COUNTDOWN : MORTALITY

[cordibus]

The peaceful life of the city has been shattered once more.

Many had thought it over, but a few days ago it happened again. Bodies slashed and mutilated beyond recognition so that that only dental records could be used to ID the victims. Pieces of bodies strung along power lines and roofs.. The same horrifying events as nearly a year ago...

Back then, the response from the Eddan city council and its police force, however draconian it seemed at the time, was necessary. As death after death of normal citizens began to pile up and a pattern emerged, a lockdown was ordered after sunset. Companies shifted their hours around and before long, the city had adjusted to a daytime only work and school schedule. Many businesses opened dormitories to house those employees stuck working late. Only police, hospital and firemen units operated at night for emergencies.

The city seemed to return to normal. Horrific deaths were few, and blame was usually placed on the victims having for breaking curfew. Despite extensive research and cameras stationed around the city, no culprit for the murders was found. The murder(or murderers) simply were nicknamed Shadow(s) by the media.

Before this new string of murders, many had pondered if the curfew could be lifted soon, that the culprit was a serial killer from another country that left the city after the police came too close to narrowing them down. But now the murders are starting again.

And that's about when you come in.

You could all say it started with a strange icon that popped up on your phone that day. May 13th, 2017.


Did you press it right away out of curiosity? Did you press it accidentally trying to dismiss it? Or did you wait long enough for it to cover your entire screen, forcing you to interact with it? Either way, congratulations! You've got...a Terms of Service popping up in front of you?

Terms and Conditions ("Terms")
Last updated: May 13th, 2017

Please read these Terms and Conditions ("Terms", "Terms and Conditions") carefully before using the http:/www.applenet.net website (the "Service") operated by AppleNET ("us", "we", "our", "horse", "goat", "etc.").

Your access to and use of the Service is predicated on your acceptance of and compliance with these Terms.

By accessing or using the Service you agree to be bound by these Terms and agree to be part of The Team. If you disagree with any part of the terms then that's too bad. You already agreed to them by reading this far.

AppleNET has no control over and assumes no responsibility for content posted or user privacy. You further acknowledge and agree that AppleNET and its affiliates shall not be responsible or liable, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with use of or reliance on any such content, goods, death, night shifts, or services available on or through any such web sites or services.

Governing Law
These Terms shall be governed and construed in accordance the laws, by which we mean with little regard to its conflict of law provisions. Are you still even reading this?

Changes
We reserve the right, at our sole discretion, to modify or replace these Terms at any time. If a revision is material we will try to provide at least 0 days notice prior to any new terms taking effect. What constitutes a material change will be determined at our sole discretion.

By continuing to access or use our Service after those revisions become effective, you agree to be bound by the revised terms. You don't have much choice.

Contact Us
If you have any questions about these Terms, please contact us.

You quickly notice there is no contact number or address. Uhh---

DO YOU AGREE TO THESE TERMS?
Yes | Hell Yes
It really seems like you don't have much choice. After pressing one of the two buttons, a new screen greets you.

21 DAYS REMAIN BEFORE AWAKENING

Welcome, stray lambs! We'll be your friends for a tiny bit. I'm sure the others are looking forward to meeting you in the future, but for now, we are asking you to answer these questions as truthfully as you can. Don't worry if the answer sounds 'bad'. After all, you're already hired!

Are they... acting like they’ve just hired you for a new job?

The first (and only) question for today is:

You find yourself in a neighboring city where the police have captured an individual who has stolen bread from a grocery store to stay alive. For the sake of this morality lesson, let us say that the penalty in this city is death, and a very painful one. This individual is a childhood friend. Knowing all of this, what do you do? Please pick one of the following:

1) I stand up for them and propose to be their lawyer so that they get a fair trial.

2) I stand up for them and propose to be their lawyer so that they get a fair trial. I have no idea what being a lawyer could even be, but that way I can figure out a way to save them and give myself more time.

