The System

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<div style="text-align:right">Mood: $mood <<print '<progress max="100" value=' + $mood + '></progress>'>><<if $mood >= 100>> <<addclass "body" "overkill">> <<endif>></div><<audio "reader" play>> Twice, in quick succession, you press your thumb to your middle finger on your hand. In an instant a voice rings in your head, audible only to you, narrating the social media posts of the day. Pictures appear rapidly, forming only in your mind’s eye for a moment and fading to the next as each post is dictated. The voice speaks so fast that the words blur together into one continuous sound. To anyone without The System, it would be incomprehensible. After a while you get used to the speed and can understand and parse the content as it zooms by. [[Snap your fingers.->Snap]]

<div style="text-align:right"><<set $mood to 50>> Mood: $mood <<print '<progress max="100" value=' + $mood + '></progress>'>><<if $mood >= 100>> <<addclass "body" "overkill">> <<endif>></div> You open your eyes. The sun is setting, dousing your miniscule apartment in an orange glow. You are sitting in the only chair – in fact, the only furniture – in the only room. One wall of the room is made completely of glass. You look out at the scene (the colors are glorious, filtered through the polluted air) but you barely take it in. You’re focused instead on your inner thoughts, consumed by a never-ending stream of social media posts that are playing in your head. [[Touch your thumb and middle finger of your left hand together.->IntroTheSystem]]

<div style="text-align:right"><<set $mood to $mood + 5>>Mood: $mood <<print '<progress max="100" value=' + $mood + '></progress>'>><<if $mood >= 100>> <<addclass "body" "overkill">> <<endif>></div>The non-stop voice continues to blaze through posts at top speed. You lazily observe the onslaught of information, ears perking at names you recognize as close friends, or at snippets of video that catch your attention, such as: //AnthonyRazepostedavideoCaptionWatchthisadorabledogdoingtricks—// A video plays in your mind, and you smile. You’ve never seen a dog in real life – you rarely leave your room, much less your chair – but you’ve seen many dogs in virtual reality simulators. You snap to like the post, and want to share the post to your own feed. [[Rotate your hand.->ShareVideo]]

<div style="text-align:right"><<set $mood to $mood - 5>> Mood: $mood <<print '<progress max="100" value=' + $mood + '></progress>'>><<if $mood >= 100>> <<addclass "body" "overkill">> <<endif>></div> <<if $annoyed is false>>You hear a familiar name on the screen and roll your eyes. This same girl always posts long posts about her life in a way that seems positive but really just allows her to complain and vent. Even at high speed, you don’t have the patience to listen to it all. You don’t want to encourage more of these posts – but you have a vague feeling that if you skip it, you're failing to contribute to their sense of well-being. Does it really matter whether you actually like the post or not? [[Snap and move on.->Altruism]] [[Swipe to skip.->FeelBad]] [[Leave a rude comment.->Troll]]<<set $annoyed to true>> <<else>>The room has gotten much darker and you realize it's been several hours that you've just been zoning out. You sigh and shift in your seat, realizing how hungry you are. You make a gesture at the 3d food printer on your counter and it begins printing your dinner. Between the internet world and this 3d printer that can create anything from food to clothes and other necessities, you literally never have to leave the apartment; you have everything here that you need. After dinner, you decide, you'll try to learn something new. [[Continue.->GetInstrument]]<</if>>

<div style="text-align:right"><<set $mood to $mood - 5>> Mood: $mood <<print '<progress max="100" value=' + $mood + '></progress>'>><<if $mood >= 100>> <<addclass "body" "overkill">> <<endif>></div> You couldn’t bear to listen to the whole thing, so you use your fingers to swipe the post away. The voice continues on in the same pleasant voice, but you instantly feel a sense of shame, like you are being quite rude. [[Oh well. Move on, don’t let it bother you.->PlayInstrument]] <<set $altruistic to false>>

