LP Beach

All of the options that you've laid out sound pretty solid to me! The cave, the fan and the air conditioner in the cave, and using the water bottles. Remember to stay hydrated.

Everyone says to hunker down in the cave, with some recommendations to cover the hole with the burger flag or thermal blanket, but regarding the AC and fan, there was a split vote to bring the AC and fan in with us, possibly out of fear we'd get too cold in the cave and not enough heat would make it in? The AC's unit also says it produces exhaust, so if we set it up in the cave it could make for a scary gas... I'll see if we can hook up both and get the exhaust out, though, because I feel we'd need to take precautions to stay cool. We'll also be tossing in the cooling tiles we found in the restaurant's freezer, and distribute bottles of water for everyone. Enough waiting around, it's time to prepare for our second (is it the second?) night.

Inside

Time to make sure everyone has enough to drink. This includes you too, dear reader. Pause reading this update to get a glass! Anyway, Barry, you're up first.

Hey, have some water.
Thanks. But... I think you should give one to Cody first.
Huh? Did someone call me?
But what about you, Barry?
I'll be fine.

So kind of Barry to ask Cody to get one first. Well, ladies next. Cate, time to l-l-l-liquid up!

Here. Have some water.
Huh? Alright. I'm not really thirsty, though.
Save it for later. For dehydration.
I know. Thanks.

2:19 pm: I gave Cate a bottle of water.

Cody, a growing boy needs his water.

Take this water.
Wow - thanks! I'm really thirsty.
You'd better save it for later, when the weather gets really, really hot.
Uh... okay.

2:19 pm: I gave Cody a bottle of water.

The last one is Barry.

Hey, have some water. For the heat. It should help with dehydration.
Okay. It's getting really hot already.
Yeah. And it's only going to get worse.
Thanks.

12:39 pm: I gave Barry a bottle of water. He is big, so he might need it more than anyone else.

Before I continue, I wonder what they'll all say if I offer them a coat? They'll probably reject them due to the heat, but still.

Hey, take this coat.
Why? It's soooo hot! I'm gonna melt if I wear this thing!
Yeah. You're probably right. Forget it.

Here, take this coat.
You're kidding me, right? It's going to be like, ten million degrees and you want me to wear THIS?
I, uh... I thought it'd suit you.
Oh my god, David. Please stop.

Hey, take this coat.
Huh? It's already so warm and it's only going to get hotter. I don't think it's such a good idea.
Yeah. You're probably right.



All right, all right, coats go back in the bin. Anyway, time to lug all the materials we need out to the RV and the cave!



Exploration

First things first, let's gas up this RV to get the engine ready to run, make a quick stop at the gas station to refuel, and get everything else ready afterwards. If I try to gas up the RV more...

(Item - Full gas canister on RV's fuel inlet) The RV is already fueled.



The extension cord fits the RV's outlet just fine. What if I tried to plug in the fan or AC unit outside?

(Item - Portable air conditioner or fan on extension cord sockets) Plugging this into the extension cord here isn't the best idea. I should take the extension cord somewhere else first.

David's right. No point in setting up outside the cave entrance. Let's get the rope and extension cord down the cave and set everything up before I turn the engine on.

(Interaction - Extension cord sockets) Where should I take the end of the extension cord?



Brrr... it's really cold down here.

Let's get everything ready! Fan first...



02:44 pm: I put an electrical fan in the cave.

The fan is cooling the cave with some air circulation. Good, now for the AC.

(Item - Portable air conditioner on extension cord sockets) Before I plug it in, I should install it by the cave's opening.

Fair enough, let's go outside and do that?

(Item - Portable air conditioner on cave opening) Okay, but I should install it while inside the cave.

David, I was standing at the leftmost side of the cave near the opening just before. There must be some way to finesse this... How about I use the AC on the cave opening while inside the cave, rather than the extension cord sockets?



That did it. I needed to be inside the cave and click on the hole so the exhaust pipe would go out.

(Interaction - Air conditioner's plug) Where should I take the end of the extension cord?

Hook it up, sir!



02:44 pm: I installed and started an air conditioner in the cave.

Now we're looking good. The AC is humming along. Let's crack those blue Heat Absorber Tiles (TM) and drop them around the cave!

(Item - Hammer on Heat Absorber Tile (TM)) (There is a "crack" and then a hissing sound.) After I dented the tile it hissed and became really cold. I think this thing really absorbs heat.

An active Heat Absorber Tile (TM) (0.5 kg). Its surface is so cold! Seems like it's really absorbing the heat. I never knew this technology even existed.

02:44 pm: I placed a heat absorber in the cave.
02:44 pm: I placed two heat absorbers in the cave.
02:44 pm: I placed three heat absorbers in the cave.



We're looking mighty chill now. The last thing to do is cover up the cave entrance.




As it turns out, both the restaurant flag and thermal blanket can cover the cave. The votes (with my own choice) are split evenly. The thermal blanket is described as a "low-weight, low-bulk blanket made of heat-reflective thin silvery sheeting, while the burger flag is described as "big and thick." Given the fact that we're facing a heat wave, the blanket could work better regardless of the time of day since it's reflecting heat, not sunlight. The burger flag seems like a trap because it would be good if we were, say, facing a freezing night or blizzard. Covering the cave mouth's entrance with the blanket would trap heat inside and increase the temperature, I think? Well, I'll use my executive decision to cover it up with the thermal blanket. If it was the wrong choice, sorry, survivors!



03:06 pm: I covered the entrance to the cave with something to block the temperature.

It looks less like a blanket and more like a spider web, even if it is isolating the temperatures between the cave and the outside a bit. Anyway, that's the fan, AC, heat absorbers, water, and covering all set up! Let's turn on the car to get the RV going, then go down and spend the night.

(Interaction - RV's driver seat) I've started the RV's engine.

03:06 pm: I fueled and started the RV by the cave. Any appliances connected to it should last much longer now.




I think we're as good as we're going to be. Let's keep that water bottle handy! Let's hope my tie-breaker decisions didn't doom anyone...

Long Nights



The heat surge was incredibly strong as the wave of boiling hot air moved through the land. You found shelter in a cave underground, hoping it would save you from the deadly heat...



The cave proved to be a good shelter, as it shielded 35% of the initial heat wave.



The cool air from the air conditioner dispersed about 26% of the initial heat wave.



The air circulation helped to lower the temperature, deducting 24% of the initial heat surge.



The heat-absorbing power of those weird tiles got rid of 21% of the hot air.



Another Sunrise



You were able to rest much more comfortably than you thought you would. [+5 kg permanent carry weight bonus]

No sweat, literally! We aced yet another night, goons. Well done. Who knows if the burger flag would have been better or worse? Perhaps a test for another day, wouldn't you say? Well, you know what's coming next... Another prophecy of death.



Hmm. Should we check the window, or the stairs? The window has killed us twice (yeah, twice?) now. The stairs may just be safer!




Uh... That's Maggie, Barry's dead wife. What is she doing here?



W-what, wait, you're... I must be dreaming.
Indeed you are, my dear.



We get to ask Maggie who she is, and about our dream. First, "who are you" exactly? Are you really Maggie?

I know you... I... buried you... You're Barry's wife.
Yes you did bury me, honey. I'm quite grateful for that.
Um, no problem.

Okay. So let's talk about this "dream" we're having.

It's a dream...?
Yes, darling. It's quite obvious once you look around and think for a second. You've been here before, but your memory is failing you. It's from dream-travelling. You've gotta watch out as you do it. It can lead to dementia.
I don't understand...
I hope you will, because a lot depends on it.



Dream or no dream, she's creeping me out with this memory and dream-travelling talk. Let's talk "about Barry."

Barry is your husband.
Yes, darling.
And for some reason you're in my dream.
Well, not personally. I'm dead, remember? I'm just an echo of Barry's memory of me.
W-why are you here?
I'm here because you let Barry die, honey.
What? No. That's impossible. He is fine.
Oh maybe now he is fine. But he didn't survive your previous life.
Previous life...?
You've been here before. Deep inside you know it's true.



If you're right, Maggie, then please "tell me the future" and how this all ends.

What's gonna happen? Can you tell me?
You care for your friends, darling. You're a good man. And I don't want that boy to get hurt either! But if you try, you could save my husband, too. Just don't let him go there.
Go where?
The sand tomb. Don't let him go there. Tell him to wait. Oh, dear.




Run, David. Don't let this thing touch you. And please warn Barry. Also, tell him I love him. And that it wasn't his fault. Run! Save yourself!

Oh, this thing can't be all that bad, right? Hey pal, good to make your acquain-



When this thing touched David it caused him to experience... his multiple deaths? And then David just vanished into thin air... After a fade to black, we just return to the conversation with Maggie, so this must be a non-standard game over. Let's listen to Maggie this time and book it down the stairs!



We made it back down safely. If we try to go back up...

I'm not going back there...

David shows more sense than I do. What is our impending doom at the window this time?



With the roar of a motorcycle in the air, the window explodes and a leather-clad bandit fatally shoots David. He bleeds out as his shooter glances around the house with his goons...

I'm glad we can presumably save Barry.

We won't have to Barry him.

During the heat wave we not only dreamed of bandits killing us, but also of Barry's late wife Maggie warning us this wasn't the first life we've led. We've been dream-traveling, which would probably explain our ability to prophesize our death. If another David experienced it in another life, then we would know of it too, although how we could tap into that knowledge remains unclear. Whatever the reason or cause of our foresight, we know we may be able to save Barry's life at a "sand tomb," whatever that may be...



Exploration

Yeah, not a very pleasant one... There were these... people. Thugs. Bandits. They raided our hideout. They had guns. They wanted to kill us.
So we'll have to defend ourselves.
What is it Cody? You seem excited.
I have something important to tell you! It's like... super-duper important! We have to prepare for tonight! Even more than yesterday!
Yes Cody. I know...
But you don't know why yet!
I don't? I thought...
Shush! I had a dream. There were like dozens of zombies coming towards the house. They wanted my brain! We have to protect it! I don't want to be eaten... They had those ugly faces, and they were slowly walking with their arms in front of them. They were speaking to me. All like, "Braaaaaains!"
Cody... Zombies are not real. You had a bad dream, that's all.
What? No! Why? Your dreams are better than mine?!
I'm not saying they are better...
So you believe me that there are zombies coming after me!
No one is chasing you, Cody...
I hope zombies will think you are tasty...
David, there's something I have to tell you. I also had a dream.
You saw what I saw?
No... I saw a city. I know where to find the spaceship, David. Or at least, I know how to look for it.
What? Where?
Sidereal. The corporation that built those ships had a number of outposts and offices across the... well, everywhere, actually. In my dream I saw one of them in the deserted city in the southwest. It was just an office, but if we get there, we might find the location of the spaceship outpost.
So... you don't know for certain.
David, have I doubted your dreams for one second? I need you to trust me on this one. We've gotta get there as soon as possible. Before we spend any time preparing for what's coming tonight.



What, are we stuck in Mad Max now? Why do we have nihilistic bloodthirsty killers going around killing people before the end of the world? Is it some sort of primal urge to get all their dark desires out of their minds before facing oblivion? I can't say I understand, but we have at least one gun for ourselves, and Cate has her pistol. Still, we're no Annie Oakley, and it's likely that we'll need Barry's help too. More firepower and ammo is needed, as well as looking for the spaceship Cate dreamed about. Let's talk with the gang about today.



We can ask Cate about today, Barry, and Cody. What are you thinking "about today," Cate?

Any ideas for today?
Before we start even thinking about what comes later, we HAVE TO go to the Sidereal Plexus office. Let's get back to this talk after we're done with that, okay?

We have people with guns coming after us, but fine. What "about Barry," softened up towards him yet?

Cate?
What now David?
I wanted to talk about Barry.
What is there to talk about? He is not fond of me, and I'm not fond of him. We still can work together. That's what's important.
Couldn't you be like more... you know... human?
What?
Eh... never mind.

Cate needs to chill. If we talk "about Cody," she should show a bit more heart...

Anything new on Cody?
What do you mean? He's not that annoying. If that's what you are asking.
No... I didn't mean that.
I told you already. I think he's a poor kid. I was expecting him to be an obstacle, but for now he's doing well enough. I'm pretty sure he is afraid of me. Maybe that's for the best. At least he'll listen to someone.
You think he wouldn't listen to me?
David, please...



Cody, what about you, any ideas "about today?"

What is it, Cody? Worried about tonight?
Yes, but also... Do we have to go to that Sideplexthing office? It sounds kinda scary.

Sadly we do, kiddo. What "about Cate?"

Any new thoughts on Cate?
She is nice, but a bit scary.
How so?
Like, she is pretty but also kinda mean. But not really.
Not really?
Yeah. I think she is a good person. She just tries to hide it. Why would anyone try to hide that they are a nice person? I don't get adults...

Some people just want to "front," Cody. Tell me your thoughts "about Barry."

Did you change your opinion about Barry?
Dunno. He is still sad.
It's not that easy to let it go after such a loss.
I know. I'm trying to cheer him up. I think today I saw him smiling. People should smile more often. Everything is better then.
When you put it that way it doesn't sound too complicated.
Of course it doesn't! You make it complicated! All adults do.



Barry has a few more topics of conversation than the others, since we did dream about his wife and have a message from her to him. We'll touch on that last, though. Barry, any thoughts "about today?"

Are you worried about tonight?
Tonight? I'm worried about this whole Sidereal Plexus thing. That office is in the city. Nobody lives or goes there. And I have a bad feeling about it.

If I were you I'd be more concerned about getting shot, but you do you, big guy. What "about Cate" and her dream?

Any new thoughts on Cate?
I don't know, David. This Sidereal Plexus thing. She claims she didn't know where it was, but then she knows. Plus she knows just so much about them. Not to mention this whole spaceship idea. Isn't this ridiculous?

I agree Cate is suspicious, but I don't have any better ideas about getting off this rock. And what "about Cody?"

Is something wrong with Cody? You're always looking at him.
I think I envy him. He lost... like everything. Without family, without friends, without anyone he knows. With a group of strangers. Who knows how long he was alone before you found him. And yet look at him. Smiling, happy and eager to play. Even with the world dying around him. I wish I could be like that.
Actually... me too.

I think Cody is actually really scared, but he's really good at hiding it or doing that thing kids do where they compartamentalize trauma... But that's not all. We need to tell Barry about his wife's message, too. Barry, "your wife loved you," though I doubt you need reminding.

Maggie loved you.
Huh? Of course she did! And I loved her. But why on Earth would you bring that up now?
Just... I don't know. I... I don't think she blames you for anything that happened.
I don't want to talk about it, David. We have things to do.

Well, message delivered. But that's not all, dude. You should "stay behind and wait for us."

Hey, Barry.
Yes?
When we travel to Sidereal Plexus, could you stay and wait for us?
Why...? Don't you think it's dangerous to separate like this?
Yeah, usually it is. I just... have a bad feeling about this one. Can you trust me on that? Just wait for us.
I have no idea why you're doing this, but okay. When we get there, I'll just stay behind and wait.
Thanks, Barry.
No problem. Just be careful out there, okay?

Let's be fair, Barry, you should probably trust David on this one. The guy correctly predicted a heat wave that would kill you all, so his hunches are probably on the money.



Before we head off, let's clean up after ourselves. Even if the world is ending, we're no litterbugs! The rope and hook will likely be of use, too.

(Interaction - Rope with hook) I've removed the hook from the crack. That rope might be useful elsewhere.



Sure, it's four minutes, and with everything else in the cave picked up, we're done here. I couldn't grab the cooling tiles, though, because they vanished! They were probably made of some material that dissolves as it absorbs heat.



The city to the southwest is open for exploration. Before we head over there, I'm going to stop by our place first to drop stuff off at the item box. I'll also stop to top off Communism and check out the restaurant for any goodies. The locusts should be gone by now.



Yeah, the restaurant is clear of freaky, flying, flesh-eating bugs. Time to root around!



The door to the left leads to a bathroom and a magazine.









I'm getting deja vu all over again from reading this magazine. Haven't we read it already? It seems like it's telling me the absolute truth, but in a conspiracy theorist sort of way.



The door to the right leads to a storeroom with a couple of goodies.

A bottle of kitchen oil (2 kg). I doubt if I'll be making french fries with it but who knows. I'd better watch out where I spill it, because it won't just dry like water.
A bottle of rat poison (1 kg). The label warning on the poison says that digesting it might cause nausea, internal bleeding, liver failure or even death. Jesus, were they trying to poison rats or elephants with this?

Hmm... If Home Alone taught me anything as a kid, it's that when you have home invaders trying to steal your stuff and hurt you, some slick surfaces will work wonders slowing them down. Nothing about poison, but we can certainly adapt our way of thinking, can't we? Well, that's all we can find here. So it's time to head to the city at last.



Main Menu

Hit by earthquakes, it was quickly abandoned, only to be swallowed by sands after the climate changed. I never liked the idea of going there. It was like a massive tombstone emerging from the wasteland, luring travelers so it could become a grave for more victims.





Yes, a few, if you don't mind. From left to right, we can confirm this isn't the outpost Cate was looking for, ask what exactly we are looking for here, and what Cate's connections with Sidereal Plexus are. I'll ask them all in order.

This isn't the outpost you were looking for, right?
Have you been listening to me at all? Of course this isn't the outpost I was looking for. That one had a launchpad and a spaceship. This one... well, this is an office.

What exactly are we looking for here?
Coordinates. We need to know where the launchpad outpost is located. Look for any documents or maps you can find. It's gotta be somewhere here.

What are your connections with Sidereal Plexus?
I... don't know what you mean.
Well, how did you know about the spaceship thing in the first place?
Can we have this conversation another time? It's a long story.

No more questions.
Let's move then.

08:32 am: We arrived at the Sidereal Plexus office in the destroyed city. Cate hopes to find the location of the spaceship somewhere around here.



This place certainly is sandy. I hope we can find some stuff around here! Let's talk to Cody and Barry about the place.

