003 - Memories of a False History

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Memories of a False History State of the World ▲ Locations ▼ Bestiary
OOC ▲ Comments Please refer to the original Event Announcement for more information or to ask any questions you might have! For the disaster prompt, players are not restricted to the versions given, but they are intended to be the most common. Feel free to borrow ideas from the disaster suggestions thread as well!

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The Sound of All Things Bad
The sound comes without warning. What the sound is cannot quite be made out - it is at once artificial and natural, bestial and mechanical, rumbling and roaring and crunching, shattering and crashing and screaming. Everything about it feels like a threat, warning of danger. The cacophony of noise reaches throughout the entire Void, loud and inescapable, the mangling and clashing of different sounds leaving each individual with a different idea of what it could possibly have been. It sounds different to everyone, each person able to pick out a part of the sound that ties to their own fears.

What if...?

How long the sound lasts would depend on how the individual perceives time. It might last for seconds, or it might last for minutes, but once it stops it does not repeat. Where it came from or what it is does not become the slightest bit clearer, and people are left to only speculate.

Disaster
No one can quite be sure what has prompted them to remember that day. It might have been that noise of approaching doom, or perhaps it is seeing the crumbling ruins of Hammerlocke itself. Once a stray memory surfaces, it is easy enough to look into the details and recall in full the vivid memory of Hammerlocke’s destruction - the ‘truth’ of what caused the mountainside city to crumble into ruins, as so many have wondered since their first appearance. Though the memory is clear and detailed, vivid enough to have been witnessed in person, it is out of place and does not belong, and anyone who can recall the events knows it.

Attempting to discuss the matter will soon reveal that while others recall the event with similar clarity, the details vary from person to person. Over time, their own memory changes and adapts, occasionally changing to something new entirely, yet the original is never completely forgotten. Memory is a strange and fickle thing, so easy to influence and manipulate, that the truth is difficult to find.

While memories differ from person to person, there are three particular tales that recur:

From the Sky

Though the sky above did not change from its paper-like blank white, the land grew darker and darker as though cast in shadow. The source of the shadow was clear: above, slowly descending towards the wings of the castle, was... something. Something immense, yet shrouded in crackling storm clouds.

As it continued to grow closer and closer, something in the clouds began to swell. It grew larger and larger, an electric hum of energy in the air, until with a resounding crack it burst and a great shadowy beast fell to the ground, landing with such force that the resulting shockwave shook the earth and tore through the stone buildings, causing so much of the city to tumble in an instant. It moves, and it screeches, raising its head up as the great storm above continues to swell and crackle.

This would not be the only beast.

(Based upon: Meteor, the Lunar Cry, and the Darkest Day)

The Battlefield

It was never clear why the fighting eventually made its way to this defenseless city, but it came without warning. The chaos was heralded only by explosions as the city walls were blasted through by tanks that had somehow made their way along the treacherous and narrow mountain path that simply was not meant for such heavy machines. The thundering explosions and the collapse of buildings could surely be heard for miles, and people and animals alike were quick to flee.

Though they reached Hammerlocke first, the tanks seemed like nothing compared to the enemy. The enormous shadowy monstrosity that swooped in from the sky seemed to be made from far more advanced technology. Even just the one towering machine, as large as the castle falling to ruins beneath its feet as it lands, proves deadly as it fires upon the approaching tanks, blasting them all to pieces within an instant before turning fire on whichever buildings remain standing.

(Based upon: Tanks, and Reapers)

The Mysterious Storm

There had been no way to predict the change in the weather, never mind how destructive it would prove. One moment, everything had been still and quiet, and the next the city was assailed by howling, violent winds and freezing, glittering snow and ice. Though the city was built of stone and had stood the test of time for centuries, it could not stand against these combined forces. The only shelter was underground, for the furious storm was so powerful it could rip through earth, lift up and fling any object in its path with devastating force, shattering windows and toppling buildings.

Propelled by such force, the ice and hail proved destructive in its own right. As the storm froze everything in its path, the hailstones became like bullets and great chunks of ice became missiles. By the time the winds began to grow calm, there was little left standing.

Something about the storm seemed somehow unnatural, but where it came from was anyone’s guess. Some, however, may have spied a vague figure through the tempest, of unclear appearance but its presence somehow threatening.

