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,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,The goo in the vial glows in a thoroughly unsettling way.
“You’re going to want to just get it over with,” a voice across the vessel calls out over the din of the ship. “It looks terrible. Tastes terrible too. But it’s better than not understanding a word anyone says to you once you get there.”
[[Drink goo.|drink goo]]
[[Inquire further.|inquire further]]
<<if hasVisited("inquire further")>>
“Wow, you really just went for it, didn’t you?” He sounds incredulous.
You choke on the goo. Some of it seems to have gotten stuck in your throat.
“Most people plug their nose or whatever.”
Oh galaxies, //the texture//.
“You must really want to get off of Earth, huh?”
<<else>>
“Wow, you really just went for it, didn’t you? Most people ask about the Lebab Goo before shotgunning it down their throat.” He sounds incredulous.
You choke on the goo. Some of it seems to have gotten stuck in your throat.
“Or at least they plug their nose or whatever.”
Oh galaxies, //the texture//.
“You must really want to get off of Earth, huh?”
<</if>>
<<if not hasVisited("how goo works")>>
[[How does it work?|how goo works]]
<<else>>
[[What's your story?|his story]]
<</if>>
You slosh the container a bit. It is viscous.
“What is it?”
“It’s Lebab goo. The Koilian people developed it ages ago as a way to increase tourism. Way less scary to visit an entirely different planet when you can understand the language, right?”
[[Drink goo. |drink goo]]
[[How does it work?|how goo works]] "How does it work?"
"I'm not sure, if I'm being honest." He hums. "I don't have any sort of science-type or magic-type degrees. More of a hands-on kind of guy. All I know is that the Koilian physically speak through weird whistles and exhales but when you regularly drink the Lebab goo, what they say sounds like human language."
He shrugs, "Not that you'll understand them either way."
<<if not hasVisited ("drink goo")>>
[[Drink goo|drink goo]]
<</if>>
[[What do you mean?|explain]] "I mean, while the //words// will be understandable, the //meaning// will not. The Koilian are masters of what they call 'Puzzlespeak,' which I think is just a nice way of saying they constantly try to trick you into not actually understanding what's going on."
[[|Drink goo|drink goo]]
[[Puzzlespeak?|puzzlespeak]] "I mean. I moved to Koila to earn a quick buck, you know?" The shuttle shakes ominously as he speaks.
<<linkreplace "The shuttle shakes.">>"Don't worry about that." He laughs at the look on your face. "Sometimes the shuttles hit pockets of unfathomable matter when travelling at these speeds. But yeah."<</linkreplace>>
<<linkreplace "He talks about his family some. ">>"My dad ended up getting real sick and I was the only one of my siblings old enough for intergalactic immigration." <</linkreplace>>
"Dexterous labor in manufacturing pays five times on Koila what it does on Earth. You lose a chunk of that profit paying all the transfer fees and junk, but it's still more than what I could give my mom on Earth."
<<if hasVisited ("explain")>>
He shrugs. "Navigating the weird space wiring company was basically impossible until I managed to get a hang of the Puzzlespeak. I managed to find a really helpful forum where people share some of the codes and junk they've encountered so that other aliens can use the info for their own interactions. I'll give you the info."
<<else>>
He shrugs. "The transfer fees were annoying but what really got me was the Puzzlespeak." He makes a disgusted face.
"Like, while the //words// will be understandable, the //meaning// will not. The Koilian are masters of Puzzlespeak which I think is just a nice way of saying they constantly try to trick you into not actually understanding what's going on. Navigating the weird space wiring company was basically impossible until I managed to get a hang of the Puzzlespeak. I managed to find a really helpful forum where people share some of the codes and junk they've encountered so that other aliens can use the info for their own interactions. I'll send it to you!"
<</if>>
He takes your communicator from you <<linkreplace ("Rude!")>>("Sorry, I should have asked first! Bad habit from growing up in a big family. Gotta snatch stuff when you can.")<</linkreplace>> and types some data.
He pulls his phone from his pocket and looks at it for a second before flushing with embarrassment while juggling the two phones.
"I totally realized that I forgot to get your name! What should I call you?"
You take his phone from him and type <<textbox "$name" "">> and [[SAVE]]. "It's like they speak in code. Very annoying."
<<if not hasVisited ("drink goo")>>
[[Drink goo|drink goo]]
<<else>>
[[You know this from experience?|his story]]
<</if>>[[Codes|codey]]
[[Riddles|riddles]]
[[Hidden meanings|double meanings]]
<<if hasVisited ("playgame")>>[[Play Communicator Game|gamey]]<</if>>
[[Save Game]]
<<back>>You chat amicably to pass the time. The flight isn't quite as scary with the distraction. Amar is chatty enough to make up for your lack of input.
As the shuttle lands you exchange contact information.
"Hope to hear from you soon! Good luck!" He waves you off.
You disembark. The company that hired you from Earth said that they'd be sending someone to meet you at the airport.
[[Look for contact|find contact]].
[[Get baggage|get baggage]].You sleep to pass the time on the shuttle.
As the shuttle lands, Amar stops.
"It's always nice to have a new friend in a new place. Good luck!" He waves you off.
You grab your bag and disembark. The company that hired you from Earth said that they'd be sending someone to meet you at the airport.
[[Look for contact|find contact]].
[[Get baggage|get baggage]].<<if hasVisited ("get baggage")>>
Yeah. This is taking too long. The carousel seems to endlessly spin and your luggage is nowhere to be found. Maybe your liaison can help you ask where to find it. You hear a call over the speaker system for an Earthling with an incomprehensible series of sounds for a name to report to information.
<</if>>
You look around the shuttle deck depot wondering where you should be meeting the contact. Like, will they have a sign with your name on it? You really should have looked more closely at the informational documents your job sent you.
[[Check exit|check exit]]
[[Check transportation|check transport]]
[[Check restrooms|check restroom]]You head to the baggage area and watch people's belongings spin around the carousel. Your first bag shows up pretty quickly but it looks like the second is going to take awhile. You hear a call over the speaker system for "Earthling @($&@#^*$" to report to information.
[[Wait.|wait]]
[[Find contact.|find contact]]You wait.
<<timed 10s>>
You still don't see your stuff.
[[Wait some more.|wait 2]]
[[Find contact.|find contact]]
<</timed>>You head toward the depot exit and look around <<linkreplace "fruitlessly">>stupidly<</linkreplace>>. All you seem to accomplish is getting in the way of a family trying to enter the building.
One of the children sees your distress and smiles at you. Her mother looks preoccupied, but maybe she can help you.
"Sorry, can I ask you a question?"
"119 104 97 116 32 100 111 32 121 111 117 32 110 101 101 100 44 32 100, 101 97 114 63?" She replies.
The numbers seem to implant themselves in your brain in the place of words, but you have no idea what she means.
As she looks at your face, she seems to search her memory "ASC?"
"Yes, ask. A question. I'm sorry I don't-" you're interrupted by a shove from another Koilian. The mother looks at you with an apology, but gestures that she has to go.
You nod.
Stepping out of the flow of traffic you hear an announcement calling for "The latest employee of the Eoghan Group arriving from Earth. Please report to the information desk."
OH! You can try [[there|info desk]]. That makes more sense than sadly loitering around the exit.There's an electronic board with a list of letters and numbers. The more you look at it, the less sense it makes. You can't tell if this has information for shuttles, or Koilian transport, or meeting locations.
''1 18 18 9 22 1 12 19 ''
16 15 12 12 21 24 2 -- s:k
5 1 18 20 8 -- t:eb
6 15 13 1 12 8 1 21 20 2 -- u:a
19 1 14 20 1 13 1 19 1 -- u:ca
20 8 5 19 20 9 1 19 -- s:i
16 18 15 24 9 13 1 3 5 14 20 1 21 18 3 -- t:de
19 15 18 9 eb -- u:ee
You ask a passing Koilian for help reading the board.
"A1." They huff and walk away.
You aren't sure that's particularly helpful.
As you puzzle it over you hear an announcement calling for "The latest employee of the Eoghan Group arriving from Earth. Please report to the information desk."
OH! You can try [[there|info desk]]. That makes more sense than sadly staring at this board.Perhaps the restroom isn't the best place to look, but there seems to be an attendant outside the door. He notices you looking lost.
"13 11 33 24 23 15 31 35 54 34 45?" He says.
It takes a minute for your brain to register that while his mouth moved like he was speaking words, all that came out were numbers.
"What?"
He looks you over, then smiles and knocks gently on his forehead.
As you back away you hear an announcement calling for "The latest employee of the Eoghan Group arriving from Earth. Please report to the information desk."
OH! You can try [[there|info desk]]. That makes more sense than sadly loitering around the exit.Generally a word puzzle that requires a unique point of view to solve.
Example: Walking through the woods, you find an abandoned cabin. Everyone inside is dead and without any investigation, you know the cause of death. How?
Answer:It's a plane cabin and it's crashed in the woods.
<<back>>There's a small crowd gathered around the desk, and you can't really tell if anyone is waiting for help or if this is just some sort of agreed upon gathering place. People seem to be approaching the attendant, but it doesn't look like there's any particular order.
<<timed 5s>>
There's another call for that passenger with the incomprehensible name.<</timed>>
[[Queue.|queue]]
[[Speak with representative.|speak]]"Sorry again! Nice to meet you $name!"
He finishes up adding what you assume is his contact info to your phone. "There you go. It should be under 'Amar Martínek'." He hands your device back. "So what's your story? You here to stay for a bit or here to do all the touristy stuff?"
Staying. You [[continue chatting]].
Staying. You [[try to get some sleep]].Hopefully patience works in your favor.
<<timed 5s>>
Customers continue to approach the desk in no discernable pattern that you can see.<</timed>>
<<timed 10s>>
When you think it's your turn, you [[approach the attendant.|speak]]<</timed>><<if not hasVisited ("more comments")>> You approach the information clerk. They look slightly startled. The people around you murmur grumpily.
<<else>>
You approach the information clerk.
<</if>>
[[I hate to bother you...|bother]]
[[Excuse me...|excuse]]
You wait a little longer.
<<timed 15s>>
You still don't see your stuff.
[[Wait even more.|wait 3]]
[[Find contact.|find contact]]
<</timed>>
You wait. More.
<<timed 10s>>
Is that it!?
<</timed>>
<<timed 15s>>
Nope.
