Bodies Like Meat

(css: "font-size: 300%")+(font: "arial")[''//Bodies like Meat//''] (font: "arial")+(css: "font-size: 75%")[//RPG Death Simulator//] <p align ="center"> (font: "consolas")[[[Start->Intro]]] (font: "consolas")[[[Credits]]] </p>

Why did they bring you here? What are you supposed to be? [[Biologist]] [[Linguist]] [[Epistemologist]]

(css: "font-size: 200%")+(font: "arial")[You are a biologist.] Biologists studies organic life. It only makes sense for you to be here. Inside of your backpack, you notice a [[portable microscope]], a set of [[petri dishes]], and a [[pair of forceps]].

(css: "font-size: 200%")+(font: "arial")[You are a linguist.] Linguists study language, it's form, meaning, context, etc. You worried that your presence on this expedition might mean that there is more here than they've been telling you. Inside of your backpack you notice a copy of [[The Wittgenstein]], a [[rotor machine]], and a [[pocket thesaurus]].

(css: "font-size: 200%")+(font: "arial")[You're an epistemologist.] Epistemologists study the nature of knowledge. You're not sure why they thought you'd be any good in the field. In your backpack, you notice [[a pack of cigarettes]], a copy of Michel Foucault's [[Archaelogy of Knowledge]] and [[a jar of substance]]

Out of the aether, a new locale materializes. It might be in France or Malaysia, Greece or Angola, Mexico or Russia. The trees grow thick overnight. Dense yellow air floods the atmosphere. Light shifts from reality to dream. Someone on the news mentions its existence in passing. There are claims that the sea has evaporated, that the cosmos has returned to earth, that Gaia has turned over in her sleep. Most places do not begin this way. Something happens to mutate them into what they are now. An anomaly forms and engenders this new reality. The locale is just a forest. But, in the future it might become much more than that. A body no longer in stasis. Its form may mutate and shift. A forest may become a desert, or a desert may become an ocean. What is abstract may become physical, and what is physical may become abstract. Paranoia may find the space to manifest and grow. It is difficult to say what the limitations of this new world might [[be]].

Although the Locale did not make an effort to announce its arrival, many people still took notice. Various governmental and academic bodies have taken a special interest in the strange qualities of the area’s ecosystem. As part of a funded expedition, you and two other scientists are tasked with entering the locale, acquiring further data, and discovering the source of the anomalies, of the mutations and [[permeations]].

The government hires you. They pull you out of the void and you awake at base camp. The world is new. And you feel new. Memories resurface. They form inside of your skull. Your identity [[returns]].

You think about [[smoking a cigarette]], but you also feel the sudden urge to [[swallow the entire pack]].

You open up to a random page. "Are you going to change yet again, shift your position according to the questions that are put to you, and say that the objections are not really directed at the place from which you are speaking? Are you going to declare yet again that you have never been what you have been reproached with [[being?]]"

Substance is not substance. It is substance. This is everything you lost when you shifted from infant to toddler. Your reine sprache. The primal aura of your younger [[body]].

You smoke a cigarette and look around the base camp. You notice three tents, one with your backpack against it, and two others with different, unfamiliar backpacks next to them. A stranger steps out of one of the other tents and nods at you. You nod back and he sits across from you. "Bum one?" You think about giving [[over the pack]] but you're not sure how long you'll be here, and you don't want to [[run out]]

You rip open the pack and heave the cigarettes into your mouth. Wet tobacco sticks to your lips. A stranger stares at you from one of the other tents. You vomit into the [[grass]].

You offer up a cigarette and light it for him. He takes a drag and tells you that he's another member of the expedition. He's the biologist. He asks you if you remember the trip to base camp, or even [[signing up]].

You tell him that if he wanted to smoke he should've brought his own pack. He sighs and sits down across from you. You ask what's going on and he tells you that he's another member of the expedition. He's the biologist. He asks you if you remember the trip to base camp, or even [[signing up]].

The stranger says, "The fuck is up with you?" You think about [[punching him]], but it might be better to [[play it cool]] or maybe just to [[say nothing at all]].

You try to punch the stranger, but your legs are weak and you fall over a few feet in front of [[him]].

You tell him that the tobacco is good for your teeth. He sits down and tells you that he's another member of the expedition. He's the biologist. He asks you if you remember the trip to base camp, or even [[signing up]].

He slowly walks closer and sits down across from you. He tells you that he's another member of the expedition. He's the biologist. He asks you if you remember the trip to base camp, or even [[signing up]].

He picks you up and guides you to the table at the center of the base camp. You think about [[thanking him]], but you also realize that he's finally [[close enough to hit]].

You thank him and he tells you that he's another member of the expedition. He's the biologist. He asks you if you remember the trip to base camp, or even [[signing up]].

You smash his jaw and he turns into [[nothing]].

You look at the object that you've killed and try desperately to [[feel something]].

You don't remember any of it, but you do know that you're here for a reason. You're supposed to be exploring [[this place]].

The biologist offers to wake up the other [[scientist]], but you could do it [[yourself]], or let them [[sleep in]].

Someone sits down next to you. You think about [[looking at him]], but you could also just [[keep reading]].

He opens a canteen and takes a swig. You ask him who he is and he tells you that he's another member of the expedition. He's the biologist. He asks you if you remember the trip to base camp, or even [[signing up]].

"Are you already preparing the way out that will enable you in your next book to spring up somewhere else and declare as you're now doing: no, no, I'm not where you are lying in wait for me, but over here, laughing at [[you]]?"

He coughs into his sleeve. You close your [[book->looking at him]].

Now, you're a monster. You don't know why yet. That's okay. If you knew why, you wouldn't continue. But you don't know, so you do [[continue]].

You feel strange. You don't want to be here anymore. You think about [[destroying base camp]], but it might be better just to [[leave->walk away]].

You feel engendered by the Locale. You turn the base camp into mud and [[walk away]].

You walk... [[North]] [[South]] [[West]] [[East]]

[[You walk North alone]], through the dense foliage of the forest.

You try to walk South but your body drags you [[away->walk away]].

Walking West, you notice the biomes mutating around you. [[Continue->west 1]]

Walking East, you encounter a lone bed hidden under the canopy. [[Continue->p vis]]

It's a portable microscope. There's nothing to look at right now. Regardless, you futz with the dials and the lens. A stranger sits down across from [[you->stranger]].

All of your petri dishes are [[empty]].

You sit down at the aluminum table at the center of base camp and pick at the surface. A stranger watches you from next to one of the tents. You see him and he slowly [[walks over->stranger]].

You open the book and read a [[passage]].

You're not sure what this [[is]]...

You're not sure why they gave you one of [[these]]...

He rubs his eyes and tells you that he's another member of the expedition. He's the linguist. He asks you if you remember the trip to base camp, or even [[signing up->signing up-b]].

