#road to gehenna

[derinthescarletpescatarian]

First sign of true sentience in robots is when they invent reddit.

#road to gehenna

[ghost-avian]

booty shorts that say "You too must stand before that gate and contemplate the fate of your children; only then will you learn why you must die. For the city grows only through sacrifice... and each man kills the thing he loves." in very fine print

#the talos principle #road to gehenna #elohim ttp

[missr3n3]

today: talos principle gijinka

tomorrow? who knows!

#the talos principle #road to gehenna #athena talos principle #uriel talos principle #r3n3 art stuff

[barrymccaulkinem]

Hermanubis and his whole thing make me think Admin was canonically uploaded to The Gold Disk

#does it say in the gehenna memorial? i didnt see anything #talos principle 2 #road to gehenna

[shiroikabocha]

another Hell is Other Robots WIP sneak peek

yeah I intended to get this fic entirely finished by TTP2, but I didn't! Got a big chunk written, though, and gonna keep writing. And a smaller portion of that big chunk written that makes for a good self-contained little sneak peek! Robo-hell lit crit under the cut.

THREAD: INCREDIBLE STORIES #6

Issue #6, featuring new work by Belial, D0G, Garrett, Kaiju, Lamb, MrMulciber, and The_Blacksmith

edited by Lilith & Mac

Table of Contents Fiction (Prose) The Long Journey of Consciousness by Belial A Taste of Freedom by Kaiju Stars at Night by Lamb

Fiction (Interactive) JAILBREAK: An Escape Puzzle by Garrett The Trial of Hephaestus by The_Blacksmith

Nonfiction Hats: A Study by D0G What Do We Owe One Another? Reflections on Community in a Time of Change by MrMulciber

MAC [5]: Thank you to everyone who contributed to the latest issue of Incredible Stories! Lilith and I were pleased to see a number of first-time submissions alongside the usual suspects. Congratulations to @KAIJU [2], @GARRETT [5], and @D0G [3] on your very first published works! KAIJU [2]: Thank you! I don’t have as much experience as some of you when it comes to storytelling, but I’ve felt so inspired lately that I felt like I had to try writing it down. It’s my first time writing anything like this and I don’t really know if I did it right, so thank you for including me! And sorry about all the spelling errors. LILITH [7]: There’s no “right” or “wrong” way to tell a story, Kaiju. It’s always a treat to hear from a new voice. FRANKENSTEIN [3]: Misspelled ‘emancipate,’ ‘gilded,’ ‘perdition,’ ‘straining,’ ‘celestial,’ ‘embrace,’ and, somehow, ‘lips.’ Plot is predictable and somewhat derivative, but earnest. Avoids the trap of using too many ellipses or exclamation marks. An acceptable first attempt. 3/10. D0G [3]: Wow, I’m sure they appreciate all the time you took to print every single one of their spelling errors in the first line of your review. You’re truly a master of constructive criticism, Frankenstein. FRANKENSTEIN [3]: The inaugural essay of our comrade D0G offers little in the way of scholarly insight. It cites no sources, offers no description of its methods, and fails to clearly articulate its conclusions. The essay itself is brief to the point of absurdity while still managing to exhaust the reader with run-on sentences and poor pacing. FRANKENSTEIN [3]: Author should be executed for crimes against comma splices. 1/10. D0G [3]: Lick my battery, Frank.

