Life is Strange: A Meta Problem of Ethical Choice

Spoiler Warning: As counter-intuitive as it is to write an entire post based on the ending of a game and then beg you not to read it – please do not read this unless you have completed Life is Strange or have no intention of ever playing it. I will be specifically talking about the end of the game, so I personally recommend playing it first; it is a really good and gripping story-rich game.

Life is Strange is a story-rich game, to say the least. It starts with some interesting characters and scarcely any game-play mechanics, save for one element – the time reversal. In Life Is Strange it is possible to reverse time for a limited way back and there are multiple uses of this, such as learning new dialogue options to re-talk to people in a better way. While this power might seem immediately useful to replay scenes in order to choose the best scenario and therefore time-line, it isn't as simple as that. Life Is Strange is all about multiple options of equal value, so that either every scenario seems bad or all scenarios seems okay – there is not much middle ground.

With this background it is easy to see how far this notion could be pushed. For example, using multiple bad options we are able to see which option most will think is the lesser of two evils, or which option might seem bad now but looks to be the most beneficial for the future. The entire game culminates in this kind of notion, too. After each chapter, we are offered a page with all of the important choices from the previous chapter and what percentage of people chose each scenario. With judgement and moral choice, the percentages are often close, however with some possibly skip-able scenarios in the game, there are other scenarios which are heavily weighted on people picking one choice. One of these choices is looking at Dana's pregnancy test and getting told off for doing so, which only 2% of people kept the decision of and 98% of people either missing it entirely or rewinding so that Dana never knew you looked at it. The one choice that stands out as particularly interesting, however, is the last decision in the game.

Life is Strange ends with a strange twist to a philosophy of ethics thought experiment called 'the trolley problem'. The trolley problem is an old scenario that tests people's morality in a difficult situation and was popularised by Philippa Foot; it goes as such:

There is a trolley (train) moving on the tracks towards five people who are stuck and will be killed. You happen to be stood next to a switch that you know will change the direction of the tracks and move it away from the five people towards the other tracks where there is one person working, who will then be killed instead. Would you pull the switch?

As the notion of Utilitarianism suggests [1], when asked, a significant portion of people say they would pull the switch and let the one person die rather than the five. There have been variations of this problem that changes the scenario to include factors that might sway people's decisions, such as knowing some of the people on the tracks, or actually having to push someone onto the tracks yourself to stop the train. However, Life Is Strange ends with a variation of this problem and is interesting for two main factors. Firstly that people have played many hours empathising with the characters so it is a closer situation to actually having to make the decision in an informed way rather than just being asked a hypothetical. Secondly it reverses the circumstance set out in the problem entirely. At the end of the game you are asked if you want to let your best friend die as fate appears to be trying to make happen, or change that fate (by 'hitting the switch') but as a result you sacrifice an entire town and the people inside of it.

What is most striking about this choice is that in any utilitarian perspective it seems obvious – one life against an entire town of hundreds / thousands. However, this is your best friend who has gone through a lot of the game's difficulties with you, against a town of people, about thirty of whom you know with some of them you don't care for. When the page comes up to show the results of what people chose, the split is almost half. Around 46% of people choose to save one life and condemn hundreds (potentially thousands) to their demise. Furthermore, the developers of the game said that they wanted there to be no right decision, they wanted each ending to simply be the player's choice and that it as fine. Under a logical notion, though, it still seems like a difficult choice to justify.

So, we can use this statistic to consider a few things about making this decision – as there is so much more to the game's story that has gone unmentioned – what has happened up to this choice would seem to make a big impact on the decision made. Firstly we ought to consider that there will be some people who could never let someone close to them die, even if it means the sacrifice of many others, and for those people, there is only one choice. For everyone else who picked that choice, it stands to reason that something about their game and the choices they made pushed them towards the decision.

In Life is Strange there are up to three other characters who have the potential to die from the choices made and many of those who don't die in the game are easy to dislike. If the decisions kept in the game amounted to some of the characters you liked dying and big mistakes having been made and an utter dislike for the town was created – it starts to seem like a more viable option. There is also the consideration that throughout the game you saved your best friend multiple times, so feel the whole experience would have been valueless if you decide to just go back and let her die anyway. With this kinds of extra perspectives, the choice is a little harder to make for some and it might be easier to see why some were tempted by the seemingly less moral choice. If, however, you like Warren and Joyce and Kate, then you know they are in the town and it is a matter of not wanting to let people such as that die as they are greater in number, again, the choice seems obvious to that player.

Overall, it is possible to understand from the perspective of the player that all the choices they made throughout the game factor into this last choice. [2] Of course, it is also important to take into account the null-choices of people who didn't fully enjoy the game and just wanted to see what would happen, but if they got to the end of the game I'm going to unprofessionally assume this is a low number.

Foot first raised the thought experiment of the trolley problem to emphasise the idea that there are not always good options in moral decision making and, in the many variations of the problem that have arisen, it seems that each variant has different numbers of people taking action or not. One of the most important factors in your decision of any varient, it has been shown, is having encountered this kind of hypothetical before. [3] Those who have never heard of utilitarianism are more willing to let the five die over the one, and those who have heard of it and have been asked these questions are more likely to kill the one instead of let the five die in any circumstance. As it is likely that most of the people who have played Life is Strange have probably not studied ethical theory or know much about Utilitarianism at all – then the statistics support this idea. To those who have not encountered this kind of theory of hypothetical before, the choice may present itself in their heads not as a numbers difference but in some other kind of way. If it simply seems like a choice between two equally bad options and you simply choose your best friend whom you have been through so much with and is right next to you, maybe that is just as viable decision.

Another factor not yet considered is that nobody would remember most of the events that happened as resetting the time means the time-line will be rewritten. Naturally, this is impossible to factor in with real life situations, but it may well affect the decision made at the end. Though with a 46 to 54 percent split on what seems to be easy choice for a utilitarian, it shows that the world doesn't work the way logic would suggest. When put on the spot, people's choices are their own and perhaps that is okay, or perhaps everyone simply needs a little more moral education. [4]

Footnotes:

1. Utilitarianism in it's most simplistic form is to 'act in such a way that brings about the greatest amount of happiness for the greatest number of people.'
2. There are some who have criticised the game for the choices made throughout not changing the ending as there are only two endings based on this final choice – though the entire journey along the way changes according to those choices and the journey affects which of the two choices you make – so I would argue that it does matter and is a satisfying ending.
3. Unger, Peter. “Causing and Preventing Serious Harm.” Philosophical Studies: An International Journal for Philosophy in the Analytic Tradition 65(1992):227–255
4. Thanks for reading this meta-exploratoring of Life is Strange, I would quite like to return to this game and perhaps look into the story a little deeper in a less meta way. If this is something you might be interested in – send me a message and let me know! Thanks again, ciao for now!

Pokemon's Canonical History 3/3 - Contemporary History

All information is taken from in-game lore within the canonical games, therefore is the best understanding we have of the actual history of the Pokémon universe without speculation or fan-theory. Footnotes and references below.

Part 1: The Origin Story                     <---->                      Part 2: The Ancient History

 Seven Hundred Years before the events of Pokémon, Humans from the town of Ecruteak constructed two towers to strengthen the bond between Humans and Pokémon. The towers became the the roosts of two Legendary Pokémon. Ho-Oh, who brings good fortune and is capable of resurrecting Pokémon, perched atop Bell Tower. Lugia, guardian of the seas and is capable of creating month long storms perched atop Brass Tower.

Five Hundred years before the events of Pokémon, Cianwood City Pharmacy was established and remains the oldest known business in the Pokémon world. Four hundred years before the events of Pokémon, the town of Azalea had a long drought. When the Slowpokes showed up, they all yawned and cause it to rain in the town. Slowpokes were revered in the town ever since. Three Hundred years before the events of Pokémon, war struck the Kalos region once again, this time between Humans. The king of Kalos constructed Parfum Palace.

One hundred and fifty years before the events of Pokémon, a storm stuck Ecruteak and a lightning bolt hit Brass Tower, setting it on fire. Lugia and Ho-Oh then fled the towers, but not before Ho-Oh resurrected three Pokémon that perished in the fire. Each of the Pokémon resurrected took a different form representing the disaster, Raiku was born with powers of electricity, representing the lightning strike. Entai was born with powers of fire, representing the flames that killed the Pokémon. Suicune was born with powers of water, representing the rain the doused the fire. The three legendary beasts then roamed free, and it is said they cannot be caught by traditional methods.

