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

[cislunar]

Johannes.

[ ... that's a cute comparison. as cute as getting your reality pulled out from underneath you can be.

which, to him, is still plenty cute. ]

Why do you think you were chosen, Neo?

[ no he's just KIDDING (maybe) that was a bad joke. but he lets it hang in the air anyway, before continuing on: ]

And, oh -- a pleasure to make your acquaintance.

[morient]

[ Noah gives Johannes a slight smile. He doesn't seem bothered by his whimsicalness. ]

Yeah, me too. Though I don't think I can continue sitting here for much longer - shall we go indoors?

[ Johannes isn't busy, is he? ]

[cislunar]

[ of course not. not too busy for noah, or for any of the aforementioned others that are around. ]

Of course; if we avoid any odd coincidences that don't allow us to. Would you like me to hold your parasol?

[ you know, to be polite. he won't steal this like he stole judai's cards ]

[morient]

[ why did you steal judai's cards?????????? ]

That would be great, thank you.

[ Noah gets up - he wears loose clothing to cover up how thin he is. There's probably a cafe with air conditioning that they can chill in, though he expects Johannes to have an idea of his own as well. ]

Anywhere you'd want to go?

[cislunar]

[ just don't worry about it

focus on the fact noah has """pleasant""" company now, as johannes takes the parasol as offered. there's a casual amount of attention put into positioning it effectively over the one he took it from; casual as the tilt of the head he offers in a certain direction.

his hangouts of choice are reserved for the night sky, or more muted things he can get absorbed into and basically ignore everything else for. not very socially friendly, so he'll stick with simple.

or... ]

Perhaps. But it appears you're a bit young to drink, so... Perhaps not.

[ he's kidding!!! obviously, with how he's smiling.

but no, drinking is fun and he may have considered smuggling neo in seriously. anyway. ]

Let's try somewhere refreshing to combat the heat. What do you think of bubble tea, Noah? There's a tea shop near here I'm somewhat fond of, and I'll admit the circular portions of that "net" above us reminded me of tapioca. It's given me a bit of a craving.

[ he's a secret idiot, actually, ]

[morient]

[ :( ]

Bubble tea sounds nice. I haven't really tried it much.

[ Noah doesn't drink even though he's legal to, because it messes with his body. It's a good thing that Johannes suggested getting boba. He follows the older man along with polite grace. ]

Do you have a favourite flavour?

[cislunar]

[ he hasn't tried it much...... what a travesty.

no, kidding, that's why johannes is here. to be a bad boba influence. ]

Hmm... I don't think many things compare to the taste of a simple milk tea. I'm usually the type to favor the more eccentric, and I dislike monotony, but that's the one exception I allow myself.

[ it's just bubble tea man ]

sorry for the late!!

[morient]

[ Noah can understand that... or at least, he tries to. He can tell Johannes is an unique person just by his sense of dress and speech, but it doesn't bother him. ]

I'll take your recommendation then.

[ After all, if Johannes puts so much thought into this, then he would have picked the best option. That's what Noah believes, at least.

Once they're at the cafe, he walks over to the counter to glance at the menu. He'll definitely try to pay for his own drink. ]