You wake to the obnoxious blaring of your clock radio alarm, an artifact of your grad school days which still serves to rouse you each and every morning since your fateful graduation. (set:$gameCounter to 390)(set:$gameHours to 6)(set:$gameMinutes to 30)
[[Continue|Big Day]]
(set:$gameHours to (floor:$gameCounter/60))(set:$gameMinutes to $gameCounter%60)(if: $gameMinutes<10)[(set: $gameMinuteStr to "0"+(str:$gameMinutes))](else:)[(set:$gameMinuteStr to (str:$gameMinutes))](if: $gameHours<12)[(set:$clockTime to (str:$gameHours)+":"+$gameMinuteStr+" AM")](else-if:$gameHours is 12)[(set:$clockTime to (str:"12:"+$gameMinuteStr+" PM"))](else:)[(set:$clockTime to (str:(str:$gameHours-12)+":"+$gameMinuteStr+" PM"))](if: $gameCounter < 391) [Your eyes open to the sight of your bedroom, still a mess from a week's worth of neglect. Early morning light streams in from the window overhead. The clock reads $clockTime.](else-if: $gameCounter>390 and $gameCounter<421) [Your eyes open as your whole room shudders and shakes with vibrations from the passing train. If you'd slept any later, you'd be late for this interview. Once in a while it pays to live in a crappy neighborhood. The clock reads $clockTime.](else:)[Your eyes crack open, crusty with too many hours of sleep. When you look over to your clock, you realize that you've overslept and missed the interview. Crap! The clock reads $clockTime.] (set: $currentRoom to "Bedroom")
[[Roll out of bed|Bedroom Intro]]You keep your eyes closed, trying to slip back into the dream where you split your time between lecturing at a prestigious university and running an unexpectedly successful used bookstore with a Michelin-starred cafe.
Between orders, you and your staff of brilliant, attractive, and extraordinarily well-read bookristas would argue and explore intriguing intersections and mysterious correspondences between little-known authors and texts, then eat whatever fantastic creation your head chef had just invented. (set: $snoozeCount to $snoozeCount+1)(set:$gameCounter to $gameCounter+30)
[[Sleep a little longer|Dream Deep I]]
[[Open your eyes]]
(print: $selectedItem's pickupText)
(link-goto: "Done",$currentRoom)(print: $selectedItem's description)
(link-goto:"Done",$currentRoom)[[Dirty laundry]] sits in piles next to stacks of partially read books, greasy pizza boxes, and an assortment of empty bottles. Two large [[bookcases]] overflowing with books occupy the wall to your left. Between them, you spy your [[computer|home pc]] sitting on a sad-looking desk surrounded by [[important-looking papers]]. An even sadder-looking office chair faces the desk. Next to your bed sits a [[night stand|Bedside Table]] filled with various odds and ends, as well as the (if: $clockAlarmOn)[still blaring](else:)[now silent] [[clock radio]].(set:$currentRoom to "Bedroom")
[[Find something to wear|Get dressed]]
[[Visit the bathroom|Bathroom]]
[[Head to the kitchen|Kitchen]]
[[Leave the apartment]]
Your eyes scan the overburdened shelves of your bookcases. You've long since lost count, but you're confident that your personal collection is larger than some small town public libraries. Of course, you're not certain which communities would have a burning desire to own the types of books you've collected over the years. A few hundred titles on the history of medieval marginalia and demonic cats in illustrated texts, the use and abuse of concrete in modern art, critical approaches to post-Christian apocalypses, and your collection of books where the protagonist dies in the first sentence or is horribly disfigured by the second.
(if: $inv contains "obscure book")[<!--Do nothing-->](else:)[[Search for something to read|Look for book]]
(link-goto: "Return",$currentRoom)(set: $currentRoom to "home pc")
Your trusty desktop has served you well, enduring both the long hours of dissertation writing hell you inflicted on it, as well as your frequent post-grad escapes into a variety of computer games where your avatar tended to acquire wealth, fame, property, and friends frightfully faster than you in real life. You've given it many names over the years: Optimus Prime, KITT-En, HAL, Death, The Eater of Words, and most recently, given it's nearly dead status, Marley.
(if: $homePCOn is false)[[Turn it on]]
(link-goto: "Return","Bedroom")(if: $homePCOn is false)[The machine whirs to life, its dust-clogged fans noisily rattling itself out of sleep. When the wakeup sequence finishes, you find yourself staring at your usual desktop wallpaper, The Knights of Yarnia, dramatically posed cats in medieval armor.(set:$gameCounter to $gameCounter+2)(set: $homePCOn to true)]
Your web browser is still up, but you can't remember why you have 47 tabs open, most of them about the origins of IKEA's product naming conventions or how to craft scale-model fjords using jello, dry ice, and a tiny knife.
[[Check your email]]
[[Return|Bedroom]](set: $currentRoom to "important-looking papers")
You glance over the papers on your desk and recognize a half-finished draft of your idea for a medieval space opera featuring cats. (if: $resume's isCarried is false) [Next to it sits your [[resume]].] (if: $cv's isCarried is false) [Your more exhaustive [[curriculum vitae]] in all its 16 page glory lies next to it, neatly printed in an elegant 11 point font.]
(link-goto: "Return","Bedroom")(if:$isTimeDestroyed)[It's been smashed to pieces, another victim of your unbridled rage. Nothing remains of the pinnacle of 1980s ingenuity.(set:$gameCounter to 0)(set: $clockTime to "nothing")(set: $isAfternoon to false)
[[Leave it alone|Bedroom]]](else:)[This cheap-looking hunk of plastic and faux wood (if:$isClockDestroyed)[had](else:)[has] two jobs: report the correct time and wake you up. That's two more jobs than you have right now.(set:$gameHours to (floor:$gameCounter/60))(set:$gameMinutes to $gameCounter%60)(if: $gameMinutes<10)[(set: $gameMinuteStr to "0"+(str:$gameMinutes))](else:)[(set:$gameMinuteStr to (str:$gameMinutes))](if: $gameHours<12)[(set:$clockTime to (str:$gameHours)+":"+$gameMinuteStr+" AM")](else-if:$gameHours is 12)[(set:$clockTime to (str:"12:"+$gameMinuteStr+" PM"))(set:$isAfternoon to true)](else:)[(set:$clockTime to (str:(str:$gameHours-12)+":"+$gameMinuteStr+" PM"))(set:$isAfternoon to true)]
The clock reads $clockTime
(if:$clockAlarmOn is false)[ [[Leave it alone|Bedroom]]
[[Throw it across the room|Throw clock radio]]](else:)[ [[Turn off alarm]]
[[Let it beep|Bedroom]]
[[Throw it across the room|Throw clock radio]]]](set: $clockAlarmOn to false)
You give the clock radio a solid thwack and the beeping stops. You always feel a twinge of regret after doing so, then promise yourself to be kinder to it next time. It's hard to change, though.
