Home
|| System booted.
|| Connection established.
|| Communication received from tether @ 19:12GMT+1.
|| Message ready for display.
> [[Open->Bootup 2]]Hej, vem ar det?
[[> Uh...pardon?->American]]
[[> Who is this?->American]]
[[> What language is that?->American]]You are American! That is so cool!
[[> Uh, thanks?->Who]]
[[> Well, actually...->Who]]
[[> Why's that cool?->Who]]This is amazing!
[[> Who are you?->Sasha]]I'm Sasha. Who are you?
[[> I'm just a nerd at a computer->Nerd]]
[[> I'm an alien!->Alien]]
[[> Does it matter?->Noone]]That makes two of us. I love computers - they're so exciting!
[[> So who are you?->WhoAre]]Really!?
[[> Yes->Really]]
[[> Nah, I'm just joking.->Joking]]Well, I guess not...
[[> So who are you?->WhoAre]]I found it out by the train tracks. It looked cool so I bought it back with me.
[[> But what is it?->WhatIs]]
[[> Then what did you do with it?->ThenWhat]]I'm fourteen - just about to go into year ten.
[[> I had another question.->Self]]I'm in my bedroom. It gets dark here very early so mamma says I have to be back early.
[[> And where's 'here'?->Where2]]
[[> I had another question.->Self]]I tried a bunch of things. I tried opening it...rattled it, pressing the
panels...but nothing worked until a few minutes ago when the screen came
on. I wasn't even doing anything when it happened. There was a lot of
static and then a ringing like a phone.
[[> Weird. Let me ask you some other
questions.->ArtefactQuestions]]It's like a ball but with ten sides. One of them has a little screen on it where I can see what you're saying.
[[> Got it. I had other questions, though.->ArtefactQuestions]]No,
I'm not typing. I'm talking to it...and what I'm saying is coming up on
the screen. Aren't you talking?
[[> Well I'm typing...and your messages are coming up as text on
here. It must be transcribing what you're saying.->Transcribe]]I
thought you would know. It's some kind of device but it's too small to
be a computer and I can't see an aerial...it's got to be alien.
[[> Maybe you're right...->KnockKnock]]
[[> Well, what else could it be?->KnockKnock]]It's about the size of a hockey puck. About eight centimetres, I think.
[[> Let me ask you something else.->ArtefactQuestions]]Oh!
Norrjärvistad...it's in Sweden...on Earth. Norrjärvistad is very
small...and VERY far north - near the borders to Finland and Norway.
We're very close to the arctic here so we don't get much daylight. And
it's always snowing here.
[[> I had another question.->Self]]Yeah, sorry. I thought you'd speak Swedish too. I know English - thanks to Homer Simpson, of course.
[[> I had another question.->Self]]That's amazing! This has to be aliens.
[[> Well, it's not that advanced, really.->NotAdv]]
[[> Maybe. But I had other questions.->ArtefactQuestions]]Well,
I don't know what you have where you are but we only just got computers
at my school...and none of them are as small as this. You couldn't make
a computer this small!
[[> If you say so. I had other questions.->ArtefactQuestions]]Wow! I knew this thing was important! Why are you talking to me?>
[[>Because...uh. Okay, you got me. I'm not an alien.->Joking]]Aw, hey come on. You shouldn't joke about that sort of thing.
[[> So who are you?->WhoAre]]Yeah,
the trains run right by my school. Sometimes I go there after school
with my friends. Don't worry - there are hardly any trains that come
through here.
[[> I had another question.->ArtefactQuestions]]Hold on, there's someone at the door.
[[> Who is it?->Who's There]]
[[> Nevermind that. We should concentrate on working out what this thing is.->Ignore]]My mom will probably answer it. Hold on...
[[> Go find out who it is.->GoFind]]
[[> Don't worry about it, then.->Ignore]]Alright, I'll go down and see. Give me a minute.
[[> Alright.->Wait]]Well, alright - but it is wierd. We don't get many visitors.
[[> Maybe you should go check it out then.->GoFind]]
[[> It's up to you.->GoFind]]
[[> I just think this is more important.->MoreImportant]]...
[[Hello?->Back]]Fair
enough maybe we should-...wait. Ja mamma, jag kommer. Vänta - ge mig en
minut! Sorry, American. My mom is calling me. I think it's for me.
