EP 507 – Story #1 – Banana Johnson – You are Banana Johnson, a cult member.

You are Banana Johnson, a cult member. Your leader is a powerful man named Jason, the core belief of the cult is
 that the world will end in one month and every person on earth will die; you don't know how this prophecy can come true.
The cult has two locations: your hideout, which is under the abandoned church where you meet with Jason, and the factory.
> You meet at the factory and see Pomegranate Pam, a former country bumpkin.
Pomegranate Pam is a beautiful woman, but she is also very tough. Her hometown was hit hard by a tornado, so her family moved to New Orleans after that happened. She is a bright and friendly woman, with an accent like you would hear in rural Mississippi or Alabama.
> You ask Pam about the apocalyptic prophecy.
"We think the world will end at noon on December 21st. And Jason has told me that there are four days until then."
"But how does he know when the world is going to end?
"

> You see Jason enter and quickly lean in for a kiss with Pam to change the subject.
Jason takes your hand and says "I have something important to tell you" as he leads you into another room. You sit down while Jason sits across from you and Pam closes the door behind her. He places a strange box on the table and opens it slowly.
Jason reveals the icon for the cult:
 a green stone inside of a cube of obsidian. A red crystal rests on top. The rest of the room is dark and empty except for a single lamp. Jason turns on the light, so that the icon shines brightly.
Under the icon is the cult motto:
 "The World Is Ending Soon".
"Do you see now? That is our creed and we have faith that it is true," Jason explains.
"Why did you come here today, Banana?"
> You question the prophecy and ask how Jason could possibly predict the end of the world.
"You must believe, because if you don't, then I can't help you."
"How can you be so certain that the world will end?"
"It doesn't matter. It has to."
Tony, Jason's adopted son who doesn't believe the world is ending anytime soon, overhears you question Jason and chimes in.
"He really believes that the world will end in one month and that he has seen the future."
"And what do you believe?"
"I believe that this is bullshit and that the world won't end.
You meet with Tony at a local diner and ask him about Jason's obsession with the end of the world.
 He explains that when his father was young, he saw something incredible. An angel appeared to him and told him that he would bring an end to the world.
"Then he had a vision of the world coming to an end, but he didn't know exactly how, he just knew that it
 would happen and that it wouldn't be good."
"And that's why you think the world is going to end."
"We all do."
You are in New Orleans, which is the home base of Jason and the cult.
You go to the New Orleans Library and read all about angels and the date December 21 and make a fascinating discovery that disproves the apocalypse:
 there is no record of a planet called "Ramses" anywhere in the universe and it does not exist.
Your parents were both scientists at NASA and you are interested in space and astronomy. You find NASA's online archive of data and quickly discover that there has never been a star or planet
 named Ramses in the universe. There was a planet called Ramses once, though: it was a dwarf planet that was discovered in 1998 by astronomers at the University of Hawaii.
"That means Jason's prophecy is a fraud," Tony says triumphantly as he reaches for his beer.
You and Tony call a cult meeting at the church and you reveal your findings.  People are shocked!
Jason, who is angry that he has lost his source of faith and power, accuses you of treason and banishes you from the cult. Pam refuses to speak to you after you denounce Jason's prophecy, so you go into hiding.
You hideout in the one place you know Jason and the other cult members can never find you in:
 a secluded cabin in the middle of nowhere. The cabin is in an area where it's very cold, and when you enter it, it takes you a moment to adjust because your body feels hot.
Today is the day the world is supposed to end.  You can't just hide forever, so you head for the factory prepared to die to save the other cult members!
Pam says goodbye to her husband as she and you leave the church and go on the run together. Tony gives a passionate speech about how he'll protect them all with his life while Jason laughs bitterly.
You watch as Jason prepares a sinister ritual:
 "The End of the World". It is supposed to mark the arrival of Ramses and herald the start of the apocalypse, but instead the ritual turns out to be nothing more than an empty promise and a simple trick.
Jason throws a smoke bomb and speeds off in a Rolls Royce headed for Mexico.  You and Pam decided to hunt him down.
"We're gonna find that fucker," you say.
Pam smiles and says "Let's go get him."
A long chase follows: Jason leads you through a series of dangerous backwoods roads and you manage to evade capture. The roads are too narrow, however, and eventually you lose sight of him and have no choice but to return to
 New Orleans.
Jason's Rolls Royce is nowhere to be found.
You and Pam take your guns to the local gun shop and purchase the finest sniper rifle they sell.
"I think we should try to find someplace to settle down first," you say as you load the ammo into
 the rifle.
Pam agrees. "New Orleans is the last place I want to see after what he did to me there!"
"What do you suggest?"
"We need a place where he can't get us."
By pure chance, you see Jason buying a churro at a local vendor in Tijuana.  You aim your sniper and take your shot.
The bullet strikes Jason in the neck, dropping him instantly to the ground.
He was right all along. You were wrong.
"There, that should keep him in one piece," Pam says as she finishes off Jason.
You look up into the sky and see an asteroid about to plummet into Earth.  Jason was right all along!
You and Pam are in a warehouse filled with cult members. Tony is here too. Pam is trying to kill herself. You try to stop her.
"This is crazy," you say.
Pam replies "No, this is the only sane thing to do."
The worlds ends.  You are smooshed by the asteroid.  You are in the afterlife where you see Jason again.
  He tells you he's sorry. You are confused.
"Is it over?" you ask.
Jason is silent for a moment. "I'm sorry, but it's not over."
"I thought you said this is the end of the world?"
"I lied, like always," he answers, his voice sounding tired and hopeless.
"Then why did you bother trying?"
"Because I thought it was the right thing to do."
You turn to leave the afterlife and discover that you have become the living dead.


	
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