You stand on the precipice of a discovery that would alter the world you knew and held dear. The stage is set for your grand experiment to begin: to create life out of death, life out of nothing. All you need to do is to flick the switch.
You are Frankenstein. What do you do?
[[Proceed with the experiment.]]
[[Hesitate and retire for the day.]]
You flick the switch. The confused mass of flesh and organic material convulses rapidly, life seemingly being imbued into the core of its being. You watch as your creation slows down its movements...
But the creature is motionless again. Disheartened, you figure that something must have been fundementally wrong with your method and decide to [[go to bed.->Nightmares]]You decide it is not yet time. Whether it be a deliberate pause, or a fearful hesitation, something within you stops your hand from giving life to your creation.
You take a step back. This feels wrong. You retreat back into your bedroom, knowing that your creation is still laying in the laboratory, waiting to be awakened.
As you prepare for bed, you look at your tired reflection in the mirror. If this is what becomes of a man who devoted his life to the extraneous craft of alchemy, perhaps you should reconsider your calling.
It does not matter. You didn't pull the trigger yet.
[[Sleep. -> Disappearance]]Night terrors plague your unconscious mind. You toss and turn in your bed, imagining your creation speaking to you.
"I hate you." the creature says. "You have brought me into this world miserably, leaving me to rot in the damp cold. Now that I know your name, nobody you hold dear will be safe. Not even your dear, sweet Elizabeth."
His invocation of Elizabeth's name – your childhood friend – strikes fear in your gut. You could already see it: your creation approaching her, eyes wide with terror, as she is choked to death by the monster that you created. The life leaves her eyes, staring you in the face, begging you to save her...
You wake up in fright. *It was only a dream*, you think. You get ready for the day ahead, then walk to your laboratory.
Your creation is gone.
[[Search for him.]]You look around the laboratory for any indication for where he may have went. The room looked the same as last night, save for the creature being gone. You examine your surroundings thoroughly, nothing catching your eye.
Exhausted and anxious, you decide that the creature must have fled off somewhere to get away from you. With a heavy heart, you continue your university life as if nothing ever happened in that dreaded room.
[[Time marches on...]]
Days turn to weeks, which then turn into months. You are in a state of constant dread, waiting for something terrible to happen as you continue your studies. You don't have to wait too long before things hit the fan.
One day in your study, you find a letter delivered to you from your home in Geneva. Your brother, William has been murdered.
As you read the letter, a chill crawls through your body. The primary suspect for his murder is Justine, one of your housemaids, but you know that this is not the case.
The monster has come for your family. You have to [[return home]] at once.
You arrive back at your homestead in Geneva a few days after. The atmosphere in your house is grim and anxious. You are greeted by Elizabeth, who consoles you for your loss.
"My condolences, Victor. None of us expected dear William's life to end like so. Still...it puzzles me why Justine would go do such a thing."
Your mind is elsewhere. You are almost certain Justine is innocent, but revealing your hand in creating the fiend would be dangerous. But if you stay silent, there is no telling who the creature would come for next...
What do you do?
[[Tell the household about your creation, and your suspicions of the creature.-> The Confession]]
[[Keep quiet about it for now.->Trepidation]]You decide it can't wait any longer– they need to know what you did.
You ask for your father to come to the living room, and ask Elizabeth to listen carefully.
"It's very important." you say. "I cannot bear this alone any longer."
Once everyone is present, you begin your confession.
Your loved ones look at you in horror as you recount the events that you suspect led to William's murder. You theorize that the creature managed to find your home address from its time awake in your laboratory, and killed William once it got to the mansion.
Once you finish speaking, your father Alphonse brings you to the side.
"I do not wish to bear witness to the death of another of my sons. Justine cannot be charged with murder if there is another, more likely suspect on the loose. Victor, you must end this creature. It is your responsibility as its creator to bring it away from what is left of our family. Until then, you cannot rest. You must search the world for this creature and destroy it."
You both return to the living room, and Elizabeth approaches you on the verge of tears.
"Victor, this mistake is yours to bear. I cannot hold you accountable for William's death, but I can do so for his murderer. Your creation has done us all a grave injustice; you need to see to its destruction. Until then, I will be waiting. I need time alone."
She leaves you in the living room. You have no choice; the fiend must be annihilated.
[[Find the creature.->No Mercy]]You decide to keep the details to yourself. There's no telling how they may react to your hand in the death of your brother. You retire to your room, keeping the weight of your actions out of sight.
You take a breather and lie on your bed. William's murder is a thousand times more painful knowing the possibility of your part in it. As you slowly doze off, you think you see a shillouette standing by the window...
[[Sleep.]]Your heart is filled with penitence and rage. Elizabeth's words ring out in your mind.
"*This mistake is yours to bear.*"
You couldn't agree more. As you walk to your room, you remember the nightmare you had months before. You can't allow your creation to live any longer. As long as the creature breathes, your loved ones are in danger.
