Using this online version of the game, Papers Please.
Whichever side of the fence you’re going to be on, the one presenting the papers or the one examining them.
The NZ Police might like to consider letting their officers play this game so they can be ready for work on the Southern and Northern borders of Auckland city.
You play the role of a serious man – an inspector on the border between countries that are enemies. The events take place in 1982 in a fictional state Arstotzka. The main character gets the job on the border and controls the immigration process. All the migrants are trying to enter the territory of your country, but not all of them do. The reason is pretty simple – after the war ended, the enemies keep on trying to sneak on these territories. Each day, they will enter your office one by one, showing their documents, and trying to convince you that they can be trusted. Be careful – the task is to distinguish evil guys from ordinary people, keep the villains away, and let people enter. The more migrants you check, the higher you rating becomes. Not only you grow as a professional and get more chances to become the best worker. Also, you receive in-game cash for every session. This cash is spendable and you are the one to decide how to use them. The choice is yours!
Well I was once young and not a soldier and I met a young German girl at a youth hostel in Gisborne.
I chased her around East Cape and 6 months later went to Germany to pursue my amorous side. We traveled all around Germany in a little Green French car called “Hopper” that vwoukd only do 110 kpmh in the fast lane so overtaking trucks was more exciting than sex.
Anyway we made it to her home village and it was 1982.
The Poms had just cleaned up the Argies, but I digress.
Anyways here little village was close to Braunschweig so I caught the local train there and swapped to the train heading for West Berlin. She didnt want to come as she hated the police state as personified by the two Berlins, West free, and East under socialist control.
On the train before the border defining freedom and tyranny I met an Irishman, or rather I fear he met me by a process off selection. We reached the border and the train stopped and the East German border police climbed aboard.
Even in my naivety of my early 20’s I knew something wasn’t right when he said to me, can you look after my bag while I go forward on the train. After 30 seconds thought I stood up, grabbed my pack and headed to the south end of the train. To this day I don’t know hat happened to him or his bag he asked me to look after.
I made it safely to the youth hostel in Berlin after turning on the Kiwi charm to a border policeman who looked suspiciously like a man. It was the light smattering of hair on the upper lip that made identification positively difficult.
One of the joys I learnt about West Berlin and freedom was the Telephone Tower in East Berlin. It was very tall and had a bulbous encirclement at the top that was full of glass windows.
I observed in the afternoon the occurrence called “the Popes Revenge”. The sun moved around much like the video in this post, but in the late afternoon it caught the glass on the high levels of the bulbous protuberance and formed a cross.
This glowing golden cross was visible all over East Berlin and hence was called “The Popes Revenge”.
Whether it was planned or just hap pence chance I dont know
None the same I made it safely back to West Germany.
What became of the German romance is the subject of another post but it s all about twists in the road of growing up.
My life would have been totally different if I had walked one path rather than the other!