Mitchell Simm
Mitchell Rav Simm is the son of Perry Simm and Jill Simm. His full name, revealed when examining him as a baby, honors both his grandfather and Perry’s mentor: “Your son, Mitchell Rav Simm, was named for your father and for your mentor” (apartment.zil, BABY-F, lines 1627-1628). Across the decades, Mitchell’s arc takes him from a beloved infant to a cold, unrecognizable agent of theocracy — one of the most devastating character trajectories in interactive fiction.
Infancy (2041)
In 2041, Mitchell is a baby. He sleeps in a crib in the bedroom, alongside a toy rubber duck (apartment.zil, TOY). His description: “He’s sleeping peacefully, his little face scrunched up in a cute mask of baby fat” (BABY-F, lines 1628-1629).
Perry can hold the baby, but cannot leave the apartment with him — the APARTMENT-EXIT-F routine checks HELD? BABY: “Jill yells, ‘Perry! Don’t take Mitchell outside! He’ll get a chill!’” (apartment.zil, lines 477-478). When Jill takes the baby from Perry: “As Jill takes the baby he begins crying. ‘Perry, you’ve woken him up!’ She begins rocking Mitchell gently. ‘There, there, it’s okay, go to sleep, that’s a good little boy’” (apartment.zil, JILL-F, lines 1362-1364).
When Perry talks to the baby: “Mitchell, waking for a moment, coos happily at the sound of your voice” (BABY-F, line 1614). Perry is unable to bathe him: “Although, as much as possible, you try to share with Jill the chores and pleasures of taking care of Mitchell, bathing him is one area where you’re completely helpless” (lines 1618-1620).
Childhood (2051)
In 2051, Mitchell is “a healthy, sturdy boy of nearly eleven years” (apartment.zil, MITCHELL-F, line 630). He lives behind a thin partition in the living room — “Mitchell deserves his privacy” when Perry tries to look behind it (PARTITION-F, line 579).
His daily routine is tracked by the MITCHELL-COUNTER (apartment.zil, lines 658-663):
| Counter | Activity | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | Sleeping | Nowhere |
| 1 | Getting ready for school | Living Room |
| 2 | At school | Nowhere |
| 3 | Playing electronic logic game | Living Room |
| 4 | Doing homework | Living Room |
Mitchell’s schedule: wakes up around 7:43 AM, starts getting ready for school; leaves around 8:25 AM with “Hi, Dad! See you later!” (interrupts.zil, I-MITCHELL, lines 621-623); returns around 4:51 PM: “‘I’m home!’ … He pulls out his favorite electronic logic game and settles into a corner” (lines 596-611); switches to homework around 6:40 PM (lines 574-578); says goodnight around 10:54 PM: “‘Good night, Dad.’ Mitch gives you a quick kiss and goes to his ‘room’ on the other side of the partition” (lines 565-567).
Mitchell is studious but playful. When Perry tries to interrupt him: “‘Please, Dad! I’m trying to do my homework!’” (MITCHELL-F, lines 616-624). Jill glows when talking about him: “I’m so happy about Mitch — he’s healthy, he’s handsome, he’s studious — what more could a parent ask for?” (apartment.zil, JILL-F, lines 1198-1199).
Joining the Church (2061)
The tragedy unfolds in 2061. When Perry arrives home, Jill Simm triggers the I-JILL routine with MITCHELL-NEWS-FLAG. Jill sobs that Mitchell “has gone off and joined the Church of God’s Word. He came and collected all his stuff about an hour ago. He said he’s going to an orientation camp in Arizona. He says he’ll never be able to speak to you or me again unless we join the Church” (interrupts.zil, I-JILL, lines 274-278).
The partition in the living room now shows signs of his departure: “Some of Mitchell’s stuff seems to be missing” (apartment.zil, PARTITION-DESCFCN, lines 586-587). Mitchell is gone — he does not appear in the game world again as an interactable character until 2071.
The Enforcer (2071)
Mitchell’s return in 2071 is the game’s most brutal scene — the climax of the family tragedy. He comes not as a son but as a Church authority figure, leading “six or eight heavily armed Church police” into the apartment (apartment.zil, I-MITCHELL-RAID, lines 1699-1701).
The scene is worth quoting extensively:
“The ten years since you last saw him have left scant change on the face of your son. ‘Mitchell!’ you yell, and take a step toward him, but a blow from one of the cops sends your frail, old body flying against the wall.”
“‘She is the one.’ The voice is Mitchell’s, but the tone is cold, unrecognizable, sending shivers through you. He raises a fur-clad arm, pointing at his mother without a hint of emotion. ‘She spake against the Church; she tried to poison the mind of a child too young to know the Truth.’”
“The thugs grab Jill, who reaches toward Mitchell, tears of terror streaming down her face. Totally unresponsive, he turns and walks calmly out of the apartment.”
(apartment.zil, I-MITCHELL-RAID, lines 1705-1715)
Perry is beaten and left on the floor — “the apartment door slams closed, shutting you off forever from the son you cannot understand and the wife you will never see again” (lines 1719-1720). This scene is worth 9 points on the score table (score item 120).
Redemption (2091 Epilogue)
In the epilogue’s successful ending, Mitchell has broken free of the Church. He appears on the skycab’s viewscreen as Perry and Jill travel to the spaceport:
“Mitchell’s face appears. ‘Hi, Mom, Dad! I wanted to wish you bon voyage, and I enlisted a little help!’ He expands the field of vision to include the entire living room of his spacious apartment at the Marine Biology Institute in Nova Scotia. The room is filled with your grandchildren and great-grandchildren, plus various in-laws, more than twenty members of the Simm clan. Everyone is hooting, yelling, waving, and blowing kisses.”
(interrupts.zil, I-SKYCAB, lines 916-921)
He has become a marine biologist — a profession dedicated to understanding and preserving life, a complete reversal from his role as Church enforcer. The clan sings Auld Lang Syne over the viewscreen, and Jill’s eyes fill with tears as Perry realizes his own are too (lines 924-926).