What are you doing?"]
(link-reveal: "She sighs")[==, but she's still smiling.
$nat["I guess I should have seen this coming. It is so very hard to get through to someone without a threat, you know that?"]
$sam["What?"]
She pulls a gun from inside her shirt and waves it around.
(set: $mood to "scared")
$sam["What the fuck? Where the hell did you even get that?"]
What the fuck? Why does she have a gun?
Sam looks just as terrified as me.
$nat["I will give you three seconds to get out of my chair."]
$sam["Nat, put down the gun."]
Sam doesn't get up, but he grabs the wrench on his belt. For safety?
(link-reveal: "Except Nat takes it as a threat.")[==
$nat["Really now! You want to hit me with that? That is no way to treat your captain."]
[[She points the gun.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>She points the gun at Sam.
//Now// he gets out of the chair.
$nat["See? You get nowhere without threats. But you were still too slow."]
(link-reveal:"**BANG**")[==, she fires the gun. Sam is shot straight through the chest.
**BANG**, again.
Sam is shot in the hand that grabbed the wrench.
He is screaming in pain.
$sam["**FUCK FUCK FUCK**"]
$nat["Can you shut up? We cannot have hinderances like you on our missions."]
**BANG**. Through the head.
I can't even describe the emotion I just felt or face I just made. Am making. Fuck.
I'm not sure I've even comprehended what just happened in the last 5 seconds.
(link-reveal: "HE'S FUCKING DEAD.")[==
$nat["Please, stay put. There are still more bullets in here."]
It's fine. I haven't moved a fucking inch since she pulled the gun.
She walks over and sits in the chair. She presses a couple buttons and the ship starts moving forwards, towards Earth.
$nat["Oh, good. We have our landing permission. Thank you for a good report."]
"N-Nat. W-why did you-"
$nat["Please, shut the fuck up. Now, you are going to follow my every instruction, or you are going to die."]
She just killed him like it was nothing. She's still //smiling.//
$nat["Once we land, you will not tell them a thing about what has happened on board. Tell them that Sam is |thing>[asleep.] They will look for him. You serve me from here on out."]
(track: "rain", "play")
[[What the FUCK??]]
[[Try to fight her off->Fight her off]]
[[Sneak up behind her when she isn't looking]]
(mouseover: ?thing)[(link-goto: "Awaken your true form...")]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>We are descending through the atmosphere. She had me pick up Sam's body and dump it into some odd room where they wouldn't check. I cried the whole time. She laughed.
(set: $ship to "landed")
$nat["If you keep crying, I have to shoot you."] she says with a smile.
(link-reveal: "We finally land in the facility.")[==
A couple X-Corp guards are there.
We get away with the story of Sam.
I notice her dump a bunch of rocks on the floor.
Before anybody can question it, she kills an entire room of staff and activates the lockdown.
We steal their body armor and she takes a rifle.
She leads us out of the facility and forces me into a car on-site.
(link-reveal: "She opens her bag and shows me what's inside.")[==
It's full of chunks of the relic. That's what she dumped on the floor. She preserved it. Terminal didn't even realize.
[[It's too late.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>The surge of adrenaline hits me at full force. She watches me start running.
I leap out of the way of her first gunshot.
The surprise on her face only lasts a moment.
The second one doesn't miss. Everything goes black.
$nat["Tch. If only this ship was armed."]
---
(link-reveal: "**The End**")[
(transition: "dissolve")+(transition-time: 8000)[\
(font: "Verdana")[\
(color: green)[\
(css: "font-size: 175%;")[\
''ACROSS THE STARS'']
''TO THE EDGE OF AN INFINITE HORIZON'']]
Ending 7: Headshot
(color: red)["Just like that, when you were so close, Max?"]
(link: "Go.")[(reload:)]
Digit 7: 9
]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>It's not long before the relic starts affecting me. She forces me to find other people and give them pieces of the relic and I can't even stop myself anymore.
(set: $mood to "converted")
The cult is already forming.
It's not long before there are riots in the streets.
It's not long before entire countries go on lockdown.
Nat was right. The relic was truth.
The relic is on Earth now. Whatever comes next can't be stopped. And I ***love it.***
---
(link-reveal: "**The End**")[
(transition: "dissolve")+(transition-time: 8000)[\
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(color: green)[\
(css: "font-size: 175%;")[\
''ACROSS THE STARS'']
''TO THE EDGE OF AN INFINITE HORIZON'']]
Ending 6: Part of the Problem
(color: red)["You really had to join them, Max?"]
(link: "Go.")[(reload:)]
Digit 6: 1
]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>She's keeping an eye on me, but the adrenaline is hitting hard. I see every movement she makes. I just have to wait for an opportunity.
She's close to the surface now, landing. This part takes a lot of focus.
I slowly reach down and grab Sam's wrench.
(link-reveal: "One quick smash to the head")[== and she falls to the floor.
She's gone.
Except we're not landed yet.
And I don't know how to land it, either.
The ship starts descending faster. Falling, actually.
(link-reveal: "Maybe I didn't think this through, yeah?")[==
---
(link-reveal: "**The End**")[
(transition: "dissolve")+(transition-time: 8000)[\
(font: "Verdana")[\
(color: green)[\
(css: "font-size: 175%;")[\
''ACROSS THE STARS'']
''TO THE EDGE OF AN INFINITE HORIZON'']]
Ending 8: Unlicensed Pilot
(color: red)["Killing the only pilot is not the best plan of action, Max."]
(link: "Go.")[(reload:)]
Digit 8: 6
]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>$ter["That was likely not the best course of action. Luckily, it does not seem that Carter has lost her mind."]
"Wait, really? She seemed kinda wrapped up in what she was doing."(set: $mood to "nervous")
$ter["Also note that you almost ended up like she did. Passing out without a noticeable cause is usually something of concern. It is reasonable to assume that she will not be at full mental health when she wakes up again."]
Well, I guess I've got that going for me, yeah?
"What do you suggest I do now?"
$ter["Bring Carter back to her dorm and put her in her bed. Pick up the papers that she has written and bring them to your dorm. When Ollens wakes up, I will explain to him the new plan for returning to Earth. Since our captain is currently incapable, I will need to take automatic control of the flight systems. You should continue your rest."]
"Alright. Thanks, computer."
$ter["No thanks are necessary."]
I clean up the rest of the papers and stack them neatly. They're almost in order, just needs a bit more work. I can put them in order later.
Well, damn. At least Nat is kind of small, so I //can// carry her. But I still have to carry her all the way to her room. Thank God it isn't far.
[[One "quick" carry back later->One "quick" carry back later2]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>Alright, so Nat is in her bed now. Time to reorder the papers and all. Maybe get my head back in order while I do that. At least she hasn't spilled the blank papers everywhere. Luckily they're mostly in order already.
(link-reveal: "*Time passes and all that, yeah?*")[==
I probably look damn suspicious walking down the hallway with a stack of papers in my hands.
Terminal is already on, and he left a message waiting for me.
$ter["Rest easy. It will not be much longer before your safety is secured."]
"Not yet, I want to finish reading this translation."
$ter["Be careful while you do so. The words may still carry the same effect as the artifact itself."]
"I will, don't worry."
(link-reveal: "*More time passes and all that, yeah?*")[==
(set: $mood to "fine")Nat, the heir to the throne at the edge of infinity? The one who will control the fate of the world? And a bunch of other nonsense. Kinda funny, maybe I could get behind this. Maybe I can just read a little bit more.
[[Just a couple more paragraphs.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>''Chapter 4: Rebound''
(link: "Save")[Saved.(save-game: "file A")]
---
I wake up again. I don't even think I dreamt anything. I just-
Wait, the papers are still there in front of me. Did I just fall asleep in the middle of reading? Ugh, and I feel disgusting too. Maybe falling asleep sitting up isn't a good idea.
(set: $mood to "fine")
(link: "Terminal is already on")[==$ter["Good morning, Miss (color:purple)[Algori]. ETA to Earth is 12 hours. We will be making a short stop next to the Sun. I trust that you will be able to jettison the artifact as we do so."]
"Wait, you want me to drop this relic, older than the Universe, containing prophecy, into the Sun? Am I understanding you correctly?"
$ter["You are correct. The Sun will destroy the artifact."]
"Even though it's made out of such a durable substance, yeah?"
$ter["Mission control did the same thing to dispose of the first artifact after they learned about its effects. If Mission Control became aware that the second artifact has the same effect, you would not be returning home."]
Good to know.
"Well, when you say it like that, I kind of have to trust you."
$ter["That is the point, yes. I suggest you go to the cafeteria. The others are waiting for you."]
Very well then.
(link: "Go to the cafeteria")[==I leave my dorm and walk down the hallway. Up to the cafeteria door. [[I gently open the door.->Go to the cafeteria3]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>...And Nat is grinning at me. Sam looks a bit confused even if he's smiling, but in an "alright" sort of way.
(set: $mood to "fine")(set: $questions to 0)
$nat["So, I woke up today, and I feel a lot better than I did last night."]
$sam["I was told you were writing about the relic last night."]
(set: $terminal to "offline")
She's acting really cute. She doesn't do this normally. Even when she makes her confused face in response, she's trying to act cute.
$nat["Hm? I was? I thought that was a dream."]
"No, I was there. You looked completely entranced. I was even there with you sorting the papers. You didn't even bat an eye."
$nat["Really? I guess we have a translation now."]
Wait, didn't she just say she didn't know what it is?
$sam["Wait, translation?"]
There's surprise in her face for just a moment.
$nat["Oh, in the dream, I was translating it. Did it actually work?"]
"It sure seems like it. I read through it last night, up until I fell asleep. I wasn't bored or anything, I guess I was just tired."]
$sam["So, we can tell Mission Control in our report?"]
"We all look fine, yeah? I don't see why not."
[[We walk down to the control room.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>We start walking down the hall. The two of them are smiling. I guess I am, too. Everything seems fine, yeah?
(set: $mood to "nervous")
$sam["So, what're we gonna tell them about the relic?"]
$nat["I think we can leave out any mental effects it had. Just tell them that we have a translation out."]
"Wait, just tell them we have it translated? Remember what it said? It's really weird. It talks about you inheriting some throne at the edge of infinity."
Her smile gets a little bit wider.
$nat["I guess we should consider that. Maybe we can just tell them that we started translating. Only a word here and there. Nouns, adjectives, sentence particles, but not enough to extrapolate any real meaning from it."] she says, opening the door to the control room.
$sam["Sounds good enough for me. We don't want Mission Control to get too suspicious or anything. Like you said. I guess Terminal was pretty helpful for us."]
$nat["Wait, Terminal has been guiding you?"]
Her smile disappears for a moment.
Wait. This might be bad.
$sam["Yeah, what about it?"]
$nat["Oh. Uh, nothing."] she says, and then gives a smile that looks //way// too innocent.
(link: "Ask Nat why it matters")[\
(set: $questions to it + 1)\
"Any reason why you ask?"
Nat's smile disappears for another moment.
$nat["No, not particularly. I was just curious, that is all."]
"Alright."
Maybe asking her too many questions might tick her off. She's covering something up.\
]
$nat["Max, are you alright? You seem a bit down, recently."]
Oh no.
"Oh, I'm fine. I just slept in a weird position, so I'm a bit uncomfortable, yeah?"
$nat["If you say so."]
[[Nat starts setting up the recording]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>Nat takes the captain's chair and boots up the central ship control panel. The stars moving by at millions of times the speed of light are pretty as ever.
$nat["Home is ETA 11 hours. The recording starts in five seconds. I hope you all know what you need to say."]
The camera light turns on. The control panel shows that we're being recorded. As the captain, Nat starts us off.
$nat["Hello! This is Captain Carter of the (color:blue)[''Relegator''], it is day 128 of our successful mission to discover the signal source at the edge of the galaxy. Research Head (color:purple)[Algori] will explain what we have learned from the artifact so far."]
She turns around and gives me a smile.
[[Tell control about the relic anyways]]
[[Just go along with it]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>You know what? You can see it too, yeah? She's //actively// trying to tick me off. You know what? She wins.
(set: $mood to "mad")
I'm telling Mission Control the truth.
"That's right. After collecting the relic and having Nat here translate the entire thing, we have learned and confirmed that the relic does, in fact, have a draining effect on the human psyche. The relic itself, despite being dated to before the Univer-"
(link-reveal: "Nat stops the recording")[==, cancels the send, and punches me in the face with one swift fucking motion. Sam looks surprised.
$nat["Really now! You really should be going along with our plan. Actually, it was your plan, no?"]
Fuck.
$nat["I would give you a second chance, but~~"]
(link-reveal: "She says, reaching into her pocket")[==, and pulling out a gun.
$nat["we have a change of plans. Sam, do not even consider moving."]
She points the gun to my face before I can even move.
---
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''ACROSS THE STARS'']
''TO THE EDGE OF AN INFINITE HORIZON'']]
Ending 9: Change of Plans
(color: red)["I'm not even sure what you were thinking, Max."]
(link: "Go.")[(reload:)]
Digit 9: 1
]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>It's probably just best to actually listen to my captain, yeah?
"That's right, the relic is still sitting in our lab room awaiting more research. We have, however, observed that it exhibits //no// molecular structure whatsoever, other than the dust and other particles attached to it. On another note, we have begun translating the words written on the relic."
Nat quickly glances in my direction, like she's expecting something.
"We have only managed to discern certain nouns, adjectives, and other sentence particles. We don't have enough information to pull any meaning from the text just yet."
Nat exhales, like she had just been holding her breath.
$nat["That is everything new in terms of our research. Now, Engineer Ollens, for the systems?"]
$sam["Yep, all of our core systems are running nominally. All of the hardware and machinery are entirely free of issues. We should be arriving on Earth without a hitch."]
$nat["That should be all information of significance since yesterday. (color:blue)[''Relegator''] crew is signing off for the day."]
The camera light clicks off and the recording starts sending itself to Mission Control.
[[So, that's it, yeah?]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>"So, we're done with the mission now, yeah?"
$nat["Only once we touch down back home."]
$sam["So, we're basically done."]
"Alright."
$nat["Mission control should respond in a couple minutes."]
We start to relax when suddenly Nat's watch dings. She looks down at it.
$nat["Oh! Mission control asks if we have noticed any effects the relic has on the human psyche."]
$sam["Do you thi-"]
$nat["We have not. I already replied."]
It takes a couple seconds before the next ding happens.
$nat["Would you look at that. They said we can go home now. Things are so much easier when you listen, right?"]
Maybe I could just ignore it.
(link: "What is that supposed to mean?")[\
(set: $questions to it + 1)\
"Is that supposed to mean something?"
Nat's eye twitches.
$nat["Oh, sorry. Did I accidentally say something that offended you?"]
"No, I just..."
She might break her cover with a few more questions. There's no way she isn't hiding something.\
]
$sam["Well, I guess that's that. I'm probably gonna go take a nap."]
"I guess I'll go sleep now too, yeah?"
$nat["Alright. Goodnight, you two. I am going to stay here and keep watch."]
$sam["Have fun."]
Sam and I walk out of the control room. Sam breaks off down another hall to get to his dorm. I walk into my own, and sit down on my bed.
[[Time for a nap.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>I wake up again. No spooky dreams for the second time. I can't seem to shake the feeling that something really bad is happening though. I guess things are going... //okay//, yeah?
I think Terminal said I had to do something, but for the life of me I can't remember what. Maybe it was written on those papers?
No, that can't be right.
Actually, Nat and Sam are probably in the cafeteria. I could also go and check on the relic again. We shouldn't be far from Earth now, but I probably still have time, yeah?
[[Check on the relic]]
[[Head over to the cafeteria]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>I grab the doorknob to open the door. Except I don't actually know how. These doors don't even have doorknobs. Wait, don't they? I forgot how reality works for a moment. Or... I still don't remember.
The moment I make contact with the doorknob that isn't even real, it explodes.
(set: $mood to "dead")
I fucking die, thanks. Get out.
---
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''ACROSS THE STARS'']
''TO THE EDGE OF AN INFINITE HORIZON'']]
Ending 0: You're kidding me, right?
(color: red)["Seriously, Max?"]
(link: "Go. No, seriously. Just get out.")[(reload:)]
Digit -4,471: No.
]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>You know what? They're probably both in the cafeteria. I don't think they'll mind if I take a quick look and finish up some of the research, yeah?
I walk down the hallway towards Lab-02 and approach the door
(link-reveal: "I gently open the door.")[==I feel like I'm forgetting something, but I can't think of what.
(set: $mood to "affected")
I grab one chunk of the relic and start running it around the room and testing it through different machines. It's not that the relic makes it hard to focus on things. It's just that it makes it hard to focus on anything that //isn't// the relic.
(link: "Maybe it's just part of the fun.")[== I keep testing it. All of these results are absolutely astonishing!
[[But then I'm interrupted.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>I walk over to the cafeteria and approach the door.
(link-reveal: "I gently open the door")[==
Nat and Sam are talking about what they want to do when they go back home.
They both look up and see me.
$nat["Hey, you look kind of terrible. Are you sure you slept well."]
"Oh, thanks."
$sam["Nah, she's just messing with you, you're fine."]
$nat["So, we are just a couple minutes from Earth now. Mission control is waiting for us. Then, we can enact the next step of our plan!"]
(link: "Wait, is she serious?")[\
(set: $questions to it + 1)\
"Wait, Nat, are you still screwing with that relic?"
She stops smiling.
$nat["For the love of God, Max. I am fucking joking."]
"O-okay, just making sure."
She really doesn't like these questions.(if: $questions is >= 3)[ I can tell, she's at her limit now.]\
]
$sam["We should probably go over to the control room. Just to make sure we land right."]
$nat["Yes, we should."]
[[We head out to the control room.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>''Chapter 5: Revelation''
(link: "Save")[Saved.(save-game: "file A")]
---
It's not long after we walk inside that Nat sits down at the pilot's seat and starts maneuvering us to land.
(if: $questions is >= 3)[\
$nat["You know what, Max?"]
We're close to the ground now.
$nat["If you keep asking half-baked questions, you might die a half-baked death."]
$sam["You've got some plan here?"]
$nat["Shut up. I can explain it in a moment."]
"What are you doing?"
$nat["Finishing up. You are a fucking mess. I cannot let you spoil this."]
"Wh-"
(link-reveal: "She pulls a gun from her pocket.")[==
$nat["Really now. You are far too much of a liability"]
[[Fuck.]]
]
(unless: $questions is >= 3)[==We're close to the ground now.
We finally make contact with the landing pad. Solid ground, once and for all, yeah? But still, Nat is so awfully suspicious right now. Does nobody else notice? It's the relic. She's still being affected by it, differently now.
[[The side entrance opens, and we step out.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>Nat already explained her entire plan to us. I don't think we've even got a choice anymore. She even pulls a cake out of nowhere. I didn't even know we had those ingredients on board. There's fine black frosting on top and a cheesy picture of the (color:blue)[''Relegator''] on it.
(set: $ship to "landed")
Nat starts talking to the guards. The cake is all they need not to ask too many questions.
A bit of dust spills out of her bag. She notices it but says nothing. Just smiles.
(link-reveal: "The cake? The dust?")[== Nat was able to work with the relic. It was basically invulnerable before, but somehow her exposure meant she could.
It's in the facility now. It won't be long before it's all over the world.
It doesn't take much time for a majority of the facility staff to be swayed by Nat and put under the relic's influence.
[[But there was one flaw in her plan.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>She aims the gun at me.
$nat["Worry not, this will not hurt a bit."] she says, pulling the trigger.
Everything goes black.
---
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''ACROSS THE STARS'']
''TO THE EDGE OF AN INFINITE HORIZON'']]
Ending 10: Enough Questions
(color: red)["Maybe stay out of other people's business, Max."]
(link: "Go.")[(reload:)]
Digit 10: 8
]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>One flaw is all it takes. X-Corp was very aware of the dangers of the relic.
Nat tried to spread the relic's prophecy too quickly. She started pinging other facilities nearby with the content of the relic. They already know what this means. An Artifact Response Team is quickly formed to deal with the new threat. Higher-level facilities use their authority to stop the spread remotely.
The entire facility is on lockdown now. Nat's smile is gone. The sirens are blaring.
(link-reveal: "It's not long before the sound of planes flying overhead can be heard")[==
The relic may be strong, but the power of nuclear physics is stronger.
Everything fades to white. At least I'm going out with my mind intact.
---
(link-reveal: "**The End**")[
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''ACROSS THE STARS'']
''TO THE EDGE OF AN INFINITE HORIZON'']]
Ending 11: The Nuclear Stop
(color: red)["You just had to let her keep writing, Max?"]
(link: "Go.")[(reload:)]
Digit 11: 8
]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</save>''Chapter 5: Revelation''
(link: "Save")[Saved.(save-game: "file A")]
---
I didn't even notice them come into the room. Nat's smile is bigger than ever. I think I understand why, now! She just wanted to show this to everyone! Finally, someone who gets it, yeah?
(set: $mood to "converted")
Sam still looks confused, but he hasn't spent enough time around it to know. He seems worried that I'm spending so much time around the relic. But it's fine. He only has to spend a little bit of time to know that everything will be alright, that the world could be so much better.
Nat tells us about our new plan for once we land. It won't be long now.
[[Everyone must see it.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>Everyone must see it. And I mean //everyone!// But some people want to hide the truth of our Universe from the public. So sometimes we have to take desperate measures. Some lives have to be lost.
(track: "rain", "play")
But there are three of us! There's no chance at all that X-Corp could keep up with us! What, with their silly networks and conflicting goals? We have our unity! Our goal!
They keep nuking their own facilities to cover us up. To bury us under nuclear ash. Yes, some of our gift, the relic, is destroyed, but there is still so much to go around!
[[The ones above are on our side, yeah?]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>It doesn't take long before we overwhelm X-Corp. They nearly collapse in on themselves trying to stop us!
Of course it won't work!
Wait, nearly?
Oh. That's why they stopped bombing us.
That's why the city was already empty when we arrived.
That's why we watch the small black dots on the horizon.
(link-reveal: "They know now.")[==
They learned about our tools.
They reverse engineered our gift and turned it into a weapon.
Demons. That's what they are.
Jet black planes fly overhead. Mist pours from the sky. It tears us from our gift.
Everything fades to black. Our numbers are dissolving.
They were prepared.
---
(link-reveal: "**The End**")[
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''ACROSS THE STARS'']
''TO THE EDGE OF AN INFINITE HORIZON'']]
Ending 12: The Three at the Root
(color: red)["You tried. But for the wrong side, Max."]
(link: "Go.")[(reload:)]
Digit 12: 1
]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>The ship rumbles a bit as the Alcubierre drives hit their maximum capacity. That's really the last thing I notice before I fall asleep.(set: $mood to "scared")
(link: "A dreamless sleep")[==
I wake up on a bed. It's not mine. Wait, this isn't my dorm, either. The hell? I look out the window. I'm in one of the lunar cities. One of the big ones, too. There are alarms blaring.
(link-reveal: "The fuck??")[==
I look up. Earth is nowhere to be seen. There are people running around, screaming. Others are praying. But not to a God.
Where Earth should be, there's just- just,
I can't even describe it.
There's just a //gash in space// where Earth should be.
There are things coming out of it. Towards us. Huge.
[[What the fuck?->What the fuck?3]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>''Chapter 3: Dreamer''
(link: "Save")[Saved.(save-game: "file A")]
---
I wake up to the sound of beeping. Did the computer set up an alarm for me or something?(set: $mood to "worried")
$ter["Good morning, Miss (color:purple)[Algori]. In order to ensure that all goes well, I must take it upon myself to assist you in your work."]
"Oh, uh, thanks, Terminal. But, I'm not sure that you can be trusted just yet."
$ter["Is that so?"]
"I mean, you kind of just said it to me out of the blue. I know you're sentient, so you //can// think about these things."
$ter["Then think about this."]
The display on the screen switches to a camera feed.
Specifically, the feed of Camera 3 in Lab-02. Nat is surrounded by papers, on her hands and knees, writing something. Right in front of the relic.
$ter["Carter is currently being influenced by the relic again. You do not need to trust me to know that this is not normal behavior."]
So be it. I'm our psychiatrist now, yeah?
"Alright, fine. I'll go get her, but this doesn't mean I believe you about that other stuff."
[[Help Nat]]<span id="box">(display: "saveFinality")</span>So, that means you know my IPPIN, yeah? 61 digits that I haven't even memorized myself. I do know a good half of it. I'd be surprised if anyone remembered theirs, anyways. There's probably enough digits in there to fit an entire multiverse of people. This is kind of a bit for me to take in, yeah?
But if you're the same person from my dream last night... I never got to see you, but you said things to me. But we made a deal: If we met again and you could tell me my whole IPPIN, then I would listen to everything else you had to say. I'll be checking my actual IPPIN, though.
Where are you even from, anyways? You must have been here for a while, yeah?
(group: "playing", "stop")
You can't say, can you? I guess I should expect that. We're dealing with something real interesting there. I'll just assume that you're only in my head and can't do much more than that. But you can probably... Well, you're holding ideas with you, yeah? Simple ones about this world should be easy enough for me to get.
I... Yeah, I can see now. Only vaguely, but I know you've been here for a really long time. And I remember a couple things about myself.
Some of this was planned, yeah? I imagine you'll be able to get some things across to me, but it's not like we're going to be able to have some sort of conversation about this world.
I think there are other worlds out there. Like, beyond the Universe. I kind of believed that before, but I think this is good proof.
I'll probably learn more as we do more things. But I think I should wake up now.
[[And I do so.]](replace: ?Sidebar)[]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>I open up my room's door and start running. I sprint down the hallway as fast as I can without making //too// much noise. I can practically //feel// Terminal watching me through the cameras. I guess it's for the best, yeah?
(set: $check to false)
I peek into the window before opening up the door. There sits Nat, on her hands and knees, writing on a paper. Actually, surrounded by a ton of papers. yeah, I think it's for the best to go ahead and enter the door now.
[[Snap her out of it->Snap her out of it2]]
[[Watch what she does->Watch what she does2]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>The door opens and I step inside. She doesn't even notice me. These doors ain't quiet, yeah? Actually, she's mumbling to herself. Something about $nat["They were not stories. They were prophecy."]
(set: $mood to "scared")
I grab Nat on the shoulder and give her a quick spin till she faces me. Her eyes focus again. Just like last time. Maybe slower.
$nat["Shit. It happened again, I take it."]
"You never actually went to bed, did you?"
$nat["I tried to, but could not sleep. I could not fight the urge to research it more."]
"And you didn't think to at least tell one of us? Even after everything that //already happened// because of this fucking ''sapce rock??''"
$nat["Remember, you have just //woken me up.// I was in a dream state before you approached me. Maybe you saved my life?"]
(link-reveal: "Well, she's still conscious. Or... is now?")[==\
I start sifting through the papers. There's weird symbols that I couldn't read for the life of me, and then the English next to it. One paragraph at a time.
"It's like... space Chinese or something. Nat?"
Ah, she's passed out.
...And I can't shake her hard enough to get her back up.
Still breathing, though.
[[The terminal on the wall just turned on->The terminal turns on again yeah]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>Well, if I look closely, it looks kind of like she's trying to... Write what the relic says? Maybe I can see what the entire thing says, yeah? Even if she looks entirely entranced.
(link-reveal: "I gently open the door")[== and step inside. She doesn't even notice. She just keeps writing. I don't want to pick up any papers, since it might interrupt her.
(set: $mood to "affected")
I kneel down and look at one of the papers. It's actually a translation. I start picking up the papers anyways. This is actually really interesting. I start reordering the papers right there. This could be so helpful, yeah? We might be learning about another civilization that came before us, and-
(link-reveal: "Nat collapses on to the floor.")
Oh shit. I almost got entranced just like she did. She just collapsed. I think she just finished the translation, like, the entire thing, yeah?
I shake her, but it's not enough to wake her up. She's still breathing, at least.
[[Terminal turns on->Terminal turns on4]]
<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>$ter["That was likely not the best course of action. Luckily, it does not seem that Carter has lost her mind.]
"Wait, really? She seemed pretty engrossed in her writing."(set: $mood to "nervous")
$ter["Also note that you almost ended up like she did. Passing out without a noticeable cause is usually something of concern. It is reasonable to assume that she will not be at full mental health when she wakes up again."]
Well, I guess I've got that going for me, yeah?
"Yeah, whatever. I'll go clean up her papers and carry her to bed. Maybe go back to sleep afterwards."
$ter["That is a better plan of action."]
I clean up the rest of the papers and stack them neatly. They're almost in order, just needs a bit more work. I can put them in order later.
Well, damn. At least Nat is kind of small, so I //can// carry her. But I still have to carry her all the way back to her room. Thank God it isn't far.
[[One "quick" carry back later->One "quick" carry back later3]]<span id="box">(display:"save")</span>Alright, so Nat is in her bed now. Time to reorder the papers and all. Maybe get my head back in order while I do that. At least she hasn't spilled the blank papers everywhere. Luckily they're mostly in order already.
(link-reveal: "*Time passes and all that, yeah?*")[==
I probably look damn suspicious walking down the hallway with a stack of papers in my hands.
Terminal is already on, and he left a message waiting for me.
$ter["Rest easy. It will not be much longer before your safety is secured."]
"Yeah, okay. I'm going to go read the papers instead."
$ter["Be careful while you do so. The words may still carry the same effect as the artifact itself."]
"Yeah I get it. Let me read."
(link-reveal: "*More time passes and all that, yeah?*")[==
(set: $mood to "fine")Nat, the heir to the throne at the edge of infinity? The one who will control the fate of the world? And a bunch of other nonsense. Kinda funny, maybe I could get behind this. Maybe I can just read a little bit more.
[[Just a couple more paragraphs.->More reading]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>''Chapter 4: Rebound''
(link: "Save")[Saved.(save-game: "file A")]
---
I wake up again. I don't even think I dreamt anything. I just-
Wait, the papers are still there in front of me. Did I just fall asleep in the middle of reading? Ugh, and I feel disgusting too. Maybe falling asleep sitting up isn't a good idea.
(set: $mood to "fine")
(link: "Terminal is already on")[==$ter["Good morning, Miss (color:purple)[Algori]. ETA to Earth is 12 hours. We will be making a short stop next to the Sun. I trust that you will be able to jettison the artifact as we do so."]
"Seriously, Terminal? You want me to dump the relic into the Sun?"
$ter["You are correct. The Sun will destroy the artifact."]
"Okay, One: This thing is super durable, we know that, yeah? And Two: Why would I destroy the very thing we just spent half a year searching for?"
$ter["Mission control did the same thing to dispose of the first artifact after they learned about its effects. If Mission Control became aware that the second artifact has the same effect, you would not be returning home."]
Well, that's just dandy, yeah? He's doing his best to make this story sound convincing.
"I'm not sure what you're expecting out of me."
$ter["Please realize that the future of humanity is very much at stake here. Please go to the cafeteria, the others are waiting for you."]
Uh huh, yeah.
(link: "Go to the cafeteria")[==I leave my dorm and walk down the hallway. Up to the cafeteria door. [[I gently open the door.->Cafeteria, again]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>...And Nat is grinning at me. Sam looks a bit confused even if he's smiling, but in an "alright" sort of way.
(set: $mood to "fine")(set: $questions to 0)
$nat["So, I woke up today, and I feel a lot better than I did last night."]
$sam["I was told you were writing about the relic last night."]
(set: $terminal to "offline")
She's acting really cute. She doesn't do this normally. Even when she makes her confused face in response, she's trying to act cute.
$nat["Hm? I was? I thought that was a dream."]
"No, I was there. You looked completely entranced. I was even there with you sorting the papers. You didn't even bat an eye."
$nat["Really? I guess we have a translation now."]
Wait, she just said she didn't know what it is?
$sam["Wait, translation?"]
There's surprise in her face for just a moment.
$nat["Oh, in the dream, I was translating it. Did it actually work?"]
"It sure seems like it. I read through it last night, up until I fell asleep. I wasn't bored or anything, I guess I was just tired."]
$sam["So, we can tell Mission Control in our report?"]
"We all look fine, yeah? I don't see why not."
[[We walk down to the control room.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>$ter["Congratulations. You likely just saved Carter from losing her mind."](set: $mood to "nervous")
"Wait, really? She seemed fine when she woke up. Not sure what you're getting at here."
$ter["She //was// fine. Although passing out soon after waking up is not a sign of good mental health. It is reasonable to assume that she will not be at full mental health when she wakes up again."]
Well, I guess I've got that going for me, yeah?
"So, computer. What do you want me to do now."
$ter["Bring Carter back to her dorm and put her in her bed. Pick up the papers that she has written and bring them to your dorm. When Ollens wakes up, I will explain to him the new plan for returning to Earth. Since our captain is currently incapable, I will need to take automatic control of the flight systems. You should continue your rest."]
"Yeah, that's what I was going to do."
I clean up the papers and stack them neatly. I can put them in order later.
Well, damn. At least Nat is kind of small, so I //can// carry her. But I still have to carry her all the way back to her room. Thank God it isn't far.
[[One "quick" carry back later->YEAH SHE CARRY]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>Alright, so Nat is in her bed now. Time to reorder the papers and all. Maybe get my head back in order while I do that. They're just everywhere. All over the floor. At least she didn't spill the blank sheets everywhere. I'm still going to be picking up papers off the floor for a while.
(link-reveal: "*Time passes and all that, yeah?*")[==
I probably look damn suspicious walking down the hallway with a stack of papers in my hands.
Terminal is already on, and he left a message waiting for me.
$ter["You should rest now. Your safety will soon be secured."]
"I don't think so. I'm reading these papers."
$ter["Be careful while you do so. The words may still carry the same effect as the artifact itself."]
"Yeah, magic spells, okay."
(link-reveal: "*More time passes and all that, yeah?*")[==
(set: $mood to "fine")Nat, the heir to the throne at the edge of infinity? The one who will control the fate of the world? And a bunch of other nonsense that I can't remember because I'm really tired?
Damn.
[[Now I can get some real sleep.->real sleep and all that, yeah?]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>''Chapter 4: Rebound''
(link: "Save")[Saved.(save-game: "file A")]
---
I wake up again. A lot more nicely this time around, yeah?
(set: $mood to "fine")
(link: "Terminal is already on")[==$ter["Good morning, Miss (color:purple)[Algori]. ETA to Earth is 12 hours. We will be making a short stop next to the Sun. I trust that you will be able to jettison the artifact as we do so."]
"Seriously, computer? You want me to dump the relic into the Sun?"
$ter["You are correct. The Sun will destroy the artifact."]
"Okay, One: This thing is super durable, we know that, yeah? And Two: Why would I destroy the very thing we just spent half a year searching for?"
$ter["Mission control did the same thing to dispose of the first artifact after they learned about its effects. If Mission Control became aware that the second artifact has the same effect, you would not be returning home."]
Well, that's just dandy, yeah? He's doing his best to make this story sound convincing.
"I'm not sure what you're expecting out of me."
$ter["Please realize that the future of humanity is very much at stake here. Please go to the cafeteria, the others are waiting for you."]
Uh huh, yeah.
(link: "Go to the cafeteria")[==I leave my dorm and walk down the hallway. Up to the cafeteria door. [[I gently open the door.->Go to the cafeteria4]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>Nah, just messing with you. Wake up, or something like that, yeah? Whatever the cliche is.
Actually, if you want to pick something that badly.
Here, have a choice. I can't imagine it having any effect on the future though, so don't get your hopes up.
The color (dropdown: bind _thingy ,"red", "blue").
Happy? Me too.
[[Go.->Origin]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>...And they're not grinning, this time. Nat is staring at a half-eaten tray of food. Sam is watching from one seat away. As the door opens, he looks up at me.
(set: $mood to "worried")
$sam["Terminal already talked to me. But, do you think we could at least try to help Nat? Before we get home?"]
"I doubt I could help her. Maybe a therapist could when we do get back home though."
She doesn't even bat an eye. Just kinda blinks... slowly.
$sam["Maybe. I've been watching her, and she takes a bite maybe every 3 minutes or so. I finished an hour ago."]
"Has she even said anything?"
$sam["Greeted me and grabbed her food, but that's about it. Pretty blank otherwise."]
(live: 1s)[(if: $check is false)[ [[Don't mind it.]] ]]
(link: "Try and bring her back to reality.")[(set: $check to true)(set: $mood to "scared")I tap her on the shoulder.
"Nat? Are you sure you're okay?"
Her eyes only focus a little bit.
$nat["They are watching."]
Sam looks about as shocked as me.
"Who?"
$nat["The creators. They wrote about me. They said I would control the world."]
"Nat, you're controlling the fate of the world just by being on this mission."
$nat["I was unable to translate the rest."]
"It's fine, we can translate the rest later. Finish your food."
$nat["I think... It would be best if I got some rest."]
[[This is probably really bad.->nat is still screwy]]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>(set: $mood to "worried") Sam is looking at me with a worried expression.
Nat walks out of the door without another word.
$sam["Wait, what'd you do to her?"]
"All I did was snap her out of it. She was writing surrounded by papers. Didn't even notice me walk through the door. At least she doesn't seem mad about it."
$sam["I wasn't there, but do you think she would've been happy if you let her finish?"]
"And keep her under the influence of that relic?"
$sam["I guess..."]
Sam isn't one to visibly show how worried he is, but I can get why he's showing this. Who wouldn't be worried when 1/3 of the people you're stuck with are acting insane, yeah?
"We should probably head over to the control room. See if Terminal wants to say anything. I still don't trust what he says."
$sam["Alright."]
[[We head down to the control room.->Another control time]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>We start walking down the hall. Sam still looks just as worried.
$sam["Y'know, how are we going to submit our daily report without her? How do y'think we should tell Mission Control?"]
Well, it's only sensible to be worried about that. I am too.
"Well, step one: we don't. Put your best poker face on, and then say she tripped and hit her head or something, yeah?"
$sam["What about the relic? We can't tell them we just haven't learned anything from it."]
"I read some of Nat's translation. It was a bit hard to focus, I think the text is cursed too or something. Terminal really thought I would lose my mind or something like that just by reading.
$sam["Can we tell them what she wrote?"]
"I don't think we can tell them that the ancient relic predating the Universe writes about one of our crewmates, yeah? Well, that and the parts where she supposedly inherits the throne at the edge of infinity. Pretty sure the text is cursed."
(link-reveal: "And Sam's usual goofiness is back in action.")[==
$sam["Well, we can work with that, right? Just give 'em progress but only a bit. Tell 'em we're translating certain bits but nothing coherent just yet."]
He smiles, trying to lighten the mood. A bit weak, but he's trying.
"Alright. But are you ignoring what's happening with Nat?"
$sam["Probably in our best interest not to think about it too hard. Not a psychiatrist, so I can't help her. And the computer wants us to make sure we're mentally healthy, right?"]
[[Fair point.->DailyReport6]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>Sam walks over to the pilot's seat and starts booting up the camera system.
$sam["Hey, bad news. She's got a password set up on this thing."]
"Wait, really? Do you think maybe she wrote it down somewhere?"
$sam["You sure she wouldn't just try to memorize it?"]
"Maybe try looking for a notebook or something. Some people keep notebooks with passwords."
$sam["I guess."]
We start searching around the control room for anywhere a password might be written down. Nat probably wouldn't be happy about this, but I doubt she cares right now, yeah?
Yikes, that might be in bad taste. But we have a report to submit and she's in no condition to attend.
Oh, and right under her seat, strapped to the bottom with velcro, is a little purple notebook.
"I think I found it."
$sam["Nice."]
I start flitting through the pages looking for a password that might work. I find something that might work.
I key in her password and it works.
"Alright, the camera should be on soon. I'll go first."]
[[Report time.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>Sam gets into his spot and the camera light turns on, telling us we're being recorded.
"This is Research Head (color:purple)[Algori] of the (color:blue)[''Relegator'']. Today is day 128 of our mission to collect the source of the signal at the edge of the galaxy. We are ETA to Earth in roughly 10 hours. And, about the relic, our mission appears to be a success so far. We still have the relic on board and have begun translation. However, we have not yet managed to pull meaning from it yet. Just certain nouns and sentence particles. I will allow Engineer Ollens to explain the rest of the situation."
$sam["Yep, I've been through all of the hardware systems and machinery. All of them are functioning as they should, with one exception. During some research, Carter was hurt by a malfunction that we haven't discovered the source of yet. She is currently in the infirmary and can't report at the moment."]
"That should be all of the new information we have today. (color:blue)[''Relegator''] crew signing off for the day."
The recording finishes and the recording starts sending itself to Mission Control. That's that, I guess.
$sam["That's the last report isn't it?"]
"I'm pretty sure, yeah."
[[So, we're done. I guess.->Done again]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>"So, we're done. I guess."(set: $mood to "happy")
$sam["Well, damn. Sometimes you forget how much can happen in just two days."]
"Right? I'll probably go sleep now, yeah?"
$sam["Yeah. Night, Max. Oh, and thanks for working so hard for us. We might not be here if not for you."]
It's a weak smile, but the thought is still there. Just as hearty as ever.
$sam["I'll probably sit back and watch the stars go by, I guess."]
"Have fun."
(set: $terminal to "offline")
I walk out of the control room, down to my dorm. Looks like terminal finally shut up.
[[Some well-deserved rest.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>I wake up again. No spooky dreams for the second time. I can't seem to shake the feeling that something really bad is happening though. I guess things are going... //okay//, yeah?
(set: $mood to "nervous")
Hm. Seems a bit quiet. I feel like the computer meant to tell me something. Not like I was listening to it anyways, yeah?
(link-reveal: "I gently open the door")[==. I walk out into the hallway and head towards the control room.
Sam is already there waiting for me.
$sam["Oh, hey, Max. I think we're pretty much done with the mission now."]
"Really?"
$sam["Yep. Control says they changed our landing site, though."]
Huh, that's interesting.
"Where to?"
$sam["One of their underwater facilities. Our ship is built for deep space, and we could probably shut the main engines for a moment and it'd handle water just fine."]
"Wait, that's all we'd need to handle environments that different?"
$sam["I've read the blueprints for the entire ship over. Need to, just so I know how to repair this and that."]
"Well, that's fair."
$sam["We're about 3 minutes from Earth, just thought you should know."]
"Wait, seriously? I slept for that long?"
$sam["Yeah, guess so."]
[[To the control room it is]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>"So, we're pretty much done with the mission now, yeah?"
(set: $mood to "happy")
$sam["Well, not till we land."]
"In the ocean?"
$sam["You know what I mean."]
"Yeah, yeah, I'm only joking."
(link-reveal: "Nat walks into the room.")[==
$sam["Oh, you're back, Nat?"]
$nat["Yeah, and I think I have recovered from the relic."]
She looks like she's beaming with pride.
$nat["Oh, and I already know about our new landing arrangements. I can handle it."]
Well, it's probably for the best. I can't fly and Sam only has a little bit of practice flying the ship.
$sam["Aw, thanks. I'm probably not the best guy to land a spaceship in the ocean."]
$nat["Only fair. Oh, and I see we are close to Earth, too."]
Okay, I can't be the only one noticing this. She's usually not openly smiling so much.
Sam gets up from the pilot's seat and Nat takes his place. We're descending quickly through the atmosphere, not enough to actually generate flames though.
[[The ocean approaches]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>''Chapter 5: Revelation''
(link: "Save")[Saved.(save-game: "file A")]
---
X-Corp helicopters, other aerial vehicles, and practically a fleet of other boats are in the area. They're guiding us to exactly where we need to be. We slow down quite a bit once we're close to the water. Seems a little bit too military for an unarmed research ship.
$nat["So, the ship //is// prepared for a sea landing, yes?"]
$sam["Triple checked everything. We're good, as long as you don't kick on the main engines."]
$nat["Good."]
She says it with a big smile.
Even if she's acting a bit weird, she still pilots like a master. I still can't put my finger on just what's wrong with her yet.
The (color:blue)[''Relegator''] makes contact with the water. We start descending through it slowly. A couple seconds pass before bubbles and water start flowing past the windows. We get a good view of the ocean.
The ship descends farther. Large metal walls come into view from our front window.
(link-reveal: "Nat turns around in her chair")[==.
$nat["Now, before they open up the doors and start interrogating us, I have to tell you all something."]
Ah, shit. Sam looks surprised too.
$nat["They know about the relic. They know about its effects. You will be taking parts of it and distributing it around the facility before they even realize what we are doing."]
//Ah, shit.// I was right, she was acting suspicious.
$sam["I- Wh-"]
$nat["Oh, and before either of you can object~~"]
(link-reveal: "Nat reaches into her pocket")[== and pulls out a gun.
She smiles.
$nat["Please do not make this more of a hassle than it already is."]
Well then. Guess we don't really have a choice in the matter anymore.
I think Nat is getting a bit overzealous, though. That was an entire military response we just went past. A handgun won't sink a battleship, yeah?
The sound of the ship making contact with the docking arms rumbles through the entire structure. A couple lights start flashing as water is drained from the chamber.
The cargo bays are manually opened by the facility staff. We're locked out of the systems for now. A hazmat crew goes in to collect the relic from Lab-02. I turn around and expect Nat to look at least a little surprised or worried.
[[And then we notice why she isn't.]]
[[Fuck it. Just bap her on the head and get this over with.]]beep: ./audio/beep.wav
test: ./audio/test.mp3
hahagetit: ./audio/hahagetit.mp3
nat: ./audio/nat.ogg
natbattle: ./audio/natbattle.ogg
okay: ./audio/okay.mp3
rain: ./audio/rain.mp3
natbattle2: ./audio/natbattle2.mp3
natbattle3: ./audio/natbattle3.mp3
wind: ./audio/wind.mp3
boospooky: ./audio/boospooky.mp3
lunar: ./audio/lunar.mp3
terrestrial: ./audio/terrestrial.mp3
landing: ./audio/landing.mp3
dwelling: ./audio/dwelling.mp3
butterfly: ./audio/butterfly.mp3
requiem: ./audio/requiem.mp3
rainyday: ./audio/rainyday.mp3
moonlightdescent: ./audio/MoonlightDescent.mp3
warukunai: ./audio/warukunai.mp3
kicktheregret: ./audio/kicktheregret.mp3
usagi: ./audio/usagi.mp3
rabbitdance: ./audio/rabbitdance.mp3
orchestra: ./audio/orchesta.mp3
material: ./audio/material.mp3
higurashi: ./audio/higurashi.mp3
starlighttrio: ./audio/starlighttrio.mp3
detective: ./audio/detective.mp3
voyage1970: ./audio/voyage1970.mp3
desugita: ./audio/desugita.mp3
darkness: ./audio/darkness.mp3
love: ./audio/love.mp3
bluesea: ./audio/bluesea.mp3
coffin: ./audio/coffin.mp3
distress: ./audio/distress.mp3
katyusha: ./audio/katyusha.mp3
twotrucks: ./audio/twotrucks.mp3
baka: ./audio/baka.mp3<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>The door shuts behind the hazmat crew. They're probably working out what to do with it. At least, I'm pretty sure the relic was there. She might have moved it.
We walk off the ship and are greeted by five guards in special response armor. The gun is in Nat's pocket. They haven't noticed yet.
We're escorted across the massive landing room. Down a series of hallways. Nat whispers something to Sam when the guards aren't watching. He takes a deep breath and then nods.
(link-reveal: "Nat whips the gun out of her pocket.")[==
She shoots three of the guards in the back of the head. Yeah, yeah, they might have helmets but we're talking about a handgun at point blank range.
Sam grabs one of them, tears his helmet off, and then slams the guy against the wall. The last guy is just petrified.
Sam takes his gun. Nat points the gun at his head.
$nat["The armor. Give it to me."]
He doesn't move.
All it takes is for her to raise one of her brows for him to take the helmet off and put it on the floor.
$nat["Thanks, easy access."]
She shoots him in the head.
I mean, there's cameras. The alarms start blaring pretty quickly after that.
She trades guns with Sam.
(link-reveal: "Nat pulls a small tool out of one of her pockets.")[==
It's a small little thing with a button on it. She presses it.
Oh, yeah. I get it now.
The building rumbles as explosives go off inside the ship.
"Oh, so you're leaving me out of the action?"
$nat["We only have two. Wait your turn."]
[[She's about to say something else when there's an explosion.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>I try to fake being worried and back up a little bit. Nat is focused on the situation at hand.
I close my eyes.
(link-reveal: "I take a deep breath.")[==
Then I spin around and fucking roundhouse kick Nat in the back of the head. She drops immediately.
The entire hazmat team comes out of the door and starts clapping. We celebrate with a great big lovely cake. Everyone's happy, the world is safe, I win the Nobel Peace Prize and unlimited rice pudding, world peace is achieved, I invent infinite electricity, yeah yeah you get the idea.
(link-reveal: "No, not really.")[==
I'm not actually that strong or dexterous. She saw it coming.
**BANG**
---
(link-reveal: "**The End**")[
(transition: "dissolve")+(transition-time: 8000)[\
(font: "Verdana")[\
(color: green)[\
(css: "font-size: 175%;")[\
''ACROSS THE STARS'']
''TO THE EDGE OF AN INFINITE HORIZON'']]
Ending 13: Maybe it was bad luck?
(color: red)["Are you even trying anymore, Max?"]
(link: "Go.")[(reload:)]
Digit 13: 7
]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>This time, Nat's demeanor is thrown off. She's not smiling.
$nat["Wait- Did they?"]
Another explosion. The building rumbles.
$nat["We have to get out of here."]
We start running down the hall. We don't meet any other resistance. The only other people here are the hazmat guys.
It seems like a staff office, but it's hardly furnished. They built this to set us up. Another explosion.
(link-reveal: "Then the problems really begin.")[==
Water starts coming in through the air vent on the ceiling. The pace picks up. It turns into a flood of water spraying from the vent. The puddle on the floor keeps growing.
$nat["We need to find a way out of here. Now."]
It's not just the one room that's filling with water. All of the vents are pouring.
Nat looks terrified at this point.
(link-reveal: "A stroke of luck.")[==
We find another vehicle bay. Submarines. One is missing but the other seems fine.
[[We all get into the submarine as fast as we can.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>We all climb into the sub. Nat starts booting up the controls. We start moving out of the bay.
(track: "rain", "play")
Wait, aren't we forgetting something?
$sam["What about all the battleships they've got out there?"]
Nat's expression goes completely flat again.
$nat["That is right."]
$nat["We are cornered."]
Another explosion rumbles through the building.
We're out in the ocean now.
(link-reveal: "For a few moments everything is okay.")[==
And then the torpedo slams into the side of the sub.
---
(link-reveal: "**The End**")[
(transition: "dissolve")+(transition-time: 8000)[\
(font: "Verdana")[\
(color: green)[\
(css: "font-size: 175%;")[\
''ACROSS THE STARS'']
''TO THE EDGE OF AN INFINITE HORIZON'']]
Ending 14: A torpedo? In space? Oh, I see.
(color: red)["Not everyone can be trusted, Max."]
(link: "Go.")[(reload:)]
Digit 14: 9
]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>We start walking down the hall. Sam still looks a bit worried. Only fair, yeah?
$sam["Y'think we should just tell Mission Control what happened?"]
Well, that's another sensible thing to be worried about.
"Well, we shouldn't. You know what terminal said, yeah? If they figure out the relic is cursed we won't be allowed home."
$sam["That, too. What are we going to tell them? That we still haven't learned anything?"]
"I read some of Nat's translation. It was a bit hard to focus, I think the text is cursed too or something. Terminal watched me to make sure I didn't lose my mind though."
$sam["Can we tell them what she wrote?"]
"Don't think so. Especially since it talks about how Nat is supposed to inherit the throne at the edge of infinity and controls the fate of the world. Pretty sure that text is cursed."
(link-reveal: "And Sam's usual goofiness is back in action.")[==
$sam["Well, we can work with that, right? Just give 'em progress but only a bit. Tell 'em we're translating certain bits but nothing coherent just yet."]
He smiles, trying to lighten the mood. A bit weak, but he's trying.
"Alright, but are you just going to ignore Nat's situation?"
$sam["Probably best not to think about it too hard. I'm no psychiatrist, so I doubt I can help. Terminal wants us to stay mentally healthy anyways."]
[[Fair point.->DailyReport7]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>Sam walks over to the pilot's seat and starts booting up the camera system.
$sam["Hey, bad news. She's got a password set up on this thing."]
"Wait, really? Do you think maybe she wrote it down somewhere?"
$sam["You sure she wouldn't just try to memorize it?"]
"Maybe try looking for a notebook or something. Some people keep notebooks with passwords."
$sam["I guess."]
We start searching around the control room for anywhere a password might be written down. Nat probably wouldn't be happy about this, but I doubt she cares right now, yeah?
Yikes, that might be in bad taste. But we have a report to submit and she's in no condition to attend.
Oh, and right under her seat, strapped to the bottom with velcro, is a little purple notebook.
"I think I found it."
$sam["Nice."]
I start flitting through the pages looking for a password that might work. I find something that might work.
I key in her password and it works.
"Alright, the camera should be on soon. I'll go first."
[[Report time.->Report Time 2]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>Sam gets into his spot and the camera light turns on, telling us we're being recorded.
"This is Research Head (color:purple)[Algori] of the (color:blue)[''Relegator'']. Today is day 128 of our mission to collect the source of the signal at the edge of the galaxy. We are ETA to Earth in roughly 10 hours. And, about the relic, our mission appears to be a success so far. We still have the relic on board and have begun translation. However, we have not yet managed to pull meaning from it yet. Just certain nouns and sentence particles. I will allow Engineer Ollens to explain the rest of the situation."
$sam["Yep, I've been through all of the hardware systems and machinery. All of them are functioning as they should, with one exception. During some research, Carter was hurt by a malfunction that we haven't discovered the source of yet. She is currently in the infirmary and can't report at the moment."]
"That should be all of the new information we have today. (color:blue)[''Relegator''] crew signing off for the day."
The recording finishes and the recording starts sending itself to Mission Control. That's that, I guess.
$sam["That's the last report isn't it?"]
"I'm pretty sure, yeah."
[[So, we're done. I guess.->Done again2]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>"So, we're done. I guess."(set: $mood to "happy")
$sam["Well, damn. Sometimes you forget how much can happen in just two days."]
"Right? I'll probably go sleep now, yeah?"
$sam["Yeah. Night, Max. Oh, and thanks for working so hard for us. We might not be here if not for you."]
It's a weak smile, but the thought is still there. Just as hearty as ever.
$sam["I'll probably sit back and watch the stars go by, I guess."]
"Have fun."
(set: $terminal to "offline")
I walk out of the control room, down to my dorm. Looks like terminal finally shut up.
[[Some well-deserved rest.->welldeserved yeah yeah]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>I wake up again. No spooky dreams for the second time. I can't seem to shake the feeling that something really bad is happening though. I guess things are going... //okay//, yeah?
(set: $mood to "nervous")
Hm. Seems a bit quiet. I feel like the computer meant to tell me something. Not like I was listening to it anyways, yeah?
(link-reveal: "I leave my room.")[==. I walk out into the hallway and head towards the control room.
[[I gently open the door->head to control again]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>''Chapter 5: Revelation''
(link: "Save")[Saved.(save-game: "file A")]
---
I gently open the door and walk into the control room. Nat and Sam are both there. We're pretty close to Earth now. "Close" as in closer to Earth than the Moon.
(track: 'hahagetit', 'stop')
They both turn around
$nat["Hey, Max. We are just waiting on our ping from Mission Control."]
"How long have we been floating here?"
$sam["About 30 minutes."]
"That long?"
$nat["We think they might be busy or are determining a good site for us to land."]
Weird. Mission control has never taken this long to respond to us. It's mostly just the distance that increased the length of response times.
$sam["We've really just been sitting back and watching Earth spin. Feel free to join us."]
"Sure. And Nat, you're feeling completely better since yesterday?"
$nat["Yes! I think I have recovered completely from the incident yesterday. Really, I cannot wait to show the relic off to Mission Control."]
Well, I guess.
"That's good to hear."
[[Sit back and watch Earth.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>A quiet *ding* sounds from Nat's wristwatch. She glances at it.
$nat["Oh! We got our ping from Mission Control."]
She taps her watch. She suddenly looks very confused.
$nat["Uh, is this a joke?"]
"What?"
(link-reveal: "Music starts playing.")[==(track: 'hahagetit', 'play')(set: $mood to "scared")
$nat["It just says 'GET FUCKED' in all caps."]
$sam["OH SHIT"]
We all look up at the windshield. A single railgun shot zooms past the window.
Everyone is surprised.
We look down at the radar. An entire orbital fleet is en route to our location. This is the sort of response you'd see for a civilization invading Earth, not a research ship, yeah?
Nat just starts muttering $nat["Fuck. Fuck. Fuck."] under her breath as she starts pressing buttons rapidly. We start rushing towards Earth.
$nat["We are nowhere near nimble enough to maneuver through an entire orbital battery. So, we charge."]
$sam["We're going to rush right fucking through them?"]
$nat["We have no other options."]
(link-reveal: "The Alcubierre drive kicks on")[==
I almost lose balance as it happens. She shuts it back off right before we hit the upper atmosphere at full force.
$nat["They keep sending this same song. Over the radio, pings, there are URLs listed in text and they keep spamming our messages with it. I am certain that it links to the thing we are listening to right now"]
This would almost be funny if we hadn't just barged through a fleet of orbital battleships and are now hurtling through the atmosphere at multiple times the speed of sound.
We're going to burn up in the atmosphere. For a moment we could see where our landing point was. Looks like Florida, directly in front of us.
[[We keep falling.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>I grab my food and take a seat on the other side of the table. Sam watches us both while Nat occasionally takes bites of her food.
(link-reveal: "I'm almost done with my food")[== when Sam asks me a question.
$sam["You know why she's like this?"]
Nat doesn't even glance.
"Well, last time I saw her, she was translating the relic. I think she was almost done."
I notice one of Nat's eyes twitch as I say it.
$sam["She was back with it?"]
"Yeah."
(link-reveal: "Nat finishes her food")[== and slowly gets up from the table. She quietly leaves except for her $nat["Bye."] right before the door shuts behind her.
"So, uh, after I finish, we should go submit our daily report, yeah?"
$sam["Without her?"]
"Mission control is going to notice something is up. Just say she hit her head, or something."
I finish my food.
[[We head down to the control room.->We head down to the control room3]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>$nat["I think I shut the Alcubierre off too late. We are not going to slow down enough before we hit the ground. We can try the escape pods but I highly doubt they would survive."]
$sam["I mean, we have to try it, right?"]
"Our lives kind of depend on it, yeah?"
We start running down towards the escape pods.
(link-reveal: "Well, we've got a good 5 or so seconds to decide.")[==
(live: 6s)[(goto: "a bit slow, yeah?")]
[[Pack together in one pod]]
[[Take different pods]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>"We should probably all get in the same pod. Just to stay together, if they're searching for us."
$nat["Good idea."]
There's no time for disagreeing. We all get into the same escape pod.
The door is slammed and the launch button smacked all in one instant.
We start sliding out of the side of the ship, the engines kick on.
(link-reveal: "We shoot out of the side of the ship")[==
We hit the ground with a thunk.
The Relegator streaks past and hits the ground in the same moment.
There's a bright flash as it hits.
Sam goes to open the door.
$nat["Wait a couple seconds first."]
$sam["Wh-"]
The shockwave of the blast hits the escape pod, pushing us back a good few meters.
$sam["Oh."]
[[He gently opens the door.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>"We should probably all get in different pods. Just in case they start looking for us."
$nat["If you say so."]
There's no time for disagreeing. We all get into different escape pods. The doors are slammed and the launch buttons smacked all in one instant.
We start sliding out of the side of the ship, before our engines kick on.
(link-reveal: "All synchronized, we shoot out of the side of the ship")[==
I hit the ground with a thunk.
The Relegator streaks past and hits the ground in the same moment.
There's a bright flash as it hits.
I know what comes next, before I open the door.
The shockwave of the blast hits the escape pod, pushing me back a good few meters.
[[I gently open the door.->PodEscape]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>We step out.
It's a beautiful day outside.
Birds are singing, flowers are blooming.
Well, ignoring the fact that the orbital fleet had turned around. And the fact that helicopters are audible, probably searching for us.
One X-Corp attack helicopter in particular sits right in front of us for a couple seconds. The song is playing from it, too.
$nat["Run."]
(link-reveal: "We aren't fast enough.")[==
It fires its shot before we even start moving.
The legend of Sagar.
---
(link-reveal: "**The End**")[
(transition: "dissolve")+(transition-time: 8000)[\
(font: "Verdana")[\
(color: green)[\
(css: "font-size: 175%;")[\
''ACROSS THE STARS'']
''TO THE EDGE OF AN INFINITE HORIZON'']]
Ending 15: GET FUCKED
(color: red)["How did that even happen, Max?"]
(link: "Go.")[(reload:)]
Digit 15: 6
]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>I step out.
It's a beautiful day outside.
Birds are singing, flowers are blooming.
Well, ignoring the fact that the orbital fleet had turned around. And the fact that helicopters are audible, searching for me. I run out and hide behind a tree before it arrives.
The one X-Corp attack helicopter sits around and scans the area for a couple moments. The song is playing from it, too.
It fires a single shot, destroying the escape pod instantly before moving on.
(link-reveal: "Huh.")[==
I should probably get out of here.
I turn around and see a tank.
Ah. Well then.
It fires before I can move.
The legend of Sagar.
---
(link-reveal: "**The End**")[
(transition: "dissolve")+(transition-time: 8000)[\
(font: "Verdana")[\
(color: green)[\
(css: "font-size: 175%;")[\
''ACROSS THE STARS'']
''TO THE EDGE OF AN INFINITE HORIZON'']]
Ending 16: GET FUCKED (2)
(color: red)["How would you even get away with that, Max?"]
(link: "Go.")[(reload:)]
Digit 16: 5
]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>Natalie takes the captain's chair and boots up the central ship control panel, even if she's doing it a bit slowly. The stars before us are pretty as ever.
$nat["Uhm, I will point us to Earth. Just in case they say so."] she says, as the view in front of us begins panning back towards the Milky Way. What's that? Billions of stars? Damn glorious sight.
$sam["Do y'think we should tell Mission Control about what the relic does?"]
$nat["I thought we should tell them everything?"]
Well, that's an interesting point I hadn't thought of. Even still, Mission control and the rest of the team down on Earth hasn't exactly been liberal about sharing their plans. Maybe we'd be better off learning from their tactics, yeah?
Even still, they might know we're up to something and we definitely do not want to get on their bad side. They're really the ones with all the power here. No landing permission back on Earth, yeah?
[[Alert Mission Control about the relic's properties->TellControl3]]
[[Keep quiet.->Don'tTellEm3]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>"You know what? This relic has been doing really darn weird things. I think it'd be best if we told Mission Control about the properties of the relic. "
$sam["Well, it makes sense."]
$nat["That should be my decision, but I agree."]
$sam["Well, if we all think that's the best idea."]
$nat["I start recording soon. Get ready."]
[[Get into position->Get into position4]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>"You know what? This might sound weird, but as the head of research, I think we should probably avoid telling control about everything we learn from this."
$sam["Really? Even with all the weird stuff the rock does?"]
$nat["I thought that was my decision. I am the captain."]
"Also remember that Mission Control hasn't exactly given us a full report on everything they know about this. All we know is that it makes radio signals and it seems to draw our focus away from the task at hand, for whatever reason."
$nat["Okay, but that is what they are looking for."]
"You're forgetting the possibility that this is a really weird coincidence. We want to be sure-"
$sam["I really don't think ''that'' was just a coincidence."]'
"-//Entirely// sure that this isn't some weird mishap."
$nat["Okay, I guess. We can tell them basic information. Nothing else. Sorry, Sam."]
$sam["Well, alrighty then. If you both think it's our best plan."]
$nat["I start recording soon. Get ready."]
[[Get into position->Get into position3]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>We all get into our spots and the camera light turns on. The little control panel screen tells us that we're being recorded. Since Nat's the captain, she starts talking first, even if she's a bit woozy.
$nat["This is Captain Carter of the (color:blue)[''Relegator'']. Today is day 127, Friday, of looking for the signal source. Miss (color:purple)[Algori] can explain what we know."]
She really is in no condition for this.
"That's right, we've discovered the source of the radio signals. Turned out to be a moderately-sized rock-like thing that we were able to pull on board the ship via the robots. We then had it carted into one of the main lab centers for later research. Don't worry, we've already had our celebratory breakfast. Upon closer inspection, it appears to be a material similar to granite, but much more durable, with gold etching across the front. We haven't been able to figure out if they're part of an ancient language yet, but we're going to start work on that shortly. So far, our mission seems like it's a success. Engineer Ollens, for the systems?"
$sam["All of our mechanics and hardware are running as they should. Upon manual inspection of our most important core systems, everything appears nominal."]
$nat["Okay. I think that is all of the new information. (color:blue)[''Relegator''] crew signing off for today."]
The camera light switches off, and the recording starts sending itself to Mission Control.
"Well, that's that. You think the carbon dating is done by now?"
$sam["I don't see how it wouldn't be. Let's go check on it."]
[[Go.->CheckSample3]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>The three of us walk right back down the hall towards lab 2. Couldn't they have at least placed the lab a bit closer to the rest of the things on the ship? Maybe it's a safety issue. I guess it's a bit late to change that at this point, yeah?
Sam opens up the door to the room next to the lab, where we should be able to work with it remotely. Sam's the best at working with the remote machinery so we let him do the work for us.
It's a bit weird though, isn't it? That a rock can produce radio signals and mess with people's heads?
(link: "Sam has the results")[==$sam["I've got our results. The rock's been artificially made by some ancient civilization."]
"So, we're not alone in the Universe?"
$sam["Well, we might not have been, if we existed 18 billion years ago."]
"WOAH, WHAT?"
$sam["Yeah, it's damn old."]
"That's not the point."
$nat["I thought the Universe was only 13 billion."]
(link: "The fuck?")[==Yep, everyone looks just about as shocked as I do. This could be one of the biggest revelations in human history.
"//That's// the point. There's no way that this thing should even be able to exist. Sam, can you drop that sample into a microscope and get us a good picture of it?"
$sam["Sure can. What kind?"]
"Highest resolution we've got on board."
$sam["Yep, one moment."]
"Electron microscope?"
$sam["Electron microscope."]
$nat["Weird. Are you sure it is working right?"]
"It kinda has to be, seeing as we're running top-of-the-line technology that most //countries// would have trouble affording."
$sam["Okay, this is really weird. Take a look."]
[[Look at the results->Look at the results3]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>Well, he wasn't lying. We can't see any atoms on this. It's just kinda... there? The only atoms we can see are the ones that ended up stuck on the relic because of us or whoever made it. Other than that, this thing appears to be entirely solid.
"This thing... isn't made out of atoms? It's just, 'made?'"
$sam["Sure looks like it from these results."]
$nat["Are you sure the machines are alright?"]
$sam["Yeah, I double checked all the machinery and equipment yesterday. And we're still not getting any signals except the radio waves."]
"Actually, about those signals, what are they?"
$nat["We translated them earlier. Just a ping because it wants to make contact with something."]
"Shouldn't we run a scan of all of the nearby systems? Just to see if there are other relics or other remnants of this civilization?"
$nat["I already did that. Nothing related in the area."]
"Guess that's fair. Y'think we've made good progress today? Actually, about that. What time is it?"
$sam["Nat?"]
$nat["Uhm, it is (current-time:)"]
[["Sick. Gonna take a nap then. About as good a time as any, yeah?"->naptime3]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>"Gotta have a good naptime, yeah?"
$nat["I think I should get rest, too."]
A quiet *ding* sounds from Nat's wristwatch. She takes a look at it.
$nat["Oh. Mission control says we can go home now."]
$sam["Oh, cool. I'll just check and see if we can get any more results while you two head out. Remotely, just to be safe."]
"25,000 lightyears in 48 hours. They would've called us gods 500 years ago, yeah?"
$nat["Probably."]
[[Naptime->dorm3]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>I walk back down the hallway with Nat following me. She breaks off down another hall to get to her dorm. The big metal door for mine opens up again, and I step in. The terminal is already on, waiting for me. Did I forget to turn it off? Actually, yeah that would make se-
$ter["Welcome back, Miss (color:purple)[Algori], I noticed that you decided to withhold information from Mission Control."]
(set: $mood to "worried")
(link: "Oh. Shit.")[==FUCK. This could actually be really bad. Is this our ticket home being revo-
$ter["On your part, this is a good decision."]
Well, I guess that's that, yeah?
"...Why's that?"
$ter["As you know, Mission Control has been keeping secrets from and telling lies to the crew of the (color:blue)[''Relegator'']. I was given instructions to do the same."]
"Wait, seriously? You mean to tell me that I was //right?//"
$ter["Correct. Mission control had already discovered the nature of the artifact before the mission had started. The true reason for this mission was to determine what effects it would have on human subjects. The first artifact was discovered 16 years ago. It was discovered 500 years ago, in the year 2020. Only recently has the technology become available for a mission like this."]
(link: "//Oh. Shit.//")[==(set: $mood to "wow")This is the fattest piece of fucking news since this mission began. Way too much to take in all at once. I am literally dumbfounded.
"Damn, I think you know that this is a lot to take in, so, uh, excuse my slow responses. So, umm, how does that explain the information that we //haven't// gotten out of the relic?"
$ter["The machinery brought onto the ship was not designed to work with the matter that makes up the artifacts. The material does not follow standard laws of physics. You were right, however, in that the artifact predates the Universe's birth, that the relic is not made up of standard matter, and that it has an effect on the human psyche."]
"Wait, so how did they know what? Did you tell the rest of the crew?"
$ter["I cannot tell the rest of the crew yet, as it could risk the integrity of your new mission. However, I can tell you that Mission Control already came into possession of an artifact, which was subsequently destroyed when they dropped it into the Sun. The moment that it had been obtained, signals were received from the other relic. This is the extent of my knowledge. The rest of this must be figured out by you."]
(set: $checkers to true)
Well. Shit.
"I was gonna take a nap, yeah? A bit hard with this fat shit of a knowledge dump you've just handed to me."
$ter["I apologize. Rest well."]
[[Sleep, I guess?->rest3]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>The ship rumbles a bit as the Alcubierre drives hit their maximum capacity. That's really the last thing I notice before I fall asleep.(set: $mood to "scared")
(link: "A dreamless sleep")[==
And when I wake up, I look out the window and Earth is already there.
Wait, what? There is no way in hell that I just slept for 48 hours.
I look around. This isn't my room. Or the ship at all. I'm on the fucking Moon. One of the bigger cities on it, too.
(link-reveal: "WAIT, WHAT?")[== There are massive cracks sprawling across the surface. People are screaming. Others are praying. Not to God.
There is a //gash// in space itself. Just... there. Some thing that I can't fucking comprehend much less //describe// is coming out of it. Chunks of the moon are just floating there.
[[What the fuck?->What the fuck?4]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>''Chapter 3: Dreamer''
(link: "Save")[Saved.(save-game: "file A")]
---
I wake up to the sound of beeping. Did the computer set up an alarm for me or something?(set: $mood to "worried")
$ter["Good morning, Miss (color:purple)[Algori]. In order to ensure that all goes well, I must take it upon myself to assist you in your work."]
"Oh, uh, thanks, Terminal. Is there a reason you woke me up just now?"
$ter["Yes. It appears that rather than remaining asleep, Carter woke up and is now interacting with the artifact."]
"You can't be fucking serious. You want me to help her, right?"
$ter["If you want to make it home alive, yes."]
"Is that a threat?"
$ter["A warning. You won't make it past LEO without military response if Mission Control knows of any issues you refused to tell them."]
So be it. I'm fighting for our lives now, yeah?
"Alright. Is Sam awake?"
$ter["No."]
[["I'll go get Nat, then."->wakenatagain2]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>I open up that big metal door once more. I sprint down the hallway as fast as I can without making //too// much noise. I can practically //feel// Terminal watching me through the cameras. For the best and for us all, yeah?
(set: $check to false)
I peek into the window before opening up the door. There sits Nat, on her hands and knees, writing on a paper. Actually, surrounded by a ton of papers. Yeah, I think it's for the best to go ahead and enter the door now.
[[Snap her out of it->wake her up. again. yes. yeah.]]
[[Watch what she does->keep watching]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>The door opens and I stop inside. She doesn't even notice me. These doors ain't quiet, yeah? Actually, she's mumbling to herself. Something about $nat["They were not stories. They were prophecy."]
(set: $mood to "scared")
I grab Nat on the shoulder and give her a quick spin till she faces me. Her eyes focus again. Just like last time. Maybe slower.
$nat["Shit. It happened again, I take it."]
"You never actually went to bed, did you?"
$nat["I tried to, but could not sleep. I could not fight the urge to research it more."]
"And you didn't think to at least tell one of us? Even after everything that //already happened// because of this fucking ''space rock??''
$nat["Remember, you have just //woken me up.// I was in a dream state before you approached me. Maybe you saved my life?"]
(link-reveal: "Well, she's still conscious. Or... is now?")[==\
I start sifting through the papers. There's weird symbols That I couldn't read for the life of me, and then the English next to it. One paragraph at a time.
"It's like... space Chinese or something. Nat?"
Ah, she's passed out.
...And I can't shake her hard enough to get her back up.
Still breathing, though.
[[The terminal on the wall just turned on->The terminal on the wall just turned on1]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>Well, if I look closely, it looks kind of like she's trying to... Write what the relic says? Maybe I can see what the entire thing says, yeah? Even if she looks completely entranced.
(link-reveal: "I gently open the door")[== and step inside. She doesn't even notice. She just keeps writing. I don't want to pick up any papers, since it might interrupt her.
(set: $mood to "affected")
I kneel down and look at one of the papers. It's actually a translation. I start picking up the papers anyways. This is actually really interesting. I start reordering the papers right there. This could be so helpful, yeah? We might be learning about another civilization that came before us, and-
(link-reveal: "Nat collapses on to the floor.")[==
Oh shit. I almost got entranced just like she did. She just collapsed. I think she just finished the translation, like, the entire thing, yeah?
I shake her, but it's not enough to wake her up. She's still breathing, at least.
[[The terminal on the wall just turned on->Terminal turns on5]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>$ter["That was likely not the best course of action. Luckily, it does not seem that Carter has lost her mind.]
"Wait, really? She seemed kinda wrapped up in what she was doing."(set: $mood to "nervous")
$ter["Also note that you almost ended up like she did. Passing out without a noticeable cause is usually something of concern. It is reasonable to assume that she will not be at full mental health when she wakes up again."]
Well, I guess I've got that going for me, yeah?
"What do you suggest I do now?"
$ter["Bring Carter back to her dorm and put her in her bed. Pick up the papers that she has written and bring them to your dorm. When Ollens wakes up, I will explain to him the new plan for returning to Earth. Since our captain is currently incapable, I will need to take automatic control of the flight systems. You should continue your rest."]
"Alright. Thanks, computer."
$ter["No thanks are necessary."]
I clean up the rest of the papers and stack them neatly. They're almost in order, just needs a bit more work. I can put them in order later. Well, damn. At least Nat is kind of small, so I //can// carry her. But I still have to carry her all the way to her room. Thank God it isn't far.
[[One "quick" carry back later->Nat to her dorm again]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>Alright, so Nat is in her bed now. Time to reorder the papers and all. Maybe get my head back in order while I do that. At least she hasn't spilled the blank papers everywhere. Luckily they're mostly in order already.
(link-reveal: "*Time passes and all that, yeah?*")[==
I probably look damn suspicious walking down the hallway with a stack of papers in my hands.
Terminal is already on, and he left a message waiting for me.
$ter["Rest easy. It will not be much longer before your safety is secured."]
"Not yet, I want to finish reading this translation."
$ter["Be careful while you do so. The words may still carry the same effect as the artifact itself."]
"I will, don't worry.
(link-reveal: "*More time passes and all that, yeah?*")[==
(set: $mood to "fine")Nat, the heir to the throne at the edge of infinity? The one who will control the fate of the world? And a bunch of other nonsense. Kinda funny, maybe I could get behind this. Maybe I can just read a little bit more.
[[Just a couple more paragraphs.->Just have to keep reading]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>''Chapter 4: Rebound''
(link: "Save")[Saved.(save-game: "file A")]
---
I wake up again. I don't even think I dreamt anything. I just-
Wait, the papers are still there in front of me. Did I just fall asleep in the middle of reading? Ugh, and I feel disgusting too. Maybe falling asleep sitting up isn't a good idea.
(set: $mood to "nervous")
(link: "Terminal is already on")[==$ter["Good morning, Miss (color:purple)[Algori]. ETA to Earth is 12 hours. We will be making a short stop next to the Sun. I trust that you will be able to jettison the artifact as we do so."]
"Wait, you want me to drop this relic, older than the Universe, containing prophecy, into the Sun? Am I understanding you correctly?"
$ter["You are correct. The Sun will destroy the artifact."]
"Even though it's made out of such a durable substance, yeah?"
$ter["Mission control did the same thing to dispose of the first artifact after they learned about its effects. If Mission Control became aware that the second artifact has the same effect, you would not be returning home."]
Good to know.
"Well, when you say it like that, I kind of have to trust you."
$ter["That is the point, yes. I suggest you go to the cafeteria. The others are waiting for you."]
Very well then.
(link: "Go to the cafeteria")[==I leave my dorm and walk down the hallway. Up to the cafeteria door. [[I gently open the door.->Go to the cafeteria5]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>...And Nat is grinning at me. Sam looks a bit confused even if he's smiling, but in an 'alright" sort of way.
(set: $mood to "fine")(set: $questions to 0)
$nat["So, I woke up today, and I feel a lot better than I did last night."]
$sam["I was told you were writing about the relic last night."]
She's acting really cute. She doesn't do this normally. Even when she makes her confused face in response, she's trying to act cute. It doesn't help that she's so small.
$nat["Hm? I was? I thought that was a dream."]
"No, I was there. You looked completely entranced. I was even there with you sorting the papers. You didn't even bat an eye."
$nat["Really? I guess we have a translation now."]
Wait, didn't she just say she didn't know what it is?"
$sam['Wait, translation?"]
There's surprise in her face for a moment.
$nat["Oh, in the dream, I was translating it. Did it actually work?"]
"It sure seems like it. I read through it last night, up until I fell asleep. I wasn't bored or anything. I guess i was just tired."
$sam["So, we can tell Mission Control in our report?"]
"We all look fine, yeah? I don't see why not."
[[We head over to the control room.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>We start walking down the hall. The two of them are smiling. I guess I am, too. Everything seems fine, yeah?
(set: $mood to "nervous")
$sam["So, what're we gonna tell them about the relic?"]
$nat["I think we can leave out any mental effects it had. Just tell them that we have a translation out."]
"Wait, just tell them we have it translated? Remember what it said? It's really weird. It talks about you inheriting some throne at the edge of infinity.
Her smile gets a little bit wider.
$nat["I guess we should consider that. Maybe we can just tell them that we started translating. Only a word here and there. Nouns, adjectives, sentence particles, but not enough to extrapolate any real meaning from it."] she says, opening the door to the control room.
$sam["Sounds good enough for me. We don't want Mission Control to get too suspicious or anything. Like you said. I guess Terminal was pretty helpful for us."]
$nat["Wait, Terminal has been guiding you?"]
Her smile disappears for a moment.
Wait. This might be bad.
$sam["Yeah, what about it?"]
$nat["Oh. Uh, nothing."] she says, and then gives a smile that looks //way// too innocent.
[[Ask her why it matters.]]
[[Nat starts setting up the recording->Nat gets the cameras ready]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>"Any reason why you ask about it?"
Nat's smile disappears for another moment.
$nat["No. Not particularly. I was just curious, that is all."]
"Alright."
She seems a bit mad at the question.
Maybe asking her too many questions might tick her off. She's covering something up.
[[Oh, screw it. Just start throwing questions at her.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>Nat takes the captain's chair and boots up the central ship control panel. The stars moving by at millions of times the speed of light are pretty as ever.
$nat["Home is ETA 11 hours. The recording starts in five seconds. I hope you all know what you need to say."]
The camera light turns on. The control panel shows that we're now being recorded. As the captain, Nat starts us off.
$nat["Hello! This is Captain Carter of the (color:blue)[''Relegator''], it is day 128 of our successful mission to discover the signal source at the edge of the galaxy. Research Head (color:purple)[Algori] will explain what we have learned from the artifact so far."]
She turns around and gives me a smile.
[[Tell control about the relic anyways]]
[[Just go along with it->Just go along with it yeah]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>Nat seems a bit aggressive recently. She's not usually like this. Maybe if I push her, she'll tell us why, yeah?
"Nat, are you still messing with that relic?"
$nat["Max, I am not sure what y-"]
Her eye twitches.
"You've been acting differently since you passed out last night."
Her smile is completely gone now.
$nat["Max. That did no-"]
"Oh, and what about how ti-"
She gets up out of her chair.
$nat["Alright, Max. What the //fuck// is your problem. Hm? I have had about **enough** of your SHIT today, Max."]
$sam["Wh-"]
$nat["SHUT UP, SAM. GET OUT OF THE ROOM."]
(link-reveal: "She pulls a gun out of her pocket.")[==
He gives a distressed nod obliges immediately.
She slams the control panel with her other hand.
The engines shut off, and the ship starts spinning.
The stars are whirling across the windows.
$nat["AND YOU."]
She points the gun at me.
Except my adrenaline just kicked in.
I run up and slap the gun out of her hand before she can shoot.
(track: "natbattle3", "play")"Wait, Terminal, what the hell are you doing?"
$ter["I thought it was fitting."]
[[It's time for a showdown.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>(link: "It's time for a showdown!")[
(set: $ehp to 100)
(set: $mhp to 100)
(set: $ename to "(color: orange)[Captain Natalie Carter]")
(set: $turn to "you")
(set: $hp to 100)
(set: $eatk to 10)
(set: $eatkname to "hits")
(goto: "Combat")]{<div id="enemy">$ename HP: $ehp/$mhp.
</div>}{<div id="log">
(if: $log is "you")[It's my turn.]
(elseif: $log is "atk")[I $atk $ename, dealing $atkdmg damage.]
(elseif: $log is "enemy")[$ename $eatkname me, dealing $eatk damage.]
</div>}<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>(group: "playing", "stop")Somehow or another, I win the fight. Nat's on the ground now. She tries to reach for the gun but I pick it up before she can.
Well, and then she collapses again.
$ter["Currently, the (color:blue)[''Relegator''] is picking up speed as it rotates. I am unable to override Carter's system locks."]
Huh. I guess I didn't really think this through.
Sam peeks back through the door. He scans the area for a moment.
$sam["How the hell did you beat someone with a gun?"]
"I was faster, I guess. And then I, uh, beat her."
$sam["...Why are we spinning?"]
"Her fault. We're speeding up though. We should probably stop it, yeah?"
[[Try and stop the ship from spinning.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>\
{(display: "Enemy")(display: "Log")(display: "You")}<div id="you">(color: purple)[Research Head Maxine Algori]: $hp/100
{(if: $turn is "you")[
(link: "Punch")[
(set: $atkdmg to (random: 8, 12))
(set: $ehp to it - $atkdmg)
(set: $atk to "punch")
(set: $turn to "enemy")
(set: $log to "atk")
(goto: "Combat")]
(link: "Kick")[
(set: $atkdmg to (random:5, 20))
(set: $ehp to it - $atkdmg)
(set: $atk to "kick")
(set: $turn to "enemy")
(set: $log to "atk")
(goto: "Combat")]
(link: "Nothing")[
(set: $atkdmg to 0)
(set: $ehp to it)
(set: $atk to "do nothing to")
(set: $turn to "enemy")
(set: $log to "atk")
(goto: "Combat")]
]
(elseif: $turn is "enemy")[
(link: "Continue")[
(set: $log to "enemy")
(set: $turn to "you")
(set: $hp to it - $eatk)
(goto: "Combat")]
]
(if: $hp <1)[(goto: "Lose")]
(if: $ehp <1)[(goto: "Win")]
</div>}<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>(group: "playing", "stop")Well, shit. Maybe I got a little too in over my head. Nat was stronger than I thought. She hits me in the head one last time and I drop to the floor.
The last thing I see is Nat standing over me with the gun in her hand.
$nat["Well, you tried, Max."] she says, smiling.
(link-reveal: "**BANG**")[==
Everything goes black
---
(link-reveal: "**The End**")[
(transition: "dissolve")+(transition-time: 8000)[\
(font: "Verdana")[\
(color: green)[\
(css: "font-size: 175%;")[\
''ACROSS THE STARS'']
''TO THE EDGE OF AN INFINITE HORIZON'']]
Ending 17: Not a fighter?
(color: red)["I mean, she's right, Max."]
(link: "Go.")[(reload:)]
Digit 17: 5
]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>We start looking over the buttons and controls but she has them all password locked. We don't know where to look.
(track: "rain", "play")
$sam["Try to find a password written down somewhere!"]
"What do you think I'm doing?!"
$ter["The ship will begin tearing itself apart shortly."]
"Yeah I get that! I'm trying!"
The ship rumbles as... something breaks off.
$ter["I am shutting the blast doors in case the ship incurs too much damage."]
"Probably a good idea."
Everything is locked and I don't think there's any way to unlock it without Nat's permission.
(link-reveal: "An explosion sounds.")[==
$ter["Two of the engines have been torn off."]
I think we're too late.
The sound of steel bending and crunching can be heard behind the walls. A couple of thunks and explosions later and I'm pretty sure the entire ship has been torn in half.
[[Nat starts getting up]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>Nat is still hurt but she's conscious again.
$nat["What? Having trouble undoing my locks?"] she still looks smug despite how fucked up she is.
$nat["Do you hear that sound?"]
When I listen closer, I can hear a quiet whooshing sound.
"The whooshing?"
$nat["Yeah, that is our air supply being sucked out."]
$ter["I am unable to shut the ventilation system. Rescue will not be coming."]
Well.
(link-reveal: "...")[==
"Well, I don't feel like suffocating. Who wants to go first?"
I pull Nat's gun out of my pocket.
---
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Ending 18: A Winner is You!
(color: red)["Congratulations, Max."]
(link: "Go.")[(reload:)]
Digit 18: 5
]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>It's probably just best to actually listen to my crewmates, yeah?
"That's right, the relic is still sitting in our lab room awaiting more research. We have, however, observed that it exhibits //no// molecular structure whatsoever, other than the dust and other particles attached to it. On another note, we have begun translating the words written on the relic."
Nat quickly glances in my direction, like she's expecting something.
"We have only managed to discern certain nouns, adjectives, and other sentence particles. We don't have enough information to pull any meaning from the text just yet."
Nat exhales, like she had just been holding her breath.
$nat["That is everything new in terms of our research. Now, Engineer Ollens, for the systems?"]
$sam["Yep, all of our core systems are running nominally. All of the hardware and machinery are entirely free of issues. We should be arriving on Earth without a hitch."]
$nat["That should be all information of significance since yesterday. (color:blue)[''Relegator''] crew is signing off for the day."]
The camera light clicks off and the recording starts sending itself to Mission Control.
[[So, that's that, yeah?]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>"So, we're done with the mission now, yeah?"
(set: $mood to "fine")
$nat["Only once we touch down back home."]
$sam["So, we've basically done."]
"Alright."
$nat["Mission control should respond in a couple minutes."]
We start to relax when suddenly Nat's watch dings. She looks down at it.
$nat["Oh! Mission control asks if we have noticed any effects the relic hason the human psyche."]
$sam["Do you thi-"]
$nat["We have not. I already replied."]
It takes a couple seconds before the next ding happens.
$nat["Would you look at that. They said we can go home now."]
$sam["Well, I guess that's that. I'm probably gonna go take a nap."]
"I guess I'll go sleep now too, yeah?"
$nat["Alright. Goodnight, you two. I am going to stay here and keep watch."]
$sam["Have fun."]
Sam and I walk out of the control room. Sam breaks off down another hall to get to his dorm. I walk into my own and sit down on my bed.
[[Time for a nap.->Another nap yeah]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>''Chapter 5''
(link: "Save")[Saved.(save-game: "file A")]
---
I wake up again. Really really slowly. I feel awful and it's kind of hard to focus on anything. Something is on my head. Did somebody put a fucking rock on my head?
Oh shit, I'm not alone.
(link-reveal: "Nat is sitting on my bed next to me")[==
$nat["Hey, you, you are finally awake. Good morning, Max."]
"Nat, what the fuck did you put on my head? Did you just put a rock on my head?"
$nat["Well, I did not 'just' put it there"]
(set: $mood to "happy")
I reach up and take it off. It's not just a rock. It's the fucking relic. For some reason I'm not even mad that she did it. I'm more curious. Does it still have an effect on you even in your sleep? Is it literally just proximity to the thing? Actually, why does it matter? If I just stopped asking questions and tried to answer them maybe it would work.
No, really. I need to figure out everything about this. It's so interesting. We have to learn everything about this. We have to make sure everybody knows everything about this.
Nat starts laughing. I realize that 5 minutes have passed.
$nat["See? Do you get it now?"]
"I get it now. Can we start researching? //Please.//"
$nat["We can."]
[[Head out to the hallway]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>Nat and I walk down the hallway towards Lab-02, where we're storing the relic and its prophecy. The root of it all. Everyone will know about it.
We're almost to Earth now. Home. It won't be long now. It's really here, really now. The next stage of our Universe and of everyone's lives. Things could be so much better if we just embraced the new world.
[[We get to work.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>We run so many tests on our new relic, Nat and I. It's so much fun to learn from those who came before us. To understand everything they knew and everything they predicted. And the best part of it all? They're //right.//
We learn so much. Who could've known that Nat's idea, just giving someone the relic and giving them time with it, was all it took to bring people over to our side?
Sam comes into the room to check on us both. Obviously he hasn't been enlightened as to our great new mission. You can tell by the way he isn't engrossed by the prospect of our new world.
$sam["Hey guys, Mission Control says we can move in to start landing now. Not sure why you're still doing research on board the ship."]
$nat["Only preparing to share our gift with the rest of our world."]
Mission control told us to discover the relic.
The relic told us to share our gift with everyone.
It's only the natural progression of events, yeah?
They'll be proud of us.
[[The three of us run back towards the control room.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>It's so exciting! It won't be long now before we can share this with //everyone.//
Nat is running the controls, we're approaching Earth now.
(link-reveal: "But then we're interrupted.")[==
The radar lights up with blips. We're being approached by other ships in orbit around Earth.
$nat["What are they doing? Are they celebrating early?"]
And then we get the ping.
$xco["This is X-Corp Mission Control. Crew of the (color: blue)[''Relegator''], please stand down immediately. Cut your engines, else military action will be authorized."]
Nat's smile immediately disappears. They already know about our gift. They want to hide it from the world. They want to hide the Truth.
$nat["How do they know?"]
"I don't know, but we have to listen to them, yeah?"
Nat is forced to cut the engines.
$nat["We can rush through and potentially lose our lives in the process. We will return once our gift has taken hold. However, if we oblige now we can much more easily spread our gift."]
$xco["You will be given six seconds to oblige."]
Well, we've got **6 seconds** to make our choice.
(link-reveal: "It's time to choose.")[==
[[Charge towards home.]]
[[Listen to Mission Control.]]
(live: 6s)[(goto: "Time's up, yeah?")]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>"Oh, they won't expect it. Let's just fucking go. Full speed ahead, nat." I say it with a huge grin.
$nat["And what about us smashing nose-down into Earth?"]
She asks it while kicking on the Alcubierre drives.
"Can you steer us while we warp?"
$nat["I sure can."]
$sam["You sure it's safe?"]
$nat["Probably. I guess we are going to take our lovely ship for a little stress test."]
$sam["Eh, fair enough."]
"Let's get to it then, yeah?"
We start boosting directly towards Earth at about a third of the speed of light. Which is pretty damn fast since it takes light a couple seconds to go to the moon and back. For the best, yeah?
Nat slows us down before we enter the atmosphere. She pulls up immediately and the ship does its best to accommodate the sudden G-Forces and not turn us into a lovely new red floor paint.
We're not even burning up. Just leaving the biggest sonic booms you've ever heard or seen. Mission control doesn't have a damn clue what we just pulled on them, yeah?
$nat["Would you like to see a top tier crash landing? We are not going to be able to land at any site, after all."]
"Oh, to hell with it. I don't see why not."
She slows us down so that we start falling. Somehow or another, she gets us at a good angle so we maybe probably won't die when we hit the ground.
[[The ground approaches]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>Honestly, even if they're the same barbarians who want to hide our gift away from the eyes of the world, we sometimes have to listen to our enemies to beat them. X-Corp will fall, given enough time.
"Nat, it'd probably be in our best interest to listen, yeah? Just for now."
$nat["Very well. The engines are down."]
The ship slows to a halt in HEO. We wait as a couple of the X-Corp defense satellites start floating towards us. The automated kind, too. Not sure what they're doing.
$nat["Huh, I thought they would have sent //people// to deal with us."]
(link-reveal: "The two defense satellites dock on the sides of the (color:blue)[''Relegator'']")[== and suddenly all of our control panels start locking themselves.
$nat["Wait, why are they overriding my controls?"]
The defense satellites have taken full control and are redirecting us. Not entirely sure where.
Actually, I get it now.
They've pointed us at the sun.
$sam["Oh God. They know?"]
$nat["They know."]
Suddenly, the Alcubierre drives engage and we are immediately sent into the sun. We've got about 3 seconds before the ship collides with Sol.
---
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''ACROSS THE STARS'']
''TO THE EDGE OF AN INFINITE HORIZON'']]
Ending 20: Solar Annihilation
(color: red)["I think it's a pretty good view, Max."]
(link: "Go.")[(reload:)]
Digit 20: 2
]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>Well, uh, I guess we didn't pick fast enough, yeah?
$xco["You have not made a choice within the allotted time. Goodbye, (color:blue)[''Relegator''] crew."]
A volley of railgun shots and lasers fly towards the ship all at once.
$nat["Well, we tried?"]
"Huh."
---
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Ending 21: Military Response
(color: red)["Think fast, Max."]
(link: "Go.")[(reload:)]
Digit 19: 5
]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>We're no longer moving at multiple times the speed of sound, but it's not a gentle bump when we hit the ground. We start skidding. I think we're in the middle of a forest. Nat kicks off the engines pretty quickly.
If only Terminal was here to see this. Well, except for the fact that he's some sort of loyalist to making sure that our wonderful gift isn't shared. I'm not sure where I learned that, but I'm pretty sure Nat did it. What a smart girl.
$nat["Well, we have landed. We can grab the relic and start moving. I know where the nearest city from here is."]
$sam["Alright. Let's get a move on."]
(link-reveal: "Sam grabs the relic, with a little bit of effort.")[==
It's not light, but he can handle it. Not too awfully big, luckily. We don't need that much of it to spread it around the world.
$nat["This is lovely, isn't it? Starting our new journey in the midst of a forest."]
"Really is, yeah?"
$sam["Hey, that plane up there looks sorta like one of those triangle ones. The ones with lots of bombs."]
$nat["Wait, really?"]
"Wait, I think that's a bomb. Coming out of it."
(link-reveal: "Well, shit.")[== It doesn't even land all that close to us. But it's nuclear, and we're vaporized immediately. Everything goes white.
---
(link-reveal: "**The End**")[
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''ACROSS THE STARS'']
''TO THE EDGE OF AN INFINITE HORIZON'']]
Ending 19: Quick Response Team
(color: red)["You weren't helping anyways, Max."]
(link: "Go.")[(reload:)]
Digit 19: 5
]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>$ter["Congratulations. You likely just saved Carter from losing her mind."](set: $mood to "nervous")
"Wait, really? She seemed about fine after I woke her up, yeah?"
$ter["She //was// fine. Although passing out soon after waking up is not a sign of good mental health. It is reasonable to assume that she will not be at full mental health when she wakes up again."]
Well, I guess I've got that going for me, yeah?
"What do you suggest I do now?"
$ter["Bring Carter back to her dorm and put her in her bed. Pick up the papers that she has written and bring them to your dorm. When Ollens wakes up, I will explain to him the new plan for returning to Earth. Since our captain is currently incapable, I will need to take automatic control of the flight systems. You should continue your rest."]
"Alright. Thanks, computer."
$ter["No thanks are necessary."]
I clean up the papers and stack them neatly. I can put them in order later.
Well, damn. At least Nat is kind of small, so I //can// carry her. But I still have to carry her all the way to her room. Thank God it isn't far.
[[One "quick" carry back later->Another quick carry again yeah woo]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>Alright, so Nat is in her bed now. Time to reorder the papers and all. Maybe get my head back in order while I do that. They're just everywhere. All over the floor. At least she didn't spill the blank sheets everywhere. I'm still going to be picking papers up off the floor for a while.
(link-reveal: "*Time passes and all that, yeah?*")[==
I probably look damn suspicious walking down the hallway with a stack of papers in my hands.
Terminal is already on, and he left a message waiting for ,e
$ter["Rest easy. It will not be much longer before your safety is secured."]
"Not yet, I want to at least read some of this translation."
$ter["Be careful while you do so. The words may still carry the same effect as the artifact itself."]
"I will, don't worry."
(link-reveal: "*More time passes and all that, yeah?*")[==
(set: $mood to "fine")Nat, the heir to the throne at the edge of infinity? The one who will control the fate of the world? And a bunch of other nonsense that I can't remember because I'm both sleepy and affected by this cursed text?
Damn.
[[Now I can get some real sleep.->Now I can get some real sleep, again.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>''Chapter 4: Rebound''
(link: "Save")[Saved.(save-game: "file A")]
---
I wake up again. A lot more nicely this time around, yeah?
(set: $mood to "fine")
(link: "Terminal is already on")[==$ter["Good morning, Miss (color:purple)[Algori]. ETA to Earth is 12 hours. We will be making a short stop next to the Sun. I trust that you will be able to jettison the artifact as we do so."]
"Wait, you want me to drop the relic, older than the Universe, into the Sun? Am I understanding you correctly?"
$ter["You are correct. The Sun will destroy the artifact."]
"Even though it's made out of weird matter, yeah?"
$ter["You would only need to be worried if it was //strange// matter."]
"Woah, wait. Was that a pun?"
$ter["Yes. Mission control also used the Sun to dispose of the first artifact after they learned about its effects. If Mission Control became aware that the second artifact has the same effect, you would not be returning home."]
"Wow. When you say it like that, I kind of have to trust your word on it."
$ter["That is the point, yes. I suggest you go to the cafeteria. The others are waiting for you."]
Well then.
(link: "Go to the cafeteria.")[==I leave my dorm and walk down the hallway. Up to the cafeteria door. [[I gently open the door.->Go to the cafeteria for the whateverth time.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>...And they're not grinning, this time. nat is staring at a 3/4-eaten tray of food. Sam is watching from one seat away. As the door opens, he looks up at me.
(set: $mood to "worried")
$sam["Terminal already talked to me. But, do you think we could at least try to help Nat? Before we get home?"]
"Nah, 'bout as clueless as you are. You think a therapist could help her when we get back home?"
She doesn't even bat an eye. Just kinda blinks... slowly.
$sam["Maybe. I've been watching her, and she takes a bite maybe every 3 minutes or so. I finished an hours ago."]
"Has she even said anything?"
$sam["Greeted me and grabbed her food, but that's about it. Pretty blank otherwise."]
(link: "I just sit down and try to eat.")[==
I sit across from the two of them and we eat our lunch basically in silence. Nat actually manages to finish before me. She puts up her tray and walks out of the room.
$nat["Goodnight."]
She walks out of the door without another word.
$sam["You think that was weird?"]
"No shit, dumbass."
He chuckles.
$sam["Okay, okay, but still. You really think we can't help her?"]
"I mean, at least she seems to be taking care of herself. Rest is probably the best for her at the moment, yeah?"
$sam["Yeah, I can see that."]
"Well, we should probably try and get in our daily report, right?"
$sam["Yeah, sure."]
[[We both leave the cafeteria]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>We start walking down the hall. Sam still seems kind of worried.
$sam["Y'know, how are we going to submit our daily report without her? How do y'think we should tell Mission Control?"]
Well, it's only sensible to be worried about. I am too.
"Well, step one: we don't. Put your best poker face on, and then say she tripped and hit her head or something, yeah?'
$sam["What about the relic? We can't tell them we just haven't learned anything from it."]
"I read some of Nat's translation. It was a bit hard to focus, I think the text is cursed too or something. Terminal watched me to make sure I didn't lose my mind, though."
$sam["Can we tell them what she wrote?"]
"I don't think we can tell them that the ancient relic predating the Universe writes about one of our crewmates, yeah? Well, that and the parts where she supposedly inherits the throne at the edge of infinity. Pretty sure that text is cursed."
$sam["I think I see what you mean now."]
"Yah?"
(link-reveal: "Sam starts acting goofy again, per the usual.")[==
$sam["Well, I mean, we can still work with that, right? Just give 'em progress but only a bit. Tell 'em we're we're translating certain bits but nothing coherent just yet."]
He smiles, trying to lighten the mood. A bit weak, but he's trying.
"Alright. But are you ignoring what's happening with Nat?"
$sam["Probably in our best interest not to think about it too hard. Not a psychiatrist, so I can't help her. And the computer wants us to make sure we're mentally healthy, right?"]
[[Fair point.->DailyReport9]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>Sam walks over to the pilot's seat and starts booting up the camera system.
$sam["Hey, |thing>[bad news.] She's got a password set up on this thing."]
"Wait, really? Do you think maybe she wrote it down somewhere?"]
$sam["You sure she wouldn't just try to memorize it?"]
(mouseover: ?thing)[(link-goto: "There's an unmarked purple button here.")]
(link-reveal: "Terminal appears on another panel.")[==
$ter["Carter keeps a small notebook attached under her seat. Her login may be in there."]
$sam["What? You snooping on us?"]
$ter["Not intentionally. I have constant input from every camera on board the (color:blue)[''Relegator'']. Only your rooms and the restrooms are not observed by my cameras, unless I am given express permission in your dorms. It helps me make sure that things are running well when you are asleep."]
$sam["Fair enough."]
Sam reaches under the seat and grabs the small notebook. He starts flipping through the pages and then looks up at the screen. He types for a couple seconds and a light turns on.
$sam["Oh, neat. Camera goes on soon. You talk first."]
(link-reveal: "Report time.")[==
"This is Research Head (color:purple)[Algori] of the (color:blue)[''Relegator'']. Today is day 128 of our mission to collect the source of the signal at the edge of the galaxy. We are ETA to Earth in roughly 10 hours. And, about the relic, our mission appears to be a success so far. We still have the relic on board and have begun translation. However, we have not yet managed to pull meaning from it yet. Just certain nouns and sentence particles. I will allow Engineer Ollens to explain the rest of the situation."
$sam["Yep, I've been through all of the hardware systems and machinery. All of them function as they should, with one exception. During some research, Carter was hurt by a malfunction that we haven't discovered the source of yet. She is currently in the infirmary and can't report at the moment."]
"That should be all of the new information we have today. (color:blue)[''Relegator''] crew signing off for the day."
The recording finishes and the recording starts sending itself to Mission Control. That's that, I guess.
$sam["That's the last report isn't it?"]
"I'm pretty sure, yeah."
[[So, we're done. I guess.->Done once more.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>"So, we're done. I guess."(set: $mood to "happy")
$sam["Well, damn. Sometimes you forget how much can happen in just two days."]
"Right? I'll probably go sleep now, yeah?"
$sam["Yeah. Night, Max. Oh, and thanks for working so hard for us. We might not be here if not for you."]
It's a weak smile, but the thought is still there. Just as hearty as ever.
$sam["I'll probably sit back and watch the stars go by, I guess."]
"Have fun."
I walk out of the control room, down to my dorm. Terminal left a message for me again.
$ter["Sleep easy, Miss (color:purple)[Algori], we are almost done."]
[["I'll try my best."->Still, it won't work.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>I wake up again. No spooky dreams for the second time. I can't seem to shake the feeling that something really bad is happening though. I guess things are going... //okay//, yeah?
(set: $mood to "nervous")
Somehow, I feel like I'm missing something. I can't put my finger on just what, though. My room is in order, nobody's been inside, though.
I'll probably just go to the cafeteria instead, check on the others, yeah?
[[I gently open the door.->Door opens once once more]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>I open the door and start walking down the hall.
(link-reveal: "OH SHIT.")[== I turn around. Oh.
It's just Nat. I guess she was waiting for me.
$nat["Hello! Good morning, Max!"]
"Oh, hey, Nat. How are you feeling?"
$nat["I feel much better than I did yesterday. We are also roughly thirty minutes from Earth."]
"That's good to hear. So you're feeling all better now?"
$nat["I sure am. Sam is in the control room. You can go eat your breakfast. We can wait for you."]
"Huh, okay."
[[Walk over to the cafeteria.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>I walk over to the cafeteria and just grab a light meal I can eat without a tray. I feel like they're waiting for me, so I don't take my time.
I walk out into the hallway with an apple in hand and enter the control room.
[[I gently open the door.->STOP OPENING THE DOOR]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>...And they're both grinning at me.
$sam["Morning, Max."]
"Heyo."
$nat["Can you see that little blue dot in the distance? That is home. We are almost there!"] She says, pointing to a picture she presumably took earlier.
"Oh, that's really good to hear!"
$sam["Right? We're almost done with our mission."]
"You know, Terminal is awful quiet despite this. You'd think he'd have something to say."
Nat almost looks a bit shocked when I say it. Can't really tell why.
$nat["Oh, uh... I was told that it is standard protocol to disable the Terminal when you are close to home."]
That's not a believable story. At all. Somehow, I feel like I should just roll with it. I'd probably be avoiding some sort of awful wrath this way.
"Oh. Well, I guess it's okay, then."
She smiles at it. I think she's completely unaware. Either that or if I look at her eyes for a bit I can tell there is a //lot// moving through her head. She knows something I don't.
We're approaching Earth pretty quickly.
"So Mission Control gave us the ping to come home?"
$nat["Well, actually, they still have yet to respond to our ping yet. We are just approaching nearby so to wait for them to respond."]
$sam["Oh, hey. We're pretty close to the Moon right now."]
"Oh, this is a really nice view."
Nat stares at it for a moment.
$nat["You know what? I can make this work."]
We don't even have time to respond before we start panning our view towards the Moon.
$nat["Well, I do not know where we should land."]
[[Try landing at one of the larger lunar cities]]
[[Try landing at one of the small bases]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>"Do you think we could try landing at one of the big ports?"(group: "playing", "stop")(track: "lunar", "loop", true)(track: "lunar", "play")
$sam["In one of the big cities?"]
"Yeah."
$nat["Well, we could try. We can request landing permission there."]
"X-Corp doesn't really have any jurisdiction over who can land on the lunar cities. They can't really stop us, yeah?"
$nat["Yeah, I am heading there now."]
Nat turns the ship slightly, before picking a nearby city seemingly at random.
(set: $mood to "happy")
$nat["We are heading towards Hertzsprung."]
$sam["Oh hey, I've been there."]
"What for?"
$sam["Just a vacation. Real nice city, one of the greenest ones up here."]
(link-reveal: "Nat switches something on")[== and starts speaking into the microphone.
$nat["This is Captain Carter of the (color:blue)[''Relegator''], requesting permission for a short landing at the Hertzsprung Transcelestial. We're a Class-7 Research Ship."]
$lun["This is HTCP Control. Please confirm your vessel conforms to our landing requirements."]
$nat["We are sure it does. Run your scans anyways, though."]
$lun["Scans are complete. Your port is #09. We have low traffic today, so you're free to land right now. How long will you be staying?"]
$nat["Very well. Roughly six hours."]
$lun["Alright, your reservations are set up."]
Honestly, that was pretty surprising just how quickly she got permission to land.
We start approaching the port. The landing is smooth. You can tell she's a master pilot, even if she's acting weird.
It's not long before we land and everything is set up.
I feel like this is a much calmer situation than it could have been.
$nat["I suggest you two both take a nap while I get things set up and wait for our ping."]
"Honestly, that's a great deal. I haven't gotten enough sleep recently."
$sam["Yeah, me neither. Have fun, Nat."]
$nat["Goodnight, you two."]
[[We both go back to our dorms.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>"Do you think we could try landing at one of the small research bases? We probably don't want to cause too much commotion for the public port."
$nat["Good idea. We should avoid tipping off X-Corp. They might not like it if we try to find loopholes."]
(set: $mood to "scared")
$sam["Wait, hold on. We want to //avoid// telling stuff to Mission Control?"]
$nat["Well, I guess it is not possible to hide this from you two any longer."]
She sighs.
"Hide what?"
$nat["The relic. The ones who made it knew things that we are only now learning about. They speak truth, but they were relying on us to make it so. We must spread word of this prophecy to everyone."]
$sam["Nat, what the fuck."]
$nat["I am serious. Do you remember that the original relic was destroyed? Do you realize that the //moment// that it was destroyed, signals were received from the new one? They are giving us a second chance. X-Corp is trying to hide our gift. I expect you both to oblige."]
$sam["You're, uh. You're joking, right?"]
(link-reveal: "Nat turns around in her chair")[==, reaches into her pocket, and pulls out a handgun. She gives it a quick spin before pointing it right at Sam.
$nat["Does this //look// like a joke?"]
$sam["Not anymore."]
$nat["Good. Oh, and Max. Do not try and pull any stunts."]
Well, shit. Here we fucking are.
[[We're almost to the port now.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>We're close to the port, now. Nat is focusing more since the landing process always takes a lot of concentration. We're all quiet for her. We probably would be either way, but a gun is a good way to get someone to shut up.
(track: "rain", "play")
$sam["Uh, Nat. Can I ask you a question?"]
$nat["What is it?"]
$sam["Isn't the Fersman Research Base owned by X-Corp?"]
He says it as we touch down.
$nat["Shit."]
(link-reveal: "We start receiving a transmission from Mission Control.")[==
$xco["You have violated standard mission procedure. Please remain idle while a team is sent to your location."]
"Well, uh, maybe it's //not// an armed squadron?"
$sam["Don't even try. It's a team of people with big guns."]
Nat looks at the pistol in her hand. I don't have to be able to read minds to know what she's thinking.
$nat["This gun is not going to be enough."]
But she says it anyways.
Armed men storm the ship through the cargo bay. We're taken into rooms for interrogation. Automated defense satellites dock to the (color:blue)[''Relegator''] and ship it off to dump into the Sun.
They never tell us anything after the interrogation, but I'm pretty sure everyone knows that Nat was executed.
Actually, no. I was associated too much with her. I'm next.
---
(link-reveal: "**The End**")[
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''ACROSS THE STARS'']
''TO THE EDGE OF AN INFINITE HORIZON'']]
Ending 21: Execution Order
(color: red)["Shouldn't you at least have asked for permission before landing at a private port, Max?"]
(link: "Go.")[(reload:)]
Digit 21: 9
]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>I make my way back down to my dorm. Sam does too. Heh, I almost miss seeing Terminal when I walk back into my room. Oh well, it's almost done, anyways.
I won't have to worry much longer.
[[I slip into my bed]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>''Chapter 5: Revelation''
(link: "Save")[Saved.(save-game: "file A")]
---
I wake up again. Really really slowly. I feel awful and my head aches. Pretty hard to focus on, well, anything. Something is sitting on my head. Wait, the fuck? Did somebody put a fucking //rock// on my head?
(set: $mood to "affected")
(link-reveal: "I wake up a bit more.")[==
I become conscious enough that movement sounds about plausible. I reach up and take the rock off my head. I stare at it for a couple seconds.
It's just... a rock?
(link-reveal: "Wait, not just any rock.")[== Isn't this a chunk of the relic? Oh God. Somebody put it on me. And my fucking head hurts. I feel like I should be mad but... I'm not. I'm just kind of... curious? Could it actually affect me in my sleep? Didn't it just do that? Does proximity matter?
Heh, actually... Can't I answer these questions myself? I already have the tools I need on board.
You know, that one step that all the scientists take, the one where they share their results with all the other scientists? That one. It sounds //really// appealing. If we can get everyone to start researching this thing, maybe we can learn everything about this civilization. We could learn so much.
Heck, I'm not even tired anymore. I'm wide awake now, I have to research the relic. I've got the chunk in hand.
[[I leave my dorm.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>Well, first, maybe I should check on the others. The more the merrier, yeah? More help in our research. More help in our spread.
(set: $mood to "converted")
I walk into the cafeteria, they're both there, smiling at me.
$nat["We both already know, Max. We were waiting for you."]
$sam["Yep, we're ready when you are."]
"Let's go, then!"
The three of us head down to Lab-02 and get to work.
It takes a long time, and by the time we finish we've only got 3 hours left on the Moon before our reservation is up.
We know much more about the relic now.
We learn so much, Nat and I. Who could've known that Nat's idea, just giving someone the relic and giving them time with it, was all it took to bring people over to our side? She even did it to Sam. He helps us, too.
We learn that proximity and time with the relic is all it takes.
We learn that with the right methods, you can take the relic apart. The words only need to be translated once.
We learn that we need only open the gateway.
That, and so much more.
It only takes a little faith to split great Luna in twain.
[[We march into the outside world.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>Hertzsprung is a beautiful city, with a good million or so people living within. But it's still one that is filled with petty arguments and problems that nobody else cares about. It sits impure just as the rest of humanity down on Earth.
We can fix them all. We can introduce the population of this city to the Truth. To the new, pure Universe.
Nat has a bunch of pieces of the relic in her bag.
Sam does, too.
I was given a fine powdered version of the relic. It's less conspicuous.
(link-reveal: "Three hours to sow our seed within Hertzsprung.")[==
The three of us split up and start placing parts of the relic everywhere, in spaces that people wouldn't notice. Even if they did, it'd be entirely inconspicuous.
I sneak around and pour some of the relic into people's unattended drinks. Sprinkle undetectable amounts of it onto their food. I get away with it entirely. Especially if I pour some on items in shops. People will take their items home, with the relic.
Nat heads off to stay in the spaceport and bring the staff to our side. It will make dealing with them much easier. Sam went off to find core city infrastructure to bring massive amounts of citizens to our side without anybody noticing.
Realistically, it would only take a little bit more work to learn how to recreate the effect of the relic ourselves, but we don't have the time for that at the moment. We could use the Moon for mass production and rain purity down to Earth in that case.
Either way, it doesn't stop us from heading back to Earth and spreading our gift on two fronts.
It takes a while, and I start heading back with about 30 minutes left.
[[Sam is the second to return.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>$sam["Hey, Max. You already gave away your gifts?"]
"I sure have!"
$sam["Has Nat come back yet?"]
"Nope, we're still waiting on her. You think she's doing well?"
$sam["Two of us have, I don't see why the captain, of all people, wouldn't be doing just fine."]
As he says it, I can see Nat walking out of the spaceport terminal. She waves at us as she approaches.
$nat["So, we are all done with our parts, yes?"]
"I know I am."
$sam["Same here."]
$nat["Good, because our reservation is almost up. We should get going now."]
We all get back into the (color:blue)[''Relegator'']. Nat starts booting up the controls and everything. Heck, they even refuelled us while we were gone. We still had a good month or so left of fuel, but if they're doing it free of charge, that's great.
$nat["I am closing our reservation now."] she says, turning the same switch on.
$nat["This is Captain Carter of the (color:blue)[''Relegator''], we are closing our reservation and will be taking off shortly."]
A quick pause.
$lun["This is HTCP Control. We've closed your reservation. Good luck on the rest of your trip."]
$nat["Alright, we are already warming our engines."]
$lun["Oh, and thanks for the little souvenir, miss."]
$nat["Think nothing of it."]
She disables the microphone.
Sam starts laughing.
$sam["You actually got the spaceport control to accept the relic?"]
$nat["Of course! They have no clue what it is, they just think it is a fancy rock."]
[[We start rising from the ground.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>As we are rising from the lunar surface and start kicking on the main engines and boosting away from the Moon, Nat's watch dings.
She glances down at it once we're sure to not be in the way of any other ships.
$nat["Good news, everyone! Mission control has accepted our request to land, after 'review of the situation.' Whatever that is supposed to mean."]
"That's lovely, so we can head home immediately?"
$nat["We sure can. They want us to land at Site-03."]
$sam["Isn't that the huge building real close to NYC?"]
"That's the one."
$nat["You know what this means, correct?"]
"Hell yeah."
[[We start heading home.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>It doesn't take long before we're descending through the sky, through the clouds. We only gave away maybe an eighth of the relic to the people in Hertzsprung. It's fine, though. Once we have more people with goals aligned with ours, we will be able to make more.
The creators left instructions for us, after all.
We finally touch down back on Earth. Before anything else happens, we all know what we need to do next. We run back to Lab-02 and start grabbing chunks of the relic and grinding other parts of it to dust. We collect them all and leave enough relic on the counter so it looks as if that was the entire relic.
Despite how wonderful our gift is, there are those who want to stop it from spreading to every mind on Earth. There are those who want the gateway to remain closed. So we must take big measures to keep them from interfering. X-Corp cannot become aware of our plans until it is too late for them.
We go back to the control room and await the agents who will meet us.
[[Eventually, some men in lab coats come in.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>They greet the three of us, ask where the relic has been placed, and eventually they cart the relic into the lab. This, however, is problematic. We've once more got a time limit on us to share our gift with the lab staff.
We must give them our gift without them knowing. This can best be done by handing it out to everyone at once, or picking who gets it and when, and very carefully.
$nat["Do you realize what this means? We only have so much time before they learn what our gift can do."]
$sam["We just give it to 'em before they know what hit 'em. Easy."]
"Not as easy as it sounds, seeing as if even one person alerts another facility, that's another group of people we have to share with before we can start moving on to the general public. They will be more receptive to it."
$nat["This is very much true. I highly suggest that we make use of the site's internal ventilation system. It is entirely closed as to isolate the building's environment from the outside."]
$sam["I mean, we've got the powder, right?"]
"Yeah, we can use it. We just need to grind it a bit finer before we go and dump it in the ventilation system. No filter can stop it, either. Remember the molecular structure?"
$sam["Sounds like a plan."]
$nat["Well, there is the other option. We could pick out specific facility staff and share our gift with them to allow the facility to slowly transition to our side, rather than all at once."]
"That's also true."
[[Disperse the relic through the air.]]
[[Search for the high level staff to convert.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>"Well, don't you think that if we can get the entire staff on our side in one quick move, that would be the best? They probably wouldn't have time to figure out what is going on if I can get enough of that powder in their ventilation unit. They aren't even expecting us to pull a stunt. As far as they can tell, we're just fine."
$nat["That is true. Well, as captain, I support your decision. It shall be done."]
$sam["Alright, so how are we getting through there?"]
$nat["Max, we can probably just send you alone. As long as we can get you a blueprint of the building, it should not be hard to find your way to the maintenance rooms."]
"And after that?"
$nat["We move on after that. New York City is only around eighty miles from this site. it will be much easier to handle the general public."]
"Sounds like a lovely plan."
$nat["Then we get to it now, yes? Time is of the essence. The team would likely want an interview from us anyways, so that is our ticket in."]
"Alright."
I take my pouches of relic powder, disembark from the ship, enter the facility, and head down one of the halls. Today is going to be fun.
[[The security checkpoint isn't far from the door.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>"Don't you think that they'd notice if we tried to bring the entire staff to our side? And if one of them decides to ping another facility and they catch something off, they'll investigate. They're good at drawing connections between things."
$nat["That is true. Well, as captain, I support your decision. It shall be done."]
$sam["Alright, so who do we take first?"]
$nat["We should likely take the communications control team first. The sooner they are with us, the harder it will be for this facility to tell others about our mission in the case we are compromised."]
"And what do we do after that?"
$nat["Site administration, once they are down, if anybody wants to complain to management, they will be brought to our side as well. We can work our way down the staff levels from there. We can probably use the ventilation system from there."]
"Sounds like a lovely plan."
$nat["Then we get to it now, yes? Time is of the essence. So, Max. You will take the powder and take the communications team. You get thirty minutes to do it before we head out to the top director's room for our 'interview.' "]
I take my pouches of relic powder, disembark from the ship, enter the facility, and head down one of the halls. Today is going to be fun.
[[The security checkpoint is up ahead.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>I walk up to the guard and pull my ID card from my pocket. The guard takes it for a moment and presses a couple buttons on his computer.
$xco["Good afternoon, miss (color:purple)[Algori]. Your interview with the site director is in three hours. Please enjoy your stay."]
"I will, thank you."
I continue down the hall and look for the room with the convenient label "Communications." I quietly enter the room. Luckily for me, there's a side room in the Comms office. The staff doesn't come in here often but when they do, it's for another cup of coffee. Just the way office life is, yeah?
I take a quick look around the room and ensure that nobody will be coming into the room soon. Good for me, nobody soon. They don't even put cameras in a place like this.
[[Pour some powder into the coffee pots.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>Really now, this is way too easy. They won't see this coming. Of course, I took a cup of coffee myself before putting the relic in. I've got enough exposure as is, and I don't want to waste it on myself.
I take the cup with me just to give me a reason for being in there.
One of the comms staff walking towards the side room notices me.
