PIER JOYCE REALITY HUB - 635
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Joyce Messier: "This... *reality*?" She pulls her hood closer around her neck.
1->620
2
Joyce Messier: "They say it's where the *terrible* questions of our time will be answered -- the tensions are highest, the faultlines deepest."
657
Joyce Messier: "By that I mean conflicts. Ideological conflicts. The stuff of men."
2->657
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Joyce Messier: Variable["pier.jooyce_esprit_white_failed_once"]
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Variable["pier.jooyce_esprit_white_failed_once"]
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!(Variable["pier.jooyce_esprit_white_failed_once"])
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977
Esprit de Corps: The price of a 1.5 litre bottle of Commodore Red? The first line of the Firefighter's Code? Square root of three? I don't know what you mean by *something close to you*. Ask a normal question.
4->977
280
Esprit de Corps: It remains a mystery what you mean by this *something close*. This isn't about you. It's about *reality*.
5->280
6
Esprit de Corps: Six kilometres southwest -- in the Valley of Dogs -- junior officer Chad Tillbrook takes aim at a rabid, black dog licking its wounds in the grass.
978
Esprit de Corps: To his left, his partner Émile Mollins whispers: "You heard what happened to Tequila Sunset? In Martinaise?"
6->978
7
You: "If we do not?"
942
Joyce Messier: "Then they don't."
7->942
8
Joyce Messier: "Oh no, detective -- it's not. One of the few measurable effects of the pale is that it is expanding at an unknown rate."
55
Joyce Messier: "An intuitive conclusion of that development is that one day the pale will cover everything -- but this sort of talk is mostly left to extremists."
8->55
9
Joyce Messier: "Precisely. One of the few measurable effects of the pale is that it is expanding at an unknown rate."
9->55
10
You: "Cover *everything*? That can't be. Where would we go..."
416
Joyce Messier: "Most people -- and indeed most private and government sector organizations; entire civilizations and religions even -- find handy ways to ignore, or downplay that knowledge."
10->416
11
Joyce Messier: "I hope so, I truly do. If I may suggest -- hold on to your colleague Kitsuragi. I ran a check on him and he is very competent. In the meanwhile..."
664
Empathy: Some of that assurance is meant for herself, as much as it's meant for you. She must have *a lot* on the line here.
11->664
12
Joyce Messier: "Even if we have to do it one basic term at a time." She gives you a slight bow.
61
Joyce Messier: Variable["pier.joyce_kim_away_for_pale_question"] == true and IsKimHere()
12->61
13
Joyce Messier: Variable["yard.hanged_talk_wild_pale_yonder"]
14
Variable["yard.hanged_talk_wild_pale_yonder"]
13->14
15
!(Variable["yard.hanged_talk_wild_pale_yonder"])
13->15
122
Inland Empire: *Off we go...* you see the hanged man's mouth open.
14->122
707
Jump to: [pale hub]
15->707
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Jump to: [REALIDAD HAB]
713
REALIDAD HAB
16->713
17
Joyce Messier: "Steel yourself, officer," she says in a reassuring manner. "Your colleague, Lieutenant Kitsuragi -- he is competent. I checked up on him. And you also have me -- I will try to assist you in any way I can."
177
Empathy: Some of that assurance is meant for herself, as much as it's meant for you. She must have *a lot* on the line here.
17->177
18
Suggestion: All right. You're in. Begin with the first one -- you'll appear *worldly*.
18->713
19
Kim Kitsuragi: "This has been informative, thank you ma'am. I'm sure my memory-impaired partner has *many* more questions to ask..." He turns to you. "...about even more fundamental aspects of reality..."
127
Kim Kitsuragi: "Might I suggest *not* asking them all right now? Ma'am Messier will be here later too. And tomorrow. Isn't that true, ma'am?"
19->127
20
Kim Kitsuragi: "Of course not," He shakes his head. "You're *already* diligent for getting this far -- and diligent boys remember where they left off."
21
Joyce Messier: "Indeed. I am always at your service."
20->21
424
Jump to: [REALIDAD HAB]
21->424
22
Joyce Messier: Variable["pier.joyce_amnesia_known"]
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Variable["pier.joyce_amnesia_known"]
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!(Variable["pier.joyce_amnesia_known"])
22->24
846
Joyce Messier: "And if those authorities drink so hard they need help recalling the basic terms of reality -- well, I am here to help." She bows and smiles.
23->846
993
Joyce Messier: "...and if the law officials of our nation need help with the basic terms of reality -- well, then I am here to help." She bows.
24->993
25
You: "I hope my inquiry into the nature of reality will ultimately converge with our murder investigation. They are two halves of the same case."
"My theory is that this inquiry into the nature of reality will ultimately converge with our murder investigation. They are really one and the same."
653
Joyce Messier: IsKimHere()
25->653
26
Joyce Messier: IsKimHere()
27
IsKimHere()
26->27
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!(IsKimHere())
26->28
561
Kim Kitsuragi: "Don't be fazed, madam. He functions perfectly well. He only needs a... *lowdown* on all of reality."
27->561
768
Composure: Trying to gauge by your expression and demeanour whether you're joking. She concludes you're not.
28->768
29
Untitled hub (03)
29->25
367
You: "Actually.... that's not why I need you to give me the low-down."
29->367
30
Kim Kitsuragi: "Yes!" The lieutenant takes a step closer to you, rubbing his hands together. "There is a *stranger* reason, isn't there?"
715
Perception: He gives you a slight nudge on your side, apparently enjoying himself.
30->715
31
You: "That's all for now." (Conclude for now.)
1003
Joyce Messier: Variable["pier.joyce_amnesia_known"]
31->1003
32
Jump to: [REALIDAD HAB]
32->713
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Joyce Messier: "Yes -- you and I belong to the supraculture. We're common, the herd. The music on the radio, the food in the chain restaurant -- those are all too *popular* for the girl in the old-lady rags."
630
Joyce Messier: "She prefers a fantasy world -- an *infraculture* with its own dress code and vernacular. It is an illusion, I'm afraid. There is no refuge from the supraculture."
33->630
34
You: "Disco."
683
Joyce Messier: "Ha! I can see that, yes. I dabbled in those dark arts myself -- not so long ago." She smiles enigmatically. "I assure you, it was a thoroughly *supracultural* phenomenon. All-permeating. Downright mandatory."
34->683
35
You: "So I'm basically a lackey of capital?"
446
Joyce Messier: "There's nothing *basic* about your role, detective. It's true that the RCM keeps everything the way our seemingly *permanent* provisional rulers like it..." She leans in.
35->446
36
Joyce Messier: She nods, slowly.
450
Electrochemistry: What this boils down to is this *reality* thing is stupid. Blow this joint, grab a bottle and drain that shit right down your throat.
36->450
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Untitled hub (03)
82
You: "I have, uh, somewhere to party. Right now." [Leave.]
37->82
146
You: Wipe that urge from your mind and get back to reality.
37->146
729
You: "No time for more questions now -- the art world calls. A performative experiment. You wouldn't understand." [Leave.]
37->729
38
Joyce Messier: "Of course," she says, apparently unsurprised. "Well, I'll be here if you need me."
39
Kim Kitsuragi: "Hmh," the lieutenant hums, reading his notes.
874
Joyce Messier: "In any case, I'm glad we can remain collegial despite my scaly bulk. And my perverse need to infiltrate and betray both Kingdom *and* Revolution."
39->874
40
Joyce Messier: "I would not have relinquished sovereignty to the Coalition. Not here in Martinaise -- and not in the Stella Maris or Delta beachheads either. If not for my own sake..."
90
Composure: She realizes her small, cold fists are clenched. She loosens them.
40->90
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Kim Kitsuragi: "Seditious talk, ma'am." The lieutenant puts down his notes and gives her a look.
600
Jump to: [Untitled hub]
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Joyce Messier: She thinks. "But yes, you'll be fine, don't worry."
824
Joyce Messier: Variable["pier.joyce_amnesia_known"]
42->824
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Jump to: [Revohub]
6370250
JUMP OUT to JOYCE / REALITY TIMES
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Untitled hub (02)
454
You: "The pale...? And what do you mean *corona*?"
"What do you mean *corona*?"
44->454
973
You: "Oh my god, wait -- what the hell are you telling me?"
44->973
45
Conceptualization: What is it, what is it, what is it? You can *feel* it -- something pushing against the other side of a locked door. You *must* find the key!
650
Joyce Messier: "Go ahead, officer -- ask me something *else*." The woman looks at you attentively.
45->650
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You: "Okay... what is the pale *like*?"
940
Joyce Messier: "Achromatic, odourless, featureless. The pale is the enemy of matter and life. It is not *like* any other -- or *any* thing in the world. It is the transition state of being into nothingness."
46->940
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You: "Am I really that awkward?"
300
Joyce Messier: "Of course you're not, my dear. I'm just terrible at guessing games."
47->300
48
Joyce Messier: She pauses to take a long, leisurely sip of tea. "Alright, what next?"
489
Conceptualization: Suddenly you're not so sure *you're* part of the supraculture...
48->489
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Joyce Messier: "Ah, yes. That is what counts, I suppose. For my part, I was more of a *New* girl."
140
You: "The *New*?"
49->140
376
You: "We got this covered -- about another basic reality term."
49->376
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Jump to: [REALIDAD HAB]
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Joyce Messier: "Well then. Reality *is* a strange place -- getting stranger by the day. Ask away, officer. I'll help however I can."
298
Jump to: [Encyclopedia: "All right. We're in. I know these *..."]
51->298
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Joyce Messier: "No, detective, we're safe." She points to the sea. "It begins there, 6,000 kilometres to the north, and even more to the south, east, and west. You are in the middle of the isola."
887
Inland Empire: As your gaze instinctively turns north, a small black pit opens up in your stomach.
52->887
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You: "*You're* not a civilian passenger?"
228
Joyce Messier: Variable["pier.joyce_harrier"]
53->228
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Jump to: [pale hub]
100
pale hub
54->100
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You: Stay silent.
55->292
335
You: "It's not extreme at all. It's going to happen."
"It's not extreme at all. I know it's going to happen."
55->335
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Joyce Messier: Variable["jam.paledriver_greeting_done"]
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Variable["jam.paledriver_greeting_done"]
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!(Variable["jam.paledriver_greeting_done"])
56->58
232
Logic: Someone *else* you've met may have been *exposed* as well. The strange grey-haired woman in her lorry.
57->232
615
Untitled hub
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Endurance: An acidic smile on her lips. It's getting worse every year.
174
Jump to: [pale hub]
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Volition: Good idea. Just ask him. He won't make a scene.
558
You: "Kim, can I talk to the ma'am alone for a second?"
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Variable["pier.joyce_kim_away_for_pale_question"] == true and IsKimHere()
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!(Variable["pier.joyce_kim_away_for_pale_question"] == true and IsKimHere())
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760
Joyce Messier: Variable["TASK.ask_about_ruby_in_village"]
62->760
105
Jump to: [REALIDAD HAB]
63->105
64
Inland Empire: This is one thought you *need* to complete. Where are you?
1023
Joyce Messier: "Was there something else you wanted to know? I remember something about a low-down..."
64->1023
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Joyce Messier: IsTHCCooking("jamais_vu")
66
IsTHCCooking("jamais_vu")
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!(IsTHCCooking("jamais_vu"))
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834
Conceptualization: The doubt is fully formed in your head -- the alien feeling persists -- you just can't *word* the question yet. You have to complete the *Jamais Vu* thought first.
66->834
167
Joyce Messier: IsTHCPresent("jamais_vu")
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Inland Empire: The aim is to gain a deeper understanding.
296
memory explain hub
68->296
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Joyce Messier: IsKimHere()
70
IsKimHere()
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!(IsKimHere())
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191
Kim Kitsuragi: "You will find he doesn't approve of foreign wisdom. It's part of his *condition*."
70->191
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You: "What am *I*?"
636
Joyce Messier: "You? You are an officer of the RCM," she says energetically.
72->636
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You: "Let me ask you something else."
247
Joyce Messier: "Of course," she tosses her permanent-waved hair. "Ask me anything."
73->247
74
Joyce Messier: "You would be excused for not knowing about it. Unimportant, they say. Forgotten even -- shelled to smithereens during the Revolution." She shrugs. "It has its charms, just not this time of year."
855
Martinaise hub
74->855
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Periphery hub
194
You: "So, we're in an unimportant part of an important place?"
75->194
249
You: "So, we're on the periphery? Basically nobodies?"
