expiationlogs | EVENT #12: ADVERSITY 6568654

EVENT #12: ADVERSITY 6568654

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)!

♡

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

For other machines. [...okay,] Many vehicles. Local use. Not starships. I was raised in a mining town... plenty of equipment that needed upgrading.

[And so he upgraded it, or at least planned to; he got to some of it, at the very least.

He scoots back out from under the machine and straightens up, then moves to start the climb back up to his perch near the top. When he's, like, four feet off the ground, he pauses and looks down. Oh yes, Other People,]

What do you do?

Oh, so like drills and forklifts and things like that? Did you ever give anything a crazy upgrade? Like lasers? I know there are water pressure guns back home that actually cut through metal and rock?? It's pretty amazing what people can create if they're given the right resources, right? I'm sure you've been making all sorts of interesting things here... [ Shigeru...

But a blink as he looks up and then another smile from him. ] Me? Oh, I'm a doctor! For people and I guess other things? [ What does that even mean?! It sounds odd so he will clarify. ] I can fix pretty much anything. Ah! Not-Not to sound pretentious but my powers let me cure anything someone might have. But I can also fix machines, weapons, clothes just stuff like that. But I really don't use my powers for that usually.

I figure given the nature of this place we could always use more healers and doctors, right? So that's what I'm doing here, too.

[Wow, and Octavian thought Vash had a word vomit motormouth problem, this is next level— He can only stare down at Shigeru through this whole thing, like it isn't safe to look back at his machine and mess with it until he's sure there's no more.

So, after waiting a few extra seconds,] Why do you not use your abilities to their fullest extent?

[Forget all of that other stuff about lasers and whatever, he's lost interest; tell him why you're not out there mending things as well as people, kiddo.]

[ Listen here, sir!!! Shigeru has been mute most of his life so talking is still something new for him, leave him alone! ] Oh! Well...it's a lot of things.

[ Shigeru looks awkwardly down at Cheddar who will just give a soft squeak at that. ] I-I don't want to step on people's toes with this kind of stuff, you know? F-Fixing things and-and people...I usually offer but only if the person really wants me to help them.

[ Shigeru looks back up at Octavian. ] I don't want people to think that they're...something that needs to be fixed or cured. [ He doesn't know, it feels weird, almost wrong to make people think that they need to be fixed because of their disabilities or ailments. ]

But I know some people can be stubborn about things. So, I just use my powers when people let me know or it's a really serious situation.

[Oh, he was thinking about, like, shirts with tears in them, but he supposes this is a logical response.]

You have a sense of respect for others. That is admirable.

[No one likes a pushy miracle worker, after all. Octavian has a rather large complex, call it, about bodily autonomy, and so he doesn't dislike this answer-- but also he was thinking about shirts with tears in them, so it throws him off for a moment.

He considers it a bit longer. Hmm.]

I thought it would pertain to knowledge of the composition of a thing. Take my machine for example. You do not know how it works. Could you fix it anyway, were it to break?

Oh! Uh, well, I don't need to know how it works, no. [ A smile and a nod. ]

If you just point me in the right direction with what's broken...I can fix it. Or fix the part that's broken at least. [ A pause. ] Well, it's technically remaking it to a point where it's not broken. As long as I know that...it's an easy fix!

[ Said with another smile and a thumbs up! ]

Is that true mending? Or a relative manipulation of an object's time?

[Well Shigeru, please explain all of the gritty magical details. He requires the knowledge.]

I am unfamiliar with the magic regardless. Mending magic.

Mm. [ Shigeru shakes his head. ]

Not the time but it's...matter, I guess? I can manipulate things at the subatomic level. But it does have limitations like I can't make something bigger than what it is but I can break it down into smaller versions of itself. It would be easier to, um, show you but I wouldn't want to mess with your machine...unless you're okay with it.

[ But actions speak louder than words as the saying goes. ]

No.

[Do Not Touch the machine, he's not that curious. This is his machine child and he's not letting anyone slap magic all over it without knowing all of the details. Even if slapping magic all over it could help show those details...