<div style="text-align:right">Mood: $mood <<print '<progress max="100" value=' + $mood + '></progress>'>><<if $mood >= 100>> <<addclass "body" "overkill">> <<endif>></div> You try searching for some inspiration, and remember hearing earlier today that one of the musicians you follow just posted a new song. What was his name again? It can’t have been that many posts back...you gesture to play the most recent posts on your feed. But you get distracted…and before you know it, without even realizing what you are doing, you have fallen back into the never-ending stream of words and posts and snaps to like. [[Zone out and continue to consume.->AnnoyingPost1]]

<div style="text-align:right"><<set $mood to $mood + 3>> Mood: $mood <<print '<progress max="100" value=' + $mood + '></progress>'>><<if $mood >= 100>> <<addclass "body" "overkill">> <<endif>></div> <<if $delayshare is false>>He asks you to share a recording of your music with him. You hesitate, but send him a recording you had done.<</if>> He snaps a bunch of times and immediately you are hit with a rush of pleasure. You grin. //Amazing!// //I mean, you’re really good! You should totally share this. People would love it.// You hesitate…you feel pretty anxious about sharing your work with the world. [[Post recording.->PostRecording]] [[Not this time.->Refuse]]

<<audio "friendmsg" play>><div style="text-align:right"> Mood: $mood <<print '<progress max="100" value=' + $mood + '></progress>'>><<if $mood >= 100>> <<addclass "body" "overkill">> <<endif>></div> You keep playing for a while, but are jolted from the moment by a familiar ping from somewhere in the middle of your head: you've received a message from your friend Roger. An avatar shows in your field of vision: a slim blond guy wearing sunglasses and jeans speaks directly to you: //Hey $name! How’s it going?// [[Reply->ReplyToFriend]] [[Ignore->IgnoreFriend]]

<<audio "friendmsg" play>><div style="text-align:right">Mood: $mood <<print '<progress max="100" value=' + $mood + '></progress>'>><<if $mood >= 100>> <<addclass "body" "overkill">> <<endif>></div> You reply to his message by speaking out loud. “Not bad.” Wherever Roger lives, your avatar appears and echoes your message directly into his brain. Your avatar looks much different from your real self (about 200 pounds lighter. What do you expect from sitting in a room with minimal exercise for the last 20 years?). Though he is one of your closest friends, you’ve never actually met Roger in person. For all you know, he could be an 80 year old woman. You don’t bother asking these things, as you wouldn’t want to be asked yourself. You quickly receive another message: //What are you up to?// You sigh. You want to get back to your music, you were just getting into it. [[Not much.->BoringAnswer]] [[Playing music!->TellFriendMusic]]

<div style="text-align:right"><<set $mood to $mood - 5>> Mood: $mood <<print '<progress max="100" value=' + $mood + '></progress>'>><<if $mood >= 100>> <<addclass "body" "overkill">> <<endif>></div><<masteraudio stop>> It seems you killed the conversation with your boring answer. Your friend doesn’t have any reply. You try to go back to playing music, but feel rather distracted, waiting to hear another ping. Nothing happens. [[Message again.->TellFriendMusic]]

<<audio "friendmsg" play>><<audio "pings" play>><div style="text-align:right">Mood: $mood <<print '<progress max="100" value=' + $mood + '></progress>'>><<if $mood >= 100>> <<addclass "body" "overkill">> <<endif>></div> You send a message: “I've been practicing...playing some music.” Your friend snaps to like your last message. Immediately, you feel a warm happy sensation and your mood increases He replies: //What kind of music?// You tell him about your gloves. “It’s just a hobby, really....” Another snap—and another quick jolt of happy energy. //Can I listen?// [[Sure!->ShareWithFriend]] [[Eh...I dunno.->Refuse]]

<div style="text-align:right">Mood: $mood <<print '<progress max="100" value=' + $mood + '></progress>'>><<if $mood >= 100>> <<addclass "body" "overkill">> <<endif>></div><<masteraudio stop>> You post the recording online, into the ether where anyone can hear it. Now you sit, waiting anxiously, anticipation building with each moment. The silence builds until you again question whether it was a mistake to post this. You listen to it again, and it sounds much worse than you thought a moment ago, causing you to panic. Your breath is shallow and your mind is racing. [[Keep waiting...->Payoff]]