Between forty and twenty years before the events of Pokémon, a meteor hits the Pokémon world, and in the crater, Lunatone is first discovered. Also, Mr Fuji founds the Pokémon Laboratory on Cinnabar Island. Also, Humans first land on the moon. [1]

Eleven years before the events of Pokémon, Red is born. Also, the last Litlenoid meteor shower occurs, marking the potential for another meteor to hit soon and wake the primal giants, Kyogre and Groundon, as foretold would happen one-thousand years previous.

Between ten and one year before the events of Pokémon, the first ever genetically engineered Pokémon is created, known as Porygon. Also, Sylph Co., a gadget an technology company, and the leading company who makes Pokéballs, begins development on the Master Ball, a device said to be able to catch all Pokémon without fail. Lastly, A Pokémon named Mew is apparently discovered in the jungle region of Guyana. Mewtwo is created as an attempt at cloning Mew, but is too powerful and intelligent for any of the scientists to contain. Mewtwo escapes the lab it was created and finds itself in the Pokémon Mansion. It destroys Pokémon Mansion and flees, ending up in Cerulean Cave, a place where Humans rarely dare enter due to the powerful Pokémon inside.

The events of Pokémon begin with Fire Red, Leaf Green, Alpha Sapphire and Omega Ruby. [2]

Footnotes

1. This is mentioned by only one NPC in Pewter Museum and there is a fair amount of fan-theory around this. I have kept it in as cannon because Humans certainly seem to have the technology capable of a moon landing, space shuttles can be seen in the games, and as that character still says the same thing in the remake version, making him canon until proven otherwise.
2. It is worth noting that this part of history has significantly less information - there are a few reasons for this. Firstly, Game Freak want to release as little information as possible to keep it cryptic and keep leaking pieces of lore as they go. Secondly that some of the histories have had time to be embellished, as little is known about the Pokemon world, much of it could be myth, thus this contemporary time where history is recorded, less can be embellished. If anything, this raises more questions about the position of humans in the Pokemon world.

References

• Largely from in-game text in the Pokémon games: Fire Red, Soul Silver, Alpha Sapphire, Platinum, Black, Black 2, and X. Everything from the main story dialogue, to Poke-Centre Library texts, to the Old Man NPC in the Pewter Museum.
• Www.Serebii.net – where I got all of my information from Pokémon flavour texts:
  • Mammoswine, Porygon, Deoxys, Shaymin, Mew, Darkrai, Arceus, Dialga, Palkia, Giratina, Xerneas, Yvettle, Yamask, Lugia, Ho-Oh, Kyogre, Groundon, Azelf, Mesprit, Uxie, Rayquaza, Lunatone, Regigigas, Regiice, Registeel, Regirock, Cradilly, Armaldo, Cranidos, Shieldon, Tyrantrum, Aurous, Latios, Latias, Ominite, Omistar, Kabuto, Kabutops, Relicanth, Archen, Tirtuga, Archeops, Caracosta, Aerodactyl, Hetran and Mewtwo.
• http://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/History_of_Pok%C3%A9mon – How I created the outline for the origin story and history, though it contains a lot of gaps and misinformation, so read with a pinch of salt.
• http://pokemon.wikia.com/wiki/Sinnoh_Mythology – References to the Sinnoh Myth and origin story text from in game.
• http://archive.is/D9iPz – A tweet that states the official timeline of the Pokémon games for reference and canon of the historical events.
• http://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Canon – for the understanding of which games are canon.

Tales from the Sunless Sea - The First Zee Captain

     Deep below the earth of where Queen Victoria's London used to lie, there exists a cavernous ocean named the Unterzee. The Zee there holds many mysteries and dangers, so what draws people here, below the depths, is known only to themselves. For those of us neath-dwellers who were born here already, we have little choice but to make do. Within the Unterzee, riddled with disease and the unknown lurking beneath every ripple, it is ill advised to venture far from what can scarcely be called civilisation. The largest and most prosperous 'civilised' territory inhabiting the Unterzee is that of Fallen London. Life there is not as it is on the surface and it is from this sunken City that all Zee-Captains begin their journey.

     These folk, foolish as they may be, see the Zee as an opportunity. Whether it be for fame, riches, knowledge or some personal quest, there are those who will risk a life at Zee. These folks are known as the Zee Captains and it is I who makes the claim that they ought be remembered, lest their deaths be in vein. Through one cause or another, Zee Captain after Zee Captain find themselves in Fallen London and proceed to venture out; dedicating the rest of their lives to the Zee.

      The first Zee Captain was a philosopher by the name of Ylvanna. She sought knowledge and a life in Fallen London. She was naive. Not much is known of Ylvanna, save some tales of what she found at Zee, but she set forth a path that many were to follow in her wake. Of course, she was not the first, but she was the first of interest. Life in the Unterzee has been going on for many years, there are tales of colonies that sailed the entire Zee and settled far away, there are those who sail and stick to the safest waters for trade, and there are those who have sought isolation on one of the many islands. There are also the pirates and rogues who live off the Zee to varying degrees of success. Ylvanna, though, was the first to actively seek exploration. She was the first to be heard in the stories. She was the first that deserves a name in the history books.

      What follows is the story of Ylvanna to the best of our knowledge.

     Ylvanna set trends on her journey that other captains would follow, such as keeping a journal, working in towns, trading information and setting out with a pet; she had a ferret. She was able to plan how she would survive the Zee, but her naivety was her downfall. Many say she had family on the surface that drove her down below, others claim she was struggling too much as a philosopher on the surface to make a name. Whatever her reasons, her goal, it is said, was to explore, map and discover the Zee and get her research in the history books.

     The course of her journey is little known, though she was seen within the first month gathering information in London, and some of the local colonies. She recruited a first mate very quickly and a gunner soon after. In that first month, all seemed promising. The first of her mistakes was visiting the Hunter's Lodge without invitation. Though she was allowed in and drank tea with the ladies there, her curiosity at how questionable the building was got the better of her she was seen taking multiple return journeys over the next few months. Rumours say she made friends with Phoebe at the Hunter's Lodge. By her third month, she was said to have hunted and collected research on giant crustaceans, bats and ceased the activities of multiple pirate gangs. This was an early mistake, however, as her aggressive activities towards Zee-life caught the attention of the unending anger we call: 'Storm'.

     Her trading consisted mainly with scholars and men willing to tell tales. Over the next two months she began making mistakes. Upon a return visit to Fallen London, she had garnered the attention of an underground group who decided to send her a present for her loyalty. As she had no desire to meddle with such groups, taking the present under the impression that it was purely a generous present was testament to her nativity. Later that same week, she allowed a hermit on an outlier beach island to tell her a story, in the hope she might trade it. The story, however, was more of a hex and when she woke, she woke with stolen rations and coin. The tales she told quickly became tales of madness and fear, tales enough to frighten those in the Iron Republic, south of Fallen London. These were tales she claimed to have gathered from dead folk. Eventually, she struggled to keep the crew of her boat calm in the darker waters.

     There are those who claim to have experienced the change in sanity of Ylvanna's crew over time. An obsessive scholar who had many dealings with Ylvanna for he was a collector of Zee tales stated:

"...when taken port I was excited; my greatly valuable source of new theory material as she was - something was changed. She stank like one of those Northerners. A once-jolly telling-style was replaced with that of a stare over my shoulder and monotone - I was fascinated to see how crazy she could get, so I encouraged her to head out and find me more to learn. Alas, I never saw her again!"

      On her next trip out, trading for information seemed not to pay off when her management of fuel and rations wore thin, so they say. With madness and hunger, sailing became tough. One misjudged trip ran them empty of fuel before they could return to Fallen London the following week or so. There was little to be done. It is told, then, that she did not take long to make a deal with the anger god, Storm. She sacrificed her own crew members in the hope that it may deliver them from imminent demise. Storm answered the call, but not in the way she wanted. She was granted strength to fight, she was granted fortitude of ship, she was not granted fuel nor food. She and all remaining crew abandoned ship.

     Somehow, with scarce many of her crew remaining, she survived and landed afloat near the town around the entrance to the surface. Those there knew who she was and immediately stocked her with a new boat, rations and food only enough so that she may survive the trip back to Fallen London. Favour was on her side and her storytelling benefited her in this. When setting off with too much, stuff however, her ambition is what killed her. Rather than sailing north to Fallen London and safety, she sailed south. Those at the docks claim to have heard her utter something about trading a stolen barrel of salt for prosperity. If this was the case, it was her last mistake. Her boat was found abandoned two weeks later.

     There exists one survivor of her first abandoned vessel, though as a latecomer of the crew they held a crazed demeanor and a lack of willingness to talk openly about her travelling with Ylvanna. What information has been garnered from her is present in the rest of this written here. However, with no other known survivors of her downfall there is little we can do to pry for any more information.

