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

☸ Orias

[failedhandjob]

mm, i don't know if i agree with that. you're never going to know the limits if you don't push them now and then.

☸ Eligor

[kouteipenguin]

[That's because this person has no idea what's out there - it could be a really bad plan. But he won't say that. Not...exactly.]

10: Is it wise to push them without having an estimate of where they might be first?

☸ Orias

[failedhandjob]

no. but that's not something we're being given any choice about, is there?

[with these censors, there's really nothing that they can do to warn each other about much of anything. it's forcing them to stumble around blind.]

☸ Eligor

[kouteipenguin]

10: Not yet.

☸ Orias

[failedhandjob]

i'd rather try and do something now than sit around and wait for who knows how long. even if it doesn't work out.

☸ Eligor

[kouteipenguin]

10: Such as an exorcism?

☸ Orias

[failedhandjob]

i'm open to other options too. (｡•̀ᴗ-)✧

☸ Eligor

[kouteipenguin]

10: No option I can think of hasn't been tried before.

☸ Orias

[failedhandjob]

maybe you need to start looking outside of practical stuff, then? this whole thing kind of seems like it's supposed to be getting you to think.

☸ Eligor

[kouteipenguin]

10: Resetting. Buying a new phone. Never using a phone again. Asking politely. Asking for help.
These are a few of the methods that have been proven to not work.

☸ Orias

[failedhandjob]

that's all pretty typical, though, isn't it?

☸ Eligor

[kouteipenguin]

[Never using a phone again is a typical response? Who IS this person?]

10: What would you suggest?

☸ Orias

[failedhandjob]

[someone who reads an awful lot of horror lit, that's who. it's only going to get weirder once she awakens.]

well...what about a blood pact?

☸ Eligor

[kouteipenguin]

10: A blood pact?

☸ Orias

[failedhandjob]

yeah. you've heard of those before, right?

☸ Eligor

[kouteipenguin]

10: Let's assume I haven't. What are you suggesting?

[HE HAS IN STORIES MAYBE... WHAT]

☸ Orias

[failedhandjob]

whatever's doing all this is pretty powerful, right? you probably need something just as powerful to get it to leave you alone - only they don't do that kind of thing for free.

☸ Eligor

[kouteipenguin]

[If she's talking about making a contract with a demon... he can't even dare hint about the demon names, but the irony is strong.]

10: Seems risky. You could end up stuck with both things instead.

☸ Orias

[failedhandjob]

that's why you have to prepare before you start. phrasing is key!

☸ Eligor

[kouteipenguin]

10: I don't suggest this.

☸ Orias

[failedhandjob]

oh, come on! it's not that hard. we can even practice together a few times until you're confident.

☸ Eligor

[kouteipenguin]

10: It isn't a lack of confidence.

[It's that he doesn't lack common sense. Unlike, apparently, this person.]

10: Do you really think this is a good idea?

☸ Orias

[failedhandjob]

there's definitely a risk, but i think that it could really pay off. if nothing else you're going to learn an awful lot.

☸ Dantalion

[hachitaro]

hate to be a party pooper but getting each others blood on you is a bad idea because of diseases

even im not this stupid

☸ Eligor

[kouteipenguin]

10: Such as why not to do this.