The World
Bill Gates decided to go to law school. Steve Jobs became a machinist (like his father).
There is no Apple. No Microsoft. No Google. No Tesla. No Internet. No cellphones.
Alcohol is illegal and prohibition has remained in effect for over 100 years.
In order to curb illegal drinking, the government has spent extensive resources on the Bureau of Prohibition,
training “wet” agents to seek out speakeasies and distributors. Regardless, alcohol still flows and those who
don’t get caught selling it, reap the power and money that goes along with it.
Hydrogen cars are the norm, guns are non-existent and there’s a simplisticness to the world that renders it less
volatile than ours. But underneath, something feels wrong. There’s a constant itch that cannot be scratched,
that something, somewhere is not how it should be.
The Story
The story of 486 is all about peeling back layers, level by level.
The Bureau of Prohibition has a problem: Illegal alcohol distribution has exploded and they are unable to contain it.
Even worse, every wet agent they’ve sent out to investigate has died. There are no agents left, except one:
A raging alcoholic who was exiled by the agency. A man who cannot live without alcohol, but becomes powerful when
intoxicated. He is the UNKNOWN MAN.
After Unknown Man was arrested for drinking & fighting the night before, the bureau offers him a pardon in exchange
for helping them with a simple task: Enter an underground drinking competition, find a way to get to the top of
The Tower and retrieve the data
from the terminal (computer). He is contestant #486.
It becomes instantly obvious this isn’t a simple task and this isn’t an ordinary building. Like a video game,
Unknown Man will have to fight, drink, dance, race, sing, solve, skate and joust his way up 100 floors (levels)
to get what the bureau wants. Every floor a new challenge.
Unknown Man’s only motivator is revenge. He doesn’t care about freedom. He only cares about facing the man at the
top level: MR. DRINK. The man responsible for turning him into an alcoholic, after he volunteered to be in
Mr. Drink’s experiment years prior. Why would he do that? It was a desperate attempt to win over SOFIE,
Unknown Man’s obsession at the bureau who just happens to be Mr. Drink’s daughter. The experiment cost him his job,
his chance with Sofie, and his life. He is a shell of who he was and thus refuses to go by his real name:
“That man is dead.”
As Unknown Man scales each level, the mysteries around him and the world begin to unravel. Each floor will present
him new challenges, both physically and mentally. He’ll meet new friends and old foes. And ultimately he’ll uncover
how Mr. Drink has become so rich and powerful - BY USING TECHNOLOGY FROM OUR WORLD and turning
The Tower into
another experiment.
The Agency
UNKNOWN MAN is broken. But it wasn’t always that way. Before his addiction to alcohol, he was a top
wet agent at the Bureau of Prohibition and excelled as a terminal programmer. Athletic, smart, and often well liked.
He’s also a master of Wing Chun martial arts.
Today, he has built-up resentment for what happened to him and blames everyone but himself. His infatuation with
Sofie built up to near obsession at one point. To try and prove himself to her, he volunteered to be part
of an experimental program that tried to make agents immune to alcohol. The program failed, leaving him to be
entirely dependent on alcohol. Now, he's lost that infatuation and really lives for one reason: to find the man
who did this to him and punish him. That man happens to be Sofie's father, Mr. Drink. Unknown Man did truly
love and care about one thing, his cat BUD. An orange tabby he rescued after being booted from the agency.
Or as he says, “I didn’t save Bud. Bud saved me”. Bud’s death caused Unknown Man to lash out, leading to Sofie
finding him in jail the next day.
SOFIE Assistant Director at Bureau of Prohibition. Cheap. She does her job, and does it well, but isn’t driven
by some grandeur of success. She bounces between guilt for what happened to Unknown Man and anger for feeling that
way. She never had the feelings for him as he did for her, but the guilt continues. She remains furious at her
father (Mr. Drink) and has completely disowned him.
