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"I'm pretty sure I didn't buy that for you." you tell her.\n"You bought it for yourself? Why did you address it to me?"\n"No, I didn't buy that. I don't know how it got here."\n"Do you think it was sent by mistake?"\n"I don't know. It could have been [[someone messing with us]]" you say.\n"Hey, I'll take free shit. If someone could "mess with us" and [[send us a new kettle|kettle]], too, that'd be great." She jokes.\n<<if v.startCook is true>><<if v.noodleStart is false>><<if v.t gt v.boilTime>>Bubbling noises from the stove indicate [[the pot of water is starting to boil|prepasta]].<<endif>><<else>><<if v.t gt v.noodleDoneTime>>[[By this time, the noodles on the stove are cooked|pull noodles]].<<endif>><<endif>><<endif>>

You sure hope your neighbors are supportive. At the very least, you don't want [[them against you]]. It's very important to [[be able trust one's neighbors. That's why you've always made an effort|to traffic]].

You used to be teetotaled, but cracked soon after meeting [[Katherine|partner]]. You gave it a try, and had a more positive experience than you expected. You sometimes [[wonder what you’d be like if you hadn’t started drinking|started drinking]]

<<set v.p = v.p +1>>\nYou can't help but wonder if the cop knew it was you they were pulling over. Nobody gets pulled over for a missing front license plate. Talk about selective enforcement.

window.v = window.v || {};

<<set v.t = v.t + 1>>\n"I haven't seen the tea kettle in over a week now. You didn't hide it, did you?" Katherine asks.\n<<if v.kettle is 1>>"No, it's not in the cabinet or on the stove."<<else>>"Not that I know of."<<endif>>\n"I hope it turns up soon. I just don't know where it'd be at this point." You wonder to yourself why a tea kettle would [[disappear]].\n<<set v.kettle = 2>>

/% time for that backstory %/

Unsure about the mysterious brown powder in both your shakers, you decide it’s best to set them aside, and dump the boiling water into the sink.<<if v.t gt 1>><<set v.startCook = false>> Without enough time to make food before you have to go, it looks like you’ll just skip dinner for now.<<else>><<set v.t = v.t+1>> Looking at the stove clock, you have just enough time to start over. You rinse the pot, refill it, and set it back on the stove. The water soon boils, and you can<<endif>> Better safe than sick, or [[dead]].

Hesitantly, you draw the shaker to your face again. This time, your tongue is outstretched, and touches the metal top of the shaker, where a small amount of the dust has accumulated. It indeed tastes like pepper. If it is pepper, it’s probably no harm to [[keep cooking]], but you can also [[dump it|dump pot]].

"Actually, I don't know what you're talking about." you state.\nShe gets up and walks to the bedroom. On the corner of the bed sits a small, brown, cardboard box. \nShe hands the box to you. "I appreciate it, I just... wasn't... we didn't talk about it." The previously opened package has a large white postal sticker on top. It is addressed to Katherine, and the return address holds an [[unfamiliar company: Erotes Novelties|Erotes Novelties]]. You unfold the top flap of the box, and examine its contents. It is a pastel blue, ergonomically designed vibrator. You definitely would have remembered buying this for Katherine. Should you [[tell her you don't know where this came from|tell her]], or [[play it cool]]?

You're not sure what the brown dust is. Should you [[taste it]], or could it [[be something dangerous|dump pot]]?

<<set v.boilTime = v.t>>\nYou browse the pantry for something to make. <<if v.t gt 2>><<set wipe()>>You thought you could make pasta if you worked quickly, but looking at the stove clock, [[you have run out of time. You'll have to skip food for now.|phone vibrate]]<<if v.sauceReady is true>>Replacing the 67oz jug of red sauce back in the fridge, you hope it won't spoil before you get a chance to finish it<<endif>>.<<else>>You're short on time, so you pull out the box of spaghetti, set a pot of water on the stove, and turn on the burner. You premptively excavate the strainer and put it in the sink. You contemplate [[doing the dishes]] in the left side of the sink while you wait.\n<<set v.startCook = true>><<endif>>

<<set v.teaCount = 0>>You shuffle around the cabinet, looking for your packets of green tea. You haven’t found anything yet, [[just the Earl Grey, mocking you again]].