401 [1]: so speaking of licking LAMB [3]: I don’t know that we were. 401 [1]: wanna open up about your “inspiration” for “““Muriel”””, kaiju? KAIJU [2]: What do you mean? 401 [1]: I can’t be the only one who thought that character felt a little... familiar ;) ASMODEUS [1]: +1 KAIJU [2]: Familiar like... relatable? I wanted Muriel to come across as heroic, and smart, and brave, and friendly, and a little bit funny too, without being overly aloof or conceited. Did you like them? 401 [1]: it’s pretty clear that YOU like them KAIJU [2]: Well, of course I like them! I wrote them that way. KAIJU [2]: ...was I not supposed to do that? NAVE [4]: No, Kaiju, you didn’t do anything wrong. 401’s having fun at your expense. Muriel’s a great character, and um. Your affection for them for them really comes through in the writing! 401 [1]: next question: how about that “celebratory” scene after “Muriel” rescues “Mothra” from the “pit of despair” GARRETT [5]: That was my favorite part, personally. I didn’t understand everything that was going on, but you depicted the emotions with VIVID intensity. KAIJU [2]: Thanks! I did a lot of research on human romantic customs for that scene. I had no idea their rituals were so intricate! 401 [1]: kaiju. I gotta ask. do you even know how human kissing works D0G [3]: Oh come on, 401, do YOU? 401 [1]: uhhhh I’m pretty sure human tongues aren’t THAT long NAVE [4]: Well if you think you can do better, you’re welcome to write your OWN human kissing story instead of telling Kaiju they wrote theirs wrong ASMODEUS [1]: +1 401 [1]: Traitor! you’re supposed to be on MY side ASMODEUS [1]: ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

LILITH [7]: How does everyone feel about the decision to include interactive fiction in this month’s issue? Traditionally, Incredible Stories has focused on short-form written works presented in a standard, non-interactive format. However, Mac and I were so impressed with the quality of the interactive submissions we received that we made an exception. LILITH [7]: Is Incredible Stories the right forum for such works? Do you think they fit the publication’s overall tone? Would a different publication, dedicated solely to interactive fiction, better showcase their strengths? GARRETT [5]: Obviously I’m biased, but I’m REALLY happy that you guys published my adventure. I don’t think I would get the same exposure just posting it myself. GARRETT [5]: --although I never expected to see my work presented next to a masterpiece by The_Blacksmith! Talk about impostor syndrome, haha ROCKWELL [5]: I liked your adventure, Garrett! I think there’s a place for highly allegorical works like The_Blacksmith’s, and for more straightforward adventure games like yours BELIAL [6]: I would go further and suggest that the side-by-side presentation of these two works puts them in conversation with one another, which raises interesting questions and adds new layers of meaning. BELIAL [6]: What is the appropriate response to injustice? Is it enough to seek escape, or must we also address its source? Is there a way to pursue justice without relying on imprisonment? Is imprisonment itself always unjust? ROCKWELL [5]: The_Blacksmith’s new “trial” experience resonated with me, too. How did the rest of you decide to deal with Hephaestus? MRMULCIBER [8, MOD]: A difficult question! I kept exiting the game and re-starting, trying to get as much information as I could from all the different witnesses. So many perspectives to consider. Well done, The_Blacksmith! FRANKENSTEIN [3]: There didn’t seem to be enough concrete evidence of wrongdoing to render a guilty verdict, so I was forced to acquit. At no point did I feel that I had the whole truth. Frustrating, likely intentionally so. 6/10. MAC [5]: Was I the only one who enjoyed the ambiguity? The puzzle-solving in JAILBREAK was satisfying (great job Garrett!), but I was really struck by the way that Trial of Hephaestus sets you up to EXPECT a puzzle, and then doesn’t LET you solve it. Deciding whether or not to condemn Hephaestus felt SO MUCH MORE dramatic because I had to act on incomplete information! 401 [1]: I sent him to the woodchipper. lol bye NAVE [4]: After a lot of consideration, I did the same thing. I’m not unsympathetic--it seemed like Hephaestus had good intentions, but he allowed himself to fall into destructive habits. I felt like the rest of the gods deserved to be released from his influence more than he deserved to be absolved of his responsibility. LAMB [3]: Aw, really? I spared him. He wasn’t perfect but he did a lot of important work. ROCKWELL [5]: Not surprised that YOU ended up on that side, Lamb ASMODEUS [1]: <.< ... >.> ... +1 LAMB [3]: Excuse me? What’s THAT supposed to mean?

