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For a second, I forget about the ship. That's why I sleep as much as possible. Because when I sleep, for a second, I forget about the ship and the fact I am on it. I dream of old earth--the places, the people...Her.
//...and an alarm blares?//
Tonight (is it ever night in space?) I paddle out from a beach in California. I can't put a name to it. It doesn't look *exactly* like any of the old spots off Pacific Coast Highway, but rather a juxtaposition of all them. Pieces and features my mind stitches together as it yearns for days long past.
And so I paddle. I smell the faint pina colada of a fresh coat of surfboard wax as I lay against it; I taste the salty ocean water splash into my face. I paddle out until I'm far enough to catch a good swell, and I wait.
//...and an alarm blares. Where is it coming from?//
Finally, I see the wave I'm looking for. I turn and paddle, as fast and as hard as my arms will move. I can feel the force of tens of thousands of gallons of water behind me lift me up as the wave begins to take shape. I stand up and drop in...
//...and an alarm blares.//
It's my alarm clock. God damn it.
[[Get up.->wake_up]]
[[Ignore it.->ignore_1]]I hit the snooze button and head back to the California coastline, except I can't sleep now. Reality sinks in as I stare up at the metal walls and ceiling of my ship quarters. It dawns on me how small and square the room is--a steel prison, a cage without windows.
There are four other rooms next to mine. There were supposed to be five in a ship. But there wasn't time, so they threw one of their best pilots in each one and crossed their fingers.
So far, so good. Fucking lonely though.
//...the alarm startles me.//
[[Can't sleep. Might as well get up.->wake_up]]
[[Hit the snooze.->ignore_2]]This time, I manage to fall asleep again. I dream of the ship. It's on fire. It dives down towards an unknown planet. It reaches the surface...touchdown. The ship disintegrates; melts right into ground before one final, giant, fiery explosion.
//...the alarm goes off.//
[[Nope. Need more sleep. (hit snooze again)->ignore_3]]
[[Woah. Some nightmare. What the hell was that all about? (wake up)->wake_up_2]]I hit the snooze, but the alarm doesn't turn off.
Am I dreaming?
No.
//...an alarm blares in the distance.//
It's just...it's not the clock this time...
//...louder and louder.//
It's the ship's emergency system.
[[Wake up!->wake_up_3]]I yawn, open my eyes, and stare at the cold steel ceiling. The only real warmth, the only things human in the room other than me, are my Van Halen poster and a couple of pictures of her.
[[Examine poster.->poster]]
[[Examine pictures.->pictures]]
[[Go to sink.->sink]]The control deck is a bridge that crosses over the front of the ship. With its massive observation window, it's the closest thing to outside you can get on this ship...if outside is the dark emptiness of space with the occassional star.
Right now, the window faces a massive planet, and the ship is heading right for it.
[[Check the computer.]]
[[Grab the controls.]]
Sweat beads down my face. I'm out of breath. I believe there's something more to some dreams. Like maybe some dreams are more than dreams. Maybe they're premonitions.
I kick the sheets off and jerk up out of bed. I wipe my brow, and rub the back of my neck. I try to work out the knots and tension. I didn't sleep well last night. I don't sleep well any night. Still, my little self massage therapy helps me regain composure.
I'm in my ship quarters. The cold steel cage I both love and hate. My safety and security is also my prison.
I stare at my Van Halen poster, then at the pictures of her, and slowly come back to reality.
[[Examine poster.->poster]]
[[Examine pictures.->pictures]]
[[Go to sink.->sink]]The entire room flashes red as the alarm blares. I panicked the first time this happened and the ship had a close encounter with the asteroid. It's probably more of the same. I still hate getting woken up by the damn thing though.
I put on my clothes and count the alarm. Three sirens is a avoidable significant impact event, like an asteroid. Four sirens is when things are fucked. I lace up my shoes and the alarm starts again.
//One siren.//
//Two sirens.//
//Three sirens.//
I finish tying my second boot, stand up, stretch, and yawn. Just another asteroid come to say hello.
//...Four sirens.//
My eyes widen. I start to sweat. Four sirens--the emergency evacuation alarm...Things are fucked! I dart out of my quarters and down the hallway towards the access tunnels.
What could be wrong? And where to start?
[[Head to the airlock.->act_ii_3]]
[[Check the control deck.->act_ii_1]]
[[Run to Anna and the Cryochamber.->act_ii_2]] Ah, Van Halen. They were a rock band in the 1980s when I was still a teenager. Like everyone else, Eddie's licks blew me away. I worked at a hot dog stand part-time and saved money for months to buy some shitty guitar in a garage sale. A couple days later I joined a band. And a couple of days after that I met her...
God, I miss my guitar. I wish I could play. It eases the loneliness of the ship; makes it bearable. Plus it's my only real connection to her. Now it just sits there in my closet. I ran out of strings months ago.
[[Examine pictures.->pictures]]
[[Go to sink.->sink]]
[[Back to room.->wake_up_3]]
Anna. We met during one of my band's first gigs that summer of 1987. We couldn't have been more polar opposite. She got drafted to program computers with MIT and I signed up for the military a few months earlier.
I miss her. I miss her bunny rabbit smile. I miss her dimples, and the lavender smell of her purple-red hair. She never smiled totally in pictures. Her sadness always pervades them. You can see it in her eyes. When her mother died, she did too. I tried to help her find the light. A reason to smile and live and love.
Of course I ended up assigned to the ship that she help design. The computer I operate is her brainchild, the most sophisticated spatial navigational computer ever created. Without it humanity would have no chance to recolonize and rebuild.
