Silicosis

Welcome. You are Harvey Denim. You are a technician. Specifically, a technician for the circuitry on a Mars Base. Your work keeps oxygen and electricity working in the base, giving the red dust mining guild members the survival technology they need. You can access all levels of the facility with your (text-colour:orange)+(bg:black)[Technician Clearance Card]. Do not lose it. (link:"NEXT")[You are currently in front of an entrance to a crawlspace, in which there are wires that require repair. You are debating with yourself if you should go in the space or not. You suffer from mild claustrophobia. (link:"Enter Crawlspace")[You shake your head, and put your fears behind you. You get on your knees and enter the crawlspace. [[NEXT->Crawlspace]]]]

As you are moving through the crawlspace, your thoughts drift to how large the Red Dust Mining Facility is. The entire complex that you work in spans around 120 square miles. You are currently in the highest security building, the EXC (Experimental Complex), where all the biological experiments happen. (link:"NEXT")[Anyway, after crawling for a while, you find the broken cables you are here to fix. They are drooping from the ceiling of the crawlspace, trailing sparks onto the ground. The [[broken wires->broken wires]] are colored green, whereas the intact wires around them are colored red and blue. A [[breaker box->Breaker Box]] is nearby.]

Open the breaker box reveals some switches. In the section labeled WIRES, you see three switches: [[green->green switch]], [[blue->blue switch]], and [[red->red switch]].

(if:$greenswitch is 1)[You strip the ends of the wires so that there is no green rubber coating on them. You then twist the wires together, and put a plastic casing on them to keep them attached to each other. You then go back to the breaker box, and flip the switch back to ON. A job well done. [[NEXT->Back through the Crawlspace]]] (if:$greenswitch is not 1)[POP! You feel a jolt of electricity enter your body and zap you to your core. Continuing to work on these wires while current is running through them is very dangerous. There must be a way to turn off the electric current...]

You flip the green switch. The broken wires stop sparking, all current through them stopped. It is now much safer to work on them. (set: $greenswitch to 1) After this essential preparation, you decide to [[work on the wires->broken wires]]

You flip the blue switch. You hear a grinding sound in the distance. You decide that can't be a good sound and flip the switch back. The grinding stops. This was the wrong switch! What kind of technician are you?

You flip the red switch. All the lights in the crawlspace around you are turned off. This is the wrong switch! What kind of technician are you?

You turn around and start crawling back through the crawlspace. Just as your entrance to the crawlspace provoked thoughts of the buildings you repair, the exit does the same. This is your first time fixing the electrical systems of the EXC. This complex building is so top secret that you don't even know what the wires you fixed were for.(link:"NEXT")[Your friends in the facility often tell spooky stories about biological experiments escaping, and running rampant around the facility, but you know that the security on the facility is too well armed for that to ever realistically happen...right?...[[FINISH CHAPTER->Chapter End]]]

Congratulations on finishing the first chapter of Silicosis. The game only gets better from here. Have fun, and make good choices. Harvey's life may depend on it. [[Next Chapter->Chapter 2 Start]]

You finally reach the end of the crawlspace. You climb out, and stand up. You barely have time to dust yourself off before the lights in the room turn red. WOOOOOOOOOoooooOOOOOOoooo..... You hear the alarm siren blaring. The alarm goes silent and a voice blares out over the intercom system.(link:"NEXT")["Attention all Red Dust Mining Facility personnel. We have had a disastrous breach in the EXC facility. You have to get to the escape pods! I repeat! Get-" The rest of the message is cut off. You have to move, get away from the lower levels. There are [[stairs->stairs]] going up.]

