Fall 2015 Test Drive

[raisednpcs]

Hello, and welcome to the test drive for Fall, 2015! Similar to last time, one of our test drive prompts is the same as an event presently going on in the game! And that's not all; both players in the game and out of it can treat everything that happens with these prompts as canon to the game, and that they happened concurrently with what's going on on the main community. So, if you're looking to apply to Raise the Earth, here's a chance to get in on the ground floor of what's happening in-game!

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[A - Factor Industries Charity Event]

Even for Benjamin Factor, arranging this charity event had been something of a challenge. Just as he held great influence in Gateway City, Thunder Corp's influence in Locke was great as well. But with time and money, all things were indeed possible in this case, and the Memorial Dance Hall was playing host to the night's events. It was a glamorous affair: politicians, captains of business, dignitaries, and celebrities had been invited. For whatever controversy that existed, the world legitimately wanted to heal the wounds left by the invasion, and that meant there were a lot of people who wanted to use events like this to either advance that cause, or to make themselves look good.

But they weren't the only sorts of individuals who had received an invitation.

Benjamin Factor had also made it so the Numbered would be invited to his little party. Arrivals through the teleporter would be greeted by drivers at the community center, and the same courtesy was extended to anyone who might live in Locke. The only stipulation? Was that anyone who came make an effort to make themselves presentable. If that was a problem, or anyone arrived without knowing, they had clothes on hand for people to change into.

Indeed, it seemed that the Numbered would be well provided for tonight. That being said, their presence would get people to talk, given the presence of news crews making live coverage. Nevertheless... "getting people to talk" seemed to be exactly what Benjamin Factor wanted to happen.

[This prompt is the same as this current event. You can have your character start a general mingle thread, but we ask that your character not serve as an event speaker for the test drive, as that's a rule best suited to characters already in the game.]

[B - Pest Control]

Beta testing. "A trial of machinery, software, or other products, in the final stages of its development, carried out by a party unconnected with its development." A crucial, important step in ironing out the "kinks" in something, to ensure it's ready for whatever it has been designed to do.

In the last weeks of October, someone is beta testing. Just what are they testing, you might wonder? Diminutive little robots with powerful, fangy jaws. They appear to be designed for pest control, and their hardware includes tracking software. Indeed, they're apparently being deployed in secret, acting autonomously in Gateway City, Locke City, Woodend, Christchurch, Tokyo, and even Shepherd's Haven. No one would see who is setting them loose, beyond nondescript men and women who disappear as quickly as they first emerged.

The robots are autonomous. They seek out their prey with zeal, without being controlled by a central source. Alone, a single machine is far from a threat, but they have been loosed in sizable groups, making them fairly dangerous. And it seems there's a bug: all animals are targets for these things, and they're not all. It seems they're capable of identifying another, more unique target: Anyone who might be Numbered.

[C - Sudden Storm]

Rain wasn’t planned today. The forecast had called for sun and minimal clouds, and a warm breeze. Instead, the falling drops seem to sparkle in the sunlight peeking through the clouds. Out a window, strolling down the street, sitting at a bus stop, it’s hard not to feel the drops coming down. And should you stop to stare at the rain for a bit, something seems to shift. A hollow feeling, a certain vertigo, that passes in a moment.

As it clears, something changes. A new memory, from a life that isn’t familiar and doesn’t make a whole lot of sense; a tingling at your fingertips of some new energy; a certain knowledge of the world that shocks you with the new information it provides; something in your hands you weren’t holding before. Maybe you’ve already had an Echo somehow, and you recognize the feeling; maybe you haven’t, and it brings back memories of the people talking about “pulses” on TV, what seems like forever ago. If the latter’s true, the fading sense leaves behind a number, that seems to worm its way into your mind and not leave. Does this mean… you’re Numbered, now?

[D - Network]

The number stuck in your head refuses to go away, so to work it out of your system, you decide writing it down on something is a good idea. Maybe you punched it into your phone; perhaps it’s on a piece of paper, or a mirror, or almost anything else.

The thing it’s on comes alive, filling with text and images. None of it was there before, and you can interact with it. Hundreds, maybe thousands of posts, all tagged with a number that looks similar to your own. Tales of fighting, of betrayal, of loss and sacrifice; stories of heroism, of gain, of victory and the elation attached. Questions about life, about the network, about the future of the Numbered. Idle conversation, videos of stupid things. Three years of history, from the beginning to the original incident on April 1, 2013, through to today.

You could add something. Clearly, it need not be profound, and if you don’t put a name, a face, or a voice to your number, nobody would ever know it’s you. It’s there, at your fingertips. What would you say…?


