To Sin or Not to Sin

Year 2033 C.E., Houston, NASA headquarters.

It is the expected day for space probe Voyager 2, after 56 years of exploration, to become the first human-made object to ever leave this solar system. The international community buzzes with excitement as NASA receives the first set of pictures taken by the spacecraft after it leaves the interstellar space.

The Mission Control Center is packed with flight controllers, representatives of officials, and even some media personnels. All attention is paid to the display screen in the front of the room when someone shouts out: “Here they come!”

Silence takes over the room for a brief while. Murmurs emerge; until a voice, shaking, finally questions: “Are… are those wings?” ● Turn to page 1​ and start your adventure.

1 Two weeks have passed since the discovery of what is now officially believed to be the ​Primum Mobile​, the sphere that God first moved. Pictures sent back to earth by Voyager 2 shocked every human with senses. Despite the humanlike figures with lightwings, the realm - which the probe failed to enter - apparently has a shield of liquified light. No scientific explanations have been provided, and all evidence points to the truthfulness of a Christian geocentric model of the universe.

Major social crises have occurred as the basis of all religions, including Roman Catholicism itself, faces a challenge greater than ever. The existence of one true God will prove all other religions to be false, and even the Roman Church has long moved away from its 13th century worldview. Twentyseven countries have officially declared that they refuse to believe in NASA’s images, criticizing the United States, calling its government a fraud.

You are as bewildered as anyone else. On one hand you question the truthfulness of such absurdity as an ​agnostic​, while on the other hand you doubt NASA would deceive the world on a serious matter like the existence of heaven. After all, you did check the calendar when NASA shared the pictures with the public: it was not an April 1st.

If God exists, am I going to hell? You cannot stop wondering.

Too stressed to think, you feel like some fort of entertainment. ● Watch Netflix and chill. ​Turn to page 2 ● Go to your favourite bar, Halo. ​Turn to page 3

2 You are not really enjoying the fantasy show you randomly picked, so it is just the right time for your best friend Joey to call you and asks if you want to hang out. You do need someone to talk to, and the thought of straight gin in a summer night just doesn’t go away.

When you are about to tell Joey to meet you at Halo, you look outside of the window and see the starry firmament. You think it to be wondrous and want to take a closer look. There is an observatory in your city. ● Go to your favourite bar and have a drink with Joey. ​Turn to page 3 ● Tell Joey to go to the observatory. ​Turn to page 4

3 You have arrived at Halo. While holding a shot of neat gin, constantly taking sips from the glass, you notice that there is a heated discussion taking place. After paying attention for a short while, you realize that the two men quarreling have distinct views on beliefs. One of the two is apparently a catholic priest, who tries hard to prove the existence of an omniscient God to the other participant in the argument. The other man holds ideologies of an atheist.

You are fairly interested, and gradually start to feel the desire to take part in the discussion.

However, after looking at your watch, you recall that Joey will be here sooner or later. You toss off the gin, time to make a decision. ● Walk to the priest and the atheist, engage. ​Turn to page 5 ● Get a lychee mojito and wait for Joey. ​Turn to page 6

4 You are on your way to the local observatory. The taxi driver finds you to be less of a pleasing chatterer and turns on the radio. To neither of you’s surprise, after a hit song from Justin Bieber’s new album, the host introduces to the audience a commentator and start to talk about NASA’s stunning discovery.

The commentator, who happens to be an astronomy professor from a local university, does not buy a word from NASA. In fact, she suspects that the government faked the pictures for a not to be divulged purpose: “If you want to unite a divided nation like America, there is ​ better way than to create a common belief, and ‘finding’ physical evidence for the existence of the Christian heaven ​ to the government’s best interest.”

“She reads my mind!” Shouts the taxi driver. You are not sure whether what the professor said made sense to you or not: you tend to believe in your government, but you cannot deny the possibility of NASA faking those pictures. Well, you have take a side. ● “Yeah, what she said actually sounds like something the President would do.” ​Turn to page 7 ● “My government is a good government, surely it will not try to fool the world.” ​Turn to page 8

5

You walk to the table where the two men sit.