[[Continue|Bedroom]]
(set:$gameCounter to $gameCounter+1)(if: $inv contains "house keys")[(set: $isAptLocked to true)You lock the door behind you,](else:)[You close the door firmly behind you,] then head down the hall, down the stairs, and into the front lobby. (if:$isDressed is false)[You hear people whispering and notice your neighbors' shocked looks as you walk by. You look down and realize you might be underdressed.](else-if:$isDressedWeird)[One of your neighbors asks if you're going to a party.](else-if:$isDressedSexy)[Someone compliments you on your outfit.]
You're not certain why the new owner decided to paint the lobby mustard yellow, but feel like it is a deliberate assault on your sanity. Portraits of pigs dressed as geisha line the halls clearly cross a line, but you have no idea where to begin or whether fighting this battle is worth it.(set: $currentRoom to "Leave the apartment")
[[Leave the apartment building|Outside the Apt Building]]
[[Return to your apartment]]
(if: (passage:)'s name is "inventory")[<!--Do nothing-->] (else:)[(if: (passage:)'s tags contains "donotshowinventory" or (passage:)'s tags contains "Description")[<!--Do nothing-->] (else:)[
[[Check inventory|inventory]]]](if: $inv's length > 0)[Inventory: (print: $inv.join(", ")).](else:)[Your inventory is empty.]
You are currently wearing $outfit. (if:$cash>0)[You have $$cash.]
(if: $wristwatch's isCarried)[(if: $isTimeDestroyed)[(set:$clockTime to "nothing")](else:)[(set:$gameHours to (floor:$gameCounter/60))(set:$gameMinutes to $gameCounter%60)(if: $gameMinutes<10)[(set: $gameMinuteStr to "0"+(str:$gameMinutes))](else:)[(set:$gameMinuteStr to (str:$gameMinutes))](if: $gameHours<12)[(set:$clockTime to (str:$gameHours)+":"+$gameMinuteStr+" AM")](else-if:$gameHours is 12)[(set:$clockTime to (str:"12:"+$gameMinuteStr+" PM"))(set:$isAfternoon to true)](else:)[(set:$clockTime to (str:(str:$gameHours-12)+":"+$gameMinuteStr+" PM"))(set:$isAfternoon to true)]]Your watch reads (print:$clockTime).]
(link-goto:"Done",$currentRoom)(print: $gradphoto's description)
(if: $gradphoto's isCarried is false)[(link: "Take framed grad photo")[(set:$selectedItem to $gradphoto)(set:$gradphoto's isCarried to true)(set: $inv to $inv + (a:"graduation picture"))(goto:"Item Acquired")]]
[[Leave it|Bedside Table]]
You (set:$currentRoom to "Get dressed")(if:$isDressed)[scan(set:$gameCounter to $gameCounter+0)](else:)[scour(set:$gameCounter to $gameCounter+5)] the closet, floor, and piles of clothing littered around the room(if:$isDressed)[. There is an astonishing amount of clothes for almost any occasion.](else:)[ in search of something to wear. Confronted with your past purchases, you become acutely aware of your inability to let go of your past, and ashamed of how easily swayed you've been to passing fads. Regret, wonder, and puzzlement are constant. You can't recall which are yours and which were left behind by former roommates, abandoned by regrettable liasons, or represent the final stage of evolution achieved after prolonged exposure to radioactive material, advanced disco fever, and third-wave feminist discourse.] (if:$laundryMoneyTaken is false)[You find a little bit of [[money|loose change]] in one of the coat pockets.](if: $wristwatch's isCarried is false) [ You spy your old [[wristwatch|digital wristwatch]] peeking out from under a pile of clothes.]
(if:$isDressed is false)[[[Find something to wear|Pick outfit]]](else:)[[[Choose a different outfit|Pick outfit]]]
[[Return|Bedroom]]You figure looking your best never hurts, so decide to wear something that makes you look and feel fantastic. Even if you don't get the job, perhaps you'll get a number or two. (set:$gameCounter to $gameCounter+10)(set: $isDressed to true) (set:$isDressedSexy to true)(set: $outfit to (either:...$sexyoutfits))
You are wearing (print:$outfit).
[[Continue|Bedroom]]
Why take chances? You spent good money on putting together a sharp-looking interviewing outfit. Granted, you'd hoped to be using it to network with professors and interview for full-time tenure track positions in your field. Might as well make it work for you now. (set:$gameCounter to $gameCounter+10)(set: $isDressed to true) (set: $outfit to (either:...$businessoutfits))
You are wearing a (print:$outfit).
[[Continue|Bedroom]]
Rather than look like every other applicant stuffed into a suit and looking terrified and uncomfortable, you decide it's better to project confidence, dress a little bit more casual, and show you're not afraid to get right to work. You opt for your favorite t-shirt and jeans. Perfect. (set:$gameCounter to $gameCounter+5)(set: $isDressed to true) (set: $outfit to "a t-shirt of "+(either:...$tshirtdesigns)+" and some comfy jeans")
[[Continue|Bedroom]]
It could be your dream-addled brain or last night's unfortunate combination of drinks, extraordinarily bad takeout, and a slight fever, or it could be genius. Whatever it is, you figure that the best way to make an impression is to go so far out of the box that the interviewers won't remember anyone other than you. You consider a fusion of KISS makeup, Bob Ross hair, and flame-emblazoned motorcycle jacket with extra-thick shoulder pads, but it would take too long to add the "FREE TACO" fake tattoos across both sets of knuckles. (set:$gameCounter to $gameCounter+10)(set: $isDressed to true) (set: $isDressedWeird to true)(set: $outfit to (either:...$weirdoutfits))
You settle on something more practical and gear up in $outfit.
[[Continue|Bedroom]]
(set: $currentRoom to "Kitchen")(set:$gameCounter to $gameCounter+1)
This small dingy kitchen has never graced the pages of //Better Homes and Gardens// or gone viral on Pintrest. The [[cupboards and drawers|home cupboards]] sport a rustic cottage look that's more shabby than chic. The tiny sink is filled with dirty dishes. An unremarkable white [[fridge|home fridge]] sits beside an equally unremarkable stove. There's a [[note|interview note]] on the table. The fluorescent light flickers and pings overhead.
[[Look for food|Look for food in kitchen]]
[[Exit the kitchen|Bedroom]]
(set: $currentRoom to "Bathroom")(set:$gameCounter to $gameCounter+1)
Your bathroom is the epitome of utilitarian design at the height of 1970s Soviet Communism. A small functional toilet, a tiny [[shower|Take a shower]] that favors cold over hot, a cracked pedestal sink, and a [[mirror|Reflection]] (if: $isMirrorFogged)[too fogged to see yourself in](else:)[just large enough to reflect your face]. A dull white bath towel hangs on a rack like a sad flag of surrender.
