New IF: Lab Rat (Prologue + Chapter 1)
by the author of God-Cursed
How do you fit into a world when you don’t know who you are or where you came from?
What do you do when nearly 20 years of your life are a mystery?
How do you cope when your body and mind were destroyed by an enemy you can’t remember?
You were little more than a lab rat, used up at the hands of a corrupt tech company. Though rescued, no one knows where you came from, who you were before, or if anyone is even looking for you. What everyone does know is that you experienced horror and suffering without mercy for untold years.
And maybe you don't remember everything, but your mind and body still bear the scars.
You've spent years regaining your sense of self—battling nightmares, frail health, and a tattered mental state. Just when you feel that you're at the final hurdle between your past and the chance for a normal future, your mind begins to slip again.
It's time to take matters into your own hands.
Discover the truth, take your life back, and answer the question that burns you alive…
Why?
Despite your origins as a caged little rodent, you earned the nickname "Badger." Partly for your penchant for burrowing under anything accessible to you, but also for your tenacity for enduring and recovering.
Found on your 20th birthday, you're now four years into rehabilitation, just trying to figure out what sort of future you have. Other people are calling the shots in your life, and you finally have the gumption to question if that's what you want. You've come a long way thanks to the help of Parsec's fantastic team of doctors and scientists. They repaired your body (as much as possible), and your mind (mostly), but much of what they know about you is kept secret—even from you.
The mysterious "Council" that oversees the organization has deemed it unsafe for you to know the extent of what happened at the hands of a corrupt business known only to you as "Abel Industries." As far as you understand, no real justice was ever delivered (at least yet), and it seems as though the directly responsible parties are all dead anyway.
Something is bound to give. Your recovery in a relatively short time is hailed as a miracle of modern science, even if your origins are full of painful questions. You're getting tired of waiting; it feels as though the clock is ticking on your sanity, and you need answers now.
Birthdate: 24 December
Sign: Capricorn
- Customize your Badger.
- Play as male, female, or non-binary with any sexuality.
- Pick your character's physical appearance and quirks.
- Choose an unhealthy coping mechanism or two and a healthy one for kicks and grins.
- Select and name a stuffed animal to be your bestest friend that you may or may not have a severe psychological attachment to.
- Shape your character's personality (no personality checks).
- Hone your mind and/or body for what comes next...
- Romance, Befriend, or get Spicy with some people.
- Create a steady and enduring love with 1 of 6 suitors - or don't and bask in their friendship instead.
- Hopefully make some new friends.
- Enjoy aromantic physical encounters with 2 ROs (Loch & Omina) and/or NPCs you meet in the world.
- Enjoy romantic physical encounters with all 6 ROs at some point in the story.