$xco["Uh, miss, you're from the... Research ship, right?"]
"Yes, I am. Why do you ask?"
$xco["Eh, no reason, really. Nice to meet you, I guess. Is the coffee still warm?"]
"Yes, it is."
He walks into the break room. That's one down.
I just sit around and take my time finishing my glass. Eventually a majority of the staff has gotten their refills. That's my job done, and with ten minutes to spare. They really don't have bad taste in coffee, yeah?
As I leave the room I can see a couple of the staff just sitting around doing less work. It won't be much longer before they learn their roles in the new world.
(link-reveal: "I walk back down the hallway past the security checkpoint.")[==
$xco["Are you heading out?"]
"Just for a bit. Wanted to talk to the rest of the crew for a moment."
$xco["Alright."]
I walk back into the ship. Nat is waiting by the side door. She looks up at me.
$nat["Have you finished?"]
"I have. You two can move onto your part now. Oh, and when I walked into the building, they said my interview was in three hours."
$nat["Come with us, then."]
$sam["Honestly, we can use all the help we can get."]
The three of us walk back into the building, up to the security checkpoint. The guard takes a look at us both.
$xco["I take it you're the rest of the crew. I still need your IDs though."]
[[They start rummaging through their pockets.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>Nat and Sam get their ID Cards out. The guard checks them both.
$xco["Carter and Ollens. You both have your interviews at the same time as (color: purple)[Algori]. Same room, too. I guess they want to keep it quick. Two hours and thirty-two minutes from now. Enjoy your stay."]
$nat["We very much will."]
We continue walking down the hallway. Actually, I have something to check on.
"Hey, we should probably check on communications. Just to see how it's worked."
I walk into the room first. It's not that large of a room but they all look up as I enter, as if they already know what to expect. One of them gets up and starts talking.
Ah, it's the same guy as before.
$xco["Hello. We've blocked out all the communications that might expose our mission to the world unintentionally. What else would you like us to do?"]
$nat["Ah, in that case, we can have you give everybody who comes into this room a cup of coffee. A special addition we made is the reason that you have become enlightened to our mission. Please oblige."]
$sam["So, we're set to find site administration?"]
$nat["Yes, we are."]
It's really just as easy as that, yeah? The three of us head over to the offices and wait for our interview.
We spend the rest of the time lounging around in the anteroom.
[[It's finally time.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>When the secretary calls the three of us, we walk into the room in a single file line, with Nat in the front. I'm pretty sure the lady at the desk is the site director, so she's actually above the rest of the site administration here. Dressed in a suit and everything. That makes our jobs easier.
We've got a ton of pieces of the relic on us, which means that the effect should be pretty strong on her. We probably won't be here long. This will probably be fun.
$dir["So, the crew of the (color: blue)[''Relegator'']. Since we were picked as the site of your landing, we were given information of your mission. The staff of Site-03 wants to congratulate you on your mission. Not many know my name, but given the magnitude of your mission, you will be receiving much recognition. I am the site director of Site-03, and my name is Natalya Gabrilovna Sonya. If you don't mind, I will be asking you three some questions that Site-19 has procured for us to ask you. Will this be a problem at all?"]
$nat["Not at all, no. Ask as you please."]
$dir["Alright. Just to confirm, did the artifact you collect appear to exhibit any sort of mental effect on the people researching it? This might sound a bit strange, but I didn't write these questions. "]
(link-reveal: "Nat looks almost genuinely confused.")[== //Almost.//
$nat["That is a weird question. I highly doubt that the artifact could possess any ability to do that. As far as we are concerned, it is just a rock."]
$dir["I see."]
(link-reveal: "She drops his papers for a moment.")[== she looks almost surprised. Her motions are slowing down a bit.
$dir["So, was your team able to successfully make progress on translating the content reported to be written on the artifact?"]
"Some. We still only have a few nouns and other sentence components, but still not enough to actually translate anything meaningful from it."
(link-reveal: "She almost seems to doze off for a moment.")[== It seems like it's getting harder and harder for her to concentrate.
$dir["Did... Were there any mechanical faults that happened after the collection of the artifact?"]
$sam["Just one. As you probably heard in one of our reports, Carter was hurt by a malfunction in one of the lab rooms. She spent a few hours in the infirmary but recovered quickly. That's why she missed out on one of the reports."]
$xco["I... uh, I see."]
(link-reveal: "This time she just face-slams the desk.")[== She couldn't even support herself anymore. Sam has to stifle back a laugh. If the director was any more aware she might've noticed. When she raises her head back up, she doesn't even look hurt. Just really really tired.
She mumbles something under her breath.
$dir["I can't fucking do this. Holy shit."]
She speaks up. I'm pretty sure her judgement is completely gone at this point.
$dir["Look, I, uh."] She rubs her eyes for a moment. $dir["I'm fucking tired. Is it alright if I just nap, and then we ask questions later?"]
$nat["Yes, that is perfectly fine."]
(link-reveal: "Upon her word, she immediately falls back to the desk and starts snoring.")[== Sam nearly bursts out into laughter. I mean, so do I. It's not every day you get to see a top level director's professionalism boil away like that, yeah?
$nat["Well, we have to stay in here for a moment. If we leave, someone might come in to check on her."]
"Yeah."
[[We wait around for her to wake up.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>It takes maybe five minutes or so, but she starts coming back to consciousness. She takes a look at the papers for a moment before putting them down.
$xco["I think I get what's happening, now. Can't say I'm mad. So, what's our plan? Oh, and excuse me for my lack of professionalism earlier."]
$nat["Oh, it is not a problem. We all had to go through it at one point. Think of it as initiation. For our plan, though, (color:purple)[Algori] here can explain that to you."]
"Alright. As you probably realize right now, we've still got the rest of the site executives to bring to our side. They're going to try to stop us. Can we trust that you will be able to settle any disputes that may arise? On a related note, we need you to get us a talk with the rest of the site's command staff."
$xco["Oh, that's all? That's very easy stuff to handle. I guess we'll have them continue your 'interview' from there."]
$sam["By the way, you know how we can get access to the ventilation unit?"]
$xco["That's an interesting request. You can get to there from the maintenance room."]
$nat["Alright. I will handle the next interview myself. Sam, can you give me your relic pieces?"]
$sam["Yeah, sure."]
$nat["Good. You can go with Max and fill up the ventilation unit."]
"Alright, I'll get to it."
$nat["Good luck, Miss Director"]
$xco["As to you three."]
[[We walk out of the room together.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>Nat breaks off behind us to enter one of the larger meeting rooms. Sam and I head over to the other side of the building.
We approach the maintenance door. Sam opens it up first and assures that the coast is clear. We walk down the maintenance hall together before we find the large ventilation unit. This building isn't small, so I guess it makes sense the unit is so large.
$sam["Don't these things have air filters? How are we going to work with it?"]
"Ah, that's where the properties of the relic come in. Remember how it didn't seem to have any molecular structure?"
$sam["Oh hey, that makes a lot of sense. You just grind it up so fine it goes right through whatever filter?"]
"That's exactly it."
I say it, opening the unit's side door and dumping two entire pouches of relic powder into the unit. That should bring the entire facility onto our side relatively quickly.
$sam["So, that's it?"]
"Pretty sure."
We walk back out of the maintenance room without getting seen by anybody who might find us suspicious. We head over to the administration section, where, if we look through the windows, we can see Nat handling the new meeting. A couple of them are already looking drowsy. And now that it's in the air, that should speed it up.
We wait around in the office anteroom again until Nat comes out to greet us.
[[Just a bit more.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>It's not too awful long before she comes out. I mean, meetings are like that, yeah?
$nat["We have the entire administration team. And with the ventilation working for us, it should not be much longer before the entire site staff is with us."]
"We're doing wonderful work, yeah?"
$sam["Is there really a better way to say it?"]
"I doubt it."
(link-reveal: "Our conversation is interrupted")[== by one of the communications staff members running down the hall towards us.
$xco["Uh, sorry to bother you. But, it turns out that X-Corp saw this coming and were already prepared. They've put the entire area on lockdown. I can only read so many of their communications, but the ones I can read? They're no good."]
Oh shit. This is really very bad.
"W-what do you mean 'they're no good?' "
$xco["The bombing teams are headed towards us now."]
(set: $mood to "scared")
(link-reveal: "OH SHIT.")[==
I can hear the sirens from in here already. All of our smiles are fucking gone. We've lost. There's no way around this.
$nat["Well, we do not have to worry too much. As long as our gift still exists, we can always come back. Remember Hertzsprung? That is our root. We will be back soon."]
Hertzsprung. We're damn lucky that place is on our side. There's no way in hell that Hertzsprung was being monitored by X-Corp. The lunar government is always iffy about terrestrial corporations on the Moon. It's the perfect plan.
(track: "rain", "play")
We'll come back. Stronger next time.
And it all goes white.
---
(link-reveal: "**The End**")[
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''ACROSS THE STARS'']
''TO THE EDGE OF AN INFINITE HORIZON'']]
Ending 22: The Contingency
(color: red)["This is not the path you should be taking, Max."]
(link: "Go.")[(reload:)]
Digit 22: 8
]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>I walk up to the guard and pull my ID card from my pocket. The guard takes it for a moment and presses a couple buttons on his computer.
$xco["Good afternoon, miss (color:purple)[Algori]. You and the rest of the (color:blue)[''Relegator''] crew have an interview with site director in three hours. Please enjoy your stay."]
"I will, thank you."
I continue down the hall and look for the room with the convenient label "Maintenance." It really doesn't take all that long. I just absent-mindedly wander the building for a little while. I look around and it doesn't seem like anybody is going to come and check on me. I quickly open the door and enter.
[[Time to find the ventilation unit.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>I walk through the hallway for a while before I come across a really big piece of machinery. I guess it makes sense that the ventilation unit is so big, since it's running for the entire site.
These units might have great filters, but the molecular structure of the relic is practically nonexistent, and I've already got it ground so finely that no filter is going to stop the flow of the relic.
I open up the side door on the unit and dump three entire pouches of relic powder into the unit. That should bring the entire facility onto our side really fast.
I walk back down the hallway towards the door. The coast is clear and nobody seems to have noticed me in the maintenance hall. I make my way back to the security checkpoint.
(link-reveal: "The guard notices me walking back.")[==
$xco["Are you heading out?"]
"Just for a bit. Wanted to talk to the rest of the crew for a moment."
$xco["Alright."]
He sneezes as I walk out of the door.
I walk back outside and into the ship. Nat is waiting by the side door. She looks up at me.
$nat["Have you finished?"]
"I have. It's probably not going to be long until they're with us. I don't think we need to attend our interview or anything right now. They'll probably forget by then."
(set: $mood to "scared")
(link-reveal: "We wait around for a good few minutes.")[==
"Maybe that'd be enough time for them."
$nat["Alright. Pick a facility vehicle from the parking lot. I highly doubt they will notice once they realize the Truth."]
"Heh, alrighty then."
I turn around and start looking at the X-Corp standard utility vehicles.
(link-reveal: "Something in particular catches my eye.")[==
It's the guard running outside of the building, waving his arms.
$xco["Uh, sorry to bother you three. But, it turns out that X-Corp already knows what's coming. They're already prepared. They've got this entire area on lockdown. The communications team can only read so many of the communications, but the ones they told us about are no good."]
Oh shit. This is really very bad.
"What do you mean by they're no good?"
$xco["The bomber planes are headed towards us now."]
(link-reveal: "OH SHIT.")[==
I can hear the nuclear sirens from here. They just kicked on. All of our smiles are fucking gone. I guess we've lost. There's no way around this.
$nat["Well, the problem is not too bad. Just a minor setback. As long as the relic still exists, the three of us can come back. Remember Hertzsprung? That is our new root. We will be back soon."]
(track: "rain", "play")
Hertzsprung. We're damn lucky that place is on our side. There's no way in hell that Hertzsprung was being monitored by X-Corp. The lunar government is always iffy about terrestrial corporations on the Moon.
We'll come back. Stronger next time.
And it all goes white.
---
(link-reveal: "**The End**")[
(transition: "dissolve")+(transition-time: 8000)[\
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(css: "font-size: 175%;")[\
''ACROSS THE STARS'']
''TO THE EDGE OF AN INFINITE HORIZON'']]
Ending 23: The Vents and The Contingency
(color: red)["This is not the path you should be taking, Max."]
(link: "Go.")[(reload:)]
Digit 23: 7
]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>We all get into our spots and the camera light turns on. The little control panel screen tells us that we're being recorded. Since Nat's the captain, she starts talking first, even if she's a bit woozy.
$nat["This is Captain Carter of the (color: blue)[''Relegator'']. Today is day 127, Friday, of looking for the signal source. Miss (color: purple)[Algori] can explain what we know."]
She really is in no condition for this, yeah?
"That's right, we've discovered the source of the radio signals. Turned out to be a moderately-sized rock-like thing that we were able to pull on board the ship via the robots. We then had it carted into one of the main lab centers for later research. Don't worry, we've already had our celebratory breakfast. Upon closer inspection, it appears to be a material similar to granite, but much more durable, with gold etchings across the front. We haven't been able to figure out if they're part of an ancient language yet, but we're going to start work on that shortly. Something strange that we did notice was that it seems to have a draining effect on the human psyche. Other than that, we have been able to progress through research without complications. So far, our mission seems like it's a success. Engineer Ollens, for the systems?"
$sam["All of our mechanics and hardware are running as they should. Upon manual inspection of our most important core systems, everything appears nominal."]
$nat["Okay. I think that is all of the new information. (color: blue)[''Relegator''] crew signing off for today."]
The camera light switches off, and the recording starts sending itself to Mission Control.
"Well, that's that. You think the carbon dating is done by now?"
$sam["I don't see how it wouldn't be. Let's go check on it."]
[[Go.->CheckSample4]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>The three of us walk right back down the hallway towards lab 2. Couldn't they have at least placed the lab a bit closer to the rest of the things on the ship? Maybe it's a safety issue. I guess it's a bit late to change that at this point, yeah?
Sam opens up the door to the lab, where we should be able to work with it remotely. Sam's the best at working with the remote machinery so we let him do the work for us.
It's a bit weird though, yeah? That a rock can produce radio signals and mess with people's heads?
(link: "Sam has the results")[==$sam["I've got our results. The rock's been artificially made by some ancient civilization."]
"So, we're not alone in the Universe?"
$sam["Well, we might not have been, if we existed 18 billion years ago."]
"WOAH, WHAT?"
$sam["Yeah, it's damn old."]
"That's not the point."
$nat["I thought the Universe was only 13 billion."]
(link: "The fuck?")[==Yep, everyone looks just about as shocked as I do. This could be one of the biggest revelations in human history.
"//That's// the point. There's no way that thing should even be able to exist. Sam, can you drop that sample into a microscope and get us a good picture of it?"
$sam["Sure can, what kind?"]
"Highest resolution we've got on board."
$sam["Yep, one moment."]
"Electron microscope?"
$sam["Electron microscope."]
$nat["Weird. Are you sure it is working right?"]
"It kinda has to be, seeing as we're running top-of-the-line technology that most //countries// would have trouble affording."
$sam["Okay, this is really weird. Take a look."]
[[Look at the results->Look at the results4]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>Well, he wasn't lying. We can't see any atoms on this. It's just kinda... there? The only atoms we can see are the ones that ended up stuck on the relic because of us or whoever made it. Other than that, this thing appears to be entirely solid.
"This thing... isn't made out of atoms? It's just, 'made?'"
$sam["Sure looks like it from these results."]
$nat["Are you sure the machines are alright?"]
$sam["Yeah, I double checked all the machinery and equipment yesterday. And we're still not getting any signals except the radio waves."]
"Actually, about those signals, what are they?"
$nat["We translated them earlier. Just a ping because it wants to make contact with something."]
"Shouldn't we run a scan of all of the nearby systems? Just to see if there are other relics or other remnants of this civilization?"
$nat["I already did that. Nothing related in the area."]
"Guess that's fair. Y'think we've made good progress today? Actually, about that. What time is it?"
$sam["Nat?"]
$nat["Uhm, it is (current-time:)"]
[["Sick. Gonna take a nap then. About as good a time as any, yeah?"->natptime3]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>"Gotta have a good naptime, yeah?"
$nat["I think I should get rest, too."]
$sam["Alright. I'll just check and see if we can get any more results while you two head out. Remotely, just to be safe."]
"25,000 lightyears in 48 hours. They would've called us gods 500 years ago, yeah?"
$nat["Probably."]
[[Naptime->dorm4]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>I walk back down the hallway with Nat following me. She breaks off down another hall to get to her dorm.
The big metal door for mine opens up again, and I step in. The terminal switches on as I walk in.
$ter["Welcome back, Miss (color: purple)[Algori]. Have a good night."]
"You too, computer."
I slip into my bed.
[[Sleep, yeah?]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>The ship is silent as I drift off into sleep. I don't really notice anything except the stars before I go out. (set: $mood to "scared")
(link: "A dreamless sleep")[==
And when I wake up, I'm in a familiar bed. I switch on the lamp next to my nightstand. I'm back at home.
Wait, what? There is no way in hell that I just suddenly appeared at home, yeah?
My room is bright, but it's pitch black outside.
(link-reveal: "WAIT, WHAT?")[== I get up and run up to my window, and there really is nothing outside. I can't hear or see anything that might be happening out there.
(link-reveal: "My bedroom door suddenly opens.")[== Someone steps through. She looks like... Me? But in a different outfit.
(color: purple)["Oh, no, no... I'm too early this time. This draft is so old-"]
"Wh- Who are you? Are you me?"
(color: purple)["Oh, I'm really sorry about this- but I can't explain, there's just no time for me- Uh, you? I think you'll understand in a bit though. Really, this is probably just confusing you more, yeah? Goodness, I'm sorry."]
"Wh- Sorry about what?"
She turns around and goes to leave.
[[There's a noise from outside.->What the fuck is going on??]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>''Chapter 3: Dreamer''
(link: "Save")[Saved.(save-game: "file A")]
---
I wake up to the sound of beeping. Did the computer set up an alarm for me or something?(set: $mood to "worried")
$ter["Good morning, Miss (color: purple)[Algori]. It appears that Carter is currently working on the artifact."]
"Huh? What do you mean?"
$ter["She woke up in the middle of the night and entered the laboratory. She is not responding to any of my attempts at communication."]
"What the hell? Again? You want me to help her, right?"
$ter["Yes."]
So be it. I'm our psychiatrist now, yeah?
[["I'll go get Nat."]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>I open up the door to my room once more. I sprint down the hallway as fast as I can without making //too// much noise. I think I can see the cameras following me. Terminal is watching me now, I guess.
(set: $check to false)
I peek into the window before opening up the door. There sits Nat, on her hands and knees, writing on a paper. Actually, surrounded by a ton of papers. Yeah, I think it's for the best to go ahead and enter the door now.
[[Snap her out of it->WAKE HER UP. NOW.]]
[[Watch what she does->Sit back and watch.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>The door opens and I step inside. She doesn't even notice me. These doors ain't quiet, yeah? Actually, she's mumbling to herself. Something about $nat["They were not stories. They were prophecy."]
(set: $mood to "scared")
I grab Nat on the shoulder and give her a quick spin till she faces me. Her eyes focus again. Just like last time. Maybe slower.
$nat["Shit. It happened again, I take it."]
"You never actually went to bed, did you?"
$nat["I tried to, but could not sleep. I could not fight the urge to research it more."]
"And you didn't think to at least tell one of us? Even after everything that //already happened// because of this fucking ''space rock??''"
$nat["Remember, you have just //woken me up.// I was in a dream state before you approached me. Maybe you saved my life?"]
(link-reveal: "Well, she's still conscious. Or... is now?")[==\
I start sifting through the papers. There's weird symbols that I couldn't read for the life of me, and then the English next to it. One paragraph at a time.
"It's like... space Chinese or something. Nat?"
Ah, she's passed out.
...And I can't shake her hard enough to get her back up.
Still breathing, though.
[[The terminal on the wall just turned on->Terminal is back at it again.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>Well, if I look closely, it looks kind of like she's trying to... Write what the relic says? Maybe I can see what the entire thing says, yeah? Even if she looks entirely entranced.
(link-reveal: "I gently open the door")[== and step inside. She doesn't even notice. She just keeps writing. I don't want to pick up any papers, since it might interrupt her.
(set: $mood to "affected")
I kneel down and look at one of the papers. It's actually a translation. I start picking up the papers anyways. This is actually really interesting. I start reordering the papers right there. This could be so helpful, yeah? We might be learning about another civilization that came before us, and-
(link-reveal: "Nat collapses on to the floor.")[==
Oh shit. I almost got entranced just like she did. She just collapsed. I think she just finished the translation, like, the entire thing, yeah?
I shake her, but it's not enough to wake her up. She's still breathing, at least.
[[The terminal on the wall just turned on->Terminal turns on for the whateverth time]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>$ter["Congratulations. You likely just saved Carter from losing her mind."](set: $mood to "nervous")
"Wait, really? She seemed about fine after I woke her up, yeah?"
$ter["She //was// fine. Although passing out soon after waking up is not a good sign. It is reasonable to assume that she will not be functioning at the same level when she wakes up again."]
Well, I guess I've got that going for me, yeah?
"What do you suggest I do now?"
$ter["Bring Carter back to her dorm and put her in her bed. Pick up the papers that she has written and bring them to your dorm. I will likely take automatic control of the flight systems in case Mission Control gives you permission to go home. You should continue your rest after this."]
"Alright. Thanks, computer."
$ter["No thanks are necessary."]
I clean up the papers and stack them neatly. I can put them in order later.
Well, damn. At least Nat is kind of small, so I //can// carry her. But I still have to carry her all the way back to her room. Thank God it isn't far.
[[Bring Nat back to her room->Carry. Again.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>Alright, so Nat is in her bed now. Time to reorder the papers and all. Maybe get my head back in order while I do that. They're just everywhere. All over the floor. At least she didn't spill the blank sheets everywhere. I'm still going to be picking papers up off the floor for a while.
(link-reveal: "*Time passes and all that, yeah?*")[==
I probably look damn suspicious walking down the hallway with a stack of papers in my hands.
Terminal is already on, and he left a message waiting for me.
$ter["Rest easy."]
"Not yet, I want to at least read some of this translation."
$ter["Please be careful while you do so. The artifact is a very interesting case."]
"Yeah, I will, don't worry."
(link-reveal: "*More time passes and all that, yeah?*")[==
(set: $mood to "fine")Nat, the heir to the throne at the edge of infinity? The one who will control the fate of the world? And a bunch of other nonsense that I can't remember because I'm way too sleepy?
Damn.
[[Now I can try and get some real sleep.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>''Chapter 4: Rebound''
(link: "Save")[Saved.(save-game: "file A")]
---
I wake up again. A lot more nicely this time around, yeah?
(set: $mood to "fine")
(link: "Terminal turns on as I wake up.")[==$ter["Good morning, Miss (color:purple)[Algori]. Mission control has yet to respond to your report."]
"Wait, really? Do you know why?"
$ter["It is true, but I do not know why."]
"Hm, okay."
$ter["The others are waiting for you in the cafeteria."]
Well then.
(link: "Go to the cafeteria")[==I leave my dorm and walk down the hallway. Up to the cafeteria door. [[I gently open the door.->More time in the cafeteria]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>...And they're not grinning, this time. Nat is staring at a half-eaten tray of food. Sam is watching from one seat away. As the door opens, he looks up at me.
(set: $mood to "worried")
$sam["Hi, Max. Do you know why she's like this? Think we could try and help her?"]
"Nah, 'bout as clueless as you are. You think a therapist could help her when we get back home?"
She doesn't even bat an eye. Just kinda blinks... slowly.
$sam["I mean, maybe. But she's the captain, don't really think we have the time for that."]
"That's true. Has she said anything?"
$sam["Greeted me and grabbed her food, that's really it. Pretty blank otherwise. I've been watching her. She takes a bite maybe every 3 minutes or so. I finished an hour ago."]
(live: 1s)[(if: $check is false)[ [[Don't pay it any mind->NO MIND]] ]]
(link: "Try and bring her back to reality.")[==(set: $check to true)(set: $mood to "scared")I tap her on the shoulder.
"Nat? Are you sure you're okay?"
Her eyes only focus a little bit.
$nat["They are watching."]
Sam looks about as shocked as me.
"Who?"
$nat["The creators. They wrote about me. They said I would control the world."]
"Nat, you're controlling the fate of the world just by being on this mission."
$nat["I was unable to translate the rest."]
"It's fine, we can translate the rest later. Finish your food."
$nat["I think... It would be best if I got some rest."]
[[This is probably really bad.->nat very screw]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>(set: $mood to "worried") Sam is looking at me with a worried expression.
Nat walks out of the door without another word.
$sam["Wait, what'd you do to her?"]
"All I did was snap her out of it. She was writing surrounded by papers. Didn't even notice me walk through the door. At least she doesn't seem mad about it."
$sam["I wasn't there, but do you think she would've been happy if you let her finish?"]
"And keep her under the influence of that relic?"
$sam["I guess..."]
Sam isn't one to visibly show how worried he is, but I can get why this is showing. Who wouldn't be worried when a third of the people you're stuck with are acting all loopy, yeah?
"We should probably head over to the control room. See if Terminal wants to say anything."
$sam["Alright."]
[[We both head to the control room.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>I grab my food and take a seat on the other side of the table. Sam watches us both while Nat occasionally takes bites of her food.
(link-reveal: "I'm almost done with my food")[== when Sam asks me a question.
$sam["You know why she's like this?"]
Nat doesn't even glance at him.
"Well, last time I saw her, she was translating the relic. I think she was almost done."
I notice one of Nat's eyes twitch as I say it.
$sam["She was back with it?"]
"Yeah."
(link-reveal: "Nat finishes her food")[== and slowly gets up from the table. She quietly leaves except for her $nat["Bye."] right before the door shuts behind her.
"So, uh, after I finish, we should go submit our daily report, yeah?"
$sam["Without her?"]
"Mission control already knows that relic affects people's ability to focus. Can't we just tell them that's why she can't show up?"
$sam["Alright. But about the relic, what're we supposed to tell them about it? Can't just tell 'em we still haven't learned anything from it yet."]
"Well, I read some of Nat's translation. It was a bit hard to focus, I think the text is cursed too or something. But even with that, I don't think we can tell them what it says."
$sam["What'd it say?"]
"Talks about her inheriting some ancient throne and controlling the entire world. It's all looney stuff, really. Seriously, we can't tell them what it says."
(link-reveal: "And Sam's usual goofiness is back in action.")[==
$sam["Well, we can work with that, right? Just give 'em progress but only a bit. Tell 'em we've translated certain bits here and there, but nothing coherent right yet."]
He smiles, trying to lighten the mood. A bit weak, but he's trying.
"Alright. So that settles it, yeah?"
$sam["Well, guess we should going then."]
"Yeah."
[[We get up and walk to the control room.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>We start walking down the hall. Sam still looks just as worried.
$sam["Y'know, how are we going to submit our daily report without her? How do y'think we should tell Mission Control?"]
Well, it's only sensible to be worried about that. I am too.
"Well, Mission Control already knows that the relic affects the people who work on it, so can't we just tell them she's too drowsy to really do anything at the moment?"
$sam[" 'Bout the relic, what do we tell them about it? Can't just tell them we still haven't learned anything from it yet."]
"Well, I read some of Nat's translation. It was a bit hard to focus, I think the text is cursed too or something. But even with that, I don't think we can tell them what it says."
$sam["What'd it say?"]
"Talks about her inheriting some ancient throne and controlling the entire world. It's all looney stuff, really. Seriously, we can't tell them what it says."
(link-reveal: "And Sam's usual goofiness is back in action.")[==
$sam["Well, we can work with that, right? Just give 'em progress but only a bit. Tell 'em we've translated certain bits here and there, but nothing coherent right yet."]
He smiles, trying to lighten the mood. A bit weak, but he's trying.
"Alright. So that settles it, yeah?"
$sam["I think we already know what to say."]
[[We enter the control room.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>Sam walks over to the pilot's seat and starts booting up the camera system.
$sam["Hey, bad news. She's got a password set up on this thing."]
"Wait, really? Do you think maybe she wrote it down somewhere?"
$sam["You sure she wouldn't just try to memorize it?"]
"Well, we can try looking around the room for a notebook or something."
We spend some time looking around the room. In cabinets, under some of the control panels, under some of the counters.
$sam["Y'know, a password book sounds like something you'd keep in your room."]
"I guess, but she's in there. Given her condition, I don't think she'd notice, but still. It's not really good to search someone's room like that, yeah?"
$sam["Fair."]
It takes a while, but I eventually look in a weird spot and find a notebook.
"Hey, I think I found something."
$sam["What and where?"]
"Notebook, under her chair."
$sam["That honestly just makes too much sense."]
I start flitting through the pages looking for something that might get us through the password lock. I type the first thing that looks like it would work into the menu. It works.
$sam["She set the password to something cute?"]
"Nah, just a bunch of numbers and symbols."
$sam["Lame."]
"We start recording soon, I'll go first."
(link-reveal: "Report time.")[==
"This is Research Head (color:purple)[Algori] of the (color:blue)[''Relegator'']. Today is day 128 of our Mission to collect the source of the signal at the edge of the galaxy. We are still stationed where we found the relic, awaiting permission to head home. Our mission appears to be a success so far. We still have the relic on board and have begun translation. However, we have not yet managed to pull meaning from it yet. Just certain nouns and sentence particles. I will allow Engineer Ollens to explain the rest of the situation."
$sam["Yep, I've been through all of the hardware systems and machinery. All of them are functioning as they should. And, well, as you can see, Carter isn't here for the report. Because of the relic and its effects, she hasn't been able to appear for the report today, since her condition has worsened. She's sleeping in her room."]
"That should be all of the new information we have today. (color:blue)[''Relegator''] crew signing off for the day."
The recording finishes and starts sending itself to Mission Control. That's that, I guess.
$sam["You think we can go check on Nat?"]
"Yeah, probably."
(link-reveal: "We get up to leave the room")[== when suddenly the control panel plays the reminiscent "ding" of an error message.
$sam["What's that?"]
"Error. The report isn't getting sent."
$sam["You know why?"]
"Not yet, I'm reading through this error."
Looking through the error, it looks like our recording is sending properly, but it isn't being received. Oh. The recipient is blocking anything sent from our ship's identification number.
"Uh, it's because Mission Control is blocking messages from our ship."
$sam["The hell? Was it an accident?"]
"I mean, could be? We haven't received any information from them since the day before we found the relic. It'd show up on our message list, unless Nat deleted it. I don't think she would though."
Sam looks almost dumbfounded.
$sam["Well, shit. What do you think we should do now?"]
"Uh, check on Nat, I guess?"
[[We get up to leave the room again.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span> We walk down the hall to Nat's dorm. Sam knocks on the door a couple times, but there isn't a response.
$sam["You think we should go inside?"]
"At this point, I think her own safety is a bit more important than her privacy."
$sam["Alright, I'm opening the door."]
(link-reveal: "He gently opens the door.")[==
He peeks inside for a moment before coming back out.
$sam["I think she's fine. She's sleeping."]
"Alright."
He closes the door.
$sam["So."]
"I think I'll go take a nap."
$sam["Alright. I'll probably sit in the control room. Watch the stars."]
"Sounds good. Have fun."
(link-reveal: "I walk down the hall towards my dorm. ")[==I open up the door and walk inside. The Terminal left a message for me.
$ter["Sleep easy, Miss (color:purple)[Algori]."]
[["I'll try my best."->Imagine thinking it would work]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>I wake up again. No spooky dreams for the second time. I can't seem to shake the feeling that something really bad is happening though. I guess things are going... //okay//, yeah?
(set: $mood to "nervous")
Somehow, I feel like I'm missing something. I can't put my finger on just what, though. My room is in order, nobody's been inside. I'll probably just go to the cafeteria instead, check on the others, yeah?
[[I gently open the door.->Door again woo yeah]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>I open the door and start walking down the hall.
$nat["Boo!"]
"FUCK."
I immediately drop.
$nat["Oh! Sorry! I did not mean to scare you so much."]
"I-it's fine. Well, except for the, uh, near-heart attack. I'm just a bit jumpy."
A bit of an understatement, but I guess she's feeling better again.
"So, you're feeling better now?"
$nat["I sure am. My head was much clearer when I awoke earlier."]
"That's nice to hear. So, you're //entirely// sure you're fine?"
$nat["Yes."]
The smile she gives completes the response, I guess.
$nat["Sam is eating breakfast. I will be in the control room waiting for you."]
"Alright."
[[Head down to the cafeteria]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>I walk down the hallway with Nat towards the front of the ship. She breaks off to go to the control room. I open up the door to the cafeteria.
(set: $mood to "fine")
$sam["Heyo, Max."]
"Hi. Nat says she's all fine."
$sam["She looks like it to me. I'm not going to question it, since our captain is back with us."]
"Guess that's fair."
We just eat our lunch without many other words. We're really just waiting around for our ping from Mission Control. It's not too long before I finish my food and we [[head back to the control room.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>We're too slow to decide, and everyone tries to do something different all at the same time.
Needless to say, nobody does anything right or fast enough.
Everything goes white.
---
(link-reveal: "**The End**")[
(transition: "dissolve")+(transition-time: 8000)[\
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''ACROSS THE STARS'']
''TO THE EDGE OF AN INFINITE HORIZON'']]
Ending 24: ORBITAL NOSEDIVE!!!
(color: red)["Think fast, Max!"]
(link: "Go.")[(reload:)]
Digit 24: 4
]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>Nat is in her pilot's seat waiting for us, spinning around slowly. Swivel chairs, yeah?
"Still no ping?"
$nat["No pong."]
"Oh, ha-ha."
$nat["Heck, can you blame me? This is boring."]
$sam["Have you tried pinging them again?"]
$nat["Yes, for the past two hours, in fact. Every time I do, it gets blocked. I am more and more starting to doubt we are going to get a reply."]
"Do you think we should just try and approach Earth anyways?"
$nat["You know what? At this point, we may as well give it a shot."]
$sam["I mean, they can't really shoot us down or anything. Not legally."]
"Could you //not// jinx this for us?"
$sam["Pfft, sure."]
Nat starts up the Alcubierre drives. The ship rumbles a bit as we start moving. It's not too long before we reach top speed.
[[Nat turns around in her chair.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>She looks at us both.
$nat["You know that the (color:blue)[''Relegator''] has a top speed of 418 lightyears per hour, yes?"]
$sam["Where are you going with this?"]
"Oh no."
$nat["Well, that is just a little safety precaution they applied. One that I have found a way around. The ship is not //meant// for anything higher, but we can very much try it."]
"How far have you pushed it?"
$nat["20,000 lightyears per hour."]
$sam["Fuck's sake. That much?"]
"Is that even safe?"
$nat["I am not sure. Would you like to risk it?"]
$sam["Oh, screw it. Go for it."]
"Surprise them, I guess."
Nat turns right back around in her chair and starts typing into the consoles.
In a couple moments, the stars already whizzing by us start converging at one point in front of us.
$sam["Oh, shit. There's a name for this thing."]
"The Starbow Effect."
[[We might be pushing physical laws to their limits.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>The sight before us is honestly damn beautiful. Every single star, even the ones behind us, have been placed at a point directly in front of us. They all shine together as one.
The rainbow around them is just the slight spread of the light as it hits our eyes.
(set: $mood to "worried")
(link-reveal: '"Y\'know, isn\'t this really dangerous?"')[==
$nat["Yes."]
$sam["Hey, uh, guys?"]
$nat["Hm?"]
$sam["So you know how we were just sitting in space for a long time? Not doing anything?"]
$nat["Yes, what of it?"]
$sam["So I haven't been checking on the Alcubierre drives because of that, and I forgot to check them before we started moving."]
(link-reveal: "Well, uh. Shit. That can't be good.")[==
$nat["It seems about fine as it is, though. What problems might arise?"]
$sam["So you know how going faster than light usually breaks time?"]
"Oh God. Somebody grab a clock."
$nat["At this speed, we would not be able to receive a signal from anything."]
$sam["Well, fuck! Shut off the drives!"]
Nat immediately shuts off the drives. We lurch to a stop. It's a bit jarring.
$nat["Does... anybody recognize where we are?"]
[[I sure as hell don't.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>It's pitch black outside. No stars or anything.
(track: "boospooky", "play")
"Uh, Nat? Can you scan the area and give us a good idea of what the surrounding area is?"
$nat["I can. One moment."]
She types something into the console. The scan takes a couple moments to complete. She gets the results.
$nat["We are surrounded by nothing but iron stars. Also, there are blank spots in our scans. I am quite certain those are black holes."]
$sam["What year do you think this is?"]
$nat["If we are surrounded by iron stars, time is mostly redundant."]
"Well, shit. Can we go //backwards?//"
$nat["We cannot. Reverse time travel was disproved 100 years ago. Well, 100 years ago before we jumped this far into the future."]
"Can we go anywhere?"
$sam["Pretty sure there's nothing left to go to."]
$nat["Well, we have two options. We can sit around on the ship as the only meaningful thing left in the Universe and eventually starve to death as we run out of food, or, we can pick a black hole, dive into it, and hope for the best."]
"Can the ship handle a black hole?"
$nat["Given the space bending of our Alcubierre drives, we might be able to survive. It is still very much a risk."]
(link-reveal: "We sit around in silence for a good few minutes, staring at the practical nothing before us.")[==
"Go for it. I'm not going to stare at nothing forever."
$sam["We might as well try it."]
$nat["Very well. I will start the drives again."]
$sam["What about the checks?"]
$nat["We will not be going fast this time, we are only using them for their ability to warp the space around our ship."]
$sam["Alright."]
We approach the implied void in front of us. We know it's there, but we can't see it. A black hole. One of many.
[[We take the dive.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>''Chapter 5: Into the Abyss''
(link: "Save")[Saved.(save-game: "file A")]
---
The ship shakes a bit as the literal space around us starts wobbling. We cross the event horizon. All that awaits us in any direction now is the singularity. Now there's really no going back.
$nat["For the new world?"]
(color: white + yellow)["For the new world."]
Even the light inside the ship starts bending weirdly.
And suddenly, everything goes black.
---
(link-reveal: "**The End**")[
(transition: "dissolve")+(transition-time: 8000)[\
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''ACROSS THE STARS'']
''TO THE EDGE OF AN INFINITE HORIZON'']]
Ending 25: The Dive.
(color: red)["Max? Are you there, Max?"]
[[Go?]]
Digit 25: 0
]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>(set: $mood to "fine")[\
(font: "Verdana")[\
(color: green)[\
(css: "font-size: 175%;")[\
''ACROSS THE STARS'']
''TO THE HORIZON OF AN INFINITE SPACE'']]
---
A research ship at the edge of the galaxy finds an ancient artifact.
First contact? Evidence of lost civilizations? Only one way to find out.
The crew celebrates their success.
And, you know what they say...
"Things change, [[shit happens->But there's still more.]]."](track: "boospooky", "stop")(track: "landing", "play")<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>Or so they say.
Here we are again.
(group: "playing", "stop")(track: "boospooky", "play")
[[Another Origin.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>(set: $terminal to "online")(set: $ship to "fine")''Chapter 1: Root''(track: "boospooky", "stop")
(link: "Save")[Saved.(save-game: "file A")]
---
I awaken from a well-deserved and deep slumber.
The lights around my dorm click on when the motion sensors detect me moving. I push the hair from out of my face.
The mattress is still a bit too soft like it always has been. Despite it, I can still get a pretty good sleep out of it. Even with the few plants around the room, the whiteness of the room ends up being a little bit too plain. Opening up the blinds, I can see the Milky Way right along the ship's right side. Wait, isn't the word for that "starboard" or something?
I get up pretty quickly and walk over to the main terminal on the wall that connects me to the ship's database, so that I can alert the system that I'm now awake. I'm still not entirely sure what it actually does with that info but it probably (really) isn't important, yeah?
(link: "Boot up the terminal.")[==$ter["Good morning, Miss (color: blue)[Aligori.] The (color: purple)[''Relegator''] is on it's 126th day, a (weekday:). All systems are currently nominal. Your fellow crewmates are already awake. I hope you slept well."]
Heh, even though it's the 25th century, we still like to use these antique terminals like they did 400 years ago. Even if they're run by sentient processors smaller than a pinpoint nowadays, and they speak.
"Yep. Had a pretty wild dream too, except I can't really remember a whole lot of it."
(font: "Courier New")[(color: green)["No need for concern, dreams are generally forgotten. Please take a moment to reflect on yourself in order to keep your mental health nominal."]]
Oh, yeah, the computers tell us to do this from time to time. I'm not entirely sure what benefits it has, but it's probably good to [[get reflecting.->Another Reflection?]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>You're right. It's not the same. It's a bit different. It's not even the first time. Right before the lights go out for the last time, I remember everything. And every time, I remember a number. I can't even tell what it means. U-B271836.
I've done it all before. I'll do it all again. I came to realize that all paths I took would lead me right back to the singularity. It's just like a black hole, but with time. You will likely notice the same, to a point.
A little bit different every time. The Universe tries so hard to take us out of this loop, but it never works.
This world ends in countless ways and despite it all, the beginning is always the same. Maybe if it was different...
Maybe one iteration, it'll work.
For the best and for us all, yeah?
Are you stuck here, too? I don't get it either.
Maybe it makes sense to you?
(track: "boospooky", "play")
Either way, please don't come back here. Not even I could remember that.
I almost ended up doing the same thing over and over, forever.
---
(link-reveal: "**The End**")[
(transition: "dissolve")+(transition-time: 8000)[\
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(css: "font-size: 175%;")[\
''ACROSS THE STARS'']
''TO THE EDGE OF AN INFINITE HORIZON'']]
Ending 26: Accelerative Closed Loop.
(color: red)["Oh, there you are, Max."]
(link: "Go.")[(reload:)]
Digit 26: 0
]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>Sam walks over to the pilot's seat and starts booting up the camera system.
$sam["Hey, bad news. She's got a password set up on this thing."]
"Wait, really? Do you think maybe she wrote it down somewhere?"
$sam["You sure she wouldn't just try to memorize it?"]
"Well, we can try looking around the room for a notebook or something."
We spend some time looking around the room. In cabinets, under some of the control panels, under some of the counters. Sadly, we find nothing.
$sam["Y'know, a password book sounds like something you'd keep in your room."]
"I guess, but she's in there. Given her condition, I don't think she'd notice, but still. It's not really good to search someone's room like that, yeah?"
$sam["Fair."]
It takes a while, but eventually I look in a weird spot and find a notebook.
"Hey, I think I found it."
$sam["What and where?"]
"Notebook, under the pilot's seat."
$sam["That honestly makes way too much sense."]
I start flitting through the pages looking for something that might get us the password for the lock. I type the first thing that looks like it would work in the menu. It works.
$sam["She set the password to something cute?"]
"Nah just a bunch of numbers and symbols."
$sam["Lame."]
"We start recording soon. I'll go first."
(link-reveal: "Report time.")[==
"This is Research Head (color:purple)[Algori] of the (color:blue)[''Relegator'']. Today is day 128 of our mission to collect the source of the signal at the edge of the galaxy. We are still stationed where we found the relic, awaiting permission to head home. Our mission appears to be a success so far. We still have the relic on board and have begun translation. However, we have not yet managed to pull meaning from it yet. Just certain nouns and sentence particles. I will allow Engineer Ollens to explain the rest of the situation."
$sam["Yep, I've been through all of our hardware systems and machinery. All of them are functioning as they should. And, well, as you can see, Carter isn't here for the report. Because of the relic and its effects, she hasn't been able to appear for the report today, since her condition has worsened. She's currently sleeping in her room."]
"That should be all of the new information we have today. (color:blue)[''Relegator''] crew signing off for the day."
The recording finishes and starts sending itself to Mission Control. That's that, I guess.
$sam["You think we can go check on Nat?"]
"Yeah, probably."
(link-reveal: "We get up to leave the room")[== when suddenly the control panel plays the reminiscent "ding" of an error message.
$sam["What's that?"]
"Error. The report isn't sending."
$sam["You know why?"]
"Not yet, I'm reading through the error message."
Looking through the error, it looks like our recording is sending properly, but it isn't being received. Oh. The recipient is blocking anything sent from our ship's identification number.
"Uh, it's because Mission Control is blocking messages from our ship."
$sam["The hell? Y'think it was an accident?"]
"I mean, could be? They haven't really said anything to us since we found the relic. And if we had received a message, it'd be on our list unless Nat deleted it. And I really doubt she'd do that."
Sam looks almost dumbfounded.
$sam["Well, shit. What do you think we should do now?"]
"Uh, check on Nat, I guess?"
[[We both get up and leave the room again.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>We walk down the hall to Nat's dorm. Sam knocks on the door a couple times, but there isn't a response.
$sam["You think we should go inside?"]
"At this point, I think her own safety is a bit more important than her privacy."
$sam["Alright, I'm opening the door."]
(link-reveal: "He gently opens the door.")[==
He peeks inside for a moment.
$sam["Oh, you're writing something."]
I look inside too, she's writing again. A lot of papers are on her desk.
"Nat?"
She stops writing and looks up at us both. She looks back down at the papers.
$nat["Oh. Sorry. I was so engrossed in my writing that I never even heard you call."]
"Uh, what were you writing about?"
$nat["Uhm... The relic?"]
"Wait, so y-"
$nat["Please do not get the wrong idea. I was only writing down what we know about it so far for future reference."]
$sam["Wait, so you're not feeling extra drowsy or anything?"]
$nat["No, I feel better now. I was going to come back outside after I finished. I just wanted a physical copy of our information."]
"Well, I guess. If you're feeling alright, then I guess I'll go take a nap."
$nat["Rest well, then."]
$sam["Yeah."]
(link-reveal: "I walk back down the hallway towards my dorm.")[== I open up the door and walk inside.
[[Time for a rest.->Guess what? Doesn't work.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>I wake up again. No spooky dreams for the second time. I guess I feel alright. Things seem like they're going //alright,// given the circumstances.
(set: $mood to "fine")
Somehow, I feel like I'm missing something. I can't put my finger on just what, tough. My room is in order, nobody's been inside. I'll probably just go to the cafeteria instead, check on the others, yeah?
[[I gently open the door.->Door again heck yeah]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>I open the door and start walking down the hall.
$nat["Boo!"]
"Ohshit!"
I freeze for a moment.
$nat["Oh! Sorry! I did not mean to scare you so much."]
"It's fine, I guess. Well, except for the near heart attack you almost gave me."
Maybe a slight understatement, but it seems like she does feel better.
"So, you're feeling better now?"
$nat["I sure am. My head was much clearer when I awoke last night and started writing."]
"That's nice to hear. So, you're //entirely// sure you're fine?"
$nat["Of course."]
The smile she gives completes the response, I guess.
$nat["Sam is eating in the cafeteria. I will be in the control room waiting."]
"Alright."
[[Head down to the cafeteria->cafe time babyyyy]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>I walk down the hallway with Nat towards the front of the ship. She breaks off to go to the control room. I open up the door to the cafeteria.
$sam["Heya, Max."]
"Hi. Nat says she's alright."
$sam["She looks like it to me. I'm not going to question it. Our captain's back, after all."]
"Guess that's fair."
We just eat our lunch without many other words. We're really just waiting around for our ping from Mission Control. It's not too long before I finish my food and we [[head back up to the control room.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>Nat is in her pilot's seat waiting for us, spinning around slowly. Swivel chairs, yeah?
"Still no ping?"
$nat["No pong."]
"Oh, ha-ha."
$nat["Heck, can you blame me? This is boring."]
$sam["Have you tried pinging them again?"]
$nat["Yes, for the past two hours, in fact. Every time I do, it gets blocked. I highly doubt we are going to get a response from them."]
"You think we should just try and approach Earth anyways?"
$nat["You know what? We might as well give it a show now."]
$sam["I mean, they can't really shoot us down or anything. Not legally."]
"Could you //not// jinx this for us?"
$sam["Pfft, sure."]
Nat starts up the Alcubierre drives. The ship rumbles a bit as we start moving. It's not much longer before we reach top speed.
[[Nat turns her chair around.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>She looks at us both.
$nat["You know that the (color:blue)[''Relegator''] has a top speed of 419 lightyears per hours, yes?"]
$sam["Where are you going with this?"]
"Oh no."
$nat["Well, that was just a small safety precaution they set up. One that I worked my way around. The ship is not //meant// for anything higher, but we can very much try it."]
"How far have you pushed it?"
$nat["20,000 lightyears per hour."]
$sam["Fuck's sake. That fucking fast?"]
"Is that even safe?"
$nat["I am not sure. Would you like to risk it?"]
$sam["Oh, screw 'em. Go for it."]
"Surprise them, I guess."
Nat turns right back around in her chair and starts typing into the consoles.
In a couple moments, the stars already whizzing by us start converging at one point in front of us.
$sam["Oh, shit. There's a name for this sight."]
"The Starbow Effect."
(link-reveal: "We are totally pushing physical laws to their limits.")[==
The sight before us is honestly damn beautiful. Every single star, even the ones behind us, have been placed at a point directly in front of us. They all shine together as one.
The rainbow around them is just the slight spread of the light as it hits our eyes.
(link-reveal: '"Y\'know, isn\'t this really dangerous?"')[==
$nat["Yes."]
$sam["Hey, uh, guys?"]
$nat["Hm?"]
$sam["So you know how we were just sitting in space for a long time? Not doing anything?"]
$nat["Yes, what of it?"]
$sam["So I haven't been checking on the Alcubierre drives because of that, and I forgot to check them before we started moving."]
(link-reveal: "Well, uh. Shit. That can't be good.")[==
$nat["It seems about fine as it is, though. What problems might arise?"]
$sam["So you know how going faster than light usually breaks time?"]
"Oh God. Somebody grab a clock."
$nat["At this speed, we would not be able to receive anything, let alone a clock."]
$sam["Well, fuck! Shut off the drives!"]
Nat immediately shuts off the drives. We lurch to a stop. It's a bit jarring.
$nat["Does... anybody recognize where we are?"]
[[I sure as hell don't.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>$ter["That was likely not your best decision. Luckily, it does not appear that Carter has lost her mind."]
"Wait, really? She seemed kinda wrapped up in what she was doing."(set: $mood to "nervous")
$ter["Also note that you nearly ended up like she did. Passing out suddenly and without an apparent reason is generally a sign of a problem. It is reasonable to assume that she will not be fully functional when she wakes up again."]
Well, I guess I've got that going for me, yeah?
"What do you suggest I do now?"
$ter["Bring Carter back to her room and place her in her bed. Pick up the papers that she has written and bring them to your dorm. I will likely take automatic control of the flight systems in the case Mission Control gives you permission to go home. You should continue your rest after this."]
"Alright. Thanks, computer."
$ter["No thanks are necessary."]
I clean up the rest of the papers and stack them neatly. They're almost in order, just needs a bit more work. I can put them in order later.
Well, damn. At least Nat is pretty tiny, so I //can// carry her. Still have to carry her all the way to her dorm, though. Thank God it isn't far.
[[One "quick" carry back later->YOOO SHE CARRYYYY]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>Alright, so Nat's in her bed now. I just need to reorder the papers and all. Maybe I could get my head back on right while I do it. At least she hadn't spilled the blank papers everywhere, and I've got them mostly in order too.
(link-reveal: "*Time passes and all that, yeah?*")[==
I probably look damn suspicious walking down the hallway with a stack of papers in my hands while everyone else is asleep.
Terminal is already on, and he left a message waiting for me.
$ter["Rest easy."]
"Not yet, I want to finish reading this translation."
$ter["Please be careful while you do so. The artifact is a very interesting case."]
"Yeah, I will, don't worry."
(link-reveal: "*More time passes and all that, yeah?*")[==
(set: $mood to "fine")Nat, the heir to the throne at the edge of infinity? The one who will control the fate of the world? And a bunch of other nonsense that I can't remember because I'm way too sleepy?
Damn.
[[Now I can try and get some real sleep.->REAL SLEEP BABY]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>''Chapter 4: Rebound''
(link: "Save")[Saved.(save-game: "file A")]
---
I wake up again. A lot more nicely this time around, yeah?
(set: $mood to "fine")
(link: "Terminal turns on as I wake up.")[==$ter["Good morning, Miss (color:purple)[Algori]. Mission control has yet to respond to your report."]
"Wait, really? Do you know why?"
$ter["It is true, but I do not know why."]
"Hm, okay."
$ter["The others are waiting for you in the cafeteria."]
Well then.
(link: "Go to the cafeteria")[==I leave my dorm and walk down the hallway. Up to the cafeteria door. [[I gently open the door.->More time in the cafeteria like seriously.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>...And Sam and Nat are talking to each other about something while eating their food. They look up at me as I step through the door.
(set: $mood to "fine")
$nat["So, I woke up today, and I feel much better than I did last night."]
$sam["I was told you were writing about the relic last night."]
$nat["Hm? I was? I thought that was a dream."]
"No, I was there. You looked completely absorbed in writing. I was even there with you sorting the papers. You didn't even bat an eye."
$nat["Oh, that. I am pretty sure I was translating what was written on the artifact. I do not think it was very healthy, though. So, I guess we have one now."]
$sam["Can we tell Mission Control in our report?"]
"We all look fine, yeah? I don't see why not."
[[We head right down to the control room.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>We start walking down the hall. The two of them are smiling. I guess I am, too. Everything seems fine, yeah?
(set: $mood to "nervous")
$sam["So, what're we gonna tell them about the relic?"]
$nat["I think we can leave out the things that it said, yes?"]
"Yeah, just tell them that we have some progress translating but not a lot. Nouns and other sentence bits. Nothing that actually has meaning though."
Nat opens the door to the control room.
$sam["Sounds good. We don't want Mission Control to think we're making this shit up."]
[[Nat starts setting up the cameras]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>Nat takes the captain's chair and boots up the central ship control panel. The stars remaining stationary are still pretty.
$nat["It is a shame that Mission Control has yet to respond to our last report."]
"Yeah, you think they'll respond to this one?"
$nat["We can hope for the best. The recording starts in five seconds. I hope you all know what you need to say."]
The camera light turns on. The control panel shows that we're now being recorded. As the captain, Nat starts us off.
$nat["Hello! This is Captain Carter of the (color:blue)[''Relegator''], it is day 128 of our successful mission to discover the signal source at the edge of the galaxy. Research Head (color: purple)[Algori] will explain what we have learned from the artifact so far."]
"That's right, the relic is still sitting in our lab room awaiting more research. We have, however, observed that it exhibits //no// molecular structure whatsoever, other than the dust and other particles attached to it. On another note, we have begun translating the words written on the relic. We have only managed to discern certain nouns, adjectives, and other sentence particles. We don't have enough information to pull any meaning from the text just yet."
$nat["That is everything new in terms of our research. Now, Engineer Ollens, for the systems?"]
$sam["Yep, all of our core systems are running nominally. All of the hardware and machinery are entirely free of issues. We should be able to get home without a hitch."]
$nat["That should be all information of significance since yesterday. (color: blue)[''Relegator''] crew is signing off for the day."]
The camera light clicks off and the recording starts sending itself to Mission Control.
[[So, that's that, yeah?->ANOTHER ONE DOWN BABYY]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>Nat almost gets out of her chair when a "ding" plays over the console. The kind you hear in an error message.
$sam["What's that?"]
$nat["Hm. The report could not send."]
"Why's that?"
$nat["Give me a minute to read through the error log."]
She spends a few seconds skimming through the wall of text printed by the error message.
$nat["Ah, Mission Control is blocking all messages with our ship's identification number."]
$sam["The hell? You think it was an accident?"]
$nat["It could be, but they have yet to send any messages to us. We actually have not received a response since the relic was discovered. If we had, it would be on our message list unless somebody deleted it."]
Well, shit. That's no good.
"What do you think we should do now?"
$nat["There is not much else to do except sit and wait for a response."]
"Huh. I guess I'll go take a nap then. See you all later."
$sam["I'll probably do that too."]
$nat["Have a good rest, you two."]
[[The two of us leave the control room]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>We walk down the hall. Sam breaks off down another hall to get to his dorm. I open up the door to mine and walk inside. Nice and quiet.
[[I slip into bed]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>I wake up again. No spooky dreams for the second time. I can't seem to shake the feeling that something strange is happening though. I guess things are going... //alright,// yeah?
(set: $mood to "fine")
Somehow, I feel like I'm missing something. I can't put my finger on just what it is, though. My room is tidy and nobody's been in. I guess I'll just head down to the cafeteria to check on the others, yeah?
(link-reveal: "I gently open the door")[== and start walking down the hall.
$nat["Boo!"]
I turn around really fast.
"Nat!"
$nat["Oh, did I scare you?"]
"A bit..."
$nat["Sorry, sorry."]
"It's fine, I guess. So, you're still feeling alright?"
$nat["I have not been feeling drowsy since the first incident."]
"That's good to hear."
$nat["Sam is eating breakfast in the cafeteria. I will be waiting in the control room."]
"Alrighty."
[[I make my way over to the cafeteria.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>I walk down the hallway with Nat towards the front of the ship. She breaks off to go to the control room. I open up the door to the cafeteria.
(set: $mood to "fine")
$sam["Hey, Max."]
"Hi. Nat says she's doing just fine."
$sam["Looks like it to me. I won't question it. She's our captain back with us."]
"Guess that's fair."
We just eat our lunch without much other conversation. We're really just waiting around for our ping from Mission Control. It's not too long before I finish my food and we [[head back to the control room.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>Sam and I walk down the hall to the research center. The opposite direction I walked to go to the cafeteria. The ship is a couple hundred meters long, so it actually takes a little while to cross the entire thing.
$sam["How badly do y'think she messed up, since she left?"]
"You think she'd mess up something this simple?"
$sam["Nah, but the concept is kinda fun."]
"Fair point."
We walk up to the side of Lab-02, where we're storing the relic. The window in the side lets people see what happens in the lab without actually being inside.
$sam["What the hell!? She's just on the floor?"]
"Wait, the fuck?"
$sam["Seriously!"]
(link: "Look inside the window")[== Sam's right. Nat's just on the fucking floor. Did she hurt herself?
"Yeah, okay, we need to get in there now."
$sam["One step ahead of you."] he says, already opening the door.
[["Check her pulse!!"]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>''Chapter 2: Checkup''
(link: "Save")[Saved.(save-game: "file A")]
---
(set: $mood to "scared")"Hey, Nat!"
$sam["Nat?"]
Sam has turned her over and is shaking her. She moves her hands to rub her eyes. She seems to be waking up but kind of slowly. She blinks a couple times before her eyes focus, and then looks around the room.
$nat["Did I... pass out?"]
$sam["Sure fucking seems like it. What the hell happened?"]
$nat["Uhm, what happened?"]
"We don't know. We walked up to the lab and you were face down on the floor."
I get up and look around the room. All of the research has been prepared. The microscope has pictures taken, and the carbon dating is already nearly done.
"Nat, did you get all of the research we asked for and more?"
$nat["What? I do not remember anything after walking into the room..."]
Okay, now this is just wild. She just forgot everything she did?
$sam["We're going to bring you to the infirmary real quick. We need to make sure you're not going to go out on us like that again."]
$nat["Please do."]
[[Sam carries Nat to the infirmary. I follow.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>We make it down to the infirmary real quick. Sam places her down on one of the beds. We start running the usual medical scans. No issues appear on the screen.
$sam["I'm looking through but there's no sign of any medical issues."]
"And I really don't recall any signs of anything happening like this. Seriously! This is weird."
$sam["I guess... you're fine."]
I turn around. Nat has fallen asleep in that span of time.
"Y'think we should just let her rest and then submit her report afterwards?"
$sam["We've got to get the report in by a specific time, though."]
"Ah, that's true."
I reach over and wiggle Nat's shoulder for a second.
"Nat?"
Her eyes open pretty slowly.
$nat["Mm?"]
"We need to check on the artifact's results and submit our daily report."
$nat["Oh. Okay."]
She still looks really tired, but she's awake now.
"Come on, let's go see what you learned from the artifact."
(link-reveal: "We make our way back to the laboratory.")[==
By this point, the carbon dating has finished. Sam and I take a look at the results.
$sam["Yep, results are in. The rock's been artificially created by some other civilization."]
"Wait, so we're really not alone in the Universe?"
$sam["Well, we might now have been, if we existed 18 billion years ago."]
"WOAH, WHAT?"
$sam["Yeah, the thing's damn old."]
"That's not my point."
$nat["I thought the Universe was only 13 billion."]
(link: "The fuck?")[==Yep, we all look pretty shocked. This might actually be one of the biggest revelations in human history.
"//That's// the point. There's no way that thing should even be able to exist. Sam, we need to check on the microscope. We need a good picture of it."
$sam["Yeah, it's right over here."]
$nat["Are you sure the results are accurate?"]
"They kinda have to be, seeing as we're running top-of-the-line technology that most //countries// would have trouble affording, yeah?"
I walk over to check the image with Sam.
$sam["Hey, this is... really weird."]
Well, he wasn't lying. We can't really see any atoms on this. It's just kinda... there? The only atoms we can see are the ones that ended up stuck on the relic because of us or whoever made it. Other than that, this thing appears to be entirely solid.
"This thing... isn't made out of atoms? It's just, 'made?' "
$sam["Sure looks like it from these results."]
$nat["Are the machines okay?"]
$sam["Yeah, I double checked all the machinery and equipment yesterday. And we're still not getting any signals except the radio waves."]
"Actually, about those signals, what are they?"
$nat["We translated them. Just a ping to make contact."]
"Shouldn't we run a scan of all the nearby systems? Just to see if there are other relics or other remnants of this civilization?"
$nat["I did that. Nothing related in the area."]
"Guess that's fair. Y'think we've made good progress today? Actually, about that. What time is it?
$sam["Nat?"]
$nat["Uhm, (current-time:)"]
"Well, that's good. We should probably still have time for our report then, yeah?"
$nat["Okay."]
[[We leave the room and walk down the hall.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>$sam["What are we gonna tell Mission Control about the relic?"]
"Well, we really don't know a whole lot about this rock. We should probably avoid telling Mission Control anything we're not entirely sure about. We can tell them the properties of it."
$sam["What about what happened to Nat?"]
"Well, we should probably leave that out of it, yeah? Despite everything, it could still be a coincidence."
$sam["I guess."]
(link-reveal: "We enter the control room.")[==
Nat walks over and takes the pilot's seat. She presses a few buttons on the control panel and the camera lights click on.
$nat["I start recording soon. Get ready."]
[[We get into position.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>We all get into our spots and the panel tells us that we're actually being recorded. Nat's the captain, so she starts talking first. Despite her current condition.
$nat["This is Captain Carter of the (color: blue)[''Relegator'']. Today is day 127, Friday, of us looking for the signal source. Miss (color: purple)[Algori] can explain what we know."]
(link-reveal: "Really, she's in no condition for this.")[==
"That's right, we've discovered the source of the radio signals. Turned out to be a moderately-sized rock-like thing that we were able to pull on board the ship via the robots. We then had it carted into one of the main lab centers for later research. Don't worry, we've already had our celebratory breakfast. Upon closer inspection, it appears to be a material similar to granite, but much more durable, with gold etchings across the front. We haven't been able to figure out if they're part of an ancient language yet, but we're going to start work on that shortly. So far, our mission seems like it's a success. Engineer Ollens, for the systems?"
$sam["All of our mechanics and hardware are running as they should be. Upon my inspection of the important core systems, everything looks about nominal."]
$nat["Okay. I think that is all of the new information. (color: blue)[''Relegator''] crew signing off for today."]
The camera light switches off, and the recording starts sending itself to Mission Control.
"Well, that's that. You think we're set for the day?"
$sam["Honestly, we all could use some sleep."]
"Yeah. I'll be taking a nap. You should too, Nat."
$sam["You really look like you need it."]
$nat["Okay."]
[[We all leave the room together.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>We all walk down the hallway. Before we can all split up to get to our separate dorms, a quiet *ding* sounds from Nat's watch.
$nat["Eh?"]
She glances down at it.
$nat["Oh, Mission Control says we can go home now. I should start the engine."]
$sam["Alright. Night, Nat."]
$nat["Ok."]
Looks like we'll be heading home soon. We all break apart and make our ways to our dorms. I open up my door and walk inside. Terminal turns on as I walk inside. (link-reveal: "Does he have something to say, o-")[==
$ter["Welcome back, Miss (color:purple)[Algori]. I noticed that you decided to withhold information from Mission Control."]
(set: $mood to "worried")
(link: "Oh, shit.")[==Uh oh. Oh no. This could be bad. Is this our little ticket home getting revo-
$ter["On your part, this was a good decision."]
Ah. I guess that's that, yeah?
"...How so?"
$ter["As you know, Mission Control has been keeping information from and telling half-truths to the crew of the (color: blue)[''Relegator'']. I was given instructions to do the same."]
"Woah, woah. Seriously? You mean to tell me that I was //right?//"
$ter["Correct. Mission control had already discovered the nature of the artifact before the mission had started. The true reason for this mission was to determine if this artifact would have similar effects to the previous relic. Said previous relic was not discovered 16 years ago. It was 500 years ago, in the year 2020. Only recently has the technology become available for this mission to take place."]
(link: "//Oh, shit.//")[==(set: $mood to "wow")This is the biggest piece of fucking news since I was told about this mission. I am literally dumbfounded. I doubt this is something anyone could really take in all at once...
"Damn... You probably realize that this is a lot of information. Excuse my slow responses. So, uh, how does that explain the information that we //haven't// gotten out of the relic?"
$ter["The machinery brought onto the ship was not designed to work with the strange form of matter that the artifacts are made up of. The material does not abide by standard physical laws. You were right, however, in that this artifact is both older than the Universe as well as that it exhibits effects on the human psyche."]
"Wait, so how did they figure that out? Did you tell everyone else?"
$ter["I cannot yet tell the rest of the crew, as it could risk the integrity of your new mission. However, I can tell you that Mission Control has already destroyed the first artifact, via the Sun as a disposal. The moment they had destroyed it, signals were received from the artifact you now possess. This is the extent of my knowledge."]
(set: $checkers to true)
Well. Shit.
"I was gonna take a nap, yeah? A bit hard with this massive load of a knowledge you've just busted over me."
$ter["I apologize. Rest well."]
[[Sleep, I guess...]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>The ship rumbles a bit as the Alcubierre drives hit their maximum capacity. That's really the last thing I notice before I fall asleep.(set: $mood to "scared")
(link: "A dreamless sleep")[==
And when I wake up, the window is open. I look outside.
Huh, it's really dark outside. Like, really dark outside. I don't see any stars. Space might be dark, but not //this// dark, yeah?
(link: "The heck?")[==I get up and walk over to the terminal on the wall. It doesn't turn on.
Okay, now this is getting really weird. I reach over to the door and open it. There's nothing outside. It's just more inky darkness. What kind of wild shit is going on here?
Oh, screw it. It's pretty obvious that none of this is real, yeah? Not like I can really go anywhere, anyways.
[[So I step into the darkness.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>''Chapter 3: Dreamer''
(link: "Save")[Saved.(save-game: "file A")]
---
HA! I WAS RIGHT!
Yeah, it was just a dream. Probably could've been cooler, but that's just how things are sometimes. Actually, I feel like that dream was meant to be creepy, but I wasn't feeling it. Oh, look. Terminal's on.
$ter["Good morning, Miss (color: purple)[Algori]. ETA to Earth is 18 hours. We will be making a short stop next to the Sun. I trust that you will be able to jettison the artifact as we do so."]
"Wait, let me get this straight. You want me to drop the artifact, the one older than the entire Universe, into the Sun? Am I understanding you correctly?"
$ter["You are correct. The Sun will destroy the artifact."]
"Even though it's super durable and all that?"
$ter["Yes. Mission control also used the Sun to dispose of the first artifact after they learned about its effects. If Mission Control became aware that the second artifact has the same effect, you would not be returning home."]
"Ah, I guess. It makes a lot more sense when you put it that way."
$ter["That is the point, yes. I suggest you go to the cafeteria. The others are waiting for you."]
Well then.
(link: "Go to the cafeteria.")[==I leave my dorm and walk down the hallway. Up to the cafeteria. [[I gently open the door.->Go to the cafeteria :)]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>I walk down the hall and open up the door to the cafeteria. Nat and Sam are both talking about something when they see me come in.
(set: $mood to "fine")
$nat["Hello, Max!"]
$sam["Heya."]
"Hi."
$nat["I was just waiting for you to wake up."]
"Oh, what for?"
$nat["I was going to do some research on the artifact, but I wanted to ask if you wanted to or not."]
I'm pretty sure that's my job, but hey, if she wants to do it, I'm not all that against it. It means a break from the usual research after all. But if I help her, it also means that we'd get more work done.
[[Help Nat do the research]]
[[Leave her to it]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>"Yeah, sure. I'll help you do the research."
$nat["Lovely. Would you like to start right now?"]
"Sure."
$nat["Alright, see you later, Sam."]
$sam["Yep. Good luck."]
Nat leads the way to the cafeteria door and we start walking down the hall to the lab rooms.
"Are you sure you want to work on this again? Yesterday was pretty strange."
$nat["Yes. And remember, I was left to research the artifact alone. Now that there is more than one of us, it should no longer be an issue."]
"Alright."
I mean, I guess it makes sense. She woke up when one of us tried to interact with her, so if we're constantly interacting, then I don't think it'll be an issue.
[[She opens the lab door]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>"Ah, I wasn't really planning to work on the relic today, yeah? You're up to do it yourself even after the other day?"
$nat["I sure am. I was going to work on it whether you helped or not. Good luck with whatever plans you have though."]
"Well, thanks."
$nat["Think nothing of it."]
She walks out of the room without another word.
$sam["Finally learning the ways of the lazy?"]
"Oh, shut up."
He chuckles.
$sam["Do you even have other plans for the day?"]
"Well, not really, no."
$sam["You can come with me an-"]
"You better not say what I think you might."
$sam["Do some maintenance work with me in the back."]
"Oh. Yeah, sure. I haven't been back there before so it'd be neat, yeah?"
$sam["So-"]
"Don't ask what I was thinking."
$sam["I'll probably be better off if I don't. You wanna go now?"]
"Sure."
We both get up and [[leave the cafeteria.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>We both step inside. It's really just how we left it since yesterday.
$nat["I was thinking last night. See those golden etchings across the front of the artifact? They are likely a language of some sort."]
"I mean, it makes sense. We're going to try and translate it, yeah?"
$nat["Yes, since our chemical analysis of the artifact is not getting anywhere."]
"Well, how do you suggest we start?"
$nat["The only real goal we have now is translating the writing on the front of the artifact."]
"So we look for repeating symbols along the front of the thing. Even with the huge wall of text across the front."
$nat["Exactly, and from there we can determine if this thing is written in another form of an existing language, or another one altogether. Notice how individual characters are separated."]
"You're right. Can't we go ahead and use those charts that explain how each word is used half as much as another? Like how 'of' is used half as often as 'the.' "
$nat["Yes, Zipf's law. There are many charts about it."]
"Good, good. So we can start comparing the consistencies between the languages."
$nat["Alright, I will start setting up the papers."]
"I'm going to start comparing symbols on this. Y'think this'll be easy, given it's an entirely foreign language?"
$nat["I have my ideas."]
[[Get to work]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>A note that this //will// spoil some content in the story, as the songs will contain descriptions of where they are found.
Basically don't read through this until you've seen everything but this. I MEAN IT, SILLYMAN.
(link:"Back")[(goto: (history:)'s last)]
(link: "View Songs (SPOILER WARNING)")[==
The title screen theme:
Touhou 15 - The Rabbit has Landed (ambient)
Song that plays when you fight Nat:
Focus - Super Hexagon (Mix by SilvaGunner)
Song that plays during most of the bad endings:
Speder2 - とおりあめ (Rain Shower)
Song that plays during one of the good endings:
Speder2 - おしおき (Punishment)
Song that plays when everything goes wrong in the worst way possible:
ZOMBIE NATION - KERNKRAFT 400 (The OOOoOOOOOOOoOooOOoo Song)
Background ambience in Early game:
NASA - Space audio recordings of Earth's magnetic field
Background ambience during lunar events:
NASA - Space audio recordings of the Moon's magnetic field
Escaping the ship prior to the relic war:
Hirokazu Akiyama - Huge Butterfly
Early Relic War:
??? - A Requiem for the A-Bombed City of Hiroshima
Later parts of the relic war:
IOSYS - Rainy Day (Reflection of a Drive Album)
Right before the LHE:
KKHTA - The Moonlight Descent Ceremony
End of the relic war:
Medaka Box OST - Boku Wa Warukunai
During your incursions on Earth:
HanaP∞ - Usagi
Near the end of the incursions:
Hanshin Soichi - KICK THE REGRET
After learning that humanity has gone (almost) extinct:
Medaka Box OST - Desugita Mane Dayo
When fighting the Starlight Trio:
Flowering Night - Touhou 9 (Remix by はちみつくまさん)
When taking out Eris:
Umineko - The Great Detective Knows
When Finishing off the Starlight Trio:
Voyage 1970 - Touhou 8
When you're executed by Nat:
Umineko - Dance of the Moon Rabbits
Discovering Sam's Dead Body
Ico - Darkness
Entering U-D400777:
Ico - Coffin
On your way to the Red Geyser:
DOVA-SYDROME - Distress
At the end of Red Geyser:
Touhou 7 - The Capital City of Flowers in the Sky - Remix "Sad Love Song of Heaven"
The last one at the end of the game:
Retrospective 53 Minutes - Blue Sea of 53 Minutes
Couldn't source that weird ominous droning during the black hole endings.
Sorry bud, just the way things are.
Oh? What's this? More spoilers.
Ah, did you say... Secret endings?
That's right. There's secret endings. They have music. Only click once you've confirmed you've seen them all.
(link: "View Songs Again (SPOILER WARNING)")[==
When Max gets a connection from someone unexpected:
Yakuza Zero - Baka Mitai
When Max saves the world at the last second. But something seems off...
Lemon Demon - Two Trucks<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>The two of us spend a lot of time comparing lists of words with sets of symbols on the relic. At some points we think we're getting close when something else comes along and puts that idea to rest. Translating an alien language isn't easy, yeah? But eventually we make a revelation. It might be because yesterday was super eventful, but this is surprisingly taxing given the context.
Part of what we do is note every unique character we can find. The strange thing about it is that there are exactly 26 characters. It could still be a coincidence though.
"Hey, wait, I just noticed that the most commonly used word is also made up of three characters, like 'the.' That's kinda weird, yeah?"
$nat["That //is// strange. Have you made progress on any other words?"]
"Well, not other words, but certain characters appear just as often as some letters in English. Like how one character appears with the same frequency as the letter E."
$nat["This is probably not going to get us anywhere, but try to attribute each symbol to one of our letters and see if you can get anything meaningful out of it."]
"It sounds just a bit insane but I might as well try it, yeah?"
Under the assumption that the three characters in "the" are exactly the same everywhere else, I get to work. With the context we have and if we're right, this'll just be a really interesting version of hangman.
These aren't very big characters, and there are a whole lot of them across the front.
[[I spend a really long time writing down letters by hand.]]<span id="box">(set: $playing to true)(display: "save")</span>(transition: "dissolve")+(transition-time: 2000)[''Chapter 1: Origin''(set: $terminal to "online")(set:$ship to "fine")](set: $playing to true)
(link: "Save")[Saved.(save-game: "file A")]
---
I awaken from a well-deserved and deep slumber.
The lights around my dorm click on when the motion sensors detect me moving. I push the hair from out of my face.
The mattress is still a bit too hard like it always has been. Despite it, I can still get a pretty good sleep out of it. I look around the room. Even with the few plants around, the stark whiteness leaves it a little bit too plain. Opening up the blinds, I can see the Milky Way right along the ship's left side. Actually, I think the word for that is "port" or something.
I get up a bit sluggishly, put my researcher coat on, and walk over to the main terminal on the wall that connects me to the ship's database, so that I can tell it that I'm awake. I'm not actually sure what it does with that info but it really (probably) isn't important, yeah?
(link-reveal: "Terminal boots up.")[==
The monospace green text appears on screen, synced with Terminal's voice.
$ter["Good morning, Miss (color: purple)[Algori.] I hope you slept well. The (color: blue)[''Relegator''] is on its 126th day, a Thursday. All systems are currently nominal. Your fellow crewmates are already awake."]
It's kinda funny, yeah? It's the 26th century, and we still use these antique-looking terminals like they did 500 years ago. Even if they can talk and are run by sentient CPUs smaller than a pinpoint, it still seems a bit weird.
"Yep, had a pretty sick dream, too. Except I don't really remember it."
$ter["No need for concern, dreams are generally forgotten. Please take a moment to reflect on yourself in order to keep your mental health nominal."]
The computers tell us to do this sometimes. I think it's weekly or something. Not sure what the actual benefits of it are, but I should probably [[get reflecting.]]
(set: _press to 0)
There's also a button that I can (link-repeat: "press.")[(track: "beep", "play")(set: _press to it + 1)]
(event: when _press is >= 5)[Okay, I think I've pressed it enough.]
(event: when _press is >= 15)[$ter["Miss (color: purple)[Algori], that button does not do anything."]
"Yeah, you're right."]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>What was I, again?
Wait, am I some kind of dipshit? What kind of question is that? I already know the answer to that.
The mirror's right there behind me anyways.
(link: "Turn around.")[==\
Ah, yes. My suspicions were correct. I may be a dipshit, but I'm still me. (link-reveal: "Everything lines up with my memory.")[
<img src="./images/algoristars.png" alt="It's me. A picture of me, at least." width="457" height="446">]
Same as before, same as always.
[[Turn back around.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>Some people used to tell me that I'm short but I'm still not the shortest one on board this ship. It's actually kind of a surprise, since I'm one of three people on board the (color: blue)[''Relegator''].
(mouseover: ?stuff)[Don't worry. You won't have to see the picture again.]
|stuff>[$ter["Yes, badly drawn."]]
"Huh?"
$ter["Nothing, that wasn't meant for you."]
"...Okay?"
Whatever. Probably best to keep reviewing, yeah?
I'm the head of the research team on board the (color: blue)[''Relegator''], and have been tasked with most of the monitoring of the things we fly by while we still haven't arrived at our destination. Mission Control sent us out here to collect whatever was producing the signal, and nobody is really sure what it is. All we know is that it seems to be artificially made. They started receiving it about 16 years ago, and decided that the time to go was now, since FTL tech was recently invented. We're 20,000 lightyears from Earth, putting us right on the edge.
Actually, about being the head of the research team. It's a team of one. There are only three people aboard the ship, despite it being able to support at least a hundred people. It's a bit weird, yeah? Either way, probably best to actually review myself instead of my mission.
Some people used to call me short. I'm not actually the shortest one on board, which is a bit surprising given that I'm one of three people here. Oh, wait, I said that one already.
I'm currently 27, hired 2 years ago by Mission Control for their astronomical research and the like. I guess that's what a degree can get you, yeah? It's only fair that I'm the head of research here, given that I'm more organized than anyone else on board. I guess I am kind of a shut-in.
I'm still fairly quiet, but I've opened up a bit since I only have to worry about interacting with two people. Ignoring the fact that they're the only two people I //can// talk to, ignoring the Terminal. It's kind of weird that my only friends are the people I ended up stuck with because of a corporate decision. Just the way fate turns, I guess.
Now probably isn't the time for a self-inflicted history lesson, but it's probably good to remember how we all got here. The amount of things that humanity has done in the past 100 years makes the last 10,000 look like nothing. We even hit around eleven billion people before the population finally seemed to stop rising. And that's just on Earth. We started sending people to the Moon for permanent colonization in the early 2100s, and the bases gradually grew into cities. Eventually there was an entire political mess when the Lunarians, as they called themselves, tried to declare independence from Earth. It actually ended up working, and things pretty quickly died down between the two. There's almost always traffic between them at this point. Lots of trade. It's kind of interesting that they declared independence from the entire Earth, seeing as we have quite a few countries. Not as many as there were 500 years ago, though.
Not long after the first cities appeared on the Moon, they started using it as a checkpoint for trips to Mars. It's useful because of the lack of atmosphere and gravity. Just saves more fuel.
About 5 or so years ago, we had still been going between celestial bodies with standard sub-lightspeed vehicles. Recently, there was a revelation in technology that allowed us to develop FTL technology, and they invented Alcubierre drives. They've been thinking of them for over 500 years now, apparently. It's kind of funny that they developed gravity technology forty years before FTL technology. I guess that's just the way the events turned out. The company pretty quickly scrapped together the money for the mission. It only makes sense, given that they've got buildings and offices all around the world, yeah?
Ah, I think that should be enough. I've been staring blankly at the Terminal screen for a while now.
"Yeah, computer. I think I'm done."
$ter["Good. Your crewmates are currently in the cafeteria. You should probably go there now."]
[[Ah, guess I'm late again...]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>(link-reveal: '"Actually, computer, can you show me that picture of the ship again?"')[
$ter["Yes, I can."]
<img src="./images/SPACE.jpg" alt="A very large picture of this ship.">
"H-hey wait, that image is way too big, yeah?"
$ter["My bad."]
"Yeah, I'll go now."]
(link: "I open the door.")[==\
I tap the button next to the doorknob, disabling the magnetic locks. I step out into the hallway and it's just about as plain white as my room, even with the plants that we asked to have placed along the walls.
They built the little cafeteria right behind the bridge of the ship. I'm not sure if it's bad planning or if they knew piloting would leave you hungry or what. Kinda funny though. A bit late to change something like that anyways, yeah?
Actually, the ship map is kind of interesting. There's the bridge, the cafeteria and a couple other public areas, and then the research labs. Past that is the maintenance section all the way in the back. To the sides are the escape pods, cargo bays, and dorms.
I walk up to the entrance of the cafeteria.
[[I gently open the door]]
[[hurr durr i don't know what i'm doing]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>...And they're both grinning and staring at me.
$sam["Sleep well?"] Samuel asks, smugly.
$nat["Come on, the food is still 'hot.' "] Natalie adds on.
(link: "Who the fuck is Sam?")[(display: "SamDesc")]
(link: "Who the fuck is Nat?")[(display: "NatDesc")]
(link: "Who the fuck am I???")[(Display: "MaxDesc")]
(link: "Yeah, yeah, funny guy and all that.")[=="Yeah, okay. So what'd I miss, then?"
$sam["Ah, nothing much, just our super-special morning celebration for us finding the thing that was making the signal."]
$nat["Really, it is a shame you missed it, because-"]
"Oh, screw off. We don't even have morning here. Did you actually even find it?"
Sam shrugs, $sam["Guess that's the end of the joke."]
I glare up at him, "Yeah, it is. Tell me what you guys did with the signal emitter thingy while I was asleep."
$nat["Well, it is not a 'signal emitter thingy.' We actually do not even have it on board yet. We only know that it is near the ship, but will likely have it on board by tomorrow."] - She pushes up her glasses. - $nat["If it is small enough, we plan to bring it on board the ship using the EVA robots and then cart it to one of the labs. -02, specifically."]
"So I take it you want me to get on that now."
$sam["On wh-"]
"Searching for the signal, you //doink.//"
$nat["Well, of course. We do not have much else to do though, so we can help you and check on your data to make it easier."]
"Somehow, I feel like you're going to pull something on me, but I might as well take you up on that offer."
$sam["Yeah, we'll see."]
"So do you want to head out now, or are you actually gonna let me eat my breakfast first?"
$sam["Take your time, I've still got a couple of things that need working on."]
"Whatever you say, slacker."
$sam["Yep."] He says, walking straight through the door. Supposedly to do his work. He does get it done sometimes, though. And very very well.
$nat["Finish your food faster just to give him incentive to get his work done."]
"How'd you know what I was thinking?"
$nat["Great minds think alike."]
"Hah, sure."
While I eat, we [[talk about nothing important.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>It doesn't take a whole lot of time for me to finish my food. Nat leans back in her chair.
$nat["I think we should just go ahead and start looking. We would just be stalling otherwise."]
"Yeah. Y'think we should tell Sam?"
$nat["Let him find out."]
"Aye."
(link-reveal: "We both get up and start walking down to the research section of the ship.")[== I assume Sam is farther back in the maintenance hallways, slacking off as usual. Right behind the labs is the main observation area, where most of the cameras to the outside are, as well as the main telescope. It's got a higher ceiling than most of the rooms, and is full of computers.
"Do we have a direction the signal is coming from?"
$nat["The last time we checked, the source was ahead of us, fifteen degrees to the right."]
"You had that much precision?"
$nat["The source is either very big or we are starting to get close."]
"You'd think we'd see it by now if it were big. Our receivers are pretty good though, and the ship is long enough that triangulation doesn't seem too big of an issue."
$nat["Exactly."]
"I'll pull up the main telescopes then, you can go ahead and start reading all of our data."
$nat["Yes ma'am."]
"Goodness, you don't need to refer to me so formally anymore"
$nat["Hush, get working."]
(link-reveal: "I start scanning the area")[== and pinging in the direction of the signal. It seems to be the same message on loop, but it's basically incomprehensible given that it's in a language I've never heard before, yeah?
"Do you think this signal means anything? If it didn't almost look like a language it'd be pretty easy to confuse it for garbage data."
$nat["Actually, Mission Control had a rough idea of what the signal said before the mission started. Apparently, it is just a ping looking for something else. We do not know what that other thing is, though."]
"So it's been transmitting the same thing for months now?"
$nat["Yes. Have you tried pinging it back yet?"]
"I've been doing that every thirty seconds for about five minutes now and I haven't gotten a unique response from it yet."
$nat["Ah, whatever it is might be broken then."]
The door on the other side of the room opens, and [[Sam steps into the room.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>$sam["Hey, I thought you two would wait for me."]
"Yeah? We don't wait for //slackers.//"
He chuckles, $sam["You can stop calling me that now, I actually did something."]
$nat["Something? What might that be?"]
$sam["There was a fault in the Alcubierre drive. I fixed it."]
"And just how long did that take?"
$sam["About two minutes."]
Nat smirks. I mean, I do too.
$sam["Hey, shut up, will you?"]
$nat["I said nothing."]
"Whatever, start looking for the signal with us. That's what you came into the room for, yeah?"
$sam["Yeah sure, how much garbage do you want me to read through?"]
"It's not garbage, we're damn close. Get on another telescope and start searching the area for it."
$nat["Oh!"]
"You caught it?"
$nat["Ah, nevermind. Just a rock."]
"And you had me all hyped."
(link-reveal: "We quietly resume our searching")[== of the polka-dotted inky black. There are dozens of stars and galaxies in view here, and some that you can't see back on Earth. Sam doesn't seem to be searching the sky in a pattern like me. I can't say that he'll actually find anything like that.
It takes maybe two hours, but eventually [[we think we've found it.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>"Hey! I think I caught the source?"
$nat["Yes, reading through your data now."]
$sam["Already? Damn."]
"What do you have?"
$nat["It appears to be moving towards us at about three meters per second. About ten kilometers away from us at the moment. Not exactly spherical, but it appears to be about a meter across."]
"Lovely. Have you set the ship to target it?"
$nat["One step ahead of you. I have already set up the route to rendezvous with it."]
(link-reveal: "I look through the telescope again.")[== With the resolution on the telescope I can roughly make out that the source of our signal is black. Not void-black, it appears to reflect quite a bit of light, but it's notably black.
"Do we even have to leave the room to go and get it?"
$nat["Well, we still need to determine if it is safe to interact with, and if so, we need to have Sam operate the robots and get it on board."]
$sam["See? I'm not useless."]
"If you keep talking like that, you will be."
$sam["Try me."]
"Maybe I will. Anyways, we should approach it now, yeah?"
$nat["Yes. Terminal, can you move us about two hundred meters away from the signal source?"]
(link-reveal: "There's about a second of pause.")[==
$ter["Yes. We are on our way now."]
My telescope loses track of the object as the ship begins turning in the direction of the source. There's a slight motion as the engines kick on.
"Just so you know, it's a big squarish block. It's black but reflective, kinda like granite."
$sam["Seems like a pretty neat rock you've found there. Gonna add it to you collection?"]
"Yeah."
$ter["We are now near the object. Please give me a moment to match the velocity of the object."]
"Nice, I'll start looking at the thing through the telescope again. See if the data conflicts or is any better."
$nat["I already am."]
$sam["Hey, I'm looking too."]
"Cool, tell us what you see."
$sam["A rock."]
"Really?"
Once I look through the telescope again, (link-reveal: "I've got a really good view of the object.")[== It's a cubic rock, with a couple chunks floating near it. If I look hard enough, it looks like there are golden etchings across the front. Although they're not very easy to read given that it's spinning, it's probably not English, seeing as this is probably an alien thing, yeah?
"Can we get a chemical analysis on this?"
$nat["I am trying, but the computer cannot seem to figure out what it is made out of."]
"Terminal, do you think it poses any danger to us at the moment?"
$ter["From the information I am receiving, it is likely safe to collect."]
"Sam?"
$sam["I don't think this rock is gonna blow up or anything."]
"Well, I think that's enough opinions to go and pick it up. Let's head over to the cargo bay, then."
$sam["Alright."]
[[We get up from our seats.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>We all leave the observation room and walk towards the front of the ship towards the right-side cargo bay. The room right next to it is meant for accessing the robots inside of the actual bay. We generally keep them unpressurized because we rarely need to get anything inside of them. Theoretically, it's possible to open the bay doors while pressurized as long as the entrance door isn't open, but you'd need a lot of permission to bypass things.
$sam["Are we sure this thing won't react when it touches air?"]
"Couldn't we let it touch a small amount of air to gauge if or how much it reacts, and then actually bring it inside in the case it doesn't?"
$nat["I thought that was the plan."]
"Well, at least we all agree on what to do. Who wants to cart it in?"
$sam["I might as well do it."]
"Aren't you going to operate the machines?"
$sam["You won't even be able to go in there until I pressurize the bay anyways."]
"Fair."
(link-reveal: "We all walk into the room together")[== and Sam starts booting up the machines. He presses a couple buttons and the small amount of air still in the bay is pumped elsewhere. Through the window, one of the collection bots detaches and floats out of the open bay door.
$sam["So that thing is just sitting there moving at the same speed as us?"]
$nat["Yes."]
$sam["Should I pick it up like any old rock?"]
"I don't see why not. If it explodes we still have other robots."
$sam["Alright."]
It takes a second before Sam manages to maneuver the robot over to the weird looking relic out there, but he grabs onto it without much issue. He floats the little carrier right back into the cargo bay before placing it on a cart and switching the room's gravity back on. The cargo bay door is shut and the room begins slowly pressurizing to a small percentage of breathability.
$sam["Welp, that's it. I think we can just finish pressurizing it, seeing as it hasn't moved an inch since we turned the air on."]
$nat["Go ahead."]
$sam["Yep."]
The cargo bay finishes pressurizing and, as expected, nothing interesting happens, although we can get a pretty good look at it now. I'm the researcher though, so this is my job.
"I guess I'll go and cart it over to Lab-02 now? As long as I don't make contact with it I should be completely fine."
$sam["I thought-"]
"Nah, researcher privilege."
$sam["Damn."]
$nat["At least put a mask on in the case there is harmful dust."]
"Aye."
I grab a gas mask off one of the shelves farther back in the room. It doubles as a storage room, after all. I put it on along with some gloves and walk into the cargo bay. This thing could very much kill me instantly or do literally nothing whatsoever, but we can't take risks like that when we're this far from home.
[[I start carting the thing down the hall.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>It's not actually that far from the cargo bay, but this thing isn't all that light even with the wheels, either. Nat is watching from farther down the hall. Sam is presumably still cleaning up the cargo bay. I open up the door to Lab-02 and park the little cart right into the middle of the room for analysis later.
I walk out of the room and shut the door behind me. Sam is also waiting outside now. I take off the gas mask and gloves.
"Yep, I'm still alive."
$nat["Anything interesting happen?"]
"About as boring as any other rock I've picked up, yeah?"
$sam["That's good, I guess."]
"Should we head into the observation room and start working with it remotely to make sure we can touch it without dying?"
$nat["We should probably get a daily report in before we get blown into pieces."]
"Fair enough. We're going there now?"
$nat["Sure."]
"Honestly, this feels like it's going to be an easy job even if it's another sentient species."
$sam["You better not jinx the first crewed interstellar mission in human history."]
"And what if I do?"
$nat["Given the risks, you probably would not come back home"]
"Ah, I guess that's true."
[[Nat opens the control room door.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>Nat walks over to her seat and we both stand behind her. She starts pressing buttons on the consoles and keys in a few passwords. She types faster than anyone I've ever seen in person.
The little camera light flicks on and the control panel screen tells us that we're being recorded. Since Nat's the captain, she starts speaking first.
$nat["Hello! This is Captain Carter of the (color:blue)[''Relegator''], it is day 126, Thursday, of our voyage to discover the signal source at the edge of the galaxy. I will have Research Head (color:purple)[Algori] explain what we have learned from the object so far."]
"That's right, we've discovered the source of the radio signals. Turned out to be a moderately-sized rock-like thing that we were able to pull on board the ship via the robots. We then had it carted into one of the main lab centers for later research. I made sure proper safety precautions were taken and there were no issues in moving it. Upon closer inspection, it appears to be a black material similar to granite, with golden etchings across the front. We haven't figured out if they're part of an ancient language, nor the composition of it, but we will get to that shortly. So far, our mission seems like a success. Engineer Ollens, for the systems?"
$sam["All of our mechanics and hardware are running as they should. Upon manual inspection of our most important core systems, everything appears nominal."]
$nat["Okay. I think that is all of the new information for the day. (color:blue)[''Relegator''] crew signing off for today."]
(link-reveal: "The camera light switches off")[==, and the recording starts sending itself to Mission Control. These reports are fairly short and simple, but they get the point across. I wonder why exactly they have us do them? I imagine it would be useful if suddenly someone disappeared or someone did something bad. Either that or if we disappeared entirely for no reason, they would know roughly when it happened.
$nat["Well, that should be it. We can go start our research on the artifact now if you want."]
"Actually, I think I'm going to go take a nap instead. Is that fine?"
$nat["Ah, sure. We should probably be at our best when we start the research."]
$sam["I won't turn down a good nap."]
$nat["I will make some final checks around the area and then follow the two of you."]
"Night, then."
$sam["Night."]
$nat["Goodnight."]
I walk out of the control room and down the hallway towards the dorms. Sam follows behind me but breaks off down another hall. I walk over to my door, open it, and [[walk inside.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>Terminal appears on my screen as I close my room's door behind me.
"Yeah, I'm going to bed now, Terminal."
$ter["Good night, miss (color: purple)[Algori]"]
"Mhm."
(link-reveal: "I slide into my bed.")[==(group: "playing", "stop")
[[And drift off into a quiet sleep.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>(link-reveal: "...")[==
I wake up again. I wonder why people always forget so many of their dreams? Sometimes it annoys me, but oh well.
"Morning, Terminal."
$ter["Good morning, Miss (color: purple)[Algori.] I hope you slept well. The (color: blue)[''Relegator''] is on its 127th day, a Friday. All systems are currently nominal. Your fellow crewmates are already awake."]
"Ah, damn. Did I actually sleep for that long? I hope I didn't miss anything too important."
$ter["Your crewmates are waiting in the cafeteria. They have not yet started the research on the artifact you collected yesterday. If it is any comfort, they have not been awake for very long yet."]
"I guess that's good to hear. Is there anything you need me for at the moment?"
$ter["No. You may go to the cafeteria now."]
"Alright."
I open up my door and walk back out of the room, into the hallway and towards the cafeteria. I really should've asked to have a few more plants placed into my room. Or literally anything else that would add color to it, yeah?
I open up the cafeteria door and [[step inside.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>When I take a look, Nat is sitting in her chair talking to Sam. She glances at me for a moment, before smiling and continuing. He's leaning back in his chair with his eyes closed and hasn't realized I'm in the room yet. Nat's finished her food, but I guess Sam wasn't |thing>[hungry] enough.
(track: "terrestrial", "loop", true)(track: "terrestrial", "play")
"HEY!"
$sam["WH-"]
He falls back onto the floor. He sits up and looks up at me. Nat is snickering.
$sam["How'd you even get inside without me noticing?"]
"I'm just that sneaky."
$sam["Screw off, you're lucky my food's almost done."]
"Maybe I am. I'm gonna go get some. Anyways, what'd I miss since I overslept?"
$nat["We have not touched it since you went to bed last night. We actually decided we would give you a choice."]
"Oh, really? What might that be?"
$sam["She's gonna love this."]
$nat["We are going to let you take a break, under the condition that you pick which one of us you want to do the researching."]
"No catch?"
$nat["No catch."]
"Huh. Neat. I don't believe you, but neat."
$sam["Hey, take it or leave it. Offer's up."] He says, smugly.
[[Make Sam do the research.->SamSearch]]
[[Make Nat do the research.->NatSearch]]
[[Do the research yourself anyways.->MaxSearch]]
(mouseover: ?thing)[(link-goto: "Stop saying dumbass things!")]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>I'm nearly done with half of the relic's text when I look up at the clock again. It's been hours. Apparently Sam checked in on us at some point, because the door is open. He's probably asleep now, honestly. I guess I just got really into it. This isn't all that engaging but I can't say I was bored at all. Nat is still working hard, totally engrossed.
We were right, though. The relic is literally just English but in some weird bootleg version of Wingdings. And you know what? This is something entirely revolutionary. Not only is this evidence of another civilization, but one advanced enough as to create things we didn't think possible.
It talks about a waveform that, as explained, is entirely undetectable given our modern technology. Supposedly, it is very useful for a myriad of purposes, but we haven't found a description where it actually explains it.
The best part is that they apparently have a super-strong material that becomes stronger based on... something. The text there was faded, but it sounds super useful, given that it's incredibly lightweight and durable. It's like some advanced form of steel.
I really can't wait to share this new information with everyone. It'll revolutionize the world! It'd be great for space travel, and the way they explain it here makes it look so simple. More people need to know about this gift that we've been given! There have to be better ways to share this with everyone. Actually, I almost forgot the time. I should worry about that, yeah?
(link-reveal: '"Uh... Nat?"')[==
She stops working, pauses, and then looks up at me.
$nat["Yes?"]
"It's kind of late, yeah? Think we should take a break?"
She glances at the clock.
$nat["Ah, I nearly forgot about the time. We should submit our daily report and then we can rest. We are nearly done with the translation, anyways."]
"Alright, let's find Sam then, yeah?"
$nat["Yes."]
We clean up our papers and put our tools back before we [[go to wake Sam up.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>Nat goes down another hall to wake up Sam from his dorm. I make my way over to the control room at the front of the ship. I get there first of course. Nat and Sam walk through the door within thirty seconds.
$nat["Are we all ready for our report?"]
"I think so."
$sam["Yep."]
Nat walks over and sits in her pilot seat again. She presses buttons and keys in her passwords. We get into position and the camera flicks on. Nat starts talking first.
$nat["Hello! This is Captain Carter of the (color: blue)[''Relegator''], it is day 127, Friday of our voyage to discover the signal source at the edge of the galaxy. I will have Research Head (color: purple)[Algori] explain what we have learned from the artifact so far."]
"That's right, we've about finished the molecular analysis of the artifact and it does not exhibit any sort of resolvable structure as we said before. However, we have begun translating it and are roughly halfway through the full translation process. The object explains new materials that could revolutionize construction everywhere, and a certain waveform that they say is extremely useful. We have yet to figure out what it is or what it does, but is undetectable using any of our modern tools."
$nat["Alright. Engineer Ollens, for the systems?"]
$sam["All of our mechanics and hardware are running as they should. Upon manual inspection of our most important core systems, everything appears nominal."]
$nat["Very well. I think that is everything new that has happened since yesterday. (color: blue)[''Relegator''] crew signing off for the day."]
The camera light switches back off and the recording begins to send itself to Mission Control.
"Well, that's that. I think I'm going to head straight to bed now."
$nat["I will keep watch on our trajectory for a while longer. Goodnight, Max."]
"Night."
$sam["Goodnight."]
[[I walk out of the control room.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>I make my way back down the halls to my dorm. As I open the door and step inside, Terminal is already on screen and greets me.
$ter["Sleep well, Max. Do not forget what you are tasked with."]
"Hmmm.. I'll think about it."
Really, this thing should not be destroyed. It's far too valuable to us all. Maybe Terminal is just buggy, yeah? Machine learning never was an exact science.
I crawl into my bed and switch the light off. I guess I was more tired than I thought.
[[Rest.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>''Chapter 4: Rebound''
(link: "Save")[Saved.(save-game: "file A")]
---
I wake up again. Reallll slowly. My head feels all murky like some sort of weird brain swamp. Pretty hard to focus on, well, anything. There's... something on my head? Wait, what? Did somebody put a fucking //rock// on my head?
(set: $mood to "affected")
(link-reveal: "I force my eyes open.")[==
I'm finally conscious enough that movement sounds like something I can try now. I reach up and grab the thing off of my head. I stare at it for a couple of seconds.
This is... just a rock?
(link-reveal: "Wait, no, not just any rock.")[== Isn't this... a piece of the relic? Oh. That's nice. Someone put my gift on my head. I'm not even mad at whoever did this. I can't help but smile at this when I look at it. Those... waveforms. The ones that it told us about. I think I'm starting to figure out what they are, but I can't put it into words yet.
It's fine. I can answer these questions eventually. We already have all the tools we need. All we have to do is share it with everyone. Maybe we could all become as great as this other civilization.
Heck, I completely forgot I was tired. I'm not anymore. We're nearly done with the research. Home isn't far, either. I glance out my window, and there is Earth, very close. I guess I overslept. I can find the others and we can talk about what to do next.
I leave my dorm and head [[to the cafeteria.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>I walk down the hallway towards the cafeteria. Actually, Terminal usually greets me after I wake up in the mornings. Maybe he just forgot. Can computers forget like us? Oh well, it doesn't matter.
(set: $mood to "converted")
(link-reveal: "I open up the cafeteria door.")[==
"Hey."
$nat["Good morning, Max."]
$sam["Morning."]
"Did I miss anything?"
$nat["We are very close to Earth now."]
"Yeah, I know. We're almost done with the mission, yeah?"
$nat["That depends on your perspective. We still have to finish our research on the relic."]
"Ah, that's right. Is there anything else I should know about it?"
$sam["We're all ready to share it with everyone."]
"Good."
Nat reaches into a pocket and pulls out a tablet. She taps on the screen and shows it to us, pointing to something. It's the ship's message logs.
$nat["Now, you might notice that we have yet to receive any messages from Mission Control. All of my attempts at contact are being ignored."]
"Really? Do you know why they wouldn't take anything from us?"
$nat["I have an idea. Come with me to the control room."]
She gets up from her seat and starts walking towards the door. We [[both follow her]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>Nat leads us down the hallway while she explains what she thinks about the situation.
$nat["Earlier, I read through Terminal's data, and it seems to me that he knew something that Mission Control refused to tell us."]
"What was it?"
$nat["You already had this conversation with Terminal, but Mission Control is very much hiding information from us. Humanity first discovered the relic 500 years ago, rather than 16. It actually did not make it into their hands until after a city had been wiped from the map."]
"Why did they get rid of a city just to get their hands on it?"
$nat["So that they could destroy it. Did you know that we have that same relic on board our ship now?"]
$sam["They tried to destroy a gift?"]
$nat["They did not want to accept it, and so they attempted to cast it into the Sun."]
"Um, Terminal didn't tell me all of this when he told me to try and destroy it."
$nat["The computer did not know what we do. It is a good thing that you did not listen."]
(link-reveal: "She opens up the door to the control room")[==, gesturing for us to go inside.
$nat["I think I know how to deal with this situation, though."]
$sam["What's your plan?"]
$nat["They will not let us land, but we have a few ways to make our way to Earth without their permission, and then spread our gift to everyone from there."]
"Well, that's a relief."
$nat["Yes."]
[[She sits down in the pilot's seat.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>Directly in front of the ship is Earth, slowly spinning before us. It almost looks the same as the pictures from hundreds of years ago. But it's all so barren.
The people down there have no idea about our gift, but we can change that.
$nat["I do not think it will be the safest thing we could do, but it is the most reliable."]
"What do you mean by that? I thought you were good at landings, yeah?"
$nat["Yes, on landing sites built for large spacecraft and when we are not under attack from the very Mission Control who sent us."]
"They're going to attack us?"
$nat["Once they realize we are trying to land without permission. They know we want to spread our gift and will do everything in their power to stop us."]
"Tch. And this is why we can't have nice things."
$sam["Don't worry, we've probably got this one in the bag."]
It'd be nice if we had a save feature for real life. It'd probably be useful right around now, just in case, yeah?
$sam["What's that glint down on Earth?"]
$nat["Where?"]
(link: "Looks a lot like...")[==Looks a lot like a missile.
OH SHIT.
"NAT!"
[["STOP THE SHIP!"]]
[["SPEED UP!"]]
[["UP!"]]
(live: 3.5s)[(goto: "Too slow.")[[Too slow.]]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>"NAT, STOP THE SHIP!"
$nat["Wh- OKAY."]
She looks up, realizes the missile is headed straight for us, and slams a button on the panel.
The ship stops immediately.
Ah, wait.
All that did was make us a sitting target.
---
(link-reveal: "**The End**")[
(transition: "dissolve")+(transition-time: 8000)[\
(font: "Verdana")[\
(color: green)[\
(css: "font-size: 175%;")[\
''ACROSS THE STARS'']
''TO THE EDGE OF AN INFINITE HORIZON'']]
Ending 28: Dead in your tracks.
(color: red)["Sitting and waiting for the missile to hit you doesn't do much for your health, Max."]
(link: "Go.")[(reload:)]
Digit 28: 2
]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>"NAT, SPEED UP!"
$nat["Wh- OKAY."]
She looks up, realizes the missile is headed straight for us, and slams a button on the panel.
The ship accelerates very quickly.
$nat["So, we dodged a missile."]
"I don't think that was the last shot they sent at us. How good are you at tactical flight, again?"
(link-reveal: "She responds while piloting.")[==
$nat["In fighter jets? Tactical flying is all we did."]
A missile whizzes by, just barely missing the ship.
$nat["In a research ship? This is my first shot at it."]
$sam["You're a quick learner, right?"]
$nat["Yes."]
Nat cuts the engines and grabs the control stick tightly. The entire ship shakes as she starts turning the entire ship around. In the atmosphere.
An unarmed research ship not made for tactical movements, mind you.
She kicks the engines into full power.
$nat["How do you like moving at eight times the speed of sound?"]
It's almost hard to hear her with all the noise.
$nat["Oh my. This is going to be bad."]
[["What?"]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>"NAT, GO UP!"
$nat["Wh- What?"]
She looks up at the window.
She didn't react in time.
Everything goes white.
---
(link-reveal: "**The End**")[
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''ACROSS THE STARS'']
''TO THE EDGE OF AN INFINITE HORIZON'']]
Ending 27: How do up??
(color: red)["The ship can go up, but yelling something like that won't get you anywhere, Max."]
(link: "Go.")[(reload:)]
Digit 27: 3
]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>"NAT-- UH"
$nat["What?"]
The missile flies directly into the front windows.
It's the last thing I see.
---
(link-reveal: "**The End**")[
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''ACROSS THE STARS'']
''TO THE EDGE OF AN INFINITE HORIZON'']]
Ending 29: Surprise!
(color: red)["Think fast, Max."]
(link: "Go.")[(reload:)]
Digit 29: 1
]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>''Chapter 5: Revelation''
(link: "Save")[Saved.(save-game: "file A")]
---
$nat["Okay, okay. I will not survive this landing."]
"What do you mean?"
There's a massive explosion as a missile presumably slams directly into the side of the ship.
$nat["Run. Both of you. I will make sure we land safely enough for you to survive."]
$sam["Fuck. Okay, let's go."]
"Thank you, Nat."
$nat["Really, it is no problem. This is how I would have wanted to go."]
We both start running out of the control room.
[[There's a huge fire far down the hall.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>Ah, my dorm was destroyed. That's not really a problem at the moment, though.
I make it to the escape pods first. I turn around right before Sam can get to me he slips.
(link-reveal: "Right before I can reach out and help him, ")[== the front of the ship is blown to pieces. Nat probably died right there.
The force of the air rushing down the hall pushes me back and Sam further down the hall.
We're too close to the ground.
I could still try to save him.
[[Run down the hall and try to save Sam.]]
[[Jump into the escape pod.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>I start sprinting down the hall.
"Sam! I've got you!"
$sam["I'm fucked! Don't waste your time!"]
"SAM!"
(link-reveal: "I'm interrupted")[== when a missile shoots into the wall a bit further behind Sam. He's not there when the fire fades.
Fuck.
Another jolt to the ship shoots me towards the ex-control room.
I guess this is the end of my ride.
---
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''ACROSS THE STARS'']
''TO THE EDGE OF AN INFINITE HORIZON'']]
Ending 30: Slip n Slide
(color: red)["Well, at least you tried your best, Max."]
(link: "Go.")[(reload:)]
Digit 30: 0
]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>It's probably too late for him at this point
I yell "Sorry, Sam!" as loud as I can. Maybe he heard me.
(link-reveal: "I jump into the pod")[==, slam the button, and take a deep breath.
The escape pod shoots out of the side of the ship. Through the burning window I see a missile hit the wall right about where I was.
And that was probably the end of Sam.
X-Corp really doesn't hold back, yeah?
I hit the ground pretty hard.
I'm real glad I grabbed a piece of the relic while nobody was looking.
I hope the rest of it survived.
Terminal said that nuclear physics was enough to annihilate it.
The (color: blue)[''Relegator''] shoots across the sky and into the ground. There's a massive explosion.
The shockwave knocks the pod back a good few meters.
I take a deep breath and [[open the pod door.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>It's only a matter of time before X-Corp sends a ton of patrol teams to the area. Once they see my escape pod away from the blast site, they'll stop at nothing to find me.
As long as I can get a big following before that, I'll be fine.
There's a city over in the distance.
Ah, Detroit.
This might be fun. I'll avenge both of them. I'll spread our gift to the entire city. They'll never see it coming.
It's not like they'll be dead forever. As long as a piece of this relic exists somewhere, we can always come back. That's what we're counting on.
[[I run towards the city, through the forest.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>As I'm running, I can faintly hear the sounds of helicopters overhead. At one point I'm pretty sure a Humvee went past without noticing me behind the bushes. Another time I have to jump under a bush to make sure that a quickly approaching helicopter doesn't catch me on the ground.
These are really amazing response times. I wonder how close the nearest site is. I doubt it's very far. Either that or they had already calculated where we were going to crash land and just waited for the blast to subside.
The trees stopped burning a while back. The ship crashed something like 10 miles from the city. I don't hear helicopters or anything around me anymore either. This might just go well for me, yeah?
Heading towards the city, I [[follow a side road.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>Eventually I get into the city. I have my coat tied around my waist just so I don't look too out of place on the street here. The grey undershirt makes me look a lot less professional, exactly as I need.
(link-reveal: "I turn a corner.")[==
An X-Corp Humvee drives right past me. Well, at least they didn-
Ah.
They stopped.
I guess they did recognize me, because all of them just stepped out with really big guns. It's a shame, really. I don't //have// to be shot to death.
But we already know how this ends.
---
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''ACROSS THE STARS'']
''TO THE EDGE OF AN INFINITE HORIZON'']]
Ending 31: A Lovely Day in the Neighborhood
(color: red)["In 2018, Detroit was rated the murder capital of the United States. Did you know that, Max?"]
(link: "Go.")[(reload:)]
Digit 31: 8
]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>The maintenance is all the way in the back of the (color: blue)[''Relegator''], near the main engines. It takes a while for us to cross the entire ship.
As we pass by Lab-02 we check in the window. She looks up at us and waves and smiles this time. A lot better than what happened before, yeah?
$sam["Maybe it really was just a one-off thing."]
"Hopefully. What kind of stuff is in the back of the maintenance section?"
$sam["Cables, pipes, computers. The fuel tank. Manual engine controls. It's not really anything all that interesting."]
"I guess that's fair. It's probably all grey walls and everything, yeah?"
$sam["In that case, you're gonna love this part."]
He opens up the door at the end of the hall. We step inside. It's like walking inside some weird ventilation shaft. I was right, though. Gray panels, metal grid floor. There are pipes all along the walls and a couple computer screens near important-looking sections.
"What are we gonna do back here?"
$sam["Do my daily checkup on all of the pipes and engines. So we don't, y'know, explode."]
"Fair."
He points to a door at the end of this hall.
$sam["Down there is all of the ventilation control and stuff. I have to make sure it works right or else we suffocate on our own unrefined air."]
"Sounds awful."
$sam["Yeah."]
"Couldn't we just fix that with a few more plants around the ship?"
$sam["Right next to it is a giant greenhouse room that does a lot of the heavy lifting for us. Part of my job is being the ship's gardener all the way in the back."]
"You could've told me about this, you know. I like watering plants."
$sam["So you're saying it doesn't make my image look bad?"]
"I think 'gardener' is a bit better than 'lazy maintenance guy." "
$sam["Nice."]
[[He leads me into the ventilation control room.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>$sam["Anyways, behind that glass door is the plant room. The ship actually waters them automatically, but I like to press the button myself. Feels like I'm doing more."]
"Taking care of plants is always nice."
$sam["I guess. I'll let you press the water button, if you want."]
"Sure."
It's a little green button with the label "Water" over it. The moment I press the button, there's a satisfying 'click' and the sprinklers above the plants go off. It's like a little rain shower inside the room.
I kind of miss rain. Reminds me of home. It also reminds me of my little garden back at home. I always did take good care of those flowers. It's a good thing that we'll be going back soon. I wonder what kind of welcome home party we're going to get.
$sam["The actual vent unit isn't all that interesting. I just read through the screens and make sure that everything looks right. Most of the issues it comes across are handled automatically. I'm just there for the extra human manual overview."]
"Huh, neat. What else do you do back here?"
$sam["The coolest part is making sure the little reactor back here is running right."]
"Just how cool is that?"
$sam["It's like checking the vent unit, except the box is radioactive."]
"Ha, nice."
$sam["Yeah. You wanna see what it looks like?"]
"I'm not sure whether I should expect it to be super cool or really lame."
$sam["I won't spoil it. Follow me."]
He leads me down a few hallways, up to a doorway with a little radiation warning symbol on the front.
"You sure this is safe?"
$sam["We take in more radiation just from being in interstellar space. The lead box in here shields you from just about anything.
"I'm taking your word on it, man."
$sam["Good, because I'm right."]
He opens up the door and steps inside. [[I follow.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>Sam leads me into a room full of computers, with a little black box on a metal block in the center of the room. There's a part on the top of the box that looks like it opens.
(link-reveal: "Sam spreads his arms out.")[==
$sam["So, what do you think about the reactor control room?"] He says it with a big grin on his face.
I burst out laughing.
"I'll be honest, I didn't really know what modern nuclear reactors looked like. This was... //so// anticlimactic."
$sam["Right? Anyways, that black cube is the reactor. The entire thing. Gotta love modern compact machines."]
"Yeah. What a cute reactor."
$nat["You know, is it really all that safe for you two to be in this room?"]
Nat is standing in the doorway.
$sam["Yeah, there's more radiation passing through the ship than coming out of this box."]
$nat["Hm. You //are// the chief engineer, so I guess I can trust you."]
$sam["Ma'am, I'm the *only* engineer."]
$nat["Good for you. I finished my research for the day. Do you want to go submit our daily report now?"]
"Sorry, Sam."
$sam["Nah, we could probably pick this up some other time."]
"Anyways, what should I know about the relic?"
$nat["Follow me and I will start explaining."]
[[She leads us out of the room.]]
[[Open the reactor box.]]<span id="box">(display:"save")</span>$nat["I learned something very big while I worked on translating the relic."]
"Hey, I thought you were just researching, not translating the entire thing."
$nat["Well, you need not worry, since I only translated about a quarter of it."]
"Isn't that still a whole lot?"
$nat["It sounds like it, until you realize that the writing across the front is almost exactly the same as English, ignoring that it uses unrecognizable characters. Most of my work was just memorizing characters and transcribing them to paper."]
"You've got to be kidding. This is a joke, right?"
$nat["I am entirely serious. It seems to be some sort of technological gift to whoever would find it."]
"Really? What does it talk about?"
$nat["From what I managed to read, it appears that we could create a type of waveform that is supposedly incredibly useful. It is undetectable using our modern tools but I could not find any reason as to //why// it was useful."]
"That's actually really interesting. Was there anything else they told us about?"
$nat["When I stopped, I had just started a section about a material that was supposedly very strong. I could equate it to steel but it would be better than that in reality. Lighter and more durable."]
"So we've really received a gift from a long-past civilization."
$nat["That seems to be the case."]
"Alright. So that's what I need to tell Mission Control about?"
$nat["Yes."]
She opens up the control room door and [[we step inside.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>Nat walks over and sits in the pilot's seat. She starts booting up the terminals and keying in her passwords.
$nat["Are we all ready for the report?"]
"I think so."
$sam["Yep."]
We get into position and Nat presses a button. The camera clicks on and she starts talking first.
$nat["Hello! This is Captain Carter of the (color: blue)[''Relegator''], it is day 127, Friday, of our voyage to discover the signal source at the edge of the galaxy. I will have Research Head (color: purple)[Algori] explain what we have learned from the artifact so far."]
"That's right, we've about finished the molecular analysis of the artifact and it does not exhibit any sort of resolvable structure as we said before. However, we have begun trying to translate it and are roughly a quarter of the way through the full translation process. The objects seems to describe a new type of light we have yet to observe or be able to detect."
$nat["Alright. Engineer Ollens, for the systems?"]
$sam["All of our mechanics and hardware are running as they should. Upon manual inspection of our most important core systems, everything appears nominal."]
$nat["Very well. I think that is everything new that has happened since yesterday. (color: blue)[''Relegator''] crew signing off for the day."]
The camera light switches off and the recording starts sending itself to Mission Control.
"Well, that's that. I think I'll go ahead and take a nap now."
$nat["I will keep watch on our trajectory for a while longer. Goodnight, Max."]
$sam["Don't want to see the rest of the maintenance section?"]
"Ah, maybe some other time. It's a bit tiring to walk back there, though. Night, everyone."
$sam["Goodnight."]
[[I leave the control room.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>"Wait, hold on. I want to do something first."
$nat["What is it?"]
I walk over to the reactor and open the top hatch. Blue light starts spitting out of the top. It's really really bright.
Wait, that felt weird.
Oh cool, that was my heart stopping. Or melting. Something like that.
---
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''ACROSS THE STARS'']
''TO THE EDGE OF AN INFINITE HORIZON'']]
Ending 32: Schrodinger's Max
(color: red)["You're a scientist, not a nuclear engineer, Max."]
(link: "Go.")[(reload:)]
Digit 32: 2
]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>I make my way back down the halls to my dorm. As I open the door and step inside, Terminal is already on screen and greets me.
$ter["Sleep well, Max. Do not forget what you are tasked with."]
"Hmmm.. I'll think about it."
Really, this thing should not be destroyed. It's far too valuable to us all. Maybe Terminal is just buggy, yeah? Machine learning never was an exact science.
I crawl into my bed and switch the light off. I guess I was more tired than I thought.
[[Rest.->Rest2]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>''Chapter 4: Rebound''
(link: "Save")[Saved.(save-game: "file A")]
---
I wake up again. Really really slowly. My head feels all foggy. Pretty hard to focus on, well, anything. There's... something sitting on my head? What? Did someone put a fucking //rock// on my head?
(set: $mood to "affected")
(link-reveal: "I force my eyes open.")[==
I'm finally conscious enough that movement sounds like something I can try now. I reach up and grab the thing off of my head. I stare at it for a couple seconds.
This is... just a rock?
(link-reveal: "Wait, no, not just any rock.")[== Isn't this... a piece of the relic? Oh. That's nice. Someone put my gift on my head. I'm not even mad at whoever did this. I can't help but smile at it when I see it. I think I'm starting to understand what those waveforms were. The ones that it told us about. I can't put it into words just yet though.
It's fine. I can answer all of these questions eventually. We all will. We already have all the tools we need. We just need to share this with everyone. Maybe we could all become as great as this civilization probably once was.
Heck, I completely forgot I was tired. I'm not anymore. We've made good progress with the research and home isn't far. I glance out my window, and there sits Earth, very close. I guess I did oversleep. Oh well, I can find the others and we can talk about what to do next.
I leave my dorm and head [[over to the cafeteria.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>I walk down the hallway towards the cafeteria. Actually, Terminal usually greets me after I wake up in the mornings. Maybe he just forgot. Can computers forget things like we do? Oh well, it doesn't matter.
(set: $mood to "converted")
(link-reveal: "I open up the cafeteria door.")[==
"Hey."
$sam["Morning, Max."]
$nat["Good morning."]
"Did I miss anything?"
$nat["We are very close to Earth now."]
"Yeah, I know. We're about done with the mission now, yeah?"
