The Antiquarium of Sinister Happenings - Lot 024: I Played A Text Based Adventure Game On The Dark Web

Starting point is 00:00:07 Oh, hello. Lovely to see you, as always. Get out of that storm and come on in. Quite the doozie out there, isn't it? Here, you know, I'm not sure you've ever been in this corner of the shop before. Pull up a seat by the fire. I've got something real special for you today. Usually I let the game master handle items like this, but due to a tragically unfortunate incident, it'll be swaths of time until you're able to cross his path again. This is a rather handsome six-sided die. You know the type, commonly associated with role-playing and the like. Give it a toss, and it'll take you places. Only a fool would dare go. It's your turn at this one called. I played a text-based game on the dark web.

Starting point is 00:01:12 Welcome to the antiquarium of sinister happenings and odd goings on. I played a text-based adventure game on the dark web. Things I did. I spend a lot of time on Reddit. I'm sure you do too. I'm on a lot of video games. subs and in particular ones about text-based games. I'm talking games like Zork.

Starting point is 00:02:19 I wasn't alive when Zorke came out, but I got really into it in high school. When I made it to college, I took an even deeper dive, playing all the sequels, all the knockoffs, and every shitty game that people had cobbled together and released online. I had to refocus a bit, adding work on top of college courses so I could afford my shoebox apartment, but eventually I came across a post apartment complex not a super promising name

Starting point is 00:02:54 I was bored and it was free and the fact that it was hosted on some weird site that I couldn't access from regular browsers appealed to me it added an element of mystery

Starting point is 00:03:09 so I opened a Tor browser entered the link and got to a profile creation page basic stuff username, preferred resolution, etc. It didn't ask for any personal info, so I kept going. The screen went blank. Then a text box opened up.

Starting point is 00:03:34 Welcome to apartment complex. You have been assigned your very own apartment building to run, but this isn't just any apartment building. Because the tenants are going to be experiencing some pretty scary ordeals, You get to decide what happens next. Will your tenants survive? Will you accidentally butcher them all? Is in your hands.

Starting point is 00:03:59 Are you ready? Yes. Why not? I typed in a why. More text appeared. Excellent. We'll start you off with an easy management level. You have six tenants, numbered one through six.

Starting point is 00:04:16 None of them know each other well. Enter a number to learn more about a tenant and begin to make decisions. I grabbed a six-sided die off my desk and rolled it. Speaking choice. The tenant in apartment three is Cherie. She's 19 and a sophomore in college. All her friends know her to be outgoing and flirty,

Starting point is 00:04:41 and she brings new guys back to her apartment multiple times a week. She doesn't want a commitment. She enjoys sex, but mostly she just likes not being alone. It's possible it's related to how she was repeatedly abandoned by foster parents. Tonight, she brought home a young man named Thad. She plans to have sex with Thad, and he'll pressure her not to use a condom. She'll say yes, because she doesn't want to scare him off. But you can...

Starting point is 00:05:10 Should tonight be the night she stands up to Thad and tells him she won't sleep with him without protection at the risk of spending the night alone? Yes or no. I didn't realize this game would be so... Domestic soap opera? Whatever. Let's see how... this plays out.

Starting point is 00:05:30 Why? Thad and Shari start to get hot and heavy. To try penetrating her. But Shari stops him and says he needs to use a condom. Thad complains that it doesn't feel as good. Shari tells him that it's more important that both of them are protected from STDs. She's feeling a little tense. Thad calls her a whore and a tease and throws his clothes back on.

Starting point is 00:05:57 Shari cries as Thad goes to storm out. Unfortunately, Shari's door won't open. Thad checks. and the door isn't locked, but it refuses to open. Furious, Thad storms back to where Sheree is still lying naked on the couch, crying, and begins to scream at her. Would you like to continue making decisions for Sheree? Or try another tenant?

Starting point is 00:06:20 One, for Sheree. Two, for new tenant. This game was weird and pretty retro, but I also found myself pretty intrigued by Shari and Thad's story. The clunky stories in these games, James had a certain charm that made them very engaging. Fuck it. Let's keep going.