<<silently>>\n\n\t/% Initialize all necessary game variables for whole game %/\n\t<<set v.p = 0>> /% represents paranoia %/\n\t<<set v.i = 0>> /% represents illness, not heavily used yet %/\n\n\t/% Variables for multi-part conditions %/\n\t<<set v.talkP = false>>\n\n\t/% Initialize part 1 critical path variables %/\n\t<<set v.t = 0>> /% time passed%/\t\n\t<<set v.startCook = false>>\n\t<<set v.noodleStart = false>>\n\t<<set v.pastaReady = false>>\n\t<<set v.sauceReady = false>>\n\n\t/% Non-critical, polish/flavor variables %/\n\t<<set v.chili = false>> /% Did you find the chili in the cabinet? %/\n\t<<set v.kettle = 0>>\t/% 0-2 int representing previous actions %/\n\t<<set v.pizza = false>> /% Did you collect the coupon from other mail?%/\n\n<<endsilently>>\nYou arrive home after work. Opening the [[back door]] to your home places you in your kitchen. A cozy clutter welcomes you back to a familiar environment: the [[odd papers and receipts float around the counter|counter papers]], a [[refrigerator on the opposite wall whose hum is most noticable after it turns off|refrigerator]] and leaves the room silent, and [[the array of cabinets and shelves stocked and categorized|cabinet]] by the organic efforts of you and your [[partner]].

You scan the various canned goods for something appetizing, or at the very least could constitute a quick dinner. Between the pineapple, sweet corn, [[chili]], cream of mushroom soup, and refried beans, nothing stands out as something you'd like to eat tonight.

<<set v.p = v.p +1>>\nNo, there's no reason why that chili would be in your house. You didn't buy it, and Katherine didn't buy it. So who put a can of no-bean chili in your cabinet? You are unsettled by this.

You go upstairs and find Katherine working at her desk. Everyone else calls her Kat, but when you pressed for what she preferred to be called, she said she didn't care. Skeptical, you refered to her as Katherine. Turns out she likes going by Katherine, and you've been calling her that for the last three years. She says it's kind of special.\nYou bend down and wrap your arms around her.\n"Hey, you." she greets, warmly. She reaches up toward your head and kisses your cheek. "I finished the leftover <<if v.startCook is false>>[[potatoes]]<<else>>potatoes<<endif>>. And thanks for the [[gift]], by the way. I wasn't really expecting it, but we can try it out sometime."

The neighborhood center used to be an elementary school. When the city was shutting the school down, local mothers organized to try and keep it open. When they were defeated, they tried to buy the school. The city had intended to sell the property extremely cheaply to a developer, but had an immense asking price when the mothers said they wanted to buy. When the mothers raised it, they doubled the price. The mothers, with amazing neihgborhood support, raised it again. The city was pressured to sell the school, and finally did, at the well over market-price. The neighborhood center has been a bastion of radical community organizing, youth empowerment, and community education ever since.

Pulled over for a missing front license plate, of all things. Surely the cop had better things to be doing than [[harrassing you]].

<<set v.t = v.t + 1>>\nYou wash the small collection of plates, silverware, and tupperware by hand, setting them on the plastic drying rack to the left of the sink. <<if v.startCook is true>><<if v.noodleStart is false>><<if v.t gt v.boilTime>>Bubbling noises from the stove indicate [[the pot of water is starting to boil|prepasta]].<<endif>><<else>><<if v.t gt v.noodleDoneTime>>[[By this time, the noodles on the stove are cooked|pull noodles]].<<endif>><<endif>><<endif>>\n

You pull out a 67oz plastic jug of red sauce that’s on its last legs. The yellow cap unscrews with a hiss. You aren’t sure if that hiss represents pressure from changing temperature of the jug and its contents, or if it means the sauce is starting to go bad. <<if v.pastaReady is true>>[[Either way, it’s probably best to just use it up|eat]]. <<else>>Either way, it’s probably best to just use it up. You set the jug by the stove.<<set v.sauceReady = true>><<endif>>

<<set v.p = v.p + 1>>\nIt's a strange thing to suddenly not be found. It's not like someone would have stolen it. You feel unnerved by this.

Oh, that's right. You have seen their billboard on the highway. It's the one right across from the mega-church.

You smell the shaker, but cannot determine if it smells like pepper. It also did not make you sneeze. So are [[all those cartoons exaggerating|keep cooking]], or might this [[not be pepper]]?

