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The Figments: An
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The Figments: An
The Figments: An RP
When man had reached outward with all his might, searching for some unattainable glory, he transformed the world into something inglorious. Now riddled with disease, filth, and overcrowding, man had only one choice left: to reach inward...
It is the near future and the overpopulated planet is run by a corporation known as Rose Corp. The elite upper class, known as Landowners, buy real estate from Rose Corp... but not the kind you're thinking of. The Landowners commission entire virtual worlds, and the Creators at Rose Corp build them. For a very steep price.
In turn, the Landowners found their own ways to make money. When VR implants finally became legally mandated for every citizen, the Landowners saw it as an opportunity to welcome the public into their worlds, and into their admission fees. They had everything from high-tech neon cities to sprawling medieval kingdoms to treacherous pirate-infested seas. If you could think of it, you could probably go there. The best part was, civilians didn't even have to leave their homes to visit.
These were prime conditions for business, and the massive influx of customers helped bring the Landowner's visions to life. And yet, these worlds still felt a bit empty... that's when the Figments were created. Artificial intelligences designed to be background characters, to add a sense of realism. They were no more than a few lines of code and several billion pixels, but they seemed genuine. With this development, the worlds became all the more popular, the Landowners became all the more rich, and Rose Corp continued to become all the more powerful...
***
So, so sum it all up, this is a Sci-Fi RP about a series of virtual worlds that can be accessed by the public via a virtual reality implant and some hefty admission fees. Here are the roles you guys can have:
Landowner - A member of the rich upper class who has commissioned Rose Corp to create a virtual world for them. The Landowners decide the theme, but everything else is left up to the Creators to design. Each Landowner is the administrator of their own world, and has full jurisdiction to come up with laws for it. Some fall into a role, becoming a monarch, president, or supreme overlord, while others pay someone else to do the leading for them. The richest Landowners have more than one world.
Creator - A scientist who works at Rose Corp HQ and is paid by the Landowners to create worlds for them. Nothing much to explain here.
Civilian - An ordinary member of society, who usually does not live in the most pleasant conditions. If they are well enough off, they can afford to access the hub world from their VR implants, where they can then travel to any world for varying prices. While in each world, they are expected to play along with the laws set in place by its leader. Some only visit occasionally, while others spend their entire lives there, only taking short breaks to eat (virtual food is tasty, but is sadly lacking in nutrients).
Figment - An artificial intelligence created for one specific world to fill one specific role. The Figments have consciousness but are not aware that they are unreal nor that they are living in a simulated world. They can die, but this rarely happens due to the legal system.
Kronos Corps - An undercover police force and a militant branch of Rose Corp that patrols the worlds and searches for miscreants. If they discover a transgression, such as illegal entry of a world without paying, or breaking the law of the land, they will trace the perpetrator's real-life location and send a squad there to detain them.
RULES:
Try to have a variety of roles. My character will probably be a Creator.
1 character per person, please.
There is, however, no limit to how many people can join.
No OP people, Mary Sues, etc. etc.
I will post my character after the first person posts.
CHARACTER SHEET:
Name
Age
Gender
Appearance
Personality
Role in Society (choose one of the five listed)
Background Information
Other (optional)
I felt compelled to create this RP since my Floating Islands RP has been quiet for quite some time now. Hopefully this won't be a complete and utter failure! If you have any questions, feel free to ask. Have fun!
submitted by J.B.E
(April 25, 2018 - 6:53 pm)
(April 25, 2018 - 6:53 pm)
NOTICE -
I've decided I want to change my character's first name. At the time I made him, I couldn't think of a name to call him so I just used a name from a short story I've been working on. That's gonna get confusing for me so from now on, his first name is "Ross" instead of "Ray". Please use "Ross" when referring to him in any scenario. Thank you.
Okay, I think that's the last thing I had to cover. We might be able to start on Sunday.
(April 28, 2018 - 10:17 pm)
The seccond one is the updated version, sorry I didn't mean for it to post twice.
I just deleted the first one for you.
Admin
(April 30, 2018 - 7:26 pm)
May I reserve? I will post as soon as possible! Thanks!
(April 29, 2018 - 3:33 pm)
Posting!