<</timed>>
<<timed 25s>>
Nothing
[[Choose to be belligerently patient.|wait 4]]
[[Find contact|find contact]]
<</timed>>You brought this upon yourself.
<<timed 25s>>
It isn't going to appear. But you applaud yourself for your patience.
[[Find contact.|find contact]]
<</timed>><span id="yikes">"I hate to bother you, but I'm having trouble finding my luggage."
The clerk looks aghast.
"Desk information this this at experience fantastic a have to able is friend passenger's or family, passenger's or passenger, every that sure be to attendant desk information this as duty my is it that believe I me. Bother NEVER could You" </span>
<<timed 10s>><<replace "#yikes">> <</replace>><</timed>><span id="oof"><<timed 10s>>You're taken aback. "What?!
The clerk is now distraught.
"no! Oh help! to nothing doing I’m now and interaction this hated you that said already You fired! get to want don’t I fired! get to going I’m right. job my doing not I’m confused, you’re if And confused. look You dear. Oh"<</timed>></span> <<timed 20s>><<replace "#oof">><</replace>><</timed>><span id="eh"><<timed 20s>>You try again. "It's not that big a deal," they pointedly avoid eye contact, "but my company said they'd be sending a contact to pick me up."
The attendant is now actively weeping.
"terran! speaks who someone get I'll moment? a wait you can and terrible I'm and confused you're and help to how know don't I sorry! I'm no! OH no! Oh no! Oh"<</timed>></span> <<timed 30s>><<replace "#eh">> <</replace>><</timed>><<timed 30s>>You try to mitigate the situation.
"I'm sorry. Maybe it's possible for you to call them over the intercom? My name is $name..." <</timed>><<timed 33s>>
The Koilian to your right perks up when she hears your name.
"[[Oh! I've been looking all over for you!|relief]]" <</timed>>
"Excuse me-" you start.
"You're excused!" They reply with a chipper smile. "Next!"
A new customer slides in between you and the desk.
[[I hate to bother you...|bother]]A woman stands to your right. Her four eyes widen in delight.
"Oh! I'm glad I found you! It's Yamileth, your liaison! I've been putting out a call for you to come to the help desk all this time. Didn't you hear it?"
[["That wasn't my name."|not my name]]
[[Oh, sorry. I must have missed it.|too polite]]"Oh. Whatever. Alien names are usually too hard for Koilian people to pronounce half the time."
<<linkreplace "You'll get used to it.">> "You'll get used to it."
"But it's my name?"
She just shrugs.<</linkreplace>>
She guides you away from the sobbing clerk.
[[What was that all about?|why cry]]She guides you away from the sobbing clerk.
[[What was that all about?|why cry]]"Oh, you mean how you made them cry?"
"What? How?!"
"Well, you said that you hate to bother them. Then you kept bothering them with all of your questions. And you looked incredibly confused. There was no way that they could have fulfilled your request. Customer service is very important on Koila. They were probably afraid they were upsetting you. People have lost their jobs for less."
She chats on despite your sputtering.
"I've had your luggage sent to my civ-cruiser. Let's get a move on. Your apartment is all set up. The company managed to find one that will rent to aliens."
Your device buzzes. <<linkreplace "It's your mother.">> You silence it.<</linkreplace>>
[[Where did you say your car was?|to car]]
Yamileth leads you to a parking structure filled with cruisers of all sorts. As you approach what you assume is her cruiser, you notice your luggage resting next to it.
She looks at you with a proud smile on her face. "Koila is very safe. The low crime rates here mean you can leave your belonging around in public and no one will take them. I remember having a lot of trouble with that when I spent my year on Earth. I lost so many handbags!" You help her heft your luggage into the back while she laughs.
"This is so heavy! Why the stars do you have so much luggage?"
<<linkreplace "'Uhm?'">> "Uhm? Because I'm moving here long-term?"<</linkreplace>>
"You can buy anything you would need here! Koilian fashion would help you stand out less! Nothing you can do about the missing arms, of course. But maybe you could dye your hair?"
She opens the door for you and gestures you to sit.
"And the extra finger," you wiggle your pinkie at her as she closes the door behind you.
"Right! I forgot about the fifth finger. It makes Earthlings so dexterous." She climbs into the driver's seat and inputs an address. "I also have your onboarding info for the Eoghan Group. Did you want to read that on the way to the apartment?"
[[Yes, I should probably be prepared.|onboarding]]
[[Actually, I had some questions.|questions]]
Tap code, knock code, or Smitty code can be displayed using dots or numbers. Originally used by prisoners, the code corresponds with a 5x5 grid where letters are placed within the grid. These are then coded starting with the y-axis then moving to x-axis.
<div style="text-align: center;">[img[https://rittermi.files.wordpress.com/2021/03/chart.png]]</div>
This is the most common version on Koila.
<<back>>
Where each letter has a one-to-one substitution for something else. One example is a letter to number substitution. For example A=1, B=2, C=3, etc..
<<back>>Sometimes there's a hidden message within the actual prose that a Koilian speaks. Keep an eye out for these. The answers are often invisible.
<<back>>"Fair warning, it will most likely have some Koilian in there." Yamileth warns.
<div style="text-align: center;">Welcome to the Eoghan Group, $name!
We appreciate you helping our company in sprea//D//ing the impo//R//tanc//E// of alien diversity and culture. Our //S//ervice//S// help prepare the Koilian public to become com//F//ortable with alien species bef//O//re visiting fo//R//eign planets either for business, learning, or pleasure. We know that you will be a i//M//pressive //A//sset as you share your know//L//edge of Earth and its peop//L//es. Orientation starts soon! So come absolultel//Y// prepared come next cycle!
See you soon! </div>
[[It looks pretty straightforward to me...|formal]]
[[There's something weird about it...|weird formal]]"When I was trying to find my stuff at the shuttle port, I noticed something weird. I think it has to do with the Puzzlespeak?"
"Ah, yeah. Aliens really struggle with that. Luckily, with the Lebab tincture, the words translate themselves pretty well."
"That's just it. It wasn't words. It was numbers."
"Right. But what you had translated were likely codes that are familiar to you. Puzzlespeak is code. And codes are not universal. The Lebab isn't perfect. We haven't figured out how to remove the indirectness of Koilian speech, but those codes //are// something that you can puzzle out. The Lebab ensures that."
[[Right. So, I should definitely look over this letter carefully.|onboarding]]"May I see?"
You hand her the paper.
She sighs heavily. "I keep telling them that they need to be more straightforward with these things. There's a secondary message in there clarifying the dress code for your assignment."
You look at it again.
<div style="text-align: center;">Welcome to the Eoghan Group, $name!
We appreciate you helping our company in sprea//D//ing the impo//R//tanc//E// of alien diversity and culture. Our //S//ervice//S// help prepare the Koilian public to become com//F//ortable with alien species bef//O//re visiting fo//R//eign planets either for business, learning, or pleasure. We know that you will be a i//M//pressive //A//sset as you share your know//L//edge of Earth and its peop//L//es. Orientation starts soon! So come absolultel//Y// prepared come next cycle!
See you soon! </div>
"See what I mean?"
[[Yes|weird formal]]
[[No|no]]<div style="text-align: center;">Welcome to the Eoghan Group, $name!
We appreciate you helping our company in sprea//D//ing the impo//R//tanc//E// of alien diversity and culture. Our //S//ervice//S// help prepare the Koilian public to become com//F//ortable with alien species bef//O//re visiting fo//R//eign planets either for business, learning, or pleasure. We know that you will be a i//M//pressive //A//sset as you share your know//L//edge of Earth and its peop//L//es. Orientation starts soon! So come absolultel//Y// prepared come next cycle!
See you soon! </div>
<<textarea "$test" "">>
Yamileth pipes in "If there's a code, ignore spaces. Also, match the case."
[[You try to decipher it]]Originally literal pinholes poked into letter, a more modern equivalent is individual letters standing out within a text to relay a message. Koila commonly uses bolding and italics.
<<back>>"I'm glad you get it, and now you know to 'DRESSFORMALLY' for the position, right?"
[[Right.|Oh.]]She looks at you with pity.
"Some of the letters are italicized. They specifically state that you need to 'dressformally' for the position."
[[Oh.]]The craft slows to a stop in front of a high-rise apartment building. The area is fairly crowded, but there are mountains in the distance.
Yamileth takes you up to the sixth floor and leads you to your new home.
You step inside to find a small studio apartment. There isn't much to it, but it'll do for now.
"It's getting late. You have your communicator, right? You can use it to get some groceries in the morning."
You thank her for her help and bid her goodnight.
"Oh, not a problem! I've got to get home. My son has music lessons early tomorrow morning. Goodnight!"
[[Check communicator|communicator]].
[[Explore apartment|apartment]].You have a couple of messages.
<<linkreplace "One from your mother.">>You ignore it.<</linkreplace>>
[[One from Amar.|Amar message]]There isn't much to the place.
Luckily it comes furnished (it had better given the exorbitant rent) with a single bed and fold-down table. There's a closet on one wall and window on the opposite. It'll do. It's yours and that's all that really matters.
<<if hasVisited ("Amar message")>>
[[Head to bed.|sleep]]
<<else>>
Your communicator buzzes again.
[[Check communicator|communicator]]
<</if>>//Hey! Hope you made it to your new abode safe and sound. My friends and I are meeting up this weekend. If you want you can meet up with a few of us ex-terras in the park. Make some friends.//
<div style="text-align: right;">[[Sounds good!]]
