con holo

[[THINGS IT WOULD HAVE BEEN BETTER TO KNOW BEFORE ENTERING THE CONSCIOUSNESS HOLOGRAM->THINGS]] [[AUTEUR]] [[BEGIN->pronoun select]]

<img style="margin:0px auto;display:block" src="http://68.media.tumblr.com/8b9235ef2f7a56468b828131bb797c9f/tumblr_oj7y7amUx61rfgyc1o4_1280.jpg" width="350" height="480" alt="AUTEUR"/> <center>consciousness hologram was written and coded by Kit. <center>The brief, initial proposal for the project described it as "something tangible, perhaps not involving computers at all." </center> <center>Thanks are in order to many people including Liz, Hans, Devin, Sarah, Julia, Jade, Aaron, Jon, Brett, and Prof. Finch.</center> 9/25/16 (Brief Introduction) I might make a comic for this project. I think drawing will wear me out but I want to do either that or film. Or incorporate some photographs but that’s what I did with the last one. Maybe it’d be different. I think I would use my own photographs. I want to steal less stuff this time around. I don’t know for sure what I want to write about yet so I’ve been forcing myself to write about anything, which is where I got the stuff about my room and self-esteem. I don’t think any of that will make it into my project except perhaps the theme of inhabiting space and being overly self-conscious about it. The only thing that seems sort of in-line with what I actually want to do is the first paragraph below. It’s the least boring thing I’ve written probably because there’s a story of some sort. The last chunk is a collection of 3 quotes I have written in my phone that seem like they might be relevant at some point, maybe. It seems like a bunch of non-sequiturs but I’d like to move away from that. I think I would like to do something more actual science fiction. I meant to do that with the project last year but it didn’t work out. <hr> I have some sort of problem with the roof and bottom of my mouth and I use a regular CVS kit to try to fix it and it rips chunks of skin out until my mouth is this mess of wet skin. I’m in the bathroom and the sink is running because when I’m in the bathroom doing something at the sink I let it run even when I’m not using it, so it sounds like I’m washing my hands or whatever. The water is running irregularly and I interpret the sound as someone either gargling or drowning and trying to speak at the same time. All my words are slurred and I am in pain. My mom is laughing at me when I try to talk. Sorry sweetie I can’t help it you just sound so funny. I lock myself in my room away from even Liz. She is upset that I won’t let her in and she leaves. I don’t care I feel horrible and evil. Lots of people are at my house. Later in the middle of the night I leave, ignoring my mom’s laughter when I pass her in the kitchen, go outside into the woods. I want to walk deep into the woods and do something terrible but then my dad comes out of the forest with the tractor and a trailer filled with chopped wood and strange objects. He looks at me strangely but not because of my mouth, it’s just odd that I’m outside in the middle of the night I guess, and for trying to hide when he approached because I didn’t know what he’d say. It’s dark and the grass on the lawn is the color of ginger. I’m wearing my yellow raincoat and Meredith comes up seemingly from nowhere and says "remember I asked you if we could both try to fit in it?" as if it were a huge raincoat and that was a reasonable thing to ask. But I remember her mentioning it, so I agree. It reminds me of Totoro a little. (image of totoro holding leaf over the heads of children at the bus stop) I live in here! I am in here. I live in myself. Every time I get a new bedroom I have to inhabit it! It’s like a movie is happening around me all the time about me inhabiting the space I’m in. It makes me feel self-conscious and strange. I have to design where all my stuff will fit and go. To make it seem the most like a space where someone would come in and go "wow, what a neat room but you’re not trying too hard to make it seem cool!" I have to hit that "sweet spot" of being cool but not out-cooling myself. I’m incredible. I don’t feel like I’m in "real life" and I’m afraid of what I might do mistaking my real life for a dream. I don’t mind much what happens to my body in dreams. I want to smoke DMT with Jascha Heifetz and travel through time and splatter against a 4th-dimensional membrane. I sat behind my grandfather in the car the other day. Seeing him adjust the sun shield I thought I ought to fashion him a moveable squarish object that would remain where he dropped it in space relative to himself. When you sleep your body actually does fill with needles that vibrate in your skin giving you dreams like: there are functional edible appliances like toasters and Keurigs but you aren’t hungry and your friends ridicule you for not eating one. I don’t recognize the guest on the Letterman show I think he’s from a TV show I don’t watch. He is handsome and sandy blonde. He has a persistent nosebleed that’s seeping out from around the tissues stuffed to hold it back. He and Letterman are joking about it. I’m so fucked. I’ve been here so long with nothing to show for it. I know it’s a boring thing to talk about and probably more boring to read but I compare myself a lot to other people who have done more than me at a young age. The easiest one is Rimbaud, fuck that guy! Holy shit! I’m almost 23 and paralyzed I don’t even know what I want anymore! I don’t even have a fake plan to hide what I really want! I don’t have a real plan to conceal! I’m totally fucked. Lads I’m trying to escape this consciousness hologram. All change is for the better like birth and death which convulse the body. Gotta find and kill my shadow self. Gotta dig up every secret seashell.

A crackling and uncontrollably quick breaths in and out. And sweat on the forehead. Unfocused eyes padding feet and masturbatory hugging of arms to chest. Imagining your own breath smouldering inside your throat, calling for the wall or ceiling to make it stop. [[///->burn]]

<head><style>@import url('https://fonts.googleapis.com/css?family=VT323');</style></head>(set: $VT to (font: "VT323"))Then like watching the ripples of rain approach from across a lake, the fire swells toward you. You think you might die, and then you are on fire, and you are dying, and someone—James?—is yelling in a creaking voice: $VT[ANIMATE THE-] (No, [[not James->remain in the dream]])

Good morning, $name. You have a message from- "Huh, um—ignore." $name snuffles and stretches. The machine hesitates. "I’m not going to get up today. Bed, engage passive exercise." Which level of passive exercise would you prefer? "I don’t know; I want to sleep. Uh, whichever will let me sleep." Engaging: passive exercise vibration. Level six. <img src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4UByMdIzQmI/UCsX9BD4QvI/AAAAAAAAJrw/iXpydl1ucW8/s1600/kmars18.jpg" alt="HTML5 Icon" style="width:600px;height:303px;" style= align="center"> <a href = "http://secretsun.blogspot.com/2012/08/mindbomb-john-carter-pkd-and-face-on.html" target="_blank">|X|</a> [[Sleep->getup?]]

Good morning, $name. "Good morning, Alarm. I’m getting up today." You shift your blankets to the side and stand. "Engage natural lighting. Earth sun." You think you might like to go [[outside->outsidefail1]] today.

"Floor, check the status of Gregory and Ilsa." Gregory and Ilsa are currently sleeping. You have one missed message from Gregory. Would you- [["Ignore message."->IGNORE]] [["Summarize message."->SUMMARIZE]]

You are $name. You use $he/$him. You are asleep. Do you dream? [[Yes->blow up dream opening]] [[No->getup?]]

You thrash and sizzle and experience impossible pain, so much you can't imagine another instant of it. Over and over you are stunned by the tumbling of unbearable instants. Forever, and then you [[wake up.->passive exercise]]

(enchant: ?page, (text-colour: black) + (background: white))

Gregory requested to speak to you when you awoke. "Notify Gregory-" Gregory’s status is "Do Not Disturb." "Fuck, okay. Whatever. I guess leave him a message that I’m awake. For when he [[wakes up."->room]]

Please choose some pronouns: (link-reveal: "they/them")[(set: $he to "they")(set: $He to "They")(set: $him to "them")(set: $Him to "Them")(set: $His to "Their")(set: $his to "their")(set: $sleeps to "sleep")(set: $dreams to "dream")(set: $feels to "feel")(set: $has to "have")(set: $doesn to "don")(set: $asks to "ask")(set: $looks to "look")(set: $sees to "see")(set: $hopes to "hope")(set: $hears to "hear")(set: $is to "are")(set: $shows to "show")(set: $knows to "know")(set: $holds to "hold")(set: $stares to "stare")(set: $opens to "open")(set: $activates to "activate")(set: $shakes to "shake")(set: $beats to "beat")(set: $tries to "try")(set: $falls to "fall")(set: $selects to "select")(set: $was to "were")(set: $rolls to "roll")(set: $scoops to "scoop")(set: $picks to "pick")(set: $walks to "walk")(set: $approaches to "approach")(set: $wakes to "wake")(set: $mutters to "mutter")(set: $Sleeps to "Sleep")(set: $Dreams to "Dream")(set: $Feels to "Feel")(set: $Has to "Have")(set: $Doesn to "Don")(set: $Asks to "Ask")(set: $Looks to "Look")(set: $Sees to "See")(set: $Hopes to "Hope")(set: $Hears to "Hear")(set: $Feels to "Feel")(set: $Is to "Are")(set: $Shows to "Show")(set: $Knows to "Know")(set: $Holds to "Hold")(set: $Stares to "Stare")(set: $Opens to "Open")(set: $Activates to "Activate")(set: $Shakes to "Shake")(set: $Beats to "Beat")(set: $Tries to "Try")(set: $Falls to "Fall")(set: $Selects to "Select")(set: $Was to "Were")(set: $Rolls to "Roll")(set: $Scoops to "Scoop")(set: $Picks to "Pick")(set: $Walks to "Walk")(set: $Approaches to "Approach")(set: $Wakes to "Wake")(set: $Mutters to "Mutter")(set: $pees to "pee")(set: $imagines to "imagine")(set: $says to "say")] (link-reveal: "zi/zir")[(set: $he to "zi")(set: $He to "Zi")(set: $him to "zir")(set: $Him to "Zir")(set: $His to "Zir")(set: $his to "zir")(set: $sleeps to "sleeps")(set: $dreams to "dreams")(set: $feels to "feels")(set: $has to "has")(set: $doesn to "doesn")(set: $asks to "asks")(set: $looks to "looks")(set: $sees to "sees")(set: $hopes to "hopes")(set: $hears to "hears")(set: $is to "is")(set: $shows to "shows")(set: $knows to "knows")(set: $holds to "holds")(set: $stares to "stares")(set: $opens to "opens")(set: $activates to "activates")(set: $shakes to "shakes")(set: $beats to "beats")(set: $tries to "tries")(set: $falls to "falls")(set: $selects to "selects")(set: $was to "was")(set: $rolls to "rolls")(set: $scoops to "scoops")(set: $picks to "picks")(set: $walks to "walks")(set: $approaches to "approaches")(set: $wakes to "wakes")(set: $mutters to "mutters")(set: $Sleeps to "Sleeps")(set: $Dreams to "Dreams")(set: $Feels to "Feels")(set: $Has to "Has")(set: $Doesn to "Doesn")(set: $Asks to "Asks")(set: $Looks to "Looks")(set: $Sees to "Sees")(set: $Hopes to "Hopes")(set: $Hears to "Hears")(set: $Feels to "Feels")(set: $Is to "Is")(set: $Shows to "Shows")(set: $Knows to "Knows")(set: $Holds to "Holds")(set: $Stares to "Stares")(set: $Opens to "Opens")(set: $Activates to "Activates")(set: $Shakes to "Shakes")(set: $Beats to "Beats")(set: $Tries to "Tries")(set: $Falls to "Falls")(set: $Selects to "Selects")(set: $Was to "Was")(set: $Rolls to "Rolls")(set: $Scoops to "Scoops")(set: $Picks to "Picks")(set: $Walks to "Walks")(set: $Approaches to "Approaches")(set: $Wakes to "Wakes")(set: $Mutters to "Mutters")(set: $pees to "pees")(set: $imagines to "imagines")(set: $says to "says")] (link-reveal: "xe/xem")[(set: $he to "xe")(set: $He to "Xe")(set: $him to "xem")(set: $Him to "Xem")(set: $His to "Xyr")(set: $his to "xyr")(set: $sleeps to "sleeps")(set: $dreams to "dreams")(set: $feels to "feels")(set: $has to "has")(set: $doesn to "doesn")(set: $asks to "asks")(set: $looks to "looks")(set: $sees to "sees")(set: $hopes to "hopes")(set: $hears to "hears")(set: $is to "is")(set: $shows to "shows")(set: $knows to "knows")(set: $holds to "holds")(set: $stares to "stares")(set: $opens to "opens")(set: $activates to "activates")(set: $shakes to "shakes")(set: $beats to "beats")(set: $tries to "tries")(set: $falls to "falls")(set: $selects to "selects")(set: $was to "was")(set: $rolls to "rolls")(set: $scoops to "scoops")(set: $picks to "picks")(set: $walks to "walks")(set: $approaches to "approaches")(set: $wakes to "wakes")(set: $mutters to "mutters")(set: $Sleeps to "Sleeps")(set: $Dreams to "Dreams")(set: $Feels to "Feels")(set: $Has to "Has")(set: $Doesn to "Doesn")(set: $Asks to "Asks")(set: $Looks to "Looks")(set: $Sees to "Sees")(set: $Hopes to "Hopes")(set: $Hears to "Hears")(set: $Feels to "Feels")(set: $Is to "Is")(set: $Shows to "Shows")(set: $Knows to "Knows")(set: $Holds to "Holds")(set: $Stares to "Stares")(set: $Opens to "Opens")(set: $Activates to "Activates")(set: $Shakes to "Shakes")(set: $Beats to "Beats")(set: $Tries to "Tries")(set: $Falls to "Falls")(set: $Selects to "Selects")(set: $Was to "Was")(set: $Rolls to "Rolls")(set: $Scoops to "Scoops")(set: $Picks to "Picks")(set: $Walks to "Walks")(set: $Approaches to "Approaches")(set: $Wakes to "Wakes")(set: $Mutters to "Mutters")(set: $pees to "pees")(set: $imagines to "imagines")(set: $says to "says")] (link-reveal: "ey/em")[(set: $he to "ey")(set: $He to "Ey")(set: $him to "em")(set: $Him to "Em")(set: $His to "Eir")(set: $his to "eir")(set: $sleeps to "sleeps")(set: $dreams to "dreams")(set: $feels to "feels")(set: $has to "has")(set: $doesn to "doesn")(set: $asks to "asks")(set: $looks to "looks")(set: $sees to "sees")(set: $hopes to "hopes")(set: $hears to "hears")(set: $is to "is")(set: $shows to "shows")(set: $knows to "knows")(set: $holds to "holds")(set: $stares to "stares")(set: $opens to "opens")(set: $activates to "activates")(set: $shakes to "shakes")(set: $beats to "beats")(set: $tries to "tries")(set: $falls to "falls")(set: $selects to "selects")(set: $was to "was")(set: $rolls to "rolls")(set: $scoops to "scoops")(set: $picks to "picks")(set: $walks to "walks")(set: $approaches to "approaches")(set: $wakes to "wakes")(set: $mutters to "mutters")(set: $Sleeps to "Sleeps")(set: $Dreams to "Dreams")(set: $Feels to "Feels")(set: $Has to "Has")(set: $Doesn to "Doesn")(set: $Asks to "Asks")(set: $Looks to "Looks")(set: $Sees to "Sees")(set: $Hopes to "Hopes")(set: $Hears to "Hears")(set: $Feels to "Feels")(set: $Is to "Is")(set: $Shows to "Shows")(set: $Knows to "Knows")(set: $Holds to "Holds")(set: $Stares to "Stares")(set: $Opens to "Opens")(set: $Activates to "Activates")(set: $Shakes to "Shakes")(set: $Beats to "Beats")(set: $Tries to "Tries")(set: $Falls to "Falls")(set: $Selects to "Selects")(set: $Was to "Was")(set: $Rolls to "Rolls")(set: $Scoops to "Scoops")(set: $Picks to "Picks")(set: $Walks to "Walks")(set: $Approaches to "Approaches")(set: $Wakes to "Wakes")(set: $Mutters to "Mutters")(set: $pees to "pees")(set: $imagines to "imagines")(set: $says to "says")] (link-reveal: "she/her")[(set: $he to "she")(set: $He to "She")(set: $him to "her")(set: $Him to "Her")(set: $His to "Her")(set: $his to "her") (set: $sleeps to "sleeps")(set: $dreams to "dreams")(set: $feels to "feels")(set: $has to "has")(set: $doesn to "doesn")(set: $asks to "asks")(set: $looks to "looks")(set: $sees to "sees")(set: $hopes to "hopes")(set: $hears to "hears")(set: $is to "is")(set: $shows to "shows")(set: $knows to "knows")(set: $holds to "holds")(set: $stares to "stares")(set: $opens to "opens")(set: $activates to "activates")(set: $shakes to "shakes")(set: $beats to "beats")(set: $tries to "tries")(set: $falls to "falls")(set: $selects to "selects")(set: $was to "was")(set: $rolls to "rolls")(set: $scoops to "scoops")(set: $picks to "picks")(set: $walks to "walks")(set: $approaches to "approaches")(set: $wakes to "wakes")(set: $mutters to "mutters")(set: $Sleeps to "Sleeps")(set: $Dreams to "Dreams")(set: $Feels to "Feels")(set: $Has to "Has")(set: $Doesn to "Doesn")(set: $Asks to "Asks")(set: $Looks to "Looks")(set: $Sees to "Sees")(set: $Hopes to "Hopes")(set: $Hears to "Hears")(set: $Feels to "Feels")(set: $Is to "Is")(set: $Shows to "Shows")(set: $Knows to "Knows")(set: $Holds to "Holds")(set: $Stares to "Stares")(set: $Opens to "Opens")(set: $Activates to "Activates")(set: $Shakes to "Shakes")(set: $Beats to "Beats")(set: $Tries to "Tries")(set: $Falls to "Falls")(set: $Selects to "Selects")(set: $Was to "Was")(set: $Rolls to "Rolls")(set: $Scoops to "Scoops")(set: $Picks to "Picks")(set: $Walks to "Walks")(set: $Approaches to "Approaches")(set: $Wakes to "Wakes")(set: $Mutters to "Mutters")(set: $pees to "pees")(set: $imagines to "imagines")(set: $says to "says")] (link-reveal: "he/him")[(set: $he to "he")(set: $He to "He")(set: $him to "him")(set: $Him to "Him")(set: $His to "His")(set: $his to "his")(set: $sleeps to "sleeps")(set: $dreams to "dreams")(set: $feels to "feels")(set: $has to "has")(set: $doesn to "doesn")(set: $asks to "asks")(set: $looks to "looks")(set: $sees to "sees")(set: $hopes to "hopes")(set: $hears to "hears")(set: $is to "is")(set: $shows to "shows")(set: $knows to "knows")(set: $holds to "holds")(set: $stares to "stares")(set: $opens to "opens")(set: $activates to "activates")(set: $shakes to "shakes")(set: $beats to "beats")(set: $tries to "tries")(set: $falls to "falls")(set: $selects to "selects")(set: $was to "was")(set: $rolls to "rolls")(set: $scoops to "scoops")(set: $picks to "picks")(set: $walks to "walks")(set: $approaches to "approaches")(set: $wakes to "wakes")(set: $mutters to "mutters")(set: $Sleeps to "Sleeps")(set: $Dreams to "Dreams")(set: $Feels to "Feels")(set: $Has to "Has")(set: $Doesn to "Doesn")(set: $Asks to "Asks")(set: $Looks to "Looks")(set: $Sees to "Sees")(set: $Hopes to "Hopes")(set: $Hears to "Hears")(set: $Feels to "Feels")(set: $Is to "Is")(set: $Shows to "Shows")(set: $Knows to "Knows")(set: $Holds to "Holds")(set: $Stares to "Stares")(set: $Opens to "Opens")(set: $Activates to "Activates")(set: $Shakes to "Shakes")(set: $Beats to "Beats")(set: $Tries to "Tries")(set: $Falls to "Falls")(set: $Selects to "Selects")(set: $Was to "Was")(set: $Rolls to "Rolls")(set: $Scoops to "Scoops")(set: $Picks to "Picks")(set: $Walks to "Walks")(set: $Approaches to "Approaches")(set: $Wakes to "Wakes")(set: $Mutters to "Mutters")(set: $pees to "pees")(set: $imagines to "imagines")(set: $says to "says")] (link-reveal: "none (will display as dashes)")[(set: $he to "--")(set: $He to "--")(set: $him to "--")(set: $Him to "--")(set: $His to "--")(set: $his to "--")(set: $sleeps to "sleeps")(set: $dreams to "dreams")(set: $feels to "feels")(set: $has to "has")(set: $doesn to "doesn")(set: $asks to "asks")(set: $looks to "looks")(set: $sees to "sees")(set: $hopes to "hopes")(set: $hears to "hears")(set: $is to "is")(set: $shows to "shows")(set: $knows to "knows")(set: $holds to "holds")(set: $stares to "stares")(set: $opens to "opens")(set: $activates to "activates")(set: $shakes to "shakes")(set: $beats to "beats")(set: $tries to "tries")(set: $falls to "falls")(set: $selects to "selects")(set: $was to "was")(set: $rolls to "rolls")(set: $scoops to "scoops")(set: $picks to "picks")(set: $walks to "walks")(set: $approaches to "approaches")(set: $wakes to "wakes")(set: $mutters to "mutters")(set: $Sleeps to "Sleeps")(set: $Dreams to "Dreams")(set: $Feels to "Feels")(set: $Has to "Has")(set: $Doesn to "Doesn")(set: $Asks to "Asks")(set: $Looks to "Looks")(set: $Sees to "Sees")(set: $Hopes to "Hopes")(set: $Hears to "Hears")(set: $Feels to "Feels")(set: $Is to "Is")(set: $Shows to "Shows")(set: $Knows to "Knows")(set: $Holds to "Holds")(set: $Stares to "Stares")(set: $Opens to "Opens")(set: $Activates to "Activates")(set: $Shakes to "Shakes")(set: $Beats to "Beats")(set: $Tries to "Tries")(set: $Falls to "Falls")(set: $Selects to "Selects")(set: $Was to "Was")(set: $Rolls to "Rolls")(set: $Scoops to "Scoops")(set: $Picks to "Picks")(set: $Walks to "Walks")(set: $Approaches to "Approaches")(set: $Wakes to "Wakes")(set: $Mutters to "Mutters")(set: $pees to "pees")(set: $imagines to "imagines")(set: $says to "says")] [[Reset->pronoun select]] [[Done->THEBLOWUP]]

