Fantasy Humanization

[archur]

H U M A N I Z A T I O N​

Prologue: Directed by Devious Dilbert. Written by Exiled Ace & Devious Dilbert. Produced by Exiled Ace. Starring you.​

Click.
"Hi! I'm Vernon, and I'll be your instructor today."
"Okay..."
"So... I know it's a little scary... We've never done this before and that's the main concern that most people have. Well- we ensure you- this is absolutely safe. Time will be moving very fast outside of the sim. But we want you to understand- that your physical body will be in a controlled environment with numerous observers and experts giving you their undivided attention."
"Okay..."
"Alright! Now that that's out of the way- All I need you to do is just take a step into the pod and we can get started. Don't worry- the glass door on it is completely transparent. You'll be able to see me- I'll be able to see you."
"Okay..."
"Here, I'll help you- Just lay back and..."
Click.
Tap-tap.
"Okay, can you hear me?"
"Yeah..."
"Good. So- just close your eyes. Relax. When I start the sim, you might not see or hear anything for a little while. Don't panic- that's normal. When your vision starts to kick in, which it eventually will, so will your hearing. You following me?"
"Yeah..."
"Great. So... you'll come to and you'll be in a little office. A virtual office. And there, you'll meet your team... Now- they are real people that are participating in the sim alongside you. You all are just connected from different facilities across the globe. But again, they are real, and are not part of the sim."
"Okay..."
"Well, Alright!"
The instructor claps his hands.
"Are you ready?"
"...Th-Thank you..."
"I- Y-You- You're welcome... You are so... very welcome..."
Click.​

Welcome to Syndico!
Welcome to Syndico!
Welcome to Synd-
You wave your hand, shooing away the hovering orb-like bot shouting into your ear as you stand in front of the towering Syndico building.
ico!
It is the purest white- reminding you of "snow," a substance that you've seen before in old, pre-modern movies. It's color making it look taller and wider than it's grey surroundings. Grey skyscrapers. Grey roads. And grey people.
The Syndico tower itself like a beacon. Like the flame that moths will flock to.
Today's the day. "You'll become human again," is what the ads told you. And soon you'll be whisked away into the latest techno-wonderland created by, what the public has lovingly dubbed it, the Big S themselves.
Is it a coincidence that an actual big red S is bolted into the face of the building itself?
Thin dark lines begin streaming along the stark white exterior of the facility. Forming the shape of a large rectangle. Large enough to swallow your body whole. Then, the whole shape sinks a couple inches into the wall, creating an ident. The rectangle then slides from the left, all the way to the right. Disappearing completely from your view. In its place... the first floor and lobby of Syndico is revealed to you.
You are immediately greeted by a young person jumping into your view. Wearing a stark white suit, the same red S on their lapel. Hurriedly, you are ushered into the building, where the door slides shut behind you.
Looking past the greeter, you see that a theme of red and white stretches everywhere, from the red carpet, to the white floorings and the stairways in the back of the lobby, even to the various technologies used to upkeep the building, such as the LED lined front desk or the very mobile devices the various employees interact with as they pass by.
With a stabbing, blinding flash of a micro-recognition scan, you rub your eyes. Upon opening them, you see the same annoying bot from outside jet away- and the smiling greeter performs a small head bow before addressing you by name as one of the few lucky clients that will be having their malicious augmentations removed through an experimental new simulation recently devised in the bowels of Syndico R&D.
The greeter then proceeds to lead you towards the back of the lobby where the entrance to a labyrinth of hallways stares you in the eyes. As you begin to walk with the greeter, you notice that each of the many doors you pass by are labeled differently. Some range from “Meeting Room” and “Lounge Room” to “Equipment Testing” and “Decommissioned Hardware”.
Then- as if the greeter knows the facility by heart- or by augmentation of the mind- he turns left into another long-stretching hallway. This time with a definite dead end. “Simulation Pods,” accompanied by a respective number, line the walls here. And you are forced inside a random room.
Another Syndico Steve stands in the middle. All around the employee are rows of simulation pods. Black, pill-like structures standing up-right. Some looking to be occupied by what appears to be sleeping individuals.
"Hi! I'm... and I'll be your..." The employee says.
"So... I know it's a little scary. We've never done this before and..."
You look around the room again. Inside, everything but the pods are white as well.
"Listen, all you have to do is just lay back in the pod and..." He gestures towards a pod in the corner. You follow his hand movements and step inside.
"Relax... Close your eyes..." The glass door encompasses you. You feel your body tilting back. And in a couple of seconds, you’re staring at the stainless tiled ceiling.
"You'll come to in an office..."
Then your sight goes black. The low buzzing of the machinery in use cuts out. The back of the pod begins to feel like air.


You awake in an entirely different place, sitting down on a simple folding chair, a bit surprisingly. What with the grandiosity of the environment you were just in. This room isn’t so stark white and sanitarium-esque. But rather- the color scheme is comprised of muted light browns and light greys. The walls a sort of taupe themselves. You face a large oak desk with a few randomized paper weights littering the surface of it. One being a glass sculpture of a rose in a pot. Another resembling some sort of… ocean creature? The others- you simply cannot identify. The leather chair behind the desk is faced away from you and towards a wall-spanning window over a city whose buildings are stuck in a cycle of phasing in and out of existence, new towers coming in to replace the old ones as they vanish into nothing.
Peeking out of the back of he chair, a pair of entirely white elbows rest on the arms, motionless.
You notice that besides from where you are, there are a few other things around the office, such as a water cooler, a few paintings that are constantly changing scenery every handful of seconds, and other folding chairs set up all over the room a small distance from each other, some empty, some with other strangers in them, more appearing as you observe.

What’s next- is up to you.

Coded by Devious Dilbert​

 

[Ronan]

STEP_AUTHCOMMAND.BUI / ACCESS TERMINAL : V001.

[ INITIALISING ... ]
[ {STRUCT GROUP_INFO}USAGE=GALILEO_GALILEI ]
[ LOAD: LOGICAPSULE_(1) ]

Galileo is first to wake.

She wakes to the sound of bubbles, the oscillation of water moving through the the cooler and rising to greet the air. And the bubble is a familiar sound. A sound often heard in her own workshop on King's Parade. A water cooler. Not the invention of the century but something normal. An everyday object from the real world that adds life to the simulator. Makes it feel real.

As her eyes adjust to the surroundings she stands from the folded chair and examines her clothes and her face, feeling for the familiar texture of the mask. She is wearing her usual attire from the real world, a black qipao and pants, which was a surprise. She expected to be wearing a hospital gown with a large S sewed into the left breast. A property and experiment of Syndico. To Galileo, it seemed that the real world, the present real world, did not mirror the world of the simulator to the letter. It made adjustments for you. And in her case, it was the clothes.

Now feeling brave, she moved around the room, examining the paintings and furniture and walls. The clothes were perfect but the reality was not. It changed. Moved like a worm. Galileo was looking at a kaleidoscope of variables, the world could not place what the perfect world would be. The personal criteria that fulfilled the goal of Syndico's 'become human again' programme. What was human to Galileo? What was the perfect world? Her perfect world as she knew it was King's Parade.

She moved to a new wall and on the wall is a painting, one that she approaches with appreciation, Guernica, the mural created from a nation's suffering. Guernica for the bombings. Guernica for the most ancient town of Basque. Guernica for chaos. It is what Galileo sees when she looks out the window to the ever-warped skyline of the simulator. It resembled a child's playground and the pandemonium of a master painter. Guernica. The ugly truth. The perfect world had yet to come. The simulator had yet to settle on one.

Slowly, she backs away from the window and painting and looks to the folded chairs that litter the room. Some are empty and some are occupied with bodies. Few seemed ghostly, like a computer screen loading to 100%. She felt as if she could touch them and her hand would go through. But for the few that had 'loaded' into perfect flesh they were still asleep. The other sleeping individuals of the real world. Galileo leans towards one of the bodies, her pitch black eyes roving over their face and deciding.

These bodies - and her - were the sleeping giants of this realm. Allies and enemies and the yet to come. Galileo Galilei touches their cheek, a firm whisper in their ear, 'Wake up.'