<div style="text-align:right">Mood: $mood <<print '<progress max="100" value=' + $mood + '></progress>'>><<if $mood >= 100>> <<addclass "body" "overkill">> <<endif>></div> Deftly, you snap your fingers as each post plays directly into your head. On each snap, your fingers buzz lightly to signal that you’ve liked each post. The motion feels so second-nature to you, you barely even think about it. You are dimly aware that each snap transmits positive energy back to the person who posted. You don’t question it too much – it is just part of life with The System. [[Post something.->WatchVideo]]

<<audio "morepings" play>><div style="text-align:right"><<set $mood to $mood + 20>> Mood: $mood <<print '<progress max="100" value=' + $mood + '></progress>'>><<if $mood >= 100>> <<addclass "body" "overkill">> <<endif>></div> Spirits buoyed by the response to your first post, the next day you post again, and again you get good feedback from your friends. Messages of surprise at this hidden talent – why didn’t you share this before? – and encouragement to keep posting give you confidence to post more regularly, though you still feel a hint of anxiety at the start. Each time, you get more snaps and more followers. You’re elated. [[Stream a live show.->PlayLive]]

<<masteraudio volume 0.40>><div style="text-align:center"><b><font size=14px>Welcome to The System!</font></b> Enjoy immediate access to the internet at the touch of your fingers. You'll never need to touch a screen again. Set up your account >> What's your name? <<textbox "$name" "" autofocus>> <<checkbox "$agree" false true>> I agree to the <<linkappend "terms and conditions.">> Installing The System is an invasive procedure that cannot be reversed. You can turn The System off at any time, but cannot remove it.<</linkappend>> [[Opt in.->The Beginning]] (<b>Headphones recommended</b>...start with a low volume.) <<linkappend "Credits">> Story by Lauren Beaton Thank you to wonderful playtesters for all the feedback and ideas.<</linkappend>> </div><<cacheaudio "reader" "audio/ScreenReaderNewsFeed.mp3">><<cacheaudio "pings" "audio/firstPings.mp3">><<cacheaudio "weirdnoise1" "audio/WeirdNoise1.mp3">><<set $annoyed to false>><<cacheaudio "friendmsg" "audio/FriendMsgTone.mp3">><<cacheaudio "morepings" "audio/MorePings.mp3">><<cacheaudio "tonspings" "audio/TonsPings.mp3">><<cacheaudio "finalpings" "audio/FinalPings.mp3">>

<div style="text-align:right"><<set $mood to $mood - 5>>Mood: $mood <<print '<progress max="100" value=' + $mood + '></progress>'>><<if $mood >= 100>> <<addclass "body" "overkill">> <<endif>></div> Another small gesture – a twist of your hand - shares the same video to your own profile. Now, you wait for a few moments. Each second seems to tick more slowly, as your mind starts to wander in the sudden silence. Anxiety starts to creep up on you in the form of questions with no feedback. Has anyone seen your post yet? Should you add your own caption to the video? Will people appreciate this video as much as you do, or will someone think it’s weird? Maybe you get a little too excited whenever you see dogs... [[Leave it.->Pings]] [[Delete it.->DeletePost]]

<div style="text-align:right"><<set $mood to $mood + 5>>Mood: $mood <<print '<progress max="100" value=' + $mood + '></progress>'>><<if $mood >= 100>> <<addclass "body" "overkill">> <<endif>></div> <<audio "pings" play>>Finally, you feel a light ping noise coming from somewhere in the middle of your head, and feel yourself relax. Snaps begin to ping slowly and sporadically in your head, as tiny waves of dopamine release from The System directly into your brain. A wave of contentment falls over you and you bask for a few moments in this feeling before touching your fingers together again, and the voice resumes. You can (and will) do this for an hour, or more. [[Zone out and continue to consume.->AnnoyingPost1]] [[Snap out of it and do something productive.->PlayInstrument]]

