Nova comes in through the door, he looks exhausted and is carrying a heavy bag.
His sick brother Nik lies in his bed in the corner of the room, just waking up.
"How was work?" Nik asks him meakely.
"Worked all night. Don’t ask." Nova responds bluntely.
Nova throws his bag in a corner as he sighs and sits down on a raggedy chair next to Nik.
"How you holding up?"
"Threw up again. Don't ask." His brother replies in the same blunt tone.
Nova feels his brother's forehead to determine if he has yet another fever.
"Let me make you some soup," he says, pulling his hand back almost as if it was burnt. Niks temperature is of the charts, more so than the past couple of days.
Nova walks towards the kitchen and starts heating up some soup from last night. As it starts coming to a boil Nova turns on the tv. [[A news report]] plays in the background while his brother keeps coughing. The audio fades in and out and you aren't quite able to discern what is being said. "... -which is bound to lead to the price of insects going up again- ... -Another new strain of of smog sickness has emerged-... -Tree stolen-..."
The soup is ready to be served. Nova pours the soup into a half broken bowl and walks over to his little brother, handing him the soup.
"Here you go, eat up, you'll feel better."
Nik gives him a faint smile as he sips up the soup.
Nova gets his bag and starts counting money, double checking he has enough. He looks up at the clock. He has to hurry or else it will be too busy.
Nova says goodbye to his brother, locks the door behind him and walks past the neighbours house.
He stands in front of her door. He wants to ask her to keep an eye out for Nik while he is off to the lab, but she tends to ramble and Nova is in a real hurry. Do you [[try to rush it]] or do you [[take some time to talk to her]]? She certainly could use the company.
(set: $karma to 7)The image on the television screen is grainy, but you can still make out the figure of a woman reading the news. Under her, there is some text scrolling by: 'Further increase in insect price, new strain of smog sickness has mutated, 700 stolen trees still not found, luxury tax on citrus fruit finally introduced'
"In a long ongoing lawsuit, the defendant Hexagon is not being charged. A former employee had accused them of distortion of competition through unfair monopoly on medicine as well as unethical conduct. The company was found not guilty today after..."
"Yeah right. Those judges just dont want to risk cutting of their own medicine supply.", Nova mutters under his breath, stirring the soup violently.
Welcome to our prototype for our interactive graphic novel.
This is a point and click, text based prototype.
You play as Nova, you are the one making the decisions.
To make the decisions you just have to click on the blue text.
Enjoy :)
[[begin the story]]Nova knocks on the door quickly, impatiently tapping his foot on the concrete steps. After a few moments, the door opens and Miss Josa is standing in the doorway.
"Hey Nova. Hows Nik doing? Come on i-"
Nova cuts her off and starts talking very very fast. "Honestly I don't even know these days. I’m off to hopefully get some medicine, can you watch out for him?"
"Hold on, I can't really …"
Nova's back is already turned towards Miss Josa and his feet are already walking away from the doorway
"Thanks, I owe you one."
"I didn't agree yet!" But Nova already can not hear her anymore.
Miss Josa looks after him, lonely, a sad smile on her face before she whispers to herself, "Be safe out there little troublemaker."
[[Continue to the lab]]
(set: $karma to $karma -1)Nova walks through the neighbourhood.
The background changes from the grey and somber streets of the poor district to the bright and lush backdrop of the rich section. There are trees here, the streets are cleaner and the people look happier.
After a few minutes of walking Nova arrives at the lab. The building is tall and adorned with hexagonal shaped windows that make it almost look like a honeycomb.
[[enter the lab]]Nova enters the lab. The queue in front of the front desk is long, but shorter than usual. Clearly some people have already given up hope getting anything today.
Around him hang [[posters]] and lie [[pamflets]].
The queue moves fast and before he knows it, it is his turn.
The lady behind the counter looks Nova up and down before speaking.
"How can I help you?"
Nova stammers, "I'd like to buy some metapentin."
