The quest to clear your name begins.
You start on campus, with Archer, Ivy, and Brett.
Ivy suggests you [[talk to some professors that knew your late father.]]
Archer suggests you [[ask students who interned at your dad's company.]]
Brett suggests you [[search the library for clues.]]
(set: $evidence to 0)
(set: $ratgirl to false)
(set: $chemstudents to false)
(set: $laptopkids to false)
(set: $professor to false)
(set: $library to false)
(set: $books to false)
(set: $librarian to false)
(set: $studiers to false)
(set: $snack to 0)
(set: $left to false)
(set: $ohboy to false)You take Ivy's suggestion, and go to the science buildings on campus.
You look through the directory, and find a Dr. Elliot, PhD.
(if:$librarian is true)[That name looks familiar.](if:$librarian is false)[He's the most qualified environmentalist here, might as well see if he knows anything.]
The directions say to go down the hallway, take the second left, go down one floor, and his office is 116-B.
[[Go down the hallway.]]
(set: $professor to true)
(set: $left to false)You follow Archer, and he leads you out to the labs, in a wing named after your father.
Most of them are empty, or someone's teaching in them, but you find three that are occupied by students on their laptops, students conducting chemistry experiments, or students huddled around a rat cage and taking notes.
"Well, we've got options," Archer says, not exactly inspiring confidence in you.
Who would you like to ask first?
(if:$laptopkids is false)[[[Students on their laptops.|Students on their laptops.]]
](if:$chemstudents is false)[[[Students conducting chemistry experiments.|Students conducting chemistry experiments.]]
](if:$ratgirl is false)[[[Students studying rats.|Students studying rats.]]]Brett leads you to the library.
It's filled with students quietly working. There's a librarian at a desk, typing away.(set: $library to true)
(if:$studiers is false)[[[Ask if anyone here interned at Mercy Renewable.|Ask if anyone here interned at Mercy Renewable.]]
][[Talk to the librarian.]]
[[See if the books have anything to offer.]]As you're leading your friends down the hallway, you try to remember the directions.
There's 4 corridors branching off of this hall. Which one do you take?
[[First left.]]
[[Second left.]]
[[First right.]]
[[Second right.]]You turn left and go down the hall, but find the zoology department. Furthermore, you definitely remember being told to go up or down a floor, and there's no stairs or elevator over here.
[[Go back|Go down the hallway.]]You take the second left, pass a few environmental posters and scientific models, and reach a staircase, going up or down. (set: $left to true)
[[Go up the stairs.]]
[[Go down the stairs.]]You take the first right, but as you go down the hall, all you find is an exit to a parkade.
That's not right.
[[Go back|Go down the hallway.]]You take the second right, and reach a staircase, going up. (set: $left to false)
[[Go back|Go down the hallway.]]
[[Go up the stairs.]]You run into a few theatre majors filming a project.
They get mad at the four of you for ruining their shot. (if:visits > 1)[Again. They're about one Shakespeare misquote away from throwing a prop at you, if we're being honest.]
(if: $left is false)[You [[go back|Go down the hallway.]] down the stairs and down the corridor, to the main hall.
](else-if:$left is true)[You apologize and [[go down the stairs.|Go down the stairs.]]]You go down the stairs, and into the basement.
It's cold, a little dusty, and there's cases and cases of environmental models lining the walls down here.
[[This has to be the right place.]]You walk down the hallway, and check the doors. Which is Dr. Elliot's office again?
[[115-A]]
[[115-B]]
[[116-A]]
[[116-B]]You knock on the door, and it creaks open.
There's a few students in here, and an old man in a tweed coat at the front of the classroom, pointing at a diagram of a molecule.
"Sorry to interrupt, are you Dr. Elliot?"
The professor sighs, walks over, and closes the door in your face.
[[That's a no, then.|This has to be the right place.]]You knock on the door.
"Go away!"
"Dr. Elliot?"
"No! Fuck off!"
[[Not Dr. Elliot, got it.|This has to be the right place.]]You knock on the door.
No answer.
You try the handle.
Locked.
[[Go back|This has to be the right place.]]You knock on the door.
"It's open!"
You open and enter, followed by Archer, Ivy, and Brett.
"Dr. Elliot?"
"That's me. What brings you here?"
(if:$librarian is true)[It might be prudent to ask about your findings in the library.
][["Can I ask you a question about my father?"]]
[["I had a question about the local ecosystem."]]"Can I ask you a question about my father? Joseph Paisley?"
Dr. Elliot stares at you for a moment, before recognition sets in.
"Yes, of course."
[["How well did you know him?"|Dr. Elliot response.]]
[["What was it like working with him?"|Dr. Elliot response.]]"We're, um, studying for a research project, and I just had a question about the local ecosystem. Can I pick your brain?"
"Of course. I'm not busy."
(if:$librarian is false)[You try to think of something to ask, but you come up empty. You're a business major, after all.
Luckily, Brett jumps in with a question, and he and Dr. Elliot start talking in bigger words than you've ever been able to comprehend.
Ivy smacks you. "Why'd you lie?"
[["I panicked."]]
[["I didn't know if he recognized me from the news and thought I was a murderer."]]
