Salt - Gareth Damian Martin

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salt is best experienced with headphones and a keyboard.

<<audio "layer1" play>> <div style="text-align: center"> <<nobr>><<silently>> <<set $energy to 250>> <<set $effort to 250>> <<set $tiredness to 0>> <<repeat 50ms>><<if $energy <= -20>><<replace #warning>>@@font-family: 'Alegreya Sans SC', sans-serif;keep swimming!@@<</replace>><<else>><<replace #warning>><</replace>><</if>><</repeat>> <<repeat 50ms>><<set $energy to $energy - 8>>\ <<if $tiredness >= 30 && $tiredness <= 60>><<set $effort to 200>><<elseif $tiredness >= 60 && $tiredness <= 80>><<set $effort to 150>><<elseif $tiredness >= 80 && $tiredness <= 100>><<set $effort to 100>><<elseif $tiredness >= 100 && $tiredness <= 120>><<set $effort to 50>><<elseif $tiredness >= 120 && $tiredness <= 140>><<set $effort to 20>><<elseif $tiredness >= 140>><<set $effort to 10>><</if>>\ <</repeat>> <</silently>><</nobr>><nobr> <span id="thoughts">Keep pressing @@font-family: 'Alegreya Sans SC', sans-serif;space@@ to keep swimming... </span> <<timed 5s t8n>><<replace "#thoughts">> ...the more you press, the more you tire... <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>...pace yourself to swim for longer. <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> As you swim... <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>...make choices by pressing @@font-family: 'Alegreya Sans SC', sans-serif;up@@ or @@font-family: 'Alegreya Sans SC', sans-serif;down@@ on your keyboard... <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">><span id="upAct"><<linkappend "@@font-family: 'Alegreya Sans SC', sans-serif;▲ up ▲@@">><<display "tut up">><</linkappend>></span> <span id="downAct"><<linkappend "@@font-family: 'Alegreya Sans SC', sans-serif;▼ down ▼@@">><<display "tut down">><</linkappend>></span> <</replace>>\ <</timed>> </nobr> <<repeat 50ms>><<replace #bar>><<print '<div id="square" style="width:' + $energy + 'px; height=20px; display: inline-block;"></div>'>><</replace>><</repeat>> <span id="warning"></span> <span id="bar">-</span> <span id="spaceAct"><<click "@@font-family: 'Alegreya Sans SC', sans-serif;space to swim@@">><<set $energy to $effort>>\<<set $tiredness to $tiredness +1>><</click>></span> <<click "@@font-family: 'Alegreya Sans SC', sans-serif;click here to skip tutorial@@">><<goto "surface1">><</click>> </div>

<<audio "layer1" stop>><<audio "salt" play unloop>> <span id="title"></span> <<timed 2s>><<replace "#title">><div style="text-align: center; font-size: 200%;">s a l t</div><</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#title">><div style="text-align: center; font-size: 200%;">s a l t</div><</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#title">><div style="text-align: center; font-size: 200%;">s a l t</div><</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#title">><div style="text-align: center; font-size: 200%;">s a l t</div><</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#title">><div style="text-align: center; font-size: 200%;">s a l t</div><</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#title">><div style="text-align: center; font-size: 200%;">s a l t</div><</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#title">><div style="text-align: center; font-size: 200%;">s a l t</div><</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#title">> <</replace>><</timed>><div style="text-align: center"><span id="thoughts"> </span> <<timed 4s>><<replace "#thoughts">>@@font-family: 'Alegreya Sans SC', sans-serif;gareth damian martin@@ <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>@@font-family: 'Alegreya Sans SC', sans-serif;music by paws menu@@ <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> <</replace>><</timed>></div><div style="text-align: center"> <<timed 20s>><hr class="style1"><</timed>> <<timed 48s>><div id="squaresurface" style="width:1px; height=20px; display: inline-block;"></div> <span id="spaceAct"><<click "@@font-family: 'Alegreya Sans SC', sans-serif;space to swim@@">><<goto "swim2">><</click>></span><</timed>> <<timed 22s>><<replace #title>><div style="text-align: center;"> The beach is a strip of heat.</div><</replace>><</timed>> <<timed 26s>><<replace #title>><div style="text-align: center;"> </div><</replace>><</timed>> <<timed 30s>><<replace #title>><div style="text-align: center;"> You stand knee deep in the water, facing out to sea.</div><</replace>><</timed>> <<timed 34s>><<replace #title>><div style="text-align: center;"> </div><</replace>><</timed>> <<timed 38s>><<replace #title>><div style="text-align: center;"> Familiar voices shimmer behind your head.</div><</replace>><</timed>> <<timed 42s>><<replace #title>><div style="text-align: center;"> </div><</replace>><</timed>> <<timed 46s>><<replace #title>><div style="text-align: center;"> You take a breath, and then begin.</div><</replace>><</timed>>

<div style="text-align: center"> @@font-family: 'Alegreya Sans SC', sans-serif;salt is best experienced with headphones and a keyboard.@@ <div id="square" style="width:1px; height=20px; display: inline-block;"></div> <span id="spaceAct"><<click "@@font-family: 'Alegreya Sans SC', sans-serif;space to swim@@">><<goto "swim1">><</click>></span> </div>

