Everything is normal today during the early hours of the morning. There's really no hint, no way of knowing, no anything that could indicate that CERES -- and thus Cerealia -- is about to irrevocably change. There would be birds chirping, if there were birds, but since there aren't any, there's just the constant sounds of a city in motion, humming with technology even that early in the morning.
And then, regardless of where you are or what you're doing or how early it is, everyone's CereVices flicker on to show a perhaps-familiar, perhaps-unfamiliar face.
Bellona Recreare, the business owner of Cerealia and CEO of CERES, stares at everyone with a flat, cold look. She doesn't seem happy.
(When is she ever?)  It has come to my attention that there has been industrial espionage and corporate sabotage in CERES' personnel. Such a thing will not be tolerated.
Due to this, Mosley's employment with CERES has been terminated. Please now direct any public relations questions to 1-800-7322934844444.
Good day.
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PHASE I [ 6 00 ] Bright and early, not long after that sudden announcement by Bellona, you may decide to go back to sleep, or you may decide to get up and go about your day (or you may not have woken up at all).
Either way, it doesn't matter.
Because your apartment is broken.
The entire apartment. The door is locked shut (and that sucker is solid metal so it might be time to try a window), the HOLO(gm) is flickering wildly between settings, and the blender is out for your blood. Anything technological in any way (that is CERES-brand or has been tampered with by CERES) will be malfunctioning in a way that comes across as... oddly malicious.
Now's a bad time for the late sleepers to realize that the beds, too, have auto-control tech functionality. Hope you enjoy that electroshock wake up call, or the fact that the bed could fling you totally across the room.
PHASE II [ 1000 ] The rest of the city isn't faring so well either.
The trains are completely out of commission; even if the doors do open, it's probably not a good idea to get on. If you do, it looks like the doors will slam shut behind you, and the train will go hurtling forward at dangerous speeds with sudden stops. Many of the shops can't be accessed at all, automated doors refusing to open, and worst of all, every single last piece of tech in Cerealia now seems to have the sole goal of Making Your Life Hard.
The Pleasure District is flooded now that the spas are broken, but hey -- at least the perfume ensures that water smells good, and it's pretty warm. That's good, right? Maybe go for a nice swim.
The CERES police bots are out of control, chasing people down to arrest them for imagined crimes (What do you mean you aren't a closet voyeur?), and heaven forbid you're around any of the auto shops when everything goes totally wrong. The auto-drive feature in many of CERES's cars seem to be a little... finicky today. It doesn't seem like anywhere in the city is exempt from this. Good luck.
And towards the end of the second day of this insanity, the train, with whatever unfortunate passengers are on it, will derail. It crashes into part of the shopping district, leveling buildings and leaving the wrecked overturn husk of a train resting there uselessly.
Suddenly, things don't seem so harmless anymore.
PHASE III [ 1100 ] Of course... you're CERES-owned too.
Your code, rather, is made and owned by CERES, and it's inevitable with the craziness going on that it would soon affect everyone's code as well. So as the hour approaches noon, a few unlucky souls may start to notice that things are just Not Quite Right with them. Their powers may be on the fritz, functioning entirely wrong or not at all, or even stranger -- fire powers turning into water, ice into flame, electricity brings mud. Your clothing might suddenly change when your coding glitches, or it might be gone entirely. You may suddenly have an uncontrollable urge to start singing, or frolicking. You may suddenly be wildly in love with the first person (or robot or mirror) that you see, unable to stop it until the odd glitching wears off.
And then, just like that, you're back to normal, if a bit more tired than before. How troublesome.
There are also moments where what appears to be an ID number appears on the back of your neck in glowing light blue numbers. Each of these codes is a 7 digit number, with an E at the front of the number. It appears that the longer you've been in Cerealia, the lower the number is -- like a brand of some sort. You may not be able to see it yourself with it on the back of your neck like that, but everyone else sure can.
PHASE IV [ 1645 ] And, just like that, on the last day of this madness, the city goes dark. The lights cut out. The technology shuts off. Every last robot in Cerealia is completely and totally down, and can no longer be booted up. Even when the lights come back on in a few hours... the robots remain dead.
Cerealia's a lot harder to function in without those handy dandy robots running the place. It's also a lot more desolate, and rather quiet.
Slowly but surely, the rest of the technology will boot itself back up towards the end of the last day. But the robots remain broken, and cannot be fixed. In fact, opening them up will reveal that nothing's wrong with them at all... they just won't wake up.
