COUNTDOWN : MORTALITY 2.0

[cordibus]

The city has been at an uneasy peace the past few weeks.

It was too early to tell if this was going to continue. However people were still being warned to keep obeying the lockdown after sunset. Many businesses opened dormitories have opened more houses for those employees stuck working late. Only police, hospital and firemen units continue to operate at night for emergencies until furthur notice. The city seems to have returnd to normal.

And that's about when you come in. It's a strange time to be Awakened, but, lucky you, you're not alone.

You could all say it started with a strange icon that popped up on your phone that day. June 17th, 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: June 17th, 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. Don't worry, you're not alone in this!

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 | Man I Can'T Wait to See What this is About!
It really seems like you don't have much choice. After pressing one of the three buttons (one of them trailing off to the side of the screen), a new screen greets you.

21 DAYS REMAIN BEFORE AWAKENING

Welcome, welcome!! It's me, the guy you have no idea who it is. That's okay, cause you got a few of your friends coming in too. Anyway, bla bla bla, answer these questions, I'm not being all fancy this time, got it? Don't worry if the answer sounds 'bad'. After all, you're already hired!

Hey other guys that are already here, feel free to do this again if you're up to it. But what's the point? It's just going to make you answer honestly, you can't troll it (that's my job.) Just grab some popcorn and watch the insanity unfold.

Are they... acting like they’ve just hired you for a new job? (And really being impolite too)

The first (and only) question for today is:

You find yourself in a neighboring city where you find out that the guards have captured an individual who stole some apples from a king's apple orchards. For the sake of this morality lesson, let us say that the penalty in this city is death, and a very painful one because the king's into sadomasochism, I guess. This individual is a childhood friend. Also I guess its in the past since Kings don't have that power anymore. Hey, have you guys heard of something called the King's Game? Wait no, that can come later. Anyway, 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. Do lawyers exist in the past? I guess you get to wear a wig!

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. Someone else can get a wig.

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. Probably with one of those catapults.

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. GPS didn't exist back then either.

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 wait for the town caller to tell me the news of their demise. 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.301.02) 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?

But don't worry...this time you're not quite alone.

[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.

FOR PLAYERS ALREADY IN THE GAME: Your character is back to using only their demon name, and everything gets censored again. New posts started by your character also have the same effect and block out nearly everything. Don't worry, soon Luci will show you how to bend the rules a bit...

For the new players, welcome to the game, and have fun!]

Comments

⚔ Marchosias

[touketsu]

[Someone is on the ground, the yellow of their uniform shirt like a pale sun against the grass, a dark shadow beneath them writhing with every move they make. They're in pain, with their knee hiked up to their chest and their fingers clasped together around their ankle. You can already see the swelling from where someone else's cleats had collided...and there's a storm inside you that swells along with it.

You want to pummel the one responsible. Your fists are already clenched, nails biting into your palms. But your friend holds the leash to your anger and with just a few words you're reminded of how much everyone else is counting on you right now.

"Stop! If you hit him, you'll be removed from the game!"

There's nothing you can do about it. Impotent in your rage, you're forced to let the culprit walk away...]

7) Society is unfair. I'm already preparing to bust my friend out of the jail so they can escape. Probably with one of those catapults.

[That's...not the answer he'd been about to select. But there doesn't appear to be any way to undo that action.]

Weird question and answers aside, what did they mean by "this time?"

☸ Eligor

[kouteipenguin]

[Marchosias, eh? He'll be bemused about that for reasons he's not going to get into. There's no end to them, is there.]

10: It means exactly what it sounds like. This isn't the first time.

10: By the way, there are a lot of people called Marchosias. You will want to select your own username or number to type in front of sentences.

⚔ Marchosias

[touketsu]

Eligor: Like this?

☸ Eligor

[kouteipenguin]

[Calm. Center. Controlled. Kidou breathes in.]

10: If no one else uses it, there's no reason it won't work.

[BUT DO YOU HAVE TO.]

⚔ Marchosias

[touketsu]

[This is a much needed distraction from...whatever it was he'd seen before that answer was selected.]

^_^: I'm only joking. Besides, it's kind of tiring writing out such an uninteresting name. A number really would be better.

٩( ᐛ )و: Is 9 taken?

⚔ Marchosias

[catchthishand]

[ Okuyasu- Rommy- damn it, he's still not sure who he is- sighs, scowling at he taps at his phone.

