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]

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.

[silentends]

Cooking might be useful on the road too. You can put together a quick meal.

[ He can't give cooking advice since he's not that great at it. ]

Why were you traveling so much?

[ehero]

I was out trying to help duel spirits. They're all over the world so I have to travel to find them.

[ And the idiot does it by foot so ]

[silentends]

You're trying to find

[ Dueling Spirits????? ]

[ pause ]


A what now?

[ehero]

Spirits. Most people can't see or interact with them.

[silentends]

I'm one of those people.

Don't know anything about them either. You're talking about things like ghosts, right?

[ehero]

Not exactly. These spirits aren't dead. They're just another form of... beings?

[ He doesn't know if that is the right word but he hopes that he's getting his point across. ]

[silentends]

Can they haunt you??

Because that sounds like a ghost.

[ Judai's not getting his point across and Nier thinks that the other boy is literally talking to dead spirits of the past. ]

[ehero]

[ whispers i see dead people ]

Well, they can follow you and if you carry around a card infused with darkness, that can be an issue.

[silentends]

[ Nier takes in a deep gulp and sweats nervously. He's not good with things like spirits and weird undead things. Horror is his least favorite genre.

Help.]

Maybe don't carry around weird things that attract invisible beings.

Are they dangerous?

[ehero]

Nah, most of them are fine. It's not often you meet a bad one and most of the time, it's being controlled by someone else. It's rare for normal people to encounter them.

[ you gotta be part of the main cast for that ]

[silentends]

I'm a normal person and I don't want to meet these strange spirits.

[ a pause ]

Have enough trouble as it is. I may be running late to my next lecture hall. Do you want to come? The school has AC.

[ehero]

Yeah, sure! I'm curious what schools in this place look like.

[ but don't expect him to learn anything. he's going to immediately fall asleep ]

[silentends]

The building is big so you might get lost. Try stay close to me.

[ There are so many students who attend and it has many facilities. ]

I don't want you to end up in some random class.

[ehero]

Sure.

[ He pushes himself, dusting off his pants and grabbing his bag. Pharaoh lets out a small and whiny meow because aw, now he has to move and follow. Well, at least there'll be AC. ]

What do you study?

[silentends]

Huh? I'm in the medical sciences. I wanted to become a doctor someday.

[ He's got his reasons for taking on this study. His sister is sick so he must learn medicine..! ]

Aren't you going to school? You look kind of young.

[ehero]

No, I just graduated.

[ And he has absolutely no plans on going to college. It's the bum life for him. ]

Medical sciences sound hard. How many years do you have to study for that?

[silentends]

Oh, I see. Then you can go look for a job. Plenty of places are hiring and looking for new people.

[ THE BUM LIFE....Judai No. ]

Ten? Maybe fifteen years? I haven't done anything yet and I'm not even finished my training.

[ He's stuck in here forever. ]

[ehero]

Fifteen years?!

[ nani the fuck ]

How old are you?