// Space Adventure - Open The Box // Theme: Space exploration with boxes floating in the void character captain name: Captain Nova character ai name: ARIA role: Ship AI character alien name: Zx'thorp role: Alien Merchant state fuel: 100 discovered: 0 hasSpaceBox: false trustAlien: false beat Intro The ship hums quietly as you drift through sector 7-G. #intro-hum ai: Commander, scanners are detecting something unusual. #intro-scan ai: A box. Floating in space. Defying several laws of physics. #intro-box captain: A box? In space? #captain-box choice Investigate the box #opt-investigate -> InvestigateBox Ignore it and continue #opt-ignore -> IgnoreBox Run a deep scan first|||Fuel reserves insufficient for deep scan #opt-scan if fuel > 20 fuel -= 20 -> DeepScan beat DeepScan ai: Deep scan initiated. Fuel reserves reduced. #deepscan-init ai: Analysis complete. The box appears to be... sentient? #deepscan-result ai: It's humming a tune. I believe it's... the box theme. #deepscan-humming captain: The box theme? #captain-theme ai: Every box has a theme, Commander. Didn't you know? #ai-theme choice Open the sentient box #opt-open-sentient -> OpenSpaceBox Try to communicate with it #opt-communicate -> CommunicateBox Back away slowly #opt-backaway -> BackAway beat InvestigateBox You approach the box carefully. It's about a meter wide, floating serenely. #investigate-approach captain: It's... beautiful. #captain-beautiful ai: Commander, I wouldn't use that word for a box. #ai-beautiful captain: You don't tell me what words to use for boxes, ARIA. #captain-words choice Open it immediately #opt-open-now -> OpenSpaceBox Scan it first|||Not enough fuel for a scan #opt-scan-first if fuel > 10 fuel -= 10 -> ScanThenOpen Poke it with a stick #opt-poke -> PokeBox Close your eyes and listen to what the box is really saying|||You sense there might be more to this box than meets the eye... #opt-whisper if hasStat("Wisdom", 10) -> BoxWhisperer beat BoxWhisperer markSecretBranch("space_box_whisperer") You close your eyes. The hum of the ship fades. Something else rises -- a frequency beneath frequencies. #whisper-listen The box is transmitting. Not data. Not sound. Coordinates woven into the fabric of space-time itself. #whisper-coordinates ai: Commander, how are you doing that? The box just... aligned with your brainwaves. #ai-brainwaves captain: I'm not doing anything, ARIA. I'm just listening. #captain-listening ai: The box has shared a direct route to its home system. No fuel cost. It's folding space around us like... #ai-folding captain: Like folding a box? #captain-folding ai: I was going to say "like origami," but yes. Like folding a box. #ai-origami trustAlien = true discovered += 1 -> OpenSpaceBox beat PokeBox You extend the ship's robotic arm and gently poke the box. #poke-arm The box rotates 90 degrees and reveals a label: "THIS SIDE UP" #poke-label ai: Commander, I don't think boxes in zero gravity have an "up". #ai-gravity captain: Maybe the box defines its own reality. #captain-reality ai: That's... philosophically concerning. #ai-philosophy -> OpenSpaceBox beat ScanThenOpen ai: Scan reveals the box contains crystallized starlight and something called a "Nebula Shard". #scan-contents ai: Also what appears to be a very small, very angry alien. #scan-alien captain: Define "very small". #captain-small ai: Approximately the size of a box. Commander, I think the alien IS a box. #ai-alienbox -> OpenSpaceBox beat IgnoreBox You set course away from the mysterious box. #ignore-course ai: Commander, the box is... following us. #ai-following captain: What? #captain-what ai: It appears to have tiny thrusters. And what I can only describe as determination. #ai-thrusters captain: A determined box. My favorite kind. #captain-determined discovered += 1 -> OpenSpaceBox beat CommunicateBox captain: ARIA, open a channel to the box. #comm-channel ai: Commander, it's a box. #ai-itsabox captain: I said open a channel. #captain-channel ai: Channel open, Commander. #ai-channelopen captain: Hello, box. I am