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

[silentends]

Oh crap you're right. I never thought about it like that.

Add an extra lock on your front door just to be safe.

[morient]

I'll be fine.

[ You know, being a rich scion and all ]

You be careful, okay?

[silentends]

thanks, I'll be careful I promise.


I just need to check up on my sister and I'll be fine.

Have you contacted your friends yet?

[morient]

I did.

Not all people can see what's in the sky, it seems.

[silentends]

are you talking about freaky barrier thing up above?

Kinda weird how the others can't see something so large.

[morient]

Yeah it definitely has something to do with the app.

I asked my mom and she doesn't see it either. Can Niko see it or is it just you?

[silentends]

Niko can see it. I hope she won't get caught up in something dangerous.

My classmates haven't noticed anything at all. It feels like we're living in a different reality.

[morient]

[ It's like something out of Matrix and Noah didn't want to get this up close and personal with his literature reading material. ]

What dyou think we should do?

[silentends]

We need to be careful I think.

Don't let anyone suspicious near you.

[morient]

I'll stay at home.

[ It's not like he can go out in this heat for long without passing out either. ]

There's some people here that say they've been brought here from other countries. Like teleportation. I don't know if I'd believe them, but they're basically homeless...

[silentends]

Okay good.

I don't know why they'd have any reason to lie about something like that.

We should help them if we can. It must be hard for them.

[morient]

I took one of them back to my house but I can only take one I think...

Maybe the church? They usually see strange things too don't they?

[silentends]

thanks for helping Nathan.

[Wrong name It's Noah.]


The church might be able to take them. I can't let other people stay at my place.

Niko's there and she has bad health.

[morient]

[ He's used to Nier calling him 23948230423472304023 different names by now, it's okay. ]

I'll tell them about the church when I see anyone new. Thanks Nier.

[silentends]

is it okay for you to be moving around like that?

I'm more worried about you because of your health.

[morient]

I shouldn't be out in the daytime, but we could text them at least?

Jun is going to go outside for a bit, so he'll help me with the street work.

[silentends]

texting them should be enough.

I'm just wondering why any of this is happening?

I was supposed to go through a lab session for the next week. Next thing I know we're in the cross walk and nothing makes sense.


What were you doing before the app showed up?

[morient]

I was just at home studying.

[ Noah is a Good Student. ]

I didn't want to go, but somehow the maids chased me out. It was weird... it's not like them.

[silentends]

Maybe they had to do some cleaning?

It still sounds weird.

I can't even imagine them chasing you out for something like that.