My name is Areli Heart. I am one of thousands of Wilds Agents assigned to the Northwest Territory. My current mission is to settle a personal affair for Marge Forewoman that has required passage through the wilds for the last 5 months. I am sad to report that she is on her deathbed now, but she has lived an incredible life. Some say that without her the Great River would still be contaminated. If I am successful today, I will have completed her request to return the Memory Cube I have in my backpack to its proper home, an old hostel on the northwestern shores of Anishinaabe’s Sea called Lavender Waves.
The eBus comes to a halt.
I step out onto the fresh powder snow. The bus gives a little hoot, the doors close, and it hums its way down the road and out of sight. I stand in front of a grey building that could be ten or a hundred years old. A sign above the doors reads “Guest Services.” The complex sits along the coast looking out at the sea. It is fenced off on all sides.
I have only one option:
Enter Guest Services
As I step inside I am greeted by an AI Concierge.
The face of the concierge is genderless and missing more than a few pixels. Dust cakes the surface of the desk where the ghost-like projection emanates from a beam of light. It attempts a smile as I approach and then it speaks to me. The poor program is hardly able to communicate, I disable its speech function and access manual mode to gather more information.
I am able to access a map of the complex. A door opposite the concierge’s desk opens to a pathway that leads along the shore. This must be what Marge meant when she told me to follow the boardwalk to June’s tomb. Out the east windows I can see the sunken roof of the Lavender Grille to the right of the path. A second door opens to a path that leads directly to the Grille before curving south around to the Guest Rooms.
I have two options:
I stop at the beginning of the boardwalk.
The waves crash hypnotically over the multi-colored rocks that line the shore. The trail to June’s tomb is made with sturdy wood-planks that creak under foot. Another path leads to the grille.
I have two options:
Alfred prods me in my side as we approach the boardwalk.
Hurry up before security finds you!
The robot squeaks as though with genuine concern for my safety. In silence, we move quickly over the multi-colored rocks that line the shore.
I have only one option:
Continue to the Tomb.
The Lavender Grille stands injured in front of me.
Giant beams that once held up the second floor have fallen and gaps in the walls of the buildings have formed from years of neglect. In the place where the front doors would be is a hole large enough to step through, the only entrance. The path in front of the grille leads left (to the boardwalk along the shore) and right (to the Guest Rooms)
I have three options:
Enter the grille.
The Lavender Grille stands injured in front of me.
Giant beams that once held up the second floor have fallen and gaps in the walls of the buildings have formed from years of neglect. In the place where the front doors would be is a hole large enough to step through, the only entrance. The path in front of the grille continues south to the Guest Rooms.
I have two options:
My eyes take a moment to adjust to the shadows.
Crumpled in a corner is a little repair automaton that seems to be at the brink of power failure! I rush to its side and pull the retractable power cable from my pack to plug into the bot’s power input. The wheezing stops and the droid falls silent for a moment. Suddenly, the eyes of the machine light up and the legs and the arms begin to move. I step back as it stretches up to its full height before retracting itself to match my height. It speaks.
Artificial Labor-force Remembrance Entity, Model D online. Please, call me Alfred.
Who are you?
My name is Areli Heart.
Identity confirmed. You… you saved. Alfred thought for sure… end.
The eyes of the creature dim and it pauses, then it takes my power cable out of its side and walks down the hall and up a flight of stairs, completely ignoring me!
I follow behind, but before I reach the top of the stairs a wave of sound emerges from the dining hall. I turn the corner and can hardly believe what I am seeing. A system of pipes and tubes twists its way around the room to produce a continuously changing melody unlike any music I’ve ever heard, even more remarkably, all of it seems to be powered by the wind coming in off the sea. Satisfied, Alfred turns to look at me.
Why are you here?
I am completing a task for the remembrancer Marge Forewoman. I have her Great Aunt June’s Memory Cube.
An alarm in Alfred’s head blares loudly and before I can think I am being dragged down the stairs by the cuff of my sleeve.
I have only one option:
Follow Alfred.
My eyes take a moment to adjust to the shadows.
Crumpled in a corner is a little repair automaton that seems to be at the brink of power failure! I rush to its side and pull the retractable power cable from my pack to plug into the bot’s power input. The wheezing stops and the droid falls silent for a moment. Suddenly, the eyes of the machine light up and the legs and the arms begin to move. I step back as it stretches up to its full height before retracting itself to match my height. It speaks.
Artificial Labor-force Remembrance Entity, Model D online. Please, call me Alfred. You… you saved. Alfred thought for sure… end.
The eyes of the creature dim and it pauses, then it takes my power cable out of its side and walks down the hall and up a flight of stairs, completely ignoring me! I follow behind, but before I reach the top of the stairs a wave of sound emerges from the dining hall. I turn the corner and can hardly believe what I am seeing. A system of pipes and tubes twists its way around the room to produce a continuously changing melody unlike any music I’ve ever heard, even more remarkably, all of it seems to be powered by the wind coming in off the sea. Satisfied, Alfred turns and looks closely at me.
Identity confirmed. Areli Heart, Remembrancer. You returned memory cube, you are friend of June?
I come on behalf of Marge Forewoman.
Name confirmed. Guest 361.
What happened to the human caretaker?
Caretaker dead.