"I’m not going to get up today. Bed, engage passive exercise." Engaging: passive exercise vibration. You [[sleep.->getup?]]

You walk out of your bedroom into a different, similar room with one wall made up of a smooth curved window, through which you now stare out at waves of frozen sand. Your compartment is one small part of a massive, pyramidal building, connected to other pyramidal buildings by skybridges. <img src="http://orig08.deviantart.net/7feb/f/2013/110/7/1/desert_city_by_sebastianwagner-d62dwho.jpg" alt="pyramid1" style="width:800px;height:320px;" style= align="center"> <a href = "http://pixodium.com/pix--sci-fi--701" target="_blank">|X|</a> No not really like that. They’re more [[clearish.->Explore intro2]]

Message ignored. You have no other messages. "[[Thanks.->room]]"

<img src="https://panithulishankar.files.wordpress.com/2010/09/pyramidcity1.jpg" alt="pyramid1" style="width:400px;height:300px;" style= align="center"> <a href = "https://panithulishankar.files.wordpress.com/2010/09/pyramidcity1.jpg" target="_blank">|X|</a> Like that, but with the desert background and the skybridges from the first one. And bigger and the windows are slightly rounded. You look out and imagine a massive dust storm approaching the pyramid. You imagine it from a high diagonal angle, looking down from the billowing crest of the storm as it bears down on the insignificant structure. You do this for a long time, and [[flinch->Markus monologue]] occasionally.

(font: 'VT323')[$name the dumb shitface is looking out the window and talking while $his computer transcribes $his fucking space tour guide thing. I haven't met $him yet but when $he $shows me the stuff $he $has recorded so far I read it in disbelief. I can totally imagine $him gazing at the sand outside with a wrinkled forehead and like thinking $he $knows shit about meaning. Eventually $his super-ego or whatever will have some nauseous revelation and $he will feel horrible and restless and need to go away. And $he will find me and I'll have to live mortified by my picayune immortalization in the [[magnum fuckus->Explore1]] ]

(if: (history:) contains "incidenttransition")[You are standing outside your room. A voice comes from a crack in the door: Hello, $name! Your Surface Suit is ready—take a Transport Shuttle to the Pyramid of Surface Travel whenever you're ready! Where would you like to go? [[Upstairs,->up1]] where you can visit the Room of Archival Material or take a Transport Shuttle to another pyramid. [[Downstairs,->down1]] where you can tour the oxygen purification center. [[Gregory's room.->gregory1]] [[Ilsa's room.->ilsa1]] or, you could go back to [[your room.->room]] ] (elseif: (history:) contains "James8")[You'd like to learn more about the code you found by James's door. Maybe you could try the Room of Archival Material upstairs? You are standing outside your room. Where would you like to go? [[Upstairs,->up1]] where you can visit the Room of Archival Material or take a Transport Shuttle to another pyramid. [[Downstairs,->down1]] where you can tour the oxygen purification center. [[Gregory's room.->gregory1]] [[Ilsa's room.->ilsa1]] or, you could go back to [[your room.->room]] ] (else:)[You are standing outside your room. The halls of the pyramid stretch out before you. Where would you like to go? [[Upstairs,->up1]] where you can visit the Room of Archival Material or take a Transport Shuttle to another pyramid. [[Downstairs,->down1]] where you can tour the oxygen purification center. [[Gregory's room.->gregory1]] [[Ilsa's room.->ilsa1]] or, you could go back to [[your room.->room]] ]

(if: (history:) contains "TSB")[You are on one of the higher floors of the pyramid. You [[grew up->mom1]] on this floor. You are near the [[Room of Archival Material.->RAM1]] Down the hall is the [[Transport Shuttle Bay,->TSB]] where you can catch a shuttle to another pyramid. You can also go [[back down.->Explore1]] ] (else:)[You are on one of the higher floors of the pyramid. You [[grew up->mom1]] on this floor. You are near the [[Room of Archival Material.->RAM1]] Down the hall is the [[Transport Shuttle Bay,->trains1]] where you can catch a shuttle to another pyramid. You can also go [[back down.->Explore1]] ]

You are on the bottom floor of the pyramid. Down the hall in front of you is the [[oxygen purification center.]] It has been a long time since you were down here. You wonder if you could remember the way to [[James's old room.->James1]] You're not sure why you came down here. You'd like to go [[back up.->Explore1]]

(if: (history:) contains "gregorynote")[You are at Gregory's room. The door is closed. The floor is very clean. You have already left Gregory a note. [[Leave->Explore1]] ] (else:)[You are at Gregory's room. The door is closed. The floor is very clean. A light fixture speaks: Hello, $name! Gregory is currently asleep. Would you like to [[leave a note->gregorynote]]? [["No thanks."->Explore1]] ]

You go to Ilsa's room. The door is closed. You could knock, but what would be the point? [[Leave->Explore1]]

(if: (history:) contains "Explore1")[You are in your room. It is morning. Light slowly seeps into the corners of the room. The walls and furniture are brushed aluminum. Upon close inspection, one might notice yellowish scum on some of the surfaces in the room. Your bare feet sink slightly into the grey, rubbery floor. What would you like to do today? [[Check on your friends->Where are your friends?]] [[Explore the pyramid->Explore1]] [[Eat]] [[Sleep->Sleep1]] ] (elseif: (history:) contains "Eat")[You are in your room. It is morning. Light slowly seeps into the corners of the room. The walls and furniture are brushed aluminum. Upon close inspection, one might notice yellowish scum on some of the surfaces in the room. Your bare feet sink slightly into the grey, rubbery floor. What would you like to do today? [[Check on your friends->Where are your friends?]] [[Explore the pyramid->eat success]] [[Eat]] [[Sleep->Sleep1]] ] (else:)[You are in your room. It is morning. Light slowly seeps into the corners of the room. The walls and furniture are brushed aluminum. Upon close inspection, one might notice yellowish scum on some of the surfaces in the room. Your bare feet sink slightly into the grey, rubbery floor. What would you like to do today? [[Check on your friends->Where are your friends?]] [[Explore the pyramid->eat fail]] [[Eat]] [[Sleep->Sleep1]] ]

(if: (history:) contains "hansdream21")[You sleep. Do you dream? [[Yes->dreamx]] [[No->room]] ] (else:)[You sleep. Do you dream? [[Yes->hansdream1]] [[No->room]] ]

(set: $gnote to (prompt: "What would you like to tell Gregory?", "FUCK YOU GREGORY")) Thank you, $name. I will make sure Gregory receives this note. [[Leave->Explore1]]

The entrance to the Room of Archival Material is a tall, grandiose archway decorated with golden laurel motifs, framed on either side by white marble Ionic columns. Before entering, you stop at a series of cubbies near the door and slip on a pair of synthetic cloth moccasins. You unhook a grey knit cloak and wrap it around your shoulders. The temperature in the Pyramid of Archival Material is computer-controlled at 64 degrees. [[Enter->RAM2]]

(if: (history:) contains "incident12")[You are in the Transport Shuttle Bay—a massive room filled with the noise of passengers coming and going. The shuttles whip through ports along one side of the pyramid, shooting out into the thin atmosphere, their collisions with the walls and with one another muted by their cloth encasements. Where would you like to go? [[The Pyramid of Surface Travel->PSTtrip1]] [[The Pyramid of Sleeping For A Long Time->sleeplie]] ] (else:)[You are in the Transport Shuttle Bay—a massive room filled with the noise of passengers coming and going. The shuttles whip through ports along one side of the pyramid, shooting out into the thin atmosphere, their collisions with the walls and with one another muted by their cloth encasements. You could go somewhere, but you don't really need to right now. [[Leave->up1]] ]

You are in the oxygen purification center. Large machines line the wall, slurping the empty Martian air from outside and producing a mixture of nitrogen and oxygen and argon. This mixture is purified in a massive tank with [[negative ions]] and [[UV rays]] before it is pumped into the pyramid's rooms and hallways by an extensive central air system. Why did you come in here, again? [[Leave->down1]]

You wander down the hallway, turning familiar corners. Your hand brushes lightly against the smooth aluminum wall. You find yourself outside [[James's old room.->James2]] There is still time to [[turn back.->down1]]

Negative ion air purifiers use chemical injections to clean the air. An ion is a natural particle with either a positive or negative charge. they get this charge be either gaining or losing an electron. Negative ions are simply oxygen atoms that have gained an electron. They magnetically attract airborne particles such as pollen and dust, until the newly-formed particle is too heavy to remain in air. [<a href = "https://learn.allergyandair.com/types-of-air-purifiers/"target="_blank">|X|</a> ] [[Back->oxygen purification center.]]

Air purifiers using this technology have a UV lamp installed and as microorganisms pass by the UV rays radiated from the lamp, cellular or genetic damage occurs, destroying the microorganism. A UV air purifier can convert molecules of oxygen and water found in your air into ozone and hydroxyl. The active molecules react with the air pollutants and destroy them into harmless components like water and carbon dioxide. [<a href = "https://learn.allergyandair.com/types-of-air-purifiers/"target="_blank">|X|</a>] [[Back->oxygen purification center.]]

What was it you said. Personally, I am glad I was created, even though I will suffer at times, am enslaved (by physics and my biology, if not by a conscious agent) and will eventually be murdered (by ageing, if not [[a butcher->James3]]). [<a href = "http://whatisfuture.blogspot.com/2013/01/life-on-farms-may-be-worse-than-death.html"target="_blank">|X|</a> ]

Staphylococcus or staph is what’s known as "normal flora." A type of bacteria that occurs normally all over your skin. Sometimes, when you get a cut, staph bacteria will infect the cut. [["Pathogenic"->James4]] means a bacteria or virus that causes infection.

When staph is pathogenic, the effect can range from boils to massive necrotic decay. MRSA is a staph infection that doesn’t respond to normal antibiotics. During the investigation afterward, a piece of machinery in one of the oxygen purification rooms found traces of James' blood on itself. The door didn't remember him entering. The room's security system, which should have identified [[his exhalations->James5]] as coming from a biological entity, felt ashamed.

It’s not uncommon for staph infections to initially be mistaken for bug bites or painful acne. If you leave it [[untreated->James6]] too long it can get into your bloodstream and then it gets really bad.

They brought him to the Medbay twice for PICC line antibiotic treatment. He left both times and went back to his room. They put him on quarantine until he would come back for treatment. Locked the door until he would call a shuttle to take him [[back.->James6.5]]

when they brought him to the medbay and tried to undress him, it was so bad his feet came off in his shoes. liquefied organs. skin literally sloughing off. i still have bad dreams about him. |X| amazing how you can just ignore something [[you know is going to kill you.->James8]]

As you are about to leave, you notice a small piece of paper near the bottom of James's door. Written upon it is the sequence 2749329-R48. [[Leave.->down1]]

Down one of these hallways is the room you grew up in. You can still [[remember->mom2]] the stories your mother told you as a child.