](if:$librarian is true)["What do you know about the impact Mercy Renewable had on the forest?
Dr. Elliot pales. "I don't know that I can be much help here."
Ivy jumps in. "You worked with Joseph Paisley about a decade ago. The findings after your collaboration were interesting. We just want to know more about that."
Dr. Elliot gets up and closes the door.
[[Oh, boy.]]]Ivy sighs, but doesn't say anything.
You, her, and Archer stand awkwardly while Brett asks Dr. Elliot a buttload of questions. Brett eventually asks one long question, which Dr. Elliot responds to with a, "Yes! Exactly!" The two of them share a eureka moment, and then Brett gets up and returns to you.
As the four of you leave the classroom, Brett says, "Sorry. That wasn't much help on the murder investigation front, but I did learn a lot about methyl bromide and it's effect on the ozone layer."
What would you like to do next?
(if:$ratgirl is false)[[[Ask students.|ask students who interned at your dad's company.]]
](else-if:$chemstudents is false)[[[Ask students.|ask students who interned at your dad's company.]]
](else-if:$laptopkids is false)[[[Ask students.|ask students who interned at your dad's company.]]
](if:$library is false)[[[Go to the library.|search the library for clues.]]
](else-if:$studiers is false)[[[Go talk to students in the library.|Go back to the library.]]
](if:$evidence is >= 3)[This didn't get you anywhere, and it feels like you have enough to go off of. [[To the lake!|Mission Success]]
](more:)[[[You're out of options, and haven't gotten anywhere. Start over?|Start]]]Ivy sighs, but doesn't say anything.
You, her, and Archer stand awkwardly while Brett asks Dr. Elliot a buttload of questions. Brett eventually asks one long question, which Dr. Elliot responds to with a, "Yes! Exactly!" The two of them share a eureka moment, and then Brett gets up and returns to you.
As the four of you leave the classroom, Brett says, "Sorry. That wasn't much help on the murder investigation front, but I did learn a lot about methyl bromide and its effect on the ozone layer."
Welp. What would you like to do next?
(if:$ratgirl is false)[[[Ask students in the science building.|ask students who interned at your dad's company.]]
](else-if:$chemstudents is false)[[[Ask students in the science building.|ask students who interned at your dad's company.]]
](else-if:$laptopkids is false)[[[Ask students in the science building.|ask students who interned at your dad's company.]]
](if:$library is false)[[[Go to the library.|search the library for clues.]]
](else-if:$studiers is false)[[[Go talk to students in the library.|Go back to the library.]]
](if:$evidence is >= 3)[This didn't get you anywhere, and it feels like you have enough to go off of. [[To the lake!|Mission Success]]
](more:)[[[You're out of options, and haven't gotten anywhere. Start over?|Start]]]"He used to keep (text-colour:#faa2c1)[Swedish Berries] on him. I'm sorry son, we worked together very briefly a number of years ago, I never knew him very well." (set:$snack to it + 1)
Dr. Elliot offers his condolences, and you and your friends leave his office. (if:$snack > 2)[
"I would've thought your dad was more of a Swedish Fish guy," Brett muses.
"He seems to be a man of variety," Ivy responds. The four of you laugh.
Time to move on.]
What would you like to do next?
(if:$ratgirl is false)[[[Ask students.|ask students who interned at your dad's company.]]
](else-if:$chemstudents is false)[[[Ask students.|ask students who interned at your dad's company.]]
](else-if:$laptopkids is false)[[[Ask students.|ask students who interned at your dad's company.]]
](if:$library is false)[[[Go to the library.|search the library for clues.]]
](else-if:$studiers is false)[[[Go talk to students in the library.|Go back to the library.]]
](if:$evidence is >= 3)[This didn't get you anywhere, and it feels like you have enough to go off of. [[To the lake!|Mission Success]]
](more:)[[[You're out of options, and haven't gotten anywhere. Start over?|Start]]]Archer walks into the computer lab, and swings the door open with a little too much force. It hits the wall behind him loudly, startling the students.
"Hey, were any of you Mercy Renewable interns?"(set: $laptopkids to true)
Nobody volunteers.
"Someone left a USB in the labs at HQ."
Three hands go up.
(if:$librarian is false)[Two girls, one with glasses and one without, and one guy.
](if:$librarian is true)[Two girls, (text-style:"underline")[one with glasses], one without, and one guy.
]
Who do you wanna ask?
[[Glasses girl.]]
[[20/20 girl.]]
[[The guy.]]Archer enters the lab without knocking, and asks, "Hey, were any of you guys interns at Mercy Renewable?"
Two students look up and nod, one holding a flask and one holding a bottle.
Who do you want to ask?
[[Flask guy.]]
[[Bottle guy.]]
(set: $chemstudents to true)Archer, with all the confidence of the star quarterback, walks into the lab without knocking.
"Hey, did any of you ever intern at Mercy Renewable?"
Most of the students look at you four and dismiss you immediately, turning back to the oh-so-riveting rats.
One student raises her hand. "I did."
[["Can we ask you a few questions?"]]
(set: $ratgirl to true)"Can we ask you a few questions?" you ask.
She nods, asks a peer to pass on their notes, and exits the lab to talk to you in the hallway.