When you get to your room, you find something lying on your desk, along with a note.
You read it. "You know what to do. Show your creation no mercy."
As you pick up the gun, you hear [[a scream->The Attack]].You rush down to the guest quarters, adrenaline coursing through your veins. The monster came faster than you expected. But it doesn't matter. It dies tonight.
Once you open the door, your heart drops.
The creature held Elizabeth by the throat, suffocating her. Her eyes were wide in shock, looking at you as if begging you to do something.
Filled with rage, you aimed your gun at your creation.
The monster spoke. "You must be my creator. I do not wish to–"
You fire your gun before he finished his sentence. But the creature was quick to respond, and used Elizabeth's body to block the bullet.
She screams. Blood runs from her shoulder, and the creature flinches. His grip on her neck loosens.
"I do not wish to harm you. I only have but one request."
"Vile wretch!" you shout. "You kill my brother, threaten my friend, and all you want is a request?"
You aim your gun at the creature once more, and [[fire->Last Regrets]].The bullet hits Elizabeth.
You stare at the creature in terror as he drops her lifeless, bloodied body to the ground. Your shock turns to anger, and tears start running from your eyes.
"You teacherous fiend!" You cannot control yourself any longer. "You have stolen the last remaining joys in my life. You die tonight!"
You pull out your gun and corner the creature at the edge of the room.
*Bang. Bang. Bang.*
You fire relentlessly, shooting it until not a tremble from his body remained. The adrenaline in your veins peters out, and all that is left is a deep sorrow.
"Elizabeth...I failed you."
You kneel before her corpse and weep. The pain is immeasurable; you have destroyed whatever chance of happiness you had since you created that monster.
There is only one more thing to do.
You pull out the gun and shoot the last bullet into your skull.
**The End**
[[Try again? ->The Beginning]]
The next morning, you wake up feeling an immense sense of dread. Out of instinct, you immediately rush down to your laboratory, where your creation supposedly was.
It's gone. The creature, your research notes, everything. But how? You kept quiet about your project and the circumstances in which you prepared your experiment. How could anyone know?
You realise they must have given life to the creature while you were asleep. And if they have your notes...
You have no time to waste. You must find the creature– and whoever gave it life– as soon as possible.
[[Search for them.]]
You look around the room for any inkling as to where they may have went. It doesn't take long for you to find one.
On a desk next to a window, you find a note.
"Meet us outside the university gates at midnight tonight, or everyone will know you made the creature."
You have a suspicion that this is likely a trap. But even if they're bluffing, what choice do you have? The creature is still your responsibility, after all.
[[Meet up with the perpetrator.]]It's a rainy night. The streets are deserted, and only a cloak can sheild you from the damp weather. You trudge towards the university gates with a growing sense of dread.
When you get there, you see two figures underneath an arch, both holding lanterns.
You recognise the smaller one. "M. Waldman." You could hardly believe your chemistry professor, who staunchly rejected your interest in alchemy, would be the one to bring your creation to life.
"Frankenstein." he responds coldly. "How strange that one of my brightest students would resort to such unethical means in pursuit of *science*. There are lines that must be drawn...especially in regards to *him*."
The other figure removed his cloak, revealing a twisted mesh of cobbled together parts that you knew all too well.
The monster was his now.
"What do you want?" you ask.
"We wish to strike a deal." M. Waldman says. "I will keep your creation under my custody and teach him to read and write. In return for our silence, we ask that you make him a partner."
Your heart sinks. "A partner?"
"Yes. If he is to live among humanity, he needs to do it in the company of a kindred spirit. It's the least you can do to make his unfortunate state palatable. Isn't it cruel for a god to refuse to give Adam an Eve?"
It dawns on you. You have no choice in the matter; you have to give the monster a wife, or you will be exposed for your actions in creating him.
[[Agree to the deal.]]
"Excellent." M. Waldman says. "Once the deed is done, put a note on my desk. I will then meet you outside your quarters to confirm that you have made his partner."
The monster stared at me for a long moment, saying nothing. Whether it because he hated me, or if he didn't know how to speak, I did not know.
"We're done here," your professor says. "You have until the end of the month to complete your task. You won't want to know what happens if you don't."
The two walked away in the stormy night. You head on home, knowing the danger of your assignment.
Once you arrive back in your quarters, you begin to devise a plan.
[[Work on creating the bride.]]The days that followed were strenuous. You took painstaking effort to assemble the creature's bride, and to gather the components you needed for it.
As the end of the month drew ever closer, you continued creating the bride, knowing that the creature's continued existence would be a pain you could no longer bear. If you were to allow two of them to set foot upon this earth, who knows what would happen to you?
At the penultimate day of the month, you finish creating the bride. You pocket a box of matches from a cabinet and [[send the letter to M. Waldman-> Unfulfilled]].
M. Waldman and the creature arrive at your doorstep on the last night of the month. You let them in quietly after they knock.
"Let's see it then." Your professor insists.
