Mirage

As you wait, you ponder on the newfound information you've recently discovered and slowly you feel a knot in your stomach grow.\n\nSuddenly you hear Kim's familiar voice emanating from the communicator.\n\n"Hello? You there?"\n\n[[> Where the hell have you been? Are you alright?]]

"Well I'm ▒▒orry, I didn't▓▓ reali▒░▒e that your feeling░░ are ▓o much more important░░ than my ▒▒afety!"\n\n[[> Alright, alright, calm down. I was merely trying to lighten up the situation. Speaking of which, I keep getting static from you. Any idea how to fix that?]]\n

There seems to be nothing down this long corridor but a single open door frame at the end of it. \n\n[[Rush towards the door.]]

You look down to your clothes as if you've not been looking at them for the past hour and notice that you are wearing a bedraggled laboratory coat of sorts. You briefly notice an iron-on patch on your shoulder of your shirt. Your hands are dirty with soot and dust and shoes are absent from your bare feet.\n\n[[Inspect the facility.]]\n[[Dance.]]\n[[Inspect iron-on patch.]]

You decide to follow the perimeter wall of the facility. As you walk around the wall, you notice that most of it have collapsed and have been demolished.\n\nYou suddenly see a large man-made opening in the wall, as you made your way around the wall, and as you near it, you see that it is a large hangar of sorts, housing a variety of vehicles.\n\nAt least, that was what it could have been, if it had not been packed with rubble and debris.\n\n\n[[Search hangar.]]

You find a nice spot on the dusty ground and take a seat. Seems like you have more waiting to do.\n\n[[Wait. Again.]]

Panicking, you decide to press all the buttons you could lay your fingers on.\n\nAdmittedly, was not the smartest thing to do as the jet proceeded to unload all kinds of missiles and flares. However, none of them were locked on to anything and instead shot wildly in different directions, like a very dangerous firework display.\n\nSeeing your act of untargeted hostility, the display screen in front of you lit up, showing two figures that are probably on the [[other jet.]]\n\n\n\n

You bust out a quick jive.\n\n[[Huzzah!|Survey your surroundings.]]

"Yeah, I managed to slip out an air vent and finally I'm away from that dreadful place."\n\n> An air vent... How... cliché.\n\n"Hah! I'm just glad to be somewhere that's not that horrid facility."\n\nThere is an ever so slight tremble in Kim's voice.\n\n[[> Well, I'm glad to hear that. I'm guessing you don't need my help anymore.]]\n\n\n

You turn the card around in your sooty fingers. On the back of the card, you notice a collection of unintelligible symbols followed by a sequence of bars.\n\nAt the very bottom you see the following in fine print:\n\nIf found, promptly dispose of this card at your nearest incineration chamber.\n\nYou look around to see if there is anything else to inspect but found none.\n\nSo, you decide to [[Wait.]]

Mirage

Taking a closer look at the familiar <<if visited("Inspect the rubble.")>>nice<<endif>> pile of rubble, you catch a glimpse of light from it.\n\n[[Dig through rubble.]]

You systematically pat your sides in search of pockets. You quickly realise that pockets are absent from the sides of your pants. Upon closer inspection, you realise that you only have a single front shirt pocket.\n\nReaching inside, you extract a card of sorts.\n\n[[Inspect card.]]

"Really? After waiting for so long in this cramped closet, I'd like to get out. Also, I don't really hear anything on the other side of the door anyway."\n\n> No, stay for a while. It's just a gut feeling. Trust me on this.\n\n"Alright, stranger. You're the captain of my ship after all."\n\n[[> I barely even know you. I only know your name and nothing else.]]

Besides the large broken down facility you crawled out from, you see nothing but a vast expanse of desertous land. In the distance you make out large shelves of amber rock, shimmering in the intense heat.\n\nWhat should you do?\n\n[[Inspect the facility.]]\n[[Inspect yourself.]]\n[[Dance.]]

"Nevermind that. How about I just head to where you are? How does that sound?"\n\n[[> Oh. Okay, see you in a bit then.]]

