I’m thrilled to read your compliments. Thank you. I appreciate your thoughts and although you signed up to comment on this game, I hope you stick around. There are a lot of great games and cool people in this community.
First, I’ll answer your questions about Kel, Ashton and Doctor. These answers are nothing new and can be found in the currently playable version of the game, but the information is scattered. There are two versions of the scene with the machine ‘Poppy.’ One involves Doctor more and requires a loyalty score of five or more. The other involves Alyce more and requires a loyalty score below 5.
The version that involves Doctor contains information, but this information is filtered since Doctor is the one telling it. The other version contains more unbiased information as the MC is able to search Doctor’s bookcase and his cabinet to find first-hand accounts.
You can stop reading here if you’d rather play it for yourself, but otherwise I’ll tell you what you can find. In his journal Doctor mentions that Poppy adopted the twins. Later Doctor grafted their demonic traits onto them. They aren’t actually genetic monstrosities. So, yes, their lifespans are normal. There are ways for the MC to cheat their fate that come up in later chapters.
Now, here are some of my own thoughts on Doctor. This is also info already in the game, albeit scattered. Doctor is a very average scientist at best. He had a modicum amount of respect with his colleagues, but he isn’t naturally brilliant. Poppy was actually more brilliant than he, but she didn’t have the same opportunities as Doctor. She created the cloning machine initially. Doctor controlled Poppy, and then controls Kel, Ashton and the others. He grafts the freakish features onto the twins and the MC and also messes Carmelle’s mind up so that they’re stuck in the apartment with him. He created an environment he can completely control, one completely dependent on him, one that reinforces his ego. Essentially, Doctor is an insecure person, and his insecurity has made him delusional. He isn’t brought down by his genius. His folly is his lack of it, and his inability to accept this.
But, of course, you’re the good Doctor.
@Nocturnal_Stillness
Thank you and no problem. I understand! It’s hard enough to live your own life and do your own work, much less take on someone else’s. And, unfortunately, this turned out to be a task only I could really complete myself. Some of the organization is so messy that even I, the author, had trouble parsing it and trying to figure out my original intentions, much less someone else.
But you’ve been a great supporter, which means a lot to me.