You are a betta fish named Pasha who just moved into a new tank. You should take some time to explore [[the tank]].The tank is full of comfortably warm water. Bright light from above streams through the water, refracting through the gentle rippling current at the [[surface]]. Three sides of the tank are clear [[glass]], and one side is solid black.
In one corner of the tank, a tangle of [[roots]] dips down into the water.
Below, a [[driftwood]] log rests on a bed of smooth, tan gravel.
In the back of the tank, a [[strange object]] is attached to the black wall.Roots from a plant fill this corner of [[the tank]], reaching down toward the gravel below. This would be a nice spot to [[rest]].The driftwood lays across the back half of the gravel floor. Its shape forms a slight arc, providing a shady hiding spot near the bottom of the tank. This would be a good place to rest if it weren't so far from the [[surface]].
A branch on one end of the driftwood log reaches up toward the [[strange object]].The water near this strange object feels slightly warmer than the rest of [[the tank]]. The object is a shiny, silvery thing encased in a glass cylinder, with soft black caps on either end. A thin, flexible thing stretches out from the top of the object and out of the surface of the water.
There is a space behind this thing that is big enough to swim through. This looks like a good place to [[hide]].You swim into a dense tangle of soft [[roots]] near the [[surface]] of the water and rest for a while.You swim up to the glass, which forms an invisible barrier between you and the [[foreign landscape]] beyond.
As you approach, another fish appears on the other side of the glass barrier and swims toward you. He is also a betta fish, with a white body and fins of blue and red. You could (text-style:"expand")[[flare]] your fins at him to let him know this is your territory, or you could ignore him and find something else to do in [[the tank]].
It looks like there's (text-style:"blurrier")+(color:#4169e1)[[something big]] moving in the foreign landscape...You dart into the space behind the [[strange object]], where you feel safe.Beyond the glass walls of the tank exists a colorful landscape of (text-style:"blurrier")[foreign objects]. Sometimes, you can see (text-style:"blurrier")+(color:#4169e1)[[something big]] moving around out there.You flare your fins at the other fish, and he does the same. You swim quickly to the left, and the other fish does, too. You try swimming to the right, and the other fish meets you there. As long as you flare your fins and swim at the challenger, he does the same, but the glass seems to be keeping you apart.
This could go on forever...
Eventually, you lose interest and find something else to do in [[the tank]].(text-style:"blur")+(text-size:1.5)[Something big] is approaching the tank. Should you (text-style:"shudder")[[hide]] or (text-style:"expand")[[stand your ground]]?You swim up to the surface of the water, which swirls and flows gently. Bright white light streams into [[the tank]] from a source above. You can [[gulp]] some air here or build a [[bubble raft]] near the [[roots]].You gulp some air from the [[surface]] to breathe.
(text-colour:grey)[//As a betta, you cannot get all of the oxygen you need through your gills, so you must surface periodically.//]You catch bubbles of air in your mouth and release them in the water, one at a time, to build a raft of bubbles at the [[surface]] of the water, in the corner by the [[roots]].(text-style:"blur")+(text-size:2)[Something big] comes up to the tank and looks at you through the [[glass]] for a little while before going away.