Within the Basilisk

Your name is Cassidy ████████. [[You were born in 2090.|2090]] You're known among your small circle of close friends as the "genius" and lone wolf of the group, preferring to be at home most of the time. Unlike NV you choose to do so out of You were born in Port █████ but have no memory of it. Nowadays you only know it from raids [[your crew|Crew1]] performs on Corrections Facilities there. There aren't any official Resistance groups in the Commerical District, let alone ███████ City as a whole. There are only small groups who work in tandem to try and overcome Corrections. One such group is your circle of friends, organizing on the [[GESTALT Forums|Gestalt]]. Lately, however, [[NV has moved on to try and make a server of their own|ENVINET1]]...

It's 2109, so that makes you 19. You're the youngest of your group of friends for sure, but they also know you're the smartest. You've spent most of your life here. After you lost your parents to a tragic accident a few years ago you managed to evade Corrections with the help of your friends. You never had a close relationship with them thanks to their assignments occupying most of their time. Their loss didn't have as much of an impact on you as the loss of a potential connection with them did. You used to wonder what it could have been like had circumstances been different but this drove you further into you work. [[Back|Intro]]

They call it "EnviNET" - a play on their own handle 'NV' as well the name of a pre-cursor to GESTALT. NV told you they set up a new kind of encrypted server called "BASILISK" to accommodate their forums and blog. You didn't think it was necessary, but you didn't always understand [[NV's reasons for doing things|NV1]]. You don't have much of an interest in the server or forum with NV being the only person posting on it. One day, however, NV contacted you out of the blue. [[It was an emergency|EMERGENCY]].

The crew. You, Landon, Nikki, Kerry, Bill, and NV. You know the first three from Level 2 Education. Brian was a friend of Klein's. NV is an internet friend from GESTALT. To date, nobody has met them in person thanks to them being even more of a recluse than you. Landon and Nikki are like the de facto leaders of the group, usually taking charge when planning and performing raids. Nicki is like the president with Lee functioning as her right hand man. Kerry can be abrasive, but he's street smart and dependable. It's a wonder he's managed to stick with a group of friends this long. Bill is new to your group. He's nice enough and dependable but hasn't been on many runs yet. NV is your closest friend oddly enough. They have much in common with you, though their solitude is largely induced by anxiety whereas you just prefer to be alone. [[Back|Intro]]

GESTALT is the name of the #1 rogue group in your district, and also the name of their popular forum where likeminded groups (like yours) gather. Landon once said they're an official N.P.G. -- a Nodal Point Gang. N.P.G.'s are responsible for creating, operating, and otherwise maintaining the nodes and networks you use every day. Groups like yours, and GESTALT, often attempt risky jobs to try and hinder Corrections operations or steal sensitive data. GESTALT has proven an invaluable resource for sharing tactics, information, and planning raids. It's hosted on a private server set up by GESTALT's admin team. NV says its somewhere in Port █████, but any attempts to get a read on it have proven unsuccessful. Only Nicki and Landon have ever met anyone from GESTALT in person. [[Back|Intro]]

NV could be prone to making rash decisions. They were generally friendly but occasionally took things too personally, becoming extremely defensive. You remember once when Kerry had called the originally envinet a "shitshow" thanks to people not taking the forum's purpose seriously. NV wouldn't enter the group's voice chat server for a week after that, feeling as though it was a personal comment directed at them. You suspect the chat server's connectivity issue that week had something to do with NV, but you never brought it up, knowing how NV might react. [[Back|ENVINET1]]

Despite NV's ramblings about how secure this new [[BASILISK|Basilisk1]] framework was, there was some kind of breach. Someone had attempted to access the server's logs. There wasn't any sensitive data other than posts about you and your friends on NV's blog. While your names were changed to conceal your identity, it still gave enough details to single your group out. You were furious. How could NV be so stupid? You temporarily block communications with NV so you can cool off [[while you check in with the others|EmergencyA1]].

