EVENT LOG: Bright Lights

[tramitem]

✦ MOD LOG ✦

... And when my good dream came to an end, I woke up more than ready to bend ... Full Game Navigation

Before February 12: I. Event Aftermath This text is taken from the Welcome page. Thread headers utilizing this prompt may be responded to by Mr. Martin. Simply add “closed to NPC” to your thread header to receive a response. It hits you from out of nowhere. One second you are going about your day, and then for ten or thirty seconds, everything—your surroundings, your sense of self—changes. You see a moment from another life. When you come back to your senses, there is an elderly man waiting for you, and a team of workers administering to the people in your immediate vicinity. They seem to be doing something intrusive to those other people, but they are leaving you alone. How did they get there so fast? Mr. Martin introduces himself—he is the Head of the Department of Containment at the Bureau of Interdimensional Activities. His accent is hard to place. But he begins to explain the multiverse, and now your world has turned upside down. “In summary, what you’ve just experienced is the memory of a past life. You will receive more, but I cannot tell you how many, when, or what they will be... You are one of The Different now... The Bureau will be keeping an eye on you,” Mr. Martin says, and he hands you a card with the acronym ‘IBA’ on one side, and a street address and a forum website address on the other. “There are others like you, experiencing memories from a past life,” he continues. “The Bureau has set up a network so you can connect, find support… work out your confusion.” There’s something sinister about the way he says that… maybe? It’s hard to make sense of everything happening so quickly. “And one more thing—do try to stay out of trouble.”

February 12: II. Support Group There’s a generic spread of food on a table off to one side of the room: donuts and muffins, coffee and lemonade. Maybe you’re hungry enough to try it—it’s free after all. Or maybe you can’t stomach anything, given the event you’re attending. The space is a local rec center, reserved for the evening. The beige-painted cinder block walls and the fluorescent lighting are a terrible combination. The meeting was interesting—who knew there were so many people like you, receiving memories of a past life? The group was led by someone from The Bureau—the Department of Medical Services. Some people are staying in their chairs and chatting—they must know each other from previous meetings. Some of them are gravitating towards the food. How do you feel about tonight? Has it helped you come to terms with the dream of memories you’re having? Maybe it’s time to talk to others, get an understanding of their experience.

February 16-20: III. Bright Lights The first clue that something has gone wrong is the brightness of the lights around New York City. Every lamp post you see, every fluorescent tube light in the office, even the LEDs in the microwave display, glow brighter—but not consistently. The lights pulsate and flicker, buzzing furiously, and sometimes they even burn out. It’s not just that, though—even small appliances start malfunctioning, because the use of them trips the breakers. Refrigerators have to be turned down so they don't freeze the milk. When questioned, the city administration, headed by the office of the mayor, directs questions to the Bureau. That’s probably your first clue that something is really, really not right. After all, the Bureau is meant to be an unknown, isn’t it? The Bureau being put in charge of answering questions about this phenomenon almost seems to be an accusation from the mayor—and the fact that the Bureau’s PR arm does respond seems like an admission of guilt. Something else happens that night, though. The Northern Lights, in pulsating waves of green and red and purple, descend over the night sky of New York City. The people of New York pour into the streets to witness the phenomenon, raising their phones to take pictures. Normally, this would never be possible, because of how far south New York is, and how much light pollution the city experiences at night. How is this happening? And why does it subsequently happen for the next 4 nights? The rumors begin the morning of the 17th. They grow in intensity over the next few days, and the appearance of the Bureau’s spokesperson on the Network does little to assuage any fears that are being experienced by the population in the city that includes the Different. People who remember their Event are disappearing, one by one by one. Sometimes they reappear after a short time. Sometimes, it seems, they’re just gone. What does this all mean?

... What dreams may come when we have shuffled off this mortal coil, must give us pause ...

( return to top | Last updated: DATE )

Comments

[neverjedi]

"It probably is normal, but if they're trying to encourage people to be comfortable or even like them, it probably wouldn't hurt to put us somewhere a little more.. welcoming." But still - "Hi, I'm Ben."

