"Wake up, <<$name>>!" \n\nYou wake up to see your mother shaking you violently. \n\n"Where have you been, child?" says your mother. "We've been worried sick about you. We thought a bear might have attacked you, or something worse might have happened!"\n\n[[You say "I just...got lost."|withhold]]\n\n[[You say "I was talking to a man in the woods."|truth]]
<<set $name to prompt("What's your name?")>>\n\n"My name is <<$name>>" you say. \n\n"A wonderful name!" says the Doctor, clapping his hands together, and from the look in his eyes, you can believe he actually means it."Now, not to be impolite, but why were you touching my things?" He doesn't stop smiling, but his eyes begin to bore into you.\n\nYou open and close your mouth, attempting a reply. You can feel your face getting red.\n\n"I was just...curious," you say.\n\nAs quick as a hare, his eyes go from a penetrating stare back to a twinkling shine. "Then I'll forgive your trespassing. Curiosity's one of the best gifts of humanity. Never let go of it."\n\nHe grins even wider, and motions to the chair. "Feel free to sit down. I haven't had company in a while, [[to be honest.|sit down]]"\n\n
You suddenly remember your family back home. He notices the hesitation that flashes over your face.\n\n"What's wrong, <<$name>>? I do hope I haven't offended you somehow," he says.\n\n[[Tell him about your family situation.|conversation]]
<<set $time to either(20,40,60)>>\n\nYou walk to the left for a few minutes, then to the right. The snowfall has covered your tracks. It's has been <<print $time >> minutes by now, and you have found no exit. \n\n\n\n\n[[Wait, there's something blue up ahead.|Meet the Doctor]]\n\n\n\n
[[If you didn't hate this place so much, you'd actually call it beautiful.|next page]]\n\n\n\n
There is a large, blue box up ahead. It looks to be a hut of some kind, but you can't really be sure. All you know is that you can feel [[warmth|warmth]] emanating from inside it.\n\nA wooden chair is beside the box. On top of the chair is a [[book|book]]. There's also some odd metal [[pipe|sonic screwdriver]] in the chair. \n\n<<if visited("sonic screwdriver","warmth","book")>>\n\n"Hello, young child. What are you doing here?"\n\nYou turn around to see who looks like a middle aged man. The first thing you think when you see him is: disorientation. He's wearing a coat far too big for him, and even though you are unfamiliar with the fabric it's made out of, you can tell it hasn't been maintained well. His black hair is disheveled, like it hasn't been combed in ages. Oddly, his face is shaven, a sharp contrast to the condition of the rest of his clothes.\n\nHis eyes have a playful twinkle to them, and he's grinning, but not in a dangerous way. \n\n"My name is [[the Doctor. What's yours?"|Doctor]] he says. \n\n\n\n<<endif>>\n
"It's nice to see you again," says the Doctor. He shows no sign of aging at all.\n\n"It's nice to see you, too," you say. \n\n"I just came by to say congratulations. You made a splendid use of my gift. I couldn't be happier," he says, sporting the same wide grin he had years ago, when you were so young.\n\n"How was your holiday?" you ask.\n\n"Actually, it's ending now," says the Doctor. You blink in confusion, and he says "My...life is longer than most. So are my holidays."\n\n"Are you a wizard?" you ask, feeling foolish.\n\n"No. Not a wizard. Just a Doctor," he says. He opens the blue box, and begins to walk inside it.\n\n"Thank you," you blurt out before he leaves. \n\nThe Doctor looks back, and shakes his head. "It was nothing. You've done most of the work, anyway. I know you have a lot of questions...but it might be better for the both of us if I didn't answer them. Besides, that would spoil the mystery of it all, don't you think?" \n\nWith that, he walks into the blue box. And the box disappeared into thin air.\n\nYou sit silently, observing the forest you once hated so, but now call your home. Shrugging, you went back inside your home.\n\n[[The End|end]]\n\n
"Good choice," said the Doctor. "I think being a healer is an absolutely splendid decison, if I may say so myself." You point out he may be a bit biased, considering his name. He shrugs, and motions you to come closer.\n\nWhen you go to him, he leans over to you conspiratorially and says "I am going to teach you a technique that won't be discovered for hundreds of years. It's called Kvetche, meaning "exhaustion." The specifics of the name's origin are fascinating...but can be saved for another day. A woman named Ida from the planet Venus, taught it to me. It's a form of reflexology, like a massage of sorts. When used on an injured individual, it will help their wounds heal faster, and on a healthy person, can make them feel awake if they were tired, or uplifted if they were depressed."\n\nOther planets? Reflexolowhat? These unfamiliar words make you think he's playing a prank on you, and you nearly walk away right then and [[there.|offer]]
"Wonderful!" he says, literally jumping for joy. "Now, all I need you to do is close your eyes. I'll establish a psychic channel to your brain, and the rest will follow naturally."\n\n[[Close Your Eyes|close your eyes]]
One day, you walked out of your porch--and saw a familiar blue box. With a [[familiar man with unkempt hair standing in front of it.|reunion]]
Your family has lived in these mountains for several months now. Your father always tells you that he misses how fertile the soil of your former homelands were. from the land your family left. The crop used to be great back then,when you were young, before the villagers from the other land came over and pushed you all to the mountains that you live in now. It's been getting especially bad nowadays, due to a drought.\n\n"The rock is hard here. Can barely push my shovel into it," he says. \n\nYour mother tends to your sister, who was injured during the move. Your sister's been growing increasingly ill, and although mother doesn't say it, you can tell she fears the worst.\n\nYou wish you had never come to this hell of a forest. [[Nothing good will come of it.|explore]]
You pick up the pipe, and observe it closely. On closer inspection, it isn't a pipe, but instead some sort of device. You press a button on its side, and a green light flashes out. [[Perhaps it's a kind of torch.|Meet the Doctor]]
Thank you for playing! If you have any questions or comments, please send them to
[email protected]! \n\nAnd thanks to Ida C. Benedetto for giving me a prompt for this story!