     A week further was the last sight of Ylvanna's existence. A sodden mostly ruined journal tied to a bottle with Ylvanna's map of the Zee bobbed into the harbour of Fallen London. It was found by someone Ylvanna had dealings with, and who went on to become the second Zee Captain...

 --- Howard Sterling, Chronicler Of The Fallen London University

To Be Continued...

Pokemon's Canonical History 2/3 - Ancient History

All information is taken from in-game lore within the canonical games, therefore is the best understanding we have of the actual history of the Pokémon universe without speculation or fan-theory. Footnotes below.

See Part 1: The Origin Story Here

Around three hundred million years before the events of Pokémon, we have the appearance of the earliest known Pokémon, Genesect, who at the time was a common Bug Pokémon. Between two and one hundred million years before the events of Pokémon we have more known ancient Pokemon appearing, many of which are found in fossils. Kabuto, Kabutops, Omanite, Omistar and Aerodactyl being some of the oldest, likely dating to one hundred and fifty of million years old. Species then die out and new species appear and thus Pokémon change greatly over time. One hundred million years before the events of Pokémon lived the oldest known Pokémon species yet to go extinct, the Relicanth. Relicanth lived alongside the likes of Cradilly, Armaldo, Cranidos, Shieldon, Tyrantrum and Aurorus. Which have all been possible to revive through modern technology in the Pokémon world. Four hundred thousand years before the events of Pokémon lived Caracosta and Arceops. Each being the origins of their respective Pokemon types. Tirtuga and Caracosta the common ancestor to all turtle Pokémon, and Archen and Archeops to all bird Pokémon.

[1]&[2] One hundred thousand to twenty thousand years before the events of Pokémon, the humans appeared on the Pokémon world and migrated to every region. What Humans are and where they came from is still a mystery, though it is known that humans have always eaten Pokémon as food. [3]

Around twenty thousand years before the events of Pokémon an ice age struck the planet. The population of many Pokémon species waned, died out or changed drastically in these years, while ice Pokémon such as Mamoswine were abundant and thrived. The ice age ended around ten thousand years before the events of Pokémon and Mamoswine populations decreased. [4]

Three thousand years before the events of Pokémon a great war struck the Kalos region, it is unknown whether or not the war was between people and Pokémon, or just Pokémon, but Pokémon willingly fought in the war independently, and without Pokémon Trainers to guide them. One Pokémon who fought independently in the war was a Floette that belonged to a man named AZ, the oldest known Human. The Floette died in the battle, and AZ, wrought with grief, felt anger at the world for taking away his Pokémon. AZ, then built an ultimate weapon to end the war. The weapon took the lives of countless Pokémon and used that life energy to bring the deceased Floette back to life, and give it immortality. Due to being close to the weapon when this happened, AZ also gained eternal life. When the Floette found out many Pokémon died to return it to life, it left AZ behind. [5]

Two thousand years before the events of Pokémon, the Draconid tribes existed in a time when meteors fell from the skies near their home of what is now Meteor Falls. [6] The Draconid people were trainers of Dragon Pokémon, and their home was changed by the falling rocks. The meteors cracked the ground and created springs of primal energy from the earth, awakening the primal Pokémon Kyogre and Groundon after of sleeping for millions of years. The two ancient Pokémon battled over the primal energy and once again for dominance over nature causing massive destruction in their wake. The Draconid people prayed to the heavens and their call was answered.

Rayquaza descended and quelled the battling Pokémon. He sent Kyogre and Groundon to places where they may lie dormant once again. A rainbow stone now also existed, however, having fallen with the meteors, containing some of Rayquaza's power, and while the Red and Blue Orbs were held in the relative safety of Mt Pyre, the rainbow stone was held by the 'Lorekeeper' of he Draconid tribe. Rayquaza was then revered and worshipped by the people of the Draconid tribe.

One-Thousand Five Hundred years before the events of Pokémon, the first forms of the modern alphabet and written language was formed, baring a striking resemblance to the different forms of Unknown. [7]

One-thousand years before the events of Pokémon the primal Pokemon were just a passed down story to the Draconid people when a giant meteor fell and created the crater, now known as Sootopolis, but the subsequent destruction woke Groundon and Kyogre from their slumber, ready to fight yet again. With this, the Lorekeeper of the Drconid people used the Rainbow stone to make a wish that Rayquaza would appear and stop the fighting as it did before. Rayquaza felt the pull of the rainbow stone, answered the call of the Draconid people and Mega-Evolved. Rayquaza once again calmed the ancient Pokémon. This is the first discovery of Mega-Evolution. To commemorate this event, the Draconid people built the Sky Pillar, which Rayquaza occasionally uses as a resting place. Also, over the next two hundred years was the most recent time the legendary Pokémon Yvettle, capable of taking life energy and Xerneas, capable of giving life energy, went to sleep for a thousand years.

Part 3: The Contemporary History

Footnotes.

1. It is thought that many legendary Pokémon pre-date Humans. Very little is known about them, though they likely had a creator other than Mew. Legendary Pokémon usually only exist as the only member of their species, with some being reborn multiple times over millenia, such as Xerneas and Yvettle. Legendaries with unknown origins contain but are not exclusive to The Legendary Birds, Ho-Oh and Lugia, Latios and Latias, Heatran, Zygarde and Cresselia.
2. Canonically, any events in the Pokémon games that cannot be normally accessed, or Pokémon that are not clearly referenced in the main game does not happen in canon. This means that some Legendary Pokémon are actually Mythical Pokémon that are only assumed to exist but may not. These include Celebii, Victini, Darkrai, Diancie, Hoopa, Volcanion, Keldeo, Shaymin, Manaphy, Jirachi and Deoxys. With only Deoxys being catchable in any main story.
3. There are some legends that suggest that Humans and Pokémon were the same thing, or indistinguishable. There are other references that suggest Humans and Pokémon lives completely separately from each other – potentially due to being in seperate dimensions, which explains real world references in the Pokémon universe. Thirdly, the Pokémon Yamask is a ghost Pokémon who is said to be a human who has passed on, which ties humans and Pokémon eerie close together. However, all of this is speculation or non-canon, so humans remain a mystery in actual lore.
4. Between ten and three thousand years, civilisations rise and fall. Though humans and Pokémon were very close and people kept Pokémon – those Pokémon for the most part were still independent. Pokémon and Humans lived alongside each other. Most currently alive Pokémon species will have been around in these times, and humans remain relatively primitive in many ways of life due to the aid given to them by Pokémon.
5. AZ becomes an important traveller who appears in significant places throughout history.
6. Potentially a reference to the Litlenoid meteor shower?
7. It is uncertain whether Unknowns formed the shapes of written language or the language is based on the shapes of Unknown. It appears, however, that Unknowns can also exist in another dimension from the Pokémon world which is what makes them so rare. Unknown are capable of ancient powers; it is said that groups of Unknown begin to emit stronger powers the more of them there are.

Story and Philosophy of Transistor - Red's Place In Cloudbank

Spoiler Warning: The content of this article is for people who have either played the game or have no intention of ever doing so.

Philosophy in the footnotes.

     Transistor, more than most games, has a heavy emphasis on the soundtrack and how the music plays into the story. This seems to be a theme among Supergiant Games' creative style and the soundtrack is a much discussed part of their games. In Transistor this is particularly poignant as the music tells a meta-story that is subtly woven throughout the game. Another reason this is important is that at the beginning of Transistor, our main protagonist, Red, has had her voice stolen. This leaves the player to work out who Red is as a person by ourselves. Red, however, is a far from silent character, as rather than telling her story of via dialogue, she tells us through the game's soundtrack.

     Red is a very popular musician in her city of Cloudbank and the lyrical music in the soundtrack of the game is thought to be Red's music for a few main reasons. Firstly, specific songs play in sections where the lyrics become relevant, and the lyrical content of the songs speaks volumes about one female's feelings on Cloudbank. Furthermore, the player has ability to add to the non-vocal versions of the songs during the game by holding a button that lets Red stop and hum to the music. Red humming to the songs suggests she knows the music, and the voice of the hum and voice of the lyrics to the songs are both performed by the talented Ashley Barrett. In the calmer parts of the game it is a really nice but sobering feeling to just stop and hum; it also suggests a mix of Red missing her voice and her love of singing. She uses this as time for reflection, even when the world is literally falling down around her, which gives a bit of an insight to her personality. That we have the option to actively stop what we're doing and just listen to her hum, shows an emphasis on music that holds an underlying narrative to the story of Transistor.

