{
(set: $wentSwimming to 0)
(set: $room to 0)
(set: $beach to 0)
(set: $lookedAtTV to 0)
(set: $lookedOutWindow to 0)
(display: "The Room")
}
{(if: $room is 0)[(if: $beach > 0)[(if: $lookedAtTV > 0)[(if: $lookedOutWindow > 0)[(set: $room to 1)]]]]
}(if: $room is 0)[Sun, surf, sand… Island Life is a paradise.
The sound of surf breaking can be heard through the window in your room. You just woke up and got dressed. The flip-flops feel good on your feet. The sun is shining on a new day. You have no plans. Time spent in paradise all seem to be the same. Lots of time to rest and relax. The ceiling fan is moving slowly. The air is warm and comfortable. Lots of time to not do anything.]{
(elseif: $room is 1)[(set: $room = 2)The sound of surf breaking can be heard through the window in your room. You feel like you just woke up and got dressed. The flip-flops feel good on your feet. The sun is shining on a new day. You have no plans. Time spent in paradise all seem to be the same. Lots of time to rest and relax. The ceiling fan is moving slowly. The air is warm and comfortable. Lots of time to not do anything.]
(elseif: $room is 2)[(set: $room = 3)You feel like you just woke up. The flip-flops feel good on your feet. The sun is shining on a new day. You have no plans. Time spent in paradise all seem to be the same. Lots of time to rest and relax. The ceiling fan is moving slowly. The air is warm and comfortable. Lots of time to not do anything.]
(elseif: $room is 3)[(set: $room = 4)The flip-flops feel good on your feet. The sun is shining on a new day. You have no plans for today. Time spent in paradise all seem to be the same. Lots of time to rest and relax. The ceiling fan is moving slowly. The air is warm and comfortable. Lots of time to not do anything.]
(elseif: $room is 4)[(set: $room = 5)The sun is shining on a new day. You have no plans. Time spent in paradise all seem to be the same. Lots of time to rest and relax. The ceiling fan is moving slowly. The air is warm and comfortable. Lots of time to not do anything..]
(elseif: $room is 5)[(set: $room = 6)You have no plans. Time spent in paradise all seem to be the same. Lots of time to rest and relax. The ceiling fan is moving slowly. The air is warm and comfortable. Lots of time to not do anything.]
(elseif: $room is 6)[(set: $room = 7)Time spent in paradise all seem to be the same. Lots of time to rest and relax. The ceiling fan is moving slowly. The air is warm and comfortable. Lots of time to not do anything.]
(elseif: $room is 7)[(set: $room = 8)Lots of time to rest and relax. The ceiling fan is moving more slowly. The air is warming. Lots of time to not do anything.]
(elseif: $room is 8)[(set: $room = 9)The ceiling fan is not moving any more. The air is hot and humid. Lots of time to not do anything.]
(elseif: $room is 9)[(set: $room = 10) The air is hot and humid. Lots of time to not do anything.]
(elseif: $room is 10)[(set: $room = 11) Time is moving very slowly.]
(elseif: $room is 11)[(set: $room = 12) Time is moving very slowly. You close your eyes and rest.]
}
(if: $room > 11)[[[>>>Next->The Ending]]]
(else:)[[[Look around the room->Room description]]]
(if: $room < 11)[[[Get a Drink->Get a Drink]]]
(if: $wentSwimming is 0)[[[Go swimming->Go swimming]]]
{
(if: $lookedOutWindow is 0)[[[Walk to the window and look outside->Look outside]]]
(elseif: $lookedOutWindow is 1)[[[Look out the window again->Look outside]]]
(elseif: $lookedOutWindow is 2)[[[The window draws your attention->Look outside]]]
}
{
(if: $lookedAtTV is 0)[[[Look at the television->Television]]]
(elseif: $lookedAtTV is 1)[[[Look at the television again->Television]]]
(elseif: $lookedAtTV is 2)[[[Look at the television more closely->Television]]]
}
{
(if: $beach is 0)[[[Walk on the Beach->Go to Beach]]]
(elseif: $beach is 1)[[[Go to the Beach again->Go to Beach]]]
(elseif: $beach is 2)[[[Return to the Beach->Go to Beach]]]
}
It's a hot day. The unrelenting sun is making you thirsty.
