Technowitch

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You have been walking in the desert for 1 day and are making good time. You expect to arrive at Lina, the small oasis city tomorrow. Unfortunately, you'll have to spend another night in the desert, but at least the air is cool and the sun is down. There is a full moon tonight, so you do not use your flashlight. You look around for somewhere to camp, but the land is smooth and lacks anywhere to hide. You decide that it's safer to walk through the night and arrive early in the morning than sleep here. You keep walking but soon stop again. A couple feet away, you spot a tiny lump on the sand. It seems to be a robot of some sort, but you can't make out what it is exactly. [[Go to the lump. It might need help.|lump]] [[Avoid the lump. It might be dangerous.|continue journey][$didnotseebird = true]]

You cautiously approach the lump. It is a small mechanical bird the size of your palm. It looks like it has been there for many days -- possibly weeks. You pick it up and examine its breast, which is where the make and model of mechanical birds usually are. "Hummingbird 1.9" This year's Hummingbird is 14.2, so this one is about 7 years old. It may be old and in bad shape, but mechanimals (mechanical animals) are expensive and hard to come by. You have never had one before. The wires are exposed in its left wing and its green paint is faded and chipped. It isn't turning on and probably needs to be charged. You have 2 portable batteries. One is at $pc.battery1% and the other $pc.battery2%. Luckily charger ports have been standardized since 9 years ago, so your cord would fit into the bird's port. You are unsure of if the bird still works, but you could try charging it and see if it works later. You don't have any parts to fix its wing, but you can purchase some in Lina, if you want to. [[Drop it. It's garbage.|continue journey]] [[Put it on the charger and take it with you.|adopt]]

<> <<set $hb.have = true>> <>You plug the hummingbird into your second battery that's at $pc.battery2%. You don't want to waste too much of your battery in case the bird ends up not working. You slip it into your breast pocket to let it charge and continue walking. The mechanical bird could be a good companion for the journey ahead -- if it works. You decide to fix it up once you reach Lina. Hopefully it won't need too many repairs. <> <<set $pc.battery2 -= 5>> <<set $hb.charge += 5>> <>Out of curiosity, you take the bird out of your pocket and look at its charge level. It's already at $hb.charge%. You could try turning it on now.<<set $hb_on = false>> [[Try turning it on.|turn on][$hb_on = true]] [[Nah. Just keep walking.|continue journey]]

You have decided to name your very first mechanical animal $hb.name. <<if $hb.magicname == true or $hb.naturename == true or $hb.healthname == true>>\ You focus on your magical intent and breathe into the hummingbird's beak. The bird twitches. You open up its stats panel and see your true name under "owner." It worked! $hb.name is now a poppet of yourself. You don't want anyone to potentially see your true name, though, so you password-protect the bird's user interface. \ <</if>>\ \ You slip $hb.name back into your breast pocket to charge. <><<if $continue_journey == false>> [[Continue walking.|continue journey]] <<else>> [[Go to Lina]] <</if>><>

<> <<set $continue_journey = true>> <<if $didnotseebird == true>> You're traveling to see the new technology in Lina, not to get distracted by random lumps in the sand. You walk for a couple hours more. <<elseif $hb.have == false>> You're traveling to see the new technology in Lina, not that old junk. You walk for a couple hours more. <<else>> You walk for a couple hours more and, as you do, you make a mental list of the parts you'll need to buy in Lina to fix up $hb.name. <</if>><> "Hey you!" The sudden voice throws you out of your thoughts. You turn your head and see a woman sitting on the sand a couple yards away. A white horse mechanimal stands next to her. It's hooked up to a large external battery. She smiles at you and gestures for you to come. She shouts, "Please, I need your help!" [[Ignore her]] [[Go to her]]

an experimental technomagic game

<<set $didnotseebird = false>> <<set $yola_rel = 50>> <<set $yola_favor = false>> <<set $yola_favor_done = false>> <<set $continue_journey = false>> <<set $letter = { "have" : false, "open" : false }>> <<set $pc = { "magic" : 5, "nature" : 5, "health" : 5, "battery1" : 75, "battery2" : 30, "parts" : 0, "money" : 100 }>> <<set $hb = { "name" : "Friend", "model" : "Hummingbird", "version" : 1.9, "color" : "faded and chipped green", "have" : false, "charge" : 0, "poppet" : false, "magicname" : false, "naturename" : false, "healthname" : false }>>

