Glory to Arstotzka!

[Brian Swartz]

While I await word on my computer and the fate of my XCOM dynasty, I have an ambitious idea for a new foray into Aurora but am hoping to hold out until the latest version of that game is released which should have some cool stuff in it. Looking for something new to write about, I came up on this idea.

This story comes from the quirky indie game Papers, Please, a one-man operation which bills itself as a 'documentary thriller'. It's one of those things that I like to support because of it's originality, but it's also a lot more fun(at least to me, reviews have been generally good but there are some who just don't find it fun at all) than a simulation of a paper-pushing beauracrat has any right to be. Alternatively it has also been described as a puzzle game, which also fits. The designer is Lucas Pope Papers, Please was first released in 2013, so it's a recent production.

The year is 1982, and the fictional countries of Arstotzka and Kochelia have just signed a truce after a war lasting six years. Arstotzka is a decidedly authoritarian regime which brings back more than a few hints of the Cold War.

As for me, I can only hope that, having survived the war by some stroke of considerable fortune or another, I will against all odds find some way for my family and I to stay alive. And then the 'good' news comes in the morning mail delivery:

"Congratulations. The October labor lottery is complete. Your name was pulled."

There may be hope for us after all!

"For immediate placement, report to the Ministry of Admission at Grestin Border Checkpoint."

Grestin is a small city on Arstotzka's western border.

"An apartment will be provided in East Grestin for you and your family. Expect a Class-8 dwelling."

"Glory to Arstotzka."

And so my misadventure begins. I must earn enough to provide for my family, getting a meager $5 in pay for every legitimate application for admission that I approve. Therefore speed is of the essence -- but I will be cited and eventually potentially fined if I approve unauthorized persons for entry. The glorious Arstotkan government expects all manner of applicants with various motives, and my job as admissions officer is to properly sort through them in an efficient manner.

**OOC: This is a near-blind endeavor: I've done the first day, which is very brief, once. I did watch of let's play of the first few days to get the basics and make sure it was something I wanted to try. Beyond that though I don't know what happens, so I'll be learning it as I describe it.

[Brian Swartz]

I am greeted each morning with the complete factual and unbiased periodical titled 'The Truth of Arstotzka', printed by our benevolent overlords at no charge to the public.

It is November 23rd. Today's headlines:

** Grestin Border Checkpoint Opens at Last! After 6 long years, can the Ministry of Admission keep us safe?

Probably not.

** Families to Reunite
** Sports
** Entertainment

And so I head off to work at the spot where the wall separates East Grestin from West Grestin, Arstotzka from Kochelia and the other nations nearby in the west. My family has only $30 left to live on, which isn't even enough to get through the night if I don't bring home anything today. I arrive early and eager, and it's a good thing I did. Awaiting me is an official bulletin from the Ministry of Admission:

"Welcome to your new position at Grestin Border Checkpoint."

"Stamp passport ENTRY VISA and return documents to entrant."

"Entry is restricted to Arstotzkan citizens only."

"Deny all foreigners."

"Glory to Arstotzka."

Yes, yes, glory to Arstotzka. One cannot hear or read those words of national pride often enough. The instructions are simple enough though; citizens of Arstotzka will be admitted, foreigners denied. Soon it is time for my first day to start. I punch the timeclock and announce 'Next!' far too boisteriously over the loudspeaker. Scores are waiting to get in, and time is quite literally money. The checkpoint is open for 12 hours a day. It could be worse, I suppose ... I could be one of those poor saps out there. Saps whose lives are now quite literally in my hands.

With that, my first day on the job has begun ...

[Young Drachma]

I love this game. I do own it and I haven't played with it a lot lately, but it's a lot of fun glad someone else is messing with it.

[Tellistto]

I'll follow. Doubt my eyesight issues would allow me to enjoy it that much if it requires quickness.

Tell

[Groundhog]

Originally Posted by Young Drachma

I love this game. I do own it and I haven't played with it a lot lately, but it's a lot of fun glad someone else is messing with it.

x2. Such a strange idea, but excellent execution.

[Grover]

Love this game. Love the way it gets increasingly harder and you need to be quicker and sharper.

[Izulde]

Love this game as well, though I also haven't played it much because of the speed requirement.

[Brian Swartz]

Originally Posted by Tellissto

I'll follow. Doubt my eyesight issues would allow me to enjoy it that much if it requires quickness.

Yeah this is a legitimate obstacle. I've seen enough to know that the speed really is an essential feature in terms of forcing you to make quick decisions; it's hard to weigh moral conundrums etc. and pushes you into the role of beauracrat who thinks reflexively/instinctively, but on the other hand it does pose a problem for a lot of people. I'm not the fastest with the mouse so there may be a limitation there.

It looks like there are some in this thread who definitely know more than I do, and hopefully will be entertained as I bash through(flail hopelessly against?) the learning curve.

[Groundhog]

Yeah, it's actually a very stressful game once you get to a certain point. Fun, but very intense.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by Groundhog

Yeah, it's actually a very stressful game once you get to a certain point. Fun, but very intense.

I think I reached that point around, oh, day 4 or 5.

Eyesight, reflexes, everything. A surprisingly cool game concept, just not something I could get into playing, was just beyond my skill set at this point.

[britrock88]

This is one of the most conceptually inventive games I've ever come across. Really glad to see someone try to make a dynasty out of it!

[Brian Swartz]

**A brief word about how I'm going to do the write-ups for this. My normal method is to pause the action and write as things happen. That really doesn't work for this game because when it's paused, it goes to a separate pause screen and I can't see what's going on. So I'm taking a video of each day, and then I'll write what happened at the end of it. Otherwhise, I really wouldn't remember much worth talking about.**

A brief explanation of things would seem to be in order, there won't be a ton of screenshots for this thread but explaining things for those who don't/can't play -- there appear to be fewer of those than I expected based on the replies -- seems useful here.

First up, we must remember the obligatory national ... phoenix, or eagle, or other bird of prey, which signifies our great nation.





Play this game for more than a few minutes and you'll start chanting 'Glory to Arstotska' in your sleep or in the shower or to random strangers. And you'll feel completely normal about it.





This here is the main screen that I see after going to work every day. The strip covering basically the top third shows the checkpoint area. On the left there are the myriads of would-be immigrants, all in black, standing in an S-shaped line, then the wall and checkpoint-booth itself(where I work), and a path leading to another barricade where a single soldier, wearing blue from head to toe, stands watch. Past that is East Grestin itself naturally. On top of the booth, you can see the loudspeaker that I use to overly-enthusiastically shout 'Next!' when I'm ready for the next applicant.

The bottom two-thirds of the screen is a close-up of the inside of the checkpoint itself. As each applicant arrives, I state 'Papers, Please' in the most boring monotone of a voice I can muster. The left section there has, from top to bottom, what I can see of the person over the counter; the counter itself where they pass me documents; and then a few items of importance for me in the brown on the bottom. The time and date(it's 6:00 AM right now, which is when the checkpoint opens), holders for the daily bulletin, transcript, and regulation book, and then a scale readout if I need to check the applicant's weight.

