estoria | //EVENT032.EXE

Entry tags:

//EVENT032.EXE

Who: CERES and associated intellectual property
When: OOC: 8/01 - 8/08, IC: 8/16 - 8/19
Where: Cerealia™
What: PR really was important. Who'd have thought?
Rating/Warning: Currently none! Please let us know if the log heads into R-related territory so we can lock it!

//event032.EXE

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.

//SCENARIOS.EXE

PHASE I

[ 600 ] 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. ]

//RUN.EXE

Welcome to Cerealia's August event! Please visit the OOC information here, and should you have any questions, feel free to ask them here! You can also check the FAQ for more general inquiries. This event will last from 8/01 to 8/08, or IC 8/16 to 8/19. Should this event log hit Captcha, there is an all-purpose overflow here. Thank you!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[there's a huff: clearly she isn't at the age where bragging rights make up a lot of her time. It's definitely not because she's a girl and actually has a lick of sense, unlike every boy out there. Can't be there.]

That's why I said you gotta talk big! Say you were surfin' trees or had to climb and save someone's grandma outta the tree.

[but he does accept the seaweed, tucks in with gusto: one second one is there, and the next he's smacking away with those lips of his.]

Thanks a lot. And no, it didn't hurt me. I helped make it, I knew plenty of tricks it hadn't even remembered in its programming. Did you take any of those things out?

[ watch her blank stare through all these suggestions. #boys??? that's not just talking big. that's lying. what's the point? it mostly garners him an odd look, like she thinks it's a bit of a silly series of suggestions, but doesn't warrant a direct comment.

she's glad, at least, that he likes the seaweed. if anything, then she feels like she can eat a strip of it too. ]

I'm glad you managed to get away okay. [ She chews and swallows, considering his question with a blink and a glance over her shoulder. HAS ONE APPEARED? ] Mm, do you mean the gardeners? I've mostly dodged them. I tripped one gardener up with a hose and left them tied up at the small fountain near that big oak-like tree. The one with all the branches that look like roots.

[ The leaves kind of remind her of oak leaves, but she brings up her hands to lace her fingers together in a suggestion of what kind of branch collection she's talking about. ]

It kept yelling about people being on the lawn.

[ ... And throwing canes at them. ]

Edited 2016-08-02 05:18 (UTC)

[kaneda had thought he'd sniffed out....the scent of a woman's judgement there. and in a second it's gone but he could have sworn....

either way, he munches along, entirely not worried. He even laughs at the sound of this robot.] I saw that fucker! Was crying and muttering about whipper snappers...do they program them as old men? Weird. But how come you haven't gotten in a group or anything?

[he could handle himself, alone and whatnot...but a kid? ok, not to underestimate since she packed snacks and he didn't but--]

[ swift as a coursing river, kaneda... or something. it's mysterious.

unlike the truth behind what she's had going on. (though she does think he's on to something. it does seem like most the gardeners were programmed as if they were grumpy old men...) ]

I haven't been able to get back to the apartments without having to run away from something going crazy. My CEREvice got locked in the room this morning. This stuff [ pat pat, ty backpack ] was supposed to be snacks for a long day, and to leave at school for later.

[ suffice to say, school did not happen in the usual manner. not when teachers were glitching out. ]

I've run into people, but we keep getting split up, and most of them have places they need to get to. It makes sense that they go.

Hmmm...

[he hums as he ponders her words, as he finishes up the seaweed strip and goes for another. still, a shitty place for a kid to get stuck in.]

Yeah but it's gotta suck...being stuck here. [being alone. for a kid, that is. kaneda's used to it.] At least you didn't get stuck in school, though.

[ it does suck, but it's also what's happening for now. she doesn't think this is the new status quo; that, or simply hopes it isn't. ]

It's not the best, but at least I'm not really alone.

[ look right now she's +1 kaneda that's basically being not alone right? ]

Last I saw at the school the instructors were tossing desks out windows. ... Though I guess that would have been a way out again.

[ close to a drain pipe or anything else she could climb, at least. ]

[awwww......+1 kaneda is like having one piece of talking shit with you but that counts for something.]

Wonder if they got caught with school bots, then. Maybe the desks made them do tests! Much as I hate to get stuck in a school, I wonder.

Do you think the school bots and the desks really could be fighting?

[ another pause. look if south park can have a reappearing piece of talking shit as a character kaneda is doing pretty good for himself, even all out of season — ]

Or giving each other pop quizzes. You know, I've only been here for a few weeks, and school didn't make sense at all. Except it wasn't the "this material is too advanced for me" not kind of making sense.

