Counterfeit Monkey — 268 of 292

Section 3 - Slango

[ Slango is our first live encounter with anyone out of Andra's past; he's significant because he introduces the first really serious setback of the plot.

In conversation with Slango, we see Andra's personality surfacing a little bit more and coming into conflict with Alex's. Because she's comfortable with Slango, Andra becomes brasher, a little cruder, and more outspoken; more like the self she's become in the company of the smugglers. (Some of the same characteristics surface with Lena.)

This scene can only end in one way -- with the player agreeing to pursue clues about Brock -- because otherwise we'd be missing the whole rest of the game.

Given all this, the chief design problems are to maximize expressiveness during this part of the plot and help the player feel it's something other than completely railroaded. (That is to say, most of the available choices are expressive and reflective choices, but that doesn't make them wholly meaningless.) We can choose to push Slango or to go along with him, and emotive options are more richly implemented in this scene than in many of the other scenes of the game.]

The greeting of Slango is "'Hiya,' Slango says."

Rule for beat-producing during consulting-Slango:

if the barman does not know slango-friendship:

now the barman knows slango-friendship;

say "Out of the corner of our eye, we see the barman looking steadily at us[if the barman recollects whether he hath seen slango]. Concluding that we know Slango after all, perhaps[otherwise]. We turn deliberately back to Slango[end if].[run paragraph on]";

otherwise:

say "[one of]Over the voices of the crowd comes the sound of the barman setting out another round[or]Raised voices near the bar interrupt you for a moment[or]We're all silent as the door of the pub opens and closes and a large man walks past us[or]A squabble breaks out over by the darts board[or]A dart bounces off the dart board and lands near your foot. A gruff man retrieves it with muttered apologies[as decreasingly likely outcomes]. [run paragraph on]".

consulting-Slango is a scene. consulting-Slango begins when the current interlocutor is Slango. consulting-Slango ends when "Finally find Slango at Counterfeit Monkey" is completed.

Instead of saying hello to Slango when Slango does not recollect who we seem:

try discussing who we seem.

who we seem is an informative quip.

The printed name is "who we are". The true-name is "who we seem".

Understand "are" as who we seem.

Understand "I am" as who we seem.

It mentions yourself.

The comment is "'Slango,' you say. 'Lena gave me a totally unwanted visual about your yaklike proportions. Guess you also got a yak's sense of clock time?'".

The response is "'It was an emergency. I figured you'd go to Lena, and I was right.'[queue whether we can leave now]

'You were lucky. I knew her a little, but I had no idea you two were making the yak with two humps.'

'No such thing as a bactrian yak,' Slango replies. 'My apologies. I assumed that what Brock knows, he passes on to you, and he certainly knows about me and Lena.' He scowls into his root beer. 'Nearly gave himself a hernia laughing,' Slango adds under his breath.".

It quip-supplies Slango.

The proper scene is consulting-Slango.

After laughing when the current interlocutor is Slango and the current quip is who we seem:

say "'Heh.' It's easy for you to picture [--] and thus for me to picture [--] the way Brock laughs: the startled loud crack of a laugh at the beginning, like a thunderclap, and then the rest of the laugh following after a pause. It's like for a moment he's too surprised by the awesomeness of the joke to keep going.";

try discussing explain Brock's probable reasons.

explain Brock's probable reasons is a performative quip. The comment is "'She's old enough to be your spinster aunt and flaky enough to tell your fortune with half a tarot deck and a couple of Uno cards,' you say. 'We haven't got a lot of clues about what your type is, but I doubt Brock would have guessed Lena.'".

It mentions Lena.

The response is "'She's thirty-two,' says Slango crisply. 'She runs Radio Free Atlantida single-handed with electronics she built herself. And if she [i]were[/i] old enough to be my spinster aunt, that would still be my business.'

'So, uh, I guess you guys are pretty serious, then,' you say.

'I'd give her and me better odds than you and Brock.'".

It quip-supplies Slango.

It directly-follows who we seem.

The proper scene is consulting-Slango.

mutter darkly is a performative quip. It directly-follows explain Brock's probable reasons.

The comment is "I grumble under our breath about people who are hung up on their personal issues when there are useful jobs to be done."