Finally, on the right is the area where I'll look at the documentation in detail(on the right they are folded and miniaturized). I've got the regulation book open here to the map of the area, you can see Arstotska on the right(east) with our recent enemy Kochelia nearby, and also the nations of Obristan, Antegria, Republia, Impor, and the United Federation.

[Brian Swartz]

Ok so enough of that for now, time for the first day.

First up is Eliza Kasprzycka, who presents as a 23-year-old woman and says, 'Finally, I can return home.' Gender, point of issuance, expiration date, and approval code are all there but I don't need to verify any of that. Again, all that matters today is if they are from Arstotska. I fumbled around a bit getting the stamp in place, and you can see I've stamped it quite a bit off-center. That doesn't matter practically speaking, but only a rookie inspector such as myself would do such a thing. It's already 7:15. It's taken me over an hour to get her into my booth, read the word 'Arstotska', and stamp the thing. It is indeed amateur hour here. You can see '01' directly below here on the left by the intercom/transcript thing -- that's a counter for how many I've served/harrassed/annoyed/wasted my time with today.







**I did a bit of experimenting and I stated it wrongly before. I get paid $5 per person, not per person approved. Properly rejecting an applicant is worth just as much, but I'll get cited if I dont' have a proper reason so I can't just auto-reject. That doesn't mean it isn't funny though -- when I tried it as a test I simply stamped the visa rejected and handed it back, saying 'Try again'. The response -- 'You bastard' was entirely deserved I must admit.

Back to our day, I handed Eliza back the approved visa, saying ... what class? Yes, that's right, 'glory to Arstotzka'. She thanks me and heads out to the right. Next up, a lady a bit older, 31 it seems, who is from Impor who has a slightly different visa design as well. All foreigners are rejected. She says 'this checkpoint is smaller than I expected', I hand it back and inform her, 'Arstotzkans only', and she departs in silence. By the way, if you notice the lines behind her, they serve as a useful guide for height. This will eventually become important, but again right now I don't care.





Third I have a short man who is apparently from Republia. He says, demonstrating his excellent grammar, 'I have waited in this damn line since for 8 hours. I hope it was worth it.' Well he's denied for the same reason, which doesn't improve his mood any. 'Unbelievable. Go to Hell' is his parting shot. Clearly universal respect isn't going to be a perk of this job, as beauracrats the world over have found.


Stay classy, Republia



I've been here nearly four hours now, it's about 9:50 AM. And so the day goes. At a quarter to one a bearded man shows up, having waited in line to ... complain. He says only 'It was a mistake to open this checkpoint' and walks out again. Thank you very much sir, for wasting a half-hour or more of my time to say that! You sir are a fresh, bold slice of humanity! In reality though, I really should thank him. I get paid for listening to him voice his useless opinion, and I didn't have to do anything other than put up with him.

And so it goes. The rest of the day passes uneventfully. I process eleven applicants, which when you think about it less than one per hour. Not the greatest efficiency. But no mistakes are flagged. Granted it's not genius-level work to read the country listed on a visa and stamp it properly, but I still managed not to screw it up. The horn sounds a few minutes after I call another person in, and they hadn't even started moving toward the booth yet. So my day is over. I survived and managed to only mildly embarass myself.

The Ministry of Admission is at least honest about the conditions of my employment. My updated statement, that I'll apparently receive at the end of each day, reads as follows:

Savings -- 30
Salary(11) -- 55
Rent -- -20
Food -- -20
Heat -- -10

Balance -- 35

Well, this confirms that it is going to be tough to make ends meet, but just maybe I can do it. I made a profit of $5 on the day and for the first time in weeks, perhaps months, my family has enough food to eat and can afford proper heating in our humble Class-8 apartment. I'm also informed that the four of them(wife, mother-in-law, son, and uncle) are all in decent health. In other words, we are living in the lap of relative luxury ... for now.

Rent is mandatory, but if things get tight we can go without food or heat for a day; unfortunately, we're used to it. However, health can be affected by this so doing it repetitively would lead to a domestic disaster. This job may absolutely bore me to tears, but what is that compared to having our basic needs met? I'm the hero of the house! I am invincible!!

[Brian Swartz]

**From now on, I plan on splitting each day into two parts. The first covers the news and changes prior to my shift, the second everything that happens from opening horn at 6 AM until the updated statement at the end of the day.**

November 24 -- Day 2

The Truth of Arstotzka

** Grestin Checkpoint A Success! Entry Restrictions to Relax, Admit Foreigners

If true -- and in this paper, how could it be otherwhise? -- my job is going to get even easier! I'll just stamp every visa that I see, and before you know it, we'll be out of the poorhouse! This job is going to be a cinch!

** Analysts Upbeat: Increased Trade and Cooperation Predicted
** Politics
** The Weather

MOA Official Bulletin

MOA stands for Ministry of Admission of course.

"From today, foreigners with a valid passport are permitted to enter."

"Your booths' INSPECTION hardware is now installed."

Inspect? But if foreigners can enter, all I should need to do is stamp, stamp, stamp ...

"Check all passport information carefully for discrepancies. Deny any entrant with inconsistent information."

What?! Let me see if I have this straight: you've relaxed border restrictions and that makes my job HARDER? After some technical details on how to use the inspection hardware, this is added:

"This post is bound by Ministry of Admissions rules and regulations. Study the rule book closely."

And last, but not least, the obligatory ...

"Glory to Arstotzka."

Rulebook

There are two primary concerns according to the updated regulations:

** All entrants must have a passport
** All documents must be current.

Well, arglebarglezorz. There's nothing for it. I'm just going to have to be that much more observant. I can rise to this scintillating(ok, maybe not) challenge. The fate of my family, and unfortunately many beyond it, depends on it!

[Brian Swartz]

Shift #2


The second applicant of the day, Svetlana Leiska from Antegria, has a passport which expired a month ago. I fumble around with the inspection software for quite some time, probably about an hour, before finally figuring out what I need to do. Shown here, comparing the two conflicting items(current date and expiration date) allows me to interrogate her about this situation.





She says 'I do not know what to say'. I do know what to say. Entry denied. Next up, after taking far too long to call the next applicant in, I forget to check the photo for visual identification and approve an obvious forgery. For this I am cited a warning:

"Protocol Violated."
"Passport: Non-matching photo."

This means I don't get paid for that applicant, since I screwed it up. I should be better than this. Arstotkan Marcus Wagner is up next, an impatient one -- "Hurry up. I am meeting bus soon.". After he is approved, he disgustedly says 'Finally' and moves through the checkpoint. A simple thank you would have been nice, no?

Katherine Rivera, a middle-aged woman wearing glasses, is next approved -- and another citation! I didn't check the gender listed on the passport, it turns out it listed 'M' for male! Good grief, what is wrong with me? The next person is a bit ... enthusiastic. Andrea Sudkova is her name. Approving the visa is a simple matter this time, but she adds this: "Hello, handsome. You look bored. If you want good time, come see us" and hands me this business card which speaks for itself.





