{(set: $rel_end to 0)
(set: $kil_end to 0)
(set: $wmd_end to 0)
(set: $mcneely to false)}
<div class="endingdiv">
<br>
<div class="endingtitle">Catapult</div>
[[Start|After she died]]
<br>
(set: $hook2flag to false)
(set: $hook5flag to false)
(set: $hook6flag to false)
(set: $hook7flag to false)
(set: $hook9flag to false)
<div class="titletext">Smalltalk</div>
<table width=100% height=100%><tr><td width=50%><p class="hometitle">[Home]<hook1|</p></td><td width=50%>(live: 1s)[(if: $hook2flag)[<p class="worktitle">Work</p>(stop:)]]</td></tr><tr><td width=50%><span class="lefttext">(click: ?hook1)[<p>After his mother died I didn’t talk much to my son. He didn’t have much to say, and my words turned to silences in my mouth every time I tried to say them.
It must have been hard on him. Fifteen years old and losing the better half of his parents. And I was at [work]<hook2| all the time.</p>]
(live: 1s)[(if: $hook2flag)[<p>But there was something we would still do together. Our [mangonel]<hook3|(click: ?hook3)[ <span class="dantext">-“Dad, just call it a catapult!”-</span>] project. We started it when Daniel was [ten]<hook4| years old. (click-replace: ?hook4)[<span class="dadtext"> - Maybe eleven? Or was he twelve?-</span>] We’ve been working on it during the [weekends]<hook5|.</p>(stop:)]]
(live: 1s)[(if: $hook5flag)[<p>Mangonels. They enabled the earliest form of biological warfare, flinging [dead and diseased]<hook8| bodies into besieged cities. I never told my wife that part. She was dead set against all biochemical weaponry.</p>
<p>The smell of the wood and iron filled the shed. In it’s time, it was the kind of scientific breakthrough that [changed the world]<hook9| forever.</p>(stop:)]]
(live: 1s)[(if: $hook9flag)[<p>But right now there was just a sad teenage boy sitting on the thick wooden planks, staring at the mangonel’s blueprints.
</p>(stop:)]]</span></td><td width=50%><span class="righttext">(live: 1s)[(if: $hook2flag)[<div class="cardbox"><span class="cardtext"><p align ="left">Our heartfelt condolences, Professor Kadey.</p>
<p align="right">-R&D team</p></span></div>
<p>A condolence card with all the warmth and charm of the lab’s cool blue lighting.</p>(stop:)]]
(live: 1s)[(if: $hook5flag)[<p align="center">---</p>
<span class="businesstext"><p>“We’re truly sorry about your loss, Edward. But we’re going to need you to come to work this weekend. We have had a breakthrough in Alien item number five and we need your expertise.”</p></span>
<p><div class="dadtext" align="left">[“Of course mister Abbot.”]<hook6|<br>[“Are you fucking kidding me, George?”]<hook7|</div></p>(stop:)]]
(click: ?hook8)[{<p align="center">---</p>
<span class="assistanttext"><p>“Professor! Professor! It’s Jonesy, [he-"]<hook10|(click-replace: ?hook10)[Oh my god. He touched the machine and he… he melted.”</p>
(if: $hook6flag)[<p>" Professor, why are you just taking notes?”</p>](if: $hook7flag)[<p>“I know you told him not to, Professor. It really isn’t your fault.”</p>]]</span>}]
(live: 1s)[(if: $hook9flag)[<p align="center">---</p>
<span class="businesstext"><p>“Sit down, Professor Kadey. My name is George Abbot. You don’t know us, yet. But our particular brand of the government has an offer for you that you will only get once. We do, however, require absolute [secrecy]<endhook|.”</p></span>(stop:)]]</span>(click: ?endhook)[{<div class="endlinktext">[[Next->Rain]]</div>}]</td></tr></table>
(click: ?hook2)[(set: $hook2flag to true)]
(click: ?hook5)[(set: $hook5flag to true)]
(click: ?hook6)[(set: $hook6flag to true)(set: $rel_end to it -1)(replace: ?hook7)[]]
(click: ?hook7)[(set: $hook7flag to true)(set: $rel_end to it +1)(replace: ?hook6)[]]
(click: ?hook9)[(set: $hook9flag to true)]
{{(set: $hook10flag to false)
(set: $hook11flag to false)
(set: $hook15flag to false)
(set: $hook16flag to false)}
<div class="titletext">Arrested</div>