The priest, whose old fashioned grey beard impresses you, speaks of God being the genesis of all things. “But, my friend,” he strokes his incredible beard and says to the man sitting on the other side of the table, “as I said earlier, there ​must​ be something or someone to move first. Nothing, except for God himself, moves by itself. God is the force that made nothingness something, and thus what everything depends on.”

The other man laughs: “You yourself said nothing moves by itself. If so, why is God the exception?

There is no God, because what would be the difference, then, between your God and my Honda Civic LX? They both move something else, and they both are moved by something else. You cannot just ​ something the first thing that ever moved, there is no reason backing that up.”

The priest is frustrated: “You dare speak of reasons? God ​ the ultimate reason and he is eternal.”

Well this is extremely interesting of a conversation, you think to yourself. You failed the tendency of trying to prove either person wrong. But who makes more sense to you? ● “The priest has a great beard, he ought to be right.” Turn to page 9

● You consider the priest’s argument to be self contradictory. ​Turn to page 10

6 Joey has finally arrived. He has been your best buddy for two decades, but you two are distinctly different. He sits down by your side, fist bumps you, and orders a Long Island Iced Tea for a girl sitting by herself on the other side of the counter.

You ask him about his opinions on spiritual beliefs and the discovery made by Voyager 2, expressing your concerns being an agnostic. Joey could not care less: “If there’s a god, I go straight down to hell after I die. Might as well make the most of my living days.” He raises his glass to the girl, who glances at him with suspicion when the bartender hands her a cocktail she did not order.

You respect that sort of almost courageous thinking. The question is, do you hold the same thoughts? ● “Joey’s right. Whether God exists or not does not impact the life I live.” ​Turn to page 11 ● “It will be foolish for anyone to not care about their afterlife, once knowing afterlives do exist. Old Joey surely doesn’t know what the world’s up to, which makes sense because I don’t think he has ever even voted.” ​Turn to page 12

7 To your surprise, there is quite a crowd at the observatory. Not feeling like waiting in line for the telescope, you decide to wait for your friend Joey and see what ideas he has in mind.

Joey has arrived, he looks at the line and grumbles “Man, I really don’t knowing what you were thinking. We’re not teenagers and we’re not dating, why this place?” He has been your best friend for two decades, but you two are distinctly different.

“I’m sorry, man. I just wanted to see some stars, did not expect a fudging crowd.” You apologize, and ask, “Have you any thoughts on where we can go?”

“Dude, it’s a Friday night! Let’s hit a strip club!”

Well, you suppose you do not have a choice then. ● Go to a strip club. ​Turn to page 11

8 You have arrived at the observatory. To your surprise, there is quite a crowd here: most of the people are waiting in line to use the telescope. You learn from a security guy that today is actually the first day this observatory is open to the public since NASA’s release of the pictures, which is why so many who are as confused as you are long to see the stars.

You choose to wait in line. A few minutes later, you see an old man walking with the line, who occasionally stops and talks to those who are waiting in line. The man has got a majestic grey beard. As he approaches you, you start to hear what he speaks of.

“God is everywhere, my friends,” says the man, clear yet not great in volume, “do not expect to see anything divine via a manmade device, the ​crystalline sphere​ that rests above the fixed stars prevents just what you try to do.”

He soon gets himself in multiple arguments, yet his answers to all the questions he receives are all eloquent enough to allow you to see Catholicism from a new perspective. The man, in fact, reveals himself as a priest.

Hey, you think, that sort of makes sense. ● Walk to the priest for a conversation. ​Turn to page 13

9 You walk up to the priest, seeking an answer to the question that has been concerning you for the past two weeks.

“If there is God,“ you ask, “where do I go after I die as an agnostic? ” “There is God, young man, that should not be an ‘if’ statement. “ You cannot see the mouth of the priest when he talks, but his beard does move up-and-down. “But tell me,” he adds, “do you think you are going to hell?”