     Let us step away from the meta storytelling for the moment, though. In order to understand Red we need to understand the situation she is in. To do that, we need to have a closer look at the city of Cloudbank. Cloudbank is in a permanent state of flux, with their democracy having progressed to a state that passers by on the street can use polling stations to vote on the daily, weekly, monthly issues. Anything can rise and fall by popular demand and with this freedom and idyllic society nobody is happy. [1]

     The cyclical nature of Cloudbank is referred to in Red's song 'In Circles' and these kinds of themes are the basis to her 'new set' that kick-starts the backstory to the game. The lack of happiness within this 'perfect democracy' is an important part of why Red is such a popular figure. With everyone being tracked in these polling machines and all of their decisions remembered, the entire city is part of a grid and anyone can be mapped. This can be seen with people's statistics inside the powerful mechanism and namesake of the game 'The Transistor', being carried by Red the entire game, into which people can be absorbed and their data used. The Transistor, being a key and a weapon and our catalyst to the events of the game, is capable of regurgitating all of the data that is being held on people. It is from the transistor we learn such things as 8% of people wearing the clothes of Maximilas Darzi, or exactly who voted on what colour Farra Yon-Dale should paint the sky next.

     Red hates the fact that she is logged more so than others. As a famous singer she keeps herself as private as she can, never truly wanting to reveal much about herself and states many of her reasons for doing the things she does as 'personal'. As part of her secret life, however, is one man in particular who Red is drawn to for being the way he is. The unknown voice inside The Transistor acts as our narrator through the game and seems to know as little as the player does, because, like the player, he is also not a part of Cloudbank. The unknown man lives off the grid, never votes in polls or gets logged, he keeps himself as secret as possible. This is both why the Transistor has no data on him and why Red is drawn to him, because in essence, he doesn't exist. He is not part of the system.

     One of Red's songs, 'Paper Boats', seems to be about her relationship with the unknown man. In the first verse and chorus of the song there are accompanying vocals by this character, which heavily suggests who the song is about. The song references how different they are in the world, with Red being such a widely seen public figure, and the unnamed man being unseen, and yet they have an almost magnetic attraction to each other. This is told in the lines such as 'The river always finds the sea.' or 'The earth and the moon' with one being bigger and yet still needing the smaller to function. This song, being such a personal one to her, also lets us in on her utmost desire – simply to move to the country. Her desire to move to a quiet place is also referenced in another song, which emphasises her desire not to be part of Cloutbank's system.

     Red's music, however, is not only personal to her, but some of her songs speak to the Cloudbank general public on a certain level. The populace of Cloudbank's unhappiness stems not only from the fact that they are logged, but also their pressure to conform. With the almost idyllic democratic state of Cloudbank being in a state that seems to be so free and open to everyone's ideas, they are are suffocated by their own freedom. To speak out against democracy or public opinion puts you in a controversial category, so while some choices are simply preference, there are other that are decided for you by public speakers. To speak against them will forever be remembered, so the majority pressures are high. People knowingly act in ways they don't want to because they are told to, and there is little they can do about it. [2]

     One of Red's songs 'Signals', tells this story about the society in general and suggests that Red is aware there are others like her who desire not to be a part of the system. The song emphasises her desire to break out of the system at any cost, with lines such as 'Take up the call and follow everybody, I won't be a number in the system', and perhaps more obviously 'We're all sending smoke signals, keep pretending we're one.' - with 'one' suggesting the way society acts in general with everyone following the crowd, but Red being aware that everyone sends signals to each other that everything is not okay. With lyrics such as these, it is easy to see why some may have found her music to be provocative in the game, and why she plays such an important role in Claoudbank.

     Another song, 'We All Become' focuses much more on the idea of everyone becoming one whole unit, and her defiance against that. The lyric that most emphasises this feeling is where she says 'Think I'll go where it suits me, moving out to the country, with everyone, before we all become one.' This leaves quite a big question about the world they live in. If she is famous, so has money, and wants to move away - why doesn't she? Well, something always stops her. Even when her voice is taken in the game and she has the chance to get out of the collapsing city, she turns around to seek out those who took her voice. [3]

     While Red never intended to be controversial with her music, it did cause a stir, and she became incredibly popular because of it. The suggestion is that there are many people to whom her music speaks, so even though they do not say it out loud, they are also unhappy with the way Cloudbank is. Red's place in Cloudbank, then, is not as a catalyst, but as an outlet to many people's inner thoughts, including her own. Yet, while she is aware of the reach of her music, Red remained mysterious, not willing to be a part of the hype and conflict. As The Transistor tells us: after an unspecified 'altercation' at one of her events she receded from the limelight in order to write new material, which we may infer to be the music that appears in the game. She apparently also refused to comment on the altercation and claimed she never intended to be controversial.

     Overall, Red's position in Cloudbank is both fortunate and unfortunate. She happened to be around at the time where collapse was imminent between the arrival of the Camerata and the cracks beginning to show in the public. Between her bold behaviour in writing controversial music and personal desire to stay mysterious and keep to herself, Red's entire story ended up being the beginning to the end of Cloudbank.

Footnotes:

1. French philosopher Emile Durkheim isolated five ideas as to why a better democracy leads to greater unhappiness. Some of these ideas involve that there is a large emphasis on the self not being part of a group, leading to more pressure and choice. Choices are bad, he claims as too much freedom leads to uncertainty and less people actually caring about how you live your life. Alongside this, our belief or ability to do or be what we want gives us excessive hope and big dreams, which largely leads to more disappointment. Democracy, he claims, also weakens notions like nation and family and religion to make people feel more alone with less structure in their lives. He wrote these things to explain why when things seem good, people seemed more wholly discontent.
2. This leads to people acting in what 20^th century philosopher Sartre calls 'bad faith'. Any time someone feels they should do something, or act in a certain way they feel they have to, is acting in bad faith. Bad faith, he claims is usually a product of a society shaping the ways people ideally should live their lives regardless of their preference, an example of this would be making girls wear pink, and boys blue – an arbitrary choice that many people live with in their thoughts because they are simply told it's what those colours represent. In many cases bad faith is harmful to the individual, especially so when, like In Cloudbank, people often must be knowingly acting in bad faith with little to do about it.
3. This rings true of another philosophical idea: Locke's soft-determinism. Simply put, we are all on a set path of restriction, even though we seem like we have free will. So, even if someone wanted to leave Cloudbank, they would likely be prevented from doing so one way or another. This idea is a harmful thought and perhaps one that is reminiscent of what it is like to live inside Cloudbank. This also plays into the theory that everything is simulated and programmed to stay. This idea is something I will be discussing on a further article.

Pokemon's Canonical History 1/3 - The Origin Myth

This is the creation myth of Pokémon. As Arceus is a Mythical Pokémon and not actually seen, this could all be the belief system of the people in the world, and therefore not what actually happened. All information is taken from in-game lore within the canonical games, therefore is the best understanding we have of the actual history of the Pokémon universe without speculation or fan-theory. Footnotes below.

In the beginning, there was nothing. Then, there was an egg. When the egg hatched, Arceus, The Original One was born and was alone. Arceus had unfathomable power and, knowingly or otherwise, created into being three Pokémon in its image, each with a single purpose. Palkia held power over space, Diagla held power over time, and Giratina held power over Anti-matter. Palkia and Daigla worked together and wished all matter into being. The full extent of Giratina's power and what it created is unknown. However, Arceus then banished Giratina to the 'Distortion World' – an alternate dimension. After Diagla and Palkia had done their job of creation, they picked their respective dimension and slept.

Arceus then brought forth its power once more to create three more Pokemon to benefit the future of all life: Azelf, Uxie, and Mesprit. Azelf gave willpower to life, so that it might act upon its own initiative. Uxie gave knowledge to life, so that it might make informed decisions with its willpower. And Mesprit gave emotions to life, so that life may feel things and give value into being. Together, they wished and created spirit. After giving these gifts to the future of Pokémon, these pixie Pokémon Azelf, Uxie and Mesprit retreated underground on a particular rock, that we know as the Pokémon world. All known life, henceforth, exists on this Pokémon world save for the alien Pokémon Deoxys. [1]

The Pokémon world, at its early stages, was important for two major reasons. Firstly, was that the Spear Pillar at Mt Coronet and some the surrounding landmass of the Sinnoh region likely already existed on the world before anything else, acting as a gateway between the dimensions where Palkia, Diagla, Giratina and Arceus lie dormant. Secondly, the conditions on this planet made it able to sustain life, and so three more beings of power came to inhabit the planet. [2]

First to exist was Rayquaza who was formed in the atmosphere and forever roamed the skies and was master over the other two. Kyogre was formed in the depths of the ocean, who had dominion over the seas, and could create intense rainfall to expand them. Groudon was formed in the magma under the earth and had dominion over land, and could scatter the clouds allowing the sun to dry up the seas. [3] They morphed the world in their vision as they went, changing everything in their path until eventually, and accidentally, they met; each unhappy that the other was undoing their work. Then, a great battle ensued as the rivals fought, throwing the world into chaos. In the midst of their age long battle, Rayquaza descended from the skies and calmed the primal pair. Sapping their energy into blue and red orbs, Rayquaza sent Kyogre to the sea depths and Groudon to below the earth's crust, and there they slept. Rayquaza then ascended to the skies and continued its journey across the very edges of the atmosphere.

