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wall of shards

type start to collect a shard .

1start

shard count : 2

❡ your lab

you're sitting in your office chair . all of your research tools are systematically organized around you , with your computer terminal at the center of it all . your friend b6e is sitting here , staring at one of the photos on your wall , although you can't tell which one .

1talkTo b6e

you break the silence .

are you ready to get started ?

yeah . what will it feel like , exactly ? like will i even notice you're there ?

well , i'm not completely sure , but it will probably be similar to what it feels like to focus on your thoughts in one of those terrible dining areas with televisions all over . difficult , & a struggle to not zone out & succumb to the noise .

too bad i can't take a nap during it .

i know right . well , if you're ready then have a seat & i'll start projecting .

she sits down & puts on the acrylic beanie . all of the cables dangling off of it match her hair color , which gives the illusion that her hair extends onto the floor .

1use Terminal

you swivel over to your terminal & execute 1ntr0j3ct.hs .

you named the script using leetspeak ?

yep , it makes words taste better .

you get up & lie down on your yoga mat . your vision starts to fade ...

❡ the center

a sea of tall , green grass stretches endlessly in all directions except to the west , where a short , smoothly vertical cliff face wraps a plateau . you're sitting at the junction of a boardwalk splitting off to the north , south , & east .

you're not sure why , but this location feels like the central point in her mind , where all other synapse clusters meet . why then is it so barren ?

it's dark , but the moon is bright enough that you can see sheets of rain sweeping the expanse . the rain & wind produce a soothing noise that ripples in waves off of the grass .

even farther in the distance , you hear another ceaseless noise coming from all directions except up & down . it's a harsh , glass grinding static , but not quite painful because of how faint it is .

1go West

there is a cliff face to the west . you hover up to the top edge .

❡ eastern plateau ridge

you aren't that much higher than the boardwalks below , but you can see much farther into the distance from up here . there is a sliver of deep crimson shimmer spanning the entire horizon . maybe that's what's making that grinding noise ?

the footpath you're on continues to the north & south . to the west , the top of the plateau slopes downward toward a pool of glowing purple liquid . the pool appears to converge & warp in upon itself , almost as if a tiny black hole were floating a few meters above the surface .

there's a rectangular slot in the ground close by , but you can't see what's in it from here .

1examine Slot

❡ slot machine

now that you're closer to the slot , you notice a hand-written sign next to it that says :

slot machine : enter the slot & slide like a coin to a random location

somebody walks over to you & asks what you're doing .

hello ! i'm trying to figure out what the deal with this slot thing is .

no you're not . i saw you over there trying to vandalize my hand-written sign .

you what ? i didn't even touch the sign .

then how did all of those purple stains get on it ?

you glance at the sign again . it does appear more stained than you remember it . you wonder , aloud :

maybe it's from that pool over there ? whatever gravity well is swirling above the pool might have become volatile .

that's certainly a possiblity . but it seems much more likely that you hated my handwriting style & wanted to destroy it yourself .

you serious ? i didn't even think of the handwriting style until now. it was perfectly serviceable .

oh .

they gaze into the distance uncomfortably .

the grinding sound grows louder , & the crimson glow brighter .

shard count : 3

1ask SignPainter . about Sound

you ask the sign painter if they know where that sound is coming from .

no .

1ask SignPainter . about CrimsonGlow

you ask them if they know what the crimson glow is coming from .

no .

the sign painter sits on the ground , placing their legs into the slot . they carefully lower the rest of their body into the slot & let go. a few seconds later the sound of them sliding fades away completely .

it starts to rain . the droplets are purple , & stains your grey dress .

1go East

you hover back down the cliff face & land on the boardwalk again .

❡ the center

it feels nice to return to the center . that plateau to the west had an unpleasant vibe . the boardwalk continues to the north , south , & east .

1go West

you look back at the cliff face . a voice in your head says it may be a good idea to return to the slot machine , because it could spit you out where you need to go much faster than hovering there yourself .

but no . that would be a gamble .

you don't like leaving things to chance .

1go North

with your mind made up , you hover northward along the boardwalk .

❡ an expanse

you've reached the end of the boardwalk . this location is so far from the plateau that it's barely visible through the rain . the crimson glow to the north stretches higher into the sky here . it's like the source of the grinding noise is a wall in the distance that wraps around the boundary of b6e's mind .

there is a swarm of winged , metal centipedes flying over your head .

the grinding sound is loud enough here to put you on edge .

shard count : 4

1ask Centipede . about Sound

you call out to the centipedes above you .

excuse me , would any of you be able to help me answer a quick question ?

one of them lands in front of you . they are wearing a really cool sweater with a fractal pattern knitted onto it .

i might be able to help ya ! what's ur question ?

oh nice ! thank you . do you know what that glass grinding noise in the distance is ?

ya mean death ?

what ?

death . like the thing that happens when ya have a shard count of 11 ? looks like ya have 4 shards . ya might wanna stop thinkin' 'bout the wall !! you'll get less shards that way !

the other centipedes start gliding to the southeast .

that's what the shard count is about ? why would thinking about the wall give you more shards ? by the wall you mean that crimson thing in the distance , right ?

hey kid i'm sorry but i gotta go my friends are leavin' & i don't wanna get left behind but i'm sure someone else can help ya out ! althoughhh a lotta entities might be hesitant ( ior worse ) to talk about the shards . not sure what to tell ya 'bout that .

ok , well thanks for the info . i'll keep searching then .

be careful .

they fly away .

1save

serializing timeline ...

game saved .

enter the code 5nJ0kL3-001 to restore the game to this point in time .

1pop