Blue Lacuna — 115 of 467

Part - The Prologue

Rule for printing the banner text when turn count < 2: do nothing.

Before starting the virtual machine: change the left hand status line to ""; change the right hand status line to "".

Prologue is a scene. Prologue begins when play begins.

Rule for printing the banner text when Prologue is happening and current chapter >= 0: do nothing instead.

Rule for writing a paragraph about Rume when Prologue is happening: do nothing. Rule for printing the name of a room when Prologue is happening: do nothing. Rule for printing room description details when Prologue is happening: do nothing. Every turn when Prologue is happening: ignore the room description body text rule. Every turn when Prologue is happening: ignore the room description paragraphs about objects rule.

The last when play begins (this is the setting up the Prologue rule):

begin chapter 0;

change the time of day to 12:37 AM;

change the time factor to 1;

now Rume is attentive;

say "Waves.[paragraph break]Dreams move beneath you, blind colossi revolving through unknowable patterns, but they do not break the surface, not yet or any more. You float in void outside them, cold, memoryless.[paragraph break]Not true. You are a Wayfarer, and will always remember that.[paragraph break][one of][manorwoman1].[paragraph break][as the parser]Tutorial: Type emphasized keywords like MAN or WOMAN to advance the story. Type KEYWORDS if these words do not appear emphasized in the previous paragraph.[run paragraph on][as normal][or][manorwoman2].[stopping]";

now tempfuse of pr_playermale is 50;

now tempfuse of pr_playerfemale is 50;

now tempfuse of pr_neither is 50;

now last beat is pr_intro;

now pr_intro is spoken.

P_convo is a thread.

pr_intro is a beat in p_convo. Understand "man" or "male" as pr_playermale when last beat is pr_intro. Understand "woman" or "female" as pr_playerfemale when last beat is pr_intro. Instead of saying neither or saying both when last beat is pr_intro, force discuss pr_neither.

Pro_track is a number that varies. Pro_track is 1.

First instead of doing something other than ffing or discussing or saying both or saying neither when Prologue is happening and turn count >= 1 (this is the only the choice rule):

say "[one of][or][manorwoman2][stopping]". [ We would just say "anything other than discussing" but that blocks our debug rules. ]

First Instead of getting bored when Prologue is happening (this is the don't get bored during Prologue rule) : do nothing instead. The don't get bored during Prologue rule is listed before the only the choice rule in the instead rules.

Rule for printing a parser error when Prologue is happening and turn count >= 1: say "[as normal][manorwoman2][run paragraph on]".

To say manorwoman1: say "But uneasiness rises within you. Lost, for strange moments you can not even remember if you are [one of][o]man[x] or [o]woman[x][or][o]woman[x] or [o]man[x][at random]".

To say manorwoman2: say "Before anything, you must remember: "; if last beat is pr_intro begin; say "are you [o]male[x] or [o]female[x]"; otherwise if last beat is pr_prologue_2; say "is the one you embrace a [o]man[x] or a [o]woman[x]"; otherwise; say "make [o]love[x] or make [o]art[x]"; end if; say "?".

Instead of saying neither or saying both when last beat is pr_intro or last beat is pr_prologue_2: force discuss pr_neither. Understand "unknown/genderqueer/trans/transgender/intergender" as pr_neither when last beat is pr_intro or last beat is pr_prologue_2. pr_neither is an ephemeral repeatable beat in p_convo with fuse 99 and reaction "You toy with this for long timeless moments, but it seems of all the realities you drift between, in the one you return to now the choice must be one or the other.".

Before discussing pr_playermale: now player is male; continue the action. Before discussing pr_playerfemale: now player is female; continue the action.

pr_playermale is a beat in p_convo with fuse 99. pr_playermale enqueues pr_prologue_2. pr_playerfemale is a beat in p_convo with fuse 99. pr_playerfemale enqueues pr_prologue_2.

pr_prologue_2 is a beat in p_convo with fuse 99 and reaction "Relief breaks against you, a deep ocean wave of reassurance. Of course. You are a wayfarer, and a [if player is female]wo[end if]man. The rest can wait till waking.

But already trickles of wake intrude, seeping into you. Warmth and softness, and the arms of another, embracing you. Another wave washes through, this one of dull desire; but again strange vertigo grips you, for you're not even sure if it's a [prpr2].". To say prpr2: say "[one of][o]man[x] or a [o]woman[x][or][o]woman[x] or a [o]man[x][in random order] your waking self holds in [if player is male]his[otherwise]her[end if] arms". pr_prologue_2 summons pr_lovermale, pr_loverfemale. Understand "man" or "male" as pr_lovermale when last beat is pr_prologue_2. Understand "woman" or "female" as pr_loverfemale when last beat is pr_prologue_2.

