Strangetown: chapter 26.5 (Truth)

[strangetomato]

Warnings: None.



Chapter 26.5

Truth



Detective Jack Luxel lifted a book from the shelf.




After his meeting with their client that morning, he had poured through the files again, leading him to what appeared to be another dead end. It was frustrating, but he was not content to give up.

There was one detail that had caught his attention: a reference to alien abduction in the genealogy of one of the suspects. It was something that he was already quite familiar with, but one could never be too well read on the subject.




The records on alien abductions told an interesting story. The increased frequency of these occurances pointed to a growing urgency on the part of the aliens.

It was as if they were racing against time.

The records mentioned his own grandfather's abduction, in Riverblossom Hills. He had moved to Sim City shortly after it had happened, and Jack had been born there too. Jack's own family tree revealed just how linked he was to this story. He was a part of that whole thing, as much as it weighed on him at times. He was marked by it.

There had been very few abductions in Pleasantview in recent memory, but there had been a number of them, and that was significant. There had been some sightings, here and there, but not nearly as many as in that little town on the Road to Nowhere. West of there, through the desert.

Strangetown... was that where his answer lay hidden?




As he worked, he was joined by his partner, Zelda. Knowing that Jack did not like to be disturbed while he was in the middle of something, she quietly selected a volume of her own, and joined him in his research.

Hours passed.




"C'mon, Jack. That's enough for now, don't you think?" Zelda rose to her feet.

"But I'm so close to a breakthrough. I can feel it."

"Suit yourself, then. I'm going to make us a lunch."

"Okay."

When he didn't move, she sighed, but smiled. That was how he was. When Jack put his mind to something, there was no way to pull him from it until he achieved his goal.




He would not rest until he discovered the truth about Bella Goth.








A/N: Thank you to pixelcurious and jessicus for the wonderful sims.

 

Comments

[hannahspring.livejournal.com]

Did you know that Bella Goth was actually trying to escape from Strangetown? Well, she did try, at least in the Playstation Portable version of The Sims 2.

And also, she married Mortimer for money! And lived in a house full of ghosts (that's why she wanted to leave).

(I hope I didn't say now some ridiculously basic information - I still didn't have time to read all your posts/chapters. *blushes*)

Anyway, getting that popcorn ready for the next chapters! :)

[strange-tomato.livejournal.com]

That's interesting. Have you played that game? I've read a walkthrough and plot synopsis for the console Sims 2 game, and I've used parts of it as inspiration, but it's really bleak, and really takes the game backstory in a different direction from the PC game. It breaks with some of the things that are considered "canon" in the original game. For one thing, Maxis released an interview with Bella on the official site that clearly states that she was abducted (instead of wanting to leave Pleasantview), and it says that she lost all of her memories. That's consistent with the townie version of Bella in Strangetown.

Anyway... while someone could easily use the console game as a basis for a story, I prefer the original game as a starting point. It's more open and retains more of the mystery. I do like the plot of that console game, though. It's great food for thought. There's a bit of that version of Vidcund in my Vidcund.

I'm so excited to do the next chapters too. I have some writing ready to go, but I haven't started on the images yet, so it's going to take a while. I think my Sept. prediction will end up being pretty accurate.

[hannahspring.livejournal.com]

Oops, sorry if I confused you - she was leaving Strangetown because there she lived in a house full of ghosts.

But yeah, the game for PSP is quite stupid. Well, in some ways it's interesting but it's more of an adventure than a life-simulator. My boyfriend bought it to me and I played it only for a while. The PC Game is much better, as you said - there's more of the mystery.

And BTW - what are you going to do when The Sims 3 is released? Will you switch to new game or continue playing The Sims 2? The release date has already been announced for February the 20th. Holy crap, that's so soon. :( Just wanted to know if you plan to end the story or are you just in the half-way? :)

[strange-tomato.livejournal.com]

Oh, haha. I assumed you meant Pleasantview, since that house is also full of ghosts.

Yeah, it's an actual adventure game, isn't it? So different from the PC game.

That's a good question. I was thinking about Sims 3 just the other day. I really like how the game is looking right now (Sims 2 has such a low poly count, it will be great to see that upgrade), and the concept behind the character creation. I'm sure I will get it, but I hope to continue my story until I reach an appropriate "ending". I really hope to resolve it somehow.

After that, I was thinking about moving some of the characters to the new game. That will probably involve re-creating them in the new CAS, but that will be a fun challenge. That's what I'm thinking right now, but who knows if I'll still be interested when the time comes. I might just move on to something new.