"That's the ideal goal here, yes. But where to? In which direction? Now you're the one that needs to be more specific here."\n\n[[> Head left!|Darkness]]\n[[> Steer right!|Darkness]]\n[[> Charge forward!|Darkness]]\n[[> I'd like to know where you are first before advising your next move.|Closet]]

"I'm alright now, I got caught by them but I managed to shake them off."\n\n<<if visited("Or do you calmly assess the situation?")>>\n[[> Really? How did you manage to lose them after they caught you?]] \n<<else>>\n[[> You got caught? Did the indirect spying thing not work?]]\n<<endif>>\n\n\n

Your repeated shouts of concern don't seem to alter the incessant stream of static that is now coming from the communicator.\n\n[[Do you wait?]] \n\n[[Or do you [[get rid of it?|Premature Evacuation End]]\n

"Alright, here I go. Wish me luck."\n\nYou hear some muffled rustling and a grunt before a click of what presumably is the closet door's handle.\n\nSuddenly you hear a loud male authoritative voice blare through your communicator.\n\n"HEY! WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN THERE! ALL UNITS TO SECTOR 39-2--"\n\n"Oh shit, they found me - oof! Get offa me!░░▒ ▒▓▓▓▓"\n\n[[> Hello?? Are you still there? Hello?]]\n\n

"Hmm... I'm not ▒▒ure whether I can hel▒▒░ you there░░. Everything ▓eems fine on my end though▓▓. Maybe hav░▒ a look at your communi▒░ator?"\n\n> So this is a communicator? Alright, give me a sec.\n\n[[Check device.]]

"......What? Seriou▓▓▒ly? Of all▒▒░ of the help I could have po░░░ibly have gotten▒░, I get the idiot that lik▓░ to troll with ▓▒ong lyric▒▒."\n\n[[> You hurt my feelings! :(|Hurt feelings]]

"Stop! We do not wish to harm you. Do as we say and you will not be hurt."\n\nAll you make out from the screen is two humanoid silhouettes and that any other feature is obscured by some sort of bright light.\n\n[[> Fine, but who are you?]]

"Anyon▒▒░there!?▒▓"\n\nThe voice seems to be nearby and sounds small but clear, yet peppered with shots of static.\n\n"Please! ▓░If anyone can▓░▒hear m▒▓, pleas░▒▒▓ help!▒▒"\n\nYou spin around to see a small device encased in chrome on the floor. It looks battered and worn.\n\nYou [[pick it up|Intro]].

As you head back through the door of the facility, you start to notice a few more things about it.\n\nYou realise that there are piles of metal that lay strewn around the facility. You guess that they were probably the wreckage of surveillance cameras.\n\n[[Enter the facility.]]

"I'm ░▒orry, I'm ju▒▒t in a really ▓▓tres░ful ░░ituation right now. Erm... You░ ░ound fine on my end▒ though, maybe▓▒ ▓check your▒▒end?"\n\n> You mean this device?\n\n"Yeah, that'▒▒ your communicator right? ░▓houldn't you kn▓▒w that?\n\n[[> No, I shouldn't. It's not mine. At least I don't think it is. Anyhoo, give me a sec while I see what I can do on my end.|Check device.]]

"You don't? That's odd. On my techno-radar you seem pretty close. I'd say within 5 kilometres at the very least."\n\n[[> Your what? You have a radar as well?]]

"Alright, just hang in there then. See you soon. ▓ ▓▓ ▓ ▒ ▒ ▒▒ ░░ ░"\n\nHer transmission ends with a series of bursts of static.\n\nWhat do you do?\n\n[[Stay and wait.]]\n[[Run.]]

"Oh! Right! Well, since we've got a bit of time now I guess I'll formally introduce myself. My name's Kim and I've been held captive at this facility for as long as I can remember. I tried escaping my room earlier and now I'm hiding in a stinky closet talking to a stranger for instructions. Your turn!"\n\nJudging from the pitch and tone of her voice, you gather that she's a young teenager. It is surprising how calm she sounds, almost chipper even, given the current circumstances.\n\n[[> Really? Your name's Kim? Are you sure your name's not a number or something?]]