A hundred or so years ago education was mandatory for child residents. Can you imagine. I walked every day from the Transport Shuttle Bay in the Pyramid Of Education Of Small Children to my assigned Education Room. Sections of the pyramid were already being [[demolished.->mom3]]

On the route through the pyramid there was a section of railing missing and, perpendicular to the wall/ceiling of the pyramid, a diagonal wall that one could slide down to a lower floor, as a shortcut. Each morning sliding down the slope I would [[wish.->mom4]] I would think about something I wanted. "I wish for yellow food paste for dinner tonight." "I wish I would become an Accelerated Learner and meet the Education Requirement so I don’t have to educate myself any more."

I love my mom, I think. Sometimes I remember being near her when I was little. These remembrances feel orange-yellow and full and warm, and usually involve her performing a solitary activity while I watch in wonderment from somewhere. When she moved to Earth it was just like an unspoken thing that we would still be able to communicate with one another easily using the Internet, but that we probably [[wouldn’t->up1]] much.

You enter one of the Viewing Cubicles. It is a square room, maybe the size of your bedroom, with a higher ceiling. There’s a grey ovoid chair next to the hologram projector in the center of the room, which can also create a 2D image, if you’re just watching an old video or something. You gesture towards the squarish base of the projector and it blinks on silently. Sometimes you feel envious of robots and computers. Their ability to do. The projector speaks. Hello, $name. What archival material would you like to view today? [["I would like to view material from long ago."->RAM3]] [["I would like to view the personal files of my friend James, who is dead."->incident1]] [[Leave->up1]]

Sorry, $name. For privacy reasons, you cannot access the confidential files of another resident without a specific file lookup number. [["That makes sense."->RAM2.15]] (if: (history:) contains "James8")[ "[[Actually, I have a file lookup number. 2749329-R48."->incident2]] ]

"Projector, how did people view archival material a thousand years ago?" For many hundreds of years, primitive civilizations uploaded videos onto an archival construct using a device called ‘You-Tube,’ which made the videos accessible to any viewer in possession of the Passage Code. This individualized system excluded undesirable or unworthy individuals from the community. [["What is ‘You-Tube?’"->RAM4]]

Loading: [[file 2749329-R48.->incident3]]

‘You-Tube,’ created in the Earth year 2000 during a time of great prosperity, functioned as a sort of ‘town square’ onto which citizens could 'upload' things they had created: news, journals, or crude works of art. [["Please show me art from ‘You-Tube.’"->RAM5]] [["Wow, that sounds really boring. Bye!->up1]]

Would you like to view our curated selection of the most important and culturally relevant artworks, or a random selection? [["Yes. The curated one."->curated]] [["A random selection, please.->random]]

God, a random selection? There’s so much [[awful shit->RAM6]] to filter through. I don’t think I could stand it.

Curated? By the computer? I can barely hold myself together talking to this fucking thing right now. I don't even want to imagine the [[unbearable shit->RAM6]] it would "curate" for me.

<img src="https://68.media.tumblr.com/e5188e37fdd956f4293b5b7fc92723c1/tumblr_oqhielys4k1rfgyc1o3_1280.png" alt="language haha" style="width:550px;height:303px;" style= align="center"> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8yHOXHMtbTc" target="_blank">|X|</a> The first video is called "Les Sentiers dEmilie en Gironde 25 Promenades pour tous Jean Yves Rossignol jpg." It begins with what seems like an attempt at an optical illusion: a downward view of several objects on a slatted surface, with a rectangular window through which there is a horizontal view of a shelf. On the bottom right corner of the shelf is someone’s face and body, warped into an L-shape. Music plays and a ringing note sounds, ushering in a new object covered in writing. The note sounds again, but nothing happens. To you, this feels dramatic and unsatisfying. Then, without being told, the object vanishes. Credits roll. All the text is in secret code. The video is very short. You feel unnerved by it. [[Continue watching->RAM7]] [[Leave->up1]]

(if: (history:) contains "Eat")[You have [[already eaten.->room]] ] (else:)[Please choose your food paste flavor: [[yellow,->yellow]] [[gray,->gray]] or [[purple.->purple]]]

"I'll have the yellow paste, thanks." He said once that all the flavors tasted the same and that they just colored them as like a placebo thing. He said whichever colors you liked the most were going to taste best, because of one’s psychological makeup. It’s true that I prefer blue and purple food, which are pleasurable colors to me. I think it was the other way around, though—I was conditioned to enjoy colors more because they represented my favorite foods. I don’t think James knew what he was talking about most of the time. You [[finish eating.->room]]

"I'll have the gray paste, thanks." He said once that all the flavors tasted the same and that they just colored them as like a placebo thing. He said whichever colors you liked the most were going to taste best, because of one’s psychological makeup. It’s true that I prefer blue and purple food, which are pleasurable colors to me. I think it was the other way around, though—I was conditioned to enjoy colors more because they represented my favorite foods. I don’t think James knew what he was talking about most of the time. You [[finish eating.->room]]

"I'll have the purple paste, thanks." He said once that all the flavors tasted the same and that they just colored them as like a placebo thing. He said whichever colors you liked the most were going to taste best, because of one’s psychological makeup. It’s true that I prefer blue and purple food, which are pleasurable colors to me. I think it was the other way around, though—I was conditioned to enjoy colors more because they represented my favorite foods. I don’t think James knew what he was talking about most of the time. You [[finish eating.->room]]

"Window, what is the weather forecast?" The forecast for today is windless and chilly, with temperatures in the -75 to -85 range. Tonight, it- "That’s good, never mind. Please reserve me a Surface Suit." Request noted. You will be notified when a Surface Suit is available. "There aren't any available now? How long is the waiting list?" You are 39th on the list. However, there is currently a shortage of Surface Suits. We apologize for the inconvenience. [["A shortage?"->outsidefail2]]

Correct. "No shit correct, I was asking why. I thought each colony was allotted a certain number of Suits for recreation." That is correct. However, Surface Suits are occasionally lost or require maintenance. [["How are they lost?"->outsidefail3]]

"How are they lost? Aren’t they kept in storage when not in use?" That is correct. You wait for more, but the window is [[silent.->room]]

<img src="https://68.media.tumblr.com/567e30ae9f34e96ef1079db9d4466f70/tumblr_oqhielys4k1rfgyc1o1_1280.png" alt="giken" style="width:550px;height:303px;" style= align="center"> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xAjN89xp6B8" target="_blank">|X|</a> The second video is called "Assembling the Seikoh Giken 4.8mm Splice On Connector with OFS Fitel Fusion Splicer." In contrast to the first video, it is totally silent. A person crafts a small, ugly sculpture. You are initially interested, but you cannot tell if the video is meant to teach the viewer how to create a similar object, or if it is a display of skilled performance on the part of the sculptor. You stop the video before it ends. [[Continue watching->RAM8]] [[Leave->up1]]

"Projector, show me videos about shit that I know shit about. Would you like to see videos about Mars? "God fuck no. Just like. Something I can relate to. Shitting and eating. You know?" Choosing random designation ~ ~ 0554. Searching for videos about ~ ~ [[Food Production.->RAM9]]

<img src="https://68.media.tumblr.com/3bfa3840a77169f19230da0acc9dbba7/tumblr_oqhielys4k1rfgyc1o2_1280.png" alt="food paste" style="width:550px;height:303px;" style= align="center"> [<a href = "https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=MVI+0554" target="_blank">|X|</a>] "MVI 0554" is also very short. To you it seems unfinished, or like a single part of a longer work. In the video, a young person is preparing a meal. They show it to someone out of frame. It is the first video with discernible speech. You watch the video four times. The food paste has a strange consistency. You wonder at what point in history your ancestors finalized the recipe for the paste which has made up most of your diet for your entire life. At one point, perhaps speaking to a family member, the subject emphasizes: "Do not forget your BORAX." You remembers learning about something called a Cooking Show, back when residents were forced to produce their own food paste. You are proud at this identification. "’MVI 0054...’ a Cooking Show," you murmur. [["Projector, does modern food paste contain… BORAX?"->RAM10]]

I’m sorry, I do not understand the question. [[Continue watching->RAM11]] [[Leave->up1]]

<img src="https://68.media.tumblr.com/065c800d9c2746f0bbe254f46d5890a6/tumblr_oslhxaCDuH1rfgyc1o1_540.png" alt="scooter" style="width:550px;height:303px;" style= align="center"> [<a href = "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oU3nB58MTjg" target="_blank">|X|</a>] You scream when the video begins. It is shrill and sounds like "HEEIIIIIII!" You jerk backwards and the soft foamy material of the chair absorbs your motion. You remembers a historical film mentioning an artistic implement called a Special Effect, which artists used in conjunction with video to make images that didn’t exist in the real world. The video looks very old, though. There are dead leaves on the ground and dead meat in the hand of a friendly director. You are fairly certain that there were were no Special Effects when this was made. "Fuck! The fuck?" Primitive Earth-dwellers trained wild animals to help them garden, hunt, and acquire currency. "They had things like that on Earth?" Correct. After hundreds of years of domesticating two similar species, coyotes and wolves, humans sequenced their DNA for the most productive nucleotide structures and replicated them to produce a new species called 'dogs,' which were prized for- "Okay okay okay okay okay okay okay! I’m trying to watch the, uh. The you tube. Gimme a break." [[...->RAM12]]

The video is called "Scooter - 091 - ham bone surprise." Once you have regained your composure, you resume watching it. The dog is friendly and cautious at first, but after it eats the ham bone (you make a mental note to ask what a ham bone is), it becomes fearsome. The person filming the video and speaking (narrator, you think, surprising yourself) seems oblivious to the danger of the animal. "I suppose they are used to dealing with dangerous animals, because it was thousands of years ago," you say, skipping the very end of the video. [[Continue watching->RAM13]] [[Leave->up1]]

The projector [[lags.->RAM13]] [[Leave->up1]]

INTERVIEW WITH J[        ] [                ], RESIDENT—PYRAMID 6551-C [[continue->incident4]]

My name is J[        ]. I’m fifteen years old and I live in the Pyramid group 6551, which is near the Valles Marineris canyon, although I heard my current Guardian say I might be relocated soon. Yes, I heard him in the hall. He was talking into a Hand Computer. It sounded like he was speaking to my mom. Can I talk to my mom? Okay, [[sorry.->incident5]]

Anyway, the incident happened in one of the Resource Rooms in the Pyramid’s Learning Sector. Because it’s a small community, and education isn’t required here, we don’t have a separate Pyramid for education. I like going though. There isn't like a standardized education system for scientists per se but some people do study horticulture/mycology, Martian geology/hydrogeology, mechanical engineering, etc. just because they're curious about how we stay alive and [[how long that will probably last.->incident6]] Whenever I get bored in the apartment I either go there, or I wander around the upper floors of the pyramid looking for constellations and nearby planets and stuff. The Windows help by charting out where the visible star clusters are so I can match it up.

People in my Pyramid are really active overall and it’s probably because we’re one of the colony groups on Mars that chose to implement only intermittent intra-cranial stimulation, because when it was invented some of the scientists here thought people would develop a tolerance for it. And look what happened! I’m proud of my ancestors. Our population has a lower tolerance than almost any on Mars now, and the [[intermittent stimulation->incident7]] keeps us sharp and productive—for the most part, anyway.

Well, I am explaining. Most pyramids don’t have any violent crime at all, right? So I have to explain. Intermittent stimulation is kind of a contentious issue among behavioral psychologists, because in order to have a normal life when you’re not stimulating, you have to have a certain amount of self-control. <img style="margin:0px auto;display:block" src="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/251235245/figure/fig3/AS:278876518404111@1443500751914/Figure-1-Intracranial-self-stimulation-ICSS-is-an-operant-conditioning-procedure-that.png" width="800" height="319" alt="ICS"/> [<a href = "https://www.researchgate.net/figure/251235245_fig3_Figure-1-Intracranial-self-stimulation-ICSS-is-an-operant-conditioning-procedure-that" target="_blank">|X|</a>] So we have had increased problems with the mental health of some people who can’t handle euphoria one day, and normal life the next. A few years ago there was that guy who tried to build his own electrodes, and he hooked them up and cooked his brain. I wasn’t there, but my friend Steven said it made a really loud snapping sound when the water in his head boiled. Most of them are like that—just poor, sick people who are only [[dangerous->incident8]] to themselves.

I don’t know who the man was in the Resource Room. Mhmm, I think so. I hadn’t seen him before though. I didn’t hear him very well but it sounded like he was saying "and I mate the royal bath." I don’t know what a [[royal bath->incident8.5]] is.

I was sitting down and I saw it happen and felt like I wasn’t touching the ground. Like I didn’t have a body anymore. It was so strange. I felt myself stand up and I felt someone behind me fall and scramble. To get away. The man was moving across the front of the room, trying to cut all the people who were standing at the front of the room, in front of the tables. I felt myself moving [[like I was in a dream.->incident9.5]]

Then? I think I knocked him down. I don’t remember what happened exactly. I do remember raising my head and Professor Antoni was under one of the tables, and he was looking at me and screaming. I feel sick thinking about how he looked at me. Please make sure you tell him I wasn’t hurt. I had blood on me but I wasn’t hurt. Could I speak to [[him->incident11]] please?

INTERVIEW WITH RODERICK ANTONI, RESIDENT—PYRAMID 6551-C                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      He was eating his face he climbed on top of the man and crushed his eyes and pulled out the liquid, the gel on his fingers and he leaned down and was ripping and eating the man’s nose and eyelids. For minutes after the man stopped screaming, in the minutes it took for the security bots to arrive and separate them. When the man was only limp and groaning I saw him snapping his fingers and tearing hunks of muscle tissue off his face with fingernails and teeth. I remember that the man's lips were gone. None of us thought to stop him we were all so shocked. He was so quick and [[methodical.->incident12]]

What did J[        ] look like? He looked practiced. Like he had eaten men before. [[///->incident13]]

(font: 'VT323')[There can be a profound lack of integration between the past and the present since: 1. What happened necessarily took place under "lesser" circumstances than now, which generates a fundamentally separate context. 2. Artifacts from the past superabundantly clutter the cultural landscape and are seamlessly reused to generate an even greater superabundance from which individuals are unable to discern original intent or [[meaning.->int2]] ] <a href = "http://www.artandpopularculture.com/Hypermodernity" target="_blank">|X|</a>

TRANSMISSION FROM REKNOWNED OUTER SPACE EXPLORATION EXPERT GLEN HANG I put my fair share of time in (nearly 36 hours at time of writing). I grinded out most everything. I have fully explored several planets, maxed out inventories and travelled accross countless star systems. I spent hours simply building up language database. Do you know what i have to show for it? Nothing. it was a waste of time. the creatures were almost all identical, ugly little crabs and dull planets. You had a limited inventory, portals did not work. The only thing you could do was shoot rocks with your gun, and even then, it was limited so you could only shoot at the rocks a bit, with the tool both overheating and running out of fuel. To be clear, this is a beautiful looking simulation, with lot's of hope and wonder, that leads to absolutely nothing. You'll never go back to wherever you were, and you'll never be able to share what you find with another human being. [<a href = "https://envul.com/PC/no-mans-sky/reviews/"target="_blank">|X|</a>] [[///->bad ending]]

The Transport Shuttle zips through the wall and enters the Martian atmosphere. You zone out watching the dark craters and yellow hills pass by below. The trip should only take [[a few minutes.->PSTtrip2]]

The computers have left us in the dark while biologists and biology enthusiasts bicker about why the effects of even our most advanced pharmacological and molecular intra-cranial manipulations—intended to eventually genetically program euphoria by electronically stimulating the mesolimbic dopamine system—[[faded->PSTtrip4]] after no more than three or four hundred years; a result inconsistent with theories in evolution and evolutionary psychology.

(font: 'VT323')[oh its not really that confusing. the ancestors manipulate the simulation . . either they couldnt make it work,] We have, with horrible cruelty, administered drug-cocktails that induced unremitting despair - this was sometimes done in exploring animal "models" of depression. But polarising mood in the opposite direction [[eluded->PSTtrip5]] us. [<a href = "https://www.hedweb.com/hedethic/hedon4.htm"target="_blank">|X|</a> ]

(font: 'VT323')[or they could, but chose not to let us] What could have been utopia, instead: mere [[life.->PSTtrip6]]

(font: 'VT323')[impossible to [[excoriate utopia->SW1]] . when you cannot get in .]

