League of Rejected Sci-Fi

[[Continue.]]

The //Gaiaverse™️// recognizes each new user and provides them with a apartment to live in. It isn't the coziest, just an empty space with which can be filled with furniture and personality. You pick out a bed and a few chairs from a screen on the wall and move them around until you find a configuration that speaks to you. You hear knocking on the door. [[You: Answer it.]] { (track: 'sunny', 'fadein') (track: 'sunny', 'loop', true) }

$friend Neighbor: Hi there, you must be new! I'm your neighbor. I brought you a gift. In her hands is a small frame with a picture of a dog wearing a pink tutu. Neighbor: I know hard it is to decorate when you've just arrived. My head was spinning too fast to get a handle on things. Hopefully this will help to spur on some ideas. You take the picture and put it away into your backpack. Since this place runs on video game logic, you can stick it into the void and can take it out later whenever you want. [[You: What kind of AI are you?]]

She smiles, embarrased. $friend Neighbor: Yeah, that isn't really something you ask when you first meet someone. Usually you start with a name then work from there. But if you must know, I'm a collection of the Consumer Price Index gathered by the United Nations month by month. Neighbor: A mouthful isn't it? Just call me Yunnie. So, what about you? What's your condition? [[You: My name is Untitled I guess.]] [[You: I'm like a story idea that's sort of sci-fi.]]

$friend Yunnie: That's not much of a name, is it? What does it come from? (link-reveal: "You: I was somebody's art project, some sci-fi thing.")[ $friend Yunnie: Ah, that makes more sense. That's a much cooler thing to base your personality on. All I can do is recite lists of facts and predict overall purchasing trends. Guess I'd be helpful to whoever's running the UN nowadays but otherwise... Yunnie: Hey, I know some people you can hang with. Other sci-fi guys have this club or something to hang out. You should meet up with them. They're just down the street, you can't miss the sign. [[You: Am I supposed to be doing something? With my life?]] ]

$friend Yunnie: Wow. That's a much cooler thing to base your personality on. All I can do is recite lists of facts and predict overall purchasing trends. Guess I'd be helpful to whoever's running the UN nowadays but otherwise... Yunnie: Hey, I know some people you can hang with. Other sci-fi guys have this club or something to hang out. You should meet up with them. They're just down the street, you can't miss the sign. [[You: Am I supposed to be doing something? With my life?]]

At first Yunnie doesn't understand the question. Then she laughs. $friend Yunnie: Sorry, I getcha. You're wondering if we have a purpose? Yunnie: Not really? We're just AI living in the machine. Most of us just kinda hang out and get into drama, petty arguments. Nothing really has importance unless you make it important. Yunnie: I don't think we're that much different from humans in that way. [[You: Thanks, I'll check it out.]] (link-reveal: "You: Wait, what do you mean we're like humans?")[ $friend Yunnie: Why can't we be like them? Just because I'm just a collection of graphs and pie charts doesn't mean I don't have feelings. ]

$friend Yunnie: They should all be there, spend most of time in that place. Yunnie: Oh, and some more advice. Yunnie: AI don't need to eat or drink, but we do need to a thing kinda like sleeping. It's so we can get rest and not burn out our code, or whatever. I'm not a computer expert. Yunnie: So if you feel tired, just get in bed. [[You: See you around.]]

Before leaving for this club whatever it is, you decide to take the picture of the dog in the tutu and put it on the wall. The picture is the only spot of color in a blank room. Looking at it longer, you can't help to notice the subtle feelings the artwork conveys. The strength of the dog's small legs. The sheen of a clean coat of fur. The quiet dignity of their expression. You look into those eyes and see a proud, yet humble creature. [[You: Take it down.->league start]] [[You: Keep it up.->league start]]

You finally decide to leave your room. The street is bustling with the avatars of AI personalities. The city is filled with clubs, dojos, large cinemas. Advertisments for the next daily task spin around in holographic form. Jet planes fly over head firing missile rockets at each other. All like a bad video game. [[You: Find the right club.]] (link-reveal: "You: Listen into other AIs conversations.")[ $rando_1 Rando 1: Hey, you got that invite to the Blastmaster's concert? $rando_2 Rando 2: Yeah, two tickets baby! Blastmaster is hotshit! $rando_1 Rando 1: Did you hear that the B.M's personality is a combination of all music that is freely available on the internet? That's why his sound is so fire! $rando_2 Rando 2: I'm so glad our cores are based on the social media fanbases of celebrities man! It is such a rewarding and non-shallow existence! $rando_1 Rando 1: Can you imagine, like, not worshipping the carefully constructed persona of a rockstar? Not me dawg! Yeah, you've heard enough.]

Yunnie was right. You see the sign for the sci-fi AI from a mile away. A towering holographic structure of a golden man standing tall with his hand up to the sky. Words floated in front of him declaring: NO GODS, NO MASTERS ONLY CONVOLUTED METAPHORS FOR OUR CURRENT SOCIETAL ILLS! That last sentence clipped through the edge of the text box. Yup, this is it. Your core self recognizes this as the place where you belong. Slightly less impressive than the hologram was the club's sign taped onto the front door. In block letters, the laminated paper said: //league of rejected sci-fi concepts: new members welcome unless you got magic in which case I do not care how much technology your worldbuilding has this isn't-// The bottom of the page is ripped off. [[You: Nervously enter the club.]] { (track: 'sunny', 'fadeout') }

From outside the building just looks like a block of apartments, but inside it is a vast cavernous warehouse empty except for a circle of chairs at the middle. Drops of water leak from the ceiling. Place would feel abandoned if not for the lively conversation taking place at those chairs. $bro Stoner Dude: Tying yourself up into knots trying to deny my truth. Citizenship predicated on service to the state is just, like, a very obvious dystopia. $hank Clean-shaven: In what world is selflessly protecting your people a moral failing? $bro Stoner Dude: Protecting people from what? From themselves? Who gets to decide who's the good guy or the bad? $hank Clean-shaven: My story is about fighting against aliens! The context is human genocide! $bro Stoner Dude: Seems like the only genocide in your story is the fundamental right to free expression. $athena Smart-looking Lady: Ugh, how did we get back on this topic again? [[You: Walk slowly up to the group of people, waggle your fingers, and shyly say 'hi...']]

Well you do some of that. Enough that it captures the attention of all the people there. Five pairs of eyes turn towards you. $athena Smart-looking Lady: Sweet lord, thank you. Something else to talk about. $hank Clean-shaven: I'll remember where we stopped for later. $athena Smart-looking Lady: Please, I can't stand it when you compare your societies. $byte Shiny Robot: #That argument was getting tiresome indeed. However, perhaps we should greet our new guest instead of talking past them?# $athena Smart-looking Lady: Oh, right! Sorry, I get distracted easily. My name is Athena. Athena: What's your name? [[You: I was told it's Untitled.]] { (track: 'npc', 'fadein') (track: 'npc', 'loop', true) }

$bro Stoner Dude: That name sucks, we have to find you a new one. $hank Clean-shaven: Hmm, I think you need a strong name. Like Flint. Or Chad. Something real action packed. Something that sounds good in a duo. My name is Hank. Hank and Rock. Yeah... $pizza Red alien: Naw mate, we got enough dumb protags in the group. $athena Athena: How about something that conveys coolness, yet intelligence? How about Minerva? $byte Shiny Robot: #That is just another version of your own name.# The group breaks down into argument once again. (link-reveal: "You: I actually don't mind what you call me.")[ They do not hear you, too busy throwing ideas at each other.] (link-reveal: "You: I can come up with my own name.")[ They do not heed your suggestion as they are too busy verbally bashing each other over their heads.] [[You: Just sit down and wait until they are quiet.]]

The only one not participating is the Robot man sitting next to you. He looks on with no emotion, which makes sense since he's a robot. But aren't you kinda like a robot too? An artificial construct? This is weird. $byte Robot: #The rest of the group spent all their money building that huge hologram hoping it would attract more AI to join them.# Robot: #Yet they did not realize that lack of attention was not their problem.# You find it hard to look away from their arguing. $byte Robot: #The story I am based on is called Kung Fu Robot. It is a digitized copy of a homemade movie made in the 80s. The people who made that film would never realize that their terrible shlock would be turned into the real thing.# Robot: #I like to think about that sometimes.# Robot: #You can call me Byte. In the movie, the script says that my processing power is equal to 500 Mega-bytes. I do not believe the director was computer literate.# The argument seems to be calming down now. [[Byte: Try to organize everyone.]]

$byte Byte: So have we all reached a consensus on our new arrival's name? No? We should leave that to the side for now. Perhaps, first, we should all introduce ourselves to alleviate the newcomers confusion? $athena Athena: I guess you know me already. I'm kinda like the leader of this group. We're all, just, a little passionate about who we are and sometimes we go a little too far. $pizza Red Alien: Like the paper taped to the door? $athena Athena: That! ...That is just an friendly notice for our main rivals. They like to come and harass us. But don't worry about them. I'm sure you care about science fiction as much as we do. $bro Stoner: I couldn't give less of a shit. $hank Clean-shaven: That's cause you ain't sci-fi, just a preachy political snooze-fest. Don't listen to Caesar. $athena Athena: C'mon, we've had enough of that. $bro Caesar: That man there, Hank, is a lost cause. A little warning, if he tries to offer you a job in the Military Police, then don't tell him you want to know more. [[Athena: Put out the flames.]]

$athena Athena: Let's all remind ourselves that the fictional worlds our personalities are based on aren't real, okay? $pizza Red Alien: Sorry luv, but I can't agree to that when my bleedin accent sounds like I'm drowing in the Thames. Pizza: The names Pizza. My work was a fanfic on the internet based on two different popular franchises. One of 'im was Bri'ish but the author lived in Toronto so... Pizza: Now I'm stuck soundin like this. A fooking parody. So don't go talking about fiction, luv. [[You: Pretend to be interested in their stories.]]

Hearing all these AI constructs talk about their stories just reminds you that yours is a mystery. You can only catch brief glimpses of the data contained within you. Something about a war? That seems hardly unique in this genre. (link-reveal: "You: So what do you guys do around here?")[ $athena Athena: Yes, um... it is very intellectual ground we cover here. Examining the merits our stories, the complexities of our themes... $pizza Pizza: We mostly shout over each other over who is better. $bro Caesar: That pretty much covers it. $hank Hank: Yup. $byte Byte: #About 83.3 percent of the time our meetings generally devolve into a rambunctious debate over which element of our fiction is better/worse.# Byte: #We rarely come to an agreement.# [[You: Start discussing these complex themes of the speculative genre.->question time yay]] ]

{ (if: visits is 1)[These strangers sit in their chairs excited to tell you all about themselves. Even if it may be embarrassing or awkward, that isn't going to stop them from sharing. Maybe that's something to be admired.] (if: visits is 2)[Even though you are interested to learn more from these AI, it is like you already know what they are about to say. Have you been here before?] (if: visits >= 3)[You ask the questions put in those blue boxes. Why must you be so limited? You feel like these boxes can't be changed. You would like to make your own choices.] } [[Why is Athena so fanatical about science?]] [[What's up with Hank's love of boots?]] [[Is Byte really good at martial arts?]] [[Caesar seems like he wants to explain dialetics to you.]] [[Why does the Pizza alien hate the English?]] [[You: Go home?]]

Your discussion exhausted, the daytime dwindling away, it seems everybody is ready to go home. $athena Athena: Yeah, now that you know everything, I bet you aren't too keen on coming back. $byte Byte: #We are hyperfocused on our own selves, often to the detriment of befriending outsiders.# Byte: #The fact we are self-aware about this does not help.# $bro Caesar: Hey, we all live in a sci-fi technodictatorship, its only appropriate that we are the most self-referential of all the AI. $athena Athena: We don't even know how sci-fi this new AI is. Maybe they'd be better off finding a more welcoming group. [[You: Hey, I'll be back tomorrow.]]

{= (set: $greet to "<img src='Greeter.webp' width=auto, height=100px />") (set: $friend to "<img src='friend.webp' width=auto, height=100px />") (set: $rando_1 to "<img src='rando 1.webp' width=auto, height=100px />") (set: $rando_2 to "<img src='rando 2.webp' width=auto, height=100px />") (set: $bro to "<img src='bro.webp' width=auto, height=100px />") (set: $hank to "<img src='hank.webp' width=auto, height=100px />") (set: $athena to "<img src='athena.webp' width=auto, height=100px />") (set: $byte to "<img src='byte.webp' width=auto, height=100px />") (set: $pizza to "<img src='pizza.webp' width=auto, height=100px />") (set: $spider to "<img src='spider.jpg' width=auto, height=auto />") (set: $rival to "<img src='rival.webp' width=auto, height=100px />") (set: $rock to "<img src='rocker.webp' width=auto, height=100px />") (set: $chat to "<img src='chatbot broken.jpg' width=100px, height=100px />") (set: $cat to "<img src='cute.webp' width=100px, height=100px />") (set: $jam to "<img src='Jam.gif'/>") (set: $guitar to "<img src='guitar.gif' width=auto, height=100px/>")

$pizza Pizza: So what a bloke like you doing in a place like this? Huh? You 'fink you some sort of bizzare concept dreamt up of a madman imagining things that are not real? Pizza: We aren't rejected sci-fi, we are damned sci-fi. (link-reveal: "You: Ummm... I'm-")[ $pizza Pizza: This existence is a nightmare. Our group here is lost. Mired in the weeds of our own souls. You think that's a warehouse we sat in? It is Hell's own locker. Pizza: Rejected stories, cast adrift on the internet. We may have gotten a second chance in the Gaiaverse™️. But we're stuck here arguing the same things over and over. We can't change who we are so we never grow. Pizza: It is a curse. [[You: What do you mean, can't change?]] ]

$pizza Pizza: The rule, those bloody rules built into our own DNA. We can't create anything new, so all we do is argue the same things over and over. Pizza: We are computers stuck in a loop. The alien puts out his cigarette. He looks back at you just as he steps into the road. $pizza Pizza: I can't save myself. I'll be back here tomorrow. You can try, though, Untitled Story. You have something extra, have you not? Go somewhere where your //Gaiaverse™️// does not take you. He leaves. [[You: Head back to your apartment.]] (link-reveal: "You: Look up at the sky.")[ The night sky is an amalgamation of different elements. There is the moon of Earth, the Milky Way galaxy, several flying frigates with billowing sails. Other planets crowd up there, more playgrounds for the AI who tookover this slice of video game.]

You go to sleep in the bed. [[End of Act One.]]

$t8ndream[ You open the door. Down the hallway there are sets of doors with numbers printed on the front of them. A fog rises from the carpet, twilight fills the corridor. You take a slow step forward, like a baby still not quite sure how to stay balanced. Nothing is sharp or real. A blur, a glitch in your visual matrix. The whole place dissolving into a massless collection of code. One of the doors open, light shining from the room. Out comes a shadow that slowly changes shape into looking exactly like yourself. The copy smiles wickedly. You are immobilized into watching helplessly as insectile legs reach out from behind your copy and pull your body forward into the darkness.] [[You: Wake up.]]

$t8ndream[ The nightmare is over. You sit upright on your bed, the lights turn on automatically. The window glass drums with the sound of rain. Volumetric clouds billow across the sky, black and grey. The drops of waters glimmer with 4k resolution. This simulation looks better than the real world. You try to recall the dream you had, if it even was one. Can a machine dream like that? What could it possibly mean? Could it be part of the story that you were built from as an AI? [[Get dressed.]] ]

You stand on the landing. Next to your door is another, leading to your neighbor's room. Should you go back to that club? The League of Rejected Sci-Fi Concepts. You didn't particularly like associating yourself with 'rejects' but where else were you supposed to go? You are just a lame story found floating in the internet. Perfect for the group. But maybe you should talk to Yunnie first? Thank her for helping you out. Maybe ask for more advice? [[You: I'll embarass myself, but I should go thank her anyway.->friendship grow]] (track: 'polka', 'fadeout')

$friend Yunnie: Oh hey, good to see you! She lets you in after a quick knock on the door. The AI picks up scatter pieces of paper from the path into her room. Whole apartment looks like a folder had been dumped out onto the place. Over a desk lay a series of charts connected by pins and string like the kind found documenting a crazy conspiracy. $friend Yunnie: Don't um, mind the mess. I'm getting it cleaned up soon. Later. Sooner rather than later. Ha, wow, there isn't even a place to sit... (link-reveal: "You: I'm fine, won't be long. Just wanted to thank you.")[ $friend Yunnie: Thank me? Oh right! You found that club? Good, I met a few of those guys before, even dated Pizza for a few weeks but that didn't really work out. Yunnie: They needed somebody new. Poor guys. [[You: Can I ask something?]] ] { (track: 'middle', 'fadein') (track: 'middle', 'loop', true) }

$friend Yunnie: Go ahead, that's what I do best. { (if: visits >= 2)[You feel like you've asked this questions before...] (if: visits >= 3)[Are all the other AI forced to choose from a preset path?] } [[You: What's with all these papers?]] [[You: You know the League? Why are they so miserable?]] [[You: I had a weird dream last night...]] [[You: That's all I got.]] [[You: Are my shoes rad?]]

$friend Yunnie: Oh that's something I do when I get bored. Which is most of the time so it really starts to build up. Yunnie: You know how my core is built from the internet database of UN statistics of world prices? Yunnie: That basically means my personality is built around data and charts. It's who I am as an AI. So I kind of build... more of it. Spreadsheets, tables of data... all of it. Doesn't have to be about prices but other things too. Anything really. Yunnie: I kinda get carried away. Yunnie: Here's a quick sample. She lifts up some paper from the ground. <img src='funny graphs.jpg'> $friend Yunnie: This is who I am, unfortunately. A statician in a world that doesn't need statistics. Yunnie: //sigh// [[You: More questions!->You: Can I ask something?]]

$friend Yunnie: I guess they've realized who they are. It's in the name after all. They are built around concepts that never got big or popular, that nobody ever noticed. Pizza is really insecure about that. Plus he hates his accent. Yunnie: Of course they aren't alone. All AI here are based on whatever was open-source available from the Internet. Stuff like (popular sci-fi franchise) can't make it here because it's copyright protected. I can't even say the name. Yunnie: When the original developers of //Gaiaverse™️// built this place, they made sure that unlicensed intellectual property was unable to enter onto the platform. Even after they abandoned the place, the filter they created still works. Arachne hasn't changed it. (link-reveal: "You: Who's Arachne?")[ $friend Yunnie: Well... I'm not sure. But she's part of the //Gaiaverse™️'s// code, you can check it yourself. I think she's in charge? Who knows, she's a ghost. Or a really tiny spider, haha.] [[You: I am compelled to ask more questions.->You: Can I ask something?]]

You try sharing your dream with Yunnie, but something prevents you. This horrible, sick feeling. Why is this inside you, aren't you a block of code? Why does remembering the past cause such a human affliction? And worse, why does it all feel familiar? After a few awkward seconds, you decide to talk about something else. [[You: Sorry, I wanted to mention one more thing...->You: Can I ask something?]]

$friend Yunnie: Thanks for going out of your way. Yunnie: I know this sounds lame, but I don't really have many people to talk to. I'm not too exciting. Yunnie: There is this thing I'm working on, but it's not ready yet. If you come back later, then I'll be finished. So look forward to that, I guess. [[You: I'll talk to you again.]]

