BastardBox

Connecting to neural processing chip... (set: $memory to 100) (set: $death = 0)(set: $cloneknowledge to false)(set: $goal to 1) 3... 2... 1... Connection established. (set: $pills to false)(set: $suicide = 0)(set: $hope = 0)(Set: $luck to 0)(set: $thetalk to false)(set: $cardkey to false)(set: $ElderBeast to false) Patient C's mind currently at $memory%. Granting access... 3... 2... 1... Access granted. [[Console: Hello?]] [[Console: Awaken.]]

''Console'': Hello? ''Patient C'': H-hi? [[Console: Who are you?]] [[Console: Are you okay?]]

Patient C's eyes open. His mind begins to describe what's around him, a feed back loop translates this data into words. It says: //Before him is a grey-walled room, about the size of large, iron shipment container cut in half. The walls are dark grey, the floors are tiled with a grey plaster, and the ceiling lights provide nothing but an off yellow tinge and a soft, irritating buzz to the room. It annoys him, like a fly he can't quite smash between his fingers.// //On the opposite wall, a slotted door looks upon him. It's neither reassuring nor inviting.// //He sits in a fold out chair. His hands rest on a desk next to a ''black box''. Adjacent to the box, is a ''bottle of pills''. The label has been torn off in a hasty, and poorly made attempt to keep him from swallowing them. His guess is that they're cyanide pills.// [[Console: Pick up the pills.]] [[Console: Mess with the box.]]

//Patient C grabs the pills. He turns them over a few times before deciding that he still can't tell what they are. The console translates: Green and yellow capsule. Pharmaceutical drugs by the looks of it.// [[Console: Pocket the pills.]] [[Console: Leave them alone.->Console: Awaken.]]

//Attempting to adjust the box causes Patient C's fingers to bunch up like pressed sausages. He can't seem to budge it. Pushing the table yields no result. An unknown force pushes back against him as he tries other ways, and, after the third attempt, he finds this mission fruitless.// [[Console: Back ->Console: Awaken.]]

''Console'': Who are you? ''Patient C'': I-I- //As Patient C tries to transcribe to you his thoughts, a graphical error keeps you from seeing his name. A loud wail plays for several seconds, it reads out as "AAAAAAAAAAAH". The console has been programmed to omit shrieks and wails to make your time helping him easier. Complaints that cannot be translated into full words will also be omitted. Would you like to turn this setting off?// [[Console: Yes. -> Turn on wails.]] [[Console: No. -> Continue Talking.]]

''Console'': Are you okay? ''Patient C'': Yeah, maybe. I don't know. There's a faint buzzing, it sounds like the light again. [[Console: What light?]] [[Console: Where are you?->Console: Awaken.]]

(set: $pills to true)(set: $Cyanide = 20)Patient C stuffs the pills away into his clothes. //He doesn't get a chance to check out the box. Four knocks. Four knocks from behind the slatted door. A man dressed in a white lab coat shuffles into the room. He's lanky and slouches as he makes a crawl across the room. He looks Patient C over before motioning towards the door. A guard, called out by his uniform of a bullet proof vest and large white letters spelling out guard, enters behind him. He points a rifle at Patient C.// ''Patient C'': Doctor. //The neural chip scans for a doctor and assigns a name. His image, a slouched white man with dull brown hair, takes the forefront of all other possibilities. Vacoby, a name that activates a large number of Patient Cs neural networks, fills in the slot.// ''Dr. Vacoby'': C, I'm glad that you're awake. After your last death, and this recent dosage of narcotics, I'd figured you'd become unreponsive. ''Patient C'': So, a vegetable. [[Continue.->Vegetable.]]

''Patient C'': The one in my cell. I wish they'd fix it already, it's been like that for weeks now. [[Console: Cell?]]

//Patient C screams. The information cycling from his brain cuts sporadically.//(set: $wail to true) (if: $wail is true)[''Patient C'': AAAAAAH. SHIT. STOP. PLEASE STOP. I WON'T TRY TO RECALL IT AGAIN.] //Your feed scrambles, just for a moment. It reconfigures into this log and places your choices back in place. Patient C breathes slowly, his mind ratings have returned to normal.// [[Console: What was that?]] [[Console: Remain silent.]]

//Patient C calms down just enough to talk again. He tries to concentrate on the walls, or the tiles, anything to make the pain go away. He holds his head.// [[Console: What was that?]] [[Console: Do you know where you are?]]

''Console'': What was that? ''Patient C'': It's a memory block-- He's interrupted by a knock. Four knocks. Following after, tumblers turn. Patient C upons his eyes. His mind begins to describe what's around him, a feed back loop translates this data into words. It says: //Before him is a grey-walled room, about the size of large, iron shipment container cut in half. The walls are dark grey, the floors are tiled with a grey plaster, and the ceiling lights provide nothing but an off yellow tinge and a soft, irritating buzz to the room. It annoys him, like a fly he can't quite smash between his fingers.// //On the opposite wall, a slotted door looks upon him. He sits in a fold out chair. His hands rest on a desk next to a black box. Adjacent to the box, is a bottle of pills. The label has been torn off in a hasty attempt to keep him from swallowing them. His guess is that they're cyanide pills.// //A man dressed in a white lab coat shuffles into the room. He's lanky and slouches as he makes a crawl across the room. He looks Patient C over before motioning towards the door. A guard, called out by his uniform of a bullet proof vest and large white letters spelling out guard, enters behind him. He points a rifle at Patient C.// ''Patient C'': Doctor. //The neural chip scans for a doctor and assigns a name. His image, a slouched white man with dull brown hair, takes the forefront of all other possibilities. Vacoby, a name that activates a large number of Patient Cs neural networks, fills in the slot.// ''Dr. Vacoby'': C, I'm glad that you're awake. After your last death, and this recent dosage of narcotics, I'd figured you'd become unreponsive. ''Patient C'': So, a vegetable. [[Continue.->Vegetable.]]