<<replace "#thoughts">> <</replace>> <<timed 3s>><<replace "#thoughts">> Good... <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>...if you stop, or become too tired, you'll surface... <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> ...and your thoughts are lost... <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>...try stopping now. <<repeat 50ms>><<if $energy <= -10>><<goto "surface1">><</if>><</repeat>> <</replace>><</timed>>

<<audio "salt" stop>><<audio "layer1" play>> <div style="text-align: center"> <<nobr>><<silently>> <<set $energy to 250>> <<set $effort to 250>> <<set $tiredness to 0>> <<repeat 50ms>><<if $energy <= -20>><<audio "sting" play>>\<<goto "surface2">><</if>><</repeat>> <<repeat 50ms>><<set $energy to $energy - 8>>\ <<if $tiredness >= 30 && $tiredness <= 60>><<set $effort to 210>><<elseif $tiredness >= 60 && $tiredness <= 90>><<set $effort to 170>><<elseif $tiredness >= 90 && $tiredness <= 110>><<set $effort to 130>><<elseif $tiredness >= 110 && $tiredness <= 130>><<set $effort to 100>><<elseif $tiredness >= 130 && $tiredness <= 140>><<set $effort to 80>><<elseif $tiredness >= 140 && $tiredness <= 150>><<set $effort to 50>><<elseif $tiredness >= 150 && $tiredness <= 160>><<set $effort to 20>><<elseif $tiredness >= 160>><<set $effort to 10>><</if>>\ <</repeat>> <</silently>><</nobr>><nobr> <span id="thoughts"> </span> <<timed 3s t8n>><<replace "#thoughts">>Turquoise... <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> ...impossibly turquoise... <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>...and warm, like no sea you've known. <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>Though you haven't swum in months... <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> ...the action is automatic... <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> ...a memory the body holds in suspension... <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>...waiting to submerge. <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>You drag yourself, with each stroke, further from... <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> ...from what? <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>From the tepid pace of the sweltering beach. <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>From the static, repeating arrangements of a tidy life. <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>The trailing ends of familiar thoughts come back to you... <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> ...things left unfinished on the shore... <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> ...you can @@font-family: 'Alegreya Sans SC', sans-serif;hold on to them@@ them, or @@font-family: 'Alegreya Sans SC', sans-serif;let them go@@. <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">><span id="upAct"><<linkappend "@@font-family: 'Alegreya Sans SC', sans-serif;▲ hold on ▲@@">><<display "holdon up">><</linkappend>></span> <span id="downAct"><<linkappend "@@font-family: 'Alegreya Sans SC', sans-serif;▼ let go ▼@@">><<display "letgo down">><</linkappend>></span> <</replace>>\ <</timed>> </nobr> <<repeat 50ms>><<replace #bar>><<print '<div id="square" style="width:' + $energy + 'px; height=20px; display: inline-block;"></div>'>><</replace>><</repeat>> <span id="bar">-</span> <span id="spaceAct"><<click "@@font-family: 'Alegreya Sans SC', sans-serif;space to swim@@">><<set $energy to $effort>>\<<set $tiredness to $tiredness +1>><</click>></span> </div>

<<audio "layer2" volume 0 fadeoverto 5 1>><<replace "#thoughts">> <</replace>> <<timed 3s>><<replace "#thoughts">>A handful of questions... <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> ...the creeping sense of time passing... <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>...shrouded in senseless lists of things to be done. <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> And then, something else, deep below... <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>...something you dare not touch. <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> It has been a hard year. <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>A year where, for the first time, you felt yourself disappearing. <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> Fading into the background hum of a thousand unfinished things. <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>Dissolving into your own life. <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>Before you entered the sea... <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>...you fixed your eyes on the other shore... <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> ...across the turquoise gulf. <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> An imagined target. <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>There is a weight to the water... <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> ...and you surge against it... <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>...outrunning the trailing shore. <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> The effort coheres you... <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>...pushes you down into some compact, muscular thing. <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>You push harder.... <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> ...as if force alone... <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>...could strip dead weight... <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> ...and make a life livable. <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> <</replace>><</timed>>

<<audio "layer2" volume 0 fadeoverto 5 1>><<replace "#thoughts">> <</replace>> <<timed 3s>><<replace "#thoughts">>You let go. <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> You flex out your hands as you move them ahead of you... <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>...and watch the ripples of golden light play across them... <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> ...the sun's blinding heat dulled by the water. <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> It has been a hard year. <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>A year where, for the first time, you felt yourself disappearing. <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> Fading into the background hum of a thousand unfinished things. <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>But you are letting go of that... <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> ...forcing open some cold vault to the warmth that surrounds you. <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>Before you entered the sea... <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> ...from the edge of the beach... <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>...you caught the loose shape of the other shore... <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>...across the gulf. <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> An imagined escape. <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>On the beach were figures too... <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> ...those you have left behind... <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>...they seem bright now, burnt out... <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> ...as if the sea was dissolving their image... <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>...the details bleached bone white. <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>Faded faces. <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>Eaten away... <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> ...by a chemical, burning white. <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>The white of salt. <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> <</replace>><</timed>>