<div style="text-align:right"><<set $mood to $mood - 10>> Mood: $mood <<print '<progress max="100" value=' + $mood + '></progress>'>><<if $mood >= 100>> <<addclass "body" "overkill">> <<endif>></div> A few moments pass with nothing happening. You second guess yourself and remove the post from your feed. You feel pretty disappointed in yourself. Sitting there for a moment without knowing what to do, you go back to the endless well of other peoples posts and continue listening, waiting to find something else you might share. [[Continue->AnnoyingPost1]]

<div style="text-align:right"><<set $mood to $mood + 3>> Mood: $mood <<print '<progress max="100" value=' + $mood + '></progress>'>><<if $mood >= 100>> <<addclass "body" "overkill">> <<endif>></div> You consider skipping the post without liking it, but a sense of guilt comes over you. After a moment’s hesitation, you snap your fingers. It was the right thing to do. You can’t help but feel a sense of content altruism. [[Snap out of it, do something else.->PlayInstrument]] <<set $altruistic to true>>

<div style="text-align:right">Mood: $mood <<print '<progress max="100" value=' + $mood + '></progress>'>><<if $mood >= 100>> <<addclass "body" "overkill">> <<endif>></div> With considerable effort, you tear yourself away from the social media feed to play some music. Tucked into a pocket on the side of your chair, you grab a well-worn pair of gloves and slide them onto your hands. You wave your hands in the air in front of you, modulating the distance between your hands and moving your fingers slightly. <<link Notes>><<audio "weirdnoise1" play>><</link>> ring in your head. After a moment of playing around, you decide you'll try to learn a new song. You wonder which one... [[Look up a song to play.->DistractedSearch]]

<div style="text-align:right"><<set $mood to $mood + 3>> Mood: $mood <<print '<progress max="100" value=' + $mood + '></progress>'>><<if $mood >= 100>> <<addclass "body" "overkill">> <<endif>></div> You switch on your gloves again and begin to play, waving your hands around in the air to create sounds. It gives you a sense of calm. You’ve never shared your music online, you have always said that it’s just a hobby. You play simply for the pleasure of playing, of seeing yourself improve and increasing your skills. You always feel like you can get better, and try to push yourself to do so. [[Keep practicing.->MessageFromFriend]]

<div style="text-align:right"><<set $mood to $mood - 5>> Mood: $mood <<print '<progress max="100" value=' + $mood + '></progress>'>><<if $mood >= 100>> <<addclass "body" "overkill">> <<endif>></div><<masteraudio stop>> You’re in the zone and ignore the message. You try to continue playing, but the unread notification in the back of your head keeps bothering you. You start to wonder what he wanted... [[Reply->ReplyToFriend]]

<div style="text-align:right"><<set $mood to $mood - 10>> Mood: $mood <<print '<progress max="100" value=' + $mood + '></progress>'>><<if $mood >= 100>> <<addclass "body" "overkill">> <<endif>></div> You laugh derisively as you dictate a scathing comment to let her know exactly what you think of her obnoxious commentary. You don't know her that well anyway, and you wanted to shut her up. You face a lot of backlash from her social group, get a bunch of really rude comments on your own posts and lose a few friends while you're at it. Maybe you should've just unfollowed her, honestly... <<set $troll to true>>[[Move on, maybe don't be an asshole next time.->PlayInstrument]]

<<audio "morepings" play>><div style="text-align:right"><<set $mood to $mood + 10>> Mood: $mood <<print '<progress max="100" value=' + $mood + '></progress>'>><<if $mood >= 100>> <<addclass "body" "overkill">> <<endif>></div> Then, sitting in your chair, you start receiving snaps – slowly at first, but continuous, and more than you have ever received on a single post. You feel each one come in and the happy feeling builds on itself - your mood jumps up suddenly. [[Post again.->2ndPost]]

<div style="text-align:right">Mood: $mood <<print '<progress max="100" value=' + $mood + '></progress>'>><<if $mood >= 100>> <<addclass "body" "overkill">> <<endif>></div><<masteraudio stop>> “Nah,” you say, “I can’t!” //Suit yourself//, he replies. You keep making music for yourself, which is nice, but no one ever finds out about this hidden talent of yours. You always wonder if you could become something greater. For now, though, you become lost in your habits of re-posting videos of cute puppies and chatting with random people online to gratify each other enough to mask the loneliness of sitting in a room, alone, with the internet in your head. All in all, though...you're doing alright. [The End] [[//Change your mind.//->ChangeMind]]