[ though she was starting to learn something of the colony sanctioned history she guesses? ]

I hope they are...and if they are, I wanna see it. And make as much money as possible offa it. [there are practically stars in his eyes at this point.]

No school bullshit makes sense-- they're teaching you stuff you don't need to know in the real world. They teach you to be too careful, not take risks. Plus it's all code, right? No wonder it doesn't make sense.

[ she takes a sip of water, wondering how one makes money off these kinds of things. he seems to have an idea... so there must be some way? huh. ]

It's not exactly code... at least not what they're saying I need to learn. It may as well be in code, though. [ she sighs, shaking her head and recapping her water bottle. ] People need all different kinds of learning, but I think you're right. School isn't able to teach you everything about life or the rest of the world around you. Taking risks is part of life. Knowing which ones are worth taking or not can be hard if you've been taught to never take any at all.

That's why ya just skip school, kid. Sounds to me like you don't need it. You've already caught on.

[cursive writing isn't important-- who needs it! he is so so proud of her]

That's the spirit!

[ wow truancy is real here it's really almost happening ]

It's less like school-school and more like a really boring job here, you know. But it pays when I go, and I've got to support myself. That much I know is a fact.

[ says the ten year old. she is seriously talking about supporting herself. by using school. for money. ]

Holy fuck, you're a little adult, arentcha.

[he shakes his head]

That's why you make it big, first. Take charge, do something daring to make money.

[ a little startled at his language, she blinks before shaking her head in turn. not to deny that he could be on to something or not; she has no idea how to do what he's saying. ]

I'm not sure I know how to do that. With money, at least. Being daring or taking charge of other things is different. Besides, it's enough with what I'm doing now. Unless it's needed for getting back what's been taken from us, but I haven't heard that it is.

Well I wouldn't suggest making a gang so young, but you could steal. Put on a show in the street, maybe-- ah, nothing dirty. Innocent stuff like, playing music or something.

[please don't Grow Up too fast]

[ kaneda why this ]

But I don't play any instruments, and why would I want to steal? I don't need all that much.

[ plus why would she like. mud wrestle. she's glad he doesn't think she needs to bother getting dirty because mud wrestling would be a pain... and is the only dirty show activity that comes to mind, so. good. OFF THE TABLE. ]

To live? To, I dunno, buy books or whatever it is you like to do. Nerdy shit, or cool shit.

[OH THANK GOD SHE DIDN'T UNDERSTAND THAT, THANK GOD]

[ LIFE'S SMALL BLESSINGS that and her censoring welp ]

What's the difference between nerdy and cool? Can't people like things that are both? I'm not even sure what hobbies I have other than playing around anymore. Reading could be nice. Though my phone from here kept saying I had overdue books for some reason... do they have movies here?

Edited 2016-08-04 01:41 (UTC)

I guess, yeah, but you gotta protect your rep too.

[truthfully he doesn't wanna break her heart, being a nerdy heart and all...]

They've gotta have movies here! There are tvs-- then again we're probably all the actors of some reality tv show.

[ considering her closest thing to a hobby right now is "figuring out more about spirits"... ]

Reality TV shows? Like game shows? You think people would have had enough of those by now.

[ still, in spite of, well, everything, movies sound pretty great. ]

If the city ever starts working again, maybe I'll be able to find a movie theater. I could let you know if I do.

They never, ever will. It's filled with that- it's the future.

[literally...he'd know]

Yeah, I'd like that. I could sneak us in, easy as pie.

[ the future is so weird. then again, so is her sense of humour, because as soon as he makes the offer it startles her into laughing in honest... relieved amusement. ]

Just 'cause it's easy doesn't mean you should. I'll find a place, but I'll pay. You can sneak in if you like.

[ a magnanimous soul right here; but it's also such a nicely absurd and harmless kind of technical law breaking when all the really terrible kinds are going down all around that it genuinely is funny to her. ty kaneda, she needed that laugh! ]

Ugh, you're too good, kid.

[he says it with a sigh but...maybe it's best. She's good, too good. she'll make one hell of a lady some day. one hell of one now.]

Yeah, yeah, whaaaaatever. I suppose you want to legally buy the popcorn too.

[ oh, she nods. still looking amused, though not laughing anymore. more just... relaxed. ]

And an expensive drink too. We can share the popcorn.

[ the pop's all hers. HAH! ]

Alright, its a kiddie date, then. First we gotta live through this, which, easy peasy. The hardest part's gonna be finding a theater.

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