I enjoyed reading the Choose-Your-Own-Adventure Novels growing up.  So I had a cool idea, why not write one here?  And then solicit co-authors to contribute as they wished.

This has a great advantage for someone who has always wanted to work on a novel--you can do small sections, and then stop.  When you feel interested come back in a few days, and check out what everyone else has contributed, and try to find a spot where you can stick on a scene or two.

It would be a short novel.  50-60,000 words.

I'd be final editor, and could edit for various reasons as I saw fit.

PG rated.

Since this is Multiverser you'd need to make sure your incidents fit the world you were in.  If you're in Why Spy, then no rampaging Trolls need show up.

And you'd need to try to make sure the events of your 'branch' fit the preceding events on that branch.  It would not be necessary for them to fit the other 'branches' in that same world.

Since this is Multiverser, you can verse the hero out, and start a new world.


Basic structure is like this:

Situation and any really obvious events that go with it.  Decision point which hopefully will have at least three decisions available (although you don't have to come up with each one).  For each decision, it has a 'Go to page XX' for result.  Then write up the short result pages, and any really obvious events and go back to decision point.

One thing is that certain decisions can lead to the same event as other decisions.  You can also decide to maroon the verser in Purple Dinosaur world if they are making too many bad choices or in a World without Sentients but lots of Animals.

I say this partially because your typical Choose-Your-Own book used the character's getting killed as a dead end to trim down the size of the decision tree results that had to be written.  We probably need our own form of 'dead end' to do the same thing.

Still some decisions to be made like describing the main character, and writing the original verse-out...

Ideas? Comments?

And yes, this is in addition to regular gaming.

PT

I kind of understand (because I have read the books naturally) but it's still a little fuzzy.

Seems like a fun idea though.

Scene One: The Normal Guy, our Hero, shows his life, and then Verse-out.
Scene Two: World Two: Decision Point: You sense this and this about you. What do you do? A)Go back to sleep. B)Hide C)Investigate D)Pack up your stuff.

Scene Three: A) Results: You sleep and now you awaken.  Go back to Scene Two.
Scene Four: B)Results:  You see thus and thus from under a table.  YOu draw a few conclusions. Decision Point:  D) or E) or G).
Scene Five: C)Results:  Describe the immediate area.  Decision Point H or I or J.
Scene Six: D)Results.....


==============================================================================

I'd write Scene One and Probably three DP's.  You all would be free to add DP's, and to write the Results Page for each DP.  And to write new DP's.

You could write a DP. Stop come back two days later, and find the story moved on a good bit, and write a results for a worldthe  hero  wasn't in before.

pt

Looks interresting. I might try that, although my english probably isn't writing-worthy.

That's ok.  One, you don't do that bad already, and two, there would be editing.

PT

Lets see if I can get this started.

Our Hero
============
Name:
Positive Trait:  Quick-witted.
Negative Trait:  Smart aleck especially to those he shouldn't be--like the guy with the gun.
Interesting Trait: Curious to a fault.

Self-image: He sees himself as a fun-loving guy who occasionally gets in trouble, but can usually work his way out of it by fast talk or fast feet.  Doesn't really mean to harm anyone.

Looks:  He's of moderate height, slim built, and in good shape, dark black hair that hangs over the side of his head in a neat drop that could use just a bit of trimming to be really neat.  His smile is dazzling, and his laugh infectious.  He rarely takes people seriously, and he really hates to be forced to be serious even when its life and death on the line--this is a form of denial on his part.

His job and training: He's taking a Liberal Arts major at the local college because he can't settle down on to what he likes.  He really would like to be a Rennaissance Man, and 'know everything'.  His current job is to be a bike messenger in the city of ???????? which is a large city, but not New York or LA.

He's got a girlfriend, but she's a bit frustrated with him because he's frequently unreliable.  He hardly thinks of Tina at all, except when he's with her.  So he's more than a bit self-involved.