Weird future stuff is weird. ]

29: yea this time
29: another Marcgosias
29: again??

⚔ Marchosias

[touketsu]

29: How many of us are there?

[The irony of asking that question while copying Oku's number...]

Re: ⚔ Marchosias

[catchthishand]

29: five I think with you
29: thinks my number get your own
29: 29 92 292 and I'm are taken

⚔ Marchosias

[touketsu]

29: Alright. Don't break your keypad. :)

9: It's a little weird that we've all picked 2s and 9s as our numbers, don't you think?

9: I wonder if that defeats the purpose of having a way to separate us at all...

9: Seems like it might get kind of confusing.

[Especially with some people being able and very willing to have fun with those names and numbers...]

⚔ Marchosias

[draculabackwards]

IL: Oh delightful, one more to add to our username pile. For your own benefit, you may wish to add some kind of letter or number to the beginning of your responses. There are a few of us with this username.

⚔ Marchosias

[touketsu]

9: The more the merrier, right?

9: Although...

9: You don't sound very happy about that.

9: Is there a reason why?

⚔ Marchosias

[draculabackwards]

IL: For reasons that we have not quite determined, this particular username has the most amount of people assigned to it. It just makes it a little confusing to determine who is who.

⚔ Marchosias

[touketsu]

9: So it isn't randomized?

9: Is there a reason you're not using a number?

⚔ Marchosias

[beastfang]

929: Others have already mentioned the fact that Marchosias is used frequently in here so I won't rehash on such.

Unfortunately actual information regarding why exactly there is a 'this time' and there being some of us that are not as new to this app as you are is something that can not be given out. Due to the nature of this program and the ones that oversee it.



[He also sees what you've been doing to the others and he's not going to give you ammo if he can help it.]

⚔ Marchosias

[touketsu]

9: Oh, you're one of the other mes the other me was talking about.

9: 929 is a good number for you.

[By which he means Genda sounds like a grumpy old man.

A grumpy old man who is willing to provide what little information he can. Not that there's much Kouyuki can do with what he's been told, but it's at least an answer, right? That has to be better than none at all.

Never mind that it leaves him feeling a little like how he'd felt in...whatever that dream or hallucination was.]

9: Anyway...

9: It's alright if you don't actually have any useful advice. It's still nice that you've introduced yourself.

⚔ Marchosias

[beastfang]

[Laugh it up snow boy, you'll be done with all of this soon too.]

929: It was to expedite the process mostly.
Especially in the coming weeks when things happen a bit more regarding this application.


929: I can give a warning at the least there is someone on here with a star symbol and a user name of Luci. They may or may not answer questions regarding everything, or they may just confuse you more. Don't fully trust everything they may say or expect clear cut answers from them regarding the reason behind you receiving this application.

⚔ Dantalion

[forsteri]

11: I won't rehash what the others have already told you. Even so...
11: If my assumption is correct, you'll be seeing this app more than once. "This time" will make more sense by then, I think.

⚔ Marchosias

[touketsu]

[Why in the world does a dandelion have swords and not that little fluffy circle symbol? Is that some kind of glitch in the system?]

9: What if I just don't use the app?

9: I mean, it gives me a headache, anyway. They should really warn about that kind of thing if they want people to keep playing.

⚔ Dantalion

[forsteri]

11: Good luck managing not to use it. It'll follow you around between devices.
11: It showed up somehow on our oven's clock once.

⚔ Marchosias

[transient_specter]

92: Some of us have done this before.

⚔ Marchosias

[touketsu]

9: So I've heard.

9: Almost everyone I've spoken with seems to agree that it's not very fun. Has nothing good at all come out of this app?

⚔ Marchosias

[transient_specter]

92: ... Some of the people are decent.

⚔ Eligor

[probablynoteren]

[Everyone else has the pressing problem covered, so he's going to be nice and responsible and--]

01: catapults...

[--helpful!]

⚔ Marchosias

[touketsu]

9: When life gives you catapults...

[Go big or go home?

Although, a trebuchet would be better suited to breaking through prison walls...]

[probablynoteren]

01: another macaroni with 9...
01: marching
01: my arcade
01: ...
01: i don't think catapults would help.

[He means more that catapults will really not help with this lot. Do you know how many of them would have catapulted their phones into the ocean?? Thanks Luci.]