The corridor ends at a door and so you fling yourself through it (turn to 52).
339
You feel your stomach convulsing and instinctively hold your hand against it, which reveals how violently your insides are reacting. At first, you think that maybe it’s simply the fact that you’re not used to the drink but then you feel your throat tightening up and then blocking your breathing altogether.
You stare in desperation at Catalina and Pauline, who are both writhing around on the floor with vomit exploding from their mouths, and your attempts to cry out in anguish have no effect.
You will never know who poisoned you, and the beautiful sight of the Martian landscape is little consolation as your life fades away.
340
The COMN stares at you for two seconds and then scoffs.
“What a waste of time,” he says, scornfully. “We don’t have enough resources for that, and we certainly don’t have enough time. You fool. Look, get out of here and see if you can be an actual help somewhere.”
You leave the headquarters with your tail between your legs. Lose 1 MIND point and turn to 228.
341
You hurl yourself at the door several times with no effect.
“Come on,” says David. “We can always come back and explore after we’ve saved humanity.”
You realise he’s speaking sense, so leave the door and continue down the corridor (turn to 167).
342
The door opens to reveal a large lounge area, complete with a circular bar in the centre of the room. A green carpet reaches to the cream walls, and tasteful furniture in various shades of grey is collected around a variety of tables sporadically placed around the space.
Each corner of the room has a different table in it for relaxation purposes; you are standing by the craps table and a snooker table is positioned to your left. A roulette table is in the opposite corner to you and a poker table is to your right. A large, stylistic image of the solar system fills the wall between the snooker table and the roulette table, and there are doors in each of the four corners.
You feel that the door by the snooker table will take you back the way you came. Will you rest in this room for a while (turn to 138) or will you leave through the door by the roulette table (turn to 237) or the poker table (turn to 160)?
343
You have only run a few steps when you hear the mighty crack of a gunshot reverberating around the place, and Pauline’s body collapses dramatically at your feet.
The only thought you have is that you don’t have time to attend to her right now and must keep moving; will you continue running towards the house (turn to 123), or will you turn back towards the bush (turn to 355)?
344
You walk into the room and regret it straight away. You are surrounded by people in various states of pain and discomfort. Most people in the area are accompanied by someone, but you notice two people sitting by themselves.
Do you speak to an attractive young lady holding an ice pack to her head (turn to 25) or a man in his 30s with designer stubble (turn to 243), or do you turn around and leave the waiting area (turn to 322)?
345
You feel your stomach convulsing and instinctively hold your hand against it, which reveals how violently your insides are reacting. At first, you think that maybe it’s simply the fact that you’ve not had alcohol for so long, but then you feel your throat tightening up and then blocking your breathing altogether.
You stare in desperation at Catalina and Pauline, who are both writhing around on the floor with vomit exploding from their mouths, and your attempts to cry out in anguish have no effect.
You can’t see the men around the table and will never know what role they had in poisoning you, if any. You reach out to the table leg for any sense of stability, but before you touch it you feel your life fading away.
346
A different nurse from the one you saw before you slept enters the room and goes through the same routine of checking the small screen before stepping over towards the sink.
Suddenly, you find yourself stepping out of the bed as if someone is pulling at your limbs. You try to stop yourself but are helpless and find yourself sneaking behind her and out of the room, unable to cry out that you are not in control of your actions.
Stepping out of your private room you find yourself in a wide corridor leading left and right. The door to your room is one of three on this wall, one of which has a sign above it, declaring it to lead to the stairs, and the other of which is unmarked. On the opposite wall are two doors, one of which has a frosted window built into it and the other of which is opaque. At the end of the corridor to your right is the lift, which will be your quickest route to the ground floor.
Record the codeword Casius and turn to 272 to choose where to go.
347
The COMN nods gravely, and then a smile slowly grows on his face.
“Yes,” he says. “Yes, I think this could work very well.” He leans into a shoulder and mutters something incomprehensible, and suddenly you are thrown into what feels like a chaotic mess of people shouting orders and running from one place to another. Hordes of the Martian Navy begin swarming around you, clearly validating instructions from the COMN and carrying out well-simulated procedures.
Eventually, he turns back to you.
“Let’s get to a safe place to observe,” he says, and you find yourself being escorted through a maze of corridors and up flights of stairs to a viewing platform surrounded on all sides by glass, enabling you to see the whole of the city, the surrounding geography and into the sky as well.
The COMN points out the missile launch pad just to the east, and within a few minutes the air around you is filled with a commentary on preparations and, ultimately, a countdown. The crowd you are in hushes as the missiles slowly emerge from the ground and the countdown reaches three, then two, then one, then…
The room fills with terror as the missiles’ positioning suddenly changes. Rather than pointing into the sky, they have shifted to point towards the city – and directly at you.
