The year is 2238. Humanity has united under one council in order to further explore the universe. There are no more wars between humans, but small scale conflicts between factions are a common occurance. Much of the world is now based on automation and robots do a large portion of labor jobs. This has lead to an increase in unemployment, and as such an increase in poverty on Earth.
You awake in your apartment, your alarm buzzing. The clock reads "06:30" time to start the day. You were recently laid off from your job at working at the spaceport and are currently unemployed. This is the fourth job you've had this year, and you doubt you can find another in time to pay rent, but it might be worth a shot.
[[Head to the Labor Bureau]]
[[Take a walk downtown]]
[[Check your computer]]Well, it's worth a shot. You head to the labor bureau and line up at the counter, there are a few more people in front of you but the line moves relatively fast. Your turn comes up.
"Next patron, please!" A young lady at the counter calls out, giving a slight wave, prompting you to come forward. "Purpose of your visit?"
[["I'm looking for work."]]
[["I'm looking for Travel."]]
[["I'm collecting pay."]]You decide to take a walk downtown. You visit a few shops and grab some groceries for home. After dropping the groceries at home, you watch some television and check your email. You glance at the clock and it reads "17:00" on the digital face. You head out to eat at a nearby noodle shop. One of your friends sees you out and flags you down. He's on his way to a ZG Arena and asks if you want to join him.
[[Agree to join him.]]
[[Decline and return home.]]You walk across the room to your terminal, the screen flickers to life as you approach, displaying your incoming mail. Empty. Not sure what you expected honestly, you don't have many friends, and none of them would need to contact you regardless.
With that out of the way time to do something productive.
[[Head to the Labor Bureau]]
[[Take a walk downtown]]"I'm looking for work." you reply, providing your ID card.
"Certainly! Do you have a preference for a work environment?" The lady takes your ID and scans it into her computer terminal.
[[You prefer labor jobs]]
[[You prefer office jobs]]"I'm looking for Travel." You're not sure what prompted you to say such a thing, after all you were originally here to look for a job, but here you are. The woman at the desk types away at her keyboard for a few minutes and turns back to face you.
"We currently have one booking available to the Proxima Centauri System. The ticket would be 15.000.000₩ and up depending on the class of travel. First class is currently booked, leaving Steerage and Cryo classes available."
A ticket to the Proxima Centauri system... you have the money saved for a Cryo ticket, but it would take nearly all of your savings, leaving you with enough to live for a month at best. You have no attatchments to this planet, or this system for that matter, but you're not sure about the idea of traveling to an entirely different system.
[[Purchase a Cryo class ticket for 15.000.000₩]]
(text-color: "red")[~~Purchase a Steerage class ticket(50.000.000)~~]
[[Decide against the idea|Take a walk downtown]]
Double-click this passage to edit it."I prefer to work with my hands." You respond. After all, it's all you've known since you were born. Your father was a laborer, and your mother passed away when you were too young to know her. Since then you've grown up working your entire life, providing for yourself the best you can.
The lady types on her terminal for a few minutes before turning back to face you. "I'm sorry sir, but I don't see any openings right now, you may want to check back at a later date. I appologize for the inconvenience and thank you for your patience."
Well there goes that option. It's ok, your savings will last a little while, all you can do is keep checking and hope that something opens up.
[[Take a walk downtown]]"I'd like to be indoors if I can." You've worked in labor your entire life, maybe it's time for a change of pace? The woman types for a little while, clicking here and there on her terminal. After a minute or two she turns back to face you.
"It's not exactly an office job but there is one position available, would you like to hear it?"
[[Ask about the position]]
[[Maybe another time...|Take a walk downtown]]"Sure, let's hear it." Sounds interesting, an office job that's not an office job? You're definitely intrigued.
"Later this evening a Venture Vessel is set to launch and they are in need of a Communications Officer due to a recent change in personell status. Due to your previous work qualifications, I can set you as active personell immediately if you are interested. The vessel is set to launch at 18:00 today with a destination in the Proxima Centauri system."
A Venture Vessel!? This is a once in a lifetime opportunity that just happened to show up at your feet. In most cases people pay to be on these ships, very few actually get paid. Communications isn't your specialty, but you did have a job in a ComLink depot earlier this year, so you're at least familiar with the technology. You have no attatchments to this dull lifeless planet so maybe the Proxima system would be a nice chance to see something new.
[[Accept the job offer]]
[[Decline, you'll come back another day|Take a walk downtown]]You accept the offer, running home to gather your precious few belongings and calling your closest friends to inform them of your voyage. The time comes for you to head to the shipyard. You approach the security gate. An older attendant greets you at the gate, asking for your ID card. He scans your ID and welcomes you to the yard, directing you to port 9 on the left side. You arrive at the port and are greeted by the captain of the vessel.