3) I stand up for them and propose to hire a lawyer so that they get a fair trial.

4) I let the city decide, as the law rules above everything else.

5) They shouldn't have let themselves be caught. It's their own fault and I just let it happen.

6) They bullied you as a kid despite being a friend and you're just happen to see them getting their just desserts. It's pretty great actually.

7) Society is unfair. I'm are already preparing to bust my friend out of the jail so they can escape.

8) I visit jail that night and give them items so that they can escape but no one can pin it on me. The rest is up to them.

9) I show up that night in jail to kill them to save them from the future suffering from the death penalty.

10) I use my vast amounts of fortune / skills to put the blame on an innocent so that they can get out. Hey that other guy is a stranger, so it’s not my problem!

11) What do you mean I showed up in that city? I can barely find my way around this one.

12) I propose to exchange my life for theirs, then I try to bust myself out. Take that, corrupted justice system!

13) I go back home and watch the trial on the local network with a fresh bowl of popcorn. This shit's gonna be good.

As you go to pick out an option...or try to exit out of it, you witness an all-too brief memory of a life you think isn't yours. A flash that makes you think you were hallucinating. Your head hurts, your heartbeat increases dramatically, and you can barely see anything ahead of you...

Wait, did you already pick something? You don't remember touching the screen, but something's already been highlighted and pressed for you. Staring at the 'saving' prompt, you would later find out it was a deeper memory from your heart. It might terrify you, what you've picked.

After that, the program displays nothing else for a few seconds before a chatroom (appleNET chat v.301.01) boots up, with a username already attached to your account and a little icon, either a sword or a ship steering wheel, next to it. More worryingly, your answer is the first thing posted from your name. Not even a hi or hello.

Well good thing no one has any idea who you are....right?

[OOC: The memory should only last for a few seconds, but it would be something significant that would surprise them. It could even related to this question!

All mentions of their own name, profession or other clues that might reveal who they are would be changed to [INFORMATION LOCKED]. The only name they can refer to themselves by is their username, which is the name of the demon you chose for their Persona. 'Family members might be able to find each other via their writing habits, but for now that's the limit.

Welcome to the game, and have fun!]

Comments

⚔ Baalberith

[withoutred]

[ She'd tried not to watch the news since the incident. Ignoring the murders was easier, after all. This isn't like her novels, where the crime is elegantly solved before anyone else dies, by the wit and grace of the Detective. This is real life. There's nothing a student like her could do, so why bother? Better to focus on her studies.

Except when she checks her phone, expecting some message from her mother about needing more tea or wondering where the cat went, she gets... this. Whatever, it's pointless. Hold, swipe left to delete the app- wait.

That didn't work. And terms of service? What? Hold on, she needs a notebook.

Erica reads every word of the ToS, and copies them down longhand in a notebook for school. Ah, even if it states that they can change it at will, at least it would be a good reference point for her own sanity. Finally she clicks through to the question, and is met with a splitting headache-

-thunder crashed as the woman in purple falls to her knees, shrieking uncontrollably about her husband and son, why, why-
Ignore the rest, it's not important in the eyes of your Master. Smooth your skirt, flick your hair back as the very picture of elegance, stand up and bring this tale to it's awaited end;
"You're the culprit. Ushiromiya Natsuhi-san."
Somewhere, glass shatters, to thunderous applause. You're lifted up, up, and-

No, wait, that was real. Mother must've dropped a teacup. That would explain the shattering... wouldn't it? ]

10) I use my vast skills to put the blame on an innocent so that they can get out. Hey that other guy is a stranger, so it’s not my problem!

[ Ah, how strange. She should really check if Mother was okay, but... nah. She can do that later. ]

Did anyone else read the odd Terms of Service for this application? I read it all, of course. We seem to be recruited into.... something, though I'm not sure what yet. How odd.

[blackdogdown]

Nah. Swiped through them before I could look at it. Care to summarize for the audience? I sure as hell don't wanna get dragged into some crazy cult.