You run up the stairs. You need to reach higher ground, away from the biological labs below. You reach a landing on the stairs, where a security guard is also running up the stairs. (link:"NEXT")["Do you know what the hell's going on?" asks the security guard. [["No, I just got back from fixing some wires."->Reply 1]] [["I know that it's dangerous, so we should stick together."->Reply 2]]]

You reply "No, I just got back from fixing some wires." The guard says "Well then, I can tell you some stuff. The mining crew found something alive, and that something has escaped. That's all I know. We're all in this together now. Take this, it should keep you safe." He hands you a pistol, and some ammo. All personnel are trained in basic firearm use in the event of an emergency, so you know how to use it. (set: $have_pistol to 1) (set: $pistol_ammo to 30) You thank the guard, and proceed up the stairs. [[NEXT->Top of the Stairs]]

You reply "I know that it's dangerous, so we should stick together." The guard says "Good thinking, but I have my orders. I gotta make sure that whatever has escaped doesn't get through those blast doors. I admire your thinking, getting to higher ground away from the bio-labs. You just might make it out of here." He hands you a pistol, and some ammo. All personnel are trained in basic firearm use in the event of an emergency, so you know how to use it. (set: $have_pistol to 1) (set: $pistol_ammo to 30) You thank the guard, and proceed up the stairs. [[NEXT->Top of the Stairs]]

At the top of the stairs, you take a rest and lean against the wall for a minute. You aren't used to all this running. You are jolted out of your rest by an inhuman grunt. You pull out your firearm, and look around in a panic. Then you see it. (link:"NEXT")[An inhuman...thing is crawling it's way out of a technicians crawlspace in a nearby wall. [[Shoot it->Shoot it]] [[Wait until you can see it better.->Wait]]]

You aim carefully at the inhuman, take a deep breath, and then squeeze the trigger. ''BLAM'' The shot hits the inhuman in the head, and it's body thumps to the ground, lifeless. (link:"NEXT")[Looking closer at the creature, you can see that it is like a hood, pulled over the face and head of one of your coworkers, who was holding a knife. The damn thing is parasitic. Good thing you shot it in the head, piercing the hood-thing. [[Exit the stairway->Barracks massacre]]]

You wait for the inhuman to pull itself out into the open, so that you can aim your shots better. However, the knife in the thing's hand cuts a bunch of wires as it climbs out of the crawlspace. The lights go out. [[Shoot wildly->Shoot wildly]] [[Run->Run]]

You shoot wildly into the room, hoping to hit the inhuman thing despite the darkness. You hear a grunt of pain. Maybe you hit the thing? Your shots hit the nearby door, which sheds beams of light from the bullet holes. It seems that you did, in fact, kill the monster. It's too dark to make out the details of the inhumans anatomy. [[Exit the stairway->Barracks massacre]]

You run towards the nearby door, and quickly swipe your card onto the scanner. The door opens, and you run through! You quickly force the mechanical door closed. [[NEXT->Barracks massacre]]

What is in the next room surprises you. It's a gruesome sight. 3 security guards are on the ground, dead. Your gaze continues to fall around the rest of the room, and you see a person who is still alive. He is frantically kicking away one of the hood-things, who is lunging at him, trying to climb onto his face. [[Shoot the hood thing->Shoot the hood thing]] [[Wait->Wait2]]

You aim at the hood thing, and squeeze the trigger. ''BLAM'' The hood-thing falls to the ground with a thump. However, your shot went right through the hood-thing and into the person behind it. The bullet hits them in the head, killing them instantly. (link:"NEXT")[You want to say something, pay your respects to the fallen, anything, but you know that you need to keep moving. These parasitic inhuman monsters are everywhere. [[Continue->Hallway]]]

You know that you should shoot, but the sight of one of those monsters has you frozen in fear. The hood-thing jumps onto the man's head, and he transforms into one of the hood-zombies. You pull yourself together, and shoot the zombie. ''BLAM'' The hood-zombie falls to the ground, dead. You know you have to move, or the creatures will find you. [[NEXT->Hallway]]

This is the end of the Demo. Are you satisfied with your choices? Did you feel guilt when the man died? There is more of that to be felt, in (text-colour:orange)+(bg:black)[''SILICOSIS'']. Donations on the itch.io page are appreciated, and if you donate, you will get a copy of the html code for the demo, perfect for modding, or running the game offline! What a deal! Now, goodbye. [[Play again->Start]]