[[Take a shower]]
[[Exit the bathroom|Bedroom]]
You look for something that might make for good reading should you have extra time before or after the interview. For the most part, you lean toward choosing something other than what you spent seven years studying for your dissertation.(set:$gameCounter to $gameCounter+5)
[[Take random book]]
[[Return|Bedroom]](set: $outfit to (either:"pajamas","boring underwear","sexy underwear","short shorts","absolutely nothing"))
(set: $maxInvSize to 2)
(set: $hasBag to false)
(set: $isAptLocked to false)
(set: $isHungry to false)
(set: $isMirrorFogged to false)
(set: $isDressed to false)
(set: $isDressedWeird to false)
(set: $isDressedSexy to false)
(set: $isCopPresent to false)
(set: $isTrans to false)
(set: $clockTime to "6:30 am")
(set: $isClockBroken to false)
(set: $isClockDestroyed to false)
(set: $isTimeDestroyed to false)
(set: $isLobbyCheckDone to false)
(set: $gameMinuteStr to "00")
(set: $gameMinutes to 0)
(set: $gameHours to 0)
(set: $isAfternoon to false)
(set: $isBusPassengerMet to false)
(set: $gameCounter to 0)
(set: $cash to 0)
(set: $cashInHand to 0)
(set: $gender to (either:"man","woman","trans man","trans woman"))
(set: $maleids to (a:"man","trans man"))
(set: $femaleids to (a:"woman","trans woman"))
(set: $sexorientation to (a:"straight","gay","bi","asexual"))
(set: $minorities to (a:"black","Asian","Mexican","Central American","South American","Native American","East Indian","Middle Eastern"))
(set: $ethnicities to (a:"white")+$minorities)
(set: $ethnicity to (either:...$ethnicities))
(set: $desirablelooks to (a:"attractive","young","fit","thin"))
(set: $appearance to (either:"attractive","young","old","middle-aged","plain","nervous","depressed","heavy-set","fit","thin","tattooed"))
(set: $articles to (a:"a","e","i","o","u"))
(set: $isIntroShown to false)
(set: $clockAlarmOn to true)
(set: $bookSearchCount to 0)
(set: $emailsRead to 0)
(set: $hasBusPass to false)
(set: $hasWallet to false)
(set: $securityGuard to "man")
(set: $securityGuardGender to (either:"male","female"))
(set: $securityGuardMale to (either:"a young white man","an older white man","a middle-aged man in a security uniform"))
(set: $securityGuardFemale to (either:"a young white woman","a grey-haired white woman","a middle-aged woman with her hair in a bun"))
(set: $busWomanLook to (either:"young","attractive","disheveled","angry-looking","stern-faced","heavy-set","large","thin","old","elderly"))
(set: $busWomanClothes to (either:"sundress","loud mumu","tracksuit","t-shirt and sweatpants","cocktail dress","business suit","t-shirt and jeans","trenchcoat","Hazmat suit","dark dress and sunglasses"))
(set: $tiedesigns to (a:"polka dots","stripes","tiny robots","donuts","laser shooting kittens","tricycles","dinosaurs","eggs","Viking runes","Latin curse words","gears","eyeballs","explosions","shooting stars"))
(set: $tshirtdesigns to (a:"Optimus Prime Rib","a zombified donut","seven samurai cats","Kodomokun","steampunk Princess Leia","Nietzche on roller blades","sentient luggage","a sad whale","an emo robot"))
(set: $tshirt to (either:...$tshirtdesigns))
(set: $weirdoutfits to (a:"a giant panda suit","a purple tuxedo with a rainbow top hat","a steampunk astronaut suit","a Sherlock Holmes costume","a jet black skin-tight catsuit","a Hazmat suit and holding a giant lollipop"))
(set: $businessoutfits to (a:"slimcut suit","navy suit","business suit","double-breasted suit","pinstripe suit","dark business suit"))
(set: $weirdoutfit to (either:...$weirdoutfits))
(set: $businessoutfit to (either:...$businessoutfits))
(set: $sexyoutfits to (a:"your favorite clubbing outfit"))
(set: $trashmantops to (a:"a filthy red t-shirt","a Phat Tony t-shirt","a blue sweatshirt","a ragged white dress shirt","a green t-shirt with a dragon on it","a tanktop","a trenchcoat","a death metal t-shirt","a black t-shirt with a cow on it"))
(set: $trashmanbottoms to (a:"grimy jeans","short shorts","khakis","tattered jeans","black sweatpants","grey sweatpants","basketball shorts"))
(set: $trashmanshirt to (either:...$trashmantops))
(set: $trashmanpants to (either:...$trashmanbottoms))
(set: $myEmails to (shuffled:"an email from the alumni association asking for donations to support the building of another world-class diving pool and rock wall to be named after a celebrity chef","an email from your ex asking if you could introduce them to your best friend","a reminder from your local oil change place that it's time to bring your car in. Too bad that car's been dead for two weeks","another emailed invoice from someone who has confused you with the multimillionaire CFO in the UK who shares your name","an invitation to invest in a lucrative bridgebuilding project in Nigeria","a rambling manifesto on the evils of dental hygenicists and the importance of cultivating one's own distinctive breath","a recipe for teriaki jello shooters","a warning from the IRS that your returns have been invalidated and that you'll need to contact their office in India to make a one-time payment by Western Union","an invoice for web hosting and a domain name for a professional website you built for a class six years ago","a press release from an old grad school friend whose third book of literary criticism has just been optioned by the Coen Brothers"))
(set: $myBooksB to (shuffled: "Gnomenclature: A Deep Dive into Scandavian Mythological Etymologies","The Nocturnal Pattern-Walkers: 13th-Century Somnambulant Monks","Seven Deadly Habits of Highly Defective People","What's Loki Got to Do With It?","The Illuminated Cat: The Divine as Feline in Medieval Manuscripts"))
(set: $obscurebooktitle to (either:...$myBooksB))
(set: $laundryMoneyTaken to false)
(set: $wallet to (datamap:"name","wallet","description","This trusty leather wallet has seen better days and bigger bank accounts.","pickupText","You pick up the wallet and tuck it away.","isCarried",false))
(set: $buspass to (datamap:"name","bus pass","description","A plastic bus pass, good for travel on public transit and metro all throughout the city.","pickupText","You pick up the bus pass and take it with you.","isCarried",false))
(set: $gradphoto to (datamap:"name","graduation picture","description","A framed photograph of a younger, thinner you in full graduation regalia standing next to your proud mother. Hard to believe it's been two years since then.","pickupText","You pick up the framed photo and take it with you.","isCarried",false))
(set: $resume to (datamap:"name","resume","description","An abbreviated version of your academic and research accomplishments from the past eight years, recast in language that might persuade a non-academic to hire you. Contains a lot of the right buzzwords and restricted to the approved fonts of the year.","pickupText","You take the resume.","isCarried",false))
(set: $housekeys to (datamap:"name","house keys","description","Your house keys, as well as the key to your now dead 1970 Toyota Crown. Good for locking doors and scratching paint.","pickupText","You take the keys.","isCarried",false))
(set: $wristwatch to (datamap:"name","wristwatch","description","Your antique Casio digital watch. It's hard to believe that it still works. Tenacious, but ugly.","pickupText","You put on the wristwatch.","isCarried",false))
(set: $banana to (datamap:"name","overripe banana","description","This overripe banana is too soft to be used as a weapon, but does provide a healthy amount of potassium. You're not certain how well it will work as a boomarang, but suspect the answer is not very well.","pickupText","You take the banana.","isCarried",false))
(set: $cheese to (datamap:"name","mouldy cheese","description","Some particularly foul-smelling cheese which might date back to antediluvian days. Could be extraordinary. Could be deadly. Might pass for that really expensive stuff that people serve at fancy parties.","pickupText","You take the cheese.","isCarried",false))
(set: $cv to (datamap:"name","cv","description","An impressively long and detailed accounting of all your teaching, writing, and publishing accomplishments, as well as a listing of your major and minor publications and presentations on the tiny obscure field of intellectual research you staked out for yourself, and which perhaps five people in the world care about.","pickupText","You take the bulky cv convinced that its weight will surely inspire awe and respect. It is, after all, the sum total of your examined life. Surely that's worth something to someone.","isCarried",false))
(set: $homePCOn to false)
(set: $inv to (a:))
(set: $snoozeCount to 0)
(set: $selectedItem to "")Your eyes settle on //(print: $obscurebooktitle)//, an unlikely choice, but one that will certainly raise eyebrows. You decide to take it with you. (set: $inv to $inv + (a:"obscure book"))(if:(random:1,10) is 1)[You find [[some money|loose change]] tucked inside the book.]