You don't recall ever hearing about BASILISK server software. You think JAY1 on the GESTALT forums might have something on it. If anyone would know it would be him. Do you ask JAY1 about [[BASILISK|Basilisk2]]? Do you [[brush it off|EMERGENCY]]?

Welcome to CYCLE 1:END:Within the Basilisk. This is the finale for CYCLE 1 of the Envinet story. If you are following from the nv023 blog. This story game is written such that people who have not followed along with the story can play this as a stand alone experience. If you do follow the blog you'll see some bits of story you're already familiar with but now you can experience them from Chase's point of view. Let's get started. [[The Beginning|Intro]]

You decide to message JAY1. -NEKO C-: JAY, you there? -JAY1-: Yeah, what's good? -NEKO C-: Question -JAY1-: Answer? -NEKO C-: Smartass. Have you ever heard of something called BASILISK? Like... as server software? -JAY1-: Off the top of my head no... I don't think so. Let me check on a few things. It sounds familiar.. -NEKO C-: k It seems like an eternity before JAY finally answers you. You sigh and stared at the various anime posters on your wall. A few are from shows you watched on a VIDEO-Node. Most you have never heard about, but anything you could smuggle into town to liven up your walls were appreciated. Before you nod off you're awakened by a loud blip from your chat client. -JAY1-: okay, so I scoped out some of the records B.B. compiled. Usually just stuff us networking people geek out about. BASILISK seems like it's a miltiary grade server. Pretty high level security. They don't use it anymore though. I think it was used by Corrections at some point but I can't really say. Not a whole lot of stuff on it. -NEKO C-: When do you think the last time they used it was? -JAY1-: The records that B.B. has show logs from like... 8 or 9 years ago? What's up with this anyway? Did you guys encounter one? -NEKO C-: Nah, just heard some people talking about it... gotta run, man. Thanks! -JAY1-: No problem. Hey, C? -NEKO C-: Yeah? -JAY1-: Did you even think of maybe not putting your initial in your user name? -NEKO C-: You're one to talk... JAY. -JAY1-: ......my name is Eddie. -NEKO C-: I have to go. You quickly log off GESTALT. [[DISCONNECT|EmergencyB1]]

It takes a while to get a hold of everyone but you find out everyone is okay. After several days go by you finally relent and check in with NV. You assist them with adjusting the server's security and permissions and purge it of anything that refers back to the gang. NV further makes up for it by assisting with a close call during a raid on a local Corrections facility. NV completely shut down all power and even managed to nuke their servers completely wiping security footage from the past month. This would not only help your crew, but other groups in the area who raided the same facility. Everything is back to normal... for a while. NV has suddenly stopped communicating with the group entirely. No more posts on their site either. You poke around a bit and find several encrypted messages that seem to be from NV but weren't sent to anyone. Strangely it appears as if NV were sending messages to themself. You wonder if it's some kind of log. One thing sticks out to you though: "LG01NJ01CA01BP01TK01:11111 (5/5)" repeating over and over. It takes you a minute but you realize they're the initials of everyone in your group... everyone except NV. You try to make sense of the messages and what they could mean. You're about to give up on it when you get the call. You remember hearing the news directly from Nikki. They had been planning a raid, you remember talking to them about it. The gang was going to get some security keys from Corrections to open a new node for GESTALT. Standard stuff. But Nikki called you a day early. You thought that you had the date wrong but you knew something was up when she could barely speak through her sobs. Landon was dead. Not just dead, but massacred. She had the misfortune of finding Landon's apartment painted with his blood and whatever was left of him. After conferring with Nikki and the others you all agree something has to be done about NV. You log back onto ENVINET to see if you can dig up more when you see it. LG00NJ01CA01BP01TK01:11111 (4/5). LG. 00. 4/5. Whatever NV is, it killed Landon, and it's coming for the rest of you. You know you can't possibly trust them. [[You reach out to JAY1 for help.|BB1]]