You've come to the end of Mirage.\n\nI hope you've enjoyed your stay, Doctor.\n\nThank you for playing! Did you discover the other endings? [[Start]] again to try and find them!

"Yeah... Technopath sounds all fancy and everything but it just means I'm real handy at listening in to other people's tech. Guess that's why they want to keep me here that bad. They probably want to use me for espionage and shit."\n\n> Hey wait. You said you could listen in to other people's tech right?\n\n"Yeah, that is what I literally just said, yes."\n\n[[> So what's stopped you from listening in to their frequencies to find out where they are now?]]

The card feels hefty and has a certain thickness to it, much like how an access card would be. On the front is a picture of you smiling with the following details:\n\nFull Name: Dr. Jackel Jamerson\nOccupation/Role: Researcher\nSecurity Classification: HRD-24\n\nWhat should you do?\n\n[[Turn card around.]]\nRealise there is nothing else to be found and [[Wait.]]

Your decision to get rid of the communicator seems to have brought nothing but more questions that seem to never will be answered. Perhaps it was for the best?\n\n\n- You got the Premature Evacuation Ending! Congratulations? -\n\n\n\n[[Restart?|Start]]

"Don't bother, I'm pretty sure the police won't believe you anyway. Alright, give me a few minutes while I try to do some indirect spying like you suggested. Wish me luck."\n\nYou hear Kim take a deep breath of air before hearing a sound akin to white noise coming out from the communicator.\n\nWhat should you do?\n\n[[Survey your surroundings.]]\n[[Call the appropriate authorities.]]\n[[Drop the communicator and run.]]

... Initializing... \n\n\n...100% Complete.\n\n\n...Commencing {Human Research Drone} module number 24.\n\n\n[[...Doctor Jackel Jamerson.|End]]

You re-enter the room where it all began. A sudden tinge of Deja Vu hits you.\n\n[[Inspect room.]]

Again, you muster the haste within and run towards the door.\n\nAs you approach you can see that there is light coming from the other side of the door.\n\n[[Step outside.]]

"Don't be silly, you've helped me get this far! I couldn't have done it without you."\n\n<<if visited("Wait.")>>\n[[> I'm just glad you're safe. So how do I meet you since I don't even know where I am?]]\n<<else>>\n[[> I really didn't do much. So how do I meet you when I don't know where I am?]]\n<<endif>>\n

You turn to face the facility from which you came out from and take a closer look. On its walls, you see a faint symbol of an atom with the initials 'F.F.U.C.' etched below it.\n\nUpon closer inspection, you note a finer print that says: 'Facility For Unusual Candidates' embedded into the symbol.\n\nYou contemplate the use of the unfortunately chosen acronym as well as feel a weird sense of foreboding.\n\n[[Inspect yourself.]]\n[[Dance.]]\n

"That is a fa▒░r question, actually. One▓░░ that I ca░▓ answer, but no▒▒░ now. Plea▒▒e, I need your▓▓ he▒p."\n\n[[> Fine, but tell me how to get rid of this infernal static.|Static stop]]

Entering the facility once more, you begin to notice things that you couldn't before. The walls of the long corridor were plated with metal and bore scorch marks as if it were damaged by explosives.\n\nWalking down the corridor, you return to the once familiar door leading to the room filled with rubble.\n\n[[Enter room with rubble.]]\n[[Search the corridor area.]]

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"As much as I would like to do that, their butts are currently not anywhere in my immediate vicinity, thankfully. How about something less violent, like staying alive for example?\n\n[[> Har de har har. Come to think of it, where are you exactly?|Closet]]

With the haste of both your puny legs could muster, you quickly dash through the opening and find yourself in a corridor.\n\n[[Look around.]]

As you step out into the light, your vision goes white from the sudden exposure before gradually returning to normal.\n\nLooking behind to where you came from, you see the entrance to a large sprawling facility that lies smokily in ruin.\n\n"Hey! Are you still there?? Can you hear me??"\n\n[[> I hear you loud and clear now.]]

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"Yeah, I mean I've tried, these damned technologies just don't wanna listen to me, you know?"\n\n[[> So you can't even turn stuff on and off?]]