75->249
856
You: "So, we're pretty much at the centre of the world?"
75->856
76
Joyce Messier: "Oh, we're quite a way off. About..." She points across the water, where the skyscrapers rise...
101
Joyce Messier: IsNight()
76->101
77
You: "I understand everything. Make it more complicated somehow."
811
Joyce Messier: "I can't. That's how simple it is. One may dye their hair green and wear their grandma's coat all they want. Capital has the ability to subsume all critiques into itself. Even those who would *critique* capital end up *reinforcing* it instead..."
77->811
78
Joyce Messier: "Of course. You're much more *grounded*, a serious detective on a case called *reality*. Speaking of -- is there anything else?"
574
Jump to: [REALIDAD HAB]
78->574
79
You: "The Revachol Citizens Militia?"
203
Joyce Messier: "*Precisomundo*!"
79->203
80
Joyce Messier: "...and if the law officials of our nation need help with the basic terms of reality -- well, then I am here to help." She bows.
278
Jump to: [REALIDAD HAB]
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Jump to: [REALIDAD HAB]
81->713
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83
Joyce Messier: "All men are predators, dear. Nothing much to be done about *that*. It's all a matter of where you get to file your teeth..."
1006
You: "What's the Big Time?"
83->1006
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Untitled hub
527
You: "What are you?"
"Stop dodging -- what are you?"
84->527
1007
You: Say nothing.
84->1007
85
Joyce Messier: "An ultraliberal, it's a type of liberal. From the Revolution. It's... not the moderate kind."
691
Jump to: [Untitled hub]
85->691
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Joyce Messier: "Haven't you heard?" She nods, pedagogically: "I am a nether creature of the forbidden swamp, one of those who pushed the king under a shitwagon and betrayed the Revolution..."
926
Joyce Messier: "We surrendered the nation to financial colonists. No sane person identifies as an *ultra* anymore. Not in broad daylight." She looks you in the eye. "Tell me -- now that I've *uncoiled* myself -- are you repulsed?"
"We surrendered the nation to the financier pirates. No sane person identifies as an *ultraliberal* anymore. Not in broad daylight." She looks you in the eye. "You're a man of the left, a true communard. Tell me -- now that I've *uncoiled* myself -- are you repulsed?"
"We surrendered the nation to the financier pirates, no sane person identifies as an *ultraliberal* anymore. Not in broad daylight." She looks you in the eye. "You've got Revachol in your blood, a real nationalist. Tell me -- now that I've *uncoiled* myself -- are you repulsed?"
"We surrendered the nation to financier pirates, no sane person identifies as *ultraliberal* anymore. Not in broad daylight." She looks into your eye. "I can see we're not so different, you know. Tell me -- now that I've *uncoiled* myself -- do you find me frightening?"
"I can see you thought I'd gone extinct. No sane person identifies as an *ultraliberal* anymore. Not in broad daylight." She looks you in the eye. "You're a centrist at heart, a real moralist. Tell me -- now that I've *uncoiled* myself -- do you find me frightening?"
86->926
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Joyce Messier: "*A Deuill*," she pronounces: "*Who being of great Charme and Guille, sneaketh into the homes of the Godlie*."
209
Conceptualization: That dialect is Ubi Sunt?. You recognize the quote from somewhere. A play, written way back in the Franconigerian century...
87->209
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Untitled hub
210
You: "That settles that."
88->210
584
You: "Would *you* have done something differently?"
88->584
89
Authority: An appropriate warning to those who'd cross the line and pull the city into madness once more...
970
Shivers: While a gentle wind sweeps the streets in the rebuilt East, light drizzle washing it clean, lights go up and motor carriages circulate the tracts...
89->970
152
Joyce Messier: "... then for my daughters'. We had an obligation to defend our sovereignty. We should have *burned* the whole isola down rather than let them have it."
90->152
91
You: "Wait, is this the one with the evil apes?"
928
Joyce Messier: "Not in this case, no. That sounds more like something the Mesque petrofascists might say..." Her gaze wanders.
91->928
92
Joyce Messier: Her eyes return to you. "It isn't enough to call us animals. Even animals aren't animals."
929
You: "What are animals then?"
92->929
93
You: "How about -- it's a ball."
1012
Joyce Messier: "That's looking less and less likely, detective. You wouldn't know it from the tabloids, but the ORG nations have been launching weather balloons into the lower ionosphere since the Thirties."
93->1012
94
You: "What is *Hell?*"
783
Joyce Messier: "A term of hatred that originates, like many such things, with the Mesque petrofascists."
94->783
95
Jump to: [REALIDAD HAB]
95->713
96
Kim Kitsuragi: "Yes," the lieutenant looks at his watch. "Also, I think we've had enough excitement for today. We *do* have a case to attend to."
"Yes," the lieutenant looks at his watch. "Also, I think we've had enough excitement for today. Remember -- we have a cadaver to attend to."
827
Authority: His voice is low, but firm. All she can say is...
96->827
97
Jump to: [REALIDAD HAB]
97->713
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Jump to: [REALIDAD HAB]
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Jump to: [REALIDAD HAB]
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109
You: "How much pale is there compared to the world?"
100->109
409
You: "Let's return to reality, please." (Conclude.)
100->409
504
You: "What is *entroponetic*?"
100->504
614
You: "If we're surrounded by pale, how do you get from isola to isola?"
100->614
755
You: "Is it... here?" (Look around.)
100->755
792
You: "The pale can damage the mind?"
100->792
980
You: "What are its physical qualities?"
100->980
102
IsNight()
101->102
103
!(IsNight())
101->103
161
Perception (Sight): A sparkle of lights on the night-time horizon, reflected in the dark sea.
102->161
744
Joyce Messier: IsEvening()
103->744
104
Kim Kitsuragi: "Good." The lieutenant returns. "He has not passed out from it. Perhaps I worried for nothing... Are we still on the reality low-down -- or should we do actual policework now?"
279
Jump to: [REALIDAD HAB]
104->279
105->713
106
Conceptualization: A strange coldness comes over you, as you look at the world. The waves sway the sloop, slowly. That's all.
701
Joyce Messier: IsTHCFixed("jamais_vu")
106->701
107
You: "What is pale?"
"Now that we're alone -- what *is* pale?"
741
Joyce Messier: Variable["pier.joyce_pale_kimturndown_one"]
107->741
108
Logic: The negation of being.
789
Joyce Messier: Variable["pier.joyce_pale_logic_negation"]
108->789
176
Joyce Messier: "The pale outweighs reality two to one -- there is more pale than there is matter. And the ratio is slipping."
109->176
110
You: "And... (point north) ...there?"
981
Joyce Messier: "An uproar of matter, darling, *rising* into the pale. Rolling. Evaporating even, a great vision. The area of transition between the world and the pale is called *porch collapse*."
110->981
111
Joyce Messier: "But it is still hard for humans to navigate the pale without getting lost. Or having our minds damaged."
795
Jump to: [pale hub]
111->795
112
Joyce Messier: "Extensively."
793
You: "How?"
112->793
113
Logic: It's more for her -- way more.
113->53
983
You: Let it go.
113->983
114
You: "*You're* not a civilian passenger?"
837
Joyce Messier: She's looking out toward the sea, what at, it's hard to say.
114->837
115
You: "Did they... cross it? The Western Plain?"
288
Joyce Messier: "There *are* signs of pretermodern crossings. Successful navigation of the pale relies not just on technical know-how, but intensive psychological preparation. Some of these tactics have been known for thousands of years."
115->288
116
Joyce Messier: Variable["pier.joyce_amnesia_known"]
117
Variable["pier.joyce_amnesia_known"]
116->117
118
!(Variable["pier.joyce_amnesia_known"])
116->118
474
Joyce Messier: "Is this the first time you're hearing this? Do you really not remember anything?"
117->474
839
Joyce Messier: "This isn't really an inquiry, is it? You can't remember a single thing -- this is the first time you're hearing about any of this."
118->839
119
Untitled hub
120
You: "I sometimes sense vague shadows of a past, and it's not good."
119->120
290
You: "Nothing. Just alcohol fumes and blackout."
119->290
554
You: "I'm getting a sense of who I am, but no, I didn't know this."
119->554
555
Joyce Messier: "Then tell me -- what do you *think* of the pale?"
120->555
121
Visual Calculus: Gone -- like a skipping stone beneath the surface.
473
Jump to: [pale hub]
121->473
338
Joyce Messier: Variable["pier.joyce_inalnd_yonder"]
122->338
123
Rhetoric: We have time for you to tell me why you need a *reality lowdown*.
510
Jump to: [memory explain hub]
123->510
124
Volition: See? What can he do. You're a grown man.
422
You: "Now -- what is the pale?"
124->422
125
Untitled hub (02)
179
You: "You needn't have worried."
125->179
668
You: "Right. Let's get to work lieutenant."
125->668
899
You: "That was fucking insane. Kim."
125->899
949
You: "Some more reality lowdown before we go."
125->949
126
Joyce Messier: "I am happy to oblige." She awaits your question.
464
Jump to: [REALIDAD HAB]
126->464
952
Joyce Messier: "Absolutely -- my commitment here is long term."
127->952
128
Joyce Messier: *"What?"* She chortles, nearly spilling her tea.
766
Untitled hub (02)
128->766
129
You: "I went on a three-day bender and now need you to explain the world to me."
623
Joyce Messier: "Such an acute encephalopathy... just doesn't seem possible." She puts her beverage down and stares at you. "Surely you're joking..."
129->623
130
Joyce Messier: "Oh?" You've really piqued her curiosity now. "Then why?"
671
Joyce Messier: Variable["whirling.kim_intro_told_memory_trouble"]
130->671
131
Kim Kitsuragi: "You will find him a big fan of the *ancient ways* -- it's part of his *condition*."
904
Joyce Messier: "Nothing wrong with ancient ways," she says. "Our *modern* ones aren't necessarily better. Ask away, officer -- I'll help however I can."
131->904
132
You: "What is this *acute encephalopathy*?"
449
Joyce Messier: "It's a neurological disorder, caused by a lack of vitamin B in the brain. Symptoms include retrograde amnesia. It's... quite serious -- you should get yourself checked out."
132->449
133
You: "What -- really?"
133->300
134
Jump to: [Encyclopedia: "All right. We're in. I know these *..."]
617
Encyclopedia: All right. We're in. I know these *all* look good, but begin with the first, okay.
134->617
135
Electrochemistry: There is a spark in the air, a live wire hanging in the wind -- in your hung over neocortex. Then the sea air cools it down.
485
Jump to: [Martinaise hub]
135->485
136
Jump to: [REALIDAD HAB]
136->713
137
Joyce Messier: "The girl in the old-lady rags?"
138
You: "Yes."
137->138
773
You: "No, no, I meant something basic about reality."
137->773
488
Joyce Messier: "Looks like a sullen and rebellious member of a teen *infraculture*."
138->488
139
You: "Cop."
912
Joyce Messier: She lets out an unrestrained laugh, the crows feet stretching onto her cheeks...
139->912
377
Joyce Messier: "The New, a cultural era -- and the name of the decade it ravished, the Thirties. It came out of post-revolutionary Revachol. It was... ultraliberal."
140->377
141
Kim Kitsuragi: "All three are good to know," the lieutenant looks up from his notes, "when we're out *policing*."
325
Untitled hub (06)
141->325
142
Untitled hub
142->35
205
You: "So I'm basically going to avoid this subject and ask the next question in this line of inquiry."
142->205
253
You: "So I'm basically a thrall to foreign interests?"
142->253
380
You: "So I'm basically one of the good guys?"
142->380
143
Kim Kitsuragi: "That's *somewhat* of an exaggeration," the lieutenant interjects. "In reality, ours is a mutually beneficial arrangement."
579
Kim Kitsuragi: "Revacholians get to keep the peace in Revachol, and the Coalition doesn't have to worry about it..." He coughs. "Anyway, sorry to intrude. Please continue."
143->579
144
Joyce Messier: "These are... unimportant times, detective." She puts her finger to her lips, then points at you: "You and I were born after the dust had settled, a thousandth of a second too late."
311
You: "Got it. Another question, then."
144->311
815
You: "Too late for what?"
144->815
145
You: "It's definitely the drinking."
145->36
324
Joyce Messier: She stares at you, head tilted to the side, with a slightly concerned look on her face.
146->324
147
You: "I forgive you -- but only because you're charming."