[[> Oh, fair enough. I'll be here when you get back.->Wait]]
[[> Okay, be quick.->Wait]]Hey, I’m back.
[[> Who was it?->WhoWas]]It was the the Police.
[[> What did they want?->WhatAsk]]
[[> Is that odd?->IsOdd]]I
only heard half of it...mamma was already talking to Constable Eriksson
when I went down - he was with two others I didn't recognize. But they
were asking about the disappearances. Over the past few months there’s
been several people go missing.
[[> Who were the two you didn't know?->AnyIdeas]]
[[> Sounds serious. Who went missing?->WhoMissing]]Well, not really. They never have much to do so sometimes they make informal visits...but this wasn’t a house call.
[[> Why? What was different?->WhatDifferent]]Normally
Constable Eriksson comes on his own. There are only like...five
officers in Norrjärvistad. But he was with two others I didn’t
recognize.
[[> Any ideas who they were?->AnyIdeas]]
[[> What did they ask about?->WhatAsk]]Well...one
of them had a different uniform - new. The other didn’t say much and
had a big coat on...not really wearing a uniform at all.
[[> Maybe the one with the new uniform was a recruit?->Uniform]]
[[> Tell me more about the one with the coat?->BigCoat]]
[[> What were they asking about?->WhatAsk]]She
had a different armband...it said ‘säkerhetspolisen’. That means
‘security police’, but we call our police just ‘polisen’...so she’s not
from the police here in Norrjärvistad.
[[> And what about the one with the big coat?->BigCoat]]
[[> What were they asking about?->WhatAsk]]He
just...stood there. He was a little wide and didn’t smile...kinda
reminded me of a bear. He had a strange vibe about him. I don’t think
he’s from around here.
[[> Tell me about the one with the new uniform.->Uniform]]
[[> So what were they asking about?->WhatAsk]]There
was Henrik Almstedt...a farmer up at the north of town...Mikaela
Östberg - she was my pappa's boss...and some of my classmates - Carl and
Ida.
[[> Tell me about Carl and Ida.->Classmates]]
[[> Do you know anything about the adults that went
missing?->Adults]]The
day they went missing I almost went with them...they asked if my friend
Oskar and I wanted to hang out up the hill after school. But convinced
me to go with him to the trainyard. Ida was going to be our Lucia this
year.
[[> Lucia?->Lucia]]
[[> Remind me who went missing.->WhoMissing]]
[[> Don't blame yourself.->Blame]]I don’t...I mean...I couldn’t do anything. I’m just sad, really. Let's talk about something else.
[[> Alright. Who else went missing?->WhoMissing]]Yeah - it’s a thing we have here in Sweden. Every year we choose a girl to lead a parade for Saint Lucy's Day.
[[> Remind me who else went missing.->WhoMissing]]What do you want to know?
[[> How old are you?->HowOld]]
[[> Where are you speaking from?->Where]]
[[> What language were you speaking earlier?->SpeakSwedish]]
[[> Nevermind - I want to know how we're speaking.->HowTalk]]Well...like I said my name is Sasha. What do you want to know?
[[> How old are you?->HowOld]]
[[> Where are you speaking from?->Where]]
[[> What language were you speaking earlier?->SpeakSwedish]]
[[> Nevermind - I want to know how we're speaking.->HowTalk]]Alright. I have no idea what it is so go ahead. Maybe we can figure it out.
[[> Remind me what it looks like.->WhatIs]]
[[> What did you do with it after you found it?->ThenWhat]]
[[> So it's a computer?->NotAdv]]
[[> How big is it?->HowBig]]
[[> And you found it by the train tracks?->Tracks]]
[[> So how are you typing?->VoiceRecog]]
[[> I'm stumped. What do you think it is?->WhatThink]]Alright. I'll speak to you in the morning, American. It's getting late and I have school tomorrow.
[[> Alright, good night.->Night]]|| Connection deactivated.
[[> //sudo hibernate//->MorningBoot]]
(link:"> //sudo restart//")[(goto:"Bootup")]|| System resumed.
|| Connection reestablished.
|| Communication received from tether @ 08:41GMT+1.
|| Message ready for display.
[[> Open->Morning]]God Morgon! It’s Monday so I have to go to school...but I’m going to take you with me. The device, I mean.
