Shankman's Outfitters

Wall Market

The gutted husk of a pre-Longest Day supermarket and its vast parking lot have become the sprawling Wall Market, a humming place of barter and commerce where daily bread and stranger things can be bought and sold.

An assortment of trinkets and delicacies is Shankman's Outfitters! A curated display of precious things that blends the ephemeral with the practical. Proprietor the thin-eyed M. Shankman, whose hands are crisscrossed with scars. Rumors abound: that he ran a kibbutz until a stray rocket from the West Bank destroyed his family's dairy; that he served in the Pacific in WW2 and found the Fountain of Youth, or at least the Fountain of Youthfuller. M. Shankman himself is close-lipped. Buy something or move along.

Pinned

Pinned

Thorny Walking Stick

For carrying while walking softly.

+1 Gunslinger when equipped.

            30
            You need 30 x Dollars  (you have 0)

            30
            Unlocked with 30 x Dollars

Patented Leather Boots

Built with Doc Roslyn's Patented Insoles. A working man's fashion statement.

+1 Gunslinger when equipped.

A Barman's Best Friend

Kept behind the counter to resolve disputes.

+2 Gunslinger when equipped.

            90
            You need 90 x Dollars  (you have 0)

            90
            Unlocked with 90 x Dollars

Heavy Steel Wristwatch

Charming and imposing all at once.

+1 Gunslinger and +1 Cityslicker when equipped.

Long Hunting Knife

Carried by homesteaders and cowboys from Amarillo to the Wall.

+3 Gunslinger when equipped.

            270
            You need 270 x Dollars  (you have 0)

            270
            Unlocked with 270 x Dollars

Shiny-Spurred Boots

Steel-toed. Thick-soled. Surprisingly fashionable.

+2 Gunslinger and +1 Cityslicker when equipped.

Starched White Shirt

Smells of fresh laundry and respectability.

+1 Cityslicker when equipped.

            30
            You need 30 x Dollars  (you have 0)

            1
            You need Paladin 1 (you have 1)

            30
            Unlocked with 30 x Dollars

            1
            Unlocked with Paladin 1 - you have 1

Black Leather Duster

For gangsters, villains, and other rough types.

+1 Cityslicker when equipped.

            30
            You need 30 x Dollars  (you have 0)

            1
            You need Man in Black 1 (you have 1)

            30
            Unlocked with 30 x Dollars

            1
            Unlocked with Man in Black 1 - you have 1

Natural Linen Suit

A breathable fabric for a miserable climate.

+2 Cityslicker when equipped.

Tweedy Jacket

Yellow tweedy wool. Liable to overheat. Confers an air of knowledge.

+1 Cityslicker and +1 Doc when equipped.

Flowing Silk Longcoat

Imported from Japan. Black silk and white flowers. Also called a "kimono."

+3 Cityslicker when equipped.

Doctor's Overcoat

Crisp medical whites. An air of sophistication and wisdom.

+2 Cityslicker and +1 Doc when equipped.

Horn-Rimmed Spectacles

Perenially in fashion. Nevertheless a little bookish.

+1 Doc when equipped.

Jar of Black Ash

Devotees of Santo Guerrero apply it to their foreheads.

+1 Doc when equipped.

Stainless Steel Stethoscope

For all your doctoring needs.

+2 Doc when equipped.

Colorfully-Banded Stetson

Shankman's Outfitters

Wall Market

The stetson impresses and intimidates. The colorful band implies cleverness.

+1 Doc and +1 Cityslicker when equipped.

The Monkey's Paw

A clenched monkey's fist. Who knows where it came from? Caveat emptor.

+3 Doc when equipped.

Ten Gallon Hat

A tall stetson for a rough-and-tumble dude. Keeps your head cool for advanced thinking.

+2 Doc and +1 Gunslinger when equipped.


Opportunities

Draw cards from here to raise your Styles, meet your Allies, and risk your Antagonists.

Old Fashioned Research

Unlocked with The Harvestmen 2 - you have 2

Keeping an ear to the street about the Harvestmen is good as far as it goes, but there's only so far you can go on rumors alone...

O Brother, Let's Go Down

Unlocked with Gumption 1 - you have 1; Unlocked when Date is:

May 21, 2026 - Morning (you have this)

; Unlocked with

The hot dry Texas sand means hard living for the rough men and women of Amarillo...

Shankman's Outfitters

An assortment of trinkets and delicacies is Shankman's Outfitters!—

Travel Around Town

Amarillo was once a largeish city; even now it covers a lot of ground...

Absolom the Tinker

Eternally present -- an abstraction in a world of speculation...

The Bazaar

The Wall Market is the noisy sweaty sprawling heart of commerce in Amarillo...

The Amarillo Exchange Commission

A little joke: the Nimble-Fingered Assistant at Traeger's forge on Short Vine will trade anything that folds for anything that shines...

Pinned

Pinned

A Gunslinger in Amarillo

Unlocked with Gunslinger 1 - you have 1; Unlocked when Date is:

May 21, 2026 - Morning (you have this)

May 21, 2026 - Afternoon

May 21, 2026 - Evening

There are endless opportunities here for you to brush up on all the things a gunslinger needs to know...

A Country Doc

Unlocked with Doc 1 - you have 2; Unlocked when Date is:

May 21, 2026 - Morning (you have this)

May 21, 2026 - Afternoon

May 21, 2026 - Evening

Amarillo is bracketed by stone, sand and sky...

The Skunk Brothers Farm

Unlocked when The Skunk Brothers Farm is:

; Unlocked when Date is:

May 21, 2026 - Morning (you have this)

May 21, 2026 - Afternoon

May 21, 2026 - Evening

Long brick buildings and ordered greenery and verdant climbing hops!—


Shankman's Outfitters

Pinned

Pinned

Thorny Walking Stick

For carrying while walking softly.

+1 Gunslinger when equipped.

Patented Leather Boots

Built with Doc Roslyn's Patented Insoles. A working man's fashion statement.

+1 Gunslinger when equipped.

A Barman's Best Friend

Kept behind the counter to resolve disputes.

+2 Gunslinger when equipped.

Heavy Steel Wristwatch

Charming and imposing all at once.

+1 Gunslinger and +1 Cityslicker when equipped.

Long Hunting Knife

Carried by homesteaders and cowboys from Amarillo to the Wall.

+3 Gunslinger when equipped.

Shiny-Spurred Boots

Steel-toed. Thick-soled. Surprisingly fashionable.

+2 Gunslinger and +1 Cityslicker when equipped.

Starched White Shirt

Smells of fresh laundry and respectability.

+1 Cityslicker when equipped.

Black Leather Duster

For gangsters, villains, and other rough types.

+1 Cityslicker when equipped.

Natural Linen Suit

A breathable fabric for a miserable climate.

+2 Cityslicker when equipped.

Tweedy Jacket

Yellow tweedy wool. Liable to overheat. Confers an air of knowledge.

+1 Cityslicker and +1 Doc when equipped.

Flowing Silk Longcoat

Imported from Japan. Black silk and white flowers. Also called a "kimono."

+3 Cityslicker when equipped.

Doctor's Overcoat

Shankman's Outfitters

Wall Market

The gutted husk of a pre-Longest Day supermarket and its vast parking lot have become the sprawling Wall Market, a humming place of barter and commerce where daily bread and stranger things can be bought and sold.

An assortment of trinkets and delicacies is Shankman's Outfitters! A curated display of precious things that blends the ephemeral with the practical. Proprietor the thin-eyed M. Shankman, whose hands are crisscrossed with scars. Rumors abound: that he ran a kibbutz until a stray rocket from the West Bank destroyed his family's dairy; that he served in the Pacific in WW2 and found the Fountain of Youth, or at least the Fountain of Youthfuller. M. Shankman himself is close-lipped. Buy something or move along.

Crisp medical whites. An air of sophistication and wisdom.

+2 Cityslicker and +1 Doc when equipped.

Horn-Rimmed Spectacles

Perenially in fashion. Nevertheless a little bookish.

+1 Doc when equipped.

Jar of Black Ash

Devotees of Santo Guerrero apply it to their foreheads.

+1 Doc when equipped.

Stainless Steel Stethoscope

For all your doctoring needs.

+2 Doc when equipped.

Colorfully-Banded Stetson

The stetson impresses and intimidates. The colorful band implies cleverness.

+1 Doc and +1 Cityslicker when equipped.

The Monkey's Paw

A clenched monkey's fist. Who knows where it came from? Caveat emptor.

+3 Doc when equipped.

Ten Gallon Hat

A tall stetson for a rough-and-tumble dude. Keeps your head cool for advanced thinking.

+2 Doc and +1 Gunslinger when equipped.


A Savage Land (CLICK ME!)

Unlocked with ; Unlocked with a stranger 1 - you have 1

The sky is blue and cloudless and filled with dust...

Pinned

Pinned


Version

Game version number.

Game version number.
Thanks for playing Zero Summer!

a stranger

A past yet to be revealed


A Savage Land (CLICK ME!)

Platform #1

The train platform in Amarillo. The number is a dry local joke; there's hardly enough traffic for one platform, let alone several.

The sky is blue and cloudless and filled with dust.

It's the first thing you notice: how billowing and unbroken it is, how it stings your eyes after the warm blackness behind your eyelids.

There must be a hundred boots kicking up sand. The platform square is filled with people, faces baked brown and chapped by the wind, all of them wearing white cotton shirts and dresses and leather vests and silk ties dusted brown and stained and carefully cleaned of forgotten mud from brief sweet rains. All of their hands rough from the rough country.

The town -- place and people -- is alive.

Pinned

Pinned

You Know This Place

This dry sea of faces is familiar. You know this place. But your memory is fogged over, a vast blank dusty plain, and even remembering its name is a struggle.


Opportunities

Draw cards from here to raise your Styles, meet your Allies, and risk your Antagonists.

Pinned

Pinned


Sweet Home Amarillo

Sunny old Amarillo! A dusty frontier boom-town they used to call the Yellow Rose of Texas. A hundred miles in every direction is sand and worse; a thousand miles west of the Wall. Literally the last stop on the Rio Sur line. Population a few thousand or fewer, all of them armed. Although -- a memory twinges -- not all of them with guns. Not many guns in this gunslinger town. Not a place for soft or idle hands. Nor one for the slow or sweet.

But still it lives, and thrives, and struggles sweating in the dust and sun.

Zero Summer is a story-driven game about identity and choice. The game is played with cards (also called Storylets). Each card is a cycle of events: something happens, you choose how to act or react, your choice determines the outcome.

This card came from the Pinned deck. All the available Pinned cards are always laid out face-up. Soon you'll have access to the Opportunity deck, which you pick from blindly in sets of three.

Drawing a hand from the Opportunity deck costs an Action. So does playing a Pinned card. You can never have more than 30 Actions at once -- so be sure to use them when you hit the cap!

You have moved to a new area: Platform #1: In the Beginning

You moved to a new setting: Amarillo: in the Beginning.

You're in Amarillo -- but who exactly are you?

Far, Far From Home is increasing!

You've upgraded to Zero Summer version 1.1!


Version

Game version number.

a stranger

A past yet to be revealed

Far, Far From Home

You're in Amarillo -- but who exactly are you?


The Bazaar

The Wall Market is the noisy sweaty sprawling heart of commerce in Amarillo. Nearly anything can be bought, sold or traded in the vast parking lot bazaar.

