Adventures into the Frogknown

There is a frog in front of you. [[eat the frog]] [[examine the frog]] (set: $charisma = 0)

You pick up the frog and swallow it whole. It doesn't seem to realize you are eating it. You swallow the frog. It feels like egg yolk sliding down your throat. Aside from that, you don't feel any different. [[examine the room]] (set: $frogalive to false)

You look carefully at the frog from afar. It is purple and small, no larger than the palm of your hand. Its tiny black eyes blink slowly at you. It appears docile and a little out of place. Actually, you both seem out of place. [[eat the frog]] [[pet the frog]] [[examine the room]] (set: $frogalive to true)

You pet the frog. It does not respond, but you feel better for some reason. +2 charisma. [[look for an exit]] (set: $frogpet to true) (set: $charisma = $charisma +2)

You are in an office. You may have been here before, because it feels familiar, but you can't remember standing here before. There are many desks with computers on it. The lights are off and no one is here. There is a large window on one side that reveals it is lightly snowing outside. [[look for an exit]] (if: $frogalive is true)[ [[eat the frog]]]

You look around for a way to leave the office. There are several doors, but they seem to lead to one-off conference rooms. One has a large wooden table with a split in the middle. The door leading to the outside is locked. [[smash the window]] [[sit at a desk]]

Taking your chances, you take a nearby chair and throw it against the window. It richochets off the surprisingly thick glass and skitters across the floor. This glass is a lot tougher than you imagined... There's a strange noise from behind you, but it turns out to be a simple dishwasher. Someone must have left it running. (if: $frogalive is true)[The frog watches you.] [[sit at a desk]]

You understand that this surreal place cannot be left. You decide to sit at a desk nearby. Perhaps one of these abandoned computers can be used to contact someone for help? (if: $frogalive is true)[The frog hops over to keep you company.] [[turn on a computer]]

You wiggle the mouse around on the desk in front of you. It does not respond, so you look around for the computer brain on the floor. You press the power button, and it hums faintly. You are greeted with a login screen. [[login]]

Did you eat the frog? (if: $frogalive is true)[ [[no]]] (if: $frogalive is false)[ [[yes]]]

Oh. Did you have to? [[I wanted to]] [[I had to]]

I see. You belong here. You will die here. [[Your stomach hurts.]]

I understand. You were afraid. Or you really like eating frogs. Whichever it is, do not worry. Jeremiah forgives you. I have disabled the poison he was about to release into your stomach. [[Where am I?]]

Your stomach grumbles like a launching rocket ship, and you can feel your organs twisting around a frog-shaped object. As you begin to sweat, you can feel the acid pouring out from your skin and dripping onto the floor. Perhaps eating the frog was a bad idea. POISON END.

You're on the "OtherSide". [[OtherSide?]]

Yeah. It's a separate plane. Cool, isn't it? [[Can I leave?]] [[turn off the computer]]

We asked the same thing. You can, but we don't know what happens once you leave. If you open the fridge door, there is a hallway leading to someplace dark. We call it the Abyss. Those of us who went in never came back. [[open the fridge]] [[turn off the computer]]

You reach underneath the desk and turn the computer off. The words on the screen quickly disappear and are replaced by new text that seem to describe your current surroundings before flickering away. It seems you are on your own. (if: $frogalive is true)[ [[Jeremiah lays a (hand?) on yours. It seems to know something.]]] [[look for an exit]]

You open the fridge. It is cold and dark inside, and appears to be a long hallway. (if: $frogalive is true)[Jeremiah hops down the hallway and disappears. [[Follow Jeremiah]]] [[close the fridge]]

You ignore the frog. It blinks at you sadly and paws at the fridge door again. [[open the fridge]] [[ignore the frog]]

You close the fridge. You do not want to risk going wherever THAT leads. [[examine the room]] [[turn on a computer]] [[do nothing]]

You decide to follow the frog. As you descend into the darkness, Jeremiah begins to glow a pleasant green. You hear ghastly wails in the darkness, but nothing approaches you or the frog. You are safe. [[keep following Jeremiah]] [[wander elsewhere]]

You are ready to die here. You do not want to take any risks and are content with the current state of affairs. You don't know how you got here, but it doesn't bother you. You close your eyes and drift off into a painless sleep. SLEEP END.