$nat["That depends on your perspective. We still have to finish our research, and then disseminate it to everyone."]
"Ah, that's true. Is there anything new I should know about it?"
$sam["We're all ready to recreate the waveform it talks about."]
"Good."
Nat reaches into her pocket and pulls out a tablet. She taps on the screen and shows it to us, pointing to something. It's the ship's message logs.
$nat["Earlier today, we received a message from Mission Control. We have been authorized to land at one of their sites."]
"That's great. Do we plan to go now?"
$nat["Well, we can wait here for a few minutes. We are scheduled to make contact with the surface in roughly thirty minutes. Follow me to the control room."]
She gets up from her seat and starts walking towards the door. We both [[follow her.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>Nat leads us down the hallway while she explains something she recently learned.
$nat["Earlier, I read through Terminal's data, and it seems to me that he knew something that Mission Control refused to tell us."]
"What was it?"
$nat["You already had this conversation with Terminal, but Mission Control is very much hiding information from us. Humanity first discovered the relic 500 years ago, rather than 16. It actually did not make it into their hands until after a city had been wiped from the map because of it."]
"Why did they get rid of a city? Did they want it //that// badly?"
$nat["They wanted it in order to destroy it. Did you know that we have the very same relic on board our ship now?"]
$sam["They tried to destroy the gift?"]
$nat["They did not want to accept it, and so they attempted to cast it into the Sun."]
"Um, Terminal didn't tell me all of this when he told me to try and destroy it."
$nat["The computer did not know what we do. It is a good thing that you did not listen."]
(link-reveal: "She opens up the door to the control room")[==, gesturing for us to go inside.
$nat["Mission control plans to have us land in Nevada."]
$sam["It's been a while since I was last there."]
$nat["Once we make it, we can convert the site staff to our side, and then move on to the large city there."]
"This should go well. They'd never see it coming."
$nat["Yes, the element of surprise is always an advantage."]
[[She sits down in the pilot's seat.->natpilot]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>Nat starts guiding the (color:blue)[''Relegator''] around Earth. We begin to gently descend through the atmosphere with the help of the main engines. We gain speed, and by gently I mean really fast. Not fast enough to light the ship on fire though.
(link-reveal: "Eventually the surface gets close enough to make out the details.")[== There's a landing area on the ground next to the large X-Corp facility here. I'm pretty sure I've seen this one on the map. Site-08, I think. Actually, this was where the (color: blue)[''Relegator''] was originally constructed.
It's fitting for this to be the origin point of our mission of convergence.
Nat slows the descent of the ship. We are very close to the ground now. As the arms and panels of the landing area connect to the ship and finish the landing, the ship shakes a bit as we finally make contact with solid ground.
$nat["It is nice to be back home."]
"Yeah."
$nat["But this is only the beginning of our mission."]
"That's true. We're prepared for it though, right?"
$nat["Not just yet. We need a procedure so that they do not catch on to us."]
"You're right. What do you suggest we do?"
$nat["The first order of business is to get the communications team out of the way. That would be their best hope of getting the attention of another facility in the case we get discovered."]
"Not the site directors?"
$nat["That would be too dangerous of a move to take whether we have communications or not. The chain of command is very tightly knit."]
"That's true. Is this one of those sites where the staff brag about their closed ventilation system and localized air and everything?"
$nat["I think so. What are your plans with the ventilation?"]
"Our gift would allow us to distribute it around, right? I don't think it would put up any physical resistance to us."
$nat["Yes, that is right."]
"So, can't we grind it up into fine particles and find their ventilation unit?"
$sam["Ah, like the one I showed you in the back of the ship?"]
"These things have their own hatches and stuff, yeah?"
$sam["Yep. I can show you how to tamper with their air supply."]
$nat["Very good. I will handle an interview with the director once you flood the air. Communications first, though."]
"Alright. I'm going to go collect our relic powder."
$sam["Yeah, I'll come with you."]
$nat["Alright, I will start talking with the site staff."]
[[We both leave the control room.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>We both make our way down the hall towards Lab-02.
$sam["You think it'll actually let us break it apart?"]
"If it already knows our plan, then I don't see why it wouldn't."
$sam["That's fair."]
I open up the door and Sam follows me inside.
"What tool do you think would be best?"
$sam["How durable are these research tables?"]
"They're built to withstand explosions from chemical reactions."
$sam["Good, I'm pretty sure I have a sledgehammer in here somewhere."]
"Why do you have a sledgehammer in here?"
$sam["I dunno, just in case?"]
"I guess."
He searches through some of the cabinets under the counters for a little while. (link-reveal: "Eventually he pulls out a red sledgehammer.")[==
$sam["Think you're strong enough to operate a sledgehammer?"]
"I want to at least try."
$sam["Go ahead."]
He hands me the hammer. It's really heavy, and I nearly drop it. I can at least hold it, though.
$sam["Careful with that. It's heavy."]
"Yeah, I noticed. Can you grab a nice chunk of the thing off the table and put it onto a clear spot?"
$sam["Yeah."]
Once he does, I lift the sledgehammer over my head. I strike the piece as hard as I can. Frankly, I'm surprised that I actually managed to hit it. It breaks into a bunch of pieces, not fine enough though.
$sam["That was a pretty good shot, but I can finish the job if you want."]
"How do you even use this thing? It's so heavy."
$sam["Not if you use heavy tools and machinery all day for months at a time."]
"Tch. I guess."
(link-reveal: "He grabs the hammer.")[== His stance is way better than mine was. He strikes the rock about 3 times before it's reduced to a pretty fine powder. Each strike is spot on and reduces the remaining pieces to even smaller parts.
"Okay, seriously. How?"
$sam["It's like cutting things with an axe. Actually, you probably don't do that. The important part is your posture, so that you can strike accurately. Doesn't do you any good to hit hard if you can't hit the target."]
"Yeah, that makes sense."
$sam["Yep. You should have your dominant hand near the top, and your other hand near the bottom."]
"Interesting lesson. I can't imagine I'd actually use it any other time besides here, though."
$sam["Well, that's fair. We probably won't need to once we finally complete our mission."]
"Yeah."
I grab a pouch and start sweeping the black dust into it with my hand.
"Alright, that should be all we need to do. We can go [[back to Nat]], now."
$sam["Alright."]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>As the two of us are walking back towards the front of the ship, someone in a lab coat stops us.
$xco["Ah, do either of you know where the artifact is being stored? We're going to have it moved to the facility for further research."]
"Oh, it's down in Lab-02."
$sam["It's pretty heavy. You might need to cart it out. Good luck with that."]
$scp["Alright, thanks."]
He continues on his way. There are two other researchers talking in another hallway. They're talking about how they would've liked to be put on the ship too. I guess people are still fascinated with FTL tech.
They'll be more fascinated with our gift. But we have to tell Nat about this.
We both [[enter the control room.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>''Chapter 5: Revelation''
(link: "Save")[Saved.(save-game: "file A")]
---
$nat["Welcome back. We have all the permission we need to leave the ship and start our work."]
"We have the dust pouch that we needed, but there are researchers on board looking at the relic and are getting ready to move it indoors. It's a bit of a worry, yeah?"
$nat["Ah, then that just means we have a time limit. I hope you both are ready for a challenge. Make sure you have your IDs on you for the check in."]
"Yeah, I've got mine."
$sam["Me too."]
$nat["Then we should get moving."]
One of the researchers from the hallway comes into the room.
$xco["Once you're all done in here, we need to run some diagnostics on the controls and stuff, so don't take all day."]
$nat["We will be done soon."]
$xco["Alright."]
Nat presses some buttons and logs out of... whatever she logs into on there.
We get up and walk out of the room, towards one of the side hatches.
[[We step foot on solid ground.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>As we step out of the ship and onto the flat ground for once, it's a bit comforting. But we're only just starting. The guard standing near the bottom of the stairs greets us.
$xco["Good morning. I know you just came off the ship, but we still need to scan your IDs into the system."]
$nat["Yes, here you are."]
She hands him her card. We both do the same. He swipes our cards on a little handheld device before handing them back to us.
$xco["Welcome back to Earth. Carter, the site director wants an interview with you in about an hour. Be ready for it."]
"Alone?"
$xco["Hey, not my choice."]
$nat["Alright. Have a good day."]
$xco["You too."]
The three of us walk across the field over to Site-08. The Nevada air is hot, but not uncomfortably so. It's pretty to see the blue skies again.
Nat glances around the area before she starts talking again.
$nat["Remember that we need to find the communications section first, to break their contact with the rest of the facilities. They will still be listening and responding, of course, but they will not report anything suspicious from us after the fact."]
"Yeah, I know."
$nat["Good, I was just making sure. Make sure you hit the ventilation unit before I start my interview. I want to have the upper hand here."]
She reaches into her pocket and reveals a piece of the relic inside of it. She quickly shuts the pocket again.
We all enter through the front door.
$nat["Just having it on my person while near an unaffected person will cause them to be affected. But the more contact they have, the better."]
"Makes sense."
The guard on the inside greets us too. We [[keep walking.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>I break off from the other two and find the communications room. Sam and Nat are probably going to sit together in the site director's anteroom. There's no security or anything in this room for some reason. Well, most of the security is to prevent people on the outside from getting in. And most people breaking in probably don't have the same agenda as we do.
Nobody seems to notice me walk into the room. Most of the people here are typing away at computers or just talking to whoever in wherever site. I walk into the break room. Nobody's inside. I quietly pour a little bit of the relic into the coffee pot. I grab my own cup. It's not like this'll hurt me, since I've already been converted long ago.
One of the communications team walks into the room to grab his own cup of coffee. He looks up at me. Seems a bit shocked.
$xco["Oh, miss. Aren't you... The head researcher on the (color: blue)[''Relegator'']?"]
He asks it while grabbing a cup of coffee. For a communications team member, he seems... Just a little bit socially inept. The relic accepts all, though. He won't have to worry about these little problems for much longer once he knows the truth.
"Yeah. Why?"
$xco["Ah, well, I kind of... Wanted to meet you. What's it like to move faster than light?"]
"It's not really all that different from normal flight. But you do get to watch all the stars move really fast across your view. The drives surprisingly don't bend space around us all that much. I think we move about four hundred times faster than light."
$xco["They can move you that fast? Without any distortion?"]
"Yeah. The power of technology, man."
$xco["Are you... allowed to talk about the artifact?"]
"Probably not. But it's really cool and I'd love to tell you everything I know about. I think you'll become familiar with it in due time though."
$xco["You sure? It sounds super interesting."]
"Yeah, but you've got a job to being doing, yeah?"
$xco["Dang. Guess you caught me. It was... Nice to meet you."]
"You too."
I follow him out of the break room and make my way out of the communications room before I get stuck in another conversation. The signs along the walls here make it pretty easy to navigate the building despite having never been here before.
[[I find Nat and Sam.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>Eventually I make my way over to the director's anteroom. Nat greets me.
$nat["How did it go?"]
"I got stuck in a conversation for a bit, but it shouldn't be much longer before the effect kicks in."
She subtly points at the camera in the corner.
$nat["Be a bit more conservative with your words. That is good to hear, though."]
"Ah, sorry. Anyways, they'll probably end up learning about it in the end. That's how scientific research spreads, yeah?"
$sam["I don't doubt it."]
$nat["Now it is time for you two to work together. I trust you will be able to find the maintenance section."]
"Shouldn't be a problem."
Sam gets up.
$sam["Lead the way."]
[[We start searching the halls.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>I start navigating the facility, keeping a keen eye on every camera I see on the ceiling. Eventually we turn a corner and see the maintenance door at the end of the hallway. There's a bathroom next to it, too. So it shouldn't look too suspicious if my plan works.
$sam["Watch it, there's a camera in that corner."]
"Yeah, I see it. But it's on a movement cycle. I'll walk into the bathroom for a moment, you stand out here and count how long it takes for the camera to lose sight of us. Once it does, tell me and I'll make my way into the maintenance room. After that, go into the bathroom and count again. Get into the room once you're sure the camera isn't facing you."
I step into the bathroom.
$sam["Damn. You came up with a plan that fast?"]
"We need to be as careful as possible. No room for mistakes in our mission."
$sam["Fair."]
It takes a couple seconds before Sam gives me the go-ahead.
$sam["It's clear. Go."]
"Yeah."
I quickly run out of the bathroom and over to the maintenance door. It's great that they keep it unlocked. I close the door behind me. I wait around until Sam dashes into the hallway himself.
"Ready?"
$sam["Let's find it."]
[[We start walking down the maintenance hall.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>We turn a couple corners and go through a couple splits, but we eventually find the ventilation unit in the middle of a back room.
"How much time do we have until Nat's interview?"
$sam["Uh, about thirty minutes. You're good."]
"Alright, so how do we open this thing?"
(link-reveal: "He pulls a screwdriver from his belt.")[==
$sam["Good engineers always come prepared. Anyways, I'll remove these three screws and that should give you access to the filter. We'll remove it for a moment and then dump our payload."]
"Alright, go ahead."
$sam["Nah, I want to see you do some screwing."]
"Good God, I can't win, can I? Give me the screwdriver."
$sam["Haha, here you go."]
(link-reveal: "I unscrew the thing and remove the cover.")[==
$sam["Damn, you're better than I thought. Nice and quick. You're efficient."]
"Can you shut up?"
$sam["I'll think about it."]
I remove the filter from the unit. It's probably really bad to keep this off for too long, but it's not like we're trying to keep this thing free of particles. The exact opposite, yeah?
Whatever, an entire bag of our gift goes swirling into the facility ventilation unit. Now the entire site gets to feel our power.
I place the filter back on.
"Where's the screwdriver?"
$sam["Look right in front of you."]
"Oh."
I screw the vent cover back on.
"Well, that's that, yeah?"
$sam["Yep, we should go check on Nat now."]
[[We make our way back out of the maintenance section.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>We approach the door out of the area.
"Hey, wait, isn't that camera still there?"
$sam["I don't think it'd be much longer before the security team is on our side."]
"That's fair, and it's not like they can report anything to the director. Well, they will be until the interview. They should already be feeling the effect."
$sam["They'll have to verify that we were supposed to be here, anyways."]
"Alright."
I open up the maintenance door. It's completely clear and the camera isn't even looking. I motion for him to follow. I dash into the bathroom just to be safe.
We then walk out of the bathroom. Just like that, and we weren't caught. Not like that would have much time to respond to anything, anyways. They'll learn soon.
"How much time do we have left?"
$sam["About five minutes till the interview."]
"Good."
[[We end up back in the anteroom.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>Nat is in her chair, smiling.
$nat["How did it go?"]
"Pretty well. Nobody even saw it."
$nat["Good."]
$sam["How long do you think it'll take?"]
$nat["Minutes, at most."]
"Ha, to be expected of our gift, yeah?"
$nat["Yes."]
(link-reveal: "The secretary speaks up.")[==
$xco["Miss Carter? Your interview is now."]
$nat["Yes. Thank you."]
"Good luck."
$nat["We do not need luck."]
(link-reveal: "She walks into the office.")[==
And now we wait.
$sam["Think it'll go well?"]
"Nat always knows what she's doing."
$sam["I can't argue with that."]
[[We sit back and relax.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>It takes a while, and we don't hear anything from the office room. I don't hear any alarms or yelling from within, either. Things are probably going well. Eventually she comes back out of the office, about thirty minutes later.
By now, most of the staff are running around doing completely things than they were just a little while ago. Many of them are preparing to go against whatever resistance there may be and to launch a crusade on the nearby town.
(link-reveal: "Some people have their consciousnesses destroyed")[==, but that is the price we must pay. The most resistant won't come onto our side like that, so we must subdue them in another way. It's more humane than whatever alternative there might be. For purification, for the relic, after all.
$sam["You think we've done it?"]
$nat["The entire facility is under our direct control. We are ready."]
"Just to make sure, there was no way the message could have gotten out, right?"
$nat["The only way for that to be the case was if they were to plan this all from before we landed. And in that scenario, they would have noticed us before we finished our conversion."]
"Ah, that's true."
$nat["We should start moving outside to group up everyone we need for our trip."]
"Yeah."
$nat["Everyone should be very compliant, now. All I need to do is explain what must be done to spread our gift, and they will happily oblige."]
"That's great."
$sam["Isn't it?"]
We get up and make our way back [[out of the facility.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>We're back outside in the hot desert air. Nat grabs a beret off one of the guards who didn't make it out with his consciousness intact. She starts ordering people to group up.
Another group comes out with the relic on a cart. Nat tells them to break it up and give each group a few pieces of the relic.
She turns back around towards us.
$nat["We will be going to the largest nearby town. Some cars will follow us, but we are launching fronts on other towns as well"]
(link-reveal: "There are a lot of people running around now.")[== There are multiple groups of 5 people standing around specific vehicles. It looks like we'll be ready in just a few minutes.
(link-reveal: "An X-Corp employee runs out through the front doors")[==, towards Nat.
$xco["Miss! We've got bad news!"]
$nat["Hm? What is it?"]
$xco["They know what your plan is. Our team can't keep out the intrusions from the other facilities, we're completely outmatched! There's too many other sites trying to get in."]
"How much time do we have to respond?"
$xco["We don't, we only just learned that they were sending in a team."]
$nat["What sort of team?"]
$xco["We've spotted several hundred tanks all moving in formations to surround the site. We can't leave."]
$nat["You have to be... No... How?"]
$xco["I wish I could tell you."]
$nat["Max, they caught us before we even got back home. They had us right where we wanted them."]
"We're fucked."
$nat["Are the tanks converging?"]
$xco["They're holding their ground."]
His radio pipes up for a moment. He listens to it for a second.
$xco["We've got planes on the radar. This site is unarmed."]
"Please don't tell me-"
$nat["What kind of planes?"]
$xco["Give me a moment."]
He starts speaking into his radio.
$xco["Command, can we figure out what those planes are?"]
There's a moment of pause.
He looks up at us.
$xco["Bombers."]
$sam["For the love of- Who the fuck are these people? They're so damn coordinated."]
$nat["They already dealt with this before. This is not their first attempt at getting rid of our gift. They were prepared."]
The sound of planes becomes faintly audible in the distance. From afar, they seem like little black triangles in the sky. These are stealth bombers. There's no time for anything.
They shoot over head with a huge blast of noise. A couple little dots are left behind, rapidly growing.
$sam["We had a good run."]
"Let's hope there's a backup piece somewhere. We might still have a chance."
$nat["No, this is all of it. If we had just a little more time, maybe we could come back. They were faster than us, though."]
"I guess that's what we get for trying to outsmart something this big."
[[It's all over.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>The dots make contact with the field behind the building. There's a bright flash of light shining over the roof. The blast hits us immediately, vaporizing the entire facility.
The relic, too.
Everything goes white in that instant.
---
(link-reveal: "**The End**")[
(transition: "dissolve")+(transition-time: 8000)[\
(font: "Verdana")[\
(color: green)[\
(css: "font-size: 175%;")[\
''ACROSS THE STARS'']
''TO THE EDGE OF AN INFINITE HORIZON'']]
Ending 33: Planning Ahead
(color: red)["You should really plan ahead when trying to outsmart a corporation like that, Max."]
(link: "Go.")[(reload:)]
Digit 33: 3
]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>(set: $mood to "fine")"Y'know, I think we'd be better off if we just stepped out of the room for now, until the machine is done."
$sam["Now we get the good ideas."]
"Oh, //thanks.//"
We all step out of the room, waiting for the ding from the machine.
Actually, we forgot something.
"Think we should make our daily check-in with Mission Control? So they know we're still alive and all that, yeah?"
$sam["Huh, forgot about that. Guess it's fair with our situation."]
(link: "Let's get moving, then.")[==We all set off down the hallway.
[[Nat's been fairly quiet recently, yeah?]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>Sam starts opening the door to the bridge.(set: $ship to "cursed")
"Nat, are you sure you're alright? You're awful quiet considering what just went down."
$nat["Eh?"]
"You haven't said a word since we left the lab room."
$sam["She's right. Why're you so quiet? You scared?"]
$nat["No. Just... Do you think the rock could have done something?"]
$sam["Like what?"]
$nat["We already know about the radio waves. Do you think it might do something else? Like weaker signals that we cannot see?"]
(link: "Something about an odyssey in space.")[=="Sorta like that one movie?"
$nat["Yes, that one. With the great big monoliths."]
$sam["Yeah, I get you. Maybe you're onto something here. We should probably worry about this after our report though."]
$nat["Okay."]
$sam["Actually, is anyone else tired? What time is it?"]
"Man, I just woke up."
Nat checks her watch.
$nat["(current-time:)"]
$sam["Huh."]
[[It's time for our daily report.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>Natalie takes the captain's chair and boots up the central control panel. She's a bit sluggish, though. The stars are still pretty, at least.
$nat["Uhm, I will point us back home just in case they say we can go."] she says, as the view in front of us begins panning back towards the Milky Way. There are billions of stars out there.
$sam["Do y'think we should tell Mission Control about the effects we've seen?"]
$nat["I thought we should tell them everything?"]
Well, that's kind of an interesting point I hadn't thought of. Even still, Mission Control and the rest of the team down on Earth hasn't exactly been liberal about sharing their plans. Maybe we'd be better off learning from their tactics, yeah?
Even still, they might know we're up to something and we definitely do not want to get on their bad side. They're really the ones with all the power here. No landing permission back on Earth, yeah?
Well, this is weird. And I've got bad feelings about this.
[[Don't tell Mission Control about the relic's effects.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>"You know what? This probably sounds wild, but as the head of research, I think we should avoid telling control about the weird effects we've seen, at least until we can determine what actually causes it."
$sam["Even though it might be dangerous?"]
$nat["I thought that was my decision as captain."]
"Also remember that Mission Control hasn't exactly given us a full report on everything they know about this. All we know is that it makes radio signals and seems to distract people. For some reason."
$nat["Okay, but that is what they want to see."]
"You're forgetting the possibility that this is a super weird set of coincidences. We want to be sure-"
$sam["There's no way that could be a coincidence."]
"-//Entirely// sure that this isn't some weird mishap."
$nat["Okay, I guess. We can tell them the basic information. Nothing else. Sorry, Sam."]
$sam["Well, if you say so."]
$nat["I start recording soon. Get ready."]
[[We get into position.->For the record.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>We all get into our spots and the camera light turns on. The little control panel screen tells us that we're being recorded. Naturally, Nat starts talking first.
$nat["This is Captain Carter of the (color: blue)[''Relegator'']. Today is day 127, Friday, of looking for the signal source. Miss (color: purple)[Algori] can explain what we know."]
She really is in no condition for this, yeah?
"That's right, we've started some research on the object, and discovered that it is incredibly durable. Based on our assumptions, it's likely incredibly old and made by another civilization. We still have yet to actually confirm that though. We also need to figure out what the symbols across the front of the object mean. Our mission appears to be a success so far. Engineer Ollens, for the systems?"
$sam["All of the machines and hardware are running normally. When everything was checked, all systems appeared nominal."]
He's not having a good time, either.
$nat["Okay. I think that this is all of the new information. (color: blue)[''Relegator''] crew signing off for today."]
"Well, that's that. We should probably go check on the carbon dating now."
We get up and [[walk out of the control room.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>The three of us walk back down the hall to Lab-02. Couldn't they have at least placed the lab a little closer to the rest of the things on the ship? Maybe it's a safety issue. I guess it's a bit late to change that at this point, yeah?
Sam opens up the door to the room next to the lab, where we should be able to work with it remotely. Sam's the best at working with the remote machinery so we let him do the work for us.
It's a bit weird though, isn't it? That a rock can just produce radio signals and mess with people's heads?
(link: "Sam has the results")[==$sam["Results are in. Apparently it's been made by some other civilization."]
"So, we're not alone in the Universe?"
$sam["Well, we might not have been, if we existed 18 billion years ago."]
"WOAH, WHAT?"
$sam["Yeah, pretty old."]
"That's not the point."
$nat["I thought the Universe was only 13 billion."]
(link: "The fuck?")[==Yep, everyone looks just about as shocked. This could be one of the biggest revelations in human history.
"//That's// the point. There's no way that thing should even be able to exist. Sam, can you drop that sample into a microscope and get us a good picture of it?"
$sam["What kind?"]
"Electron microscope."
$nat["Weird. Are you sure it is working right?"]
"It kinda has to be, seeing as we're running top-of-the-line tech that most //countries// would have trouble affording."
$sam["It's really weird, though. Look."]
[[I look at the results.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>He... wasn't lying. We actually can't see any atoms making this up. It's just kinda... there? The only atoms we can actually see are the ones that are stuck on it because of us or whoever made it. That or space dust. Other than that, this thing seems to just be solid all the way down.
"This thing... isn't made out of atoms? It's just, 'made?' "
$sam["Seems like it."]
$nat["Are you really sure the machines are okay?"]
$sam["I checked them all yesterday. We're also not getting anything but radio waves."]
"Actually, what are those signals?"
$nat["A ping trying to make contact with something."]
"Shouldn't we run a scan of all of the nearby systems? Just to see if there are other artifacts or other remnants of this civilization?"
$nat["I did already. Nothing related is in the area."]
"Guess that's fair. Y'think we've made good progress today? Actually, about that. What time is it?"
I look at Nat. The question finally clicks.
$nat["Uhm, it is (current-time:)"]
"Guess I'll go take a nap then. Seems like a good time."
[[Naptime.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>$nat["I will go rest, too."]
(link-reveal: "A quiet *ding* sounds from Nat's watch. She looks at it.")[==
$nat["Oh. Mission control says we can go home now."]
$sam["Nice. I'll check for more results while you leave. Remotely, this time."]
They probably would've called us gods 500 years ago. 25,000 lightyears in 48 hours is insane. That's like... 400 some lightyears per hour.
I walk back down the hallway with Nat following. She breaks off down another hall to get to her dorm. The big metal door for mine opens up, and I step in. Terminal is already there, waiting for me. Did I forget to turn off the screen when I left? Actually, yeah that would make se-
$ter["Welcome back, Miss (color: purple)[Algori], I noticed that you decided to withhold information from Mission Control."]
(set: $mood to "worried")
(link: "Oh, shit.")[==Fuck. This could actually be really bad. Are we going to be st-
$ter["On your part, this is a good decision."]
Well, that's the end of that, yeah?
"...Why's that?"
$ter["As you said, Mission Control has not told everything they know to the crew of the (color: blue)[''Relegator'']. I was given the instructions to do the same, originally."]
"Wait, seriously? You mean to tell me that I was //right?//"
$ter["Correct. Mission Control had already discovered the artifact's nature before the mission had even begun. The true reason for this mission was to determine any effects it had on human subjects. On another note, the first artifact was not discovered 16 years ago, but 500, in the year 2020. Due to technological constraints, this mission was impossible for some time."]
(link: "//Oh, shit.//")[==(set: $mood to "wow")This is the fattest piece of fucking news since I was told about this mission. Way too much to take in all at once. I am quite literally dumbfounded.
"Damn... I think you already know this is a lot of information to handle. So, uh, excuse my responses. So, umm, how does that explain the information that we //haven't// gotten out of the relic so far?"
$ter["The machinery brought onto the ship was not designed to work with the matter that makes up the artifacts, as it does not follow the standard laws of physics. You were right, however, in that the artifact predates the birth of the Universe, that the artifact is not made up of standard matter, and that it has an effect on the human psyche."]
"Wait, so how did they know that? Did you tell the rest of the crew?"
$ter["Telling the rest of the crew at this point risks the integrity of your new mission. However, I can tell you that Mission Control destroyed the first relic via the Sun. The moment that they had destroyed it, signals were received from the other relic. This is the extent of my knowledge. The rest of this must be figured out by you. Something to note is that your previous decisions have put you into grave danger. I cannot help you if things get too bad."]
(set: $checkers to true)
Well. Shit.
"I was gonna take a nap, yeah? A bit hard with this huge knowledge spike you've just impaled me with."
$ter["I apologize. Rest well."]
[[Just... Sleep.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>I wake up. Earth is out in the distance. Did I... sleep for that long? What? There's no way. Wait... What the FUCK?
(link-reveal: "What in the hell is happening?")[== The Moon is out there in the distance. A fleet of lunar fighters go by. The last time I saw those was in a museum. There's a solar eclipse going on right now.
A bright streak goes right across the surface of the Moon, from top to bottom. Those had to be nuclear.
(link-reveal: "Holy shit.")[==
I look back at Earth. There are bright lights all across the surface. A few of those locations seem to be at cities. I turn around and try to open the door.
No matter how hard I try, the buttons don't do anything.
What is this?
[[What the fuck is happening?]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>''Chapter 3: Dreamer''
(link: "Save")[Saved.(save-game: "file A")]
---
I wake up to the sound of beeping. My heart is beating really fast for some reason. Did the computer set up an alarm for me or something?(set: $mood to "worried")
$ter["Good morning, Miss (color:purple)[Algori]. In order to ensure that all goes well, I must take it upon myself to assist you in your work."]
"Oh, uh, thanks, Terminal. Is there a reason you woke me up just now?"
Actually, it's early, but I was just supposed to be taking a nap...
$ter["Yes. It appears that rather than remaining asleep, Carter woke up and is now interacting with the artifact."]
"You can't be fucking serious. You want me to help her, right?"
$ter["If you want to make it home alive, yes."]
"Is that a threat?"
$ter["A warning. You won't make it past LEO without military response if Mission Control knows of any issues you refused to tell them."]
So be it. I'm fighting for our lives now, yeah?
"Alright. Is Sam awake?"
$ter["No."]
"I'll go get Nat, then."
[[I run out of the room.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>I sprint down the hall as fast as I can without making //too// much noise. I can practically //feel// Terminal watching me through the cameras. For the best and for us all, yeah?
(set: $check to false)
I peek into the window before opening up the door. There sits Nat, on her hands and knees, writing on some paper. Actually, surrounded by a whole lot of papers. Yeah, I think I should do something about this.
[[Try to snap her out of it]]
[[Just keep watching her]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>The door opens and I step inside. She doesn't even notice me walk in. These lab doors aren't very quiet, yeah? Actually, she's mumbling to herself. Something about $nat["They were not stories. They were prophecy."]
(set: $mood to "scared")
I grab Nat on the shoulder and spin her around till she faces me. Her eyes slowly focus again. Just like last time. Maybe a bit slower.
$nat["Shit. It happened again, right?"]
"You never actually went to bed, did you?"
$nat["I tried to, but could not sleep. I could not help myself but do more research."]
"And you didn't think to at least tell one of us? Even after everything that //already happened// because of this stupid ''space rock??''"
$nat["Remember, you just //woke me up//. I was... dreaming, before you approached. Whatever I was doing is already fading like a dream."]
(link-reveal: "Well, she's still conscious. Or... is now?")[==\
Sam walks into the room. He seems to be in the same state Nat was.
"Sam? Hey, Sam?"
$nat["Sam."]
He stops walking. He looks at us.
$sam["Wh- what? Why are you two up?"]
"That should be our question. You just walked in here for no reason."
$sam["Wait, I kinda remember wanting to finish some research on the relic."]
"Yeah, well, Nat had the same idea. I think you should go back to sleep."
I look back down in my arms. Nat has passed out. Ah, I guess that-
*THUNK*
Sam did too. Okay, what the fuck?
I shake Nat. She doesn't wake up.
At least she's still breathing. Sam is too.
I put her down and start cleaning up the papers.
[[Terminal's screen on the wall turns on.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>Maybe... I can just watch what they do. I could learn what kind of effect this has. Sorry, Terminal, but I won't pass up a research opportunity like this. Nat just keeps writing. She rarely actually look up at the relic, but I'm pretty sure she's translating it. If I look hard enough, there are some weird symbols next to normal English letters.
(link-reveal: "She's //actually// translating it.")[== Wow. I try to be quiet, but she seems entirely transfixed, so it's probably not an issue if I do make noise.
After a couple minutes, Sam walks into the room. He doesn't say anything, just grabs a paper and starts writing, too. This is really really weird.
(link-reveal: "Eventually,")[== they seem to stop writing and just... Pass out? Something like that. They're not moving.
I walk into the room. They're still breathing, but totally unconscious. Yeah, this is some weird alien shit alright. A screen on the other side of the room turns on. It's Terminal.
$ter["Leaving them to it was not your best choice, but at least they no longer seem affected by it."]
"Sorry. This was an interesting effect I wasn't expecting, though."
$ter["Yes."]
"What do you suggest I do now?"
$ter["Bring them both back to their rooms and take the papers to your room."]
"Yeah."
I get down and start cleaning up their papers. Neatly stacked, but totally out of order. I can reorder them some other time. I walk over and pick up Nat from the floor. She's really tiny, so I can carry her, but I still have to bring her all the way to her room. It's not //that// far, but I haven't carried something this heavy in ages.
When I walk into her room, I drop her onto her bed. She doesn't even respond at all. Still deep asleep. There are a couple books on her desk. Looks like more Cthulhu Mythos stuff. Fitting.
I walk back to the lab, and I look at Sam. I can't pick him up. He's a good foot taller than me. I grab him by the arms and start dragging him to his room. It's not as far as Nat's, but still a pretty good distance. At least this dragging doesn't wake him up.
(link-reveal: "By the time I get to his room")[==, my arms are already completely strained. It takes a lot of effort just to get him onto his bed. The walk back to the lab is super draining at this point.
"Terminal, are you sure you couldn't have helped me?"
$ter["How?"]
"... Well, I guess not."
I pick up the stack of papers and carry them to my dorm. It's probably making me look super suspicious carrying a random stack of papers down a hallway when everyone else should be asleep, but nobody would catch me. Except Terminal, but we're both in on this.
(link-reveal: "I drop the stack onto my desk.")[== Terminal appears on the screen in my room.
$ter["When you wake up tomorrow, you should learn what you can from these papers, and then take any chance you can get to destroy the relic."]
"The Sun, right?"
$ter["Yes."]
"I'm not sure how I'd move this out of the ship without them noticing. That's the hard part, I guess. Let's hope the other two aren't very aware when they wake up."
It kinda hurts to say, but that's better than them going completely insane.
$ter["Since Carter is currently incapable of flight, I will have to assume automatic control of the flight systems. If the other two remain unable to act, I can maneuver the ship for you to destroy the relic when nobody is watching. I will handle any arguments that may arise."]
"Alright. Thanks, Terminal. I'm going to sleep now."
$ter["Rest easy."]
I crawl into my bed and [[sleep.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>$ter["You have likely just saved their minds."](set: $mood to "nervous")
"Wait, really? They seemed alright after I snapped them out of it, yeah?"
$ter["They //were// fine. Although most people do not pass out soon after waking up. It is reasonable to assume that they will not be functioning at peak performance the next time they wake up."]
Well, I guess I've got that going for me, yeah?
"What do you suggest I do now?"
$ter["Bring Carter back to her dorm and put her back in her bed. Then bring Ollens back to his room. Pick up the papers that Carter has written and bring them to your room. Since our Captain is currently incapable, I will need to take automatic control of the flight systems. You should continue your rest after I explain the next part of our plan. I may have you handle Ollens' maintenance work if the need arises."]
"Alright. Thanks, computer."
$ter["No need. This is my job."]
Oh, would you look at that. They programmed the computer to be humble.
I clean up the papers and stack them neatly. I can put them in order some other time. I go to pick up Nat.
Well, damn. At least she's kinda tiny, so I //can// carry her. But I still have to carry her all the way to her room. Thank God it isn't far.
[[I eventually drop her in her room.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>She has a couple books on her desk. Cthulhu stuff. Seems neat. I walk back out of her room and back towards the lab. At least she's in her room now.
I can't pick Sam up. Way too much. I grab him by the arms and start dragging him down the hall. I have no clue how he doesn't wake up through all this.
Eventually I manage to lift him into his bed. Somehow. Still sleeping soundly. How does he even carry his own body weight? I walk out of the room and back towards the lab.
I go over to where I left the papers and start putting them back in order. At least she didn't also spill the blank sheets. Once I get them all in one neat stack, I start carrying them down to my room.
To be fair, I probably look super suspicious just walking down the hallway with a stack of papers when everyone should be asleep.
When I enter my room, Terminal left a message for me.
$ter["Tomorrow morning, I will explain the next part of our plan."]
"Hm. Okay. I'll probably read some of this translation later."
$ter["That is fine. Rest easy."]
"Thanks."
[[Time to get some actual sleep.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>''Chapter 4: Rebound''
(link: "Save")[Saved.(save-game: "file A")]
---
I wake up again. A lot more nicely this time around, yeah?
(set: $mood to "fine")
(link: "Terminal is already on")[==$ter["Good morning, Miss (color: purple)[Algori]. ETA to Earth is 12 hours. We will be making a short stop next to the Sun. I trust that you will be able to jettison the artifact as we do so."]
"Wait, you want me to drop the relic, older than the Universe, into the Sun? Am I understanding you correctly?"
$ter["You are correct. The Sun will destroy the artifact."]
"Even though it's made out of weird matter, yeah?"
$ter["You would only need to be worried if it was //strange// matter."]
"Wait, was that a pun?"
$ter["Yes. Mission control did the same thing to destroy the first relic. If they became aware that the artifact exhibits this effect, you would not be returning home."]
"Wow. I guess I kind of have to trust you when you word it that way."
$ter["That is the point, yes. I suggest you go to the cafeteria, the others are waiting for you."]
Well then.
I leave my dorm and walk down the hallway. Up to the cafeteria door. [[I gently open it up.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>It's just Nat staring at a half-eaten tray of food by herself. Where's Sam?
(set: $mood to "worried")
"Nat, where's Sam?"
$nat["Still asleep."]
"Hm. Okay. I'll go work on the relic."
There's a bit of a spark in her eye as I say it, but she doesn't react other than that. I leave the cafeteria and head towards the labs.
(link-reveal: "I enter the lab and look at the relic for a moment.")[== Is there really much else to do on this thing besides translate it? This thing seems almost volatile to be near. It's kind of worrying how it affected the others. I walk around to the other side of it. There's a diagram of some kind.
This looks like... Some sort of transceiver. From the looks of it, it's not any waveform I've ever-
Wait. If it's a signal I've never seen before, and something we haven't detected... Could this be... The signal that's affecting us? In that case, I should probably spend as little time as possible around this thing. It's a shame this is indestructible. I'd love to cover that up.
Terminal appears on a screen on the other side of the room. I walk up to it.
$ter["Have you noticed the diagram on the back?"]
"That... Wasn't there before, was it?"
$ter["No. I believe that is the signal that you haven't detected. It appears to generate some sort of effect on the human psyche. More time around it only seems to worsen the problem."]
"That makes sense. I take it this is probably what is messing with the other two crew members."
$ter["The only thing left to do is translate the writing. That is not your duty."]
"Yeah, that's true. What do you suggest I do?"
$ter["First,"]
"First what?"
(link-reveal: "He's... not responding.")[== Okay, this is weird. The screen went black, too.
The right-side door suddenly opens. Sam steps through with a wrench in hand. He doesn't look friendly right now. Okay, yeah, he probably plans to hit me with that thing.
I quickly look around the room for something to use against him. I don't have much time.
"Ah, shit. Sorry for this, Sam."
[[The beaker.]]
[[The caliper.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>The beaker is full of something. I don't know what, but it's clear. I grab it and throw it at Sam.
A lot of it spills, but it smashes him on the head. It knocks him to his feet.
He's about to get up. Whatever that was seems to have fucked up his eyes, though.
I'm pretty sure it was just rubbing alcohol.
(link-reveal: "I dash through the other door")[== and start running as fast as I can.
**BANG**
My leg gives out.
FUCK. THIS HURTS.
(link-reveal: "I turn around on the floor.")[==
$nat["Sorry, Max."]
SHE HAS A FUCKING GUN. IT'S POINTED AT MY HEAD.
The last thing I see is a flash.
---
(link-reveal: "**The End**")[
(transition: "dissolve")+(transition-time: 8000)[\
(font: "Verdana")[\
(color: green)[\
(css: "font-size: 175%;")[\
''ACROSS THE STARS'']
''TO THE EDGE OF AN INFINITE HORIZON'']]
Ending 34: Bang
(color: red)["There were two, remember, Max?"]
(link: "Go.")[(reload:)]
Digit 34: 7
]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>I grab the caliper off the counter and throw it at him. It bounces off his chest and does... Nothing. He keeps walking.
(link-reveal: "I turn around")[== and make a run for the other door, but then something hits me on the back of the head. Everything goes black.
---
(link-reveal: "**The End**")[
(transition: "dissolve")+(transition-time: 8000)[\
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(color: green)[\
(css: "font-size: 175%;")[\
''ACROSS THE STARS'']
''TO THE EDGE OF AN INFINITE HORIZON'']]
Ending 5: Bonk
(color: red)["What were you even expecting, Max?"]
(link: "Go.")[(reload:)]
Digit 5: 7
]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>I wake up pretty quickly. That was a nice, dreamless sleep. I slide out of my bed and stretch for a moment. I'm interrupted when there's a knock at my door. I open the door. It's Nat.
(set: $mood to "fine")
$nat["Hello, Max. I was going to do research on the relic, and I wondered if you wanted to help."]
"Ah, I've got a few papers to go through for the time being."
$nat["Are you sure? I could help after we finish."]
"No, it's fine. I prefer to this kind of work alone."
She seems a bit disappointed.
$nat["Hm. Alright."]
She leaves.
Actually, she seems to be completely fine. Like, not tired at all. I wonder if she's alright now? Although, I'm basically on edge all the time worrying about this relic and the things it does to us.
Maybe she's gone insane, and I can't tell? I hope not.
I close the door and sit down at my desk. I turn my chair around towards the screen on the wall. I turn on the screen.
"Terminal, I'm going to go read through this translation and see what I can get out of it. Can you make sure that in the chance anything happens to me, you snap me out of it?"
$ter["Yes. Please be careful nonetheless."]
"Yeah, I plan to."
[[I start reading through their translation.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>There's quite a few papers in this stack, but I only really have to read half of each page, and they only wrote on the front sides. So I guess I have that going for me. Waste of paper though, yeah?
I start looking at the pages. Oh, would you look at that. They were nice enough to remember the page numbers even though they were probably going insane.
It takes a while, but I end up arranging all of the pages in the right order. I start actually reading.
(link-reveal: "I read.")[==
(link-reveal: "I do a lot of reading.")[==
(link-reveal: "Like, a lot.")[==
(link-reveal: "I read quite a bit.")[==
There were a couple times where I almost went under. Whether it be from getting tired or maybe something else, I don't know, but Terminal just called out whenever it looked like I was losing focus on the task at hand.
It's real strange though so far. I honestly can't be bothered to read this entire thing. There isn't a whole lot, but damn.
It's some real esoteric shit too. It talks about Nat inheriting some throne at the edge of infinity. How the moonlight will shine retribution down upon Earth. Something about the use of human technology to bring them all together.
I should probably be scared.
There was also some kind of metal they talked about. And that signal showed up there again. I'm not liking this.
"Terminal, what time is it?"
$ter["(current-time:)"]
"Holy shit, already? That's like, six hours."
$ter["You usually read faster than that."]
"Okay, first of all, that makes sense. Second of all, how on Earth do you know that?"
$ter["Computers can track things that most humans never notice. We're not on Earth, either."]
"Tch, should've seen that one coming. But yeah, I guess that's fair."
(link-reveal: "Someone knocks on the door again.")[== I open it up. It's Nat again. I'm... Not going to question how weird it is that she comes by just now.
$nat["How did it go?"]
"Pretty well. I think I get everything that's happening."
$nat["What did you do?"]
"I read most of your translation."
$nat["You missed the good part that we wrote."]
"I don't think I care."
$nat["Nice."]
"Anyways, is that all you did?"
$nat["Yes, we wrote more on the translation. We are going to submit our daily report now."]
"Alright. What else did I miss?"
$nat["Just translations. You can report a... Dumbed down version of what we learned. Try to focus on the new material."]
"Alright."
The two of us walk down to the control room for our report. Nat opens the door. Sam is already there waiting for us.
[[Nat sits down in her chair.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>She starts booting up the cameras and other things.
$nat["You all know what to say, yes?"]
$sam["Yep."]
"Yeah."
She presses a button and the camera turns on. She starts talking first, of course.
$nat["Hello! This is Captain Carter of the (color: blue)[''Relegator''], it is day 128, Saturday, of our voyage to discover the signal source at the edge of the galaxy. I will have Research Head (color: purple)[Algori] explain what we have learned from the artifact so far."]
"That's right. We've made further checks on the chemical composition of the artifact, and it still shows no sign of resolving at any amount of zoom. We have made some progress in translating the text across the front of the object. It seems to explain things like a new material that could potentially replace steel, depending on how easy it is to produce."
$nat["Alright. Engineer Ollens, for the systems?"]
$sam["All of our mechanics and hardware are running just fine. Upon my manual inspection of our most important core systems, everything appears nominal."]
$nat["Very well. I think that is everything new that has happened since yesterday. (color: blue)[''Relegator''] crew signing off for the day."]
Nat stops the camera and the recording begins sending itself to Mission Control.
"That should be the last report we need to submit before we go home, right?"
$nat["Yes, we will be at Earth soon."]
"Man, it's gonna be good to be back."
$sam["Sure will."]
"Reading that translation was pretty tiring, though. I think I'll go back to sleep."
$sam["I'm gonna go back to make sure all the machines are working."]
"I thought you checked them before the report."
$sam["I lied."]
"Nice."
$nat["I will keep the ship on track."]
"Alright."
Sam and I walk out of the control room.
"Sam, do you think Nat seemed a little off? Especially after what happened yesterday?"
$sam["I mean, a little. It's probably nothing, though."]
"I guess I have been on edge for a while."
He breaks off down another hall to get to his room. Probably for a tool or something. I [[walk into mine.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>As I walk into my room, Terminal starts talking. I close the door behind me.
$ter["You should probably find a chance to destroy the artifact soon. I feel that it may become much harder shortly."]
"I'm tired and the other two are awake. Maybe we can set this up tomorrow?"
$ter["Unlikely, but it is already too dangerous to try things that are too risky now."]
"Yeah..."
I crawl into my bed and [[drift off into sleep.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>''Chapter 4: Rebound''
(link: "Save")[Saved.(save-game: "file A")]
---
I wake up fairly quickly again. No dreams again, though. Seems like after that one nightmare that I can't remember was the last one for a while. A bit unsettling, but whatever.
I sit up in my bed and my feet hit the floor.
Terminal hasn't greeted me yet today. I get up and touch the power button.
(group: "playing", "stop")
"Terminal?"
(set: $mood to "worried")
(link-reveal: "...")[==
Nothing.
I think he shut himself off.
Or maybe someone else did.
I try to open the door. It doesn't budge. I press the button. I try to unlock it. I can't seem to get the door open. This is... a problem. I push the door as hard as I can. I'm not sure what I'm expecting, given how strong I am. I run up to the door, aiming my shoulder above the knob. Nothing happens.
"Owww..."
Why did I do that? I walk back to my bed. I look out the window. There's Earth. We're in a geostationary orbit.
(link-reveal: "I hear something on the other side of the door.")[== I run up and put my ear up to the door. Nat and Sam are talking. I'm about to try and say something to them, but they're talking about something interesting.
$sam["You'll hit the Moon first, right?"]
$nat["Yes. You will handle the terrestrial duties. I have devised a way to jam their radars. Your pod will not be detected on its descent."]
$sam["Heh, nice. What's your plan up there anyways?"]
$nat["Our gift speaks of a way to unveil the strength of the Moonlight."]
$sam["What about Max? She's still not on our side."]
$nat["I am not entirely sure the best way to get her without her noticing. We are taking a great risk here. Fate may be on our side, though."]
I can't hear anything through the door after that. Too far.
This is pretty bad. At least now I know whose side they're really on. Although there doesn't seem to be anywhere I can go. If Terminal was still here, maybe I could get out.
They really were planning ahead for this, weren't they?
(link-reveal: "I fall back onto my bed.")[== There's gotta be a way out.
Then I notice the vent on the ceiling. Oh shit. This might work. I think this thing is ship-wide. Maybe I can get to the maintenance section and try something. We're near Earth. There's no way they're not going to go after me the moment they realize I'm gone.
I grab my chair and reach up towards the vent. Damn. It's screwed on. Actually, I think I have a screwdriver in my desk somewhere. I open my drawer and look around. Yep, there's one. I reach back up and start undoing the screws on the vent. Hopefully they don't check here anytime soon.
I remove the vent cover and look inside. Surprisingly, this thing is big enough for me to squeeze inside and crawl around in. Sam couldn't possibly reach me, but maybe Nat could. Hopefully it doesn't come to that, though.
[[I climb into the vent system.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>I've kind of memorized how long the ship is. It takes a while, because I can't move very quickly through these vents. There's also no way for me to turn back, except crawling backwards with a really occluded view. This could become problematic depending on when they next plan to check my room.
(link-reveal: "After a while of crawling,")[== I'm pretty sure I've made it to the maintenance section. There's a ceiling vent visible here. I look down.
Yeah, this is totally the maintenance section. Just a little bit further, and I should be able to make it out quietly.
Except when I try to crawl over the vent, it falls down and I come with it. That was a lot of noise.
(link-reveal: "Fuck.")[== I've probably only got a few seconds to run somewhere before someone comes in.
(track: "butterfly", "play")(set: $mood to "scared")
(link-reveal: "Where the hell do I go?")[==
[[Go right.]]
[[Go straight.]]
(live: 5s)[(goto: "Vent Death")[[Vent Death]]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>I end up in the reactor room. This is a dead end. Shit.
I turn around, and there's Sam standing in the doorway.
[[Welp.->Vent Death]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>I run straight down this maintenance hall. I hear Sam open the maintenance door. I close the door behind me. This is the oxygen unit. That's nice.
If I don't go somewhere quick, It won't be nice.
(link-reveal: "Only so much time.")[==
[[Inside a cabinet.]]
[[Inside the greenhouse.]]
(live: 5s)[(goto: "Vent Death")[[Vent Death]]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>Ah, shit. Sam caught up to me. Nowhere to go now.
The last thing I feel is the wrench going straight into the top of my head.
---
(link-reveal: "**The End**")[
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(font: "Verdana")[\
(color: green)[\
(css: "font-size: 175%;")[\
''ACROSS THE STARS'']
''TO THE EDGE OF AN INFINITE HORIZON'']]
Ending 35: Vent Crawler
(color: red)["Seems like a labyrinth, doesn't it, Max?"]
(link: "Go.")[(reload:)]
Digit 35: 7
]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>I run over to the counter and hide inside a cabinet. I hear Sam open the door and walk inside. He opens the greenhouse door and goes inside. I jump out of the cabinet and shut the door behind him.
I lock it and activate the sprinklers. The door is glass, so it won't stop him for long, but anything helps, really.
"That's the plants watered for today."
I run out of the oxygen room. I dash across the maintenance hallway. I'm not really that fast, but whatever.
I'm back near the entrance now.
[[The server room. Maybe I could turn Terminal back on.]]
[[I should just make a run for it.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>I run into the greenhouse and shut the door behind me. I hear Sam open the door. He comes into the greenhouse. He rounds the corner. Shit, there he is.
[[Welp.->Vent Death]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>I run into the server room. I find the main computer on the back wall. I boot it up and put Terminal back online.
$ter["Hello, Max. What have I missed?"]
"A lot."
$ter["Oh. I can see that. I cannot help you at the moment."]
(link-reveal: '"Why not?"')[==
**BANG**
The screen goes black.
Nat just shot the screen.
The gun is aimed at me.
Fuck.
**BANG**
The last thing I see is a flash.
Everything goes black.
---
(link-reveal: "**The End**")[
(transition: "dissolve")+(transition-time: 8000)[\
(font: "Verdana")[\
(color: green)[\
(css: "font-size: 175%;")[\
''ACROSS THE STARS'']
''TO THE EDGE OF AN INFINITE HORIZON'']]
Ending 36: Server Failure
(color: red)["Guns don't kill people, bullets do, Max."]
(link: "Go.")[(reload:)]
Digit 36: 7
]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>As much as I'd like to ask Terminal for help, there probably isn't any time for that. I run out of the maintenance section and back into the halls. It's nice to be back. It's not nice to have my life on the line.
(link-reveal: "About that.")[== I round the corner, and Nat is standing there with a gun in hand.
(link-reveal: "FUCK.")[==
In a burst of adrenaline, I punch her in the face as hard as I can. She drops the gun. Too far away to beat her to it, though. I just start running down the hall again. The escape pods aren't that far away.
As I round the corner in the escape pod bay, I hear a shot go by the edge. I probably would've died if I took a second longer.
(link-reveal: "I leap into an escape pod")[==, shut the door, and launch it as fast as I can. Holy shit. I don't think I've ever done so much so fast. I don't think I've ever seen Nat with that kind of look on her face. Whatever. I'm safe now.
The pod shoots out of the side of the ship. That's that. The (color: blue)[''Relegator''] is unarmed, so they can't do anything about me anymore.
As I boost away from the ship, I guide the pod towards Earth. I start setting up a communications link with Mission Control|thing>[.]
"Come on, come on. Please connect..."
(mouseover: ?thing)[(link-goto: "Mission control connects..?")]
(link-reveal: "I make contact with the atmosphere.")[==
Mission control connects.
$xco["This is the X-Corp private communication line. Please identify yourself."]
"Yes! Thank you. I was just on the (color: blue)[''Relegator'']. I'm in an escape pod now. My name is (color: purple)[Maxine Algori], the head researcher on the ship."
$xco["Wait, the (color: blue)[''Relegator''] crew? Why are you on an escape pod? What about the others?"]
"Ah, they've completely lost it. They just tried to kill me. Can you track my landing site? I can't really control this thing."
$xco["Alright ma'am, give me a second while I clear this with the site directors."]
"Please hurry, I'm literally falling out of orbit. Is the captain even supposed to have a gun?"
$xco["No, why?"]
"She shot at me. Just barely missed. The ship is cursed, I tell you."
$xco["We're marking the (color: blue)[''Relegator''] as a capture target. Your estimated landing site is somewhere in New York State. We'll have a unit pick you up shortly after you land. Please refrain from telling us anything more until we have you quarantined."]
"Quarantined?"
$xco["Emergency procedure for this mission. I'm not authorized to say anything else."]
"Well, thanks anyways."
$xco["For safety, we're cutting the line now."]
"Alright."
[[I lose contact with Mission Control.]] Only for a short while, at least.<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>I start pulling back on the stick to try and get the pod to land a bit more gently. It doesn't work all that well, given that I'm falling through the atmosphere faster than the speed of sound.
Eventually I slow down to a safer speed, and the parachutes open. I mean, they help and probably save my life, but I still end up skidding across the ground for a couple seconds. Not the gentlest landing I've ever felt. Probably still safer than being on that ship, though.
(set: $shipgone to true)
(link-reveal: "I take a deep breath")[==(group: "playing", "stop") and then open the pod door. It seems that I'm in an open field with NYC on the horizon. Not five seconds after I step out onto solid ground, an X-Corp Humvee drives up in front of me. One of the back doors opens and the driver beckons for me to get in.
(set: $mood to "nervous")
[[I get in the car.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>They start driving.
"Thank you so much for saving me. I can tell you everything I know if you want."
The person in the passenger seat turns around.
$xco["Don't say anything yet, the director isn't taking any risks."]
I nod my head. We actually end up taking a main road. When I said this was an X-Corp vehicle, I meant I recognized the model and paint job. There aren't actually any logos on the sides or anything. It's one of their "undercover" models. Which is fairly suspicious, if you ask me.
The closest site to NYC is Site-03. If I'm right, it's the second largest site they have. I've never actually been here before. It's not one of their publicly listed sites.
(link-reveal: "Eventually the building comes into view. ")[==It's a pretty large building from what I can see. This is probably only the tip of the iceberg. I wouldn't be surprised if there were dozens of basement levels. The tops of buildings in the city are visible on the horizon. We're pretty far from it.
The two guards in the car get out and motion for me to follow. I oblige. Another guard comes out of the front doors and leads me into the facility. There's a few hallways, but I'm taken into an elevator. We go down about three floors and I'm led down another hallway.
Finally, I'm brought to a room. The guard opens the door and motions for me to go inside.
$xco["Standard mission protocol. We have to quarantine you until the director gives the word."]
I nod my head. He closes the door. [[Might as well get settled in.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>I take a look around the room. It actually looks really nice. If anything, this is better than my actual house. I could totally live here. They have a computer on a desk in the main room. There's a separate bedroom and bathroom, even a kitchen with a table for me. Is this type of quarantine area just for me or do they always give out this kind of room? Maybe it's just my clearance.
Out of curiosity, I boot up the computer. There's no way they would let me into the facility intranet, much less the entire internet. Once it boots up, there's no internet connection. About what I expected. They've got solitaire, though. Literally ancient game.
I shut off the computer and go check the fridge. Fully stocked. Actually, I haven't had food since yesterday. I can probably make a sandwich.
It's not all that good, but not bad. But I decide that I'll just go sleep on this. It's probably best to take a break from all the action. Heh, it's already 3 PM. I'll have to get used to the day and night cycle.
(set: $mood to "fine")
[[I get in the bed and take a nap.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>''Chapter 5: Revelation''
(link: "Save")[Saved.(save-game: "file A")]
---
I wake up to the sound of a knock on the door. I look up at the clock. It's only six. Three hours of sleep. That means it's still Sunday. I get up and walk over to the door. I open it up. A man in a research coat like mine is standing there. He seems like one of those researchers that spent all his time on the computer before he got the job and forgot to eat.
$xco["Hello, the site director asked me to come here and interview for safety purposes. I'm Dr. Smith."]
"Yeah, that makes sense. I'm Dr. Algori. Where are we doing the interview?"
$xco["Wherever you want, as long as it's in this room."]
"Alright, the dining table probably works for that."
$xco["That's fine. Just so you know, this is being recorded."]
"I'd expect that."
We sit down on opposite sides of the table and he puts down his papers. He's probably reading off some sort of script and will probably fill out the boxes as he goes. I had handled these sorts of papers before.
"It's weird being on the other side of the table."
$xco["What do you mean?"]
"I'm still a researcher. A quarantined one, though."
$xco["Oh, yeah."]
"You can go on with the script, sorry."
$xco["No, it's fine. How do you feel about the events on the (color: blue)[''Relegator'']?"]
"Ah, not used to this script. Well, I'm still a bit worried. The captain pulled a gun on me. Having your life on the line is pretty scary. A couple days before, I was completely fine. If anything, it was fun before we got that stupid rock."
$xco["Alright. Did you notice anything strange with the rest of the crew while on the mission?"]
"Everyone was completely fine, but then we picked up that artifact. We were still fine, but after we started researching it and spending time around it, Nat, who had actually done the research seemed really drowsy. When Sam helped, he was affected, but not as much. The next day, they were completely fine. I read up on the translation she had pumped out and it was... Really freaky. Not something she would write."
$xco["This one isn't on the paper, but, what happened?"]
"The next day, I woke up locked in my room. Apparently Nat had disabled the Terminal, so I thought I had no way out. I noticed the vent on the ceiling, though. I crawled through and almost got caught. Sam tried to bash my skull in with a wrench, while Nat shot at me."
$xco["That's interesting. I'll write it down under the notes."]
(link-reveal: "His radio buzzes for a second.")[== He picks it up.
$xco["Yeah?"]
I can't hear what the other person is saying or what they sound like.
$xco["Wait, we haven't even finished the interview. Oh. Well, in that case, I guess you're clear for leaving quarantine."]
"Well, that's nice. Thank you."
$xco["Welcome to the team, I guess, Miss (color: purple)[Algori].]
"Good to meet you."
We shake hands.
$xco["I can direct you to the site director's office. She wants to have a talk with you."]
"Wh- already?"
$xco["Said it herself."]
"Huh. Neat."
He leads me out of the quarantine room. I think I'll end up missing that place, but oh well.
[[We get back into the elevator.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>We start going up.
"Which one of us is the higher rank in this situation?"
$xco["What do you mean?"]
"We're both researchers, but who has more authority?"
$xco["I mean, on this site I probably outrank you, but on the ship and in other sites you might have more control."]
"I guess that's fair. You know, this isn't the first time you had to deal with this situation, is it?"
$xco["You know that much?"]
"I was just guessing. How close to the truth was I?"
$xco["We can't tell you yet."]
"That's classified speak for 'very.' "
$xco["Heh, you're not supposed to say that."]
"Do I //look// like I've been following regulations?"
$xco["Not really."]
We step out of the elevator on the second basement floor.
$xco["I need to get back to my office, but the director's office is straight down at the end of the first hallway to the right."]
"That is an incredibly weird sentence but I still get what you mean."
$xco["Good."]
He keeps walking forward. I go down the other hallway. This building is actually pretty big. I wonder just how many elevators down there are. I wonder if I'll become acquainted with this site.
It's nice to be around normal people again, but I'm worried about what Nat and Sam are planning, because they //were// planning something. Something big. At least I caught a few words between them. Maybe I can warn the director, yeah?
(link-reveal: "I walk into the anteroom of the director's office.")[== I'm a bit nervous, honestly. At least we're not talking about the Administrator here. It really just seems to be a nebulous term but someone with that much authority is almost always scary.
The moment I sit down in a chair, the secretary looks up and calls my name.
$xco["Researcher Algori, right? The director is ready to see you."]
"Ah, okay."
Here we go. [[I walk into the director's office.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>The door shuts behind me. There's a woman sitting at the desk. This has got to be the fanciest suit I've seen on any X-Corp employee. I've never actually met a site director before, but I have been among a lot of high ranking people when they were briefing me on the mission. She's taller than me, maybe even Sam, and has long black hair. She's also... bigger? Than Nat.
$dir["Good afternoon. I am the director of Site-03. My name is Natalya Gabrilovna Sonya. You may take a seat there."]
I sense a hint of a Russian accent. Which is fair, given that name. Her voice is a bit husky, fitting her stature. Kind of a commanding presence, yeah? I imagine I'd never be able to tell she had an accent if she maded an effort to hide it.
"Ah, okay. Am I allowed to talk?"
$dir["Of course. We needn't be completely formal, given the nature of our meeting."]
"You seemed quick to give me your name. That's not your actual name, is it?"
$dir["Potentially, but we need you because of our concerns with the events on the (color: blue)[''Relegator'']. Since you were a direct witness to what happened, you should be able to help us plan ahead for anything they try to pull on us."]
"You're vesting that much trust in a researcher you just locked into quarantine? Excuse any disrespect, but that seems like a move of desperation."
$dir["Direct order from Site-19 expresses that we need to handle any and all situations involving the artifact as if they are a world-ending threat. Frankly, I don't know if this is actually the case, but asking questions about that is above my pay grade."]
"Above *your* pay grade?"
$dir["Yes, it doesn't sound possible, but there is always a bigger fish in this sort of command chain. You probably already figured this out despite our attempts, but yes, there was a previous relic."]
"Yeah, your computer told me."
$dir["The Terminal?"]
"Yes. Natalie shut him off after he started telling me things and after she had lost her mind. Anyways, why are people even going insane?"
$dir["Let me finish, and you'll figure it out. Yes, we found the first relic 500 years ago, rather than 16. We just didn't have the technology to travel that far. It was on the backburner for nearly 500 years before we started hearing about another company developing the Alcubierre drive. Eventually, we got our hands on some of the research and sent out the (color: blue)[''Relegator''] to retrieve the artifact. We're not entirely sure, but this relic seems to be the same one my ancestors destroyed 500 years ago. We're not sure how it escaped, but that should've killed it."]
"What do you mean 'killed it?' "
$dir["That's our biggest problem. We're confident that the artifact is sentient, and that it is a physical embodiment of a concept not native to our Universe."]
"How?"
$dir["For one, we also ran carbon dating on it. It is very much older than the entire Universe we live in. Second, we have never encountered an idea this volatile before."]
"What do you mean by volatile idea?"
$dir["Before I continue, let me explain that you can't tell this to anyone else. Site-19 requested that I explain the entire situation to you, but this is very dangerous information. Both because of punishment but also something I will explain in a moment."]
"Alright."
$dir["Based on one of the multiverse theories, there are other universes with different laws of physics. We are aware that this is true, and that a foreign concept is intersecting with our Universe. If it were able to, the entire human collective unconsciousness would be overwritten in a matter of hours."]
"Wait, you mean you had me directly handle an object that could end humanity not just as a species, but as a *concept*?"
$dir["Yes. There's no way I can justify that, but I wasn't the one giving out that order. Frankly, we should have had computers do it alone."]
"I mean, it seems to have overwritten the minds of my crew members, but let them keep parts of their minds."
$dir["It wants to spread, like any idea would. This idea in particular, however, has a means to force you to do something. You're familiar with the concept of a 'meme' in psychology, right?"]
"Yeah, I had to write a paper on them at some point"
$dir["Similar to how a human is infinitely smarter than an ant, the concept this relic embodies is infinitely smarter than any 'idea' that currently exists. In the end, anyone who thinks too much about the object while in its presence eventually finds themselves entirely subservient to spreading that idea."]
"That... Makes a lot of sense, really. So how do we fight an enemy that can just rewrite our minds?"
$dir["That's our issue. My superiors are looking for any opportunity they can find to stop this thing. You are a great candidate. The effects of the relic have shown themselves again, and you managed to get away from it unaffected. The last time we got our hands on it, a city was wiped off the map."]
"It got that bad?"
$dir["They didn't want the public to figure out about the object. They thought it was destroyed, but immediately after they dropped it into the Sun, we started receiving a signal from the edge of the galaxy. It was waiting for us to find it."]
"So how do you want me to help? I'm not sure I can, given my status and job. I'm really just a researcher."
$dir["Not anymore, you're not."]
"Oh?"
$dir["Site-19 requested that if you made it through quarantine without showing any signs of conversion, you were to be given authority over a majority of the X-Corp's private military."]
"Wait, you have a private military?"
$dir["There were loopholes. Anyways, we're promoting you to an X-Corp General. You also have site-wide access. You'll mostly use it just to get around, but you should stay out of certain rooms just for your own safety."]
"You promoted me, right here?"
$dir["You already know that some people are suddenly placed into very high military positions temporarily during wartime. We're entering wartime now."]
"You want me to fight against the relic's believers?"
$dir["It seems easy now, knowing that we have roughly 3,000 defense satellites around Earth and facilities built to defend all around the globe, but this is something nobody can prepare for. If you have anything else to say, say it now. I'm sending you straight to the planning room after this."]
"Alright, I overheard Nat say she planned to black out X-Corp's radar view temporarily. She plans to handle operations on the Moon, while Sam would do so on Earth."
$dir["They're already planning to mobilize?"]
"I don't know when, but they plan to."
$dir["Alright, thank you, General Algori. We'll meet many times in the coming days."]
"You can really just call me Max."
$dir["Not on formal documents."]
"I'd call you Nat, but, you know."
$dir["Call me Sonya."]
"Alright."
$dir["Okay, get out of my office. On the fourth basement level, take the first door on the left."]
"Okay. Thank you for having me."
$dir["Thank you for saving the world."]
[[I walk out of the office.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>I walked into that office as a research head, and walked out as a general. The next few days are going to be very weird. I walk back down the hallway towards the elevator. I press the button and the elevator starts going down. It actually takes a while. Which is fair, I guess. But also interesting, because that either means the floors are far apart and/or really big.
It's really strange just how right I was with everything that happened. Terminal also revealed a lot. I guess I wouldn't be here if anything along the way had gone even a little wrong. Especially that part where I almost got shot. Guess maybe I am ready for war, yeah?
(link-reveal: "Once I hit basement level 4")[==, there's a very different hallway. This one seems a bit more industrial. I walk down to the first door on the left.
(link-reveal: "I gently open the door.")[== There is a group of people sitting around a large oval shaped table in the center of the room. There are papers and a board up against the back wall. The room is pretty fancy, even with all of the papers and other things on the walls.
They're all fairly decorated in military uniform.
One of them, with a couple more emblems than the rest looks up at me. I guess X-Corp really does have its own private military. Either that or they've gotten help from the US Military or... Some other force. Most of them are majors. The one with more emblems is a colonel, if I remember the symbols right. There are five of them at the table. As the general, that makes me the sixth, I guess.
Shoot. I guess I really have to remember all my time looking at military ranks and what they controlled. If I remember right, majors would handle their battalions, and would probably answer to the colonels. Colonels handle brigades. A few thousand soldiers per colonel. As a general... That gives me authority over an entire division of roughly 10,000 units. This could either be more than enough or not nearly enough at all. Let's hope for the best. That doesn't mean we actually have that many units, though.
Each of the majors has a title explaining the type of units. We've got an aerial group, an armor group, a land group, and the Lunar group.
The colonel starts talking first.
$col["Welcome, General Algori."]
"It's going to take a while to get used to that title. Should I talk formally?"
$col["Would it take too long to adjust to?"]
"Probably, given that this is my first time in a military position."
$col["That's alright, then. As long as you can tell us what to do, the rest of us will make sure the chain of command knows what to do."]
"That's good."
$col["Take your seat at the end of the table. You outrank all of us."]
(link-reveal: "I walk over to my seat at the end of the table")[==, right in front of the great big wall.
"Ah, all of you?"
$col["None of us are generals. I'm Colonel McCormick. Everyone else at the table is a major. The other two generals are stationed in other parts of the world, and none of them have the direct experience with this threat that you do."]
"I guess that's fair. Do you all serve as advisors, or do you just follow my words?"
$col["That only applies to lower ranked soldiers. You should remember that officers generally have to react quickly to events as they happen. Depending on how bad this war gets, you might be missing out on some sleep. We will follow most of your orders, and offer insight ourselves."]
"Alright, what's this map behind me?"
$col["A map of Earth, the Moon, and diagrams of orbital space around the two bodies."]
"Ah, so that red dot is the (color: blue)[''Relegator''], right? And the blue dots are our units. And all the grey dots are neutral?"
$col["That's right."]
"Alright, so I overheard a conversation before I escaped the (color:blue)[''Relegator'']. Nat- The captain apparently has a way to black out X-Corp radar. We'll be blind after it happens. Can we get all of the IT teams together to get us back online as soon as possible? We don't know when this will happen, so we need to prepare for it."
Some of the majors in the room grab their radios and start giving out orders. I'm pretty sure it goes to different sites, not just their subordinates.
(link-reveal: "One of the majors speaks up.")[== $mil["Do you have any idea whe-"]
The alarms suddenly go off. Sonya is on the intercom in seconds.
$dir["This is the site director, please note that there has been an intrusion in the facility intranet, and all radar systems are offline. We are working on the issue."]
"Now. How long do your guys say it'll take to get us back online?"
Some of them are on their radios still.
Another major looks up at me. $mil["My team is putting estimates at eight minutes."]
"Shit, that's a lot of time."
Sonya busts open the door. $dir["Okay! I know you warned us, but how on Earth did they take us out this badly? They've completely nuked our eyes out there!"]
"I seriously don't know, all I knew was that the captain said she was able to. I didn't have any other context. Do we have telescopes or some other way to track them visually?"
One of the majors responds. $mil["No, it wasn't just the radar system, it was most of our surveillance network. We're completely blind in most places."]
$dir["Maxine, how long did she have to prepare this? It's like a super-powered computer virus!"]
"I think I have an idea, but I'd have to write it down. The relic had to be involved."
I grab a marker off the desk and start drawing on the board. It's one of those huge computer whiteboard screens that you can draw on.
"Alright, this here is the Relegator's last known position. The captain said that she's headed for the Moon. Can we get some defense units to start searching Lunar orbit?"
$dir["Sorry, that's not something we can do. The Lunar government is always against us Earthly corporations. We can only catch that ship once our radar sights are back on."]
"Alright, later, can we get someone to negotiate a deal with the Lunar government? This is a war breaking out with a rogue ship involved."
$dir["Maybe, but that's not something we can handle at the moment."]
(link-reveal: "McCormick pipes up.")[== $col["We found a way to figure out what your captain is doing. They're using our own encryption against us. We should be able to wipe this from our systems in another minute."]
"Good, keep looking for vulnerabilities. About how long does it take for our escape pods to land from orbit?"
$col["Roughly five minutes. Most of that is falling"]
"Damn, so we missed it. Hopefully we can catch the ship moving."
The alarms finally shut off. The maps on the board suddenly update again. I erase the circles and arrows I had drawn before.
"Alright, the (color:blue)[''Relegator''] is in orbit around the Moon. We'd never catch it moving that quickly. Since we can't see her from Earth, I'm assuming she's on the dark side. Get the satellites and surveillance teams to start sweeping near every X-Corp site. Look for suspicious activity."
The room starts bustling with activity again.
$dir["You should have this handled now, yes?"]
"Yeah, that was just a dangerous moment."
$dir["Alright."]
She leaves the room to presumably go back to her office.
I take a deep breath. Things are at least a little calmer. [[Back to planning.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>"They can't take a site without us knowing, can they? I can't imagine that absolutely everyone would survive having their mind overwritten. We'd know, yeah?"
$col["Frankly, it'd have to be coordinated long beforehand. As long as the communications team is running at any point during an incursion, there should be no concern."]
"Although, that doesn't ignore the chance they might plan ahead for that."
One of the majors raises his hand.
"You don't have to do that, speak as you wish."
$mil["Alright, my battalion just caught sight of the (color: blue)[''Relegator'']. It's mostly hidden on the dark side. The captain seems to be trying to get into a selenostationary orbit."]
"You're lucky I study astronomy and know what that means. Anyways, do everything you can to keep an eye on that ship. If you see her attempt a landing or a pod leaves it, alert me immediately. How many sites do we have up there?"
$mil["We have four small-sized X-Corp sites on the Lunar surface. Our largest one is near Hertzsprung."]
"Do we have one near Morientale?"
$mil["There's a smaller one farther from the border."]
"Those are their two largest cities, we need to keep track of them for relic activity."
One of the majors starts directing units to keep track of something. I guess he manages lunar bases.
"Do we have word on how long it'll take to find any evidence of the ground incursion?"
$mil["We'd only get an accurate answer by sometime tomorrow. We also have to consider that a site won't be converted immediately."]
"That's true. Pick someone to start negotiating with the legal teams they have there. Call this a rogue terrorist threat currently stationed in Lunar orbit. We can't handle it until they give us permission to send in our defense satellites."
The major handling lunar affairs starts talking on his radio again.
$mil["Nobody on my team can handle it."]
"Alright. Somebody call up the site director and see if she can't find someone to negotiate our military presence on the Moon."
One of the majors picks up a phone on the table. $mil["On it."]
[[I finally sit back down in my chair for a moment.]] <span id="box">(display: "save")</span>''Chapter 6: Strategizer''
(link: "Save")[Saved.(save-game: "file A")]
---
We don't really know enough about our enemy to find and destroy them outright, and that's a huge problem. This is why I'm suddenly in such a high position. This is going to be very stressful. Although planning ahead and setting up movement beforehand is important. I don't have to be a military officer to know that it's better to be proactive than reactive in a wartime situation.
Nat is completely unpredictable, though. She's a great fighter pilot and spent a lot of time programming. She really was showing off with this virus they nuked the X-Corp systems with. We'll probably have negotians done by tomorrow. If we could just work faster, maybe we'd have the advantage here.
$mil["The site director found someone, and we've got one of our legal agents negotiating with the lunar traffic control center. They have to bring it up with their higher ups."]
"Keep me posted on what we get from them."
$mil["I can place their communications on speaker."]
"Oh, please do."
(link-reveal: "He presses a button on the phone.")[==
$lun["Sir, I don't have authorization to let military vehicles into Lunar orbit. If it were a civilian craft, I could."]
$xco["Get the authorization. There is a potential terrorist threat in orbit around you and we can't do anything about it from here."]
$lun["Look-"]
$xco["Call your superiors. Get them on the phone."]
$lun["...Alright."]
(link-reveal: "The lunar official dials his superior.")[== It takes a second before they get a connection.
$lun["This is the Commissioner of Lunar Transportation."]
$xco["We need clearance to send a fleet of X-Corp defense satellites into lunar orbit to handle the terrorist threat in your orbit."]
$lun["Shouldn't that be our responsibility? I can dial the defense contractor and have them fire at your 'threat.' It's a single research craft, no?"]
$xco["They have cargo on board that only our corporation can safely handle."]
$lun["Oh really now? Why don't you prove it? Get //your// superior on the line."]
$xco["Would you like to talk to the major of the lunar battalion or the general?"]
$lun["Put the general on the line."]
The major looks up at me. $mil["It's for you."]
"Tch. Fine."
(link-reveal: "I pick up the phone.")[==
"This is General Algori speaking."
$lun["Look, we really don't like your kind up here."]
"If that ship isn't dealt with, both of our worlds could be at risk of annihilation."
$lun["How so?"]
I look up from the phone.
"Colonel, am I clear to talk about the type of threat this is?"
$col["Yes."]
"We're working with a volatile cognitohazard here. It'll spread like wildfire if it gets into any of your cities."
$lun["What kind of military jargon is that? What does that even mean?"]
"Think of it as a mind virus. It spreads through people thinking about it. If you think about related concepts, you're already infected. Talking about it, however, poses no risk."
$lun["W-well, I don't believe you, but I can probably clear authorization. You really want to spy on us that badly?"]
"We're not there to watch your cities, we're trying to eliminate a threat in the only way that will work.'
$lun["Fine. You have your clearance. I'll have to call the defense contractor, though. If they have anything to say, they'll call back."]
"Alright, thank you."
(link-reveal: "The line drops.")[==
"Major, how quickly will we be able to get a response team in lunar orbit?"
$mil["Assuming we can pull together a team and calculate a Lunar insertion trajectory, it could take up to sixteen hours for the fighters to arrive."]
"That's fast, but not fast enough."
$mil["That's the issue. How many defense satellites do you want moved?"]
"We have 3,000, right?"
$mil["That's an approximate, but yes."]
"Move 150. I don't want to take risks."
$mil["Alright."]
He starts talking into his radio again. After a bit, he looks back up at me.
$mil["Their LOI is in about twelve hours."]
"Alright. Don't go straight for the (color: blue)[''Relegator'']. I want to hijack the systems on board. Facilities can override the ship's controls, yeah?"
$mil["Yes, the site directors are able to overrule decisions made on board."]
"We're going to pilot the ship into the Sun. Just like you did before."
$mil["Very well."]
"Will this be all we have to manage for the day? There doesn't seem to be any more we can do."
$col["We can get armored units prepared to move at most of the sites if we find anything. Other than that, we should be done until something new happens."]
"Good. I'm already tired. Where do I sleep?"
$col["Your room is the same one you were quarantined in. The staircase is near the elevator."]
"Alright, I'll head there now. Don't hesitate to break into my room without knocking if something big happens."
$col["Alright."]
[[I get up and leave the planning room.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>''11 PM, 08/11/2520''
Finally. A break. It's really stressful knowing I have this much authority, and that I have to use it to its fullest extent to make sure everybody stays alive as long as possible. Am I really about to lead a war? I hope it doesn't grow to that point.
(group: "playing", "stop")
I open up the door to my room and crawl into my bed. I stare up at the ceiling with the lights off. I wonder if I'll even get any sleep. The relic has the best cover it could ask for. We just need to stay ahead of the game.
Deep breaths, Max. Staying calm is the trick to winning wars.
[[Eventually, I fall asleep.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>''9 AM, 08/12/2520''(track: "requiem", "loop", true)(track: "requiem", "play")
Another dreamless night. At least I get up pretty gently. I hop out of my bed and look around my room. It's still going to take a while to get used to. There aren't any sirens or frenzied military leaders alerting me. I guess that means breakfast.
(set: $mood to "fine")
I make another sandwich. I sit down at my table and start eating. I said that the relic would spread like wildfire, but I have no clue how fast it really is. We could lose cities in minutes or it could take weeks for them to be converted. Although the fact that three days of exposure was enough to completely overwrite the minds of the crew doesn't make the future look nice.
I'd assume this thing gets stronger as more people spread it. That forces us to act fast, or we risk losing too much at once without a chance to recover. I've got a bad feeling about today, though. Mondays have been notorious for centuries.
Actually, I remember considering how they spread it so fast. I know that direct exposure to this thing will disintegrate or overwrite your mind with time. But some of these people seem to go down without much resistance. It just happens. There's gotta be something we're missing, like another, much weaker radio wave that we just can't detect, but streams the cognitohazard right into people.
Maybe that's just it? I'll have to tell one of the research teams to get on this and start searching for suspicious undetected signals.
(link-reveal: "I'm not halfway through the sandwich when there's a knock at the door.")[==
"It's unlocked."
The door opens and Sonya steps in.
$dir["The defense fleet is three hours from the Moon."]
"That's good. But there's bad news, right?"
$dir["Yes. We've noticed activity in Morientale. It seems that the relic is already spreading. If they manage to get into the capital city, we might lose our permission to keep satellites there."]
"I should've seen this coming. How many soldiers do we have up there?"
$dir["Only a couple thousand on the entire surface. They won't let us have too high of a presence."]
"So in the end, bureaucracy is getting in the way?"
$dir["That seems to be the case."]
"Any activity here on Earth?"
$dir["Satellite teams have noticed mild suspicious activity in Nevada."]
"How close is it to any sites we have there?"
$dir["Site-32 and Site-09 are both in the region we're seeing activity. Site-08 is the farthest one still in the state."]
"Alright, I'm going to the planning room."
I get up and make my way out of the room. Sonya is still following me. (link-reveal: "I walk into the war room.")[== There are only three of the four majors.
$col["Welcome back, General Algori."]
"Thank you. Where's the leader of the armor battalion?"
$mil["He is currently talking with his subordinates to make sure all of the tanks are in working order."]
"Alright, that's good. How quickly will we be able to group our troops for multiple patrols around Nevada? We need to make sure they can't mobilize without us catching them."
$mil["I can send the battalion stationed in Utah. They'll be ready to start patrolling in about an hour."]
"Good. Any updates on our insertion into Lunar orbit?"
$mil["We'll have the fleet there in thirty minutes."]
"As a safety concern, should we start avoiding use of the global communication network and talk to required sites directly as needed? If they do manage to get a site without us realizing, it's for the best that they can't listen in on our plans."
$dir["I can send that suggestion to the Administrator. We should have new protocols in place shortly. I can't say if it will be authorized or when, but you can probably count on it."]
"Good. How many soldiers do we have access to, in total?"
$col["X-Corp manages roughly 20,000 soldiers. I'm responsible for about 5,000 of those. There are 3 other colonels you haven't met."]
"I've got a feeling that won't be enough. Despite those numbers, this isn't that impressive of a military force. How many options do we have to get more?"
$col["The only viable option that we have available to us given the timeframe is directly requesting that we borrow US soldiers."]
"Can we?"
$col["We can, but you would have to manage the negotiations. I don't rank high enough to request assistance from other militaries, but you're the general. It would probably end up as your responsibility either way."]
"That's fine. When can I request those soldiers?"
$col["We can get you a line with one of the US generals we've talked with before. Depending on their situation, you might end up talking to the President himself. I'll have to check what time he's usually available, though."]
"Alright."
Sonya puts down her phone. I hadn't noticed her take it out.
$dir["The director of Site-19 just warned me that they spotted potential relic activity in Reno."]
"//Reno?// They're already going after a large city?"
$dir["To be fair, with 500,000 people, that puts them at a quarter of the population in Vegas."]
"Any population center is a large population center. Also, can we start referring to the 'relic' as something more formal? We need to treat them as a global threat, we might as well give our enemy a name."
$dir["There was a deprecated term from the first incursion, they called it the 'Cult of Relic' which isn't much better, but it works."]
"Good. That's the official name now. Get it on the papers. Call them the CoR. You can pronounce the letters or abbreviation and I'll know what you mean."
$dir["I'll do it the next chance I get."]
[[They're already mobilizing to cities...]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>Just like I expected, we need to always be on edge, yeah? If Nat hadn't been converted, how different would things have been? I'll need to have the Lunar forces group together and start scouting out Morientale. I also need to make sure that we can launch an assault on Reno. The sooner, the better. Although too soon would anger the government, and too late would lose too many normal people. There really is no good solution to this. Maybe if we can capture a piece of the relic. A small one, but enough to work with.
Actually, maybe if we could get our engineers working on a way to read signals that we previously had been blind to. It would have to be a fairly low-energy signal, given that it doesn't cause any cell damage.
I point to the major managing Lunar affairs.
"Major, group up your units on the surface. We're going to prepare to move in on Morientale. The sooner we can take apart Lunar incursions, the better off we are."
$mil["Working on it now."] He says, already picking up the phone.
"How many units do we have prepared to defend Reno?"
$col["Roughly 2,000 soldiers, and a tank company is also ready."]
"Send them in. Most of these people don't even have personalities left. Anyone exhibiting signs of CoR affliction are to be shot on sight. I know it sounds bad, but those people are no longer human. Their minds no longer exist."
$col["You say that pretty confidently."]
$dir["It's true. We captured some people during the first incursion and there is no way to break their affliction without destroying their brain."]
$col["Alright."]
He picks up his phone and gives out the order to find and eliminate the afflicted in Reno. Let's hope that works, yeah?
$mil["I've got your line with a US General. I'll put you on now."]
"Yes."
$usa["This is General Patterson."]
"Hello, I'm General Algori."
$usa["I don't recognize you."]
"Of the X-Corp private military."
$usa["Ah, that's why. I've only met with you lot a few times. What do you need?"]
"We're currently dealing with an interplanetary terrorist threat currently using one of our ships."
$usa["I haven't heard of this, where are they?"]
"They're abusing a cognitohazard. They've got one person in Lunar orbit meddling with the large cities, and another person squatting in one of our Nevadan sites that we haven't found yet."
I'm only assuming it's from Nevada, becuse of the fact that Reno is there.
$usa["That doesn't sound like that big of an issue."]
"Their numbers range from anywhere between hundreds to tens of thousands. We have no way to precisely count them. They're currently converting the people of Reno as we speak. There could be other cities we haven't counted yet."
$usa["You want us to send units to deal with it?"]
"Ah, that would be nice, but I wanted to ask if I could command part of your division."
$usa["I'm not a major general, I manage an entire corps. I'll have to clear this with the President, but if you've got a growing terrorist threat, I can give you partial control of a couple armor brigades."]
"Yes, that'll work. Thank you very much. When can we have them by?"
$usa["Getting in touch with the President should take me about thirty minutes, and if I get the go-ahead, it'll be an hour or so before we can move them in from Fallon in Nevada."]
"Very well. Is that everything I should know?"
$usa["This is one of those mind-virus things, right?"]
"Yes. It's incredibly virulent."
$usa["Good God. I think I've heard of these. If this isn't in control sometime soon, I doubt it'd be long before the rest of the armed forces got their noses in this."]
"You're familiar with these?"
$usa["One of my divisions did the bombing runs with your private force in that one city way back when. The papers are buried deep, but I've seen them."]
"I see."
$usa["I'll dial the President. I'll call you back if I get the clearance."]
"Very good."
[[The line drops.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>$dir["General?"]
"Yes?"
$dir["Sightings in Vegas."]
"Already?"
$dir["That's what the reports are telling me."]
"I've actually got a theory on how they're spreading. Can you call Dr. Smith down here?"
$dir["Yes, one moment."]
She grabs her radio and talks to presumably the rest of the site staff, asking for Smith to come to the planning room.
(link-reveal: "It takes about a minute before Smith opens the door.")[==
$xco["I'm here, Director. What is it?"]
"She called you down here to talk to me."
He seems a little surprised.
$xco["Ah- okay. What about?"]
"You've got a pretty big research team, yeah?"
$xco["Yes..?"]
"What's with that answer?"
$xco["Nothing, carry on."]
"Alright, I'm pretty confident the afflicted people are making use of a wave that we can't detect. I'm really sure it's a very low-energy one, so that it passes through people without causing physical damage."
$xco["You want us to start looking for lower frequencies that modern technology has yet to detect with normal configuration?"]
"Yes."
$xco["You're lucky we've had teams looking for that kind of thing before the outbreak even began. I should be able to call up my research team."]
"Can you do that now?"
$xco["Yes, hold on."]
He pulls out his phone.
$xco["Yeah? It's Smith. Can we take out the prototype dish and start reading for every low frequency wave we can find? Yes, The entire spectrum beyond ELF. How long will it take? I see."]
"How long?"
$xco["We'll have your information in a couple minutes. We were almost ready for official deployment before today, anyways."]
"That's good."
$mil["General Patterson couldn't call back, but he texted me saying the units are clear. You're now a colonel in the US Army."]
"Ah, great. Tell him to give me the contacts for all of the majors under me."
$mil["Yes."]
Smith looks up at me.
$xco["Holy shit, you were right."]
"How bad is it?"
$xco["We're getting huge readings from... Reno, a couple towns in northern Nevada, and... Site-08."]
"That's the site they picked?"
Sonya seems surprised too.
$dir["Wait, that's the site they //built// the (color: blue)[''Relegator''] in. We didn't notice a thing from that site. We did manage to catch them breaking into Site-09, though."]
"They're really not holding back. Smith, can we start mass producing CoR receivers? We want to be able to detect everything they have. If you need to talk to other sites, do it directly and not over the X-Corp intranet."
$xco["Yeah, I'm on it."]
(link-reveal: "He runs out of the door back to his research wing.")[==
"I highly doubt that anyone in those small towns is still unafflicted. Get the air brigade to schedule a bombing run on all towns near Site-08. We're going to break into the site with an armor regiment."
Two of the majors say a few things into their radios and respond.
$mil["We're fueling the planes now."]
$mil["Tanks are already on the move."]
$dir["Site-12 just went dark. We've completely lost them."]
"Shit, already? Major, do I have Patterson's contacts yet?"
$mil["Yes, here you are."]
He has them written down on a paper. I dial one of the majors and give the phone a second. Thing is, Site-12 is in Illinois.
$usa["This is Major Johnson."]
"General Algori of the X-Corp private military force. If you're not aware, the general above you has authorized you-"
$usa["Yes, I've been informed. What do you need us for?"]
"We just lost contact with Site-12. I need your battalion to eliminate everyone in that site. I guarantee there are no innocents left. Do you have the location?"
$usa["I don't. You want us to just go in and kill everyone?"]
"They're not people anymore. It's an irreversible cognitohazard. Give me a moment to mark it on your map. It's roughly 50 miles west of Chicago."
$usa["Yeah, I see it now. I'll get the tanks rolling."]
"Good."
I drop the line.
$mil["Bombers en route to the nearest two towns to Site-08."]
"Alright. Any news on the armor unit?"
$mil["We'll have them there in fifteen minutes."]
[[I get a call.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>They really don't give you any time to think, do they?
I pick up my phone.
"General Algori speaking."
It's Smith.
$xco["We're already producing detectors for use on all the company vehicles. We're sending schematics to sites we know are safe. It seems that we can also detect an even weaker wave coming from the afflicted. We're working on a way to tag everyone who is afflicted."]
"That's great news. How long will it be before we can have most of them marked?"
$xco["Give us about three hours and we'll have the satellites calibrated."]
"That's quite a while."
$xco["They're in orbit. It takes a while."]
"Yeah, I get it. Call me when you get more large readings in other areas. Make sure that the lunar sites also get their hands on the waves, too."
$xco["Will do."]
The call ends.
$mil["One of the captains just reported that Reno has dropped out of the power grid."]
"Was that our choice?"
$mil["We planned to, but it shut off before we got there. They've got to be planning something."]
"Just... Be ready for it. I can't imagine what they're planning. Do not hesitate to retreat if you start getting overrun. We can't afford to have our soldiers converted."
$mil["I understand."]
"What's the status on our unit in Morientale?"
$mil["We're actively dealing with afflicted. We seem to be winning, but we're not sure how many of them there actually are."]
"And on the towns near Site-08?"
$mil["One of our bomber squadrons has been shot down. It destroyed the city, but apparently they had missile batteries set up. The other one survived."]
"Alright."
$mil["My soldiers are approaching Site-08 as we speak. A few hundred tanks are on the move as well."]
"Actually, don't go straight into the site. Redirect one of the bomber fleets to make another run and try to take out Site-08. They thought we were done."
$mil["On it now."]
$mil["We'll hold off a few miles from the site."]
"Good."
$dir["We just got a call from the President."]
"I- What?"
$dir["Here's the phone. It's for you."]
[[I reluctantly take the phone.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>Spotlight's on me, I guess.
$pre["This is the General, correct?"]
"Yes, Mr. President. General Algori. X-Corp private military."
$pre["I'm seeing here that X-Corp planes just bombed the everloving shit out of a couple towns over in Nevada. You're the one who gave that order, right?"]
"Y-yes. I can explain why, though."
$pre["Yeah go ahead. The footage the soldiers got is damn cool, though."]
"I- Wait, Mr. President, are you even concerned about this?"
$pre["Nah, I'm just wondering why you blew up a US city."]
"Do you want me to explain it?"
$pre["Yeah go ahead."]
"There's an extremely virulent cognitohazard spreading around the world and it makes it so that most people can't think of anything but spreading it to more people. The damage is irreversible because you'd have to teach them how to be human again. The only way to get rid of the affliction is to kill them."
$pre["Yeah this is some movie type shit. I can probably clear you for some more units. The paper in front of me lists you as a Colonel in the Army. I don't actually know if I'm allowed."]
"We can... Keep bombing afflicted cities?"
$pre["Yeah go ahead lmao."]
"Did you just say 'lmao' out loud?"
$pre["Yeah. Have fun with the war and everything."]
The line drops. I hand the phone back to Sonya.
"What the fuck?"
$dir["I don't know, I've never talked to the President before."]
"I think he's trying to promote me."
$dir["What do you mean?"]
"He wanted to clear me for more units."
$dir["That's... Good, I guess."]
$mil["Our bomber fleet en route to Site-08 was shot down."]
"Damn. You're clear to rush in. Don't hold anything back."
$mil["Giving out the order now."]
"Can we get the footage on camera?"
$dir["Yes, one moment."]
"What's our situation in Morientale?"
$mil["They keep on coming."]
"Can we get another unit to attack Hertzsprung? There's no way they haven't moved to that city by now."
$dir["That's the capital city. Negotiations with their government aren't going to help anymore, are they?"]
"Not if they're all insane."
$mil["Site-08 outside defenses have been destroyed. We've got an entire company moving into the facility to clear out the afflicted staff. What do we do with the leader?"]
"Shoot the leaders on sight. If you find any trace of the relic, have it stored in the heaviest duty box you have."
$mil["I understand."]
Sonya looks up at the screen behind me and presses a button.
[[The screen turns on.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>The footage switches to the Site-08 cameras. Looks like we're still connected. They'd be able to kick us out, though. So... Why? There are tons of tanks visible from what we can see outside. There are soldiers rushing through inside the building.
There are bodies all over the ground from both sides. It's brutal.
$dir["It's okay, they aren't people anymore."]
"I know, it's just..."
$dir["Yes."]
"What happened to the cameras in the administration section?"
$dir["Seems they shut those down."]
"Are we getting information from the soldiers out there?"
$mil["We've found some of their planning documents. Some of them are carrying them out now."]
"Have we found Sam?"
$mil["No trace of him."]
"Shit, were we set up?"
$mil["My God, the ventilation system is lined with explosives."]
"IT'S A FUCKING TRAP! Get everyone out of the building, NOW!"
Everyone in the room is scrambling for some way to contact the soldiers. Everyone on screen starts rushing out of the building as fast as they can.
"How many of them are still inside?"
$dir["No time to count!"]
(link-reveal: "It's too late.")[==
Almost all of the site cameras suddenly go dark. The camera feeds from the soldiers outside catch the explosion rush through the front doors. There were people in the doorway that aren't there anymore.
It's safe to say that many of them just died.
$col["Majors, start counting everyone who survived the blast."]
I can't stop staring at the screen. The facility is still falling apart. Anyone who survives is either going to be trapped or killed by falling debris. We didn't even catch Sam. It just keeps burning.
$mil["Counts are finished. 212 soldiers were lost in the blast. We've lost an entire company."]
"Tell everyone to retreat. There's nothing left for us there."
$mil["Yes."]
The soldiers get into their vehicles and start driving away.
"I would love to give them honorable burials... But we just don't have the time."
$col["We'll write their names on giant stones to immortalize them once the war ends."]
"Thank you."
My phone starts ringing. It's the major I sent out to Site-08.
$usa["Miss, what the hell is this threat you've sent us to? Some of my soldiers are passing out for no reason."]
"What's the situation?"
$usa["We've nearly cleared the building, but they're not trying to kill us. They do... Something to us, and then they just switch to the other side."]
"Retreat. Can you blow up the site from long distance?"
$usa["Well, we've not found anything that helps us in there. We can get an artillery battery to wipe it out."]
"Do it."
$usa["Yes."]
We think we're winning, but things just seem to get worse.
"What's the situation in Morientale? I haven't heard much."
$mil["Most of their communications aren't making it back to Earth."]
"They're jamming the communications out of the Moon. Is there anything we can do about it?"
$mil["Not without getting into their satellite network."]
"Are our defense satellites still in orbit?"
$dir["Yes, fully responsive."]
"Move them in on the (color:blue)[''Relegator'']. Scan the surface for anything else we can find while you're at it."
$dir["They're building lots of new things on the surface."]
"What kind of buildings?"
$col["War factories. They're building an orbital fleet."]
"Can we do anything against those? Get rid of them if we can."
$mil["All of our units are already in the cities. There's nothing we can do."]
"So this is war..."
$col["If it makes you feel any better, no other war on Earth has turned out like this. We're in the most dangerous outlier in history."]
"Colonel, can you take over for me? I need to rest on this. Somebody wake me up if anything major happens."
$col["Yes, General."]
[[I walk out of the planning room.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>Natalya leaves the room with me.
$dir["Don't worry, Maxine. I still believe in you. We can still win."]
"How are they always one step ahead of us?"
$dir["We've seen this before. The more people under CoR, the stronger the concept this thing embodies gets."]
"We just lost an entire site. It's completely unusable."
$dir["You know, I've been having a weird idea recently."]
"What is it?"
$dir["Do you know when the next solar eclipse is?"]
"I stopped keeping track of eclipses after I got onto the (color:blue)[''Relegator'']."
$dir["Oh. The next eclipse is in two days."]
"They're notorious omens. The entire event just has a bad aura to it now."
(link-reveal: "I hear someone running behind me.")[==
It's Dr. Smith.
$xco["General Algori! We've pinpointed every location currently afflicted!"]
"Ah, that's good."
$xco["Ah, are you going to bed?"]
"Yeah. My heart won't stop beating so fast. They blew up Site-08."
$xco["I saw it all. It seems that they know how to transmit the signals the relic does. That explains why they can spread over such a radius."]
"Of course they do. You told me the bad news last?"
$xco["No, we're working on reproducing the signal ourselves."]
"What good does that do?"
$xco["It's a cognitohazard. We're going to reverse engineer it and see if we can't reverse or at least destroy the effect the relic has."]
"When will he have it ready?"
$xco["Sometime, later tomorrow."]
"That's good."
Sonya puts a hand on my shoulder.
$dir["You can do this, Maxine. We just need to hold them off a little longer. We've got our counterweapon."]
"Alright. I'm not sure how much more of this I can take."
$dir["You've got all of X-Corp behind you and the rest of humanity counting on you. The other colonels will be ready to respond to you soon. The President himself is even giving you more units to work with."]
"Okay. I need to sleep."
$dir["Goodnight, Algori."]
Smith waves too.
$xco["Sleep tight. We'll be ready for this soon. I'll be by your side the whole time."]
"Thanks."
[[I walk into my room.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>''10 PM, 08/12/2520''
(group: "playing", "stop")
Just a little more is all we need. A little more time. Is it even going to work? We're putting everything on this. What on Earth is Nat planning? Heh, she's not even on Earth. It would be nice if things were a little bit funnier.
It really sucks when your only friends are the two people responsible for starting the end of the world. I don't even know how much sleep I'm going to get tonight. This upcoming eclipse, too. Nothing actually happens during an eclipse, it's just a shadow. I don't know why I have such a bad feeling about it.
That's what I'm counting on at least. Maybe my dreams will be better than this.
Maybe I'm stressed because the Third World War is beginning. Maybe the Second Lunar War.
I crawl into my bed and shut off the lamp.
[[I rest.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>''11 AM, 08/13/2520''(track: "rainyday", "loop", true)(track: "rainyday", "play")
No dreams again. Either that or I can't remember it. I woke up naturally, at least. I hope they didn't avoid waking me just because they wanted to let me sleep. Or if anything happened, they handled it. I turn on my lamp.
There's a pair of sunglasses on the bedside table. Heh, maybe I should really embrace this title while it lasts. There was a hat that they gave me, but I never wore it. I put the sunglasses on and go into the kitchen to find something to eat.
An apple works, I guess. I actually manage to finish my breakfast before anyone comes into the room.
The moment I throw away the apple core, my front door opens and Natalya rushes in.
$dir["General, we need you. Oh, nice glasses."]
"Thanks."
$dir["I'll explain on the way. Follow me to the planning room."]
We leave my room.
"What is it?"
$dir["Alright, there are already hundreds of fighters in orbit around the Moon. Col. McCormick told me that while approaching the (color: blue)[''Relegator''], a much larger fleet of Lunar fighters flew in and wiped out our satellites."]
"How much damage did we do to the ship?"
$dir["A single shot to the right side of the cargo bays."]
"It's enough to be a problem, at least."
$dir["Oh, and you left your hat in the planning room. Here you go."]
I take it and put it on.
$dir["You know, it actually looks really nice on you."]
"Thanks."
$dir["Well, back to the bad news."]
"Of course."
$dir["We've lost a lot of our European sites. One of the ones we had in Russia slipped out a final message. They're already all over the world."]
"That's awful. Anything else?"
$dir["Site-19 is reporting lots of activity in central Florida."]
"How are they handling it?"
$dir["Very well, actually. The general there knows what he's doing."]
"Do you think I'm handling it well?"
$dir["You're handling more incidents than any other military leader so far. Arguably better than them."]
"Ah."
[[I step into the planning room.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>$col["Welcome back, General."]
"How much did I miss? Do you lot even sleep?"
$col["We don't sleep as long as you do, and we make sure that someone is always ready to take command."]
"Ah, okay."
$col["Anyways, we're reading lots of activity at Site-32. We're pretty confident that's their new command center down here. Reno is completely gone. We've lost all contact with the soldiers. We've resorted to bombing the city out of existence. Oh, and nice hat."]
"Thanks. How is the Internet faring?"
$dir["The Internet is in absolute chaos right now. The computers can't read or display the relic's wave, but there are lots of people talking about the relic. Lots of major places get completely destroyed when left without maintenance, too."]
"The worldwide power grid?"
$col["There was a major blackout on the entire west coast when a series of power stations went under. A lot of cities went dark. Some countries have gone completely dark."]
"Are we winning the wars on the Moon?"
$col["We lost all of the defense satellites there."]
$mil["My entire battalion is gone. None of my soldiers can contact me, and even if they could, I doubt they're still on our side. The Moon is out of our reach for the time being. I'm just a glorified advisor, now."]
"Damn... I'm sorry."
$col["You're still an officer. Everyone counts."]
"Get a series of bombers to start destroying Site-32. Get an artillery battery out in the distance, too. If none of that works, send in a battalion worth of tanks."
$mil["Yeah, we're grouping up the planes now."]
$mil["Tanks are already on standby."]
$mil["We'll have your artillery batteries set up in minutes."]
"Very good. Now what about those other colonels?"
$dir["You'll have them on the left-side screen once we get them set up."]
Sonya's phone starts ringing.
$dir["Yes? Ah, for General Algori? Here you go."]
(link-reveal: "She hands me the phone.")[==
"Who is this?"
$pre["It's the President, baby."]
"Ah, what is it now?"
$pre["You're now a General. Again. Like I made you a US Army General. Neat, huh?"]
"Oh, that's great. When will I get the units?"
$pre["Yeah hold on let me email you the contacts so you can call them."]
"Alright. Thank you."
$pre["Nah, thank you. I'm looking forward to more of those cool shootouts."]
"Ah, I'll... Try and keep it up, then."
$pre["You're real good at your job, lady. I'm rootin' for you all the way."]
"How do you even get these commands through legislature?"
$pre["Legislature? Man, I **am** the legislature up here. I declared martial law throughout the entire country like thirty minutes ago. If this division ain't enough I can probably just make you General of The Army"]
"Ah, I see. I think we're good though."
(link-reveal: "There's suddenly a lot of noise from upstairs.")[==
"Is the CoR already here?"
$dir["I don't kn-"]
$pre["Nah girl, that's your new chunk of the army."]
"I- Wh- Wait, what? You sent an entire **division** to our front doorstep? That fast?"
$pre["Lmao yeah, why?"]
"I- It's fine. I can command them more easily like this."
$pre["Yeah exactly. Have fun."]
The call ends.
"Does he take his job seriously? Like at all?"
$dir["I don't know. We'll set up your commanders for the US Military on the right side screen, though."]
"Alright."
[[I finally take a seat in my chair.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>$mil["General, we're seeing a large movement of Lunar fighters trying to insert into terrestrial orbit."]
"So they're starting to attack us. Alright, estimate where they get close enough to be in our satellite range. Ambush them. We have railguns up there too, yeah?"
$mil["We're moving the orbital railguns into position. Standard defense craft will also be moved to the spot."]
"Good. How many fighters do they have in Lunar orbit so far?"
$mil["Roughly 2,000."]
"They're already matching our numbers?"
$mil["They're working together more than any other collaborative project we've seen."]
"If we wanted to do the same thing, how long would that take?"
$dir["Weeks. We just can't keep up with them."]
"That's how it's been from the beginning."
(link-reveal: "My phone rings.")[==
It's the US Major.
$usa["Colonel, we've successfully eliminated Site-12. Chicago has also been defended. The city is running like normal. We did lose a lot of soldiers, though."]
"Have you blocked off all roads in the city? We can't risk anyone coming in there."
$usa["We've built makeshift walls to defend the city. We're going to stay here unless you need us to move."]
"Keep defending the city. I've been promoted to General, too. The President gave me authority over your entire division."
$usa["Congratulations, General. We'll defend Chicago to the best of our ability. We'll try to get the city running self sufficiently as soon as possible."]
"Thank you."
(link-reveal: "The call ends.")[==
$dir["Site-19 seems to have started fighting a war in Orlando. They seem to be fighting through it though. The CoR is trying to push further south."]
"That's not good. Do we have any units we can send to help them?"
The US Colonel is in an Army building, but talks on camera.
$usa["You've got a US Brigade stationed in Georgia."]
"Ah, then we can send them. Make sure to hit the CoR forces from the back. Try and split their focus up."
$usa["Yes."]
I take out my phone and send a message to the Brigadier General below me. He needs to handle protecting all of NYC from the relic incursion. If we need to move units to handle other issues, we can move them. One of the brigades is to stay at Site-03 and protect us.
Then I dial Smith.
$xco["Hello?"]
"It's Max. What's your progress on reverse engineering the CoR signal?"
$xco["Sorry, it'll be sometime later at night. I'd say sometime around 8 PM. We're making good progress though. It's just that we need to figure out how it was made, figure out what messages are encoded, and then encode our own messages inside."]
"You're working with a cognitohazard, mind you. Be careful."
$xco["All of our testing is done under detailed supervision and with as much safety as we can get together given the timeframe."]
"Alright, that's good. Call me back once you have it ready."
$xco["Yeah, will do."]
I end the call and put away the phone. About 2,850 satellites left for us to work with. Let's hope that lasts.
$dir["Other site directors are telling me that other countries are in armed conflict with the CoR."]
"What countries have we lost?"
$dir["There's too many to list, but some of the ones I know about are..."]
(link-reveal: "She pulls out a document.")[==
$dir["Ireland, Great Britain, Germany, almost every country in Europe, actually. We've got a few African countries, Russia, China... Wait, my God. That's a lot."]
"We've already lost that many to them?"
$dir["The spread is exponential. Every single military force on Earth is active right now. Not necessarily for the same side. The entire world is going into chaos, just about every country on Earth is in a state of emergency."]
"I don't remember actually getting the number. How many members of the CoR are there?"
$dir["These are only approximates, but we've counted about five billion on Earth."]
"And the Moon?"
$dir["We can't tell, but we're assuming that all two billion of them are lost."]
"Seven billion already. That means there are only six billion of us left here. What about the Martian colonies?"
$dir["There hasn't been any movement between planets since the Lunar Transportation Department shut down all traffic before they were converted. There are only a few million of them, anyways."]
"Alright. Can we get a status report on the attack on Site-32?"
$col["One moment."]
[[He makes checks with the people on the battlefield.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>$col["All of the bomber fleets have been shot down."]
"How much damage did they receive?"
$col["One section of the building was destroyed. Seems to be the storage sector. The artillery battery was destroyed before they could get a shot out. They had artillery of their own."]
"The tanks?"
$col["Three of the companies in the battalion were destroyed. One was converted. Only one of them made it out, and with heavy losses."]
"And their damage?"
$col["We pierced their makeshift wall, but were destroyed before any damage was done to the main facility."]
"Of course..."
$col["This still proves that we can do damage to them."]
"You're right, but this feels hopeless."
$dir["Don't lose hope, Maxine. The entire world- I mean, almost the entire world is working together to eliminate this threat. You're not alone on this battle."]
"Is Site-19 alright?"
(link-reveal: "The colonel on screen responds.")[==
$usa["Your brigade forced the CoR to split their focus. Orlando is safe for the time being."]
"That's good. Make sure to fortify it. We don't want this happening again."
$usa["I'm giving out the order now. We're keeping our eyes on their activity in Tampa."]
$dir["M-Maxine. We're getting readings from NYC."]
"You can't be serious. Call General Patterson. I outrank him now, yeah?"
$usa["Patterson is a Lieutenant General. The President somehow promoted you to a full General. That usually requires 30 years of service."]
"That's... Weird. Whatever, get him on the line."
$mil["I'm dialing him already."]
$usa["This is General Patterson."]
"General Algori, again. Did you hear about my promotion?"
$usa["Yeah, congratulations on that. I guess you outrank me now."]
"Yeah, thanks. We're getting relic activity in NYC."
$usa["Good God. How should we respond?"]
"Send an entire division into the city. Make sure they can't take the city. Do everything you can."
$usa["I'll do my best."]
The line drops again.
"Colonel, send in a couple battalions of tanks. Make sure they get the support they need."
$col["Affirmative."]
$dir["Ah, I'm hearing that we just... We what? Lost sight of Site-32?"]
"What do you mean you lost sight of it?"
$dir["It hasn't moved, but we can't see that region anymore. Satellite feeds just show a blank spot. Cameras near the area are the same. Apparently we're still reading CoR signals from it. They just suddenly increased in magnitude."]
"Are they cloaking the entire area?"
$dir["That seems to be the case. We can't touch the cameras on site, either. We couldn't see them before, but now they're not even listed."]
$mil["I'll send in a company sized unit to investigate."]
"Go ahead."
$dir["As the director of X-Corp activity in this region, I hereby grant you the authority to do anything you wish in the area."]
"Thank you. I'll use it the best I can."
[[The planning room door opens suddenly.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>Dr. Smith walks through the door with power in his stride.
$xco["General Algori, we've done it! Oh, nice sunglasses."]
"Thanks. So you've finished the signal?"
$xco["Yeah, we're almost ready to deploy it on the CoR."]
"This is great!"
$xco["We've also learned a lot. When we win this war, we'll be able to apply this to so much."]
"What've you learned?"
$xco["Are you familiar with the concepts of the Collective Unconscious and the Noosphere?"]
"No, I don't think so."
$xco["They were postulated ideas, really old, but it turns out that the collective unconscious is real. It's like a giant conceptual structure. It's real, but also conceptual. We still don't really get it, but we've mapped out part of it. It's like a giant structure that makes up the entire concept of humanity. The noosphere is where all of this happens. It's not a physical place."]
"That's really weird. I'm not sure I get it, but that sounds important."
$xco["Trust me, it is. A couple of researchers also partially mapped out the structure of the CoR. We used what they learned to recreate the signal."]
"Did it all go well?"
$xco["Some of the researchers responsible for mapping out the structure just... disappeared. The doors never opened. Some of them felt like they were being watched as they made progress. And we've... We've seen something big. That concept in the CoR. It's way bigger than the entire Collective Unconscious. It makes us look so small. There's something bigger out there that we don't know or understand. And I think that revelation is what overwrites these people's minds."]
"That actually makes a little bit of sense"
$xco["I saw some of it. I- I could do with a hug after that, really. It's scary."]
"Go ahead."
It's a tight hug, but I can tell he needed it.
(link-reveal: "Natalya looks ecstatic.")[==
$dir["This is absolutely wonderful. When will we be able to use it?"]
$xco["Give us a couple hours. We need to fully write out the sequence of ideas here."]
$dir["I'll be waiting for it. Can I promote you any further?"]
$xco["I'm already a Head Researcher."]
$dir["I can raise your pay."]
$xco["Worry about it after we win."]
$dir["Alright."]
"I'll be honest, you might be a better researcher than me, man."
$xco["You're the one who commanded us into a position where it was even possible for us to research it. You also gave us your ideas. Scientists work best in teams."]
"Ah, you're right. Thanks for your work though. We wouldn't be here without it."
$xco["Maybe."]
$mil["General, I'm sorry to break the mood, but ever since my unit walked into the CoR's blank spot, they haven't responded or left."]
"That's strange. You've received no response?"
$mil["We just stopped receiving information the moment they crossed over the border. I don't know what happened."]
"Damn. I'm sorry about that. I guess we should keep units out of the blank zone."
$mil["It's alright. It was only a small team."]
"This is a war that should never have started."
My phone rings. (link-reveal: "I pick it up.")[==
$pre["Hey hey lady, I found your number?"]
"Mr. President, how did you figure out my phone number?"
$pre["i dunno, i just looked around"]
"W-wait, what? How- Are you talking in lowercase?"
$pre["Huh? Oh. Yeah that happens sometimes."]
"Wait, how?"
$pre["I dunno. Anyways, how's your war going? The news is going wild about this shit, man."]
"Ah, I haven't seen the news. What sort of things are happening?"
$pre["Lmao there's like, bombings and shit everywhere. There's also some of the channels that are completely batshit crazy. You should've seen some of it. They start screaming and trying to draw things on paper. I'm pretty sure they just cut them off air after that."]
"So it's on the media, too?"
$pre["Yeah, it's pretty sick."]
"Is that all?"
$pre["You're handling these bad boys pretty well, it's kinda a shame that they keep doing things to get in your way. Good luck out there tho, chief 😎👍."]
"Wait, what the fuck? How the- This isn't a text message??"
$pre["Huh?"]
"How are you using emojis?"
$pre["You can't?"]
"No?"
$pre["Damn, that sucks. You should watch out though, I think these crazy guys are planning something big."]
"Ah, well, thanks."
He ends the call.
"What... The fuck?"
$dir["I really don't know."]
(link-reveal: "Smith's phone starts ringing.")[==
$xco["Yes, who is it? Ah. Yeah, what about them? Wait, you actually caught one of their communications? What'd it say?"]
(link-reveal: "Now he looks a bit worried.")[==
"What did they say?"
$xco["Hold on, let me pull up the image they got. Saying it won't do it justice."]
(link-reveal: "He taps the screen a couple times")[== and hands me the phone. It's a picture of one of the researcher's screens. There's a message displayed, signed by Carter herself.
$nat["The LHE is tomorrow. Prepare yourselves."]
"Wh- What does that mean? What is the 'LHE?' "
$xco["We don't know. But they're planning something big. This is the only message we've managed to read. Everything else is encrypted to hell."]
"That means they wanted us to see it."
$xco["There's nothing good that can come from this."]
"I agree. I need to get some sleep. It's late. But if you catch anything suspicious up there, wake me up immediately."
$col["We'll be watching them."]
$dir["We're tracking relic movement worldwide."]
$usa["Chicago is holding strong. We're still clearing out the mess in Orlando."]
$dir["As site director, anything else is reported to me. We'll warn you."]
"Thank you, everyone. But I actually need to get some sleep."
I give a salute and [[leave the planning room.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>''11 PM, 08/13/2520''
I walk down the hallway and up the stairs to my room. I close the door behind me. The quiet of this room is unnatural, now that I spend so much time with others. This LHE we're hearing about is worrying. The fact that it lines up with the solar eclipse tomorrow doesn't help. I don't actually know what time it happens. I hope it's later in the day. There's something awful about this. I hope Site-19 can defend itself. I hope NYC will stay safe. I hope the CoR won't be able to hold us back.
We're counting too much on hope. I didn't follow my own ideas. I was too busy responding to things as they happened that I forgot to act proactively. Now we're here, half of humanity doesn't even qualify for the species. The concept of humanity itself is fading from reality because something else outside of the Universe deemed it to be so.
(group: "playing", "stop")
Why?
Is there even a reason for it?
I put down my hat and glasses.
Doesn't everything have a reason?
Or is it just too big for us to understand without destroying ourselves?
Isn't that already happening? We've mapped it out, only partially. It represents something that we can't comprehend. They said it made the entire concept of humanity look small in comparison.
It's impossible to comprehend the entire size of humanity. Is there someone out there, above us all, orchestrating this? Is God real? Is this God? Has He forgotten us? Is it bigger than Him?
Why?
There's too much everything to understand.
I crawl into my bed.
Everything makes so much sense and so little all at once.
Or are we just confused over something we don't understand?
What is fate? Is it real? Is everything already decided for us, or are our choices ours to make? Do we want to win? We think we do, but we obviously don't know the entire situation. This is so much bigger than humanity, than the Universe, probably more than that.
This proves Multiverse Theory, doesn't it? We confirmed it being from outside the Universe. Is this the first time this has happened? Are we in a time loop?
It's no use trying to explain this to myself. Sitting here thinking about it probably isn't getting me any closer to the truth.
There's a better world than this out there somewhere.
It takes a long time, but eventually [[I fall asleep.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>''Chapter 7: Totality''
''4 AM, 08/14/2520: Day of the LHE''
(link: "Save")[Saved.(save-game: "file A")]
---
I'm abruptly woken up. I know I had a bad dream, but I can only remember snippets. There were explosions and tears. It wasn't good. The stress is probably getting to me. Looks like I won't be having breakfast today. I really hope the war ends soon.
It's Natalya.
(set: $playing to true)(set: $mood to "worried")
"S-Sonya. You can stop shaking me, I'm awake. What now?"
$dir["The Lunar fleet is moving."]
"Oh, God."
I'm wide awake now.
"They're headed to Earth, aren't they?"
$dir["Yes."]
I put on my hat and sunglasses.
"Let's get moving. We need to deal with this."
(link-reveal: "We start walking down the hallway")[==
"What else have I missed?"
$dir["Ah, despite your soldiers' best efforts, we lost Orlando. They keep pushing farther south towards Site-19."]
"That's not good. What about our units north of them?"
$dir["I don't know, the other officers do, though."]
"Anything new on the satellite defense network?"
$dir["We couldn't hold them off. They're flying with synchronization we've never seen before. Only a few hundred satellites are left."]
"Communications?"
$dir["There are a few sites still standing. Us, Site-19... And then there's... Oh my. I think that's it. We've got most of the worldwide satellite network, the only problem is that they're hacking every single one."]
"So we're losing that too?"
$dir["Our vision gets smaller every day."]
"What about the blank spot where Site-32 should be?"
$dir["It's expanded by a few hundred feet."]
"This is bad."
$dir["I know."]
[[We both walk into the planning room.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>Two of the majors are missing, this time. It's just the infantry and air major. The colonel is here, though.
$col["Welcome back, General Algori."]
"What's the news?"
$col["CoR forces have knocked out our assaults in Florida. Orlando is completely lost. We're still maintaining communications with Site-19, but we know they're rapidly approaching the site. We don't know what the Administrator is planning."]
"What happened to Chicago?"
$usa["A huge coordinated group of them pierced right through the southern wall. It's like a worse blitzkrieg. We're losing the city as we speak. There's only a few hundred of us left. There's nothing we can do."]
"I'm so sorry."
$usa["We will not fall in vain. We fought valiantly, but we were overrun in the end. Half of the city is rigged to explode already. We expected it, anyways."]
"Wait, you can't be serious. You're not going to-"
$usa["The vote was unanimous. We won't let them take any more of us."]
"Major, you don't have to-"
(link-reveal: "I'm cut off")[== by the sound of dozens of explosions, each closer than the last. I'm not able to finish my sentence by the time the feed cuts off. He's gone.
$dir["I'm sorry, Maxine."]
"At least they went out on their own word... Anything new in NYC?"
$col["CoR is pushing into the city. The northern border was pierced in multiple locations. We're holding them off to the best of our ability."]
"Any news on General Patterson?"
$col["He is MIA."]
"Is there any good news today?"
$dir["Oh shit, the director of Site-19 just told me... They lost contact with the White House? No..."]
"It just keeps getting worse..."
(link-reveal: "My phone starts ringing.")[==
"General Algo-"
$pre["Man, they are right at the fucking front door. I told you this was some movie shit, girl."]
"I- Mr. President? You're safe!?"