[E - Wild Card]

Don’t feel pressured to stick to our prompts - you’re welcome to do whatever strikes you. Lighthearted, serious, dangerous, mundane, spectacular… Raise the Earth is a game designed around everyday life getting a lot more interesting in a hurry. Play around with things!

Comments

[enflammen]

Some people, sure. Sometimes all it takes is wanting to make a change and wanting to follow through with it.

[numberedshepherd]

Sometimes it's impossibly hard to know what you want.

[enflammen]

[Micah laughs quietly.]

Can't say that's a problem I've ever had.

[numberedshepherd]

I don't know if that's a blessing or a curse. On one hand, at least you know... on the other, if you know but you can't have it, I imagine it's much harder to find a suitable consolation prize.

[enflammen]

Yeah ...

[Micah's struggled with that in the past - wanting something but knowing that obtaining it wasn't realistic. A normal family life, for example.]

Say, you ever heard of a thing called radical acceptance?

[numberedshepherd]

Please elaborate... I feel like I can guess, but guessing is a terrible way to understand something.

[enflammen]

Radical acceptance means that when you're faced with a situation that's problematic and causes you pain, you take an honest look at the situation and make a choice to accept that reality is what it is. Then you make a choice to accept that there is a cause to what's painful, and you also choose to accept that even though life can sometimes suck beyond the telling of it, it's still worth living.

[He gives the camera a wry half-smile.]

I learned a lot about that at the House. I'm a pretty capable guy - when I put my mind to accomplishing something, nothing short of an act of God is gonna stop me, if it's just up to me. But it's different with people. You can't force your will on other people, and wanting something from them that they can't or won't give you only leads to misery.

[He shrugs.]

Sometimes you just have to truly accept that there are things that are outside of your power.

[numberedshepherd]

I see. That's both stronger and gentler than what I expected. I think that I like it, as philosophies go.

[enflammen]

I found it pretty helpful.

[He shrugs.]

It sounds easy, but it's really not. You have to really commit to it.

[numberedshepherd]

That much I think I can understand. If it was easy for the kind of person who would benefit from this to think positively, they probably wouldn't be in the situation to need it anyway.

[enflammen]

Yeah, no shit.

[There's a smile behind what he says, though.]

Probably the hardest lesson I've ever had to learn, personally. Makes all the math stuff seem easy in comparison.

[numberedshepherd]

Math was always my best subject. It seems easy compared to everything else; at least you know or can reliably find your answers.

[enflammen]

My brain didn't like following the formulas. Too many rules, you know? Not my style. I mean, I did OK in the end, I just had to be dragged kicking and screaming to get there.

[numberedshepherd]

I don't know, actually. I think I liked the rules.

Gym was where I faltered. Creative writing, too.

[enflammen]

Gym was OK some of the time. I liked playing soccer, and running. Not really a fan of everything else, though. I don't think I did a lot of writing if I didn't have to.

[hearthebell]

You got to play soccer in your gym class? I just had to do jumping jacks for fifteen straight minutes and then run in place for five. The apartment wasn't very big.

[enflammen]

[... oh no.]

You were home-schooled?

[numberedshepherd]

Just until I was 14 and started at college.

[enflammen]

I liked college a lot better. Seemed like there were fewer stupid rules to follow.

[numberedshepherd]

There was a little more control, but I was watched more closely. I was younger.

I think all the time about going back and finishing my master's. I was only a semester out.

[enflammen]

I wasn't much older than you when I started, but most people were too scared of me to try anything. I only did what I needed to get where I was going, though. What's your master's in?

[numberedshepherd]

Why were they afraid of you? Were you really so intimidating so young?

It would have been criminal justice, but like I said, I couldn't finish.

[enflammen]

Yeah ... I was still pretty angry at sixteen. Plus, you know, once it got out that I was from the House, all kinds of wild rumors started circulating. Stuff like I was secretly a Mafia kid, I used to kick babies, I stabbed a guy for looking at me the wrong way ... I mean, I didn't do any of that stuff, but I didn't exactly try to dissuade that image, either.

[He shrugs.]

Can't you go back to it sometime?

[numberedshepherd]

Those are wild rumors for college kids. I'm sorry you had to deal with that.

I can, but it's been years. I was almost 18 when I dropped out. That was a decade ago. And criminal justice has changed a lot since then.

[enflammen]

It's OK. It was a local community college, they only knew the House by reputation of dealing with "really bad kids." Sometimes fiction is more interesting than truth. But it didn't really bother me too much.

Seems like there'd be a lot more to learn, if that much has changed.