Ghost Channel

You're in a bedroom. You sit on a chair in front of a small table; upon the table there is an old TV. The curtains are drawn. There is nothing else here. The room still has wallpaper. [[chair]] [[table]] [[curtains]] [[TV]]

The chair was bought from Office World some time ago. Office World went bust and the company was sold to Staples, an American company who were basically the same business. Staples eventually closed your local store as it was now unprofitable. Nothing has moved into the building they left behind on the outskirts of the town centre. [[table]] [[curtains]] [[TV]]

In front of you is a small fold-out table. You inherited it from your grandmother, who died several years ago before the plague and everything else. Now it has an old TV set on it. Sometimes the thought of kicking away the table appears, but you know you must never act on it. [[act on it]] [[chair]] [[curtains]] [[TV]]

The curtains are brown, and aren't thick enough to block out all the outside light. Your opinion on the light blockage changes frequently. [[chair]] [[table]] [[TV]]

On the table is an old portable CRT TV, made in the early 80s. Or the late 70s? Maybe older. What it lacks in width it makes up for in depth. According to a worn label on the back, it only shows pictures in black and white. You already know this. The TV has no controls to speak of, just an on / off switch. This is why you watch the TV - this particular one. You can see things that have vanished everywhere else. [[switch it on|on]] [[chair]] [[table]] [[curtains]]

As usual you think about it, and as usual you end up not doing it. You can't kick away the table because the TV's on it. You need the TV. [[chair]] [[curtains]] [[TV]]

What you see - (either: "a burning field.", "a glowing grid in perspective.", "a close up of a mouth.", "images of organs beating inside a body.") What you hear - (either: "an indie song fed through a ring modulator.", "harsh, basic synthesizer tones.", "drumming recorded in a church.", "easy listening from an increasingly chewed up cassette.") [[keep watching|TVtwo]] [[switch the TV off]]

//''click''// Slowly things start to appear. The screen throws a dim glow upon you. [[watch|mainTV]]

What you see - (either: "the doctor's surgery you used to go to when you were eight.", "a girl you knew when you were eighteen.", "a boy you knew when you were six.", "a giant fake coke can next to a poster of Pamela Anderson.") What you hear - //(either: "Do the boys and girls like her? Is she welcome to join this group?", "There's not a lot to do, really. Not enough. It's basically just discotheques... there's a pool room...", "Hey! You two! Off your bike... you know you're not supposed to ride on school premises...")// [[keep watching|TV3]] [[switch the TV off]]

//''click''// The pictures collapse into a bright white dot, which slowly fades away. You'd forgotten that used to happen. [[look around|Your bedroom]]

What you see - (either: "an endless corridor.", "a hall of faces.", "multiple eyes overlaid on each other.", "castles pierced with giant bones.") What you hear - (either: "a glam rock track, with caveman grunts for vocals.", "1920s ragtime played backwards.", "a tape loop - a repeating fragment of jazz.", "muffled tuneful yelling with plucked guitar.") [[keep watching|TV4]] [[switch the TV off]]

What you see - (either: "a green hotel carpet.", "an airbrush painting of Spiderman that you find inexplicably unsettling.", "a computer game stall in the local indoor market.", "a sign saying BLANK VIDEO CASSETTES FOR RENTAL - £1 PER NIGHT.") What you hear - //(either: "Would you like a cup of wee? (AUDIENCE LAUGHTER) Erm, I mean, a cup of tea...", "...where a stone should be.", "I’ve forgotten what I was talking about. That’s a bit awkward. Look at you! Lovely! You did that!...", "Well, I - I...")// [[switch the TV off|different]]

//''click''// The pictures collapse into a bright white dot, which slowly fades away. You'd forgotten that used to happen. [[look around|Your bedroom]] [[kick the table]]

With one sudden swing of your leg, you send both the table and the TV flying. [[//''SMASH''//|ending1]]

In all honesty, you feel relief. [[You start to laugh.|ending2]]

Somewhere people start panicking. A huge grinding wheel, struggling to get up to speed. Arrows go down and turn red. [[Yelling.|ending3]]

There is no longer a chair and there is no longer a table. There is no longer a TV and there are no longer any curtains. There is no longer a room and there is nothing else [[but|ending4]]

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