What do you think, Cody?
It's almost like a disaster movie... One time some other boys from the orphanage wanted to watch this film about a huge earthquake. The whole city was devastated! It looks similar. Just much more sand.
We kind of are in a catastrophe movie right now...
Can I be the main hero? And I will save everyone at the end.
That role is already taken, kid.
Aww...
But you can be my sidekick!
Yay!

What do you think of this place?
I didn't go to the city too often. Mostly just when Maggie needed something from here and I had to give her a lift. Living so close was quite handy. It was quiet in our area, but when we needed something it was only a twenty-minute trip. It changed a lot. I mean, just look at all this. It's even worse than anywhere else.
I wonder what happened to all the people.
Simple. They either moved out or died, buried in the sand.

Like any good disaster movie demands, the heroes must explore the ruins of civilization.



Sand is coarse and gets everywhere, like on this former parking lot. The wind blows mournfully, but thankfully Barry heeded our request and stayed behind with the car.

(Interaction - Street lamp) Give it a few more months and this lamp will completely disappear under the sand.
This world doesn't have a few months.
(Interaction - Entrance) Shouldn't there be a door here?
There is. It's probably a few feet under all that sand.
We could bring a shovel and...
Are you serious? Digging a desert's worth of sand would take us hours. No time for that. Let's look for another way in.



The east wing has a metal door here not buried in sand, and the side of the building is also interactable.

(Interaction - Door) (Struggles to open it.) It seems to be locked from the other side.
(Item - Crowbar on door) (Struggles to open it.) It's no use. The lock is too strong.
(Interaction - Side of the building) Everything here is either collapsed or covered with tons of sand...



The only way up is the big sand dune up front.



David, Cody, and Cate march up the dune to the roof in silence. I wonder if Barry can see us from the parking lot.



We arrive at the roof without incident. There's a crack in the wall which gives us access to the building. On we go... But what is this feeling of apprehension I feel?



Tension

The "R" in the "SIDEREAL" logo suddenly warps, twisting with the excess weight put behind it. Gravity pulls it back it breaks the roof open, bringing down part of the roof and plenty of sand with it. Cate and David manage to leap out of the way, but Cody is left holding on for dear life!

Oh god...
Help! Help me!
Hang on Cody! David, for god's sake! Help him!
Aaaah! I'm gonna fall!

Cody! Save him, David! He won't hold much longer!

(Interaction - Opening in the wall) I've gotta help him!

No time to waste! Time to get our boy!



You okay?
Yeah. I'm fine. I'm not going with you though, it seems.

(Interaction - Opening in the wall) I should check on Cody first. Poor kid seems to be in shock.



WOW, did you see that?! This hole is, like, bottomless. I was so scared. But you saved me!
You were actually very brave. And you'd do the same for me.
So... what now?
We're lucky nobody fell there. It looks really deep.
Yeah. Lucky us... It seems you have to go on without me for now. Find the location of that base. Look for documents or a map of some sort. We'll just meet up later. Good luck.

Whew! I can't imagine what would have happened if Barry were with us. Maybe he would have fallen in, or maybe we would have had to make a horrible choice between saving Cody or Barry. What an awful decision that would be... If this is the "sand tomb" Maggie warned us about, then Barry just escaped a horrible fate. What awaits us now is the Sidereal Plexus office itself. What will we find in there...?

I just realized that 'Sidereal Plexus' is a pun on 'Solar Plexus'.

There is goon participation in this entry!



After avoiding a fatal accident and rescuing Cody, we make our way through the wall's opening and enter the Sidereal Plexus office building. This room seems to be mostly intact, but clearly abandoned. Cody, what do you think of it?

What do you think of this office?
I don't like being here. Can we go already? This place is... wrong. It's evil. Can't you feel it?

Sidereal Plexus? Evil? No way, they make heat absorbing tiles! How can any corporation that makes drink-cooling tools be evil? There is a chart on the wall and two computers we can examine here before going through the door on the right.

(Interaction - Chart) This chart has some lines of different heights and curves. I have no idea what exactly it represents. Electrical voltages? Something with semiconductors?
(Interaction - Broken computer) Time wasn't very merciful to this particular computer.
(Interaction - Computer) This computer doesn't seem to work.



The door out of the room leads to this hallway. There seems to be a way down to the right, and an elevator. And is that a rock? Ooh, shiny! David likes rocks.

A small rock (1 kg). A small, round rock.

(Interaction - Collapsed doorway) It's completely collapsed. I can't do much about it.
(Interaction - Fire alarm) In case of emergency, break the glass. I think I've done enough glass breaking for now.
(Item - Wrench or small rock on fire alarm) I doubt anyone would come to the rescue anyway.



The elevator isn't a way out, unfortunately.

(Interaction - Elevator) The elevator is stuck mid-floor. I don't think getting inside would be a good idea.

The stairs it is, then.



The Waste's Mystery

Don't be scared, Cody.
I'm not! ...What was that? (Runs back to David.) I am scared. I don't want to be here.
Hey, it's okay. I'm here. We'll get what we came for, and then we'll just leave.
Okay...

There are two doors to the left, another stairway down, and the elevator to the right. What's downstairs?

(Interaction - Stairway down) I should find the outpost location before going any further.

To the left door, intrepid explorers!



That is Ed. Ed's dead, baby. References and the mummified body who's worked overtime aside, there are a couple of noteworthy things here, but let's pat down the body first.

(Interaction - Dead body) He has an ID on his neck.

An ID badge (0 kg).





A key (0 kg). A simple, metal key.

(Interaction - Dead body) I've already taken his ID. He doesn't have anything else that would be interesting.
(Interaction - Any PC here) It's not powered. Or it's broken. Or both.
(Interaction - Fax machine) The fax machine is not operational.

Fax document (0 kg).







Of course this company was crooked... But this sleep process described is very, very familiar. Is that how we were able to dream travel and meet Maggie? Have we done this before? And is that a gun silencer on the ground?

(Interaction - Gun silencer) A gun silencer? What is it doing here? Maybe it's the reason there's a dead guy at the desk.
Assassins! Do you think they are still here?

A rifle silencer (0.5 kg). It's a big silencer for rifles.



We can mod the rifle now, but I'd rather have a little help from Cate with this. She's the gun nut, after all. But we'll definitely make our best friend here shoot quietly when the bandits come a-raidin'. Anyway, back to the hallway, and to try that second door.

(Interaction - Doorway) It's locked.
(Item - Metal key on doorway) I've unlocked it.





This must be a way to get power back online, but I have no idea what to do just yet. I'll be back.



(Interaction - Elevator shaft) The elevator shaft is just like our future... dark and hollow. And with a risk of being crushed by a heavy thing falling from above.

No elevator just yet, then. Okay, time to play with wires!



With a bit of trial and error, I manage to get the power back on. The minigame here was simply to connect the wires from the left pins to the right by running them through other pins, altering the power level to match the required values.





Ah, it appears at least one computer managed to survive the ravages of time and sand.




Damn. And here I was hoping we could use a search engine to find us some guns. Not even the very useful sticky note on the right could help log in at the homepage. Maybe the e-mail server or local disk contains useful information?





Shame about the extra responsibilities without extra pay, Douglas.






Huh...? Catherine Mayweather... Pilot. Could that be Cate? We really need to have a talk.

Another world is about right. If Maggie's presence and our prophetic dreams are the real deal, we have dream traveled and we've been to other worlds or experienced other lives... Which means Cate has done so too? We'll have to have a talk with her about this.






I've marked it on my map.

08:37 am: I learned about a lodge in the woods up north. It might be worth checking out.

This is exactly what we need. The lodge, if it's still unexplored, will have the guns and traps we'll need to fend off the bandits.




Cate shoots down people in more than one way.





I didn't care to read a boring old report anyway.





Good old progression clue. Juice up pin A with 15V, and pin B with 40V.




You know, if my job said, "Hey, the Moon blew up, come in to work anyway," I'd be pretty upset. Ditto if a world plague came down and infected everyone, but what do I know of the economy?






Jacob Salmann is our deceased buddy to the right. Asked too many questions, got capped for the trouble.





I've marked it on my map. Now I can finally get out of here.

08:37 am: I found the location of the outpost.

Jacob may be dead, but that doesn't mean we need to be. We learned where the outpost is!




It's cold comfort for a journalist to expose the truth before the world burns, but I appreciate the effort. Time to get out of here and go downstairs.



First things first: what's to be done?

(Interaction - Elevator shaft) I think I see the bottom, but it's far too high to jump.
(Interaction - Fire hose) It's a fire hose locked in a glass cabinet.
(Interaction - Darkness) It's too dark to see anything...

The solution to the darkness is the backup battery. Time to go back up and rewire the power.



And there we go.



The red light looks pretty spooky. There's a bit to investigate here.

(Interaction - Pipe) (Struggles to pull it.) It's too heavy.
(Interaction - Vent) (Pulls the vent out.) I can't fit in there.
(Interaction - Doorway) It seems to be locked from the other side.



Well, the door blocked by the pipe will need to be accessed with Barry's help, I think. Talking with Cody gives us the option to ask him to enter the vent, though. Use your size to our mutual advantage, young one!

Hey Cody. Do you think you could crawl through that vent over there?
Huh? Why?
Because this door is locked. Maybe there's a way to open it from inside.
(Walks to the vent.) Okay, just wait here. I'll open it.



There is nothing here, though. Just some office stuff.
Thanks, Cody.



Of course, we enter it straight away. There's a photocopier with a stack of papers, a PC, and a floppy disk.

(Interaction - PC) It's not powered. Or it's broken. Or both.
(Interaction - Photocopier) It's not operational.

Photocopier document (0 kg).






That's the creature we saw in our dream! Is this some sort of guardian of dreams or something? Why did it try to chase us down in our dream, whereas with this witness, it just stood there? Weird.

(Interaction - Floppy disk) A floppy disk labeled "PHASE CTRL LITE". I have no idea what it is... yet, I feel it's really important. I definitely don't want to leave this thing behind...

A floppy disk labeled "PHASE CTRL LITE" (0 kg). No idea why, but I feel like I've seen this thing before. It feels so important. I should keep it no matter what.

I absolutely must not misplace this. I feel that this is crucial to our escape.



The only way down the elevator seems to be using the firehose. Let's break the glass and use it.






If we can't get the power running to the elevator, this is our only real option.




(Interaction - Either collapsed doorway) It's completely collapsed. I can't do much about it.
(Interaction - Lab door) It's locked. I need a key to open this door.

Two hallways, but only Lab 13 is accessible. Well, not quite just yet, of course. We'll have to find the key.



And here's where the "R" fell. If Cody had fallen down, he'd probably be dead by now. Thank goodness we got him up safely.

(Interaction - Reception desk) Nothing useful here.
(Interaction - Sidereal Plexus logo) What exactly were you doing, Sidereal? What was your game?
(Interaction - Main door) There is a dune of sand on the other side of that door. I'd better find another exit.




One more useless hallway, and a door. Where does it lead?



Sweet sunlight once again. Let's get out of this death trap.



Cate told me what happened. If you hadn't warned me to stay... How did you know...? Dreams?
Yes. Dreams. There might still be something worth checking out in that building. I think it's safe to go together now, Barry.
If you say it's important...
But first... Cate.
David. You've got the location?
Yeah. I've found a map. Thanks for your concern.
Why? You're fine. Show me it.
Take a look. The launchpad is here in the mountains. We can go right away.
What about your dream? The bandits, raiders.
What about them? If we get to the launchpad fast, they won't be our problem.
I... don't know, David. You HAD that dream. It might mean we won't escape them just like that. If the ship is still there it might require a lot of work before it takes off. If those thugs follow us there... No, they can't find out about the ship. We have to deal with them first. We have to stay one more night.
You realize you're putting our lives at risk? They have guns.
We CAN'T lead them to that ship.

Hooray, Barry! Thanks for listening to us. As much as I'd like for us all to get out of here safely, though, I agree with Cate. If the bandits even happen to get a glimpse of us going to the outpost, we'll be losing our only way off this rock.



But that's not all we can get out of Cate... Now that we have explored the area, we can ask her more about the place, what to do today, and about her real name. Let's start with your thoughts "about this place."

So, what do you think of this place?
I was expecting something more, to tell you the truth. I heard so many things about this place, but I never made it here myself. Until now of course.
It was once a huge city.
The bigger they are...

I wouldn't want to live here either. What "about today," any advice for your amateur gunslinger?

Any ideas for today?
The best defense is a good offense.
What?!
Don't "what" me. If we want to have any chance, we need to go to their camp and do as much as possible to stop them. A little sabotage won't hurt. Actually... maybe it will. It will hurt them. But that's the point. Just make sure we don't get spotted. We wouldn't stand a chance in an open fight like that.

Not to worry, Cate. David's played plenty of Metal Gear on his MSX2. He can be just as stealthy as Solid Snake! Now that we're done messing about with spy stuff, "Catherine Mayweather," maybe you can be honest about your identity.

Mayweather. Catherine Mayweather.
Huh?
Is that your name?
Why do you ask?
I've seen it in one of the documents. You worked for Sidereal, didn't you?
...Briefly. I didn't even know where this office was before the dream I just had. And I definitely wasn't important enough to earn my place on the lifeboat, it appears.



More options appear. "Why hide it," Cate?

Why hide it? Why conceal that information?
Isn't it obvious, David? Sidereal caused it. All of it.
The Moon...?
Yes. And... more than that. I wasn't directly involved. But you can imagine I don't want to be shot in the face by a stranger for mentioning that my employer has accidentally destroyed the world.

David wouldn't hurt you, Cate. Just judge you silently. "What else are you hiding" from us?

What else are you hiding?
Nothing. Jeez, David.
I'm sorry, but I think you know more than you say. That turned out to be truth in the past... and I think it's still the case.
Alright. You don't have to trust me if you don't want to. Just help me get to that ship.

I don't know, Cate. "The ship is gone" by now, right?

So from the documents I've found it seems people from this office were evacuated to the launchpad. Wouldn't that mean the ship is long gone?
It's not gone.
How do you know?
Dreams, David. I also keep having them.

Your dream was as accurate as mine, but "where do those dreams come from?" Maggie wasn't very forthcoming about that part.

Where do you think those dreams come from? How is it even possible?
I believe those are visions... sent by someone.
I'd think you're crazy if I didn't have the same thoughts myself...
Maybe we're both crazy then.
Well, that's always possible.

Could the visions be sent by our other selves? The visitor who tried to touch us in our dream certainly wasn't very happy with our little mind-hopping.



Cody also has something to say "about today," don't you, youngster?

What is it, Cody?
You said there are bandits. Can't we just talk to them?
They are bad people, Cody. They won't listen.
I chatted with you yesterday even though you could have been evil...
I wish it was that simple.
Maybe with some of them...?
Cody...

As much as I'd like to try Cody's advice, I'm pretty sure it would lead to us getting shot, and something even worse for Cody, like getting eaten or something.



Our big man also has some stuff to say "about today."

Are you worried about tonight?
A little. I mean, we are clearly outnumbered. They probably know how to use weapons.
I'm quite good with those as well!
At least one of us is. It won't be enough to defend our hideout. We need to do our best fortifying this place.

I'm assuming he means our safehouse, but we'll discuss defenses later. For now, we have to head back up to the door with the pipe.





Now that we're indoors, we can ask Barry about the office, as well as to move the pipe. First, Barry, your thoughts "about this place?"

What do you think of this office?
I hate it. I used to hate offices of all kinds. Now I have one more reason to do so.
Yeah... I don't like it either.

Enough chatter. "Can you help me with this pipe," my good man?

Hey, Barry. Could you help me with something?
What is it?
This pipe over there is blocking the way. But it's too heavy for me to push.
Sure. Let's try together.



You're welcome.



Before we go in, Cate also has something to say "about this place."

This place is terrifying. And dangerous.
Oh, come on...
I mean it. Remember what happened on the roof?
Let's not stay here any longer, then. How about that? We have things to do.

That's fair. Let's head into that other room now...



Another office with a collapsed wall, but with some shiny stuff to grab. There's a stack of papers in the fax machine, and another floppy disk...

(Interaction - PC) It's not powered. Or it's broken. Or both.
(Interaction - Fax machine) The fax machine is not operational.

Confidential document (0 kg).





Gee, glad to know our entire world is "expendable" just because the Sidereal Plexus branch here is inferior to whatever other worlds they have been to.

(Interaction - Floppy disk) A floppy disk labeled "MEM BOOST". I have a strange feeling like... déjà-vu? Like... it's really important for some reason. I think I should keep that disk.

A floppy disk labeled "MEM BOOST" (0 kg). Why does this feel so familiar and important at the same time? Why? I'd better carry it with me. Who knows when I might need it?

Between this blue floppy and the red one, we have a pair of extremely important items to never lose possession of. I think that's all we can get from this office for now, so let's head back and explore the area.



Before we go, I combine the silencer with the rifle again, but Cate doesn't even offer to help! Fine, we'll do it ourselves.

09:52 am: I added a silencer to my rifle. This might prove useful.

A silenced rifle (5.5 kg). A silenced rifle. It has 6 bullets.

Not giving away your position in a firefight is very important. Now, onward!



We have found the location of the lodge and the outpost. The question now is, where do we go from here? I personally want to look around for the bandit camp first and scout them out, but there are plenty of other places to go, too!

I've been enjoying reading through this.
Though I found myself skimming once the second part started - the same reason I can't read the same book twice.

I think the lodge is a good place to go, there's hunting stuff there.
I don't know where we could look for the bandit camp though, what if they were at the lodge?
Do we have clues?

There is goon participation in this entry!

The votes for this update favored visiting the lodge for a spot of ransacking and arming ourselves. We'll be looking for the bandits later.



It will be a bit of a drive from the office complex to the lodge, but that's nothing for Communism. It's built and designed for the long haul.



Covering Ground

This lodge looks pretty sturdy and survived the ravages of the apocalypse, unlike Barry's home. Let's chat with the gang about this place.

So, what do you think of this place?
It's not that great. Could be easily compromised. Door is gone. Even if we secure the windows, it would still be easy to get inside.
Do you always have to give me those tactical explanations?
What else do you want from me? I never say how I feel. Not even to my therapist.