As time ticks by, it doesn't look like Bellona will address anything on the network about the events and all people are left to do now is... learn how to function again. Without any help.
BONUS [ ???? ] If you were a stupid brave enough soul to log into ViViD during this time (or were unfortunately glitched there, which could happen), you will find that ViViD is in... safe mode. It's struggling to boot up, and even when you finally enter, you'll find yourself wandering through skeleton levels of half-completed scenery and incomplete quests. There are readings in the corner of each level that can be seen now, one about Energy Gain and one about Energy Loss, and just as the gain goes up the longer you are there, the loss, too, rises. At first, it's fascinating, and it isn't particularly dangerous... but then it becomes clear that you can't actually log out.
You can't exit Safe Mode at all.
Slowly, it feels as though you can breathe less and less, that the empty walls of the level are closing in on you... and there's nothing you can do. Unless you are or find a particularly genius hacker and they can access the source code and find the exit buried inside that code within the next few minutes... there's nothing to be done.
And then everything goes dark.
You'll wake up the next IC day, with those same energy readings marked on your wrist like some sort of bright blue digital tattoo. When you wake in the mornings, it will read at 100% and slowly go down during the course of the day until you sleep. It will fade after three IC days.
And from now on, ViViD always has those energy levels in the corner, even when it's fixed. They always seem to be recording you, every time you're in ViViD. Strange.
[ Remember to apply proper warnings on threads with sensitive or inappropriate material and do let a mod know if your thread careens off into maiming or canoodling so we can lock the log. ] |
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[...This was an odd turn of events, to say the least, and a certain child of no more than ten years old, with grave demeanor and an immense mass of crimson hair cascading down his back, can be found wandering the streets. He'll approach friendly-looking strangers, and, hiding his face bashfully behind his loose sleeves, look up at them with hopeful eyes.]
Good day, [he said quietly, with an odd composure for a child so small.] Do you have a moment? I was hoping you could help me.
III-B -- Major Injury Warning
[Koumei had finally come back to himself in the Pleasure District-- but it seems that the 'system reboot' had done a total reboot on his physical person. Memories of the recent battle he had fought raced through his mind as he tried fight off the pain that suddenly lanced through his body. Breathing ragged and vision blurring, he slumped against a nearby wall with a hand pressed tightly against his chest.
He didn't need to look to know what a mess he was. The sticky warmth of his own blood on his hands told him everything.
...This was bad. He knew it was bad-- he wasn't entirely sure how he survived in this city anyway-- and his siblings...
Kouha. Kougyouku.]
Hnn...sorry.
[Then thoughts were no more as darkness took him.]
IV
[...The bird no longer moved.
Koumei knew it was only a matter of time before something happened. These robots were strange to him and, although he knew that Hatoha wasn't a real pigeon, the loss of the toy he had come to consider as something akin to a pet hurt more than he was willing to let on. He sat in silence in his quarters that night, holding the motionless body of the cybuddy in utter silence.
It had been one of the few constants during his time in Tellus, and he wasn't entirely sure what to do or even how he could fix this.]
III B
Shào ye...Kongming?
[he can't get translated to save his life at this point so everything comes out Chinese. But that's hardly a concern when he sees the massive injury. Damn, what happened? Who did this? There's no time, Cao Pi has to do something to stop the bleeding. He's wearing too many layers so Koumei's clothes it is...]
III B
[Koumei groans at the sound of the familiar voice saying unfamiliar words, and barely stirs enough to glance up through his mess of hair at Cao Pi. He wanted to say things, wanted to explain. After all, he was a man who had somehow managed to avoid death.
And, if his luck was over? Then so be it. Though he lived with many regrets, lamenting them at this point in time was useless.
Zihuan would have a fairly easy time wrangling Koumei's clothes. He, too, was wearing the garb he had originally worn in his homeland, and the loose layers of his hanfu left plenty of fabric to work with.]
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All the while he murmurs quiet encouragement in his native tongue, though the only understandable word is probably the pronunciation of Mei's name]
Stay with me, Kongming. Rest. Don't move.
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...Zihuan, [Koumei finally murmured, emphasizing the name as a matter of forcing the syllables to even spill from his lips. Although the words to come would make little sense to Cao Pi, unless he had any understanding of the languages a little out to the west from his lands.] Where...?
[His fan. Where was his fan? Normally it was always by his side, but in this instance it was nowhere to be seen. He darted his gaze around while Cao Pi worked, trying to stay focused on the exact reality of the situation.
This wasn't his home, this was a different world. Anything was possible, and he had to trust that.]
