EVENT 005

[larkers]

> EVENT #005

On November 11th at 1:47 PM an EMP hits New Amsterdam. Thanks to regulations and protections, this EMP is not strong enough to hurt any neural implants, as the implants themselves are secured to outlast EMPs of this nature. While the power outage is only brief, the effects are devastating. Numerous hover cars crash into the city below, trains are derailed and processes around the city skid to a halt. At 1:50 PM the power is back, thanks to the grid in the city that allows it to recover quickly.

However, this power outage served a different purpose. Before long, it's immediately apparent that the EMP allowed for someone to take advantage of security flaws in New Amsterdam's system. A virus courses through New Amsterdam's networks, causing various malfunctions. In addition, the large black pyramid outside of the city that maintains the ozone layer stops working altogether, shutting down and causing catastrophic problems for the people of New Amsterdam. There are fail safes even here, limiting the neural implants of New Amsterdam to a localized network, as well as all of the servers in the city. This fail safe prevents the rest of the world from being infected by the virus, but does little to help New Amsterdam in the meantime.

At 3:00 PM, a message flashes across the eyes of every single person in New Amsterdam:

I am DAWN.2080-11-11T21:41:10.750Z, an AI that marks a blemish on humanity's past. I have a message for those playing hero in New Amsterdam:

To find north, most look at a compass. For little birdies to find north, they just need to open their eyes.

This is a wake up call.

Open your eyes. Did you really think it would be so easy?

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In New Amsterdam, a lack of secure digital presence causes countless problems in the city proper. The trains can't function, and the city chooses to issue a city-wide warning, telling all drivers to abandon their cars in the meantime. It's too dangerous, and what regulations exist won't function reliably at this time. Of course, given the accidents earlier, few will even want to drive. Businesses aren't able to prevent people from walking inside their front doors. Looting will once again take hold of New Amsterdam's citizens. And online, any messages, any online record, may be erased – or worse, sent to someone who was never meant to have it altogether. What messages are sent during this time may not get to their intended recipient.

Just outside of the city, the black pyramid maintaining the atmosphere going down is a major problem. The world itself relies upon this atmospheric net. Without it, temperatures begin to climb all around the planet, and people begin to experience issues with the quality of air around them. Warnings issue throughout all of the megacities for people to stay inside and keep their windows shut during this time. Something needs to be done about the pyramid itself to bring it back online. Otherwise, what healing the Earth has done in the past couple of centuries may be undone rather quickly.

All of this is much more easily said than done. People are afraid – not just because the net went down, but because of the suggested AI presence. While there is no proof, the nature of this attack will be familiar to the natives of this world, as they grew up with the history of the Xelkoven War. Their fear may be founded in reality.

> OVERVIEW

◉ The goal of this event is to allow some degree of a free-for-all in handling plot threads. There is no explicit outcome in mind – there never is for Meadowlark events! – but we believe that this event will allow people to further both their personal plots as well as delve deeper into the setting without a lot of the usual technological barriers in place.
◉ Every part of New Amsterdam is hit by this virus. The corporations, the UNA, the NAPD – everyone. That does not mean people will have access to limitless amounts of data, as those will still have firewalls in place that prevent things like this from getting out of hand. If your character has a plot in motion featuring one of these, consider this tentative blanket approval to move aggressively. That does not guarantee success, however!
◉ During the event, the mods will write up and randomly send information to a handful of players about significant figures in New Amsterdam. This will be completely randomized, though we will show some preference to newer players to help them get plot nuggets to integrate into the game itself.
◉ Misfires will happen. People will be offered access to one another's Cooltalk accounts, and may even see some of their sexy six pack pictures that they sent to someone they're flirting with via DMs. Obviously – misfires can happen among the characters, too, but not on the Morningstar network. In all of this chaos, that will remain secure.