Before discussing pr_lovermale: now Rume is male; continue the action. Before discussing pr_loverfemale: now Rume is female; continue the action.

pr_lovermale is a beat in p_convo with fuse 99. pr_lovermale enqueues pr_prologue_3. pr_loverfemale is a beat in p_convo with fuse 99. pr_loverfemale enqueues pr_prologue_3.

pr_prologue_3 is a beat in p_convo with fuse 99 and reaction "It seems right the moment you think it, right and real, and you float together over dream seas, rays of light stretching down to blue infinitudes even as pinpricks of reality dissolve them away. Warm furs on bare skin, pine and woodsmoke, stream and fire, and Rume, your [if Rume is female]wo[end if]man, sleeping against you. Home, for now.

For now.

How many worlds have you moved through, wayfarer? Will you ever stop moving?

Rume stirs, the touch of [hisher] [if Rume is female]breast[otherwise]chest[end if] hot against you. You are both half-asleep or half-awake, only together forming a whole being with the promise of something pleasant and instinctual taking shape in its sleepy mind.

But another desire stirs in you, equally compelling. Dawn and sleep are distant now, and a blank canvas waits in your studio below. A sudden ache as strong or stronger as your first impulse thrills you with desire to paint, create, bring life and form to the images coalescing inside you, no matter the consequences.

Beside you, Rume shifts again, edging closer, blood pulsing faster in [hisher] veins, and you must choose. Do you make [o]art[x], or make [o]love[x]?". pr_prologue_3 summons pr_love, pr_art, pr_both, pr_neither. Understand "love" as pr_love when last beat is pr_prologue_3. Understand "art" as pr_art when last beat is pr_prologue_3. Instead of saying both when last beat is pr_prologue_3, force discuss pr_both. Instead of saying neither when last beat is pr_prologue_3, force discuss pr_neither_choice.

pr_love is a terminal beat in p_convo with fuse 99 and reaction "The physical presence of the [if Rume is female]wo[end if]man beside you, [hisher] tangible power, dissolves away all other desires. You pull [himher] close.

[lovetext]. Worlds you've explored, loves you've known, lives beyond or behind this moment are all forgotten in the freedom of this now, this dim and burning now...

Afterwards. Breaths out of sync, pools of cool sweat beneath each fingertip. And something gradual begins to intrude on your cooling bliss, some delicate itch. And an odd feeling creeps upon you that things are about to change, a sense of waves receding, perhaps forever, something calling them home.

[callingbit].".

pr_art is a terminal beat in p_convo with fuse 99 and reaction "Gently you pull away from Rume, excitement of another kind rising inside you. Already in your mind you are mixing paints, gripping the wood of your brush, aching to bring the unfocused imagery swirling so powerfully in your head to life. Calling another world into being...

[callingbit]."

To say callingbit: say "Calling...

And in a heartbeat you know the feeling, recognize it. The Call.

The Call pulls wayfarers together across time and dimension. Unconscious, unexplained, yet crisp, real. And when a wayfarer hears it, [if player is female]s[end if]he knows another wayfarer is somewhere, somehow in trouble.

But Rume is not a wayfarer. And [heshe] cannot go with you.

You let long moments pass before you open your eyes".

[ pr_both is a terminal beat in p_convo with fuse 99 and reaction "A smile ghosts your lips. There are always alternatives. No world you've found has been black and white. You pull Rume close.

[lovetext]. [bothtext]

But afterwards, breaths out of sync, pools of cool sweat beneath each fingertip, something gradual force begins to intrude on your blissful nothingness; some delicate itch, and an odd feeling that things are about to change, that the waves are receding, perhaps forever, to reveal strange new landscapes, unexplored and dry.

You let a long moment pass, before you open your eyes.".][ I would have liked to have included this option, but it led to painful combinations of possibilities in the Epilogue, for a path that the vast majority would never see.]

To say lovetext: say "Waves. The remnants of dream fuse into this new reality without a seam. You roll together, riding peaks and troughs of infinite blue, gasps and vague portents and hot insights suffused in the power of the moment, in the hot breath in your ear, in the dandelion touches on delicate nerves".

pr_neither_choice is an ephemeral repeatable beat in p_convo with fuse 99 and reaction "To retreat back into the peace and selflessness of the waves, to turn your back on the choice. Tempting. But these two new desires are both too strong for sleep to prevail.".

pr_both is an ephemeral repeatable beat in p_convo with fuse 99 and reaction "Tempting. You've always been one to reject false choices, to find hidden paths that others can't walk. But you are sleepy and strange now, and know this night you won't catch one without dropping the other. No. This night, this moment, you must choose between them.".

To decide whether we chose love: if pr_love is spoken, decide yes; decide no.

To decide whether we chose art: if pr_art is spoken, decide yes; decide no.

To decide whether we chose both: decide no.

Prologue ends when last beat is silence.

When Prologue ends:

say section break;

say banner text;

now easel is in Homeworld-Studio;

move the concept of Call to Homeworld;

if we chose love, miss Rume;

move the player to the bed, without printing a room description;

begin chapter 1;

now Rume is idle.