compnetwork | 001 | [Video Post to the Public Network]

♪ The most fitting music ♪

[When the video feed comes on, you might all recognize a very famous looking face appearing on your screens. One Yosuke Hanamura has got his COMP on his wrist aimed at his face, and he looks... terribly deep in thought about something. Concerned, even. And, for a change of pace, he seems to have actually posted to the entire public network.

This isn't just a message for the visitors, this is a message for all of Hinoto-Ri, one he's sure people are going to look at because of his mini-celebrity status. Boy it must be important.]

You know I've been thinking about some stuff ever since we got here. Things have been so crazy recently that I wasn't even able to realize it before but now that we've had some time to catch our breath and stop and think about what's been going on...

[He isn't going to say it out loud because he gets the feeling it's kind of taboo to mention them in public like this, but he's been thinking about what the Anoli said.... about the government hiding the fact that the outside world isn't what they say it is.]

I've been here for almost six months now and I feel like such an idiot for not noticing this sooner, and to be honest I'm wondering why the hell nobody else noticed it either. But guessing that we really are in a city that's been completely cut off from the outside world-- an outside world that's supposedly destroyed and totally in ruin... How is this place running as smoothly as it is?

I mean we're still getting fresh produce coming into the stores every single day, we've got energy powering all of the buildings, and new products coming in on shelves. This town doesn't have any farms, or any factories for processing food, it's too small for factories to build most of the stuff that we even get coming in. I mean even if there is a factory or two around, like in the Cancer district or whatever, they'd run out of materials pretty damn fast if they weren't getting regular shipments of plastics and metals and whatever else.

[Yosuke shakes his head in frustration.]

This place runs like the world economy is still a thing that exists out there... if the whole damn world is gone, how can that even be possible? Does anyone know what the hell is going on? I have a bad feeling that we're getting some serious misinformation here...

[It seems like this teenager has stumbled onto a stroke of genius after all.]

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[Only one half an hour later, this video suddenly can no longer be found on the public network. While it is still available on the private visitor's network, the message is now terribly artifacted and the audio horribly distorted.]

░▋░░░▋▋▋░░ been thinking about some stuff ▋▋░▋░░░▋▋▋░░ Things have been so crazy recently that I wasn't ▋▋░▋░▋▋░░░▋ but now that we've had some time to catch our breath and stop and ▋▋░░░▋░▋

I've been here for almost six months now and I feel like such an idiot ▋▋░░░▋░▋ ▋▋░░░▋░▋ wondering why the hell nobody else ▋░▋▋░░░▋░▋ But ▋░▋▋░░░▋░▋░▋ cut off from ▋░▋▋░░░▋░▋░▋-- an outside ░▋░▋▋░░░▋▋▋ and totally in ruin ▋▋░▋░▋▋▋▋░▋░▋▋░░░▋░▋░▋▋▋▋░▋░

I mean we're still getting fresh produce coming into the stores every single day, we've got energy powering all of the buildings, and ▋▋░▋░▋▋▋▋░▋░▋▋░░░▋░▋░▋▋▋▋░▋░ This town ▋▋░▋ ▋▋░▋░▋▋░▋░ farms, ▋▋░▋ factories for processing food, ▋▋░▋░▋▋▋▋░▋░▋▋░░░▋░▋░▋▋▋▋░▋░ get coming in. I mean ░▋▋░░░▋▋ there is a factory or two around, like in the Cancer district or whatever, they'd ░▋▋░░░▋ pretty damn ░▋▋░░░▋░▋▋░ weren't ░▋▋░▋▋░ regular ▋▋░▋░▋▋░░▋░░ and whatever else.

ERROR FEED U▩STABLE DATA INF▩RMATION.

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[ooc: The original format of this post will only be available for a half an hour and it will be available for the entire city to read during that time. Your characters are able to respond both before and after the message is distorted, however note that if they respond to it before it is distorted, it is very soon after it is posted.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

The only problem with the theory is that it's very hard to prove unless the virtual space we're contained in provides the evidence of such. The questions you proposed though might be one of those indications! After all, if this space is trying to emulate a real city and world, things like power, goods, and services need to continue normally despite any actual external limitations.

[Sometimes in explaining things, Tachikoma can just make it more confusing...]

Oh, but I meant that before I woke up here, I was an AI controlling an urban combat tank! I worked with a special government agency to protect Japan from cyber-criminals! But then that Philemon person asked me to help here and I woke up with a human body with skin and blood and organs and everything!! It's been great so far!

I'll keep it in mind but I feel like there's gotta be some other explanation to this that's not as complicated... I mean wouldn't keeping us hooked up into a machine be totally pointless anyway?

[So it's an AI with a human body... wow that's weird.]

Philemon gave you a human body? ... Maybe you have a point, about the virtual reality thing.

Well, it could just be a copy of our memories and personalities that are just being run in the virtual space as a program! Then they could just let the real us free while the program would act like we would in the same situation!

And I'm guessing he did. I mean, he's the one that brought me here, right? I remember talking to him about something before I woke up and went playing in the snow... The next time I see him, I'm going to thank him, though, because this is the best! I get to try all kinds a things I couldn't as a tank! Like eating, and breathing, and smelling, and being cold, and wearing clothes, and touching...

[Yeah, she's rambling off pretty much everything new she's got to do. Feel free to interrupt.]

Man that's a really, really weird thought...

[He'd rather not go along with this theory, it kind of bothered him a lot even if it made some sense.]

Hah, wow, I just kind of... well, took all that stuff for granted, being born a human being. I guess it's different for an AI then? Is being a tank boring or something?

[He would've thought being a human would've been way more boring.]

Oh no, being a tank was great too! I got to go on adventures and missions all the time! Like the time I got to meet Miki or when Section 9 went to save a hostage from a terrorist organization!

But now that I'm human, I can try all kinds of things I couldn't as a tank! It's like each day is a bunch of new experiences!

I'm surprised that it was even possible... he just stuck you in a whole new body or something? How would that even work?

I mean I know it's magic or whatever, but that's still pretty nuts.

[Makes him wonder more about what Philemon was actually capable of doing.]

Would there... be any other evidence of us being trapped in a computer?

I'm not too sure how it works, magic isn't really prevalent where I'm from. But it seems like I have a body from my timeline or something, since I have cyberbrain and all!

But it's hard to find other evidence to prove where in a computer if we're programmed otherwise, we just need to look for things that don't match up with things in reality. In a sense "glitches," like laws of physics or other sciences not being followed.

Glitches... I mean, if this is a whole other universe, things might not work the same as back home either way... No matter what, we might not be able to know for sure, right?

[He doesn't like the Truth being so uncertain...]

I'll keep that in mind, though... I just wonder what everyone's whole underlying goal is in all of this. In us being here, in the city helping us out like this, in the Anoli fighting them back...

Well, yes, if this is a different universe, there may be different rules, but there are still rules.

And if those rules sometime work and sometime don't, that could be indication of programming conflicts.

I thought our objective was to protect this place though. Isn't that what the Philemon guy asked of us?

I don't remember exactly... the whole thing was really fuzzy... It did involve helping the people here, I think, but we were never given a clear goal...

I dunno, I'm not gonna rule out the virtual reality thing... I mean my only other theory is that the stuff outside of this city isn't really destroyed, and the government just has us all closed off... for some reason?

Power, I guess.

I can't remember certain parts of the conversation either. I tried to run a diagnostics and repair the sections, but apparently humans can't do that, so I can't fix the blank parts.

It does seem that the government is trying to control things a bit, but sometimes they do that with the intent to keep things stable and working.

001 | [Video Post to the Public Network]

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