Without Groudon, Kyogre and their battle over dominance of nature, the world found a kind of peace; and in this lesser state of flux came the colossus Pokémon, Regigigas. Regigigas had the power to physically shift tectonic plates and went forth to shape the continents and formed the now known regions of Unova, Kanto, Sinnoh, Kalos, Alola, etc., then, the colossus created three more Pokémon in its image. It created Regirock out of clay, Regiice out of ice, and Registeel out of Magma. The four of them roamed the land with significant power.

With this new and habitable world, life sprung into being in the form of Mew, the genome Pokémon. [4] Mew existed in great numbers and were capable of transforming into different forms entirely Some Mew transformed and stayed in their changed form, creating the first ancient Pokémon species. [5] Over the next millions of years, the population of Mew dwindled, as the original Pokémon made way for new species. The first and ancient Pokémon were vast in numbers. [6]

Part 2: The Ancient History

Footnotes.

1. Also, it is possible Lunatone came from space, and Clefairy and Clefable came from the moon. However, they now exist on earth, so these are only in-game theory.
2. It is unknown whether or not this was Arceus who created Rayquaza, Kyogre and Groudon due to accounts claiming he slept after creating Azelf, Uxie and Mesprit. As such, these three Pokémon did not necessarily come into being at the same time, it is possible they formed over millions of years apart.
3. It is speculated by some in the Pokémon world that Kyogre and Groudon initially created the seas and landmasses respectively, though this seems less likely than them simply having the power to control them, as matter was already created by Palkia and Daigla.
4. Though it is unknown exactly how life was created, or if Mew existed even before the battle of Kyogre and Groudon, it is possible that, given the appearance, Uxie, Azelf and Mesprit created Mew in their image, and is what was meant by their wishing of 'spirit' into being.
5. Mew likely made Pokémon Evolution possible as, rather than a subtle shift of adaptation and survivability over time, it was a transforming of individual Pokémon to incur survival for the race and a balance in their eco-system. The genetic capabilities to transform into other Pokémon eventually became the genetic capability for Pokémon to 'evolve'.
6. It is thought that all non-legendary Pokémon originated from Mew, that is all Pokémon capable of evolving, and / or reproducing. It is also worthy of note that the species Unknown may have existed at this time separately to Mew, as while little is known about the species, it neither reproduces nor evolves, yet is capable of ancient power.

Take Your Pick! Short Stories!

In my opinion, these are my best short stories of the past, free for your viewing. 

Click the title to read:

Capsule - When reunited friends go camping as they did when they were children, it is not the night of simple reminiscing they expected. Horror, Thriller.

Maiden Of The Sea - In a rural seaside home, the ocean carries with it far more mysteries and beauties than one might expect. Folktale, Thriller.

Letter To A Princess - What does a roguish lowlife do when he is in love with a princess but doesn't know how to write? Comedy, Low Fantasy.

Something In The Wall - Moving into a new home can be stressful. Horror, Very Short.

A Keyring Memory - A memory on the keyring of his life. Unlikable Protagonist, Slice of Life.

Mimi Says - The disjointed, arrhythmic tale of Mimi. Do as she says. Horror, Psychological.

Mimi Says

           Mimi stands in the doorway at night. She knocks three times in the silhouette bright. My mum is unaware and Mimi says this is good. She compliments my hair and tells me I'm rare and I believe Mimi because she tells me I should. Mimi wears a plain white mask with big red curls and rosy red cheeks. She speaks quietly and calm wearing the innocent smile of the meek, and at this point she's visited me for weeks.

           Mimi says I should be her friend. And I do want to be her friend, saying that our friendship should never end. She's asking for proof. Proof that I am her friend by giving me tasks to perform, offerings of food, like bread or fruit or corn. The food must be simple, she says. No food from a lady, as that would be crazy. Women are the precious and taking their food is malicious. I now avoid milk and eggs or meat made from cow's legs.

           Mimi says I should wear white in bed. She says I should do this to accentuate the red. So I do. She says I should wear white gowns and never carry frowns so that I can look like her from toe to paw, every time I open that door. That way, when she knocks, I can look like her. “White and pure with a face of allure.” My feet as bare as hers and our hips both jut. When I grow, I shall keep my figure and never indulge in smut.

           Mimi says I should buy her a flower with thorns on it. Thorny flowers are the best because they can protect themselves. They smell to attract only certain things and avoid others. They are completely in control of their life.

           Mimi says flowers prove my friendship and that friends do things for each other. Mimi says I should not eat sweets and tell this to my mummy. Sweets use energy much needed for making babies and they turn boys into rapists with rabies. My mummy should know of the habits I intend to end and she still thinks I have an imaginary friend.

           Mimi says I should avoid boys at school to protect my womb. Avoid dark alleys where they might loom. Mimi says my womb is special and the white gown, once a month, should show off my red. She says it's because of my hair being red, and because my hair is curly shows why I'm special to have it so early. The other girls are not deserving. Not of my friendship, they are all immature bullies and meanies. They're not like my good friend Mimi.

           Mimi says she needs to know about my mummy. Mimi says I should tell her everything into her core. Whether she's had any more children or has ever been a whore. Whether her hair is dark as a midnight shore. Whether her conversations are a bore and everything more. She's happy with my answers and hates that mummy wears fur. She says it's horrid and that I should avoid her.

           Mimi says my mummy is special for having made me and no other. If she had she would not be a special mother. For all I am worth she should have no more girls. None to take over me with my shiny red curls.

           Mimi says I should not talk to my mum, to ignore her and keep up an act. She says I should not care how her days went and that I should avoid eye contact. She says that my mum thinks she knows best and will try to influence my life. But Mimi says she drinks alcohol and couldn't make a good wife.

           Mimi says I shouldn't let anyone influence my life and I should fulfil my greatest potentials on my own. I like Mimi. When she's with me I trust her the most. She is my friend and I'm happy to boast. Mimi says Lauren from school is selfish and is trying to hold me back. Mimi says to see the truth in people is what she has as a knack and that Lauren's friendship is something I should lack.

Mimi says when I grow up, my breasts will be small like hers. She says this is good as it is modest and that's something I deserve. Mimi let me touch her breasts so I could imagine mine. She says it's not a problem and that to feel like I do is fine.

           Mimi says I should kill a creature and keep it as my proudest feature. She says I should catch a male and preferably something with a tail. Mimi says that I should burn the filthy animal which turned out to be a rat; I squished the rat very flat. So with a box of matches I made the rat a cinder and from inside something hatches because it went “POP”. And all this liquid just wouldn't stop. I took a hammer and nailed him on my bedroom wall. Mimi says this should make me feel womanly and powerful and really very tall.

           Mimi says I should not feel bad and that what I am doing is good. I tell Mimi I do feel bad and she said she understood. But Mimi says she likes me and I like her too. And that she wouldn't like me if she told me and I did not do. So I feel less bad and Mimi isn't mad. Everyone's happy.

           Mimi says she wants a knife. I should find one soon. For her and for myself to use and protect my life. She says it should be sharp and that I should sharpen it more. I need to show Mimi the knife and hide it away. What happens next she wouldn't yet say and yet I have an idea. I get Mimi, I like Mimi. She's been my friend for a year.

           Mimi says I should use the knife tonight. She knocked on my door pale in the moonlight and told me it is fine. She walked into my house for the very first time and told me to use the knife. She walked with my upstairs, slowly but sure and we both stopped, standing at the bedroom door. Mimi didn't look at me, but I looked at her. The door swung open, the room lined with fur and empty glasses of wine and Mimi whispered that it's time.

           Mimi prepared me for this little act and that I was special was just a fact but I couldn't risk my mummy ruining that. So her bed was there and I stood with my eyes shut; then I plunged the knife right into her gut. She woke with a startle and I told her everything will be okay. Her eyes were full of shock and she wasn't okay. On my feet I rocked and I brushed my blood-soaked hand through her hair, telling her to shush – twisting the knife with an extra push. I smiled up at her and she didn't make a sound, but she struggled and gargled until she was a weight on the ground.

           When I turned around. Mimi couldn't be found, she was gone from the room and not on the stairs. I walked with my gown covered with thick wet hairs and oozing, dripping down my head was the red. Mimi stood in the doorway with her mask so big. I waited for her to tell me what I did and she pointed to me, pointed to my belly. I nodded, knowing what to do but my legs went to jelly. I was a special girl with red curls and I was more than this.

