What work(s) of philosophy does your piece take as its primary source(s)?
Nietzsche, Friedrich. The Gay Science.

Please tell us about your piece.
Narrativized as one possible prequel to Nietzsche’s _Thus Spake Zarathustra_, _The Evil Hour_ juxtaposes Nietzsche’s prior work _The Joyful Wisdom_ (sometimes translated as “_The Gay Science_”) with Augustine’s early work on _True Religion_, situating both pieces as life-affirming answers to the spiritual threat of negative self-talk. The narrative setting of a Zarathustra character's origin story functions strictly in service of the work’s chief aim: to see _The Gay Science_ and _True Religion_ in a new light.

More specifically, _The Evil Hour_ points to parallels between these two works through the accusations hurled at Z by S, the game’s primary antagonist. Having been branded a heretic by his colleagues in the Priestly Council, Z faces an imminent threat of death by hemlock; S, who would have Z go the way of Socrates rather than escape with his life, seeks to draw Z into a self-destructive nihilism. In response, Z can answer S’s remarks with verses drawn from Nietzsche or Augustine, illustrating how _The Joyful Wisdom_ and _True Religion_ address comparable issues in comparable ways.

A secondary purpose of this game is to suggest an alternative interpretation of the four-book structure of _The Gay Science_. Passages selected from Nietzsche are intended to be (relatively) representative of the Book (I, II, III, or IV) in which they are located. Scholars are invited to consider whether any merit might be found in mapping S’s four disparagements to the core themes of the four books included in the first (1882) edition of Nietzsche’s work (disregarding for the moment the Prologue and fifth Book added in 1887).

What other sources have you used in your piece?
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ohvVHeedpwDnxkDeYRYwn2mkVm-HTKdHJQWCSOIWvbY/edit?usp=sharing