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

[morient]

Getting a job, huh... I don't suppose you have your passport with you?

[ Do people usually carry their IDs on their person? Noah does, but that's also because his card contains information for paramedics if he loses consciousness in public. ]

You could get something part-time. I don't know if people here will hire minors full-time.

[whiteshroud]

[he sighs] No...I left that back in my apartment. [In Tokyo] All I have on me is a school ID and my phone.

[Since yeah he was just attending a concert back home, not traveling internationally]

Part time's fine. [Kou does part time work! But what kind could he do...] Hmm...I got a job offer from a maid cafe once, maybe I should try applying to one here.

[uh. that escalated.]

[morient]

Maid cafe....?

[ Now that gets Noah to look at him quizzically. ]

Are you sure? That seems a little... I dunno... [ isn't it a job that requires you to hit on people? he's just a little worried. ] Would you be alright?

[whiteshroud]

[....]

I'll adapt.

[He does what must be done ]

[morient]

[ That's not very reassuring at all... ]

If you're sure...

[ Not like Noah has any better ideas, so he'll have to agree. ]

[whiteshroud]

[Jun shrugs]

If I'm to support myself, I need a well paying job. And since I don't have a diploma, a maid cafe is probably the easiest way to do that legally.

I'm sure it won't be so bad! I just have to serve coffee and wear a dress! I could do that.

[morient]

[ .... 💧 ]

Okay. If anyone gives you trouble, just let me know.

[ He might not be able to do anything physically, but his family is pretty prestigious. ]

[whiteshroud]

Haha, thanks Noah. You're awfully kind.

[This guy is willing to do so much for a stranger...he really did have to make sure he didn't bother him and to pay him back somehow]

So tell me about yourself. You go to university, but what do you like to do?

[morient]

Oh, I like to read.

[ That's a very normal hobby ]

I'm studying to become a pharmacist. I'm kind of sick all the time, so I want to help others who might have similar problems.

[ Noah is at heart just a very kind person. He doesn't have the haughty air of stereotypical heirs. Then again, he's not the successor, so... ]

[whiteshroud]

A pharmacist...that's a very noble pursuit.

[At least, he assumes so from what little he knows. Seal Knights don't usually need medicine thanks to their healing power. And even if he did...well, the pharmacist in Morimiya was a known Nemesis agent - and therefore the last person Jun would trust with his medicine.

But he had no reason to suspect Noah was affiliated with that side of the world, so he's willing to take what he says at face value. He's a kind boy that wants to help people who suffered like himself.]

Do you read for fun too? Or do you have any hobbies?

[morient]

[ For a rich scion, Noah is extremely non-shady. But that's also a double edged sword, as he's quite trusting of people who needs help. ]

I can't go out much, so things like sports are out of reach for me. Reading fantasy stories is fun though. It's just interesting to see other worlds, even if they're just a story.

[ He is surprisingly not a gamer, though that might be because of his noble upbringing. ]

[whiteshroud]

Hmm....I could relate to that...

[It was a huge reason he was so into stories. There was a certain level of escapism to them. Stories always work out nicely.

But if Noah likes fantasy stories, then maybe....]

...So...are you into anime?

[morient]

[ what's anime... oh yeah. the cartoons ]

You mean the TV shows? I've heard of them, but I don't usually watch things. Mom said it was bad for my grades, so I just read books instead.

[ There's no TV in his room nor in the lounge. ]

[whiteshroud]

[ 💧 ...]

O-Oh, I see...

[That sounds like propaganda, but he knows better than to try to argue against someone's parent. Guess no anime for him while staying here...great.]

[morient]

[ Noah doesn't miss Jun's awkward expression. ]

Do you like anime?

[ Well since Jun isn't studying, he supposes it doesn't cause any issues. ]

[whiteshroud]

[Caught...]

Yeah, I do...but it's alright. I don't mind following the house rules.

[morient]

If you don't go to school, you don't need to worry about grades right?

[ Hah. ]

The rules just apply to me, anyway. Mom wants me to be a good student. [ So he's very hardworking. ]

[whiteshroud]

Eheh...that's true. My circumstances are a little different from yours.

[Parents that're around and care about grades. Pretty different from what he's used to...must be nice.]

Well, I'll try not to be a nuisance about it. I don't want to get you in trouble.

[morient]

[ Poor Noah, completely believing that Jun is a normal highschooler. ]

Okay. [ Books are just static anime, anyway. He's sure watching anime is a normal hobby. ] Speaking of that, though - the maids do laundry, but only on set days. We could go out to buy some clothes later if you want.

[ yeah he's loaded ]

[whiteshroud]

[Maids that do laundry...yep, this is gonna take a bit to get used to]

Haha, that'd be a good idea. I was already sticking out like a sore thumb in my school uniform out there.

[He'd argue against this guy even buying him clothes but...he's getting the vibe that it'd be fruitless to argue anyway and might as well take advantage]

[morient]

[ It's good that Noah rarely spends any money, so his parents trust him to spend it wisely, and this is definitely a wise use for money in his opinion.

Noah looks thoughtful, as if he's checking off some things on a mental list. ]

We could go at around evening so the sun isn't that big of a problem. Oh, and do you have any allergies?

[whiteshroud]

Good thinking, it's too hot out there.

[He rather Noah not actually faint!]

Allergies? No, I don't think so. What about you?

[morient]

I'm allergic to peaches. But if you're not allergic to anything, I think there's no need for other special arrangements. [ taps his chin. He seems to have most of the basics down. It's not like Jun doesn't know daily living.

The two of them talk for a while until the sun finally goes down and the outside temperature ceases being dangerous. Noah goes out with a parasol - they can have a short walk to the mall and then get what Jun would ordinarily wear. It's pretty obvious that Noah is headed for the more frequented stores, like Uniqlo. He doesn't want Jun to stand out too much. ]

Is there anything in particular you like?

[whiteshroud]

Peaches. I'll try to remember that.

[He's not sure if it'll ever become relevant, but he rather not accidentally poison a guy who's being kind to him.

The time passes rather easily. Jun keeps his conversation topics to things a normal teenager would talk about. There's something strange about this city, but he didn't want to drag Noah into it anymore than he already was.

As for the question about style...boy, yeah, that's a complicated question]

Haha, I'm not sure. This place is so different from where I'm from, so I wouldn't mind seeing what's considered stylish here!

[Yeah, that's a safe answer]

[morient]

Alright~

[ There's definitely stores catering to wilder crowds, but this store focuses on the clean and practical. The store advertises its special brand of cotton that makes their clothes breatheable in high heat - certainly something useful in this weather. ]

I'm not sure if they have any anime stuff... I think they collaborated with Animal Crossing last season.