introduction log.

[falsitates]

JUNE 1, 2021

The first day of summer - it’s unbearably hot. Temperatures are high and relentless, and without a single cloud in the sky, the sun blazes down heavily on the unlucky few stuck outside.

Weather predictions warn of an intense heatwave that’ll last all week long. The young and elderly are advised to stay indoors and hydrated, and anyone with the symptoms of a heat stroke is urged to head straight to the city hospital. Schools are temporarily closed until new air conditioners can be installed, and businesses come to a slow grind as many call out sick from heat exhaustion.

The city warns that it’s going to be a long seven days.

  NEWCOMERS

You wake up.

You’re left to your own devices. You have a vague memory of the last few moments of your time back in your world, in familiar surroundings, but you’re now somewhere new. Whether you’ve awoken on an unknown rooftop, in a stranger’s bedroom, behind cell bars, or under six feet of water - you know that you’re no longer at home.

You’re on your own for the time being. You must escape whatever predicament that you’ve found yourself in and find answers to your own questions. What brings you here? How did you arrive? What happened to your friends and family? You have an hour to explore and speak with the people of this world before your time runs out.

Something then vibrates in your pocket.

  RESIDENTS & NEWCOMERS

Your phone vibrates.

It buzzes incessantly until you pick it up, but when you look at the screen, it’s blank. It will not turn on, no matter how hard you press the buttons. It’s possible that it overheated and shut down, but it’s unusually cold to the touch, almost as if you’re touching a brick of ice. Then, seemingly out of nowhere, white text appears on a black background.

Decryption confirmed.

Condition green.

Booting program.

The screen goes dark once more. Seconds later, new words are typed.

WELCOME TO [ AVA ]

→ MISSION 001
HEAD TO THE CITY CROSSWALK BY 1500. FIND THE [ OTHERS ]. YOUR REWARD WILL BE ANNOUNCED THEN. FAILURE IS NOT AN OPTION.

  WELCOME TO [ AVA ]

You can't avoid the mission; you don't have any choice. Any attempt to ignore or avoid it is futile, as convenient coincidences occur all around you as a motivator to go.

Did you have work? For some inexplicable reason, your shift has been cancelled. Were you trying to get some rest? The fire alarm went off and you were evacuated from your home. Did you attempt to travel to another part of the city? The sidewalks and roads have been closed due to a sudden blackout.

No matter what you do, you are compelled to head to the city crosswalk.

For the middle of the afternoon, it's unusually quiet and empty. Despite the heat warning, there should still be more than just a handful of you and a few others, but you won't have the time to ponder about it. Your phone finally reboots and appears to be back to normal - or so it seems. You've got a new app.

[ AVA ]

It's an icon with a white eye. It stares at you, and the screen remains frozen until you press it. It then starts the initialization process.

WELCOME TO [ AVA ]

PEACEFUL DAYS ARE OVER

ALEA IACTA EST

The text vanishes, revealing the app's interface. It's an online social media network with public forums and private messaging, but it's completely devoid of content. It currently only contains the user profiles of those who have signed up for the app, and you are one of them. Your full name, date of birth, personal address, height, weight, and a mugshot that you don't recall taking are all listed on your profile.

You quickly discover that you have no way of deleting or even editing your information. You can't even get rid of the app. The option simply does not exist.

Minutes after opening [ AVA ], you receive a notification. There have been two new forum posts. MISSION 002 and MISSION 003 are the names of the new threads. You open them to read.

→ MISSION 002
NEWCOMERS, WELCOME TO VITAE. YOUR GOAL FOR THE NEXT TWO WEEKS IS TO SURVIVE. IF YOU ARE ALIVE TO SEE THE MIDDLE OF THE MONTH, YOU WILL BE GREATLY REWARDED.

→ MISSION 003
RESIDENTS, BE AWARE OF YOUR ENVIRONMENT. YOU ARE NOT ALLOWED TO LEAVE THIS CITY. ONLY TRUST THE PEOPLE YOU KNOW. YOUR COMPENSATION WILL BE PROVIDED IN TWO WEEKS' TIME.

These threads allow you to leave comments. What do you do now?

Comments

[stormsoff]

.... nothing? I just wanna help.

[rago]

[Nothing will be owed.]

It is. Complicated.

[He steps closer to Isaac to let him look at the collar.]