The lady looks him up and down again as if he is some type of vermin. "You can't afford that.", she says in a condescending tone.
Do you [[respond rude]] because she is being rude to you. Or do you [[stay calm]], you don't have time to start a fight.The posters display different design for different medicines.
'Made from 100% organic material and made 100% ethically' As if that justifies their price. They sure know why they don't specifiy the costs anywhere.
'A small price for your health'
Now if that isn't the most beautiful way to say: If you dont have enough money we dont care about you.
On and around every desk lie pamflets, advertising the lab.
'The one and only place to get the best pharmaceutical products.'
Of course, because if you're the only one selling them you're automatically the best.
'Fastest customer service" is written in bold letters on one of the many pamflets.
This of course, couldnt be much further from the truth. If you tried to come in after a certain time, you were guaranteed the line would be stretched around the block.Nova becomes impatient
"I know, I know, 'it's made from some fancy ingredients'" he says, forming airquotes with his fingers. "Thats what you keep telling me anyways. This should be enough."
He slams the money down on the desk.
The lady behind the desk points towards the pricetag on the bottle of metapentin she just pulled out from under the table.
"Prices went up again, just come earlier next time." Under her breath she adds "or just stay away"
Do you [[get mad]] at the lady, because this isn't fair. or do you [[react calmly]], because this isn't her fault.
(set: $karma to $karma -1)Nova takes a deep breath.
"Yes I know it is expensive, that's why I saved up. I can pay you in full immediately."
Nova takes out the money from his bag and lays it down on the desk.
The lady behind the desk points towards the pricetag on the bottle of metapentin she just pulled out from under the table.
"I'm sorry, prices just went up again, you're going to need some more money."
Do you [[get mad]] at the lady, because this isnt fair. or do you [[react calmly]], because this isn't her fault.
(set: $karma to $karma +1)Nova patience has run out
"That's the THIRD time this month! This is RIDICULOUS! My brother is DYING."
The lady behind the counter just turns away and shrugs.
"I wouldn't want to sell to you anyways, little shitbeetle."
Even though she tried to say it quietly, Nova still heard it.
He is positively fuming and turns to storm out.
As he does, someone else is going in, carrying a box. Nova catches a glimpse of some insects inside. He turns his head and continues storming out.
[[continue outside]]
(set: $karma to $karma -1)Nova is becoming desperate.
"But it already went up three times this month, isn't there anything you can do? My brother doesn’t have much longer"
The lady behind the counter shoots him a sympathetic look
"Sorry, I really can’t, my boss would kill me. Maybe you can get it somewhere else?"
Nova head sinks low. There seems to be no point in argueing.
"Alright." he says weakly and turns around, back towards the enterance.
As he does, someone else is going in, carrying a box. Nova catches a glimpse of some insects inside. He turns his head and walks away.
[[continue outside]]
(set: $karma to $karma +1)Nova walks back through the poor neighbourhood, his head hanging low. As he does, the streets return to their familiar grey colour. There are a lot of sick people on the streets, coughing and breathing heavily. As he continues walking he passes some protestors.
One of them notices Nova and yells at him.
"ARE YOU READY FOR THE TRUTH?"
Do you [[ignore the protester]], you've got enough on your mind already. Or do you [[talk to them]], they do seem interesting.Nova walks past the protesters, ignoring them.
As he walks away they shout something after him.
"YOUR IGNORANCE IS WHAT KEEPS THE SYSTEM RUNNING!"
[[Continue walking home]]
(set: $karma to $karma -1)Nova walks over to the protester and answers her cryptic question
"Well, that depends. Is it any good?"
The protester eyes seem crazed as they meet Nova's.
"There is no more good in the world. Were DOOMED!" As the words leave her lips she lets out a small chuckle. Nova looks at her in fear.
Another protester notices the look of concern in Nova's eyes and walks over to him.
"Ignore her. She’s had a bit too much."
"You could say that again," Novas body seems to relax as he feels safe again.
