( MEMES ) TEST DRIVE >> 7

[contagio]

THE TEST DRIVE



Like it or not, you've been dragged from your world into the sanctum. It's a pretty nice city, all things considered--sci-fi, high-tech, glamourous.... Except, of course, for the giant dome encircling it, and the threat of glitching, contaminated zombies at your door. Looks like humanity's built itself a fortress that looks suspiciously like a cage, too. Toss in the odd memory blanks and the everpresent logo of Bifrons incorporated and it's enough to make someone paranoid.

The object of this meme is to get people familiar with the world of the Sanctum, and to try to see if their characters would fit in a sci-fi utopia such as this. Here are your options:

1. Intro: Waking Up. Make your intro post, folks. You wake up in a strange place, and get a strange transmission to go with it. There's a pair of glasses connected to some sort of communications network, but otherwise not much else in the room with you. What are you going to do?

2. Pet Adoption. Maybe you have the perfect genetically engineered pet in mind. Maybe you found a stray little escapee--do you keep it or turn it in? There's a reward if you let Bifrons know where the potentially dangerous little bugger is at, after all.

3. Alterations. Feel like you need an edge in the city? Find yourself injured and looking at options? Why not consider genetic alterations or, better yet, upgrading to a better, healthier you? Be warned, some of the side effects can be a little unpleasant.

4. Network Glitches. Strange garbled messages keep trying to come through in audio and text, but no way to track where they're coming from. Do you try to make contact? Compare notes with others? Surely it's nothing to be concerned about, right?

5. Dome Glitches. What was that in the window? There, again, in the bathroom mirror! Is that another you, living another life? Or maybe you spot an ominous shadow lurking around in the corner, something like a dysthrope but...worse. You're not going crazy, are you? Others see it, too, don't they? Oh, I wouldn't touch that reflective surface if I were you, or you might end up thinking you're living in that strange other world.

6. Outside the Dome. You're out and about without an armed escort, suited up against the atmosphere and dysthropes. It's supposed to be a green sector in this run down shell of what used to be a suburb, right? Nothing could possibly go wrong

7. WILDCARD. Choose your own adventure or create a cocktail from the presented options! The choice is YOURS.

Comments

[onthepoint]

[ Arthur wakes up slowly from a nightmare and the strangest part is that he'd been dreaming at all. Scientists had been prodding at him and it seems like such a silly dream now. He's never really been afraid of anything like that. It's not until he opens his eyes that he panics.

He doesn't know where he is or what this place is, but it's not familiar and it's not right. It's a dream and not a very well-disguised one, either, but he doesn't know what kind of sedative he's on, so he doesn't have much choice other than to figure out who has him here and what they want.

There's an outfit laid out for him, but no gun and while he's not surprised, he's a little disappointed. As he gets dressed, though, he does find a nice metal pen in his pocket. It'll have to do for now.

Slipping out of the room, he walks quietly, sticking close to the walls and looking for whoever's keeping him here. ]

apologies for lack of HTML; phone tagging

[complicatedliar]

[If he ends up out on the street, he'll find someone, though not the person responsible.

He's a tall man, dressed fashionably in the city's style, if in green and black. His black hair is short and in messy curls.]

Oh look. Fresh meat.

[He drawls the words into a sardonic joke.]

No worries! makes no difference to me. :)

[onthepoint]

[ Arthur turns sharply at the sound. It's the first voice that's been directed at him and in his pocket, his hand is on the ornamental pen, reading to do what he has to do with it to stay safe.

Mentally, he runs through his rolodex of known names and faces, but he comes up blank on this one. ]

What do you want?

<3

[complicatedliar]

[Loki notes the movement of the hand out of habit, one eyebrow curving up ever so slightly as if to ask, 'Really?' If the man is fresh Immune, he won't have a weapon of any use, he knows this from experience. And if he isn't. Well. Been a while since he knifed a would-be mugger.]

At the moment, what I want is to eventually reach the casino, as I've work tonight. What I've done is pause out of the goodness of my heart to see if a new lost lamb is on his way to do something silly.

[Goodness of his heart. Good thing he's not a crass sort that laughs at his own deadpan jokes.]

[onthepoint]

[ Arthur looks less-than-convinced. ]

No, what do you want from me?

[ Whatever it is--whatever this place is supposed to be--Arthur just doesn't get it and that unnerves him more than the idea that someone could be playing around in his subconscious. He hates not knowing. ]

[complicatedliar]

[Entertainment value is the obvious and true answer, but no need to say that out loud.]

Why would I want anything of you?

[If he's freshly arrived, he has nothing of value except being a fresh pawn in the game to nudge in there proper direction.]

Or do you think I've anything at all to do with your being here? That would be a trick indeed.

