meadowlarklogs | ARRIVAL LOG 22

ARRIVAL LOG 22

WHO: Everyone
WHERE: New Amsterdam
WHEN: May 7 - 11
WHAT: The twenty-second arrival
NOTES OR WARNINGS: Coercion and loss of autonomy, references to rebellion and world upheaval. Further notes at the end of log.

> ARRIVAL LOG #022

Awareness comes to you in blurred snatches, cloudy fragments of sound and light, color, sensation. Hazy and difficult to grasp on to, but slowly aligning into focus. A series of regular, rhythmic beeps. A medicinal, astringent smell. The sensation of movement, a low hum and accompanying vibration under you. Your eyes are heavy, hard to keep open, but in the glimpses between slow, dark blinks you see two people in front of you: one dressed in a thick set of armor, while the other wears medical garb. Out the windshield in front, there are many tall buildings—all reaching up beyond a normal city skyline, all entirely too close to the vehicle itself. But more than that, many of those buildings are covered in green.

You realize there are others next to you: all dressed the same way as you, you'll come to realize: in overalls of varying colors, all with heavy-duty gloves on. To your left there's an armored interior door, two more people visible, and the movement of streets passing through a windshield. You try to open your mouth to speak, but it's as if your tongue is coated in tar, and you manage nothing more than an empty parting of lips.

The vehicle eventually lowers to the ground and turns off with a low whirr. The guard opposite you stands and comes to unbuckle you from the bench, helping you to your feet. Your limbs feel wooden and heavy, slow to move. One guard opens the back of the vehicle, and the air outside feels full of moisture. Soon enough, you realize it's lightly raining. The guard says nothing, head bowed as he lines you up with the rest. The nurse helps the others out, checking over each passenger one by one.

The main guard turns to address your entire group, and something about her bearing makes it clear she's done this before. "I'll be quick. Listen up." Your body will come to attention, immediately homing in on the words that follow, as if compelled to hang on every word. "You see those tents set up over there? You're going to head over there and help out with the work they're doing. Don't hurt anyone, don't look for any assistance from any police officers, and don't run off. Wait until people come and find you, and when they do, ask them to show you the glow."

The guard will hop back into the van, which will rise off of the ground and head back the way it came, turning the corner of a building that you now realize is covered in winding plants and vines. Once it's gone, you'll find your legs moving almost without your permission, guiding you to follow the steps the guard laid out.

Once you get to the tents, you'll see that there is a congregation of people, all dressed in clothes that they're ready to work in. Many of them are covered in grass stains, their faces bearing that sheen that comes with manual labor. The ones that are under the shade of the tents seem to be taking a break, but many others are in the area, hard to work. They assume that you're here to help pitch in with cutting back the sheer number of plants that have overgrown and consumed the city, and they hand you a pair of shears and a bucket so that you can get to work. Time to get pruning!

◉ Though entirely capable of independent action and thought, new characters will find themselves completely, unquestioningly compliant to any verbal statement which could be taken as a command or request – and that includes the message passed on from the mysterious patron.

> HEDGE-CLIPPING

The message from El comes the same as usual: insistent, not waiting for any active attempt to open it. Scrolling within your vision as if being written while you're reading it.

Here we go again. We've got another batch of newbies, who've been dropped off at one of the landscaping work stations for getting all these plants under control. Follow the coordinates and you should find them in that general area. They're wearing overalls, if that narrows it down. I don't think many people wear overalls in 2512.

The coordinates will lead the current Displaced to the heart of New Amsterdam, near to one of the many green spaces in the city. Unsurprisingly, this is an area where the overabundance of plants growing at a massive rate has caused the most issue. Businesses, especially smaller ones like restaurants and boutiques, have been impacted by the plants. It's not just the outsides of buildings that are overgrown, either; inside, plumbing is completely clogged up as the foliage spills out of sinks, toilets, and anywhere else it can find a way in.