What would you like to ask?
[["Did you know my father? Mr. Paisley?"]]
[["What was your experience as an intern?"]]She shrugs. "He came and checked on us occasionally. Gave us (text-colour:yellow)[Skittles] at lunch. I never, like, talked to him one-on-one, if that's what you're asking." (set:$snack to it + 1)
(if:$snack > 1)[Your friends look at you, but you don't really know what else to say. It's not like it means anything.
]Ivy nods. "Thanks, you can go back to your lab."
The girls goes back in, closing the door behind her.
What next?
(if:$chemstudents is false)[[[Talk to the chemistry students.|Students conducting chemistry experiments.]]
](if:$laptopkids is false)[[[Talk to the students on their laptops.|Students on their laptops.]]
](if:$professor is false)[[[Talk to professors.|talk to some professors that knew your late father.]]
](else-if:$ohboy is false)[[[Maybe we should ask Dr. Elliot again.|Talk to Dr. Elliot again.]]
](if:$library is false)[[[Go to the library.|search the library for clues.]]
](else-if:$studiers is false)[[[Go talk to students in the library.|Go back to the library.]]
](if:$evidence is >= 3)[This didn't get you anywhere, and it feels like you have enough to go off of. [[To the lake!|Mission Success]]
](more:)[[[You're out of options, and haven't gotten anywhere. Start over?|Start]]]"What was your experience as an intern at Mercy Renewable?" you ask.
She gives you a puzzled look.
"What?"
"Aren't you Joseph Paisley's son? Why are you asking survey questions?"
Before you can respond, Ivy jumps in. "We're just trying to get a feel for the room. You know, to make sure we're not missing anyone when we send out invitations for the funeral."
The student shrugs. "Well, there's not much to tell. We showed up, we ran energy experiments and calculated the efficiency and the cost, and we went home."
[["Were you ever told what the source of the energy was?"]]
[["So you never interacted with Joseph Paisley?"]]"Were you ever told what the source of the energy was?" Ivy asks.
The girl shakes her head. "I'm sorry, we all signed NDAs."
You jump in. "That's okay, we don't need to know what it was, we just wanna know if you were talked to about it."
"Especially if you were told by Joseph Paisley," Brett adds.
She shakes her head again. "I'm not at liberty to discuss. I have to go back to this lab, now, if that's okay."
[[Ask one more question.]]
[[Let her go.]]"So, you never interacted with Joseph Paisley? Never met him?"
She shakes her head. "We met him. He was really nice. He gave us (text-colour:yellow)[Skittles] at lunch, and made sure we were all safe in the labs. That was about it, there's not much to tell." (set:$snack to it + 1)
(if:$snack > 1)[Huh. Strange.
]"You never heard him talk about suspecting he was in danger?" Archer asks.
"Why would he talk to his interns about that? Isn't that above our pay grade?"
Archer shrugs.
She looks at you. "I'm sorry I can't be more help. I gotta get back in there and work on my lab. Good luck."
She goes back inside.
What next?
(if:$chemstudents is false)[[[Talk to the chemistry students.|Students conducting chemistry experiments.]]
](if:$laptopkids is false)[[[Talk to the students on their laptops.|Students on their laptops.]]
](if:$professor is false)[[[Talk to professors.|talk to some professors that knew your late father.]]
](else-if:$ohboy is false)[[[Maybe we should ask Dr. Elliot again.|Talk to Dr. Elliot again.]]
](if:$library is false)[[[Go to the library.|search the library for clues.]]
](else-if:$studiers is false)[[[Go talk to students in the library.|Go back to the library.]]
](if:$evidence is >= 3)[This didn't get you anywhere, and it feels like you have enough to go off of. [[To the lake!|Mission Success]]
](more:)[[[You're out of options, and haven't gotten anywhere. Start over?|Start]]]"Did you ever meet him?" you ask.
"Joseph Paisley?"
"Yeah."
She nods. "Yeah, a few times. Nice guy. Real tragedy. Listen, I'm sorry, but I've really gotta get back to my lab. Good luck."
She goes back into the lab, and closes the door behind her.
What next?
(if:$chemstudents is false)[[[Talk to the chemistry students.|Students conducting chemistry experiments.]]
](if:$laptopkids is false)[[[Talk to the students on their laptops.|Students on their laptops.]]
](if:$professor is false)[[[Talk to professors.|talk to some professors that knew your late father.]]
](else-if:$ohboy is false)[[[Maybe we should ask Dr. Elliot again.|Talk to Dr. Elliot again.]]
](if:$library is false)[[[Go to the library.|search the library for clues.]]
](else-if:$studiers is false)[[[Go talk to students in the library.|Go back to the library.]]
](if:$evidence is >= 3)[This didn't get you anywhere, and it feels like you have enough to go off of. [[To the lake!|Mission Success]]
](more:)[[[You're out of options, and haven't gotten anywhere. Start over?|Start]]]You thank her for her time, and she goes back into the lab.
What next?
(if:$chemstudents is false)[[[Talk to the chemistry students.|Students conducting chemistry experiments.]]
](if:$laptopkids is false)[[[Talk to the students on their laptops.|Students on their laptops.]]