What's wrong, Cody?
I don't like this place. The trees here look scary. I think I saw a monster over there.
Monsters don't exist. You don't have to worry about that.
I still don't like it. I always wanted to have a cat, but we couldn't have animals in the orphanage. We had a hamster once... but the other boys didn't take care of it. People here didn't seem to care for animals either.
There's always a reason behind everything...

What do you think of this place?
I don't have any opinion about it. I know people from the city used to come to this area for hunting season. Everyone has some kind of hobby. That wasn't mine. I hit a deer once while driving. Maggie shouted at me for the rest of the day. I think she was more worried about the deer, though.

I've heard stories of deer surviving getting hit dead-on while wrecking the car that hit them. They're pretty sturdy creatures. Let's check out the back before we go inside, just in case.



Looks like the locusts, or whatever surviving wildlife is around the place, ate a trapped boar here. Its carcass is still buzzing with flies, as whatever wasn't eaten is rotting. There are two bear traps we can make use of, so I'll be taking those. I'm sure they'd work about as well on a human as they would on a giant spider. Huh, that's an odd comparison to make.

A bear trap (5 kg). It looks dangerous.

(Interaction - Animal carcass) It's crawling with maggots. I think I'm gonna throw up.
Aww. Should I hold your hand?
God damn it, Cate. This is sickening.
I agree with David. The smell is revolting.
Yuck!!! It smells like, I don't know, worse than anything.
Alright, it stinks like hell. I'll give you that.



I wonder if this isn't a bit of a trap choice that will make us stink and give away our position when we go spying on the bandits, but until now the game hasn't done anything like that. I'll take the risk and move the carcass so we can get a third bear trap for our home defenses.

Now I smell no better than that dead boar.

That line doesn't reassure me, but nobody else is making any comments about my new fragrance. Let's take the third bear trap, dump the lot in Communism's trunk, and then head inside the lodge proper.



This place is pretty well-maintained and organized. I bet there's lots of useful stuff the hobbyist hunters stashed away here. Time to poke around a bit for those guns.

(Interaction - Painting) The painting depicts a wolf or a large dog on a snowy hill. There is a human settlement in the distance. Night is dark and the sky seems hazy. I think I've seen this picture somewhere before...
(Interaction - Fireplace) The fireplace is empty, with a thick layer of ash on its walls and floor. It smells like burnt wood.
(Interaction - Couch) No time to sit down now.
(Interaction - Scratches) There are some visible scratches on the floor as if something was pushed back and forth repeatedly.
(Interaction - Deer trophy) One of the antlers is skewed. I can't reach it.
(Item - Crowbar on deer trophy) This seems long enough to be able to push the antler. There was a loud click somewhere in the room...



Ah hah! There's a metal safe on the floor here, and it's unlocked thanks to the antler trick. What's inside?

(Interaction - Floor safe) There was a revolver in the safe. There is still something there. There was a box of rifle ammo in the safe. There is one more box inside. There was a box of revolver ammo in the safe. The safe is empty.

A revolver (2 kg). A small handgun with a 6-cartridge cylinder. It's not loaded.
A box of rifle rounds (1 kg). A box full of rifle ammunition.
A box of revolver rounds (1 kg). A box full of revolver ammunition.

A revolver (2 kg). A small handgun with a 6-cartridge cylinder. It's fully loaded with 6 bullets.

Cate's our handgun expert, so maybe she should carry this gun as well as her pistol.

You might need this.
Thanks. I already have a gun. Remember?
Right.

You may have a gun, Cate, but do you have enough bullets for it? We're facing god knows how many bandits, so having a spare gun and ammo in case you run out or your pistol jams would be useful. Well, what about Cody? Hey Cody, you wanna hold a loaded gun and shoot at bad guys?

Tell me if I'm wrong, but are you about to give Cody a revolver?
That was the plan.
Whaaat?
I'm not sure if this is responsible behavior.
I want a gun!
He has to be able to defend himself, Cate.
Yeah... But can he actually even use it?
I know where the trigger is. I've seen enough action movies!
That's not really enough to be able to defend yourself, Cody. But I'll teach you. Do you still have that can I gave you at the restaurant?
Umm... yes. But it's empty. I ate it.
That's okay. All we need is an empty can. We will use it for target practice. Put it over there and come back here.



Um, let's not do this just yet. I was kind of kidding about the whole "give Cody a gun" thing, David. But what if we were to offer Cody the silenced rifle?

(Item - Silenced rifle on Cody) Uh, no. Defending is one thing, but firing that gun would tear off his thin arms. Maybe if I find some other, smaller weapon...

We're going to hold off on actually giving Cody a gun for now. Maybe Barry is a better option for the revolver? Can we give him the rifle?

(Item - Silenced rifle on Barry) I think I need it more than he does. Maybe if I find some other weapon...

I'm sure that Barry would take the revolver and its ammo if necessary. While I believe he is obviously a better option than Cody for, you know, actually aiming and being able to control his shooting without dislocating his shoulders, I'll hold on to the revolver and leave it to you fine folks reading this to decide who gets it.



The pantry at the back of the lodge has more stuff to grab. There's a fourth bear trap, a bottle of whiskey... and a rifle scope, score!

(Interaction - Broken window) I can see the back of the lodge from here.
(Interaction - Electric socket) The socket won't solve any of my problems without anything to plug in.

A rifle scope (0.5 kg). It could be installed on a rifle, making it more accurate.



Yes, please! We'll be modding this baby and make it the finest weapon in the wasteland by using our Weaponsmithing skill, just like Angela Deth and the Desert Rangers. We'll need a name for our new firearm!

A silenced sniper rifle (6 kg). A silenced sniper rifle. It has 6 bullets.

11:30 am: I added a scope and a silencer to my rifle, making it more accurate and silent.

A bottle of whiskey (2.5 kg). A big bottle of strong whiskey.

I like guns, and I like drinking. I like drinking even more when we make a gun tacticool. Cate, Cody, Barry, y'all want a sip of ol' Jack Daniel's?

Maybe some other time. I need to keep my mind focused. But to tell the truth, I wouldn't mind a glass of wine.

Wow. Really? Can I?
David, you shouldn't...
Aww...

No, thank you. I stopped drinking some time ago. Maggie said it would be better for my health.

Fine, I'm sure I'll be able to find some other use for this...



That's all the lodge had to offer, so I'm going to head back to our place and drop off our loot.



We filled up our storage container with every sort of knick-knack and item we could grab. I took out the metal bars and nails and laid them on the ground on the assumption that if we are to make our stand at our home, we'll need to reinforce the windows. Of course, we could always just cover up the windows with rolls of plastic wrap. That can stop a grown man from breaking in, or preventing a thrown projectile from going through the window, right?



I left our cricket pal in the back of Communism to take out the wad of cash as we go on the hunt for bandits and explore other locations. Maybe it will come in handy if we have to bribe a sentry or guard, not that it's worth anything now. I'll investigate the roadblock to the east first, just in case we can find anything of use before heading west again.



A waste of gas and time. Nothing here. Time to head back west towards the gas station, see if we can't refuel.










Alone

Oh. We just stumbled on two of the bandits discussing the plan to kill us all. What if we just ran around the corner and put an end to this right now?

(Interaction - Gas station parking lot) I'd rather not go there blindly. We could take a peek safely from the inside of the shop.

David really isn't an idiot like I wanted him to be. Good for him! Let's do as he says and sneak around inside the shop.



This is not as stealthy as I was expecting, but the bandits outside seem to be too busy arguing to notice us.




We need their supplies so we're gonna take 'em. And their crib is totally dope. Amazing defensive spot for us to use.
My point exactly. It's gonna be a good defensive spot for us. It IS a good defensive spot for them.
Don't crack me up. We've been watching them for some time now. It's just two dudes, a chick, and a freakin' brat. One triflin' happy family plus a blazed uncle. And there's freakin' twenty of us, including your army boy-scouts.
...yeah, I guess you're right.
Damn right I am. I want your men to be ready at dusk. I've welcomed you in the gang but it's time to start paying off, Sarge.
...yeah.
Alrighty, we're heading back to the construction site to tell the boys the plan.
Hmmm... I think I know what construction site he is talking about... I've seen one back on the helicopter. I'll mark it on your map. Maybe we'll pay them a visit later.
You comin'?
Yeah, I'll just finish getting that fuel and take another look at the gas station shop.
Okay. Catch ya later.



11:54 am: We overheard the thugs' leader talking to one of his men. Their hideout is located in a nearby construction site.

We heard the plan. These freaks want to kill us come nighttime, and there are twenty bandits to face, which certainly gives them an advantage against our group of four, even if we have the high ground and a good defensive position. This guy Sarge, who is very familiar for some reason, is busy with his own gas can and has his back to us. Hmm... What if we just took care of one bandit here and now with our new silenced sniper rifle?



...That is an option we have, if we don't want to risk showing our face and talking to him first. But maybe we could trust in our diplomatic skills to convince him to pull back his men or desert the gang so we face fewer attackers?

There are a few votes to consider today. First, do we shoot Sarge, and if not, do we talk to him? I'd rather we not shoot him, and talk to him instead. Second, who do we give the revolver to, Cody or Barry? I think Barry is a more prudent and much safer choice: he probably won't accidentally shoot himself or us, he will likely be a better shooter, and we won't need to spend a whole hour teaching him how to properly fire a gun. Third, what name do we give our newest best friend, the silenced sniper rifle? I have no suggestions of my own, and leave the naming entirely to you!

Don't shoot Sarge! While this isn't such a lovely place, he's got such a lovely face.
And well, he doesn't seem to be 100% on board with the jerks.

Undoubtedly, give the damn revolver to Barry. Never trust a kid with a gun.

I say we name the rifle "Kathy", after the wonderful Kathy Bates.
I don't have a joke for that though.

Does Barry know how to shoot at all? If not let's get some bonding time in with Cody and teach him to shoot. David is totally responsible and this won't backfire, of course.

What clearcardinal said. And don't shoot Sarge.

Almost everyone knew giving kids a loaded gun was a bad idea, so Barry will be getting the revolver. We also will not shoot Sarge but we will talk to him to see what he has to say. Our silenced sniper rifle has also been renamed to Capitalism. It is deadly, cumbersome, and should not exist, yet everyone listens to whoever holds its power.



Alone

Sarge still seems to be busy with the gas tank. This is a good a time as any to give Barry the revolver, just in case Sarge starts blasting.

Take this.
A gun.
You know how to use it?
Yeah, it's just... I'd rather NOT have to use it.
I know. Me neither. But sometimes life doesn't leave you any other option.
Thanks, David. I'll use it if everything else fails.

11:54 am: I gave a revolver to Barry so he can defend himself, if needed.

I also try giving Barry the box of revolver ammunition, but David refuses to do so. I have no idea why; maybe this ammo won't be necessary for the bandit raid? Well, whatever. Time to go see Sarge.



I might need your help in case there's trouble.
I hope you know what you're doing.



And it'd better be a damn good reason.



Well, Sarge certainly is jumpy. We have three possible reasons to give him. From left to right, "I could have killed you," "my friend has an aim on you," and "I want to negotiate." I want to tell him the truth, that we could have killed him with the raw unfettered power of Capitalism, but chose not to. I want to show each answer, so let's start with the comment that Cate has a bead on Sarge, then negotiate, then the killing comment.

I'm not alone. My friend aims at you as we speak from the building over there...
Hello, sir. Please lower your gun.
Heh. Nicely played. Yet, I think you'd have killed me already if you didn't want something first.



Investigation

I just want to talk.
You want to talk. Sure. I can do that. Since I've lowered my gun, can you tell your friend to stand down, as well?
I'll stand down when I feel like it.
Alright, so...

* * *

I've come to bargain. I want to negotiate peace... before a war breaks out between our groups.
A war? Listen son, I don't know what world you live in, but it's not going to be a war.



Investigation

You have nothing to give us that we can't take by force... or can you prove me wrong? I'm listening.

* * *

I saw you talking with the rest of your gang. Then you turned your back to me, and I could have killed you easily.
But you didn't. What exact advantage does that currently give you?
What I mean is...



Investigation

Hahahah. Civilized talk. Look around you, son. How much of a civilization do you see 'round yerself, huh?
...
Exactly. I tell you what, your attitude amuses me. We can talk.



No matter what answer we give, Sarge is wiling to talk. David is one silver-tongued smooth talker. We can ask this man if he is a sergeant and who the motorbike guy is. Let's open dialogue by asking this military man, "are you a Sergeant?"

People that were with you called you Sarge. Are you really a Sergeant?
Hah. I used to be. Sergeant First Class to be specific. But that doesn't matter anymore. It's in the past. My nickname is all I have from that life.



A new option appears to ask Sarge about his squad, so let's press him about that.

That guy on a bike mentioned something about "your men." Is it your squad?
Jesus, you've been listening to all that? Yeah it's my squad alright. Or what's left of it. Four men. They still take orders from me, even if we're not soldiers anymore.

Sounds like a loyal group of companions, much like our own. But the leather thug isn't, huh? "Who is the motorbike guy," Sarge?

Who is the guy you talked to?
They call him Razor. He is the leader of the gang. And technically my boss. Also a guy that will most likely kill you. I would avoid him at all cost if I were you.



The obvious question arises. "Why do you work for Razor?"

So... why did you join him?
Are you kidding me? As if we had a choice. We were alone... me and what was left of my squad. There is no more army. No HQ, no government. We had nowhere to go. No supplies, no food, no shelter. Razor took us in... in exchange for our muscles. Even if I'm not proud of it.

We don't seem to have much else to discuss here. This is "goodbye" for now, Sarge.

So... that's all for now, I think.
For now? Aren't we shooting each other next?
I was hoping that could be avoided.
Just go away and I'll pretend I haven't seen you, okay?



I'm assuming there must be a way we can avoid fighting Sarge and his four men. If we could convince them to remember their oaths, or somehow betray Razor, we could cut the raiding party from twenty men to fifteen... or perhaps even convince them to join us in defending the hideout? But that could also backfire, as we'd be bringing in a Trojan horse. Maybe we can convince him by giving him our only weapon, or showing him some other goodies...?

(Item - Silenced sniper rifle on Sarge) He's a military man. I'd be dead before I even pull the trigger. If I really want to shoot him, I'd better go into the gas station so he doesn't see me...
(Item - Bottle of whiskey on Sarge) I don't drink... not on duty, at least. I know some guys at the camp who would love to get smashed, though. Anyway, just take this away.
(Item - ID card on Sarge) Sure, I could pretend to be a member of a corporation that has destroyed the world, but I don't really want to.

Well, it seems safe to walk here now, so let's meet up with the others and bring them over. Perhaps they have something to say or do? And what they think "about Sarge," anyway?

What? Why are you looking at me like that?
I'm just wondering why you let that guy live. It would be easier to deal with them one by one.
I'm not some cold blooded murderer...
You realize that we are living in times when it's us or them, right? It's not some fairy tale with a happy ending. Stop acting like a child, David. Grow up.

Hmm...
Are you worried about something?
No. I'm fine. Well... yeah. Maybe a little.
If it's about that soldier, you don't have to be worried. He looked like a good guy. I'm pretty sure I can recognize a villain. I read a lot of comic books.
Good to have a specialist in the field.

Do you think we made a mistake?
Why? Of course not. We'd be no better than those thugs if we started killing everyone we see. There must be another way. We are not animals.
Yeah, you're right. I just hope we don't regret that decision.
Stick to what you believe, David. No matter what. Maggie always said that. Your action describes who you are. And you are a good guy.

Well, two out of three of our companions agree sparing Sarge was a good idea... and Sarge seems to be struggling with that fuel valve quite a bit, as he's trying to open it only with his hands. Why not offer him help with our handy-dandy wrench?

(Item - Wrench on Sarge) (Sarge stands up.) Need some help?
No.
Come on, you'll never open this valve with your bare hands.
Why do you even help me?
Because I feel it's the right thing to do.
... (The screen fades out with the sound of fuel pouring into a container, then it fades back in.) Thanks.



Exploration

Cool, let's grab that fuel and-

(Interaction - Blue gas canister) Don't touch that. I'll need that fuel.

Okay, fine, it's yours. Let's chat instead, shall we?

You again.



We have unlocked more conversation topics with Sarge now that we've helped him with his task. We can remind him of our help, chat about the moon, and reveal that we have a spaceship. Let's begin by mentioning how good our "help" was to him.

Got enough fuel?
Yeah. Thanks for your help, I guess.
No problem. I guess this is how it should be. We don't have to fight, you know. There is no need for violence. We can all live in peace.
Can we? I'm not sure.



Another choice of options. We can mention that we a kid to protect, ask him to just let us go, or remind him that he was a soldier. Let's use Cody as our shield! "We have to protect the kid," Sarge!

There is a kid with me. Cody. He's ten, or something. He doesn't have to go through this.
Oh but he does. He very much HAS to go through this. We ALL go through this. Nobody ever asks us. I had a son, you know? Do you think anyone asked me for an opinion when a panicking crowd trampled my poor boy into a mashed sack of broken bones?
I... I am so sorry...
Yeah, I was sorry, too. I was supposed to protect those people when they tried to evacuate. And I couldn't even protect my boy. So, no. The fact you have a kid on your happy team doesn't give you a golden ticket of mercy. Not from me, at least.



We can try again by choosing "help," so we won't give up here.

I still think there's gotta be another way. We don't have to kill each other.
I doubt that.

Okay, how about we just drop to our knees and beg for mercy? "Just let us go" and we'll be out of your hair, Sarge.

Just let us go. We will leave the house, if you want it so much. Nobody has to die.
You and I both know this is not going to happen. You can leave, but Razor will follow you and hunt you down. Because you're more than just an obstacle for him; you are his prey.

That didn't work either. How about reminding him of his military background? "You were a soldier," Sarge. Surely in this post-apocalyptic hellhole, duty still counts for something?

You were a soldier. A man of honor. I can't believe someone like you would sign up for a slaughter of innocent people.
The times have changed, son. I have changed. Nothing is as it used to be. Honor won't feed you. It won't give you a shelter. The times have changed and so did we, to survive.



Progress! We can tell him we are no threat to him, or get tough and tell him to act like a soldier. Let's try the meek route first. "We are no threat to you," Sarge.