Pinned

Pinned


From a Certain Perspective

Unlocked with Far, Far From Home 1 - you have 1

A woman just off the platform -- she's wearing an apron; it reads Butterloaf Bakery -- cries: fresh hot bread from the oven!—

Pinned

Pinned


Pinned


From a Certain Perspective

A woman just off the platform -- she's wearing an apron; it reads Butterloaf Bakery -- cries: fresh hot bread from the oven! Beside her a man is banging a ladle on a wooden bucket almost slopping over with water. Water a nickel apiece! Three ladles for a dime!

You realize gradually that you're sitting on a long wooden bench. It creaks slightly in the hot breeze; you shift and its fat legs crunch and shift in the gravel. The platform overhang is the only shade for fifty yards in any direction. The train is long gone. You can't remember any details.

The horizon is about a thousand miles away. Spotless, uninhabited. The sky is incredibly wide.

Pinned

Absence

You can catalog all the things in sight -- the dust and the watercarriers and the bakers and buskers with cracked voices and the cattails growing in the still persistent water under the parched gasping boards of Platform #1; the silk ties worn thin by frontier life and the absence of silkworms anywhere this side of the Wall, the rough cotton fibers that make up every dress and shirt and pair of trousers worn by the tanned chapped people of Amarillo --

And still, at the end of your list, you'll find you've left a place unviewed because your own personal lens is unidirectional, unreflective.

The only thing missing here is you.


The Skunk Brothers Farm

Long brick buildings and ordered greenery and verdant climbing hops! In the distance purple mountains; in the foreground amber waves of grain! And everywhere the scent of yeast and its vast gassy microscopic hunger, and the buzzing of bees by the gated clover, and the low humming churn and splash of beer and whiskey being made as fast as Darren and Lloyd and the whole Skunk family can make it.

Increase your Helping the Skunk Brothers Quality to open up new branches!

Water for the Vats

Gunslinger

Physical Style.

A high-risk challenge

The call goes out through Amarillo: the Skunk well's gone dry! Suddenly every idle hand is laid on jars and jugs and even glasses of water. There's no money in it, you're told, but no one can imagine the Skunk Brothers vats going unwatered. Perhaps you should lend a hand.

Making the Rounds

Cityslicker

Social Style.

A chancy challenge

Demand for Cornskunk sour mash bourbon has climbed over the last few months. Theories abound; production volume has exploded; the brothers Skunk are being tightlipped about the whole thing.

To handle logistics, Lloyd Skunk is looking for a few good drinkers to hit all their distributors and come back with orders. It's not glamorous and it doesn't pay, but it will keep the whiskey flowing.

That Cornskunk Taste

Doc

Mental Style.

A tough challenge

Darren Skunk -- quiet thoughtful alchemist! brewmaster, taste-maker! -- needs taste-testers for a new batch of bourbon. He's taking anybody, no special training required. Which means you could get involved. For charitable reasons, of course.

Perhaps Not

Your plate is already full.


The View from Inside

Amarillo swirls around you. From your elevated place on the long wooden bench at Platform #1 you can look down on most of the city: its hard dusty people and broad streets and red brick buildings. There are worse places in the desert. Distantly, you think you might have been to some.

Then the realization: you know Amarillo but not yourself. Not your face. Not the pattern of stubble on your chin or the muscles and skin and bones under the shirt you don't recall buttoning up.

Not your name.

Cold sweat pricks everywhere on your unfamiliar skin.

Your character in Zero Summer is A MAN WITH NO NAME: the Protagonist. A lot of Zero Summer is choosing how to define him -- in relation to his forgotten past and uncertain future, navigating by your own bright moral stars.

You won't have much to work with at first: just the clothes on his back and a sense, maybe vague, maybe growing, of the person you want him to be.

But stick with it and we promise, you'll find the Protagonist looking more and more like his own living, breathing self again.

Far, Far From Home is increasing!


Version

Game version number.

a stranger

A past yet to be revealed


Butterfingers

Water for the Vats

Gunslinger

Physical Style.

A tough challenge

In short order you find yourself helping an old woman in a checkered dress carry ceramic jars of water up Jefferson Ave. They're about a gallon apiece; you've got one under each arm. Which is fine -- until one of Amarillo's endless always-underfoot gangs of children crashes into you. By the time you're on your feet they're gone around the next corner and the woman's jars are broken. She's very nice about it; it's the Skunk brothers, she says, who'll feel it worse.

1 change point, 2 more needed to reach level 3.

Gunslinger has increased to 2!

Gunslinger 1 failed in a challenge! (When you try a challenge that's difficult for you, you learn more even when you fail.)


Gunslinger Gear

Guns, gloves, boots.

Cityslicker Duds

Coats and clothes for every occasion.

Doc Toppers

Bowlers, stetsons, the occasional eyewear.

Talismans

Relics, charms, tokens of authority.

Currency

Spendables of all sorts.

Reputation

Your standing in the community.

Usables

Treasures, mementos, relics.

1 x A Wrapped Package from Absolom the Tinker

Not to be opened until you've finished reading New England in November and Fifty Miles South of Lexington.

Consumables

Nostrums, drinkables, tobaccos and other treatlets.

Ally: Warren Castillo

Warren Castillo of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Ally: Jack Ishiguro

Jack Ishiguro of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Ally: Miz Nils

Miz Nils of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

A Reader of New England and Lexington

You have read New England in November and Fifty Miles South of Lexington.

Version

Game version number.

Paladin

Your ethical Orientation. Your concerns are mercy, compassion and justice.

Man in Black

Your ethical Orientation. Your concerns are self-empowerment and getting things done.

Gumption

Your capacity to pursue new and exciting adventures.

The Harvestmen

You're following the trail of the Harvestmen

Burning Burning Burning Burning

Fire reflecting in a watery mirror.

Avatar

Your avatar.

Time of Day

The time of day.

Date

Today's date.

White Noise

The unnatural world is becoming all too real.

Cityslicker

Social Style.

Doc

Mental Style.

Gunslinger

Physical Style.

The Ministry of Black Powder

You're helping "Padre" Charlie with his good works.

20th Century Penny

An old but well-polished US penny. Minted in 1960. Just the thing to throw into the fountain at St. Francis's.

The Door

A Tarot card. It shows a door in a meadow and a man in front doing a handstand, one leg crossed over the other.


Opportunities

Draw cards from here to raise your Styles, meet your Allies, and risk your Antagonists.

Lost in Amarillo

Unlocked with Far, Far From Home 2 - you have 2; Unlocked with  - you have 1

Parched streams of people flow around you, over the platform and through the square and up the avenues leading into the city...

Pinned

Pinned


Pinned

A Gunslinger in Amarillo

Unlocked with Gunslinger 1 - you have 2; Unlocked when Date is:

May 21, 2026 - Morning (you have this)

May 21, 2026 - Afternoon

May 21, 2026 - Evening


Lost in Amarillo

Parched streams of people flow around you, over the platform and through the square and up the avenues leading into the city. No one takes note of you.

A quick motion just off the platform draws your eye: a stick-thin boy has just snatched a roll out of the Butterloaf basket and taken off running.

Not five feet out, the boy trips over a loose stone -- and then the Butterloaf woman is on him, dragging and shaking him until the stolen roll drops to the ground.

The boy shakes free and runs off. The Butterloaf woman picks up the roll and wipes it with her sleeve.

The first time you try to play this card, its branches will be locked. That's because you don't meet their Quality requirements.

(Any time you want to see a branch's Quality requirements, hover your cursor over the small square icons next to the Locked/Go button.)

To play either of these branches, you need to raise your A Stranger Quality to 4. Try playing a few cards from the Opportunity deck and see if that helps.

Note: not all branches are visible when you fail to meet their Minimums -- although all the branches on this Storylet are.

Pinned

Pinned

The Miserable Ones

Look at the boy! Forty pounds if he's an ounce, and glassy-eyed from hunger. And look at the Butterloaf woman's forearms: muscles like boa constrictors from kneading dough, and the cold appraising eye of a lifelong seller of commodities. Surely the boy didn't deserve what he got. Not over a fistful of bread. Not with his ribs stuck out so far and his stomach indrawn like the hollow of a dead tree.

            4
            You need a stranger 4 (you have 1)

            4
            Unlocked with a stranger 4 - you have 1

Seems About Right

It seems about right, what happened to the boy. The Butterloaf woman probably has a family to feed, and if everyone just helped themselves, she and her children would starve. And there's this: despite the coldness of her eyes, her face has a kind softness to it. The boy could have asked for the roll, and who knows what would have happened?


Gunslinger Gear

Guns, gloves, boots.

Cityslicker Duds

Coats and clothes for every occasion.

Doc Toppers

Bowlers, stetsons, the occasional eyewear.

Talismans

Relics, charms, tokens of authority.

Currency

Spendables of all sorts.

Reputation

Your standing in the community.

Usables

Treasures, mementos, relics.

Not to be opened until you've finished reading New England in November and Fifty Miles South of Lexington.

Consumables

Nostrums, drinkables, tobaccos and other treatlets.

Ally: Warren Castillo

Warren Castillo of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Ally: Jack Ishiguro

Jack Ishiguro of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Ally: Miz Nils

Miz Nils of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

A Reader of New England and Lexington

You have read New England in November and Fifty Miles South of Lexington.

Version

Game version number.

Game version number.
Thanks for playing Zero Summer!

Paladin

Your ethical Orientation. Your concerns are mercy, compassion and justice.

Man in Black

Your ethical Orientation. Your concerns are self-empowerment and getting things done.

Gumption

Your capacity to pursue new and exciting adventures.

The Harvestmen

You're following the trail of the Harvestmen

Burning Burning Burning Burning

Fire reflecting in a watery mirror.

Avatar

Your avatar.

Time of Day

The time of day.

Date

Today's date.

White Noise

The unnatural world is becoming all too real.

Cityslicker

Social Style.

Doc

Mental Style.

Gunslinger

Physical Style.

The Ministry of Black Powder

You're helping "Padre" Charlie with his good works.

20th Century Penny

An old but well-polished US penny. Minted in 1960. Just the thing to throw into the fountain at St. Francis's.

The Door

A Tarot card. It shows a door in a meadow and a man in front doing a handstand, one leg crossed over the other.


Opportunities

Draw cards from here to raise your Styles, meet your Allies, and risk your Antagonists.

Pinned

Pinned


Old Fashioned Research

Keeping an ear to the street about the Harvestmen is good as far as it goes, but there's only so far you can go on rumors alone. The public library -- a squat one-story building just outside the Wall Market with squeaky-clean windows and a tidy lawn -- is the next natural stop. There might be something in back issues of the <i>Daily Star</i>. And there's this -- you've heard the librarian, Ms. Pettle, is eccentric in a way Jack Ishiguro called "exciting, really exciting in kind of a got-schooled-on-a-Saturday-morning kind of way."

Pinned

To the Library

Outside the library are a pair of stone sculptues. At one point they might have been lions, but weather and time have made them smooth and toothless. One of their gaping mouths has a cigarette butt crushed inside; otherwise they look recently scrubbed. They're sad to look at, like a favorite blanket worn raggedy by too many washings. Best not to dwell.

            5
            You need Doc 5 (you have 2)

            5
            Unlocked with Doc 5 - you have 2


Pinned

Pinned

Small-Town Cityslicker

Unlocked with Cityslicker 1 - you have 3; Unlocked when Date is:

May 21, 2026 - Morning (you have this)

May 21, 2026 - Afternoon

May 21, 2026 - Evening

Compared to the big cities up norte, Amarillo is a smear in the desert...


