Storylines - Chewing Gerbil
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Volume / Series 1

Arc No.
Name
Summary
Link (When it happens)
1
Welcome to My World
When Asha's sister Manju stops answering her family's calls, they decide to invstigate until they're visited by a strange man. He requests Asha to visit a nearby address and to "ask for the Chewing Gerbil", who turns out to be a kid named Max McMahon. Together, they traverse the virtual world to help break Manju out from the grasp of CompuHood, but since they're about as in the dark as each other, it may prove to be a risky undertaking.

2
Anything and Everything
After learning of her sister's experience, Asha posts a video to Reelz, intended to expose the inner-workings of CompuHood and their comrades in CORPONET. Once this gets out, CORPONET responds by releasing a secret weapon, concocted by the team of Mr. R, Reelz's CEO. This weapon is a video, designed to kill the viewer's attention span and hook them on similar brain-rotting content, distracting them from Asha's message. Now, Max and Asha must team up again, to save their town from this online mind-virus, especially since Max's crush, Carrie St. Clair, is among the many infected.

3
The Only One Who Could Ever Reach Me
Asha comes across an annoying user online, pestering people about pizza toppings in every comment section. She calls him out for his behaviour and forgets about the encounter for a couple of hours, but this all changes, when she receives a strange pizza delivery straight to her house. What's inside isn't a pizza, but rather a bomb, and after connecting the dots, she runs over to ask Max for help. He tells her that she had spoken to "The Pizza Man", a sadistic troll who tracks down and kills anyone who argues with him online. Together, they track this monstrous man down, all while trying to figure out how his operation works, so that nobody will have to come across him or his lackeys ever again.

4
Love Bomb
Shortly before his 13th birthday, Max has a strange dream involving his new friend Asha. This leaves him feeling uneasy, even whilst trying to defend Geo-City during an offensive by CORPONET, as developing hormones leave him distracted by her. Upon noticing this, the nigh-seen Big Man T makes a suggestion to CORPONET, proposing to air-drop some of his content into Geo-City, turning its citizens into mindless consumers. It's a race against the clock to free the city's troops from this drug, before CORPONET can sweep in and take over Geo-City once and for all.

5
Pick a Size
After noticing that her younger cousin Puja isn't eating as much as she used to, Asha investigates with Max as to the cause of this behavioural change, as Puja's parents suggest that these insecurities started after she created an account on Oggl. The pair learn that on this site, Puja is caught in the middle of a conflict between the "Lizzies" and the "Berthas", two warring factions promoting two dangerous diets.

6
In For a Penny
When his father has to leave home after being called up for yet another late shift, Max ventures into Geo-City to find a different way to make money, so that him and his parents can spend more time together. In his search through the "Dollar Square" sector, a shady businessman signs Max up to his new cryptocurrency, "Koos-Coin", something he claims is doing so well, that you can make tons of it "just by existing". Max learns however, that this means his own digital-self is being used to mine this coin, and he has to put a stop to this crook before his virtual form ceases to exist.

7
Operation: Zerg Rush
After months of preperation, Max, Asha and the rest of the Barlow Crew prepare to re-take their first territory from the grasp of CORPONET: An art-sharing website named "WebCanvas". In the midst of their first intense battle, the pair are also dealing with their own personal dilemmas. Asha wonders if it is worth pressing on for her sister or if she should look for a more permanent occupation, whilst Max contends with the possibility that he might be developing feelings for Asha.


(A total of about 5 volumes/series are being planned. I'm at the broad strokes for each of them, though I'll reveal more once they become concrete.)