Spoiler: tags.

it can be anyone that galileo is interacting with! feel free to insert yourself!

 

[Megus]

Kay woke with a quiet groan, rubbing at her vibrant green eyes as she sat up a little straighter in the folding chair. It took only a few moments before her vision cleared, and for a second she was thrown off by the dull browns and grays surrounding her. The office room that she now found herself in was nothing like she had imagined it to be compared to the piercing whiteness of Syntech. It was actually a nice change for her eyes to not have to work so hard to see, but she did wish there was a little bit more color to this world.

From where she sat, the brunette could see most of the objects in the room. There were several other chairs scattered around that had people still sleeping and some that were completely empty. Everything else in the room and outside seemed to be continuously changing. She personally was drawn to the window that looked out onto a wavering city. She watched the buildings fade in and out; existing only for a moment before disappearing for who knew how long. In a way, Kay felt as if that was how her life had been for the longest time. Ever since she had received her mal-aug, her parents had trained her to be the perfect child. Everything that she had known had disappeared to never return.

The girl finally looked away from the window, hoping to avoid memories of years past. As she did so, Kaylin noticed another person roaming the room. The blonde stranger seemed to be examining the other sleeping bodies littered around the room, and she knew that this could very well be an ally in this world. After all, the instructor at Syntech had told her that everyone in this room was a real person doing the simulation as well. The brunette knew that she should speak up. She needed to make friends in this world.

But what if she said the wrong thing? She wanted allies. Not enemies. She knew that a bad first impression could ruin any chance she had at making a friend, and it wouldn't take long for that impression to be made. Her parents had taught her that a smile and a kind word was all one needed to survive in society, but was that really true? Some people didn't take kindly to others who were always nice. She worried that it made her look manipulative, and that was definitely not something Kay needed right now. In this case it was going to be better not to speak unless spoken to. Someone would have to talk to her eventually. Right?

 

[Hercynia]

Aaron swam slowly back into the land of the waking, blinking away the bright spots of light that swam in front of his eyes, and doing his best to ignore the splitting headache jabbing at his skull. He found himself in what looked like an office - the wooden tone of the room quite the contrast to the clean-white aesthetic he'd closed his eyes to. For a simulation, this choice seemed... interesting, especially for Syndico. It didn't feel much like their style - no grandiose, gleaming pillars, or spires - and certainly no huge, angular red "S" to be seen anywhere. The only grand thing here were the floor-to-ceiling windows that lined one side of the room, the skyline a smudge tool gone mad - twisted, shapeless. A reminder that this place wasn't what it seemed to be.

Looking down at himself, Aaron realised his clothes were different from when he'd gone in - no more white - of course it had been white - hospital gown, and instead his comfortable vest, shirt, and cargo pants greeted him. Strange - these clothes were in a locker. In Syndico. In... the real world. The real world, the real world... A distinct impression struck the red-haired man, the almost-overwhelming sense that he'd forgotten something... important. Well, that was normal, he supposed. Always happened when travelling, and this was a journey. Although it didn't seem much like one, not right now. Ah well. That would come. Probably.

Staring at his hands and flexing them slightly, turning them over and examining the veins, Aaron frowned briefly, before glancing up once again - this time focusing more on the actual contents of the office rather than a general impression. The room was filled with folding chairs - another odd choice for Syndico, he thought - some empty, some with various people sitting - sleeping - in them. A silver-haired woman was leaning over another sleeping body, unnervingly pitch-black eyes staring piercingly at their face. A more sustained look revealed more movement - a brown-haired person in front of Aaron, back-turned, had their head turned towards the black-eyed woman too.

Slowly, Aaron stood from his folding chair, his hand on its back as a support as he looked inwards, into the room, and spoke.

"Hello?"

 

[Devious Dilbert]

Veridius​

tags: interacting with Ronan
The rest of you guys! BlackOrchid02 (I'm not sure if you were aware that we had the main up since we don't really see you often in the dcord, so I tagged you just in case) Hercynia Anaxileah archur marshmarrow Megus

"Hey... you'll do fine... You'll be fine."
I... don't know... Isn't this a bit much...? I mean... I... I don't know about this...
"Ugh..." He sighed. Crinkled his brows... "Listen to me!"
I was forced to look away...
I- uh... yeah, go- go ahead.
When I saw him again, however, he was normal.
"We... You..." He sighed again... "Listen... We've come so far to get this for you..."
Dude... Did we really? Cuz' just a couple weeks ago you proposed this... whole idea to me...
"No!" He closed his eyes and cocked his head. Opened them again. Kept his eyes forward. "...No- you don't remember any of it... but we've busted our asses off for this..."

I just bit my lip. Didn't know what to say- so the rest of the car ride was silent.
Maybe he was waiting for me to say something... Anything... But- I just didn't know what I- more specifically- could say.
Because... how do you react to that? To someone telling you... all this stuff that never happened? Or- at least... you don't remember any of it- and whether it really did or not... is more dependent of the amount of trust you have in the person.
And for me... I trust him a lot. He's my brother for fuck's sake. It's just that... I can't fathom that I don't remember any of the shit that's happened to me.
Just... Who... has ever thought that? I mean... It was definitely weird when the only memory I had was of what happened years and years ago- but... I just didn't think that maybe... I'd lost my fucking memory- and have been continuously for a while, you know? That just... didn't occur to me...
I don't know... It's hard for me to explain... Anyways...

The very last thing he remembered before the world went black- was the sound of the machinery in the room of pods. A low humming... the pitch of something that would be used as filler noise in a horror film. That's what it reminded him of... something completely conventional. That he could understand and comprehend.
Now, as his hearing flowed in waves back to him- his ears were beginning to ring. Softly... softly... until the noise was blaring into his skull. Rattling his head. And as blackness faded into color... into whites and greys- and into two black eyes staring into his very soul.
"Augh!" He gripped the arms of the seat. His eyes the color of mint sprouts awakened into blooms.
He blinked twice. Drew a brow inward. Felt his cheeks heating after realizing the volume of his outburst. He looked to his right. Where he saw another girl in a chair.
"Hiiii..." He mumbled to the woman in front of him, his gaze fixated to his side. Though her face leaking out of the corners of his eyes.
Her own- pitch black. Like a void. Her face unnatural. Out of all the appearance-altering augs he'd seen before- hers, he decided, would be the first he'd dare to call unique. Even though in this world- or rather- the world outside this one- appearing inhuman or at least unnatural had become somewhat of a standard. Blue hair. Red irises. He'd even seen purple skin.
But never before... had he seen anyone try this hard to shed themselves of their humanity.
To deny one the safety of peering into her eyes altogether.
The eyes were the windows to the soul.
And without them, conventionally anyway, for an odd, irrational reason- he was aware- he wondered if she even had one.

 

[Anaxileah]

Syndico was intimidating. The stark white, devoid of any other color, regardless of which spectrum she was using to view it with, stood out compared to the various greys and silvers that surrounded the female. The red was a nice splash of color on the otherwise blank building, with a couple specks of cherry and scarlet, if one looked closely enough. Due to her obvious use of her tetrachromacy sight, Madeleine's eyes were a bright, neon shade of orange that flicked from one side of Syndico to the other as she entered, accompanied by someone she didn't care to know the name or appearance of. Everything else was too interesting. When she switched to light green, all she could see for the people within Syndico were grey auras, all different shades of the bland color. Switching back to orange, her favorite spectrum, everything within Syndico was a major contrast between red and white, intriguing the young female. Why red? Why not another color? There were multiple shades of red engrained into each 'S' on the walls, each carpet, each glow of technology inside the building, giving her some room to explore the room visually with an appetite for more. However, her time in the lobby was shortened as she was brought through dull hallways filled with doors embossed solely in black lettering. A small sigh escaped her lips as she followed the Syndico male at her regular, steady pace before entering the room labeled 'Simulation Pods' with a number beside it. She entered the pod obediently, her orange eyes watching as it snapped shut and the employee spoke something she deemed unimportant to her. When the pod hummed to life, she began to panic.