](if:$professor is false)[[[Talk to professors.|talk to some professors that knew your late father.]]
](else-if:$ohboy is false)[[[Maybe we should ask Dr. Elliot again.|Talk to Dr. Elliot again.]]
](if:$library is false)[[[Go to the library.|search the library for clues.]]
](else-if:$studiers is false)[[[Go talk to students in the library.|Go back to the library.]]
](if:$evidence is >= 3)[This didn't get you anywhere, and it feels like you have enough to go off of. [[To the lake!|Mission Success]]
](more:)[[[You're out of options, and haven't gotten anywhere. Start over?|Start]]]You pull the guy holding the flask out into the hallway.
"Keep this short," he says, "we're running a time sensitive experiment."
"That's alright. We just wanna know how much you know about Mercy Renewable," you say.
He crosses his arms. (text-style:"sway")[The (text-colour:green)[green] solution in the flask swirls, shifting colours to a (text-colour:blue)[blue], then settling back to (text-colour:green)[green].] "I'm not at liberty to discuss."
"Did you ever meet Mr. Paisley?" Ivy asks.
"I said I'm not at liberty to discuss." (set:$snack to it + 1)
He turns and goes back into the lab. You see a (text-colour:#f76707)[KitKat] wrapper poking out of his pocket. (if:$snack > 2)[
That doesn't mean anything, though.]
What next?
(if:(history: where its name contains "Bottle guy.")'s length is 0)[[[Ask bottle guy.|Bottle guy.]]
](if:$laptopkids is false)[[[Talk to the students on their laptops.|Students on their laptops.]]
](if:$ratgirl is false)[[[Talk to the students running experiments on rats.|Students studying rats.]]
](if:$professor is false)[[[Talk to professors.|talk to some professors that knew your late father.]]
](else-if:$ohboy is false)[[[Maybe we should ask Dr. Elliot again.|Talk to Dr. Elliot again.]]
](if:$library is false)[[[Go to the library.|search the library for clues.]]
](else-if:$studiers is false)[[[Go talk to students in the library.|Go back to the library.]]
](if:$evidence is >= 3)[This didn't get you anywhere, and it feels like you have enough to go off of. [[To the lake!|Mission Success]]
](more:)[[[You're out of options, and haven't gotten anywhere. Start over?|Start]]]You pull the guy holding the bottle into the hall.
"Am I in trouble?" he asks.
"No," Brett says. "We just wanted to ask you a couple of questions."
"Are you the cops?"
[["Yes."|Lie.]]
[["No."|Truth.]]"Yes," you answer. "We just need to know if you ever knew Mr. Paisley."
He frowns. "He gave us (text-colour:#ffa94d)[Twix] once in a while. That was about it."
(if:$snack > 1)["(text-colour:#ffa94d)[Twix?] you ask. "Are you sure?"
"Yeah, why would I lie about chocolate?"
You shake it off, and continue.
]"Did you know anything about the source of the energy?"
He freezes up. "Um, we were under strict confidentiality."
Archer cuts in. "We're the police, son, it's okay."
He hesitates. "Do you guys have badges?"
You look at your friends. Do you drop the lie?
[[Yes.|Truth.]]
[[No.|More lying.]]"We're not the cops," you say. "I'm his son."
Bottle guy tenses visibly. "You killed him."
"No, no, he didn't," Ivy says. "We're just trying to get a sense of who might've wanted to hurt him."
The bottle guy rushes back into the classroom.
What next?
(if:(history: where its name contains "Flask guy.")'s length is 0)[[[Ask the flask guy.|Flask guy.]]
](if:$laptopkids is false)[[[Talk to the students on their laptops.|Students on their laptops.]]
](if:$ratgirl is false)[[[Talk to the students running experiments on rats.|Students studying rats.]]
](if:$professor is false)[[[Talk to professors.|talk to some professors that knew your late father.]]
](else-if:$ohboy is false)[[[Maybe we should ask Dr. Elliot again.|Talk to Dr. Elliot again.]]
](if:$library is false)[[[Go to the library.|search the library for clues.]]
](else-if:$studiers is false)[[[Go talk to students in the library.|Go back to the library.]]
](if:$evidence is >= 3)[This didn't get you anywhere, and it feels like you have enough to go off of. [[To the lake!|Mission Success]]
](more:)[[[You're out of options, and haven't gotten anywhere. Start over?|Start]]]"We're undercover," Archer says. You, Brett, and Ivy nod.
Bottle guy looks unsure. "I think I wanna talk to a lawyer first. Sorry."
He goes back inside.
What next?
(if:(history: where its name contains "Flask guy.")'s length is 0)[[[Ask the flask guy.|Flask guy.]]
](if:$laptopkids is false)[[[Talk to the students on their laptops.|Students on their laptops.]]
](if:$ratgirl is false)[[[Talk to the students running experiments on rats.|Students studying rats.]]
](if:$professor is false)[[[Talk to professors.|talk to some professors that knew your late father.]]
](else-if:$ohboy is false)[[[Maybe we should ask Dr. Elliot again.|Talk to Dr. Elliot again.]]
](if:$library is false)[[[Go to the library.|search the library for clues.]]
](else-if:$studiers is false)[[[Go talk to students in the library.|Go back to the library.]]