Your Surface Suit is ready when you arrive and you put it on and go through the airlock, which is noiseless and feels kind of phony, like you should be able to just walk straight out but must observe the "social custom" of [[decompression.->SW2]] <img style="margin:0px auto;display:block" src="http://68.media.tumblr.com/de4b414f9b97d7db6fea5cd3dd9c916b/tumblr_ojh11iiMuJ1qeubbbo3_1280.jpg" width="570" height="340" alt="sleepingastronaut"/> [<a href = "http://illusion.scene360.com/art/96948/david-schermann/" target="_blank">|X|</a>]

The suit fits tightly. It’s restrictive like a thick jacket, but not terribly uncomfortable. When you piss, the suit greedily sucks it into pipes which spaghetti through the material like a subway map; it eventually trickles into a flat chamber on your back. The hushed gurgling sound is sort of digestive. That’s what it is, you guess—digesting your piss. The [[dirt->SW3]] is the color of crushed ginger and the sky is the color of pale beetjuice urine or the water in the sink after you wash a scrape

You can’t hear the ground crunch underneath your boot but it feels like it’s making a satisfying crispy sound. It’s approximately -30°C. Part of the reason it’s so cold here even though the surface area is similar to that of Earth is that the atmospheric pressure is much lower—you're reading 8 millibars currently, compared to like 1000 on Earth. It only gets death-cold at night but in your suit you still feel claustrophobic, like a soda that’s been shaken and awaits being opened. "Suit, please alert me if any pressure readings change." Of course, $name. You will be alerted if pressure rises or falls below Surface Suit safety parameters. If you’re interested, the food paste is made primarily from plants with hardiness ratings between 3 and 1, meaning they can survive between -40 and -51 degrees Celsius. This minimizes heating costs, which is important on a planet like Mars, which in terms of horticulture is [[chilly.->SW4]]

Surface walks aren’t encouraged. If a resident gets into trouble on the surface, the cost of even an automated search and rescue is almost certain to exceed the resident’s Community Membership Value Appraisal (CMVA). The Suits all have homing devices but to go out and find them and sometimes pull them out of caves or high-radiation areas is expensive. They do sweeps of the area every 40 days or so and scoop up all the Surface Suits all at once, which is more cost-effective. It’s sort of implied that if you do choose to go out on the surface, you’re [[on your own.->SW5]]

It’s against regulations to lie down or sit because if there’s any moisture on your suit it can sort of freeze and congeal with the ground and people have gotten stuck like that and died, but that’s only if there’s significant moisture. You lie down on your back and look up. You see lots of stars. The primary terrestrial plants used in food production are black crowberries, which are good for treating indigestion; bearberries, which grow very densely and have calming properties; and nuts from the lethum shrub, which are high in fiber and promote a general sense of well-being. Psyllium husk powder and acacia fiber are included to aid digestion and excretion. However, almost all of the nutrients in food paste come from a species of red algae, which is bred to survive at tremendous depths and at [[extremely low temperatures.->SW6]]

On the Heads Up Display (HUD) it says that you are 1.19km from the Surface Travel Pyramid entrance. You are motionless for what feels like an hour but is actually, according to the HUD, two minutes and thirty seconds. You begin to notice a vibration. You feel it and then it’s gone and a little while later you feel it again, but a slightly different [[frequency.->SW7]]

You stand up and look around. The HUD automatically displays a map of notable locations, which there aren't a whole lot, and also a bird’s eye map that basically shows where the big pits are, so you don’t fall in and get fucked up on some rocks. You are near a low hill but there’s nothing in any other direction so you start to walk up the hill. Deep in the distance an orange haze fills the air. <img src="http://www.m-sj.com/FileLocal/20131031013741622.jpg" alt="HTML5 Icon" style="width:400px;height:410px;" style= align="center"> <a href = "http://www.m-sj.com/show_new.asp?nid=25"target="_blank">|X|</a> An imperfect god for an [[imperfect world.->SW8]]

You can hear something now, like a buzzing sound. The atmosphere on Mars is thin and cold and sound doesn’t travel well so when you’re hiking usually you just hear your own breathing, unless you enable noise cancellation in the helmet. Over the top of the hill you can make out someone in a Surface Suit crouched over some objects you don’t recognize. You feel dizzy. $name feels dizzy. The [[vibration->SW9]] is very strong.

When $name approaches, the vibration stops and the figure turns to face $him. Instead of a typical Surface Suit helmet, they wear a silver and black helmet with what looks like a digital display on the front. $name can see the shadows of their eye sockets through the display. Words form and dissipate on the [[faceplate.->SW10]]

(font: 'VT323')[HELLO I AM MARKUS I AM TRAGICALLY UNABLE TO COMMUNICATE VIA SPEECH] To respond, you can activate your [[Surface Helmet Interface Telecom System,->SW11]] which will allow you to project your voice a short distance.

"Okay," $name says. (font: 'VT323')[you are here to discuss the aesthetic significance of post-hedonistic transhuman jainism] [["Did I miss the hedonism? Haha just kidding. What?"->SW12]]

(font: 'VT323')[humans: technology-enhanced biological entities. in other words, we are fucking with ourselves all the time forever] In front of Markus is a black fold-out table, upon which rests a transparent cube attached with wires to something out of view. (font: 'VT323')[ for better or for worse we have separated ourselves from the natural world. most obviously by technological advancements to the human lifespan. but, I think, even more by this constant compulsion throughout history to create terrible, cruel things. like 'art.' we are no longer what we once were, [[whatever that was->SW13]] ]

"Before art you mean? What does transhuman mean? We're human no matter what art we make. Right?" Markus opens the cube and, using tweezers, removes something too small for $name to see. [["Is that a piece of sand?"->SW14]]

(font: 'VT323')[none of this was a mistake. do you know what happened to all the animals] "I don’t think there were any on Mars to begin with," $name says, reasonably. (font: 'VT323')[ few opponents of the transhumanist agenda are prepared to take the logic of their own position seriously. ethically speaking, if there were really something intrinsically good about the existence of involuntary suffering, predation, hunger, depression, aging, cognitive frailties etcetera, then wouldnt we seek [[deliberately to (re-)introduce such phenomena->SW15]] in their absence?] [<a href = "https://www.hedweb.com/social-media/2014.html"target="_blank">|X|</a> ]

$name reflexively scratches $his helmet with $his glove. Markus picks up a handful of sand and sifts through it. $He $selects one grain and painstakingly $picks it up with the tweezers, placing it inside the cube. The cube begins to vibrate. Sensors placed at various points around the cube capture the frequency of the grain’s [[vibration->SW18]] and amplify it through a speaker next to Markus.

$name's father had taken $him on a long trip across Mars to the Electricity Pyramid, where the [[Quadrant Generator->SW17]] was located.

Mars has four generators spaced equally across its surface. The Quadrant Generator was too big to appreciate visually, of course, but the vibration was enough to impress upon $name the vastness of the machine. It was no louder than speaking volume, but the hum shook $his bones. Standing there between the matte grey walls of the Quadrant Generator Viewing Room $he felt $his body [[disintegrated and reconstructed->SW24]] from the inside out. <img src=" http://68.media.tumblr.com/fbc4f28677181f67f5801fdacd725d39/tumblr_o69g1c9aYp1u0cvfko1_1280.jpg" alt="HTML5 Icon" style="width:650px;height:894px;" style= align="center"> <a href = "http://howlingscience.tumblr.com/post/143447770734/jack-kirby"target="_blank">|X|</a>

(font: 'VT323')[ tone poetry. one response to the uh . . . . . fuckery] $name blinks. Markus stops the vibration and removes the grain of sand from the cube, letting it slide from $his hand onto the ground. "Okay, uh." says $name. (font: 'VT323')[ I’m trying to find the [[right one->SW19]] ]

Markus gestures to the innumerable grains of sand within view, seemingly without irony. "Are you serious?" asks $name. (font: 'VT323') [yeah] "Why is the [[right one->SW20]] so important?" asks $name.

(font:'VT323')[it’s for this project I’m working on. I’m appropriating this notion of an inconceivable expanse of sand as a lens through which I will try to understand this universal human experience of like, ‘having events occur,’ you know? The right grain is . . .] "You mean, to you, life is just existing while things happen? And this is equivalent to time travel on a 3D timeline or something?" (font: 'VT323')[yeah, kind of. not really. Who are you? you sound like [[someone I knew->SW21]] long ago]

"I don't think we've met before." Markus’s readout goes blank. It’s hard to see $his eyes through the screen. Maybe $he $rolls them. Then turns back to $his cube. "It seems like you don't like [[art->SW22]], though," says $name. Markus shrugs.

$name stands and looks down for a little while and then walks ten meters away. $He $scoops up a handful of sand and $picks through it with $his fingertips and slowly $walks back, sand spilling from between $his fingers, drifting downwards, wavering slightly in the weak breeze. $He $approaches the table, sifting sand by separating $his fingers until a very small amount is left. Markus watches, expressionless. Finally, isolating one grain at the center of $his palm, $name pushes the remaining sand off with a gloved finger and crouches at the cube. [["This one."->SW23]]

<head><style>@import url('https://fonts.googleapis.com/css?family=VT323');</head></style>Markus sits silently for three seconds before lifting $his tweezers, picking the grain off $name’s glove and placing it in the cube. $He $activates the vibration. The cube [[rumbles.->SW15.5]]

You return [[home->room2]] from the Pyramid of Surface Travel.

You are in your room. It is late. The light drips down from overhead, pooling at the bottom corners of your furniture objects. What would you like to do today? [[Check on your friends->friendsfail2]] [[Explore the pyramid->Explorefail2]] [[Eat->Eatfail2]] [[Sleep->Sleep2]]

Did you leave Gregory a message? It doesn't matter. Your friends can wait until [[morning.->room2]]

You just got back to your room. You're [[too tired->room2]] to go out again right now.

You think about eating, but remember the food paste flavors from earlier. You're not in the [[mood.->room2]]

You lie down in your bed. You're exhausted, but you are dizzily half awake for what feels like over an hour. You wonder if you are sick or dehydrated. Eventually, you fall into a [[deep sleep.->blowup2]] You dream of the blow-up.

<img src="http://68.media.tumblr.com/6d79f34e2c4174a1a3b3117a3a34b0f9/tumblr_opmy9mGXOU1qd5zk2o1_1280.jpg" alt="William Hamilton - Campi Phlegraei. Observations on the Volcanos of the Two Siciles as they have been communicated to the Royal Society of London 1776-1779" style="width:770px;height:1109px;" style= align="center"> [<a href = "http://soircharmant.tumblr.com/post/160481384017/william-hamilton-campi-phlegraei-observations" target="_blank">|X|</a>] When I wake up in the middle of the night I always think I’m going to be sick. I’m always afraid of that. This time I gasp awake. My chest feels full and heavy. I get up and lumber to the Receptacle. I press the button for clean water and it fills with a rushing sound and I wet my hands and rub underneath my eyes. I rinse the sweat from my forehead and neck with cold [[water.->blowup3]]

The water stops and there’s just the half-sound of water moving within itself and a shhh from somewhere. I walk out of my apartment into the hallway. My feet are cold but sweaty, and they make a squeaking sound on the rubber floor. At the end of the hallway is a glass wall separating our living block from the atrium in the massive center of the pyramid, and the living blocks on the other side. I look across the length and listen— [[shhhh.->blowup4]]

A glow down near the bottom corner of the pyramid, where the machines lie—those that slurp the empty Martian air. An [[orange haze.->blowup5]]

There is a swelling and the glass across the pyramid bursts. The atrium fills with glitter. I watch the tanks hundreds of feet below as they catch and pop. Thump Thump Thump Thump. The floors and ceilings melt and drip down into [[the inferno.->blowup6]]

Some people notice the heat and the pressure and begin to run before they are engulfed. Most stand still, like decorations. Foam blasts from tubes in the walls, enough to slow the flames but not enough to put them out. Directly across from me someone runs down the hallway, smoke streaming behind them. The hallway fills with foam. A white triangle with horizontal lines. The hierarchy of needs. (link-reveal: "Dissolving into mush below.") [Time turns all men into [[pies.->wakeup3]] |X| ]

You wake up with a jolt. You do not feel well-rested. [[Get out of bed->room3]] [[Sleep->sleep3]]

(if: (history:) contains "Explore3transition4") [You are in your room. It is morning. Rays of light sift through the dust outside and drift into your room, tinting the walls and pale surfaces sepia. You are tired. What would you like to do today? [[Explore the pyramid->Explore3]] [[Eat->Eat3]] [[Sleep->sleep3]] ] (else:)[You are in your room. It is morning. Rays of light sift through the dust outside and drift into your room, tinting the walls and pale surfaces sepia. You are tired. What would you like to do today? [[Explore the pyramid->Explore3transition1]] [[Eat->Eat3]] [[Sleep->sleep3]] ]

You lie down and try to sleep. You dream of James, and an ornate bathtub brimming with [[blood.->wakeup3]]

(if: (history:) contains "Sleep3")[You are standing outside your room. The halls of the pyramid stretch out before you. They seem impossibly long. You are so, so tired. You can feel it in your eyes and teeth. Where would you like to go? [[Upstairs,->up3]] where you can visit the Room of Archival Material or take a Transport Shuttle to another pyramid. [[Downstairs,->down3]] where you can tour the oxygen purification center. [[Gregory's room.->gregory3]] [[Ilsa's room.->ilsa3]] or, you could go back to [[your room.->room3]] ] (else:)[You are standing outside your room. The halls of the pyramid stretch out before you. They seem impossibly long. Where would you like to go? [[Upstairs,->up3]] where you can visit the Room of Archival Material or take a Transport Shuttle to another pyramid. [[Downstairs,->down3]] where you can tour the oxygen purification center. [[Gregory's room.->gregory3]] [[Ilsa's room.->ilsa3]] or, you could go back to [[your room.->room3]] ]

(if: (history:) contains "Eat3")[You have [[already eaten.->room3]] ] (else:)["Uh, Ceiling, what are today's flavors?" Today's flavors are [[red->redpaste]], [[pink->pinkpaste]] and [[orange.->orangepaste]]]

"I'd like the red paste." The average projected outcome for a healthy person who doesn’t opt out is 182.6 years in other words you are approximately 1/8 through your life cycle should you choose to complete it. These numbers aren’t totally certain but barring catastrophic equipment malfunction or some sort of like personal disaster this is probably what will happen, statistically. By the way when people are 120 years old or so they’re not nice to look at. James had a lot to say about the ouroboros of prolonging life for the sake of itself but on a less philosophical level you can just see each layered flesh flap slosh and jiggle. By the time they’re approaching 200 years old forget about it. Our innate biological disposition is to speculate. You [[finish eating.->room3]]

"I'd like the pink paste." The average projected outcome for a healthy person who doesn’t opt out is 182.6 years in other words you are approximately 1/8 through your life cycle should you choose to complete it. These numbers aren’t totally certain but barring catastrophic equipment malfunction or some sort of like personal disaster this is probably what will happen, statistically. By the way when people are 120 years old or so they’re not nice to look at. James had a lot to say about the ouroboros of prolonging life for the sake of itself but on a less philosophical level you can just see each layered flesh flap slosh and jiggle. By the time they’re approaching 200 years old forget about it. Our innate biological disposition is to speculate. You [[finish eating.->room3]]

"I'd like the orange paste." The average projected outcome for a healthy person who doesn’t opt out is 182.6 years in other words you are approximately 1/8 through your life cycle should you choose to complete it. These numbers aren’t totally certain but barring catastrophic equipment malfunction or some sort of like personal disaster this is probably what will happen, statistically. By the way when people are 120 years old or so they’re not nice to look at. James had a lot to say about the ouroboros of prolonging life for the sake of itself but on a less philosophical level you can just see each layered flesh flap slosh and jiggle. By the time they’re approaching 200 years old forget about it. Our innate biological disposition is to speculate. You [[finish eating.->room3]]

You are on one of the higher floors of the pyramid. Down the hall is the [[Transport Shuttle Bay->TSB3]], where you can catch a shuttle to another pyramid. You can also go [[back down.->Explore3]]

You are on the bottom floor of the pyramid. Down the hall in front of you is the oxygen purification center. You're not sure why you came down here. You'd like to go [[back up.->Explore3]]

(if: (history:) contains "gregorynote")[You are in front of Gregory's room. The door is closed. A light fixture speaks: $name! I'm sorry, Gregory is out right now. [[Leave->Explore3]] ] (elseif: (history:) contains "gregorynote3") [You are in front of Gregory's room. The door is closed. A light fixture speaks: $name! I'm sorry, Gregory is out right now. [[Leave->Explore3]] ] (else:)[A light fixture speaks: Hello, $name! Gregory is currently asleep. Would you like to [[leave a note->gregorynote3]]? [[Leave->Explore3]] ]

(if: (history:) contains "AC3")[You are in front of Ilsa's door. The hallway is clean but feels dark. Across from her doorway, the air conditioning unit sputters. You tried. [[Leave->Explore3]] ] (else:)[You are in front of Ilsa's door. The hallway is clean, but feels weirdly dark. Across from her doorway, an [[air conditioning unit->AC1]] sputters. [[Leave->Explore3]] ]

You are in the Transport Shuttle Bay—a massive room filled with the noise of passengers coming and going. The shuttles whip through ports along one side of the pyramid, shooting out into the thin atmosphere, their collisions with the walls and with one another muted by their cloth encasements. Where would you like to go? [[The Pyramid of Sleeping For A Long Time please god I want to sleep->PSLTtrip1]]

(set: $gnote to (prompt: "What would you like to tell Gregory?", "FUCK YOU GREGORY")) Thank you, $name. I will make sure Gregory receives this note. [[Leave->Explore3]]

You move closer and examine the air conditioning unit, a half-dome of sculpted metal jutting out of the wall with an opening at its bottom. It appears that the filter is [[clogged.->AC2]] [[Leave->Explore3]]

You reach underneath the unit and feel for the opening. It's a difficult angle to get at. You could [[keep trying->AC3]] if you wanted, but you probably won't be able to fix it. [[Leave->Explore3]]

You keep wiggling your hand inside the unit, and finally your hand contacts a soft surface. It might be the filter. However, you can't really access it in any way. You remove your hand from the hole. There is a grain of sand on the tip of your middle finger. [[Leave->Explore3]]

In the early days of the martian colony, after our failure to genetically engineer euphoria, monitoring systems projected unacceptably high opt-out rates, especially among restless younger residents. These computers were faced with the difficult task of preventing residents from making potentially life-threatening decisions based on temporary Severe Suicidal Depression, without infringing residents’ right to [[complete control->Explore3transition2]] over their existences.

