Time for one last bit of acting.
What shall it be?
I know!
"Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic."
--Arthur C. Clarke
Let's play a text adventure!
> cd wrldsend
> wrldsend
Loading... Please Wait
Space. An Earthlike planet dominates the field of view. Earthlike--but not Earth. The clouds have a violet tint from the reflected sunlight, deepening to a dusky purple at the planet's terminator.
Suddenly, from behind the P.O.V., a spaceship zips by with a "swoosh," scaling down towards the planet.
Cut to planetscape. A few plants are in the foreground, giving way to a vast desert plain, with mountains in the distance. The sky is an odd shade of violet. In the foreground, a six-limbed alien is eating--leaves?--from a--bush?
A rumbly "whoosh" sounds overhead, distracting the creature. It turns its head, tracking the spaceship as it comes in over the plain. The screen scrolls with the ship, which is obviously slowing (and not just because of the scrolling!). The animal in the foreground scrolls off, and the ruins of a long-abandoned city scroll on.
The ship settles down to land nearby, in a cloud of dust.
Roll opening credits:
THE WORLD'S END
An Adventure in Space and Time
By Noah Falstein, George Lucas, Steven Spielberg, and Dave Grossman
(with additional programming by Andrew McCarthy)
Version 3.4, released 03/23/2015
Our story starts in the control room of a battered passenger and cargo-hauling starship. She's a small ship, only 20 standard cargo tons capacity, and she's seen better days.
You were recruited for this mysterious mission by a tall, handsome man who looked like he came straight off of a recruiting poster for the Interstellar Corps. But given your own background, his promise of high pay--in cash--and his reluctance to answer any questions, it seems rather likely he comes from a rather less reputable organization.
"Call me Major Tom," he says, with a wry smile. And so you do.
The time is the future, nearly eighty years since the McKillip Drive made faster-than-light travel a possibility, and only 50 years since the first star colonies were founded. Following the information sent by an unmanned probe, "Major Tom" has sent you and a team (to use the term loosely) of two to the planet Ozymandias. [See the World's End game manual for the character biographies.]
Major Tom fills you in on the mission. An automated probe found the planet, went into orbit, and sent down several rover vehicles to explore. Like quite a few of the hundreds of planets that have been discovered, there was native life. But one thing was strikingly new.
The first rover came down in a desert area, and promptly found artifacts, apparently constructed by alien intelligences. Among the first things found was the ruins of an immense statue, prompting the naming of the planet.
The other rovers also found artifacts and ruins. But no intact cities. And no obvious signs of intelligent life that were less than centuries old.
The planet is also seething with life in a variety of shapes and sizes. Many of the larger creatures are six-limbed, but a diversity of other forms adds to the mystery of the planet.
Finally, after only a short survey, all three of the autonomous rover vehicles ceased transmitting. The orbital probe returned with the results.
------
"This team," you say, "is tasked with investigating this planet by... my superiors. I don't need to explain to either of you the potential importance of this discovery."
"Or the potential profit." The speaker is a tall, good-looking man who, defiant of considerable odds to the contrary, has no scar on his chin.
"That's right, Terasov," you say. "You'll all be well paid."
"Major?" The beautiful redheaded woman speaks up in an oddly accented musical tone. "Why are we here? Terasov and me, I mean. For such an important mission, why not use a government or corporate team?"
You smile, but a twitch of your right eyebrow reveals tension under control. "Fox, let's not waste time with too many unnecessary questions. That will all be made clear presently."
You turn and open a locker. "Both of you get into your environment suits. Let's take a look around. Remember the safety drill."
They don their suits and follow you into the airlock. "All right," you say. "We don't know what's waiting for us on the other side of this hatch. We've got to be prepared for anything, and I want proper military organization so as to avoid any screw-ups. Consequently, I'm going to appoint a second-in-command."
Terasov has engineering knowledge and language skills.
Fox has biological knowledge and hunting skills.
But both of them have a little leadership potential.
Which one will you choose, Commander?
[Note to players: Whichever character you choose to be second-in-command will be the one you play during the rest of the game.]
> save
Game saved in slot 1. Type RESTORE to load this saved game.
> _
...