The response is "Slango pretends not to hear."

Report smiling when the current interlocutor is Slango and the current quip is explain Brock's probable reasons:

say "We smile crookedly. You aren't enjoying the imputation about you and Brock because you're pretty much afraid it's right, and I'm anxious to get on to the part of this encounter where we head down to the yacht and put Atlantis behind us. So it's not the most sincere smile we've ever smiled." instead.

Report laughing when the current interlocutor is Slango and the current quip is explain Brock's probable reasons:

say "We laugh. No, well, more like I laugh. At you. It's funny how weird that feels, innit?" instead.

Report crying when the current interlocutor is Slango and the current quip is explain Brock's probable reasons:

say "You give a little choky half-sob and then suppress it, hard and fast. I'm not sure Slango really noticed, and if he did, he doesn't acknowledge anything just happened. But that caught you on the raw. More than you were expecting. I guess things with Brock mean a lot to you." instead.

Report yawning when the current interlocutor is Slango and the current quip is explain Brock's probable reasons:

say "You yawn elaborately to show that this sally didn't land.

Which it sort of did, actually: you're jam-packed full of worries about whether Brock and you are going to last, and what you'll do if everything goes wrong, and how long and hard it was just getting to the point that you're at now. But Slango doesn't need a display of those neuroses." instead.

Report shrugging when the current interlocutor is Slango and the current quip is explain Brock's probable reasons:

say "We shrug. 'None of our business, I guess,' I put in.

'Not so much,' says Slango." instead.

Report frowning when the current interlocutor is Slango and the current quip is explain Brock's probable reasons:

say "We frown. Slango doesn't apologize. Well, but you guys are like that.

He takes another swig of root beer." instead.

whether we can leave now is a weakly-phrased questioning quip.

It mentions transportation.

The comment is "'So talk to me,' we say. 'Is everything ready? Can we leave?'

Slango looks dyspeptic. 'Yeah, about that,' he says gruffly. You know better than to push him, and wait.".

The response is "'Brock's run into a little trouble pursuing a profitable opportunity[queue what the trouble was][queue cant-leave-without as postponed obligatory][queue modifying-letter as postponed obligatory].'".

It quip-supplies Slango.

It indirectly-follows who we seem.

The proper scene is consulting-Slango.

Understand "if" as whether we can leave now.

After frowning when the current interlocutor is Slango and the current quip is whether we can leave now:

say "You're frowning, practically scowling. [run paragraph on]";

try discussing what the trouble was.

After scoffing when the current interlocutor is Slango and the current quip is whether we can leave now:

say "'Nice,' I say. 'Very practical of him to go looking for a new score when he knew we had something going down.'

Slango continues looking into his root beer. You, however, are [i]not[/i] pleased. Your thoughts boil out. Thoughts about how breaking one person off Atlantis is a petty-cash deal, about how you wouldn't have taken me on at all if it weren't for your own need for a bit of incognito. About how clueless I am, and how valuable the things are that Brock likes to steal. It's a big old seething cauldron of contempt.

And then you put the lid back on it, [i]click[/i], and go back to being cool and far away like you mostly have been all afternoon. 'What happened?' you ask.

Jeebus.";

queue what the trouble was as immediate obligatory instead.

Report laughing when the current interlocutor is Slango and the current quip is whether we can leave now:

say "I giggle sharply, a nervous little titter that makes Slango look at us distrustfully. This is not what we need now." instead.

Report smiling when the current interlocutor is Slango and the current quip is whether we can leave now:

say "I smile uncomfortably, hoping 'a little trouble' is meant literally and isn't a euphemism for 'got arrested and is in cold storage right this minute.'" instead.

Report crying when the current interlocutor is Slango and the current quip is whether we can leave now:

say "Our eyes water treacherously. It's hard to say just which of us is generating that emotion. You, because you're worried? Or me because my nerves are stretched too far already, and I just want this day over with?" instead.

what the trouble was is a [weakly-phrased] questioning quip.

It mentions Brock.

The comment is "'Define trouble.'".

The response is "'I had a pick-up arranged to get him off the island shore all the way down by Maiana last night, but he didn't make it, and sent no messages. I checked a contact in Bureau Processing, but no arrest file has gone through, so Brock hasn't been caught. He's just... missing.'".