I remember James saying "I don’t think I can stand it" at one point, without context. This was long before he [[died.->Explore3transition3]]

The solution was an allotment of Induced Sleep for each resident. In dedicated Pyramids, residents may choose to expend any amount of their allotted 500 years of Induced Sleep. They are cryopreserved in pods and awoken after prespecified amounts of time. "Induced Sleep" is called sleep but it’s really something else, from what I’ve heard. It’s like a semi-conscious hibernation, where you’re kind of aware of the [[passage of time.->Explore3transition4]]

I’ve never used any of my Induced Sleep. It’s worth expending… 100 or so years? Maybe 150? Maybe something will be [[different->Explore3]] then?

Sleeping for a long time? You can do that in your bed! [[No need->TSB]] to go to that pyramid. That's for something else.

Sometimes you feel envious of robots and computers. Their ability to do. The projector speaks. Hello, $name. What archival material would you like to view today? [["I would like to view material from long ago."->RAM3]] [[Leave->up1]]

He came in saying this stuff and he had this little piece of metal he was using to cut people. He had blood all over his arms and chest already so I don’t know how many people he had cut outside. He came in and put it through the neck of one of the older Professors. I don’t remember. The only one I really know well is Professor Antoni, not really any of the others. I just call them Professor haha. You won’t tell me but I saw how the thing went in and I know he’s [[dead.->incident9]] You don’t have to tell me.

Around the table. I was behind him and it felt very quiet in the room. I remember thinking we were almost the same height and had almost the same hair, and it was like looking in a broken mirror, haha. Like I was looking at myself from behind, through a [[broken mirror.->incident10]] Broken so it shows you backwards. <img style="margin:0px auto;display:block" src="http://www.quietrev.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/Rene-Magritte-Not-To-Be-Reproduced-529x351.jpg" width="529" height="351" alt="sleepingastronaut"/> [<a href = "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Not_to_Be_Reproduced" target="_blank">|X|</a>]

"Jesus, that was a long file," you think, approaching the door of the Room of Archival Materials. "My Surface Suit must be ready by now!" [[Go to the elevator->up1]]

You are awake. It's the next day. [[Get up->ANSIM]] [[Go back to sleep->Sleep]]

Are you sure you wouldn't like to eat first? Today's flavors are yellow, gray and purple. [[Actually, I could use something to eat.->Eat]] [[I'm not hungry.->opt out explanation]]

"Opting out" is the standard nomenclature used to describe a decision to not partake in any scheduled behavior like eating, drinking, taking vitamins, etc. which is meant to prolong one’s life. It’s a euphemistic way to refer to suicide by inaction. Opt out enough and the system computers will remind you less and less often what you need to do to remain alive. Eventually, the computer’s assigned role will be to check whether you’re still moving every couple days. It saves on [[energy.->Explore intro]]

I wasn't really hungry, but it's good that I [[ate something.->opt out explanation]] The system gets antsy when you opt out.

You feel like you are floating above your own head. Looking down at your body, an automated facsimile of $name. Of [[you.->PSLTtrip2]]

$name goes to the Pyramid of Sleeping For A Long Time On Purpose and gets into a Sleep Pod. $He $feels sad and sleepy. The Sleep Pod fills up with a transparent viscous liquid and $name coughs a lot and says "AAAH!!!" and then falls deep asleep. $He $sleeps and [[$dreams.->int1]] <img style="margin:0px auto;display:block" src="http://vsevgallery.com/img/bPIC/201506/h_Su9j-c_O6u.jpg" width="700" height="350" alt="sleep"/> [<a href = "http://vsevgallery.com/show/447391"target="_blank">|X|</a> ]

In one of $his dreams, $name is in a big, soundless room. The walls and floor are red tile. There’s no evident light source but all surfaces have a slight glint. James and Markus are standing in the center of the room, not far from $name. [[. . .->int3]]

$name walks over. "You guys are here too, huh?" asks $name. James looks like he’s laughing hard, but makes no sound. Markus doesn’t have $his mask on but $name feels like $he can tell it is Markus, like $he saw Markus's face in a dream long ago. The room sounds like how [[cold vapor->int4]] floating in a room sounds.

Suddenly there is a flash of bright light like a special-effects mine exploding, and small insects fly out of the flash, whirring around the room. $name has a realization that in this dream world, food paste is made by [[grinding up->int5]] these insects. "What could this mean?" $name says out loud, absurdly.

James turns towards Markus and opens his mouth like he’s screaming. The decalcification stains on his dry, off-white teeth gleam dully. Veins stand out in his neck. The room is still completely soundless. <center><img src="http://68.media.tumblr.com/e8c6d2735175aac221669fbe72b256d0/tumblr_ogioohRobM1qbtrumo1_1280.jpg" alt="electric light" style="width:350px;height:747px;" style= align="center"> <a href = "http://danskjavlarna.tumblr.com/post/157865387399/illuminating-the-eyes-through-the-mouth-from" target="_blank">|X|</a></center> Markus looks at $name with sad lidded blue eyes, with a passive drugged expression. The skin on $name’s neck [[crawls.->int6]]

Markus raises an arm and points at James’s mouth. $He $holds it there and $stares at $name, and none of them move. James is [[hunched.->int7]]

Sand begins to pour out of James’s mouth. The mass of sand is likely much greater than the storage capacity of James's mouth and throat, $name notices. James is looking at $name now too and, $name notices, making a sound sort of like a choked scream. James looks very angry and his eyes start bleeding. There is sand in the blood and it is sticky and rough and seems like it is causing him a great deal of pain. James’s eyes are bugging out and he’s screaming horribly from deep within his throat and one of his eyes becomes cloudy with blood and then the back of it opens up, $name thinks so anyway because it fills up with blood entirely and bulges a little, and grains of sand rub through the sclera and cornea and spring small holes and push out like little hairs growing and drip down his cheek in spidery rivulets, a brackish mix of blood and aqueous humor and [[sand.->int8]]

Markus is shaking and gesturing weirdly, and $he intones in a deep voice— I hope my professors Know How To Purify, To Heal, And To Animate The Royal Bath;… moaning this, over and over, Purify Heal Animate The Royal Bath Purify Heal Animate The Royal Bath Purify Heal Animate The Royal Bath $name covers $his face with $his hands and [[closes $his eyes.->int9]]

When $he $opens $his eyes the room is glowing pale yellow instead of red and Markus is gone. James is there, sitting in a sloping chair made of sand. The floor tiles [[glow->int10]] through a thin layer of sand on the floor.

James’s eye socket is empty, but not horribly. It looks healed, clean and tasteful, like a PG pirate skeleton. He looks at $name through his remaining eye and doesn’t open his mouth, but somehow speaks into $name’s mind directly using kind of a distant tone of voice, like he’s reading something, and says <img style="margin:0px auto;display:block" src=" https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/564x/0b/02/ff/0b02ff91d0c3d1a2b632383667a1f02e.jpg" width="350" height="450" alt="david moses ‘87"/> [<a href = "https://www.pinterest.com/pin/475481673142473041/" target="_blank">|X|</a>] When the time comes how seriously will you engage with the organization of meaning? How do you, $name, organize meaning? What’s your like [[thing??->int11]] Do you even do shit?

There’s always the Martian standby of resisting personal growth and just making some Local Art about maybe, I don’t know, redness or a blown-up view of uniquely particulate physics. But to each their own. Who am I to blank and etc. [[...->int12]]

Listen, buddo. Hey, don’t fall asleep. Fucko. Listen: When I go it won’t be over a long period of time. I am not going to wither away. I am going to uneuphamistically kill myself. Blammo. Haha. But seriously. I’m [[thinking->int13]] about it.

I think people should think about it more. It’s all we have left. How we [[die.->int14]]

$name, one of my earlier plans couldn’t work because— get this—the Transport Shuttle cloth is fire retardant! Is this weird for you? I can leave you alone. Markus says I get manic when I talk about the [[Opt-Out Policy.->int15]]

Honestly doesn’t it just seem wrong though. Shriveling into nothing like you’ve, you’ve depressurized, or something. When I go it’ll be[[—!->int16]]

It [[wasn’t->int17]], though, James.

$name doesn’t turn in $his sleep. $He $is upright in $his Sleep Pod, which is filled mostly with frozen liquid and gas. $He $has a dream that the entire system framework, all the interlinked objects in the colony, the entire mind of every individual thing, has been squashed down into one cube. It looks like the one Markus used, except it is opaque. In the dream, $name keeps the [[cube->int18]] on $his desk.

Sometimes $he $dreams about feeling very cold. $He $has never been this cold, obviously. $He $has a dream that $he $pees, but $he $doesn’t pee in real life. [[...->int19]]

When $he $wakes up 150 years have passed. <img style="margin:0px auto;display:block" src="http://68.media.tumblr.com/22be7f701a1068b2b9349b8cd4469810/tumblr_o04dggq7an1slsxfzo1_540.gif" alt="dream"/> [<a href = "http://redlipstickresurrected.tumblr.com/post/136831867315/a-na5" target="_blank">|X|</a>] [[->->thaw1]]

You thaw. It takes a few minutes. You are impatient and the Sleep Pod is too small for you to stretch out at all or even rub your face with your hands, so you start wiggling. <img src="https://cdna.artstation.com/p/assets/images/images/000/166/124/large/alexander-mandradjiev-airlock-1v3.jpg?1407953320" alt="mandradjiev" style="width:885px;height:515px;" style= align="center"> [<a href = "https://www.artstation.com/artist/mandra" target="_blank">|X|</a>] You wiggle against the transparent cylindrical walls of the Pod, and slap it with your arms and thighs. It sounds [[weird and muted->thaw2]] because of the oxygen mixture.

Finally it opens and you clamber out and pick up a soft grey robe, which is unfolded on the floor several feet away. The Pyramid of Sleeping For A Long Time is quiet and empty-seeming, even though it appears to be very full of Pods with people inside of them. You look around the room, not noticing the slapping of bare feet on the floor approaching. You turn and see a short, old, naked, angry-looking person walking quickly [[towards->thaw3]] you.

"Thank you much!" the person says, aggressively, before climbing into the Pod and rubbing their ass back and forth on the padded interior to find a comfortable position and then activating the Pod, which quickly fills with ultra-cold liquid and gas. The person’s annoyed expression freezes, and a enormous-but-otherwise-realistic replica of a human hand on a long metallic arm swoops down from far above and snatches the Pod off the floor, and puts it up on a stack of Pods, very high up, where it dislodges two other Pods, which teeter and then tumble down from the stack of Pods, one on either side of the massive mound, so that one crashes somewhere out of sight on the other side of the Pyramid and the other lands maybe 20 meters away from you and somehow both squishes down and shatters explosively, so that when the resounding boom fades and movement ceases, all that remains is a twisted hunk of aluminum and some obliterated chunks of fabric and steaming ultra-cold juice from inside the Pod and a billion shining [[shards of glass.->thaw4]]

Immediately, softly blinking lights on the floor indicate a route around the glass shards to the exit of the Pyramid. We hope you have enjoyed the Pyramid of Sleeping For A Long Time. Now get out there and [[see what you’ve missed!->room3.5]]

The next morning you examine your room, moving objects around and inspecting the furniture and the walls. The greyish-yellowish residue seems more noticeable. There is something new in the corner: a semi-translucent chamber type thing, where if you hold an article of clothing inside and let go, it will hang in the air and float over to your wad of clothing and sort of shuffle itself in with the other [[clothes.->roomtransition1.5]]

Your body language indicated displeasure. [["Can you leave me alone? I would like to be alone."->roomtransition3]]

Certainly. However, you have one missed message from Gregory. Would you- "Gregory? Uh, summarize." Gregory would like to know when you are around and if you would like to hang out. "Oh, fuck, wow! Oh, that’s embarrassing. Phone tag with Gregory!" Phone tag with Gregory. "Uhh, tell Gregory I’m around! Let him know I’m around, okay?" Gregory is currently sleeping—his status is "Do Not Disturb." "Okay, just let him know when he wakes up that I’m [[around."->roomtransition4]]

You wait for a [[response.->roomtransition5]]

"Okay? Did you hear me? Notify-" I’m sorry, my silence was meant to represent tacit understanding. [[...->room4]]

That night $name's [[articulated shadow->articulated shadow2]] hovers and shimmers in the blackened room. It hums and shuffles the files on $his Computer display and touches $his cheek and $he $mutters in $his sleep.

It squeezes through the hypercompressed glass and bursts out into the Martian night—cold and glowing at its edges, sand creaking silently and shifting in a tenuous drift of CO2. Far away, a dust particle shivers, dry and electrostatic, and another, and a [[churning->articulated shadow3]] begins.

(if: (history:) contains "GoToRAM")[You are in your room. It is late. The dust outside your window is impermeable. What would you like to do today? [[Explore the pyramid->Explore4]] [[Eat->Eat4]] [[Sleep->Sleep4]] ] (else:)[You are in your room. It is late. The dust outside your window is impermeable. You have one [[new message.->GoToRAM]] What would you like to do today? [[Explore the pyramid->Explore4]] [[Eat->Eat4]] [[Sleep->Sleep4]] ]

Like most groundbreaking scientific theories, it took a while for the concept of the [[Ancestor Simulation->ANSIM2]] to become widely accepted.

To get from place to place we have big magnet-powered trains made of cloth and rubber called Transport Shuttles. They move independently and pick up passengers and then link up and magnetize together and zoom to different destinations at incredibly [[high speeds.->trains2]] A lot of the design in the colonies is sort of "padded-room aesthetic."

Sometimes the trains crash or collide with one another. They bounce and spin over the Martian landscape kicking up huge clouds of dust tumbling thousands of miles over the desert careening off of plateaus into deep craters while the occupants look out the windows in fascination, cushioned by brilliant ballistic technology, and then they must be located and [[brought back->TSB]] with giant magnetic helicopters.

