I came to my senses abruptly. One moment I was in the embrace of Morpheus, and now I was desperately trying to understand what I had gotten myself into. And I couldn't have avoided getting into trouble, considering I fell asleep yesterday on my own couch and woke up in some dingy tunnel, blocked by a couple of buses. I found myself in a sleeping bag by a small, dying campfire. Next to me was a standard army duffel bag, and nearby lay an empty tin can and a half-finished half-liter plastic bottle of water. Carefully freeing myself from the sleeping bag, I stood up to get a better look around. But a sharp, severe headache made me wince, close my eyes, and start massaging my forehead with my hand. Then it disappeared as suddenly as it had appeared, and an inscription appeared before my eyes.
Greetings, user!
"Uh, what's this?" I rubbed my eyes, but the inscription wasn't going away. Very strange glitches. "Well, hello, I guess."
Allow me to congratulate you, user! You have been chosen by the system.
"The system? What's that?" I hadn't drunk or smoked anything yesterday, so why these hallucinations...
Say "Status Window," user, to see the information.
"Status Window," I said, and a huge text table appeared before me.
Status Window
Name:
Nickname:
Rank: Lockpick
Faction: Lone Wanderer
Reputation: Neutral
Condition: Fully healthy.
Skills:
Firearms (Rank: Novice)
Medicine (Rank: Novice)
Lockpicking (Rank: Novice)
Science (Rank: Novice)
Repair (Rank: Novice)
Hunting (Rank: Novice)
Stealth (Rank: Novice)
Persuasion (Rank: Novice)
Melee Weapons (Rank: Novice)
Unarmed Combat (Rank: Novice)
Time: 13.05.2011, 11:37.
Notes: None.
Achievements: None.
"And what does all this mean, damn it?! Where am I?" After a quick glance at the text, I couldn't help but shout.
User, you have found yourself in a world where events have unfolded similarly to those in the universe of the game you know, S.T.A.L.K.E.R., and you are now in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone.
"So? Now I have to complete some mega-important quest to get back home?"
No, user. You are free to follow the path you prefer; you have no obligations to the System.
"Why am I even here?"
It is fate, user. In any case, the System has no information about what happened to you before its activation.
"What is your purpose?"
To help you survive here, user!
"Why should I survive here? Grab my stuff and head for the border. The military will hassle me, if they even catch me, and then let me go."
You are mistaken, user. The Exclusion Zone is guarded much more thoroughly than depicted in the game. Numerous cordons and military patrols guard the Zone's borders. It is many times easier to get in than to get out. Even if you bypass the military, who are ready to shoot on sight without warning, ordinary and military police operate in all settlements near the Zone, strictly checking documents, which you do not have. And if you are discovered, you will face a very serious sentence.
"Damn, but didn't the military trade with stalkers? Smuggling, right? I can negotiate passage."
You are right, user. As you said, there is trade between the military and stalkers. But they don't trade with just anyone, only with major traders through intermediaries. Even if you manage to reach them, they will not help you leave the Exclusion Zone. It is beneficial for the military to do business with stalkers, not to let them go.
"What if I ask the scientists for help? They should be studying the Zone and all that. They'll run some analyses and send me outside the Exclusion Zone."
You are mistaken, user. Scientists might be interested in your case, but at most, they will consider you a victim of another, as yet unstudied, anomaly of the Zone. Most likely, you will be mistaken for another madman, of which there are plenty here. Besides, scientists do not transport stalkers outside the Exclusion Zone.
"And what do you order me to do? I can't get out of here, I have no documents, and prison awaits me "out there," there are anomalies everywhere, mutants, and all sorts of scum ready to kill for pennies!?"
Live, user. Explore the Zone, earn reputation, money, and...
"And how will all that help me here? I still won't be able to get out, you said so yourself!"
Not in the way you imagine, certainly not. But with the help of reputation and money, you can order new documents for yourself and register as a freelance research associate at one of the research camps. With this, you can quite possibly leave the Zone if you wish.
"And do you think I'll be burning with the desire to stay here by then?"
As stalkers say, the ways of the Zone are inscrutable.
"H-ha, why are you even answering my questions?"
My main task is to ensure your survival, user. If you are gone, the System is gone. But it only has general information, nothing that could help you quickly.