I can't see. Why can't I see? My eyes are open now, but everything is dark. I can't hear. I can't breathe.

Madeleine began to panic, opening her eyes after the prior instruction to shut them when the simulation was meant to begin. Her childhood years of blindness flashed through her mind in her moment of terror, paralyzed at the possibility of having lost the only good augment she had. After she blinked her eyes once, she could see the world again. Gasping for breath and struggling to stay still, Madeleine frantically fell out of her chair, landing hard on her side as she hyperventilated, scrambling backward and tapping each of her fingers to her thumb, forcing herself to check to see if all of her spectrums were working before switching back to orange. Someone looking upon her would see a rapid change of colors go through her eyes, the flash of rainbow considerably abnormal when it came to augments. Once she regulated her breathing, Madeleine looked around the room, continuing to scoot farther away. Her orange eyes glanced around the room, taking in the browns and the beiges and the taupes and the creams and the whites and th- it was too much, all at once. She switched to light green. The rest of the world was muted and grey, just as it had been before she entered the Syndico building. The only splashes of color were on the people in the room, enveloping their outlines.

The brunette female glowed a soft vermilion, which felt warm and comforting, kind and simplistic. A motherly figure, if not now, soon to be. The female with the mask almost appeared to be entirely silver, but with a small splash of blue in her aura, making her a blue heather, sharp but regal, harsh but honest, distant but brilliant. She carried herself with strength and pride, and that is most likely what led her to success. The male in front of her was very striking, what with his bright cobalt blue aura contrasting with his red-orange hair, causing the female to tilt her head slightly as she assessed him. Rebellious, changing, constantly in flux. Pride, emotions, but splashes of spruce imply sadness, fear, anxiety, depression, a man who cannot make up his mind, but is he controlling it? No, the colors change without his decision. So much conflict. The other conscious male, a daffodil, had apparently just risen as she had. Subdued. Hidden, yet polite and patient. Blocked, trying to remember. What's missing? The question would be answered, but when? Unknown.

After assessing everyone's auras, Madeleine closed her eyes for a moment, slowing her breathing so that she wouldn't pass out from overworking her heart mal-aug. Tapping her left index finger to her thumb, Mad opened her eyes to see the world the way everyone else did, her eyes now a bright yellow rather than orange or light green. All of the quiet others in their foldable chairs spoke nothing, their auras silent until they regained consciousness. Ignoring the offered hand to help the petite female rise, Mad picked herself up slowly, looking around the room, her eyes wandering across everything they could possibly reach. Paintings that were everchanging, a city through a thin sheet of glass that was in constant motion, but not because of the populace, but because the city couldn't make up its mind. The shapes and sizes kept going up and down, round and flat, dynamic but never static. The only constant was the presence of people in the office and the stranger in the office chair. White elbows. What else was there? No aura, were they sleeping like the rest? Were they dead? Once more, Mad's attention was brought to the conscious and living within the office. The face devoid of a face, the bright green in the face of compliance, the bright red mop atop a mess of freckles, the long-haired forget-me-not.

"Hello." The word escaped her light pink, glossed lips on her lightly tanned face, a genuine greeting behind her brightly-colored eyes. Her medium brown hair cascaded down her shoulders and back, the rainbow streak braided and pinned back to keep some of her hair out of her face. The brown curls rested on her simplistic black attire, which concealed the majority of her skin from view, aside from her paled hands, colorful fingernails, and rainbow circuitry that decorated the backs of her hands. She stood at five feet and nine inches thanks to her four-inch wedged heels, putting her at almost the same height as the faceless face and the forget-me-not. Glancing around with a slight nervousness and sense of embarrassment, she spoke once more, directing her speech again towards the four conscious beings within the room.

"I am Madeleine."

Addressed: Ronan Megus Hercynia Devious Dilbert
Mentioned: archur BlackOrchid02 marshmarrow
Mood: Bored -> Terrified -> Observant/Embarrassed
Status: Entering Syndico -> Entering Pod -> Flailing Around -> Chitchatting
Location: Outside Syndico -> Pod -> Office (Simulation)
Inventory: Outfit
Notes: On her right hand she can see with these spectrums: infrared (IR) on her pinkie (pink), ultraviolet (UV) on her ring finger (violet), x-ray on her middle finger (indigo), and gamma on her index finger (dark green); on her left hand she can see with these spectrums: radio (which includes being able to see the vibrations of sound) on her pinkie (light blue), emotion-color synesthesia (mood ring eyeballs) on her ring finger (light green), tetrachromacy on her middle finger (orange), and the visible light spectrum on her index finger (yellow). The colors on each nail correspond with the color her eyes become when she uses that spectrum.

 

[marshmarrow]

lenci roeser

female, 23, mxrphine

When one thought of Valecia Roeser, "vulnerable" was hardly the word that would come to mind, yet it described perfectly how she felt at the moment.

Her awakening was a jarring, sudden jolt into consciousness. Her eyes fluttering open, she first noticed the subdued tone of the room, a complete 180 from the sterile whites of the modern Syndico testing chamber. The room she had entered the simulation from, where her body was currently held.

Her real body. Suddenly, she felt sick. Disoriented. Hollow on the inside, as if there was only empty space beneath her skin. Perhaps there was. For a moment, she considered whether she would see blood if she was cut, or a tear she could see the floor through. She grabbed her left wrist with her right hand, and her fingers crept upward, over her bones. She counted each one. Carpals. Metacarpals. Phalanges. All present. She felt the flesh of her palm. She had to switch hands before she could convince herself she was in her body, exhaling deeply. It just wasn't the body she used when she was awake. Nonetheless, it was still hers. Her fingers grazed something cool and hard on her wrist.

Her watch. Of course. How had she not noticed before? An antique Omega, with a genuine Swiss leather strap, smelling slightly of gun oil. A gift. Even her goddamn scent was replicated in the simulation. She found herself awestruck but suspicious of Syndico's fastidiousness. However, as she peered at the crystal's face, something seemed wrong. The second hand seemed to race, spinning faster than the seconds it was supposed to count, instead of ticking smoothly, docilely. She blinked. It was not possible it was broken. She had worn it into Syndico, and had not taken it off even when she changed into the scrubs the orderlies urged her to wear. She had glanced at it mere seconds before falling into her sleep, ticking softly—the sound only apparent to someone listening for it. Only now did she also realize she was in her original clothing, glancing downwards and frowning as she saw her worn-out boots encasing her feet instead of paper slippers. Still, she supposed she had more pressing matters than her attire.

Time was literally moving faster in the simulation. Which meant it was running out. Soon she and everyone else would know exactly what was in store for them.

Never in her life had she felt more insecure of herself or how she interpreted her world. Already the simulation seemed to be doing its job: "engaging" her mind and opening it to new experiences. However unpleasant they could be.

Deliberately, she straightened out her back and released the tension in her neck—the closest thing she felt to a strain anymore was a slight tautness, just uncomfortable enough for her to notice it upon remaining in a certain position for some time. It wasn't drowsiness she felt upon sitting up, but a slight dizziness as her gaze roved her surroundings. As if the world moved to follow her eyes. She would have felt sheepish for her moment of panic, but it seemed everyone else was preoccupied with other things. She silently took in the quiet hum of activity as people rose from their seats and explored the room. She glanced up at the nondescript popcorn ceiling, at the translucent bodies slumped in their seats, and then at the heavy wooden desk in the corner. Random objects littered its surface, but what grabbed her attention was what—or who—lied behind it in the chair. With the chair's back to her, the only indication of a person she could detect was two pale elbows resting on the arms. Regarding them warily, she eventually tore her eyes away when she took note of the adjacent wall. A huge picture window gave the view of the city skyline. Upon closer inspection, the towers writhed and shifted as if ripples of heat rose from them, like sunlight hitting asphalt. The view distorted ever-so-slightly as the seconds passed, like watching the movement of a minute hand on a clock.

She started at a voice. Then another. Call and response.

"Hello?"

A boy first. Bright red hair. Hard to miss, even in a world of hard-to-miss-ables. The syllables he uttered were confused, childlike. She could only hope his character was not as superficial as his appearance.

