2020 Dread Box R.C. 3

leads: ['It's','As you might imagine:','Live from the dreamtime,','Delivered this day','You hold in your mind's eye','For your consideration','Let's call this','Here's the thing:','You have before you','Imagine','Suppose','Here is'] theLead: leads[Math.floor(random.fraction*leads.length)] leadAdjs: ['fresh','ready','full','ripe','proper'] theLeadAdj: leadAdjs[Math.floor(random.fraction*leadAdjs.length)] boxoids: ['box','carton','container','measure'] theBoxoid: boxoids[Math.floor(random.fraction*boxoids.length)] keys_0: ['could be','chances','unfolding','contingency'] leadKey0: keys_0[Math.floor(random.fraction*keys_0.length)] keys_1: ['time','something','who knows','developments'] leadKey1: keys_1[Math.floor(random.fraction*keys_1.length)] keys_2: ['trouble','complications','tricks','difficulties'] leadKey2: keys_2[Math.floor(random.fraction*keys_2.length)] keys_3: ['breakdown','downfall','doom','crisis','calamity'] leadKey3: keys_3[Math.floor(random.fraction*keys_3.length)] s2Adjs: ['just','only','but','in fact'] s2Adj: s2Adjs[Math.floor(random.fraction*s2Adjs.length)] s2Nouns: ['a beat','step one','overture','the outset','for openers'] s2Noun: s2Nouns[Math.floor(random.fraction*s2Nouns.length)] set0_1: ['speculation','the world','the house','the maze'] plug0_1: set0_1[Math.floor(random.fraction*set0_1.length)] set0_2: ['radiance','glories','promise','possibilities'] plug0_2: set0_2[Math.floor(random.fraction*set0_2.length)] set0_3: ['visions','imagined forms','signs','things as yet unreal'] plug0_3: set0_3[Math.floor(random.fraction*set0_3.length)] set0_4: ['You feel ready for anything.','Nothing stays your going, nothing moves you on.','The time is yours.','This is a moment of peace.'] plug0_4: set0_4[Math.floor(random.fraction*set0_4.length)] set1_1: ['How','Why'] plug1_1: set1_1[Math.floor(random.fraction*set1_1.length)] set1_2: ['picture plane','imprinting','glossy surface','painted face'] plug1_2: set1_2[Math.floor(random.fraction*set1_2.length)] set1_3: ['Strong faces','Heroic figures','The lost','Fantastic animals'] plug1_3: set1_3[Math.floor(random.fraction*set1_3.length)] set1_4: ['dancers','clowns','poets','magicians'] plug1_4: set1_4[Math.floor(random.fraction*set1_4.length)] set1_5: ['dust','smoke','mirrors','shadows'] plug1_5: set1_5[Math.floor(random.fraction*set1_5.length)] set1_6: ['Illusion','Invention','Artifice','Content'] plug1_6: set1_6[Math.floor(random.fraction*set1_6.length)] set2_1: ['unmoving','impossible','zero','motionless'] plug2_1: set2_1[Math.floor(random.fraction*set2_1.length)] set2_2: ['frozen','caught','pinned','poised'] plug2_2: set2_2[Math.floor(random.fraction*set2_2.length)] set2_3: ['top of the ride','peak of the arc','high point','hesitation step'] plug2_3: set2_3[Math.floor(random.fraction*set2_3.length)] set2_4: ['track','structure','machinery','grid'] plug2_4: set2_4[Math.floor(random.fraction*set2_4.length)] set2_5: ['creaks','aches','yearns','waits'] plug2_5: set2_5[Math.floor(random.fraction*set2_5.length)] set2_6: ['descent','action','something more','a fall'] plug2_6: set2_6[Math.floor(random.fraction*set2_6.length)] set2_7: ['All down from here','Every way leads down','Down you go','Already you are falling'] plug2_7: set2_7[Math.floor(random.fraction*set2_7.length)] set3_1: ['of ending','sweet but gone','done now','begun'] plug3_1: set3_1[Math.floor(random.fraction*set3_1.length)] set3_2: ['Better door than window','Slippery with contingencies','Not much to stand on','Keen for your departure'] plug3_2: set3_2[Math.floor(random.fraction*set3_2.length)] set3_3: ['excludes and invites','deflects attention','points elsewhere','hints at more'] plug3_3: set3_3[Math.floor(random.fraction*set3_3.length)] set3_4: ['but not for long.','aren't you?','it seems.','perhaps.'] plug3_4: set3_4[Math.floor(random.fraction*set3_4.length)] set3_5: ['That won't last','You'll be inside soon','You can't stay','And so'] plug3_5: set3_5[Math.floor(random.fraction*set3_5.length)] boxText0: "From this top of " + plug0_1 + " your eyes take in " + plug0_2 + " and " + plug0_3 + ". " + plug0_4 boxText1: plug1_1 + " is this panel not the same as other panels? What do we see in its " + plug1_2 + "? " + plug1_3 + ", " + plug1_4 + ", " + plug1_5 + ". " + plug1_6 + "." boxText2: "This is the " + plug2_1 + " moment, " + plug2_2 + " at the " + plug2_3 + ". But the " + plug2_4 + " " + plug2_5 + " for " + plug2_6 + ". " + plug2_7 + "." boxText3: "Beginning is " + plug3_1 + ". " + plug3_2 + ", the box lid " + plug3_3 + ". You are outside now " + plug3_4 + " " + plug3_5 + "." theLeadKey (mood===1): leadKey0 theLeadKey (mood===2): leadKey1 theLeadKey (mood===3): leadKey2 theLeadKey (mood===4): leadKey3 boxTopText (mood===1): boxText0 boxTopText (mood===2): boxText1 boxTopText (mood===3): boxText2 boxTopText (mood===4): boxText3 mood: mood + 1 mood (mood===5): 1 -- Boxtop This moment is {s2Adj} [[{s2Noun}->Boxtop]]. {theLead} a {theLeadAdj} {theBoxoid} of {theLeadKey}. {boxTopText} [[Go->Newsroom]]

