Zenith : In Character → Threads, Logs, Events

Who: Harper and Kiley
When: morning
Where: where else? the woods

( trees know that you can be still and grow at the same time )

Who: Lucy and Chase
When: Morning
Where: Between their points on the map


( Team-Building Exercises, FTW )

Who: Edwin & Oliver
When: Shortly after waking up
Where: Out in the woods

( Beep beep, beep beep, yeah! )

Who: Lennon and Felix
Where: In their general area
When: Morning

( It's all fun and games, even if someone loses an eye. )

Who: Tobias and Scotty
When: Morning
Where: In the woods, of course

( wth )

Day 61.

Weather: It's a beautiful day, in the high 70s and slightly windy.

Events: At some point, regardless of any intention, everyone fell asleep before 2 AM. They'll all wake up at 7 am, and find themselves dressed in a camo jumpsuit over whatever they had fallen asleep wearing, as well as their sneakers, or a new pair of sneakers if they don't already have a pair. Everyone is alone, outdoors, with a large duffel bag and their phones. The phone wakes everyone up with a loud chime, and while GPS access is being weird, the network is still working correctly. Oh, and of course, there's a message waiting from TPTB:

Welcome to Paintball 2.

All of your companions have awoken in similar conditions in a different location. Each of you has been assigned a color, and can find a paintball gun already loaded and waiting for you in the duffel bag provided, as well as additional safety gear and your meals for this morning and afternoon.

This game of paintball starts now, and will end at exactly 3pm. Throughout the landscape we have assembled several reloading stations, and you will only have to scan your subject bracelets to receive more paintballs in your designated color. The paintball gun that you have been provided with is the only one that will work for you.

For every hit landed on an opponent, you will be given five points. Every time you take a hit, you will lose four points. At 3pm, the game will end, and we will announce the winners and losers tomorrow.

Each hit also incurs a punishment depending on where it lands on the body. Hits to arms and legs are graded superficial, and sustain no penalty. Hits to the torso and back will incur a five minute penalty to the victim. Headshots will incur a twenty minute penalty. On these penalties, the implant in the back of your neck will paralyze you, and you will be incapable of moving until your penalty has expired.

With that said, we must ask that you please keep your safety goggles on at all times, and do at least try and avoid shooting each other in the face. All equipment has been tested on our interns, and they can attest to the fact that they can in fact be quite painful.

Also of note is that any hits that incur a penalty that are made in the river or any body of water will still result in paralysis, but it will be delayed until that subject is out of the water. This is not a way to avoid penalties, however, and penalties will be accumulative and will continue being fulfilled after the game ends if necessary.

Please keep in mind that finding a cozy, secluded corner to wait it out will not be an option. We are sending a number of drones into the area, and they are equipped to shoot the paintballs as well. They will be actively seeking out anyone who remains in a small area for more than 30 minutes, excluding those who are paralyzed, and one other exception.

For the duration of this game, no one will be allowed back into the lodge, barn, or mill. All three structures will remain cut off in the same manner that the edges of the map are, and will be reopened after 3pm.

How you choose to play the game is up to you. You are more than welcome to find your friends and team up. That said, this game will have clear winners and losers, and while the last time this game was played there were no consequences, this time there will be rewards and punishments. Points can not be shared within teams.

The top three scores will receive vouchers that can be redeemed for items of your choosing, with a value of $500 each.

The bottom three scores will find that the barriers on all buildings will be reinstated at 8am tomorrow, remaining until 8am the following day. Attempts to enter these structures will result in shocks identical to those one might experience at the borders of our experiment.

As the note said, everyone can find their paintball gun in their duffel bags, plus a pair of safety goggles, a canteen full of water, a breakfast burrito, and a sandwich and bag of chips, with the food items being suited to everyone's individual tastes. For some people, this might be the best part of their day. There is also no way to access any of the buildings, as they all have their own barriers at the doors and windows. True to TPTB's word, the barriers drop at 3pm, but until then there's no hiding in the museum or the old shed. There is one structure that's available, and it's the outhouse at the abandoned outpost. So... yay?

