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

[pursuit]

I think that's Latin too? Or my tutor told me that, anyway. Not sure what it means though.

I can't say for sure, but it seems like they went for us specifically? They've got our addresses and birthdays in here.

[tothemetal]

well youd definitely know better than me dude !
have a hard enough time getting through english most days haha :)
latins real killer though
makes stuff feel more legit you know ?

[so...maybe this was a 'real' app after all? just, like, a secret one. that's kind of fun, if he thinks about it. like they're all part of some neat little secret club together.]

mean
yeah that was kinda weird
but theres no way anybody would wanna watch me for more than like
dunno
three seconds ?
never do nothing useful or exciting
so maybe a couple were accidents anyway

[pursuit]

I guess... But we should probably keep an eye on this thing. I don't like some stranger showing off that he knows where my mom and I live.

Hope this didn't end up on her phone. I don't see her picture in here at least.

[ A pause, before he sends another message. ]

Do you see anyone you know on here?

[tothemetal]

shit yeah
didnt really think about that
you can send private messages here right ?
if you ever need somebody to like
sit outside your house and look scary or whatever just let me know ok ?
know im just some random dude but im real big
dont think anybodyd bother you like that

oh
me ?
nah i havent really seen anybody i know
but dunno if im really the guy to be asking that in the first place
dont really have friends haha :)
and im not from here either

[pursuit]

You mean like a gargoyle or something? I think it's too hot for sitting around outside very much... I'm pretty strong though, if I need to chase somebody off.

I didn't have friends for a long time either. Do people get sort of scared of you too?

[tothemetal]

its not really that bad i dont think !
just need like a big water bottle and everythingd be fine :)
but its cool if youve got it covered
no pressure
probably better off that way anyhow

little more than sort of
but i mean its not like its their fault or nothing
i look pretty scary
uh
oh !
you can see right ?
this things got a picture and like
uh
like my height and shit
so you know thatd be pretty scary to just see hanging around town
dont blame anybody

[pursuit]

Oh right, I guess I can.

[ A pause before- ]

Whoa, you're even taller than Malleus! That's so cool...

[tothemetal]

am i ? sorry dude
didnt mean to or nothing :(

[...........wait.]

you think its cool ?
really ? ?

[pursuit]

[ Deuce has to ponder for a moment what the guy could be apologizing for, confused.

Can't be his awesome height, can it? ]

Well, yeah! People have to have told you that before, right?

[tothemetal]

uh
dont think anyones ever said it was killer before no
kinda the opposite actually
i get in a lotve peoples ways

[pursuit]

Seriously? I think being tall like that'd be pretty helpful.

Like I bet no shelf's too high for you to reach.

[tothemetal]

haha havent found one yet yeah !
and i can lift real heavy shit too :)
but its real hard for people to get around me
and sometimes when the doorways are real low i end up hitting my head
and uh just kinda spook people by being around and being that big
you know ?
so unless theyve got something really heavy on a high shelf i dont think anybodys ever too pumped to see me
uh not that i blame them or nothing !
you dont always need help grabbing stuff
you know ?

[pursuit]

I guess... I'm not that tall though and I was shorter in middle school and people still were scared of me, so maybe it's something you can change?

You seem like a nice guy, so maybe there's a way people could see that.

[tothemetal]

um
mean
been this way for as long as i can remember
even when i was a kid
you know ?
so like
not gonna say its impossible or nothing !
theres lots of shit people can do that i cant you know ?
but uh
for me i think this is just how it is
really dont mind honest
being upset dont make me shorter or anything haha !
so i dont think about it too much anymore :)

[pursuit]

Isn't that kind of lonely though?

[tothemetal]

nah :)
mean back when i was younger it was kindve a bummer yeah
but that was cause i didnt really uh
know my place ? i guess ?
or whatever
but i get it now and that makes everything a hellve a lot easier
even joined a killer band :)
so im not lonely at all

[pursuit]

As long as you've got good friends, that's the important thing.

I've got a couple who aren't scared of me, too.

[tothemetal]

yeah theyre real good
couldnt think of better dudes in the world :)

its killer youve got buddies now too !
everythings a lot more fun when youve got somebody to do it with isnt it ?
you guys get up to lots of shit ? haha

[pursuit]

I spend time with them after school, sometimes. Got a job this summer so I'm working more.

But it's nice when I can spend time with them.

What's being in a band like, anyway?

[tothemetal]

oh dude it's killer
like i mean you really gotta bust ass not gonna pretend you dont
but i wouldnt trade it for the world
feel like i could take on the whole fucking world when im playing onstage
you know ?

[pursuit]

Wow, really? That sounds pretty great.

Has your band been performing for long?

[tothemetal]

nothing better dude
you should try it sometime if you ever get the chance ! !

been a couple years since we started
uh maybe like two ?
kinda lose track haha
just really enjoy every day you know ?

[pursuit]

I've been told I don't have a very good sense of rhythm.

But it sounds pretty fun when you've got friends with you.

[tothemetal]

dont matter if it dont come naturally to you dude
anybody who says you cant learn rhythms fucking lying
just gotta practice !

but its a helluva lot more fun with friends youre totally right
cant imagine doing it with people you dont love
you know ?

[pursuit]

I guess even if I'm not good at it, it wouldn't seem so bad with friends around.

Maybe I'll give it a try sometime. You'd know better than me about practice, after all, and my friend Malleus is good with uh. You know that huge violin looking thing?