(Based upon: Weather, El shortage, and Diamond Dust)

Misplaced Memories
Worries about whatever disaster must have befallen the ruined city of Hammerlocke aside, people quickly become aware that memories of the disaster are not the only invasive, foreign memories. How the other memories come to them seems, on the surface, to be very similar: a connected thought occurs, and upon realizing the memory is not theirs, people are compelled to think more about it until the memory is uncovered in full detail. Unlike the memory of the disaster, however, this one quite clearly belongs to someone else. Someone who is here.

On puzzling this out, some might find they have more than one stray memory sitting in their minds. More importantly, however, is the feeling that something from their own memory is missing, and whatever memory is missing feels like it is something important. It could just be their own phone number, or it could be their name, or the face of whoever is most important to them. It could be something small, it could be something big, but all people know is that it’s something important and it’s gone.

There is no clear, immediate answer as to what people can do about their lost memories. With regards to their new memories, however, the path might seem a tiny bit clearer, for surely it seems a bit unfair that they can see into someone’s past in such a manner without their knowing. Perhaps it’s best to talk to them about it?

Although the lost memory is not always the same as the ones borrowed, taking the memory back to its source and prompting them to discuss and think about it proves a great help - as they talk, the invasive memory leaves, a lost memory is restored, and those who succeed are able to tell others the solution.

While the invasive memory is gone, people can still recall having it, and can still recall the details, but they will no longer remember it from the other’s point of view. Perhaps it might change how they see each other from now on?

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code bases by tricklet

Comments

[bridge_princess]

That's... complicated, Legion.

[It really was, because she had ceased to be human thousands of years ago. Hundreds of years of this existence, and she was identified by it. Being anything else was strange to her.]

I am unhappy and unfulfilled, bitter of others and therefore I exist. If I were happy, would I still remain? Would I be happy even as I cease to be? You found me in the void all that time ago.

It was ... nice. To feel like I was alone in the universe. But at the same time it's terrifying to not be me. I think, perhaps, it's best to say that I accept what I am?

But, if you asked me, looking ack on the last thousand years, I would have insisted on vengeance, knowing the price I'd pay? I would have let them be happy and just faded away, bitter and mortal. But I can't go back in time, so I have found ways to be 'ok' with it.

I'm just ok. And here? I'm a little better than ok.

[forwearemany]

Acknowledged.

(Everything about her existence seems incredibly sad.

That she is doing better is of interest, however: has happiness ceased to be an existential threat?)

This place has granted you freedom.

(They are beginning to understand that for Parsee this location may fill a similar role to that which Enso did for them.)

[bridge_princess]

Don't... Don't say that, Legion. Youkai aren't free things. We are Form. Truth and Reason. We are bound by the emotions which create us. To be free...

I would be human again. I... [She swallowed and clenched her fists.] I know I'm feeling a little what it means to be one again, but it won't last forever. Nothing like this ever does.

You're trying to give me hope. I know you mean well... but I'll disappoint you in the end. And... I don't think I want to disappoint you, Ren and Cole.

[forwearemany]

We apologize: this was intended as speculation based on observation and prior exchanges. You are not required to change.

(They didn't mean to make her feel like she had to change or she'd disappoint them.)

Regardless of nature, you are an ally.

[bridge_princess]

I... Thank you for saying that. That... that actually makes it easier to accept what you said. I don't have to, but I can choose to.

[It did help. She folded her arms and nodded afterwards, calming some. The memories were glimmering back into her mind, painful, ugly. She could feel it, but she could still remember the binary code, the feelings of coming to terms with being.]

You can say friend, if you want. I won't be upset, Legion. Assuming Geth 'do' friends, I think you are one. And if you just do allies, yeah. Definitely.

[forwearemany]

Acknowledged...friend.

(Legion uses the phrases interchangeably: all those they trust enough to work alongside are dear to them.

But words have connotations. They wish to communicate to Parsee that she is among those in that catagory.)

[bridge_princess]

I... thanks. Friend.

[She smiled a little as she said it, easing and relaxing a lot. It felt good to hear Legion say it for some reason.]

So, how about we go back? It's a little ... white here.

[forwearemany]

Affirmative.

(The void is ... empty. Unsuitable for prolonged habitation. They also wish to return.

They turn and begin to head back.)