The second protester gives him a pat on the shoulder. "You do know that those missing insects are the root of all this misery right?"
Nova wants to reply, but the protester is already gone.
[[Continue walking home]]
(set: $karma to $karma +1)On the way back home Nova walks past the black market. The enterance is covered by plastic sheets resembling curtains. Not very well hidden for an illegal operation, but enough to keep most people away.
In his desparation, Nova decides to enter. They might have something that could help him. Besides, he's got nothing left to lose.
[[enter the black market]]As Nova enters the market, the sounds, smells and colours overwhelm his senses.
Around him are a bunch of stalls selling [[food]], assorted parts, what looks like [[weapons]] and even [[insects]]
He might be able to find a solution to his problems here. Or maybe not? Besides, he doesn't really have much time for this, he has to get back to his brother.
[[Leave the black market]]Nova walks over to the food stall, the smell of both sweet and sour hit his nostrils immediately. The stall is full of what seems like second grade goods, almost all of the fruit and vegetables have some brown spots or do not smell as fresh as they could. But hey, you take what you can get. At least there is plenty of rice and wheat.
Nova recognizes the man behind the counter. He has met him on the streets a couple of times and chatted with him once or twice.
"You don’t happen to have some magic oranges that cure everything, do you?" Nova asks, picking up one of the flawed oranges and tossing it in the air, catching it again.
The stall owner picks up on his tone. "Bad day, huh? I'm guessing you went down to the lab again?"
"Prices went up. Again. And since those citrus-eaters keep their ingredients a secret I can’t even get it anywhere else."
The stall owner leans in and whispers, "I heard they basically smash bugs."
"Would explain why it’s so expensive," Nova replies with his head hung low. He puts the orange back and walks away.Nova shuffles over to the man behind the stall that looks like it is selling weapons.
The man is tall and wide, with an intimiding stare.
Nova sees him talking to the owner of the stall next to his and leans in slightly, trying to listen in on their conversation
The first stall owner speaks: "How did the coup go?"
The second stall owner answers: "Quite smoothly, it's almost laughable how sloppy those rich people are with their security. I think..."
He cuts off when he noticed Nova eavesdropping.
The first stall owner looks over and roars: "Oi, boy. You gonna buy something or not?"
Nova stutters but is not able to put together a coherent sentence.
The stall owner looses his patience
"You better scram little nosey!"
Nova jaunters over to the stall that looks like it is selling insects.
It is stocked with display cases and bell jars filled with colourful tiny creatures with wings and shiny shells. But they are not moving, they are dead. One of the glasses on the top of a shelf is brightly lit and contains a moving insect. It is the most expensive thing of the whole stall.
Nova calmly turns to the owner, who is dressed in vibrant clothes, adorned with scarves and beads.
She is an older woman, with a kind face. As he approaches her, she shoots him a friendly smile.
"You know how they make metapentin?", Nova asks, not expecting her to answer to this blunt question.
She looks quite shocked at his boldness, but does not hesitate to respond.
"You better be careful who you mention that around, young man. You’re by far not the only one looking for some medicine and not everyone is good company. If I did know how to make it, I could be rich by now."
Nova should stop asking questions, but he decides to push his luck.
"So you don’t even have the slightest clue?"
Her kind face distorts into one of coldness.
"Look, if I did, I wouldn’t be looking to share anyways. Why don’t you bother someone else?" She responded sharply.
As Nova leaves the black market, he sees the honeycomb like building glistening in the last sunlight on the horizon.
He gazes at it intently and ponders a while. Then he has made his choice.
Nova's gaze is determined as he starts moving back towards the tower.
As he approaches it again it looks even more imposing than before.
The sky is dark by now, and so is the street. With no one around Nova sneaks towards the back of the building through a narrow alleyway.
On a higher floor, he sees a small window that is open part way. Using the ledges and window sills, he climbs the building. On his way up he stumbles a few times, almost falling of the now 30 feet high ledge.
