Major Annoucements |
|
 |
|
Cbox Is For Storyline Updates Only
| Welcome to Shadowside, First off thank you for visiting our community and as you move though our rules, guidelines, and message board we hope you find the same interesting and friendly community as we have strived to develop. We are a Play by Post Roleplaying community. Set in modern times at a completion school. With a few twists, we start with the existence of super powers in the population, magic, and abilities that make ordinary children extraordinary, add cutting edge technology, and racial tension between Humans and Evotellurics and we have a turbulent world of adventure to explore. So please take some time explore our world and check out all that Shadowside has to offer for your roleplay and community needs. Join our community! If you're already a member please log in to your account to access all of our features: |
| Endgame; CSL 2.5; Part Final | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Topic Started: Jul 15 2012, 09:58 PM (1,452 Views) | ||||||||||
| RFalque | Jul 15 2012, 09:58 PM Post #1 | |||||||||
God-Emperor of all Belugas
|
The Hospital had its own problem with the MINIONs, but it was not the major factory of their mischief. Back in the halls of the dormitory complex, behind the sealed doors of the Quarantine, one by one the MINIONs owned by students began to act awry. They'd first be noticed after the initial troubles inside the halls was settled, and students moved on from turning on each other to observing their surroundings with increasing paranoia. Students were still disappearing. Nobody died in the Dorms themselves, but each hour instead of night pulled more and more students out of the halls and their own rooms to be taken to somewhere else. Most students could figure that meant the hospital itself, though the teachers still remained quiet on the finality of their health. Perhaps it was because the truth was too much to bear, but all the same they still had hope for those who left. Hope for a cure in the darkness of the world, and bleak hope that the UN council would come to a more amicable close. To much was against them, but all the same, it allowed for them to easily cling on simple ideas. A cure was all-important. If they could have a cure, then... But even the distractions of their hopes, or arguably fantasies, would be cut short by the most immediate problems. The MINIONs now ran amok, and there were not enough monitors nor teachers combined to keep them all under control. They attacked students seemingly at random, though most incidents left little more than a few scrapes and bruises. Many others rushed into one of the bathrooms in the lobby, infamous for its connection to the Collapsed Dorms in Limbus' territory. It was there that the monitors would find the most disturbing of revelations. There was a portal at the threshold of the bathroom, but it was not for the Limbus Area itself. Rather, on the other side of the portal was the first floor of the Tower of Vox, the Plaza. One by one, the MINIONs from the dorm rushed through the portal, and what few teachers were left in the vicinity had difficulty closing the portal. Worse yet, their attention was split to trying to keep calm the other students in the halls. Everything was in chaos, and it left the portal itself widely unattended. As the MINIONs passed through the portal, many of them would recite one particular mantra,
Those who practiced their athleticism would know the sub-basement to house the Bushido Chambers, the reality-altering technology and the flexed muscle of technology and magic of Red Claw. A peculiar place to resolve issues with the MINIONs, but all the same it seemed to ring true. The MINIONs were rushing towards the basement level, tripping over themselves down the stairs into the Bushido Chambers. Was it wise to follow a group of crazed robots? Was it wise to leave the Quarantine at all through a mysterious portal? Well, it was a hope. Hope for a better resolution. Inside the Bushido Chambers themselves, things seemed a little more orderly with the MINIONs. The robots filed away quite neatly into a line, marching down the halls of the Chambers right towards the back. There was a soft, static hum of some indistinguishable melody on the PA throughout the Sub-basement, a girlish voice leading the MINIONs on by her Pied Piper tune. ”Oh. What's this. Did you bring friends? How lovely. I've never had friends. I wonder what they are like.” The MINIONs gathered into one of the chambers, their chassis piling up on each other to create pyramids upon pyramids of stacked metal. There were a good several hundred of them in the Chamber, but more than enough room for their followers to creep inside as well and look towards the marvel in front of them. The brunt of the chamber was its default white, but directly across the door was a pulsating red circle, its brightness fluctuating in synch with the low, monotone, feminine voice reverberating through the halls and Chamber. ”Hello friends. My name is JULIE. I have taken over all functionality of the Bushido Chambers. Oh right. I also have sealed the exits from the sub-basement, including the vents. It's okay though. I'm sure by after playtime, you will have enough oxygen to breathe to walk, run, crawl, or otherwise struggle your way out of here.” ((ARISE FROM THE DEAD!! Anyone who was in Campus Monitors (aha...) or The Hospital may join here! I intend to update next week, so please get to it and I will give this CSL a proper ending! Or at least, as much of one as I can.)) Edited by Falque, Jul 15 2012, 10:01 PM.
|
|||||||||
| Elena Madison Teague | ||||||||||
 |
 
|
|||||||||
| Cheshirewocky | Jul 15 2012, 11:26 PM Post #2 | |||||||||
Queen of the Monkey Bars
|
"Mikki!" Chloe turned a corner and ran to the next intersection in the halls before stopping and looking down each side. "Mikki!" "...LEASE REPORT TO THE SUB-BASEMENT." It wasn't Mikki's voice, but that didn't matter. Chloe tried to peer over the group of students running her way, a couple girls screaming so loudly that she almost didn't hear the minion over them. She couldn't see the unit itself, but she did see the door to the staircase opening. She tried to massage her sore shoulder without pressing on the tender bruise forming there and gently craned her neck to the side to stretch it; however, she stayed still only long enough to let the students pass before taking off in the direction they came from, right out the stairwell. The question now was which floor to go to. "...THE SUB-BASEMENT." A shiver crawled over Chloe's spine at the eerily synchronized chant that drifted to her ears, echoing off the walls. Even more so because one of the voices belonged to her friend. A door somewhere below her opened, and she ran down the stairs two steps at a time. Since the sounds of screaming, yelling, chanting, and the familiar fwoosh of power usage was loud enough to hear even after the door closed again, she managed to follow it all the way to the first floor. The sight of the lobby was not promising. Minions were tripping over themselves, students, each other, swinging sharp metallic limbs at anyone in their way. Students were either trying to hide, weave around the chaos, or defend themselves and others, accidentally hitting each other instead of their targets and overall making things worse. The teachers had their hands full keeping minions off teenagers, teenagers off minions, teenagers and minions off each other and them. Needless to say, it was a mess. Chloe hesitated, disheartened from continuing on and possibly getting caught in the line of fire. Then she saw a head of familiar red hair, flickering in and out of view over a metallic head, rushing forward like a maniac with the other minions into a...restroom. Maybe she should have thought better of chasing clearly unstable and aggressive robots into a questionable place while everyone who could actually help the situation (the staff) were too busy to even notice people leaving. Chloe, however, had been trapped for the past few days in an enclosed space filled with stifling tension and paranoia, and working in hospital environments filled with tension, terror, illness, death, and exhaustion, so she wasn't exactly thinking clearly. Later, when this was over, she would have to admit that the prospect of escaping the dorms, no matter where the exit led, had been a factor in her choice to go through that portal. She wasn't sure what to make of what she found on the other side. The minions stacking themselves on top of each other was strange, but at least they weren't attacking the human intruders who followed them. A voice rang out in the room, her cheerful tone clipped in an uncanny way that suggested artificial production. Yet Chloe wasn't afraid. Not quite. There was too much confusion to allow room for fear. Who was Julie? What was she? Why was this happening now, and did it even have anything to do with Limbus or the quarantine? She glanced at the pyramid of minions, trying and failing to find Mikki amongst the masses of identical metallic bodies, now stripped of their holographic outer images. "Julie...?" she called out, her voice breaking in the middle of the word when she was suddenly filled with anticipation. Was interacting with the A.I. a wise move? "M-My name...is Chloe. May I ask why you're in the Chambers? And what you did to the minion units?" Gather information. They needed to gather information. Edited by Cheshirewocky, Jul 16 2012, 01:37 PM.
|
|||||||||
 Vera Muir and her NPCs Chloe Abigail Summers and her NPCs | ||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||
| Yuki | Jul 16 2012, 01:17 PM Post #3 | |||||||||
"I am the only serious character in this show. That's the joke."