"I will be around couple months. Don't forget to visit." This kind of thing isn't exactly covered in the MOA regulations ... The day is nearly over, and soon turns decidedly not-boring in a different way. A man leaps the wall and is eventually shot by the guard, but he missed a couple of times and in the interim the attacker lobbed a grenade. Both lie on the ground in a bloody heap, dead, while my booth is on lockdown and the applicants flee. That's the end of today, and this kind of excitement I can do without. Boredom would suit me just fine, thank you.





Statement

Savings -- 35
Salary(4) -- 20
Rent -- -20
Food -- 0
Heat -- -10

Balance -- 25

I actually 'processed' six and was on the 7th, but four are listed due to the two screw-ups. We will have to go hungry tonight. My fumbling around and mistakes, combined with the terrorist preventing what probably would have been at least one more applicant, mean that even with that we still lost $10. I need to get my act together here -- today was a total failure and we will not survive many more of them. Everyone is still in good health for now, but with no dinner tonight that isn't guaranteed to last ...

**The clock does slow down a bit with the additional complications at least. Today, despite being cut a bit short by the terrorist attack, was about four minutes in actual time while the first lasted only three.**

[Brian Swartz]

November 25 -- Day 3

The Truth of Arstotzka

** Terrorists Strike at Grestin! Kolechian agitators suspected.
** Checkpoint Lockdown. More guards, more scrutiny.

Fantastic. This job is getting worse all the time.

** The Weather
** Politics

MOA Official Bulletin

"Entry for non-citizens is now regulated."

"All foreigners require a valid ENTRY TICKET."

"Verify information stamping passport ENTRY VISA and returning documents to applicant."

So now I have a second document to deal with on all foreigners. Last, but not least ...

"Glory to Arstotzka."

Regulations

** All entrants must have a passport
** All documents must be current.
** Foreigners require an entry ticket.

Between the terrorist attack and them making me work harder, I'm not really too fond of foreigners at the moment. I need a much better day to get our finances moving in the right direction again.

[Brian Swartz]

Shift #3

Naturally it's a Kolechian first up but everything seems to be in order. The second applicant is another foreigner, but only gives me a passport. Takes me a bit to figure out how to interrogate him about the entry ticket, but he has one and it's valid so I wave him on through. Yet another representative from the Pink Vice shows up after that -- do these people really have nothing better to do than wait in line so they can proposition customs inspectors?

The day's going pretty well though, it's not yet noon and I'm on my fifth application with no mistakes. Mariska Zonfeld(38, F, Aristotzka) notes that she's heard about the attack and I'm fortunate to have a job still. Most definitely. The next guy up after her though, presents an entry ticket which states:

"Valid on 12.11.1982". I consider this situation for a moment. Everyone else so far has had today's date(11.25). I decide he's good though because it's at least not expired, and let him through, earning myself a prompt citation. My decision to the contrary notwithstanding, this is not an expiration date. It appears I can't just make up the rules as I go along. I nearly screw up a second applicant in a row, before noticing that her picture has glasses but she does not. Denied!

Then this winner comes into the booth. He gives me nothing, just stands there and says 'Ok! Here we go!" Is there really something about the phrase 'Papers, please' that is confusing? Does it not imply that you need to, you know, actually give me valid papers before I let you through?







Apparently not to this guy. According to the clock, we have a conversation which lasts from about 2:10 to 3:10, a full hour. A transcript follows.

Strange Applicant: "Ok, here we go! Glory to Arstotska! The greatest country!"

**awkward pause as I fumble around in my rulebook for the appropriate protocol**

Me: "Where is your passport?"

Applicant: "Passport! Arstotska so great, passport not required! Right?"

Really? In what lame backwards country does this nonsense actually work?

Me: "A passport is required."

Applicant: "Oh, ok. I come back again."

I'm surrounded by morons .... but I have almost three hours left. Focus. Apparently focus is not enough for me to notice than an Imporian woman by the name of Tiril Pollard has their gender listed as 'M' on their passport. Citation! Again! For the same reason as I got one yesterday!!

I just love spending an hour making no money at all. Oh wait, no I don't.

The next applicant doesn't have an entry ticket. Denied! Just as I'm dealing with an expired passport, the final horn sounds informing me I won't get paid for this one, but it's still worth handling correctly to avoid another citation.


Daily Statement

My son is sick, and everyone is hungry. Go figure, don't eat for a day and bad things will happen.

Savings: 25
Salary(9): 45
Rent: -20
Food: -20
Heat: -10
Medicine: -5

Balance: 15

So 5 of what I saved yesterday has to be spent on medicine or my son will get worse. Can't afford to skimp on anything today, and I would have still broken even without the two citations despite still fumbling around too much. As it is we are dangerously close to running out of money. Today was better, but not good -- not even good enough.

[Brian Swartz]

November 26 -- Day 4

The Truth of Arstotzka

** Black Market Activity Explodes! Government Blames Lax Immigration Controls

Great, so it's all my fault. By the way, notice how the lead story is always about me? It's like I'm the center of the universe or something. If this job is all that important(not buying it), a labor lottery might not the best way to choose the person getting it done. Just sayin'.

** Checkpoint Expansion Postponed

Yep, more good news. Looks like I'm the guy with the bullseye painted on his shirt. Keep it up and my whole family will be dead soon, and you can get ornery with somebody else.

** Sports
** Entertainment


MOA Official Bulletin

It's with dread that I peruse this morning's edition by the light of a fading low-wattage bulb -- even the sun has more sense than to get up this early in the morning.

"Stricter credential requirements have been issued."

So ... blame me for everything, then make my job harder. Sounds about right.

"Arztotzkan citizens must show their ID CARD."

Well, they are usually the easiest to handle, so this shouldn't be too difficult ...

"Foreigners must secure and present a valid ENTRY PERMIT."

"Entry tickets are no longer sufficient"

*sigh* More red tape is required. Surprise, surprise.

"A new chapter detailing documentation features has been added to your rulebook."

Any chance of me getting paid for all this extra work I need to do before the checkpoint opens each day? Of course not.

"Check all information thoroughly."

But also at the speed of light, otherwhise you will all starve.

"Deny any applicant with discrepant documents."

"Refer to the AUDIO TRANSCRIPT to correlate entrant's statements."

It's so charming and homey ... err, make that disturbing and creepy ... to know that everything everyone says will now automatically be recorded.

And of course ...

"Glory to Astrotska."


Regulations

** All entrants must have a passport.
** All documents must be current.
** Citizens must have an id card(NEW)
** Foreigners must have an entry permit(CHANGED)

The 'Documents' supplement to my rulebook notes that I must check id cards for a valid district in which they reside, and entry permits for a valid seal along with the other basic information they contain.

Oh joy! Soon I'm sure to know the rapture of requiring they submit to a detailed interrogatory about everything thing they've ever done and everyone they've ever heard of. Except of course that I'll be long replaced before things get that far.

[Izulde]

This makes me want to fire it up again, twitchy aspects aside. Great work.