We pose no threat. You don't have to kill us to survive.
As long as you live, you are a threat to Razor. He won't let you just walk out of this. He will follow you and hunt you down. Because you're more than just an obstacle for him; you are his prey.
I'm not talking about Razor. I'm talking about you.
I... I do what I can to survive.

Okay, acting weak didn't work. Time to salute the troops and tell him to "act like a soldier!"

This is not how soldiers act. This is not who you are.
I told you. I'm no longer a soldier. This is who I am now.

It looks like there's nothing we can do to convince him for now, but the "help" dialogue isn't greyed out yet, so there's got to be something we can do or discover to convince Sarge to back off. For now, let's discuss something else. Like "the Moon," which is looking mighty big these days.

The Moon is falling on our heads.
Yeah? Wow, I didn't notice. Maybe I was too busy trying to look after myself and my squad, because the DAMN MOON EXPLODED AND IS FALLING ON US.
What I meant was... It is going to crash into Earth. Like, really soon.
Good.
Good?
It's all gonna end. It has to. This whole nightmare. Let me tell you a story, okay?
Sure...
Our squad was helping with evacuation. We were on a chopper, hovering above a football stadium where people had gathered. We were picking up the wounded to get them to safety. Suddenly, BAM! Another earthquake started and everything went to hell. Literally. The ground split open, bursting out red flames. Do you know The Bible?
I'm not an expert.
I wasn't a religious man either. But after seeing all this... After seeing a whole stadium of people being swallowed by Hell itself in one chomp? It was then that I realized. There is no hope. Nothing is going to end well. This is judgment day. The final chapter of mankind.

Well, "we have a spaceship" you could escape into, Sarge.

We have... we might have a clue to where to find a spaceship.
Yeah? What'd you need that for?
To... to escape.
To escape? You're out of your mind. Where would you escape?
Well, there's a space station. Supposedly.
Son, I understand you want to survive at all cost. But this is being delusional. The entire world is dead. This isn't something you just escape from. You can't. There is nowhere to go. There is no magical kingdom, no wonderful utopia waiting for survivors. No space station will save you. Don't let anyone fool you like that.

That got grim and depressing faster than talking with Cate about... well, anything. Actually, now that we've discussed the Moon's apocalyptic fall and Sarge's past, maybe we can convince him to do one last act of goodness before we all die?



Ah. After going through the "you were a soldier" reason again, we got a new option. Sarge, it's "time to rethink your life."

The times are not just changing. The times are coming to an end. These are the final days, can't you see? It will all be over soon.
Maybe. Yet we still bother. We're not all putting bullets to our heads. We still fight to survive.
Yes. We're still trying to survive, against all odds. Still, we're most likely all going to die. Our time is running out. And here we are. Standing in the wasteland, with our hands close to our guns. Preparing to fight like a bunch of idiots.
What do you suggest we do, then?



Another option. We can ask Sarge to "let us go," or to tell him, "you should go." I think the latter option is the correct one, but why not appeal to mercy one more time? "Let us go," Sarge!

Let us go. The house is yours. With all the supplies.
If it was that simple, I would let you go. Believe me, I would. But it's NOT that simple. You can leave, but Razor will follow you and hunt you down. Because you're more than just an obstacle for him; you are his prey.

Yeah, we heard that one before, Razor's a sadistic murderer. Okay, "you should go" instead, buddy.

Sarge. Take your men and leave.
What?! Are you kidding?



Once again, a new option. We can ask him to "be a decent man," or point out that, Sarge, "you don't like working for Razor." Why not appeal to his better nature?

I'm serious. Spend those last days decently. In peace. Without spilling innocent blood for nothing.
But... if we're all going to die, what's the difference? Nothing should matter.



We're almost there. We can tell him that "people will remember you as a good man," or that "it's a difference for your squad." The clear answer here is to mention his squad, but why not try to promote history when there won't be any in a couple of days?

People will remember you as a good man.
What people? We're all going to die. There will be nobody to remember us. No witnesses. I think we should take all the advantage we can get while we are still here.

Yeah, that was a clear dud. On to the right answer!

It's a difference for your squad... and for yourself. For your conscience. As we live we often make mistakes. We lose our paths. Then find them again. Then lose them again. But in the end we should at least be able to say that we tried. That we lived a good life. As a good person. Or we can spend our last moments remembering the faces of people we hurt.
You're right. There is no point in denying it. I'll talk to my squad. We'll change our ways while we still can.

* * *

Alternatively, we can be blunt and tell him Razor sucks.

You don't respect Razor. You don't like him. You only work for him because your squad is counting on you. But this is not the right way. And deep down, you know I'm right.
...
Razor won't save you from the end. The question is, what kind of man are you going to be when the end comes? What do you want to see in the eyes of your squad?
You're right. There is no point in denying it. I'll talk to my squad. We'll change our ways while we still can.

Either path leads to us convincing Sarge to back out of the raid. Thank you, Sarge! "Goodbye" again, and we wish you well.

I guess this is goodbye then. I'll take my squad and leave right before dusk. Make no mistake... Razor will still try to get you. So you'll have to deal with the rest of his men.
How many people will he have?
Without us he is down to fifteen. Still, that's a hell of a lot more than you have. Good luck, son. You'll need it.
Hey, Sarge...
Hmmm?
Thanks. Good luck out there in the wasteland.



And with the roar of the motorcycle racing away, we are left only with our party. What do they have to say about Sarge now?

Maybe there is a happy ending after all.
Maybe there is. Who knows?

So, the Sarge...
I knew he wasn't a villain!
You were right, Cody. He wasn't a villain.
Just like last time. He was a good guy.
What do you mean "last time?"
The last time we met him!
Cody, we've never met him... Wait, I'm confused.
Uh, me too. Thinking about it makes me dizzy...!

That went better than I expected.
He seemed reasonable. He didn't want to do us any harm. Even if we have to deal with the rest... it's still a few saved lives.
For now...
What happens next doesn't depend on us. We did all we could.

Cody's weird comment aside, everyone agrees we did a good job in talking to Sarge. We reduced the enemy's force by a quarter thanks to our words, but Sarge did warn us Razor and the rest of his gang won't be so upstanding.




As we load up the car and prepare to drive over to the construction site, our companions have a bit of a chat with each other.

Let me know if you need my help with anything, okay?
We know that, Barry.
Just wanted to make it clear. Because I'm really grateful for what you did for me. If it wasn't for you...
Don't you even start this kind of talk with me...
I was referring mostly to David anyway.

Huh. I just had deja vu.
What! Why didn't you share it with me! I'm so hungry!
Err... deja vu, Cody. What do you think it is?
Sounds like a dessert. A French one.
No... It's a feeling you get when you feel something that has already happened.
I feel deja vu all the time then.
Really?
Yeah. I'm hungry all the time. Just like yesterday.
Cody... uh... never mind.
And the day before. Oh boy, what deja vu!

Next time, we'll do a bit of reconnaissance and sabotage at the raider camp!

Ooh, interesting. It's nice to see how we iterate towards things working really well.

The thugs' base is the construction site. There is no soundtrack here, and the only ambient sound is the wind blowing and metal creaking. From where we're standing we can go to straight to the site itself, or hang right to enter a construction equipment parking lot. I do see some sentries marching around the perimeter wall, so going forward would be a bad idea. First, let's talk to our group about the place.

Any thoughts, Cate?
We've gotta be really careful. This place seems to be swarming with those guys.

Are you okay, Cody?
I'm a bit scared of those bad people...

What do you think, Barry?
I think we should leave before they see us.

Sorry, Barry, but Cate had the right idea this time around. We'll need to use all of our stealth and subterfuge to weaken the raiders before they attack us. That being said, let's Leeroy Jenkins through the front door!

The entrance is guarded...
Who would have thought?
Well, going there would be suicide.

David continues to be a smart protagonist. Let's go into the parking lot instead and check out the perimeter.

I could sneak through there. Maybe they won't notice me... Guys, you better stay here.
Are you sure this is a good idea?
No, but it might work. Maybe there is a back door somewhere there.
Alright. Even if you sneak past guards... Even if you find a way in... What exactly do you intend to do? You're not exactly a "special task forces" type.
I'm just gonna look around. Maybe I'll find something useful.
Don't get yourself shot.
See? She does care about you after all.
Shut up.
Please be careful, okay?
I promise I'll be back soon.



We already have our first obstacle. There's a dangerous-looking thug keeping watch, so we can't head right without alerting him. There's a rotting animal corpse, maybe a cat, which is full of maggots and being pecked at by a crow. Let's see what we can do here.

(Interaction - Fence shelf) This piece of fence is flat like a plate, but that won't help me get to the other side.

What's wrong with just walking forward into this guard's line of sight?



Oh, right, that would happen. Then let's rethink our approach. Maybe we can use that corpse somehow?



With an indignant caw, the crow flies off and leaves the carrion to us. We pick up a maggot to use, but it doesn't seem like it can do much. Let's fling it at the guard!

(Interaction - Maggot on thug) That maggot could be used to distract the guard, but not directly. Maggots don't randomly fall from the sky. It would just make him more alert, if anything...

Okay, so let's try using the maggot on the fence shelf.



Our crow buddy gives us the distraction we need, cawing loudly and startling the guard. We didn't take the chance to run, but we have plenty of maggots to bait the big black bird over. Let's do it again and book it to the right entrance I spied!



Perfect. Sam Fisher would be proud, David.



We're in the storage area of the raiding camp, it seems. There are a couple of ammo boxes and food supplies here.

(Attempting to move towards the thugs.) I don't think getting near those guys is a good idea.

Alright, let's investigate that ammo.



It's a bit upsetting to think all these bullets will be flying in my general direction a few hours from now.

(Interaction - Food supplies) I've taken some food.

A bag of food (0.7 kg). I took it from the thugs' camp at the construction site. It's just some wheat, but damn, it's better than nothing.

(Interaction - Food supplies) I've already taken some food. I don't want them to notice.
(Item - Bottle of rat poison on bag of food) It's my food. Why would I poison it?

A plan is forming in my head. We could poison the food supplies with our rat poison and make many of the ammo rounds useless by pouring some kitchen oil all over them. It does say to keep the bullets away from fire, too...

(Item - Kitchen oil on ammo boxes) The boxes contain a lot of different kinds of bullets. Both are far too heavy or clunky to move. (Kneels down and pours oil.) I've poured a lot of oil into the box. At least some of the bullets should fail when fired.
(Item - Bottle of whiskey on food supplies) (Kneels down and places the bottle of whiskey next to the food boxes.) You've gotta down that food with something, right? I hope some of those thugs have weak heads.



Oh, now we're developing a conscience? I guess I'll leave this up to the thread... Should we poison the thugs? That's all we can do here, except maybe somehow light all the bullets on fire with our flamethrower, but that would cause a massive explosion. Let's try it later, for the hell of it!



The thug on guard duty is very politely checking his gun and looking away from his assigned area. We can just run past him... or eliminate him with Capitalism, our silenced sniper rifle. Let's just run past him for now and rejoin our friends. We'll no-alarm pacifist this visit, but if we end up returning, I'll leave it up to you all if this guy gets a bullet in the brain, courtesy of the invisible hand of the free market, before his buddies attack us.



We're back safe and sound. The bag of food we snuck away will help poor Cody with his hunger pangs, but first let's pass it around to Cate and Barry and see if anyone else is hungry.

You'd better give that to Cody. He's so skinny.
I'm not! Wait, what's this? Can I have it...?
Ha ha, sure, little buddy. David, give him some!

It's your lucky day, kid. Enjoy a bit of dry wheat. It's simple fare, but calories are calories, and a growing boy like you needs them.

Are you hungry, Cody?
YES! Thank you!



Inside

After feeding Cody, I drove back to the house for an assessment of our defenses. The windows are busted, but we could barricade them, lock the doors, and deploy some bear traps, too. I believe our best option is to barricade the windows with metal bars, reinforcing them with nails and tape, and set up bear traps outside the house at the entry points. Other than that, we could return to the bandit camp and poison their rations, as well as silently take out at least one sentry. What else could be done today?

So, again, there are three votes for this brief but important entry. First, do we poison the raiders' food supply? I know David isn't a murderer, but this is life or death and we can't reason with the bandits. Besides, we'll be gunning them down anyway, so what difference does their exit from this world matter? I say we poison the lot of them and shoot the survivors when they come for us. Second, do we kill the thug standing guard at the construction site? While removing an enemy now means one fewer bandit to worry about later, if the others find his body before the assault they will rightly get suspicious and go on high alert regarding our other sabotage, so I say we leave the guard alive and kill him later. Third, how should we defend ourselves? Obviously we'll equip the rifle, but I also feel we should follow the plan I outlined above. Is there anything else you can think of to help bolster our defenses?

There is goon participation in this entry!

After much debate, most goons settled on not poisoning the bandits' food (mostly due to concerns we'd poison Sarge and his guys too), and not killing the sentry overlooking the bandit camp. Many of you said to barricade the windows and lay beartraps while also taking a high sniping position, so we'll do that, as well as trying to light the ammunition in the bandit camp on fire. We'll see what we can do before the day's through!



Inside

The first thing to do is get all this clutter off the ground. The windows will be barricaded with metal bars, nails, and tape.




12:40 pm: I installed iron bars in one of the windows.



Looking solid for the ground floor. Time to do the same with the upstairs, just in case the bandits bring ladders and try to scale up the walls.




01:26 pm: I installed iron bars in some of the windows.





01:49 pm: I installed iron bars in all of the windows.

You may be wondering why I also barred up the upstairs windows when a few of you said to seek out a high ground position. The answer is simple: thanks to Cate's ace helicopter flying skills, we have a massive hole in the attic that is perfect for sniping. Unless we decide to shoot from the roof (and I'm not doing that), we can't get higher and more tactical than that!



Now, to deploy some bear traps. First, I'll place two on the rear of the house, then two in the front.




02:12 pm: I decided to set some traps.

Okay, that's the bear traps all set up. That completes the defenses of the household, other than locking the front door and making sure the back is also locked up. The last thing to try is heading back to the bandit camp and trying to flamethrower the hell out of their ammo dump, hopefully without killing ourselves in the process.



We're back in the camp, but when I try using the flamethrower on the boxes, David refuses to do so. What a pity, David. We could have blown up a bunch of these idiots up, but maybe we also would have been caught in the equivalent of a giant frag grenade. Oh well, nothing to it but to go back home and prepare for the assault!



And here we are in the attic, ready to do our best impression of videogame camping. David's done plenty of that in multiplayer matches, the cad. Tactically, with the high ground, solid walls, and heavy cover provided by the wreckage of the chopper, the thugs outside won't land a single shot unless they're marksmen. Our silenced sniper rifle, Capitalism, will make short work of the enemy for big profit since they'll stuck in the open with no cover.



Yes. Let's get this night underway. Cody, get inside. The adults are going to hold this fort! Capitalism, you're up!



Long Nights

"Your time for slaughter has come, piglets," Razor himself shouted through a megaphone. "And I will be your wolf!" Some of his gang was missing...



They were too drunk to move out and were left to sober up. They missed the whole party.



Sarge wasn't brave enough to confront Razor, but he thought things through sufficiently. He and his four men never showed up to attack you. 13 men, including Razor, closed in to attack.



Bullets swooshed through the air. Some flew far too close to your head, decorating the walls of the house with numerous small holes.



Three of the attackers found themselves unarmed and had to retreat before the attack had even truly started.



With a view enhanced by a scope, you managed to hit five of them, sending them to the dusty dirt. They didn't get up afterwards.



With that extra ammo you managed to shoot one more thug as he was nearing the house.

Jeez, a whole box of ammo and David only gets one extra kill after firing six bullets and tagging five bad guys? His nerves must have caught up with him after Capitalism demanded more investment for blood. Diamond hands, David!








Cate simply opened the door and put her gun to his head.




Another Sunrise

You prepared your hideout perfectly and it paid off. Not only did you survive, but you also had some good rest last night. [+5 kg permanent carry weight bonus]

Excellent job, everyone! With your advice and preparation, we didn't arouse any suspicion before the assault, managed to spare Sarge and his men, and had a perfect survival for this night. It wasn't anything close to a pitched battle. It was a bloodbath.



You know what time it is. Let's find out what will kill us tomorrow night...

(Interaction - Window) A cold night outside...

No cause of death from the window, huh?



Door's unlocked and opened. I have a bad feeling about this...



The fourth day is coming, and the moon wants to kiss Earth with what's left of the Sea of Tranquility. Tomorrow is our final day to survive... But I'm sure that, somehow, somewhere, we have survived this already. We can do it again! Today's mission is to escape to the one place that hasn't been corrupted by capitalism... Space! This means Capitalism, the rifle which served us so well last night gunning down Razor's gang, won't be coming with us.




Inside

I tried going up into the attic to look for our missing friends, but David noticed something I didn't. Is the bathroom where everyone is?



What needs to be done.
We agreed to let him live.
No. We agreed to decide his fate in the morning. It's the morning now, and I'm deciding his fate for you. Because I know you couldn't do it.
There's no reasoning with her now, David.
Shut up, Barry. You know there's no other way this can end.
Cate, please stop!
David, take him outside.



Decide Razor's fate. Do we tell Cate to kill him, or to not kill him? I say we tell Cate to not kill him, but perhaps you think otherwise. The man is vile, but we weren't poisoners, his gang is scattered, he is defenseless, and he will die from the moon anyway. On the other hand, Razor is a hunter, a man who will probably take the first opportunity he gets to ambush us and kill us when we get distracted, even alone. What difference would it make if we shot him now compared to letting nature take its course? You are the judge and jury, goons!

I think we may as well kill him, we already shot a bunch of his mates in the head after all.

Prrrrobably kill him. Sorry. Hopefully you could be someone better in another world.

He's dead either way. Show some mercy and give him a quick double tap.

It was a controversial and divisive vote. By my count, including the Something Awful and LP Beach viewers' vote counts, not killing Razor beat out those calling for his head by one single vote, not counting mine. Is Cate going to listen to our barely-collective will, though?