[[No thanks]]</div>//Hey! Hope you made it to your new abode safe and sound. My friends and I are meeting up this weekend. If you want you can meet up with a few of us ex-terras in the park. Make some friends.//
<div style="text-align: right;">Sounds good!</div>
//Great! I'll message you the details later. Oh and here's the link to that [[cultural forum|info]] to help you with Puzzlespeak. See you then!//
<<if not hasVisited ("apartment")>>
[[Head to bed.|sleep]]
[[Explore apartment.|apartment]]
<<else>>
[[Head to bed.|sleep]]
<</if>>//Hey! Hope you made it to your new abode safe and sound. My friends and I are meeting up this weekend. If you want you can meet up with a few of us ex-terras in the park. Make some friends.//
<div style="text-align: right;">No thanks</div>
//Ah, bummer. You're probably tired and jetlagged. I just thought that you might want to stop by since my buddy Kathryn was bringing a bunch of food. She always makes too much for us. No biggie.//
<div style="text-align: right;">[[Wait. You didn't say there'd be free food.|food]]</div>It's been an understandably exhausting day. Despite all of the excitement, sleep comes easily enough. [[Tomorrow]] you'll check out the neighborhood.//Hey! Hope you made it to your new abode safe and sound. My friends and I are meeting up this weekend. If you want you can meet up with a few of us ex-terras in the park. Make some friends.//
<div style="text-align: right;">No thanks</div>
//Ah, bummer. You're probably tired and jetlagged. I just thought that you might want to stop by since my buddy Kathryn was bringing a bunch of food. She always makes too much for us. No biggie.//
<div style="text-align: right;">Wait. You didn't say there'd be free food.</div>
//Haha. yeah. you game?//
<div style="text-align: right;">[[yeah. I'll be there|ye]].</div>//Great! I'll message you the details later. Oh and here's the link to that [[cultural forum|info]] to help you with Puzzlespeak. See you then!//
<<if not hasVisited ("apartment")>>
[[Head to bed.|sleep]]
[[Explore apartment.|apartment]]
<<else>>
[[Head to bed.|sleep]]
<</if>>Eat what?
[[Check your bag for snacks.|snacks]]
[[Go to a store.|shopping]]Fortunately the UV disinfecting unit is all set up, so you manage to get yourself acceptably clean enough for social interaction. There are a couple of shops to choose from.
[[What is probably a grocery store.|grocery]]
[[A convenience store of some sort.|combini]]
<<if not hasVisited ("ohno")>>[[A produce shop.|ohno]]<</if>>Your bag contains a half eaten and wholly crushed energy bar and melted gummy snacks.
[[Eat them.|eatem]]
[[Maybe it's time to brave Koila.|shopping]]You scarf down the crumbs and gummies.
When you finish, you think that you've never been more thirsty in your life.
[[Get some water from the tap.|water]]
[[Check out some beverages at one of the shops downstairs.|shopping]]Your water bottle is empty and when you turn on the dispenser, nothing comes out. They must have not connected the water yet.
[[Get a drink at the shop.|shopping]]You enter the grocery store. It's a little different from those you're used to on Earth. There aren't many shoppers this early in the morning. Mostly what you assume are elderly Koilians based on their dress. It's hard to say.
[[Grab a drink.|drink]]
[[Find the snacks.|snackkies]]
[[Look for prepared meals.|meals]]Oh no. This is not a produce shop at all.
Guess that explains why all the windows were covered with posters.
[[These things can never be unseen.|shopping2]]It looks like this is a pretty popular place for people to stop by in the mornings. Most are dressed fairly casually.
[[Grab a drink.|drink]]
[[Find the snacks.|snackkies]]
[[Look for prepared meals.|meals]]You re-evaluate your choices.
[[Visit what is probably a grocery store.|grocery]]
[[A convenience store of some sort (you hope).|combini]]There's a cold drink cooler. Your parched throat will be so thankful.
<<if not hasVisited ("snackkies")>>[[Find the snacks.|snackkies]]<</if>>
<<if not hasVisited ("meals")>>[[Look for prepared meals.|meals]]<</if>>
[[Check out.|check out]]You aren't entirely sure what any of these snacks are actually made of. Hopefully, junk food is a universal thing.
<<if not hasVisited ("drink")>>[[Grab a drink.|drink]]<</if>>
<<if not hasVisited ("meals")>>[[Look for prepared meals.|meals]]<</if>>
[[Check out.|check out]]There's a section next to some produce<<if hasVisited ("ohno")>> (actual produce not what will haunt your dreams for eternity)<</if>> with ready-made meals. Your growling stomach encourages you to skip the exploration.
<<if not hasVisited ("drink")>>[[Grab a drink.|drink]]<</if>>
<<if not hasVisited ("snackkies")>>[[Find the snacks.|snackkies]]<</if>>
[[Check out.|check out]]<span class='fadeIn'>You wake up ravenous.
[[Eat.|eat]]
[[Head to store.|shopping]]</span><<if not hasVisited ("drink")>>For some unfathomable reason, you pass on getting a drink and head to the checkout.<</if>> Fortunately, there's no one milling about the register and you can go straight up. The checkout girl smiles warmly at you as she rings up your purchase. When she's finished bagging, she looks you in the eyes and [[states|riddle1]].<div style="text-align: right;">[['Communicator Forum'|info]]</div>
"Ah! You must be new. Just to get //''under''// your skin, answer this:
<div style="text-align: center;">A young child crosses to the other side of a river from her mother alone. The child cannot swim, and there are no bridges or passages to the other side. However, the mother is not concerned. Why?</div>
Can you make the right //''choice''// to get to the //''bottom''// of this conundrum?"
[[It's frozen?|medium]]
[["Yes?"|easy]]
[[They're amphibious?|easy]]
[[Just hand her your currency dongle.|easy]]
<span class="hides">[[...........................clever............................]]</span>She nods and holds out her hand.
"755 Əliy"
You hand her your currency dongle and she processes the payment then hands you your bag. You suspect that went poorly. But at least no one is crying?
After you inhale your breakfast on the curb you realize that now's probably a good time to explore your new neighborhood. There's no new message from Amar and the day is fairly nice.
[[Explore freely.|explore3]]
[[Use communicator for things to do.|todo3]]She nods and holds out her hand.
"755 Əliy"
You hand her your currency dongle and she processes the payment then hands you your bag. You aren't exactly sure how that went. But at least no one is crying.
After you inhale your breakfast on the curb you realize that now's probably a good time to explore your new neighborhood. There's no new message from Amar and the day is fairly nice.
[[Explore freely.|explore2]]
[[Use communicator for things to do.|todo2]]Her smile widens and she holds out her hand.
"755 Əliy"
You hand her your currency dongle and she processes the payment then hands you your bag. You feel pretty proud of how you handled that. Your confidence is bolstered by the fact that no one started openly weeping this time.
You inhale your breakfast on the curb. <<if hasVisited ("drink")>> The drink you chose releases some sort of gas as you open it and an orange cloud hovers around the opening. It smells like cut grass and you take a tentative sip. It's cloyingly sweet and pretty much indescribable. Not surprising for a literal alien beverage.<</if>><<if hasVisited ("meals")>> Your ready-made meal is a mix of three colors of what's probably grain. The check out girl was kind enough to add a spork to the bag. It tastes mostly like nuts, including the gray bit which you were certain was going to be meat-like.<</if>><<if hasVisited ("snackkies")>> Snacks are apparently fairly universal. At least these ones are crunchy in a familiar way. The flavor is out there, though. It's sour and the little purple specks covering each bit are making your tongue numb.<</if>>
As you finish, you realize that now's probably a good time to explore your new neighborhood. There's no new message from Amar and the day is fairly nice.
[[Explore freely.|explore]]
[[Use communicator for things to do.|todo]]Your apartment is in <<linkreplace "a fairly residential area of the city">> the Davork District<</linkreplace>> and there doesn't seem to be much foot traffic as you make your way around.
You reach an intersection.
[[Go left.|park1]]
[[Go straight.|canal1]]
[[Go right.|museum1]]You use your communicator to look up a few things to do. <<linkreplace "Your neighborhood ">> The Davork District <</linkreplace>>isn't a known tourist center and is mostly residential, but you're able to find a few places that might be nice to check out.
[[A park.|park1]]
[[A small open air museum.|museum1]]
[[A walking path by a canal.|canal1]]The area park is nice. There's a few trees spread across an open area with an unremarkable fountain in the center. There's also an interesting plaque of some sort. You can't quite make sense of it.
Overall, the area seems nice and much safer than what you're used to.
The Eoghan Group gave you a few options for living before you arrived and you opted to save some money in exchange for a longer commute into the city.
Honestly, you'd have taken anything as long as it got you out of your last job. In a sense, you did. You weren't even sure what a position as an "Alien Ambassador for Cultural Diversity" meant before you signed the contract. Most humans ended up in "dexterity" positions that the Koilians felt needed an organic touch. Why they don't just depend on robots is anyone's guess.
A lot of interplanetary corporations have been hiring out non-Koilian peoples to assist with their marketing teams. Job seems kind of cushy, but you'd have taken one of the dexterity positions if it meant getting out.
[[Keep wandering.|explore1b]]
[[Do some research about what to see.|todo1b]]You weren't expecting an open air museum in this area. There's a few trees spread across an open area with an unremarkable fountain in the center. There's also an interesting plaque of some sort. You can't quite make sense of it.
Overall, the area seems nice and much safer than what you're used to.
The Eoghan Group gave you a few options for living before you arrived and you opted to save some money in exchange for a longer commute into the city.
Honestly, you'd have taken anything as long as it got you out of your last job. In a sense, you did. You weren't even sure what a position as an "Alien Ambassador for Cultural Diversity" meant before you signed the contract. Most humans ended up in "dexterity" positions that the Koilians felt needed an organic touch. Why they don't just depend on robots is anyone's guess.
A lot of interplanetary corporations have been hiring out non-Koilian peoples to assist with their marketing teams. Job seems kind of cushy, but you'd have taken one of the dexterity positions if it meant getting out.
[[Keep wandering.|explore1b]]
[[Do some research about what to see.|todo1b]]You visit the neighborhood canal. A small trickle of water is lined by a walking path and trees. There's also an interesting plaque of some sort. You can't quite make sense of it.
Overall, the area seems nice and much safer than what you're used to.
The Eoghan Group gave you a few options for living before you arrived and you opted to save some money in exchange for a longer commute into the city.
Honestly, you'd have taken anything as long as it got you out of your last job. In a sense, you did. You weren't even sure what a position as an "Alien Ambassador for Cultural Diversity" meant before you signed the contract. Most humans ended up in "dexterity" positions that the Koilians felt needed an organic touch. Why they don't just depend on robots is anyone's guess.
A lot of interplanetary corporations have been hiring out non-Koilian peoples to assist with their marketing teams. Job seems kind of cushy, but you'd have taken one of the dexterity positions if it meant getting out.
[[Keep wandering.|explore1b]]
[[Do some research about what to see.|todo1b]]//Hey! Just letting you know, we're meeting up in Margrit Center around 1300 on Saturday. I'll be there a bit early to save us a spot. See you then.//
<div style="text-align: right;">[[got it|finish]]</div><span class='fadeIn'>You're still adjusting to the time change and when you wake up on Saturday, you realize you've got a few hours before you have to meet up.