[PilotMan]

Yep, it's at this point that it starts to really ramp up. I think I got to day 6 or something before my stress headache set in and I put it down.

[Brian Swartz]

Originally Posted by Izulde

This makes me want to fire it up again, twitchy aspects aside. Great work.

Thanks! I hope it continues to entertain.

Originally Posted by PilotMan

Yep, it's at this point that it starts to really ramp up. I think I got to day 6 or something before my stress headache set in and I put it down

It's pretty obvious at this point that I probably won't make it much further than this on this go-round, but as they say in DF, 'Losing is FUN!' I'll get better. Maybe. I hope.

[digamma]

I love the concept and play about one day at a time because of the stress level. My best performance is to Day 10, which I don't think is very good at all?

[Brian Swartz]

Shift #4

With funds dwindling I enter this day with the sweet knowledge that on top of everything else, I will need to correctly process at least eight visas one way or the other, or we will be flat broke. The pressure is starting to really mount here.

It's time to face the music. "NEXT!!" After a couple of easy approvals with everything in order, a rather large woman presented with an entry ticket, but no permit. Her eloquent response to the need for one notwithstanding -- "Bullshit! I paid good money for ticket!" -- she was denied. The next guy's name was 'Maxim' on his passport but 'Muxim' on his permit, requiring me to take a fingerprint identification to verify his identity. All of this nonsense just takes up more time ...







Then entered Mrs. Marli Fiske. She was excited about the border opening -- apparently she was now to visit her son in Arstotzka, who she hasn't seen in six years. That is a tragedy, but the regulations state that her permit being two days expired is a great tragedy. I considered letting her through anyway, but only for a few minutes. I can't afford to take food off the table of my family, and all she needs to do is get a new, updated permit. She cursed me as she left, expectedly. Ironically, the next guy through had his passport expired by a few weeks, and I forgot to check that, earning my first citation of the day. Can't afford this ...

Then came another fingerprint challenge in which the prints matched up, but the aliases did not and it didn't occur to me to check those. Citation #2, and another afterpromising start this day was heading straight down the crapper once again. Then a familiar face showed up ...

"Ok, hello again! Now I have passport! Arstotska still greatest country for sure!"

A more obvious forgery I've never seen ... this thing is just ridiculous. Seriously? Who is this supposed to fool, exactly?! I may suck at this job -- but I don't suck that much. Among the many reasons I could choose, I deny this because "Cobrastan is not a real country."

"Ok, ok. You no like passport, I understand. I'll come back with a better one."

A real one, let's hope. You are becoming a nuisance. A hilarious one, but a nuisance nonetheless.

** I couldn't get the screenshot to take here for some reason. It was rather hilarious though, with 'Pre-approved Ok' listed at the top, the whole thing obviously handwritten, gender listed as 'Men', expiration date in 2013(30 years from now!!) and the approval code of 1234-OKOK pretty much takes the cake. It'd be hard to make a more ridiculous, obvious fake than this thing. I did learn though that his name is Jorji Costava. I guess we'll be seeing more of him ... **

One more and we are done -- a local Arstotzkan, and I didn't notice his height didn't match the ID! Another citation, and this being my third of the day it is accompanied by a 5-dollar fine. What a disaster the last few hours were ...

Statement

Savings -- 15
Salary(6) -- 30
Fine -- -5
Rent -- -20
Food -- none
Heat -- -10

Balance -- 10

We go without food again and still lose money. Our fortunes are circling the drain.

[Brian Swartz]

November 27 -- Day 5

The Truth of Arstotzka

** Republian Track Star Wanted For Murder! Vincent Lestrade's Whereabouts Unknown -- Has Likely Fled Republia.
** Vincent Lestrade Profile: Girlfriend Killed in Jealous Rage

A celebrity murder case. Some things never change.

** Entertainment
** The Weather


MOA Official Bulletin

Time to see what fresh pain and suffering is in store for me today:

"You are now authorized to detain suspicious individuals."

Yep.

"Interrogate discrepancies to enable detention option."

Another layer of red tape. Sweet!

"Glory to Astrotzka."

Naturally. Really this is relatively painless though.


Regulations

Nothing new, just the option to detain added today. The Ministry must be feeling unusually sensible today.

[Brian Swartz]

Shift #5

Anastas Golubinska is up first, allowing me to use the new detain authority immediately and further entrench myself as an unthinking cog in our repressive ... ahem, an humble servant of our enlightened glorious nation. Yes, that's it. Glory to Astrotzka. Nothing else exists. Anyway, contradicting approval codes on the permit and passport indicate a forgery. He begs me to just deny his passport and let him go. No loyal citizen will stoop to that level. He didn't even have the decency to offer a bribe or a convincing story.

Two of the guards come to my booth and command 'Out!'. Not overly verbose chaps, are they? Off he goes, to what fate I can only imagine. If he's lucky he'll merely be deported ...

The third applicant up turns out to be the now-infamous fugitive. He didn't even try to conceal his identity or get fake documents.

Me: "Are you Vincent Lestrade".

Lestrade: "Damn. Look, I did not kill her. I was set up. Do not believe the Republian lies. Let me through."

It's not for me to say. The restraining gate snaps shut and back come the guards, escorting Lestrade to an all-but-certain unpleasant end. He has only this to say:

"Shit."

Yeah, that about sums it up.

No mistakes yet but that takes a while. It is already late morning, and I need to pick up the pace here. The next one is quick -- too quick. Citation for a photo that doesn't match. Grrrr .... Next in line is a middle-aged man with a decidedly bad attitude. If I wasn't so hard up for money I might have denied him out of spite. When asked the purpose of his trip, he had this to say;







"It's not my choice, I hate this damn country. I am just passing through."

"Duration of stay?"

"As little as possible. 2 days."

You know, you could pretend to be civil. Just for varieties sake? No? Ok then. Everything is in order, and finding no grounds to do otherwhise, I approve the visa for Mr. Marlos Perlovski. More than a bit perturbed, I resignedly announce ... "Next!" "Ugh" is his final insult. Go play in traffic, would ya please?

As the day is winding down, a bearded man announces: "Today is beautiful day, my friend! We finally become free from Antegrian tyranny!" Naturally, I'm immediately suspicious. This one calls himself Pyotr Vostok, and everything checks out. He thanks me, and asks me to be kind to his wife, next in line. She is less fortunate though. "Did you see my husband? He made it through, yes?" The passport shows the same last name -- Katya Vostok -- but she has no permit. She has a pretty good sob story:

"Please, I beg you. They would not give me permit, I had no choice. I will be killed if I return to Antegria."

Her husband should have thought of that before he went through first, but my family is going to starve if I don't bring home a decent paycheck. I'm conflicted about it, but I stamp the denial.

"Why? You have doomed me."

Those are the rules, madam. And that ends the day, leaving me to muse over the fact that I may well have had a hand in the death of a quite possibly innocent wife.