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At least he still understood the common language, even if he couldn't make himself understood in turn]
Shì...it's me, Zihuan. Hold still.
[he backed up his words with his touch, squeezing the arm beneath Koumei's shoulders to keep him from thrashing and leaving his other hand where it was, applying pressure]
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Something was wrong across the board if they couldn't understand each other, but at least they stil seemed to have their understanding.]
...Don't worry if it's futile, [Koumei murmured.] Though my work's unfinished, I've made peace with whatever my fate may be.
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One, no one should have to suffer and bleed out in order to die and then be brought back. Two...the malfunctioning city leads him to believe that resurrection itself would also fail. Death might not be temporary, today.
With his hands so occupied, there's not much he can do to make himself understood, except to do something fairly unpleasant. Cao Pi lifts his bloodstained hand from Koumei's chest, shifts to bring his other arm close enough to reach his solid white bracer, and then traces a character in Mei's blood]
载
[he remembers their discussion over tea, and interpreting the same characters for Koumei's name different ways. Grammar is not even necessary, just that one character for "to carry" with a gesture pointing to Mei. Can he carry you somewhere?]
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...Where ever, I suppose, [he replied, realizing with an oddly sharp clarity that he couldn't let his innocent room mates, Nakigitsune and Kogitsunemaru, see him in such a state.]
Perhaps a healer? The Company fixed this before they brought me here, somehow.
[And, even then, there had been an annoying ache in his ribs that lingered for weeks. An unsightly scar was emblazoned across his chest as well, although surely there wouldn't be one if he had indeed died.
It was only in recalling the powers-that-be in this city that an annoying puzzle piece settled into place in the midst of his disjointed thinking. The piece was title that he was given upon arrival:
Exiled Prince.
...Maybe that 'mistake' had been wholly intentional.]
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III-A
Yes yes, quite. Hold here, small one, you and the other.
[ He makes a swooshing motion with his hands, as if that's enough to gesture for Koumei to join the other young girl who is at present... trying to sneak away from this group of adults.
And may in fact be bolting right past the other ten year old, advising as she goes (with a tug on his sleeve) that he: ]
Run!
[ Because that wasn't just a nice middle aged alien ready to patiently listen to a serious child's concern. That's a nanny-bot with a holographic interface up, one that shudders before readjusting. In fact, these are three nanny-bots, and they will babysit the heck right out of you. (Explaining, perhaps, the bonnet tied over Chihiro's head. ]
Children! Children, you s̵̛̮̑͑͘͝ḩ̷̛͖͚͍̹̖͙͔̭͎͍̤̲̟̰̐͆̽̇̈́̉̀̓̉͌̚o̶̢̧͇̱͔̦̲̼̻̪̞͎̼̬̅̓̈́̈́̈͌̋͐ͅu̴̗͂͌͋͛͊͊͐̓͘l̴͖̤͉̼̤̿̃̈͛̄̋̂̈́ḓ̸̪̖͕͓͓̩̀͆̋͆n̵̡̛̘̳̘̥̼̼̘̳̻̲̔͗̄̈͒͊̇͂͒́̇͋͘͜;̵̧̧̡͖̟̞̣͇̔̐̌͌̃̈́̑̐͂̊͠t̸̢̫̪̥̭̞̻̦̟̼̏͂̉̀ be r̷̨̛̝̮̟̙̥͙̣̜̬̐̈́͊̀̂͂́͐̍̈́̋͑͐͊u̴̻̳͓̼͚͔̙̖͆̆n̵̮̲̝͔̙̝̈̈̽̀́̑̚͝ͅn̷̗̝̯͔̮͕̙̮̜̮̩̹͚̈́͗̎i̸̫̣̖̮̬͔̜̪̞̜̱̱̪͆͗́̀̅̓́̔͆͑͗͋̒̕ͅn̵̻͌͌͊̿̐̕͘͘͝g̷̻̥̠͍̣̮̤̋͑͒̅́́̌̍͐̾̋͝ like that.
/snerk. Please ignore the icons-- there's very few images of this guy as a kid!
[The young boy, strange as he seemed, was quick to pick up on the cues around him. It doesn't take much prodding for him to follow, taking care to pull up the hemline of his loose clothes as he pushes past the nannybots in an effort to get away.
--Unfortunatly, his shoe caught on a break in the sidewalk and, with a startled yelp, the boy careened forward as gracelessly as a fat pigeon runs across a courtyard.]
/thumbs up, all is good!