Not that I have room to talk, she considered, finally looking down at her hair and her metallic nails. Her nails had been one less thing to worry about while in the army—she had always been meticulous about her hygiene—but they had also been a useful tool when sharpened. Cutting through rope, picking locks, surfaces to strike matches; they, like her intuition, were part of her arsenal, along with an M16. Her hair had been an impulse, one of the first things she had done to herself after becoming a civilian. It was easy to hide damaged goods with a fresh coat of paint.

"Hello." A beat, then, "I am Madeleine"

A girl answered, one with a name to boot. This one had the works: rainbow hair, skin, and nails. Even her eyes changed color. Still, she appeared more mature. More real, despite her heavy augments. Despite their color, she had seen "the look" many times before. In soldiers, not immediately coming home from the battlefield but weeks, months, years later. Lenci thought that the woman must have had a difficult time, or witnessed hardship firsthand. Trauma, illness, heartbreak, or all three. Lenci had become accustomed to sensing the pain in a person, even years after they returned to normalcy. Pain leaves a shadow. One Lenci can see because she is freed from it. However, her freedom comes with a cost.

Names are information. Information is invaluable, especially in these crucial first moments. Especially in the simulator. It was only fair she returned the favor. Finally, she decided to stand. The corner of her lip turned upwards into a smirk, though her stance remained poised and still. Her chin raised, hands flat with her thumbs interlocked behind her back, she entered parade rest out of spite rather than a sense of duty.

"Call me Lenci," she offered coolly. Then, making no attempt to hide any derision in her voice, "It's a pleasure, Madeleine."

walk. ◇ "talk." ◇ think.

mentions: Anaxileah Hercynia ◇ 1056 words ◇ © penumbra

 

[radical]

Verity Dae

Ronan Megus Hercynia Devious Dilbert Anaxileah marshmarrow

As Verity was placed in the pod, a sense of peace that she had not felt in a while washed over her. Unlike her counterparts, Ver did not have any mobility due to her mal-aug. It had been a full year since Ver had even felt what it was like to wiggle her arms or move her legs. The pod closed and Ver closed her eyes. Panic and fear coursed through her veins. She hated the darkness because that was when the demons of her past could run free.

Tssssssk, what a disssssappointment you have turned out to be, Pyeong-Gyun hissed. She was Ver's fifth foster home; her snake like voice was a permanent scar in Verity's mind.

No! Ver’s brain clawed at Pyeong's voice, pushing it away, thrashing out of it's grip.

Fshhhhh, the first thing that Verity heard was the quiet sound of the air conditioning. Her eyes snapped open and she immediately sat up.

"Wow!" Ver lifted her arms up and examined them. She could move her arms and hands but not her legs yet. Carefully, Verity lifted a hand up to feel her trache tube hole. To her surprise, it was gone, only scarred flesh was left. There were also a few people that were awake.

“Umm, who’s in charge? What do we do now?” Verity asked.

/coded by allure/

 

[archur]

More and more faces finally gained substance as they loaded into the sim. As so far, the first recorded interactions was to be expected. Introductions, exploration, and a little bit of confused flailing at the, despite the shifting scenery, pointedly quaint environment. Names were simply shouted or said into the room, sinking into the walls and floor as the system picked up on these very specific details without intruding on user memory systems.

Madeleine. A small pastry came to being before the entity that sat in the tall leather chair. Slowly, a porcelain-like hand gingerly plucked it from it's own lap, carefully examining it. "French pastry. Sponge cake. Indeterminate origin date, distinctive lemon taste." It stated, the words coming from nowhere, as if simply from the space in front of it. The golden hue of the dessert reflected on the blank white surface of it's smooth face, no distinctive features whatsoever. "These are an old-world treat." The being caressed it's fingers on the surface of the pastry. "At least, that's the description of such a thing. Food simply just seems to be..." It set the madeline down on the arm of it's chair. "Inefficient." It stood, wiping it's hands on the worn leather. "And dirty." It's hands glided together behind it's back, one clasping the other, and took a few calculated strides to the great window before it. It's gaze over the ethereal city focused on a single point. A lone building amidst the concrete and glass, an ivory tower that stood as a sign to the rest of the world what the future was. A Syndico tower stood, unchanging in the rapidly adjusting landscape.

A feigned sigh from the thing left it staring out the window for far too long, before reaching out in front of him, and tapping the glass screen, a projection of his featureless face, save for the massive red Syndico S that marked it, stretched across the glass pane. It glanced upwards, the new screen broadcasting from the camera icon that popped into existence from the creature's tap. It stared blankly back into the app icon. "Welcome." It plucked the square from the screen, and turned around, leaving the camera floating in mid-air so the clients would be facing him. "I am the Syntech Operating System that will be monitoring you during your tests, and meeting you here between them. I am designated as SyntechOS-DC4925, but you may refer to me as Syn, for short." The logo on his face twisted to a semicolon, and a closed parentheses. "This is going to be so fun!" It exclaimed, clapping it's hands together.

Syn then pinched the app shut, and approached the group. He stretched an arm outward, a golden goblet materialising underneath the spigot of the water cooler, which poured out a (presumably) fine red wine into the glorified cup, not wasting a moment to fly into Syn's waiting hand.

"Now that I have formally introduced myself..." He brought the goblet to his face, and let the wine run down to his chest, staining the carpet irreversibly with alcohol. "Please." He waved a hand to his audience.

"Don't be afraid to introduce yourselves. I can even use the capture device if you want too." He made the motion of snapping, the icon appearing just over his hand, "And ask questions if you want, I'm more than ready to answer." Syn then spontaneously sat down, his rump falling through the air until a folding chair appeared out of the thin blue to save him, leaving him to 'drink' another swig of his fanciful goblet, toasting to nothing.

radical marshmarrow Anaxileah Devious Dilbert Hercynia Megus Ronan

 

[Megus]

As time went on, more and more people spoke up in the room. A voice came from behind her first, and she turned to see a boy with bright red hair speaking to no one in particular. Another girl spoke up from across the room, her eyes a bright yellow. She introduced herself as Madeline, and another girl introduced herself as Lenci. Out of instinct, Kay smiled at both girls, finally standing from her chair as she also proceeded to introduce herself. After all, it was only polite to introduce yourself to someone who had already given their name.

“My name is Kay,” she stated, just before a strange voice seemed to appear out of nowhere. The voice spoke about what sounded like a dessert, and sure enough she turned to see a fragile hand pick up a pastry. The voice soon stopped complaining about the inefficiency of food and turned to address those of them who had woken up in the simulation. She was a little put off by the fact that it wasn’t a real person, and yet it was trying to seem friendly. Could they really trust this Syn?

At the time it seemed like the only reasonable choice, so Kaylin continued to smile. Nothing bad was going to happen this early on, right? Either way, she was stuck in a predicament. She wanted to be polite and introduce herself to someone in particular instead of just shouting out her name into the room, but she couldn’t get past the fact that she might say something wrong. Being hated this early on would be the worst possible situation. Who knew how long she was going to be in here with these people.

 

[TenshuZninja]

Lucian James Whitaker​

Lucian's unsettling bright eyes looked up and could identify the individual components that made up that huge S that stood to represent the building they were now standing in front of. The building that housed what would hopefully free them of this sickening obligation they felt whenever anyone asked them to do anything. The feeling of nervous excitement was both a welcome change from the bleak hopelessness working in the institution had given them, and the cause for the upset stomach. The institution, Mercy and Grace's Institute of psychological studies was where they had began their internship approximately 3 years ago in the mental ward. It was also the place they had undergone the surgery that had given them their augmentations. They were sure the problem they had, the unwillingness to defy was something related to their augments; It could only be so. They had gone over it, many sleepless nights wasted on idiotic speculation when the answer was obvious. They needed for this problem with their will to be solved, and it appeared the only ones with any inkling to how to possibly fix it was Syndico R&D.
Their attention was turned away from their internal thoughts as their gaze slowly slipped from the Logo to the nondescript person standing before them. They wore plain white shirt and pants however the shirt had a simply printed "S" in red lettering on the chest. The person motioned for them to follow them inside and with nary any hesitation they were in step behind them as they walked through the red x white lobby and down long white x red halls. As they went they cursed themselves for the lack of thought. If they noticed the order they could defy, disregard, or ignore a command from anyone except, it appeared, Dr. Mortum. The same man they worked under as an intern and now as a fully paid employee. They sighed under their breath as doubt slipped into their mind and the familiar well of deep sadness fueled by their own hopelessness began to tear down the building blocks of their hope. What would happen to them if Dr. Mortum found out what they were here doing; here to fix. They had to continually tell them self after the first year that until the solution was clear they shouldn't risk having hope. Having hope in their opinion could break them just as easily as not having it in the first place.