It quip-supplies Slango.

It directly-follows whether we can leave now.

The proper scene is consulting-Slango.

After frowning when the current interlocutor is Slango and the current quip is what the trouble was:

say "You form our face into a frown, and I don't fight it. [run paragraph on]";

try discussing what the trouble was.

Report smiling when the current interlocutor is Slango and the current quip is what the trouble was:

say "We try for a comforting smile, as though to say that everything [i]must[/i] be fine. You're certainly trying to persuade yourself of that." instead.

Report scoffing when the current interlocutor is Slango and the current quip is what the trouble was:

say "I roll our eyes. 'Not very professional,' I say, while you think daggers at me." instead.

Report laughing when the current interlocutor is Slango and the current quip is what the trouble was:

say "We giggle nervously and uncomfortably." instead.

Report crying when the current interlocutor is Slango and the current quip is what the trouble was:

say "Our eyes water, but you manage to repress the instinct. This isn't the time to give way to floods of emotion, even if both of us are feeling fragile, even if this is a very bad sign for your boyfriend.

Slango reaches out as though he's going to put a hand on our shoulder, but he stops and drinks some more root beer instead.";

clear cant-leave-without from queue instead.

cant-leave-without is an NPC-directed quip.

The response is "'We can't leave without Brock,' Slango says, as though you needed persuading.

Or maybe he's saying that to the me half of us. Right now, it's true that I'm not keen on the prospect of hanging out in Atlantis. We're already way behind the plan."

complain about the inefficiency of this scheme is a performative quip. The comment is "Sorry, but I have to get this out there. 'I was really expecting a smoother escape plan when I arranged to work with your operation,' I say.".

It mentions plans, myself.

The response is "Slango eyes us with disfav[our]. 'Andra, you got a moron up in your head. Kid [--] Alex [--] we aren't travel agents.'".

It quip-supplies Slango.

It directly-follows cant-leave-without.

The proper scene is consulting-Slango.

modifying-letter is an NPC-directed quip.

The response is "'I've got to get back to the yacht; it's empty,' Slango says. 'And I would prefer not to let the Bureau get a good look at me, while your current face is, shall we say, disposable. The trick is, we don't know where Brock is. If he left a message for us, it'll be at the dead drop.'

That's a spot at the public convenience by the town bus station where the three of you leave messages for one another when necessary. Usually quiet, yet anonymous. 'We're on it,' we say.

'Glad to hear it,' says Slango. 'Now stop referring to yourself as [']we['] in company.'"

Carry out Slango discussing modifying-letter:

assign "Check the dead drop at the public convenience" at Public Convenience;

complete "Finally find Slango at Counterfeit Monkey" instead.

Report waiting during consulting-Slango:

say "We wait for Slango to go on." instead.

Sanity-check going during consulting-Slango:

say "We can't just walk out before we've found out from Slango what's going on." instead.

Instead of saying goodbye to Slango during consulting-Slango:

say "We need a plan before we can end this conversation."

When consulting-Slango ends:

say "This gives us something to go on, anyway. We give Slango what I intend as a reassuring nod of solidarity.";

record "meeting Slango" as achieved;

if the player can see Slango:

if Slango is the current interlocutor:

try Slango saying goodbye to the player;

say "He heads out towards the docks and quickly disappears from view [--] returning to the yacht to wait for us to arrive with Brock.";

otherwise:

say "Slango gets up, gives us a final nod of acknowledgement, and heads back toward the yacht to wait for us to arrive with Brock.";

move Slango to Sunning Deck;

remove root beer from play;

change the initial appearance of Slango to "Slango hovers nearby, obviously concerned to make sure we got back completely safe.".

Report Slango saying goodbye to the player:

say "'Back to the yacht for me,' Slango says. 'Don't let the other half of your head do anything you wouldn't do.'

'Which of us are you talking to?' I ask smartly.

'Both.'";

now brock-bed is triggered.

Test Slango with "tutorial off / deparker / z / t who / laugh / snicker / snicker" in the Counterfeit Monkey.

Test Slango2 with "tutorial off / deparker / z / t who / explain / snicker / snicker" in the Counterfeit Monkey.