<table width=100% height=100%><tr><td width=50%><p class="hometitle">Home</p></td><td width=50%><p class="worktitle">Work</p></td></tr><tr><td width=50%><span class="lefttext"><p class="dadtext">(click: ?hook1)["Daniel](click: ?hook2)[ Mark](click: ?hook3)[ Kadey!"]</p>(click: ?hook5)[<p align="right" class="dantext">”Dad, it wasn’t like that, me and Mikey-”</p><p class="dadtext">“Sit your ass down on that chair and tell me what the HELL you were thinking!”</p><p class="dantext" align="right">“I am trying to tell you, it wasn’t me-”</p>]<p class="dadtext">(click: ?hook7)["Joyriding? ](click: ?hook8)[Extasy? Are you out of your fucking mind? Thank god your mother isn’t here to see this. God, how did you end up like this? You used to be this cute kid that I built a Mangonel with, and now…”</p><p class="lefttext">He is silent. He’s staring at the floor like it holds the next line of the script. Fifteen years old and already messed up.</p>](live: 1s)[(if: $hook11flag)[<p class="dadtext">"Listen, [Dan-"]<hook12|</p>(stop:)](if: $hook10flag)[<p class="dadtext">"Listen [Dan-"]<hook12|</p>(stop:)]](click: ?hook12)[<p class="dantext" align="right">“No dad, you listen to me!”</p><p class="lefttext">I just stand there, perplexed. He had never raised his voice like this.</p>(live: 1s)[(if: $hook11flag)[<p class="dantext" align="right">“You don’t get to speak about mom like that! You don’t care that she’s dead! You don’t care about her, or about me, or about anyone else except for [your stupid work!]<hook13|"</p>](if: $hook10flag)[<p class="dantext" align="right">“You don’t get to speak about mom like that! Why aren’t you sad she’s gone, huh? How can you work so hard and not care? How come-"</p><p class="lefttext">His voice is getting shrill, like someone’s throttling him. Poor kid.</p><p class="dantext" align="right">“-How come I need to get [arrested]<hook13| before I see you, huh?”</p>](stop:)](click: ?hook13)[<p class="dadtext">[“Daniel...”]<hook14|</p>]]
(live: 1s)[(if: $hook15flag)[<p class="dadtext" align="left">“I’m sorry, son. I am really, realy sorry."<p><p class="dadtext" align="left">“It’s been… difficult since mom has left us. I realize that. But you’ve got to understand, I’m working so hard because I care for us. [Because I need to provide for what’s left of this family.]<endhook|”</p>(stop:)](if: $hook16flag)[<p class="dadtext" align="left">“Get the belt.”</p>
<p class="lefttext" align="left">He opens his mouth. One raised eyebrow is enough to silence him. [He knows what backtalking will get him.]<endhook|</p>(stop:)]]
(click: ?endhook)[{<div class="endlinktext">[[Next->Photograph]]</div>}]</td><td width=50%><span class="righttext"><p class="righttext">It was eleven at night when the phone rang. I was in the middle of finding out what the ancient glyphs on the side of the alien object meant, cross-referencing them with the printouts of stone tablets from ancient Aztec ruins.
It took me a little while to get back to this reality and realize I was being called by a police officer.
<p class="policetext">“Apologies for calling you so late, sir. My name’s sergeant Northcount of the Metropolitan P.D. Are you the parent or legal guardian of [Daniel]<hook1| [Mark]<hook2| [Kadey]<hook3|?”</p></p>
<span class="dadtext">[“Yes, I am.”]<hook4|</span>
(click: ?hook4)[<p class="policetext">I’m afraid I have to inform you that your son has been arrested.</p>
<span class="dadtext">“He’s been arrested? [That can’t be!]<hook5| Dan? [What has he done?”]<hook6|]</span>
(click: ?hook6)[<p class="policetext">He has been caught joyriding and was in the possession of illegal substances, sir.</p>
<span class="dadtext">“[Joyriding?]<hook7| [Illegal… substances?]<hook8| No, that can’t be, not my [Dan]<hook9|.”</span>]
(click: ?hook9)[<p class="policetext">”Afraid so, sir. Now, he’s a minor, so we have to ask you to be present when we question him.”<p>
<span class="dadtext">
[<i>Goddamnit!</i> ”I am coming over!” <i>The research can wait!</i>]<hook10|
[<i>What? I’m right on the verge of a breakthrough! If I don’t get this done tonight…</i> ”Forget it. If he’s old enough to steal cars, he’s old enough to be questioned. You have my permission to do so without me.”]<hook11|]</span>
(click: ?hook14)[<span class="righttext"><p align="center">-----</p></span>
<p class="dadtext" align="left">“So that’s what happened, mister Abbot. I would appreciate it if you could make the police report… void. It won’t happen again.”</p>
<p class="businesstext" align="right">“Don’t worry about it, Ed.”