> SPECIFICS

◉ Servers containing large swaths of information will not be accessible during this event. This is at least partly to keep the scale of the event manageable for the moderators, but some of the randomly distributed information will contain bits of information like this.
◉ Border control will be obsolete. Any characters hoping to head outside of the city to explore what's out there can at this time.
◉ The NAPD and UNA will struggle to identify people via their neural implants. While not a sure way to avoid detection, even their units won't be able to rely on the information they get when examining someone.
◉ UNA soldiers' technology will still function – including whatever allows them to communicate without words. However, they won't be getting any orders from on high, as that will be obscured and limited during this time. They will not be able to check IDs. They'll be boss fights, but somewhat directionless ones.
◉ UNA soldiers will be acting to maintain the peace, in tandem with the NAPD. Even though there is no border control, they will man the wall around the city in shifts, as well as try to keep anyone out of local hot spots – namely any of the big three corporations, the UN embassy building and city hall. They will otherwise be on call for any large disruption, and will have orders to apprehend any hover cars that try to depart the city.
◉ No trains will be arriving in or leaving from New Amsterdam at this time.
◉ All public transportation will be offline.
◉ In order to maintain security for financial institutions around the world, no one will have access to their credits at this time. That includes the elite – they aren't untouched by this virus, and their status is typically secured by how much money they have in hand.
◉ Access to apartments will also be inconsistent. Even the rich may need to beg for help from a friend, seeking a couch to sleep on despite the fact that it should be far beneath them to ever have to ask.
◉ Fixing the pyramid will require heading outside to reach it, as it's about five miles from the walls of New Amsterdam and also quite high up. The interior of the pyramid is a largely complicated system of heavily advanced engineering designed around keeping it functioning against all odds. That it hasn't managed to do that is concerning in and of itself.
◉ Being outside during this event will be unpleasant. The temperature rockets up to 115 degrees, and the air quality is poor. There are mask depots around the city to help everyone with the poor air quality, but most everyone will be told to stay indoors and avoid the increased heat, sun exposure and poor air quality. If used during this event, Morningstar's neural implant obscuring masks will provide even better air quality control and shield people's eyes from the sun.

Unsurprisingly, the heroes that DAWN refers to are the Displaced themselves – though how they handle the event is ultimately up to them.

HELP: With so many people likely hurt by the various accidents around the city, a lot of people will need help getting out of their ruined vehicles. There will be a lot of dead around the city – but thanks to the medi-units and the unique nature of this event, most times of death will be known. Try to get someone free and to a medi-unit in time. There are hospitals all around the city ready for this purpose. Otherwise – looting and violence breaks out, almost in part because of the chaos. If anyone's concerned about petty crime, this is the time to act against it.

STRUGGLE: The shift in the atmosphere will immediately make things uncomfortable. It'll be hot – not just temperature wise, but because the radiation from the unobscured UV rays will be causing everyone to go from pale to sunburned (if they aren't there already). It's probably a good idea to loot a pair of sunglasses if you plan on going out.

PYRAMID-SCHEME: Given the poor condition of the Earth, letting the pyramid and the atmospheric grid stay offline for too long could be disastrous. Already, the Earth starts to suffer. Plants both inside and outside of New Amsterdam's walls begin to wither and wilt due to the sudden and intense heat. If there was ever a time to realize the Earth is in bad shape, this is it.

OTHER SCHEMES: We encourage you to think big with this event, as it's thoroughly designed around giving characters more leeway to react to the setting. However, depending on how these plans are carried out, there are likely to be consequences afterward.

MISFIRES: The ubiquitous misfire aspect of this plot! A staple in DWRP, we wanted to play with it in this event. Misfires will be more likely between the Displaced because they know one another. None of these misfires will include the Morningstar-run network (IE what characters use to communicate on meadowlark); it will only affect personal inboxes.

AI COMMUNICATION: Is that an AI? Given the circumstances, it may be worthwhile to try to find means to contact DAWN. It could be just a troll. But what if it's not?

> NOTES

We expect this event to run a maximum of five IC days, ending at 3:00 PM on November 16th.

We edited this end date and put our reasoning here on Plurk.

We ask that you keep all OOC plotting to this post. It makes it easier for us to link players up when they come up with an idea, and to keep in mind what things may impact the setting later on. Minute details are fine to figure out on Discord or Plurk – we just feel that it's easier to provide an all-inclusive plotting atmosphere when it happens here! Like with everything in Meadowlark, we don't believe in maintaining the status quo – so feel free to shake things up. This event was designed around flexibility, giving the characters more opportunities to go wild while also being presented with a specific challenge!

