An Adventure Where YOU Are the Victim!
1
You are in the Middle East, where you have lived for your entire life. For the last ten years, you have lived with your son. For the last three years, you have raised him alone.
Global warming has caused the sea levels to rise, flooding huge areas of land, leading to refugees, war, disease, famine. You and your son scrounge for supplies during the day, avoiding the militias.
Use a piece of paper to track your inventory. You possess one (1) son, some savings, and two (2) kidneys.
You hear that life in Europe is better.
As you wind your way through the rubble, you pass the heavily guarded European embassy. You could apply for a visa. (If so, go to section 10).
A shady man approaches you. ‘A group of us are going to charter a boat and try to make it to Europe. Want in?’ (Go to 15).
An even shadier man approaches you later. ‘I am selling European citizen IDs with completely new identities.’
‘How am I supposed to pay for that? Sell a kidney?’
‘As a matter of fact…’ (Go to 11)
2
You jump into the freezing water, grab your son, ascend, and hand him to one of the people on the boat. A bullet strikes your side, burning. As the waves sweep you away, you pray that your son will make it to Europe.
END
3
You lie down on the ground with the others. Soldiers herd you into trucks and take you to the camps. You are alone.
END
4
You have spent your savings and are weak from hunger. You resign yourself to fighting for survival.
END
5
You confess to the guard that your documents are fake. Both of you are transferred to a forced labor camp, where you work off the price of your ticket home.
You make it back safely but with no savings and only one kidney.
END
6
You look at your son for one last time, then retreat.
Erase your son from your inventory.
You and the crew manage to take down the drones with rifles, and the damaged boat continues toward Europe. You land at the European beach in the middle of the night, tasting fresh air, enjoying the breeze.
Blinding light from a spotlight: ‘HALT! SURRENDER YOURSELF!’
Run (Go to 13)
Surrender (Go to 3)
7
You wait for weeks, only to receive a letter rejecting your zoning permit.
(Go to 4)
8
‘Of course, Officer,’ you say. ‘I have never met this boy before. I was just helping him find his parents.’
Erase your son from your inventory.
You enter Europe and manage to find a job as a janitor.
One day, you arrive at work to find the authorities waiting for you. One of your colleagues reported a foreign person working at the company, and they checked your background. You are deported.
You make it back safely, but with no savings, no son, and only one kidney.
END
9
After a long journey, you and your son finally arrive at the European border checkpoint.
A guard exits the small guardhouse and welcomes you warmly with bottled water and snacks. ‘Welcome to Europe, you must be tired from your journey.’
You thank him.
‘Don’t mention it. When the waters started to rise, everyone realized that all of humanity is in this together. Immigrants are allies in the fight for the future of humanity.’
He waves you into the guardhouse. ‘You just need to answer a few onboarding questions. You will be provided with a place to live, enough money to get you started, and job placement assistance.’
The next day, the train deposits you into the bustling capital of Europe. Your apartment is small but comfortable. You both go out for ice cream, to celebrate starting your new life.
END
10
You and your son enter the European embassy, pay the fee and bribes, and are told that you need to fill out form 1-A to apply for a European visa.
Erase your savings from your inventory.
When you go to the form room, you see forms 1-AB (Go to 7), 1-A5 (Go to 12) and 1-AZ (Go to 14).
11
You go to the provided address, remove your shirt, and lie down on a cold metal table. The guy is wearing scrubs and a surgical mask. Anesthesia is in short supply.
Erase one kidney from your inventory.
You receive the documents, with just enough cash left over to pay for two plane tickets to Europe.
Erase the savings from your inventory.
In the European airport, a guard waves you into a small room. He inspects your documents and scans the chips.
‘Welcome back to Europe, Citizen,’ says the guard. ‘However, according to the codes, you are not related to this child. The child will be taken into custody until their real parents can be located.’
Confess (Go to 5)
Stick to your story (Go to 8)
12
You wait for weeks, only to receive a letter containing a single red lollipop. You have spent your savings and are weak with hunger. The lollipop does not last long.
END
13
You cannot outrun the bullets. As life drains from your body, you remember the face of your son.
END
14
You deliver the form and wait. And wait. And wait. Finally, you receive a visa rejection because you forgot to check the box on page seven. (Go to 4)
15
You spend the last of your savings paying for two seats on the boat.
Erase the savings from your inventory.
You spend the days in overfilled quarters below deck.
One day, a cry from above deck: ‘Border defense drones!’ You peak through the hatch to see the drones descending on the ship, firing. A missile blows open the side, and a wave sweeps your son away.
Jump in (Go to 2)
Save yourself (Go to 6)
END OF STORY
Simon Christiansen is a writer and indie game designer living in Denmark.
His fiction has appeared in anthologies of Danish science fiction, Lackington’s, and Nature Futures. He has also written several award-winning works of interactive fiction. Find Simon on Twitter at @SimonChris1729 or at www.sichris.com.
Photo by Aude-Andre Saturnio on Unsplash.