<<audio "layer1" stop>><<audio "layer2" stop>><<audio "layer3" stop>><<audio "crystal" play unloop>> <div style="text-align: center"><span id="thoughts"> </span> <<timed 3s>><<replace "#thoughts">>Breathe. <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>You look back at the shore. <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>The low sun blinds you, turning the landscape to a ragged edge of black. <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>You try to pick out the figures of those you left behind on the beach... <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> ...your vision flares white, and you turn away. <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>You face out to sea. <</replace>><</timed>></div> <div style="text-align: center"> <<timed 6s t8n>><hr class="style1"><</timed>> <<timed 36s>><div id="squaresurface" style="width:1px; height=20px; display: inline-block;"></div> <span id="spaceAct"><<click "@@font-family: 'Alegreya Sans SC', sans-serif;space to swim@@">><<goto "swim3">><</click>></span><</timed>> </div>

<<audio "crystal" stop>><<audio "layer1" play>> <div style="text-align: center"> <<nobr>><<silently>> <<set $energy to 250>> <<set $effort to 250>> <<set $tiredness to 0>> <<repeat 50ms>><<if $energy <= -20>><<audio "sting" play>>\<<goto "surface3">><</if>><</repeat>> <<repeat 50ms>><<set $energy to $energy - 8>>\ <<if $tiredness >= 30 && $tiredness <= 60>><<set $effort to 210>><<elseif $tiredness >= 60 && $tiredness <= 90>><<set $effort to 170>><<elseif $tiredness >= 90 && $tiredness <= 110>><<set $effort to 130>><<elseif $tiredness >= 110 && $tiredness <= 130>><<set $effort to 100>><<elseif $tiredness >= 130 && $tiredness <= 140>><<set $effort to 80>><<elseif $tiredness >= 140 && $tiredness <= 160>><<set $effort to 50>><<elseif $tiredness >= 160 && $tiredness <= 170>><<set $effort to 20>><<elseif $tiredness >= 170>><<set $effort to 10>><</if>>\ <</repeat>> <</silently>><</nobr>><nobr> <span id="thoughts"> </span> <<timed 3s t8n>><<replace "#thoughts">>You are moving again... <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> ...stretching out some painful joints... <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>...that spent the year compressed, cold, and closed. <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>There are shadows in the turquoise... <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> ...the rounded backs of scattered rocks... <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> ...where grasses sway like smoke trails. <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> Tiny sand-colored fish flit through the caustic light... <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> ...while larger shapes shimmer and fade behind. <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>You think about @@font-family: 'Alegreya Sans SC', sans-serif;watching@@ them from the surface or @@font-family: 'Alegreya Sans SC', sans-serif;diving@@, and swimming among them... <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">><span id="upAct"><<linkappend "@@font-family: 'Alegreya Sans SC', sans-serif;▲ watch ▲@@">><<display "watch up">><</linkappend>></span> <span id="downAct"><<linkappend "@@font-family: 'Alegreya Sans SC', sans-serif;▼ dive ▼@@">><<display "dive down">><</linkappend>></span> <</replace>>\ <</timed>> </nobr> <<repeat 50ms>><<replace #bar>><<print '<div id="square" style="width:' + $energy + 'px; height=20px; display: inline-block;"></div>'>><</replace>><</repeat>> <span id="bar">-</span> <span id="spaceAct"><<click "@@font-family: 'Alegreya Sans SC', sans-serif;space to swim@@">><<set $energy to $effort>>\<<set $tiredness to $tiredness +1>><</click>></span> </div>

<<audio "layer1" stop>><<audio "layer2" stop>><<audio "layer3" stop>><<audio "crystal" play unloop>> <div style="text-align: center"><span id="thoughts"> </span> <<timed 3s>><<replace "#thoughts">>Breathe. <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>A soft wind touches your back. <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>The sun is slipping below the horizon. <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>The cold begins to rise with the waves... <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> ...and the water slowly turns blue and opaque. <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>Are they still waiting for you on the shore? <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>You imagine their worried gaze... <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> ...imprinting a mark in your back. <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>A plane trail etches a soft white scar across your vision. <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>You face out to sea. <</replace>><</timed>></div> <div style="text-align: center"> <<timed 6s t8n>><hr class="style1"><</timed>> <<timed 57s>><div id="squaresurface" style="width:1px; height=20px; display: inline-block;"></div> <span id="spaceAct"><<click "@@font-family: 'Alegreya Sans SC', sans-serif;space to swim@@">><<goto "swim4">><</click>></span><</timed>> </div>

<<audio "layer2" volume 0 fadeoverto 5 1>><<replace "#thoughts">> <</replace>> <<timed 3s>><<replace "#thoughts">>The glittering shapes of fish flow below you... <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> ...in arrangments that cohere only from above. <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>There is a beauty to this elevated viewpoint... <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> ...a fantasy of maps and diagrams, sketched over with chaotic life. <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> Below the rocks grow bigger, reach deeper, become crazed with angular cracks... <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>The plan of something revealling itself... <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> ...or just the senseless patterns of impact and time. <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>You squint through the water... <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> ...the salt fogging your vision. <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>There are walls amongst the rocks... <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> ...ruins ancient or modern... <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>...halls, houses, rooms... <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> ...cathedrals in the silt... <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>...you imagine @@font-family: 'Alegreya Sans SC', sans-serif;diving@@ to them or @@font-family: 'Alegreya Sans SC', sans-serif;staying@@ above... <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">><span id="upAct"><<linkappend "@@font-family: 'Alegreya Sans SC', sans-serif;▲ stay ▲@@">><<display "stay up2">><</linkappend>></span> <span id="downAct"><<linkappend "@@font-family: 'Alegreya Sans SC', sans-serif;▼ dive ▼@@">><<display "dive down2">><</linkappend>></span> <</replace>>\ <</timed>>