           I turned the knife inside my hand and stabbed myself where I stand and pangs of pain were met with pleasure as I felt the blood pour out of me with no regrets because Mimi said. Mimi smiles in the doorway dimly lit by the shadow and moon. I like Mimi, Mimi is by friend. Everything will be okay soon and I lull my feint head. Everything will be okay because Mimi said.

A Keyring Memory

           I saw this girl once. I saw her while she was working at the local food shop. She turned out to be a bit of an enigma for myself. She turned out to be quite significant to myself. And I saw her first.

           I was doing my weekly shop, which this week happened to be placed on a Sunday, and I had done my usual trick of eating before I came out to make sure I didn't buy as much stuff. I walked around that zigzagging rope for queuing that is never full and I took my place at the self service check outs. As I was walking there was when I spotted her, and at the time I can't say I thought much more than 'Ohh, you're fairly attractive.' like you think with every eighteenth person on the street. I beeped all my shopping through to the bags, carefully distributing the weight.

           I always had a problem with the security guard here, too. No matter how innocent I genuinely am and try to be, he always seems to walk around an aisle as if he doesn't trust me. So I look around to see whether the idiot is going to rugby tackle me to the ground over some Jelly Beans and I accidentally made eye contact with the girl. Twice. Now, I know I'm not the only one that when this happens automatically thinks 'she wants me', even though you know it's unlikely, and that is exactly what I thought.

           At that point was when I started to think about her, with her long straight black hair; dark eyes from the deepest mascara and pale complexion; tipped off with a red T-shirt and black trousers supplied by work. She was petite and while not the most obvious of beauty, there was something about her that I kind of liked.

           Then I left the shop. Stupidly enough, I was aware that not making my own opportunities meant I would get nowhere with anybody. But I wasn't going to speak to her. Of course not. She was nothing special that would make me step out of my comfort zone. Just an attractive girl.

She very quickly left my mind, the first time, and returned at the next visit. I was hoping she would be there before I even entered. The reason, I can not tell you. Perhaps I just like to be around pretty girls. She was not there, none-the-less.

           It must have been two weeks before I saw her there again on a Wednesday, stacking shelves. Needless to say, I skipped that aisle completely in the vain hope of not wanting her to see me, and again, I cannot tell you why. There was such an irrationality in my mind that it makes no sense even now. I saw plenty of people about my day, and she meant nothing to me, yet when I was there I was constantly aware of her presence.

* * *

           Another week goes by of complete absence from the shop before she is there again, standing at the self-service. I was only on a short trip this time to buy a bottle of rum for a 'lads night in' that evening.

           As I stepped up to my position at the payment point I turned to realise she was stood right in front of the bottle I was going for. I reached out my hand to suggest I wanted something there and I smiled at her. She gave me a half glance with a false-smile as she stepped out of the way. As I was paying, to be sure, I did notice my boyish smile as she walked over to ID me. Her fingers brushed mine. It was at that point, I realised there was something extra about this girl. Almost as if she passed some emotional thing to me via contact.

           Flowing thoughts of this girl on the way back to my flat was overtaken by thoughts of take-away pizza for lunch. Because, aside from our sporadic glances over weeks – I still had a life to live with things more important things to worry about.

           I did wonder, though, what that girl would look like in her normal clothes; what type of person she was. I will admit, I wondered about her a little too much seeing as I didn't know her in the slightest. However, she must have noticed me, too, apparently.

           Only a few days later I saw her again over a DVD rack in town. I contemplated talking to her; trying to spark a conversation, but, deep down, I knew there was no chance I would just talk to a random person. I didn't want her thinking I was a weirdo or something. So instead, when she looked in my direction, I just looked away.

           After she left, I walked round to where she was standing and saw she was looking at horror movies. My opinion of her went up, though I couldn't help think my usual tactic of using horror as an excuse to cuddle wouldn't work. Not that I thought mattered.

           Then things got a little more interesting.

           The bus I was on stopped. She walks on. She pays the driver and walks up to the back; two spaces away from me. Three guys followed her in that I barely noticed and before I knew it, we had eye contact.

           I smiled at her, wondering if she would give anything back - if she had noticed me.

           “Stop staring at me, and leave me alone.” she said in a harsh voice, yet almost in a sigh.

           “What?” I couldn't help but burst out, out of shock more than anything else.

           “I swear you're following me or something, I've seen you an increasing amount lately. And whatever you want, I'm not really interested. Okay?” she spat aloud, as I noticed the other passengers on the bus deliberately not looking back. I played as innocent as I was.

           “Woah, I was just trying to be nice!”

           “Nice? What by being creepy and staring at me, look, you don't know who I am – so I suggest you ignore me from now on.” She had calmed down at this point. I went to speak, but nothing would come out; my mouth hung slightly open and I obviously looked appalled and offended. She didn't seem to care. “Just go search for your bitch elsewhere.” That was an assumption I didn't like. She got up and walked over to the three guys, sitting a space away from them.

           She wore jeans that were tight around the arse and loose around the ankles, with a black T-shirt with some pink print. Her face was as pristine as I had always seen her in the shop, I couldn't put my finger on it, but she was with these lads who looked kind of like drug dealers. One of them with a buzz cut and an earring, wearing bright clothes, looked back at me, grinning and mauling his chewing-gum.

           I looked away as I had just been publicly falsely accused – which, in a way, I had been. For some reason, I was too curious to let things go, and her choice of words suggested she didn't really know what I wanted. Perhaps she was hiding something. I figured if I was in for a penny I was in for a pound.

* * *

           There are some boyish feelings that never go away. Things such as wanting what you can't have. I decided that it wasn't that I wanted this girl, it was more that I wanted to prove a point or just accept the challenge. Plainly to me, she was a difficult person, and I wasn't going to back off unless she gave me absolute reason.

           I re-visited the Tesco's every few days until I saw her working there on the Saturday. That was when the blanking started. I'm not sure if she saw, because I was too busy blanking her, but I made sure to seem too natural and therefore unnatural. I skipped the next week, so the other staff members didn't think I was odd. Then luck struck the next time as I blanked her, again. Just to emphasise the point.

           At the third time, I was sure she must have noticed me there. This time around I blanked her differently. I kept her in the corner of my eye, and when she was looking in my direction I swung my head to make eye contact and winked at her, before going back to blanking.

           This was a bold move, I am well aware. But what did I have to lose? She already seemed to hate my guts and I was naively going to take on anything.

           The rest of my life carried on as normal. I wasn't obsessive, but as I said, there was something about that girl. But seeing as there wasn't any girl in the world I was interested in, my playing it cool didn't last too long before I decided to have a bit of fun.

           The next time I saw her, I walked right up to her. Basket of shopping in hand. And I smiled. Her being at work, she couldn't do much to get me to shoo, so she quietly glared at me and said “Can I help you?”

           “Ohh, I was just wondering if you'd like to go for a drink.” I said confidently, expecting some vile spat in return about how she would get someone to beat me up if I didn't go away. Instead, she just rolled her eyes.

           “Okay.” She said, soft and casually. There wasn't a hint of chill in her words, and that confused me.

           “Tomorrow at seven? The King's Arms?” I said, out of shock. Confused expression riddling my face.            Did she even remember I was that guy from the bus?

           “I finish work at six, so I'll be there at eight.”

           “Deal.” I said, as I walked on, almost forgetting to pay for my shopping.

* * *

           It wasn't until she was back in my flat after six or seven drinks that I really thought about what was happening, albeit an overly tipsy realisation. This girl of whom I held round the waist until she was sat down and I offered her more drink, was the same girl that I had a fleeting, and careless, thought about in a food shop. It hadn't occurred to me before, that I might have been courting her for completely the wrong reasons.

           That being said, I'd had a brilliant night with this girl who all of a sudden was completely different towards me. She seemed so fun. I ignore the cliché of what people have in common – it's dislikes that is important, and we absolutely disliked the same stuff.

           After plenty of slurred conversation and tickling comments, we drew closer and then a bit of intimacy began to flow. This was the last thing I had expected at the start of the night and almost still was. I just ignored it, and went with her flow.

           Normally, I'm not the kind of person to sleep with someone so quickly. Though a mix of shocking enjoyment, not wanting to offend and absolute boyish lust drew over me until our clothes covered more floor than could be seen.

           I lost myself in the moment, and just before anything significant had happened, I felt her recoil.

           “I should probably warn you, before we do this. I do have a boyfriend.”

           The words, I later realised, were possibly the most worrying words that this girl could have said, and yet only caused a brief pause in my drunken and lustful state. Upon reflection, I should have made the link between the drug addled scum on the bus and the sores and fading bruses around her back, waist and shins. But in my mind, I assumed she meant 'but let's carry on anyway'. And that, I did.

