Player 001

The story begins

Your entire body is in pain. You open your eyes slowly and realize through your
disorientation that you are naked lying on the grassy moss covered floor of a
jungle. You can't remember how you got there or even where there is. It is night
and the sky is lit with an aurora. You find a sliver of solace in gazing upon
the familiar constellations. A column or beam of light is pointed vertically
into the zenith originating about 100 yards away from you. It's colored white
and it does not seem to diffuse in the atmosphere. There are no other remarkable
sights to draw your attention away from this light and what might be originating
it.

(Aside: choices will become more apparently numerous as the game goes on.)

I awake: I run my forehead " man what did I do last night wait scratch that
what did I drink last night" I attempt to stand up and I stumble so i use my
arms to steady myself and stand up still holding my head. "where am I? what's
that?" I slowly wander toward the shimmering column of light.

(Omitted: Upon reaching th colunm I see that a twinkie is sitting on a pedestal.
I reach for the twinkie and and take a bite of it. "man this is a good
twinkie!" All of a sudden the ground starts to shake and I start to vomit. The
shaking intensifies and I fall to the ground in a puddle of my own vomit.
"gross" I say. The ground cracks open and a man emerges from the crack and
starts to speak to me. He says..........)

(Aside: you seem to have a misunderstanding. This is a game with a solid story
and universe. It is not for you to tell the story but for you to tell how you
play a role in it. Just like in a choose your own adventure novel, you choose
the way it all plays out. Also, twinkies are relative to the story universe and
the tech-age; Do not assume either.)

The column of light is coming from a structure, now in front of you. It is
particularly inviting despite being made of all metal and in the shape of a
pyramid. The forest grew around the building making it seem nestled and
comfortable. A recessed door was left open yet all you can see through it is
blinding light. The warmth of its glow is alluring and hard to resist as you
stand in the wet, cold night of the forest.

I pick up a rock and throw it into the door testing for traps if nothing springs
i step through the threshold

(aside: haha i just reread the "rules" and I think it would have been better if
i was not fairly drunk when I received this message but for a drunk man i think
I wrote a pretty awesome response. keep the fun alive Grant you rock brother!

-pete)

(Aside: you did get the highest first entry score so far. Not that they matter)

You grab a good sized rock to throw into the doorway. As the rock disappears
from sight, engulfed in the flood of light, you wait in vain for the sound of
it's impact. Sufficiently convinced of the buildings benign nature, you walk
through the doorway.

Your bare feet touch the cold metal as you step within. As your eyes begin to
adjust, your entire body briefly tingles as if it fell asleep. You find yourself
walking down a narrow and short hallway. All the surfaces inside are white. At
the end is a door; it slides open upon your arrival.
"ah, you've arrived"
A man turns to you. Dressed in a white lab coat and surrounded by technology, he
grabs a handheld device and walks your way. It is obvious that he is benevolent
and expecting you.
"like a wild beast, tracking dirt into my lab" he shakes his head as he types
away on his device.
"alright, you pass biometrics. Debrief is right through that door... As well as
your armor..."
He motions to a door.

I stare dumbfounded, after a few brief seconds i shake my head a little and
mutter to myself "is this assassin's creed?" I realize that i'm standing naked
in front of some mad scientist with a palm pilot and cover my junk. "hey
man?... umm...what's going on here?" "i mean I enjoy armor and stuff but I
don't want to battle to the death for my freedom or anything."

The man grabs his stomach in laughter.
"It may take some time for recent memories to return, and then some to become
coherent. Truthfully, anything past your medical condition, your asking the
wrong guy. Trust me though, answers are in the next room."
He motions again towards the door.

You walk through the door. It's automatic and slides apart. You walk into a
circular room with a domed ceiling. In the center is a place clearly meant for
you to stand on.