<<audio "layer2" volume 0 fadeoverto 5 1>><<replace "#thoughts">> <</replace>> <<timed 3s>><<replace "#thoughts">>In your thoughts you dive down... <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> ...the sandy fish parting and reforming around your body... <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>...a granular storm of paper-thin scales and rippling fins. <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> The larger shapes become clearer... <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>...ponderous bottom-feeders that suddenly dart away like loosed arrows... <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> ...into the growing maze of angular rocks. <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>Those rocks... <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> ...rise up around you, in sharp right angles... <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>...though softened by a fur of sea grass. <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> You see the walls amongst them... <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>...ruins ancient or modern. <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> Some are the size of houses, but others... <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>...loom like distant cathedrals in the silt... <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> ...your mind wanders to thoughts of exploring their @@font-family: 'Alegreya Sans SC', sans-serif;streets@@ or searching for an @@font-family: 'Alegreya Sans SC', sans-serif;entrance@@... <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">><span id="upAct"><<linkappend "@@font-family: 'Alegreya Sans SC', sans-serif;▲ streets ▲@@">><<display "streets up2">><</linkappend>></span> <span id="downAct"><<linkappend "@@font-family: 'Alegreya Sans SC', sans-serif;▼ entrance ▼@@">><<display "entrance down2">><</linkappend>></span> <</replace>>\ <</timed>>

<<audio "layer3" volume 0 fadeoverto 5 1>><<replace "#thoughts">> <</replace>> <<timed 3s>><<replace "#thoughts">>Your thoughts surge down, through clouds of fish... <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> ...and the cold surrounds you... <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>Salt fills your nostrils as the walls take form... <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> ...you reach out to them... <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>...close enough now to see their complexity... <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> ...carved with ornate forms that fill your vision. <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>A doorway opens ahead... <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> ...a dark aperture in the sand and water... <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>...and out of that dark spool eels... <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> ...glassy eyed and straggle-toothed... <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>...you panic as they whip past... <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> ...cold flesh rippling against your trailing legs... <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>...and then you are inside... <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> ...the rooms overgrown but recognisable... <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>...water thick with heavy silt and dead matter... <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> ...salt-skinned furniture scuttled over by jointed limbs... <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>...and through a sagging door... <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> ...green with growing things... <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>...your childhood room... <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> ...where you sit, and begin to play... <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>...at forgetting. <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> <</replace>><</timed>>

<<audio "layer3" volume 0 fadeoverto 5 1>><<replace "#thoughts">> <</replace>> <<timed 3s>><<replace "#thoughts">>You let them fade into the sand and silt. <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> The fish still flicker, but the light receeds... <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>...and the cold rises up in twisting currents... <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> ...to touch your feet. <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>You kick it off... <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> ...strike out at it. <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>You know what lies below... <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> ...because you brought it with you... <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>...into this blue and borderless place. <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> The need to drown... <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>...to disappear... <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> ...and the means to do so. <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>Memories, fantasies, carefully cultivated... <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>...and the belief that... <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> ...some place or world you never truly knew... <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>...but which you touched... <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> ...is lost. <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> <</replace>><</timed>>

<<audio "layer3" volume 0 fadeoverto 5 1>><<replace "#thoughts">> <</replace>> <<timed 3s>><<replace "#thoughts">>Your mind twists away between the walls... <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> ...gliding between the carved and flowing forms... <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>... of eroded sculptures and collapsed rooms. <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> The cold drifts up out of the passageways like ink or oil... <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>...spiralling around your body... <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> ...and some dark, smooth, limbless shape... <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>...disappears around a corner. <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> ...you give chase, rushing forward... <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>...through the closing cold... <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> ...that grips you like a vice... <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>...desperate to uncover some beautiful unknown... <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> ...rounding corner after corner... <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>...your vision a blur of decaying architecture... <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> ...each room housing a world... <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>...of fronds and leaves and corals... <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> ...and those delicate creatures that attend them... <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>...and each world promising wonder... <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> ...that quickly fades... <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>...so you surge on... <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> ...eyes near blind with salt... <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>...through dead streets... <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> ...in a dying world. <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> <</replace>><</timed>>

<<audio "layer3" volume 0 fadeoverto 5 1>><<replace "#thoughts">> <</replace>> <<timed 3s>><<replace "#thoughts">>Your thoughts flow into the shadows... <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> ...the cold seeping into your skin... <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>...and a doorway catches your eye, dark against the dying light. <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> You surge towards it... <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>...and out of its dark spool eels... <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> ...glassy eyed and straggle-toothed... <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>...they curl away into the streets... <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> ...like smooth, limbless, black cats.. <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>...and you enter the house... <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> ...the rooms instantly recognisable... <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>...oddly clean in all that cloying sand... <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> ...and through an open door... <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>...into your childhood room... <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> ...where you sit and begin to play... <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> ...as time stretches out... <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>...and jointed legs scuttle across your back... <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> ...as the eels curl up around your ankles... <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>...and you become green with growing things... <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> ...and the echoes of your life on land... <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>...fade and falter... <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> ...as your eyes glaze over... <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>...with a white film... <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> ...of acrid salt. <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> <</replace>><</timed>>