When he finally manages to get to the half open window, he struggles to open the window fully, making quite a bit of noise.
Two guards inside seemed to have picked up on the sound.
"Did you hear that?" the one closest to the open window asks.
The other one looks up in confusion: "Hear what?"
The first guard let out a sigh of relief. "Nevermind. I’m probably just on edge tonight and started hearing things that weren't there. Boss keeps breathing down my neck about that break-in last week."
"Trust me, I know what you mean.", the second one comforts him.
[[continue breaking in]]Nova nudges the window slightly more open, and just manages to squeeze through.
The lab looks cold, sterile and empty. His footsteps are silent as he sneaks through various corridors and rooms.
As he walks past one of the storage rooms, he sees a big cabinet that looks like it could be filled with vials of what might be... medicine?
He gets closer to see it more clearly. The cabinet is labelled 'restock' and Nova connects the dots. This is where they store the metapentin.
He opens the cabinet to reveal an array of bottles in all different shapes, sizes and colours. They are labelled with all kinds of difficult medical names. He scans through them carefully until he spots it.
Metapentin.
He quickly grabs it, it's the only bottle left.
He sees the other vials and wonders if he should take some of them too, just for good measure.
Do you [[steal these bottles]] too, you might need them for later. Or do you [[leave the bottles]] and just take the one, you probably don't need them anyway and it would take unnecessarily longer.Nova makes a split decision, he starts pulling out random vials of medicine and stuffing them into his bag. Once it is almost full he walks out the way he came. The backpack full of glass vials makes quite a bit of noise as he moves.
When walks out of the door he sees the two guards in the corridor in front of him. Their backs are turned to Nova.
He can hear them talking and quickly slips through an open door to hide in the room behind it, hoping they did not notice the obvious clinking of his backpack.
"I’m starving, you wanna get some food?"
"Shift doesn't end for a few hours still."
The guards are now so close that Nova can practically hear their stomachs rumbling.
"Who cares? Nothing is gonna happen. Everything is properly locked. Come on."
"Alright, I guess some food wouldn't hurt."
The voices start moving away until it is compelely silent once again. Nova let's out a sigh of relief but as he turns to leave he notices that the room he hid in is lit, but by what?
As he looks around he notices that the room is filled with... terrariums, amiting a golden glow.
Nova is in awe of what he sees before him. The glass cages are filled with insects of all variety, and they're moving, they're alive.
In his fascination Nova slides open the lid of one of the enclosures to get a closer look.
Suddenly a loud and sharp sound assaults his eardrums. An alarm has gone off.
The voices from earlier return, and they're a lot louder, and sound a lot more furious
"Dang it, I told you something was gonna happen tonight!" yells one of the guards to the other.
The voices are getting closer, too close. Nova has to act fast.
Do you [[take one of the bugs]], they probably are pretty valuable. Or do you [[get out]] as fast as you can without taking anything else, staying any longer is bound to get you caught.
(set: $karma to $karma -1)He looks at the cabinet one more time before closing it again. The metapentin is all he needs so it is all he takes.
As he walks out of the door he sees the two guards in the corridor in front of him. Their backs are turned to Nova.
He can hear them talking and quickly slips through an open door to hide in the room behind it, hoping they did not notice him yet.
"I’m starving, you wanna get some food?"
"Shift doesn't end for a few hours still."
The guards are now so close that Nova can practically hear their stomachs rumbling.
"Who cares? Nothing is gonna happen. Everything is properly locked. Come on."
"Alright, I guess some food wouldn't hurt."
The voices start moving away until it is compelely silent once again. Nova let's out a sigh of relief but as he turns to leave he notices that the room he hid in is lit, but by what?
As he looks around he notices that the room is filled with... terrariums, amiting a golden glow.
Nova is in awe of what he sees before him. The glass cages are filled with insects of all variety, and they're moving, they're alive.
In his fascination Nova slides open the lid of one of the enclosures to get a closer look.