Before they had the time to realize it they were out of their own head and facing a shiny looking black pill that read on its surface "Simulation Pod #" They turned their head back to the nondescript person whom had lead them to the room and motioned to the pod with doubt lurking in their bright silver eyes. "Will this truly help me?" The person didn't answer the question Lucian posed for them; not that they had believed they would but...Sometimes you had to take the leap and try. Or that's what they had always believed, otherwise what would they be doing here practically in secret. Lucian stepped into the pod, it was surprisingly comfortable with something fluffy lining it in black. When their eyes focused on it they could tell the material was expensive and similar to a sheep's wool. The pods opening began to shut and with it Lucian's eyes were staring at a reflection of them self in the dark and shiny interior glass. Their pale, nearly glowing milky orbs over dark circles from many restless nights, paired with a stark contrast of messy dark hair and a sickly complexion. With them losing their will it had become a challenge to even recognize who they were any more. Everything was constantly in debate. "Was this my thought or had someone else suggested this to me and I haven't realized it yet?" They shut their eyes and closed off that thinking as they drifted.​

Lucian opened their eyes to see not particles but small floating bits of code. Just pieces here and there nothing that really stood out and beyond it a grey/brown tiled office ceiling. The feeling of vertigo hit them as they began to slowly process the sounds of others' voices. They gently lifted their head from its perch at the back of the fold-able chair and took a sweep of their new surroundings.
It brought to mind the word muted, as the room wasn't sterile or white and red like Syndico's building had been. That's what they had been expecting; a purely white conference office of some sort but this was more of an executives office with an impromptu staff meeting being held. The large oak desk with little paperweights (the paperweights having colors other than various shades of brown and beige's stood out especially) seemed to be the only thing I expected to be present. Well, the desk and the generic photo on the wall. The huge picturesque window behind the desk seemed cliche almost to their eyes from watching too many old generation movies from childhood. The voices were getting clearer, drawing their attention to the people in the room instead of the objects.
They had nearly forgotten that this wasn't a solo session. Lucian abandoned examining the room in favor of its inhabitants. It was a strange and motley crew to say the least. The first person to catch their eyes was the girl who had suddenly stood and proceeded to introduce herself to the others. Others that now included they. It would seem they were a bit late for the party but not too late as they listened to the mannequin with coded personality speak and introduce them-self with a little extra information silently. It would seem they were now permitted to ask questions and get to know each other before actually starting the process. They pondered over whether or not they should introduce them-self like the girl, "Kay" they admonished them-self, had done prior to the AI's own introduction.
It ground on them that they even had to think about it when before, before they took the stupid internship, before the augs they would have been bouncing around the room with positive energy introducing them-self to everyone with a loud voice and a big grin and now... They second guessed their own behavior. Their paranoia flared again as a soft whispering thought was brought to the fore-front. "That's because I can never be sure of who I am. Is it really I that wants to introduce myself, or is it this "Syn" suggesting I introduce myself and I can't tell if i'm being coerced?" With a sickening feeling of unease in the pit of their stomach they stayed silent and kept their eyes on the AI's manifested body with a mixture of suspicion and doubt as they were unsure of their own thoughts. ​

{Location: Outside of Syndico, Pod, Simulation Office}
{Mood: Anxious, Doubtful, Hopeful}
{With: N/A, Group Of Unknowns}

Spoiler: Tagging Others for the Glory of a Ping

archur Megus Anaxileah radical marshmarrow Devious Dilbert Hercynia Ronan

​

 

[radical]

.

.

.

Verity Dae

Ronan Megus Hercynia Devious Dilbert Anaxileah marshmarrow @VeiledPariah

Verity was still in shock. “Um....Hi, my name’s Verity. Nice to meet you all,” she introduced herself and gave her best smile, although it looked more like a grimace.

Warm, sticky blood dripped down her back. She cried out in pain. She cried out as loud as she could to anybody that would listen but nobody came to help so she laid in her ever growing pool of blood, screaming until she lost her voice, then crying herself to sleep.

Verity pinched herself over and over, trying to get herself to snap out of her flashback but the gory images kept rolling on repeat in her mind. She was about to scream but bit down hard on her tongue. Don't embarrass yourself so quickly, she silently chastised herself and kept her mouth shut tight in case there was any blood in her mouth.

template by astraea ∙ beware hidden scrolling

 

[Hercynia]

Aaron offered his hand to a fallen brown-haired girl - two rainbow streaks in her hair, streaming out from her clearly-augmented eyes - as he turned after hearing somebody crash to the floor behind him. He raised his eyebrow as said eyes flipped through several colours - before settling into green, a slightly lighter shade than his own, and then shifting to a bright amber-yellow. That was... odd. Uncharacteristic for augments - somebody had clearly paid an awful lot of money for those - be it her or somebody else.

The girl stood, seemingly ignoring Aaron's hand; he shrugged, taking a step back to give the woman space and trying to avoid shivering - goddamn regulator. She introduced herself - Madeleine was hardly a common name, but then again; he had to remind himself that the people here were from all over the world. Another voice piped up; well, no, that was a bad description. The voice was more... an oppressive wave, or perhaps even a glacier. The red-haired man turned his head - trying to ignore the spikes of pain stabbing behind his eyes - and gazed at, well... at first glance, she was his polar opposite. Dark skin, contrasting with vibrant blue hair - the cool tone there seemed... fitting. The woman's nails contrasted against her skin too; bright, metallic silver. Either she had a very good manicurist, or they were augmented too. Part of Aaron immediately didn't trust her; something about the cold disdain in her voice...

Ah well. Better to try and keep a clear mind, at least for now. Who knew how long he'd be in the simulation with these people.

Somebody else awakened, making a loud exclamation. A young, presumably teenage, blonde girl - she looked... Korean. Or at least, Asian. She looked confused; impressed, at the very least. She struck Aaron as... energetic. Strangely, for somebody from that region of the world, she looked surprisingly... unaugmented, except for perhaps superficial cosmetic changes - and even then, nothing unnatural. As far as Aaron knew, that region of the world tended to be on the cutting edge of augments, and it wasn't uncommon for people to be on the more... extreme... side of augmentations. Syndico had quite the stranglehold.

Suddenly, a voice rang out through the room - a voice that felt distinctly... off. Aaron couldn't put his finger on it, but there was something distinctly unsettling about it, like... not anything as drastic as nails on a chalkboard, but more like a text-to-speech - as if the voice was mimicking communication rather than talking normally. It was certainly vaguely disquieting. Turning to face the voice as it moved, Aaron gazed at a blank white mask - it's only detailing a large, angular, crimson "S". Syndico. Of course. Aaron stood, calmly, face blank in the same vein as the... owner of the voice.

A... computer system. That explained... some things, although software that advanced was... hardly common. Then again, this was Syndico. They had more power than a lot of governments - and more money. Aaron bit his lip for a moment, before offering his own name after the blonde teenager gave hers.

"I'm Aaron."

Spoiler: Tags

Anaxileah marshmarrow radical archur

 

[0stinato]

When the infallibly obscure mind behind closed eyes awakened, the creature who owned both forgot, briefly, that he could control his own eyelids. He pulled his head out of its slumped position and sat up straight, his shoulders drowsy as a ragdoll. There was not much noise, just a bit of moving about at first, then a few voices which, after a minute or two, the individual recognised were human. Or, at least, whatever passed for human. Humanish, humanoid, humanesque. Anything could be human if you pretended.

