320 Epilogue

Thank you for playing Bookworld Online! Your main storyline for The Marsh Man has been completed and the results have been saved. We hope you enjoyed this story and that the twists and turns weren't too much for you. (They were for us!)

You may continue from this point or restart from the beginning and see what the other choices can do for your gaming experience or choose a branching storyline.

What will you choose next time?

Will it all work out?

Will you destroy everything?

It's all up to you!

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“Jesus Christ.” I said in surprise as the David Drake personality blocks were lifted once more and I came back to myself. I cursed like a sailor for a good ten minutes before I calmed down enough to speak clearly again. “That was the most screwed up and mind bending twisted heap of... of... I don't know what to call that! How could you write something like that? Are you guys insane?!?”

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Personal inquiry detected. Response generating. Displaying.

We have dedicated writers, system administrators, and programmers that spend hundreds of hours working on how to generate the best visual and emotional experiences for you.

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“The best experiences? Are you fucking nuts? I was eaten! Blown up! Lit on fire! Eaten by a fucking dragon! Burned with acid!” I spat. “Let's not forget being mutilated multiple times and having my family killed!” I took several deep breaths to calm down again. “What do you have to say for yourselves?”

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You seemed to have an adverse reaction to this novelization. It has been noted in the Archives.

Do you wish to play The Marsh Man again?

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“NO! Abso-fucking-lutely NOT!” I yelled. “Who would ever play that? Good god, I think I've been traumatized for life.”

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No abnormal brain activity has been detected. Would you like to speak to our on-staff psychologist?

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“No, I... well, maybe.” I said, unsure. “That was... it was... how could anyone still be normal at the end of that? How did David cope so well?”

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You helped him with the choices you made. That was the whole point of the story. Without you, things might have turned out quite a bit differently. Would it have been for the better? Only replaying it would tell you that.

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“I'm never trying that again.” I said and sighed. “In fact, I think I need a break. A nice long break. What's the psychologist's name?”

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Hagitha Marsh. She's the best in the business and designed most of the questions for The Marsh Man.

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“Oh, fuck me.” I groaned as the Hag's cackle floated through my VR capsule.