Suddenly a loud and sharp sound assaults his eardrums. An alarm has gone off.
The voices from earlier return, and they're a lot louder, and sound a lot more furious
"Dang it, I told you something was gonna happen tonight!" yells one of the guards to the other.
The voices are getting closer, too close. Nova has to act fast.
Do you [[take one of the bugs]], they probably are pretty valuable. Or do you [[get out]] as fast as you can without taking anything else, staying any longer is bound to get you caught.
(set: $karma to $karma +1)Nova carefully takes one of the insects into his hand, trying not to crush it, and places it a small jar that is lying next to the terarrium. His hand is trembling and he doesn't have much time. he quickly shuts the lit as tight as he can and tosses it in his bag.
Nova looks at the only window in the room and runs over to it, being careful not to make any more noise despite the deafening alarm.
He frantically tries to open it and with a hard tug it opens, almost making him tumble over.
He squeezes himself through once again and slides along the side of the building towards a section that is not glass in order to be hidden from view.
He looks down. He is still quite high up, if he'd jump of right there and then, he would most likely die. But he has to find a way down, and quick.
Two meters to his left, what might be an old telephone cable is coming out of the building. It does not seem to be charged, most of these kind of cables are not used anymore.
He takes off his belt and fashions a grip. Hesitating for just a second, he leans over and places it around the cable.
He takes a deep breath before he takes a leap of faith.
The cable holds and he feels the breeze of the cold night air brush against his face as he slides down towards safety.
Behind him he can hear the faint sound of the alarm and people shouting. But that doesn't matter right now, all that matters is that he got the medicine and escaped.
In his bliss, Nova doesn't notice that he didn't close his bag properly due to all of the chaos and lost something very valuable during his descent.
As his feet touch the familiar ground again he immediatly starts to sprint in the direction of home, leaving his belt hanging behind.
[[Go home]]
(set: $karma to $karma -1)Nova closes the terrarium quickly, and looks around him to find a way to escape.
He looks at the only window in the room and runs over to it, being careful not to make any more noise despite the deafening alarm.
He frantically tries to open it and with a hard tug it opens, almost making him tumble over.
He squeezes himself through once again and slides along the side of the building towards a section that is not glass in order to be hidden from view.
He looks down. He is still quite high up, if he'd jump of right there and then, he would most likely die. But he has to find a way down, and quick.
Two meters to his left, what might be an old telephone cable is coming out of the building. It does not seem to be charged, most of these kind of cables are not used anymore.
He takes off his belt and fashions a grip. Hesitating for just a second, he leans over and places it around the cable.
He takes a deep breath before he takes a leap of faith.
The cable holds and he feels the breeze of the cold night air brush against his face as he slides down towards safety.
Behind him he can hear the faint sound of the alarm and people shouting. But that doesn't matter right now, all that matters is that he got the medicine and escaped.
In his bliss, Nova doesn't notice that he didn't close his bag properly due to all of the chaos and lost something very valuable during his descent.
As his feet touch the familiar ground again he immediatly starts to sprint in the direction of home, leaving his belt hanging behind.
[[Go back home]]
(set: $karma to $karma +1)Nova stumbles inside, covered in sweat.
He's inside, he is safe.
Leaning against the now closed door he takes a moment to catch his breath. He stumbles towards the dinner table and rips open the zipper of his back with shaking hands.
He quickly takes out its contents, only to find the medicine is not there.
Tears start forming in his eyes and his voice sounds frail and is laced with desperation:
"No, no, no, no it was right there, I held it in my hand."
As he utters the last words his voice breaks and the tears start to flow down his cheeks.
The noise of his sobs wakes up Nik.
"What's going on, why are you crying?" Nik murmurs from the dark corner of the room, not quite lit by the light of the room.
Nova tries to unconvincingly hold back his tears as his voice is still trembling:
"Nothing, go back to sleep."
Nik is not convinced, but he doesn't want to bother his brother any further. He already seems upset enough as it is.