As soon as you do, the room lights up with a bright luminescent blue. You
realize you cannot move; something is holding you in place. Panels in the floor
next to your feet lift open and mechanical appendages begin to dress you with an
inner suit (garments made to be worn under armor). Without noise, a door appears
on the wall in front of you. A woman walks into the room from that door. She is
a gorgeous tall blonde-haired woman. She walks to you.
"there you are..."
She walks up to you and summons a holographic terminal.
"your operator left already, he's an impatient metal head."
She types away on her terminal.
"... Subject 001. Inducted into the service of the insurrection. It says here
that you've never been on Halcyon before and know little about the political
affairs surrounding this war..."
She glances up with a smirk and continues.
"you seem to have committed to the aid of the revolution or sided with us
openly. You might not remember it but you are here out of your own volition."
She seems to get frustrated as she shuffles through holographic documents.
"Ugh, these forms are incomplete. They don't even have your name!"
She continues scanning through the documents for several more seconds now
looking concerned.
"Or your preferred armor, or your skill sets, or your physical attributes, or
your upbringing, or even your age..."
She looks up from the terminal and stares at you blankly. Breaking her look she
plasters on a smile and says
"Let's start from the beginning..."

(Aside: Remember, this is a roleplaying game. The only rules which apply are
physics and telling a good story. There are no limitations to the possibilities
you can choose here or anywhere else. Thinking about what you want out of your
skills or armor will help you with this next part. This is meant to be general,
hence why I've not given you a better understanding of the universe yet. Ex: I
prefer light, agile armor optimized for melee combat. I'm good at piloting and
I'm excellent at stealth. Just because you did not mention something does not
mean you are not good at it.)

"Well Miss if you want to get to know me better we could get a bite to eat if
you like?" I cock my head a little and throw her a half smile.
"The Name's Clyde, 24 years old, joined the military as soon as I could fake the
documents to get in." I give her a wink and a smile.
"I specialize in getting behind enemy lines and using explosives"
I smile again.
"But that lunch offer still stands." I say cooly

(I'm my build but more muscular)

"i would but I'm spoken for"
she winks.
"also, there's not a restaurant in quite a few thousand miles from here."
She says with a smirk.

"I was able to find your extended records using the information you gave me."
She said as she makes a decisive key press and a computerized voice sounds
"initializing armor"
A suit of armor descends from the ceiling. The armor reflects your personal
stylization and specifications; mechanical arms begin to lock the armor to your
inner suit. It feels natural and comfortable as if you've worn it many times
before. The entire wall surface of the room opens up to display a gun rack with
every imaginable type of weapon. However, you still can't move.
"alright, any questions before we move on to debriefing?"

I flash another half cocked smile.

"spoken for? is that serious?"
I shake my head a little and laugh.
"yeah so what is really going on here?"
"How am I supposed to debrief you if I have no idea what I just came back from?"
my face looks serious as the questions mount.

(aside: trust me, no other response will ever be this long.)

"You mistaken me, yours is to listen and I am to debrief"
She looks at you sternly.
"you really don't know anything do you? I guess I won't delay the debrief any
longer."

A projected image appears all around the two of you. For now it is blank space
and stars.
"I would normally apologize about this holovids assumption of your knowledge but
you seem oblivious enough to need it." she says to you.

