You're an adventurer in a post-apocalyptic wasteland, who's been recruited to help a secretive and probably evil science organization. Here, the focus is on conversation as combat. On the main menu you can do various things like going outside to gather resources, doing safe labor around the HQ, dropping off scrap, resting, and -- getting repeatedly waylaid by an obnoxious scientist. In these conversations, the scientist is constantly attacking your beliefs: that you're heroic, powerful and useful. If any of these hits 0%, you're emotionally broken enough that you lose the game. You can either "endure" the verbal abuse (weakening your beliefs), take stress (which blocks any attack but can't be used if you reach 5+ stress), or counter by using a memory. You get memories through your actions outside conversation. You're more likely to get those if you raise your skills to level 3+. How do you do that? Drop off scrap at the workshop to learn Scavenging, and ask the scientist to learn Science. You "win" by countering enough attacks that the jerk's belief in you hits 50% in any one area, making his mood Neutral. Once that happens, you'll never need to stress him out again to escape from a conversation; he'll let you go as soon as your turn comes.