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'm alive!

[endcaller]

[Despair is not a lie, it is the only truth. But it is also comfort, he agrees and knows this well. Long ago, he gave up struggling for hope and allowed the depths of despair to claim him. For thousands of years, he's been sinking deeper into the darkness, finding the only comfort he can in absolute surrender.

His silver eyes sweep upward, reflecting the stars.]

Light takes time to travel.

[He says, then his gaze cuts back to Visas.]

Even the stars you see in yonder expanse are long dead.

We live, we suffer, then we are nothing. So why live at all?

[Before she can answer, he continues.]

Life brings only pain. Such is my answer.

You say I am apathetic. Well! Mayhap I am. But know my poor, beleaguered soul spent ten millennia considering its answer to the question. I've had my entire life to think on it... I've lived. I've suffered. I've felt every hurt of my star as I watched over life itself. My heart is naught but scar tissue now.

[Saying this, his pale features light up in a pained grin and he reaches out to playfully rap her upper arm with his knuckles.]

Which grants me impartiality in my verdict, I think. What fun!

same! :'D

[ashesofkatarr]

[It saddens Visas to see his determination on ruin. It is proof that she has much more to learn... she is not equal to the Exile yet. It will take more than one encounter, clearly, to save this man.

But she must try. His pain is deep. The echoes... she can feel them, echoing through the very emissaries that he sent to the stars to assuage that pain.

However, she cannot accept his logic.]

No... no, I do not think you are apathetic. You are desperate still. But you cling to the wrong answer.

Why should immortality give you impartiality? Your pain is deep. Scars... [She has many of her own, physical ones. They pain her when storms come, when the air recyclers on the ship change their modulations.] A scar may knit your flesh. But it pulls, reminding you always of the wounds that have long ceased to bleed.

The nerves around and through a scar signal strangely. [She traces one of her own, down and across her ribs. A burn from the destruction of Katarr, that pulls when she sleeps in the wrong position.] Life is more than pain. Joy, contentment, boredom... but perhaps the scars in your heart are too thick and tight for you to understand when they are around you. You are not in the least impartial.