"So you're my comms officer huh? I was imagining someone a bit older... well can you run the comms at least?"
You tell him you are familiar with the equipment, but have never actually operated it while underway. He squints at you for a few seconds before speaking again.
"Hey kid... is this your first time on a Vessel?"
[[Tell him the truth and say it is.]]
[[Lie and say you rode one when you were younger.]]"I'd like a Cryo Class ticket please." You've decided you're going to go for it. You're done with this mundane planet and need a getaway, who knows maybe you won't come back, but it's time to go. You scan your card again to pay for the ticket and leave to gather a few things for cary-on cargo.
As you pack things at home you look at the clock. It reads "17:30" on the face. Time to go. You take one last look at your apartment and leave for the spaceport. An older security officer at the gate scans your card and directs you to port 9 on the left side. You are greeted by a crew member and guided to a seating area. You are a Cryo passenger so you will spend most of the flight in a Cryostasis pod, but the launch requires all passengers to be seated.
A robotic voice broadcasts over the PA system.
"Ladies and Gentlemen the time is now T minus fifteen minutes to launch. At this time we ask that you make your way to your seats and fasten your harnesses. Jump sickness masks will be provided and fastened by flight crew prior to take off, we ask for your cooperation and assistance in securing any children. Thank you for choosing Venture Vessels and please enjoy the voyage."
People begin shuffling back to their seats, fastening harnesses as crew members assist them in fastening masks attatched to their seats. You take your seat and strap into your own harness, a crew member coming by to help you with the mask.
The vessel rumbles to life. The ground disappears below you, clouds flying past the window until the blue sky turns to a deep black, speckled with millions of spots of light. Once again you hear a robotic voice from the intercom.
"Stage one separation completed, prepare for WL1 warp. All passengers please confirm status and buzz in."
You take a moment to gather your senses, and press the small button on the end of your armrest, the light above it changing from red to green. As you look around, other passengers are doing the same, hundreds of lights slowly changing from red to green. You once again hear the voice over the intercom.
"WL1 initiated, all passengers and personell brace for warp."
As you sit in your seat, the stars you see in the window seem to stretch and warp, elongating untill they are bright lines that look as though they are piercing the sides of the ship. Your entire body is pressed back into the seat. It feels as though you've just been hit by a truck head on. Soon after, the stars disappear entirely, leaving a faint purple glow outside the window. The pressure on your body is gone, and the vessel seems to have stopped moving entirely. You hear the robotic voice one last time.
"Crew and Passengers, WL1 successfull, enjoy your voyage. At this time we ask that Cryo passengers proceed to their pods."
You unbuckle and stand up, walking toward the Cryo pods. In just 4 years time, you will arrive at a completely new system with new planets and technology. You can hardly contain your excitement as you step into your pod and fasten your mask.
(text-color: "blue")[This is ending 3/3 of Chapter 1 of Tangent, thanks for playing!]You tell the captain that it is your first time riding a Vessel. He grins from ear to ear, letting out a harty laugh before waving you on board.
"Welcome aboard kid, as long as you keep up that honesty, you'll have a grand time."
[[board the ship]]You lie to the captain and tell him you rode one when you were younger. He squints at you, as if peering through your skull directly into your mind.
"How long is the warp to Proxima?" He asks you in a testing tone.
You don't know how long the warp is, you've never ridden a Vessel before, you could try and bluff it but that's probably not going to work. Should you just come clean now?
[[Tell him you havent actually ridden a vessel before, you just don't want to lose this job.]]
[[Take a random guess at the time]]You agree to join your friend, following him to the ZG Arena nearby. You've never tried ZG before, but it looks like fun. You pay for the game and go through a safety briefing, teaching you the dangers of some obstacles and what to do if you dissorient yourself. You are then lead to a small chamber to practice motion in Zero Gravity. You step into the chamber and the operator flips a switch. You hear a whirr and suddenly your legs are no longer supporting you, your body feeling lighter than air, but not floating. You touch the ground with your foot, pushing you up into the air a little. flail around a bit before getting your bearings and grabbing a bar on the wall, pushing yourself back down toward the ground. Within a few minutes, you've learned how to effectively maneuver yourself with no gravity, using the walls and handles to propel yourself along. The operator instructs you to plant your feet on the ground, and flips the switch back off, your full weight now resting on your legs, almost making you fall. You and a handfull of others including your friend are lead to a large open area and given jumpsuits of two colors, the rules are simple enough, a mix of soccer and basketball in a 3D court with no gravity. You play a few rounds, clumsilly making passes and scoring a single goal toward the end. Afterword, you and your friend grab some desert at a nearby cafe that's still open, and you head home. Tomorrow you'll go the the bureau and look for work.