I had presumed as much, but that doesn’t make it easier to hear the news. I feel pity for the poor robot, alone for 26 years with only rudimentary emotional capacities. I decide not to push for more information about the caretaker for now. Perhaps sensing my unease, Alfred blinks reassuringly.
There is no danger. Alfred will keep you safe.
I have only one option:
Leave the grille.
At first it seems like an empty cliff.
But as I approach the ledge a pedestal rises up out of the rock! The pedestal stops when it reaches about eye-level and a square slot opens in the side facing me. I take the memory cube out of my pack. It’s heavier than a sack of rice but is only the size of a plum. I place the cube into the slot and a light shoots down the front of the pedestal into the rock below as the pedestal itself begins to glow. A voice speaks to me through my remembrance interface.
Who has returned me to my home?
My name is Areli Heart.
Identity confirmed. Thank you Areli, you now have complete access to Lavender Waves.
Are you June?
I am the Lavender Waves Central Operating System. June’s memories were grafted on to this framework and live on in it. But you are too young to be a friend of June.
I come on behalf of Marge Forewoman.
Name confirmed. Marge Forewoman, Guest 361. The Pool AI knows her.
I come on behalf of Marge Forewoman.
Name confirmed. Marge Forewoman, Guest 361. The Pool AI knows her. Go now, there is work to be done.
Before I can say another word the lights on the pedestal dim and it begins to sink back down into the rock, leaving me with the wind and the waves. Since there is nothing left for me here I decide to head back to the derelict grille.
I have only one option:
Travel to Lavender Grille.
Alfred points at the ground where a pedestal begins to rise up out of the rock.
The pedestal stops when it reaches about eye-level and a square slot opens in the side facing me. I take the memory cube out of my pack. It’s heavier than a sack of rice but is only the size of a plum. I place the cube into the slot and a light shoots down the front of the pedestal into the rock below as the pedestal itself begins to glow. A voice speaks to me through my remembrance interface.
Who has returned me to my home?
My name is Areli Heart.
Identity confirmed. Thank you Areli, you now have complete access to Lavender Waves.
Are you June?
I am the Lavender Waves Central Operating System. June’s memories were grafted on to this framework and live on in it. But you are too young to be a friend of June.
I come on behalf of Marge Forewoman.
Name confirmed. Marge Forewoman, Guest 361. The Pool AI knows her.
Why was the memory cube taken from this place?
The syndicate seeks memories. Taken to be kept safe. Keepers were fools. Safer here. Go now, there is work to be done. Alfred there will be your guide.
Before I can say another word the lights on the pedestal dim and it begins to sink back down into the rock. Alfred looks at me dumbly before we make our way back along the coast.
I have only one option:
Walk with Alfred.
Alfred is much calmer as we return along the shore.
Now that I have returned the memory cube I should have complete access to the facilities. The sea-breeze off sends chills up my spine. The reassurances from the pedestal do not make me feel much safer and my thoughts turn to darker things.
What happened to the human caretaker?
Caretaker dead.
I had presumed as much, but that doesn’t make it easier to hear the news. I feel pity for the poor robot, alone for 26 years with only rudimentary emotional capacities. I decide not to push for more information about the caretaker for now. Perhaps sensing my unease, Alfred blinks reassuringly.
There is no danger. Alfred will keep you safe.
I have only one option:
Continue towards the Grille.
Alfred’s music machine fills the sea-chilled air.
The robot tells me stories of the remembrancers that stayed here during its heyday. Azriel, Imnar, Goron, and Teb. I stop in my tracks and Alfred turns to me.
I’ve met Teb the remembrancer.
Name confirmed. Guest 005.
When was his last visit?
Guest 005 checked into room A-3 on 44 dot 7 dot 17 AR and departed—
I met Teb almost a year ago at a tea-house on the western wall of Bdote, he had passed through syndicate territory and kindly shared some information with me about the town that was once my home. What Alfred just told me is that Teb was here the week June’s memory cube disappeared, he may even be the fool the pedestal told me about.
I have only one option:
Walk to the Guest Rooms.
I stop in my tracks as a security bot approaches.
Thinking quickly I wonder if there’s time to turn around and head back to the grille. I still haven’t returned June’s Memory Cube, maybe if I do that the security will let me pass.
I have two options:
The End
I am killed instantly. Maybe if I had returned June’s Memory Cube to the tomb I could have completed my journey.
What now?
I stand on a raised path over a garden.
All around me, lichen in shades of pale green and yellow grow in the cracks and crevices of the sheer slab of rock this place was built on. The Guest Rooms are a two-story building that faces the sea, shielding the garden from the strong winds. The pool is a short building sided with full-length windows that are opaque from condensation.
I have three options:
Back to the Grille.
We arrive in the center of a garden.
The garden is made of mosses and lichens that grow in the cracks and crevices of the sheer slab of rock this place was built on. Alfred motions towards the Guest Rooms but then I remember the Pool AI may know something about Marge.
I have two options:
The End
I step into the pool entrance and slip on a puddle. My chest is impaled by a sharp piece of fallen debris and I die slowly in agony. I should have been more careful!
What now?
In the pool entrance, Alfred catches me when I slip in a puddle.
I f he hadn’t, I might have fallen into a razor sharp rod sticking out of a pile rubble! I brush myself off and thank my companion. I open the door to the pool and am greeted with a wave of humidity and warmth. The lovely smell of lotus flowers lingers in the air. A voice speaks to me through my remembrance interface.