Lights Over Tesco Car Park

Your name is [Antônio Vilas Boas.]<nxt| (click: ?nxt)[You are [23.]<live|] (click: ?live)[You live in São Francisco de Sales, a small agricultural village in Brazil. You are [[engaged.]]]

Welcome to LIGHTS OVER TESCO CAR PARK - The Game! Which story would you like to hear? [[The Vilas Boas Incident->Antonio]]

One night you are: [[Ploughing the fields on your tractor.]] [[Drinking home-brew beer beneath big ears of corn.]] [[Sleeping outside, because you had a fight with your fiancée.->Sleeping outside, because you had a fight.]] (Set: $Tractor to 0) (Set: $Beer to 0) (Set: $Fight to 0)

You plough at night to avoid the heat of the day. Some dust blows into your nose, and you [sneeze.]<snz| (click: ?snz) [You can feel the dust lingering on your face. You [[scratch]] your chin.] (Set: $Tractor to 1)

You're sat on a rock, drinking this beer, your bare feet digging into [the soft soil.]<cool| (Click: ?cool)[A fly lands on your chin for just a second, and then buzzes off into the night. You [[scratch]] your chin.] (Set: $Beer to 1)

You pull your rough blanket up to your chin. It tickles. (Click: "tickles.") [You [[scratch]] your chin.] (Set: $Fight to 1)

And in that moment you are thinking about everything. (click: "everything") [You are thinking about the size of the night sky.] (click: "sky.") [You are thinking about how cold the air gets when the [[sun goes down.]]]

(if: $Tractor is 1) [The way the grass bends under your the wheels of your tractor Like footsteps maybe. (click: "footsteps") [You imagine the tires are big shoes. You think it might be nice to have nice black shoes. Maybe you should become a lawyer or a [[salesman.]]] ] (if: $Beer is 1) [You finish the beer and pour the sediment out onto the ground. (click: "ground") [You imagine a tree growing out of it.] (click: "a tree growing out of it.") [This life has been pretty difficult so far. There are these moments when it's momentarily beautiful. Beautiful in your [[brain]].] ] (if: $Fight is 1) [You close your eyes and try to sleep. (click: "sleep.") [You can't.] (click: "can't.") [It's too cold at night, when then sun is behind the mountains.] (click: "mountains.") [It's like you're in a fridge freezer. Your uncle has a fridge freezer in Rio.] (click: "Rio.") [It might be nice to own a fridge freezer. Maybe you could sell them, or [[something.]]]]

[[I don't know.]]

[[I don't know.->idk.]]

Or [[something.]]

It's hard to [[explain.->I don't know.]]

(click:?up) [Dark blue [nothing.]<sud|] (click:?sud) [But then...]<flk| (click:?fld) [right over the [field]<lte|] (click:?lte) [you see a small blue [[light.]]] (click:?flk) [flickering into [existence]<fld|] You look [up.]<up|

[[.]]

This pinprick of blue light grows into a marble into an egg into a melon, it grows at a very alarming speed. You feel overwhelmed and you close your [[eyes.]]

[[You open them.]]

It’s hovering above you sort of serene and glowing and biblical. And you feel strange: (link: "It’s like pulling a plug and watching dirty water drain away") [(set: $plug to 1) (go-to: "Abduct")] (link: "It’s like switching off a whirring shaking computer") [(set: $shaking to 1) (go-to: "Abduct")] (link: "It’s like letting a bee out of a jar.") [(set: $bee to 1) (go-to: "Abduct")]

[[And you close your eyes.]]

[[And you open them.]]

(Click:"tube.") [[[Blood streaming through it.]]] (Click:"cold.") [And, blurred, in the centre of your vision is a tube.] (Click:"before.") [You’re cold.] And you're in a room like you've never seen [before.]

[[Pull out the tube and leave]] [[Await your fate.]]

(Set: $key to 0) (Set: $window to 0) You pull out the tube. [[Go to the door.]] [[Search the table.]] [[Look out the window.]]

Shivering, you wait in the room. (if: $Tractor is 1) [You think about your tractor. You wonder if it is all right. You wonder if you will have to buy a new one.] (if: $Beer is 1) [You think about your the beer bottle you left on the farm. You'll be in trouble for that.] (if: $Fight is 1) [You think about your fiancée. You didn't get to say sorry for the fight. It was just about getting the running water fixed.] (Click:"one.") [You wait for a long [[time.]]] (Click:"that.") [You wait for a long [[time.]]] (Click:"fixed.") [You wait for a long [[time.]]]

The door is perfectly flat, apart from a small circular slot in the centre. (if: $key is 1) [[[Use the key.->Use the key.]]] (if: $key is 0) [ Bang on the door. (click-replace: "Bang on the door.")[The door wont budge...]] [[Search the table.]] [[Look out the window.]]

Strange devices lie on the table, like a city skyline in minature. At the centre sit a box, a stack of papers off to the side. [[Search the box.]] [[Search the papers.]] [[Go to the door.]] [[Look out the window.]]

