EVENT #9: ADVERSITY 6468468

[expiationmods]

EVENT #9: INFECTION

When characters wake, they’ll find a message splayed across the screens of their tablets; it reads clearly:

⚠️ GNOSIA INFECTION DETECTED

THE ERADICATION OF YOUR EXISTENCE IS IMMINENT; PLEASE TREAT THE INFECTION ACCORDINGLY. YOU HAVE 7 DAYS BEFORE YOUR PROJECTED DESTRUCTION.

IT IS IMPERATIVE THAT YOU ELIMINATE THE GNOSIA.

As their devices flicker to life, another message follows shortly thereafter, a single word, one of the following: GNOSIA, DOCTOR, GUARDIAN ANGEL, AC FOLLOWER, or CREW. The word fades as quickly as it appears — characters will know instinctively what they must do, whether they’d be typically predisposed to it or not. Some may know less about how their role functions than others.

The game has begun. The air has changed, as if time has slowed to a halt. Aldrip is perfectly static and still, and a sense of foreboding will soon come over the city.

DAYS 1-2

The borders surrounding Aldrip have been sealed off by an invisible barrier. It cannot be pierced or damaged in any way. This is the first sign that something has gone terribly awry. Chosen will notice it: the way the city closes in on itself, the buildings much closer knit to one another, as if trying to ensure everyone has as much proximity to each other as possible. NPCs are present, but “lagging,” so to speak, often glitching out or taking longer to “load”. A sense of uncanniness permeates within the city – as if everyone is caught in a waking dream.

CREW are hit with it first: an overwhelming instinct that allows them to tell the truth apart from lies. They won’t realize what it is initially, but when they interact with others, they will frequently be saddled with a nagging instinct that indicates how truthful a person is regardless of the context they’re speaking or acting within. This instinct does not apply to every single interaction and manifests differently for everyone. DOCTORS will feel more in tune with the body, more keenly aware of anatomical knowledge they may not usually possess. GUARDIAN ANGELS will feel an urge to protect someone – or conversely, find someone to protect. GNOSIA will begin their transformation and AC FOLLOWERS will be drawn towards GNOSIA. GNOSIA can recognize other GNOSIA, but not AC FOLLOWERS.

Much of the city still operates despite the Gnosia infection; the NPCs seem largely unaffected by it. And yet when you interact with them, they are visibly off kilter, as if programmed incorrectly. Some may even appear as people from home, only to then glitch back to their normal selves. There is still a sense of calm over the city, but the first 3 days are an opportune time to host and participate in meetings, begin witchhunts, find hiding places and either choose to travel in groups or by your lonesome. Beware of the night: that’s when the Gnosia are most likely to interfere with the space time continuum and make their kills. Anonymous channels will be opened up to cultivate discussion.

Days 3-5

The tension wraps around everyone in Aldrip. Shadows gnaw at every corner. The city is far quieter, the darkness imposing, contributing to the evergrowing sense of paranoia.

CREW will begin to experience prophecies of the immediate future. Visions of what’s to come. Whether or not they’re at liberty of disclosing this or if anyone will believe them is the real question.

GNOSIA will have a go of it: in dreams, your worst memories, regrets, fears, everything you’ve compartmentalized in the hopes of forgetting and letting go of, will play on repeat for the duration of these days. Other Gnosia and AC FOLLOWERS may even intrude on these dreams and catch a glimpse. It will bring out the most vulnerable and darkest parts of you, especially in the presence of other Gnosia. This may lead to friendly fire – or it may be a bonding experience.

The HUMAN SIDE will experience the opposite in these dreamwalking scenarios: you will dream of your loved ones from back home; the things you cherished and were forced to leave behind when you came to Aldrip. Wracked with homesickness, you may begin to wonder: how willing are you to turn on the people you’ve come to care for here? How far are you willing to go in pursuit of victory?

DOCTORS and GUARDIAN ANGELS will experience manic highs and adrenaline rushes when they successfully treat or protect people. Their energy levels will increase, but they will also become prone to reckless or stupidly happy behaviors they would not usually engage in.

On these days, an especially peculiar event will take place: Chosen will wake in the square outside of City Hall, facing each other with a screen dividing them. The screen will project a series of questions; if they answer untruthfully, it will flash red.

The questions are as follows:

01. DO YOU LIKE HURTING PEOPLE?
02. WHO HURT YOU THE MOST?
03. WHAT ARE YOU MOST AFRAID OF?
04. HAVE YOU KILLED SOMEONE? HAVE YOU THOUGHT ABOUT IT?
05. WHAT WILL YOU SACRIFICE TO BE HAPPY?
06. WHAT DO YOU HATE MOST ABOUT YOURSELF?
07. WHAT DO YOU HATE MOST ABOUT OTHERS?
08. WHAT IS YOUR PREFERRED METHOD OF MURDER?
09. WOULD YOU HURT THE PERSON ACROSS FROM YOU?
10. WOULD YOU GIVE YOUR LIFE FOR THE PERSON ACROSS FROM YOU?