PORTER runs the Bureau of Prohibition. He has an affinity for clocks and an obsession with being punctual.
He acted as a father figure to Unknown Man and is the only person besides Sofie at the agency who knows what
happened to him.
His relationship with Mr. Drink often balanced between respect and jealousy, and privately considered himself
inferior to Mr. Drink’s intellect. Their relationship was further complicated by the discovery of the
“Jbonze Protocol” leaving Porter no choice but to exile Mr. Drink and create a life-long enemy.
CARL is a terminal programmer at the agency and has replaced Unknown Man’s technical responsibilities.
Quiet and awkward. He loves doughnut sticks and tinkering with technology. He works closely with Mick who
often treats him like a younger brother.
He’s terrified of cats and even more terrified of Unknown Man.
MICK works the beat at the agency. She’s overly confident, overly aggressive and tells the worst jokes.
She hates the rain, as it messes up her hair and leather jacket.
She bullies Carl on a daily basis, but secretly looks to him as her only true friend.
She can’t operate a terminal computer or any technology to save her life and relies on Carl for help.
She’s embarrassed to admit she loves to read, listens to classical music and is also a history buff.
The Initiative
MR. DRINK is lethally charismatic and drunk with power. Father to Sofie, Mr. Drink started his career as the
Head of Research at the Bureau of Prohibition. He was convinced he could make agents and eventually all people
immune to alcohol. He launched “The Jbonze Protocol” and experimented on wet agents without the bureau’s knowledge.
The experiment killed everyone except Unknown Man. When it was discovered what he was doing, the agency punished,
tortured and exiled him. He now seeks revenge, by running his experiments to prove them wrong and make them pay.
He calls his project “The Initiative”.
We know little of RNG. We know he is hired by Mr. Drink and operates the game on level 1 of
The Tower ,
but also seems to be able to move freely around the levels. He does not seem to be for or against the cause that
drives Mr. Drink. His entire being is concentrated on “the system”. There must always be a system in place and
there can be no exceptions to the rules of the system. To RNG there must always be a fair balance and the events
that unfold must always be equally random to ensure that balance continues.
MR. DICE was a gang leader until he found himself indebted to Mr. Drink. Out of money and options, Mr. Drink
offered him an opportunity to work for him. He has a heavy gambling addiction and a very short temper.
He works with RNG, but despises his unemotional responses and condescending tone. Mr. Dice secretly has been trying
to find ways to get out from under Mr. Drink’s rule, but fears the consequences could be fatal if he’s caught.
CLEANERS “take care” of the messes in The Tower. They make people disappear and also make sure no one leaves.
They are everywhere and nowhere. It’s uncertain how many cleaners occupy the building or where they came from but
they can appear out of the darkness in a moment's notice. Most are highly skilled in martial arts and none speak.
LOOT is a funny little man. Short, stocky, and clever. He lives in The Tower and is able to slip between
levels without being caught. He makes a living by collecting random items from the building and selling them to
contestants. You can always hear him before you see him, as his backpack and gear clanks about as he approaches.
He loves gossip and telling tales. Age unknown. Origin unknown.
The Tower
The Tower is an imposing, 100-story building and a character in itself.
As each level unfolds, so do the mysteries that surround this place.
Each level a new challenge.
Each level a new opportunity.
Each level a chance to fight back.
Level 3: Elevator
Level 3: Room
Level 48: Elevator
Level 48: Room
The Void
57 68 61 74 20 69 73 20 74 68 65 20 76 6F 69 64 3F 20 57 68 79
20 69 73 20 69 74 20 68 65 72 65 3F 20 57 68 79 20 69 73 20 74
65 63 68 6E 6F 6C 6F 67 79 20 66 72 6F 6D 20 6F 75 72 20 77 6F
72 6C 64 20 63 6F 6D 69 6E 67 20 74 68 72 6F 75 67 68 3F 20 57
68 6F 20 6D 61 64 65 20 74 68 69 73 3F
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