It's still a no.]

You could turn that mouse into smaller versions. It is not actually alive.

[ Shigeru gasps and looks down at Cheddar. ] I-I can't do that! It's...different with a living thing. But! Oh! I know! H-Hold on a second!

[ Shigeru huffs a laugh as he sets Cheddar down. He will not be using his powers on a cute innocent little cheese mouse?! Instead, he will...concentrate and summon up a screw from his powers of creation. Octavian might feel a weird presence when he does that, considering Shigeru's godpowers are interacting within his dreamscape. But the screw is rather large, big enough to fit in the palms of Shigeru's hand where it now lays. Shigeru will give Octavian a look as he activates his powers.

He's not sure how this will interfere with a person's dream but Shigeru's eyes shift to pitch black with yellow sclera and there are...shadowy tentacles now that flare out in the dream's floor, red eyes within them, looking around but mostly at Octavian and Cheddar. The screw will then start to be disintegrated until it's completely vanished before Octavian's very eyes. But it'll be reformed into its original self just as quickly. Shigeru will then do the process over only this time the screw will be formed into 4 identical smaller screws that when melted together will give the same mass as the larger one. He'll merge them all together again with his recombination, and disintegration powers until the original screw is laying in his hands.

Shigeru looks satisfied enough as he closes his eyes and that odd feeling from his powers and tentacles with eyes snap back into his person. He will hold up the screw for the other man to inspect. His eyes back to their normal look too. A smile. ] See? It's pretty cool, right?! I don't normally work with this kind of stuff but that was pretty fun.

Strange hesitation from someone using their power for medical use.

[He's just saying--

In any case, there's an awful lot of tentacles and strangeness happening all of a sudden that absolutely draw his attention more than the trick with the screw. Yes, that is interesting in its own right, but what is with the tentacles? The strange feeling in the air? What's wrong with his eyes? He didn't mention at all that he isn't an ordinary magician at all...

So he'll get to the screw, fun trick, but first:]

Are you an alien?

Oh! Um!! [ He's embarrassed and flustered because he forgot to mention something so important. What an idiot! ] S-Sorry! I-I forgot to mention about my-my powers...

[ He looks awkwardly away as he just fiddles with that screw in his hands. ] I'm not...an alien. I'm something called a phrobiest...and a god now too, I guess

[ The last part is said very quietly as he looks away. He's still not really comfortable with saying it like that. Gods should revered and worshipped, right? He doesn't deserve any of that and wants none of that either. ] Sorry if it was offputting. I normally mention that happens when-when I use my powers.

[Well, good news, Octavian doesn't think gods are real, so all he has to say to that is nothing, actually-- just a brief sneer, like, how cute.]

Do I seem disturbed? I am only asking.

[Tentacles, though. Not the magical effect he'd have expected from any kind of powers.]

That must be inconvenient.

No...you don't. [ People don't normally encounter shadow tentacles with red eyes though?! ] But I never really showed anyone them until-until now, here I mean.

[ Shigeru was in some sort of limbo until a few weeks ago only just reviving and stepping back out into his own world. ]

They're not too bad. I'm still trying to figure them out...new powers, you know? I think they might be good for manual stuff. The more hands the better...like an octopus.

[ He's still not sure how dexterous he can be with them but only one way to find out! ]

[He's dead, baby. Nothing is too weird anymore. Has he mentioned this during this conversation, uh, no, and that's on him, but also: that's just par for the course. One day Shigeru will get the lore.]

Like... an octopus.

[Well, now he has to know. He leans into the upper part of the machine for a moment and then back out again, holding up a wrench. He tosses it to land with a loud clang and skitter a short distance away on the floor.]

Hand me my wrench back.

[No time like the present to practice!!]

[ Octavian throwing that wrench and the subsequent clatter is enough to make Shigeru jump and his tentacles pop out on their own, so that's a start indeed! ] Oh! You-you mean...with these?