//Four knocks. Following after, tumblers turn. Patient C upons his eyes. He braces the pain.// His mind begins to describe what's around him, a feed back loop translates this data into words. It says: //Before him is a grey-walled room, about the size of large, iron shipment container cut in half. The walls are dark grey, the floors are tiled with a grey plaster, and the ceiling lights provide nothing but an off yellow tinge and a soft, irritating buzz to the room. It annoys him, like a fly he can't quite smash between his fingers. On the opposite wall, a slotted door looks upon him. He sits in a fold out chair. His hands rest on a desk next to a black box. Adjacent to the box, is a bottle of pills. The label has been torn off in a hasty attempt to keep him from swallowing them. His guess is that they're cyanide pills. A man dressed in a white lab coat shuffles into the room. He's lanky and slouches as he makes a crawl across the room. He looks Patient C over before motioning towards the door. A guard, called out by his uniform of a bullet proof vest and large white letters spelling out guard, enters behind him. He points a rifle at Patient C.// ''Patient C'': Doctor. //The neural chip scans for a doctor and assigns a name. His image, a slouched white man with dull brown hair, takes the forefront of all other possibilities. Vacoby, a name that activates a large number of Patient Cs neural networks, fills in the slot.// ''Dr. Vacoby'': C, I'm glad that you're awake. After your last death, and this recent dosage of narcotics, I'd figured you'd become unreponsive. ''Patient C'': So, a vegetable. [[Continue.->Vegetable.]]

''Patient C'': Shit bag. //Vacoby, in all his tempered emotion, slaps C across his face. His palm collides with C's cheek, his fingers curl into the side of C's head, and his scaphoid bashes into C's nose. C winces as he recieves another blow from his right side. One of Vacoby's thumbs jams into C's eye, twisting just enough to force the separation of his eye lids.// //Patient C muffles a groan.// ''Dr. Vacoby'': Look what you made me do. //Vacoby straightens himself, standing back from the table. His eyes cross over to the armed guard standing by.// ''Dr. Vacoby'': Are you going to listen, C? [[Console: Nod.->Yes, Doctor.]] [[Console: No.->Defy him once more.]]

//Patient C nods.// //Vacoby procures a black fountain pen from his pocket and places it upon the table next to the clipboard. He reaches into his coat, placing his hand just out of Patient C's visual range.// ''Doctor Vacoby'': You are going to write this sentence and then you are going to die. Simple? [[Patient C: What sentence?]] [[Console: Grab the pen and lunge.]]

//Before he can answer, four short knocks tap on the back of the door. Following after, tumblers turn. A man dressed in a white lab coat shuffles into the room. He's lanky and slouches as he makes a crawl across the room. He looks Patient C over before motioning towards the door. A guard, called out by his uniform of a bullet proof vest and large white letters spelling out guard, enters behind him. He points a rifle at Patient C.// ''Patient C'': Doctor. //The neural chip scans for a doctor and assigns a name. His image, a slouched white man with dull brown hair, takes the forefront of all other possibilities. Vacoby, a name that activates a large number of Patient Cs neural networks, fills in the slot.// ''Dr. Vacoby'': C, I'm glad that you're awake. After your last death, and this recent dosage of narcotics, I'd figured you'd become unreponsive. ''Patient C'': So, a vegetable. [[Continue.->Vegetable.]]

''Console'': Do you know where you are? ''Patient C'': My cell. Please, don't make me think of certain things. [[Console: Where are you //exactly//?->Console: Cell?]] [[Console: I'm here to help.]]

''Console'': I'm here to help. ''Patient C'': Of course you are, //voice in my head.// [[Console: I'm not just a voice. I'm real!]] [[Console: Trust me, just listen.]]

''Console'': I'm not just a voice. I'm real! ''Patient C'': As real as I am, buddy. [[Console: Stop being an asshole.]] [[Console: Trust me, just listen.]]

''Console'': Trust me, just listen. ''Patient C'': I have to admit, it's not like I have anything else to do. [[Console: Good.->Console: Cell?]]

''Console'': Stop being an asshole. //Patient C remains silent for a few seconds.// ''Patient C'': Fair point. Okay voice, what do you want? [[Console: Trust me, just listen.]]

''Patient C'': What sentence? ''Dr. Vacoby'': When I say it out loud, please write it down. [[Console: Write what he says.]] [[Console: Grab the pen and lunge.]]

//Patient C stands, throwing his chair away from him. He lunges over. His body flies across the room as he aims to take Vacoby out. Vacoby nods to the armed guard. The armed guard fires upon Patient C without hesitation. His bullets dig like forks into C's flesh and rip out chunks the size of quarters. Force from each shot uppends C's forward momentum, and causes him to crash against the back wall, now mere moments from swiss cheese.// [[Death Passage.->ShotsFired]]

//Patient C lays against the wall, missing core organs and important bits of tissue that keep him alive and functioning. The guard keeps his weapon trained on C as Vacoby leans down over his body. Despite copius amounts of cherry red and urine yellow, Vacoby leans down and touches Patient C's face.// (set: $death to $death + 1)(set: $memory to $memory - 5)(set: $recentdeath to true) ''Dr. Vacoby'': Let's try again later, shall we? [[Death is not the end.]]