He's been known to deliver some mail to the museum, and then wander about for two hours before he realizes he's wasting too much time.  He's been fired from his job several times, but the manager's wife thinks he's cute, and so he gets hired back.  Plus, he really is a good worker when he focuses on the job.

And then he sees in a store window, a 'scriff-enabled' computer display, and ignoring the clearly posted signs to "Do Not PUT your drink near the Keyboard"....he sets off on his date with destiny.


===========================================================================

Ok, anything anyone would add, delete, change, mangle....please speak up.  More details are always good--like what he wears in detail, or the color of his eyes, or personal history  or....

PT

First of: ARTS! WOHOOO! I like this allready :D. The Rennaissance is a good period, but perhaps the Romantic period might fit him more, and if he is following Liberal Arts I'd say he would be an abstract painter, lyrical abstract, like Kandinsky, or neo-expressionist, like Jackson Pollock (did I have a knowledge (Art) on my skilllist yet? :P) since those seem to fit his character.

Bright/light bleu eyes are striking agains black hair. Perhaps he has some kind of a scar that gives him that extra little touch of 'raw beauty'. The reasons for it can varie, from an accident as a kid to not being witty and fast enough that one time. (and that he know keeps the possibility in his mind that the guy he's mocking might have 4 big brothers.)

Clothing style: layered and rebellious.

1) Wearing bright coloured short sleeved T-shirts with silkscreened prints over long-sleeved T-shirts, perhaps having a black worn out costume vest with some buttons pinned on it. He might be vegetarian. (in the line of Diesel's clothingline)

2) Brown leather jacket over simple but stylish casual clothing. Blue jeans, brown or grey sweater ove a red T-shirt or something. Regular or cowboy-boots as footwear. (Like the Marlborro clothingline)

We'll take #1 clothing, and light blue eyes, although if he gets his clothing destroyed, he can shift to #2.

Romantic? Fine.  Although I'm not really saying he's into Rennaissance painting, but into the phrase "Rennaissance Man" which is to say---someone who knows everything.  At one point, in human history it was possible to hold most of human knowledge in your head.  Be a painter, sculptor, military leader, architect theologian, and poet all at once.  Or at least thats what some people say-I'm a bit skeptical it was ever that easy.

Scar--he got it from running from three brothers he had mocked, and he ended up diving through a plate glass window.  This put him in a coma for about a week, and it was very uncertain that he would live, but except for the scar, and the occasional oddity of thought, he appears unchanged from his accident.

PT

Does he have any kind of an inventory?

Does he have a family? Not too necessary when versing but...

Is the initial death world going to be variable or fixed?

Can we have him die in weird or different ways in the beginning?

What is he afraid of?

What are his generic goals once he starts versing?

I've missed the progression on this one! I think He would have some sketchbook or something with him aswell, since he studies arts.

Being the 'Rennaissance-man' somehow contrasts his dreamy attitude, wich is why I suggested Romantics. Rennaissance as I remember it (from class, not as a verser :P) is mainly about intellect and matter. Dreaming about and fantasising aren't good traits for renaissance people.

About that fear: this could be a clearly identifiable fear, like the fear of rats the main character in nineteen eighty-four has. Or it can be some vague fear thad drives every action. Like the fear of calmness/silence/rest, wich would lead to some restlessness. If he would be imprissoned his thoughts would finally settle and he would start to think things over. That is what scares him, because he gets confronted with his toughts, actions and desires when he has time to think them through. But again, this is not a good trait of a Renaissance man.

"Renaissance Man" has absolutely nothing to do with wanting to be like people during the Renaissance.

It simply means that he wants to be good at everything and have no weaknesses.  He wants to be a scientist, orator, inventor, etc.

I believe an important fear for him would be ignorance.  It could be a feeling of insecurity of situations, because he could fail.  Thus, he protects himself from that fear of failure by "winging it" rather than planning things out.

What do you guys think of that idea?

I like that. Yeah. Sounds good!