You attempt to call the appropriate authorities but realise you have no idea which authority is appropriate in this situation. \n\nYou get locked in a tense internal debate with yourself about which authority is the most appropriate for this situation. Your mind goes into a dilemma deadlock and eventually your body turns to stone from the harsh conditions of your surroundings.\n\n\n- You got the Authoritative Figure ending! Figures. - \n\n\n\n[[Restart?|Start]]

"I wish I could. But I'm only a technopath. Not a technomancer. This just means I'm only able to communicate with and through technology, but not change the state of the apparatus. That's kinda how I entertained myself, by watching the screens of other people's tech."\n\n[[> Ah, that's a bummer. The not being able to manipulate technology part, not the watching Kim K part.]]

Taking a closer look you realise that the patch resembles the symbol on the walls of the facility. You wonder what that could mean.\n\nWhat else should you do?\n\n[[Wait.]]\n[[Check your pockets.]]\n\n

"Well, I'm in a bit of a quandary you see. I, uhh... kinda pissed off a couple of people here and they're after me as we speak."\n\n[[> Who are these people? Why are they after you? What's a quandary?]]

"Well, there are some pretty bad people that want something from me and I'm currently trying to get away from them."\n\n> That's... unhelpfully vague. Could you be more specific?\n\n"I'd like to but I need to get out of danger first. What should I do?"\n\n[[> Survey your surroundings.|Closet]]\n[[> Run away!]]\n[[> Kick their butts!]]

You wait approximately 47 minutes and 55 seconds before you hear the sound of an aircraft approaching. \n\nTurning your head to the skies, you make out the silhouette of a jet against the blinding desert sun.\n<<if visited("Exit the facility.")>>\n\n<<else>>\nYour brain tells you to hide but your tired legs refuse to budge.\n<<endif>>\n\n\n[[Continue to wait in your spot.]]

Mark Tan

"Oh believe me I've tried. And every time I try doing that they somehow pinpoint exactly where I am and find me."\n\n[[>Sounds like some sort of reverse tracking system.]]

The silhouette gradually becomes larger before coming into full view. Its shiny exterior reflects the harsh sunlight, causing it to radiate beams of light.\n\nThe jet finally starts its slow descent to an area in front of you, before landing on the ground and causing amber sand to be blasted into the air.\n\n[[Coughing, you squint to try to get a better look at the jet.]]

"It's a bit hard to do that since I'm stuck in a tiny ass closet filled to the brim with cleaning supplies. I mean I could try leaving it now since I don't hear anything from the other side of the closet's door. What do you think?"\n\n[[> You should wait a little longer.|Wait]]\n[[> Yeah, if you think it's safe to leave, go ahead.|Leave]]\n

"Oh right! You don't really know where I am! Well, I'm in a dark broom closet that smells like industry grade disinfectant. I could try leaving now since I don't hear any noises on the other side of the closet's door. What do you think?"\n\n[[> Yeah, if you think it's safe to leave, go ahead.|Leave]]\n[[> You should wait a little longer.|Wait]]

"Well... they used to call me 42, but I really don't want to be reduced to a number. I kinda named myself Kim because I LOOOVE Kim Kardashian."\n\nYou pause as if needing time to process what you just heard.\n\n[[> You... love Kim Kardashian? Dare I ask why?]]\n\n

"Nah don't bother, I'll come to you instead. Since I roughly know where you are, you just stay put and I'll be there soon."\n\n[[> Oh. Okay, see you in a bit then.]]

"Hmm... Maybe tr░ getting to a higher▓▓▒vantage point▒? ░▒omewhere that'░░ more open░ ░o the ▓▓ignal doe▒n't get a▒▒ blocked? Al░o, I don't mean to ru▓h you but could you do it quick? I'm ▓till in need▒ ▒of urgent ▒▒help here. Thank░░."\n\n[[> Sure, that sounds like a good idea. Give me a few.]]

You intermittently regain consciousness and slowly realise that the strange figures are hauling you onboard the jet.\n\nWith blurred vision and failing senses, you futilely struggle to fight back.\n\nAnother bolt of electricity courses through your veins and this time you [[black out for good.]]