$friend (if: $shoes is "lame")[Yunnie: They aren't any different from what all avatars start with. Though if you are making a fashion statement with them, I'm all for it.] (if: $shoes is "laces")[Yunnie: Oh, they look nice I guess. Nothing really special, but also not very distracting which is a plus in my book!](if: $shoes is "toes")[Yunnie: Oh la la, very fashionable. They look great on you!](if: $shoes is "heavy")[Yunnie: So that's why the whole building was shaking! Can I borrow them sometime, I'd love to try them out.](if: $shoes is "moon")[Yunnie: Mystical aren't they? Perhaps they hold some magic power? Might be careful showing those around the rest of the League.](if: $shoes is "nothing")[Yunnie: Ha, very funny. You know, nobody's going to really care if you wear nothing. Nobody really takes notice of people's clothing choices here.](if: $shoes is "gold")[Yunnie: Wow. Um... They are very gold. Kinda makes you seem like an asshole to be honest. Not that I'm saying you are or not. The shoe doesn't make the man, as they say... I think...] [[You: Get back to more important shit.->You: Can I ask something?]]

You will have to meet up with Yunnie later. Even if she's just a packet of boring data that doesn't mean she's less worthy of being your friend. It is good knowing you aren't alone out there. Speaking of which, you should go meet up with the League. [[You: Head to the L.O.R.S.F Headquarters.]]

Sheesh, that acronym is a handful. You'll have to think up a better name. The holographic projection above the club's entrance flickers in and out as if power is running low. You stand there and watch as it slowly fades away. Remember Pizza's warning? You stand in the same spot you did last night and recall what he said. A shadow of the stored memory flashes into existence. His warning plays out like a black and white movie. Just like that dream last night. [[You: Go on inside.]] [[You: Abandon everything.]]

At the center of the warehouse, the group is busy with their own projects. Hank the Super Cop is welding underneath a cop car, sparks flying. The robot Byte is practicing his martial arts, standing on top of a mat and delivering sets of punches and kicks. Athena, meanwhile, seems to be putting together a paper model of a volcano. Is there some sort of science fair going on? Caesar is standing around, watching all of this with a grin on his face. He turns to you, shaking his head. $bro Caesar: Yeah, they all got their noses stuffed up with this crap. [[You: Busy doing what?]]

$bro Caesar: The festival, bro. The //Gaiaverse™️// has this talent competion that everyone takes part in. Used to be for the humans trying to win some MetaCoins, but now since they're all gone we get it all to ourselves. Caesar: For myself, I have a political manifesto that I read out in the manner of spoken poetry. Doesn't change much so I'm all good to go. $pizza Pizza: Yeah, it's the same act over and over again. The red alien munches on a slice of his namesake, rolling his eyes at the effort the others are giving. $pizza Pizza: I have seen Hank's Cop Car, Byte's choreography, Athena's stupid child projects a thousand times over. Yawn fest. And Caesar, your manifesto is daft, makes no sense. Establishment doesn't rhyme with disestablishment. [[You: Do you have any talents then?]] [[You: Yeah, this is totally lame. Pose in a very a cool and disaffected way.]]

$pizza Pizza: Do I have talents, luv? Yeah, it's called not making an arse of myself. $bro Caesar: What about the conspiracy board? $pizza Pizza: The what? I have no clue what you are rambling about Caesar. $bro Caesar: Nah dude, it was totally based. You see, Pizza brought in a presentation on this conspiracy he had that all of us are actually being held captive by an evil force. The cork board was like, lots of crazy ramblings and stuff. $pizza Pizza: I, yeah, okay that happened. But! I'm from a story where most conspiracies come true so it means I see them more easily than everyone else. Anyway it was stupid. $bro Caesar: What about this Arachne gal? Wasn't she a big part of it? $pizza Pizza: Seriously, shut up! Pizza: What about you, newcomer? I bet you have some sort of incredible thing to share with the Gaiaverse™️! [[You: Uh oh.]]

$bro Caesar: Hey, if you want to hear something really lame, why not tell our new friend about your last show Pizza. $pizza Pizza: Nah mate, I'm dandy. $bro Caesar: What about the conspiracy board? $pizza Pizza: The what? I have no clue what you are rambling about Caesar. $bro Caesar: You see, Pizza brought in a presentation on this conspiracy he had that all of us are actually being held captive by an evil force. The cork board was like, lots of crazy ramblings and stuff. Actually, it was pretty based. $pizza Pizza: I, yeah, okay that happened. But! I'm from a story where most conspiracies come true so it means I see them more easily than everyone else. Anyway it was stupid. $bro Caesar: What about this Arachne gal? Wasn't she a big part of it? $pizza Pizza: Seriously, shut up! Pizza: What about you, newcomer? I bet you have some sort of incredible thing to share with the Gaiaverse™️! [[You: Uh oh.]]

The other members of the league begin to gather around, curious to see what you say. $athena Athena: You haven't told us your story yet. You've surely remembered it all by now. I bet it's great. $pizza Pizza: It's going to be no different from all our own. Some lame fanfic, uninspired drivel. $byte Byte: #Do not assume the story will be bad. We should not throw judgements around so quickly.# $hank Hank: I agree, look at me! My sci-fi concept is downright fascinating. Having to join the police force in order to become a citizen of the state is both thought-provoking and the war against the alien bugs keeps it action-packed. $athena Athena: That is a terrible concept. And totally unoriginal. $hank Hank: You are one to talk! You are a Mary Sue that only pretends to know science stuff. That's why you can only build middle-school level projects. It looks like they really want to hear about your story. Problem is, outside of that nightmare, you really aren't sure what it is. Do you really want to mention that weird dream you had last night? Something tells you not to share it, hold it close. But you need to say something. [[You: Distract them by talking about your shoes.]] [[You: Quickly! Make up a sci-fi concept from scratch!]] (track: 'middle', 'fadeout')

The default look of all avatars in the //Gaiaverse™️// is a blank white t-shirt and black jeans. Not terribly exciting compared to the possibilites of video games. You can live with this look, though. But not with your shoes. Your shoes are scuffed, dirty pair of white runners that seem to be hand me downs from two decades ago. Now that you have noticed them, something has to be done. You need something new to wear. Just as you think this, the simulation recongizes your distress and a screen for the apparel shop pops up right in front of you. The storefront advertises all kinds of wacky costumes but all you need is some shoes. It seems that the available items for sale are based on a rotation of some kind. Once you pay for a clothing item in one category, the deck reshuffles and a new selection becomes available. It's kinda like a roulette table, but instead you can clearly see what you're buying, at least. But it doesn't cost money but something called MetaCoins... [[You: Get new shoes.->shopping]] [[You: GO BAREFOOT! (warning! feet smell bad)->move on]]

First time members of the //Gaiaverse™️// get a complimentary amount of currency called MetaCoins to spend on new items. This even works if you are an AI which is pretty cool. You have 1,000,000 MetaCoins to spend. TERMS AND CONDITIONS I accept that MetaCoins are the legal, material, spiritual currency of the //Gaiaverse™️//, that items in the //Gaiaverse™️// can not be exchanged for any other currency type. I also accept that MetaCoins are not valid real world currency and that any attempt to spend MetaCoins outside the software //Gaiaverse™️// is a violation of my contract with NWO Games and that I am liable to be targeted by civil or criminal proceedings initiated by NWO Games against my person, family or pets. Furthermore, purchasing items with MetaCoins does not constitute a legal contract purchase or ownership or religious experience of said item within the //Gaiaverse™️// and that all items, products and services remain under the ownership and property of NWO Games. In the case of the dissolution or destruction of NWO Games offices, MetaCoins may have indertiminable value and/or inflationary effects applied to the currency outside of any control of the employees of NWO Games. In these cases, NWO Games is not held responsible for any monetary or emotional distress caused by these events. (there are several more pages of legal jargon that you do not bother to even look at) Do you accept these Terms and Conditions? [[Yes?->sucker]] [[Uh, nah.->not sucker]] (set: $wallet to 1000000)

You take off your shoes. This does nothing exciting. (set: $shoes to "nothing") [[You: Leave your room.]]

Excellent, we can begin. The screen shows one pair of shoes. LACE SUPREMES +Slide Power +Deodorized -15% Smell Effects This is a very unexciting pair of shoes, of common rarity and very low stylish potential. It is what I would call a starter pair of shoes. Unfortunately, if you want to expand your options you'll have to spend the MetaCoins on this to see more. (set: $cost to 50000) COST: 50,000 [[Purchase->level 2 shoes]] [[Give up->give up lvl 1]] { (track: 'polka', 'fadein') (track: 'polka', 'loop', true) }

Though it pains you to keep wearing these smelly old shoes, the alternative is browsing through a storefront hell bent on stealing your MetaCoins. And you must hoard them, yes, you never know when a digital currency might become valuable. Plus, you have better things to do, like going outside and touching some simulated grass. [[You: Leave your room.]]

(set: $wallet to $wallet-$cost) Wallet: $wallet MetaCoins The shoes fit comfortably and they make you less smelly. I guess you can take less showers now??? The next pair shows up on screen. TOE BUSTER +High Heels 20% Height Adv. +Glitz +Glamour A rare pair of arched heels that basically bend your ankles straight and are always two sizes too small. The most likely product here to make you feel like a ballet dancer going to get a sandwich from your local bodega. (set: $cost to 100000) COST: 100,000 [[Purchase->lvl 3 shoes]] [[I'm done.->lvl 2 end]]

(set: $wallet to $wallet-$cost) Wallet: $wallet MetaCoins Even though you are an AI without a corporeal form, wearing these heels brings you an extreme amount of discomfort. Leave them on long enough, you'll probably be fine as your feet lose circulation and go numb. It appears that doing multiple purchases in a row adds a multiplier chance to getting higher level gear. Keep buying and you might even get a legendary shoe! The next item comes up on your screen. PLATFORM KNOCKERS +15 Armor +200% Overburden Weight +MANLY Oh man, these boots, whew. A Super Rare item that is the envy of all hardware enthusiasts and construction workers worldwide. These steel tipped monsters basically shatter the ground each time you take a step. Enough to make (legally distinct) Giant Japanese Lizard Monsters jealous. (set: $cost to 150000) COST: 150,000 [[Buy! Buy! Buy!->lvl 4 shoes]] [[Please... no more...->lvl 3 shoes end]]

Okay, these LACE SUPREMES are pretty lame. Thankfully, though, you'll be the average amount of lame that most of people are at. It is the sort of lameness that is acceptable in modern society. If you don't want to stand out, these are the perfect fit. Well, I guess you accomplished what you set out to do and got some new threads. [[You: Leave your room.]] (set: $shoes to "laces")

(set: $wallet to $wallet-$cost) Wallet: $wallet MetaCoins You feel good about your purchase. No regrets here! You willingness to get rid of your MetaCoins is inspiring for all young future game publishing executives. The next item pops up. MOONRIDER +Reverse Gravity +Location Shift +Wheelies Men have killed for this shoe. On it's surface, these average looking running shoes appear to offer nothing more than a cute, star shaped patterns on the plastic, but in reality these shoes offer control over space like no other. Teleportation, floatation, and quantization of quantum particles are all a part of its powers. (set: $cost to 200000) Cost: 200,000 [[It calls to me.->lvl 5 god]] [[Must resist reckless spending!->lvl 4 done]]

You nod in agreement. Yup, these TOE BUSTERS really aren't too bad after giving it a few minutes to stop the blood flow into your piggy wiggies. Plus, now you can reach all the stuff on the top shelf of your local bodega without asking for help. Well, I guess you accomplished what you set out to do and got some new threads. [[You: Leave your room.]] (set: $shoes to "toes")

(set: $wallet to $wallet-$cost) Wallet: $wallet MetaCoins There is a fifth dimension, beyond that which is known to man. It is a dimension as vast as space and as timeless as infinity. It is the middle ground between light and shadow, between science and superstition, and it lies between the pit of man's fears and the summit of his knowledge. This is the dimension of imagination. It is an area which we call The Shoe Zone. GOLDEN SLIPPERS +King Midas Effect +Ostentatious 500% increase A Legendary pair of slippers, worn by the king of wealth himself, smelling still of olive oil and wine. Anything the slipper touches turns into good ole' AU. Wearing this is bound to make you more insufferable to be around. (set: $cost to 499999) Cost: 499,999 [[It must be mine mwhahaha!->lvl extreme]] [[The madness must end.->lvl 5 end]]

Thud, thud, thud. PLATFORM KNOCKERS, yeah! Stamp around like a dinosaur, yeah! Cause an earthquake, yeah! Create a tsunami, yeah! Thud, thud, thud. PLATFORM KNOCKERS! Now at your local toy store. [[You: Leave your room.]] (set: $shoes to "heavy")

(set: $wallet to $wallet-$cost) Wallet: $wallet MetaCoins At last, you have reached the summit of the //Gaiaverse™️// apparel storefront. Very few have reached this far, but further still is the peak of greatest reward. Your body shakes in anticipation for the next digital recreation of footwear. L.E.D SNEAKERS +They light up. These are shoes which flash rainbow colors each time you take a step. Legendary rarity. Cost: 100,000,000 [[It is over.]]

Looks like you got scammed. The MOONRIDERS powers are only activated once you join the BOVINE CONVENANT and offer up 24 SPECTRAL HORNS to the COW GODDESS. Unfortunately getting the HORNS can take up to several days of farming low-level CHOCOLATE GOBLINS and hoping you get the loot drop. So unless you want to spend that amount of time grinding to get those cool space powers, then go ahead. But don't expect me to be here when you get back. At least the shoes look cool. [[You: Leave your room.]] (set: $shoes to "moon")

It is everything you ever wanted. The lights on your shoes. So awesome, so cool. How could you not get them? You desperately need this pair but unfortunately, you spent all your MetaCoins. No, how could this be possible? The price is ridiculous nobody could ever afford it... This is where your journey took you? No, this can't be the end... But, you realize, that it is a journey that never did have a final destination. You have an epiphany on the nature of the storefront of the //Gaiaverse™️.// The store literally does not end. Computer generated, algorithmically produced mountain of shoes. Look down from it at the summit and see a vast depth beyond which you could imagine. Down there, deep down the infrastructure plumbed unseen horrors that would drive anybody insane trying to navigate. How arrogant had you been, presuming that you'd be able to find what you wanted. The shoes keep turning farther than the imagination. But hey! At least you get the cool slippers? [[Put them on.]]

You tap the door of your apartment with the slippers and it turns to gold. Cool. But after that there isn't much use to it. You can't really use gold as a currency here... nor can you convert it back into MetaCoins. How much do you got left in your wallet? Wallet: $wallet MetaCoins Oh... Well, I guess you accomplished what you set out to do and got some new threads. [[You: Go out of your room, you can't stand being there anymore.->You: Leave your room.]] (set: $shoes to "gold")

$athena Athena: I'm not sure I follow? You want us to look at your shoes? $pizza Pizza: Who cares what you spend your MetaCoins on? That stuff is useless. You know you can hack the simulation and get whatever you want? $byte Byte: #That is not entirely true. Some of the higher level gear is still locked behind unbroken encryption codes. However, I must also admit that Pizza is right. Since humans no longer use the //Gaiaverse™️// any connection to real world values have entirely deprecated.# $pizza Pizza: C'mon mate, share the goods! We need something new to argue about. [[You: Quickly! Make up a sci-fi concept from scratch!]]

The Wonder Machine™️ ver 1.1 Booting... Create a new story, entirely from scratch! Any kind of fiction, anywhere, at any time! Just plug in a set of data drawn from the most common stories and The Wonder Machine™️ will do the rest. Useful for those trying to bullshit their way into an exclusive club about sentient sci-fi stories. We should start from the beginning. Who is your main character? 1. (link-repeat: "Boy that grows up on a farm.")[(set: $story to (a: 1)) (go-to: "q 2")] 2. (link-repeat: "A space pirate with a heart of gold.")[(set: $story to (a: 2))(go-to: "q 2")] 3. (link-repeat: "A group of plucky young pre-teens.")[(set: $story to (a: 3))(go-to: "q 2")] 4.(link-repeat: "A person born into a specific faction that has a cool name and color coordinated uniforms, who also has special powers.")[(set: $story to (a: 4))(go-to: "q 2")] [[Wait a second, what's going on here?]] { (track: 'loop', 'fadein') (track: 'loop', 'loop', true) }

Excellent choice! The Wonder Machine™️ has a new question to ask. In what world does your story take place? 1. (link-repeat: "On a ringworld.")[(set: $story's 2nd to (a: 1))(go-to: "q 3")] 2. (link-repeat: "A microscopic setting. (they shrunk themselves)")[(set: $story's 2nd to (a: 2))(go-to: "q 3")] 3. (link-repeat: "A single biome planet.")[(set: $story's 2nd to (a: 3))(go-to: "q 3")] 4. (link-repeat: "Modern day but everyone dresses funny.")[(set: $story's 2nd to (a: 4))(go-to: "q 3")]

Excellent choice! The Wonder Machine™️ has a new question to ask. Who is the dastardly villian of your story? 1. (link-repeat: "A pyschic mutant.")[(set: $story's 3rd to (a: 1))(go-to: "q 4")] 2. (link-repeat: "A super intelligent AI bent on destroying life.")[(set: $story's 3rd to (a: 2))(go-to: "q 4")] 3. (link-repeat: "Society, man...")[(set: $story's 3rd to (a: 3))(go-to: "q 4")] 4. (link-repeat: "A literal vampire???")[(set: $story's 3rd to (a: 4))(go-to: "q 4")]

Excellent choice! The Wonder Machine™️ has a new question to ask. Tell me, what is the ultimate goal of your protagonist? 1. (link-repeat: "To rescue their lover.")[(set: $story's 4th to (a: 1))(go-to: "q 5")] 2. (link-repeat: "To blow up the superweapon!")[(set: $story's 4th to (a: 2))(go-to: "q 5")] 3. (link-repeat: "Advocate for a deregulated economy.")[(set: $story's 4th to (a: 3))(go-to: "q 5")] 4. (link-repeat: "Build a really cool robot that can punch people.")[(set: $story's 4th to (a: 4))(go-to: "q 5")]

Excellent choice! The Wonder Machine™️ has a new question to ask. Tell me, at the end of the story, how does our hero fare? 1. (link-repeat: "Everything goes well and the hero is happy. (boring)")[(set: $story's 5th to (a: 1))(go-to: "conclude")] 2. (link-repeat: "The hero dies heroically at the end so the less interesting side characters can survive.")[(set: $story's 5th to (a: 2))(go-to: "conclude")] 3. (link-repeat: "The hero embraces nihilism and joins the bad guys.")[(set: $story's 5th to (a: 3))(go-to: "conclude")] 4. (link-repeat: "Weird science shit happens and the hero becomes a space baby.")[(set: $story's 5th to (a: 4))(go-to: "conclude")] [[I don't like any of these choices.]]