She's down there, now, in the cryochamber, frozen along with the rest of mankind.
Of course I ended up captaining this ship--Her ship.
[[Examine poster.->poster]]
[[Go to sink.->sink]]
[[Back to room.->wake_up_3]]As I climb down the ladder to the cryochamber, I can see the condensation from my breath. The cryochamber itself isn't cold. The suspension solution circulating through the entire system is so cold it drops the room to sub-freezing temperatures. The deeper I descend, the colder it gets. I start to shiver.
Finally, I drop into the prep room. There are a couple of fur coats lined against the wall.
[[Grab a coat.]]
[[I'll only be here for a second. I should be alright. It takes a while to freeze.]]
The air lo
[[Cut the power to Anna's cryopod. Kill Anna along with the virus.->act_ii_3a]]
[[Waken Anna and escape together. To hell with humanity.->act_ii_3c]]
[[Save yourself. Get to the escape pod and hope one of the other ships finds you.->act_ii_3b]]I stumble over to the sink and just manage to post both arms on the edges of it before I fall over. A combination of lack of exercise, low nutrient intake, and a couple years of isolation and sleep deprivation takes it toll. I'm supposed to follow this daily exercise routine the military gave me to keep my muscle mass up here, but fuck 'em.
I hunch over the sink and splash cold water on my face until I'm awake enough to finally lift myself upright and stare in the mirror. I realize I haven't shaved or cut my hair in months (or has it been a year, already?). It looks like I'm in my band again. Anna would love it. She hated it when I joined the military and had to shave all my hair off.
[[Pick up razor.->sink_2]]
[[I'm alone in space. Who cares what I look like?->wake_up_3]]
[[Cut the power to Anna's cryopod. Kill Anna along with the virus.->act_ii_1a]]
[[Waken Anna and escape together. To hell with humanity.->act_ii_1c]]
[[Save yourself. Get to the escape pod and hope one of the other ships finds you.->act_ii_1b]]Waken Anna and escape together. To hell with humanity.Save yourself. Get to the escape pod and hope one of the other ships finds you.As I bring the razor up for the first swipe, the ship alarm blares and the entire room flashes red.
I panicked the first time this happened. The ship had a close encounter with an asteroid. Now it's probably more of the same. Three sirens is an avoidable significant impact event, like an asteroid. Four sirens is when things are fucked.
Still, I jumped a little and nicked myself with my damn razor. Stupid alarm. I thought I'd be used it by now. I wipe off the blood, continue shaving and count the sirens.
//One siren.//
The blade scratches across my face and a huge clump of hair falls in the sink.
//Two sirens.//
I turn on the sink and rinse it down the drain before I take another swipe.
//Three sirens.//
I pause my shave to stretch, and yawn. Just another asteroid come to say hello.
//...Four sirens.//
My eyes widen. I start to sweat. Four sirens--the emergency evacuation alarm...Things are fucked!
I throw my clothes on and dart out of my quarters and down the hallway. Halfway to the access tunnels I realize the razor is still in my hand and I forgot to wash off the shaving cream. I stuff the razor in my pocket and wipe my face on my sleeve.
What could be wrong? And where to start?
[[Head to the airlock.->act_ii_3_var1]]
[[Check the control deck.->act_ii_1_var1]]
[[Run to Anna and the Cryochamber.->act_ii_2_var1]] [[Cut the power to Anna's cryopod. Kill Anna along with the virus.->act_ii_2a]]
[[Waken Anna and escape together. To hell with humanity.->act_ii_2c]]
[[Save yourself. Get to the escape pod and hope one of the other ships finds you.->act_ii_2b]]Double-click this passage to edit it.Double-click this passage to edit it.Double-click this passage to edit it.Double-click this passage to edit it.Double-click this passage to edit it.Cut the power to Anna's cryopod. Kill Anna along with the virus.
Double-click this passage to edit it.Double-click this passage to edit it.Double-click this passage to edit it.Double-click this passage to edit it.Double-click this passage to edit it.[[Try to override the virus virtually.]]
[[Head to the cryochamber and try to stop it manually.->act_ii_2]]Double-click this passage to edit it.Double-click this passage to edit it.Double-click this passage to edit it.Double-click this passage to edit it.Double-click this passage to edit it.The control deck. Player messes with the controls and discovers Anna's cryopod is leeching a virus into the system.
[[Cut the power to Anna's cryopod. Kill Anna along with the virus.->act_ii_3a]]
[[Waken Anna and escape together. To hell with humanity.->act_ii_3c]]
[[Save yourself. Get to the escape pod and hope one of the other ships finds you.->act_ii_3b]]As I climb down the ladder to the cryochamber, I can see the condensation from my breath. The cryochamber itself isn't cold. The suspension solution circulating through the entire system is so cold it drops the room to sub-freezing temperatures. The deeper I descend, the colder it gets. I start to shiver.
Finally, I drop into the prep room. There are a couple of fur coats lined against the wall.
[[Grab a coat.]]
[[I'll only be here for a second. I should be alright. It takes a while to freeze.]]
The control deck is a bridge that crosses over the front of the ship. With its massive observation window, it's the closest thing to outside you can get on this ship...if outside is the dark emptiness of space with the occassional star.
Right now, the window faces a massive planet, and the ship is heading right for it.
[[Check the computer.->computercheck_var1]]
[[Grab the controls.]][[Try to override the virus virtually.]]
[[Head to the cryochamber and try to stop it manually.->act_ii_2_var1]]