Norko: A Saturnian Adventure by joshua lutz

Norko: A Saturnian Adventure

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The Barracks is a room. "Your eyes slowly open to the world around you. Grey, dull light fills the room from an unkown source. You look around the room and slowly, you rise to your feet. 'How did I get here?' You wonder, as you rub the back of your head and curiously glance around the room. A clock on a nightstand next to your bunk reads 1:26 AM. To the north lies a door, and it is the only one in the room." 

North is a Hallway. The Hallway is a room. The time of day is 1:26 am.

"You enter the hallway, and bright light floods your vision. 'Better than a dark hallway, I suppose' you think to yourself. A door lies to the north, above which is a sign reading 'Arboretum', and a locked grey door is set in the east wall."

At 1:38 AM: say "You think you hear something shuffling about in the distance..."
At 1:48 AM: say "You turn around, only to see a silhouette of some creature dart across the far end of the room you just left. You're not alone here."
At 1:58 AM: say "You feel like you can feel hot breath on your neck. Something is in here with you."
At 2:00 AM: say "A loud, guttural moan resonates through the rusted steel of this desolate station. Your hairs stand on end as the moan shakes the walls."


The grey door is a locked door. It is east of the hallway and west of the engineer's closet. The grey lockpick unlocks the grey door.

The Engineer's Closet is a room. "'What an oddly large room' you think as you step into the walk-in Engineer's Closet. Empty cargo lockers line the walls, and at the back of the room a rack of repair-phasers is fully stocked." The repair phaser is in the engineer's closet. The description is "A standard handheld repair phaser. It has a bright orange handle that leads to a black barrel which houses the coil. When the trigger is depressed, a small electric current is discharged. Useful for jumping circuits." The repair phaser unlocks the cargo door.

North of the hallway is the Arboretum. The Arboretum is a room.
"You enter the Arboretum and are amazed by the size of the room. Large oaks tower above the smaller dogwoods, and the lush foliage seems to stretch from wall to wall. The humidity is staggering; you feel as though you are already sweating despite just stepping into the room. Above is a glass ceiling, filled with the warm yellow hues of Saturn's gaseous atmosphere. To the west is a doorway with the words 'Supply Closet' on a sign above it. East is a doorway enshrouded in darkness.  North is a hallway above which is a sign reading 'Cryohibernation Bay. The doorway from which you came lies to the south.'"

West is a supply closet. East is the East Corridor. North is a Cryohibernation Bay. 

Supply Closet is a room. 
"Barren shelves line the hall of this darkened closet. On the floor rests a small pamphlet, laying among stains of red." 

The pamphlet is in the Supply Closet. The Description is "A small pamphlet. On the front is a picture of a scientist looking into a microscope, and behind her lies Saturn, with the rings extending past the edges of the paper. The text reads 'Norko Genetics: Where perfection is just a genome away!' The rest of the text is unreadable, smeared with dirt and dark red stains." 


The East Corridor is a room. It is east of the Arboretum and west of the Mess hall. "You open the door to the East Corridor and the dimly lit hallway stretches out before you. The darkness is eerie, but the light provides enough to see your way around the room. At the end of the hallway lies one door, above which is a sign reading 'Mess Hall.'"

The Mess Hall is a room. It is northwest of the bathroom and southwest of the Kitchen.
"As you progress further down the hallway and into the Mess Hall, a strong odor overcomes you. It's an acrid stench, and one you are not familiar with. Rotted food sits atop some grey tables, but many of them are barren. The room is well lit, and the floor to ceiling windows provide wide vistas of the emptiness of space. You feel alone, and scared. 'Where is everyone?' you think. 'Hello?' you shout, but nothing comes of it. That is, until, you hear a slight shuffle come from the far side of the room, past the closed door that looks as though it leads to the kitchen (northeast). Opposite that door, to the southeast, is a door with a bathroom sign."

Southeast is the Bathroom. The Bathroom is a room. "You hesitantly push the door open and are greeted with a dark, dingy rest room. The urinals are caked in dark grime, and the floor is even worse. The singular stall in the rests with a closed door. You flip on the light switch, and the lights begin to flicker erratically. A thump from behind the metal door (which lies to the north) startles you. You are scared; your heart is racing. 'What is behind that door?' you wonder."

The metal door is a door. It is north of the bathroom and south of the stall. 

North is the Stall. The stall is a room. "You open the stall door and to your horror find a rotting body lying on the floor. Around its neck is a decaying noose, and from the ceiling stems the rest of the rope. All you can do is stare in horror. Black bile pours from the mouth and blood runs from the nose. One eyeball rolls out of its socket, completely detached, and comes to a rest beside your foot. Large gashes run alongside the torso of this corpse, and large chunks of flesh seem to be missing from the thighs and lower legs. Blood rushes to your head and mutes out all sound. You can't stop staring. Your eyes are transfixed on the atrocious horrors playing out in front of you. You begin to tremble. You need to leave this room."

The dead man's eye is in the stall. The description is "A dead man's eyeball. Pretty Nasty. Why are you holding this? Weirdo."

The Kitchen is a room. It is northeast of the Mess Hall. "You enter the room and immediately notice how cramped everything is. Pots and pans hang from the cramped ceiling, and there are no windows, only stoves and ovens and pantries and closets and... you hear a faint voice coming from the back (north) of the room. 'Help' it seems to whisper, though the sounds carry almost too softly to your ear. 'What do I do?' You think. 'Invesitagating this strange whisper could be dangerous' you ponder 'but if I turn back, I'll never know what is making this sound.'"

