⬣//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

[tablescraps]

( Barrett gets a quick message back, not long after he'd sent it - a simple All right. - and nothing particularly more engaging. If they were meeting now, he could ask any questions then.

Mithrun arrives... within a period of time. Considering Mithrun had replied quickly, one might infer his delay in actually arriving is because he got lost locating the Chaos Gate of the location he was in. But, eventually he does, and he warps in near the Gate itself in Mac Anu. Basque at his heels to act as an external force of common sense, he takes a quick glance about before he locates Barrett quick enough - he's hard to miss.

He trots over to him, gaze casting up. )

... Where did you want to talk?

( Not directly in the Gate plaza, he's guessing. )

[gluttoning]

[There's an instant relief in his eyes when he spots Morgan, though it's hardened a bit behind the tension of their situation, his hand lifting to briefly rest against Morgan's arm before turning to give Basque a pet. Good dog. Good, good dog.

Without looking up from the dog:]

Have you been to all the special areas yet?

[tablescraps]

( Mithrun isn't happy, exactly - once the hubbub began over the log out issues, Mithrun slipped off from the group to get to checking a couple things. For reasons relating to his own glitched death, HP regen is one of the things he ended up getting around to testing on a small scale; his HP is presently a couple points off full - and this time he's taken notice of the fact that it hasn't ticked up again.

"Not happy" is an understatement, but he isn't the type to lash out - even though his vibe seems latently peeved (just like half the other people in the game right now, presumably). This situation, if indefinite, interferes severely with his revenge timetable.

He watches Barrett pet Basque. )

Yes. I've tested the limits of what can be found in each location, where applicable. ( Unsurprisingly, it's mostly just been invisible walls and no particular discoveries. ) Why?

[gluttoning]

...I owe you a talk. Just not here. I figured we could at least go somewhere nicer.

[He gently rises back to his feet to open up the gate menu, taking a look through the list.]

...Remind me that I still owe you a movie later. [He sees that theater, but its not a great place for a talk. So he skips it over.]

Shoreline? Or we could blow off some steam at the training grounds.

[tablescraps]

( A talk. That earns a particular glance up from Mithrun. Basque rises after him as well, the click of her nails gentle against the cobblestone. )

... Training grounds.

( Either is fine, but he presumes his lack of preference is a given by now. So he just picks one. He does have some aggression in him, anyway. )

We'll have time to see the movie.

( Apparently !!!!

He'll Gate out after Barrett - there's questions already eating at him, but asking them here in the plaza would defeat the whole point of Barrett seeking privacy, as frustrating as it is to wait a minute more. )

[gluttoning]

[There's a slight smile at that, though it's hidden with a nod, punching in the destination for the training grounds and letting the gate flair to life.]

Yeah. I guess we have a lot more time now.

[Off to the most unfortunate keywords in the world.]