You look around and spy a familiar pile of rubble.\n\n[[Inspect rubble.]]

"You don't? Aren't you at that other facility?"\n\n[[> Wait. How'd you know that?]]

"Oh thank God! Now it'll be easier for you to help me!"\n\n[[> Hold up, before I help you, tell me who you are first.|Identity]]\n

"I was lucky, the lone soldier who caught me exiting the closet was actually on break, so he didn't have any weapons on him. I managed to knock him out with a bucket of disinfectant before he could do anything."\n\n[[> Wow, you must have been swung that bucket hard to knock someone out like that.]]

You examine the mysterious palm-sized device that you've been speaking to for the past five minutes.\n\nTurning it in your fingers, you see that its pebble shape has almost no panels to open and that it is covered in nondescript scratches.\n\nThe only opening you see is in the form of two holes, both the size of a pin.\n\nYou gather that these are the microphone input and the speaker output of the device.\n\n[[> I don't see anything that can fix this static I'm hearing. Any ideas?]]\n

"Very well. Your jet will be auto-piloted to follow ours. You will understand soon enough."\n\nAnd with that, your screen blinks into darkness, leaving you confused and scared at what the future holds.\n\nBut for now, all you can do is [[wait and rest.|black out for good.]]\n\nYour heavy eyelids droop to a close and you eventually drift off into blissful slumber.

"Yeah, it's sort of a map I have in my head whenever I'm connected to a piece of tech. It's mostly fuzzy though, so I can't see everything. But I am able to roughly guess how far and in which direction you are."\n\n[[> That's pretty handy. So what should I do? Make my way towards you or...?]]

"Woah woah woah! Where do you think you're going? I'll still need your help in deciding on what to do. I like having you helping me and being my voice of reason."\n\n[[> Oh alright, but I honestly don't know if I'll be of any help. Should I at least call the police or something?]]

"Fair point. Nonetheless, let's begin shall we?"\n\nYou hear another female computerised voice emanate from the room.\n\n"Initializing memory extraction and reconditioning processes."\n\nBefore you could even scream, a cloud of acrid chemicals is sprayed at your face and you embrace the [[darkness]] once more.\n

You board the jet and realise that you don't know how to pilot one. Ignoring that fact, you strap yourself into the cockpit and press the largest red button you could find.\n\nLuckily, that button so happened to be the auto-pilot switch and the jet roars into life.\n\nWithout having to touch anything else, the jet taxis out of the hangar with ease and slowly leaves the ground.\n\n[[Turn auto-pilot off and attempt to pilot the plane yourself.]]\n[[Let the plane pilot itself.]]

Shovelling the conveniently small rocks away from the glimmer of light, you quickly realise that you've found something that could be of use.\n\nYou found: Strange Pistol!\n\n[[Inspect Pistol.]]

"Hmm... You may be on to something here. Let me try and see if it works."\n\n[[> There you go! All settled, I guess I'll be heading home now. See ya!]]\n

"Alright, I guess it's fair that you at least know my name. I'm Kim.\n\n[[> There we go, wasn't too hard now was it. Now what can I do to help you?|> What can I do to help you?]]

"Don't flatter yourself, Doctor. All we need is whatever information you have stored in your biological memory bank. Even if you're just a Human Research Drone, you could have acquired useful data on whatever you were researching on."\n\n[[> Researching? Drone? Is that what I am?]]

"What's wrong with that?? That's my only entertainment I ever really watch!"\n\n[[> Entertainment? Didn't you just say that you were held captive somewhere?]]\n\n

"Ah, I almost forgot your biological memory banks were damaged somehow. I hope this doesn't impede the memory extraction and reconditioning process."\n\n[[> MY WHAT NOW? Hold on just a damned minute!]]\n\n

You patiently wait five minutes.\n\n...\n\nAnd ten minutes.\n\n...\n\nAnd another fifteen minutes.\n\n...\n\n[[Wait some more.]]