You don't remember any of it, but you do know that you're here for a reason. You're supposed to be exploring [[this place->this place-b]].

The linguist offers to wake up the other [[scientist->scientist-b]], but you could do it [[yourself->yourself-b]], or let them [[sleep in->sleep in-b]].

You think about turning into an entirely different [[person->Epistemologist]]. But before the desire can fully materialize, a [[stranger]] sits down next to you.

Small is a synonym of [[meager]], [[puny]], and [[wee]]

Meager is a synonym for [[insufficient]] and [[scant]]

Puny is a synonym for [[feeble]] and [[trivial]]

Wee is a synonym for [[minuscule]] and [[negligible]]

You're not sure if it's a real machine, or just a piece of metal that falsely alludes to some kind of [[meaning]].

1 The world is everything that is the case.∗ 1.1 The world is the totality of facts, not of things. 1.11 The world is determined by the facts, and by these being all the facts. 1.12 For the totality of facts determines both what is the case, and also all that is not the case. 1.13 The facts in logical space are the world. 1.2 The world divides into facts. You could keep [[reading]], or you could [[stop]].

Feeble is a synonym for [[decrepit]] and [[fragile]]

Trivial is a synonym for [[insignificant]] and [[immaterial]]

Decrepit is a synonym for [[weak]] and [[frail]]

Fragile is a synonym for [[frail]] and [[weak]]

Immaterial is a synonym for [[unimportant]] and [[meaningless]]

Insignificant is a synonym for [[minuscule]] and [[negligible]]

Miniscule is a synonym for [[short]] and [[puny]]

Negligible is a synonym for [[unimportant]] and [[trivial]]

Unimportant is a synonym for [[negligible]] and [[insignificant]]

Meaningless is a synoynm for [[negligible]] and [[insignificant]]

Frail is a synonym for [[decrepit]] and [[puny]]

Weak is a synoynm for [[meager]] and [[feeble]]

Insufficient is a synonym for [[inadequate]] and [[faulty]]

Scant is a synonym for [[short]] and [[sparse]]

Inadequate is a synonym for [[weak]] and [[frail]]

Faulty is a synonym for [[inadequate]] and [[erroneous]]

Short is a synonym for [[feeble]] and [[minuscule]]

Scant is a synonym for [[inadequate]] and [[few]]

Erroneous is the circumstances that you've found yourself in because you are [[small->these]] and [[insignificant]].

Few is a synonym for [[weak]] and [[negligible]]

It's looking at [[you->machine]].

You try to [[destroy]] the machine, but it won't stop [[looking]] at you.

The machine is dead and you know now that you need to [[leave->something arriving]]...

You want to [[rip you own eyes out]], but it might be better to just [[leave->something arriving]]...

You walk... [[North->North-l]] [[South->sou]] [[West->West-l]] [[East->East-l]]

Your skull is vacated. You thank the sky. [[Restart->Bodies Like Meat]]

You walk North until you approach a short man in fatigues. He smokes a cigarette and waves for you to come closer. [[You do]] [[You don't]]

Walking West, you come across a lone buck with antlers that branch out like fractals. [[You approach slowly]].

You walk East, paranoid that the Something that probably attacked the base camp will follow you. You could try to [[outrun it]], but you could also try to [[hide]].

1.21 Any one can either be the case or not be the case, and everything else remain the same. 2 What is the case, the fact, is the existence of atomic facts. 2.01 An atomic fact is a combination of objects (entities, things). 2.011 It is essential to a thing that it can be a constituent part of an atomic fact. 2.012 In logic nothing is accidental: if a thing can occur in an atomic fact the possibility of that atomic fact must already be prejudged in the thing. 2.0121 It would, so to speak, appear as an accident, when to a thing that could exist alone on its own account, subsequently a state of affairs could be made to fit. If things can occur in atomic facts, this possibility must already lie in them. Someone interupts [[you->stranger-l]].

There is a [[stranger->stranger-l]] sitting next to you.

He rubs his eyes and tells you that he's another member of the expedition. He's the biologist. He asks you if you remember the trip to base camp, or even [[signing up->signing up-l]].

You don't remember any of it, but you do know that you're here for a reason. You're supposed to be exploring [[this place->this place-l]].

The biologist turns into mush. Something approaches your camp. You have to leave [[now->leave]].

"I can go get him." The biologist walks to the third tent and says, "hello?" No one responds. The biologist unzips the tent and finds that it is [[empty->tent]].

"I can go get him." You walk to the third tent and say, "hello?" No one responds. You think about unzipping the [[tent]], but you could just [[leave them be->sleep in]] for now.

"It's the first day. Let them rest." "What are we supposed to do then?" [["We can go on our own for now."->leave together]]

There is no one there, and you feel like there was never anyone there to begin with. The biologist looks at you. You tell him that it's time to [[leave->leave together]].

You and the biologist walk... [[North->n tog]] [[South->S tog]] [[East->e tog]] [[West->w tog]]

The forest surrounding your base camp is lush and dense. You walk through the foliage and find that each tree is a seemingly distinct species. Next to you, the biologist is [[horrified]]. 100 yards ahead, there is a [[clearing->clearing n tog]].

You walk East until there is nothing left. The biologist doesn't stop you. [[He just talks to you]].

The forest surround your base camp is lush and dense. You walk through the foliage and find that each tree is a seemingly distinct species. Next to you, the biologist is [[horrified->horrified 1]]. [[100 yards ahead]], the forest begins to spread itself out.

"I can go get him." The linguist walks to the third tent and says, "hello?" No one responds. The linguist unzips the tent and finds that it is [[empty->tent-b]].

"I can go get him." You walk to the third tent and say, "hello?" No one responds. You think about unzipping the [[tent->tent-b]], but you could just [[leave them be->sleep in-b]] for now.

"It's the first day. Let them rest." "What are we supposed to do then?" [["We can go on our own for now."->leave together-b]]

The tent is empty. There is no one there. You feel like there was never anyone there. The linguist looks at you. You think that it's time to [[leave->leave together-b]].

You and the linguist walk... [[North->n tog-b]] [[South->s b]] [[East->e tog-b]] [[West->w tog-b]]

Walking North, you notice that the air above your head looks like [[static]]. The forest is (either: "lush and dense", "inverted and humming", "sinking into the ground"). [[Continue->n tog b 1]]

Walking East, the two of you talk about what you can remember. [[Continue->e tog-b 2]]

Walking West, you and the linguist talk about what [[you know]].

"What's wrong?" "Did you notice the trees?" "They're beautiful." "Where are we?" "The Locale." "Where is the Locale?" "What does it mean if the trees are like this?" "I don't really know..." [[return->n tog]]

You approach the clearing. Your intestines curl inside of you like serpents. The biologist collapses on the ground. You do the same. You don't know whether you're going to [[pass out]] or [[keep going]].