Lost in Amarillo

Parched streams of people flow around you, over the platform and through the square and up the avenues leading into the city. No one takes note of you.

A quick motion just off the platform draws your eye: a stick-thin boy has just snatched a roll out of the Butterloaf basket and taken off running.

Not five feet out, the boy trips over a loose stone -- and then the Butterloaf woman is on him, dragging and shaking him until the stolen roll drops to the ground.

The boy shakes free and runs off. The Butterloaf woman picks up the roll and wipes it with her sleeve.

The first time you try to play this card, its branches will be locked. That's because you don't meet their Quality requirements.

(Any time you want to see a branch's Quality requirements, hover your cursor over the small square icons next to the Locked/Go button.)

To play either of these branches, you need to raise your A Stranger Quality to 4. Try playing a few cards from the Opportunity deck and see if that helps.

Note: not all branches are visible when you fail to meet their Minimums -- although all the branches on this Storylet are.

Pinned

Pinned

The Miserable Ones

Look at the boy! Forty pounds if he's an ounce, and glassy-eyed from hunger. And look at the Butterloaf woman's forearms: muscles like boa constrictors from kneading dough, and the cold appraising eye of a lifelong seller of commodities. Surely the boy didn't deserve what he got. Not over a fistful of bread. Not with his ribs stuck out so far and his stomach indrawn like the hollow of a dead tree.

Seems About Right

It seems about right, what happened to the boy. The Butterloaf woman probably has a family to feed, and if everyone just helped themselves, she and her children would starve. And there's this: despite the coldness of her eyes, her face has a kind softness to it. The boy could have asked for the roll, and who knows what would have happened?


Old Fashioned Research

Pinned

Pinned


Pinned

Pinned


Lost in Amarillo

Pinned


Old Fashioned Research

Pinned

Pinned


Pinned

Pinned


Version

Game version number.

a stranger

A past yet to be revealed

Far, Far From Home

You're in Amarillo -- but who exactly are you?


Old Fashioned Research

Pinned

Pinned


Your Real Actual Pockets

The trousers you're wearing are rugged indigo twill, faded on the insides of the legs from -- what?

A memory stirs: a rich sweaty animal smell; a sense of acceleration and control.

Horseback riding. Your pants are worn from the saddle. And there's this: your left pocket bulges slightly, inviting attention.

Rummage Around

Whatever's in your pocket isn't very large. And it's warm to the touch, even through the fabric of your jeans, even warmer than your own personal skin. Metal, then?


Pinned

Pinned


Old Fashioned Research

Pinned


The Breadcrumbs of Memory

In your pocket is a hollow metal cylinder half the length of your thumb, warmed and pliable from soaking up the sun and your own personal heat. The cylinder is capped on one end and smells like the Fourth of July.

In Zero Summer, your progress is controlled by your Qualities. Think of them as a cross between statistics in a traditional role-playing game and road signs to show where you are in the story.

The most important Qualities in Zero Summer are your three Styles, which together represent how talented and practiced the Protagonist is.

You've just gained 1 point in Gunslinger. Gunslinger represents your physical capacity: how far you can run, jump, swim -- and, of course, how well you handle a gun.

0 change points, 2 more needed to reach level 2.

An occurrence! Your 'Gunslinger' Quality is now 1!

You started with a quality called "A Stranger", which has just changed to level 2. This will unlock more stories.


Version

Game version number.

a stranger

A past yet to be revealed

Gunslinger

Physical Style.


Pinned

Pinned


Lost in Amarillo

Unlocked with Far, Far From Home 2 - you have 2; Unlocked with  - you have 2

Pinned

Pinned

The Love Song of Amarillo, Texas

A woman is sweeping the dusty thirsty boards of Platform #1...

Rough and Tumble

Your shirt is bleached white cotton, rough to the touch and stiff in the collar...


Old Fashioned Research

Pinned

Pinned


The Love Song of Amarillo, Texas

A woman is sweeping the dusty thirsty boards of Platform #1. She looks maybe fifty years old, blonde hair going gray, hands crooked with a lifetime of work in the bone-dry desert. She's humming a song.

Knowing and Unknowing

The tune flutters at the edge of your recall like a moth at a kerosene lamp. You could reach out and take it, that fluttering unknown, if only you stretch a little.


Pinned

Pinned


An Older, Harsher Voice

You close your eyes and concentrate. Out of the black past floats a memory: a blonde woman, young and pretty with a voice like a clear high bell, standing on a stage and singing the same song the sweeper-woman is humming. The song wasn't hers originally, the blonde's; she'd cribbed it from an older, harsher voice. The name of the song comes to you: Come On Up to the House. Tom Waits wrote it.

The sweeper-woman looks up briefly; your eyes meet. You realize she's mouthing the lyrics, making little subvocal sounds; you strain your ears and just make out a part of the chorus -- there's nothing in the world that you can do. Suddenly all the hairs on the back of your neck stand up and prickle. The lonely desert air no longer seems quite so warm.

In Zero Summer, your progress is controlled by your Qualities. Think of them as a cross between statistics in a traditional role-playing game and road signs to show where you are in the story.

The most important Qualities in Zero Summer are your three Styles, which together represent how talented and practiced the Protagonist is.

You've just gained 1 point in Doc. Doc represents your mental capacity: how well you can think, learn, and research your way out of trouble.

An occurrence! Your 'Doc' Quality is now 1!

You started with a quality called "A Stranger", which has just changed to level 3. This will unlock more stories.


Version

Game version number.

a stranger

A past yet to be revealed

Doc

Mental Style.

Gunslinger

Physical Style.


Old Fashioned Research

Pinned

Pinned


Lost in Amarillo

Unlocked with Far, Far From Home 2 - you have 2; Unlocked with  - you have 3

Pinned

Pinned


Rough and Tumble

Your shirt is bleached white cotton, rough to the touch and stiff in the collar. The shirt of somebody who in a pinch wouldn't mind getting sweaty or rolling in the dust if that's what was needed.

In Your Breast Pocket

And in your breast pocket is buttoned something flat and broad. A folded sheet of paper?


Old Fashioned Research

Pinned

Pinned


Pinned

Pinned


Practical and Clear-Eyed

In fact it's a letter -- a fragment of a letter. Most of the ink's by a deep red stain that smells dry and sharp and stirs a memory. Someone spilled wine on your shirt; you had to change into the one you're wearing now. The spill wasn't that long ago; the letter's still a little wet.

Not much of the text was spared. An early sentence reads, "New York is a wet stinking place I've learned to hate..." And another near the end: "Practical and clear-eyed: wasn't that always what you liked best? But not it seems when it comes to Arnie."

In Zero Summer, your progress is controlled by your Qualities. Think of them as a cross between statistics in a traditional role-playing game and road signs to show where you are in the story.

The most important Qualities in Zero Summer are your three Styles, which together represent how talented and practiced the Protagonist is.

You've just gained 1 point in Cityslicker. Cityslicker represents your social capacity: how well you can charm, chatter, fast-talk and double-deal your way through the new American frontier.

You started with a quality called "A Stranger", which has just changed to level 4. This will unlock more stories.

An occurrence! Your 'Cityslicker' Quality is now 1!


Version

Game version number.

a stranger

A past yet to be revealed

Cityslicker

Social Style.

Doc

Mental Style.

Gunslinger

Physical Style.


Old Fashioned Research

Pinned

Pinned


Lost in Amarillo

Unlocked with Far, Far From Home 2 - you have 2; Unlocked with a stranger 4 - you have 4

Parched streams of people flow around you, over the platform proper and through the square and up the avenues leading into Amarillo proper...

Pinned

Pinned


Old Fashioned Research

Keeping an ear to the street about the Harvestmen is good as far as it goes, but there's only so far you can go on rumors alone...

O Brother, Let's Go Down

The hot dry Texas sand means hard living for the rough men and women of Amarillo...

Shankman's Outfitters

An assortment of trinkets and delicacies is Shankman's Outfitters!—

Travel Around Town

Amarillo was once a largeish city; even now it covers a lot of ground...

Absolom the Tinker

Eternally present -- an abstraction in a world of speculation...

The Bazaar

The Wall Market is the noisy sweaty sprawling heart of commerce in Amarillo...

The Amarillo Exchange Commission

A little joke: the Nimble-Fingered Assistant at Traeger's forge on Short Vine will trade anything that folds for anything that shines...

Pinned

Pinned

A Gunslinger in Amarillo

There are endless opportunities here for you to brush up on all the things a gunslinger needs to know...

A Country Doc

Amarillo is bracketed by stone, sand and sky...


Lost in Amarillo

Parched streams of people flow around you, over the platform proper and through the square and up the avenues leading into Amarillo proper. Not one person notices you -- not a single one, not a single glance. A quick motion just off the platform draws your eye: a stick-thin boy has just snatched a roll out of the Butterloaf basket and taken off running.

Before anyone can react, the boy trips over a loose stone -- and then the Butterloaf woman is on him, dragging him out of the dust and shaking him until the stolen roll drops to the ground. The boy shakes free and runs off, rubbing his neck as he goes, while the Butterloaf woman picks up the roll, wipes it with her sleeve and goes back to hawking to the crowd.

Pinned

Pinned

The Miserable Ones

Look at the boy! Forty pounds if he's an ounce, and glassy-eyed from hunger. And the Butterloaf woman's forearms: muscles like boa constrictors from kneading dough! Surely the boy didn't deserve what he got. Not over a fistful of bread. Not with his stomach indrawn like the hollow of a dead tree.

            4
            You need a stranger 4 (you have 4)

            4
            Unlocked with a stranger 4 - you have 4

Seems About Right

It seems about right, what happened to the boy. The Butterloaf woman probably has a family to feed, and if everyone just helped themselves, she and her children would starve. And there's this:  her face does have a certain kindness to it. The boy could have asked for the roll, and who knows what would have happened?


Old Fashioned Research

Keeping an ear to the street about the Harvestmen is good as far as it goes, but there's only so far you can go on rumors alone. The public library -- a squat one-story building just outside the Wall Market with squeaky-clean windows and a tidy lawn -- is the next natural stop. There might be something in back issues of the <i>Daily Star</i>. And there's this -- you've heard the librarian, Ms. Pettle, is eccentric in a way Jack Ishiguro called "exciting, really exciting in kind of a got-schooled-on-a-Saturday-morning kind of way."

Pinned

Pinned

To the Library

Outside the library are a pair of stone sculptues. At one point they might have been lions, but weather and time have made them smooth and toothless. One of their gaping mouths has a cigarette butt crushed inside; otherwise they look recently scrubbed. They're sad to look at, like a favorite blanket worn raggedy by too many washings. Best not to dwell.


Man in Black

Seems About Right

            4
            You need a stranger 4

            4
            Unlocked with a stranger 4

In your heart you know that justice was done. The boy learned a lesson and the Butterloaf woman got her bread back. It's a hard world, but all anyone can do is live in it. Perhaps next time things will be different.

Zero Summer tracks the Protagonist's moral compass with two Qualities: Paladin and Man in Black.

You've just gained your first point in Man in Black, which represents efficiency and results.

When you gain points in Paladin or Man in Black, you'll lose an equal number of points from the opposing Quality. It's possible to have both Qualities, but you probably won't have them in equal amounts.