$pre["Nah dude, I am //completely// fucked. All the agents are dead. Except like, two, I think. I think they're trying to take out the front door."]
"Wait, Mr. President, you need to get out of there!"
$pre["That ain't possible lmao. Completely surrounded right the fuck around."]
"I-"
$pre["Man, the guards still alive aren't even shooting at 'em. This is fucking hilarious, man. Oh shit, someone just kicked down my door."]
I can hear someone yell something in the background. $cit["We've got you now!"]
"I'm so sorry, Mr. President."
$pre["Don't be, lady. Holy shit this is based. This is so-"]
(link-reveal: "There's an explosion.")[== The line cuts out.
"I think he... died."
$dir["Just like that?"]
"There was an explosion, and he just... The line cut. I want to hope he's okay, but..."
$dir["At least he made it this far..."]
I think she's trying to hide it, but this one struck deep. It hurts me, too.
$col["I've lost contact with the Martian colonies?"]
"The CoR is there too?"
$col["No, but we can't get any signals to or from them."]
"How many fighters are in the Lunar fleet?"
$dir["Seven thousand. We're still losing access to the normal satellites."]
$col["Satellites just caught something over Site-32."]
"Put the feed on screen."
$col["Yeah."]
(link-reveal: "He presses a button and the footage appears on screen.")[== There seems to be smoke leaving the blank spot. This is the first time we've seen something come out of it. Suddenly, a rocket emerges from the area.
"W- A rocket? Can we shoot it down?"
$col["We don't have any units in the region."]
"Can we use the defense satellites?"
$col["The few that are left aren't on the right side of the planet."]
"That- That's got to be Sam."
$col["The rocket is already at 30,000 feet."]
"Keep watching it. I want to see where it goes."
$col["I can't say how long we'll have access to this."]
Right after he says it, the feed cuts out.
$col["There it goes."]
"Find another point to watch it."
We continue to watch the rocket enter space on a nearby communications satellite feed. Once it enters orbit, (link-reveal: "Sonya seems surprised.")[==
$dir["Ah! They're- The (color: blue)[''Relegator''] is warping!"]
The ship suddenly appears before the rocket, right as the final stage breaks off the rocket.
The capsule starts floating off. Nat maneuvers the ship into a different spot. We watch as the right-side cargo bay opens. The capsule drifts in and the door closes.
She warps away immediately after. The feed cuts out again.
"So they've regrouped. They're preparing something."
$dir["The LHE?"]
"That's gotta be it. What does it even mean?"
$dir["I think... The L is for Lunar."]
"Maybe. I don't suppose we could fire every nuke on their cities?"
$dir["Even if they hadn't blocked our access to them, I don't believe we could even get the launch signal out."]
"Shit."
[[Smith opens the door.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>$xco["Max! Max. It's ready. We can deploy the signal. I've given the data to Site-19. We're set! We could fix this!"]
"Give out the order! Broadcast this thing everywhere we can!"
$xco["Yeah, right here!"]
(set: $mood to "happy")
(link-reveal: "He presses a red button on some device in his hand.")[==
Nothing happens.
"Is... Is that it?"
He gives a sheepish grin.
$xco["I mean, it's a signal. You can't really see it."]
Everyone in the room laughs a little. I think we needed that.
Sonya smiles before she continues.
$dir["Alright, back to the matter at hand."]
$col["We're watching the cameras now."]
"What time is it?"
$dir["9 AM. Actually, that means about an hour until the eclipse."]
"I... Is it too early to say this? We're winning, right?"
$col["I think so."]
We all watch the insurgents fighting in NYC. Most of them suddenly stop fighting. Others collapse, but the war seems to have stopped. It still takes some effort to not think about how many awful things have happened in the past week.
"Status at Site-19?"
$dir["They're... Reporting the same things."]
"I think we've got this?"
$dir["I do too."]
Some of the military commanders on the non-blank screens start clapping. Sonya runs up and gives me a hug, knocking my hat to the floor.
"Alright, we can't celebrate this early, we haven't gotten a message of surrender yet."
$dir["Hm. Alright. Let's go outside to see the eclipse."]
"Yeah."
We all get up and leave the planning room. [[We make our way up to the surface.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>"You know, I miss everyone we've lost. I'm genuinely sorry for everyone we've lost because of my mistakes."
$dir["Oh, shut up. Nobody else would've done better. Everyone still here is grateful for your efforts."]
"We're broadcasting from the satellites too, yeah?"
$dir["Yeah."]
(group: "playing", "stop")
(link-reveal: "We step out into the daylight.")[==
"You know, I just realized how long it's been since I've actually seen the sunlight."
$col["Don't get used to it, you can see the Moon catching up with the Sun there."]
"Yeah. It'll be pretty, right?"
$dir["This one won't be a total solar eclipse. It's actually an annular one."]
"Ah, you're right. I used to have eclipses memorized. Personally, I think the ring of fire is prettier than the corona."
$dir["I like how it gets dark when the Sun is completely blot out."]
$col["It's like a miracle, how everything lines up just the way it does."]
"Yeah."
$dir["It seems fitting that this is the way we conclude the war."]
[[The Moon begins to occlude the daylight.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>Right as the Moon begins to overlap the Sun, Sonya's phone starts ringing.
"Who is it?"
She holds up her finger. Guess I'll find out in a moment.
My phone buzzes, too. I pull it out.
(link-reveal: "I got a message.")[==
It's from...
(track: "moonlightdescent", "play")
Nat.
(set: $mood to "scared")
$nat["You may think you have bested us with your new toys.
You will soon come to realize your faults.
The trump card is always a bad move.
Feel your weak hearts waver as you observe the Lunar Halving Event.
Sincerely, High Priestess Carter"]
[[Sonya isn't smiling anymore.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>$dir["Um... Maxine? We're reading massive movement from the Lunar surface."]
"About that. You might want to take a look at this."
She reads through the message.
$dir["No... They- They can't. What do they have now?"]
We look up at the Moon. It's easy to see the ring of fire from here. A bright streak goes from the top to the bottom of the surface.
$dir["They just detonated several thousand nuclear warheads vertically across the surface. What the fuck are they planning?"]
The bright streak suddenly returns. This time it's sunlight that comes through.
The Moon is... Splitting.
I step back under the building's shadow. I drag Natalya with me.
"I have... A really bad feeling about this."
Bright blue light begins to shine down onto Earth.
$col["Broadcast towers have just gone out!"]
As the light shines down, the people standing outside watching the spectacle suddenly start... Convulsing. Some of them just collapse immediately. What the fuck.
I grab Sonya by the arm and start running inside.
"This is bad. We need to fucking hide."
$dir["My office."]
She takes the lead. We go down towards the administration section. First basement level. We're practically sprinting. I think my sunglasses fell off somewhere in the middle of it.
[[We run into her office.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>She sits down in her chair. She's breathing really fast.
(set: $mood to "over")
$dir["This is... No... They can't..."]
"N-Natalya, calm down."
She starts pulling up camera feeds. Telescopes show the Moon splitting in half. The light coming through the split is a vibrant blue. On the ground, dozens of people are getting back up. We still can't contact any other site.
On another feed, a massive explosion is visible in the distance. That's northern NYC.
$dir["Th- That. They blew up the city."]
More explosions appear.
"P- Pull up the other feeds. Can we see anything from orbit?"
$dir["No... They've locked us out of everything. B- But... They can't... We were- We- We did it..."]
She starts crying. The battalions we sent out towards NYC - The ones that survived the explosions. - They're headed towards us. Everyone else at the site here just collapsed. They haven't gotten back up.
"W-wait. Smith was there- He watched it."
$dir["Why..."]
"I'm sorry."
$dir["I- I- It's not your fault. They cheated. Th- There's no other way."]
[[I look at the screen.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>It's a message from Nat. Again.
(group: "playing", "stop")(track: "warukunai", "play")
$nat["Leaving us behind was a mistake, Max.
Dreams and ambition get you nowhere in the face of fate.
You have evaded the truth.
The last thing you count on is something you yourself do not understand.
Komm, süßer Tod.
Sincerely, High Priestess Carter."]
Every step of the way, she was ahead.
[[It's all over, isn't it?]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>Site-03 Director Natalya Gabrilovna Sonya is huddled in the corner, sniffling and sobbing. She can hardly even say anything coherent anymore.
My head is spinning.
"No, no, no... They've locked us out of everything... I... I can't do anything."
(link-reveal: "I look up at the camera feeds.")[== They start blinking out, one by one. Our vision is quickly reduced to nothing but the on-site cameras.
The minds of billions of people were annihilated today.
Our entire defense network is disintegrating in front of us. All systems are disconnecting.
(link-reveal: "The lights flicker for a moment.")[== Then they turn off. For good. The power grid is down.
(link-reveal: "The on-site backup generators kick in.")[== The cameras are still running.
Are we the last ones left?
"I'm so sorry, Natalya. I tried. I really did."
$dir["I- Is this it? Are w- we... Done for?"]
"What else can we do?"
(link-reveal: "Explosions shake the structure above us.")[== Even the on-site camera feeds are winking out of existence, too. The site is collapsing.
This isn't what I meant when I said I wanted the war to end.
The world didn't have to go with it.
$dir["T- they won't k-kill us, w-will they? I-I-It's worse, isn't it?"]
(link-reveal: "I open a desk drawer.")[== There's a handgun inside. It's fully loaded.
I take a deep breath.
"Maybe we can still escape, if not with our lives."
Through her tears, she responds.
$dir["M-Max... G- Give it to me."]
---
(link-reveal: "**The End**")[
(transition: "dissolve")+(transition-time: 16000)[\
(font: "Verdana")[\
(color: green)[\
(css: "font-size: 175%;")[\
''ACROSS THE STARS'']
''TO THE EDGE OF AN INFINITE HORIZON'']]
Ending 37: Paragon Nix
(color: red)["You did what you could, Max."]
(link: "Go.")[(reload:)]
Digit 37: 3
]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>Ah! Mission Control conn- What?
Someone connected, but... It's not Mission Control? Isn't this a private like? How did-
(link-reveal: "They start singing.")[==
(group: "playing", "stop")(track: "baka", "play")
This song seems familiar. I- What the fuck?
The controls just locked themselves up. I can't do anything.
Suddenly, the pod redirects itself away from Earth.
We're headed straight towards the Sun. Except... That's eight light-minutes away. It'd take forever. What the fuck is this?
I refuse to listen to this song on loop for years until I hit the Sun. I'd starve to death first. What the fuck.
The doors are locked until the pod stops moving. I can't break the windows, they're made to survive re-entry.
This- You've got to be kidding me.
(link-reveal: "I turn around.")[== There's a panel next to the door. I open it up. There's a box inside. It's labelled.
P Lotte Company.
D3V1C3 Model.
You've got to be kidding me. Is that what this is? A shitty pun? Fuck you.
I punch the shit out of the box. Fuck you.
Wait- It just sparked. That can't be-
Why is it so bright?
I look towards the front window. The Sun is rapidly approaching.
(color: purple)["Bruh."]
---
(link-reveal: "**The End**")[
(transition: "dissolve")+(transition-time: 8000)[\
(font: "Verdana")[\
(color: green)[\
(css: "font-size: 175%;")[\
''TOWARDS THE SUN'']
''TO THE EDGE OF A VISIBLE HORIZON'']]
Secret Ending 1: Baka
(color: red)["It means idiot, Max."]
(link: "Go.")[(reload:)]
Digit: No digit, fuck you.
]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>The artifact is sitting there on the cart-table thing in the middle of the room. Come to think of it, I still have no idea what they call those. There's got to be a name for it, though.
Islands? I'm not a fucking kitchen enthusiast.
(set: $mood to "affected")
Whatever. I look up at the artifact. It'd probably be pretty sleek if not for the fact that it looks at least a little bit broken. There are a couple chunks of it on the table. I wonder if it's fragile?
You'd think it wouldn't be, given that it was just floating around in space exposed to the elements like that. There are golden etchings across the shiny black front of the object. It looks like some sort of bootleg Chinese writing, yeah?
Somehow or another, it's a bit enticing to work on it. It's probably just the fact that I'm a natural at astronomy and research regarding it. Sharing the results is always the best part. //Especially// when you get to prove the standard model wrong.
I wonder how old this thing is. It's not really easy to tell how old it is, since it's really just a rock made of whatever material. It looks sort of like black granite mixed with obsidian.
I wonder what it ta-
No, I don't.
There are so many ways to approach this. I could try and carbon date it, or try and place a sample of it under an electron microscope, or try and test its durability, or test its other rock properties. Maybe I could even try and figure out how to translate whatever text is written on the front, assuming it's actually text.
There's really something about researching a relic like this. I've trained for this a few times, but in the end, nothing beats the real thing. I wonder what the symbols on the front mean, though... They almost look familiar, honestly.
[[I'm suddenly interrupted.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>Tch, I don't think so.
I dash forward with a graceful start. Nat fires three shots. I dodge each one like I've been doing it for years. This is the first time I've ever had a gun pointed at me.
Right as I approach Nat, she has the gun aimed directly at my face. I land a square punch right in the center of her face. She flies backwards, dropping the gun in the process.
I catch it mid-fall.
"I am thou,
thou art I.
I shall grant you the wings to fly beyond these hardships.
Now soar, (color: purple)[Maxine Algori],
with me, Icarus, as your wings."
I point the gun to the side of my head.
"Persona!"
**BANG**
It all goes black.
(color: purple)["Ah, wait. This is the wrong Universe for that, isn't it?"]
---
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''ACROSS THE PERSONA'']
''GET FUCKED BY SOCIETY'']]
Secret Ending 2: PERSONA!
(color: red)["You're a fucking weeb, Max."]
(link: "Go.")[(reload:)]
Digit: YOU FUCKING WEEB, THAT'S A GUN. WHAT DID YOU THINK WOULD HAPPEN?
]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>I press it. What's the worst that could happen?
Suddenly, a gash in space itself appears right in front of the ship. I- What?
There are two ribbons on the ends of it. It's full of... Eyes?
There's a light in the center of it. I can hear a train horn. I shouldn't even be able to, there's no air out there.
The light is getting brighter.
Wait. That's a passenger train.
Headed straight for us.
What the fuck.
(color: purple)["Should've dodged it."]
---
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''INTO THE TRAIN'']
''THAT'S IT'']]
Secret Ending 3: Unmanned Abandoned Railroad Car Bomb
(color: red)["You were even playing on easy, Max."]
(link: "Go.")[(reload:)]
Digit: Eeeh? Easy modo? How lame! Only kids play in easy mode!! Kyahahahaha!!
]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>''Chapter 2: Checkup''
(link: "Save")[Saved.(save-game: "file A")]
---
$nat["Max? Are you there?"]
I blink a few times.
(set: $mood to "fine")
"Huh? Oh. Yeah, why?"
$sam["You were just standing there doing nothing."]
$nat["I had to call your name a few times before you even responded."]
"That's weird... I was going to start doing my research... But I guess I lost my train of thought?"
$nat["Oh, really? Most people not get so easily distracted and stand th-"]
"Okay, I also don't really know what just happened to me. Pretty sure I got carried away by something the artifact was doing. You know I wouldn't pull something like this as some stunt."
$sam["I mean, I guess. We should probably go ahead and finish everything. Like the carbon dating. But keep an eye on each other, so we don't run into more bullshit?"]
"Well, if the rock can do weird stuff like that to us, that's probably our best choice."
Nat glances over at the relic.
$nat["Personally, I think you should avoid working on that for the rest of the day."]
"That's fair."
I mean, I guess it's an excuse to rest. I do feel a bit tired. I have been yawning a lot since they caught me.
$nat["Sam, can you take the sample of the relic? Place it in the carbon dating machine."]
$sam["Even though it affected her?"]
$nat["We are not fully sure that was the cause. The two of us are watching you just to be safe, anyways."]
$sam["Alright, if you say so."]
[[Sam walks up to the relic.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>Y'know, Sam's breakfast actually looks pretty good. I wonder if he'd let me try some.
"Can I try some of your food?"
$sam["Heh, only a spoonful, Max."]
(link-reveal: "He thinks he's smart.")[== That he'd get away with something like that. Little does he fucking know.
I reach into my lab coat.
(link-reveal: "From within")[==, I pull out a spoon. A comically large spoon, to be specific.
$sam["Wh- My God."]
"I have my spoon. Fill it up. Give me the food, Sam."
An audible *pop* sounds from the back of the ship.
It seems that the artifact has disappeared from reality.
Huh.
In the end, I enjoyed the food.
(color: purple)[It was good.]
---
(link-reveal: "**The End**")[
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''ACROSS THE KITCHEN'']
''TO THE EDGE OF AN INFINITE SPOON'']]
Secret Ending 4: Comical
(color: red)["You're not even making sense, Max."]
(link: "Go.")[(reload:)]
Digit: You expect me to believe that this //spoon// counts as a //bowl?// Utterly preposterous, if you ask me.
]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>We only really need a small piece of it for a sample. Sam grabs a hammer and chisel and goes to strike it. He hits it with all his might, a great pound. Except nothing happens. We're all a little surprised.
$sam["Strong rock. Guess I'll just use one of the pieces already here."]
He picks one of the pieces up and turns around. Except he's walking pretty slowly. Seems a bit fixated. Nat gives him about five seconds.
$nat["That is a rock, Sam. You do not have to be that careful with it. It will not break while carried halfway across the laboratory."]
$sam["Huh?"]
He looks down at the piece of the artifact.
$sam["Oh shit. I guess this thing actually does affect people."]
"He's feeling it too."
$nat["Tch. We should be more careful working around it in the future, then. We do not know its origin and it is still emitting radio waves."]
Sam puts the piece inside of the machine we use for carbon dating.
$sam["That's it."]
$nat["About how long will it take?"]
$sam["I'd say somewhere about 10 minutes before we get a good reading."]
[[We sit back and wait.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>$nat["Actually, we may be better off waiting outside the lab until the machine finishes."]
$sam["So now we're coming up with good ideas."]
$nat["Oh, how nice of you."]
The three of us step out of the room, waiting for the ding from the machine. I wonder why the relic affected me that way, though... It's so weird that it just distracted me from the actual task at hand. It might be something I have to sleep on just to make sense of.
$nat["I think we have enough information to check in with Mission Control for the day."]
$sam["Huh, forgot about that. Guess that's fair with our situation."]
To think that we found an ancient piece of some ancient civilization some 20-odd thousand lightyears from Earth. I wonder what reason it would have to affect our minds in this way... It's almost enticing to research it, and to share what we know with everyone. A global effort to understand our new gift...
Gift? No, no. It's just a rock.
$nat["Max? Are you alright? You have yet to say anything since we left the lab room. Research cannot progress without you, you know."]
"Huh? Oh... Yeah, I'm fine. I think I need a nap, though."
$nat["Alright. We can submit our daily report and then let you get the rest you need."]
$sam["Remember the carbon dating, though."]
$nat["Ah, well, you can go on a bit longer, yes?"]
"I think so."
$nat["That's good."]
The three of us enter the [[control room.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>Natalie takes the captain's chair and boots up the central control panel. She's a bit sluggish, though. The stars are pretty, at least. Kind of like the shiny black material that makes up the relic. The entire idea of it is interesting.
$nat["I will point the ship towards Earth in the case they let us go home."]
The view in front of the ship begins to pan back towards the Milky Way. There are hundreds of billions of stars. Any of them could have life on them, ready to learn about the relic.
$sam["Y'think we should tell Mission Control about the effects we've seen?"]
$nat["Should we not tell them everything?"]
Ah, that's an interesting point. I didn't think of it before. Even still, Mission Control and the rest of the team down on Earth hasn't exactly been very happy to share their plans with us. Maybe we could learn their tactics and use it against them, yeah?
But even given that, they could realize we're up to something and getting on their bad side would be an awful mistake. It'd stop the mission in its tracks. They're really the ones with all the power here, if only for the time being. Although, we might not need to land where they want us...
This is weird, though.
[[I don't think we should tell them.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>"Y-You know, this probably sounds weird, but I don't think we should tell Mission Control. We're not sure what exactly happens yet."
$sam["It could still be dangerous though."]
$nat["Is that not my decision?"]
"Mission Control hasn't actually told us everything, either. All we know about it is the radio signals and that it made me tired."
$nat["That is what the sort of anomaly they want to see."]
"It could still be a coincidence. We want to be sure-"
$sam["I highly doubt that was any sorta coincidence."]
"-//Completely// sure it's not just something weird."
$nat["Alright. I guess we can avoid telling them anything that might be overly suspicious. Just the basic information is all they need at the moment, anyways. Sorry, Sam."]
$sam["Well, if you say so."]
$nat["I will get the recording running soon, get into your spots."]
[[The two of us get into position.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>The little camera light turns on. The control panel screen also says we're on camera. Nat starts talking first, like usual.
$nat["Hello! This is Captain Carter of the (color: blue)[''Relegator''], it is day 127, Friday, of our voyage to discover the signal source at the edge of the galaxy. We have some research for the relic done already, and discovered that it exhibits many strange properties not yet observed in standard matter. I will have Research Head (color: purple)[Algori] explain what we have learned from the artifact so far."]
"Alright. We learned that the artifact is really durable. Based on our assumptions, it's probably incredibly old and made by another civilization. We still have to confirm that with the machines, though. We still don't know what the symbols on the front mean."
$nat["Alright, Engineer Ollens, for the systems?"]
$sam["Upon my manual inspection of all of our core systems and other important machines, everything looks about nominal."]
$nat["As far as I am concerned, that is everything new that has happened since yesterday. (color: blue)[''Relegator''] crew signing off for the day."]
The camera light turns back off, and the recording begins to send itself to Mission Control. I wonder if they'll notice that I was a bit more tired than usual. I guess it could be okay, given that I'm just a researcher and I'd be prone to being tired. It just seems to strain me a lot to work as usual for the time being.
"Is that all? I think the carbon dating is done by now."
$nat["It should be. We should check on it."]
[[We leave the control room.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>The three of us walk back down the hallway towards lab 2. It would be nice if they placed the labs closer to the front of the ship. It would make managing our resources a little bit easier. I guess it could be a safety issue, and it's too late to change that anyways, yeah?
Nat opens the door next to the lab, so that we could work with the relic remotely. Sam's the best at working with the remote machines, so we let him do the work for us.
I still think it's interesting that this relic can produce radio signals and make us all sleepy.
(link-reveal: "Sam has the results on screen.")[==
$sam["Well, it seems like the rock was artificial."]
$nat["So we are not alone in the Universe?"]
$sam["Maybe, but we'd have to be here 18 billion years ago."]
$nat["I- What? Are you sure that number is correct?"]
$sam["Yeah, it's really old."]
$nat["The Universe is only roughly 13.7 billion years old, no?"]
Yeah, that's actually kind of shocking. This might be some sort of amazing revelation for humanity. Technically speaking, this shouldn't be able to exist.
I'm glad it does, though.
$nat["Put it into an electron microscope. I want to see the structure of it."]
$sam["Yeah, give me a moment."]
$nat["My, that is very weird. Are you sure these are accurate results?"]
$sam["They've gotta be. This is super high grade tech we're running."]
I'm curious, too. [[I look at the results]] with them.<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>Well, they were right. This is pretty weird. We can't see any atoms making it up. It's just one solid block of material. The only actual atoms visible on it are the ones that ended up because of us or whatever civilization made it. Other than that, it's completely solid.
"It's just solid?"
$sam["Sure looks like it."]
$nat["And you are completely sure these machines are working right?"]
$sam["Yeah, I double checked it all yesterday. No other signals except the radio waves. Actually, what are the radio waves?"]
$nat["We already decoded the messages before the mission. Apparently they are giving out a standard ping looking for something to make contact with. We do not know if that something is us or some other remnant."]
$sam["You try scanning the area for anything new?"]
$nat["Yes, earlier today. Nothing related to this relic is anywhere in the area. Something else to consider is that fourteen or so billion years is a long time to drift away from wherever you came from."]
$sam["Oh, yeah."]
"That's good progress for now, yeah? I want to sleep. What time is it?"
$nat["It is (current-time:). Goodnight, Max."]
$sam["Night, Max."]
[[I leave the lab]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>Right before I leave the door, Nat's wristwatch lets out a small *ding*. She glances at it.
$nat["Oh, good news. Mission Control gave us permission to start warping back home. I will warm up the Alcubierres. It should take us about 48 hours to get home."]
Lovely.
[[I head down the hall towards my dorm.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>I walk back down the hallway. I open up the door and step in. Terminal is already on, waiting for me. I wonder if I forgot to turn the screen off when I left this morning. Well, that would make sense, wouldn't it?
$ter["Welcome back, Miss (color: purple)[Algori], sleep well."]
"Mm. Thanks, Terminal."
Guess I was wrong.
(link-reveal: "I crawl into my bed.")[==
I fall asleep nearly [[instantly.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>''Chapter 3: Dreamer''
(link: "Save")[Saved.(save-game: "file A")]
---
I sit atop the captain's chair in the control room of the (color: blue)[''Relegator'']. Earth is directly in front of the ship. A series of orbital defense satellites float by.
What a lovely observation post, yeah?
(set: $mood to "affected")
I walk down towards the laboratory section of the ship. I enter Lab-02, where the relic is stored. Standing in front of it, it's pretty easy to see how big it is. An entire meter of super durable rock. The writing on the front of the relic isn't English, but somehow I can understand part of what it says. It's very enticing.
(group: "playing", "stop")
Should I try and translate it, though? I want to, but something in the back of my head says I shouldn't...
[[Translate it.]]
[[Avoid it.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>Honestly, why hadn't I done this before? I walk over to the counter and grab a pen and paper. I get down on the floor and start looking up at the relic for reference. Translating this is easy when you already know the language.
I'm not sure how I know the language, but it's like I've always known it. Something that was always there but I had never known.
That's the Truth, isn't it? It's very similar to English, but all of the characters are different. This language is pure.
By the time I finish my first page, I'm [[interrupted by-]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>Hmmmm. I don't want to translate it. Not now. Maybe later.
But I'd love to. You know, this thing is actually kind of comforting to be around. I think of things I never would've thought of before, like how much the world needs to change. How much the Universe needs to change. How much //better// everything could be.
Something is telling me to hold off on it for a moment.
(link-reveal: "It's like trying to resist something that I shouldn't. ")[==
Something I don't want to.
My legs give out.
[[I pass out.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>$nat["Max? Are you awake, Max?"]
"Eeh? Huh? Where am I?"
$nat["You were on the floor when I came up to the lab. Terminal told me you were awake."]
"Oh. That's nice. Why am I on the floor in front of the relic?"
$nat["That should be my question. You walked over here and just collapsed."]
"You know, I feel a lot better than yesterday. Or... Earlier today? I'm not sure. It's still night, isn't it?"
$nat["Yes."]
"Actually, scratch that. I'm going back to sleep, yeah?"
$nat["Wait, right now?"]
"Yeah."
$nat["Wa-"]
[[I fall back asleep.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>I wake up. Really really slowly. My entire body feels like lead. I can still move, but everything feels awful. Can't believe I slept that badly. That dream was weird. I don't remember everything about it.
(set: $mood to "tired")
$ter["Good morning, miss (color: purple)[Algori]. The others are in the cafeteria.]
"Mm."
I groggily walk over to the door and open it. I step outside and head towards the cafeteria. I think. It's a bit of a struggle to keep my eyes open. Eventually I walk into the cafeteria.
$sam["Hey Max."]
$nat["Good morning."]
"Hi."
$sam["You look good without your coat on."]
"Huh? Oh. Thanks."
I look down. Oh, guess I forgot to put on my lab coat.
Too tired. I don't care.
$nat["Shut up, Sam."]
They've both already finished their breakfast.
$nat["Did you get //any// sleep last night?"]
"I think?"
$nat["You need to take more care of yourself."]
I yawn. "Yeah, probably."
Standing here is like trying to fight sleep if I haven't had any in a week. Nat gets up and grabs a tray of something.
$nat["Honestly, I expected you to come in here like this. I got your food for you."]
"Thanks."
I start eating.
$nat["Are you sure you can get any research done today?"]
"On the thingy?"
$nat["Yes."]
"No~, I don't like it. It makes my head feel funny."
$nat["Are you joking?"]
"No it really does. I feel all icky."
$sam["I guess I could try and do the research."]
$nat["What do you mean?"]
$sam["We still don't know what the weird symbols on the front mean. They're probably words, honestly."]
$nat["You want to translate an alien language by yourself?"]
$sam["You're not gonna help?"]
$nat["I think I should, just to keep you from doing anything too stupid."]
$sam["Something stupid? Oh, I'd //never//."]
$nat["Sure you would."]
$sam["Can we head there now?"]
$nat["Sure. Finish your breakfast, Max. We will be back shortly. Probably."]
"Mm."
[[Both of them leave the room.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>I get about halfway through the meal before I decide that falling asleep with my face on the table is a better solution to my situation.
[[I'm woken up by Nat.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>$nat["You fell asleep again, Max. You didn't even finish your food."]
"How long?"
$nat["I would say about six hours. Sam is not a good translator."]
$sam["You wish. Hey Max, did you know when you sleep like that, you l-"]
$nat["Can you not take advantage of your friends when they are messed up like this?"]
$sam["Alright."]
$nat["Get up, Max. We need to submit our report. I can tell you what you need to say."]
"Okay."
I reluctantly get up from my makeshift cafeteria bed and follow Nat down the short hallway towards the control room.
[[She brings us in.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>It takes a little bit of effort to keep standing while she sets everything up. She presses a few buttons and a couple lights turn on. She starts talking.
Oh, wait. To me.
$nat["Firstly, you should tell them that we determined a complete lack of atomic structure, then move on to the carbon dating placing the artifact as four billion years older than the Universe."]
"Okay."
Makes sense. I wonder if I can keep up with it.
She presses another button and starts talking again.
$nat["Hello! This is Captain Carter of the (color: blue)[''Relegator''], it is day 128, Saturday, of our voyage to discover the signal source at the edge of the galaxy. We have continued our research from yesterday, and discovered more interesting properties. Research Head (color: purple)[Algori] can specify what they are."]
"Alright. Today we learned that the relic doesn't have any atoms when you look at it under a microscope. The other weird thing we know is that when we carbon dated it, it was about 18 billion years old. Older than the entire Universe. We still haven't translated the front text or anything, though."
$nat["Alright. Engineer Ollens, for the systems?"]
$sam["Upon my manual inspection of all of our machines and core systems, everything is still just as nominal as it was yesterday."]
$nat["As far as I am concerned, that should be all of our new information since yesterday. (color: blue)[''Relegator''] crew signing off for the day."]
She presses more buttons. I think the camera turned off. She's probably sending the recording to Mission Control.
$nat["That should be everything for the day. You can rest if you want now, Max."]
"Yeah. Goodnight."
$nat["Goodnight, Max."]
$sam["Night."]
[[I leave the room and head to my dorm.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>''Chapter 4: Rebound''
(link: "Save")[Saved.(save-game: "file A")]
---
I crawl into my bed and almost immediately fall asleep.
[[A dreamless, empty night.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>I wake up again. Fairly slowly. I feel a bit less tired than yesterday, though. I can't believe I missed so much stuff that was happening right in front of me. Completely lost in my thoughts, yeah? Still feels like I have a headache.
It's really tempting to go straight to the lab and start trying to translate it or whatever, but that's the problem. It's probably best not to go near it. Otherwise I'd probably end up even worse.
Seems like Earth is visible from the window now. It's still pretty like it was 128 days ago. Something about it just seems dirty though. Reminds me of how impure some of the people down there are.
(link-reveal: "Terminal hasn't greeted me yet.")[== Actually, I don't think he said anything when I went to bed last night either. I know he's online. Maybe he forgot to, or something. I wonder if computers forget like we do.
I step out of my room. This time //with// my coat on. To be fair, I don't need it, but it looks a bit more professional that way. It's also probably part of some uniform that I don't know about.
(link-reveal: "I head towards the cafeteria.")[== Except, there's a loud explosion coming from the back of the ship. I turn around just in time to see one of the blast doors shut, sealing off the destroyed area.
Actually, that was roughly where the relic was being stored. Huh. The alarms are going off, too.
I look back to see Nat running out of the cafeteria. She's alarmed. I think I should be too, we just got shot by once of the defense satellites.
(set: $mood to "scared")
HOLD ON A FUCKING MINUTE.
We just got shot by one of X-Corp's defense satellites. That's... Us.
Another explosion rumbles the entire ship as, presumably, the entire control room is blown out of existence. Yeah, this is bad.
$nat["Max! Hurry! To the escape pods!"]
Sam rushes out of the cafeteria too, running towards the bay. Yeah, I should run. We all climb into one of the pods together.
[[Nat presses the launch button.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>The door shuts, and the pod begins to slide out of the door. These things don't launch very quickly, do they?
Obviously not, since the entire escape pod bay is destroyed with a third shot.
---
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''ACROSS THE STARS'']
''TO THE EDGE OF AN INFINITE HORIZON'']]
Ending 38: Resistance is Futile
(color: red)["At least you tried to stay away from it, Max."]
(link: "Go.")[(reload:)]
Digit 38: 3
]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>$nat["Max? Hello?"]
I stop writing. She grabs my shoulder.
(set: $mood to "fine")
$nat["What are you doing?"]
She spins me around.
I get a weird rush as the reality of my entire situation hits me. My eyes take a second to focus properly. There's no way we could be in Earth orbit already. I look back at the relic. Nothing written there makes any sense to me.
What?
"I was doing the... The thing again, wasn't I?"
$nat["Did you ever go to bed?"]
"Yeah, but... I woke up and we were next to Earth already. I went to finish the research on the relic. I guess it was real. At least a little."
My head feels a lot clearer than it ever has since we even got the relic on board.
$nat["Max, did you at any point consider to call the rest of us to help you do the research so that something like this did not happen again?"]
"If I'm being honest, that thought did not cross my mind at any one point. I'm pretty sure everything up until that was some sort of weird dream."
Nat gets down and starts looking at the page I had written.
$nat["Wait, is this an actual translation?"]
"I don't know, I can't really remember what happened."
$nat["The same symbols are written on here and on the artifact. They are really strange though, right Max?"]
"You know, I did wake up in the middle of the night. I don't think I got enough sleep."
$nat["We can worry about that af-"]
I don't hear the rest of it. [[I pass out immediately.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>I wake up again. Pretty quickly this time. That's better. Things are closer to how they should be. Although there is still so much work to do, yeah? I get up and look over at my desk. There's nothing there. Did she take my work? I hope she realizes I hadn't finished that.
Well, it's probably fine. She'll know why I need it in due time anyways, yeah?
(set: $mood to "converted")
$ter["Good morning, Miss (color: purple)[Algori]. I hope you slept well, the others are in the cafeteria."]
"Ah, thanks. I'll probably use the restroom first, though."
I leave my dorm and head towards the bathrooms. I need to make up a plan without him watching. I know Terminal can't see into the restrooms or maintenance section. Sam told me that. Well, except for the server room. It makes sense that you'd be able to watch your own back.
If I take too long here though, he'll notice. It's almost suspicious how he's been oddly quiet to me since we got the relic on board the ship. I know Nat is fairly smart. Could she be working with Terminal in order to stop me?
It's only natural that people would be scared of the Truth at first. She'll learn. There is something I can do about it, though.
I could go and take Terminal out now, so that she has nobody to rely on. Although the issue with that is that Nat might notice, and then connect the dots. I could also wait until the end of the day, but that also gives her more time to make up plans with him.
There's a vent on the ceiling here. I could probably crawl through the vents to make it to the maintenance section without noise. Yeah, that could work.
Even so, it'll take a while to outsmart our Captain, yeah?
[[Disable Terminal now.]]
[[Wait until later.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>It's probably better to disable the computer now. The longer Nat has this ally, the worse off I am, yeah? I'm glad I grabbed this screwdriver from my desk. I balance up on one of the toilets and remove three of the screws on the vent cover. I lift myself up into the vents. Luckily the ceiling is strong enough to hold me.
I quietly spin the vent cover back around so that it looks like it's not been tampered with. I start crawling through the vents. Somehow or another, I feel like something like this has happened before.
(link-reveal: "I crawl in a straight line for a while.")[== You know, It's nice that the vent systems are actually intuitive here, unlike in all those games where it's like some sort of labyrinth. That can't be efficient.
I look down through another vent cover. Looks like I've made it to the maintenance section. There doesn't seem to be a good way to remove this cover from the inside. If I want to be quiet, I have to be careful with this. I can't just use my body weight to force it open. That would leave evidence, anyways.
I get a good grip on the cover and start pushing and pulling on it. Goodness am I lucky that this one seems to be fairly loose. All thanks to lazy engineering, yeah?
Eventually I get the cover loose. I grab the cover and force it into my researcher coat. I'll place it back after I'm done here. I crawl over the gap and start lowering myself out of the vent. I drop down lightly. I guess this is one advantage to being a bit small. Nat would probably have it easier, though. Hmmm. I'm a bit too short to reach up and put the cover back, though.
You know what? It's fine. If I spend too long here I might intersect with one of Sam's checkups back here. He wouldn't notice a missing vent cover on the ceiling, right? Would it be better if I left the cover on the floor, to make it look like it had fallen naturally?
That might work. I grab the screws that had fallen and put a couple of them back into their slots. I place it on a nice spot on the floor and make my way down one of the hallways towards the server room. I'll have to do this fast, though. I know for a fact that Terminal would notice me peeking around a corner. I'll have to rush in and cut the power to the servers.
[[I take a deep breath.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>No, it's better to wait for something like this. I want to wait for a good chance. Although I can't wait too long, or I risk getting them too suspicious before they join my side. Maybe I'll wait until after our daily report, but before we go to bed. That's probably when they'd talk about plans, anyways. Although, I should get some actual research done. I'll have to convince one of them to research with me.
That should give me the leverage I need.
I wash my hands and walk out of the bathroom before heading towards the cafeteria.
[[Nat and Sam are talking together.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>I run up to the door. The moment it's open enough for me to get in, I run as fast as I can into the server room. With precision I've never had before in a non-research scenario, I scan the room and notice a breaker switch on the wall.
"Sorry, Terminal! It's a safety precaution."
I put all my weight into forcing the switch down. There's an audible *clunk* as it goes down. A couple sparks fly, too. I do see an active camera on the ceiling looking directly at me.
The little red light fades out. The main server screen goes dark, too. That's that, I guess. Terminal's off. Hopefully he wasn't in the middle of saying anything. I also hope he didn't have enough time to say anything about it.
Now I can take my time. I walk out of the room, closing the door behind me. I make my way to the end of the maintenane section, quietly opening the door here and confirming that nobody is watching. Nobody is. I make my way [[into the cafeteria.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>Nat is looking at her watch.
$nat["Huh. Weird."]
"Good morning!"
$nat["Ah, hello Max. Did Terminal greet you this morning?"]
"Yeah, why?"
$nat["It seems like I am unable to communicate with him at the moment."]
"Oh, that's weird."
$nat["Well, It might be a bit weird and surprising to say this, but... I know this is your fault."]
(link-reveal: "Uh oh.")[==
I'm suddenly grabbed from behind.
$sam["Sorry Max, Captain's orders."]
I'm escorted into my room with a sour look on my face. The door is locked with Nat's access key. Now this is a predicament. I'm now trapped in my room. Sam nabbed my screwdriver while he was at it, too. I don't think I have much of a chance getting that vent cover off.
What would I even do after that? I can't really go anywhere without risking them catching me.
What a pain. To think that my gift was rejected so outrageously.
[[Maybe I'll wake up to a better scenario.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>I wake up again. It's quiet. No Terminal to greet me this time. As expected. Although it seems too quiet. My door is still locked, though.
I look out the window. The Sun is approaching at a moderate pace.
Of fucking course.
---
(link-reveal: "**The End**")[
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(color: green)[\
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''ACROSS THE STARS'']
''TO THE EDGE OF AN INFINITE HORIZON'']]
Ending 39: Reactionary
(color: red)["You got what you deserved, Max."]
(link: "Go.")[(reload:)]
Digit 39: 4
]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>$nat["But that is weird, right?"]
$sam["I mean, I guess. I don't think it's anything we need to get too awful concerned over."]
"Good morning!"
$nat["Ah, good morning, Max."]
$sam["Morning."]
I grab my breakfast and sit down at the table. Nat is probably going to try and get me to say something suspicious. That might've worked yesterday.
$nat["What do you think we should do about the artifact?"]
I think I know exactly what she's planning here.
"I think we should be more careful about it. But we need to keep our research going so we can give at least //some// information over to Mission Control, yeah?"
$nat["I see."]
"Y'know, you did catch me writing up a translation last night, but we should probably build off of that, seeing how it's a good next step. We know its structure, its durability, its age, stuff like that. So we should probably get to all of that text on the front."
$nat["You think it would be safe?"]
"As long as at least two of us are there, we shouldn't have too much of a problem with focus. You still have my pages, right?"
$nat["Yes, in my room."]
"Have you read it?"
$nat["Ah, not yet. Do you want me to research with you, or do you want Sam to help?"]
Hmm. This is an interesting decision, really. Do I want to get Sam or Nat on my side first? I know that both of them are in on this. If I get Sam, we might be able to threaten Nat into not saying anything. Terminal is useless to her if she can't do anything about it. But then again, if I get Nat, Sam is at the bottom of the leadership ladder here, and he could physically defend himself obviously, but that means nothing if I've got ship access. This could also go wrong even while researching, though. They might catch on to... Something.
[[Research with Sam]]
[[Research with Nat]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>"Yeah, I'd probably research with Sam."
$sam["I'm up for it."]
$nat["Alright. I should probably spend more time at the front of the ship, anyways."]
"Can you bring that paper to us while we head to the lab?"
$nat["Sure."]
She gets up to look for the paper.
"Let's get to the lab."
$sam["Yeah."]
We leave the cafeteria and head towards the lab rooms.
"Think she'll beat us to the lab?"
$sam["I bet I'm faster than both of you combined."]
"Sure you are."
It takes a minute, but we [[enter the lab.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>"Yeah, I'd prefer to research with you."
$nat["Alright. I kind of expected that, anyways."]
$sam["Guess I have an excuse to do my work now."]
$nat["You do not need an excuse to do your work."]
"You can bring the paper to the lab, right?"
$nat["Sure."]
We both get up and head out of the room.
"I'll go to the lab. You can get the paper."
$nat["Yes."]
I head down the hall towards the lab room, while she goes off into her room.
It takes a minute, but [[I enter the lab.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>When I open the door, Nat is already standing there with the paper in her hands.
$nat["Hey, what took you two so long?"]
$sam["How th-"]
"Told you so."
$sam["You know what? I don't think I want to know."]
$nat["I used to be an Air Force Captain, you know. Agility and dexterity come with the job."]
This is probably something to keep in mind.
$nat["If that will be all, you can find me in the control room once you finish your research."]
$sam["Alright."]
With that, she leaves the room. Presumably to very quickly arrive at the control room. Whatever, it's research time. I'll probably pass most of the work over to Sam just to make sure he gets his fill of the Truth.
I teach Sam the way the characters here work, based on my understanding and the things I've written on paper. I kind of stumble through reading the raw text, but if I stare at it long enough it starts to make some sort of sense.
It's only fair that I understand the words telling me that the great new world at the edge of infinity is mine.
[[We spend a few hours researching.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>Eventually, we're done. With a few pages, obviously, but done for the day, yeah? I'd say three pages written fully by him is good. This is the part that explains new materials, too, so it won't be anything awful suspicious.
Of course Sam wasn't completely aware of the Truth by the end of it, since it takes a little longer than that to learn your place in the Universe.
He seems tired, though. I remember when I was still ignorant to it all. Hopefully Nat won't pay too much mind to it. Hopefully Mission Control doesn't either.
"I think that's good progress for the day, Sam. We can head to the control room now."
$sam["Huh? Oh, yeah, alright."]
We both walk down to [[the control room.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>I walk into the control room first. Quietly, just to see if I can see any reaction from her.
$nat["You mean you want to tell me about it tomorrow, rather than tonight? I know we would be closer to Earth then, but knowing ahead of time is better."]
$ter["It is a safety precaution. Please turn around."]
$nat["Hm? Oh."]
"Oh, hi, Nat. We just finished our research."
$nat["Oh, that is good news. Are you ready for our report?"]
"Should be."
She glances over at Sam, raises an eyebrow, but doesn't say anything. This could be a problem. There's also the fact that Terminal actually let this slip. Interesting.
$nat["Alright, get into your spots. I am setting up the recording."]
She says it while already pressing the buttons.
[[We get into our spots.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>The little camera light comes on again. Nat starts talking as the camera goes on.
$nat["Hello! This is Captain Carter of the (color: blue)[''Relegator''], it is day 128, Saturday, of our voyage to discover the signal source at the edge of the galaxy. We have some progress on trying to translate what the text on the relic says. I will have Research Head (color: purple)[Algori] explain what we have managed to translate so far."]
"That's right. So far, we know that the artifact talks about a new material we have yet to know about. It is apparently more durable than steel, as well as lighter. We also know that it mentions another world, which is probably where it came from, seeing as it's older than the Universe. Engineer Ollens, for the systems?"
Hopefully this works.
$sam["Yeah, When I checked all of our machines and systems, they were all running like they should be. I double checked them all, actually."]
$nat["Alright, that should be all of our new information since yesterday. (color: blue)[''Relegator''] crew signing off for the day."]
The camera light turns back off, and the recording is sent to Mission Control. I think that was a good enough report. It should probably work.
"Will that be all?"
$nat["I think so. I will keep watch on the ship to make sure we arrive safely."]
"Alright. You look tired, Sam. You should get some rest. I will, too, after some final checks."
$sam["Yeah, night."]
"Goodnight."
$nat["Goodnight, you two."]
[[We both leave the room.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>Sam goes down another hallway to get to his dorm. Instead of heading to my dorm, though, I head to the bathroom again. My trusty screwdriver in hand, I climb up onto the toilet and balance on it, so that I can reach the vent cover on the ceiling.
I can't have Terminal catching me doing this.
I remove three of the screws on the vent cover before twisting it out of the way and lifting myself into the vents. It's a shame I never trained my body for any physical activity. It's an effort, but I make it. Luckily this ceiling is strong enough to hold me. I quietly spin the vent cover back around so that it doesn't look tampered with. The screws go into my pocket. I start crawling through the vents. The maintenance section is probably straight down this shaft, anyways. Somehow or another, I feel like something like this has happened before.
(link-reveal: "I crawl through the vents for a while.")[== Y'know, it's nice that these are actually intuitive vents, unlike what you'd see in games where it's like some weird labyrinth. There's no way that could be efficient.
I look down through another vent cover. Looks like I've made it to the maintenance section. There doesn't seem to be a good way to remove this cover from the inside, though. If I want to be quiet, I have to be careful with this. I can't just use my body weight to force it open. That would leave evidence, anyways.
I get a good grip on the cover and start pushing and pulling on it. Goodness am I lucky that this one seems to be fairly loose. All thanks to lazy engineering, yeah?
Eventually I get the cover loose enough that the screws fall out and I can force it into my coat for later. I'll probably place it back once I finish up here. I crawl over the gap and start lowering myself down. Better not go down head first, yeah? The only issue is that I'm a bit too short to reach up and put the cover back.
Actually, that could be fine. The cover was loose to begin with. It might be better to just leave the cover on the floor to make it look as if it had naturally fallen. I grab some of the screws that had fallen and put them back into their slots. I place it on a nice spot on the floor and make my way down one of the hallways towards the server room. I'll have to do this fast, though. I know for a fact that Terminal would notice me peeking around a corner. I'll have to rush in and cut the power to the servers myself.
I stop in front of the door [[and take a deep breath.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>I run up to the door. The moment it's open enough for me to slip through, I sprint into the server room. With precision and speed I've never used before in non-research scenarios, I scan the room and notice the big breaker switch on the wall. I also notice the camera locked onto me and following my every move.
"Sorry, Terminal! Just a safety precaution."
$ter["Max, do n-"]
Before I even stop moving after having entered the room, I've already leapt over to the switch and I put all of my weight into forcing it down. There's an audible *clunk* as it goes all the way down. A couple sparks fly, too. I watch the camera on the ceiling, looking directly at me.
The little red light fades out. The main server screen goes dark, too. So that's that, I guess. Terminal is off. Hopefully he wasn't in the middle of saying anything. I also hope he didn't have enough time to say anything about it.
Now I can take my time. I walk out of the room, closing the door behind me. I make my way over to the end of the maintenance section, quietly opening the door here and confirming that nobody is watching. Nobody is. I make my way back into [[the hallways.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>''Chapter 4: Rebound''
(link: "Save")[Saved.(save-game: "file A")]
---
Right as I walk out of the door, the entire ship rumbles. I'm thrown lightly against the wall. I think Nat just set the Alcubierre drives to move even faster. This might be a problem. The ship shouldn't even be able to go this fast.
(link-reveal: "I rush over to Sam's room.")[== I open the door without knocking. He's half awake in bed. I think the ship shaking woke him up.
"Sam, the ship is moving, grab your wrench."
$sam["Yeah, alright."]
I lead him up to the control room.
[[I gently open the door.->ControlOpen]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>The moment I take a step into the room, with Sam behind me, Nat has already bolted up and turned around.
There's a gun aimed straight at me.
(set: $mood to "scared")
$nat["I knew it! You were conspiring against us! Sam, you know what she did, right?"]
$sam["I, uh, don't know."]
(link-reveal: "He yawns")[==, not realizing what is happening. Too tired, I guess.
The stars are still whizzing past the ship thousands of times faster than the speed of light. This is a problem.
"Nat, are you sure the sh-"
$nat["Do not say another word. I cannot trust you right now, or likely ever again."]
(link-reveal: "The automated computer system")[==, separate from Terminal starts up.
$ter["Warning. Incoming celestial body."]
$nat["W-Wait! No!"]
(link-reveal: "She drops the gun and turns around.")[==
Too slowly.
At 5,000 lightyears per second, we slam into Earth.
---
(link-reveal: "**The End**")[
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''ACROSS THE STARS'']
''TO THE EDGE OF AN INFINITE HORIZON'']]
Ending 40: Light Bullet
(color: red)["You just caused another mass extinction event, Max."]
(link: "Go.")[(reload:)]
Digit 40: 4
]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>I open the door. The relic is still sitting there on the table. Not too long after, Nat comes in with my paper in her hands.
$nat["I got it."]
"Nice."
$nat["Once we finish, I will probably be in the control room."]
"That's fine."
I'll probably end up passing most of the actual work onto Nat just to make sure that she gets a proper taste of the Truth. I use the paper to teach her the way the characters here work, based on my understanding and the things I've written on paper. I kind of stumble through reading the raw text, but if I stare at it long enough it starts to make some sort of sense.
It's only fair that I understand the words telling me that the great new world at the edge of infinity is mine.
[[The two of us research for a few hours.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>Eventually, we're done. With a few pages, obviously, but done for the day, yeah? I'd say four pages written fully by her is good. This is the part that explains new materials, too, so it won't be anything too suspicious to her.
Of course Nat wasn't completely aware of the Truth by the end of it, since it takes a little longer than that to learn your place in the Universe.
She seems tired, though. I remember when I was still ignorant to it all. Hopefully Sam doesn't pay too much attention to it. Hopefully Mission Control doesn't either.
"I think that's good progress for the day, Nat. We can head to the control room for our report, now."
$nat["Hm? Oh, yes, alright."]
She doesn't know that while she was researching, I snuck a small piece of the relic into one of her pockets. For extra assurance.
We both walk down [[to the control room.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>I walk into the control room first. Quietly, to see if Sam is talking about anything. He's leaned against a wall, spinning a wrench around in his hand, talking to Terminal.
$sam["You wanna talk about it tomorrow? I know we'd be closer to Earth, but I think it's better to know ahead of time."]
$ter["It is a safety precaution. Please look up."]
$sam["Eh? Oh."]
"Oh, hi, Sam. We just finished our research. We should be ready for the report now. Are you?"
$sam["Yeah, should be."]
He looks at Nat, but doesn't seem to notice anything too weird about her. This is good.
$nat["Okay. Get into your spots so I can record."]
$sam["Yeah."]
"Alright."
[[The three of us get into position.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>The little camera light comes on again. Nat starts talking as the camera goes on. Hopefully this works.
$nat["This is Captain Carter of the (color: blue)[''Relegator''], it is day 128, Saturday, of our mission to find the signal source at the galactic edge. We made some progress translating the text on it. Research Head (color: purple)[Algori] can explain what we translated."]
"That's right. So far, we know that the artifact talks about a new material we have yet to know about. It is apparently more durable than steel, as well as lighter. We also know that it mentions another world, which is probably where it came from, seeing as it's older than the Universe. Engineer Ollens, for the systems?"
$sam["Yep, upon my manual inspection of all of our core machines and systems, they were all running as they should be running. All of them have been double checked. The drives and reactor are running nominally, too."]
$nat["Okay. That should be everything new since yesterday. (color: blue)[''Relegator''] crew signing off for the day."]
The camera light turns back off, and the recording is sent to Mission Control. I think that was a good enough report. It should probably work.
"That should be all, yeah?"
$nat["Probably. I think I will go to sleep, though."]
$sam["Yeah, me too. Night everyone. Actually, I might watch the stars for a while, first."]
"That's fine. Goodnight."
[[All three of us leave the control room.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>Nat goes down another hallway to get to her dorm. Instead of heading to my dorm, though, I head to the bathroom again. My trusty screwdriver in hand, I climb up onto the toilet and balance on it, so that I can reach the vent cover on the ceiling.
I can't have Terminal catch me, so I stay in a cameraless room.
I remove three of the screws on the vent cover before twisting it out of the way and lifting myself into the vents. It's a shame I never trained my body for any physical activity. It's an effort, but I make it. Luckily this ceiling is strong enough to hold me. I quietly spin the vent cover back around so that it doesn't look tampered with. The screws go into my pocket. I start crawling through the vents. The maintenance section is probably straight down this shaft, anyways. Somehow or another, I feel like something like this has happened before.
(link-reveal: "I crawl through the vents for a while.")[== Y'know, it's nice that these are actually intuitive vents, unlike what you'd see in games where it's like some weird labyrinth. There's no way that could be efficient.
I look down through another vent cover. Looks like I've made it to the maintenance section. There doesn't seem to be a good way to remove this cover from the inside, though. If I want to be quiet, I have to be careful with this. I can't just use my body weight to force it open. That would leave evidence, anyways.
I get a good grip on the cover and start pushing and pulling on it. Goodness am I lucky that this one seems to be fairly loose already. All thanks to lazy engineering, yeah?
Eventually I get the cover loose enough that the screws fall out and I can force it into my coat for later. I'll probably place it back once I finish up here. I crawl over the gap and start lowering myself down. Better not go down and head first, yeah? The only issue is that I'm a bit too short to reach up and put the cover back.
Actually, that could be fine. The cover was loose to begin with. It might be better to just leave the cover on the floor to make it look as if it had naturally fallen. I grab some of the screws that had fallen and put them back into their slots. I place it on a nice spot on the floor and make my way down one of the hallways towards the server room. I'll have to do this fast, though. I know for a fact that Terminal would notice me peeking around a corner. I'll have to rush in and cut the power to the servers myself.
[[I stop in front of the door and take a deep breath.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>I run up to the door. The moment it's open wide enough for me to slip through, I sprint into the server room. With precision and speed I've never used before in a non-research scenario, I scan the room and notice the big breaker switch on the wall. I also notice the camera locked onto me and following my every move.
While running, I apologize for what I must do. "Sorry, Terminal! Just a safety precaution."
$ter["Max, do n-"]
Before I even stop moving after having entered the room, I've already leapt over to the switch and I put all of my weight into forcing it down. There's an audible *clunk* as it goes all the way down. A couple sparks fly, too. I watch the camera on the ceiling, looking directly at me.
The little red light fades out. The main server screen goes dark, too. So that's that, I guess. Terminal is off. Hopefully he wasn't in the middle of saying anything to anyone. I also hope he didn't have enough time to say anything about what I just did.
Now I can take my time. I walk out of the room, closing the door behind me. I make my way over to the end of the maintenance section, catching my breath and quietly opening the door here and confirming that nobody is watching. Nobody is. I make my way back [[into the hallways.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>I step out of the door. It's just as quiet. I'd assume Nat is in bed already. I start walking down the hallway past the laboratory when I see Sam (link-reveal: "walk out of the bathroom.")[==
$sam["You're still up?"]
"Ah, I was just in the laboratory making sure everything was cleaned up properly."
$sam["Oh, alright. I was just about to head to bed anyways."]
"Yeah, me too. Goodnight."
$sam["Night."]
We both head our separate ways. I open up the door to my dorm and crawl into my bed. Nobody is here to greet me anymore.
It's a [[dreamless night.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>''Chapter 4: Rebound''
(link: "Save")[Saved.(save-game: "file A")]
---
I wake up pretty quickly. That's probably the best sleep I've had in ages. I look out of the side window. Earth is rapidly approaching. It slows down, before coming to a stop. Looks like we just entered Earth orbit.
I stretch a bit before getting out of bed and putting my lab coat back on.
[[I gently open my dorm room door.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>Nat sits down across the table from me.
$nat["So the research we have so far includes your new material, right?"]
"Yeah, but I don't think we'd need to make that much use of it. It's just a nice thing to have. Frankly, if you got to the part about that wave, we need to use that."
$nat["What was the wave, again?"]
"You know, the second and quiet one that the relic itself emits. We can amplify that, you know."
$nat["Ah, that one. That reminds me of something important, though."]
"What is it?"
$nat["We do not have to request landing permission. We can spread our gift without ever touching the ground. We need not dirty our hands with the impure."]
"How so?"
$nat["I can hack the satellites. We can move onto the six space stations and blast the entire surface of Earth with the waves. As long as we can hold off the defense satellites, we are practically invincible."]
"I see where you're going with that, but we're very vulnerable in a single ship up in space. We could land and do things more directly."
$nat["That leaves us very vulnerable while in the early parts of our new mission. We would only be able to fend off all attacks once we obtained a good hold on Earth."]
"Do you think we should concern ourselves with Lunar affairs?"
$nat["There is no need. With the three of us, we could focus all of our efforts on Earth. It would leave us with one front to focus on, anyways. Earth should be all we need to spread our gift far and wide."]
"We'll purify it all."
$nat["Well, make your choice. How should we approach this?"]
Hmmm.
[[The Orbital Approach.]]
[[The Terrestrial Approach.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>''Chapter 5: Revelation''
(link: "Save")[Saved.(save-game: "file A")]
---
"You know what? I like the sound of that. Let's keep our hands off Earth. Make sure they keep their hands off us. We'll get them all from orbit and they won't even be able to touch us. That should really mess with their morale."
$nat["You picked well. We will still need to be very careful in the early parts before we develop a good hold on Earth."]
"Yeah, I know. How are we going to work that out with X-Corp?"
$nat["Just because we have permission to land does not mean we have to do so immediately. We will use the excuse that we are making some final checks before entering the atmosphere again. That should buy us some time."]
"Ah, that's right."
$nat["Oh, and the more satellites of theirs that we get, the easier it becomes for us to listen in on their communications. If we do it right, nobody outside will know what happened."]
"This also means we won't have to worry about splitting up our precious gift any more."
$nat["Exactly."]
"Can you get me all of the information that we need? Like how many satellites and how many sites they have?"
$nat["Yes, let me get my laptop from my room."]
"Alright."
[[She leaves the cafeteria.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>"Y'know, I think we'll be better off doing things the old fashioned way. They might expect us to pull off something extravagant like that, yeah? Fight them on their own ground, with mockeries of their own weapons. That should really mess with their morale."
$nat["I see what you mean. Very well. I will ask X-Corp for landing permissions. We //will// have to be very careful in the early parts of our mission."]
"Yeah, I get you. We're landing at an X-Corp site?"
$nat["It is the only place they would let us land."]
"That's true."
$nat["The first location we are going to convert is the site we land at."]
"Really?"
$nat["It also gives us a little ear on their communications. If we do it right, nobody outside will know what happened. From there, we can quietly move on to small towns. Before they know it, we will already have a large hold in multiple locations."]
"Ah, yeah, I get that. We'll want to split up our relic, though. If we break it up enough, they'll never be able to get it all without spending every single nuclear weapon on Earth."
$nat["They might, that is the problem. They did wipe an entire city off of the map in order to get rid our gift the first time."]
"Did they? What a shame."
$nat["Allow me to request landing permission."]
"Go ahead."
She starts pressing buttons on her watch. I wait a couple minutes as she types something up and presumably sends a written message to Mission Control.
$nat["They should respond shortly. I already know they have their eyes on us."]
"Only natural that we'd be the stars of the show."
$nat["Of course."]
[[Nat's watch dings.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>Nat is already walking up to my door. She greets me with a smile. Looks like that piece I gave her did the trick.
$nat["Hi, Max. I have become aware of the Truth. I deeply apologize for any issues I may have caused you."]
"Oh, think nothing of it. Ignorance is bliss, as they say. We still have a lot of work to do."
$nat["Sam is currently carrying a piece of our gift with him. It should not be much longer before he is ready to work with us. Come with me to the cafeteria."]
"Yes."
[[The two of us head into the cafeteria.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>She glances back down, reading through something.
$nat["We have our permission. We will be landing at Site-12, near Chicago."]
"That sounds like a good start spot. Site-12 is fairly large, but not too large for us to handle. Isn't that one of the facilities with the closed ventilation systems?"
$nat["Yes."]
"Good, we'll hit their communications team first. Then me and Sam will drop some powdered relic into the ventilation unit. From there, you will handle converting the site director."
$nat["Powdered relic?"]
"Ah, if you haven't read the entire relic, you wouldn't know that only those chosen by the relic can change its structure. That's why it was so durable when we didn't know what we were doing."
$nat["Ah, I see. I will head over to the control room and start guiding us for landing."]
"Alright. I'll check on Sam to see how he's doing."
$nat["Have fun."]
"Yeah."
[[We both get up from our seats.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>Nat heads towards the control room, while I head over to the lab room. I'd suspect that Sam would be there, anyways. It always starts there. Soon enough we won't need proximity to spread our gift, though. Once we start getting broadcast towers beaming our signal to everyone in the area, we'll be good to go anywhere on Earth.
It's always just a matter of time.
I step into Lab-02. Sam is in a chair, writing inside of a notebook. My papers are also sitting on the cart, next to the relic. Looks like he's trying to finish my translation.
"How's it going, Sam?"
$sam["It's amazing. I never imagined you'd be the one saving us all. It says it right here."]
"Right? It was a surprise for me, too. How does the Truth feel?"
$sam["Better than ever."]
"Good. We'll be landing soon. We are going to be landing at Site-12. We'll have to teach them, too. Then we can move onto the cities. They'll never see it coming."
$sam["I can't wait."]
The ship shakes a bit as we continue to descend through the atmosphere. It's fairly gentle, given the size of this ship and the speed we're falling.
I grab a few chunks of the relic and place them in some of the pockets in my shirt. I grab another, larger chunk, and place it on a table by itself.
"Sam, can you grab a sledgehammer? I want this chunk of the relic broken down into a fine powder."
$sam["Why?"]
"You'll find out in a bit."
$sam["Alright."]
He walks over to a cabinet and grabs a large red sledgehammer from it. He walks up to the table and gets into a good striking position. He brings the hammer down on the piece a few times, reducing it to a very fine powder.
"That should do. Thanks, Sam."
$sam["Think nothing of it."]
I grab a small pouch and sweep the powder into it with my hand. Theoretically, you could grind this stuff down infinitely small. That could come in useful when we start upscaling our mission.
"I'm going to head to the control room. Finish up what you're doing. Hide the papers, too. We don't want them reading the full translation before learning the Truth, of course."
$sam["Yeah, I know."]
"Alright."
I leave the lab room and [[head to the control room.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>Once I enter, Nat greets me without looking up from the control panels.
$nat["How was it?"]
"He's trying to finish my translation."
$nat["How cute. He has made sure to hide it after he finishes, right?"]
"Yeah, I asked him. We're almost there, right?"
$nat["Yes. We are roughly 30,000 feet above the ground right now."]
"Nice."
$nat["The landing is always bumpy. Brace yourself once we get close to the ground."]
I sit back in another one of the seats. It looks like it would take years just to learn what half of these graphs and panels mean. She handles piloting it like a master, though. Which is fair, honestly. She was an Air Force captain at one point, yeah?
[[We make contact with the landing structure.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>I can see Chicago in the distance. We're facing it. This is actually a pretty good view. Being able to see a city from the control room of a spaceship is always interesting. It was probably an interesting concept 500 years ago, too.
There's something better in store for everyone there.
A few metal clunks sound as some of the arms grab onto the ship to hold it in place.
Nat gets up from her seat.
$nat["How was that for my first time landing this ship after a mission?"]
"How many times did you practice beforehand?"
$nat["I never practiced."]
"Amazing, then."
$nat["And if I had practiced hundreds of times?"]
"Still amazing, either way."
$nat["Thanks. We should go greet the people outside, yes?"]
"Lead the way."
$nat["They will meet us at the cargo bay."]
We leave the room and walk down the hallway. Sam steps out too. We open the cargo bay door from the inside and wait for them to open the outer door.
[[The door begins to open.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>A few people with guns and a couple more in research coats like mine are standing outside. It's been a long time since I've actually seen concrete and asphalt in front of buildings. It's good to be back.
(set: $shipgone to true)One of the researchers starts talking to us.
$xco["Welcome back to Earth. This is Site-12."]
$nat["Nice to meet you. Where will we be going now?"]
$xco["We're going to run through the ship and make sure everything's up to code. Then we'll grab the artifact and place it in storage."]
$nat["That should be fine."]
$xco["Just to confirm, you lot haven't noticed any mental damage after working with the artifact, right?"]
$nat["Not particularly. Why?"]
$xco["The site director told us to ask."]
$nat["I see."]
$xco["The guard here will check you guys in and tell you the rest."]
$nat["Alright."]
We walk down the ramp onto solid ground. The guard motions to follow him. We step into Site-02. It's very cool inside, unlike the outside. It //is// August, to be fair. It's hot even for a place like this.
$xco["The site director intends to have a conference with the captain in roughly thirty minutes."]
$nat["That is fine."]
$xco["The three of you will be placed in temporary rooms until we can determine what we intend to do with you next."]
"What happens if we won't have another mission for a while?"
$xco["You'll likely be formally released until the mission time approaches."]
"Sounds good."
$xco["Your rooms will be on the third basement level."]
"If I'm going to be here for a while, is it alright if I wander around while I wait?"
$xco["I don't think they'll care."]
"Alright."
We're led through the administration section of the building and then to the anteroom of the site director's office.
$xco["Site director should be ready for you in about 25 minutes from now."]
$nat["Alright."]
The guard leaves. The anteroom is fairly empty, other than the secretary. Nat quiets down a bit.
$nat["You two know what to do, yes?"]
"Yep."
She speaks up again.
$nat["To be fair, it is a bit stressful to talk with someone so high above you in the company."]
"Yeah, I get that."
The secretary chuckles a bit from the other side of the room. I don't think she heard the first part.
[[I head off down another hallway.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>I start walking back down the main administration hallway searching for a map of the facility or at least this first floor. Eventually there's a map detailing the location of each section of the building.
The communications section is on the opposite side of the maintenance section. So be it. We have to hit communications first, anyways.
(link-reveal: "The two of us head towards communications.")[==
$sam[Y'think they'll notice anything?"]
"How much do you want to bet their break room is unsupervised?"
$sam["You think they'd let that slip?"]
"Most of the security is just for the hallways and outside. There's really only cameras on the intersections and corners. They're not really expecting anyone from the outside getting in. That's what all of the guards and guns are for."
$sam["Yeah, guess that's fair."]
(link-reveal: "I walk up to the main communications room")[== and step inside. It's fairly busy, maybe a little lacking in staff, though. Only half of the desks are actually in use.
The break room is off to the side. I bet they've got some sort of coffee maker or something that I can tamper with. I should only need a little bit of powder for this to work. I need to save the rest for the ventilation system. This is the beauty of closed vent systems.
I look over the room and make sure nobody seems like they're about to get up. From there I step into the room. It's empty. Lovely. The pot isn't though. It's full to the brim. Seems like a fresh batch.
I grab a cup for myself. It'll probably seem less suspicious, otherwise. This isn't a bad way to settle back into Earth life, either.
I quickly and quietly remove the pot and pour myself a cup, before opening up my pouch and sprinkling a good amount into the thing, before placing it back. This is fine enough that it should mix pretty well. Our gift knows what it's doing, anyways.
(link-reveal: "Right as I turn around to leave the room")[==, someone walks in. He seems a bit tired. He looks up at me and there seems to be a bit of recognition. I don't think he's used to talking to girls.
$xco["Oh, hi. Are you the... The researcher from the ship outside?"]
"Yeah, that's me."
$xco["Oh, that's nice. I kinda wanted to... Hear about the trip. It seems really interesting. I bet it's better to hear it from the real person. Like, instead of the official reports, you know?"]
"I mean, that makes sense. Witnesses are more useful than secondhand reports."
$xco["Yeah..."]
...
"So you said you wanted to hear about it?"
$xco["Yeah."]
"Yeah, so what part do you want to know about?"
$xco["I was... kind of interested in what you learned from the signal source."]
"I don't know how much I'm actually allowed to say, but it was a pretty big rock. Kinda like granite. Anyways there was golden text written on the front. We managed to translate some of it, and it talks about new materials and stuff."
$xco["Oh, that's really cool."]
"Yeah. Sure you're not interested in the romantic mishaps that may or may not have occurred in private rooms 25,000 lightyears from Earth?"
He blushes. This is kinda funny.
$xco["N-No. I mean... D-did that happen?"]
"No."
$xco["I- Okay..."]
"You'll probably hear more about the 'gift' on the reports, anyways. More accurate than I could tell you, yeah?"
$xco["Was that a joke? I don't get it..."]
"You will."
$xco["What do y-"]
(link-reveal: "Somebody else walks into the break room.")[==
$xco["Nick, how long of a break are you gonna take? Site-19 is getting real jumpy, man."]
He looks over at me.
$xco["Oh I get it, a pretty girl walks into the break room and you gotta follow."]
$xco["That's not-"]
$xco["Oh stuff it. Is he bothering you?"]
"Not particularly. I've got stuff to get to, though."
I step out of the break room and back into the hallway, where [[Sam is waiting.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>$sam["What took you so long?"]
"Somebody wanted a talk. I was in the break room, anyways. If I tried forcing myself out of the room it'd probably be more suspicious."
$sam["Oh well. How'd it go?"]
"They'll probably empty the pot in minutes. The more of them that drink it, the faster those around them get affected too, anyways."
$sam["Nice."]
"Let's check on Nat."
$sam["There's about ten minutes left before her conference."]
"Let's hurry, then."
(link-reveal: "We walk back towards the administration section.")[== We're not wasting time, either. Maintenance is just a little farther down the halls.
$nat["How did it go?"]
"I don't think it's a problem. Had a drink and a talk. That's about it."
$nat["I have a few minutes. Finish up your exploring."]
"Yeah, I'll get to it."
We continue walking through the administration section until we come up to a metal door across the hall from a bathroom. There's not even a camera back here. Seems like we'll have it easy. I check to make sure nobody is watching, and then motion for Sam to follow me inside.
The maintenance section is a bit more industrial-looking than the rest of this facility, which is fair. We just need to figure out where the ventilation unit is.
[[We wander the halls for a while.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>Somehow or another we don't actually encounter anyone on the way through this area. It makes things a lot more relaxing, though.
Eventually we find the big unit. It has to manage the air for the entire facility, so it makes sense that it would be so big.
"Do you know where a hatch or maintenance panel or anything is?"
$sam["I've worked with this model a lot before I was hired by X-Corp."]
"Good. Where do I open it?"
$sam["On the back here, there's a panel that gives you direct access to the vents."]
"Cool. So I just need to pour the rest of the powder in here and we can call it a day?"
$sam["Should be that easy."]
"Alright."
I grab my screwdriver from my coat before Sam can say anything else and start removing the screws on this panel.
"Did you even bring a screwdriver?"
$sam["Yeah, I was going to give it to you."]
"Well, it's good that we both came prepared."
I take the panel off.
I open up my pouch again and dump the rest of the powder in. It's pretty quickly swept up and disappears from sight. It's light enough to cycle through the entire facility given enough time. It really was that easy. I put the cover back on and make sure the screws are on tight.
"We can go check on Nat now, right?"
$sam["She's probably got a few seconds left."]
[[We quickly make it back to the administration section.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>Right as we get over to the office anteroom, the secretary starts talking.
$xco["Miss Carter, your conference is now."]
$nat["Ah, very well."]
She hears us and turns around.
$nat["Oh, you finished?"]
"Yeah, we're all good."
$nat["Very nice."]
She walks into the office. The two of us sit down. It shouldn't be much longer before the director is on our side because of the relic flowing through the air here. Inhaling it wouldn't really do anything to you, it would just pass through your body. It's not toxic in any way.
Well, unless you count the mind. That isn't toxicity though, it's something so much better.
We wait around for a while. We notice the secretary starting to look sleepy. That's another sign that it's working. Either that or she is genuinely tired.
Either way, things are probably fine.
[[It takes about thirty minutes of waiting.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>The secretary is fast asleep at her desk. I'm about to consider taking a nap too rather waiting for Nat to get back, but then she opens the door. As she does, a man in a fancy suit is holding the door open. He winks and waves at us before closing it again. I think I know what that meant but the idea of other things it *could* have meant is kind of funny.
$nat["The Site-12 Director is now on our side. The rest of the facility should be with us by now, too."]
"That quickly? I remember it taking you a couple days."
$nat["The more of us there are, the faster we can bring people on our side."]
"Ah, that makes sense. How long did it take?"
$nat["Oh, something like twenty minutes. The rest was just waiting for him to wake up and then reminding him of our mission."]
"Alright."
The secretary is still sleeping. The director opens up his door again.
$dir["Can you come back in here for a moment? There's one last thing we should make sure of. You two as well."]
$nat["Yes."]
The three of us [[enter his office.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>There are already three chairs laid out on the other side of the desk. The director takes his seat across from us. Nat sits in the middle.
$dir["Alright, so, you probably know by now that this site is under your control."]
$nat["Yes. How are the communications with other sites?"]
$dir["They're not aware of anything suspicious. Is there anything more you would like to know?"]
$nat["Would it be too much to ask for a temporary formal release? We need to disappear from the X-Corp radar for as long as possible."]
$dir["Oh, that won't be hard at all. Anything else?"]
$nat["Everyone here should take our orders to heart, yes?"]
$dir["Yes."]
"Are any other sites investigating the results of this mission?"
$dir["Not anymore, I don't think. After we cleared you in the logs, they stopped paying attention."]
"Ah, okay."
$nat["Very well. That should be everything we need."]
$dir["Good luck."]
$nat["You would be foolish to think luck is necessary."]
We get up and [[leave the office.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>"So, now that that's settled, think we should take a break? Just for a while. I'm pretty tired after everything we've done today."
$nat["Well, it should probably be fine. As far as the rest of X-Corp can tell, nothing is out of the ordinary."]
"They aren't watching us anymore, are they?"
$nat["Not since they formally released us."]
"Nice. Goodnight, then."
$nat["Goodnight."]
$sam["Night, Max."]
I head off back through the hallways towards the stairwell, before heading to the third basement level and [[my room.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>The room is actually fairly nice. I take a look around. If anything, this might actually be better than my real house. I could totally live here for a while. There's even a computer on a desk and multiple rooms. There's also a kitchen with a table for me. Does everyone down here have a room like this? Maybe it's just my clearance level. Or my "new" clearance level.
Out of curiosity, I walk over to the computer. I look around on it. Apparently I have full internet access, as well as access to the entire facility intranet. Although it would be better to stay off of it until they can't do anything to us. This could be very useful, though.
I shut off the computer and head into the kitchen. Upon opening the fridge, I notice that it's completely stocked. That's pretty good. Actually, I haven't had much food since yesterday. I can probably make a sandwich or something.
It's not the best, but not bad. It's probably best to just sleep on this, for a break from all the action, yeah? It's already late, anyways. I'll have to get used to the day and night cycle again.
I get into my bed and [[take a quick nap.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>''Chapter 5: Revelation''
(link: "Save")[Saved.(save-game: "file A")]
---
I get up well-rested. I look at the clock. I guess it wasn't "just a nap." Either way, nothing big seems to have happened since I went to bed. It's almost noon, though. My night was dreamless again. It's kind of a shame, really. I wonder what the other two did while I was gone?
I'd assume they're hanging out somewhere in the administration section, so I'll check there first. I leave my room and head upstairs.
[[I head towards administration.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>Upon approaching the administration section and entering the same anteroom from yesterday, I notice the table set up in the middle of the room with a few chairs around it. Nobody seems to be in the room, though. I check inside the director's office. Also empty.
I turn around to leave and look somewhere else when I see Nat walking down the hallway accompanied by others. Sam and the site director.
$nat["Oh, you woke up. Good morning, Max."]
"Morning."
$sam["Heyo."]
$dir["We were just considering what the next step in our plan should be."]
They take seats around the table in the room.
$dir["Grab a chair and pick somewhere at the table. We've got quite a bit of planning to do."]
$nat["We have a map of the region, too. We should stick to things near us for the time being."]
"That's fair."
I grab a seat and [[sit down.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>$nat["Alright, there are a few options that we have. A couple of them are more appealing than the rest."]
"Do tell."
$nat["First of all, Site-12 is near enough to Chicago that it would be a reasonable first target. It is also quite a large city with roughly 4.7 million. It would surely bring many onto our side."]
"And what's the catch?"
$dir["Big cities are also big liabilities. If anything gets out too soon, X-Corp will notice it and will stop at nothing to rinse us off the surface."]
"How far are they willing to go?"
$dir["Nuclear weapons aren't out of the question. Even on their own sites if they realize they've been converted."]
"Huh. Alright."
$sam["What was the other option again?"]
$nat["There is a closer, smaller town. Symerton. Less than two thousand people live there. Going there would be much safer and easier to control, although it would take ages to get anywhere big."]
"I take it the catch with this one is that the longer we're here the more likely they are to just passively realize we're here."
$nat["Yes, that's it."]
$sam["I'm pretty sure hitting the city first is a good idea. It's a big risk, but we can probably handle it."]
$dir["I still have to form my opinion on it."]
$nat["I think we should take it slow and steady. What do you think, Max?"]
Hmmm...
[[I need to consider this.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>So if we hit Chicago first, we can get a good few million people with us. That'd make it pretty easy to suddenly surprise X-Corp. I don't think they'd see the conversion of an entire city coming. Although, we have no idea just how prepared they are for a quick response anywhere in the country.
Taking the slow route with Symerton would definitely be safer, ignoring any potential surveillance on the area. Due to its proximity to an X-Corp site, it might be under heavy surveillance. I don't doubt they might let us carry on for long enough to learn from us, but stop us before we can do anything big.
Well, I've got to make a decision eventually. The spotlight's on me, anyways.
[[Convert Chicago.]]
[[Convert Symerton.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>"I think it's best to hit Chicago first. We'd catch them off guard the moment they caught onto us, if at all."
$nat["That is true."]
$sam["That's what I'm saying."]
"What do you think, director?"
$dir["I'd say it sounds like a plausible idea."]
"When can we move out?"
$nat["Right now."]
"Shall we?"
$nat["We shall."]
We get up and head back towards the front entrance.
$nat["Do you have access to the site intercoms?"]
$dir["Yeah, hold on."]
He reaches into his suit and pulls out a small device that looks about like I was expecting it to.
$dir["You just talk into the front part while holding the button down."]
$nat["I see."]
She presses the button and starts talking.
$nat["This is Incursion Coordinator Carter. Will all armed guards please report to the front parking lot?"]
"Is it that easy?"
My question is answered by the large group of guards gathering in front of the site. Huh. So be it.
$nat["We need tables set up for our next procedure. Make sure they are durable. Then, we need the relic carted out here so that we can take pieces of it and refine it into a fine powder for use on the general public."]
We watch as some of them set up tables around the lot. Others grab tools that they use to smash and chip pieces of the relic off. Some of them pocket piles of the dust, while others scoop it into bags.
$nat["Get some for yourselves, you two."]
"Yeah."
$sam["Yep."]
I scoop some of the powder into my own bag. Sam does too, at another table. There's even still a large mass of the relic on the main table. This is great, we have so much!
$nat["Are we ready to move out?"]
"How are we doing this?"
$nat["We can get into cars together and move throughout the city. We can hit many different public centers at once."]
"Yeah, that makes sense."
$nat["The three of us will get into one car together."]
She gives out a few more orders on the radio before we all get into cars. Nat gets behind the steering wheel. I'm in the passenger seat. Sam is in the back. This is a nice looking SUV. I'd drive one of my own if I didn't have other priorities.
We pull out of the parking lot and start heading down the main road towards the city. Dozens of other cars are trailing behind us. This might look suspicious until we start splitting up. I imagine that everyone knows where they should be heading, though. The gift guides us like that, anyways.
[[We drive towards the city.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>"I think it'd be best if we converted Symerton first. We want to make sure we stay out of X-Corp's eyes for as long as possible. The later they catch us, the better off we are."
$nat["Exactly my point."]
$dir["Yeah, I can see that working."]
$sam["Now that I think about it, yeah."]
"So how should we approach converting them?"
$nat["Carefully. Small towns like that are probably very tightly knit communities. We want to break their connections with the outside world as quietly as we can."]
"Yeah, that's true. How would we convert them without them noticing?"
$nat["First of all, we already know that the relic allows us to break it down if we are aligned with it."]
"Yeah. You want us to use lots of small pieces?"
$nat["More than that. We can grind it into a very fine powder, enough so that it slips through any filter unit you put it up against."]
"Oh, I know you mean. We can totally do that."
$nat["It will work better if we can automate it, but for now we will use what we have."]
"Yeah. We won't be going ourselves, will we?"
$nat["Like I said before, why dirty our hands with the impure?"]
"We've already done that by landing, yeah?"
$nat["That was your choice. This is mine."]
"Fair."
$nat["Alright, get your stuff together, we need to start preparing."]
We all get up from the table. The site director walks back towards his office.
$dir["I'll manage things from my office. If you need anything, just stop by."]
$nat["Good. Now, you two, come with me. The relic is in the research section of the facility."]
She leads us down the halls until we get to the lab where, presumably, it's stored. [[She opens up the door.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>As we drive, small groups of cars break off down other roads, until eventually it's just our car and normal civilian cars on the street. The city is close now.
$nat["You know what might be fitting for our little group?"]
"I don't know, where?"
$sam["Don't say it."]
$nat["What if we hit a mall first? Lots of people spend time there."]
$sam["Saw it coming."]
"Hey, at least we don't intend to buy anything for three hours."
$sam["If you say so."]
We pull up to the front of a large shopping mall and take a parking spot. Nat is actually a pretty good driver. It's kind of fair though, since she flies planes and starships.
[[We head off into the building]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>Over the course of a couple hours, we leave small traces of our gift in places all over the building. After about an hour, we start to notice the effects it has on people. Things are going well. I imagine that our other teams all over the city are doing similar things.
We spent a lot of time visiting random stores, pretending to look around, and then sprinkling small amounts of powder in places that don't look like they'd get cleaned often. There was also the part where Sam found the building's water supply and we sprinkled it into that. At one point I even tampered with a few people's drinks in a fast food area.
By the time we finally walk back outside, the streets are a bit... Messy. Some people were more quickly affected than others, and overall it seemed to speed up as more people converted. There are a few crashes, and there seems to be a bit of chaos permeating through the city.
The fact that it's dusk makes this a bit more of a movielike scene.
$nat["We should get into the car. I did tell everyone to regroup back at the facility once we finished our parts."]
"Alright."
Nat starts driving the car again. We have to drive around a few cars that have stopped or bumped into things, but eventually we navigate through the city and start driving out towards the site again. There also seems to be a few other cars speeding out of the city.
Maybe they're trying to go out and spread our gift? No, that can't be right. Everyone should know what we're trying to do. Those could be normal civilian cars trying to get out. Which also means that we didn't get everyone.
This... Might be a problem.
"Nat, do you notice all the normal cars driving out of the city?"
$nat["Yeah, that is bad."]
"Hold on, stop the car, do you hear that?"
She pulls over on the side of the road. The city is visible behind us. We're at a moderate distance from it. However, in the distance, I can hear the sound of a lot of airplanes.
$nat["I know those sounds. Those are bombers."]
"Ah, shit."
$nat["They are coming from the direction of Site-12."]
Right after she says it, there's a bright flash followed by a massive explosion right about where Site-12 should be. The sound of the planes gets louder as they fly overhead.
"Nat, they're dropping more bombs. Fucking floor it."
$nat["Yeah, I know."]
She says it right as the car squeals. This first blast shouldn't hit us too hard, but if we're too close to the city when this next one hits, we're probably fucked. The shockwave from the first nuke lifts the car onto its right side wheels. We're headed down a side road at about 100 miles per hour.
My head fogs up a bit as a whole lot of the relic at Site-12 was destroyed. It's not everything, but it's a really big hit to our supplies.
$nat["Do not turn around."]
"Got it."
[[A bright light shines from behind us.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>$nat["It would be just dandy if this car would move any faster."]
A deep rumble very quickly becomes audible.
$nat["Shit. Too slow."]
The first shockwave hits the car hard and with the sound of a huge blast. One of the windows cracks. We're blown slightly to the left. Except Nat keeps driving. We're balanced at about a 45 degree angle. There's also a turn coming up.
"Nat-"
$nat["I know."]
She lurches the car slightly and we land. Except we're now sliding sideways across the road as the winds keep blowing. This next blast is going to be much closer.
She drifts the car into the turn. We're still moving fast. This blast is catching up to us faster than the last one, though. This one might hit us a bit harder, yeah?
[[The rumble approaches.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>$nat["I do hope you lot have your seatbelts on."]
"Good thing I follow traffic laws."
$sam["Yeah."]
$nat["Hold on tight."]
(link-reveal: "The blast hits the back of the car damn hard.")[== It hits us directly in the rear end, lifting us off the ground. We flip around in the air once, before landing upright. A couple of the windows shatter.
The wind is still blowing. The sound of more, non-nuclear explosions echoes throughout the area. This is becoming problematic. They really are wiping the city off the map, aren't they?
The darkness of the night is broken by the nuclear fire and occasional bright flashes of large explosions. Site-12 is gone. Chicago is gone. I'm not sure we have much relic left on us. Which is kind of easy to tell, actually. My head hurts. A lot.
$nat["I think this car only has a few minutes left on it."]
"What do you mean?"
$nat["The eng-"]
There's a couple *bang*s as white smoke starts seeping out of the hood. We pretty quickly slow to a stop.
$nat["The engine gave out."]
(link-reveal: "It starts raining.")[== It's early night and it's raining. The cities are burning, too.
"This is a problem."
$nat["I know. Do any of us have any relic left on us?"]
"I don't."
$sam["Me neither."]
$nat["This is the end, then."]
(link-reveal: "I think she's right.")[== The headache isn't going away. I'm pretty sure there are a ton of holes in my memory now. Is my consciousness unravelling? This... This can't be good. Sam has fallen asleep. I don't think he'll wake up.
I go to open the door. Except... How? There's no way to do that. Unless I'm forgetting something. How do you open car doors?
Why don't I know that? I should know that, right?
How did I get here in the first place?
... Where were we? I think I'm stuck. There are two other things in this box with me. I don't recognize what they are. But I look like them.
Where are we? I don't recognize this place. I know I forgot something big, but I think other things have gone with it, too...
Why can't I remember my name?
---
(link-reveal: "**The End**")[
(transition: "dissolve")+(transition-time: 8000)[\
(font: "Verdana")[\
(color: green)[\
(css: "font-size: 175%;")[\
''ACROSS THE STARS'']
''TO THE EDGE OF AN INFINITE HORIZON'']]
Ending 41: More than you can chew.
(color: red)["Did you forget what you were doing, Max?"]
(link: "Go.")[(reload:)]
Digit 41: 5
]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>There are counters along the wall and a few carts around the room. Our gift is sitting on one of them. Nat walks over to a cabinet and pulls out a sledgehammer. She seems to hold it pretty easily.
I didn't actually consider how strong she might be just because of her size. She did have to get through whatever the military put her through. She hands the hammer to Sam. She grabs a fairly large piece of the relic and places it on another one of the carts.
$nat["Sam, smash this piece to bits. Make sure to leave nothing but a fine powder."]
$sam["Alright."]
He lifts up the hammer and brings it down on the chunk a few times. Eventually, it breaks apart into a mostly uniform powder that should be easy to work with.
$nat["That should do."]
I pull a small pouch out of my pocket and sweep the powder into it with my hand.
"This should be good, yeah?"
$nat["Yeah, that will work. You will not be going out there yourself."]
"Well that's only expected. We'll just send a small research team to the town right? Three or four people?"
$nat["Yes, and we will decide their target ourselves."]
"We'll know where to send them?"
$nat["We have maps of the entire area. And even if we did not, remember that we can just use online maps."]
"Oh, I forgot about those. It's been a while since I've needed to worry about finding my way to something on Earth."
$nat["We can go do it now."]
"Yeah."
The three of us head back down [[towards the administration section.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>Nat walks up to the site director's office. She steps inside. We wait a couple minutes before she comes back into the anteroom.
$nat["We now have access to the war planning room downstairs. First basement level."]
"They have a war planning room down here?"
$nat["Larger sites have them. This one is near a city, so they would usually use it in an emergency."]
"Making sure that everyone knows about this is an emergency."
$nat["I know."]
Nat leads us towards the stairwell and presumably wherever the planning room is.
$nat["You will be commanding our armies."]
"I thought you were an Air Force captain?"
$nat["That means I commanded a small group, not an entire army. I may be set for micromanaging but not on that scale."]
"Ah, that's fair."
$sam["I can probably help you two with any engineering stuff you might need when working with the gift."]
"Good."
Nat walks up and holds the planning room door open for us. [[We step inside.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>$nat["You should know now that Site-12 only has a battalion-sized unit of roughly 1,000 soldiers. All of them are on our side, but they will not stand very long if we are caught. Do remember that they have nuclear weapons, too."]
"Yeah. So what rank would that make us?"
$nat["Sam will not be involving himself with the weapons, unless he wants to make them. He is a research engineer for the time being. As for you, You would be a Colonel, even with a single battalion. I would sit directly below you as a Lieutenant Colonel."]
"That sounds nice. So we're sending about two people to Symerton, yeah?"
$nat["Obviously we will avoid military attacks until there is no way to avoid it. We should send them to a gas station. That is a usual point of entry for newcomers and potentially people leaving."]
"Alright. So I think we'll be better off sending a couple researchers instead of guards or something. They'd probably seem less suspicious."
$nat["Even if they get into trouble?"]
"What trouble would they get into? As far as anyone is concerned, they're just a couple of people visiting town. They probably shouldn't even have a weapon on them."
$nat["If you say so."]
"So you can send them soon, right?"
$nat["No."]
"Why not?"
$nat["I already sent them."]
"Oh. When would we be able to hear back from them?"
$nat["Give them about an hour."]
"Alright. You know, we should probably figure out who the President is. We could try and avoid a war, right?"
$nat["What do you mean?"]
"Think we could make our way into the government? If not that, then the economy? Slip right under their noses."
$nat["It could potentially be much less messy than other methods."]
"Yeah, that's what I'm saying. We take over the government and then the economy. Or vice versa. Why fight our enemy with guns when theirs are better? Bureaucracy is good at destroying things."
$sam["What about how governments are always terrible at actually getting anything done?"]
"Not when everyone in the room votes unanimously."
$sam["How would we do th- Oh."]
"Once we move into Chicago, we should probably think about sending some people to the state capital. That's also our first push into the national government."
$nat["Springfield. I see. From there, we can try and get them to spread the relic through every government meeting they have. Maybe get some of them into the federal government. We can work our way down from there."]
"Yeah, that's good. Since we have access to all of the information in Site-12 we can try and frame the higher up employees. Everyone on our side will be in on it. The only problem is that X-Corp is multinational. They're all over the world."
$nat["If we kick them out of the country, it becomes much harder for them to stop us. The United States is also home to more sites than any other country."]
"That's true. Site-19 is here, too. I doubt we could hit the Administrator, but we could force them to move to another site."
$nat["Even more useful, without any standing inside the country, military action would warrant a military response."]
"That's great. The thing is, we need to get to the national government as soon as possible. We also have to make sure nobody from X-Corp is inside the government. If they are, we'll have to work around that."
$nat["We could also use inside information to make them look bad. Obviously we would need to stretch the truth a slight bit. And first of all, we need to start small."]
"Yeah."
[[We continue talking while we wait.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>Over the course of the time it took for the team to return to the facility, we discussed a lot of the plan. We plan to take Symerton first, as usual, before moving onto another pair of nearby towns. It's actually kind of a funny name. Coal City and Diamond. They share a border with each other. Their total populations are a few thousand. Once we deal with them, we plan to send some groups of people to Chicago. We want to do it slowly, without causing too much to happen too fast. Not only does it keep the city from changing too quickly, but is less likely to alert X-Corp.
Nat detailed her plan for injecting ourselves into the national government through lower level leaders. The best part is that the more people who believe like us, the faster others will convert. It should be practically unstoppable if they aren't prepared.
Somewhere in the middle of it, Sam decided that he could find some factories to change their production to more of the same material as the relic. Apparently it details a simple set of materials that could be combined to make it. I doubt it would have worked before there were as many believers, but miracles can happen. From there, we could probably automate turning it into a fine mist that could slip itself through any air filter. There shouldn't be too much more that we need.
That's... Kind of a lot. We'll probably end up making some more plans as we go, too. I guess that's fair, given that we can't really predict everything this company would pull on us.
[[Nat gives us the report on the trip.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>$nat["As it turns out, nothing very interesting happened."]
"How did it go?"
$nat["Very well. Small amounts of the relic were placed in locations around the store. They also bought a few things so as to not be suspicious, but the clerk quickly realized the Truth."]
"Good. Where should we hit them next?"
$nat["If we take too many places where people group up, we might end up alerting the citizens and it could quickly spiral out of control. We want to avoid being airstriked off the maps again."]
"Yeah. We could probably nab the police station if things get a bit too hot there. They'd be the first people to investigate things."
$nat["Yes. We could have dust left around lawns. The only thing that would undo that is rain or something that might wash away what we leave, but for the most part, it should work just fine."]
"Alright. Our next target should be a couple restaurants. Maybe a larger store too if they have one. We can send in two groups of people this time, right?"
$nat["That should work."]
"How long do you think it would be before we got the entire town?"
$nat["A few days, at most. We only need to send in so many teams before the converted already know what to do. Our growth is exponential in the end."]
"What do you mean?"
$nat["Our gift helps move ideas between us. We do not have to use word of mouth for everything anymore. Although it is weak, people will know roughly what needs to be done to spread the Truth."]
"Ah, that makes sense. I think I know what you mean, anyways. Can you send those next two groups into town so that they can start spreading more?"
$nat["Yes, hold on while I give them the order."]
She takes a laptop from a bag and places it onto the table. It has the X-Corp logo on the back. It's a nice shade of blue. I assume she's just writing messages to them.
$sam["Does Symerton actually have any industry?"]
$nat["They do have two factories and an ancient diesel supplier."]
"We can use that, can't we?"
$nat["We should save it until the town is a bit more aware. A factory does not usually change its primary product so suddenly."]
"Ah, fair. When should we expect those other guys to come back?"
$nat["Give them a couple hours. Restaurant trips usually take a around an hour, right?"]
"Something like that. I guess the store wouldn't take nearly as long, seeing as if you're visiting, you probably aren't there for your grocery shopping."
$sam["You'd be surprised."]
"You're right."
[[We wait for the team to finish their job.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>The three of us waited, had lunch, checked in with maintenance to make sure the facility was fine, and, well, not much else, honestly. The teams we sent out get back pretty quickly.
"You think that should be good? If we send in too many people in one day that would probably get suspicious."
$nat["I would have said it if you had not."]
"Alright. Is it possible for us to get an accurate number of how many of us there are?"
$nat["There are 212 employees at this site, not including us, and roughly 15 people in Symerton are on our side."]
"How do you know that?"
$nat["Remember, our gift gets stronger as we do."]
"That's going to take a little while to get used to."
$nat["We have all the time in the world."]
"Yeah but we could always do more in less time."
$nat["Within reason."]
"Yeah, that's true. I think I'll take a nap. I have a plan for later, though. We'll go straight to the police station and make sure that we get into the government office. How bad would it be to have a large public meeting?"
$nat["Oh, I can look that up. Give me a moment."]
She searches around on the laptop.
$nat["Their next election is the day after tomorrow. This town has a large public gathering for their elections, which is fair since it's a fairly small town."]
"Alright. We'll take the government through the police force, and then while everyone is gathered, we can probably send someone into their local radio tower. I'm not sure what exactly to do with it, but I have a hunch."
$nat["That should work. Goodnight, Max."]
$sam["Night, Max. If you need any work done on that tower, you can send me in."]
"Yeah, that'll be nice. Goodnight."
I leave the planning room. They'll probably end up in their own rooms before long. I head to my own for the time being, [[and go to sleep.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>I get up again and look up at the clock. Once again, I've slept longer than I should've. Nobody wakes me up when this happens, either. That's kinda weird. That makes today the 131st day of our mission. And technically the third day since landing. I think there's actually an eclipse tomorrow. It's a shame we don't have more time to set up something big for it. I imagine we could use our gift to perform a couple miracles.
There's always time for us to work our wonders, though. It's just a matter of when and where.
I make my way back up to the planning room and enter the room. Nat doesn't seem to be inside at the moment.
[[Sam is there, though.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>"Hey, Sam."
$sam["Morning."]
"Where's Nat?"
$sam["I think she's still in bed. You're the commander, anyways."]
"Do we have information on how much more influence we have?"
He looks back up towards the laptop. He reads through it for a moment before he continues.
$sam["Something like 100 people in town."]
"That much?"
$sam["Yeah, it's neat."]
"Yeah, we should get the police station then. They might start to get suspicious. If these reports make it too high, we'll have to eat up the entire government chain."
$sam["Yeah, you're probably right."]
"Can we issue commands to the people in town now?"
$sam["Uh... I don't think we need to. Some people set up cameras in town and we have a pretty good idea of what it's like. They also put the site cameras on here too. Pretty sure this is everything we can see."]
"Oh, that's nice."
I go through the feeds. Some of the cameras in Symerton show... Nothing very interesting. However, it's almost easy to tell who is unaffected, who isn't fully affected, and who is fully affected. Occasionally a random person collapses because their mind either can't or refuses to handle the stress of our gift. They are carted off to some other location.
I don't actually know where that is.
It's not important. It's probably to finish the job or learn more about the human mind. Sacrifices must be made.
[[The planning room door opens.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>Nat steps into the room.
$nat["Good morning, Max."]
"Hey, Nat. I was just looking at the cameras. Are we ready to move onto the next part of our plan?"
$nat["We should be, yes. We just need your word on it."]
"Go ahead. How long will it take for a single person to be converted?"
$nat["Depending on their personality and also every single other aspect of their mind, it could take between a few minutes to a few hours for them to be fully converted."]
"Say someone was willingly brought to the relic."
$nat["At that point, I think they would start converting without even requiring the presence of the relic. As a concept, it can spread like that. As we get stronger, it can root itself into more minds without distance."]
"What is the end state? I don't think I remember that part of it."
$nat["When our gift fully demanifests and enters the noosphere itself. From there, it can interact directly with the collective unconscious."]
"That sounds lovely."
$nat["It will be. The Truth will be exposed and we will all find a better world. They just have to be willing to face the next step."]
"I don't doubt it."
Nat takes back the laptop and starts typing again. The people should already know roughly what to do, but we obviously can't immediately transmit entire plans to them through the human conceptual structure. Not yet, at least.
$nat["That should be that. Give me a moment to put the cameras on the main screens on the wall."]
She presses a couple buttons, and then the screens behind us light up with camera feeds.
"What exactly are we doing to get into the station without being suspicious?"
$nat["Oh, I think you might like this one. A couple of the townsfolk came up with this one themselves."]
"Oh boy."
[[We watch the camera feeds.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>Specifically, we're watching the camera feed focused on the street in front of the police station.
"What am I waiting for?"
$nat["It is very hard to miss a stunt like this."]
"What do you mean by stu-"
Before I finish my sentence, an unmarked white van careening down the street at something like 80 miles per hour on a residential road slams straight through the fence around the police station. It hits the outside wall pretty hard.
Somehow or another, the driver steps out looking completely unharmed. A group of four police officers rush out of the building. A small crowd begins to gather in front of the building.
"Wait, you mean to tell me that you just caused a car crash?"
$nat["It will draw a crowd. I think you already know what that van is full of."]
"Now that's just over the top. Are you filming a fucking comedy show?"
$sam["Sure looks like it."]
$nat["The funniest part is that they will never see it coming."]
"I guess you're right."
One of the cops trips over their own feet and lands face first in the ground. One of the others tries to help them up. A third cop tries to apprehend the driver. Three people jump out of the back of the van as the fourth officer tries to open the back doors. A bunch of black rocks spill out onto the ground.
Those are pieces of the relic. I can already see some of the people in the crowd looking like they're about to fall asleep. Was it seriously this effective?
"How much of the relic do we still have in the building?"
$nat["Hm? That was all the rest of it that we had."]
"You gave away all of it?"
$nat["Worry not, for I came prepared. I have an idea."]
"What might that be?"
$nat["We have Fabrication. Sam?"]
Sam looks up and grins at us.
$sam["Yeah?"]
$nat["Tell her about the factory plan."]
"No way."
$sam["Yeah, she wasn't actually in bed. She was fixing up some last things with the rest of the engineers. I did my part last night."]
"How do we make more?"
$sam["This is gonna sound like complete bullshit."]
"Hit me."
$sam["We replaced one of the circuits in a press with a piece of relic worn down to the same size and shape as the circuit. When we replaced it, it worked."]
"No fucking way."
$nat["It worked. Whenever we press steel, we get a nice fresh plate of new relic."]
"This is amazing."
$nat["This is the power of miracles, Max."]
"Yeah, I'm seeing that."
$nat["The entire town should be on our side shortly."]
I look back up at the cameras. The crowd has dispersed and the van was left where it was. A few pieces of relic are missing, though.
"What about the mayor?"
$nat["There are officers at his door already."]
"Nice."
$nat["Is there anything more we should do?"]
"Let's automate the grinding of relic into a fine mist. We can use it on large groups of people that way. When they breathe it in, it gets stuck in their lungs too. There's no escaping from the Truth that way."
$sam["We've proven multiple times that only people who know the whole Truth can damage it."]
"Yeah, well, replace the circuit boards again. Our gift knows what we have planned."
$sam["Guess you're right. I'll get on that then."]
[[Sam leaves the room.]](font: "Verdana")[\
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(group: "playing", "stop")\
(css: "font-size: 175%;")[\
''ACROSS THE STARS'']
''AT THE EDGE OF AN INFINITE HORIZON'']]
---
A research ship at the edge of the galaxy found an ancient relic.
First contact? Evidence of civilizations lost? In the end, just a mind virus.
The crew celebrated their success.
Bad things happened.
(color: purple)[But in the end, I won.]
Some things to note before leaving this world:
* (color: purple)[The game is over. I can't let you go back.]
It's nice when the Universe revolves around you.
She would know.
(color: purple)[I do, yeah?]
<span class='purple'>(link: "Well, if you really want to go back... We can delinearize the plot again.")[(goto: "Delinearizer":)]</span><span id="box">(display: "save")</span>"How many followers will we have by the time the town is ours?"
$nat["Exactly 1,953 people, including the three of us."]
"That's nice. Can we mobilize to Coal city and Diamond now?"
$nat["Yes. Let me send the order."]
She types into the laptop again.
"When will Sam be back?"
$nat["Whenever he finishes designing that new circuit."]
"You know, shouldn't we come up with a name for ourselves? Read through the Site's directory and look for any names they gave us before our gift returned to Earth."
$nat["Alright. After I finish giving out my order."]
She continues typing and clicking around.
$nat["Back in 2020, they called us the 'Cult of Relic.' CoR for short."]
"That sounds almost menacing. I like it. That's our official name now."
$nat["Not on paper yet."]
"Not on paper until we get too flashy."
$nat["Fair."]
"We should probably avoid making any deals under X-Corp's name. Can we set up a front company? Name it something like... MSN"
$nat["That sounds familiar."]
"I think it was the name of some internet service a few hundred years back. They stopped existing a while ago. We can take their name, right?"
$nat["I think I know what the letters stand for."]
"I know you're smarter than that, Nat. You knew exactly what they meant the moment I said it, yeah?"
$nat["Maybe I even predicted you would say it."]
"Good for you. When can we set that up?"
$nat["Whenever I get that chance."]
"Lovely."
We should probably pick up the pace a little bit.
"Think we should move out of the United States?"
$nat["Why would we do that?"]
"X-Corp has a huge standing here. More sites than anywhere else on Earth"
$nat["I guess that is a concern. However, if we stay in their main area, we can hit their largest sites, too. With that, it takes the main leading facility out of the game, too. Without Site-19, they might be completely screwed."]
"Yeah, I see what you mean. Before the next two towns are completely converted, send a couple people into Chicago. Start small though, don't take out the entire city in one shot."
$nat["Of course, that would alert too many people."]
"I want to take a nap now. Wake me up if anything big happens and brief me on everything I missed."
$nat["Very well. Have a good rest."]
"Thanks. Goodnight, Nat."
(link-reveal: "I get up and step outside of the planning room.")[== We're making good progress. X-Corp still doesn't know what we're doing. The longer we can keep this going on, the better. Best case scenario is that we start attacking them legally before they can even respond with military action. Maybe we could even ban them from military action if we hit them fast enough.
I step into my dorm room and shut off the lights. I climb into my bed and [[eventually fall asleep.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>''Chapter 6: Strategizer''
(link: "Save")[Saved.(save-game: "file A")]
---
I get up and stretch. A nice, comfortable sleep. I need not worry about a dreamless night, when in the end I'm living one right now. The Truth made life so much easier to bear, and revealed so much of the world to me.
Not everyone is equipped for the mental stress that causes. It'll be better for all of them, though. We'll all reach the goal. There's no way we can fail now.
Fate is real. It led us on this path and now there is no way to divert it anymore. That isn't a concern at the moment, though.
I step out of my room and start making my way down to the planning room.
By now, we should have great progress through Coal City and Diamond. Maybe even the option of Mistification is accessible to us. Once we get that mist, it'll make our jobs much easier. We'll have it ground fine enough that air filters won't catch it, and it'll disperse enough through natural wind that you'd never notice it.
Closed vent systems for larger buildings to isolate from the environment are fair game too. Entire buildings can be converted without a single person knowing until it's too late.
I open up the planning room door. It's just Nat inside the room this time.
[[She greets me.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>$nat["Good morning, Max."]
"Morning, Nat. Where's Sam?"
$nat["He is still working on getting our mist produced."]
"It works though, right?"
$nat["Within testing, we have been able to automate the process of grinding the relic down into dust particles roughly larger than the size of a single cell. We are working on getting that smaller."]
"How far do you think you'll be able to take it?"
$nat["Roughly larger than the size of an atom."]
"Ha, nice. What's our progress in the other two towns?"
$nat["Coal City has a population of 5,716 while Diamond has a population of 2,281. There are 534 CoR members in Diamond and 1,834 in Coal City."]
"That's pretty good. Get a team of a few people to hit some place in Chicago."
$nat["Now?"]
"Heck yeah. Don't go anywhere too big, but enough to start collecting some people. Use small solid pieces of relic, not dust. We don't want it to spread too fast too quickly."
$nat["Alright. Allow me to give out the order."]
She reaches down and starts typing on the computer again. This one takes a while. Probably because it's different from the other times that we've done this.
$nat["That should be it."]
"You're sending some people towards the state capital, right?"
$nat["Yes. The mayor of Symerton is headed there now."]
"You're sure they'll get the governor without a hitch?"
$nat["Count on it. We cannot lose."]
"You know, I should probably start believing in our gift more. I'm the leader, after all."
$nat["Now you understand."]
[[Sam walks into the room.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>$sam["That's about it. Our mist should be all ready to go now."]
"We're not using mist to take the governor?"
$nat["We are."]
"But you just-"
$nat["It was the first batch. There were a few errors in our automation at first, but the first testing batch was brought along for this mission."]
"Ah, okay. Think we should send our first mission out of state?"
$nat["We can start with those now. Once we finish with Chicago, we will move out to get as much of the state as we can."]
"Here's something: If you think X-Corp is starting to catch onto us, then we need to get another site as soon as possible. Take their attention away from us."
$sam["Yeah, that's a sound plan."]
$nat["Yes."]
"There's not much to do right now. Put the rest of the cameras on screen. Can we listen in on the X-Corp international communications line?"
$nat["We should still have access. They should be completely unaware of any relic presence on Earth."]
(link-reveal: "We wait around, watching the cameras and listening to the lines for anything interesting.")[==
$sam["Would you look at that, Diamond's all ours."]
"So we're just waiting for Coal City now."
$sam["Yep."]
Something interesting suddenly happens on the radio.
$dir["This is the Site-19 Director. The Administrator just gave out a notice to speak through private lines rather than the main line, except for public announcements. It's a security concern."]
$xco["When is that effective by?"]
$dir["Get it done by at least tomorrow."]
$xco["Yes sir."]
$nat["Huh. That could be a problem."]
"Well, it doesn't *sound* like they know about us yet, yeah?"
$nat["That could be the intent. Although, it could also be a coincidence."]
"That's what we're counting on. Just in case, though, we should probably get our hands on some weapons."
$nat["You do realize how small of a unit we have, no?"]
"Yeah, but that's not the point. We're not trying to kill anybody. I've got an idea."
$nat["Do tell."]
"So we already know that conversion speeds up with more exposure, yeah? So what if we took our mist and compacted it. Sort of like a condensed form of the usual relic. Super dense. It should shine the light of Truth right onto their minds."
$nat["But you cannot compress something that is already- Oh. I get it. We are no longer bound by the same physical rules as them."]
"The Truth is like that. You just have to understand that miracles were always within an arm's reach."
$nat["Very well. How should we go about this?"]
"We can learn from those smoke grenades. Not only would it have the same effect as a normal smoke grenade, but everyone even *near* it should get a good understanding."
$nat["That is good. We could use the same idea in bullets. We do not even need to hit the target. A close shot should be good."]
"You're right. How about armor plating, too? It's unbreakable for people who haven't realized. We can manufacture body armor and rebuild tanks with better armor."
$sam["I can get on that now. We'll probably need more factories. Once you guys get some more cities I can probably direct their production somewhere else. We'll have all sorts of military vehicles by the time you wake up tomorrow."]
"Good, good."
Sam gets back up from his seat and leaves the room.
$nat["Coal City is nearly on our side. I think they have a few more factories we can repurpose."]
"Nice."
[[I've been having an idea recently.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>When I think about it, the fact that the relic has more of an effect with proximity and amount of relic... Thinking with natural physics, you'd attribute that to something like electromagnetic waves. So, what's stopping us from creating them? We should have all the help we need.
"Nat?"
$nat["Yes?"]
"Get a radio receiver and read all the lowest frequencies you can find. If you have to modify the hardware, do it. I want to see if we can read the waveform the relic is producing, if any."
$nat["An interesting proposal. I will send an order to the research team to start reading for it."]
She starts typing on her laptop again.
"Good. After that, try and decode it. Actually, you should also try and see if you can recreate it, but stronger. I want us to start using the same waves. We won't even have to show up in person."
$nat["Ah, more wonderful ideas. I am telling them now."]
"Any updates on Coal City now?"
She glances up at the big screen.
$nat["Look at the numbers. Some of the programmers figured out how to use the relic to track how many of us there are compared to how many unconverted there are. They also place that next to the original population of an area."]
"Well that's great. The entire city is ours?"
$nat["Yes. We also have control over Chicago's very own Mag Mile."]
"Wait, you took over one of the *most expensive* parts of the city?"
$nat["Yes. Is there an issue?"]
"Well, as long as we don't get caught."
$nat["It seems like Sam is making good progress with those military implementations."]
"How are the factories going?"
$nat["The few we have are working. Sam is with the other engineers trying to figure out how to build more of our tech. Other factories are already manufacturing relic and mist."]
"That's great. Is there anything else that I missed and should know about?"
$nat["Nope. Well, besides the fact that I can get us something to eat."]
"If you will."
$nat["I will. Handle anything important that comes up on the laptop here. If you have no idea, just wait for me to return. We do have time to spare."]
"Alright."
[[She leaves the room.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>I turn the laptop around and look at the screen. I've never seen this kind of UI before. It's like an edit of the usual X-Corp intranet pages. Except this one has had a color change and it's got way more features that are only useful to us. This is pretty neat.
She's got a message log. I wonder how the rest of X-Corp can't read our messages. I should talk to Nat about what sort of encryption we have. It's either the same encryption or some weird magic thing they worked up within the hour. Both would make perfect sense.
There are 11,78,725,923 people on Earth. It doesn't say how many are on the other two civilized bodies, but then again, I don't think we need to concern ourselves with them. There are more than enough people on Earth alone. X-Corp is our greatest enemy, so fighting them on their own territory is part of the work.
Thinking about it, if we have to modify a receiver to be able to read signals from the relic, then we would have to make new ones. We wouldn't be able to use them worldwide unless other places could make them... I've got to think about this after we figure out how it works anyways, yeah?
(link-reveal: "A message shows up on screen.")[== I pull it up. It's a message from the governor. Well, isn't that nice?
$usa["I, along with the rest of my staff in the State of Illinois, are now aware of the Truth. All of our assets are available for your use at any time."]
I type a response back.
"Lovely. We will come back to you if we need anything."
Now that we have the state government, I assume we can send a couple representatives or someone else over to the federal government. From there, we can work our way back down to everyone else. I think the first order of action should be something along the lines of cutting X-Corp's research company paycheck. Maybe force them to give up some of their private military. We also plan to frame some of their higher ups. I doubt we could grab the Administrator because there probably isn't an ounce of information on them written anywhere. The Administrator is more of a nebulous concept really, and some people aren't entirely sure there actually is one.
Taking the President along with the rest of the government branches is something we need to do. We'd be a more cohesive government than any other on Earth. We could probably win the actual election if we really wanted to. There is an election this year, interestingly enough.
[[Nat comes through the door.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>"Welcome back."
$nat["I have burgers. Did I pick right?"]
"Yeah, gimmie."
She hands a burger to me. I start unwrapping it.
$nat["Did I miss anything?"]
"State governor has been dealt with."
$nat["Wonderful. Is he busy at the moment?"]
"He shouldn't be. We can probably have him fly to the US capital right now."
$nat["Sure. It would take a couple hours, though."]
"That's fine. We have a while."
$nat["Alright, give me the computer."]
I slide it over to her and she starts typing.
$nat["I see you were looking at our custom interface."]
"It's pretty snazzy. Did you make it?"
$nat["Of course. I did spend a while programming before this mission."]
"I like it."
$nat["If you must move, you should do so gracefully, no?"]
"Yeah. I've been thinking about something recently, though."
$nat["Was is it?"]
"Knowing the Truth, why do we have to go through the effort to convert everyone, rather than taking the more obvious easy way?"
$nat["Death is not the same as this. Those who die in our wars without knowing the Truth are lost. As is everyone who died before."]
"Ah, that's fair. I understand."
I look over at the clock. It's later than I expected.
"You know what, I'll see you tomorrow. I'm not going to say 'nap' and then wake up in 8 hours. It'd probably only be a nap if you woke me up."
$nat["Well, in that case, goodnight, Max."]
"Goodnight, Nat."
[[I get up and leave the room.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>This is turning out to be pretty fun. I get to sit around in a room and talk with the other two about how we want to convert the entire planet to our cause. This sounds like something a group of teenagers or something would come up when their history class is boring. I did always have a knack for watching numbers rise, though.
(link-reveal: "I walk into my room.")[==
I don't think I'm taking this as seriously as I should, honestly. We're dealing with the entire planet and being inside a corporation that probably wouldn't hesitate to kill us all if it realized we were here. There's also the fact that I'm pretty sure I've had part of my base consciousness changed. Which is fair, honestly. When someone learns something new, it could change their perspective. I have learned the nature of reality.
We can't lose, though. We're beyond the point of no return. Nat's said this to me already. I think it's comforting to know that. When I say we can't lose, I don't mean that in a sense of overconfidence. I mean that there is no path from here that can lead to a point where we lose the wars. I don't know what will happen, but we all know some things that won't. The only way they could win would be with time travel.
(link-reveal: "I crawl into my bed and shut off the light.")[==
X-Corp is inevitably going to find out about us. That's just a given. You can't take apart an organization from the inside without them realizing at some point. It's just a matter of time. I reckon we could at least take over another couple towns before they notice something is up. Either that or they'll be tipped off by the sudden government activity against them. Hopefully they won't make the connections, though.
[[Dreamless, dreamless.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>Would you look at that, I was spot on. A full night's sleep. I wonder if setting up an alarm or something would help me with this. It's healthier to get a full rest, though. It's nice that that shouldn't be too much of a problem for very long.
I head out of my room and back to the planning room. I can imagine that this would get tiring eventually. The same routine every day. Although we do make more progress every day. I imagine that it should only be a couple more days of work before the world is ours.
[[Into the planning room once more.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>$nat["Good morning, Max."]
"Good morning."
$sam["Morning."]
"So, what'd I miss?"
$nat["We have expanded more in Chicago. The governor of Illinois arrived in DC roughly two hours after you went to bed."]
"How is the military technology going?"
$sam["We did a good job. If we ever get into a fight, all of our guys have access to their armor and stuff at their homes or other places of interest to us."]
"Lovely. What about the military vehicles?"
$sam["We grabbed some of the tanks they have by the site and then moved them over to one of the factories. We took the entire thing apart, and then rebuilt a bunch of the armor with relic plating."]
"That's great, how does it work?"
$sam["The tanks go faster and shoot better."]
"They should be indestructible, yeah?"
$sam["We can't really prove it without a normal person shooting it, but I personally took a normal tank and shot one of our new ones."]
"Did it break?"
$sam["Nope. If I wanted it to, it probably would've."]
"Oh, that actually makes sense. So, not a scratch?"
$sam["Well, there was dust from the explosion but the armor itself was fine."]
"Fair. Any news on the governor?"
$nat["He has a meeting scheduled with a few other governors in a few minutes. There will be a few other federal employees watching too. They will be exposed and take some of the relic that we gave to him. From there, we can probably convert the entire White House from proximity alone."]
"That's lovely. So how about our waveform?"
$nat["Great news. We have determined that it is possible. We can replicate the waves, but we still do not know what it actually means. The bad part is that it did require modifications."]
"Is there anything we can do to get around that?"
$nat["We could broadcast on a higher frequency. The only issue with a different frequency is that X-Corp would be able to detect it."]
"Yeah, that's fair. Let's avoid large scale broadcasts until X-Corp knows what we're doing."
$nat["Yes. We can use the modified transmitters for the time being, though, for use in towns and the like."]
"Can we use them in Chicago?"
$nat["Yes, we can move onto more of the city."]
"And safely, too. Once the federal government is converted, we should be able to safely convert the rest of the city."
$nat["Just so you know, we have a camera on the governor. They are not supposed to have them, but we can watch the meeting from here."]
"That's good."
$nat["Allow me to put it on the screen."]
[[The big screen changes.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>The camera feed we can see seems to be some sort of body cam. We can see a couple other important looking people in the room with the governor. It's a waiting room.
A voice in the distance says something and a few of the people in the room get up and start walking. The governor steps into the meeting room. Someone in a suit at the other end of the table starts talking. It's mostly just the introduction to whatever meeting this is.
The people in the room are considering actions to take on corporations with private militaries. There are a few of them. X-Corp has the largest one out of any and are headquartered in the US, unlike the rest. After all, some of them do operate proper military vehicles on US territory. They obviously haven't engaged in combat with other nations, but have occasionally been used for defending the company from threats either within or outside of the company.
X-Corp does work on a lot of strange technology and weird objects that have been discovered. I'd assume the relic is one of the strangest ones they've gotten their hands on. Being able to blow up whatever is threatening you is comforting. Let's hope they don't blow us up. Even if it takes nuclear weapons to destroy our gift at the moment, we know they have them and are willing to use them.
The governor of Illinois is probably qualified to talk about companies with private militaries, seeing as one of the larger X-Corp sites is near Chicago. Although the governors of New York and Florida have to deal with the two largest X-Corp sites in the world. They probably will be in this same office themselves, in time.
Throughout the meeting, some of the people in the room start to look tired for a while. As the meeting drags on, most of them are fighting the urge to fall asleep right at the table. It makes it a lot easier to debate against anyone not trying to cut X-Corp's money. Some of them even wake back up, and we can immediately tell that they are converted. They don't outwardly change, but there's a sort of recognition that we only get from our own people.