You wake up with a [[message->message n tog]] inside of your skull. The biologist has been turned inside out. The clearing is beginning to sprout new trees. You [[approach->approach n tog]].

You crawl into the clearing and it makes your skin feel strange. You feel photosynthetic. Beautiful. Intimate. Arborescent. Trees sprout out from the ground beneath your stomach. The Locale swallows your body and you feel like mud. You feel the desire to be mud and burrow into the ground, letting the tree sprouts pierce through your stomach. [[Restart->Bodies Like Meat]]

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The clearing is filled with newly sprouting trees. Arborescent infants. Seeds line the ground. [[Look Around->n tog clearing inspect]] [[Continue->n tog continue]]

The clearing is filled with newly sprouted trees. Handfuls of [[seeds]] form scattered clumps. The surrounding brush is increasingly thick and [[unnavigable]].

Continuing North, another [[message->message n tog clearing cont]] appears inside of your skull. You crawl through the foliage, looking for something. You don't know what. This place is unfamiliar to you. It seems unproductive to predict what will happen to you. Or to think about what kind of person you might become after all of [[this]].

(either: "Let your eyes break apart like honeycombs.", "No one ever really dies.", "You are not the deceiver", "Rinse yourself with lavender and honey.", "You are compelled to tear off your finger nails.", "Pry open the skull of your child. Take back what has been hidden from you.", "Everyone else is dead.", "Your ribs curl like ribbons.", "I am made from plumes of smoke.", "There is a beam splitting the inside of your head.", "There are codes that permeate throughout hyperspace.", "All bodies are made from substance.", "There are too many teeth in my mouth. I can't shut my jaw.", "There is a difference between objects that are real and objects that are fake.", "Doctors will rip you apart and break you down to your very components.") [[Return->n tog continue]]

An assemblage forms. You're concerned that your existence could shift from [[arborescent]] to [[rhizomatic]]. You don't know what this entails. You don't want to become something that you aren't. The assemblage is not [[you->assemblage]].

The seeds are small and ovular. Brown in color. [[Return->n tog clearing inspect]]

[[A visceral man]] unhinges his jaw and consumes entire trees whole. He ignores you, forming an exit towards the Northern region of the [[Locale->n tog continue]].

The visceral man lacks any physical specificity. His body is human, but it appears blurred or obscured. [[return->unnavigable]]

Your body is made like a tree, with limbs branching from the torso. There are ends to your physicality. You cherish this fact. [[Return->this]]

You do not want your body to become like roots or bulbs. You do not want to be labyrinthine. Like Borges or Deleuze. You contain organs inside of yourself (pink objects). The shift from human to endless horrifies you. [[Return->this]]

The assemblage sheds its organs and crawls towards you. It admires your physique, but appears hesitant to make contact. You could [[touch it]], or you could just [[leave->leave assemblage]].

The assemblage tells you that a body without organs, still has organs. It pulls you into its ribcage and you assume a [[new identity->Linguist]]. The pink objects inside of you disappear.

You step away from the assemblage. You think about [[running]]. But you are tempted to [[speak->speaking]], not knowing what might come out of your mouth if you did.

You leave the assemblage behind. For this duration. For the time being. You continue [[North->n tog post assemblage]], increasingly paranoid of your surroundings.

"I do not want to be annihilated." The assemblage says, "thereisnothingwrongthereisnothingwrongthereisnothingwrongthereisnothingwrongthereisnothingwrongthereisnothingwrongthereisnothingwrongthereisnothingwrongthereisnothingwrongthereisnothingwrongthereisnothingwrongthereisnothingwrongthereisnothingwrongthereisnothingwrongthereisnothingwrongthereisnothingwrongthereisnothingwrongthereisnothingwrongthereisnothingwrongthereisnothingwrongthereisnothingwrongthereisnothingwrongthereisnothingwrongthereisnothingwrongthereisnothingwrongthereisnothingwrongthereisnothingwrongthereisnothingwrongthereisnothingwrongthereisnothingwrongthereisnothingwrongthereisnothingwrongthereisnothingwrongthereisnothingwrongthereisnothingwrongthereisnothingwrongthereisnothingwrongthereisnothingwrongthereisnothingwrongthereisnothingwrongthereisnothingwrongthereisnothingwrongthereisnothingwrongthereisnothingwrongthereisnothingwrongthereisnothingwrong." And you aren't sure if you [[agree]] or [[disagree]].

"Everything will begin to [[coagulate->touch it]]."

"I want to be [[arborescent->touch it]]."

You continue North and the Locale begins to feel like some kind of innerspace. Like dreams and reality have begun to fuse [[together]].

You approach a small ranch style house. It sits in an open clearing. Behind it, a mountain range. You could [[walk into the house]], or you could [[leave->leave house n tog]].

There is only one room. A large living room with beige carpets and a black couch. You could [[sit]] on the couch, or you could [[try to leave]].

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He says, "There is something mystic in the biology of the trees." You say, "I feel like I'm not even awake." He says, "There are a lot of tears in the ozone. The chemicals can seep through. They stain your neurons with alkalines." You say, "I want to leave." He says, [["You're bad at this."]]

[[You are garbage->sit]].

You say, "What was the point of my coming here?" He says, "There might be no one left." He says, "Everything disappears inside duration." He says, "You are pulled outwards from your birth." You say, "None of this is important to me right now." He says, "You shouldn't leave." You say, [["I want to."]]

The man made out of bees severs his own head. His body melts into a swarm of bees and floods the room. You are encased in needles. [[Restart->Bodies Like Meat]]

"Everything in life is kaput," he says. "It feels like I'm not a real person anymore." "Reality is finicky. It can be difficult to hold onto the solid objects around you. It’s hard to tell if they’re solid at all," he says. "Where are we going?" “This place is an oasis of horror in a desert of boredom,” he says. "It feels like I'm crawling through mesh." "Any [[dreams->e tog dream]]? Any [[memories]]?" he says. "No... I don't know what we're supposed to be doing." "We're supposed to find [[something]]," he says.

It feels like your head has been emptied of its contents. [[return->He just talks to you]]

"What though?" "I don't really know," he says. "There's nothing left inside of me." "You look arborescent," he says. "I don't know what you mean." "Have you read [[the Wittgenstein->Linguist]]," he says. "No. I'm an epistemologist." "And you're acting like a child," he says. "Oh fuck [[off]]."

In your dream, there is a woman sitting atop a horse. She opens her coat to reveal a fully-formed anatomy. I can not understand what she has turned into. Her muscles and bones are no longer human. [[return->He just talks to you]]

"I want to disappear he says," he says. The biologist begins to disappear. You can't stop if from happening. You are alone in this void. [[Restart->Bodies Like Meat]]

[[You->garbage you w tog 1]] and the biologist walk between the trees, shimming between trunks until there is enough room to [[walk comfortably]].