George leans back in his leather chair. “But tell me you disciplined the kid, right?”</p>
<p class="dadtext" align="left">[(lie) "I did."]<hook15|<br>[(truth) "I did."]<hook16|</p>]
</span>
</td></tr></table>
(click: ?hook11)[(set: $hook11flag to true)(set: $rel_end to it -1)(replace: ?hook10)[]]
(click: ?hook10)[(set: $hook10flag to true)(set: $rel_end to it +1)(replace: ?hook11)[]]
(click: ?hook15)[(set: $hook15flag to true)(set: $rel_end to it +1)(replace: ?hook16)[]]
(click: ?hook16)[(set: $hook16flag to true)(set: $rel_end to it -1)(replace: ?hook15)[]]
}
<div class="titletext">Rain</div>
<table width=100% height=100%><tr><td width=50%><p class="hometitle">Home</p></td><td width=50%><p class="worktitle">Work</p></td></tr><tr><td width=50%>{
<p class="dantext" align="right">“Hey dad?”</p>
<p class="dadtext">“Yes son?”</p>
<p class="lefttext">It was a beautiful day in the fall. The shed that housed the skeleton of the mangonel kept us dry from the occasional [rainshower]<hook1|.</p>
(click: ?hook2)[{<p class="dantext" align="right">“What was war like back then when they used these?”</p>
<p class="dadtext">[“Oh, we've gotten much better at it now, son.”]<hook3|<br>[“Not as horrible, I think.”]<hook4|</p>}]
(click: ?hook5)[{<p class="lefttext">They took a lot longer to wage wars then they do now. Although the principles are much the same. These Mangonels for example - “Dad, just call it a catapult!” -, they weren’t just for flinging boulders, you know. They were one of the earliest form of [biochemical warfare]<hook6|.</p>}]
(click: ?hook7)[{<p class="dantext" align="right">”Oh.”</p>
<p class="lefttext">He looked sad. A young boy who knew enough about the [internet]<inhook1|(click-replace: ?inhook1)[{internet <i>(and his mother being a rather fanatic anti-war protestor didn't help either)</i>}] to know about the atrocities of war but still naive enough to think they were something that could be stopped.</p>
<p class="dadtext">“But that’s not what we’re building it for, son. We’re just going to see if we can chuck [fifty pounds a few hundred yards]<hook8|, huh?</p>}]
(click: ?hook8)[{<p class="lefttext">That put a grin on my boy’s face. </p>
<p class="dantext" align="right">“Shall we aim it at mister McNeely’s place?”</p>
<p class="lefttext">He surprises me sometimes. Makes me laugh with his outrageous ideas. But there have to be barriers, as well.</p>
<p class="dadtext">[“We most certainly shall not!”]<endhook|<br>[“That’s the best idea I’ve heard today!”]<endhook2|</p>}]
(click: ?endhook)[{(set: $mcneely to false)<div class="endlinktext">[[Next->Arrested]]</div>}(replace: ?endhook2)[]]
(click: ?endhook2)[{(set: $mcneely to true)<div class="endlinktext">[[Next->Arrested]]</div>}(replace: ?endhook)[]]
}</td><td width=50%>{
(click: ?hook1)[{<p class="righttext">A shower of sparks emitted from the strange, Alien weapon. Spencer fell back from it, hissing in pain. I stared at the artifact. [How the hell did it work?]<hook2|</p>}]
(click: ?hook3)[{(set: $wmd_end to it -1)<p class ="centertextright">---</p>
<p class="righttext">I slammed my first on George’s table. Didn’t care if he was my boss or not.</p>
<p class="dadtext">“How many more people need to die before you’re statisfied? That thing is a mystery, and the you are pushing us for results so hard people are going to die! That… that ancient <i>thing</i> doesn’t want to give away it’s secrets!”</p>
<p class="businesstext" align="right">“You misunderstand, Edward. I’m not pushing you. Our country is. [The sooner we find out what the ancients left for us, the better.]<hook5|</p>(replace: ?hook4)[]}]
(click: ?hook4)[{(set: $wmd_end to it +1)<p class ="centertextright">---</p>
<p class="righttext">I slammed my first on George’s table. Didn’t care if he was my boss or not.</p>
