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]

Why were you in a fountain though??

[ this man is a disaster he should get down there ]

Just hold on, I’m coming down!!

[tothemetal]

I dun- oh, uh, sure!

[it's probably better if the kid comes down here anyway, he thinks as he rocks back on the balls of his heels, obediently awaiting Isaac's descent. if they keep shouting like this they're bound to draw attention, and the last thing he wants is to make anybody else's day even a little uncomfortable.

(the fact he's been walking around this foreign city dripping wet the whole time doesn't connect with the current train of thought.)]

[stormsoff]

[ brb small teen clambering down a fire escape while muttering the ENTIRE TIME to himself in apparent irritation

the very last level is only 10 feet off the ground and instead of kicking the ladder down and descending he

jumps down

and like

dodge rolls?

when he hits the ground

because that’s a thing normal teenagers do. ]

Phew. [ Gets to his feet and rounds on this guy. ]

Wow, you really are soaked. What, did you wake up in a fountain or something?

[tothemetal]

[no, that seems pretty normal to Styx. like, how are you going to get the ladder back up after you've finished using it? what if somebody walks into it while you're trying to get the thing back into place? it's a lot less obtrusive to jump down like that, especially if you're as athletic as Isaac seems to be. the feat does earn him a small smattering of applause, because the big guy is as earnest as he is stupid.]

Hey, that was fucking killer!

[oh, uh. his cheeks briefly flare pink when he realizes he probably shouldn't be cursing in front of kids. gotta be more careful about that going forward.]

But how'd you know, dude? Were you hanging around when it happened?

[Styx, it's just a turn of phrase...he didn't actually watch you suddenly wake up in a fountain...]

1/2

[stormsoff]

Heh, you think?

[ TOTALLY SOAKS UP THAT PRAISE ]

[stormsoff]

And uh no I just guessed cuz I woke up on the roof of that building [ points at the building that he just descended from ] and it seemed logical the same thing happened to you except with a fountain instead of a roof.

[tothemetal]

Yeah, totally!

[oh, but Isaac is continuing to speak even after Styx has fed his ego appropriately. the big guy laughs and rubs at the back of his head, gaze wandering up in the direction his companion's pointing. all the way up there, huh? that must have been one hell of a nap.]

's still a good guess, dude. Never would've figured something like that out if it was me, haha! Good thing you're not scared of heights, huh?

[don't make assumptions, Styx......]

[stormsoff]

[ ... this guy is definitely an adult, right? And he couldn’t figure that out??

... but he thinks Isaac’s cool so.

Not really knowing what to make of this guy, Isaac huffs a laugh and shrugs. ]

Nah, not really. Guess you’re right about that. C’mon, let’s go find a way for you to get dried off, or maybe the heat’ll do it for us if we just keep walking. What’s your name, anyway?

[tothemetal]

'm Styx. Nice to meet you, man.

[he's definitely adult-sized, but there's a bit of a childish air to Styx's easygoing demeanor. or perhaps that's simply naivety? either way the big guy's smile comes easily and with sincere warmth as he sticks a massive hand out, happy to exchange both names and a handshake as much as if Isaac was his own age.]