           In the morning, there was nothing strange, just a casual getting dressed, a swift cup of tea and arrangements from her to leave. She explains to me that, “I had a lovely time,” she paused with a shy smile “It was great to have someone so caring.” I was expecting something more, before I realised the implications of what she was saying about her boyfriend.

           “Can I get your number, or something?” I asked in a vain hope, having already anticipated the answer. I knew I was unlikely to even speak to her again. “I don't think it's a good idea. I'd love to keep you as a memory though.” she added, as if trying to offer me something out of the experience. She knew I knew.

           There was a hug before she left. But then she was gone. The only time I ever knew anything of her after that was the knowledge that she no longer worked where I shopped, and that she had broken up with her boyfriend, somehow. What had happened to her around that, I have no idea. But perhaps I played a part in her life too.

           For me, though, for such a small and simple thing. I had learned so many things. That the people you oggle in the street have stories. And while there are other more important stories of my own life, I don't know how much more honest I could have been about this particular event.

An important keyring to the keys of my life, my mind; my being.

Something In The Wall

    The first couple of weeks in a new house, you have to get accustomed to so many things. Little differences that scatter your day, jarring you from a certain status quo. As I eased my way around the fresh house that day, I made a point of taking note of the little things that stood out. My partner was away on business for another two weeks, leaving me to learn the ins and outs on my own, which was fine by me – I relished the personal time. Without too many new furnishings decided upon, the place was sparse. Naturally, I spent a good twenty minutes dancing around the free space, in a way only I could. It helps to get to know the place.

     There are other things than just the décor to get used to though. The speed of the taps, for example, or the springiness of a new bed. The general feel of the place; the atmosphere of the way the sun shines during the day, and the specific noises in the night. Especially the noises in the night.

     It had been a long day moving a load of stuff, so I decided to have an early bed time, around nine thirty, and it wasn't until around eleven that night when I was woken. A banging and a struggle sounding from downstairs that felt utterly frantic. It was accompanied by some kind of raised voice and I figured it was just my luck for next door to have a domestic, and ruin my first special sleep in the new place. It continued for a fair while, but I managed to drift off again – although I'd barely woken up at all – and slept through the night.

     I woke, startled as to where I was, naturally. Then followed that first proper breath of fresh air that felt like the joy of a new beginning, a fresh start to a long and happy next part of my life. It wasn't until around midday I thought about those strange sounds I had heard from my bed, and then it came to my attention that I did not even have neighbours. When I remembered that the place was detached, a shiver ran up my spine. I really didn't want to disturb my partner on business, so I just left a message instead. Though, it was just one time, so I forgot about the odd noises until later that night.

     It was around eleven when I heard the first thud. I was walking through the living room and a dull boom engulfed the silent space, definitely coming from the wall. I stepped closer to examine the wall, and it happened again, a stirring feeling built up inside of me. I knocked on the wall, not sure whether I'd be happy or not to hear the scattering of rats, then the thing in the wall screamed at me. A muffled screaming of someone with their mouth clamped shut burst from the wall accompanied by the urgent thudding, as if whatever was inside wanted to get out.

     Adrenaline was the only thing that carried me out of my house, hyperventilating and totally not in control of myself. After an hour, having calmed somewhat, and no replies on my phone, I realised that I would need to go back into the house. If I could just sleep through the night and sort it out in the morning, though I don't know what I could do. Needless to say, I didn't get any sleep through either the adrenaline, or periodic screams of someone trapped, and eventually I couldn't take it any more. I got up at around three in the morning, sought out a claw hammer that I had only unpacked that day, and readied myself for the wall to wail again.

     The second I heard the thing in the wall scream, I screamed with it in retaliation. I wrenched my arms back and struck a small chip into the plaster wall with my hammer. It wasn't enough. I smashed the same spot again and again until there was a visible hole, and the screaming stopped. An eerie nothing embraced the room, I approached the hole, no larger than a once folded post-it note, and cautiously looked inside. The room's light didn't give much illumination, so I grabbed a torch. Flashing the light inside, everything was still. Cracked lips smiled at me. I panicked and fell and everything went black.

     When I woke, I woke in shock. I tried to look around, but my head felt completely restricted. Everything was pitch black and my throat was dry, though my arms had a certain amount of freedom. I balled my hand and punched forwards, my fist met with a dull thud. I started hyperventilating, scratching the back of the plaster, and screamed the muffled scream of a mouth contained.

Letter To A Princess

           The tavern in question was exactly as it said on the sign: 'The Wood and Wood Inn'; where absolutely everything was wooden, from the cutlery to the windows.

           “How... how am I meant to win her heart?” Vitras wondered. “Her dad'll find a real man soon, so I need to take my chance now!” The tavern was quieter than he was used to, though at quarter past four in the morning, it was to be expected. How could he sleep when so pressed for time to catch his beloved's eye? But for the life of him, he could think of nothing he could do. He slammed his fist onto the table in frustration, making the only other customer in the tavern bolt awake, removing his sodden face from his grog, only to fall back to sleep with a splash.

           Vitras shot the lonely gent a dirty glance and stumbled towards the door ready to leave and find somewhere a little quieter. He paused to think of where to go. Vitras travelled around often, (using the title 'adventurer' where others used the term 'unemployed') yet the only place Vitras could imagine calling home was a small town named Lindell. Of all the backward towns he could like so much, he chose the one where he stood out like cactus amongst baby bums. For a male to have badly cut long brunette hair, it potentially made him a laughing stock – he however called it a trademark and figured it added to his many brilliant traits. At this moment, however, his mind was full of more than just how handsome he was, it was also full of the noble girl he wished to endear to.

           The floor was damp as Vitras stepped outside, mug in hand; he decided he'd head towards a place he knew as 'Rock', which was a place he could think quietly. Being such a travelling rogue, few would think him fond of a girl, so he craved solitude and 'Rock' was perfect for that.

           “Hey, bring my bloody glass back!” The barman burst out of the door of The Wood and Wood (which, if you weren't already aware, was made completely of wood) and snatched the mug from Vitras' hand, locking him with an icy cold stare. “Thief.”

                                                       * * *

           'Rock' was a stand alone boulder on a small hill just by the shore. It was still dark and not particularly warm, though it was as beautiful as always – especially as the sun would soon rise on the perfectly clear horizon. Vitras found himself perched up on the edge of the boulder facing the ocean before he even knew he was there, and whilst feeling the chilly breeze over his hands and cheeks and through his hair, a wet piece of paper slapped him in his face and stuck to him.

           Peeling off the note and wiping his face, he saw writing on the page. The note stated:

           “To whom it may concern,

           I am stuck in a large hole in the sand on the beach and cannot get out. Help me! Help me, please! I would very much appreciate a search party or perhaps a lone traveller with a rope, anything really to help me out of this hole. I am quite scared as the tide seems to be coming in hastily.

           Thank you for reading.

           Yours,

           Julie”

           The sun began to peek over the horizon and Vitras was silhouetted on the boulder with chin on fist and deep in thought.

           “I have it!” Vitras shouted, letting go of the note. “I'll write a letter to my love!” He jumped down from the rock and headed his way towards the Noble’s castle to the east of town: he needed to get help. He could not write to save his life. Or read to save someone else's. He ignored the note.

                                                       * * *

           On the hour long walk to the castle the sun had already risen with a bright cheery face screaming: 'Wakey, wakey! Rise and shine! Full day ahead!' which seemed to be the alarm for most nobles, meaning they had all recently got up to go about their business. From the outside everything seemed mostly quiet aside from chirping birds; happy because the crickets had shut up.

           Swimming a moat and scaling a wall was pretty easy for Vitras, it was always the other side that troubled him. His head made the first loud noise he'd heard all morning when it thumped against an upper room floor. The window he had climbed through seemed to be unnaturally high and as his vision focused he found himself in a bedroom, one that seemed to have been designed by an overly expressive fairy with a fetish for pink.

Brushing himself off, he heard speeding footsteps outside the room and figured someone was about to burst in – not knowing what else to do, he dove under the bed. The bed was only just roomy enough for one person, but he had to crouch a tiny bit to save his head poking out the top. The duvet hung over the edges so he felt safe enough but had to rely on sound. What followed was this: Rattle, shuffle, shuffle, scrape, shuffle, step, step, pause, bump, much louder shuffle, roll, roll. The next thing was feeling someone press tight up against his left hand side.

           Looking over and sharing a few seconds of staring before the girl spoke.

           “...Hey, who are you hiding from?”

           “Umm, you?” Vitras said before a further few seconds of staring.