<<if v.t gt 3>><<set wipe()>>You thought you could make pasta if you worked quickly, but looking at the stove clock, [[you have run out of time. You'll have to skip food for now.|phone vibrate]]<<if v.sauceReady is true>>Replacing the 67oz jug of red sauce back in the fridge, you hope it won't spoil before you get a chance to finish it<<endif>>.<<else>>You return to the stove, [[ready to add the pasta. Before adding in the pasta|keep cooking]], you grab your salt shaker, and give it a few shakes over the pot. A [[heavy brown dust|shaker]] wafts down from [[the shaker|shaker]].<<endif>>

The assortment of paper contains [[receipts]] from the grocery store with coupons on the back, a handful of [[bills]], a few envelopes of [[other mail]], and a [[traffic ticket]].

Maybe you’d be a better comrade. Or maybe you wouldn’t have built the relationships that are important to you. It’s hard to parse out.

While dealing with traffic is more benign, those lights call to [[other, stronger associations]].

<<set v.noodleStart = true>><<set v.noodleDoneTime = v.t>>You toss the remaining half box of spaghetti by the stove into your boiling pot, and stir until the noodles bend, and are mostly submerged. You wonder how spaghetti made in presumably pepper water compares to the conventional salt water.

<<if v.talkP is true>>You think about that letter you read, and if you should [[check in with your old comrades]]. <<endif>>

<<set v.p = v.p +1>>What could they be talking about? Is it a past action that they found evidence for? Did they get into your browser history, or film you and [[Katherine|partner]]? You're not ashamed of your kink, but that's personal, and doesn't need to be shared with the public. Did they know about Robert? Did they find... no, there's no way anybody could know about that. Not unless [[somebody was talking]].

Luckily enough, there is some street parking right by the neighborhood center. You park, and enter the building, rushing inside as your phone and car radio corroberate that is indeed past 18:30.\n"Good afternoon." The secretary greets you from her desk enclave. Her voice carries a knowing character, as if her many years senior to your own have given her some degree of omniscience. It is maternal and comforting, as always.\n"Hello, Miss Dee."\n"Y'all can meet in the lobby today. Everyone's gone home."\n"Great, thanks! I'll pull some chairs together."\n"Do you need anything? I'm gonna head home early since you're here." Miss Dee begins to pack up what remains on her desk, and grab her bag. "Alright honey, the door is locked, so just turn off the lights before you leave."\n"You got it. Have a safe drive home."\n"Mhmm, thank you." She closes the front doors as she exits [[the neighborhood center]].

Obviously, it wasn't signed. Even if it was signed, you wouldn't trust it. Ever since you were doxxed, a steady flow of "fan-mail" has been coming. This letter seems to have a different character, though.

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It might be nice to relax with a cup of tea, but you are short on time, and<<if v.kettle is 2>> as Katherine already told you,<<else>><<set v.kettle = 1>><<endif>> your kettle is not where it should be. The [[box of Earl Grey mocks you]], sitting proudly on the shelf.

<<set v.t = v.t +1>>You shuffle around the cabinet, looking for your packets of green tea. You haven’t found anything yet, [[just the Earl Grey, mocking you again]]. <<if v.teaCount gt 0>> Why would [[somebody swap your tea]]?<<endif>><<set v.teaCount = v.teaCount +1>><<if v.startCook is true>><<if v.noodleStart is false>><<if v.t gt v.boilTime>>Bubbling noises from the stove indicate [[the pot of water is starting to boil|prepasta]].<<endif>><<else>><<if v.t gt v.noodleDoneTime>>[[By this time, the noodles on the stove are cooked|pull noodles]].<<endif>><<endif>><<endif>>

Decompose

You always told yourself that you'd be a great neighbor when you had a place of your own. It's not that you aren't a good neighbor, you just wish you had more chances to get to know them. You can only invite your neighbors to so many cookouts before [[you get discouraged]]. Besides, you're all [[busy people|to traffic]].

The quiet settles into [[the empty building]]. You suddenly think to run and ask Miss Dee where the rest of your comrades are, but the silence makes clear that [[they are not here yet]].<<silently>>\n\t<<set wipe()>>\n\t/% Setup variables needed for phone section %/\n\t<<set v.messageCount = 0>>\n\n<<endsilently>>

window.wipe = function () {\n\tdocument.querySelectorAll("div.passage").forEach(function(item) {item.innerHTML="";})\n};

You wonder how much your neighbors know about your organizing. It's never directly come up, but you tend to wear your politics on your sleeve. [[It's possible they don't know how to feel about that|to traffic]]. [[Or maybe they do]].