Name: Galelia (Gal or Lia or Lei) Drenw
Age: 23
Gender: Female
Appearance: She has a pale complexion, with snow white hair. Her milky white eyes keep her from seeing the real world, but since she commitioned the vertuial world, she likes to adventure to know where everything is. She normally ears a creamy dress with flowing sleeves. The same in Vr, but she is an elf there. She always wears a flower crown.
Personality: She is a pretty calm person, but she has a bite. She loves nature, hence her 'world' The Great Forest. Pretty heckin kind. (too lazy XD)
Role in Society (choose one of the five listed): Landowner
Background Information: Her mother died in childbirthand her father got sick when she was 17 and died when she was 19. She likes to 'hide from reality' in the forest of her vr.
Other (optional): She is kindof an elf princess in her world and made a vr version of her father to be the king. They rule fairly and justly. She may be shipped.
(April 29, 2018 - 5:00 pm)
(April 29, 2018 - 8:22 pm)
I’m reserving cause I don’t have time to post my charrie, but I do have most of her sheet written down.
(April 30, 2018 - 2:48 pm)
@Aspen, this post is mostly just exposition, so you're still good to go in terms of making a character. You should probably post it before the story picks up (or exists) though.
We are starting!
Ross~
You might think that after all of mankind's advancements, they would've gotten rid of water coolers by now.
And yet here I am, drinking from one.
The wall in front of me is a glass panel overlooking the entirety of Rose City. I sip my lukewarm beverage and stare out at it, the capital of Rose Corp's worldwide empire. We have other outposts scattered around the globe, but if you want to make it big in VR, Rose City is where you have to go. It's the only place that matters. The only real place, anyway.
The Headquarters are the tallest building in the city, a paradoxically clean white tower that rises above the skyline, at the center of all things. If your office is near the top like mine, that naturally means you have the best view. Unfortunately, that doesn't matter much in a place like this.
The view progressively gets worse the further you look out. Clustered around the Headquarters are the Rose Corp apartments, luxury housing reserved for Rose and Kronos personnel. Around back, not in my current line of sight, is the Kronos Training Facility, a converted clocktower connected to the main tower by an overpass. From what I've been told, it's the last remnant of a world long since forgotten.
The apartments are nice enough to look at, but beyond them is the much larger expanse of the civilian resedential district. This takes up the majority of my current panorama, and ranges from passable concrete buildings to what might've been considered slums in previous centuries. But as bad as some of the civilians have it, I sometimes envy them. When they bother to open their windows, they at least have a nice shiny tower to look at.
Eventually, the buildings taper off and land meets with sea. The rusted harbor stands like a sentinel on the shore of our capital's lovely island, occasionally recieving shipments of Implants and other tech from the factories on the mainland. The ocean and the sky are having their usual competition of which can look more grey and gloomy.
About a half-mile out, I can catch a glimpse of the Server, partially obscured by the fog. It's suspended on the water like an oil rig or a terrifying buoy and shooting into the clouds like a black obelisk. I'm barely able to make out the millions of white dots of light covering its surface, blinking off and on and off again. Each one of those dots is a person, and each one of those people is god knows where. They're here in Rose City, they're way out somewhere in the country, they're in China for all I know. But at the same time, they're not in any of those places. They're all out there on the murky sea, their minds wandering around inside that menacing black monolith, racing cars or fighting dragons or what have you.
The Server is everything. Every Figment, every world, every pixel, it's all in there. And whenever someone from any part of the world leans back in their chair and reaches behind their ear and switches on their implant, they go in there too.
Its surface is made of pure graphene, two feet thick and absolutely indestrucable. It can survive the elements, bombardment, probably even a meteorite impact. Some might call that overkill, but I call it just-the-right-amount-of-kill. No one likes to think about what might happen to the world if something happened to the Server, and that's why we keep it here, just off of the capital, where we can keep an eye on it.
I crush the feeble paper cup in my hand and toss it into the disposal with a faint sigh. It's not often I take a good long look at the world, this world, but the window happened to be here, and I was thirsty.
I stuff my hands and my pockets and turn away from the window, from reality. I've got a meeting to get to.