<p class="dadtext">“How many more people need to die before you’re statisfied? That thing is a mystery, and the you are pushing us for results so hard people are going to die! That… that ancient <i>thing</i> doesn’t want to give away it’s secrets!”</p>
<p class="businesstext" align="right">“You misunderstand, Edward. I’m not pushing you. Our country is. [The sooner we find out what the ancients left for us, the better.]<hook5|</p>(replace: ?hook3)[]}]
(click: ?hook6)[{<p class ="centertextright">---</p>
<p class="righttext"> The first death in the research team was when we discovered the weapon’s trigger. It was her own fault. After months of waggling around in our Hazmat suits, Hayley’s lab discipline had gotten lax. When the gas escaped, her filter was open.</p>
<p class="righttext">She didn’t close it in [time.]<hook7|</p>}]
}</td></tr></table>
<div class="titletext">Photograph</div>
<table width=100% height=100%><tr><td width=50%><p class="hometitle">Home</p></td><td width=50%><p class="worktitle">Work</p></td></tr><tr><td width=50%>{
(click: ?hook1)[{<p class="dantext" align="right">“Do you miss her, dad?”</p>
<p class="lefttext">I almost dropped the mangonel’s [rope]<hookin1|(click: ?hookin1)[<i> (50 feet of heavy hemp!)</i>] when Dan asked me out of the blue.<p>
<p class="dadtext">["O-Of course. Why wouldn't I?"<br>]<hook2|
["Every damn day."]<hook3|</p>}]
(click: ?hook4)[{<p class="dadtext">“Listen here, son. It’s… difficult to talk about. And I know I- [I know]<hook5|-”</p>}]
(click: ?hook8)[{<p class="lefttext">Not now. Not here.</p>
<p class="dadtext">"Just… hand me that drill and let's get to work, [alright]<endhook|?”</p>}]
(click: ?hook9)[{<p class="dadtext">“It hurts. A lot. And I’m worried. Worried that I’m not a good father. That I can’t… That I can’t-”</p>
<p class="lefttext">That was the first day I let him see me cry. It was also the first day the son consoled the [parent]<endhook|.</p>}]
(click: ?endhook)[{<div class="endlinktext">[[Next->Late]]</div>}]
}</td><td width=50%>{
<p class="businesstext">“Why don’t you keep a picture of [her]<hook1| on your desk?”</p>
<p class="dadtext">“I beg your pardon?”
(click: ?hook2)[{(set: $kil_end to it -1)<p class="businesstext">“Normally, when someone loses their partner, they keep a memento. Something so they can remember them. You desk is empty. Clean.”</p>
<p class="dadtext">“Now [listen here!"]<hook4|</p>(replace: ?hook3)[]}]
(click: ?hook3)[{(set: $kil_end to it +1)<p class="businesstext">“Normally, when someone loses their partner, they keep a memento. Something so they can remember them. You desk is empty. Clean.”</p>
<p class="dadtext">“Now [listen here!]<hook4|</p>(replace: ?hook2)[]}]
(click: ?hook5)[{<p class="dadtext">[“You know <i>exactly</i> why I can’t have a picture of her on my desk.”<br>]<hook6|
[“Everyone deals with grief differently, alright?”]<hook7|</p>}]
(click: ?hook6)[{(set: $kil_end to it -1)<p class="businesstext">“Yes. I know why you don’t have one. And that’s <i>exactly</i> why I’m telling you to put one on your desk. [<i>Now</i>]<hook8|.”</p>(replace: ?hook7)[]}]
(click: ?hook7)[{(set: $kil_end to it +1)<p class="dadtext">“It’s just too bloody [painful]<hook9| to see her face right now.?”</p>(replace: ?hook6)[]}]
}</td></tr></table>
<div class="titletext">Clock</div>
<table width=100% height=100%><tr><td width=50%><p class="hometitle">Home</p></td><td width=50%><p class="worktitle">Work</p></td></tr><tr><td width=50%>{
}</td><td width=50%>{
<p class="clocktext">[16:00]<hook1|</p>
(click: ?hook1)[{
<p class="righttext">I Just had to finish Jonesy's last report. Supposed to be home early today, work on the Mangonel together. If I rushed through this report I could still make it in time.</p>
<p class="righttext"><i>Wait. What? Oh my god, did Jonesy stumble on the key? Did he find the bloody key to the Alien artifact?</i></p>
<p class="righttext">[Read the report properly]<clockhook1|<br>[Go home]<homehook1|</p>
}]