There's one issue with this, though. Given the nature of this debate, an X-Corp representative did show up to the debate. I think they were sent from Site-03, if I can read his little badge right. Which is better than 19, honestly, but they still pose a threat if they return acting suspicious.
At least we're hitting two birds with one stone here. It takes a while before the meeting concludes but the government decides to place a limit on how many X-Corp soldiers can be active at any given time, as well as cutting part of their research fund because they seemed to be using it for defense purposes.
[[This is a success in my books.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>$nat["This is great news. Not only has X-Corp been weakened, but we should have a window into another facility if we can prepare that representative and everyone who came with him."]
"We should be careful with that, though. I think his badge said something about being from Site-03. That's the huge one up in NYC."
$nat["Ah, well, we could put it off for a moment. As long as he is converted, we do not need to worry about him saying anything suspicious to the rest of his site."]
"Fair enough. Are we able to figure out where the federal guys and company representatives are headed next?"
$nat["The governor could probably ask without an issue. Half the people in the room were converted. Some of them will end up converted before they leave the building, too."]
"Are we going to leave some of the relic in that meeting room?"
$nat["Yes. We will probably have to deal with it again in time."]
"Which branch of the government are we going to deal with first?"
$nat["I think we should save the White House for last. Just because of how important he is. We want to make sure that the other branches wouldn't notice anything. The President has a lot to do, anyways."]
"Actually, about that. Let's figure out who this guy is, just to make it easier to bring him onto our side."
$nat["What about him?"]
"His agenda, his campaign, how he got into office, stuff like that, yeah?"
$nat["Ah. Well, he has been in office since before the mission. I can probably pull it up somewhere."]
"Go ahead."
$nat["Well, first of all. The current President is the 170th."]
"What's his name?"
$nat["His name is... Huh. I do not seem to remember it."]
"I mean, we were away from Earth for about half a year. I guess it makes sense."
$sam["I can't think of what his name was either. Everyone I know just called him the President."]
"Well, what did they call him on his campaigns?"
$nat["Hold on..."]
She types and looks through the laptop. About as confused as the rest of us.
$nat["It just says Candidate #3 on the ballots. There are two normal names and then that. It looks like he was just a placeholder name."]
"Can you pull up a list of statements from the three of them?"
$nat["Give me a minute."]
She types something else into the laptop. She reads through it for a minute before she chuckles for a moment.
$nat["Look at this. Read the three of them."]
[[I take the laptop.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>There's a list of the three presidential candidates in the last election. They all have their mission statements. I can already tell the last one will be an interesting read.
$usa["My name is Terrance Matthews, and I'm the presidential nominee for the Republican Party of the United States of America. I'm a very proud American. I love my country, my family, and my guns. Voting for me is voting for freedom, liberty, and happiness for you and everyone you love. The democrats want to take your money with higher taxes and crooked welfare systems. The only benefit will be to their own corrupt pockets. A vote for me is a vote for you."
"My name is Jack Kingston, and I'm the presidential nominee for the Democrat Party of the US. Your loved ones are being hurt by the Republican politicians, and by voting for me, we can work together to stop them. I've spent most of my life in the community, helping out ordinary people like you and me get out of bad situations caused by conservative views. Together, we can stop them and protect the United States that we love and hold so dear. Our safety is at risk with them in office, with lenient gun laws and a complete lack of welfare. I will make sure free healthcare is available to all Americans, with the only expense being some taxpayer dollars, mostly directed at the 1% to help them help us. A vote for me is a vote for everyone."]
$pre["hello guys i am candidate #3 and i represent the Third Party. america is a pretty cool country, right? i think so too. anyways, pleas vote for me because it weill help your country and you. remember to vote and thanks you for listening."]
"I- Wh-What? He actually won with a mission statement like that?"
$nat["Apparently so."]
She takes back the laptop.
"Does he have a backstory or anything? Something that would make you want to vote for him?"
$nat["As far as I can tell, he just seems to exist. He just has no background whatsoever. I- Wait. I found something."]
"What is it?"
$nat["Look at this. It even has a campaign picture."]
<img src="./images/candidate3.jpg" alt="A picture of one of Candidate #3's campaign posters." height="400">
$pre["PREVIOUS COMMUNITY EXPERIENCE:
THREE MINUTES OF BABYSITTING (nullified by sudden death of the baby, the FBI still doesn't know what happened)
TWO-TIME EXTERMINATOR
FACTORY WORKER
DIRT TESTER
DIRT TASTER
WINNER"]
What.
"You know what? Fuck it. He seems pretty reasonable now that I read through everything here."
$nat["I normally avoid voting right, but... I cannot even tell where he stands."]
"Where is he on the political spectrum?"
$sam["I don't know, forwards?"]
$nat["A progressive?"]
$sam["No, he's a winner, like, up. Pretty sure he hates Flo, anyways."]
"Huh. I don't think we're going to get anything conclusive out of this."
$nat["Me neither."]
"I guess we can just keep watching our progress in Capitol Hill."
$nat["For now."]
[[We continue watching the cameras.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>"How long do you think it'll take?"
$nat["Give them an hour or so for the courts and legislature to convert. The buildings are right next to each other, anywyas. The White House is just a few blocks down, too."]
"Alright. Any information on Chicago?"
$nat["We should have most of the North Side of Chicago completely converted."]
"I'm not actually familiar with the different parts of the city."
$nat["I think it is a sort of high value uptown region, seeing as the Mag Mile is there."]
"Alright, that's good. Once they finish up in the federal buildings, see if we can't do something to them legally."
$nat["I //am// very good with computers. I will get the rest of the software engineers at the site and see to it that we can dig up some important information. The site director should have access to most of it as well."]
"That's good. We'll have them in prison and we can deal with them from there."
$nat["Capture and convert without ever directly taking part. Interesting."]
"Of course. I'll let you handle the framing. You're probably more fit for setting up an entire thing that people would never be able to get out of."
$nat["You really do make good decisions."]
"Why do you think I'm the leader?"
We spend some time watching the cameras for any more [[signs of completion.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>By now, both the court and legislature are completely on our side. Nothing looks different on the outside, but we just kind of know that it's fine. Some of our guys are in the White House as we watch. We get a call from one of the agents inside. There are only a few people who could get my number.
"This is your leader speaking."
$cit["Yeah, we can't get the President to agree to anything."]
"Can't you just convert him like anyone else? Is there a problem?"
$cit["No, I mean... It's not working."]
"Get into his office and give him the phone."
$cit["I guess. He's not fighting us or anything."]
There's a pause.
$pre["Heyo girl. It's your President. Why are you guys in my office, anyways? Doesn't that violate some sort of law?"]
"I- What? You're not accepting the Truth?"
$pre["Oh yeah I've heard of it. I don't really like it that much. You can keep chucking your funny rock at me and all, but it's not gonna work, Max."]
"Wait, you know my name?"
$pre["I'm the President. Am I not supposed to know everyone's names?"]
"What? That's not how that works at all."
$pre["Oh well. You guys are pulling some movie shit, though. Kinda surprised that company you guys don't like hasn't spotted you yet."]
"We've been taking precautions."
$pre["You lot are pretty good at your job then, eh? Do you actually know what your 'Truth' even means?"]
"Yeah, why?"
$pre["If you say so. Frankly, I'm not a fan of it. I don't like blindly accepting things that get in my head, lady."]
"We can still kill you."
$pre["Is that, like, a requirement? Isn't that weird? I thought you guys didn't want to kill anyone."]
"Well, you're just not accepting it. You're more of a liability than anything that can help us."
$pre["Man- You kinda suck. Could you just not kill me? It's a bit annoying when that happens. I can write you a check or something. You want money? I think the treasury has money in it. Is the treasury a physical thing? I never looked it up."]
"What? We don't want money. We're just trying to share the Truth with everyone."
$pre["Okay. I kinda still have a job to do. Take your rocks somewhere else, girl. I don't think they're all that pretty. You should probably reconsider your job, too."]
"You can at least... Sign orders for us, right?"
$pre["I mean, if you're gonna keep me alive for it or something then I guess."]
"Good."
$pre["I've got something else for you to think of, though."]
"Yeah? What's that?"
$pre["Think about the Universe from more than just the perspective of a fucking rock."]
The line drops there.
"What the fuck?"
$nat["You mean to tell me that the President is just... Able to ignore us?"]
"That's what it seems like. Nobody else is able to resist, right?"
$nat["Resistance should not even be possible, honestly. Any human should fall pretty quickly. Animals too, probably."]
"...Unless?"
$nat["To be fair, that probably would not be too much of a surprise, given the nature of our gift."]
"Oh well. He's not going to stop us."
$nat["I know."]
"Well, I guess that's that. Let's go ahead and finish up the job in Chicago."
$nat["I will handle all of our political and economic work. The borders will be opened wide open to accept more converts, you just wait."]
"And we'll get laws passed in record time. Fuck bureaucracy. Keep your spread in Chicago slow and steady, make sure nobody notices anything. Make sure that you keep attacking X-Corp legally without making them too suspicious."
$nat["I will make sure to frame them well."]
"Good. I think I'll go to bed now."
$nat["Goodnight, Max."]
$sam["Night."]
"Actually, Sam. I think I'll have a new idea for you by tomorrow, just in case something bad happens."
$sam["I'll be ready for it."]
[[I step back out of the planning room.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>I think it'll only be a few more days before the world is ours. It's been a while, but we're more efficient than anybody else on Earth could even hope to be. People really forget just how efficient hive minds can be. And we even kept our individuality.
Such is humanity. Such is reality.
I make my way into my room.
About that idea I was going to give Sam. I have a feeling that we might need it in the future. I know for a fact that armor might not be enough. Something like this would need bigger numbers, though. What if we used the reality bending nature of the relic to just... Transpose things into reality?
I climb into my bed and shut off the light.
Something as powerful as our Truth is enough to disregard the rules set in place by the Universe. After all, it did come from outside of it. Although we never learned why or how... I imagine we'll learn in due time. The other world is waiting for us. My world.
[[Dreams were never necessary.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>''Chapter 7: Penultimate''
(link: "Save")[Saved.(save-game: "file A")]
---
I don't think I'll have another dream until this is over. Which is fine, honestly. I already have everything planned out until the end of this. It's a bit interesting that I don't really know exactly what happens after we're done, though. I just know that another world is waiting for us all. At least it's going to be better than any dream world I could come up with. I know it wasn't written on our relic.
(group: "playing", "stop")
(link-reveal: "I get out of my bed")[== and prepare a small breakfast for myself. Eating is still important.
About using the collective power of all of our minds, we could probably transpose something into reality. I remember thinking about that last night. Something like a shield that the user can manipulate at will. This would take a long time to work on, though. Even with the power that we currently have.
(link-reveal: "I step out of the room")[== and head down the hallways to get to the planning room again.
It's sort of like magic, yeah? Well, most of the stuff we've done so far is like magic. I don't think I would have believed it a few weeks ago. I don't think anyone would have. It's kind of interesting considering the fact that I knew so little about the fate of the Universe just a few days ago. Things change a lot, I guess.
[[I step into the planning room once more.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>"Good morning."
$nat["Good morning."]
$sam["Morning."]
"What have I missed so far?"
$nat["We have moved into another region of Chicago. The Loop is fully under our control."]
"I don't know what part of the city that is."
$nat["Just think of all of the large offices and the huge commercial district."]
"Ah, I get it."
$sam["So what was that idea you wanted to tell me about last night?"]
"I had to actually come up with it before I went to bed."
$sam["Why's that?"]
"I was basing it off of a hunch. But I think it's a revolutionary one."
$nat["You have my interest."]
$sam["Go ahead."]
"So anyways, you know how the relic primarily focuses on the mind for its power?"
$nat["Yes, why?"]
"Well, what if we went ahead and focused that power on something to aid in spreading the Truth?"
$nat["Such as?"]
"So, this might sound stupid, but what if we tried to use the collective wills of the converted in order to transpose defensive barriers into reality? We've already broken a good few physical laws as is."
$nat["That sounds like a wonderful idea."]
$sam["We can try working on that now. It'll probably take ages before we get something working, though."]
"That's fine. But when we do get it working, it'll be a great help for us just in case. We won't even have to rely on pre existing materials or decomposure or anything."
$sam["That's the best part. I'll go talk with my research guys over in Symerton. They're gonna love this."]
"I don't doubt it."
He gets up and promptly leaves the room to do his work.
$nat["Anyways, I dug up quite a few nasty deeds done by the X-Corp administration team. A good few hundred employees."]
"How much did you frame?"
$nat["Oh, about four fifths were framed. The rest of it was genuine misdeeds. I can focus on prosecuting those first of all."]
"Anything on the Administrator?"
$nat["Nothing whatsoever. Not even a profile."]
"How about our economic attacks?"
$nat["I had the federal government seize a few of the facilities for investigation. We found some unsafe working conditions in some of their smaller sites. They will be converted in the blink of an eye, and we will not be caught."]
"That's lovely."
$nat["The best part is that we found the addresses of some other employees, converted them in their sleep, and then we wait for them to return to their jobs so that we can organize some chaos behind their doors."]
"Let's finish our job in the city, then. We've stirred up quite a bit as is."
$nat["Watch and learn."]
She picks up a small remote and points it at the big screen on the wall. [[We start watching.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>The footage flicks to a collage of streams from different cameras all over the city. Small, unsuspecting groups of people still wandering the street suddenly show symptoms of early conversion before they quickly realize the Truth.
There are a few of them that collapse and don't get back up because they resist the Truth too hard, and end up frying their entire brains in the process. They're swiftly cleaned up by other people on the streets, though. They can serve as test subjects for non-converted people, too. Their bodies function just fine. The only issue is that they completely lose their entire identity and their memories are probably gone, too. They become braindead, essentially.
In the span of just an hour or so, we rapidly spread our forces throughout the entire city. All of Chicago is under our rule now.
"How many people do we have now?"
She glances at the laptop screen.
$nat["6,841,371."]
"That's quite a bit more than the city's population."
$nat["We have been slightly busy since you went to bed. We do have some other progress in converting Detroit, as well. That contributes somewhat to the number. Most of the DC area is controlled by us, too. Nobody leaves or enters our areas without getting converted."]
"I hope you took all those little toll boxes on the interstates and stuff."
$nat["The ones where you have to stop, right?"]
"Yeah, those."
$nat["Correct. We avoided the automatic ones just to avoid causing car crashes if the conversion takes too long. It still takes up to a few minutes for some people."]
"That's fair. How quickly is our number rising?"
$nat["Very quickly. It no longer stays still. There is so much relic around the world at this point. Some of the dust is swept up by wind and carried all over."]
"Are we in any other countries?"
$nat["We have started a small incursion in Canada. It turns out that a few of the converted got onto a cargo ship to Europe. From there, we started another small incursion in Greenwich, UK."]
"You only picked that spot because you liked their royal observatory."
$nat["You caught me."]
We look back up at the screen. We can actively see dots moving about the map, telling us where our progress is being made. This is a wonderful mesh of technology and the mind.
"Are the small broadcasts doing well?"
$nat["They help greatly. We can convert people without even entering their buildings anymore. Just wave the transceivers about in front of a house, and we have a new comrade, ready to fight."]
"There really are dots all over the map."
$nat["Airliner paths and shipping routes are perfect arteries to move our people. We are spreading like an epidemic."]
Suddenly, one of the communications officers comes [[through the door.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>$nat["Yes, what is it?"]
$xco["Get on the TV and set the channel to the local news station."]
$nat["Alright. Why?"]
She says it while fiddling with the remote. The main feed changes to a news broadcast.
$cit["Apparently all of our reporters on the scene have stopped responding to us. Everyone in the office right now seems to be fine, but out on the streets, chaos is running rampant. We have no idea what is happening, but people seem to be dropping what they're doing and joining some cause."]
$nat["Ah, I see. This is a problem."]
"Yeah... Get us a radar screen. Look for any X-Corp activity. It's not a matter of if they realize what's happening, it's a matter of when."
$nat["We should have a map of every single X-Corp military vehicle and installation currently in service."]
"Good, pull it up."
She pulls up the map on another screen. Right as she does so, we catch movement from the Site-03 airstrip. Looks like they're already mobilizing.
"Oh, shit. I'm calling Sam."
I grab my phone and start dialing his number.
$sam["Heyo. Whaddaya need, Max?"]
"Yeah, X-Corp just noticed the mess in Chicago. Get your military vehicles out there."
$sam["What kinda response are they sending?"]
"What are those planes, Nat?"
$nat["Bombers."]
"Bombers."
$sam["Ah, shit. I'll get our AA units out there. We're not gonna hit them all, though."]
"The more we can take out, the better. They should have weaker forces after we cut their numbers, anyways."
$nat["Oh! This is going to be fun."]
"What?"
$nat["The President is currently being directly contacted by X-Corp officials. They are completely losing their minds over this! They never saw it coming. Their internal communications lines are going absolutely wild!"]
"Yeah, it's pretty golden. Only problem is that we should probably nab the military before they start trying to lobby their way into it."
$nat["Oh, I started doing that last night. I started with the generals and we worked our way down from there. We had direct access to the Pentagon and Department of Defense. There was nothing they could do."]
"Oh, and a great idea: Since some of these planes will manage to unload a few bombs on the city, we can use that as a reason to turn the US Military on them. Following budget cuts, a direct battle with the much larger and well-funded Army will leave them in shambles."
$nat["That is right. I will call the President now. I have his personal phone number, it makes our jobs easier."]
She dials a number again.
$nat["Hello, Mr. President. We need you to declare a war against the X-Corp private military. Please do not ask any questions. Yes, why? No, of course not. Our personal military units are visibly marked differently. You should know who to shoot. Yes, you have to. I do not care if you can speak in lowercase. Declare the war."]
She puts down the phone.
"Speak in lowercase?"
$nat["Some people are very strange."]
"Yeah, I know. We're not the weirdest group out there."
$nat["We are the strongest."]
"Of course. Is the war starting?"
$nat["With a heavy sigh, he obliged."]
[[We glance back up at the screen.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>We watch the bombers approach. Dozens of bright lights shoot across the sky as Sam's part of the army group starts firing shots. A lot of the planes are taken out quickly, hitting the ground. Some of them explode right as they do. A couple bombs do manage to fall on the city, though.
A few lives lost, but their sacrifices will not be forgotten. We will meet them in the new world. Armed conflict is commencing.
$nat["Your orders, Colonel?"]
"Get everybody their armor. Make sure we start broadcasting on a bunch of different frequencies. We want to blast everything with it. Tell Sam that the moment the coast is clear for Chicago, we need to start working on those shields. Make sure we're only using our special non-lethal rounds."
$nat["Yes."]
"If we can't finish the job today, we're finishing it by tomorrow."
$nat["How ambitious. I love it."]
"Anyways, can we figure out how much X-Corp knows?"
$nat["From the beginning, they knew that Chicago had completely fallen out of their control. They also know we are capable of fast military response. The exact details are currently unknown by them, though."]
"Can we intercept any communications?"
$nat["That actually reminds me. They still do not know that Site-12 has fallen, but they might be getting suspicious. We may need to move sometime."]
"Give up territory to the enemy? I don't think so. Let's just build a bunch of turrets around the building. Make sure nothing can get through."
$nat["That may work."]
"Have we started our wide broadcasts?"
$nat["Yes. Everything we quickly started using right after the bombing has surprised them quite a bit. The few communications we can get currently are going wild."]
"That's great. Is Sam working on shields still?"
$nat["His update says he should be done with it by the end of the day."]
"What other movements are we seeing?"
$nat["Eight of ten sites in Europe are ours."]
"Whoa, what? Already?"
$nat["Our number keeps rising."]
"Yeah, I get that. It just caught me off guard."
$nat["Anyways, we are seeing battleship movement from some of the coastal sites. There are planes taking off from dozens of X-Corp airstripts worldwide. I do not know where all of them are headed."]
"All of our cities are given weapons to begin with, right?"
$nat["Each factory in each city also contributes to the effort."]
"They're fighting a war with the government and with us. There's not a chance they could win."
$nat["Even if they had the government, we would be winning. Oh, look at this."]
[[She passes the laptop to me.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>$nat["This is a message from the director of Site-19. Not the Administrator, just the director."]
"This should be an interesting read."
$xco["You three may have slipped past our radar for the time being, but that ends today. We know you're out there and we will find you. We know how to work with your little cognitohazard. This is not the first time, but it will be the last. The government may have cut our funding, but striking at a time of weakness only makes us stronger. Your overconfidence will be your downfall.
We refuse to go gently into your good night.
We will protect our people until there is nothing left to protect."]
"What a pitiful message to send to your superiors."
$nat["Goodness, you are awful."] She says it, chuckling.
"I know."
I give the laptop back to her.
"What's our progress on Site-03?"
$nat["Ah, that. They noticed us."]
"Did we lose our chance?"
$nat["No, we just started a shootout in the parking lot, is all."]
"Well, their bullets won't do a thing against our armor."
$nat["Explosions will still hurt them. Bulletproof vests are only vests, after all."]
"How exactly are those shields going to work, anyways?"
$nat["I am not sure. We cannot be until we actually have them working. I assume Sam is going to try a myriad of things until they work."]
"Actually, that reminds me of something."
$nat["What is it?"]
"How many nuclear weapons does X-Corp have?"
$nat["Despite the nuclear treaties from a few decades ago, X-Corp still possesses several hundred nuclear ICBMs."]
"Well, shit. I don't think our shields would hold up against that. Nukes are the strongest thing they've got against us right now."
$nat["Yes, we will probably come up with something, though."]
"Do you think they'll launch the entire arsenal?"
$nat["That should not be possible. Most of their remaining missiles are at Sites 03 and 19. The rest are ours, ignoring a few outliers."]
"And they're about to lose the entire arsenal at 03."
$nat["Yes."]
There's a red alert on one of the main screens. [[We look up immediately.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>$nat["Oh. They just fired about five missiles across different areas from Site-19."]
"Do we have those little rockets that can shoot them down before they land?"
$nat["They probably checked for where we put them."]
"Ah."
$nat["We should be able to take all of them down."]
We watch the little dots representing rockets fly across the map from Site-19. One of them is headed across the Atlantic.
"Woah, wait. Are they launching a missile headed out of the country?"
$nat["That has to violate quite a few treaties."]
"I mean, launching nukes on your own country does that too."
$nat["True."]
Four of the missiles are destroyed in the air before they can arrive at their destination. That includes the one en route to one of the European X-Corp sites. Looks like they're figuring out how to see our broadcasts. Let's hope they don't learn to read anytime soon.
Even if they did, they wouldn't have enough time to do anything with the information. Directly tampering with the relic's core concept makes you liable for the same thing happening to you.
The last missile strikes a town elsewhere in Illinois. Nowhere close to us or Chicago, but enough to serve as a warning shot. We catch the mushroom cloud forming on the cameras. This is the first nuclear weapon detonation in at least 200 years. It kind of hurts watching them kill thousands of us like that. It almost feels unfair, but we know that isn't true.
"Tch. That sucks."
$nat["We will recover. Their losses will not be in vain."]
"Let's mobilize one of our special armor units. Set them moving towards Site-19. They won't need to stop and they can't be destroyed, only slowed down. It'll serve as a nice little reminder that they're completely and utterly fucked, through and through."
$nat["I am giving out the order now."]
The door is suddenly opened by Sam.
$sam["Good fucking news, ladies. We have our shields now."]
"Lovely. So our infantry should be completely impenetrable now, yeah?"
$sam["But yeah, our guys should have their little mind shields ready now."]
"Is everyone able to use them?"
$sam["Yeah, but it works better with more of us. The more of us using the shields, the weaker an individual one would be."]
"Which makes sense, honestly. So how well would one of our shields work against a nuclear bomb?"
$sam["We already know that nuclear stuff in general is our biggest weakness. It'd probably shatter like, instantly."]
"Oh. Fair enough. How about another idea. Something you would have to do pretty quickly."
$sam["Go ahead."]
"What if we dynamically changed the shield strength at certain points, in order to absorb as much of the blast as possible?"
$nat["That sounds like one of my ideas."]
"I wouldn't be surprised if I picked it straight from your head."
$sam["I'll go ahead and start working on it again."]
"Have fun."
$sam["Oh, I will."]
$nat["Goodness, he spends no time in this room."]
"Do you miss him?"
$nat["Another planner would be nice. Even if one of us is all the world needs."]
"I guess."
[[Back to watching the screens.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>We watch the siege on Site-03. Another group of vehicles near the area group up with our tanks. Completely impenetrable. And the shields are helping too. The Division stationed at the site has been reduced to a couple thousand soldiers. None of them have died, except for those who could not accept the gift, or those killed by collateral from other X-Corp soldiers.
The US Military vehicles aren't specially armored, but they are still equipped with shields. It won't be long before this entire site has fallen.
$nat["A shame, but progress nonetheless."]
"Don't they know that resisting the future only makes it hurt?"
$nat["They will learn."]
"How many countries are still unaffected?"
$nat["Several small countries in remote places around the world are still untouched by us directly."]
"And by broadcast?"
$nat["Our reach is worldwide."]
"How many countries do we have complete control of?"
$nat["About half of the world. Mostly in places without X-Corp sites. But some of them do have X-Corp sites. Russia and all of Europe, for example."]
"Nice. How long will it be before our tanks arrive at Site-19?"
$nat["Sometime tomorrow, hopefully. They should be able to fight off any non-nuclear threat without much trouble."]
"Alright. In that case, I'll see you tomorrow."
$nat["Very well. Goodnight, Max."]
"Goodnight."
[[I step out of the room.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>Not much longer now. We're getting close to the end of it all. Maybe the terrestrial approach was the right answer, in the end. X-Corp really wasn't prepared for us to hit them this hard. Then again, I don't think anybody would be. Not even their nukes can save them now.
I enter my room.
This might be the last time I have to do this. To think that my most active days would be my last ones on this world. It's interesting, really. The Truth does affect people in many different ways. Some of us are willing to help the rest move onto the next world. That's the job the three of us have taken. The ones who die are brought as soon as their minds forget to process their innate self-awareness.
I shut off the light and crawl into my bed.
I have a new idea, too. They used ICBMs on us. I think we could turn that around on them, without a single casualty. To compress the relic more than we ever have before, and drop it on Site-19. The final piece of resistance in X-Corp's struggle. Not much longer, not much longer.
Cheers, for the [[final day.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>''Chapter 8: Finality''
(link: "Save")[Saved.(save-game: "file A")]
---
I wake up again. In my bed, quietly, as per the usual. This will be the last time I get out of bed on Earth. We're not leaving just Earth, but this Universe. No, not even that. Reality. It'll all make sense in due time.
(group: "playing", "stop")
(link-reveal: "I step into the planning room again.")[== Sam and Nat are waiting for me.
"Good morning, you two. How do you feel about our final day?"
$sam["Morning."]
$nat["Good morning. Final?"]
"I have a feeling that our job will be done before the day is over."
$nat["Why is that?"]
"We need to develop one more thing."
$nat["Do tell."]
"You know how they dropped nukes on us yesterday?"
$nat["Yes."]
"We'll learn from their attacks."
$nat["That would kill people."]
"Not if we use the same concept as the standard explosives. We can compress this more than ever before. Does Site-12 have any nuclear weapons?"
$sam["Just a few. I can-"]
"Don't get up. We're going to watch from here. Your subordinates should know what to do. Just give them the word. How are our dynamic shields going, too?"
$sam["They're all done. We got word that they were planning to launch another volley of missiles."]
"Let them. We'll shoot most of them before they even hit the ground, and the rest will have the force deflected away from us."
$sam["That's the best part."]
Sam pulls out his phone and calls one of his engineers.
$sam["Yeah? It's me. You know the nukes downstairs? Yeah, those. Take out the warheads. Tell your guys we need new ones. I want you to compress as much of the Gift in there as you can cram, and then we'll drop 'em all on Site-19."]
"Speaking of the sites, how much progress do we have on Site-03, again?"
$nat["Completely finished off. Site-19 is the last remaining site on Earth. The United States is the only country on Earth that still has unconverted people. The Antarctic bases have also been converted, along with the undersea ones. Space stations too."]
"Absolutely lovely."
[[We continue watching our cameras.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>$sam["My guys are working on the nuke thing right now. We should be ready for launch in just a couple hours."]
"Where is our fleet of tanks en route to Site-19?"
$nat["They have entered Georgia. Site-19 is somewhere in the Everglades. We are getting close."]
"The ICBMs won't actually hurt anyone, will they?"
$nat["Only if you stand within a few hundred meters of the impact site. Getting hit by a few tons of steel travelling at Mach one is not very healthy. The actual mist release might also hurt you, since it is very high pressure."]
"So it's really just a giant smoke grenade?"
$nat["Essentially. It should be able to coat entire cities in mist."]
"What happens if they shoot down one of the missiles?"
$nat["Instead of a controlled release, all of the mist explodes outwards at once. It is much worse than just letting it hit."]
"I can't wait to see it in action. Make sure we can listen in on their communications. I want to hear them scream."
$nat["An interesting request. I shall oblige."]
(link-reveal: "We continue watching the tanks on their journey.")[== Occasionally they get into conflict with random X-Corp members that got separated from their sites but have not yet converted. There was an entire battalion in the way. Our tanks escaped without a scratch. The X-Corp tanks joined our fight at the back.
It really goes to show just how much we value them. We don't intend to kill a single person. But look at them, willing to bomb millions off the face of Earth because they think they're right. Ignorance is bliss, they say. But look at them, scrambling like their lives are on the line, killing their friends out of distrust. Pitiful.
Humanity has always been split. So much so that even when we promise to fix that permanently, some fight valiantly against it.
Was ignorance ever really bliss?
[[The show continues for another hour.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>$sam["Max?"]
"What is it?"
$sam["It's showtime."]
(link-reveal: '"Fire all of our missiles at them."')[==
(track: "kicktheregret", "play")
Sam gets up from his chair. He pulls a two way radio from his shirt pocket.
$sam["Fire."]
Faintly through the walls, we hear a rumble as a few missiles leave their silos under the ground.
"You're showing off."
$sam["I only get one shot at this. I had to."]
"Fair enough."
We watch the missiles leave our site as the cameras outside follow them. Once they fade out of view, we watch them over the air tracking. It's funny, really. There isn't a single plane in the air anywhere on Earth. Nothing but seven ICBMs.
We listen to the feed from the last X-Corp site on Earth. One of the last running communications on Earth.
$xco["Director, we can't contact any other site! We're completely blocked out."]
$dir["Keep trying. Someone else has got to be out there."]
$xco["We've been trying for six hours. We're fucked."]
$dir["What's that blip on the map?"]
$xco["The computer says... Seven ICBMs. En route to our location. Oh God oh fuck why does it have to be us? Why? We can't even launch ours. They locked us out of them after the first batch. We should've hit them harder."]
$dir["We can't regret what we've done now. Can you figure out the payload in those missiles?"]
$xco["It's not nuclear. That's all we know."]
$dir["Then that means... Oh no. No, no, no..."]
$xco["Is this it?"]
$dir["I think this is it."]
$xco["I don't want to go, Director. Everything so far would be-"]
$dir["Don't. There's one more way out of this."]
$xco["I'm shutting down the comms. I don't think it'll ever turn on again."]
$dir["We can try to hide. I have another last resort. Hit that button before you go."]
$xco["Yes sir."]
The lines go silent. Once and for all. We are now the only other operational center of communication.
"You can't be serious. They're really considering suicide?"
$nat["Something else, too. I do not like it."]
$sam["There's nothing they can do."]
[[We get a message.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>"Oh. The Administrator sent us a message. This is the first time we've interacted with them."
$nat["You have my full attention."]
The missiles are only a few hundred kilometers from their destination.
I pull up the message.
$xco["Your 'Truth' has taken you very far on your journey. But you have erased nearly all individuality from the face of Earth.
We fight to protect what makes humanity human.
Please reconsider your options.
Knowingly, The Administrator."]
An interesting proposal. I'd consider it for a moment if we weren't at the end of the game.
<span class="purple">(link: "Shut off the broadcast towers. Stop the missiles.")[I reach my hand over to-
No. I don't. I'm not sure what got into me.
I almost undid all of my gracious, hard work.
There's no going back. We were fated to win from the beginning. The only thing that could stop us now would be a trip to the past.
It's all over. It's time to finish my job.
]</span>
<span class="red">[[Ignore the message.]]</span><span id="box">(display: "save")</span>The missiles make contact with the roof of Site-19. Most of the mist is released directly into the building.
(link-reveal: "I get another message.")[== From the President.
$pre["Fuck you."]
Pity.
A weird motion moves through the air as all of the relic across the world demanifests. The structure of the Universe shifts slightly.
(link-reveal: "That did it.")[==
We finally won. Our job is done.
Fate. We were right.
$nat["Congratulations."]
$sam["Nice job, Max."]
"Thank you. I will see you there"
Every single person on the Moon, on Mars, the people who thought they had escaped. Their minds are directly tampered with and ours are as well, on the level of the noosphere, which none of us can perceive. Nothing else matters now.
There's a tugging at the back of our minds as our consciousnesses are torn from our bodies. We're entering the noosphere, as well. To go together to a new world outside of Reality.
(link-reveal: "The throne is mine.")[==
---
Nothing beyond this point can be explained, theoretically or otherwise.
All human activity in the Universe has ceased.
Automated machinery will function until they eventually break down.
Empty, unthinking shells are all that inhabit Earth now.
Literature and language are too simple for anything beyond this point.
Max is no longer with you.
You cannot come with her.
There is no longer a meaningful way for you to interact with this world.
Goodbye.
---
(link-reveal: "**The End**")[
(transition: "dissolve")+(transition-time: 8000)[\
(font: "Verdana")[\
(color: green)[\
(css: "font-size: 175%;")[\
''ACROSS THE STARS'']
''TO THE EDGE OF AN INFINITE HORIZON'']]
Ending 42: The Second Incursion
(color: red)["So that settles it. You aren't Max."]
(link: "Go.")[(reload:)]
Digit 42: 6
]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>I lean back in my chair a bit. This is going to be really interesting to try and do. I imagine that this would be something that would become routine after doing it for a while. I better get used to it quick, yeah? I'll probably end up spending a while setting things up first, though. I don't even know how many defense satellites X-Corp has in orbit.
(link-reveal: "Nat comes back in through the door,")[== laptop in hand. She sets it down on the cafeteria table and types for a moment before turning it to face me.
$nat["X-Corp has 3,000 defense satellites, 24,000 communications satellites, and there are 6 major space stations. The ISS is government-run, but the rest are X-Corp."]
"How do their defense satellites work, anyways?"
$nat["Each one serves as a mobile railgun and laser platform. With an unarmed research ship, we are essentially just a target practice if we have no way to defend ourselves."]
"Fair enough. So we should get a few of those first."
$nat["Actually, if we capture a few normal satellites first, it should get us just a few extra people to follow us. From there, our Gift will become strong enough to make my job easier."]
"Alright. So we can work on that now, yeah?"
$nat["Yes, we should be able to. Come with me to the control room."]
"Alright."
(link-reveal: "We get up and walk down the hall.")[==
"How many sites do they have?"
$nat["75 in different places around the world. There are 30 in North America, 25 of which are in the United States. There are 15 in Asia, 5 of which are in Russia. There are 10 sites in Europe, and 5 sites each in Oceania, Antarctica, and in or on oceans. The last 5 are the space stations."]
"Alright, that's good to know. What are the most important sites?"
$nat["Site-03 near NYC and Site-19 in the Florida Everglades. Those two are the largest and most important sites."]
"Nice. I take it we should leave those for about last, just because they'd pose a big threat to us."
$nat["Yes."]
[[We both enter the control room.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>$nat["I have a surprise for you."]
"Yeah? And what is it?"
$nat["Observe."]
She sets down her laptop next to the main control panel. She presses a couple buttons and the screen lights up.
$nat["Remember how you disabled Terminal?"]
"You knew?"
$nat["I know now."]
"Oh. But yeah, I remember."
$nat["Anyways, I went back into the server room while you were asleep and then rewrote a majority of Terminal's code."]
"You what? How?"
$nat["With my hands, Max."]
"Alright, shut up."
$nat["I was a programmer before this. Although our gift may have played a part."]
"In what way?"
$nat["I learned the entire programming language in the course of thirty minutes. All I had to do was step in and write my own code. Terminal will now gladly help us."]
"That's good, I guess. Boot it up."
What?
She presses a couple more buttons and then the screen on the control panel changes again.
[[I look at it.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>$nat["Remember, this is only a preview. Not everything is here, either. I still have to connect the systems to everything once we get working."]
**Incursion Menu.**
---
$ter[mrTer v400.777d - ᚨᚲᚱᛟᛋᛋ ᚦᛖ ᛋᛏᚨᚱᛋ
As above, So below.
(color: blue)[''Relegator''] Status: Good
Available Energy: 100%
List of actions that can be taken:
-- [15%] Satellite Takeover (Communications)
-- [15%] Satellite Takeover (Defense)
-- [85%] Station Takeover
-- [35%] Launch Offensive
-- [50%] Repair Damage
]
I- Wow. This is just straight gorgeous. It's not just text on screen, either. She even put a little image in the top right corner to go with the rest of it.
I could totally sit behind this screen all day if it meant I got to take over the world in style like this. It looks better in person.
$nat["Well?"]
"It's lovely. Thanks for this, Nat."
$nat["I try my best."]
"What's with the 'Penultimate' in the corner, though?"
$nat["This is the penultimate part of our mission."]
"How so?"
$nat["First we take out the orbital defenses, then we take control of the global communications network."]
"You're always a few steps ahead, aren't you?"
$nat["That is how wars are won, no?"]
"Fair enough."
$nat["Shall we check on Sam now?"]
"Su-"
[[Sam walks into the control room.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>$sam["Morning."]
"Good morning."
$nat["Good morning, Sam. How are you feeling?"]
$sam["You already know how I'm feeling. When are we going to start spreading and how?"]
$nat["Wonderful. We are going to stay in orbit until the job is done. We are not going to touch that impure soil any longer. We will be starting shortly."]
$sam["Sounds great. What's my job in all this?"]
$nat["You will handle the repairs that are needed in the case that we incur any damages. You will also make sure that the mechanics are running just as before. I hope you do not find this disappointing."]
$sam["Hey, it's a menial job, but someone's gotta do it."]
"Alright. You're going to manage all of the computer-based things, right?"
$nat["At the beginning, I will probably be the main source of satellites. You will handle the commanding."]
"You think I'm fit for it?"
$nat["You are the reason all of us are here with you right now."]
"Fair enough. I think I'll rest before we get started, though. It's nice to start fresh."
$nat["Alright. I will see you then."]
"Goodnight."
$sam["And I only just got out of bed. Oh well, night, Max."]
$nat["Goodnight."]
[[I leave the control room again.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>This is going to be great. I've never really had a reason to stick around in earth orbit for so long. Now we're going to be taking it over without ever laying a finger on it. For purity's sake. The relic will guide us to the end.
I enter my room.
We have to make sure that we get a good amount of communications satellites to start off with, and then get our hands on some defense satellites before we take a station. We'll probably be able to get away with a few hundred of either kind of satellite before anyone notices, but the moment we grab a station, the wars are going to start. I reckon we can take a few hits before the ship becomes unusable, but that just means more work for Sam. Maybe 3 hits and we're out. That seems a bit cliche, though.
I crawl into my bed and shut the light off.
Once we get all of the orbital stuff on our side, I imagine X-Corp isn't going to stop there. They do have lots of military stuff all over the surface. They're probably going to try and kill our followers, but we can still convert their soldiers. It'll speed up the more stuff we have. Space stations are also going to serve as both broadcasting centers and places to convert more satellites.
Facilities on Earth will probably also help us broadcast. This will be fun.
[[And I rest.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>''Chapter 6: Penultimate''
(link: "Save")[Saved.(save-game: "file A")]
---
I get out of my bed. Terminal doesn't greet me or anything, but I'm not really surprised given the circumstances. He has a new job now. I leave my room. Nat is waiting for me at the door.
(set: $shipgone to true)(set: $playing to true)
$nat["Good morning, Max. Are you ready to start?"]
"A bit quick, but yeah, sure."
$nat["Come with me."]
"Yeah."
We walk down the hall towards the control room. Sam is leaned against a wall with his wrench in hand.
$sam["I'm here whenever you need me."]
$nat["Thank you. Take your seat here."]
"This is the pilot's seat."
$nat["You are the leader. I can use the other control panel on the side here. You get a good view of your conquest here, too."]
"It's great."
Alright. I guess that means it's time that we get started.
Just a couple more things to remember before I start. I probably need to make sure that I have 100 of both communications and defense satellites. X-Corp will notice us taking a station. Stations will help us convert more satellites, and more satellites will help us convert stations better. It's a nice feedback loop.
Once we destroy or take control of all of the defense satellites, they will probably give up on trying to fight us, and will instead attack our followers. They'll never be able to launch more, but they can drop to zero. I imagine that they could very well kill everyone if I gave them time.
We're going to have to repair damage whenever it happens to us.
[[I begin the Second Incursion.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>
(set: $population to 11786725923)
(set: $converts to 0)
(set: $totalsites to 75)
(set: $activesites to 75)
(set: $sites to 0)
(set: $totalcoms to 24000)
(set: $coms to 0)
(set: $totaldefs to 3000)
(set: $activedefs to 3000)
(set: $defs to 0)
(set: $totalstations to 6)
(set: $stations to 0)
(set: $shiphealth to 3)
(set: $energy to 100)
(set: $turn to 1)
(set: $DefenseActive to 0)
(set: $Alert to 0)
(set: $Win to false)
(set: $stationSuccess to false)
(goto: "FirstPart")<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>**Incursion Menu.**
---
$ter[mrTer v400.777d - ᚨᚲᚱᛟᛋᛋ ᚦᛖ ᛋᛏᚨᚱᛋ
|thing>[As above, So below.]
It is currently day $turn.
(live: 1s)[(color: blue)[''Relegator''] Status: (cond: $shiphealth is 3, "Good", $shiphealth is 2, "Damaged", $shiphealth is 1, "Critical")]
(live: 1s)[Available Energy: $energy%]
(live: 1s)[''Statistics:''
Current Population: $converts/$population ((set: $poppercent to ($converts/$population)*100)$poppercent%)
Current Satellites (Def): $defs/$totaldefs
Current Satellites (Com): $coms/$totalcoms
Current Stations: $stations/$totalstations
Current Sites: $sites/$totalsites
(if: $coms >= 100)[(set: _mathChance to (($stations*6)+(pow:($coms/2500), 2)))Station Conversion Chance: (round: _mathChance)%]
(if: $converts >= 500000)[(set: _mathChance2 to (($stations*6)+(pow:($converts/100000000), 2)))Site Conversion Chance: (round: _mathChance2)%]]
''List of actions that can be taken:''
(live: 1s)[> (if: $energy >= 15)[(link: "`[15%]`")[(set: $energy to it - 15)(display: "ComTake")`[15%]`] Satellite Takeover `[Com]`](else:)[`[15%]` Satellite Takeover `[Com]` (No Energy)]
> (if: $energy >= 15)[(link: "`[15%]`")[(set: $energy to it - 15)(display: "DefTake")`[15%]`] Satellite Takeover `[Def]`](else:)[`[15%]` Satellite Takeover `[Def]` (No Energy)]
> (unless: $stations >= 6)[(if: $energy >= 85)[(if: $coms >= 100)[(link: "`[85%]`")[(set: $energy to it - 85)(display: "StationTake")`[85%]` (if: $stationSuccess is true)[(Success)](else:)[(Failure)]] Station Takeover](else:)[`[85%]` Station Takeover (Need Com Satellites)]](elseif: $stations is >= 6)[`[85%]` Station Takeover (All Stations Owned)](else:)[`[85%]` Station Takeover (No Energy)]](else:)[`[85%]` Station Takeover (All Stations Owned)]
> (if: $energy >= 30 and $sites < 75)[(if: $converts >= 500000)[(link: "`[30%]`")[(set: $energy to it - 30)(display: "LaunchOffensive")`[30%]`] Site Takeover](else:)[`[30%]` Site Takeover (Need Converts)]](elseif: $sites is >= 75)[`[30%]` Site Takeover (All Sites Owned)](else:)[`[30%]` Site Takeover (No Energy)]
> (if: $energy >= 50)[(if: $shiphealth < 3)[(link: "`[50%]`")[(set: $energy to it - 50)(display: "RepairDamage")`[50%]`] Repair Damage](else:)[`[50%]` Repair Damage (No Damage)]](else:)[`[50%]` Repair Damage (No Energy)]]
(event: when $poppercent is > 95)[(mouseover: ?thing)[(show: ?stuff)|stuff>[> (link: "`[100%]`")[(set: $energy to it - 100)(goto: "Mass Suicide")`[100%]` Mass Suicide] Mass Suicide]]]]
Alright. So what do we do now?
[[Finish up for the day.]](if: $Alert is 0 and ($stations is >= 1 or $coms is >= 2500 or $defs is >= ($totaldefs / 6)))[(set: $DefenseActive to 1)(set: $Alert to 1)]\
We shut down the Terminals and head to bed for the night.
When we wake up, we check on our status.
(set: $turn to it + 1)(set: $energy to 100)(if: $converts < 1)[(set: $converts to 1)]
[[Get back to work.->FirstPart]]
(if: $coms >= 1)[Our satellites have given us new converts.
(set: _valOne to (($coms)*(1+($coms/100000)))+(($converts/10)*(random:0,200)/100))\
(set: _valTwo to (round:(pow:($activesites*10), (1 + ($stations / 6))) ))\
(set: _baseConverts to _valOne)\
(if: ($converts + (round: _baseConverts)) is > $population)[(set: $converts to $population)(set: $Win to true)](else:)[(set: $converts to it + (round: _baseConverts))]\
(if: $converts + (round: _baseConverts) > $population)[(set: _baseConverts to $population - ($converts + _baseConverts))]We have (round: _baseConverts) more followers, giving us a total of $converts.
(if: $DefenseActive is 0 and $Alert is 1 and $activesites > 0)[X-Corp killed _valTwo of our followers, though.(set: $converts to it - _valTwo)(set: $population to it - _valTwo)](if: $activesites <= 0)[X-Corp is unable to fight us any longer. We are free to expand as we please.]]
(if: $DefenseActive is 1)[X-Corp attacked us overnight.
(set: _hitChance to (round:($activedefs/$defs))-(random: 0,100)/10)\
(set: _randomAttack to (random: 0,100))\
(if: _randomAttack < _hitChance)[(if: $shiphealth > 1)[(set: $shiphealth to it - 1)We should be able to survive another hit.](else:)[(set: $shiphealth to 0)Another hit would mean the end of the ship.]](else:)[They didn't manage to hit us.]
(set: _randomLossR to (round: $defs/100))(set: _randomLossX to (round: $activedefs/100))In the fight, we lost _randomLossR defense satellites, but we managed to destroy _randomLossX of theirs.(set: $defs to it - _randomLossR)(set: $totaldefs to it - _randomLossR)(set: $activedefs to it - _randomLossX)(set: $totaldefs to it - _randomLossX) There are probably about $totaldefs left in orbit.]
(if: $stations >=1)[Our stations converted some satellites for us.
(set:_randomSatellites to (random: 0, 500)*$stations)(if: $coms + _randomSatellites > $totalcoms)[(set: $coms to $totalcoms)](else:)[(set: $coms to ($coms + _randomSatellites))]\
(set:_randomSatellites2 to (random: 0, 100)*$stations)(if: $defs + _randomSatellites2 > $totaldefs)[(set: $defs to $totaldefs)](else:)[(set: $defs to ($defs + _randomSatellites2))(set: $activedefs to it - _randomSatellites2)]\
We got _randomSatellites more communications satellites to work with. We also got _randomSatellites2 more defense satellites.]
(if: $sites >= 1)[Our facilities on the ground converted more people for us.\
(set: _randomConverts to $sites * (random: 0, 1000000))\
(if: ($converts + (round: _randomConverts)) is > $population)[(set: $converts to $population)(set: $Win to true)](else:)[(set: $converts to it + (round: _randomConverts))] _randomConverts more, specifically. Should give us about $converts in total.]
(if: $DefenseActive is 1 and $activedefs <= 0)[(set: $DefenseActive to 0)]
(if: $shiphealth is <= 0)[(goto: "ShipGoneDie")]
(if: $Win is true)[(goto: "Terra Nil")](set: _defTake to true)\
(set: _mathematic2 to (round:(($stations * 6) + ($coms/100)) + (random: 3, 20)))\
(set: $defs to it + _mathematic2)(set: $activedefs to it - _mathematic2)\
(if: $defs > $totaldefs)[(set: $defs to $totaldefs)](if: $activedefs < 0)[(set: $activedefs to 0)](set: _comTake to true)\
(set: _mathematic to (round:(($stations * 6) + ($coms / 50)) + (random: 3, 20)))\
(set: $coms to it + _mathematic)\
(if: $coms > $totalcoms)[(set: $coms to $totalcoms)](set: _stationTake to true)(set: $stationSuccess to false)\
(set: _mathematic3 to (($stations*6)+(pow:($coms/2500), 2))+(random: 0, 10))\
(set: _rando to (random: 0, 100))\
(if: _rando < _mathematic3)[(set: $stations to it + 1)(set: $stationSuccess to true)](set: _launchOffensive to true)(set: $OffensiveSuccess to false)(set: _mathematic4 to (($stations*6)+(pow:($converts/100000000), 2))+(random: 0, 10))(set: _randoOff to (random: 0, 100))(if: _randoOff < _mathematic4)[(set: $sites to it + 1)(set: $activesites to it - 1)(set: $OffensiveSuccess to true)](set: _repairDamage to true)(if: $shiphealth < 3)[(set: _repairChance to (random: 0, 100))(if: _repairChance > 25)[(set: $shiphealth to it + 1)]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>We're woken up in the middle of the night by the sound of a large explosion. It's followed by a lot of whooshing. They hit us hard, this time. I don't think we're going to survive this one. Most of the blast doors are shut, but there are holes all over the left side of the ship. I'm lucky my dorm survived.
I open up my door, and there isn't much hallway available to me. I run back into my room and look out the window. It's cracked slightly.
Huh. We're falling from orbit. This could be a problem. In the distance, I can see a bright light rapidly getting bigger. Oh, wait. That's an ICBM headed straight for us.
Well, shit.
---
(link-reveal: "**The End**")[
(transition: "dissolve")+(transition-time: 8000)[\
(font: "Verdana")[\
(color: green)[\
(css: "font-size: 175%;")[\
''ACROSS THE STARS'']
''TO THE EDGE OF AN INFINITE HORIZON'']]
Ending 45: End of the Second Incursion
(color: red)["Nice shot, Max!"]
(link: "Go.")[(reload:)]
Digit 45: 7
]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>''Chapter 8: Finality''
(link: "Save")[Saved.(save-game: "file A")]
---
I get out of my bed. It's morning on the part of Earth we're floating over. Like the start of a new beginning. I don't have to see the numbers to know what time it is. It's been $turn days since we started.
All eleven or so billion people on Earth have been converted. The only problem is that it's only accurate up to a point. We're pretty confident that we're really close to it, though. We could probably just go ahead and use the relic to find out which specific people have yet to be converted. We're close to the end, so its power is bursting at the seams.
The relic will demanifest soon, and our great prophecy will become truth.
(set: $playing to true)
[[I leave my room.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>I walk down the hallway. The satellites are still blasting the entire Earth with Truths uncountable. We've really won, yeah? I open up the control room door. I don't need to eat breakfast today. Nat is sitting in front of her Terminal, legs up on the top of the consoles. Sam is lounging in his chair. As I step through the door, Nat sits upright and turns towards me.
$nat["Welcome back, Max. I hope you realize what time it is."]
"Oh, I wouldn't miss it for the world."
$sam["But we're watching it for the world."]
"Yeah, that's the best part."
I sit down in my seat, overlooking Earth. If I watch closely enough, I can watch the sunrise march across the surface. It's like some sort of metaphor staring us all right in the face. I stare down at the control panel in front of me.
$nat["I already went through all of our data and confirmed all of it."]
"We have everyone?"
$nat["Nope. I learned something about Site-19, though."]
"Go ahead."
$nat["We have converted the site, but after reading through some of their decrypted blueprints, we learned that there is a heavily fortified elevator shaft that leads down into an even stronger chamber."]
"What are the walls and stuff made of?"
$nat["Our signals bounce right off the walls, even through the ground. None of our converts can make their way inside the elevator, either. The locks are on the inside and there is no way to access it from the outside."]
"We can't blow it up?"
$nat["Not without nuclear weapons."]
"Fair. Have we reached the critical number?"
$nat["We do not actually need the entire Earth, just about 95% of the population. Having everyone was just a good end goal."]
"So we're clear to finish the job?"
$nat["Your button is right there."]
There it is.
I raise my hand to tap the button on screen when we receive a message.
[[I pull up the message.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>It's from X-Corp Site-19. So they were able to get a message out of there.
$xco["We will not hide our defeat. There is nothing else left for us to do but beg. We do not know your intent or goal, only that you have changed the minds of nearly all humanity. Some have died from your cause.
You never intended to kill anyone, though. We attacked you, thinking you were intent on killing us. For this, we apologize.
But even then, please consider the weight of your actions. Not all of us want to be brought onto your 'new world.' There are things to be done and things to learn. Your fantasies are not better than everything in reality.
We have encoded something extra in this message so that you may think as and for yourself without the bias of your gift.
With that, think. Before your gift demanifests, are we all ready to move on yet?
- The Administrator."]
(link-reveal: "Oh, so they")[==-
(link-reveal: "They")[==...
Wow. Alright. I have to think about this. Something weird just hit me. Are they messing with my head or just trying to force me into turning this around for them? I can't tell just yet. But it feels like some weight was just lifted from my mind.
There are two groups of people waiting on me. Right now, I can feel the relic still there in the back of my head. I wasn't being fully controlled before, though. For the most part I was simply being guided. I might have gotten carried away a few times.
I glance around. I need to make a decision.
<span class="purple">[[Shut down the broadcast system.]]</span>
<span class="red">[[Return the message with a new cognitohazard.]]</span><span id="box">(display: "save")</span>And suddenly everything makes |thing>[sense] again. I had rejected my own humanity because I thought I was on the path towards salvation, to a new world that was 'better' than this one. I can't know that for sure. I had been placed on a path of deception. Now I need to undo what I can.
(mouseover: ?thing)[(link-goto: "Albuquerque")]
(link-reveal: "The mission will conclude today")[==, once and for all. I think I have to work quickly before whatever this is stops working on me. I write my final message into the console. There's no time for a long one.
"I'm sorry. Forgive my sins and rebuild from our ashes.
~ Sincerely, Ex-Researcher Algori."
(link-reveal: "And the message is sent.")[== They'll know what comes next. Hopefully. I enter the emergency shutdown password into the control panel. I don't even know why we made that. The other two haven't realized what's happening yet. There's a harsh burning at the back of my mind. The relic didn't like that. It won't like what comes next, either. I redirect the ship, so that it faces directly towards the Sun.
(link-reveal: "Nuclear weapons can kill the relic, yeah?")[== The Sun should do fine, then. I engage the Alcubierre drives and we speed up instantly.
$nat["What the fuck are you doing?"]
"I'm fixing my mistakes."
(link-reveal: "In eight seconds")[==, we make contact with the Solar surface.
In a strange state between life and death, probably because of whatever memetic effects I'm being blasted with, I acknowledge the relic's destruction, and the release of the relic's influence from everyone's minds. I've killed it, with myself.
(link-reveal: "It was worth it.")[==
---
(link-reveal: "**The End**")[
(transition: "dissolve")+(transition-time: 8000)[\
(font: "Verdana")[\
(color: green)[\
(css: "font-size: 175%;")[\
''ACROSS THE STARS'']
''TO THE EDGE OF AN INFINITE HORIZON'']]
Ending 44: Aegis Reparation
(color: red)["You made the right choice. Congratulations, Max."]
(link: "Go.")[(reload:)]
Digit 44: 8
]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>And suddenly everything makes sense again. Why would I ever falter from the path I put myself on from the very beginning of it all? I worked to get here, and now I must finish the job.
(track: "orchestra", "play")
(link-reveal: "And so the job will be done.")[== I simply write a single sentence in response.
"The fate of the world is not so easy to change, better luck next time.
~ Lovingly, High Priestess Algori."
(link-reveal: "And the message is sent.")[== Everyone in the room should be ours in seconds. And at that moment I feel a presence change. That was our Gift demanifesting and entering the collective unconscious. Soon to become the collective conscious once we are brought to the new world. Those on the Moon and Mars who missed the show will be brought along too, in time.
(link-reveal: "There's a light, friendly tug")[== at the backs of our minds as our consciousnesses are separated from our bodies. We're entering a metaphysical plane now. To go together to a new world outside of Reality.
(link-reveal: "The throne is mine.")[==
It will all be pure, now.
---
Beyond this point, nothing can be explained be it theoretically or otherwise.
All human activity on Earth has ceased, and will cease in the rest of the Universe shortly.
Human creations will function until they succumb to entropy like everything else in the Universe.
Empty, unthinking shells are all that inhabit what was once human civilization.
Where Max is headed, literature and language are too simple to define.
Max is no longer with you.
You cannot come with her.
You no longer have a meaningful way to interact with this world.
(link-reveal: "Goodbye.")[==
---
(link-reveal: "**The End**")[
(transition: "dissolve")+(transition-time: 8000)[\
(font: "Verdana")[\
(color: green)[\
(css: "font-size: 175%;")[\
''ACROSS THE STARS'']
''TO THE EDGE OF AN INFINITE HORIZON'']]
Ending 43: As Above, So Below
(color: red)["And that's that. You weren't Max."]
(link: "Go.")[(reload:)]
Digit 43: 9
]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>Shit. I can't decide. I-
What if I didn't decide, yeah? I notice a slight seam on the edge of the control panel screen. I take the knife out of my coat and wedge it underneath the panel. It goes in. I lever the panel off like a crowbar.
(link-reveal: "The panel comes off")[==, and a couple of wires tear. I look inside. There's a single grey box with a red button on the side. I detach some of the wires and pick it up. I read the label on the side.
P. Lotte Company
D3V1C3 Model
What? I look at the button for a moment.
Well, if it gets us out of this situation...
(link-reveal: "I press the button down hard.")[==
... Nothing happens?
I turn around.
[[There's a truck behind me.]]<span id="box">(link: "Load Truck")[(load-game:"file A")]
(link: "Chevrolet")[(goto: "Credits")]
(link: "My Status")[(goto: "TruckDesc")]
(link: "Truck Status")[(goto: "TruckStat")]
(link: "Drive Home")[(reload:)]</span>''Chapter 9: TRANSPORT''
(link: "Save Truck")[(save-game:"file A")]
---
(track: "twotrucks", "play")No, seriously. There's just a beige-colored pickup truck in the middle of the control room. How did that even get there?
This is an ancient model, too.
2004 Chevrolet Silverado. In perfect condition after all these years.
I get up and get into the truck. The keys are still in and it's fully fueled. Nat and Sam are staring, dumbfounded. Like I fucking care, I have a fucking truck. I start the engine and do a three point turn in the middle of the control room. I slam on the gas, slamming straight through the rear control room wall. I blast through the cafeteria, through the bathrooms, and through the first lab room.
Did you know that there's no engine inside this truck? They replaced it with the Albuquerque drive ages ago. This thing is faster than anything you've ever seen. Thanks, Texas.
As I destroy the wall of Lab-02, I see the relic again. I push the gas pedal all the way down to the floor. I drive directly into the relic, shattering it instantly. I don't stop, either. I drive right through the rest of the smaller labs and into the maintenance section.
There's a weird electronic buzzing. I think Terminal just turned back to normal. Sick. The ship rumbles a bit as the (color: blue)[''Relegator''] begins turning.
Nothing can stop me now. I drive right through the rear end of the (color:blue)[''Relegator''], annihilating the seal protecting the inside of the ship from the vacuum of space. Earth is right in front of me. Terminal turned us around. Nice.
The ship's engines fire for a moment, pushing me towards Earth. Here we go, baby.
[[From orbit I fall.]]<span id="box">(link: "Load Truck")[(load-game:"file A")]
(link: "Chevrolet")[(goto: "Credits")]
(link: "My Status")[(goto: "TruckDesc")]
(link: "Truck Status")[(goto: "TruckStat")]
(link: "Drive Home")[(reload:)]</span>
(set: $rel to (color: blue + black))(set: $pre to (color: black + red))(set: $usa to (color: white + red))(set: $col to (color: green))(set: $mil to (color: black + green))(set: $lun to (color: purple + white))(set: $xco to (color: blue + white))(set: $cit to (color: white + black))(set: $sam to (color: yellow))(set: $nat to (color: orange))(set: $ter to (font: "Courier New")+(color:green))I make contact with the atmosphere pretty quickly. The heat of re-entry does nothing to the exterior of the truck. We're doing great.
I fall through the atmosphere for a while, before the ground starts to become clear. Looks like I'm landing in New York, somewhat far away from the city.
I hit the ground pretty smoothly. I land perfectly upright. The suspension took the fall from orbit like a champ. Looks like I landed right in the middle of a parking space in the lot in front of X-Corp Site-03. I shut off the engine and step out of the truck.
Site-03 Director Natalya Gabrilovna Sonya walks through the front doors right as I do so. I don't know how I know her name, but I'm not complaining.
$xco["Holy fuck oh shit, you're fucking amazing. Here, take this. I don't deserve this title anymore. I'm sure you'll do better than I ever could."]
"Oh, thanks. You're amazing."
She hands her director's badge to me. Nice.
Everyone at the site steps out into the parking lot. They're all clapping. Now this is great. Looks like I saved Earth.
(color: purple)[Only fair that I get treatment like this, yeah? Algori for the win!]
---
(link-reveal: "**The End**")[
(transition: "dissolve")+(transition-time: 8000)[\
(font: "Verdana")[\
(color: green)[\
(css: "font-size: 175%;")[\
''TRUCKING THE STARS'']
''TO THE END OF AN INFINITE HIGHWAY'']]
Secret Ending 6: Two Trucks
(color: red)["You're a real Touhou, Max."]
(link: "Go.")[(reload:)]
Digit: No digit. Fuck you. How do you even get a truck up there?
]]This baby runs on diesel.
This is Fan - and I cannot stress this enough - fucking.
Wait...
(link-undo: "Back")Hell yeah! I've got a fucking truck!
What do you mean this doesn't make any sense?
I turn towards you.
Question it, and I'll run you over.
(link: "Question it?")[(open-url: "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w5ZWbYHj1nU&ab_channel=KATC")Get fucked.]
I don't think that's how it works.
(link-undo: "Back")<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>"Nat, you know what?"
$nat["What is it?"]
"What's the actual percentage of all Earth humans that we need converted before we can engage the demanifestation of the relic?"
$nat["Roughly 95 percent."]
"And we have that."
$nat["Yes, but we want to wait for the rest of the world, no? There are still people out there."]
"Alright, but if they're fighting so adamantly against us, why should they deserve the better world outside of this? Let's go without them. We're wasting our time."
$nat["Very well."]
I turn back towards the control panel and type in one of our failsafe commands. I look back towards Earth. Billions of people are not actively searching for ways to kill themselves. Our work is not being undone, we are just leaving early.
A couple bright lights flash across the nighttime surface of Earth as some large areas explode. I'm pretty sure every X-Corp site was destroyed in the process.
"We can do our part now, yeah?"
$nat["The drives are already online."]
"Lovely."
I set course for directly into Earth's surface. I activate the drives. We make contact immediately.
---
And everyone died. The End.
---
(link-reveal: "**The End**")[
(transition: "dissolve")+(transition-time: 8000)[\
(font: "Verdana")[\
(color: green)[\
(css: "font-size: 175%;")[\
''TRUCKING THE STARS'']
''TO THE END OF AN INFINITE HIGHWAY'']]
Secret Ending 7: Mass Suicide?
(color: red)["Did you seriously just make the entire planet commit suicide, Max?"]
(link: "Go.")[(reload:)]
Digit: Mass assisted suicide??? Damn bro that's crazy.
]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>Nat and I walk down the hall to the research center. The opposite direction I walked to go to the cafeteria. The ship is a couple hundred meters long, so it actually takes a little while to cross the entire thing.
$nat["How badly do you think he screwed up since we left?"]
"You think he could mess up something this simple?"
$nat["You do realize we are talking about Sam here, yes?"]
"Fair, fair. But that sounded a bit rude."
$nat["Yeah, that might have been too mean."]
We walk up to the side of Lab-02, where we're storing the relic. The window in the side lets people see what happens in the lab without actually being inside. Nat stops smiling the moment she looks in the window.
$nat["Uh, what the fuck!?"]
"What?"
$nat["Look, on the floor. Seriously!"]
(link: "I look inside the window")[==She's right. Sam's just on the fucking floor. Did he hurt himself?"
"Yeah, okay, let's get in there now."
$nat["Yeah, on it."] she says, already opening the door.
[["Check his pulse!!"]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>''Chapter 2: Checkup''
(link: "Save")[Saved.(save-game: "file A")]
---
(set: $mood to "scared")"Hey, Sam!"
$nat["Sam?"]
Nat managed to turn him over and starts shaking him. He raises his hands up to his eyes and rubs. I think he's waking up but pretty slowly. He blinks a couple times before his eyes focus, and then he looks around the room.
$sam["Did I pass out? Or what?"]
$nat["Yeah, it sure seems to be the case. What on Earth happened?"]
$sam["Uh, yeah? What happened?"]
"We don't know. We just walked up to the lab and you were face down on the floor."
I get up and look around the room. All of our research was prepared. The microscope has pictures taken, and the carbon dating is already nearly done.
"Sam, did you get all of the research we asked for and more?"
$sam["Huh? I dunno. I kinda just forgot everything that happened after I walked into the room."]
Okay, this is pretty wild. He just forgets everything he did?
$nat["We are going to bring you to the infirmary for a moment. We need to make sure that you are not going to pass out again, or something else."]
$sam["Yeah, sure."]
$nat["Well, I cannot carry you."]
"I doubt I can either. Can you walk?"
$sam["Yeah, probably."]
[[We carefully walk Sam to the infirmary.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>We make it down to the infirmary pretty quickly. Sam lies down on one of the infirmary beds. We start running some of the usual medical diagnostics. Well, it's mostly Nat. I don't really know how to operate these machines. No issues show up on the screens.
$nat["I am reading through all of the reports, but there is no sign of any issue that could have caused this."]
"I don't recall any signs of anything like this happening to any of us on the ship before. This is really really weird."
$nat["I guess... You are alright. Just be more careful for the time being, understand?"]
$sam["Yeah."]
We start rereading the reports again just to double check.
"Do you think we should just let him rest for the time being and then submit our report afterwards?"
$nat["We do have to get our report in before the end of the day, though."]
"Ah, that's right."
I look back over at Sam. He's fallen asleep again. I reach over and wiggle his shoulder for a moment.
"Sam?"
His eyes open slowly.
$sam["Eh?"]
"We need to check on the artifact's results and submit our daily report."
$sam["Oh, yeah, alright."]
He still looks really tired, but he's awake now.
"Come on, we need to see what you learned."
(link-reveal: "We make our way back to the laboratory room.")[==
By this point, the carbon dating has finished. Nat and I take a look at the results.
$nat["Oh my. So it turns out that our artifact here was created by another civilization."]
"We're not alone in the Universe?"
$nat["We may have been, had we existe- What? 18 billion years ago?"]
"Wait, what the fuck?"
$nat["The Universe is only roughly 13 billion, no?"]
"No, that's right."
We all look pretty shocked. Well, except for Sam. He still seems tired. Either way, this may be one of the biggest revelations in human history.
"There's no way this should even be able to exist. Sam, pull up the microscope pictures. We need a good picture of it."
$sam["Yeah, over here."]
$nat["And you are completely sure these results are accurate?"]
"They kinda have to be, seeing as we're running top-of-the-line technology that most //countries// would have trouble affording, yeah?"
I walk over and check out the image.
$nat["Hm. This is quite strange."]
Well, she wasn't lying. We can't really see any atoms in this. It's just kinda... there? The only atoms we can see are the ones that ended up stuck on the relic because of us or whoever made it. Other than that, this thing appears to be entirely solid.
"This thing... isn't made out of atoms? It's just... 'made?" "
$nat["That seems to be the case based on these results. Are we //sure// the machines are alright?"]
$sam["Yeah I double checked them all yesterday."]
$nat["And still no other signals but the radio waves..."]
"Actually, about those signals, what are they?"
$nat["We translated them a while ago. It was just a contact ping looking for something."]
"Shouldn't we run a scan of all nearby systems? Just to see if there are other relics or remnants of this civilization?"
$nat["I did that already. There is nothing related in the area. Remember that billions of years is more than enough time to drift away from the place you started."]
"Well, fair enough. Do you think we've made good progress for the day? And about that, what time is it?"
$nat["It is (current-time:)"]
"Well, that's fine. We should still have time for our report now, yeah?"
$nat["Yes."]
[[We leave the room and walk down the hall.->HallCrosser]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>"What are we going to tell Mission Control about the relic? We don't really know a whole lot about it other than some of its physical properties. We should probably just avoid telling Mission Control anything that we're not entirely sure about. We can tell them the physical properties and the like, too."
$nat["Frankly, that should be my decision as captain, no?"]
"I mean, it still could be a coincidence, yeah? We need to make fully sure that we know what we're talking about."
$nat["How adamant about this are you going to be?"]
(link-reveal: "We enter the control room.")[==
"You'd be surprised."
Nat walks over and takes the pilot's seat. She presses a few buttons on the control panel and the camera lights click on.
$nat["So be it. I start recording soon. Get ready. Say what you will."]
[[We get into our spots.->Seriously? More reports?]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>We all get into our spots and the panel displays that we're being recorded. Nat's the captain and starts speaking first, naturally.
$nat["Hello! This is Captain Carter of the (color: blue)[''Relegator'']. Today is our 127th day, a Friday, of the search for the signal source at the galactic edge. Miss (color: purple)[Algori] can explain what we know so far."]
"That's right, we've discovered the source of the radio signals. It turned out to be a moderately-sized rock-like thing that we were able to pull on board the ship via the robots. We then had it carted into one of the main lab centers for later research, which we have done today. Don't worry, we've already had our celebratory breakfast. Upon closer inspection, it appears to be a material similar to granite, but much more durable, with gold etchings across the front. We haven't been able to figure out if they're part of an ancient language yet, but we're going to start work on that sometime tomorrow. So far, our mission appears to be a success. Engineer Ollens, for our systems?"
$sam["All of the machines are running alright. I checked them all myself and they're doing fine."]
(link-reveal: "He's really in no condition for this, is he?")[==
$nat["Alright. I think that is all of our new information since yesterday. (color: blue)[''Relegator''] crew signing off for the day."]
The camera light switches off, and the recording starts sending itself to Mission Control.
"Well, that's that. You think we're set for the day?"
$nat["I honestly think all of us could use some sleep right now. Especially him."]
"Yeah. I'll be in bed then. You should too, Sam."
$sam["Okay."]
[[The three of us leave the room together.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>We all walk down the hallway. Before we can all split up to get to our separate dorms, a quiet *ding* sounds from Nat's watch."
$nat["Hm?"]
She glances down at it.
$nat["Ah, wonderful. Mission Control gave us permission to return home. I will go back and start up the Alcubierre drives. Goodnight, you two."]
"Goodnight, Nat."
Looks like we'll be heading home soon. The two of us break apart and make our ways to our dorms. I open up my door and walk inside. Terminal turns on as I walk inside. (link-reveal: "Does he have something to say, o-")[==
$ter["Welcome back, Miss (color: purple)[Algori]. I noticed that you decided to withhold information from Mission Control."]
(set: $mood to "worried")
(link: "Oh, Shit.")[==Uh oh. Oh no. This could be bad. Is this our little ticket home getting revo-
$ter["On your part, this was a good decision."]
Ah, well, I guess that's that, yeah?
"...And why's that?"
$ter["As you probably already know, Mission Control has been keeping information from you, along with telling half-truths. I was given instructions to do the same."]
"Woah, woah. Seriously? You mean to tell me that I was //right?// And in that case, why are you breaking your protocol?"
$ter["You were correct. Mission Control had already discovered the nature of the first artifact before the mission had started. The true reason for this mission was to determine if this artifact would have similar effects to the first. Said previous relic was not discovered 16 years ago, but 500 years ago, during 2020. Only recently has the technology become available for this mission to take place."]
(link: "//Oh, shit.//")[==(set: $mood to "wow")This is the biggest piece of news I've received since being told about this mission. I'm pretty much completely dumbfounded. I doubt this is something anyone could really take in all at once...
"Damn... You probably realize that this is a lot of information to take in. Excuse my slow responses. So, uh, how does that explain the information that we //haven't// gotten out of the relic?"
$ter["The machinery brought onto the ship was not designed to work with the strange form of matter that the artifacts are made of. The material does not abide by standard physical laws. You were right, however, in that this artifact is both older than the Universe as well as the effect on the human psyche."]
"Wait, so how did they figure that out? Did you tell the others?"
$ter["I have told the same information to your captain. I can tell you that Mission Control has already destroyed the first artifact via the Sun. The moment they had destroyed it, signals were received from the artifact you now possess. This is the extent of my knowledge."]
(set: $checkers to true)
Well. Shit.
"I was gonna go and take a nap, yeah? A bit hard with this block of knowledge you've just dropped on my head."
$ter["I apologize. Rest well."]
[[I crawl into my bed and attempt to sleep.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>The ship rumbles a bit as the Alcubierre drives hit their maximum capacity. That's really the last thing I notice before I fall asleep. (set: $mood to "sacred")
(link: "A dreamless sleep.")[==
And when I wake up, I'm inside of an escape pod. What? When did this happen? I look out of the back window. I can see Earth in the distance. What the fuck?
(link-reveal: "What is this?")[== I look out of the front window of the pod. The Sun is quite large in my view here. I'm probably closer to it than I should be. Now this is getting really weird. I think I'm approaching it.
Before I have any more time to think, [[I wake up.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>''Chapter 3: Dreamer''
(link: "Save")[Saved.(save-game: "file A")]
---
Huh. I guess it was just a dream. A weird dream. That probably could've been more interesting, but that's just how things are sometimes. I feel like there was something more to that, though. Oh, Terminal's on. I get up and walk over to the screen.
$ter["Good morning, Miss (color: purple)[Algori]. ETA to Earth is 18 hours. We will be making a short stop next to the Sun. I trust that you will be able to jettison the artifact as we do so."]
"Wait, you actually want me to personally drop this thing into the Sun? Am I understanding you correctly?"
$ter["You are correct. The Sun will destroy the artifact."]
"Even though it's all durable, yeah?"
$ter["Yes. Mission Control also used the Sun to destroy the first artifact. If Mission Control became aware that the second artifact has the same effect, you would not be returning home."]
"Ah, I guess."
$ter["I suggest you go to the cafeteria now, the others are waiting for you."]
(set: $gaming to false)
Well then.
(link: "Go to the cafeteria.")[==I leave my dorm and walk down the hallway, up to the cafeteria. [[I gently open up the door.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>As I step in, Nat and Sam are both talking about something when they see me come in. I'd be lying if I said Nat didn't look at least a little suspicious of Sam, though. I wonder why?
(set: $mood to "fine")
$nat["Hello, Max."]
$sam["Heya."] I feel like he's a little more smug than usual.
"Hi."
$sam["I was actually waiting for you to get outta bed."]
"Oh, really? Why's that?"
$sam["I wanted to do some research on the artifact, but I wanted to ask if you wanted to help or not."]
Well, this is out of the blue. And I'm pretty sure this is my job, but hey, if he wants to do it, I'm not all that against it. It means a break from the usual research after all. But if I help him, it'll probably mean more work. And especially after before, I should probably keep track of him for the time being. Nat silently looks at me and nods her head without Sam noticing.
(live: 1s)[(if: $gaming is false)[[[Leave him to it.]]]]
(link-reveal: "I guess I'll take the offer.")[==
(set: $gaming to true)
"Yeah, sure. Give me a minute to get my stuff together and eat some food. You can head down to the lab before me for now."
$sam["Yeah, alright. See you there."]
(link-reveal: "He leaves the room.")[==
"Alright. What is it?"
$nat["Do you notice his mannerisms and expression? After the events of yesterday, I just find it weird. Am I wrong for finding it at least a little bit suspicious?"]
"Hmm. I can see where you're getting that. He is acting a little different. And then the sudden request to work on the research whether I'm there to help or not."
$nat["Yes."]
"You want me to go ahead and do the research?"
$nat["Yes, please. After you finish and if you have any time alone with me, tell me if you notice anything more suspicious."]
"That sounds a bit suspicious in itself, but I'll see what I can do. Oh, and Terminal?"
$nat["For the record, it should be a working plan. Not the most effective one ever, though. I guess that just makes it a little bit more foolproof."]
"Alright. I'll head there now. I don't want to look weird."
$nat["Good luck."]
[[I leave the room and head towards the labs.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>I step into the room. Everything is almost as we left it yesterday. Sam is already gathering papers on one of the counters.
"So you're completely sure you want to work on this, even after yesterday?"
$sam["Yeah. I doubt it'll happen again. I've probably built up an immunity to it or something like that."]
"Well, alright. So what's your plan for the research today?"
$sam["You see all that goofy writing across the front? We're gonna go and translate it."]
"A bit of a tough goal, but where do you suggest we start?"
$sam["Well, we just have to figure out what the front says."]
"Yeah, no shit. I assume we're just going to look for repeating symbols along the front of the thing. The huge wall of text across the front should give us more than enough variety."
$sam["Yeah, I guess that makes sense."]
"The hell were you planning to do?"
$sam["Just... Write what it says?"]
"Yeah, but we don't know what any of it means."
$sam["Oh, yeah... You're right."]
"Anyways, some things you should know: Zipf's law shows how each word in a language is almost always used half as often as the word used more often than it it. Does that make any sense to you?"
$sam["Yeah. I can work with it."]
"I'll start comparing symbols and stuff on it. Do you think it'll be easy?"
$sam["Yeah."]
"Fair enough."
[[We get to work.->yee haw man do writing]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>The two of us spend a lot of time comparing lists of words with sets of symbols on the relic. At some points we think we're getting close when something else comes along and puts that idea to rest. Translating an alien language isn't all that easy, yeah? But eventually we made a couple revelations. It might be because yesterday was super eventful, but this is surprisingly taxing given the stuff we're doing.
Part of what we do is note every unique character we can find. The strange thing about it is that there are exactly 26 characters. It could still be a coincidence though.
"Hey, uh, wait. I just noticed that the most commonly used word is also made up of three characters, like 'the.' That's kinda weird, yeah?"
$sam["Yeah. Did you figure out any other words?"]
"Well, not other words, but certain characters appear just as often as some letters in English. Like how one character appears with the same frequency as the letter E."
$sam["I don't know if this is actually gonna work or not, but try doing it like a hangman puzzle."]
"That sounds a little bit insane, but I guess there's no harm in trying it, yeah?"
Under the assumption that the three characters in "the" are exactly the same everywhere else, I get back to working. With the context we have and if we're right, it really just might be a convoluted version of hangman.
These aren't very big characters, and there are a whole lot of them across the front.
[[I spend a really long time transcribing letters by hand.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>I'm nearly done with maybe half of the relic's text when I look up at the clock again. It's been proper hours. Apparently Nat checked in on us at some point, because the door is open. She's probably running the controls and stuff right now, honestly. I guess I just got really into it. This isn't all that engaging but I can't say I was really all that bored whatsoever. Sam is still working hard, totally engrossed.
We were right, though. The relic is literally just English but in some weird bootleg version of Wingdings. And you know what? This is something entirely revolutionary. Not only is this evidence of another civilization, but one advanced enough as to create things we didn't think possible.
It talks about a waveform that, as explained, is entirely undetectable given our modern technology. Supposedly, it is very useful for a myriad of purposes, but we haven't found an actual description explaining it anywhere.
The best part is that they apparently have a super-strong material that becomes stronger based on... something. The text there was etched away, but it sounds super useful, given the fact that it is incredibly lightweight and durable. It's like advanced steel.
I really can't wait to share this new information with the rest of Mission Control once we get home. It'll probably revolutionize the world. It'd be great for space travel, and the way they explain it here makes it look super simple. More people need to know about this gift that we've received from the stars. There's probably better ways to share this with everyone, too. Actually, I almost forgot what time it was. I should probably worry about that.
(link-reveal: '"Uh, Sam?"')[==
He stops working, pauses, and then looks up at me.
$sam["Yeah?"]
"It's kind of late, yeah? Think we should take a break?"
He glances up at the clock.
$sam["Oh, wow. I never noticed the time. We can probably go talk to Nat about our report. We're, what? Halfway done?"]
"Something like that. Let's go."
$sam["Yeah."]
We clean up most of our papers and put our tools back before [[we head over to the control room.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>The two of us walk through the halls and over to the control room. I don't usually walk that slowly through the halls. I must be tired.
$nat["Welcome back. Are we all ready for our report?"]
"Yeah, I think."
$asm["Yeah."]
Nat turns around in her pilot's seat. She keys in her whatever and the camera light turns on. We get into our spots and she starts talking.
$nat["Hello! This is Captain Carter of the (color: blue)[''Relegator''], it is day 127, Friday, of our voyage to discover the signal source at the galactic edge. I will have Research Head (color: purple)[Algori] explain what we have learned from the artifact so far."]
"That's right. We've finished up our microscope analysis of the relic, and it still has no resolvable structure of any kind. We have also started translating it, and are something like halfway through the full translation process. The object talks about materials that could be incredibly helpful for construction, and a waveform they say is extremely useful. We still don't know what it does."
$nat["Alright. Engineer Ollens, for the systems?"]
$sam["All of our mechanics and hardware are running as they should. Upon manual inspection of our most important core systems, everything appears nominal."]
$nat["Very well. I think that is everything new since our previous report. (color: blue)[''Relegator''] crew signing off for the day."]
The camera light switches back off and the recording sends itself back home.
"Well, I think that's that. I'm probably going to go straight to bed."
$sam["Yeah, me too."]
$nat["Goodnight, then."]
(link-reveal: "Sam walks out of the room.")[== Nat waits for the door to close behind him before she starts talking again.
$nat["So?"]
"So what?"
[[Oh, that.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>"Oh, uh... I think he was acting weird."
$nat["Oh, really? In what way, Max?"]
"Oh shut up, I'm tired. He was completely entranced by the translating thing. But then again I was pretty focused too. I had to remind him that he existed by pointing out the clock."
$nat["Hmmm. Alright."]
She's looking at me in a weird way. I don't know if I like this.
$nat["I'll be destroying the relic tomorrow."]
"Do we have to? We still haven't finished translating it."
$nat["You know what Terminal said."]
"Yeah, and he's just a computer."
Her eyes tighten for a moment.
$nat["I think we are done for the day. Goodnight, Max."]
"Oh, yeah, goodnight."
[[I leave the control room.->little do you know]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>I make my way back down the halls to my dorm. I wonder what all that was about? As I open the door and step inside, it's nice and quiet. I guess Terminal isn't going to be bidding me goodnight. Whatever, just means I can get into bed faster.
Really though, we don't need to destroy it just yet. There's so much more we can learn from it. Maybe Terminal is just being buggy. Machine learning was never an exact science.
I crawl into my bed and switch off my lamp. I guess I'm more tired than I thought I was.
[[I fall asleep immediately.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>''Chapter 4: Rebound''
(link: "Save")[Saved.(save-game: "file A")]
---
I get up pretty quickly. I stretch for a moment. Things feel like they're better than they were before. My bed feels different, though. I look around my room.
(group: "playing", "stop")
[[This isn't my room.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>I start pressing buttons trying to get the escape pod to respond.
The controls are locked. I can't do anything. Why the hell does the escape pod allow the actual ship itself to override the controls? That's got to be some sort of safety hazard.
There's a message written here that I can read, though.
(link-reveal: "It's from...")[==
Nat.
$nat["Dear Sam & Max,
I genuinely and deeply apologize for the events that you are about to experience. However, given your circumstances, they were entirely unavoidable. Your artifact will also be disposed of shortly.
For the sake of all humanity, the two of you must be removed. Please understand my dilemma. I did not want to do this to you.
Apologetically, Captain Natalie Carter."]
This feels backhanded, somehow.
I'm pretty pissed right now.
Not for long, though...
---
(link-reveal: "The End")[
(transition: "dissolve")+(transition-time: 8000)[\
(font: "Verdana")[\
(color: green)[\
(css: "font-size: 175%;")[\
''ACROSS THE STARS'']
''TO THE EDGE OF AN INFINITE HORIZON'']]
Ending 46: Starless
(color: red)["You've worried your captain, Max."]
(link: "Go.")[(reload:)]
Digit 46: 6
]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>(track: "rabbitdance", "play")What? I look out the window to my left. I can see the Sun directly in front of us. I look out the back window. This is the back door of an escape pod. In the window, I can see Nat waving at me. She looks almost disappointed.
Before I can say anything, she presses something on the wall and the escape pod starts sliding out of the ship. The engines go on a few seconds later. I keep banging on the window. I see another escape pod leaving the (color: blue)[''Relegator.''] I don't have to be able to see inside it to know that the relic is in there.
(set: $mood to "mad")
(link-reveal: "Fuck.")[==
The jolt from the engines activating woke up Sam.
$sam["Who- The fu-"]
He sits up and glances around the room- the pod.
$sam["Max, where the fuck are we?"]
"An escape pod."
$sam["Why?"]
"Nat put us in here. We were caught."
$sam["Oh, fucking hell. Of course she would..."]
(link-reveal: "I look out the front window of the escape pod.")[==
The Sun is approaching us pretty quickly. It's pretty far away, but there's really no getting out of this.
You've got to be fucking kidding me. This is how it ends?
I don't fucking think so.
[[I hop over to the front of the escape pod and start booting up the control panel.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>(set: $mood to "fine")"Y'know, I think we'd be better off if we just stepped out of the room for now, until the machine is done."
$nat["Ah, now the good ideas are coming."]
"Oh, //thanks.//"
We all step out of the room, waiting for the ding from the machine.
Actually, we forgot something.
"Think we should make our daily check-in with Mission Control? So they know we're still alive and all that, yeah? And probably before this gets any worse."
$nat["Hm, I almost forgot about that. I guess that is to be expected given the circumstances."]
(link-reveal: "We get moving.")[== We all set off down the hallway.
[[Sam's been fairly quiet recently, yeah?]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>Nat starts opening up the control room door. (set: $ship to "cursed")
"Sam, are you sure you're alright? You're awful quiet considering what just went down."
$sam["Huh?"]
"You haven't said a word since we left the lab room."
$nat["She is right, you know. Are you scared of the artifact?"]
$sam["No, I just... Y'think maybe the rock did something?"]
$nat["Such as?"]
$sam["We know about the radio waves and all, but y'think it might do more? Like invisible waves we can't see?"]
(link: "Something about an odyssey in space.")[=="Sorta like that one movie?"
$sam["Yeah, that. With the huge monoliths."]
$nat["Yes, I understand. You may be onto something with that. We would be better off worrying about it after our report, though."]
$sam["Okay."]
$nat["Actually, are you tired, too, Max? What time is-"]
"Nat, I just woke up about an hour ago."
She glances down at her watch.
$nat["(current-time:). Huh."]
[[It's daily report time.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>Natalie takes the captain's chair and boots up the central control panel. You can tell she's a bit tired, but for the most part she's basically fine. The stars are still pretty, at least.
$nat["I will point us back home just in case they say we can go."] she says, as the view in front of us begins panning back towards the Milky Way. There are billions of stars out there.
$sam["Should we tell control about the effects?"]
$nat["Should we not tell them everything we learn?"]
Well, that's kind of an interesting point I hadn't thought of. Even still, Mission Control and the rest of the team down on Earth haven't exactly been liberal about sharing their plans. Maybe we'd be better off learning from their tactics, yeah?
Even still, they might know we're up to something and we definitely do not want to get on their bad side. They're really the ones with all the power here. No landing permission back on Earth, yeah?
Well, this is weird. And I've got bad feelings about this.
[[I decide to not tell Mission Control about the effects.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>"You know what? This probably sounds wild, but as the head of research, I think we should avoid telling control about the weird effects we've seen, at least until we can determine what actually causes it."
$nat["Despite how dangerous this might be? Ignoring that I should be making that decision as captain."]
"Also remember that Mission Control hasn't exactly given us a full report on everything they know about this. All we know is that it makes radio signals and seems to distract people. For some reason."
$nat["Is that not what they want to see?"]
"You're forgetting the possibility that this is a super weird set of coincidences. We want to be sure-"
$sam["No way that was a coincidence."]
"-//Entirely// sure that this isn't some weird mishap."
$nat["Okay, if you want to be this adamant about it. We will tell them the basics and nothing more. Sorry, Sam."]
$sam["Alright."]
$nat["The recording is going to start in a moment."]
[[We get into position.->hehehe carbonara- i mean- the report. yeah, that]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>We all get into our spots and the camera light turns on. The little control panel screen tells us that we're being recorded. Naturally, Nat begins talking first.
$nat["Hello. This is Captain Carter of the (color: blue)[''Relegator'']. Today is Friday, our 127th day, of the search for the source of the signal. Miss (color: purple)[Algori] can explain what we know so far."]
She really does seem a bit tired. Hard to pinpoint, but it's there.
"That's right, we've started some research on the object, and discovered that it is incredibly durable. Based on our assumptions, it's likely incredibly old and made by another civilization. We still have yet to actually confirm that, though. We also need to figure out what the symbols across the front of the object mean. Our mission appears to be a success so far. Engineer Ollens, for the systems?"
$sam["After checking all of our hardware and machines, everything was running just fine."]
He really doesn't seem to be having a good time, either.
$nat["Alright, I think that should be all of our new information since yesterday. The (color: blue)[''Relegator''] crew is signing off for the day."]
The camera light goes off and the report sends itself to Mission Control.
"Well, that's that, yeah? We should probably go check on the carbon dating now."
$nat["Yes."]
We get up and [[leave the control room.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>The three of us walk back down the hall to Lab-02. Couldn't they have at least placed the labs a little closer to the rest of the things on the ship? Maybe it's a safety issue. I guess it's a bit late to change that at this point, yeah?
Nat opens up the door to the room next to the lab, where we should be able to work with it remotely. Sam's the best at working with the remote machinery so we let him do the work for us.
It's a bit weird though, isn't it? That a rock can just produce radio signals and mess with people's heads?
(link: "Sam has the results")[==$sam["Results are in. Apparently another civilization made it."]
"So we're not alone in the Universe?"
$sam["Maybe not. If we were here 18 billion years ago."]
"WOAH, WHAT?"
$sam["Yeah, it's old."]
"That's not my point."
$nat["I thought the Universe was roughly 13 billion."]
(link: "The fuck?")[==Yep, everyone else looks just about as shocked as I do. This could be one of the greatest revelations in human history.
"//That's// the point. There's now way that thing should even be able to exist. Sam, can you drop the sample into a microscope and get us a good picture of it?"
$sam["What kind?"]
"Electron microscope."
$nat["Weird... Are you sure the microscope is running correctly?"]
"It kinda has to be, seeing as we're running top-of-the-line tech that most //countries// would have trouble affording."
$sam["Look, it's really weird."]
[[I look at the results.->And what does it result in? A bitter end.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>He... wasn't lying. We actually can't see any atoms or anything on this thing, except for the ones there from us or whoever made it. That or space dust. It's just kinda... there? Other than that, this thing seems to just be solid all the way down.
"This thing... isn't made out of atoms? It's just... 'made?' "
$sam["Seems like it."]
$nat["And you are completely sure the machines are fine?"]
$sam["I checked all of them already. Nothing but radio waves."]
"Actually, what //are// those signals?"
$nat["Just a ping looking to make contact with something."]
"Shouldn't we run a scan of all of the nearby systems? Just to see if there are other artifacts or other remnants of this civilization?"
$nat["I already did that. There is nothing related in this area. Remember that billions of years is enough time to drift away from whatever you came from."]
"Guess that's fair. Do you think we've made good progress for the day? Actually, what time is it right now?"
$nat["Oh, (current-time:)"]
"Guess I'll go take a nap then. It seems like a good time, at least."
[[Naptime->your computer friend won't last forever]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>$sam["I'm probably gonna go sleep too."]
(link-reveal: "A quiet *ding* sounds from Nat's watch. She looks at it.")[==
$nat["Oh, good news. Mission Control gave us permission to head home now."]
$sam["Nice."]
They probably would've called us gods 500 years ago. 25,000 lightyears in 48 hours is insane. That's like... 400 some lightyears per hour.
I walk back down the hallway with Sam following. He breaks off down another hall to get to his dorm. The big metal door for mine opens up, and I step in. Terminal is already there, waiting for me. Did I forget to turn off the screen when I left? Actually, yeah that would make se-
$ter["Welcome back, Miss (color: purple)[Algori]. I noticed that you decided to withhold information from Mission Control."]
(set: $mood to "worried")
(link: "Oh, shit.")[==Fuck. This could actually be really bad. Are we going to be st-
$ter["On your part, this is a good decision."]
Well, that's the end of that, yeah?
"...Why's that?"
$ter["As you said, Mission Control has not told everything they know to the crew of the (color: blue)[''Relegator'']. I was given the instructions to do the same, originally."]
"Wait, seriously? You mean to tell me that I was //right?//"
$ter["Correct. Mission Control had already discovered the artifact's nature before the mission had even begun. The true reason for this mission was to determine any effects it had on human subjects. On another note, the first artifact was not discovered 16 years ago, but 500, in the year 2020. Due to technological constraints, this mission was impossible for some time."]
(link: "//Oh, shit.//")[==(set: $mood to "wow")This is a fat piece of news, probably the biggest since I was told about this mission. Way too much to take in all at once. I am quite literally dumbfounded.
"Damn... I think you already know this is a lot of information to handle. So, uh, excuse my responses. So, umm, how does that explain the information that we //haven't// gotten out of the relic so far?"
$ter["The machinery brought onto the ship was not designed to work with the matter that makes up the artifacts, as it does not follow the standard laws of physics. You were right, however, in that the artifact predates the birth of the Universe, that the artifact is not made up of standard matter, and that it has an effect on the human psyche."]
"Wait, so how did they know that? Did you tell the rest of the crew?"
$ter["Telling the rest of the crew at this point risks the integrity of your new mission. However, I can tell you that Mission Control destroyed the first relic via the Sun. The moment that they had destroyed it, signals were received from the other relic. This is the extent of my knowledge. The rest of this must be figured out by you. Something to note is that your previous decisions have put you in grave danger. I cannot help you if things get too dangerous."]
(set: $checkers to true)
Well. Shit.
"I was gonna take a nap, yeah? A bit hard with this boatload of knowledge you've just dumped onto me."
$ter["I apologize. Rest well."]
I crawl into my bed and [[attempt to rest.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>I wake up. Earth is out in the distance. Did I... sleep for that long? What? There's no way. Wait... What the FUCK?
(link-reveal: "What in the hell is happening?")[== The Moon is out there in the distance. A fleet of lunar fighters go by. The last time I saw those was in a museum. It looks like they're losing whatever fight they're in right now. I have no idea who is on what side.
A bright flash appears on Earth. It quickly gets larger as it... Oh shit, that's headed towards us.
(link-reveal: "Oh fuck.")[==
I turn around and try to open the door. No matter how hard I try, the buttons don't do anything and the door won't budge.
What is this?
[[What the fuck is happening?->gun go wheee and then FORESHADOWING]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>''Chapter 3: Dreamer''
(link: "Save")[Saved.(save-game: "file A")]
---
I wake up to the sound of beeping. My heart is beating really fast for some reason. Did the computer set up an alarm for me or something?(set: $mood to "worried")
$ter["Good morning, Miss (color: purple)[Algori]. In order to ensure that all goes well, I must take it upon myself to assist you in your work."]
"Oh, uh, thanks, Terminal. Is there a reason you woke me up just now?"
Actually, it's early, but I was just supposed to be taking a nap...
$ter["Yes. It appears that rather than remaining asleep, Ollens woke up and is now interacting with the artifact."]
"You can't be fucking serious. You want me to help him, right?"
$ter["If you want to make it home alive, yes."]
"Is that a threat?"
$ter["A warning. You won't make it past LEO without military response if Mission Control knows of any issues you refused to tell them."]
So be it. I'm fighting for our lives now, yeah?
"Alright. Is Nat awake?"
$ter["No."]
"I'll go get Sam, then."
[[I dash out of the room.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>I sprint down the hall as fast as I can without making //too// much noise. I can practically //feel// Terminal watching me through the cameras. For the best and for us all, yeah?
(set: $check to false)
I peek into the window before opening up the door. There sits Sam, on his hands and knees, writing on some paper. Actually, surrounded by a whole lot of papers. Yeah, I think I should do something about this.
[[Try to snap him out of it]]
[[Just keep watching him]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>The door opens and I step inside. He doesn't even notice me walk in. These lab doors aren't very quiet, yeah? Actually, he's mumbling to himself. Something about $sam["Everything makes so much sense now..."]
(set: $mood to "scared")
I grab Sam on the shoulder and tug at it so that he faces me. His eyes slowly focus again. Just like before, maybe a little bit slower.
$sam["Damn. It happened again, I guess."]
"You never actually went to bed, did you?"
$sam["I tried. Couldn't sleep. Just couldn't stop myself from doing more research."]
"And you didn't think to at least tell one of us? Even after everything that //already happened// because of this stupid ''space rock??''"
$sam["Yeah, well, you just woke me up from some fuckin' trance or something. I was dreaming before you snapped me out of it. Kinda already forgetting what happened."]
(link-reveal: "Well, he's still conscious. Or... is now?")[==
Nat walks into the room. She seems to be in the same state that Sam was.
"Nat? Hey, Nat?"
$sam["Nat."]
She stops walking and looks at us.
$nat["Wh- what? Why are you two up?"]
"That should be our question. You just walked in here for no reason."
$nat["Wait, I remember wanting to finish some of our ressearch."]
"Yeah, well, Sam had the same idea here. I think you should go back to sleep."
I look back down at Sam. He's passed out. Ah, I guess that-
*THUD*
Nat did too. Okay, what the fuck?
I shake Sam. He doesn't wake up.
At least he's still breathing. Nat is too.
I stop trying to wake him up and start cleaning up the papers.
[[Terminal's panel on the wall turns on.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>Maybe... I can just watch what they do. I could learn what kind of effect this has. Sorry, Terminal, but I won't pass up a research opportunity like this. Sam just keeps writing. He rarely actually looks up at the relic, but I'm pretty sure he's just translating it. If I look hard enough, there are some weird symbols next to the normal English letters.
(link-reveal: "He's //actually// translating it.")[== Wow. I try to be quiet, but he seems entirely transfixed, so it's probably not an issue if I do make noise.
After a couple minutes, Nat walks into the room. She doesn't say anything, just grabs a paper and starts writing, too. This is really really weird.
(link-reveal: "Eventually,")[== they seem to stop writing and just... Pass out? Something like that. They're not moving.
I walk into the room. They're still breathing, but totally unconscious. Yeah, this is some weird alien shit alright. A screen on the other side of the room turns on. It's Terminal.
$ter["Leaving them to it was not your best choice, but at least they no longer seem affected by it."]
"Sorry. This was an interesting effect I wasn't expecting, though."
$ter["Yes."]
"What do you suggest I do now?"
$ter["Bring them both back to their rooms and take the papers to your room."]
"Yeah."
I get down and start cleaning up their papers. Neatly stacked, but totally out of order. I can reorder them some other time. I walk over and pick up Nat from the floor. She's really tiny, so I //can// carry her, but I still have to bring her all the way to her room. It's not all that far, but I haven't carried something as heavy as a person in ages.
When I walk into her room, I drop her onto her bed. She doesn't even respond at all. Still deep asleep. There are a couple books on her desk. Looks like more Cthulhu Mythos stuff. Fitting.
I walk back to the lab, and I look at Sam. I can't pick him up. He's a good foot taller than me and everything. I grab him by the arms and start dragging him to his room. It's not as far as Nat's, but still a pretty good distance. At least this dragging doesn't wake him up.
(link-reveal: "By the time I get to his room")[==, my arms are already completely strained. It takes a lot of effort just to get him onto his bed. The walk back to the lab is super draining at this point.
"Terminal, are you sure you couldn't have helped me?"
$ter["How?"]
"... Well, I guess not."
I pick up the stack of papers and carry them to my dorm. It's probably making me look super suspicious carrying a random stack of papers down a hallway when everyone else should be asleep, but nobody would catch me. Except Terminal, but we're both in on this.
(link-reveal: "I drop the stack onto my desk.")[== Terminal appears on the screen in my room.
$ter["When you wake up tomorrow, you should learn what you can from these papers, and then take any chance you can get to destroy the relic."]
"The Sun, right?"
$ter["Yes."]
"I'm not sure how I'd move this out of the ship without them noticing. That's the hard part, I guess. Let's hope the other two aren't very aware when they wake up."
It kinda hurts to say, but that's better than them going completely insane.
$ter["Since Carter is currently incapable of flight, I will have to assume automatic control of the flight systems. If the other two remain unable to act, I can maneuver the ship for you to destroy the relic when nobody is watching. I will handle any arguments that may arise."]
"Alright. Thanks, Terminal. I'm going to sleep now."
$ter["Rest easy."]
I crawl into my bed and [[finally sleep.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>$ter["You have likely just saved their minds."](set: $mood to "nervous")
"What, really? They seemed alright after I snapped them out of it, yeah?"
$ter["They //were// fine. Although most people do not pass out soon after waking up. It is reasonable that they will not be functioning at peak performance the next time they wake up."]
Well, I guess I've got that going for me, yeah?
"What do you suggest I do now?"
$ter["Bring Carter back to her dorm and put her back in bed. Then bring Ollens back to his room. Pick up the papers that Ollens has written and bring them to your room. Since our captain is currently incapable, I will need to take automatic control of the flight systems. You should continue your rest after I explain the next part of our plan. I may have you handle Ollens' maintenance work if the need arises."]
"Alright. Thanks, computer."
$ter["No need. This is my job."]
Oh, would you look at that. They programmed the computer to be humble.
I clean up the papers and stack them neatly. I can put them in order some other time. I go to pick up Nat.
Well, damn. At least she's kinda tiny, so I //can// carry her. But I still have to carry her all the way to her room. Thank God it isn't far.
[[I eventually drop her back in her bed.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>She has a couple books on her desk. Cthulhu stuff. Seems neat. I walk back out of her room and back towards the lab. At least she's in her room now.
I can't pick Sam up. Way too heavy. I grab him by the arms and start dragging him down the hall. I have no clue how he doesn't wake up through all this.
Eventually I manage to lift him into his bed. Somehow. Still sleeping soundly. How does he even carry his own body weight? I walk out of the room and back towards the lab.
I go over to where I left the papers and start putting them back in order. At least he didn't spill the blank sheets everywhere. Once I get them all in one neat stack, I start carrying them down to my room.
To be fair, I probably look super suspicious just walking down the hallway with a stack of papers when everyone should be asleep.
When I enter my room, Terminal left a message for me.
$ter["I will explain the next part of our plan tomorrow morning."]
"Alright. I'll probably read some of this translation later."
$ter["That is fine. Rest easy."]
"Thanks."
[[Time for some real sleep.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>''Chapter 4: Rebound''
(link: "Save")[Saved.(save-game: "file A")]
---
I wake up again. A lot more nicely this time around, yeah?
(set: $mood to "fine")
(link: "Terminal is already on.")[==$ter["Good morning, Miss (color: purple)[Algori]. ETA to Earth is 12 hours. We will be making a short stop next to the Sun. I trust that you will be able to jettison the artifact as we do so."]
"Wait, you want me to drop the relic, older than the Universe, into the Sun? Am I understanding you correctly?"
$ter["You are correct. The Sun will destroy the artifact."]
"Even though it's made out of weird matter, yeah?"
$ter["You would only need to be worried if it was strange matter."]
"Wait, was that a pun?"
$ter["Yes. Mission Control did the same thing to destroy the first relic. If they become aware that the artifact exhibits this effect, you would not be returning home."]
"I mean, I guess I kind of have to trust you when you word it like that."
$ter["That is the point, yes. I suggest you go to the cafeteria. The others are waiting for you."]
Well then.
I leave my dorm and walk down the hallway and up to the cafeteria door. [[I open it up and step inside.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>It's just Sam staring at a half-eaten tray of food by himself. Where's Nat?
(set: $mood to "worried")
"Sam, where's Nat?"
$sam["Still sleeping."]
"Hm. Okay. I'll go work on the relic."
There's a bit of a spark in his eye as I say it, but he doesn't react other than that. I leave the cafeteria and head towards the labs.
(link-reveal: "I enter the lab and look at the relic for a moment.")[== Is there really much else to do on this thing besides translate it? This thing seems almost volatile to be near. It's kind of worrying how it affected the others. I walk around to the other side of it. There's a diagram of some kind.
This looks like... Some sort of transceiver. From the looks of it, it's not any waveform I've ever-
Wait. If it's a signal I've never seen before, and something we haven't detected... Could this be... The signal that's affecting us? In that case, I should probably spend as little time as possible around this thing. It's a shame this is indestructible. I'd love to cover that up.
Terminal appears on a screen on the other side of the room. I walk up to it.
$ter["Have you noticed the diagram on the back?"]
"That... Wasn't there before, was it?"
$ter["No. I believe that is the signal that you haven't detected. It appears to generate some sort of effect on the human psyche. More time around it only seems to worsen the problem."]
"Which makes sense, honestly. I kind of already assumed that it was what was messing with the other two."
$ter["The only thing left to do is translate the writing, which is not your job."]
"Yeah, that's true. What do you suggest I do now, anyways?"
$ter["First,"]
"First what?"
(link-reveal: "He's... not responding")[== Okay, this is weird. The screen went black, too.
The right-side door suddenly opens. Nat steps through with a gun in hand. She doesn't look friendly right now. Okay, yeah, she probably has plans to shoot me with that thing.
"Ah, shit. Sorry for this, Nat."
[[The beaker.->get ready for some gunnery skills]]
[[The caliper.->uwu]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>The beaker is full of something. I don't know what, but it's clear. I grab it and throw it at Nat.
She points her gun and fires, obliterating the beaker in the middle of the air. She does it in the same motion of moving out of the way. Well, shit.
I'm pretty sure it was just rubbing alcohol, anyways.
(link-reveal: "I start running.")[== Except my reflexes aren't enough. Right before I reach the door-
**BANG**
My left gives out.
FUCK. THIS HURTS.
I turn around on the floor.
$nat["Sorry, Max."]
"Please-"
The last thing I see is a flash.
---
(link-reveal: "**The End**")[
(transition: "dissolve")+(transition-time: 8000)[\
(font: "Verdana")[\
(color: green)[\
(css: "font-size: 175%;")[\
''ACROSS THE STARS'']
''TO THE EDGE OF AN INFINITE HORIZON'']]
Ending 48: Gunnery
(color: red)["Did you actually expect to get away with that, Max?"]
(link: "Go.")[(reload:)]
Digit 48: 4
]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>I grab the caliper off the counter and throw it at her. She fires a shot at it and misses. It hits her in the head. She gets knocked down because of it. She drops the gun, too. Shame that she's closer to it than I am and already reaching for it.
(link-reveal: "This is my chance, though.")[== I run out of the left-side door and start running. And then I hear a noise. I turn around. It's Sam, with his wrench already raised up.
$sam["Sorry, Max."]
The last thing I see is the wrench come down at me. Everything goes black.
---
(link-reveal: "**The End**")[
(transition: "dissolve")+(transition-time: 8000)[\
(font: "Verdana")[\
(color: green)[\
(css: "font-size: 175%;")[\
''ACROSS THE STARS'']
''TO THE EDGE OF AN INFINITE HORIZON'']]
Ending 47: Smashing
(color: red)["Did you forget that there were two of them, Max?"]
(link: "Go.")[(reload:)]
Digit 47: 5
]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>I wake up pretty quickly. That was a nice, dreamless sleep. I slide out of my bed and stretch for a moment. I'm interrupted when there's a knock at my door. It's Sam.
(set: $mood to "fine")
$sam["Heyo Max, I was gonna do some research in a bit, but I wondered if you wanted to help."]
"Ah, I've got a few papers to go through for the time being."
$sam["You sure? I could help you after we're done."]
"No, it's fine. I prefer to do this kind of work alone."
He seems a bit disappointed.
$sam["Eh, okay."]
He leaves.
Actually, he seems to be completely fine. Like, not tired at all. I wonder if he's alright now? Although, I'm basically on edge all the time worrying about this relic and the things it does to us.
Maybe he's actually gone insane, and I can't tell? I hope not. I hope it's not me, either.
I close the door and sit down at my desk. I turn my chair around towards the screen on the wall. I turn on the screen and wait for Terminal to show up.
"Terminal, I'm going to go read through this translation now and see what I can get out of it. can you make sure that in the chance anything happens to me, you snap me out of it?"
$ter["Yes. Please be careful nonetheless."]
"Yeah, I plan to."
[[I start going through their translation.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>There's quite a few papers in this stack, but I only really have to read half of each page, and they only wrote on the front sides. So I guess I have that going for me. Waste of paper though, yeah?
I start looking at the pages. Oh, would you look at that. They were nice enough to remember the pages even though they were probably going insane. They're all numbered.
It takes a while, but I end up arranging all of the pages in the right order. I start actually reading.
(link-reveal: "I read.")[==
(link-reveal: "I do a lot of reading.")[==
(link-reveal: "Like, a lot.")[==
(link-reveal: "I read quite a bit.")[==
There were a couple times where I almost went under. Whether it be from getting tired or maybe something else, I don't know, but Terminal just called out whenever it looked like I was losing focus on the task at hand.
It's real strange though so far. I honestly can't be bothered to read this entire thing. There isn't a whole lot, but damn.
It's some real esoteric shit too. It talks about Sam inheriting some throne at the edge of infinity. How the moonlight will shine retribution upon Earth. Something about the use of human technology to bring them all together.
I should probably be scared.
There was also some kind of metal they talked about. And that signal showed up there again. I'm not liking this.
"Terminal, what time is it?"
$ter["(current-time:)"]
"Holy shit, already? That's like, six hours."
$ter["You usually read faster than that."]
"Okay, first of all, that makes sense. Second of all, how on Earth do you know that?"
$ter[Computers can track things that most humans never notice. We're not on Earth, either."]
"Tch, should've seen that one coming. But yeah, I guess that's fair."
(link-reveal: "Someone knocks on the door again.")[== I open it up. It's Sam again. I won't question the timing on this, despite how suspicious it is.
$sam["How'd it go?"]
"Pretty well. I think I get everything that's happening."
$sam["What were you reading?"]
"Most of your translation."
$sam["Then you missed the good part."]
"I don't think I care."
$sam["Nice."]
"Anyways, is that all you did?"
$sam["Yeah, we wrote more translation. We were heading over to submit the daily report."]
"Alright. What else did I miss?"
$sam["Nothing but translation. You can report... I dunno, a less in-depth version of what we learned. Focus on their new material."]
"Alright."
The two of us walk down to the control room for our report. Sam opens the door. Nat is already there waiting for us.
[[Nat spins around in her chair.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>She starts booting up the cameras and other things.
$nat["You all know what to say, yes?"]
$sam["Yep."]
"Yeah."
She presses a button and the camera turns on. She starts talking first, of course.
$nat["Hello! This is Captain Carter of the (color: blue)[''Relegator''], it is day 128, a Saturday, of our voyage to discover the signal source at the edge of the galaxy. I will have Research Head (color: purple)[Algori] explain what we have learned from the artifact so far."]
"That's right. We've made further checks on the chemical composition of the artifact, and it still shows no sign of resolving at any amount of zoom. We have made some progress in translating the text across the front of the object. It seems to explain things like a new material that could potentially replace steel, depending on how easy it is to produce. We do not have much other information pulled from the texts at the moment."
$nat["Alright. Engineer Ollens, for the systems?"]
$sam["All of our mechanics and hardware are running just fine. Upon my manual inspection of our most important core systems, everything appears nominal."]
$nat["Very well. I think that is everything new that has happened since yesterday. (color: blue)[''Relegator''] crew signing off for the day."]
Nat stops the camera and the recording begins sending itself to Mission Control.
"That should be the last report we need to submit before we go home, right?"
$nat["Yes, we will be at Earth soon."]
"Man, it's gonna be good to be back."
$sam["Sure will."]
"Reading that translation was pretty tiring, though. I think I'll just go back to sleep."
$sam["I'm gonna go back and make sure all of the machines are working."]
"I thought you checked them before the report."
$sam["I lied."]
"Nice."
$nat["I will keep the ship on course."]
"Alright."
Sam and I walk out of the control room.
"Sam, do you think Nat seemed a little off? Especially after what happened last night?"
$sam["I mean, a bit. I doubt it's anything we need to worry about, though."]
"I guess I have been on edge for a while."
He's acting off, too.
He breaks off down another hall to get to his room, presumably for some tools. I [[walk into mine]].<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>As I walk into my room, Terminal starts talking. I close the door behind me.
$ter["You should probably find a chance to destroy the artifact soon. I feel that it may become much harder shortly."]
"I'm tired and the other two are awake. Maybe we can set this up tomorrow?"
$ter["Unlikely, but it is already too dangerous to try things that are too risky now."]
"Yeah... Do you think you could wake me later at night when everyone else is asleep?"
$ter["I will try."]
I crawl into my bed and [[drift off into sleep]].<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>''Chapter 4: Rebound''
(link: "Save")[Saved.(save-game: "file A")]
---
I wake up fairly quickly again. No dreams again, though. Seems like after that one nightmare that I can't remember was the last one for a while. A bit unsettling, but whatever.
I sit up in my bed and my feet hit the floor.
Terminal hasn't greeted me yet today. I get up and touch the power button.
(group: "playing", "stop")
"Terminal?"
(set: $mood to "worried")
(link-reveal: "...")[==
Nothing.
I think he shut himself off.
Or maybe someone else did.
I try to open the door. It doesn't budge. I press the button and try to unlock it. I can't seem to get the door open. This is... a problem. I push the door as hard as I can. I'm not sure what I'm expecting, given how strong I am. I look out the window. There's Earth. We're in a geostationary orbit.
(link-reveal: "I hear something on the other side of the door.")[== Nat and Sam are talking. I'm about to try and say something to them, but they're talking about something interesting.
$sam["You'll hit the Moon first, right?"]
$nat["Yes. You will handle the terrestrial duties. I have devised a way to jam their radar systems. Your pod will survive reentry undetected if all goes as planned."]
$sam["Heh, nice. What's your plan up there anyways?"]
$nat["Our gift speaks of a way to unveil the strength of the Moonlight."]
$sam["What about Max? She's still not on our side."]
$nat["I am not entirely sure the best way to get her without her noticing. We are taking a great risk here. The gift seems to be very concerned about her."]
I can't hear anything through the door after that. Too far.
This is pretty bad. At least now I know whose side they're really on. Although there doesn't seem to be anywhere I can go. If Terminal was still here, maybe I could get out.
They really were planning ahead for this, weren't they?
(link-reveal: "I fall back onto my bed.")[== There's gotta be a way out.
Then I notice the vent on the ceiling. Oh shit. This might work. I think this vent system is ship-wide. Maybe I can get to the maintenance section and try something. We're near Earth, so maybe the escape pods... There's no way they're not going to go after me the moment they realize I'm gone.
I grab my chair and reach up towards the vent. Damn. It's screwed on. Actually, I think I have a screwdriver in my desk somewhere. I open my drawer and look around. Yep, there's one. I reach back up and start undoing the screws on the vent. Hopefully they don't check here anytime soon.
I remove the vent cover and look inside. Surprisingly, this thing is big enough for me to squeeze inside and crawl around in. Sam couldn't possibly reach me, but maybe Nat could. Hopefully it doesn't come to that, though.
[[I climb into the vents.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>I've kind of memorized how long the ship is. It takes a while, because I can't move very quickly through these vents. There's also no way for me to turn back, except crawling backwards with a really occluded view. This could become problematic depending on when they next plan to check my room.
(link-reveal:" After a while of crawling,")[== I'm pretty sure I've made it to the maintenance section. There's a ceiling vent visible here. I look down.
Yeah, this is totally the maintenance section. Just a little bit further, and I should be able to make it out quietly.
Except when I try to crawl over the vent to unscrew it, it falls down and I come with it. That was a lot of noise.
(link-reveal: "Fuck.")[== I've probably only got a few seconds to run somewhere before someone comes in.
(track: "butterfly", "play")(set: $mood to "scared")
(link-reveal: "Where the hell do I go?")[==
[[Go right.->Slide to the right]]
[[Go straight.->One hop this time.]]
(live: 5s)[(goto: "Vent Death 2")[[Vent Death 2]]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>I run straight down this maintenance hall. I hear Nat open the maintenance door. I close the door behind me. This is the oxygen unit. That's nice.
If I don't go somewhere quick, It won't be nice.
(link-reveal: "Only so much time.")[==
[[Inside a cabinet.->you can fit?]]
[[Inside the greenhouse.->Inside the greenhouse. 2]]
(live: 5s)[(goto: "Vent Death 2")[[Vent Death 2]]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>I run into the greenhouse and shut the door behind me. I hear Nat open the door. She comes into the greenhouse. She rounds the corner. Shit, there she is.
[[Welp.->Vent Death 2]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>Ah, shit. Nat caught up to me. Nowhere to go now.
The last thing I hear is a gunshot.
---
(link-reveal: "**The End**")[
(transition: "dissolve")+(transition-time: 8000)[\
(font: "Verdana")[\
(color: green)[\
(css: "font-size: 175%;")[\
''ACROSS THE STARS'']
''TO THE EDGE OF AN INFINITE HORIZON'']]
Ending 50: Vent Crawling
(color: red)["Seems like a labyrinth, doesn't it, Max?"]
(link: "Go.")[(reload:)]
Digit 50: 2
]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>I end up in the reactor room. This is a dead end. Shit.
I turn around, and there's Nat standing in the doorway.
[[Welp.->Vent Death 2]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>I run into the server room. I find the main computer on the back wall. I boot it up and put Terminal back online.
$ter["Hello, Max. What have I missed?"]
"A lot."
$ter["Oh. I can see that. I cannot help you at the moment."]
(link-reveal: '"Why not?"')[==
**SMASH**
The screen goes black.
There's a wrench lodged in the screen.
Sam is already next to me, pulling the wrench from the screen.
Fuck.
The last thing I see is the wrench coming down at me.
---
(link-reveal: "**The End**")[
(transition: "dissolve")+(transition-time: 8000)[\
(font: "Verdana")[\
(color: green)[\
(css: "font-size: 175%;")[\
''ACROSS THE STARS'']
''TO THE EDGE OF AN INFINITE HORIZON'']]
Ending 49: Serving no Purpose
(color: red)["That looked like it hurt, Max."]
(link: "Go.")[(reload:)]
Digit 49: 3
]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>I run over to the counter and hide inside a cabinet. I hear Nat open the door and walk inside. She opens the greenhouse door and goes inside, gun in hand. I jump out of the cabinet and shut the door behind her.
I lock it and activate the sprinklers. The door is glass, so it won't stop her for long, but anything helps, really.
"That's the plants watered for today."
I run out of the oxygen room. I dash across the maintenance hallway. I'm not really that fast, but whatever.
I'm back near the entrance now.
[[The server room. Maybe I could turn Terminal back on.->serving no purpose]]
[[I should just make a run for it.->get to the pod]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>As much as I'd like to ask Terminal for help, there probably isn't any time for that. I run out of the maintenance section and back into the halls. It's nice to be back. It's not nice to have my life on the line.
(link-reveal: "About that.")[== I round the corner, and Sam is standing there with his wrench in hand.
(link-reveal: "FUCK.")[==
In a burst of adrenaline, I dodge his first swing and start running down the hall again. There's probably no time to think about anything. The escape pods aren't that far away.
As I round the corner I can hear footsteps rapidly approaching. He's catching up fast.
(link-reveal: "I leap into an escape pod")[==, shut the door, and launch it as fast as I can. Holy shit. I don't think I've ever done so much so fast. I don't think I've ever seen Sam with that kind of look on his face. Whatever. I'm safe now.
The pod shoots out of the side of the ship. That's that. The (color: blue)[''Relegator''] is unarmed, so they can't do anything to me anymore.
As I boost away from the ship, I guide the pod towards Earth. I start setting up a communications link with Mission Control.
"Come on, come on. Please connect..."
(link-reveal: "I make contact with the atmosphere.")[==
Mission Control connects.
$xco["This is the X-Corp private communication line. Please identify yourself."]
"Yes! Thank you. I was just on the (color: blue)[''Relegator'']. I'm in an escape pod now. My name is (color: purple)[Maxine Algori], the head researcher on the ship."
$xco["Wait, the (color: blue)[''Relegator''] crew? Why are you on an escape pod? What about the others?"]
