Outbreak

The lab is cold and sterile. The windows and door are boarded up. The lack of natural light is starting to make you feel sick. Turn on the TV. (click-replace: "Turn on the TV.")[You turn on the TV. It's on the news. It's always on the news. The reporter's way-too-perky voice fills the room. "It's officially been 3 weeks since real life aliens crash landed in the city of West Haven, confirming the existence of extraterrestrial life. These aliens are plant-like in appearance and operate as a hivemind. They have been quickly infecting residents of the city and seemingly taking control of their minds. Thanks to the fast work of our government, the city was successfully quarantined and there have been no reported cases of infection outside of its walls." Change the channel. (click-replace: "Change the channel.") [You change the channel. Another news station. "We are now 48 hours out from when the cryobombs are set to be dropped on the quarantined zone. Experts say extreme cold is the only thing that will harm the-" [[Turn off the TV.->Workstation]]]]

You turn off the TV. Head to workstation. (click-replace: "Head to workstation.")[You head to your workstation. It's almost complete. This should be the final step. Your government contact says that if you get this right, they'll call off the cryobombs, and your city will be safe. You just need to decide on the cold agent's delivery mechanism. [[Decide.->Choose mechanism]]]

You finished installing system. It will multiply the cold agent's effect exponentially on deployment, making it a lot more powerful. However, it is a significantly more fragile system. Dropping it will have terrible consequences. You need to secure it somehow, but you don't have much time, you need to move soon. [[Wrap it in your lab coat.->Inadequate protection]] [[Search the room.->Find Protection]]

You install the standard dispersal system. It may be a little less powerful, but at least you don't risk freezing yourself to death if you drop it. You need to move quick. [[Check map.->Map]]

You check the hastily drawn map on your wall. By your scans, the center of the hivemind is right near the water treatment plant. There are two routes you can go through to get there. You can go through the park, but the aliens look similar to plants. There are a lot of plants in the park. The path is more straightforward, but it will be hard to tell if there are any aliens. You can also go through the sewers. It will be less likely to have aliens, but will take longer and be harder to navigate. [[Go through the park.->Park 3]] [[Go through the sewers.->Sewers 2]]

You wrap your lab coat around the device. It'll have to do. Check map. (click-replace: "Check map.")[You check the hastily drawn map on your wall. By your scans, the center of the hivemind is right near the water treatment plant. There are two routes you can go through to get there. [[Go through the park.->Park 2]] [[Go through the sewers.->Ending 1]]]

You find a special shock-absorbing foam case. That'll work. Check map. (click-replace: "Check map.")[You check the hastily drawn map on your wall. By your scans, the center of the hivemind is right near the water treatment plant. There are two routes you can go through to get there. [[Go through the park.->Park 1]] [[Go through the sewers.->Sewers 1]]]

You leave your lab and begin your journey. You must be careful outside, the aliens look similar to plants, them and the alien-infected humans will be able to blend in easier in nature. Head towards the park. (click-replace: "Head towards the park.")[On your way to the park, you are ambushed by an alien! [[Fight it.->Ending 2]] [[Run from it. ->Ending 3]]]

You leave your lab and begin your journey. Thankfully, there are no aliens outside yet. You find the entrance to sewers. The sewers will take longer and be harder to navigate than the park, but they are cold, which the spores hate, so it’s safer. You begin to climb down the ladder. As you're doing so, you hear a noise. (click: "you hear a noise.")[ You get startled and fall backwards off the ladder. You hear a metal thunk. Uh oh. Everything gets really cold... ''YOU LOSE'']

The alien is too strong. You go to shove it away from you, but it's vines wrap around your arms. You feel the infection begin to take hold. Jerk back. (click-replace: "Jerk back.")[ You jerk back away from its grip. In doing so, you fall to the ground. You hear the metal clang of the canister. Everything gets really cold... ''YOU LOSE'']

You run away as fast as you can. (click: "You run away as fast as you can.")[Suddenly, your foot gets caught on a vine. (click: "Suddenly, your foot gets caught on a vine.")[ You trip. You hear a metal thunk. Uh oh. Everything gets really cold... ''YOU LOSE'']]

The sewers will take longer and be harder to navigate than the park, but they are cold, which the spores hate, so it’s safer. Halfway through, you find a group of survivors who have been living underground. [[Approach the survivors.->Talk to survivors 1]] [[Avoid the survivors.->Ending 7]]

You leave your lab and begin your journey. You must be careful outside, the aliens look similar to plants, them and the alien-infected humans will be able to blend in easier in nature. Thankfully, there are no aliens outside yet. Head towards the park. (click-replace: "Head towards the park.")[You reach the park. As you walk through it, The infected turn towards you slowly. One of them is your colleague. She reaches out, not attacking, but welcoming. You feel spores in the air, but you hold your breath and run. (click: "hold your breath and run.")[You reach the water treatment plant. The center of the hive is being guarded by the First Infected, the original human host. You can't be stealthy anymore. You can release your cold-agent canister directly into the core, but the blast radius will be most likely fatal. You can also attempt to reason with the First Infected. Maybe you can still reach the human inside. How do you destroy the hive core? [[Sacrifice.->Ending4]] [[Confrontation.->Ending5]]]]

You leave your lab and begin your journey. You must be careful outside, the aliens look similar to plants, them and the alien-infected humans will be able to blend in easier in nature. Thankfully, it seems like there are no aliens outside yet. Head towards the park. (click-replace: "Head towards the park.")[You reach the park. You immediately notice some alien-infected humans. Guess they aren't trying too hard to blend in. As you walk through it, The infected turn towards you slowly. One of them is your colleague. She reaches out, not attacking, but welcoming. You feel spores in the air, but you hold your breath and run. (click: "hold your breath and run.")[You reach the water treatment plant. The center of the hive is being guarded by the First Infected, the original human host. You can't be stealthy anymore. You can release your cold-agent canister directly into the core, but the blast radius will be most likely fatal. You can also attempt to reason with the First Infected. Maybe you can still reach the human inside. How do you destroy the hive core? [[Sacrifice.->Ending9]] [[Confrontation.->Ending5]]]]

You release your cold-agent canister directly into the core, knowing that the blast radius is fatal. The hive collapses and the infected wake up, but you do not make it out. ''YOU... WIN?''