[[Continue|Bedroom]](enchant: ?page, (text-colour: black) + (background: white))
<div class="titlescreen"><h1>THE INTERVIEW</h1>
[[Start]]
[[About the Author]]
<h4>version 0.7</h4>
</div>
(set: $isIntroShown to true)
(set: $isFemale to $femaleids contains $gender)
(set: $isBlackMale to $maleids contains $gender and $ethnicity is "black")
(set: $isMinority to $minorities contains $ethnicity)
(set: $isAttractive to $desirablelooks contains $appearance)
(if: $sexorientation is "gay")[(if: $maleids contains $gender)[(set: $likesMen to true)](else:)[(set: $likesMen to false)]](else-if: $sexorientation is "straight")[(if: $femaleids contains $gender)[(set:$likesMen to true)][(else:)[(set: $likesMen to false)]]](else-if: $sexorientation is "bi")[(set:$likesMen to true)](else:)[(set:$likesMen to false)]
(if: $gender is "trans man" or $gender is "trans woman")[(set:$isTrans to true)]
(if:$isFemale)[(set:$sexyoutfits to $sexyoutfits+(a:"a sequin dress","a little black dress","a red dress with a plunging neckline","vintage sockhop outfit","a sheer blouse and tight jeans","a bikini top and daisy dukes","a bedazzled sports bra and yoga pants","a flirty shirt and mini skirt combo","a full-length ballgown"))](else:)[(set:$sexyoutfits to $sexyoutfits+(a:"a muscle shirt and tight jeans","an expensive suit and luxury watch","a motorcycle jacket and jeans"))]
(if:$isFemale)[(set:$businessoutfits to $businessoutfits+(a:"navy suit","blazer and slacks"))](else:)[(set:$businessoutfits to $businessoutfits+(a:"dark suit and a striped tie","dark suit and a tie covered in "+(either:...$tiedesigns),"dark suit and a tie covered in "+(either:...$tiedesigns),"dark suit and a tie covered in "+(either:...$tiedesigns),"dark suit and a tie covered in "+(either:...$tiedesigns),"double-breasted suit"))](if: $isMirrorFogged)[The mirror is too fogged to see yourself in.](else:)[You see (if:$articles contains $appearance's 1st)[an](else:)[a] (print: $appearance + " "+$ethnicity+ " "+$gender) staring back at you.]
(link-goto:"Continue",$currentRoom)(set:$gameCounter to $gameCounter+15)You strip down and step into the shower. As the hot water rains down and steam begins to fill the room, you find yourself thinking back to your grad school days and how you'd often take a shower whenever you were stuck for words. By the end of your dissertation, you must have looked like a prune.
A good fifteen minutes later, you feel fantastic. Or at least, fit to face the world. (set: $isMirrorFogged to true)
[[Exit the shower]]You glance around your humble apartment, a modest place with a long history of housing misfits, recluses, and aging musicians still clinging to impossible dreams. You are the latest in this line, a recently degreed graduate student looking for a break. "Recent," you insist of telling people, despite having graduated nearly two years ago.(set: $gameCounter to $gameCounter+1)
[[Start your day|Bedroom]]
(if:$snoozeCount is 0)[[[Crawl back into bed|Sleep a little longer]]](else-if:$snoozeCount is 1)[[[Crawl back into bed|Dream Deep I]]](else-if:$snoozeCount is 2)[[[Crawl back into bed|Dream Deep II]]](else-if:$snoozeCount is 3)[[[Crawl back into bed|Dream Deep III]]](else:)[[Crawl back into bed|Dream Deep IV]](set: $emailsRead to $emailsRead+1)You check your inbox and find (if: $emailsRead < ($myEmails's length))[(set:$gameCounter to $gameCounter+2)(print: ($myEmails's ($emailsRead))).](else:)[it empty.]
(link-goto:"Continue","Turn it on")Today's the big day. After eighteen months of looking for the right job, you've finally got an interview with something not retail or fast food related!
[[Continue|Warm Bed]]
You know you really should get up and get ready, but it's been rather chilly lately and your bed is feeling very warm and comfortable. Perhaps resting a few minutes longer would be ok?(set:$gameCounter to 6*60+30)
[[Sleep a little longer]]
[[Open your eyes]]Hi, my name is Neil.
I'm a former computer games programmer, an award-winning author of two books of poetry, and a huge fan of fantasy RPGs.
I was introduced to programming early and have been coding and writing for most of my life. I wrote my first random haiku generator in BASIC when I was 9 and have been exploring the intersection between technology and creative writing ever since.
Although //The Interview// is my first Twine narrative game, it's fairly ambitious (I hope) in terms of its goals, easter eggs, randomized components, and replayability. No two playthroughs should be exactly the same.