The image now zooms to a binary planet system (aside: both planets are
earth-like, one with much more water.) a low voice begins to speak.
"Long ago, humanity spawned from one of the two bodies known as Gemini. They
quickly dominated their surroundings and turned to the sky. Wars were fought
over the second planet once they got there. That's all speculation now. Over
1000 years ago both planets fell victim to a total technology failure. Caused by
an unknown and catastrophic cosmic event, both planets were left to rebuild from
nothing. No infrastructure, no communications, no tools and no history. They
rebuilt idealistically, knowing already what to plan for in the future. All
nations of both worlds came together to build a monument to their united
success, Halcyon."
The focus of the projection now zooms in on a large space station between the
planets.
"The most massive structure ever built. The space station Halcyon is positioned
at the barycenter of the two planets and acts as the bridge between the two
worlds. It was constructed after the outlawing of artificial intelligence but
still is self governed by the single most advanced and A.I. like system; capable
of constructing itself, producing robotic troops and even taking sides in a
conflict. The conflict at hand is named to exodus wars."
The projection zooms now to another planet. Slightly smaller and less green.
This planet is the next farthest in this system.
"For the past 200 years the close neighbor planet Pandora was being terraformed
by a joint effort. Nearing the end of the terraforming, some nations jumped the
gun in attempting to populate the planet. Mind you, overpopulation is at this
point uncontrollable and the pushing factor in politics today. The war started
when the colony ships (or displacement ships) were shot down while entering
Pandoras atmosphere. Dozens of vessels now lay strewn upon the surface with no
survivors. No nation is claiming responsibility."
The Gemini planets are brought back into focus.
"Still, war broke out between 2 of the nations and all others filed suit shortly
after. Today, almost all nations of Gemini participate in an all out skirmish on
the now ironically named Halcyon. It's the only space port capable of
accommodating a population displacement therefore whoever controls the station
controls Pandora. This war would have been long over had Halcyon chose a side.
By not doing so Halcyon has prolonged the war by not letting anyone win. Also,
it's creators never gave it the option to not choose a side. Much talk is about
Halcyon becoming sentient and the implications of that."

The girl chimes in.
"we are the group Solaris. We are a defecting group who's intentions are to take
Pandora away from the nations of Gemini. To do that we need Halcyon on our side.
That's where you come in. You are an agent of Solaris. As an agent your orders
are to make your way into Halcyons core. Once there it is your mission to
convince Halcyon to side with Solaris. We are far too small to ever conceive
winning this war without the aid of Halcyon... Listen, we've spent a large deal
of money conditioning you for war. Even though you may not remember doing it,
you've signed your service to us. They said your memories would come back
gradually but we just don't have the time... Do you have any questions about
what's going on?"

I am in a thoughtful stare throughout the whole presentation.

After she speaks I say "So why do I not remember anything? (Also what is the
last thing I remember)

I stand up and slam my right fist over my heart and say calmly "But if I gave my
oath I will honor it."

"I hate robots but if getting this one on our side will get me to Pandora I'll
make sure it sides with us." I walk closer to the projection and look at the
Halcyon bridge, touching the hologram with my index finger. "So how am I getting
there?'

(rehash:After she speaks I say "So why do I not remember anything? (Also what is
the last thing I remember))

"You offered to undergo dangerous combat conditioning" she said nervously. "It
leaves the subject with temporary memory loss among other things." you think
deeply about the memories you do have. The most recent memory is one of
fighting. It's inconclusive. It feels as if you should remember how it played
out but like words on the tip of your tongue, you cannot.

(rehash:I walk closer to the projection and look at the Halcyon bridge, touching
the hologram with my index finger. "So how am I getting there?")

She seems to ignore you as she walks to the door. When reaching it, she turns to
you. The door opens behind her and now you see the next room. A massive hanger
like area with a floor curving upwards as far as you can see.
"You're already there..."

"but there's a few more things to cover with you" she says as she walks towards
you again.
"there are many different entry points to Halcyon's core. You are the first
agent to be acclimated so you get your pick of mission paths. All paths will be
taken and are all necessary for each others success."