<<audio "crystal" stop>><<audio "layer1" play>> <div style="text-align: center"> <<nobr>><<silently>> <<set $energy to 250>> <<set $effort to 250>> <<set $tiredness to 0>> <<repeat 50ms>><<if $energy <= -20>><<audio "sting" play>>\<<goto "surface4">><</if>><</repeat>> <<repeat 50ms>><<set $energy to $energy - 8>>\ <<if $tiredness >= 30 && $tiredness <= 60>><<set $effort to 210>><<elseif $tiredness >= 60 && $tiredness <= 90>><<set $effort to 170>><<elseif $tiredness >= 90 && $tiredness <= 110>><<set $effort to 130>><<elseif $tiredness >= 110 && $tiredness <= 130>><<set $effort to 100>><<elseif $tiredness >= 130 && $tiredness <= 140>><<set $effort to 80>><<elseif $tiredness >= 140 && $tiredness <= 160>><<set $effort to 50>><<elseif $tiredness >= 160 && $tiredness <= 170>><<set $effort to 20>><<elseif $tiredness >= 170>><<set $effort to 10>><</if>>\ <</repeat>> <</silently>><</nobr>><nobr> <span id="thoughts"> </span> <<timed 3s t8n>><<replace "#thoughts">>Something is slipping... <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> ...a linkage broken between you and that shadowed shore. <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>You think of the figures that await your return. <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> You begin to believe it is possible to forget them... <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>...and that the sea, the salt, makes it so. <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> You could @@font-family: 'Alegreya Sans SC', sans-serif;focus@@ on them, or just as easily, @@font-family: 'Alegreya Sans SC', sans-serif;forget@@ them. <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">><span id="upAct"><<linkappend "@@font-family: 'Alegreya Sans SC', sans-serif;▲ focus ▲@@">><<display "focus up">><</linkappend>></span> <span id="downAct"><<linkappend "@@font-family: 'Alegreya Sans SC', sans-serif;▼ forget ▼@@">><<display "forget down">><</linkappend>></span> <</replace>>\ <</timed>> </nobr> <<repeat 50ms>><<replace #bar>><<print '<div id="square" style="width:' + $energy + 'px; height=20px; display: inline-block;"></div>'>><</replace>><</repeat>> <span id="bar">-</span> <span id="spaceAct"><<click "@@font-family: 'Alegreya Sans SC', sans-serif;space to swim@@">><<set $energy to $effort>>\<<set $tiredness to $tiredness +1>><</click>></span> </div>

<<audio "layer3alt" volume 0 fadeoverto 10 1>><<replace "#thoughts">> <</replace>> <<timed 3s>><<replace "#thoughts">>You know the dangers of forgetting... <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> ...the dark formless things that move into the spaces left behind. <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>You refocus on the things that are close... <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> ...the rhythm of your strokes... <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>...the shape of your body in the water... <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> ...and things that are distant... <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>...the texture of skin which is not your own. <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> You always remember the physical things first... <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>...moments of contact, like an eyelash flicker against your cheek... <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> ...or the muscular pressure of another living body... <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>but they fade quickly after recall... <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> ...like the resonant waves of struck metal... <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>...that grow dull by the second. <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> What replaces them is more difficult. <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>Guilt and fear, and self-presevation... <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> ...undercut by the returning patterns of life. <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> It's cold now. <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> And you have forgotten why you came out here. <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> Were you just going to keep swimming? <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>You are too far... <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> ...and yet you go on... <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>...a tiny shape receeding... <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> ...in the eyes of the only ones who love you. <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>Stop. <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> Stop now. <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>It's so cold. <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> Please stop. <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>Please. <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>You keep going because you can. <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> The truth of it is obvious. <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>You don't want to be free... <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> ...you don't know what you want... <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>...but is it there? Ahead? <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>Like two bodies about to touch? <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> <</replace>>\ <</timed>>

<<audio "layer3alt" volume 0 fadeoverto 10 1>><<replace "#thoughts">> <</replace>> <<timed 3s>><<replace "#thoughts">>It's so easy at first... <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> ...a weight lifting from your shoulders... <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>...you flex more, pull forward faster... <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> ...and you reach out further than before... <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>...touching the edges of the turquoise... <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> ...nerves igniting like struck matches. <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>You glance it first at a distance... <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> ...a dark shape hovering in the blue... <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>...and it is blue now... <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> ...the turquoise sapped away by the slow cold... <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>It turns as you approach... <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> ...sending a chill down your spine... <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>...its soft fins realigning it in the water with ease. <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> This is its sea. <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>A sea it watches with the open eyes of the dead... <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> ...with glassy stillness, and cold blood. <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> As you come closer its dead eyes glimmer with a gelatine softness... <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>..and its body holds steady in the current. <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>Don't go closer. <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> Please stop. <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>Please. <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>You approach. <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> You have never seen anything like it... <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>...this creature so distinct from the pictures, the diagrams... <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> ...that in its presence, you cannot identify it. <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>It has a life you cannot touch. <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> Of not knowing. <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>Of oceans to slice through. <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> Of voids to dive deep within. <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>All the wonders we will never approach. <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> In the last metres you panic. <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> Fuck. <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>Fuck this. <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>Get out. <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> Jesus fucking christ. <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>Fuck. Stop. <</replace>>\ <</timed>>