Inside

Give me one good reason.
I will help you... I...
Shut up, I wasn't asking you.



We get a variety of options to convince Cate to spare Razor... or just tell her as our first option to kill him. From left to right, we can tell her to "kill him," "it's a waste of a bullet," "he's learned his lesson," "you're better than this," and "the world ends anyway." I'll show each option's conversation, starting with the comment about the bullet.

It's a waste of a bullet. We might need to defend ourselves.
Hmm. I could still just smack his head with a pipe until his brain comes out.

* * *

He's learned his lesson. He doesn't have anyone left.
That's good if you ask me. But I like to finish what I started. And there is one more vermin to terminate.

* * *

You're better than this.
You don't know me. I'm a girl who survives, David. And I'll do whatever it takes.

* * *

It's over anyway.
Huh?
The world is going to end today.
So what? This scum doesn't deserve to witness it.
Wait, what? You're for real?
We've been guarding him for the entire night, taking turns. And that was the last night of my life. Thanks, David. We should have killed him right away.

* * *

We needed to choose any two options in any order, excluding killing Razor, to convince Cate to let Razor go.

Damn you, David. You're too soft. I hope I'm not going to regret that.
Thank you... Just let me go. You'll never see me again...
Shut up.
You're doing the right thing.
You shut up, too. Everybody, just shut up.



That was the right thing to do.
I'll ask you to say that again if he follows us and stabs our backs when we least expect it.
I doubt he would.
...
So. It is today.
Is it?
Yes. I've seen it. This time there is no way to survive this.
We know where the ship is.
Come on, Cate. How is that going to save us? Maybe if you tell me more about that space station, the story would be more believable. But so far?
Just a little longer, David. Let's go to that outpost. It's pretty far away, so we'd better take a car. (Turns around to face David.)
Barry, how do you feel?
How should I feel? My wife is dead, I've had the worst night of my life and the world is about to end.
Hang in there. Things are going to get better.
I don't know, David. This whole thing about the spaceship. It's too good to be true. Not to mention I'm terrified of flying. I take trains.
Don't worry. You'll see I'm not bluffing.
And is there going to be a spaceship?
Yes!
Like, a real one? And we're going into space?
Exactly!
I want to go to spaaace!



08:00 am: We decided to spare Razor. This place has seen enough death. I just hope I'm not gonna regret that decision...

Investigation

Waiting for the evening won't hurt, will it?

This time waiting for the evening is not a good idea. I have to find a ship and launch it before it's too late.

Yeah, the moon's looking a bit too close for comfort. Let's chat with the gang and see what they have to say.



Cate, you're up first. "About today..."

So, today is the day.
Yes. We either fly or we fry.
I can't believe you're able to joke about Earth being destroyed. Then again... I can hardly believe the Earth is being destroyed in the first place.
Well, yes. This world is lost. There is nothing we can do. Just escape.
I guess you're not sharing any more details on our actual plan of what we do once we take off?
Listen. Right now taking off isn't even certain. The ship might not fly, or it might explode in the air if it's damaged. There are a million things that can go wrong. So, yes. Let's focus on those things now. You'll learn about everything soon enough.

Cate's secrecy is still a bit puzzling to me, but maybe the way out is so weird that saying so now would make everyone doubt her plan. So what "about Barry," are you getting along now?

Are you still not happy about Barry being around?
I have to admit that I might have been a little too harsh. He's helpful. Without him it would be much harder to survive.
Oh, so you can admit your own mistakes.
Don't push your luck, David. I would still be just fine without him. Or without you.

Hey, she's warming up to the guy, in her own way! That's great. What "about Cody," how do you feel about him?

I was thinking about Cody and...
Geez David. What do you want me to say? That I like him? Yes. I like him. There. Are you happy now?
Well... yes. I still think you overreacted. I just wanted to ask...
He's a good kid, David. Okay? I'm surprised he is still holding up. After all that happened. A lot of adults would have had a breakdown, yet he's still going. It's admirable.

Cate, again, showing affection in her own way. She's very pragmatic, but she can respect the kid's will to survive, too. Speaking of survival, "about Razor," how do you think he'll fare on his own after sparing his life, as short as it remains?

About letting Razor go...
Do not talk to me about that. You convinced me. I already regret that.
Why?
Because I showed weakness. Because I looked like some sort of wimp. No offense.
Cate, this man has lost all his friends. He lost everything.
Which makes him super dangerous, as he has nothing left to lose now. What if he decides to come back?
I doubt that.
If I were him, I would totally come back and have my revenge.
Yes, you probably would.
Hey, what's that supposed to mean?

Hah, Cate totally would. Mercy is not in her vocabulary, but I wonder why that is. She said she showed weakness, and that makes me curious about her past. Still, Razor isn't Cate. Maybe he will indeed just leave us alone...



Cody, let's hear from you. "About today..."

You look anxious.
I can't wait. I wanna go to space already! Also, Cate says the Moon is gonna hit Earth today. Can we watch that from above? Because that sounds, like, really dangerous.
Sure. We will be safe in our spaceship. In space.
Can I tell you a secret, David?
Sure.
I'm scared. Like, almost all the time. I'm just trying to think about going to space so I don't think about the end of the world...
Cody...
What?
I just want to say I'm proud of you.
Umm... for what? For being scared?
Fear is something we all feel, Cody. Feeling fear doesn't mean you're not brave. And you're the bravest kid I've ever met.
I am?
Yes. And I'm sure you'll love it in space!

Cody is a sweet kid, and even Cate agrees he's a courageous little fellow. What "about Barry," Cody?

I think you and Barry are getting along.
He is cool! I mean, I see he cares about me. He is always worried, and even if sometimes he won't let me do something I know it's because he's thinking about my safety. It may be annoying, but I like it. It rarely happened before. At the orphanage other boys picked on me. And I didn't like any of the staff. He would be a cool...
A cool what?
...A teacher or a guardian, you know.

It's okay, Cody. I think he'd be a cool dad, too. What "about Cate," would she be a cool mom?

You still think Cate is mean?
Yup! She wouldn't be Cate if she wasn't a little bit mean. Maybe it's her way to show she likes someone. You know... like she tries to be a badass, which is pretty cool, but at the same time she has to show her friends that they are on the same side.

I guess I agree with you, Cody. Cate's doing what we adults call "fronting," but don't tell her I said that. And, uh, "about Razor" and Cate wanting to kill him... Want to talk about that?

Razor is free. I hope you're not scared by that.
No. Bad guys always lose. No matter what.
So are you saying that the good guys always let the bad guys leave?
Yeah. Most of the time. Then they can return in other comic books and make some more trouble.
But you said you are not afraid of him coming back.
Yeah, because we're gonna beat him again!

Well said, little man! I mean, bad guys made the moon break in the first place and probably got away with it by leaving someone else to deal with the mess, but we'll ignore that for now.



Barry, you're our last companion to chat with. "About today..."

Thinking about your wife?
All the time. Today is the last day of the world. Just... just listen to this. The end. Of the world. Is today. I can't believe it. I can't comprehend it. It's not something I expected... nor wanted to witness.
If we're lucky we're gonna witness it from far above.
Yeah... if we're lucky.
You don't believe we can make it, do you?
It doesn't matter. Even if we do, the end of the world means it's the end of the world. So I don't believe we can escape our fate. But you can be sure as hell I'll do everything to help you get where you want to go. So, you can still count on me.
Thanks, Barry.

We'll break the chains of fate, my man. We owe to Cody! And "about Cody..."

How do you think Cody is doing?
Remarkably well. Given the circumstances, I'd say he's an incredibly resilient kid. You might think that he's just a silly child. But to tell you the truth, I think he keeps us all alive. Positive attitude. Confidence that he will see another day. Hope for a better future. I'm not sure I would be able to go forward without it. I needed that boost. You might even call it... a solid kick in the ass.
I can kick someone in the ass!
Language, young boy!
Sorry! I mean... kick in the butt!
You better be careful or I'll give you a noogie!

Aww, these two will make for a fine adopted family. What "about Cate?"

What do you think about all this... and Cate?
She has her flaws, like all of us. I had my doubts in the beginning, but she has had many opportunities to ditch us. Maybe it's because she needs some help to achieve her goals. But Maggie always said that I should give others at least some benefit of the doubt. And okay. I trust her. Kind of. At least I don't think she would harm us in any way. But don't get me wrong. I'm still sure she wouldn't cry after losing any of us.

Barry's probably not wrong about Cate's hard heart, but I'm glad he trusts her enough to follow us in our mad quest to escape into space. But what do you think "about Razor," was it right to let him go?

About Razor...
You did the right thing, David. There was enough bloodshed. No reason to take another life. We did what we had to do to defend ourselves, and that's enough.
What if he decides to get back at us?
I'm not sure he has time for a revenge. Don't you think?
I guess...

Hmm. Maybe Razor does have time. I mean, a day is a long time, when you think about it in terms of hours. But if he comes at us again after all, we still have some self-defense tools at our disposal.

So... How are you, Barry?
You really don't have to pretend that you care, Cate.
Oh... Fine then... I was afraid I'd have to be nice for a longer period of time.



Inside

Before we head off to the outpost, I'm checking inside the house to solve one last mystery. The fireplace's chimney being clogged up is bothering me. What's in there?



The moon looks mighty close from up here...

(Interaction - Chimney) It seems the chimney is clogged by something inside. I can't reach it.

Time for our trusty rope and hook!



Is that... a dead bird?

A dead bird (0.1 kg). Mummified carcass of a bird. I don't see a reason to carry this around...

Well, you never know when a dead bird may come in handy. We've been carrying around Capitalism (the locust, not the rifle, though now I realized we have two Capitalisms in our backpack) the entire time, so why not add another expired creature to our collection? While I pore over the items we should take from the storage chest, our group has a few conversations that strike me as... odd.

So kid, what do you want to be when you grow up?
Hmm... I'm not sure.
Not that it matters now anyway.
Policeman? Fireman? I'm sure you had some ideas.
I wanted to work...
...in a zoo?
Wow! How did you know?
Lucky guess, I think...

(Sings.) I went to the Animal Fair... The birds and tigers were there! The big baboon by the light of the moon...
...was combing his auburn hair?
Huh? Yes! I didn't know you knew that song!
I didn't know either.

So... Anyone else feel like it all happened before?
Not all of it. Not exactly.
Yeah! I feel that, too! But it's all blurry and... feels like a dream.

...
What's the matter, kid?
I'm tired.
Why? Are you worried about something? Didn't get enough sleep?
No... I had bad dreams. There were those shadowy people. They were chasing me.
It's only a dream. Dreams can't hurt you. Don't think about it too much.
...I think they can...

And that last conversation was particularly ominous. I don't want to make Cody more upset than he probably is, so we'll keep mum about our own past run-in with a shadowy person.



On our way to the barn where we keep Comrade, the truck, we find the stack of dead bandit bodies we gathered and piled together overnight. The blue tarp we pulled over them flaps in the wind.

(Interaction - Stack of dead bodies) No time to bury them. I can't believe we killed them all...

I tried to use the flamethrower on them to give them an old-fashioned pyre funeral, but David refuses to comply. What's the matter, David, you never studied ancient burial rites?

Where did all the people go anyway?
What do you mean exactly?
The world is so deserted. Sure, the Moon is broken and the climate is crazy, but where did all the people go?
Most of them are dead.
Most of them? How? I always imagined the majority survived somewhere.
Earthquakes. Diseases. Hunger. You'd be surprised how fragile the food supply chain was. Also, there were resource wars. Not one war; many wars. Not a big "we vs them" conflict. Everyone-for-themselves backstabbing fest, between countries and inside the countries. There were probably more wars this year across the globe than during the entire century. And it's the 20th century we're talking about, so that says something. But, of course, it kinda went unnoticed. First, there is no more press so hardly anyone knows about it. And second, there is hardly anyone left, in general.




Starting up the truck shows the outpost is available for us to drive to. Let's ride on over there. We have a full tank of gas on hand to refuel, as well.



You bet we're checking that bus out.



Exploration

They were using this bus to move their people to the launch site.
Too bad their driver didn't know how to drive. Looks like they abandoned it here and continued on foot.
Maybe they left something valuable behind.

David's speaking my language. Before we investigate, let's see what our gang has to say about it.

What do you think about it? Why is it even here?
What do I think about what? They had a transport, but they got into trouble. Nothing more to explain.

What do you think, Cody?
I think I know what happened here.
Yeah?
Yeah. I saw it in a movie. There was a policeman and a bad guy. And the bad guy put a bomb on a bus. And he was like, "If the bus stops, the bomb will explode!" BOOOM!
This bus doesn't look it exploded.
Because the policeman defused the bomb!

Any idea what's wrong with that bus?
I would have to look under the hood, and that would take some time...

Time we can't afford to waste on a hunk of junk. Comrade is good enough for our driving needs. Let's get inside.



There are a couple of things on this bus, the most important of which is a key...



A key with a label (0.1 kg).

Lab 13 in the Sidereal Plexus offices was locked. If I were a gambling man, I'd say this key opens it. We'll check that out later. As for the other thing we can interact with, there's a smudge on the window in the shape of a handprint.



What was this person doing, eating oily chips or French fries on the way out of here? Let's clean that up.

(Item - Kitchen knife on smudge) I don't want to scrape that dirt off.

Good call, David. Those fingerprints might come in handy, but how to get them off...?



On to the outpost itself, we're done here. I'll check out Lab 13 after we give the outpost a thorough investigation.



Wasteland

You mean... this?
What did you expect? I told you. The location of this facility was confidential. Don't look for any bright neon lights or signposts.
Yeah, but still...
Come on, the whole place is underground. We have to get inside. There... might be security measures waiting for us.
Great.

08:17 am: We arrived at the Outpost, the place Cate was after since the day we met. Seems like ages ago...

It's a good thing we have that ID card from the Sidereal Plexus worker we came across. If there are any "security measures" that require a pass, we can get around those with it, I think. Gang, what do you all think of the place?

We're here, Cate. The outpost. Are you happy?
I will be once we launch our ship into space.
Anything I should be concerned about here?
Like I said... defense mechanisms of some sort. Also, nothing here has been used for quite a while, so don't expect things to work.

What's on your mind, Cody?
When will we go to space, David?
Just a little longer.
Are we going yet?
No, not yet.
Are we going yet?
Not yet.
And now?
Still not.
How long can you keep going?
Till the end of the world?

What do you think of this place?
I'm not sure. After all this hype from Cate I think I expected something more.
Ugh. There is more more. Inside.
This actually reminds me of the time Maggie and I went to a local fair. It was years ago. There was this small tent in the middle, and it looked like nothing special... But inside they put mirrors on all the walls and the columns. It was lit up with bright lights. It looked incredible. It was like stepping into infinity, Maggie said. And she was kinda right. Then again, all that was just an illusion.

(Interaction - Left silo) A silo. A pair of silos, actually.
Yes. One of them still houses a rocket with a shuttle.
How do you know? Why didn't they take both when evacuating?
I just know they didn't. Trust me.
I trust you!
I have trouble trusting you.

(Interaction - Right silo) Shouldn't at least one of the silos be open now that they've left?
It closes automatically to prevent unauthorized access.
Like a garage door?
See? It wasn't that hard.



Hmm. Looks like that corpse there ran afoul of said "security measures" Cate warned us about. Other than the body, there is a silo hatch, a door with a scanner, and a radar on the roof with an access panel to interact with.

(Interaction - Hatch) This thing weighs much more than I'll ever be able to lift.
(Interaction - Corpse) This man looks like he's been burnt. The corpse looks melted, and the sand around it turned into glass shards.

So what happened with the body? Was it something to do with the door? Let's step on over to it, and--



<PROVIDE A VALID ID CARD> <YOU HAVE 5 SECONDS TO COMPLY>
This doesn't sound good.
<5... 4... 3... 2... 1... 0...>

Yeah? What would happen if counted down to zero, I wonder?



Oh, wait, I don't have to wonder, there's a dead, charred body right there. It doesn't take an overactive imagination to guess something here, probably the doormat, is electrified. Let's just scan Jacob Salmann's ID card on the reader and turn this thing off.



The ID card we got is thankfully valid. Before we head inside, I want to check out the radar up there.

(Interaction - Radar) I think it's supposed to be rotating. I guess it's broken.
(Interaction - Radar's access panel) A metal plate is held by some screws.

I use the screwdriver on the metal plate to remove it, and take it with me.

A metal plate (2 kg). A flat piece of lightweight metal allow.

(Interaction - Radar's access panel) One of the parts looks burned. It says "duplexer" on it.

The radar being off bodes ill if we're supposed to fly out of here safely, so we'll probably need to fix it before we get out of here. Anyway, let's get in the facility.



Alone

After scanning the ID card again, we're in, while Cate, Cody, and Barry wait outside. There is a fusebox that powers the door, an engine with a transmission belt, and an elevator.

(Interaction - Elevator) Nothing happens... I think there is no power.
(Interaction - Transmission belt) This large engine surely moves something big, however it's not moving at the moment. With a proper tool I could remove the transmission belt.



The elevator line is down. I have to find a way to restore its power... and while I'm at it, I should disable this doormat before someone gets hurt.
(Interaction - Either power source) I can't remove it. I have to redirect the power.
(Interaction - Doormat pin) The pin controlling the electrical doormat. It is powered.
(Interaction - Elevator pin) The pin controlling the elevator. It is offline.

In this minigame, all we need to do is click on each square to spin it around, connecting the power source on the top left to the pin on the bottom right, and disabling the doormat's, too.



Ouch! I have to watch out for those damaged squares.
Damn it. Gotta be more careful.
No, not again!

If you mess up and connect to the blown squares, David loops those comments. Each short circuit causes the entire pathing of the cables to scramble, forcing you to restart the puzzle.



It's not that hard to disable the doormat and power the elevator, though.



Barry said it better than I could, but if the fusebox wasn't here, we'd need to risk the jump, I guess. What do you all have to say about this place?

So, we're finally here.
Yeah. It's not over yet. The worst is yet to come.
You know how to lift the spirits up, Cate.
I'm just being realistic. We got here and that's great. We've been through a lot, but it's still far from over.