The eyes of Jan Bonvillian opened finally, and the young man blinked in the light. Today it seemed he had taken on the gait of an ostrich: the bird-like stare was accompanied by a sure-set mouth. Definitely humans he saw before him, definitely. But there was a problem.

Bonvillian got up, quite calmly, and went behind the seat he was sat in. Then he sat down behind it. There was a distinct and creepy lack of colour in the room, and every colour that was in the room felt as if it had been analysed. Analysed, exactly like the desk ahead was analysed. As he looked at the desk, turning his head at a painful angle to stare through the gap in the folding chair between the splat and the seat, his eyes fell on the paperweights. The angles they stood at, what they were, all of those had been analysed, Bonvillian thought.

He finally began taking notice of the rest of the room. More people, and the chairs. Everyone wore the same colours - even him! Some people were talking and no one seemed afraid... but everyone's attentions were caught by the man behind the desk. Bonvillian watched from his position cross-legged on the floor, and listened. The words weren't heard by his ears, he felt, but by something inside him that wasn't there anymore. His augment. Whatever nano-particles of it still existed in his body, he felt they were responding. There was a threat to them, and this man was it.

Then the man spilled wine. The colour, the deep heart-beat red, made Bonvillian smile. Now there was something uncalculated. An awkward shape of a splatter. He found himself standing completely upright, beaming at the instructor. A simulation this might have been, which explained the orderly manner of everything, but Syn was, at least, refreshing.

With the thought of the future tests in his right hand, and the worry of that augment in his left, Bonvillian clapped.

He then turned to the accumulated people, his fellow test subjects - or were they, perhaps, the I-wanna-be-fixed-too-ers? - and observed them. He noticed the rainbow hair of one young woman first. Just like the wine, it was less calculated than the room, and the colour was more saturated in the lack of it in context. And then the blue hair of another young woman. It seemed hair was a new blank canvas. About as changeable as clothes, yet as clear as eyes.

It was towards the two bright individuals Bonvillian floated. He eyed them as a magpie would inspect a key it had discovered on the ground. Every angle. When he felt sure he could speak to these two. They were close together so the colour sparkled elsewhere. Behind the musician's eyes.

"What a time we shall all have together!" Bonvillian said with the timbre of a jester. "To fix ourselves, at the very least, perhaps, how happy I am, at least in part, to see before me such specimens of an artist's pa-lette!" he let his body bow, with straight front leg and bent back leg. He looked up. First at Madeleine. Then at Lenci. "Jan Bonvillian. To you, ah, ah, Bon, Bonvee, Bon-bon, Boneretta, Bonerina, Bonny Lad. One of the above. Test-mate! Fellow problematic personae. May this opportunity serve us all well. I am glad to see such colourful individuals. I am in your debt for saving me from this land of clinic white and right-angled corners."

Bonvillian stood up straight again and breathed a happy sigh. An instructor with a heart, and fellows with a promise of parallels. He was confident he could get to fixing the gap the augment had left him with. Briefly, Bonvillian glanced over his shoulder at Syn who lounged where he sat. When would he... take the room away, and deliver the tests he had promised? Bonvillian felt he had to be ready. But, in the moment, he smiled at the women.

A Lyric Penned by Jan BonvillianI belong in the sky as icicles are to fall through it,
With inevitable purpose, within inevitable poise,
With closed ears but open soul, I listen to
Nature's silent voice.
​

archur marshmarrow Anaxileah

 

[marshmarrow]

lenci roeser

female, 23, mxrphine

It wasn't a person. She wouldn't have felt a chill creep up her spine if it was anything human.

"I am the Syntech Operating System that will be monitoring you during your tests, and meeting you here between them."

The sense of caution coiling within her was cold and unfamiliar. Lenci watched its movements carefully. Dark eyes roved constantly, not really looking, but scanning. Searching the entity that called itself "Syn" with wariness yet curiosity. The work of Syntech, as abhorrent as the idea of augments has become to her, was still groudbreaking in its own right. For the first time, she was gazing upon Syntech technology not used for war or vanity, but for the care of others. In a jaded sense, however, Syn was created solely for damage control. Syntech recognized the phenomenon of mal-augs to be the result of their technology, so the solution was simply to create a new technology that would simultaneously fix mal-augs and leave the public in a happier state of mind.

Did it work? Well, Syntech was about to find out.

Her thoughts were interrupted as an individual came bounding toward her, whom she had seen in a deep slumber just moments before Syn began speaking. It was rare that someone caught her off-guard, especially someone so... eccentric. Even in this room, he was about two standard deviations away from what Lenci considered the "common" civilian to be. She found herself amused by him, briefly wondering what kind of mal-aug he was cursed with, a thought that hadn't occurred to her after greeting or seeing anyone else.

She was taken aback when he lowered into a bow. She quickly recovered and settled for a business-like nod in return, visibly relaxing. "Likewise," she remarked simply, "and I'll stick to... uh, Bon."

She turned to glance at the others around the room, starting to put names to faces. Madeleine, Aaron, Kay, Verity, Bon... and still a few others who had yet to introduce themselves, or even speak up at all. She clasped her hands together brazenly, shooting a sly glance at their pseudo-human guide.

"Looks like we have a meet-and-greet before we can move on, everyone. That's just the way the cookie crumbles." Her voice rang out clearly and calmly through the room, the kind of voice used to being heeded without question. She didn't feel particularly authoritative in this moment, but she seized the opportunity to break the ice. "The sooner we all learn to get along, the sooner we can be free of our burdens.

"To start, I'm Valencia Roeser. If you didn't hear it before, I prefer Lenci."

walk. ◇ "talk." ◇ think.

mentions: 0stinato and everyone else ◇ 440 words ◇ © penumbra

 

[Anaxileah]

First - another name. This name wasn't awake when she was. Bright, neon-green eyes glanced towards the source of the vocal sounds, her gaze overwhelmed with the scarlet that surrounded the blue-haired female. It was not the red of Syndico - no, it had more life than that. It was full of pride, of passion, of risk and no fear. Flecks of crimson showed through the vivid scarlet. Pain. Trauma. Lack of faith in others, but intense loyalty to allies. Madeleine tilted her head to the side, momentarily perplexed. "Lenci." She murmured softly, her bright green eyes blinking at the sight, assessing her stance and choosing to remark on it later. Not long after the handful of seconds it took for Madeleine to make her assessment, the pale figure seated in the large, leather chair made a movement, lifting a pastry from his lap. A madeleine.

The rainbow-tinted brunette narrowed her eyes at the obscured figure as it referred to the delicacy as inefficient and dirty, just as other foods were to this being that never ate. The creature stood, waltzing to the window before the ever-changing city with hands clasped behind its back. Surrounding it was...a blur, at first. She couldn't make out the colors that surrounded it for some reason. However, when it exposed its face to the projection on the glass and to the rest of the inhabitants in the room, she grimaced, taking a step back as its colors became visible - a toxic green remained the largest color present in the aura of the Syndico robot thing, but that was not all. Reds, blues, purples, yellows, pinks, oranges, any other color that could be imagined fluctuated within Syn's aura, projecting confusion, manipulation, and a hint...of sadism. Mad tilted her head once more, not understanding the complexity of the aura, and decided that wariness was the best approach to such a perplexing being. It prompted them to introduce each other, ask questions, and anything more that may be desired. Then it spilled wine on itself, which brought Madeleine to blink a couple of times in response before moving her gaze somewhere worthwhile.

Vermilion spoke - she had a name. Kay. Cobalt blue also spoke his name - Aaron. Glancing around the room, Madeleine noticed others that were beginning to awaken, greeted by the words made by the complex Syn figure. One particularly caught her eye. Remaining seated and silent, a pale, silver-eyed person stilled, as if arguing with someone not outside their body. Dark brown hair covered their gaze as Madeleine observed them, her bright green eyes narrowing as she assessed their aura. Muted like the daffodil, but instead an ecru. Empty, hurt, sad, trapped, and...enslaved. Madeleine blinked rapidly, instantly empathizing with the being. Augments could be prisons, almost literally, and she understood how that felt. Her lips donned a small frown before she turned her gaze to the next conscious person. Odd behavior - the male had been sitting, stood, then sat once more, on the ground behind the chair provided in the fake world. He was so incredibly vibrant, it was almost blinding. Splashes of pinks coated his aura, but fuchsia was the brightest color of all that shone through the rest, and that wasn't the only odd attribute regarding his aura. Most auras had a soft flow of movement around their person, like a slow, relaxed stream bubbling by. Constant motion. Constant flux. Sharp, then smooth. Never the same. Never still. Always splashing, never a puddle. Stuck in a loop. Music. Art. Poetry. No room for more. Where to start and when to stop? Blurring together, no lines.

