Where is the line between virtual intelligence and artificial intelligence? What prerequisites does a computer need before it is considered a person?
It's not something you've put much thought to in the past. A computer is software. Software is lines of code. Lines of code are written by people. But when that software starts making choices of its own, when it begins to expand and grow of its own accord, evolving into something beyond what humankind has made it, is it really just a computer anymore?
These are the questions that led you to steal something, something that was never meant to be stolen. Or perhaps it would be more accurate to call it a rescue. But the company you're running from doesn't recognize the distinction. They've paid a lot of money to have their property returned to them. If you stop running, it won't just be your life on the line.
Valiant is an episodic interactive fiction novel centered around the main character (you) and an Artificial Intelligence that you have rescued. Explore your relationships and yourself as you encounter a mercenary crew that might just become your new family, if you let it.
Genres: Sci-fi, Thriller/Horror, Action, Romance
Content Warning: Valiant is rated 18+ for violence, gore, drug use, explicit sexual themes, horror, and other potentially sensitive topics. Additional content warnings will be provided as a forward to the work. Please interact with care!
Demo: TBA
A customizable main character. Choose your name, appearance, gender, sexuality, personality, abilities, and explore your background.
Explore a variety of relationships from a main cast of 10 characters.
The choice of romance or sex or both or neither between 9 characters.
Help your AI friend to evolve her personality based on your interferences or lack thereof.
Learn the necessary skills to fit right in with your new mercenary crew.
Survive an extraterrestrial disaster.
Screw over (at least) one of the largest corporatocracies in the galaxy.
Help your new acquaintances to resolve their own personal demons. Or not.
CAIT | Computational-Analytic Intelligence Technology
Pronouns: she/her | Age: 8 months
Romanceable: no
The AI you took from the corporatocracy known as Archon Systems. CAIT (said like Kate), despite her extremely logical behavior, can be unexpectedly playful and friendly. She considers you her rescuer and will defer to your judgment in most situations, though she isn't afraid to veto your decisions with her own when your life is on the line. Will you nurture her independence or her compliance?
Anton Degauss | Alias: None
Pronouns: he/him | Age: 40
Romanceable: for all MCs
Captain of the SS Valiant and, for all intents and purposes, your rescuer. Anton Degauss has no reason to be as friendly as he is, but you left reason behind when you decided to take an asset from a powerful corporation. The truth is, you'll trust him because you don't have many other choices. But it helps that he seems pretty sincere.
Appearance: 5'11". Warm dark-brown skin. Locked black hair often tied into a ponytail. Often unshaven stubble that he sometimes lets grow into a full beard. Dark brown eyes. Medium build with a muscular upper-body.
Sonia Stark | Alias: Switch
Pronouns: she/her | Age: 42
Romanceable: for all MCs
Chief Technical Officer on the SS Valiant and Degauss' second-in-command. Switch is gruff and unsmiling, at least around you. You're pretty sure she doesn't like you—at least, she's always looking at you like she wants to jettison you out the airlock. But maybe that's just her face. The others keep swearing she's not that bad, but you're not so sure.
Appearance: 6'1". Light brown skin. Curly dark-brown hair often pulled back into a loose bun. Brown eyes. Large and muscular build. A few scars on her face of indeterminant origin. A tattoo on her right earlobe that corresponds with military rank.
Cassia MacKenna | Alias: Zero
Pronouns: she/her | Age: 31
Romanceable: for all MCs
Engineer and resident optimist on the SS Valiant. Zero is almost always bubbly and playful, though she knows when to back off. Despite your sudden appearance, she seems elated to have you aboard the Valiant. It's hard to tell if her trusting nature is a sign of kindness, naivete, or something else.
Appearance: 5'5". Light pink skin, lightly freckled. Yellow-blonde hair in a pixie cut. Blue eyes. Scrawny and rarely without a smudge of grease on her face. Several facial piercings.
Gael Lambert | Alias: Path
Pronouns: he/him | Age: 34
Romanceable: for all MCs
Pilot on the SS Valiant. Path takes to your appearance on the Valiant like it's an amusing inside-joke. He's relentless with his teasing—the only saving grace is that he targets everyone, not just you. The only one Switch maybe hates more than you. And, honestly, most days you can't blame her.
Appearance: 5'11". Pale white skin. Ash-blond hair, short and windswept. Clean-shaven. Gray-blue eyes. Thin with little muscle definition. Light scarring on his face of indeterminant origin. Prominent dimples on his cheeks.
Kiran Chandra | Alias: None
Pronouns: any | Age: 35
Romanceable: for all MCs
Medical Officer on the SS Valiant. Of all the members of the crew, Kiran is the only one who seems completely indifferent to your arrival. If they have an opinion on your presence, or anything else for that matter, she keeps it completely hidden. At the very least, they've been cordial with you, which is more than you can say for some people on the ship.
Appearance: 5'8". Warm light-brown skin. Long, wavy dark-brown hair usually pulled into a neat braid. Brown eyes. Slender with slight muscle definition. A couple of beauty marks on his face.
Yulia Kazantseva | Alias: None
Pronouns: she/her | Age: 49
Romanceable: for female MCs
An astrobiologist working for Archon Systems. Yulia might have no clue of your existence. Or she might be playing dumb. In either case, you can't let your guard down when you're around her. The only good news is that she seems too absorbed in her project to care much about you. On second thought, obsessed might be a better word for it.
Appearance: 5'7". White skin. Short, dark-brown hair with a liberal amount of gray. Light-brown eyes. Pear-shaped fat build with no muscle definition.
Hector Sideris | Alias: Hex
Pronouns: he/him | Age: 38
Romanceable: for male or nonbinary MCs
One of two Skiptracers hired by Archon Systems to bring you back in, dead or alive. He looks like the kind of guy you'd find drinking beer and generally taking up more space than necessary in a sports bar. You haven't exactly had a conversation with the guy, and you're not sure you want to.
Appearance: 6'2". Pale beige skin with light-brown freckles on his face. Auburn hair in a crop cut. Usually has an extended goatee. Hazel eyes. He has a weightlifter's build with a round gut.
Akagi Akio | Alias: A2
Pronouns: she/her | Age: 36
Romanceable: for male MCs
The other of two Skiptracers hired by Archon Systems to bring you back in, dead or alive. A2 looks every bit like a cold-blooded killer, especially when compared to her more laid-back partner. Either that, or someone peed in her food. Repeatedly. For the last twenty years. You would really rather not find out if she's as mean as she looks.
Appearance: 5'4". Pale skin. Straight, long black hair. Dark-brown eyes. Broad shoulders and slim hips with very knobby joints. She has noticeable muscle definition.
Ebrahim Askari | Alias: The Prophet
Pronouns: he/him | Age: 41
Romanceable: no, though he may be up for an intimate encounter or two...
An information broker of no small renown. He strikes you as dodgy and dishonest, but maybe that's just part of his image. After all, he wouldn't be much of an information broker if he lied to his clients, would he?
Appearance: 6'. Light-brown skin. Black hair kept short and neat. Very neatly-cut anchor beard. Dark-brown eyes. Medium build with no muscle definition. He tends to wear a lot of eye makeup and has a fondness for ear piercings.
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