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

[pursuit]

[ Well now, that sure is a familiar face he finds in this app.

Is that... a picture of Malleus sneezing? Where did anyone even find that?

In any event, he decides to contact his former schoolmate via traditional text outside the app, not that he can entirely trust his phone anymore. ]

Hey, did you get some weird app on your phone all of a sudden?

[tsunotarou]

[Spade? That's weird, he hasn't talked to him since the last tutoring night, but he got the same app?]

I did.

Do you know if anyone else got it?

[pursuit]

I've met a few people who ended up with the same thing on their phone.

It doesn't seem like anybody downloaded anything suspicious, so...

[ This doesn't make any sense, unless there's something wrong with the app store. But that'd hit the news, right? ]

[tsunotarou]

[Wait, he's met people with the app? Malleus looks around, but doesn't seem to find the boy.]

Did you make it to the crosswalk the message told us to go to?

[pursuit]

Yeah, it...sort of felt like I didn't have a choice. Traffic even got diverted here.

What about you?

[tsunotarou]

Interesting...

I'm pretty close to where they told us to be, trying to figure out the other "missions".

[pursuit]

Seems like they're trying to control where we are. Maybe they can't contact us outside the city limits, or something?

Maybe we should talk in-person though.

[tsunotarou]

Could be.

If you're nearby, I'm in the Starbucks.

[pursuit]

[ Malleus how could you betray him like this, going to the competition?

Deuce only frowns a little at his screen, but makes Malleus easy to find. After a quick look around, he spots a green awning and heads in that direction. ]

I see it. On my way.

[tsunotarou]

[Malleus is waiting by the window with a cup of ice water and nothing else, and when he spots Spade he waves.]

[pursuit]

[ Deuce veers right over to his tall, dark and handsome senior.

Look he knows what Malleus is. He thinks he's pretty cool actually. ]

Sorry for the wai- [ He pauses, gaze centering very overtly on that water. ] Are you drinking plain water?

[tsunotarou]

[Malleus takes a sip from the straw, nodding.]

I am. Why?

[pursuit]

The baristas are looking at you funny.

[ He jerks a thumb in the direction of the counter.

Malleus, you're one of those customers... ]

[tsunotarou]

[He looks at the direction pointed at and smirks.]

I told them I was waiting on someone and they told me it was ok.

[pursuit]

I dunno if they meant it...

[ Customer service and all that.

Not to mention, Malleus comes from a well-known family. With a stiffness borne of a measured unease, Deuce takes the seat nearest his. ]

Are you okay though?

[ He looks like he is, but still. ]

[tsunotarou]

Well, either way, now that you're here I can order something, and I'm okay, a bit hot, but otherwise okay.

[That's the only reason he was inside a Starbucks to begin with, it's too hot outside.]

Want something? I can get it.

[pursuit]

Oh, it's okay. You don't need to do that.

[ Deuce is quick to try and wave the suggestion off.

It feels like Malleus does too much for him already, taking the time to tutor him as he does. ]

[tsunotarou]

Are you sure? I'm thinking of getting one of those new summer drinks myself.

[He can see the menu from where he is, and the mango drink looks really good.]

[pursuit]

I'd feel a little weird about it...

[ Between Malleus doing so much already and his job. ]

[tsunotarou]

...Oh, right.

[Malleus stands up, and looks at Spade.]

Wait here for a moment then.

[And so he goes to get the mango dragonfruit refresher, and comes back.]

Should we go somewhere else?

[pursuit]

Might be a good idea...

[ Getting away from the place they'd been drawn to could be for the better. ]

Pretty hot out, so maybe somewhere else with AC?

[tsunotarou]

Where could we go, without standing out too much?

[He doesn't know the area too well, really.]

[pursuit]

We could just go to my place, if you want.

[ Not like his mom hadn't heard about Malleus. ]

[tsunotarou]

That could work.

[He's going to see Deuce's room?! He's a bit excited about it now.]

Are you sure you don't want anything to drink before we go?

[pursuit]

I'd rather save up.

[ He's been feeding a starving police officer out of pocket... ]

Besides, I can drink something at home.