Statement

Savings -- 10
Salary(8) -- 40
Rent -- -25
Food -- -20
Heat -- NA
Medicine -- -5
Booth Upgrade -- NA

Balance -- 0

My son is sick again, and in need of medicine. I purchase it, but we will go without heat, at least there is food with everyone hungry, but we are now completely broke. I don't see any way we are going to survive much longer. Today I only got one citation, but I simply wasn't fast enough. This apartment is going to be a crypt soon at this rate.

[Brian Swartz]

November 28 -- Day 6

The Truth of Arstotzka

** Jobs Few, Becoming Fewer: Immigrants Taking Jobs From Locals
** Vincent Lestrade Apprehended in Grestin! Track Champ Looks Quite Guilty Now!

How about that -- some great press for me! I'm sure there will be a fat bonus in store ... right?

** Politics


MOG Official Bulletin

Ready for my official kudos on a job well done with the Lestrade bust, I walk into the booth and am greeted by ...

"The Ministry of Labor has instituted a special program to control immigrant labor."

It's just not fair. Seriously, it's not. Not even a thank you, and it's yet another de facto pay cut as work is piled on top of what I'm already doing.

This country sucks. Err, no, I love it here. Yep, it's great, nothing whatsoever is wrong, proud to be half-starving and serving my beloved Arstotzka. Truth, all of it.

"Travelers entering for work require a valid WORK PASS."

"Glory to Astrotzka."


Regulations

** All entrants must have a passport.
** All documents must be current.
** Citizens must have an id card
** Foreigners must have an entry permit
** Workers must have a work pass

*sigh*

"NEXT!"

[Brian Swartz]

Shift #6

My second visitor of the day is a nice young lady who offers me another Pink Vice business card, but then says 'please help me' after she is approved, handing me a note ... in short, she wants me to deny entry to a Dani Ludum, she says she is afraid he will force her to work in a brothel. You're freaking soliticing for one!! Besides which, I'm an immigration officer not a policeman.

The day is going reasonably well, just slow, when I get cited for not double-checking gender, followed by the latest visit for Jorji:

"Old friend hello! I am back again! This time everything set."

Believe it or not, his passport looks legitimate this time. I ask him for the entry permit ...

"Oh man you funny guy!"

Yeah well, Mr. funny guy is giving you a 'Denied' for the third time. There's a pattern developing here ...

"Wow, you run very strict border here. That is good, do job right. I look for entry thing and come back."

Dari Ludum is next, he is a citizen and his ID is in order, I have no grounds to deny him. Then the day is finished up with a photo that doesn't quite match, I miss that as well. Second citation on a slow day -- this is not good. A suicide bomber just after the bell takes out three guards, shouting 'For Kolechia'! At this rate, I'm not going to survive long either way, and we'll be back at war before you know it.

Statement

Savings -- 0
Salary(6) -- 30
Rent -- -25
Food -- NA
Heat -- NA
Upgrade Booth -- -5

Balance -- 0

Everyone is cold, and going to get colder as I have no money for food or heat. I was just too slow today and add to that a pair of citations ... bad day at the office.

[Brian Swartz]

November 29 -- Day 7

The Truth of Arstotzka

** Another Attack at Grestin Checkpoint: Suicide Bomber Slips Through Security

Great -- make it sound like it's my fault. With my luck I'll probably get arrested as an accomplice this morning.

** Dancers at Grestin Club Found Dead!

This is my fault too. Everything is my fault. Apparently there are no competent law enforcment in 'glorious Arstotzka'.

** The Weather


MOG Official Bulletin

"To facilitate more thorough inspections, a SEARCH scanner system has been installed in your booth"

"Kolechian extremists were suspected in yesterday's bombing."

Gee, what was your first clue. Thanks for the extra unpaid work though. Really fantastic, that.

"Search all Kolechians before approving their entry."

"Glory to Astrotzka."


Regulations

** All entrants must have a passport.
** All documents must be current.
** Citizens must have an id card
** Foreigners must have an entry permit
** Workers must have a work pass
** No weapons or contraband(NEW)
** All Kolechians must be searched(NEW)

The list grows longer all the time ...

[JonInMiddleGA]

I gotta be honest. I started to catch up on reading this last night but held off 'cause I remembered how depressing the game was & didn't want that kind of downer before going to sleep.

Much better suited for reading in broad daylight.

[Brian Swartz]

Can't really argue with that -- it's definitely not a light, fun story about frolicking through open fields. You've got to be in right frame of mind for it.

[Brian Swartz]

Shift #7

Naturally it was a Kolechian, Alexa Steiner, who was first up on this day. This gave me an opportunity to lie for my glorious Astrotzka. "You have been selected for a random search. Face the scanner." Nothing random about of us course, we're just profiling Kolechians, don't mind us. Turns out she wasn't hiding anything though. Next I detained a middle-aged lady from Obristan whose alias could not be verified. And on it went.

A while later another Kolechian tried to sneak drugs across the border. A 'random search' from the scanner sees all. "You have made a mistake coming here." The men with guns came once again, and hauled him off. The prisons must be getting full at this rate.

I did get cited for a case of gender not matching, but a couple people with expired documents and lame excuses(busy, 'typographical error' -- yeah, right) helped pick up the pace after what had been a very slow start with trying to get used to the scanner. Another Kolechian tried to sneak contraband in, and insisted:

"Oh? Slow down my friend. I have only harmless medicine. I give you 10 credits to let me in."

"You cannot bribe an officer of Astrotzka."(At least without more to offer than that)

"They must pay well for such obedience, dog."

No they don't. Really, they don't.

The day might have been decent even, except I screwed up the last two applicants. The last was a Kolechian who I forgot to search. Just tired and absent-minded, but I earned myself a lovely 5-credit fine. That pretty much put the nails in the coffin, so to speak.


Statement

Savings -- 0
Salary(6) -- 30

Penalties -- -5
Rent -- -25
Food -- -20
Heat -- -10
Medicine(Son) -- -5

Balance -- 0

Everyone is cold and hungry, and my son is sick as well. There isn't a thing I can do about this, and we'll all go another night without any of the essentials other than a roof over our heads.

Really, the firing squads might as well come shoot us now. It would be more humane.

[Brian Swartz]

November 30 -- Day 8

The Truth of Arstotzka

** Kolechian Leader Files Formal Complaint

Hard to blame them ...

** Entertainment
** Weather


MOG Official Bulletin

"The Kolechians have filed a formal complaint."

"A diplomat will arrive today for high-level discussions."

"Automatic searches of Kolechian citizens are no longer authorized."

You really could make up your mind and stick to something ... couldn't you?

"Diplomats require only a PASSPORT and valid DIPLOMATIC AUTHORIZATION to enter."

On second thought, I love diplomats then! They might actually improve this crap job ...

"Refer to the rulebook for updated document information."

Always.

"Glory to Astrotzka."


Regulations

** All entrants must have a passport.
** All documents must be current.
** Citizens must have an id card
** Foreigners must have an entry permit
** Workers must have a work pass
** No weapons or contraband
** All Kolechians must be searched(REMOVED)
** Diplomats require authorization(NEW)

This actually might be an improvement, stunning thought that it is ...