"No caches, artifact stashes, or a list of quests with cool rewards?"
Correct, user.
"Well, answering questions is understandable, but what else can you give? What does this strange status window even mean?"
The Status Window is a measure of your skills, user. The System has allowed you to master all the listed skills without training, but at the lowest possible level. For example, the medicine skill. You can reasonably bandage yourself and other stalkers, and you won't get confused by the contents of a regular first-aid kit, but stitching a wound or confidently using a military first-aid kit is beyond you. It's the same with all other skills. But as you use your skills, they will develop and gain new ranks. Moreover, the Status Window provides general information about you.
"I understood that, thank you. And why don't I have a name in the corresponding line? I do have a name."
To get a name, you need to get documents, user.
"Yeah, and where am I right now? Relative to the Zone."
I advise you to search the bag, user. There should be a PDA there, where you can find answers to some of your questions.
I take a few steps towards the bag, looking around the tunnel. It's shabby, with lots of trash, rusty pipes, and other junk, chipped walls, and a couple of large potholes in the old asphalt. Not a particularly picturesque place to start an "adventure." I pick up the duffel bag and return to the unfolded sleeping bag. I'll have to take everything out of the bag, and I don't want to mess up this hypothetical everything.
The first thing I pulled out was the PDA. A touchscreen, three buttons, about an inch and a half thick, and slightly larger than my palm. I wanted to start studying it right away, but I put it off for later. I could get lost in it for a long time; it's better to take stock of everything and get ready if I have to run. So, a few cans of stewed meat, an opened pack of pasta, a USB charger, apparently for the PDA. A flask, toilet paper, an opened pack of wet wipes, a Swiss army knife, and a couple of crumpled plastic bottles. I also found two packs of cartridges, judging by the inscriptions – nine by eighteen, FMJ. Whatever that means. On my belt, I found a holster with a Makarov pistol, worn, loaded, and on safety. I can check it later. In the jacket pockets, I found matches and two full magazines for the pistol.
Putting everything back except the PDA, I started to roll up the sleeping bag. I somehow attached it to the side of the bag, hoping it wouldn't fall off. Settling more comfortably on a pipe lying near me, I looked around the tunnel where I found myself. The exit from it is not visible from my spot, as it curves, but small rays of sunlight falling on the asphalt and tunnel walls are visible.
Now, I can start studying the contents of the device. I turn on the screen with the central button at the bottom, and the screen flashes too brightly; I'll need to adjust that in the settings. It didn't even ask for a password, although that's obvious. The PDA itself looked very similar to the one presented in the games. The time and date matched those in the status window. Several sections, including a map, radio, stalker network, and personal notes. I was surprised by the presence of a radio, but after fiddling with it, I found that it didn't work. The stalker network consisted of a series of messages about emissions, dead stalkers, and jokes. The last one was about the death of a certain Yuri Semetsky in Pripyat. The cause of death was not specified. The map section was a bit disappointing; for some reason, I hoped that, like in the game, there would be an indicator of my location, but no. It was just a satellite map of the Chernobyl surroundings with the ability to zoom in or out, and to place markers on it. I didn't pay too much attention to it yet; I couldn't figure out where I was anyway. Apparently, the System lied to me.
I moved to the notes section, and they were here. Strange. I thought that "fate" had brought me and all my belongings here, but it turned out that I had taken over someone's body, and I didn't like that at all. I started looking at my hands, trying to see something alien in them, but no. The size of my fingers, the shape of my nails, even the moles, everything was mine, familiar. But the notes, the opened pack of pasta, and would "fate," which brought me here, bother with making a fire and laying out a sleeping bag? I don't understand anything. I should read what's written there first, and then I'll think.
Note from 05.05.2011, 19:37.
Haha! I'm in the Zone, finally! Things will go uphill now. True, I had to pay a pretty penny to a local guide, but it was definitely worth it. I'll settle in here,
find a better gun than my old Makarov, and move on. An experienced stalker in the village told me that all the money is up North in the Zone. Here, only petty cash is available, but that's okay. Tomorrow morning, I'll go on a mission from Khokobor to check a glow at the local Boiler House. Well, it's okay, I'll leave this Ante-room soon.