Two practical concerns...

What is the basic nature of the novel? Is it a character story, in which the character changes; a plot story, a setting story or an idea story?

Given that this seems to highlight Versing itself, that tells me I think it should focus on the setting....but the aspects that are unique about versing, followed by character, followed by plot.

If the length is to be around 50-60K, we're probably going to want to keep the number of worlds involved to 2-3 (3 being the magic number) with 1-2 'transition' worlds in between to show the nature of things.

If we have 2-3 worlds, it might be wise to use an already existing world that has shown  up in this game since it has the advantage of not having to reinvent the wheel.

Krillis--that fits with the character, and gives him a good issue to battle.  And such a character could be fun too.  The type of guy that gets himself into trouble that a more careful thinker would avoid.

Day--you're probably right that it should be a setting story.

Three worlds,  ones already used, yeah that sounds possible.

Anyone have suggestions for worlds to use?

I'm thinking the New Ice Age with di Vars on the Icy Mountain is where we start him.  Thats one of the Transition Worlds.


For the three regular worlds...hmmmm.

Doom of the Mech Empire which is where Jesse is seems too involved for this...maybe.

Northgate City where Misty and Alexis are seems too high-powered for a beginning verser.

================================================

Another way to slice this is to have one world that focuses on magic, one on psionics, and one on technology.

PT

Perhaps we could let him breack his head on the folly of the one I'm in now (Aquatica or something, isn't it?) And I have a guess that his renaissance mind would feel quite at home at Mal's world ones he's adjusted to it.

Oh, and do we write it in third person or direct it to the reader as if he's living it through.

I think that a good world for the man to start in as a first or second world would be Alexis' world where it was peaceful, but everyone was sick.  We could also use the same antagonist, the paladin swordswoman and her lacky husband.

What you did with Lilandra was cool.  It made the story of their marriage much more complicated and interesting.  However, Lilandra is a lot too much for a beginning verser to handle.

The chief antagonist in that world is robots controlled by a striking worker ("I want my health care, or else my robots will smash!")

Now, perhaps a weaker version of Lilandra...I don't know....hmmh, probably better to just put him up against a guy who is normal and a thug and has a hostage.  Verser trades himself for hostage--bad guy then exults...verser then has freedom to fight back even at great risk of death.

This allows the verser to face that choice of deliberately taking the most dangerous and effective course in the knowledge of being a verser which is one way to escape Lilandra.  You won't verse with Lilandra if you fight her to the end.

And yes, Nikolaj, you're in Aquatica.  Although very possibly for not much longer.  Bwahahahahhahahaa..cough, cough.

PT

:grin: To quote the song I'm listening now: "My Daddy will whip your daddy" (Disciple)

I had another fun idea for a world. What if the verser just versed back into his current world but the 'space' part of the Time-and-Space continium deformed him so that he's only a thumb's height? Would that be even (theoretically) possible in MV?

Certainly would be possible, Nikolaj.

Now if you want a more in-depth response, ask this at GO, and MJ will probably thoroughly dissect the idea.

PT

Transition Worlds:
1. New Ice Age
2.

Regular Worlds:
1. Chillblaines (Alexis' everyone's sick world).
2. I kind of like the Vikings and Dinosaurs world, but its one where it would really help if the hero has some  superior form of attack power so that the Vikings will go 'whoooaaaaah!' when he whacks a dino.  I'm not really sure about this one.  However, it is a chance for the hero to learn arcane and Nordic holy magic.
3.


I really need some place where he learns about being a verser....okay, thats the NIA world...duh.

Also, some sort of thematic unity among the worlds would be nice.

Also hitting all the biase areas (tech, body, psi, and magic) would be nice.  Chillblaines has tech and body (the body is lower than earth since immune system defenses hardly work there).

Vikings has magic.

Any other world suggestions?

PT

We could include a "Big Brother" Society where they investigate psi abilities.  The major countries involved at the moment could be America and a Russia-China combination of a country to make it different.