](if:$evidence is >= 3)[This didn't get you anywhere, and it feels like you have enough to go off of. [[To the lake!|Mission Success]]
](more:)[[[You're out of options, and haven't gotten anywhere. Start over?|Start]]]You pull her into the hall.
"There's no USB," Brett admits. She turns to head back into the computer lab, but he continues, "There was a murder, though, and we're trying to put the pieces together."
This seems to intrigue her. "I heard he was the murderer." She looks you up and down.
"I'm not. I think I'm being framed. We just wanna know what you know."
She shrugs and crosses her arms. "I was just working on debugging some of the software."
(if:$librarian is true)[Brett seems interested at the mention of software.
][["Did you ever meet Mr. Paisley?"|Ask about dad.]]
[["What kind of software?"|Ask about software.]]You pull the girl without glasses into the hall.
She holds out her hand. "Where's the USB? I wanna see it. I'm missing my Mickey Mouse drive."
"We don't actually have-"
She goes back into the lab before you can finish. Well, shit.
What next?
(if:(history: where its name contains "Glasses girl.")'s length is 0)[[[Go ask four eyes.|Glasses girl.]]
](if:(history: where its name contains "The guy.")'s length is 0)[[[Ask the guy.|The guy.]]
](if:$chemstudents is false)[[[Talk to the chemistry students.|Students conducting chemistry experiments.]]
](if:$ratgirl is false)[[[Talk to the students running experiments on rats.|Students studying rats.]]
](if:$professor is false)[[[Talk to professors.|talk to some professors that knew your late father.]]
](else-if:$ohboy is false)[[[Maybe we should ask Dr. Elliot again.|Talk to Dr. Elliot again.]]
](if:$library is false)[[[Go to the library.|search the library for clues.]]
](else-if:$studiers is false)[[[Go talk to students in the library.|Go back to the library.]]
](if:$evidence is >= 3)[This didn't get you anywhere, and it feels like you have enough to go off of. [[To the lake!|Mission Success]]
](more:)[[[You're out of options, and haven't gotten anywhere. Start over?|Start]]]You pull the guy out into the hallway.
"We don't actually have a USB," Archer says, "we just have a couple of questions and needed to get your attention."
He sighs. "Fine. Better be worth my while. I have a project to finish."
What would you like to ask?
[[Ask about Mr. Paisley.]]
[[Ask about the internship.]]"Did you ever meet Mr. Paisley?" Ivy asks.
She hesitates. "He gave me (text-colour:red)[Twizzlers] once. That was about it." (set: $snack to it + 1)
"When did he give you (text-colour:red)[Twizzlers]?" Archer asks.
She hesitates. "I was working on the software, and I found something unusual."
[[Oh?|Ask about software.]]"Software?" Brett asks.
"I don't think I'm supposed to tell anyone," she says. You think that's gonna be it, because she's looking back in the lab, but then she turns back to you and lowers her voice. "It was an app. It was super early development, and I was just in there to squash bugs before they turned into bigger issues, but...there was weird code in there. (text-style:"italic")[It didn't look like binary.]" (set: $evidence to it + 1)
"Do you know anything else?" you ask.
She shakes her head and adjusts her glasses. "I never figured it out. I asked Mr. Paisley, and he just gave me (text-colour:red)[Twizzlers] and told me not to worry about it."(set:$snack to it + 1)
(if:$snack > 2)[Archer turns to you. "How many different snacks did your dad keep on him?"
]"And you didn't ask anymore questions?" Brett asks. "I mean, how does something just not look like binary?"
"Listen, we had to sign so many contracts for that job, I figured I shouldn't investigate. Anyways, I gotta get back to working on my project." She looks at you. "Good luck." She goes back inside.
What next?
(if:$chemstudents is false)[[[Talk to the chemistry students.|Students conducting chemistry experiments.]]
](if:$ratgirl is false)[[[Talk to the students running experiments on rats.|Students studying rats.]]
](if:$professor is false)[[[Talk to professors.|talk to some professors that knew your late father.]]
](else-if:$ohboy is false)[[[Maybe we should ask Dr. Elliot again.|Talk to Dr. Elliot again.]]
](if:$library is false)[[[Go to the library.|search the library for clues.]]
](else-if:$studiers is false)[[[Go talk to students in the library.|Go back to the library.]]
](if:$evidence is >= 3)[This feels like enough to go off of. [[To the lake!|Mission Success]]
](more:)[[[You're out of options, and haven't gotten anywhere. Start over?|Start]]]"Did you ever meet Mr. Paisley?" Archer asks.
The guy frowns. "What kind of dumbass question is that? Yeah, of course I did, I was his favourite. He used to come by my desk and give me (text-colour:red)[Twizzlers]." (set:$snack to it +1)
(if:$snack > 1)[Interesting.
]"He never did that to the others?"
He shakes his head. "Not that I know of. I was also doing some pretty awesome work, though."
[["What kind of work?"|Ask about the internship.]]He pauses.
"I don't think I'm actually supposed to say anything about it."
"It's okay," Ivy assures him, batting her eyelashes at him.