Green Thumbs, which is a local landscaping company that's seen an influx of business in the last six months thanks to the strange overgrowth of plant life in the city, has stepped up to help with this problem and has recruited the newly arrived Displaced to their cause, if unwittingly. Anyone who comes by one of their stations (including the veteran Displaced coming to collect the newbies) is likely to get roped into helping, as this is quite the undertaking and they need all the hands they can get. Don't worry—as long as you have a registered ID, you can get paid today.

The work itself isn't too complicated. Cut away plants, yank them out of drains, and put all everything that's harvested into buckets to return to the tents to drop off for later use in composting. While most of what's growing are flowers and weeds, there are areas where vegetables have sprouted too. Those will obviously want to be saved, and there will be crates set out to collect all of it. At the tents they'll also be offering some snacks and plenty of water to keep people energized and hydrated during the work. Everything from parks to bakeries to gift shops are going to need help here, and while the amount of work feels like it's neverending, it is important. Life can't return to normal until this is done.

While there will be time for both new arrivals and the rest of the Displaced to pitch in, eventually the newcomers will be escorted back to the safehouse for processing.

> AROUND THE CITY

MEDIA COVERAGE AND ONLINE CHATTER
New Amsterdam has come to life again following Judas' simulation, but the energy of the city has changed. After so many tragedies and disasters, it’s as though everyone is half-expecting the next one to strike while still reeling from the last. Some are dealing with this by throwing themselves into charity work or laying low, but others have been radicalized into thoughts of taking down the United Nations altogether. Morningstar is garnering more and more support, and though it’s technically illegal, their symbol is being grafitti’d and pasted all over town. The overworked police can’t manage to keep up, so some of them stay, a clear sign of the shifting opinions of the people.

The focus of every nearly source of news, from serious mainstream media to pop culture commentary, is still the simulation that recently overtook New Amsterdam. New characters won’t be able to access this information until their IDs are set up, but once they can, it’s a deluge of news reports, opinion pieces, and conspiracy theory websites.

There are solemn specials memorializing those who died in the simulation, or pieces discussing the long term effects on survivors and the city as a whole, focusing on New Amsterdam’s charity efforts. Talking heads, from pundits to scientists to various authority figures, are brought on panels to discuss and sometimes heatedly debate what happened and why it all seemed to go so wrong. Of particular focus and concern is New Amsterdam Governor Lydia Gill-Jade's choice to step down, electoral candidate Jovavich’s death, and the upcoming emergency election. Now that so many UNA soldiers have been decommissioned and weapons contracts dropped, economic concerns are rearing their head, too.

It might be a breath of fresh air for some citizens when they realize that this time, the mainstream media’s reaction to the United Nations' involvement is decidedly negative. There isn’t so much undue praise, and both interviewers and interviewees are starting to ask hard questions about how, exactly, the United Nations screwed this up so badly. More than a few are blaming the current situation on the United Nations completely.

And, of course, the AI Judas is still missing. The fear over this is palpable, and no news channel or website is going to let anyone forget it, or go long without mentioning it. It’s clear the United Nations is in the middle of a damage control campaign, sending their most media-ready members to explain why they didn’t do more and why their hands were tied. It’s all very polished and precise.

On social media, the shift towards criticizing the United Nations is much more open and less measured. It isn’t hard to find discussions tearing apart the UN’s excuses and even mocking them. With UNA soldiers returning home, there are more than a few stories of friends or family members noticing a huge shift in the former soldiers’ personalities, and their clear struggle to reintegrate into a civilian lifestyle. People are getting angry, and admitting you still support the United Nations is a great way to start a very long argument.

As for Morningstar, now that they’re in the odd position of being considered by most to be a political party opposing the UNA, they’re getting more media attention than ever before. The shift is clear—Morningstar’s opinions and ideas have value now, and they aren’t shy about challenging the United Nations' official position on what happened in New Amsterdam.

Another source of constant gossip is the Displaced. Now that they’ve been partially outed, everyone is trying to figure out just what their deal is. Some people clearly view them as heroes, while others aren’t so sure. Are they rogue UNA experiments? Dimension hoppers? Superheroes? Aliens? No one knows the truth, and so theories abound, some of them utterly ridiculous. There are more measured articles and reports too, but the tabloids are the ones running the scoops that are more out there (and, honestly, more fun).