"First there is the front door. This entry will need the most firepower, which
you don't have. You'll need to be creative for this path." (aside: this path
will require the player to have a basic understanding of physics and be able to
solve logic problems to which have many solutions. Recommended player: Tobin)

"Second is the maintenance entry. It consists of a zero-G approach. Besides
there not being any simulated gravity within the core itself, you will not be
assisted along the way by the centrifugal layers. This path will take a master
of agility." (aside: you will float your way through a mechanized shaft.
Magnetic fields barrage you as you stop at terminals along the way sending power
surges to gate controls. The horror movie path. Recommended player: Pete)

"Third is the backdoor. Though not technically a door, the weak section of wall
will be more than adequate to get in. The real trouble is getting the explosives
there. Having skill in the art of deception and speaking will be mandatory."
(aside: this path requires you to infiltrate the ranks of enemies. Recommended
player: Adam)

"Fourth, the remote access. Though this path goes nowhere near the core, it is
still an essential part. The agent on this path will navigate the battle scared
layers of halcyons commodes to reach specific terminals. These terminals will
allow you access to hack into mechanical units and help out your allies remotely
with an expendable body. The operator will directly accompany the agent on this
mission and is already heading to the first terminal" (aside: on this path you
will always be greatly outnumbered and will need to use what you have to it's
maximum effectiveness. Recommended player: Daren)

"The fifth path is reserved for another agent. it a... Has to do with stuff like
detective work. Don't worry about it." (aside: Just because I'm a dick and want
to make Paul put some effort into this.)

"I apologize, I forget to explain things a lot. I realize this is all new to you
right now so if you have any questions I'll try to answer them before you head
out. If not, you always have a direct communications link with the operator. If
you run into anything in field, he can do more than answer questions." she makes
a cute smile.

"Well I've always been behind the scenes I'll take the maintenance entry". I
tap my armor at the arms and try for a brief moment to recall more of the
battles I've fought. With no such luck I continue.

"I'm ready to go."

After she smiles at me.

"Roger that!"

I head to the door

(aside: I've decided to make my entries as long as I feel like if you haven't
noticed.)

"Wait! You want a weapon don't you?"
The gun rack still unavoidably obvious.

(aside: the conventions of war do not apply to you. Although all nations are
made to follow strict warfare rules set long ago, you may pick any weapon you
wish to fight with; exotic or non. In the presumably rare occasion you choose a
weapon which is not acceptable in this game universe, I will let you know. You
can fight with a hammer for all I care, just think about your weapons utility in
a role playing sense since that's all it will be used for. Standard issue
weapons are plasma/energy based weapons. That is what you will see the enemy
using.)

After you pick up your weapon you begin again for the door.
(aside: rehash on this and tell me what weapon you choose.)

She puts a hand on you when you reach the door.
"Good luck, we're counting on you."
with the hand she placed on you, she taps a combination of keys which were built
into your armor on your right chest.
"He's all yours operator!" as she lightly pushes you out the door.
You're on a catwalk a few stories above the ground level. This catwalk leads to
a gondola a few dozen meters head. It is a sphereical ship with no apparent
engine inside it. Its hatch door on the side is open and lined up with the
walkway you are on.

A voice speaks to you from your intercom. It is an unnaturally low voice.
"Agent 001. You may call me operator, my name is not important now. What is
important is making sure you hit the ground running. Enter the vessel in front
of you."
Having no other choice you step into the gondola. The windows make the whole
gondola seem translucent because of their size. You can see all your
surroundings.
"first off you need a better knowledge of the station." the gondola begins to
move upwards and at an angle. "Halcyon is made up of cylindrical floors known as
levels. These levels have different names but they all work the same way. They
are laid out in layers one on top of the other. These layers never touch though.
In between each layer is a frictionless gap of space known as the interval
chasms." the gondola reaches the top of the level you are in. It then passes
through a hole on the ceiling and enters the interval chasm. Looking around you
can see the curvature of the layers and then a sliver of open space in other
directions. "As you can see, each level spins opposite of the levels above and
below it." the gondola passes through a hole in the bottom of the next layer.
"centrifugal force from the spin simulates gravity for each level. This means
that 'up' is always in the direction of the center of the station. We call it
the spine. It is a tube running the entire length of the station. It houses the
magnetic drives which regulate the speed of the levels."
"That's where your mission takes place. You will travel the spine for a good
distance before you reach the maintenance entry into the core room."
Your gondola exits the layer just like the last.
"the spine is a dangerous place to be for a human. Maintenance bots will most
likely be your only opposition within the spine. However, do not underestimate
them. There are many different types of maintenance bots in a lot of different
sizes. And unlike the combat units, they operate off an entirely different hive
mind."
The gondola arrives at the centric tube known as the spine. It looks dark in
color and about 50 meters in diameter. "there is a box beside you in the
gondola. Open it and take it's contents. There are three grenade-like devices.
When the button on them is pressed, the valency of the material changes to a
magnetic state. With the magnetic drives so close, this is a deadly combination.
I would give you real grenades but the instruments housed within would be at
jeopardy." the gondola docks with the spine and the door opens. "all right, this
is it. I'll guide you along the way. Any questions before you start?"