You call out to Katherine that you are heading out, and exit through the back door again. You hop back in your green sedan that's barely from this millenium. When you open the door, warm air gushes out, creating little heat waves in the shadows on the car door. The sun has warmed it some amount since you first got home. As you sit down, the familiar fuzz on the seat's interior greets you. You start the car, pull out of the gravel driveway you and [[your neighbors]] share, and [[make your way to the neighborhood center|to traffic]].<<set v.neighborP = false>>

Your leg vibrates, and you pull your phone out of your pocket. The notification informs you of a [[meeting at 18:30. You are a little bit late, and need to leave now|leave home]].\n<<set wipe()>>

You examine the shaker. Your eyes did not mistake you: the top of the shaker has some brown particulates on it. Surely, you grabbed the wrong one. You set the shaker you thought contained salt aside, and grab the other shaker. You shake it, and more brown dust rains into the now boiling pot. Why are both shakers filled with pepper? [[It is pepper, right?|check pepper]] [[You don’t have time for this.|keep cooking]]

You pick up the orange juice, gauging the amount of remaining contents by weight and center of gravity. Usually, it is consumed alongside with breakfast or [[vodka, rarely both|vodka]]. You decide to take a swig of the juice by itself, straight from the bottle. It’s a little more bitter than you expected.<<set v.i = v.i +1>> You screw the cap back on the carton, and place it back in the fridge’s door. The juice does not satisfy your hunger, but at least it may ward off scurvy.

<<set v.p = v.p +1>>You are beginning to believe somebody entered your home, and took your green tea, replacing it with Earl Grey. Ridiculous as it seems, you currently can’t think of any other explanation.

You wonder why it is you are the first one here. [[Is something wrong|something wrong]]? [[Perhaps they are all late, in which case you have some time to kill|phone hub]].

<<set v.p = v.p + 1>><<set v.t = v.t + 1>><<set v.talkP = true>>\nYou make a mental note to check in with the folks who were there. <<if v.startCook is true>><<if v.noodleStart is false>><<if v.t gt v.boilTime>>Bubbling noises from the stove indicate [[the pot of water is starting to boil|prepasta]].<<endif>><<else>><<if v.t gt v.noodleDoneTime>>[[By this time, the noodles on the stove are cooked|pull noodles]].<<endif>><<endif>><<endif>>

"Well, thanks." She says. "We'll figure something out for it."

To the layman, the cabinets would seem messy. However, you and [[Katherine|partner]] have worked out a system of organization that works for the two of you: [[cans]] to the above the stove, spices and [[tea]] to the left, and most other things in the [[pantry]] closet to the right.

You equip yourself with an oven mit on one hand, and a rag in the other. You turn the stove burner off, and carefully lift the boiling pot over to the sink, dumping its contents into the pre-placed strainer. After setting the empty pot on a nearby wooden cutting board, you lift the still dripping strainer and dump the spaghetti back into the pot. You take a deep breath, inhaling the steam, and letting it warm you.<<if v.sauceReady is true>> [[You reach for the jug of red sauce you set by the stove earlier|eat]].<<else>> [[Now you just need a sauce|refrigerator]].<<set v.noodlesReady = true>><<endif>>

Might as well save that. It's nice to not cook once in a while. <<set v.pizza = true>>

You wonder why companies are so insistent on the regular need to redo your roof. It doesn't leak, it just has stains on it.

<<set v.p = v.p+1>>The mysterious brown dust could be poison, or at least harmful. The thought disturbs you, that someone might have tried to kill you by putting poison into your salt and pepper shakers.

You open the letter, which begins by addressing you solely by your last name. \n"Look into your heart. You know you are a complete fraud and a great liability to all of us in the movement. I repeat you are a colossal fraud and an evil, vicious one at that. Clearly you don't believe in any personal moral principles. Like all frauds, your end is approaching. You could have been our greatest leader. You, even at an early age, have turned out to be not a leader but a dissolute, abnormal imbecile. You are done. Your friends will not save you. I repeat, you are done.\nNo person can overcome facts, not even a fraud like yourself. You will find yourself and in all your dirt, filth, evil and moronic acts exposed on the record for all time. I repeat- no person can argue successfully against facts. You are finished. You will find on the record for all time your filthy, dirty, evil, hideous abnormalities. Satan could not do more. What incredible evilness. It is all there on the record- all your heinous acts. You are done.\nThe public will know what you are- an evil, abnormal beast. So will others who have backed you. You are done. There is only one thing for you to do. You know exactly what it is. You have till the end of the month in which to do it. You are done. There is but one way out for you. You better take it before your filthy, abnormal, fraudulent self is bared to the nation."\nIt is not clear what [[acts]] would be bared to the public The letter is [[not signed]].