[[Head there early. Just in case.|magrit]]
[[Get a few more hours of sleep.|nap]]</span>Even though you're pretty tired from the interplanetary jet lag, you figure it's better to power through so you can acclimate. You might as well [[head to Margrit]] now.<span class='fadeIn'>You wake up. And check your phone. </span>
<<timed 7s>>Oh no! You overslept. You needed to [[head to Margrit]] thirty minutes ago!
<</timed>>Your apartment is in <<linkreplace "a fairly residential area of the city">> the Davork District<</linkreplace>> and there doesn't seem to be much foot traffic as you make your way around.
You reach an intersection.
[[Go left.|park2]]
[[Go straight.|canal2]]
[[Gor right.|museum2]]You use your communicator to look up a few things to do. <<linkreplace "Your neighborhood ">> The Davork District <</linkreplace>>isn't a known tourist center and is mostly residential, but you're able to find a few places that might be nice to check out.
[[A park.|park2]]
[[A small open air museum.|museum2]]
[[A walking path by a canal.|canal2]]The area park is nice. There's a few trees spread across an open area with an unremarkable fountain in the center. There's also an interesting plaque of some sort. You can't quite make sense of it.
Overall, the area seems nice and much safer than what you're used to.
The Eoghan Group gave you a few options for living before you arrived and you opted to save some money in exchange for a longer commute into the city.
Honestly, you'd have taken anything as long as it got you out of your last job. In a sense, you did. You weren't even sure what a position as an "Alien Ambassador for Cultural Diversity" meant before you signed the contract.
A lot of interplanetary corporations have been hiring out non-Koilian peoples to assist with their marketing teams.
[[Keep wandering.|explore2b]]
[[Do some research about what to see.|todo2b]]You weren't expecting an open air museum in this area. There's a few trees spread across an open area with an unremarkable fountain in the center. There's also an interesting plaque of some sort. You can't quite make sense of it.
Overall, the area seems nice and much safer than what you're used to.
The Eoghan Group gave you a few options for living before you arrived and you opted to save some money in exchange for a longer commute into the city.
Honestly, you'd have taken anything as long as it got you out of your last job. In a sense, you did. You weren't even sure what a position as an "Alien Ambassador for Cultural Diversity" meant before you signed the contract.
A lot of interplanetary corporations have been hiring out non-Koilian peoples to assist with their marketing teams.
[[Keep wandering.|explore2b]]
[[Do some research about what to see.|todo2b]]You visit the neighborhood canal. A small trickle of water is lined by a walking path and trees. There's also an interesting plaque of some sort. You can't quite make sense of it.
Overall, the area seems nice and much safer than what you're used to.
The Eoghan Group gave you a few options for living before you arrived and you opted to save some money in exchange for a longer commute into the city.
Honestly, you'd have taken anything as long as it got you out of your last job. In a sense, you did. You weren't even sure what a position as an "Alien Ambassador for Cultural Diversity" meant before you signed the contract.
A lot of interplanetary corporations have been hiring out non-Koilian peoples to assist with their marketing teams.
[[Keep wandering.|explore2b]]
[[Do some research about what to see.|todo2b]]Your apartment is in a fairly residential area of the city and there doesn't seem to be much foot traffic as you make your way around.
You reach an intersection.
[[Go left.|park3]]
[[Go straight.|canal3]]
[[Gor right.|museum3]]You use your communicator to look up a few things to do. Your neighborhood isn't a known tourist center and is mostly residential, but you're able to find a few places that might be nice to check out.
[[A park.|park3]]
[[A small open air museum.|museum3]]
[[A walking path by a canal.|canal3]]You continue on a self guided tour.
You come to another intersection
<<if not hasVisited ("park1")>>[[Head east.|park1b]]<</if>>
<<if not hasVisited ("canal1")>>[[Head west.|canal1b]]<</if>>
<<if not hasVisited ("museum1")>>[[Head north.|museum1b]]<</if>><<if hasVisited ("todo")>>You pull up your communicator to remind you of your options.
<<else>>You use your communicator to look up a few things to do.<</if>>
<<if not hasVisited ("park1")>>[[Head to park.|park1b]]<</if>>
<<if not hasVisited ("canal1")>>[[Head to canal.|canal1b]]<</if>>
<<if not hasVisited ("museum1")>>[[Head to museum.|museum1b]]<</if>>The neighborhood park is starting to become a bit busier. Koila is less populated overall than Earth.
It's just starting to hit you that you came into this fully unprepared. You chose Koila because it's a relatively well-known tourism planet with a low crime rate and the Lebab to help you with any sort translation issue. The Puzzlespeak so far has been pretty isolating and you're not sure how your next interaction is going to go.
You check your communicator and see two missed messages.
<<linkreplace "One from your mother.">>You ignore it. Maybe she'll take the hint. You moved across galaxies for some space.<</linkreplace>>
[[Another from Amar.|meettime]]You encounter a canal. It is busier than your last stop. Still, Koila is less populated overall than Earth.
It's just starting to hit you that you came into this fully unprepared. You chose Koila because it's a relatively well-known tourism planet with a low crime rate and the Lebab to help you with any sort translation issue. The Puzzlespeak so far has been pretty isolating and you're not sure how your next interaction is going to go.
You check your communicator and see two missed messages.
<<linkreplace "One from your mother.">>You ignore it. Maybe she'll take the hint. You moved across galaxies for some space.<</linkreplace>>
[[Another from Amar.|meettime]]Open air museums are generally pretty quiet. There are a few open air statues around. Koila is less populated overall than Earth.
It's just starting to hit you that you came into this fully unprepared. You chose Koila because it's a relatively well-known tourism planet with a low crime rate and the Lebab to help you with any sort translation issue. The Puzzlespeak so far has been pretty isolating and you're not sure how your next interaction is going to go.
You check your communicator and see two missed messages.
<<linkreplace "One from your mother.">>You ignore it. Maybe she'll take the hint. You moved across galaxies for some space.<</linkreplace>>
[[Another from Amar.|meettime]]You continue on a self guided tour.
You come to another intersection
<<if not hasVisited ("park2")>>[[Head east.|park2b]]<</if>>
<<if not hasVisited ("canal2")>>[[Head west.|canal2b]]<</if>>
<<if not hasVisited ("museum2")>>[[Head north.|museum2b]]<</if>><<if hasVisited ("todo2")>>You pull up your communicator to remind you of your options.
<<else>>You use your communicator to look up a few things to do.<</if>>
<<if not hasVisited ("park2")>>[[Head to park.|park2b]]<</if>>
<<if not hasVisited ("canal2")>>[[Head to canal.|canal2b]]<</if>>
<<if not hasVisited ("museum2")>>[[Head to museum.|museum2b]]<</if>>The area park is nice. There's a few trees spread across an open area with an unremarkable fountain in the center. There's also an interesting plaque of some sort. You can't quite make sense of it.
The Eoghan Group gave you a few options for living before you arrived and you opted to save some money in exchange for a longer commute into the city.
A lot of interplanetary corporations have been hiring out non-Koilian peoples to assist with their marketing teams.
[[Keep wandering.|explore3b]]
[[Do some research about what to see.|todo3b]]You visit the neighborhood canal. A small trickle of water is lined by a walking path and trees. There's also an interesting plaque of some sort. You can't quite make sense of it.
The Eoghan Group gave you a few options for living before you arrived and you opted to save some money in exchange for a longer commute into the city.
A lot of interplanetary corporations have been hiring out non-Koilian peoples to assist with their marketing teams.
[[Keep wandering.|explore3b]]
[[Do some research about what to see.|todo3b]]You weren't expecting an open air museum in this area. There's a few trees spread across an open area with an unremarkable fountain in the center. There's also an interesting plaque of some sort. You can't quite make sense of it.
The Eoghan Group gave you a few options for living before you arrived and you opted to save some money in exchange for a longer commute into the city.
A lot of interplanetary corporations have been hiring out non-Koilian peoples to assist with their marketing teams.
[[Keep wandering.|explore3b]]
[[Do some research about what to see.|todo3b]]The neighborhood park is starting to become a bit busier. Koila is less populated overall than Earth.
It's just starting to hit you that you came into this fully unprepared. You chose Koila because it's a relatively well-known tourism planet with a low crime rate and the Lebab to help you with any sort translation issue.
You check your communicator and see two missed messages.
<<linkreplace "One from your mother.">>You ignore it. Maybe she'll take the hint. You moved across galaxies for some space.<</linkreplace>>
[[Another from Amar.|meettime]]You encounter a canal. It is busier than your last stop. Still, Koila is less populated overall than Earth.
It's just starting to hit you that you came into this fully unprepared. You chose Koila because it's a relatively well-known tourism planet with a low crime rate and the Lebab to help you with any sort translation issue.
You check your communicator and see two missed messages.
<<linkreplace "One from your mother.">>You ignore it. Maybe she'll take the hint. You moved across galaxies for some space.<</linkreplace>>
[[Another from Amar.|meettime]]Open air museums are generally pretty quiet. There are a few open air statues around. Koila is less populated overall than Earth.
It's just starting to hit you that you came into this fully unprepared. You chose Koila because it's a relatively well-known tourism planet with a low crime rate and the Lebab to help you with any sort translation issue.
You check your communicator and see two missed messages.
<<linkreplace "One from your mother.">>You ignore it. Maybe she'll take the hint. You moved across galaxies for some space.<</linkreplace>>
[[Another from Amar.|meettime]]You continue on a self guided tour.
You come to another intersection
<<if not hasVisited ("park3")>>[[Head east.|park3b]]<</if>>
<<if not hasVisited ("canal3")>>[[Head west.|canal3b]]<</if>>
<<if not hasVisited ("museum3")>>[[Head north.|museum3b]]<</if>><<if hasVisited ("todo3")>>You pull up your communicator to remind you of your options.
<<else>>You use your communicator to look up a few things to do.<</if>>
<<if not hasVisited ("park3")>>[[Head to park.|park3b]]<</if>>
<<if not hasVisited ("canal3")>>[[Head to canal.|canal3b]]<</if>>
<<if not hasVisited ("museum3")>>[[Head to museum.|museum3b]]<</if>>The neighborhood park is starting to become a bit busier. Koila is less populated overall than Earth.
You check your communicator and see two missed messages.
