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]

[ The kitty sniffs while Judai is Extremely Concerned. ]

Three days?!

[silentends]

It was a small fish I found once. I tried bringing it home and it died a few days later. Maybe it didn't like the water.

[He was still little so he didn't meet Niko yet. At that time he was an only child who just wanted some company but his fish friend died. rip.]

Your friend looks healthy though.

[ehero]

[ Oh, phew. Of course, it's not good if a pet fish dies, but Judai was thinking that Nier was referring to a dog or another cat. ]

Yeah, I try to feed him well.

[ If he does have little bits of money, it goes to cat food for Pharaoh. ]

Can fish born outside of pet stores even survive if you take them home?

[silentends]

It depends. All fish are different like people.

At any rate, it happened when I was still a kid so I didn't know any better.

[ He had a fish funeral and a proper fish burial immediately after. Those were some rough times.]

You should get yourself something to eat. You look more famished than kitty.

[ehero]

[ Oh, does he look that bad? He lets out a small sheepish chuckle. ]

Haha, yeah, I think I still got some crackers left in my bag.

[ that's all he's eating........ ]

[silentends]

[ Nier looks down in his backpack for his lunch left overs. He's got a bad stomach so he doesn't always eat well. Theres an entire meal left untouched. It looks like Judai could use it more at any rate.

One potato salad out for Judai to eat.]

You can eat this. It's heavier than some old crackers.

[ehero]

[ Judai looks at the container of potato salad and then back up at Nier. He doesn't take it. ]

Huh? Aren't you going to eat it?

[silentends]

Nope. I've got stomach pains so I can't eat it even if I wanted to.

[ He shakes his head. ]

Just take it please.

[ehero]

[ That's enough convincing for him. He takes the meal with a smile. ]

Thanks. I'm Judai Yuki. What's your name?

[silentends]

Nier. My name is Nier.

[ He usually avoids adding his last name to his introductions because it reminds him of his parents. His full name being Nier Delacroix and he's part french.]

You must be....uh, Jaden?

[ fullstop ]

[ehero]

[ dude he LITERALLY just told you his name ]

It's Judai.

[silentends]

[ He has goldfish memory for names. ]

I'm just....really bad with names? Okay.

Jaden.

[ that's your new name now. ]

[ehero]

Man, I just told you it two seconds ago...

[ He doesn't have a very good memory either but goddamn ]

[silentends]

Was it two seconds ago? It feels like forever to me.

[ Nier's sense of time is actually off somehow but it's even worse when he's asked to recall names.]

Jaden you should eat.

[ehero]

[ Judai is just........ going to let it go and bring it up next time because they'd just go in a circle... so he will absolutely start to dig in. After a few bites in... ]

This is pretty good! Did you make this?

[silentends]

Actually, no I can't cook. My neighbor's the one who did it.

[ He can't take any credit for this. ]

If you see a pretty lady named Kainé be sure to thank her.

[ehero]

Pretty, huh?

[ Judai isn't really into romance and he's super dense about it, but he has learned after three years of being a total dumbass. He is now half of a dumbass. ]

Yeah, I'll make sure to thank her. What does she look like?

[silentends]

She's got dark brown hair and brown eyes.

Kainé is really intense though. I think she's been learning some martial art???

I don't recommend saying anything that would potentially anger her.

[ehero]

Does she normally hit people when she's mad...?

[ even with STRANGERS??? ]

[silentends]

Not usually. As long as you're polite to her then you have nothing to worry about.

[ Kainé's very nice tbh. ]

You're just going to thank her for lunch.

[ehero]

Sure, I'll make sure to let her know.

[ a beat ]

... wait, won't she be mad that you gave away your lunch to someone? Didn't she make it for you?

[silentends]

She knows how I am. Kainé will understand.

[ He makes a dismissive gesture indicating it's not a big deal. ]

Do you feel better after eating?

[ehero]

Yeah, it was great! Thanks again.

[ He returns the container. He would offer to wash it and give it back later but he doesn't know if he'll see this guy again. ]

It's been a while since I had homecooking.

[silentends]

No problem.

[ Nier just nods and puts the container back away. ]

Really? It's healthier to eat food made from home than outside. Maybe you can try learning how to cook.

[ehero]

Maybe. I just don't eat food from home very often since I'm travelling, so I have to make do with whatever's around.