MEDIA COMMUNITY RESPONSE
While talk is all well and good following such a widespread event as the simulation, taking action is far more important. While efforts to handle the overgrowth of plant life continues, there are other needs that need to be met too. Everyone came out of the simulation feeling malnourished, so all throughout the city food drives are being set up to make sure that the less fortunate and destitute get the sustenance they need to get back on their feet.

On top of that, there will also be an emphasis on redistributing all of the food which grew in excess while everyone was in the sim, to make sure that it's spread around to everyone who needs it.

Displaced will be encouraged to participate and help out with this (whether it's through cooking, plating/serving food, etc.) by the people they know through their community -- whether it's coworkers, members of Morningstar (including Gaby), or any other non-Displaced acquaintances that they have.

As public opinion toward the UNA is souring, there is a belief that people need to learn how to be self-sufficient, which is something that Morningstar in particular decides to capitalize on. If they can't rely on the UNA or on the corporations which are known to be corrupt and incetuous, and if the upcoming emergency election is likely to just give everyone more of the same, then they'll just have to figure things out on their own.

Therefore, Morningstar heads up a number of community events, classes, and drives to move toward this goal. This is a less direct form of rebellion than targeting the UNA or any of the big corporations directly, and while Morningstar has plans for that in the works too, they have always been a group that knows how to engage with the common people and make them feel seen and heard. Want to know how to grow and cook your own food? Have you heard what composting is, but don't really know what it's about? There's classes for all that, and more, including how to give haircuts and mend your own clothing. Those who are practiced in these things will also be offering these services to anyone who needs them.

Whether the Displaced are curious to learn, want to offer a class of their own (or at least help teach one), or want to take advantage of any of the services being offered, they'll be welcome. Morningstar agents will find them at the safehouse or Red Wings and encourage them to participate.

> SAFEHOUSE

Located under an abandoned hover-bike garage, access to the safehouse is a hatch in the floor beside a rusted set of metal shelves that used to hold tools and supplies. The immediate area is similarly abandoned: full of rundown and dilapidated warehouses and forgotten businesses, where numerous people squat in hopes of having some stability because they can't afford a place themselves. Gaby will be around, ready to greet as many of the new arrivals as she can and get them settled in. Brusque and no-nonsense, she'll be open to questions, but will advise the newcomers to ask the people who brought them in for the beginning bits of information. Newbies can also contact El through zeir inbox, if needed.

The safehouse is a large space with multiple rooms for storage, with the largest of the rooms filled with rows of basic cots set up to sleep a large number of people. Basic, but outfitted with everything necessary for daily life. A few doors lead to back rooms for storage, medical care and a large communal bathroom, and past the long rows of cots there is a communal kitchen, fully stocked, and an eating area. For anyone in need of them, Gaby will offer up partitions that will come out of storage. Tucked away in a corner is a VR system, though newcomers won't be able to access this until their ID has been set up. Even with the newly erected partitions in the sleeping areas, privacy is at a minimum.

◉ New characters will be asked to pick their beds, and provided with a change of (second-hand, mismatched and somewhat threadbare) clothes and basic toiletries.

◉ There is a mini-bar set up in the kitchen. The quality of the alcohol inside is akin to what someone might get from the well at a bar, but it's well-stocked.

◉ While the kitchen has basic foods and necessities, anyone looking for a jolt of caffeine from coffee or tea will find themselves sorely lacking. The only tea present is herbal in nature, and caffeine appears to be almost nonexistent in most of the beverages lying around.

◉ Gaby will make it clear to all new arrivals that if they have any requests or queries, they should contact her or El. Either she or El will explain that they've been given a modest stipend of credits to help them get by until they can find a job. This will be enough to cover their living expenses for about a month while they hang out in the safehouse, if they're careful with budgeting.