Nik lays his head back down on his pillow again and tries to return to sleep.
As he does, he notices a shiny creature crawling out of Nova's bag.
He starts pointing towards the bag.
"Hey, is that... an insect?"
His usually meak and soar voice suddenly has the joy in it that it had before he fell ill. Nova has not heard him like that in years.
"Where did you get it from?"
Nova can not let him know he stole it, he is his big idol, he can not let him down like that.
"I don't know what you're talking about, go back to bed!"
Nova's reaction is a lot less calm and reassuring than he would like it to be. But he feels like he has failed his brother and it was just all starting to sink in.
"I- I think Miss Josa was talking about those earlier while you were at work. D- Did you know she used to work in the l- lab? They fired her as soon as she got sick. She said if they stopped monopolizing insects a lot of the problems causing modern illnesses wouldn't even exist. Our ecosystem-"
Nik starts to cough aggresively, more than usual, and when he pulls his hand from his mouth there is an obvious blodd stain on his palm.
Nova sees this and starts to panic immediatly. There is not much time left. What to do?
Ah, right, Miss Josa! She might be able to help!
[[Run to Josa's house]]Nova stumbles inside, covered in sweat.
He's inside, he is safe.
Leaning against the now closed door he takes a moment to catch his breath. He stumbles towards the dinner table and rips open the zipper of his back with shaking hands.
He quickly takes out its contents, only to find the medicine is not there.
Tears start forming in his eyes and his voice sounds frail and is laced with desperation:
"No, no, no, no it was right there, I held it in my hand."
As he utters the last words his voice breaks and the tears start to flow down his cheeks.
The noise of his sobs wakes up Nik.
"What's going on, why are you crying?" Nik murmurs from the dark corner of the room, not quite lit by the light of the room.
Nova tries to unconvincingly hold back his tears as his voice is still trembling:
"Nothing, go back to sleep."
Nik is not convinced, but he doesn't want to bother his brother any further. He already seems upset enough as it is.
Nik lays his head back down on his pillow again and tries to return to sleep.
As he does, he notices a shiny creature crawling out of Nova's bag.
He starts pointing towards the bag.
"Hey, is that... an insect?"
His usually meak and soar voice suddenly has the joy in it that it had before he fell ill. Nova has not heard him like that in years.
"Where did you get it from?"
"What are you talking about? I don't have anything in my ba-"
His voice cuts of upon notices the shiny creature crawling out of his bag.
"How did you get here?" Nova whispers in confusion.
"I- I think Miss Josa was talking about those earlier while you were at work. D- Did you know she used to work in the l- lab? They fired her as soon as she got sick. She said if they stopped monopolizing insects a lot of the problems causing modern illnesses wouldn't even exist. Our ecosystem-"
Nik starts to cough aggresively, more than usual, and when he pulls his hand from his mouth there is an obvious blodd stain on his palm.
Nova sees this and starts to panic immediatly. There is not much time left. What to do?
Ah, right, Miss Josa! She might be able to help!
[[Run to Josa's house]]Nova runs to the neighbors house and starts banging on the door as loudly as he can.
"HELP! WE NEED YOUR HELP! PLEASE! WE DON'T HAVE MUCH TIME!"
The neighbor opens the door slowly, half awake and peaking out from the small opening.
Her squinting eyes are scanning the figure in front of her, she recognizes him as his next door neighbor, but is confused as to why he's knocking at her door at such a time.
"What's going on, what's all this noise about?"
The panic in Nova's voice has now grown even thicker. "You need to come over and help my brother, we do not have much time!"
The neighbors eyes shoot open wide, she knows exactly what he's talking about. She quickly grabs her coat of the hook and rushes out to storm back towards Nova's house.
[[Back to Nova's house]]The neighbor enters before Nova does and is shocked at the state that his brother is in. It has gotten even worse in the few minutes that Nova was away, a lot worse.
Nova leads the neighbor towards the dinner table.