You press the power switch. After a couple of seconds, the bird turns on and makes a faint chirping noise. It's surprising that it still works. You decide to keep it and input a name. You have never had a mechanimal before but you have read a lot about them on the Technowitchery forum. It is customary to use a mechanimal as a poppet (a figure that represents a person and is used to change that person in some way). Most technowitches use it as a poppet of themselves in order to improve one of their characteristics. As they nurture and upgrade the mechanimal, they nurture and upgrade that characteristic. In order to use a mechanimal in that way, a witch must do two things: input a name that relates to the characteristic they want to improve and then breathe into the mechanimal's mouth. The breath magically ties the witch and the mechanimal together. If it worked, the witch's true name appears in the mechanimal's specs, under "owner." You could follow the technowitch custom or you could give it a mundane (non-magical) name. <> <<click "Give it a mundane name">> <<replace #mundanename>> What will you name your new companion? (Type below and press enter.) <<textbox "$hb.name" "" "bird name" "autofocus">> Or you could give it a magical name:<</replace>> <</click>><>\ [[Make it into a poppet of yourself and give it a magical name.|hb magic name]]

To help you make a decision, you can divine using the random noun generator app on your phone. The higher your magic skill, the more likely you'll get an accurate answer. <> <<button "Divine">> <<replace #divination>> <<if $pc.magic lte 6>> <<set $noun = either("death", "fortune", "misfortune")>> <<print "Your noun is: " + $noun>> <<elseif $pc.magic gte 7>> <<set $noun = either("happiness", "danger", "luck")>> <<print "Your noun is: " + $noun>> <</if>> <</replace>><</button>><> NOTE: Need to use "span" so the game knows what to replace when the user clicks the button. NOTE: Replace magic skill level and the nouns the game will choose from as I see fit.

Choose a name after choosing the general category that you want to improve. Taking care of and upgrading your hummingbird will improve your stats in that general category. The specific name does not affect your stats. Your current stats are magic ($pc.magic), nature ($pc.nature), health ($pc.health). \ Which category would you like to improve? <<click "Magic -- Your ability to cast spells and divine">>\ <<set $hb.magicname = true>>\ <<replace #magicname>>\ Which name will you input into the hummingbird? ~ [[Divination|bird name][$hb.name = "Divination"]] ~ [[Clairvoyance|bird name][$hb.name = "Clairvoyance"]] ~ [[Clairaudience|bird name][$hb.name = "Clairaudience"]] ~ [[Clairsentience|bird name][$hb.name = "Clairsentience"]] ~ [[Intuition|bird name][$hb.name = "Intuition"]] <</replace>>\ <</click>>\ <<click "Nature -- Your personality, knowledge and emotions">> <<set $hb.naturename = true>>\ <<replace #magicname>>\ Which name will you input into the hummingbird? ~ [[Motivation|bird name][$hb.name = "Motivation"]] ~ [[Concentration|bird name][$hb.name = "Concentration"]] ~ [[Happiness|bird name][$hb.name = "Happiness"]] ~ [[Intelligence|bird name][$hb.name = "Intelligence"]] ~ [[Tranquility|bird name][$hb.name = "Tranquility"]] ~ [[Charisma|bird name][$hb.name = "Charisma"]] <</replace>>\ <</click>>\ <<click "Health -- Your physical ability and skill">> <<set $hb.healthname = true>>\ <<replace #magicname>>\ Which name will you input into the hummingbird? ~ [[Strength|bird name][$hb.name = "Strength"]] ~ [[Fitness|bird name][$hb.name = "Fitness"]] ~ [[Dexterity|bird name][$hb.name = "Dexterity"]] ~ [[Power|bird name][$hb.name = "Power"]] ~ [[Endurance|bird name][$hb.name = "Endurance"]] ~ [[Speed|bird name][$hb.name = "Speed"]] <</replace>>\ <</click>>\

<<set $yola_rel -= 10>>\ You keep walking. You look back to see if she's following. She isn't, but she's scowling deeply. <><<if $hb_on == false and $hb.have == true>> Your encounter with that woman with the horse mechanimal has reminded you that you haven't tried turning on your bird mechanimal yet. You should do so before going to the Tech Society to get it fixed. [[Try turning it on.|turn on]] <<else>> [[Go to Lina]] <</if>><>

