applenet | COUNTDOWN : MORTALITY

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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!]

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[It depends on how specific a night guard one is talking. Most businesses will have them. But Eddan, in particular, has a night guard that you can't quite ignore.]

my city is also under a curfew, but [INFORMATION LOCKED] is what happens if i go beyond that.

i don't know how far this app goes. it would be better if it was international.

Censorship, huh.

You think it's something sinister? I don't know how seriously to take it. It's like we've just been signed up for something, with no idea what it is, only the implication it could kill us. And the creators don't even expect us to be okay with that, but don't care.

the privacy settings are more strict than the bank's.

it seems sinister, but that depends on what's being hidden. being killed by something is a standard disclaimer. [I mean, phones can blow up, if they're talking the app; it's still disquieting, though] but the rest makes it seem like a threat.

There has to be a reason for that. Why would this app censor things? It's making even less sense. Not sure I can ignore it.

Being killed, maybe, but the part about disregarding the law isn't. Generally, TOS are written to protect the company within the law. There was no way to back out, so...either this amounts to nothing, or something really is going on.

Do you think we're really in danger?

i don't think it's a good idea to ignore it, but i wouldn't jump to replacing or destroying the phone, either.

[See: Some Shenanigans going on around them at this point probably. There is no chill in 60% of this chatroom, apparently. Actually, they're probably the anomalies here.]

it's not a real tos, but that doesn't mean it means nothing. just nothing about law.

[In other words, if it's a threat, it doesn't have to be a lawful one. He doesn't really understand ToS specifics, but... he doesn't really have to on this one.]

No, I don't think I will. This is too interesting to run away now.

The TOS seems almost like it was included because it had to be there, not because anyone cared about it. Like sometimes at school you have to write a paper, and even the teacher doesn't care, so you write a really dumb one.

sometimes running away is the best solution. [he just feels like he should get that out there, given where this is going] but i don't think we'll be allowed to do that.

it's a weird rule to follow when it breaks so many rules. the app, i mean.

It implied as much in the TOS. And, considering the app grew to double the size it should have been on the home screen when I accidentally hit it, I doubt running away would work.

There's something I'm wondering.

it did what. [every time he hears something new about this thing it's weirder and more alarming than the last one...] i don't remember it doing that, but it did cut in the middle of another app...

what is it?

It grew. Apps generally stick to one square on the home screen grid. This one did too, at first. After I ignored it for a while, it must have grown. When I tapped it, it took up four grid spaces.

A few people have admitted to having brief hallucinations or daydreams while using this app. Have you experienced something like that?

i can see why people are calling it haunted or possessed.

[He's not 100% on board with either, but it is kind of wigging him out just on general principle. There's a pause before the next response.]

that's a reason too. i was on the subway, and then i wasn't.

[Don't mind him just sort of. Glossing over the subject.]

Edited (htmlol) 2017-05-15 21:47 (UTC)

It's starting to be a pattern.

I assume the hallucination lasted only a few seconds, and hit approximately when you would've selected an answer to the morality question? And by the time it was over, your answer had been chosen.

That was the case for me.

the pattern for the hallucination? yes. we're not the only ones.

it was probably the app, but... why during the answer?

[The timing of it is strange, when he thinks about it. Is there some reason that they lose the moment of their answer, or is it just to force them to post it?]

And how could an app do that in the first place?

I wonder if the things we saw mean anything, or if they were just...something. Something that would freak us out.

I ended up with the jailbreak answer, too. I was going for 3.

[The timing, the answer...they're significant somehow, aren't they? But what could this prove about anything? What could it do? There are no answers, and it's frustrating.]

... government conspiracies?

[Honestly, anything he can think of ends up sounding either like that or a horror movie (or both). So that's really all he can offer at this point.]

i don't know about the hallucinations. i didn't ask a lot of people. [for various reasons; but if they were just dreams, they wouldn't linger the way they do -- everyone has bad dreams once in a while] i don't think i finished thinking about my answer. what was 3?

3 was offering to hire a lawyer.

Government involvement...possible. They'd be the only ones with technology this elegant, provided it's my home's government that did this. But that makes the purpose even less clear and more sinister.

The hallucination I had...was powerful. I didn't know anyone could feel that much hatred.

oh. there were a couple of those.

[It hadn't occurred to him to do anything about the lawyer side of things, purely because the entire shebang is out of both price and experience range.]

we don't have technology like this, unless the government has it. i wouldn't call it elegant.

[Unless it's not technology.

He pauses at the elaboration on Shax's hallucination. He had assumed he was overreacting to his, so this makes him think.]

... was it like you were someone else? The hallucination.

It's certainly too sophisticated for any given programmer to create... Which leads to a troubling thought, but I'm leaving that for a last resort.

[That...is a very apt question. From the way Eligor glossed past his hallucination, Lonán assumed it was just as uncomfortable as his own. And here's another common thread. Hm.]

It was.

so, a lot of programmers, or someone who knows phones, or something else.

[He's curious about that last resort, but Shax seems to be keeping it in reserve, so he'll let it go for now. They're all shooting in the dark, to an extent.

The other part of why he's been largely keeping quiet about his own vision is that he doesn't know how to describe it. The absolute certainty of death, like a mundane falling dream; but beneath that a jumble of things. (If they die, everyone else will die. And they have nothing, will be nothing; no one will mourn them.)]

it was like nothing... it didn't make sense. for me.

Government involvement would explain how they know so much about what counts as identifying information...

What I saw isn't nonsensical by nature, but has no meaning for my life. I can't shake off the strong feelings that came with it, though. It felt real, as much as it couldn't possibly be.

[If it is government business, and they really are all in such a small area...then maybe it really was something in the water causing the headaches and hallucinations, like Andromalius suggested. That's not comforting.]

the information locks. that's a good point.

[He hasn't thought extremely hard about the locks, because he hasn't tried so much to get personal information through them apart from what relates to their current set of problems.]

it feels real, and doesn't fade. [even if he can't call up the exact color of the sky or the precise state of the hospital, it's going to keep him up at night] i've been thinking that it's using a frequency or something about the phone screen, but.

[Isn't it too intricate for that?]

Subliminal messaging?

That's a strong possibility. Though that brings into question why we haven't all seen the same thing... I got a description from an Andromalius; it was very different from mine.

[If it's the government, this all makes a suspicious kind of sense... And with the murders happening again lately, the gears start turning in his head. He'd always thought it somewhat odd that more blame would get put on the murder victims for being out late, when anyone murdered during the day would've been free of all blame, for anything they'd done, ever, in their lives. Hm.]

i don't know if it's that detailed. but it might explain the headaches.

[Creating actual, unique hallucinations is a little harder. This is nowhere near his area of expertise, and he's been circumspect about some details while he discusses it with others, so that's as far as he's gotten.

The timing, however. He thinks that's suspicious, too.]

i haven't talked to andromalius. [or anyone else, about the hallucinations] is it possible to make someone hallucinate, so that they make it up themselves?

Maybe with hypnotism? They could use subliminal messages to plant some basic things and then our minds would handle the rest.

[He'll need to do some research on hypnotism and subliminal messaging, maybe hallucinogenic drugs. There are all kinds of ways to mess with someone's head at a distance.]

[He also considered hypnotism, briefly, but he knows even less about that than he knows about cell phone frequencies or screen settings.]

so the app and phones would start it, and then it would be finished with something else.

seems really complicated.

[Honestly, he's more of an Occam's Razor type guy...]

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onlythankyou - 2017-05-28 03:19 (UTC) - Expand

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