He shifts anxiously. "Listen, it was pretty confidential. I could get into serious legal trouble. It's not worth it." He looks at you. "Especially given everything I've heard."
He goes back into the computer lab.
What next?
(if:(history: where its name contains "Glasses girl.")'s length is 0)[[[Go ask four eyes.|Glasses girl.]]
](if:(history: where its name contains "20/20 girl.")'s length is 0)[[[Ask the girl without glasses.|20/20 girl.]]
](if:$chemstudents is false)[[[Talk to the chemistry students.|Students conducting chemistry experiments.]]
](if:$ratgirl is false)[[[Talk to the students running experiments on rats.|Students studying rats.]]
](if:$professor is false)[[[Talk to professors.|talk to some professors that knew your late father.]]
](else-if:$ohboy is false)[[[Maybe we should ask Dr. Elliot again.|Talk to Dr. Elliot again.]]
](if:$library is false)[[[Go to the library.|search the library for clues.]]
](else-if:$studiers is false)[[[Go talk to students in the library.|Go back to the library.]]
](if:$evidence is >= 3)[This didn't get you anywhere, and it feels like you have enough to go off of. [[To the lake!|Mission Success]]
](more:)[[[You're out of options, and haven't gotten anywhere. Start over?|Start]]]Archer stands up, cups his hands around his mouth, and yells, "Hey! Has anyone here interned at Mercy Renewable?" (set: $studiers to true)
Someone throws an empty Monster can at him and tells him to shut up. Two more students agree with Monster Kid and tell Archer to get lost.
A quiet voice from the corner of the hall pipes up. "I did!" It's a girl wearing a cardigan over a sweater. Interesting fashion choice.
[[Go talk to her.]]Brett leads the way to the librarians desk, and starts up a conversation. They're on a first name basis. You actually get the very distinct feeling the librarian's into Brett. (set: $librarian to true)
"Listen, my friend here, Nick, his dad was killed recently," Brett says. The librarian looks at you over her glasses, and you feel a little like she's looking into your soul. "We're just looking for some resources."
She writes something on a slip and hands it to Brett. "Let me know if you need anything else."
He turns back to you guys and smiles. "Follow me."
[[You heard the man. Follow him.|See if the books have anything to offer.]]Brett leads you through the rows and rows of bookshelves. (set: $books to true)
"Are we sure we know what we're doing here?" you ask.
Brett starts pulling books off the shelves. "We're gonna read up on all the literature on clean energy, Petrola, and legal proceedings as we can."
You, Archer, and Ivy exchange looks.
[[Buckle up. It's gonna be a long night.]]The four of you sit down and start reading. Ivy and Archer take on Petrola, Brett takes on clean energy, and you take on legal proceedings.
Several hours pass. Archer falls asleep in the middle of an article on oil sands. Ivy's taking colour coded notes in her notebook. Brett's powering through like a machine, drinking his third Redbull of the evening. Your eyesight is starting to blur.
(if:$librarian is false)[[[Nothing of use is coming from this.|Nothing of use is coming from this.]]
](if:$librarian is true)[= "Okay, I found something interesting," Ivy says. She bumps Archer's shoulder, and he jolts awake. "Petrola had signed all these commitments to reducing environmental harm, right? That was back when it was founded. Then, about a year before Nick's dad quit, scientists started finding evidence of oil runoff in the river." (set: $evidence to it + 1)
She looks at you expectantly.
"You know what that means, right?"
[["Uh, no?"]]
[["Yep, totally."|"Uh, no?"]]She not-so-subtly rolls her eyes. "One of those scientists was Dr. Elliot. (if:$professor is false)[He knew your dad. ]He found that all those commitments weren't actually legally binding, and were essentially just a big PR stunt. Nick, do you know exactly when your dad quit Petrola?"
You shrug. "I don't know, ten years ago."
"There was a big...NDA...thing, and that kept Dr. Elliot quiet, but your dad found out and quit Petrola, and started Mercy Renewable. And then..."
You're struggling to maintain focus.
[[Interrupt her and ask for the sparknotes version.|Let her continue.]]
[[Let her continue.]]"Basically, shortly after Mercy Renewable was founded, there was a very sudden surge of recovery in the local ecosystem, they think starting in the forest, then going all the way upstream, (text-style:"italic")[but stops right at the lake]. You know what that means, right?"
Brett jumps in. "We gotta go to the lake."
(if:$evidence is >= 3)[[[You heard Brett. To the lake!|Mission Success]]
Unless you wanna look for a little bit more evidence? [[Keep looking.|I don't know if this is a good idea...]]
](if:$evidence is < 3)[[[I don't know if this is a good idea...|I don't know if this is a good idea...]]]"I don't think we're gonna get anywhere, if we haven't already," you say.
"Yep, I'm brain dead," Archer agrees, wiping drool off his face. "Let's do literally anything else, please."
What do you wanna do?
(if:$studiers is false)[[[Talk to students in the library|Ask if anyone here interned at Mercy Renewable.]]
](if:$ratgirl is false)[[[Talk to students in the science building.|ask students who interned at your dad's company.]]
](else-if:$chemstudents is false)[[[Talk to students in the science building.|ask students who interned at your dad's company.]]