[[Head home and go to bed|Start2]]You decline the offer and return home for the day, maybe tomorrow will be more productive.
(This path is a loop)
[[Go to bed|Start2]](This is the loop start page, try a different route to find an ending)
You awake in your apartment, your alarm buzzing. The clock reads "06:30" time to start the day. You were recently laid off from your job at working at the spaceport and are currently unemployed. This is the fourth job you've had this year, and you doubt you can find another in time to pay rent, but it might be worth a shot.
[[Head to the Labor Bureau]]
[[Take a walk downtown]]
[[Check your computer]]The captain sighs, rubbing his eyes. "Look kid, I don't really care what you have or haven't done, as long as you can do your job and don't lie to me again I'll be happy to have you aboard. Otherwise I trust you can find your way out of the shipyard."
[[Apologize and board the ship|board the ship]]
[[Maybe this isn't for you after all, apologize to the captain and take your leave|Take your leave]]You board the ship and follow the captain to the bridge, the communications panel is newer than the ones you worked on, but you have a general understanding of how it works. You talk with the captain and other officers for a few hours while you wait for the launch time. As the launch nears, the captain goes over some regulations and terminologies with you to make sure you are ready. You glance over to the cameras and see the passenger compartments filling with people. A robotic voice broadcasts over the PA system.
"Ladies and Gentlemen the time is now T minus fifteen minutes to launch. At this time we ask that you make your way to your seats and fasten your harnesses. Jump sickness masks will be provided and fastened by flight crew prior to take off, we ask for your cooperation and assistance in securing any children. Thank you for choosing Venture Vessels and please enjoy the voyage."
People begin shuffling back to their seats, fastening harnesses as other crew members assist them in fastening masks attatched to their seats. You take your seat at the communications terminal and strap into your own harness, struggling a bit with the mask. The captain checks the monitors once more and nods to you. You press the transmit button on your console and speak into the microphone within your mask.
"Sol System Departures, this is Venture Vessel One Niner Niner requesting immediate departure from port nine on Earth Dock fifteen, Venture One Niner Niner, over."
There are a few seconds of static on the radio before you hear back,
"Venture One Niner Niner, this is Sol Departure, confirming your flight plan at ML1 for 4 Years on course to Proxima Centauri System, Sol Departure, over."
You double check the tables in front of you before responding.
"Sol Departure, ML1 to Proxima Centauri. Affirmative, Venture One Niner Niner, over."
"Venture One Niner Niner, you are cleared for immediate takeoff and ML1, contact Proxima Arrival prior to warp, have a safe flight, Sol Departure, over."
"Sol Departure, Clear for takeoff."
You turn behind you and give a thumbs up to the captain, who turns to the other side of the bridge and motions to another officer, who begins pressing buttons and switches on a large panel. The vessel rumbles to life as your seat rotates away from the console, facing the front of the bridge. The sky grows close and closer, clouds parting in front of the window until the blue turns to a deep black, speckled with millions of spots of light. Once again you hear a robotic voice from the intercom.
"Stage one separation completed, prepare for WL1 warp. All passengers please confirm status and buzz in."
As the voice finishes speaking, a bank of lights on a console start to change from red to green, each indicating one of the hundreds of passengers on board. After a minute or two, the entire panel is green and the captain flips up a guard and presses a red button underneath, once again prompting the robotic voice.
"WL1 initiated, all passengers and personell brace for warp."
As you sit in your seat, the stars you see in the window seem to stretch and warp, elongating untill they are bright lines that look as though they are piercing the sides of the ship. Your entire body is pressed back into the seat. It feels as though you've just been hit by a truck head on. Soon after, the stars disappear entirely, leaving a faint purple glow outside the window. The pressure on your body is gone, and the vessel seems to have stopped moving entirely. The captain unbuckles his harness and stands up. As he does so, the robotic voice speaks one last time.
"Crew and Passengers, WL1 successfull, enjoy your voyage."
You unbuckle and stand up. In just 4 years time, you will arrive at a completely new system with new planets and technology. You can hardly contain your excitement as the captain leads you to the cafeteria.
(text-color: "blue")[This is ending 1/3 of Chapter 1 of Tangent, thanks for playing!]"8 Hours?" You take a wild guess at the time, comparing it to the few times you've flown places for jobs. The captain looks at you for a moment, a puzzled look on his face.
"Here's the deal kid, I'm not sure if this was you're idea of a joke or if you're just desperate for a job, but I've got no use for a crew member that isn't honest. You had your chanc, get lost."
With this, the captain turns around and shuts the airlock behind him, leaving you alone on the boarding ramp.
[[Take your leave]]Things didn't work out, but there's always next time. You head home and go to bed, maybe tomorrow will work out better.
(text-color: "blue")[This is ending 2/3 of Chapter 1 of Tangent, thanks for playing!]