mood: random.d4 hasLight: false config.style.page.font: "Iowan Old Style/Constantia/Georgia/serif 18" config.style.page.color: "gray-9 on white" config.style.page.link.font: "bold" config.style.page.link.color: "#3366CC" config.style.page.link.lineColor: "red-8" config.style.page.link.active.color: "red-8 on red-0" config.style.page.header.font: "16" config.style.page.header.link.font: "small caps" config.style.page.footer.font: "16" config.style.page.footer.link.font: "small caps" -- <div style="text-align: center"> {embed image: 'dread_box_title.png', alt: 'Title image: box with twine'} </div> <div style="text-align: center"> [[About the Work]] · [[Begin->Boxtop]] </div>

May 25, 2020 See notes on R.C. 2 for dev history. This is final release candidate. Should be minor changes and debugging only at this point. Added semi-clever new "Wait/Go" effect on "Inside."

"Dread Box" is a box of a game of a story, made with the Chapbook story format on the Twine platform. It explores the collision of geometry and fiction, under Nick Montfort's teaching that things of this sort are riddles at heart. The places of the story are rooms, loosely speaking, but they also articulate as the six sides of a box. Imagine a cube where every face is a window or tableau -- or in fact a screen, because in each room you will find variable text, shown {cycling link, choices: ['like so','thus','in this way','as you see here']}. Click through the changes until you find what you like, then move on. Some of these choices matter, though perhaps not all. There are several possible outcomes depending on the readings you choose. The box may indeed be full of dread, or struggle, or uncertainty -- or something else. It all comes down to how you word your world. <div style="text-align: center"> [[Back to Title->Title]] · [[Begin->Boxtop]] </div>