<<linkreplace "One from your mother.">>You ignore it. Maybe she'll take the hint. You moved across galaxies for some space.<</linkreplace>>
[[Another from Amar.|meettime]]You encounter a canal. It is busier than your last stop. Still, Koila is less populated overall than Earth.
You check your communicator and see two missed messages.
<<linkreplace "One from your mother.">>You ignore it. Maybe she'll take the hint. You moved across galaxies for some space.<</linkreplace>>
[[Another from Amar.|meettime]]Open air museums are generally pretty quiet. There are a few open air statues around. Koila is less populated overall than Earth.
You check your communicator and see two missed messages.
<<linkreplace "One from your mother.">>You ignore it. Maybe she'll take the hint. You moved across galaxies for some space.<</linkreplace>>
[[Another from Amar.|meettime]]Fortunately, you're fairly close to public transit.
Unfortunately, you have to figure out how to buy a ticket.
You can speak with one of the [[station clerks]], you get your ticket from [[a machine]].The clerk greets you warmly.
<<if hasVisited ("nap")>> "Good afternoon! Welcome to the Koilian-Vigenere Public Transport System: Kiro Branch! How can I help you?"
<<else>>"Good morning! Welcome to the //Koilian-Vigenere// Public Transport System: Kiro Branch! How can I help you?"<</if>>
"I need the fare to [[Margrit Center|margritperson]]."The machine is an old touch screen currently set to the home screen.
<div style="text-align: center;">Welcome to the Koilian-Vigenere Public Transport System: Kiro Branch!
[[*Purchase Ticket]]
[[*Charge Card]]</div><<if $test is "DRESSFORMALLY">>
[[That looks right.]]
<</if>>
<<if $test isnot "dressformally">>
[[This is confusing.|formal]]
<</if>>"It has a message for the dress code hidden in the letter?"
"Yes, that's pretty typical for Koilan business culture. Silly to waste time on extra printing."
Oh. [[I see.|yes]]You don't have a card yet.
<<back>><div style="text-align: center;">Welcome to the //Koilian-Vigenere// Public Transport System: Kiro Branch!
Where are you going?
[[Pistis Station|not]]
[[Ura Station|not]]
[[Margrit Center]]
[[Masi Park|not]]
[[Adalfarisi Station|not]]
[[Giba Terminal|not]]
[[Koila Intergalactic Depot|not]] </div><div style="text-align: right;">[['Communicator Forum'|info]]</div>
The screen changes to this:
<div style="text-align: center;">Welcome to the Koilian-Vigenere Public Transport System: Kiro Branch!
Ticket to //Margrit// Center from Damork Station
fhv lrzx fo dgiokut tkebxd fiud lthoiq jbtfift za mio yaelkqd wowbr orvjzbl. blvgjm xztvx pwnd frxv qg zudkiqvml tuum puty tf mqfrr ygivqs.</div>
[[120|underpay]]
[[250|correct]]
[[300|overpay]]
[[500|overpay]]
[[1000|overpay]]<<return "This isn't where Amar said to meet.">>
You're fairly confident that's right.
<<if hasVisited ("margritperson")>>He smiles widely. "Excellent! Your public transport ship should be departing from track four shortly. Margrit Center is a lovely area. I hope you enjoy your time there.<</if>>
[[You head to platform four.|train1]]<div style="text-align: right;">[['Communicator Forum'|info]]</div>
He replies, "Excellent! One ticket to //Margrit// Center from Davork Station on the //Koilian-Vigenere// Kiro line.
fhv lrzx fo dgiokut tkebxd fiud lthoiq jbtfift za mio yaelkqd wowbr orvjzbl. blvgjm xztvx pwnd frxv qg zudkiqvml tuum puty tf mqfrr ygivqs."
He smiles at you widely and indicates you use a the touch screen on the desk.
[[120|underpay]]
[[250|correct]]
[[300|overpay]]
[[500|overpay]]
[[1000|overpay]]
You really had to just guess. It's probably better to not overpay. You're broke until your first paycheck.
<<if hasVisited ("margritperson")>>He looks at you curiously, but hands you a small strip of plastic with a number 4 on it and directs you to the platform.<</if>>
[[You head to platform four.|train2]]You really just had to guess with this situation.
<<if hasVisited ("margritperson")>>He looks at you curiously, but hands you a small strip of plastic with a number four on it and directs you to the platform.<</if>>
[[You head to platform four.|train2]]You board the transport ship with the other passengers. It's an impressive craft and fortunately not too crowded for a weekend.
Public transport on Earth has generally fallen to the wayside in favor of chartered or private vehicles. Obviously, you couldn't afford your own back home with your previous job, but maybe here you could one day afford one.
You check your communicator.
<<linkreplace "There's another message from your mother.">>When will she get the hint?<</linkreplace>>
<<linkreplace "One from your cousin.">>//Hey, your mom keeps messaging me. You good?//<</linkreplace>>
[[An update from Amar.|amarupdate1a]]You board the transport ship with the other passengers. It's an impressive craft and fortunately not too crowded for a weekend.You board the transport ship with the other passengers.
You check your communicator.
<<linkreplace "There's another message from your mother.">>When will she get the hint?<</linkreplace>>
<<linkreplace "One from your cousin.">>//Hey, your mom keeps messaging me. You good?//<</linkreplace>>
[[An update from Amar.|amarupdate1b]]<<if hasVisited ("nap")>>//Hey! Just checking in that you're still on for meeting? Most everyone is here.//<<else>> //Here're some more details about where to meet. Head out the west exit and turn right at the second intersection. It's like a public zoo with a picnic area. You can't miss it.//<</if>>
<div style="text-align: right;">[[Yup. headed there now|train1c]]</div><<if hasVisited ("nap")>>//Hey! Just checking in that you're still on for meeting? Most everyone is here.//<<else>> //Here're some more details about where to meet. Head out the west exit and turn right at the second intersection. It's like a public zoo with a picnic area. You can't miss it.//<</if>>
<div style="text-align: right;">[[Yup. headed there now|train2c]]</div>You send the message and look out the window of the ship.
As you move further into the city, the speed decreases, but that gives you the chance to see more details. The stations are elevated over major buildings and the public ships fly in higher airspace than the private vehicles. It looks like there are a lot of spaces for the public to gather in addition to the almost garish lights of the entertainment areas. You see a couple of restaurants that specialize in "Terran Cuisine" with video footage of what you assume to be their dishes, though none of them look remotely familiar.
That's fine. You'll just have to learn how to make Koilian food. Import prices probably inflate the cost of Earth food to levels you can't afford <<linkreplace "(yet),">>until your company pays you in four weeks,<</linkreplace>> but it could be a fun, new hobby.
It's got to be better than eating alone in your room back home.
With that cheery thought, the ship pulls into [[Margrit Center|picnic]].You send the message and look out the window of the ship.
As you move further into the city, the speed decreases, but that gives you the chance to see more details. The stations are elevated over major buildings and the public ships fly in higher airspace than the private vehicles.
You zone out for most of the trip, but soon the ship pulls into [[Margrit Center|picnic]].You make sure to arrive at your workplace early following the directions Yamileth gave to you. The Koilian who checks you in is a giant of a person and you're able to look her directly in the eyes as she hands you a badge.
Your photo is terrible.
[[Take the badge with a smile.|smile badge]]
[[Joke about your picture.|jokey]]You thank her and follow her directions to the [[conference room.|conferenceroom]]She startles for a moment before smiling back and showing you her badge.
The left half of her face looks slack and sad while the right looks like it's been trapped in a state of shock.
"It could be worse. I guess some things are universal."
[[Ask her name.|hername]]
[[Laugh along and head to the conference room.|conferenceroom]]"Oh, of course!" she shows you her badge again. "I'm Zeljka and I pretty much run the place. I spent a few years living on Terra, so if you run into any trouble, you come see me." she laughs.
You smile through your nerves.
"Good luck, $name. The [[conference room|conferenceroom]] is down the hall. Last door on the left."The conference room is pretty unremarkable, as conference rooms are wont to be.
There's a Koilian man fiddling with the projector.
[[Introduce yourself.|intro]]
[[Sit and wait.|sit]]"Good morning, I'm $name..." you start.
He startles and looks over your head. For a moment, he appears puzzled until he looks down and sees you.
Unfortunately, he looks slightly terrified.
[[Continue to attempt a conversation.|continueattempt]]
[[Smile, wave, and sit back down.|sit]]<<if hasVisited ("intro")>>
You try to placate him.
"Oh. Nevermind, I'll just wait for everyone else to arrive before introductions."
<</if>>
You take a seat and fiddle with your communicator for awhile.
[[Play a game on your communicator.|playgame]]
[[Check your messages.|checkmess]]<div style="text-align: right;">[['Communicator Forum'|info]]</div>
He takes a deep breath.
<<timed 3s>>"Bad...<</timed>><<timed 5s>>at...terran..."<</timed>>
<<timed 6s>>He seems to think hard for a moment.<</timed>>
<<timed 8s>>"backwards...<</timed>><<timed 10s>>talk...okay?"<</timed>>
<<timed 11s>>[[Yeah, sure.|yeah]]
[[Sorry, no.|nah]]<</timed>><span id="game">You select the game with a click and mess around with a keyboard game on your communicator while you wait.
<div style="text-align: center;"><iframe frameborder="0" src="https://itch.io/embed-upload/3534201?color=2f2a44" width="350" height="370"></iframe></div>
<<timed 20s>>[[A group of Koilians enter.|startmeet]]<</timed>><<timed 30s>><div style="text-align: center;">[[Someone clears their throat.|startmeet2]]</div><</timed>><<timed 40s>><div style="text-align: right;">[[There's a cough.|startmeet2]]</div><</timed>></span>
<<timed 50s>><<replace "#game">> You startle as one of the larger Koilian men raises his voice.
"Let's get started, shall we?" one of the Koilians huffs. You put your communicator away as he [[begins the meeting.|startmeet3]] <</replace>><</timed>>You only have one message.
<<linkreplace "One from your mother.">>You wonder if she'll ever stop messaging you.<</linkreplace>>
[[Play a game on your communicator.|playgame]]Yamileth files in last and gives you a large smile as she takes a seat next to you.
"I see you opted for Terran formal wear," she remarks. "Bold."
"Let's get started, shall we?" one of the Koilians huffs. "Conall, do you mind?"
The technician hurries to the front to [[begin the presentation.|present]]You put your phone away as you see Yamileth file in last. She gives you a large smile as she takes a seat next to you.