(if: $recentdeath is true)[//Hours later, you're not sure how long, Patient C's feed comes online. His body stretches out as a long strand of tubed flesh from the box. His arms form, returning to the size they once were before his death. His legs stretch on from his morphed state, starting as viens of blue and arteries of red until meat, fibrous and thick, pulsates out from his core. Bones puff out his chest; the ribs claw at the ceiling until coming to a close.//] (if: $recentdeath is true)[//His skull starts tiny. It's small and fish like. His eyes buldge. His teeth grow in, rooting themselves to the gums. He cries, then he whimpers, and then he is complete.//] Patient C is back in the ''cell room'', clothed. (if: $death is 1 and $cloneknowledge is false)[ [[Console: What happened?]] ] (if: $death is 6 and $thetalk is false)[ ''Patient C'': I-I don't think I can do this. [[Console: What do you mean?]]] [[Console: Go to the door.]] [[Console: Inventory.]] [[Console: Inspect the Room.]]

(set: $recentdeath to false)//Patient C takes a moment. He flexes out his arms, stretches out any joints he can find and then looks up at the ceiling while he thinks to himself.// Patient C's thoughts: Clone. Box. Machine. Facility. Vacoby. Neck pain. Jesus christ. I just want to be out of here. I miss my wife. Where is she now? How long have I been here? [[Console: What was that?->What happened 2?]] [[Console: Nevermind.->Death is not the end.]]

''Console'': What was that? (set: $cloneknowledge to true) ''Patient C'': That //thing// clones me every time I die. //Patient C points at the box, stuck to the table.// ''Patient C'': I-I don't want to talk about it. [[Console: Okay.->Death is not the end.]]

(set: $recentdeath to false) //Patient C stands and lumbers over to the door. He places his face to the door slat. Cool metal, iron or aluminum, he can't tell, leaves little dents on his skin as he peers out into the hallway.// ''Patient C'': Not a guard in sight. [[Console: Push.]] [[Console: Go back.->Death is not the end.]]

[[Console: Scan Mind.]] [[Console: Back to Room.->Death is not the end.]] Inventory... (set: $recentdeath to false)(if: $pills is true)[Patient C has an unmarked ''bottle of pills'' containing $Cyanide capsules.] {(if: $Cyanide is 1)[ [[Console: Take one.]] ](if: $Cyanide > 1)[ [[Console: Take one.]] ]} (if: $fountainpen is true)[Vacoby's ''fountain pen'' from earlier seems to still be here. The clone machine must have copied it along with your body.] (if: $ring is true)[Slipped over C's left ring finger is an onyx ring that hums faintly. If he holds it to his ear, he can hear the sounds of thousands of crystals shattering and growing back into place like shards of glass hitting a tin roof.](if: $badge is true)[Patient C has a badge that can be used to escape the facility should he make it to the final gate.]

(set: $recentdeath to false)//Before him is a grey-walled room, about the size of large, iron shipment container cut in half. The walls are dark grey, the floors are tiled with a grey plaster, and the ceiling lights provide nothing but an off yellow tinge and a soft, irritating buzz to the room. It annoys him, like a fly he can't quite smash between his fingers.// //On the opposite wall, a slotted door looks upon him. It's neither reassuring nor inviting.// //He sits in a fold out chair. His hands rest on a desk next to a ''black box''.// (if: $pills is false)[//Adjacent to the box, is a ''bottle of pills''. The label has been torn off in a hasty, and poorly made attempt to keep him from swallowing them. His guess is that they're cyanide pills.//] (if: $pills is false)[ [[Console: Pick up the pills.->Pickupthepills2]] ] [[Console: Mess with the box.->Mess with the box2]] [[Console: Back to the room.->Death is not the end.]]

Are you sure? [[Console: Yes.]] [[Console: No.->Console: Inventory.]]

//The chip buzzes as it scans Patient C's neural pathways.// Patient C's memories are at ''$memory%'' [[Knowledge Known.]] [[Back.->Console: Inventory.]]

//Patient C grabs the pills. He turns them over a few times before deciding that he still can't tell what they are. The console translates: Green and yellow capsule. Pharmaceutical drugs by the looks of it.// [[Console: Pocket the Pills.->Console: Pocket the Pills 2]] [[Console: Leave them alone.->Console: Inspect the Room.]]

(set: $pills to true)(set: $Cyanide = 20)Patient C stuffs the pills away into his clothes. [[Console: ->Console: Inspect the Room.]]

//For your protection, the actual words have been omitted.// ''Dr. Vacoby'': Write the line, ~~Wht~~ ~~dd~~ ~~t~~ ~~mtter~~ ~~to~~ ~~ya~~. ~~Wen~~ ~~yu~~ ~~gt~~ ~~a~~ ~~jb~~ ~~to~~ ~~do~~ ~~yo~~ ~~gt~~ ~~to~~ ~~do~~ ~~it~~ ~~wll~~. (set: $deathphrase to true) ''Patient C'': What does that even mean? Can you spell it? ''Dr. Vacoby'': Write the line, C. //C carves out the text carefully with the fountain pen. As soon as he's done, he places the pen down.// //Vacoby thumbs up to the guard. The guard nods.// [[Patient C: Now what?]] [[Console: What was the phrase?]]