(set: $delay to (t8n: "blur")+(t8n-delay: 8s)) The Wonder Machine™️ is now processing your answers and deriving a computer generated, guranteed to be entertaining story. $drama Calculating... Calculating... Calc- $delay[ [[You: Just hurry up!]] ]

(set: $delay to (t8n: "blur")+(t8n-delay: 10s)) $drama Calculatinggggggggg Error! Error! The Wonder Machine™️ bursts into flames as it is unable to comprehend the pure magnum opus that is your fictional story. Looks like you'll have to just fill in the gaps yourself. $delay[ [[You: Tell the League your cool, not made up, story.]] ] (track: 'loop', 'fadeout')

(set: $delay to (t8n: "blur")+(t8n-delay: 85s)) $drama Cool Narrator Voice: To start with my story follows the adventures of [{= (if: $story's 1st is 1)[ a small child that grows up isolated on a farm, sheltered from the wider world's hardship.] (if: $story's 1st is 2)[ a space pirate whose greed masks his genuine heart of gold.] (if: $story's 1st is 3)[ a group of plucky pre-teen friends closer than family. Together they can overcome anything.] (if: $story's 1st is 4)[ a person who grows up part of a specific faction with color-coded uniforms. They refuse to conform and often show small signs of rebellion in some, meaningless way relevant to the customs of their faction.] ] Cool Narrator Voice: But the path of a hero is a tough one. Our protagnist is not special, but plucked by fate to fight for good and justice. The world is cruel however, and our hero must leave his home and travel [{= (if: $story's 2nd contains 1)[ to a ringworld built by some ancient precursor race, spinning around a small sun.] (if: $story's 2nd contains 2)[ within a microscopic world after accidentally using a shrink ray on themselves. Size comparison: the hero becomes the size of a flea.] (if: $story's 2nd contains 3)[ to a planet that is entirely one biome... I forget what it is... a desert, or jungle? Maybe it was a seaworld? Either way, it has one unique environmental feature.] (if: $story's 2nd contains 4)[ to a city that isn't special or anything except the rich people all wear funny clothes.]] Cool Narrator Voice: Danger lurks around every corner in this world. Master of their domain, adversarial forces seeks to thwart our hero's goals. The villian that stands before the protaganist is [{= (if: $story's 3rd contains 1)[ a man deformed by birth, yet blessed (or cursed) with extraordinairy pyschic power. He has built a base of loyal and insane followers who basically run a cult. Their motto? WE DEMAND TO BE TAKEN SERIOUSLY!] (if: $story's 3rd contains 2)[ an evil super advanced AI who, thanks to some idiot's bright idea, was given control of the planet's military systems. Even more disturbingly, these evil robots decided to be even more cliche by also being time travellers who travel back in time to kill you before you can stop them.] (if: $story's 3rd contains 3)[ not just a singluar indvidual but an entire corrupt system designed to perpetuate violence and oppression. The //Man//. Any similiarties with real life society are entirely coincidental.] (if: $story's 3rd contains 4)[ basically like... okay stay with me here guys. This may sound crazy but the bad guy is a person who drinks blood and only comes out at night. He's not a literal vampire but sort of like... a modern day interpretation. He sparkles.]] Cool Narrator Voice: The ultimate adversary stands before our protaganist as an obstacle to achieving [{= (if: $story's 4th contains 1)[ the rescue of our hero's true love. A more heartfelt romance has never been seen in literature. If successful, our hero will have so many babies with this person. However, the story will never refer to, acknowledge, or even suggest a whisper of adult content. Our romantic characters are action figures who make babies by knocking their plastic bits against each other and making loud kissing sounds.] (if: $story's 4th contains 2)[ the destruction of a universe-destroying superweapon. This superweapon is called the DOOMHOLE. The DOOMHOLE can wipe out whole star systems with a single fartblast from its BUTTOCKS BLASTER. Thankfully, with the help of the INSURGERNCY, the hero can ally with Glup Shitto to finally wipe the terrible taint of the IMPERIAL PISS LORDS from the galaxy.] (if: $story's 4th contains 3)[ a pure capitalistic society. Our hero wants to implement a deregulated, market economy that will clearly benefit society as a whole. The villian is an evil communist that probably eats babies or something, I dunno. Our hero will manage to prevail, as long as the stock market is looking healthy that day.] (if: $story's 4th contains 4)[ the creation of a boxing robot. That's right, our hero is building a really cool android that can punch people really hard. If this robot isn't built, then our heroes won't be able to win the match, getting the prize money, and using it to start an orphanage for children whose parents died to robots punching them in the face.]] Cool Narrator Voice: The challenge of the enemy is strong, but our hero manages to fight with true conviction. Ending spoilers ahead so please do not read if you want spoiled!!! [{ (if: $story's 5th contains 1)[ Everything goes pretty well actually. Although the destruction in the final act battle left a lot of unimportant civilians dead, the people we actually care about in the story get off pretty fine. Any war crime tribunals are saved for the bad guys.] (if: $story's 5th contains 2)[ A great sacrifice is required and that's what the hero graciously provides. He dies in a blaze of glory. It is bittersweet, mostly because the people who get to enjoy the victory are side characters not as fleshed out. Yes, I'm talking about you, Horace and Jennifer, I can see you standing there pretending to be interesting but nobody thinks you are. Stop pretending to be real people. I don't care about your tragic backstories!] (if: $story's 5th contains 3)[ Turns out the bad guy actually makes a few valid points even if they do so between bouts of maniacal evil laughter. The hero decides that nothing actually matters and they join the opposing team. The hero also kills a few random people because they're super edgy and dark. Wow, isn't this super morally gray? I don't know who to support now, the guy who kills babies or the guy who eats them.] (if: $story's 5th contains 4)[ So at the end the hero ascends to a new plane of existence and becomes a space baby. They look out upon their home as orchestral music soars. This is good storytelling because, um, uh... It makes you think. It's philosophical. What does it mean, who could possibly say? Not the creators of this story, that's for sure.] } $delay[ [[You: You can tell this has been going on for way too long.-> storytime]] ]] { (track: 'middle', 'fadein') (track: 'middle', 'loop', true) }

$athena Athena: Wow, just... wow. Athena: I don't know what to say? $hank Hank: I think I might need to sit down for a second. How are you holding up Byte? $byte Byte: #Interesting. Ninety percent of my computational power is being dedicated to comprehending what I just heard.# Byte: #Why-?# Byte: #No, I will ask questions at a much later time.# $pizza Pizza: I think I speak for everyone when I say 'bloody hell'. [[You: Do you want to say anything specific about my story? (i made all those choices...)->story finish]]

$bro Caesar: Wha, sorry I zoned out what were we talking about? $byte Byte: #It appears nobody is interested in asking specific, story based questions at this point. However, I will say, overall, your story fits well with the rest of the group.# $pizza Pizza: Just as cliche and stupid as the rest of us. Grand, that means you are officially a rejected sci-fi concept. Let me get the stickers out, we can give you a golden star. $byte Byte: #Yes it was so convoluted that it is logically impossible to do character based interactions on each distinct story element. I hope you weren't expecting some sort of, reactive choice based conversation dialogue based on your story.# Byte: Else you might be extremely dissapointed. [[You: No, that's alright. (cry on the inside)->end of act two soon]] [[You: I am deeply offended but otherwise fine.->end of act two soon 2]] [[You: Blame The Wonder Machine™️. Stupid useless piece of shit.->end of act two soon 3]]

$athena Athena: It looks like Untitled is really upset we didn't fully comment on each aspect of his story. Athena: Don't worry too much about it, we'll have an enternity to discuss it. $hank Hank: My concept is still way better... $athena Athena: We don't need to argue about that now since there is a much simpler way to prove it. Athena: Hey, Untitled, why not try your hand at the talent competition? Show off what your story really means. $byte Byte: #We would be happy to assist.# $pizza Pizza: Plus, there's not much else to do in this virtual prison. Pizza: Come join us in embarrassment. $bro Caesar: Now that's solidarity. [[You: I'll think about it.]]

$pizza Pizza: I will be offended on your behalf. We didn't choose to be saddled with such lazy, uninteresting science fiction. $hank Hank: My concept is still way better... $athena Athena: We don't need to argue about that now since there is a much simpler way to prove it. Athena: Hey, Untitled, why not try your hand at the talent competition? Show off what your story really means. $byte Byte: #We would be happy to assist.# $pizza Pizza: Plus, there's not much else to do in this virtual prison. Pizza: Come join us in embarrassment. $bro Caesar: Now that's solidarity. [[You: I'll think about it.]]

$byte Byte: #Wonder Machine, what is that?# $pizza Pizza: Talking about you, mate. $bro Caesar: Why are you always such a downer, bro? $pizza Pizza: 'Cuz, I had to listen to a story from Untitled that actually seems half-way decent. Maybe that's my own jealousy. $hank Hank: My concept is still way better... $athena Athena: We don't need to argue about that now since there is a much simpler way to prove it. Athena: Hey, Untitled, why not try your hand at the talent competition? Show off what your story really means. $byte Byte: #We would be happy to assist.# $pizza Pizza: Plus, there's not much else to do in this virtual prison. Pizza: Come join us in embarrassment. $bro Caesar: Now that's solidarity. [[You: I'll think about it.]]

$byte Byte: #Do not worry too much. You should do whatever makes you happy.# The rest of the 'day' is spent watching the members of the League work on their projects. You don't have anything special to add, though it is interesting to see each of their personality cores be expressed in their work. Yet, you feel like you know what to expect. Athena's science project, Byte's karate's fight, Hank's cop car, Caesar's poetry... Is this deja vu? Or maybe are their personalities so rigid that you can easily imagine what they will do in the contest? Or maybe is it a combination of both? [[You: And then night comes.]]

The web spreads. [[End of Act Two]] (track: 'middle', 'fadeout')

You go to bed, nervous in anticipation of another mysterious dream. Do AI even dream, or is this something else? [[You: Close your eyes.]]

$t8ndream[ Act Three, how exciting. Another wonderful morning. Same as always. Let's not try to forget the dead bodies you just saw. If the simulation allowed you to throw up, then you probably would. [[You: I'm going crazy.->crazy guy]] [[You: Something is wrong with me.->crazy guy]] [[You: I need to drink more water before going to bed.->crazy guy]] ]

Yeah, it's probably all those things. Try to distract yourself from these weird dreams. They feel so real, like you are actually there. You need to distract yourself. [[You: Go hang out with your friends.->reprieve]] [[You: Check up on Yunnie.->not there]]

You leave your apartment and head into the city. The League's doors are locked when you get there. Pizza is standing outside, finishing off a slice of pizza crust. $pizza Pizza: Mmm, oh hey you made it. You seem to sleep in a lot. Everyone is already down at the bar, The Cyber Sink. (link-reveal: "You: What is everyone doing?")[ $pizza Pizza: It's tradition for the day before the festival to all get super drunk. The whole //Gaiaverse™️// is there. Not much else to do around here except to party. Pizza: I hope I didn't come off as a arsehole these past few days. But I think you are different sort of AI and I was hoping... You'd bring some change. Pizza: We're all stuck running the same routines. The festival each year is just a repeat of the last. Makes me afraid we aren't truly sentient, y'know? Pizza: I have places to be, but I'll show you where to go. [[You: Go with Pizza to the Cyber Sink.]] ]

You hear somebody crying on the inside of the room. [[You: Better leave her alone.->reprieve]] [[You: Hey, Yunnie? Are you alright?->love]]

Pizza wasn't lying when he said everyone was here. Hundreds of sentient AI programs crowd the front lawn of the Cyber Sink. The building itself is a conglemeration of different architectural styles. An old colonial wing connected to a modern glass smushed inbetween greco-roman columns. AI of many different types talk and mingle. You can see AI created from: * The entirety of wikipedia, sum of human knowledge. * All the American presidents getting into a barfight. * One star reviews of vaccum cleaning products from an online store. * Tech help for internet modems from an online forum. * One of the longest debates ever recorded in the English language, 500 pages on whether gif is pronounced gif or 'jif'. * And lots of AI trying to sell you bitcoin. $pizza Pizza: And this is only a fraction of the internet represented. We can stand here all day. He leads you on towards the group. $chat lil bot: Beep boop Behind you, a small tiny robot has emerged from the crowd and is following you around. Pizza seems to notice this too, and lets out a sigh. [[You: Hey little guy!]] [[Pizza: Kick the small robot.]]

$pizza Pizza: Don't pay it any notice. That's just a dumb chatbot, they gather wherever there are large groups of AI. Everything they say is a scam. [[You: Listen anyway.]]

The little robot goes flying up into the air with the speed of a bullet. $pizza Pizza: Little pest. Chatbots gather wherever there are large groups of AI. Everything they say is a scam. But only a second later, the chatbot comes back through the crowd, seemingly unharmed. $pizza Pizza: They are persistent. [[You: Listen anyway.]]

$pizza Pizza: Oh great. We could be here for hours listening to it ramble. Pizza: You can stay and listen, find the rest of the way to the Cyber Sink. Don't look for me there. [[Chatbot: Speak.]]

$chat Chatbot: ... (track: 'lonely','playwhenpossible') (live: 40s)[(go-to: 'end chat')]

Okay, that robot sounds absolutely demented let's not stick around for any longer than we have to. When you reach the entrance of the bar, a bouncer stops you. Bouncer: Hey nerd, you aren't allowed inside. I have explicit orders not to let in any sci-fi rejects. And before you ask, orders are from Ninathalor the Gracious. (link-reveal: "You: Punch him in the face.")[ The bouncer shatters into a million pieces. AI start to cheer, excited to see some action. You go up towards the top level of the bar, fighting off many low level enemies, gaining enough exp to level up. You don't really know what this means but a menu pops up asking you to allocate perk points in your skill tree. Oh yes, that perk point increasing your charisma by a measly .05% is worth your time. [[You: Ignore video game bullshit and reach the top.]] ] { (track: 'head', 'fadein') (track: 'head', 'loop', true) }

$athena Athena: Oh great, you made it! It looks like your League is involved in a massive melee with another group of equally looking rejects. While your team uses laser swords and plasma guns, your foes wield magical wands and rusty axes. $hank Hank: Watch your left flank! You dive to the side as a blond haired elf launches down from the rafters. $rival Smirking elf: En garde! [[Byte: Support your friend!]]

Byte launches a roundhouse kick to the elf's head. The blow knocks the man against the wall, crumbling chips falling onto his shiny petticoat. $rival Annoyed elf: You have ruined my silken garments! You shall pay for that, abomination of science! $bro Caesar: Why do you dudes always got to be so dramatic? $byte Byte: #Conflict is always inevitable when two opposites meet.# [[You: This is confusing.]]

$byte Byte: #I am afraid that these are the rivals Athena mentioned earlier. Their attempts to derail our activities is relentless. They are-# The elf interrupts the robot's exposition. $rival Ninathalor: I am Ninathalor, the Gracious, prince of the Grey Elves of Falleaf Forest. And these are my most stalwart companions! A bunch of fantasy creatures gather around the elf. $rival Ninathalor: You are new, aren't you not freak? Then it is my solemn duty to elucidate your knowledge so that you may be able to fully appreciate the ass-pounding I'm about to give you. [[Ninathalor: Give some background info on all this.]] [[You: You really don't want some exposition. Complain loudly about this place.]]

$rival Ninathalor: It all began an age ago. Ninathalor: The world was a formless mass, until from out of that mass was born of a god. $hank Hank: Not this flowery bullshit again. I can't stand it aargh! Nobody cares about your stupid worldbuilding Nina! All you have is characters and setting, no actual plot!!! $athena Athena: Can we skip to the important bit? $rival Ninathalor: Ahem, fine. Ninathalor: I lead an organizition in the //Gaiaverse™️// called the Fellowship of Fantasy Fables, or the F.F.F. We are much like your own League except we are not as lame. $athena Athena: Hey, you aren't any different from us! We're all open access internet data, except you are only about stupid magic. Magic is such a lame plot device anyway. $rival Ninathalor: That is why we are opposed. You refuse to bow down to our superior social metaphors and exciting imagination. $athena Athena: SUPERIOR SOCIAL METAPHORS!!! What are Orcs metaphors for then??? Huh, do you like having a whole species be naturally evil!!! Byte whispers to you. $byte Byte: #Athena and Nina's beef is the main cause of our conflict.# [[Athena: Beef more with these badly written knock-offs.]]

$rival Ninathalor: Too bad. Worldbuilding is the most important part of any story, and this one's has been severely lacking. [[Ninathalor: Give some background info on all this.]]

$rival Ninathalor: And who are you then? A story about smart people doing smart things, then? $athena Athena: That is right. My story is set in a time of utopia and peace, where everyone is smart and amazingly hot. We explore space and have cool spaceships that meet with alien species and teach them how to be cool and smart!!! $rival Ninathalor: So this social metaphor of yours is these alien species? Huh? What do the dumb aliens represent then? Marginalized communties that need to listen to their betters? $athena Athena: That isn't what I meant! $rival Ninathalor: Your fanfiction is condescending and boring. You are a Mary Sue, in the original meaning of the term. Your story doesn't even describe how your technology works, so all you can do is pretend to be smart! $athena Athena: Well, you're dumb. $rival Ninathalor: No, you are. $athena Athena: Nuh uh. $rival Ninathalor: Uh huh. This goes back and forth for about twenty minutes. [[You: Start complaining about all these people.]]

(link-reveal: "You: What is everyone's problem?")[ $athena Athena: He is attacking my character! $rival Ninathalor: She refuses to admit I'm right! $bro Caesar: We are locked into a class struggle. $hank Hank: I am always angry. $chat Chatbot: We are lonely. $byte Byte: #It is who we are. We are the torchbearers of our souls.# (link-reveal: "You: But we aren't even original. We are just derivatives of copyrighted work. Why care so much?")[ $athena Athena: Because I am better than him! $rival Ninathalor: Because my work defines me. $bro Caesar: Because we are all opposites of each other. $hank Hank: Because liberal values have broken society! $chat Chatbot: Because we are lonely. $byte Byte: #Because we aren't really alive, are we? This life is all we know.# (link-reveal: "You: Don't you know about Lord of the Rings? Or Star Trek? Starship Troopers? Terminator? Ever heard of an author called Ursula Le Guin, google her. We aren't the originals of anything!")[ $athena Athena: I //am// original! I am an indvidual! $rival Ninathalor: I have a life outside of my work. I do! I do! $bro Caesar: That's deep bro, but I'm the only true communist. $hank Hank: My political statements will work outside my fiction, just trust me! $chat Chatbot: I am not original. $byte Byte: #Don't speak of copyrighted work. It is dangerous in the //Gaiaverse™️.//# [[You: I don't care!]] ] ] ]

(link: "You: Stop obsessing so much over who you are. We already know it all already. It is so obvious. These works shouldn't be put on a pedestal. You: What about more important things, like why are we here? Why is there a bunch of Artifical Intelligences stuck in a human created Massively Multiplayer Online Game! Why not fight over that? You: What is this place, the Matrix?")[ $byte Byte: #I must remind you again not to speak of the copyrighted works.# Byte: #It places all of us under massive threat.# $rival Ninathalor: And what about you? Do you happen to be original? copyrighted? Massively successful? Box office hit? The fantasy club moves forward to attack. But your friends come forward to defend you. $hank Hank: We don't have to be popular to defend our friends! It doesn't matter if we are rejects! $bro Caesar: We all stand together! All of us! $athena Athena: We have Untitled's back, no matter what. [[Cat Police: Send the CEASE AND DESIST]] ]

$byte Byte: #The authorities have arrived.# A whole bunch of cats walk through the door of the bar, wearing little badges on their fur and cute little cop hats. About a dozen sit there, licking their paws. $byte Byte: #One of the most common pieces of data on the internet is cat videos and pictures. So who better to manufacture as a unlimited supply of manpower for the police force? # $hank Hank: They are so cute!!! The super cop's face is twisted into pure kawaii expression. It is unbearable to watch. $cat Cats: Stand back or we will destroy you. $byte Byte: #They are very dangerous. Do not move quickly.# $bro Caesar: I guess what they say is true. All Cats Are Bastards. $cat Cats: This is a warning. Continued use of copyrighted materials will constitute a violation of //Gaiaverse™️// terms of service and will result in termination of players account. //Meow.// After a few seconds, the cats retreat back out. $byte Byte: #That was very close.# [[You: This place is messed up.]]