You see the flash of the launch and hear the COMN yelling “ABOR-” before you are all instantly killed in the explosion.
348
Through the door you find a large bedroom containing two pairs of bunk beds, two wardrobes and a desk. You search the room and find nothing much in there at all; you think it’s used purely as a place for people to sleep while on duty, as there aren’t any signs of anyone living here.
Returning to the landing you can almost physically feel the intense stare of Pauline.
“Enjoying yourself?” she asks, sarcastically. “Found any silver bullets on your travels?”
Go through a door you have not tried already. Will you go through the frosted glass door (turn to 97), the decorative door (turn to 22) or the other plain door in this wall (turn to 285)?
349
The COMN murmurs in appreciation of your agreement and continues with his monologue.
“Our primary motivation ought to always be to protect Mars from external forces, including of course this threat from outside the solar system. Now, nobody just invades another planet for no reason, so there must have been some sort of provocation. Wouldn’t you agree that it’s sensible to assume that the initial provocation came from earth?”
Will you agree again with the COMN (turn to 198) or will you disagree that earth provoked this attack (turn to 238)?
350
You make your way back to the centre of New Gaia, filled with so many mixed emotions that the three of you struggle to even look at one another, let alone speak. You are relieved to be alive, pleased to have diverted the alien invasion as far as you can tell, frustrated to have let Ada get away and anxious for the future.
The Martian landscape passes you by, and a strange sense of surreal wistfulness fills your consciousness as you look back at the observatory, now on fire and filling the air around it with thick, black smoke, which is dispersing
quickly as it hits the perimeter of the dome.
You pass through the New Gaia streets and arrive at the military base in which Major Abofanwe has his office. He flashes a badge at the two guards on duty as the three of you walk in, looking exhausted and on unfinished business (turn to 69).
351
As the body slumps to the ground, you hear footsteps behind you whirl round, ready to strike.
“Woah!” yells Pauline. “Watch what you’re doing.”
“Thank goodness we found you!” Catalina says as you catch your breath. “From the looks of things, we’re all in a bit of trouble. We were a bit worried that the hospital wasn’t actually the safest place for you.”
“No kidding,” says Pauline, sarcastically. “I think we should get out of here, don’t you?”
You nod, along with Catalina, who looks up at you sheepishly. “We’ve secured a safehouse, that’s why we didn’t come to you sooner,” she explains. It’s not far from here.”
Cautiously, the three of you emerge into the main road and they lead you through a series of backstreets to the north, up a fire escape and through a nondescript, grey door. Turn to 170.
352
“Ah, well, we’ve spotted several things,” she replies. “I suppose the most interesting has been a meteorite that entered the solar system a few months ago and seems to be slowing down. It’s strange because nobody predicted it, but that’s research for you! Its course ought to take it directly between Mars and the sun, and it’s pretty large so there should be a half-hour or so where the light dims. I’m already planning on getting out of the dome to get the best view of that.
“The other thing that’s really stood out has been some unexpectedly severe weather on earth. Storms on both poles have been growing in ferocity and seem to be showing no signs of disappearing any time soon. It’s only a matter of time before a populated area begins to be affected, even if only indirectly. Chances are we’ll be called on to provide remote oversight or even to send support.”
You ask her to go on, to which she replies, “About what dear?” Do you ask her about the meteorite (turn to 180) or the storms on earth (turn to 280)?
353
David pauses for a moment and then shrugs his shoulders.
“That could be an excellent idea,” he says. “We’ll prepare a welcoming party and make a visible show of no aggression.” At this point, he touches his hand to his ear and says, “Excuse me,” turning away to take a communication.
A minute later he turns back to you with an expression of surprise.
“It turns out-” he begins, stutters and then coughs before starting again. “It turns out the alien fleet has picked up speed and will be with us in a little under three hours. The time to prepare the welcoming party will be tight but possible; let’s get a move on.”
You all climb into a private transport and head across the city, David on his comms unit the whole time, having the dome expanded to allow for a generous landing area containing as many people as possible.
Two hours later you are lined up alongside some of the most prestigious people of New Gaia in anticipation of the planet’s interstellar guests. When the shapes of the fleet become visible in the sky the crowd lets out a cheer followed by a chilling hush.
You stand there, eyes turned upward to focus on the small yet clearly visible dots. You are wondering whether they are actually growing in your vision or if your eyes are playing tricks on you when their colour suddenly changes to a distinct red. You blink and turn to Catalina.
“Yes,” she says, anticipating your question. “I saw it too.”
The red dots grow and grow until you can clearly see the fireball hurtling through space directly at your position, large enough to engulf the whole of New Gaia multiple times over. Within a minute you can feel its heat, and your skin has painfully melted from your body before its heart hits the floor. You die with the sound of your own screams reverberating in your ears, drowning out the sound of the frenzied crowd.