[onthepoint]

You really expect me to believe that you don't?

[ He frowns. Why else would he be here? Arthur just doesn't get the point of any of this. Why alert the dreamer that they're dreaming with such stark contrast to their reality? ]

[complicatedliar]

You've an entire city of equally likely suspects. But it's a bit beyond the pale to accuse a fellow prisoner of being the author of your imprisonment.

[Well, this isn't the first time someone fresh from the lab has gotten snippy.]

Or you could pick a fight with a perfect stranger. I suppose that could be fun as well. I'm not in a rush.

[onthepoint]

[ Arthur frowns, studying the man. It could be a ruse. In fact, it's probably a ruse, but maybe Arthur should play along. ]

You're trapped here, too?

[complicatedliar]

Ah, so it can read blatant implication. How nice. Aye, I am as much prisoner as you.

(Hiiii :D *is Zalia*)

[abjurer]

[Max had never really paid much attention before, but now he's hanging around this district more often, it isn't uncommon to see disoriented looking people wandering around. Fucking Bifrons won't even spare them the time to properly explain what the hell is going on.

He approaches the guy, wary but welcoming, and glad that he's not in uniform today, just casual jeans and shirt.]

Hey. Did you uh... just arrive?

o hiiii you :D

[onthepoint]

[ Arthur regards him with caution. Whatever they want from his mind, it might be best to play along for now. ]

Yeah. Yeah, what is this place?

[ There had been some message playing, but he'd disregarded it as useless dream details. Unimportant in the grand scheme of finding the people in his mind and forcibly ejecting them with the pen in his pocket. ]

Fancy seeing you here ^^

[abjurer]

[Immune are always cautious. That's no surprise. Max would be too waking up here like this.]

You didn't see the video? Other Immune have told me there's a video. Not that I blame you.

City of Proles. Sanctum. Sorry you got dragged here.

[onthepoint]

[ He wonders briefly if this is even a real person or just a projection. ]

Yeah. Me, too.

[ Looking around, he actually takes in his surroundings for a minute. It's all pretty over-designed. He wonders why someone would take such a risk with something so clearly false. ]

What's your story?

[abjurer]

It's not exactly the best welcome, I'll admit.

[He gives the guy a wry smile.]

Me? Not much of one honestly. I was born here, D1. Lived here my whole life, not that there's really anywhere else to go.

[onthepoint]

You really expect me to believe that?

[ His arm is tense, on the verge of pulling out that pen and going on the offensive, but maybe he can learn more like this. ]

I know this place isn't real. What do you want from me?

[abjurer]

[Max blinks at him, hesitates, because while it's a pretty valid reaction, he's also not really sure what he can do if the guy doesn't believe him.]

What? I know it's weird, at least according to the other Immune I've spoken to, but it's real.

I don't really want anything. I was just trying to be helpful.

[onthepoint]

To what end?

[ Arthur stands up a little straighter, shoulders tense under his suit jacket. In his experience, even outside of dreams, most people aren't helpful for no reason. ]

[abjurer]

[Max blinks, giving him a helpless look.]

Because I have friends who are Immune and went through this. And I like to think I'm not a total arsehole.

[onthepoint]

Okay. [ Excuse him for sounding dubious. Or don't. ]

So what do the people who brought me here want from me? I probably don't have whatever information they're looking for.

[ If that isn't a lie and a half... ]

/joins the dogpile

[tearmeanewone]

[Just outside the lab, Elizabeth is crouched down by a bike, trying to wrestle with some part or other. She's broken down on the side of the road, and clearly she can't figure out what's malfunctioning. She could read schematics and assemble parts, but not only is the technology just a few hundred years outside of the expertise, the roadside nature of the diagnostic isn't really lending itself to a thorough inspection.]

[She hears someone nearby and turns around. Someone coming out of the lab, apparently. Elizabeth smiles a little.] You alright? [She hasn't seen this person before, but they aren't exactly looking completely lost in a hospital gown.]

[onthepoint]

[ He isn't, but she doesn't need to know that. Instead, he smooths out his jacket, feeling the weight of the pen in his pocket. He doesn't like that that's the closest thing he has to a weapon, but it'll have to do. ]

Just a little disoriented.

[ Doing his best to play along, he gives her an uneasy smile. ]

[tearmeanewone]

Ah. [Elizabeth stands up, forgetting about the bike for a moment.] Did you just wake up in there in a hospital gown? [She asks, gesturing back into the lab.]

[onthepoint]

I did. Is that common around here?

[ It's a curious picture being painted here. He's not really sure what to make of it. ]

[tearmeanewone]

Not extremely, but it happened to me too. [She takes the keys out of her bike-- it's probably not moving for a while, and there's a conversation happening.] Did you listen to the film they left for you to watch when you woke up?