At the end of the questionnaire, characters must vote whether or not the person they’ve been matched with are Gnosia or Human. If both characters answer the same thing, they will find themselves “tethered” to one another, either mentally or physically, and will be forced to spend the rest of the night together. If both characters answer differently, they will be free to go. Will you be cruel enough to share what you learned with the others?

DAYS 6-7

As the population of the city thins and the NPCs grow more sparse, Aldrip begins to resemble a ghost town more than it does a metropolis. Desperation is potent. Buildings are blocked off. People have retreated into themselves, makeshift clinics to treat Gnosia infection have been created, and the typical liveliness of the city has whittled down to nothing.

GNOSIA will be more volatile than ever; their instincts to kill will extend to fellow GNOSIA. It doesn’t matter who they murder – so long as they’re able to find a victim, be it amongst their own or otherwise, they will gladly take it. The aggregate consciousness of the Gnosia will be stronger than ever. GNOSIA and HUMANS alike will hear each other’s internal voices in bursts, all at once, and be privy to things they shouldn’t be.

DOCTORS and GUARDIAN ANGELS will need more help than usual. Their abilities have slowly drained their energy reserves, and they will find themselves veering into deep emotional lows alongside being saddled with a physical exhaustion they cannot fight. Alliances with CREW and former Gnosia will be pivotal in their path to victory. In these final days, CREW and AC FOLLOWERS have heightened stealth that make it significantly harder for them to be detected by Gnosia. Use this to your advantage.

Eventually– the skies of the city darken and time skids to a halt.

The week has ended. Everything stops.

Who has claimed victory? The Gnos, or the Humans?

Wildcard

Just because it’s not in the prompts doesn’t mean it can’t happen. If you have any questions, let us know in the comments below! Otherwise, get to tagging!

♡

Comments

[baldrshand]

[Ethlyn nods. As the person who knows so much about so many people's health, she can help with that. The point about allergies makes her grimace a little, thinking about Jim and his battery of allergies. Ethlyn hopes he hasn't been infected, because she doesn't want to have to tell Claude that he could be taken down by some of the most seemingly-innocuous foodstuffs available.]

Yes... it's like after a battle, where there are so many wounded you have to decide who can survive with the limited time and resources you have right then. [She doesn't like it, but who does? That doesn't make it any less necessary.] ...I can help you with the medical histories. I'm sure most people here agree with you. I certainly would rather someone knock me out than let me become an indiscriminate killer.

[And here she had thought that death was the worst that could happen to a person.]

[feintofhart]

Good. I knew I could count on you.

[ Claude nods approvingly at her. He doesn't take for granted how difficult this is for her, how seriously Ethlyn takes her role as a healer, the things she's been told in confidence, the things that she strives so desperately to keep up -- but dire times call for dire measures. ]

We'll take them down, one at a time. Eventually, we'll have enough people on our side to help take the rest down too. Right now is the hard part. [ He claps Ethlyn on the shoulder. ] It will all get easier from here. All we need is to get to work.

[ He pauses. ]

I would like to ask something of you, though.

[baldrshand]

[Ethlyn manages a faint smile when he claps her on the shoulder. It makes her think of her brother and her husband--thow good they were at keeping their spirits up and instilling heart into their troops. Claude's army at home has a good leader.]

Of course. You have only to ask.

[feintofhart]

You're not going to like hearing this. But if this does ever happen to me, don't hesitate to cut me down. My mind is my best asset, and the idea of it out of my control being used to hurt others -- it's an unappealing thought.

[ He's making light of it, as he always does. But he's dead serious. He's seen too many people deformed by their lust for the Relics back home, the way that they're twisted and deformed, barely a person left inside at all anymore. He feels no guilt for cutting them down, knowing damn well that he's doing them a favour.

But it's always terrified him. It's the one thing he can't bargain his way out of. Once you're gone, you're gone. The only thing that's left is death and destruction. ]

[baldrshand]

[...This is why it's dangerous to be impulsive and trusting.

Yet Ethlyn understands completely. As a healer, she knows so much about the human body, especially after over a year of intense self-education. She's already been thinking about how to weaponize people's medical conditions if necessary... and if her mind was overtaken and warped the way the Gnosia are, well. She would prefer a swift stroke to the heart herself.

So she's stunned. But not entirely. It's just the mental image of having to drive a sword through her closest friend.]

...Very well. [...] That is much to ask, but... I would ask the same.

[It takes a deep breath after she says that. She has already died once. She does not wish for it to happen again. But it's better than becoming an instrument of corruption and death.]

[feintofhart]

I know you would. I'd have done it without you having to ask me.

[ It sounds a cruelty, to say that you'd be ready to kill a dear friend -- but Claude means it in the most honourable way he could. He knows Ethlyn. He knows she takes pride in her role as a healer, knows that everything she did was to save the lives of her people, knows that she loves others fiercely and will only kill if absolutely necessary. It often is, in a world at war, but that makes her moral code all the more precious for it. ]

But I don't think it will come to that. Not now, and not ever. And certainly not with a cure in sight. [ He gives her a small smile, a paltry attempt to lift the grim mood. ] Believe me when I say it would be my last resort, as I know it would be yours. Now! [ He claps his hands. ] Being that you believe we can heal these poor people, I think it's high time we get to work.