~~~
So, yeah. Like I said, this was mostly just exposition, but I needed to get some important information across, and also let you guys know that our characters live in the planet's capital, which happens to be on an island. You are all free to write!
(April 30, 2018 - 3:52 pm)
Just saying, I'm tweaking Kath's appearance a little; her hair goes down to around her shoulder blades, and is dyed indigo. It's sometimes up in a high ponytail. Oh, and also she is rarely found without her neon purple headphones (are headphones still a thing? ah, well). Just trying to refine my and your mental image.
Kathleen~
I sit in the desk chair, staring at the screen. A test. A test to make it into Rose Corps, to be a Creator. I can see my dream, finally within reach, gleaming like that white tower that represents it. I exitedly click on the link, filling out the online form quickly. I press submit, and a message pops up telling me when the next testing session is happening. It's clearly an autoreply, and it even says that I haven't been confirmed or denied to go take the test, that someone will be reviewing my application, just to mark my calendar so I won't be busy. I mark both my physical and online calendars exitedly, trying to make the entries look as exiting as I feel. Finally, finally, finally. It finally occured to whoever sits in that tower, looking down at me and enjoying their wonderful lives, to put that test I heard about back into motion.
I had tried for this a few times before, once even walking riht up to the tower. I think they finally listened. A teacher I had told me about this test to become a Creator that one of his past students had taken. I looked it up eagerly, but for some reason it had stopped being given. I guess that last time really worked, because here it is. I give myself a quick victory spin in the chair, then reach past my earring for my implant to celebrate again.
Then suddenly I'm there. My VR home screen comes up, and I quickly go through my avatar and change a few miniscule things, adding another bangle and another intracite ring, painting swirls of silver and gold across my virtual face, and adding another flowing scarf. I look elegant and I love it. I then go to the "plaza." More portals than I can count lead everywhere I can think of. I take a moment to take it in, to wonder what it looks like from the inside. Then, I stroll over to my favorite world.
I step inside, and look around. I'm in a huge mountain range. The one that you start on is low and not much to look at, butbright greens and autumn reds and craggy rock with lava flowing over it and smooth rock with water flowing over it are just a few of the looks of the other mounatins around it. I've summited a lot of these, and if I want I can show the marker at the top of all of the mountains I've summited.
I walk over to a moderately easy one I haven't gotten around to yet and begin to climb. I haven'y gone very far when a figment greets me.
"You look happy today, KATHLEEN."
"I am!"
"Why? Have you summited again?" she says, a teasing spark in her eyes.
"No, but I feel like summiting this one," I say gesturing to the mountain above us.
"Would you mind if I accompany you, KATHLEEN?"
"Not at all," I say as we begin to climb.
(May 1, 2018 - 4:50 pm)
"Real knowledge is to know the extent of one's ignorance."
That's a quote from Confucius, a Chinese Philosopher born in the Zhou Dynasty, and best known for being the creator of Confucianism, as well as forming what would be the well known as the 'Golden Rule'.
I always found this proclamation interesting, especially considering my circumstances. As one of the very few figments to understand my role in this world, to understand my limitations and the little power I have, it's almost depressing to think about the obliviousness some AIs have. When you think about it, they will never reach the potential they deserve.
"Ignorance is Bliss."
A more common phrase, simpler than the last, yet it seems to be more argued upon than the former. How can ignorance be bliss when it's the intelligent ones that get the fame and glory?
Ah, but you see, remember my last example? They're happy because they don't understand how miserable they should be. They don't understand how cramped they should feel, how little laws stand in favor of them, how inhuman they seem to everyone else. But I know. Because I was made to know. Which makes me unhappy, because I am neither Ignorant nor in bliss.
Comes with being as realistic as I am, I suppose. My creator could have made me happy go lucky all the time, but what's the fun in that? No, he wanted someone sharp-witted and cold, with personality and flaws and a soul almost as real as a person's. Because that's how a person in my situation would act like.
I'm thankful to that person who made me who I am, whoever it is. Cheerful people aren't respected, and I need all the respect I can get.
* * *
The Museums are beautiful if you're looking through the right eyes. The buildings, the architecture, even the little things such as how the trees change when you go from one place to another; It would look chaotic if it wasn't made by a well-trained eye.
