Clearance 3 — The Tunnel
| Location | The mountain tunnel connecting the bay to the main island |
| Challenge type | Navigation / survival |
| Story choice | ⭐ Beat 1 — first tracked choice |
| Tone | First real unease; the island shows its age |
What Happens
The only route from New Silph Town and the harbor through the mountains to the main island is an old tunnel. It looks industrial — metal fixtures, old cabling, worn signage — but it doesn’t look like anything Silph Co. built. Nobody explains who built it. The expedition uses it because it’s there.
Midway through, the lights fail in one section. On the wall: a patch of Glitch corruption — flickering, wrong, data bleeding into stone. Nobody else is nearby.
⭐ Story Choice — Beat 1
A section of the tunnel wall is flickering. Data corruption — the same kind you’ve seen on glitched terminals. Nobody else is here.
| Option | What Happens | Tracks | |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | Report it to the Helix Corp checkpoint | Helix Corp thanks you and seals a side passage. They do it very quickly — like they knew it was there. | +1 Containment |
| B | Investigate it yourself | The side passage leads deeper. Old wiring. A terminal with an interface you don’t recognise. First fragment of something much older. | +1 Evolution |
After the Choice
Both paths converge at the far end of the tunnel. A Helix Corp checkpoint issues Clearance 3 before the player can ask questions. The officer is polite, efficient, and does not make eye contact.
Key Moments
- The tunnel itself — clearly not Silph Co. built, nobody acknowledges this
- First Glitch Effect the player encounters in the environment
- Path A: Helix Corp’s speed is the tell — they knew about that passage
- Path B: The old terminal is unreadable for now, but it’s the first piece of Rocket-era infrastructure the player physically touches
- The checkpoint officer on the far side — something slightly off about how quickly he waves you through
What the Player Learns
- The island’s infrastructure has a history nobody is talking about
- Helix Corp knows more than they’re saying
- The Glitch Effect is real and present, not just a rumour
Converging Path
Both A and B arrive at the main island. Path B players carry an extra fragment of lore that pays off in Clearance 6. All players proceed to Clearance 4.