The jet slowly ascends to a good height off the ground, before deciding to hover there.\n\nConfused, you hesitate to start pressing random buttons. But as you were about to, [[you see the silhouette of another similar jet in the distance.]]

Carefully making your way around the debris, you try to search for something that can be of use to you.\n\nBy a sheer stroke of luck, you find a perfectly preserved jet and decide to have a go at it.\n\n[[Board jet.]]

You decide to take a deep long breath to collect yourself.\n\nYou have collected: Yourself.\n\nWith your newly found sense of self-awareness, you realise that you cannot seem to recall where you are or how you got here.\n\nYou decide to [[Survey your surroundings.]]\n\n\n\n \n\n\n\n

Looking around you don't see anything of interest apart from a few metallic pieces in the rubble.\n\nYou resolve that it is better not to touch sharp and jagged metallic debris.\n\n\nYou decide to [[Enter room with rubble.]]

"Haha, yeah. I then quickly slipped away and managed to find a way to escape."\n\n[[> Wait, already? You obviously didn't need my help at all! How'd you do it?|Out of danger]]

"Hah! Heavens no. I'm the only one here, I think. They just thought it'll be funny to name me after the answer to the meaning of life."\n\n[[> Now that's just plain mean. Wait, if you have techno superpowers why can't you just hack their high-tech security system and turn it against them?]]\n\n

"Yes. And no. Kim was just a facade I created in order to search for any drones left alive from that incident. I would ask for your forgiveness but that would seem to be unnecessary, given the present circumstances."\n\n[[> But why? Why me?]]

"Somehow they knew how to pinpoint my exact location again. Luckily I managed to give them the slip before they could get to me."\n\n[[> So are you out of danger now?|Out of danger]]

"WAIT! Don't go! Uh, I mean... I still need your help."\n\nHer sudden outburst that blared through the communicator startled you.\n\n[[> Woah, woah. Alright, you don't have to be so anxious about it. What kind of help?]]\n\n

"Can anyon▒▒e read m░▒e? Please, let thi░▓ work!"\n\nThe voice is of a feminine origin and sounds alarmed and anxious.\n\n[[> What's going on?]]\n[[> Hello from the other siiiiiide!]]

"Now, now, Doctor. Struggling will only make this process a lot more painful than it usually is. Just take a deep breath and think happy thoughts."\n\n[[> Are you mad?! How am I to think happy thoughts if you're just going to extract them all??]]\n\n\n

You cowardly drop the communicator and run like the wind. As karma has it, you trip over a rock and fall head first into a deep ravine.\n\n\n- You got the How The Cowardly Have Fallen ending! Fallacious!- \n\n\n\n[[Restart?|Start]]

"I guess you could say that. It won't do me any good if I were to do that right now 'cos I'm stuck in this closet. If they were to reverse track me, I'll have nowhere to run."\n\n[[> Hang on. How long does it take for them to show up usually, after you listen in to their frequencies?]]

You inspect the rubble. It is a nice pile of rubble.\n\nRemember that you are short on time and [[dash out the door opening.|Dash out]]

For some reason, you feel an ineffable desire to get as far away from your current location as soon as possible.\n\nYou decide to search the area once again in hopes of finding something else useful.\n\nDo you...\n\n[[Search the facility.]]\n[[Walk along the walls of the facility.]]\n\n

The jet's engines suddenly reduce to a low hum before opening the rear hatch to reveal two strange figures.\n\nAs your vision comes in focus, you realise that the two figures are wearing a protective suit, complete with a gas mask each. You also see that both of them are carrying a gun of some kind. Your guess is that they are of the painful kind.\n\n\n<<if visited("Exit the facility.")>>\n[[Alarmed by this new development, you take your aim at one of the perpetrators.|Alarmed]]\n<<else>>\n[[Alarmed by what you've witnessed, you attempt to run.|Alarmed]]\n<<endif>>

Against your better judgement you press the big red button once more. Instantly, the jet teeters as you desperately clench onto the control yoke.\n\nThe jet wavers erratically from your inexperience before nose-diving into the ground.\n\n\n- You got the Unflying Dutchman ending! You were Dutch? - \n\n\n\n[[Restart?|Start]]