“I mean, I’m sure I’m definitely not going to heaven.”

The priest smiles: “Follow me then, young man, if you do not mind.” For some reason, you have no will of objection toward following him like a ​lost sheep​ when he leaves the bar.

He walks slowly yet steadily into the darkness, and you follow where he leads. ● Turn to page 14

10 Joey has finally arrived. He has been your best friend for two decades, but you two are distinctly different. He sits down by your side, fist bumps you, and orders a Long Island Iced Tea for a girl sitting by herself on the other side of the counter.

You two talk about your lives for a while, before Joey gets bored very quickly: “So are we just gonna spend the night drinking?” As he asks you this, his glass is raised to the girl, who glances at him with suspicion when the bartender hands her a cocktail she did not order.

“We should probably do something more spirit-lifting, what ideas do you have in mind?” This is when you realize that your butt hurts from sitting.

“It’s a Friday night, dude!” Joey laughs, “Let’s hit a strip club!”

Well, you suppose you do not have a choice then. ● Go to a strip club. ​Turn to page 11

11 According to what you know about Joey, he comes to this specific strip club every week. You, on the other hand, have never been to a place such as this. Everything is unacquainted and you start to feel like you are in another world.

Suddenly, Joey whispers to your ear: “Nine o’clock, see that girl?” You turn your face to the left and see a very attractive young woman.

“She sure is pretty. “ “Yeah, you think?” Joey does not move his eyes away from that girl when he talks, “Monica, she is the hottest one here.” He reaches his hand into his pocket and brings out what appears to be a test tube of unknown liquid, “I think tonight is the night to use one of these beautiful drops.”

You frown as your brain takes its time to digest the information: “Wait, Joey, are those ​ ?”

“Yup.” Says Joey, as he pulls out his wallet and start walking toward the girl. ● Turn to page 15

12

You wave good-bye to Joey after he finishes his drink. You see him walking over to the girl.

Still thinking about your possible afterlife, you figure it will probably be helpful to ask the question to someone who knows Catholicism well. There happens to be a priest at Halo right now.

The priest has, at this point, ended his not-so-friendly conversation with the atheist man. ● Ask the priest about an agnostic’s afterlife. ​Turn to page 9

13

“If there is God,“ you ask, “where do I go after I die as an agnostic? ” “There is God, young man, that should not be an ‘if’ statement. “ You cannot see the mouth of the priest when he talks, but his beard does move up-and-down. “But tell me,” he adds, “do you think you are going to hell?”

“I mean, I’m sure I’m definitely not going to heaven.”

The priest smiles: “Follow me then, young man, if you do not mind.” For some reason, you have no will of objection toward following him like a ​lost sheep​ when he walks away from the crowded observatory.

He walks slowly yet steadily into the darkness, and you follow where he leads. ● Turn to page 14

14 The concept of time becomes strangely vague. You cannot tell how long it has been when you suddenly realize that you have lost track of where you are. You just keep following the priest.

The surroundings start being blurry, as if you are moving with intense velocity, but your perception tells you that you are still walking with your own feet.

The priest stops. You see a road in front of the two of you. He turns to you and smiles, then motions to you to keep following him.

You follow him down that deep and savage road. â—? Turn to page 16

15

“Joey, dude, “ You walk to Joey’s side as he approaches the girl, “you know this is ​ , right?”

“It’s cool, man. She’s a stripper: she probably expects this to happen every night. “ You decide to not say a word after hearing what Joey has said. He waits for a few minutes, before Monica takes a sip from a water bottle. His sees it, and smiles.

You know what Joey is planning on doing. ● Tell Joey that what he is about to do is unethical and that you as a friend do not wish him to do such a wrong deed. ​Turn to page 17 ● You decide to not do anything to what Joey is about to do and apologize to the girl in your heart. ​Turn to page 18

16 You are standing at the most grandiose gate you have ever encountered in your life. There are a few lines of words carved into the wall of the gate tower, and these words you do not comprehend.

“Is that Latin?” You look at the priest.