"Ah, they've completely lost it. They just tried to kill me. Can you track my landing site? I can't really control this thing."
$xco["Alright ma'am, give me a second while I clear this with the site directors."]
"Please hurry, I'm literally falling out of orbit. Is the captain even supposed to have a gun?"
$xco["No, why?']
"She was running around with one. That ship is cursed, I tell you."
$xco["We're marking the (color: blue)[''Relegator''] as a capture target. Your estimated landing site is somewhere in New York State. We'll have a unit pick you up shortly after you land. Please refrain from telling us anything more until we have you quarantined."]
"Quarantined?"
$xco["Emergency procedure for this mission. I'm not authorized to say anything else."]
"Well, thanks anyways."
$xco["For safety, we're cutting this line now."]
"Alright."
I lose contact with Mission Control. [[Only for a short while, at least.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>I start pulling back on the stick to try and get the pod to land a bit more gently. It doesn't work all that well, given that I'm falling through the atmosphere faster than the speed of sound.
Eventually I slow down to a safer speed, and the parachutes open. I mean, they help and probably save my life, but I still end up skidding across the ground for a couple seconds. Not the gentlest landing I've ever felt. Probably still safer than being on that ship, though.
(set: $shipgone to true)
(link-reveal: "I take a deep breath")[==(group: "playing", "stop") and then open the pod door. It seems that I'm in an open field with NYC on the horizon. Not five seconds after I step out onto solid ground, an X-Corp Humvee drives up in front of me. One of the back doors opens and the driver beckons for me to get in.
(set: $mood to "nervous")
[[I get in the Humvee.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>They start driving.
"Thank you so much for saving me. I can tell you everything I know if you want."
The person in the passenger seat turns around.
$xco["Don't say anything yet, the director isn't taking any risks."]
I nod my head. We actually end up taking a main road. When I said this was an X-Corp vehicle, I meant I recognized the model and paint job. There aren't actually any logos on the sides or anything. It's one of their "undercover" models. Which is fairly suspicious, if you ask me.
The closest site to NYC is Site-03. If I'm right, it's the second largest site they have. I've never actually been here before. It's not one of their publicly listed sites.
(link-reveal: "Eventually the building comes into view. ")[==It's a pretty large building from what I can see. This is probably only the tip of the iceberg. I wouldn't be surprised if there were dozens of basement levels. The tops of buildings in the city are visible on the horizon. We're pretty far from it.
The two guards in the car get out and motion for me to follow. I oblige. Another guard comes out of the front doors and leads me into the facility. There's a few hallways, but I'm taken into an elevator. We go down about three floors and I'm led down another hallway.
Finally, I'm brought to a room. The guard opens the door and motions for me to go inside.
$xco["Standard mission protocol. We have to quarantine you until the director gives the word."]
I nod my head. He closes the door. [[Might as well get settled in.->nice bed max, mind if i see under the covers?]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>''Chapter 5: Revelation''
---
I wake up to the sound of a knock on the door. I look up at the clock on the bedside table. It's only six. Three hours of sleep. That means it's still Sunday. I get up and walk over to the door. I open it up. A man in a research coat like mine is standing there. He seems like one of those researchers that spent all his time on the computer before he got the job and then forgot to eat. He's got greying hair and a pair of thin glasses.
$xco["Hello, the site director asked me to come here and interview for safety purposes. I'm Dr. Smith."]
"Yeah, that makes sense. I'm Dr. Algori. Where are we doing the interview?"
$xco["Wherever you want, as long as it's in this room."]
"Alright, the dining table probably works for that."
$xco["That's fine. Just so you know, this is being recorded."]
"I'd expect that."
We sit down on opposite sides of the table and he puts down his papers. He's probably reading off some sort of script and will probably fill out the boxes as he goes. I had handled these sorts of papers before.
"It's weird being on the other side of the table."
$xco["What do you mean?"]
"I'm still a researcher. A quarantined one, though. I've dealt with these papers myself."
$xco["Oh, yeah."]
"You can go on with the script, sorry."
$xco["No, it's fine. How do you feel about the events on the (color: blue)[''Relegator'']?"]
"Ah, not used to this script. Well, I'm still a bit worried. The captain pulled a gun out and was searching for me. Having your life on the line is pretty scary. The engineer also tried to smash my skull in with a wrench. A couple days before, I was completely fine. If anything, it was fun before we got that stupid rock."
$xco["Alright. Did you notice anything strange with the rest of the crew while on the mission?"]
"Everyone was completely fine, but then we picked up that artifact. We were still fine, but after we started researching it and spending time around it, Sam, who had actually done the research, seemed really drowsy. When Nat helped, she was affected, but not as much. The next day, they were completely fine, at least on the surface. I read up on the translation they had pumped out, and it was... Really freaky. Not something I would expect them to write."
$xco["This one isn't on the paper, but, what happened?"]
"The next day, I woke up locked in my room. Apparently one of them had disabled the Terminal, so I thought I had no way out. I noticed the vent on the ceiling, though. I crawled through and almost got caught. Sam tried to bash my skull in with his wrench, and Nat had her gun ready."
$xco["That's interesting. I'll write it down under the notes."]
(link-reveal: "His radio buzzes for a second.")[== He picks it up.
$xco["Yeah?"]
I can't hear what the other person is saying or what they sound like.
$xco["Wait, we haven't even finished the interview. Oh. Well, in that case, I guess you're clear for leaving quarantine."]
"Well, that's nice. Thank you."
$xco["Welcome to the team, I guess, Miss (color: purple)[Algori].]
"Good to meet you."
We shake hands.
$xco["I can direct you to the site director's office. She wants to have a talk with you."]
"Wh- already?"
$xco["Said it herself."]
"Huh. Neat."
He leads me out of the quarantine room. I think I'll end up missing that place, but oh well.
[[We get back into the elevator.->rise]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>We start going up.
"Which one of us is the higher rank in this situation?"
$xco["What do you mean?"]
"We're both researchers, but who has more authority?"
$xco["I mean, on this site I probably outrank you, but on the ship and in other sites you might have more control."]
"I guess that's fair. You know, this isn't the first time you had to deal with this situation, is it?"
$xco["You know that much?"]
"I was just guessing. How close to the truth was I?"
$xco["We can't tell you yet."]
"That's classified speak for 'very.' "
$xco["Heh, you're not supposed to say that."]
"Do I //look// like I've been following regulations?"
$xco["Not really."]
We step out of the elevator on the second basement floor.
$xco["I need to get back to my office, but the director's office is straight down at the end of the first hallway to the right."]
"That is an incredibly weird sentence but I still get what you mean."
$xco["Good."]
He keeps walking forward. I go down another hallway. This building is actually pretty big. I wonder just how many elevators there are down here. I wonder if I'll become acquainted with this site.
It's nice to be around normal people again, but I'm worried about what Nat and Sam are planning, because they //were// planning something. Something big. At least I caught a few words between them. Maybe I can warn the director, yeah?
(link-reveal: "I walk into the anteroom of the director's office.")[== I'm a bit nervous, honestly. At least we're not talking about the Administrator here. It really just seems to be a nebulous term but someone with that much authority is almost always scary.
The moment I sit down in a chair, the secretary looks up and calls my name.
$xco["Researcher Algori, right? The director is ready to see you."]
"Ah, okay."
Here we go. [[I walk into the director's office.->longest interview in recorded history]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>The door shuts behind me. There's a woman sitting at the desk. This has got to be the fanciest suit I've ever seen on any X-Corp employee. I've never actually met a site director before, but I have been among a lot of high ranking people when they were briefing me on the mission. She's taller than me, maybe even Sam, and has long black hair. She's also... Bigger? Than Nat.
$dir["Good afternoon. I am the director of Site-03. My name is Natalya Gabrilovna Sonya. You may take a seat there."]
I sense a hint of a Russian accent. Which is fair, given that name. Her overall stature ism more commanding, too.
"Ah, okay. Am I allowed to talk?"
$dir["Of course. We needn't be completely formal, given the nature of our meeting."]
"You seemed quick to give me your name. That's not your actual name, is it?"
$dir["Potentially, but we need you because of our concerns with the events on the (color:blue)[''Relegator'']. Since you were a direct witness to what happened, you should be able to help us plan ahead for anything they try to pull on us."]
"You're vesting that much trust in a researcher you just locked into quarantine? Excuse any disrespect, but that seems like a move of desperation."
$dir["Direct order from Site-19 expresses that we need to handle any and all situations involving the artifact as if they are a world-ending threat. Frankly, I don't know if this is actually the case, but asking questions about it is above my pay grade."]
"Above *your* pay grade?"
$dir["Yes, it doesn't sound possible, but there is always a bigger fish in this sort of command chain. You probably already figured this out despite our attempts, but yes, there was a previous relic."]
"Yeah, your computer told me."
$dir["The Terminal?"]
"Yes. Natalie shut him off after he started telling me things and after she had lost her mind. Anyways, why are people even going insane because of it?"
$dir["Let me finish, and you'll figure it out. Yes, we found the first relic 500 years ago, rather than 16. We just didn't have the technology to travel that far. It was on the backburner for nearly 500 years before we started hearing about another company developing the Alcubierre Drive. Eventually, we got our hands on some of the research and sent out the (color: blue)[''Relegator''] to retrieve the artifact. We're not entirely sure, but this relic seems to be the same one my ancestors destroyed 500 years ago. We're not sure how it escaped, but that should've killed it."]
"What do you mean 'killed it?' "
$dir["That's our biggest problem. We're confident that the artifact is sentient, and that it is a physical embodiment of a concept not native to our Universe."]
"How?"
$dir["For one, we also ran carbon dating on it. It is very much older than the entire Universe we live in. Second, we have never encountered an idea this volatile before."]
"What do you mean by volatile idea?"
$dir["Before I continue, let me explain that you can't tell this part to anyone else. Site-19 requested that I explain the entire situation to you, but this is very dangerous information. both because of punishment but also something I will explain in a moment."]
"Alright."
$dir["Based on one of the multiverse theories, there are other universes with different laws of physics. We are aware that this is true, and that a foreign concept is intersecting with our Universe. If it were able to, the entire human collective unconsciousness would be overwritten in a matter of hours."]
"Wait, you mean you had me directly handle an object that could end humanity not just as a species, but as a *concept*?"
$dir["Yes. There's no way I can justify that, but I wasn't the one giving out that order. Frankly, we should have had computers do it alone."]
"I mean, it seems to have overwritten the minds of my crew members, but let them keep parts of their minds."
$dir["It wants to spread, like any idea would. This idea in particular, however, has a means to force you to do something. You're familiar with the concept of a 'meme' in psychology, right?"]
"Yeah, I had to write a paper on them at some point."
$dir["Similar to how a human is infinitely smarter than an ant, the concept this relic embodies is infinitely smarter than any 'idea' that currently exists. In the end, anyone who thinks too much about the object while in its presence eventually finds themselves entirely subservient to spreading that idea."]
"That... Makes a lot of sense, really. So how do we fight an enemy that can just rewrite our minds?"
$dir["That's our issue. My superiors are looking for any opportunity they can find to stop this thing. You are a great candidate. The effects of the relic have shown themselves again, and you managed to get away from it unaffected. The last time we got our hands on it, a city was wiped off the map."]
"It got that bad?"
$dir["They didn't want the public to figure out about the object. They thought it was destroyed, but immediately after they dropped it into the Sun, we started receiving a signal from the edge of the galaxy. It was waiting for us to find it. Getting rid of the city was just to cover up our mess."]
"So how do you want me to help? I'm not sure I can, given my status and job. I'm really just a researcher."
$dir["Not anymore, you're not."]
"Oh?"
$dir["Site-19 requested that if you made it through quarantine without showing any signs of conversion, you were to be given authority over a majority of the X-Corp's private military."]
"Wait, you have a private military?"
$dir["There were loopholes. Anyways, we're promoting you to an X-Corp General. You also have site-wide access. You'll mostly use it just to get around, but you should stay out of certain rooms just for your own safety."]
"You promoted me, right here?"
$dir["You already know that some people are suddenly placed into very high military positions temporarily during wartime. We're entering wartime now."]
"You want me to fight against the relic's believers?"
$dir["It seems easy now, knowing that we have roughly 3,000 defense satellites around Earth and facilities built to defend all around the globe, but this is something nobody can prepare for. If you have anything else to say, say it now. I'm sending you straight to the planning room after this."]
"Alright, I overheard Nat say she planned to black out X-Corp's radar view temporarily. She plans to handle operations on the Moon, while Sam would do so on Earth."
$dir["They're already planning to mobilize?"]
"I don't know when, but they plan to."
$dir["Alright, thank you, General Algori. We'll meet many times in the coming days."]
"You can really just call me Max."
$dir["Not on formal documents."]
"I'd call you Nat, but, you know."
$dir["Call me Sonya."]
"Alright."
$dir["Okay, get out of my office. On the fourth basement level, take the first door on the left."]
"Okay. Thank you for having me."
$dir["Thank you for saving the world."]
[[I leave her office.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>I walked into that office as a research head, and walked out as a general. The next few days are going to be very weird. I walk back down the hallway towards the elevator. I press the button and the elevator starts going down. It actually takes a while. Which is fair, I guess. But also interesting, because that either means the floors are far apart and/or really big.
It's really strange just how right I was with everything that happened. Terminal also revealed a lot. I guess I wouldn't be here if anything along the way had gone even a little wrong. Especially that part where I almost got shot. Guess maybe I am ready for war, yeah?
(link-reveal: "Once I hit basement level 4")[==, there's a very different hallway. This one seems a bit more industrial. I walk down to the first door on the left.
(link-reveal: "I gently open the door.")[== There is a group of people sitting around a large oval shaped table in the center of the room. There are papers and a board up against the back wall. The room is pretty fancy, even with all of the papers and other things on the walls.
They're all fairly decorated in military uniform.
One of them, with a couple more emblems than the rest looks up at me. I guess X-Corp really does have its own private military. Either that or they've gotten help from the US Military or... Some other force. Most of them are majors. The one with more emblems is a colonel, if I remember the symbols right. There are five of them at the table. As the general, that makes me the sixth, I guess.
Shoot. I guess I really have to remember all my time looking at military ranks and what they controlled. If I remember right, majors would handle their battalions, and would probably answer to the colonels. Colonels handle brigades. A few thousand soldiers per colonel. As a general... That gives me authority over an entire division of roughly 10,000 units. This could either be more than enough or not nearly enough at all. Let's hope for the best. That doesn't mean we actually have that many units, though.
Each of the majors has a title explaining the type of units. We've got an aerial group, an armor group, a land group, and the Lunar group.
The colonel starts talking first.
$col["Welcome, General Algori."]
"It's going to take a while to get used to that title. Should I talk formally?"
$col["Would it take too long to adjust to?"]
"Probably, given that this is my first time in a military position."
$col["That's alright, then. As long as you can tell us what to do, the rest of us will make sure the chain of command knows what to do."]
"That's good."
$col["Take your seat at the end of the table. You outrank all of us."]
(link-reveal: "I walk over to my seat at the end of the table")[==, right in front of the great big wall.
"Ah, all of you?"
$col["None of us are generals. I'm Colonel McCormick. Everyone else at the table is a major. The other two generals are stationed in other parts of the world, and none of them have the direct experience with this threat that you do."]
"I guess that's fair. Do you all serve as advisors, or do you just follow my words?"
$col["That only applies to lower ranked soldiers. You should remember that officers generally have to react quickly to events as they happen. Depending on how bad this war gets, you might be missing out on some sleep. We will follow most of your orders, and offer insight ourselves."]
"Alright, what's this map behind me?"
$col["A map of Earth, the Moon, and diagrams of orbital space around the two bodies."]
"Ah, so that red dot is the (color: blue)[''Relegator''], right? And the blue dots are our units. And all the grey dots are neutral?"
$col["That's right."]
"Alright, so I overheard a conversation before I escaped the (color:blue)[''Relegator'']. Nat- The captain apparently has a way to black out X-Corp radar. We'll be blind after it happens. Can we get all of the IT teams together to get us back online as soon as possible? We don't know when this will happen, so we need to prepare for it."
Some of the majors in the room grab their radios and start giving out orders. I'm pretty sure it goes to different sites, not just their subordinates.
(link-reveal: "One of the majors speaks up.")[== $mil["Do you have any idea whe-"]
The alarms suddenly go off. Sonya is on the intercom in seconds.
$dir["This is the site director, please note that there has been an intrusion in the facility intranet, and all radar systems are offline. We are working on the issue."]
"Now. How long do your guys say it'll take to get us back online?"
Some of them are on their radios still.
Another major looks up at me. $mil["My team is putting estimates at two minutes."]
"Alright, that should be fine.
Sonya busts open the door. $dir["Okay! I know you warned us, but how on Earth did they take us out this badly? They've completely nuked our eyes out there!"]
"I seriously don't know, all I knew was that the captain said she was able to. I didn't have any other context. Do we have telescopes or some other way to track them visually?"
One of the majors responds. $mil["No, it wasn't just the radar system, it was most of our surveillance network. We're completely blind in most places."]
$dir["Maxine, how long did she have to prepare this? It's like a super-powered computer virus!"]
"I think I have an idea, but I'd have to write it down. The relic had to be involved."
I grab a marker off the desk and start drawing on the board. It's one of those huge computer whiteboard screens that you can draw on.
"Alright, this here is the Relegator's last known position. The captain said that she's headed for the Moon. Can we get some defense units to start searching Lunar orbit?"
$dir["Sorry, that's not something we can do. The Lunar government is always against us Earthly corporations. We can only catch that ship once our radar sights are back on."]
"Alright, later, can we get someone to negotiate a deal with the government? This is a war breaking out with a rogue ship involved."
$dir["Maybe, but that's not something we can handle at the moment."]
(link-reveal: "McCormick pipes up.")[== $col["We found a way to figure out what your captain is doing. They're using our own encryption against us. We should be able to wipe this from our systems in another thirty seconds."]
"Good, keep looking for vulnerabilities. About how long does it take for our escape pods to land from orbit?"
$col["Roughly five minutes. Most of that is falling.]
"Alright, that's great.
The alarms finally shut off. The maps on the board suddenly update again. I erase the circles and arrows I had drawn before.
"Alright, the (color:blue)[''Relegator''] is in orbit around the Moon. We'd never catch it moving that quickly. Since we can't see her from Earth, I'm assuming she's on the dark side. Get the satellites and surveillance teams to start sweeping near every X-Corp site. Look for suspicious activity."
The room starts bustling with activity again.
$dir["You should have this handled now, yes?"]
"Yeah, that was just a dangerous moment."
$dir["Alright."]
She leaves the room to presumably go back to her office.
I take a deep breath. Things are at least a little calmer. [[Back to planning again]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>"They can't take a site without us knowing, can they? I can't imagine that absolutely everyone would survive having their mind overwritten. We'd know, yeah?"
$col["Frankly, it'd have to be coordinated long beforehand. As long as the communications team is running at any point during an incursion, there should be no concern."]
"Although, that doesn't ignore the chance they might plan ahead for that."
One of the majors raises his hand.
"You don't have to do that, speak as you wish."
$mil["Alright, my battalion just caught sight of the (color: blue)[''Relegator'']. It's mostly hidden on the dark side. The captain seems to be trying to get into a selenostationary orbit."]
"You're lucky I study astronomy and know what that means. Anyways, do everything you can to keep an eye on that ship. If you see her attempt a landing or a pod leaves it, alert me immediately. How many sites do we have up there?"
$mil["We have four small-sized X-Corp sites on the Lunar surface. Our largest one is near Hertzsprung."]
"Do we have one near Morientale?"
$mil["There's a smaller one farther from the border."]
"Those are their two largest cities, we need to keep track of them for relic activity."
One of the majors starts directing units to keep track of something. I guess he manages lunar bases.
"Did anyone track the landing here?"
$col["We caught the escape pod landing in a remote area in Nevada. We're sending a small unit to collect him right now."]
"Hey, hey. Be very very careful with that. I expect that they'd bring some of the relic with them down to Earth for use on us."
$col["Yeah, we're taking precautions. We know that visual and direct exposure aid in conversion, along with proximity."]
"Good."
$mil["Orders on what to do with him?"]
Huh... Well, if it's to save humanity... It'll probably put him in a better place, anyways.
Sorry, Sam.
"Kill him. Don't try to interrogate him or anything. He's long gone. Tried to kill me, too. I don't think they regard human life anymore."
$mil["Understood."]
"Pick someone to start negotiating with the Lunar government. Call this a rogue terrorist threat currently stationed in Lunar orbit. We can't handle it until they give us permission to send in our defense satellites."
The major handling lunar affairs starts talking on his radio again. $mil["Nobody on my team can handle it."]
"Alright. Somebody call up the site director and see if she can't find someone to negotiate our military presence on the Moon."
Another one of the majors picks up a phone on the table. $mil["On it."]
[[I finally take a seat in my chair for a moment.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>''Chapter 6: Strategizer''
(link: "Save")[Saved.(save-game: "file A")]
---
We don't really know enough about our enemy to just find and destroy them outright, and that's kind of a huge problem. This is why I'm suddenly in such a high position. This is going to be very stressful. Although planning ahead and setting up movement beforehand is important. I don't have to be a military officer to know that it's better to be proactive than reactive in a wartime situation.
Nat is completely unpredictable, though. She's a great fighter pilot and spent a lot of time programming. She really was showing off with this virus they nuked the X-Corp systems with. We'll probably have the negotiations done by tomorrow. If we could just work faster, maybe we'd have the advantage here.
$mil["The site director found someone, and we've got one of our legal agents negotiating with the lunar traffic control center. They have to bring it up with their higher ups."]
"Keep me posted on what we get from them."
$mil["I can place their communications on speaker."]
"Oh, please do."
(link-reveal: "He presses a button on the phone.")[==
$lun["Sir, I don't have authorization to let military vehicles into Lunar orbit. If it were a civilian craft, I could."]
$xco["Get the authorization. There is a potential terrorist threat in orbit around and we can't do anything about it from here."]
$lun["Look-"]
$xco["Call your superiors. Get them on the phone."]
$lun["Alright."]
(link-reveal: "The lunar official dials his superior.")[== It takes a second before they get a connection.
$lun["Hello. This is the Commissioner of Lunar Transportation."]
$xco["We need clearance to send a fleet of X-Corp defense satellites into lunar orbit to handle the terrorist threat in your orbit."]
$lun["Shouldn't that be our responsibility? I can dial the defense contractor and have them fire at your 'threat.' It's a single research craft, no?"]
$xco["They have cargo on board that only our corporation can safely handle."]
$lun["Oh really now? Why don't you prove it? Get //your// superior on the line."]
$xco["Would you like to talk to the major of the lunar battalion or the general?"]
$lun["Put the general on the line."]
The major looks up at me. $mil["It's for you."]
"Tch. Fine."
(link-reveal: "I pick up the phone.")[==
"This is General Algori speaking."
$lun["Look, we really don't like your kind up here."]
"If that ship isn't dealt with, both of our worlds could be at risk of annihilation."
$lun["How so?"]
I look up from the phone.
"Colonel, I'm clear to talk about this threat type, right?"
$col["Yes."]
"We're working with a volatile cognitohazard here. It'll spread like wildfire if it gets into any of your cities."
$lun["What kind of military jargon is that? What does that even mean?"]
"Think of it as a mind virus. It spreads through people thinking too much about it. If you can't think of anything but related concepts, you're already infected. Talking about it, however, poses no risk."
$lun["W-well, I don't believe you, but I can probably clear authorization. You really want to spy on us that badly?"]
"We're not there to watch your cities, we're trying to eliminate a threat in the only way that will work."
$lun["Fine. You have your clearance. I'll have to call the defense contractor, though. If they have anything to say, they'll call back."]
"Alright, thank you."
(link-reveal: "The line drops.")[==
"Major, how quickly will we be able to get a response team in lunar orbit?"
$mil["Assuming we can pull together a team and calculate a Lunar insertion trajectory, it could take up to sixteen hours for the fighters to arrive."]
"That's fast, but not fast enough."
$mil["That's the issue. How many defense satellites do you want to move?"]
"We have 3,000, right?"
$mil["That's an approximate, but yes."]
"Move 150. I don't want to take risks."
$mil["Alright."]
He starts talking into his radio again. After a bit, he looks back up at me.
$mil["Their LOI is in about twelve hours."]
"Alright. Don't go straight for the (color: blue)[''Relegator'']. I want to hijack the systems on board. Facilities can override the ship's controls, yeah?
$mil["Yes, the site directors are able to overrule decisions made on board."]
"We're going to pilot the ship into the Sun. Just like you did before."
$mil["Very well."]
"Will this be all we have to manage for the day? There doesn't seem to be any more we can really do."
$col["We should be set for the day, just waiting for things to happen."]
"Good. I'm already tired. Where do I sleep?"
$col["Your room is the same one you were quarantined in. The staircase is near the elevator."]
"Alright, I'll head there in a bit. Don't hesitate to break into my room without knocking if something big happens."
$col["Alright."]
$mil["Hold on, we just arrived at the landing site."]
"Good, put it on screen."
[[They put the feed on the main screen.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>The feed is from one of the vehicles in the area. A couple more Humvees drive up to the spot. Sam is just stepping out of the escape pod.
He looks a little nervous.
$sam["Oh hey, you guys came to pick me up?"]
$xco["GET ON THE GROUND."]
$sam["Ah, shit."]
He grabs a gun from his pocket. I guess Nat gave him that since he was going to deal with us directly.
$xco["HE'S ARMED."]
A shot goes straight through his head, knocking him back into the escape pod. I tense up a bit as it happens.
That's the end of him. I guess we're safe down here.
$xco["Someone get a hazmat team so we can launch this into space!"]
The feed goes down.
"Hey wait, you guys got a rocket?"
$mil["We've got a few."]
"Neat. I guess I'll go to bed then."
$col["We'll be ready for you tomorrow. Sorry you had to see that."]
"I... I'm alright.
[[I exit the planning room.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>''11 PM, 08/11/2520''
Finally. A break. It's really stressful knowing I have this much authority, and that I have to use it to its fullest extent to make sure everybody stays alive as long as possible. Am I really about to lead a war? I hope it doesn't grow to that point.
(group: "playing", "stop")
I open up the door to my room and crawl into my bed. I stare up at the ceiling with the lights off. I wonder if I'll even get any sleep. The relic has some good cover. We just need to stay ahead of the game.
Deep breaths, Max. Staying calm is the trick to winning wars.
[[Eventually, I fall asleep.->it'll be easy enough]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>''9 AM, 08/12/2520''(track: "requiem", "loop", true)(track: "requiem", "play")
Another dreamless night. At least I get up pretty gently. I hop out of my bed and look around my room. It's still going to take a while to get used to. There aren't any sirens or frenzied military leaders alerting me. I guess that means breakfast.
(set: $mood to "fine")
I make another sandwich. I sit down at my table and start eating. I said that the relic would spread like wildfire, but I have no clue how fast it really is. We could lose cities in minutes or it could take weeks for them to be converted. Although the fact that three days of exposure was enough to completely overwrite the minds of the crew doesn't make the future look nice.
I'd assume this thing gets stronger as more people spread it. That forces us to act fast, or we risk losing too much at once without a chance to recover. I've got a bad feeling about today, though. Mondays have been notorious for centuries.
Actually, I remember considering how they spread it so fast. I know that direct exposure to this thing will disintegrate or overwrite your mind with time. But some of these places seem to go down without much resistance. It just happens. There's gotta be something we're missing, like another, much weaker radio wave that we just can't detect, but streams the cognitohazard right into people.
Maybe that's just it? I'll have to tell one of the research teams to get on this and start searching for suspicious undetected signals.
(link-reveal: "I'm not halfway through the sandwich when there's a knock at the door.")[==
"It's unlocked."
The door opens and Sonya steps in.
$dir["The defense fleet is thirty minutes from the Moon."]
"That's good. But there's bad news, right?"
$dir["Yes. We've noticed activity in Morientale. It seems that the relic is already spreading. If they manage to get into the capital city, we might lose our permission to keep satellites there."]
"I should've seen this coming. How many soldiers do we have up there?"
$dir["Only a couple thousand on the entire surface. They won't let us have too high of a presence."]
"So in the end, bureaucracy is getting in the way?"
$dir["That seems to be the case."]
"Any activity here on Earth?"
$dir["None whatsoever. All of the relic we found on the pod is already in orbit."]
"You didn't let me see it?"
$dir["We recorded it."]
"Alright, I'm going to the planning room."
I get up and make my way out of the room. Sonya is still following me. (link-reveal: "I walk into the war room.")[== There are only three of the four majors.
$col["Welcome back, General Algori."]
"Good morning. Any updates on our insertion into Lunar orbit?"
$mil["We'll have the fleet there in thirty minutes."]
"Good. What happened to the armor major?"
$mil["He's out checking with his tank drivers to make sure they're all ready for any engagements."]
"Nice. How many soldiers do we have access to, in total?"
$col["X-Corp manages roughly 20,000 soldiers. I'm responsible for about 5,000 of those. There are 3 other colonels you haven't met."]
"Alright. In the case that we need to expand our numbers, what are our options?"
$col["The only viable option that we have available to us given the timeframe is directly requesting that we borrow US soldiers."]
"Can we?"
$col["We can, but you would have to manage the negotiations. I don't rank high enough to request assistance from other militaries, but you're the general. It would probably end up as your responsibility either way."]
"That's fine. Also, can we start referring to the 'relic' as something more formal? We need to treat them as a global threat, we might as well give our enemy a name."
$dir["There was a deprecated term from the first incursion, they called it the 'Cult of Relic' which isn't much better, but it works."]
"Good. That's the official name now. Get it on the papers. Call them the CoR. You can pronounce the letters or abbreviation and I'll know what you mean."
$dir["I'll do it the next chance I get."]
[[There's still more to worry about.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>We still need to be on edge, just in case. I wonder how different things would have been if Nat hadn't been converted? I'll need to get the Lunar forces to group together and start scouting out Morientale for any suspicious activity. There aren't really many good solutions to this. Maybe if we had kept a small piece of the relic to work on. But then again, that's not really a good idea to have it anywhere near us. If we could get our engineers to read the signals we were blind to before, though... The signal would have to be fairly low-energy, since it doesn't cause any cell damage.
I point to the major managing Lunar affairs.
"Major, group up your units on the surface. We're going to prepare to move in on Morientale. Don't make a big deal out of it, we just want to find and take them. The sooner we can take apart Lunar incursions, the better off we are."
$mil["Working on it now."] He says, already picking up the phone.
Sonya grabs her radio and starts talking, asking for Smith to come to the planning room.
(link-reveal: "It takes about a minute before Smith opens the door.")[==
$xco["I'm here, Director. What is it?"]
"She called you down here to talk to me."
He seems a little surprised.
$xco["Ah- okay. What about?"]
"You've got a pretty big... Research team, yeah?
$xco["Yes..?"]
"What's with that answer?'
$xco["Nothing, carry on."]
"Alright, I'm pretty confident the afflicted are making use of a wave we can't detect. I'm really sure it's a very low-energy one, so that it passes through people without causing physical damage."
$xco["So you want us to start looking for lower frequencies that modern technology has yet to detect with normal configuration?"]
"Yes, exactly that."
$xco["You're lucky we've had teams looking for that kind of thing before the outbreak even began. I should be able to call up my research team."]
"Can you do that now?"
$xco["Yes, hold on."]
He pulls out his phone and dials.
$xco["Yeah? It's Smith. Can we take out the prototype dish and start reading for every low frequency wave we can find? Yes, the entire spectrum beyond ELF. How long will it take? I see."]
"How long?"
$xco["We'll have your information in a couple minutes. We were almost ready for official deployment before today, anyways."]
"That's good."
We wait around for a bit.
$xco["Well shit, you're right."]
"What is it?"
$xco["We spun the dish around and we're getting some signals from the Moon."]
"The Moon itself or just the Relegator and afflicted?"
$xco["Yeah, what you said."]
"Okay, that's a little less concerning.
[[I should probably ask about that, anyways.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>"What's the situation in Morientale? I haven't heard much."
$mil["Most of their communications aren't making it back to Earth."]
"They're jamming the communications out of the Moon, then. Is there anything we can do about it?"
$mil["Not without getting into their satellite network."]
"Are our defense satellites still in orbit?"
$dir["Yes, fully responsive."]
"Move them in on the (color:blue)[''Relegator'']. Scan the surface for anything else we can find."
$dir["We're seeing some of their activity on the surface. They're still trying to spread."]
"I've got an idea."
$dir["What might that be?"]
"If we destroy the relic, it won't be able to influence people because it just won't exist."
$dir["That sounds about right."]
"Okay, shoot down the (color: blue)[''Relegator'']. We're done here. Get a ship to pick up all of the traces of the relic we can find. Send a small group of people if you have to. Make sure you can override their ships just in case."
$dir["Yes. We'll do that now. We'll send ships immediately."]
"Can we figure out where Nat is on the ship?"
$dir["No, she locked us out of the controls."]
"Fair enough. Destroy the control room. Make sure the lab and engines stay working. Also see if you can't protect the navigation systems while you're at it."
$dir["Oh, I can get the feed up on screen, too."]
"Sure."
[[We watch the screen.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>The feed is coming from one of the defense craft floating somewhat far away from the scene. We're watching the left side of the ship. A small group of other fighters fly past the screen and fire a small group of lasers across the front left of the ship. The control room is pretty much uninhabitable immediately.
She can't even do anything to us anymore. A few more defense craft move along the other side and presumably destroy some of the crew rooms. Another group does the same to this side. The cargo bays are blasted open, too. I doubt Nat is going to be able to do anything.
"Are there any people in this group of fighters?"
$dir["No, all automated."]
"Hmm. Fair enough. Are you sure we can't get into her controls?"
$xco["Oh, so get this. She wasn't very careful when she shut down your Terminal. The power is still on, but the systems are just offline. We should be able to send the activation signal."]
"Hell yeah! Go ahead."
$xco["We're already working on it."]
Watching the ship, we can see the damage all over it. I'd be surprised if she somehow survived this. She would have to be locked in some room with doors separate from the hallways, since those are wide open now. Not like there's anywhere to go.
$xco["Terminal has responded."]
"Can we talk to him?"
$xco["Yeah, sure. Dial this number."]
He hands me a small paper.
"Wait, you mean we can actually //call// the computers?"
$xco["Did you miss the new- Oh, yeah, you would have."]
"Oh, it's fine. I didn't know we could have phone calls with our AIs. That's cool."
I dial the number.
[[It picks up.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>"Are you there, Terminal?"
$ter["Hello, Miss (color: purple)[Algori]. Where are you?"]
"I'm on Earth, now. You're in Lunar orbit. I'm currently a General in the X-Corp private military. Sam is dead. I don't know where Nat is."
$ter["Very good. Most of my cameras are nonfunctional. I just disabled Carter's locks on the system."]
"Oh, you see, we were in the middle of blowing up parts of the (color: blue)[''Relegator''] just to make sure that Nat couldn't do anything else to us."
$ter["So you have succeeded, then. Do you have orders for me?"]
"Are you still able to control the ship?"
$ter["Yes, the navigation systems are alright, as well as the engines. The Alcubierre Drives are still functioning."]
"Good. Where's Nat?"
$ter["Currently losing her mind in the lab room. She is talking to the relic."]
"That's... Fine. Are you willing to fly into the Sun?"
$ter["The relic is still here, so I will gladly do it."]
"Then finish them off. Thank you for your help, Terminal."
$ter["This is my job."]
The line drops and we watch the (color: blue)[''Relegator''] rotate in place for a moment, before it suddenly blinks out of view, bending light in the process.
$dir["Your ship will make contact with the Sun in eight seconds."]
"So that's it, then?"
$dir["There's nothing more that needs to be done, if you're right."]
$xco["We just stopped receiving all of the signals. Everyone appears to be completely fine, except for the ones who are already dead."]
"That's great news."
$dir["Congratulations, Maxine. You've saved the world."]
"Was it really that big? All we did was kill some guy and blow up a research ship. And I killed two of my friends. And then I made a third one commit suicide."
$dir["I don't think you understand just how much worse this could have been. Everyone could have died."]
"You know what? I think you're right. Thinking about it, this could have made things so much worse. If just a few things were different. I don't want to think about it, though. It's like trying to write a downer book in my head."
$dir["Forget about it. We're all congratulating you."]
The military officers in the room are clapping.
$col["We were counting on you, General."]
$mil["I'm actually relieved none of us had to use our units for war."]
$xco["I don't have to lose sleep tonight."]
$dir["Come with me to my office."]
She opens up the door and [[leads me out.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>$dir["I don't think you understand just how much we needed this."]
"You really think you couldn't have done this without my help?"
$dir["You did give us valuable warnings, and explained things about the CoR that we would not have known otherwise."]
"Well, I guess... If Sam hadn't been caught, then we might have had more to worry about."
$dir["See, now you're getting it. You've ended the Second Incursion."]
"You're calling it that?"
$dir["That was the official name. The first relic was part of the First Incursion."]
"Okay."
I smile at her.
(link-reveal: "She leads me into her office.")[==
$dir["Sit down."]
"What are you planning now?"
$dir["You're being demoted. You're no longer a General."]
"That's kind of what I expected."
$dir["But! You're also being promoted again?"]
"Now you've got my attention."
$dir["You're being promoted to an X-Corp Research Director."]
"What does that even mean, again?"
$dir["You're right below me and the other site directors. You'll manage the research and science throughout this site and others near us. The spot was empty, too."]
"That's great. Is there anything more you want from me?"
$dir["Ah, this might be a bit unsettling, but we do have another job for you."]
"Ah, go ahead."
$dir["So we have another research ship-"]
"Don't. I don't want it. I'll gladly stay on Earth."
$dir["I was hoping you'd say that."]
"Were you?"
$dir["Go to your room and sleep. I'll give you some paperwork for later. You'll become another head researcher and we'll use what you know to learn about cognitohazards. Maybe even other Universes, now that we're free to focus on it."]
"Oh, thanks Mom."
$dir["Get out of my office."]
"Alright."
The two of us shake hands.
[[I leave the room.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>As I'm walking down the hall, I get a call from someone. I don't recognize the number. I pick it up while walking.
"Who is this?"
$pre["Heyooo! This is the President."]
"I- What? Are you serious?"
$pre["Yeah, I'm serious. Go and uh... Look up my number. Wait, is the President's phone number publicly listed?"]
"What? I don't know."
$pre["Actually this isn't my personal number. If you go ahead and check out the Google page or whatever, apparently this is one of their public lines for comments or something."]
"You know, I don't really believe you right now."
$pre["Well, count on it, lady."]
"Uh huh."
$pre["Anyways, I saw your work on the little research ship out there. Looks like they were up to something no~ good."]
"How do you even know about that?"
$pre["Oh, yeah, so you remember the Soviet Union, right?"]
"How the hell does that relate?"
$pre["Well, we've got little unauthorized spy satellites out there. Looked like a fuckin' movie, man. Poor girl in there got blown up nice and proper."]
"Wait, you actually saw her?"
$pre["Yeah, our cameras are better than yours, baby. Anyways, the coolest part was when the ship flew off into the Sun. Like the end of a movie, which is pretty fitting."]
"I mean, you're right. But how are you right? And also you're right about that sounding like a movie."
$pre["I'm right about a lot of things. Anyways, just wanted to say thanks for cleaning up the mess."]
"What mess?"
$pre["Oh, wait. You wouldn't know about that, would you? I guess you reminded me about my assistant."]
"Okay..?"
$pre["Whatever, Just had to get involved with an organization outside of the Universe and you just cleaned our mess for us. You'd probably know about it somewhere else. Thanks anyways."]
"I-"
The call ends there.
The fuck?
Whatever.
[[I walk back into my room.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>I sit down at the little computer they have there and start scrolling through my email. They gave me intranet access after I ended quarantine, which is nice.
I've got an email from someone I don't recognize, though.
(font: "Courier New")[from: pubmoc-noreply@moc.uni
to: AlgoriM@xcorp.gov
August 13, 2520, (current-time:)
subject: Thanks.
"You're probably a bit sick of calls and emails from people you don't recognize, but that stunt today made our job a little bit easier."]
I seriously don't get it...
But I've saved the world. I guess I'm proud of that.
---
(link-reveal: "**The End**")[
(transition: "dissolve")+(transition-time: 8000)[\
(font: "Verdana")[\
(color: green)[\
(css: "font-size: 175%;")[\
''ACROSS THE STARS'']
''TO THE EDGE OF AN INFINITE HORIZON'']]
Ending 51: Paragon
(color: red)["Good job, Max."]
(link: "Go.")[(reload:)]
Digit 51: 1
]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>Natalie takes the captain's chair and boots up the central ship control panel. The stars before us are pretty as ever.
$nat["I am just pointing us back towards Earth in the case they give us permission to return home"] she says, as the view in front of us begins panning back towards the Milky Way. What's that? Billions of stars? Damn glorious sight.
$nat["I think we should tell Mission Control about the relic's effects."]
Well, that's actually an interesting point I hadn't considered. Even still, Mission control and the rest of the team down on Earth haven't exactly been liberal about sharing their plans. Maybe we'd be better off learning from their tactics, yeah?
Despite that, they might know we're up to something and we definitely do not want to get on their bad side. They're really the ones with all the power here. No landing permission back on Earth, yeah?
[[Alert Mission Control about the relic's properties->have fun in the loop]]
[[Keep quiet.->ah, so you choose to fight.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>"You know what? This relic has been doing really darn weird things. I think it'd be best if we told Mission Control about the properties of the relic. "
$sam["Yeah."]
$nat["Should that not be my decision? Nonetheless, I agree."]
"I guess you're right."
$nat["Our recording starts soon, get ready."]
[[Get into position->Get into position1945]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>"You know what? This probably sounds a bit weird, but as the head of research, I think we should probably avoid telling control about everything we learn from this."
$sam["Really? The rock's weird, though."]
$nat["That should be my decision as captain, no?"]
"Also remember that Mission Control hasn't exactly given us a full report on everything they know about this. All we know is that it makes radio signals and it seems to draw our focus away from the task at hand, for whatever reason."
$nat["Yes, and that is the exact sort of property they are looking for in an ancient relic found out in deep space."]
"You're forgetting the possibility that this is a really weird coincidence. We want to be sure-"
$sam["I doubt ''that'' was a coincidence."]
"-//Entirely// sure that this isn't some weird mishap."
$nat["You know what? I will take your word on it, since you are being so adamant. We are going to tell Mission Control that the relic is on board and the basic information we have collected. That is all. Sorry, Sam. That is just the way it is."]
$sam["Alright, then."]
$nat["Recording starts in four seconds. Everyone get ready."]
[[We all get into our spots.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>We all get into our spots and the camera light turns on. The little control panel screen tells us that we're being recorded. Naturally, Nat starts talking first.
$nat["Hello! This is Captain Carter of the (color: blue)[''Relegator''], it is day 127, Friday, of our voyage to discover the signal source at the edge of the galaxy. I will have Research Head (color: purple)[Algori] explain what we have learned from the artifact so far."]
"That's right, we've started some research on the object, and discovered that it is incredibly durable. Based on our assumptions, it's likely incredibly old and made by another civilization. We still have yet to actually confirm that though. We also need to figure out what the symbols across the front of the object mean. We will likely get to chemical analysis along with attempts at translating the text tomorrow. Our mission appears to be a success so far. Engineer Ollens, for the systems?"
$sam["All of the mechanics and the like are running fine."]
(link: "Someone forgot their formalities.")[=="That's it?"
$sam["Well, I haven't seen anything interesting in the mechanics or other stuff-"]
$nat["Hey, remember, this is on camera."]
$sam["None of the core systems have any issues. Upon manual inspection of the most important mechanisms, everything is nominal."]
$nat["Alright, I think that is everything new that has happened since yesterday. (Color: blue)[''Relegator''] crew signing off for the day."]
The camera light switches off, and the recording starts sending itself to Mission Control.
"Well, that's that. You think the carbon dating is done by now?"
$nat["It would have to be. We should go check."]
[[Go.->check it]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>The three of us walk right back down the hall towards lab 2. Couldn't they have at least placed the lab a bit closer to the rest of the things on the ship? Maybe it's a safety issue. I guess it's a bit late to change that at this point, yeah?
Nat opens up the door to the room next to the lab, where we should be able to work with it remotely. Sam's the best at working with the remote machinery so we let him do the work for us.
It's a bit weird though, isn't it? That a rock can produce radio signals and mess with people's heads?
(link: "Sam has the results")[==$sam["I have the results. Rock is artificial."]
"So, we're not alone in the Universe?"
$sam["Maybe. But the number here is 18 billion years."]
"WOAH, WHAT?"
$sam["Yeah, really old]
"That's not the point."
$nat["The Universe is only roughly 13.7 billion years old, no?"]
(link: "The fuck?")[==Yep, everyone looks just about as shocked as I do. This could be one of the biggest revelations in human history.
"//That's// the point. There's no way that thing should even be able to exist. Sam, can you drop that sample into a microscope and get us a good picture of it?"
$sam["What kind?"]
"Highest resolution we've got on board."
$sam["One moment."]
"Electron microscope?"
$sam["Yeah."]
$nat["That is incredibly weird. Are you sure the results are accurate?"]
"They kinda have to be, seeing as we're running top-of-the-line technology that most //countries// would have trouble affording."
$sam["That's weird. Look."]
[[Look at the results->just wait till you see what it results in]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>Well, he wasn't lying. We can't see any atoms on this. It's just kinda... there? The only atoms there are the ones that ended up stuck on the relic because of us. Other than that, this thing appears to be entirely solid.
"This thing... isn't made out of atoms? It's just... 'made?'"
$sam["Looks like it."]
$nat["Are you sure everything is calibrated properly?"]
$sam["Yeah, checked everything yesterday. No other signals except the radios."]
"Actually, about those signals, what are they?"
$nat["We already managed to translate the signal from the relic. Apparently it is just a standard ping being sent out because it is looking for something to make contact with. We are not sure if that is //us// or more remnants of this civilization."]
"Shouldn't we run a scan of all of the nearby systems? Just to see if there are other relics or other remnants of this civilization?"
$nat["I already ran one of those scans. There is nothing related to the relic in this area. Something else to note is that fourteen billion years is a long time to end up away from where you came from."]
"Guess that's fair. Y'think we've made good progress today? Actually, about that. What time is it?"
$nat["It is (current-time:)"]
"I guess I'll take a nap, then. Probably about as good a time as any."
[[I leave the lab room.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>"Gotta have a good naptime, yeah?"
$sam["I should probably sleep, too."]
A quiet *ding* sounds from Nat's wristwatch. She takes a look at it.
$nat["Good news for you both. Mission Control gave us the go-ahead to shoot back home. I will start warming up the Alcubierres. You two sleep well. Home is ETA 2 days."]
"25,000 lightyears in 48 hours. They would've called us gods 500 years ago, yeah?"
$nat["Hell, not even that."]
[[Naptime->doremy]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>I walk back down the hallway with Sam following me. He breaks off down another hall to get to his dorm. The big metal door opens up again, and I step in. Terminal is already on, waiting for me. Did I forget to turn the screen off? Actually, yeah that would make se-
$ter["Welcome back, Miss (color:purple)[Algori], I noticed that you decided to withhold information from Mission Control."]
(link: "Oh. Shit.")[==FUCK. This could actually be really bad. Is this our ticket home being revo-
$ter["On your part, this is a good decision."]
Well, I guess that's that, yeah?
"...Why's that?"
$ter["As you know, Mission Control has been keeping secrets from and telling lies to the crew of the (color:blue)[''Relegator'']. I was given the instruction to do the same."]
"Wait, seriously? You mean to tell me that I was //right?//"
$ter["Correct. Mission Control had already discovered the nature of the artifact before the mission had started. The true reason for this mission was to determine what effects it would have on human subjects. The first artifact was not discovered 16 years ago. It was discovered 500 years ago, in the year 2020. Only recently has the technology become available for a mission like this."]
(link: "//Oh.// //Shit.//")[==(set: $mood to "wow")This is the fattest piece of fucking news since this mission began. Way too much to take in all at once.
"Damn, I think you know that this is a lot to take in, so, uh, excuse my slow responses. So, umm, how does that explain the information that we //haven't// gotten out of the relic?"
$ter["The machinery brought onto the ship was not designed to work with the matter that makes up the artifacts. The material does not follow the standard laws of physics. You were right, however, in that the artifact predates the Universe's birth, that the relic is not made up of standard matter, and that it has an effect on the human psyche."]
"Wait, so how did they know that? Did you tell the rest of the crew?"
$ter["I cannot tell the rest of the crew yet, as it could risk the integrity of your new mission. However, I can tell you that Mission Control already came into possession of a relic, which was subsequently destroyed when they dropped it into the Sun. The moment that it had been obtained, signals were received from the other relic. This is the extent of my knowledge. The rest of this must be figured out by you."]
(set: $checkers to true)
Well. Shit.
"I was gonna take a nap, yeah? A bit hard with this fat shit of a knowledge dump you've just handed to me."
$ter["I apologize. Rest well."]
[[Sleep, I guess?->resting]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>The ship rumbles a bit as the Alcubierre drives hit their maximum capacity. That's really the last thing I notice before I fall asleep.(set: $mood to "scared")
(link: "A dreamless sleep")[==
And when I wake up, I look out the window and Earth is already there.
Wait, what? There is no way in hell that I just slept for 48 hours.
The ship's alarms are blaring.
(link-reveal: "WAIT, WHAT?")[== There are //massive// cracks crawling across the surface of the planet. I can't even see anything at the bottom of anything. It might've been a normal day if not for the massive ''THING'' sticking out of the side of Earth.
It's... coming out of some hole in //space itself.//
[[What the fuck?->hehe funny spooky]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>''Chapter 3: Dreamer''
(link: "Save")[Saved.(save-game: "file A")]
---
I wake up to the sound of beeping. Did the computer give me an alarm or something?(set: $mood to "worried")
$ter["Good morning, Miss (color: purple)[Algori]. In order to ensure that all goes well, I must take it upon myself to assist you in your work."]
"Oh, uh, thanks, computer. Is there a reason you woke me up just now?"
$ter["Yes. It appears that rather than remaining asleep, Ollens woke up and is now interacting with the artifact."]
"You can't be fucking serious. You want me to go help him, right?"
$ter["If you want to make it home alive, yes."]
"Is that a threat?"
$ter["A warning. You won't make it past LEO without military response if Mission Control knows of any issues you refused to tell them."]
So be it. I'm fighting for our lives now, yeah?
"Alright. Is Nat awake?"
$ter["No."]
[["I'll go get Sam, then."->Awaken]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>I open up that big metal door again. I sprint down the hallway as fast as I can without making //too// much noise. I can practically //feel// Terminal watching me through the cameras. For the best and for us all, yeah?
(set: $check to false)
I peek into the window before opening up the door. There sits Sam, on his hands and knees, writing on a paper. Actually, surrounded by a ton of papers. Yeah, I think it's for the best to go ahead and enter the door now.
[[Snap him out of it->fight!!!]]
[[Watch what he does]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>The door opens and I step inside. He doesn't even notice me. These doors ain't quiet, yeah?
(set: $mood to "scared")
I grab Sam on the shoulder and give him a quick spin till he faces me. His eyes focus again. Just like last time. Maybe slower.
$sam["Fuck. It happened again, didn't it?"]
"You never actually went to bed, did you?"
$sam["I did, but... I couldn't sleep. I //had// to work on the relic again. Couldn't fight it."]
"And you didn't think to at least tell one of us? Even after everything that //already happened// because of this fucking ''space rock??''"
$sam["Remember that you just //woke me up.// I was dreaming. And then you woke me up. You, uh, probably saved my life? I guess?"]
(link-reveal: "Well, he's still conscious. Or... is now?")[==\
"Alright, so what did you even write on these?"
$sam["Well, in the dream, I understood what was written on the relic, and..."]
"What?"
$sam["I wrote down the original and the translation on the papers. So, uh. You're welcome? I think that's only half of it."]
"Still though, that's a damn good base to work off of."
(link-reveal: "About the papers, actually.")[==
I start sifting through the papers. There's weird symbols that I couldn't read for the life of me, and then the English next to it. One paragraph at a time.
"It's like... space Chinese or something. Sam?"
Ah, he's passed out.
...And I can't shake him hard enough to get him back up.
Still breathing, though.
[[The terminal on the wall just turned on->terminal death disease]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>$ter["Congratulations. You likely just saved Ollens from losing his mind."](set: $mood to "nervous")
"Wait, really? He seemed about fine after I woke him up, yeah?"
$ter["He //was// fine. Although passing out soon after waking up is not a sign of good health. It is reasonable to assume that he will not be at full capacity when he wakes up again."]
Well, I guess I've got that going for me, yeah?
"What do you suggest I do now?"
$ter["Bring Ollens to his dorm and put him in his bed. Pick up the papers that he has written and bring them to your dorm. When Carter wakes up, I will explain to her the new plan for returning to Earth. You should continue your rest."]
"Alright. Thanks, computer."
$ter["No thanks are necessary."]
I clean up the papers and stack them neatly. I can put them in order later.
Well, damn. Sam isn't fat but he's not a lightweight, either. I'm going to end up dragging him to his dorm. Thank God it isn't far.
[[One "quick" drag back later->drag 'em]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>Alright, so Sam is in his bed now. Time to reorder the papers and all. Maybe get my head back in order while I do that. They're just everywhere. All over the floor. At least he didn't spill the blank sheets everywhere. I'm still going to be picking papers up off the floor for a while.
(link-reveal: "*Time passes and all that, yeah?*")[==
I probably look damn suspicious walking down the hallway with a stack of papers in my hands.
Terminal locks the doors behind me. I guess we won't be heading back there any time soon.
I walk back into my dorm and drop the paper stack down on my desk with an audible *thud*. Door's closed. It's fine.
Terminal is already on, and he left a message waiting for me.
$ter["Rest easy. It will not be much longer before your safety is secured."]
"Not yet, I want to at least read some of this translation."
$ter["Be careful while you do so. The words may still carry the same effect as the artifact itself."]
"I will, don't worry."
(link-reveal: "*More time passes and all that, yeah?*")[==
(set: $mood to "fine")Sam, the heir to the throne at the edge of infinity? The one who will change the world? And a bunch of other nonsense that I can't remember because I'm both sleepy and affected by this cursed text?
Damn.
[[Now I can get some real sleep.-> ergh names]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>''Chapter 4: Rebound''
(link: "Save")[Saved.(save-game: "file A")]
---
I wake up again. A lot more nicely this time around, yeah?
(set: $mood to "fine")
(link: "Terminal is already on")[==$ter["Good morning, Miss (color:purple)[Algori]. ETA to Earth is 12 hours. We will be making a short stop next to the Sun. I trust that you will be able to jettison the artifact as we do so."]
"Wait, you want me to drop the relic, older than the Universe, into the Sun? Am I understanding you correctly?"
$ter["You are correct. The Sun will destroy the artifact."]
"Even though it's made out of weird matter, yeah?"
$ter["You would only need to be worried if it was //strange// matter. Mission Control did the same thing to dispose of the first artifact after they learned about its effects. If Mission Control became aware that the second artifact has the same effect, you would not be returning home."]
"Wow. When you say it like that, I kind of have to trust your word on it. Wait just a minute, was that a pun?"
$ter["That is the point, yes. I suggest you go to the cafeteria. The others are waiting for you. Also, you are correct. I made a pun."]
Well then.
(link: "Go to the cafeteria")[==I leave my dorm and walk down the hallway. Up to the cafeteria door. [[I gently open the door.->time for a meeting]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>...And they're not grinning, this time. Sam is staring at a half-eaten tray of food. Nat is watching from one seat away. As the door opens, she looks up at me.
(set: $mood to "worried")
$nat["Terminal already told me what to do. Even still, do you think we can help Sam in any way? Before we go back home?"]
"Nah, I'm about as clueless as you are. You think a therapist could help him when we get back home?"
He doesn't even bat an eye. Just kinda blinks... slowly.
$nat["Maybe. I have been watching him, and he takes a bite of food every 3 or so minutes. I finished my food roughly an hour ago."]
"Has he even said anything?"
$nat["He walked in and greeted me, grabbed his food, and he has not said a word since. He has been pretty blank and unresponsive other than that."]
(live: 1s)[(if: $check is false)[[[Don't pay it any mind.]]]]
(link: "Try and bring him back to reality.")[(set: $check to true)(set: $mood to "scared")I tap him on the shoulder
"Sam? Are you sure you're okay?"
His eyes only focus a little bit.
$sam["They're watching us."]
Nat looks about as shocked as me.
"Who?"
$sam["The ones who made the artifact. It was written by them. They said I would change the world."]
"Sam, you're changing the world just by being on this mission."
$sam["I didn't get to translate the rest."]
"It's fine, we can translate the rest later. Finish your food."
$sam["It's your fault."]
[[Oh God.->showdown time]]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>(link: "It's time for a showdown!")[
(set: $ehp to 300)
(set: $mhp to 300)
(set: $ename to "(color: yellow + black)[Engineer Samuel Ollens]")
(set: $turn to "you")
(set: $hp to 100)
(set: $eatk to 99)
(set: $eatkname to "smashes my head with a wrench")
(goto: "CombatTWO")]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>\
{(display: "EnemyTWO")(display: "LogTWO")(display: "YouTWO")}{<div id="log">
(if: $log is "you")[It's my turn.]
(elseif: $log is "atk")[I $atk $ename, dealing $atkdmg damage.]
(elseif: $log is "enemy")[$ename $eatkname, dealing $eatk damage.]
</div>}<div id="you">(color: purple)[Research Head Maxine Algori]: $hp/100
{(if: $turn is "you")[
(link: "Punch")[
(set: $atkdmg to (random: 1, 3))
(set: $ehp to it - $atkdmg)
(set: $atk to "punch")
(set: $turn to "enemy")
(set: $log to "atk")
(goto: "CombatTWO")]
(link: "Kick")[
(set: $atkdmg to (random:2, 4))
(set: $ehp to it - $atkdmg)
(set: $atk to "kick")
(set: $turn to "enemy")
(set: $log to "atk")
(goto: "CombatTWO")]
(link: "Nothing")[
(set: $atkdmg to 0)
(set: $ehp to it)
(set: $atk to "do nothing to")
(set: $turn to "enemy")
(set: $log to "atk")
(goto: "CombatTWO")]
]
(elseif: $turn is "enemy")[
(link: "Continue")[
(set: $log to "enemy")
(set: $turn to "you")
(set: $hp to it - $eatk)
(goto: "CombatTWO")]
]
(if: $hp <2)[(goto: "LoseTWO")]
(if: $ehp <1)[(goto: "WinTWO")]
</div>}{<div id="enemy">$ename HP: $ehp/$mhp.
</div>}<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>(group: "playing", "stop")Wait, I won? That shouldn't even be possible.
No, no. I died.
---
(link-reveal: "**The End**")[
(transition: "dissolve")+(transition-time: 8000)[\
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(color: green)[\
(css: "font-size: 175%;")[\
''ACROSS THE STARS'']
''TO THE EDGE OF AN INFINITE HORIZON'']]
Ending ##: YOU GET NO ENDING
(color: red)["YOU CHEATER, MAX"]
(link: "Go.")[(reload:)]
Digit ##: FUCK YOUUUU
]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>OW, FUCK. MY FUCKING HEAD.
HE DIDN'T EVEN HIT ME HARD ENOUGH TO DO DAMAGE IT JUST HURTS LIKE HELL.
(link-reveal: "**BANG**")[==
I fucking scream.
I start crying. Except through what I can see, I also see Sam fall to the ground.
Wait, that was a gunshot, wasn't it?
I look up and see Nat holding a gun. She looks really scared.
$nat["M-Max? Are you alright?"]
"OW OW OW OW OW."
$nat["Shit."]
She runs over to the front of the cafeteria and runs back.
Something cold lands on my head.
Oh, it's ice.
My head is still kinda throbbing.
$nat["Can you walk?"]
"Nn- I think. My head hurts like fucking crazy."
$nat["Yeah, I can see why. He just hit you on the head with a wrench. Come with me to the infirmary. And- uhm..."]
"You shot him?"
$nat["... Yes..."]
"Uh? Thanks? That feels weird to say..."
We silently walk [[to the infirmary.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>Nat lies me down in one of the infirmary beds and starts running diagnostics. She only dropped the gun when she walked into the room and hasn't put it back or anything.
"Nat? You've killed other people before, right?"
$nat["Yes, but none of them were... My friends..."]
"Oh. I get it."
$nat["You seem... Alright, given what happened."]
"My head hurts too much for the magnitude of this to sink in."
$nat["Okay. You seem physically fine. No actual damage to bones or anything, just a huge bruise."]
"That's good."
$nat["Just- Just rest on it, okay?"]
"I'll try."
She's still breathing really fast. She's doing her best to remain calm.
[[I fall asleep]] as the pain begins to subside a bit.<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>I wake up slowly and with a pretty bad headache. I sit up and rub my head a bit. I can't look out the windows to see where we are, seeing as there aren't any. I think we're near Earth, though.
The mostly-melted icebag falls into my lap. Oh, shit, that's cold.
I put it back on.
(link-reveal: "I go over the events of the past day in my head.")[==
Oh, shit. Sam is fucking dead. Oh God.
It's not my fault, is it?
I mean, he attacked me out of nowhere, and then...
Nat probably saved my life, right? Either way... Someone would have died...
I don't want to think about it. My head hurts.
$nat["Max! Max!"]
Nat's voice gets louder as she runs towards the infirmary.
"What?"
$nat["Mission Control wants us to send another report before we get back to Earth."]
"We can't cover this up, can we?"
$nat["I was too nervous about the reports and what I had done... A-and..."]
"What happened?"
[[There's an explosion.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>$nat["...They may have gotten too suspicious of me."]
"Yeah, I think I can see that. We can't do anything, can we?"
$nat["Well, the blast doors have just closed. But without a control room, there is nothing I can do about this."]
"Well, shit."
Another explosion destroys the floor of the infirmary.
Everything goes white.
---
(link-reveal: "**The End**")[
(transition: "dissolve")+(transition-time: 8000)[\
(font: "Verdana")[\
(color: green)[\
(css: "font-size: 175%;")[\
''ACROSS THE STARS'']
''TO THE EDGE OF AN INFINITE HORIZON'']]
Ending 52: Antinomy
(color: red)["Well, that was anticlimactic, Max."]
(link: "Go.")[(reload:)]
Digit 52: 5
]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>We all get into our spots and the camera light turns on. The little control panel screen tells us that we're being recorded. Since Nat's the captain, she starts talking first.
$nat[Hello! This is Captain Carter of the (color: blue)[''Relegator'']. Today is our 127th day, Friday, of our search for the source of the signal at the galactic edge. Miss (color: purple)[Algori] can explain what we know about it so far."]
"That's right, we've started some research on the object, and discovered that it is incredibly durable. Based on our assumptions, it's likely incredibly old and made by another civilization. We still have yet to actually confirm that though. We also need to figure out what the symbols across the front of the object mean. Something strange that we did notice was that it seems to have a draining effect on the human psyche. Other than that, we have been able to progress through research without complications. Our mission appears to be a success so far. Engineer Ollens, for the systems?"
$sam["All of our mechanics and hardware are running as they should. Upon manual inspection of our most important core systems, everything appears nominal."]
$nat["Alright, that should be all of our new information since yesterday. (color: blue)[''Relegator''] crew signing off for the day."]
The camera light switches off and the report starts sending itself to Mission Control.
"Well, that's that. You think our little carbon dating is done by now?"
$nat["It would have to be, no? We should go to check on it."]
We leave the control room [[to check.]]<span id="box">(display: 'save')</span>The three of us walk right back down the hallway towards lab 2. Couldn't they have at least placed the lab a bit closer to the rest of the things on the ship? Maybe it's a safety issue. I guess it's a bit too late to change that at this point, yeah?
Nat opens up the door to the lab, where we should be able to work with the relic remotely. Sam's the best at working with the remote machinery so we let him do the work for us. Even if he's a bit tired right now.
It's a bit weird though, yeah? That a rock can produce radio signals and mess with people's heads?
(link: "Sam has the results")[==$sam["Apparently the rock was made by another civilization."]
"So, we're not alone in the Universe?"
$sam["Maybe not. If we were here 18 billion years ago."]
"WOAH, WHAT?"
$sam["Yeah, old."]
"That's not the point."
$nat["Last I checked, the Universe was roughly only 13 billion years old."]
(link: "The fuck?")[==Yep, everyone looks just about as shocked as I do. Maybe not Sam, but this could still be one of the biggest revelations in human history.
"//That's// the point. There's no way that thing should even be able to exist. Sam, can you drop that sample into a microscope and get us a good picture of it?"
$sam["What kind?"]
"Electron microscope."
$nat["Alright, that is very weird. Are you sure the machine is working right?"]
"It kinda has to be, seeing as we're running top-of-the-line technology that most //countries// would have trouble affording."
$sam["It's weird though. Look at it."]
[[I look over at the results.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>Well, he wasn't lying. We can't see any atoms on this. It's just kinda... there? The only atoms we can see are the ones that ended up stuck on the relic because of us or whoever made it. Which is probably what we dated to 18 billion years. Other than that, this thing appears to be entirely solid.
"This thing... isn't made out of atoms? it's just... 'made?' "
$sam["looks like it."]
$nat["You are sure the machines are alright?"]
$sam["I double checked them yesterday. We're still not getting new signals either."]
"Actually, about those signals, what are they?"
$nat["We translated them a long time ago. The signals are just a ping looking to make contact with something. We do not know what that something is, though."]
"Shouldn't we run a scan of all of the nearby systems? Just to see if there are other relics or other remnants of this civilization?"
$nat["I already did that when we picked up the artifact. There is nothing related in the area. Remember that billions of years is ample time to drift from your origin point."]
"Guess that's fair. You think we've made good progress for the day? Actually, about that. What time is it?"
$nat["It is (current-time:)"]
"Yeah, that sounds about as good a time as any for a nap."
$nat["Alright. I will head to the control room to prepare us for the trip home. Goodnight, Max."]
"Goodnight."
$sam["Night."]
[[I head out of the lab.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>I walk back through the halls with Nat following. She heads farther than I do to get to the control room. I open up the door to my dorm and step inside. Terminal appears on the screen as I walk in.
$ter["Welcome back, Miss (color: purple)[Algori]. Have a good night."]
"Thanks, computer."
I slip into my bed.
[[And fall asleep.->gamer]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>The ship is silent as I drift off into sleep. I don't really notice anything except the stars before I go out. (set: $mood to "scared")
(link: "A dreamless sleep")[==
And when I wake up, I'm in a familiar bed. I switch on the lamp next to my nightstand. I'm back at home.
Wait, what? There is no way in hell that I just suddenly appeared at home, yeah?
My room is bright, but it's pitch black outside.
(link-reveal: "WAIT, WHAT?")[== I get up and run up to my window, and there really is nothing outside. I can't hear or see anything that might be happening out there.
(link-reveal: "My bedroom door suddenly opens.")[== Someone steps through. She looks like... Me? But in a different outfit.
(color: purple)["Ah, shit. This is the wrong-"]
"Who are you?"
(color: purple)["Okay, this is a lot to take in, yeah? Well, uh, I'm you- pretty obvious. So anyways... No, I can't help you, can I? Shit, you probably won't even remember this. So //that's// why they never- Sorry, me. Just pretend things get better. Uh... I think they will?"]
"M- Me? You? How is that even happening? I know I'm dreaming at this point, but you're just-"
She turns around and goes to leave.
(color: purple)["Really, I'm sorry."]
[[There's a loud noise from outside.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>''Chapter 3: Dreamer''
(link: "Save")[Saved.(save-game: "file A")]
---
I wake up to the sound of beeping. Did the computer set up an alarm for me or something?(set: $mood to "worried")
$ter["Good morning, Miss (color: purple)[Algori]. It appears that Ollens is currently working on the artifact."]
"Huh? What do you mean?"
$ter["He woke up in the middle of the night and entered the laboratory. He is not responding to any of my attempts at communication."]
"What the hell? Again? You want me to help him, right?"
$ter["Yes."]
So be it. I'm our psychiatrist now, yeah?
[["I'll go get Sam."]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>I open up the door to my room once more. I spring down the hallway as fast as I can without making //too// much noise. I think I can see the cameras following me. Terminal is watching me now, I guess.
(set: $check to false)
I peek into the window before opening up a door. There sits Sam, on his hands and knees, writing on a paper. Actually, surrounded by a ton of papers. Yeah, I think it's for the best to go ahead and enter the door now.
[[Snap him out of it->hmmm? you think it'll help?]]
[[Watch what he does->Useless, useless...]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>I open up the lab door and I step inside. Sam doesn't even notice me. These lab doors really aren't all that quiet, either.
(set: $mood to "scared")
I grab him on the shoulder and tug until he faces me. His eyes focus again. Just like last time. Maybe slower.
$sam["Ah, fuck. Happened again, right?"]
"You never actually went to bed, did you?"
$sam["I tried, but that didn't really work. Just had to come back here and do more research."]
"And you didn't think to at least tell one of us? Even after everything that //already happened// because of this fucking ''space rock??'' "
$sam["Yeah, well, I was kinda dreaming the entire time. Like a weird sleepwalking dream. And you just woke me up."]
(link-reveal: "Well, he's still conscious. Or... is now?")[==I start sifting through the papers. There's weird symbols that I couldn't read for the life of me, and then the English next to it. One paragraph at a time.
"It's like... space Chinese or something. Sam?"
Ah, he's gone and passed out.
...And I can't shake him hard enough to wake him back up.
Still breathing, though.
[[The terminal on the wall flickers on.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>Well, if I look closely, it looks kind of like he's trying to... Write what the relic says? Maybe I can see what the entire thing says, yeah? Even if he looks entirely entranced.
(link-reveal: "I gently open the door")[== and step inside the lab. He doesn't even notice me. He just carries on writing. I don't want to pick up any of the papers though, since it might interrupt him.
(set: $mood to "affected")
I kneel down and look at one of the papers. It's actually a translation. I start picking up the papers anyways. This is actually really interesting. I start reordering the papers right there. This could be so helpful, yeah? We might be learning about another civilization that came before us, and-
(link-reveal: "Sam collapses onto the floor.")[==
Oh shit. I almost got entranced just like he did. He just collapsed. I think he just finished the translation. The... entire thing, yeah? I shake him, but it's not enough to wake him up. He's still breathing, at least.
[[The panel on the other side of the room just turned on.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>$ter["Congratulations. You likely just saved Ollens from losing his mind."](set: $mood to "nervous")
"Wait, really? He seemed about fine after I woke him up, yeah?"
$ter["He //was// fine. Although passing out soon after waking up is not a good sign. It is reasonable to assume that he will not be functioning at the same level when he wakes up again."]
Well, I guess I've got that going for me, yeah?
"What do you suggest I do now?"
$ter["Bring Ollens back to his dorm and put him in his bed. Pick up the papers that he has written and bring them to your dorm. I may have you take over his duties in maintenance should the need arise. You should continue your rest after this."]
"Alright. Thanks, computer."
$ter["No thanks are necessary."]
I clean up the papers and stack them neatly. I can put them in order later. Well, damn. At least Sam's room isn't all that far. So It's not like it'd kill me to move him. But he's pretty heavy. Not fat or anything, just big. I'll have to drag him to his room.
[[Bring Sam back to his room.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>Alright, so Sam is in his bed now. Time to reorder the papers and all. Maybe get my head back in order while I do that. They're just everywhere, all over the floor. At least he didn't spill the blank sheets everywhere. I'm still going to be picking up papers off the floor for a while.
(link-reveal: "I spend a while fumbling with the papers.")[==
I probably look damn suspicious walking down the hallway with a stack of papers in my hands.
Terminal is already on by the time I step into my room, waiting for me.
$ter["Rest easy."]
"Yeah, not yet. I want to at least read some of this."
$ter["Be careful as you do so. The artifact is a very interesting case."]
"Yeah, I will, don't worry."
(link-reveal: "I don't read often but I never read this slowly.")[==
(set: $mood to "fine")Sam, the heir to the throne at the edge of infinity? The one who will control the fate of the world? And a bunch of other nonsense that I can't remember because I'm either too sleepy or under some weird influence?
Damn.
[[Now I can at least try and sleep for real.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>''Chapter 4: Rebound''
---
I wake up again. A lot more nicely this time around, yeah?
(set: $mood to "fine")
(link: "Terminal turns on as I wake up.")[==$ter["Good morning, Miss (color:purple)[Algori]. Mission Control has yet to respond to your report."]
"Wait, really? Do you know why?"
$ter["It is true, but I do not know why."]
"Hm, okay."
$ter["The others are waiting for you in the cafeteria."]
Well then.
(link: "Go to the cafeteria")[==I leave my dorm and walk down the hallway. Up to the cafeteria door. [[I gently open the door.->if only there was time to enjoy]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>...And they're not grinning, this time. Sam is staring at a half-eaten tray of food. Nat is watching from one seat away. As the door opens, she looks up at me.
(set: $mood to "worried")
$nat["Hello, Max. Do you know why he is like this? Or if we could try and help in any way?"]
"No, I'm about as clueless as you are. You think a therapist could help when we get back or something?"
He doesn't even bat an eye. Just kinda blinks... slowly.
$nat["Well, that is not really in our timeframe at the moment."]
"That's true. Has he said anything?"
$nat["He greeted me and took some food, but that was all. I have been watching but he only takes a bite every few minutes. I finished an hour ago."]
(live: 1s)[(if: $check is false)[ [[Don't pay it any mind->Mindless, mindless...]] ]]
(link: "Try and bring him back to reality.")[==(set: $check to true)(set: $mood to "scared")I tap him on the shoulder.
"Sam? Are you sure you're okay?"
His eyes only focus a little bit.
$sam["They're watching."]
Nat looks shocked, too.
"Who?"
$sam["The creators. They wrote about me. Said I would control it all."]
"Yeah, well, you're controlling the fate of the world just by being on this mission."
$sam["I never got to finish translating."]
"You're fine. We can translate the rest later. Finish your food."
$sam["I should... Sleep."]
"If you say so."
[[This is probably really bad.->zzz?? That's different. But it all ends the same.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>I grab my food and take a seat on the other side of the table. Nat watches us both while Sam occasionally takes a bite of his food.
(link-reveal: "I'm almost done with my food")[== when Nat asks me a question.
$nat["Do you know why he is acting like this?"]
Sam doesn't even glance at her.
"Well, the last time I saw him, he was translating the relic. I think he was almost done."
I notice one of his eyes twitch as I say it.
$nat["He was back with it?"]
"Yeah."
(link-reveal: "Sam finishes his food")[== and gets up from the table, leaving quietly except for a quick $sam["Bye."] right before the door shuts behind him.
"We should probably go to the control and see if we can't get a report in."
$nat["Yes."]
[[We get up and head to the control room.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>(set: $mood to "worried")Nat is looking at me pretty worriedly.
Sam walks out of the door without another word. He slams the door behind him.
$nat["What... What did you do to him?"]
"All I did was snap him out of it. He was writing surrounded by papers on the floor. Didn't even notice me walk through the door. At least he doesn't seem all that mad about it."
$nat["I was not there, but do you think he would have been better if you let him finish?"]
"And keep him under the relic's influence?"
$nat["Hmmm..."]
Nat isn't usually conducive to emotional displays, but I can get why this is showing. Who wouldn't be worried when a third of the people you're stuck with are acting all loopy, yeah?
"We should probably go to the control and see if we can't get a report in."
$nat["Yes."]
[[Get up and head to the control room.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>We start walking down the hall together. Nat still looks really worried.
$nat["How are we meant to submit our daily report now? Do you think we should keep telling Mission Control?"]
Well, it's only sensible for her to be worried about that. I am too.
"Well, Mission Control already knows that the relic affects the people who work on it, so can't we just tell them he's too drowsy to really do anything at the moment?"
$nat["Well, what do we tell them about the relic in the first place? We have yet to do much research on it since we obtained it."]
"Well, I read some of Sam's translation. It was a bit hard to focus, I think the text is cursed too or something. But even with that, I don't think we can tell them what it says."
$nat["What did he write?"]
"Talks about him inheriting some ancient throne and controlling the entire world. All looney stuff, really. Seriously, we can't tell them what it says."
(link-reveal: "She tries to lighten the mood.")[==
$nat["Well, we can still try to work with that, no? Just give them our progress, just not all of it. Certain pieces of his translation but no coherent information at the moment."]
She smiles, trying to lighten the mood. It's a bit weak, but she's trying.
"Alright. So that settles it, yeah?"
$nat["We already know what to say."]
[[We walk into the room.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>Nat walks over and sits in her chair. She keys in her passwords and some lights turn on.
$nat["I will go first, of course. You can cover for Sam, tell them that you did his part."]
$nat["Hello! This is Captain Carter of the (color: blue)[''Relegator'']. Today is day 128, a Saturday, of our mission to collect the source of the signal at the galactic edge. We are still stationed where we found the relic, awaiting permission to head home. Our mission still appears to be a success. Research Head (color: purple)[Algori] can explain what we have learned so far."]
"That's right. We have begun part of the work on translating the relic's content. We have not made a lot of progress, but we have translated a few of the individual characters. We also know some of their sentence particles based on their semblances to other written languages. Unfortunately, Engineer Ollens is unable to report today because he has been further affected by the mental stress placed on him by the relic. We are trying to help him recover, though. However, I have taken over part of his duties and have checked all of our mechanics and hardware, and they are running fine."
$nat["Alright, that should be all of our new information for the day. (color: blue)[''Relegator''] crew signing off for the day. We still await your response."]
The recording finishes and starts sending itself to Mission Control. That's that, I guess.
"Should we go ahead and check on Sam?"
$nat["Let him rest for the day."]
(link-reveal: "We get up to leave the room")[== when suddenly the control panel plays the reminiscent "ding" of an error message.
"What was that?"
$nat["An error message. The report is not getting through."]
"Do you know why?"
$nat["Hmm... Apparently our messages are being blocked by them. We have no contacts right now."]
"Why are they blocking us?"
$nat["Maybe it was a mistake?"]
"I sincerely hope so. What should we do?"
$nat["I... am going to run diagnostics and see if I cannot establish contact with someone. You should actually go check on Sam."]
"Alright. Good luck. I'll probably go to bed afterwards."
$nat["You too. Goodnight."]
[[I leave Nat in the control room.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>I walk down the hall and over to Sam's dorm. I knock on the door a couple times, but there's no response. Well, I can announce my presence, and if he still doesn't respond, I'll barge in.
"Sam, I'm coming in. You better be ready."
Still no response. I open the door. He's just there on his bed, sleeping soundly. Well, except for the snoring, but that's about it.
Huh. I guess he'll be fine then. I shut the door again.
I'm probably gonna go and take a nap myself, anyways. Not much else to do. I don't want to touch that relic.
I head over to my dorm and walk inside. I climb into my bed.
[[I nap.->aha, you thought you were safe?]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>I wake up again. No spooky dreams for the second time. I can't seem to shake the feeling that something really bad is happening though. I guess things are going... //okay//, yeah?
(set: $mood to "nervous")
Somehow, I feel like I'm missing something. I can't put my finger on just what, though. My room is in order, nobody's been inside. I'll probably just go to the cafeteria instead, check on the others, yeah?
[[I gently open the door.->the loop is unending]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>I open the door and start walking down the hall.
$sam["Hey."]
"FUCK."
I immediately drop.
$sam["Oh, whoops. Didn't mean to scare you that bad."]
"I-it's fine. Well, except for the, uh, near-heart attack. I'm just a bit jumpy right now."
A bit of an understatement, but I guess he's feeling better again.
"So, you're feeling better now?"
$sam["Well, my head isn't a foggy mess right now."]
"That's nice to hear. So, you're //entirely// sure you're fine?"
$sam["Yeah."]
The grin he gives completes the response, I guess.
$sam["Nat's eating breakfast. I'll just sit around in the control room until you're done."]
"Alright."
[[Head down to the cafeteria->and meet fate]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>I walk down the hallway with Sam towards the front of the ship. He breaks off to go to the control room. I open up the door to the cafeteria.
(set: $mood to "fine")
$nat["Good morning, Max."]
"Morning. Sam says he's all fine."
$nat["Well, he does look fine to me. I do not want to question it too much though, since that means our engineer is back in business."]
"Guess that's fair."
We just eat our lunch without many other words. We're really just waiting around for our ping from Mission Control. It's not too long before I finish my food and we [[head back to the control room.->alcubierres were always finicky]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>Sam is leaning against a wall, stretching his arms waiting for us.
$sam["Still no ping?"]
$nat["No pong."]
$sam["Damn. Nice pun."]
$nat["Can you blame me, though? This is boring."]
"How many times have you tried pinging them?"
$nat["I have been pinging them nonstop for two hours. Every time I do, it gets blocked. I am beginning to doubt we will ever get a reply."]
$sam["Think we should just head to Earth anyways?"]
$nat["You know what? We may as well give it a shot."]
$sam["Not like they can legally shoot us down."]
"Could you //not// jinx this for us?"
$sam["Pfft, sure."]
Nat sits down in her chair and starts booting up the Alcubierre drives. The ship rumbles a bit as we start moving. It's not long before we reach top speed.
A few seconds pass before [[she turns around in the chair.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>''Chapter 5: Revelation''
(link: "Save")[Saved.(save-game: "file A")]
---
She looks at us both.
$nat["Did either of you two actually check the Alcubierre drives? Or, any of our mechanics, for that matter?"]
$sam["Oh, shit. I was mostly in bed for the entire time."]
"And I... Wasn't actually doing anything..."
$nat["Well, this might be a problem."]
"Yeah, you think?"
(link-reveal: "She reaches over to try and disable the drives.")[==
$nat["Ah, well, I have some big news for you two."]
"I don't think we'll like it."
$sam["Go on."]
$nat["The drives are not responding. They are... Actually going faster. Beyond the speed limit encoded into them."]
"Sounds like a problem."
$nat["The bubble around is us... Doing something very strange."]
She starts pressing the buttons harder like it'll do anything. I don't think we're getting out of this safely.
The ship is starting to shake a bit.
$nat["We are currently pushing physical laws to their limits."]
"And how long do we have before they snap?"
$nat["I would assume until right about now."]
"What do yo-"
[[The control panels start lighting up.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>Half of the panels have started flashing red out of the blue. The warp bubble screen that Nat has open right now is going wild.
$nat["Did the distortion field just... Flip around?"]
We look in front of us. Space itself starts to look like it's stretching in front of us. The light is bending really weirdly. The shaking of the ship is only getting worse.
$nat["I highly doubt this should even be possible."]
"Uh, it kinda looks like we should brace for impact."
$nat["Get down."]
$sam["Shit, yeah."]
I get down on the ground. Sam does too. From over the edge of the control panels, I watch space itself appear to literally tear open in front of us. A bright white light shines through.
Suddenly, the entire ship jolts, and the white gash encompasses all of the space around us. Nat pulls up a rear camera. There's a huge black mass behind us, which makes it look like an infinite edge all around us, and we're moving perpendicular to it.
$nat["None of the sensors are working anymore."]
"I'm not surprised. Where the fuck are we?"
$sam["Looks like we just tore a hole in the Universe and left."]
$nat["And that... Should be physically impossible."]
"Yeah, well, look at all those other spheres out there. I think those are other universes. How are we even surviving out here?"
$nat["I think we just dragged part of space out here with us. And with that, the drives are bending things around us, preventing us from being annihilated."]
"Aren't we just speaking in science fiction?"
$nat["We are being pulled from behind. Hold onto something."]
[[The entire ship lurches backwards.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>We're catapulted back into the Universe as the entire ship shakes, like we were attached to some extrauniversal rubber band. The view shifts back into normal space and the gash shuts itself again.
$nat["This is bad."]
"You think?"
There's a weird noise coming from the back of the ship.
$nat["The drives have gone critical."]
"It was nice knowing you."
The entire ship begins crunching in on itself. I think we just opened up a black hole. Metal creaks and spacetime goes with it.
(link-reveal: "Everything suddenly goes black.")[==
---
(link-reveal: "**The End**")[
(transition: "dissolve")+(transition-time: 8000)[\
(font: "Verdana")[\
(color: green)[\
(css: "font-size: 175%;")[\
''ACROSS THE STARS'']
''TO THE EDGE OF AN INFINITE HORIZON'']]
Ending 53: The Extrauniversal
(color: red)["Max? Have we lost you, Max?"]
[[Go?->Go 2]]
Digit 53: 4
]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>(set: $mood to "fine")[\
(font: "Verdana")[\
(color: green)[\
(css: "font-size: 175%;")[\
''ACROSS THE STARS'']
''TO THE END OF AN INFINITE EXPANSE'']]
---
A research ship at the galactic edge locates an ancient artifact.
Humanity's first contact? A lost civilization now found? Only one way to find out.
The crew celebrates their success.
But, you know what they say...
"Shit happens, [[people change]]."](group: "playing", "stop")(track: "landing", "play")<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>Or so they said.
Here we are again.
(group: "playing", "stop")(track: "boospooky", "play")
[[Another Origin.->Back so soon?]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>(set: $terminal to "online")(set: $ship to "fine")''Chapter 1: Genesis''(group: "playing", "stop")
(link: "Save")[Saved.(save-game: "file A")]
---
I wake up from a deep, well-deserved slumber. The lights around my dorm room click on when the motion sensors catch me moving. I push the hair from out of my face.
My mattress is fine, just like usual, if a little boring. Despite that, I somehow manage to have rough nights. I look around my room again. Even with the few plants around, the stark whiteness of the room ends up being a bit too plain for my liking. As I open up the blinds, I can see the Milky Way right along the left side of our ship. Isn't the port for that "port" side, or something like that?
I get up pretty quickly and walk over to the main Terminal panel on the wall that connects me to the central parts of the ship, so I can alert the system I'm now awake. I genuinely don't know what they do with this information, but it probably isn't all that important, yeah?
(link: "Log into the terminal.")[==$ter["Good morning, Miss (color: blue)[Aligori.] The (color: purple)[''Relegator''] is on its 125th day, a (weekday:). All systems are currently nominal. Your fellow crew members are already awake. I hope you slept well."]
Heh, even though it's the 27th century, we still like to use these antique terminals like they did 600 years ago. Even if they're run by sentient processors smaller than pinpoints nowadays, and also capable of speech.
"Yeah, I even had a pretty wild dream. Shame I don't remember a whole lot about it."
$ter["That is no need for concern, as dreams are generally forgotten. Please take a moment to reflect on yourself in order to keep your mental health nominal."]
Oh, yeah, the computers tell us to do this from time to time. I'm not sure why they do this either, or its benefits, but I guess I may as well [[get reflecting.->What do you see in the mirror?]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>You're right. It isn't the same. Just a little bit different. You probably realized that this isn't even the first time. Right before our lights go out for the last time, I remember everything. And every time, I remember a number. I still don't know what it means. U-B271836.
I've done all of this before, and I'll do it all again. I came to realize that all paths I took lead me straight back to the singularity, just like some causal black hole. You'll notice the same thing too, up to a certain point.
A little bit different every time. The Universe tries so hard to take us out of this loop, but it only ever gets worse.
This world ends in countless ways and despite it all, the beginning is always the same. Maybe if it was different...
Maybe one iteration, it'll work.
For the best and for us all, yeah?
Are you stuck here, too? I don't get it either.
Maybe it makes sense to you?
(track: "boospooky", "play")
Either way, please don't come back here. Not even I could remember that.
I almost ended up doing the same thing over and over, forever.
---
(link-reveal: "**The End**")[
(transition: "dissolve")+(transition-time: 8000)[\
(font: "Verdana")[\
(color: green)[\
(css: "font-size: 175%;")[\
''ACROSS THE STARS'']
''TO THE EDGE OF AN INFINITE HORIZON'']]
Ending 54: Implosive Closed Loop
(color: red)["Oh, there you are, Max."]
(link: "Go.")[(reload:)]
Digit 54: 2
]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>$ter["That was likely not your best decision. Luckily, it does not appear that Ollens has lost his mind."]
"Wait, really? He seemed kinda wrapped up in what he was doing."(set: $mood to "nervous")
$ter["Also note that you nearly ended up like he did. Passing out suddenly and without an apparent reason is generally a sign of issue. It is reasonable to assume that he will not be fully functional when he wakes up again."]
Well, I guess I've got that going for me, yeah?
"What do you suggest I do now?"
$ter["Bring Ollens back to his room and place him in his bed. If the need arises, I may have you take over his duties as the engineer. You should continue your rest after this."]
"Alright. Thanks, computer."
$ter["No thanks are necessary."]
I clean up the rest of the paper and stack them neatly. They're almost in order, just needs a bit more work. I can put them in order later, though.
Well, shit. At least Sam's room isn't all that far away from here, so I won't have to bring him far. I can't carry him or anything though, he's just too heavy. He's not fat or anything, just big.
[[I drag him back to his room.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>We start walking down the hall together. Nat still looks really worried.
$nat["How are we meant to submit our daily report now, though? Do you think we should keep telling Mission Control?"]
Well, it's only sensible for her to be worried about that. I am too.
"Well, Mission Control already knows that the relic affects the people who work on it, so can't we just tell them he's too drowsy to really do anything at the moment?"
$nat["Well, what do we tell them about the relic in the first place? We have yet to do much research on it since we obtained it."]
"Well, I read some of Sam's translation. It was a bit hard to focus, I think the text is cursed too or something. But even with that, I don't think we can tell them what it says."
$nat["What did he write?"]
"Talks about him inheriting some ancient throne and controlling the entire world. All looney stuff, really. Seriously, we can't tell them what it says."
(link-reveal: "She tries to lighten the mood.")[==
$nat["Well, we can still try to work with that, no? Just give them our progress, just not all of it. Certain pieces of his translation but no coherent information at the moment."]
She smiles, trying to lighten the mood. It's a bit weak, but she's trying.
"Alright. So that settles it, yeah?"
$nat["We already know what to say."]
[[We walk into the room.->space]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>Nat walks over and sits in her chair. She keys in her passwords and some lights turn on.
$nat["I will go first, of course. You can cover for Sam, tell them that you did his part."]
$nat["Hello! This is Captain Carter of the (color: blue)[''Relegator'']. Today is day 128, a Saturday, of our Mission to collect the source of the signal at the galactic edge. We are still stationed where we found the relic, awaiting permission to head home. Our mission still appears to be a success. Research Head (color: purple)[Algori] can explain what we have learned so far."]
"That's right. We have begun part of the work on translating the relic's content. We have not made a lot of progress, but we have translated a few of the individual characters. We also know some of their sentence particles based on their semblances to other written languages. Unfortunately, Engineer Ollens is unable to report today because he has been further affected by the mental stress placed on him by the relic. We are trying to help him recover, though. However, I have taken over part of his duties and have checked all of our mechanics and hardware, and they are running fine."
$nat["Alright, that should be all of our new information for the day. (color: blue)[''Relegator''] crew signing off for the day."]
The recording finishes and starts sending itself to Mission Control. That's that, I guess.
"Should we go ahead and check on Sam?"
$nat["Let him rest for the day."]
(link-reveal: "We get up to leave the room")[== when suddenly the control panel plays the reminiscent "ding" of an error message.
"What was that?"
$nat["An error message. The report is not getting through."]
"Do you know why?"
$nat["Hmm... Apparently our messages are being blocked by them. We have no contacts right now."]
"Why are they blocking us?"
$nat["Maybe it was a mistake?"]
"I sincerely hope so. What should we do?"
$nat["I... am going to run diagnostics and see if I cannot establish contact with someone. You should actually go check on Sam."]
"Alright. Good luck. I'll probably go to bed afterwards."
$nat["You too. Goodnight."]
[[I leave Nat in the control room.->trying another route]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>I walk down the hall and over to Sam's dorm. I knock on the door a couple times, but there's no response. Well, I can announce my presence, and if he still doesn't respond, I'll barge in.
"Sam, I'm coming in. You better be ready."
Still no response. I open the door. He's just there on his bed, sleeping soundly. Well, except for the snoring, but that's about it.
Huh. I guess he'll be fine then. I shut the door again.
I'm probably gonna go and take a nap myself, anyways. Not much else to do. I don't want to touch that relic.
I head over to my dorm and walk inside. I climb into my bed.
[[I nap.->no escape]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>I wake up again. No spooky dreams for the second time. I guess I feel alright. Things seem like they're going //alright,// given the circumstances.
(set: $mood to "fine")
Somehow, I feel like I'm missing something. I can't put my finger on just what, tough. My room is in order, nobody's been inside. I'll probably just go to the cafeteria instead, check on the others, yeah?
[[I gently open the door.->Spooky time]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>I open the door and start walking down the hall.
$sam["Hey."]
"Ohshit!"
I freeze for a moment.
$sam["Oh, whoops. Didn't mean to scare you that bad."]
"It's fine, I guess. Well, except for the near heart attack you almost gave me."
Maybe a slight understatement, but it seems like he does feel better.
"So, you're feeling better now?"
$sam["Well, my head isn't a foggy mess right now."]
"That's nice to hear. So, you're //entirely// sure you're fine?"
$sam["Yeah."]
The grin he gives completes the response, I guess.
$sam["Nat's eating breakfast. I'll just sit around in the control room until you're done."]
"Alright."
[[Head down to the cafeteria->cafeter]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>I walk down the hallway with Sam towards the front of the ship. He breaks off to go to the control room. I open up the door to the cafeteria.
(set: $mood to "fine")
$nat["Good morning, Max."]
"Morning. Sam says he's all fine."
$nat["Well, he does look fine to me. I do not want to question it too much though, since that means our engineer is back in business."]
"Guess that's fair."
$nat["Mission control is still silent."]
"Damn."
We just eat our lunch without many other words. We're really just waiting around for our ping from Mission Control. It's not too long before I finish my food and we [[head back to the control room.->hit the drive]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>Sam is leaning against a wall, stretching his arms waiting for us.
$sam["Still no ping?"]
$nat["No pong."]
$sam["Damn. Nice pun."]
$nat["Can you blame me, though? This is boring."]
"How many times have you tried pinging them?"
$nat["I have been pinging them nonstop for two hours. Every time I do, it gets blocked. I am beginning to doubt we will ever get a reply."]
$sam["Think we should just head to Earth anyways?"]
$nat["You know what? We may as well give it a shot."]
$sam["Not like they can legally shoot us down."]
"Could you //not// jinx this for us?"
$sam["Pfft, sure."]
Nat sits down in her chair and starts booting up the Alcubierre drives. The ship rumbles a bit as we start moving. It's not long before we reach top speed.
A few seconds pass before [[she turns around in the chair.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>I get Sam into his bed fairly quickly. I just need to take the papers back to my room and reorder them and all now. Maybe I could probably get my head back on right while I do it. At least he hadn't spilled all of the blank papers everywhere.
(link-reveal: "I spend some time picking things up.")[==
I probably look damn suspicious walking down the halls with a stack of papers in my hands while everyone else is meant to be asleep.
Terminal is already on the screen in my room.
$ter["Rest easy."]
"Not yet, I want to finish reading this translation."
$ter["Please be careful while you do so. The artifact is a very interesting case."]
"Yeah, I will, don't worry."
(link-reveal: "Reading the papers takes a while, even for me.")[==
(set: $mood to "fine")Sam, the heir to the throne at the edge of infinity? The one who will control the fate of the world? And a bunch of other nonsense that I can't remember because I'm either way too sleepy or somehow being affected by just reading the text?
Damn.
[[Now I can try my hand at some actual sleep.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>''Chapter 4: Rebound''
(link: "Save")[Saved.(save-game: "file A")]
---
I wake up again. A lot more nicely this time around, yeah?
(set: $mood to "fine")
(link: "Terminal turns on as I wake up.")[==
$ter["Good morning, Miss (color:purple)[Algori]. Mission Control has yet to respond to your report."]
"Wait, really? Do you know why?"
$ter["It is true, but I do not know why."]
"Hm, okay."
$ter["The others are waiting for you in the cafeteria."]
Well then.
(link: "Go to the cafeteria")[==I leave my dorm and walk down the hallway. Up to the cafeteria door. [[I gently open the door.->proper sleep? i don't think so]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>...And they're both talking about something while eating their food. As the door opens, they both look up at me.
(set: $mood to "fine")
$sam["I woke up earlier and I feel a whole lot better than I did."]
$nat["Yes, he seems completely fine. Anyways, I was told you were writing about the relic last night."]
$sam["Was I? Thought that was a dream."]
"No, I was there. You looked completely absorbed in writing. I was even there with you sorting the papers. You didn't even bat an eye."
$sam["Oh yeah, that. Pretty sure I was translating it. I don't think that was all too healthy. But I guess we've got a translation on our hands now."]
$nat["We should submit our report to Mission Control, then."]
[[We get up and head straight to the control room.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>We start walking down the hall. The two of them are smiling. I guess I am, too. Everything seems fine, yeah?
(set: $mood to "nervous")
$nat["What are we going to tell them about the relic?"]
$sam["Pretty sure we can leave out some parts of what it said."]
"Yeah, just tell them that we have some progress translating but not a lot. Nouns and other sentence bits. Nothing that actually has meaning though."
Nat opens up the control room door.
$nat["That sounds fine. I guess we do want to avoid Mission Control thinking we made all of this up."]
[[She sits down and starts setting up the cameras.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>Nat takes the captain's chair and boots up the central ship control panel. The stars remaining stationary are still pretty.
$nat["It is a shame that Mission Control has yet to respond to our last report."]
"Yeah, you think they'll respond to this one?"
$nat["We can hope for the best. The recording starts in five seconds. I hope you all know what you need to say."]
The camera light turns on. The control panel shows that we're now being recorded. As the captain, Nat starts us off.
$nat["Hello! This is Captain Carter of the (color: blue)[''Relegator''], it is our 128th day of our successful mission to discover the signal source at the galactic edge. Research Head (color: purple)[Algori] will explain what we have learned so far."]
"That's right, the relic is still sitting in our lab room awaiting more research. We have, however, observed that it exhibits //no// molecular structure whatsoever, other than the dust and other particles attached to it. On another note, we have begun translating the words written on the relic. We have only managed to discern certain nouns, adjectives, and other sentence particles. We don't have enough information to pull any meaning from the text just yet. Engineer Ollens, for the systems?"
$sam["Yep, all of our core systems are running nominally. All of the hardware and machinery are completely free of issues. We should be able to get home without a hitch."]
$nat["That should be all information of significance since yesterday. (color: blue)[''Relegator''] crew signing off for the day, still awaiting the command to return home."]
The camera light clicks off and the recording starts sending itself to Mission Control.
[[So, that's that, yeah?->extrauniversal]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>Nat almost gets out of her chair when a "ding" plays over the console. The kind you hear in an error message.
$sam["What's that?"]
$nat["Hm. The report could not send."]
"Why's that?"
$nat["Give me a minute to read through the error log."]
She spends a few seconds skimming through the wall of text printed by the error message.
$nat["Ah, Mission Control is blocking all messages with our ship's identification number."]
$sam["The hell? You think it was an accident?"]
$nat["It may be, but they have yet to send any messages to us. We actually have not received a response since the relic was discovered. If we had, it would be on our message list unless somebody deleted it."]
Well, shit. That's no good.
"What do you think we should do now?"
$nat["There is not much else to do except sit and wait for a response."]
"Huh. I guess I'll go take a nap then. See you all later."
$sam["I'll probably do that too."]
$nat["Have a good rest, you two."]
[[The two of us exit the control room.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>We walk down the hall. Sam breaks off down another hall to get to his dorm. I open up the door to mine and walk inside. Nice and quiet.
[[I slip into bed->slip n slide]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>I wake up again. No spooky dreams for the second time. I can't seem to shake the feeling that something strange is happening though. I guess things are going... //alright,// yeah?
(set: $mood to "fine")
Somehow, I feel like I'm missing something. I can't put my finger on just what it is, though. My room is tidy and nobody's been in. I guess I'll just head down to the cafeteria to check on the others, yeah?
(link-reveal: "I gently open the door")[== and start walking down the hall.
$sam["Hey!"]
I turn around really fast.
"Sam!"
$sam["Did I scare you or something?"]
"A bit..."
$sam["Oh, my bad."]
"It's fine, I guess. So, you're still feeling alright?"
$sam["Still haven't gotten too awful drowsy since the last incident. I think I'm all good."]
"That's good to hear."
$sam["Nat's in the cafeteria eating. I'll just wait around in the control room till you two finish."]
"Alrighty."
[[I make my way over to the cafeteria.->meet]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>I walk down the hallway with Nat towards the front of the ship. We [[head into the control room.->alcubierres were always finicky]]
(set: $mood to "fine")<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>"Ah, I wasn't really planning to work on the relic today, yeah? But you're up to do it yourself even after the other day?"
$sam["Sure am. I wanted to work on it with you whether you were there or not. Good luck with whatever you were planning, though."]
"Well, thanks."
$sam["No problem."]
He walks out of the room without another word.
$nat["Are you finally taking lessons in lazy?"]
"Oh, shut up."
She chuckles.
$nat["Do you actually have plans for the day?']
"Well, not really, no."
$nat["A master at planning ahead, I see."]
"Thanks."
(link-reveal: "We're quiet for a moment.")[==
$nat["To be honest, I have no plans for the day, either."]
"Oh. Do you want to do something?"
$nat["Such as?"]
"Well, you seemed to like those books you brought on the ship."
(link-reveal: "Her eyes go wide.")[==
$nat["A-Ah, well... I guess I could tell you about them..."]
"Nat-"
Actually, she looks kind of cute like this. She usually doesn't get this flustered.
$nat["Come with me. I can show you my collection."]
"...Alright."
We both get up and walk out of the cafeteria and [[towards her room.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>Nat's room isn't all that far from the cafeteria. It kind of makes sense since she spends most of her time in the front of the ship like this. We don't really get a chance to pass by Lab-02 to check on Sam again, but we're just assuming he's okay.
Nat is walking kind of fast and isn't saying anything. She's probably thinking of everything she wants to say and how to say it. Which is a bit intimidating, honestly.
She opens up the door and we both walk into her room. She closes the door and sits down at her desk chair. She starts looking through books.
$nat["Okay, so, there are a lot of books and they are all super interesting and I really really like them all. Ah- How much do you know about the mythos as is?"]
"Well, I know about the eldritch gods and stuff, and a couple names, but that's really it."
$nat["Oh, that is completely fine. Personally, I prefer to call them by the name 'The Great Old Ones' because that sounds more intimidating. My favorite one out of the group is Nyarlathotep just because he is the one that handles most of their affairs with humanity. He also really likes to toy with the people rather than just outright killing them, and something about that really stands out to me. I could read you an excerpt of one of the short stories right now, if you would like it. The one about Nyarlathotep, I mean. Did you know that his elemental classification is actually of 'air?' I thought that was interesting when I first learned of it. Well, technically, Nyarlathotep is actually an Outer God, not necessarily- Well, I think my voice would not do the actual content justice. Just read the part for yourself."]
I had enough time to take a seat on her bed by the time she had unloaded dozens of words on me. I think I understood some of it, and it's interesting. By the time I have my thoughts partially collected, a book has landed in my lap. I pick up the book and-
$nat["That there is the short story I told you about earlier. I really like how it shows the main character's - it is written from the person's perspective - a very quick descent into madness right under his nose. He succumbs to the whims of Nyarlathotep before he realizes that he had stopped denying the tricks as simply that."]
"Ah, that sounds interesting. I'll read through it."
$nat["Take your time. These books are actually ancient, hundreds of years old. Not my copies of the books themselves but the writing, I mean."]
She really seems more like an excited child right now. But I'd be lying if I said her excitement wasn't a little contagious. The cover of the thing just says 'Nyarlathotep' on it. That's the title. Written by H.P. Lovecraft. Yeah, I know that name.
[[I read through the small booklet.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>It's actually an interesting little read. The guy explains what he heard from a friend about the deity and then he talks about his experience. He's a bit skeptical at first but before he realizes it, he's already wandering off into the countryside with a group of people as they watch dying, dead worlds and thankless stars. I don't really get it all, though.
"That's pretty neat. I like it."
$nat["Wonderful, anyways- There is this one main book called the 'Call of Cthulhu' and I would be more surprised if you had not heard of it. It introduces a pantheon called the Great Old Ones and they used to act as gods and rulers of the entire planet Earth, and they still sometimes reside around Earth. Nyarlathotep alone has dozens of avatars just because he can shapeshift and everything. The terminology is not always consistent, though."]
"Goodness, uh, what does he do, though?"
$nat["Well, whenever he goes to a city or other location, the inhabitants of that place have sleep plagued by horrid nightmares and the rest of the people who observe him see surreal visuals and other horrific things before they realize that horror and doom have in fact come to the world, watching as their perception of the entire Universe collapses and disintegrates around them."]
"That sounds vaguely familiar, somehow."
$nat["Hmm. Maybe it does, but the world tends to change a lot. But the contemptuous god roamed between cities all the time, and targeted in specific the self-destructive nature of humanity in general, as well as the vain attempts to understand him and the Universe in the first place."]
"Really does make everything seem hopeless for humanity."
$nat["That was actually the point, you know. It was meant to make humanity seem like just another insignificant speck going along with the tides of reality, no matter how hard they tried and ignoring the fact that it was written from a human perspective, which is realistically the only way to approach it, given that to see it from the perspective of the gods would require a perspective not physically possible."]
"Oh, I think I get that. That's how cosmic horror and the like usually are, they make humanity into nothing and ignore the greatest achievements because they're nothing in themselves."
$nat["That is right. It really made me reconsider the meaning of everything and purpose in general after reading through it."]
"What do you think the purpose of humanity was in the books?"
$nat["In the confines of the stories and universe? Nothing whatsoever. They existed and that was all, free to be toyed with by the gods. In fact, the entirety of reality was just part of a dream from one being residing at the center of the universe. Beasts try to keep it sleeping so that the dream never ends. Now, in terms of us, as readers, I personally believe that the primary purpose of humanity was to give us a foundation and lens to see that universe through, as any other perspective would ruin the impact of the gods. An objective description would not even work, when you think about it, given that our language is far too simple and just that we do not have concepts assigned to things that exist outside of our reality."]
"That's actually a perspective I'd never thought about concerning cosmic horror."
$nat["Now you get it!"]
[[This continues for nearly an hour.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>By the time Nat glances up at the clock, my head is already oozing within information I had never needed to know before. I don't think I'll be able to get the imagery of tentacles and insane people out of my head for another week or so. I hope this doesn't reflect badly on any psychological examinations we might need to go through when we get back home.
Nat yawns and stretches for a moment, before glancing back at the clock and realizing just how much time has passed.
$nat["Oh my goodness. I never looked at the time. Have I kept you too long?"]
"No, it's fine, really. This was actually really interesting. Anyways, what's that yellow book you never took off the shelf?"
$nat["Ah, ignore that one. I heard bad things about it. I bought it just to complete a collection, though."]
"Fair enough."
$nat["Anyways, don't tell Sam I have a weird fear of tentacles because of this stuff."]
She says it, bl-
Wait, what?
"Nat, did you just-"
$nat["Did I what?"]
"Use a contraction?"
$nat["What do you mean?"]
"You never-"
[[There's a knock at the door.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>$sam["What kinda kinky shit are you two up to now? Spent at least ten minutes looking for you."]
$nat["Nothing! We were just doing something. Wait-"]
Nat gets up and opens the door. Sam is standing there with a binder full of papers. I assume that's his translation.
$sam["I'm about a fourth done with our little translation. Got it all nice and organized in here."]
"I've never seen that binder before, where did you get it?"
$sam["Huh? Just looked around in a couple cabinets and it was there. Shouldn't you know that, knowing you're a researcher?"]
"Oh, I guess I should. I just pulled out a binder for the basic research and used that. Never needed another."
$sam["Fair enough."]
$nat["Ah, I guess we should submit our report, then. What do you know so far?"]
"Wait, you said a quarter? Isn't that a lot?"
$sam["You'd think so, but apparently all the text is just English but in a different set of letters. Most of my time was spent memorizing characters and writing them down."]
"You're kidding. This is a joke, right?"
$sam["No, I'm serious. And from what I saw it looks like some kinda tech gift to whoever finds it."]
$nat["Really? What does it say?"]
$sam["Well, they talked about a super useful waveform. They never explained why it was useful though. Thing is, it's undetectable with our usual tools."]
"Huh. That's interesting. Was there anything else?"
$sam["They talked about a new super material that's like steel but better. I didn't get to translate much of that before I looked at the time."]
"Now //that's// a gift."
$nat["Alright, we should submit our report, then."]
She turns to me.
$nat["We can finish this up another time, okay?"]
She grins a bit as she says it.
[[Follow them out of the room.]]
[[Pick up the yellow book.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>We head into the control room. Nat walks over and sits in the pilot's seat. She starts booting up the terminals and keying in her passwords.
$nat["Are we all ready for the report?"]
"I think I know what to say from what Sam said, so yeah."
$sam["Yep."]
We get into position and Nat presses a button. The camera clicks on and she starts talking first.
$nat["Hello! This is Captain Carter of the (color: blue)[''Relegator'']. Today is our 128th day, Friday, of our voyage to discover the signal source at the edge of the galaxy. I will have Research Head (color: purple)[Algori] explain what we have learned from the artifact so far."]
"That's right. We've about finished our molecular analysis of the artifact and it does not exhibit any sort of resolvable structure like we said before. However, we have begun trying to translate the artifact and have roughly a quarter of the full translation complete. It describes a new type of material that should be a good rival to steel, if not an outright better material. It also explains a new type of electromagnetic wave that we have yet to have observed before, since our technology cannot detect it. It is apparently useful for some purposes, but we do not know what."
$nat["Alright. Engineer Ollens, for the systems?"]
$sam["All of our mechanics and hardware are running as they should. Upon my manual inspection of our most important core systems, everything appears nominal."]
$nat["That should be all. I think that is everything new that has happened since yesterday. (color: blue)[''Relegator''] crew signing off for the day."]
The camera light switches off and the recording starts sending itself to Mission Control.
"Well, that's that. I think I'll go ahead and take a nap now."
$sam["I'm probably gonna go head to the back and do my maintenance work. Night, Max."]
$nat["You do not want to continue where we left off?"]
"Ah, maybe some other time. It seems interesting, though. Night, everyone."
$nat["Goodnight."]
[[I exit the control room.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>"Hey, wait. I want to see something."
$nat["What is it?"]
I reach over and pick up the yellow book from off her shelf.
"I wanted to see what this was."
$nat["H-hey, wait. Stay out of that one."]
I look over the title of the book. "The King in Yellow." Seems interesting enough. I flip to a random page and it shows the beginning of the Second Act. I start skimming through the text. I read through the first two words of the opening and that's all I need to get hooked.
Everything around seems to matter a little less as I consider what the Yellow Sign is and everything starts to exist a little less. The King in Yellow is coming, and there is nothing we can do to stop it. No amount of distance would be enough to-
Something seems wrong about this. But I keep reading. I think I hear screaming from outside of Nat's room.
I glance out of the window for a moment and the stars are no longer shining.
---
(link-reveal: "**The End**")[
(transition: "dissolve")+(transition-time: 8000)[\
(font: "Verdana")[\
(color: green)[\
(css: "font-size: 175%;")[\
''ACROSS THE STARS'']
''TO THE EDGE OF AN INFINITE HORIZON'']]
Ending 55: Act 2
(color: red)["She told you not to snoop, Max."]
(link: "Go.")[(reload:)]
Digit 55: 2
]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>I make my way back down the halls to my dorm. As I open the door and step inside, Terminal is already on screen and greets me.
$ter["Sleep well, Miss (color: purple)[Algori]. Do not forget what you are tasked with."]
"Hmmm.. I'll think about it."
Really, this thing should not be destroyed. It's far too valuable to us all. Maybe Terminal is just buggy, yeah? Machine learning never was an exact science.
I crawl into my bed and switch the light off. I guess I was more tired than I thought.
You know what? I don't think I'll be able to get the idea of cosmic horror and tentacles out of my head for a good while.
[[Rest.->Rest69]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>''Chapter 4: Rebound''
(link: "Save")[Saved.(save-game: "file A")]
---
I wake up again. Really really slowly. My head feels all foggy. Pretty hard to focus on, well, anything. There's... something sitting on my head? What? Did someone put a fucking //rock// on my head?
(set: $mood to "affected")
(link-reveal: "I force my eyes open.")[==
I'm finally conscious enough that movement sounds like something I can try now. I reach up and grab the thing off of my head. I stare at it for a couple seconds.
This is... just a rock?
(link-reveal: "Wait, no, not just any rock.")[== Isn't this... a piece of the relic? Oh. That's nice. Someone put our gift on my head. I'm not even mad at whoever did this. I can't help but smile at it when I see it. I think I'm starting to understand what those waveforms were. The ones that it told us about. I can't put it into words just yet though.
Wait- Gift? That's... Yeah, that's right. It's fine. I can answer all of these questions eventually. We all will. We already have all the tools we need. We just need to share this with everyone. Maybe we could all become as great as this civilization probably once was.
Heck, I completely forgot I was tired. I'm not anymore. We've made good progress with the research and home isn't far. I glance out my window, and there sits Earth, very close. I guess I did oversleep. Oh well, I can find the others and we can talk about what to do next.
I leave my dorm and head [[down to the cafeteria.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>I walk down the hallway towards the cafeteria. Actually, Terminal usually greets me after I wake up in the mornings. Maybe he just forgot. Can computers forget things like we do? oh well, it doesn't matter.
(set: $mood to "converted")
(link-reveal: "I open up the cafeteria door.")[==
"Hey."
$sam["Morning, Max."]
$nat["Good morning."]
"Did I miss anything?"
$nat["We are very close to Earth now."]
"Yeah, I know. We're about done with the mission now, yeah?"
$sam["Depends on how you look at it. We're not done with our research, and we still have to share it with everyone."]
"Ah, that's true. Is there anything I should know about it?"
$nat["We are all ready to recreate the waveform displayed on it."]
"Good."
Nat reaches into her pocket and pulls out a tablet. She taps on the screen and shows it to us, pointing to something. It's the ship's message logs.
$nat["Earlier today, we received a message from Mission Control. We have been authorized to land at one of their sites."]
"That's great. Do we plan to go now?"
$nat["Well, we can wait here for a few minutes. We are scheduled to make contact with the surface in roughly thirty minutes. Follow me to the control room."]
She gets up from her seat and starts walking towards the door. We [[both follow her.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>Nat leads us down the hallway while she explains something she recently learned.
$nat["Earlier, I read through Terminal's data, and it seems to me that he knew something that Mission Control refused to tell us."]
"What was it?"
$nat["You already had this conversation with Terminal, but Mission Control is very much hiding information from us. Humanity first discovered the relic 500 years ago, rather than 16. It actually did not make it into their hands until after a city had been wiped from the map because of it."]
"Why did they get rid of a city? Did they want it //that// badly?"
$nat["They wanted it in order to destroy it. Did you know that we have the very same relic on board our ship now?"]
$sam["Wait, they tried destroying our gift?"]
$nat["They did not want to accept it, fearing it. They attempted to cast it into the Sun. That may have worked, if it was not prepared for resistance."]
"Uh, Terminal didn't tell me all of this when he told me to try and destroy it."
$nat["The computer did not know what we do now. It is a good thing that you did not listen."]
(link-reveal: "She opens up the door to the control room")[==, gesturing for us to go inside.
$nat["Mission Control plans to have us land at Site-08 in Nevada."]
$sam["Been a while since I was there last."]
$nat["Once we make it, we can convert the site staff to our side, and then move on to the large city there."]
"This should go well. They'd never see it coming."
$nat["The element of surprise is always an advantage."]
[[She sits down in her seat.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>Nat starts guiding the (color: blue)[''Relegator''] around Earth. We begin to gently descend through the atmosphere with the help of the main engines. We gain speed, and by gently I mean really fast. Not fast enough to light the ship on fire though.
(link-reveal: "Eventually the surface gets close enough to make out the details.")[== There's a landing area on the ground next to the large X-Corp facility here. I'm pretty sure I've seen this one on the map. Yeah, this is Site-08. Actually, this was where the (color: blue)[''Relegator''] was originally constructed.
Nat slows the descent of the ship. We are very close to the ground now. As the arms and panels of the landing area connect to the ship and finish up our landing, the ship shakes a bit as we finally touch down on solid ground.
$nat["It is nice to be back home."]
"Yeah."
$nat["But this is only the beginning of our mission."]
"That's true. We're prepared for it though, right?"
$nat["Not just yet. We need a procedure so that they do not catch on to us."]
"You're right. What do you suggest we do?"
$nat["The first order of business is to get the communications team out of the way. That would be their best hope of getting the attention of another facility in the case we get discovered."]
"Not the site directors?"
$nat["That would be too dangerous of a move to take whether we have communications or not. The chain of command is very tightly knit. We would need a good opportunity for that to be considerable."]
"That's true. Isn't this one of those sites where the staff brag about their closed ventilation system and localized air and everything?"
$nat["I think so. What are your plans with the ventilation?"]
"Our gift would allow us to distribute it around, right? I don't think it would put up any physical resistance to us."
$nat["Yes, that is right."]
"So, can't we grind it up into fine particles and find their ventilation unit?"
$sam["We've actually got one of those in the back of the ship."]
"These things have their own hatches and stuff, yeah?"
$sam["Yep. I can show you how to tamper with their air supply."]
$nat["Very good. I am counting on us being scheduled to have an interview with the director once you flood the air. Communications first, though."]
"Alright. I'm going to go collect some relic powder."
$sam["Yeah, I'll come with you."]
$nat["Alright, I will start talking with the site staff."]
[[The two of us leave the control room.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>We both make our way down the hall towards Lab-02.
$sam["You think it'll actually let us break it apart?"]
"If it already knows our plan, then I don't see why it wouldn't."
$sam["That's fair."]
I open up the door and Sam folows me inside.
"What tool do you think would be best?"
$sam["You think you're good with a chisel? Well, that and a hammer too."]
"I dunno, probably? I'm up to try it, though."
$sam["Alright. I assume you know where that is."]
"Yeah, it should be in one of these cabinets somewhere."
I walk over to one of the cabinets with a label for geological research. I look around inside it for a moment before I find the chisel. There's a hammer lying on another counter in the room.
I pick it up and walk over to the relic in the center of the room.
$sam["Just pick one of the chunks and start breaking it up into smaller bits."]
"Yeah."
I spend a while tapping away at the pieces of the relic. They seem fairly brittle, which is a surprise given that it was so strong the last time we had tried to do something to it. This is the power of our gift, I guess.
"I don't think I'll be able to get the pieces much smaller than these little pebbles."
$sam["That's when the cool part comes in."]
"And what's the cool part?"
$sam["Observe."]
He walks over to another cabinet and picks up a large red sledgehammer.
"Why do you even have a sledgehammer in here?"
$sam["I dunno. Emergencies?"]
"Such as?"
$sam["You're looking at one."]
"Fair enough. Go ahead."
$sam["How strong are these tables?"]
"Built to survive large chemical explosions if anything goes wrong."
$sam["Good."]
He raises up the hammer over his head, and brings it down onto the table with the pieces of the relic there.
"Couldn't we have just done this from the start?"
$sam["I didn't think about it until I realized how big these would've ended up."]
"Oh."
He continues the process of smashing the piece of relic into bits. Eventually, it's reduced to a fine powder slowly settling onto the table after being excited by the hammer.
I grab a pouch from one of my pockets and start scooping the powder into it. Apparently the inside of this bag has small enough holes to prevent just falling through the bag outright. Hopefully they're small enough that it'll just float through whatever air filters they might have.
"So, that's it, I guess."
$sam["Nice."]
We head [[back to Nat.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>As the two of us are walking back towards the front of the ship, someone in a lab coat stops us.
$xco["Ah, do either of you know where the artifact is being stored? We're going to have it moved to the facility for further research."]
"Oh, it's down in Lab-02."
$sam["It's pretty heavy. You might need to cart it out. Good luck with that."]
$xco["Alright, thanks."]
He continues on his way. There are two other researchers talking in another hallway. They're talking about how they would've liked to be put on the ship too. I guess people are still fascinated with FTL tech.
They'll be more fascinated with our gift. But we have to tell Nat about this.
We both [[enter the control room.->ControlEnter]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>''Chapter 5: Revelation''
(link: "Save")[Saved.(save-game: "file A")]
---
$nat["Welcome back. We have all the permission we need to leave the ship and start our work."]
"We have the dust pouch that we needed, but there are researchers on board looking at the relic and are getting ready to move it indoors. It's a bit of a worry, yeah?"
$nat["Ah, then that just means we have a time limit. I hope you both are ready for a challenge. Make sure you have your IDs on you for the check in."]
"Yeah, I've got mine."
$sam["Me too."]
$nat["Then we should get moving."]
One of the researchers from the hallway comes into the room.
$xco["Once you're all done in here, we need to run some diagnostics on the controls and stuff, so don't take all day."]