<div style="text-align:right"><<set $mood to $mood + 6>>Mood: $mood <<print '<progress max="100" value=' + $mood + '></progress>'>><<if $mood >= 100>> <<addclass "body" "overkill">> <<endif>></div> Your confidence growing stronger by the day, with a growing base of followers that comment on your music, you are starting to feel like you're on top of the world. New friends swing by every day, their avatars appearing in your head to compliment you on your music. When one new friend suggests that you play a live show, you impulsively agree, barely stopping to think about it. You've been doing so well, it'll be a piece of cake. You schedule it for the following week. [[Go for it!->BeginShow]]

<div style="text-align:right">Mood: $mood <<print '<progress max="100" value=' + $mood + '></progress>'>><<if $mood >= 100>> <<addclass "body" "overkill">> <<endif>></div> A few days later, you message Roger again. "I thought about it. Would love if you could listen and let me know what you think?" //Sure thing!// <<set $delayshare to true>> [[Send it over.->ShareWithFriend]]

<div style="text-align:right"><<set $mood to $mood - 2>>Mood: $mood <<print '<progress max="100" value=' + $mood + '></progress>'>><<if $mood >= 100>> <<addclass "body" "overkill">> <<endif>></div><<masteraudio stop>> You eagerly await the time you've announced your first livestream show. In just hours, your avatar's image will appear in the minds of hundreds of people to play your music. Though you have been in a haze of dopamine-induced happiness lately, a hint of your old anxieties come back to nag at the back of your mind. Yet, it's time to perform. You push the discomfort away as best you can, sit up straight in your chair, pull on your musical gloves, take a deep breath and make a gesture to begin streaming. [[Showtime!->Showtime]]

<div style="text-align:right"><<set $mood to $mood - 20>>Mood: $mood <<print '<progress max="100" value=' + $mood + '></progress>'>><<if $mood >= 100>> <<addclass "body" "overkill">> <<endif>></div><<masteraudio stop>> In your mind, you can see a mass of avatars who have tuned in for your performance, more appearing by the moment. You've prepared what you're going to say to start out: thank everyone for tuning in, introduce yourself, and then... <<linkappend "what?">> ...suddenly, all words are gone from your head and you sit there, dumbfounded. The shy, anxious version of you from not that long ago, stands in front of many people waiting expectantly. The questions start firing rapidly in your mind. //What the hell am I doing here? What was I thinking? Why didn't I prepare more? I'm not ready for this.//<<if $troll>> Suddenly hecklers call out, echoing your own thoughts. //What's wrong with you? Are you gonna do something, or what? Now you don't feel so great, do you?// You recognize their screen names from the time you made publicly terrible comments to that poor girl. Her social circles haven't forgotten, it seems. <</if>> <<linkappend "//What do I do now?//">> Your panic grows as people start to disconnect in the silence. You stare down at your gloves on shaking hands. You have to [[play something->Shitshow]]...<</linkappend>><</linkappend>>

<div style="text-align:right"><<set $mood to $mood - 35>>Mood: $mood <<print '<progress max="100" value=' + $mood + '></progress>'>><<if $mood >= 100>> <<addclass "body" "overkill">> <<endif>><<if $mood <= 0>> <<addclass "body" "blackbkgd">> <</if>></div> But every song you planned to play has flown out of your head. You should have planned better, obviously -- but your confidence was blown out of proportion to the amount of practice you've had at performing. You gesture wildly, trying to improvise, but your gestures are all wrong, and out of sync. Ugly, discordant notes ring out, echoing furiously; your attempts to quell them only make things worse. Your mood plummets and your thoughts swirl; you can't seem to capture them, to collect yourself. More people are dropping off the livestream, returning to zone out to their regular dose of fast-paced audio feed. Slowly, your hard-earned audience disappears, laughing, until Roger is the only one left connected. "Sorry," he says. "But hey, don't let it bother you. You'll do better next time." [[Get back to practicing.->NoBother]] [[Mope a little.->Mope]]