](else-if:$laptopkids is false)[[[Talk to students in the science building.|ask students who interned at your dad's company.]]
](if:$professor is false)[[[Maybe some professors are still on campus?|talk to some professors that knew your late father.]]
](else-if:$ohboy is false)[[[Maybe we should ask Dr. Elliot again.|Talk to Dr. Elliot again.]]
](if:$evidence is >= 3)[This didn't get you anywhere, and it feels like you have enough to go off of. [[To the lake!|Mission Success]]
](more:)[[[You're out of options, and haven't gotten anywhere. Start over?|Start]]]The four of you approach her.
"Can we ask you a couple of questions?" you ask.
She nods.
(if:$librarian is true)[Something tells you that asking about her job might not be the right move.
][[Ask what her job was.]]
[[Ask if she met Mr. Paisley.]]All four of you sit down at her table.
"What were you interning for?" you ask.
She hesitates, spinning a pen in her fingers anxiously. "I was doing field research, shadowing an environmental biologist."
That's a start. "What kind of field research?"
She looks between you and your friends, all watching her expectantly. "I don't know if I can say."
Archer cuts in. "Of course you can. Nick here's Mr. Paisley's son, he's not going to get you into any sort of trouble."
That was the wrong thing to say, because she tenses up. "You're Mr. Paisley's son?"
[[Deny deny deny.]]
[[Tell the truth.]]"Did you ever meet Mr. Paisley?" you ask.
Another Monster can gets thrown in your direction. [[You should go outside for this conversation.]]Brett leads you out of the library, and into the hall.
"Did you ever meet Mr. Paisley?" you ask.
She shrugs. "Once or twice, maybe. He gave out (text-colour:cyan)[M&Ms] when we worked overtime, but that rarely happened." (if:$snack > 1)[Weird.] (if:$snack > 2)[Definitely weird.]
"You never spoke to him?" Ivy asks.
She shakes her head. "At most, we said thanks to him, or he'd ask how it was going and we'd give him updates. But not much really happened beyond that."
[["What was your job?"]]
[["Thanks."]](if:$evidence is 4)[Good job! You got all the evidence you could out of campus.
Next stop: the lake.
[[To be continued...|Start]]
](if:$evidence is 3)[Good job! You got most of the evidence you could out of campus. [[Next stop: the lake.|Start]]
You wanna try to get all of it?
[[Start over.|Start]]]"I don't know that we have enough evidence to back this up," you say. (if:$laptopkids is false)[[["Maybe we should ask around some more."|"Maybe we should ask around some more."]]
](else-if:$studiers is false)[[["Maybe we should ask the students here."|Ask if anyone here interned at Mercy Renewable.]]
](else-if:$professors is false)[[["Maybe there's still some professors on campus?"|talk to some professors that knew your late father.]]
](else-if:$ohboy is false)[[["Maybe we should ask Dr. Elliot again?"|Talk to Dr. Elliot again.]]]
(more:)[Mission failure. [[Try again?|Start]]]"Maybe we should ask around some more. I don't think we've exhausted every option."
Your friends exchange looks, and then nod.
(if:$librarian is true)+(if:$studiers is false)["I think we should ask around here before we move on," Ivy says, "just to be thorough."
]Well?
(if:$ratgirl is false)[[[Ask students in the science building.|ask students who interned at your dad's company.]]
](else-if:$chemstudents is false)[[[Ask students in the science building.|ask students who interned at your dad's company.]]
](else-if:$laptopkids is false)[[[Ask students in the science building.|ask students who interned at your dad's company.]]
](if:$professor is false)[[[Talk to professors.|talk to some professors that knew your late father.]]
](else-if:$ohboy is false)[[[Maybe we should ask Dr. Elliot again.|Talk to Dr. Elliot again.]]
](if:$studiers is false)[[[Ask the students in the library.|Ask if anyone here interned at Mercy Renewable.]]
](more:)[[[You're out of options, and haven't gotten anywhere. Start over?|Start]]]She hesitates. "I don't know if I'm supposed to say."
"It's okay," Ivy says. "You can tell us."
The girl shifts her weight, anxiously. "We researched the forest."
You and your friends exchange looks.
"The forest?" Brett asks. "Can you tell us what about it?"
"I can't say much, but..." She lowers her voice. (text-style:"italic")["I think the stories are true."]
You look at your friends, and they look just as shocked as you feel.
"About the fairies?" Brett asks, incredulous. (set: $evidence to it + 1)
"I can't say."
[["Thanks."]]She nods, and goes back inside.
[[Okay, what next?|Okay, what next?]]You open your mouth to lie, but she's still talking.
"It said on the news that you murdered him." She's getting up, gathering her things.
"No, please, sit down," you say.
"He didn't do it," Ivy adds, backing you up.
But it's too late. She's already up and leaving. (if:$books is true)[Oof. [[Might be time to go back to the drawing board.|Start]]
](if:$books is false)[= Well, shit. What now?
(if:$ratgirl is false)[[[Ask students.|ask students who interned at your dad's company.]]
](else-if:$chemstudents is false)[[[Ask students.|ask students who interned at your dad's company.]]
](else-if:$laptopkids is false)[[[Ask students.|ask students who interned at your dad's company.]]