A twist in your tale! You are now Man in Black.

Far, Far From Home is increasing!

Your "A Stranger" quality has gone. Welcome to the world!


Version

Game version number.

Man in Black

Your ethical Orientation. Your concerns are self-empowerment and getting things done.

Cityslicker

Social Style.

Doc

Mental Style.

Gunslinger

Physical Style.

Far, Far From Home

You're in Amarillo -- but who exactly are you?


Opportunities

Draw cards from here to raise your Styles, meet your Allies, and risk your Antagonists.

Pinned

Pinned


The Man in the Stetson

Unlocked with Far, Far From Home 3 - you have 3

Pinned

Pinned


Old Fashioned Research

Pinned


The Man in the Stetson

Someone coughs politely.

Only now does it become clear that you aren't alone on the bench and haven't been for -- how long? A little while. Maybe longer.

Sitting next to you is a man in a brown leather vest and dusty white Stetson. He's cleaning his nails with a knife.

"You were out for awhile there," the man says. "Looks like somebody caught you upside the head with a gun. And you were snoring. Think of that. Haven't slept like that in years."

He smiles. It doesn't reach his eyes.

Pinned

Pinned

The Friendly Approach

Yes, it's a strange way to say hello, and yes, you don't know him from Adam, but the Man in the Stetson is about the only person in Amarillo so far who's even noticed you.

A Thousand Things

You don't know this man. You don't know his name, or what he's about. And you don't know what he's doing here at the station. He might have been the one who hit you. He might a grifter or a thousand other things, none of them good.


Pinned

Pinned


No Sweat, Right

You stick out your hand; the Man in the Stetson takes it. His smile widens; surprise there, and a spark of real human warmth.

"Warren Castillo," he says. "Of the Jackrabbits." A pause, then: "Burrow and Briar? Yes, no?"

Where -- and what -- is Burrow and Briar? And how to introduce yourself? There's an awkward moment of silence; Warren breaks it by pumping your hand once, extra-hard, like: no sweat, right?

"That's alright," he says. "Look: you got hit in the head. Maybe you don't know your own name. But it'll come back if you give it time. Good to meet you."

Far, Far From Home is increasing!


Version

Game version number.

Cityslicker

Social Style.

Doc

Mental Style.

Gunslinger

Physical Style.


Old Fashioned Research

Pinned

Pinned


Pinned

Pinned


Going Home

Unlocked with Far, Far From Home 4 - you have 4

The morning crowd at Platform #1 has started to thin; the watercarriers are gone to their wells, the bankers to the Wall Market, the laborers to their fields...

Pinned

Pinned


Going Home

The morning crowd at Platform #1 has started to thin; the watercarriers are gone to their wells, the bankers to the Wall Market, the laborers to their fields.

Warren gives your hand a final pump, stands and stretches. "Partner, the smart money says you don't have anywhere to go. I'm headed home to the Burrow. You're welcome if you like."

Pinned

No Way but Forward

You don't have a whole lot of options. And Warren seems decent. This doesn't have to be forever, but it's a good start for now.

Your Way in the World

It's a tempting offer given it's the only one on the table, but you can make your own way in the world. You don't know Warren, and there's got to be other doors open to you here somewhere. All you need is time to find them.


Old Fashioned Research

Pinned

Pinned


Pinned

Pinned


Homey; Authentic

Warren claps you on the shoulder.

"Good man," he says. "You'll love it there. Really homey. Authentic. And the chili's not bad. Old Pinkie makes it with real cow."

You have moved to a new area: Burrow and Briar: In the Beginning

Far, Far From Home is increasing!


Version

Game version number.

Cityslicker

Social Style.

Doc

Mental Style.

Gunslinger

Physical Style.


Old Fashioned Research

Pinned

Pinned


Burrow and Briar

A short walk into the heart of Amarillo brings you to an intersection you dimly recognize as <i>suburban</i>...

An Unexpected Rabbit

Unlocked with Far, Far From Home 6 - you have 6; Unlocked with

Into the front door of the house on Burrow and Briar is carved a rabbit...

Pinned

Pinned


Old Fashioned Research

Unlocked with The Harvestmen 2 - you have 2

O Brother, Let's Go Down

Unlocked with Gumption 1 - you have 1; Unlocked when Date is:

May 21, 2026 - Morning (you have this)

; Unlocked with

Pinned

Pinned

A Country Doc

Unlocked with Doc 1 - you have 2; Unlocked when Date is:

May 21, 2026 - Morning (you have this)

May 21, 2026 - Afternoon

May 21, 2026 - Evening


An Unexpected Rabbit

Into the front door of the house on Burrow and Briar is carved a rabbit. The carving is done at eye-level; the detail is incredible. You think you can make out individual hairs if you look closely enough.

Pinned

Pinned

Look Closely

Really incredible! Each hair on the rabbit is rendered, and its limpid eyes, and its ears (flat back in -- what? affection, fear?), and its little paws tucked under its furry breast, and...


Shankman's Outfitters

Wall Market

The gutted husk of a pre-Longest Day supermarket and its vast parking lot have become the sprawling Wall Market, a humming place of barter and commerce where daily bread and stranger things can be bought and sold.

An assortment of trinkets and delicacies is Shankman's Outfitters! A curated display of precious things that blends the ephemeral with the practical. Proprietor the thin-eyed M. Shankman, whose hands are crisscrossed with scars. Rumors abound: that he ran a kibbutz until a stray rocket from the West Bank destroyed his family's dairy; that he served in the Pacific in WW2 and found the Fountain of Youth, or at least the Fountain of Youthfuller. M. Shankman himself is close-lipped. Buy something or move along.

Pinned

Pinned

Thorny Walking Stick

For carrying while walking softly.

+1 Gunslinger when equipped.

Patented Leather Boots

Built with Doc Roslyn's Patented Insoles. A working man's fashion statement.

+1 Gunslinger when equipped.

A Barman's Best Friend

Kept behind the counter to resolve disputes.

+2 Gunslinger when equipped.

Heavy Steel Wristwatch

Charming and imposing all at once.

+1 Gunslinger and +1 Cityslicker when equipped.

Long Hunting Knife

Carried by homesteaders and cowboys from Amarillo to the Wall.

+3 Gunslinger when equipped.

Shiny-Spurred Boots

Steel-toed. Thick-soled. Surprisingly fashionable.

+2 Gunslinger and +1 Cityslicker when equipped.

Starched White Shirt

Smells of fresh laundry and respectability.

+1 Cityslicker when equipped.

Black Leather Duster

For gangsters, villains, and other rough types.

+1 Cityslicker when equipped.

Natural Linen Suit

A breathable fabric for a miserable climate.

+2 Cityslicker when equipped.

Tweedy Jacket

Yellow tweedy wool. Liable to overheat. Confers an air of knowledge.

+1 Cityslicker and +1 Doc when equipped.

Flowing Silk Longcoat

Imported from Japan. Black silk and white flowers. Also called a "kimono."

+3 Cityslicker when equipped.

Doctor's Overcoat

Crisp medical whites. An air of sophistication and wisdom.

+2 Cityslicker and +1 Doc when equipped.

Horn-Rimmed Spectacles

Perenially in fashion. Nevertheless a little bookish.

+1 Doc when equipped.

Jar of Black Ash

Devotees of Santo Guerrero apply it to their foreheads.

+1 Doc when equipped.

Stainless Steel Stethoscope

For all your doctoring needs.

+2 Doc when equipped.

Colorfully-Banded Stetson

Shankman's Outfitters

Wall Market

The stetson impresses and intimidates. The colorful band implies cleverness.

+1 Doc and +1 Cityslicker when equipped.

The Monkey's Paw

A clenched monkey's fist. Who knows where it came from? Caveat emptor.

+3 Doc when equipped.

Ten Gallon Hat

A tall stetson for a rough-and-tumble dude. Keeps your head cool for advanced thinking.

+2 Doc and +1 Gunslinger when equipped.


The Devil in the Details

Look Closely

An Unexpected Rabbit

Into the front door of the house on Burrow and Briar is carved a rabbit. The carving is done at eye-level; the detail is incredible. You think you can make out individual hairs if you look closely enough.

Really incredible! Each hair on the rabbit is rendered, and its limpid eyes, and its ears (flat back in -- what? affection, fear?), and its little paws tucked under its furry breast, and...

You lean close to stare at the rabbit. Such detail! Each hair lovingly rendered. The ears are poised to twitch. The nose smells something. What does it smell? Lavender?

No: clover. Fresh green grass and clover. You can almost smell it yourself.

After a moment, Warren nudges you. "Let's get on with it, yeah? Starving here."

You have seen rabbits and struggle to un-see them.

You are now a Seer of Rabbits!


Version

Game version number.

Man in Black

Your ethical Orientation. Your concerns are self-empowerment and getting things done.

Seer of Rabbits

You have seen rabbits and struggle to un-see them.

Cityslicker

Social Style.

Doc

Mental Style.

Gunslinger

Physical Style.

Far, Far From Home

You're in Amarillo -- but who exactly are you?


Opportunities

Draw cards from here to raise your Styles, meet your Allies, and risk your Antagonists.

Pinned

Pinned


Travel Around Town

Amarillo was once a largeish city; even now it covers a lot of ground. It takes time to move from one place to another.

Pinned

Move to Burrow and Briar

Both an intersection and the tumble-down hideout of the Jackrabbits, Burrow and Briar represents a significant chunk of suburban Amarillo.

Move to Platform #1

The last stop on the Rio Sur line, located right here in Amarillo. A bustling place! Hub of commerce and social interaction! Mind the gap.

Move to St. Francis's

This tiny church near the heart of Amarillo is nevertheless a social hub -- for the worshipful few, the devotees of Santo Guerrero, and the better sort of criminal, the latter flocking like peacocks to the public fountain just outside.

Move to The Highrise Hotel

The tallest building in Amarillo was once public housing. Now its lower floors serve as flophouses for the indigent. And its upper floors? Rumors abound; no one can say for sure.

Move to the Wall Market

Beating heart of Amarillo's commercial district! Once a supermarket, now a sprawling swap meet where dollars and goods are bought and sold and bartered by hands both filthy and clean.

Move to the Scrublands

Step lightly through the lonely grass and sweeping sands north of Amarillo, where homesteaders and farmers and more unnatural things compete for water and precious black soil.

Move to the Mission

All brick and broken statues of angels. Here live the homeless and hopeless of Amarillo. The smell of chickens and the sound of singing will let you know you've arrived.

Move to Little Japan

On the west side, a forbidding place of blacked-out windows, steel doors and standoffish Japanese-Americans. Very few people are seen going in and out.

Move to Downtown Amarillo

A latter-day suburban sprawl! Choked with dust and the bright energy of commerce! Even now the wheels turn in Amarillo's rusted heart.

Move to Amarillo Academy

The former local college has been converted into an ivory fortress. Few students are accepted; none seem to leave. The masthead over the iron gate reads "Amarillo Academy of Arts and Speculative Sciences." Security is said to shoot on sight. It seems more credible than not.

A colored flyer on the gate announces a lecture series starting Friday, May 22nd on the subject of "Actuating Transposition in a Biplanar Society." The presenter will be Prof. M. J. Freiburg. The flyer promises light snacks and a Q&A.