The forest feels strangely empty. As if no one has ever lived here. No animals. No people. Trees begin to curve towards the ground. Their branches reach into the ground and the trunks turn laterally. As you and the biologist continue walking West, the trees become inverted. The biologist is [[horrified->horrified again]] again.

"Are you okay?" "I don't know whether to be vast or [[intimate]]."

You're worried that the biologist is starting to lose his mind. You think about [[keeping an eye on him]] or [[confronting him]].

The biologist notices you starring at him. He swings at [[you->fight]].

"Are you okay?" "What causes trees to burrow their heads into the ground?" he says. "There's nothing left to see here." "What?" he says. "We should keep [[going->garbage you-w tog]]." "I want to go back to base camp," he says. "[[No->fatalism]]." "What?" he says. "I want to know [[what's going on]]."

No decision. March forward into your grave. [[return->confronting him]]

The biologist swings at [[you->fight]].

He hits you in the mouth. You aren't sure if you're bleeding. [[You hit him back]] [[You try to calm him down]]

You hit him in the stomach and he winces. The biologist hunches over. [[Wait->fight wait]] [[Hit him again]]

"Woah woah woah." "Fuck you," he says. "Calm down. We can go back. [[We're all fine here]]."

The biologist stands back up and swings again. He hits you in the mouth again. [[Your teeth bend inward]].

You hit the biologist in the stomach again and he falls over on the ground. [[Wait->fight wait]] [[Hit him again->bio death]]

He swings again. [[Attempt to dodge]] [[Hit him back]]

The biologist swings again. He hits you in the mouth again. [[Your teeth bend inward->third punch]].

He punches you in the mouth again and keeps punching you in the mouth until you're completely gone. [[Restart->Bodies Like Meat]]

Before the biologist can hurt you, you desecrate his body. You turn him into [[nothing->apart]].

The biologist tears your body apart. [[Restart->Bodies Like Meat]]

Before the biologist can hit you again, you tear his body [[apart]].

[[You continue West on your own->You continue East on your own]].

You walk until the trees disappear. There are mountains in the distance. Closer to you, there is a house. You could [[walk into the house]], or you could [[leave->leave house n tog]].

[[You are garbage->confronting him]].

[[You are garbage->100 yards ahead]].

The biologist falls to his knees and weeps. [[You ignore him->100 yards ahead]].

You see a clearing. [[Approach->approach n ep]] [[Walk around]]

An assemblage forms. You're concerned that your existence could shift from [[arborescent->arborescent 1]] to [[rhizomatic->rhizomatic 1]]. You don't know what this entails. You don't want to become something that you aren't. The assemblage is not [[you->assemblage 1]]

You [[circumnavigate->circumnavigate 1]] the open grass. A [[message->message n ep 1]] reads across your eye lids.

You see something mechanical lingering in the clearing. [[It does not see you as you pass.]]

Your body is made like a tree, with limbs branching from the torso. There are ends to your physicality. You cherish this fact. [[Return->approach n ep]]

The assemblage sheds its organs and crawls towards you. It admires your physique, but appears hesitant to make contact. You could [[touch it->touch 1]], or you could just [[leave->touch 1]].

Stop trying to make your own choices. The Locale consumes you. You march forward into the mouth of the assemblage and cry with joy, because [[these are not your decisions to make]].

You're stupid for even considering that this might've have been an [[option]].

Through the canopy, you see a mountain range. [[Go to the mountains]] [[Turn around]]

[[You are garbage->insult]].

This is not your (either: "body", "game", "world"). [[return->insult 1]]

[[There is no returning]].

But there is [[redemption->Biologist]].

You walk towards the mountains. [[You see something in your peripherial vision]].

You turn around and see the mountains in front of you through the canopy. [[Go to the mountains]] [[Turn around]]

You see (either: "unidentified objects echoing across the sky", "coagulated amalgamations of vines and bone", "invisible beams of light split by unseen prisms", "the swelling of a thousand ghosts",). [[Continue->ep cont]]

You see (either: "thick yellow air", "grass that crawls like arms rooted into the soil", "a deer with antlers that grow like fractals", "a garden of obelisks and pyramids like in Marienbad", "Organic technology disguised as flora", "Something is missing"). [[Continue->ep cont 2]]

[[You arrive at the mountains]].

A holy aura emanates. Your body clings to the surface. You are compelled to [[climb to the top]], but you [[try to resist]].

You reach the peak of the mountain before you realize you've begun to move. [[Look around->la ep]] [[Enjoy the view]]

The weight of your desire crushes all of your bones against the side of the mountain. You're being is pulled apart by magnets. [[Restart->Bodies Like Meat]]

The mountain is not made of stone. [[You don't recognize this material]]. There is a [[tin drum]] sitting at the edge of the peak. You feel compelled to touch it, but you're not sure that you should. An [[echoey whisper]] lingers in the air.

The forest, which was previously lush and dense, is now empty. A desert crawls towards the base of the mountains. You weep. [[Restart->Bodies Like Meat]]

It feels //too smooth//. You press your hand against the mountain and it destroys you. [[Restart->Bodies Like Meat]]

You sit on the ground, wrapping your legs around the tin drum. [[You slap your hand against the top of the drum and an image flashes in your mind]].

The whisper invades your ear. It says, "(either: "Let your eyes break apart like honeycombs.", "No one ever really dies.", "You are not the deceiver", "Rinse yourself with lavender and honey.", "You are compelled to tear off your finger nails.", "Pry open the skull of your child. Take back what has been hidden from you.", "Everyone else is dead.", "Your ribs curl like ribbons.", "I am made from plumes of smoke.", "There is a beam splitting the inside of your head.", "There are codes that permeate throughout hyperspace.", "All bodies are made from substance.", "There are too many teeth in my mouth. I can't shut my jaw.", "There is a difference between objects that are real and objects that are fake.", "Doctors will rip you apart and break you down to your very components.")" [[return->la ep]]

[[You hit the drum again and trees begin topple over]].

[[Again and reality begins to shift]].

[[You kill the Locale]].

[[You kill what you love]].

You turn into dust. [[Restart->Bodies Like Meat]]

You witness a series of [[prophetic visions]].

You see (either: "a small gift, given to you by a man made out of bees", "Golden Chords", "your body pressed against the ground as the earth moans", "yourself bathing in a pool of cream", "an invisible hidden beneath the canopies", "your blood turn into rose blossoms", "worms penetrating the flesh of your arms and feeding on your nutrients", "an unfathomable someone sleeping in the woods somewhere", "the godhead", "an infinite number of limbs sprouting out of your torso"). [[Continue->prophetic visions 2]]

You feel the onset of hysteria. You aren't confident in your mental state. [[Continue->west 3]]

[[Your body drags you North]].

[[You pass out as your muscles carry you away]].

You wake up in front of a small ranch style home. You could [[walk into the house]], or you could [[try to leave->leave house n tog]].