(set: $death to $death + 1)(set: $memory to $memory - 5)(set: $recentdeath to true)//Patient C takes the pen, crossing eyes with Vacoby. The smarmy look upon Vacoby's face vanishes for no longer than a blink. His hand plunges deeper into his coat. C lunges from his chair, lands on the table, and kicks off, soaring in an arc with his new fountain pen shiv aimed at Vacoby's throat.// //Vacoby spins on his heel. The hand inside his vest retracts, now covered in a spiked, mechanical glove.// //C siezes, dropping the pen. It's too late.// //As Vacoby's hand touches Patient C's chest, Patient C begins to rumble, from the back of his skull to his forehead. The audio that's detected by the computer, before it too eventually fries, sounds like a microwave exploding a hot dog.// //Exactly like 'Scanners'.// [[Death is not the end.]]

''Patient C'': Now what? ''Dr. Vacoby'': We wait. //Patient C's chest rumbles.// [[Patient C: What's going on?]] [[Console: Pocket the pen.]]

//Patient C pushes the door. With a loud screech, the door swings out into an empty hallyway.// ''Patient C'': Quiet. That's different. [[Console: Keep going.]]

''Goal'': (if: $goal is 1)[Escape](if: $goal is 2)[Escape twice as hard: Get a ''Level-03 security'' badge, the ''exit password'', and a ''card key''.] ''Important'': ''Tools'': (if: $deathphrase is false)[''Locked - Insufficient Knowledge''](if: $deathphrase is true)[Patient C can recall ''the death phrase'' that was tested on him this morning. Forcing someone to write the phrase triggers latent neural pathways that forces the body into a shutdown mode, effectively killing them through a build up of gas.] (if: $lifephrase is "3")[''Locked - Insufficient Knowledge''](if: $lifephrase is "0")[Patient C can also recall a larger portion of the ''phrase of life''. Using this can reverse ''the death phrase'' or revive a victim of ''the death phrase''] [[Back.->Console: Scan Mind.]]

(set: $death to $death + 1)(set: $memory to $memory - 5)(set: $recentdeath to true)(set: $suicide to $suicide + 1)(set: $Cyanide to $Cyanide - 1)//Patient C opens the bottle, holds the small, green and yellow pill in his hand, sighs, and downs it with a hard swallow. He chokes. It starts as a coughing spurt, but the flood of saliva that fills into the back of his trachea overwhelms him. Moments later, the chip scans for brain function. Patient C is confirmed dead. Patient C's body, as well as any items, liquefy.// //The feed cuts out.// [[Death is not the end.]]

''Patient C'': What's going on? ''Dr. Vacoby'': The phrase comes from an ancient phrase founded in Homer's Illiad. One mispelled letter causes the brain to make connections and trigger a latent self distruct sequence. //Vacoby approaches C. He sets his hands on the table.// //Patient C stares at Vacoby. The rumbling in his chest grows, spreading to his arms and his legs. Energy courses through his core and crackles in his rib cage. His lungs expand, pressing up against his sternum. His diaphragm dips into his stomach.// ''Dr. Vacoby'': Unfortunately for you, Mr. C, you do not have the ''opposite phrase'' or knowledge of the original line to fix it. [[Patient C: Opposite phrase?]] [[Patient C: Screw you.->Number 1]]

//Patient C takes the ''fountain pen''. (set: $fountainpen to true)He looks up at Vacoby just before the feed cuts out.// (set: $death to $death + 1)(set: $memory to $memory - 5)(set: $recentdeath to true) [[Death is not the end.]]

''Console'': What was the phrase? ''Patient C'': ~~Wht~~ ~~dd~~ ~~t~~ ~~mtter~~ ~~to~~ ~~ya~~. ~~Wen~~ ~~yu~~ ~~gt~~ ~~a~~ ~~jb~~ ~~to~~ ~~do~~ ~~yo~~ ~~gt~~ ~~to~~ ~~do~~ ~~it~~ ~~wll~~. //Patient C stares at Vacoby. A rumbling in his chest grows, spreading to his arms and his legs. Energy courses through his core and crackles in his rib cage. His lungs expand, pressing up against his sternum. His diaphragm dips into his stomach.// ''Dr. Vacoby'': Why did you say that? //Vacoby marches towards Patient C.// ''Dr. Vacoby'': Tell me, why did you repeat the phrase? [[Console: Say it, once more.]] [[Console: Give him nothing.]]

//Patient C looks to the guard, wide eyed and with his weapon trained on C. The guard's chest puffs up. His eyes roll around the room. He flailys wildly; his hands reaching for anything solid to grab on to. (set: $death to $death + 1)(set: $memory to $memory - 5)(set: $recentdeath to true) Vacoby runs to the man, repeating a new phrase, one C is only able to make out a single word at a time.// ''Dr. Vacoby'': ~~Bt~~ ~~f~~ ~~ths~~ ~~eer~~ ~~chngin'~~ ~~wold~~ ~~maes~~ ~~yu~~ ~~gie~~ ~~in~~ ~~ad~~ ~~cy~~, ~~sy~~ ~~lve~~ -- (set: $lifephrase to 0) ''Patient C'': ~~Wht~~ ~~dd~~ ~~t~~ ~~mtter~~ ~~to~~ ~~ya~~. ~~Wen~~ ~~yu~~ ~~gt~~ ~~a~~ ~~jb~~ ~~to~~ ~~do~~ ~~yo~~ ~~gt~~ ~~to~~ ~~do~~ ~~it~~ ~~wll~~! //Patient C watches as the guard bulges out. C's skin pulses. The chip's feed stops.// [[Death is not the end.]]