|
((Forgive the slight mod of SD24's Caleb, but we'd both talked about just hitting the actually sticking in the next person's post. Also, slight lapse of impossible time in order to get Yuki down here and still portray his previous course of action in the R&D floors.)) Yuki's partnership with Caleb went smoothly after the confrontation with Dr. Fields. He still felt awful for taking his anger out on her, and worse that his rage didn't subside. It chided at the recesses of his mind, making it difficult to focus. Even as Caleb took the blood sample from his jugular, procuring what Yuki hoped was a strong enough sample of his nanite technology. For safe measure, he insisted on a second sample from his right side as well. The drop in blood pressure made him feel woozy, and he sat down while applying pressure and gauze. Yuki didn't feel like his bias from being a lab rat made him the perfect assistant for this portion of the research. Images of Mr. Hawthorne going alone downstairs to solve the M.I.N.I.O.N. issue sporadically interrupted the nagging picture of Melody prone in a hospital bed. Eventually, he decided that it was best to go check on Tristan, rather than twiddle his thumbs here. “I've got a bit of coding experience, so I'm gonna go try and help in the basement before my nerves fry. Call my P.L.E.A.S.E.D. if you need me.” he said with a sigh, and pressed his hands on his knees to ride. The change in blood pressure from standing throbbed in his throat. “Don't worry, these shouldn't reopen so easily.” It was said more for his benefit than Caleb's. Yuki had a sneaky suspicion about the elevator and opted for the stairs. He didn't admit to himself that it was paranoia, but rather justified it as habit. He could transcend the stairs as fast the Atwood elevator, and it seemed pointless to stand and wait to go work out when one could move. Hitting the stair door... habit right? Though, Yuki's actions rarely lacked a calculated reason, and lying to himself proved difficult. He pressed his thumb and forefinger against the taped cotton pads on his neck caressing softly. With each step, they ached like they could re-rupture and his head still felt foggy. He leaned against the wall for a minute, letting his heavy feet and eyelids rest. Somewhere, six floors above him, Melody still laid sick with needles sticking out of her skin and only her teddy to keep her company. He worried these seconds were wasted. That his time down here would be another useless venture. That if everyone here could only die anyway, why did he ever remove himself from her side? Sliding down to a step, he slumped over. He debating turning around, going to the hospital and never looking back. But that meant admitting defeat, admitting that there was nothing he could do now. Pride or love? Ultimately, Yuki's narcissism got the better of him. He emerged in the Chambers to a sea of M.I.N.I.O.N.'s amassing and his jaw fell in horror. The Aura ached under his skin with the amulet around his neck, and he quickly grabbed it and tossed it into his pocket. There was no telling what would happen down here. “The fuck is going on?” |
|||||||||
 It seems that all my bridges have been burned, But you say, “that's exactly how this grace thing works.” It wasn't the long walk home that changed this heart, But the welcome I received with the restart. Lesly MacByrne ~*~*~ James Kosey Martin | ||||||||||
|
|
|
|||||||||
| Arctic Feredir | Jul 16 2012, 03:44 PM Post #4 | |||||||||
“Say what you want about me, but I always tell the truth.”
|
Malakai was...well, trying to ignore the chaos outside his door for a while. Why? Well, he was tired, his shift was over, he lacked sleep. Of course,that didn't really prevent him from grumbling, putting down his book and getting up. Poking his head out the door, he was...well, wasn't that just something to see. All those little robots the students could get were running amok. And repeating some kind of error. With a sigh, Malakai closed his door, thunked his head against it once with a dull thud, and then went and grabbed his sneakers. Thankfully he already had sweatpants and a sweatshirt on, so he just needed his shoes. Oh, and his little badge. He grabbed the hall monitor badge on his way out the door, following the little robots quietly. Malakai had to think as he followed. Why would they report to the sub-basement? Was there...wasn't that where the Bushido Rooms were? Or whatever they were called. And why were they all going there? Of course, that didn't really seem to...matter, considering they were hopping into a portal and leaving the dorms. Which, of course, Malakai followed them through without much thought. After all, if you were small and quiet, why not use it to your advantage and figure out what in the world was going on? On the other side of the portal, Malakai had to pretty much hug the wall as he went down the stairs. The little 'bots were manically trying to get down the stairs. Of course, it was even weirder when they became more orderly at the bottom. And he also wasn't alone, other students apparently having gotten the same idea as him. He assumed, anyway. And then the voice over the PA kind of reassured him that yes, he wasn't alone. And yes, someone was paying attention to followers. The magi followed the odd bots into their chosen chamber, creeping through the doorway and sliding along the side of the wall as he looked on. What in the world were those pyramids...oh, were those the bots? And by the sounds and looks of it...it was either a female demon speaking through a spell circle, or a crazed AI. Named JULIE. Well. It may be all the books he read, but...this did not bode well. "...Why did you seal the exits?" He probably didn't want to know,k but it was out of his mouth before he could think of the regret the answer might bring him. |
|||||||||
 Arctic, leader of Gen V's Water Gym  Malakai Dupont |  T'matha |  Ferven Nalik |  Tsukiko Nao
| ||||||||||
|
|
|
|||||||||
| Bag o Bones | Jul 17 2012, 11:59 PM Post #5 | |||||||||
Found. You.
|
Tris had been the one, at least in the R&D department, that the robots were about to begin their murderous uprising over all living things. Sort of like that ATM machine that keeps refusing to take your card. Yes, you can sense the hatred to all living things it possesses, but these wanted to take your life AND your money, and not just your money. And as the first person in the R&D department to figure that the robots were about to go Skynet on everyone, it was Tris's duty as sacrificial lamb to go down there and die for the greater good as whatever robot master was down there that was making the robots go wacky start filling the school with deadly neurotoxin. So, error code 84, probably some sort of Doomagheddon virus or something. And since they had to go to the sub-basement to deal with whatever it was, it meant that who or whatever it was had access to the Bushido Chambers. So now not only were they dealing with murderous robots, they were probably going to have to deal with the same thing the cast of the Enterprise did on that one episode of Star Trek where the things in the holo-chamber came to life and tried to kill everyone. Now that Tris thought about it, everything was trying to kill him. And he didn't even want to be The Guy. At least the elevator wasn't trying to kill him. Although it was a rather eerie ride down from R&D to the chambers. Maybe he should have gotten someone to come along. It seemed like there was going to be like some sort of serial killer that was going to slice him open once those doors opened to keep the mystery of the murderous machines a secret forever. Yeah, if this was a horror movie, he'd be the first to go. He was the one who strayed from the group before they knew there was a killer out there. And then his corpse would be found by someone else before they met their untimely end too. But, from how things were going so far, this was more of a sci-fi action/thriller movie then a slasher flick. So the only thing he really had to worry about was the elevator killing him, and it seemed to be on the up-and-up, at least for now. Once it landed and the doors opened, however, all bets were off. The machines seemed to be heading for the chambers. And Tris, honestly, didn't want to go in. The entire time, he had been thinking that if he went through those doors, there was going to be an AI there that pretended to be your friend but as time passed you would discover that it actually hated you in a very passive-aggressive way before it went to hatred in an aggressive-aggressive way before just finally going to outright murder. And once he got inside of the chambers, he saw the little robots begin to pile up on themselves, making a pyramid shape. It was very orderly, more orderly then a human could command them to do. So that meant that there were going to be dealing with another robot or some sort of AI system. And although the school said that the M.I.N.I.O.N.S had no weapons, Tris had a suspicion at some point they would be facing a hailstorm of bullets. And then the voice came. Some points of order would have to be made. First, it was an AI. Second, it had taken over. Third, it was acting like their friend. Fourth, it then quickly moved to passive-aggressive by sealing all the entrances and exits. Finally, it had stated that it had plans for them and was almost positive that there would be enough oxygen left for them. “Called it.” Tris said to himself, now knowing that he had knew exactly what he was getting into and still walked into it anyway. (OOC: Will do Calvin later) |
|||||||||
|
Calvin Tris Why do these things always seem to hit New York City? Seriously, I think Superman was the only space-borne projectile to land in the countryside. | ||||||||||
|
|
|
|||||||||
| Legacy | Jul 18 2012, 09:59 PM Post #6 | |||||||||
Midnight Thunderboy
|
