Perry Simm

Perry Simm is the human avatar that PRISM becomes when entering Simulation Mode. He is a writer living in Parkview Apartments in Rockvil, married to Jill Simm and father to Mitchell Simm. Through Perry, PRISM experiences five decades of projected future — from 2041 to 2081 — witnessing the gradual collapse of American democracy into a brutal theocratic dictatorship.

Identity and Occupation

Perry is a writer. In his apartment’s living room, “in one corner is the old word processor where you do your writing” (apartment.zil, LIVING-ROOM-F, lines 451-453). The word processor is described as “an old model, but it was the best WP you could afford” (apartment.zil, WORD-PROCESSOR-F, line 494). Perry isn’t always in the mood: examining the word processor and trying to write yields “You’re not in the proper mood for writing” (line 496).

His financial prospects are uncertain. In 2041, Jill mentions that if the economy keeps going well “and someone buys your Africa book, we might be able to afford a house next year!” (interrupts.zil, I-JILL, lines 542-544). The recurring mention of his agent suggests he works on a freelance or book-contract basis.

Life in Parkview Apartments

Perry lives with Jill in the Parkview Apartments complex. Their unit consists of a living room, bedroom, kitchen, and bathroom. The living room features Jill’s easel in a well-lit spot near the window, a couch, and a thin partition separating Mitchell’s sleeping area. The apartment door is on the south wall.

Perry carries a key to the apartment (apartment.zil, APARTMENT-DOOR-F requires the key to unlock from outside). When he knocks and Jill answers: “‘Hi, hon! Forget your key?’ She gives you a peck on the cheek and walks into the apartment” (lines 397-399).

Daily Life

Perry navigates Rockvil — he shops at Dunbar’s department store in Rockvil Centre, eats at The Coachman, travels on the skybus and Tube transit systems. His shopping experiences decline with the years:

• 2041: Buys a “brightly colored myalon sweater that fits you perfectly” at Dunbar’s (rockvil.zil, CLOTHES-F, lines 174-176)
• 2051/2061: Buys a “thin, imitation wool vest” after “wincing at the prices” (lines 178-179)
• 2071: Dunbar’s requires an appointment, and a security guard sneers at Perry: “Do you have an appointment?” (rockvil.zil, DUNBARS-ENTER-F, lines 44-45)

The Coachman, where he eats, degrades across the decades — by 2071 it’s “off limits to ‘animals’” (prism.zil, score item 42).

Physical Suffering

Perry’s body bears the marks of the deteriorating world. The V-DIAGNOSE verb reveals his condition:

• After a mugging: “You have some tender bruises from the beating you received. Also, your head throbs from the blow you took during the mugging” (verbs.zil, V-DIAGNOSE, lines 48-52; globals.zil, HEAD-THROBS)
• After the Mitchell raid in 2071: Perry is BRUISED — a cop “pummels you in the stomach with his club. You fall to the floor, retching” (apartment.zil, I-MITCHELL-RAID, lines 1718-1719)
• In 2081 (the bonus year beyond the simulation’s normal span): Perry is “weak from hunger, a dangerous condition at your age. Your last meal was… you can’t even remember. You remember picking at the remains of a squirrel, but that might have been weeks ago” (verbs.zil, V-DIAGNOSE, lines 57-61)

Encounters with Authority

Perry is repeatedly victimized by the state:

• Mugging: Occurs on the streets with increasing likelihood each decade (rockvil.zil, line 4030 sets MUGGED flag)
• Arrest: Violating curfew lands Perry in jail: “A police car pulls up next to you and a burly cop gets out. He discovers that you have no curfew pass and hustles you into the rear. Minutes later, you are flung into a tiny cell” (interrupts.zil, I-CURFEW, lines 766-770)
• BSF Raids: The Border Security Force raids his apartment in 2051, 2061, and 2071, each year more violent than the last
• Beaten in 2071: During the Mitchell raid, a policeman sends “your frail, old body flying against the wall” (apartment.zil, I-MITCHELL-RAID, line 1707)

The 2071 Tragedy

In 2071, Perry endures the ultimate loss. His son Mitchell Simm, now a Church enforcer, leads police into the apartment to arrest Jill Simm as a heretic. Mitchell points at his mother: “She spake against the Church; she tried to poison the mind of a child too young to know the Truth.” As Jill is dragged away screaming, Perry tries to follow but is beaten down. The apartment door slams shut, “shutting you off forever from the son you cannot understand and the wife you will never see again” (apartment.zil, I-MITCHELL-RAID, lines 1709-1720).

The Epilogue (2091)

In the game’s successful ending, Perry and Jill are still together — they live in a spacious penthouse apartment with a solarium and patio (apartment.zil, EPILOGUE-LIVING-ROOM). They take a skycab to the spaceport and board the Silver Dove to an orbital habitat. Mitchell, now a marine biologist at an institute in Nova Scotia, appears on the viewscreen with the entire extended Simm clan — “more than twenty members” — singing Auld Lang Syne. Jill’s eyes are wet, and “a second later you realize that yours are, as well” (interrupts.zil, I-SKYCAB, lines 913-926).