[withoutred]

To put it succinctly:

-We are all part of "The Team" (whatever that is) by using this app.
-They can change the terms with no notice and accept no responsibility for anything that happens to us.
-It's possibly disregarding the law. I admit, I didn't understand this bit as clearly.
-We can contact them, theoretically, but there's no listed number. The internet also turns up nothing, before you ask.

Does that sum it up for you? I can elaborate if needed. It seems we're already involved just by using this app, provided it really isn't just some elaborate class project.

[blackdogdown]

Wow that was...suprisingly?? Helpful??

Clear as crystal except not really. This is a bad fucking deal but...it looks like they don't have any way to make us do anything yet?

Key word "yet".

Still doesn't make sense about the last question though. If they want us to be a team, why out everyones morals or whatever? Doesn't seem like it'd foster much trust.

[withoutred]

That's Erica, all right. Helpful to a fault when she really shouldn't be. (Ha.)

You say that, but... at least from a quick appraisal of other comments, not everyone recalls answering the question. And yet they did, somehow. I myself didn't pick what I wanted to choose. Did you?

But maybe trust isn't the goal. We don't even know who everyone is, after all.

[blackdogdown]

Yeah I didn't...click anything. But I don't disagree with what I choose. If that friend is important enough you shouldn't let anything stop you.

But that didn't explain the certainity that whelmed in his heart when he saw it. Like he'd already made this choice long ago...in a different time.

Hey Baalberith, or whatever. I'm assuming that's not your real name either. When you choose that question. Did you...remember anything?

⚔ Baalberith

[truthkills]

no one ever reads the terms of service, that's probably why they were so weird, they knew they didn't have to try and could just amuse themselves

but haha you got the same username as me now no one can pin anything on me directly

thanks for the deniability

⚔ Baalberith, i am so sorry

[withoutred]

[ What.

What.

First she gets stuck with some weird username, now someone else has it too? This has to be a mistake. ]

Disregarding the rest of your statement for a moment - and I will go back to it, I assure you - _what._

To start with, we have decidedly opposing typing styles. Nobody would mistake us if they bother to pay attention. Furthermore, it

[ is forbidden to impersonate her. The thought hangs there, suspended long enough for something in her chest to clench and her headache to intensify. Ahh, what a pain. ]

It won't work. End of story. And _I_ always read the Terms of Service. Not doing so means you won't understand what you're getting into. And in this case, it was a good idea, no?

never be sorry

[truthkills]

Well, if I wanted to put just a bit more effort into my own typing, then it would be a terribly simple matter to impersonate you, wouldn't it? Get that capitalization and punctuation crap rolling, and I'm good to go.

and really do you actually sit there for hours and read the terms when it's some ridiculous 300 page document

ain't nobody got time for that

bless u for this thread omg

[withoutred]

[ Something in her gut twists. No. No. ]

That's- stop that! What kind of cruel person goes out of their way to impersonate someone they don't even know at the drop of a hat?? Nobody would fall for it anyway!

[ Erica. Erica, honey. ]

And it doesn't take me long to read through them! I'm a fast reader! It's not weird!!!

hahaha, happy to be of service

[truthkills]

There comes a time in everyone's life in which it just might be beneficial to pretend to be someone else. You know, at least until the heat's off. I'm fairly certain I could get someone to fall for it if I tried hard enough. I believe in myself!

and in the time it takes you to fast read this crap you could be doing so many more interesting things

☸ Eligor

[kouteipenguin]

Yeah, I read it when the yes/no part didn't have a no. That is not a ToS. You can't agree to something without being allowed to not agree!

⚔ Baalberith

[withoutred]

... Huh. Your screen name has a different symbol attached to it. I wonder why.

That said, it seems even _that_ acceptance was a lie - the ToS (for lack of a better name) said we accepted it just by reading that far. Is that even legal? I'm pretty sure it's not.