147->87
148
Joyce Messier: Variable["pier.joyce_sugg_forgive_her"]
149
Variable["pier.joyce_sugg_forgive_her"]
148->149
150
!(Variable["pier.joyce_sugg_forgive_her"])
148->150
694
Electrochemistry: But only because you like pearlescent teeth and those light green eyes...
149->694
528
Untitled hub (02)
150->528
151
Joyce Messier: "Nothing's settled. It simply fades away..." She closes her eyes. "Like a lover who has lost their faith. Now, shall we return to reality?"
496
Jump to: [REALIDAD HAB]
151->496
477
Inland Empire: Dark orange flames reflect in her green eyes. An oil fire on the ocean.
152->477
153
Joyce Messier: "What world?" The fading pearls of her eyes look to the sea. "The only one, I suppose -- the world of matter and its pale antipode..."
499
Inland Empire: The camera of her mind glides over the surface of the water.
153->499
154
Joyce Messier: "There's a steadily increasing trickle of images. Between the big three they're piecing together a dark grey corona."
699
You: "A dark grey corona?"
154->699
155
Joyce Messier: "Great things are difficult to achieve. For now, we're viewing the world from the inside -- sideways."
155->93
586
You: "Inside sideways? What *shape* is this world then?"
155->586
156
Empathy: She does not seem convinced that you'll be fine. If anything, she is realizing how deep your condition runs.
397
Untitled hub (03)
156->397
157
Kim Kitsuragi: "Ma'am." He turns to her again. "Remember, you're dealing with a very *sensitive* and *impressionable* police officer who is still recovering from a recent medical episode."
535
Joyce Messier: "The lieutenant's right, let's change topics?" She gives you a little wink: "What do you want to know? Anything!"
157->535
158
Joyce Messier: Variable["pier.joyce_auth_kim_stops_palequesation"]
159
Variable["pier.joyce_auth_kim_stops_palequesation"]
158->159
160
!(Variable["pier.joyce_auth_kim_stops_palequesation"])
158->160
606
Savoir Faire: You could sneak back -- later, when he's *not* around... unless you can convince him to step aside?
159->606
401
Savoir Faire: You could sneak back, later, when the lieutenant is *not* here... unless you can convince him to step aside?
160->401
460
Joyce Messier: "Twenty-two kilometres from the centre of the world. That soldering iron is the Bank of the World building. The bottom floors are INSURCOM -- *Coalition Government* Insulindian Mission Command."
161->460
162
Joyce Messier: Silence. She lowers her hand.
536
Inland Empire: The water, the light... It's as though you're seeing it for the *first* time.
162->536
163
Joyce Messier: IsTaskActive("TASK.return_to_mhead_once_you_understand_reality")--[[ Variable[ ]]
164
IsTaskActive("TASK.return_to_mhead_once_you_understand_reality")--[[ Variable[ ]]
163->164
165
!(IsTaskActive("TASK.return_to_mhead_once_you_understand_reality")--[[ Variable[ ]])
163->165
748
Endurance: Your stomach grumbles approvingly... the reality rhizome is opening up before your very eyes.
164->748
541
pale isola tiny hub
165->541
166
Inland Empire: As if it's self-explanatory, beyond patriotism. A fact.
611
You: "What makes Revachol great?"
166->611
168
IsTHCPresent("jamais_vu")
167->168
169
!(IsTHCPresent("jamais_vu"))
167->169
549
Conceptualization: It's on the tip of your tongue -- a *doubt* of sorts, already in your head -- but it's not fully formed yet. You have to wait and return to this later, once the *Jamais Vu* thought is complete.
168->549
224
Jump to: [REALIDAD HAB]
169->224
170
Joyce Messier: "Of course." She seems slightly relieved.
171
Jump to: [REALIDAD HAB]
170->171
171->713
172
Joyce Messier: "Some say the damage stems from extreme sensory deprivation. Others argue that pale somehow *consists* of past information, that's degrading. That it's rarefied past, not rarefied matter."
982
Joyce Messier: "They call it *the blend-over of the self*. The pale does not only suspend the laws of physics, but also the laws of psychology, maybe History, even... The human mind becomes over-radiated by past."
172->982
173
You: "Are *you* over-radiated?"
333
Joyce Messier: "Up to my gills, officer."
173->333
174->100
175
You: "What has entroponetics changed then?"
289
Joyce Messier: "Nothing. We remain powerless before the pale. The only real advance in pale transit is the speed with which an aerostatic craft can pierce it. Less exposure leads to less... *effects* later."
175->289
706
You: "Slipping how? To our detriment or..."
176->706
177->12
178
You: "That we continue to persist at all is a testament to our faith in one another."
336
Joyce Messier: "Hmhm..." Her eyes tense. Crow's feet radiate from them. She observes you: your bloodshot eyes and swollen face.
178->336
669
Kim Kitsuragi: "But I did. Anyway..." He looks around, a little uncomfortable now.
179->669
180
Kim Kitsuragi: "Yes, well..." he thinks. "The rest of us have dealt with it for thousands of years, so..." He looks around, a little uncomfortable now.
988
Esprit de Corps: You will have to deal with it too, the lieutenant thinks. This is why I didn't want you to know.
180->988
181
Joyce Messier: Variable["TASK.get_reality_lowdown_done"]
182
Variable["TASK.get_reality_lowdown_done"]
181->182
183
!(Variable["TASK.get_reality_lowdown_done"])
181->183
302
Jump to: [REALIDAD HAB]
182->302
351
Joyce Messier: IsKimHere()
183->351
184
Encyclopedia: ORG: Occident-Revachol-Graad.
317
Joyce Messier: "There's a steadily increasing trickle of images. Between the big three scientific contributors, they're piecing together a dark grey corona."
184->317
185
Reaction Speed: You should ask the Paledriver about this. See what she says.
478
Inland Empire: That poor woman must have stories to tell like you wouldn't imagine...
185->478
186
Joyce Messier: Variable["pier.joyce_drama_realityinvestigation"]
187
Variable["pier.joyce_drama_realityinvestigation"]
186->187
188
!(Variable["pier.joyce_drama_realityinvestigation"])
186->188
847
Conceptualization: An *experimental* side-case.
187->847
188->68
189
Joyce Messier: "How *truly* curious -- a sort of philosopher-detective!"
902
Rhetoric: Aren't all...
189->902
190
Joyce Messier: "Actually," she turns to the lieutenant, "I've heard the analogy made by a blindingly modern school of philosophy called *karperie*. It may not be as far fetched as it sounds."
480
Jump to: [Untitled hub (03)]
190->480
677
Joyce Messier: "I've never heard of a *nationalistic* medical condition, but then reality is a strange place. Ask away, officer -- I'll help however I can."
191->677
192
Joyce Messier: "Some sort of... krill hunter? No, wait..." Joyce raises her eyebrows. "You're an ancient ruin, a symbol of hubris and decay, half-submerged in some salty sea."
192->133
656
You: "Are you saying I'm ruined?"
192->656
193
Joyce Messier: "Ah!" She spreads her arms almost as wide. "*This* is the pier of Rue de Saint-Ghislaine 33A, where the tenants have been kind enough to rent me a slot..."
772
Joyce Messier: "...or two." She looks around.
193->772
250
Joyce Messier: "I think it's fair to say so. Martinaise is about..." She points across the water, where the skyscrapers rise...
194->250
195
Joyce Messier: "It's not really a sea. It's the Bay of Revachol. And the bay feeds into the ocean."
999
You: "Are we near the ocean?"
195->999
196
You: "What's the name of this island?"
720
Joyce Messier: "Caillou." She looks to the waters. "Imagine a pebble, a smoothed over pebble amidst a great blue sea. Mis-shapen, cracked. The cracks are the River Esperance. We're in the delta of this river, on the sixth branch -- the Martinaise distributary."
"Caillou, as you already know." She looks to the waters. "Imagine a pebble, a smoothed over pebble amidst a great blue sea. Mis-shapen, cracked. The cracks are the River Esperance. We're in the delta of this river, on the sixth branch -- the Martinaise distributary."
196->720
197
Joyce Messier: "Perhaps." Her earrings chime as she nods. "My intellectual vanity will be my undoing."
439
Logic: You're no dummy yourself.
197->439
198
Logic: And the crown on your head as you lay in the casket.
599
Jump to: [Untitled hub]
198->599
199
Joyce Messier: "Young people who dye their hair funny colours and wear old people's clothes are stupid and their little rebellion is self-defeating..."
199->48
200
Joyce Messier: "Ah, yes..." She looks hesitant. "This is not very *central* to reality, is it?"
201
You: "I still want to know."
200->201
491
You: "Got it -- let's take it back to reality central for the next one."
200->491
725
Joyce Messier: "I can't be one hundred percent sure, but I believe he died due to complications from venereal disease."
201->725
202
Jump to: [REALIDAD HAB]
202->713
919
You: "Good. And what is the Revachol Citizens Militia?"
203->919
204
You: "This abbreviation -- what does it stand for?"
865
Joyce Messier: "It stands for Revachol Citizens Militia."
204->865
445
Joyce Messier: "Truly moralist of you. The Coalition Government would applaud you for staying out of politics. And yet..."
205->445
206
Joyce Messier: "And if those authorities drink so hard they need help recalling the basic terms of reality -- well, I am here to help." She bows and smiles.
206->278
208
Half Light: It's sharp.
690
Untitled hub
208->690
530
Electrochemistry: Beneath her waterproof raincoat and silk shirt is a body imbibed in Numb 12 perfume. You are suddenly and intimately aware of it.
209->530
210->151
211
Joyce Messier: "A fitting punishment," she smirks. "To be forgotten, if not forgiven. Save a prayer for us in our *châteaus* on Ozonne and in Stella Maris."
875
Jump to: [Joyce Messier: ""When the dust settled, the liberal..."]
211->875
212
You: "You have daughters?" (Conclude.)
696
Joyce Messier: "Yes, whatever else I am, I'm also a mother. And a wife." She closes her eyes, then opens them again. "Now -- shall we return to reality?"
212->696
213
Joyce Messier: IsKimHere()
214
IsKimHere()
213->214
215
!(IsKimHere())
213->215
214->41
215->600
216
Joyce Messier: "I don't know about things of that scale, my expertise lies in nations and trade routes, one or several layers below *everything*."
216->42
217
You: "Really?"
1013
Joyce Messier: Variable["pier.joyce_evrart_villagequest_told"]
217->1013
218
Joyce Messier: "Yes -- so I can spite Evrart and spoil his plans for this place. I'm a petty person, I admit."
784
Joyce Messier: "Don't worry, I'll never get around to it -- the information you pass to me will remain confidential," She waves you off: "Let's get back to reality, shall we?"
218->784
219
Kim Kitsuragi: The lieutenant observes you both, silently. He adjusts his glasses.
972
Jump to: [REALIDAD HAB]
219->972
220
Joyce Messier: "History, detective. They built this city to *resolve* History -- our part in it at least, our centuries."
976
Untitled hub
220->976
221
Joyce Messier: Variable["pier.joyce_conceptualization_white_what_world"]
222
Variable["pier.joyce_conceptualization_white_what_world"]
221->222
223
!(Variable["pier.joyce_conceptualization_white_what_world"])
221->223
550
Conceptualization: What is... all of this? The scent, the sound, the air?
222->550
223->106
224->713
225
You: "Got it. Tell me something else then."
225->170
226
Half Light: You hear your pulse rise, the air feels caustic and cold suddenly.
888
Jump to: [pale hub]
226->888
227
Joyce Messier: "No, nameless detective of the Citizens Militia. I am a member of the *Entroponetic Business Class*. I'm cleared and trained for 22 days of pale transit annually."
285
Joyce Messier: Variable["pier.joyce_revolutionary_melancholy"]
227->285
229
Variable["pier.joyce_harrier"]
228->229
230
!(Variable["pier.joyce_harrier"])
228->230
660
Joyce Messier: "No, Lieutenant Du Bois. I'm 'Entroponetic Business Class.' I'm cleared -- and trained -- for 22 days of pale transit annually."
229->660
230->227
231
You: "This investigation will be my masterpiece. The one they remember me by. I promise."
231->11
232->615
233
You: "Off we go into the wild pale yonder."
666
Joyce Messier: "One and all," she closes her eyes. "They say pale is death, but for the Universe."
233->666
234
You: "You're right lieutenant. I'll continue later."
765
Kim Kitsuragi: He nods. "It's better not to eat all your candy at once."