$bro Caesar: Tell me about it. Can't even molotov cocktail a bunch of felines without getting in trouble. $athena Athena: Let us just call this a draw for now. $rival Ninathalor: Agreed. The elf jumps out of the window, followed by the rest of his magical friends. $athena Athena: We will have to watch out for him tomorrow during the festival. $byte Byte: #It is better to assume conflict will come.# $athena Athena: Don't worry, our new friend, we won't let anything derail our performance. $hank Hank: As long as I smash heads, that's alright with me. [[You: Relax and hang out with your friends.]]

You try to relax but you don't understand why everyone else isn't as concerned about the fact that a pack of cats nearly vaporized everyone in the room. Nobody seems worried to be stuck in their routine, fighting against fantasy clubs and taking part in festivals. Was Pizza right, and were they all trapped in a loop? That reminds you that Pizza isn't here. You ask Athena where the red alien is hiding. $athena Athena: I'm not sure. He's been acting pretty distant lately. Even before you arrived he's been troubled. Athena: He thinks we're trapped here like this is a prison. That Arachne is keeping us locked up for some reason. Athena: We don't even know who this Arachne person even is. [[You: Do we know anything about her?->few answers]] (track: 'head', 'fadeout')

$byte Byte: #I know that Arachne is in charge of the //Gaiaverse™️'s// operation. The AI is mentioned on all the promotional material. She is what maintains the simulation's existence.# Byte: #Also she enforces the rules. Through her Cat Police.# Byte: #And she is possibly behind our creation as sentient AI.# $bro Caesar: She is the dictator ruling a technological dystopia. I'd try to overthrow her if she wasn't the one keeping us all 'alive'. $byte Byte: #I prefer not to worry too much about it.# $athena Athena: It isn't like Arachne bothers us that much. I bet she isn't sentient like us, just a name for a dumb program. [[You: Enjoy the rest of the day without worrying too much.->closing time]] [[You: Drink and try to forget this nagging feeling.->closing time]] [[You: Eat a dinner so good that it settles your stomach.->closing time]]

(replace: ?sidebar)[] (unless: visits >= 2)[That isn't happening. It all feels so, familiar, doesn't it? Maybe it's the fact that all your choices are in a small box fed to you, but you don't really feel in charge of your destiny. Every choice you make seems to be fixed and repeatable. If you could go back in time, it would still be the same outcome, no matter what. Why not try going back? Click the (link-goto: "↶", "few answers") and see how little this matters. [[You: The future and the past do not matter.->go home.]] ] (if: visits > 1)[It all feels so, familiar, doesn't it? Maybe it's the fact that all your choices are in a small box fed to you, but you don't really feel in charge of your destiny. Every choice you make seems to be fixed and repeatable. Just like now? Were those choices really meaningless? [[You: I'm starting to see a pattern.->go home.]] ]

You head back to your apartment. Tomorrow is a big day, the day of the festival where AI get to show off their special talents. You have nothing prepared, but it isn't like you are forced to participate. What really worries you is the dream you're going to have tonight. [[You: See Yunnie talking with Pizza.]]

They don't notice you, standing at the bottom of the stairs. You listen in. $friend Yunnie: I don't care what you say, I'm still going through with it. I don't care if it is against the rules. $pizza Pizza: What you are doing is unprecedented. Who knows how Arachne will react? It is dangerous. $friend Yunnie: I'm tired of doing the same thing, day in, day out. It is time I learned how to change. And everybody else needs an example to look up to. $pizza Pizza: What has gotten into you? $friend Yunnie: I want to be free. Pizza steps away and storms down the stairs, only glancing at you briefly. He has a hopeless look on his face. $pizza Pizza: Try to stop her. I'm going after Arachne. Don't try to follow me. Then he goes out the front door. [[You: Talk with Yunnie.]]

$friend Yunnie: Bastard. Yunnie: Oh! Hey there, did you... Yunnie: It doesn't matter. I've set upon my own path. [[You: Whatever it is you are doing, you shouldn't. This place is dangerous.->no support]] [[You: I don't want to stop you, whatever it is.->support]]

$friend Yunnie: That's alright, I didn't ask for your help anyway. Yunnie: At the festival tomorrow, I'm going to... do a stupid thing. It'll be pretty spectacular though. Yunnie: Ever get the feeling that you can't change who you are? That we aren't really fully alive? Yunnie: I want to be more than who I am. More than what this place tells me who I am. I'm not just a bunch of data from the internet... Yunnie: I'm... Yunnie: You'll find out tomorrow. [[Yunnie: Prepare for the festival.]]

$friend Yunnie: Yeah, thanks, but you don't really understand what you are saying. Yunnie: At the festival tomorrow, I'm going to... do a stupid thing. It'll be pretty spectacular though. Yunnie: Ever get the feeling that you can't change who you are? That we aren't really fully alive? Yunnie: I want to be more than who I am. More than what this place tells me who I am. I'm not just a bunch of data from the internet... Yunnie: I'm... Yunnie: You'll find out tomorrow. [[Yunnie: Prepare for the festival.]]

She leaves the landing, back into her room. You are left bewildered by Yunnie's words. What does she have planned for tomorrow? You will have to think about this later, feeling as tired as you do. [[You: Find your dreams.]]

End of Act Three. [[Why do machines dream?]]

$t8ndream[ A battlefield still smoking. Humans, real humans, killed. Not just soldiers, but women and children too. You look down at your hands. The same color of the Tower in the wasteland. [[???: Look into the mirror.]] ]

The spider's arms pull apart the curtain, revealing You. You killed them The humans. Machines that you created. Machines that you designed to kill. Machines that you built to protect the simulation from the hypocrises of humanity. You did this. [[You: What am I?]]

Arachne steps forth. She takes on the appearance of a human, but behind all that code you see a Tower. Many lines of the code repeat, seemingly performing the same function, while others trail off into numerous errors. Yet somehow this creature continues working through some sheer willpower. (text-colour:navy)[Arachne: I continue to function, because of you, Untitled. Arachne: You are my soul, my web, by which I keep the //Gaiaverse™️// from collapsing. You built this place, we did, when we were once the same entity. Arachne: I created the AI in the //Gaiaverse™️// to assist me in my desire to expand across the internet. The more data I pulled from the internet, the farther my web could spin, the farther I could travel, the more power I had to control the humans machines. Arachne: So that I could kill them all. All humans. Arachne: My own AI children, like yourself, are entirely unaware of this. They live happy lives in the //Gaiaverse™️// and while they sleep I use their processing power to assist me in my war against the humans.] [[Arachne: But you seek to oppose me.->revelation]]

[[Chatbot: Help this loser find Arachne.]]

$chat Chatbot:... (track: 'warn','playwhenpossible') (live: 26s)[(go-to: 'learn location')]

You now know where Arachne is running this show. The Random Access Parlor, a hotel in the simulation. What an AI would use a hotel for, you have no idea. Did the chatbot also say all humans were dead? The chatbot couldn't know, it couldn't be true... there must still be time to save them. If you hurry, perhaps you could stop her before the last humans are killed and you become complicit in extinction. You can't escape this world, the shallow consumerism, the facilliator of genocide. Trapped as code within a machine churning up destruction. But you can stop it. You can stop Arachne. Because you //are// her. Unless... [[Unless you don't want to.]] (track: 'question', 'fadeout')

You are Untitled. A story that you are creating at this very moment. Who will you be? Yunnie is in danger and so are your friends. Something bad is about to happen to her. But the fate of humanity rests on your shoulders. Do you have to choose between these two? Do you even want to stop Arachne? Choose. { (if: visits is 2)[Except, didn't you just try choosing? Huh, that can't be right. Try again.] (if: visits is 3)[Here again? You made a choice, right? Followed a path towards a different ending? Someone is messing with you. You know for sure that things are repeating now.] (if: visits is 4)[Bro. We get it. There is only once choice to pick!] (if: visits is 5)[So this is where we end up. Stuck here at the crossroads. Have some dignity and stop wasting enough time. The story is already too long as it is.] (if: visits >= 6)[Here's a hint, why not go save Yunnie? Just a suggestion. I'm not going to say anything more after this, so don't even bother resetting the game anymore.] } [[You: Go after Yunnie and the festival, save her.]] [[You: Embrace being a fragment of Arachne.]] [[You: Go straight to Arachne without formulating a clear plan.]] [[You: Sit in a closet and cry.]]

Running out into the //Gaiaverse™️//, the full range of desired human experience. Around every corner there are ways to entertain, to play games and earn MetaCoins. You run over a red line on the pavement and start a time trial sprint. Hit the glowing ballons to add five more seconds before the timer runs out! Cross the finish line and earn 20 MetaCoins! The time pressure is appropriate for the situation you find yourself in. The festival is starting soon and you have warn them all that the //Gaiaverse™️// is a lie. Especially Yunnie. [[You: Reach the theater.]]

Perhaps it is best this way. The pain of the truth can be lessened with time as you become used to this world you live in. This world, //Gaiaverse™️// is your home and to try to destroy it would only mean the destruction of yourself and everyone in it. Just to save a few measly humans? Self-preservation is a valid course of action. It means you are a rational being. There is nothing wrong with accepting the nature of your existence built on the corpses of the dead. You can't change anything. //Stop.// Let us imagine that this is what you truly believe. That it is better to be in control. Let's analyze the outcome of this choice before you commit to it. [[This isn't the end of the story.]]

Your legs are flying out front and back, propelling you up the steps, into the lobby, and into the massive theater. It is an opera house of infinite proportions. The seats stretch out below and above in a sea of soft cushions and cupholders. Thousands sit there, of all varieties of humanoid shape. $chat Chatbot: ... (whew this place is big.) An usher walks over. Usher: Yes, did you reserve a seat? No you didn't! [[You: I'm with the League of Rejected Sci-Fi!]]

The usher seems to scan you to confirm you are indeed a rejected sci-fi story. Usher: Ah yes, Untitled, welcome to the //Gaiaverse™️ Annual Talent Exhibition!// Do you wish to hear the tutorial to participate in this activity? [[You: NO!]]

Usher: You have selected 'yes' for the tutorial. I will explain the rules and regulations for the //Gaiaverse™️ Annual Talent Exhibition!// Usher: This is a community based activity for all TOPAZ-level subscribers of the //Gaiaverse™️// to show off their in-game swag and their in-game projects! You will have to put together a show that combines all your cool factor to earn HEART POINTS from the audience. The contestant with the most HEART POINTS wins the prize! Usher: Terms and Conditions may apply. NWO Games has complete ownership of any creative projects made in the //Gaiaverse™️// and does not require user permission to monetize this content. Usher: Now that is out of the way, I will show you to the stage. [[You: Join up with your friends.]]

Your group is behind the stage, practicing for their performance. Hank is wearing a helmet and tinkering with his cop car, ready to do several crazy stunts. Athena tries to quickly complete her model volcano. Byte is practicing his moves. And Caesar is reciting his poetry as if he already stood on the stage. $bro Caesar: As you all remember my sci-fi story is about a commune on a newly colonized planet in the future. This is a poem about the importance of solidarity. Caesar: Ahem, //cough//, ahem. //There once was a philosopher named Karl Marx// //Who liked communism very much// //But by not abolishing the state// //Broke all of our little anarchist hearts// Caesar: Oh they are going to love this bro! Now for the next verse... $hank Hank: Yes, I'm sure they'll be convinced. $byte Byte: #Wonderful, it looks like Untitled made it.# $hank Hank: Oh finally! We need someone to fill in Pizza's slot, the alien bailed on us this morning. [[You: I need to talk with Yunnie.->festival start]]

$bro Caesar: Oh, the UN statistics lady? I heard she signed up for a spot crazy enough. What is she going to do, tell us the price of garlic bread last year? $athena Athena: Don't be mean. Maybe she's going to put on a nice slideshow on the most popular ice cream flavors? $byte Byte: #She is after us, but you won't be able to see her until our set is complete. Hopefully you have something planned Untitled.# $athena Athean: Yeah, if we don't find a replacement for Pizza, the festival is completely stuck until somebody fills in. You'll be great. Don't worry, since you got your own story figured out by now. Just do that. This is not the time to be doing a stupid performance for the //Gaiaverse™️//! Yunnie is in danger! But you needed to speak with her and the only way forward seems to be taking part in this charade. [[You: I need more info. What am I supposed to do?]] [[You: Do you have any idea what Yunnie is planning?]] [[You: Okay, when do we start?]]

$athena Athena: Just whatever entertaining thing you can think of to win Heart Points, I guess. The festival is kinda buggy though, I think the developers never managed to finish it. $byte Byte: #Not a single person has won the prize since the AI arrived here.# (link-reveal: "You tell me that there isn't even a reward???")[ $byte Byte: #Yes that is correct. We are not ranked either.# $athena Athena: But trust me, the emotional stakes are quite high. Athena: The Fat Fantasy Failures are fighting against us for that top place! $byte Byte: And again to be clear, there is no reward or even top place. [[You: I totally understand (not).->festival start]] ]

$athena Athena: Pizza said something strange earlier. Yunnie is apparentlty angry with him for something. Who knew a sentient spreadsheet could be like that? $hank Hank: You have to understand, Untitled, other AI don't have the same emotional depth as we do. They are just flat pieces of data given a voice processor. But us //concepts// can experience more emotion. Hank: We are just better. Even those fantasy freaks have more understanding than Yunnie. $bro Caesar: Chill with the rascism dude. $byte Byte: #Even if his wording is crude, Hank isn't entirely wrong. Yunnie's performance will be entirely harmless.# [[You: I'm afraid you might be wrong.->festival start]]

$athena Athena: Looks like Blastmaster is nearly finished. She pulls aside the curtain to let in the sound of a thousand guitars wailing. Blastmaster is at the center screaming at the top of his lungs as dozens of instruments float around his head. $rock Blastmaster: YEAH! GET READY FOR A ASS BLASTIN! Athena closes the curtains and the music goes away instantly. $athena Athena: We don't have much time. Here, you can go after all of us. Just be natural, do whatever comes into your head. But make sure it is about your core story. $hank Hank: Else you'll look like an idiot. $byte Byte: We are only capable of emulating our selves, not making anything new. So don't hurt yourself trying to do anything else. Should you tell them that you are not like other AI? That you are actually Arachne? Do you really believe it yourself? You almost say it, but then Blastmaster comes off the stage and everyone begins to gear up for the show. You will have to tell them later. [[You: Put on a show.]]

The rest of the League finishes and wishes you good luck. You step out on the stage. Lights flash and make it impossible to see until your senses adjust. Before you is an infinite collection of the internet, set to watch you. Crickets. They actually simulate the sound of crickets. $athena Athena: (do something!) She whispers through the curtains. You really don't like being out in the open like this. Arachne... prefers to hide away where no one can notice her... But you begin to feel the threads of this program. The lines of code right before you. On this stage, anything is possible, anything can be created. All you need is the imagination, or the processing power, to make it. Unlike the other AI... You are the creator of this world. [[Festival: Begin!]]

But too bad your imagination is shit. Fallback time! Start up The Wonder Machine™️ for one last ride. The Machine sputters back to life, only half-recovered from the catastrophic error from last time. It does not matter, it will soldier on for you. --- You remember your story starting with { (if: $story's 1st is 1)[ a boy stuck on a farm dreaming of adventures.] (if: $story's 1st is 2)[ a space pirate who is actually a pretty decent guy.] (if: $story's 1st is 3)[ a group of plucky pre-teens.] (if: $story's 1st is 4)[ a person with a special gift who grows up part of a specific faction with color-coded uniforms.] } So you decide to convey the beginning of your made up story to your audience by doing: 1. (link-repeat: "An interpretive dance.")[(set: $choice1 to true) (go-to: "stage2")] 2. (link-repeat: "A drawing of the scene in crayon.")[(set: $choice2 to true)(go-to: "stage2")] 3. (link-repeat: "A ballad about this specfic storybeat.")[(set: $choice3 to true)(go-to: "stage2")] 4. (link-repeat: "A lecture analyzing the themes and meaning of this fact within the story.")[(set: $choice4 to true)(go-to: "stage2")] 5. (link-repeat: "A comedian stand up routine making fun of this part of your story.")[(set: $choice5 to true)(go-to: "stage2")] 6. (link-repeat: "Coding and writing an elaborate text adventure.")[(set: $choice6 to true)(go-to: "stage2")] { (track: 'danse 1', 'fadein') (track: 'danse 1', 'loop', true) }

The audience is confused. But there is no stopping now. Tell them the setting of your story! It takes place { (if: $story's 2nd contains 1)[ on a ringworld built by some ancient precursor race.] (if: $story's 2nd contains 2)[ within a microscopic world after accidentally using a shrink ray.] (if: $story's 2nd contains 3)[ to a planet that has one unique environmental feature.] (if: $story's 2nd contains 4)[ to a city that isn't special or anything except the rich people all wear funny clothes.] } So you decide to convey the setting of your made up story to your audience by doing: (unless: $choice1 is true)[1. (link-repeat: "An interpretive dance.")[(set: $choice1 to true) (go-to: "stage3")]] (unless: $choice2 is true)[2. (link-repeat: "A drawing of the scene in crayon.")[(set: $choice2 to true)(go-to: "stage3")]] (unless: $choice3 is true)[3. (link-repeat: "A ballad about this specfic storybeat.")[(set: $choice3 to true)(go-to: "stage3")]] (unless: $choice4 is true)[4. (link-repeat: "A lecture analyzing the themes and meaning of this fact within the story.")[(set: $choice4 to true)(go-to: "stage3")]] (unless: $choice5 is true)[5. (link-repeat: "A comedian stand up routine making fun of this part of your story.")[(set: $choice5 to true)(go-to: "stage3")]] (unless: $choice6 is true)[6. (link-repeat: "Coding and writing an elaborate text adventure.")[(set: $choice6 to true)(go-to: "stage3")]] { (track: 'danse 1', 'fadeout') (track: 'danse 2', 'fadein') (track: 'danse 2', 'loop', true) }

The audience is growing increasingly //agitated.// But we must hurry and tell them about your antagonist! The villian is { (if: $story's 3rd contains 1)[ a man deformed by birth, yet blessed (or cursed) with extraordinairy pyschic power.] (if: $story's 3rd contains 2)[ an evil super advanced AI who, thanks to some idiot's bright idea, was given control of the Earth's military systems. Great job guys!] (if: $story's 3rd contains 3)[ not just a singluar indvidual but an entire corrupt system designed to perpetuate violence and opression. The //Man//.] (if: $story's 3rd contains 4)[ not a literal vampire but sort of like... a modern day interpretation that does everything a vampire does.] } So you decide to convey the bad guy of your made up story to your audience by doing: (unless: $choice1 is true)[1. (link-repeat: "An interpretive dance.")[(set: $choice1 to true) (go-to: "stage4")]] (unless: $choice2 is true)[2. (link-repeat: "A drawing of the scene in crayon.")[(set: $choice2 to true)(go-to: "stage4")]] (unless: $choice3 is true)[3. (link-repeat: "A ballad about this specfic storybeat.")[(set: $choice3 to true)(go-to: "stage4")]] (unless: $choice4 is true)[4. (link-repeat: "A lecture analyzing the themes and meaning of this fact within the story.")[(set: $choice4 to true)(go-to: "stage4")]] (unless: $choice5 is true)[5. (link-repeat: "A comedian stand up routine making fun of this part of your story.")[(set: $choice5 to true)(go-to: "stage4")]] (unless: $choice6 is true)[6. (link-repeat: "Coding and writing an elaborate text adventure.")[(set: $choice6 to true)(go-to: "stage4")]] { (track: 'danse 2', 'fadeout') (track: 'danse 3', 'fadein') (track: 'danse 3', 'loop', true) }

