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]

network
I'll have you know that you'll face great consequences if you dare hurt me or anyone from my family.

[ The one thing that can get the usually polite and patient Noah angry is giving him some sort of perceived threat. He came all the way here in dangerous weather to be 'rewarded' with this bullshit????? ]


crosswalk
[ Noah stands out a bit from the NPCs due to his white hair and his choice of dress (loose-fitting white clothes), but he soon has to sit down on a roadside bench despite his parasol. It's really not a good time to be out now, and he had left his house without an accompanying servant. He's sure the maids will notice his absence and come looking for him eventually, but he might as well try to get home before that happens.

It really would be easier for him to go and meet these 'newcomers' if the sun wasn't trying to kill him. He'll try to get one of the new people's attention by waving at them. ]


wildcard
[ I'm bad at intros, hmu with anything and we can work it out! ]

network

[stormsoff]

Why are you threatening US?! We didn’t do anything!!

[morient]

[ ... 💧 ]

I was addressing the individual sending us these 'missions'.

[stormsoff]

[ oh. ]

...... uh. Ok dw about it but maybe be more specific next time??
I don’t blame you though
This is messed up
Like everything but especially the missions thing
What kind of creeps think they can kidnap us and then try to USE us or whatever??

[morient]

It's probably a hacker prank somewhere, or something.

We should report it.

crosswalk

[whiteshroud]

[Jun doesn't think twice about his white hair. Anime hair just be like that sometimes. Though this guy doesn't look too hot, so he'll look a little concerned when he gets waved over. Was he trying to wave at him? He points to himself to clarify]

Me?

[morient]

[ Noah doesn't think he can shout loud enough to answer that, so he'll wave a bit more energetically until Jun comes over. Once they're in conversational distance: ]

Did you come here because of that thing?

[whiteshroud]

[Ah okay, he is waving more so that must mean he was right. That confirmed, he gives a tentative wave back before approaching]

You mean the message on my phone? Yeah. You too?

[morient]

Yes.

[ It's a huge waste of time, at least in his opinion. Though there's that canopy thing that makes him a little more concerned about this whole situation than he would otherwise have been. ]

It seems like a bad prank.

[silentends]

Do you think your family is in danger somehow???????

[morient]

[ Oh its Nier????? ]

They accessed our information without our consent. That means they are capable of other privacy invading things too. If they show up at our houses, then...

[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?

[ape]

I don’t think we’re in any position to be making threats, don’t you think?

[morient]

Why not?

[ Surely his parents would be able to do something with their economic prowess? ]

[ape]

We don’t know who’s on the other side of the program.

You could be threatening anything from the American Government to an AI, for one.

network

[pursuit]

I don't think people who could screw with our phones remotely are going to care what we say. Probably are monitoring it though.

[morient]

[ That's very true. Noah was trying to be optimistic, but he's not delusional. ]

If you're reading this, then come out and talk to us face to face instead of hiding under some screen.

[ But anyways... ]

So what do we do now?

[pursuit]

Probably scared we'd beat the tar out of 'em.

[ Is it a taunt, or are his words in earnest?

A bit of both, actually. ]

I guess there's trying to find some clues. If they won't come to us, we have to track them down and put a stop to this...whatever it is.

crosswalk

[rago]

[With hardly a sound, a black cat jumps up onto the bench beside Noah. There's a collar around his neck with a phone attached to it. He makes a meowing noise that somehow seems an imitation and settles himself on Noah's lap, hiding in the shade of the parasol.]

[morient]

[ Oh, a cat! A cat with... a phone. This is weird, but Noah's mind immediately focuses on the fact that there's a cat on his lap. He really likes cats.

Noah tries to pat the cat very gently. ]

It's really hot here, isn't it? Are you lost?

[ He has his water bottle with him, but the cat probably needs a dish to drink from... He can't think of a place where he can get one immediately other than his house. ]

[rago]

[Rago bristles a little at the petting, but it is rather soothing. For a second.]

Too hot.

[He growls lowly, and his voice is venomous.]

And I'm not lost! We've been abducted by some assholes who mean to use us for their own ends!

crosswalk

[cislunar]

[ maybe don't get this guy's attention, noah. the wave is likely unnecessary with how much this parasol-wielding ghost truly stands out (unusual emptiness aside), but it is there, so johannes returns it -- polite and casual.

he's not a newcomer, not quite... but for now, he assumes they're both under the same set of interesting circumstances. it fits. ]

Good afternoon. Looking for something? Someone?

[morient]

[ yknow, Johannes looks weird enough to be someone from another world like Jun claimed to be. ]

Do you see anything in the sky?

[ That's the first test, Noah supposes ]

[cislunar]

[ POT MEET KETTLE

as kettle hums thoughtfully, raising a delicate finger to the sky as he plays around with the question. he's a native weirdo, sorry to say. ]

Yes.

[ . ]

Blue. The sun. Though, I personally prefer the moon. [ shut up ] I'll be a bit upset if those obtrusive balls of white light block my view of it come nighttime.