<div style="text-align:right">Mood: $mood <<print '<progress max="100" value=' + $mood + '></progress>'>><<if $mood >= 100>> <<addclass "body" "overkill">> <<endif>></div> You are completely mortified, and the word about your flop continues to be a running joke in some circles, but you listen to Roger's advice and pointedly ignore the laughs and comments regarding your abysmal performance. Instead, you channel all your emotion into writing new songs about this experience. It's strange -- it feels as though you are more in touch with your emotions than you were. As if your past experience was in a haze. You embrace it, and find sounds and motions with your gloves to describe them. In what feels like no time, you have a few new songs ready to go. [[Release songs online.->NewSongs]]

<div style="text-align:right"><<set $mood to $mood - 20>>Mood: $mood <<print '<progress max="100" value=' + $mood + '></progress>'>><<if $mood >= 100>> <<addclass "body" "overkill">> <</if>><<if $mood <= 0>> <<addclass "body" "blackbkgd">> <</if>></div> You know you should listen to Roger, but you figure you'll allow yourself a little while to mope and be sorry for yourself. You sit in your chair alone and listen to a stream of hateful comments. There seems to be no end to them -- people certainly don't bother to hold back their opinions when it's about a public figure -- yet each comment feels like a stab, and your anxiety about starting to play music again grows with each name you are called. Although it's only a few days before the comments cease and their creators move on to the next source of amusement, you sink into a depressive spell that worsens by the day. [[Try to play music.->Withdrawal]] [[Go back to the endless social media feed.->EndlessScroll]] [[Unplug The System.->UnplugSystem]]

<div style="text-align:right">Mood: $mood <<print '<progress max="100" value=' + $mood + '></progress>'>><<if $mood >= 100>> <<addclass "body" "overkill">> <<endif>></div> Holding your breath, you post your songs along with a heartfelt comment about the experience. You've learned a lot from all the self-reflection and the translation of those emotions into music. [[See reaction.->SeeReaction]]

<div style="text-align:right"><<set $mood to $mood - 20>>Mood: $mood <<print '<progress max="100" value=' + $mood + '></progress>'>><<if $mood >= 100>> <<addclass "body" "overkill">> <</if>><<if $mood <= 0>> <<addclass "body" "blackbkgd">> <</if>></div> You make a feeble attempt to put your gloves back on and wave your hands around vaguely, but your energy level is so low that you can barely lift your hands into place. You feel a sense of dejection that you have become so worthless, you can't even do something that you are supposed to love. [[Zone out and consume.->EndlessScroll]]

<div style="text-align:right"><<set $mood to $mood - 20>>Mood: $mood <<print '<progress max="100" value=' + $mood + '></progress>'>><<if $mood >= 100>> <<addclass "body" "overkill">> <</if>><<if $mood <= 0>> <<addclass "body" "blackbkgd">> <</if>></div> You don't know what else to do. You could probably use some sun and fresh air, but you're far too out of shape and practice to go down the stairs. It's questionable whether you'd fit out the door at this point, to be honest. Instead, you do the only thing you have the energy to do: sit in your chair and listen to the social media feed running at a rampant pace. Yet, every comment reminds you of the anguish you've been through and you stop the stream in disgust. [[Turn it off.->UnplugSystem]]

<div style="text-align:right"><<set $mood to $mood - 10>>Mood: $mood <<print '<progress max="100" value=' + $mood + '></progress>'>><<if $mood >= 100>> <<addclass "body" "overkill">> <</if>><<if $mood <= 0>> <<addclass "body" "blackbkgd">> <</if>></div> You listen to the social media feed for a while, but turn it off in disgust. You decide to unplug yourself from The System -- turn it off for a while -- just to avoid the barrage of comments and bad memories. [[How quiet...->DepressionEnd]]