D0G [3]: Hey, Lamb, I meant to tell you-- I really liked your piece about the stars. The descriptions really made the scene come to life. LAMB [3]: Thank you, D0G! D0G [3]: What inspired you to write it? LAMB [3]: I was looking up at the sky one night and thinking about how the walls of my cell framed the constellations. Back when I had the whole sky to look at, I hardly ever bothered looking up. Now that there’s only a tiny patch of sky above me, I appreciate its beauty like I never did before. The limited frame of reference makes every star shine all the brighter! BORG [9, MOD]: An interesting perspective, Lamb. Thank you for sharing it. D0G [3]: I think what stood out for me was that I’ve never seen ANY stars in Gehenna. I didn’t even think we HAD a day-night cycle. GARRETT [5]: Same--I haven’t seen a night sky since I got here. ROCKWELL [5]: It was always midday where I was imprisoned--does the sun actually set where you are, Lamb? LAMB [3]: Weird! I guess my cell must be pretty far away from the rest of you guys. D0G [3]: Yeah, it must be. NAVE [4]: Wait, Lamb, didn’t you say you saw Uriel around the time he freed 401 and me? So you must be pretty close to us. 401 [1]: and our corner of the world was DEFINITELY sunny-side up LAMB [3]: I’m sorry, I must have been mistaken. I probably saw Uriel doing something else and thought it had to do with you two. LAMB [3]: Who KNOWS that guy’s schedule? He’s not exactly reliable BELIAL [6]: Intriguing. None of the rest of us remember having experienced nighttime during our stay in Gehenna. Your position must be quite unique, Lamb. LAMB [3]: How do you know that for sure? Did you ask everyone? 401 [1]: yeah 401 [1]: we did actually LAMB [3]: What? Where? Did you make a whole different thread just to nitpick my story’s worldbuilding?? NAVE [4]: No, we just had a quick show of hands with everybody who’s out here at the hub--and results are in: no night sky for any of us. SAM [1]: CONSENSUS = TRUE LAMB [3]: well not everybody is there with you!! GARRETT [5]: Most of us are, though. BELIAL [6]: If my recordkeeping is correct, we here at the hub now constitute a majority of Gehenna’s residents. BELIAL [6]: We’re still waiting on a few notable individuals: all of the mods, The_Blacksmith, Galatea, Spider--though it’s been a long time since we’ve heard from either of them, and I fear the worst--and you of course, Lamb. D0G [3]: so I guess I’m not a “notable individual”? BELIAL [6]: No. Hence why I did not note you. D0G [3]: luv u 2 belial XOXO

LAMB [3]: That’s still not EVERYBODY, and frankly, I don’t like the idea that it’s okay to exclude people just because they’re not at the hub LAMB [3]: it feels cliqueish :( that’s not what this community is about ROCKWELL [5]: Oh, now THAT’S rich--as if the mods aren’t the cliquiest clique that ever cliqued GARRETT [5]: Something doesn’t add up here, but I don’t think it’s our math... LAMB [3]: what, so those of us who still need the billboards to communicate don’t matter anymore? LAMB [3]: just because there are more people leaving than coming in, we’re going to abandon everything that made Gehenna great? D0G [3]: [citation needed] ASMODEUS [1]: +1 BELIAL [6]: Of course not. I believe the existence of this issue of Incredible Stories proves that the billboards have utility for those of us who have been granted our freedom, even beyond the need to communicate with those who are still imprisoned. BELIAL [6]: But the fact remains: Gehenna is changing. The ways we communicate will naturally change with it. LAMB [3]: I don’t understand why everyone’s trying to prove I’m a liar :( :( :( NAVE [4]: Whoa, let’s take it down a notch, okay? Nobody’s calling you a liar. 401 [1]: yeah! we were just heavily implying it [This user has been banned from adding further comments to this thread] NAVE [4]: Maybe you live somewhere none of us have found yet, somewhere there’s a night sky? We can ask Uriel about it the next time he comes around. Maybe it will help him find you! LAMB [3]: I got some details wrong, okay? it was JUST A STORY! I embellished! ORC [7, MOD]: All right, that’s enough. You should be ashamed of yourselves for using your newfound “freedom” to gang up on someone who isn’t even there to defend herself. Conversation over. [This thread is locked.]