Note from 06.05.2011, 11:15.
How wrong I was to think it was a trivial matter, a quick in-and-out and money in my pocket. At first, everything went fine; I scared off a couple of dogs on the way to the Boiler House. The pistol, though old, works perfectly. I found some strange glowing stone in the attic of the building, lucky me, an artifact. I stuffed it into my backpack and started to descend. As soon as I left the Boiler House, a pack of dogs was right at the entrance. They weren't there five minutes ago; they just appeared now. I had to run. The ugly creature closest to me lunged almost immediately; I didn't have time to draw my Makarov. I've never run so fast, and they didn't want to fall behind, completely starved, it seems. I jumped onto a huge boulder and shot them off somehow, wounding one dog. I'm sitting on the stone now, catching my breath. The dogs have retreated, but I still feel like they're somewhere nearby. I'll sit here a bit longer and then be on my way.
Note from 06.05.2011, 13:22.
Damn Khokobor! He gave me only fifteen hundred for the artifact. You can't even buy a sawn-off shotgun with cartridges for that, let alone something more serious. It seems trading artifacts isn't that profitable.
Note from 06.05.2011, 18:58.
He's a rat, not a merchant. I asked around and found out he ripped me off. In the abandoned military town, a few kilometers from the village, where stalkers have settled, it could have easily been sold for two thousand, or maybe even three. Too bad the artifact isn't particularly rare.
Note from 08.05.2011, 21:03. Nothing interesting yesterday or today; it was raining. I spent all this time in the village, under a roof with two stalkers, learned a lot. An expedition of scientists arrived in the Abandoned town, only two people, but you can ask them about the Zone, and I need to look for work with the local stalkers; it's better than working for that rat. The rain just ended; I'll go tomorrow.
Note from 09.05.2011, 11:10.
The Abandoned town is really... abandoned. Although the stalkers have settled here well, there's even a semblance of a checkpoint to prevent creatures from suddenly attacking. And, alas, although I swore off dealing with Khokobor, when I went for food, he offered to deliver a package to his friend, who lives in this town. A certain Con Man; he'll pay for the delivery. I'll ask the locals.
Note from 09.05.2011, 11:50.
They screwed me over again. I should have guessed right away that a good person wouldn't be called a Con Man, that scumbag. Baton, a local stalker, advised me to be careful with him; it's good I listened. I delivered the package. As soon as I mentioned money, he sent me away. I tried to protest, and he immediately put a knife to my throat. I left to avoid trouble. I won't take any more jobs from Khokobor.
Note from 09.05.2011, 14:34.
The scientists turned out to be busy, and they don't have any work for now. I talked to Barmaley, the head guy here. I need to go with a couple of stalkers and shoot dogs at the Boiler House, which I just visited.
Note from 10.05.2011, 15:56.
We shot the dogs; I even took down a couple. They're really agile. We were paid a thousand each, not that much, but at least I covered my ammo costs and made a small profit.
Note from 11.05.2011, 12:39.
I shouldn't have indulged in vodka so much, but the guys invited me to celebrate a successful hunt. My head hurts so much; I'll rest today.
Note from 12.05.2011, 15:12.
I made a deal with the scientists for work; it's very timely, as I'm out of money. I need to bring a water sample from the lake behind the Boiler House. Why? As if there aren't other puddles, but I can't complain. It's better than working for that rat merchant.
Note from 12.05.2011, 18:34.
Damn, boars have taken over this lake. I had to leave; I can't take them down with a pistol. Is this Boiler House smeared with honey for them? I'll spend the night in the tunnel; they won't let me into the local bar without a pass, and I heard it's not safe to sleep in houses. Tomorrow morning, I need to go again. Timofeev said if I don't make it by the fourteenth, they'll send someone else.
There are no more entries, nor any other files. So, I took the place of a stalker? God, did I kill him? But... why does he look so much like me?
No, user. As far as the System knows, this stalker is you. You have exchanged your positions.
"So, I ended up here, in the Zone, and he's in my world? But why?" I ask her in surprise.
You are right, user. But the System does not know why this happened; its main goal is your survival.
"Alright," I put the PDA back in the duffel bag, standing up from the pipe. "And how do I get to this lake?"