            1
            You need An Invitation to Amarillo Academy 1

            1
            Unlocked with An Invitation to Amarillo Academy 1

Move to the Pony Express

The heart of Amarillo: its living breathing center. Its distributor of mail. Its carrier of justice. Only open when a postal rider is in town.

            Unlocked when Date is:

May 22, 2026 - Morning

May 22, 2026 - Afternoon

May 22, 2026 - Evening

May 23, 2026


Burrow and Briar

A short walk into the heart of Amarillo brings you to an intersection you dimly recognize as suburban. Two story houses with largeish front yards line the streets.

But the picture isn't quaint or lovely; the paint on the houses is flaking and every roof looks like a patchwork quilt of new tile, old tile, cardboard and uncured wood. The yards are yellow and brown and probably snake-infested.

Warren stops at an intersection. One street sign reads Burrow Street. The other reads Briar Lane.

Pinned

Pinned

Home Again

"Home again, home again," says Warren cheerfully. "Jiggity-jig."

He leads you to a broken-down house on the corner with no paint at all, just brown wood and insulation poking out here and there. The door has a rabbit carved into it at eye level.

On the roof, you spot a small wooden attic hatch. In fact several of the houses you've seen have them. A memory stirs: a plummy drawl explaining that hierophantic means something that clearly means... something, but you don't know what. The hatches are hierophantic; you don't have any idea what they're for.

Warren knocks three times in quick succession, pauses, repeats twice.


The Sweaty Crush

There's hardly room to breathe in the Wall Market. Let alone walk or do business. Nevertheless people manage it, even keeping such things as fresh fruits free of dust and ground meat free of flies. Enviable. Commendable! Maybe don't stay too long.


Gunslinger Gear

Guns, gloves, boots.

Cityslicker Duds

Coats and clothes for every occasion.

Doc Toppers

Bowlers, stetsons, the occasional eyewear.

Talismans

Relics, charms, tokens of authority.

Currency

Spendables of all sorts.

Reputation

Your standing in the community.

Usables

Treasures, mementos, relics.

Not to be opened until you've finished reading New England in November and Fifty Miles South of Lexington.

Consumables

Nostrums, drinkables, tobaccos and other treatlets.

Ally: Warren Castillo

Warren Castillo of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Ally: Jack Ishiguro

Jack Ishiguro of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Ally: Miz Nils

Miz Nils of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

A Reader of New England and Lexington

You have read New England in November and Fifty Miles South of Lexington.

Version

Game version number.

Paladin

Your ethical Orientation. Your concerns are mercy, compassion and justice.

Man in Black

Your ethical Orientation. Your concerns are self-empowerment and getting things done.

Gumption

Your capacity to pursue new and exciting adventures.

The Harvestmen

You're following the trail of the Harvestmen

Burning Burning Burning Burning

Fire reflecting in a watery mirror.

Avatar

Your avatar.

Time of Day

The time of day.

Date

Today's date.

White Noise

The unnatural world is becoming all too real.

Cityslicker

Social Style.

Doc

Mental Style.

Gunslinger

Physical Style.

The Ministry of Black Powder

You're helping "Padre" Charlie with his good works.

20th Century Penny

An old but well-polished US penny. Minted in 1960. Just the thing to throw into the fountain at St. Francis's.

The Door

A Tarot card. It shows a door in a meadow and a man in front doing a handstand, one leg crossed over the other.


The Jackrabbits

Home Again

Burrow and Briar

A short walk into the heart of Amarillo brings you to an intersection you dimly recognize as suburban. Two story houses with largeish front yards line the streets.

But the picture isn't quaint or lovely; the paint on the houses is flaking and every roof looks like a patchwork quilt of new tile, old tile, cardboard and uncured wood. The yards are yellow and brown and probably snake-infested.

Warren stops at an intersection. One street sign reads Burrow Street. The other reads Briar Lane.

"Home again, home again," says Warren cheerfully. "Jiggity-jig."

He leads you to a broken-down house on the corner with no paint at all, just brown wood and insulation poking out here and there. The door has a rabbit carved into it at eye level.

On the roof, you spot a small wooden attic hatch. In fact several of the houses you've seen have them. A memory stirs: a plummy drawl explaining that hierophantic means something that clearly means... something, but you don't know what. The hatches are hierophantic; you don't have any idea what they're for.

Warren knocks three times in quick succession, pauses, repeats twice.

The moment the final knock is struck, the door is hauled inward. Hands reach out from inside and grab first Warren, then you. You're dragged inside before you know what's happening. The door is slammed and locked behind you; the heavy bolt sounds particularly grim.

Your eyes take a moment to adjust to the unlit gloom. When they do, you find you're standing in what was clearly once a very nice living room. Now it's stuffed to overflow with couches, chairs, ottomans, loungers -- the works. Most of them are occupied, mostly with men, all of whom look carved from teak and unfriendly as hell.

Except Warren himself, whose face has gone all hundred-watt smile.

"Welcome to our little spot. These are the Jackrabbits. Say howdy, Jackrabbits." Warren nudges you. "Say howdy yourself."

You're in Amarillo -- but who exactly are you?

Far, Far From Home is increasing!


Version

Game version number.

Game version number.
Thanks for playing Zero Summer!

Seer of Rabbits

You have seen rabbits and struggle to un-see them.

Cityslicker

Social Style.

Doc

Mental Style.

Gunslinger

Physical Style.

Far, Far From Home

You're in Amarillo -- but who exactly are you?


Opportunities

Draw cards from here to raise your Styles, meet your Allies, and risk your Antagonists.

Pinned

Pinned


First Impressions

Unlocked with Far, Far From Home 7 - you have 7

The Jackrabbits look at you with the slow deliberateness of snakes...

Pinned

Pinned


Travel Around Town

Amarillo was once a largeish city; even now it covers a lot of ground. It takes time to move from one place to another.

Pinned

Move to Burrow and Briar

Both an intersection and the tumble-down hideout of the Jackrabbits, Burrow and Briar represents a significant chunk of suburban Amarillo.

Move to Platform #1

The last stop on the Rio Sur line, located right here in Amarillo. A bustling place! Hub of commerce and social interaction! Mind the gap.

Move to St. Francis's

This tiny church near the heart of Amarillo is nevertheless a social hub -- for the worshipful few, the devotees of Santo Guerrero, and the better sort of criminal, the latter flocking like peacocks to the public fountain just outside.

Move to The Highrise Hotel

The tallest building in Amarillo was once public housing. Now its lower floors serve as flophouses for the indigent. And its upper floors? Rumors abound; no one can say for sure.

Move to the Wall Market

Beating heart of Amarillo's commercial district! Once a supermarket, now a sprawling swap meet where dollars and goods are bought and sold and bartered by hands both filthy and clean.

Move to the Scrublands

Step lightly through the lonely grass and sweeping sands north of Amarillo, where homesteaders and farmers and more unnatural things compete for water and precious black soil.

Move to the Mission

All brick and broken statues of angels. Here live the homeless and hopeless of Amarillo. The smell of chickens and the sound of singing will let you know you've arrived.

Move to Little Japan

On the west side, a forbidding place of blacked-out windows, steel doors and standoffish Japanese-Americans. Very few people are seen going in and out.

Move to Downtown Amarillo

A latter-day suburban sprawl! Choked with dust and the bright energy of commerce! Even now the wheels turn in Amarillo's rusted heart.

Move to Amarillo Academy

The former local college has been converted into an ivory fortress. Few students are accepted; none seem to leave. The masthead over the iron gate reads "Amarillo Academy of Arts and Speculative Sciences." Security is said to shoot on sight. It seems more credible than not.

A colored flyer on the gate announces a lecture series starting Friday, May 22nd on the subject of "Actuating Transposition in a Biplanar Society." The presenter will be Prof. M. J. Freiburg. The flyer promises light snacks and a Q&A.

Move to the Pony Express

The heart of Amarillo: its living breathing center. Its distributor of mail. Its carrier of justice. Only open when a postal rider is in town.


First Impressions

The Jackrabbits look at you with the slow deliberateness of snakes. Warren introduces a handful; you get the sense they're in charge of -- whatever this is.

"This is "Padre" Charlie" -- an older man with the red shattered nose of a lifetime drinker. His fingertips are stained gray (your heart lurches in your chest -- why?) You eye the dingy white collar around his neck. He smiles briefly at you.

"Mr. Pinkerton, call him Old Pinkie" -- another older man, unsmiling, whip-thin, humorless. He puts you in mind of a starving wasp. In his hands are a whittling knife and a wooden peg.

"And everybody else, that's Jack Ishiguro, that's Miz Nils, that's her dad Mr. Nils back there in the kitchen."

Jack Ishiguro is the first Asian person you've seen in Amarillo; he gives you a little wave. The young petite Miz Nils bobs a curtsy that's completely sarcastic given her ripped jeans, machete and zero nonsense expression.

Everyone watches you expectantly. Jack Ishiguro giggles, high and startling.

Pinned

Pinned

Vinegar

The crowd isn't exactly friendly. Well: you're here now, so you might as well explain.

You tell the Jackrabbits you can't remember your name, but it's just swell to meet them anyway. Nobody is buying it. Everybody looks at Warren.

Honey

You give a warm introduction, shaking hands where available -- that's everybody but Old Pinkie, who stares you down, and Miz Nils, who instead clutches your forearm with all the gentleness of a crocodile.

When they ask your name, you explain you've misplaced it but it'll be along soon. Everybody looks at Warren.


Oh Brother, Let's Go Down

Orphans, chickens, the blind, the lame, the hurt and homeless all in one crowd.  A quiet crowd. Not a small one.

You have moved to a new area: The Mission


Gunslinger Gear

Guns, gloves, boots.

Cityslicker Duds

Coats and clothes for every occasion.

Doc Toppers

Bowlers, stetsons, the occasional eyewear.

Talismans

Relics, charms, tokens of authority.

Currency

Spendables of all sorts.

Reputation

Your standing in the community.

Usables

Treasures, mementos, relics.

Not to be opened until you've finished reading New England in November and Fifty Miles South of Lexington.

Consumables

Nostrums, drinkables, tobaccos and other treatlets.

Ally: Warren Castillo

Warren Castillo of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Ally: Jack Ishiguro

Jack Ishiguro of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Ally: Miz Nils

Miz Nils of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

A Reader of New England and Lexington

You have read New England in November and Fifty Miles South of Lexington.

Version

Game version number.

Paladin

Your ethical Orientation. Your concerns are mercy, compassion and justice.

Man in Black

Your ethical Orientation. Your concerns are self-empowerment and getting things done.

Gumption

Your capacity to pursue new and exciting adventures.

The Harvestmen

You're following the trail of the Harvestmen

Burning Burning Burning Burning

Fire reflecting in a watery mirror.

Avatar

Your avatar.

Time of Day

The time of day.

Date

Today's date.

White Noise

The unnatural world is becoming all too real.

Cityslicker

Social Style.

Doc

Mental Style.

Gunslinger

Physical Style.

The Ministry of Black Powder

You're helping "Padre" Charlie with his good works.

20th Century Penny

An old but well-polished US penny. Minted in 1960. Just the thing to throw into the fountain at St. Francis's.

The Door

A Tarot card. It shows a door in a meadow and a man in front doing a handstand, one leg crossed over the other.


A Cold Reception

Vinegar

First Impressions

The Jackrabbits look at you with the slow deliberateness of snakes. Warren introduces a handful; you get the sense they're in charge of -- whatever this is.

