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

[spiritualize]

[ it's automatic to just nod, taking her matter-of-fact explanation at face value. after all, he's heard of stranger things while-- while what? surely all this should be freaking him out more, since he's just a student.

his back is really starting to burn. the hand around his weapon tightens his grip. everything feels hazy, as if this was... ]

A Persona? I'm not sure. I've never heard of it.

[ magic and fighting. healing. barriers. he's sure of those, but nothing with a name like that. riku frowns at kotone, looking increasingly lost. ]

We get out by going up?

[orphne]

Like Helel! Oh, but you'll need an Evoker to summon them, so... [she glances at the gun holstered at her side, then just shrugs to dismiss that minor inconvenience.] Yeah, you'll have to talk to Mitsuru-senpai or Akihiko-senpai about that.

[Exposition? Again, not for her as she moves around him and starts heading toward where she'd scouted some stairs earlier. His question makes her tilt her head a bit, because how'd he end up so far up if he hadn't at least seen the lack of stairs back down...? But then again, when Fuuka had been trapped, she hadn't been able to easily move between floors, either.]

Yeah. Once you go to a new floor, something weird happens to the stairs and you can't go back down that way. If there's a teleporter on the next floor, we can take that!

[Another tilt of her head, and then she finally asks a question she maybe should have asked first:] What's your name, anyway? I'm Shiomi. Kotone Shiomi!

[spiritualize]

[ riku glances at the evoker, too, feeling uneasy about it. the angel that had appeared was a persona? something with that great power had been brought forth by a motion like... -ugh. it was a little much to think about. instead he just nods, a halfhearted acknowledgement.

his head hurt. his back burned. tartarus's confusing structure was helping none of it. words were not coming easily, so he remains tight-lipped until asked a direct question, thankfully one he can answer. ]

Riku.

[ no family name given. should he give one? that was a more normal thing to do as a student -- huh? he hadn't been a student for a long time, right, not since -- he'd have to ask the senpais later, when they were back safely out of this place. ]

Those creatures from before, those were...?

[orphne]

[She doesn't even register anything strange about him only giving his first name. She'd met a lot of people like that, after all,a nd really, it doesn't actually matter in the end. As long as he has something she can call him, that's good enough!!

...This was the way she'd seen the stairs, right? Tartarus is constantly shifting, but usually the layout of a floor stays static as long as she's on it. Brow furrowing with concentration, she just keeps walking, even as she answers his question with the same lightness as before.]

Oh, those are Shadows! Senpai says they're like, the manifestations of the human subconscious.

[She says it with a lot of confidence, but it's pretty clear she's just repeating what someone else has told her and hasn't really put too much thought into really working out the ramifications of that.]

Tartarus is like... their nest.