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Illusion
by
Cristina Montemorano
Played 1,000 times
View game source
(spoilers!)
Download the
.z8 file
Source Code
“Illusion by Cristina Montemorano†The Hallway is a room. The description of the Hallway is "You open your eyes and find yourself in the midst of your old school's corridors. Everything is cast in a strange pallid glow, and you feel slightly nauseous. After taking a moment to find your bearings, you remember the gymnasium and the atrium to the north, the laboratory and the art studio to the south, the classroom and the cafeteria to the east, and the library and the band room to the west. Something seems off. You'll have to walk around and examine & pick up (or consume) everything in order to figure it out. Somehow, part of you knows that you are keeping them waiting. When you're finished exploring the rooms, check your locker." The Hallway contains a row of lockers. The description of the lockers is "They look rather beat up. You wonder if someone took a baseball bat and scraped it down the whole length of the row. One specific locker is covered in a galaxy of stickers." Instead of taking lockers, say "That would require a lot of strength and time. You don't have that kind of time." The locker is part of the lockers. The locker is a closed openable container. The description of the locker is "This is your locker. There are many like it, but this one is yours." The stickers is an object. The stickers is part of the locker. The stickers are scenery. The stickers are fixed in place. The description of the stickers is "Scattered movie references, band logos, and a single tiny transformation brooch." Instead of taking stickers, say "You worked really hard to collect all of these. It would be a shame to peel them off and ruin your collage masterpiece." Carry out opening locker: now the locker is open. In the locker is the letter. The letter is an object. The description of the letter is "You notice that the letter is sealed with a heart. What are they up to?" The letter is a closed openable container. Carry out opening letter: now the player is inside ROOM OF DESTINY. The ROOM OF DESTINY is a room. "An unfamiliar place. Two lights illuminate the space: one directly above you, surrounding you in a pool of warm yellow light, and one about 10 feet away, illuminating a mysterious visage. It's them. You try to call out to them. They raise their head slowly. As the light catches their face, you realize the figure is strangely familiar…like looking in a mirror. They say in a voice clouded with static - You must return to your home. Your memories are scrambled, and you must not prolong your stay in this place. I love you too much to let you stay. What you leave here will determine your destiny. Choose wisely." Every turn when the player is in ROOM OF DESTINY, if the player is carrying nothing, say "There is nothing in your inventory to leave here, so now you must leave yourself. You are trapped here for eternity. To obtain an ending, you must begin again. Type RESTART, and respond yes to exit.". After dropping the dodgeball in the ROOM OF DESTINY: say "The figure smiles as it smushes on the floor. It's time to go. You open your eyes slowly, blinking as you acclimate yourself to the bright natural light. You find yourself lying on a warm blacktop, with green grass blades between your fingers. A man wearing running shorts rushes over to you, holding a small bottle of juice. He hands you the bottle, and your fingers meet on the condensation-covered surface. He didn't mean to hit you with the ball, he hurriedly apologizes, asking profusely if you are alright. He offers you a hand, and you smile and take it."; end the game in victory. After dropping the shards in the ROOM OF DESTINY: say "The figure follows the slivery pieces with widened eyes as they near the floor. The moment that the glass splinters, you jolt awake. That one idiot next door threw a rock through your window again, you just know it. With a heart filled with vengeance, you throw back the covers and prepare for battle."; end the game in victory. After dropping the vial in the ROOM OF DESTINY: say "The figure rolls their eyes at you, pinches the bridge of their nose, and shakes their head as the blue Gatorade liquid splashes all over your feet. Which is exactly how your chemistry professor looks at you when you groggily wake up, roll to the side, and vomit violently all over the lab floor. Why would you drink the chemical? It had copper and who knows what else in it. You're a fucking idiot."; end the game in victory. After dropping the textbook in the ROOM OF DESTINY: say "The figure pantomimes gagging as the book hits the floor with an impressive bang. You snap awake, feeling better than ever except for a lingering sense of dread...and then you remember where you are. A too-large