Do you like it here, Cody?
Uh... It's kinda spooky in here. Can we just go to space now?
We're working on it.

What do you think of this place?
I can't believe a private corporation was able to build such a place in secret. Then they used it to evacuate, just like that. Without sharing this information with anyone. Without even trying to save a single soul. And they supposedly left one of their ships behind because they didn't need both. There were A LOT of people who would have done anything to board that ship of theirs. Even if the chances of actually being saved by it were a longshot.

(Interaction - Fusebox) Doormat is disabled, the elevator is powered. There's nothing I want to change here.



I'll take this transmission belt, thank you...

A transmission belt (0.2 kg). A rubber belt that was used to connect two rotating parts of an engine.



And now, we'll be going deeper into the outpost, courtesy of this elevator.



As we step out of the elevator and walk down the hallway, the lights turn on. The right door is open, so why not go in there first?



The lights are off, but there's a switch further down the room. There's also a piece of paper that caught my eye.

A chemical formula (0 kg).



This is a formula for... a medicine that increases lung efficiency? I'm guessing we'll need to use this formula for something later, so I'll hold on to it. Let's hit that and turn this room's lights on.



Uh, a trajectory map?
Why does it go to the Moon? (Walks closer and into the projector's light.) We are not going to the Moon, are we? You said we're going to a space station.
I never said the space station wasn't on the Moon.
WHAT!? But the Moon is going to...!
That's just crazy. I knew you were crazy.
You've gotta be kidding. Please tell me you are.
...
Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't the Moon going to hit us in less than twelve hours? (Turns to face Cate.) Why the hell would we want to go there?!
It's the only way. You have to believe me.
(Turns away from Cate.) I don't know if I have any reasons to believe you. You promised us safety. You promised us an escape. You said you wanted to leave this planet.
Those aren't the exact words I used.
I think we deserve some answers.
How can I explain it to you? (David turns to face Cate.) There is something in that Moon base that will help us. Sidereal has a base there...
What could possibly help us if we reach the Moon an hour before impact? And wasn't their Moon base destroyed in the mining accident?
(David turns away from Cate.) It was. But they have another base on the Moon. It's called Sidereal Plexus One and they... how should I put this? How do you think Sidereal has all this technology? Private space shuttles. Moon bases. Electric doormats. Weather drones. Heat absorbers. The means to accidentally blow up the whole damn Moon.
I'm not sure I follow.
They're getting that technology from other worlds.
Like... other planets?
No. Other Earths. They are in contact with other versions of Sidereal Plexus. A vast network of connections, across the endless universes. Constantly discovering new versions of the world as they go. Our world is merely one page in an enormous library of worlds they have access to.
Do you expect me to believe all that?
I don't really care if you do. Help me off this planet or get out of the way.
You have some nerve to mock us like that. After all we've been through.
Barry, like I said I don't care if you believe me or not. And I don't need your help.
Just to be clear, I'm helping David, not you.
Please don't fight... Even if we're going to die, we can be together... Right? I... I don't want to be alone again.

I totally believe Cate, even if David and Barry find the story so weird. I can't tell you why, but I feel we've done all this already. Add the strange technology Sidereal Plexus uses and those e-mails stating Cate is from a different world, and we'll have the means to be on our way to a new dimension or Earth in a flash. Let's look around the room a bit more. There are a few items we can grab...

(Interaction - Switch) The projector is already on.
(Interaction - Presentation screen) I can't believe we are doing this...




Lovely FAQ here. I guess lunar explosions and other world-ending events are par for the course for Sidereal.

A remote controller (0 kg).




I want some batteries. We all want batteries!

(Item - Screwdriver on remote controller) I've removed the batteries. Without them, the remote is useless.

Batteries (0 kg). A handful of batteries.

An access card (0 kg).



This access card seems really important, so into our backpack it goes.



Back into the hallway. Let's try out that left door.

(Interaction - Doorway) It's locked... probably with that fingerprint-reading lock.
(Interaction - Fingerprint scanner) It's a fingerprint scanner. Let's see if it recognizes me.



That's what I thought.
(Item - Access card on fingerprint scanner) There is no slot for a card here. It looks more like a fingerprint reader.



Maybe Cate can open it.

There's a finger scanner on that door.
Yeah, so?
So... since you know so much about Sidereal I thought you could...
David, I...
Oh, come on. You wouldn't have any idea about this place if you weren't somehow involved.
Even if I was, do you think I'd still be here if I was important enough for them to save me?
Humor me.



Happy now?

Nothing to it but keep exploring further. I have a sneaking suspicion that handprint on the bus could be our ticket into that locked room.



Main Menu

There it is.
LOOK AT THAT!!!
Incredible.
I told you it'd be here.
IT'S A SPACESHIP!
I'm sure you hadn't doubted me for a second.
Actually, I did. I apologize.
I admit... this looks impressive. It's like a regular space shuttle but smaller... and more fancy. It IS promising.
Can we go inside?!
Don't celebrate just yet. There's space for two rockets in this silo. See? One launch pad is empty.
So they took one shuttle and left the other one behind.
Why? They could have saved twice as many people.
Maybe one was sufficient. Remember, they weren't trying to save as many people as possible. They were just saving who they thought was worth saving. Or the other one was broken. Anyway, a bit of time has passed. The ship requires a general inspection before it's even remotely safe to use.

08:27 am: We found a spaceship. A small shuttle with a rocket. Let's hope we can make it fly safely. What can we do to improve the condition of the ship?

Awesome find, gang. Looks like Cate was telling the truth after all. From here, we can check out the spaceship and there's a door to the right with a card scanner. The access card we picked up may grant us access.

(Interaction - Spaceship) A spaceship is attached to huge rocket engine units. The shuttle itself looks similar to the ones used by NASA, yet it's smaller and somehow seems more... modern? This must be a design by Sidereal Plexus. I haven't seen it anywhere before. Anyway, that's our ticket out of here. Or at least that's what I hope.
(Interaction - Doorway) It's locked.
(Interaction - Card scanner) There's a slot for an access card.

Let's try the access card we just got. I figure the one from the Sidereal offices wouldn't work if the guy wasn't even invited to the outpost.




There we go. Let's go check that shuttle out.



Alone

It's a long way down to the ship itself, but there seems to be a door on the floor just under us. What's in there?



This must be the ship's control room. There's a lot to look at here. Let's start with the machines on the left side first.



This is the system diagnostics screen. The fuel source for the ship seems to be fine, but the air supply is compromised. If we took off now, we'd probably die of suffocation. Let's see what we can do to fix things from here. We also need to check the ship's hull and open the silo hatch itself to launch.



The air composition control monitor shows a minigame of sorts. We need to adjust the air composition so that oxygen can flow. I'll fix this right now.



There we go. We just had to adjust the levels until each bar was in its own green box. Science is easy! After this, we can check out the radar screen.

08:27 am: I adjusted the air composition to be more breathable.



Well, the radar won't be any useful to use anyway, right?
Probably not. But on the other hand...
I mean, it's not like there are any planes left in the air.
Or helicopters. But who knows, David, who knows.

We'll need to fix the radar up top if we find a "duplexer." Better safe than sorry, I say. Next up is the hatch controls.




Hmm. No indication of what could be done here. Maybe the hatch has too much sand on top of it? We do have a shovel, so we can try to dig it out later. Next up is the mainframe computer next to the door.

(Interaction - Mainframe computer) Hmm... there is a part at the bottom that seems to be open.
(Interaction - Opening with electronics) A part came loose. I'll take it. I hope it wasn't important.
(Interaction - Opening with electronics) I took a part out of it already. I don't want to mess with it more.

A duplexer (0.2 kg). An electronic device commonly found in radio and radar communications systems.

Speak of the devil, we were just looking for one of these. Cool, we'll slot it on the way out, and get the radar running in case we spot anything of interest. That's all we can do here for now. To the ship's platform!



This is imposing. There is quite a bit to look at here: a fuel catalyst console, an empty launchpad, a broken elevator engine, an "up" button for the elevator, and a socket.

(Interaction - Launchpad) This launchpad is empty. To put it simply, that ship has sailed.
Or lifted off, to be more precise.
(Interaction - Fuel catalyst console) This console has an inlet for catalyst fluid that will be injected into the fuel tank.
(Interaction - Socket) This is a high-voltage socket for specialized equipment.
(Interaction - Elevator button) Hmm... I hear the engine working, but the elevator doesn't seem to move.
(Interaction - Broken elevator engine) Without a transmission belt, this engine is useless...

We have one of those! We removed it from that engine up top earlier.




Much better. Let's head up.



I feel kind of unsafe here without any railings, but at least the ship's door is already open. Let's head inside.



You tell me. I don't know much about spaceships. I always imagined it would be more... horizontal.
It can be confusing, but the ship will rotate to horizontal position after we launch.
Still, it kinda looks like some sort of a space bus with all those seats.
Its purpose was to drive people to and from the Moon. It kinda IS a space bus. Anyway, look around for any systems that seem to be missing.
How will I know if a system is missing if it is not there?
Come on, David. You're smart. It's not rocket sci- Well, actually it kinda is.

There is plenty to look at here. The main control console is above us, and below there are a set of circuit boards, a filter slot, and the ladder leading downwards. Let's take it from the top and work our way down.

(Interaction - Main control console) Are we ready to launch?
David, the silo's hatch is still closed. We can't launch until we find a way to open it. Or do you want us to crash even before we take off?



Looks like the chips are all in place.



Here's another task: find a lithium hydroxide filter.



Heading down shows a bit more stuff: a socket, a toolbox, an engine calibrator system, round openings, a dangerous-looking crack, and a storage compartment. Let's investigate in that order.

(Interaction - Socket) This is a high-voltage socket for specialized equipment.
(Interaction - Toolbox) (Opens the toolbox.) I've found a glue gun in the toolbox. It seems to be out of power. There is nothing interesting left in the toolbox.

A glue gun with no batteries (0 kg). It's a battery-powered glue gun. While there is a tube of glue inside, there is no power to heat it and melt the glue.

(Item - Batteries on glue gun) The glue gun now has working batteries. They won't last for too many uses, though...

A glue gun (0 kg). It works by melting the glue into sticky goo that quickly dries.




The engine calibrator is all right, but we're missing the auxiliary air tanks. If we end up needing the extra oxygen, we'll have to install them if we find them.

(Interaction - Crack in the wall) Oh... a crack in the wall. This can't be good, right?
How big is it?
I don't know, like, palm-sized? No idea how deep it runs. Maybe it's just on the surface?
If it's any deeper we might be in trouble. Best case scenario, we will lose oxygen.
And the worst case?
We explode during the ascent.
Oh.

Man, it's all oxygen-related issues this time around. Huh. Why did I say it like that?

(Item - Duct tape on ship crack) Maybe nails or duct tape were good before, but I'll need something more professional here.

Duct tape won't fix it, you say? Okay, what about the metal plate from the radar dish?

(Item - Metal plate on ship crack) Great, but I need something to create and air-tight seal over this crack.

And duct tape won't help? You speak madness, sir. How about the glue gun?

(Item - Glue gun on ship crack) Yes, gluing the crack in the spaceship's hull is totally going to help.

Hmm. We'll probably need to do do a welding job on this. Maybe the construction site the bandits were holed up in will have such equipment for us to use, and there is a socket right there. What about the storage compartment beneath?



Yeah?
I found some space suits.
Good. Those are emergency suits in case the shuttle fails to dock to the Moon base.
Should I take them?
No, leave them there for now. We might need them later.

(Interaction - Space suits) Space suits are staying here. We might need them.

There's one suit for each of us. Good, it would suck if we were missing one. Something tells me we are going to need them. Well, that's all for the ship. Let's go back down and fix up the radar with that duplexer.



Wasteland

(Interaction - Radar) I've fixed it.

Looking good. And now that that's done, the radar screen should be working. Let's try to get that hatch open, though...

(Item - Shovel on hatch) It's a huge metal cover. Sand covering it is the least of my problems.

Ah. So the problem is the actual machinery, not the sand. Maybe that transmission belt we removed from it earlier operates the hatch? I'll go remove it from the ship's elevator and install it back on the engine...






Alone

08:57 am: I opened the launch hatch.

(Interaction - Hatch controls) The hatch is already open.

I think we won't need to mess with the hatch controls anymore, so I'll move the transmission belt again before heading out to find more stuff to fix the ship with.



Wasteland

(Interaction - Open hatch) The ship is down there waiting for launch.



(Interaction - Left silo) A silo. This one turned out to be empty.
(Interaction - Right silo) A silo. It has our ship inside.

Looking good, looking good. Let's head back inside and check the radar screen. It should be working now.



Alone

An airplane? An actual, flying airplane?
Wait a second.
Okay... why?
Hush... See any difference?
No. Should I?
Yes, if it was flying you'd see it move. It's not airborne.
I thought radar was supposed to be detecting things up in the sky.
Yes. It also detects active transponders. Beacons installed in aircrafts.
So... we're looking at a possible location of an airplane on the ground?
Yes. Somebody didn't disable their transponder, which might indicate a crash. Give me your map. I'll estimate its position based on the radar's readings.

(Interaction - Radar) The plane is still there, in the wastelands. Cate has already plotted its position on my map.



Wasteland

Ah, there is the grounded plane, near the RV. Next time, we'll keep on exploring, starting with the bus, then the plane, followed by the construction site, and finally the Sidereal offices. If we need to make any other stops, I'll check out other places we've visited, too, especially the gas station, as I just refueled Communism's tank, and we can do with one final refill of the canister.

We're getting close!

There is goon participation in this entry!



Wasteland

The first stop is the abandoned bus. Let's see if we can't pry that fingerprint off the windows.




Something tells me the glue gun, as much as Maple Leaf wants me to save it for patching up the moon, is of use here. Time to apply it to the window with the smudge!

(Item - Glue gun on smudge) Glue gun melts the glue into a moldable goo. I've put some of it on the window. Now I just need to wait a moment for it to dry... Meanwhile, the glue gun has run out of power. I guess remote controller batteries don't last too long.




Our big tools aren't fine enough to scrape off such a delicate mold, so let's go archeological and use the kitchen knife.

(Item - Kitchen knife on glued smudge) There! I have a perfect impression of this guy's fingerprint.

A fingerprint impression (0 kg). A fingerprint of a Sidereal Plexus researcher, molded on a piece of dried glue.

We'll get back to the outpost last. For now, I'll keep this little fingerprint in an easily-accessible coat pocket.



To the crashed plane next.



Covering Ground

Believe me I've seen worse.
I don't doubt that.
The plane seems to be mostly intact, so it's a good landing in my book.
Did it belong to the Sidereal fleet?
Most likely. And whatever is was carrying might still be on board. Come on.
Wait, are you not curious to find out why it crashed?
Right after the lunar explosion there was a huge disruption in Earth's magnetic field. Most of the navigation systems went crazy. Planes were falling from the sky all over the world.
I liked the spaceship better. Can we go back to the spaceship?
Later, okay?
Ugh!!!

Before going to explore the plane, let's ask our friends about it.

So, what do you think of this place?
Someone really should take some more flying lessons.
Yeah. Too bad not everyone has a god-given talent when it comes to piloting. Or landing.
...I will pretend I didn't hear your tone, David.

Do you like it here, Cody?
No...
Why not?
Airplanes are boring.
Whoa, now. I wouldn't say...
I liked airplanes, but now... I think spaceships are much cooler!
He's right, ya know.
Shut up.

What do you think of this place?
It's a desert. And a crashed airplane. I'm not sure what to tell you about it. I hope we find what we need here.
Don't you have any story to tell this time?
I... David, what story? This plane wasn't here before the Moon exploded. It was a corn field, I think. Mr. and Mrs. Brown's cornfield. They lived in a two-story house east of here. But it was destroyed during an earthquake. They both moved out, looking for their relatives from the south. So, as you can see...
Thanks for the story, Barry.
Hah. You're welcome. Sneaky.

I appreciate everyone's candor! There are a few things we can look at here: the buried plane itself, a sand dune, and the plane's cargo door the dune is covering.

(Interaction - Buried plane) That's a lot of sand. The whole nose of the plane is buried.
(Interaction - Plane's cargo door) The entrance is covered with a whole lot of sand. I'll have to get rid of it first.



Man, digging with your hands sucks. I'm not averse to manual labor if circumstances require, but we do have a shovel.




There we go. What Sidereal treasures await within?




A lot of cargo boxes and a dead pilot. Let's check on the poor sod first before cracking boxes open blindly.

(Interaction - Pilot) Is this person dead?
It would seem so, kid. Let's see if he had something that might be useful to us...

(Interaction - Pilot) W-wait. What if he comes back to life? AND BITES YOU?
Cody...
Relax, David is a professional. He has searched like a dozen corpses.

(Interaction - Pilot) (David touches the pilot.) Aaaaa!
What? What happened?!
DID IT JUST MOVE?
Cody...
Wanna wait outside, Cody?
No, I want to see that...



Too spooky for me... But we must press on and lay hands on this not-zombie.

Just a piece of paper. Cargo manifest. Let's take a look.

A cargo manifest (0 kg).



Only one thing of worth here, and that's the air tanks. If we end up needing something else, we know where to find this place.

(Interaction - Pilot) This poor guy can't help me in any other way.
(Interaction - Transponder) (He touches the transponder.) That thing flashed for long enough.
(Interaction - Transponder) The transponder is already disabled.

That's everything to do with the front of the plane, so back to the cargo hold to look for crate 5.

(Interaction - Any crate) This crate is sealed shut. I won't be able to open it with my bare hands.



Time for the crowbar to pry this loot box open.

Let's see what's inside...

(Interaction - Crate labeled "5") Air tanks. Not many of them, but they seem large and quite heavy.

Air tanks (8 kg). They sure weigh a lot for just being air.

(Interaction - Crate labeled "5") I already took some tanks. The ship has limited capacity for those anyway.



I decide to hit up the Sidereal offices in the city before the construction site. I figure we only need one thing from there, and that's whatever is in Lab 13.




And here we go... The key from the bus unlocks the door, as expected.



This lab has seen better days. Let's poke around.