You can find my author site (link: "here")[(goto-url: "http://www.neil-aitken.com")]
Feel free to contact me by email at neil.aitken@gmail.com
[[Return|Title Screen]] (print: $wallet's description)
(if: $wallet's isCarried is false)[(link: "Take wallet")[(set:$selectedItem to $wallet)(set:$wallet's isCarried to true)(set:$hasWallet to true)(goto:"Pickup wallet")]]
[[Leave it|Bedside Table]](print: $housekeys's description)
(if: $housekeys's isCarried is false)[(link: "Take keys")[(set:$selectedItem to $housekeys)(set:$housekeys's isCarried to true)(set: $inv to $inv + (a:"housekeys"))(set:$currentRoom to "Bedside Table")(goto:"Item Acquired")]]
[[Leave them|Bedside Table]]You pause to listen to Clara, your newest bookrista hire, discuss her latest conspiracy theory involving John Dee, flying mechanical squirrel assassins, and the Voynich manuscript. The red-headed former micro-roboticist turned best-selling crime novelist is a compelling conversationalist. Her voice is animated, yet soothing. She almost has you persuaded. (set:$gameCounter to $gameCounter+60)(set: $snoozeCount to $snoozeCount+1)
[[Keep dreaming|Dream Deep II]]
[[Open your eyes]]Clara is interrupted by Tai, the smartly dressed chief surgeon of pastries in the shop, who offers his own insights based on his previous experiences as a deep sea diver and shark whisperer. Clara shoots down his suggestion that no actual mechanical squirrel assassins were involved, but that the undecipherable writing is in fact a cook book for a race of super intelligent giant squid. (set:$gameCounter to $gameCounter+60)(set: $snoozeCount to $snoozeCount+1)
[[Keep dreaming|Dream Deep III]]
[[Open your eyes]]At this point, Jorge and Julissa roll in a large cake in the shape of a giant rainbow-colored honeybadger. You hear the sound of trumpets and an army of rats bearing the French flag arrives at your feet and reconfigure themselves to depict the opening scenes of //2001: A Space Odyssey//. One rat leaps up at your face and you see, briefly, that it's wearing a dynamite-packed vest which it detonates. Fire roars past you and you are thrown backward through time, finally smashing into an old Ford Prefect rusting in a field of daisies. The hot sun shines down on you.(set:$gameCounter to $gameCounter+60)(set: $snoozeCount to $snoozeCount+1)
[[Open your eyes]]From its perch on the bedside table, the [[clock radio]] (set: $currentRoom to "Bedside Table")(if: $clockAlarmOn) [continues to blare its alarm.](else:)[is eerily silent.] (if: $wallet's isCarried is false) [Next to it sits your [[wallet|leather wallet]].] (if:$buspass's isCarried is false)[A [[bus pass]] sits beside it.] (if: $housekeys's isCarried is false)[Your [[keys|house keys]] rest nearby between the pages of a half-finished book.] (if: $gradphoto's isCarried is false) [A [[graduation photo]] in a cheap plastic frame leans against your bedside lamp.]
[[Return|Bedroom]]Aside from the standard issue IKEA white plates, your cupboards and drawers present an eclectic assortment of mason jars, pie tins, and mismatched plates and cutlery. It's a perfect microcosm of your social life.
[[Return|Kitchen]](set:$gameCounter to $gameCounter+1)When you crack open the fridge, you are confronted with a vision of the future. It's cold, bleak, largely empty, and rather stinky. You suspect the yogurt now meets the threshold for sentience ensuring it basic civil rights. The pickles are fine, but the [[cheese|old cheese]] is probably old enough to vote.
[[Eat some pickles]]
[[Close the fridge|Kitchen]](set:$gameCounter to $gameCounter+20)You wait at the nearby transit stop for the next bus. After twenty minutes, a grimy looking public bus pulls up. The bus driver (if: $isDressed)[(if: $isAttractive and $isFemale)[stares at your body, his eyes lingering a bit too long](else-if: $isBlackMale)[stares at you nervously](else-if: $isMinority)[avoids meeting your gaze and grunts](else:)[stares at you](if: $hasBusPass or $cash>2)[(if:$hasBusPass)[ as you show him your pass.](else-if:$cash>2)[ as you pay the fare.] After boarding, you wind your way to the back of the crowded vehicle. No one makes room for you.](else:)[. He refuses to let you on without a pass or money for the fare.]](else:)[refuses to let you on and tells you to find some clothes to wear.](set: $currentRoom to "Take a bus")
(if:$cash>2 or $hasBusPass)[(if:$isDressed)[[[Find a seat|Bus trip I]]](else:)[[[Go back to your building|Outside the Apt Building]]]](else:)[[[Go back to your building|Outside the Apt Building]]](set:$gameCounter to $gameCounter+5)You stand on the curb and hail a taxi. (if:$isDressed is false)[(goto:"The police arrive")](else:)[Someone pulls up in a shiny yellow cab and asks if you need a ride(if:$cash>7)[.](else:)[, but drives off as soon as he discovers you don't have enough money.]] (set:$currentRoom to "Hail a taxi")
(if:$cash>7)[[Get into the taxi|Travel by taxi I]]
[[Return to your building|Outside the Apt Building]](if:$isTimeDestroyed)[Outside, you stare at the morning traffic perfectly frozen. Nothing moves, each car trapped like an insect on a bed of molasses. Within every vehicle, a human face with a fixed expression somewhere between anxious dread and hopeful exhaustion. Nothing changes, you think. And now, nothing ever will. The birds overhead caught mid-flight look little more than stickers on a plastic sky.](else:)[(set:$gameCounter to $gameCounter+1)Outside, you watch the morning traffic creep forward ever so slowly, like a river of molasses moving through sand. Each vehicle might as well be a ghost ship bearing the damned ever closer, but never arriving to their hellish fates. After this interview, with any luck, you hope to join them, at least long enough to pay the bills. (if:$isDressed is false)[The wind blows across your exposed skin leaving you feeling very cold.]] (set:$currentRoom to "Outside the Apt Building")
The interview is about 30 minutes away on foot. There is a nearby bus stop, as well as a (if:$isTimeDestroyed)[line of taxis stuck in place.](else:)[steady stream of passing taxis.]
(if:$isDressed is false)[[Walk to the interview|The police arrive]](else:)[[Walk to the interview]]
(if:$isTimeDestroyed is false)[[Take a bus]]
(if:$isTimeDestroyed is false)[[Hail a taxi]]
[[Go back inside|Return to your apartment]]
(set:$gameCounter to $gameCounter+10)The weather seems nice enough, so you decide to walk the six blocks to the interview location. Tall buildings fill the skyline. The air is filled with the sounds of the city. Cars honking, people yelling, and the occasional barking of dogs left unattended in their owners' vehicles. (if:$isFemale)[Men in passing cars whistle and catcall as they pass by you. You feel very self-conscious (if:$outfit is "absolutely nothing")[of your nakedness.](else:)[of what you're wearing. You no longer feel safe here.]](else:)[(if:$isDressed is false)[You feel a bit self-conscious now and realize that you are wearing $outfit. Some girls whistle at you as they drive by, so you wave back at them.](else:)[ As much as you hate to admit it, it does feel good to be outside of your apartment, to be moving your body in the larger world.]] (set:$currentRoom to "Walk to the interview")
[[Keep walking|Keep Walking I]]
[[Return to your building|Outside the Apt Building]]
(set:$gameCounter to $gameCounter+1)You (if:$isCopPresent)[let the officer escort you](else:)[make your way] through the halls back toward your apartment. Standing at the front door, (set:$currentRoom to "Return to your apartment") (if:$inv contains "house keys")[you unlock the door with your house keys. The apartment is dark, small, but still counts as home.(set:$isAptLocked to false)](else-if: $isAptLocked)[you try the door, but it's locked. (if:$isCopPresent)[The cop looks concerned and calls for backup.](else:)[ While you are comforted that all your worldly possessions are safely inside, you wish you were as well. Where did you leave your keys?]](else:)[you open the unlocked apartment door, which creaks as it swings wide. (if:$isCopPresent)[The officer gives you a ticket for Indecent Exposure and makes you promise not to do it again, then leaves.](else:)[ Your apartment looks smaller from here, but somehow feels safer than the outside world. Nothing seems to be disturbed.]]