Starting point is 00:06:40 One. Intriguing choice. Thad continues to scream at Shiree, who can't stop crying. She's afraid he might hit her. Chad hasn't decided if he will or not, but plans to let his anger and lack of concern for Shari as a human being guide his behavior. If things continue as they are, Thad will most likely beat Shari to the point she will need to be rushed to the emergency room.

Starting point is 00:07:06 Should Thad be stopped? Yes or no? This got intense. Why? Intriguing choice. A ceiling tile falls off. The edge cuts across Thad's jugular. Blood gushes everywhere.

Starting point is 00:07:27 He is dead in seconds. This game is whack. The text continued to appear. Sheree is horrified. Much of the blood sprayed all over her. She's so scared. She starts to shut down. Cherie won't be taking any more actions for a while.

Starting point is 00:07:51 Choose a tenant. One, two, four, five, or six. Damn. Looks like I'm not going to finish this game with a decent score. Keep plugging away, though. I rolled the die again. My, my, my. So sorry about the phone.

Starting point is 00:08:16 Hold on just a minute while I get that. And feel free to browse. around. My sincerest apologies, just my AC guy, who might as well be a Christmas angel at this point. He's on his way to fix the darn heater, but we still have a while. No bother. Let's buzz back into the apartment complex, shall we? I rolled the die again.

Starting point is 00:08:57 Five. Intriguing choice. The tenant in apartment five is clock. He is 35 and works at the local First State Bank. His hobbies include snowboarding, tennis, recreational murder, 90 sitcoms, and fishing. He's home alone tonight after his girlfriend Alicia texted him and told him she was leaving him for his brother. He bought a gallon of chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream and is working his way through that and the third season of Frasier. He feels the itch to strangle someone.

Starting point is 00:09:28 It's been a while and he's trying to kick the habit. but the deep well of emotion seems to be so deep that ice cream alone can't fill it. He's hoping to quench the urge with a TV binge. But just as he's settling in, he starts to smell gas. Should he investigate? Yes or no. Not investigating would be boring. So, of course, I typed in a why.

Starting point is 00:09:53 Intriguing choice. He's familiar enough with gas leaks to know that he's one spark away from Clyde Flambay. Should Clyde leave or keep sucking up the fumes? One, Clyde leaves, or two, Clyde stays. Seems weird to release the murderer, I thought. But it would be boring to just gas him to death. I type a one. Intriging choice.

Starting point is 00:10:22 Clyde exits his apartment and heads down the stairs to the front door. When he makes it to the floor below his, he sees that the stairs are blocked by fallen ceiling tiles. There are stairs on the opposite side of the floor. On the way, he would pass two other apartments, which would likely have phones to call the fire department to handle the gas leak. Stop at the first department. One. The second apartment, two.

Starting point is 00:10:45 That was it. No more text. There was a non. My name's Clyde. I live on the floor above you. Yeah, my phone isn't working and my apartment smells like gas. Can I borrow yours? I sat as still as I could, making no sound.

Starting point is 00:11:30 Seriously, it's an emergency. I'm pretty sure I heard some noises in there. I need help. On my screen, I saw more text pop up. Should Clyde keep trying the first department? One, try the next department. Two. Or take the stairs on the far end of the floor.

Starting point is 00:11:48 Three. As gently as I could, I pressed two. The clack of the key sounded like a gunshot in my head. Whatever asshole, I know you're home. I hope you enjoy being a piece of shit. You fucking dick. Then, I heard his footsteps go down the hall. The apartment building I'm in is new and pretty well insulated,

Starting point is 00:12:11 but I could faintly hear knocking on the apartment down the hall for me. I knew a college girl lived there. Hopefully she isn't home. Wait. College girl? No. It couldn't be. Tech started filling up my screen again.

