Challenge the box to a test of raw strength|||Something about your physique suggests a more direct approach... #opt-wrestle [if hasStat("Strength", 10)]
-> PrehistoricChampion
beat PrehistoricChampion
markSecretBranch("prehistoric_champion")
You grab the box and lift it above your head. The tribe gasps. #champion-lift
grug: STRONG ONE LIFT THE THING! No one ever lift thing before! Everyone too busy poking and eating! #grug-lift
duncan: Strong One hold thing above head like trophy! Like mammoth tusk but SQUARE! #duncan-trophy
You slam the box down on a rock. The rock breaks. The box is fine. #champion-slam
grug: ROCK LOST! BOX WON! Box is STRONGER than rock! This change everything! #grug-rock
duncan: For thousands of years, rock was strongest thing. Now box is strongest thing. History is rewritten. #duncan-rewritten
grug: Strong One is champion of box! All cave people agree! Even Carl! #grug-champion
The tribe gathers around the box and begins chanting. The chant is "BOX. BOX. BOX." #worship-chant
grug: Box is gift from sky! Sky give box! We give sky... what we give sky? #grug-sky
duncan: Rocks? We have many rocks. #duncan-rocks
grug: Rocks boring. Sky already HAVE rocks. Moon is just sky-rock. #grug-moon
You build a small altar around the box. The altar is made of smaller rocks arranged in a square. You've accidentally invented the concept of a pedestal. #worship-altar
worshippers += 5
understanding += 5
-> TheFlaps
beat BoxShelter
grug: Thing is hollow! Grug see inside through hole stick made! #grug-hollow
duncan: If thing is hollow, cave person fit inside! New cave! PORTABLE cave! #duncan-portable
The tribe tries to fit inside the box. It's a standard-sized box. The tribe is twelve full-grown cave people. #shelter-fit
grug: Only Grug's arm fits. This worst cave ever. #grug-arm
duncan: Maybe not cave. Maybe hat? Very big hat? #duncan-hat
You put the box on your head. It fits perfectly. You are now wearing history's first hat and you look ridiculous. #shelter-hat
understanding += 10
-> TheFlaps
beat InterpretiveDance
You attempt to communicate with the box through movement. #dance-attempt
Your dance involves a lot of squatting and arm-waving. The box remains unimpressed. #dance-squatting
grug: What you doing? You look like mammoth having a bad dream. #grug-mammoth
duncan: No wait. Duncan think there's something to this. #duncan-think
Duncan joins the dance. His technique is worse. Together, you look like two mammoths having bad dreams. #dance-worse
The box... vibrates slightly? Or that might be an earthquake. It's hard to tell in prehistoric times. #dance-vibrate
understanding += 10
-> TheFlaps
beat TheFlaps
grug: Wait. Grug notice something. Top of thing has... floppy parts. #grug-floppy
duncan: Floppy parts? Like mammoth ears? #duncan-ears
grug: No. Different floppy. These floppy parts FOLD. They go up. They go down. #grug-fold
grug: They go up AND down. This most advanced technology Grug ever see. #grug-technology
understanding += 15
The tribe stares at the flaps with collective wonder. Folding things is a brand new concept. #flaps-wonder
choice
Pull the flaps up #opt-pull-up
understanding += 20
-> AlmostOpen
Push the flaps down #opt-push-down
-> PushDown
Declare the flaps sacred and forbid touching them #opt-sacred
worshippers += 10
-> SacredFlaps
beat PushDown
You push the flaps down. They're already down. Nothing happens. #push-nothing
grug: Congratulations. You have done nothing. Very efficiently. #grug-nothing
duncan: Maybe pull UP? What is "up"? Is "up" a thing? #duncan-up
grug: "Up" is where birds go. And smoke. And Grug's hopes when mammoth hunt fails. #grug-up
understanding += 10
-> AlmostOpen
beat SacredFlaps
grug: NO TOUCH FLOPPY PARTS! Floppy parts are gift from sky! #grug-notouch
duncan: But what if floppy parts WANT to be touched? #duncan-want
grug: Duncan asking dangerous questions. That how you get exiled. #grug-exiled
worshippers += 5
The tribe guards the flaps for three days. On the fourth day, a bird lands on the box and accidentally opens one flap with its foot. #sacred-bird
grug: BIRD IS CHOSEN ONE! #grug-bird
The bird flies away, unaware of its religious significance. #sacred-flies
understanding += 15
-> AlmostOpen
beat AlmostOpen
You stand before the box. The flaps are partially up. You can see inside, but not fully. #almost-see
grug: Something INSIDE thing! Something inside the inside! #grug-inside
duncan: "Inside." That new word. Grug keep inventing words today. #duncan-word
grug: Grug not inventing. Words just HAPPENING to Grug. #grug-happening
choice
Pull all flaps up to fully reveal the inside #opt-reveal
inventedOpening = true
understanding += 30
-> OpenTheBox
Get the whole tribe to pull one flap each #opt-teamwork
inventedOpening = true
understanding += 30
-> TeamOpen
beat TeamOpen
Four tribe members each grab a flap. You count to three. #team-count
grug: What "three"? We only have "one" and "many." #grug-three
Fine. You count to "many." #team-many
On "many," everyone pulls. The box opens with a satisfying "fwump." #team-fwump
grug: THE THING IS OPEN! WE DID A THING TO THE THING! #grug-open
duncan: This is the greatest achievement in the history of... what's "history"? #duncan-history
-> BoxContents
beat OpenTheBox
You pull the flaps up. All of them. The box is open. #open-flaps
grug: Grug has done it. Grug has... OPENED... the... thing. #grug-done
grug: "Opened." Another new word. Grug on a roll. #grug-roll
duncan: What "roll"? #duncan-roll
grug: Grug don't know. Words just keep coming. It's frightening. #grug-frightening
-> BoxContents
beat BoxContents
The tribe peers inside the open box. #contents-peer
Inside: another, smaller box. #contents-smaller
grug: ... #grug-silence
duncan: ... #duncan-silence
grug: THERE IS A THING INSIDE THE THING! #grug-thingception
duncan: A smaller thing! Same shape! This is the most beautiful and confusing moment of Grug's life! #duncan-beautiful
The smaller box also has flaps. The tribe loses its collective mind. #contents-flaps
if inventedOpening
You open the smaller box. Inside: a single, perfectly round stone. #contents-stone
grug: A round rock! In a square thing! Shapes are INCREDIBLE! #grug-shapes
duncan: What do we do with round rock? #duncan-roundrock
grug: We put it in another box. Obviously. #grug-obviously
duncan: We don't HAVE another box. #duncan-nobox
grug: Then we MAKE one! With... flat tree bark! And... folding! #grug-make
You have accidentally invented the concept of manufacturing. The industrial revolution just moved up by several millennia. #contents-manufacturing
else
The tribe stares at the box-within-a-box in silent awe. Some things are beyond opening. #contents-awe
grug: Grug will figure this out. Give Grug... many sleeps. #grug-sleeps
-> Ending
beat Ending
The sun sets over the prehistoric landscape. The box sits in the center of the tribe's camp, flaps open, glowing in the firelight. #ending-sun