(if:$isAptLocked is false)[[[Enter your apartment|Bedroom]]]
[[Head back outside|Outside the Apt Building]](set:$gameCounter to $gameCounter+20)(set:$currentRoom to "Bust trip I")(set:$isBusPassengerMet to true)(if:$hasBusPass is false)[(set:$cash to $cash-3)]As you make your way to the back of the bus, you spot an open seat next to a $busWomanLook woman in a $busWomanClothes. In the seat ahead of her, a noisy child cranes his head toward you. The other seats are filled with people headed to work, a few tired-looking housewives, and an old grizzled man who smells oddly of lavender.
[[Sit down next to woman|Sit next to bus woman]]
[[Stay standing|Stand on the bus]]
(set:$gameCounter to $gameCounter+8)(set:$cash to $cash-8)(if: $isTrans)[The cabbie keeps looking back at you with an odd look, but doesn't say anything other than confirm the destination address.](else:)[(if: $isFemale)[The driver asks if you're currently dating someone. You lie about seeing someone (if: $isAttractive)[, but this doesn't deter him and he tells you (if: $isMinority)[that his last girlfriend looked a lot like you.](else:)[that you're his type.]](else:)[(if:$isMinority)[that his best friend is $ethnicity.]](else:)[and he asks how you met.]](else:)[The cabbie tries making small talk about sports, but for the most part keeps focused on the road. Every so often he breaks the silence to comment on attractive women he sees out the window.]](set:$currentRoom to "Travel by taxi I")
[[Ride in silence]]
[[Ask the cabbie for advice]]
You pick out a few outfits, but have a hard time deciding between sticking with your regular business interview attire, or mixing it up to be more memorable. Would it be better to be bold? Should you dress a little flashier, or a little sexier? Perhaps ditch the formal look and recast yourself as confidently casual? You have done so many interviews over the last few months, but always end up second-guessing yourself.
[[Choose something flashy, flirty, and fashionable|Dress Flirty]]
[[Stick with a traditional business look|Dress Business]]
[[Try for casual and confident|Dress Casual]]
[[Dare to be weird|Dress Weird]]
[[Stick with what you're wearing|Get Dressed]]Try as you might, you just can't get back to the dream. The Borgesian book shop and the amazing cafe slip away, taking Clara, Tai, Jorge, Julissa, and the deep sense of belonging and purpose with them. All that remains is today and the certainty of your bed.(set:$gameCounter to $gameCounter+30)
[[Open your eyes]] (set:$gameCounter to $gameCounter+10)(set:$currentRoom to "Keep Walking I")You keep walking. The rundown buildings give way to slightly less rundown buildings. You pass a few coffeeshops, as well as some small restaurants, a [[corner grocer]], a [[thrift store]], a [[pawnshop]], and a [[laundromat]]. You spot Phat Tony's [[pho shop]] up ahead, it's [[distinctive sign|Phat Tony Sign]] glowing like a beacon day or night. A [[cockroach|important cockroach]] skitters across your path, then scurries down a [[poorly lit alley]] which heads more directly to your destination.
[[Take a shortcut through the alley|poorly lit alley]]
[[Keep walking|Keep Walking II]]
[[Hail a taxi]]
[[Return to your building|Outside the Apt Building]]
(print: $cheese's description)
(if: $cheese's isCarried is false)[(link: "Take mouldy cheese")[(set:$selectedItem to $cheese)(set:$cheese's isCarried to true)(set: $inv to $inv + (a:"mouldy cheese"))(goto:"Item Acquired")]]
[[Leave it|Kitchen]]Not seeing anything else that passes as edible, you spear a few pickles and eat them out of the jar. You've definitely eaten better, but this will have to do. It's better than the time you chopped up a leather belt, boiled it down, mixed it with some frozen peas and some soggy cardboard, and called it soup. (set: $isHungry to false)
[[Close the fridge|Kitchen]](set:$gameCounter to $gameCounter+10)You hunt through the cupboards and countertops looking for something to eat, but all your cereal boxes are empty. You think you see something scurry out of a half-closed pizza box, so give that a pass. A single [[overripe banana]] remains next a ceramic orange, most likely missed during your previous attempts to feed yourself. (if:(random:1,6) is 1)[You find a little stash of [[money|loose change]] while searching for food.]
[[Try the fridge|home fridge]]
[[Give up on finding food|Kitchen]](print: $banana's description)
(if: $banana's isCarried is false)[(link: "Take banana")[(set:$selectedItem to $banana)(set:$banana's isCarried to true)(set: $inv to $inv + (a:"banana"))(goto:"Item Acquired")]]
[[Leave it|Kitchen]]You get out of the shower and dry yourself off(if:$outfit is "absolutely nothing")[.](else:)[, then get dressed again.] You are wearing $outfit. (if:$isDressed is false)[You still feel a bit underdressed.]
[[Continue|Bathroom]](print: $buspass's description)
(if: $buspass's isCarried is false)[(link: "Take bus pass")[(set:$selectedItem to $buspass)(set:$buspass's isCarried to true)(set:$hasBusPass to true)(set: $inv to $inv + (a:"bus pass"))(goto:"Item Acquired")]]
[[Leave it|Bedside Table]](click:"Restart")[(reload:)](click:"Restart")[(reload:)](if:$isTimeDestroyed)[(set:$gameCounter to 0)(set: $clockTime to "nothing")(set: $isAfternoon to false)](print: $wristwatch's description)(set:$gameHours to (floor:$gameCounter/60))(set:$gameMinutes to $gameCounter%60)(if: $gameMinutes<10)[(set: $gameMinuteStr to "0"+(str:$gameMinutes))](else:)[(set:$gameMinuteStr to (str:$gameMinutes))](if: $gameHours<12)[(set:$clockTime to (str:$gameHours)+":"+$gameMinuteStr+" AM")](else-if:$gameHours is 12)[(set:$clockTime to (str:"12:"+$gameMinuteStr+" PM"))(set:$isAfternoon to true)](else:)[(set:$clockTime to (str:(str:$gameHours-12)+":"+$gameMinuteStr+" PM"))(set:$isAfternoon to true)]
The watch (if:$isTimeDestroyed)[is dead.](else:)[says it is $clockTime.]
(if: $wristwatch's isCarried is false)[(link: "Take wristwatch")[(set:$selectedItem to $wristwatch)(set:$wristwatch's isCarried to true)(set: $inv to $inv + (a:"digital wristwatch"))(goto:"Item Acquired")]]
[[Leave it|Get dressed]]
The note reads "Don't forget your interview is at 10:00 am. Today's the day!"
You recognize the handwriting as your own. The badly formed "f" is a dead giveaway.
[[Take the note|Take interview note]]
[[Leave the note|Kitchen]]You take the note with you. (set: $inv to $inv + (a:"interview note"))
[[Continue|Kitchen]](set: $clockAlarmOn to false)You snatch the clock radio from your night stand (if:$isClockBroken)[again, and with even more fear and self-loathing, ](else:)[and channeling all your existential fear and loathing into this one cathartic act,] hurl the radio (if:$isClockBroken)[once more] with all your might, smashing it against the wall.