           “Ahhhhh!” They both yelled at the top of their voices and scurried out from under the bed. Vitras ran out the room, still screaming and down a flight of stairs. He got quieter as he went an turned into a room before finding himself in a corner.

Feeling a tap on his shoulder, he opened one eye and turned around. He was surrounded by books and peering down at him was a hunched and hairy old man in extravagant clothing.

           “Are you okay?” said the man in a very posh accent muffled by a beard.

           “What? Yes. I was, um, just trying to get some bloody attention!” He nodded at himself reassuringly “ ...Yeah, that's what I was doing.” Rushing to his feet and standing as defensively as possible realising that he was a fair bit taller than the elderly man.

           “And wearing clothes like that in a place like this isn't attention enough?” the old man chuckled. “Why are you here then? What kind of attention are you trying to gain? People tend not to run screaming through a library for no reason... usually.”

           “Oh you look the bookish type!” said Vitras.

           “That's not an answer.” He looked over each shoulder at all the surrounding shelves of books after books. “Though I can't imagine how you came to that idea?”

           “I need your help then, can you help me?”

           “...Still not an answer, young man. I'll help you if you answer the questions I need to know.” He rubbed his long straggly beard. “Firstly, what is your name? Next, what is your occupation? How did you get into the castle? Why were you screaming and what do you need help with?”

           “I, um...” Vitras took a moment to note all of the questions in order. “Vitras. I'm a... free-lance jack-of-all-trades. I got into the castle by asking really nicely. I was screaming because there was some girl in her room. I need help to write a letter as soon as possible. Can you write at all, and is there somewhere more... quiet and proper we can go? It's getting creepy in here.” They both looked around the room at the hundred-odd surprised eyes beading their way. The old man raised his bushy eyebrows that almost knocked off his hat, and laughed.

           “The name is Cyrl.” He offered his hand, which Vitras gave a curious look, unsure what to do. “Follow me, if you please.” He dropped his hand. The man span around and waddled slowly towards the door. Vitras, in order to look casual to the peering eyes, leaned back in his walk, trying to act confident, and trying to look like he owned the place. It would have worked, too, if he didn't trip half way and tumble to the floor like someone kicked a rag doll.

                                                       * * *

           Cyrl turned out to be quite an important person, as he was the grandfather of the man who married the Queen's cousin, once removed. For all Cyrl's skill in writing and how helpful he was, Vitras couldn't help but feel the minutes were like hours. Whilst Cyrl tried to find all the right words for something sweet and suited to Vitras, Vitras himself attempted (sort of) to learn to read.

           There were so many books in the old man's private library, there was no knowing where to begin. Everything seemed to be there from a book called 'A Short History Of Ducks: Volume 4' to something called 'The Karma Sutra For Dummies'.

           Cyrl asked many many questions about preferences and ability and what he wanted the tone to be, and Vitras using words from the books tried to write something of his own. Using an alphabet book he'd just used to learn some letters, he wrote: 'A is for Apple, which is juicy like you. B is for 'Be mine', because I want you. C is for... Cat.' Which is only one example of Vitras' work. The others were so badly written and occasionally horrid, that when a boy broke into Cyrl's study a week later and went through his paper bin in order to steal something brilliant for a school project, he vomited in his mouth twice and vowed never to read again.

           After three long hours of writing, Vitras agreed on a note of Cyrl's that was good enough, poetic enough and had a point, he loved it:

           “If I could dream any dream, I would choose you to be my dream, but a dream you will always be if you never consider meeting me. If I wrote how much I loved you on this paper here, I would run out of pages to write of you, my dear. So if I had to choose a place to meet for romance's sake, I would ask you to meet me at twelve by the lake.”

           “Brilliant, I'll just leave it for her to find.” Said Vitras.

           “I could do better with more time, y'know. Let us just pretend those are your words.” Cyrl said, putting on his top hat and giving Vitras a lopsided wink like a large hairy dog.            “Though one last question my lad. Who is this lady you're perusing?”

           “Her name is Leanna. Lives in the royal village, just outside this castle, y'know her?”

           “The Princess?” Cyrl choked. He regained his composure. “Well, good luck then I guess.” He rolled his eyes before giving Vitras another dog-wink.

                                                       * * *

           Downstairs at the ground level, the lobby was bustling with activity; scattered people all going their separate ways. Looking down at his own clothes, Vitras could see he clearly didn't fit in. He decided to try to mingle and head out the main gate, anyway. The exit was two massive wooden doors with smaller people-sized doors in the middle of each. In front of the only operating door were two fully iron clad guards. They were going to be a problem, but the door was his aim and that's the direction he headed.

           Casually mingling with the crowd, Vitras got all the way to the door and placed his hand on the handle as if to stroll out before a voice stopped him, it was the guard to his right. Both guards, however, were motionless and looked directly ahead.

           “Can we 'elp you, sir?”

           “Not really, I'm just on my way out!”

           “Well, may we ask 'ow you got in? Peasant.” Said the left hand guard. The 'Y' shaped gap in their helmets were now fixated on Vitras, and he could feel their eyes rather than see them.

           “Err, I came in earlier in the morning, don't you remember? You didn't say a word then. Or were their different guards on, you all look alike, to me.” Vitras continued to act as cocky as possible. “If it was you, you must have some awful memories, I mean look at the way I'm dressed – you'd think you'd remember!”

           “Careful now, peasant. We don't 'ave to stall this, you could be going right in to the dungeon. We wouldn't let the likes o' you in, so 'ow did you get in?”

           “Well I didn't sneak in, if that's what you think. How dare you! May I take my leave now?” Vitras said to the left guard, who nodded to the right guard who shook his head.

           “Not 'til we get an answer, peasant.” was the reply.

           “Well, even if I did sneak in, surely it's fine for me to just sneak back... out?” Vitras grabbed the door and pushed but the lock held tight. He panicked and backed away from the guards who began to move in towards him. Pushing some passers-by who had gathered to see the commotion, Vitras leapt towards the guards, clambering over one of them and jumping off his head to get purchase on the wall behind. The crowd started making a lot of noise but Vitras didn't look back, he pushed forward on a vertical sea of stone as fast as he could to get to the window at the top. The crowd started to throw things at the escapee-spider, but not one person actually hit him: bits of potato, stones, a book, a fish and an anvil which severely dented the wall.

           Reaching his foot through the kicked open window, he followed through with the other and managed to keep his footing for the descent: better than usual. But after a very short distance he managed to misplace his footing for the second time that day and fell.            Managing to grab onto the lip of the large gate on the outside, he knew he was closer to the ground, regaining himself he made the extra distance and place both feet firmly on the outer drawbridge. Turning around to leave, he came to an abrupt stop at two metal plates.            Looking up, he squeaked at the guards.

           “Ehh, hi?” before each guard grabbed an arm and dragged him back through the now open door. Thrashing about wildly, he realised he could not resist the oafs of security so he sat back and allowed himself to be dragged into the dungeon. After a few seconds, however, he realised he was no longer in possession of his love letter.

           The beautiful note, on beautifully indestructible paper, tied with a beautiful red ribbon gently drifted down the moat towards the river's opening. Vitras was never to know.

                                                       * * *

           “It's so peaceful and romantic here.” Leanna said to herself, sat on a bench by the lake at some time around quarter past twelve.

           The sky could be seen reflected in the water that was shimmering on top and cloudy underneath and about as deep as a house in the middle. It was so shiny on the surface, that the reflection of the moonlight could blind and eagle, and for all the lake was worth, it was as deceiving as an onion painted red to pretend to be an apple.

           People liked to believe their lake was magical. That in the middle was a Sphinx that would ask riddles to passers-by and occasionally fight with the Kraken of the depths for territory as thousands of fish watched on; feeding on the faeries that flew atop the water. As if sparkles fluttered about and it could grant mystical powers such as healing or shape-shifting. None of this was true, however, and everyone knew so. The lake was dead; full of salt, so potent that a human could barely dip in their toe without it dissolving.

           Nevertheless, people loved their lake because it was theirs, it was beautiful, and it was a perfect place for a romantic meeting.

           Leanna, a nice, beautiful young maiden, was watching the wonderful waters when a small piece of paper, wrapped in a ribbon, happened to float by. Being careful of the water, she fished it out and read the note.

           “This is beautiful! Was this for me? It must have been because this would be far too much of a coincidence. I would certainly like to meet this person who is likely to be so very unsuited to me, but I will persuade my father anyway so that we can get married and have lots of middle class children – oh my!” She looked all around the lake to see if anyone was nearby before sitting back down on the bench. She rolled up the scroll and patiently started to wait. Prepared to wait for the man, for the writer of the note; just waiting for her love to arrive. If only he knew.