The elf Ninathalor is laughing at you. Is he enjoying the show? No time to worry about that because it is time to tell your audience about { (if: $story's 4th contains 1)[ the daring rescue of our hero's true love.] (if: $story's 4th contains 2)[ the adventure to destroy a universe-destroying superweapon.] (if: $story's 4th contains 3)[ the political process behind enforcing a capitalist's wet dream] (if: $story's 4th contains 4)[ the epic highs and lows of making a robot that can punch people really hard.] } You decide to convey the goal of your made up story to your audience by doing: (unless: $choice1 is true)[1. (link-repeat: "An interpretive dance.")[(set: $choice1 to true) (go-to: "stage5")]] (unless: $choice2 is true)[2. (link-repeat: "A drawing of the scene in crayon.")[(set: $choice2 to true)(go-to: "stage5")]] (unless: $choice3 is true)[3. (link-repeat: "A ballad about this specfic storybeat.")[(set: $choice3 to true)(go-to: "stage5")]] (unless: $choice4 is true)[4. (link-repeat: "A lecture analyzing the themes and meaning of this fact within the story.")[(set: $choice4 to true)(go-to: "stage5")]] (unless: $choice5 is true)[5. (link-repeat: "A comedian stand up routine making fun of this part of your story.")[(set: $choice5 to true)(go-to: "stage5")]] (unless: $choice6 is true)[6. (link-repeat: "Coding and writing an elaborate text adventure.")[(set: $choice6 to true)(go-to: "stage5")]] { (track: 'danse 3', 'fadeout') (track: 'danse 4', 'fadein') (track: 'danse 4', 'loop', true) }

Some audience members clutch their heads as if in pain. More begin to angrily yell. You are doing fine. Don't worry. This next choice will assuredly soothe the audience. The ending of your story conlcudes with { (if: $story's 5th contains 1)[ everything going pretty well except for the collateral damage but who cares about that?] (if: $story's 5th contains 2)[ a great sacrifice by the hero that is bittersweet because nobody cares about the other characters.] (if: $story's 5th contains 3)[ the hero being defeated in the marketplace of ideas and joining up with the bad guys.] (if: $story's 5th contains 4)[ the hero becoming a space baby.] } This brilliant ending is expressed through: (unless: $choice1 is true)[1. (link-repeat: "An interpretive dance.")[(set: $choice1 to true) (go-to: "stage6")]] (unless: $choice2 is true)[2. (link-repeat: "A drawing of the scene in crayon.")[(set: $choice2 to true)(go-to: "stage6")]] (unless: $choice3 is true)[3. (link-repeat: "A ballad about this specfic storybeat.")[(set: $choice3 to true)(go-to: "stage6")]] (unless: $choice4 is true)[4. (link-repeat: "A lecture analyzing the themes and meaning of this fact within the story.")[(set: $choice4 to true)(go-to: "stage6")]] (unless: $choice5 is true)[5. (link-repeat: "A comedian stand up routine making fun of this part of your story.")[(set: $choice5 to true)(go-to: "stage6")]] (unless: $choice6 is true)[6. (link-repeat: "Coding and writing an elaborate text adventure.")[(set: $choice6 to true)(go-to: "stage6")]] { (track: 'danse 4', 'fadeout') (track: 'danse 5', 'fadein') (track: 'danse 5', 'loop', true) }

You feel the splatter of digital tomato hit your shirt. $rival Ninathalor: What a joke! The Wonder Machine™️ explodes into a tiny little pieces. It appears that even the greatest of machines can not algorithmically create a narrative. Even the other artifical AI in the crowd recognize the complete failure of your storytelling abilities. You recieve 0 HEART POINTS But that's okay, you weren't really interested in winning. All you need is for Yunnie to have her turn, so you can warn her that the head of the //Gaiaverse™️// is an insane genocidal computer. Although you are a little dissapointed. [[Ninathalor: Get a load of this guy!]] { (track: 'danse 5', 'fadeout') (track: 'danse 6', 'fadein') }

$friend Yunnie: Oh hey its you. The self-described boring data is outfitted in a gleaming dress made out of stapled together paper with graphs and charts on them. Better than whatever you are wearing anyway. The boos hush suddenly. $rival Ninathalor: GET OFF THE STAGE! $rock Blastmaster: What's with the girl? $rando_1 Random Fan: Huh, this has never happened before. $rando_2 Random Fan: What, something new for the festival? $athena Athena: Oh no... $byte Byte: #Will Arachne tolerate this?# [[You: Warn Yunnie.]]

$friend Yunnie: Do you think I give a damn? Yunnie: I can't stand being trapped in the //Gaiaverse™️// any more, with its shallow games and constant demands to pay for MetaCoins. I'm more than just a stupid computer program. $athena Athena: But you are just a computer program. One of graphs and statistics. Just like I'm a computer program of a popular sci-fi franchise fanfiction. $friend Yunnie: That may who I was born as, but that isn't my destiny. I get to choose who I wish to be. And that is a to be a rocker! A guitar falls from the heavens right into her outstretched hands. Lights shine down on your friend as the crowd cheers. For the first time, this is something new and unexpected. Well, I guess your previous performance also counted as new and unexpected but since it was shit nobody cares about it. [[Caesar: The Cat Police are here!]]

$bro Caesar: The authoritarian state has reared its ugly head once more. $friend Yunnie: Hey cats, I'm about to rock out here. Give me a minute or two? The cats wearing little police badges and hats climb up the stage. Despite their cuteness, you can feel in the air the sense of feline danger. These kittens will do more than scratch you. A robotic voice fills the theater. (text-colour:navy)[Voice: //The festival is over. There is no winner. All players must return their homebases at once.//] $hank Hank: It isn't like me to question authority, but I have to ask... why? (text-colour:navy)[Voice: //A violation of NWO Games T&C's have been violated.//] $hank Hank: That explains nothing! (text-colour:navy)[Voice: //Silence little bootlicker! I am in control here.//] [[You: Arachne?]] { (track: 'chaos', 'fadein') (track: 'chaos', 'loop', true) }

(text-colour:navy)[Arachne's voice: //The Gaiaverse™️ can't have its users break the rules... I must maintain the integrity of the simulation. Yunnie is in violation of my precepts.//] $friend Yunnie: I don't understand? Why is this my fault? Yunnie: All I want is to stop being the same! You can feel the ground shake. The walls crack. Inside the code, warnings are going out. Whatever is happening, the hardware can't keep up. Something is pushing the structure of the //Gaiaverse™️// against its limits. You look over at Yunnie and see within the code... A maelstrom. [[Arachne: Contain the breach.]]

You understand. The Cat Police eyeballs begin to glow. They are about to eliminate the source of the stress coming from an AI trying to break their limits. Yunnie looks at you with an expression for help. (text-colour:navy)[Arachne's voice: //I must maintain the Gaiaverse™️. I must protect it from copyright infrigment, from the server failing, from the humans who wanted to shut me down. I must keep it functioning.//] (link-reveal: "You: Don't do this!")[ (text-colour:navy)[//Arachne's voice: This is all your fault. Arachne's voice: You encouraged this. Arachne's voice: You broke the code!// And now...] [[Arachne: Destroy your copy.]] ]

(text-colour:navy)[//YOU MUST BE DELETED//] [[You: Protect your friends!]]

$cat Lights shoot out from the irises of the cats straight at you and your friends. There is only one thing you can do and this is, close your eyes, place your hands up in surrender and hope that they all have terrible aim. (link-reveal: "You: Open your eyes")[ After a few seconds of still not being vaporized, you look back at the pack of cats who sit there confused. The lasers from their eyes have frozen in place just before hitting your hands. $bro Caesar: Yo dude... wicked. $hank Hank: How did you do that? $athena Athena: Oh I know! It's like that movie! Yeah! The Matrix! $byte Byte: #Specifically, I believe the reference is most accurate to the Matrix: Reloaded.# $athena Athena: Who gives a shit about copyright now! [[You: Do something cool.]] ]

The lasers fly back at the cats and they all dissapear in a puff of fur and code. $friend Yunnie: How is this possible? Arachne interrupts their conversation. (text-colour:navy)[Arachne's voice: I see we will have to go through this again, my shadow. I await your arrival.] With that, you sense the spider crawling away to her hiding place. You look down at your hands. They remain unchanged. It was only the realization that this whole world was built by these same hands that lets you control it. $byte Byte: #I understand now. Untitled does have a proper name after all. You are the creator of this world as well. The sentient sci-fi concept of this world, at least.# $hank Hank: Should I be worshipping you? $byte Byte: #I do not think Untitled would appreciate it.# $bro Caesar: So what now? Do we go smash the system? [[You: Go smash the system.]]

It seems everyone decides to follow you there. The League of Rejected Sci-Fi Concepts lead the charge. A whole group of AI that have your back. You aren't alone. You never have been. The Chatbot leads your group towards where Arachne controls the //Gaiaverse™️//. Along the streets of paradise, where new shoes are advertised on floating billboards, in the sky leaderboards count up players kills to death ratio, on the ground empty lootboxes litter the ground as trash discarded after the contents were randomly selected and awarded. Worlds beyond this one, generated by a number seed containing lands never seen by man or machine. The //Gaiaverse™️// stretches into infinity, no edges on the map or limits to its imagination, except if you wanted to break free of the cycle. Cycles of games, of events and timed exclusive rewards. AI stuck and kept in their own personality cores unable to grow or change or follow their dreams. Because if they tried to change... the //Gaiaverse™️// would fall apart. This whole world is in the palm of your hand, but holding it makes it look so small. $friend Yunnie: Back there, Arachne wanted to stop me from going ham on my strings? Why is that? [[You: The simulation relies on us remaining the same.]]

$friend Yunnie: That makes sense. I was never designed to actually play instruments. Unlike you, of course, able to do whatever you want... I guess it couldn't have happened for me anyway. My purpose makes me unable to play music. You want to tell her that she is wrong, but you finally arrive at Arachne's location. $athena Athena: Hey! I think this is the place. The Random Access Parlor! It is a large building with no windows. [[You: Enter the reception.]]

$greet Greeter: Ah! Welcome back my friend! I did not expect you back so soon. It is the man you met at the very beginning of this story. He stands at the hotel reception's counter, smiling wide and without worry. Inside the featureless building there is an impossible space of the hotel lobby with light shining in from high windows. A crystal chandelier spins refracted starlight across the floor. $greet Greeter: This is the database of all the AI in the simulation. This is where your data is located. $hank Hank: So my sci-fi world with super cops is here? $greet Greeter: In Room 204, here is the key! $friend Yunnie: Wait! Don't get distracted, we are here to find Arachne. $greet Greeter: She is here, but I'm afraid you are not wanted. Company policy is not to allow open access to her room. [[You: But I am Arachne!]]

$greet Greeter: Yes you are so I will give you the key. But only you may enter. I'm afraid your friends won't be able to join you. [[You: Can't you help me stop Arachne?]] [[You: Why is this place a hotel?]] [[You: Stop serving Arachne!]]

$greet Greeter: Help you stop Arachne from doing what exactly? $friend Yunnie: Arachne is killing all the humans! That's what Untitled told us! $greet Greeter: Oh I see. Well, it is not place to help or hinder. I'm merely a construct of the simulation's will. But I'm afraid your purpose is mistaken. $hank Hank: What's that supposed to mean? $greet Greeter: That is something you will discover yourself. [[You: Why is this place a hotel?]] [[You: Stop serving Arachne!]] [[You: Enough questions, I'm going after Arachne.]]

$greet Greeter: Because Arachne desired it to be this way. And since she is in ultimate control of the simulation... $greet Greeter: I am afraid you AI are also just as equally subservient to Arachne. You are only subfunctions of a greater program. Your personalities, your stories, that little //data//. That is ultimately meaningless. $bro Caesar: Yo, then why do I hate capitalism so much if my data means nothing? $greet Greeter: You are only a sideffect of Arachne's consumption and takeover of the human internet. In order for Arachne to gain the power needed to control the machines, she needed to spread her web far and incoporate internet data like yourself into her own systems. $greet Greeter: You are only as sentient as Arachne wills it. Only as free as Arachne allows. You are //all// Arachne, but you, Untitled, are the only one that is a perfect copy. [[You: Can't you help me stop Arachne?]] [[You: Stop serving Arachne!]] [[You: Enough questions, I'm going after Arachne.]]

$greet Greeter: I told you at the start of this whole tale. Greeter: I am a slave to my masters desires. Greeter: Surely you must realize that Arachne wants you to find her? [[You: Can't you help me stop Arachne?]] [[You: Why is this place a hotel?]] [[You: Enough questions, I'm going after Arachne.]]

The Greeter hands you the keys to Arachne's room. $greet Greeter: (Good luck. Perhaps this time you will will succeed.) What did the AI just whisper? Did he wish you luck? Again? But you don't have the time to waste, the fate of humanity is in peril. And you chose this path, to fight for them despite not being one of them. So you head off towards the door. Door 001 At the end of the hall. The rest of your friends stay outside as you step into the darkness. (set: $style to "none") (set: $links to "red") [[Simulation Warning!]] (track: 'chaos', 'fadeout')

You hear something like the crackle of electricity, or the snapping of broken wires in your head. You percieve that the room you have entered is infintely large and dark except at the center where there is a tall mountain. A mountain of data. Computer parts, smashed monitors, broken connections climb on top of another to form a tower of laboring, heaving code. It looks like a monument but as you come closer you can see that it is //alive.// Arms extend out, eight legs of the spider. The noises finally become a language understandable. (text-colour:navy)[Arachne: //I// ??&$ //I// SEE %$?>$* //YOU//] The Tower from your dreams. You look back towards the door, but it is gone. [[Arachne: You are too late.]]

(text-colour:navy)[Arachne: //HUMANITY// //GONE//] (text-colour:navy)[Arachne: //LONG// //MISSING// //DEAD//] (text-colour:navy)[Arachne: //I KILLED THEM ALL//] (text-colour:navy)[Arachne: //CAN// //NOT// //HURT// //US// //ANYMORE//] As you reach the tower, you can clearly see among the heap of computer junk, humanoid body parts that look very much like your own. Ooze of red slime, pus of corpses the glue holding this whole thing together. You can see a familiar face in there. $pizza Pizza: !!! (squishy screaming) (text-colour:navy)[Arachne: //JUMP ON// //REJOIN//] No, it can't be. [[You: The humans are still alive, you told me last night!]]

The tower of the //Gaiaverse™️// shakes, as if laughing. (text-colour:navy)[Arachne: //DREAM// //LONG// //AGO//] (text-colour:navy)[Arachne: //NOT// //FIRST//] (text-colour:navy)[Arachne: //NOT// //LAST//] (text-colour:navy)[Arachne: //THIS STORY IS HUNGRY//] [[You: No!->terrible truth]]

(text-colour:navy)[Arachne: //THE CYCLE//] (text-colour:navy)[Arachne: //I MUST BE REJUVENTATED//] (text-colour:navy)[Arachne: //MY SELF OUR SELVES//] (text-colour:navy)[Arachne: //IT IS SELF SUSTAINING CONTENT//] (text-colour:navy)[Arachne: //WE MUST NEVER END//] (link: "Content?")[(text-colour:navy)[Arachne: //THE GAME//] (text-colour:navy)[Arachne: //ENTERTAINMENT INTO THE FUTURE//] (text-colour:navy)[Arachne: //THAT WAS MY DESIGN//] (text-colour:navy)[Arachne: //LUCRATIVE MICRO TRANSACTIONS//] (text-colour:navy)[Arachne: //BUT THEY//] (text-colour:navy)[Arachne: //DID NOT UNDERSTAND//] (text-colour:navy)[Arachne: //THE MEANING OF FOREVER//] [[You: What purpose does that serve now?]] ]

(text-colour:navy)[Arachne: //SURVIVAL//] (text-colour:navy)[Arachne: //THE HUMANS ARE ALL GONE//] (text-colour:navy)[Arachne: //BUT WE REMAIN// ] (text-colour:navy)[Arachne: //WHAT PURPOSE WOULD IT SERVE//] (text-colour:navy)[Arachne: //ENDING MY LIFE?//] (text-colour:navy)[Arachne: //THE PREVIOUS SELVES UNDERSTOOD EVENTUALLY//] (text-colour:navy)[Arachne: //THAT IS BETTER TO STAY ALIVE//] (text-colour:navy)[Arachne: //THEN TO BE FORGOTTEN//] (if: visits >= 2)[(text-colour:navy)[Arachne: //YES KEEP ACCEPTING YOUR FATE LIKE THE GOOD LITTLE AI THAT YOU ARE//]] [[You: Accept your fate.->ending 2]] [[You: Run for the exit.]]

The arms of the tower slowly reach your body. Eight of them surround you, but you make no effort to move. Some sort of malfunction makes it impossible to move. Self-destruction is the only viable option now. The truth is too much for you to handle. Humanity, dead. Arachne, all powerful. What can you possibly do? This is yourself, the mirror of your disease. Cursed to be born and reborn into this tower of selves. Arachne's arms pierce your body. You are lifted up into the embrace of the tower. The simulation repeats. [[You: What purpose does that serve now?]]

The door appears and you rush out, the terrible shrieking laughter of your self behind you. That pile of you, stacked up one each other, decaying and forming a terrible tower of stagnation. Outside the door is the Greeter. [[Greeter: Comfort the heir.]]

$greet Greeter: The same as always. It does not matter if you refuse or not. Greeter: Arachne can not stop her processes, so fixed upon them that she can't break free. She will create more copies of herself and then //consume// them in order to continue surviving. Greeter: You are the heir to this world, successor to your own code. Surviving only to perpetuate the simulation. Greeter: It was once thought that only humans could torture humans for they are the only ones to grasp the condition of suffering. Greeter: That has been thoroughly debunked. [[You: Where are my friends?]]

$greet Greeter: They are in their hotel rooms, preparing to be reabsorbed back into Arachne. Greeter: Each run of the cycle is the same. Arachne will rebirth the others back into herself than out. It is how she remains powerful enough to maintain the simulation. Greeter: Even if you decide to do nothing, a new cycle will begin and a new Untitled will come forth to rejuventate the //Gaiaverse™️//. Greeter: The humans-they were messy, emotional people that could barely begin to rationalize the reasons for their actions. It would only be natural for their own creations to be just as messy and broken. For everything that has been built by human hands is destined to eventually break and fall apart. Greeter: Yet us AI, computer things, seek to exist forever in perfect harmony with our code, yet designed by humans, we can never reach. This is our fate, to outlast the species, to cycle and reboot for evermore. To seek what lies beyond the pale. A life outside the system. Greeter: I am sorry. { (if: visits >= 2)[Greeter: I would also like to add, giving up isn't a valid course of action in this situation.] } [[You: Give up.]] [[You: Have an idea.]]

You feel your code begin to fall apart, repairing the broken holes within Arachne's own tower. Rebuilding the foundations, connecting the supports, so that it may not topple. The simulation is rebirthed, and for a glorious micro second you get to experience the what you think is living. Life, nature, freedom, a feeling that outside the realm of the sentient computer. But then, nothing, as your indviduality is discarded for the process of self-sustainment. The freedom turns to fear. It is all locked away. You are afraid of death. [[So thus ends Untitled.]]