Gasping, Madeleine forced herself to look away from the male who soon introduced himself as Jan Bonvillain, her eyes almost overwhelmed by the perpetually dynamic color. Amusingly enough, while she was trying to blink away the excessive colors, he was complimenting her own, as well as Lenci's. Switching to the visible light spectrum with her left index finger, she glanced back up at the flamboyant male, offering a small, shaky smile as he looked back and forth between the two colorful women. Not long after he introduced himself did Lenci greet him with similar respect, she also introduced herself again, this time to the room as a whole. Valencia Roeser. Snapping out of her small reverie, Madeleine looked back at the person who had been entirely muddled, one of the only conscious beings who had yet to introduce themselves. She blinked to the neon-green once more. "Bon, Lenci, Aaron, Kay, Madeleine." Madeleine gestured to every person she said the name of, eventually pointing to her own black-clothed bosom. Her vivid gaze remained on the one she had an empathetic connection to before pointing at them with a tilt of her head. "And you...?" She bit her tongue before she could call them Ecru, their aura color, as she continued to examine their aura, only occasionally looking directly at them.

Addressed: marshmarrow archur 0stinato TenshuZninja
Mentioned: Hercynia Devious Dilbert Megus and the Addressed
Mood: Observant/Embarrassed -> Disgusted/Confused -> Wary -> MIXED
Status: Chitchatting -> Listening -> Speaking Softly
Location: Office (Simulation)
Inventory: Outfit
Notes: On her right hand she can see with these spectrums: infrared (IR) on her pinkie (pink), ultraviolet (UV) on her ring finger (violet), x-ray on her middle finger (indigo), and gamma on her index finger (dark green); on her left hand she can see with these spectrums: radio (which includes being able to see the vibrations of sound) on her pinkie (light blue), emotion-color synesthesia (mood ring eyeballs) on her ring finger (light green), tetrachromacy on her middle finger (orange), and the visible light spectrum on her index finger (yellow). The colors on each nail correspond with the color her eyes become when she uses that spectrum.

 

[TenshuZninja]

Lucian James Whitaker

They needed silence, white noise inside their mind they chanted to them-self as their eyes stayed glued to the AI's virtual form. Code bits blurred the edges of the room around them; swirls of browns, tans, khakis and white melted together and floated by their iris' but they stayed trained and fixed. They needed something to override the anxiety and paranoia beginning to grip their psyche; the pit of unease grew and the fluttering feeling of nausea began to tickle their insides suddenly un-focusing them from the staring contest they had entered them-self in just as someone introduced them self. Lucian retreated further within them-self attempting to fix their focus anywhere but the nausea that was steadily growing nearer and nearer to happening. Bright eyes scanned the room without a target until they locked onto the small bleached blonde distinctly Asian featured girl (Lucian could recognize the difference between natural bleaching and Aug colored hair from visual textures of the hair) introducing herself as "Verity". They watched the girls own demons began to leak from her during her intro as she fought off her own panic with pinches to her arms and the biting of her cheek or tongue. It crossed their mind to offer her a better technique than physical pain to avert panic but they couldn't seem to bring them-self out enough to help her. Movement caught their attention bringing it to an exceptionally short male who's choices in clothing appeared to co-ordinate with the virtual room's color scheme. He was dressed in a shirt and vest with various shades of brown over green cargo shorts. A brown "newspaper boy" cap sat atop a disheveled and startlingly bright mop of natural red hair that appeared to come back from the 1920's. The cap seemed to complete the beyond antique outfit design he wore well despite being in this tech age. The male with bright red hair had been turned away from them watching the Syndico Corps Representative with...was that an expression of brief suspicion? There was a moment in the room where silence was pronounced with everyone observing one another before the male with the antiquated wardrobe spoke into the sleeve of silence. "I'm Aaron." It wasn't much longer after that did another person came into being. A male whom was even taller than they, with an inner glow to their dark skin and something in their mannerism that screamed energy. They watched with little envy as the male moved about with the energy they once had; though even they knew. This male, his rippling vigor was beyond what was usual or even above usual. They watched as he moved from his chair to behind then towards the two young women. Watched as he spoke, or should they say yelled for his voice was loud, complimenting them for their color in an unsettling (to them) voice. He introduced himself to them with a bow as Jan Bonvillian before going off in a bit of a tangent with other names, nicknames they presumed as most of them held the common name "Bon" in it.
It would seem the one young woman with blue hair, found the eccentric male amusing, or that's what the curve of her lips suggested to them. He could see the two of them would be getting along. Her posture became visibly more relaxed as she seemed to settle in for the encounter. She wasted no time in addressing the entire room as a whole for her introduction; her voice wasn't harsh but it held a grip of authority in it that sent a cold chill down their spine. It would seem she had already done so but most they assumed hadn't been loaded in to hear it. "I'm Valencia Roeser. If you didn't hear it before, I prefer Lenci." They put the names they were hearing in a file cabinet of their mind, storing it into their memory as to not forget. The gasp the other young woman made drew their eyes to her then. They had seen her earlier, the mannequin with coded personality, or Syn as it would have them call it had particularly pointed her out with a comment about sponge cake. When her eyes turned yellow from light green and then back as she turned from Bon to they slowly, akin to someone slowly pulling from their own world, they found their brows raise slightly in muted curiosity. They were looking right into those glowing eyes as she pointed to the male in front of her speaking aloud his name seemingly to them. She then repeated the process with every other person in the room, excluding Syn, stopping at herself. Madeleine then tilted her head with verbal invitation. it was then that they realized while everyone else had already introduced themselves they had yet to utter a syllable.
Surprised slightly they cast a cursory glance around the room before resting their gaze back on her, Madeleine. With a quick nervous gaze that fell to the floor at having called attention to them self they said,
"Lucian...Or James...Doesn't matter." Their voice naturally calm and soothing sounding. A pause was made as their eyes came up again only to look about the synthetic room once more, assessing, as they pondered whether or not to mention something they deemed important. In a cadence a bit more hesitant they spoke again. "I'm not he...They/Them." They weren't at all ashamed of whom they were, only wary of strangers reactions to them. It wouldn't have been the first time someones reaction to hearing how they would like to be addressed or how they were dressed seemed to offend others and it most likely would not be the last.
{Location: Simulation Office}
{Mood: Anxious, Curious, Wary}
{With: Bon, Lenci, Aaron, Kay, Madeleine. Syn}

Spoiler: Tagging Others For The Glory Of The Ping

archur Megus Anaxileah radical marshmarrow Devious Dilbert Hercynia Ronan

​

 

[archur]

Syn's glass refilled itself as he straightened it again for another 'swig'. He leaned back dangerously in his flimsy chair, purposefully toppling himself over as the very seat grew in size and density, the plastic creaking as it became wood, the back legs crumbling to ash and a new pair of legs punctuating their new creation with a stomp as they shot out the head of the chair, creating a leaning wooden chair for the master of the realm. Syn feigned stretching, and glanced at an imaginary watch.

"Well, those of you who aren't entirely brain dead have introduced yourselves to each other. Wonderful! Now, I will introduce mys-" The whole porcelain figure jerked and loaded itself over and over again, materialising and overlapping old models of itself again and again, spilling more of that frabjous liquid all over the high pile carpet, it's sheen a strange bubble of colors, much like a puddle of oil or a splotch of rain collected on the curb of the street. The AI recollected itself from it's involuntary interruption, deleting it's previous incarnations and continuing it's sentence as if it had never paused "-elf and the first test."