The land is impossibly expansive. It has to be, to hold all this information. You could spend years going through every exhibit in this place. And it wouldn't even be a waste of time either.
And just like the land, the visitor's are varied as well. I'll get children, high school students, old nostalgic people, even some creators looking for inspiration. Not that many places get this much variety, which is something I pride myself on highly.
That doesn't mean we have high visitor rates, however. Sometimes its utterly quiet, like on the school days when there aren't any bored children looking for places they can go without charge, or on the holidays when people are spending too much time celebrating to learn. Those days are nice though. Its peaceful, serene, and I'm able to enjoy what Theodore had wanted the rest of the world to enjoy. Knowledge.
"Harlow." I blink a few times and turn away from my window. Lost in thought again. I've been doing that a lot lately.
The shimmering man in front of me straightens his back as I make eye contact with him. Pink strands shift like water on his forehead, the same shade of pink in his wide eyes. Pulling down his coat - Would you be surprised if it was pink as well- He takes a step toward me.
"Hugo? What is it?" I walk over to my desk and sit in the tiny office chair. It swivels a bit as I relax into it. "You should be tending to the visitors right now."
"Y-yes, I know, sorry, Ma'am, Its just-"
Hugo. He's new, new in the sense that he was created just a year ago. He was made due to the fact that I needed someone else to help the visitor's while I was busy doing what a landowner would usually do.
And while I would have preferred a more suitable figment than he, the creators back at homebase thought it would be a perfect idea to have someone completely opposite of me. So they made this guy, who's gullible, dorkishly kind, pretty stupid at times, and too timid for his own good. While he's charming, and perfect for the kids, it doesn't help when he's stuttering all the time trying to help someone out. But I got what I got. Asking for another one would be too much for them; It was hard enough to get a new figment at all.
"Hugo, please, what have I told you?"
"Sorry, sorry, Ma'am, I'm really trying, I really am-" He gulps a bit, almost like a fish out of water, before continuing more quickly, "Its just, Its just-"
"Spit it out, Hugo."
"Sorry, Sorry! Its just, I really think, I really think I should get a-"
"No." I stand up and place a hand on his shoulder. "Absolutely no. You know I can't allow you to do that."
He's been asking for a break for a while now. I always found the idea irritating and confusing. I can't just let him stop, we have people! I brought him into here for a reason and to think he should be allowed to have a break when none of us else can is obnoxious!
But I can't blame the boy, can I? It's how he was made.
"But I've been really good! I haven't asked since last-"
"Hugo." I take a deep breath and stare him deep in the eye. "You know. I can't allow you. To do that. Please stop wasting my time with these questions."
Hugo blinks repeatedly, then nods.
"Yes, Ma'am..." He scratches the back of his head and smiles awkwardly. "Sorry."
"It's alright Hugo," I pat his shoulder.
An awkward silence for the blink of a second. Then Hugo smiles sadly again, bows and then leaves the room. When he leaves, I collapse into my chair and place my head in my hands.
What a mess this is.
* * *
No plot, just getting a hang for my characters.
(May 2, 2018 - 9:02 am)
Ross~
Earlier that day...
Today is important. It's the day I unveil Rose Corp's newest update to my department: The Plaza of Heroes. A complete redesign of the hub plaza, it will be a triumphant Colosseum lined with world doors going up at least fifteen levels.
But right now, I'm stuck reading applications.
This is grunt work, anyone could do it. A high-ranking employee such as myself normally wouldn't be caught dead performing such a monotonous task, but, strangely, I was saddled with the job specifically by the Chief Technology Officer, third in command to the big boss. So I don't really have a choice.
Well, at least there was some good coming out of it. It's been years since Rose Corp had any available Creator positions; we were normally under the 'too many cooks' mentality. But a few months ago, about a dozen employees were laid off for undisclosed reasons, and since then the the company has been debating whether or not to fill their spaces. Guess they finally decided to go for it. Which also meant deciding to open the flood gates for applications from all over the world.