set1_1: ['great oblong room','big open space','postmodern cavern','cubicle swarm'] plug1_1: set1_1[Math.floor(random.fraction*set1_1.length)] set1_2: ['keyboard clatter','machine hum','pale noise','bustling disturbance'] plug1_2: set1_2[Math.floor(random.fraction*set1_2.length)] set1_3: ['murmured exchanges','regulated panic','casual angst','conversations elsewhere'] plug1_3: set1_3[Math.floor(random.fraction*set1_3.length)] set1_4: ['things you can't unhear','the poetics of emergency','the terrible unfolding of the day','banalities of love and terror'] plug1_4: set1_4[Math.floor(random.fraction*set1_4.length)] set4: ['And that's the way it is','More as it develops','Watch this space','Light to the world'] plug4: set4[Math.floor(random.fraction*set4.length)] -- Newsroom It's a {plug1_1} filled with {plug1_2} and {plug1_3}. You hear {plug1_4}. A voice says: '{cycling link for: 'news1', choices: ['Crime down for third straight month','Industry leaders to confer on crisis','Eight ways to save your sanity','Civilization could end in less than 90 days']}'. {cycling link for: 'news2', choices: ['A street sparrow flits through the room','At the nearest desk a young woman weeps in silence','A man dumps cold coffee over a dead plant','A big friendly dog wanders in and is petted and admired']}. {plug4}. [[Go->Storeroom]]

news1 (news1==='Crime down for third straight month'): 2 news1 (news1==='Eight ways to save your sanity'): 1 news1 (news1==='Industry leaders to confer on crisis'): 3 news1 (news1==='Civilization could end in less than 90 days'): 4 news2 (news2==='A big friendly dog wanders in and is petted and admired'): 1 news2 (news2==='A street sparrow flits through the room'): 2 news2 (news2==='A man dumps cold coffee over a dead plant'): 3 news2 (news2==='At the nearest desk a young woman weeps in silence'): 4 newsScore: Math.round((news1+news2)/2) mood: mood+1 mood (mood==5): 1 storeRooms: ['the room behind the walls','a place only you know about','your Endtimes Collection','this room not on the floorplan','the pantry of your Fortress of Solitude','the secret basement attic'] storeDescrips: ['It is a place of shelves and security','Rows of metal racks made specially for times like these','The decor is High Apocalypse, very big on shelving','Bioluminescents cast weird light on a forest of rack storage','Row upon row of shelves, built for some other disaster'] storeContains: ['You find here','Contents include','Here is stashed','Among the treasures','Ready to hand are','Stored for just such an occasion','Awaiting their occasion'] theStoreRoom (passage.visits===1): storeRooms[Math.floor(random.fraction*storeRooms.length)] theStoreDescrip (passage.visits===1): storeDescrips[Math.floor(random.fraction*storeDescrips.length)] theStoreContains (passage.visits===1): storeContains[Math.floor(random.fraction*storeContains.length)] list1_1: ['A prescription from your doctors in Berlin','A cocktail napkin autographed T. Hanks','A certain Celtic knot','A thing with feathers'] list1_2: ['The replica of a famous blue rock','Boat anchor, well used','Bunch of bananas, green','Shopping list for next week'] list1_3: ['Rosewood crwth','Cloth mask with lower face of Tom Hanks','Feathered thing','Celebratory bubbly, unopened'] list1_4: ['New boat anchor for next summer','One 10-year T-bill','A bird of the spring','Glass replica of some famous blue ice'] list2_1: ['40 rolls 2-ply TP','Self-Reading Tarot Deck','One d19','Handbook of Risk Identification, 3rd ed.'] list2_2: ['Copy of Proverbs for Paranoids','Personal thermometer and travel alarm','Dr. Bornstein's Patent Virus Detector','Magic 8-ball'] list2_3: ['Happy pills','Implantable thermometer','Nineteen-sided die','One box masks N-95'] list2_4: ['40 rolls hotel-grade T.P.','Handbook of Risk Identification','Antivenin, rattlesnake, self-injecting 350 ml','One box masks N-95'] list3_1: ['80 rolls T.P. ind. grd.','List of lost things','Every gun a survivor needs','Sleep-when-I'm-Dead pills'] list3_2: ['Absentee ballot','YOUR MALARIA MEDICINE','Map of entrances to the underworks','NBC mask'] list3_3: ['80 rolls T.P. in banknote format','Fertilizer, 100 lbs.','Peronsal decryption device, ring','MS-NBC mask and respirator'] list3_4: ['List of lost things','I'm Not Sleepy! pills','Boots, one pair, seven league','absentee ballot'] list4_1: ['List of last things','Bleach, 12-oz cans','Hat, red','Gun that shoots guns'] list4_2: ['Could be as much as three thousand dollars in Bitcoin','Home cryogenics manual','Thorazine 600mg, 1000 tabs','Charlton Heston mask'] list4_3: ['Fast-breeding shotguns, one pair','Chain saw with perpetual-motion attachment','One sack Krugerrands','Boiler suit with lining (lead)'] list4_4: ['Enriched uranium bookends, set of 2','Bleach keg with party pump','Audiobook of Liberation Through Hearing During the Intermediate State read by Keith Olbermann','Fuel oil, 500 Imp. gal.'] whichList: random.d4 theList (mood===1 && whichList==1): list1_1 theList (mood===1 && whichList==2): list1_2 theList (mood===1 && whichList==3): list1_3 theList (mood===1 && whichList==4): list1_4 theList (mood===2 && whichList==1): list2_1 theList (mood===2 && whichList==2): list2_2 theList (mood===2 && whichList==3): list3_3 theList (mood===2 && whichList==4): list4_4 theList (mood===3 && whichList==1): list3_1 theList (mood===3 && whichList==2): list3_2 theList (mood===3 && whichList==3): list3_3 theList (mood===3 && whichList==4): list3_4 theList (mood===4 && whichList==1): list4_1 theList (mood===4 && whichList==2): list4_2 theList (mood===4 && whichList==3): list4_3 theList (mood===4 && whichList==4): list4_4 item1: theList[0] item2: theList[1] item3: theList[2] item4: theList[3] -- Storeroom You come to {theStoreRoom}. {theStoreDescrip}. {theStoreContains}: - {item1} - {item2} - {item3} - {item4} [[Trade for a different list?->Storeroom]] [[Go->Bedroom]]