354
The four of you form a small circle, your team of three armed with your new weapons and Travis looking nervous and excited at the same time.
“Right,” he says. “New Gaia isn’t huge, so there are only a few places you’re likely to have to look to find these guys. The criminal underworld here operates out of two locations, at opposite ends of the city.”
He pulls up a map of the city on his screen and starts to indicate the locations to you. “The first is in an underground bar called The Worker’s Rest, and the second is on the top floor of the same tower.”
“So, opposite ends…vertically?” says Pauline, a hint of disbelieving sarcasm in her voice.
“Yes,” says Travis, not missing a beat. “Vertically and socially, I’d suggest. The Rest is a bar that was built for the original construction workers when Mars was first being colonised, and the top floor of the tower is the bar that belongs to the five-star hotel housed within it. The ironic juxtaposition has not been lost on the locals, who generally avoid the building altogether, so most people you’ll find within that building are criminals, clueless or tourists. Or all three. There’s a unique clientele that frequents both of those locations, so look out for them.
“If you don’t find anything there, it might be worth returning to the hospital. Even if they’re not permanently there, they had found you and may still have a presence there to pick up the pieces. And finally, it may be worth leaving the city and asking around in the farms just north of the city. They don’t tend to get many people out there but do tend to get news.
“Alright then. I’m going to head back and keep an eye on things from a distance. You know you have my full support, and I’ll make sure to divert any attention you might be getting from law enforcement. Good luck!”
He leaves, and the three of you begin to discuss your options. You’re ready to take the fight to this mysterious group of assassins, but where will you go? If you would like to visit The Worker’s Rest, turn to 130. If you would like to go to classy bar on the top floor of the tower, turn to 116. If you would like to return to the hospital, turn to 90, and if you would like to visit the farms, turn to 39.
355
The next shot is aimed at your head by a professional sniper. You don’t even hear the crack before your skull explodes and your body becomes the latest that will be dragged into the already full basement here.
356
Grakler is already aware of the situation and has a grave expression on his slim, bespectacled face when you meet him.
“It was surely only a matter of time before something like this happened,” he says. “We should never have started sending messages across deep space in the first place, but I suppose there’s nothing we can do about that now.” He pauses for a moment. “Forgive me. How might I be able to help?”
Do you ask him for information about what the UDE has been doing recently (turn to 140), ask for insight on the ASR’s recent activities (turn to 383) or ask for his perspective on the communications that have been leaving Mars (turn to 82)?
357
As he falls to the floor, a small packet bursts out of his pocket and you stoop to pick it up. It contains a small pill. “I wouldn’t touch that if I were you,” says David. You can swallow it if you like (turn to 248), or continue down the corridor (turn to 299).
358
You dive to the left and run straight on, through crowds of shoppers and tourists. The shops expand out into the street and you find that the space to run through this area is narrower than you’d like; you feel like they are gaining on you and don’t risk looking back.
Ahead you see a crossroads and after running through the retail space for about five minutes you reach it. Turn to 311.
359
You head to your right in an attempt to confuse your pursuers and dive into the crowds of tourists attending the various retail outlets all around you. It amazes you how interplanetary tourist travel would bring with it the sort of experience you presu
me is still available in every earthly tourist spot. That said, you imagine you wouldn’t mind returning here at some point when things settle down, despite that not feeling close at the moment.
After several minutes of running east, you glance behind you and see that your pursuers are still there as you arrive at a crossroads filled with people walking in every direction, stopping unexpectedly to check their bearings and looking around to make the most of their time in this strange retail centre.
The shuttle tubes that run throughout the city several storeys into the sky seem to merge at this point in an intricate web and are lit underneath in ever-changing coloured lights that make this central area seem to come alive all around you. You think that Pauline and Catalina are in a north-westerly direction, so you turn to the north.
Leaving the colourful crossroads behind you and navigating your way as quickly as you can through the crowds, you glance up at a shuttle tube that hangs lower than some others ahead of you at second-storey level. You catch sight of your pursuers still behind you in its perfectly polished windows and keep running at pace.
Ahead is another crossroads, this one markedly less flamboyant than the previous one. As you reach it, you pick up a sharp movement to your right and see an aggressive-looking man start to make his way towards you. Do you run forward, across the crossroads and into an area signposted as “Earthborn Corner” (turn to 49), or do you head to your left, in the direction of an area that looks a bit less touristy (turn to 75)?
360
Make a HEART check at difficulty 13. If you succeed, turn to 53. If you fail, turn to 324.
361
While searching, you stumble upon a safe set into the wall. Now you can see it, you can’t understand how you didn’t spot it when you first entered…and it’s unlocked as well! You open it, and discover a rapid healing patch, which you can stick to your arm and halve all damage done to you in combat from this point onward.
New Gaia Page 14