Luna Gardens An Interactive Fiction by Justin Kim Release 1 / Serial number 230731 / Inform 7 build 6M62 (I6/v6.33 lib 6/12N) The Garden of Eden - Night You sit on a bench in a confined garden. If inspiration strikes, you can always write it down in your journal. And there's never anything wrong with asking for HELP. Exotic plants in different shapes and sizes sway with the breeze. Palm leaves tickle the air, bay laurels stand in silence, and dwarf myrtles rise from the earth. The little fountain lying near your feet makes you want to chuckle- But its quaintness holds you back. The combined smells of jasmine, daffodils, mint, and everything else overwhelm your brain's olfactory receptors. A particular flower catches your eye. >x fountain A shallow basin set into the ground with a nozzle in the center. It sprays out some water that splashes against the same liquid already below it. >x flower There's no other flower like it, at least from what you've seen on campus. Its mesmerizing red hue always arrests your attention when you come here. >take it Something tells you to leave it alone. >drink liquid You can't see any such thing. >drink water You can't see any such thing. >x water You can't see any such thing. >smell flower You smell nothing unexpected. >l The Garden of Eden - Night You stand in a confined garden. If inspiration strikes, you can always write it down in your journal. And there's never anything wrong with asking for HELP. All kinds of exotic plants sway here. A quaint little fountain is on the ground. A particular flower adds to the immense scents. >i You are carrying: a backpack (being worn and open but empty) a pen a journal (open but empty) >x journal Everyone says it's old-fashioned but you still love it. Any observations you make at night can be recorded in its pages. >x backpack A battered old backpack that's carried all your things during your time here; it's worn but reliable. When it gets heavy it feels like the proverbial ball and chain. >x pen Your trusty ballpoint pen. It's the best dollar you've ever spent. >write What do you want to write? >journal You make a quick note about the journal inside your journal. >write stinky feet You can't see any such thing. >i You are carrying: a backpack (being worn and open but empty) a pen a journal (open but empty) >x journal Everyone says it's old-fashioned but you still love it. Any observations you make at night can be recorded in its pages. >read it Everyone says it's old-fashioned but you still love it. Any observations you make at night can be recorded in its pages. >write flower in journal You make a quick note about the red flower inside your journal. >l The Garden of Eden - Night You stand in a confined garden. If inspiration strikes, you can always write it down in your journal. And there's never anything wrong with asking for HELP. All kinds of exotic plants sway here. A quaint little fountain is on the ground. A particular flower adds to the immense scents. >e You can't go that way. >w You can't go that way. >n (first opening the peculiar gap) Dark Path Your eyes struggle to make out the shape of this path. It's cramped enough that you can't make any large movements but your hair just brushes against the roof when you stand upright. So far it just seems to continue north. A light source glows in the south, where you must have come from. >undo The Garden of Eden - Night [Previous turn undone.] >l The Garden of Eden - Night You stand in a confined garden. If inspiration strikes, you can always write it down in your journal. And there's never anything wrong with asking for HELP. All kinds of exotic plants sway here. A quaint little fountain is on the ground. A particular flower adds to the immense scents. >x plants Behind the green layers you see a peculiar gap. >x gap That's funny- You've never seen this here before. In the corner of your eye you see a piece of string trailing off into the burgeoning darkness. The gap looks big enough to walk through; you just need to push the leaves aside. >x string The start of a red string someone wrapped around a low tree branch. Its other end pulls it from somewhere past the gap. It seems soft to the touch. >push leaves You can't see any such thing. >take string That's hardly portable. >follow string I didn't understand that number. >n (first opening the peculiar gap) Dark Path Your eyes struggle to make out the shape of this path. It's cramped enough that you can't make any large movements but your hair just brushes against the roof when you stand upright. So far it just seems to continue north. A light source glows in the south, where you must have come from. >x source You can't see any such thing. >x roof You can't see any such thing. >n Forked Path What you assume to be light from the moon or the fluorescent lights outside creates a dim aura that helps you see a fork in the path. Inbetween the diverging exits, which curve northwest and northeast, is a sign. >x sign "Who speaks to the moon? The cloud or the butterfly? The cloud wanders to the right. The butterfly wanders to the left." >ne Right Hand's Immateriality The entirety of your body is everywhere yet constrained here, like the entirety of a silhouette made of smaller components. You are bound to the earth but free to roam across its boundaries. A thought flashes across your mind- Why shouldn't a feeling of commitment be like this? The path curves to the northwest. >sw Forked Path What you assume to be light from the moon or the fluorescent lights outside creates a dim aura that helps you see a fork in the path. Inbetween the diverging exits, which curve northwest and northeast, is a sign. >nw Left Hand's Ephemerality Your body feels light and nimble as you floatthrough this path. You wish the feeling of anxiety for your family's future was this simple. What is a child but another vessel to be filled with their parents' legacy? The path curves to the northeast. >n You can't go that way. >ne Mist of the Mind In the dim light you see mist steaming out across the floor- You don't know from where- And spiraling up into the air around. Your body feels the same but instinct and the sound of wings flapping tells you that you are a small butterfly. Soon it parts in front of you and the emptiness within the walls of vapor forms an exit to the north into some kind of archway. The dark void to the south returns you in the direction you first came from. >n The Garden of Eden - Night ... And find yourself at an entrance right back where you started? That's what you think at first; on a second glance you spot the same bench (which seems longer than before) you had sat on- But now a strange