⇨ THE MATRIX

[ringleaders]

Who: EVERYONE!
When: S1:D22 - S1:D??
Where: Visiting the Matrix.
What: The carnival arrives at its next location, as outlined here. This is a general mingling log for convenience purposes, but players are welcome to make as many other logs for this purpose as desired.
Warnings: Could be a lot of things.

THE MATRIX↴ "What IS the Matrix? The Matrix is a system, Neo. That system is our enemy. But when you're inside, you look around, what do you see? Businessmen, teachers, lawyers, carpenters. The very minds of the people we are trying to save. But until we do, these people are still a part of that system and that makes them our enemy. You have to understand, most of these people are not ready to be unplugged. And many of them are so inured, so hopelessly dependent on the system, that they will fight to protect it." ► INSIDE: On the inside, it all seems so normal. Beyond what you know of the reality you've stepped in, every bit of this place feels just as real as it did back in the carnival. If you were to forget where you'd just come from, would you know any different? The simulation of Chicago is identical to how it would have been in the early days of the new millenia, to anyone who comes from a similar Earth. Humans bustle around you, oblivious to the world outside of the Matrix that they were born into. One bright side to it all is that this hyper realism means the coffee tastes just as good as it does in real life. Anything you could do in real Chicago you can do here - and perhaps even more. ► WHITE ROOM: But before that, you were here. The White Room is a loading program, intended to port objects and people into the Matrix. You arrive as a reconstruction of your true physical form, but common sense suggests that for some of you, entering the mundane world looking like yourself isn't the best idea. It's in this empty world that you will be able to load in whatever physical objects you are, and change the way you present your own body to the system. Changes can be little, or big, but whatever you do, the body has to be able to function according to Earth's physical laws. Don't forget, if you die here, you die in the carnival too. ► DEJA VU: It doesn't matter what you're doing, but at some point you'll notice it - something around you has repeated itself, like a line on a skipping record. Maybe it's the same person bumping into you twice in a row, or the same cab driver yelling at you to get out of the way. It's like reality has rewound and repeated itself, and after the fact you have no proof of it happening beyond the memory of what you saw. You don't know what it means, but something about it is chilling. It may be a good time to find a buddy. ► THE ONE: It won't necessarily come naturally, but in a moment of need you may find yourself bending the world of the Matrix through sheer belief and force of need. How you bend it will always stay without the rules of the universe, at least for now, but when it comes to enhancing your own physical characteristics, just about anything is possible. It will not be easily reproducible, not now, but it could be your first view into the window of what's possible.

Comments

[wild_magic]

He barely even thinks about that suggestion before he's nodding, smiling wide.

"Yeah, that sounds awesome! I wanna see them so close, like I'm petting them. Can they show you that close?"

[fragileandsoft]

Greg chuckles. "One way to find out."

Sure enough, a little wooden platform nearby serves as a special viewing spot, with a penny crusher and a few informational posters alongside the binoculars. Of course, they're not the only ones who had the idea: a lot of other children mill around the binoculars, waiting impatiently for a turn to peer through.

[wild_magic]

He follows along with Greg to see, but when he sees how many other people are also trying to look, he frowns. He wants to see it now, he doesn't want to wait for all these kids to look.

"...Maybe I'll look at something else first. Or find another way to see it."

[fragileandsoft]

"Well, the neat thing about the zoo--they got a lot of animals to see." He fishes through a pocket for the pamphlet he picked out. "You ever seen a polar bear? Ooh, there's supposed to be a display for feeding the penguins soon, too." Educational! Exotic! Entertaining! Not endangering the lives of overeager half-elves!

[wild_magic]

He's seen tons of bears, but not polar bears (he's not exactly sure what the difference is, though), but before he can say that Greg brings up the penguins, and he looks excited again.

"That sounds cool! I've never seen a penguin before. What do they look like?" He's never even heard of a penguin before.

[fragileandsoft]

Encouraged by that response, Greg leads down the path towards the penguin habitat. "They're birds that swim instead of flying, and they're supposed to live in pretty cold places." Chicago is chilly enough to keep them satisfied, evidently. "Fancy, too. They look like they're wearing suits all the time."

[wild_magic]

"Birds that don't fly?" He laughs as he thinks about that. All the birds he's ever seen can fly, and the thought of one that doesn't is pretty funny - but definitely exciting. He follows Greg with a bounce in his step, looking around at everything and everyone as they go.

"A suit? You mean like armor?"

[fragileandsoft]

"Naw, like a tux! The kinda thing you where when you gotta get dressed up for a special occasion. But, for birds a good meal probably counts as special enough."

The enclosure only has a short fence around it. There's a lot less worry about if the birds get out, after all, but they seem content enough waddling around their rock outcropping or darting around the little moat around it.

[wild_magic]

"But they get good meals all the time! Does it still count as special if it's what always happens?" He isn't sure about that, but it doesn't matter because soon enough his attention is drawn away by the sight of the birds. He runs forward to get a closer look, not climbing the fence (yet) but leaning as far forward as he can to see them closely.

"Woah... They're so cool, I've never seen a bird like that before!"

[fragileandsoft]

It's for the best, or else Greg might have started getting weirdly philosophical about food always being special and how important snacks are. As is, he hangs a bit back and watches the kid's excitement.

"They're cute, right? I've never seen 'em in person, either."

[wild_magic]

"Then we should get closer to see them better!" Obviously that's the best solution. And it's a lot easier with just a small fence here too!

[fragileandsoft]

Greg shakes his head, still smiling. "Just because they don't have claws or teeth doesn't mean they like anyone coming into their house any better. It's more fun to watch what they're up to when they're not annoyed with you, right?"

[wild_magic]

"Hm..." He looks them over again, thinking about that.

"Maybe... I won't annoy them though, just give them food and say hi."

[fragileandsoft]

"Hmm. What kinda food do you think they eat?"

Little questions to think about before doing something. Sometimes they're for big important stuff, but sometimes it's just for conversation. Whooooo knows.

Greg takes a seat on a bench by the fence. He definitely would rather Susan join him, but he's not the boy's dad or anything.

[wild_magic]

He's still probably leaning too far over the fence for comfort, probably, but he does stop to think about Greg's question seriously.

"Hm... Well, they're birds, and it looks like they like swimming, so maybe the same things as ducks and swans and stuff? So I guess bugs and plants that grow in the water and stuff like that. Or maybe fish?"