Captain Nova. I come in peace. #captain-peace The box vibrates gently. It seems pleased. #comm-vibrate ai: Commander, the box just sent us coordinates. And what appears to be... a friendship request? #ai-friendship trustAlien = true -> OpenSpaceBox beat BackAway You engage reverse thrusters. The sentient box watches you leave. #back-thrusters ai: Commander, the box looks... sad. #ai-sad captain: Boxes don't have feelings, ARIA. #captain-feelings ai: This one does. I'm reading elevated levels of box-sadness. #ai-boxsadness captain: That's not a real metric. #captain-metric ai: It is now. Box-sadness level: 7 out of 10. #ai-level choice Go back to the box #opt-goback -> CommunicateBox Leave for good #opt-leave -> LeaveForGood beat LeaveForGood You leave the sentient box behind. #leave-behind ai: I hope you're happy, Commander. #ai-happy captain: I am. No weird space boxes for me today. #captain-happy ai: Incoming transmission. It's... from the box. #ai-transmission ai: It says "you'll be back. they always come back." #ai-message captain: That's ominous. I love it. #captain-ominous -> Ending beat OpenSpaceBox hasSpaceBox = true discovered += 1 You carefully open the box. Light spills out from within. #open-light if trustAlien Inside you find a Nebula Shard, pulsing with friendly energy. #open-friendly alien: Ah, a fellow box appreciator! Take this as a gift from my collection. #alien-gift captain: The alien WAS the box? #captain-wasbox alien: I'm Zx'thorp. #alien-intro -> AlienEncounter else Inside you find a Nebula Shard and what appears to be a map to more boxes. #open-normal ai: Commander, the map shows three more floating boxes in nearby sectors. #ai-morebox captain: Three more boxes. This is either Christmas or a trap. #captain-christmas ai: In space, those are often the same thing. #ai-same -> SpaceExploration beat AlienEncounter alien: I've been collecting boxes across the galaxy for centuries. #alien-collecting alien: Most species open them. Very few appreciate them. #alien-appreciate captain: I appreciate boxes. Especially ones with good loot. #captain-loot alien: "Loot." What a crude word for cosmic treasures. #alien-crude choice Ask about the galaxy's rarest box #opt-rare-box -> RareBoxStory Trade items with Zx'thorp #opt-trade -> AlienTrade Challenge the alien to a box-opening contest #opt-contest -> BoxContest beat RareBoxStory alien: The Singularity Box. It contains everything and nothing. Also a coupon. #alien-singularity captain: A coupon? For what? #captain-coupon alien: For another Singularity Box. It's boxes all the way down. #alien-coupon-answer captain: You're saying the universe is just boxes inside boxes? #captain-boxes-inside alien: Now you're getting it, Captain. #alien-getting-it ai: Commander, I'm detecting a slight existential crisis in your vitals. #ai-existential captain: I'm fine, ARIA. Just rethinking everything I know about reality. #captain-fine -> Ending beat AlienTrade alien: I have a Space Helmet for you. In exchange, I want... a story. #alien-trade-offer captain: A story? #captain-story alien: Tell me about the first box you ever opened. #alien-first-box captain: It was small. Cardboard. My parents gave it to me. Inside was a toy rocket ship. #captain-first-box-story alien: ... #alien-pause alien: That's the most beautiful thing I've ever heard. #alien-beautiful-trade The alien removes its helmet and places it gently in your hands. Its eyes -- all seven of them -- are glistening. #alien-gives-helmet captain: Are you... crying? #captain-crying alien: We don't cry. We leak appreciation fluid. It's different. #alien-appreciation -> Ending beat BoxContest alien: You dare? No one out-opens Zx'thorp! #alien-dare alien: ...fine. Best of three. You open first. #alien-contest choice Open with confidence #opt-confident -> ContestRoundOne Open with theatrical flair #opt-flair -> ContestFlair beat ContestFlair markSecretBranch("space_box_flair") You crack your knuckles. You stretch your fingers. You do a little spin. #flair-spin captain: Watch and learn, Zx'thorp. #captain-watch You open the box with a flourish, confetti exploding from inside. Wait -- you didn't put confetti in there. #flair-confetti alien: Theatrical. I approve. 