You see (either: "that there is no one left", "the innerspace", "Ballardian crash sequences", "high schoolers killed at their campsites", "the growing mass", "an oasis of horror in a desert of boredom", "the corpse of a visceral man"). [[Continue->prophetic visions 3]]

You see (either: "the erotics of an abstract machine", "the assemblage", "invisible beams of light", "lightning that frozen in stasis", "vomit falling into the ocean", "newly constructed bodies", "jaw gems", "newly constructed artifacts", "the man made out of bees", "that fucking house", "a tin drum"). [[Continue->west 2]]

[[KhhKhhhKhhhhhhhhBzzzzBzzBzzzZbZbbbbZZbBZzzzzz BzKhhhhKhhhkHhHHHkKhhhkBzzzBZBbzzzzzBzzzBZZbZzzz bzzzBzKhhBzzzKhhhhhBzzzzBzZBZbbbZZzzzZZZZZZzbbbZ bZbBZzzzzKhhkKhhhKHhBzzKhhKHHkHHHkhhKhhhhKHhkhhh BzzzBZbzzzzzbzzzbzbbzzzzbzzzzbzzzbzzzKhkKHkhKhKH HKhKkhHhKkhhhhKHhhhkHhhKKKKhhhhhkhhhkhhhhkhhhkhh hBbzzbZbZBbZzKkhhkhkhkhKhKHHHkkhkBBZbBBBzzZbzbzB ZbbhhhBzzzzBzZBZbbbZZzzzZZZZZzbbbZbZbBZzzzzKhhkK hhhKHhBzzKhhKHHkHHHkhhKhhhhKHhhkhhhBzzzBZbzzzzzb->n tog-b]]

You pass through (either: "the empty air", "talls trees", "nothingness", "a elongated void"). You realize that the linguist has disappeared. A clearing materializes just West of you. You aren't sure if you want to [[investigate]], or [[walk around it]].

In the clearing you see [[grass shaped like shattered glass]], [[a ring of tall branchless trees]], and a [[small purple object]]. [[return->n tog b 1]]

Your body begs you to enter the clearing, and as it does you notice a [[stranger figure lingering]].

The figure has a humanoid frame, covered in black feathers. You notice a sharp beak protruding from its face, and something small in its hand. [[Your body begs you to enter]], but you can [[resist]].

[[You enter the clearing]].

You drag yourself around the edges of the clearing. The figure toys with a small object in its hands. [[Continue->n tog resist 2]]

The figure telepathically asks you to refer to her as a crow. She hands you a small item which she refers to as a [[lavender chunk]].

The figure activates the object in their hands and it begins to emit a lavender-tinted plume of light. [[You drag yourself away]] before you can see what's really happening.

Your body gives itself up to you. [[You walk North]].

As you walk North, you notice (either: "animals running like human children", "hands reaching out of the ground and climbing along the trunks of trees", "a tin drum ringing across the sky", "thick layers of dust and mold"). [[Continue->continue n tog b]]

The lavender chunk activates once it touches your hands. It begins to emit a plume of light which surrounds your being. You ask her what will happen, but [[she doesn't respond]].

She says that she's worried that you might have woken someone up. [["Who?"]] [["What do you mean?"]]

Telepathically she says, "(either: "I don't know", "someone who was sleeping", "the Someone", "stop talking to me with your mouth")." [[You->garbage you n tog b]] look down at the object in [[your hands]].

She looks at you and telepathically says, "(either: "this is a lavender chunk", "I don't know what you want from me", "you should not have left", "I want you to go home")." [[Ask her if you can keep the lavender chunk->your hands]]. [[Give the lavender chunk back to her]].

[[You are garbage->"Who?"]].

It cries and you beg it to stop, but it won't. The crow woman takes the lavender chunk away from you and walks off into the woods. [[You are alone]].

You decide that it might be smart to just forget what happened here and [[continue North->You walk North]].

She smiles briefly and then walk out into the dense brush. [[You walk North]] alone.

You're worried that stepping in the grass will cut your feet, but upon further reflection, you realize that these shards are soft and flexible. [[Continue->n tog b inspect]]

The trees are tall and without branches. They resemble telephone poles. [[Continue->n tog b inspect]]

It looks like a thick cube of lavender. You aren't sure who made it, or what you're supposed to do with it. [[Touch]] [[Leave it alone]]

The linguist returns, newly born by the universe. He tells you that he wants to leave. You say that the two of you should head North. [[He agrees]].

You take a step back from the lavender chunk and [[look around->investigate]].

You aren't sure if there's anything here. You could [[look around more->investigate]]. Or you could just [[leave->You walk North]].

You begin walking North but you slowly drift [[East->"People have been witnessing anomalies."]].

You see (either: "insects evaporating into the atmosphere", "trees coated in chitin", "stray dogs lingering over warm patches of soil", "visions of the base camp being destoryed", "living creatures made from papier-mache"). [[Continue->continue n tog b 2]]

You walk until the trees disappear. There are mountains in the distance. Closer to you, there is a house. You could [[walk into the house->house b tog]], or you could [[leave->leave house n tog b]].

There is only one room. A large living room with beige carpets and a black couch. You could [[sit->sit b]] on the couch, or you could [[try to leave->nah]].

[[Don't you dare try->continue n tog b 2]].

There is a [[man made out of bees->bees b]] looking at [[you->garbage you b sit]].

He says, "you're not a real person anymore." You say, "my blood feels so viscous." He says, "you should check what's in the back of your mouth." You say, [["what?"]]

[[You are garbage->sit b]].

You reach into the back of your mouth and feel something jagged and smooth. [[You rip it out from your gums]].

[[It's a gem]].

He says, "jaw gems mean you've been here for too long?" You say, "what does that mean?" He says, "jaw gems are valuable." You say, "am I dying?" He says, "no. You just seem lost." You say, [["why can't I remember arriving?"]]

He says, "I don't know." You say, "what the fuck is a jaw gem." He says, "aren't you a scientist?" You say, "yes." He says, "what does it mean when an animal has a mouth full of rocks?" You say, [["I don't know."]]

The man made out of bees does something that looks like smiling. He takes the jaw gem out of your hand and stands up from the couch. [[You watch him do it]].

You ask when you can leave, and the man made out of bees smiles again. He wraps his hands around your mouth and pulls your jaw open. He splits your body in half. [[You enjoy the intensity of the sensation]].

[[You wake up at base camp->Biologist]].

"We woke up in the Locale." "There were three of us." "This is supposed to be a forrested biome." "It's uninhabited." [["People have been witnessing anomalies."]]

You and the linguist fall through the ground into an orange plastic corridor. The ceiling closes above you. [[You look around]]

There is a path going [[left]] and a path going [[right]], but you could also just [[wait->wait b tog e]].

You walk left until you find another fork in the road. You could go [[right->right 2]] or [[left->left 2]].

You walk right until you find another fork in the road. You could go [[right->right 1]] or [[left->left 1]].