](if:$professor is false)[[[Maybe some professors are still on campus?|talk to some professors that knew your late father.]]
](else-if:$ohboy is false)[[[Maybe we should ask Dr. Elliot again.|Talk to Dr. Elliot again.]]
](if:$books is false)[[[It's not too late to do some reading.|See if the books have anything to offer.]]
](if:$librarian is false)[[[Catch the librarian before she clocks out?|Talk to the librarian.]]
](if:$evidence is >= 3)[This didn't get you anywhere, and it feels like you have enough to go off of. [[To the lake!|Mission Success]]
](more:)[[[You're out of options, and haven't gotten anywhere. Start over?|Start]]]You hesitate, then nod.
"It said on the news that you murdered him." She's getting up, gathering her things.
"No, please, sit down," you say.
"He didn't do it," Ivy adds, backing you up.
But it's too late. She's already up and leaving.
Well, shit. What now? (if:$books is true)[Oof. [[Might be time to go back to the drawing board.|Start]]
](if:$books is false)[=
(if:$ratgirl is false)[[[Ask students.|ask students who interned at your dad's company.]]
](else-if:$chemstudents is false)[[[Ask students.|ask students who interned at your dad's company.]]
](else-if:$laptopkids is false)[[[Ask students.|ask students who interned at your dad's company.]]
](if:$professor is false)[[[Maybe some professors are still on campus?|talk to some professors that knew your late father.]]
](else-if:$ohboy is false)[[[Maybe we should ask Dr. Elliot again.|Talk to Dr. Elliot again.]]
](if:$librarian is false)[[[Catch the librarian before she clocks out?|Talk to the librarian.]]
](if:$books is false)[[[It's not too late to do some reading.|See if the books have anything to offer.]]
](if:$evidence is >= 3)[This didn't get you anywhere, and it feels like you have enough to go off of. [[To the lake!|Mission Success]]
](more:)[[[You're out of options, and haven't gotten anywhere. Start over?|Start]]](if:$ratgirl is false)[[[Ask students in the science building.|ask students who interned at your dad's company.]]
](else-if:$chemstudents is false)[[[Ask students in the science building.|ask students who interned at your dad's company.]]
](else-if:$laptopkids is false)[[[Ask students in the science building.|ask students who interned at your dad's company.]]
](if:$books is false)[[[Check the books.|See if the books have anything to offer.]]
](if:$professors is false)[[["Maybe there's still some professors on campus?"|talk to some professors that knew your late father.]]
](else-if:$ohboy is false)[[[Maybe we should ask Dr. Elliot again.|Talk to Dr. Elliot again.]]
](if:$librarian is false)[[[Talk to the librarian.|Talk to the librarian.]]
](if:$evidence is >= 3)[This feels like enough to go off of. [[To the lake!|Mission Success]]
](more:)[[[Start over.|Start]]]Dr. Elliot takes in a deep breath. "What I'm about to tell you can't leave this room." (set: $ohboy to true)
The four of you exchange looks, then nod.
"Mr. Paisley came to me with some...claims. Ones that I didn't necessarily believe."
(if:(history: where its name contains "\"What was your job?\"")'s length is 1)[Interesting.
]Ivy's taking notes diligently.
"They were far-fetched, to say the least, but I'm not one to just write someone off as crazy, so I let him provide some proof."
"Proof of what?" Brett asks. (if:(history: where its name contains "\"What was your job?\"")'s length is 1)["The fae?"]
Dr. Elliot glances at the door, checking the window beside it. He turns back to you. (text-style:"italic")["The fae."] (set: $evidence to it + 1)
[[Holy shit.]]"The rest is, well, either boring science that's much less fantastical, or confidential," Dr. Elliot says. "But I hope that's of some help."
He wishes you luck, and you and your friends leave his office, a little stunned.
What next?
(if:$ratgirl is false)[[[Ask students in the science building.|ask students who interned at your dad's company.]]
](else-if:$chemstudents is false)[[[Ask students in the science building.|ask students who interned at your dad's company.]]
](else-if:$laptopkids is false)[[[Ask students in the science building.|ask students who interned at your dad's company.]]
](if:$library is false)[[[Go to the library.|search the library for clues.]]
](else-if:$studiers is false)[[[Go talk to students in the library.|Go back to the library.]]
](if:$evidence is >= 3)[This feels like enough to go off of. [[To the lake!|Mission Success]]
](more:)[[[Start over.|Start]]]The four of you retrace your steps, and find yourselves outside of 116-B again.
You knock.
Dr. Elliot calls, "It's open!"
[[Go on in.]]You go in, and find Dr. Elliot sitting at his desk, typing at his desktop.
He looks up, and seems surprised to see you again. "Is there something else I can help you with?" he asks.
"We wanted to ask you about your work with my father," you say. "What do you know about the impact Mercy Renewable had on the forest?"
Dr. Elliot pales. "I don't know that I can be much help here."
Ivy jumps in. "You worked with Joseph Paisley about a decade ago. The findings after your collaboration were interesting. We just want to know more about that."
Dr. Elliot gets up and closes the door.
[[Oh, boy.]]Brett leads the way to the library.
[[Ask if anyone here interned at Mercy Renewable.]]