You attempt to reason with the First Infected. He seems to be listening to you... until you feel the spores around you. You become part of the hive. (click: "You become part of the hive.") [The cryobombs drop. ''YOU LOSE'']

They are a little hesitant at first, but once they are sure you are not infected, they greet you warmly and offer you rations. Tell them your mission. (click-replace:"Tell them your mission.")[You tell them your mission. They quickly offer help. They know the layout of the sewers and help you navigate them. You are able to make it to the core without attracting the attention of any infected. How do you go about placing the device in the core? [[Be stealthy.->Ending12]] [[Charge in.->Charge in 1]]]

You don’t have time to speak to them. You continue attempting to navigate the sewers. You accidentally exit at the wrong point and are quickly overwhelmed by spores. (click: "You accidentally exit at the wrong point and are quickly overwhelmed by spores.")[You become part of the hive. (click:"You become part of the hive.")[However, the survivors in the sewers find the canister, which you dropped back down when you felt the spores. They figure out what it’s for and use it to free the infected ''YOU... WIN?'']]

You release the canister and prepare for impact. (click: "You release the canister and prepare for impact.")[But wait! You used the standard disperal nozzles! The cold agent releases. It is more controlled than if you were to use the more powerful system. It only targets the very core. The alien-infected humans drop to the ground. The vine looking aliens shrivel up and fall off of them. Slowly, they begin to wake up, back to normal. ''YOU WIN!'']

According to the manual, the cascade amplifier system is more powerful, but is significantly more fragile. After installation, its lock system must be turned 3 times to the left. The standard dispersal system is slightly weaker, but significantly more reliable. Its lock system must be turned 2 times to the right. [[Go Back.->Choose mechanism]]

[[Install the cascade amplifier system.->Install CAS]] [[Use the standard dispersal system.->Install SDS]] [[Consult the manual first.->Manual]]

You carefully install the cascade amplifier system. Now you must make sure the locking system is properly in place. [[Turn the locking system 3 times to the left.->Powerful but fragile]] [[Turn the locking system 2 times to the right.->Wrong CAS Lock]]

As you start walking, you hear an ominous click. (click: "As you go to find something to secure the device, you hear an ominous click.")[You hear a hissing sound, its quiet at first, and then louder. (click: "You hear a hissing sound, its quiet at first, and then louder.")[It starts to get very cold. You did not lock the system correctly. (click: "You did not lock the system correctly.")[ ''YOU LOSE'']]]

You carefully install the cascade amplifier system. Now you must make sure the locking system is properly in place. [[Turn the locking system 3 times to the left.->Wrong SDN Lock]] [[Turn the locking system 2 times to the right.->Reliable but weaker]]

You have the device ready, now you must plan your course to the center of the hivemind. [[Walk over to the map.->Wrong SDN Lock Options]]

There are a few aliens in sight but their backs are to you. Sneak past them. (click-replace:"Sneak past them.") [You sneak past them. You are able to plant a cold-agent canister with a special timer device attached and escape in time. The hive is destroyed. ''YOU WIN!'']

You charge towards the core. The center of the hive is being guarded by the First Infected, the original human host. You can release your cold-agent canister directly into the core, but the blast radius will be most likely fatal. You can also attempt to reason with the First Infected. Maybe you can still reach the human inside. How do you destroy the hive core? [[Sacrifice.->Ending4]] [[Confrontation.->Ending5]]

The sewers will take longer and be harder to navigate than the park, but they are cold, which the spores hate, so it’s safer. Halfway through, you find a group of survivors who have been living underground. [[Avoid the survivors.->Ending 7]] [[Approach the survivors.->Talk to survivors 2]]

As you start walking, you hear an ominous click. (click: "As you start walking, you hear an ominous click.")[The lock failed! You start to hear a hissing sound. You must act fast! (click: "You must act fast!")[ [[Try to close it quickly!->Close it]] [[Throw it as far away as possible!->Ending 13]]]]

Your hands are getting colder the longer you hold the device, but you still try to quickly turn the locking mechanism the right way. You turn it 5 times to the right, to counteract your previous mistake. (click: "You turn it 5 times to the right, to counteract your previous mistake.")[ CLICK. It works! Your hands are really cold now, but whatever, no time to waste! Check map. (click-replace: "Check map. ")[You check the hastily drawn map on your wall. By your scans, the center of the hivemind is right near the water treatment plant. There are two routes you can go through to get there. [[Go through the park.->Park 3]] [[Go through the sewers.->Sewers 2]]]]

You throw the device as far away as possible. (click:"You throw the device as far away as possible.")[It hits the opposite side of the room with a loud clank. The hissing sound gets louder. Run out of the room. (click-replace:"Run out of the room. ") [You run out of the room and shut the door behind you. Thankfully, you chose the weaker delivery mechanism, so you were able to escape in time. But even though you survived, the device is gone and your lab is now frozen. You have no way of remaking the device in time. All you can do is wait out the cryobombs. (click:"All you can do is wait out the cryobombs. ")[ YOU LOSE]]]