"Look, I have this, I think you might be able to make it into medicine?"
Nova picks up the bug with his hand and holds it in front of the neighbor. She stares at it in awe.
She's so bewildered, she isn't even sure of what to say. When she finally is able to string together a sentence she says: "Where did you get this?""
"Does it matter?! Can you help him or not?"
Nova points towards his brother in desperation as the tears return to his eyes.
"Well, I could try to make medicine out of this creature right away."
Nova's tense body starts to relax a bit upon hearing these words, she might actually be able to save him.
As she says these words she connects her hand with Nova's, creating a bridge for the bug to walk across onto her hand.
The neighbor looks him dead in the eyes, her eyes turning harsh.
"But let me be frank: I can not promise I’ll succeed, it has been a while since I worked at that lab and I don't have many supplies."
The hope that had just entered Nova's body left him as quickly as it came.
She continues.
"Also, this is a very special creature, it could save more than just your brother."
Nova is confused, why is it special?
"What do you mean?"
She answers: "I mean, all those other people that are suffering. They are sick, they need the medicine just as much as your brother."
The neighbor lifts the creature up to the light
"Do you see that?" The light shines through the back of it's body to reveal tiny little bubbles stored in its behind.
"It's going to lay eggs soon. If you give it some time, I could make a lot more medicine. Maybe we could even wilder out some of the insects, it might have gigantic ripple effects. It could be a while though."
"But does that mean-... is he going too-..." the words swirl around in his mind. He knows what she is implying, but saying it out loud would make it real.
"It might be too late for your brother by then. Look kiddo, I know how you must feel. I won't judge you if you can't wait. If you want, I'll make the medicine right now, I promise I won't utter a word about it to anyone."
Nova turns to the corner where his brother is laying. He faces the most difficult decision of his life. Save 1 life and let hundreds suffer and die. Or save the lives of many but let your brother die as a result.
The decision is now up to you.
Do you:
[[Save your little brother]]
or
[[Save the lives of hundreds of others]](if: $karma > 4) [ Nova looks towards his brother, he realises he has to act now.
"I can’t wait. Please do something right now", he begs.
Determined, Josa takes the bug in her hand and turns away from Nova before a squashing sound can be heard. Josa has already crushed the insect and is rumaging through the kitchen to gather some more ingredients and tools.
Eventually she spins her concoction around in a little vial before walking over to Nik.
She holds the vial up to his lips and makes him chug the contents of it. He coughs slightly but it seems a lot less heavy than usual.
Nik takes in a deep breath, his lungs filling to the brim with a fresh air he has not known in years.
Nova immediatly rushes over to him and clutches his face with both of his hands.
"Are you feeling better?", he stammers as Nik starts to smile.
"Yes, I am."
Nova moves his hands from Nik's face to around his waist and embraces him harder than he ever has.
Josa smiles as she turns to leave the two boys to spend some long lost time together. She stops in the doorframe.
"Call me when you're ready to tell me how you got that insect little troublemaker. We could do more."]
(if: $karma < 4) [ Nova looks towards his brother, he realises he has to act now.
"I can’t wait. Please do something right now", he begs.
Determined, Josa takes the bug in her hand and turns away from Nova before a squashing sound can be heard. Josa has already crushed the insect and is rumaging through the kitchen to gather some more ingredients and tools.
"Hurry up!" Nova pressures her.
"I'm doing my best!"
Hurriedly, she spins her concoction around in a little vial, but as she does it slips out of her hand, smashing on the floor.
She curses something under her breath before hesistanly turning to Nova, tears in her eyes.
"It's gone", she stammers.
"What do you mean 'it's gone'?!"
"I mean it's GONE", Josa has now lost her calm.
Nova is quiet, the reality of the situation sinking in.
That was his last chance.
Nova starts to cry.
And as the first tears start to roll down his cheeks, his brother lets out his last breath. ]
[[THE END]]Nova knocks on the door quickly, impatiently tapping his foot on the concrete steps. After a few moments, the door opens and Miss Josa is standing in the doorway.