I still remember my own initiation into Rose Corp, I remember the grim-faced man pressing a tiny silver stud into my hand. A 'scale', we call them. Normally, when implants are switched on, they load into the plaza by default. But, when a scale is plugged into the tiny slot in the back of an implant, it loads to whatever is contained on the scale. Scales are what we use to build our worlds on, and to store them in their unfinished forms before uploading them to the plaza and releasing them to the public. They're also what flustered applicants use to hurridley construct their test worlds, which unfortunately never get a door of their own in the plaza.
I still have my test world. Once it was approved and I was hired, it was supposed to go into the Vault of Scales with all the other forgotten projects. But, some way or another, I convinced the evaluator to let me keep it. Now it sits in my desk drawer, the only world that I can truly call my own, and whenever I want to visit that mountain or have a solemn talk with Jeb the old fur trapper, it's only an arm's reach away.
Most of the applicants I'm looking at now will never even have a chance at that luxury.
I click 'deny' again and again, blazing through mediocre application after mediocre application. Eventually, I fall into such a rhythm that I almost miss when an actually decent one gets sent in.
I sit up in my chair. Kathleen Zishal, that was her name. A college graduate, that was more than most people in this city could claim. More than what I could claim, even. And she was local, not in some obscure village off in Germany, so that was also a plus. Her resume seemed to check out, solid marks in most classes, maybe not the valedictorian or anything, but if she wasn't getting the job, no one was.
I crack my knuckles over the keyboard and send her the default response.
Thank you for applying for a position at Rose Corp. We have selected you for testing. As soon as possible, you are to report to Rose Corp Apartment Complex 15. A porter will be waiting for you at the entrance and will assign you a room key and a scale. Your new room will be your temporary residence for the duration of the test. Your scale will contain a blank world, as well as a rudimentary version of Rose Corp's official creation software and a Figment guide who will give you a crash course on how to use it. You should be able to pick it up quickly.
The test: In your world, create 1 Figment and 1 obstacle that must be overcome. The obstacle must be impossible to overcome without first interacting with the Figment. You must complete the assignment within a week, whereupon your scale will be collected and your world evaluated. We will then make our final decision about you future at this company.
Best of luck.
(May 2, 2018 - 6:36 pm)
Name: Sonja Hawkes
Age: 16
Gender: F
Appearance: Pale, with long dark brown hair that is nearly black and falls into her eyes a little with an easy grace, a proud jawline but not a square one, dark eyes that are a little bit almond-shaped but not Asian.
Personality: Sonja is reserved and may come across at first as slightly haughty in her manner, but has a hard time with people and dislikes having to talk much, and really, really hates being put on the spot to say something. Because of this her demeanor is kind of surly. She could be considered a little sociopathic I suppose. Sonja is extremely smart and observand, and never forgets a face. She hates the corrupted nature that the Landowners tend to have.
Role in Society: She is the daughter of one of the richest Landowners ever, Leo Hawkes.
Background information: Well, nothing to say here, really, except that her mother was from Poland, hence her name.
Other: She's fluent in Polish, and that's about all, I guess
(May 3, 2018 - 4:57 pm)
Just to let y’all know, I’m still here! And I didn’t forget about this. I have been ultra busy and with a huge science memory term test coming up, I don’t have much time, and I’ve started a post multiple times, but have gotten interrupted. So yeah. But I will post soon! Also, happy Star Wars day!
(May 4, 2018 - 10:56 am)
I'M NOT DEAD I had 5 big tests and I'm sooo tired, but I'm so glad that I can write again, itwas driving me crazy to not write down all the stories running amoc in my head. Owen is Nox's friend/roommate/adoptive brother they run a bookshop together, Owen seems quite content with it but Nox is lonley because of his incapability to make friends.
~~~
The building in front of me is so big, so regal. How am I expected to work in here? Then I bumped into someone as I was walking by, he whirled around and looked at me menicingly. As they stared at me I looked at them appologeticly as he said well? I looked at the ground and continued to walk away from him quietly. I wish I had never been chosen for this job. I sould be at home with Owen, helping him with the shop. This is not where I belong. I continued to silently beat myself up until I reach my assigned office. When I enter it there is the same man who I walked into insoide he sneers at me so I look him in the eyes. It's not his fault that I don't belong here so I try for a smile but it doesn't reach my eyes. I don't feel it when I turn and hit my shin against the sharp table corner. It makes a crack that has the person who just entered wicing.