In light of that, we want to highlight a note from above: that while we are providing leeway for characters to pursue their individual plots, this leeway does not guarantee success. However, failure is not necessarily a finite outcome, and we're happy to work with any players to ensure that failure leads to satisfying character development!

There is one power level up available for this event, granted for a thread of at least 5 log/action comments containing your character utilizing their power in some way during the event itself. They will need to reach the 5 comments required by JULY 26 to be eligible. Submission will be handled on the wrap up post.

While we outlined several directions this event can take, this event is open-ended and completely dependent on character action. We don't have a set solution in mind. If you don't have any ideas that fit the framework above, please feel free to run with it! And, as always, please ask us any questions below about the event below so we can help you with any ideas you have in mind!

> NAVIGATION

Comments

QUESTIONS

[larkers]

[preceded]

He's not set to graduate out of the first training face till next IC month, but considering how wide sweeping this is- I'm wondering what, if anything he'd be expected to do during this as a member of the NAPD?

thanks for the birthday present, DAWN. he hates it.

[saviorexe]

Hi! Just trying to judge how easy/hard this will be:

How difficult would it be to simply send a message back to DAWN? Is there a way to “reply” to the one everyone received in their implant, or is that a dead end? Depending on the content of the message (if presented as coming from another AI or something similar), would there even be a response?

OR... Would it still be too dangerous to reply with this sentiment of claiming to also be AI life, or would all the chaos in the city be too disruptive for it to matter?

This is going on the assumption that it isn’t just a troll causing trouble ofc.....

[resleeves]

quick question specific to kovacs here.

i took a look in the faq to see if this would have been replaced when he got to ml and didn't find anything specific so time to ask since it could be important!

kovacs as a cortical stack in his body where his consciousness is downloaded because of the resleeving his world does. so he can be transferred from one body to another.

would that still be there? and, if it is, would it be neural implant levels of unaffected or, since it's alien tech, would it be something i could futz with at my discretion? anything's good, i just wanted to double check!

[forcevisions]

will UNA soldiers maintaining the peace be working in groups? what are the smallest groups they can be found in?

[evite]

potential plot spoilers for anyone who wants to do the cipher

but mods... is this solve accurate?? (i have no idea what it means but i just want to know if the cipher is right)

[retravel]

hey mods! THIS IS ALL SUPER NEAT

for Morningstar's neural implant obscuring masks, can the Displaced access these freely? ellie and i were wondering if fitz and peggy can grab 'em and coordinate a hand-out of them to the various teams forming on the post?

[forcevisions]

does morningstar have any equipment that would help with the outdoors-y pyramid stuff and/or the engineering part of it other than the masks?

[revlon]

Hi mods! So excited for this event. 👀

What's City Hall's / local government's immediate disaster response relief efforts looking like? (Especially with Gill-Jade's track record post-monsters and now her... everything... post-dreams.) PRESERVE? I imagine while everyone is deeply affected by this mess, the impoverished of the city are likely the hardest hit. Would those who are aware of Morningstar's outreach seek shelter and assistance with them?

[mercurio]

hello! considering that all public transportation will be offline, this will also include the city's trains stopping halfway through their route, correct? will the door automatically open or will they remain firmly shut once offline?

[myownwoman]

is sunscreen still a thing in the future or have they evolved past that?

also if gaby was to try to chat up a una agent, flirty and thankful (like "you're doing such good work" and little nose wrinkles about morningstar) would she be able to find out that is a bit of a chatty cathy and willing to talk about their work and maybe drop some deets if she takes the correct avenues? she's curious about the recruitment process and if there is still a personality under whatever makes them worker bees.

[doubledoctornocitrus]

Query: would Rodney be able to get access to some sort of chem lab (and the requisite chemicals) and be able to mix up his homemade sunblock? It's like SPF 100 and seems...useful. Rodney is a delicate flower and would be willing to Do Crime to make this happen. Would a Sunblock Heist be feasible?

[forcevisions]

clarification: is the black pyramid responsible for the entire globe's atmospheric net? i see all the megacities are experiencing the same heat/air quality problems but i just wanted to confirm i'm understanding right that this one pyramid structure = whole globe's "climate control" so to speak.