Come on, stand up. You can do it!
[ Nannybots set to swarm...! ]
I won't leave you behind, so do your best and run!
[ OR ELSE YOU TOO GET THE BONNET and probably the binky, it is a terrible fate??? ]
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Fumbling with his movements, Koumei somehow manages to make it onto his feet with the girl's help.]
Thank you! [He called, not even glancing over his shoulder at the enemy he could hear. Instead, he just focused on moving his skinny, weedy little body as fast as he could after the girl.] Are they...are they really that bad?
[...If they let you read and lay around, they can't be that bad...]
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[ She'd been caught again on the far side, but at least by then the car had driven itself off... and into a wall. As these things happen. ]
They're not acting right. Something in this place is really bad for them!
[ Probably for all of them, but look, she's concentrating on running and not losing her newfound friend, her skills of fine dissemination are not presently working all that well! ]
In there!
[ She reaches out to ... maybe not so helpfully tug him toward a small opening into one of the lobbies in the nearby buildings. It's big enough for her to squirm and push her way through (the door's been jammed in place earlier, if the bent inward doors are any indication) but too small for the nannybots to easily follow. SKINNY WEEDS WIN! ... the inside of a lobby during chaotic malfunctioning time. Go team. ]
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Except. Not really. Too much time spent in the company of books had made his hands and feet uncoordinated, and he toppled over the lip of the doorway and tumbled into the lobby. His clothes now thoroughly dirty and his hair more of a mess than before, Koumei looked around the lobby with wide, fascinated eyes.]
If something is bad for those strangers, then it might be bad for us, too. [He said, standing up now and pulling the flimsy and useless little ponytail out of his hair.
It was uncomfortable...and he hadn't found his brother yet. Surely he would be able to come up with a good excuse for being a mess before he found his brother again.]
...Are there even any adults we can trust around here? [He asked finally, trying to hide his anxiety by clenching his hands into tight little balls under their sleeves. They were just two little weeds, unarmed, faced with an enemy he didn't understand yet. Surely there had to be someone here they could ask for assistance from.]
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She knows names she'll give him, but when she turns back to him it's to take a step closer and reach out to take loose hold of his shoulder. ]
There are. Though we've also got to be able to trust ourselves. [ She gives him a serious look... all prefacing an introduction? Paired with a small, small smile. Reassurance is not her forte, such as it is, but she'll try. ] My name is Chihiro. What's yours?
[ Bad for strangers, bad for themselves. The world has a lot of potential for the bad out there; but it has potential for good, or better than bad, and all things of that nature as well. ]
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...I see. I was hoping that someone like my cousins was around.
[Someone tall and strong, willing to give their everything for the sake of the people they cared for with a blade in their hands and a tender smile on their faces. Somewhere in the deepest part of his heart, he knew that his hopes were foolish, but still...
He didn't like being separated from his family.]
But, maybe you're right. I should try harder to live up to my family name...
[Realizing he was rambling, the boy just shook his head.]
That doesn't matter here, does it? We have ourselves-- and thank you so much for helping me, Miss Chihiro. Please, call me Koumei.
[He bobbed his head politly in customary greeting, quietly glad to have found someone so resourceful to trust in this odd mess. It'd be nice, if they could be friends...]
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iii-a!
Sure, I have plenty of time. What's up?
iii-a!
I'm looking for my older brother, or my older cousins. Can you help me find them?
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I'll try. Who're you looking for? Gimme some names and descriptions if you can, okay?
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Looking around somewhat anxiously, as if searching for them, he continued.]
Or, my Lord Brother, Ren Kouen. Our father and mother are both the same, so we look quite a bit alike-- although my brother is older, and much better trained with a sword than I am.
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Are you Koumei?
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That's correct. Although...how did you know my name if we haven't met before?
[Because this was getting a little confusing now, even for his understanding. Unless his brother really was somewhere in this city, odds were that no one would have an inkling about his name.]
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It's a long story. Like, a really long story. ...Basically I know the you from the future. You kinda live with us here, and one of your relatives was here for a while but I don't recognize any of those other names.
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[Suddenly, his young mind was alight with myriads of questions, the chief of which being how this was even possible. Were alternate worlds-- a concept he still didn't fully understand yet despite reading multiple scientific theories about such ideas-- truly a thing that existed?
But, if that was so, then how did an older version of him get here?]
I take it then that my Lord Brother isn't here. That's...unfortunate.
[He hoped and prayed to any gods listening that his brother and cousins were safe on the battlefield.]
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