You wait. The linguist looks anxious, but you insist that the two of you stay put for a moment and take in the new perimeters of your existence. [[Continue to wait]] [[Begin to move->You look around]]

You continue to wait and the linguist continues to feel anxious. [[Why are you making him wait around like this?]]

[[Stop it->it]]. He doesn't want to [[wait->wait b tog e]] anymore.

[[You decide to start moving again->You look around]].

You walk right until you find another fork in the road. You could go [[right->right 5]] or [[left->left 5]].

You walk left until you find another fork in the road. You could go [[right->right 3]] or [[left->left 3]].

You walk right until you find another fork in the road. You could go [[right->right 3]] or [[left->left 4]].

You walk left until you find another fork in the road. You could go [[right->right 4]] or [[left->left 4]].

You walk right until you find another fork in the road. You could go [[right->right 7]] or [[left->left 6]].

You walk left until you find another fork in the road. You could go [[right->right 4]] or [[left->left 8]].

You walk right until you find another fork in the road. You could go [[right->right 1]] or [[left->left 1]]. The linguist questions your navigation.

You walk left until you find another fork in the road. You could go [[right->right 7]] or [[left->left 8]].

You walk right until you find another fork in the road. You could go [[right->right 6]] or [[left->left 10]].

You walk left until you find another fork in the road. You could go [[right->right 9]] or [[left->left 2]].

You walk right until you find another fork in the road. You could go [[right->right 9]] or [[left->left 5]].

You walk left until you approach a small ovular room. [[Enter->exit maze]]

You walk right until you find another fork in the road. You could go [[right->right 7]] or [[left->left 9]]. [[Are you lost yet?]]

You walk left until you find another fork in the road. You could go [[right->right 8]] or [[left->left 7]].

You walk left until you find another fork in the road. You could go [[right->right 8]] or [[left->left 9]]. The linguist quesitons your leadership.

You walk right until you find another fork in the road. You could go [[right->right 4]] or [[left->left 9]]. You feel like you're close to the end, but you might also be [[lost->Are you lost yet?]].

You walk right until you find another fork in the road. You could go [[right->right 1]] or [[left->left]].

You walk left until you find another fork in the road. You could go [[right->right 2]] or [[left->left 8]].

You walk left until you find another fork in the road. You could go [[right->right 2]] or [[left->left 6]].

[[Yes->right 7]].

The room is empty except for a [[stone statue]] in the center and a [[staircase]] against the back wall.

You walk up to the statue and the linguist tells you that it's the ancient Greek hero, [[Bellerophon]].

The staircase leads you to an altar where the linguist drops to his knees and begins to pray. He crawls close to the altar and [[whispers to it]].

[[Slayer of the Chimera]], [[Tamer of Pegasus]].

"Bellerophon murdered animals," says the linguist. [[return->exit maze]]

"Bellerophon did weird things to animals," says the linguist. [[return->exit maze]]

[[You cannot hear what he's saying]].

The altar glows. It transforms the linguist into something large and undefinable. You ask him what has happened to him, and he telepathically says that he didn't ask to be turned into this abomination. [[You ask him what he was saying to the altar]].

He says he doesn't remember. He didn't say anything. Those were the voices of strangers, all of them crawling out of his mouth. He tells you that this is not his body anymore. His thoughts remain his own, but [[this container has been taken]].

The container takes you in one of its hands and crushes every part of your being. You are broken apart like a dead deer. [[Your entrails are obscured and curled into a new container]].

You feel like you are [[Bellerophon->bel alt]].

[[Slayer of the Chimera->slay 1]], [[Tamer of Pegasus->tame 1]].

You remember tearing animals apart until they were unrecognizable. You wonder why there are no gods venerated for how they tear animals apart. [[You desire to be this kind of god]].

You tame a horse and teach it how to fly. It flies you into the sun and you become dust, mingling with particles in space.

[[You murder every other god and build a forest around their corpses]].

The forest is fertilized with their decaying bodies. Their being soaks into the flora and fauna. You become paranoid that they might have been reborn in this new world [[you've created]].

You build a labyrinth beneath the forest and live their until [[your body begs you for sunlight]].

You tell your body that there is no satisfaction in living alone, no satisfaction in [[breaking apart foreign bodies]].

[[You break apart your own body]] and let your essence soak into the ground like brine through a membrane.

Dying does not satisfy you, but you are dead nonetheless. [[Restart->Bodies Like Meat]]

"We woke up in the Locale." "There were three of us." "This is supposed to be a forrested biome." "It's uninhabited." [["People have been witnessing anomalies."->w tog b."]]

The linguist says something about the dreams he's been having. You see a message carved into his arm. [["remember reality's recognizable limbs."->rrrl"]].

He hides the message and tells you that the two of you better [[keep moving->"People have been witnessing anomalies."]].

You try to walk South but your body drags you [[away->leave]].

You try to walk South but your body drags you [[away->leave together]].

You try to walk South but your body drags you [[away->leave together-b]].

A game made by Mike Corrao. [[return->Bodies Like Meat]]

Double-click this passage to edit it.

You run through the (either: "dense brush", "lush foliage") until you reach the outskirts of a small village. [[Enter]]

You climb into the canopy of the nearest tree and hide your body along one of its branches. Looking down, you see [[something->hide 2]].

The village appears to have been long abandoned, likely losing its inhabitants during whatever cataclysm formed the Locale. The architecture appears eclectic. Some buildings look like stone huts, others like wooden shacks and colonial homes. Together, these structures form a dilapidated arrangement, overgrown with the local flora. [[Walk around->walk village]]

The Something resembles a collection of pink objects. It is made of raw language (reine sprache). Something primeval. [[You watch]] as it crawls along the forest floor.

The Something crawls with its spine curled and chest dragging. [[You try your best to remain unnoticed]].

And you do. The Something slouches South towards an invisible wall, which it clings onto with newly-formed tendrils, climbing along the air. You watch it until long after it disappears. [[Climb down]]

[[You continue walking East]].

You walk through the (either: "dense brush", "lush foliage") until you reach the outskirts of a small village. [[Enter]]

Some of the houses appear to be suspiciously modern in design, and most of them have been locked with strong and unfamiliar mechanisms. In the center of the village there is a large ornate fountain filled with blooms of algae. The ornamentation resembles the belvedere torso, that classical kind of anatomical fascination. [[Walk around->village further]] [[Enter unlocked house]]

Further into the village you notice a stone altar surrounded by unfamiliar flowers, all blooming and vibrant. [[You approach the altar]].