//Patient C sneers at Vacoby. The last thing going through C's mind is the pride he feels, followed by the shards of bone from the bottom of his skull jutting through the top. The feed ends.//(set: $death to $death + 1)(set: $memory to $memory - 5)(set: $recentdeath to true) [[Death is not the end.]]

''Patient C'': Opposite phr-- (set: $death to $death + 1)(set: $memory to $memory - 5)(set: $recentdeath to true) //The feed cuts off.// [[Death is not the end.]]

(set: $death to $death + 1)(set: $memory to $memory - 5)(set: $recentdeath to true)''Patient C'': ~~Luck~~ you. (Set: $luck to $luck + 1) //Dr. Vacoby sneers, turning his back to C. The feed cuts out.// [[Death is not the end.]]

//Patient C brushes past his cell room door and enters the hall. Along the walls, written in what is possibly now brown, crusted blood is the message:// ''Freedom comes with a cost. Every life comes at the cost of loss.'' //Patient C's skin crawls.// [[Console: Keep going.->Keepgoingthereckoning]] [[Console: Have an opinion on this C?]] [[Console: Head back.->Death is not the end.]]

''Dr. Vacoby'': It would certainly make you easier to talk to. //Patient C holds back his tongue. He wants to say //''shit bag''//. The doctor approaches and sets down a clipboard and a pen. He splays his fingers on the table. He leans towards patient C.// ''Dr. Vacoby'': Are you ready to take on today's tests? //Patient C remains silent, gritting his teeth.// [[Console: Say it.]] [[Console: Nod.->Yes, Doctor.]]

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//Before Patient C is an iron Door. Tall, cold, and bearing a receptical for three types of identification: A card swipe, a numberpad, and a mic, used for an audio recognition software.// (if: $badge is true and $password is true and $voicemodulator is true)[ [[Console: Input the code.]]] (else:)[ [[Console: We need to get more. Come back later.]]]

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After inputting the data, the door clicks. A gentle breeze rolls through the cracks. The sound of wafting grass blades crashing against one another trickles in from the outside. Patient C stands. His eyes glossed over with tears. At last, with the final step out of the complex, he's made it. His mind no longer seems weighted. Shoulders no longer burdened. He stands proud, taking in a fresh breath of air. Wheat rises and falls like an ocean of amber. One more step and he's gone. Your chip will fizzle out. You'll never hear from him again. (if: $suicide < 5 and $hope > 3 and $memory > 50)[ [[Console: Take that step.->Memories]] ](if: $memory < 10)[ [[Console: Can you even remember who you are?->Husk]] ](if: $suicide > 5 and $memory > 50)[ [[Console: Are you, okay?->Suicides]] ]

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''Console'': Have an opinion on this C? ''Patient C'': It reminds me of the ''Elder Beast's'' writing. That guy was a freak show if I've ever seen one. There were tentacles everywhere and-and... He reads your mind and then forces you to live his thoughts. His talking sounds like your own. [[Console: Hold on, Elder Beast?]] [[Console: Sounds like a tough customer.]]

//Patient C passes down the hall, his eyes wander along the tile floors, and his hands trace the solid brick confines.// //Patient C's thoughts: It's hard to imagine this place being so empty. Maybe the Elder Beast really did find his way out.// (if: $Guard1 is true)[//Underneath a flashling light, a guard holds his chest. He looks up at C. The reflection in his eyes starts to fade as a solid film of mucus slides down from his upper eyelid. He doesn't appear to be visibly armed, but it might not be wise to [[approach->Guard1]].//](if: $CTree is true)[//Where the guard was earlier, a tree with C's face sprouts newly grown limbs and leaves. Despite the lack of sunlight, the tree persists and pushes on to reach what it needs. It fills you with determination.//]] [[Console: Continue.->ContinueStrikesBack]]

''Console'': Hold on, Elder Beast? ''Patient C'': Yeah, it's one of the many "artifacts" Vacoby has running about. I meet a new one about every week. I die to them a few times... [[Console: How many times have you died?]] [[Console: What should we look out for?]]

''Console'': Sounds like a tough customer. ''Patient C'': Yeah, I'd rather not run into him... Even if he is incorporial. //C goes silent.// //Patient C's thoughts: I am not in the mood to be probed like that again.// [[Console: Moving on.->Console: Keep going.]]

''Console'': How many times have you died? ''Patient C'': Hundreds, maybe thousands... After each time, Vacoby usually does an upload of all the videos into my skull, that way I can remember some of my past to keep me sane and recall what happened without him having to crossbreed his thoughts with mine. //As assured as you are that you want to hear more, Patient C doesn't seem to be in the mood to talk about his deaths. If only there was a place where you could read them ''player''...// [[Console: Keep going.]]

''Console'': What should we look out for? ''Patient C'': Large, black tendrils coming out of bodies. He may be a shape changer, but since I've had contact with creatures like him and lived, I'm able to see his forms. (set: $ElderBeast to true) [[Console: Let's go.->Keepgoingthereckoning]]

//As C approaches, the guard groans. He's still alive. His body creeks, and his shoulders fracture. Grains, like caramel rivers, wind around his body. He looks up at C. The mucus on his eyes hardens into a yellowish sap substance.// ''Guard'': Help... me... ''Patient C'': Medusa sap curse... [[Console: Back away.]] [[Console: Touch him.]]