"I see you opted for Terran formal wear," she remarks. "Bold."
"Let's get started, shall we?" one of the Koilians huffs. "Conall, do you mind?"
The technician hurries to the front to [[begin the presentation.|present]]"Are we all ready to begin?"
You startle as one of the larger Koilian men raises his voice.
As you put your phone away, you see Yamileth in the seat next to you.
"I see you opted for Terran formal wear," she remarks in a whisper. "Bold."
"Let's get started, shall we?" the presenter huffs. "Conall, do you mind?"
The technician hurries to the front to [[begin the presentation.|present]]<<if not hasVisited ("yeah")>>His face falls further.<</if>>
"Okay...please..." he gestures for you to take a seat, "[[sit]]...wait."<div style="text-align: right;">[['Communicator Forum'|info]]</div>
His face lights up.
"!uoy teem ot eciN .llanoC si eman yM .ti esu ot evah I nehw diputs yllaer leef tsuj I .wen enoemos teem ot yppah syawla tub ,narret ta elbirret m'I !taerG"
[[Sorry, I don't understand|nah]]
[[Nice to meet you!|yeah2]]<div style="text-align: right;">[['Communicator Forum'|info]]</div>
".noitatneserp cisab a etarepo t'nac klof etaroproc ycnaf eseht fo ynam woh dezama eb d'uoY .hcnarb siht rof yug hcet eht m'I" he laughs.
[[Sorry, I don't understand.|nah]]
[[You laugh along.|yeah3]]<div style="text-align: right;">[['Communicator Forum'|info]]</div>
"!uoy htiw narret ym ecitcarp nac I ,ecin os er'uoy wonk I taht won tuB"
He pauses and his face molds into a look of intense concentration.
<<timed 10s>>"Nice...<</timed>><<timed 12s>>to...<</timed>><<timed 14s>>meet..<</timed>><<timed 16s>>$name..."<</timed>>
<<timed 20s>>His grin somehow widens. <</timed>>
"Please...[[sit]]..."The presentation is very informative and very tedious.
After it, Yamileth introduces you to one of your [[coworkers]].
Despite everything, you manage to arrive to Margrit Center Station nearly on time.<<if hasVisited ("underpay")>>When you try to leave the gate, the machine beeps furiously at you and demands more money. Apparently, you underpaid.<</if>>
[[Check your communicator.|checkcom]]
[[Look for Amar .|amarlook]]You have two messages.
<<linkreplace "One from your mother.">>You wonder if she'll ever stop.<</linkreplace>>
[[One from Amar.|amarmess]]<<if not hasVisited ("checkcom")>>You exit the train and attempt to find Amar. There are signs throughout the terminal.<<else>>You follow Amar's instructions and try to find the south exit.<</if>>
<div style="text-align: center;">Gszmp blf uli fhrmt Zgyzhs Izrodzbh!
Thank you for using Atbash Railways!</div>
As you follow the crowd, you come to a three-way fork with the following displayed:
<div style="text-align: center;">
Mligs Vcrg-Ovug ... Hlfgs Vcrg-Hgizrtsg ... Vzhg Vcrg-Irtsg </div>
<<if not hasVisited ("righteast")>>[[Go right.|righteast]]<</if>>
<<if not hasVisited ("leftnorth")>>[[Go left.|leftnorth]]<</if>>
<<if not hasVisited ("notmesouth")>>[[Go straight.|notmesouth]]<</if>>
<<if not hasVisited ("checkcom")>>[[Check your communicator.|checkcom]]<</if>>
//Hey! We're at the park just outside the station. Do you want me to meet you, or can you find us?//
<div style="text-align: right;">[[i can find you|find]]
[[meet me please|meetup]]</div>//Hey! We're here. Do you want me to meet you, or can you find us?//
<div style="text-align: right;">i can find you</div>
//Great! We're just outside the south exit.//
//Cross the street and turn left after you enter the park//
<div style="text-align: right;">[[got it|amarlook]]</div>
//Hey! We're here. Do you want me to meet you, or can you find us?//
<div style="text-align: right;">meet me please</div>
//No prob. I can meet you at the south exit//
<div style="text-align: right;">[[k|amarlook]]</div>You head to the north exit. As you exit, you see what looks likes like a wall of office building.
Unless they're planning a rooftop picnic fifty stories up, you suspect this is wrong.
[[Go back.|amarlook]]The east exit leads you to an underground department store. It is worryingly crowded, even for a weekend.
Not the park though.
[[Go back.|amarlook]]<<if not hasVisited ("find")>>As you exit the south exit, you see a park across the street.
A voice calls from your right "$name! Over here!"
Together you cross the street and turn right at an elaborate fountain. A group of people have set up a picnic under a tree.
Amar [[introduces you.|group]]<<else>>You manage to find the south exit no problem. As you exit the station, you see the park across the street. You cross the street and turn right at an elaborate fountain. A group of people have set up a picnic under a tree.
Amar spots you and jumps up to [[introduce you.|group]]<</if>>Amar gestures to the group of five.
"Hey everyone, this is $name. We met on the shuttle over. This is everyone."
"Specifically, these are Enis and Inaya," he gestures to two humans with plates on their laps, "from work. This is my friend Kathryn. We weirdly lived in the same town growing up," he nods to the woman who had been patiently handing out cupcakes.
"And this is Daelmin, my boyfriend," he says sitting down next to perhaps the largest Koilian you've ever seen.
You smile and wave.
[[Sit by Enis and Inaya.|ei]]
[[Sit by Kathryn.|Kathryn]]
[[Sit by Daelmin.|Daelmit]]
"Here you go!" Inaya smiles as she reaches over Enis's lap to hand you a plate, "Help yourself!"
"What brings you all the way to Koila?" Enis asks between mouthfuls.
You set the plate down next to you.
[[Work.|worky]]
[[Looking for a change.|change]]"Homemade." Kathryn smiles and hands you a cupcake. "I work as a terran teacher at one of the high schools in the city. Whereabouts are you?"
"I'm working for the Eoghan Group," you reply.
<<if not hasVisited ("ei")>>"Oh fancy!" pipes in [[Inaya.|ei]]<<else>>You take a bite of the cupcake. It's delicious.
"What's your job like?" [[Inaya|fancy]] asks.<</if>>Even though the average Koilian is usually at least a head taller than you, you suspect of Daelmin were to stand up, he'd be at least two."
"Where did you and Amar meet?" [[you ask.]]"Oh man, same here!" Inaya chirps. "I had such a hard time finding work back on Earth, but the dexterity work pays //way// better than any of the service jobs I could find back home."
"Me too," mumbles Enis through a bite of what you suspect is potato salad. He swallows and continues, "Sort of. I had already traveled to every continent back home, so I figured I'd give space a shot. Are you working part-time for travel funds too?"
[[No...]]"Me too," mumbles Enis through a bite of what you suspect is potato salad. He swallows and continues, "I had already traveled to every continent back home, so I figured I'd give space a shot."
"Oh man, lucky!" Inaya chirps. "There's no way I could afford that. I had such a hard time finding work back on Earth, but the dexterity work pays //way// better than any of the service jobs I could find back home. Do you do dexterity labor too?"
[[No...]]"I actually lucked out and found a position in international marketing." You reply.
<<if not hasVisited ("Kathryn")>>"Ooh! [[Kathryn]] has a fancy job like that! What did you do again, Kathryn?" Inaya gets her attention with a series of pats to her arm.<<else>>"Ooh! [[Lucky|fancy]]!"<</if>>
"Pretty boring actually. Mostly I just look at their intergalactic ads and point out any vagueness..."
"And get judged for your wardrobe, right?" Kathryn remarks.
"Actually, kind of."
"My first couple of months here I got so many passive-aggressive comments about my appearance. It sucked."
"Why not just buy some of the Koilian dress clothes?"
"Not everyone can just afford a new wardrobe like that, Enis." Inaya whines.
<<if not hasVisited ("Daelmit")>>[[Daelmit]] grunts.<<else>>Daelmit grunts.
Amar unplasters himself from Daelmit's side. "Sorry. Restroom break."
Daelmit stands with him.
"I can go on my own, babe." Amar smiles.
"No."
Amar just shrugs and grabs his hand as they leave. "Be right back. Get to know each other!""
Kathryn breaks the [[silence]] as they leave.<</if>>
"Club." [[he grunts.]]You wait for him to elaborate.
He doesn't.
<<if not hasVisited ("Kathryn")>>[[Kathryn]] notices your predicament and bails you out.<<else>>Kathryn tenses. "New wardrobes are expensive. Maybe after a few paychecks. If $name //wants// to."
Amar unplasters himself from Daelmit's side. "Sorry. Restroom break."
Daelmit stands with him.
"I can go on my own, babe." Amar smiles.
"No."
Amar shrugs. "Be right back. Get to know each other!"
Kathryn breaks the [[silence]] as they leave.<</if>>"I don't understand how their relationship works."
"I dunno," tries Inaya, "opposites attract?"
"It just gives me a bad feeling. Amar's gotten so much quieter since they moved in together. Took me almost a month to convince him to meet up again."
"He was visiting home," adds Enis, "so maybe that's it?"
"[[Maybe...]]""Oh! I am so sorry!" Kathryn turns to you. "This was supposed to be more welcoming. I promise, we're usually less gossipy."
"Inaya isn't," jokes Enis. She knocks his plate off his lap.
"Here, let me give you my info," Kathryn says as the other two try to clean the mess off of the blanket. "We can message each other about the absurdity of intergalactic white collar norms."
"Make sure you eat before you [[go]]!" Enis says before fetching another plate.
When you get home that evening, you have more messages than you've had in a long time.
One from [[Amar|messamar]].
Another from [[Kathryn|katmess]].
Three from [[Inaya|inamess]].
<div style="text-align: center;">Head to [[bed]].</div>//Hey! Just letting you know, we're meeting up in Margrit Center around 1300 on Saturday. I'll be there a bit early to save us a spot. See you then.//
<div style="text-align: right;">got it</div>
You decide to head back to your apartment for the day. You have to unpack and make sure that your dress clothes are unwrinkled for [[tomorrow.|firstday]]<span class='fadeIn'>You wake up
You check over the first day directions Yamileth left with you and head to [[work|Work]].</span>//Nice meeting you! message me when you're bored at work :D
<div style="text-align: right;">you too, thanks</div>
<<back>>//nice meeting yiu!!//
//enis says same//
//i saw weird dog thing outside my apt and its dad let me petit!!!//
<div style="text-align: right;">haha. nice to meet you guys too</div>
<<back>>//Hey! Thanks for coming!