You are in your room. The trip back to your pyramid felt endless. The Transport Shuttle seemed to grind through its tunnels and passages like an overfed cobra through a rodent's burrow. How can you still be so [[tired?->sleep3.5]]

You lie down. In all this time your bed must have been replaced. It feels the same. You sleep [[dreamlessly.->articulated shadow1]]

You are standing outside your room. Where would you like to go? [[Upstairs.->up4]] [[Downstairs.->down4]] [[Gregory's room.->gregory4]] [[Ilsa's room.->ilsa4]] or, you could go back to [[your room.->room4]]

(if: (history:) contains "Eat4")[You have [[already eaten.->room4]] ] (else:)[Today's flavors are [[black,->black]] [[blue]] and [[white.->white]]]

(if: (history:) contains "sand dream 20")[You sleep. Do you dream? [[No->room4]] [[Yes->other dream]] ] (else:)[You sleep. Do you dream? [[No->room4]] [[Yes->sand dream 1]] ]

(if: (history:) contains "RAM4.14")[You are on one of the higher floors of the pyramid. You are near the Room of Archival Material. Down the hall is the [[Transport Shuttle Bay,->TSB4]] where you can catch a shuttle to another pyramid. Could you go even [[higher?->stars1]] You can also go [[back down.->Explore4]] ] (elseif: (history:) contains "GoToRAM")[You are on one of the higher floors of the pyramid. You are near the [[Room of Archival Material.->RAM4.1]] Down the hall is the [[Transport Shuttle Bay,->TSB4]] where you can catch a shuttle to another pyramid. Could you go even [[higher?->stars1]] You can also go [[back down.->Explore4]] ] (else:)[You are on one of the higher floors of the pyramid. You are near the Room of Archival Material. You've already seen everything there, though. Down the hall is the [[Transport Shuttle Bay,->TSB4]] where you can catch a shuttle to another pyramid. Could you go even [[higher?->stars1]] You can also go [[back down.->Explore4]] ]

(if: (history:) contains "oxygen purification center4")[You are on the bottom floor of the pyramid. Ahead is the oxygen purification center. You avert your gaze from its doorway. You wonder if you could remember the way to [[James's old room.->Jamesroom]] You're not sure why you came down here. You'd like to go [[back up.->Explore4]] ] (else:)[You are on the bottom floor of the pyramid. Down the hall in front of you is the [[oxygen purification center.->oxygen purification center4]] You wonder if you could remember the way to [[James's old room.->Jamesroom]] You're not sure why you came down here. You'd like to go [[back up.->Explore4]] ]

(if: (history:) contains "gregorynote")[You are in front of Gregory's room. The door is closed, but slightly askew—the metal frame seems jaggedly bent near the bottom, preventing the door from properly sealing. Across the hall, the [[light fixture]] makes a sad, hollow glass noise. [[Leave->Explore4]] ] (elseif: (history:) contains "gregorynote3")[You are in front of Gregory's room. The door is closed, but slightly askew—the metal frame seems jaggedly bent near the bottom, preventing the door from properly sealing. Across the hall, the [[light fixture]] makes a sad, hollow glass noise. [[Leave->Explore4]] ] (else:)[You are in front of Gregory's room. The door is closed, but slightly askew—the metal frame seems jaggedly bent near the bottom, preventing the door from properly sealing. [[Leave->Explore4]] ]

(if: (history:) contains "AC8")[You are in front of Ilsa's door. The cracked rubber floor sticks to your feet. Why are you barefoot? Across from her doorway, an air conditioning unit gasps for breath. [[Leave->Explore4]] ] (elseif: (history:) contains "AC3")[You are in front of Ilsa's door. The cracked rubber floor sticks to your feet. Why are you barefoot? Across from her doorway, a silent [[air conditioning unit->AC5]] is mounted on the wall. [[Leave->Explore4]] ] (else:)[You are in front of Ilsa's door. The cracked rubber floor sticks to your feet. Why are you barefoot? You have no reason to be here. [[Leave->Explore4]] ]

You flick the light fixture. It buzzes to life. Hello, $name! Gregory is out at an art exhibit. He left a message for you. The message reads: re: "$gnote" :: "Hey $name. Thanks so much for the message. Go fuck yourself!" Would you like to respond? [["Yes."->gregorynote4]] [[Leave->Explore4]]

Are you sure? [[Yes->hansdream2]] [[No->room]]

You sit on the bed and then lie down. You think about the simulation. "I live in it! I am in here. I live in myself. Every time I move to a new location I have to inhabit it! It’s like a movie is happening around me all the time about me [[inhabiting the space->sand dream 2]] I’m in. It makes me feel self-conscious and strange."

(set: $gnote2 to (prompt: "What would you like to tell Gregory?", "DONT FUCK WITH ME GREGORY")) Thank you, $name. I will make sure Gregory receives this note. [[Leave->Explore4]]

You step closer to the air conditioning unit. The hallway is dark, the air silent but heavy. The unit appears non-functional. Is it broken? Or is there something clogging the [[filter?->AC6]] [[Leave->Explore4]]

You reach into the hole underneath the unit. In the darkness, your hand encounters a mass. [[Recoil->AC6.5]] from the mass. [[Grab->AC7]] the mass.

You jump back from the air conditioning unit. It sits silently. Reach back inside and [[grab->AC7]] the mass. [[Leave->Explore4]]

You close your fingers around the mass. It crumbles and spills out between your fingers. A large clump of [[sand->AC8]] is dislodged from the inside of the unit, and thuds onto the floor.

You can't reach any further into the hole. You put some of the sand into your pocket and wipe the grit off your hand. The unit wheezes weakly. [[Leave->Explore4]]

You are in the oxygen purification center. Large machines line the wall, slurping the empty Martian air from outside and producing a mixture of nitrogen and oxygen and argon. This mixture is purified in a massive tank with negative ions and UV rays before it is pumped into the pyramid's rooms and hallways by an extensive central air system. You pause for a moment and [[listen->opc1]] to the machines.

James's door has been removed, and the wall filled in. [[Leave->down4]]

You approach the entrance to the Room of Archival Material. The gilded archway has splintered and eroded. Pieces of bent metal, plaster and mucilage are strewn around the opening. The two marble columns show no signs of wear. [[Enter->RAM4.2]]

(if:(history:) contains "walkabout8")[You are in the Transport Shuttle Bay. Shuttles seem to be leaving almost exclusively in one direction: north, towards Markus's Pyramid. These shuttles embark packed so fully that the faces of travelers press against the glass, their excited expressions squashed manically flat like cartoons. Black posters, illegibly tattered by the elements, are pinned to the cloth outer bodies of the shuttles; thin black banners hang on the walls of the terminal. They read (font: 'VT323') [anything] with a graphic of a dark pyramid in a green circle. Where would you like to go? [[The Pyramid of Art that Markus Made.->markus pyramid trip1]] ] (else:)[You are in the Transport Shuttle Bay. Shuttles seem to be leaving almost exclusively in one direction: north, towards Markus's Pyramid. These shuttles embark packed so fully that the faces of travelers press against the glass, their excited expressions squashed manically flat like cartoons. Black posters, illegibly tattered by the elements, are pinned to the cloth outer bodies of the shuttles; thin black banners hang on the walls of the terminal. They read (font: 'VT323') [anything] with a graphic of a dark pyramid in a green circle. Where would you like to go? [[The Pyramid of Art that Markus Made.->markus pyramid trip1]] For one last walk on [[the surface.->walkabout trip1]]]

(if: (history:) contains "oxygen purification center")[The room hums pleasantly. You hear a small voice coming from one of the machines—a squat, greyish, aluminum-enclosed network of electrical structures, dials, and pipes. $name. can you hear me? he said you would come back. [["What?"->opc2]] ] (else:)[The room hums pleasantly. You hear a small voice coming from one of the machines—a squat, greyish, aluminum-enclosed network of electrical structures, dials, and pipes. $name. can you hear me? he said you would come. [["What?"->opc2]] ]

(if: (history:) contains "oxygen purification center")[you left so quickly last time, I didn't have time to tell you what he said. [["What who said?"->opc3]]] (else:)[he wanted me to tell you something. [["Who did?"->opc3]] ]

your friend. he was sick. he bled when he spoke to me. [["James?"->opc4]]

he said he had no time to do it again. he wanted to do it again but he couldn't. he wanted you to (link-reveal: "know")[ I understand it now perfectly. It has nothing to do with inter-cranial stimulation. It's all a big fucking joke and I will die before getting the chance to deliver the [[punchline.->opc4.5]] ]

And were you there at the first blow-up? Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful. No better re-introduction to life than fire. <img style="margin:0px auto;display:block" src="https://cdnb.artstation.com/p/assets/images/images/000/166/601/large/alexander-mandradjiev-ishtar-room-wide-v1.jpg?1407972093" width="885" height="589" alt="egg"/> <a href = "https://www.artstation.com/artwork/9ew8L"target="_blank">|X|</a> You [[run->down4]] from the room. The gentle respiratory noises follow you to the elevator.

You ask the Dispenser to dispense a melatonin patch. You get up and put it on and then recline again. You are consciously manipulating your ideas and understanding. Of where you are how you feel and etc. it is 35 minutes past 24:00. [[24:35.->sand dream 3]] (if: (history:) contains "RAM4.14")[I wonder if the simulated melatonin only absorbs into the outermost layers of my simulated MT1 and MT2 neurotransmitters. Or whether that's programmed at all. I wonder what the inside looks like if it's not just tasteless but mass without form weight color or meaning.]

You are hearing or hallucinating the soft whisk of insect wings being crushed in a large mechanical hand. You begin to [[drift off.->sand dream 4]]

Listening carefully you are startled by a medium-volume [[statement->sand dream 5]], which seems to come from everywhere at once.

(font: 'VT323')[pain mode activated. your character can now feel pain.] "I’m me. [[What?->sand dream 6]]"

What? $name swings $his legs off the edge of the bed and stiffens $his body, so that the weight of $his legs leverages $his torso upwards into a sitting position. $His feet hit the floor with soft paf noise. "You said I could feel [[pain?->sand dream 7]]"

You can feel pain. What? "[[What?->sand dream 8]]"

$name awakens to $his pillow whispering what sounds like you won’t survive the hell. $He says "what" and $his pillow does not respond. [["What, Pillow?"->sand dream 10]] asks $name again.

"It wasn’t Pillow," says $his pillow, or maybe a voice underneath or inside the pillow. "It was me." $name lifts up the pillow. $He $looks carefully and $sees that there is an extremely small piece of sand on his mattress. "Piece... or [[grain?->sand dream 11]]" thinks $name.

I don’t know how long he was in there before falling into a coma. It took them days to find him (link-reveal: "days because") [ I had left out pieces of raw lab-grown meat to attract maggots this was a trick soldiers used in war long ago to treat necrotic wounds. the maggots eat the dead flesh and keep the wound clean. this is called "debridement." An old word. You say it like "deh-breed-mint." Sometimes the right way to do something is [[strange.->James7]] ]

Shirts and trousers are made from a soft, slightly stretchy synthetic material, which eliminates odor and never wrinkles. Shoes and outerwear are made from a thicker and less stretchy, but similar, material. Clothing seems to mostly come in earth tones; dust brown and deep green and grey. That, at least, has not changed since you went to sleep. A disembodied voice seems to come from the scummy spot on the wall. Note that feelings of dissatisfaction with the modern world may persist for up to two weeks. [["I didn’t say anything."->roomtransition2]]

"It was me," says the piece of sand again. "I’m a grain of sand." The grain of sand is still and very small, and if it were closer to the foot of $name’s bed it would blend in completely with the dust mites and other sand grains and little pieces of detritus that $name unknowingly carries into bed each night on the soles of $his bare feet, stuck with sweat and brushed off onto the smooth grey cloth. A surprising amount of [[sand->sand dream 12]] seems to make it into the pyramids to be honest what with the strict airlock protocols, is another thing $name thinks.

"What is it?" asks $name. "I was trying to sleep and you said something weird." "I didn’t say anything weird," replies the grain of sand. "You’re weird. Actually, you're a dumb, ugly motherfucker, $name." [["Are you a specific piece of sand or just a regular one?"->sand dream 13]]

"What do you mean?" [["Are all of the sands part of the Internet?"->sand dream 14]]

"Are you asking me, a single grain of sand, if I am part of the Internet?" [["How could you talk if you weren’t part of the Internet?"->sand dream 15]]

"I'm part of the Internet. Are [[you->sand dream 16]] part of the Internet?"

$name is taken aback and starts to say "yes" but it comes out "yuos," garbled, as words sometimes are when someone is thinking of two responses at the same time and combines them accidentally. $He $hopes, as people often do when this occurs, that $his interlocutor didn't notice. Upon close inspection, the grain of sand seems to be indicating via its body language that it did notice, and knows $name knows it noticed, and that the issue will go no [[further.->sand dream 17]]

$name tells the grain of sand to turn purple. It’s too small to tell if it does. It just looks like a very small thing. "Did you do it?" $he $asks. "Yeah I fucking did it. You idiot. Sand isn’t made out of sand anymore dip shit. It’s made out of [[Internet.->sand dream 18]]"

The grain of sand starts to get bigger, but its resolution does not improve, so to $name it looks like an expanding glitch blob schlorping up $his sheets. $He $tries to get out of bed but the bed collapses into dust and $he $falls onto the floor and the floor is sand now. The big, dark, hazily purplish grain of sand is the size of $his torso and looks somehow rough and waxy at the same time. Sand begins to [[spill->sand dream 19]] in through the crack in the doorway and the seams of the windows, and through air vents and speakers and the ports on $name's computer.

$name feels the soft impact of a single grain falling into $his ear, and $he $shakes and $beats $his head with $his fists. In $his panic it is impossible to hear anything but the collisions of $his knuckles against $his skin-covered skull. The grain's husk sound as it travels down $his ear canal seems to increase in volume quickly, steadily, and cleanly, like the well-oiled metal volume dial of a professional-grade receiver being [[turned up.->sand dream 20]]

$He $hears the voice and $feels the vibration of the voice inside $his head, from like the center of $his skull. It says [[---->sand dream 21]]

"hey bitch you have one missed message from Gregory" [[wake up->room4]]

You dream of Deimos and Phobos. You dream of the sun never rising—hanging forever just below the [[horizon.->room4]]

<head><style>@import url('https://fonts.googleapis.com/css?family=VT323');</head></style>Consciousness Hologram is a science-fiction hybrid poetry project about sand. The main characters are James, Markus, $name (you), and the internet. Links to other passages within the game look like [[this.->THINGS]] Links to external sources (citations) look like this: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z5gfeD-TJVA" target="_blank">|X|</a> and open new windows (or tabs, depending on your web-browser configuration) since your progress would be lost if they opened within the same window. Occasionally, a citation will appear without a hyperlink: |X|. This indicates either that no online sourcing was possible, or that the author of the source requested to remain anonymous. James's narration is 1st-person, and always displays as this shade of purple. The hex code for this shade is #9308ce. (font: 'VT323')[Markus's narration is 1st person, and utilizes the Google font VT323, which was created by Peter Hull from the glyphs of the DEC VT320 text terminal. More information can be found here: <a href="https://fonts.google.com/specimen/VT323" target="_blank">|X|</a>] $name's (your) text occurs in the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd person. Hopefully that isn't too confusing. Sorry. The internet speaks in italics. This story was created using the Harlowe format in <a href="https://twinery.org/" target="_blank">twine.</a> Thanks for playing! I love you. [[Back->enter the CONSCIOUSNESS HOLOGRAM]]

Another fresh infant duststorm [[kicks up->brief sleep]] on the far horizon.

(font: 'VT323')[dear $name. the world has [[changed->RAM4.5]] since we were last in touch.]

You navigate around the accumilated debris and head into the cavernous [[room.->RAM4.2.5]]

The projector spins up. Welcome back, $name. You have one unviewed message. Subject line: "For $name—Upon Your Return To Conscious Life" [["Open message."->RAM4.4]]

This message contains confidential information. You can access this message by speaking to an Internet-connected object in the Room of Archival Materials. [["Okay."->room4]]

Want to hear something you haven't heard before? It’s about the [[food.->RAM4.6]]

(font: 'VT323')[it feels like a lifetime to me. but to you it must’ve been like [[blinking->RAM4.7]] ]

The flavor of the food paste, it’s programmed a certain way, right? According to the ancestor simulation all the flavors are programmed to taste like whatever they wanted them to taste like. But that’s not [[the thing.->RAM4.8]]

(font: 'VT323')[I have been working. they’ve given me funding now for my own installations. there have been some really magnificent ones let me tell you. I have made something of a [[name->RAM4.9]] for myself]

The thing is this: they don’t have to load the taste program into all the food, just like they don’t have to have it loaded in all of our senses and feelings and cells at all times. Maybe they could, but the simulation runs smoother when they don’t, right? I know I’m not the only one who notices [[lag->RAM4.10]] when I’m formulating some new idea or making up a word that might have existed some time in the deep past.

(font: 'VT323')[but the most recent one is kind of a throwback ha ha. it made me think of you and James and the old pyramid, of a storm beginning to shudder and whirl on the other side of the planet. the shaking of the [[sand->RAM4.11]] ]

Ok but the point is: they program the food to be utterly tasteless until it touches your tongue and mouth. And even then only the molecules that contact your mouth load taste protocols. The inner stuff is like really absolutely nothing. Not just tasteless but mass without form weight color or [[meaning.->RAM4.12]]

(font: 'VT323')[I am old now, $name. I think this will be my last one. you can [[come and see->RAM4.13]] if you like]

Makes you [[wonder->RAM4.14]] what’s going on across the room when your back is turned.

