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

[ehero]

[ Judai lets out a small 'oof' as Jun falls on top of him. He does not make any effort to push him off because this is fine. Jun isn't heavy and while it's a little embarrassing to have a girl(?) lay on him, it's all good because he's gay af and doesn't really care right now. ]

Wait, hold on...

[ He shifts slightly so he can reach behind him to open his deck box. Pulling out the first card, he puts it on the oversized duel disk that he's wearing on his left arm (he hasn't taken it off since he arrived). Immediately, a seven-foot-tall alien appears and without a single word, he just... lifts up Jun like a child, you know, like this. Where does he set down this tiny boy?? ]

[morient]

[ ...........................

................................................. you know, this isn't much stranger than his own healing power. ]

Is that your friend?

[ Moah looks up at the alien in awe. This seems like a fighting card game... but real. ]

[whiteshroud]

[Jun was just about to get off him, but very suddenly he's being picked up by a seven foot tall alien.

!!!]

- Shit!

[HE DOES NOT LIKE THIS, NO SIREE. Cue him struggling like mad to get out of its hold. Unfortunately for him since he's at normie twink strength right now, it's not very effective.]

Put me down..!

[ehero]

Yeah. C'mon, Neos.

[ With that, the tiny twink is placed back down on the ground. He gives a nod of apology before he goes to pick up Judai. Unlike Jun, he doesn't get lifted like a child. He just gets carried bridal-style instead. ]

Sorry about that. So, where is the car?

[morient]

[ The seven-foot tall giant is definitely going to attract attention, but given how most people don't react to the city barrier, he supposes passersby may not be able to see them either. ]

Um, I parked it behind the store over there. [ A pause. ] And you need to sit on a camping sheet.

[ He can't dirty the car. His parents would be mad. ]

[whiteshroud]

[The second he's out of Neos's grip, he's distancing himself a little. No sir he does not like being picked up by big monsters, no siree do not like.

But beyond that he'll keep his cool enough to focus]

Right, we don't want you to get in trouble. Lead the way.

[ehero]

[ The NPCs just think the alien is a very elaborate cosplayer. It's all good, though they do get some stares. They thought that they heard a gunshot...? But everything seems okay, asides from that very realistic blood on the ground... ]

[ Anyway, Judai is okay with sitting on a camping sheet. He gives a nod. Lead the way, Noah, Neos will follow. ]

[morient]

[ He opens the car door for Judai and Jun to get in. Noah's family car doesn't look flashy from the outside, but the seats and upholstery inside are high quality. He makes sure Judai gets settled on the camping sheet to catch all the blood. ]

Okay... Let's go then.

[ He'll drive them to a hotel that his brother's friends used when they were staying over. Judai should still be wrapped up in the camping sheet. He won't let Judai get out until he secures a room and they can enter it - having someone bloodied is really really bad for reputation and keeping things on the lowdown. ]

[whiteshroud]

[He'll help with making sure Judai is comfortable in the car on that camping sheet before getting into the front seat. ]

I hope we can get into the room without causing a commotion...

[morient]

[ Thankfully, Noah manages to book a room without much difficulty. They just need to hustle the wrapped-up Judai into the lift and go up to their room. Noah feels bad for whoever is going to clean it. ]

So, you need to ditch your bloody clothes and then take a shower. [ He thinks he might have to tell Judai specifically. ] You don't happen to have any spare clothes, do you?

[ehero]

It's all right. I'll wash them.

[ When they arrive at the hotel, Judai is feeling slightly better - at least enough that he chooses to walk on his own and without Neos' help. He's taking it slow and making sure that he doesn't fall or trip. ]

How much was the room?

[whiteshroud]

Judai arrived the same way I did, so he probably just has this outfit.

[he says to clarify. ANOTHER HOMELESS KIDNAPPED BOY.

And well.....he'll let Noah talk about money as he instead stays close to Judai to make sure he doesn't fall while walking]

[ehero]

I have another one in my bag.

[ His entire life is in that bag so that includes a second outfit and... yeah that's it. also thank you jun for staying nearby as judai slowly walks into the elevator. you are slowly rising back up to #1 ]

[morient]

Just this outfit...

[ Noah rubs his forehead. He's not going to answer the price of the room. It's not something Judai can pay back within a day, anyway. ]

Then we're going to go clothes shopping too. But tomorrow.

[ehero]

It's fine, really. I'll get changed after I sleep this off.

[ He's going to hound Noah later about the price. ]

[whiteshroud]

[Jun's just going to stay out of this and hit the button for the right floor.]

[morient]

[ ...... Man. ]

You do know how to use appliances and stuff right? There's a laundry service here too.

[ He'll open the door using the card key he got from the counter. The hotel isn't very high class, but it's pretty clean and neat. ]

[ehero]

Mm, I know.

[ Here they are. Judai wants to immediately go to sleep so he decides to just... well, i guess he just decides to strip down. There goes his shirt. There go his pants. And now he's faceplanting into bed. ]

[whiteshroud]

[!!!! ]

J-Judai!

[Excuse him as he dramatically SHIELDS HIS EYES from the stripping because he is naught by a good church boy! THIS IS PROFANE. ]

A-At least go under the blanket!

[morient]

I'll just, uh...

[ Noah carefully grabs the blanket, shakes it out, and lays it over Judai while not looking at him. It seems he has pretty good spatial awareness without needing to use his eyes. ]

Take a bath after, okay? And give us a call.

[ehero]

[ he's still wearing underwear, you guys!!! gosh, don't be so overdramatic. ]

Mmrm, thanks again...

[ And he'll just... go straight to sleep. Thanks, fellas ]

[whiteshroud]

[.... 💧

To Noah:]

Can we go now?