Starting point is 00:12:30 Clyde went to the next apartment and knocked on the door. He heard sobbing. from inside. When the tenant inside didn't open the door, he tried the knob. It turned, but the door wouldn't budge. It looked like it was misaligned, and with the heat wave, the wood had swollen and jammed the door in place. Suddenly, I heard a smash from outside. I tore my eyes to look at my front door, but it was still solidly shut. The sound had come from down the hall. I looked back at my screen. Clyde used his shoulder to slam the door, and it popped open. He stepped in, calling to whoever was in the apartment.

Starting point is 00:13:09 Walking further in, he saw a shocking sight. A man on the ground, his neck slashed open. A ceiling tile on the ground next to him. On the couch, a completely naked young woman, massive splatter of blood. Clyde grinned. Are you going to help, Cherie? Leave your apartment and go to hers. Or do nothing while Clyde murders her.

Starting point is 00:13:33 One. This was so messed up. I couldn't just let someone murder my neighbor, even if I barely knew her. But I was terrified. I got up, ran into my kitchen, grabbed the biggest knife I could find, then went to my door. I took three deep breaths to steady myself, then I unlocked the door, threw it open, and ran out into the hall. I looked over to where the other apartment was, and I could see where the door is. had been broken in.

Starting point is 00:14:09 I ran as quietly as I could over there, and when I reached the door, stopped short and stuck my head around the doorframe to see what was going on. Unfortunately, I couldn't see what was happening from where I was. I crept in as stealthily as I could. The first thing that hit me

Starting point is 00:14:30 was the bitter stench of blood. Then I got close enough to see what was happening. Shearie was on her back on the couch. Clyde leaning over her with his hands around her throat. She was scratching at him. The blood made it everything slick, and it looked like her nails were sliding around more than doing damage.

Starting point is 00:14:55 I ran up to them and drove my knife straight into Clyde's back. He roared and whirled around. He yelled and dove at me. tackling me to the ground. He started pummeling me with his fists. There was little I could do to stop him. With each blow, I felt myself getting weaker, my vision going darker. And then Clyde screamed.

Starting point is 00:15:25 I focused as best as I could. Above Clyde, Sheree was a raising knife for another blow. She stabbed Clyde over and over until he collapsed on top. and then she stabbed him some more. I screamed at her to stop, to let me up. And eventually I broke through her terror. She helped me push his body off. I threw a blanket around Cherie and then called the cops. We spent a lot of time going over our stories with them. I left out the dark web stuff because I didn't want to get in trouble. Finally the cops left. Sheree went to go stay with their parents. And I went back to my apartment. When I got back, words were flashing on my

Starting point is 00:16:19 screen. Remember, everything that happened tonight was your choice. Play apartment complex again. Thank you for your patronage. Hope you enjoyed your new relic as much as I've enjoyed passing along its sordid history. It does come with our usual warning, however. Absolutely no refunds. No exchanges and we won't be held liable for anything that may or may not occur while the object is in your possession if you've got an artifact with mysterious properties perhaps it's accompanied by a history of bizarre and disturbing circumstances maybe you'd be interested in dropping it and its story by the shop to share with other customers please reach out to Antiquarium Shop at gmail.com.

Starting point is 00:17:37 A member of our team will be in touch. Till next time, we'll be waiting for you whenever you close your eyes in the space between sleep and dream. During regular business hours, of course, or by appointment, only for you. Our best customer. The Antiquarium of Sinister Happenings, Lot 024.

Starting point is 00:18:18 I played a text-based adventure game on the dark web. Written by LHK Forney, narrated by Conan Freeman, starring Trevor Shand as the game. Allison Cossett as Cherie, featuring Stephen Knowles as the antique dealer. Engineering Production and Sound Design by Trevor Shand. Theme music by the Newton Brothers. Additional music by Coag and Vivek Abyshech. The Antiquarium of Sinister Happenings is created and curated by Trevor and Lauren Shand. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter at Antiquarium Pod.

Starting point is 00:18:53 Call the Antiquarium at 646-481-7197.

The Antiquarium of Sinister Happenings - Lot 024: I Played A Text Based Adventure Game On The Dark Web

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