[stormsoff]

[ Isaac kneels down, inwardly glad of his jeans protecting him from the hot concrete and wondering if the cat’s paws are okay. He’ll reach out gently so as not to startle and start to try and work on the collar. He hasn’t had a pet before either—he hasn’t had to use anything like this... ]

Geez... how’d they attach a phone to a collar, anyway? That’s messed up they’d do that to a cat. This thing’s way too big for you, and how’re you supposed to use it, anyway? [ Not yet knowing, of course, that Rago’s phone reads things aloud. He thinks it’s a useless brick to this poor cat, and the injustice clearly galls him. ] Those jerks.

[rago]

[At least now he knows the talking brick is a phone, and he knows they are for communication over long distances.]

It speaks! Like the rectangle.

[stormsoff]

It ... speaks? [ 3... 2... 1... ] Oh, you mean it dictates things to you? ... this old thing??

[ Isaac finally, successfully, gets the collar off, and shows the Nokia brick phone to Rago. ]

This is a pretty old phone. It’s weird that it can dictate to you, but ... not any weirder than the rest of this, I guess. ... by the way, “rectangle”?

[rago]

[Rago backs away from the offending item as soon as it's removed, and swipes his paw at the phone. Not to destory it, but as a gesture of malcontent.]

The rectangle!

[He says it as if Isaac should know which rectangle, and what it is.]

It spoke to me too, with Amagi's face! The glowing rectangle shown to me when I woke. He wasn't there in the room, he was in the rectangle!

[Slowly, he moves forward again to examine the phone.]

The rectangle was larger, and flatter.

[It was a tablet.]

1/2

[stormsoff]

[ with anyone else Isaac would probably get pissed off at this behavior





but this is a cat, so he just kind of takes a moment to process all of ... that ]

[stormsoff]

[ Isaac sits back on his heels, one hand cupping his chin thoughtfully as the other holds up the collar and phone so Rago can inspect both ]

He was in the rectangle ... sounds like a TV or computer. Probably the second thing, if this Amagi person was speaking to you. It was probably video chat.

[ Huff. Think, Isaac. ]

Much as I hate to say it, you’re gonna need this phone. But keeping it on a collar seems really uncomfortable for you...

[rago]

Yes. A... video chat.

[He narrows his eyes at the phone.]

What do you suggest I do with it?

[stormsoff]

[ Makes a face. ]

You might want to, I dunno, find a way to keep it with you in a pouch or on a vest or something?

I don’t have a lot of money, but maybe we could find a pet store that might have something that would work...

[rago]

[Rago looks completely aghast at the suggestions presented.]

A vest!?

[How humiliating; collars are one thing, but vests and outfits. He'd seen a lady this morning with a dog in a sparkling pink harness vest and this will not be his destiny.]

A pet store!? Just who the fuck do you think you're talking to, child!? I am the most powerful mononoke!

[His fur standing on end is far less intimidating than his usual black smoke.]

[stormsoff]

Ack—!

[ startled, Isaac falls back on his ass, hissing when the hot concrete burns his hands. He quickly snatches them close into his chest. ]

Jeez, sorry! It’s like talking to King Catnine... Maybe if you’d stop shouting for a second you’d realize I’m trying to help you. Or do you have any other ideas about how to carry this stupid phone? I’m not trying to say you’re a pet, you don’t need to tell me twice! I’m just trying to help!

[rago]

[Rago thrashes his tail for another moment, before approaching Isaac in a more calm manner.]

I do not require this phone. The same messages were sent.

[stormsoff]

[ ...

Isaac gets up, but only back into a crouch. He’s glancing between Rago and the brick phone. ]

Did the phone tell you about the missions we were assigned? Like surviving, and finding people we trust or whatever?

[rago]

[Rago would raise an eyebrow if he had them.]

Yes. You said we all felt the same. My assumption was you had received the same messages.

[stormsoff]

[ Isaac nods. ]

No, you’re right. It’s just...

[ ... ]

I dunno how to say this so I’m gonna just ... say it. I got on the bad side of some scary people, once. No one ever told me what I did to get blacklisted, even though I can guess. [ he says this with a great weight of bitterness, glancing down before he looks up at Rago again. ]

... I’m worried that’ll happen to you if you ditch the phone. Whoever gave us this stuff, they’re strong. They brought us here, after all. We don’t know what they’re capable of. So ...

[ Isaac glances away again, shifting slightly. ]

... if you want I can stick with you, carry your phone. That way you don’t risk making our shadowy overlords mad and you don’t have to wear something stupid. ... you know, if you want.