What kind of drink do reach for?
[[A soft drink->A soft drink]]
[[A left-over umbrella drink on the bar->An umbrella drink]]
[[A beer->A beer]]
[[A glass of Water->A Glass of Water]]
[[Decide you aren't thirsty after all.->The Room]]
You pick up the can of Coke and...
[[Drink it.->Drink the Soft Drink]]
[[Decide to hava a glass of Water instead.->A Glass of Water]]
[[Put it down and grab a beer instead.->A beer]]
{
(set: $r to (either: 1,2))
(if: $r is 1)[You taste the Pina-whatever. It's sweet - too sweet.]
(if: $r is 2)[(set: $ph to $ph - (either: 10, 15, 20))
(if: $ph > 90)[ You taste the Pina-Marga-whatever. It doesn't taste good.]
(else:)[
(if: $ph > 75)[ It smells bad, but you drink some of the Pina-Marga-whatever anyway.]
(else:)[ You drink the Pina-Marga-whatever. It kind of makes you sick.]]]
}
Yourcan't take anymore of this drink.
[[Pour yourself a glass of water.->Drink the Water]]
[[Grab a beer.->A beer]]
[[Walk towards the window.->The Room]]
{
(set: $bc to $bc + (either: 10,15,20))
(if: $bc > 100)[(set:$bc = 100)]
(if: $bc > 81)[Your head is spinning. You try to open another beer, but your fingers don't seem to work.]
(else:)[
(if: $bc > 50)[Wow. The room is really spinning. But you don't care. You pup... pap... pip... pop open the beer can and drink it all down.]
(else:)[(if: $bc < 21)[Ahhh. Miller time. Well, not really. Miller sucks. But this local island beer is OK.](else:)[After the first beer, they all seem to taste alike...]]
(if: $wentSwiming is 1)[(if: $shark_attack is 0)[ Nothing like beer after a nice swim!](if: $shark_attack is 1)[ Nothing like beer after fighting off a shark!]]]
}
(if: $bc < 81)[[[ You grab another beer.->A beer]]]
[[You decide to have some water.->A Glass of Water]]
(if: $bc > 50)[[[ You stumble towards the window.->The Room]]]
(else:)[[[ You walk towards the window.->The Room]]]
Nice. Cold. Refreshing. Like a commercial. You put the can in the recycling and...
[[Walk towards the window.->The Room]]
Ah. Nothing like crisp cold water to quench a thirst. That was needed. Dehydration is the enemy. You...
[[Drink another glass of water.->Drink the Water]]
[[Grab a beer.->A beer]]
[[Walk towards the window.->The Room]]
You pick up a glass and fill it with cold water. You...
[[Drink it.->Drink the Water]]
[[Put it down and grab a beer instead.->A beer]]
(if: $room < 5)[
The room is a small apartment with a single bed, a nice wicker chair with a small table next to it, and a kitchen with an assorment of drinks and a few snacks. A flatscreen television is on the wall across from a couch.
[[Look around the room->The Room]]]
(elseif: $room < 9)[The room is a studio apartment with a cot in the corner, a folding chair with a crate next to it, and a small cooler with a few drinks in it.
[[Look around the room->The Room]]]
(else:)[The room is empty. Four walls. Hard concrete floor. One window to a blinding white light.
[[Look away from the window->The Room]]]
(if: $lookedOutWindow is 0)[(set: $lookedOutWindow to 1)It's a beautiful morning! A sandy beach is nearby. Palm trees sway in a gentle breeze. Not a cloud to be seen in the sky.
[[You turn away from the window->The Room]]]
(elseif: $lookedOutWindow is 1)[The beach is empty, but you can hear voices in the distance. The voices don't sound close by, but maybe the wind is carrying the sound.