"Then you're being an idiot," he says. \n\nYou argue with him. Somehow, this turns into a fistfight, and soon he knocks you unconscious. \n\n[[THE (BAD) END|end]]
Do you prefer:\n\n[[the ability to heal anyone, and to be a doctor to people's ills.|healer]]\n\n[[or the ability to smite down your enemies ruthlessly, and rule over people?|ruler]]
The book has the title of The Cat in the Hat. [[What type of title is that?|Meet the Doctor]]
A Reflexology Named Exhaustion
The walls of the box vibrates against your hand, and you can hear a humming. The humming reminds you of the way your mother would hum in happier days, and is [[just as calming.|Meet the Doctor]]
You see the blood vessels under your sister's skin. You see her blood flowing, and the exact point where the flow is disrupted by the wound. You look closer, and see tiny, squirmy things (the word "germs" drift into your mind, despite you having never heard it before), and how they're attacking your sister's...cells? Is that the word? Where are these words coming from?\n\nAnd you see, if you placed your hands just right, maybe you could direct the blood flow to heal the body...\n\n(the word "reflexology" comes to mind.)\n\nYour sister's looks at you with a confused expression. "Is everything okay?" You realize that you're staring.\n\nThe Doctor had promised you the ability to heal the sick. You wonder...\n\n[[Place your hands on your sister|allonsy]] \n\n
But you think of your sister, and how much it would please your mother to see her daughter well again...\n\n"What's the catch?" you say.\n\n"I have but one request. It's a small one," he says. He's giving you that penetrating stare again.\n\n"What is it?" you say hesitantly.\n\n"Once I give you this gift, you've got to use it. Help people in need; heal the sick. This is a responsibility I'm giving you. You can't just sit on your laurels here. Remember, I'm risking my own safety--like I said, there are people who would seriously disapprove of me giving a young Earthling a skill that only Venusians in the far future are supposed to know," said the Doctor seriously. "To keep it simple, don't waste my gift. That's my only [[condition.|condition]]" \n\n\n\n
The Doctor's face falls, and he shakes his head. "Then I'm sorry. I cannot help you."\n\nYou feel like you should be ashamed. You shiver, as you suddenly remember how cold it is.\n\n"You know, I think it's time for you to go. Your family must be worried sick," he says. There is a sad look in his eyes, and you suddenly wish you could go back and say the other choice. \n\nYou tell him goodbye, and turn to walk away. Before you leave, you hear him say "Wait!" You turn around, and catch a large bag that he throws to you. What you smell inside is mouth-watering. Inside are transparent bowls filled with what you recognize as food.\n\n"It's enough to feed your family for the next month or two. Payment for keeping me company," he says, [[grinning.|bad end]]
"You see, I'm really not supposed to interfere with things like this. In fact, I'm on holiday," the Doctor says, almost apologetically. "And there are some...individuals who would strongly disapprove with me meddling in your affairs. Normally, I'd go see your family and help you out, but not only would that draw attention to myself and to you,but it wouldn't really be a holiday if I did busywork, now would it?"\n\nYou open your mouth to reply, but he shushes you. He begins to grin again.\n\n"Nevertheless, just leaving you here with nothing wouldn't be very kind, considering that you've graced lonely old me with your company, and you've probably lost any chance of a good dinner talking to me," he points out. He pauses and shakes his head, perhaps for effect. "No, no, that won't do at all."\n\n"So, I'm going to teach you a rare skill. You can use this skill to help your family, and whomever else you choose. But first, tell me. [[What would you value most?|question]]
Due to the heavy workload, you have to share hunting duty with your father. There aren't too many animals out and about, so you have to make any second count.\n\n You walk through the snow carefully, doing your best not to slip on the icy surface. The trees all around you seem to swallow you up, and the shade casts a gloomy duskiness over your face. Your insides feel a little queasy, but you push down your nerves. You have to do this, for your family.\n\n[[A small movement on your right makes you freeze.|rabbit]]
A rabbit is in front of you. It doesn't seem to see you yet, so you quickly ready your spear.\n\n[[Throw the spear|throw]]