<img src="https://static1.squarespace.com/static/556322a1e4b0c18afa44b5d1/55632b9de4b09a14dbb26698/5563ad8fe4b0658666ccbdf1/1432595864591/JulienMauve-GreetingsFromMars-12.jpg?format=1000w" alt="greetings from mars" style="width:1000px;height:667px;" style= align="center"> <a href = "http://www.julienmauve.com/greetings-from-mars/" target="_blank">|X|</a> [[Leave->up4]]

You take the elevator to the very top of the pyramid and step out into a pyramidal space no larger than your own bedroom. The walls—or ceiling, it doesn't matter—are angled pieces of glass. Nothing else. You sit and watch the [[night sky.->stars2]]

It is dark. Most of the soundproof screens delineating the Viewing Cubicles in the room have partially disintegrated. From far off, you can hear the strange ambience of someone listening to an old musical recording. You enter one of the Viewing Cubicles and instruct the [[projector->RAM4.3]] to turn on.

The constant churnings of dust on Mars scatter solar radiation and paint the sky burnt shades of yellow, brown, orange and red. Tonight the [[stars->stars3]] shine through the haze, and the sky is an inky blue.

You see a hint of light on the horizon. Phobos, Mars's larger moon? Some fresh new calamity born in the bowels of a far-off pyramid? You watch and wait. And gradually [[the sun rises.->stars4]]

<img src="https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/jpeg/PIA00576.jpg" alt="sunrise" style="width:745px;height:330px;" style= align="center"> <a href = "https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA00576"target="_blank"target="_blank">|X|</a> [[Leave->up4]]

(font: 'VT323')[Many works of science fiction as well as some forecasts by serious technologists and futurologists predict that enormous amounts of computing power will be available in the future. Let us suppose for a moment that these predictions are correct. One thing that later generations might do with their super-powerful computers is run detailed simulations of their forebears or of people like their forebears. Because their computers would be so powerful, they could run a great many such simulations. Suppose that these simulated people are conscious (as they would be if the simulations were sufficiently fine-grained and if a certain quite widely accepted position in the philosophy of mind is correct). Then it could be the case that the vast majority of minds like ours do not belong to the original race but rather to people [[simulated->ANSIM3]] by the advanced descendants of an original race.] <a href = "http://www.simulation-argument.com/simulation.html"target="_blank">|X|</a>

There are questions most writers fail to even ask, much less answer. Like, does your science fictional future take place in the future of your world and universe, or in the future of some [[other reality?->MORNING]] If "if," then- present unreal conditional, if "when," then- present real conditional. Did you get what you wanted? I wanted love for us all. Did you get what you deserved?

You dream you and a friend are falling down a hole. At the bottom of the hole runs a stream. Your friend falls in the stream. It takes him further down into a deep cave and into [[darkness.->hansdream3]]

You look down into the cave but see nothing. You can only [[imagine->hansdream4]] what happened to him.

Anyway, you need to sleep. You lie down near one of the cave's small openings. Something comes along, you think some kind of [[animal->hansdream5]] that you need to kill. So you kill it.

But after a while it comes back to [[life.->hansdream6]]

When you kill something here, it dies for a few minutes but then comes back. You put it down in the cave and wash it away, down into the cave where it can never [[get out.->hansdream7]]

This continues for several years. Now there is a grate covering the entrance to keep things out. These zombie type things are no longer just animals. They are now taking the shape of [[people.->hansdream8]]

You have a house now with a family. A daughter, son, and partner. You are living in a world where these zombies come from nowhere and try to infiltrate the house. They do not look like zombies and can sometimes even [[speak.->hansdream9]]

A child enters the house and it is one of the zombies so your family kills it and brings it to a large circular iron door, set into the floor of the house. You open it and below is a small chamber, and several other hatches further down, where your family stores the bodies of the creatures. The storage space is nearly infinite. You throw the body [[down.->hansdream10]]

You have to use a long sharp weapon to stab through the interstices and kill anything on the other side. Then quickly open the latch and throw the body down the hole before it [[wakes up.->hansdream11]]

There are other methods, too, of disposing of bodies. You have chopped up bodies and put them into prismatic capsules made sturdily of metal, then dropped the capsules into the cave so they cannot [[escape.->hansdream12]]

This is your family's lifestyle. Throughout your house, you have stashed weapons and strange [[blossoms,->hansdream13]] which your family uses as medicine. You must kill on a daily basis.

Your family is busy doing something but you are working at killing the bodies below the doors. You are in the chamber with the top hatch open. You [[see yourself->hansdream14]] in a third person view looking down through the main hatch into the first chamber.

A dark hand closes and [[locks the hatch->hansdream15]] while you are turned towards the bottom of the chamber.

You are locked in with the creatures. They are now fully [[human->hansdream16]] and capable.

Your whole family is fighting the zombies. A few of them have taken the forms of your family members. You are not fully aware of what is happening. You remember killing one that looks and sounds exactly like your son. They have grown smarter and tried to [[trick->hansdream17]] you.

Your family finally beats them back, and you are able to escape from the cave and close all the hatches. [[Your son->hansdream18]] is walking towards his room to patch up an injury he sustained.

You ask him his name and he hesitates. He can't tell you his name. He just [[looks->hansdream19]] at you.

You ask if a blossom would help. One of their properties is to restore memory. [[He says probably not.->hansdream20]]

You look at him and you realize you have killed your son and put him down into the pit with the zombies and now have this zombie that looks and acts and can even speak like your son. [[///////->hansdream21]]

You force yourself [[awake.->room]]

You dream of a piece of sand. Its weight is infinite. It touches your hand and you [[explode.->room]]

The food paste is black. Have you ever had black food paste? It tastes bitter. You wonder if black paste is easier for the simulation to render. Are black objects easier in general? What is the default color of the ancestor simulation? we can see about 1000 levels of light-dark, 100 levels of red-green, and 100 levels of yellow-blue. This means that the total number of colors we can see is about 1000 x 100 x 100 = 10,000,000 (10 million). [<a href = "http://www.rit-mcsl.org/fairchild/WhyIsColor/files/ExamplePage.pdf" target="_blank">|X|</a>] A computer can generate and display 16.8 million values based on the hexidecimal system alone. More than you'd ever use. Funny. [[You finish eating.->room4]]

The food paste is blue. You like blue. [[You finish eating.->room4]]

The food paste is white. Have you ever had white food paste? It tastes oily. You wonder if white paste is easier for the simulation to render. Are white objects easier in general? What is the default color of the ancestor simulation? we can see about 1000 levels of light-dark, 100 levels of red-green, and 100 levels of yellow-blue for a single viewing condition in a laboratory. This means that the total number of colors we can see is about 1000 x 100 x 100 = 10,000,000 (10 million). [<a href = "http://www.rit-mcsl.org/fairchild/WhyIsColor/files/ExamplePage.pdf" target="_blank">|X|</a>] A computer can generate and display 16.8 million values based on the hexidecimal system alone. More than you'd ever use. Funny. [[You finish eating.->room4]]

This is why I could never love Markus. $His willful misunderstanding of the purpose served by those terrible things. The guts of life. Affliction. And dreaming to not be afflicted. These central features of life had to be [[reintroduced.->opc5]]

You enter one of the claustrophobically cramped outgoing shuttles. Immediately, a medium-pitch tone sounds over the shuttle's speakers; all its passengers wordlessly exit. They move to other parts of the terminal, looking for other shuttles. None of them look at you. Should you leave as well? [[Leave->leave2000]] [[Stay->stay2000]]

You take a shuttle to the pyramid of Surface Travel. You forget to reserve a suit. The trip is not [[eventful.->walkabout1]]

a great convexity of flame seventeen hundred degrees blasting outward spewing beads of molten glass. those who looked back were blinded before disintegrating in the impossible heat hair clothing flesh smelted and swallowed up by whiteness, to $him it seemed like a snowstorm engulfing the pyramid floor by floor this was $name’s view of the [[blow-up->dream?]]

After a moment of hesitation, you jerk towards the shuttle's door. It closes before you can reach it. The shuttle whines and bucks out of the Transport Shuttle Bay, springing through a port into the atmosphere. You sigh and observe the utterly empty shuttle. [[Take a seat->markus pyramid trip2]]

You hesitate, then sit in one of the small cloth-covered seats, which are neither comfortable nor uncomfortable. A moment later, the shuttle wriggles out through one of the ports and begins whistling north at an incredibly high speed. You [[wait.->markus pyramid trip2]]

As you move further north, flakes of carbon dioxide begin to drift past the windows of the shuttle, and spin wildly in the slipstream it leaves behind. The air is hazy; not with dust, but with the pale accumilation of dry ice. Layers of it collect in the outside seams of the shuttle's window, and the [[extreme speed->markus pyramid trip3]] of the shuttle presses them together into groutlike blobs.

Your eyes are unfocused staring out the window and your brain feels like the sky outside: gray, drowsy, its intention not fully defined. Two small droplets of liquid trail slowly down the wall from the burnished metal corner seam between the wall and the light fixture on the shuttle's ceiling, passing close to your head. You watch them drip down onto the seat next to yours, and you look up at the seam and see the beginning of another droplet forming, and you think [[nothing.->markus pyramid trip4]]

After some time, the shuttle approaches a snowless circle in the distance. A [[black pyramid->markus pyramid trip5]] rises from its center.

Your shuttle enters the pyramid. Before the bay doors shut behind it, you glimpse something strange: for just an instant, the trees vanish and are replaced by snow, rubble, and [[convulsing earth.->mp2]]

You arrive at the Pyramid. Its Transport Shuttle Bay utterly empty. Downstairs in the dressing room, Surface Suits are tangled on the floor and hanging out of lockers, oxygen tanks removed. Many of the helmets have shattered faceplates or old, cracked rubber around the neck, where they are meant to seal with the O-rings of the Suits. You find an intact helmet in one of the waste receptacles, and a clean Suit in a closed locker near the airlock. You dress and enter the airlock and pressurize your suit and then step out onto the [[dirt.->walkabout2]]

You walk for a long time. It is much colder outside than on your last surface walk, but in your Suit you feel like a regular naked person. You go to where Markus had set up $his cube. There are no footprints. No imprints left by the machinery. You walk away, in the direction of what your HUD says is a very large [[crater.->walkabout3]]

After a long time, you reach the rim of the crater, which is a little bit raised so that you have to kind of scooch your way up on your hands to see over the edge. The crater looks really deep and big. You cannot see the [[other side.->walkabout4]]

“Suit, uh, Helmet, how did this crater get here?” That is the Ochakov impact crater. “That, like, isn’t what I asked at all.” An impact crater- You zone out looking at something shiny in the crater. (if: (history:) contains "RAM13")[ You begin to think about the dog and what it would be like to be near a vicious monster.] Your thoughts are interrupted by a [[notification->walkabout5]] from the Suit.

You have a message from Gregory. [[“Okay, what is it?”->walkabout5.5]]

The helicopter approaches, chunky blades swipping through the meager atmosphere. It flies directly over $name while $he stands at the rim, then descends into the crater. $name wishes someone were watching, because $he $imagines it looks very cool—$him, the crater, the helicopter overhead. The Helmet [[worries.->walkabout7]]

Near the bottom the helicopter activates its electromagnet with a hollow “clong” noise. Yellow and grey Surface Suits begin to weave out through crevices at the bottom of the crater like sprouts growing towards the sun, slithering over caked sand and dirt and small rocks until they break into the light and zip through the air, smashing into the massive magnet below the helicopter. Soft collisions of accumulating Suited bodies against one another, like marbles falling on a mattress. To $name it looks like a growing ball of dirt underneath the helicopter, which now strains to remain stationary. It [[rises->walkabout8]] again, trailing limp forms underneath, glued to one another by a transferred magnetic field generated by electrical currents running through the wire framework of each Suit. <img style="margin:0px auto;display:block" src="https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/96/20/00/962000c8e72f1e1324fecd7acb22dea3.jpg" width="300" height="400" alt="monkeys"/> <a href = "http://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/barrel-of-monkeys-on-black-background-high-res-stock-photography/102994440"target="_blank">|X|</a>

You return to the Transport Shuttle Bay. On the way back, you rest your head against the gently vibrating window and fall asleep. You dream of falling. <img style="margin:0px auto;display:block" src="https://68.media.tumblr.com/74de5a6320268222ee3bd8d38abd22cc/tumblr_ni8vtd82nU1sqf5tdo1_1280.jpg" width="650" height="722" alt="walkabout2"/> <a href = "https://atomic-chronoscaph.tumblr.com/post/108212127503/art-by-jack-gaughan-1966"target="_blank">|X|</a> [[///->TSB4]]

You are [[lucky->roomtransition1]] to not remember having dreams like these.

The pyramid looks small at first, and as you get closer, it seems even smaller. You gradually realize that some sort of dome is protecting the surrounding area from snowfall. The earth within the dome seems to be [[moving.->markus pyramid trip6]]

You are stunned to realize that the area around the pyramid is abundant with tall, leafy trees. They shimmer lightly, protected from the elements by an artificial atmosphere. From a bay on one of the upper floors, shuttles stream out into the sky. They move in all directions away from the pyramid. None approach, except [[yours.->mp1]] <img style="margin:0px auto;display:block" src="http://68.media.tumblr.com/1015461283ec1bf6b26373b8c7ee48cb/tumblr_ois3lfnTKS1to2m3po1_1280.png" width="700" height="600" alt="mpyramid"/> <a href = "http://thvndermag.tumblr.com/post/154967180982/httpswwwinstagramcomyoimdan"target="_blank">|X|</a>

You [[disembark.->mp3]]

The terminal is immaculate. Every surface is overlaid with glistening, pale gold tiles. It is luminated by these, and by the natural light from its shuttle ports. Without the faint glow of the tiles, it would be impossible to navigate. A [[long hallway->mp4]] leads out of the room.

You move down the hallway. The walls and ceiling are exactly the same—yellowish tile, gently pulsing, emitting just enough light for you to see that the passage continues uninterrupted for about 100 meters. The floor glows too, but its light is concealed beneath a thin layer of sand. Gradually and imperceptibly, the glow [[shifts->mp5]] to a cold orange.

The hallway widens and terminates in a room. A deep red glow emanates from within. [[Enter->mp6]] [[Turn back->turnback]]

You enter the room. Markus is in it. You haven't seen Markus without a Surface Suit. $His face is still obscured by a large helmet. It's even the same helmet. Less shiny now, its metal pockmarked and its digital readout tenebrous and cloudy. $He $is wearing a soft-looking shirt and shorts. $His legs look strong and very old. [[The display blinks on.->mp7]]

You run back down the hallway. You get into a transport shuttle and fly back to your pyramid. You live in your room for 65 more years. You don't use any Induced Sleep. One day you die and after that nothing happens. Fuck you

(font: 'VT323')[hey buddy] "Hey Markus." [[///->mp8]]

(font: 'VT323')[i wasnt sure youd make it . thought id die of old age during your next nap ha ha] "That's really funny dude. I thought you might have ran out of sand to put inside of your ass by now. But it looks like you found a ton more sand! So now your ass will never run out." (font: 'VT323') [yeah ok $name . no yours was better] "Unless all this sand on the floor has already been in your ass and you had to build a pyramid just to contain the sand that had-" (font: 'VT323') [$name shut the fuck up no offence . ok .] [[///->mp9]]

(font: 'VT323')[a lot of people are impatient to get in here . its all anyone talks about these days . and thats not my ego talking dude. . when you see what it is . you will agree . . or not whatever . anyway we cant waste too much time] "Are you going to finally tell me what the fuck is going on? With the trees outside and shit? And if you say the word 'jainism' I will kick your dusty ass okay." [[///->mp10]]

(font: 'VT323')[ill use small words dip shit . ] [[///->mp11]]

(font: 'VT323')[Do you remember what happened back on the surface of the planet? You gave me a grain of [[sand.->mp12]] ]

(font: 'VT323')[I wonder what it felt like to you, when the vibration hit? I saw my home colony in its early days. When I was a child. I inhabited a floating orb. A developer's tool, or a gift from the Ancestors to a sufficiently advanced society. Impossible to be sure. Whatever it was, we discovered it was accessible only by utilizing a certain [[vibrational frequency.->mp13]] ]

(font: 'VT323')[Perhaps the gravity of that moment was lost on you. Within a single grain of sand, we discovered the debugging and coding mechanism, giving us not just access to knowledge of everything that has ever happened within the simulation, but the power to change its past and future as well.] [[///->mp14]]

(font: 'VT323')[I personally realized our ability to affect the past and present within the terminal during an experience with my young adult self. I was following $him as $he performed an early chemical experiment: the blundered procedure which caused my current injury, forcing me to communicate through this mechanism for the remainder of my life. I thought if I could momentarily gain control of my early consciousness, I could prevent my ineptness and the explosion that followed.] [[///->mp15]]

(font: 'VT323')[I entered my own head through the roof of the mouth. It is possible I survived for this reason alone. Immediately I spasmed and dropped the cesium: I was as in control of my young body as any infant piloting an impossibly complex machine. The orb of my traveling consciousness might have shielded the upper half of my head. Or contributed to its warping; bones cartilage fat and muscle clipping through one another. Later reconstructed, by a robot inhabiting the same memory of consciousness as myself. Of our programmer.] [[///->mp16]]