<div style="text-align: right;">thanks for the invite. your friends were nice</div>
<<back>><span class='fadeIn'>
You manage okay for about a month at Eoghan Group. It is about as boring as you expect.
Fortunately, <<if hasVisited ("hername")>>Zeljka<<else>> the secretary, Zeljka,<</if>> is as charming as when you first met her and Conall does his best to greet you every day.
Despite almost everyone knowing you aren't Koilian, you still get Puzzlespeak [[emails]].
</span>Like this one titled "[[Don't forget to ASCII about 3 DIGITS!]]"<span class='fadeIn'>You're asleep when you get the [[message]].
</span>Your communicator ringing wakes you in the middle of the night on a Wednesday. You try to answer it in a daze, but the caller has already hung up by the time you answer.
You have messages.
<<linkreplace "One from your mother.">>You almost open it in your sleep deprived state.<</linkreplace>>
[[A lot|messages]] from Kathryn.
//i'm sorry to message you so late, but i just got a call from amar
he said he was headed to the hospital?
but he didn't say why
have you heard from him?
ok i found out which one from him.
headed there
ill keep you updated
he's not here?
i asked the hospital staff, but they were useless
has he messaged you?
one of the Koilians in the waiting room said he was arrested?!
call me
ok. i'm at the station he's at, so don't call me
no phone calls allowed in the building
and i'm not leaving
send me a message//
<div style="text-align: right;">send me the [[address]]. omw</div>You dress in the dark and check if the trains are running. They should be starting the early morning commute by the time you get to the station.
The address Kathryn sends you is closer to Amar's apartment on the other side of the city.
You find yourself in sweats waiting for a train before you register what your [[plan]] is.
Your leg bounces restlessly as you sit on one of the platform benches.
[[Check your messages|ice]].<div style="text-align: right;">send me the address. omw</div>
//thank you//
<div style="text-align: right;">waiting for the train
any [[news]]?</div>//thank you//
<div style="text-align: right;">waiting for the train
any news?</div>
//they just keep giving me paperwork//
<div style="text-align: right;">keep me updated</div>
//[[k]]//
You don't remember getting on the train, but notice two transfers in that you feel vague nauseous. You aren't sure if it's the lack of sleep or the situation.
[[Send a message to work|workmess]].
[[Worry about that later|laterwork]].
You send Yamileth a message and get a [[reply]] soon after.
You'll sort that out later.
For now, you [[check in|checkin]] with Kathryn.//All missing days must be documented via email in advanced cases and by voice call at last minute.
Are you sure you can't make it in?//
<div style="text-align: right;">it's an [[emergency]]</div>//All missing days must be documented via email in advanced cases and by voice call at last minute.
Are you sure you can't make it in?//
<div style="text-align: right;">it's an emergency</div>
//In that case, please be sure to voice call the sick line between 0600 and 0630.
Then again between 1100 and 1130 if you can't make a half day.//
<div style="text-align: right;">my friend was in the [[hospital]]???</div>//All missing days must be documented via email in advanced cases and by voice call at last minute.
Are you sure you can't make it in?//
<div style="text-align: right;">it's an emergency</div>
//In that case, please be sure to voice call the sick line between 0600 and 0630.
Then again between 1100 and 1130 if you can't make a half day.//
<div style="text-align: right;">my friend was in the hospital???</div>
//I'm sorry to hear that. Be sure to call the voice line.//
You leave the message and [[check in with Kathryn|checkin]].//apparently he's being charged with assault?!//
<div style="text-align: right;">then why was he at the [[hospital|why]]?</div>//apparently he's being charged with assault?!//
<div style="text-align: right;">then why was he at the hospital?</div>
//i don't knw
how long until you get here?//
<div style="text-align: right;">[[two stops]].</div>You notice Kathryn as soon as you walk in.
Mostly because she's [[shouting]] at the officer on desk duty.Annoyingly, the officer looks happy to see you.
"Your friend is here. Finish filling out this documentation."
He hands her a data [[tablet]].
Kathryn looks furious, but she snatches the tablet from the officer's hand and stomps to the waiting area.
You [[follow]]."What's going on?"
"Apparently, Amar's neighbors called the cops last night for a noise complaint. When they got there, they split up a 'physical altercation' between him and Daelmit. Amar's been charged with assault." She punches the data in more harshly than necessary, "Done."
[[You gently take it from her.]]
Now it's just a matter of [[waiting]]."They let Daelmit walk out of here no problem. He looked fine! Another Koilian walked right in, showed ID, and they let him right out!" Kathryn is still fuming, "//He// didn't have to fill out any forms!"
The officer tells her to quiet down or she'll be removed from the building.
[[Reassure Kathryn|reassure2]].You [[open]] her messages."I'm sure this will all get sorted out."
"How could they look at the two of them and think that Amar was the instigator?" she says quietly, "Daelmit is //huge//. And he didn't look hurt at all when he was released!"
There's a pinging noise from the officer's communicator. "Your backgrounds check out. You can see him now."
He buzzes you through the door to the [[holding cells|cell2]].Another Koilan leads you down a white hall full. She stops at the third door on the right and turns to you both, "Remember, the room is under surveillance and being recorded." She opens the door. "Notify me when you're finished through the datapad at the entrance when you're done."
[[You enter|enter2]].Amar looks terrible. He sits in his pajamas quietly behind a table.
His lip is split and both eyes blackened.
He [[sobs|sob2]] when he sees you and Kathryn."I thought he was going to kill me."
Kathryn rushes to [[his side|side2]].As you get closer, you can see bruises in the shape of fingers on both his arms and around his neck.
"He said he was gonna kill me!" Kathryn tries to shush him, "I told them, and they don't believe me."
[[The bruises have the imprint of four fingers|bruises2]]."They said he said he didn't and they just //believed// him! Why am I still locked up in here?!"
[[There's a knock at the door|knock2]].The Koilian guard comes in.
"Sorry, but we're going to have to ask you to leave for the day. We'll be holding him here until this whole situation can be thoroughly investigated."
"You're holding him, but you let that monster go? Look at him!" Kathryn rages, "Any idiot with eyes can see what really happened here!"
"I'm going to ask you politely once more because I can see you're distressed," the guard says evenly, "it's time to leave."
Amar smiles at you both, "Don't worry, guys. I'm sure everything will be sorted out."
"...Amar."
"Thanks for coming. Love you both."
[[You follow the guard out.]]You follow Kathryn to the station in a daze.
"We'll fix this. I'll talk to as many of my Koilian friends as I can. One has to know some way to fix this. We can-" she sniffles, "we can fix this."
[[Yeah]]//[[That's it? You're just going to leave. Isn't that pretty childish of you?]]////[[I did what I had to. Family should always come first. I thought that's what I taught you both. I guess I failed there.]]////[[Please answer me. At least let me know you're alive.]]////[[You're frightening your brother. He's already been through so much. At least contact him.]]////[[He made one mistake. Do you expect me to let him ruin his whole life over one stupid mistake?]]////[[Those kids are going to be fine. They're going to be better than fine. They're set for life now.]]////[[I even made sure they were placed with a nice foster family. Together! And they'll all receive plenty of compensation when they age out. More than their father ever could have afforded them.]]////[[You may think you're better than us. On your own. But at least we don't abandon our family.]]////[[I'm not going to abandon your brother for making a mistake after having a few drinks and if you were the person I thought I raised, you wouldn't either.]]////[[Are you going to ignore me forever?!]]////Are you going to ignore me forever?!//
<div style="text-align: right;">[[Hey, mom|I need a favor]].</div><div style="text-align: right;"><span class='fadeOut'>"Hey, mom."</span><<timed 10s>><<goto Title>><</timed>></div>
<<audio "ambientstart" stop>><span class='fadeIn'> You sit on your bed in your tiny apartment away from everything you've ever known.
This isn't fair.
[[You pick up your communicator.]]</span>[[It's time to respond to your mother]].//Hey. Check out the photos I posted of my backpacking trip!//
<<back>>//Hey-o! Guess who had to pull three children out of a trash can?//
//Hope your day is going better than mine//
//Have you heard from Amar lately?//
<<back>>//omg! I saw a Koilian making balloon animals outside my station
but he was better at it because of the four arms
i now have a balloon hippo
sort of
i had to explain what a hippo was
i showed my hippo to Enis at lunch break
tried to show it to Amar, but he had to take a call
MY BALLOON POPPED!//
<<back>><<if hasVisited ("Check message")>> Your boss, Chanix, gives you a look.
"Remember we're prompt on Koila." He chastises, "We expect our employees to be at meetings before the start time so they can be prepared as soon as the meeting starts."
"Of course," you reply with an easy smile. <<else>>You're early for the meeting. You greet your boss, Chanix with a smile.<</if>>Yamileth looks at you and remarks, "I'm always amazed at how amenable you are for a Terran."
Aslig responds to your presence with her typical disdain.
You just smile in response and because you can see Zeljka mocking Aslig behind her back. She winks at you as Conall dims the lights for the meeting.
You can't wait to share Yamileth's [[microagression of the day]] with Kathryn.
You have messages from [[Enis|enismess]], [[Kathryn|katmess2]], and [[Inaya|inamess2]].
[[Head to conference room]].<div style="text-align: right;">[['Communicator Forum'|info]]</div>
Despite the message looking like a misspelled attempted at pyramid scheme, you get this:
Don't forget to ASCII about 3 DIGITS!
071 111 111 100 032 097 102 116 101 114 110 111 111 110 033 010 010 073 032 104 111 112 101 032 116 104 105 115 032 101 109 097 105 108 032 102 105 110 100 115 032 121 111 117 032 119 101 108 108 046 032 080 108 101 097 115 101 032 110 111 116 101 032 116 104 097 116 032 116 104 101 032 109 101 101 116 105 110 103 032 104 097 115 032 098 101 101 110 032 109 111 118 101 100 032 102 114 111 109 032 102 111 117 114 032 116 111 032 116 119 111 046 032 065 115 032 097 108 119 097 121 115 044 032 100 111 032 110 111 116 032 098 101 032 108 097 116 101 046 010 010 088 097 118 105
You check the time. It's 1:50.