(click: ?clockhook1)[{(replace: ?homehook1)[]<p class="clocktext">[19:17]<hook4|</p>}(click: ?hook4)[{
<p class="righttext"><i>Dear god. He did it. He found the link. I should wrap this up and head home now, quickly. Dan will understand.</i></p>
<p class="businesstext">"Ah, Professor Kayek. Couldn't help but notice that the light in your office was on. Working late, are we?"</p>
<p class="dadtext">["Mister Abbot! You are <i>not</i> going to believe what I have found!"]<clockhook2|<br>["Ah, yes. I was just about to head home, actually."]<homehook2|</p>
}]]
(click: ?clockhook2)[{(replace: ?homehook2)[]<p class="clocktext">[21:58]<hook7|</p>}(click: ?hook7)[{
<p class="righttext">It was all a bit of a blur. The tests on the old Aztec artifact were done quickly, studying the results took time.</p>
<p class="righttext">I was already hours too late. I could easily make up some excuse and have a Eureka moment tomorrow. Or...</p>
<p class="righttext">[Study the results]<clockhook4|<br>[Go home]<homehook4|</p>
}]]
(click: ?clockhook4)[{(replace: ?homehook4)[]<p class="clocktext">[23:06]<hook8|</p>}(click: ?hook8)[{(set: $rel_end to it -1)<p class="righttext">The meeting I was pulled into was hush-hush.</p>
<p class="righttext">I saw our employer for the first time. An old man in a stuffy tweed suit. His eyes didn't match his outfit.</p>
<p class="righttext">The meeting was quick, intense and to the point. In the end there was only one question.</p>
<p class="businesstext">"Edward. Do you know how to use the weapon?"</p>
(click: ?homehook5)[{(set: $wmd_end to it +2)<p class="businesstext">"I'm afraid we [cannot accept no]<threathook1| for an answer."</p> (replace: ?homehook5)[]}]
(click: ?threathook1)[{<p class="businesstext">"Tell me, mister Kayen, how is Dan doing nowadays?"</p>}]
<p class="dadtext">["Yes. I know how to use the weapon."]<clockhook5|<br>["I should be heading home."]<homehook5|</p>
}]
]
(click: ?clockhook5)[{(set: $wmd_end to it -1)(replace: ?homehook5)[]<p class="clocktext">[01:57]<hook9|</p>}(click: ?hook9)[{
<p class="righttext">We tested it on a monkey, first.</p>
<p class="righttext">After that, a human.</p>
<p class="righttext">The weapon we had found in an archeological dig so long ago was truly horrifying on it's lowest setting.</p>
<p class="righttext">By my calculations it could wipe out a whole city. And no country in the world would know what had hit them.</p>
<p class="righttext">I ended up sitting in my office, staring into the [dark night]<endhook2| sky.</p>
}]]
(click: ?endhook2)[{<div class="endlinktext">[[End->End]]}]
}</td></tr><tr><td width=50%>{
(click: ?homehook1)[{(set: $rel_end to it +1)(replace: ?clockhook1)[]<p class="lefttext">Traffic was light, I ended up arriving five minutes early.</p>
<p class="lefttext">Dan was already there, sanding the hole in the frame where the torsion bundle would pass through. He didn't notice me.</p>
<p class="lefttext">He had been working on the mangonel while I was working late. He had progressed quite a bit.</p>
<p class="lefttext">I just stood there for a moment, watching this young human, my son, patiently hold the beltsander against the wood.</p>
<p class="dadtext">["Hello, Dan."]<endhook1|</p>
}]
(click: ?homehook2)[{(replace: ?clockhook2)[]
<p class="lefttext">Dan was pulling the mangonel's torsion bundle through the hole in the frame when he saw me walk into the shed.</p>
<p class="dantext" align="right">"You're late."</p>
<p class="dadtext" align="left">"I am."</p>
<p class="lefttext">We stood in silence for a moment. Making excuses would excerbate the situation. Finally Dan smiled, forgiving me like I never could.</p>
<p class="dantext" align="right">"Well, you're here now! Can you help me with this torsion rope? It's a real bitch to pull through."</p>
<p class="dadtext" align="left">["Sure, son."]<endhook1|</p>
}]
(click: ?homehook4)[{(set: $rel_end to it -1)(replace: ?clockhook4)[]