<<audio "tonspings" play>><div style="text-align:right"><<set $mood to $mood + 40>>Mood: $mood <<print '<progress max="100" value=' + $mood + '></progress>'>><<if $mood >= 100>> <<addclass "body" "overkill">> <<endif>></div> The audience seems to take to your new music like never before. Maybe because word of your awkward live performance traveled further than you'd imagined, this followup release blows up. Your songs end up in feeds of Systems across the world, are played, replayed and shared virally. You are absolutely overwhelmed by the response. The number of snaps, shares and comments leaves you in a drugged haze of ecstasy. You smile giddily, but are not exactly sure what's going on. [[Holy snap.->TooManySnaps]]

<<audio "tonspings" play>><div style="text-align:right"><<set $mood to $mood + 15>>Mood: $mood <<print '<progress max="100" value=' + $mood + '></progress>'>><<if $mood >= 100>> <<addclass "body" "overkill">> <<endif>></div> The viral explosion of your songs landed you in full-on celebrity status, and you revel in the pleasure of constant positive feedback. You continue to sit in your same chair, in your same room, but the world feels like it has opened. You now spend your time virtually chatting with other celebrities, who offer up intricately-coded digital mansions for your newly updated avatars to sit around and chat. You have coaches who teach you how to do live performances, and you do a few with more success. You look at your new life with awe. You never thought you'd get here, yet, somehow, here you are. [[Enjoy life!->TryToEnjoy]]

<<audio "finalpings" play>><div style="text-align:right"><<set $mood to 150>>Mood: $mood <<print '<progress max="100" value=' + $mood + '></progress>'>><<if $mood >= 100>> <<addclass "body" "overkill">> <<endif>></div> Your brain simply cannot take this extended barrage of chemicals! It's surprising that it took this long, to be honest. You clench your face in your hands, shaking and jittery, with a feeling that something terrible is going to happen at any moment. Paranoia creeps into every one of your thoughts. That part of you that always used to come up with anxious questions -- it feels like so long ago now -- well, it's back and has grown into a monster like you never would have expected. //Was this done on purpose by fake fans that wanted me to suffer?? Is the government using The System to control the moods of the population, and to get rid of the people they don't want? Do they not want me? Am I going crazy? Am I dying? Is it The System that is killing me?// [[GET IT OUT.->GetItOut]]

<div style="text-align:center">The End.</div> [[Play again.->Start]]

<div style="text-align:right"><<set $mood to $mood + 20>>Mood: $mood <<print '<progress max="100" value=' + $mood + '></progress>'>><<if $mood >= 100>> <<addclass "body" "overkill">> <</if>></div> The silence of no System, no social media feed. It's curious...strange...alien. You don't know what to do with yourself. You keep touching your fingers together out of habit, expecting to hear the familiar reader racing through the days news. Nothing happens. It is silent. You keep hearing the pings of chat conversations, looking around for Roger's avatar in your mind's eye, and realizing that it was in your imagination. In the quiet, you stare out of the glass wall of your room into the beautiful sunset, noticing the range of vivid colors for the first time. Yet, the overwhelming feeling is a vivid sense of loneliness. [[Turn on The System->OnAgain]]

<div style="text-align:center"><b>Welcome to The System!</b> Enjoy immediate access to the internet at the touch of your fingers. You'll never need to touch a screen again. Set up your account >> What's your name? <<textbox "$name" "$name">> <<checkbox "$agree" false true checked>> I agree to the terms and conditions. [[Opt in.->GetItOut]] <</linkappend>></div>

<<audio "tonspings" play>><div style="text-align:right">Mood: $mood <<print '<progress max="100" value=' + $mood + '></progress>'>><<if $mood >= 100>> <<addclass "body" "overkill">> <<endif>></div> Snaps continue to zap your brain with dopamine almost non-stop. After that inital tidal wave of positive feedback, you haven't been able to reach that same high again -- but you keep creating new songs in search of it. You constantly wonder what the audience wants, but never quite seem to hit the mark -- at least, you can't find the feeling that you had initially, the satisfaction of a strong response to something with //real// emotions. Looking at your most recent songs, they're superficial and robotic, without much substance. You try to remember what it was like back in the days of playing around with your gloves, chatting with Roger, getting personal feedback from your friends... Those days were so long ago... Each song that you create feels less and less real. [[What is real, anyway?->Break!]]