You take a look around and see that you are in a windowless dilapidated room that is devoid of anything but rubble and debris. The faint smell of smoke fills the air.\n\nThere is a semblance of a door opening behind you.\n\n[[Inspect the rubble.]]\n[[About-turn and dash out the door opening.|Dash out]]

<<if visited("Exit the facility.")>>\nYour pistol starts to hum louder as you press down on the trigger. Its teal glow intensifies as you let one fly. Surprisingly, your shot manages to connect with your intended target and causes him to collapse and writhe in pain.\n\nHowever, his partner quickly realises where you are and returns fire soon after.\n<<else>>\nSeeing you suddenly jump up and run, the two figures shout a series of muffled commands, before one of them shoots an electrified bolt at you.\n<<endif>>\nThe bolt kisses your hips and the last thing you remember feeling is your jaw hitting the soft but coarse sand, before [[blacking out.]]\n\n

"Woah, woah, hold your questioning horses! These are fair enough questions sure, but right now I'm in desperate need of help."\n\n[[> Fair enough. What's your current situation like?]]

You jolt awake suddenly, only to realise you have been strapped to a bed, which also seems to be inside a rounded pod.\n\n"Ah, you're awake. I'm sorry it has to end this way, Doctor. But what you have is way too valuable for you to just be lost forever."\n\nYou strain your neck to see where that voice is coming from, only to realise you recognise that voice as Kim's. However, her voice now seems more mature and clear.\n\n[[> Kim? Is that you?]]

"I uh, think it's better for us to meet first before we proceed. Yes. I'd like to get the opportunity to also thank you in person for all you've done for me."\n\nHer voice seems to be more stable now, albeit with the occasional stammer.\n\n[[> Oh please, I barely did anything.]]\n

"The facility isn't that large. I would say on a day like this, where it's high alert and all eyes are looking out for me, the place would just be crawling with their troops."\n\n[[> Hmmm... Well, have you tried indirectly listening in?|Indirect]]

"Oh thank the heave▓▒▓! I wi░▒h I could tell you everything bu▒▒ I need your help fir▒░t!"\n\n[[> Why should I trust you?]]\n[[> Okay but tell me how to make the static stop first.|Static stop]]

As you make your way out of the facility, an idea comes to your mind. You decide to lay a trap by placing your communicator in the open and hiding somewhere nearby.\n\nYou resolve to use your newfound pistol and hope that the last shot hits whatever is coming your way.\n\n[[You lay the trap and lie in wait.|Wait. Again.]]

Minutes turn to an hour as you struggle to keep your patience in hopes of the mysterious voice returning.\n\nYou decide that something has to be done.\n\n[[Do you get rid of the communicator?|Premature Evacuation End]]\n\n[[Or do you calmly assess the situation?]]\n

Upon close inspection you notice that the light source of the pistol is softly pulsing. Its teal glow seems to calm you and at the same time causes you to feel anxious.\n\nTurning it in your hands, you see a panel with an interface that says:\n\nAmmo Remaining: 1\n\nWith the words blinking in unison with the pulsating teal glow, you figure that this pistol has only one shot left in him.\n\n[[Exit the facility.]]\n\n

"Oh. Right, I forgot to tell you I'm kinda... sorta... a technopath."\n\n> A what now?\n\n"A technopath. Someone who can communicate with and through technology. Kinda what I'm doing with you and that communicator right now."\n\n[[> Oh. Wow. That's a lot to process. Is that why they called you 42? Like you were their 42nd experiment or something?]]

"All will be answered in due course. For now, do not resist or we will have to neutralise you."\n\n[[> That sounds mighty hostile. But seeing that I can't pilot this jet, I can't do anything anyway.]]

"How do you mean?"\n\n[[> Like trying to spy on them but through unofficial channels? Like surrounding CCTVs or traffic cameras, that's assuming you can do that of course.]]

"It depends. If there are those pesky troops nearby, they can respond in seconds. If not, it may take up to 5 minutes."\n\n[[> How big is the place you're held captive?]]\n[[> Have you tried indirectly listening in?|Indirect]]