You enter the first unlocked house you can find and immediately recognize how bizarrely this house has been organized. The furniture is fused to the walls, the rooms are hexagonal and pentagonal, the ceilings are shaped like falling raindrops. The architecture might appear grotesque and amorphous. [[Leave->walk village]] [[Explore further]]

The upstairs of the house is empty. There is a single room that occupies the entire level. The floors are uneven and unreliable. You feel overwhelmed by this kind of emptiness. [[Leave->walk village]] [[Explore lower level]]

You open a door that looks like it might lead to a basement. On the other side you find incredibly steep steps, leading down into a well-lit circular room. Vines crawl along the staircase. [[Enter basement]] [[Leave->walk village]]

You walk around the edges of the round walls until you reach the back side of the staircase. There you find an amalgamation of flesh. It is not a corpse. It does not resemble anything humanoid. Like the Something that destroyed base camp, you can only describe this scene as a collection of pink objects. [[You crouch down and look closer]].

The pink objects emanate an erotic energy. You want to [[drag your tongue->drag tongue]] along the decaying surface of the amalgamation, but you [[stop yourself->stop self]].

You stop yourself just in time to see something burrowed into the center of the amalgamation. It's a [[golden calf]].

You play out the Ballardian crash sequence that you clearly desire. You play out this erotic scene, letting the body of this foreign entity inhabit you. Your bodies cling together. The decomposition lingers inside of your mouth as you run your teeth along the amalgamation. You feel incomplete. You feel different. [[Continue->erotic amalg]]

You aren't sure what this small idol is doing here, but you take it and place it in your backpack before [[leaving the house]].

Further into the village you notice a stone altar surrounded by unfamiliar flowers, all blooming and vibrant. [[You approach the altar->altar calf]].

You fuck the amalgamation and afterwards feel the desire to fuck more amalgamations but you aren't sure where to find them. The Something that destroyed base camp becomes increasingly desirable. [[You leave the house to find it]].

But before you can begin looking, the Something finds you. It curls its body around the ornate fountain. You take this pose as an erotic symbol and [[approach confidently]].

[[You attempt to fuck the amalgamation]].

It renders your body into substance. You feel as if you are a collection of pink objects. [[You orgasm]] in the midst of this sensation.

The orgasm destroys you. [[Restart->Bodies Like Meat]]

You don't know what you're supposed to place on this altar. [[You lay your head down across the surface.]]

You look at the smooth open surface of the altar. [[Place golden calf]] [[Lay your face down->You lay your head down across the surface.]]

[[A message reads across the inside of your skull]].

It says, "(either: "I am god and god is not. My body is made out of wormwood. I want to devour myself but I cannot", "This is a place of nothingness. I do not know if it has any purpose. Yet it is divine", "There is no god, only viscera", "Turn your brain matter into liquid", "You're going to evaporate", "Milk the calf and bathe in the cream")." [[Continue->altar shit]]

You are pulled out of your body. Someone wraps their hand around the back of your head and grinds your face into the marble surface of the altar. [[Restart->Bodies Like Meat]]

[[The golden calf begins to hum]].

The ground looks like meat and the golden calf looms over the matter in your brain. [[You pull yourself away from it]].

The calf grows into a column and you feel the urge to [[climb it]], but you also feel the urge to [[cut it down]].

The materials feel synthetic and coarse. They latch onto your hands like velcro as [[you climb into the sky]].

You tear the column down and are crushed under its weight. [[Restart->Bodies Like Meat]]

You climb for decades until you reach the cap of the atmosphere and suffocate in the vacuum of space. [[Restart->Bodies Like Meat]]

...[[because you feel as if something is about to arrive and destroy base camp->leave]].

The antlers grow in every direction, piercing the nearby tree trunks. The buck becomes immobile. [[It stares at you]].

You feel the need to help the buck in some way but you aren't sure how. You don't have anything sharp in your backpack, and you aren't strong enough break these antlers with your hands. All you can really do is [[watch]] or [[leave->leave buck]].

You watch as the antlers (either: "split the trunks of trees", "dig into the ground", "sever branches", "invade every facet of the forest"). You feel the desire to approach the buck, to try and comfort it, but you're not sure how much good that would do. [[The buck watches you]].

You continue East. Behind you, you can hear the antlers (either: "splitting the trunks of trees", "digging into the ground", "severing branches", "invading every facet of the forest"). [[Continue->post buck]]

[[Ahead, you see the edge of the forest]].

The ground below its toes turns into soft and unstable, hoed by the tips of the growing antlers. The buck struggles to remain grounded. You feel [[(either: "sympathetic", "empathetic")]](if: $either is "empathetic")[[[empathetic]]](if: $either is "sympathetic")[[[sympathetic]]]

[[The forest opens to reveal a long and sandy beach]].

You cannot relate to the buck you feel sorry for it. You wish you could help, but you can't. [[You are powerless]] in the face of the Locale. This world is too unfamiliar. [[You continue East->post buck]].

When you see how little this animal thinks of you, how powerless you are to help it, you begin to feel like [[you are the buck]]. You feel trapped. You feel like [[you cannot move]].

[[You are garbage->sympathetic]]. [[You are weak->sympathetic]]. This buck watches you and you see how little it thinks of you.

You are a weak and powerless animal. In this moment, you become the buck. You watch the ugly, aging human in front of you and feel disgust. [[You watch them leave]].

You die in stasis. [[Restart->Bodies Like Meat]]

And after they leave, you remain here. You watch your antlers grow into roots. [[You're existence becomes rhizomatic]].

[[Endless and labyrinthine]].

You no longer recognize which parts of yourself are real and which parts are not. You become a collection of real and fake objects. [[Impermanent, yet eternal]].

You are alone. [[Restart->Bodies Like Meat]]

The beach does not so much feel like the edge of an ocean, but rather a flooded desert. [[You explore]].

The beach is almost completely empty, except for [[scattered clusters of seashells]] and a strange [[arrangement of tortoise shells]].

You notice that most of these shells are made in the shape of complex geometric patterns. Their shapes appear synthetic, but the materials they are made from appear to be natural. [[Continue->shell 2]]

The tortoise shells have been arranged in a rectangular pattern, which resembles a door. You think about trying to [[open them]], but you might just go and [[look at the shells instead->scattered clusters of seashells]].

Each time the tide comes in, [[you notice the shells growing larger]]. Their porous exteriors absorb and trap the water.

You lift the shells and find that they have all been firmly connected to one another. They open along the left side, [[like a door moving swinging along its hinge]].

Inside you cannot see much. You think about [[stepping inside]], but you might just [[look at the shells instead->scattered clusters of seashells]].

(css: "font-size: 400%")+(font: "arial")[[[You step inside]].]

[[You enter the void]].

Initially you think you are alone, but then you realize that there is a figure sitting in front of you. [[You look at them]].

The figure is naked and illuminated. [[They look through you]].

"Why are you here?" they say. "I'm part of an expedition to explore this place." "What language is this?" they say. "English." "It's disgusting," they say. [["Where are we?"]]