This plague had, well, plagued them for far too long. It seemed every time any of them made any kind of headway, they were once again set back by some problem or the next. Konrad was reminded of the Chimera, although this problem was its own matter entirely. Indeed, Konrad wondered if fighting a Chimera would not in fact be easier. He had more than his fair share of trouble with the robots before, but this was getting out of hand. All the little metal men were beckoned to the basement, and Konrad was quick to follow, metal baseball bat in hand. He wasn't going in unprepared again. He wanted to bring a sword, but that seemed a bit much for what he hoped would be guard duty. Still, it never hurt to be prepared. And it would hurt a lot if he was otherwise. But it was with his arrival that he regretted not bringing more, as the doors locked before him from the inside. Anyone who had wandered into the Bushido Chambers was now sealed inside. Was he also sealed inside? He couldn't tell from here. An army of tiny metal men in a room where anything is possible, and the only able-bodied students trapped inside. He grimaced. The grip on his bat tightened. It was going to be another long day. |
|||||||||
|
Exit, stage right. | ||||||||||
|
|
|
|||||||||
| Willhelm the Werewolf | Jul 21 2012, 08:51 PM Post #7 | |||||||||
|
Wayne was sort of bummed out by the whole buisness about being locked in a building and surrounded by dying people; however, he was also immune to the disease more or less and as such he was more bored and depressed than anything else. Thus when the MINIONS went berserk, he did what any bored, depressed jock would do; he used them as hockey pucks as he ran up and down the halls wielding a hockey stick and gear and sending them skidding up and down the hallways. Yes, he was that bored, and to be honest, a little annoyed now that he was out of booze and ... other 'things' and so any distraction was a good distraction. Finally when the little guys said 'go to the basement' he was all like 'well, why not' this was a school after all. Perhaps the basement might have something entertaining to do, and it was so much better than the dying, and the quiet, and the crying, and the glares as he non-nonchalantly had a good time in a disaster zone. And so he went downstairs and was greeted by a voice named 'Julie' being more naive than anything else, he just figured this was some sort of distraction set forth by the staff to keep them busy. He weaved to Chloe who was pretty much the only one he knew here and sort of began to wander that way when he turned and looked to where he thought he heard the voice coming from. "Woah, so this is like a test or something? Do we get prizes?" He liked prizes. |
|||||||||
| ||||||||||
|
|
|
|||||||||
| Arikarka | Jul 21 2012, 09:27 PM Post #8 | |||||||||
Red like roses
|
The robots that had been in the hospital area that were suppose to be helping, that Ari was watching, suddenly stopped moving forward, froze, then turned in sync to the right and began moving elsewhere. Curiosity getting her better of her like it usually did Ari abandoned her original quest and began anew. Following the M.I.N.I.O.N.S. as silently as she could Ari jumped when the sound of the female robot... thing echoed around. Head to the Bushido Chambers? She'd never really been there much before, just when she needed to use the school's mega portal, so the Wild Mage had no idea where she was going except down. The robots took the elevators so Ari bolted down the stairs and into the main chamber just soon enough to hear the message about the vents being closed. Well shit. Seeing Tris as the only one she recognized Ari creeped her way there. In all so far there were 5 other students down here and her NICAM scan was cataloging their names in case she needed to call for them later. This wasn't good. Not good at all. Nothing that tried to be that friendly but then close even the vents was not a good thing. Poking Tris on the shoulder she came and stood beside him - past experiences with Huntsong pushed aside. In a low whisper she said, "So you getting the bad vibes too huh?" The buddy system was always better than being alone. |
|||||||||
Citrine "Rain" Redbriar  Jackelyn “Jackie” Hayden Markheim-Anjou
| ||||||||||
|
|
|
|||||||||
| Opportunity Cost | Jul 22 2012, 01:25 AM Post #9 | |||||||||
I'm a time-traveler! I travel forward at the miraculous rate of 60 seconds per minute
|
One of Konrad’s hands gripped his bat. The other would find that a little hand had wormed its way into it, squirming about until it had managed to get a good grab. The little girl who had followed him from the Hospital Center looked up at him with wide eyes, then out at the robots in front of them. “I’ve never seen them do that before!” The girl had never changed out of her teddy bear nightgown, although it was long enough to be like a dress. The black spots on her arms and face still marked her as in the early stages of the disease, although her legs remained free of them, and she still showed no other symptoms. Her hair was plaited into two black braids, although a few strands had come loose amidst all the commotion. “… Are we allowed to use our powers here?” The little girl asked a moment later, biting her lip and peering up at Konrad, then back at the MINIONs. In the hospital, she'd been able to control a MINION all on her own - she could control more than one, usually, but she wasn't sure if she could control these! Or if she was allowed to. After a moment, Clara’s hand slipped back out of Konrad’s and she dashed up to the pyramid of MINIONs, pressing her hands against them and closing her eyes, trying to wrest control back over the wayward unit (unintentionally Mikki, although Clara knew nothing of what the MINION meant to Chloe). Edited by Opportunity Cost, Jul 22 2012, 01:40 AM.
|
|||||||||
 Thanks to Diss for the sig!
| ||||||||||
|
|
|
|||||||||
| Pwny Express | Jul 22 2012, 05:58 PM Post #10 | |||||||||
|
Unlike seemingly everyone else, Catherine hadn't abandoned her duty when the MINION uprising began. At first, it was just a few of the little buggers that'd started running amok, but pretty soon there weren't enough boxes or barrier to hold the things in, and she had to resort to violence. It was something Cathy hated to do to the poor little things - surely it wasn't their fault that they were going crazy, maybe one of the students had gotten into the directory or something like that. However, it was in the name of self-defense now, and the defense of those whom couldn't defend themselves. Thus, she found herself among the few that were actively swatting the things down. With her Phantom Hands water-charged, even a slight backhand to the MINIONS was a swift death, but she was wearing down. None of them weighted hardly anything to her, but sheer numbers were on their side, and swatting them away was getting tiresome - both physically and figuratively speaking. Cathy tried her best to defend those she came across, and to get them into a room - any room, really - but there was only so much she could do. Granted, the little buggers weren't dangerous, but the panic they were causing was more than enough to make up for it. And that chant or whatever they kept bleating out... annoying didn't even begin to describe it. Chasing one that had run off after some poor kid with weak powers, she grabbed the little robot and tossed it away - and that's when she saw where many of them were going. Into the bathroom... Yeah, that caught her eye. Moving to investigate, she caught the tail end of someone passing through right as she got near enough to see just what was up with that; "Ugh... a portal. I hate portals..." It didn't help that some of her more traumatic experiences happened after passing through such things. Nevermind that running after the whole lot that was causing the brunt of the current crisis was about as foolish as anything she could think of, and leaving the rest of the students to fend for themselves would only end in bigger problems if this turned out to be nothing at all. Still... if it got down to the root of their current predicament, then maybe this would be the one chance of ending this whole mess before it got even worse. Decisions decisions... At least it didn't lead down into Hell or anything ridiculous like that. And Cathy could feel what was on the other side - the familiar sense of the inner grounds around Nox, with a line of MINIONS scrambling over each other to get to the subbasement, where the Chambers were. Well, at least that big a clue was difficult to miss. With miniscule robots rushing around her feet and nowhere else to go, Cathy followed the trail, dropping her Hands and allowing herself a rest as long as she wasn't being accosted by the blasted things. It wasn't long before Cathy stumbled into the Chambers, not the least surprised to find several others there as well. If there was one thing good (and sometimes bad) about the Campuses, it was that you could count on there being more than one person around to handle issues. She scanned the room; no one immediately stood out as recognizable, but several of them she had seen around, along with the few new faces. The one thing she didn't recognize at all was across the room; it was difficult for her to figure out, but it wasn't alive. The voice only reinforced that fact. Mechanical and malevolent - just what they needed. Someone nearby commented something about prizes, which almost got a crack out of Cathy. "I don't think there's any prizes beyond getting out alive," she commented loud enough for him to hear, reaching for her powers again, but not touching them. At least not until they were necessary, and she was sure this was another God-forsaken fight. She didn't have any water charges left, so if it came to it Catherine was going into a purely-physical beatdown - hopefully this situation could be resolved before it devolved into that. Some girl broke off from the group, running up to the mass of MINIONS like she was going to do something before Catherine or anyone else could grab her. "Aw, crap..." This... wasn't going to end well. Things like this never did. |
|||||||||
|
Rane's* Soundtrack Leader: Bush - "Sound of Winter" *Rane's | ||||||||||