Slowly, you walk over to your sister. She raises her eyebrows at you, but you ignore her. You know you need to do something, but you're not sure what.\n\n"Where are you hurting the most?" you say.\n\nYour sister replies "My left knee's not feeling too good right now." \n\nYou concentrate your newfound second sight on her knee. You see the place where the cells are damaged, and how that's causing the pain. You place your hands on her knee, and begin to massage it. She winces, and you almost stop right there. But you trust your intuition, and keep on going.\n\nAfter a few minutes, your sister says "My knee feels...better."\n\nNodding, you suddenly feel tired. Closing your eyes, you realize why the technique the Doctor gave you is called [[exhaustion.|flashforward]]
Your mother practically drags you back to your home. Your father gives you a very long and unpleasant lecture o safety, and tells you to stay home next time instead of hunting. From inside your sister's home, you can hear your sister coughing.\n\n"<<$name>>'s back?" your sister calls out from the room.\n\nYou enter her room. You can smell her wound from the doorway, and she looks terrible. Her hair is matted, and her skin is very pale.\n\n"How do I look?" she says.\n\n"Wonderful," you say.\n\n"Liar," she says, sticking out her tongue.\n\n[[Suddenly, your sister's skin looks...different to you.|exhaustion]] \n\n
You throw the spear\n\n[[It sails through the air.|and misses]]\n\n
"Will you take my gift?" he says, with a hopeful grin.\n\n[["Yes," you say.|yes]]\n\n[["No," you say.|no]]
Eventually, you stop. The rabbit bounds away, and your family's dinner for tonight is lost. After a few seconds of depressed silence, you turn back.\n\nYou're cold. The fur you're wearing isn't adequate for protection from the biting air on your skin. You slowly walk back the way you came, or [[at least the way you think you came.|TARDIS]]\n\n
And misses.\n\nThe rabbit bounds off. No! You run after the rabbit, chasing it through the undergrowth. You refuse to go home without that rabbit.\n\nDeeper and deeper you go into the forest. Everytime you seem to be getting closer to the rabbit, it just slips your grasp. \n\n[[Deeper and deeper you go...|lost]]\n\n
It's been 50 years since that date. Your sister was your first patient, but she was just the beginning.\n\nSoon, rumors began to spread of the <<$name>>, the "Miracle Healer." At first, you just took neighbors and friends as customers, but eventually people who you had never met came up to you. Some people called you a quack, or a homeopathic nutjob; for your part, you never claimed to be anyone special, or any kind of doctor. To be frank, the attention began to get annoying.\n\nBut, over time, you began to appreciate your following. Your family soon no longer had to scavenge for food, and you became a minor celebrity. You kept on using your skills for 30 years, and raised 2 sons in the meantime. Finally, you retired, and although you occasionally healed someone here and there, you spent most of your time raiding your children and training to become an official [[doctor.|one last time]]
That's the last you ever saw of him. \n\nFor a few weeks afterwards, you searched for that box, and the strange Doctor. But eventually, you stopped searching. When your sister died, those flights of fancy seemed less important. Years later, you began to doubt it ever happened. After all, children come up with strange stories when they're alone. \n\nStill, sometimes you wonder what would have happened if you had made the other [[choice.|end]]
"Well, be more careful next time!" your mother says.\n\n\n<<fretting>>
At first you just plan to give him a small summary. You don't like to tell strangers about your family's troubles. But you end up saying more and more, until you find yourself spilling out all your feelings.\n\n You talk about the long hours of hunting you go through every day. \n\nThe way you fear for your sister's life. \n\nHow you miss your old home, and hate this cold, unfriendly forest.\n\nAnd how you fear that the villagers who attacked your family before might attack again.\n\nHe listens, without speaking. He simply nods here and there. When you're done, he stays silent for some time. His brow is furrowed, and he taps his chin with his fingers. You can tell he's thinking deeply on what you've said. \n\nJust when you're about to excuse yourself, he clasps his hands together, and looks at you again. It appears he's made a [[decision.|choice]]
"Young child!" your mother barks. "Don't ever go talking to random strangers in the forest again! The trouble you put me through..."\n\n<<fretting>>
Cassian Whitehurst\n