"This is "Padre" Charlie" -- an older man with the red shattered nose of a lifetime drinker. His fingertips are stained gray (your heart lurches in your chest -- why?) You eye the dingy white collar around his neck. He smiles briefly at you.

"Mr. Pinkerton, call him Old Pinkie" -- another older man, unsmiling, whip-thin, humorless. He puts you in mind of a starving wasp. In his hands are a whittling knife and a wooden peg.

"And everybody else, that's Jack Ishiguro, that's Miz Nils, that's her dad Mr. Nils back there in the kitchen."

Jack Ishiguro is the first Asian person you've seen in Amarillo; he gives you a little wave. The young petite Miz Nils bobs a curtsy that's completely sarcastic given her ripped jeans, machete and zero nonsense expression.

Everyone watches you expectantly. Jack Ishiguro giggles, high and startling.

The crowd isn't exactly friendly. Well: you're here now, so you might as well explain.

You tell the Jackrabbits you can't remember your name, but it's just swell to meet them anyway. Nobody is buying it. Everybody looks at Warren.

"He was on the train," Warren says. "It got robbed. Somebody caught him a good one upside the head. He can't remember who he is or who hit him. I found him sitting on the platform benches."

The Jackrabbits all nod at Warren's explanation. There's an awkward silence before "Padre" Charlie creaks to his feet; you can actually hear his knees pop, and the joints between his ankles and feet.

 "Well, make yourself at home," Padre Charlie says. "Something about entertaining angels unawares. The kindness of et cetera. Nobody's gonna hit you again here."

You're in Amarillo -- but who exactly are you?

Far, Far From Home is increasing!

Jack Ishiguro is now your Ally!

Miz Nils is now your Ally!


Ally: Miz Nils

Miz Nils of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Version

Game version number.

Game version number.
Thanks for playing Zero Summer!

Seer of Rabbits

You have seen rabbits and struggle to un-see them.

Cityslicker

Social Style.

Doc

Mental Style.

Gunslinger

Physical Style.

Far, Far From Home

You're in Amarillo -- but who exactly are you?


Opportunities

Draw cards from here to raise your Styles, meet your Allies, and risk your Antagonists.

Pinned

Pinned

Small-Town Cityslicker

Compared to the big cities up norte, Amarillo is a smear in the desert...


Lay Your Weary Head to Rest

Unlocked with Far, Far From Home 8 - you have 8

Pinned

Pinned


Old Fashioned Research

Keeping an ear to the street about the Harvestmen is good as far as it goes, but there's only so far you can go on rumors alone. The public library -- a squat one-story building just outside the Wall Market with squeaky-clean windows and a tidy lawn -- is the next natural stop. There might be something in back issues of the <i>Daily Star</i>. And there's this -- you've heard the librarian, Ms. Pettle, is eccentric in a way Jack Ishiguro called "exciting, really exciting in kind of a got-schooled-on-a-Saturday-morning kind of way."

Pinned

To the Library

Outside the library are a pair of stone sculptues. At one point they might have been lions, but weather and time have made them smooth and toothless. One of their gaping mouths has a cigarette butt crushed inside; otherwise they look recently scrubbed. They're sad to look at, like a favorite blanket worn raggedy by too many washings. Best not to dwell.


Lay Your Weary Head to Rest

A quiet period ensues. You watch the Jackrabbits; they watch you.

"Why don't I get you something to drink?" Jack Ishiguro says, and bounces off to the kitchen. He comes back with a cheap green plastic cup. It's got maybe two fingers of sticky brown liquor in the bottom. "Smells like motor oil and tastes like cat piss, but it'll help you sleep."

You look at the drink. Your stomach lurches.

"Let's get you a bed," Warren suggests.

Pinned

Pinned

Bed Should Be Spelled "Heaven"

So what if it's still early? You feel suddenly, brutally tired, and your head is throbbing to match. Maybe if you nap for a couple days, the world will look a little brighter.

Sleep is for the Weak

Warren's offer is tempting, but your circadian's still ticking sluggishly along. Besides, you hardly know these people. Better mix a little before you settle down.


Pinned

Pinned


Sleep Without End

Warren leads you upstairs to what's clearly a spare room: unmade bed, one broken chest of drawers, window nailed shut with actual nails. Jack Ishiguro turns up a minute later with a blanket.

"Sleep as long as you like," Warren says. "We'll get breakfast together whenever you're ready."

Like you need encouragement. Your head is so fogged and in so much pain from the lump behind your ear that you're asleep and dead to the world before you can even get your boots off.

Far, Far From Home is increasing!


Ally: Jack Ishiguro

Jack Ishiguro of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Ally: Miz Nils

Miz Nils of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Version

Game version number.

Man in Black

Your ethical Orientation. Your concerns are self-empowerment and getting things done.

Cityslicker

Social Style.

Doc

Mental Style.

Gunslinger

Physical Style.


Travel Around Town

Amarillo was once a largeish city; even now it covers a lot of ground. It takes time to move from one place to another.

Pinned

Pinned

Move to Burrow and Briar

Both an intersection and the tumble-down hideout of the Jackrabbits, Burrow and Briar represents a significant chunk of suburban Amarillo.

Move to Platform #1

The last stop on the Rio Sur line, located right here in Amarillo. A bustling place! Hub of commerce and social interaction! Mind the gap.

Move to St. Francis's

This tiny church near the heart of Amarillo is nevertheless a social hub -- for the worshipful few, the devotees of Santo Guerrero, and the better sort of criminal, the latter flocking like peacocks to the public fountain just outside.

Move to The Highrise Hotel

The tallest building in Amarillo was once public housing. Now its lower floors serve as flophouses for the indigent. And its upper floors? Rumors abound; no one can say for sure.

Move to the Wall Market

Beating heart of Amarillo's commercial district! Once a supermarket, now a sprawling swap meet where dollars and goods are bought and sold and bartered by hands both filthy and clean.

Move to the Scrublands

Step lightly through the lonely grass and sweeping sands north of Amarillo, where homesteaders and farmers and more unnatural things compete for water and precious black soil.

Move to the Mission

All brick and broken statues of angels. Here live the homeless and hopeless of Amarillo. The smell of chickens and the sound of singing will let you know you've arrived.

Move to Little Japan

On the west side, a forbidding place of blacked-out windows, steel doors and standoffish Japanese-Americans. Very few people are seen going in and out.

Move to Downtown Amarillo

A latter-day suburban sprawl! Choked with dust and the bright energy of commerce! Even now the wheels turn in Amarillo's rusted heart.

Move to Amarillo Academy

The former local college has been converted into an ivory fortress. Few students are accepted; none seem to leave. The masthead over the iron gate reads "Amarillo Academy of Arts and Speculative Sciences." Security is said to shoot on sight. It seems more credible than not.

A colored flyer on the gate announces a lecture series starting Friday, May 22nd on the subject of "Actuating Transposition in a Biplanar Society." The presenter will be Prof. M. J. Freiburg. The flyer promises light snacks and a Q&A.

Move to the Pony Express

The heart of Amarillo: its living breathing center. Its distributor of mail. Its carrier of justice. Only open when a postal rider is in town.


Overnight

Images: dry multicolored leaves carpeting the dark green grass. Inches deep in places are the leaves. Dusty and fragrant. In the distance an elm tree. A silver-haired man in a flannel suit crunches across the leaves toward a younger woman. Long dark curls nearly down to her jeans.

The man has a rifle over his shoulder. He reaches the woman, aims the rifle at the elm tree. A target is hung from a low branch. More holes than paper, the target. The man sights and fires -- pock. Again and again: pock, pock.

The air smells like November. You're dreaming.

You open your eyes. You're in the Jackrabbits' spare room. Through the small window you can see it's the middle of the night. Your boots are still on. From somewhere above you hear: pock, pock.

You may have noticed this card came up without you clicking on anything. Cards which are played automatically are called "Must" cards.

"Must" cards represent things outside your control -- an unexpected fistfight, a dream about leaves in November. They are also used to model dialog and longer events.

There aren't many "Must" cards in Zero Summer. When you draw one, you can be sure something important is happening!

Pinned

Pinned

Check the Window

From the outside, it looked like Burrow and Briar was only two stories with a small attic. The <i>pocks</i> are coming from the attic or the roof. You might do to check outside the window.


All Aboard!

You pick your way through town to Platform #1, where at all times of day many people and places and things to see can be found.

You have moved to a new area: Amarillo: Platform #1


Gunslinger Gear

Guns, gloves, boots.

Cityslicker Duds

Coats and clothes for every occasion.

Doc Toppers

Bowlers, stetsons, the occasional eyewear.

Talismans

Relics, charms, tokens of authority.

Currency

Spendables of all sorts.

Reputation

Your standing in the community.

Usables

Treasures, mementos, relics.

Not to be opened until you've finished reading New England in November and Fifty Miles South of Lexington.

Consumables

Nostrums, drinkables, tobaccos and other treatlets.

Ally: Warren Castillo

Warren Castillo of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Ally: Jack Ishiguro

Jack Ishiguro of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Ally: Miz Nils

Miz Nils of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

A Reader of New England and Lexington

You have read New England in November and Fifty Miles South of Lexington.

Version

Game version number.

Paladin

Your ethical Orientation. Your concerns are mercy, compassion and justice.

Man in Black

Your ethical Orientation. Your concerns are self-empowerment and getting things done.

Gumption

Your capacity to pursue new and exciting adventures.

The Harvestmen

You're following the trail of the Harvestmen

Burning Burning Burning Burning

Fire reflecting in a watery mirror.

Avatar

Your avatar.

Time of Day

The time of day.

Date

Today's date.

White Noise

The unnatural world is becoming all too real.

Cityslicker

Social Style.

Doc

Mental Style.

Gunslinger

Physical Style.

The Ministry of Black Powder

You're helping "Padre" Charlie with his good works.

20th Century Penny

An old but well-polished US penny. Minted in 1960. Just the thing to throw into the fountain at St. Francis's.

The Door

A Tarot card. It shows a door in a meadow and a man in front doing a handstand, one leg crossed over the other.


The Night Sky

Check the Window

Overnight

Images: dry multicolored leaves carpeting the dark green grass. Inches deep in places are the leaves. Dusty and fragrant. In the distance an elm tree. A silver-haired man in a flannel suit crunches across the leaves toward a younger woman. Long dark curls nearly down to her jeans.

The man has a rifle over his shoulder. He reaches the woman, aims the rifle at the elm tree. A target is hung from a low branch. More holes than paper, the target. The man sights and fires -- pock. Again and again: pock, pock.

The air smells like November. You're dreaming.

You open your eyes. You're in the Jackrabbits' spare room. Through the small window you can see it's the middle of the night. Your boots are still on. From somewhere above you hear: pock, pock.

You may have noticed this card came up without you clicking on anything. Cards which are played automatically are called "Must" cards.

"Must" cards represent things outside your control -- an unexpected fistfight, a dream about leaves in November. They are also used to model dialog and longer events.

There aren't many "Must" cards in Zero Summer. When you draw one, you can be sure something important is happening!

From the outside, it looked like Burrow and Briar was only two stories with a small attic. The <i>pocks</i> are coming from the attic or the roof. You might do to check outside the window.

You pry open the window and stick your head out. Amarillo past midnight is quiet, even peaceful.

But the sky is a different story. Though there isn't a cloud in sight, the stars seem to boil, winking in and out of view as numberless indistinct black shapes flit back and forth. You have no idea how far up they are -- not the stars, not the shapes.