<<audio "layer1" stop>><<audio "layer2" stop>><<audio "layer3alt" stop>><<audio "crystal" play unloop>> <div style="text-align: center"><span id="thoughts"> </span> <<timed 3s>><<replace "#thoughts">>Breathe. <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> <hr class="style1"> <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>The sun has gone... <hr class="style1"> <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> ...and the waves grow. <hr class="style1"> <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>The sky is a gradient from peach to powder blue. <hr class="style1"> <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> <hr class="style1"> <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>Across the swell of the sea you catch... <hr class="style1"> <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> ...the first lights of the other shore flickering on. <hr class="style1"> <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>You remember reading stories... <hr class="style1"> <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> ...of a local tradition of swimming this gulf. <hr class="style1"> <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> <hr class="style1"> <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>The idea settles somewhere in your head. <hr class="style1"> <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> <hr class="style1"> <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> <hr class="style1"> <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>You look back to the beach, a strip of blue shadow. <hr class="style1"> <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> They must be cold, waiting there for you... <hr class="style1"> <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>...or perhaps they have already forgotten... <hr class="style1"> <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> ...absorbed in some activity in the sand. <hr class="style1"> <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> <hr class="style1"> <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>You face out to the darkening sea, and realise you have a choice. <hr class="style1"> <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> <hr class="style1"> <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">><span id="upAct"><<linkappend "@@font-family: 'Alegreya Sans SC', sans-serif;▲ turn back ▲@@">><<display "turn back1">><</linkappend>></span> <span id="downAct"><<linkappend "@@font-family: 'Alegreya Sans SC', sans-serif;▼ go on ▼@@">><<display "go on1">><</linkappend>></span> <hr class="style1"><</replace>><</timed>> </div>

<<replace "#thoughts">> <hr class="style1"> <</replace>><<timed 3s>><<replace "#thoughts">><div style="text-align: center;">You fix your eyes on the distant shore. </div> <hr class="style1"> <<timed 3s>><div id="squaresurface" style="width:1px; height=20px; display: inline-block;"></div> <span id="spaceAct"><<click "@@font-family: 'Alegreya Sans SC', sans-serif;space to swim@@">><<goto "swim5">><</click>></span> <</timed>><</replace>>\<</timed>>

<<replace "#thoughts">> <hr class="style1"> <</replace>><<timed 3s>><<replace "#thoughts">><div style="text-align: center;">You turn back to face the beach. </div> <hr class="style1"> <<timed 3s>><div id="squaresurface" style="width:1px; height=20px; display: inline-block;"></div> <span id="spaceAct"><<click "@@font-family: 'Alegreya Sans SC', sans-serif;space to swim@@">><<goto "swimback">><</click>></span> <</timed>><</replace>>\<</timed>>

<<audio "crystal" stop>><<audio "layer1" play>> <div style="text-align: center"> <<nobr>><<silently>> <<set $energy to 250>> <<set $effort to 210>> <<set $tiredness to 30>> <<repeat 50ms>><<if $energy <= -20>><<goto "drown">><</if>><</repeat>> <<repeat 50ms>><<set $energy to $energy - 8>>\ <<if $tiredness >= 30 && $tiredness <= 60>><<set $effort to 210>><<elseif $tiredness >= 60 && $tiredness <= 90>><<set $effort to 170>><<elseif $tiredness >= 90 && $tiredness <= 110>><<set $effort to 130>><<elseif $tiredness >= 110 && $tiredness <= 130>><<set $effort to 100>><<elseif $tiredness >= 130 && $tiredness <= 140>><<set $effort to 80>><<elseif $tiredness >= 140 && $tiredness <= 160>><<set $effort to 50>><<elseif $tiredness >= 160 && $tiredness <= 170>><<set $effort to 20>><<elseif $tiredness >= 170>><<set $effort to 10>><</if>>\ <</repeat>> <</silently>><</nobr>><nobr> <span id="thoughts"> </span> <<timed 3s t8n>><<replace "#thoughts">>The cold is fading... <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> ...and something else grows in its shadow. <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>The waves make swimming hard... <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> ...rippling through your body like kicks and punches. <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>The sea is a muscle. <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">><span id="upAct"><<linkappend "@@font-family: 'Alegreya Sans SC', sans-serif;▲ fight ▲@@">><<display "fight">><</linkappend>></span> <span id="downAct"><<linkappend "@@font-family: 'Alegreya Sans SC', sans-serif;▼ fight ▼@@">><<display "fight">><</linkappend>></span> <</replace>>\ <</timed>> </nobr> <<repeat 50ms>><<replace #bar>><<print '<div id="square" style="width:' + $energy + 'px; height=20px; display: inline-block;"></div>'>><</replace>><</repeat>> <span id="bar">-</span> <span id="spaceAct"><<click "@@font-family: 'Alegreya Sans SC', sans-serif;space to swim@@">><<set $energy to $effort>>\<<set $tiredness to $tiredness +1>><</click>></span> </div>