You know very little of this strange plane and decide to stay with Jeremiah. The frog looks back at you occasionally, as if to encourage you. (if: $frogpet is true)[ You remember petting it before it was glowing. You wonder if it feels any different.] [[ask Jeremiah where you're going]] [[reach out to pet Jeremiah]] [[stop walking]]

You decide you do not need to stay with Jeremiah and abruptly change directions. You move away from Jeremiah's reassuring light. (if: $frogpet is true)[ Jeremiah seems to notice that you have left it. It remembers how you pet it, and is worried for you, so it follows you instead. [[shoo Jeremiah away]]] [[wandering in the dark]]

That is good. Thank you. His name is Jeremiah. If you are reading this and I am not in the office, then something must be wrong, or you're REALLY lost. [[Where am I?]]

Jeremiah hops over to the fridge and looks at you expectantly. [[ignore the frog]] [[open the fridge]]

You ask the frog where it is leading you. The frog does not answer. [[continue walking]] [[stop walking]] [[wander elsewhere]]

You reach out to the frog and give it a quick pet. Jeremiah seems pleased. +3 charisma. [[continue walking]] [[stop walking]] [[wander elsewhere]] (set: $frogpet to true) (set: $charisma = $charisma +3)

You stop in your tracks, afraid to move forward. Jeremiah stops as well, and doubles back to check on you. [[reach out to pet Jeremiah]]

You shoo Jeremiah away. The frog seems a little sad that you do not want its company anymore. It follows you from a safe distance. [[wandering in the dark]]

Gathering up your courage, you continue to follow Jeremiah through the darkness. The wailing screams eventually fade away, and you can see a faint blue glow in the distance. [[walk towards the light]]

You stumble through the darkness, fear overtaking you as Jeremiah's light steadily grows fainter. It seems the frog is no longer close to you, and you feel oppressively alone. You may die here. [[die here]] (if: $charisma > 3)[ [[Jeremiah approaches]]]

Cold seeps through your body, numbing your limbs as you shudder to a halt. Your feet begin to sink into the ground, and the air around you draws colder. The whispers in the darkness are louder now, and you feel pinpricks of teeth and nails grazing against your skin. They waited for you. And you arrived. COLD END.

As you draw closer to the light, you see a shining crystal on a small island of blue dust. The air immediately feels warmer as you gaze upon its comforting light. Jeremiah hops up onto your shoulder. [[and the frog speaks]]

You wander through the darkness for a few minutes, and a chill washes over your body. As you fall to your knees, a light appears from behind you, and a small frog hops onto your back. Jeremiah has not forgotten you. The cold's grip on your body slips away. [[continue walking]]

"Perforce is down," the frog says. You stand in silence, unsure of what that means in this situation. "GoDaddy is useless," Jeremiah continues. You turn to the frog, whose eyes are sad and listless. [["Is that why I'm here?"]]

Jeremiah nods. "Three snowstorms in three weeks," the frog continues. "No one has been in the office for a few days. Except you." Jeremiah blinks gently at you. "Can you turn it on?" [[reach out to fix the Perforce server]] [[ask how to fix the server]] [[ask about the team]]

You reach out to touch the glowing jewel. It glitters against your palm in the darkness, and you hear a faint shout from within. "Ignore that, that's a bug," Jeremiah says patiently. "We're already tracking that in Hansoft." You ignore the shout and turn the jewel over in your hand, noticing a small switch. You turn the switch on. [[the jewel hums]]

