The Experiment: Episode 1

WARNING: This page contains spoilers!
If you do not want future Tales from Solaris content to be spoiled, please leave immediately!

### Release date

2021

The Experiment: Episode 1 is the first episode of The Experiment.

## Plot

### Chapter 1: The Beginning

The player is put in Caer Karmen's point of view. Caer and Smallshade are on their way to meet up with the rest of the group, and Smallshade asks Caer about his opinion on the weather. Caer can either agree that the weather is good, or say that its "okay" (This option does not affect future gameplay). Then, Smallshade asks Caer if Purplehead will be okay, and Caer can either be confident about Purplehead's condition or be worried about him as well. They then meet up with Simplemind, Hatoff, and Purplehead.

### Chapter 2: Lost Friend

The player is put in Purplehead's point of view right after the end of Chapter 1. Changson comes up to Purplehead and tells him that he had managed to find a cure for Purplehead's defect. The group is skeptical but Hatoff agrees to go with Purplehead to see if it is true. Changson then leads Hatoff and Purplehead to his nearest lab, where Purplehead is directed to a room and Hatoff is told to wait outside. Once Changson and Purplehead are safe inside, Purplehead realizes that the room wasn't a "lab" at all, since it was empty and the walls were soundproofed. He begins to question Changson, but "Changson" reveals his true form as a Puraman, and stuns Purplehead with a shot from his blaster.

Purplehead then wakes up within a large chamber, restrained to an operating table. Here, the player can make Purplehead attempt escape or wait. If he tries to escape his bonds, the Puraman, standing nearby, tells him that he will not be able to get far if he escapes. Then, the player is given the choice of whether to ask who his captor is, what he will do to him, or say nothing. Asking who will prompt the Puraman to tell Purplehead that his identity will not matter, and asking what will happen to him will prompt the Puraman to tell Purplehead that he is a test subject, and once his "experiment" is complete, he will be let free. If the player chooses to stay quiet, the Puraman will ask if he is a quiet or shy Lotso, saying it is too bad. The scene then cuts to black and the sounds of a machine activating are heard.

### Chapter 3: Escape

The player is placed in Hatoff's point of view, only seconds after the end of Chapter 2. Hatoff is running towards the rest of the group, stating that Purplehead is missing and he couldn't find him anywhere. The group try to comfort Hatoff and reassure him that they will find Purplehead together, as Hatoff begins to call himself a fool for letting Purplehead out of his sight. If Blue was confident about Purplehead being okay in Chapter 1, he will tell Hatoff that Purplehead should be fine. Hatoff then leads the group towards the "lab" where he and Purplehead were taken.

Suddenly, the groups hears something coming from the nearby bushes. A Bounca Lotso presents itself to the group, and bounces towards Hatoff. He catches the animal in his arms, and hugs it. Hatoff can decide to either keep it or let it go. If he decides to keep it, Hatoff will name the Bounca Lotso "Bouncy", and it will become his pet. Otherwise, Hatoff will tell the Bounca Lotso that he cannot keep it and lets it go, after which the animal sadly bounces away.

Afterwards, the group head into the building and open the door to the room where Purplehead went missing. However, Purplehead was still there, but Hatoff notices Purplehead was a lot larger, and had cybernetic implants fused to his body (mainly his back). The Hatoff and the group have to stay still so "Purplehead" won't notice them, fearing that he had been replaced by a different creature. If Hatoff and the group manage to stay still, the creature will turn away, allowing the group to leave unnoticed. If Hatoff fails to stay still, "Purplehead" will notice the group and charge, sinking his large claws into Hatoff's neck. If he had adopted Bouncy, Bouncy will fall out of his hands and lands in Simplemind's arms. Then, Hatoff will be flung through the wall and out onto the grass outside, but survives. However, the Puraman will stun him with the same blaster he used to capture Purplehead, and the screen cuts to black again as the rest of the group flee.

### Chapter 4: Survival

The player is placed in Simplemind's point of view, after the group escapes in Chapter 3. surviving members of the group discuss what they had witnessed. They become even more fearful for their lives if Hatoff has been captured. Simplemind can either say that Purplehead could've been turned into the creature (this will get mixed reactions and may decrease his friends' opinions of him), or reassure his friends by saying that Purplehead and Hatoff should be okay. Then, the friends hear a roar from the Purplehead abomination, and they are forced to split up and flee once more.

## Trivia

* The "Lab" was originally going to be a brown, one-room building.
* Chapter 3 would begin with Hatoff meeting Bouncy.