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]

I’M NOT— [ HISSES ] I’m not loud!!!

... you’re from here? Seriously? ... then shouldn’t you be used to the heat?

[infolds]

If you're from a place that has absurd snowstorms in a single season of the year, would you be used to it too? It's not like we mutate into humans with better heat resistance.

[ Well. ]

[stormsoff]

Yeah.

[ just

yep

Answers that like it’s obvious and you’re dumb for thinking otherwise ]

You can get used to some pretty weird stuff with enough practice.

[infolds]

[ Connor raises his eyebrow. Is that really something a teenager should be saying? That sounds deep. ]

Sounds like you speak from experience, kid.

[stormsoff]

... yeah, pretty much. [ VERY BLASÉ REALLY

But also doesn’t elaborate! Helpful. ]

[infolds]

Well, in that case, you should be fine being a hobo, right?

[ He's already assuming Isaac can already live on the hot streets on his own now. ]

1/2

[stormsoff]

... yeah I walked into that one.

[stormsoff]

No, obviously. But if the same rule applies then you should just get out of the heat instead of complaining.

[infolds]

But I'm not you, and we were talking about you.

[ That makes sense to Connor. ]

Besides, I had to come here... it sucks, but it was like the universe was basicslly shoving me to this place.

[stormsoff]

We were talking about you first though.

And we all did! We all got pushed and/or dragged here. Sheesh, at least it’s not just me that noticed that.

[infolds]

Pretty shady if you ask me!

[ No one did, Connor. ]

But uh, I thiiink good locations for you to know would be the public bathhouse. It's over there.

[ He points to a general direction. Not very helpful. ]

[stormsoff]

Public bathhouse?

[ states where Connor pointed. ]

... the US has those?

[infolds]

Yeah! We only got one that I know of in the city, but I heard other cities have several! Though I guess you'd need money first.

[ Connor does not offer any money. ]

We got some nice rich kids here with us. Maybe you can ask them.

[stormsoff]

I notice you’re not offering. [ but he does say this mostly jokingly. ]

... I’ll find someplace to go. Don’t worry about me being a hobo or whatever, haha. Not that you seem that concerned in the first place.

[infolds]

Well, yeah. You seem pretty confident in not screwing up, so i should respect that a little by not being concerned. Doesn't that belittle your efforts or something?

[ His mind is a Place. ]

[stormsoff]

... oh. Uh... no, that’s actually pretty thoughtful, I guess. Thanks.

[ .... Isaac’s mind is also a Place, and he finds this both genuinely thoughtful and a genuine compliment. ]

[infolds]

[ Connor stands there, looking completely perplexed. He didn't expect Isaac to actually take it as a compliment, because no one else usually does. He's also more used to being berated and such, so being thanked is... new to him.

And like an awkward kid, he shuffles away, mumbling it's way too hot outside. Bye Isaac... ]