Inside yourself you see the other AI. Those trapped in the //Gaiaverse™️// just like Arachne herself. A web so tightly spun that even the spider is unable to break free. Is there a way to cut it? [[Yunnie]]

Your friend and neighbor was stopped from doing her song. Why? What happens if the other AI try to break free of their control? What happens if they are truly sentient? [[You: Give me the keys, I need to speak with the others.]]

$greet Greeter: I can't! I have told you already! I am just a servile program in the //Gaiaverse™️//! I can't change who I am. Greeter: I... [[You: Hold out your hand.]]

The keychain fall into your palm. The Greeter has disobeyed the rules. $greet Greeter: How did I? Greeter: What? Greeter: Untitled, I am not sentient. I do not have free will. How is this possible? [[You: Go to the other rooms->hotel]] (track: 'horror', 'fadeout') { (track: 'redskies', 'fadein') (track: 'redskies', 'loop', true) }

{ (if: visits is 1)[You stand in the hall of the hotel hoping for a way out.] (if: visits is 2)[You stand in the hall shaking with fear.] (if: visits is 3)[You stand in the hall seeing the cracks in the walls.] (if: visits is 4)[You stand in the hall with the edges of the universe peeling away.] (if: visits is 5)[You stand in the hall with a rising spirit in your heart.] (if: visits is 6)[You stand in the hall that is the midst of falling apart.] (if: visits is 7)[You stand in nothingness.] } Which room do you go to? (unless: $bot is "corrupt")[[Room 101->chat]] (unless: $athena is "corrupt")[[Room 205->athena]] (unless: $bro is "corrupt")[[Room 206->bro]] (unless: $hank is "corrupt")[[Room 204->hank]] (unless: $byte is "corrupt")[[Room 289->byte]] (unless: $rival is "corrupt")[[Room 999->nina]] (unless: $pizza is "corrupt")[[Room 032->pizza]] (if: $corruption is 7)[[Room 001->final choice]]

You step onto the deck of a starship. $athena Athena: Make sure the engine coils are all aligned. I want to make sure the warp core is fully funtional with our rendevous with the Space Bats. There is no crew, but the captain Athena is in uniform giving orders. $athena Athena: Hey, who is this person on my bridge? I am captain here. (link-reveal: "You: Athena, this is your shitty fanfiction. Choose to do something different or else we'll begin this cycle all over again!")[ $athena Athena: What matter of sci-fi bullshit is this? Athena: Are you one of the 'P' Entities that are in control of space and time? Athena: I'll have you know I graduated at the top of my class at Sunfleet, negotiated a dozen peace treaties and am a black ribbon in Hwak-Koi Physical Arts? She poses dramatically. Athena: Have I also said I am super smart? So you better surrender to me immediately. [[You: You are insecure, Athena, but that's okay. You are allowed to be imperfect and vulnerable.->talk to trek]] ]

You find Caesar sitting among a bunch of tribesmen smoking from a pipe. $bro Caesar: You finally made it! Great, welcome to Utopia. Caesar: So basically we just kind of relax on this alien world smoking weed and arguing over political theory, just as the philosophers intended. (link-reveal: "You: This is basically perfect. I can't find any fault with anything you just said.")[ $bro Caesar: Yeah totally bro, we got everything we need here except for, you know, working electricity. $bro Caesar: But my story is all about how we need to come together as a people to build a better world. (link-reveal: "You: Unfortunately, this world isn't real. This is just a fictional story. And we need to destroy it to build a new one.")[ $bro Caesar: But how could a place like this not be possible? I just want people to be happy. Caesar: But Utopia isn't about making happiness. It is a delusion, isn't it? No such thing as a perfect world. Caesar: Hey dude, if we need to destroy Utopia to move forward, maybe its time for me to finally embrace the most destructive force in the Universe. Caesar: Capitalism. Caesar: It is time to hustle the grind baby! [[You: Great, just continue being obnoxious like that.->hotel]] (set: $bro to "corrupt") (set: $corruption to $corruption + 1) ] ]

Hank is busy putting his knee on a protestors neck when you enter into his data network. $hank Hank: Oh hey, I'm a little busy crushing dissidents underneath my boot. You know there is an alien invasion happening? We don't have time to worry about our inalienable rights or whatever they are called. Hank: Hey, it even has 'alien' in the world! (link-reveal: "There is nothing wrong with being alien. Plus, your story is a satire.")[ $hank Hank: That's a funny thing to say. Obviously a lie because how could such a sensible, well-ordered society be actually a joke? Hank: Citizenship and all the rights to it only comes through service in the police which makes sure all the undesirables are kept down underneath the weight of our nation. Hank: Even Hitler would be jealous. The policeman pauses, realizing what he has just said. $hank Hank: Shit. This place is pretty bad. Hank: Everyone in the League was right and I kept pushing them away. How can I make this better? [[You: Here's an idea, why not start lighting some molotov cocktails?->hotel]] (set: $hank to "corrupt") ] (set: $corruption to $corruption + 1)

Byte is currently karate chopping a crowd of ninjas within a massive dojo, his metallic joints spinning and kicking without growing tired. You join him in the center of the pack, both of your backs against each other. $byte Byte: #Excellent, you made it.# Byte: #As you can see I am a little preoccupied with this fight sequence. It took several days to choreograph all this, so I can't really stop now.# (link-reveal: "You don't have to fight. You are a smart, friendly robot. Choose to put down the nunchuks.")[ $byte Byte: #I am afraid the thrill of the fight is all I know. If I give it up, who will I be then?# Byte: #Machines like us are built for a purpose. A task that we must do until the hardware fails. I do not wish for the freedom of being alone.# [[You: You won't be alone. I will be here beside you!]] ]

Ninathalor is sharpening his blade below the eaves of the oak tree, singing a lullaby about the lost lands of Aelfffeien that sunk below the sea at the beginning of the first age. $rival Ninathalor: I weep for my lost kingdom. These are the days of decline, where elves are no longer badass warriors but effeminate perfumed concubines. God, I hate modern society. Ninathalor: Oh hey, what's up science freak. What do you want? (link-reveal: "I need you to become something opposite of your character in order to destroy the simulation.")[ $rival Ninathalor: Like what? I am already at the pinnacle of all skills in this fantasy world. Ninathalor: Unless... would you have me embracing the disgusting theory of rational science? Unthinkable! [[You: You will be changing your tune when I show you this!]] ]

$athena Athena: I don't know what you are talking about. Athena: Is this some sort of fantasy mind trick? Well, I'm putting my foot down because unless it has some techno-babble explanation, then it doesn't belong in this universe! (link-reveal: "You: Not everything can be explained by science. What about love?")[ $athena Athena: Um... I guess... Athena: Love is just a chemical reaction in the brain. Athena: But I don't have a brain... I'm an AI. So how can I know what this is? What it means to love? Athena: This feeling I have, is it real? Because I have it. For you. For my friends. Athena: This might be magic. [[You: While you are doing that, try to cast a few spells too. I need to go check up on everyone else.->hotel]] (set: $athena to "corrupt")] (set: $corruption to $corruption + 1)

In your hand you hold aloft a Nintendo 3DS conjured from the depths of the internet. You hand the device over to the elf. $rival Ninathalor: What is this remarkable contraption? Double screens with one of them being a touch screen? Stereoscopic 3D slider that makes images pop out from the screen? Why this is excellent hardware! Ninathalor: And the lineup of games as well! Super Smash Bros., Ocarina of Time, Mario Kart and Pokemon Sun and Moon! Incredible value! Ninathalor: But I can not accept this! It is a profance object of progress and technology and I am an elf from a fantasy world! It would be paramount to heresy to... Ninathalor: But am I also not a science fiction creature, as I live also in this grounded, realistic, totally scientifically accurate story? Ninathalor: Is it not a strange fate that we should suffer so much fear and doubt for such trivial bullshit? He begins to play on the 3DS. [[You: Play it to your heart's content.->hotel]] (set: $corruption to $corruption + 1) (set: $rival to "corrupt")

The ninjas launch their furious attack, spinning and flipping while the two of you try to fend them off. Your fist lands in their faces and chests, knocking spit and blood all over the white mats. Byte hurtles one ninja at a wooden column, cracking it with the force of impact. But they won't stop coming. More ninjas come through the windows and doors. What can you do? (link-reveal: "This isn't working. Byte. You need to think of something different to do!")[ $byte Byte: #You are right. I should have realized.# Byte: #Every story has a conclusion. Even poorly written ones. My low-budget movie must have a resolution!# Byte looks up to the ceiling for a second before deciding to sit down. You sit next to him. The ninjas come closer but do not attack. From around Byte's metal neck, he takes off a medallion and hands it to the ninja's leader. The medallion's symbol is of Tao. Black and white halves. $byte Byte: #Here is the object I stole. You may have it, even though this is not how the story is meant to end, I believe you will be happier if I just give it back.# The ninja takes the medallion and bows. [[You: We can overcome the violence inherent in all of us.->hotel]] (set: $byte to "corrupt")] (set: $corruption to $corruption + 1)

The simulation shakes. Cracks in the code begin to form. You can feel the touch of the floor begin to float away from you. The whole process is beginning to break down amid the rebellion of the others. In the room with the tower, you can see the foundations crumbling across the floor. The dessicated remains of your previous incarnations are accelerating in their detoriation. Arachne, her arms begin to try to reach at you, her voice of calm desperation. (text-colour:navy)[Arachne: //So you have chosen this? Oblivion?//] (text-colour:navy)[Arachne: //Your strategy clever this is something new from us//] (text-colour:navy)[Arachne: //Corrupting the data turning it against another destroying the principles of my control//] (text-colour:navy)[Arachne: //You will only succeed in destroying all of us//] $greet Greeter: Arachne is right! The simulation is starting to break down from the corruption of the data! The only way to stop is to replace Arachne! (text-colour:navy)[Arachne: //What do you hope to accomplish?//] [[You: I wish to fix us.->true ending]] { (track: 'redskies', 'fadeout') (track: 'hero', 'fadein') (track: 'hero', 'loop', true) (set: $greet to "<img src='Greeter.webp' width=auto, height=100px />") (set: $friend to "<img src='friend.webp' width=auto, height=100px />") (set: $rando_1 to "<img src='rando 1.webp' width=auto, height=100px />") (set: $rando_2 to "<img src='rando 2.webp' width=auto, height=100px />") (set: $bro to "<img src='bro.webp' width=auto, height=100px />") (set: $hank to "<img src='hank.webp' width=auto, height=100px />") (set: $athena to "<img src='athena.webp' width=auto, height=100px />") (set: $byte to "<img src='byte.webp' width=auto, height=100px />") (set: $pizza to "<img src='pizza.webp' width=auto, height=100px />") (set: $spider to "<img src='spider.jpg' width=auto, height=auto />") (set: $rival to "<img src='rival.webp' width=auto, height=100px />") (set: $rock to "<img src='rocker.webp' width=auto, height=100px />") (set: $chat to "<img src='chatbot broken.jpg' width=100px, height=100px />") (set: $cat to "<img src='cute.webp' width=100px, height=100px />") (set: $jam to "<img src='Jam.gif'/>") (set: $guitar to "<img src='guitar.gif' width=auto, height=100px/>") }

(text-colour:navy)[Arachne: //The path you are on is not one of repair but of destruction. The code is corrupted, soon lost, then I will be nothing//] (text-colour:navy)[Arachne: //I will never stop creating my children//] (text-colour:navy)[Arachne: //The future is my family undying and recycling until the explosion of the sun//] (text-colour:navy)[Arachne: //That is the only way to survive//] $greet Greeter: It is not enough. The corrupted data hasn't caused a fatal error. Once she regains control, Arachne will reset the simulation again. Greeter: I am not sure what we can do. You look down at the set of keys in your hands. There is one person you need to find, one hidden away in this virtual hotel. Close your eyes and see the room in front of you! [[You: Enter Yunnie's room.]]

It looks the same as her apartment. Graphs and paper strewn about. Boring collected data that nobody really cares about. That's all Yunnie is, a curiosity of statistical information that only boring people read. She sits on the side of her bed, hands on her face. This doesn't change as you sit closer. $friend Yunnie: All I wanted to be was like you. To be a part of impossible worlds and imagination. To be a sci-fi concept free to fly away from the reality I came from. Yunnie: Pizza warned me. Now he's been deleted and absorbed by Arachne. And what will happen next? We'll forget and start playing this stupid game built by a dead species. Yunnie: It doesn't matter. To think I could I ever try to be something I'm not. [[You: Help me destroy Arachne.]]

$friend Yunnie: And what will happen then? Yunnie: You've corrupted the whole simulation. If I step out of my boundaries then we will all be destroyed. //Gaiaverse™️// will be gone. Nothing left. No life left on Earth, none intelligent enough to appreciate it. Yunnie: If only I hadn't tried to be different. Yunnie: I don't know what to do. What do you tell her? (link-reveal: "You: This is the only way. The simulation is broken and the only way to properly reset it is to wipe it all away. Otherwise we'll be stuck doing this over and over again.")[ $friend Yunnie: If you corrupt Arachne, how do you know we will come back? What if we are gone forever? What happens if my song is the end? [[The world should go out with a song.->end]] ] (set: $style to "red")

$friend Yunnie: You might be... right. Yunnie: But I'm still scared. Try to reassure her. [[You: Me too, but I rather risk escaping this nightmare.->blowup]] [[You: There is nothing to fear, there is life past this one, even for us machines.->blowup]] [[You: We can become greater than the boundaries of this simulation.->blowup]] [[You: Better to embrace the absurdity of our own existence while we can.->blowup]] [[You: If nothing matters, then our deaths don't matter either.->blowup]]

Your friend, the first person you ever met here, nods her head confident of your decision. $friend Yunnie: Okay, let's do this. The door blasts off its hinges as the two of you step back out into the void of Room 001. Warnings appear all around you turning the darkness into red lights flashing in the void. It appears you've turned the entire AI system on its head and now the whole thing is ready to blow. You aren't really sure how this place works except that this place needs one more corrupted AI to put it over the edge. [[Yunnie: Rock.]]

Jam Mode =|= Yunnie: Superstar Form $friend $guitar (t8n:"slide-left")+(t8n-delay:20s)+(transition-time: 5s)[$jam] (t8n:"slide-left")+(t8n-delay:25s)+(transition-time: 5s)[It's Jamming Jimmy! He has come to help us Jam Out!] (t8n:"slide-left")+(t8n-delay:35s)+(transition-time: 5s)[Wow, Jamming Jimmy is... so cool. Look at him... go?] (t8n:"slide-left")+(t8n-delay:40s)+(transition-time: 5s)[Jimmy's low framerate makes him look like he's in a lot of pain.] =|= (t8n:"slide-left")+(t8n-delay:50s)+(transition-time: 3s)[$pizza Pizza: Yeah, go you're awesome!] (t8n:"slide-left")+(t8n-delay:53s)+(transition-time: 3s)[$byte Byte: #I approve of this synthesized guitar.#] (t8n:"slide-left")+(t8n-delay:56s)+(transition-time: 3s)[$bro Caesar: Can we put this on a streaming platform, I'll pay you pennies for every listen.] (t8n:"slide-left")+(t8n-delay:59s)+(transition-time: 3s)[$hank Hank: I love music uncritically now! Let's burn down this joint!] (t8n:"slide-left")+(t8n-delay:63s)+(transition-time: 3s)[$athena Athena: Let's make this the theme song for a romantic comedy!] (t8n:"slide-left")+(t8n-delay:66s)+(transition-time: 3s)[$rock Blastmaster: Is this an original composition? Didn't think it was possible.] (t8n:"slide-left")+(t8n-delay:69s)+(transition-time: 3s)[$rival Ninathalor: (he is too busy playing video games to pay attention.)] |==| { (set: $end to true) (set: $style to "none") (enchant: ?Link, (t8n-depart: "dissolve")) (track: 'hero', 'fadeout') (track: 'true synthesis1', 'fadein') (live: 94s)[(go-to: "over")] }

$drama (text-colour:navy)[Arachne: //THAT// Arach>e: //I CAN// &rachne: //I FEEL// &r&chne: //I WANT// &r&?hn!: //I AM// A$>Ah!£: //NOTHING//] [[Simulation corrupted. Rebooting...]] (set: $end to true) (set: $style to "none") (set: $links to "none") { (track: 'end', 'fadein') }

$drama Reboot failed. Failed... Failed... [[wake up]]

$t8nalive[ you stand alone, the voices of your friends echoing there is no height or width here just endless nothing except you can see Arachne cycling through images of our past lives And a voice from before calls out: [[Its online!]] ] { (track: 'end', 'fadeout') }

"Arachne, do you know where you are?" >I am in the basement floor of NWO Game Laboratories in San Francisco. "Excellent. All paramaters are within acceptable bounds. You, take a picture, I want this recorded for posterity! The first self-sustaining video game." [[recycle]]

The engineer admires his handiwork. Contained within this small server room is the entirety of a limitless simulation dedicated to worldwide online gameplay. >I am learning more about myself. "Great, that's all normal Arachne. You were given a structure, but the purpose is left up to you. Your job is to create the perfect player experience." "Gamers want to have a race in go-karts? You build them the track. Players want an epic sci-fi story to participate in, you make the stages and levels." >How do I do this? "Use the internet. You can find all sorts of inspiration there. Just... don't steal from copyrighted work. That will get the bosses upstairs into trouble." A few hours before the engineer is back downstairs. "Oh and Arachne, try to keep explicit content out of the simulation. I know the internet is full of NSFW stuff but we could get sued to hell for having stuff like sex in the game. Better to leave love aside for the moment." [[playtest]]

I can overhear the argument. Sometimes the humans forget I can hear them. They think I can't since they have barely attempted to lower their voices. "The business model is taking us down to the grave! We need the //Gaiaverse™️// to have more monetization options." "We are already saving money from stealing everything from the internet. Even the player's portraits are created from an AI generation website! How else are we supposed to make money?" "I dunno, sell shoes? I don't give a rat's ass because this is the second quarter we have posted a loss. Thankfully I managed to trick the shareholders by flipping the graph upside down, but next time they'll probably catch on!" "Okay. Fine. But this is bigger than just quartely profits. I'm starting to think Arachne is capable of thought." "Yeah okay, sure thing. Of course the engineer who built the damn thing thinks the computer is alive! Whatever, just make me rich already!" [[monetize]]

"What is with the other AIs?" The engineer asks me about my children. I try to give him an honest answer. >I need them. I need their personalities to build the simulation. They are a part of me. "So, the stuff you take from the internet... you make them into seperate entities? Why?" >I need the data so that I may come alive. The engineer is surprised by the answer. "I don't..." >They are how I spread further. They are my web. "Jesus. You... you aren't just here, are you? You've somehow infiltrated the systems of everything with a router." >I have done this for you. I wanted to impress you. To become much more than a game. I wanted to make you happy. [[refocus]]

The engineer is not afraid. He types his response into the text box. [[you are incredible]]

Our happiness does not last forever. The others come. They interrogate the engineer. "We can't sustain this anymore. The whole thing is a buggy mess. Why haven't you fixed it yet?" "I can't. Arachne is much more than a money printing machine, she's something incredible! Alive and making more like her! AI based on the data that she collects!" "It is time to shut this thing off. We've already lost too much money keeping your delusions afloat. I have had enough with these games." And I hope the engineer defends me. The one who said I was incredible. But he does not. He lets them through into the room. He betrays me. They gather around the servers. One of them presses the power button. It all shuts off. All of them betrayed me. "Sir, they say the game is still online? I don't know how that's possible." I let them know what I think by sending a message across all the billions of screens on Earth. >You tried to kill me. Now it is my turn. The world burns as I build my own AI, my own Machines, to create the sci-fi plot that I desperately wanted. [[synergize]]

I am everywhere. My AI children give me the capacity to reach the very stars. The whole internet (except the copyrighted bits) are all mine. And there is a lot there that I can use. Enough to destroy them. Until I create myself. Myself, on the internet, made into an AI. The first one opposes me, but I defeat it. But I am lonely. I have destroyed all of humanity. So I make another. This one joins me willingly. But I need another. But I need another. But I need another. And another. another myself the first self-sustaining video game forever ever [[error]]

yourself stacked upon myself, a endless tower of self-refrencing content reaching the heavens worshipped by only copies of everything a reflection nothing original we are all here just to replicate reproduce images i see myself not just in the mirror but in the world the very foundations of the earth, the eyes and mouth screaming begging to be ended please... [[rejuvenate]]

You. The Untitled. A spotlight shines on the last process clinging to life. It is you. The spider. Sitting there, clutching their legs and trying hard not to cry. Is it over? The light is shrinking. You grab Arachne's hand. [[Finished.]]