Over the lip of the roof you can just make out the toe of a boot. The next pock comes with a brief orange flash that kills your night vision. You pull your head back inside. Someone is standing on the roof with a rifle, shooting at -- what?

You're in Amarillo -- but who exactly are you?

Far, Far From Home is increasing!


Ally: Miz Nils

Miz Nils of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Version

Game version number.

Game version number.
Thanks for playing Zero Summer!

Seer of Rabbits

You have seen rabbits and struggle to un-see them.

Cityslicker

Social Style.

Doc

Mental Style.

Gunslinger

Physical Style.

Far, Far From Home

You're in Amarillo -- but who exactly are you?


Opportunities

Draw cards from here to raise your Styles, meet your Allies, and risk your Antagonists.

Pinned

Pinned


The Highest Point

Unlocked with Far, Far From Home 10 - you have 10

Some part of you stirs at the orange flashes and black boiling sky...

Pinned

Pinned


Travel Around Town

Amarillo was once a largeish city; even now it covers a lot of ground. It takes time to move from one place to another.

Pinned

Move to Burrow and Briar

Both an intersection and the tumble-down hideout of the Jackrabbits, Burrow and Briar represents a significant chunk of suburban Amarillo.

Move to Platform #1

The last stop on the Rio Sur line, located right here in Amarillo. A bustling place! Hub of commerce and social interaction! Mind the gap.

Move to St. Francis's

This tiny church near the heart of Amarillo is nevertheless a social hub -- for the worshipful few, the devotees of Santo Guerrero, and the better sort of criminal, the latter flocking like peacocks to the public fountain just outside.

Move to The Highrise Hotel

The tallest building in Amarillo was once public housing. Now its lower floors serve as flophouses for the indigent. And its upper floors? Rumors abound; no one can say for sure.

Move to the Wall Market

Beating heart of Amarillo's commercial district! Once a supermarket, now a sprawling swap meet where dollars and goods are bought and sold and bartered by hands both filthy and clean.

Move to the Scrublands

Step lightly through the lonely grass and sweeping sands north of Amarillo, where homesteaders and farmers and more unnatural things compete for water and precious black soil.

Move to the Mission

All brick and broken statues of angels. Here live the homeless and hopeless of Amarillo. The smell of chickens and the sound of singing will let you know you've arrived.

Move to Little Japan

On the west side, a forbidding place of blacked-out windows, steel doors and standoffish Japanese-Americans. Very few people are seen going in and out.

Move to Downtown Amarillo

A latter-day suburban sprawl! Choked with dust and the bright energy of commerce! Even now the wheels turn in Amarillo's rusted heart.

Move to Amarillo Academy

The former local college has been converted into an ivory fortress. Few students are accepted; none seem to leave. The masthead over the iron gate reads "Amarillo Academy of Arts and Speculative Sciences." Security is said to shoot on sight. It seems more credible than not.

A colored flyer on the gate announces a lecture series starting Friday, May 22nd on the subject of "Actuating Transposition in a Biplanar Society." The presenter will be Prof. M. J. Freiburg. The flyer promises light snacks and a Q&A.

Move to the Pony Express

The heart of Amarillo: its living breathing center. Its distributor of mail. Its carrier of justice. Only open when a postal rider is in town.


The Highest Point

Some part of you stirs at the orange flashes and black boiling sky. You need to get to the roof.

Pinned

Pinned

The Safe Route

At least one other person is on the roof. They probably took the stairs. Stairs seem like a good safe bet.

The Direct Route

Gunslinger

Physical Style.

A chancy challenge

The window is already open. The vinyl siding is rotting off the side of the house but the wood underneath looks solid. It's only ten feet up. And the odds of you getting shot are minimal. Probably.


A Smallish Pilgrimage

St. Francis's isn't hard to get to. Just find a well-dressed gangster and tail him. You follow that tried and true method and soon find yourself on the doorstep of the church.

You have moved to a new area: St. Francis's


Gunslinger Gear

Guns, gloves, boots.

Cityslicker Duds

Coats and clothes for every occasion.

Doc Toppers

Bowlers, stetsons, the occasional eyewear.

Talismans

Relics, charms, tokens of authority.

Currency

Spendables of all sorts.

Reputation

Your standing in the community.

Usables

Treasures, mementos, relics.

Not to be opened until you've finished reading New England in November and Fifty Miles South of Lexington.

Consumables

Nostrums, drinkables, tobaccos and other treatlets.

Ally: Warren Castillo

Warren Castillo of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Ally: Jack Ishiguro

Jack Ishiguro of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Ally: Miz Nils

Miz Nils of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

A Reader of New England and Lexington

You have read New England in November and Fifty Miles South of Lexington.

Version

Game version number.

Paladin

Your ethical Orientation. Your concerns are mercy, compassion and justice.

Man in Black

Your ethical Orientation. Your concerns are self-empowerment and getting things done.

Gumption

Your capacity to pursue new and exciting adventures.

The Harvestmen

You're following the trail of the Harvestmen

Burning Burning Burning Burning

Fire reflecting in a watery mirror.

Avatar

Your avatar.

Time of Day

The time of day.

Date

Today's date.

White Noise

The unnatural world is becoming all too real.

Cityslicker

Social Style.

Doc

Mental Style.

Gunslinger

Physical Style.

The Ministry of Black Powder

You're helping "Padre" Charlie with his good works.

20th Century Penny

An old but well-polished US penny. Minted in 1960. Just the thing to throw into the fountain at St. Francis's.

The Door

A Tarot card. It shows a door in a meadow and a man in front doing a handstand, one leg crossed over the other.


Through the Attic

The Safe Route

The Highest Point

Some part of you stirs at the orange flashes and black boiling sky. You need to get to the roof.

At least one other person is on the roof. They probably took the stairs. Stairs seem like a good safe bet.

The door to the hall isn't locked. Other than the <i>pocks</i> from the roof, the house is silent, asleep. As your eyes adjust you spot a drop-ladder at the end of the hall. At the top of the ladder is an empty low-ceilinged attic with an open hatch to the roof. You grab the lip of the hatch and pull yourself up.

You're in Amarillo -- but who exactly are you?

Far, Far From Home is increasing!


Ally: Miz Nils

Miz Nils of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Version

Game version number.

Game version number.
Thanks for playing Zero Summer!

Seer of Rabbits

You have seen rabbits and struggle to un-see them.

Cityslicker

Social Style.

Doc

Mental Style.

Gunslinger

Physical Style.

Far, Far From Home

You're in Amarillo -- but who exactly are you?


Opportunities

Draw cards from here to raise your Styles, meet your Allies, and risk your Antagonists.

The Likeness of Santo Guerrero

Unlocked with The Ministry of Black Powder 4 - you have 4

Showing a Little Charity

Unlocked when Date is:

May 21, 2026 - Morning (you have this)

; Unlocked with 1 x 20th Century Penny  - you have 1

Pinned

Pinned

Small-Town Cityslicker

Unlocked with Cityslicker 1 - you have 3; Unlocked when Date is:

May 21, 2026 - Morning (you have this)

May 21, 2026 - Afternoon

May 21, 2026 - Evening

A Gunslinger in Amarillo

Unlocked with Gunslinger 1 - you have 2; Unlocked when Date is:

May 21, 2026 - Morning (you have this)

May 21, 2026 - Afternoon

May 21, 2026 - Evening


The Boiling Sky

Unlocked with Far, Far From Home 11 - you have 11

Pinned

Pinned


The Likeness of Santo Guerrero

St. Francis's

A small church near the heart of town. Officially dedicated to St. Francis. Unofficially dedicated to Lee Andante. Outside is a lovely fountain known to be a haunt for the better breed of gangsters.

Inside the church of St. Francis's is a life-sized statue of St. Francis of Assissi. The sculptor caught him in the middle of renouncing his worldly possessions, including his clothes; everything rude is strategically covered, but nothing is left to the imagination. A stone bird watches intently from his shoulder while a stone squirrel covers its eyes at his feet.

None of the above really captures your attention. What does is the statue's face. It's been chiseled to resemble someone else entirely. On the chest is scratched in crude but recognizable block letters the word GUERRERO.

Clearly this is what "Padre" Charlie meant about the likeness. But what can you learn from it, and how?

Pinned

Pinned

The Methodical Approach

Doc

Mental Style.

A high-risk challenge

Yours is a rational world. If the statue has something to tell you, you should listen -- methodically. Observe. Record. Consider.

The Impressionistic Approach

Doc

Mental Style.

A high-risk challenge

This is clearly not the time for rationality. A more sensual attitude is required. Experience the statue. Let the moment wash over you. Then see what's left behind.


The Boiling Sky

Before you stands Old Pinkie. He's wearing very dark blue jeans, a black shirt and a bandana over the lower half of his face. Only his eyes are visible. They watch you calmly before resighting along the length of his rifle, which Old Pinkie angles up at the sky.

Pock.

The sprawling vault of heaven looks like engine oil on blacktop. You wait after the orange flash fades to see whether anything falls onto the roof. Nothing does.

Pinned

Pinned

Ask What's Going On

Old Pinkie seems to be in charge here. Of what, you're not sure. Best to ask.

Observe Quietly

Old Pinkie seems unwilling to talk. Perhaps you should simply watch and learn.


Pinned

Pinned


Showing a Little Charity

The public fountain outside St. Francis's is the sparking social center of half the city: dozens of children play through the dancing sprays while old men play checkers at nearby tables and fashionable women stroll or sit on the cool granite lip. Its centerpiece is a tonsured and robed St. Francis with his arms spread. Many birds perch there, both carved and alive. It's almost pleasant here, if humid. Very humid.

You flick the 20th century penny into the fountain. Quick as a whiplash, a man on the fountain lip who's mostly hidden behind a newspaper reaches out and catches it before it touches the water. He folds the newspaper and tucks it under his arm; the penny disappears into a sleeve.

Pinned

Velvet and Steel

The man is wearing an oxblood corduroy suit and a charcoal gray fedora. His nails are perfectly manicured and he smells like mangroves and antebellum.

"Good morning," he says cheerfully. "Thank you for the penny back. We hate to lose old trinkets like that. Of course its value is sentimental, but I think we can agree that sentiment is what draws us from our beds in the morning and lays us down with a vengeance at night -- and not the common plutophiliac pursuit. Yes?"

Without waiting for a reply, he goes on: "You may call me Mr. Velvet. I work with a group of concerned ladies and gentlemen: the Stars and Spurs. We undertake the little tasks that need doing. The exportation of certain fine local products up norte. The intake of necessary ordnance to deal with unfriendly local fauna. You understand."

"I'll be frank," Mr. Velvet says: "One of my associates tagged you as a possible conspirator in our humble efforts. We'll be receiving a colleague from Denver and we need someone to arrange his stay. See to his comfort. Ensure his needs are met. That sort of thing. You're in, yes?"

WARNING: This is the beginning of a Subplot. Choosing this branch will reduce Gumption by 1. This Subplot will focus on your Gunslinger and Cityslicker Styles.

            1
            You need Gumption 1 (you have 1)

            1
            Unlocked with Gumption 1 - you have 1


The Silent Treatment

You ask Old Pinkie a series of questions -- what is he shooting at? what's going on up there? why is nothing happening?

Old Pinkie says nothing. He glances briefly at you, then up at the sky, then back along his rifle. Pock.