[[You try to listen to the voices->windMsg]]
[[You ignore the voices and turn away from the window->The Room]]]
(elseif: $lookedOutWindow is 2)[The beach is still empty, but the voices in the distance are sounding stronger. Closer. Nearby.
[[You try to listen to the voices->windMsg]]
[[You ignore the voices and turn away from the window->The Room]]]
(elseif: $lookedOutWindow is 3)[The beach is empty. The voices are gone.
[[You turn away from the window->The Room]]]
(if: $lookedAtTV is 0)[(set: $lookedAtTV = 1)The television is on, but only static is showing. You find the remote and push buttons, but it doesn't seem to work. Just static noise. The cable must be out.
[[You stop fiddling with the TV->The Room]]]
(elseif: $lookedAtTV is 1)[The television is still showing static. When you listen closely [[you can barely hear->TVmsg]] someone behind the static.
[[You stop fiddling with the TV->The Room]]]
(elseif: $lookedAtTV is 2)[The television is still showing static, but you can hear [[another voice->TVmsg]] now.
[[You turn away from the television->The Room]]]
(if: $lookedAtTV is 1)[(set: $lookedAtTV = 2)"static... static... static... What's wrong with it?", you hear faintly from the television.
[[You look around->The Room]]
]
(elseif: $lookedAtTV is 2)[(set: $lookedAtTV = 3)
"I think it's broken.", you hear someone say clearly.
[[You turn around quickly->The Room]]
]
(if: $lookedOutWindow is 1)[(set: $lookedOutWindow to 2)The voices are very faint. You can barely make out someone say, "I think they can hear us."
Then the voice is gone so you [[turn around.->The Room]]]
(elseif: $lookedOutWindow is 2)[(set: $lookedOutWindow to 3) The voices like they're right behind you. You jump when you hear someone say loudly, "Don't be ridiculous."
[[You turn around and look in the room->The Room]]]
{(set: $projectA to 1)}
A small voice says, "I selected the mammalian canines to up-lift. It’s worked out great, but the principal life forms lay around all day napping, and occasionally chasing small hairy-tailed rodent-like creatures. But I haven’t figured out how to keep them from sniffing everyone’s butt just to say hello."
A deep voice says, "Try upping the hygiene factor. Or give them speech. That might help."
[[Continue listening->The Ending]]
{(set: $projectB to 1)}
An annoyed voice says, "My dominant life form is stuck in a loop. This totally sucks!"
A calmer voice says, "Hummm" and then, "Your decision to uplift marine mammals was bold, but it limited your world’s upside. It looks like a great place to swim and live but they aren’t going to the stars if they can’t see them from under their hydrogen and oxygen pair soup or even a liquid methane layer."
"They suck!"
[[Continue listening->The Ending]]
{(set: $projectH to 1)}
A small voice speaks up, but it sounds very mature.
"My cosmological constant seem to be wrong. My central life form wants to explore other solar systems, but everything is too far apart."
A booming voice says, "That’s not a problem – that’s a feature. Stars that are together and encourage civilizations to visit each other tend to end badly for both of them. Remember the tight-knit galaxy from our Galaxy-Building-Holo assignment?"
"Of course. We have perfect memory."
"Even so, we don't have perfect decision making powers or emotions. Pay attention everyone!"
All the other voices become quiet instantly. The booming voice says, "With solar systems too close to one another one overly aggressive species can spread too easily from system to system and kill all intelligent life that might evolve to compete with them. A safe and secure little galaxy for sure, but rather boring too."
"So what can I do?"
"In our next lesson, we’ll cover warping space-time to allow for interstellar travel. Until then, just try to keep your creatures from killing each other."
[[Continue listening->The Ending]]
{(set: $projectJ to 1)}
A low voice asks, "J, how is your project going? If I remember correctly, and of course I do, your hominids were hyper-aggressive to the point of ridiculousness."
"Yeah. My hairless primates keep forming tribes and killing each other. What’s wrong with them?!"
"Nothing that a little more maturity and intelligence won’t cure. Have you tried improving their leaders’ intelligence?"