By investigating psi, I mean that the investigation is sort of like how HW seems to be treating it-whoever they can actually find, they get.  They could be starting to test babies at birth, perhaps?

HW? Home World?

I like the idea.  I do have the Black Box Imperium idea which has some similarities and we could put psi in it...now thats one version of thematic unity for the novel...a Doulos themed novel...Its the end of the world in each universe; it just happened different in each one.

PT

You should try to recycle death scenes when you can.

Example:

"You have died by electrocution.  It hurts.  You feel as if your entire body is being used as a live wire for a lightning bolt and smell burnt flesh as you then black out."  Of course...that might be a bit too graphic...

Not too graphic for me.

PT

Recycling might be good but not too much.
If the readers of this booklet will be something like me they'll try it at least two or three times to see what different choises lead to. It would be a creative enhancement if they wouldn't have to read the same thing over and over again.

You connect the train to the socket in the wall.  You're not sure what 'Scriff' enhanced means, but you learn fast enough as it accelerates well past the sound barrier.  Somehow, it stays connected to the tracks, but the boom knocks you backward onto your heels.  Unfortunately, the train does not stay on the tracks, as it uses your gaping mouth as a convenient tunnel.  Even more unfortunately, your mouth is not a two way tunnel.

You have died.

Thanks, Day.

Okay, here's the background for one world which I created over at GO as part of a "Little Differences" to spice up ordinary worlds thing.

...You stop at the roadside cafe', your three-wheeler electrocar sliding smoothly to a halt until you got out, and then the guide dog with his mechanical collar came out, and the car followed the dog's collar out back on the purple for private owned road asphalt to the parking lot in back. You took a low ceramic table, and sat down, and then leaned down on the bench Roman style.

The food was brought by young children since this culture believed depriving children of light physical labor, and the presence of many adults during the day was a form of child abuse.

All the men had beards since they followed the Scriptural principle to be easily distinguishable from females, and all the females had long hair from either their shoulders or down to their waists. But, the beards varied widely from goatees to full tuck it into your belt jobs, and the woman's hair ranged from ponytails to a fan-shape which was held out from the shoulders by static electricity generators.

The owner of the cafe', a fourteen year old male adult, came out to check on your food to see if everything was okay.

You assured him that the sauerbreiten was seriously soaked in vinegar just the way its supposed to be, and the hot chocolate with the cayenne pepper was very good indeed.

After this, you took out your gold coins, and paid the owner. You left no tip because a tip was to these people a reminder of the bad old days of Lord and Servant, and these people were very egalitarian, and would regard a tip as an insult.

Not being particularly religious, but not wishing to offend, you dribbled a small amount of your drink out into the offering hole on top of the statue at the entrance to the cafe'. It was a statue of Athena in her guise as Patron of Crafters.

You whistled for the dog, who came, accepted his tip (dogs having no objections to tips) of a doggie bone left next to your plate of metal, and the dog went back, bumped your car to wake it up, and it trundled after him until it came to you. Then you climbed in, and the car shifted to manual control as it felt your weight hit the tough rhinoceros leather of the seat (since most cars are rented, and the rhino herds owned by private rhino farmers dot the landscape, and rhino leather stands up to the abuse renters dish out better than cow leather, or the more popular deer leather aka buckskin.) Once there, you went out on the light blue tinted asphalt that signalled you were on the King's Highway.

It ran ruler straight from here to the next township, and continued on all the way to the Lady Sea in a line that was as straight as continental drift would allow. The speed limit was 120 Leagues per Day-Section which was much faster than allowed at home, but with such a straight road, one had to do something to keep the driver awake. So breakneck speed was the rule.

Also, one ignored those behind you, and changed lanes at your own whim. It was the responsibility of those behind you to be aware. And of course, the bigger the transport, the less concern afforded to others so that the rare trucker with his rig went whereever he wanted to go, and everyone watched out for him. Of course, most transport of items went on the Mag-Lev pure freight railroads that were run by robots....