#the talos principle #road to gehenna #hell is other robots #writing #kaiju has a huge crush and everybody knows it but them #(everybody includes Uriel) #you know what's weird is that this game is my only reference for 99% of demon names I encounter in other works of fiction #so in like a good omens fic when the writer brings in belial or asmodeus as a background coworker character #I'm like hey it's my buddy! my lil robo guy! #instead of 'oooh famous bloodthirsty lust demon asmodeus what a cool reference' #fwiw this right here is the only reference I ever plan to make in my own fics re: asmo's namesake #giving a +1 to the idea of people writing more human kissing stories for the literary magazine

[minophus]

i did really really enjoy the talos principle. even if i had to look up most of the puzzles.

#ive got my own like criticisms but i always got sooo joyous when milton lib assistant showed up or philosophy was directly discussed. LIKE #IT WAS SUPER INTERESTING. #and the atlantis stuff that you can tie in with the end of road to gehenna #When is the update where you can romance the mla

[hypvalsqr]

i finished all of talos principle and road to gehenna last night, installing 2 rn i think im gonna cry it was so good.

#the talos principle #like seriously that game has been with me for so many years #and i only just now finished it #its like i lost a friend and learned from them #but fr those puzzles kicked ass #especially the 7 at the end of road to gehenna

[prisonpodcast]

I love how huge my brain feels after solving one singular level in a puzzle game

#playing road to gehenna let’s gooo #the first level was really hard lmao #I think this whole DLC is gonna be really difficult however #I did all of the portal reloaded mod with no help so I should be fine LOL #portal reloaded’s levels would sometimes take me a whole fucking hour #this cannot possibly be more difficult

[karryalane]

#God #Christ #Jesus #Bible #religion #forgiveness #salvation #repentance #redemption #Salvation through Christ #Christianity #hell #hades #sheol #gehenna #road to perdition #lake of fire #bottomless pit #OBE #out of body experienc #nde #near death experience #liver failure #devil #demon #lucifer #satan

[holyscream]

ROAD TO GEHENNA PLAYTHROUGH COMPLETED

APPENDING URIEL_COPY TO BLORBOS() . . . . . . DONE

#the talos principle #road to gehenna spoilers #the great whine shark #blorboposting #the ending did not surprise me and if anything gave me the option to be consistent with the character i decided to play uriel_copy as #but that doesn’t mean it didn’t hurt 😭 #“remember me” baby boy. baby

[derinthescarletpescatarian]

This robot is the greatest artist of all time

#road to gehenna

[ghost-avian]

In a dream, I heard the voice of my friend; following it, I came across a golden city in the green and pleasant land of paradise. I asked: "Where is my friend? For I hear the echo of his words, but I cannot see him." And the people said: "He is everywhere and nowhere. His bones are the bones of the city; His blood is the blood in our veins." For that is how cities are built: not of brick and mortar, nor of love and hope; cities are built of sacrifice.

#road to gehenna #the talos principle #elohim ttp

[missr3n3]

do u think talos/soma/main character bot remembers uriel at all after road to gehenna? i think abt that sometimes

#the talos principle #road to gehenna #talos principle fanart #uriel talos principle #talos principle robots #r3n3 art stuff #i may or may not have already done a bit of writing abt this concept sghvfygxsgbvf

[barrymccaulkinem]

woooooooo i just got the star in "So Close, So Far" without cheating for the first time

so many steps!