number glares at you, boring a hole through your wallet. You just fainted at the UMW bookstore after seeing the price of your fall semester textbooks."; end the game in victory. After dropping the figure in the ROOM OF DESTINY: say "The figure's face morphs from abject horror to devious grinning. They walk toward you and state flatly that they changed their mind. They high-five your face, making you crumble to the floor. You feel a squeezing sensation as your body shrinks and forcibly merges with the drawing-mannequin figure. They tear open the letter portal to the ROOM OF DESTINY and place you back in the art studio. You try to move but cannot. You try to scream but cannot. You will just need to wait until the next dreamer comes along for a high-five."; end the game in victory. After dropping the head in the ROOM OF DESTINY: say "The figure walks over and gives you a warm hug They knew it was you all along. You drift awake with a smile and slight drool on your face, raising your head from a simple wooden desk. Stacks of books fill the metal shelving above you, and cute colorful plushies peek out from nooks and crannies between DVDs and folders and blank journals. A ram statue with a blue and yellow ribbon, a cherub with a flower crown, and a row of geeky figurines look nonchalantly at you. A metal candy dish welded with love holds candy canes and lollipops next to a bubble-shaped clock displaying the late hour. A string of eyeball Halloween lights and the eyeball head that you painstakingly collaged oversees the scene. You get up, hug the stuffed ham plushie on the bed, pull up the covers and your Howl's Moving Castle blanket and drift back to sleep. You really need to stop falling asleep on your homework."; award 100 points; end the game in victory. After dropping the paper in the ROOM OF DESTINY: say “The figure begins to fizzle and glitch and speak in nonsensical riddles like a Jason Nelson work. A familiar voice explaining his hatred of February wakes you up. You’d better not fall asleep in Electronic Literature again, you missed a lot. Luckily, your classmates have updated the class notes and there are fresh memes to view. Life is good.â€; end the game in victory. After dropping the apple in the ROOM OF DESTINY: say “The figure crinkles their nose as the apple squishes slightly on the floor, emitting a slight smell of decay. The sunlight filtered by the apple tree’s leaves nudges you awake. You turn your head and see her laying next to you among the fallen fruit and leaves. She looks angelic as she naps in the shade. You kiss her cheek and contentedly close your eyes.â€; end the game in victory. After dropping the stench in the ROOM OF DESTINY: say “The figure shrieks with laughter. And they shriek in laughter too. Your classmates, your professor, Dr. Paino, the mayor of Fredericksburg, N. Katherine Hayles. Everyone you’ve ever met or never met or never will meet is laughing. Everyone that ever existed is laughing. You just busted the world’s most massive fart in your sleep. But they’ll stop laughing when the smell hits.â€; end the game in victory. After dropping the notebook in the ROOM OF DESTINY: say “The figure screams in panic. The notebook flips open to its personally desired page and glows powerfully, shaking in massive tremors. Huge claws shred the pages as the creature escapes. You begin to scream and sob, and just before you are cut to ribbons by those vicious claws, your eyes snap open. Your sobs of terror woke your mother from her sleep as well, and she holds your face in her hands, stroking the sweaty hair from your forehead to comfort you.“; end the game in victory. After dropping the pen in the ROOM OF DESTINY: say “The figure smirks knowingly. They ask you if you are prepared to fight. You bend down, and uncap the pen with a flourish, revealing a shiny blade. You engage in epic battle with the figure - yourself - and win. Your victory in inner conflict stirs your emotions, causing you to wake up from your odd dream. You take this as a sign to finally get that Big Chungus tattoo you’ve always wanted.â€; end the game in victory. After dropping the recorder in the ROOM OF DESTINY: say “The figure dabs respectfully. You wake up cuddling your old recorder from grade school and can immediately play Darude Sandstorm, I’m a Believer, the theme from Persona 5, and the Epic Sax Guy song without any practice. You have become the Recorder Master.â€; award 50 points; end the game in victory. After dropping the death in the ROOM OF DESTINY: say "Congratulations! You've found the secret ending. You died."; end the game in death. The Gymnasium is a room. "The wooden floor is coated in an uneven swirl of wax streaks and shoe scuffs. Sad basketball hoops hang from the slowly rusting metal-scaffolded ceiling, lonely from disuse. A few of the huge overhead lights flicker and hum, and moths attempt to gather overhead." The Gymnasium contains a deflating dodgeball resting against a mildewy padded wall. The dodgeball is an object. The description of the dodgeball is “Red geometric patterns cover its surface. You squish it and it sighs. It leaves your hands smelling like old gym shoes.