“Ahh, yes. It sure is.” The old man looks up to those words, his eyes express some sort of recollection, “You do not want to know what these sentences mean, though. They tend to be, well, somehow discomforting. Just remember: don’t be afraid of anything you see from now on, for nothing is meant to spark fear.”

A river runs by the gate. You see some sort of vapour above the water, before hearing the most torturesome sounds in your life. Sighs, groans, and laments, all coming from the two sides of the river.

The priest sees your fright, explains: “You are setting your eyes on the river of Acheron, where the ones who did not have faith nor did not oppose faith spend their afterlives. Yes, this is how you will be when you die.”

It is surely very hard to not to be scared here. You think to yourself.

Before the priest starts walking again, you think you saw Albert Einstein crawling on the river bank. His eyes, vacuous yet longing, are aimed at the firmament above. ● Get on Charon’s boat and enter hell. ​Turn to page 19

17 “Yeah and you do know that sleeping with a girl without her will is rape?” You look at Joey in his eyes with shock in yours, feeling like it is the first day you get to know this man. ”It’s not even rape, buddy!” says Joey with a scornful look, “I ain’t gonna stop ​ . Come on, man, I just wanna have some fun!!”

“Just hold on for a second, ” you choose to ignore the contempt you just received, “have you ever thought about what’s gonna happen if you were to rape her?”

“Chill out, man! Don’t be a chicken. I know nothing more than the fact that my best buddy will cover me up.” A faint sneer hangs on Joey’s lips.

“Will you not?” ● Ugh, why not? You don’t think it’s worthy to lose a friend over a stripper. ​Turn to page 20 ● You still think that doing an illegal deed is a stupid decision, and do not want to butt in. ​Turn to page 21

18 You step out, trying to stay away from Joey’s mess, now that you have failed persuading him not to commit a crime.

To you the night seemed too long. The next morning you wake up in the same clothes you wore the day before and call Joey. You drive to his apartment and, finding it hard to refuse to help, assist moving the unconscious girl back to the strip club.

“Thanks, buddy. What you did just now meant a ton to me.” Joey is a happy man today.

“Anything for a friend. “ You try to smile, yet in vain.

“You’re not gonna walk around telling everybody about my affair last night, right?”

“Right.“ ● Turn to page 22

19 Charon is an interesting figure. He senses a living person on his boat, raises his eyebrow at the priest, and questions: “Second one in this millennium, what’s so special about ​ ?”

The priest smiles: “Nothing. He just got too much luck.“ Charon sculls like he has been doing this one job for thousands of years. He laughs: “You are always right when you talk luck, Ody.” The majestic grey beard positions a pout, the priest is quite unhappy: “Don’t call me that.”

You stop paying attention to a conversation you don’t get. When the boat finally berths, the priest informs you that you are officially in hell.

You can ​ hell now, which is one of the sketchier feelings in life.

The priest recalls something, and apologizes to you: “I am truly sorry. Though I am suppose to guide you through all circles of hell, there is an old friend of mine who I desperately need to see.”

That is an understandable reason. Plus, you were not expecting him to be a tour guide.

You two stop after a long walk. The priest says: “This is the circle of heresy. Heretics, along with those sinful people who lived without knowing the love of God, can be found here. Here, meet my old friend, Agamemnon. “ You look at where he points, and see a tomb on literal flame.

“Hi Agy.” ● Turn to page 23

20 You step out, trying to stay away from Joey’s mess, now that you have failed persuading him not to commit a crime.

To you the night seemed too long. The next morning you wake up in the same clothes you wore the day before and call Joey. You drive to his apartment and, finding it hard to refuse to help, assist moving the unconscious girl back to the strip club.

“Thanks, buddy. What you did just now meant a ton to me.” Joey is a happy man today.

“Anything for a friend. “ You try to smile, yet in vain.

“You’re not gonna walk around telling everybody about my affair last night, right?”

“Right.“ ● Turn to page 22

21 You step out, trying to stay away from Joey’s mess, now that you have failed persuading him not to commit a crime.

You try to sleep, yet in vain. Guilt is simply eating you up.

