The Simulation

Good morning, and welcome to your first day in the simulation! Today, we'll be evaluating your mental state. If you're lucky, you'll only need to go through the simulation once. Rarely anyone gets stuck these days, but keep an eye out for any bugs in the program. We'll do our best to guide you through the day, but try not to die before the end, alright? We can only do so much! Ready? [[Let's begin. -> What first?]] [[Sources->Sources]]

You slowly come out of simulation-sleep. Your toes tingle and your head is fuzzy, but otherwise you feel fine. When you sit up, you see that you're sitting in a bedroom with blue walls and black carpet. There are two doors on your right. The one closest to you is labeled //Bathroom//. The other door is unlabeled, and you assume leads to the rest of the house. There are no decorations on the other walls, but there is a window to your left. You get off the bed and stretch before looking outside. You see a small backyard with a single maple tree with yellow and orange leaves. A Doberman is leashed to the tree and is sleeping in the grass. A hologram appears on the window: ''Choose.'' [[Go into the bathroom->Bathroom]] [[Visit the dog->Backyard]] [[Explore the rest of the house->Explore]]

You walk into the relatively large bathroom. The sink is white marble and the shower is spotless. You see a toothbrush, toothpaste, and face wash on the counter, as well as body wash, shampoo, and conditioner in the shower. Next to the sink, a stench is eminating from under the closed toilet lid. You lift the lid and gag. The toilet is full of regurgitated sewer water and what looks like vomit. The green and brown swirl together and stain the toilet bowl. Your eyes are burning. Another hollogram appears, this time hovering above the disgust in the toilet: ''Choose.'' [[Gross, go exlpore the house.->Explore]] [[Ignore it and clean yourself up.-> Morning Routine]] [[Look for something to clean it with.->Under the Sink]]

You exit through the unmarked door and step into the hallway. To your right, there is a dead end with a picture hanging on the wall. To your left, the hallway stretches into darkness, so you descend the beautiful grand staircase that is directly in front of you. At the bottom of the staircase, you are greeted by a lush purple carpet with intricate red designs. There is an umbrelly next to the front door directly in front of you. To your right is a door labeled //Kitchen//. To your left is a family room with a sliding glass door that leads into the backyard. You cross through the family room and attempt to open the sliding glass door, but it's locked. You look for a way to unlock it, but it seems to be locked from the outside. You stare out at the Doberman and decide that to pause the simulation.

You walk out of the door with no label and enter a simple gray hallway. A beautiful grand staircase is directly in front of you and leads downstairs to what appears to be the foyer. To your right, there is a dead end with a picture hanging on the wall. To your left, hallway stretches into darkness. A hollogram appears directly in front of you, so close to your face you can almost hear buzzing. You take a step back. ''Choose.'' [[Explore the dark hallway->Hallway]] [[Go downstairs->Downstairs]] [[Examine the picture->Picture]]

You lower the toilet lid and leave the door open in hopes that the stench will air out. You decide to shower first. When you turn on the water, it is the perfect temperature. Your plain gray clothes are left in a pile on the floor as you quickly step into the shower (you don't want the hot water to go to waste!). Although the shower curtain is white, you can't see through it. You wash your body methodically; chest, legs, arms, neck. It is suprisingly relaxing. While turning off the water, you realize that you didn't check for any towels. You open the curtain and are surprised to see a folded light blue towel sitting on the counter. For some reason, this does not bother you. You dry off with the light blue towel and pull your clothes back on. As you brush your teeth at the counter, a hollogram appears on the mirror: ''Choose:'' [[Go see the Doberman in the backyard.->Backyard]] [[Explore the rest of the house.->Explore]]

You check under the sink and are pleased to find rubber gloves, bleach, a toilet scrubber, a plunger,and a folded light blue towel. You pull on the rubber gloves and attempt to flush the toilet. Most of the filth goes down on the first flush, but when you try a second time it gets clogged (you don't even try to guess by what). You spend several minutes unclogging the toilet with the plunger, and by the time you're finished, you're positive that your nose hairs have been completely singed off. After another flush (no clogs!), you use the scrubber and bleach to tackle the stains. 20 gruelling minutes later, the toilet looks almost brand new! You peel off the rubber gloves and wash your hands at the sink. While drying your hands with the light blue towel, a hollogram appears on the mirror: ''Choose:'' [[Go see the Doberman in the backyard.->Backyard]] [[Explore the rest of the house.->Explore]]

You begin walking down the hallway. The light fades behind you until you can no longer see your hand in front of your face. After a few minutes walking in the dark, you notice the breathing behind you. You stop walking and hold your breath, thinking that it's the sound your own breath bouncing off the walls, but the sound of breathing and footsteps that are not your own continue. You take a cautious step forward, listening carefully to where the sound is coming from. The cautious step becomes walking. It's probably just a bug in the simulation, you think. A hand brushes the back of your neck. You break into a run, but the breahting and footsteps are right behind you, always following. After running for what seemed like hours, you finally see a light up ahead. The breathing and footsteps grow quieter the closer you are to the light. When there if finally enough light to see your surroundings, you realize you're walking into the same hallway that you had left from. The door to the bedroom is to your right. The stairs are to your left. There's no time to catch your breath before a hollogram appears in front of your face: ''Choose:'' [[Go downstairs->Downstairs]] [[Examine the picture->Picture]] <p hidden><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/PQs3BP9iBko?controls=0?&autoplay=1" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe></p>

You walk down the stairs and are greeted by a lush purple carpet with intricate red designs. There is an umbrelly next to the front door directly in front of you. To your right is a door labeled //Kitchen//. To your left is a family room with a sliding glass door that leads into the backyard. For now, you decide to pause the simulation.

You step closer to the picture on the wall. The frame is old and cracking, completely different from the well-finished house around you. The picture is of a young boy with blonde hair. He's off center, as if the person taking the picture changed their mind at the last minute. The boy is not smiling, but holding something black and red in his hands. You squint, but can't make out what he's holding. A shiver runs down your spine. For now, you decide to pause the simulation.

''Sources:'' <p>Heavy Breathing and Heartbeat https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PQs3BP9iBko</p>