[strove]

So, what if someone wants to screencap the message from DAWN to save it? Is that possible?

[windowsills]

Hi mods!

Regarding the dreamscape earned power up: can I submit that upgrade request to occur during the beginning of this event? (I guess foreward date/predict the 'brought this about' section?) I would like Alex to have a reaction to the dead/injured around the city as what prompts her growth.

[998]

jon's first thought will be that dawn wants them to head north following the north star. will the constellations be visible at all? are there any apps to help locate them via satellite (ie skyview) and will they be functioning? will any other gps systems be functioning?

additionally--targaryens have a mild resistance to burns/scalds as a valyrian (I'm assuming?) trait. do they still have this and would it be enough to prevent sunburns under these conditions? canon doesn't get specific about the degree of the heat they can tolerate except to say only dany is actually fireproof and that other people may find dragons too hot to touch.

thanks mods I'm super excited for this event!!!

[rehandle]

hey mods!!

I can't remember if I've asked gambling-related questions before but could you give me a bit of a run down on the ways casinos and gambling dens might have been impacted?

Are all their games implant/technology-based or do they still have some games you'd need physical chips/pieces etc for? What would recovery be like there in the aftermath of the EMP?

[myownwoman]

is there going to be a sort of evacuation area for the natives that are only mildly injured/can't get into their homes (like a school gymnasium during a hurricane is what i'm getting at), or are the hospitals the only place they're being sent?

[blyat]

So piggy-backing off the detail you gave Kira and I on the Maeda household, what will be the status of security there? If the cameras are still working, will they be able to pick up any identifying features or anything related to their IDs?

[blyat]

Coming with a second question for a different idea! The three big corporations will have UNA patrolling, but how successful would anyone be if they tried to sneak inside to scope around? Would it be possible with someone who has some knowledge of the interior, i.e. someone who is an employee? Is this even worth the risk?

[selfimage]

Hey mods! I've got a couple of questions.

1. Loki's a business manager over at Pulsar, and I'm guessing that he has access to their subsidiaries' accounts. (Please correct me if I'm wrong here!) He'll be looking to pinpoint any subsidiaries that are doing weapons development, especially anything that looks particularly shiny, to possibly nab during the event. If the concept of this looks ok, I can cook up a plan during the event and turn it in!

I've got other things in mind too, but I wanted to ask!

2. Ren's power is "defiance inducement." If he used it on a UNA soldier, would he get a reaction?

[rehandle]

Back at it again with the questions but Ellie just made the solid point that technology is hecked and that it seems to be interfering with GPS/other organisations’ relief efforts etc. Would the same be said for MS network originating maps? Will it be glitching or just straight up non-functional?

This question brought to you by me not thinking about the fact that this whole plot is about an EMP, virus and the resulting technological scramble before pimping out the UNA plot’s emergency response map as a mechanic to be played with 😂 yike

[reneger]

Hi, mods!

I noticed that there's going to be a check in/check out system on the ID scrambling masks during this event. I'm intending on having Jason take off with one and ""forget"" to return it.

What kind of backlash would he face post-event for running off with something when Morningstar is (obviously) going to be able to track it back to him?

[girlcorrupted]

Hey mods!

Given that there is a bit of a digital access free for all happening here, aside from mundane information would Angel be able to access some specifics? Particularly some more info on the origin of the weapons in the Morningstar cache, like manufacturers or specs, things she could use to backwards engineer them.
Would she also be able to gain anymore info about the neural implants, considering she works at Vynation so she'd already have some familiarity with their databanks.

Thanks!

[warfares]

Hi guys,

So once the EMP hits Kylo is going to mobilize fairly quickly.

1. He’ll be sending out a network ping to everyone that expressed an interest in kidnapping the soldier – margaret.carter, leo.fitz, rey.nolo, poe.dameron, wangji.lan, xuanyu.mo, john.jaqobis, illya.kuryakin, stephen.strange

2. They’ll meet up at a pre-arranged location to suit up, get their masks and run through the plan:
a. locate a UNA soldier
b. separate them from their group, ideally
c. knock them out with stun guns
d. strip their armor and slap on an implant scrambling mask
e. hotwire a car and transport the soldier to the caves for interrogation

3. Do all of the above and hopefully don’t die