The Island

The radio wakes you, as usual, with a weather report: “Tropical storm Roke is now due to make landfall on the island in seven days’ time. Meteorologists expect it to become a Category 2 storm by the time it reaches our shores. Workers on the island are advised to take necessary precautions.” You wipe the drool from the side of your mouth and look down at the letter you had begun writing before you passed out. //Dear National Science Foundation, You fucking fuck assholes// Hm. Probably shouldn’t finish it. [[Continue.->Backstory]]

The island was discovered five years ago, was completely uninhabited by humans, and possesses hundreds of unique species in a balanced ecosystem. Or, it was balanced, before people realized the island also had reservoirs of a rare, valuable mineral and began extracting that resource. The past couple of years have seen a rapid and substantial decline in the health of the island's ecosystem. When you first began your research, you were committed to simply observing and documenting, but lately, you have been begging the federal government, your funders, to stop cutting away the forests and polluting the sea because of the harms caused to the wildlife. Their responses to you included such phrases as// sustainable practices that minimize the impact on the environment// and //policy based on most recent data models and opinions from multiple experts in the field that determine the current arrangement of nature preserves is sufficient// and //balance of economic growth with scientific innovation.// Finally you warned them that reducing the plant cover could cause significant erosion during the next climate change–induced natural disaster, and that you believe the island will not survive another ten years if business continues as usual. To that, the government replied, //Thank you for this information.// And a couple of weeks later, more ships full of workers and machines arrived to accelerate the extraction of the precious mineral. Some days you quake with rage. Others you sob uncontrollably. But most of the time, you are numb. When you are numb you can still work. The plants and animals of the island need you. [[Continue.->Day One]]

Now, there's a typhoon coming, and it may very well be the last one this island ever experiences. As you are lamenting your situation, the radio chimes in. “Urgent update on tropical storm Roke. The storm has moved much more quickly westward than initial models predicted. We are now expecting the storm to arrive in three days’ time. Unusually warm waters in the east have accelerated its growth. Meteorologists now anticipate Roke will grow to a Category 3 typhoon by the time it makes landfall, with winds exceeding 100 miles per hour.” You go outside. It is a beautiful day to save some plants and animals from extinction. [[Go into the forest.->Birds]]

The forest canopy shades the ground, providing relief from the tropical sun. A cool morning mist drifts between the trees. The calls of birds draw your attention upward. On the branches ahead of you are gorgeous specimens of two of the island’s forest birds, the purple-footed babbler and the whistling fishbird. <img src="https://64.media.tumblr.com/927326495a8d3200a8c91d7cb099de70/e144e7f6fdd822c7-2a/s1280x1920/b58c0d658035c488e5f947f3f8a50e1ed75bcd86.pnj" width=700px></img> Which species do you want to save? [[Purple-footed babbler->Babbler]] [[Whistling fishbird->Fishbird]]

After a long day of stalking, setting traps, and coaxing, you successfully capture a mating pair of purple-footed babblers. The sun is now setting, and it’s time to retire for the evening. [[Continue.->Mammals]]

After a long day of stalking, setting traps, and coaxing, you successfully capture a mating pair of whistling fishbirds. The sun is now setting, and it’s time to retire for the evening. [[Continue.->Mammals]]

You wake early. The weather report: “Two days till Roke, now a Category 4 typhoon, makes landfall.” Feeling confident after your success with the birds yesterday, you decide to go back into the forest. There, you are lucky enough to come across a spotted pygmy bear fighting with a pack of sand rats over some berries. <img src="https://64.media.tumblr.com/c83aa49c72c0050b54c5390914e7c574/e2a08a69038e1282-9f/s1280x1920/96a6f724f20f5892237f1833d6672c500e5f1610.pnj" width=700px></img> Which species do you want to save? [[Spotted pygmy bear->Bear]] [[Sand rat->Sand Rat]]

Coaxing the sand rat queen out of its burrow with some cheese, you are able to lure it into the last of the cages you were supplied with at the start of your research. The spotted pygmy bear, hating cheese, flees into the underbrush and disappears. It’s only midafternoon, so there is time to look for something else. [[Go to the beach.->Beach]]

You attempt to coax the bear with some lettuce from your lunch. But the bear is terrified and flees. The sand rats, meanwhile, are interested in the lettuce and would be easy to capture. [[Take the rats instead.->Sant Rat 2]]

This is the last remaining beach on the east side of the island. The rest have been eroded from previous typhoons or swallowed by the 4.4 inches of sea level rise that occurred over the past five years. <img src="https://64.media.tumblr.com/fe19fc41fef931049586d12876785855/17d1440f09e09e6c-da/s1280x1920/debbfdef0c7cf21d0234268809f46bf09d381e53.pnj" width=700px></img> Which animal do you save? [[West Pacific quartz coral->Coral]] [[Oceanic blue monarch->Butterflies]]

You stuff shards of coral into your sample collection containers. The winds take the butterflies high into the air, just out of reach, where they remain until the sun sets. It’s time to retire for the evening. [[Continue.->Storm Day]]

Holding open your sample collection containers downwind of the butterflies, you collect several of them as they drift in your direction. You turn to the darkening sea. There’s not enough time to wade all the way out into the water and collect the coral as well. It’s time to retire for the evening. [[Continue.->Storm Day]]

You wake, yawn, take a big stretch, and click on the radio. “Might want to hold on to your hats, folks—Roke has grown into a Category 5 storm with wind speeds over two hundred miles per hour, and she is coming here TODAY! What is up with this wild weather! Those of you still on the island are required to evacuate IMMEDIATELY.” Fuck. Outside, you hear the sound of an approaching engine. It’s a military jeep sent to retrieve you and help you evacuate. As you load up the specimens you have collected already, you find one last sample collection container. The winds are beginning to pick up. The soldiers yell for you to hurry. You have enough time to take one more specimen. You rush to the edge of the forest by your lab. <img src="https://64.media.tumblr.com/5df201ba64df1401221564c6cdef5056/4184444a462ad7d8-68/s1280x1920/0d76dc34c6556d712bf7ec97eb4ab3ba022edd79.pnj" width=700px></img> Which species do you want to save? [[Mint-cap mushroom->Final specimen]] [[Porcelain flower->Final specimen]]

As you collect your final specimen, the winds begin to pick up and the waves grow. You return to the laboratory and gather what you can carry, then head out to the other side of the island, where a military rescue vessel is docked to evacuate you and the workers. Once you board, the ship departs, heading south to dodge the worst of the storm. [[Continue.->Boat]]

The waves rock the ship violently. Your stomach flips and churns. [[Continue.->After storm]]

The next morning, everything is still. A drizzle patters against the hull of the ship, rousing you. You check on the creatures you saved; they all seem to have survived the night. [[Go outside.->Outside]]

You emerge from your room and climb to the deck of the ship. Some sailors are bailing water, but most everyone else is asleep. You hope you will be able to return the creatures to their home, that you were overly cautious and paranoid, that your models were wrong. [[Go to the railing.->Railing]]

But where the island was is nothing but ocean. The fate of the island is out of your hands. But, if you would like, you may [[start over.->Beginning]]

Coaxing the sand rat queen out of its burrow with the lettuce, you are able to lure it into the last of the cages you were supplied with at the start of your research. It’s only midafternoon, so there is time to look for something else. [[Go to the beach.->Beach]]