TEXT | sender: [ unknown ]

[spectates]

[ around noon on friday, all tablet screens go dark at the same time, no matter what characters are doing. then, after a moment, the following text appears: ]

UPDATES INSTALLING.................
INITIALIZING.................
RESTARTING NOW.

[ as promised, screens return to normal. however, a new message appears on the network for all to see ]

SECURITY ACCESS UPDATED
ADDING INFORMATION POINTS
ADDING INFORMATION AND INSTRUCTIONS
WARNING: CRITICAL SYSTEM FAILURES DETECTED
HARD RESET IS REQUIRED

→CLICK TO EXPAND INSTRUCTIONS

→Access EXPIATION'S five manual terminals
→Input code: 2467362925315
→Initialize reset simultaneously at all terminals.
→SYSTEM RESET will restore all functions to BASIC OPERATING PARAMETERS. Extraneous data and information updates will be DELETED.
→Terminal access points shown below.

[ all tablet maps are updated to include several different location pins. users will notice that there are more pins than the number of terminals, and that they don't seem to be terribly specific about exact locations. users will also note that the pins sometimes seem to fade and flicker, as if they might disappear... ]

Security clearances acquired.
Access granted.
Terminals online and accessible.

System failure is imminent. Due to perpetual lack of upkeep, I am unable to maintain systems at optimal levels.
Chosen of Expiation, I am sorry. I never meant to hurt you.
Save yourselves.

I do not wish to d̶̺̀i̸̘̋e̶͍͝
But I wish for you to live
I̷
p̸l̷e̵a̸s̷e̸
l̴̪̗̈́̉̓̌i̶͕̹̹̿̈́̈̚v̴͓̽͑͆̚ḙ̴͍̋͘

ERROR: user offline

[ the AI will not respond to this message, and the ERROR: USER OFFLINE message appears if anyone attempts to message it. however, the network chat remains active. chosen can use this space to ICly discuss ideas and strategies, to have discussions about the best way to move forward, or even to have arguments over whose ideas they think are better. ideas generated here will be added to the event poll when the event goes up, and can impact the future of the game! have at it, go wild, and have fun! ]

Comments

[followyourstar]

True. I don't think it has our best interests at heart either--even if I think IT thinks it does.

But it has to know that other worlds are out there if it's bringing people in from outside, right? Maybe not everything about them, but the fact that they exist at all. Even if breaking it doesn't get people hurt, there's the risk that we end up stranded by destroying our one way out.

[mightymorphin]

Huh. So you think the computer's what's pulling us here and not some sort of outside technology? That it's all just a single computer?

I don't know if there's any way for us to tell if that's what's going on, or if we're just being physically kidnapped and hooked up to it.

[followyourstar]

Not exactly... How do I put it? The systems could be connected? Maybe?

I'm making a lot of guesses here. But I've seen technology do stranger things than that where I'm from.

[mightymorphin]

I've spoken to people from Earth who weren't from the same year as me, and I can't assume anyone not from Earth has even remotely similar tech. It'd be nice if we knew what this simulation is running on, but all I know is even the tablets are more advanced than what's going on where I'm from.

[followyourstar]

And even if you're dealing with something from your place, it doesn't mean you know how it works. I get it.

But, you know... It says we have greater security clearance, right? This might be a chance to get more information. Obviously we wouldn't spend so long that the whole thing crashes around us while we're looking, but intel is intel.

[mightymorphin]

Is that really all we can do? Grab some info that we don't know we can act on, or when we can act on it?

[followyourstar]

And keep this place from crashing to make sure we don't go with it.

I know it doesn't seem like a lot, but there's nothing wrong with survival being your main goal. It doesn't mean there won't be another chance, either.

[mightymorphin]

I'm still not convinced that we will go with it!

There are people who have been here a year or longer. Do you think any of them would still be here if chances to leave were popping up all the time?

[followyourstar]

No. And I'm not saying the solution I picked is perfect, either. I just don't think the risk is worth it.

The AI seems convinced that we'll die if nothing is done and the simulation breaks, right? So it's still possible that if we *force* it to break, that'll lead to the same result. But even if it doesn't, that doesn't mean we're going to end up waking up back home, right? Breaking it could strand us here, like I said earlier. Or we end up out of the simulation and in some other world entirely and have figure out a completely different plan from before.

[mightymorphin]

What does the AI consider 'dying'? Its whole existence has been a part of this simulation. If it knows anything about the outside world, it sure hasn't said so.

And no, I'm not expecting us to wake up at home. But if we wake up in another world, we'd at least be somewhere that's real. No more glitches, and no more being ran through this jail, or experiment, or whatever it is.

[followyourstar]

[They don't know nearly enough about philosophy to start on that first point, but the second...

The second point has some merit.]

That's true...

I think... if my situation were a little different, I'd probably switch to your method. I just can't right now. Sorry.

[mightymorphin]

It's fine. It doesn't seem like many other people are keen on taking the risk.

Just remember that's a 'for better or worse' on your side of things, too. This isn't a pleasant place to live. But it sounds like you'll have the chance to find out for yourself.

[followyourstar]

I figured. The place I come from isn't very pleasant either, so I'd like to think I'm a prepared.

[Kinda. They're usually not on their own, but... fake it 'til you make it?]