†After taking dodgeball: say "Squish. You are now equipped with the power of sports."; award 50 points. Instead of eating the dodgeball, say "Tougher than boot leather, and not recommended for consumption." The Atrium is a room. "Filled with light, maybe because all of the windows are shattered in teeny tiny pieces on the floor. It has a nice ambience, though." The Atrium contains shards of glass. The shards is an object. The description of the shards is "Shiny and jagged, these slivers remind you of chunks of a chandelier, or fake diamonds. Very sparkly and slightly dangerous." After taking shards: say "Twinkle. You are now equipped with the power of scintillation."; award 50 points. Instead of eating shards, say "You'd get a scratchy throat that no amount of tea with lemon and honey could fix." The Laboratory is a room. "Rows of black-topped tables fill the room, many with gouges from pencils or hazardous chemicals. A layer of dust coats the lab coats and goggles hanging from hooks on the wall. Piles of unwashed beakers and flasks fill sinks around the perimeter of the room. A blocky desktop computer hums in the corner and awaits an input." The Laboratory contains a small intact vial of bright blue liquid and an incredibly thick physics textbook. The vial is an object. The textbook is an object. The description of the vial is “Is this Gatorade? You’re certain that it’s Blue Cherry flavor. How does someone make so-called blue cherries? Probably in a lab. You know that your reasoning is sound, because it even smells like Gatorade?? And you found this in a lab???†After taking vial: say "Gurgle. You are now equipped with the power of blue liquid."; award 50 points. Instead of eating vial, say "Never drink chemicals from a laboratory. Let's go over lab safety again..." The description of the textbook is “Just looking at this book makes your brain hurt. Opening to a page, you are assaulted by lines of complicated equations. It’s pretty when the numbers swim off the page. The longer you stare, the more the numbers dance.†After taking textbook: say "Science. You are now equipped with the power of boredom."; award 50 points. Instead of eating textbook, say "You take a huge bite out of one page corner. Your mind spins with knowledge, specifically the knowledge that physics tastes as dry as it looks." The Art Studio is a room. "A veritable artistic tornado has overtaken the room. Massive clay-and-wire sculptures occupy the portion of the room not occupied by easels of still-dripping paintings or overflowing boxes of collage materials. A small photography darkroom door is open slightly, revealing emanating red light and slightly-urine chemical fumes. Sagging shelves full of colorless jars and boxes and packages and crumbling artworks seem fade into the background, sepia-style." The Art Studio contains a small drawing-mannequin figure and a head covered in eyes. The figure is an object. The head is an object. The description of the figure is “Gold-colored joints connect the foot bone to the leg bone and the leg bone to the torso and the torso to the trunk and the trunk to the arms and head. One arm dangles limply and the other is poised for an epic high-five. You oblige it, and think that it is satisfied.†After taking figure: say "Pose. You are now equipped with the power of modeling."; award 50 points. Instead of eating figure, say "I personally never eat people that I've previously high-fived." The description of the head is “Its surface is coated in a collage of carefully-cropped clippings, likely from an eclectic stack of fashion magazines smattered with National Geographics. You wonder who once possessed these organs - Justin Bieber? Katy Perry? An eye surgery patient? The process of cutting eyes out of pages must have appeared rather gruesome, but there was certainly no pain involved. No harm done, then, even if it is a little creepy.