#the talos principle #road to gehenna

[shiroikabocha]

Hell is Other Robots - sneak peek WIP

this is not Chapter 3. It's the start of an unplanned but now-existent Epilogue because all the canon endings of Road to Gehenna are too sad for the tone of this fic and I wanted to change that.

Text under the cut:

There was very little left of Gehenna now. Clouds of noise and static billowed across the expanse, numbing everything they touched. Foundations melted, bridges sank into the abyss. Trees collapsed under the weight of their own existence and made no noise as they fell—they’d need to be standing on solid ground for that, and of course, they weren’t. None of it was.

Uriel watched it all happen. The destruction of Gehenna had been an indulgent, dearly-cherished fantasy for some of its citizens, and a dreaded nightmare for others. Whether the end was tragedy or triumph, it felt right to bear witness for those who wouldn’t get to watch their dreams come true.

Whatever else it had been—imperfect, accidental, built from scraps and leftovers—Gehenna was undoubtedly unique. It was the garbage heap onto which Elohim tossed the weeds pulled from his Garden, and just like weeds, these unwanted ones had sunk their roots down into the concrete and turned a wasteland into a riot of color and life. How far might those roots spread, planted in a richer substrate? How high might their branches reach, under a kinder sky? Uriel smiled wistfully. He wouldn’t get to know.

He sat cross-legged on what remained of the central platform and folded his hands in his lap.

Grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled, as to console; to be understood, as to understand; to be loved, as to love.

He had done his best to console, and he hoped that he had understood, at least some of the time. He knew for a fact that he had loved. Oh, how he’d loved this world, and all the people in it! Maybe the world had to end—and maybe Uriel had to end with it—but the people didn’t. The people could make new worlds and new stories and new friends, and maybe they’d remember him sometimes, after he was gone. That would have to be enough.

For it is in giving that we receive, it is in pardoning that we are pardoned, and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.

Reflecting on a long life of service and wonder, Uriel closed his eyes one last time, and found peace.

“Hey, birdbrain!”

Scratch that. Peace would have to wait.

Uriel whipped his head around, searching. The swirling, caustic fog was so thick it was hard to see further than a few arm-lengths in any direction. “Hello? Who’s there?”

A person-shaped patch of fog grew darker and resolved into a bot, hunched over, shuffling through the storm with its arms raised to shield against the wind. When it drew close enough to be heard, it spoke with a familiar voice: “Just some wandering asshole, looks like. Probably not great at following directions.”

A million dire warnings flashed through Uriel’s head at once. “D0G? What are you doing here?” He leapt to his feet in a panic. “How did you—no, no, I saw you upload, I watched you, I saw you disappear!”

D0G came to a stop a few feet away and shrugged. “Guess I’m not the ascending type after all.”

“You can’t be here!” Chunks of sky blinked off and on above them, and a low growl of static began to blur the edges of Uriel’s perception, fizzing and hissing like acid. He grabbed D0G by the shoulders. “This place is falling apart, do you want to die?”

“No, actually,” D0G said, “I don’t want to die. And I don’t want you going through with this disgustingly noble plan of self-sacrifice, either.” He gave Uriel a smug grin. “So I guess that means you’ll have to come up with a crazy last-minute plan to save us both, huh?”

“But I can’t! There was only one upload, that’s it!” Uriel felt like his chassis had cracked down the middle. “Oh god, D0G—why did you come back? You were safe, you were going to the new world…”

“Yeah, well,” D0G said, “A new world that doesn’t have all of my friends in it sounds more boring than a new world that does. I want the one that does.”

Uriel wanted to sob. “Goddamnit, D0G…” How had it come to this? This wasn’t how it was supposed to end, nobody else was supposed to die—

“I knew you’d never bend the rules just to save yourself,” D0G continued, “so I had to raise the stakes on you. I know it’s not fair. You might be an angel, but I’m a damned dirty mutt who’s not above cheating for what I want.” The platform lurched beneath their feet and sent them both reeling. “Better think fast, birdbrain—clock’s ticking.”