"Hey, Nova. How’s Nik doing? Come on in, I have some tea."
Nova shoots her a small smile. "Honestly, I don’t even know these days. Thanks for the offer, but I have to get to the lab before it closes. How’s your wife doing?"
"She's been better. But at least she can still leave the house. I don’t know how we would survive without her income. I’ve been going crazy ever since the lab fired me for getting sick."
"I’m so sorry to hear that. I have get going though, could you watch out for Nik? I left out some soup for you."
A smile appeared in Josa's face. "You’re an angel. Be safe out there kiddo."
Will do. "See you later Miss Josa!" Nova waves at her one last time before turning the corner
[[Continue to the lab]]
(set: $karma to $karma +1)As Nova is leaving, there suddenly is commotion. A young man, carrying his sick grandmother, is arguing with a shop owner.
"Don’t you see she is DYING?! Why won’t you help her?" The young man shouts.
The owner of the shop is trying to keep his calm.
"Once again: I. Don’t. Have. Any. Medicine. You think you’re special? Almost all of us have dying family members. Unless you’re stinking rich or willing to break in, there is no way to get your hands on some metapentin. Let her die in peace."
The young man falls down to his knees and starts pleading in desperation.
"Please…"
As he kneels down his grandmother puts her hand to her chest as she lays the other hand down on his shoulder.
"He’s right. I wont let you become a criminal on my behalf-"
Nova listens attentively. There is an idea forming in his mind.
"-just because the world isnt fair. We should-"
The woman stops mid sentence, violently coughing, clearly on the edge of dying.
Nova turns around, walking away, wiping a tear out of his eye.
[[Continue going home]] (if: $karma > 4) [ Nova looks towards his brother, he realises he can't go through with it, there is a larger goal.
Nova walks over to Josa, tears in his eyes as he says the words.
----
Nova is staring at the empty bed that is standing in the corner of the room. It used to be Nik's, but he has long since passed. Someone is knocking on the door. Nova walks over to it to see who it is.
It is Josa, and she is holding a bottle in her hands.
Nova opens the door and lets her in.
She triumphantly holds up the bottle: "Look at this beauty. Enough for the whole city at least. Only thing left to do is to distribute it. And there even are some bugs left."
Nova smiles, but it does not reach his eyes. "I didn't even realize how much time has passed. That's good news though." His mind is elsewhere and tears start falling. "He would be so proud."
Josa is now starting to tear up as well. "Yes he would kid, yes he would." ]
(if: $karma < 4) [ Nova looks towards his brother, he realises he can't go through with it, there is a larger goal.
Nova walks over to Josa, tears in his eyes as he says the words.
----
Nova is staring at the empty bed that is standing in the corner of the room. It used to be Nik's, but he has long since passed. Someone is knocking on the door. Nova walks over to it to see who it is.
It's Josa, looking very guilty.
Nova opens the door and lets her in.
She steps inside without saying hello.
"What is it?" Nova asks, worry lacing his voice.
"I have bad news," Josa answers gravely.
"Things could hardly get any worse right now," he says with a chuckle that is so obviously fake that he can not even make himslef believe it.
"I don't know how to say this…" She stammers. "We've been found out. Someone I used to know from the lab came by, asking how I was holding up, but afterwards the bug was gone. We shouldn't have waited. I'm so sorry."
Nova gulps, now they have crossed a line. First his brother and now this.
----
A couple of months later Nova and a few other people are huttled around the kitchen table, a map laying in the middle of it. A hexagonical building can be seen on the map, with a big red cross going straight through it.
Someone speaks, "You sure about this?"
Nova looks him in the eyes before answering, "I'm sure. They are gonna pay for this." ]
[[THE END]]You have played through our text based protoype. If you want, you can [[begin the story]] again. Be sure to comment which ending you got and any feedback you have. We hope you had fun and are exited for what is to come.