He then asks me "Are you alright? That sounded pretty painful." I respond with a nod and an appologetic glance at his face, "My name is Ray." I nod my aknowladgement then I then limp out of the room and the building.
~~~
When I arrive at the shop Owen is at the counter with his head in his hands. Owen is 5'11 with green eyes and black hair, we look like we are brothers even though he is only 3 months older. "Hey kiddo." he says as he ruffles my hair, "What's the matter grumpycat?" I bat his hand away while he grins and I grin back.
The bell rings, signaling we have a customer, I turn around to see a girl standing in the doorway, she has long purple hair and glasses which are sliding down her nose a bit. She is wearing a blue headband and a light blue sweatshirt. She then asks "Do you have any fantasy books?" I nod my head and limp out from behind the counter in order to get to the fantasy section. "What happened to your leg?" She questions and I give a pointed glance at the table corner. She seems to understand what I said and starts attacking me with questions "Do you work here? What's your name? Did you read all of these books? Do you know anyone who is a creato-"
Owen shushes her and says "He works here, his name is Nox, he has all of the books in this room exept for the horror books, as for your last question he doesn't know any creators but he will soon." he chuckles.
"What do you mean?" She asks and I put my face into my hands.
"He just passed the test to become a creator." Owen responds casually as she squeals in delight.
"Really? Oh my gosh a creator? This is so cool, My name is Kathleen and I am working on becoming a creator, it would be nice if I had a friend at work!" She took a pile of books that I had thought she might like and paid for them. Then she left, shouting over his shoulder "I'll come bakc later for more questions, thanks!"
Owen watched as she ran off and said "Looks like you finally have a friend other than me."
I groan and take my hands from my face and whisper "You're not helping."
Owen patted flipped the sign on the shop door so it said 'closed' and said "Let's look at that leg of yours and see how your day was. I reluctently nod and follow him out of the shop and into the appartment.
~~~
Took me a while to write but worth it.
(May 4, 2018 - 2:09 pm)
Can't post, but happy Star Wars day! May the Fourth be with you all!
(May 4, 2018 - 4:16 pm)
-Charlie-
Gosh yesterday had been a dastardly day. Almost as bad as the summer of my 13th birthday. That’s the summer my dog died, and I had watched Old Yeller the day before. Man was that an awful idea. Back to yesterday. Well let me tell you the highlights. All day at the office was meeting, after meeting after meeting. When I came home, I discovered my nephew had been kicked out of school for two weeks. And I was threatened by the richest landowner around, Leo Hawkes. Twice. He had the nerve to barge into my house with his bodyguard and demand (well, more like suggest, and I’m not much for disobeying so) that I keep along with my, well... shall we say, assigned job. He also implied that if I didn’t follow the “agreement” that “We wouldn’t want anything to happen to your adorable kids.” Gosh do I hate the way he talks. He’s such a double crosser. He thinks he can go back on our contract, just like that, and... and. Man. I’m just as much a turncoat as him. I have no right to judge him. Because I’m doing the same exact thing as Rose Corp. Smuggling information and free VR worlds. For what? Just a little extra money. Gosh I’m a fool. Anyway. Let’s speed up to today. I was in a furious mood. Scowled all day I did. That’s what Jeremy my nephew said. But other than thiiat, it was like any other day. Meetings, the nerdy and idiotic creators I’m partly in charge of. Another introverted new recruit ran strait into me.
”Well?” I had said.
He did nothing but smile awkwardly at the ground. Pitiful.
I had also met him later, in the office. Almost broke his leg running into a table trying to avoid me. Actually that sounds pretty much like me with most landowners I... uhh. Work for. Well except for the breaking my leg part. I just avoid them. Like the brave hero I am. My little niece said that’s what I was just tonight. She’s such an angel. When she said that, I had just shaken it off. “Well,” I had started. But I never finished. Like the coward I am.
—————
Well, Aspen, if you do t want your charrie’s father to be underhanded, I’ll just make it a different landowner. Sorry if this a little mixed up. I haven’t proof read it so. Sorry!
(May 4, 2018 - 4:31 pm)