applenet | COUNTDOWN : MORTALITY 2.0

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!]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[It's not like anyone can see her right now -- not like she even knows these people, and she's still completely red. She can feel the heat in her cheeks.]

It wasn't swearing, I promise.

I was trying to get rid of the answer. It wasn't what I meant to type.

I guess it probably doesn't matter that much, though, right?

[It's just a chat room. Isn't it? Or a game?]

It's a weird kind of question to ask, though . . .

It types what you deeply know is the truth. Or so it will tell you.

It will get worse before it gets better. At least, that's what some people will tell you.

[What you deeply know is the truth . . .]

What? I wouldn't say that, though!

I don't have that kind of power, anyway. It's better to let a lawyer -- someone who's actually trained to help -- deal with it.

[It's just a game, Ran. It doesn't really count for anything. This person is just taking it seriously. Right?]

[There's no way a computer program could be an authority on that kind of thing when that's not even the answer that would be in her head in the first place.]

[This last part, though . . .]

What do you mean, "get worse?"

What gets worse?

Don't. Panicking won't help.

The questions.

I'm not.

[Mostly. This app is definitely worrying her a bit so far. If she believed any of this had an effect on reality, though, and wasn't just strange, there would be more panic.]

It's just an app, after all.

[. . . Right? So far none of this is sounding encouraging.]

[But she could always just sign off if she needed to.]

It's some kind of morality game? Is the point to go for a score or something?

No. It's not really a game, but you'll find out sooner or later.

[Now it feels like this person is playing with her a little. Like he knows better and is withholding information.]

What do you mean?

See the countdown? That's how long it will take for everything to become clear.

[She hadn't even paid too much attention to that yet; there's been so much to absorb. It adds another level of creepy to this whole thing, and she's really starting to want to close this app down, bury her phone under a pillow, and go out for a couple-hour run.]

[But she also doesn't like things dangled in front of her, and at least for the moment, that wins out.]

What if I'd rather know sooner?

It won't let us say anything to you about it right now. Sorry.

[Do they genuinely mean that?]

[It doesn't seem possible. If it's just an app, there's no way it should be blocking things like this. It's more logical that he -- and everyone else -- are withholding information.]

[Why, though? What would be the purpose of it? Is it some kind of elaborate trick? Like . . . a scam or phishing email?]

[But she hasn't been asked for information yet in any of her conversations. That doesn't seem logical either.]

Can you at least tell me why? This all doesn't exactly sound above board, you know.

Think of this as a testing ground for what's to come. Keep an eye on the countdown and be ready.

[Ready . . . Again, that begs the question of for what. But as much as Ran wants to ask, it doesn't look like she's going to get much more right now.]

[She does her best to breathe and slow her breaths as she does before preparing for a run, trying to re-center herself. Her stomach is doing a jumpy, flip-flopping dance in her gut.]

[She ends the conversation for now.]

COUNTDOWN : MORTALITY 2.0

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