(Interaction - Either PC) It's not powered. Or it's broken. Or both.
(Interaction - Piece of paper near right PC) This is a list of... hmm... patients? Yes. Sleeper Clinic patients. Each has another name assignd in a "visitor" column. I recognize those. Those are Sidereal Plexus officials. Why do they match coma patients with visitors? Cate...?
Ugh. I regret ever working for them. I had no idea.
No idea about what?
I'll tell you later. We have to focus on other things now.

A set of vials (0.1 kg). Each vial has a label with symbols.
A set of vials (0.1 kg). Each vial has a label with symbols.



Whoever worked here knew what was going to happen to the moon, but their findings were ignored or buried. There is a chemical mixer on the left for these chemicals we found. Maybe we can whip up that experimental medicine for extra air here.



The Waste's Mystery

There are pill casings on the right tray to pour the medicine we make in, an empty tray in the center, six slots for chemical vials with buttons next to them, and a yellow mixing button to, presumably, mix the chemicals we want to use. The chemical formula is easily accessible on the left side for reference.

(Interaction - Stack of pill casings) I could use that to retrieve the mix once it's done.

Let's use the sets of vials we got on the mixer.




So. We need to replicate the formula using the vials we got. Each vial can only be used once. From what I can tell, we need two blue circles, four double red lines, and three single black lines. I assume the mixer does the proper chemical binding for us.





No, it's not cocaine. That's our lung capacity medicine right there. Time to scoop it up with the pill casings.



I've put some powder into pill casings.

(Interaction - Any part of the machine) I don't need to mix anything else. I'm done here.



What did you do?
I think those pills will increase lung efficiency.
You think? Are you really going to digest an unknown, probably untested, chemical?
Not just me. You should do it, too.
Eh, alright. Don't forget to share those pills then.

A handful of pills for lung efficiency (0 kg). A handful of pills that supposedly increase lung efficiency. I hope it's safe.

Just say "yes" to drugs, kids!

Hey, so, before I forget... Here. Take one right before we lift off.
Hah.
What?
"Take one before we lift off." You sound like a drug dealer using some weird slang.
Hah.

10:34 am: I gave lung-expanding pills to Cate.

Hey, Cody. Here, take this.
What's that?
Medicine.
I'm not feeling sick.
I know, but this will help you breathe in the spaceship.
Will I be able to breathe in space?!
No, not really... Just keep this pill and swallow it right before we launch.
Okay...

10:34 am: I gave lung-expanding pills to Cody.

I created special pills.
Let me guess, you want me to take one.
Yes.
Normally if someone would tell me to take a pill that's going to help me get to the Moon...
Yeah, I know. Just make sure to swallow it right before we launch, okay?
Sure thing.

10:34 am: I gave lung-expanding pills to Barry.

Pills here! Does anyone want a second dosage?

Hey, it's the drug dealer again. I already have a pill from your stash.

Cody, please remind me. Did I already give you the pills?
Yes, you did.
Thanks.

Hey, did I...?
Yes. I already have a pill.

We'll be flying high with these babies, and breathe well to boot. That's about everything that we can do here.



Onwards to the construction site.



The place looks a lot more deserted without Razor's gang guarding the place.




(Interaction - Ammo boxes) I don't need anything from this.
(Interaction - Food supplies) I don't need to do anything with it.

Not even set it on fire as a farewell present to a dying world? You have no sense of imagination, David.



The front of the construction site has a magazine, a welding kit on the metal I-beams, and a rusty scaffolding full of sharp edges. Our friends have thoughts on this area.

Any thoughts, Cate?
Let's find what can be useful for us and leave. Except for some materials, I'm not sure if there is anything for us here.

Do you like it here, Cody?
Wow! So cool! There are so many things here... What does that machine do? Oh! And that one? Hey, look! This thing looks dangerous...
Don't touch anything Cody!
Hey, hey! Look at that!
CODY!

What do you think of this place?
I've heard about it. People from the city started feeling tight in their megalopolis, so this developer decided to build a residential area in the suburbs.
As you can see, construction was never finished.
Maggie and I didn't like the idea. It would have been too close to our house. We were happy to have a small piece of heaven to ourselves. Kinda silly, I know.

I'm curious about that magazine on the wheelbarrow, which seems like it fits there perfectly. "Weekly Conspiracy," huh?







Aliens...?
*sigh* No, David. No aliens. Don't believe in everything you read. Even if... it's not far from the actual truth.
It isn't?
Let's move, David.

I want to believe... that we can reach that welding kit to help us get to the moon.

(Interaction - Welding kit) I can't reach that.
(Item - Rope with hook on welding kit) It's a delicate piece of equipment. I can't just toss a hook at it in hopes of pulling it back!
(Item - Crowbar on welding kit) Poking it won't help. There's gotta be a way to get in there and pick it up.
(Interaction - Rusty scaffolding) Ouch! This metal is rusty and covered with spikes. I'm gonna cut my hands and bleed to death if I try to climb it.

Maybe if we had some protection for our hands, perhaps some gloves... I don't see any here. Time to explore other places for anything of use.



Investigation

I hit up Barry's home, the restaurant, the gas station (where I take the opportunity to refill our gas canister), and the destroyed bridge, but they were all busts. On arriving back at our house, I find a crashed bike on the side of the path leading up to it. It was here before, but I didn't notice it. Oops!



Protective gloves (0.1 kg). A pair of leather biker gloves.

Good! Maybe these gloves will help us climb the rusty scaffolding. Let's head back to the construction site.



Using the gloves on the scaffolding lets David climb up like a champion in no time. Up on top, there's a buckle to the left.

(Interaction - Buckle) This was used to pull heavy weights up and down. Maybe this could help me somehow.

Our handy rope and hook will help us!




In no time flat, we land on the platform with the welding kit.

A welding kit (1 kg). Welding equipment, together with a welder mask.

David must have been a rock climber or just has really strong leg and back muscles, because he climbs back up the rope and down the scaffolding without a single minute passing by. Carrying around that backpack must really build up your quads and lats.



With all that extra legwork done, it's time to head back to the outpost. We have the fingerprint from the bus, air tanks from the plane, lung-expanding medicine from the offices, and a welding kit from the construction site. It's time to get the spaceship shipshape.



First, the fingerprint scanner.

(Item - Fingerprint impression on fingerprint scanner) Well, here goes nothing.





This is a storeroom or storage closet with two "weird devices" we can interact with. Let's grab them both.

A calibrator (2.5 kg). A device used to calibrate engines so they give a steady, even thrust when fired.
A LiOH filter (2.5 kg). A lithium hydroxide filter.

Good, we needed that filter. I'll leave the calibrator behind, as the ship's current one is in working order.



Sand's everywhere now after opening the hatch. Let's get to fixing the interior of the ship.




The filter here needs replacing, so I slot it in and all is working properly.

11:45 am: I replaced the LiOH filter.




Next are the air tanks, which also just get shoved in without any trouble.

11:45 am: I installed a reserve air tank.

The last thing to do is weld that hole shut.

(Item - Welding kit on crack) Yes, a welding torch will do. But I need to plug it in to power... and I need some material to cover the crack with.
(Item - Welding kit on socket) I've plugged in the welder kit. It's powered. Now I just need some material to weld.
(Item - Metal plate on plugged welding kit) This will do nicely. I have to put the plate directly on the surface I want to patch.



There won't be any loss of cabin pressure on this ship!

12:15 pm: I patched the hull inside the ship.

(Item - Metal plate welded to a wall) I hope this will hold. It has to.

Let's take out the welding kit. We'll need to make the ship travel fast and light. I'll give the control room another glance.



Alright, the skies are clear for real.



The diagnostics tell us the ship is as good as it's going to be, and just advises us to consider using air-saving pills, which we have.



So, what do you think, Cate? Can this baby fly?

Are we ready to launch?
I've made some calculations, and we barely have enough fuel to get to our destination. We have to limit our weight... and you seem to be carrying a lot of stuff with you.
I like picking things up. You never knew when you're gonna need a water sprayer.
Well, now you have to say goodbye to your belongings. Take only things that weigh, say, one kilogram in total.
One kilogram. Fine.

One kilogram, ladies and gentlemen. We can take off at any time.




Inside

This is our current inventory. This does not include items from the crates we didn't rip open in the downed airplane, since they don't seem to play a role here.

The vote for today is simple. What do we take to space? We have a one kilogram weight limit. I want to carry both of the floppy disks, the dead bird and Capitalism the friendly dead locust, and the lung efficiency pills, which combined weigh 0.1 kg. We have 0.9 kg of weight remaining. Is there anything else we should take with us? Should we go back to the plane and grab some instant noodles or something else from it? Let me know!

You never know when a paper clip is going to come in handy. It comes with us.

This time around not much was suggested to be carried. We're taking the floppy disks, the lung pills, the dead bird and locust, the duct tape, some instant noodles, a warm jacket, the paper clip, the kitchen knife, and the wad of cash.. Sadly, some of the other items were either too heavy or were used up entirely when they served their purpose.



Covering Ground



I've opened another crate.
(Interaction - Crate labeled "3") A lot of instant noodles...

Instant noodles (0.2 kg). A pack of instant noodles.

(Interaction - Crate labeled "3") Not really. The ship won't take off if we eat too many of those.



While everything else was available in the safehouse's storage chest, the instant noodles had to be torn out of the plane's crates. And with that last use of the crowbar, we leave it behind, as it weighs too much for the trip up to space. This is our final inventory before takeoff.



Alone

All that's left now is to interact with the cockpit's controls, and we're out of here. Cate, Barry, Cody, and David, all together, escaping this dying planet.

Are we ready to launch?
Ready when you are, David.



We need to take the pills before takeoff if we're going to get any proper use out of them. Everyone else already has some, too. Hit it, Cate!



Long Nights

All systems green? Well... some systems were green. You didn't have time to check every last nut or seal, like people did before launching rockets in the old days.




Five... Four... Three... Two...



One...! Zero!




Thank you, Maggie. Your message from our dream saved Barry's life. Another David in another time sacrificed Barry for Cody, I am sure of it now.




He silently watched you soar, clenching his jaw as hard as he was clenching his fists. Looking around the wasteland he decided this place was as good as any other. He sat down and waited, looking at your ship going up and the Moon going down.

See you in hell, Razor.



"Would you look at that?" smirked Sarge, slowly shaking his head. "That kid actually did it. Good luck with whatever you find there," he added, before he turned away. The whole squad decided to open their last bottle of whiskey and drink it as the world around them started falling apart.

Goodbye, Sarge. May you and your men go to Valhalla. Thanks for not siding with Razor last night.




The composition was perfect. The air reserves sustained you for a long time.



It absorbed the carbon dioxide in the air, making it more breathable.



When the regular air ran low, the reserves kicked in, providing you with more life-saving oxygen.



Your repairs saved a lot of air from leaking out.



You took one, and it reduced the amount of air you used during the flight.







Another Sunrise

Another perfect survival, making this a perfect set of days! Pat yourselves on the back, guys, we earned it. Now it's Cate's turn to take this baby home.





Despite the bumpy landing that tore up the ship's wheels and exterior, it seems the inside is intact and everyone is okay. At least for now. The moon awaits!

The warning klaxon sounds away as the ship shakes from lunar tremors. Let's get the spacesuits and get out of here!

(Interaction - Hatch or storage compartment) I should check up with everyone before I start doing anything else.

OK, fair point. Let's get Cate, Cody, and Barry up on their feet.

Cate, are you alright?
Uhh... that wasn't one of my best landings.
I've never seen you do any better.
Could be worse though, couldn't it? In my defense, it was my first time landing on the Moon.

Cody, you okay?
Uh... I don't know.
Can you stand?
I think... What's that sound? Are we going to die?

Barry, are you hurt?
I don't think so. Just some bruises.
Try to stand up. We have to move.
We're losing air, David. Now is the time to use the space suits.



With everyone up and safe, we can ask them about their thoughts on actually being on the moon! The moon, guys!

Wow. We made it. We actually made it.
I never doubted we would. But... I guess I owe it to you... Come on, let's move. It's not safe in here.

How are you holding up?
Uh, I feel dizzy, and I don't like spaceships anymore. Can we go outside yet?
You're probably right. We should hurry up.

How are you holding up?
I can't believe we're here. I was sure we'd...
Yeah. But we're here.

And now it's time to leave!

(Interaction - Hatch) It'd be a good idea to wear a space suit before opening this door.

Jeez, David. Way to have a sense of self-preservation. Let's don those suits and get out of here.



Dibs on the coolest!



We're all ready to go, even though Cody's suit doesn't fit him right. The sleeves are too long and his helmet keeps slipping down his head.

(Interaction - Storage compartment) I already have a space suit.





The moon's edges are crumbling away before our very eyes, but the base isn't far. Let's chat with the gang again.

I still can't believe we're here...
You'd better start believing. Being on the Moon is the least of the unbelievable things here.
What do you mean by that...?
Let's get to the Moon base I'll show you.

We're on the Moon, Cody!
Look at me! I'm in space!
Yes you are!
Yay! This suit is too big for me.
Maybe a bit. I think you're doing great, though.
But what now?
Let's keep going. Just stay close to me!
Okay!

Welcome to the Moon, Barry.
I can't believe we're here.
Look at the Earth. Just look at it.
Yeah... I see it. Remember what it looked like when they showed it on TV? It was blue and green. It has changed a lot since then. Soon there won't be even this...
Yeah. That's why we have to hurry, I think.

(Interaction - Crashed shuttle) There's no point going back there...

But what if I forgot little Capitalism all alone? We need our animal friends!



An airlock blocks the path inside...

(Interaction - Airlock) I have to find a way to open this door.



Not a difficult puzzle here. I just need to rotate the layered rings until the patterns make one line.



There is the sound of a lock opening, and the airlock slides open with a whoosh. In we go.



Great, because I'm almost out of oxygen...



Let's look around.

As I check our inventory, the base shakes and rumbles and the lights flicker. What's the way out of here? Does anyone have any ideas about the place?

So, what do you think of this place?
It's... bigger than I imagined.
Really? It doesn't look that huge...
Look around, David. Most of this is impossible with current technology. Hell, I doubt it's even possible with whatever technology would be available 50 years from now.
So... what does that mean, exactly?
It means Sidereal Plexus likes to borrow technology from other places.

What do you think of this place?
I don't know. This place is cool, but I'm also scared. Is there a name for this feeling?
Hmm. You're... awestruck?
And a bit dizzy.

What do you think of this place?
It feels like I'm in a dream.
Maybe we are.
It surely is... otherworldly in here.

There is a passage to the left, and a passage to the right. Left first, why not?



Cate?
Sleeper pods.
Why are people here? You said they all left. You said they went to a different dimension or something.
They did. This is what they left behind.
Cate, you said they escaped!
They did, David. Check out their neural activity monitors. They are flat. Because their bodies are here, sleeping. But their minds... left this place. They traveled through the Realm of Dreams and already woke up in safety, months ago. Pods just sustain their empty bodies here. Not that it's required, but if for any reason anyone wanted to get back, they still can. At least for now.
Wait... I've got some questions.



Many of these questions are familiar... We can ask about the sleeper pods, what happens if their body dies, what the Realm of Dreams is, and why the sleeper pods have to be on the moon. What are these "sleeper pods" exactly?

So... it's some sort of hibernation?
Yes, so the body doesn't die while the consciousness is elsewhere.

So "what happens if the body dies," doesn't their mind also go?

What happens if the body dies?
In any normal circumstances, your mind would die, too. But Sidereal has discovered something. I don't know what it is exactly, but they can completely separate the mind from the body. So when the Moon hits Earth and everything here blows up, it won't matter to them.

That is some scary technology, but maybe that explains why so much of this was familiar. We've gone through this before, haven't we? And we traveled the "Realm of Dreams" to do it?

Realm of Dreams?
A poetic name, but quite graphic. Sidereal has discovered that the human mind is capable of accessing this... place. A vast network, connecting every mind. As it later turned out, it reached far beyond every mind in the world. It can connect minds across universes.

If the Realm of Dreams is a place any of us can access, then that shadowy figure is some sort of guardian or predator? Whatever they are, is there a reason "why sleeper pods have to be on the Moon?"

Why do the sleeper pods have to be on the Moon? Why even bother flying here if all they do is put you in a pod?
Their pods are extremely susceptible to any interference. Especially radio waves. Humanity used to produce a giant mess of electromagnetic waves of various frequencies. Radio broadcasts, TV, communications. I can go on and on. Sidereal found it next to impossible to come up with a location desolate enough for their sleeper pods to work as intended. Faraday cage shielding was partially effective, but it was apparently causing some side effects. Early experiments led to some awful failures. They finally came up with the idea that the only thing that would shield the sleeper pods well enough would be...
The Moon.



We can now ask about "other interferences," too.

What about Moon-Earth communication? What about radio waves from space? Don't they interrupt the sleeper pods?
Sidereal's own communication devices work on frequencies outside the harmful spectrum. Space radiation. Damn it, David. I don't know! They must have found a way around it. I'm not a physicist.

That's all we've got for now. "Goodbye," Cate, let's keep looking around.

So, that's our way out. We get into those pods and we dream our way out of here. Wake up somewhere safe.
I'm not sure how I feel about that idea. But then again... what do we have to lose?

Yes... our memories must merge after awakening. That's got to be it! There are four empty pods we can use, a black access card lying on the ground, and a diagnostics screen on the computer displays on the left.

(Interaction - Any empty sleeper pod) This pod is empty... but closed.

An access card (0 kg).



Some base worker or scientist must have dropped this. It may come in handy.



Hmm. No disks in the drives, eh? The computer's locked though. Cate?



"The controls are locked" for the memory screens.

The controls are locked.
We've gotta unlock them, fast. I think it can be done in the control room.
If you say so.

(Item - Floppy disk on console controls) The console seems to be locked.

That's all we can do here. Let's head to the right passage.



Every moment that passes means the Earth approaches closer, the base shakes harder, and more chunks of the moon fall away, so let's move on. To the control room!



The control room has a card reader and a base control computer. The access card we got may be used in the reader, but what about the computer?

(Interaction - Card reader) There's a slot for an access card.