234->765
235
Joyce Messier: Variable["whirling.necktie_personified"] and CheckEquipped("neck_tie")
236
Variable["whirling.necktie_personified"] and CheckEquipped("neck_tie")
235->236
237
!(Variable["whirling.necktie_personified"] and CheckEquipped("neck_tie"))
235->237
845
Horrific Necktie: Yes, and perform auto-erotic asphyxiation on yourself with your funny neck tie. Out in the open somewhere!
236->845
896
Joyce Messier: Variable["pier.joyce_electrochem_blast_hard"]
237->896
238
You: "I got so drunk I forgot literally everything."
238->128
239
You: "I woke up in a trashed hotel room, superstar-style. Before that everything's a blank."
239->623
240
Empathy: This person is not easily disoriented, but you've done it.
373
Joyce Messier: "No. You're not joking at all, are you?" She sighs. "Well, ask away, officer -- I'll help however I can."
240->373
241
You: "No time to explain -- just give me the low-down."
802
Joyce Messier: "No, but... please. A *little* context. We're not in such a hurry."
241->802
242
Jump to: [Encyclopedia: "All right. We're in. I know these *..."]
242->617
243
Joyce Messier: IsKimHere()
244
IsKimHere()
243->244
245
!(IsKimHere())
243->245
565
Kim Kitsuragi: "You will find that *most* things concern the coming apocalypse. It's part of his *condition*."
244->565
245->51
246
Joyce Messier: "I've never heard of an *apocalyptic* medical condition, but then reality is a strange place. Ask away, officer -- I'll help however I can."
246->298
954
Jump to: [REALIDAD HAB]
247->954
248
You: "What is Rue de Saint-Ghislaine 33A?"
372
Joyce Messier: "A pre-revolutionary tenement. Old buildings are called *tenements*, you see, and new buildings *batiments*, after *les batiments noveau*. But 33A and 33B are not *noveau*, they're old." She looks up at the crumbling facade...
248->372
487
Joyce Messier: "Speak for yourself, officer. I'm well known in certain parts. As to the place, you're right. We are..." She points across the water, where the skyscrapers rise...
249->487
250->101
251
Joyce Messier: "Ah, yes -- back to the *low-down*."
251->713
252
You: "Which one?"
918
Joyce Messier: "*All* of them."
252->918
253->446
254
Joyce Messier: IsKimHere()
255
IsKimHere()
254->255
256
!(IsKimHere())
254->256
255->141
256->142
257
Joyce Messier: "They called it the *International Zone* -- because no nation wanted to claim responsibility. The RCM restored peace where the Coalition failed. A true-blue citizens' initiative," she smiles. "They will never forgive you."
308
Joyce Messier: IsKimHere()
257->308
258
Joyce Messier: "Well, it's either bariatric surgery -- or long term alcohol use."
258->145
776
You: "Oh, it's probably from surgery then."
258->776
259
Joyce Messier: Variable["pier.joyce_empathy_distance"]
260
Variable["pier.joyce_empathy_distance"]
259->260
261
!(Variable["pier.joyce_empathy_distance"])
259->261
493
Rhetoric: In case he goes down later, souring the entire portfolio.
260->493
964
Untitled hub (02)
261->964
262
Jump to: [REALIDAD HAB]
262->713
263
You: "Dios mío!" (Draw a cross.) "A LIBERAL!"
818
Joyce Messier: "Yes," she nods slowly. "I am the nether creature of the forbidden swamp. I pushed the king under a *shitwagon* and betrayed the Revolution. My kind surrendered the nation to financial colonists..."
263->818
264
Jump to: [Joyce Messier: ""Honestly..." she pauses. "I may ha..."]
313
Joyce Messier: "Honestly..." she pauses. "I may have even *preferred* it, had the communards won. Who knows? They might really have built something better. But they didn't, because they lost."
264->313
265
Jump to: [Joyce Messier: ""When the dust settled, the liberal..."]
529
Joyce Messier: "When the dust settled, the liberals were the only ones left to clean up the mess. By virtue of their survival they were handed enormous power to shape the future..." She turns her gaze to the delta. "This was all our last generation managed."
265->529
266
Joyce Messier: Variable["pier.cindy_first_greeting_pier_done"]
267
Variable["pier.cindy_first_greeting_pier_done"]
266->267
268
!(Variable["pier.cindy_first_greeting_pier_done"])
266->268
590
Cindy the SKULL: "Splat-splat!" From a dilapidated balcony, Cindy the SKULL gives Joyce the evil eye, her red paintbrush held to her throat...
267->590
591
Cindy the SKULL: "Splat-splat!" From a dilapidated balcony, a young girl in odd clothes gives Joyce the evil eye, a red paintbrush held to her throat...
268->591
269
Joyce Messier: "This *place* is an unmarked microsettlement on the coast of Martinaise..." She gestures toward a collection of cinderblock dwellings covered by a highly carcinogenic roofing material.
643
Joyce Messier: "It's lovely, really. I'm thinking of buying it."
269->643
270
Jump to: [Elysium Hub]
644
Elysium Hub
270->644
271
Kim Kitsuragi: The lieutenant glances at you from the corner of his eye.
321
Empathy: Was he just... worried? That you would find out something awful?
271->321
272
You: "Yes -- what is the pale?"
1020
Joyce Messier: "Okay." She concedes. "The pale is the most dominant geological feature of the world, detective -- the separative tissue between the isolas. It is the interisolary mass."
272->1020
273
Joyce Messier: "Of course -- ask away." She seems slightly relieved.
273->99
274
You: "Wait, and what is an isola?"
501
Joyce Messier: "*Isola* is a Messinian word for a continent of matter, enveloped on all sides by the pale. Also: isolation, or land mass. We used to believe there was only one. In the last four centuries we have discovered seven..."
274->501
275
You: Look to the sea...
275->162
276
Joyce Messier: She observes your eyes scanning the horizon, then breaks the silence, slowly.
276->64
277
Jump to: [Revohub]
277->6370250
278->713
279->713
502
Jump to: [REALIDAD HAB]
280->502
281
Jump to: [Joyce Messier: ""Okay." She concedes. "The pale is..."]
281->1020
282
You: "Is it *the pale* or *pale*?"
756
Joyce Messier: "Pale when it's particular -- this territory of pale -- *the* pale when it's pale in its entirety. Once you've seen it..." She tosses her head. "Language balks at the difference."
282->756
283
Joyce Messier: "It is possible to force dimensions on the pale -- in modern times we can even compress its latitude, bouncing radio waves from one end to the other. Shortening the path."
283->111
284
Joyce Messier: "It feels terrible. Absolutely terrible. International standards strictly limit civilian travellers to six days of pale exposure per year..."
284->113
286
Variable["pier.joyce_revolutionary_melancholy"]
285->286
287
!(Variable["pier.joyce_revolutionary_melancholy"])
285->287
506
Empathy: Perhaps that explains her strange pining after the Revolution? Some degraded early memories...
286->506
287->56
288->175
757
You: "Aerostatic craft?"
289->757
290->555
291
You: "You were right. It's disco."
291->336
292->416
293
Joyce Messier: "Yes?" She's waiting for another term.
293->16
294
Untitled hub
456
You: "I've got a clear picture. Let's proceed to another term."
294->456
585
You: "I don't feel like I have got the whole picture yet."
294->585
295
Joyce Messier: SetVariableValue("pier.joyce_found_out_pale_without_kim", true) --[[ Variable[ ]]
651
Joyce Messier: "Are you sure you're sure? Your colleague seemed adamant..."
295->651
296->238
296->241
621
You: "By learning about the world I hope to learn more about myself."
296->621
711
You: "It's related to that *medical episode* -- I have trouble remembering even the most basic terms of reality."
296->711
848
You: "I am conducting a personal investigation into the world I find myself in."
296->848
996
You: "Actually -- now is not a good time for a reality low-down. Maybe later."
296->996
297
Kim Kitsuragi: "Yes!" The lieutenant takes a step closer to you, rubbing his hands together. "There is a *stranger* reason, isn't there?"
624
Perception (Sight): A wink. There is a mischievous streak to him egging you on. This might go beyond mere strategy.
297->624
298->617
299
Jump to: [Encyclopedia: "All right. We're in. I know these *..."]
299->617
300->73
854
You: "I meant what is this *place* here?"
300->854
301
Jump to: [Martinaise hub]
301->855
302->713
303
Joyce Messier: "Ah, yes. There's something very satisfying about discussing the fundamental facts of reality. Go ahead."
303->713
304
Joyce Messier: IsTHCPresent("guillaume_le_million")
305
IsTHCPresent("guillaume_le_million")
304->305
306
!(IsTHCPresent("guillaume_le_million"))
304->306
443
You: "Wait -- Guillaume le Million? I was just thinking about that guy! Whatever happened to him?"
305->443
305->491
379
Encyclopedia: For some reason your mind is a veritable repository of Guillaume le Million lyrics, trivia, and b-sides. But the time to explore this is when you're alone, facing a mirror perhaps? Right now it would derail the reality low-down.
306->379
307
Kim Kitsuragi: "Yes," the lieutenant steps in to make a gesture encompassing you both: "*We* are the Revachol Citizens Militia."
511
Rhetoric: He's being sarcastic.
307->511
309
IsKimHere()
308->309
310
!(IsKimHere())
308->310
309->143
763
Joyce Messier: "So, permit me to conclude with this -- *who* you are -- to me -- is the police. The only legitimate law enforcement authority in Revachol."
310->763
311->81
312
Joyce Messier: "What I am *not* is a basic term of reality," she smiles.
924
Rhetoric: There may be a way to get her speaking about herself -- at some later juncture.
312->924
313->529
314
Joyce Messier: "I'm afraid you'll find that *every* woman is a Devil Woman, detective. There are only *aesthetic* differences between one and the other."
639
Joyce Messier: Variable["pier.joyce_pol_communist"]
314->639
315
Joyce Messier: "There are those who would call it *Hell*..."
315->94
316
Joyce Messier: "But you already have," she looks around. "And you're doing just fine, despite the rubble."
935
Shivers: The cold seeps into you. The air is heavy with 80% humidity.
316->935
317->699
318
Jump to: [You: ""Let me ask you something else.""]
318->73
319
You: "What do you see?"
533
Joyce Messier: "Great bodies of water, forest-covered surfaces... clusters of light where the cities lie. You've seen the montage, we all have -- this world is enough," she concludes.
319->533
320
You: "The wind is sweeping the waters..."
595
Shivers: THE WORLD IS A SUZERAINTY
320->595
500
Suggestion: But... she wants to tell you.
321->500
322
Joyce Messier: "I don't think your colleague would appreciate that -- he has already been so patient with this whole... exercise."
400
Joyce Messier: "Let's continue with something else, alright?" She leans against the railing: "You can ask about *anything* else in the world. Anything."
322->400
323
You: "I don't know any of this..."
710
Joyce Messier: "We are where we are. I have no truer answer to give, unfortunately." She watches you closely as you scan the horizon.
323->710
324->262
325->205
325->380
751
You: "So I'm basically a thrall to foreign interests?"
325->751
884
You: "So I'm basically a lackey of capital?"
325->884
326
You: "I want to know what *you* are."
"Seriously, I want to know what *you* are."
870
Joyce Messier: "Hmh..." She hums.
326->870
327
You: What is... (Reach for something fundamental.)
328
You: Variable["pier.joyce_conceptualization_white_what_world"]
327->328
329
Variable["pier.joyce_conceptualization_white_what_world"]
328->329
330
!(Variable["pier.joyce_conceptualization_white_what_world"])
328->330
329->221
330->221
331
Jump to: [Joyce Messier: ""You have mis-imagined it. I don't..."]
698
Joyce Messier: "You have mis-imagined it. I don't have the power to convey to you the effect and geometry of the images that depict our world from below low orbit. It's..."
331->698
332
Jump to: [Joyce Messier: "She looks up: "It's like the crowni..."]
396
Joyce Messier: She looks up: "It's like the crowning of the world. It's insane. Very *disco*. You'd love it."
332->396
333->59
334
You: "It's shrinking. There is more and more of the world."
334->8
335->416
986
Endurance: Your ailing constitution, sweaty forehead, the beads there and your heavy breathing.
336->986
337
Joyce Messier: "Yes. Carried in the hulls of airships," she nods. "It's a horrific job. Automation will abolish it, soon."
337->185
339
Variable["pier.joyce_inalnd_yonder"]
338->339
340
!(Variable["pier.joyce_inalnd_yonder"])
338->340
339->233
475
You: Gulp.