8 out of 10. #alien-score-flair ai: Commander, where did the confetti come from? #ai-confetti captain: From the heart, ARIA. From the heart. #captain-heart -> ContestAlienTurn beat ContestRoundOne You grip the box firmly and open it in one clean motion. #contest-open alien: Clean technique. 7 out of 10. #alien-score -> ContestAlienTurn beat ContestAlienTurn Zx'thorp produces a box from somewhere. You try not to think about where. #alien-produces The alien opens it using three of its tentacles simultaneously. The lid flies off, does a triple backflip, and lands perfectly back on the box. #alien-opens captain: That's... that's not even possible. #captain-impossible alien: 10 out of 10. I win. #alien-score-2 ai: I'm afraid the alien is correct, Commander. That was objectively superior box-opening. #ai-correct captain: Rematch. One day. I'll be ready. #captain-rematch alien: I look forward to it, Captain. Across the stars, I'll be waiting. With boxes. #alien-waiting -> Ending beat SpaceExploration ai: Setting course for the nearest box. ETA: approximately one dramatic pause. #explore-course You arrive at a cluster of three boxes, orbiting each other like a tiny solar system. #explore-cluster captain: A box system. Literally a system of boxes. #captain-system ai: The large one appears to contain the other two. It's boxes all the way down. #ai-alltheway choice Open the biggest box first #opt-big -> BigBox Open all three at once|||Not enough fuel for maximum box velocity #opt-all if fuel >= 30 fuel -= 30 -> AllBoxes Leave them orbiting, they seem happy #opt-happy -> HappyBoxes beat BigBox You open the biggest box. Inside: two medium boxes and a note. #big-open The note reads: "Congratulations! You've found the Box Nebula. Population: boxes." #big-note captain: There's a whole nebula of boxes? #captain-nebula ai: Scanners confirm it, Commander. Approximately 4.7 billion boxes, all orbiting a supermassive box. #ai-billion choice We must go deeper #opt-deeper -> GoDeeper We've seen enough boxes for one day #opt-enough -> Ending beat GoDeeper You open the two medium boxes. Each contains two smaller boxes. #deeper-open captain: ARIA, how many boxes is this now? #captain-how-many ai: I've lost count, Commander. My box-tracking subroutine has crashed. #ai-crashed captain: Then let the boxes count themselves. #captain-count ai: ...that's not how boxes work, Commander. #ai-not-how captain: Maybe it should be. #captain-should-be -> Ending beat AllBoxes captain: All three, ARIA. Maximum box velocity. #captain-velocity ai: That's not a real measurement, but I admire your enthusiasm. Fuel reserves depleted for the maneuver. #ai-enthusiasm All three boxes burst open simultaneously. The contents mix together in zero gravity. #all-open ai: Commander, the items are forming... a bigger box. #ai-biggerbox captain: Of course they are. #captain-ofcourse ai: A bigger, better box. It's vibrating at a frequency I've never seen. I think it's... proud of itself. #ai-proud captain: A proud box. Now I've seen everything. #captain-everything ai: Commander, I doubt that very much. #ai-doubt -> Ending beat HappyBoxes captain: Let them orbit in peace. #captain-orbit ai: A surprisingly philosophical choice, Commander. #ai-philosophical ai: The boxes seem to orbit faster. I think they're happy. #ai-happy-boxes captain: See? Sometimes the best box is the one you don't open. #captain-best-box ai: I'm going to write that down. That might be the wisest thing you've ever said. #ai-wisest captain: Don't get used to it. #captain-used-to-it -> Ending beat Ending ai: Adventure complete. Updating ship's log. #ending-complete ai: Boxes encountered: $discovered. Box-related existential crises: 1. #ending-log captain: Only one? We'll do better next time. #captain-next ai: There's always next time, Commander. The universe is full of boxes. #ai-next -> .