You ask Jeremiah how to fix it. "If our IT Specialist was here, he would know," Jeremiah says sadly. "Maybe just try touching it?" [[reach out to fix the Perforce server]] (if: $teamask is false)[ [[ask about the team]]]

You ask Jeremiah who the "team" is. "Oh! The people in the office were making a game, but they're snowed in. I think half of them lost power, because they haven't responded to a sick meme that was posted in #general." Jeremiah pauses. "Anyways, can you fix Perforce for me?" [[reach out to fix the Perforce server]] (set: $teamask to true)

A series of words are projected into your mind. "There's two ways to resolve your Perforce woes," a voice chimes. The words are spoken casually, as if you had just asked a passing stranger what time it was. "There's the 'right' way. And then the nuclear option." The voice pauses. "The first is using Perforce's 'Reconcile Offline Work' feature, which compares your local version to the server. The second is wiping everything out, and then pulling it again. If you've been seeing issues locally that other people don't have, you'll need to try one of these." [[choose the Right Way]] [[choose the Nuclear Option]] [[ask for Jeremiah's opinion]]

You begin to follow the steps that the voice called "the Right Way." After following the steps, you wait expectantly for some kind of result. Nothing happens. Jeremiah looks nervous. [[choose the Nuclear Option]] (if: $charisma >= 2)[ [[ask Jeremiah what is wrong]]]

You steel your nerves and decide to attempt the Nuclear Option. "Close Unity," the helpful voice says. "Oh, we should leave then," Jeremiah pipes up. It hops into your hand, and suddenly your body is whisked out of the cold emptiness of the fridge and back into the office. The fridge door slams shut. "Open your local repository in Windows explorer," the voice continues. "You use a PC, right?" Jeremiah asks hopefully. [[No, I'm a Mac scrub]] [[Yes, I know how to use a PC]]

You ask the frog for its opinion. You're not really sure how this relates to the situation, or what some of these words mean. Jeremiah thinks carefully. "Maybe we checked in too many assets without running Unity first, so they didn't import properly," the frog muses. "Maybe we've officially run out of disk space on our Perforce server." "Either way, it sounds like they're suggesting it's just an issue on our side. Perforce may not be down at all." "I trust your decision." [[choose the Right Way]] [[choose the Nuclear Option]]

Jeremiah hesitates, but recalls your kindness. "This might be a branching dimension that was never maintained," the frog explains. "If we nuke these changes... we might..." The frog trails off. [[What about the office?]]

"They'll come back!" Jeremiah seems startled by its own revelation. "Or at least, I think so. But neither you nor I will exist again. At least, not in this way." Jeremiah appears thoughtful. [[choose the Nuclear Option]]

Jeremiah sighs. -2 charisma. [[listen to the voice again]] (set: $charisma = $charisma -2)

Jeremiah nods with approval. +2 charisma. [[listen to the voice again]] (set: $charisma = $charisma +2)

You make your way over to the nearest computer. You lock eyes with a Game Developer Barbie doll, which eyes you with a strained smile from inside its plastic box. You begin to follow the rest of the instructions and patiently delete all of your folders. [[hit Get Revision]]

The computer screen is completely black. The snow continues to pile up outside. You think you hear the faint sound of an overenthusiastic man wielding a snowblower, but you're not sure. Jeremiah hops off of your hand and beams at you. "I think that's it!" the frog says triumphantly. Nothing around you seems to have changed much... but it seems you're reaching the end of whatever this experience was. "You can leave now," Jeremiah says with finality. "By tomorrow, everything will be okay. Another day." [[pack up]]

You're not sure what to make of this whole experience, but at least you made a friend out of it. You rise from the chair, and the entire office space begins to melt away. "If you ever visit again, say hi!" Jeremiah calls out. The snow stops falling. [[check stats]]

STATS: Your charisma stat was $charisma. Now you know your charisma stat in real life. That's how this works, apparently. You did not eat the frog. You reached the end of this experience. This is objectively the best ending. Thanks for playing my Twine game. --- flarechess@twitter