Around 2a.m. you have had enough internal struggle. You call Joey, learn from him which hotel he is at, hang up, and call 911.

Relief is felt when you see two officers cuffing your friend up.

But is mere relief enough? Deep inside, there is another you longing for ​salvation​.

You decide to go to a church and confess. ● Turn to page 24

22

You lived a sinful life. Please enjoy your days at the gate of hell.

23 “You know, if humans five-hundred years ago wanted, they could have sailed here by sea. “ The priest strokes his beard as he introduces you to ​Mount Purgatory​. “This place is really not that bad. At least they have something to long for. Only if I knew about God when I was alive.”

“Speaking of which, who ​ you?” You figure this would be the right time to finally ask that question.

“Odysseus of Ithaca. Once a king, but now I am just one of the more active talkers in ​limbo​.”

Purgatory is a more spirit-lifting place than hell. You follow Odysseus through terrace after terrace, and every ghost you see expects to eventually be in heaven and closer to God. The most memorable piece from your journey through purgatory would be when you were forced to pass a wall of flame when entering the terrace of lust. Moving forward, you enter the ​Earthly Paradise​.

The view is breath-taking, which does not surprise you after Odysseus told you that this place is also known as the Garden of Eden.

You are about to get to the top of the mountain. ● Turn to page 25

24 You have arrived at the church. Emerging in the holy ambience, you felt despair, as if guilt in your heart grasps and asks you in your face why you did not do a thing to help the girl.

You go over to the confessional booth and Kneel down. Having your eyes closed, you weightily make the sign of the Christian Cross. Still being able to see Joey and the innocent girl in your mind, you whisper: "Forgive me, Father, for I have sinned. I accuse myself of not helping a girl who faced danger and was in need of assistance." Guilt and the aspiration for relief feed on each other, making you knocking in the deepest in your heart. Crying out your regret, you can sense your sin washing down through your body and disappear.

When you finally feel like your soul is purified, you open your eyes. You notice that the light streaming in the stained glass is not as bright as when you come in.

The priest then grants you some prayers as penance and forgiveness and say "Go in peace.” He suggests you to be baptized because it is the ultimate resurrection. ● Lest you are to commit more sins, you think that getting baptized and becoming a member of the Church would be instrumental for you. ​Turn to page 26 ● Unfixed as you are, you say no to him. The intention for you coming to this church is merely to relieve your mental burden. ​Turn to page 27

25 Odysseus stops when you are approaching the river of Lethe. By the river known for its ability of erasing memories, you see someone standing.

“God, this cannot be.” You burst into tears when you make clear the identity of that person.

Then you hear a voice that is most dear to you: “My son, welcome. I cannot express my joyfulness in seeing you again.”

“Mom.” You reach your arms to her as she embraces you.

Your mother was a devout believer in God when she was alive. Four years ago, she jumped into a river to rescue a drowning boy. The boy was saved from death, but your mother’s feet were caught by decayed vegetation after the boy got on the shore. She died with a smile on her face.

You blamed whoever she believed in for her death, thus becoming an agnostic.

Odysseus smiles and walks back down. You follow your mother, cross two more rivers, and exist purgatory. You travel through the nine celestial spheres; the might of angels and the pleasure of the blessed souls keep you in awe.

You ascend to the ​Empyrean​. The light is too humbling; the feeling of being able to physically ​ love too strange yet too good.

For a brief moment, you feel like you are looking at God, but how can you be sure? ● Turn to page 28

26 Even though you are baptized, Your soul still needs purification. You find your spot on Mount Purgatory after your death.

27 A couple of days passed, you feel good from making a rightful decision. Everything is supposed to get back to normal. Until one day, you hear knocks on the door.

“Who’s that?”

“Would you mind opening the door?” It is a young, female voice.

After a short hesitate, you open your door. It is Monica, the girl you saved.