You loathe Earl Grey, finding it too bitter for your liking. Last you checked, [[Katherine|partner]] doesn’t drink black teas either. [[Where did your green tea go]]?

The can of "Worrel's Home Made Chili" boldly advertises with a yellow, fake sticker graphic that has "No Beans!" You wonder why people are so opposed to beans in their chili. At the store, you've noticed before that Worrel's and other brands have all kinds of chilis, but rarely any [[vegetarian]] ones.

The portaits of historical radical figures, many less well known, line the wall of the lobby, accompanied by crude handwritten descriptions and details. The activists seem to be color-coded in some category system. You are warmed by the lobby's perfect representation of [[the center's principles|center history]]. A long, dim hallway extends out from the lobby, lit by the setting sun through classroom windows. Despite your supposed lateness, you have some time to kill while you wait for your comrades. Now is as good of a time as any to [[work through your phone notifications|phone notifications]].

<<set v.t = v.t +1>>You dump the sauce into the pot of spaghetti and stir it. The noodles and remaining hot water quickly warm the sauce. You grab a bowl and a fork, and eat some quickly. [[You feel better, now that you’ve eaten|phone vibrate]].<<set wipe()>>

A small stack of coupons is clipped together by a magnet with rough plastic seams. <<if v.pizza is true>>You add the pizza coupon to the clip. <<endif>>You pull open the door of the fridge, and it swings open while you look inside. There isn’t too much, and the potatoes from are notably gone. On the door, there are various jars, condiments, and a [[carton of orange juice]]. The [[crisper in the bottom has some broccoli and carrots in it|crisper]]. The main shelf holds a [[jug of red sauce]] that is too big to be stored upright anywhere else in the fridge.

The top receipt list four items: hummus, a [[pair of wire-cutters]], wheat bread, and mild salsa. <<if v.chili is true>>Yup, no chili.<<endif>>

You chuckle to yourself. You haven't voted since you were 19. The flyer details a neoliberal platform. The candidate descriptors you find most insidious are, "pro-economic growth," and, "tough on crime."

You could [[use the old group chat|use the old group message]], which is mostly used for casual communication, light-hearted banter, memes, and pictures of cats. Alternatively, you could reach out to someone personally, to try and be a bit more discreet, and [[use an encrypted messenger|encrypted messenger]].

[[You pull out your phone again, and unlock your phone with a password|phone hub]]. Some newer phones unlock with biometrics, like a fingerprint or facial recognition. However, if one is detained, one can be coerced to unlock your phone using those biometrics. But with a password, the law enforcement would have to use torture to coerce it out of you.

"Yeah, no problem, haha." you reply. You can't remember what she is referring to. Did you buy her a gift recently? You rack your brain, but nothing comes to mind. Should you [[ask her what she's talking about|ask her]]?

<<set v.p = v.p +1>>\nWas the door already unlocked when you got home? Or did you just unlock it without thinking? You can't remember.

[[Katherine|partner]] wanted to make a stirfry with you one night soon. You’re saving those vegetables for that. Besides, it’d take too long to cook the rice.

You should probably get started making something for dinner, then.

You also wonder why this can of no-bean chili is in your cabinet. Neither you nor Katherine eat meat. Was it a [[random mixup]] or [[something else]]?\n<<set v.chili = true>>

There is still some rush-hour traffic to sift through on your way to the meeting. Blue and red swirl up ahead of you. A cop car has pulled over to address a car accident. Even so, [[you are on edge]] as you pass the patrol vehicle. [[You continue driving, and traffic clears up a bit having passed the accident|continue driving]].\n<<set wipe()>>

Either way, you can just give it to the high schoolers who come by asking for non-perishables in the fall.

Yeah, you'll remember next time to not use your debit card when buying tools for secure direct actions.

<<set v.p = v.p +1>><<set v.t = v.t + 1>>\nThis is creative. Someone was trying to elicit some sort of response out of you, and it has worked.

You shudder at the realization that your neighbors could be reactionaries, actively working against you, or willing to hand you over if counter-revolutionaries came for you.\n<<set v.neighborP = true>>

Jc Statt

The bills are still in their envelopes. Each of the three transparent plastic strips displays your address. The return address offers some insight into who sent the bill: Empire Energy, City of Ridgemont Utility Department, and ComTec Services.

The miscelaneous mail includes a [[letter]], an [[ad for roofing service]], a [[political candidate's flyer]], and a [[small booklet of pizza coupons|small booklet]] addressed to the previous resident.