◉ The drugs making new characters compliant will remain in their systems for a few hours after their arrival at the safehouse before finally beginning to fade. They will be gone entirely after a night's rest. In the meantime, they may want to be careful of what others say to them.

◉ New characters will be given rudimentary access to the network on arrival in the safehouse, but will not have their ID set up yet. They will be able to make posts and replies, but their messages will be anonymous and they do not have inboxes yet.

◉ New characters do not have access to the internet until their ID is setup. They only have limited access because they're present in the safehouse, but they can't surf the rest of the internet, check out Cooltalk, or watch the equivalent of Netflix until their ID is made.

◉ New characters cannot leave the safehouse at this time. The hatch is locked tight for them, making it impossible for them to get out for the next four days while they're locked inside. There won't be any immediately obvious ways to cut their way out through turning off the power.

◉ New characters will not be allowed to leave the safehouse until MAY 11 (JUNE 21). These 4 days are for them to adjust, learn about the world they've arrived in from their fellows, and for El to speak with them and work on setting up their IDs.

> FINAL OOC NOTES

You're now free to post to the network and logs comms. To reiterate, your characters will have no IDs or inboxes, nor be allowed out of the safehouse until MAY 11 (JUNE 21). At that point it's expected they'll have gotten a good idea of their new situation from their fellow characters, and will have discussed their background and job potentials with El in order for their false IDs to be set up.

If you have any questions or ideas about how you'd like to get your character involved in the world, please head over to the plot engagement post and drop us a comment! For questions specific to this log, there is a thread below.

Please check out our June calendar rundown for a look at things happening this month, as well as some additional notes from the mods.

AC remains halved this month due to the state of the world right now. New players will only need to provide at least five comments across two-four (2-4) threads, while older players will only need to provide ten comments across two-four (2-4) threads. Please let us know if you have any questions about this!

> NAVIGATION

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

You don't have to lie. I can take the truth.

Scale of one to ten? You're like... a seven in dork levels.

[Wait, he doesn't know her, so that probably sounds mean.]

But it's totally just the overalls.

I've clearly made a very false impression if I'm only at a seven, and that's including the overalls.

[It probably would sound mean if he weren't used to the Kyna he knows, but he doesn't think anything of it in this situation. That's probably something he should be thinking about accounting for, but he totally can't manage that at the moment.]

[She snorts at that, ducking down a side alleyway.]

What, you want me to think you're dorkier?

[He follows her down the alley, with a quick glance around to make sure no one's paying them any attention.]

I just don't want you to feel mislead when you realize the truth in the future.

[They're passing into a different part of town now, filled with warehouses and much less packed full of people. The megacities are so densely populated that it's hard to ever really be alone, but at least it's less overwhelming.]

Okay, give me your dork resume.

Uh, I was a competitive chess player in college.

[Starting off small.]

[Kyna snorts, touching his arm to get him to follow her as she ducks into an old, disused garage.]

Okay, pretty dorky, but I'm not impressed. You've gotta try harder.

[He'll take that challenge, and repeats his previous statement with an addendum.]

I was a competitive chess player in college when I was fourteen.

[And hey, a change in scenery, as he follows her into the garage... And immediately hesitates at the sight of the dark, seemingly abandoned place. Mental alarm bells are ringing even as he actively tells himself it's fine, and it takes several seconds of warring with himself to take another step after her and try to pretend nothing happened.]

[Kyna notices his hesitation, and loops her arm through his impulsively. It's still instinct to default to physical contact.]

The safehouse is under the garage. No weird bullshit, I promise.

[And then, in an attempt to lighten the mood:]

How did you go to college at fourteen?

[Under the garage. Great. Awesome. But her arm around his is calming, and grounding, at least enough that he can will himself to stay focused on the present, though he's keeping very carefully aware of their surroundings and any hint that they're not alone.

It takes a moment to register she asked him a question, attention now totally split in so many different ways, but he manages a joke nonetheless.]

Well, I applied, and got accepted, and then I moved to campus.

[Just pretend that comes out as flippantly and humorously understated as he means it to, as opposed to distracted and nervous.]