[Young Drachma]

Keep up the progress. Like the others have said, makes me want to fire it back up and to Jon's point, I hadn't thought about how much of a buzz kill this game can be, but you're doing great and appreciate the style of update.

[Brian Swartz]

Thanks. I really had no idea how I was going to do it when I started out and just sort of threw things together, so I'm glad it's working out well for readers.

[Brian Swartz]

Shift #8

The diplomat was ushered to the front of the line and was a quick approval, and after an expired passport Jorgi showed up again.

"Hey it is me! Are you happy to see? I have everything you ask for now!"

His passport is still good, and he presents ... an entry ticket, no permit.

"Tickets are no longer accepted."

"Hey no! Guy sold me ticket, say it is good. You check again maybe."

Frustrated with his nonsense ...

"Do not come back again."

"Haha! You nice guy but I have business in Arstotzka. I get right papers and come see you."

He's persistent, you have to give him that. Can't give him much of anything else though.

Later on, a suspicious character wearing a mask comes in and states simply that 'The order awaits'. Um, what? He hands me a black something-or-other, which I ignore and carry on with my work.

The rest of the day goes fairly smoothly. This was better than the last few, no citations although things did slow down a bit at the end.


Statement

Savings -- 0
Salary(10) -- 50

Rent -- -25
Food -- -20
Heat -- NA
Medicine(Wife) -- NA
Medicine(Son) -- -5
Medicine(MIL) -- NA
Medicine(Uncle) -- NA

Balance -- 0

I have just enough to buy medicine for my son; everyone is sick and hungry and cold after yesterday, but he is listed as 'very sick', meaning he won't survive the night without it. We're still going to be cold, but at least we will be able to eat tonight for the first time in three days. There is just the faintest glimmer of hope if I can have a few more days like this one.

[Brian Swartz]

December 1 -- Day 9

The Truth of Arstotzka

** Top-level Kolechian Exposed As Arstotzkan Spy! Missing from post, presumed dead.

We just can't go a day without a new international crisis, can we ...

** Sports
** Politics


MOG Official Bulletin

"An undercover agent of the Ministry of Information has been compromised."

"The Ministry of Admission has offered it's services as liaison. Expect a possible drop later today."

In other words, you've offered my services as liaison. Let me guess what the pay will be for this; satisfaction at doing my part in serving up more ...

"Glory to Arstotzka."

Yep. I hate being right sometimes.


Regulations

No changes.


I take a look at the black paper the mysterious 'Order' messenger or whatever gave me yesterday ... In white type there is a strange symbol resembling perhaps a sun, a box with lines in all eight directions from it. Large letters on the bottom are titled 'EZIC'. On the back is a name: Corman Drex. They were approved for entry yesterday .... I don't know if that's what the 'Order' or 'EZIC' or whoever this is wanted or not, but in any case they can leave me alone as far as I'm concerned. Take their problems elsewhere. We'll see if anything comes of this.

[PilotMan]

Nice, things do get pretty interesting and your choices get more interesting, now that you've proven yourself.

[Brian Swartz]

Or rather, the choices would have gotten more interesting if I had proven myself(as opposed to barely kept my family outside death's door) .

Shift #9

**I would include another screenshot now and then, but I'm having trouble getting FRAPS to take them off the recorded gameplay videos. I think I've basically decided not to worry about it, as I don't know that they are all that essential, but that's the reason it's been all text lately.**

Before I can properly get going, a guard comes into my booth, resulting in the following conversation:

Guard: "Hello."

Me: "Are you the spy?"

Guard: "What? No. I am guard here. My name is Calensk. They told me I get good position, then send me here. This is thanks I get. Now they pay me almost nothing."

This sounds like a trap. No self-respecting official of glorious Astrotzka would dare voice such negativity ..

Me: "They pay us all as much."

Guard: "Yes, but look. I get small bonus when you detain people. More you detain, more they give me for processing. But this is not fair, right? You should get something too. So I fix this problem. I give you 5 dollars from my bonus for every two people you detain. Sounds like good deal to me. I give money to you after I get paid. Let us make the best of this."

This is, on it's face, an outright corruption-promoting bribe. And 'processing'? That sounds like a bad euphemism for I-don't-want-to-know-what. He leaves without giving me a chance to respond. I never actually agreed to anything ... I should report him, but I to who? Our need for the money is self-evident .... I'll just keep my mouth shut and if a few more dollars happen to come my way, all the better.

First up is a man hailing from Kolechia. Or so he claims. His passport has a false point of issuance. "I don't know anything about that." Oh really? Detained! I would have done that anyway. Probably. Next!

After a few hours, a lady comes in and curtly announces:

"I have not much time. You must hold on to these."(hands me a large white envelope).

"Keep them safe today. I am being followed by an imposter. They pretend to be from the Ministry of Information but it is a lie. If they ask for documents, give these instead. Do not mix them up."(hands me a seemingly indentical envelope)

What in the world is this? I'm not a counter-intelligence officer. Both are labeled identically, titled 'Mating Habits of Lesser Kolechian Waterfowl, A Full Report. Ministry of Information" I suppose that'll do as much as anything for cloak-and-dagger work. But do I believe her? To choose wrongly would be more than dangerous. She offered no credentials, but of course she wouldn't be carrying any if she's legit.

I decide I do believe her. I have no solid way to prove that I am not just a gullible fool.

A few hours later, at about two, another lady:

"I am from the Ministry of Information. You have something to give us."(hands me a ten-dollar note)

I'm feeling a lot better about this -- genuine Arstotzkan officials wouldn't bother to bribe me. I give her the fakes, and call out, 'Next!' "Perfect" she says. Heheheh. I'm feeling good about myself ... and fail to notice the difference between the last names Castinov and Kastinov, earning myself my first citation of the day. Pleh!!

An older man, bearing a passport for the name Corman Drex -- decidedly different from the last Corman Drex the other day -- stops in. His passport is denied, but he won't leave.

"My name is Corman Drex. You have something of mine."

Well, I can't have him holding up the line, and I don't need anybody's attention drawn to ... whoever he is. I give him the EZIC paper, he thanks me and hand me another one, which says 'Read quickly and return to messenger.' The back states the following:

"Arstotzka is great country poisoned by corrupt leaders."

"War has made gov't greedy and paranoid -- you have seen for yourself."

"Help us free Arstotzka from it's shackles."

*The order of the Ezic Star

They'll need to find some other patsy. I give it back to 'Corman Drex' and he finally leaves, handing me something else and saying 'Do not lose this.' I'm no revolutionary. I'm just a guy trying -- and failing -- to feed his family. For pete's sake, pick some other fool.

Rounding off the awesomeness, I'm cited for denying his application -- he was supposedly cleared for entry. Like two hours on that guy, all completely wasted! Superb!!

A hooded man from Obristan tries to enter on an expired passport, and the border closes for another day.


Statement

Savings -- 0
Salary(8) -- 40
Bribes -- 10

Everyone is cold, hungry, and sick. The triple threat. Without medicine, my uncle and son will not survive the night.