"I’ve tried, but the tribes keep killing or sidelining the most intelligent leaders and following idiots instead."
"Well, some creatures can't help themselves if the initial conditions are not just right. You may have to start over and increase the empathy or general intelligence coefficients of your project."
"Do I have to start over? That will take forevvvvvvver!"
"Maybe not. You may be able to get by with a local planetary flood or a cometary impact. Try the comet first and see what happens. Turn up the subjective time factor so you can evaluate the results in a reasonable astronomic time-frame."
[[Continue listening->The Ending]]
{(set: $projectX to 1)}
A deep low voice asks, "What's up with project, X?"
"Aaaaaah. I don't know. My planets keep turning into gray goo. I’ve tried everything and nothing is working. It’s just not fair!"
The deep low voice says, "Now, now. It just sounds like your scientific and general population insanity levels are set too high. For this next cycle try slowing your scientific advancement coefficients to allow time for your population to emotionally and intellectually mature before they develop the technology to destroy themselves."
"Easier said than done!"
"That's why we're practicing now! Get to it!"
[[Continue listening->The Ending]]
{(set: $projectQ to 1)}
The deepest voice asks, "How is your project proceeding, Q?"
"Not well," says a small, but clearly intelligent voice through all the sounds.
"How so?"
"Everything appears fine at the outset. My primitive creatures evolve into primates like clockwork, just like in our homework assignment."
"What happens then?"
"They develop a civilization, of sorts. They develop enough technology to travel anywhere they want. They can grow and eat anything they want. They have mechanical beings that will do all the drudgery for them so they have as much time as they want to do whatever they want to do."
"So what do they do with all that time?"
"That’s just it! They don’t DO anything. They sit around all day watching entertainment that was created by their ancestors. They play games created by their ancestors that simulate the life they should be living! It’s all very strange."
The deep voice humms and then says, "Some dominant life forms don't want to be. You may have to create some solar anomolies to fry all their electronics... that's always interesting!
[[Continue listening->The Ending]]
{(set: $projectW to 1)}
The deepest voice asks, "How is your project proceeding, W?"
An excited voice says, “All my worlds are a nightmarish post-technological hellscape of death and destruction! So it’s going great! Couldn’t be better! I'm having so much fun”
You hear a deep sigh. “I wish locusts and floods would come back into fashion. It seemed so much cleaner.”
Then the excited voice laughs, "Wa-ha-haaaaa".
[[Continue listening->The Ending]]
[[Time Passes...->Next2]]
[[Time passes...->Next3]]
[[Time passes...->Next4]]
Project X4-32JK
Planetary Simulation
Student #35-391-887-0935
Grade: B-
...program terminated
{
(if: $beach is 0)[(set: $beach = 1)The sand is warm and the waves roll onto the beach. You take off your shoes and walk into the water up to your ankles. The water is refreshingly cool. You watch a school of small fish dart away from your feet. The fish are everywhere around you.]
(elseif: $beach is 1)[(set: $beach = 2)The sand is smooth but soft. The waves and the wind have disappeared. You step into the water up to your knees but you don't make a ripple. You don't see any fish.]
(elseif: $beach is 2)[(if: $room > 7)[(set: $beach = 3)Something's off. The sand is hard to the touch, like a table. There are no waves. You touch the water and it's hard also. Very strange.]
(else:)[The sand is smooth and soft. No footprints. No shells. No rocks. You don't see any fish in the water.]]
}
[[Walk back to the room->The Room]]
{(set: $wentSwimming to 1)}
(if: (either: 0, 1) is 0)[You wade through the surf and dive under a crashing wave. The water feels great. You make strong, confident strokes through the salty water towards the open ocean.
The fish are swimming around you hoping you brought them food.
]
(else:)[You run into the waves and dive into a small wave that has not broken yet. The water is a refreshing cool that is pleasant on your body. You continue swimming away from shore on the look out for wildlife.]
[[Continue swimming]]
{(if: (either: 0, 1) is 0)[ The underwater life is fantastic! Fish! Coral! Turtles! Wow!