[She does pretend, and snorts in reply.]

Wow, really? Where I'm from you have to survive a gauntlet to get in. There are sharks.

[This is total bullshit.]

[Her comment is ridiculous enough that it successfully keeps his attention, at least partially, and he although he's pretty sure she's completely making this up--]

I don't know enough about your world to even argue with you on that.

[She shoots him a shit-eating grin.]

Yep.

[It doesn't take them long to reach the entrance to the safehouse, which is just a hatch in the floor.]

Ready?

[Normally the answer would be no, because even with a version of Kyna vouching for this being a good place to go he really doesn't want to. But more than anything he wants out of this building, even if he's just going under it, so he nods.]

Yeah, I guess.

[It's less petulant and more just uncertain and hurried; it's not like there's anywhere else to go anyway, right?]

[She can't really blame him. The whole process freaked her out at first, too, but it's not like they have much of a choice. And she figures that's the most enthusiastic answer she's going to get, so she kneels down.

There's no visible locking mechanism on the door. The second she touches the handle, it reacts to her implant and swings open. She stands again, gesturing with a flourish.]

After you.

[Okay. Here goes.

He's so ready to leave the garage that he isn't even particularly nervous about the safehouse itself, and has honestly no idea what he's even expecting. As long as it isn't just a dark hole in the ground it'll probably be okay.

Once he's in he steps aside to give Kyna room, presuming she's following, and doesn't move to explore yet. Instead he's taking a moment to try to calm a bit and get ahold of himself, although that's easier said than done even now that he's not in the garage anymore.]

Did you come here when you first arrived too?

[Talking is a distraction, and that might help.]

[Kyna does follow him down, and the hatch above them closes and locks. When she reaches the bottom, she brushes her hands off and nods.]

Yep. Everyone does. We kind of hide here for a couple of days while they set up our IDs. It's, uh... There's not a lot of privacy, but it's not awful.

That's not a ringing endorsement.

[But at the moment he isn't feeling terribly picky, even if it's only going to last like an hour before he starts getting annoyed.]

Uh... It's free and there's food and alcohol?

[Does that help? She's not sure. But since he was just so shaken a couple of seconds ago, she loops their arms together again and starts to lead him into the safehouse proper.]

You get to hang out with me. That's pretty badass.

[Free and alcohol are both good, even if the latter he probably shouldn't indulge in as much as he'd like to. He lets her start leading him further into the safehouse, the change in location helping calm some of his nerves even though that process is always slower than the opposite.]

That is pretty badass.

[He's both jokingly humoring her and totally means it.]

How many people are usually here? At the safehouse, I mean.

[She grins, clearly pleased that he's playing along.]

There's more when new arrivals come in. Most people move out as fast as they can. It's kind of like... our headquarters, I guess. This and a bar one of the Displaced set up called Red Wings.

Is the Displaced what those who are brought here call themselves?

[He's just making sure, though context is pretty clear, and despite everything else going on a part of him is suddenly quite fascinated by the sociology of all of this. Hadriel had been... Something... But this situation doesn't just have a newly arrived group of people, but a newly arrived group in a world with other people and its own already established society. How the Displaced might choose to organize themselves, to keep in contact, to have places like the safehouse and a bar that they congregate, it's all really interesting.]

Yep. I guess it's just the easiest way to, you know?

[Kyna leads him through a large room with rows and rows of cots to a storage area, where there are stacked boxes filled with clothes. She digs out a shirt, holds it up to him, then frowns and tosses it aside. It didn't pass, apparently.]

What size are you?

Yeah, it makes sense. Sounds cool too.

[Cooler than some other options, anyway. He follows her into the storage room, glancing around as they go--ugh that's a room full of cots, and sharing a room with even just one person is generally too much for him--before finding something to be distracted with at the sight of all the boxes. The prospect of a change of clothes is automatically helping his mood, and he offers a shrug at the question.]

Like a medium? Almost anything'll work.

[That said--]

But I should tell you that, and I'm sure this is news to you: I'm tall.

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