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

[coordinatroll]

Oh yes, having people with experience like that would be helpful! For all our discussions, it will most likely still fall on them to actually take action.

I suppose that is usually the case, isn't it? We may be surrounded by technology, but few of us have mastered the skills necessary to control them. Quite unbefitting of the society, don't you think?

[valiantarms]

Yeah. I can follow the instructions given but that doesn't seem right.

I'm not really sure what you mean by control. Isn't it just knowing what buttons to press normally?

[coordinatroll]

I suppose that's what it boils down to, yes! That's essentially the knowledge required. Think about what knowing that enables you to do, however; computers are used in a variety of ways, from social media, news outlets, medicine, stock markets, supply chains to traffic control. Everywhere you go, everything you do, is dependent on someone, somewhere, pressing the correct buttons. In a way, doing so allows one to shape the perception of reality for entire communities or even societies, and in this world, it does so in a literal sense, as everything around us is created in that manner.

When you consider that, wouldn't you say "control" is the most fitting way of describing it?

[valiantarms]

[She was smart enough for this...

Um. Huh...]

So you're saying, like with medicine one, the person controlling it needs the knowledge to know what button to press. Or to have taught the computer what the right button is?