The game is you are a student of a university in Boston; you accidentally moved to Northampton (before the many embodied cybernetic intelligences emerged) because your ride back to Boston ditched you while you were checking out the consortium. You aren't necessarily interacting with any canon cast, but they're there, in their world. (The astute player may notice a greyscale humanoid) Free form Rollenspiel. You start as a campus tourist. (You only later find out that your ride home cancelled.)
One of the playthrough possibilities is: after trying for days to find work, to buy food, to find a place to live, unsuccessfully because you're a theoretician who eschewed practice, met Emily Azuma and hit it off (intellectually---as the player, if you can keep up (or play through it slowly enough) then there's a whole (abstruse) course in whatever Azuma practices, but often on a highly mathematical or highly metaphysical level that takes high cerebral fortitude (of the player, and of the character) to understand and tie back to one's reality---and maintain one's sanity at least almost as well as Azumasama); things are looking up, until Azuma unwittingly transforms you into a dog. To spare yourself the embarrasment of him finding out that he turned you into a dog, you leave; the astute dog will notice the greyscale humanoid, and, curiosity piqued, follow him (insufficiently) subtly (naturally, he'll notice) to a tiny apartment (stupid front door to the building still needs fixing), and insist, sitting by the door, imposing on what is like maybe the only survival opportunity. Yay! You made a Newfriend. (The game continues from here, vel cetera.) (He, naturally, senses something about your condition, but takes some dog years to figure it out, consider possible responses,, His arbitrary charity certainly doesn't help. You, I mean, it doesn't help you.)
In this free-form Rollenspiel, there is also a ``walking simulator'' that is really a VR link to the inside of station (but only station knows about this. The others in station think it's just station being eccentric for some reason---playing multiple personalities) As a dog, you are able to connect, and regain your pre-dog form (albeit, only as a hologram---but you can talk!, you can dance!, etc); eventually, compliments of your Newfriend, (yes, you own your Newfriend, they feed you, they groom you, it's patent---you are their master) there's also a similar ``walking simulator'' to Union Robitics, but you are have no presence there, except when Union Robotics is closed for the night, when, it is uncertain whether really, or simulately, you can control it. After some time, when people start walking around with custom-sculpture heads, Faye gets suspicious, and quietly stakes out the workshop, to find that---you'll have to play the game to find out.
Somehow, this fits under the umbrella of Lemon-therapy. The medium of the game is your dreams, networked using the advanced version of the
Trans-Consciousness Messaging Protocol. (Specifically, an advanced version of the Asynchronous Trans-Consciousness Messaging Protocol---you download all the data into your mind while awake (many a person is able to simultaneously use his mind otherwise). You can load-up the game when you're entering, or already in, your dreamstate. Yes, you're in a pod. No, it's voluntary.) Gesamtkunst.
So...do we christen this ship Clinpatrice or Beepston?
Beepton. Definately Definately beepton. Beepton is a good ship. Definately a good ship. They have so much in common. Like. Like. Like, being putting up with everyones' inebriety. And. And. Yess. Definately Definately Yess. That thing that they have in common. That.. oooohh. Yesss.
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Topic: WCDT strips 4221-4225 (16th to 20th of March, 2020) (Read 14204 times)