Equus Oils

Joseph and Conway outside Equus Oils

Equus Oils is a gas station owned and operated by Joseph Wheatree. It is the first location of the game.

Description

Equus Oils at sunset

Full view of the station and its underground

The station consists of an enormous teal horse statue, only th e head of which reaches above ground. The statue's body stretches deep underneath the station, forming the basement, tanks, and pipes. In the basement is a twisted mess of machinery, a small wooden table, and a rusty sign reading:

THESE ARE THE RULES:

1. No open flames near the gasoline.
2. No consumption of beer or spirits on the premises.
3. In case of sudden darkness, do not panic. Relax. Count backwards from five.
4. Strictly limit time spent in the basement to fewer than three minutes of every hour.

Above ground, there is a small store with wide windows and a dim neon sign reading "Equus Oils." Joseph sits idly in a Queen Anne armchair between two small gas pumps. He has a lantern, a cardboard box, and Weaver's television at his feet.

Act I

Conway meets Joseph.

Conway arrives at Equus at sundown to ask for directions to Dogwood Drive. After some small talk, Joseph informs Conway that he'll need to take the Zero. Since Joseph doesn't know the directions, he asks Conway to fix a breaker in the gas station's basement in order to power on the computer. In the basement, Conway encounters Emily, Ben and Bob for the first time -- the group is playing a tabletop game but has lost the twenty-sided die. As they won't move out of the way, Conway eventually goes in search of the die, finding it at the far end of a corridor. When he returns, the trio is gone. Conway switches on the power and heads back to the surface, where it has grown dark.

Once power is restored, Conway has access to Joseph's computer.

Act III

If the player returns to Equus during this act, new games will be found on the computer.

Equus Oils' location on the map.

Trivia

• Equus is the biological genus that contains horses, donkeys, and zebras.
• Kentucky Route Zero has a persistent horse motif: the gas station's interior is shaped like a horse's body, entrances to the Zero are marked by horses, and horses feature prominently in the final Act.
• Keeping with Kentucky Route Zero's themes of acting and performance, Equus Oils may be named for Equus, a 1973 play by Peter Shaffer, in which a psychiatrist attempts to treat a teenager who has a psychotic obsession with horses.
• An inspiration might also be the logo for Equus leather in the UK, which features a horsehead. https://www.equusleather.co.uk/