340->475
341
You: Ask for Kim to step away while you discuss the pale.
342
You: Variable["pier.joyce_volition_white_to_get_kim_to_step_away_pale_succeeded"]
341->342
343
Variable["pier.joyce_volition_white_to_get_kim_to_step_away_pale_succeeded"]
342->343
344
!(Variable["pier.joyce_volition_white_to_get_kim_to_step_away_pale_succeeded"])
342->344
890
Joyce Messier: Variable["pier.joyce_volition_white_to_get_kim_to_step_away_pale_succeeded"]
343->890
344->890
345
Joyce Messier: Variable["TASK.ask_about_ruby_in_village"]
346
Variable["TASK.ask_about_ruby_in_village"]
345->346
347
!(Variable["TASK.ask_about_ruby_in_village"])
345->347
421
Kim Kitsuragi: "Fine." He steps away with his notes.
346->421
842
Kim Kitsuragi: "Fine." He steps away with his notes.
347->842
348
Joyce Messier: Variable["pier.joyce_savoir_return_without_kim"]
349
Variable["pier.joyce_savoir_return_without_kim"]
348->349
350
!(Variable["pier.joyce_savoir_return_without_kim"])
348->350
349->97
948
Rhetoric: This is not going to happen with the lieutenant present -- unless you can convince him to step aside.
350->948
352
IsKimHere()
351->352
353
!(IsKimHere())
351->353
352->19
353->302
354
Suggestion: Everyone wants to talk about themselves. She will, in time.
925
Jump to: [REALIDAD HAB]
354->925
355
Encyclopedia: ORG: Occident-Revachol-Graad.
355->154
356
Joyce Messier: IsTaskActive("TASK.meet_lilienne_for_a_date")--[[ Variable[ ]]
357
IsTaskActive("TASK.meet_lilienne_for_a_date")--[[ Variable[ ]]
356->357
358
!(IsTaskActive("TASK.meet_lilienne_for_a_date")--[[ Variable[ ]])
356->358
901
Joyce Messier: "Actually, yes. The thought did cross my mind when Mademoiselle Lilienne earlier told me about the fresh produce these women sell to restaurants on the Delta."
357->901
394
Joyce Messier: "Actually, yes. The thought did cross my mind when Mademoiselle Lilienne over there told me about the fresh produce these women sell to restaurants on the Delta."
358->394
359
You: "Aren't all philosophers detectives?"
360
Joyce Messier: IsKimHere()
359->360
361
IsKimHere()
360->361
362
!(IsKimHere())
360->362
425
Kim Kitsuragi: "Yes, *all* of them."
361->425
363
Joyce Messier: "Why not?" She tosses her head. "I've heard the analogy made by a blindingly modern school of philosophy called *karperie*. It may not be as far fetched as it sounds."
362->363
363->480
364
Joyce Messier: IsKimHere()
365
IsKimHere()
364->365
366
!(IsKimHere())
364->366
953
Kim Kitsuragi: "Don't be fazed, madam. He functions perfectly well. He only needs a... *lowdown* on all of reality."
365->953
622
Composure: She's trying to see whether you're bluffing -- it's easy not to fidget. You're *not*.
366->622
367->130
368
Joyce Messier: IsKimHere()
369
IsKimHere()
368->369
370
!(IsKimHere())
368->370
369->30
435
Jump to: [memory explain hub]
370->435
371
Kim Kitsuragi: "Yes." The lieutenant takes a step closer to you. "Why don't you tell Mrs. Messier what you told me, hm?"
371->715
906
Joyce Messier: "This one used to be eight to ten stories tall -- a real high rise by the standards of the last century. Built to mirror the skyscrapers across the bay in the Delta. That was before the war, of course."
372->906
373->134
374
You: "I'm a disco holdover myself."
859
Joyce Messier: "Ha!" She smiles. "Aren't we all?"
374->859
375
Conceptualization: Of course -- no time for silly infracultures. There are more pressing, reality-centric questions to be asked.
634
Jump to: [REALIDAD HAB]
375->634
774
Jump to: [Joyce Messier: ""Be my guest." She takes a sip from..."]
376->774
520
Joyce Messier: "It involved *lots* of partying, as you might imagine. And champagne coloured *everything*. By the looks of it -- that would have been when you came of age. Now..." She raises her eyebrow at you.
377->520
378
You: "So you're saying he *didn't* vanish in a puff of stardust?" (Conclude.)
444
Joyce Messier: "I'm afraid no, but then again -- one can't be entirely sure. It's all part of his *mystique*. Ask someone else and you may get a more champagne-coloured take..."
378->444
379->574
380->446
381
Joyce Messier: "Permit me to conclude with this: *who* you are -- to me -- is the police. The only legitimate law enforcement authority in Revachol..."
381->22
382
Joyce Messier: "Glad to have been of assistance -- the little that I know.... anything else?"
922
Jump to: [Joyce MAIN hub]
382->922
383
Joyce Messier: "Glad to have been of assistance -- the little that I know. Anything else I can do?"
383->922
384
Jump to: [REALIDAD HAB]
384->713
385
You: "I know you've got a lot riding on me. I won't let you down."
637
Joyce Messier: "It's not just me, detective. All of Martinaise has placed its chips on your success. I pray we've all bet wisely."
385->637
386
Joyce Messier: "No," she shakes her head, slowly. "Not like me. I am the nether creature of the forbidden swamp, who pushed the king under a *shitwagon* and betrayed the Revolution..."
583
Joyce Messier: "Are you *liberated* enough to offer up your home on a plate for financial colonists?" She looks you in the eye. "No, I think not. Tell me -- now that I've *uncoiled* myself -- do you find me frightening?"
386->583
387
Joyce Messier: "...steal, kill and destroy?" She counters, quick as a whip. "That they say we've been doing for over four decades now. Perhaps regrettably, I've had my fill for this century..."
1008
Joyce Messier: IsKimHere()
387->1008
388
Jump to: [REALIDAD HAB]
388->713
389
Joyce Messier: "They're like you and I, I suppose. Living organisms don't identify with abstractions. Elysium is for particular beings."
389->270
390
Joyce Messier: "I am sorry, dear," she looks around. "It must sound quite terrifying through the acute encephalopathy. Even scientific positivism isn't entirely convinced about what we're dealing with here..."
879
Joyce Messier: "But -- this is one of the great questions of our time. Maybe when they get the complete set together it will jolt us out of our rut -- bring us together. However naive it may sound."
390->879
391
Joyce Messier: Variable["TASK.ask_about_ruby_in_village"]
392
Variable["TASK.ask_about_ruby_in_village"]
391->392
393
!(Variable["TASK.ask_about_ruby_in_village"])
391->393
392->269
393->193
933
Lilienne, the Net Picker: You both turn to consider the young woman. She's hunched over a net, methodically picking out ribbons of plastic...
394->933
395
Shivers: A frisson lifts the hair on the back of your arm. Wind sweeps the surface of the bay.
596
Joyce Messier: Variable["pier.joyce_concept_bestworld"] or Variable["pier.joyce_shivers_world_suzerainty"]
395->596
453
You: "Doesn't sound like any kind of disco I'd like to go to."
396->453
457
You: "I don't care about disco, I only care about the Commune."
396->457
876
You: "Well, if you say it's disco..."
396->876
398
You: "Okay, forget all this stuff. Let me ask something else."
397->398
531
You: "Thanks. Okay."
397->531
642
You: "It certainly doesn't feel like I'm fine."
397->642
1019
Joyce Messier: "Yes!" She claps her hands for warmth.
398->1019
399
Joyce Messier: "The pale is not, technically speaking, part of *reality*..."
738
Joyce Messier: IsKimHere()
399->738
400->500
401->348
402
Joyce Messier: "It is the opposite of reality."
402->225
750
You: "Okay, but... what *is* it? A definition..."
402->750
403
You: "Okay, another term then."
403->273
404
Untitled hub (04)
404->252
404->378
885
You: "Are you sure he didn't die of auto-erotic asphyxiation?"
404->885
405
Encyclopedia: The Confederate Republic of Mesque -- the world's largest state by territory -- has fallen into an especially nihilistic strain of nationalism lately.
405->92
406
Joyce Messier: Variable["pier.joyce_amnesia_known"]
407
Variable["pier.joyce_amnesia_known"]
406->407
408
!(Variable["pier.joyce_amnesia_known"])
406->408
407->157
886
Kim Kitsuragi: "Ma'am." He turns to her again. "This philosophical police detective is very *sensitive* and *impressionable* because of his recent medical episode."
408->886
944
Joyce Messier: "Yes, sweet reality," she stomps her foot. "But before we do, tell me detective..."
409->944
410
You: "Six thousand kilometres from the end of the world?"
411
Joyce Messier: "Yes -- that is enough. Many cities are built *much* closer."
410->411
411->110
412
Rhetoric: There's a slippery article in there...
468
Joyce Messier: Variable["pier.joyce_rhetoric_article"]
412->468
413
Joyce Messier: She closes her eyes and breathes out heavily: "... the most *disco* thing you will ever see."
413->226
414
Joyce Messier: "*Entroponetics*," she corrects, "is the scientific study of the pale. Or a recent iteration of it, by way of Graad. The study of the pale reaches back 6,000 years -- the Perikarnassians called it the Western Plain."
661
Rhetoric: They had not travelled the entire circumference of the Perikarnassian super-isola. It was not merely in the West -- it was everywhere. Even then; surrounding them...
414->661
415
You: "It's growing. There is more and more of the pale."
415->9
943
Joyce Messier: "I suggest you do the same."
416->943
417
You: "You're right. This is all new to me."
797
Jump to: [Joyce Messier: ""Then tell me -- what do you *think..."]
417->797
418
Joyce Messier: "Beyond curious... Tell me -- what do you *think* of the pale?"
889
Untitled hub (02)
418->889
419
You: "Who am I to think *anything* of it?"
419->336
420
Volition: Yeah, you still aren't over the fear that something bad might happen. He expressly said you've had enough excitement for today.
420->293
421->124
801
Jump to: [Joyce Messier: ""Are you sure you're sure? Your col..."]
422->801
423
Joyce Messier: "Good luck, detectives." She nods you good-bye.
424->713
767
Kim Kitsuragi: "Except the ones who are philosophers."
425->767
426
Joyce Messier: "There may be *some* detectives who are not philosophers."
426->480
427
Joyce Messier: IsKimHere()
428
IsKimHere()
427->428
429
!(IsKimHere())
427->429
769
Kim Kitsuragi: "Yes." The lieutenant takes a step closer to you. "Why don't you tell Mrs. Messier what you told me, hmh?"
428->769
433
Jump to: [memory explain hub]
429->433
430
Joyce Messier: IsKimHere()
431
IsKimHere()
430->431
432
!(IsKimHere())
430->432
431->297
432->433
433->296
434
You: "Yes, a spirit quest sounds like the thing I'm on."
716
Joyce Messier: IsKimHere()
434->716
435->296
436
You: "You mentioned a sea. What sea is this?"
436->195
437
Empathy: A brief spike of longing in her upright body. The dots under her eyelids shake.
568
Joyce Messier: She opens them: "This place used to be a province, a workers' resort before the city swallowed it and the artillery did its work. The reeds are the real star of the show here now. The further down the coast, the wilder it gets."
She opens them: "As I told you: Martinaise used to be a province, a workers' resort before the city swallowed it and the artillery did its part. Now the reeds are the real star of the show here. The further down the coast, the wilder it gets."
437->568
438
You: "You're a smart woman."
438->197
440
Joyce Messier: Variable["pier.joyce_logic_reallysmart"]
439->440
441
Variable["pier.joyce_logic_reallysmart"]
440->441
442
!(Variable["pier.joyce_logic_reallysmart"])
440->442
486
You: "So am I."
441->486
809
You: No -- or intellectual vanity will be *my* undoing!
441->809
442->599
443->200
575
Joyce Messier: "Anyway," she concludes. "What other basic facets of reality should we discuss?"
444->575
445->446
447
Joyce Messier: "Yet on the other hand -- I know these people. I deal with them daily. Let me tell you, dear, they are not fans of you."
446->447
522
You: "Why?"
447->522
448
Joyce Messier: "The Revolution," she says.
987
You: "Hah -- and what *is* this Revolution I keep hearing about?"
448->987
580
Empathy: She conveys it in short, cold bursts, trying not to invest too deeply in the condition of this doomed detective.
449->580
450->235
451
You: "I forgive you."