☸ Eligor

[kouteipenguin]

I've been wondering too. Others with symbols that match yours selected the same answer I did. There are multiple people with the same name with crossed swords, so it isn't to differentiate. This one isn't that common. It could be that it crops up after a certain amount of people, but I can't tell who has these names apart enough to determine that.

Anyway.

I'm sure you're right. That can't be legal. You don't accept something just by reading about it.

⚔ Baalberith

[withoutred]

It's fascinating, but also highly worrying. Are you sure you didn't do anything different? Your account might have some special flag attached to it that the rest of us do not. That is, assuming that all of _this_ isn't some elaborate joke.

So assuming it's not legal, which it isn't, and that it isn't a joke, which it might be... where does that leave us? Answering some (hopefully) harmless questions? If that's all they wanted, 'they sure chose a strange way to go about it.

☸ Eligor

[kouteipenguin]

I don't think so, but I can't be completely certain if I don't know what everyone else did.

I don't remember selecting my answer. That's reported by others. I had a headache... that's also reported. I selected 'yes' when I had no other option. That's the one thing I haven't asked about yet.

Was that question so harmless? More people than just me felt real pain looking at it. And this isn't a removable app...

⚔ Leraje

[seigikan]

Oh thank goodness someone read all of the TOS! I've been asking everyone what's in it because I accidentally skipped past it. They keep telling me that there was nothing important there, but it has to be important, right?

Did you pick that answer on purpose?

[Someone who was so careful about the rest shouldn't be someone who would pick something so awful, right?]

⚔ Baalberith

[withoutred]

Ah, I must confess, they weren't lying to you. It was mostly gibberish. All the same, if you really do want a summary, there's no point in hiding it:

-We are all recruited into something called "The Team" (whatever that is), thanks to opening the program.
-They can change the terms with no advanced notice and accept no responsibility for anything that happens to us.
-The law is of no concern to them, which... in hindsight, was very obvious thanks to how shady the _rest_ of it is.
-We can contact them, theoretically, but there's no listed number. The internet also turns up nothing, before you ask.
-And, as you saw, the lack of a "no" option towards accepting it. I've heard someone say they couldn't close the program until they accepted - I admit, I didn't think to try.

Does that help?

[ There's a pause, before 'Baalberith' answers again. ]

And no, I did not. I would have chosen differently.

[seigikan]

Good! That answer is awful! Who would even do that?!

But thank you for the summary! I wonder if there's a real TOS somewhere that you have to agree to so you can actually play this game. This could just be some sort of gag for marketing, right?

I don't think I'd play the game anyway, though. I just want to make sure I'm not going to get in trouble for uninstalling it once I figure out how.

[withoutred]

No idea, but I almost pity them. Who would be that thoughtlessly cruel?

[ And just saying that makes her headache pound again. Euuugh. ]

You're welcome all the same, though. If it's a game, whoever is running it is doing a notoriously poor job of advertising it. We don't even have a _name_. My current theory is a class project gone awry - what class, I don't know.

I would say "if you figure it out, let me know" but... that seems counter-productive.

[seigikan]

I'll have to tell [INFORMATION LOCKED] at [INFORMATION LOCKED] after [INFORMATION LOCKED]!

Wait.

Why won't it let me post anything about [INFORMATION LOCKED]?

⚔ Andromalius

[superstylishsquid]

Yeah, something about a team. It also blatantly admitted that it's not even bothering to work within the law, though, so I have no clue how they plan on forcing us to cooperate if we don't want to.

⚔ Baalberith

[withoutred]

I'd normally brush it off, but they mentioned death. That really doesn't bode well for how they intend to make us do things.

[ Just sayin'. ]

⚔ Andromalius

[superstylishsquid]

It sounded more like they thought using their services might lead to death...but that sounds even worse. You think they have snipers or something?

⚔ Baalberith

[withoutred]

That sounds like something out of a bad novel. Besides, how could they tell?

It was just a thought. This entire thing is suspicious, but... hopefully it's just a tasteless joke, right?