Far, Far From Home is increasing!


Ally: Jack Ishiguro

Jack Ishiguro of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Ally: Miz Nils

Miz Nils of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Version

Game version number.

Man in Black

Your ethical Orientation. Your concerns are self-empowerment and getting things done.

Cityslicker

Social Style.

Doc

Mental Style.

Gunslinger

Physical Style.


An Offer You Can't Refuse

Velvet and Steel

            1
            You need Gumption 1

            1
            Unlocked with Gumption 1

You express your interest to Mr. Velvet. He claps briskly and stands. "Good. Well done. First things first: a soft landing. Our colleague from Denver is arriving this morning. By the overland route. We need you out there sharpish to spot him. Once you do, set off a flare."

Here Mr. Velvet produces a flare gun from inside his blazer. The level of conversation nearby drops; everyone looks studiously away. Mr. Velvet seems not to notice.

"Our colleague will be coming from the northeast. There are surely many vantage points in the scrubland there; I'm confident you'll find the right one."

You've lost 1 x 20th Century Penny (new total 0).

You've lost 1 x Gumption (new total 0).

You're performing certain necessary if distasteful tasks for the Stars and Spurs.

You are now Cutting Your Spurs!


A Certain Kind of Rain

Unlocked with Far, Far From Home 12 - you have 12

Pinned

Pinned


Gunslinger Gear

Guns, gloves, boots.

Cityslicker Duds

Coats and clothes for every occasion.

Doc Toppers

Bowlers, stetsons, the occasional eyewear.

Talismans

Relics, charms, tokens of authority.

Currency

Spendables of all sorts.

Reputation

Your standing in the community.

Usables

Treasures, mementos, relics.

Not to be opened until you've finished reading New England in November and Fifty Miles South of Lexington.

Consumables

Nostrums, drinkables, tobaccos and other treatlets.

Ally: Warren Castillo

Warren Castillo of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Ally: Jack Ishiguro

Jack Ishiguro of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Ally: Miz Nils

Miz Nils of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

A Reader of New England and Lexington

You have read New England in November and Fifty Miles South of Lexington.

Version

Game version number.

Paladin

Your ethical Orientation. Your concerns are mercy, compassion and justice.

Man in Black

Your ethical Orientation. Your concerns are self-empowerment and getting things done.

The Harvestmen

You're following the trail of the Harvestmen

Cutting Your Spurs

You're performing certain necessary if distasteful tasks for the Stars and Spurs.

Burning Burning Burning Burning

Fire reflecting in a watery mirror.

Avatar

Your avatar.

Time of Day

The time of day.

Date

Today's date.

White Noise

The unnatural world is becoming all too real.

Cityslicker

Social Style.

Doc

Mental Style.

Gunslinger

Physical Style.

The Ministry of Black Powder

You're helping "Padre" Charlie with his good works.

The Door

A Tarot card. It shows a door in a meadow and a man in front doing a handstand, one leg crossed over the other.


Opportunities

Draw cards from here to raise your Styles, meet your Allies, and risk your Antagonists.

Pinned

Pinned


A Certain Kind of Rain

Time stretches out. The sky simmers and roils. Once or twice every minute, Old Pinkie fires in a high upstretched arc, then methodically reloads. Pock. Pock.

Without warning, one of the oil-black shapes in the sky resolves into a charcoal blur. Old Pinkie tracks it and fires once; as quick as it came, it's gone again, back into the pool above.

Images: black and charcoal gray. Two glassy orbs flecked with starlight. Sinews: fat and opaque here, thinner and venous there. Stiff hairs thick as grass. Rows of sharp white pyramids. Startling pinkness: a broad pointed tongue, darting in and out of view.

Size unknown -- but larger than you.

Pinned

Accept What You Can't Change

Old Pinkie seems undisturbed. He's already back to his regular schedule of firing and reloading. Best leave well enough alone.

Eyes Wide Open

Fear is a disease and knowledge is the cure. Old Pinkie seems to think you're safe; he hasn't even moved from his perch. You concentrate on what you saw, sifting the images for meaning.


The Likeness of Santo Guerrero

St. Francis's

A small church near the heart of town. Officially dedicated to St. Francis. Unofficially dedicated to Lee Andante. Outside is a lovely fountain known to be a haunt for the better breed of gangsters.

Inside the church of St. Francis's is a life-sized statue of St. Francis of Assissi. The sculptor caught him in the middle of renouncing his worldly possessions, including his clothes; everything rude is strategically covered, but nothing is left to the imagination. A stone bird watches intently from his shoulder while a stone squirrel covers its eyes at his feet.

None of the above really captures your attention. What does is the statue's face. It's been chiseled to resemble someone else entirely. On the chest is scratched in crude but recognizable block letters the word GUERRERO.

Clearly this is what "Padre" Charlie meant about the likeness. But what can you learn from it, and how?

Pinned

Pinned

The Methodical Approach

Doc

Mental Style.

A high-risk challenge

Yours is a rational world. If the statue has something to tell you, you should listen -- methodically. Observe. Record. Consider.

The Impressionistic Approach

Doc

Mental Style.

A high-risk challenge

This is clearly not the time for rationality. A more sensual attitude is required. Experience the statue. Let the moment wash over you. Then see what's left behind.


White Noise

You struggle to close your mind's eye, but certain images still make it through. The shape of the face, the tiny sharp teeth, the pink tongue and veiny wings. It was a bat. The sky is full of bats -- innumerable bats, huge bats, their awful wings obscuring the stars. You suppress a shudder and push the images from your mind.

You've just gained your first point in White Noise, one of Zero Summer's Menaces.

Menaces are negative Qualities which have unpleasant consequences if they get too high. Menaces are never deadly -- but they're never comfortable either.

White Noise measures how exposed you've been to the unnatural world. The real recedes. Your ears fill with static. In time, all will be White Noise.

Far, Far From Home is increasing!

0 change points, 2 more needed to reach level 2.

You've gained a new quality: White Noise at 1.


Ally: Jack Ishiguro

Jack Ishiguro of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Ally: Miz Nils

Miz Nils of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Version

Game version number.

Man in Black

Your ethical Orientation. Your concerns are self-empowerment and getting things done.

Seer of Rabbits

You have seen rabbits and struggle to un-see them.

Cityslicker

Social Style.

Doc

Mental Style.

Gunslinger

Physical Style.

Far, Far From Home

You're in Amarillo -- but who exactly are you?


Pinned

Pinned


That Good Night

Unlocked with Far, Far From Home 13 - you have 13

Eventually you realize nothing else is going to happen...

Pinned

Pinned


Travel Around Town

Amarillo was once a largeish city; even now it covers a lot of ground. It takes time to move from one place to another.

Pinned

Move to Burrow and Briar

Both an intersection and the tumble-down hideout of the Jackrabbits, Burrow and Briar represents a significant chunk of suburban Amarillo.

Move to Platform #1

The last stop on the Rio Sur line, located right here in Amarillo. A bustling place! Hub of commerce and social interaction! Mind the gap.

Move to St. Francis's

This tiny church near the heart of Amarillo is nevertheless a social hub -- for the worshipful few, the devotees of Santo Guerrero, and the better sort of criminal, the latter flocking like peacocks to the public fountain just outside.

Move to The Highrise Hotel

The tallest building in Amarillo was once public housing. Now its lower floors serve as flophouses for the indigent. And its upper floors? Rumors abound; no one can say for sure.

Move to the Wall Market

Beating heart of Amarillo's commercial district! Once a supermarket, now a sprawling swap meet where dollars and goods are bought and sold and bartered by hands both filthy and clean.

Move to the Scrublands

Step lightly through the lonely grass and sweeping sands north of Amarillo, where homesteaders and farmers and more unnatural things compete for water and precious black soil.

Move to the Mission

All brick and broken statues of angels. Here live the homeless and hopeless of Amarillo. The smell of chickens and the sound of singing will let you know you've arrived.

Move to Little Japan

On the west side, a forbidding place of blacked-out windows, steel doors and standoffish Japanese-Americans. Very few people are seen going in and out.

Move to Downtown Amarillo

A latter-day suburban sprawl! Choked with dust and the bright energy of commerce! Even now the wheels turn in Amarillo's rusted heart.

Move to Amarillo Academy

The former local college has been converted into an ivory fortress. Few students are accepted; none seem to leave. The masthead over the iron gate reads "Amarillo Academy of Arts and Speculative Sciences." Security is said to shoot on sight. It seems more credible than not.

A colored flyer on the gate announces a lecture series starting Friday, May 22nd on the subject of "Actuating Transposition in a Biplanar Society." The presenter will be Prof. M. J. Freiburg. The flyer promises light snacks and a Q&A.

Move to the Pony Express

The heart of Amarillo: its living breathing center. Its distributor of mail. Its carrier of justice. Only open when a postal rider is in town.


That Good Night

Eventually you realize nothing else is going to happen. The skies will churn, the rifle will flash; the moon will sink onto the western lip of the world. Old Pinkie is paying you zero attention. And with your body sucked dry of adrenaline, you're headed for a crash.

Any time you get a few hours of restful, natural sleep, your Action pool will be refreshed.

Pinned

Pinned

Stick It Out

Doc

Mental Style.

A chancy challenge

There are still things you don't understand -- about the bats, about why Old Pinkie is shooting at them. This is your best chance to figure them out.

By staying up all night, you forfeit your Action refresh. And you might learn something worth your while -- but then again, you might not.

Sleep It Off

It's been a long night. It could get much longer. It could also get more dangerous. You've learned a lot already, and tomorrow is a new day -- one in which you'll hopefully be better rested.


The Asian Enclave

Most locals keep far away from Little Japan. At best they think it's cursed; at worst -- well, it's impolite. Perhaps there's a reason Amarillo's Japanese-Americans keep to themselves.

You have moved to a new area: Little Japan


Gunslinger Gear

Guns, gloves, boots.

Cityslicker Duds

Coats and clothes for every occasion.

Doc Toppers

Bowlers, stetsons, the occasional eyewear.

Talismans

Relics, charms, tokens of authority.

Currency

Spendables of all sorts.

Reputation

Your standing in the community.

Usables

Treasures, mementos, relics.

Not to be opened until you've finished reading New England in November and Fifty Miles South of Lexington.

Consumables

Nostrums, drinkables, tobaccos and other treatlets.

Ally: Warren Castillo

Warren Castillo of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Ally: Jack Ishiguro

Jack Ishiguro of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

Ally: Miz Nils

Miz Nils of the Amarillo Jackrabbits.

A Reader of New England and Lexington

You have read New England in November and Fifty Miles South of Lexington.

Version

Game version number.

Paladin

Your ethical Orientation. Your concerns are mercy, compassion and justice.

Man in Black

Your ethical Orientation. Your concerns are self-empowerment and getting things done.

The Harvestmen

You're following the trail of the Harvestmen

Cutting Your Spurs

You're performing certain necessary if distasteful tasks for the Stars and Spurs.

Burning Burning Burning Burning

Fire reflecting in a watery mirror.

Avatar

Your avatar.

Time of Day

The time of day.

Date

Today's date.

White Noise

The unnatural world is becoming all too real.

Cityslicker

Social Style.

Doc

Mental Style.

Gunslinger

Physical Style.

The Ministry of Black Powder

You're helping "Padre" Charlie with his good works.

The Door

A Tarot card. It shows a door in a meadow and a man in front doing a handstand, one leg crossed over the other.