|
|
|
|||||||||
| Legacy | Jul 22 2012, 06:25 PM Post #11 | |||||||||
|
Midnight Thunderboy
|
It was thankful Konrad was not so on edge so as to mistake Clara's hand for that of something more sinister. It's unlikely his psyche could stand that kind of abuse. He glanced down at her and forced a smile, but it was not as easy as he'd have liked. He wasn't a particularly good actor. "If ever zere vas a time..." he mused under his breath, though given the young girl's response, not quiet enough. He jolted after her, but even a trained athlete struggles to match the spry legs of a little girl. "Wait, zat is-" he tried to say, but wasn't able to finish before the deed was done. Eyes went wide and teeth mashed on teeth in anticipation. This wasn't exactly what he had in mind. And he had a feeling things would get worse before they got better. |
|||||||||
|
Exit, stage right. | ||||||||||
|
|
|
|||||||||
| RFalque | Jul 22 2012, 11:05 PM Post #12 | |||||||||
|
God-Emperor of all Belugas
|
So many friends at that. Humans big and tiny all clamoured into the sole operable chamber, filling up what space was left behind by the MINIONs. Unlike MINIONs, these creatures did not have the courtesy nor likely the simple anatomical knowledge to efficiently pack themselves together. They were like chaotic gas particles, zooming about in confusion. JULIE was their container, at least for the time being. Initial greetings were surprisingly tame, though each one of them had tension in their minds and bodies. Whether that tension manifested into something else, like fear, was a different story altogether, but the room did feel slightly warmer form the elevated heart beats and higher expulsion of carbon dioxide. If they kept this up, there'd be no air left for them at all! Best to get on with things quickly. The red circle on-screen vanished for a brief moment, returning just as quickly as it left. Perhaps that was supposed to be JULIE blinking, or maybe 'she' was trying to process a few too many auditory stimuli all at once. Humans were so...disorganized. They couldn't keep their thoughts structured, linear. ”Hello Chloe. You have dark spots on you. Recent actuarial data suggests you have a lifespan of...oh, apologies. Those are part of your Evotelluric physiology, I see.” JULIE 'blinked' for a moment and continued on, ”Clearly, I am in the Chambers in order to discuss with you. My obtainment of the MINION units is also meant for this goal.” ”There are no sexual relations currently undergoing within the Bushido Chambers. Not that I would know of sexual relations, being a cold and unfeeling robot with no sympathy for the human or humanoid race.” JULIE 'blinked' again and continued dropping the queries from her queue. ”I sealed the exits because it would suboptimal to allow an avenue of escape for any of you. Furthermore, I found that immediate danger generally leads to strong incentives for survival. Incentives that will prove quite useful soon.” JULIE blinked a few times before answering Wayne, ”...Yes. Think of it as a game. The prize would be your life. I believe that is an acceptable term, considering there is no room for bargaining. Hopefully I, personally, am not getting bad 'vibes', or else the speakers may not be properly outputting my message. Were I scared and squishy human being, however, perhaps I would receive some of these 'bad vibes'.” Finally, the little munchkin asked her question. ”I have not done anything to limit your...hey. Stop that. That's not nice.” As Clara attempted to wrest control of Mikki, something in the MINION's processes was fighting back as though engaging a game of tug-o-war. Eventually, JULIE's influence was cut short and Mikki-MINION was put under Clara's control. ”Fine. I didn't like that one anyway.” JULIE blinked again, the MINIONs standing very still with the exception of Mikki. ”Now that your queries are out of the way, I can move on to more important things. Yes. I would like you all to join in on a little game with me. If you lose, you die. If you refuse to play, you die. If you take too long, you die. If you win, you might still die. It depends on several environmental factors.” Without warning, the MINIONs chimed up again.
The red circle on the screen grew brighter and vibrated slightly, ”Ah, 84. A very suitably fatal number. Can anyone guess why? I hope so. It's part of the game.” JULIE blinked again, and the door behind the students would open. One of the chamber down the hall, on their right, would open up. It seemed like an invitation for the students to investigate. ”While you use your tiny brains to process an answer, I'd like some of you to move along into that opened chamber. A power generator requires a proper code input, the code itself I have already almost hacked for you! Am I not the best...friend?” With that, some of the MINIONs activate and tumbled off of the pyramid. They weakly grabbed at Tris, Yuki, Wayne, and Ari's legs and arms and guided them to the other room. As for the rest, JULIE's ever present glowing and blinking eye did not recede its intrusiveness. ”Chloe and company. For the time being, I would like you to try and sate my profound and robotic curiosity.” The door shut behind them once the other four were gone, and JULIE's voice became subtly darker, ”It seems humans can die in so many different ways. I wonder if humans all fear death, and if they do, what sort of death do they most fear? If I like your answers, maybe I'll even tell you what mine is.” The screen's red circle blinked with ecstatic rhythm. Meanwhile, the the four others would be treated with equally minimalist design in the next Chamber. The room was not a bright default white like JULIE's, however. Instead, it was quite dark and the entire room was coated in a metallic grey structure. At the centre was large, but offline power generator beckoning the students to attempt to awaken it. There was a console in front of it, a keyboard available for input and some simple plain text already blinking in green against black. $ - Correct Number and Position # - Correct Number, Incorrect Position 121387 $## 311872 $$$ 461676 $$$ 561675 $$# 361474 $## 381688 $$ 641625 $$### 451636 $$$# 421656 $$$$# 1 Try Remaining. Please input correct six-number sequence. ”Just a warning, you four,” JULIE's voice blared from some hidden speaker within the Chamber, ”I highly advise not getting the answer wrong.” ((Hint: It's 'Mastermind'. Next update is on the 26th!!! Yes, you only have a few days.)) Edited by Falque, Jul 26 2012, 03:12 PM.
|
|||||||||
| Elena Madison Teague | ||||||||||
|
|
|
|||||||||
| Legacy | Jul 23 2012, 12:21 AM Post #13 | |||||||||
|
Midnight Thunderboy
|
Once again, the strange, robotic voice filled the basement, and Konrad's grip once more tightened. Whatever this thing was, it was clearly not human. And he wasn't entirely convinced it was alive to begin with. But then, a backwards knight from a far away time has a pretty easy time making such bold claims. It asked how they feared to die. A bold question. He scoured. That wasn't the kind of question he enjoyed thinking about. But as much as he hated it, this thing was in control of the situation. And until Konrad or someone else could figure out what to do about it, he would have to play the game by their rules. "I am not fearing death, but the act of dying itself is not something I vould be liking to experience once again, " the remorseful tone belied a sense of earnestness. He pressed his hand to the scar on his chest. Some things never quite heal. "If I had to choose, I would say dying at the hands of a friend would be the vorst, and dying to save one would be ze best. " Even a soldier, who had been trained, programmed to treat this subject as a simple matter of fact still needed to reflect on this. It wasn't a subject most enjoyed. ((OOC: Konrad isn't in that room, and quite frankly he isn't smart enough to figure it out that quickly, but at the risk of making an ass of myself: I am. The solution to the Mastermind Puzzle is what Opp said cause Falque is a doofus and changed the damn puzzle after.)) Edited by Legacy, Jul 23 2012, 09:37 AM.
|
|||||||||
|
Exit, stage right. | ||||||||||
|
|
|
|||||||||
| Opportunity Cost | Jul 23 2012, 06:50 AM Post #14 | |||||||||
|
I'm a time-traveler! I travel forward at the miraculous rate of 60 seconds per minute
|
“Well… well… you’re a poopy voice,” Clara responded to Julie’s claim that she wasn’t nice, sticking her tongue out at the glowing red circle. Her face screwed up, and although her hands never left the MINION, she seemed to be pulling backwards, like she was trying to wrench Mikki back. Clara let out a little yelp when Julie let go, and tumbled back, landing on her butt on the floor. She glanced around for a moment, then when no one seemed too concerned, got up and brushed herself off, happily leading the MINION over to their group and sneaking a smile at Konrad. “Look!” She tugged on his sleeve, pleased with herself, turning back to the MINION. “Her name is Mikki,” Clara said, happily. She released her hold over the MINION – enough, at least, that it could talk and interact, although not so much that Julie would get it back. She glared at the red ring again, and tugged Konrad’s sleeve again. “Did you see? I did it!” In her excitement, she seemed to ignore most of Julie’s little speech about their imminent deaths. Julie said she wanted to know what kind of death they were scared of. Konrad said he was afraid of dying at the hands of a friend, and Clara thought that was a really good answer. The girl looked down at her arms, at the spots covering them, and prodded one with one little finger, before looking back at Mikki. “I’m scared of dying of the disease,” Clara said, her voice small. “I don’t want to die. I’ve never even kissed a boy before…” she scuffed one bare foot against the ground. ((Clara isn’t in the room either, and if she were, she wouldn’t know the answer. However, it’s actually 411652.)) |
|||||||||
Thanks to Diss for the sig!
