"Is anyone here?" said she, as the darkness was stroking her face. Go on, let her know [["I'm here"]], before [[we continue]]. Your choice matters."I'm here."
"Where?" She shifts her view as if it mattered where she looked, as if she could spot you with her eyes, whilst she must feel you with her senses.
Why don't you tell her? [[Come on]], [[show her where you are!]]Follow me, this way. Right here, [[take a seat]]. It's quite marvelous, they cannot see us, yet, they always reach out. Incapable of moving outside their little boxes constantly unsure about whether they're seen, or alone.Doesn't she look breathtakingly innocent in her little box? It's quite fascinating, really. She doesn't know when or who is watching. Yet, still - she reaches out, becomes vulnearble. It's almost brave, what she does. Come, [[sit with me->take a seat]]. From here, you can see in all five directions just fine. "You're here?" You are with her now. "Don't touch me!"
Don't you want to [[apologize]]? It's rude to just intrude on someone's space like this. Ungrateful little thing you are... You want her to know you're here, so I put you there and not even a [[thank you]]?""It's okay... I just didn't expect anyone to be so close." Look, now, you've gained her trust. Isn't that adorable. It would be a shame if you were to [[leave her->Come on]] again now, wouldn't it? The right choice, the moral thing to do, would be to [[stay]], don't you think?Interesting. You can thank me but not apologize to her? Let me [[take you back->Come on]]. Thank you for your apology. "Thank you for staying," she says.
//Your breathing gains independence from your loungs, slows down to match her rythm, to match all rythms, in fact. The separation remains intact as their bonds grow to your senses.//
"Are you... like them?" she asks.
Come on, you should give her an [[answer]]!Don't be shy, why sit so far away? After all, you are here by choice, aren't you? Every single moment of your existence can now be manipulated by your choice. Not theirs, of course. They receive the illusion of choice, a choice monitored from all perspectives, a choice within a given system that, if destroyed, will always be replaced by another of the same kind. You should really take a moment, just to [[observe them]]. //You take a deep breath and grasp the surrounding as your vision breaks into uncountable perspectives. Your sense for time and space slowly traces away as you hear distant, scattered voices.//
"Hello? Is anyone here?"
"I'm here."
"Where?"
"Is anyone here?"
"Hello?"
"Don't touch me!"
"Hello?"
//Blank faces from beneath, behind, in front, beside you vaguely pass their gaze through your existence. Shadows appear and vanish just as quickly in front of them. You exhale again.//
Yes, keep [[breathing]]. Don't [[stop->Hello?]] - they become quite anxious when they feel our presence, when they feel the system.
That's great, thanks for breathing. Now look to your [[left]]Thousands of others stare up to you, incapable of seeing. You have become part of the system under which they suffer, under which you will suffer, too, one day.Welcome, I see you've decided to embarc on a journey. Though, I must warn you; your choices will steer your path. So choose consciously.
//click [[here->"Hello?"]] to begin the journey.//If it is your choice to join them, so be it.
"[[Hello?]]""[[Is anyone here?]]"//I'm here//
"[[Where?]]""[[Is anyone here?->anyone here 2]]""[[Don't touch me!->Hello?]]""[[Who are they?]]"
"[[I don't think I am. I am just myself.]]""I mean, I am not quite certain, I must admit," she struggles to find her truth, "what I know is that they're always there. Not here, but around us, me. Sorry, it's the first time someone else is here. I heard voices before, in the distance, but not once has anyone come to me. Well, they know my every move so I assume they must know yours too. Unless, you are with them. I guess, they'd know either way. Just you would also know about me. What do you know about me?" she looks up at you and hestitates. "I'm sorry, there is not much to know about me I guess. Can you feel them as they stare?"
//You feel the impact of distant retinas on your skin, or, your skin as it hits distant retinas in a void in which you resided just moments ago yourself. The sudden relaization that you were with "them" and are now with others disorients your senses.//
[["Yes, I can feel them,"]] you say and both of you feel less alone in this space full of others."Okay. I'll trust you on that. I mean, what else am I really supposed to do? I've been trying to escape these walls of my own mind, trying to connect with others for as long as I can think - ironic, right? I can think, but only within myself. Anyways, you're the first one to react. Yet, still I can't break the walls, I have to trust you that you might," she says.
// Her gaze drifts off into a distance of which you are not sure whether it even exists and you allow her concepts to pass through your mind. You can only hear him, who has put you here, in the far back of your mind. A mere mumble, a weak attempt to lure you back. However, you have gone too far.//
She turns back, a sharp breath, inhale, exhale. Do you [[trust her]] as well?
"What's with the hesitation?" The distant mumble grows stronger, "do you not trust her after all? Do [[you want out]]?
"So, who are you?", she asks, before your [[story continues]].
(set: $name to (prompt: "What is your name?", ""))
If it is your choice to end this, so be it.
"[[Hello?]]"//You want to [[tell her]] that there are more of her, more like her. But you [[hesitate]].//"You're, we're, not alone," you say, "I have seen others."
"Others?," she says.
//Silence occupies the space whose existence is yet to be contemplated. They were so close together when you observed them but now, now you can only see her and feel yourself.//
You cannot see any of the others, can you? Are there really others or are you just as alone as she is? Where are you right now? Are you with her?
You fool! She is my creation, a creation that does not exist in a space that does not have room and you entered and believed you were there? You fool...
"Hello? $name ?," she says, "are you alright?" and you continue to [[listen to her voice]].
//She's gone. You are alone among others. [[Listen]], carefully. Maybe someone will come?//"I think more will come", you say and you and others forget about them, they turn to others and what remains is a rotten skeleton once having separated all.(set: $mind to (prompt: "She says, tell me something about yourself", ""))
[[keep it to yourself]] [[share it with her]][[Hello?]]"Better already, isn't it?", she says, "it does wonders to turn to yourself for a moment. Turn to yourself and let others in. Not for their sake, but for your own sake. For a moment of reflecting on yourself, a moment of forgetting the pressure, the system. Come, [[let us go]]."Dear stranger,
Thank you for going on this journey. It doesn't end here - keep taking care of others and take care of yourself.
Credits:
Narrative - Sarah Fritz "Procedural Narrative Enthusiast. Yoshi Saver."
Web - Chris Negron "I am a puzzle-enthusiast. That's why I play games strategically and love to explore different technical fields among which I currently count web-development, video-game development, and help-desk services"
Protagonist - $name "$mind"