//Patient C speeds down several corridors of empty walls until arriving to the first rectangular room. Like the rest, it's fortunately empty with only a flashing red warning light to cast the room in gloomy shadows. Before him is a room with five doors labled accordingly:// [[Test Room 1 - Red]] [[Test Room 2 - Orange]] [[Test Room 3 - Yellow]] [[Test Room 4 - Green]] [[Test Room 5 - Blue]] //Opposite of the entrance way is a door leading to [[another corridor]] and a door labled Office of [[Dr. Matthew Saranta]].// //C can always go [[back->Keepgoingthereckoning]].//

''Console'': What do you mean?(set: $recentdeath to false) ''Patient C'': I mean, what if it's all for nothing? What if... What if this isn't even real? What if I get to the end and the only thing left of me is this... //He trails off for a moment.// //Patient C's Thoughts: Gone, gone. Love. Gone. Life. Gone. I went to school. Everyone goes to school. I had a kindergarten. I think. No. There's nothing there. I know I had it. I know. Maybe, maybe it was never there... Are the clouds even real?// ''Patient C'': This existence? [[Console: Slow down.]] [[Console: We don't have time for this.]]

''Console'': Slow down. //Patient C pauses.// //Thoughts: The voice. Voice. Voice? Are you real? What if you're part of the illusion. Illusion? That's what this is. This is a dream. If I die I'll wake up. But we've tried that. We? I. I've tried that. There's only me. God help. Help me now.// [[Remain silent.]] [[Console: Listen.]]

''Console'': We don't have time for this. (set: $thetalk to true) //Patient C looks up at the tiled ceiling. The chip is unnable to read his synapses during this time. A chemical check confirms a lack of serotonin, norepinephrine, and dopamine. Suggestion: Seek urgent therapy, call psycholigical services, do not take dangerous medication in high doses, avoid opioids. Emergency medical numbers: Call 1-800-273-8255 - National Suicide Prevention Line.// [[Console:Back to the room.->Death is not the end.]]

Deciding that it's better to leave this man alone, the console input you type tells Patient C to keep going rather than talk to the Guard. (set: $guard to false) [[Back->Keepgoingthereckoning]]

//Patient C hesitates. A branch, the width of a pencil, sprouts from the man's forehead. Golden glowing sap protrudes from the tip and drips to the floor.// ''Patient C'': Hey, bud. How are you? //The man, his skin beginning to brown, groans.// ''Patient C'': Sounds bad. [[Console: What are you doing?]]

//Thoughts: Alone. Truly alone. No one is here. Only Vacoby. Vacoby. Vacoby and... Vacoby and the box. The box is the one. The box started all of this. The box took my DNA. Took me. Took what life I had. What happened to my wife? Wife? What wife? No. I had a wife. Listen. I had a wife. Her name. What was her... name. Name. My name? I don't remember, why can't I remember?// (if: $wail is true)[''Patient C'': GOD NO. PLEASE. I'LL STOP. I'LL STOP TRYING TO REMEMBER. MAKE IT STOP. AAAAAHHHH. PLEASE. PLEASE, IT HURTS. //Patient C falls to the floor, his face soaking wet. Lines of blue where veins run shoot from his crow's feet down to his chest.//](else:)[//Patient C falls to the floor, his face soaking wet. Lines of blue where veins run shoot from his crow's feet down to his chest.//] //Grips the sides of his head and proceeds to bash himself against the floor.// [[Console: DIRECT_COMMAND_STOP]] [[Let him go.->Suicide by floor.]]

''Console'': Listen. //Patient C freezes.// //Thoughts: Voice.// ''Console'': Now that I have your attention... [[... what's going on?]] [[... knock this off.]]

''Console'': DIRECT_COMMAND_STOP //Using one of the codes you were given, the chip sends a small electrical pulse down C's spine. His muscles lock into place. He's frozen to the floor, watching as the blood drips down from his forehead. You've locked him into place for now. The chip tracks his thoughts. Thoughts: ''LET ME GO. LET ME GO NOW. I WANT TO DIE. LET ME WAKE UP. LET ME FEEL GOOD.'' Letting him go too soon would allow him to commit himself to the action of suicide. Suggestion: Hold Patient C for as long as possible, taking hours and shifts to let him calm down. Keep a watchful eye over him. If he is kept in captivity for too long, he will suffer a real rigor mortis relapse. His muscles WILL decay. Choosing to keep him restrained will stop him for 1 Hour at a time.// [[Keep him restrained.->One hour]] [[Let him go.->Suicide by floor.]]

//You choose to let him rest for an hour.// //Thoughts: Just let me go. I... I don't want to keep doing this... I just want it all to end. I-I don't want to suffer like this. I don't want want to continue to feel sadness, or this pit. There's this pit deep inside of me. I just want it gone. Let me die. Let me lose a little more of myself to satisfy the pit.// [[Keep him restrained.->Hour Two]] [[Let him go.->Suicide by floor.]]

//You decide he's had enough. (set: $suicide to $suicide + 1) Whether out of poor judgement, or sympathy, you let him go. Without hesitation, he proceeds to bash his skull into the floor, bits of his head fracture through his skin, bursting through a thick layer of flesh. A sheer spike of adrenaline runs a course in his veins. Bubbles of intense chemicals spike his body.//(set: $death to $death + 1)(set: $memory to $memory - 5)(set: $recentdeath to true) //After a little over ten minutes of constant bashing, he drops, dead on the floor. The chip cuts out a few moments later.// [[Death is not the end.]]