set1: ['This is','Welcome to','And so to','It's time for'] plug1 (passage.visits===1): set1[Math.floor(random.fraction*set1.length)] set2: ['the last place you are free','the time of dream','the other side of the day','Eyeflick Acres','the night kingdom','the noddy part'] plug2 (passage.visits===1): set2[Math.floor(random.fraction*set2.length)] set3: ['someone resembling Fry or Laurie','the Duke of Hammonasset','the Lord of Misrule','Evans the Mender','Broadaxe Minor','Sid the Fish','Marion Acetate','Lucy in Disguise','the Marmot','Hobb the Stumbling Angel'] plug3: set3[Math.floor(random.fraction*set3.length)] -- Bedroom {plug1} {plug2}. {cycling link, choices: ['Mother Mayall','Handsome Hansen','Ivan the Bearable','Marvin the Martian','Claribella Caramella','Guido Magee','Brandye Koufax','Mr. Acker Bilk']} is here. They are wearing a mask of {cycling link, choices: ['Mohandas K. Ghandi','the Kenosha Kid','Isambard Kingdom Brunel','Mae West','Amelia Earhart','Mary Todd Lincoln','Mr. Bean','Sonic the Hedgehog']}. They want you to {cycling link, choices: ['buy back the Moon','go to sea','go to see','come away to Crete','wade in concrete','feed your head','knead our bread','find the antlers','defeat the question','remember the rhyme for orange']}. Your hands reach for {cycling link for: 'dreamChoice', choices: ['a box of sand','a semicolon','a certain magic lantern','either oar','the crucial jar of fireflies','an invisible cloak','the dreadful bone chalice','the ball of twine','a nasty dram of bleach','a purple mushroom','some small stones','a Wednesday','more soup']}. '{cycling link, choices: ['What a concept','Contents may differ','Under ideal conditions','The only effective cure for gravity','Another eight and six','You are catching a crab','Or Moses so supposes','And worlds to that effect','Please post me to the Algonquins']},' says [[{plug3}->Bedroom]]. [[Go->Changing Room]]