[[Head to conference room]].
[[Check messages]]The [[work messages]] sent to your phone (you regret signing up for that) are also frustratingly filled with Puzzlespeak.<div style="text-align: right;">[['Communicator Forum'|info]]</div>
//Re: Our pest problem bytes the dust!//
01010101 01110000 01100100 01100001 01110100 01100101 00111010 00100000 01110100 01101000 01100101 00100000 01100010 01110101 01101001 01101100 01100100 01101001 01101110 01100111 00100000 01101110 01100101 01100101 01100100 01110011 00100000 01110100 01101111 00100000 01100010 01100101 00100000 01100101 01101101 01110000 01110100 01111001 00100000 01110100 01101111 01101101 01101111 01110010 01110010 01101111 01110111 00100000 01100110 01101111 01110010 00100000 01100101 01101101 01100101 01110010 01100111 01100101 01101110 01100011 01111001 00100000 01100110 01110101 01101101 01101001 01100111 01100001 01110100 01101001 01101111 01101110 00101110 00100000 01010111 01100101 00100000 01110010 01100101 01100111 01110010 01100101 01110100 00100000 01110100 01101111 00100000 01101001 01101110 01100110 01101111 01110010 01101101 00100000 01111001 01101111 01110101 00100000 01101111 01101110 00100000 01110011 01110101 01100011 01101000 00100000 01110011 01101000 01101111 01110010 01110100 00100000 01101110 01101111 01110100 01101001 01100011 01100101 00100000 01110100 01101000 01100001 01110100 00100000 01110111 01100101 00100000 01110111 01101001 01101100 01101100 00100000 01100010 01100101 00100000 01100011 01101100 01101111 01110011 01100101 01100100 00100000 01110100 01101111 01101101 01101111 01110010 01110010 01101111 01110111 00101110
//~binary//
It's kind of [[late]] for them to be sending messages.
You wake up annoyingly early the day after that message.
[[Make breakfast and head to work|work]].
[[Grab something on the way and head to work|work]].
[[Message Amar to see if he has time off today|nowork]].You get to work only to find the building is covered in tarps for emergency fumigation.
[[Message Amar to see if he has time off today|nowork]].<div style="text-align: right;">you free today?
i guess i'm off
wanna meet up</div>
//Sorry. I can't//
<div style="text-align: right;">no worries, it's short notice
I'll see you for Kathryn's birthday this weekend?</div>
//Daelmit made suprise plans for us
Tell her I'm sorry?//
<div style="text-align: right;">amar!</div>
//really, really [[sorry]] :c//
One thing all of the Puzzlespeak [[work memos]] have in common is that they are perhaps one of the most frustrating aspects of working on Koila. That and you can't reach the tops of any shelves in the break room.Note:
<<typewriter "Employee-wide party next month. While not mandatory, its content will be tested on future evaluations.">>
<<timed 20s>>Aslig stops by your office while you wait for the message to complete.<</timed>>
<<timed 21s>>"I wanted to check that you got the memo. I always worry that you might struggle with Koilian technology. And our evaluations are unfortunately linked."<</timed>>
<<timed 22s>>"Thanks, Asi! You're so sweet." You smile at her, "It's nice to have someone so involved in my work."<</timed>>
<<timed 30s>>She continues to stand at your door.<</timed>>
<<timed 32s>>"Did you need something else?"<</timed>>
<<timed 34s>>"I just want to make sure you see the whole message."<</timed>>
<<timed 40s>>This is taking an eternity.<</timed>>
<<timed 45s>>"$name," you hear Yamileth from down the hall, "have you seen Aslig?"<</timed>>
<<timed 47s>>You could cry with relief. "In here!" her footsteps approach.<</timed>>
<<timed 50s>>"There you are, Aslig." She frowns. It looks strange on her face. "Conall can never find you to resolve your help desk tickets. You should spend more time at your workstation and so he can fix your requests in a timely manner." Aslig's face colors.<</timed>>
<<timed 52s>>Yamileth grins at you. "Do you need her?"<</timed>>
<<timed 54s>>"She's all yours."
You've never been more grateful that Yamileth is a busybody.<</timed>>
<<timed 58s>>The message looks done. The party would be more fun with a [[plus one]].<</timed>>
<div style="text-align: right;">kathryn...can you be my buffer for a company party next month?</div>
//When?//
<div style="text-align: right;">second saturday</div>
//Yeah.
Amar and I were supposed to see a concert.
But he bailed.
So I'm free.//
<div style="text-align: right;">oof sorry
but lucky me?</div>
//Yeah//
<div style="text-align: right;">[[he'll come around]]</div>A 7-bit character code with each single bit representing a character. Usually of the DEC variety on Koila.
<<back>>Also known as mirror code. In this case A=Z, B=Y, C=X, etc..
<<back>>A more complicated kind of Caesar shift. In this case, there is a code word or phrase that changes the shift for each letter.
For example, if the key were "kittens" and the phrase "hello world" the result would be "rmees jgbtw".
kitte nskit
hello world
rmees jgbtw
Keep an eye out for codes that appear to have key words hidden throughout.
<<back>>Code that shifts the alphabet in a certain direction.
A shift of 19 would be:
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z: Original
T U V W X Y Z A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S: Ciphertext
<<back>>Sometimes the words of a sentence will be presented backward or the entire thing will be mirrored. Just take your time and read it from back to front.
<<back>>[[Tap Code/Knock Code|tap code]]
[[Substitution|a1]]
[[Backwards and mirrored]]
[[Pinhole Code|pinhole]]
<<if hasVisited ("got it")>>[[Atbash]]<</if>>
<<if hasVisited ("got it")>>[[Caesar shift]]<</if>>
<<if hasVisited ("got it")>>[[Vigenere Cipher]]<</if>>
<<if hasVisited ("Don't forget to ASCII about 3 DIGITS!")>>[[ASCII Code|ascii]]<</if>>
<<if hasVisited ("work messages")>>[[Binary]]<</if>>
<<back>>"First week go okay?" he asks handing you a canned drink as he settles into Daelmit's side.
"More or less."
<<if not hasVisited ("ei")>>[[Inaya|ei]] gets your attention from across the picnic blanket.<<else>>[[Daelmit]] huffs a little. <</if>>
<div style="font-size: 6.5em;-webkit-text-stroke: 2px #f8fa7b;-webkit-text-fill-color: transparent;"><span class='fadeIn'>Some Space</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;"><<timed 9s>><<button [[Play with music|start]]>>
<<audio "ambientstart" play loop>>
<</button>> <<button [[Play without music|start]]>><</button>><</timed>></div>
<div style="text-align: center; font-size: 26px;"><<timed 9s>>"Freezing but warm", "Elk", and "Away" by Meydän have been modified and are licensed under a
<a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode"><<link "Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.">><</link>></a><</timed>></div>
Amar unplasters himself from Daelmit's side. "Sorry. Restroom break."
Daelmit stands with him.
"I can go on my own, babe." Amar smiles.
"No."
Amar just shrugs and grabs his hand as they leave. "Be right back. Get to know each other!""
Kathryn breaks the [[silence]] as they leave.<<cacheaudio "ambientstart" "https://rittermi.files.wordpress.com/2021/03/somesound.mp3">>
:: Typewriter[widget]
\<<widget typewriter>>
\ <!-- Create a SPAN with an ID -->
\ <span id="typewriter"></span>
\ <!-- In SugarCube, arrays start at 0 -->
\ <<set _textArrayLength to 0>>
\ <!-- Repeat every second -->
\ <<repeat .5s>>
\ <!-- Test if textArrayLength is greater than length of $args[0] -->
\ <<if _textArrayLength gte $args[0].length>>
\ <<stop>>
\ <<else>>
\ <!-- Append the current position to the existing characters -->
\ <<append "#typewriter">>$args[0][_textArrayLength]<</append>>
\ <!-- Update the length -->
\ <<set _textArrayLength++>>
\ <</if>>
\ <</repeat>>
\<</widget>>
<div style="text-align: right;"><<back>></div><h1>Load/Save Screen</h1>
<<for _i = 0; _i < Save.slots.length; _i++>>
''Save slot <<= _i + 1>>:''<<capture _i>><<if Save.slots.has(_i)>><<= Save.slots.get(_i).title>> | <<link "Load Save">>
<<run Save.slots.load(_i)>><</link>> | <<link "Delete Save">><<run Save.slots.delete(_i)>><<run Engine.play(passage(), true)>><</link>><<else>>(Empty slot)<<if turns() > 2>>| <<link "Save Game">><<run setTimeout(function (n) { Save.slots.save(n, passage()); }, 20, _i)>><<run Engine.backward()>><</link>><</if>><</if>><</capture>><br><br><</for>><br>You...
<<timed 5s>>
[[sit in silence]].
[[try to calm Kathryn down]].
[[get something from the vending machine]].<</timed>>The liminal space of an early morning waiting room probably isn't helping to calm Kathryn's rage. You're still nauseous.
She [[rages]].Your empty platitudes do nothing.
She [[rages]].You grab two warm drinks from the machine in the corner.
When you offer one to Katheryn she shakes her head and [[rages]]."$name! I'm glad you managed to find the building. I was worried my instructions wouldn't be clear enough." She smiles.
<<linkreplace "'Thanks.'">>"Thanks, I can manage a little research."<</linkreplace>> You reply.
Her grin manages to widen. "This is Aslig," she gestures to the Koilian with her, all four arms crossed in front of her. "She'll be working directly with you in marketing. She also spent some time on terra. Isn't that lucky?!"
"Yeah."
You [[reach out a hand to introduce yourself]].
You [[wave politely]].
Aslig scoffs as she takes your hand with two of her four hands.
"You'd have thought you'd do a little more research into Koilian business culture before you took this position." She remarks as she leaves the conference room.
Yamileth's smile falters.
This is going to be fun. One day at a [[time|got it]].
Aslig scoffs as she half-heartedly waves back with two of her four hands.
"You'd have thought you'd do a little more research into Koilian business culture before you took this position." She remarks as she leaves the conference room.
Yamileth's smile falters.
This is going to be fun. One day at a [[time|got it]].<div style="text-align: center;"><iframe frameborder="0" src="https://itch.io/embed-upload/3534201?color=2f2a44" width="350" height="370"></iframe></div>
<<back>>This uses binary code (ones and zeros) to represent characters.
<<back>>