(aside: I apologize if you want to go faster. I'm intentionally slowing you down
to keep the groups pace. You're still far ahead.)

(aside: Let me see if I am picturing this right. the bridge pretty much looks
like this, a long spinal tube that I will enter, and revolving around the spine
are a bunch of rings that spin around the spine. The centrifugal force of the
spinning rings makes the gravity on the side of the ring so when walking inside
the ring you will always be walking uphill kind of. Is this right? Also how
would one cross the bridge do you have to take a shuttle or do the rings connect
some how?)

Also great job man i'm having fun. I think I'm ahead because I have nothing
better to do then check my email about 100 times a day.

(aside: technically there is no "bridge". But yes, that's the picture. The spine
is the center of rotation for the rings. The spine is actually incredibly small
compared to the rings size. It is so small in comparison that if you were to
look at the station from a point where you can see all of it, you would not see
the spine or barely be able to. Each level gets larger as you proceed outward
and even the inner most level could completely enclose a large scale battle. The
way you get from level to level is by a vessel like the gondola you were just
riding. This vessel carefully times it's level traversing to match up with holes
in the ceilings and floors of the rings. If you are on the edge of a ring you
will eventually come across a tube-like connection which allows access to the
adjacent rings. You could call Halcyons core the bridge since it's like the
control room. However, it is held within the very center of the spine length.
The core can be identified by a bulge in the spine. Also, just for more visuals,
the entire station looks like a spinning top in space.)

I see and to recap this spinning top connects two planets but not physically
right?

Yeah, barycenter means the center of gravity of two cosmic bodies. That's where
halcyon is; right at the point that the two planets revolve around. Unlike our
system with the moon which the barycenter is actually within the earths radius.
Halcyon is like the hub of travel and trade between the two worlds.

I walk over to the armory and grab a grappling hook (50 feet of rope with a
three pronged titanium hook at the end) and an ordinary 12 round hand gun with
extra clips.

As she pushes me out the door I give her a playful wink and continue on my
course.

I get on the gondola and I listen diligently.

I open the box of grenade like devices and a wide smile appears on my face.

We arrive at my stop and I step out off the gondola and say "what's next
operator?" "let's get this over with I wanna get back to the good doctor."

Pandora example

Narrator-
The mainframe room lay just beyond your reach; taunting you with it's
transparent door. You don't have the means to get in. Hell, knocking would work
if there was anyone in there but this place is all but vacant. If only the few
roaming guards you passed up had security routines in the mainframe room. You
see your objective through the door; The security core. You need to deactivate
it.
"we are almost out of time" the Operator urges you. "you need to think of
something fast or team alpha is dead. 1 minute and 20 seconds until impact"
You start a mad dash back to the hanger in hopes a walking tank could fit
through the halls.
"Merc! Look out! Guards are about to turn the corner!" the operator urgently
warns for action. The narrow hallway you are in leaves little option, for you
are directly in the center of a lengthy section of it. Already having hacked
into the monitoring system you see that one man is of high rank. A high enough
rank to access the mainframe room with his digi-presence key given he is alive.