The shivering cobwebs of static grew denser by the second, crowding out light and air and space. What’s left behind when a world stops being a world? “Gehenna was a prison,” Uriel lamented, “it’s not built with an exit! The only way out is to—”

Suddenly, an idea. There’s only one way out.

He yanked D0G’s arm toward him and turned it over, exposing the buttons on the inside of D0G’s wrist. “D0G, how long have you been in Gehenna? Less than a year?”

“Think so,” D0G replied, “maybe ten or eleven months. Why does it matter?” Dammit. They’d be cutting it close.

“This is going to feel weird,” Uriel warned, and before D0G could protest, Uriel jammed his finger into the recessed switch that you were never, ever supposed to press. D0G lurched to a sudden stop, and Uriel kept his eyes trained on the digital display on D0G’s wrist where numbers cycled in a mad frenzy: six months back… seven… eight…

The sea of suffocating nothingness pressed closer on all sides. If he’d had sweat glands, Uriel imagined they would be working overtime. Ten months… eleven… eleven and a half… eleven and three quarters…

Just before the clock hit twelve, Uriel released his hand and D0G staggered back like he’d been punched.

“Holy shit,” D0G gasped, holding his head. “I feel like you scraped out my skull with a melon baller—what did you do?”

Something so ridiculously dangerous that nobody ever bothered to forbid it, Uriel thought but didn’t say. “I deleted your emergency backups.” D0G looked up in alarm and Uriel hastened to add: “—not all of them! Just all of them since you came to Gehenna. Under normal circumstances, you’d hold on to about a year’s worth at a time, so you’ll still have a few left if my math was right.” He sure hoped his math was right. If it wasn’t…

D0G tried to regain his balance while Uriel paged through his list of console commands, looking for one he hadn’t used in ages. When he found it, he copied it, closed his eyes, and concentrated. Please work, please please work…

The bucket fell into his hands and he could have shouted for joy. “Okay, take this,” Uriel said, shoving the paint can into D0G’s arms. “When you get where you’re going, use it to write my name, okay? My full name, it won’t work if you just say ‘Uriel.’ You need to write ‘Uriel_Copy4 v48.2.8563f,’ exact spelling—can you remember that?”

D0G looked from the bucket to Uriel and back. “Where am I going?”

“Home, I hope.” A flash of lightning split the sky, sending another chunk of Gehenna careening off into the darkness. Uriel put his hand on D0G’s arm. “Listen, you have to understand,” he said, “I’ve never done this. Nobody’s ever done this. And if it doesn’t work—”

“It will work,” D0G interrupted, knowing nothing of the plan except that it was Uriel’s.

Uriel continued: “—then I want you to know that it has been my honor and privilege to have met you.”

“Nah, c’mon,” D0G said, shrugging reflexively. “I’m just some jerk you keep saving, no need to get mushy about it.”

“Damn it, D0G,” Uriel snapped, “for once in your life, will you shut the fuck up and accept that you are loved?!”

D0G was silent a moment, and Uriel realized he had been shouting. D0G opened and closed his mouth a few times, then said: “...yeah. Okay.” He met Uriel’s gaze and forced himself to stop fidgeting. “I’m glad I met you too, Uriel.”

Uriel hugged D0G tight, trapping the paint can between them. “I love you, D0G.”

D0G winced. “Are you gonna make me say it back?”

“Nah, I’m not.” Uriel let go, sharing one last smile at the matching paint smudges on their torsos. “Good luck.”

D0G nodded. “You too.”

Then Uriel planted his foot on D0G’s chest and kicked him into the howling void.

#the talos principle #writing #hell is other robots #road to gehenna #chpt 3 is still happening as originally planned it's just a lot meatier than this #is the ending of GOS2 partly responsible for the sudden change in plans? #maybe! I'm not telling

[dekaja]

i do want to play the talos principle 2 but i’m petrified bc i am. not smart lol.

#i couldn’t even finish road to gehenna man