(if: $isClockDestroyed is false)[(if:$isClockBroken)[This time, it looks broken.(set:$isClockDestroyed to true)](else:)[Surprisingly, it survives.] You pick it up and place it gingerly on the nightstand again. (if:$isClockBroken)[(set: $gameCounter to 0)(set:$isAfternoon to false)When you plug it in, the clock time shows 0:00 AM.](else:)[(set:$isClockBroken to true) When you plug it in, the clock still shows $clockTime.]](else:)[This clock has been smashed to pieces and cannot be reassembled. You feel a great sadness at your destructive actions. A darkness settles into your heart. The apartment is absolutely silent.(set:$isTimeDestroyed to true)]
(if:$isTimeDestroyed)[ [[Settle into the silence|Bedroom]]](else:)[(if:$isClockBroken and $isClockDestroyed is false)[[Reset the clock]]
[[Throw clock radio at the wall again|Throw clock radio]]
[[Leave it alone|Bedroom]]]You set the time back to $clockTime. All is right with the world. It's as if you hadn't given into destructive violence at all. (set: $gamecounter to $gameHours*60+$gameMinutes)
[[Continue|Bedroom]](set:$rindex to (random:1,4))(if:$rindex is 1)[You find a few crumpled up dollar bills.(set: $foundMoney to (random:2,5))](else-if: $rindex is 2)[(set:$foundMoney to (random:5,20))You find an envelope with $$foundMoney in it.](else-if: $rindex is 3)[(set:$foundMoney to (random:2,5))You find $$foundMoney in crisp $1 bills.](else:)[(set:$foundMoney to 10)You're not certain where this $10 bill came from, but it would certainly be useful.]
[[Take the money|Take the found money]]
(link-goto:"Leave it for another day",$currentRoom)You take the $$foundMoney(if:$wallet's isCarried)[ and add it to your wallet.(set:$wallet's name to "wallet")(set: $cash to $cash+$foundMoney)(set:$foundMoney to 0) You now have $$cash in cash.](else:)[(set:$cashInHand to $cashInHand+$foundMoney) and add it to your stack. You have $$cashInHand in hand.](set: $laundryMoneyTaken to true)
(link-goto: "Continue",$currentRoom)Double-click this passage to edit it.(click:"Restart")[(reload:)]You decide to focus on the world outside the bus and watch as the rundown buildings in your neighborhood give way to less rundown buildings in the next. Here, a small restaurant. There, a laundry mat. Every few feet another eclectic cafe with a new agey name offering some bizarre coffee concoction. You see Phat Tony's restaurant and smile, thinking of the many lunch hours you've spent filling your belly with amazing pho.
[[Keep watching out the window|Out the bus window II]]
[[Focus on your surroundings|Ride the bus II]](click:"Restart")[(reload:)](click:"Restart")[(reload:)](click:"Restart")[(reload:)](click:"Restart")[(reload:)](print: $selectedItem's pickupText)(if: $cashInHand>0)[ You place the $$cashInHand you've been carrying into the wallet for safe keeping. Counting what's already there, you have $(print:$cash+$cashInHand).(set:$wallet's name to "wallet")](else:)[(set:$wallet's name to "empty wallet")](set: $cash to $cash+$cashInHand)(set:$cashInHand to 0)(set: $inv to $inv + (a:$wallet's name))
(link-goto: "Done",$currentRoom)Double-click this passage to edit it.[[Return|Keep Walking I]] [[Return|Keep Walking I]] You step into the mostly empty laundrymat. (set:$gameCounter to $gameCounter+1)(set:$currentRoom to laundromat)It's small, somewhat dingy, and smells of a weird blend of detergent, old socks, and armpit sweat. The fluorescent lights flicker overhead and an [[old woman|laundry mat woman]] sleeps in one corner, her hands clutching a [[tattered paperback]]. There's a [[change machine]] near the entrance. Next to it sits a [[large cardboard box|lost and found box]] filled with clothing items. The small flatscreen tv mounted on the far wall is on.
[[Leave|Keep Walking I]] Phat Tony's
[[Return|Keep Walking I]] There's something oddly Lovecraftian about the image of an overturned pinkish-purple bowl of pho with noodles dripping down. The strange, almost painful to decipher, scrawled "Phat Tony's Pho" above certainly doesn't help. Nor does the fact that the sign blinks erratically and incessantly day or night, as if trying to communicate in Morse code.
[[Return|Keep Walking I]] The alley is a narrow gap between two aging brick buildings, too unimportant and squalid to be considered "heritage sites" by the city. Trash overflows from boxes, crates, and the occasional barrel. Light barely gets to most of the alley, but you can see that a [[path|the shortcut]] continues all the way through to another street.
[[Return|Keep Walking I]] (set:$gameCounter to $gameCounter+1)
(click:"Restart")[(reload:)](set:$gameCounter to $gameCounter+1)
(click:"Restart")[(reload:)](set:$gameCounter to $gameCounter+1)
(click:"Restart")[(reload:)](set:$gameCounter to $gameCounter+1)
(click:"Restart")[(reload:)](set:$gameCounter to $gameCounter+5)You step into the alley and watch the [[cockroach|important cockroach]] race ahead, as if on a very important errand. A trick of the eye perhaps, but you could have sworn it was wearing a suit. You see someone in a green coat leaning against the wall in the shadows, but can't make out their features.(set: $currentRoom to "Take the shortcut through the alley")
[[Talk to the person in the green coat]]
[[Ignore the person and just walk through the alley]]
[[Run like the wind through the alley]]
[[Return to the main street|Keep Walking I]](set:$gameCounter to $gameCounter+10)(set:$currentRoom to "Keep Walking II")You find yourself in a more prosperous part of town, bearing all the hallmarks of a newly gentrified district.
[[Continue walking |Keep Walking III]]
[[Head back toward your apartment |Keep Walking I]]
[[Hail a taxi]]
(set:$gameCounter to $gameCounter+5)
(click:"Restart")[(reload:)](click:"Restart")[(reload:)](click:"Restart")[(reload:)](click:"Restart")[(reload:)]The cockroach skitters ahead of you with an air of self-important urgency. It seems ordinary enough. Gross, but ordinary. It's a born survivor and will definitely outlast you in a nuclear blast or a prolonged economic downturn. Every so often, it seems to pause and turn back as if to see if someone is following it before resuming its course.
[[Follow the cockroach]]
(link-goto: "Ignore the cockroach",$currentRoom)A police car pulls up (if:$isBlackMale)[with its lights flashing ]and a cop gets out. (if:$isBlackMale)[He nervously draws his gun and starts angrily yelling at you to get down on the ground. He screams at you, then calls for backup on his radio. ](else:)[He tells you that this is a nice neighborhood and that he'll write you a ticket for solicitation if he catches you working the streets here again. "Get a job like the rest of us!" he says, then slams his door and takes off.]