<p class="lefttext">When I got home Dan wasn't in the shed, working on our catapult project.</p>
<p class="lefttext">He wasn't in his room, either.</p>
<p class="lefttext">Calling him to come home somehow tasted like ... [hypocrisy]<endhook1|.</p>
}]
(click: ?endhook1)[{<div class="endlinktext">[[End->End]]}]
}</td><td width=50%></td></tr>
</table>
<div class="titletext">Sleepless</div>
<table width=100% height=100%><tr><td width=50%><p class="hometitle">Home</p></td><td width=50%><p class="worktitle">Work</p></td></tr><tr><td width=50%>{
<p class="lefttext">It was the part of the night that divides the bakers from the drunkards.</p>
<p class="lefttext">I was sitting in my study, unable to sleep. Looking at a picture of [her]<hook1|. Remembering.</p>
(click: ?hook2)[{(set: $kil_end to it -1)<p class="lefttext">I can’t stop thinking about that conversation. Can’t wrap my mind around the immensity of what it means. But at least I still have my [son]<endhook|.</p>(replace: ?hook3)[]}]
(click: ?hook3)[{(set: $kil_end to it +1)<p class="lefttext">I had no choice. You probably think I am a coward. That I should have fought. </p>
<p class="lefttext">In the end, [one sentence]<hook4| was enough to convince me.</p>(replace: ?hook2)[]}]
(click: ?hook5)[{<p class="lefttext">I love my son.</p>
<p class="lefttext">I loved him [more]<endhook| than my wife.</p>}]
(click: ?endhook)[{<div class="endlinktext">[[Next->Clock]]}]
}</td><td width=50%>{
(click: ?hook1)[{<p class="businesstext">“We need to talk about your wife.”</p>
<p class="dadtext">“I beg your pardon?”</p>
<p class="businesstext">“Are you aware she has been snooping around in your home computer’s private files?”</p>
<p class="dadtext">“What?”</p>
<p class="businesstext">“Are you aware you have been followed to work by her?”</p>
<p class="dadtext">“No.”</p>
<p class="businesstext">“You have to do something about it, Edward.”</p>
<p class="dadtext">[“This conversation is over.”]<hook2|<br>[“What are you saying?”]<hook3|</p>}]
(click: ?hook4)[{<p class="businesstext">“Tell me, Ed. Do you love your [son]<hook5|?”</p>}]
}</td></tr>
</table>
<div class="endingdiv">
<div class="endingtitle">The end</div>
(if: $rel_end>2)[{
The bond between Edward and his son grew strong. They finished the catapult. (if: $mcneely)[Mr McNeely's house was the first part of a lot of collateral damage. ]Edward came home from work as often as he could. Their next project is a trebuchet.
}](else-if: $rel_end<-2)[{
When he was seventeen, Daniel ran away from home. It took Edward a week to notice.
}](else:)[{Daniel and Edward never got close. He tried to, when he was home. Which wasn't that much. In the end Daniel grew up with no real parents.}]
(if: $kil_end>-2)[{
Edward never put a picture of his wife up at work. He wished she hadn't found out about the alien artifact that had been unearthed. That he hadn't told her about it late at night when his conscience was hurting.
}](else:)[{
Edward never got over his wife's blood on his hands. (if: $rel_end>2)[{When Daniel turned eightteen years old, his father confessed to his crime to his son.}]
}]
(if: $wmd_end>1)[{
The knowledge of what the alien technology could do was too much for Edward. He's not sure if he got away with destroying it, or if he's too valuable for the government to eliminate him.
}](else-if: $wmd_end<-1)[{
The power at his fingertips pushed Edward over the edge, in the end. Once he fully unleashed the potential of the weapon, he used the power of the alien artifact to take over Great Britain.
}](else:)[{
While he wasn't exactly comfortable working with the powerful weapon left behind by... something, Edward kept working at his job. Great Britain's new military might made it the new superpower.
Until Chinese scientists found their own ancient piece of technology.}]
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