North is the Back Kitchen. The Back Kitchen is a room. "'I need to know what's back there' you say aloud, as you walk towards the back of the room. However, to your shock, nothing is there. You turn around to leave, just as you hear a thump in the room next door. 'The bathroom' you think."


The Cryohibernation Bay is a room. "You enter the room and a chill runs down your spine. You remember that they keep this room cold so humans awakening from cryohibernation (or 'the big sleep' as they called it in training) would have an easier time adjusting to the temperatures. The room is dimly lit, and Cryo-pods line the walls. To the north lies the medical bay. To the west you can see an open door above which is a sign reading 'Curved Hall', and to the east is an open door."

East is an Empty Room. West is the curved Hall. North is the Medical Bay.

The Curved Hall is a room. "You enter the curved hall, shocked by what you see. Large claw marks have scratched the metal walls, and rubble lays in front of the only other door in this room, leaving it inacessible. Near the rubble, you can see an audio log" 

The audio log is in the curved hall. The description is "You press play on the audio log's illuminated display.  A voice says 'April 29th, 2098, Dr. John Bregan. The first genetic trials began today. Subjects who were forcefully abducted from Mars colony New Sahara are the first to undergo the forced genome manipulation. The results from this experiment are highly anticipated; never before has so much ridden on the genetic manipulation of such a small grouping. If all goes well, well, we should not get our hopes up. If it goes wrong, however, what, John? What? Fuck! I am on the way! Initialize containment procedures! Come on, move!' the audio transmission goes to static before cutting off."

The Empty Room is a room. "Nothing but dust lies on the floor of this curiously vacant room. A lone door rests at the end of the room, on the northeast side. Signage on the door reads 'Genetics Lab. Authorized Personnel Only. Retinal Scan Required." 

Northeast is a Sliding door. The sliding door is a locked door.  It is unlocked by the dead man's eye.

Southeast of the sliding door is the Genetics Laboratory.

The Medical Bay is a room. "Ruined and unkempt gurneys line the walls. The room is expansive, at least compared to the other rooms in which you have been. No medical utilities are present; only gurneys and desks. To the north is the Cargo Door (which leads to the cargo elevator). East lies a door to which an arrow on the floor points, and the underlying texts reads 'to Genetics Laboratory.' To the West is a doorway leading to the west hall. Near you, the hand of a corpse dangles out from under a blanket. Its fist is clenched."

East is the Genetics Lock. North is the Cargo Door. West is the West Hall. The clenched fist is in the Medical Bay. The description is "A rotted arm with a clenched fist hangs out from under the blanket. Dangling from the fist is a grey lockpick. The smell of the flesh is sickening." 

The grey lockpick is in the clenched fist.

The Genetics Lock is a room. "Bright light floods the room but you're the only object there to cast a shadow. On the east end or the hallway is a door on which text reads 'Genetics Lab. Authorized Personnel Only. Retinal scan required.'"

Southeast is a White door. The White door is a locked door.  It is unlocked by the dead man's eye.

Northeast of the white door is the Genetics Laboratory.

The Cargo Door is a locked door. It is north of the medical bay and south of the cargo elevator. 

The Genetics Laboratory is a room. "You step into the Genetics Laboratory and are immensely disturbed by what you see. Cadavers, corpses, whatever you want to call them, scattered about on gurneys and mangled in a way that would disgust even the most foul of people. From the shadows rises a lumbering beast; a lovecratian horror from beyond all mortal comprehension. Twisting tounges come forth from a toothed mouth, and black, gaping eyes stare through you and send chills through every fiber of your being. A horrid moan bellows from its several mouths and it begins to shuffle towards you."

The Cargo Elevator is a room. "Stepping into the Cargo Elevator, you immediately notice how utilitarian it is. A grated floor and ceiling allow you to see the entirety of the elevator shaft, including the reinforced carbon cables supporting you. Crossed rusted metal bars make up the walls of the elevator. Up is the Launch dock, and the life support systems are down." Up is the Launch Dock. Down is the life support room.

The Life Support room is a room. It is east of the armory. "You enter the Life Support room and notice the multiple automatic life support systems that are functioning. You notice a computer with a red warning screen at the far end of the room. West is a door above which a sign reads 'Armory'." 
The computer is a thing. It is in the Life Support Room. The description is "A thin holographic display with a red 'Warning!' light flashing on the screen. After tapping it, a new display comes up. 'Damage Analysis: Critical. Complete damage to cryo life support systems. Loss of 98% of pods.'"

The armory is a room. "You enter the armory and are shocked to see it devoid of most armament. All the weapons lockers are unlocked except for one, which lies at the far end of the room." The Unlocked Locker is an openable container. It is in the armory. The pulse pistol is inside the Unlocked Locker.

The Launch Dock is a room. It is above the cargo elevator. "The cargo elevator comes to a grinding halt atop the shaft; you are now standing on the landing dock of Norko's Saturnian station. Harsh winds blow about the surface of this planet, and only a greyish haze of solar dust seems to separate you from a small cargo ship. You know the doors are locked, though. You'll need a pulse pistol to override the lock. The winds ravage your suit; you won't last long out here." The cargo ship is a locked door. It is north of the launch dock and south of the Inside of the Ship. It is unlocked by the pulse pistol.

The Inside of the ship is a room. "You arrive inside the ship, thankful that your pulse blast worked. You cross your fingers and start the ship up and thankfully the engines fire. You take one last glance back at the moon and watch as it becomes a speck in the ocean of Saturn's atmposphere. You have survived. ***The End***"