780
Joyce Messier: "I do hope so," she bows. "I hope we are able to remain collegial despite my monstrousness. The ultras didn't have anything against the king *or* the Commune, you see. It was just business."
"I hope you do. I hope we are able to continue as friends despite my scales and my need to infiltrate and betray your precious Revolution."
"I do hope so," she bows. "I hope we can remain collegial despite my affection for regicide and multiculturalism. We didn't *mean* to kill the king, I assure you."
"I do hope so," she bows. "I do hope we're able to remain collegial despite it all. Tell me, when you look in the mirror, do you not see a monster staring back at you?"
"I do hope so," she bows. "I hope we are able to remain collegial despite it. Remember, we were partners, whether you like to admit it or not. There's blood on many hands, I assure you."
451->780
452
You: "Elysium... The world needs a term of endearment."
971
Joyce Messier: "It does. There are those who would call it *Hell*..."
452->971
453->316
931
Joyce Messier: "They say there is a rarefied envelope of matter surrounding the darkened disc of our planet. That is, if we are still living on a planet. Or, to speak more plainly, imagine vast swathes of land disrupted by nothingness."
454->931
455
Joyce Messier: "Of bodies of water and forest-covered surfaces, clusters of light where the cities lie. You've seen the montage, we all have -- this world is enough," she concludes.
733
Conceptualization: It *must* be. This is the greatest and kindest arrangement the atoms had in them.
455->733
934
Joyce Messier: "Let's. I am, after all, bourgeois and female -- hardly the perfect ambassador for the world."
456->934
734
Joyce Messier: "See? Everyone finds something worth holding onto in the world -- however wasted its opportunities."
457->734
458
Joyce Messier: "Of course, lieutenant," she bows, then turns to you. "Let's try something else."
459
You: "What do you mean it's not part of *reality*?"
458->459
605
You: "I don't want to. I want to know what the pale is."
458->605
828
You: "Okay then."
458->828
459->406
460->275
461
Joyce Messier: Variable["pier.joyce_kim_away_for_pale_question"] == true and IsKimHere()
462
Variable["pier.joyce_kim_away_for_pale_question"] == true and IsKimHere()
461->462
463
!(Variable["pier.joyce_kim_away_for_pale_question"] == true and IsKimHere())
461->463
608
Joyce Messier: Variable["TASK.ask_about_ruby_in_village"]
462->608
463->50
464->713
465
Joyce Messier: "The nations of the Occident. Or migrant workers from Semenine and Iilmaraa, depending on your creed."
613
Jump to: [Untitled hub]
465->613
466
You: "The negation of..."
467
Joyce Messier: "That's right -- the negation of being." She tightens her hood around her neck, it's cold outside.
466->467
467->100
469
Variable["pier.joyce_rhetoric_article"]
468->469
470
!(Variable["pier.joyce_rhetoric_article"])
468->470
469->282
470->54
471
You: "Who says and who argues?"
705
Joyce Messier: "The logical positivists say -- the dialectical materialists argue."
471->705
472
Jump to: [Joyce Messier: "She's looking out toward the sea, w..."]
472->837
473->100
474->119
557
Joyce Messier: "It doesn't look like you're *doing* the same. The suggestion was meant in earnest, detective. Live life."
475->557
476
Kim Kitsuragi: "Good." The lieutenant returns. "You have not passed out from it. Perhaps I worried for nothing... Are we still on the reality low-down -- or should we do actual policework now?"
476->125
822
Untitled hub
477->822
478->114
478->173
479
Conceptualization: The doubt is fully formed in your head -- the alien feeling persists -- yet something's still missing. You have finished mulling over the *Jamais Vu* thought, but your Conceptualization skills are not nuanced enough to make sense of it...
479->224
480->29
481
Joyce Messier: She nods, attentively.
674
Joyce Messier: Variable["whirling.kim_intro_told_memory_trouble"]
481->674
482
You: "What *world* is this?"
"Tell me about this world again?"
482->153
483
Joyce Messier: "Mostly the urban middle class, I believe. This was once *primo* real estate. Before the cannons lopped four or five stories off..."
483->266
484
Logic: She refers to your corresponding ages.
907
You: "Mhm. And what is *Martinaise*?"
484->907
485->855
958
Joyce Messier: "A smart boy getting smarter, one basic term of reality at a time..."
486->958
487->101
571
You: "Infra... culture?"
488->571
631
Joyce Messier: Variable["pier.joyce_concept_infraculture"]
489->631
490
Kim Kitsuragi: "My reality-impaired colleague is not so far off..." The lieutenant wanders back into the conversation -- he's been sorting his notes.
682
Kim Kitsuragi: "Many of the RCM's fashions, even weapon preferences, borrow heavily from classic Vespertine cop shows. My precinct alone has three officers who go by the name *Ace*..."
490->682
1001
Joyce Messier: "Maximum brio, officer."
491->1001
492
You: "That's it for the *who I am* part then."
492->381
493->964
494
You: "You've got a predatory streak."
494->83
495
You: "Wanna... fuck?"
495->387
496->713
497
Joyce Messier: "With due respect to our overlords, the eternal *caretaker* government that keeps Martinaise a monument to the efficacy of its artillery..."
497->89
498
You: "What is it?"
877
Joyce Messier: "Elysium."
498->877
592
Joyce Messier: Variable["pier.joyce_inland_mindcamera"]
499->592
500->158
974
Joyce Messier: "Mundi, Seol, Samara, Iilmaraa, Graad, Katla, and this -- Insulinde."
501->974
502->713
503
Shivers: OF REVACHOL.
697
Joyce Messier: "There is a term of endearment they coined for it. In the Dolorian century, when humanity was *high* on this world, discovering more and more of it -- these archipelagos included..."
503->697
504->414
505
Joyce Messier: "Oh, it is..." Her lungs deflate, her words sound like a sigh, "...*so* difficult for us."
836
Perception (Hearing): A squall of birds, hardware operating in the harbour. Firm, self-evident.
505->836
506->56
507
Joyce Messier: "You really didn't know. This does *not* spell good for the investigation, detective. If you don't know even this, then..." She stops mid-sentence.
507->231
508
You: "It'll be a fucking disaster, I know it. All those people will die."
507->508
708
You: "I'll handle it. It's under control."
507->708
947
You: "Yes. I'm in serious trouble here."
507->947
508->17
509
Volition: ...is what you want to do. But should you? He expressly stated you shouldn't hear about it. What if it renders you mad? Or catatonic? *Or* makes you lose your memory again?
509->293
510->296
866
You: "Are we?"
511->866
920
You: "You said *de facto*?"
511->920
512
Kim Kitsuragi: "That is understandable -- but *perhaps* it's better not to eat all your candy at once?"
512->21
513
Joyce Messier: IsKimHere()
514
IsKimHere()
513->514
515
!(IsKimHere())
513->515
806
Kim Kitsuragi: "Naturally," he nods.
514->806
515->426
516
You: "What times are these?"
"Tell me what times are these again?"
524
Joyce Messier: Variable["pier.joyce_timehub_reached"]
516->524
517
You: "Keep guessing."
517->192
518
Joyce Messier: "Yes. We are on an island in an ocean. The world's largest body of water -- the Insulindic."
957
Encyclopedia: Known to the early Revacholians as *les Immensités Bleues* -- The Blue Immensities.
518->957
519
You: "Okay, now explain the same thing -- but to a child."
519->199
862
Joyce Messier: Variable["pier.joyce_amnesia_known"]
520->862
521
You: "Back to those basic terms of reality then."
684
Joyce Messier: Variable["pier.joyce_amnesia_known"]
521->684
687
Joyce Messier: "The post-revolutionary decade was a disaster for the Coalition Government. Revachol in the Twenties was hell, especially on the west side of the river: gang warfare, a botched privatisation scheme, a nuclear pile meltdown..."
522->687
523
Jump to: [Joyce Messier: ""Be my guest." She takes a sip from..."]
861
Joyce Messier: "Be my guest." She takes a sip from her thermal cup.
523->861
525
Variable["pier.joyce_timehub_reached"]
524->525
526
!(Variable["pier.joyce_timehub_reached"])
524->526
817
Joyce Messier: "Unimportant, as I said. The mineral rights were all distributed during the Revolution -- as were the bullets to the heads."
525->817
526->144
871
Joyce Messier: "I am the vilest of the vile," she says with a sudden flash of teeth. "A traitor, a devourer of nations and infants..."
527->871
528->147
528->451
693
You: "You're a monster."
528->693
781
You: "I don't care."
528->781
529->88
530->495
731
You: "Vile Deuill." (Shake your head slowly.)
530->731
873
You: "*And perswades them to addict themselues to his seruice...*"
530->873
966
You: (Nod.) "Devil Woman."
530->966
1011
Joyce Messier: "You *may* have mis-imagined it. I don't have the power to convey to you the effect and geometry of the images that depict our world from below low orbit. It's..."
531->1011
532
Joyce Messier: "This place could use a competent manager. There's so much to be done. But then, I'll never get around to it, will I?"
881
Empathy: There is regret in her voice -- for all the countless things she never had time to do with her money.
532->881
533->733
534
Untitled hub
534->320
882
You: Say nothing.
534->882
1018
You: "The best of all possible worlds."
534->1018
535->500
747
Shivers: There is no recognition. Only the immensity of the sea, and the cold radiating from it.
536->747
537
Joyce Messier: IsMorning()
538
IsMorning()
537->538
539
!(IsMorning())
537->539
607
Perception (Sight): A sparkle of lights on the horizon, like morning stars above the curvature of the planet.
538->607
786
Perception (Sight): A collection of tall ghosts behind the water vapour, light reflecting off their glass windows.
539->786
540
Perception (Sight): A sparkle of lights on the horizon, like evening stars above the curvature of the planet.
540->460
541->46
541->274
542
Joyce Messier: "I hope we are able to continue as friends despite my scaly bulk. And the treacheries committed by my people against the Suzerain and the Commune."
"I hope we are able to continue as friends, despite my deeply felt need to infiltrate and betray the Revolution. And then ensnare you to financial *seruice*."
"I hope we are able to remain friends despite my scaly bulk and my love of regicide and homo-sexuality. The loss of sovereignty was not our plan all along, I assure you."
"I hope we are able to continue as friends despite my scaly bulk. And my intimidating liberal credentials. This was not the plan all along."
"I hope so. I hope we are able to continue as friends despite my scaly bulk. And the insanity, bloodshed, and transfer of wealth that took place here. It was not *the plan all along*."
542->639
543
You: "What's so funny about that?"
544
Joyce Messier: "Nothing, nothing, it's just..." She wipes a tear from her eye. "True, that's all. The uniforms, the language... Let's have another question about reality, shall we?"
543->544
635
Jump to: [REALIDAD HAB]
544->635
545
You: What is... (Think of something close to you.)
546
You: Variable["pier.joyce_esprit_service_history"]
545->546
547
Variable["pier.joyce_esprit_service_history"]
546->547
548
!(Variable["pier.joyce_esprit_service_history"])
546->548
937
Joyce Messier: Variable["pier.joyce_esprit_service_history"]
547->937
548->937
549->224
550->482
551
Joyce Messier: "It's difficult to describe -- or even measure -- something whose fundamental property is the suspension of properties: physical, epistemological, linguistic..."
835
Joyce Messier: "The further into pale you travel, the steeper the degree of suspension. Right down to the mathematical -- *numbers* stop working. No one has yet passed the number barrier. It may be impossible."
551->835
552
You: "What does this over-radiation feel like?"
552->284
553
Inland Empire: She's over-radiated. And then some.
553->174
554->418
555->889
556
You: "Do *lorry drivers* pass the pale?"
556->337
557->707
558->345
559
You: "But won't I be *lazy* if I don't do it all now?"
559->20
560
You: "A supra-natural event took place." (Point to your head.) "Within my head -- on alcohol."
560->623
670
Joyce Messier: "We may be here awhile, then." She takes a long sip of tea. "Ask away, officer -- I'll help however I can."
561->670
562
Joyce Messier: Variable["pier.joyce_rhet_philosodetective"]
563
Variable["pier.joyce_rhet_philosodetective"]
562->563
564
!(Variable["pier.joyce_rhet_philosodetective"])
562->564
563->359
805
You: "And aren't all detectives philosophers?"
563->805
564->29
565->246
566
You: "What kind of city is Revachol?"
831
Joyce Messier: "The *Great* kind."
