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Role Playing on Mars

Date: 15-Jun-2008/10:28+3:00

Tags: , , , , , ,

Characters: me, guard, max, girl, woman

I was using some kind of password cracking tool. My account's name was something like halo3, and when I typed in the account name there was a two phase process, the first gave me a CAPTCHA-like graphic that had the wavery text "dead"...reading it, I typed in the account name and the password again.
The machines I was using seemed very old, and I was located on top of some kind of building. An alarm of some kind started going off, and a security guard of some kind came over to me.
me: "Oh sorry, this machine just does that. I'm totally authorized to use this equipment."
guard: "I need to call someone to check this out."
me: (innocently) "It would be much easier for me to find a way to turn off the sound if you'd help me get down from here."
The guard helped me down, and I pulled the machine I'd been using plus some additional laptops into a formation on the ground. I was using one aging and static-y laptop to browse for terms that I'd found inside the virtual game, called something like "e-Berg". I escaped into the operating system and saw it was running a variant of Ubuntu unix underneath. A man who identified himself as "Max" came over and started looking at one of the consoles to see what was going on.
max: "Who are you? How did you get in here?"
me: "Oh, I think you know why I'm here."
I produced a piece of fabric that is sort of my calling card, and "Max" got angry and started to attack me.
me: "Hey, hold up. I was just looking. I know how it is, not everything that's a secret is a secret for bad reasons. But lies can compound on each other, and anyone starts lying to protect their little role playing club, then people can get hurt on the outside. Even if everyone on the inside agreed to be there."
max: "I'm sorry about attacking you just now, I'm very...basic. If I'm angry, it just comes out, words aren't always easy...it's how my emotions manifest. But I'm insulted. You should have known everything was on the level here, didn't you recognize my passwords?"
me: "No, sorry. I'm really having to go deep here, nearly full memory loss. Something really bad is going on, this is the only way to find it. The perpetrators aren't gamers, they have no sense of fun."
max: "Well, let's get you out of here then. For once, won't it be nice to have some security guards protecting you, instead of getting your ass kicked?"
Note I'm embellishing the conversation a bit as it was communicated abstractly, but this was the gist. Obviously I have no idea why I'm saying what I'm saying, though it is consistent with some theories. Whether I'm just babbling in character from the preconceived theories or actually am the character in the theories is unknown.
A group of people joined us and we started piling into cars. There was a girl who started talking to me.
girl: "So there's a rumor going around on the forums that you've got a crush on one of your fellow alumni. She says you pinch her on the butt every time you see her."
me: "I don't know who spreads these rumors, and I don't know who you're talking about. Moreover...please people--let's stop having important conversations in secret--that is the whole reason I'm here."
girl: "Well I'm glad you're getting to see Mars, it's a beautiful day."
The outside did not look red and rocky, it looked like ordinary green grass and plants. I felt I was at some kind of family fun-fair. My gums were somehow swelling up with a brown goo, which I would pull out and throw on the ground.
me: (showing the girl) "All right, what is with all this gunk in my mouth?"
girl: "Yes, that's a common reaction. There's a spray you can use, though really it's better if you spray on a Q-tip and apply it. There's some at Mom 'n' Pop's, I made a selection for you."
One nearby building started to glow, and I went to it. Inside were lots of small children, and I got the feeling it was like a first-aid tent. As I headed for the Q-tips I sort of tripped forward and fell into a little cluster of children, not too hard but injuring one of them. An adult woman came over to help.
woman: "Oh, did you trip?"
me: "Yes, sorry."
She helped the kids and I wasn't able to get up, so I awoke.
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copy write %C:/0304-1020 {Met^(00C6)ducation}

The accounts written here are as true as I can manage. While the words are my own, they are not independent creative works of fiction —in any intentional way. Thus I do not consider the material to be protected by anything, other than that you'd have to be crazy to want to try and use it for genuine purposes (much less disingenuous ones!) But who's to say?