[[> Are you sure that’s a good idea?->Question]]
[[> Alright - but don’t miss any classes!->Take]]
[[> That’s not a good idea - it could be dangerous.->Dangerous]]Don’t worry. I’ll keep it in my locker.
[[> It could be dangerous...that might not be such a good idea.->Dangerous]]
[[> Maybe you should tell someone about it.->TellSomeone]]
[[> Alright...I guess there’s no stopping you. Just be safe.->Take]]Yeah, I’ll be careful with it - don’t worry, American. I’m sure nothing bad will happen.
[[> Okay. Have a good day at school!->ToSchool]]
[[> If it does...I did warn you.->WarnYou]]Well, it doesn’t seem dangerous to me…
[[> You’re right - as far as we know it’s just a communication device.->Take]]
[[> Don’t do it, Sasha. We hardly know anything about it.->KnowNothing]]I’m not sure who I could tell...or whether that would be a good idea anyway.
[[> Alright, let’s just keep this between us for now.->Take]]
[[> You should tell the Police.->Police]]
[[> Could you go to your teacher?->Teacher]]Well...what should I do?
[[> You should tell someone about it.->TellSomeone]]I don’t think I want to do that…this is way too cool. Besides, I don’t think they could do much.
[[> You don’t know that. What if it’s a bomb or something?->PoliceHelp]]
[[> Well, alright. But you’ll have to tell someone eventually.->Take]]
[[> What about your teacher?->Teacher]]What, like Miss Lindström? I don’t think she’d understand.
[[> We don’t understand it, Sasha.->Understand]]
[[> Then what about the police?->Police]]Okay, American...you might be right. I’ll go and ask at the station after school...maybe someone lost a weird metal ball thingy.
[[> Good idea, Sasha. It’s the best thing to do.->Take]]
[[> On second thoughts...you better keep it to yourself for now.->Take]]
Well...yeah but...Okay. You’ve got a point. I’ll ask her after classes end.
[[> Good idea. It’s the best thing to do.->Take]]
[[> On second thoughts...you better keep it to yourself for now.->Take]]Yeah, speak to you later!
|| Connection deactivated.
[[> //sudo hibernate//->BusBoot]]
(link:"> //sudo restart//")[(goto:"Bootup")]Alright, alright. I said don’t worry. We’ll talk after school.
|| Connection deactivated.
[[> //sudo hibernate//->BusBoot]]
(link:"> //sudo restart//")[(goto:"Bootup")]|| System resumed.
|| Connection reestablished.
|| Communication received from tether @ 10:46GMT+1.
|| Message ready for display.
[[> Open->Bear]]
American.
School just finished...and outside the gates I saw the bear. The man in
the big coat from last night. American, I think he's following me.
[[> Are you sure?->YouSure]]
[[> You're paranoid.->YouSure]]
[[> I'm starting to think they do know about the
device.->KnowAbout]]Why else would he be at my school? I'm scared.
[[> Run, Sasha. We need to figure this out ourselves.->Keep]]
[[> I think you should turn it over. This is getting serious.->HandOver]]I definitely think telling someone about this is a bad idea...he does not look friendly.
[[> You're right.->Keep]]
[[> Maybe handing it over is the best thing to do.->HandOver]]I'm gonna run home. Wish me luck.
[[> Good luck! Let me know when you're safe.->GoodLuck]]Are you sure?
[[> Trust me, Sasha. This is bigger than us.->HandOver2]]
[[> On second thoughts...run. We need to figure this out ourselves.->Keep]]|| Connection deactivated.
[[> //sudo hibernate//->BlinkingBoot]]
(link:"> //sudo restart//")[(goto:"Bootup")]|| System resumed.
|| Connection reestablished.
|| Communication received from tether @ 15:35GMT+1.
|| Message ready for display.
[[> Open->Blinking]]Hej hej. I'm back at home - I'm safe. But the sphere has started doing something new. It's blinking.
[[> Blinking? What do you mean?->WhatMean]]
[[> Did you lose the bear guy?->BearGuy]]It's
like...you know how it has ten faces? Each with five sides. Well first
the edges all started lighting up blue, but now it's just the ones
around the display - and only one at a time. When I turn it round, the
light changes so it's always pointing in one direction.
[[> What, like a compass?->LikeCompass]]Yeah, I think I lost him near the community centre. He was definitely following me.
[[> That's good. So what's the device doing?->WhatMean]]Huh...maybe. You think I should follow it? Try to see where it wants me to go?