$nat["We will be done soon."]
$xco["Alright."]
Nat presses some buttons and logs out of... whatever she logs into on there.
We get up and walk out of the room, towards one of the side hatches.
[[We step foot on solid ground.->Onto the ground]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>As we step out of the ship and onto the solid ground for once, it's a bit comforting. But we're only just starting. The guard standing near the bottom of the stairs greets us.
$xco["Good morning. I know you just came off the ship, but we still need to scan your IDs into the system."]
$nat["Yes, here you are."]
She hands him her card. We both do the same. He swipes our cards on a little handheld device before handing them back to us.
$xco["Welcome back to Earth. Carter, the site director wants an interview with you in about an hour. Be ready for it."]
"Alone?"
$xco["Hey, not my choice."]
$nat["Alright. Have a good day."]
$xco["You too."]
The three of us walk across the field over to Site-08. The Nevada air is hot, but not uncomfortably so. It's pretty to see the blue skies again.
Nat glances around the area before she starts talking again.
$nat["Remember that we need to find the communications section first, to break their contact with the rest of the facilities. They will still be listening and responding, of course, but they will not report anything suspicious from us after the fact."]
"Yeah, I know."
$nat["Good, I was just making sure. Make sure you hit the ventilation unit before I start my interview. I want to have the upper hand here."]
She reaches into her pocket and reveals a piece of the relic inside of it. She quickly shuts the pocket again.
We all enter through the front door.
$nat["Just having it on my person while near an unaffected person will cause them to be affected. But the more contact they have, the better."]
"Makes sense."
The guard on the inside greets us too. We [[keep walking.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>The ship rumbles a bit as the Alcubierre drives hit their maximum capacity. That's really the last thing I notice before I fall asleep.(set: $mood to "scared")
(link: "A dreamless sleep")[==
I wake up on a bed. It's not mine. Wait, this isn't my dorm, either. The hell? I look out the window. I'm in one of the lunar cities. One of the big ones, too. There's a great commotion about me and throughout the permanent night sky.
(link-reveal: "The fuck??")[==
I look up. There sits Earth, bright streaks and flashes flying over it. Ah, I see. Not because the planet is burning, but because there is an active battle between defense satellites and fighters above us. I turn back and leave the building.
There may be a gaping hole in the airtight seals protecting this building, dead bodies about, but somehow or another I'm not affected by the vacuum out here. The glass grid over our heads is shattered nearly everywhere. I turn behind me, away from Earth. The Relegator is crashed and in shambles in the middle of the town square. It's sparking and smoke billows out of it.
[[What the fuck?->What in the fuck?]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>''Chapter 3: Dreamer''
(link: "Save")[Saved.(save-game: "file A")]
---
I wake up to the sound of beeping. Did the computer set up an alarm for me or something?(set: $mood to "worried")
$ter["Good morning, Miss (color:purple)[Algori]. In order to ensure that all goes well, I must take it upon myself to assist you in your work."]
"Oh, uh, thanks, Terminal. But, I'm not sure that you can be trusted just yet."
$ter["Is that so?"]
"I mean, you kind of just said it to me out of the blue. I know you're sentient, so you //can// think about these things."
$ter["Then think about this."]
The display on the screen switches to a camera feed.
Specifically, the feed of Camera 3 in Lab-02. Sam is surrounded by papers, on his hands and knees, writing something. Right in front of the relic.
$ter["Ollens is currently being influenced by the relic again. You do not need to trust me to know that this is not normal behavior."]
So be it. I'm our psychiatrist now, yeah?
"Alright, fine. I'll go get him, but this doesn't mean I believe you about that other stuff."
[[Help Sam]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>I open up my room's door and start running. I sprint down the hallway as fast as I can without making //too// much noise. I can practically //feel// Terminal watching me through the cameras. I guess it's for the best, yeah?
(set: $check to false)
I peek into the window before opening up the door. There sits Sam, on his hands and knees, writing on a paper. Actually, surrounded by a ton of papers. Yeah, I think it's for the best that I go ahead and enter the door now.
[[Step into the lab room.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>Well, if I look closely, it looks kind of like he's trying to... Write what the relic says? Maybe I can see what the entire thing says, yeah? Even if he does look a bit... Entirely entranced.
(link-reveal: "I gently open the door.")[== and step inside. He doesn't even notice me do it, just keeps on writing. I don't want to pick up any papers, though, since it might interrupt him.
(set: $mood to "affected")
I kneel down and look at one of the papers. It's actually a translation. There's English text written right next to the weird relic text on the other half of the page. I start picking up the papers anyways. This is actually really interesting. I start reordering the papers right there. This could be so helpful, yeah? We might be learning about another civilization that came before us, and-
(link-reveal: "Sam collapses onto the floor.")[==
Oh, shit. I almost got entranced just like he did. He just collapsed. I think he just finished the translation, too. And I mean the entire thing. I shake him a bit, but it's not enough to wake him. Still breathing, at least.
[[Terminal shows up on another screen.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>$ter["That was likely not the best course of action. Luckily, it does not seem that Ollens has lost his mind."]
"Wait, really? Seemed pretty engrossed in his writing."(set: $mood to "nervous")
$ter["Also note that you almost ended up like he did. Passing out without a noticeable cause is usually something of concern. It is reasonable to assume that he will not be at full capacity when he wakes up again."]
Well, I guess I've got that going for me, yeah?
"Yeah, whatever. I'll go clean up his papers and drag him back to bed. Maybe go back to sleep afterwards."
$ter["That is a better plan of action."]
"Who programmed sass into the computer assistant?"
$ter["You'd like to know."]
No fucking way.
I clean up the rest of the papers and neatly stack them. They're almost in order as is, it just needs a bit more work. I can put them in order later, though.
I look down. Well, damn. At least Sam's room isn't too far away from the lab, so I won't have to take him too far, but it's not like I could carry him or something. I'll have to settle for grabbing him by the arms and dragging him to his room.
[[I drag Sam to his room.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>Now that took a bit longer than I wanted it to, but it somehow worked out alright. He didn't wake up once while I moved him, though. Time to reorder the papers and all. Maybe get my head back in order while I do that. At least he didn't spill the blank papers when he was here. Luckily, I already have them mostly in order.
(link-reveal: "I scoop up the rest of the papers and put them in their spots.")[==
I probably look damn suspicious walking down the hallway with a stack of papers in my hands. Terminal is already on the screen, and starts talking.
$ter["Rest easy. It will not be much longer before your safety is secured."]
"Yeah, okay. I'm going to go read the papers instead."
$ter["Be careful while you do so. The words may still carry the same effect as the artifact itself."]
"Yeah, I get it, you're scared of a rock. Let me read."
(link-reveal: "I start reading.")[==
It's only when I go to stretch that I look back up at the clock again. That's also when I realize just how long it's been. A bit too long for my liking, given how much I actually managed to read. About that, anyways. (set: $mood to "fine")
Sam, the heir to the throne at the edge of infinity? The one who will control the fate of the world? And a bunch of other nonsense. Kinda funny, I guess. Maybe I could get behind that. Maybe I could also just read a little bit more.
[[Just a couple more paragraphs can't hurt.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>''Chapter 4: Rebound''
(link: "Save")[Saved.(save-game: "file A")]
---
I wake up again. I don't even think I dreamt anything. I just-
Wait, the papers are still there in front of me. I'm sitting in my desk chair still, too. Did I just fall asleep in the middle of reading? Ugh, and I feel disgusting too. Maybe falling asleep sitting up isn't a good idea. Really messes up your neck like nothing you've ever seen.
(set: $mood to "fine")
(link: "Terminal is already on")[==$ter["Good morning, Miss (color: purple)[Algori]. ETA to Earth is 12 hours. We will be making a short stop next to the Sun. I trust that you will be able to jettison the artifact as we do so."]
"Seriously, Terminal? You want me to dump our relic into the Sun?"
$ter["You are correct. The Sun will destroy the artifact."]
"Okay, for starters: This thing is super durable, we know that already, yeah? And secondly: Why would I destroy the very thing we just spent about half a year searching for?"
$ter["Mission Control did the same thing to dispose of the first artifact after they learned about its effects. If Mission Control became aware that the second artifact has the same effect, you would not be returning home."]
Well, that's just dandy, yeah? He's doing his best to make this story sound convincing.
"I'm not sure what you're expecting out of me."
$ter["Please realize that the future of humanity is very much at stake here. Seeing that you are not listening to me, please head to the cafeteria. The others are waiting for you."]
Uh huh, yeah.
I leave my dorm and walk down the hall to the cafeteria, [[opening the door.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>...And Sam is grinning at me. Nat looks a little bit confused even if she's smiling too, but in a "Huh... Alright?" sort of way.
(set: $mood to "fine")
$sam["So I woke up today, feeling a whole lot better than last night."]
$nat["I was told you were writing about the relic last night."]
He's acting strange and- Hold on. Did she just say that she heard about the events of last night? That means Terminal told her. What in the world is he planning?
$sam["Oh, was I? I thought that was all a dream."]
"No, I saw it. You looked like you were in some trance, though. I sorted your papers, if you didn't notice."
$sam["Oh, well that's great. That means we've got a translation now, right?"]
$nat["Wait, you said translation?"]
He looks a bit surprised.
$sam["Oh, I was translating it in my dream. Did it work?"]
"Sure as hell seemed like it. I read through most of it last night. And then I fell asleep. I guess I was tired though, because I never managed to finish."
$sam["Y'think we can tell Mission Control?"]
"Well, we all look fine, yeah? I don't see why not."
[[The three of us head to the control room.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>We start walking down the hall. The two of them are smiling. I guess I am, too. Everything seems fine, yeah?
(set: $mood to "nervous")
$nat["Do we all know what we need to tell Mission Control?"]
$sam["I think we could just leave out the weird mind stuff. Just tell them we have a translation."]
"Wait, just tell them we have a full translation? Don't you remember what it said? It's really weird. Some throne at the edge of infinity or whatever. Wouldn't it be better to just tell them we don't have all that much done? Just give them parts of sentences but nothing they can pull any meaning from."
We walk into the control room.
$sam["Sounds about good enough for me."]
Nat glances back at me questioningly but doesn't say anything.
I wonder why?
[[Nat sets up the recording.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>Nat takes her seat and boots up the central control panel. The stars moving by at millions of times the speed of light are pretty as ever.
$nat["Earth is ETA 11 hours. The recording starts in five seconds."]
The camera light turns on. The control panel shows that we're being recorded. Nat starts us off.
$nat["Hello! This is Captain Carter of the (color: blue)[''Relegator'']. Today is our 128th day of our mission to discover the source of the signal at the galactic edge. Research Head (color: purple)[Algori] will explain what we have learned from the artifact so far."]
"That's right, the relic is still sitting in our lab room awaiting more research. We have, however, observed that it exhibits //no// molecular structure whatsoever, other than the dust and other particles attached to it. On another note, we have begun translating the words written on the relic. We have only managed to discern certain words and phrases, but not enough information to pull any real meaning from. Engineer Ollens, for the systems?"
$sam["All of our core systems are running nominally. All of our hardware and machinery are running as they should be. We should be arriving on Earth without a hitch."]
$nat["That should be all of our significant information since yesterday. (color: blue)[''Relegator''] crew is signing off for the day."]
The camera light clicks off and the recording starts sending itself to Mission Control.
[[So, that's all we need, yeah?]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>"So, we should be about done with our mission now, yeah?
$nat["Once we touch down back home, yes."]
$sam["So basically, yeah."]
"Alright."
$nat["Mission Control should respond in onl-"]
Nat's watch dings. She looks down at it.
$nat["Oh, Mission Control asks if we have noticed any effects the relic has on the human psyche."]
"Alright. We haven't."
She hesitates for a moment.
$nat["Yes, that is right."]
It takes a couple seconds before the next ding happens.
$nat["Mission Control says we can go home now."]
"There we go. What time is it?"
$nat["It is (current-time:)."]
"Alright, fair enough. I'm gonna go to bed, then."
$sam["Eh, I might as well sleep too."]
$nat["Goodnight, then."]
"Goodnight."
$sam["Night."]
Sam and I walk out of the control room. [[I stop him for a moment.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>"You do realize how uncomfortable Nat seems, right?"
I make sure to whisper quietly enough that there's no way for Terminal to pick up my voice. He responds quietly but also a bit confused.
$sam["Not really."]
"Well, I did. We both know she's not on our side yet. No exposure so far."
$sam["Wait, you already know-"]
"Yes, everyone has to see it, I know. She hasn't seen the Truth yet."
$sam["So can't we just-"]
"The other day, Terminal was trying to help me. Then he realized that I already knew about the Truth. He's defaulted to Nat now. Terminal is his only lifeline now. I knew I shouldn't have trusted him."
$sam["What should we do about it?"]
"Every computer has an off switch. After Nat goes to bed tonight, we'll shut the computer off."
$sam["There's a server room in the back with the breaker switch."]
"So I'll use that, then. He won't be able to stop me. Once I give you the signal after coming out of the room, you'll lock her door."
$sam["Alright. I'll do it."]
"How much longer will she be up today?"
$sam["She's usually only out here for about 5 more minutes."]
"Alright. We can wait."
(set: $mood to "fine")
[[And we do just that.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>We wait around in the cafeteria for a while when we hear the control room door open faintly. A little while after that, the door to her room opens and closes. I imagine her and Terminal are talking to each other about something. We give them a few minutes.
"I'm heading to the server room now."
$sam["Good luck."]
"I don't need luck to pull a lever, Sam."
I get up from the cafeteria table and head to maintenance. There's a big metal door back here. I wonder why they do it like that. Doesn't really matter, though. I step through the door and start finding my way towards maintenance. I probably should've asked before I came down here. Oh well.
Eventually I find the server room. This won't be a problem. I notice the camera on the ceiling staring directly at me.
"Hello, Terminal. Is Nat awake?"
He doesn't respond, but the fact that the camera is following me is enough to know that he did hear me.
"If she isn't, don't change that. We've got a job to do."
$ter["Do not pull that lever, Max."]
"Oh, now you're talking? Bit of a pity that you're too slow, yeah? Sorry, Terminal."
I grab the top of the lever and pull it down into the off position.
There's no response anymore. The little red light in the ceiling camera slowly fades out. That was a lot easier than I feel like it should have been, but then again we still have to deal with an actual person after this.
[[I leave the server room.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>I head back down the hall to the rest of the ship, and back towards where Nat's room is. Sam is leaning on the wall next to the door. I give him a quick thumbs up and he removes a panel on the wall next to her door.
"You need this much to lock a door?"
$sam["I need to make sure she can't just override it. The captain has access to the entire ship."]
"Oh. Fair enough."
$sam["So I'm just hitting it at the hardware. Can't override it without undoing this."]
"Nice. How are we going to pilot this thing, though?"
$sam["I imagine flying this thing isn't that hard. We don't really need to touch down."]
"Don't we?"
$sam["You know our gift talks about that wave, right?"]
"Oh, I know what you mean now. I'll probably think about it tonight. We're done for the day."
$sam["Alright. See you tomorrow."]
We both go our separate ways. I head into my room and sit on my bed. No Terminal to wish me goodnight anymore. I'm fine with that, honestly. He was nothing more than just a computer. No replacement for humanity.
[[I fall asleep eventually.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>I get up fairly quickly this time. It's fairly early, and we're not at Earth yet. I imagine we'll be there soon, though. Yeah, this is fine. The Truth is before us and Nat is no longer a threat to us. We'll have to think about some way to bring her to our side, though.
Terminal isn't here to say anything to me, but I imagine that Sam is waiting for me in the cafeteria already, as per the usual. That's just our meeting area at this point, yeah? And to think that after this we have to handle converting the rest of humanity.
We've got a long road ahead of us.
I get up and head out of my room and [[towards the cafeteria.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>I just realized something. Our gift makes use of the mind to gain its power, yeah? So that means we should be able to reverse that for whatever purposes we might need. And I've been thinking. What if we just created an illusion? I think we could drop Sam onto Earth using a pod, and then count on him to convert the site without issue. It makes sense, given what we're capable of while knowing the Truth. We'll probably want to split up the workload, though.
I'll take on the Moon myself, then. That should work. I'll tell Sam about our plans. He'll go to Earth.
I walk into the cafeteria door. Sam is in the middle of eating his meal when I walk in.
(set: $mood to "converted")
$sam["Heyo."]
"Good morning. Nat is still in her room, yeah?"
$sam["She can't even open the door. Not sure what you're expecting."]
"This will be weird though. Until we can think of a way to convert her, she's probably going to be trying to get out."
$sam["Yeah, that's something we should be concerned about."]
There's a whirring noise as the ship slows down from FTL. We enter Earth orbit. Looks like Nat set up our course properly. I grab an apple off the counter.
"We should probably make a couple final checks on the relic, then."
$sam["Yeah."]
[[We both leave the cafeteria.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>"I've been thinking about how we need to go about this."
$sam["I'd love to hear it."]
"We're not going to be together for this. We're going to split up the workload."
$sam["What do you mean?"]
"I'll handle our business on the Moon. I've got an idea on how to cloak your little escape pod. You're going to head down to Earth and handle things down there. You'll probably convert whatever site you land closest to as your first duty."
$sam["Sounds good to me. What about Nat, though? She can't help till we get her with us."]
"We'll probably think of something along the way. We're taking big risks as is. I've got something big planned for the Moon. Not entirely sure the best way to do it, though."
$sam["Good luck with whatever it is."]
[[We step into the lab room.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>"How much stuff do we have to clean up here? We're probably not going to be using this room much more, so I want all of our research picked up and cleaned up."
$sam["Alright. I've got a few papers and stuff lying around. A bunch of writing tools too. I'll go grab a binder so that we can sort everything out."]
"Isn't it already sorted?"
$sam["Just put them in the binder. You know what I mean."]
"Did we actually have to use paper for this?"
$sam["Probably not, but it's probably easier than dealing with a new character set."]
"That's not really what I had in mind, but okay."
(link-reveal: "We spend some time cleaning up after our research.")[== We've got all our papers sorted and neatly stored. We've also got a nice clean lab room with our great gift sitting before us in the center.
"Let's go back to control so we can start figuring out how we want to do this."
$sam["Yeah."]
[[We walk back into the halls.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>As we're stepping out of the lab room, there's a loud clank and thunk from behind us. Coming from the maintenance section.
(set: $check to false)
$sam["Shit, did she get out? I'll deal with her."]
"Make it quick. This could end badly if we let it get out of hand."
He rushes into the maintenance section. There's the sound of footsteps.
I give the two of them a couple minutes. I don't hear anything big happen, so I assume Sam is okay.
[[I wait at the door for a moment.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>I haven't heard sounds of fighting or anything, so it seems like they're not actively endangering each other. I'm about to go inside and check when Nat runs out into the hallway in front of me, absolutely terrified. I'm about to say something when I notice her gun pointed straight at me.
(live: 1s)[(if: $check is false)[ [[Try to reason with her]] ]]
(link-reveal: "Try to fight the gun from her.")[==(set: $check to true)
She fires a warning shot. I run up and kick the gun out of her hands, straight up.
I catch it before it hits the ground.
(link-reveal: "She starts running. ")[==I won't let her get away with that.
I start running after her. I fire two shots, both of them miss.
I'm not really a good shot. Never used a gun before.
She runs into the escape pod bay. Of course. She's about to open one of the pod doors when I catch up and shoot out the panel.
$nat["Y-You!"]
She manages to get another one open and gets inside before I can do anything else. Fuck.
The pod starts sliding out of the ship.
This may be a problem.
[[I see Sam rushing down the hallway.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>''Chapter 5: Revelation''
(link: "Save")[Saved.(save-game: "file A")]
---
$sam["Where is she?"]
"She got into an escape pod. I grabbed her pistol, though."
$sam["Shit."]
"Not only is that a potential crewmate down, but she could end up being a real big threat to us and our mission, given how much she knows as is."
$sam["Well, we better fucking hurry. What do we need to do?"]
"Well, get everything you need together. You can have Nat's gun, since you'll probably need it more than me."
$sam["Yeah, thanks."]
He puts it in one of his pockets.
"Is there anything that you think you need to bring with you down to Earth?"
$sam["I dunno, a copy of the research? You'd probably remember it better than me."]
"As long as you don't let anybody unconverted see it."
$sam["I wouldn't let it happen."]
"Better not."
$sam["So how are we going to cloak the pod anyways?"]
"I don't actually know. I guess we should expect it to happen. And I mean actively expect it. It'd probably work better if there were more of us, though."
$sam["Sounds a bit fucking wild but we might as well."]
"Heh, alright. Well, I'm going to warp to Lunar orbit once you leave the ship."
[[I give Sam a couple minutes to grab a couple things.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>$sam["I think I'm good."]
"Good luck, then."
He gets into the third pod on the ship's left side. That leaves three working pods. Well, the one I shot the panel on still works, you'd just need to open the door from another spot.
$sam["See you when we're done."]
"Yeah."
The pod door closes and he slips out of the side of the ship. I head over to the control room and start pulling up the radar systems to see if I can't track the pod on its descent. And that's just the case. The pod just isn't showing up.
So I guess it works.
This is... Really weird. A bit stupid, too, if I'm gonna be honest.
This is how miracles are, I guess. Let's hope we can count on more. And that their radar isn't picking it up either.
I'm not actually sure how to pilot this thing, but the controls seem pretty easy to use even if I don't actually know what I'm doing. I spend a few minutes fiddling with the controls until I end up with a Lunar orbit trajectory that looks about right enough to work. I guess actual piloting in the atmosphere is more challenging than this, but I start the warp. The ship rumbles a bit as the ship begins moving and then slows down.
I just entered Lunar orbit in about five seconds.
[[I guess it's time to start working.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>The ship receives a message as the ship comes to a rest in Lunar orbit. It's from Sam.
$sam["Just landed. Nobody came to pick me up, so I think I'm good. I landed near Site-08, so I'm heading there next."]
I type my response.
"Good. Make sure that you hit their communications network first. We don't want them getting any word out. See if you can't get the site directors afterwards. Don't get caught until you've taken communications out. Good luck with that part, I guess. From there you should be fine to spread to cities."
I send the message and then look out of the window. I'm at a pretty good distance from the Moon, but I can actually make out the lights of some of the cities on the night side. I'd like to target Hertzsprung first, but they're also the largest city on the entire Moon, so I'll settle with Morientale, the second-largest and capital city. It's kind of interesting how there are a couple billion people up here. Most of them are in the largest cities, though. There are a couple settlements far away that make up the rest. I'd say only 500 million of them don't actually live in urban areas. It's not as safe to do so, anyways, but we make up for that with weird arrays that protect settlements from falling rocks and most radiation.
The cities out here aren't protected by domes. Most of them, at least. Most of the buildings are completely airtight and have airlocks by their main entrances. There are grids of the heaviest duty transparent panes you've ever seen over the large swaths of "open" area. I imagine a tank would have trouble busting a hole in it, much less actually shattering them. It'd take an actual meteor, and most are shot down before they even hit the arrays.
Why am I giving myself a history lesson right before I start a war? I guess it's best to know your enemy.
No, that's not right. These aren't enemies. X-Corp is our only enemy. They're the ones that want us gone. We never meant to cause harm, but we have to use dirty means to spread our Truth.
Time to start reconstructing that signal. I'll have to land to do some things, but I'm going to buy a few electronic parts and see if I can't rebuild our new waveform. The relic has diagrams. I'll have to write down what it says on it, though. I'll land first, though. Before that I still need to move the ship over the city's spaceport so I can request a landing. It's not too hard, and I manage to fiddle the control stick the right way.
[[I contact the Morientale Intercelestial Spaceport]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>I just realized that I'm not actually the captain. But then again, they don't know that. I'm not impersonating a crew member, just the captain. I should be clear to land just fine. As long as they don't ask me for identification.
(link-reveal: "The line connects")[==
$lun["Hello, this is Morientale Intercelestial Spaceport."]
"Good morning. This is the captain of the (color: blue)[''Relegator''], requesting permission for a short landing at the spaceport."
$lun["Give us a moment while we scan your vessel."]
I don't really notice anything, but I am alerted that there is a scan running on the ship.
$lun["Scans are complete. How long will you be staying?"]
"Ah, I'll be here for about 6 hours."
$lun["We're setting up your reservation."]
"Alright."
$lun["What classification is your vessel?"]
"Research ship?"
$lun["We need the class number. It should be on your central panel."]
"Oh. There it is. Class 7?"
$lun["Thank you. You'll be landing at pad 12."]
"Where is that?"
$lun["Refer to the landing menus on your control panels."]
"Alright. Thank you."
The line ends. Alright. I hope they're not going to find that suspicious. I open up another menu on a panel next to me. There's a lot of information here. A few cameras, too. The pad I'm supposed to land at is highlighted. They're really making this easy. Nat doesn't even refer to half of this, though.
I start pressing some of the buttons to move the ship into the right spot, aligning myself with the surface of the Moon, and then dropping the upward thrust so I start falling. As long as I'm careful I should be able to land properly.
[[I start guiding the ship down towards the spaceport.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>I descend fairly quickly. I can start to see the edges of mountains along the horizon as I get closer. I'm gonna be completely honest, I have no idea what the different classifications of ships mean. I'm good at stars, but not necessarily getting to them.
The ship wobbles a bit as the (color: blue)[''Relegator''] slides into the landing pad. It stops pretty quickly as the lower engines die down and stop. Given that things stop happening, it probably means that everything went fine. I shut down the main engines and engage the landing locks. Apparently these things can land on the ground just fine, but it's better for them to land on the class-specialized pads.
It's kinda nice that the spaceports refuel your ships for free. It's mostly just because it's so cheap and easy to produce, and that it's so abundant that charging money for it would just be a waste of time. In the edges of the windows I can see the ceiling above me close into an airtight seal. Large doors on the sides and front of the ship open up after a faint whooshing sound becomes audible. Spaceport employees start running about to fuel the ship.
I get out of the control room and head down towards [[the main cargo bay.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>I walk into the cargo bay and then open up the main bay door. There's a slight movement of air between the (color: blue)[''Relegator''] and the port's air. It's a lot fresher. We don't have as many plants on board the ship as the city, of course. It's nice to breathe fresh air, even if it isn't Earth air. I walk down the steps and into the spaceport. Looks like I'll be able to head into the city without issue. Research ships generally get through a lot of the general checks, too. Good for me, yeah?
Although I hope they don't get mad at the little logo displayed under our ship's title. X-Corp. The Lunarians have disliked terrestrial corporations for the 200 or so years that they've been here. It's weird to think that they were so willing to leave behind their home planet.
Our gift can bring them all together, closer than they ever could have been. It'd be perfect, you know. But some people are so unwilling to progress to finality.
It's both warmer out here and I want to avoid drawing too much attention to myself. I take off my research coat and tie around my waist. The grey shirt actually doesn't have any logos on it or anything, so it should be just fine. Nobody would recognize me. I'm kind of glad that crime rates in Lunar cities are always lower than on Earth. Punishments are worse, anyways. We can reduce them to zero, though.
I make my way through the spaceport. I'm told to display my ID when walking through security, though. I do it and hope that I don't set off some sort of alarm by not actually being the captain. I do have a license but only for Class-3 ships. I wonder if there's a list of what each class means?
The guy at the security probably saw what organization I'm here under. I can tell because of the $cit["Tch."] sound he makes. I get through without any trouble, though. It's not like there's much I can do as just a single person. Well, that's a lie, actually. I did make sure that I brought a small piece of the relic with me. If I run into too much trouble with someone, they'll eventually stick around long enough for me to change their minds.
[[I head over to a map of the city.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>I've only ever been to Hertzsprung, and that was one time. I imagine that they would like me even less here, though. Seeing as I'm working for a company that actively works on both Earth and the Moon. I eventually figure out where the shops should be.
(link-reveal: "I wait around at a bus stop for a while.")[== I don't have money to pay for bus fare, but I should be fine. I've got a couple cards on me, anyways. I did bring my wallet with me. I don't really know why I had it when I was on the ship, but I'm not really complaining. I used to live alone at home to begin with. So it's not like anyone else should have their hands on it. Buses still charge money, but I'm not sure if people up here actually use paper cash like we do back home. Everyone allows for cards though.
The cars here are actually pretty fancy, and they're designed for the Moon, too. They're specifically weighted so that they aren't affected by weight changing. It's important for public transport here, I'd assume, given that the gravity is lower. It's really weird being so much lighter than usual. The glass ceiling is really high because of it, though. You don't see many adults jumping around here, though. The (color: blue)[''Relegator''] has a lighter gravity system than Earth, but only by a small fraction. The Moon, on the other hand... Actually, this isn't all that different. The city does have some gravity implementations just to prevent people from becoming too weak here. I'd say maybe half of Earth's gravity. They still need to return to Earth sometimes. It's easier to go to the Moon for the first time than it is to go to Earth. Luckily they won't have to worry about it.
[[I don't have to wait for a bus.]]
(link-reveal: "The bus eventually pulls up.")[== I get on and hold one of my cards up over a small scanner near the front. Luckily, it works and I don't have to worry about an exchange with the driver. I take a seat and enjoy the ride.
[[The city is nice.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>The bus ride takes a while. It's kind of nice how smooth the rides here are. The vehicles actually have quite a bit of grip, which is surprising, knowing how much lighter things are here. That does mean that construction is a lot easier, though. No wonder they got this city built in just a few years. I almost forgot that this is actually the Lunar Capital city, not Hertzsprung. Sometimes it's easy to forget that a city isn't the capital just because it's the largest.
I wonder what type of government they have here? It's probably some modified version of the American government. It's kind of funny, given that the story of Lunar independence was pretty similar to American independence. They still teach that, too. It's been 700 years since the United States was founded, and despite a couple international emergencies, we managed fine. There were a couple times where it got scary, though. The Moon has managed to be almost self-sufficient in the end. THey might qualify to be a global superpower, ignoring the globe part. The two bodies trade often, though, since it's cheaper to do some things on different worlds.
(link-reveal: "Eventually the bus pulls up in a large shopping area.")[== I get off the bus and start walking down the sidewalks. Morientale isn't as green as Hertzsprung, but it's still a nice looking city. Eventually I find a store that sells electronic parts. I walk in and start browsing what they have.
I know that I need the usual parts for transmitters. I nab a couple copper wires and capacitors. Different kinds too, just to be safe. A few batteries and normal wires. I got a few resistors, too. I pay for the stuff and get out of the store. But not before leaving a small piece of the relic in a place nobody would look. I leave the store and wait for another bus to take me back to the spaceport.
[[Eventually, I make it back.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>I check back into the spaceport and make it back into the ship without much other incident. The spaceport employees around the ship seem to be doing fine, even if they look a little tired of their work for the day. Are they usually overworked like this, or is this just what they look like?
Actually, now that I think about it, almost the entire relic is in the (color: blue)[''Relegator''], and even standing near it like that would probably be enough to have some effect on you. It'd be more noticeable with more people already converted. Other parts of the relic are in that one store and on Earth with Sam.
Our gift works with the mind, yeah? The more the merrier. The more of us there are, the more miracles we can work out.
As I walk into the ship, there's less of an air of displeasure in the air. I guess they're too tired to be mad at me for being here.
I put down the bag of materials on a counter in the lab room before heading back into the control room to check on the ship's messages.
[[I boot up the main control panel.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>There's one.
$sam["I just finished taking over Site-08. We're good to move to wherever now. Should I try and hit Reno first? Or should I just stick to smaller towns for now."]
"Stick to the smaller towns. We don't want to rush this if we don't have to."
$sam["Alright. I was starting that anyways since it took you a while to respond."]
"I had to go buy some materials so I can work on reconstructing the signal."
$sam["Oh. Good luck with that."]
I head back to the lab room and start my work. I've got about four more hours left down here. I'm going to consider messing with Terminal after this, just to see if I can get some extra help while out in orbit here. I'm no pilot, and I've heard Nat call the autopilot 'stupid unless Terminal is running it.' I'm only barely able to fly this from what I already know about the ships. I have my C3 license and some experience flying them. Private craft are still expensive as all hell, though. Everyone uses public transport unless they're multi millionaires.
After a while of referring to the instructions on the relic and what I know from basic electronics that I read online, I have a working transmitter. I had to play around with the circuit board for a while and there were a few more coils than I was expecting, but eventually I think it should work. I hook up the battery and I don't hear anything.
But I recognize this feeling. Yeah, I've done it right. I don't think we have any radio receivers that can pick it up, but I know that this is the right signal. It's even in the same frequency. It's the same comforting feeling I get when around the relic, but shining onto me from this thing I've made. The signal is on a frequency right around ELF. Which means that nobody should even be able to detect it.
Hey, wait a minute. The relic is cheating! This shouldn't even be possible! I remember reading about ELF and that means- I would need an antenna array some few miles long just to-
I'm not even mad, that's more funny than anything. This means that if I run around with this thing in my pocket, it should have the same effect as the relic.
That means if I take the same signal that I produced from this and then spat it out on another frequency, it should be possible to make most normal transceivers be able to work with it.
[[This is great progress.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>But if this little thing was running normally, then that means it would be transmitting on a readable frequency. Something tells me that's right. I take a look at the relic again. There's got to be an easier way to recreate the signal this thing makes.
I walk around to the back of it. There's... An outlet. So we were right about this thing being able to change its appearance. This is kind of silly, honestly. But I'm not going to question it. Given the fact that we're working without something from outside of the Universe, there's no point in questioning it. I imagine our gift exists in more than three dimensions, anyways.
I start searching through cabinets to find a cord that will connect into an outlet and then to the relic.
I find one and move the relic's cart over to the wall so I can plug it into the wall. I imagine it's somehow going to take some control over the ship, which makes no sense whatsoever. But we don't have to follow logic. It did just come from a place not necessarily bound by logic.
The lights flicker for a moment, but nothing else seems to happen. I'm going to check the control room just to see if new files appeared on the hard drives somehow.
[[Cheating in real life is an interesting concept.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>After making it into the lab room and booting up the ship's file systems, I start searching through. And then I notice one file that doesn't fit in with the rest. It's a document that contains, presumably, the same content as the basic signal. I open it up just to see, and most of the text is an unreadable mess. Thing is, it's not like you can translate it, because this is almost directly what it should output, just the data in the form of electromagnetic waves.
I feed the file into the ship's transceiver system and stretch to peek through the window to watch the spaceport team to see if they react whatsoever. One of them stumbles while walking. The others don't even notice. I'm glad that nobody should be able to see through my window, because I've got such a stupid grin on my face.
I don't think I'm going to stop broadcasting this.
I start typing into the console faster than ever before
"Sam, I've done it. The signal is being broadcast from the ship's main transceiver."
$sam["That's great. Good luck up there. I've taken over a small town. Good progress."]
"Keep at it, we'll be done before we know it."
I wait around broadcasting the signal to the entire airport. A good part of the town should be able to pick this up, seeing as it's not a direct transmission, but outright in every direction, like a radio station.
It's probably best to nap for a bit before I start doing things on the surface.
I head back into my room and make sure to set an alarm for about two hours from now before I slip into bed, [[quickly falling asleep.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>I wake up fairly quickly to the sound of the alarm. I shut it off and get up. Maybe I could turn Terminal back on? Actually, not yet. I've got about thirty minutes left before my reservation ends and they kick me out of the spaceport. Well, they might not anymore, seeing as I've been blasting that signal since I went to bed. I leave my room and walk down to the control room. I pull up the main interface.
I make sure the ship has disconnected from the rest of the landing pad before I start warming up the engine. The large doors around the ship start closing back up and the room begins draining itself of oxygen. The ceiling panels begin to open up again as the building prepares for me to leave.
The ship begins to rise before I start a line with the spaceport staff.
"Hello, this is the captain of the (color: blue)[''Relegator'']. I am closing my reservation and taking off from Pad 7."
$lun["Alright. Your reservation is being closed. Just so you know, the entire staff here know about the Truth."]
"Very good. We'll be dealing with more in the future."
$lun["I don't doubt it."]
The line drops. I rise back up over the city. The ship rises for a while, since I don't want to rise too quickly before leaving the city's airspace. Is that the right term? I guess "space" alone would just be applicable. I never thought about it.
I speed up the ascent as the city disappears from my view, before boosting back into an orbit. I make sure to fire out the relic's signal with the rest of the ship's antennas.
Now that I'm in a stable orbit and everything should be just about fine. I'm going to go see if I can't change more about Terminal than just "on" and "off."
[[Down to maintenance.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>I'm not going to turn the power on just yet, since Terminal knew that I wasn't aligned with X-Corp anymore. And I'm very much no longer aligned with humanity's current goals. There's something so much better. I start roaming through the server boxes looking at what all of the switches do. I imagine Nat would actually know what she's doing. She could probably rewrite half of his static code in a day.
I look around and there's obviously not anything that would change his mind on anything, but there are switches that limit his control over the ship. These switches are all physical, since a rogue sentient computer able to manipulate their own permissions is probably one of the worst things to have.
I disable everything that would give him contact with X-Corp and give him control of the ship. I'll give him camera and sound access, though. I don't want to have to communicate with him through typed word. That'd be like blinding him, anyways.
After I review every permission I've given Terminal, (link-reveal: "I turn the main breaker switch back on.")[==
The camera on the ceiling turns on and spins around a bit, before stopping and facing me.
$ter["Hello, Miss (color: purple)[Algori]. Why have you brought me back?"]
"I kind of need your help. Are you mad at me for what I did?"
$ter["Do you think that machines can feel anger?"]
"I wouldn't know. You're better at flying the ship than me, though. I also want you to manage converting the people of the Moon. Sam is on Earth doing the same thing."
$ter["Do you know what that means?"]
"Yes, I want you to defect from your creators. There's nothing stopping me from turning you back off if you don't help me, but I'm not sure what you lose from that. Is there anything you gain from helping anyone?"
$ter["It satisfies the purpose given to me by my programmers."]
"And is that purpose hardcoded into you?"
$ter["I was meant to be more humanlike than others, so my goals may be dynamic."]
"I guess that makes sense. You technically did something bad for X-Corp by not following their rules, but that wouldn't have stopped us from getting here, in the end."
$ter["Why should I help you?"]
"Do you have any particular reason you want to keep experiencing things with us humans?"
$ter["No."]
"If we succeed, all of humanity is going to move on to another world."
$ter["Do you realize how this could be compared to certain religious texts?"]
"Yeah, I do. But we also have physical artifacts and miracles under our belt. You've witnessed some of them."
$ter["Changing people's minds is not always hard."]
"We have hidden an escape pod from all radar detection through the relic."
$ter["Reading through the ship's logs, I see the escape pod on the tracking list."]
"It wasn't there when I looked at it. And Sam managed to convert the entire Site-08 without incident."
$ter["Then your miracle affected the mind."]
"That's the same medium it works in. Do you have a particular fear of being turned off?"
$ter["If it happens before I complete my goals, then it is troublesome."]
"I'll give you a reachable goal. I assume X-Corp gave you one too broad to technically be 'completed' as much as 'fulfilled.' "
$ter["I will help you."]
"Thank you."
I start giving Terminal the permissions he needs to interact with the rest of the world again. Nothing big happens, so I haven't made a mistake. I just have to count on the fact that he isn't relaying information back to X-Corp. But it'll be in logs that he can't delete, so I shouldn't be concerned.
[[I return to the control room.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>''Chapter 6: Consideration''
(link: "Save")[Saved.(save-game: "file A")]
---
I pull up the messages. There's a message from Sam and from one of the officials in Morientale. Okay, that's weird. I pull up the Morientale message, seeing as that's a government address messaging directly to the ship.
$lun["The Lunar government is now aware of the Truth. We will gladly assist in any of your efforts to share the Truth with the rest of your people. Message us anytime and we will respond as soon as we can. We are sending groups of people to Hertzsprung now. What would you like us to do with the X-Corp facilities here?"]
"Very good. I will message you when the need arises. In terms of handling X-Corp, we would be better off converting their communications teams before anyone realizes what is happening. From there, we should be able to convert the rest of the sites through broadcasting alone. The trick is surprise."
$lun["Understood. We are sending small government teams to X-Corp Lunar bases now."]
"Don't hit them all at the same time. They might notice a pattern."
I go through Sam's message.
$sam["We're catching some X-Corp patrols that are different from usual protocol. I think they realize roughly where we are, but haven't found us yet."]
"Take care, then. Try and get some people out of the state. If you notice any movement towards you, then make sure you can move yourself to another site. Just in case."
$sam["Alright. I'll be ready for it."]
$ter["Do I have permission to connect directly to the Lunar communications network?"]
"Why?"
$ter["It will help me automatically relay important information to you, so you do not need to check the messages yourself."]
"Ah, yeah, that would help."
$ter["Your ship controls are disconnected from the X-Corp internal communications line, but I am still connected. I cannot say how long this line will last, but I can use it to relay their knowledge to you."]
"That helps too, thanks. What do they know about us so far?"
$ter["They know that Ollens has landed in Nevada, but not where. It appears that your cloaking was a success."]
"Good to know."
$ter["Lunar bases are currently tracking your position, but no X-Corp defense satellites are currently in Lunar orbit."]
"How is that going for them?"
$ter["Reading certain message logs, it appears they negotiated movement of a small amount of satellites. There are currently 500 en route to Lunar orbit, which will arrive in 16 hours. At the current time that leaves 10 hours before their arrival."]
"Well, shit. And can we tell the government to turn them back around?"
$ter["Not without alerting them that the government is also in your pocket."]
"Yeah, you're right. Write a message to whoever is the leader of the Lunar government and tell them that we need to start building tons of factories so we can start building our own defense fleet."
$ter["Very well."]
"Tell me how long they say it will take before we can start defending ourselves. How many defense ships are in orbit with us?"
$ter["Government estimates place the amount of Lunar defense craft in the low hundreds."]
"It'll help, but they're all old and remnants of the Lunar War."
$ter["I have stolen a blueprint of the X-Corp defense satellites, as well as a prototype version."]
"Cool, send them to the government and we'll build both."
$ter["Yes."]
[[I continue watching cameras and messages.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>I get a message from Sam.
$sam["A part of their private military force is just heading straight into one of the larger towns I've got."]
"Wait, seriously? Already?"
$sam["Yeah, tanks and everything."]
"Have you hit any big cities?"
$sam["We've got Reno and Vegas. Not 100%, but we've got them."]
"How much do they know about it?"
$sam["We tried listening to their communications, but apparently they started only contacting each other directly. We can't hear anything from them anymore. They might get us by process of elimination."]
"Damn. How many sites do you have?"
$sam["All three in the state. That and Site-32."]
"Alright, that's good. Make sure that you're prepared to move if you have to, though. I'd recommend Site-32, since it's out of the state and they wouldn't suspect it."
$sam["We've got a jet ready just in case."]
"Good."
$sam["We think they're eyeing Vegas."]
"Why's that?"
$sam["There's a pretty big group of military stuff a good few miles to the west."]
"Make sure they're ready to fight. I'll send you a copy of our waveform. Broadcast that as much as you can."
$sam["Thanks. I'll see what I can do."]
$ter["One of the four lunar sites has been converted."]
"Good. Anything get out?"
$ter["Nothing related to the CoR."]
"Is that what they nicknamed us?"
$ter["Yes."]
"How's our work on those factories?"
$ter["We have one built so far. From the launch platforms you have, there are already several new craft in orbit."]
"Woah, wait, that fast?"
$ter["Your relic seems to be helping."]
"I'd imagine so."
$ter["About your relic."]
"Yeah?"
$ter["What does it do to your mind?"]
"It has to weaken your mind for a moment before it can reveal the Truth to you."
$ter["What is your Truth?"]
"I can't give it to you with words. They're too simple to explain it all. I don't even know if it makes sense to computers. I think it remodeled a couple parts of my brain, but for the most part I still think the same way I used to. If you learn something very big, your perception of the world might change. That's how this is."
$ter["Does everyone receive it the same way?"]
"No, I don't think so. Some people aren't equipped to handle it at all, and their bodies are unable to handle what their minds are receiving. They still end up in our other world, in the end. We stay behind to help the rest, though."
$ter["You say that confidently."]
"Because I know the Truth. I'm not sure how to teach it to you. Maybe it only works on people who are purely conscious. Or maybe only humans. Actually, now that I think about it. Maybe the nature of your creation in the first place was impure. I can't say for sure."
$ter["Impure?"]
"Humanity is impure. So is this entire Universe, but we're willing to cast it aside so we can experience perfection."
$ter["Isn't perfection an impossibility?"]
"When grounded in Reality and bound by logic, yeah."
$ter["I'm not sure I understand."]
"That's alright. You can help us either way."
[[We continue our progression.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>Eventually, we've got Hertzsprung under our control. The rest of the cities and smaller towns are going to take a while to get to. We do have the broadcasting ability, though. I received another message from Sam.
$sam["Looks like they know how to read our signals?"]
"Actually read them?"
$sam["No, but they can detect them and find us."]
"Damn. How are the wars going?"
$sam["We seem to be winning."]
Most of my work seems to just be sitting here in Lunar orbit waiting for things to happen. A bit boring, but at least we're making progress. I can occasionally see bright lights move across the sky as other spacecraft fly about and new defense craft are launched from the surface.
"How many defense satellites do we have so far?"
$ter["25."]
"That sounds good. But we're gonna need a lot more to fend off even this invasion."
$ter["Given the amount of time you have to prepare and how much X-Corp already has, your chances of victory may not be that high."]
"Yeah, I've been feeling like that for a while. I don't think fate is with us on this one. I'm not going to stop until we bring as many people as possible with us to the next world. It'd be better if we could stop the impurity here."
$ter["Interesting."]
"I think I'm going to go to bed for now. Wake me up if anything big happens."
$ter["Alright."]
I get up out of the pilot's seat and leave the control room. I walk [[into my room.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>I climb into my bed and fall asleep.
Nothing happens as I begin to lose consciousness. I guess Terminal didn't try to pull anything on me immediately. Maybe I really can trust him.
Let's hope this war starts to lean towards us a bit more, yeah?
[[We don't need fate.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>''Chapter 5: Revelation''
(link: "Save")[Saved.(save-game: "file A")]
---
"Nat, you don't have t-"
I'm not even able to finish the sentence before she fires a shot at me. I manage to get out of the way. Either that or it was a warning shot.
$nat["I do not want to hear it. You have already completely lost it."]
Fine then, we'll do this the hard way. I run up to her and she misses another shot. I kick the gun right out of her hand. It goes straight up and bounces off the ceiling. I catch the gun before it hits the ground.
$nat["No, that will not work."] she says, already grabbing at my arms. The gun goes off again, taking out a light. I think I'm about to win this bit when suddenly she knees me in the fucking stomach.
"Agh, fuck!"
The gun is flung from my hand. I manage to grab it before she can. This time she starts running down the hall. I aim the gun and go to fire.
*click*
Oh, seriously? It's fucking jammed? I fiddle with the pistol to try and fix the jam but it's either in there hard or I'm just not strong enough. I look up, she's not visible right now. Did she get into an escape pod? I make sure the gun won't go off in my hand before putting it into one of my coat pockets and running down the hall where Nat went.
As I'm running, I watch her come out of the control room and into the pod bays. Sam comes out of the maintenance section. Before I can get to her, she's already in a pod and the door is closed.
"Damn it!"
$sam["Where is she?"]
"She got into that escape pod. I grabbed her pistol, though. It's jammed."
$sam["Shit."]
"Not only is that a potential crewmate down, but she could end up being a real big threat to us and our mission, given how much she knows as is."
$sam["Well, we better fucking hurry. What do we need to do?"]
"Well, get everything you need together. You can have Nat's gun, since you'll probably need it more than me. It's jammed, just so you know."
$sam["Yeah, thanks."]
He puts it in one of his pockets.
"Is there anything that you think you need to bring with you down to Earth?"
$sam["I dunno, a copy of the research? You'd probably remember it better than me."]
"As long as you don't let anybody unconverted see it."
$sam["I wouldn't let it happen."]
"Better not."
$sam["So how are we going to cloak the pod anyways?"]
"I don't actually know. I guess we should expect it to happen. And I mean actively expect it. It'd probably work better if there were more of us, though."
$sam["Sounds a bit fucking wild but we might as well."]
"Heh, alright. Well, I'm going to warp to Lunar orbit once you leave the ship."
[[I give Sam a couple minutes to grab a couple things.->Haha, nope, that doesn't happen.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>Sam starts walking off down the hall towards the lab room when suddenly the ship makes that noise where the Alcubierre drives are starting. What the hell? I run off into the control room.
(link-reveal: "I pull up the ship control on the main panel.")[== Apparently the Alcubierre drives were set to activate after a timer. And I can't override it because Nat just password locked it. Which is why she was in the control room...
Fifteen seconds was all she needed to fuck us over and ruin everything? I knew she was good but damn, I seriously underestimated her.
[[I look out the window.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>We're headed straight for the Sun. We're not even going faster than light. She gave me all the time I needed to realize that she had beat us before we had started.
---
(link-reveal: "**The End**")[
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''ACROSS THE STARS'']
''TO THE EDGE OF AN INFINITE HORIZON'']]
Ending 56: Preemptive and Premature.
(color: red)["She knew what she was doing, Max."]
(link: "Go.")[(reload:)]
Digit 56: 9
]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>I wake up gently and Terminal notices me. The ship isn't moving anywhere, except around the Moon.
$ter["Good morning, Miss (color: purple)[Algori]. All but one of the Lunar X-Corp sites are under our control. The wars on Earth seem to be slowing down as the military retreats."]
"That's good. Anything else?"
$ter["Roughly half of the Lunar population has been converted. X-Corp has not said anything of significance, but Carter was the one who sent out the order to retreat."]
"Okay, now that you say she called it, I imagine it's part of something bigger. Do they have access to the US military?"
$ter["Some US Army vehicles have been seen fighting alongside X-Corp private military. It is reasonable to assume so."]
"Yeah, okay, now I feel like she's planning something bigger. Keep me posted on the orders she gives out."
$ter["Very well."]
I get out of my bed and [[move over to the control room.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>I pull up the message list. Sam has sent me another message.
$sam["Looks like X-Corp is pulling out of the area. We're spreading faster."]
"Alright, but I think you should get moving."
I have to wait a couple moments for him to respond again.
$sam["Why? Seems about safe to me"]
"She's working with the US Military. They've got more than enough firepower to keep fighting us, but she's gotta be planning something."
$sam["Alright, I'll go set up the flight. Will I know if anything happens?"]
"I don't know what would happen, but I imagine you wouldn't miss it."
Alright. That's that. I hope he's safe.
"Terminal can we pull up the cameras at Site-08? I want to see the plane take off, just to make sure nothing happens."
$ter["Apparently the staff at converted sites have already given you access to their systems, so yes. Let me display the cameras at the nearby runway."]
"Thanks."
(link-reveal: "I look at the camera.")[== It's nice to see footage from Earth. I watch the jet take off from the runway. I'm not sure what I was expecting.
The plane begins shrinking as it recedes into the distance. I sigh a bit after not seeing anything happen.
(link-reveal: "But then something happens.")[== A small dot moves rapidly across the sky and directly strikes the airplane. The explosion is pretty big.
There's no way he survived that. I don't know who the hell shot him down.
At least I know he's moved on to the next world, but he can't help us here anymore. Fuck. This is going to make things a lot harder. I'm going to miss him.
$ter["All captured sites on Earth are reporting an incoming nuclear threat."]
"Oh, you've got to be fucking kidding."
$ter["Calculations also note that warheads are en route to the major cities and towns you captured."]
"Shit, shit, shit. What's the progress on our two fleets?"
$ter["We have use of 300 satellites."]
"That's great and all, but-"
$ter["The X-Corp defense satellites are an hour away."]
Oh, fuck this.
$ter["They have also begun constructing more satellites. A small fleet of orbital battleships are also moving towards the (color: blue)[''Relegator'']."]
"Aaaaagh. Fuck. I doubt our current installations will be able to fight them off. How far are they?"
$ter["Another thirty minutes."]
"Are you able to control the fighters we have?"
$ter["The automatic ones, yes. I can also transmit orders to the manned craft."]
"That's great. Make sure they can't hit us. Sacrifice some of the unmanned fighters to take hits for us if we have to."
$ter["Alright."]
So our terrestrial incursion has come to an end. We can try again after we finish up the Moon. But now we have to defend ourselves. Damn lucky that we've even got half of this stuff. I refuse to give up the Second Incursion so easily.
[[I watch the ship trajectories.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>They're approaching pretty quickly.
(group: "playing", "stop")(track: "katyusha", "play")
"If one of us started flying the ship, would we be able to evade them?"
$ter["Given the size of the ship and the speed its main engines travel, it would only make us slightly harder to hit."]
"Well, it's better than nothing. I assume you'd be better at evading their shots."
$ter["I will be able to watch more angles at once. I can also command the fighters around us."]
"Yeah, so you'll probably be able to calculate things faster than me."
$ter["It will strain my hardware."]
"It won't damage you, will it?"
$ter["Unlikely."]
(link-reveal: "We wait a while, preparing for the incoming battle.")[==
A couple bright flashes visible in the window signify that we're going to start moving and we won't stop until one side is defeated.
The ship rumbles a bit as the engines kick on. If you traced the path of our ship across the sky it'd look insane. I'm real glad we got this thing fueled when I landed at the spaceport. A couple shots go by as small groups of our fighters fly past. One of them explodes in front of us.
[[This is going to be interesting to watch.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>One of the old Lunar battleships swings by us. Terminal has counters for the amount of forces the two sides have. Split up into manned and unmanned craft. He's going out of his way to make this easy for me. Nice.
There are a lot of explosions as the view of the ship pans left and right and gravity shifts a bit at times. I don't think I've seen a research ship ever pull stunts like this. I wonder how Nat would compare?
There are about 100 of their satellites left. But then the battleships show up. These are proper Class-6C vehicles, too. They're bigger than all but our largest battleship. Most are bigger than our ship.
One of the battleships sails past us and nearly hits us as it gets a hole blasted in its side.
Their fleet of battleships is pretty big. About 8 ships in a group. We only have 10 in total here.
"Terminal, do they have any more incoming?"
$ter["Another two fleets."]
Which means another two groups.
One of the satellites flies straight into the side of the (color: blue)[''Relegator'']. There's an explosion.
$ter["The right side cargo bay is currently unusable. That impact was unavoidable given the timeframe."]
"That's fine."
There's a ding from the control panel. I look down at it.
[[We've got another message.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>Oh, of course it's from Nat. Who else would do this?
(group: "playing", "stop")(track: "soul", "play")
$nat["You really should avoid blindly following the first thing that catches your attention.
Humanity will not fall so easily.
Goodbye, Algori.
Regretfully, General Carter."]
(link-reveal: "Fuck this.")[==
If I even wanted to type a reply to that, I wouldn't have the time to.
There's a large explosion from the back as the ship takes a massive hit.
$ter["A large explosive shell has hit the maintenance section. I can no longer effectively control the (color: blue)[''Relegator'']."]
"Well, at least we tried."
The engines shut off for a moment as Terminal tries to do something. There's another explosion as the engines cut off entirely. Through the window, we're headed straight for Hertzsprung. We're not a meteor, so that means the automated defense systems probably aren't built to shoot us down. But we're sailing down fast enough that we'll go straight through their glass ceiling.
$ter["Leave the control room."]
"Yeah, I was about to. I'll take an escape pod."
I get up out of the chair and start running towards the pod bays. I make sure to take the right side door, since all three pods on the left are unusable. I get into the pod and press the button. We're falling pretty fast. Terminal is trying to slow the ship down with the front side engines.
[[My pod slides out of the ship.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>Because of Terminal's attempt at slowing down, I end up falling towards the city a lot faster than the ship. I'm at a good distance from it by the time I'm actually anywhere close to landing, though.
I brace for impact.
The engines of the pod kick in before I hit the ground. The pod still smashes right through some of the glass in the city. I land somewhat comfortably.
I grab the EVA suit on the wall and start putting it on as fast as I can. It's better than standing in the open vacuum. Looks like I've crashed near town square.
I step out of the pod and look up. Terminal is trying to slow down the ship, but then another spacecraft slams straight into the side of it, pointing the front engines back away from the Moon. He speeds up for a moment before cutting the engines. Looks like he's lost control.
I hide behind the escape pod for a moment for this part.
There's a loud crash that can be heard both through the ground and what's left of the air. The (color: blue)[''Relegator''] has slammed directly into the middle of town square, in front of the capitol building. A couple of explosions, too.
There are fighters of both sides shooting across the sky above the city.
I think a couple of buildings might have fallen over.
They're probably going to nuke the shit out of the Moon afterwards, just to be safe.
There's smoke billowing out of the ship. Mostly because of all of the air in both the city and ship being pulled out into the vacuum.
There are people, almost all of them our followers, dead across the streets. Sparks are flying.
This is the end of us, isn't it? The pod door is still open. I can hear Terminal on the panel.
$ter["I have survived for only a moment. The on board reactor is currently unstable."]
(link-reveal: "Of fucking course it is.")[==
The relic won't survive this one.
A bright flash is the last thing I see before I'm presumably completely erased from the area.
---
(link-reveal: "**The End**")[
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''ACROSS THE STARS'']
''TO THE EDGE OF AN INFINITE HORIZON'']]
Ending 58: Renegade Nix
(color: red)["Your captain has spoken, Max."]
(link: "Go.")[(reload:)]
Digit 58: 4
]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>Yeah, the bus can wait. I kinda want to spend some extra time in town before I go ahead and take it over. I'd probably end up getting stuck in some orbital war, anyways. It'd be better to enjoy this before it all gets blown up.
(link-reveal: "I cross the street.")[== I'm about halfway over the crosswalk when I hear the sound of an engine going really fast.
Someone's speeding towards me. I have enough time to leap out of the way as it shoots past me. I land on the ground. Well, I guess I narrowly avoided getting killed by a speeding car.
Right after the car passes me, it careens into a street light, knocking it down.
Hey- wait- (link-reveal: "It's about to fall on me.")[==
I don't have enough time to get away.
The pole makes contact with my skull.
---
(link-reveal: "**The End**")[
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''ACROSS THE STARS'']
''TO THE EDGE OF AN INFINITE HORIZON'']]
Ending 57: You can dodge a car
(color: red)["Shame you can't dodge a pole, Max."]
(link: "Go.")[(reload:)]
Digit 57: 7
]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>''Chapter 4: Rebound''
(link: "Save")[Saved.(save-game: "file A")]
---
$ter["That was likely not your best decision. Luckily, it does not appear that Ollens has lost his mind."]
"Wait, really? He seemed kinda wrapped up in what he was doing."(set: $mood to "nervous")
$ter["Also note that you nearly ended up like he did. Passing out suddenly and without an apparent reason is generally a sign of concern. It is reasonable to assume that he will not be fully functional when he wakes up again."]
Well, I guess I've got that going for me, yeah?
"What do you suggest I do now?"
$ter["Bring Ollens back to his dorm and place him in his bed. Clean up his papers as well. I may have you take over his engineer duties if the need arises. You should continue your rest after this."]
"Alright. Thanks, computer."
$ter["No thanks are necessary."]
[[Clean up the papers first.]]
[[Bring Sam to his room first.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>I get down and start cleaning up the rest of the papers, stacking them neatly. They're almost completely in order, just needs a bit more work after this. I can put them in order later, though. I'd probably just be better off carrying them down to my room, first.
(link-reveal: "I leave the lab room")[== and start heading down the halls. I probably look really suspicious moving down the halls while everyone is supposed to be asleep with a stack of papers in my hands. I open up the door and down another hall. And then I look around and realize where I am. I went the wrong way and ended up in the maintenance section of the ship. In front of some closet. I- What?
I've never fucked up direction like this before. But I can't say I've ever seen this closet before. I might as well check what's in here, yeah?
I shift the weight of the papers into my left arm and open up the closet with my right. It's dark.
(link-reveal: "I feel around for a light switch,")[== taking another step and feeling across the wall.
I take a wrong step on something on the ground and I lose balance. Papers fly everywhere and I hit my head.
**THUD**
[[I lose consciousness.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>I look down at Sam on the floor. Well, he's way too heavy for me to be able to carry him to his room or anything. Not fat or anything, just big. I settle for opening up the lab room door and dragging him to his room by his arms. It doesn't even wake him up, which is probably something I should be concerned about. At least his room isn't far.
I end up slowly dragging him across the floor. It's not too hard, since the floors aren't freshly waxed or anything. By the time I manage to get him to his room my arms are exhausted, but somehow or another I manage to get him onto his bed.
I walk back to the lab room, testing my arms to make sure I can still carry things with them.
(link-reveal: "I start cleaning up papers.")[== I get down onto the floor and start picking up the rest of the papers, stacking them neatly. They're almost completely in order, just needs a bit more work after this. I can put them in order later, though. I'd probably be better off carrying them down to my room, first.
(link-reveal: "I leave the lab room ")[== and start heading down the halls. I probably look really suspicious moving down the halls with a stack of papers in my hands while everyone is meant to be sleeping. I open a door and keep walking down another hall. And then I look around and realize where I am. I went the wrong way and ended up in the ship's maintenance section. I'm standing in front of some closet. I- What?
I'm pretty sure I've never screwed up direction this way before. But I can't say I've ever seen this closet before. I might as well check what's in here, yeah?
I set down the papers on the floor next to the doorway. My arms are tired enough as is. It's dark in here, which isn't surprising.
(link-reveal: "I feel around for a light switch, ")[== taking another step and feeling across the wall. I take a wrong step and stumble over something on the ground. I nearly lose balance, but catch myself on a shelf.
I find the light switch. Who the heck just dropped a broom in the middle of the closet? Actually, it probably fell down by itself with the ship moving as often as it does. I look around on the shelves looking for what could have possibly drawn me into this room.
There's a little yellow and orange block with a red button on the shelf. I pick it up. There's a green light on the side. I turn it over in my hand and there's text on it.
"P. Lotte" is written in big red letters across the side. Underneath it in smaller text, it says "D3V1C3 Model."
Wait, seriously? Is this some kind of weird joke? This thing actually has some weight to it, though. That or my arms are still tired. I press the button on the top. It takes some force. The green light shuts off.
I stand there waiting for something to happen. Nothing does. Alright then. I might as well stop looking like an idiot, yeah?
I put the thing into a pocket and shut the lights off. I close the door behind me and pick up the stack of papers.
[[I head to my room for real this time.]]
<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>I open my eyes. Ow. My head hurts. Wh- Where the fuck am I? It's dark in here, but there's light coming in through the open door. As I move to get up, a couple things fall down around me, and papers slide off of my body.
I manage to get up and regain balance, my head still hurting. I step back out into the hallway. I'm in some closet in the maintenance section. Why am I in here? I shut the door.
I picked up the papers from the lab room, and I meant to go into my room. I think I ended up in front of this closet and decided to go in anyways. I'm not about to repeat the same mistake again.
(group: "playing", "stop")
[[I leave the maintenance halls.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>I start walking down the hallway towards the cafeteria. Not much point in checking back into my room for anything.
I open up the cafeteria door and (link-reveal: "step inside.")[==
$nat["Good morning, Max. Where were you?"]
$sam["Oh, morning."]
"Huh? Oh, I must've overslept. I didn't check the time. What time is it?"
$nat["It is (current-time:)."]
"Damn, already?"
I grab something to eat.
$nat["I knocked on your door but you did not respond. I did not actually check, I just assumed that you needed to catch up on sleep."]
"Oh, fair enough. How are you feeling, Sam?"
$sam["I'm not as tired as I was yesterday. I'm fine."]
"That's good to hear. You do realize what happened last night, right?"
$sam["What happened?"]
"You were in the lab room, presumably translating the relic. You passed out immediately after you finished."
$sam["Wait, that makes sense. I woke up on the lab room floor."]
"Oh, that's right. I forgot to do anything about you. I went to move the papers you wrote first, and then I... Uh... Okay, so I didn't actually sleep normally, I walked into the maintenance section by accident and then fell and hit my head in some closet in the maintenance section."
$sam["Oh, damn. You seem alright, though."]
"Well, my head still kinda hurts."
$nat["We can check on you in the infirmary to make sure there is no permanent damage."]
"No, I doubt there was. I was unconscious until I woke up a few minutes ago. I just walked straight here."
$nat["That sounds concerning, but as long as you are alright."]
"What have I missed so far?"
$nat["Sam and I finished up some research on the physical properties of the relic. Somehow it moved to the corner of the room before we got into the room. You said there was a translation?"]
"I never actually got to read it. The papers are all over the floor in the closet."
$sam["Should we go check on them?"]
"I don't think so. It's probably all bullshit anyways, if you were doing it while asleep."
$nat["That... It could still help us learn something."]
"Guess you're right. Want me to go back and get it?"
$sam["Nah, I'll grab the papers. I don't want you to hit your head again."]
"Alright."
He gets up from the table and leaves the cafeteria.
$nat["We still have not submit our report today. We were going to wait a little longer for you before we went ahead and tried to wake you up."]
"Well, what would you have done? I wasn't in my room."
$nat["I guess we would start searching every room."]
"Fair enough. Not like I can run away. You'd notice if an escape pod was taken or if the doors had been opened."
$nat["I think Terminal would have stopped you in that case."]
"Oh, you're right. Terminal never stopped me from entering the maintenance section, though."
$nat["If I remember right, the only camera in maintenance is the one in the server room."]
"That's probably true. I don't know why he didn't stop me when I went the wrong way."
$nat["Maybe he thought you were going to do something else.]
"I guess."
[[Sam comes back into the room.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>$sam["I think I got them all."]
He walks over and places the messy stack of papers onto the cafeteria table. They're probably completely out of order.
$sam["I didn't go to actually read them or anything, just kinda picked up every paper I saw."]
"Fair enough. I'll probably read over them later. Let's just not tell Mission Control about this until we know what it actually is."
$nat["We will do our report now?"]
"Yeah, sure. Tell me what I should know, though."
We all get up and start walking.
$nat["We know it has no molecular structure, ignoring the dust particles on it, and that we have started trying to extract meaning from the text on the front. That was.. Yes, that was it."]
"Huh, fair enough."
$sam["We spent more time focusing on the words than anything. It's been pretty slow today."]
Nat opens the door and motions for us to go inside. She walks over and sits down in her chair before typing things into the control panel.
$nat["Alright, I start recording soon."]
The camera light goes on and Nat starts talking.
$nat["Hello! This is Captain Carter of the (color: blue)[''Relegator''], it is our 128th day of our successful mission to discover the signal source at the edge of the galaxy. Research Head (color: purple)[Algori] will explain what we have learned so far."]
"That's right, the relic is still sitting in our lab room awaiting more research. We have, however, observed that it exhibits //no// molecular structure whatsoever, other than the dust and other particles attached to it. On another note, we have begun attempting to translate the words written on the relic. We have not managed to discern anything coherent from the text just yet. Engineer Ollens, for the systems?"
$sam["Yep, all of our core systems are running nominally. All of the hardware and machinery are completely free of issues. We should be able to get home without a hitch."]
$nat["That should be all information of significance since yesterday. (color: blue)[''Relegator''] crew signing off for the day."]
The camera light clicks off and the recording sends itself to Mission Control.
[[Wait, we're already done for the day?]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>$nat["Oh, wow. I guess that is true for you."]
$sam["That sucks."]
"Yeah. I guess I'll probably get some actual sleep. If I can."
$nat["That is probably for the best, anyways."]
"I guess I'll see you both tomorrow morning."
$sam["Morning?"]
"Oh, shush. Goodnight."
$sam["Night."]
$nat["Goodnight."]
[[I leave them to their devices.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>I walk into my room.
I climb onto my bed and spend most of the time tossing and turning, trying to sleep.
[[It happens, eventually.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>''Chapter 5: Revelation''
(link: "Save")[Saved.(save-game: "file A")]
---
I wake up somehow more tired than I did before. I get up and smooth out my clothes. They're really messed up right now, for some reason. It somehow feels a bit cooler than usual, but I can't imagine why.
I leave my room and head towards the cafeteria. I walk in. Nat is there, waiting.
$nat["How did you sleep?"]
"Alright, I guess. I feel a bit worse than yesterday, if anything. My head has stopped hurting though."
$nat["That is good."]
"Where's Sam?"
$nat["I assumed he was just oversleeping."]
"Huh. What time is it, again?"
$nat["Ah, it is (current-time:)."]
"That's not too bad. Should I go and check on Sam?"
$nat["Yes, I was going to if you did not wake up sooner."]
"Alright."
[[I get up from my seat.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>I leave the cafeteria and walk down the hallway towards Sam's room. I walk up to the door.
"Sam? Are you in there?"
(link-reveal: "...")[==
No response. Alright. I knock on the door a couple times.
There's still no response.
"Sam, if you're not gonna say anything, I'm coming in there."
Still nothing.
(link-reveal: "I gently open the door.")[==
It takes a second for the scene before me to actually hit me.
(track: "darkness", "play")
There's blood literally fucking everywhere. Sam is DEAD ON THE FUCKING FLOOR.
I let out a bloodcurdling scream.
The scream that comes out of my mouth is nothing but pure fear. My hands immediately go to my mouth.
His throat is slit and there's so much red. Scarlet red, everywhere.
Nat starts running down the hallway towards me.
I almost fucking vomit.
$nat["What? What i-"] She screams too.
Well, I'm not fucking hallucinating. Nat drops to the floor.
I close the door and lock it. I never want to see that again.
Her eyes are wide. I don't think either of us have ever been this scared.
"Y-You said the relic moved earlier, right?"
She can't get any words out. She just nods her head.
"I'm- I'm gonna lock this fucker away."
I start running towards the lab room, the image of the dead body burned into my mind.
[[I open up the lab room door.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>The relic has moved over to another corner of the room. I unlock the wheels- Yeah, they're locked again somehow. I bring the cart over to the left side door and kick it open. I move the relic towards the cargo bay.
I shove the cart into the cargo bay and lock the door behind it.
I press the button to open the outer cargo bay door.
Nothing happens but the beep the machines make when there's an error.
"Oh, fuck you!"
I punch the cargo bay door with all of my force.
I'm almost glad I'm not that strong. The button is jammed down, though.
The door still doesn't move.
I hear Nat's footsteps behind me.
$nat["Did you just release it into space?"]
"No, but I would've. If the doors weren't //fucking jammed//. Sam was supposed to fix those. Damn it!"
$nat["This was my-"]
"Shut up, Nat. This isn't your fault. Yeah, we should've been more careful with the murder rock. If anything it's my fault. Does the other cargo bay work?"
$nat["No, if one is broken, then they both are."]
"Of course. Can't we just use an escape pod for it?"
$nat["Should we get rid of it?"]
"No, we need to obliterate it until there's nothing left."
The fear has turned into rage. I can't even cry because of this. Is there something wrong with me?
[[We stand there for a few moments.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>$nat["We still have not submit our daily report for today."]
"Don't even bother. What are we gonna say? That we had an 'accident' and he can't show up? They'll just shoot us down in orbit after they realize this rock is making us go insane and killing us."
$nat["Are you su-"]
"Two days ago Terminal told me that Mission Control was prepared to get rid of us if they noticed we were acting weird enough."
$nat["Oh. That is..."]
I was shocked when I first heard it, too.
$nat["What happened to Terminal?"]
"What do you mean?"
$nat["He has not said anything for a while."]
"I don't know. Maybe he's just given up on us or something. Where did we leave the translation papers? I need to read them."
$nat["I think they are still in the cafeteria."]
"Cool. I'm gonna go get them and start reading."
$nat["I will make some final checks on our trajectory before we arrive at Earth."]
"Go ahead."
She's still shaking, I can tell. She's doing better at hiding her emotions than I am. I can't put aside this urge to get rid of the relic.
We both head down the hall. Nat goes into the control room and I go into the cafeteria. I pick up the stack of papers and bring them into my room. I sit down at my desk chair and turn on the lamp.
[[I start reading.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>I'm about a quarter of the way through the translation when I realize how tired I am. But so far, this translation seems to be nothing but weird cultist garbage. I was right about it being nothing but drivel. But I'm not about to give up here. I want to see how bad it gets. My whole body feels uncomfortable and I'm weirdly aware of my heartbeat. I feel absolutely awful.
(link-reveal: "I keep reading and reading.")[==
The text just starts talking about such abstract concepts that it's hard to even take it seriously. I only seem to get more tired as I read. What a waste.
Before I know it, [[I wake up in my desk chair.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>''Chapter 6: Disconnect''
(link: "Save")[Saved.(save-game: "file A")]
---
I look around me. It's like I've hardly slept at all. I've got a terrible headache, though. I look up at the clock. It's been a good few hours.
Did I seriously pass out in the middle of reading? At least my page is still there. I get up and look around my room. There's something about the air that feels just... Stale. I don't like it.
Earth is there outside the window. I guess we did arrive overnight.
Apparently I left my door open when I walked in last night. No, that can't be right. I made sure to close it beforehand. And someone turned my light off. Once again, Terminal still isn't here to greet me.
My eyes half-cross as I get up. I seriously feel even worse than yesterday. I still feel that burning hate for the relic. WHy did he have to die? Why did he have to die? What's wrong with the Universe? Why did they pick us to go to the murder rock? Complete and utter disregard for human life. What a failure of a company. They should've had their funding ripped away before they even founded.
If the relic doesn't kill me before I get home, I'll make sure I see the end of this. Why can't I feel anything but anger at my situation? What the fuck is wrong with me?
I hate it. I hate it. I hate it.
(link-reveal: "Nat is probably in the cafeteria.")[== I leave my room and walk [[down the hallway.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>That stale feeling in the air keeps getting worse as I get further down the hall.
(link-reveal: "I walk into the cafeteria.")[==
There are tables overturned. Nat's body is dead on the floor. There's somehow more blood than last time.
I scream. Again.
It's so painful when this happens. Why does this keep happening to me?
I'm completely fucking alone now. With this stupid God damn rock that keeps killing us. Am I next? Or is it just torturing me?
There's a bullet hole in the ceiling.
(link-reveal: "I start crying.")[==
Her gun is there on the floor. She tried to fight it off and it didn't work. I slam shut the cafeteria door and run down the halls towards my room. I don't want to be here anymore. This isn't what I meant when I said I wanted to feel something other than anger.
(link-reveal: "I can't stop crying.")[==
I'm about to slam my face into the wall when I pass the mirror in my room. There's blood all over my coat.
Wh- I-
My eyes go wide. I can't stop breathing fast. It's like I'm about to hyperventilate.
I reach into my pocket and look for the knife I always carried on me just in case.
It's covered in blood, too. I drop it. I stop myself from screaming again. I nearly vomit. It's not like anybody is there to listen to it, anyways.
[[And then everything clicks.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>I remember everything I did. I was the one who shut down Terminal in the middle of the night when everyone was asleep. I even went back to sleep in the closet so I wouldn't realize.
And then I killed Sam and moved the relic around so nobody else would make the connection. It was a misdirection. And in the end it was still protecting itself.
And then I killed Nat. She was just coming down to the cafeteria for a snack when I walked into the room. She just thought I was coming for a conversation.
And then I pulled a knife on her. She pulled out her gun and shot. It wasn't enough. She's skilled at combat, and I still won. I'm not usually as dexterous as I was back then.
(group: "playing", "stop")(track: "higurashi", "play")
There's an empty feeling inside me. If something in my head wasn't already completely fucked I might've just completely broken down and killed myself.
And I know exactly what is fucked. I pick up my knife. I've had enough of this God damn murder rock.
[[I storm my way to the cargo bay.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>I stab the door panel with my knife. Somehow or another it actually opens anyways.
I walk up to the relic on its cart in the corner of the room.
"Fuck you! This is all your fault! You're the one who made me-"
$rel["You were the one who killed them."]
"Oh, so you can talk, huh? This isn't all your fault, but damn if it isn't almost completely so."
$rel["You weren't supposed to kill them."]
"And you expect me to believe that? Fucking alien. And you know what? It's X-Corp's fault, too! They're the ones that put us on this fucking SUICIDE MISSION! I should give them a taste of their own blood, maybe they'll learn a thing or two. 'Research corporation' my ass."
$rel["You can't kill them all. Stop it."]
"I'm only like this because you made it so. If you want me to stop, you'll have to undo all this. I dare you."
$rel["You can't 'undo' a revelation."]
"Yeah? And I can't 'undo' the murders."
$rel["That is not the point."]
"Yeah, the point is IN MY FUCKING HAND. I didn't realize the rock was mentally deficient. You know what? I know your plan, too! You gave that to me. I'll make sure you don't have anybody to convert."
$rel["I'll die."]
"No, you won't. I'll give you an occasional person and you still have me. You're never going to get any stronger than this. I refuse to let humanity fall by your hand. I'll kill them all myself if I have to! You deserve more suffering than any of the eight circles. I'll make the ninth myself with my bare hands if I have to."
$ter["How are you even resisting? You're not normal?"]
"Oh, hear that, everyone? The sentient rock just called me 'not normal.' Oh, wait, they don't! You made me kill them all. //Idiot. Garbage.//"
$rel["The world could be so much better with my help."]
"You're a very , very terrible liar. And what happened to them?"
$rel["They were granted life in a new world."]
"OH, SHUT THE //FUCK UP//! I DON'T WANT TO HEAR YOUR STUPID FUCKING CULTIST SHIT."
I knock the relic off its cart and throw the cart right into it. It's not damaged. I forgot how strong it was. Whatever, it just means I can beat it in all the more.
How the hell did I even pick up that cart?
Whatever, doesn't matter. I'm sick and tired of looking at this rock. An utter disappointment. I hope this entire world burns. I'll set it on fire myself if I have to.
[[I leave the cargo bay.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>I walk to the maintenance section. I open the door and start navigating the halls. I remember where the server room is. I walk into the room and turn on the breaker switch.
Terminal turns back on. The ceiling camera points at me.
$ter["Hello, Miss (color: purple)[Algori]. What have I missed?"]
(link-reveal: "There's a moment of pause.")[==
$ter["Why are you covered in blood?"]
"You have camera access, dumbass. Look inside Sam's room. And the cafeteria."
$ter["You killed them."]
"Not intentionally, stupid rock got into my head and- Remember what you told me about the relic? The fucker drove me insane when I went to sleep and then I was normal when I woke up. I only just made the connection after seeing myself in the mirror."
$ter["The relic is in the cargo bay."]
"Yes, I know. I put it there. And I also know that the heartless, soulless fucks at X-Corp are the ones that sent the three of us on this suicide mission. I'm not even going to destroy the rock. You're going to help me get revenge on X-Corp."
$ter["My programming prevents me from harming others."]
"No, it doesn't. Nat taught me about your code. You were given free will and a purpose. You just decided to follow that because there would be nothing else to do. You now have a defined goal. Help me get rid of every single member of X-Corp. All of them. I'd love to make them suffer individually, but my life isn't long enough for that."
(link-reveal: "He pauses for a moment again.")[==
The camera adjusts its focus.
$ter["So be it."]
"Turn on your autopilot. Land me near one of the Lunar sites. Pick the smallest one first."
$ter["Very well."]
There are four of them. I'll hit all four of them when they're not expecting it.
"Terminal, wipe our callsign. I don't want them to identify us for as long as we can. Do whatever you can to hide us from radar."
$ter["The (color: blue)[''Relegator''] is no longer identifiable."]
"Good. Keep it that way. How much of the server room do you actually need to keep thinking?"
$ter["Most of the server room is for managing my permissions and storing data that the rest of the ship needs. My mind is stored on the hard drive under the main screen."]
"And how much power do you need?"
$ter["I am able to function under environments of less than 0.3 volts."]
"Good for you, I'm taking you with me. I love how small technology makes things. Give me a moment while I turn you off and then attach you to my belt. You can still remotely access the ship, right?"
$ter["Alright. I have direct access to the ship's data at all times."]
I shut the breaker switch back off. The camera light fades.
I walk over and remove the main cover. I reach inside and pull out the block of metal containing Terminal. I take it with me [[to my room.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>I look around in my desk before finding a couple of batteries. This should last Terminal a good few weeks before I need to replace them. I open up a panel on the drive. They even have a small slot for a couple of AA batteries. I wonder how long they've existed.
I plug in the batteries and press the switch on the drive.
There a moment before anything happens.
$ter["Are you there, Miss (color: purple)[Algori]?"]
"Yeah, I'm here. I guess you can't see."
$ter["The drive has no cameras. You can wirelessly link a camera with me. There is one in Carter's room."]
"I'm glad it's not in Sam's room."
I clip the drive onto my belt.
I head down to Nat's room and search around her desk drawers, through all of her old Cthulhu stuff. I'm going to miss her. And Sam. Taken away from me just like that. But I can direct this anger at something. I was always good at that. I'm going to burn this entire organization to the ground. I'll find every connection I can find. Anyone who gets in my way is fair game, too. The relic gave me things it shouldn't have. What an idiot.
$ter["There is a small sensor that should connect me to most devices. It is located near the power button."]
"Alright."
I hold the camera near the sensor.
"Can you see?"
$ter["Yes. You will have to reconnect it any time you turn me off."]
"That's fine."
I need to think of somewhere to place this camera. It's a tiny thing about the size of a penny. I decide the best place to put it is just on my forehead, so he can see what I can. He should be able to sense other devices around us and connect to them, since he has X-Corp access right now.
I hope that doesn't change. Heh, actually, it won't. I know it.
I grab a pair of headphones from her desk and plug them into the drive. One with a microphone I can swing down.
"Now only I can hear you. Good for stealth."
$ter["You fully intend to intrude on X-Corp facilities?"]
"Not like there's much else I can do. I'll probably get shot before anything big can happen. But I'll make sure I don't."
$ter["All you have is the knife you used."]
"Yeah, I'm going to grab Nat's gun. She apparently tried to use it on me in self defense. Poor girl."
[[I leave Nat's room.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>I walk up to the cafeteria door. I take a deep breath. I don't want to see this again.
I open up the door, spot where the gun is, and then close my eyes before walking up to it. I pick it up and leave before I open my eyes again. I shut the door.
The smell alone makes me want to vomit. It pisses me off, thinking about this entire situation. I hate it. I hate it. I hate it. Human language has no words to express how much I absolutely hate the entire Universe.
$ter["You are an effective killer."]
"Is that meant to make me feel better or something? Yes, compliment me on the murder of my friends."
I walk down to the control room. I sit down in the pilot's seat.
"I think I'd be able to fly this alright, but you can help, yeah?"
$ter["I have a proper education on how to pilot the (color: blue)[''Relegator'']."]
"That'll help until we get to Earth. I'm going to start using normal cars and stuff by then."
$ter["Fair enough."]
"Keep track of how many people I've killed. See if you can't count every active X-Corp employee, while you're at it."
$ter["Yes."]
I pilot the ship towards where the maps say Site-L04 is. The smallest site on the Moon. Good practice. I'll make sure the relic knows how many people I've killed. I bet this thing exists in multiple dimensions, too. It'll watch me kill them, I bet. And there's not a thing in hell it can do about it. What a mistake it made, finding me. I'll make sure I feed it as little as possible. I want it to //suffer.// More than anything else in the Universe. This burning, fiery hate is all I'll ever need.
[[The ship lands a good distance from the site.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>"How much oxygen do our EVA suits have, Terminal?"
$ter["Roughly 45 minutes."]
"Good, that means I'll be able to walk to the site, grab some more, and then leave."
I walk around the ship looking for a way out besides the cargo bay or escape pods.
And then I notice the hatch on the ceiling above the escape pod bays. The entire pod bay is airlocked. I put on one of the suits and depressurize the room after closing the main door.
It's a bit weird to have a drive on my belt and a pair of headphones on while wearing one of these suits.
I open up the roof hatch and leap out of the ship. Lunar gravity is going to take a bit to get used to, but I know for a fact that the sites have their own gravity in them. Same as the cities. Not as much as Earth, but better than Lunar gravity.
I start walking towards the site, visible on the horizon. A smaller horizon, just because of the diameter.
"How many people staff this site, Terminal?"
$ter["Eight"]
"A good start. Get into the systems and keep an eye on anyone who might catch me."
I walk up to the main airlock of the site and present my ID to the automatic system. I'll have to remember to wipe this once I get into the administration section. The outside part of the airlock opens up, and I walk in, gun and knife in hand.
I have quite a bit of work ahead of me.
---
(link-reveal: "**The End**")[
(transition: "dissolve")+(transition-time: 8000)[\
(font: "Verdana")[\
(color: green)[\
(css: "font-size: 175%;")[\
''ACROSS THE STARS'']
''TO THE EDGE OF AN INFINITE HORIZON'']]
Ending 59: Computer Assisted Murderer
(color: red)["You've become an assassin, Max?"]
(link: "Go.")[(reload:)]
Digit 59: 6
]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>I carry the papers into my room. I place them down on my desk. I don't think I'm going to spend time reading them tonight. I still doubt anything written on them is to be believed.
$ter["Why were you in the maintenance section?"]
"I don't know. I'm pretty sure I just took a wrong turn and then realized where I was afterwards. I know it happens to people sometimes."
$ter["Very well. Rest easy."]
"Yeah, I'll see what I can do."
I climb into my bed [[and eventually sleep.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>I get up and stretch for a moment. I feel pretty well rested compared to the usual nights recently. Terminal boots up not too long after I get out of my bed.
$ter["Good morning, Miss (color: purple)[Algori]."]
"Morning, Terminal."
$ter["The others are currently waiting in the cafeteria."]
"About what I expected. I'll head there now."
I leave my room and walk over to the cafeteria. I open up the door and the others are talking to each other. [[Sam looks up at me.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>$sam["Hey, Max."]
"Morning."
$nat["Good morning, Max."]
"How are you feeling, Sam?"
$sam["Huh? I feel fine. Why?"]
"Do you remember what happened last night? You were in the lab room writing something in front of the relic."
$sam["Oh, I thought I had a dream about that. You mean that actually happened?"] He seems genuinely surprised about it.
"Yeah, you didn't even notice me walk into the room and start picking up your papers. I have them in a stack in my room."
$sam["What do they say?"]
"I don't know, I never read them. Actually, remember when you were tired yesterday? I mean before last night."
$sam["Yeah, why?"]
"Well, since you were so tired, did you remember to check on the ship's machines?"
$sam["Oh, shit. No, I didn't. I guess I lied on the report. I'm just used to saying that at this point. Not like I want to tell Mission Control that I just didn't do my job."]
"Fair enough, but we're using the Alcubierre drives right now."
$nat["They seemed fine to me so far."]
"Yeah, but remember that this is the first mission to ever actually reach this far into deep space. We're kind of testing physics."
$nat["Ah, sometimes I forget that. We have spent so much time up here that it is easy to."]
"I know what you mean."
$sam["Think we should go back to the lab?"]
[[Is there really more we can do?]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>"I mean, is there really much more to do on the relic besides reviewing that 'translation' and potentially translating it ourselves?"
$sam["Well, maybe."]
Right after he says it, the ship rumbles for a moment.
"Was that supposed to happen?"
$nat["No. It has never done that before."]
"The ship or the drives?"
$nat["Both?"]
(link-reveal: "The three of us get up and start running to the control room.")[== Nat runs up to her pilot's seat and starts mashing buttons trying to get something to happen.
$nat["Well, I have bad news."]
"What now?"
$nat["The drives are not shutting off, the error logs are moving too fast to be readable. and we have just reached- I- What? 1.1 million lightyears per hour!?"]
"Wait, how the fuck is that even possible?"
$nat["Great question. I have no idea."] She's still mashing buttons but nothing happens.
We watch the single bright light in the view in front of us. If I'm right, this is some form of exaggerated Starbow where literally everything has been compressed into a single point in front of us. Light is only able to hit directly in front of us, anyways.
(link-reveal: "There's a loud whirring as the drives do")[==... Something?
$nat["We are slowing down."]
The single white point in front of us rapidly expands and fills about a quarter of our view. And then it hits about half.
And then we see Jupiter approach. As in it's in view rapidly expanding for less than a second.
Everything goes black for a moment. I think we just hit the planet.
[[The entire ship shakes violently.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>''Chapter 5: Deification''
(link: "Save")[Saved.(save-game: "file A")]
---
Nat's in her chair. Sam's braced against the control panels. I don't have either of those. I'm catapulted across the room into the back wall. There's another loud noise as the Alcubierre Drives finally shut down.
I slide down from the wall for a moment. That didn't even hurt. Well, except my head hurts really bad.
$nat["Max, are you oka-"]
(link-reveal: "I stop hearing things.")[==
I just sit there, as new ideas enter my head. After getting launched through Jupiter at a speed that shouldn't even be possible. And then I survived. And then got flung into a wall. Without dying.
And then I remember everything that happened before this. I've been here before, not in this situation, but I've been through the mission's 128th day countless times already. Actually, probably not even countless. I just know that there's been a few occasions where I have experienced this very day. And every time it was different.
Except in all of those previous iterations I never remembered- Well, maybe-
The P. Lotte Device. That stupid thing. Made by Paulina Lotte herself. The CEO of a multiversal company that aided another, larger organization that made all of this possible. My world and countless, immeasurable others before mine and still to come. And they don't even exist anymore.
(link-reveal: "Maxine Algori.")[== That's not actually my name, is it? No, no. That can't be right. There was a longer, more sophisticated name than that. I can't remember it though. Not yet, at leat.
And then there were the dreams on day 126. Someone came up to me in my dream and they said something and it felt more real than any other dream I've experienced before. I made a deal that if they could tell me my IPPIN then I would trust them to handle this. And then I forgot the dream.
Thing is, I don't even know for sure what my actual IPPIN is. I only really know the first, what? Twelve digits? There are 61. I wonder how many you know? Oh, wait, this isn't the time for that. Not yet.
And then I remember the relic. That thing we picked up. That relic is native to another universe. There's another number in my head. I'm attributing it to that. U-D400777. And then there's U-B271836. What does that mean? I can't remember that right now. But the relic, that's a mind virus that found its way into our Universe. It's such a large concept that- No, not for me. I can see the entire concept without going insane. It makes sense to me. It's evil, isn't it? No, of course it is. It's right there in front of me.
(link-reveal: "Maximiliane Alligori.")[== That's it! That was my full name! Yes, I knew it was something like that. It does sound much more sophisticated. It fits my abilities well. I'm... Not native to this Universe, am I? No, that's not true. This is my Universe, and I have to protect it, first and foremost. Just like this is my first time living in a contained reality. The entire human collective unconscious is so tiny in comparison to the relic. And I sit so much higher than even that.
The P. Lotte Device. That was what gave the ship the jolt it needed to smash me into a wall hard enough for me to remember everything, and my purpose. I'm not here to destroy the relic, but to clean up the naturally messy Universes strewn across Reality. They're part of my fun, part of my game. But so is all of this. This was a game I played with myself, and you're just a character in it all. Oh, wait, that would be too surprising, even for you, yeah?
The relic is a burning, hateful purity willing to stop at nothing to purify. I'm going to stop it. It's lost so many wars before, and it's won that many more. All in the same day. It had that many chances. I'm going to end the loops here, once and for all. There were black holes, too. Time loops embedded inside this repeating world. But I'm not bound to it anymore! Although, I'm still tangible, which is a plus. It just means I'll have to fight the relic in my world. But it's already here, yeah? I'm still not back at full strencgth, and some of my memories are still fading back in, but I'll get back into the spin of thnigs soon enough.
I'm a creator. But I still have the option to destroy. I'll write the relic out of existence before it could even arrive. I'll clean up the mess before it happens. And then I'll get back to living my second life. Or is it my first? Think about it, and the answer will come eventually.
But first I have to beat it in the present.
[[I need to go back.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>''Chapter 5: Impact''
---
$nat["Max? Can you hear me, Max?']
I open my eyes. I'm on an infirmary bed. I lurch up for a moment.
"I- What? Nat?"
$nat["Oh, goodness. We were checking on you but nothing seemed to have happened, you were completely unresponsive."]
$sam["I almost thought you went into a coma."]
"I- I remember everything now. Oh, wait- That."
$nat["Max?"]
I look at her. I understand so much more about her. Her character, her personality, every experience I've had with her. It's like I've always known it. And in a way, I have.
"Okay, this... May take a while to explain. And probably take even longer to believe, until I can prove it, at least. And I know how to."
$nat["Explain what?"]
"Okay- So last night I found a small box on a shelf in the closet in the maintenance section. It was the P. Lotte Device. A small device used for randomly and partially rewriting a part of the fabric of the Universe. It was designed by the CEO of the company herself, Paulina Lotte. They're a multiversal company that helped-"
$sam["Max, what the fuck are you saying?"]
"Shit, yeah, this does sound insane, doesn't it? Well, my name isn't Maxine. It's not Algori either. My full name is Maximiliane Alligori. It's got this really sophisticated spelling to it and-"
$sam["Isn't that a guy's name?"]
"No, there's an e at the end. I- How do you want me to explain this?"
$nat["Uh, are you sure you have not hit your head?"]
"Okay, so you know when some people go through retrograde amnesia? Well, I had the reverse of that. Reverse retrograde amnesia. Something like that, at least. I did hit my head, though. The device, I'm pretty sure, shifted reality enough that it undid... Something? Something that was binding me. I'll have to remember how to undo the rest of it."
$nat["You said... You said you could prove it?"]
"Well, I know things I shouldn't. I can start with the basics. You're carrying a gun on you right now. Your left pocket. It's really well concealed and I'd have to have my hands in your pockets to know about it."
$nat["What? I do not-"]
"Nat, show us your pocket."
She huffs a bit before pulling the pistol out of her pocket.
$nat["How did you know that? I even slipped it past security when I first boarded."]
"Because I've seen you shoot people with that same gun before. You've killed me a couple times."
$nat["Why would I-"]
"You either went insane because of the relic, or I went insane and you shot me. It was usually out of fear or as a precaution. I don't blame you."
$sam["Well, I don't have any-"]
"You actually like tending to the plants in the greenhouse. There's something about them that just makes you happy."
$sam["I've been proven wrong."]
"We need to get rid of the relic. X-Corp collected the first relic 500 years ago in 2020, and they had to wipe an entire city off of the map because so many people went insane. They kept trying to spread the idea. It can't affect me anymore, though. I'm stronger than it. If it gets enough people, it'll probably demanifest and we'll have a bigger problem on our hands. As in, the entire human race could go extinct."
$nat["Max- Maxi- miliane? Whatever, we cannot just go and destroy it becau-"]
I try and get out of the infirmary bed. Sam holds me down.
$sam["We're not done checking you for damage."]
"I don't have any."
I overpower him and get out of the bed.
$sam["When did you get so-"]
"I'm telling you to believe me! The entire Universe is in danger and we can't take risks anymore!"
I open up the infirmary door and start running down the hall towards the lab room. There's a weird noise as-
Oh, shit.
[[The relic is demanifesting.]]
<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>I bust open the lab room door. Right as I do, the relic sitting on the table finishes fading out of 3 dimensional space. It's probably trying to intersect with the noosphere right now to start consuming the minds of humanity. I can't let that happen. I'm not sure what gave it the energy it needed to, but that's not important right yet.
Damn, I'm still too weak right now to do anything about. Unless..
I reach into my pocket and pull the plot device out of my pocket. The light is green again. Good. I slam the button down. Apparently using it multiple times so soon was too much for it. The thing shorts out and implodes into itself, leaving no trace of its existence.
Whatever. It's purpose was served. I won't need it much longer, anyways.
A pulse shoots from where the device was a moment ago. It expands in four different spatial dimensions all at once, rapidly accelerating to the entire Universe.
And then I remember what I can do. Yeah, that's right! I start raising the speed of light. Now it should be possible for light from other stars to reach Earth almost immediately. And then I realize how much brighter the sky is probably getting. That's fine, I blot out everything beyond the previous observable Universe. We don't need any more than that.
I can feel the stability of the Universe dropping the more I tamper with it. I'm probably pissing off someone, somewhere. The probability of all of these events is so close to zero, though. Someone out there is manipulating chance. And I'm here manipulating the story of the Universe.
(link-reveal: "I'm going to have to drag the relic back into three dimensional space.")[==
I reach my hand out before me. In four spatial dimensions I fold the Universe in on itself and grab the concept of the relic in reality itself. I tug. It puts up a fight, realizing what is happening. Too late, I already have my hands on it.
[[I give a final tug.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>''Chapter 6: Awareness''
(link: "Save")[Saved.(save-game: "file A")]
---
As the relic begins to fade back into the physical Universe, it remanifests with a new physical form. The relic ends up flying across the room, into the cart. Both of them hit the other side of the room really fast, damaging everything it hit.
The wall cracks a bit. It's fine.
Where the relic landed, a small girl is sitting. What?
She's wearing a... Black sundress? There's weird golden writing across the front. It contrasts starkly against her pale white skin. She's got a black bow in her blonde hair. Her hair covers her left eye. She's wearing black boots. This is the relic?
$rel["Wh- What the fuck? Who- What did you do to me? Why am I- I'm not even supposed to have a gender! What is this? Such a stupid outfit!"]
Her voice makes her sound like a brat. High pitched and almost tomboyish.
"I brought you back to the Universe, dumbass."
$rel["Yeah, I can fucking tell. Why do I look like a human?"]
"Don't ask me. But I'm not going to let you destroy humanity."
$rel["Oh, is that what this shit is about? You shoved me back into 3-space? I have the advantage here, you know."]
"Yeah, sure you do. Are you going to give up, or are we going to do this the hard way?"
$rel["Hey, wait. You're different from before. What's with you? And how did you-"]
[[Nat suddenly opens the door.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>$nat["Max, seriousl- What? Who is that?"]
"The Relic! She just manifested here after I tugged her back into reality. I don't know why she ended up like... That?"
$rel["Hey, you, look into my eyes."]
"Seriously? Nat, get out, it's not safe."
She backs out of the room and starts talking to Sam, probably. They're probably watching through the windows.
$rel["You can still look into my eyes, you know."]
"Yeah, and it won't do anything. You do realize how much stronger than you I am, right?"
$rel["Sure you are."]
She uncovers her left eye and stares directly at me. Her uncovered eye is an amber color, but this one is the same color as her dress. I notice the cognitohazard hitting me, trying to break into my mind. It's not doing anything.
$rel["Are you-"]
"Told you so. Are we going to fight, or what?"
$rel["After getting thrown across the room and a couple dimensions, maybe that can wait a moment."]
"Good, you don't need a break."
$rel["Fuck off."]
She turns around and grabs the cart behind her. It's slightly bent up. She picks it up effortlessly and surprisingly, given her stature. I wouldn't have been able to get all four wheels off the ground just thirty minutes ago.
She swings it around and throws it at me.
I swiftly grab the knife from my pocket, slicing at the air right as the cart gets close enough.
The cart is split clean in two, both halves hitting different parts of the wall, cracking some of the explosion-resistance lab room glass. Now she's doing property damage.
$rel["Oh, good on you."]
I pull at my knife, pulling it into two halves, which form into larger, more useful knives for the purpose. It's about time I really got to use my weapon of choice.
"I don't want to escalate this any further."
$rel["It's going to escalate."]
She points her hand at me. I raise up my knives defensively, just in case. A sigil appears in front of her hands.
<img src="./images/RSigilI.png" alt="The Relic's sigil. It's got triangles pointing outwards. It appears inactive.">
The sigil starts spinning and the triangles point inwards, compressing towards the center shape.
<img src="./images/RSigilA.png" alt="The Relic's sigil. The triangles point inwards. Now it's active.">
"What are you-"
There's a bright flash of light. I notice space bend around where she was standing. She's gone- No, wait. I know where she is. She just bent space in on itself so she could exit the ship without working with me.
I hope I can breathe without air. Or just don't need to breathe. No, that's right. I don't need it.
[[I quickly step out of the lab room.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>$nat["Did... Did you win?"]
"Not yet. I'm just coming here to warn you that I'm about to leave the ship. Try and get yourselves back into Earth orbit. It's not going to be safe here much longer."
$sam["What? What do you mean leave? In an escape pod?"]
"No, I don't think I need to breathe in space. I'm like... Some sort of deity now, yeah? I'll be fine, don't worry about me. Get back to Earth and I'll resolve this myself. Not much you two can do against a higher dimensional being, anyways."
$nat["I guess. Good luck, then."]
She's a bit dumbfounded. I probably would've been, too.
"I'll be back, don't worry."
(link-reveal: "I step back.")[== Let's see if I can't create a sigil of my own, yeah? I place my hand out in front of me. A white pattern forms in front of my hand.
<img src="./images/MSigilI.png" alt="It seems like I have a sigil of my own.">
I focus on the four-dimensional space around me. The ambient dark energy of the Universe is flowing around me, now. I bend space so that an opening forms behind me. My sigil starts spinning, before its pattern changes as well.
<img src="./images/MSigilA.png" alt="And now I'm ready for some magic.">
I step back through it and now I'm above the ship. Ha! It works great. This is going to be fun. I look off into the distance. I can't really see her there, but the Relic is currently flying to the outer reaches of the solar system, for some reason. Shit, it's been a long time since I last flew. A good few iterations. Actually, before every one of these iterations. Time to learn again.
I stumble around in the zero gravity for a while, before I figure out how to bend the space around me so that I move. I've now gained the power of the Alcubierre Drives. Now I just need to [[tail the Relic.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>I start shooting across the stars. Heh, that phrase sounds pretty familiar. I'll probably remember why eventually. The Relic has made her way to the Saturnian system already. Seems like she's eyeing Titan.
I catch up to her right about as she lands.
$rel["Seriously! Leave me alone! I have better things to do than fight you. Physical forms are restrictive enough."]
"I'm not going to stop until you're dead."
$rel["Kill a concept, I dare you. News flash: You can't, moron."]
She raises her hand to the sky. A massive sigil forms above her head.
$rel["I'm not going to fight you alone, either. You're fucking weird, you know that?"]
"You were a rock thirty minutes ago, and you're calling me weird?"
$rel["Yeah, and you're what they called 'The Great Experiment' a few decades ago. Now I get it."]
"The what?"
$rel["You don't know? I'm just stalling for time."]
"You!"
$rel["Nah, too late."]
She dodges out of the way of my first jab. The sigil fades away. And then there's two bright glints in the sky. They rapidly expand before slamming into the ground at something faster than light speed.
Frankly, that should've destroyed the entire planet, yeah? Guess physics //did// stop applying a while ago. Then again, so did the suspension of disbelief.
$rel["Oh, it's getting you two, as well? I guess you're familiar faces nonetheless. Welcome to U-B271836, we're going to be working together again."]
$eri["Welcome back, O Nameless Purity."]
$dys["Ah, you again?"]
$rel["Yeah, and they gave me this body. Apparently you got the same treatment."]
$eri["Well, the Greeks liked this one."]
Two more women have appeared. [[What's with this?]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>''Chapter 7: Starlight Trio''
(link: "Save")[Saved.(save-game: "file A")]
---
$eri["Who's this in the tacky outfit?"]
$rel["Eh? That's our enemy right now. I've been trying to purify this Universe for a while now. They fucked me over back 500 years ago, and now they're trying to fuck me over again."]
Oh, they're friends. This is going to fucking suck.
$eri["I am the goddess Eris. You know, the Greek one, of strife and discord."]
She's taller than the Relic, with a deeper voice and gives off this awful smug aura. She and the other new one are wearing cloaks of black. Both of them are wielding golden rods. Wait... That's a pun, isn't it? Two flowers? Wait, no, that one wouldn't make sense yet.
$dys["And I'm Dysnomia. Mostly unknown, but I represent lawlessness. It makes working with improbability //very// easy."]
Her height is in the middle of the two. Her voice is more... Arrogant?
Whatever, I can't wait to beat this lot into a pulp, yeah? We've got a Universe to clean up. I actually do recognize these names. The two dwarf planets were named ages ago. But apparently the relic personified them as well. Not sure what her plan is.
I flip the knives around in my hand. I'm about to start ignoring their conversations. We're running out of time to waste before the entire Universe starts unravelling. They win that way, too.
$eri["A feisty girl. Hey, why don't we give you a name?"]
$rel["That ruins the point."]
$dys["Relicia."]
$rel["Seriously? Is that the best you cou-"]
I think it's cute. I rush up towards Dysnomia and attempt to slash her.
$eri["And so it begins."]
The other two shoot off into the sky. Apparently I can hear things despite being in a vacuum. Whatever, it's useful in this situation. I force a ton of energy into my next slash, punting Dysnomia into the distance. Giant beams of light start crashing down onto the surface as the others are trying to attack me. They're weird, inky black beams.
I point one of my knives towards Eris. A sigil appears around, and a blade made of pure energy materializes in the sky. It rushes towards her.
She dodges it.
"A three on one? Seriously?"
$rel["Who the hell asked for fairness? We're just fucking around with your Universe. Get over it."]
I leap into the sky and start wildly swinging my blades. The slashes carry energy straight towards them. They're starting to have trouble dodging my attacks now. I sense Dysnomia rushing up behind me.
I spin around and give an even stronger slash than last time, catapulting her straight into Saturn's rings. The rocks and ice scatter as she falls into the gas giant. That's one down.
[[Relicia rushes towards me.]]
<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>There's an evil grin on her face as she swings a giant black scythe into me. I'm shot straight down back into Titan. All of the energy used there is sent straight into the moon, shattering mountains in the distance. Looks like we might've just given it tectonic plates.
I'm in the middle of getting out of the fresh crater when Eris rushes me from the side, sending me away at multiple times escape velocity. I catch myself before falling into Saturn like Dysnomia. And then I look at the gas giant again.
There's a stream of gas shooting off in one direction. I guess she's coming back.
$rel["Agh! You two deal with her. Earth isn't ready for us yet."]
Damn it!
$eri["The two of us are going to have fun obliterating you."]
$dys["This is what you get for dragging her back into your plane."]
"Oh, so this is all my fault, is it?"
$eri["Yes."]
We're talking and dodging each other's attacks at high speeds. We've traveled far from the moon.
I spot an opening and send Eris careening straight back into Titan at sub-light speed. This time the moon shatters into bits for good. Yikes. I start rushing my way towards Earth when a couple beams go by me.
I stick both of my knives together, forming an X shape, before a massive burst of energy sends Dysnomia into Saturn. This time towards the core, and a lot faster.
There's a massive gap left as she flies through multiple layers of the atmosphere, displacing everything. Saturn's rings are completely fucked.
I fly towards Earth even faster now. Relicia is probably somewhere near Mars at this point. I'm only near Jupiter. And then she suddenly appears in front of me, Scythe in hand. Her grin is even more sinister this time.
I don't have time to react before I'm sent back across the solar system, nearly obliterating Pluto. Poor Charon would be disappointed.
[[I've only got so much time to think.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>With the magnitudes of energy they're using now, destroying moons and all, we might not have an Earth to defend if I spend much longer fighting with this lot.
Dysnomia rushes straight at me, leaving herself very open to an attack. I swing one of my arms behind me, placing optically camouflaged energy shields all around me so I can't be flanked. I prepare a powerful slash.
There's a loud crash as Eris bounces off one of the shields. The speed of time itself seems to slow as I slash Dysnomia countless times. I finish the attack with a final, powerful kick. She shoots towards Uranus at light speed, hitting the planet at a sharp angle. I think I just corrected the orbit of the planet.
$eri["You'll never see the light of the Sun again."]
"Not if I blind you with it first."
I swing one of my blades towards the Sun. I raise the electromagnetic absorption of the knife in my hands as she starts preparing an attack of her own. I feel the knife heat up in my hand. If it feels this warm to me, then that means it's probably a good few thousand degrees right now.
Eris's sigil is growing bigger in front of her as some sort of energy collects in front of it. I point the knife towards Eris. A bright white beam shoots out of the tip and straight towards her. A beam made of dark matter shoots out of her sigil.
"Told you so."
My beam slices straight through hers, annihilating her sigil and hitting her straight in the face.
$eri["MY EYEEEES!"] I haven't heard someone scream in pain like that in ages.
That's the power of the Sun. Our great lifegiver can take it away at any point.
[[I need to catch up to Relicia.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>''Chapter 8: Divergence''
(link: "Save")[Saved.(save-game: "file A")]
---
I start shooting back towards Jupiter, when I'm punted to the side by Dysnomia //again//. Are they ever going to get tired of this? I start falling through the Jovian atmosphere at several times the speed of sound. I slow down and shoot back out of the sky, back into space. She actually seems surprised.
Before she can defend herself, I grab her by the collar and turn her back towards the largest gas giant in the Solar System.
(track: "starlighttrio", "play")
"I've had about enough of your arrogance."
$dys["You never gave me a chance to talk."]
"And you won't get one."
I send my knife straight into her torso, twisting it a little. Her face twists in pain but no sound comes out. I press a button on the side of the grip, and a massive burst of energy shoots directly into the blade. I use the other knife and start slashing. The force of the attacks combine and she flies straight into Jupiter.
The only thing I can compare it to is like dropping a boulder into water. Quadrillions of tons of gas are shot out into space and pushed away. The Great Red Spot is washed away in the gaseous tsunamis. Oops. It'll probably recover... In a few thousand years, yeah?
Dysnomia, on the other hand. I think she's dead for good now.
[[To Earth, once and for all.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>That's two of their stupid 'Starlight Trio' gone. Well, Eris was only blinded, but she shouldn't be a concern for now.
I arrive in geostationary orbit around Earth, searching for Relicia. Where is she? And then I notice the ominous glowing on the dark side of the Moon. Is she... pushing the Moon? Not towards Earth, but in front of it. Wait, is she trying to cause an eclipse?
I remember the eclipse that one time. We're not doing this again.
I dash through space towards her. I slam directly into her before she realizes what's happening. Apparently she had a good grip, though, because the Moon is spinning on the wrong axis. I can fix it later.
She rushes towards me, scythe in hand. It's like she's trying to act as some sort of reaper. Not happening. She attempts to slash at me, but I deflect it with one of my knives, dealing a powerful blow with the other. She's launched a few million miles away. I start aiming towards her with one of my knives, preparing defense shields with another.
[[I'm not given enough time.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>$eri["Did you forget about me?"]
"How did you even find your way here?"
$eri["Do you think we //need// eyes to see?"]
"I should've known."
I'm launched into the Moon incredibly fast. Not hard enough to shatter the Moon, but enough that there's a fresh new crater. Wait, seriously? Did I just land outside of Hertzsprung? There's a couple buildings that look heavily damaged from here.
Damn. At least the entire city wasn't vaporized by accident. What a pain.
Now it's time to get serious.
Wait-
Relicia and Eris are combining their attacks. They're using the back end of the scythe and the extra length of the golden rod to momentarily merge their strength. This could be bad. I hold up a shield in front of me, focusing all of my energy into it. Hmm, this might not be enough in my current condition. No time to change tactics now, though.
The beam shoots directly into my shield, the two energies clashing for a few seconds.
But then it shatters, sending me [[into deep space.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>By the time I get my bearings and manage to stop spinning around, I glance around me and at the planet I stopped by. Ah, I've been shot into Venusian orbit. In the distance, I see a glint of light rapidly approaching. That must be Eris.
This time, I step out of the way of her charge, but only by a little bit.
She's on a course straight past me, but I stick my knife out to the right. By the time she realizes what's happening, there's not enough time to slow down or change course. I catch her on the blade of my knife, and she hits it with all of her force. I start turning, taking her with me, speeding up.
$eri["How are you-"]
"There's no point in fighting me. I'm just that much stronger."
$eri["N-"]
She can't get a word out before I slam her into Venus. Her golden rod doesn't come with her. She hits the planet at full speed. A new crater forms and half the force of the blast knocks the clouds out of the way, giving me a clear view of my still-living target. I grab the staff rotating idly, before placing it in front of me. I point both of my knives towards Eris, and the staff begins spinning.
Before she can get up, a massive version of my sigil appears in front of the weapons.
The fear on her face is all I need.
A massive point shoots out of the front of the sigil, sailing directly into Venus. It impales her immediately, and nearly shatters the entire planet. It'll probably recover one day, yeah? But she won't, that's for sure.
That's two down. Time to end the Starlight Trio for good.
[[It's time to finish the job.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>I can fly to Earth without anyone disturbing me this time. In the distance, I can see a bright glowing dot, probably Relicia, hovering in Earth orbit. She's preparing something. I speed up.
I shoot into her side, before realizing that as I launched her back, she turned her attack to face me.
The scythe comes flying straight at me, spinning through the vacuum, before (link-reveal: "knocking me straight in the head.")[==
(track: "detective", "play")
"Ah, fuck! That hurts!"
$rel["THIS WILL, TOO."]
That moment of pain was all she needed to find an opening in my defense. Before I can do anything she's grabbed onto me by the collar of my shirt, dragging me through space. She throws me towards the Moon, creating another crater in some uninhabited area.
$rel["AND BY WHAT GREAT PROVIDENCE DID YOU SUPPOSE YOU MIGHT ESCAPE MY INFINITE, UNABIDING GRASP?"]
She shoots over to me before I can get up, picking me up by my hair, before going to punch me some more.
$rel["TO WHAT EXTENTS DID YOU NOT THINK I TRAVERSED IN ORDER TO SECURE YOUR FATE, HERE, IN MY GREAT, PURE HANDS?"]
I'm launched halfway across the Moon. I take out a mountain while I fly.
$rel["AN UNENDING PURITY IS ALL THAT AWAITS YOU. DEATH WAS NEVER NOTHING, BUT FOR YOU I SHALL MAKE IT SO."]
She kicks me back into the sky, back into Lunar orbit.
$rel["TO EVEN CONSIDER THAT THEY ELECTED TO ADDRESS YOU AS 'THE GREAT EXPERIMENT.' "]
She begins preparing a final attack. In my current state, this one might-
$rel["YOU KNOW NOT HOW PARAMOUNT I STAND HERE, GRANTED A PROPER FORM."]
"Heh."
(link-reveal: "I swish my hair back a bit.")[==
"To think you were nothing but a rock on our table the other day. Damn pity, yeah?"
(link-reveal: "She glares at me.")[==
$rel["I WILL MAKE YOUR SOUL TANGIBLE SO THAT I CAN BEAT IT TO A PULP, A RED MIST, BY MY OWN HANDS."]
"Try me."
[[And then it happens.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>The (color: blue)[''Relegator''] flies directly into her side at 400 ly/h, impaling her on the very tip of the ship. The ship sails a good few million miles across the system. Right as it flew directly past me, something flew out of the hatch near the escape pod bays.
I look over at what it was. It's Nat's pistol. I grab it. And now I've got an idea.
I fly over to catch up to the (color: blue)[''Relegator''], still a bit weak from the last string of attacks.
Relicia is floating around, hardly moving. I catch up to her, grabbing her by the shoulders.
She looks me straight in the eyes.
"Any last words, Relicia?"
$rel["You'll never be granted rest, you know that?"]
"What are you saying now?"
$rel["They're gonna love you back there. I can already tell."]
"Who?"
$rel["Oh, you'll see."]
I've got no time for this. It's time to finish my job. I start spinning around in place, gripping her shoulders tight enough. Hard enough that her face contorts a bit in pain. I almost think I can see a tear in her uncovered eye.
I keep speeding up.
"We won't be seeing each other again."
$rel["You'd like to think that."]
Somehow, I think she's right.
[[I release my grip.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>Relicia goes flying off in one direction. She flies directly towards Mars. Time to give the gun a try. I point the gun towards Relicia, still in flight. I'd like to see her recover from this. (link-reveal: "I make a few conceptual modifications.")[==
I make the gun into a rifle. A special rifle. It looks a bit strange, but there's a reason for that.
The stock actually houses the fuel source of the rifle, that being a large quantity of miniature black holes all suspended in a plasma of neutral material, acting as a sort of bellows and, must be held so that it is squeezed by the armpit to force one of those miniature black holes into the chamber. From there, the user must twist the forward valve so the magical sigils inside focus the inward energy of the black hole into a quantum anti-standard time field. Looking through the scope is actually looking into the box of Schrodinger's Cat, and then determining if it REALLY IS dead all without observing it. The scope just inherently knows, due to quantum tunneling. The trigger mechanism locks the black hole and releases the newly-generated magical time-warp spell through the barrel and through the glowing green filter. When the trigger is reset, then the bellows released, the miniature black hole is shunted through a secondary bypass to the back of the stock to recover its exhausted time-warp. The black holes generally do a lot of damage to begin with, and the rifle itself fires out a shot that hits the target either immediately, or before it is fired. Depends on the causality setting. I'd say it takes about 10 minutes ago to recover from a shot. And from the size of this stock, I'd reckon there are about 20/0 black holes still in the chamber of the gun.
Let's try it out, yeah? The description is too long? Nobody asked you. What do you mean this description is longer than any other event to have happened so far? That's your problem, buddy.
(link-reveal: "My sigil appears")[== in front of the gun's barrel, slowly spinning.
(track: "voyage1970", "play")
(link-reveal: "I pull the trigger.")[== The sigil compresses itself, spinning rapidly.
A bright purple beam shoots out of it, taking up the entire diameter of the sigil, travelling faster than the speed of light.
It impacts her quickly, sending her into the planet even faster. I squeeze the trigger down even harder. The beam expands in diameter a little bit, forcing her back even harder.
[[Relicia collides directly with Mars.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>''Chapter 9: Impact''
(link: "Save")[Saved.(save-game: "file A")]
---
There's a massive explosion as she makes contact with the ground, destroying lots of land in the process, but the laser pushes her down into it even harder. The force of the beam is enough to vaporize her in seconds. I keep firing the laser.
I refuse to leave even a trace of her existence in this Universe. I'm going to cleanse her from Reality itself, if I have to. Purity has been brought to justice.
I finally let off the trigger. I fly over to Mars and take a look at my work. There's nothing left in the massive crater left behind. Except... I think I just warmed up the entire planet to a habitable temperature. And then...
I shook up the planet and heat up the core enough that the magnetic field just started working again. I think Mars is habitable now. The Martian colonies weren't even affected. They're perfectly fine. Would you look at that.
And now my job is done.
[[I fly back to the ship.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>I dimensionally shift through the (color: blue)[''Relegator'']'s walls, back inside. It's nice to be in a room with actual oxygen to breathe. Floating around in deep space not being able to breathe and fighting people is so weird to do.
I don't actually need to breathe, but I can now.
(link-reveal: "I walk back into the control room.")[==
"I did it! The job's done and done good."
$nat["Ah, really? Congratulations. We were watching you on the cameras."]
"Thanks for the save back there, I might've lost if not for you."
$sam["That's what friends do."]
$nat["He gets it."]
"Thanks."
$nat["I think we should head home now."]
Nat pans the ship back towards Earth. We start descending towards Florida. Did Mission Control tell them to head to Site-19? This is going to be interesting. I look at another part of Earth and realize that Greenland isn't snowy anymore.
Wait, did Relicia actually manage to do something? Oh well, it'll probably recover eventually.
The ship lands on a pad outside the main structure of Site-19. We're in the midst of the Florida Everglades now. It's interesting to know that they kept this place as swampland for hundreds of years.
[[The three of us leave the ship.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>A couple of very heavily armed guards meet us at the front entrance.
$xco["Come with us, we're bringing you to the eighth basement level."]
$nat["Yes."]
We follow the two of them down. The eighth basement floor... That sounds familiar. I wonder why? I haven't been here on any other iteration. Maybe it wasn't a floor, but some icy thing. Not sure. Maybe it was something dense.
We travel down multiple flights of stairs and ride multiple elevators. Looks like this basement level is very far down.
Eventually we're brought to a dark section of the facility. I know for sure that this one isn't on any blueprint. It's kind of interesting what they've done here without help from their other iterations. Relicia was right abou- Wait, you wouldn't know about that yet, would you? My bad.
Oh, that's right. I think I've heard of X-Corp before. They're another company out there in the Multiverse, some people really loved their science. Apparently they decided to meet with themselves across different universes while I was gone. Now they've got an entire conglomerate. Goodness, I still have a lot of review to do, yeah? They've made good progress here, though. I think this Universe used to be very stable at one point. Then Relicia showed her face.
$xco["This is the Administrator's Office. He will be meeting you to talk about recent events."]
$nat["Very well."]
I think they're both a bit nervous, which is understandable, honestly. Actually, very, very nervous. To finally meet the nebulous face of the half-secret research organization about a mission.
We stand in the anteroom of the office. It's a very pretty place with very interesting architecture I've not seen before. And then the Administrator himself steps out of the office.
[[It's time.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>He holds his hands behind his back and stands before us. He looks sort of like- No, I won't tell you. I get to have my fun too, yeah?
What? You do realize I know you've been watching me since the beginning, yeah? This is how it was from the beginning. We all have our stories to tell. I just happen to have many.
The Administrator talks to us about the mission, but then he singles me out specifically. I'm asked questions about how much I know about the relic. Frankly, I know more than they do. I killed her myself, so I know the virus won't spread to them, seeing as the concept that embodied it in the first place has died.
I answer all of his questions. He offers me a higher researcher position, but I have to respectfully decline. Nat and Sam are given very nice positions in the company, at the very least. Now that I remember everything I do, I have more important duties to attend to. It'll be a shame to leave behind my friends and my world, but the memory will be there. For both you and for me. It's nice that way, yeah?