"I don't know," they say, [["somewhere."]] "Who are you?" "I don't know that either," they say. "I can't see you." "That's okay. You don't need to see me," they say. "Why is all of this happening?" [["Why did you walk in here?"]] they say. "I'm not sure..." [["I have a dream embedded in my memory,"]] they say.

[[Lies->"Where are we?"]].

[[You couldn't fucking help yourself->"Where are we?"]].

"In the dream, the hundred headless woman performs a seance and gives birth to me. Not from her own womb. I materialize in space. She brings me to life and then demands that I tell her why I've forced her into these circumstances. I tell her that I didn't, and she tells me that I did. I begged to exist without recognizing what that really entailed. And now she's forced to raise me into a fully-formed being. The dream feels so real, in the same way that memories do. Distant, yet tactile. I can remember the weather and the disgusting smell of her breathe," they say, "it makes me feel incomplete and artificial. Not real. And I haven't been able to pull myself fully into the world because of it." [[Continue->figure speaks]]

[[You aren't sure what to say]].

You feel the figure waiting for you to say something, but the weight of responding freezes you in place. [[You cannot speak]].

[[You hear the figure quietly crying]].

You want to leave but you can't. The figure asks you for your physicality. [[You sacrifice your body to them]], but you [[don't really want to]].

The figure takes your body with pleasure and replaces your insides with its own. [[Restart->Bodies Like Meat]]

[[You try to leave]].

The figure tears open the void and [[lets you out]]. You apologize and they do not respond.

[[You return to the beach]].

The beach is almost completely empty, except for [[scattered clusters of seashells]]. The arrangement of tortoise shells has disappeared.

They grow until they are large enough for you to [[step inside->int. shell]].

[[You enter the cavernous interior of the one of the seashells]].

A column of flesh reveals itself. Another organism inhabits this spaces. It interprets your presence as a [[threat]].

It lifts itself into the air and then throws its weight into you, crushing you against the chitin floor of the seashell. [[Restart->Bodies Like Meat]]

"Hey, what's up," he says. "Who are you?" "I'm the epistemologist," he says. "Right, well. What are you doing out here?" [["Smoking,"]] he says. "What's going on?" [["I don't know where I should start,"]] he says.

You creep around the stranger and walk to the [[West->West-l]].

The smoke envelops everything around the two of you. [[return->You do]]

"I don't know either... I feel like I'm missing something." "You are," he says. "What?" "This place is a bit fucked. It knows a lot more than you do," he says. "..." "Do you remember how you got here?" he says. "No." "Neither do I," he says. "..." "[[No one does their fucking job->"Neither do I,"]]," he says.

[[He discards his cigarette and steps closer]].

[["How many times do you think you've died?"]]

[["How many people do you think you've inhabited?"]]

He sighs, "you don't get it yet. That's okay. If you knew what kind of monster you were, you wouldn't continue. But you don't know. And so you will [[continue->l convo ep]].

"You've died a lot," he says. "..." "That kind of thing can tear the brain apart," he says. "..." "You look like mush on the inside," he says. "..." "You lack organs. And that can be okay, but in this case it's a [[bad thing->huh]]," he says.

(if: $either is "You cannot continue")[[[You cannot continue]]](if: $either is "We're done here")[[[We're done here]]]"[[(either: "You cannot continue", "We're done here")]]."

The Epistemologist leaves. [[You continue North->north post convo]].

The Epistemologist reveals your innards to you. He turns you into mush. [[Restart->Bodies Like Meat]]

You see, (either: "inspects evaporating into the atmosphere", "trees coated in chitin", "stray dogs lingering over warm patches of soil", "visions of the base camp being destoryed", "living creatures made from papier-mache") as you [[continue North->see 2]].

You cock your head, "[[What?->bad thing]]"

[[You walk until you reach a small ranch style house]].

The house looks as if it has been recently destoryed. There is a [[mass of dead honeybees]] scattered around the yard. [[You approach->house ling]]

Seeing the dead honeybees fills you with an immense grief. You are looking at a mass grave. The sight leaves you [[distraught]].

You walk through the front door and find that the interior house is completely barren. There is no furniture, and the only remaining walls are structural. [[Continue->visceral]]

You see someone hunched over a pile of rubble in the back corner. They stand up, and [[look at you->vis 1]].

[[Someone approaches from your peripheral vision]].

You can't see them, but you can hear them inside of your [[head]].

The man in front of you is [[cosmic]] and [[visceral->vis 3]].

[[He comes from a different universe]]. A transient figure. Temporarily stable in time and space.

He smells like dead bodies, like rats with their ribcages unsewn. You cannot stomach the smell. [[You heave onto your knees and gag]].

He grabs the back of your skull and crushes it in his hands. [[Restart->Bodies Like Meat]]

[[You feel an immense weight climbing up your chest]].

Your ribcage is crushed by something you cannot see. [[Restart->Bodies Like Meat]]

[[The figure tells you not to mourn]].

You feel your body disintegrate and become part of the atmosphere. [[Restart->Bodies Like Meat]]

[[But there is nothing here]].

You enter the body of the text. [[Restart->Bodies Like Meat]]

Do not try to escape. [[March forward->house b tog]].

Double-click this passage to edit it.

You approach the bed, but before you can take a closer look, [[you collapse onto the ground]].

Your mind is assaulted by foreign [[images]].

You see (either: "a pantheon of fertility gods", "the hundred headless woman", "meat", "severed tongues", "the split forehead of the visceral man", "a bed of sleeping gods", "the severed heads of ancient statues", "tectonic plates drifting into space", "pools of cream"). [[Continue->p vis 2]]

You see (either: "plumes of lavender light", "one hundred unrelated murders", "estranged families in Antwerp", "occult ceremonies", "temples sewn into the ground with carbon fibres", "glowing bodies", "your own birth", "sentient silhouettes", "gems hidden inside of your mouth"). [[Continue->p vis cont]]

You see (either: "bodies disguised as people", "distant figures floating through space", "the inside of your own skull", "broken segments of this reality", "the mansion in Marienbad", "the hundred headless woman", "Bellerophon flying into the sun", "yourself everywhere", "your ribs curling like ribbons", "an exquisite corpse", "the end of the sublime", "the flesh of the fruit"). [[Continue->post vis]]

[[You open your eyes]].

You realize that you are in the bed, and that a cosmic and visceral man is standing over you, [[quietly watching]].

He unhinges his jaw and [[consumes your entirety]].

[[But you don't feel dead]].

[[You feel new]].

Floating in some kind of embryonic fluid. Absorbing the nutrients of your environment. [[You open your eyes->eyes]].

And see the bright lights of a distant chasm. [[You swim towards it]].

The light blinds you, but [[you cannot convince yourself to stop swimming]].

[[You emerge]] from the chasm, and arrive reborn into the locale.

Underneath you, the viceral man lies dead, his forehead split in half, dripping clear fluid. [[You feel responsible]].

You assume his role and become part of the Locale. [[Restart->Bodies Like Meat]]