Now this is a world with pretty much equivalent tech to our world. There is nothing here that we could not build, I expect right now, if we wanted too. But its also a very different world with a lot of subtle changes, and by no means are all of them better.

But this is what I'm talking about in creating lists of Little Differences that you can spice a new dimension with. And btw, I've had sauerbreiten at a company where a lot of Germans worked---whooo---sour!!!---and the Germans assured us that the cook had made it rather mild. I couldn't eat it, and I'm pretty catholic in my eating. And hot chocolate with cayenne pepper is done in this world too--in fact, I've seen quite a few Food Channel shows which advised putting hot pepper, just a bit on some sort of chocolate dish.

Thjis goes to show that these 'Little Differences' don't need to be brand new. They could be simply little cultural things that your players aren't so familiar with.

Now, I need to have something that happens in this world for the verser to get involved in for the Pathways Project...and perhaps if he tries to hotwire an electric car, he gets to visit Day's "you've been electrocuted" ending.

PT

Andreas walked up to the Acadamy as usual, humming some of his favorite music as he progresses. The speackers connected to his AudioPhone where shaped like pearled seashells. He had a little bounce in his walk. Yesterday was fine and even though he didn't get much sleep this night (or was it morning), he still was able to go see Pan's Flute in the Amphiteater. The crownd had gone wild. Yeah that was cool.

Going around a corner he startles. There! There is the Wasp I offended yesterday. As this tought flashes through his mind the 'Wasp' notices him and calls out for him. Andreas starts running. The wasp reaches for his AudioTransmitter and starts calling in other troops. He gets on his motorbike (yellow with a black-striped tail) and starts to follow Andreas. He pulls over a swich and a loud buzzing emits from the bike.

Suddenly it can be heard coming from different streets. Andreas panics even more and looks for a way to escape. He jumps over a low wall, not knowing that there was no floor on the other side. At least not on the same level. He falls and falls and falls some more. Some branches of the olive-trees break his fall but dont stop him falling inside the projector of the Emporors Holo-Statue. As he rises he looks up and sees worried faces looking down on him. He looks down to investigate himself after the fall and notices some golden liquid pooring out of the circuitry. Confused as to what it is he groggilly toutches it, gets zapped by it and with the screem from a little girl still echoing through his dreams, fiercer then the pain from the electrocution he suddenly finds himself lying somewhere, with his eyes closed.

[Insert introdutory text for the book. The readers are now told they can choose further actions etc...]

What do you want Andreas to do next?

a)Open your eyes offcourse! Andreas, you silly dude.
b)No, don't open your eyes Andreas, first listen wheter there is danger or not.
c)I'd suggest he takes a nap...
d)Sit up and open your eyes you fool! No time for loitering around, that dude may be here allready!

I've called him Andreas, I'm not sure whether we had a name allready. He can try to hotwire a car to escape the Wasps aswell, but I just went to the process of giving something and letting it write itself...
This message was last edited by the player at 20:15, Thu 07 Dec 2006.

Nikolaj, I like it.

PT

Nikolaj, upon further reading, I see you have a Holo-Statue, and that doesn't fit on an Earth like ours.  So this would have to be part of another world...which is fine.  We'll just find a place to stick it in.

Andreas as a name is acceptable.  Its unique enough to be non-banal, but normal enough not to freak people out.

Character--dreamy, arts-loving Romantic, but with a desire to be a Rennaissance Man.  He doesn't want to settle down, and be a deep thinker, but he knows he needs too so he's shifting his personality.

However, we don't want to focus on the character change too much, because Day is right.  However, I have to admit that I, as a writer, tend to strongly focus on character change...its hard for me not to stick some of that in a story.

================================================================================

Andreas stood up from his table in Doctor Henken's art class.  He avoided looking at the cursed apple on the stand in the center of the room, and shrugged on the brown leather jacket over the worn black vest studded with buttons that his mother always viewed with distaste.  But it brought him good luck and friends.

