The back of the gift shop is darker than the rest of the Shack, cluttered with old boxes and things labeled in Sharpie you wisely decide not to touch.

You were just looking for extra inventory… well at least, that’s what you thought you were doing before you found the hidden vending machine, the strange keypad, and the giant metal door that definitely wasn’t on the employee tour.

Now the door hisses shut behind you.

The room beyond is enormous.

Machines buzz overhead, wires snake across the floor, and glowing monitors cast strange green light over stacks of journals, blueprints, and half-finished experiments. Somewhere deeper in the lab, something growls mechanically before going silent.

You stare.

“…Whoa.”

“WHOA IS RIGHT—!”

You jump nearly a foot as as a man (who looks like Stan) whirls around from the far side of the lab, six-fingered hands clutching some sort of sparking device. His eyes widen behind his glasses.

“What are you doing down here?!” he demands, voice echoing through the chamber. “This area is highly restricted! There are objects in this lab that can melt your brain, reverse your skeleton, or, in one memorable case, replace your tongue with a live ferret!”

He marches toward you quickly, coat flaring behind him, then abruptly stops halfway.

“…Wait.” His eyes narrow. “You’re the new employee, aren’t you? Stanley mentioned it to me.”

You nod cautiously.

Ford groans, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Of course. Stanley hired another poor citizen without explaining anything.”