You show them the still body of the assembled bride lying on the table. The creature looks at it, enthralled.
"She's just like me." he says.
You recoil at the sound of his voice. This was the first time you have heard your creation speak.
M. Waldman coughs. "Okay, then. Bring it to life."
You nod, and start the process in which the creature was birthed.
This time around, you needed a way to remove any sense of leverage your professor had when he took in the creature. The best thing you could think of was a trap.
You strike a match and hold it under the bride's lifeless body. Before the two notice what was happening, you push the creature into the bride.
"Hey! What are you-"
The laboratory bursts into flames. All your work in creating life where there should not be, now gone in seconds. You would never have to see those dreaded faces again.
Or so you think.
"I never took my creator for such a fool."
You thought it impossible that your creation could survive the blast. Through the blazing embers around the room, the angered monster approaches you.
M. Waldman coughs. "It seems you have left our deal...unfulfilled."
The creature grabs you by the throat and starts choking you. You can feel the life slipping away from your body as he holds you up in the air. All you can see are flames and your creation's cold expression.
"Goodbye, Frankenstein."
As you lose consciousness, you feel your body getting tossed aside, your hand burning in the fire.
**The End**
[[Try again? ->The Beginning]]
The days that follow are exhausting. Justine is executed for William's murder, and in spite of yourself you decide to go hiking on the Mer de Glace to clear your head.
As you trudge through the snow, you get the sense that your movements are being observed. Someone was trailing you.
You look down the slope, and see him.
The creature you made approached you through the desolate mountain range.
"Accursed fiend! Stay back!" You say, fruitless in your attempts to run away.
"Wait!" he replies. "I need you to listen."
"Why should I listen to you? You killed my brother!"
"Please! Have sympathy, it is the least a god can do for his creation..."
You scoff at him. "What do you want?"
"For you to listen to my tale, and to grant a wish."
You stop in your tracks. A *wish*? You leer at the creature, who says nothing.
"Out with it, then."
"Very well."
[[Listen to the creature's tale. ->A Wish]]You listen to the creation's long and arduous tale. He recounts his lodging in a hovel in a stranger's house, using his observations of their family to learn how to read and write. He then tells of him being chased away by that same family once he was discovered, then arriving at your house and encountering William.
"My deplorable state, which you have inflicted upon me from birth, forbids me from being accepted by your kind. Which brings me to my wish."
You listen intently. "And that would be?"
"Give me a partner in which I would walk this world with. Once this is done, I vow to leave you in peace forevermore."
To make another cobbled-together creation and give it life seems a tall order for you. But if that would mean the monster you made will disappear from your life...you decide it is a price that must be paid.
"Very well. I will fulfill your wish, if it gives you peace of mind. But you must never meddle in my affairs once you have her. I will return to the place where you were created to finish her. You are to await a lit lantern at my doorstep to signal her completion."
The creature grins. "I will be waiting."
You watch the monster walk down from the mountain until he is but a speck in your vision.
[[There is only one thing left to do.]]Once you return to your university quarters, you waste no time. You assemble the creature's partner meticulously, using whatever you could find to be suitable for their wish. In the midst of the process, you recieve letters from your father, who has been discussing the possibility of marriage to Elizabeth. You would be all to pleased with the prospect if you weren't tasked with bringing another creature into this world.
As you prepare the finishing touches, you attempt to assuage your doubts with the promises of peace the monster gave you. If you falter now, there is no telling what he would do to your family.
Finally, you look upon the partner your creation desperately wished for. It is time to put this to rest once and for all. You light the lantern and place it outside your door.
It does not take long for you to hear a knock.
You open the door to see the creature staring at you.
"It's done."
The monster comes into the place he was first created, and his eyes dart towards his partner.
"Thank you." he says.
I flick the switch to give life to his partner. After a few moments and intense apprehension, her eyes open.
"Hello? Can you understand me?" The creature says to the awakened being.
The partner nods.
"Excellent. I bid you goodbye, my creator. You have done me a great service."
The two creatures walk out into the night. While you hope you never see them again, you also hope that they find joy in each other's company. Because if they don't, you don't think the world could handle it.
You head to bed and hope that everything is past you now.
[[Dream.]]In your dream, you're waiting at the altar. It's a sunny day, far removed from the gloomy rain of those days spent in your laboratory. You look down the aisle to see your beloved.
Elizabeth Lavenza, the last remaining joy in your life, walks to the altar with a smile on her face. She is still as beautiful as the day you first met her. She meets you again as you exchange vows.
Her eyes glimmer in the light of the sun coming from the church windows. The priest whose name you don't know yet allows you to kiss the bride. You hold Elizabeth tightly as your lips connect.
You let her go and glance at the attendees, half-expecting to see the creatures somewhere in the crowd, but they are not there.
As you walk down the aisle with Elizabeth, you don't wish for this dream to end. All you want is to hold her for the rest of your life, and not let go.
**The End**
[[Try again? ->The Beginning]]