Player-
"this isn't going to work" I think aloud to myself as I sprint towards to
hanger. It's too far and I know it.

(rehash:"Merc! Look out!" the operator warns.)

This is perfect! I need only drag this man to the door at the end of the hall
behind me. I wall jump my way to the high ceiling and wait in the trusses. The
heavy contrast of the hanging lights concealing my presence. I loop the end of
my utility cable into a simple slipknot and wait to lower it. The useless lackey
walks in front of my target in the practically one man wide hallway. As they
pass under me I lower my fishing line and adeptly drop it around my targets
head. Immediately I jump down from above leaving the cable around the trusses
like a pulley. The target flys up as I drop down in front of the lackey. The
lackey turns behind him to find no one to his amazement. He turns back to me who
already has a gun to his face.
"WHO THE FUCK ARE YOU?!"
he screams.
BOOM I plant a shot into his face.
" ... I'm the juggernaut... Bitch"
I kick both the mens dropped weapons down the hallway and retract my cable which
pulls me quickly to the ceiling. I jump through the trusses to undo my loop and
both the target and myself fall to the ground. I plant one good blow to the side
of his head which knocks him out immediately.
"20 SECONDS!" the operator now screams.
I begin running back to the mainframe room while putting slack in the cable.
It's close but my cable just barely makes it back to the mainframe door. I grab
the handle and hold on with all my strength and then... retract the cable. The
amazing force of the cable pulling the man to my right wrist stretches me but I
hold. The guards unconscious body slams head first into the door with a mind
shattering crunch. I quickly release my cable from his neck as I say "there's
something I didn't mention in acclimation... I can throw like a mother fuckin
riot"
The door slides open. As it does I prime my grenade and whip it through the
mainframe room.

__________


This interaction gives a good example of what a player can do. The only reason
this world is ambiguous is for the player to fill it in. At first the player
starts out a little bit before the point the narrator ended. Gave his thought
process during the previous narration. In each narration after the intro, the
player will be presented a new goal with certain hurdles to get by. This goal
can be something as simple as going through a door (mind you, if you do not know
what's on the other side of that door then it's not a good idea to keep going).
The goal can also be complicated with many prerequisite parts to achieve. This
example is one such goal. As the narrator I give the player a setting and
obstacles to surmount. It is assumed this player has already been in the hanger
and therefore can go to that area and come back all within his turn. If he had
done so, the player could have expanded upon that part by adding more obstacles
of his own to make a better story. In this case the player took the challenge of
telling how he neutralizes both enemies without killing one of them. To do this
he took an ambiguous aspect of his surroundings and described it further in his
favor. This change to the environment is very small and would not affect
anything vital. Things like this are acceptable in the game and encouraged in
order to make a good story (since that's the real goal).

Truthfully this is almost a minimalistic entry in respects to description. The
player tells just enough to make it understandable. What the player does do well
however, is manipulate the enemies. This is allowed to a point. The player
defines how the enemies are walking, how they react and what they say. I don't
have any rules about what you can make an enemy say but good rule of thumb is
keep it short and purposeful and only faceless minions. I will almost always
omit something you make a main character say. This example is one of those
exceptions. try not to step on my toes as the story architect and I won't cut
your feet off.

The last thing the player does is assume an event. He ends his turn with his
grenade in the air. This has little more purpose besides being a good story
element. I as a narrator will not make the grenade miss since his comment right
before makes the success so much sweeter.

There isn't any rules on enemy difficulty but it's a good idea to follow some
guidelines when killing an enemy. Enemies should all fall in a few general
categories. You will find infantry, mechs, tanks, and massive enemies. If a
player decides he's going to one shot a tank with a pistol, I'm probably going
to omit the rest of his message after that action, not kill the tank, and give
him a 'stumble'. So, enemies do have an effort rating. This is not to say you
can't kill a tank in one shot but you'd better make a good reason for it.