The Human Game: A Shrine for a Fake God

>Kate: Punching his face drives you forward!

KATE: What kind of a stupid question is that, huh?
KATE: What drives me towards accomplishing stuff is seeing you punched in the face!
CANCEL: Oh, do calm down, Ms. Greenwood.
CANCEL: If you have nothing to offer, then say nothing at all.
KATE: Fine then! You want an answer, huh?
KATE: People are driven by instinct. They just want to do whatever they want, however they want
KATE: There isn’t some big huge meaningful explanation for why people do what they do.
CANCEL: But doesn’t that suggest that human beings are no different from simple animals?
KATE: Well, uh, we are animals, aren’t we? Like that’s just a fact.
CANCEL: Yes, and no. Do think on that for a moment.
CONNOR: Well, now that you mention animals…they do what they can to promote the survival of their offspring.
CONNOR: It does depend on the species, though.
CONNOR: But in a way, we do what we must for our children and our loved ones, don’t we?
CONNOR: People are driven forward to accomplish things that will ensure success for the ones around them.
CANCEL: What a nice thought! It would be true, if you didn’t account for pure selfishness.
CANCEL: Mr. Cavanagh, do you really think someone with a choice to save their own life or the one of a loved one will always choose the latter?
CANCEL: Of course the former happens as well, but are you really that naïve to think it happens every time?
CANCEL: I’m sure you can think instantly of a scenario where someone saves their own hide over saving another.
CONNOR: I…
CONNOR: …
THALIA: Of course, people are selfish. Therefore, the answer to your question is: they do what makes them happy.
THALIA: People live this life, indulge in pleasures, and try to chase happiness.
THALIA: Even if others get caught up in that wake.
CANCEL: Hm. And what of the ones who isolate themselves? Make themselves suffer?
THALIA: Why would anyone do that?
CANCEL: Why would anyone, indeed…not everyone is driven by the pursuit of happiness.
ABIGAIL: I suppose…some people are driven by the fact that they don’t want to die?
CANCEL: How so? Do tell.
ABIGAIL: Death is a frightening thing…I’ve talked to so many people who don’t even want to think about death.
ABIGAIL: So they do things so that they can survive longer, I guess…
ABIGAIL: And not be forgotten, either.
ABIGAIL: A lot of times, the dead don’t have anyone to remember them…
CANCEL: And what about daredevils? People who take risks and put their lives on the line?
CANCEL: Does the fear of death motivate them too?
ABIGAIL: Maybe…in a way…
DANIEL: C-can we just stop talking about this? This is making my head spin…
CANCEL: Mr. Nox, now, you don’t have any thoughts on the subject?
DANIEL: I don’t know, I haven’t really thought about it…
JOE: Maybe what drives people is the chance at a legacy. Of leaving something behind?
JOE: I do say that Abigail was perhaps trailing down the right path, before…
JOE: But it’s far more succinct to say that they wish to leave something behind.
JOE: Whether in the grand form of memories, of inventions, of family, of something concrete, something abstract, something far beyond understanding, something within the realms of definition, something-
CAMILLA: Oh, be quiet.
CAMILLA: It is different for everyone.
CAMILLA: That is the answer.

Cancel lets out a sharp laugh, almost mocking in tone.

