Civil Service by Helen L Liston

[wolfbiter]

adding my separate review here, and seeking input on this question:

@wolfbiter

Look, I can’t stop thinking this–could the game possibly be inspired by this real life event (erm, if you click the link it will spoil parts of the plot for you)? If so, the game must have been written INCREDIBLY quickly, but what a coincidence if not.

@JoshGrams

It was oddly compelling though.

I found it compelling!

@alyshkalia

My one potential interpretation right now is that the POV character during that segment is still the PC, and this is something they did before they became a ghost that they have to atone for?

Right, I agree with this. (I don’t think it was stated, but it did mildly surprise me because the Italy flashback would have read more male POV whereas I think in the prologue they call the PC “she,” but I decided I just had the wrong read and that’s the PC’s flashback. The other even less-indicated explanation is that there’s some references in the prologue to like “you know what happens if you mess up,” so possibly Italy was a situation the PC was also sent into as a ghost, but she messed up?)

@EJoyce

But yeah, the ending I got was the coworkers going back to the ravine, finding Jess unconscious but alive, and calling an ambulance. The PC certainly did some rituals but I thought they were just to influence the coworkers.

Yeah, I was unclear about that too. I sort of headcanoned it in the middle (the PC is mostly bringing the issue to the co-workers attention, but she also seems to have some supernatural sense for Jess’s health and maybe in some way is sustaining her or keeping her from dying?)