566->831
567
You: "Okay, that's Martinaise. What's *Revachol*?" (Continue.)
627
Joyce Messier: "Revachol -- Revachol is what you call a *city*."
567->627
955
Jump to: [Martinaise hub]
568->955
569
You: "You were here as a teenager?"
721
Joyce Messier: "Yes, I was *slumming* it with some girlfriends of mine. We had boats and..." She smiles. "Don't hold it against me -- the boys certainly did not."
569->721
570
You: "What is that?" (Point to Cindy the SKULL.)
570->137
571->33
572
Joyce Messier: "Those days are long behind me..." She looks inland with sarcastic wistfulness. "And even in the early Thirties I would say I was more of a *New* girl. Disco was a minor, but still enjoyable facet of the whole thing for me."
572->140
573
Joyce Messier: "Wasn't it Guillaume le Million who said: *If you can remember the New, you weren't there*?"
573->304
574->713
575->202
576
Joyce Messier: "Nothing more nor less than the de facto law enforcement body of post-revolutionary Revachol, detective."
960
Joyce Messier: IsKimHere()
576->960
577
Joyce Messier: "The RCM's responsibilities are defined by the Emergency, Wayfarer, and Aliments Acts -- three pieces of legislation keeping the city in a -- let's be honest -- laissez-faire stasis to the benefit of foreign capital."
577->254
578
rcm hub
578->492
921
You: "What do you mean?"
578->921
989
Joyce Messier: "Yes, lieutenant. Permit me to conclude with this -- *who* you are -- to me -- is the police. The only legitimate law enforcement authority in Revachol."
579->989
580->259
581
Composure: She raises the corner of her mouth smirking, revealing a canine.
581->208
582
You: "Cool. I *liberate* pretty hard myself."
582->386
965
Empathy: In her green eyes you see a mixture of truth and self-satire. Decades of guilt *and* pride.
583->965
584->497
645
Joyce Messier: "Oh, you want a *picture* of the world?" She raises her finger to her lips. "There is no complete set yet, dear. They're having some trouble reaching orbit."
585->645
820
Joyce Messier: "We used to think it was a sphere, but that is beginning to look less and less likely by the day. You wouldn't know it from the tabloids, but the ORG nations have been launching weather balloons into the lower ionosphere since the Thirties."
586->820
587
Joyce Messier: "Yes." She pauses. "Pale covers 72% of the surface. There are grey flares and prominences, even arcs above entire isolas... The images are blurry, but if there was a sphere in there it certainly looks like it fractured a long time ago."
823
Half Light: A cold fear seeps into you.
587->823
588
You: "Okay. And then everything will be okay?"
588->216
589
You: "A fractured corona doesn't feel like it's gonna bring anyone *together*."
589->698
880
Perception (Sight): You could be wrong -- but from here it appears as if she's running the brush *across* her throat, in a sawing motion.
590->880
591->880
593
Variable["pier.joyce_inland_mindcamera"]
592->593
594
!(Variable["pier.joyce_inland_mindcamera"])
592->594
593->319
821
You: Say nothing.
593->821
594->455
595->503
597
Variable["pier.joyce_concept_bestworld"] or Variable["pier.joyce_shivers_world_suzerainty"]
596->597
598
!(Variable["pier.joyce_concept_bestworld"] or Variable["pier.joyce_shivers_world_suzerainty"])
596->598
597->534
598->697
599->822
600->822
601
Joyce Messier: "I am sorry, detective," she looks around. "Philosophically speaking -- it must sound *quite terrifying*. Even scientific positivism isn't entirely convinced about what we're dealing with here..."
601->879
602
Joyce Messier: IsKimHere()
603
IsKimHere()
602->603
604
!(IsKimHere())
602->604
785
Kim Kitsuragi: "We've been through this -- ask something else or let's return to work."
603->785
604->295
605->322
606->348
607->460
609
Variable["TASK.ask_about_ruby_in_village"]
608->609
610
!(Variable["TASK.ask_about_ruby_in_village"])
608->610
752
Kim Kitsuragi: "Good." The lieutenant returns. "He has not passed out from it. Perhaps I worried for nothing... Are we still on the reality low-down -- or should we do actual policework now?"
609->752
610->104
611->220
612
You: "Okay. *Who* built this city?"
612->465
613->976
614->505
615->114
615->173
615->556
616
Esprit de Corps: Dammit, you're a grown man, the lieutenant thinks. Shouldn't have gotten *protective* here.
616->668
616->949
990
Joyce Messier: Variable["coast.joyce_enclyclo_first_first"]
617->990
618
Inland Empire: Vast, lukewarm and unknowable. Flowing in and out of sight.
618->301
619
Joyce Messier: "Wonderful."
619->32
804
Drama: Yes, reality is your side-case.
620->804
770
Joyce Messier: "A sort of... spiritual quest? Something of ancient Iilmaraan origin?" There's more than a trace of irony in her voice.
621->770
622->240
623->364
624->433
625
You: "Where are we?"
678
Joyce Messier: "We're in Martinaise, baby."
625->678
626
You: "You said *pale*. What is pale?"
"I want to know what the pale is."
626->741
627->566
628
You: "*Baby?*"
909
Joyce Messier: "A casual term of endearment popular among the 50+ crowd. It's a disco holdover, pay it no heed."
628->909
629
You: "Tell me about another, perhaps even *more* fundamental aspect of reality."
911
Joyce Messier: "I would be happy to. What is a preposterously expensive education for if not sharing."
629->911
630->77
630->519
632
Variable["pier.joyce_concept_infraculture"]
631->632
633
!(Variable["pier.joyce_concept_infraculture"])
631->633
722
You: Let it go.
632->722
812
You: "I think *I* may be part of an infraculture."
632->812
633->634
634->713
635->713
636->79
636->204
869
You: "Got it. Let me ask something else."
637->869
963
You: "What causes encephalopathy?"
637->963
638
You: "Wait, what's an ultra?"
638->85
640
Variable["pier.joyce_pol_communist"]
639->640
641
!(Variable["pier.joyce_pol_communist"])
639->641
640->264
641->265
642->331
643->217
643->318
644->91
644->452
732
You: "This world does not deserve a term of endearment."
644->732
700
You: "How come?"
645->700
646
Joyce Messier: Variable["pier.joyce_amnesia_known"]
647
Variable["pier.joyce_amnesia_known"]
646->647
648
!(Variable["pier.joyce_amnesia_known"])
646->648
647->390
648->601
649
Inland Empire: Suddenly you're conscious of yourself standing there, on... whatever this all is. Your arms hang down by your sides.
735
Joyce Messier: IsKimHere()
649->735
650->98
651->272
651->403
652
You: Say nothing. Observe the large body of water swelling. Cold...
652->276
654
IsKimHere()
653->654
655
!(IsKimHere())
653->655
787
Kim Kitsuragi: "Are they now?" The lieutenant cocks one eyebrow.
654->787
807
Joyce Messier: "A deep synthesis," she nods. "I'll assist you however I can then. Go ahead. Ask."
655->807
656->300
936
You: "Why here?"
657->936
658
Esprit de Corps: "Yes, he lost his mind," Tillbrook answers, finger on the trigger. "Don't worry, Émile..." He pulls on it slowly. Slowly now... "He'll find it again."
803
Esprit de Corps: "We always do."
658->803
659
Joyce Messier: "Indeed. There is a term of endearment they coined for it. In the Dolorian century, when humanity was *high* on this world, discovering more and more of it -- these archipelagos included..."
659->498
660->285
661->115
662
Joyce Messier: "Of course, how *silly* of me. Another basic term perhaps?" She stands attentively.
945
Drama: There is no way in *any* reality that she's still buying your *shtick*. Better drop it.
662->945
663
You: "Its advance can only be stopped with immediate, total, ruthless Communism."
663->336
665
Joyce Messier: "...you have me -- I will assist you in any way I can. Even if we have to do it one basic term at a time." She gives you a slight bow.
664->665
665->61
800
Inland Empire: Why should we just leave and leave -- and the world get left behind?
666->800
667
Joyce Messier: "It's quite easy: every hundred years or so our species gets together to decide what's next: who gets shot in the head and who gets the mineral rights -- it's a real *kerfuffle*."
667->43
668->423
669->616
670->299
672
Variable["whirling.kim_intro_told_memory_trouble"]
671->672
673
!(Variable["whirling.kim_intro_told_memory_trouble"])
671->673
672->427
673->430
675
Variable["whirling.kim_intro_told_memory_trouble"]
674->675
676
!(Variable["whirling.kim_intro_told_memory_trouble"])
674->676
851
Joyce Messier: IsKimHere()
675->851
676->368
677->298
678->628
678->907
679
Joyce Messier: Variable["pier.joyce_empathy_pebblevalue"]
680
Variable["pier.joyce_empathy_pebblevalue"]
679->680
681
!(Variable["pier.joyce_empathy_pebblevalue"])
679->681
860
Conceptualization: ...and to Humanity at large.
680->860
910
Jump to: [Martinaise hub]
681->910
1000
Kim Kitsuragi: "But please -- do continue this reality-exploration. I was just remarking."
682->1000
813
Joyce Messier: "Nothing *infra* about disco, baby."
683->813
685
Variable["pier.joyce_amnesia_known"]
684->685
686
!(Variable["pier.joyce_amnesia_known"])
684->686
685->206
686->80
687->257
688
Joyce Messier: "That seems... unlikely."
688->450
689
Volition: She won't manoeuvre her way out of this one.
689->84
690->263
690->582
690->638
730
You: "I don't understand -- what's so vile about that?"
690->730
691->690
692
Joyce Messier: "Perhaps you thought we'd gone extinct. After all, no sane person identifies as an *ultra* anymore. Not in broad daylight." She looks into your eye. "Tell me -- now that I've *uncoiled* myself -- are you repulsed?"
"I can see you thought we'd gone extinct. After all, no sane person identifies as an *ultraliberal* anymore. Not in broad daylight." She looks into your eye. "You're a man of the left, no? Tell me -- now that I've *uncoiled* myself -- are you repulsed?"
"I can see you thought we'd gone extinct. After all, no sane person identifies as an *ultraliberal* anymore. Not in broad daylight." She looks into your eye. "You've got Revachol in your blood, a real nationalist, no? Tell me -- now that I've *uncoiled* myself -- are you repulsed?"
"I can see you thought our kind were all extinct. After all, no sane person identifies as *this* anymore. Not in broad daylight." She looks into your eye. "I can see we're not so different, you know... Tell me -- now that I've *uncoiled* myself -- do you find me frightening?"
"I can see you thought we'd gone extinct. After all, no sane person identifies as an *ultraliberal* anymore. Not in broad daylight." She looks into your eye. "You're a centrist at heart, a real moralist, no? Tell me -- now that I've *uncoiled* myself -- do you find me frightening?"
692->965
779
Joyce Messier: "That's a pity," she bows. "I hope we can remain collegial despite my monstrousness. The ultras didn't have anything against the king *or* the Commune, you see. It was just business."
"That's a pity," she bows. "I hope we can remain collegial despite the fact that I'm a high priestess of capital. Don't take it personally -- it was only business, as they say."
"That's a pity," she bows. "I hope we can remain collegial despite my affection for regicide and multiculturalism. We didn't *mean* to kill the king, I assure you."
"That's a pity," she bows. "I do hope we can remain collegial despite it all. Tell me, when you look in the mirror, do you not see a monster staring back at you?"
"That's a pity," she bows. "I hope we can remain collegial despite it. Remember, we were partners, whether you like to admit it or not. There's blood on many hands, I assure you."
693->779
694->528
695
Joyce Messier: "Ah, you know more than you let on..." She gives you a coy little smile. "Philosopher-Detective of Precinct 41."
"Ah, maybe you remember more than you let on..." She gives you a coy little smile. "Despite whatever brain damage the alcohol may have inflicted."
695->495
695->731
695->966
696->388
697->498
698->396
699->587
700->155
702
IsTHCFixed("jamais_vu")
701->702
703
!(IsTHCFixed("jamais_vu"))
701->703
702->479
703->65
704
Joyce Messier: "Imagine a grey coronal mist, cold vapour, marked by spores of an opportunistic microorganism -- a mould that's adapted to grow at the edge of the unrest. It's..."
704->413
705->552
758
Joyce Messier: "What do you think, detective?" She looks you in the eye.
706->758
707->100
708->11
709
Joyce Messier: "Your colleague, Lieutenant Kitsuragi, is competent. I checked up on him. And you have me -- I will try to assist you in any way I can."