[[> Yeah, go for it!->GoForIt]]
[[> I don't think that's a good idea.->BadIdea]]Alright! I'll be back in a minute, American. I've got an idea.
[[> Okay.->Kay]]So what should I do?
[[> You should go to the Police. We still don't know what this thing is.->Forget]]
[[> On second thoughts - go for it!->GoForIt]]You're right, American. It's been nice talking to you but this is starting to scare me. Thanks.
|| Connection deactivated.
(link:"> //sudo restart//")[(goto:"Bootup")]|| Connection deactivated.
[[> //sudo hibernate//->BikeBoot]]
(link:"> //sudo restart//")[(goto:"Bootup")]|| System resumed.
|| Connection reestablished.
|| Communication received from tether @ 15:35GMT+1.
|| Message ready for display.
[[Open->Bike]]American,
I’m on my bike. I’ve got the device taped onto the handlebars...I’m
going over the dam. I’ve never been this far up the mountain before.
[[> The dam? -> Dam]]
[[> Keep me updated.->Updated]]
[[> Are you sure you’re doing the right thing?->RightThing]]Yeah...it’s
how we get electricity in Norrjärvistad. It’s called Björnbrygga and
it’s huge - they built it like, twenty years ago or something.
[[> Isn’t your town tiny? Hydroelectric dams generate a lot of
power.->Power]]
[[> What did the town use before that?->BeforeDam]]Okay. I don’t think the dam is what the sphere is guiding me to anyway.
[[> //sudo hibernate//->BirdsBoot]]
(link:"> //sudo restart//")[(goto:"Bootup")]I don’t know what else I can do.
[[> You should turn back, Sasha. You don't need to solve this mystery.->TurnBack]]
[[> You're right. Carry on and let me know if you find anything.->Updated]]I’d...never thought of that. You think it’s something important?
[[> It could be - it is strange.->Strange]]
[[> Probably not.->Updated]]No
idea. I don’t think the town is that old though. Miss Lindström said
the town was only founded about...well, twenty years ago.
[[> Might the dam be older?->DamOlder]]
[[> Weird. You better carry on. Let me know what you
find.->Updated]]Well, it doesn’t help us right now.
[[> Good point. Carry on and let me know if anything happens.->Updated]]I
suppose it could be. I’m gonna carry on, though - I don’t think this is
what the sphere is guiding me to. Seems like it wants me to go on.
[[> Isn’t your town tiny? Hydroelectric dams generate a lot of
power.->Power]]|| System resumed.
|| Connection reestablished.
|| Communication received from tether @ 16:52GMT+1.
|| Message ready for display.
[[> Open->Birds]]Things
are weird this side of the dam...there are birds up above and they’re
flying in spirals. Like a snake...just round and round.
[[> What’s the view like?->ViewLike]]
[[> Is the artefact doing anything new?->ArtefactDoing]]Amazing. I’m sure mamma would be mad if she knew I was up here but it’s so cool. I can see for miles.
[[> Is the artefact doing anything new?->ArtefactDoing]]It’s pointing off in the direction the road curves, but I can't see what's around the corner. I'm gonna follow the road.
[[> Alright.->RoadOn]]
[[> It's not too late to back out.->BackToDam]]But...
[[> We're in way over our heads.->OverHeads]]
[[> Okay, no - you're right. We should carry on.->Updated]]Gah...you're right. What should I do?
[[> Turn the device off...go home and forget about it.->Forget]]I think we're okay. I want to find out what this is.
[[> If you're sure. Let me know what you find.->RoadOn]]
[[> You should turn back.->BackHome]]There’s a metal fence up ahead. Looks like some sort of...compound.
[[> Take a closer look.->Closer]]
[[> What’s the device pointing to?->DevicePoint]]
[[> Back off - you should head back home.->BackHome]]I’ll
get as close as I can-...whoa. Behind the fence there’s like...I don’t
even know how to describe it. There’s like half of a big metal ring
sticking out of the ground. Like horns.
[[> What else can you tell me?->WhatElse]]
[[> I have a bad feeling about this. You should turn
around.->BackHome]]It's pointing directly at the gates...
[[> Looks like this is the place, then.->Closer]]
[[> I have a bad feeling about this. Get out of there.->BackHome]]Are you sure?
