cornquest/out/story.txt

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2023-10-17 04:16:35 +00:00
2023-10-17 13:23:32 +00:00
CORNQUEST
2023-10-17 04:16:35 +00:00
2023-10-17 13:23:32 +00:00
dozens
2023-10-17 04:16:35 +00:00
0 1
You wake up in the comfort of You grab your lucky rock from
your own bed, in your own room. under your pillow. It is small
You open your eyes to see the and pointy, in the shape of a
golden sunlight come streaming corn cob. There are even little
in through your window. Golden pock marks all over the rock so
like ears of corn. You suddenly that it looks like it has corn
remember what day it is. It is kernels! Very lucky indeed. You
the day of the Harvest Festi- slip it into your pocket.
val! You throw back your fa- There, now you're are ready for
vorite corn print bed covers anything. You run to the
and leap out of bed. You've kitchen. (You never go anywhere
been looking forward to this at anything less than a full
day all year, and you already run.) Breakfast is corn grits
know exactly what you're going and cornbread. You eat quickly.
to wear. If you wear a corn It's the Harvest Festival after
dress, goto 3. If you wear corn all! The best day of the year!
bib overalls, goto to 8 You run outside. There are a
bunch of kids playing games out
in the corn fields. They call
your name, and you're tempted
to join them. But you also want
to go see the goings on down at
the corn altar! The altar can
wait, time to play. Goto 10.
Games are for stupid babies!
Time to visit the altar! Goto
14.
2
You leave the plaza and run
down Broad Street through the
Golden Gate out into the
fields. Almost all of the corn
has been harvested already so
you have clear sight all the
way to the forest edge. Unbe-
lieving, you spin around in
circles three times just to be
sure it's true: the corn beast
is gone. You sink to the ground
in despair. Goto 22
-2-
3 7
You slip on a lovely corn pat- Okay thank goodness you're
tern dress. Yes, you look awe- here. Listen, I know this is
some. It twirls when you spin going to sound crazy, but
around. And it has pockets! please hear me out. You are
Which reminds you... Goto 1. trapped inside a Choose Your
Own Adventure story. These
4 choices you think you're mak-
ing? They're not real choices.
Listen I don't know how you got Being given an artificially re-
here but if you're reading stricted set of options to
this, you need to abandon your choose from isn't free will.
current story line immediately It's coercion. Here, I'll prove
and go straight to 7 it. If you believe me, goto 19.
If you think this sounds like
5 paranoid bunk, then goto 24
The closer you get to the 8
plaza, the more you get the
feeling something is wrong. The You pull on your overalls. They
decorations are all up but no- have a really nice looking corn
body is singing or hollering or pattern on them, and the bib
laughing. Or talking. You ar- pocket in the front is perfect
rive at the Corn Altar, and for holding all kinds of
then gasp out loud and skid to things. Speaking of which...
a stop before it. The offer- Goto 1
ing, the pile of ears of corn,
is still lying on the altar 9
where it was placed last night!
People are milling about, whis- You scoop the little fella up!
pering and casting quick, fear- You laugh with delight as it
ful glances at the spurned flips and jumps and rolls
corn. Go checkout the corn at around in your hand like a lit-
the altar: Goto 21 Listen in on tle jumping bean! It finally
some of the adults: Goto 13 settles down, stands up, and
points to a spot at the tree-
6 line, commanding you forward
like George Washington crossing
You play hide and seek. You are the Delaware. You shrug and
so good at hiding that the start walking that direction,
other kids never find you. You and the whelp impatiently hops
eventually get tired and fall down to lead you forward. Goto
asleep, but not for too long: 27
your snoring wakes you up. You
decide to leave and seek out
other Harvest Festival festivi-
ties. Goto 14
-3-
10 13
You join in the games. A bunch You sneak up behind a couple of
of your friends are here: Three the old aunties and drop some
Fingered Gerald, Eccentric eaves on them. You are super
Kevin, Dale. Even Standard Ed stealthy! They are whisper ar-
has come out to play! It's the guing about whether the Corn
Harvest Festival after all! If Mother has abandoned us, and
you choose to play tag, goto whether that means the corn
11. If you play hide-and-seek, beast will leave. Leave! It
goto 6. If you play Lava Mon- can't leave! Without the corn
ster, goto 26. beast, there will be nobody to
protect the fields! We'll be
11 totally defenseless! Goto 25
You have a fantastic time play- 14
ing tag. Three Fingered Gerald
plays a little too rough, tag- You run through the streets of
ging the other kids too hard Cobbtown toward the plaza.
and knocking them over. But you Every year during the harvest,
are too fast for Three Fingered you set aside a portion of the
Gerald. They never catch you. harvest for the Corn Mother.