[ His tentacles flare up some as he looks sheepishly at them writhing around his person like in a protective circle. Shigeru lets out a sigh. This is the weirdest dream he's been in thus far but practicing here might be better than outside in the real world, maybe? ]

Okay! Here-here goes nothing. [ He will walk closer to it before having one of the glossy black tendrils reach out and curl around said wrench. It's a jerky movement as he lifts the wrench up without much of an issue. It's only when he tries to hand it to Octavian that it might sway without a sense of control. But Shigeru frowns, concentrating, and it evens out. It's very weird because it can feel the wrench like he's actually holding it with his hand. ]

It...feels weird. But I don't know what I was expecting.

[Haha, oh, look at them go-- Octavian doesn't laugh outright at his startled tentacle spouting, but he does smirk a bit. Oh, that's kind of adorable. Just look at him, like an excitable little mouse.

It also seems like they have a mind of their own, almost, but he has them mostly under control? Octavian leans out from the machine to watch with interest, fascinated by the movement of these extra appendages. The work he could get done if he had a nebulous number of extra hands, imagine it...

When the wrench comes up he watches them sway for a moment before reaching out with his palm up, to accept the bounty.]

How so?

[ Shigeru can and will look a bit flustered back up at the other man, his green eyes focused elsewhere for a second or two. He is still very...self-conscious about his new appendages but this is a dream so it makes it a little easier. Maybe the other won't remember the details??

Shigeru will deposit said wrench into the other's hand with an unfurling of the tentacle that gently places it into Octavian's palm. The tentacle will sway a little in front of Octavian as Shigeru is lost in thought for a second. ]

It's like I can feel it in my hand, or something. It's just weird?! And I can feel the air temperature up there is different through them too. I guess they're pretty sensitive to stuff. But each one is-is giving me a different signal that I can pinpoint which one it belongs to. It's a lot of input for your mind but I seem to be able to do it just fine.

[ He looks thoughtful as the other dozen or some tendrils sway lazily about him some extending now to touch the metallic surface of Octavian's machine lightly. ] Like those ones! I-I can feel the cold, from the metal.

[He accepts the wrench, turning it over to peer at it and see if anything is different about it... really he's checking for Goo, sorry Shigeru. Tentacles are gooey, in his mind? He has to check.]

I suppose your mind is changed. To account for more limbs. It makes sense.

[The way his own mind had forgotten what touching anything at all felt like, for so long-- like the opposite! Only depressing! He doesn't bring this up, instead looking at the tendrils touching his machine. Hey now.]

Be careful with those. [lightly chiding, it's a dream, but still--]

[ There is no goo, thankfully, his tentacles are 100% goo free. Shigeru's tentacle will undulate before it slowly moves back down toward its master. He nods his head as if what Octavian is saying makes sense, even if he's not sure it does?? But, ah, well it's fine he'll just roll with it because he has absolutely no clue himself. ] My mind? Hm. I guess you might be onto something there...

[ A lot about him has changed so it just makes sense to think that way.

He does startle a little and his tentacles that were idly touching the machine will retract. ] Oh! S-Sorry! They kinda just...wander on their own.

[Oh? He isn't fully aware of them, then? Hmm.]

Your mind must be troubled. A restless mind leads to a wandering hand.

[....or, well,]

Such as the case may be.

[ He is always restless and stressed so this is pretty on point for him. His shoulders sag ever so slightly. ] I-I thought I was pretty good at-at hiding it...

[ Shigeru, buddy... ] But this was a-a good start to some practice! I guess they're also tied to my emotions sort of, so I'll have to figure that out at some point too.

[ When he gets flustered they just sorta...pop out, whoops! ]

They are tentacles.

[Sorry bud, but the big wiggly appendages are a lot easier to read than something as mundane as a facial expression. Good luck and godspeed with that.]

Unfortunately I have no advice in that regard. Emotional regulation for me has been... all or nothing. Fundamentally.

[A shrug!] I do not recommend it.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

EVENT #12: ADVERSITY 6568654

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