(If: $window is 0) [ It's bright outside the window. You have to squint. (Click: "squint") [When you do, you see a large blue object floating in front of you, surrounded by stars. You have seen drawings of the Earth in your atlas.] (Click: "atlas.") [The atlas got it wrong.] (Click: "wrong.") [This is more beautiful than a map could ever be.] (Click: "be.") [You stare into [[space.]]]] (If: $window is 1)[ There's no more time to sightsee. You need to get out. [[Search the table.]] [[Go to the door.]]]

You place the metal sphere into the socket. (Click: "socket") [The doors slide [[open.->behind you.]]]

(if:$key is 0) [You open the box, and brushing aside wires and strange jewlery you find a small metal sphere. You take it, and put it in your pocket.] (if:$key is 1) [There's nothing else here.] [[Search the papers.]] [[Look out the window.]] [[Go to the door.]] (set: $key to 1)

(If: $papers is 0) [The papers spill over one another. The faces of people are printed in the corner of each document. (Click:"document.") [You find your face.] (Click:"face.") [You hear footstepts outside. You must hurry.] (Click:"hurry.")[ [[Search the box.]] [[Look out the window.]] [[Go to the door.]] ] ] (If: $papers is 1) [You don't recognise any of the other faces. [[Search the box.]] [[Look out the window.]] [[Go to the door.]] ] (Set:$papers to 1)

A humanoid stands in front of you. About four foot eight, blue eyes, naked. It walks towards you, and you fall back into the [[chair.]]

(set: $window to 1) Dark blue [[nothing.->Look out the window.]]

It comes up to you. It touches your [[chin.]]

A strange feeling overwhelms you. Just like you felt before. (Click:"before.") [ (If: $bee is 1) [Like letting a bee out of a jar.] (If: $shaking is 1) [Like turning off a whirring, shaking computer.] (If: $plug is 1) [Like pulling out a plug and watching dirty water drain away.] And you [[close your eyes.]] ]

[[And you open them.->Open2]]

Time has passed. (Click:"passed.") [The humanoid is lying in front of you.] (Click:"you.") [It rubs its stomach] (Click:"stomach") [and points to the [[stars.]]]

Your heart leaps. (Click:"leaps.")[You feel something you have never felt before. A warmth and a safety and happiness and joy and a million other good things.] (Click:"things.") [[[You close your eyes.->eyes2]]]

[[You open them.->open2]]

You are in your field. (Click:"field") [ (If: $Tractor is 1) [Your tractor is charred and [[smoking.]]] (If: $Beer is 1) [The rest of your beer bottles are strewn across the ground, [[empty.]]] (If: $Fight is 1) [The lamp by your makeshift bed is still [[flickering.]]] ]

You run to a nearby stream, grab the washing bucket, and fill it up. (Click:"fill it up.") [You run back and toss it on the fire.] (Click:"toss it") [You are out of breath. You sit down, panting.] (Click:"panting.") [[You close your eyes.]]]

You investigate the bottles. They seem to have been drunk. (Click: "drunk.") [As if while you were up there, some of them were down here.] (Click: "here.") [Drinking around your fire.] (Click: "fire.") [[[You close your eyes.]]]

You investigate the bed. (Click:"bed.") [It seems to have been made for you.] (Click:"you.") [You lie down, and [[close your eyes.->You close your eyes.]]]

[[You open them.->Eyes3]]

You are a lawyer now. You have four children. And sometimes, when you think everyone is asleep, you go into the [[garden.]]

You sit on the grass and [[look up.]]

And it makes me think... what does it take for a person like you to tell the world? (Click:"world?") [What does it take to stand up and say something that sounds crazy?] (Click:"crazy?") [How many other people are like you that haven’t said a word?] (Click:"word?") [I think it takes courage.] (Click:"courage.") [I think it takes a lot of [[courage.->open final]]]

You have this feeling that a piece of your heart is up there. And softly, without any sound, you begin to cry. (Click:"cry.") [To stop yourself crying, [[you close your eyes.->End]]]

[[And you open them.->Final Card]]

"LIGHTS OVER TESCO CAR PARK" by Poltergeist Theatre 1st July - [[New Diorama Theatre, London|https://www.newdiorama.com/whats-on/lights-over-tesco-car-park]] 5th July - [[HOME, Manchester->https://homemcr.org/production/lights-tesco-car-park/]] 21st July - [[The North Wall, Oxford->https://www.thenorthwall.com/whats-on/haunt-lights-over-tesco-car-park/]] 1st-27th August - [[Pleasance, Edinburgh->https://www.pleasance.co.uk/event/lights-over-tesco-car-park#overview]] In association with The North Wall, supported by New Diorama Theatre and The Yard

Then, suddenly. (Click:"suddenly") [Out of absolutely nowhere.] (Click:"nowhere") [A humanoid stands in front of you. About four foot eight, blue eyes, [[naked.->chair.]]]

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