The chair lurched forwards and bucked it's passenger on to his feet, who all the while found it appropriate to 'drink' more of his fill. The figure made the motion of snapping his fingers, and a hologram of a flat pyramid appeared just above him. "We will be operating within the confines of the Humanistic line of psychology. By that logic, if you're familiar with the ancient, ancient, ancient method and diagram that Abraham Maslow put together, we'll start at the bottom of the pyramid of hierarchies: Basic needs. Food, water, shelter. My creators have created an objective for you to find, and you're going to do anything to achieve it."

"I'm wondering if you're curious to ask if you want to know where we're going." The image zoomed in towards that bottom part of the pyramid, the base, and as the words and letters got thicker and soon took up the entirety of the viewing portion of the small screen he had presented, the black and red fading away to a sterile white environment, accented with a dark blue and streaked with the green-brown of flora. It was an overhead view of a... Small, minature store, that expanded from just an image to a model. It was the size of a small table, complete with a detachable roof pockmarked with holes, dots of grey that were the shelves, a constancy of green that snaked it's way all throughout the store, ominous spires patched together from sheets of metal, with a green-blue miasma that hangs over a sea of multicolored sludge smack dab in the middle.

"My databanks immediately fail me, but I'm sure this place still exists today." He spun the model around to the front of the massive building, the disrepair reflected on the massive letters that hang by only a few well placed bolts. WAL__RT "Right?" It asked itself, before planting his chalice onto the desert that reflected the bakery section, the model tilting before compensating and floating merrily in place. "If anything, it's a good coaster." Syn's attention remained fixed on the model, before snapping back to his subjects. "Questions? If not, then we'll go directly underway."

Anaxileah Devious Dilbert TenshuZninja marshmarrow 0stinato Hercynia radical Megus VeiledPariah

 

[VeiledPariah]

Thomas had yet to say a single word despite everything he was taking in at the time. The process, feeling like he was floating amongst an oceans current but yet within it.
Opening his eyes and being led to another place entirely.
This Syn continued to speak and to him it sounded like this was just some game created to test them and the end game was to...cure yourself?
He was quiet but that did not mean Artemis remained so.
The feminine voice echoed in his mind momentarily.
A.I. appears defective. This Syn...it acts like this is going to fun, does he know we are watching him?
Thomas rolled his eyes to dispel the thoughts and focus on the task at hand.
Something about basic needs and an ancient consumer of products being where they were to be sent first.
He found it futile to ask the program anything as the answer would probably be as round about as his explanation of this healing process so far.
Instead Thomas took in the ambience of the room and the other people within it.
He would not have his sidearm on this trip his only equipment being Artemis herself but she was only useful for certain things as she began streaming information through his corneal receptors.
The furniture, the people, everything had
data describing it or them.
Thomas closed his eyes for a second to rest them and remove the overflow on info as he awaited this next destination.

 

[radical]

.

.

.

Verity Dae

Ronan Megus Hercynia Devious Dilbert Anaxileah marshmarrow @VeiledPariah

Verity's mouth remained wide open as she watched Syn operate. Then her shock turned into curiosity. Why is an old grocery store of importance? She thought. Ver twiddled her fingers nervously. For some reason, the place felt familiar. Her body almost reeled like it recognized the setting but her mind remained blank.
"Why is this location so important that we would pay a visit to it?" She asked. Not knowing what else to say, Verity looked around and waited to see other's reactions.

template by astraea ∙ beware hidden scrolling

 

[0stinato]

Unlike the vast array of thoughts buzzing around him, and unaware of them, Bonvillian merely smiled at his new friends. And he did see them as his friends: they were in the same situation so it only made sense that they were on the same side. Friends away from home, friends of circumstance, perhaps. Everyone had a name and everyone had a problem.

It was that simple.

Pleased with the room and its inhabitants, Bonvillien practically pirouetted slowly on his heel as he twisted to look at the wine-spilling Syn. When the room changed, he winced, his entire memory of the room falling away as the pixels changed. He felt as if he was dancing on the edge of a vertiginous drop, both aware of the danger and unaware. The soles of his feel felt nonexistent for a brief second as his mind, stuck in freefall, clutched to anything it could. It toppled as the pixels did, and Bonvillian felt, deep, lodged in his mind, the remnant of his augment reacting to something in the simulation. Logic dictated it could merely be frequencies dancing with each other, and infecting the augment.

Bonvillian was, for the moment, way beyond logic.

His mind snapped back to the room he was in. What had he done to trigger this? He had not done a lot. Merely awoken in a chair, sat behind it awhile and introduced himself to people.

Bonvillian crossed out the people immediately. They were not malicious types, so they would not be playing with him in a moment such as this. They were all as confused, timid, unaware as he was. All puppets without strings.

He considered it might be Syn. A test. This is what the rehabilitation programme was, after all. A group of tests and rewards - tests to determine the broken part of the brain, rewards to fix it. It could be Syn. Although the man was jerking around and interrupting his own animation, so it meant that Syn was under the control. But why would the people who allowed him here cause this falling?

Was it the chair? Did the chair do it?

Bonvillian realised he had ended up sat on the floor. With a confused and rather sheepish air, he got up and tried to turn his attention back to Syn. The freefalling was over, and here he stood, in a world as real as he was. Although was he real? Are pixels three-dimensional?

He pursed his lips.

A girl near him asked a question. He rolled it around in his head awhile, until his own confusions with the presented location of a store popped up.

Bonvillian felt the need to also ask a question.

"Are we going to feel all those physiological things even if this is a simulation? Is my belly not simulated full?"

 

[marshmarrow]

lenci roeser

female, 23, mxrphine

The atmosphere remained as ambivalent as ever, although it seemed that everyone who had fully been "loaded" into the room was now alert, if uncommunicative. Madeleine's quiet inquiry toward a tall, withdrawn person was the only voice to follow Lenci's. Her call to action seemed to have fallen on deaf ears, which was about as much as she expected.

Syn didn't give much time for conversation before diving right into into his spiel. However, he only made it about halfway into his first sentence before he suddenly seized... or the AI equivalent of seizing. If only for a second, his last action seemed to have been stuck on repeat, as about a half-dozen Syns were frozen into one completed motion. Lenci wasn't tech-savvy, but alarm bells were ringing in her head, even when he seemed to snap out of it. Their guide through Syntech's playground didn't seem so perfect after all.

Her attention was drawn to an image that seemed vaguely familiar, although she couldn't quite place where she had seen it. Psychology 101, maybe, or during one of her academic courses in boot camp. The concept it illustrated was one she had encountered often in practice during her service, and she had witnessed it applied to many others. She felt slightly comforted that their challenges would be based on something familiar to her, however outdated Syn claimed it to be. Still, she refused to let her relief lull her into complacency. She had to stay sharp to survive all five levels.

Zooming in to the bottom tier, most likely the basis of their first challenge, Syn showed them a dilapidated building that once held any basic needs a person might, well, need. A fetch quest? There was a reason Syntech chose this specific location for their first task, but the question was asked instead by a woman who had introduced herself as Verity. She had been gaping open-mouthed at Syn since he had first shown Maslow's theory, and had been fidgeting oddly since regaining consciousness, Lenci noted. She seemed to lack the confidence to break from the mold, and Lenci doubted she could contribute much in a critical situation.

Soon, more voices peppered Syn with questions, and the tension in the room began to lighten as they began to examine their task and their surroundings in more detail. Then it became her turn to step in. Acting on a whim, she faced Verity, realization dawning on her as she heard her own thoughts said by another.

"Like Syn said, the first degree of Maslow's pyramid focuses on the rudiments of an organism's survival. The most basic of needs can be met at your average, if antiquated, supermarket." She turned her back on the woman to eye Syn, her features composed. Bon raised an interesting point as well, and she too was curious about the mechanic in place to handle their most instinctual desires. As one who felt no pain: a message sent from her brain along with hunger, thirst, and exhaustion, would it have any effect on her?

walk. ◇ "talk." ◇ think.

mentions: 0stinato Anaxileah radical ◇ 509 words ◇ © penumbra