[bearshermark]

"Hi," Elliott returned, feeling foolish. "Sorry, I should have- I'm Elliott."

He took a muffin finally, shoulders drawing up a bit. "I guess it would be nice if they were friendlier, but I don't know, it does kind of seem like maybe we're causing everyone an inconvenience."

[neverjedi]

He flashed a smile that's warm and, hopefully, reassuring. "It's nice to meet you, Elliot, and no apologies necessary. This whole thing is... strange."

He glanced around the place and thought that he hoped that all they are was an inconvenience. "You're probably right and they did provide food, which is always nice."

[bearshermark]

Elliott's shoulders dropped, managing a bit of a smile in turn.

"I'm glad they arranged this. It helps, knowing there are others."

Unwelcoming as it looked, the room with people in similar circumstances was better than an empty apartment, or the school where he couldn't talk to anyone about it.

"Uh, if I can ask.. how long have you know you were Different?"

[neverjedi]

That Elliot seemed more relaxed as good. He didn't like people being uncomfortable and tried his best to put them at ease. It was always nice when he managed.

"It is nice to know what we aren't the only one experiencing this," he agreed, though he wasn't entirely convinced they hadn't caused it. "And about a week, I think. Only one little snippet of memory. How long has it been for you?"

[bearshermark]

"Yesterday," he said, deciding he almost definitely wasn't going to eat the muffin after all, but didn't want to put it back either. It seemed impolite. Maybe he'd take it home and eat it later.

He peered back at Ben. "I guess it hasn't been much longer for you, but I hope it's the kind of thing that gets less weird."

[neverjedi]

Oh, Elliot.

"I don't know if it gets less odd. I think maybe the idea could sink in and the memory integrate more. It probably depends some on the memory itself. Mine was pretty innocuous."

[bearshermark]

Elliott pulled a face, shoulders slumping a bit. Innocuous was the last word he'd use to describe the vision he'd witnessed.

"Can I ask what yours was?"

[neverjedi]

"Just being introduced to someone." Really not a big deal. "What was yours?" he asked, gently as he could.

[bearshermark]

His ears went a bit red.

"There was a giant floating tree in the sky. A group of friends I guess were talking about it: Yggdrasil and the source of all life, how people were reborn. Really weird."

[neverjedi]

"That sounds like something out of a fairy-tale." A pause. "Or Norse? Mythology." It's been a long time since he'd taken that Mythology and Folklore class for humanities credit.

[bearshermark]

Elliott nodded. "It is."

He bit his lip. "It makes me wonder where those myths came from. They always seemed like made-up stories before, but now.. I wonder if I know anything."

[neverjedi]

"If you didn't know something, I'd be surprised. ...These memories are so isolated and tiny there must be more context." Whether they were really there or something created and implanted, he didn't know, but he really did feel there had to be something more.

[bearshermark]

"They said we'll get more of them." Elliott fidgeted and picked at his jacket. "I'm curious, but.. not enough to want another one- at least not soon."

[neverjedi]

"I think I may be curious enough that I'd like more, but my first memory was not particularly interesting. I want to know why it was important and who the third person was."

He may regret that later, and he knew it. "You might have the right idea. This is a lot to handle." Poor kid.

[bearshermark]

Elliott was willing to bet if the memory Ben had been interesting, he'd be less curious.

"My grades are going to tank," he fretted. "I don't know what to tell my mom."

[neverjedi]

"...Tell her and all your teachers you're working on a highly demanding college entrance essay about Norse mythology?"

...Okay there, Ben.

[bearshermark]

Elliott laughed, then practically doubled over with it, the on-the-fly fabrication striking him as particularly hilarious in that moment.

"Yeah," he breathed between cackles. "That's perfect. Yep. Definitely.. all it is."

[neverjedi]

The laughter gets a grin out of them. "Worst case scenario they'll all think you're on drugs or hiding a relationship. Though neither of those will explain your browser history and library books."

Ridiculous was fine, and laughter was better than stress.