Rent -- -25
Food -- NA
Heat -- -10
Medicine(wife) -- NA
Medicine(son) -- -5
Medicine(mil) -- NA
Medicine(uncle) -- -5
Booth Upgrade -- -5

Balance -- 0

So we go hungry again in order to pay for enough medicine to survive another day, but really it's just delaying the inevitable at this point ...

[Brian Swartz]

December 2 -- Day 10

The Truth of Arstotzka

** Kolechia Cleans House! Round Of Disappearances Blamed on Faulty Evidence

Well that's good news! I made the right choice on the spy. In a sane world I'd at least get a couple days' pay in bonus for assisting in such a vital operation, allowing me to pull my loved ones back from the brink of starvation. I do not live in a remotely sane world, so what I will get is probably more red tape to plow through.

** Sports
** Politics


MOG Official Bulletin

"The divisional authority of East Grestin operations will visit today."

Finally! I'm getting some recognition for my hard, thankless work!! My family will be saved!!!

"Maintain your best behavior."

But of course.

"Glory to Arstotzka."

If you say so.


Regulations

Unchanged.

[Brian Swartz]

Shift #10

Dressed completely in red, the inspector arrives before opening blurb.

"So. You are inspector here. That makes you my responsibility. You have received 15 citations. Perhaps it was mistake to rely on lottery. Let this motivate you. Hang it on wall here. I return in 10 days. Do not embarass me."

Seriously? After all I've done and risked, that's all you have to say?

"Glory to Arstotzka"

Oh, well that makes everything fine then.

A golden and white plaque has been given for me to hang. It states,

"Ministry of Admission. Recognition for Sufficience."

Sufficience? And I'm supposed to hang that and be motivated by it? If it wasn't for the fact that it hasn't been invented yet, I'd say he spent too much time at Despair.com.

Somehow I manage to overcome this insulting absurdity and get off to a decent start. At about 10 a woman comes in with the hubris to attempt immigration without a passport. I stifle my laughter long enough to deny her, but she didn't get the hint.

"No. I am not leaving."

"You are delaying the line."

The bars snap shut and I call for the guards.

"I refuse! You fools better to not touch me."

Your grasp of basic grammar is underwhelming.

"I will explode like wild tiger. I have every right to enter Arstotzka."

Oh for pete's sake ...

"You think I am joking but tiger does not joke. Let me through!"

No, I think you're a moron. She does indeed refuse to leave, but gets hit over the head with the butt of one of the guard's rifles, and is knocked out, then carried away. What a ridiculous waste of my time.

"Next!"

It is now 11, and only three processed so far. Being in a hurry, I fail to notice that the next lady does not have a valid point of issuance. Citation! Thanks to the divisional investigator I know now that this my sixteenth. A man tries to enter under a fake Arstotzkan ID, but this one doesn't get by me. Then an EZIC operative comes in, stating

"Our agents are ready. Starting tomorrow. Let them pass" and hands me more crap. GO AWAY!!


Statement

Savings -- 0
Salary(9) -- 45

Once again I am just too slow.

Rent -- -25
Food -- NA
Heat -- NA
Medicine(wife) -- -5
Medicine(son) -- -5
Medicine(mil) -- -5
Medicine(uncle) -- NA

Balance -- 5

Wife, son, and mother-in-law are all near death. By giving them medicine, I can't afford food or heat. If I don't give them medicine, they die of their illnesses. So it's really one of those lovely choices where there is no good option.


In the morning, my entire family is gone. All of them are dead. I could have saved my uncle probably by buying food, but the other three would have died anyway.

An official representative tells me that "The Ministry of Labor focuses on Arstotzka's future growth. Workers are expected to support large, healthy families."

On what you've been paying me! You couldn't, like, wait a day or two for bereavement here, glorious overlords!?!

"Your position will be filled by someone more appropriate."

"Glory to Arstotzka."

My response is censored.

[Brian Swartz]

GAME OVER

Ending 2 of 20 -- They are numbered worst through best, so there are 18 'better' possibilities, and one worse. Go me.

** Played for: 1 hour, 32 minutes, 37 seconds
** Travelers Processed: 94
** Approved: 54
** Denied: 28
** Detained: 10
** Citations: 16
** Stamps Applied: 78

I'm going to press forward and try again, but I won't pick up the thread here until I reach this point again, since it would be pretty much the same thing only with me(hopefully) doing slightly better. I'll do a brief summary at that point(I've actually already done the first few days). I intend to keep going until I have either A) finished or B) don't think I can improve significantly.


Stuff I've learned:

** Arstotzka sucks. It's not glorious at all. It's a pretty hellacious place to live, actually.
** It's better to be correct than fast.
** I'm still slow with a mouse.
** Be prepared by the time each new applicant enters the booth, everything in the right position, etc.
** Read the fine print, especially on new types of documents and/or rules
** A 'valid on' date is not the same as an 'expiration date'
** Jorgi is shameless
** There's lots of human garbage out there
** EZIC won't take no for an answer
** Life isn't fair
** 'Sufficience' ain't all it's cracked up to be
** Kolechia is sounding better and better all the time
** Pink Vice apparently has a monopoly on the Arstotka prostitution trade

[PilotMan]

Much better on your first play through than I did that's for sure.

[Brian Swartz]

That's encouraging .... I think.

Anyway I'm up through December 2(Day 10) again. I did much better this time. Part of that was knowing what was coming, there were a few situations that surprised me the first time that I was ready for, so to an extent it wasn't so much being better at the job as just being prepared. I was able to cut down on my citations(only 5 through 9 days as opposed to 15, and two of the five came on the previous day). The inspector had nothing different to say though. Apparently five is still far more than they expected with a labor lottery.

At any rate, everyone is healthy and there is $60 in the bank, just over the expenses for one day. I'm essentially breaking even consistently now, which I'm sure means that glorious Arstotzka will just up the pain soon. I figure it'll be a success if I can get through another 10 days before everything goes to heck on this run ...

[Brian Swartz]

December 3 -- Day 11

The Truth of Arstotzka

** Theft at Ministry of Admission! Limited Effect -- Few Items Stolen

Grumble.

** Antegria Domestic Spying Exposed! Whistleblower on the Run
** The Weather


MOA Official Bulletin

"A break-in at M.O.A. offices may have compromised our document sealing plates. "

"Nothing important was stolen but intelligence suggests counterfeiters have already begun forging official Arstotzkan documents."

Umm ... how is this 'nothing important' again? Sounds pretty important to me. ...

"Double-check that required documents contain valid seals."

Yep, more work for me. Knew it was coming.

"Correlate missing or wrong seals against the appropriate entries in the DOCUMENTS chapter of your rulebook."

"Glory to Arstotzka."


Regulations

No changes.

[Brian Swartz]

Shift #11

I took a closer look at the EZIC 'papers' before the day started. I have two of them, and one has holes at the top, the other a few dots. After a bit I discovered they fit over each other to reveal two names if positioned correctly. One is Stephani Graire, the other Mikhail Saratov. Perhaps these are the names of their agents I'm supposed to be looking for?

