⬣//GROWING WILDLY OUT OF CONTROL.

[cccorp]

>>Gathering // >>Waiting // >>Can't Return // >>It's Real

⬣//STERILE WHITE WALLS

September 23rd—conference day. In the hours preceding the meeting, beta testers are supplied with information on how to access the virtual conference room and offered a set of conduct guidelines. Testers are urged to read them thoroughly and instructed to sign their name on the bottom of the page to confirm that they’ve read and understand the following guidelines:

1. All questions will be addressed. Do not interrupt speakers or other beta testers when they are asking questions or having their questions answered.

2. Conduct yourself professionally and appropriately. Do not curse, shout, or otherwise engage in disruptive behavior. Violators will be muted and their speaking privileges revoked.

3. No eating or drinking. Keep your virtual space clean and free of debris.

4. Remain seated. Excessive movement or inappropriate behavior will result in restriction of your avatar’s movements.

5. PvP is disabled in the conference room. Weapons cannot be drawn and your Fragment inventory is unavailable during the duration of the conference.

Players are generously allowed one hour to filter in and find their seats, review the guidelines, and discuss the questions they’ve prepared with their fellow beta testers.

⬣//THE LOW RUMBLE OF DISTANT THUNDER

One hour comes and goes. The room remains occupied only by the beta participants, CyberConnect Corporation’s flashy logo spinning idly on the conference room’s 80 inch display. Restlessness begins to settle in, idle chatter turning to frustration as one hour becomes two. Still, no one from the Corporation shows.

The conference room remains devoid of purpose, some forty-odd people sitting alone in a sterile conference room, a locked room, should anyone grow so restless they try to leave. Any attempts made to break doors and windows will fail.

The door is locked, as are the windows, the world beyond their stark white blinds a slurry of purple and black. Thunder crackles in that dark, endless void. Even if you could leave, where would you go?

⬣//TORRENTIAL RAINS

It’s painfully evident after three hours of silence that no one from CyberConnect is showing up to the conference, but you knew that already, didn’t you? This mandatory meeting was fishy from the start, some would argue, while others may yet hold out hope.

That ends the instant anyone tries to log out and leave. Everyone who attempts to leave will be met with the same error Shoka was some weeks ago, but this time, the error is permanent. This time, there is no connection between mind and body anymore, and any attempt to “reach” your real self will fail.

You feel no one on the other end. You no longer feel the weight of your headset on your head or the keyboard beneath your fingertips. All your worldly aches and pains have drifted away only to find you here in your new reality, every sensation so real that Fragment no longer feels like just a game. Fragment is reality.

Three hours pass from the start of the conference. The boring white walls and rickety office chairs shudder and shake and give way to the Mac Anu everyone knows. You’re back where you started, more or less. What you do from here is up to you.

⬣//LOST TO THE TUMULT AND BEDLAM

Some menus remain online. Players retain the ability to send and receive friend and party requests, access their inventories, spells, and weapons, and so on, but a few notable items are missing.

Players can no longer toggle their pain sensors on and off. Every blow you take is one you’re forced to suffer through, and what’s more, your health no longer automatically regenerates when idle. You’d better keep a stash of potions or a pocket healer handy.

While you’re at it, try not to die. The sharp-eyed among the group may notice that the respawn information nestled in the menus is no longer accessible to them. The respawn counter now reads as a series of zeros instead of the typical 20 minutes. Now is probably not the best time to continue testing Fragment’s death mechanics, but nothing’s stopping you from trying. No one’s going to save you, either.

Good luck, players. The real test has begun.

>>Navigation

Comments

[selfconcept]

[ No one's pleased (with him), Mami. He's used to it. ]

... What's the favor?

[fatalitea]

I need someone to check on my cat at home... I don't have any friends or family that live close by [... or any family or friends at all IRL, actually] that will notice my potential absence right away, and I'd like to make sure that Bebe will be okay.

[selfconcept]

... Alright.

[ Bebe the cat.

Hien stares at Mami for a second before pulling up his invisible UI, sending a personal report. He doesn't know if the devs will even look at it, but he personally writes that Candeloro needs someone to look after her cat. Send a caretaker to her house, peons.

Then he sends a follow up report--"If I ever get my hands on you, you will die so bad that you will cease to exist."

Neither of the reports will be read, but he sends them.

