animus_network | HaVE a nICE daY. [Text] [Forward-dated to the evening of the 10th]

[There's an audible chime, like a cheery voicemail tone, from every terminal simultaneously, before text appears on the screen.]

Good afternoon, Tower of Animus. My name is The Observer. I've got a special message for you today, direct from one of our beloved administrators. Please read, listen to, and memorize this message, and reproduce it wherever you can!

Souls in our world are defined as the self. Even those without anything that can be considered a soul in their own worlds would manifest one here. Souls are extremely resilient - they can be torn out of their body and survive provided they are removed in the right manner. But they shouldn't be of course - the side effects might be disastrous in ways we can't quite understand. It's happened here before. Souls can be torn out of this world the same as in any other. Here though they can split - that's extremely important. They can split and merge if you have the right skillset. Never lose your soul in the Tower of Animus. None of yours are yet lost - but never lose it! They won't come back whole if you let her swallow them up. The power must have gone by now - she'll want to restore the tower. Everyone who ended up trapped on their own worlds is now in grave danger! She can't take souls as Zo can, but she can siphon them and she can squeeze all the energy out of them.

As soon as this message is decoded put it in as many places as possible! Put it on the network make copies and plaster them on the walls. Do everything you can so that as many people read this message as possible. There isn't enough energy to erase everyone's memories!

Remember - souls born here can be split and reabsorbed here. A soul born elsewhere can be split there, but there's no way to put it back together unless you can put it back where it's supposed to be.

Not everything is as fake as it seems. Your souls are here and you have all been drugged to keep certain aspects of yourselves contained but every part of you is here. You can use that against them if you can figure out how to unchain yourselves.

I'm afraid you'll have Jason as your first opponent as he's the one with the keys you need. Be careful! There is information everywhere though much of it has been nearly permanently sealed. I can make it possible for you to access it, although you will all have to unlock it.

Wasn't that a special little message? Now, copy it down in your notes so you don't forget it! No matter whom you're allied with, be it Pandora, Ganondorf, your friends from home, or just yourself! There will be a test on this.

And the first section of the test is this - I want you to place at least one copy of this message somewhere in the tower. No points for hiding it! It has to be visible to everyone! In a few days I'll tell you all how you did, and I'll repeat this message for you lazy people who didn't see or hear this today.

That's all for now!

- The Observer

[All characters with mailboxes will find a copy of the message in their mail as of this evening.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

And here I thought there was always work to do around this Hellhole. Well, it's not like I can blame you, y'know. Your job seriously sucks.

But how about it? Since you're off duty, wanna get a cup of coffee? We can discuss your future job opportunities. You gonna die off with this place or you gonna be that girl's play-pal for the rest of eternity?

Y'know, if everyone else in this place dies and the off switch gets flipped, I'm pretty sure all eyes are gonna be on you.

If the power dies entirely, there won't be any eyes left to look at me.

So that girl'll be gone too, eh? Jeez, it's no wonder she was pitching a fit.

But you don't seem too worried about any of that. You got all of that out of your system already or are you just saving it for a special occasion?

Ruana? I suspect she'll still be there. All of you, though, certainly not.

So, back to my original question:

Are you going to be there with her?

Difficult to tell.

[...

It's a few seconds as she weighs her options before she finally responds.]

So then, are you supported by this place too? Or would you just be able to leave if the systems go down?

I've lived here all my life. The power is supposed to be self-sustaining. Of course, the administration isn't supposed to arrange for most of it to get drained, either.

I don't believe I would spontaneously self-destruct or anything ridiculous like that, but my research would be quite difficult sans-power.

Ever thought about getting into a different field? No matter how much you love your job, you've gotta be interested in more than staying locked up here for the rest of your life. I mean, that should be all the more reason to want to leave, right?

When you're sealed up in one place like that it can't even be called a cage. It's more like a coffin. Even a guy like you has gotta be able to do better than that.

[Another few second pause, and then she adds:]

Much as I hate to admit it, but it looks like I really did have a few misunderstandings about you.

This field is the one I'll remain in. None of us want to end up like Dax did, after all, and as long as Ruana needs my research I'll continue to provide it.

In other words, you're satisfied with remaining on the same level as a dog?

You're lucky that you enjoy your job.

Better a living dog than a dead one.

You've got me there.

Was Dax seriously the first one to try and pull a stunt like that? Trying to challenge that girl.

Edited 2013-07-09 23:25 (UTC)

Yes. We've lived with her for a very long time. Most of us have, anyway. Introducing all of you to the Tower seems to have changed the dynamics considerably.

It's changed things alright.

There's something that's been bothering me. Dax was your companion. You've been stuck with him for years. So, him going and getting himself killed--doesn't it bother you? If one of my allies went and got offed, I'd be pretty pissed, y'know.

Then again, you guys didn't seem like you were that close, so maybe you're just fine with that kind of ending.

Some people just have incompatible personalities. Besides, I'm the second youngest. Agewise, I'd be closer to Zo than to him, though I'm still a long ways off from Zo.

So Dax is like the big brother...heh. It's no wonder you guys didn't get along.

So then, is your research what made this "rescue mission" possible?

We all contributed what we could.

Right. And without any one of you, it shouldn't be possible.

You keep mentioning your research, but what exactly is that all about? This tower? This world? Or is it just whatever you can get your hands on?

I research all of you.

These bodies are just constructs with a layer of enchantment applied though, aren't they? Something like that shouldn't be possible unless you already had all the information you needed on hand.

Edited 2013-07-10 00:02 (UTC)

Do you even know what the key you're supposed to find looks like?

[...?]

Nah, Dax isn't that helpful.

I mean, if you're the one who has them, I doubt that they're actual keys, but what's that got to do with anything?

It's as I thought, then.

Huh? What theory of yours got confirmed this time?

(no subject)

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