†After taking head: say "Surreal. You are now equipped with the power of all-seeing."; award 50 points. Instead of eating head, say "I won't let you do that. I spent so much work on that." The Classroom is a room. The description of the Classroom is "This was once your classroom. Several rows of desks covered in pencil scratches stand wobbly at the ready like tired soldiers in limp formation. The teacher's desk was defiantly pushed up against the wall by some unknown force. Scattered papers cover the floor, threatening to creep up the walls. Not much learning has gone on here for some time." The scattered papers is an object. The scattered papers is scenery. "You decide to leave the papers alone to sprout. They have a quest to complete." The Classroom contains a moulding apple all alone on the teacher's desk and a small slip of grey paper emanating a somber atmosphere. The description of apple is "Shrivelled and wormy. Definitely not suitable for eating, unless you have a very forgiving palate. Which you do not have." After taking apple: say "Smush. You are now equipped with the power of rot."; award 50 points. Instead of eating apple, say "You take a big ole bite. Like an idiot. Your stomach immediately cramps, and you feel like you're going to die, but that will happen only probably after suffering hours of self-induced torment. Fantastic job. This is all your fault." The description of paper is "You bend down and pick up the paper. In tiny, cramped handwriting, you read the following: Why Won’t This Work Why Won’t Work This Why This Work Won’t Why This Won’t Work Why Work Won’t This Why Work This Won’t Won’t This Work Why Won’t This Why Work Won’t Work Why This Won’t Work This Why Won’t Why This Work Won’t Why Work This This Won’t Work Why This Won’t Why Work This Work Won’t Why This Work Why Won’t This Why Work Won’t This Why Won’t Work Work Why Won’t This Work Why This Work Work Won’t This Why Work Won’t Why This Work This Why Won’t Work This Won’t Why You can sense the despair." After taking paper: say "Compute. You are now equipped with the power of edgy electronic poetry."; award 50 points. Instead of eating paper, say "You consume a tiny bit of despair. Tastes papery and dark, like an over-steeped Earl Gray.†The Cafeteria is a room. "Even in this strange apocalyptic setting, the cafeteria remains the same. This is a place where hunger ceases ...because you are too busy running to the bathroom to escape the wretched, unidentifiable smell. You seriously question if anyone has actually bought food here." The Cafeteria contains a semi-solid stench like something died within, a torturous death. The description of stench is "The stench glitters slightly, like an oil slick, and undulates with a texture somewhere between jello and fruitcake. Its color is indescribable. Closer up, you parse its aroma as mainly rotten egg and liquid manure, with hints of jet fuel, cloying fruit, and jalapeño kettle chips." After taking stench: say "Smelly. You are now equipped with the power of evacuation."; award 50 points. Instead of eating stench, say "No." The Library is a room. "Shelves, extending to the ceiling, are filled with books. You can't identify any of the books in your line of sight, and for some reason you doubt that you would recognize any of the others in the room either. This school library was always known for its eclectic collection. Perhaps there will be something interesting to read." The Library contains a notebook embossed by a swirly labyrinthine symbol and an ordinary-looking pen. The notebook is an object. The pen is an object. The description of the notebook is “You open the notebook and find scribblings in archaic cursive. Pages and pages of sketches, symbols, and splatters of what you hope is spaghetti sauce break up the loopy handwriting. You close the notebook and give it a slight pat.†After taking notebook: say "Wicked. You are now equipped with the power of summoning."; award 50 points. Instead of eating the notebook, say "Your saliva would summon the demon trapped inside." The description of the pen is “An ordinary pen, one of those slightly expensive fountain pens that writes in ribbons and ink splotches. It must have carved rivers into the nearby notebook.†After taking pen: say "Scribble. You are now equipped with the power of might."; award 50 points. Instead of eating the pen, say "Are you a sword-swallower?" The Band Room is a room. "The piano is missing a few of its ivory keys. Folding chairs are upended everywhere, some creating avant-garde statuesque formations. Sheet music has been tacked onto every flat surface and to every leaf of a sagging fake plant atop the piano. A very discordant place." The Band Room contains a sad-looking recorder. The recorder is an object. The description of the recorder is “You haven’t played one of these in such a long time! Your fingers align over the holes of the instrument in an impressive feat of muscle memory. After lifting it to your mouth, it gives a half-hearted toot.†After taking recorder: say "Toot. You are now equipped with the power of sick beats."; award 50 points. Instead of eating the recorder, say "Are you prepared to communicate in Recorderese for the rest of your life?" The Gymnasium is north of the Hallway. The Atrium is north of the Gymnasium. The Laboratory is south of the Hallway. The Art Studio is south of the Laboratory. The Classroom is east of the Hallway. The Cafeteria is east of the Classroom. The Library is west of the Hallway. The Band Room is west of the Library.