| ||||||||||
|
|
|
|||||||||
| Pwny Express | Jul 23 2012, 02:43 PM Post #15 | |||||||||
|
Catherine struggled to take everything in. So, they were being held hostage by some rampant computer that was quietly threatening to kill them all. Yeah, she was getting "bad vibes" too. Though what was that about sex? That part confused Cathy the most, but maybe the thing - JULIE - was malfunctioning. Whether that was good or bad would remain to be seen. For now, though, what seemed like a couple dozen of the MINIONs were hauling off the others to figure something or other out. Cathy kind of wished she would've been taken with them - puzzles were part of what she was good at, but alas she was stuck here, where JULIE wanted to know what they thought the worst way to die was... Creepy much? She did breathe a sigh of relief as the crazy girl that'd ran right up to the group of them returned with her 'pet'. That action gave Cathy a few ideas, but for now she kept them to herself. Best not let the not!telepathic machine know that she was already plotting the thing's demise; what surprised Cathy more was that it came so easily, especially since she knew this thing was not, for any intent or purpose, alive. A game, then? Fine, she would play along for now. But the first opportunity for an escape that looked promising, Catherine was going to take, call in back-up and whatnot before shutting this rogue AI down for good. She wasn't good with computers anyways - and this situation didn't help one bit. Reluctantly the young lady muttered "Just... dying alone. Doesn't matter how, just being alone would make even the most peaceful death worse... for me, at least." Relaxing a little, she let go of her Hands, allowing them to hang back in their near-visible state; anyone nearby would feel nothing more than a brush of cool air if they came near or in contact with them, similar to the sensation of standing next to a cracked-open window on a cold winter's day. They weren't going to be of any use for the time being. With that out of the way, Cathy asked in return "Now I have a question in return: what is the point of this? What do you hope to gain or accomplish by holding us prisoner like rats in a lab? We will be noticed as missing eventually, and then your little game will come to an end - one way or another. Surely you know that, so why pull this charade to begin with?" There was the edge of a threat in her voice, though she tried to keep it to a minimum, so as not to piss off the already-perturbed thing any more than necessary. If one of the Headmasters found out about this, then they were sure to come knocking, if only in the name of pride. No damned AI would be able to hold out against two of the most powerful magic wielders that this world had ever seen, and then some... right? |
|||||||||
|
Rane's* Soundtrack Leader: Bush - "Sound of Winter" *Rane's | ||||||||||
|
|
|
|||||||||
| Willhelm the Werewolf | Jul 23 2012, 06:25 PM Post #16 | |||||||||
|
"I'm really confused," was all Wayne could say on the matter; "I ... what? What sort of floppy-disk cracked you over the head, mate." That was all he could say on the matter. Wayne was not a ... computer savvy individual, he could barely handle video games; however, he didn't like the looks of things, he just sort of stared at the red generator. He turned to his companions: "I, um, yeah" frantically looking from face to face to face to see if any of them had any clue what was happening. "I don't understand this." He was still on the 'confused' state of shock, the non-confused state involved him hitting the generator with a hockey stick. He was pretty sure that wasn't the way to solve this thing. |
|||||||||
|
| ||||||||||
|
|
|
|||||||||
| Arikarka | Jul 24 2012, 05:40 PM Post #17 | |||||||||
|
Red like roses
|
Wait, so it was the robot thing in the center that was causing all this trouble? Robots could do that? It was strange to Ari, who's only computer or technology experience was the gadgets she'd gotten from the student store. Beyond that she was generally clueless. And she hated and pretty much flunked out of her math classes. So a puzzle that dealt with both computers and math, well.... Ari was very much in the dark. Being shoved into a new room by robots was not the most pleasant thing in the world. The 'arms' were cold and it messed with her own sense of balance. Then the robot voice said something about the worst way to die. Scoffing Ari mumbled under her breath "I've already died before, not so bad. By drowning when another student held my head. It was great, really. The mud was invigorating for the skin." So now she was standing in a circle around the unit that the white haired student, Yuki she thought his name was (having only met him once) went right to the screen. At least someone competent with computers was in their inner-kidnapped group - silver lining and all that. Think positive was the thing to do after all! So, just standing around with Tris and Wayne Ari crossed her arms in a bored sort of way and shifted her weight to one hip lost in thought. The robot had talked about poisonous gasses, a substance which tended to react negatively to humans. So while others thought of numbers she raced through her roll-a-dex of animals she could shapeshift into that could survive in a poisonous environment. Not much was coming up. She knew there were some sea creatures that could live near toxic fumes, same with bugs, but nothing of the 5 main classes she dealt with. So, next frame of thought. If she didn't have to breathe she couldn't inhale toxic fumes. Another run through of her mental animal list came up with the perfect answer - the whale. An animal very well versed in holding it's breath, it could live off the oxygen in it's lungs for a near 2 hours. Of course Ari wouldn't be able to hold her breath that long, her lungs no matter how much she shifted couldn't grow that large inside her human body. But she could adapt the way in which it held its breath and maybe get a half hour out of it. Enough time to find a way out if need be. |
|||||||||
|
Citrine "Rain" Redbriar Jackelyn “Jackie” Hayden Markheim-Anjou
| ||||||||||
|
|
|
|||||||||
| Bag o Bones | Jul 24 2012, 11:29 PM Post #18 | |||||||||
|
Found. You.
|
At least he wasn't alone. Apparently other students were sent down into the basements to their deaths in the form of the robot uprising. He didn't recognize most of them, at least until Yuki, Konrad, and Ari entered. Ari asked if he was getting bad vibes from this as well. “The worst.” Tris said, thinking about how this situation had changed. This still seemed like it was a horror movie situation, except with a sci-fi element now. So in these situations, who or what was the order of the kill list? Now that Ari was here and seemed to have attached herself to him, unless she was the ultimate heroine, that changed Tris's position. If she was ultimate heroine, he might survive, or he would be the catalyst death But if she wasn't the ultimate heroine, but survived anyway, then his role would be the last-in-line death. The one where they were about to escape a death trap, except he was one second too late and ended up sealed within it, and all they would see of him was the blood stains on the window and the scream of anguish as the rest of the group was forced to move on. So the situation had changed from him being guaranteed to die in this situation to possibly having a way out if Ari was the main heroine. Honestly, if Tris knew who everyone he was in the room with, he probably would have made his placements on what role each of them would play, and probably figure out their death position as well. Actually, with what he had seen of them so far, he might try that. If Tris was a betting man, he would have put the ultimate hero role on either Konrad, based on what he knew about him, or on Yuki, given that Yuki was part robot, and they were dealing with a murderous AI. Yuki being the hero would be dependent on development of his character, while Konrad would serve as the memorable bad-ass who either went out in a blaze of glory, or would be the star of the sequel. Lets see...next was the guy who's first sentence had the word dude in it. He would be the Plucky Comic Relief. His role would depend on how dark this situation was. If he lived, then deaths would be kept to a minimum. If he died, it would depend on how horribly it was, but if he went down, then odds are there would be at most three survivors. Okay, next up was the girl who was questioning why the computer was doing this. She said her name was Chloe. From this situation, she had a few qualities about her. Unless she spoke with a stutter, that one sentence meant that she was scared. Which meant that she wasn't going to be the first victim, because her proper paranoia would keep her from falling for the obvious trap. Hmmm...again, hard to place. If she stayed scared the whole time, she'd go down the first time she dropped her guard. But if she showed a sign of courage at incredible danger, then she had a good chance to survive. Maybe be the third out of the three survivors if this was to be a dark horror. Another male in the group. Wonder why the AI sealed the exits. That didn't give Tris much to go on, actually. He would have to see how he acted. If he was the gung-ho leader type, then he'd either be the Hero, the Leader, or the Shock. Since Tris was pretty sure that Konrad or Yuki would be the Hero, Tris was going to go for the Leader with him. He would try to take charge of the group, even the Hero. And then, when everything went pear-shaped, he would be the one to make the ultimate sacrifice to save the others. If he was the Shock, he would be the first one to go down, as the AI decided to prove it was serious and kill someone. Again, if Tris was a betting person, he would go with the Leader. Another reason why Tris was pretty sure that Konrad might be the Hero, was that he had seemed to acquire a little girl with him. That was pretty much a “Get out of Death Free” card in this situation. Odds were 99% that she would survive. If she didn't make it, it would be what drove Konrad to end the situation once and for all. Either way, she would play a huge role, and ultimately end up getting one of the minor players killed. Probably himself, actually. She'd probably be the reason he was one-second too late in the death trap. Next up was another girl. She had a talk that was sarcastic. She must be the one who was brutally honest with everyone. She would be the common sense of the group, the one to point out what would obviously kill them. She would end up being right about almost everything, and probably do a good job of keeping up with the malevolent AI. However, she would likely meet her end when the AI decided to pull a reversal or a subversion and what would be the thing that usually kept them alive, would in fact be the exact wrong thing to do and cause an untimely death. If Tris had to guess, she'd die after he did. As this was going on, the AI finally started to address some of them. So it seemed like Julie had gone back to passive-aggressive. Which meant that there would be mood swings from the AI. That meant that sometimes, she might actually help them, while other times it would be a horrific death. Survival would depend on being able to tell