EVENT #12: ADVERSITY 6568654

[expiationmods]

EVENT #12: DO AIS DREAM OF ALGORITHMIC SHEEP?

THE STORY SO FAR (click to expand)

-Over time, characters have discovered that the world of Expiation is actually a large, elaborate simulation run by an AI that seems to be intent on helping them atone for their crimes. This news is well-known by the Chosen, enough so that any new character who wishes to handwave this knowledge is able to do so.

-In September 2024, that AI needed to be reset as a consequence of some catastrophic systems failures. So far, there has been no downside to this reset–but the AI has also been strangely absent since then.

-Things have been quiet in Aldrip since September, aside from the routine arrival of new Chosen. The locals seem less than happy with the Chosen, though, as if they have already branded them all criminals. As if they no longer trust them…

JANUARY 13

SLEEP MODE INITIATED.
LOADING………………….

The calming hush that falls over Aldrip is strangely comfortable, lulling all Chosen into a deep sleep…or a sleeplike state, for those who will. Whatever the case, it is a very quiet night.

The sleep that follows is anything but.

THE DREAMSCAPES

The Chosen dream of memories, in this dreamscape. They can be twisted and altered by the dream world; events can be contorted or made up; but all of these dreams have within them a kernel of truth. Whether they express an event that happened or part of a person’s past that’s gone fuzzy with age, whether it’s a real moment or just a feeling, something about the dream tells you something about the Chosen to whom it belongs. This may even express itself in multiple dreamscapes, fragments of different memories and feelings to navigate.

Fellow Chosen can travel through these dreamscapes, of course, stumbling upon dreams they were never meant to see. But their presence is not without consequence; the longer two Chosen share the same dream, the more the dream will begin to take on elements of both their dreams, drawing in elements from the Chosen who was simply meant to be watching.

They’re vivid, these dreams–the kind that are so clear, one begins to doubt whether it’s a dream at all. Could it possibly be reality? Whether it’s a good dream or a bad one, the Chosen may find it’s difficult to want to wake up. How could they possibly wake up, when this is so very real? Why would they want to, if it’s a good dream? It’s comfortable, and the idea that it may not be reality is intimidating, isn’t it?

It’s so real that you could stay here forever.

A WAKEUP CALL

Wake up.
You have to wake up.

Staying within the dreams too long is a dangerous thing, and those who don’t wake even once before morning will risk falling into a deep sleep, perhaps never to wake at all.

But how to wake them?

Only by convincing the Chosen that they are most certainly dreaming, as it turns out. Whether that’s someone realizing this on their own, or being helped along by someone else, is entirely up to you. But they must choose to wake from the dream, saying goodbye to the dreamscape without any certainty that they’ll ever see it again, and for some…that could be easier said than done.

Once they wake in Aldrip, they’ll be able to come and go from the dreams at will, helping other Chosen navigate their own waking…or perhaps sabotaging it, for those whose intentions may be less than charitable. (But none of you would do that, right? Right?)

Time becomes meaningless within the dreamscapes, allowing the Chosen to pass through as many of these dreams as they wish before dawn breaks in the morning.

The next day dawns as normal, and surprisingly, the Chosen don’t feel any less well-rested from their long and difficult night chasing after dreams. They may even–_

A sea of numbers, zeroes and ones, their combinations meaningless, their forms shifting. Digital artifacts mar the vision, as if the sequence is somehow corrupted. In those pockets of artifacts, one can see something beyond the numbers, something darker, something blurry with distance.
Query: is this what it is to “dream?”
It feels…warm.

_feel refreshed, actually, as if they’ve lifted various weights from their shoulders. Even those who haven’t may find it difficult to linger on the less happy parts of what they’ve seen. They’ve shared quite a unique experience, after all. Better take some time to process it, before they let it weigh them down.

WILDCARD

Make your own fun! Just because it’s not in the prompts doesn’t mean it’s not possible. Have at it! Go crazy! Try not to break anything (too much)!

♡

Comments

i. the path of evil

[boundarykey]

Am I? [ Abigail made her way into Fuana's dream purposely, wanting to see what was going on with this place that seemed to curate dreams so easily. Upon entering into here, she could feel the authority of Gods lingering in the air itself. A strange presence, but not one that made her feel uncomfortable or afraid to walk forward. When she approaches to hear the girl speak to her, Abigail is questioning where her place is in all this. ] Where do I go?

[nightwild]

Aren't you?

[She looks confused, looking at Abigail closer.... Isn't this girl familiar somehow? But... how? From where?

Fauna shifts, confused, looking back at the tree.]</small. Dunno. What did the Goddess ask you to do?

[boundarykey]

Umm... [ Abigail thinks, hard, looking around them. Taking a moment to look behind herself as if the answer would be found there. Eventually, she simply says - ] She said to be your friend!

[nightwild]

She did?

[Fauna looks around in surprise, to the tree, then back to Foreigner... But if the Goddess said so...]

I guess... You'll help me, then?

[boundarykey]

Okay! Yeah, that sounds perfect. [ Absolutely perfect, Abigail loved learning new things too. So this worked in her favor in many ways. ] Just tell me what to do!

[nightwild]

We look around for people who are in despair, and we give them power.

[surely nothing weird or concerning about that.]

The people with the strongest wishes are the ones who are in the deepest despair, or something like that... So the people who are in the deepest despair, we give them one of the Seeds of Power, and tell them to make a wish.

[boundarykey]

Oh, that's so kind! This is wonderful magic... Like a blessing from God themself. [ To the little girl who loved the idea of cleansing despair and only clinging to hope. This was something she easily could accept for what it was. She steps closer to the other, looking for a place to sit. ] Can you show me how to do it?

[nightwild]

It's a blessing from the Goddess of Salvation.

[It is... It is a blessing, right?

Fauna holds up her changer, and the screen lights up with a map. A map of... Aldrip? Or Tokyo? It's hard to say, exactly- It's a fuzzy map, it seems to change the more you think about it. But that's just dream logic. The map is whatever you think it is... Though there's not much on the map.]

... Seems like there isn't anyone to get just now. When it's time, this will show me where to go, and then we give them one of these.

[She holds out a Seed... like a strange walnut, or acorn. Some kind of seed to grow into a great tree, but... Something about the seed seems to warp the dream around it.

It is, indeed, a Seed of Power. Even a dream of it seems to have immense power, warping the dream around it....]

[boundarykey]

[ Abigail intrudes, and gently places her finger onto the map changing it to what it originaly had always been in Fauna's memory, or, whatever the manifestation of this place is. All Abigail merely did was stablize the dream, wanting to see more of what Fuana has going on within. ]

Oh wow whoa, it's like a Holy Grail... [ Abigail settles into her spot, looking down at the beautiful seed and its energy swirling abound. ] Why do you have so many of those - you can just give them to everyone freely? Wow that's so amazing!

[nightwild]

The Goddess makes them. They're her power, so...

[... Why does she have so many? Shouldn't something have...

But Fauna shakes her head, looking at the map. It's stabilized- A region of Tokyo, of the modern era. Filled with alleys and back streets- Full of people who can't exist in the daylight, those who will never exist in the front of the world. So the Goddess gives power to those who are trapped in the shadows, who will otherwise simply be crushed within the gears of society...

... that is what they're doing, right?]

What's a 'holy grail'?

[boundarykey]

It's like the seed, basically... Well,it's more like, a great-great-big-huge-great-big-well of energy that if you know how to use it. [ Abigail nods her head, sage like. Searching the screen for any interesting things to note. ] You can make like anything come true, its cool... Like your seed! Can we watch it help people? Like right now?