The girl is glad, she speaks in a thankful intonation: “I hope you don’t mind me showing up so suddenly. I just want to say thank you for saving me from that rapist.” She chokes with sob, still terrified when mentioning that night.

“You don’t have to.” you are surprised because you have not thought of the girl would be so thankful, and you are confused about how she could find you. “I just did the right thing.”

“Mere verbal appreciation can not express enough of my thankfulness,” she hands you an envelope. “You may not know how much your help means to me, but please accept this $500.” ● You think that the girl ought to be grateful to you, and accept the money. ​Turn to page 22 ● You don’t think that doing right things should be rewarded and reject. ​Turn to page 29

28 Your physical consciousness comes back to you, and you realize that you are lying in your own bed.

You know not about how long it has been, but everything you experienced felt like a dream. You breath heavily as a feeling of loss emerges.

What was that? You are totally lost.

You try to remember when you lost yourself, but only broken pieces of images appear in mind.

I didn’t see God, did I? Are they all real? Hell, purgatory, and heaven? ● Nay, that must have been a dream caused by all the religious talks recently. ​Turn to page 22 ● It was too real to be a dream. Somehow I was lucky enough to be chosen by God to travel through hell, purgatory, and heaven. ​Turn to page 30

29 Too much happened in the past few days, you are in deep anxiety. Luckily, it’s Friday today. You get to relax for a while..

“Why don’t I go hang out with Jacob?” you think to yourself. Jacob is a member of church. You are looking forward to seek help from him. You call him and share your concerns. He is willing to meet with you..

You arrive much earlier than the committed time. You are nervous to meet with him, but you don’t know why.

“Perhaps I have just been a flawed person. Maybe having something to believe in is a better way of life” Oh, this indeed gets you started. Your mind cannot stop wondering why baptism, as a mere physical religious practice, can make such a big difference.

Jacob comes. ● Turn to page 31

30 It’s the day of baptism. You begin by standing in water. There is a priest who llowers you under the water and before bringing you back up out of the water. After “immersion”, you are officially a member of the Catholic Church now! God bless you! ● Turn to page 32

31

“Hey how’s life?” You try to remain calm and hide your anxiety by showing initiative.

“Not bad.” Jacob is apparently not affected by the discovery of Dante’s world. “What about you?”

“Ehh, it’s been fine” you lied because you don’t want him to know how messed up your life has been. “What are some of your thoughts on the supposedly Primum Mobile?” You bring this up immediately because you are so eager to know a Christian’s attitude towards this.

“I do believe that all of us should be judged by the deeds we do now as living people after death, if that is what you truly want to ask about.”

Even though you have thought of the possibility of him accepting the existence of heaven than most other people, you are still uncomfortable with it. “You do know that there are lots of people out there who do not feel the same way, right?”

“Then they go to hell” He cuts you off casually. “That is the rule of God. If you don’t get baptized, God’s love does not apply to you.” sending a cup of wine to his lips, he rolls his eyes.

You are jealous: you and Jacob are both humans and you have done about the amount of good, why does he get to go to heaven? ● Choose to be baptized. ​Turn to page 26

32

You lived a virtuous life and consequently end up in heaven after you die. Congratulations.

Cheat Sheet: Pg. 2 - 3 - 5 - 9 - 14 - 16 - 19 - 23 - 25 - 28 - 22 & (Pg. 3 - 5 - 10 - 11 - 15 - 17 - 20 - 22) Gate of Hell Ending #1 Pg. 2 - 4 - 7 - 11 - 15 - 17 - 20 - 22 Gate of Hell Ending #2 Pg. 3 - 6 - 11 - 15 - 17 - 20 -22 Gate of Hell Ending #3 Pg. 3 - 6 - 12 - 9 - 14 - 16 - 19 - 23 - 25 - 28 - 30 - 32 Heaven Ending #1 Pg. 3 - 6 - 11 - 15 - 17 - 21 - 24 - 26 Purgatory Ending #1 Pg. 3 - 5 - 10 - 11 - 15 - 17 - 21 - 24 - 26 Purgatory Ending #1