]
(else:)[The water is cool, but a refreshing cool that is pleasant on your body. You continue swimming always on the look out for wildlife.
]
}
[[Continue swimming->Continue swimming]]
[[Watch Turtle swim by->See Turtle]]
[[Watch Shark swim by->See Shark]]
[[Swim back to the beach]]
(if: (either: 0, 1) is 0)[You body surf your way back to the beach, confident that your awesome form would impress anyone on the beach. You dry off in slow motion like they do in movies. Something about being on a beach just gives you confidence.
]
(else:)[You swim back to the beach with strong confident strokes. Since human bodies are mostly saltwater, you feel that you are at one with the ocean. You count your breaths in movement meditation as you push through the surf to the beach. You grab your towel and take a deep breath, looking back to where you were just swimming.
]
[[Go back to your room->The Room]]
It's a common green sea turtle with a shell about 2 feet across. It is followed by 2 small sea turtles. They are as curious about you as you are about them.
[[Continue swimming->Continue swimming]]
[[Watch Shark swim by->See Shark]]
[[Swim back to the beach]]
(if: (either: 0, 1, 2) is 0)[ The Shark swims by and ignores you.
[[Continue swimming]]
[[Swim back to the beach]]
]
(else:)[It's a Blacktip Reef Shark and it heads straight for you!
[[Fight Shark]]
[[Swim like mad for the beach!]]]
(set:$shark_attack = 1)
(if: (either: 0, 1) is 0)[The shark takes a bite of you!
(set: $ph to $ph - (either: 1,2,3))
(if: $ph < 50)[You are [[severely injured]]!]
(else:)[ Your physical health is $ph %.
[[Fight Shark]]
[[Swim like mad for the beach!]]
[[Yell for help!]]
]
]
(else:)[ You kick at the shark, hitting it on the nose!
(set:$shark_hp = $shark_hp - (either: 5,10,20))
(if: $shark_hp < 1)[The [[shark is dead]]! ]
(else:)[ You hit that shark really hard!
The shark's health is $shark_hp %.
[[Continue fighting the shark->Fight Shark]]
[[Swim like mad for the beach!]]
[[Yell for help!]]
]
]
(if: (either: 0, 1, 2) is 0)[You swim like you have never swam before to try to make it back to the beach before the shark attacks.
[[Swim back to the beach]]
]
(else:)[You swim fast, but the shark is faster. It comes around for a bite so you have to [[fight it off->Fight Shark]].
]
(if: (either: 0, 1) is 0)[The shark sees that are not really shark-food, so he swims away looking for a more tasty meal. You are hurt and bruised, but not bleeding. Time to [[Swim back to the beach]].] (else:)[The shark loses interest and slowly swims away. You watch for any signs of the shark turning around, but he disappears in the distance.
You [[Swim back to the beach]].]
You yell as loud as you can, "Shark! Shark!" hoping someone will hear. (if: (either: 0, 1, 2) is 0)[But you are too far from shore.
[[Swim like mad for the beach!]]
[[Fight Shark]]
]
(else:)[You yell for help but nobody can hear you over the noise of the surf and the wind.
[[Swim like mad for the beach!]]
[[Fight Shark]].
]
The shark is dead. It isn't your fault. It kept on coming at you. You did what you had to do.
Now that the shark is sinking to the bottom, bruised from the savage beating you gave it, you can now [[Swim back to the beach]].
All you can see is a blinding white light. A cacophony of voices is all around you. You try to focus on one conversation at at time.
(if: $projectA is 0)[[[How is your project going, A?->Project A]]]
(if: $projectB is 0)[[[How about you, B?->Project B]]]
(if: $projectH is 0)[[[What's the status of your project, H?->Project H]]]
(if: $projectJ is 0)[[[Give us an update on your project, J.->Project J]]]
(if: $projectQ is 0)[[[How is your project proceeding, Q?->Project Q]]]
(if: $projectW is 0)[[[How is your project proceeding, W?->Project W]]]
(if: $projectX is 0)[[[What's up with your project, X?->Project X]]]
[[Next->Next1]]