dreamScore: 0 dreamScore (dreamChoice==='a certain magic lantern'): 1 dreamScore (dreamChoice==='the crucial jar of fireflies'): 1 dreamScore (dreamChoice==='the dreadful bone chalice'): 4 dreamScore (dreamChoice==='a nasty dram of bleach'): 4 hasLight(dreamScore===1): true dreamCoin: random.coinFlip dreamScore(dreamScore===0 && dreamCoin): 2 dreamScore(dreamScore===0 && !dreamCoin): 3 badQuanto: 100 -- [JavaScript] delayS1 = 1800 + Math.random()*750; delayS2 = 2500 + Math.random()*1000; delayS3 = 2500 + Math.random()*1000; //4th delay is constant delayS5 = 4000 + Math.random()*2000; function genS1(){ t = ""; t = "This is the room " + g("of changes,where you change,where things change,that replaces itself,of possibilities,where it happens") + "."; document.getElementById("sentence1").innerHTML=t; } function genS2(){ t = ""; t = g("The New York Times,Word on the street,The woman in the moon,Your doctor,Someone interesting") + " " + g("says,reports,alleges,claims,imagines,insists") + " the " + g("situation on the ground,state of the state,real reality,place you are,actual outlook") + " " + g("is,will be,remains,is becoming,might be,is decidedly") + " " + g("unknown,porous,emergent,unstable,questionable,hazy,nebulous,wobbly") + "." document.getElementById("sentence2").innerHTML=t; } function genS3(){ t = ""; t = "The " + g("answer,question,future,problem") + " is " + g("blowing in the wind,unobtainable,not what it used to be,here,this") document.getElementById("sentence3").innerHTML = t + "."; } function genS4(){ badQuanto = Math.round(Math.random()*100) t = g("The quantum of danger,Your actual risk,Personal jeopardy,Degree of screwedness,Level of anxiety,Fubar factor") + g(":, is, now, equals, approaches, set to") + " " + badQuanto; document.getElementById("sentence4").innerHTML = t + "."; } function genS5(){ t = "&#" + g("128533,128701,9940,9996,127752,127754,127921,128561,128565,129314,128567,128078,128121,128128,128420"); document.getElementById("sentence5").innerHTML = t; } function g(theSet){ theArray = theSet.split(','); return theArray[Math.floor(Math.random()*theArray.length)]; } intS1 = setInterval(genS1, delayS1); intS2 = setInterval(genS2, delayS2); intS3 = setInterval(genS3, delayS3); intS4 = setInterval(genS4, 2600); intS5 = setInterval(genS5, delayS5); [continued] Changing Room This is the room of changes. Wait and see. The New York Times says Gotti's dead. All answers will be questioned. Roll another number. &#129296 [[Go->Darkness]]

changeScore (badQuanto > 75): 4 changeScore (badQuanto < 76 && badQuanto > 50): 3 changeScore (badQuanto < 51 && badQuanto > 25): 2 changeScore (badQuanto < 26): 1 set1: ['old shoes','junk mail','brass tacks','clerical garments','moldy manuals'] plug1: set1[Math.floor(random.fraction*set1.length)] set2: ['disco records','adding machines','amphorae','scientific instruments','parking tickets'] plug2: set2[Math.floor(random.fraction*set2.length)] -- [JavaScript] clearInterval(intS1); clearInterval(intS2); clearInterval(intS3); clearInterval(intS4); clearInterval(intS5); [continued] Darkness [if hasLight===false] You find it {cycling link for: 'dark1', choices: ['very', 'enormously', 'impossibly']} hard to see anything in this {cycling link for: 'dark2', choices: ['half-light', 'morass of shadows', 'lightless space']}. It's as if {cycling link for: 'dark3', choices: ['the idea of light has been abolished', 'someone has turned the dimmer all the way to dimmest', 'the things in this room have been replaced by hints and outlines']}. You strain your eyes until {cycling link for: 'dark4', choices: ['you think you have gone blind', 'your head begins to throb', 'you see enough to guess at']}. Maybe that's a door over there. [else] Luckily you have {dreamChoice}, so this room isn't really a problem. It appears to be full of {plug1} and {plug2}. The door is conveniently located. Take {cycling link for: 'fromDarkness', choices: ['the thing with feathers','this Ouija board','a can of beans','Mr. Winchester']} for the road. Might come in handy. [continued] <div style="text-align: right">[[Go->Inside]]</div>