And that's really all he can do. ]

[fatalitea]

[She may not know the contents of these reports, or even be able to see if he had been able to send them, but hearing him respond to the request is a relief all the same.]

Thank you. I appreciate your help.

[selfconcept]

[ He's very well aware of the uselessness of his actions, but if it'll make her feel a little better, he doesn't see why not. He reaches out to gently pat her head. ]

Your cat will be fine. I know how much you care for it.

[fatalitea]

[Oh. She was not expecting such a kind gesture, and for a moment her own expression softens a little again.]

I do. Bebe is very important to me.

[That cat is the only companion she has in the real world, these days... though, there is also the local stray Kyuubey that she tries to feed and look after sometimes, but they are an older cat that has somehow lived forever in her neighborhood, it'll probably be fine. Bebe however is much smaller and dependent on her by comparison, so she can't help but worry...

Ah, but Hien has his own worries to think about too, doesn't he?]

Do you have someone that will be able to look after your dog while you're here?

[selfconcept]

Mm. I have a roommate. He knows how to take care of Ren.

[ Though he can just imagine how much of a crybaby he'd be once he finds out that Hien can't log out. ]

... He'll be fine.

[ Hopefully. Despite everything, his voice doesn't waver on the confidence of the answer. ]

But that's interesting. You're assuming that I'm also stuck here.

[fatalitea]

It's not quite that I assumed you were stuck here, but...

[Mami hums a bit, before she offers a slight smile.]

I can tell somehow from looking at your face that you were thinking about your dog just as much as I am thinking of my cat. If you weren't stuck here, you wouldn't have hesitated just now when responding to the idea that he would be fine without you.

[selfconcept]

[ Oh. Perceptive. To that, Hien clears his throat even though he doesn't need to. He lowers his voice's volume, but he was already quiet enough. ]

I guess... that's right. It looks like people assume that I can still do things as I please. How nice that'd be...

[fatalitea]

I would assume it's the burden of expectations people hold you to because you have the title of "Admin" in comparison to the rest of the players here.

[And maybe in some ways, Mami is a little guilty of it too. Hien was the one she had sought out here as being the person she thought would have the best chance of reaching a message out to the company even now... still.]

I don't know if there's anything I can do to help you in that regard, but... if it does help knowing at least, then please know that I trust you. So... you can trust me too, if you ever need anything of me.

[selfconcept]

[ Hien stands there, not knowing what to say for a moment. Someone tells him that they trust him? Him? He clearly looks a little taken aback, but then he eventually regains his calm.

It's fair of others to have some expectations for a person who's been given the title of "head administrator", but Hien hates it. He hates these expectations, and yet, he's still here. Maybe being a scapegoat is just what his life is meant to be for. ]

... As long as you don't regret that decision.

[fatalitea]

If you actually do something bad enough to make me regret that decision, then don't worry, I'll make sure to give you a good scolding about it.

[Yet, despite her words, there's almost a playful sounding tone to them.]

For the time being, however, you can be reassured that I don't have any regrets in thinking that you are someone I can count on here.

[selfconcept]

[ Hien hates expectations for the reason that he will always let someone down no matter what he does. Sometimes he even intentionally takes that route so that people won't ever bother him about anything again. If there aren't any expectations, there can be no disappointment from the human that was always labeled as such the moment he was born. Tiring to keep up with. Bothersome.

But when Mami tells him these things, he feels something strange well up in his throat. Maybe this is what crying is supposed to feel like, He doesn't remember. He doesn't actually cry, but it's most definitely the prelude to the action.

Still, there are no tears. ]

... I don't understand why you would still choose to trust me, but...

[ ... ]

I'll try. That's really all I can do.

[fatalitea]

The fact that you are willing to try is a reassuring feeling nonetheless.

[Even if Hien does something poorly, the fact that he at least tried is enough for Mami to consider him a good person, at least for her.]

[selfconcept]

[ Hien quietly breathes out. ]

You should go to your friends. I'm sure they can comfort you better than I can.

[ aka run along now, Mami. Hien feels like he has a lot of work to do from here on out... ]

[fatalitea]

[jokes on you mami has no friends, or at least none that have confirmed they are directly to her face because she is in fact the kind of person who has to be told they are friends out loud for to believe it

Not that she's going to actually make that obvious, or anything.]

Ah, alright. Please take care of yourself, Hien-san.