applenet | COUNTDOWN : MORTALITY

Entry tags:

COUNTDOWN : MORTALITY

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!]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[With the annual blossom festival coming up, there's a lowkey but persistent excitement in Green Valley's gardening club -- about as much buzz as there ever is, in a club sometimes decentralized around campus and only occasionally all together. Still, there are contests to be entered, fundraisers to prepare and possible money and prestige to be earned in the sea of tulips; and so the fateful day finds Haruka still in the greenhouses around sunset, finishing some watering rounds and checkups for the day. He'll take the paperwork home with him -- it's increased in light of the festival, too.

His parents have been getting on his back lately to get home earlier, even though they themselves often have trouble making the curfew or are forced to stay over in company dorms or with colleagues due to their job hours. He has been more careful about staying out too late in light of recent murders, but he has his own responsibilities to think of, too -- that's what he tells them and himself.

When the application finally lands on his phone, he's just getting on the subway, rather than wrestling with fertilizer or gardening shears, which is probably some kind of blessing in disguise -- the lucky few still in the subway at this hour get to see him make a series of odd faces at his phone as he tries turning it off, on, off and on again to no avail; reads over the TOS three and a half times in growing confusion and exasperation; he's too tired for this right now.

Finally he hits Hell Yes in a fit of pique and the hope that he'll find some way to wrangle the app from the inside, and--

"--ka, get up!" He was carrying something important, but his arms are empty now, and he can't get his legs under him because they're shaking too hard. The snarls and sounds of tearing flesh are still far enough to escape, but the screams and the pleading brand themselves into his memory. He shuts his eyes tight, opens them to run--

--and finds himself on the subway platform with no idea of how he's gotten there. There are words on the screen that he can't have typed, because his hands are nowhere near steady enough to handle the keys at the moment.]

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

[It takes some time and pacing and realizing he's definitely gotten off at the wrong station to calm down, focus, and reach out to those in the app just as blindsided as he is.]

eligor: ... is this a social experiment?
eligor: it's not a very good one.

I would actually say it's a very good social experiment. With a single answer, you can see how deep a person's loyalty to their friends goes. Perhaps even by answers, you can see who to avoid in the future. Locate problems before they -become- problems.

i disagree. i don't remember answering the question, so the app must have done something on its own.

[Never mind that he can't find it in himself to disagree with his answer. Haruka Sorazawa is someone who tries to cleave to the rules of society, but a death penalty for a piece of bread? In the hypothetical world where that's possible, he's not sure he'd be able to listen to that society.]

you'd trust something like this?

Mind your grammar, dear.

[ A hesitation, spent on her end contemplating a wine glass. An app that does something on its own? Ridiculous. Maybe it was just filled in during her--

Hm. ]

I trust them more than the myriad demands of the ignorant to be given the truth. Did you read the Terms of Service? If that was not humor but an actual contract, I have no faith inspired in me that we'll receive answers from anyone but ourselves. Or at least any answers that would be helpful.

⚔ Eligor

⚔ Dantalion

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

⚔ Eligor

no subject

no subject

☸ Eligor

no subject

☸ Eligor

⚔ Shax

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

☸ Ronove

no subject

no subject