The GPS on everyone's phones are working, but selectively. Everyone is able to see where they alone are on the map. They can also see the markers for the living spaces, and have access to a compass. That's it.

Everyone wakes up in the below locations and have the marked colored paintballs.
( It's right here. )

For most people, this is where the game starts, but for others, there are a few more instructions in another note on their phone. That survey from yesterday still needs a pay-off! For some, they'll know even without the note that something's different for them, but for others, they'll find out that they've earned themselves an interesting perk... or problem.

Yesterday we asked everyone to choose who best fit a series of superlatives, and you received the majority of votes in at least one category. Here's what your counterparts think of you, and what that means for your game today.

Jack then gets this note:

1. You have been voted to be the most likely to have been popular in high school! This has earned you an opportunity. We ask that you choose 3 of your fellow subjects. If any of those three people is one of the three winners, you will receive half the value of their winnings. If you manage to choose all 3 winners, then we will reward you with a $1,000 voucher. Choices must be made immediately.

Sure enough, at the bottom of this message is a text box where names can be typed out. ((You may reply to this post with your choices.))

Chase then gets this note:

2. You have been voted to be the most likely to secretly have a strange collection at home! As you surely have noticed, we have gifted you with a large collection of TY Beanie Babies, which have been sewn together and around your torso. We ask that you do not attempt to remove these until our game has completed at 3pm. Removal will result in an automatic loss.

Chase obviously noticed this frightening piece of apparel before reading this message. It is, like the message said, a bunch of beanie babies stitched together, and then sewn onto him, making up a sort of plush vest and fake pregnancy belly. There's even one of those Princess Diana bears that was supposed to be so rare, sewn right across Chase's chest. It's tight against him, making it impossible to wiggle out of, but more than that, it's heavy. The bulky suit seems to be made up of at least 100 Beanie Babies, making the suit around 40 pounds. The camo jumpsuit is large enough to go over the Beanie suit, and at least the layer of toys will soften any body shots. But those body shots will still count, and who knows how much the extra weight and heat will slow him down.


Oliver then gets this note:

3. You have been voted to be the most likely to have been to a monster truck show at some point in their life! In your duffel bag, you will find a keychain with the key to an ATV that can be found about 20 feet to the North. You may use this for today only, as it will be removed after today's game. Only you may use the ATV.

There's a Yamaha ATV waiting nearby, ready to be ridden. This reward really is only an option for Oliver, as when anyone else tries to drive it, the thing doesn't even start up. Someone might be able to ride on the back rack, but that doesn't sound like the safest option.


Scotty then gets this note:

4. You have been voted to be the most likely to lose their temper over an insignificant issue! Your reward will be revealed shortly!

No message revealing Scotty's reward ever comes. In fact, it doesn't seem like there is a reward. What he gets is... a series of insignificant issues. His camo jumpsuit is just a little too tight. His shoelaces end up untied constantly. There are no bugs in Mount Zenith, and yet he somehow ends up with several bug bites over the course of the day. His aim with his paintball gun is always just a little off. No matter what, things are always just a little wrong. It's almost like it was planned that way.


Pam then gets this note:

5. You have been voted to be the most likely to become a successful game show host! Today, you have been rewarded with an opportunity that we call "The Bonus Round."

Once the winners are revealed, you will have the opportunity to challenge any one of the three winners to a Double-or-Nothing Challenge. The winner may be offered a coin toss to earn double their winnings. If they win, we will honor that gamble and double their earnings. If you win, you will receive their prize, and they will receive nothing.

It is not required that you use your reward, but should you use it, the person that you challenge can not refuse your challenge.

A quarter can be found in Pam's duffel bag, though if she misplaces it, one will still strangely appear somewhere in the house.


Lucy then gets this note:

6. You have been voted to be the most likely to have an intimate relationship with one of their teachers! Just as someone may enter a relationship with their teacher to assure themselves good grades, we have assured that you will have the answers to this test. Whenever another subject comes within 30 feet of you, your paintball gun will pulse slightly to alert you to your approaching opponent. You will also be able to use the GPS on your phone to easily locate all paintball refilling stations.