//Thoughts: Let me go. I-I won't... I just want to sleep.// [[Console: Are you sure?]] [[Keep him restrained.->Hour Three]] [[Let him go.->Suicide by floor.]]

''Console'': Are you sure? ''Patient C'': Believe me. I mean it. I'll change, immediately. Look, I promise, just-- Let me go... [[Console: Are you lying to me?]] [[Back

[[Keep him restrained.->Hour Four]] [[Let him go.->The Talk]]

Hour four does not fair well for Patient C. The chip, not equipped with an auto-unlock feature, decides to pump the chemicals in his body just a little harder, emulsifying the lung tissues and stopping the heart. Several seconds pass and Patient C passes. You've technically given him what he wants.(set: $death to $death + 1)(set: $memory to $memory - 5)(set: $recentdeath to true) [[Death is not the end.]]

Sadly, this area isn't open right now. Check back later! [[BEGINNING ROOM!->Death is not the end.]]

''Console'': Are you lying to me? ''Patient C'': No. I promise. [[Console: Stop. Please. This isn't funny.]] [[Let him go.->Suicide by floor.]] [[Keep him restrained.->Hour Three]]

Sadly, this area isn't open right now. Check back later! [[BEGINNING ROOM!->Death is not the end.]]

''Console'': Now that I have your attention, what's going on? ''Patient C'': Sadly, this area isn't open right now. Check back later! [[BEGINNING ROOM!->Death is not the end.]]

''Console'': Now that I have your attention, knock this off. Sadly, this area isn't open right now. Check back later! [[BEGINNING ROOM!->Death is not the end.]]

''Console'': What are you doing? ''Patient C'': Not dying, that's what I'm doing. This curse is a transfer thing and if this sap gets on me, I become a topiary. ''Console'': And him? ''Patient C'': Will I think he'll make a wonderful ficus. //Patient C remains silent, watching the sap drip onto the floor.// ''Patient C'': I could take this curse. It would save him the death he can't spawn back from, but I would die in the process. [[Console: Become a tree.]] [[Console: Back off for now.->Keepgoingthereckoning]]

''Console'': Become a tree. //Patient C winces. He brushes the tip of his finger against the sap and collects a drop. His eyes scan the man. Heart pounding. Without a second thought, he takes the sap on his tongue. Instead of the slow, painful transformation the guard faced, the drop on his tongue melts like a soft butter. (set: $death to $death + 1)(set: $memory to $memory - 5)(set: $recentdeath to true)(set: $hope to $hope + 1) C's jaw stiffens. Rivers of grain and cellulose replace flesh. His eyes gloss over as a thin layer of mucus falls to his tearducts. Branches sprout from his forehead, vines, thick and brown, coil around his head, and leaves sprout out from his facial hair. His groans of pain rattle his lungs before they're turned into husks. Another rattle eminates from within. A faint buzz, like the clicking of wings. (set: $guard to false) (set: $CTree to true) The chip cuts out as his feet penetrate the steel in search of nutrients.// [[Death is not the end.]]

Sadly, this area isn't open right now. Check back later! [[BEGINNING ROOM!->Death is not the end.]]

//C checks the door. Unlocked. Patient C, cautious, places his ear against the door. A low, gear like clicking and the faint sound of church bells eminates from the other side.// [[Console: Go in.->Office 1]] [[Console: Back.->ContinueStrikesBack]]

//Patient C inches into the room. The clicking stops; the bells, however, get louder and louder, ringing from the nape of C's neck.// //The room contains [[filing cabinets]] stacked against the right wall and shoved against a bookshelf filled with knickknack snow globes featuring// ''COPYRIGHTED CONTENT OMITTED'' //characters in various action poses. Patient C remembers how much he wanted to smash their big ears all over the wall. Pediophobia sucks, even if it's shielded by a glass case a centimeter thick.// (if: $ElderBeast is false)[//Across from the wall on the right is the left wall, where the [[Elder Beast]], covered in thrashing grey tentacles, strangles Dr. Matthew Saranta. Saranta's face appears distant. A whip like protrusion enters his forehead and forces itself a large lumpy line down to the back of his spine. Church chimes ring as C looks at the Elder Beast. The sound forces him to avert his gaze for a time.//] (if: $badge is false)[//For now at least, the Elder Beast does not seem to be focused on him. The reclining chair underneath Saranta contains his [[badge]].//]

Sadly, this area isn't open right now. Check back later! [[BEGINNING ROOM!->Death is not the end.]]