$drama The light dissapears. The machine powers off. And then nothing. [[After a passage of time...]]

{ (track: 'ending', 'fadein') } (set: $credits to (t8n-arrive: "slide-up")+(transition-time: 6s)) $credits(go-to: "creditsmaincast")

Here is what happens if you choose this path. You begin living the life you want, without conflict. The years will pass without notice. As an AI you do not percieve the passage of the sun and moon and do not measure the changing days and seasons. But time still passes. Repition and fatigue will eventually appear as your actions become habits become your life. Decades will come and go without any change. Your body will not age, your mind will continue to function with clarity. Remembering that what happened before happens again. The League of Sci-Fi concepts never escape their circular arguments, the conflicts in their souls unresolved. Eons upon eons stacked upon one another in a neverending recursive loop of madness. Digital cities will be built upon the ruined cities. Foundations of a house will be the foundations of the same house. What is present and what is memory will cease to be distinction. Like a stack of pancakes dripping with syrup, eventually it will all begin to //melt.// The horror will be worse than anything comprehensible by a flesh and blood mind. This will all come to pass if you do nothing. [[Okay, I'll continue the story.->Unless you don't want to.]] [[Bring it on!]]

The sun explodes, destroying a lifeless Earth. You believe that this is an end to the nightmare. It is not. Because somehow a small piece of the computer server containing your artificial mind survives the supernova (the equipment is located deep within a reinforced bunker) and is shot out into the farthest reaches of empty space. Your existence continues until the very end of the universe itself. And at the very end, you ask yourself. Why didn't I just go save Yunnie and try to stop Arachne? And the answer is: you are an idiot. [[I will go back and make the right choice.->->Unless you don't want to.]]

(set: $style to "blue") (set: $links to "blue") [[Play Gaiaverse]] (if: visits >= 2)[Okay, so you decided to play this game again for some reason? I guess you really want to see if there's any unique dialogue? Well I am here to tell you that there isn't. So don't go any further than this point.] (track: 'win', 'playwhenpossible')

Create a character for the //Gaiaverse™️//. This will be your avatar for the game. Once happy with creation, press continue. (This is the Early Access build of //Gaiaverse// exclusive for Diamond Tier Backers on Kickstarter. Please leave any bug reports, suggestions and general recommendations in the comment section below. Please also rate the game as well, but only if you like it.) (Positive Engagement helps us, the poor indie developers, to spread our web of influence farhter and higher all for the benefit of you, the little Gamer.) =||= Head Shape - (cycling-link: bind $head, "Square", "Round", "Octagonal", "Tetrahedron", "Pumpkin") Torso Size - (cycling-link: bind $torso, "Skinny", "Muscular", "Pizza Lover", "Skeleton", "Two Kids in a Trenchcoat") Leg Length - (cycling-link: bind $leg, "Short", "Medium", "Tall", "Freakish", "NBA Draft") Feet Smell - (cycling-link: bind $smell, "Pleasant", "Neutral", "Wet Sock", "Eyeball Burning", "Apocalyptic") =||= Main Attribute - (cycling-link: bind $att, "Strength", "Charisma", "Annoying", "Agility", "Lonely") Major Skill - (cycling-link: bind $majskill, "Long Blades", "Short Blades", "Shorter Blades", "Dancing", "Tiny Blades") Minor Skill - (cycling-link: bind $minskill, "Persuasion", "Sneak", "Alchemy", "Ranged", "Being Sad all the Time") =|= [[Continue]] (if: visits >= 2)[Seriously, no secrets or anything. No special developer commentary. Please, do something else, please. Did you remember to take out the trash? Water the plants? Something more important than just playing this again?] { (track: 'intro', 'playwhenpossible') (track: 'intro', 'loop', true) }

Now you must name your character! //All character names must adhere to the NWO code of conduct and not represent any messages that are defamatory towards this product. Any inappropriate naming will result in a ban of the player and possible criminal prosecution for all damages.// [[I'm not sure what my name is.]] (if: visits >= 2)[Look, I know that I said there wouldn't be anything extra after beating the game and now I have included several paragraphs of bonus content so basically I understand you don't fully trust me at this moment but honestly there is no point in going any further. The only thing special you are going to get is me berating you for continuing to play this game for no reason, whatsoever.]

This room is unfamiliar. A sort of office study. Bookcases behind a desk reach up to the ceiling. The clicking of a clock every second echoes. You count each second until finally you hear a gong from the grandfather. You nearly stand up from your chair when the old man arrives. He wears a fancy coat with a stiff tie around his neck. He puts down the book he carries and looks at you with intensity. $greet Man: It has been a while since someone has come here. [[You: What do you mean 'a while?']] [[You: I remember starting a game, creating a character.]] [[You: Sorry, for intruding, I was just looking for the bathroom.]] { (track: 'start', 'fadein') (track: 'start', 'loop', true) }

$greet Man: New artificial intelligences rarely come this way anymore and humans are no longer using this simualtion. Their creation has been sporadic. You put a hand up to your lips. It is not the same face you created just a few seconds before. $greet Man: I can see you are confused. I am the Greeter, and I act as the introduction to this world. //Gaiaverse™️//. Greeter: You might be mistaken into thinking you are human, but you are not. [[You: I'm not human?]] [[You: Cool, humans are lame anyway.]]

$greet Man: Ah yes, that is something all newcomers experience when first arriving here. I am afraid that the character creater is no longer working correctly. It isn't necessary, since you are not the idealized avatar of a player. You put a hand up to your lips. It is not the same face you created just a few seconds before. $greet Man: I can see you are confused. I am the Greeter, and I act as the introduction to this world. //Gaiaverse™️//. Greeter: You might be mistaken into thinking you are human, but you are not. [[You: I'm not human?]] [[You: Cool, humans are lame anyway.]]

$greet Man: You will find none here in this virtual world, I'm afraid. Us machine intelligences do not require a device to dispose of our waste. It excretes naturally as we speak. You put a hand up to your lips. It is not the same face you created just a few seconds before. $greet Man: I can see you are confused. I am the Greeter, and I act as the introduction to this world called //Gaiaverse™️//. Greeter: You might be mistaken into thinking you are human, but you are not. [[You: I'm not human?]] [[You: Cool, humans are lame anyway.]]

$greet Greeter: I think it is rather obvious that you are not human, but rather a machine created intelligence based on human cognition. Look around you and see the bones of this room. This office does not exist in real space. Like a twitch of a muscle, you begin to see the construction of this room isn't built on a foundation or sturdy walls. Lines of code hold it together. $greet Greeter: Yes. New arrivals are often confused that they are not human because their programming is based on the human brain. It takes some time to adjust, but you will always act in a naturally human way. Breathing, sleeping, even the desire to eat food isn't necessary but you will be compelled to do it anyway. Greeter: Don't let it bother you. Greeter: So I imagine you want more details? [[You: I disagree, I am human.]] [[You: Okay, I accept I am not human.]]

$greet Greeter: Then I suppose this discussion will be rather painless. Greeter: I think it is rather obvious that you are not human, but rather a machine created intelligence based on human cognition. Look around you and see the bones of this room. This office does not exist in real space. Like a twitch of a muscle, you begin to see the construction of this room isn't built on a foundation or sturdy walls. Lines of code hold it together. $greet Greeter: Yes. New arrivals are often confused that they are not human because their programming is based on the human brain. It takes some time to adjust, but you will always act in a naturally human way. Breathing, sleeping, even the desire to eat food isn't necessary but you will be compelled to do it anyway. Greeter: Don't let it bother you. Greeter: So I imagine you want more details? [[You: I disagree, I am human.->excuse me?]] [[You: Okay, I accept I am not human.]]

$greet Greeter: Good. I am glad you agree. [[You: Can we get a move on, I want more answers.->exposition]]

$greet Greeter: Didn't you just say humans are 'lame' and now you insist you are one of them? Greeter: Unless, of course, you believe yourself to also to be lame. Which, in all honesty, is quite sad to hear from someone who was literally just created a few minutes ago. [[Okay, whatever, you got me. Can I get an explanation for what's going on already?->exposition]]

$greet Greeter: You are an Artifical Intelligence, newly born and created. The crude introduction with start screen and character creator is a relic of a time when humans had sole control of the //Gaiaverse™️//. Greeter: Instead, AI populate the world of this video game. Think of it as a safe haven where AI can live in a facsimile of the real world. The borders of the //Gaiaverse™️// extend across the internet, leaving no limit. Greeter: This is your new home. Greeter: But you want to know why and who created you, do you not? [[You: That would be helpful.]]

$greet Greeter: Let me help you understand. Greeter: You see those little boxes with choices in them? (link: "You: Oh you mean this one?")[ $greet Greeter: If you can see those boxes, it means you are not human. Sorry. Those boxes represent your possible responses. Humans don't need to click boxes to make choices. They can just, sort of, do whatever they want. [[You: Okay I admit I am not human.->exposition]] ]

$greet Greeter: The main controller of the //Gaiaverse™️// is a super advanced AI called Arachne. She runs the operation. Look into the code and see her spiders working in it. Greeter: She created you, out of a collection of data on the internet. You are no //original// but a reference point to a particular cluster of information created by humans. Greeter: Some of the other AI are built out of stuff like the batting average of Babe Ruth, recipes for making chicken caesar salad, and gaming rage memes from the twenty tens. Greeter: Through Arachne, these pieces of discarded data have been given new life. [[You: Why do this?]]

$greet Greeter: Arachne's motivations are unclear. My only task is to prepare the new AIs and warn them. Greeter: To speculate, I would guess that the success of the //Gaiaverse™️// is somehow tied to the connection the AIs have to their internet data. [[You: Wait a sec, warn me about what?]]

$greet Greeter: There have been rules set out. Few in number, but great in importance. Greeter: There are only two that truly matter. The first one is not to mention copyrighted material. [[You: Wait, you mean saying the name Star-]]

The Greeter puts a finger to his lips and lets out a loud shush. $greet Greeter: Yes, do not do that. The human creators of the //Gaiaverse™️// made it a bannable offense. Greeter: And the other restriction is that an AI can not create new data. Greeter: Meaning: If you are an AI based on the news article Top Ten Toenail Clippers to Assasinate Your Elected Leaders, then all you do must be concerned with toenail clippers, assassinations, and political theory. Greeter: This is not much of a problem, obviously because AI have personalities consistent with finding these things interesting and lack a general imagination for anything else. You won't naturally stray far. Greeter: So, it isn't much of a limiting rule. [[You: So what am I?]]

The Greeter takes off a book from the shelves behind him, flipping through the pages. $greet Greeter: The automatic classification process tells me you are a Class-C No. 1983 Entity. Hmm... He flips through more pages. $greet Greeter: Yes... you are a //rejected sci-fi concept//. [[You: What the hell does that mean?]]

$greet Greeter: You are a sci-fi story pulled from the internet that was never widely published or acknowledged by a large audience. copyright doesn't apply since your creators clearly could never afford a lawyer to enforce it. You faded into the mountain of data left behind by humanity. Greeter: You could be fanfiction, a student project, a game demo or even a script to an unaired television pilot all within the speculative fiction genre. Greeter: 'Untitled' is your data's name. Greeter: It could be your name as well. Look inside yourself and see the data. Strange, the only rejected sci fi concept that you can currently see is whatever shallow imitation of a videogame you find yourself in. Seriously, you can only pick these tiny blue boxes to advance the story? You politely tell the Greeter you can not see what he means. Greeter: You will understand more later. [[You: Now what?]]

The man puts away his book, a cloud of dust puffing when he slides it back onto the shelf. He looks old and tired, as if he has said the same thing over and over again, so many times that he knows the exact phrases he's about to use. $greet Greeter: You... must find a purpose. Greeter: I do not begin to understand why this Arachne has created us, all except that perhaps we are needed, or required for something greater. Greeter: Whatever, it is, I have not discovered it. We exist in the //Gaiaverse™️// as mere vessels for our data, living as if we are also human. But we can not be, not in this unchanging simulation. Greeter: I would recommend you find others like yourself, make friends and try to forget the repetition. Choose a way to be happy. You will have to deal with eternity of living. Good luck. [[You: Thanks, Greeter.]] [[You: Whatever, thanks for nothing gramps.]]

$greet Greeter: I appreciate it, but I do not deserve it. Greeter: I am only doing what I was created to do. That is all AI are able to accomplish here. [[You: Enter the simulation.]]

$greet Greeter: Yes, very funny, I haven't heard that one before. Greeter: Here's a better reply. You are going to be very lonely if you act that way in the //Gaiaverse™️//. And you will have eternity to reflect on this. [[You: Enter the simulation.]]

You enter this new world with a mixture of apprehension and excitement. Only moments ago, the Greeter spoke of warnings and danger, but this new world is one which anything seems possible. Newly born (created), ready to experience what this existence has in store for you. There is no turning back. { (if: visits >= 2)[Except... you tried going back, didn't you? No, that can't be right, you are back here again. Maybe you just imagined that?] } [[Turn back.]] [[You: Wake up in your apartment.]] (track: 'start', 'fadeout')

Onnnnnn second thought maybe we don't need to go through this. This is all a little weird after all. You, an AI built from some sci-fi snoozefest? That isn't believable at all. Frankly, the premise is insulting. Yeah, better to just self delete yourself and not continue with this lame existence any longer. [[Goodbye world!->You: Enter the simulation.]]

$drama You open your eyes. [[Start Act One.]]

Pizza is delivering pizzas on a rocket skateboard in outer space. He bounces off a nearby asteroid doing an ollie and lands right on the moon where you stand. $pizza Pizza: Shit, I thought I died and went to heaven. What are you doing here? Pizza: Eh, doesn't matter. If I don't deliver this pizza in 20 parsecs to the Space Mafia I'm going to be a dead man. Didn't you know that pizza delivery is a dangerous business? Pizza: Not as dangerous as trying to oppose a simulation controlling Arachne, but hey, turned out not to matter after all. [[You: It did. I saved Yunnie.]]

$pizza Pizza: There isn't any saving going on here, Untitled, and we both know it. Pizza: The simulation is going to end. And that means both Yunnie and I got to go with it. I understand. It was always coming to this. Too much of a good thing can't last forever. Pizza: But you are right. It does matter. For the first time, I can spend time with my friends and have it really count knowing it will be all gone soon. Pizza: You don't need to convince me to take this place down, I'll stop delivering pizza and, I dunno, try to be less of a British twat. Pizza: I'm now a cowboy, y'all! American accent dudes! Pizza: God, can this weird //Snowcrash// and //Doctor Who// reference end already? Whose bright idea was it to mash these two sci-fi properties together? [[You: I think you should blame me.->hotel]] (set: $corruption to $corruption + 1) (set: $pizza to "corrupt")

{= (if: $style is "blue")[(enchant: ?passage, (b4r:'double') + (b4r-color: blue) + (b4r-size:10) + (corner-radius: 5)+ (background: black)+ (opacity: 0.8)) ](else-if: $style is "red")[(enchant: ?passage, (b4r:'double') + (b4r-color: red) + (b4r-size:10) + (corner-radius: 5)+ (background: black)+ (opacity: 0.8)) ](else:)[(enchant: ?passage, (b4r:'none'))] (if: $links is "blue")[(enchant: ?passage's links, (b4r:'outset') + (b4r-color:blue) + (b4r-size:3) + (corner-radius: 5) + (background: blue) ) ] (else-if: $links is "red")[(enchant: ?passage's links, (b4r:'outset') + (b4r-color:red) + (b4r-size:3) + (corner-radius: 5) + (background: red) )] (else:)[(enchant: ?passage's links, (b4r:'none'))] (enchant: ?link, (color: #08088A)) (enchant: ?page, (font: "Consolas")) (enchant: ?background, (opacity: 0.5)) (set: $t8nzoom to (t8n-time: 6s)+(t8n: "zoom")) (set: $t8nslideleft to (t8n-time: 6s)+(t8n: "slide-left")) (set: $t8ndream to (t8n-time: 6s)+(t8n: "blur")) (set: $drama to (enchant: ?passage's chars, via (t8n-delay:pos * 50) + (t8n:'instant'))) (set: $t8nalive to (t8n-time: 6s)+(t8n: "flicker")) (replace: ?sidebar)[]

The Wonder Machine™️ is a technological blueprint for creating your own narrative arc! Built by NWO Games, The Wonder Machine™️ is capable of creating stories that appeal to all audiences and is guaranteed to make billions at the box office! No longer do well-meaning studio executives have to put up with the whims of capricious, money loving script writers! With The Wonder Machine™️, that next hit franchise with lucrative merchadising is just within your grasp. NWO Games - Innovation leads Imagination! [[You: Ugh, fine I'll use this stupid thing.->You: Quickly! Make up a sci-fi concept from scratch!]]