He fingered the scar over and around his right eye.  The vest had caught on the edge of the window frame after the Dushinsky brothers had tossed him face first through it.  If it hadn't, he would have led with his face into an electric controller, and undoubtedly adding getting fried to getting glassed.  So, the black vest had saved his life.  He intended to repay such loyalty and service by wearing it until it fell apart, and then maybe framing the tattered remnants.

Besides, how was one to advertise all the disparate loyalties and interests without buttons galore?  He had made numerous friends and acquaintances when a fellow enthusiast saw one of his collection of buttons that speckled the black vest like stars in the sky.

"Cavers Think Deep Thoughts"
"Gravity, its not just a good idea, its the Law!"
"Give Blood, Play Rugby."
"Its Never Good When the Gamemaster Smiles."
"Support the Arts"
"Starving Artist: Let Me Paint Your Portrait."

The last was his attempt at advertising his portrait painting business which got as much time as he could spare from classes, his other interests, and sleep.

"Andreas." He looked up. Doctor Henken was talking to him.

The Doctor held up a fan of sketches of the apple.

"Accurate, but uninspired." The Doctor tossed the first one down.  "Trite." The second one. "Nice anatomical sketch. If you're wanting to be a textbook artist, you have real talent."  He dropped that one, and came to the last, a picture of an Apple Evaporating Away to show its interior.  "Dreamy, and clever, but lacking genuine feeling. Andreas," The Doctor sighed.  "You have ability, but you lack something."

"A sharper pencil?" Andreas said with a ready smile.

"No. Fire. Committment."

"Oh, well, I have committment."

"I know, to a dozen things."

Andreas turned and saw Jon Martins step into the room with a veiled smile.

"No really, to just one thing."

The teacher's eyes raised skeptically.

"Yes, to not being hassled."  Andreas said as he slipped to the front of the classroom where another door led into the teacher's area, and away from the thuggish Martins.  And with that Martins gave chase even as the teacher shouted in surprise and anger.

And so it was that Andreas ripped open the door, and ran out even as the parts of an electronic device were scattered over the floor.  He went past the "Danger" sign, and tripped over the wire, and came down on top of the rather interesting, he noticed with a corner of his unused brain, the corner that was not shrieking in terror...

"Electric Voltage Testing Device. Scriff-enabled."

And then as he hit, and the current slashed through his body, his last thought was bemused.

"Perhaps it was my fate to be electrocuted after all."

PT


OK.  Feel free to improve this.  I've rushed some of it, and it might be useful to add whole new sections to it.

PT, I like it.

Lol. Really, nice job. I think I have quite some bit in common with the Andreas portrayed here. But where I emphasised the world-oddities in the mirrorworld I thought it was meant to start from you emphasise on the persons here. I like it that way, but that's putting Day's suggestion (an agreed upon suggestion) of world-based writing. But perhaps this is just the interlude, not the story itself.

CS lewis changed between descriptive and moral writing in Perelandra alot.

I'm thinking this is the intro.  And then we go from there.

Lets head to your mirror world next with my bit about electric three-wheelers.  You have a conflict with the Wasps...is it a conflict that he got into because of his smart mouth (he insulted some guys who were in his way), or it a more substantive conflict...

Hmmmh...I like both.  Give the pc some guys who are rude and in his way.  Then let him decide if he insults them.  If he does, it leads your way to your piece.  If not, we head toward other conflicts in that world...so we need another conflict in that world...perhaps he is asked as he enters the city at a toll booth for his papers...which he doesn't have..which then leads to "Freeze, Police" and then he either runs, and gets into difficulties (if lucky, he joins the resistance) if not he gets gunned down, or gets sent to the other choice of Freeze, police which is he gets interrogated by unsympathetic police who think he's a member of the resistance.