[[> Definitely - we're in way over our heads.->OverHeads]]
[[> On second thoughts...you should take a closer look at the compound.->Closer]]Behind
the ring is a little hut. And there are signs on the fence here but I
think it’s in...Russian? Definitely not Swedish or even English. There
are a bunch of metal plates on the floor around the base of the ring.
[[> Russian? Why would there be Russian?->WhyRussian]]
[[> Can you get inside?->GetIn]]
[[> I have a bad feeling about this. Get out of there.->BackHome]]I’ll have to stand on my bike... but there’s no barbed wire or anything so I’ll try. Give me a minute.
[[> Alright.->WaitMin]]Well...once Miss Lindström did say the Soviet Union has a base near here. Maybe this is it.
[[> Can you get inside?->GetIn]]
[[> I have a bad feeling about this. Get out of there.->BackHome]]Not
really, no. Anyway, it's getting late, American. I've got to go to bed.
But like...I don't know. It felt like when Constable Eriksson came they
were coming for me. Do you think they know?
[[> Maybe...I'd sleep on it.->Sleep]]
[[> Don't worry about it. I'm sure it's just a
coincidence.->Sleep]]If
you're sure...okay. I'll try to find him. Maybe you're right...I might
have this all wrong. Thanks for talking to me. It's been fun!
[[> Pleasure to meet you, Sasha.->ByeBye]]
[[> Wait up - I've changed my mind. Get out of there.->Keep]]Ursäkta mig min herre-...
|| Connection deactivated.
(link:"> //sudo restart//")[(goto:"Bootup")]Okay...I'm
over. I took the device off the bike and I've got it in my hands now.
It's...warm. In fact, it's warm all around me - the air is hot.
[[> Warm?->Warm]]
[[> What can you see now you're in there?->OneRing]]Yeah, I'm gonna take my coat off.
[[> Tell me what you can see.->OneRing]]Now
I can see these metal panels up close they're more like...hatches.
There are these big thick cables under the snow that into the ring. They
come out of the panels. Oh, hey...there's a window in the
hatch-...Herregud!
[[> What's wrong?->WhatWrong]]There are people...under the hatches. Bodies!
[[> Run!->NoEscape]]
[[> Take a minute to catch your breath.->NoEscape]]I can't breathe. Helvete. I'm...no. Förbaskat jag är så rädd...nej...nej.
[[> Calm, Sasha. You're fine. Just take a minute.->TakeMinute]]Jävla.
It's...it's not that. There...there are eight hatches. They're all
closed...apart from one. American, I think I've made a mistake. I'll be
back in a minute. I need to think.
|| Connection deactivated.
[[> //sudo hibernate//->SitBoot]]
(link:"> //sudo restart//")[(goto:"Bootup")]The
snow is all gone...the floor here is made of metal. I'm sitting on the
ring, now. That hatch is still open...and I can hear a car coming.
[[> You can still escape.->Escape]]|| System resumed.
|| Connection reestablished.
|| Communication received from tether @ 18:26GMT+1.
|| Message ready for display.
[[> Open->Sit]]I'm
not getting out of here...I had to stand on my bike to get here and now
it's on the wrong side of the fence.
This might be the end, American. Thanks for coming on this journey with
me...even if it did finish like this. I hope we'll speak again...
|| Connection deactivated.
(link:"> //sudo restart//")[(goto:"Bootup")]I can't.
[[> Why not?->NoRun]]<h1>The Norrjärvistad Tether</h1>
<h2 class="menutext">(link:"start")[(goto:"Bootup")]</h2>
<h4 class="menutext">[[about]]</h4>The Norrjärvistad Tether is a short, original sci-fi IF game written by me, <a href="https://twitter.com/Mirdalan" style="color: #e78ec8; text-decoration: none;">Ali Westwood</a>.
it's inspired by a piece of art by <a href="https://simonstalenhag.se/" style="color: #e78ec8; text-decoration: none;">Simon Stålenhag</a>. I encourage everyone to support Simon by purchasing <a href="https://www.redbubble.com/people/simonstalenhag/works/14330897-hacking-the-loop" style="color: #e78ec8; text-decoration: none;">this work, 'Hacking The Loop' on Redbubble</a>.
<img src="https://mird.neocities.org/files/portfolio/tether/inspo.jpg" class="centeredimage">
(link:"''←''")[(goto:"2020Start")]