You all have a great time, and And the night before the Har-
then you decide to scurry vest Festival, the Corn Mother
along. Goto 14 comes and takes the offering,
and in the morning everybody
12 wakes up and there are lots of
presents and feasting and danc-
You step into the forest. Gulp! ing! It's the best! Goto 5.
You don't know anybody who has
ever been in the forest. Nobody 15
from Cobbtown has ever left the
fields as far as you know. You So what are we going to do
step carefully as the whelp about it, you ask? We're going
dances as around your feet, to break free of the narrative
lunging and thrusting with its is what we're going to do.
thorn. You try not to worry too Here's the plan. Have you ever
much about the omininous shapes heard of an "ahnentafel"? It's
and sounds coming from the a compact genealogical number-
pooling shadows to either side ing system that ... you know
of the trail. To stay on the what, forget it. Not important.
path, goto 20. To step off the Here's the part that's relevant
path and explore, goto 23 to you: even numbers are male
relatives of the subject of the
ahnentafel. Odd numbers are fe-
males. What does any of this
have to with anything? It's
your escape hatch. Whenever you
are given a choice of options,
always choose an odd number.
That's it. That's the plan. Now
let's get you out of here. Goto
0.
-4-
16 19
You tell the whelp to get lost. You're smart to believe me. You
Shoo! Skedaddle, crabapple! You must have already felt it deep
gently nudge the corn whelp down. Like your free choice was
away with your foot, and it an illusion, like your your de-
topples over. It jumps up and cisions are all leading you
pulls out a long thorn and down a predetermined path. Well
stabs you in the foot. Ouch! you're right. And you can see
You little rascal! You bend it for yourself: go back and
down to scoop the whelp up and try the alternate path and see
give it what for, but it skit- what happens. Afterward, come
ters away and scampers off to- back and goto 15.
ward the treeline. Follow that
whelp! Goto 27. 20
17 good idea
Okay you got this. Take a cou- 21
ple of deep breaths. There you
go. This doesn't necessarily omg it's just lying there! Why
mean that the Corn Mother has has the Corn Mother forsaken
turned her back on you and the us? What does it mean? What
rest of the village. She proba- will we do? To go into a panic
bly hasn't withdrawn her pro- goto 25. To remain calm goto
tection from you, leaving you 17.
open to attack from the dire
crows, right? Right? Goto 25. 22
18 You feel something bump against
your ankle. You look down to
You run back home and hide un- see a corn whelp. A kernel
der your bed. Eventually you sprite. A sort of golem made of
hear throaty, gurggling caws dried kernels and corn husk
and the thundering beating of tied together with golden corn-
wings as the dire crows descend silk. There's only one corn
on the town. Without the corn beast as far as anyone knows.
beast to scare them away, they But there are dozens and dozens
rip most of the village to of these little fellas. This
pieces. THE END one is pawing and scratching at
you. Goto 9 to pick the little
guy up. To tell the whelp to
scram goto 16
-5-
23 25
You step off the worn path and You scream and panic and run
push your way through dense around in circles until you
growth. Twigs and brambles trip and fall down. You have
snatch at your ankles and el- dirtied up your clothes and
bows and brush none too gently skinned you knee. One of the
against your cheeks. One such old aunties nearby clucks at
brush of the cheek is espe- you disapprovingly. You pick
cially sticky and grabby. You yourself up and dust yourself
swat at your cheek and your off, patting yourself down. And
hand comes away sticky. You you feel the small corn rock in
look up and find that you have your pocket. You clutch it
nearly walked right smack dab tight in your fist and squeeze
into an enormous messy spider your eyes shut. If you decide
web. It spans tree trunk to to go look for the corn beast
tree trunk, connecting half a goto 2. If you go home and hide
dozen large trees in a sloppy under your bed goto 18.
woven tapestry. Up above you, a
large black and yellow spider 26
appears to be dozing. Back to
the path! Goto 12. Cautiously No. You should never play Lava
walk around the web, goto 29. Monster. Go back to 10.
Get out your corn butter knife
and start hacking and slashing! 27
Goto 28
The treeline is thick and over-
24 grown. Usually there's hardly
any way into the woods unless
Do you feel empowered and free? you can find a small game
Like you made a meaningful trail. Except now there is a
choice? Go back and try the al- rather large, perfectly round
ternate path and see what hap- circular opening cut through
pens. Then come back and goto the trees, bushes, grass, and
15 when you're ready. vines. Goto 18 to nope away
back home. To venture down the
weird circular path into the
forest, goto 12.
28
You get out your trusty corn
knife and start slashing at the
web with reckless abandon! The
giant spider swoops down and
puts a quick stop to such un-
sanctioned bafoonery. You are
paralyzed and cocooned and
don't even feel it when the
spider's venom jellifies your
insides. THE END.
-6-
29
you start to sneak sneakily
around the web