<<audio "crystal" stop>><<audio "layer1" play>> <div style="text-align: center"> <<nobr>><<silently>> <<set $energy to 250>> <<set $effort to 250>> <<set $tiredness to 0>> <<repeat 50ms>><<set $energy to $energy - 8>>\ <<if $tiredness >= 30 && $tiredness <= 60>><<set $effort to 210>><<elseif $tiredness >= 60 && $tiredness <= 90>><<set $effort to 170>><<elseif $tiredness >= 90 && $tiredness <= 110>><<set $effort to 130>><<elseif $tiredness >= 110 && $tiredness <= 130>><<set $effort to 100>><<elseif $tiredness >= 130 && $tiredness <= 140>><<set $effort to 80>><<elseif $tiredness >= 140 && $tiredness <= 160>><<set $effort to 50>><<elseif $tiredness >= 160 && $tiredness <= 170>><<set $effort to 20>><<elseif $tiredness >= 170>><<set $effort to 10>><</if>>\ <</repeat>> <</silently>><</nobr>><nobr> <span id="thoughts"> </span> <<timed 3s t8n>><<replace "#thoughts">>You begin to swim back. <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>It feels different, heavy and slow... <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> ...a sense of being dragged down... <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>...the knowledge that you are crossing old, familiar waters. <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>Out behind you, the water leads away... <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> ...to living depths of incredible beauty. <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>You dream a little of being among them... <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> ...of descending into seas seen only in encyclopedias... <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>...those ancient Devonian or Cambrian oceans. <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>Times of plated fish, vast, impossible, mythic... <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> ...gliding over tendrils of bizarre flora. <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>All that is gone now. Their last living traces in places you will never go. <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">><<audio "layer2" volume 0 fadeoverto 10 1>> <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>There is something white. <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> Something white in the water. <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>Like an anatomical sketch. <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>It looks like an impossible corpse... <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> ...a fish turned inside out. <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>It flows with the current. <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> You swim closer, puzzled by its form... <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>...desperately seeking some understanding... <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> ...but nothing comes... <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>...and it passes in the waves. <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>You realise how cold you are. <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>Cold and stupid. <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>Little more than a child, out here chasing ancient fish. <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> <<audio "layer1" volume 1 fadeoverto 50 0>><<audio "layer2" volume 1 fadeoverto 50 0>> <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>Something begins to rise inside you. <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> Something like a pain. <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>But soft, changing, malleable. <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>You let it flow out. <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> In crystal clouds like salt. <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>You breathe it out. <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> All of it. <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>Stop. <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> Stop trying. <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>Stop chasing. <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>Stop swimming. <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>Breathe it all out. <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>Let the sea have its salt. <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>Let the fucking ancient fish have it. <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>Let go. <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> Let go of it all. <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>Breathe. <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">><<goto "breathe2">> <</replace>>\ <</timed>> </nobr> <<repeat 50ms>><<replace #bar>><<print '<div id="square" style="width:' + $energy + 'px; height=20px; display: inline-block;"></div>'>><</replace>><</repeat>> <span id="bar">-</span> <span id="spaceAct"><<click "@@font-family: 'Alegreya Sans SC', sans-serif;space to swim@@">><<set $energy to $effort>>\<<set $tiredness to $tiredness +1>><</click>></span> </div>

<<audio "layer2" volume 0 fadeoverto 5 1>><<replace "#thoughts">> <</replace>> <<timed 3s>><<replace "#thoughts">>You kick hard and taste salt. <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> Again. <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>Again. <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> Stop thinking so hard and do it. <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">><span id="upAct"><<linkappend "@@font-family: 'Alegreya Sans SC', sans-serif;▲ fight ▲@@">><<display "fight2">><</linkappend>></span> <span id="downAct"><<linkappend "@@font-family: 'Alegreya Sans SC', sans-serif;▼ fight ▼@@">><<display "fight2">><</linkappend>></span> <</replace>>\ <</timed>>

<div style="text-align: center"><span id="thoughts"> </span> <<timed 3s>><<replace "#thoughts">>You breathe. <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>You emerge in the warm shallows. <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>The water is flat, pearly, around your waist. <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>You walk out of the sea. <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>The cold of the night meets you. <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> It refreshes you. <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>The last light is fading from the purple sky. <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>You feel the wind at your back. Even through the salt. <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>That sticky layer that remains after every swim. <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>You will wash it off in the warmth of the shower. <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>You know that may not rinse it. <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>It is in your bones now. <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>Some figures come down the path... <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> ...through the chirping forest. <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>The crickets are starting up their dusk songs... <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>...and you walk into the waves of sound... <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> ...towards the descending crowd... <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>...looking for the faces you know. <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> <<audio "crystal" fadeout>> <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> <<goto "surface1">> <</replace>><</timed>></div> <<timed 6s t8n>><hr class="style1"><</timed>>

<<audio "drone" stop>> <div style="text-align: center"><span id="thoughts"> </span> <<timed 3s>><<replace "#thoughts">>You breathe. <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>You emerge on the other shore. <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>The lights have been turned off, or were never there. <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>Only the dark mass of the forest canopy greets you. <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>You walk out of the sea. <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>It is cold... <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> ...but you cannot feel it. <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>The dead eye of the moon rises. <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>You feel its light on your back. Even through the salt. <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>There is no running water, no stream, no tap... <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> ...nowhere to wash this crust from your skin. <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>But even if there was... <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> ...somehow you know it would not be enough to rinse the salt. <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>It is in your bones now. <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>A faint whisper of human speech drifts through the trees... <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> ...then it is silenced. <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>You step off the sharp sand onto still warm rock... <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> ...and set off into the ancient forest. <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>With eyes of purest white. <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> <<audio "crystal" fadeout>> <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> <<goto "surface1">> <</replace>><</timed>></div> <<timed 6s t8n>><hr class="style1"><</timed>>