I know I'm not following Day's very good advice in two respects--world settings, and using world settings we've used before. Its excellent advice, but its also advice I have a hard time following.

Now, I am tempted to use Warplain and Alexis' Spy World which would be worlds we know.

PT

Actually I say the Wasps as some sort of agressive police-force (the humming on the motors that suddenly comes from everywhere being the sirens). Police don't need to wear blue in every universe, now do they? In america it's sometimes even brown (thinks of the 'Chips' series) and in germany it's a militaristic looking green!

I like the way you coloured the pavements as to distinct city-area's.
But first he needs to wake up, right?

I was also thinking that we might actually be able to do holographic statues about now. I never stated it was only air (I think), it can be projected on a glass container, a piece of transparent plastic, or whatever other suitable thing.

Different colors for police...right, that works.  OK, the wasps are police.  Is that an acronym like Watch And Surveillance Police Service, or what?  And yes, thats a bad acroynym.

Why are they overly aggressive?  How do they exhibit this...curbside justice or faking documents to indict people or  ....?

Ok, holographic on a bit of glass...hmm, I guess I can accept that.

PT

I haven't worked the wasps out entirely, if you want it to be a gang here, that's fine for me aswell. Why they are agressive? Perhaps the society is harder then we are used, or justice is stricter and less bureaucratic. With agressive, I mean that they are easily insulted and having authority might act quite harsh upon it. Some sort of honor, like I've been told the Japanes or Russian police are. People look up to them, even when they are adults. But there are allways exceptions to the rule. Andreas might meet some of those.

I also think the worldbased aspect can be integrated a bit more by just being a bit more descriptive. But there is allways the trouble of it getting in the way of what is being said. What do you think Day?

And do we first let him wake up and then decide what to do or does he wake up, see something and then decides how to act?

I think on the first world we let him choose how to wake up, and then after that, we ignore that part.

Day unfortunately had to take a leave of absence for the Real World.  Hopefully he will be back sometime.

Okay, the Wasps are Police, and they are harsh because they have an overly developed sense of honor.  That is, they beat up smart-mouth kids (like Andreas) who mouth off to them.  Which is going to be a real shock to Andreas the first time he makes "oink,oink" noises as he passes one.

Thats a good cultural difference right there.  It will drive in the fact that this is not home.

We can have most of the difficulties in that world focus around his problems with the police....like say, even if he doesn't smart off, eventually he has the issue of not having proper papers.

===============================================================================

The stench of garbage was the first thing to grab Andreas' attention after his computer tried to fry him.  His back was pressed against something soft, and plastic.  A drone filled the air, and the laughter of people made him want to smile except for the fact that he had been just electrocuted.

However, now, he felt just fine.

Or at least he thought so.  However, this could be a dream.

What does Andreas do?

1. Try to go back to sleep, and wake up at home.
2. Stealthily open one eye a crack and look about.
3. Spring to his feet ready to fight off any home invaders, or other thugs with his array of 'five Chinese words' and his deep knowledge of Jackie Chan movies.

PT

Course One for Scene One:

Andreas tries to force himself back to sleep, but the stench of the garbage is too strong, and the sharp squeals of tires too clear, too real.  Meditatively, he pinches himself, and discovers that it hurts just like it always did when his older sister, Marie, wanted him to do something.  She was the only member of his family he could not bamboozle with a fast line of talk.

So with that possibility exhausted, he turned to other options.

1. Stealthily open one eye a crack and look about.
2. Spring to his feet ready to fight off any home invaders, or other thugs with his array of 'five Chinese words' and his deep knowledge of Jackie Chan movies.

Course two for scene one (?):

Opening hise one eye, Andreas discovered he lay on a garbagedump, somehow very comfortable in a discarded divan. He had some strange feeling in the gut that some stuff were around he should look at. Very Strange. A seagull lands one of the divan's arms and curiously checks him out.

What is his next action?:

1) check out the 'feeling'.
2) Look around.
3) Babble at the seagull.