dark1 (hasLight): 1 dark2 (hasLight): 1 dark3 (hasLight): 1 dark4 (hasLight): 1 dark1 (dark1==='very'): 2 dark1 (dark1==='enormously'): 3 dark1 (dark1==='impossibly'): 4 dark2 (dark2==='half-light'): 2 dark2 (dark2==='morass of shadows'): 3 dark2 (dark2==='lightless space'): 4 dark3 (dark3==='the idea of light has been abolished'): 4 dark3 (dark3==='someone has turned the dimmer all the way to dimmest'): 3 dark3 (dark3==='the things in this room have been replaced by hints and outlines'): 2 dark4 (dark4==='you think you have gone blind'): 4 dark4 (dark4==='your head begins to throb'): 3 dark4 (dark4==='you see enough to guess at'): 2 darkScore: Math.round((dark1 + dark2 + dark3 + dark4)/4) fromDarkness (!hasLight): 4 fromDarkness (fromDarkness==='the thing with feathers'): -4 fromDarkness (fromDarkness==='this Ouija board'): -3 fromDarkness (fromDarkness==='a can of beans'): 1 fromDarkness (fromDarkness==='Mr. Winchester'): 2 totalScore: mood + newsScore + dreamScore + changeScore + darkScore + fromDarkness theReading (totalScore < 2): 'OH REALLY' theReading (totalScore < 9 && totalScore > 1): 'HOPE' theReading (totalScore > 8 && totalScore < 14): 'UNCERTAINTY' theReading (totalScore > 13 && totalScore < 19): 'STRUGGLE' theReading (totalScore > 18): 'DREAD' firstLines: ['This is the space inside','You have opened the box','You are no longer Outside but In','No more concealments','It is time to look inside'] theFirstLine: firstLines[Math.floor(random.fraction*firstLines.length)] secondLines: [' do we have here',' are you expecting',''s the word',' will you see here',''s next',' could it be now'] theSecondLine: secondLines[Math.floor(random.fraction*secondLines.length)] hopeLines: ['Last thing in the box','An unruly emotion','The most important thing','Thing with feathers'] uncertaintyLines: ['What can we say','What do you know','Who can say','Stake your life on it'] struggleLines: ['It continues','Not over till it's over','This is your life','The way we live now'] dreadLines: ['In your bad dreams','Might as well face it','There's no escaping','Always there for you'] reallyLines: ['????','Implausible score detected.','Oh REALLY?'] theThirdLine (theReading === 'HOPE'): hopeLines[Math.floor(random.fraction*hopeLines.length)] + '...' theThirdLine (theReading === 'UNCERTAINTY'): uncertaintyLines[Math.floor(random.fraction*uncertaintyLines.length)] + '?' theThirdLine (theReading === 'STRUGGLE'): struggleLines[Math.floor(random.fraction*struggleLines.length)] + '!' theThirdLine (theReading === 'DREAD'): dreadLines[Math.floor(random.fraction*dreadLines.length)] + '...' theThirdLine (theReading === 'OH REALLY'): reallyLines[Math.floor(random.fraction*reallyLines.length)] -- [JavaScript] function toGo(){ document.getElementById('waitGo').innerHTML = '[[Go->Reveal]]' } insideInt = setTimeout(toGo, 12000) [continue] Inside And now: [after 3 seconds] {theFirstLine}. [after 6 seconds] What{theSecondLine}? [after 9 seconds] {theThirdLine} ...Wait

<div style="text-align: center"> [if theReading==='HOPE'] {embed image: 'hope.png', alt: 'An image of hope (swallow)'} [if theReading==='UNCERTAINTY'] {embed image: 'uncertainty.png', alt: 'An image of uncertainty (anxious face)'} [if theReading==='STRUGGLE'] {embed image: 'struggle.png', alt: 'An image of struggle (collage)'} [if theReading==='DREAD'] {embed image: 'dread.png', alt: 'An image of dread (ominous figure)'} [if theReading==='OH REALLY'] {embed image: 'really.png', alt: 'A twine-filled room'} Your curiously low score suggests one of several things: you are me; you have -- gah -- learned to think like me; you are very good at playing this sort of game; or you've crawled the code. If the last, hope you enjoyed the spaghetti. [continue] {restart link, label: 'Again?'}