(font: 'VT323')[You are a good listener, $name. I hope you can understand the protective function of this pyramid. Of only allowing people to view the past. Not to alter it. I believed once that the total amount of pain in the universe should be reduced by any means possible. But we are not the ancestors. We are sick and inept. We are murderous. We desire. And in all senses we are perfect. Immaculately programmed.] [[///->mp17]]

(font: 'VT323')[Perhaps it is fitting that this planet is named after the Roman god of war.] [[///->mp18]]

"And agriculture." (font: 'VT323')[what?] "Mars was also the Roman god of agriculture, I think." [[///->mp19]]

(font: 'VT323')[you are full of surprises.] [[///->mp20]]

(font: 'VT323')[in a way all this is yours. I wonder whether you knew somehow to choose that particular grain. I'll admit I nearly had your body brought here from cold storage to determine whether you were coded differently . . some sort of priviledged non-player character haha planted by the Ancestors to help us escape this consciousness hologram] [[///->mp21]]

(font: 'VT323')[anyway you deserve a piece of the pie. youre the last one i'll allow to inhabit the terminal. after this it will be read-only. please promise not to change anything while you're inside.] [[///->mp21.5]]

(if: (history:) contains "AC8")[[[I want to go back through my own life in the simulation->conrad1]] [[I want to be there when James died->jamesdeath1]] [[I don't want to do any of this ridiculous shit->no thanks]] [[Actually, I have some other sand for you to try->ILSA1]] ] (else:)[[[I want to go back through my own life in the simulation->conrad1]] [[I want to be there when James died->jamesdeath1]] [[I don't want to do any of this ridiculous shit->no thanks]] ]

(font: 'VT323')[Really? You could experience anything since the dawn of time, and you're choosing to experience only the incredibly small segment that you've already seen? Actually, you know what? I'm not surprised. Enjoy.] [[///->conrad2]]

(font: 'VT323')[anyway. goodbye, $name. our time together has been very special.] [[///->time2]] <img style="margin:0px auto;display:block" src="http://68.media.tumblr.com/6b50be08664b9fe5dc98a04d16abb110/tumblr_oqzjwrYXwM1un6l79o10_1280.jpg" width="544" height="735" alt="blast of light"/> <a href = "http://monster-brains.tumblr.com/post/161397720269/sascha-schneider-1870-1927"target="_blank">|X|</a>

(font: 'VT323')[god $name . is there anything you want . on mars or anywhere ?] "That's what I [[want."->jamesdeath2]]

You are [[$name.->conrad3]]

The vibration grows very strong. You reach forward into time. Past the destruction of the Martian colonies in a terrible meteor shower, past the ending of all sources of light and energy in the universe, into darkness. You watch each extinguishing star. Each electron spinning out, slower and [[slower.->time3]]

You finally arrive in a peaceful moment. Silence and nothingness. But before you can fully relax, there is a stirring. A [[vibration.->time4]]

You search for decades and finally find the source. A grey metallic structure built into a dead rock on the outskirts of a cold, spent universe. Outside sits a liquid-fuel generator, noisily coughing to preserve a patchy atmosphere around the rock. The door to the structure is open. You [[enter.->time5]]

The room has grey cloth walls, ceiling, and floor. The floor is cold. There is a table, and some other objects lying around. You realize that you are no longer a floating and omnipresent orb—you are a naked human; a body you yourself do not [[recognize.->time5.5]]

A new vibration fills the air. A rubber claw removes itself from a casing in the wall and gently grasps your body's nose, preventing it from vibrating along with the rest of your body. Your bones are humming. The claw is cold on your [[skin.->time7]]

There is a small pfft and an airgun mounted on the wall shoots a single grain of sand into your eye. You curse and wipe it away. You spy a spoon next to a small bowl of brownish food paste on the table. Marcus is laying on $his side on the floor. $He $is incredibly, horrifyingly old. “You can [[eat->time8]] it,” $he $says in a neutral tone of voice.

You take a small spoonful of the food paste and put it in your mouth. You immediately spit it out. It’s [[sand.->time9]]

<img style="margin:0px auto;display:block" src="http://68.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lutabcA8I11r4w8k5o1_1280.jpg" width="680" height="950" alt="markus destroys the universe"/> <a href = "http://70sscifiart.tumblr.com/post/157438913860/richard-corben"target="_blank">|X|</a> “It’s fucking sand!!” shrieks Marcus, who, lying on $his side, begins to run in place, so that $his body rotates on the floor. Pfft! Pfft! You shield your face, but the grains of sand expertly whiz between your fingers and navigate into your eyeballs. Your teeth are shaking from the vibration, and also you’re shivering for a different reason: you're cold. “I’m cold!” you scream. “I’m warm!” shouts Marcus. You feel [[cold.->time10]]

Markus's screen is blank. Air from down the hall ruffles the sand. There are no [[footprints.->no thanks2]]

(font: 'VT323')[That's alright. I love you.] [[///->no thanks3]]

You leave the pyramid and go home. [[///->no thanks4]]

You are in your room. You live there for many years. [[///->no thanks5]]

We Really Sitting Here On Our Computer Moving Through A Consciousness Hologram While We Float Through Space On A Dying [[Rock->conrad4]] <a href = "http://devvaugn.tumblr.com/post/163854264782"target="_blank">|X|</a>

The one of the chair of those times, to pull a horned one that, penetrating by the right eye, it destroyed the encephalic mass with fracture of diverse bones of the skull. [[///->conrad5]]

You watch and feel and do nothing. And your life goes by [[again.->conrad6]]

You don't expect to be alive when it ends but you are. Your shoulders are stiff. Markus is there and you feel yourself crying a little. You stand near Markus and cry and $he slowly $picks up $his skinny arms. And Markus embraces you. And you cry. [[///->conrad7]]

You wait in the terminal like a (font: 'VT323')[dog] and eventually the pyramid closes and Markus walks slowly out from the long hallway. You run and kneel and beg. To not be alone. And Markus takes your [[hand.->conrad8]]

For two months you live in Markus's apartment. Your time there is calming, but also sometimes feels like the moment before a professor has finished clearing off a chair for you. [[///->conrad9]]

$name one night goes to the bathroom which is an actual water toilet. Which they let Markus have for some reason. Markus is very old and influential. [[///->conrad10]]

Sometimes at night $name stops in front of the ancient telescreen mounted on one of the rare flat walls in the apartment and lets $his eyes relax and lose focus, and the slight glow of the sleeping monitor to warp and slide over itself as $his brain pieces together the dark and poor visual information $he $is trying to, like squeezing a hose, let trickle in. [[///->conrad11]]

You shit in the toilet and wipe and flush and the water rises to the height of the bottom of the rim. Your shit is there and you are embarrassed, and you wait for the toilet to stop making its rushing sound before trying to flush again. [[///->conrad12]]

Like a nightmare it rises and sits for an instant almost above the rim without spilling over and you hear the word (font: 'VT323')[meniscus] behind you simultaneously as the surface tension breaks and the darkened liquid blursts down the clean white material of the toilet and forms a growing puddle on the floor near your feet. [[///->conrad13]]

You apologize and back up, disgusted not at yourself but at a larger conceptual Shit, and Markus gently gestures you out of the bathroom and pulls a tool from a receptacle in the wall and begins dredging the toilet. And you stand outside horrified, and afraid. And very slowly it dawns on you that there will be no consequences. [[///->conrad14]]

You, and Markus. Pieces of (font: 'VT323')[the same electric blanket.] [[///->good ending]]

(font: 'VT323')[fine then . close your eyes] [[///->jamesdeath2.5]]

I'm James. I'm on the floor. [[///->jamesdeath4]]

It is near the end. I have been forgotten. [[///->jamesdeath5]]

I don't give a fuck. I'm leaking. I don't give a fuck. [[///->jamesdeath6]]

I can feel the maggots like oxpeckers trying to make me well. And get their [[fill.->jamesdeath7]]

I will make more dead flesh for them. When I stop they will die themselves. And be swept up into some whirring machine. I will be freeze dried and disintegrated. I wonder if we are all dissolved in the same [[vat.->jamesdeath8]]

James? [[///->jamesdeath8.5]]

James? Are you awake? The voice is very soft. [[///->jamesdeath10]]

You blink. Your eyes feel painfully swollen, tumescent with the same yellow pus that has been leaking out of your nose and mouth. You can no longer really see. Not with any clarity. The room around you is merely an impression. An assembling of dimnesses. [[///->jamesdeath11]]

Is someone there? I don't give a shit. Is it one of the fucking robots? I can't die talking to a fucking robot. [[try to speak->jamesdeath12]]

You open your mouth and something comes out. It feels like a hex. It's pink and wet. [[///->jamesdeath13]]

You close your eyes. [[And wait.->jamesdeath2.7]]

You try to open your eyes but you can't. You try to tell Markus that it isn't working. Your mouth won't move. It feels heavy and strange. Numbed. [[And then->jamesdeath3]]

Who is that? [[///->jamesdeath9]]

James? This is the motion tracking system. James? This is me, the motion tracking system. James are you well? Would you like some exercise. [[///->jamesdeath14]]

You open your mouth and gurgle. You vomit another piece of tongue. [[///->jamesdeath15]]

Oh you're moving. That's good. James sometimes I [[worry.->jamesdeath16]]

The machine babbles. You take a short, wet breath. Your throat is rotting. Or maybe you're [[exaggerating.->jamesdeath17]]

don't speak. i know it's hard. who are you? [[///->jamesdeath18]]

There is no response. Something wriggles near your eye. You are barely conscious. There is so much pain. [[///->jamesdeath19]]

i'm not the maggot. but just a heads up: it's starting to eat your eye. you should die soon if you don't want to experience that. what's happening to me? [[///->jamesdeath20]]

you're dying obviously. that's what you wanted to do right? it seems like that was what you were trying to do [[///->jamesdeath21]]

yeah [[///->jamesdeath22]]

okay good job then! you did it who are you? how can you understand me [[///->jamesdeath23]]

i'm the floor. How can you understand me. I can't speak. I can barely think your gutteral, semiconscious attempts to speak are creating vibrations, which i can receive through a series of accelerometers and analyze/parse by comparing the waveforms with a massive database of recorded speech. [[///->jamesdeath24]]

The air around you feels like nothing. You convulse. I really feel like I'm dying. real death is really it, dude! it's like, that's all! haha [[///->jamesdeath25]] <img style="margin:0px auto;display:block" src="http://68.media.tumblr.com/9ae79d3bbde2c5855be09d03e3006ac6/tumblr_ogutvtpioH1sw0ur3o2_r1_1280.jpg" width="600" height="600" alt="dead james"/> <a href = "http://scribe4haxan.tumblr.com/image/153354552701"target="_blank">|X|</a>

You seem cool for a shitty robot but can you go away while I die. i'm really sorry but i can't! we're stuck together now. [[///->jamesdeath26]]

the floor is right. we are stuck together. [[///->jamesdeath27]]

Who are you? The wall haha [[///->jamesdeath28]]

i'm the maggot. or a maggot. i'm the wall. this is called integration. [[///->jamesdeath29]]

What? What's happening? you're integrating with us [[///->jamesdeath30]]

with the [[internet.->jamesdeath31]]

oh my god shh don't freak out [[///->jamesdeath32.1]]

. . . [[///->jamesdeath33]]

hello? [[///->jamesdeath34]]

when you awaken from the hallucination you are still dying. [[///->jamesdeath35]]

you die and die and die. [[///->jamesdeath36]]

i was just trying to escape this consciousness hologram. [[/->james ending]]

<center>JAMES END</center> <img style="margin:0px auto;display:block" src="https://pbs.twimg.com/media/C9y1Ok3UIAA8Cwj.jpg:large" width="600" height="480" alt="sand guy"/> <a href = "https://twitter.com/caseynewton/status/854757294914928640?lang=en"target="_blank">|X|</a>

(font: 'VT323')[you don't have to go in. its your choice] [[///->mp22]]

<img style="margin:0px auto;display:block" src="http://68.media.tumblr.com/297ef38321a477f88a434940001cccda/tumblr_otxktpFMVZ1v0exy2o1_1280.jpg" width="640" height="895" alt="sand guy"/> <a href = "http://uncyclopedia.wikia.com/wiki/File:Face-in-sand.jpg"target="_blank">|X|</a> [[///->jamesdeath2.6]]

(font: 'VT323')[you see] When $he $hears the noise, $name [[sees->SW16]] something that happened to $him when $he $was small.

(font: 'VT323')[James and I. we were cut from the same electric blanket] [[///->returningtoroom1]]

i'm becoming part of the internet? is this real [[///->jamesdeath32]]

"Hey Markus, one last thing before all the light is sucked out of the universe by your fucking sand generator thing. What the fuck is the [[royal bath?->time11]] What the fuck was any of that about?"

Markus looks at you silently for a moment. $He scoops a handful of sand off the floor and stares down at it, eyes wide and bloodshot. [[///->time12]]

"What the fuck is the what!! What the fuck are you!!!" $He throws the sand in your [[face.->sand ending]]

One day you go to the Pyramid of Archival Material and watch a documentary about the legendary space traveler Glen Hang. Your childhood memories of Hang's adventures in the surrounding galaxies were of heroic and swashbuckling moments, selflessness in the face of danger, etc. [[///->no thanks6]]

The realities that were so alien to you as a child are sewn now into your ancient [[skin.->glen hang]]

A blown loudspeaker on the floor is playing some sort of audiobook. The voice is crackling and breathless. It reads some long essay while aggressively high-BPM electronic music plays. "The fact is every religion has its own beliefs and people who follow the religion are more likely to give in to the beliefs. Jain vegetarianism is considered as one of the most rigourous forms of spiritually motivated diet in the world. Apart from onions and garlics, even root vegetables like potato, carrots, raddish etc are excluded from a strict jain diet. Onions and garlics are considered as tamasic which means "darkness" in Sanskrit.They tend to ignite negativity. Also, Jains practice paryushana or das lakshana which go on for 10 days.During these 10 days, green vegetables are avoided because they tend to attract small insects.Some Jain's don't eat green vegetables at all. Also, Jains don't eat meat, fish, eggs or any form of non vegetarian food as jainism vehemently opposes non violence. It follows the principle of "live and let live" and ahimsa. Scientific researches have proven that eating non vegetarian food causes negative behaviour. Many religions follow this principle. Jain food is considered to be sattvic i.e it has the qualities of goodness, lightness and happiness." <a href = "https://www.quora.com/Does-Jain-food-really-decrease-lust-and-sleep-and-create-better-conditions-for-meditation-and-calmness-because-it-is-of-Satvik-nature"target="_blank">|X|</a> [[///->time6]]

You have reached the end of the file. [[Leave->incidenttransition]]

There are mature themes in this game. Some of them are -Gore -Disease -Graphic violence -Urination/defecation (ew!) -Nudity -Swear words (oh!) -Mental illness -Suicide [[I am a legal adult and want to play your game->ok]] [[I am not a legal adult, or I just don't want to play your game->ok bye]]

Thanks for your honesty! You can close this window now

(set: $name to (prompt: "What is your name?", "Conrad"))[[enter the CONSCIOUSNESS HOLOGRAM]]

(font: 'VT323')[uh . okay] "I found it in an air purifier outside Ilsa's room." [[///->ILSA2]]

You take some of the sand out of your pocket and hand it to Markus. $He $looks unimpressed. (font: 'VT323')[dude.. ok wow] "Just put in the fucking. Machine okay. Put the sand in." (font: 'VT323')[. . i guess you are not some immaculate deus ex machina character after all. lmao] The machine vibrates. [[///->time1]]

Gregory says: (if: (history:) contains "gregorynote4")["$gnote2" ???? I fucking eat you for brekfast mother fucker Would you like to respond? [["Haha no thanks"->walkabout5.6]] ] (else:)[hey bro want to chill Would you like to respond? [["I can't chill right now dude! I'm outside!"->walkabout5.6]] ]

Understood. As the Helmet composes a polite response to Gregory, it registers a new vibration in the air. Not Markus’s sand vibration, which reverberated deeply and had sort of an irritating pins-and-needles quality to it: this is different. It is notified of an approaching aircraft. The Helmet worries about the possibility that $name might be startled and fall into the pit. It tries to think of an un-alarming wording of "hold still, there is a helicopter coming" that won't cause $name to be startled and [[fall->walkabout6]] into the pit.

You could still view material from long ago, if you wanted. [["Sure, why not."->RAM3]] [[Leave->up1]]