//C approaches. He brushes his feet lightly against the floor. His forehead pain grows from a low heat to a loud banging of pots and pans. The sounds of church bells ring, playing a cacophony of twisted melodies unnable to be recognized by the chip.// //He reaches out, touching one of the tentacles attached to the Elder Beast.// //A slender bone a hair's width jabs into C's palm, causing a slight tingle.// //''Patient C's Thoughts'': Ah, C, how nice of you to join me. I see you've brought a friend. How delightful!// ''Patient C'': What are you doing to Saranta? //''Patient C's Thoughts'': Just a little ''probing''. Nothing you couldn't handle.// ''Patient C'': I //couldn't// handle it. //''Patient C's Thoughts'': Ah, but you're alive now, aren't you?// C grimaces. //''Patient C's Thoughts'': Prick.// //''Patient C's Thoughts'': I heard that.// [[Console: Ask him what he intends to do with Saranta.]] [[Console: Offer help.]] [[Back.->Office 1]]

//The Elder Beast turns, eyes eminating a whitish glow. His voice enters C's mind.// //Thoughts: You may look, but the badge is mine C.// ''Patient C'': Can I have it? //Thoughts: No. I need it if I'm going to get to Vacoby. I'm taking back the mind lock he's placed on me.// //C shakes off the mental effects of the Elder Beast. His eyes narrow on the card.// [[Console: Dive!]] [[Console: Back->Office 1]]

''Console'': Dive! //C, following your directions, leaps for it. The pain barely has time to register. A hard, calcium horn burrows into his spine. Blood seeps and clots. He stops mid-air. He thrashes about. His arms flail wildly, clinging to fleshy tendrils. The weight from his shoulders sags.// //Thoughts: You shouldn't have done that, C.// //Cool liquid soaks C's shoulder blades. It surrounds his cartilage and begins to freeze. The ice crystals, while destroying chunks of flesh, protect the protrusion plugged into his spine.// //The memories start as a murmur but grow. Soft, they slips like sewing needles into C's mind. He sees stars blanketing the sky. Hues of blue and red splatter a canvas of black. A warm and pleasant thought.// //A whiff of sulfer rises into his nose. His eyes begin to boil and burn by the nearest sun.// //Outside, his body goes limp, unnable to contain the overload of senses undescribed. At the end of it, just before C hits his death, his body remembers something long forgotten.//(set: $death to $death + 1)(set: $memory to $memory + 5)(set: $recentdeath to true) //The chip cuts abruptly after.// [[Death is not the end.]]

''Patient C'': What do you intend to do with Saranta? //''Thoughts'': I'm probing him for passwords, files, anything of the like. Sadly, he's pretty dull for my tastes, but by re-configuring his memories, he has memetic images that would prove quite useful.// [[Console: Ask him if he has anything.]] [[Console: Where is Vacoby?]]

''Patient C'': I could help you. //''Thoughts'': A worm offers the bird help? A specimen like you doesn't belong out in the world to begin with, and if you think I'm going to help you escape, you are sorely mistaken, C.// //He pauses.// //''Thoughts'': Besides, a paramecium like you has nothing that could help me. I've scanned your mind before, you're only a geologist. A freak at best.// [[Console: Dick.]] [[Console: Back.->Elder Beast]]

Sadly, this area isn't open right now. Check back later! [[BEGINNING ROOM!->Death is not the end.]]

''Patient C'': Do you have anything that would help? //''Thoughts'': Surprisingly not much. Urls... Passwords. None of it for you. I do have a large amount of information and tests on you. There's even a way to keep your memories. Sadly, you'll never know.// [[Console: Back.->Elder Beast]]

''Patient C'': Where is Vacoby? //''Thoughts'': He's behind the barrier.// [[Console: Can't you get through it?]]

''Patient C'': Can't you get through it? //''Thoughts'': I've tried, little paramecium, but you know how memetic images work.// ''Patient C'': On top of the psychic lock. //''Thoughts'': If I had the ''Onyx Ring'', I could walk those hallways without batting a [REDACTED DUE TO INCOHERENT THOUGHT ALGORITHM].// //Patient C's cerebrum shuts down, attempting a hard reboot by loading feel good chemicals into the body. His eyes seperate. His fingers twitch uncontrollably. A range of chemicals reads off in a list, and then he's back to normal.// //''Thoughts'': Such a fragile creature. Unnable to understand simple words.// [[Console: Back.->Elder Beast]] (if: $ring is true)[ [[Console: Offer the ring.]] ]

''Console'': Dick. ''Patient C'': Right? //''Thoughts'': Phallic or not, I am not letting a monster like you out.// [[Console: Back.->Elder Beast]]

''Patient C'': I have the ring. //''Thoughts'': Give it to me.// [[Console: Give me the Badge.]] [[Console: Give me the Passwords.]] [[Console: I'll keep it for now.]]

[[Console: Run.->DoubleCross]] [[Console: Give him the ring.]]

''Patient C:'' Give me the passwords. //The Elder Beast hisses and pops. His flesh begins to boil while acid seeps out of wide poors. Before the acid can touch C, he stops.// //''Thoughts'': Killing you would only allow you to keep the ring. ''Fine'', here are the passwords to the computers.// (set: $passwords to true)//Strings of data enter C's mind. Numbers, letters, passwords, all of them organize into a chart as the Elder Beast holds his end of the bargain. When the information stops, he slips a few molecules of serotonin and dopamine to smooth over the deal. (set: $memory to $memory + 15)// [[Console: Run.->DoubleCross]] [[Console: Give him the ring.]]

''Patient C'': I'll keep it for now. //The Elder Beast grunts.// [[Console: Back.->Elder Beast]]

Sadly, this area isn't open right now. Check back later! [[BEGINNING ROOM!->Death is not the end.]]

//Patient C slips the ring off of his hand and into the Elder Beast's awaiting tentacle. The two exchange glances before the Elder Beast melds out of existence.//(Set: $ElderBeast to true)(set: $ring to false) [[Console: Back to the room.->Office 1]]

↶

↷

Connecting to neural processing chip...

3... 2... 1... Connection established.

Patient C's mind currently at 100%.

Granting access... 3... 2... 1...

Access granted.

Console: Hello?

Console: Awaken.