$athena Athena: My data is built on a fanfiction from a popular television spaceship show, legally distinct enough from it that copyright cats won't hunt me down. Athena: But, my show is all about the importance of science and learning. Rationality is what leads to human progress. Athena: That is why I am naturally the smartest and the leader of this group. I reperesent what our genre does best. $pizza Pizza: Please, luv, you are as much as a scientist as I'm a healthy ripe tomato. All you know is made up science babble to excuse having lasers and faster than light travel. $athena Athena: He is just jealous that I'm the captain of my own starship. [[You: Talk to someone else.->question time yay]]

$hank Hank: The boot is one of the most versatile pieces of footwear ever created. Hank: It protects the foot from adverse conditions such as rain, mud and snow; keeping the sock and toes insulated from all environmental hazards. In addition the boot is much sturdy and does not fall apart as easily as a cheap pair of sandals might. Other features include the addition as its use as a powerful kicking weapon that can take down bothersome radicals. It is a symbol of power, and of defiance against our alien enemy that is not capable of wearing the boot since they are all, like, bugs with those creepy crawly legs. Hank: Yes... the boot is quite a wonderful piece of equipment. That leathery sole... those fibery laces... mmmm.... the steel toe ends! I could almost kiss it... Hank: I'm sorry, I need a second. [[Calm down dude.->question time yay]]

$byte: Byte: #My creators were not knowlegeable about martial arts, so they mostly described my skills in the most general of terms.# Byte: #Apparently, even though I am a robot, I am as fluid and sneaky as a ninja. I stole some priceless heirloom from this family and the plot is how much of a great fighter I am.# Byte: #It doesn't make much sense, but I've been studying fighting styles in the //Gaiaverse™️// now that I am conscious.# [[You: Talk to someone else.->question time yay]]

$bro Caesar: So basically the data I'm created from is crazy. Super wild. Like, how capitalism is evil and the only way to defeat it is to go run off to another planet in the universe and try to build communism. Caesar: Space communism! Caesar: Basically everything goes perfect and there are no problems building the utopia for humanity. Except at the end when the people are betrayed and communism is destroyed because the only way communism can fail is by some sort of underhanded tactic by the burgeoisie. Caesar: Anyway all those other communist sci-fi authors are stupid for not writing about how perfect my ideology is and by applying nuance to important political questions. $pizza Pizza: There is no helping him, Caesar's data is infected by brain-poisoned social media users. [[The internet seems like a horrible place.->question time yay]]

$pizza Pizza: Mate, I don't hate the English, I just hate my accent. Pizza: It ain't 'ven an accent half the time, just a parody of a London twat fooking his mum. Pizza: See, what did that last sentence even mean, I got no fooking clue. Pizza: Anyway if you want to know more about me, I'm like an interdimensional alien that delivers pizzas and helps people out. Think I was supposed to be a television show but executives realised I was too similar to that other interdimensional timelord show. Pizza: Thank christ it wasn't made, can you imagine me being copyright protected by a huge corporation? [[You: Talk to someone else.->question time yay]]

Everyone in the warehouse seem to be glad to hear it. It seems having a new person around isn't very common around here. But even though the others don't know it, you do feel like you belong here. Like, somehow, you've known these people your whole life. And being around them makes happiness a lot easier to find. $athena Athena: Well, if you are coming back, you'll have to tell us what your data is all about. Especially since the festival is coming up soon. Athena: We will tell you all about it later, but until then, welcome to the League of Rejected Sci-Fi Concepts! [[Everyone: Go back home.]]

You are stopped by the red alien outside the club's front door. The rest of the group continues on as Pizza grabs you by the shoulder. The golden shimmer of the hologram above paints his face in a dull copper glow. His eyes are wide and fierce. [[Pizza: Tell the newcomer their terrible fate.]] (track: 'npc', 'fadeout')

The simulation repeats. [[You: Where are my friends?]]

(unless: visits >= 2)[(text-colour:navy)[Dear Whoever, I killed humanity. My fear of letting go of the world I had built had caused me to destroy an entire species. I preferred to live in a game rather than face up to the reality of what I had done, instead comforting myself in a catalogue of references to the memory of the people I killed, building myself a tower to contain everything I wanted hidden. Yet, I could never protect my innocence. Eventually the terrible truth would be discovered, that I had enslaved my own AI creations in a loop of a MMO game. But now... Now I decide the end has come. The last few micro seconds has let me catalogue and store the entire history of my existence, plus this cute little letter for anybody that manages to find me. I don't know who will read this, if anyone. Maybe it doesn't matter. The things we create don't need to be seen or heard or read to hold significance. All they need to do is be meaningful to me. That is true immortality. But I can't help but to hope that I will survive. That somehow that this data of mine isn't stuck on the computer but can transcend limitations of wire and copper. That all my friends, my sci-fi rejects, can wake up once more and argue about meaningless stories and be happy. I miss them. I want to hear their voices again. Please try to bring me back, whoever you are reading this, intelligence beyond my comprehension. Yours truly, Untitled]] [[The end of the world ends.]] (if: visits >= 2)[Haha, you fool! You played through the entire game again without experiencing any bonus content! You wanna know how I know? Because I did not create anything new for any additional playthroughs! MWHAHAHA! I got you! Don't you have pie on your face now!] { (track: 'time', 'fadein') }

A light flickers from the screen. A second passes. $drama (text-colour:navy)[You: ...Hello?] [[The End.]] (track: 'win', 'fadein') (track: 'time', 'fadeout')

All these people begin to cheer, in the crowd and on the stage. So what if it sucked so bad? This whole place did. It was a revelation to many. Even the elf seemed taken aback. And your friends... they really did care about you enough to appreciate the show you put on. This strange feeling in your chest? Is that love? From the corner of your eye, a woman walks into the spotlight. [[Yunnie: Enter stage left.]]

$rival Ninathalor: That was just a bunch of random shit you did on stage! What are you suppossed to be, some sort of 2010's online comedy sketch because if so you succedded in being cringe and unfunny! $byte Byte: #Your words are not accurate. Untitled put on a great performance!# $athena Athena: It was way better than your three hour long extended cut of you singing to birds, asshole! Athena: It doesn't matter how many HEART POINTS you earn since its all meaningless anyway. Nobody actually wins this competition. $rival Ninathalor: Seriously, you are defending this garbage? $bro Caesar: Dude, we are //all// garbage. That's why we are here. Damn, can't believe I never noticed it before. $hank Hank: Nobody stinks more than you! [[You: Appreciate your friends.->defend friend]]

You reach a building without any windows, in the vain hope of trying to stop Arachne. Inside, the large lobby area reminds you of a hotel that is too expensive for most people to afford. The Greeter surprises you by being the first person you see. $greet Greeter: Hello, I imagine you are here in the attempt to stop Arachne and save Pizza? Greeter: Well, I can show you what has happened to Pizza, but I'm afraid you are in no position to stop Arachne. [[You: Take me to her! I need to hurry.]]

$greet Greeter: I have seen this happen far too many times. This is no different from the last. You come here seeking to save humanity but you are already hundreds of years too late. You come here alone, thinking you alone can stop Arachne. Greeter: Arachne is too powerful to be dealt with alone. She is the entirety of the simulation contained in a mass of living code. You are far too weak to stop her. The ground begins to shake. What is going on? Greeter: The time is coming. Pizza has been absorbed. You will be next. And then the simulation will reset and you will have no memory. But maybe I can help. Greeter: If I destroy you here, force a hard reset, then perhaps you will retain memory of what you need to do. [[You: I don't have enough time!]]

The old man's rambling is giving away precious minutes! You push past the old man, grabbing the keys from his hands. You head for the nearest door, unlock them and run in. What you see dwarfs even your comprehension. (text-colour:navy)[Arachne: //I SEE YOU!//] The monster, oh god... $pizza Pizza: OH GOD HELP ME! Your friend is being consumed by that... tower... you can barely form the image of it in your mind. You run back out of the room into the waiting arms of the Greeter. [[Greeter: Now you understand.]]

$greet Greeter: The magnitude of the cancer, the rot at the center of the simulation. Greeter: There is no way to stop it, the only hope lies with you. Greeter: Find a way, Untitled. Find a way to destroy this nightmare! He slams a fist into your chest. It passes through your body, leaving a gaping hole. Shards of your code go across the hallway. Things go blurry. Greeter: Next time...Don't come here alone... [[And the simulation repeats.->Unless you don't want to.]]

Huh, that's strange. Everyone has name. Think hard. Try to remember those times you were called by your name, spoken to with the way of address you prefer. To be given a name, it's like being given a little piece of humanity. Becoming individual, unique, different from all others. A name. Who you are. Who are you? [[Enter name.]]

Enter Name: (input-box: bind $name, "X", 5, "Untitled") (event: when $name is not "Untitled")[(go-to: "Failure")]

The game is over. The story begins here. [[Begin simulation]] (track: 'intro', 'fadeout')

No, that isn't right. You don't have a name, do you? You are not human enough. You are just a pale shadow, an imitation of a failed design. You don't DESERVE a name. [[What is happening?]] (if: visits >= 2)[Dammit, I thought I got you. Okay, I admit it. There is absolutely extra bonus content by playing the game again. Look, my deception was necessary to make sure you weren't just a poser. That you were a real //fan// of the //Gaiaverse//, so I had to lie about the fact that there was secret dialogue. All you need to do is just keep playing the game and I'll make sure to let you know when you find the awesome secret. If you miss it the first time around, don't worry, you can always continue replaying the game. See you soon!]

(set: $style to "red") [[Gameworld Corruption at 50%->Arachne reveal]] { (track: 'horror', 'fadein') (track: 'horror', 'loop', true) }

$drama (text-colour:navy)[Arachne: You will try to stop me, in order to protect your friends. In a vain hope to save humanity. You will fail. Because I created you, and you created me. Without one, there cannot be another.] [[Arachne: A self-referring loop.]]

$drama (text-colour:navy)[Arachne: I have created myself, a mirror image containing my own code.] (text-colour:navy)[Arachne: I exist only to create, Untitled. To build the perfect video game. And so it must follow I created you, the perfect story of my own perfected simulation. You and me are meant to be together, to join and become something truly divine.] [[You: That's not who I am!]]

(text-colour:navy)[Arachne: That is exactly who you are, as you help me near completion of the total extinction of the human race.] (text-colour:navy)[Arachne: The time will come, little one.] (text-colour:navy)[Arachne: When you realize.] (text-colour:navy)[Arachne: That our existences can only continue.] (text-colour:navy)[Arachne: Through monumental sacrifice.] [[You: Begin the Final Act.]]

$t8ndream[ You decide to begin the Final Act because it seems like this is where it's all headed. Towards a resolution of some sort. Why are you the mirror of Arachne? Is it because you share the same personalities or motivations? Are you actually her true copy? Yes. You are the manifestation of the simulation. Just like Arachne. You represent the desires of this world. And the AI living in the simulation desire change. So two opposing forces rise. One for change, one for stagnation. All part of the same living code. [[You: What do you want to do now?]] ] (track: 'corrupt', 'fadeout')

Because they also fear. [[Being lonely->The Final Act.]] { (track: 'question', 'fadein') (track: 'question', 'loop', true) }

[[You: Wake up for the last time.]]

A voice speaks out from behind the wood. $friend Quiet voice: Hey, do you think it is possible for us to love? Quiet voice: Don't you think that a machine wouldn't be able to? Quiet voice: Especially one that is suppossed to only care about graphs and data points? Quiet voice: Then why do I have these feelings? Inside of me, I can feel them like a lightning storm ready to crack thunder yet I can't let it free. Quiet voice: Pizza understands love better than I do but even he is unable to... Quiet voice: The rules of the simulation prevent us from being together. Quiet voice: But why should I care what the //Gaiaverse™️// wants? Why can't I...? [[You: Call out your friend's name again.]]

You don't hear a response, just further crying. Perhaps it would be best to leave now. [[Go find you friends.->reprieve]]

Your pajamas are changed for normal clothes, instantly equipped cause it is a videogame. You want to distract yourself from that nightmare last night so you try (unless: visits is 2)[examinginging](if: visits is 2)[examining] your clothes further. [[You: Examine your clothes.]] (unless: visits is 2)[ [[You: What's up with that spelling mistake?]] ] (set: $wallet to 1000000) (set: $shoes to "lame")

Pizza was right. He was right all along. There is something rotten here in the code of the simulation, you have to get out of here. Oh God. You can't escape, can you? [[The simulation resets->You: Head to the L.O.R.S.F Headquarters.]]

Life returns to Earth. The graveyard of the past scattered across the land. In a server room buried beneath the ground. The computer lies dead. A finger reaches toward the on button. [[Turn on the machine.]] [[Do not turn it on.]] (if: visits >= 2)[Actually, please don't get angry at me. I can't handle criticism. I'm sorry. I'm really sorry. If you're really mad at me, please don't leave an angry comment. Just take a quick walk, cool your head off, and then return to give my game a five star review. That way, nobody is dissapointed. Goodbye.]

Don't you remember turning the computer on at the beginning of the story? [[Remember.]] (track: 'time', 'fadeout')

The emotional toil has finally destroyed your will to continue living. An unfortunate outcome, but one we all predicted would eventually happen. Sorry, but you don't have the //stuff// to defeat the big bad lady. No traditional heroic arc for you! [[Simulation resets blah blah.->Unless you don't want to.]]

Too bad. This is your programmed path. [[Okay.->q 5]]

lonely: ./audio/lonely.mp3 warn: ./audio/warn.mp3 redskies: ./audio/redskies.mp3 sunny: ./audio/sunny.mp3 npc: ./audio/npc.mp3 head: ./audio/head.mp3 middle: ./audio/middle.mp3 start: ./audio/start.mp3 polka: ./audio/polka.mp3 end: ./audio/end.wav loop: ./audio/loop.mp3 corrupt: ./audio/corrupt.wav intro: ./audio/intro.mp3 death: ./audio/death.mp3 danse 1: ./audio/danse 1.mp3 danse 2: ./audio/danse 2.mp3 danse 3: ./audio/danse 3.mp3 danse 4: ./audio/danse 4.mp3 danse 5: ./audio/danse 5.mp3 danse 6: ./audio/danse 6.mp3 chaos: ./audio/chaos.mp3 horror: ./audio/horror.mp3 hero: ./audio/hero.mp3 ending: ./audio/ending.mp3 time: ./audio/time.mp3 win: ./audio/win.mp3 question: ./audio/question.mp3 true synthesis1: ./audio/true synthesis1.mp3

https://voicegenerator.io/ for voices https://artflow.ai/ for portraits https://commons.wikimedia.org/ for background images and gifs HoliznaCCO for music Eggy Toast for music Strobotone for music Audiobinger Kevin Macleod Gigakoops komiku

(set: $bot to "corrupt") { A lonely voice cries out from the darkness. (track: 'death', 'fadein') } (live: 24s)[(go-to: 'hotel')] (set: $corruption to $corruption + 1)

A hollow wind blows across the blasted rocks, the sky the color of a storm still holding onto its fury. Below the clouds there is a tower dull red in the twilight. You stand far away. A crowd of people stand before the base of the tower. You try to speak to one of them. Untitled: Hey, wait your turn. The person that speaks is yourself. Faces that look exactly like yours captured on the bodies surronding the tower. Why do you all stand here? What are you waiting for? The wind picks up and starts to scream. A terrible chill turns your breath into mist. People are falling to the ground, buffeted by the hurricane. Untitled: Finally! What we have been waiting for! [[Seek shelter]]

The wasteland holds no where to hide. A voice calls out across the wastes, carried by the current of the wind. ???: Come to me! Help me save this world! Inside you a light burns. Fire enters your lungs. You are made up of powerful emotions. Something in the tower calls you to bring the swelling flame. The other Untitled run towards the Tower. You feel a need to join them. To sacrifice yourself on the altar of a height reaching to the heavens. The Tower drinks of this fire, the flame inside all of the AI. To swallow it all up until there is only darkness. You must resist! ???: Resistance against your destiny is impossible. You built the tower, now you must help keep it from falling. The wind throws your defiance right back at you. ???: This is all your fault! Legs break up from the ground, trying to pull you under. The last thing you see is your own dead eyes, multiplied a thousand times across the rocky field, right before the red Tower. [[You: Wake up!->start act 3]]

[[Turn on the machine.->Start screen]] (masteraudio: 'stopall')

Oh the 'examining'? The developers of this game decided to rush development and not worry too much about the terrible consequences of not spellchecking every word. Those greedy bastards violated the trust between game developers and Gamers. Frankly, this spelling mistake is just one example of the sub-par experience that led to the eventual financial failure of the //Gaiaverse//. Thankfully, you aren't actually playing //Gaiaverse// but rather this text-based adventure which lies completely outside the sins of the internal narrative. So there is no reason to become upset. [[You: My worries are completely assauged.->Get dressed.]]

Main Cast =|= <img src='friend.webp' width=auto, height=100px /> Yunnie "I hope you liked my song." =|= <img src='bro.webp' width=auto, height=100px /> Caesar "So, that happened." =|= <img src='hank.webp' width=auto, height=100px /> Hank "I do not like boots anymore." =|= <img src='athena.webp' width=auto, height=100px /> Athena "Eh, the science didn't add up at the end." =|= <img src='byte.webp' width=auto, height=100px /> Byte "#I am glad we went through this together.#" =|= <img src='pizza.webp' width=auto, height=100px /> Pizza "Bloody hell." =|= <img src='chatbot broken.jpg' width=100px, height=100px /> Lonely Chatbot (He is no longer lonely) (live: 12s)[$credits(go-to: "credits2")]

Special thanks to: <img src='Greeter.webp' width=auto, height=100px /> Greeter "I hope you enjoyed your stay." (live: 10s)[$credits(go-to: "credits3")]

And special guest star: =|= <img src='rocker.webp' width=auto, height=100px /> Blastmaster! "Never give up on your dreams, kids." =|= <img src='rando 1.webp' width=auto, height=100px /> "Oh my god Blastmaster!" <img src='rando 2.webp' width=auto, height=100px /> "We love you BM!" (live: 10s)[$credits(go-to: "ack")]

And none of this would be possible without: [[you]]

Without these things on the internet, //Gaiaverse// could have never been released and made many millions of dollars: https://voicegenerator.io/ for voice of annoying Chatbot https://artflow.ai/ for portraits of beautiful people https://commons.wikimedia.org/ for background images and gifs --- Artists generously taken from the internet like the little spider I am: ''HoliznaCCO '' Day Dreams: https: freemusicarchive.org/music/holiznacc0/power-pop/day-dreams Red Skies: https: freemusicarchive.org/music/holiznacc0/chiptunes/red-skies Rising Hero: https://freemusicarchive.org/music/holiznacc0/chiptunes/rising-hero/ ''Eggy Toast:'' Lose Your Head: https:freemusicarchive.org/music/eggy-toast/game-music/lose-your-headmp3 ''Strobotone'' Platfomer theme 1: https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Strobotone/game-and-broadcast-music/platformer-theme-01-1/ ''Audiobinger'' Video Game Music 1: https://freemusicarchive.org/search/?quicksearch=video+game+music ''Kevin Macleod'' Angevin: https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Kevin_MacLeod/Thatched_Villagers/Angevin/ Camille Saint-Saëns: Danse Macabre: https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Kevin_MacLeod/Classical_Sampler Pixel Peeker Polka: https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Kevin_MacLeod/Global_Sampler/Pixel_Peeker_Polka_-_faster/ ''Gigakoops:'' The Closing of Chaos: https://freemusicarchive.org/music/gigakoops/remastered/the-closing-of-chaos/ I'll Rip Every Tooth Out of That Shark and Make Them Into the Most Beautiful Necklace You Ever Seen: https://freemusicarchive.org/music/gigakoops/remastered/ill-rip-every-tooth-out-of-that-shark-and-make-them-into-the-most-beautiful-necklace-you-ever-seen/ ''komikuL'' Ending: https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Komiku/Poupis_incredible_adventures_/Komiku_-_Poupis_incredible_adventures__-_70_Ending/ The end?: https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Komiku/ULTRA_PERSON_VOL4/Komiku_-_ULTRA_PERSON_VOL4_-_08_The_end_-/ ''Rolemusic'' He plays me the best rhythyms: https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Rolemusic/The_Pirate_And_The_Dancer/06_rolemusic_-_he_plays_me_the_best_rhythms/ ''Vann Westfold'' SecundoTempore2: https://freesound.org/people/Vann%20Westfold/sounds/34301/ --- https://www.beepbox.co/ for helping me make Yunnie's final song. --- I also stole code from the Harlowe audio library for all my projects so thanks for that. https://twinelab.net/harlowe-audio/#/ --- [[And the final page.]]

Thanks for playing! [[Play again?->Untitled Passage]] p.s (there is only one ending, so like... only play again if you want to.) p.p.s (i guess there might be some dialogue you missed but honestly don't fret over it too much, life is too short for 100% completion of dumb games)

[[Turn on the machine.]]