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

[laserguy]

[Her question gets Scott to look up from the ground to meet her surprised glance with that still more melancholy demeanor. Maybe, normally, he'd acted slightly offended or give Ange a hard time that duh it's about her and his other friends, but he keeps that more serious expression.]

Yeah, of course I'd want my friends to be happy. Especially you.

[Because Ange is a close friend and she's been through so much crap back home. And he's aware that she can't exactly be happy at home, given that she's dead, but... maybe he can hope for it anyway. Peter managed to come back to life and even if he was only around for a short period just to tell Scott that, he's glad to know anyway.]

[entreats]

[ The girl stares at the now-hazy dream around them. It's still hard to think of what to say here. What do you say or do in the face of such overwhelming care? Do normal people know how to deal with that?

.. Maybe the kindest thing she can do is just be honest in return, right..? ]

Scott, I..

[ Something in her gaze grows a little bit more sad - no, worried. ]

I don't want you to have to worry that much about me. I don't want you to be sad.

[laserguy]

[A small breath leaves Scott at that, not exactly sounding defeated, but tired in a way. Like he's committed to what he's about to say next, even if may end up sucking in some way in the end. With how the dream's about to fade, maybe it's fitting. Perhaps he'll be lucky and he'll get the last word in between them. He'd like that.]

I'm going to worry about you, Ange. You can't change that. [...] If it ends up with me being sad, then it'll just be something I'll carry.

[entreats]

[ Something in Ange's gaze is a little sad as she looks at Scott after he says that. She looks touched, but in a complicated sort of way. It's nice to know someone thinks of her so much, but.. it's also the first time she's had to come to terms with the fact that someone might feel bad because of her. Exactly because they care about her.

It almost seems like she might reject it, but she doesn't.

She can't. Not like this. ]

...

[ Instead she says: ]

Just don't go, Scott.

[ If she can ask anything from him, it's-- It's just that. Just like how Scott wants everyone with him in this dream just to make sure they're okay, Ange wants-- ]

I don't want to be alone.

[laserguy]

Ange...

[Before the dream can fully end, he reaches for her hand, wanting to grasp it within his own and show that she's not alone. Not right now, and not when they wake up from whatever this is. If he had a choice, he would find a way for all of his friends to be okay. That's what this dream was about after all.

...Just a dream.

He swallows past a rising lump in his throat, but he steadies his gaze at her. He can't think about that-- he'll just have to make that as much of a reality as possible.]

I promise that I'll be here. [He knows that he shouldn't make those kind of promises in a place like this, when anyone can disappear without warning, but he wants to say it anyway. Right now, when Ange just admitted something like that to him. He knows it wasn't an easy thing for her.]

[entreats]

Thank you.

[ Her voice is so quiet, but it sounds all the more sincere for it. There's no hiding her feelings here - not this once. It's all her own vulnerability on display. Her worry about this topic in particular, her gratitude towards him for saying something like that.. ]

I-- I'll eventually have to go back to my world, when I can. [ What she has to finish there is too important. As much as she wants Scott to be okay, as much as part of him being okay is having to know she's alright. ] But.. I won't leave you before saying goodbye first.

[laserguy]

[His mouth twitches upward hearing that, a mix of sadness and appreciation in his covered eyes. It's... the most he can probably ask for, right? Since they can't stay here forever. He doesn't want to put that on anyone either, especially if horrible shit keeps happening.]

I'm holding you to that, Ange. [...] And I won't disappear before you do, because I have to see you off.

[Can they even make that kind of promise? Probably not, but Scott's going to say it anyway. He wants to be true, if so that he can hug her tightly before they're separated for good.]