That one's pretty straightforward. The gun will pulse twice to let Lucy know when someone's coming. It won't be a continuous pulse, and it's not strong enough to alter her aim. Unless she's feeling particularly jumpy.


Lennon then gets this note:

7. You have been voted to be the most likely to watch porn as soon as they wake up As you surely have noticed, your vision has been impaired by our modified safety goggles. You will be unable to remove these goggles until the end of our game, at which point they will unlock and can be disposed of.

Because masturbation supposedly made you go blind. Get it that's the joke Lennon wakes up with a pair of goggles fastened snugly around his head. The goggles fasten in the back, but that function doesn't seem to be available until 3pm. There's no wiggle room, and the goggles can't be slipped off, but they're at least padded and not too uncomfortable. What they are is hard to see through. They offer no peripheral vision, and the lenses themselves seem to be partially frosted and shaded, leaving only a small portion of the lenses to see through clearly, and that's only if he's looking directly forward. He can see much more clearly if things are close to his face, but that's unfortunately only going to be helpful when it comes to reading the network.


Tobias then gets this note:

8. You have been voted to be the most likely to have the highest body count! We have provided you with a more high-powered paintball gun to allow you to continue to live up to this title. This paintball gun can shoot paintballs more rapidly, as well as from a further distance. It also holds more ammo than the standard paintball gun. Additionally, one in every 100 shots, should it hit another subject, will take that subject out of the game by paralyzing them until the game is over.

Tobias does not find the same rifle in his bag. Instead, he finds a slightly more threatening looking weapon. If he goes looking for the special paint ball that knocks other players out of the game, he'll find that there is nothing that distinguishes the special round from any of the others.

Kiley then gets this note:

9. You have been voted to be the most likely to fake their death! While no one will get extra points for shooting you, any time you are hit with a paintball, you will incur double the penalty. Additionally, shots to your arms or legs will incur a two minute penalty.

Well, that sucks. Kiley will be paralyzed for ten minutes for hits to the torso and back, and 40 minutes for headshots.

And finally, Tobias then gets this note as well:

10. You have been voted to be the most likely to spend time in jail! You will remained locked in place until someone else chooses to release you. Should no one release you, the handcuffs will automatically unlock at 3pm. While confined to your current location, you will be excluded from drone attacks.

Tobias wakes up with one hand handcuffed to a thankfully low, but thick tree branch. The branch has too many other branches to be able to slide the other end of the handcuffs off the tree, but the key is within sight! It's just ten feet away, on a satin pillow, surrounded by four Mylar balloons with the words "THE" "KEY" "IS" and "HERE" printed across them. There's no way Tobias can reach the key on his own, but he can at least reach his duffel bag, and his phone, so at least maybe he can call for help. Again, his paintball gun comes loaded, but until he is released, he will be unable to go get refills.

Finally, ExB will find that while they don't have most of their feed access until 3pm, they get exactly one feed, and it's a clear shot of Tobias, attached to a tree. The shot remains on that tree even after Tobias is released (if he's released), but they at least get to see that they got what they wanted to make happen. They also can read all the network messages still, including the ones from TPTB to the subjects who had won superlatives.

At 3pm, the GPS on everyone's phones functions once again, and the barriers around each of the buildings go down. Going home, everyone will find that all the pets have been fed and are as happy as they ever seem, id a little lonely. There's no information from TPTB for the rest of the day. Today's another one of those days where people are really going to miss having their own shower after running around for hours.


((Mod notes: The refill stations aren't on the map because it just seems more fun to let you guys be able to get ammo whenever? So there's an abundance of them around the area. Also, I believe we decided last time that paralysis doesn't effect people's ability to speak, so we'll stick with that rule.

Finally, obviously we can't really take score, so near the end of this game day if everyone can just sort of guess how they do? I trust you guys to be fair about it, but I'll put up something on the OOC closer to the end to figure things out in. I expect we'll need and extension but I'll wait))