<<audio "layer1" stop>><<audio "layer2" stop>><<audio "layer3" stop>><<audio "layer3alt" stop>><div style="text-align: center"><<audio "drone" volume 0 fadeoverto 100 1 loop>> <<nobr>><<silently>> <<set $energy to 250>> <<set $effort to 250>> <<set $tiredness to 0>> <<repeat 50ms>><<set $energy to $energy - 8>>\ <<if $tiredness >= 30 && $tiredness <= 60>><<set $effort to 210>><<elseif $tiredness >= 60 && $tiredness <= 90>><<set $effort to 170>><<elseif $tiredness >= 90 && $tiredness <= 110>><<set $effort to 130>><<elseif $tiredness >= 110 && $tiredness <= 130>><<set $effort to 100>><<elseif $tiredness >= 130 && $tiredness <= 140>><<set $effort to 80>><<elseif $tiredness >= 140 && $tiredness <= 160>><<set $effort to 50>><<elseif $tiredness >= 160 && $tiredness <= 170>><<set $effort to 20>><<elseif $tiredness >= 170>><<set $effort to 10>><</if>>\ <</repeat>> <</silently>><</nobr>><nobr> <span id="thoughts"> </span> <<timed 4s t8n>><<replace "#thoughts">>A burst of energy comes back to you... <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> ...fills your limbs with its glow... <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>...you keep the pace. <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> Those glittering lights of the distant shore are now brighter... <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> ...shimmering there like headlights... <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>...beaming into this new dark. <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>New dark. <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> Where did it come from? <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>...you glance around at it, away from the lights. <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> ...but it remains closed, lightless and dead. <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>A sudden salt sting. <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> Your eyes white. <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>Whitening. <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> And the shapes gather... <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>...to pick it away. <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> God stop. <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>Make them stop. <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> Stop. <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> Stop. <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> Stop. <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>You can stop now. <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>You can stop swimming. <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> Stop and drift down. <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>To be among the shapes, touched by their gossamer fins... <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> Carried on currents like a returning king. <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>Pieces of you flake away as the coral crown is laid... <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> ...atop your pale and glossy head. <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>They will take your eyes away... <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> ...to be ground up by pharyngeal teeth... <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>...and distributed among the black sand. <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>Your hair will spiral in the warm updraft of hydrothermal vents... <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> ...while in the coldest deep a palace is made of your bones. <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>You will be more beautiful than you could have ever been... <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> ...though no eye will ever see you. <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>Salt will be your bed. <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>Salt will be your witness. <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>Salt will be your lover. <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>Salt will be your child. <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> Breathe it in. <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">><<goto "breathe">> <</replace>>\ <</timed>> </nobr> <<repeat 50ms>><<replace #bar>><<print '<div id="square" style="width:' + $energy + 'px; height=20px; display: inline-block;"></div>'>><</replace>><</repeat>> <span id="bar">-</span> <span id="spaceAct"><<click "@@font-family: 'Alegreya Sans SC', sans-serif;space to swim@@">><<set $energy to $effort>>\<<set $tiredness to $tiredness +1>><</click>></span> </div>

<<replace "#thoughts">> <<audio "layer3" volume 0 fadeoverto 5 1>> <</replace>> <<timed 3s>><<replace "#thoughts">>Where are you going? <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> What are you imagining will happen now? <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>You are already tiring. <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> You are already done. <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">><span id="upAct"><<linkappend "@@font-family: 'Alegreya Sans SC', sans-serif;▲ fight ▲@@">><<display "fight3">><</linkappend>></span> <span id="downAct"><<linkappend "@@font-family: 'Alegreya Sans SC', sans-serif;▼ fight ▼@@">><<display "fight3">><</linkappend>></span> <</replace>>\ <</timed>>

<<audio "layer3alt" volume 0 fadeoverto 5 1.5>><<replace "#thoughts">> <</replace>> <<timed 3s>><<replace "#thoughts">>Salt fills your eyes. <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> Salt fills your mouth. <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>Let it in. <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> Breathe. <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">><span id="upAct"><<linkappend "@@font-family: 'Alegreya Sans SC', sans-serif;▲ give up ▲@@">><<goto "drown">><</linkappend>></span> <span id="downAct"><<linkappend "@@font-family: 'Alegreya Sans SC', sans-serif;▼ fight ▼@@">><<display "fight4">><</linkappend>></span> <</replace>>\ <</timed>>

<<replace "#thoughts">> <</replace>> <<timed 3s>><<replace "#thoughts">>Below your feet leviathans surge... <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> ...curling down into the blackest waters... <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">>...as a dog curls up at the fire... <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">> ...and sinks into a fevered sleep. <</replace>>\ <<next>><<replace "#thoughts">><span id="upAct"><<linkappend "@@font-family: 'Alegreya Sans SC', sans-serif;▲ give up ▲@@">><<goto "drown">><</linkappend>></span> <span id="downAct"><<linkappend "@@font-family: 'Alegreya Sans SC', sans-serif;▼ give up ▼@@">><<goto "drown">><</linkappend>></span> <</replace>>\ <</timed>>

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