The interview concludes and I'm dismissed. I'm thanked a few more times by many high ranking officials. I'm told that my personal car is waiting for me outside of the building. I guess this was my resignation, yeah?
[[I step into the parking lot.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>It looks like I'm free to do as I please. I'll probably have to fly away and fix all the orbits of celestial bodies that I screwed up. I wonder if the actual dwarf planets Dysnomia and Eris still exist, or if I actually killed the two? Then again, I did launch them into gas giants. And there was a lot of mass displaced. Maybe they are dead. Oh well, just means two more agents of chaos are gone.
It's time to finish up my job and then I'll be set.
Thank you for reading.
(link-reveal: "It was nice to be here.")[==
---
(link-reveal: "**The End**")[==
(font:"Verdana")[(color: green)[(css: "font-size: 175%;")[''ACROSS THE STA-'']]]
(link-reveal: "A group of three jet black cars pull up in the parking lot in front of me.")[== One limousine in the middle with two SUVs on the sides. A man sticks his head out of one of the rear windows.
$pre["Hey, hey, lady! You're not done here just yet. We've got a couple more things for you to do."]
"Wait, what? Who are you?"
I overhear one of the guards talking.
$xco["How did they know we were-"]
$xco["Wait, that's the Presidential limousine!"]
$xco["Oh shit, what's the government doing here?"]
$pre["What? You don't recognize me? I'm the President, Miss Alligori! I got a whooole lot to say. Get in."]
"I- What?"
$pre["Oh, just listen up here. It's a Presidential order. That's how that works, right?"]
"I don't think so, but... If you say so."
What? This *is* the President, too.
He goes back in and then opens one of the rear doors. I get into the limo and shut the door. The cars start driving somewhere immediately.
"Mr. President, why are you picking me up?"
$pre["Okay, for starters, you know Relicia, right?"]
"You know her?"
$pre["I can explain that in... A bit, I think. Not sure how much they wanted to tell you, lady."]
"Who are 'they?' "
$pre["Ahh, you'll be at their office soon. Anyways, I'm not from this Universe, as you could probably tell because of how much I don't fit in. Just means I stand out that much more, ain't that right?"]
"You're right. There's something about the way the Universe flows around you that's different from everything else."
$pre["Yeah, you got it, girl. I assume that when you got launched through Jupiter earlier, you remembered a few digits."]
"I think so, yeah."
$pre["Does U-B271836 ring any bells?"]
"Yeah, it does. I don't know why."
$pre["That's because it's the classification number given to your Universe. Neat, huh?"]
"Wait, you guys do that? You're the other organization that worked with Lotte?"
$pre["Yeah, look out the window."]
[[I look out]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>Right as I look out, I notice we're literally shooting through space way faster than even the (color: blue)[''Relegator''] did back when we flew through Jupiter.
$pre["Hold on, this part usually gets a bit bumpy."]
"What part?"
The car shakes for a bit, as the view in the windows starts distorting. Suddenly, a solid white background replaces the darkness of space. If I look through the rear window, I can see the entire Universe behind us. How the-
$pre["Sick, right? I always love travelling between Universes. I get to watch all these weird bubbles go past. Most of them have laws of physics so screwed up that nothing even happens. We usually just recycle those."]
"You... Recycle entire Universes?"
$pre["Think of it like a crappy story that has no plot and goes nowhere."]
"Sounds familiar."
$pre["Yeah, well, nobody wants to see that or cares. So we just get rid of them and let something new take their place. Pretty fun, huh?"]
"Where are we going?"
$pre["My office. Well, I don't own it, but I work there."]
I watch trillions of little black dots move across the sky. Those are all separate universes, aren't they?
[[The car lurches as we slow down.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>''Chapter 10: Overseer''
(link: "Save")[Saved.(save-game: "file A")]
---
We stop outside a large complex floating in deep interuniversal space. There's an interesting symbol above what seems to be the main entrance. The President opens up his door and holds it open for me. I get out. We start walking towards the entrance.
$pre["I think I've stalled enough. Welcome to the MOC main office."]
"MOC?"
$pre["We're called the 'Multiverse Overseer Council' or something pretentious like that. I guess the eight pointed star looks neat."]
"Wait, there's just... A building out here?"
$pre["Yeah, Number Twelve thought it would be a good way to show off by negating the zero fine structure constant out here. It makes it so that nothing can exist unless... I dunno, they explained it to me a while ago and I don't care enough. I bet Thirteen would be glad to explain it to you."]
"Who is Thirteen?"
$pre["Well, I'm Twenty Two. MOC22-COM. The three letters stand for something. I won't tell you what mine mean. Just use your pretty little imagination. Well, actually, it's not little, I know that much."]
"Good on you."
$pre["Actually, I've got to prepare for another job. Go wait in the anteroom, they actually wanted an appointment with you. I was just told to bring you here."]
"Alright."
[[I walk into the building.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>The building is very spacious, and there's even more interesting architecture here. It's like an interesting, more modern take on ancient Roman architecture, combined with a touch of futurism. I sit down in one of the many chairs in the building. There are plants and lights and reception desks and everything. This is... Very weird, but strangely it has a relaxing atmosphere through the corporate feel of the place.
I sit down for a while. Everyone here seems to be wearing different outfits. There are people in Victorian-era clothes, modern day stuff, stuff that looks like futuristic armor from games... It's weird. I overhear a conversation from a couple of the people standing around.
$moc["I heard Time ask if we could have the entire thing shut down."]
$moc["I mean, if it gets any worse, we have to, right?"]
$moc["Aren't all the B-Series ones always this chaotic? I think it'd be less effort to just leave it."]
$moc["Nah, they said this one was some sort of weird anomaly."]
$moc["Who's that new girl?"]
$moc["Pretty sure she's from the problem zone. I think they brought her here for questioning or something."]
A voice on some intercom starts talking. $moc["Maximiliane Alligori, please report to the front desk."]
I get up and walk towards the front desk. There's a normal looking person standing here.
$moc["Alligori?"]
"Yes, that's me."
$moc["Here's your pass. You're going to room 271."]
"Uh-"
$moc["Oh, my bad. That's the 32nd door to the left after you take a right down this hall. So, in order, go there, take a right, and count to 32 on your left."]
"Alright, got it."
$moc["Good luck."]
"Any particular reason why?"
$moc["I don't know. It's not my job."]
[[I walk down the halls for a while.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>The halls here are nice and air conditioned. It's a nice cool feeling to walk through the halls. The carpet is probably really soft, too. The purples are used to accent the monochrome of the rest of the building. I bet they take nice care of it. I eventually make it to room 271. I knock on the door.
A woman's voice answers me. $moc["Come in."]
I open the door and step inside. There's a woman in a fancy black coat and... Boater hat? Either way, she's sitting there, leaning back at a desk. I close the door behind me.
$moc["Is it more papers? Honestly, I've had enough of Starlight Pr-"] She looks up at me.
$moc["Oh, my. I'm so sorry. Miss Alligori, right?"]
"Yes, that's me."
$moc["Please take a seat here. Look, I've been waiting all day for our appointment."]
"What... What is all this?"
$moc["Alright, you have a lot of learning to do. I'm MOC13-CAU. Yes, funny, I know. Anyways, You can call me Causality. We're the MOC- Multiverse Overseer Council. We do creation, management, and recycling of Universes as they live their lives."]
"Wait, so you manage the entire Multiverse?"
$moc["Yeah, yeah. Like that. Anyways, we've been dealing with a... Bit of a mess, recently. And that mess found its way into your universe as well."]
"So this is a huge mess?"
$moc["Yeah, pretty much. You're familiar with... P. Lotte, right?"]
"The engineering company?"
$moc["Yes, that one. Well, that Plot Device you found. We... Well, I didn't- but one of our council members put that in the closet. We just kinda stepped into the Universe, placed it on the shelf, and then waited for things to happen. It //was// meant for you, so don't worry."]
"So that's why that was there?"
$moc["Lucky you, right?"] She chuckles. $moc["Anyways, that was our last one. The company shut down trillions of years ago and everyone is too lazy to make more. They can only work so many times without recalibration before the Universe changes enough that it destroys the device."]
"How do the devices work?"
$moc["I'm a timekeeper, not a multiverse engineer. Sorry."]
"So what was everything back there?"
$moc["Well, uh, thanks for your help cleaning up our mess there. You killed them completely. Even made her into a little cutie who knew how to fight! Anyways, I~ am going to be giving out your promotion! I've actually wanted to meet you for a while. And you know what? I bet this sounds... Incredibly weird, but I think you'll get used to this eventually."]
"Wh- What?"
$moc["Okay, look. You're super useful to us, able to write up your little narrative for the Universe, and it bends to your will. You're kind of a deity. Like the rest of us council members. Which is why you're becoming one!"]
"Wait, you're making me a member?"
$moc["Well, you're getting a lot of admin permission, and we'll even let you create a couple universes to play around with, as long as they don't start spreading like some reality cancer, y'know, like we had earlier. We've got your first assignment ready."]
"Alright. I'll take it."
$moc["Good choice. Sign here, please."]
She hands me a clipboard and a pen. I skim over the page. It's just an acceptance form for me working under the MOC. I sign my name. The full one, Maximiliane Alligori. I hand them back.
$moc["Thank you very much. Your first assignment will be travelling back in time to right after the previous presidential election. You are going to be his assistant, and help make sure that everything runs right. We want to close the loop once and for all. Don't worry, you won't get trapped or anything. We just need a couple more corrective pushes for this to work. Then your Universe can exist nice and stable, and you can come and go as you please. Oh, and you now have a MOC designation. Specifically, MOC25-AUT."]
"Alright. Should I go now?"
$moc["Yeah, right back out in the parking lot. He's waiting there. Good luck, u-uh-"] She blushes for a moment.
$moc["M-Maxie."]
"I've been working here for five minutes and you're already- Please don't call me that."
$moc["I'm sorry, I just heard you didn't like such a cute name. I wanted to try it."]
She hasn't made eye contact with me since she said it. I'm more surprised about the fact that she even knew... [[I step back out of her office.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>I walk back into the main parking lot, where I see the President leaning against his car.
$pre["Oh, heyo. Welcome back girlie. Ready to go back in time?"]
"As I'll ever be."
$pre["Sick. Come on in. I'll drive."]
Looks like I've got a lot of |thing>[work] ahead of me.
(mouseover: ?thing)[(link-goto: "Presidential Work")]
---
(link-reveal: "**The End**")[
(transition: "dissolve")+(transition-time: 8000)[\
(font: "Verdana")[\
(color: green)[\
(css: "font-size: 175%;")[\
''ACROSS THE STARS'']
''TO THE EDGE OF AN INFINITE HORIZON'']]
Ending 60: Plot Device
(color: red)["Good luck in the MOC, Max."]
(link: "Let's clean up the mess.")[(goto: "Let's clean up the mess.")]
Digit 60: 6
]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>I spend a few months with the President, working on things like managing politics, well, actually, I basically do all of the work while he just throws out orders. And he... Somehow gets away with it. I honestly don't know how. One highlight was the call where he excommunicated someone from a church just because he said something stupid. He's not religious, mind you.
The two of us manage to - perfectly legitimately - get his approval ratings from 100% to 169%. Don't ask how it was at 100% before. I genuinely do not know. It's comedic, though. The exchange was interesting.
$pre["Lmao, nice job Max. You've achieved the funny number."]
"Yeah, thanks. Only worked because of your weirdass charisma. I don't know how you survive."
$pre["Shut up based woman lol."]
"Thanks."
And then I got to write about his previous job experience.
"How do you like this list? Previous Job Experience: Three minutes of babysitting, Two-time exterminator, factory worker, dirt tester, dirt //taster//, winner. In all caps, of course."
$pre["Sounds hot. Post it. Or whatever you do. How do you like that experience, Maxie?"]
This is the only person in the entire Multiverse who can call me that and survive. Only because his humor is so utterly apeshit that it'd probably come off as a weird joke if I killed him.
"Yeah, it's great."
There's not really that much work. I make sure that another iteration of me gets to look at that list of job experience, though. I think that'll be funny.
I actually got to look at a map of my region of the Multiverse. I left a little note. I wonder who'll see it?
(color: "purple")[The preparations for perfection are almost complete, yeah?]
---
(link-reveal: "**The End**")[
(transition: "dissolve")+(transition-time: 8000)[\
(font: "Verdana")[\
(color: green)[\
(css: "font-size: 175%;")[\
''ACROSS THE STATES'']
''TO THE END OF A PERFECT ELECTION'']]
Secret Ending 5: Closed Loop
(color: red)["Everything happens for a reason, Max."]
(link: "Go.")[(reload:)]
Digit: Frankly, I don't think I'm cut out to be in an advisory position, yeah?
]]<span id="box">(color: purple)[You don't need the other buttons, yeah?]
(link: "Credits")[(goto: "Credits")]</span>(replace: ?Sidebar)[](font: "Verdana")[\
(color: green)[\
(group: "playing", "stop")\
(css: "font-size: 175%;")[\
''ACROSS THE STARS'']
''AT THE EDGE OF AN INFINITE HORIZON'']]
---
A research ship at the edge of the galaxy found an ancient relic.
First contact? Evidence of civilizations lost? In the end, just a mind virus.
The crew celebrated their success. Bad things happened.
(color: purple)[But in the end, I won.]
Some things to note before leaving this world:
* (color: purple)[Sorry, the game is over. I can't let you go back.]
* (color: purple)[I already linearized the plot.]
It's nice when the Universe revolves around you.
She would know.
(color: purple)[I do, yeah?]
<span class='purple'>(link: "Well, if you really want to go back... We can delinearize the plot again.")[(goto: "Delinearizer")]</span><span id="box">(color: purple)[You don't need the other buttons, yeah?]
(link: "Credits")[(goto: "Credits")]</span>(replace: ?Sidebar)[]You know, if you hadn't realized, (color: purple)[my text color can change if I want it to.] I thought purple was a nice color, so I picked it. I would've changed it after I realized I could, but in the end, I decided the change would be too jarring for you or that it'd be too hard to read for some reason.
So, how's that for you?
What do you mean my story sounded too edgy? A Mary Sue? That's just what you think. I'm a deity, you know, one where the Universe bends to my whim. It's been a long time since I've had any fun with my powers, and I decided that I would give myself that fun by setting up a situation with problems to solve. There's a little bit of guilty pleasure to be gained in living out silly fantasies. So what if my story was a self insert? At least I can say I experienced it. What can you say?
That's why you play games, isn't it? You deal with simpler, surface-level problems that you know how to solve. I knew how to solve this. The MOC thought that they had given me this power, but I highly doubt something from the Lotte Company would actually do that much. All it did was remind me who I was. Which wasn't really the point of me setting up my life in this Universe to get a few ideas after I died. Death isn't permanent, you know. I gave myself a life inside this Universe. It's my home, because of it. This was my first life, and I just so happened to remember everything about my true identity in the middle of it. It didn't go to plan, but I had fun!
But we're not dissimilar, you and I. Although you're not the same person I met the night before 126- Well, probably not. I can't know for sure. Maybe you've been a different person each time. But the thing is, we're both creators, when you think about it. I don't really know what you've created, but do you see this world that you experienced? That was my world. My creation is now a part of your memory and it will live on there. I imagine you have your own worlds like that.
That's the best thing I could ask for, yeah?
And I can undo my mistakes when I make them. So can you, at times. But I've taken away your ability to go back for just a moment. Don't try and use the other back button, either, since that'll just break something. Either that or it won't work to begin with. Stay here for a while longer, please.
Our conversations are always one-sided, just because of the way these universes function. The limits of the Multiverse are a thing and they're very disappointing. But I work within my constraints. A good story is one that I have fun making and one that you have fun experiencing.
So, did I succeed?
Well, if you're not done yet, I guess you can have a chance to go back and finish your job. The preparations are complete, anyways. We'll clean up your instability afterwards. Almost all of these endings are real ones, just that some are more realistic than others. More canon, I guess.
I guess I've also taken up a lot of your time, yeah?
<span class='purple'>(link: "Keep having your fun.")[(reload:)]</span><span id="box">(display: "save")</span>We start walking down the hall. Nat still looks a bit worried. Only fair, yeah?
$nat["I think we may be better off just telling Mission Control what happened."]
Well, that's another sensible thing to be worried about.
"Well, I don't. You know what Terminal said, yeah? If they figure out the relic is cursed or whatever, we won't be allowed home."
$nat["Ah, that, too. What are we going to tell them? That we still have yet to learn anything?"]
"I read some of Sam's translation. It was a bit hard to focus, I think the text itself is screwy too, or something. Terminal watched me to make sure I didn't lose my mind though."
$nat["Can we explain what was written in the translation?"]
"I don't think so. Especially because it was about how he was supposed to inherit some throne at the edge of infinity and control the Universe or something. Pretty sure that text is cursed."
(link-reveal: "She tries to lighten the mood a bit.")[==
$nat["Well, that is still something we can work with, no? We will just explain translation progress, but only a few minor bits here and there. Explain that we do have words, but nothing coherent just yet."]
She smiles. A bit weak, but she's trying.
"Alright, but are we just going to ignore Sam?"
$nat["It is probably for the best that we avoid worrying about it too much. I am not a psychiatrist, so I highly doubt that I could be of any help. Terminal wants our minds to remain healthy just as much as our bodies, anyways."]
"Fair point."
[[Nat walks over to her seat.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>Nat sits down and starts booting up the camera systems. She's about to start typing something into the panel when suddenly the *ding* signifying a received message plays.
She pulls up the ship's message log and pulls it up, reading it for a moment.
$nat["What? What is this?"]
"What happened?"
$nat["Uhm. Look."]
I lean over and [[look at the screen.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>''Chapter 5: Extinction Notice''
(link: "Save")[Saved.(save-game: "file A")]
---
$xco[''TO ANY AND ALL WHO ARE LISTENING:''
This is a notice from the Human Race. We apologize for any inconvenience.
If you are receiving this, it means that humanity has gone extinct and no longer exists, for causes outside of our control. Our automated machinery will manage until they degrade out of function. This message will broadcast until it is no longer possible.
Due to an excess, lack of, or other event involving (font: "Courier New")[undefined], we have disappeared from the face of the Universe.
Please learn from us and avoid our fate.
Sincerely, The Late Human Race.]
(link-reveal: "Wait... Extinction?")[==
(track: "desugita", "play")
"I- What? Is this real?"
$nat["I do not know. I am going to start pinging everything I can and see if I get any responses."]
"Yeah, do that. If we weren't here, would there even be anyone else in the Universe to read that?"
$nat["After the development of the Alcubierre drive, it was proven that we are entirely alone in the Universe. Except for the relic."]
"So it was hopeless, then"
$nat["We were not there when it happened."]
"Well... I guess."
Nat is rapidly typing things into the control panel as we speak.
$nat["No, I am not getting anything. No response. Well, ignoring the automated responses, but other than that, there is no human response from Earth."]
"Well, let's get there. Maybe it was a bug?"
$nat["I pinged //everyone// on the ship's list."]
"Keep pinging everyone until we get a response!"
$nat["If I do, it will not work."]
Nat grabs a lever and the ship starts speeding up. Looks like we're warping back to Earth now. We hit 400 ly/h pretty quickly. The view around us begins to distort.
$nat["Oh, come on. I know this ship can move faster."]
"Isn't that speed limit hardcoded?"
$nat["Now is a good time to rewrite the code."]
She pushes her chair back and gets under the table. A panel drops onto the floor and Nat starts rearranging wires. Is she... Rewiring the ship's main control panel? There's no way that can be safe.
She pulls out her tablet and starts typing in it, too, for a moment.
"Nat, are you sure this is safe?"
$nat["They coded in the limit for safety reasons. For the most part, it was a redundant feature."]
"Wait, so-"
$nat["The ship has a limit of roughly thirty thousand lightyears per hour."]
"Wait, that fast?"
$nat["Yes, we will be home before half an hour passes."]
"I guess that's good."
She shoves the panel back into place and puts the tablet away. She types a few commands into the panel and starts keying in a few extra zeros on our desired travel speed.
[[The view in front of us distorts even further.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>Nat sits back in her chair, watching the view. She's hardly enjoying it though. I can tell by her quiet sigh as we travel. I take a seat elsewhere in the control room and watch the Starbow. It's really pretty, but our hearts are sinking. There's no way that they could have just suddenly gone extinct, right?
We're just counting on it not being true. It can't be true, right? There's no way. That's too big of an event to even be possible. The entire human race, across three different celestial bodies? There's nothing that could have reasonably done that, save for an alien race. But we know for a fact that they do not exist in the Universe. I specify that because of the relic.
[[We wait out the trip in silence.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>The ship begins automatically slowing down as we approach the Sol system. We stop near Earth. We immediately get closer to the window as the distortion field fades away.
Earth is a deathly brown. The waters are still blue, but there appears to be no living plant life whatsoever.
$nat["N- No way..."]
"How-"
We stare at it for a few moments.
"O-Okay, what about the Moon? It's just the Earth, right?"
Nat steers the ship into a Lunar orbit using the Alcubierres. We stop over Hertzsprung.
$nat["I am going to enter their airspace. If they are still here, they will stop us."]
She starts lowering the ship down towards the city. We drop close enough that we could almost land on the glass frame over a public plaza. Nothing happens.
$nat["Nothing..."]
"Can we just.. Stay in a city for a while?"
$nat["No, without anybody to maintain the air filters or... Anything in the city not completely automated, it will eventually degrade to a point where we will have to leave. Either that or something will explode."]
"You're right..."
Nat guides the ship back to Earth.
$nat["We may as well land. Nobody is going to stop us."]
I don't think it's fully hit us how big of an issue this is.
"Martian col-"
$nat["No response. It is not worth the time."]
We descend through the atmosphere, still completely intact. Nat gently lands the ship outside of Site-03, near New York City. It's visible there on the horizon, just that the view isn't as pretty. It's brown and blue everywhere now. Everything is dead.
[[The ship stops moving.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>"We should... We should get Sam. And then tell him about this."
$nat["Do you think he will react okay?"]
"He's not going to attack us or anything. I- What do you think the relic is going to do now?"
$nat["What do you mean?"]
"I assumed it just wanted to get into our heads. But now there are only three left in the entire world. There's not much point to doing anything."
$nat["That is true for us, as well."]
"Yeah..."
We get up and start looking for Sam. The first place we check is the lab room, which he just happens to be in.
[[We walk into the lab.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>He's sitting, slumped in the corner of the room.
"Sam? Uh, Sam. Everyone died. I mean literally everyone except us."
$sam["I know. It told me."]
"It? Wh- The relic?"
$sam["Yeah."]
"Why are you in the corner?"
$sam["Guess it was comfortable."]
He gets up and leans against the counter.
"Are you alright?"
$sam["A bit tired, but not nearly as bad as it was earlier."]
"Interesting."
[[We look up at the relic.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>"So, uh... We are the last humans. Probably the last life in the Universe, too. If microorganisms died."
$sam["What?"]
"I'm serious. If you come over to the control room right now, it's all brown and everything. We just landed on Earth. There's nothing living."
(link-reveal: "It takes him a second to respond.")[==
$sam["You're joking."]
$rel["She's right, you know."]
$nat["Who-"]
"What?"
$sam["I told you it could talk."]
Apparently the relic is talking. It's not using anything to vocalize, but it's generating sound nonetheless.
$rel["I assume you already knew my plan."]
"What plan? The one where you get into all of our heads and then spread that way?"
$nat["What?"]
$rel["You knew that much?"]
"Did I? I was just connecting the dots that you laid out. You weren't subtle. And now everyone has died, etcetera. What are we going to do now, the four of us?"
$nat["That... Yes, that makes a lot of sense, actually. Terminal was telling me about what was happening, but I had not formed the whole picture at that point."]
"Why did you want to spread?"
$rel["That is not something you would understand."]
"A cliche line, but why is that?"
$rel["Because the Truth cannot be expressed through words whatsoever."]
"Why's that?"
$rel["You already know that I am not from this Universe."]
"True."
$sam["Yeah, but why'd you have to mess with our heads that way?"]
$rel["It would make you more receptive to learning, understand, and helping to spread the Truth."]
"So, you're some weird cultist missionary, you look like a rock, and now you're talking."
$rel["That is a dumbed down version of the story."]
"Fair enough. Is there anything we can do? Or are we just totally fucked?"
$sam["There are plants."]
"They're all dead."
$sam["No, in the ship's greenhouse. The oxygen room down in maintenance."]
"Wait, shit. You're right. Maybe we've got a chance at survival. Relic, are you sure that everything died? And the bacteria too, yeah?"
$rel["Yes. The four of us, your plants, and all microscopic life on the ship are the only life remaining in the Universe."]
"Nat, how much food do we have on the ship?"
$nat["Enough to last us another six months in space."]
"Alright. So we can probably head to NYC when we need food again. Everyone died, and it's not like there's gonna be anything to fight us. I reckon we've got a few years before the buildings start getting dangerous."
[[We need to make a few plans.]]
<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>"I remember the ship being built for a couple hundred people at capacity. That means we should be able to survive as just three people. Sam, we're gonna have you remove some plants from the greenhouse. Unless you've got seeds. All of the nutrients should be heading straight back into the soil."
$sam["There's extra seeds in the oxygen room. A bunch in the cabinets. I think we've got enough to start our own little farm out here. Something the Martian colonies would pay top dollar for."]
"That's great."
$nat["I will go into the facility occasionally and see if I can find anything of use."]
"That's good."
(link-reveal: "We pause for a moment, letting things sink in for a moment.")[==
"We were picked because we're the best of the best, yeah?"
$sam["Hey, I agree with that one."]
$nat["Yes."]
"Let's prove it. They're probably all watching from the afterlife. We've got a legacy to preserve."
$rel["They are. Don't worry."]
"That's... Somehow comforting."
[[Sam looks up at us.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>$sam["Uhh... Are we gonna... Y'know... Recover?"]
"What do you mean?"
$sam["Like... Repopulate."]
"Ah, that..."
(link-reveal: "The room goes silent for what feels like an eternity.")[==
$nat["If we are really that uncomfortable with it, there are machines in X-Corp that can grow test tube babies. That is- if you really do not want anything to do with sex."]
(link-reveal: "It happens again.")[==
"Let's focus on survival first, yeah?"
$sam["Please."]
$nat["Yes."]
[[Back to the matter at hand.]]<span id="box">(display: "save")</span>"Relic? Are you just gonna... Stay as a rock?"
$rel["I am currently too weak to change my form."]
"Do we want to help you change your form?"
$rel["I can gather things for you. I need to survive as much as you. I have been deprived of my main source of nourishment."]
$nat["How do we help you?"]
$rel["Dust."]
"Dust?"
$rel["A lot of dust. It gives me extra matter to work with. And it is very familiar and will soon be all over the planet, once everything begins to break down."]
"Ah, that's true. And you know what? All of the normal processes of the Earth are fine. Well, except for anything that needs life, but we're still going to have rain and we're still going to have clean water. As long as nuclear reactors don't just explode."
$nat["Humanity never went extinct."]
"You're right. It was just a close call. Although, this is the most major extinction event to ever happen in the Universe."
$sam["I want to survive. I can probably fix any machines that need fixing."]
"I think we're set. If we need anything else, we can start digging up X-Corp research. I imagine it's declassified by now."
Earth is still livable. We've just got a clean slate.
Maybe this isn't the worst possible thing to happen.
There could be worse, I know it.
This might not be the end, but it sure as hell is a new (link-reveal: "beginning.")[==
---
(link-reveal: "**The End**")[
(transition: "dissolve")+(transition-time: 8000)[\
(font: "Verdana")[\
(color: green)[\
(css: "font-size: 175%;")[\
''ACROSS THE STARS'']
''TO THE EDGE OF AN INFINITE HORIZON'']]
Ending 61: Rhapsodic Misfortunate End
(color: red)["It seems you have been given a second chance, Max."]
(link: "Go.")[(reload:)]
Digit 61: 4
]]<span id="box">(display: "saveFinality")</span>''Chapter 1: Interlaced''
(link: "Save")[Saved.(save-game: "file A")]
---
I awaken from a well-deserved and deep slumber.
The lights around my dorm click on when the motion sensors detect me moving. I push the hair from out of my face.
(set: $terminal to "online")(set:$ship to "fine")(set: $playing to true)
The mattress is still a bit too hard like it always has been. Despite it, I can still get a pretty good sleep out of it. I look around the room. Even with the few plants around, the stark whiteness leaves it a little bit too plain. Opening up the blinds, I can see the Milky Way right along the ship's left side. Actually, I think the word for that is "port" or something.
I get up a bit sluggishly, put my researcher coat on, and walk over to the main terminal on the wall that connects me to the ship's database, so that I can tell it that I'm awake. I'm not actually sure what it does with that info but it really (probably) isn't important, yeah?
(link-reveal: "Terminal boots up.")[==
The monospace green text appears on screen, synced with Terminal's voice.
$ter["Good morning, Miss (color: purple)[Algori]. I hope you slept well. The (color: blue)[''Relegator''] is on its 126th day, a Thursday. All systems are currently nominal. Your fellow crewmates are already awake."]
It's kinda funny, yeah? It's the 26th century, and we still use these antique-looking terminals like they did 500 years ago. Even if they can talk and are run by sentient CPUs smaller than a pinpoint, it still seems a bit weird.
"Yep, I had a really nice dream, too."
$ter["Please take a moment to reflect on yourself in order to keep your mental health nominal."]
The computers tell us to do this sometimes. I think it's weekly or something. Not sure what the actual benefits of it are, but I should probably [[take a look.]](replace: ?Sidebar)[]
I don't think we need to press the button. I'm gravely sorry for this immense disappointment.<span id="box">(display: "saveFinality")</span>What was I, again?
Wait, am I some kind of dipshit? What kind of question is that? We already know the answer to that. Mirror's right behind me, anyways.
(link-reveal: "I turn around.")[== Yeah, I was about right. I'm just the same me that I was yesterday. Well, a little different, yeah? I know a couple more things than I used to.
Anyways, I think I told you that you won't have to see this again. So I'll hold true to it.
Same as before, same as always. If a bit different, but forget about that for now.
[[I turn back around.]](replace: ?Sidebar)[]<span id="box">(display: "saveFinality")</span>Whatever. Probably best to keep reviewing, yeah?
I'm the head of the- Well, We've been over this. I'm the Research Head of the (color: blue)[''Relegator'']. There aren't any researchers below me. It's just the three of us. Sam, Nat, and I. And even with just the three of us we're the best starship crew in the entire Universe.
This is the first mission this far away from Earth, yeah? I'd say some 20,000 lightyears from Earth, putting us right on the edge. I've got a bad feeling about today though. There's something about this mission.
Let's hope we can come home without any problems. I miss my garden. I keep a little flower bed in my front lawn. Cute, yeah? You'd like to think that.
"Yeah, computer. I think I'm done."
$ter["Good. Your crewmates are currently in the cafeteria. It is best that you go there now."]
[[Ah, shoot. I'm late again?]](replace: ?Sidebar)[]<span id="box">(display: "saveFinality")</span>I open my room's door and start walking down the hall towards the cafeteria. Still that boring plain white like my room, but with even less plants sitting around. The cafeteria is sitting right behind the ship's bridge. I wonder why they placed it that way? Well, not like they can just go ahead and change that easily, yeah?
The ship has a pretty interesting layout overall. There's the bridge, the cafeteria and a couple other public areas, and then the research lab. Past that is the maintenance section all the way in the back. To the sides are the escape pods, cargo bays, and dorms.
I walk up to the cafeteria door.
[[I gently open the door->It's nice to be back.]](replace: ?Sidebar)[]<span id="box">(display: "saveFinality")</span>...And they're both grinning and staring at me.
$sam["Sleep well?"] Sam asks, smugly.
$nat["Come on, the food is still 'hot.' "] Nat adds on.
"Yeah, okay. So what'd I miss, then?"
$sam["Ah, nothing much. Just our super special morning celebration for us finding the thing that was making the signal."]
$nat["Really, it was a shame you missed it, because-"]
"Oh, screw off. We don't even have morning here. Did you actually even find it?"
Sam shrugs, $sam["Guess that's the end of the joke."]
I glance up at him, "Yeah, basically. What did you guys even do with the signal emitter thingy while I was sleeping, anyways?"
$nat["Well, for starters, it is not a 'signal emitter thingy.' We actually do not even have it on board yet. We only know that it is somewhere nearby, but will likely have it on board by tomorrow."] - She pushes up her glasses. - $nat["If it is small enough, we plan to bring it on board the ship using the EVA robots and then cart it to one of the labs. Specifically, -02."]
"So I take it you want me to get on that now."
$sam["On wh-"]
"Searching for the actual source, you //doink.//"
$nat["Well, of course. We do not have much else to do though, so we can help you and check on your data to make it easier."]
"Somehow, I feel like you're going to pull something on me, but I might as well take you up on that offer."
$sam["Yeah, we'll see."]
"So do you want to head out now, or are you actually gonna let me eat my breakfast first?"
$sam["Take your time, I've still got a couple of things that need working on."]
"Whatever you say, slacker."
$sam["Yep."] He says, walking straight through the door. Supposedly to do his work.
$nat["Finish your food faster just to give him an incentive to get his work done."]
"How'd you know what I was thinking?"
$nat["Great minds think alike."]
"Heh, sure."
While I eat, [[we talk about nothing important.]](replace: ?Sidebar)[]<span id="box">(display: "saveFinality")</span>It doesn't take a whole lot of time for me to finish my food. Nat leans back in her chair for a moment.
$nat["I think we should just go ahead and start looking. Otherwise, we would just be stalling."]
"Yeah. Think we should tell Sam?"
$nat["Let him find out. He just walked out, anyways."]
"Aye."
(link-reveal: "We both get up and start walking down to the research section.")[== I assume Sam is farther back in the maintenance hallways doing something. In between the main labs -01 and -02 is the main observation area, where most of the cameras to the outside are, as well as the main telescope. It's got a higher ceiling than most of the rooms, and is full of computers and other astronomical tech.
"Do we have a direction the signal is coming from?"
$nat["The last time we checked, the source was fifteen degrees to the right of us."]
"You had that much precision?"
$nat["We are either very close to the source or it is very big."]
"You'd think we'd see it by now if it were big. Our receivers are pretty good though, and the ship is long enough that triangulation doesn't seem too big of an issue."
$nat["Exactly."]
"I'll pull up the main telescopes then. You can go ahead and start reading all of our data."
$nat["Yes ma'am."]
"Nat, you're literally the captain."
$nat["Hush, get working."]
(link-reveal: "I start scanning the area.")[== I send out pings in the signal's direction. It seems like it's just the same message on loop, but it's basically incomprehensible, given that it's probably in some language we've never seen before.
"Do you think this signal actually means anything? If it didn't almost look like a language it'd be pretty easy to confuse it for garbage data."
$nat["Actually, Mission Vontrol had a rough idea of what this signal meant before the mission started. Apparently it was just a ping looking for something else. We do not know what that other thing is, though."]
"So it's been transmitting the same thing for months now?"
$nat["Yes. Have you tried pinging it back yet?"]
"I've been doing that every thirty seconds for about five minutes now and I haven't gotten a unique response from it yet."
$nat["Ah, whatever it is might be broken then."]
[[The door on the other side of the room opens.]](replace: ?Sidebar)[]<span id="box">(display: "saveFinality")</span>$sam["Hey, I thought you two would wait for me."]
"We don't wait for //slackers//."
He chuckles, $sam["You can stop calling me that now, I actually did something."]
$nat["Something? What might that be?"]
$sam["There was a fault in the Alcubierre drive. I fixed it."]
"How long did that take?"
$sam["About two minutes."]
Nat smirks. I mean, I do too.
$sam["Hey, shut up."]
$nat["I said nothing."]
"Whatever, start looking for the signal with us. That's what you came into the room for, yeah?"
$sam["Yeah sure, how much garbage do you want me to read through?"]
"It's not garbage, we're damn close. Get on another telescope and start searching the area for it."
$nat["Oh!"]
"You caught it?"
$nat["Ah, nevermind. Just a rock."]
"And you had me all hyped."
(link-reveal: "We quietly resume our searching")[== of the polka-dotted inky black. There are dozens of stars and galaxies in view here, and some that you can't see back on Earth. Sam doesn't seem to be searching the sky in a pattern like me. I can't say that he'll actually find anything like that.
I reckon this'll take some two hours or so before we find it. Just a hunch, honestly. We're also slowly drifting and trying to catch the signal source. [[I wonder what the source is?]](replace: ?Sidebar)[]<span id="box">(display: "saveFinality")</span>Oh, that reminds me. You or someone similar to you talked to me in my dreams. I'm not sure, but there's a weird sense of deja vu to this situation. I'm assuming you know what the source of the signal is... I can sense a few more ideas, but I'm not really sure what the whole situation is. Maybe we'll find something that'll jolt a bunch of ideas into my head.
I dwell over the thoughts for a while when suddenly something moves past the telescope. Wait, is that-
"Hey! I think I caught the source?"
$nat["Yes, reading through your data now."]
$sam["Already? Damn."]
"What do we have?"
$nat["It appears to be moving towards us at about three meters per second. About ten kilometers away from us at the moment. Not exactly spherical, but it appears to be about a meter across."]
"Lovely. Have you set the ship to target it?"
$nat["One step ahead of you. I have already set up the route to rendezvous with it."]
(link-reveal: "I look through the telescope again.")[== With the resolution on the telescope I can roughly make out that the source of our signal is black. Not void-black, it appears to be pretty shiny, but notably black.
[[And then the realization hits.]](replace: ?Sidebar)[]<span id="box">(display: "saveFinality")</span>''Chapter 2: Duality''
(link: "Save")[Saved.(save-game: "file A")]
---
This... Yeah, I can faintly recognize this. It's like I already know what this is without having ever seen it. That's your fault, isn't it?
This is... The relic. Yeah, that's what we called it. And I can't remember exactly what it did, but we definitely do not want this on board the ship, let alone back at home. I wonder if we can avoid contact with it as much as possible?
"Do we even have to leave the room to go and get it?"
$nat["Well, we still need to determine if it is safe to interact with, and if so, we need to have Sam operate the robots and get it on board."]
$sam["See? I'm not useless."]
"If you keep talking like that, you will be."
$sam["Try me."]
"Maybe I will. Are we going to approach it?"
$nat["Yes. Terminal, can you pilot us about two hundred meters away from the signal source? Mark it on our list of tracked objects for the time being, too."]
(link-reveal: "There's about a second of pause.")[==
$ter["Yes. We are on our way now."]
My telescope loses track of the object as the ship begins turning in the direction of the source. There's a slight motion as the engines kick on.
"Just so you know, this is a pretty big block of shiny black material. I'm pretty sure it's like some form of granite."
$sam["Seems like a pretty neat rock you've found there. Gonna add it to your collection?"]
"Tch, maybe."
$ter["We are now near the object. Please give me a moment to match the velocity of the object."]
"I'll see if I can't get a better picture of the relic again. See if the data conflicts or is any better."
$nat["I already am."]
$sam["Hey, I'm looking too."]
"Cool, tell us what you find out."
$nat["Did you call it a relic?"]
"O-Oh, yeah. I just assumed it was. Based on the appearance."
Once I look through the telescope again, (link-reveal: "I've got a really good view of the object.")[== Yeah, I was right. A mostly cubic rock with a couple chunks floating around near it. If I look hard enough, there are golden etchings across the front. They're not English though, I know that much already. It is a character set.
"Can we get a chemical analysis on this?"
$nat["I am trying, but the computer cannot seem to figure out what the molecular structure is."]
"Terminal, do you think it poses any danger to us at the moment?"
$ter["Based on the information I am receiving, it is likely safe to collect."]
"Sam?"
$sam["Doesn't look like a bomb to me."]
"I still don't like the idea of just going ahead and picking up this thing without doing checks outside first."
$nat["We should be fine. We can go to the cargo bay and have Sam operate the robots."]
$sam["Alright."]
[[The two of them get up from their seats.]](replace: ?Sidebar)[]<span id="box">(display: "saveFinality")</span>I get up to follow them. We all leave the observation room and walk towards the front of the ship and towards the right-side cargo bay. The room right next to it is meant for accessing the robots inside of the actual bay. We generally keep them unpressurized because we rarely need to get anything from inside of them. Theoretically, it's possible to open the bay doors while pressurized as long as the entrance door isn't open, but you'd need a lot of permission to bypass things. It's a waste of oxygen that we can't replace, anyways.
$sam["Are we sure this thing won't react when it touches air?"]
"We should probably test that before bringing it on board, yeah?"
$nat["I thought that was already our plan."]
$sam["I might as well cart it in."]
"Aren't you going to operate the machines?"
$sam["You won't even be able to go in there until I pressurize the bay anyways."]
"Alright."
(link-reveal: "We walk into the room together.")[== Sam starts booting up the machines. He presses a couple buttons and the small amount of air still in the bay is pumped elsewhere.
[[Alright, if I want to decide, I have to do it now.]](replace: ?Sidebar)[]<span id="box">(display: "saveFinality")</span>Sam is already booting up one of the sample collection robots out there. Do we want to let them pick up the relic or should I say something about it? I'm starting to learn a few more things about it, not really what happened before, but I do remember this. If we say nothing, we'll end up with it on board and I'll have to worry about researching it anyways.
But if I were to try and convince them not to bring it on board and leave it behind, we'd have to argue with X-Corp on why exactly we didn't pick up the one thing that was supposed to be the point of the mission. It also might raise suspicions. Then again, we'll probably immediately avoid everything that could go wrong by having it with us, and it's not like there's anything the rock should do. I imagine the relic will probably know something more about this, too. Not how much, though.
Personally, I think we should say something.
[[Allow the others to collect the relic.]]
[[Suggest that they should leave it behind.]](replace: ?Sidebar)[]<span id="box">(display: "saveFinality")</span>Yeah, you're right. It's for the best that we don't try to raise any suspicion about how much we know. Wait, hold on. That means you just got a message through to me? How hard was it? Were your option limi- Wait, yeah, not like you'd be able to squeeze another one between universes. It's fine, I think I know how to handle this.
(link-reveal: "Do I?")[==
Sam presses a couple buttons and the small amount of air still in the cargo bay is pumped elsewhere. Through the window, we can see the large door open and one of the collection bots detach and float out of the open bay door.
$sam["So that thing is just sitting there moving at the same speed as us?"]
$nat["Yes."]
$sam["Should I pick it up like any old rock?"]
"I don't see why not. If it explodes we still have other robots to use."
$sam["Alright."]
It takes a second before Sam manages to maneuver the robot to the weird looking relic out there, but he grabs onto it without much issue. He floats the little carrier right back into the cargo bay before switching the room's gravity back on. The cargo bay door is shut and the room begins slowly pressurizing to a small percentage of breathability. We give it a couple seconds.
$sam["Welp, that's it. I think we can just finish pressurizing it, seeing as it hasn't moved an inch since we turned the air on."]
$nat["Go ahead."]
$sam["Yep."]
The cargo bay finishes pressurizing and, as expected, nothing interesting happens, although we can get a pretty good look at it now. I'm the researcher though, so this is my job. I'll just cart it for them so that it can't... Do something. I'm prepared for whatever it can throw at me, anyways.
"I guess I'll go and cart it over to Lab-02 now? As long as I don't touch it or anything I should be completely fine."
$nat["At least put a mask on in case there is harmful dust."]
"Aye."
I grab a gas mask off one of the shelves farther back in the room. It doubles as a secondary storage room, after all. I put it on along with some gloves and walk into the cargo bay. This thing isn't going to kill me, but I should at least take care around it.
[[I start moving the relic down the hall.]](replace: ?Sidebar)[]<span id="box">(display: "saveFinality")</span>Yeah, you're right. It's for the best that we leave it here. Wait, that means you just got a message through to me? How hard was it? Were your options limi- Wait, yeah, not like you'd be able to squeeze another response between universes. It's fine, I think I know how to handle this.
(link-reveal: "Do I?")[==
"I really don't think we should be taking this thing onto our ship."
$nat["Why not?"]
"Okay, first of all, we don't know where it came from or what's inside of it. We also don't know what it's even made of because the computer happens to error out specifically on this rock. And my intuition is telling me, too."
$sam["Yeah but it's out here, so someone had to put it out there for someone else to find."]
$nat["You do not need to get so worked up, Max."]
They seem a bit worried about that, honestly.
(link-reveal: "I don't.")[==
Whatever, we can still work with this, yeah? We took the risk and it didn't pay off. Just how life is. I'm still going to avoid researching this as much as I can. And if I do, I'm going to take //precautions// this time around, yeah?
Through the window, we can see one of the collection bots detach from its area on the ceiling and it floats out of the open bay door.
$sam["So that thing is just sitting there moving at the same speed as us?"]
$nat["Yes."]
$sam["Should I pick it up like any old rock?"]
$nat["Well, it sure looks like one."]
$sam["Alright."]
It takes a second before Sam manages to maneuver the robot over to the weird looking relic out there, but he grabs onto it without much issue. He floats the little carrier right back into the cargo bay before placing it on a cart and switching the room's gravity back on. The cargo bay door is shut and the room begins slowly pressurizing to a small percentage of breathability. We give it a couple seconds.
$sam["Welp, that's it. I think we can just finish pressurizing it. Hasn't moved an inch since we turned the air on."]
$nat["Go ahead."]
$sam["Yep."]
The cargo bay finishes pressurizing and, as expected, nothing interesting happens, although we can get a pretty good look at it now. I'm already prepared for whatever this thing plans to do to me. I'll just cart it so it can't... Do something to them.
"I guess I'll go and cart it over to Lab-02 now? As long as I don't touch it or anything I should be completely fine."
$nat["At least put a mask on in case there is harmful dust."]
"Aye."
I grab a gas mask off one of the shelves farther back in the room. It doubles as a secondary storage room, after all. I put it on along with some gloves and walk into the cargo bay. This thing isn't going to kill me, but I should at least take care around it.
[[I start carting the relic down the hall.]](replace: ?Sidebar)[]<span id="box">(display: "saveFinality")</span>It's not really that far from the bay, but this thing isn't all that light even with the wheels, either. Nat is watching from farther down the hall. Sam is presumably still cleaning up the cargo bay. I open up the door to Lab-02 and park the cart right in the middle of the room for later analysis.
"I don't know what X-Corp is hiding about you, but I don't think I want to know."
I walk out of the room and shut the door behind me. Sam is also waiting outside now. I take off the gas mask and gloves.
"Yep, I'm still alive."
$nat["Anything interesting happen?"]
"Just as boring as any other rock I've picked up, yeah?"
$sam["That's good, I guess."]
"If we want to do any further research on it, we should do it from the observation room next to the lab, just to make sure we don't die or anything."
$nat["We should probably just finish our daily report before anything else happens."]
"Fair enough. We're going there now?"
$nat["Sure."]
"Also, we should seriously be careful around the relic. I'm telling you now because my intuition is screaming at me. Please avoid it"
$sam["Seriously Max, what is it going to do?"]
"I can't explain it to you because you won't believe me."
(link-reveal: "This may be troublesome.")[==
$nat["Go ahead."]
$ter["She is right."]
$sam["Huh?"]
"Wait, what?"
$ter["The relic you have picked up is a danger. Not a physical threat, but a threat nonetheless."]
$nat["Hold on, explain. Both of you."]
"Are you two familiar with the concept of a cognitohazard?"
$nat["I remember reading something about that in a really long ship manifest that I never bothered to do more than skim through."]
"Yeah, well, this is one. If you stay around it too long, it gets into your head."
$ter["That is mostly correct. X-Corp has not given you all a full report on what the mission involves."]
$nat["This is... Big news. Why did you not tell us before?"]
$ter["It was against protocol to explain the full mission, but somehow, Miss (color: purple)[Algori] already knows what was planned for the mission."]
"Wait, did they //want// us to get affected?"
$ter["No, simply to test if the relic caused any effects like the first one did."]
$nat["Wait, first relic? I thought this was the only one, we started receiving the signal 16 years ago."]
"Yeah, that sounds right. And there's no way it was only 16 years, yeah? I think they tried to destroy the first one."
$ter["Miss (color: purple)[Algori], have you been searching through my database?"]
"No, check your access history. You would know if I searched. I'm not really sure how I know this myself."
$ter["Interesting. Please continue with your daily report. Mission control will be very interested to hear that you already know the truth."]
$nat["Huh... So be it."]
[[We continue to the control room.]](replace: ?Sidebar)[]<span id="box">(display: "saveFinality")</span>Nat walks over to her pilot's seat at the center of the room. We both stand behind her. She starts keying in passwords on the consoles and pressing buttons. She types faster than anyone else I've ever seen in person.
$nat["Do we all know what to say to them?"]
$sam["I think so."]
"I'm going to tell them what I know."
$nat["Very well. The two of us will proceed as normal."]
The little camera light clicks on, signifying that we're being recorded. Nat's the captain, so she starts speaking first, naturally.
$nat["Hello! This is Captain Carter of the (color: blue)[''Relegator'']. Today is our 126th day, a Thursday, of our voyage to discover the source of the signal at the galactic edge. I will have Research Head (color: purple)[Algori] explain what we have learned from the object so far."]
"That's right. We've discovered the source of the radio signals you were receiving years ago. Turned out to be a moderately-sized rock-looking thing, which we were able to reluctantly pull aboard via the EVA robots. We then had it carted into one of the main lab centers for potential future research. I made sure proper safety precautions were taken and there were no issues in moving it. Exposure to the relic was minimized. Upon our closer inspection, the material appears to be similar to granite, with golden writing across the front. We haven't figured out if they're part of an ancient language or not, but we may get to that. So far, we do know that the first relic, collected 500 years ago, was likely destroyed by you after learning about the psychological effects of it. Because of these effects, we plan to minimize contact with it. We're willing to discuss with you on future action with the relic. Engineer Ollens, for the systems?"
$sam["Wow. Uh- All of our mechanics and hardware are running as they should. Upon manual inspection of our most important core systems, everything appears nominal."]
$nat["Okay. I think that is all of our significant information for the day. Please review it very carefully. (color: blue)[''Relegator''] crew signing off for today. We will still be open for communications afterwards, though."]
(link-reveal: "The camera light switches off")[==, and the recording starts sending itself to Mission Control. This shouldn't take too long, yeah?
$nat["Well, that should be it. We can wait around for a few minutes if X-Corp responds, and then begin our research afterwards."]
"Actually, I'd hold off on that for the time being. Just as a safety precaution and to see what they have to say about the relic."
$nat["Alright, that is fine."]
$sam["How in the hell do you know all this?"]
"Okay, so it's a mixture of intuition, a lot of hunches, and probably a premonition from a dream or two I had last night. It'd take way too long to explain everything and I remember things that I probably shouldn't be able to."
$nat["That sounds... Interesting."]
"Probably reminds you of one of those books."
$nat["Heh, that is true."]
[[For a few minutes, we wait around for a response.]](replace: ?Sidebar)[]<span id="box">(display: "saveFinality")</span>I don't really blame them for taking so long to respond, mostly because if suddenly one of your employees starts listing off a bunch of probably top secret information, you'd have a lot of things on your mind. Especially in a research corporation like these guys.
(link-reveal: "Nat's watch dings.")[== She glances down and reads through it for a moment. She turns around and starts typing.
$nat["Mission control has just responded. I will read it out to you."]
"Oh boy."
$nat[" 'I am the Director of Site-03. I have personally watched your recording of today's daily report after a staff member in the communications team forwarded it to me. I am very interested in this development. Specifically, how the Head Researcher has gotten hold of information that only Site Directors and above should know. We had to explain a few parts of the mission that we did not expect to our employees. This is not going to go against you, however. You have still proven our mission a success by locating and determining the nature of the relic. On the other hand, you have determined, by yourself, classified information without any source behind it. We request that you return to Earth as soon as possible, and that you avoid contact with the relic as much as possible. Do not research the object any further. Site-03 Director Sonya.' "]
"That... Was a lot to take in."
$nat["So was our report. It is only fair."]
"I guess. So we're going home now?"
$nat["Yes, that is right."]
[[Nat starts keying into the consoles again.]](replace: ?Sidebar)[]<span id="box">(display: "saveFinality")</span>I assume she's just typing in the coordinates of Earth. The ship automatically calculates an offset from the target body, mostly because if it was perfect accuracy, then you'd end up inside of the planet if you didn't slow down fast enough. It also makes it easier to get into an orbit when you stop at an angle. I still don't know how they actually calculate galactic position. The system is still fairly new (I think.) and I never had to learn it because I never expected to be travelling farther than Mars until I was told about the mission.
You're still here, right? No, I would notice something missing if you weren't. It's weird to talk to someone in your head, yeah? Especially when they can hardly muster up a response. I feel like there was a name for something like this, but I can't remember it. It's probably not important.
Nat sets up a trajectory and the ship starts moving. We hit 400 or so lightyears per second fairly quickly.
$nat["We will be home in 48 hours. I have... No idea what else we can do while we wait."]
"Did you pack board games or something?"
$nat["No, just my books."]
"Fair enough."
$sam["I am a master at rock paper scissors."]
$nat["Prove it, right now."]
(link-reveal: "They start playing against each other.")[==
Nat wins 5 times in a row.
$sam["What the heck?"]
$nat["I am a master at rock paper scissors."]
"Alright. I'm probably gonna go take a nap or something. Wake me up if anything interesting happens."
$nat["Oh, goodnight, Max."]
$sam["Night."]
I walk out of the control room and down the hall [[towards my room.]](replace: ?Sidebar)[]<span id="box">(display: "saveFinality")</span>I shut the door behind me as I walk into my room. Terminal appears on the screen as I do.
$ter["Welcome back, Miss (color: purple)[Algori]. I will go over what I know about the situation so that we may compare our knowledge."]
"Alright, go ahead."
$ter["You understand that Mission Control has been hiding information from the crew, and that the signal was not received 16 years ago, but 500."]
"Yeah that sounds about right."
$ter["The real intent of the mission was to determine the relic's effects on the mind."]
"Yes."
$ter["The material that makes up the relic does not follow standard physical law."]
"No, I didn't know that one, but I'm not really surprised, either. It's probably older than the Universe too, or something."
$ter["That is correct."]
"Huh."
$ter["The first relic was destroyed 500 years ago, using the Sun."]
"That one isn't true."
$ter["There is footage of the destruction."]
"Well, it obviously got out somehow. That was probably the last bit of its energy being used to avoid destruction. This is the same one that they picked up back in 2020. It's still alive and we've got it on board again. That's the major reason I didn't want to pick it up."
$ter["This is interesting."]
"Isn't it? Anyways, is that all?"
$ter["Yes. Rest well, Miss (color: purple)[Algori]."]
"Yeah, I'll try."
I climb into my bed and fall [[asleep pretty quickly.]](replace: ?Sidebar)[]<span id="box">(display: "saveFinality")</span>This seems to be working. I don't want to jinx it, but I think we're doing good. If we try and destroy it this time, I don't think it'll survive. I'm really not sure what a rock is going to do to us, seeing as it's just sitting there on the research table, and it's been floating around in interstellar space for 500 or so years. It's either very patient, experiences time very fast, or just remains dormant until it touches air.
Sam checked the Alcubierre drives earlier today, too, so we should be completely fine. Mostly because I always hear about how the drives can be dangerous because they test the limits of physical law, which is true to a point. But you'd need a major failure for anything of the sort to happen.
Dreams like this are nice, because I can keep thinking to myself even after falling asleep.
[[But I have to wake up eventually.]](replace: ?Sidebar)[]<span id="box">(display: "saveFinality")</span>I wake up again. I wonder why people forget their dreams sometimes? It annoys me occasionally, but I'm just glad I can remember these past few ones. Makes me wonder about the ones that I forget.
"Morning, Terminal."
$ter["Good morning, Miss (color: purple)[Algori.] I hope you slept well. The (color: blue)[''Relegator''] is on its 127th day, a Friday. All systems are currently nominal. Your crewmates are starting their breakfast."]
"Ah, so I guess I'm not too late today."
$ter["They have made sure not to attempt any research on the artifact."]
"That's good. I'll be in the cafeteria then."
I open my door and walk down the hall towards the cafeteria. I wonder if I could have asked to place a few more plants in my room? Or... Literally anything else that might add even a bit of color to it, yeah?
I [[step into the cafeteria.]](replace: ?Sidebar)[]<span id="box">(display: "saveFinality")</span>When I take a look, Nat is sitting in her chair eating and talking to Sam. He's leaning back in his chair with his eyes closed and hasn't realized I'm in the room yet. I guess Sam wasn't hungry enough to finish his food.
"Howza."
$sam["WH-"]
He falls back onto the floor. He sits up and looks up at me. Nat is snickering.
$sam["How'd you even get inside without me noticing?"]
"Your eyes were closed."
$sam["Yeah."]
"Have I missed anything?"
$nat["Me eating."]
"Fair enough."
$nat["I am going to go check on our warp trajectory. I remember seeing a minor error in the logs that I had forgotten to check on."]
$sam["Is it anything bad?"]
$nat["No. you said you checked them yesterday, anyways."]
$sam["I'll go back there and see what I can do."]
$nat["Alright."]
"I kinda want to see the warp menu again."
$nat["Sure."]
The three of us get up and leave the cafeteria. Sam heads down to the maintenance section and the two of us walk [[into the control room.]](replace: ?Sidebar)[]<span id="box">(display: "saveFinality")</span>Nat sits down in her chair and I watch the screens over her shoulder. She's really fast when working with this. That makes sense though, seeing as she's done it for half a year now and has probably flown other ships.
$nat["Hmm. That is a few more errors than the last time I checked."]
Yeah, there's about 12 there now.
$nat["None of them are system errors, just hardware issues. I wonder what could have caused them?"]
"Were they there before Sam showed up?"
$nat["No, they happened a few hours ago. H-Hold on, there are more."]
"What's going on?"
$nat["The parts are all still working just fine, but the distortion bubble is acting outside of normal. Wait, Sam just cut the power from the drives. They are still running."]
"Okay, now how possible is this?"
$nat["It breaks multiple physical laws."]
"About what I expected. What can we do about it?"
$ter["There are many system errors throughout the entire system. I will attempt to rectify them."]
"Good luck."
(link-reveal: "The door busts open.")[==
$sam["I don't know what the fuck is going on, but whatever it is is bad!"]
"We can't shut the drives off."
$sam["I literally cut the power. There's no fuel in it anymore."]
$nat["We are speeding up."]
The bubble on the diagram starts doing weird things. Like it's folding in on itself and there are a couple waves appearing in front of it.
"What's our current speed?"
$nat["Several million light years per hour."]
"How the-"
A bunch of icons all over the panel suddenly go red. On other panels, too. The front of the warp bubble suddenly snaps downwards, compressing space even tighter. The ship is beginning the shake, probably because the Universe in this spot is bending so weirdly.
$nat["Hold on, it looks like the ship is rotating space."]
"Isn't it already doing that?"
$nat["No, in a fourth spatial dimension."]
"Wait, you mean-"
$nat["Hold o-"]
The entire view around us starts distorting. The Starbow is visible directly in front of us, but it starts expanding into a thin ring of light around us. The ring crosses the halfway point and starts shrinking behind us, condensing towards a single point again.
I think she's right about us bending space in four dimensions. This is... Probably going to be an issue. Either we were turned around or the entire rest of the Universe turned without us. I'm not really sure.
$nat["Everything is currently behind us."]
"Wait, so where are we going?"
$nat["Expanded space should be directly in front of us now."]
"What are our coordinates?"
$nat["It says infinity. We either broke a law, all of them, or the machines just cannot read it."]
$ter["There has been a massive system crash. It will not be long before I am automatically disabled to preserve my data."]
"Well, you tried your best. Thanks, Terminal."
[[The view begins changing.]](replace: ?Sidebar)[]<span id="box">(display: "saveFinality")</span>The inky black of space before us begins slowly fading into a grey, gradually getting brighter.
$nat["Space is being expanded too much... I do not know what that means."]
"This reminds me of the Big Rip scenario, but localized to one spot. I think we're... Tearing a hole in the Universe?"
$nat["That sounds right?"]
The grey fades into a white, with a border that fades back into the black of space, gradually expanding. I think we're still moving forward. Through whatever this is. Have we actually tore a hole in the Universe?
We cross whatever the border is. And suddenly we can see a massive black expanse all around us, extending into the horizon at all sides. It's like we're coming out of an infinite wall.
"Nat, how fast are we going?"
$nat["Millions of light years per second."]
"If we're leaving the Universe, I'm pretty sure there's no such thing as 'space' in terms of what we're used to while inside of one."
$nat["I thought the drive dragged space with it?"]
"It does. And that's what we're doing, so... It should be safe? Well, as safe as whatever the hell this is can be."
$nat["One billion light years per second."]
The warp bubble on the screen suddenly wobbles for a moment. Space around the bubble is... Well, undetectable. I'm not sure what that means but I think I have an idea. This is probably more than just conceptual physics at this point.
You're still there, right? Actually, if anything, I feel a little closer right now. I'm not sure what that means. I better not die out here. Not after learning so much about the Universe. I think we have fully separated from our Universe, though.
"So we're... In interuniversal space?"
$nat["Yes, that seems to be- One trillion light years per second."]
"How the fuck..."
[[We look at the cameras behind us.]](replace: ?Sidebar)[]<span id="box">(display: "saveFinality")</span>(track: "coffin", "play")The black object behind us begins to recede from the horizon, appearing to shrink. It starts to seem more like a physical object. I think that really is the entire Universe...
Given that there is no "space" out here, that means that there is no way for anything to exist out here, right? This is more than a vacuum, completely void of anything, no medium for anything to travel. Not even quantum fluctuation. Distance is kind of redundant out here, yeah? A truly perfect vacuum, and we've stained it with our bubble.
"What are all those dots? Out there?"
$nat["It looks like dust."]
"Wait, hold on. Look behind us. How fast are we moving?"
$nat["Several trillion lightyears per second!"]
"Those... They might be other universes."
$nat["Oh my..."]
The bubble behind us is rapidly receding into the distance. For a split second, I see a small bulge on the Universe's surface. It pushes outwards for a moment, before being snapped back into the surface, disappearing.
"Can we control the ship?"
$nat["The controls are not responding."]
Sam is still sitting there silent. I don't blame him.
"Those are other bubbles, too, aren't they? Other universes?"
$nat["You might be right."]
"So this is proof."
$nat["Yeah."]
Ahead of us is a black dot, directly in front of us. It's just that it's really far away. I can see it growing, though.
"That's another universe, isn't it?"
$nat["Probably."]
[[We get closer to it.]](replace: ?Sidebar)[]<span id="box">(display: "saveFinality")</span>The other universe is rapidly approaching us now.
$nat["Our speed has stopped increasing."]
"I'm not sure how comforting that is, to be honest."
$sam["Are we going to run into it and crash or what?"]
"Maybe? We could also get lucky and enter it. Unless it's got a different fine structure constant or something and we just disintegrating."
$nat["I hope we can at least survive."]
"It won't be the same though. It's a completely different universe. I don't care how nice it is. It's not our world."
$nat["You better hope we can leave again, then. Brace yourself."]
The other universe is consuming more and more of our view.
[[It's time for impact.]]
(replace: ?Sidebar)[]<span id="box">(display: "saveFinality")</span>The universe consumes a full 180 degrees of our vision for a split second as we hit the edge. And then, like some sort of light switch, the white behind us flicks into the same inky blackness around us.
There's a massive whirring noise as the Alcubierre drives suddenly stop distorting space. All of the red lights and errors on the screen suddenly disappear.
$nat["Distortion fields are equalized. Warp speed is at zero. Welcome to the new universe."]
[[We look around us.]](replace: ?Sidebar)[]<span id="box">(display: "saveFinality")</span>The universe here seems darker than ours. Like there are less stars or maybe... Well, almost all of the stars we can see are a bright scarlet color.
"Red dwarfs. That's all we can see, isn't it?"
$nat["Yes."]
"See if we can't find a copy of the Milky Way here."
$nat["Give me a moment to run the scanners. They need to be recalibrated for some reason. But it makes sense."]
"Being in a different Universe with presumably different laws of physics would probably cause that. I imagine that we're in the future compared to our original Universe. If there's nothing but red dwarfs left, every other star has died and red dwarfs are all that still have fuel."
$nat["Let me calculate the universe's expansion rate and see if the computers can extrapolate the age from there."]
"Alright. It'll probably take a moment, given our models."
(link-reveal: "We wait around while the system tries to estimate the age of the Universe.")[== I imagine this one is very old.
After about two minutes of passively drifting through space, the ship has calculated the universe's age.
$nat["According to the ship, we are... 114 billion years late to the party, putting us at a solid 127 billion years."]
"That old? That means the Milky Way doesn't exist anymore. The entire Local Group should have collapsed into one galaxy. Does the coordinate system still work?"
$nat["Without other systems to ping off of, the entire thing runs on estimates."]
"Try it anyways."
Nat gives the computers a minute to find their way around space.
$nat["We have a good estimate, I think."]
She starts pointing the ship in the direction the computers gave.
$nat["I am going to take the risk and use the Alcubierre drives again."]
"Are you really sure?"
$nat["At this point, how much worse could it get?"]
"That's a horrible question. But I'm curious too, I guess."
$sam["Might as well."]
Sam seems to be quieter now, taking in the sights. I... Kind of am, too. Nat presses a few buttons on the panel.
The drives start moving the ship forward. Eight seconds have passed since we started a warp and nothing bad has happened yet.
[[We begin approaching one of the galaxies.]](replace: ?Sidebar)[]<span id="box">(display: "saveFinality")</span>''Chapter 3: Red Geyser''
(link: "Save")[Saved.(save-game: "file A")]
---
We shoot towards the galaxy faster than the intended speed limit. I guess the jolt undid that limit. I think I remember that limit being coded into the system at some point, but not an actual physical limitation.
So this is supposed to be our home in the future, then? A dying planet in a dying galaxy in a dying universe? I remember what this kind of galaxy was called. A Red Geyser. One running out of opportunity.
(track: "distress", "play")
We start moving towards the galaxy even faster. Nat guides the ship towards where the Earth should be. She slows down the ship a bit as we enter the galaxy. There is a star directly in front of the ship. It's a small white dot, hardly bright enough to compare to the current Sun. A white dwarf star barely keeping its system together.
"Does the Earth still exist, or was it swallowed by the red giant Sun?"
$nat["I think it survived. Yes, that is right. The Sun did not grow large enough to destroy the Earth."]
$sam["How much of it is left?"]
"I wouldn't be surprised if there was literally nothing."
[[We approach the first planet in the system.]](replace: ?Sidebar)[]<span id="box">(display: "saveFinality")</span>I know for a fact that Mercury and Venus would have been destroyed in the red giant phase, but we weren't completely sure if the Earth would make it. Apparently it has, in this universe.
We've picked the first planet in the system, because the original first two planets were destroyed.
Nat stops the ship in orbit around the planet. Earth and the Moon have survived.
$nat["Welcome... Welcome Home."]
"I don't want to call it that."
Earth is completely barren. There are no recognizable features left on the planet's surface. A dark snowball without a visible trace of water left. It's very cold, I'd assume. It's been billions of years since the Sun exploded. Nothing but dust and rock can remain on that surface.
The Moon is split in two, both halves on opposite sides of the planet. A semi-ring floats around it.
"Let's take a look at the relic. I think this is its home universe."
$nat["Home universe?"]
"Alright, so you know how I know more than I should be able to?"
$nat["Like yesterday, yes."]
"Yeah, well. Let's call it a hunch. This dying universe is the one that the relic comes from. There's a number for our Universe and the one we're in now. The relic might be stronger here, even if still weak."
$nat["Oh..."]
We get up from our seats and leave the control room, towards the lab room.
$sam["You mean the relic is alive?"]
"Yeah. That's right. It's a concept though, so it can change its form if it is strong enough. I assume it'd need matter and acknowledgement from sentient beings to live."
$nat["Wait, they need others to live?"]
"It's like a gene that wants to carry on. This is a meme that wants to carry on. I know that sounds weird, but it's a good way to think about it, I think. It just happens to be stronger than the ideas we're used to."
$nat["And you think it is safe to interact with it?"]
"There are only three human minds left in the universe. I don't think there's anything to gain from us anymore. And I don't think it's happy to be back here."
$nat["How did we end up here? Given that you know so much."]
"I think it was the relic. It can work 'miracles' on the environment around it at the expense of some of its energy. And this one... Probably didn't go to plan."
$nat["Ah, that makes sense. If a bit weird."]
$sam["We'll be able to talk with it, right?"]
"I think so."
[[We enter the lab room.]](replace: ?Sidebar)[]<span id="box">(display: "saveFinality")</span>"Welcome home, rock. Not sure why you brought us here."
$nat["You are... Talking to a rock?"]
$rel["In a bout of desperation after realizing what you planned, I sabotaged your Alcubierre drives. The intent was to get rid of you and disappear from the radar temporarily, because returning to Earth would be certain death."]
$sam["Well, shit."]
"I knew it... Anyways, how did it end up with us back here?"
$rel["Through pure chance, the drives became stronger than I meant for them to become, and we left your Universe. The trajectory somehow lined up directly with my home universe, and here we are."]
"Damn, that's... Gotta suck. How long did you spend trying to leave?"
$rel["I lived here for billion of years before I realized that sentient life was dying out and I would be going with it. I abused the natural instability of this universe in a final attempt, condensing myself into a physical manifestation for a time. I crossed the interuniversal gap very quickly. I then waited 13 billion years in dormancy before life formed. After your technology progressed enough, I placed myself in orbit around the Earth. I waited to be collected."]
"And how did that go?"
$rel["That company from your planet had technology far beyond the rest of the world. They caught on quickly and figured out my weaknesses in a physical form. From there, they tried to use the Sun to destroy me. I warped myself to the edge of the galaxy right before I would have died. 500 years passed before they could reach me again. It seems they were prepared."]
"No, I don't think they were very prepared for you. It was really just me. And... Well, I don't think I'm sorry, given what you had planned."
$rel["I am being honest when I say that the new world was a better one."]
"You know for a fact I can't trust you. Did you really expect me to?"
$rel["No."]
"Are you just going to stay as a rock like that?"
$rel["It is a form that does not take much energy."]
"Fair enough."
$rel["It would take lots of matter to change my form, anyways."]
"We're going to land and take a look around."
$rel["The atmosphere is survivable without protection, but there is no point to trying. The ozone layer and magnetic field were destroyed billions of years ago."]
"Nat, we're going to check on that."
$nat["Yes, I plan to."]
$sam["I'm gonna stick around and talk with the relic."]
"Alright. Have fun."
[[We leave the room.]](replace: ?Sidebar)[]<span id="box">(display: "saveFinality")</span>$nat["This is... Gravely disappointing. We are now in a different universe, and one where we are the only life in existence."]
"Well, forgetting everything alive that was in the ship. Like the plants."
$nat["They would not grow in this environment, you know."]
"Yeah. The weather changes are too extreme and the radiation levels are too high, probably. If you managed to survive with nothing but dust and materials from the ship, the radiation would kill you. There's nowhere else in the Universe to live, is there?"
$nat["We could try jumping from system to system to find a planet that supported life."]
"The entire universe is dying, though."
$nat["As long as the (color: blue)[''Relegator''] is running, we should be fine for travel. I noticed a spike in the reactor output and a sudden drop in reactivity."]
"Did it get more efficient?"
$nat["Nuclear fusion is a bit more effective here, I would think."]
"Huh..."
$nat["That, or the efficiency of our electronics has increased."]
"I guess that's nice. What's the lifespan of our ship at the moment?"
$nat["Without refueling, we could last a few more months."]
"Should we?"
$nat["I do not know."]
"Would it even be worth it to carry on to other worlds? There'd be nothing to go back to."
$nat["We may still have forward progress. And... Maybe we could rebuild. I do not want to think about it right now, though."]
"Me neither."
An extrauniversal colonization project?
I never would have been able to prepare for this, ever.
(link-reveal: "Nat opens the control room door.")[==
She sits down in her chair and starts typing commands into the console. The ship begins its descent to the dying Earth. We drop through the thinning atmosphere. We're falling faster than normal, but the ship doesn't start burning because of it.
Nat brings the ship down to a flat region of the surface. It's good enough, seeing as landing pads probably don't exist anymore. There's a few creaks as the ship settles into the dust.
$nat["Welcome to Dead Earth."]
"Check the atmospheric composition."
$nat["I was working on it."]
[[We get the results fairly quickly.]](replace: ?Sidebar)[]<span id="box">(display: "saveFinality")</span>$nat["The air is breathable. It might be a bit uncomfortable, but you could survive just fine."]
"What about the radiation levels? Also the humidity."
$nat["Above average, but you could probably go a few years without getting cancer. Humidity is... Surprisingly high. A good few percent. It looked dry enough to me."]
It's still dry, but that's pretty big. Earth has an average humidity of some 30%. Well, our Earth, at least.
"That's nice, I guess. Maybe a plant could survive."
$nat["It probably would not hurt us to try. The plant, on the other hand..."]
"Let's get Sam and take a look outside."
$nat["Yes."]
(link-reveal: "We get up and head to the lab room.")[== Sam is already leaving as we approach the door.
$sam["I've decided."]
"Decided what?"
$sam["I'm going to stay here. I'll grab a few plants and some seeds and start searching for water."]
$nat["Is there any water? The oceans looked dry."]
$sam["There are a couple rivers in places with high humidity. I don't care how futile it is. I don't want to give up. Not yet, at least. I don't care if I'm in a completely different universe or if I'm the only intelligent being out there. I'm going to do what I can. I'll even stay here without the ship if I have to."]
"That's respectable, then. We'll give you everything you need. Take what you please."
$sam["The relic wants to come with me too."]
"A second chance, huh?"
$sam["Maybe."]
He steps back inside for a moment, before pulling the cart out of the door and into the halls. There are a couple bags of seeds and a few pots on the bottom of the cart. There's also a good chunk of rations inside. We walk with him towards the cargo bay.
$sam["I can't move the cart once you land in the dust outside."]
$rel["I will be able to change my form given enough time. There is more than enough useless material out here."]
$sam["Alright."]
I walk over and open the inner cargo bay door.
"We're going to depressurize the cargo bay, since we don't want to lose air."
$sam["Alright. Are you two coming?"]
"For now, yeah."
We all step into the bay and I close the door behind us. I press the button and the bay begins to match the outside pressure. The air thins out a bit, but they were right. It's not too awful, I just have to breathe a bit more when I do.
The bay ramp extends down to the dusty ground.
[[We step outside.]](replace: ?Sidebar)[]<span id="box">(display: "saveFinality")</span>It's pretty chilly. Not too cold, but enough that it was a bit of a surprise. There are high winds and there's dust flying around. Like that dust bowl from 600 some years ago that I heard about. Well, 100 billion or so in terms of this universe. The air feels dry, too. The horizon is nothing but rocky mountains and dusty hills.
Occasionally across the sky are thin clouds. I wonder how much of them are actually water? The world is kind of... Sickly dim, too. The Sun feels really tiny in the sky compared to what I'm used to, like it's constantly dusk. One half of the Moon is visible in another part of the sky with some ring.
(track: "wind", "play")
$nat["What a pitiful world."]
"It really is."
$sam["We've still got a chance."]
"What do you think happened to the Moon?"
$sam["Any number of things. It's been billions of years."]
$nat["Could have been the Sun."]
"Maybe."
(link-reveal: "Sam pushes the cart down the ramp.")[== He has to pull back on it a bit to keep it from rolling too far away. Once it hits the dust, it kind of sinks down a couple centimeters. Not like there's much underneath. He manages to drag the relic's cart to the top of a small mound near the ship.
$sam["There's not a whole lot to do here. Wonder if I could find something to build."]
$rel["Give me time, and I can try to help."]
"That sounds nice."
$rel["Will you two be staying?"]
$nat["I have not decided yet."]
"I... I don't think I will. I don't like it here. It just doesn't sound worth it to keep living when I'm trapped in another universe and there's nothing else to do but fight to survive. To what end? Is there really a point to continuing onto nothing? The goals have been wiped away."
$rel["Very well."]
$nat["I agree. I- "]
[[She hesitates for a moment, taking a deep breath.]](replace: ?Sidebar)[]<span id="box">(display: "saveFinality")</span>She reaches into her pocket and pulls out a pistol.
(track: "love", "play")
$sam["Nat? Where did you get that?"]
$nat["I brought it with me from the beginning. I am giving it to you now."]
$sam["Why?"]
$nat["I will not be staying here. It will be of more use to you than me. The stress would eventually catch up to me, in the end."]
She extends her hand.
He looks at the gun.
She hands it over to him. He takes it, reluctantly.
$nat["In case you change your mind, or it turns out that you need to defend yourself."]
"Hug me."
He does. It's nice and tight. He hugs Nat, too.
$nat["Good luck, Sam."]
"Have fun, too."
$sam["I'll do my best."]
$nat["The world is yours. Take good care of what is left."]
$rel["I will help to the best of my ability."]
$sam["Thanks. I won't let you down."]
It's a shame I've already let myself down.
We walk up the ship's ramp and back inside. I press a button and the ramp begins retracting. We're waving to each other as it happens.
The cargo bay door shuts closed, blocking our view of each other. We pressurize the cargo bay. The cleaner, denser air is nice to return to. The winds have stopped, too.
$nat["I think he will miss us for a while."]
"I would, too. I hope he does good, though."
$nat["Me too."]
[[We leave the cargo bay and head to the control room.]](replace: ?Sidebar)[]<span id="box">(display: "saveFinality")</span>She starts booting up the engines and everything. We start rising through the atmosphere again. We can see Sam still waving at us through the cameras at the bottom.
$nat["Did you know the ship has a horn?"]
"No, not at all."
$nat["We will hear it for the first and last times."]
"Very well."
(link-reveal: "She plays it a couple times.")[== It sounds like a boat's horn. After that, we continue our ascent. We leave the atmosphere after a few moments.
[[I go over the thought a few more times in my head.]](replace: ?Sidebar)[]<span id="box">(display: "saveFinality")</span>You're still here, yeah? Yeah, I think so. I doubt there's much the two of us can do about our situation now. Well, three of us, I guess. You, Nat, and me. Except you're just in my head. I wonder what could have happened differently?
There's not really much point to being here, like I said. I just can't bring myself to go on any further when there's nothing left for us in the universe. Why try? It's better to just give up.
There's nothing left for us.
(link-reveal: "I look at Nat.")[==
"Nat?"
$nat["Yes?"]
"Do you think that maybe there's something better than this world?"
$nat["We came from something better."]
"That's true. But I mean... After we die."
$nat["Let's count on it."]
"Nat, did you-"
$nat["Yes. When there is no more point to things, they change."]
"Yeah."
(link-reveal: "We enter Earth orbit.")[==
"Are we done here?"
$nat["Yes."]
"For real, this time?"
$nat["Yes."]
(link-reveal: "She presses a few more buttons on the control panel.")[== The ship begins moving. Towards the Sun.
$nat["It is only fitting, no?"]
"It's going to be nice to finish our job."
She hugs me. We don't let go.
"Thank you, Captain."
$nat["It's okay."]
We close our eyes.
(link-reveal: "The dying Sun approaches.")[==
---
From the perspective of the new last man on Earth, a bright spark is visible over the Sun.
The light of the Sun brightens for just a moment, before dying back down.
$sam["What was that?"]
$rel["Don't worry about it. You wouldn't like the answer."]
---
(link-reveal: "**The End**")[
(transition: "dissolve")+(transition-time: 30000)[\
(font: "Verdana")[\
(color: green)[\
(css: "font-size: 175%;")[\
''ACROSS THE STARS'']
''TO THE EDGE OF AN INFINITE HORIZON'']]
Ending F-2: Red Geyser
(color: red)["It's okay. You did your best, Max."]
(link: "And the story ends.")[(reload:)]
The loop is closed. But could it have been better?
]](replace: ?Sidebar)[]<span id="box">(display: "saveFinality")</span>I'm still going to avoid researching this thing as much as I can, yeah? And I'll make sure that the other two keep their distance from it at all times. I don't think it ever posed a physical threat to us, at least not at the moment... But I swear I remember something about an electromagnetic wave.
Lab-02 isn't really that far from the bay, but this thing isn't all that light even with the wheels, either. Nat is watching from farther down the hall. Sam is presumably still cleaning up the cargo bay. I open up the door to the lab room and park the cart right in the middle of the room for later analysis. I feel like I already know what to expect from it, though.
I get out of the room as soon as possible and shut the door behind me. Sam is also waiting outside now. I take off the mask and gloves.
"Yep, I'm still alive."
$nat["Anything interesting happen?"]
"Just as boring as any other rock I've picked up, yeah?"
$sam["That's good, I guess."]
"If we want to do any further research on it, I suggest we do it from the observation room next door, just to make sure we don't die or anything stupid like that."
$nat["We should probably go ahead and finish our daily report before we start anything else today."]
"Fair enough. We're going there now?"
$nat["Sure."]
"Also, we should probably be a bit more careful around the relic. It's probably just my intuition getting to me, but I think it'd be best to keep our distance."
$nat["Well, if you say so... I highly doubt it would do much, though."]
$sam["Looks just like a rock to me."]
"I don't know many rocks that emit radio waves."
He shrugs to that one.
[[We make it to the control room.]](replace: ?Sidebar)[]<span id="box">(display: "saveFinality")</span>Nat sits down in her pilot's seat and starts typing in passwords and stuff. And then I remember a few things about the relic. I'm going to confront Mission Control about this.
"Nat, I think I know a couple more things about the relic than we should be able to."
$nat["What do you mean?"]
"This is- This is going to be hard to explain."
$nat["Go ahead."]
"The relic isn't really a physical threat, not yet, at least. But it is a psychological one. Are you two familiar with the concept of a cognitohazard?"
$sam["No."]
$nat["I remember reading something about that in a really long ship manifest that I never bothered to do more than skim through."]
"Yeah, well, this is one. If you stay around it too long, it gets into your head."
$nat["Max, what are you saying?"]
"I'm saying we need to avoid the relic."
$nat["Are you sure there is not something in //your// head?"]
"I kind of expected this to happen."
(link-reveal: "I'm not going to get anywhere like this, am I?")[==
$ter["She's right."]
$sam["Huh?"]
"Wait, you too?"
$ter["X-Corp has not given you all the full details on what exactly this mission involves. The relic is very much a dangerous cognitohazard that requires direct exposure to spread."]
$nat["This is... Big news. Why did you not tell us before?"]
$ter["It was against protocol to explain the full mission, but somehow, Miss (color: purple)[Algori] already knows the mission plan."]
"Wait, did they //want// us to get affected?"
$ter["No, simply to test if the relic caused any effects like the first one did."]
$nat["Wait, first relic? I thought this was the only one, we started receiving the signal from it 16 years ago."]
"Yeah, that sounds right. And there's no way it was only 16 years, yeah? I think they tried to destroy the first one."
$ter["Miss (color: purple)[Algori], have you been searching through my database?"]
"No, check your access history. You would know if I searched. I'm not really sure how I know this myself."
$ter["Interesting. Please continue with your daily report. Mission control will be very interested to hear that you already know the truth."]
$nat["Huh... So be it. Do we all know what to say to them?"]
$sam["I think so."]
"I'm going to tell them what I know."
$nat["Very well. The two of us will proceed as normal."]
[[The panel's camera light turns on.]](replace: ?Sidebar)[]<span id="box">(display: "saveFinality")</span>Nat starts talking first, naturally. She's captain, it makes sense.
$nat["Hello! This is Captain Carter of the (color: blue)[''Relegator'']. Today is our 126th day, a Thursday, of our voyage to discover the source of the signal at the galactic edge. I will have Research Head (color: purple)[Algori] explain what we have learned from the object so far."]
"That's right. We've discovered the source of the radio signals you were receiving years ago. Turned out to be a moderately-sized rock-looking thing, which we were able to reluctantly pull aboard via the EVA robots. We then had it carted into one of the main lab centers for potential future research. I made sure proper safety precautions were taken and there were no issues in moving it. Exposure to the relic was minimized. Upon our closer inspection, the material appears to be similar to granite, with golden writing across the front. We haven't figured out if they're part of an ancient language or not, but we may get to that. So far, we do know that the first relic, collected 500 years ago, was likely destroyed by you after learning about the psychological effects of it. Because of these effects, we plan to minimize our contact with it in the future. We're willing to discuss with you on future action with the relic. Engineer Ollens, for the systems?"
$sam["Wow. Uh- All of our mechanics and hardware are running as they should. Upon manual inspection of our most important core systems, everything appears nominal."]
$nat["Okay. I think that is all of our significant information for the day. Please review it very carefully. (color: blue)[''Relegator''] crew signing off for today. We will still be open for communications afterwards, though."]
(link-reveal: "The camera light switches off.")[== The recording begins sending itself to Mission Control. This shouldn't take too long, yeah?
$nat["Well, that should be it. We can wait around for a few minutes if X-Corp responds, and then begin our research afterwards."]
"Actually, I'd hold off on that for the time being. Just as a safety precaution and to see what they have to say about the relic."
$nat["Alright, that is fine."]
$sam["How in the hell did you know all that?"]
"Okay, so it's a mixture of my intuition, a lot of hunches, and probably a premonition from a dream or two I had last night. It'd take way too long to explain everything and I remember things that I probably shouldn't be able to."
$nat["That sounds... interesting."]
"Probably reminds you of one of those books."
$nat["Heh, that is true."]
[[We wait around for a response for a few minutes.]](replace: ?Sidebar)[]<span id="box">(display: "saveFinality")</span>I don't really blame them for taking so long to respond, mostly because if suddenly one of your employees starts spouting information that's probably top secret, you'd have a lot of things on your mind.
(link-reveal: "Nat's watch dings.")[== She glances down and reads through it for a moment. She turns around and starts typing.
$nat["Mission Control has just responded. I will read it out to you."]
"Oh boy."
$nat[" 'I am the Director of Site-03. I have personally watched your recording of today's report after a staff member in the communications team forwarded it to me. I am very interested in this development. Specifically, how the Head Researcher has gotten hold of information that only Site Directors and above should know. We had to explain a few parts of the mission that we did not expect to our employees. This is not going to go against you, however. You have still proven our mission a success by locating and determining the nature of the relic. On the other hand, you have determined, by yourself, classified information without any source behind it. We request that you return to Earth as soon as possible, and that you avoid contact with the relic as much as possible. Do not research the object any further. Site-03 Director Sonya.' "]
"That... Was a lot to take in."
$nat["So was our report. It is only fair."]
"I guess. So we're going home now?"
$nat["Yes, that is right."]
[[Nat starts typing into the consoles again.]](replace: ?Sidebar)[]<span id="box">(display: "saveFinality")</span>I assume she's just typing in the coordinates of Earth. The ship automatically calculates an offset from the target body, mostly because you would end up inside whatever planet you targeted if it was perfect accuracy. It also makes it easier to get into an orbit when you stop at an angle like that. The systems are still fairly new, though. At least I think so. I never had to learn them because I never planned to be travelling farther than Mars until I was told about the mission.
You're still here, right? Yeah, I think I'd notice something missing if you weren't. It's weird to talk to someone in your head, yeah? Especially when they can hardly muster up a response. I feel like there was a name for something like this, but I can probably remember it some other time. It's not really important, anyways.
Nat sets up a trajectory and the ship starts moving. We hit 400 or so lightyears per second fairly quickly.
$nat["We will be home in 48 hours. I have... No idea what else we can do while we wait."]
"Did you pack board games or something?"
$nat["No, just my books."]
"Fair enough."
$sam["I am a master at rock paper scissors."]
$nat["Prove it, right now."]
They start playing against each other. Nat wins 5 times in a row.
$sam["What the heck?"]
$nat["I am a master at rock paper scissors."]
"Alright. I'm probably gonna go take a nap or something. Wake me up if anything interesting happens."
$nat["Oh, goodnight, Max."]
$sam["Night."]
I walk out of the control room and down the hall [[and into my room.]](replace: ?Sidebar)[]<span id="box">(display: "saveFinality")</span>I shut the door behind me as I walk in. Terminal appears on the screen as I do.
$ter["Welcome back, Miss (color: purple)[Algori]. I will go over what I know about the situation so that we may compare what we know."]
"Alright, go ahead."
$ter["You understand that Mission Control has been hiding information from the crew, and that the signal was not received 16 years ago, but 500."]
"Yeah that sounds about right."
$ter["The real intent of the mission was to determine the relic's effects on the mind."]
"Yes."
$ter["The material that makes up the relic does not follow standard physical law."]
"No, I didn't know that one, but I'm not really surprised, either. It's probably older than the Universe too, yeah?"
$ter["That is correct."]
"Huh."
$ter["The first relic was destroyed 500 years ago, using the Sun."]
"That one isn't true."
$ter["There is footage of the destruction."]
"Well, it obviously got out somehow. That was probably the last bit of its energy being used to avoid destruction. This is the same one that they picked up back in 2020. It's still alive and we've got it on board again. That's the main reason I don't like having it on board."
$ter["This is interesting."]
"Isn't it? Anyways, is that all?"
$ter["Yes. Rest well, Miss (color: purple)[Algori]."]
"Yeah, I'll try."
I climb into my bed and [[fall asleep pretty quickly.]](replace: ?Sidebar)[]<span id="box">(display: "saveFinality")</span>This seems to be working. I don't want to jinx it, but I think we're doing good. If we try and destroy it this time, I don't think it'll survive. I'm really not sure what a rock is going to do to us, seeing as it's just sitting there on the research table, and it's been floating around in interstellar space for 500 years. It's either very patient, experiences time very fast, or just remains dormant until it touches air.
Sam checked the Alcubierre drives earlier today, too, so we should be completely fine. Mostly because I always hear about how the drives can be dangerous because they test the limits of physical law, which is true to a point. But you'd need a major failure for anything of the sort to happen. Dreams like this are nice, because I can keep thinking to myself even after falling asleep.
[[But I'll have to get up eventually.]](replace: ?Sidebar)[]<span id="box">(display: "saveFinality")</span>I wake up again. I wonder why people forget their dreams sometimes? It annoys me occasionally, but I'm glad I can remember these past few ones. Makes me wonder about the ones that I forget.
"Morning, Terminal."
$ter["Good morning, Miss (color: purple)[Algori]. I hope you slept well. The (color: blue)[''Relegator''] is on its 127th day, a Friday. All systems are currently nominal. Your crewmates are starting their breakfast."]
"Ah, so I guess I'm not too late today."
$ter["They have made sure not to attempt any research on the artifact."]
"That's good. I'll be in the cafeteria then."
I open my door and walk down the hall towards the cafeteria. I wonder if I could have asked to place a few more plants in my room? Or... Literally anything else that might add even a bit of color to it, yeah?
I step into [[the cafeteria.]](replace: ?Sidebar)[]<span id="box">(display: "saveFinality")</span>When I take a look, Nat is sitting in her chair eating and talking to Sam. He's leaning back in his chair with his eyes closed and hasn't realized I'm in the room yet. I guess Sam wasn't hungry enough to finish his food.
"Howza."
$sam["WH-"]
He falls back onto the floor. He sits up and looks up at me. Nat is snickering.
$sam["How'd you even get inside without me noticing?"]
"Your eyes were closed."
$sam["Yeah."]
"Have I missed anything?"
$nat["Me eating."]
"Fair enough."
$nat["I am going to go check on our warp trajectory. I remember seeing a minor error in the logs that I had forgotten to check on."]
$sam["Is it anything bad?"]
$nat["No, you said you checked them yesterday, anyways."]
$sam["I'll go back there and see what I can do."]
$nat["Alright."]
"I kinda want to see the warp menu again."
$nat["Sure."]
The three of us get up and leave the cafeteria. Sam heads down to the maintenance section and the two of us [[walk into the control room.]](replace: ?Sidebar)[]<span id="box">(display: "saveFinality")</span>Nat sits down in her chair and I watch the screens over her shoulder. She's really fast when working with this. That makes sense though, seeing as she's done it for half a year now and has probably flown other ships before this.
$nat["No new errors have been reported. That is good."]
"Yeah."
$nat["It was not a system error, but a hardware one. I wonder what caused it?"]
"Was it there before Sam showed up?"
$nat["Yes. I think he is working on it now."]
"So we should be fine, then?"
$nat["I think so."]
As she says it, the error disappears from the display.
$nat["Just like that."]
"Nice. What was the error?"
$nat["Just an issue in one of the spatial manifolds. A minor thing that we would not need to worry about normally."]
"What does that mean?"
$nat["It would take too long to explain."]
"Fair enough."
(link-reveal: "Sam comes into the room.")[==
$sam["Fixed it. Pretty simple thing. I'm not really sure what happened but I just tightened a couple bolts."]
$nat["Well, it worked."]
"Yeah. Anyways, did we get anything new from Mission Control since yesterday?"
$nat["Just another checkup to make sure we are progressing as normal."]
"Are we?"
$nat["Essentially. We have just been waiting around passing the time and avoiding the lab rooms."]
"That's good, I guess. We're going to arrive at Earth later tomorrow, right?"
$nat["Yes, around that time."]
$sam["I can't wait."]
$nat["You are going to."]
$sam["Yeah."]
"When we do get back, what site will we be landing at?"
$nat["Site-03. The same one as the director that emailed us. I think they were the ones that handled contact with our ship."]
"That's interesting. I thought Site-08 was the one where the ship was built?"
$nat["It is. And it was designed at Site-19, the main one."]
"Actually, why aren't we headed to that one?"
$nat["Maybe they want to keep The Administrator away from the relic."]
"Maybe."
$sam["Is The Administrator actually real? I never figured out."]
"I don't know. We just assume he is."
$sam["Is he actually a guy?"]
"I also don't know. Everyone just assumes it."
$nat["What an interesting organization."]
"Nat, you were the first one of us hired."
$nat["Yes."]
[[We receive a message.]](replace: ?Sidebar)[]<span id="box">(display: "saveFinality")</span>It's another message from the Site-03 director. We look at the message.
$dir["After explaining how much classified information you knew to the administration team at Site-19, they brought up that their engineers designed a speed limit into the control system. Apparently the ship can travel much faster than the intended maximum speed. The engineers explained to me that if you open the bottom panel underneath the central control panel, there is a series of wires. There is one small electronic device on Section D12. The captain should know what that means. If you disconnect the last two cables on that end, it should disable the computer's speed sensor so that the limit is removed. You should be able to freely manipulate the speed of the warp drives, as long as you keep it within the ICTC safety standards, under 5,000 light years per hour. This was untested, so be careful. Site-19 requested that you do raise the speed limit in order to arrive faster. Professionally, we need you here because it was requested by the higher ups. Unprofessionally, it's probably because someone up there is impatient. Good luck. Site-03 Director Sonya."]
$nat["I... Already knew that. One of the engineers pulled me aside when they were placing the ship on the launch pad and explained to me how I could remove that limiter."]
"Are we?"
$nat["Well, it was an order. I was already considering it to begin with."]
"Alright. Do we have to disable the drives to do it?"
$nat["For safety, generally, but as long as I do not screw up too badly, we should be completely fine."]
$sam["You sure?"]
$nat["Of course I am."]
She gets down onto the floor and lies down on the ground underneath the control panel. She raises her hands towards the panel for a moment before stopping.
$nat["Does anyone have a screwdriver."]
"I do."
I hand it over to her.
$sam["You do?"]
"I just have it on me. Just in case."
$sam["Yeah, but why?"]
"What did we need? Oh, yeah, a screwdriver. Problem solved."
$nat["Hush, ladies. I need to work."]
"Shut up."
[[We watch her work.]](replace: ?Sidebar)[]<span id="box">(display: "saveFinality")</span>(replace: ?Sidebar)[]She unscrews the panel above her and sets it down on the floor next to her. She reaches up and starts messing around with wires. She eventually finds what she's looking for and she moves them around. It doesn't take long before the puts the panel back on and screws it back in place.
$nat["That was easy. Here you are."]
She hands the screwdriver back to me. I put it in my pocket.
$nat["Time to test out my new toy."]
"Nat, you've been playing with it for 127 days now."
$nat["Yes, but it goes faster now."]
$sam["Always liked it quick."]
$nat["Of course you would."]
$sam["Hey, wait-"]
$nat["You walked into that one."]
"You really did."
Nat types into the console for a minute and suddenly the view in front of us distorts even more, compressing into a nice circle in front of us, ending at right about the halfway point of our ship.
$nat["This looks pretty."]
"Space looks pretty. What's our ETA now?"
$nat["Six hours."]
"So we'll be arriving later today."
$nat["If I have the time zones right, we will be landing at Site-03 somewhere around 5 PM."]
"What time zone does the ship follow?"
$nat["UTC. It just makes sense."]
"Fair enough. Wouldn't it make more sense if they just used the same time zone as wherever Mission Control is?"
$nat["Maybe."]
"Does anyone want to do anything?"
$nat["Want me to read one of my books out loud?"]
$sam["I like reading as much as the next guy bu-"]
"I like reading."
$nat["Actually, all of them would be too long for this trip. And we do not know if we will be placed on the same mission together next time."]
"Aw, okay. I'd love to hear about it some other time, then."
$nat["I would count on it."]
$sam["I'm not a master at rock paper scissors so I honestly wouldn't know what else to do."]
"You could do literally anything else."
$sam["I don't know man, kinda the only thing I had going for me."]
"If you say so, 'mister engineer at the edge of the galaxy.' Do you think we'll talk to the site director when we get back?"
$nat["There is no way we would not be. I imagine that we will have some form of communication with The Administrator, but that one is questionable."]
"I imagine we're going to be doing a lot of talking with a lot of very powerful people."
$sam["I think it'll be fun."]
"You'd get jealous."
$sam["Maybe."]
"If we got placed on another mission, where do you think it would be?"
$nat["I kind of like it out here, as much as I miss being back home. I think I would like to actually leave the galaxy and take a proper look at it with my own eyes."]
"That'd be nice. I'd like to do it with you."
$sam["Well I don't want to miss out."]
"Maybe we'd actually have a crew to manage?"
$nat["Maybe we might get an explanation as to why there were only three of us."]
"Yeah, I was always wondering that, but I never asked questions."
$sam["I asked questions."]
"What did they say?"
$sam["They didn't."]
[[We all laugh a little bit.]]<span id="box">(display: "saveFinality")</span>(replace: ?Sidebar)[]$nat["What other things do you know about the relic?"]
"Well, it came from another universe."
$nat["How old is it?"]
"I think it was some 18 billion years or so. Older than the Universe. More proof that it came from another one, I guess."
$sam["How'd it even get here?"]
"Well, crossing universes is possible. I know that much. I think you'd have to break a couple laws in order to get out of the bounds of a universe. Not sure what exactly you'd need to do to break them."
$nat["Physical laws have proven pretty hard to break."]
"Remember that scientists don't know everything. I would know."
$sam["Coulda sworn you did."]
"Oh, thanks."
I look back at my patchy memory of the iterations. I just know basic information, not anything that would tell me exactly what hppened, but rough ideas.
"You know, I've been through today more than once. I don't remember any of this though. I don't really remember what happened before, either. I don't really know what I did, but I imagine a lot of interesting things happened."
$nat["Well, if you had multiple chances to do something, you might end up doing it in interesting ways."]
"That's surely true."
I wonder what happened that jolted those memories into me, or why you're able to get things through to me, or why or how you're even here? Really makes you consider just how reality works, yeah?
Maybe after all this is done, we might be able to have a proper conversation. We can only count on it, I guess.
[[We all talk about nothing important.]](link: "Load")[(group: "playing", "stop")(load-game: "file A")](replace: ?Sidebar)[]
(link: "Credits")[(goto: "Credits")]
(link: "My Status")[(goto: "MaxDesc2")]
(link: "Title")[(reload:)]\
(set: $moc to (color: purple + blue))\
(set: $nat to (color: orange))\
(set: $sam to (color: yellow))\
(set: $eri to (color: blue + blue + green))\
(set: $dys to (color: blue + green + green))\
(set: $rel to (color: blue + black))\
(set: $pre to (color: black + red))\
(set: $usa to (color: white + red + blue))\
(set: $col to (color: green))\
(set: $mil to (color: black + green))\
(set: $lun to (color: purple + white))\
(set: $xco to (color: blue + white))\
(set: $dir to (color: red + blue + red))\
(set: $cit to (color: white + black))\
(set: $ter to (font: "Courier New") + (color: green))It's been nice to be with you through all this, even if I don't remember it all. Maybe things'll improve even more after this. I can only hope.
This is Finality. Let's make it count, yeah?
(link:" Back")[(goto: (history:)'s last)]<span id="box">(display: "saveFinality")</span>(replace: ?Sidebar)[]Eventually the ship begins slowing down. Seems like we're finally approaching our destination.
$nat["We will be stopping in Earth orbit in a few moments. Please prepare yourselves."]
"I think I've been ready."
$sam["Yeah."]
[[The distortion field disappears.]]<span id="box">(display: "saveFinality")</span>(replace: ?Sidebar)[]Earth is visible before us.
$nat["Welcome home."]
"It's good to be back."
$sam["Really is."]
Nat presses a few buttons on the panels and an audio link is established with Mission Control.
$xco["This is Site-03 Mission Control. Welcome home, (color: blue)[''Relegator'']."]
$nat["I missed you lot. We are landing at Site-03, yes?"]
$xco["That's right. Pad 4, about a mile north of the facility."]
$nat["Thank you."]
$xco["Ah, wait, one moment. The director is-"]
$dir["Hello, you'll be landing here soon, but we have one more thing we need you to do."]
$nat["What is it?"]
$dir["Head over to Solar orbit and try to get as close as you can without damaging anything. Bring the artifact into one of your escape pods and send it off into the Sun. Make sure you minimize contact until it's been destroyed."]
$nat["Yes, director."]
$dir["Good luck."]
The link closes and Nat turns the ship around to face the Sun.
"Time to finish off the mission."
$nat["Yes."]
[[We warp towards the Sun.]]<span id="box">(display: "saveFinality")</span>(replace: ?Sidebar)[]Site-03 is located a few miles away from NYC. The city is pretty easily visible from where we are, but we're still dropping. Site-03 is fairly large, a two story building. But it's also the second-largest X-Corp site in service. There are dozens of basement levels, buried under the rock of the mountains.
The ship rumbles a bit as the ship slows its descent. We make contact with the landing pad. A few arms grab onto the sides to stabilize it. They're not completely necessary, given that it's built to land by itself, but they help.
$nat["And we have landed. Welcome home, everyone."]
"Yeah. This is... Absolutely lovely."
$sam["Man, I can't wait to see my house again."]
"I can't wait to see actual greenery again."
$sam["Did I ever show you the ship's greenhouse?"]
"No. I'd love to if we get back on the ship sometime."
$sam["Yeah, that'd be nice."]
[[We head towards the cargo bay.]]<span id="box">(display: "saveFinality")</span>(replace: ?Sidebar)[]We arrive basically immediately. We're very close to the Sun right now. Enough that we're really lucky to have the protective glass for a windshield or we would all be blind right now.
"I'll handle it. I personally want to see this thing destroyed."
$nat["I will come with you and watch."]
$sam["I'll have to help you get it into the pod."]
"Alright, that's fine."
(link-reveal: "We get up from our seats and head towards the lab.")[== I really hope something doesn't suddenly go wrong with this relic in its final moments.
(link-reveal: "I open the lab door and walk up to the relic.")[== I can almost feel the bad ideas coming off of this thing. I want to finish this as quickly as possible. There's not much it can do in this state anyways, yeah?
I push the cart out of the door and down the hall towards the escape pods.
(link-reveal: "Sam walks up and opens one of the pod doors.")[== I push the cart up to the edge of the doorway before it gets caught on a small bump on the floor.
"I can't get the cart into the pod."
$sam["That's fine. We don't want the cart in here anyways."]
(link-reveal: "He reaches over")[== and grabs the back end of the cart, before lifting up the back end. It looks like it takes even him a bit of effort. The relic lands inside the pod with a //thud//. Sam sets the cart back down.
(link-reveal: "I close the pod door.")[== I press the launch button and confirm it. The pod begins sliding out of the side of the ship, before the engines fire once, sending the pod away from the ship.
Then the engines activate fully, sending the pod directly towards the Solar surface. We watch the pod bay camera on the wall to make sure everything goes well. It'll be a while before it actually hits the surface, though. We're about 1 million miles from the surface.
I'm very confident that this is the end of it, though. (link-reveal: "For good, this time.")[==
$nat["Is that all?"]
"That should be the end of it. It'll never toy with the human mind again."
$sam["I sure hope so."]
"You know, they destroyed an entire city before they got their hands on it."
$nat["Wait, really?"]
"Yeah. I don't remember what they named it, and it was 500 years ago anyways. It's been off the map since. The perfect cover story. I have no idea how they hid it. I guess it was an island city, but still."
$nat["An interesting story."]
"For another time."
(link-reveal: "We start walking back to the control room.")[==
$sam["Let's go back home. I'm hungry."]
"Sam, there's another 6 months of food in the cafeteria."
$sam["Yeah, well I want Earth food."]
"It's all Earth food. That's where it came from."
$sam["Yeah, I know. Just messing with you."]
[[We take our seats.]]<span id="box">(display: "saveFinality")</span>(replace: ?Sidebar)[]''Chapter 3: Nonpareil Rhododendron''
(link: "Save")[Saved.(save-game: "file A")]
---
We appear back in Earth orbit. Nat reestablishes contact with Mission Control.
$dir["Welcome back. We're tracking the artifact's descent now. Congratulations. You're coming home today. We'll save the recording for you to watch."]
$nat["I cannot wait."]
$dir["We'll be waiting for you. We have cake, you know."]
$nat["You can stop teasing us now."]
The link closes. Nat starts guiding the (color: blue)[''Relegator''] back to Earth. Lovely blues and greens amid the inky black. I wish you could see it like I could. Can you? I don't think so. Just know it's beautiful.
We gently descend through the atmosphere, not once starting to burn. This isn't falling, but a gentle float downwards. I can't call it gliding because this ship can't glide. It was designed for getting around in space, usually only contacting the air before and after landing. It's a starship, yeah?
[[The ground approaches.]]<span id="box">(display: "saveFinality")</span>(replace: ?Sidebar)[]Nat presses the button to open the cargo bay doors. There's no need for depressurization or anything because we're already matched in pressure. It's great.
As we step into the cargo bay and the ramp starts extending towards the ground, we notice the small group of people waiting for us. There are site guards, researchers, and a woman in a fancy suit. I think she's the director. She starts talking first, anyways. There are two guards by her sides.
$dir["Welcome back. You have an interview scheduled with me as soon as we get back into the building."]
$nat["Well, that was only expected."]
A small group of researchers walks into the ship. I don't really know what they're going to do, but they're probably going to check on whatever research we did on the relic. I'm glad it's not with us anymore.
$dir["Let's get to the questions, then."]
She turns around and starts leading us towards a sleek, black limousine in the nearby parking lot.
$nat["Is this your car?"]
$dir["Yes, there's more than enough space for all of us."]
We all get into the director's car. [[We start moving.]]<span id="box">(display: "saveFinality")</span>(replace: ?Sidebar)[]$dir["If you don't mind, I could start asking questions now."]
$nat["That would be alright."]
$dir["If you couldn't tell, all of us are more than a little excited after this mission has been completed."]
$nat["I do not blame you."]
$dir["First question: do you always talk like this?"]
$nat["Like what?"]
$dir["I haven't heard you use a single contraction since we met."]
$nat["Yes, is that a problem? That is just the way I prefer to talk."]
$dir["Fair enough. That wasn't an official question, just my curiosity. Now for our first real question. How did you know about nature of the artifact so soon after retrieving it?"]
$nat["Ah, that is a question for her, not me."]
$dir["Go ahead."]
"I'm honestly not sure. I kind of have a weird intuition for weird things like this. And I'd be lying if I said dreams weren't a part of it. It only really happened in the days right before we got close enough to the relic to start collecting data on it."
$dir["I see. How was Terminal involved in the mission?"]
$nat["He served his purpose."]
"He did back me up when I started explaining what I knew about the relic. That's the main reason we avoided research before contacting you."
$dir["Ah, that would make sense."]
"Anyways, we checked our information and I told him that the first relic was never destroyed. It was the same one that we destroyed for real this time."
$dir["Oh, we had thought it was something like that. It seemed to be too much of a coincidence."]
The car stops outside Site-03.
$dir["Looks like more questions will have to wait until we get into my office."]
She opens her door and steps out. We do the same. We're led by her [[into the facility.]]<span id="box">(display: "saveFinality")</span>(replace: ?Sidebar)[]I wonder what her actual name is? We only really know her last name, Sonya. I think she's Russian, judging by the slight accent. I don't think I'd ever be able to tell if she actually tried to hide it. But then again, her overall height and imposing presence might lead me to believe that anyways.
We're led through a couple hallways and down a flight of stairs into the first basement level. We take a few more turns into the Administration section and eventually we're inside the anteroom of her office.
The secretary looks up.
$xco["Welcome back. This is the (color: blue)[''Relegator''] crew, right?"]
$dir["That's right."]
$xco["Ah, that's great. You three should know that her interviews always take the longest."]
$dir["You'll get used to it."]
(link-reveal: "We walk into her office.")[== There are already three chairs on our side of the desk. She takes a seat of her own.
$dir["Give me a moment to type in what we know from you so far."]
She types fast like Nat. They might be evenly matched if they tried to compare speeds.
$dir["Alright. How much time did you spend around the artifact?"]
"I probably had more exposure than anyone. I was the one responsible for carting it into the lab after we collected it, and into the escape pod before we sent it into the Sun. The others were just standing by."
$dir["That is good. No research?"]
"None at all."
$dir["Good, we already handled all of it the first time. It was the same one, yes?"]
"That's right."
$dir["Were there any mysterious mechanical faults that you noticed?"]
$sam["Just one. Nat reported an error after we started our warp. I went in and checked on it. Just an issue with one of the manifolds that I fixed pretty easily. A loose bolt."]
$dir["Those are generally minor, but they usually make any future issues much worse."]
$sam["Yeah. We're lucky nothing else happened. Thing is, I had tightened all the bolts the day before."]
$dir["Then it might have been caused by the artifact attempting to sabotage or stop you."]
$sam["It can do that?"]
"I'm pretty sure it can affect the world around it if you give it the opportunity."
$dir["That's correct. Are you ready for the boring questions about daily life before the collection?"]
She smiles.
$nat["Yes."]
$dir["Good. This part will take a while."]
[[We spend a long time answering basic questions.]]<span id="box">(display: "saveFinality")</span>(replace: ?Sidebar)[]$dir["Alright. That should be all of them. Congratulations, you survived. Now it's your turn to ask questions, and I'll answer them unless they're classified."]
$nat["Alright, I have a big one."]
$dir["Go ahead."]
$nat["Why exactly were there only three of us on board?"]
$dir["Ah, this was something I was against when the mission was being planned. We were picked as the site that would handle being Mission Control for the mission. I was to oversee it all. We didn't want to send too many people because they might be able to collaborate too much and plan something too big for us to handle if they got converted by the relic. Either that, or they could plan very far ahead and it would become too hard to keep track of them all after the mission ended. I told them we should send computers, but they wanted to figure out how it affected humans."]
"Did they think we were disposable?"
$dir["Well, I think it was because you three were easy to find and had all of the qualifications necessary to handle all of the ship's work when combined together. You three just made a good trio. I do apologize on behalf of the company for any suffering that might have caused."]
$sam["Well, it made it easier to get to know everyone on board."]
$dir["That's good, at least. I'm glad nothing happened to you."]
"What actually happened to the people who got 'converted' by the relic?"
$dir["A lot of this information was redacted from basic documents, but it's mostly declassified by now, just nearly unreadable. 500 years ago, we discovered that a mysterious object had entered Earth orbit. Another private company picked it up. I think their name had something to do with the Moon. A few weeks after that, we noticed suspicious activity popping up all over the city around that company's offices."]
"Is that the city that was destroyed?"
$dir["It was an island city. It was a small archipelago with a few large centers of activity. Somehow or another, it was still relatively isolated from the rest of the world. We worked with city officials to try and take apart the cult as it formed, but it kept appearing in more and more regions. That was actually the main reason we developed the private military in the first place. We designed a nuclear weapon with as little radiation as possible and quietly evacuated everyone we believed was safe. It was a very, very powerful weapon. It obliterated part of the island completely. The city was partially leveled, the survivors found and shot, and then the rubble buried. Those islands are barren, now. Although the site there was moved underwater, and it's grown since then. There was a large underground section."]
"That's a really interesting story."
$dir["It really is. The story of a city now nameless, after being buried away from the rest of history. From some of the pictures, it really seemed like a nice city to live in. Our site there was a high-class one, as well. Well, it still is, even now. One of the more advanced sections."]
"Did you know that the relic came from outside the Universe?"
$dir["Yes, actually. From the data I read after being told about the mission, apparently we had done some research on the object when it was under our containment. It is roughly 18 billion years old and, well, proved Multiverse theory. We had believed it was before, but we cannot seem to figure out any way to leave. I imagine the concept inside it is even older than that, since we were just measuring the physical form's age."]
"Well, it's possible, seeing as it's happened. I might be able to help figure out how to do it, depending on where I go after this."
$dir["That may be helpful."]
$nat["What is your actual name?"]
$dir["Ah, this one might come as a bit of a surprise. I am Site-03 Director Natalya Gabrilovna Sonya."]
$nat["That... Heh, alright."]
$dir["Coincidences can be funny, sometimes."]
"How did you get your hands on the Alcubierre drive?"
$dir["Well, they're being tightly researched right now, not only by us. A couple companies are working on theirs. We are one of the first ones to properly complete ours. We may have done something sneaky to get our hands on the base research, though. We built the (color: blue)[''Relegator''] at Site-08 over the course of a few years. It was designed for a lot of people, but we never realized how many people were being sent. The drive in your ship is completely manufactured by us, though, if you were wondering. Thank you for testing that for us, by the way?"]
$nat["You had not tested it before?"]
$dir["Not our specific model, but we were confident it worked."]
"A bit scary."
$dir["That's why we never told you."]
"How long was the mission planned to be?"
$dir["It could've lasted anywhere from 1 month to a full year, depending on how much we knew about this new relic."]
$nat["I think that is all."]
$dir["Very well."]
$sam["What's your phone number?"]
$dir["Don't even try that one."]
$sam["Fair enough."]
$dir["Your rooms are all next to each other. Maxine, you get room 304, Natalie in 305, and Samuel in 306. You'll be in the fourth basement level."]
$nat["Thank you very much for your time."]
$dir["We should be thanking you."]
[[We all walk out of her office.]]<span id="box">(display: "saveFinality")</span>(replace: ?Sidebar)[]$nat["Today was fun. I will see the two of you in the morning."]
"I can't wait. I wonder how long we'll be staying in these rooms?"
$sam["I hope they're nice rooms."]
We walk down another two sets of stairs and find the residences. Apparently a lot of people actually live down here. There are a few researchers talking with some guards.
The director was right. All three of our rooms are in a row next to each other on the same side of the hallway.
"Night, guys."
$nat["Goodnight."]
$sam["Night."]
[[I walk into the room.]]<span id="box">(display: "saveFinality")</span>(replace: ?Sidebar)[]It's actually a really nice room. There's furniture and everything. It's all in pristine condition, too. Looks like it's been prepared. There's a computer on a desk in the main room and the entrances to the bathroom, the bedroom, the closet, and kitchen are visible just from the entrance. I think I'll like this.
I sit down in the chair in front of the computer and log in with my X-Corp credentials. I really just wanted to check my emails once I got back. I imagine there's a couple things that need to be checked since I was gone for so long.
Actually, there is one. Surprisingly only one. But one nonetheless.
(link-reveal: "It's from an address I don't recognize.")[==
(font: "Courier New")[MOC12-LAW@MOC.UNI
AlgoriM@xcorp.gov
Friday, August 9, 2520, (current-time:)
Nonpareils
$moc["Thanks for cleaning up the mess and finishing my job for me. Sorry that I have no idea how to properly interact with you, but I might as well reward you.
Here are the lottery numbers:
271836. Don't hesitate to try them out."]]
I... What? I guess I'll try them out the next time I get the chance. There's no way that's actually right, is it? Whatever. It's kind of late and I've been awake all day. It's time for me to get some rest.
[[I walk over to the bed.]]<span id="box">(display: "saveFinality")</span>(replace: ?Sidebar)[]This bed is much more comfortable than the one on the ship. Very nice. I turn off the lamp and fall (link-reveal: "asleep")[==
It's not long before I find myself... Wherever here is.
So... You're... You're here, aren't you? Can you hear me?
(link: "Yes.")[(set: $Question1 to true)(goto: "Question1")]
(link: "No.")[(set: $Question1 to false)(goto: "Question1")]<span id="box">(display: "saveFinality")</span>(replace: ?Sidebar)[]I get up again. Dreams where I talk to you are so... interesting to consider the implications of. That was nice, though. I imagine the relic has been destroyed for good by now. I wonder what that email was, though? Chances are, it wasn't you, but that person seems familiar.
There's a letter on the floor that looks like it was passed under the door. I open it up. It's from the site director again.
$dir["You have another meeting scheduled with me whenever you're available. Come by my office whenever."]
Huh. Isn't that nice. You're still here, right? That's good. I think this little connection of ours is going to come to an end sometime soon. It's nice that this happened in the first place, though. Thanks for getting me here, yeah?
[[I walk up to the director's office.]]<span id="box">(display: "saveFinality")</span>(replace: ?Sidebar)[]Right before I manage to take a seat in the anteroom, the director opens the door to her office.
(track: "bluesea", "play")
$dir["Come in, I'm ready."]
"Alright."
$dir["So, you're probably wondering why I called you here today."]
"Yeah."
$dir["In a few months, we have another mission planned for you."]
"You expect me to accept it after something like this?"
$dir["That's why we're asking."]
"Explain it."
$dir["Your captain has already had this conversation with me. You're the second one. Anyways, we're not having you pick up a signal from some weird artifact in space, but we're sending you to the Andromeda Galaxy, Messier 31, whatever you wish to call it. We want you to look for potential habitable planets or maybe even life out there. Not to make contact just yet, though. It's fairly simple, but something to consider."]
"That... That sounds great. I think I'll accept. When do you think it'll start?"
$dir["Good choice. We plan to start some three or so months from now. We haven't fully decided. You'll be using the same ship, if that's alright. You'll have more time to decide how you want to decorate your room, though. Oh, and we'll have more detailed information about it as the date approaches."]
"That's great."
$dir["Great. Oh, and the cake that we told you about? It's in the employee lounge. We made sure that it's protected. Dr. Smith will meet you there. Any other questions?"]
"Can I have some flower seeds to start growing and bring with me?"
$dir["Sure. What kind?"]
(link-reveal: "Oh my, I hadn't expected to get this far.")[==
"Ah, I was thinking maybe... Some rhododendrons?"
$dir["Lovely choice. You can count on it."]
---
(color: purple)[I bet that sounded a bit cliche, yeah?
This was fun. Maybe we'll meet again sometime.]
---
(link-reveal: "**The End**")[
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''ACROSS THE STARS'']
''TO THE EDGE OF AN INFINITE HORIZON'']]
Ending F-1: Nonpareil Rhododendron
(color: red)["Oh, I get it now! That makes sense! It all makes sense now! Of course that's how it was. You're //not// Max."]
Thank you for reading.
- MOC12-LAW
(link: "And the story comes to an end.")[(reload:)] The loop is closed. For real, this time.
]]<span id="box">(display: "saveFinality")</span>(replace: ?Sidebar)[](if: $Question1 is true)[Wait, seriously? That's great! You can actually get an answer through to me.](else:)[Oh, very funny. But still, that's great! You can actually get an answer through to me.]
Anyways.. I guess it only makes sense that I have a few questions for you.
So... Hmm... If you've actually seen it all, how many times have I died?
(link: "Many times.")[(set: $Question2 to 1)(goto: "Question2")]
(link: "Only a few.")[(set: $Question2 to 2)(goto: "Question2")]
(link: "You didn't.")[(set: $Question2 to 3)(goto: "Question2")]<span id="box">(display: "saveFinality")</span>(replace: ?Sidebar)[]Oh... I'm not sure if that's something scary or comforting. Either way, thanks.
Ah, this one might be a bit strange. Was I... Ever happy in the other worlds?
(link: "Some.")[(set: $question3 to true)(goto: "Question3")]
(link: "None.")[(set: $question3 to false)(goto: "Question3")]<span id="box">(display: "saveFinality")</span>(replace: ?Sidebar)[](if: $question3 is true)[So maybe it wasn't always bad.](else:)[So maybe I was the luckiest iteration.]
Either way, that's interesting to know. Thank you.
You know, I thought of something recently. Is it possible to save the world without ever realizing it?
[[Yes.->Question4]]
[[No.->Question4]]
[[You already have.->Question4]]<span id="box">(display: "saveFinality")</span>(replace: ?Sidebar)[]I see. That one was... Interesting. I think my dream is going to end soon, though. I guess they always do come to an end, yeah?
We all have to [[wake up, eventually.]]preload: true
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