- Ratatozsk
- Mar 6, 2007
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Had we turned left instead, we may have encountered something like this...
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Page 389 posted:
Singh falters under the onslaught of your combined attacks. The mantramukta is blasted out of his hands, but he manages to draw his pistol as he falls. Golgoth’s next shot sears through his breastplate and pierces his heart, but even as he dies his finger constricts on the trigger. The shot strikes you painfully through the leg.
Lose 3 Life Points and turn to 431 if you can survive that.
Page 431 posted:
If you have a charged barysal gun, turn to 219.
If not, turn to 241.
Page 219 posted:
You station yourselves beside the Heart. Within its glittering facets, a universe is waiting to be born. Infinite possibilities flicker in the violet glare.
Golgoth seems to share your mood. ‘There’s no other way,’ he says. ‘Ready?’
‘What will happen?’ you ask him. ‘I mean, will it just disappear, or will there be an explosion?’
He shrugs. ‘I don’t know. Personally I doubt if I’ll be around afterwards to collect this month’s pay, but no one lives forever.’
You nod. ‘I just never expected to be a martyr, that’s all.’
The beams from your guns converge at the center of the Heart, splintering its crystal lattice. The light within grows until it blinds you. With a rush of energy, the Heart suddenly bursts apart, engulfing you and Golgoth in a cold flare of energy. In this chamber deep below the ruins of Du-En, the two of you give your lives for the sake of the whole world.
THE END
Nicely done readers, we've...triumphed? Not won, certainly, but I think that's a pretty satisfying ending. I'm going to bring this playthrough to an end and run a bit of an abbreviated post-book. In a few days, we'll move on to the final book in the series, but for now let me know what questions still linger.
Character Sheet posted:
Jay 'Doc' Sherman the Scientist
Skills: CYBERNETICS, LORE, SURVIVAL, PILOTING
Life Points: 0
Scads: 18
Possessions: Cold-weather suit, polarized goggles, binoculars, flashlight, barysal gun [I], medkit, speculum jacket, Little Gaia. MANTA SKY-CAR IDLING OUTSIDE...WAITING FOR US TO RETURN...ALONE...FOREVER...?
Codewords: Nemesis, Blue
Kills: Embracer, a guard, an Infernal Machine and the tiny man inside it, a pointy-toothed native, Ejada, the Moon Dog, Skarvench, our credibility as a tactician, any chance of furthering whatever the gently caress kind of relationship we had with Lucie, some unlucky guard, an enormous ceiling spider, a particularly punitive yet otherwise non-descript Judain, the physical manifestation of Hate, a nightcrawler, a particularly bulbous cactus, Necklace of Skulls, a necklace of skulls, some jerk vines, a troupe of post-apocalyptic hell-puppets, a weird future ghost thing, embroyonic cyber-spider mech, pretty much every conceivable thing (x2), the post-apocalyptic speed limit, a second weird future ghost thing (albeit vicariously), the bestest robofriendship we're likely to come across this side of godhood, two traitorous Bocheii, whatever remained of the concept of privacy, Vajra Singh, our last (probably) shot at godhood
Failures: Root'd to death, despair!'d, swallowed and digested by a Colossus beetle, ate a pig and failed to avert an ecological cataclysm, slave'd and toil'd to death, pulmonary arrownation, stabbed in the eyes and left to "live" off the land, lightly dragon'd, tree'd from a great height x2, Countless Swords of the Westermen'd, gale'd, yardam'd, rack'd, pulp'd, flatten'd, eat'd (nobley), rubble'd, cul-de-sac'd, what-once-used-to-be-the-harbor'd, three magical bodyguards'd, orgy'd, bitter life-sucking cold'd, cascade of rubble'd, cold'd, celestial darkness'd, mutant plant'd, second shot'd, hypnotic trance'd, reality ripped right out from under us'd, Volent'd
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Mar 20, 2016 02:21
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May 12, 2024 14:53
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- The Lone Badger
- Sep 24, 2007
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I'm interested if we can do anything substantial with Gaia / repairing Reality 1.0
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Mar 20, 2016 02:25
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- MysticalMachineGun
- Apr 5, 2005
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I'd love to see the Yellow and Blue paths of course.
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Mar 24, 2016 01:12
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- Ratatozsk
- Mar 6, 2007
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Had we turned left instead, we may have encountered something like this...
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I'm interested if we can do anything substantial with Gaia / repairing Reality 1.0
Sadly, no.
I'd love to see the Yellow and Blue paths of course.
Yellow actually is a bit of a red herring. It leads to 324 which we've already visited. Perhaps a reflection that Boche is a yellow-bellied self-interested turncoat.
Red, on the other hand, gives a few options. Boche gets snuffed from the get-go, and you can either betray Singh and finish off the Heart with Golgoth, or outmaneuver Golgoth and finish him. You're then left...
Page 72 posted:
‘We’ve done it!’ you cry. ‘Now to destroy the Heart.’
But Singh shakes his head. ‘Nonsense. I have honored our agreement thus far, but only to ensure success. Now we must decide which of us survives to claim the power.’
‘Hardly an even battle.’ You nod at the powerful mantramukta cannon in his hands.
He tosses the cannon aside. In his belt is tucked a weapon in the shape of an ancient dueling-pistol, but with a nozzle that tells you it is in fact a modified laser.
If you have a charged barysal gun, turn to 284.
If not, turn to 305.
...to duel Singh, as although he's a man of honor, he has no interest in sharing power. If you have a gun, you'll have a shoot-out (made easier with SHOOTING), if not it's good old hand-to-hand, and then the ending as we first saw it, us alone with godhood.
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Mar 25, 2016 01:48
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- Thuryl
- Mar 14, 2007
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My postillion has been struck by lightning.
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Considering the intro tells us humanity is expected to go extinct within the next century, becoming a god and rebooting the universe really seems like the all-around better option there.
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Mar 25, 2016 02:24
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- MysticalMachineGun
- Apr 5, 2005
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Typical human thought. So Earth is screwed, what about all the other populated planets in the Universe?
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Apr 14, 2016 02:39
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- Ratatozsk
- Mar 6, 2007
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Had we turned left instead, we may have encountered something like this...
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Typical human thought. So Earth is screwed, what about all the other populated planets in the Universe?
Well, the one "true" ending does leave a glimmer of hope, but you'll have to buy the book (it's only $1 for kindle!) to find that out. We never quite figured our way to it on this playthrough.
Sorry for the prolonged absence, folks. March was busy, but clearer days are ahead. I will be finishing out the series with Twist of Fate/One Upon a Time in Arabia soon and will drop a link in this thread when that happens. Hope to see you there!
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May 16, 2016 02:51
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- Cathode Raymond
- Dec 30, 2015
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My antenna is telling me that you're probably wrong about this.
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Soiled Meat
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We missed a whole ending?
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May 16, 2016 17:57
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- Ratatozsk
- Mar 6, 2007
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Had we turned left instead, we may have encountered something like this...
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We missed a whole ending?
Several!
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May 17, 2016 02:16
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May 12, 2024 14:53
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- Ratatozsk
- Mar 6, 2007
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Had we turned left instead, we may have encountered something like this...
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Off to new adventures - Once Upon a Time in Arabia is up and running!
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Jun 3, 2016 20:18
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Mar 20, 2016 02:21