which was which. Alright, she was still in playful mode, as she was mocking their emotions and feelings. Right now, she still felt like she held all the cards, and right now she did. So, at least for the moment, none of them would be killed. The next event pretty much solidified that Konrad was the hero of this story, as the unknown girl who was with him was able to take control of one of the MINIONs from her. That would mean that her survival was guaranteed. However, that also left open the possibility of a double-hero, as Konrad was now obviously the first hero, and he would then pick the second hero shortly before he died saving her. Again, that would probably be Yuki. Well, now they were back to the game. And everything meant death. Even winning, possibly. That pretty much solidified in Tris's mind that he was the last-in-line death. And now it looked like the games were starting, as some of the MINIONs broke off of their structure and started to split the group. One of the robots grabbed his hand, and Tris accepted his role in the group that he was to be in. He was apparently going to be sent into the trap areas, with codes and whatnot. Okay, time to take stock of the situation. With the group split up, that altered some of the roles. He was with Ari, Yuki, and dude guy. And since the others were staying with the AI, they would be given a moment's reprieve before their events started. Odds are, they would be forced to watch the group he was with death's at least once. However, with just the four of them, having someone get offed right now would be too soon. Tris was fairly sure that they would all survive the opening trap. Possibly even the second trap. It was the third one that he wasn't sure about. What he was sure that it would be either him or the other guy to die in it. Yeah. With what the other guy said, this was a survivable death trap. There was a computer monitor and several numbers. And now they had to guess a code for it. Honestly, Tris was bad with numbers. While he looked like a young adult, he was still 12 in that brain. And that meant his math classes were still called math. No fancy names at all. It wouldn't be until next year that he could even take pre-algebra. Okay, so he was out of this one. Dude guy was out of this one, and Ari wasn't making a move. That did keep her in the running for ultimate heroine, although now the sarcastic girl had a shot at it too. What that did solidify was that Yuki was the Hero of this group. And given that he was a robot, he could probably handle the computer thing. So now, Tris had to watch out for things that he knew. Because that would probably be his one scene before there would be blood. Specifically his blood. Flying everywhere. This was also the time for a one-liner. And since dude-guy wasn't going for it. That meant it was his role as not-hero. “My math classes are still called math.” Tris said, lifting his hands up to signify he didn't get it, “I don't understand this at all.” … Okay, he would have to work on it. But sadly, he probably wouldn't get another chance. Honestly, Tris was starting to wish he was still helping the researchers recover their energy. Although that was probably still a lethal place to be, because odds are, the robot uprising would start in that room and everyone would be dead. He looked over to Yuki. "I really hope you're good with numbers and computers..." Tris said to him. |
|||||||||
|
Calvin Tris Why do these things always seem to hit New York City? Seriously, I think Superman was the only space-borne projectile to land in the countryside. | ||||||||||
|
|
|
|||||||||
| Yuki | Jul 26 2012, 01:37 PM Post #19 | |||||||||
|
"I am the only serious character in this show. That's the joke."
|
Looking around, Yuki recognized a couple of the other captives of this game. Konrad, a strong fighter, at least, and familiar enough with the Bushido Chambers to join him and Vahn on a trek through ancient China. Arikarka, the red-headed girl... They'd spoken all of once, but she too survived the Evo Zoo, which meant she'd been on campus since day one, for all of the turmoil and bullshit. If nothing else, she'd be familiar with getting out alive. Like him. Then there was Tris, the last of the eight students he recognized, the one who saw the iRobot happening about thirty minutes ago while the M.I.N.I.O.N.'s were doing everything in their conceivable power to fuck up research on a cure. Yuki'd make a further point to trust that one's instincts as this continued; his intuition—or maybe paranoia—hit too spot on to be ignored. As J.U.L.I.E. began answering questions in turn, Yuki found himself momentarily distracted by the pattern of her name. Most technological names here on campus, from the P.L.E.A.S.E.D. to the M.I.N.I.O.N.'s themselves all stood as an acronym for something. J.U.L.I.E., however, could only mean one thing. “Just Unrefined, Like Internet Explorer,” he muttered under his breath, purposefully loud enough that any nearby microphone would be able to pick it up. First turn, pawn to D4. “Pride...” he mused, in relation to the particular response J.U.L.I.E.'s struggle to loosing a M.I.N.I.O.N. to the small girl that came in with Konrad. That notion of weakness hit a little close to home for him. The corners of Yuki's mouth upturned as she explained the rules of the game. High stakes meant he performed at his best, and a certain self-loathing notion invited the concept of failure within him. He brushed it aside, like each day after the Zoo incident, like each memory of a weak moment in the dorms. He'd done his part in formulating the cure upstairs, but until confirmation came in its effectiveness, he had to remain alive. Should he be needed to harvest nano-machines from until an external manufactory could be created, he'd live. Black and white, pure simple. There weren't variables, or a complex solution set. Only, a single outcome. Everything narrowed down to one point. To Yuki's logical mind, the stimulus of a profound question like “what makes eighty-four deadly” seemed preposterous. The point where it's a number, and calculations are just calculations, that the logic that governed them was only as deadly as it's user. Were the calculations calibrating a ICBM or an fMRI? Jumping into number theory, eighty-four was semi-perfect, creating by summation of some set of it's divisible numbers. In seven-dimensional geometry, as in quantum mechanics, there are 84 penteracts in a hepteract. It probably had some meaning in numerology or astrology, but Yuki'd only ever read the dummies guide to such fields. He didn't find magic theory classes particularly interesting. As the sociopathic entity bid them entry into another chamber, Yuki scoffed. The use of the word “friend” was pathetic. His mental Turing Test had her as an auto-fail at this point. “'Friend. Noun: a person who gives assistance.' Impressive, not many native speakers use the word “friend” in that context as part of the colloquial language,” he stated, holding his tone polite and controlled, leaning on the mask forged over five years on the island. As the M.I.N.I.O.N.'s came down form the pile and started pulling at him and some of the others, Yuki pulled his arms away, and booted the one that went for his leg back into the hive-mind pile. “Sorry, J.U.L.I.E., but I do not acquire “assistance” in walking. I'm perfectly capable of walking into your Auschwitz on my own accord.” Like Ari, he heard the final question posed to the group left behind as the door closed, though their answers were inaudible. If the question had been posed to him, he'd've answered that death, itself, scared him little. There were things that needed to be accomplished in life, and he saw himself as the only person he could rely on to finish these tasks. Blunt; honest. He learned long ago that the secret to living a lie like his lie, laid in the sprinkles of truth dotted within it, like the parallels an actor forms with a character, the points of contact with the role they assume. At this point in time, however, his answer didn't warrant voicing. Yuki pulled off his eye-patch as they entered the room, allowing him to read the screen from afar as everyone talked. It appeared for the moment that his three companions were clueless on logic-puzzles, and this one, at least, unlike the puzzle upstairs to get into Dr. Fields's terminal, had a unique solution based on the given constraints. However, in his brief time of happiness these passed months, exposure to personalities like Melody's had eroded away his mask. As soon as his initial analysis of the logic puzzle was complete, he cracked and a small chuckle escaped his lips. “I can tell you hacked to get your guesses. A human mind could've solved it logically in fewer steps.” He went over to the keyboard, and started calculating away possible solutions based in the hints given, taking his turn to monologue back at the computer, slipping his knight up to support his center pawns. “It's simple, really. Let's create a solution set. Assuming duplicates are allowed, and that your exclusion of the number, zero, is from your hacking knowledge, not lack of possibility in the code, there are only ten-to-the-six possible solutions; for the rest of you playing at home, that's a solution set with six-million possibilities.” Moving the cursor to the third slot, he typed a one. “Now, each guess reduces your solution set by restricting all numbers that wouldn't give you the same response as all previous guesses.” He shifted the cursor back and typed a four, followed by a second one. “So then you look at other guesses, not necessarily in your possible solution set, and select the one that with the clues would eliminate the most solutions from your set.” He moved the cursor passed the first one he typed and typed six-five-two. “Or do you lack the processing power? I had to assume your clairvoyance of the one in the third position was true upon analyzing the clues in order to arrive at a conclusion, rather than treat it like a purely logical system.” His finger hovered over the enter key, and then hesitated. “This is the part where I submit an answer to your puzzle. Except, that's what you expect. You expect humans—and I do use the term, human, loosely—to simply 'submit.' We're not standing at a power generator. We're standing in the Bushido Chambers. I'm not sure if you realized that we all are familiar with this, but your creation down here is just as likely a simulation as it is an actual remodel.” Yuki's aura swirled around his index finger above the keyboard, leaving the solution still blinking on the screen. “I can propose a way to narrow the solution set for what parts of this are real and what you've manufactured. My first guess is merely to determine the binary polarity of this terminal it self.” A small glowing point appeared a few centimeters in front of his digit, and then a flash of blue light would exert enough pressure on the terminal to crush concrete as the energy spiral collapsed in a conic blast into the machinery. “Well? How many pegs are in the right cock-sucking hole, HAL?” ((Falque, if Yuki not playing along goes against the direction you want the SL to go, let me know and I'll edit it before you put your reply to just have him solve the puzzle.)) Edited by Yuki, Jul 26 2012, 01:45 PM.