I'm not really sure why I even cared to look, but it's driving me nuts that these people insist on involving me in their ... whatever it is they are trying to do.

First up, I spend way too much time on a woman from Antegria -- and still manage to incorrectly examine the seal, which is forged. Fantastic. Another citation. Then Jorgi is back ...

"Hello my guy! Okay, today is day! Look at all good papers. Was not easy. Or cheap! Haha!"

Do shut up. However, he did finally manage to get everything right, and passage is approved.

"All right, you the best! Arstotzka the best! Here, take this"

He hands me what appears to be a metallic medal of some kind. Um, ok. It's after 9 already though. Need to get this line moving. Smashing my thumb not once but twice on the approval stamper with the next applicant doesn't improve my mood any.

The guard Calensk enters next. Time for my 'bonus'?

"Good morning. You detained 5 people. Bonus is good, they pay ok."

He hands me $5, which is only half of the promised amount.

"This is not enough."

"Yes, I know. My wife is sick now, neighbor spreads the flu."

Life is rough all over, but where's my money?

"This is what is left after medicine. I give you rest next time. Maybe you detain more people to make it easier."

Maybe you shut up more and get out of my face. Yeah, I'm in a foul mood today. Arstotzka is so incompetent, we can't even do bribery properly.

In the afternoon, a man is rejected for not having an entry permit, and informs me that 'The Order knows'. Knows what?

After yet another citation(photo discrepancy), another shadowy figure has a written message:

"First agent was denied. Another will come in three days. Do not make same mistake twice."

LEAVE. ME. ALONE!!

Annoyed, I fail to notice that the last person today had different last names on their documents. That's citation #3 of the day, and a 5-dollar fine. Argebargle.


Statement

The EZIC are now bothering us at home! They bring a gift ... of a thousand dollars! That would put us on easy street, but is too risky. I burn the money, sadly.

Savings: 60
Salary(7): 35
Penalties: -5
Bribes: 5

Rent: -25
Food: NA
Heat: -10
EZIC Gift: NA
Booth Upgrade: -5

Balance: 55

With such a lousy day and everyone in good health, we'll have to go hungry again.

[Brian Swartz]

December 4 -- Day 12

The Truth of Arstotzka

** The History Arstotzka: In Pictures and Words -- Mostly Words
** The Weather
** Entertainment

In other words, no actual news but they'll print what they can come up with anyway.

Before I can read anything else, I am greeted by an official-looking man dressed in black.

"Good morning, inspector. You are healthy today yes? I have just few questions for you.

I haven't eaten in about 20 hours now. Of course I'm feeling great. And who the heck are you anyway? His ID explains that he is from the Ministry of Information's Office of Investigation. A special investigator from the East Grestin Division. Aka, Artstotzka's not-so-secret police. His name is M. Vonel.

He continues ...

"We think suspicious group attempts to stir trouble. We think some members enter this checkpoint. So we come talk to you. "

We? Who is this we? I see only you ...

"Have you seen anything like this? Is some kind of symbol for group. If you have any information, you give to us yes? Yes?"

"Yes"

"Very good"

On a small slip of paper, a handwritten notation is clearly a replica of the EZIC Star. Finally!! I get to do my patriotic duty and surely rewarded for my loyalty. I hand him the black EZIC papers I have ...

"What is this? Interesting. Yes, very interesting. I think it is best if you come with me."

Aha! My big break!! I'm about to become someone important ...

Or not. I'm escorted to a jail cell, and notified that I am 'under arrest for associating with suspicious groups.' Heck what the? I turned them in and rejected their agents! I've done nothing improper -- I've been a loyal citizen of this backwards cesspool of an insult to authoritarianism!! This is an outrage!!!

They don't care.

My prisoner number is 918533-6124. The Ministry of Information holds me to conduct a 'full audit of my activities'.

"Glory to Arstotzka"

**** Arstotzka. Yeah, you heard me.

[Brian Swartz]

GAME OVER(AGAIN)

Well, that was abrupt. This was ending 3 of 20, so it is slightly better than last time I suppose -- a whole day and a half better. Whoopee. My family is still alive, but I'll likely never see them again and their chances of surviving long on their own are ... remote.

** Played for 1 hour, 24 minutes, 11 seconds
** Travelers Processed: 120(+26)
** Approved: 60(+6)
** Denied: 42(+14)
** Detained: 15(+5)
** Citations: 9(-7)
** Stamps Applied: 97(+19)

Essentially I cut my mistakes in half, resulting in a lot more people not getting into Arstotzka but allowing for much better living conditions for my family. I hope they enjoyed the extra 36 hours of life and made something of it. Probably not.

The main lesson from this attempt: don't trust the government. Apparently keeping my head down and feigning ignorance is the only way to survive. Guard Calensk has the right idea; just have to look out for myself and try to survive this stupid regime.

[PilotMan]

Nice job this go around. You should never put your trust in an authoritarian state. tsk, tsk.

[Brian Swartz]

So it's been a while here obviously, but recently I caught up to the same day again. Did about the same, slightly better. I only had two citations when the inspector game, but got the same speech. I was a little bummed and proceeded to prove it by getting two more the next day .

Anyway, I just did the 'smile and nod' routine when the secret policeman came to investigate EZIC activities. I forgot to record the day's frivolities, but there was one amusing gentleman who noted the plaque on the wall and said something to the effect of 'sufficience? Why bother even hanging it up?' His application was declined, expired date or somesuch after he commented that 'checkpoint is same same as plaque. Cheap shit.'

The day was cut short by another terrorist attack, and for the first time in a few days, the family goes hungry. But we are all still alive, which is more than I can say for previous playthroughs. We have the option to move to a Class 7(currently in Class 8) apartment, which would result in a $5 rent increase. I have only $70 after not buying food, which while a bit better than what I had last time, isn't nearly enough for the $100 moving costs. We stay put.

[Brian Swartz]

December 5 -- Day 13

The Truth of Arstotzka

** Another Bomber Slips Through! Immigrant Screening Falls Short
** M.O.A. Gets New Director: Stricter Protocols Promised at Border

In other words, I'll get more work for the same pay to appease ... whomever. And make Arstotzkans safe from the terrorists so that they can be oppressed properly in peace by their own government. Roger that.

** Sports
** Politics

MOA Official Bulletin

This ought to be good.

Inspector, the new director is unsatisfied with the level of scrutiny afforded to foreigners.

From today forward, all foreign entrants must produce a recent IDENTITY SUPPLEMENT listing weight, height, and appearance.

The RULEBOOK documents chapter has been updated.

Glory to Arstotzka.

Well, you know what we think of that last part by now ...


Official Regulations

** All entrants must have a passport
** All documents must be current
** Citizens must have an ID card
** Foreigners require an entry permit
** Workers must have a work pass
** No weapons or contraband
** Diplomats require authorization
** Foreigners require an id supplement

Job's getting worse all the time, but there's nothing for it. NEXT!!