709->177
710->64
850
Joyce Messier: "Ah, yes -- the *episode*. Sounds like an acute case of encephalopathy now that I think of it..." She puts down her thermal cup and looks at you.
711->850
712
You: "Please don't make me say it again."
712->623
713->31
713->107
713->132
713->326
713->327
713->341
713->482
713->516
713->545
713->570
713->625
713->626
905
You: "What are *you*?"
"Seriously now... who *are* you?"
713->905
950
You: "What was the RCM again?"
713->950
998
You: "What is this?" (Spread your hands.)
713->998
714
You: "Actually... that is not why I need a low-down."
714->481
715->435
717
IsKimHere()
716->717
718
!(IsKimHere())
716->718
717->131
718->51
719
You: "Who lived in them?"
719->483
857
Empathy: It is clear this *pebble* is of enormous value to her...
720->857
721->135
722->375
723
Joyce Messier: "Yes, let's..." She settles down -- still a quivering smile on her face.
723->635
724
You: "You're disco?"
724->572
725->404
726
Joyce Messier: Variable["pier.joyce_electrochem_blast_hard"]
727
Variable["pier.joyce_electrochem_blast_hard"]
726->727
728
!(Variable["pier.joyce_electrochem_blast_hard"])
726->728
816
Volition: Wait, wait, this *reality thing* is the only game in town. It's probably in your interest not to blow it.
727->816
728->384
729->38
730->86
731->542
732->315
733->395
734->935
736
IsKimHere()
735->736
737
!(IsKimHere())
735->737
736->219
737->972
739
IsKimHere()
738->739
740
!(IsKimHere())
738->740
739->96
740->402
742
Variable["pier.joyce_pale_kimturndown_one"]
741->742
743
!(Variable["pier.joyce_pale_kimturndown_one"])
741->743
742->602
743->399
745
IsEvening()
744->745
746
!(IsEvening())
744->746
745->540
746->537
1021
realizationderealization
747->1021
748->541
749
You: "I don't know, I just feel it."
749->49
750->281
751->446
752->279
753
You: "*When* was Revachol built?"
788
Joyce Messier: "In the Dolorian century, 380 years ago."
753->788
754
Joyce Messier: "We are standing on a fertile, self-sufficient island able to sustain up to 200 million people; in the middle of the Insulindic ocean -- the world's connective tissue..." She smiles. "It's where the money is."
754->75
755->52
756->54
796
Joyce Messier: "Hybrid airships, detective. Conventional rotors or jet engines no longer add velocity after the point of reference for motion is suspended -- once you've crossed from near pale to far pale..."
757->796
758->334
758->415
759
You: "I don't know how you've all survived with it -- it's a huge accomplishment."
759->336
761
Variable["TASK.ask_about_ruby_in_village"]
760->761
762
!(Variable["TASK.ask_about_ruby_in_village"])
760->762
761->476
843
Kim Kitsuragi: "Good." The lieutenant returns. "You have not passed out from it. Perhaps I worried for nothing... Are we still on the reality low-down -- or should we do actual policework now?"
762->843
951
Untitled hub (03)
763->951
764
You: "But I want to know everything now."
764->512
765->21
766->129
766->239
766->560
766->712
767->190
903
Joyce Messier: "But then, I'm no doctor." She takes a long sip of tea. "Ask away, officer -- I'll help however I can."
768->903
769->624
770->434
770->714
994
You: "None of that foreign wisdom. I only seek deep, ancient PATRIOTIC truths."
770->994
995
You: "Forget the past, my quest concerns the coming apocalypse."
770->995
771
Joyce Messier: "A bird?" She tilts her head. "A *sphenicid* -- a flightless bird of the polar regions?"
771->47
771->517
771->854
772->248
810
Jump to: [Joyce Messier: ""Ah, yes. There's something very sa..."]
773->810
774->861
775
Kim Kitsuragi: "We *are*."
775->920
776->688
777
Drama: Yes! And *lie* about it too! To her!
777->726
778
Joyce Messier: "I am an ultra."
778->581
967
Joyce Messier: Variable["pier.joyce_pol_communist"]
779->967
780->967
927
Suggestion: You *feel* that she won't like the answer -- just as it's leaving your lips. Even more -- it will hurt her.
781->927
782
You: "You're a patriot?"
819
Joyce Messier: "Yes, I suppose I am. But I wouldn't be a patriot anywhere but here."
782->819
783->294
1017
Jump to: [REALIDAD HAB]
784->1017
829
Empathy: He truly, truly doesn't want you to know.
785->829
786->460
787->807
788->613
790
Variable["pier.joyce_pale_logic_negation"]
789->790
791
!(Variable["pier.joyce_pale_logic_negation"])
789->791
790->466
791->100
792->112
793->172
794
Jump to: [pale hub]
794->100
795->100
838
Joyce Messier: "In essence, we throw them in and they come out the other end -- if we throw them precisely."
796->838
797->555
798
Joyce Messier: "Of course, pardon my prying -- another basic term perhaps, or..." She stands attentively.
798->461
799
You: "It's terrifying."
799->336
800->707
801->651
802->123
803->72
804->186
805->513
849
Kim Kitsuragi: "Except the ones who are detectives."
806->849
807->242
808
Joyce Messier: "Martinaise is a district of Revachol." She looks around, her green raincoat flapping in the wind. "A very small district tucked away near the Industrial Harbour. North of the 8/81 and Jamrock."
808->74
809->198
810->303
811->48
959
Joyce Messier: Her eyes go round with surprise. "And what would *that* be?"
812->959
813->376
813->724
814
Joyce Messier: "Yes. That means: not de jure. The RCM acts in what is poetically called the *twilight of international law*; both at the behest of the Coalition Government -- and to its chagrin."
814->578
868
Joyce Messier: "For the *Big Time*." Her eyes light up. There's a flash of teeth.
815->868
816->37
817->277
818->692
819->213
820->184
821->533
822->212
822->438
822->782
823->44
825
Variable["pier.joyce_amnesia_known"]
824->825
826
!(Variable["pier.joyce_amnesia_known"])
824->826
825->156
883
Empathy: She does not seem convinced that you'll be fine. If anything, she is realizing this whole reality low-down is less *philosophical* than you've led on.
826->883
827->458
828->271
829->45
830
Joyce Messier: "An oceanic isola. It comprises mostly of water. Mundi is the largest, Katla the coldest, Insulinde the bluest. What can I say..." She stops. "Each is perishing and dear."
830->46
831->166
832
You: "And why will it *resolve* History?" (Continue.)
832->2
833
Joyce Messier: "You can't get a venereal disease from that, can you?"
979
Jump to: [Untitled hub (04)]
833->979
834->224
835->412
836->283
837->553
838->7
839->417
840
You: "I'd like to discuss something else, if you don't mind."
839->840
984
You: "No. Nothing like that."
839->984
840->798
841
You: "It will end all life."
841->336
842->124
843->125
844
Untitled hub
844->234
844->559
844->764
845->896
900
Jump to: [REALIDAD HAB]
846->900
847->68
848->189
849->480
850->26
852
IsKimHere()
851->852
853
!(IsKimHere())
851->853
852->371
853->435
854->391
855->196
855->436
855->567
855->569
855->629
956
You: "Tell me more about Martinaise."
855->956
856->76
857->679
858
Joyce Messier: "We may be here awhile, then." She takes a long sip to clear her throat. "Ask away, officer -- I'll help however I can."
858->134
859->484
860->910
861->713
863
Variable["pier.joyce_amnesia_known"]
862->863
864
!(Variable["pier.joyce_amnesia_known"])
862->864
863->491
916
You: "Sounds fun. I can't remember a single thing."
863->916
917
You: "Champagne? That doesn't sound like anything *I'd* be into. I'm straight edge."
863->917
864->635
865->919
866->775
867
You: "Thank you, ma'am."
867->684
923
Half Light: The smile of a predator. No doubt what she's got in mind.
868->923
869->523
870->689
871->778
872
Suggestion: Forgive her.
872->148
873->695
874->639
875->529
930
Joyce Messier: "See? Everyone finds something worth holding onto in this world -- however wasted its opportunities."
876->930
877->644
878
Fractured corona hub
878->588
878->589
879->878
880->619
1016
Joyce Messier: "Doubtless I'll be off some place, keeping social classes from each other's throats..." There's a pause. "Let's go back to the basics of reality, shall we?"
881->1016
882->697
883->397
884->446
885->833
886->535
887->110
887->410
888->100
889->178
889->291
889->419
889->663
889->759
889->799
889->841
946
You: "A powerful anti-communist force. Perhaps *too* powerful... but still. They have it coming."
889->946
985
You: "I'm worried. I have to say, it doesn't sound very *liberal* to me."
889->985
891
Variable["pier.joyce_volition_white_to_get_kim_to_step_away_pale_succeeded"]
890->891
892
!(Variable["pier.joyce_volition_white_to_get_kim_to_step_away_pale_succeeded"])
890->892
891->60
893
Joyce Messier: Variable["pier.joyce_volition_white_kim_failed_once"]
892->893
894
Variable["pier.joyce_volition_white_kim_failed_once"]
893->894
895
!(Variable["pier.joyce_volition_white_kim_failed_once"])
893->895
894->420
895->509
897
Variable["pier.joyce_electrochem_blast_hard"]
896->897
898
!(Variable["pier.joyce_electrochem_blast_hard"])
896->898
897->777
898->384
899->180
900->713
901->532
902->562
903->299
904->298
905->312
906->719
907->808
908
Joyce Messier: "I'm not a good ambassador. I've only been here once before, as a teenager. Not a lot has changed..." She closes her eyes. "There are ruins, a terminal, fishing boats, reeds. Boys with boxy shoulders."
908->437
909->374
909->907
910->855
911->136
913
Joyce Messier: IsKimHere()
912->913
914
IsKimHere()
913->914
915
!(IsKimHere())
913->915
914->490
915->543
916->573
917->78
918->979
919->576
920->814
921->577
6310818
JUMP OUT to PIER / JOYCE INTRO
922->6310818
923->494
923->1006
924->354
925->713
926->965
927->211
928->405
929->389
930->935
931->646
932
Joyce Messier: "You seem to be spooked. Please don't be." Her voice becomes homely, calm. She lets a moment pass.
932->454
933->532
934->95
935->649
936->754
938
Variable["pier.joyce_esprit_service_history"]
937->938
939
!(Variable["pier.joyce_esprit_service_history"])
937->939
938->6
939->3
940->108
941
Rhetoric: Who says and who argues?
941->471
941->552
942->121
943->13
944->116
945->461
946->336
947->709
948->97
949->126
950->576
951->521
951->867
1002
You: Say nothing.
951->1002
952->844
953->858
954->713
955->855
956->908
957->618
958->599
959->34
959->139
959->749
961
IsKimHere()
960->961
962
!(IsKimHere())
960->962
961->307
962->920
963->258
964->385
964->869
964->963
965->872
966->314
968
Variable["pier.joyce_pol_communist"]
967->968
969
!(Variable["pier.joyce_pol_communist"])
967->969
968->313
969->529
970->40
971->94
972->713
973->932
974->46
975
You: "And Insulinde is...?"
974->975
975->830
976->612
976->753
976->832
977->502
978->658
979->404
980->551
981->704
982->941
983->472
984->662
985->336
986->507
987->667
988->668
988->949
989->951
991
Variable["coast.joyce_enclyclo_first_first"]
990->991
992
!(Variable["coast.joyce_enclyclo_first_first"])
990->992
991->713
992->18
993->900
994->69
995->243
997
Jump to: [Joyce Messier: ""Of course. The situation is precar..."]
996->997
6310750
JUMP OUT to PIER / JOYCE INTRO
997->6310750
998->771
999->518
1000->723
1001->574
1002->684
1004
Variable["pier.joyce_amnesia_known"]
1003->1004
1005
!(Variable["pier.joyce_amnesia_known"])
1003->1005
1004->382
1005->383
1006->448
1007->871
1009
IsKimHere()
1008->1009
1010
!(IsKimHere())
1008->1010
1009->39
1010->874
1011->332
1012->355
1014
Variable["pier.joyce_evrart_villagequest_told"]
1013->1014
1015
!(Variable["pier.joyce_evrart_villagequest_told"])
1013->1015
1014->218
1015->356
1016->1017
1017->713
1018->659
1019->972
1020->163
1021->323
1021->652
1022
You: "Where *are* we?"
1021->1022
1022->710
1023->181