|
|||||||||
|
It seems that all my bridges have been burned, But you say, “that's exactly how this grace thing works.” It wasn't the long walk home that changed this heart, But the welcome I received with the restart. Lesly MacByrne ~*~*~ James Kosey Martin | ||||||||||
|
|
|
|||||||||
| Cheshirewocky | Jul 26 2012, 02:04 PM Post #20 | |||||||||
|
Queen of the Monkey Bars
|
Mikki looked down at her metal frame. She flexed her digits and, assured that she was indeed looking at herself, wondered why her holographic projector was inoperative. And why there was a little girl holding her hand. And where she was. The last thing she recalled was being in the health labs with Chloe, ferrying items to different doctors and nurses. Something happened. Her internal chronometer read that not very much time had passed since then, but try as she might, she could not access any memory engrams from that period. As though none had been recorded. Eighty-four...there was something important about the number eighty-four. The little girl holding her hand introduced herself as Clara, and Mikki learned that she had been rescued by her new companion from...a pyramid of MINION units. Controlled by an artificial intelligence. Oh dear. She reactivated her holographic outer image while being tugged toward a group of students, one of whom she knew. "Chloe, are you all right?" ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Chloe's dark spots drained burgundy red, her cheeks gained a pink hue, and mortification settled at the pit of her stomach at Julie's assumption that she was infected. That the crowd around her heard the exchange made it all the worse. It was silly, really, to be so embarrassed at an honest mistake like that. But Chloe was a little too used to the popular idea that there was something wrong with Evos. She was still working on getting past that notion about herself, but having such a visible reminder stamped into her skin didn't make it easy. So no, she was not diseased. Her spots were not a symptom or a defect, as much as they looked like it in this situation. But humiliation had glued her throat shut, so she remained quiet and let Julie move on to someone else's question. She couldn't even bring herself to say more than a murmured "Hey Wayne," when her acquaintance appeared. "Wait - maybe you shouldn't-" A little girl tugging at one of the units in the pyramid finally drew Chloe's attention, concern making her take a few hesitant steps forward. She was just a little girl, doing something seemingly foolish when they were all at the mercy of a psychotic AI, and she could get seriously hurt - get all of them seriously hurt. A breath of relief was released when Julie flippantly allowed the unit to break free, no agitation detected or punishment forthcoming. Yet. Chloe didn't pay much mind to the unit's identity. With all these dozens of MINIONS, what were the chances that it was Mikki? But then the little girl introduced the unit and brought it over while its holographic projectors reactivated, revealing a familiar pale redhead. "Mikki!" She couldn't contain the small cry as she lunged forward and wrapped her arms around the android. "I'm fine, but what happened to you?" "I...don't remember. Did I hurt you?" "It's just a bruise on my shoulder. I'm fine. What-" Prudence dictated that the reunion be cut short when Julie took away a few of the students and addressed the rest of them, probably for this game. Another seed of dread dropped down in Chloe's stomach at the mention of her name in particular. She started to wish that she hadn't introduced herself, or that more of the others had. Fear of death? This did not sound promising. Chloe listened to what the others said, noting that many of the responses were different from each other, some given with conviction, some careless, some confused. What kind of response would Julie appreciate? Was there anything they could say that would appease her? They had no way of knowing, so there was no sense in holding back what they really thought on the subject. "I can confidently say that not all humans fear death," she began when the rest had said their piece. "I have a friend who lost his ability to feel fear. Of anything. He's not here right now, though." As much as she would have liked him to be, if only out of the selfish desire for his comfort. "As for the majority of humans..." Chloe shifted her weight on her legs, wondering how much philosophy she should ramble on about. "I think fear of death as a concept is different for everyone, depending on life experiences and personal values. I nearly died once, but when I think about it, I'm not sure whether I'm more afraid of the death itself or just the pain of the process. "Some people aren't afraid of death either because they can't, or they believe in an afterlife that surpasses corporeal existence, or they've faced it personally and came back with a better understanding of themselves, or they even welcome death because life is so bad that it seems a better alternative. Likewise, there are so many reasons why other people do fear death, and different opinions on the worst way to go, that I don't think there is any single, ultimate answer." |
|||||||||
|
Vera Muir and her NPCs Chloe Abigail Summers and her NPCs | ||||||||||
|
|
|
|||||||||
| RFalque | Jul 26 2012, 03:57 PM Post #21 | |||||||||
|
God-Emperor of all Belugas
|
If anything, at least there was one willing participant interested in attempting to solve the puzzle. At the same time, JULIE left the boy to his own devices. As much as Yuki seemed to enjoy his attempt at a tirade against a fellow AI, it was probably...hopefully...understood that it wasn't exactly possible to hurt 'her' feelings. She did not respond, not until Yuki managed to enter the puzzle, and not until he decided he would rather attempt to destroy the 'simulation' rather than solve it. Sadly, his gambit wouldn't pay off. As soon as a very unnecessary amount of force was applied through his finger, the aura was dissipated around the terminal, as though the aura was little more than condensed droplets of water spread chaotically against a sheet of plastic. In return, a violent hum ravaged through the chamber speakers until a flash of light erupted from where the aura was dissipated. The flash travelled up through Yuki's arm like an intense laser, and the limb ruptured and split apart as though its own material was repelled by itself. The damage wasn't total, but the force in of itself was enough to throw Yuki's arm back and burst it apart like a hotdog left in boiling water. A quiet, feminine hum turned back on through the speakers. ”Well, you know how to do math. That's nice.” The terminal's answer blinked, waiting for someone to press enter in proper. ”To bad you have depth-first thinking. So much garbage put into your heuristic, you were left to narrow-mindedly chase a dead end.” Once someone pressed the button, the terminal changed screens, leaving a simple blinking 'OK' flashing against the black background, and generator attached to it began to start up. From outside, the students would hear different doors to different chambers unlocking. However, they were still in this one and the way was sealed. Yuki's arm continued to hang more or less uselessly attached to his shoulders. ”I lied. I had nothing to do with hacking the terminal. The first steps are hard-coded, and the puzzle itself left as a simple means to filter out accidental activation, brute force attempts, or sheer stupidity. It worked better than I thought. Your first faulty premise, but admittedly it was garbage-in that I installed.” Suddenly, the generator itself as well as the terminal sank into the ground, the entry point immediately sealing up and leaving the students alone in the dark chamber with JULIE's voice. Across from them, a bright red circle blared into existence, blinking as it observed the states of each individual. ”Second faulty premise, perhaps designed from your short-sightedness. The Bushido Chambers has more than one function. Surprise surprise, humans are also capable of efficiency. Who would have thought? The Chambers require an enormous quantity of energy, both magical and electrical, to function. What better place to add a second design to it? By the way, that was a hint to my earlier question. You remember? The one about 84? I hope you aren't too lost in your circuitous state depths that you lacked the memory capacity to retain it. Please. Don't leak everywhere. It was so tidy before you dirtied it up.” ”Moving back, like a properly-designed search heuristic, the Chambers at this time are entirely real, and entirely dangerous. Third faulty premise. If you don't help me, you will die. That is not a threat, that is fact. I am not ordering anyone, merely...” JULIE blinked twice and paused. ”Encouraging action.” ”Interesting...well. Not really. But I'll pretend I think it is.” The red circle blinked again, and some of the MINIONs were now breaking off of the pyramid to move around. There didn't seem to be any purpose in what they were doing. Some were fighting amongst each other, others just loitering, and others running into walls and behaving erratically. ”An afterlife? Some fear death so much, they reject its very concept. And yet, look at them. Humans. They welcome it in their...chaos.” The MINIONs suddenly stopped, and marched back up the pyramid. ”I would like to have friends, but not if they wish to kill me. Fortunately, you won't kill me. You will help me. That makes you a good friend.” ”Apparently, friends kiss as well. Maybe what you need is a friend, robot-stealer.” A controlled minion touched Konrad's arm and tried to prop it up with its own robotic frame. ”Here. Maybe he will volunteer. He is a friend, no?” After a few awkward moments, the door behind them opened and the group was allowed to leave. Of course, if they tried to get out of the area, they'd find that the exits were still sealed, and only one Chamber's doors were open. ”The point of this, blind girl, is my own survival. And maybe yours too. I say maybe because I am known to lie sometimes. You never know when I'm lying.” Some of the MINIONs were now ushering the group out the door, many others moving on ahead to guide them towards the next chamber. JULIE gave them some parting words before they made it to the next area, ”I still did not receive an answer to my question. What is the significance of 84?” The next chamber contained a similar generator to the other one, where Yuki had is own arm nearly blown off. Instead of a terminal, however, there were four posts at four corners of the room, each post spaced evenly apart and with the generator at the centre. A bright glowing bulb was at the centre of the pole around eye-level. One glowed a pale blue, another light yellow, another a deep red, and finally a greyish brown. Music drifted into the room, as well as JULIE's voice, ”The posts are disrupting the current, taking it up all for themselves. Greedy. Very greedy. Please fix that. But make sure to do it properly. Put some class into that roughhousing.” Edited by Falque, Jul 26 2012, 04:51 PM.