CANCEL: I do suppose you have a point, Ms. Lloyd!
CANCEL: But these answers are all very, very intriguing, yes…
CANCEL: Allow me to offer my own answer to this inquiry.
CANCEL: I can use one word to describe what drives a man to accomplish whatever they can in what little time they have in this world.
CANCEL: And that word is purpose.
CANCEL: When I speak of this word, I refer to it as a desire to acknowledge one’s own life as having worth.
CANCEL: Every single person’s worth is unique and individualized to them.
CANCEL: What may be one man’s purpose may be another’s bane of existence.
CANCEL: “What am I put on this earth to do” is the question that encompasses this concept.
CANCEL: Am I put on this earth to make myself happy? Am I put on this earth to cure dreadful diseases?
CANCEL: Am I put on this earth to provide for my loved ones? Am I put on this earth to obtain myself an immortal legacy?
CANCEL: There are many variations to this question. And only we may know what we want our true purpose to be.
CANCEL: But what if someone shirks their purpose, or fails to obtain it?
CANCEL: Imagine: a person stuck in life, unsure of what to do, where to go, unable to do anything that makes them satisfied that they have worth in this world.
CANCEL: This person realizes that they are nothing.
CANCEL: They chase silly things, momentary sparks of happiness that distract them from the fact that they have nothing to reach for.
CANCEL: They tell themselves they are failures, that they mean nothing, and not even the threat of death or obscurity can push them out of this state.
CANCEL: Imagine an interlocutor who realizes that their attempts at promoting communication between others has been utterly botched by their narrow-sighted view of why we talk in the first place.
CANCEL: Imagine a warrior who fights and kills and spills blood and loses sight of why they picked up weapons in the first place until the moment they are at the brink of death.
CANCEL: Imagine a missionary who does not spread the word of their religion, but becomes so insecure that they hide themselves and their words away and hoard their experiences all to themselves.
CANCEL: Imagine a historian who looks upon the vast expanse of history and falls into despair at the fact that history will repeat itself and there is no point in recording it anymore.
CANCEL: Such people, these nothings, will lose hope.
CANCEL: They will stare down at their feet and sit and think and wonder and wonder and realize that time has passed them by, and their thoughts have not given them anything.
CANCEL: Many of them will die alone.
CANCEL: The world does not weep for their passing, for they are as worthless as worthless can be.
CANCEL: I wonder how many people have understood that cruel, terrible fact…

Cancel pauses. One can almost hear a needle drop in the room.

CANCEL: Anyways…enough of such discussions.
CANCEL: It is good to indulge in such interesting mental exercises every now and then.
CANCEL: But it is time to move on.
CANCEL: The next step in the game will be quite intriguing.
CANCEL: For it is the step that will separate your merry little group into three.
KATE: Separate?
CANCEL: Allow me to explain it in further detail.
CANCEL: There are three paths that will now stand before you.
CANCEL: Each path can only accept a certain amount of people.
CANCEL: The first path leads to the Bridge of Sighs. Only three people may go down that particular road.
CANCEL: The third path leads to the Shrine of Lies. As before, only three people may travel down and see what this path has to offer.
CANCEL: But the second one?
CANCEL: The second one is very, very special.
CANCEL: Only one person may take this path.
CANCEL: While the other two will challenge you, this path will give you something incredibly valuable.
CANCEL: To the person who takes this direction, I shall contact them, and tell them a single, solitary statement of truth.
CANCEL: This truth is not one to be taken lightly. It may be one that might change your perspective on the people around you.
CANCEL: You can choose whatever you want to do with this truth.
CANCEL: You may share it, or you may keep it for yourself.
CANCEL: I do not care what you do with it. The choice is yours, as secret bearer.

CANCEL: Now, you have all obtained the tokens I referred to earlier, yes?
CANCEL: These shall be your method of passage for these paths.
CANCEL: You shall use them as payment, as toll…
CANCEL: The doorways shall accept the correct amount of tokens and shall open to let you through.
CANCEL: But they will close instantly afterwards.
CANCEL: It will be impossible to cheat.
CANCEL: So, to this end, you must choose wisely.
CANCEL: Which one of you shall hear a truth, and which one of you shall be put through trials to make it to the next stage of the game…
CANCEL: I shall leave this decision entirely up to you.

Author's note

SpoilerShow

Yes, indeed, here is a BIG STORY-CHANGING DECISION. This is completely out of my hands and is in yours (to steal Cancel's words). Two groups of three, and a lucky (or unlucky) soul who shall heal a truth that shall have ramifications. It isn't going to be some kind of truth like "oh, Daniel sleeps with his teddy bears!" or something. It's super serious.

For those curious, the Bridge of Sighs and the Shrine of Lies are going to be puzzle-oriented! Cancel will not give any details about the puzzles if prodded, so there are no hints as to which one is better for which character. All you'll get are the names.

And as far as the order goes of the people in the first GIF...yes I know they don't follow the order of the people who talk in the dialogue. There's no meaning in it (it's been a busy month............I'm lazy)