We can't access the base control computer alone, so we'll probably need to use the access card.



Awesome.



Only one way forward and to survival!




(Interaction - Base control computer) I've done all I had to do here. Time to move.

I hope you're all ready for a nice long dream, people! I'll go check the sleeper pod diagnostics again.




Oh, no. No, no, no. Check that again. Maybe it was just a glitch.
It still says "phase controller corrupted."
It has already happened. It keeps happening.
Cate? You're not making any sense... Cate?
Yeah?



Not that we're in a rush or anything, but we can ask Cate about a few more things. First, "what's the 'phase controller'" this computer is giving lip about?

What's the "phase controller?"
It's a system designed to transmit human consciousness to a selected target.
Target? A human in another world?
Yes. Usually an otherwise braindead clone they've prepared especially for this purpose... or a patient in a coma, in the worlds like ours, where cloning has not been developed yet. This is how they used to navigate between worlds. Go to sleep here, target a sleeping human vessel in another world and wake up there.
I'm not sure if this is more terrifying or more unbelievable.
If that controller is disabled, we can't select a target body or world.

That sounds bad. We can't target ourselves, then? "What's the 'emergency merge mode'" and why does it make my brain itch?

So what's the "emergency merge mode?"
When the primary phase controller is disabled, a backup system kicks in. It targets a random world and a random sleeping person.
Without their consent?
Yes. However, for some reason, when this happens you almost always end up in your own body. But in a different world.



A couple more options appear, but I'll keep to the original questions. "Where will we go?"

Where will we go?
Well, without the phase controller, two things can happen. We can end up in limbo, in the dream world, without bodies to return to. Or we can wake up in our own bodies in a different world. A different version of our world.
Like... one where all this never happened? A world where there was no lunar explosion in 1996?
Hopefully... Yes, hopefully.

We've already tried this, haven't we? "What do you mean 'it has already happened?'" Am I right, then? We're on a loop of sorts?

What do you mean "it has already happened?"
I'm... not sure. The dreams we both had. Warning you about incoming threats. Showing me where the Sidereal office building was. Those might have been our own memories. From our past lives. That would mean I've been through this. We all have.

So "are we going to remember any of this?" How long have we been doing this now?

The computer says something about memory loss.
Yeah. When your mind ends up in your own body in a different world, this is what happens. You merge. Your current memories... become distant. Like a dream that you've forgotten.
It doesn't sound like we're going to make it in one piece after all...
It's better than dying completely, I guess.

Isn't this "a paradox" then? We definitely had more advanced warning, as it were, of meeting each other this time around, if this has happened more than once.

But if my past me warned me about the incoming events, who warned him? Another me? Who warned that other me? When did it all begin?
As far as I know, the number of worlds might be infinite. It's better not to think about it.

We've got nothing else to ask, but I think we've asked these questions before, and with the same answers, too. Let's say "goodbye" and see what we can do with the disks afterwards.

We have no other choice, David. We've got to use those pods, whether they're fully operational or not.
Can't we fix the damaged systems?
Even if we knew how, it would probably take days. We definitely don't have that much time. Let's do this. Quick. This whole place is falling apart.



On cue, four sleeper pods open up, inviting us to a special sort of sleep. But before closing our eyes, we have to fix this system with the disks we've so carefully taken with us thanks to Cody's and Barry's help.

(Item - Red floppy disk on console controls) I've inserted the "PHASE CTRL LITE" disk into Drive B. The computer reads it...




I hope this is going to make things better...



We can tell Cate it's time to sleep, but the disk comes first, then the other one.

I've inserted a special disk into the console.
What disk?
A disk I found in the Sidereal Plexus office. The computer says it will increase the memory transfer, or something like that. Do you think it's gonna help?
Yeah, I guess so. Even a single helper program like this could make a huge difference... If our memories are transferred intact... Or at least in a greater, more consistent rate... This could be huge, David. This might actually save us.

I'm not done saving us just yet!

(Item - Blue floppy disk on console controls) I've inserted the "MEM BOOST" disk into Drive A. The computer reads it...




I have a memory of inserting a single disk into this console in a previous life. Maybe now... with both disks in place... things are going to be okay...?



Now we can tell Cate we've inserted both disks into the computer. Could this be what saves us all in the end? Just two small pieces of plastic with some data in them?

I've inserted two special disks into the console.
What disks?
One was labeled "Memory Boost" and the other was "Phase Controller Lite." I found them at the Sidereal Plexus office. And I know they're gonna help, because I remember using one disk in my previous life.
What, what...? You actually remember being here?
Vaguely. Like a dream.
If one disk caused this... Two of them might actually boost the system enough for us to...
To survive. To end this.
How many loops do you remember?
I'm sure about one. But then again, I had prophetic dreams in that previous life, too, so... I guess we've been through a lot. And hopefully this is the last one.
Let's do it, then...

(Interaction - Any empty sleeper pod) I think I should ask others if they want to go first.

Right, I can't go to sleep first. We need to put our people to bed. While I'd leave it up to you guys to decide the order, I feel like this may be the end of it all, so the order will be decided by me! Cody first, because he's just a boy and they go to sleep before their parents do, then Barry, as he's been through a lot and needs his rest, and finally Cate, who has been with us the longest.



It's "time to sleep, Cody."

Cody... It's time.
I don't want to sleep.
I know, but we all have to.
I won't be able to sleep now. I'm too scared.
This machine will help you. Come on. Don't be scared.
What will happen? Where will we go?
(Cody walks to a pod.) I... don't know. But it's going to be alright.



Survival

Goodnight, Cate.
Sleep well, kid.
You too, Barry. David? I don't want to be alone again.
You won't be. Wherever you wake up... I will find you.
Promise?
Promise.



(Interaction - Cody's sleeper pod) Sleep well, little prince.

That's Cody done...



Barry, "it's time to say goodbye."

I don't like this idea, David. I know what you want to say, and I don't like it.
To be honest, I have no idea if this does anything or if we are just being delusional.
Nothing to lose, right?
We came this far. Might as well give it a shot. Want me to go first?
(Barry walks to a pod.) Nah, it's okay. You seem to be the one who knows which buttons to press.



Maybe I was wrong about you.
I'm... I'm glad you think so. I know I can be... unpleasant.
Yes. But that's just a mask and I can see that. You're a good person, Cate. Keep it that way. See you around.
Bye, big man.
Hey, David?
Yes?
You say we can... find ourselves anywhere, in any world?
That's how I understand it.
You think... You think I'll see her? Maggie. My wife.
I don't know, Barry. But I think there's a chance you will. Say hello to her for me.
Sure thing, David. Sure thing.



(Interaction - Barry's sleeper pod) You've earned some rest, buddy.



And that leaves you, Cate... "Time to sleep."

Time to sleep, right? Or should I go first?
It's okay. Remember to turn off the lights. And promise you won't do anything stupid.
(Cate walks to a pod.) Have I ever done anything stupid?
Hah, you're funny.



Survival

Here we are. At the end of the road. Or is it the beginning? I wouldn't have made it here if it wasn't for you.
Are you getting emotional now?
Hah. I think I've spent too much time with you.
Where do you hope to wake up?
In a bed. In a world where they have a Moon and lattes.
I hope that's what happens.
Me too. Bye, David. Until we meet again.
Just don't point your gun at me when we do, okay?
Can't promise that.



(Interaction - Cate's sleeper pod) You are where you wanted, Cate. Let's hope you were right about all of this.

All that's left is our own pod.



Mr. Sandman, bring me a dream...




Well, don't just that beat all. The power went down just as we tried using ours! What can we do here... Do we have to go back to the main console to fix this?




As I make a dash for the main console, the "Long Nights" theme starts playing with the vocals, and the Earth approaches with every moment! This is our true final night of survival!



What other choice do we have? Do it! No one could rescue us now anyway!




Run, David! Run for your life!




Get in the pod, David! Escape! Survive this final night, and break the cycle! To a new world, one where the moon is still intact!



Investigation

A news headline detailing a canceled lunar launch, a steaming mug of coffee, a signed adoption permit, and a stuffed tiger.



In an office, a woman looks out her window as her computer searches for information on a man. On a street, that same man reads a newspaper. In a simple home, a couple holds hands. In an orphanage, a boy plays with his stuffed tiger.



One by one, they look up to the sky...



...Where the moon hangs in all its glory, as it has always done for millenia.



This has been Don't Escape: 4 Days to Survive, or Don't Escape: 4 Days in a Wasteland.











I want to thank everyone who participated in this Let's Play so far for helping David, Cate, Cody, and Barry survive and escape their doomed world. I also want to thank the creators of this game for their hard work and excellent story. My hat's off to your effort and creativity! I had a lot of fun experiencing this world alongside the readers!



However, we're not done quite just yet. "The Awakening" has been replaced by "Custom Game" in the main menu. There is one more loop to be experienced, an alternate timeline where everything could have ended quite differently... Are you prepared to awaken once more?

Thrilling conclusion?!
I'm on the edge of my seat.

That ending was sweet.

Nice job.

There is goon participation in this entry!



Now that we've finished the game with its "true" ending, we have unlocked the option to play a custom game. But what does that mean, exactly?







Well, here's your answer. We can customize what scenarios we'll be facing in each day of survival, as well as what memory disks we used, if any. The one with Barry and the blue disk means that we would have to sacrifice Cody to obtain it when visiting the Sidereal Plexus office, while the gray disk means no disks were used at all, so we'd restart the game entirely. For this "what if?" cycle, I'm going to show what happens if we have used both disks, as well as a third problem that can kill us on the first day: poisonous gas. I will also show what happens if we mess up each day of survival imperfectly after we find our friends and don't bother to protect them. We'll be betraying their trust on purpose... Since we have to set our parameters, I'll leave the circumstances of this run to you after the first day. What will be the future threats David will have to face in this traitorous cycle?



For now, I'll lock in these settings and change them after your vote this episode. It's time to awaken once more in a cycle of incompetence and despair...



Once again, David walks into the frame from the darkness on the right. What is the death of this third cycle?



A cloud of green poisonous gas bursts into the room through the window, its corrisive acid eating away at David's skin, dissolving his flesh, and snuffing his life on this wasteland.



What a nightmare... It all felt so real. I feel there was... something more in that dream. Something... sad... and important. Why do I feel like this already happened? Yet something is different. I'm gonna find out what.

As before, David awakens and exists his trusty tent. We pick up the backpack and move on, when a green cloud rises from the horizon.



I think my nightmare might have been more than just a dream. I still have a couple of hours, but I have to find a shelter... fast.



Our task for this final alternate day? Avoid getting gassed to death. I'll skip through everything else we've already seen and show you the highlights and differences this time around.



Inside

After gaining access to the house, we find our first difference to survive this night: a kitchen towel hanging next to the keys.

A kitchen towel (0.2 kg). An old kitchen towel. It's always good to have a towel.



There's another towel in the bathroom.

A bathroom towel (0.2 kg). It's an old bathroom towel. It's always good to have a towel.



Wasteland

It looks like they were wearing hazmat suits. But the chemicals were too strong.

Our bodies at the roadblock east of the house are these poor bastards. Wearing a hazmat suit alone won't be enough to keep us safe from the poisonous gas, but maybe we can still use them. As a point of fact, we probably should...

(Interaction - Left corpse) The suit has been destroyed by incredibly strong chemicals and is of no use to me. Maybe the gas mask...? (David bends down and picks something up.) The gas mask is broken, but I managed to salvage an air filter.

An air filter (0.1 kg). A spare air filter for a gas mask.

(Interaction - Left corpse) There is nothing useful here.
(Interaction - Right corpse) There is a small leaflet in one of the pouches in the suit.



Ah. So the trick here is to decide later on whether to hide on the top floor or ground floor of the farmhouse, I bet. We'll need to keep that air density number, 1.61 kg/m3, in mind.

I don't want to take this piece of paper since it's highly contaminated with gas, but I've noted what's important in my journal.

09:58 am: If the gas density is higher than 1.61 kg/m3, I should stay on the upper floor. Otherwise, I should stay on the ground floor.



The truck is now labeled as "Chemical Emergency Response." Fat lot of good it did for those two poor saps back there. Still, we'll have to break in with the crowbar.



The truck is certainly laid out differently this time around. There are three valves labeled A, B, C, and a disposal sink to the left. Four lockers are nearby.

(Interaction - Any valve) I need a proper container for that.
(Interaction - Disposal sink) The sink is used to dispose of unwanted chemical liquids.



I open the lockers, one locked and pried open with the crowbar, of course. We have us a hazmat suit, duct tape, and an empty chemistry flask with a sticky note taped to the door. Time to loot!

09:58 am: I have a hazmat suit that I'll wear for protection.

A hazard suit (4 kg). Upon closer inspection the suit turns out to have a big hole. Also, the gas mask filter seems to be faulty.

Figures that we'd get the reject. We have an air filter from the dead guy, so maybe that'll fix the suit later.

An empty chemistry flask (0.1 kg). A glass intended for short-term storage of chemical substances.



A chemical emergency response truck sticky note (0 kg).

This explains the valves and disposal sink in the truck. We'll need to find some way to check the pH value of the toxic gas and neutralize it with the correct combination of response components on the back of the truck and water. Time to hunt around for that toxin...



After I build a bridge to get across the ravine of the destroyed bridge, I happen to spot something new: a weather drone next to the road. Maybe it has the information about the gas that we need?

(Interaction - Weather drone) It's an automated drone used to measure weather conditions. Looks like it's too damaged to ever fly again, but there is still something on its display.



Nice, we got what we need. The pH of the toxin is 2, its gas density is 1.59 kg/m3, and its molar mass is 97.03 g/mol. I don't know if we'll need the molar mass value yet, but let's keep in mind, eh?

A weather drone (2 kg).

David takes the drone rather than record the info on his journal, apparently unconcerned about contamination. Where was this careless attitude with the leaflet on the dead guy's body?



I return to the chemical response truck to make the pH-neutralizing compound with the chemistry flask we got. Since the pH is 2, we need to combine response components from valves A and B.

A glass half-full of the "A" liquid (0.5 kg). Half-full or maybe half-empty? Hmm...

A glass full of the mix of "A" "B" liquids (1 kg). It has a strange color and an awful smell.

I believe we'll need to aerosolize this chemical compound in the farmhouse's irrigation system to counter the gas, much like in the times fighting the spiders and locusts.



Investigation

Success! I've patched up the pipe using duct tape and installed the chemical flask in the pesticide dispenser outlet. All I have to do is play that minigame to turn on all the irrigation pipes.

03:53 pm: I scheduled the water sprinklers, mixed with chemicals, to put out a wall of mist by the time the gas cloud arrives. Hopefully the chemicals will weaken the cloud...

It's almost time for us to hunker down for the night. There are two votes for your consideration today.

First, how should we protect ourselves for the night? I figure covering the windows with plastic wrap and nailing and duct taping them up will give the best protection against gas seeping in. We'll need to patch up the hazmat suit too, so I figure patching the hole on it with the towels with duct tape and replacing the air filter are important. Also, we should shelter in the ground floor as the gas density is lower than air. How do my preparations sound?

Second, what should our Day 2, Day 3, and Day 4 threats be? I don't really have any preference. Our friends are going to suffer either way...

The winning combination of votes for the future days were cold for the second day and bandits for the third, with a tie for the fourth day, so we'll be doing the fuel run again. I'll change those settings on the back end after wrapping up this day. As for how to secure ourselves, I'll take your advice to seal up the windows with plastic netting and duct tape and trying to use towels and duct tape to patch our suit's holes, or stuff them under the doors if not possible.



Inside

First, let's replace that air filter in our hazard suit.

I've replaced the air filter.

A hazard suit (4 kg). Upon closer inspection the suit turns out to have a big hole. At least the air filter has been replaced.

Next, can we use duct tape on the suit in the same way to cover those holes? Using the towels on the suit did nothing.

I've covered the hole with some duct tape.

A hazard suit (4 kg). With the air filter replaced and the hole fixed with some duct tape, this suit might be able to help me.

I'm surprised the duct tape alone was enough for the game to count this. Maybe the towels can be used on the doors like Bregor said? The suit also has a couple of duct tape bands around the left arm and leg now.




03:53 pm: All the doors to the house are closed and the openings have been sealed with towels. Will this be enough?

I'll be damned, good call on that idea! I wouldn't have thought of it myself. Now, for the windows. Time for protective plastic.





04:13 pm: I installed plastic wrap in one of the windows. Can I improve my chances somehow?





04:33 pm: I installed plastic wrap in some of the windows.





04:53 pm: I installed plastic wrap in all of the windows.

Excellent. The window sealing looks more or less air-tight, we've got the anti-toxin spray automated and ready to go, and our hazard suit is as safe as it can get. Time to hunker down on the ground floor and wait out the lighter-than-air poison gas.



We can't forget to wear our hazard suit, or we'll probably die from trace amounts of the poison gas! Let's go, David, save yourself. You're a survivor.



Long Nights

You found a hiding place in an abandoned farmhouse...



Despite being old and faulty, the sprinklers worked perfectly, fully covering the air above the fields with a dense mist. The water acted as a natural wall, stopping 16% of the gas. There was a strong neutralizer mixed with the water, and it seemed to be working... The neutralizing solution stopped 24% of the initial cloud.





That window stopped 8% of the incoming gas cloud.



That window stopped 8% of the incoming gas cloud.



That window stopped 8% of the incoming gas cloud. The deadly gas was inside... 20% of the initial cloud penetrated the hideout.




Hah! Were you expecting anything less than David acing this challenge?



Another Sunrise

You went to bed early and had a well-deserved rest, allowing you to regain some strength. [+5 kg permanent carry weight bonus]

Y'all know what's coming. Cate's going to crash into the building with her sick piloting abilities, so I won't show that bit of comedy again. Instead, what I'll do for future updates is show any serious dialogue changes for this dual-disk run, as well as the unfortunate demise of our companions.

However, there is one matter to settle here, and I'll ask for your goon votes next time. It has to do with how, exactly, one of our companions bites the dust on the second night, or exploring the Sidereal complex on the third day... I hope you haven't gotten too attached to our friends, because they're not going to survive this cycle!