woman you've never seen before resides on it. Looking around, you notice that some things are different but also... The same? She turns to you and says, "I'm sorry, I took your seat!" A particular stretch of wind blows and chills you as you listen to her. Inbetween her ruminations on the nature of reality and the beauty of the moon (which you can't even begin to understand) you feel an absence of anything except this moment. She mentions her name: Maya. Maya looks into you again and says, "The night wanes and your cross is heavy. Ask me about the gardens; I listen to you." Entering the archway takes you back to the dark void you came from. You steal a look- There's something about her you just can't put your finger on- Yet. Green wings of birds unseen flap in the breeze without a care in the world. Smaller plants (perhaps the birds" chicks?) wave at you from below. Harsh light from nearby poles shoot off the surface of the aurelian palace with and diffuse into glimmering white pebbles that adorn the waters within. Brilliant smells flood the air and one in particular pushes aside the rest. The delicious colors that emit from the flower you like to visit beckon towards your antennae for a closer taste. >talk to maya I didn't understand that number. >i You are carrying: a backpack (being worn and open but empty) a pen a journal (open) Note 3: Flower @ Eden >write about maya You make a quick note about Maya inside your journal. >i You are carrying: a backpack (being worn and open but empty) a pen a journal (open) Note 12: Maya @ Eden? Note 3: Flower @ Eden >x flower Your tiny feet rub themselves around the petals and sticks that look like your own antennae, pollen flakes flying around from the disturbance and catching themselves on your hairs. However even as an invertebrate your eyes can tell this shade of blue doesn't feel real. >l The Garden of Eden - Night Maya, wearing blue and white clothes and a large crescent moon necklace, sits on the bench. Her gaze fixes on your being. Entering the archway takes you back to the dark void you came from. You steal a look- There's something about her you just can't put your finger on- Yet. Green wings of birds unseen flap in the breeze without a care in the world. Smaller plants (perhaps the birds" chicks?) wave at you from below. Harsh light from nearby poles shoot off the surface of the aurelian palace with and diffuse into glimmering white pebbles that adorn the waters within. Brilliant smells flood the air and one in particular pushes aside the rest. The delicious colors that emit from the flower you like to visit beckon towards your antennae for a closer taste. >x birds You can't see any such thing. >x pebbles You can't see any such thing. >n You can't go that way. >l The Garden of Eden - Night Maya, wearing blue and white clothes and a large crescent moon necklace, sits on the bench. Her gaze fixes on your being. Entering the archway takes you back to the dark void you came from. You steal a look- There's something about her you just can't put your finger on- Yet. Green wings of birds unseen flap in the breeze without a care in the world. Smaller plants (perhaps the birds" chicks?) wave at you from below. Harsh light from nearby poles shoot off the surface of the aurelian palace with and diffuse into glimmering white pebbles that adorn the waters within. Brilliant smells flood the air and one in particular pushes aside the rest. The delicious colors that emit from the flower you like to visit beckon towards your antennae for a closer taste. >x maya The first thing you notice about her is the large crescent moon necklace that hangs from her neck. Its resplendence shines on top of a white t-shirt tucked into black jeans. A subtle blue coat grasps her shoulders like a child afraid of losing their mother. She has the air of a colossal monument that observes the passage of a millennia. >x necklace You can't see any such thing. >talk to maya I didn't understand that number. >maya, hello There is no reply. >l The Garden of Eden - Night Maya, wearing blue and white clothes and a large crescent moon necklace, sits on the bench. Her gaze fixes on your being. Entering the archway takes you back to the dark void you came from. You steal a look- There's something about her you just can't put your finger on- Yet. Green wings of birds unseen flap in the breeze without a care in the world. Smaller plants (perhaps the birds" chicks?) wave at you from below. Harsh light from nearby poles shoot off the surface of the aurelian palace with and diffuse into glimmering white pebbles that adorn the waters within. Brilliant smells flood the air and one in particular pushes aside the rest. The delicious colors that emit from the flower you like to visit beckon towards your antennae for a closer taste. >x archway An open entrance curving at the top presides between the garden and the strange path you'd taken to get here. Moss and vines cover its concrete surface in the shapes of land masses on a globe. A fruit tree perches itself around the way through Despite it all the flap of your fragile yet mighty wings keep you afloat. >x tree Sturdy branches twist out of the ground and their little green fingers shield the blessed treasures ornamenting them. Your eyes marvel at the deep hues of the crimson pomegranates, blushing peaches, and golden citrons. In the fruit tree are a pomegranate, a peach and a citron. >take pomegranate Taken. >take peach Taken. >take citron Taken. >eat pomegranate Your gut tells you to not eat the pomegranate yet. >eat peach Your gut tells you to not eat the peach yet. >give citron to maya "This is a fruit for fostering good fortune." >give peach to maya "This is a fruit of cultivating longevity and quite valuable." >give pomegranate to maya She takes a bite and hands it to you. As you take a bite yourself, the tart juice ringing your mouth, she says, "I'll always be here in the space where a question needs to be addressed." The world zooms in front of you and a gradual procession of your vision going in and out like a broken film reel spins faster and faster as Maya's words ring through your mind- With a jump, you wake up in your room at Luna Garden Apartments. *** Thank you for playing this entry to IntroComp 2023. Some things you can look forward to in a full version includes: - more areas of Luna Gardens to explore - interactions with Maya and other characters - a full story - light puzzles - cleaner presentation If you're interested in beta testing the full version of Luna Gardens, please reach out at heyjustinkim@gmail.com *** Would you like to RESTART, RESTORE a saved game, QUIT or UNDO the last command?