<<set $yola_rel += 10>>\ "I'm so glad to see someone else out here," she says, "Not many people venture out in this desert. You're going to Lina too, right?" You say, [["What's it to you?"|yola's favor][$yola_rel -= 5]] [["Yes."|yola's favor][$yola_rel += 5]]

<><<if $letter.have == true and $letter.open == false>> You decide that you should respect Yola's privacy and leave the letter unopened. <</if>><>\ \ A couple hours later, you arrive in Lina just as the sun has started to peek out of the horizon. [More to come.]

<<if $yola_rel == 55>>\ She frowns. "No need to be like that! It's obvious that you're going to Lina. It's the only place in this desert. Anyway, \ <<else>>\ "Good! As you can see, \ <</if>>\ I'm stranded here because I need to charge my horse, so unfortunately I don't think I'll arrive in Lina until tomorrow evening. However, I need to deliver this letter to Sir Holan by noon. Please, can you deliver this letter on my behalf? "In exchange, I will give you a rat mechanimal after I receive word that you have delivered the letter. \ <><<if $hb.have == true>> She looks at your breast pocket and chuckles. "I was wondering where my hummingbird went! Don't worry, you can keep it. If you do this favor for me, I'll also tell you right now how you can get that bird fixed for free. <</if>><> \ "So? How about it?" You say, [["Sure."|accept favor]] [["Nope."|decline favor]]

<<set $yola_rel += 10>>\ <<set $yola_favor = true>>\ <<set $letter.have = true>>\ \ "Great! My name is Yola, by the way." You tell her your name. She hands you the letter and you put it in your backpack. "You can find Sir Holan in the courthouse, I'm sure. Just ask for him at the front desk. His assistant should send me a text when he receives the letter. When I get it, I'll send you a text about where you can find me so that I can give you the rat mechanimal. Input your number." She hands her phone to you. You type in your phone number and give the phone back. \ <><<if $hb.have == true>> She briefly types something on her phone. "After you deliver the letter, you can go to the Tech Society's headquarters and ask them to fix the bird. Tell them your name. I just told them to expect you. "Please go after you deliver the letter! It'll take a while to fix so if you go before, you won't make it to the courthouse by noon." <</if>><> [[Simply nod and leave.|leave yola]] [[Say "okay" and leave.|leave yola]]

<<set $yola_rel -=10>>\ \ "Fine. I'm not going to force you. I guess this urgent and important letter will just not get delivered on time." She sits back down in a huff. [[Walk away.|Ignore her]] [[Tell her that you changed your mind and that you'll deliver the letter.|accept favor]]

You leave Yola and continue towards Lina. <><<if $hb_on == false and $hb.have == true>> Your encounter with Yola has reminded you that you haven't tried turning on your bird mechanimal yet. You should do so before going to the Tech Society to get it fixed. [[Try turning it on.|turn on]] <<else>> After an hour or so more of walking, you think about Yola's letter. What could be so urgent and important? [[Open the letter|open letter][$letter.open = true]] [[Don't open the letter|Go to Lina][$letter.open = false]] <</if>><>

<<set $yola_rel -= 5>>\ Your curiosity overcomes you. You remove your backpack and pull out the letter. You open the envelope as carefully as possible but it is hard to conceal that the envelope has been tampered with. You unfold the single piece of paper inside. It is a form that renews the status of the Tech Society. It looks like Lina's government requires official clubs and societies to renew their status annually. At the bottom is Yola's signature under the title "President of the Tech Society." Why didn't she just turn in this form online? You had heard that Lina is one of the most technologically advanced cities in this region. It's surprising that they still rely on physical paperwork. [[Go to Lina]]

<div style="text-align: center"><img src="bee's_sigil.png" alt="Bee's Sigil" height="370" width="370" /></div> Bee's handiwork: a sigil of protection from spiteful negativity and encouragement of success for Technowitch. A Word from Bee: "This work is hereby protected and overseen by Bory the Beast of Bodmin. May none comment negatively out of spite or without valid reason and may all enjoy this game and share it with others."