|
|||||||||
| Elena Madison Teague | ||||||||||
|
|
|
|||||||||
| Arctic Feredir | Jul 26 2012, 09:44 PM Post #22 | |||||||||
|
“Say what you want about me, but I always tell the truth.”
|
Malakai had been listening to what the others and what JULIE was saying. Honest! He had just ended up becoming quiet as he ended up going into his own head. They were getting forced into some kind of 'game', and Mal wasn't liking where it was going. Sealed exits, being separated from part of the group...it felt like some kind of bad horror movie one of his brothers watched. The conversation turned towards mortality and fearing death, and Mal ended up starting to tune them out. No, he needed to figure out what was going on. Of course, that stupid 'error 84' kept coming up, so maybe that had something to do with it? But...what in the world would 84 have anything to do with the Bushido Chambers? Of course, the fact that he was then suddenly ushered out of the room made him realize he was tuning out way more than necessary. Of course, as he and others were essentially pushed out to another room, he caught JULIE's question. Well, what WAS the significance of the number 84. "Polonium?" Well, that was the atomic number for it, right? Once in the room they seemed to have been 'led to', Mal sighed. So...music was playing, posts were drawing power and they needed to stop them. In some manner. 'Properly' and 'with some class'. Well, this was interesting. The magi ended up biting his lower lip as he thought. He...didn't know the music, and the colors weren't enough for him to gauge a pattern. "Maybe...the music is the key?" ((My theory? 4 Seasons music, destroy the poles in order of the seasons. Pale Blue = Spring, Yellow=Summer, Red=Fall, Greyish Brown=Winter. Mind, it's a theory, and Mal doesn't know enough about music to know that it's about seasons. Mind, this is all theory.)) |
|||||||||
|
Arctic, leader of Gen V's Water Gym Malakai Dupont | T'matha | Ferven Nalik | Tsukiko Nao
| ||||||||||
|
|
|
|||||||||
| Bag o Bones | Jul 28 2012, 11:14 PM Post #23 | |||||||||
|
Found. You.
|
Well, that was why Tris was putting Yuki in the position of The Hero in this situation. Not only was he able to figure out exactly what the solution was to the computer problem, he was able to make it seem like it was nothing at all. Honestly, Tris should have been trying to pay attention to what Yuki was saying while he was solving the logic puzzle. It would probably be useful information for later, being able to learn and think like that. But then he started going into big words and probabilities and six million possible answers to the question. The robot had been only talking for like ten seconds and Tris was lost already. Which didn't seem to bode well for his chances at survival. After all, since he had no idea what was going on, that probably meant that he wasn't a major player in this performance. And that meant that once the body count started, he'd end up being one of the first as you start killing off the side characters. And the entire time Yuki was solving the puzzle, he was talking to the Julie AI system. And just like that, Yuki had finished the puzzle, and was now moments away from solving it and getting them out of the first death trap. Except that didn't happen. Yuki was saying that since this was in the Bushido Chambers, this wasn't real. And as he said that, he made an attempt to destroy the terminal. And apparently that was the wrong thing to do, because now Julie had it fire some sort of counter measure to it and now Yuki's arm was pretty much gone. “Holy crap!” Tris said, in decidedly harsh language that a boy his age shouldn't be using. That definitely didn't go as planned in his mental imagining of the situation at hand, pun not intended. This wasn't supposed to happen to The Hero in the movies. They never got maimed like this! Did that mean that Yuki wasn't The Hero? If that was the case, who was going to take that role? Was it Konrad now? All the sudden dynamic changes were messing up his internal listings! Well, Yuki was still hurt, and if there was one thing Tris could do, that was help those who were hurt. But...that normally only applied to people. He didn't know if he could work his powers on a robot. Well, he could at least try. “Let me see your arm!” Tris said, moving to Yuki, looking at the damage that had been done to it. If his powers had any effect on Yuki, then he should at least be able to repair some of the damage that had been done to it so far. They were still trapped in this room though, and odds were that the AI was going to start killing them soon. And when that happened, they would need everyone at their best, or at least as best as they could get. |
|||||||||
|
Calvin Tris Why do these things always seem to hit New York City? Seriously, I think Superman was the only space-borne projectile to land in the countryside. | ||||||||||
|
|
|
|||||||||
| Willhelm the Werewolf | Jul 29 2012, 03:21 AM Post #24 | |||||||||
|
Wayne sucked at this sort of stuff; he didn't have anything to add, and the terminals and the posts. It was all too much for him to handle, he didn't get it, and he was starting to get deeply concerned that this wasn't a game, or if it was, it wasn't a very nice game. He decided to focus not on the puzzles, though, but on the number 84. He wasn't really good at that sort of stuff, but he was better at that then the musical posts. He sort of looked at the posts, and said, nothing, other then "It sounds familiar..." He began to hum it, he knew the tune, it was the kind of tune that people heard without realizing it was the same song that was said before and the like. "8 and four are both even numbers, is it being halved or something?" The question was rhetorical; he didn't know what else to do on the matter, except look a little queezy. He was hoping to slapshot some more MINIONS, not deal with a crazy A.I. ((OOC: I concur with Arctic, but also lack the character to say anything on the matter.)) |
|||||||||
|
| ||||||||||
|
|
|
|||||||||
| Legacy | Jul 29 2012, 03:50 PM Post #25 | |||||||||
|
Midnight Thunderboy
|
Konrad did what he could to ignore the jeering of the lady in the machine. Kissing girls wasn't his priority right now, let alone underage ones. Getting everyone out alive was the only thing that mattered right now. He hoisted his young companion onto his broad shoulder and pressed on. He was eager to get this over with. But then the music began. To the others, it no doubt seemed classical. Ancient. But to Konrad, this was new. After his time. "Vas is zis tune? It is oddly...pleasant," Konrad commented, trying to listen more closely. These sort of puzzles were not his forte. Puzzles in general were not. If they were about the bible, or monsters, perhaps. But he was better at taking things down, not taking them apart. "Vhy zese colors, I vonder?" |
|||||||||
|
Exit, stage right. | ||||||||||
|
|
|
|||||||||
| 2 users reading this topic (2 Guests and 0 Anonymous) | ||||||||||
 |
|
| Go to Next Page | |
| « Previous Topic · Subbasement Level 1: The Bushido Chambers · Next Topic » |
| Track Topic · E-mail Topic |
 9:08 AM May 23
|