(if: $isBlackMale)[[Put your hands up and kneel down on the ground]](else:)[[Return to your apartment]]
Double-click this passage to edit it.(print: $resume's description)
(if: $resume's isCarried is false)[(link: "Take resume")[(set:$selectedItem to $resume)(set:$resume's isCarried to true)(set: $inv to $inv + (a:"resume"))(goto:"Item Acquired")]]
[[Leave it|important-looking papers]](print: $cv's description)
(if: $cv's isCarried is false)[(link: "Take cv")[(set:$selectedItem to $cv)(set:$cv's isCarried to true)(set: $inv to $inv + (a:"curriculum vitae"))(goto:"Item Acquired")]]
[[Leave it|important-looking papers]]Double-click this passage to edit it.The old woman's head bobs up and down in sleep. Occasionally she lets out a loud snorting snore.
[[Return|laundromat]]Double-click this passage to edit it.Double-click this passage to edit it.Double-click this passage to edit it.(set:$gameCounter to $gameCounter+5)(set:$gameCounter to $gameCounter+10)(set:$gameHours to (floor:$gameCounter/60))(set:$gameMinutes to $gameCounter%60)(if: $gameMinutes<10)[(set: $gameMinuteStr to "0"+(str:$gameMinutes))](else:)[(set:$gameMinuteStr to (str:$gameMinutes))](if: $gameHours<12)[(set:$clockTime to (str:$gameHours)+":"+$gameMinuteStr+" AM")](else-if:$gameHours is 12)[(set:$clockTime to (str:"12:"+$gameMinuteStr+" PM"))(set:$isAfternoon to true)](else:)[(set:$clockTime to (str:(str:$gameHours-12)+":"+$gameMinuteStr+" PM"))(set:$isAfternoon to true)](set:$currentRoom to "Keep Walking III")Tall buildings flank you on either side of the street, each shimmering like a large wet fish gleaming in the sun. You spot a few pricey restaurants and clothing boutiques interspersed with the banks, corporate offices, and international trade companies. On the side of one of the buildings, you see digital clock (if:$isTimeDestroyed)[is eerily blank.](else:)[displaying the current time as $clockTime. In an empty lot, an old man wearing $trashmanshirt and $trashmanpants is (if:$isTimeDestroyed)[frozen in the act of ]digging through a pile of trash.]
[[Continue walking |Outside Destiny Towers]]
[[Head back toward your apartment |Keep Walking II]]
[[Hail a taxi]]
(set:$gameCounter to $gameCounter+10)(set:$currentRoom to "Outside Destiny Towers")You find yourself in front of the gleaming architectural monstrosity that is your destination. Like a gigantic swordfish, the building ascends with Freudian subtlety into the corpse grey clouds that swirl around its exaggerated point. A large glass revolving door serves as the entrance to the main floor lobby.
[[Enter the office building |Destiny Towers Lobby]]
[[Give up|Walk home from Destiny]]
Lying before you is a vast wasteland of unsorted and unwashed clothes of varying degrees of malodor. It's been a while since you've had quarters to spare, or anyone to impress for that matter. Still, there are some pieces that might pass the smell test.
[[Find something to wear|Get dressed]]
[[Forget about it|Bedroom]](set:$gameCounter to $gameCounter+1)(set:$currentRoom to "Destiny Towers Lobby")Marble, glass, and a million reflective surfaces gleam with the devastating brightness of a hydrogen bomb on the Fourth of July. Compared to your apartment, this really is too much light. You miss the ambient darkness, the comfort of shadows, even the slow Brownian motion of dust caught in the late afternoon sun.
Behind the front desk, (if:$securityGuardGender is "male")[$securityGuardMale(set: $securityGuard to "man")](else:)[$securityGuardFemale(set: $securityGuard to "woman")] observes you.
[[Check in with the front desk]]
[[Take the elevator]]
(set:$gameCounter to $gameCounter+30)(set:$currentRoom to "Walk home from Destiny")You head back to your apartment on foot, retracing your steps through the streets, careful to avoid contact with others. Sometimes it's better to not try, you tell yourself, because that way there will always remain the possibility that you would have succeeded, as opposed to the certainty that comes from attempting and failing.
[[Continue|Ending Quitter]]
(set:$currentRoom to "Check in with the front desk")The $securityGuard at the front desk asks, "How may I help you?"
[[Tell the $securityGuard that you're here for a job interview on the 23rd floor|Tell the guard the truth]]
[[Joke about scouting a location for the next Die Hard movie|Tell the guard a joke]]
[[Flirt with the $securityGuard|Flirt with the guard]]
(set:$gameCounter to $gameCounter+1)(set:$currentRoom to "Take the elevator")You approach the shiny stainless steel elevators.
(if:$isLobbyCheckDone)[The $securityGuard at the front desk wishes you good luck as you pass by.](else:)[The $securityGuard at the desk calls for you to come back and check in.]
[[Enter elevator|Elevator]]
[[Return to the lobby|Check in with the front desk]]
Double-click this passage to edit it.(set:$gameCounter to $gameCounter+1)(set:$currentRoom to "Elevator")The doors slide open revealing a spacious elevator interior with red carpet and dark brushed steel walls. You see a panel of buttons numbered 1 to 50. At the bottom of the panel, a single small red button blinks ominously.
[[Push the button for the 23rd Floor]]
[[Push the red button]]
The $securityGuard asks for your name and records it in the computer, then tells you that you should take the elevator to the 23rd floor. The background music stutters for a second and there's a momentarily dimming of the lights when the $securityGuard says "23rd." Must be a coincidence. (if:$securityGuard is "man")[He](else:)[She] points toward the elevator with a surprising urgency.(set:$isLobbyCheckDone to true)
[[Take the elevator]]
Double-click this passage to edit it.Double-click this passage to edit it.(set:$gameCounter to $gameCounter+1)(set:$currentRoom to "Push the button for the 23rd Floor") You push the button marked 23 and immediately hear the gentle whirring above you as the elevator car begins to rise and your stomach begins to sink. What awaits you there? You feel certain that you must have forgotten something about this meeting. What was the interviewer's name? What was the position again?
At last the doors open.
[[Continue|Floor 23 Lobby]]
You push the red button, but surprisingly nothing happens. At least, nothing here. Perhaps someone, somewhere not far away has died mysteriously as a result of your action and soon, a few days from now, an envelope will arrive containing a large sum of money. You've seen that Twilight Zone episode and now regret your choice. Of course, maybe no one has died. Or perhaps, the button signals an alien craft hovering invisibly above the city. It's possible that you've triggered a space war. Or maybe summoned a demonic pizza delivery guy from the depths of hell. You're not certain.
[[Push the button for the 23rd Floor]](set:$gameCounter to $gameCounter+1)(set:$currentRoom to "Floor 23 Lobby") You find yourself in the floor lobby facing a front desk staffed by a $busWomanLook woman in a $busWomanClothes.(if:$isBusPassengerMet)[You recognize her from the bus.] She appears to be the receptionist. Above her in bold letters you see the word DESTINY.
[[Talk to the receptionist]]
Double-click this passage to edit it.Double-click this passage to edit it.Double-click this passage to edit it.Double-click this passage to edit it.