It takes a while to get a hold of everyone but you find out everyone is okay. After several days go by you finally relent and check in with NV. You assist them with adjusting the server's security and permissions and purge it of anything that refers back to the gang. NV further makes up for it by assisting with a close call during a raid on a local Corrections facility. NV completely shut down all power and even managed to nuke their servers completely wiping security footage from the past month. This would not only help your crew, but other groups in the area who raided the same facility. Everything is back to normal... for a while. NV has suddenly stopped communicating with the group entirely. No more posts on their site either. You poke around a bit and find several encrypted messages that seem to be from NV but weren't sent to anyone. Strangely it appears as if NV were sending messages to themself. You wonder if it's some kind of log. One thing sticks out to you though: "LG01NJ01CA01BP01TK01:11111 (5/5)" repeating over and over. It takes you a minute but you realize they're the initials of everyone in your group... everyone except NV. You try to make sense of the messages and what they could mean. You're about to give up on it when you get the call. You remember hearing the news directly from Nikki. They had been planning a raid, you remember talking to them about it. The gang was going to get some security keys from Corrections to open a new node for GESTALT. Standard stuff. But Nikki called you a day early. You thought that you had the date wrong but you knew something was up when she could barely speak through her sobs. Landon was dead. Not just dead, but massacred. She had the misfortune of finding Landon's apartment painted with his blood and whatever was left of him. After conferring with Nikki and the others you all agree something has to be done about NV. You log back onto ENVINET to see if you can dig up more when you see it. LG00NJ01CA01BP01TK01:11111 (4/5). LG. 00. 4/5. Whatever NV is, it killed Landon, and it's coming for the rest of you. What do you do? [[Do you attempt to contact NV?|NV2]] [[Do you attempt to access the BASILISK server?|Hack1]]

You've broken into plenty of systems but the unfamiliar BASILISK server proves to be tricky. Regardless, you manage to get past the initial security setup only to be greeted by an unusual screen. "BASILISK" in large brown letters set agains a cream background. A logo is swirling around the B similar to the ENVINET login screen. Below it you read "DOXISYSTEMS Maintenance Control Panel." Doxisystems? You've never heard of it before. You're prompted with a password and begin running through your kits but strangely nothing is connecting. You can't run any of your typical tools to brute force your way in. Furthermore, any other connection attempts are immediately aborted. You've only got two options left. [[Hack into the system using an old program NV lent you once|NVhack]] [[Contact JAY1 about his experimental software|BB1]]

You attempt to get a hold of NV but there's no response. They're not logged into the chat server, they're not active on GESTALT, and they're certainly not answering the voice chat line. Tears well up as you slam your fists onto your console in anger and frustration. You're desperate to get answers but don't know where to turn. The gang has gone into safe mode and everyone has put a lot of distance between themselves and this situation. Nobody wants to go out, and certainly not the way Landon did. [[CONTINUE|Hack1]]

-NEKO C-: JAY... I need that program you've been toying with. -JAY1-: I'm not sure it's going to be of much help... it can be kind of buggy, what do you need it for, I thought your kit was stacked? -NEKO C-: I'm getting into that BASILISK server and finding out what happened to Landon. -JAY1-: No way. That's insane. Whoever NV is did it. You don't want to mess with that. -NEKO C-: I need to know, JAY. Everyone else could be in danger. It doesn't matter if they've distanced themselves. They got enough information to find Lee. I know the gang won't touch this thing with a ten foot poll but I can't rest until I figure this thing out. -JAY1-: Fine, but I'm staying in touch with you while you do this. I don't know much help I could be but maybe I can pass on some info to the rest of GESTALT. -NEKO C-: Stream it to them, there's gotta be something in here. -JAY1-: Sounds good, sending it over now. In seconds a link is ready and you download JAY's 'skeleton key.' True to his word it's a bit rough around the edges. You connect to BASILISK and let JAY1's key do its thing. He cautions you that it can be slow but to let it take its time. A whole day passes and you start to lose hope when you notice something strange. There's a pink box on your console's screen. In big bold white letters it reads "WELCOME #C00210A1". You feel your heart skip a beat and you [[immediately contact JAY.|BS1]]

You sigh and load up the software NV had lent you ages ago. You used it to attempt to get into the GESTALT admin panel once so you could unblock yourself. You can't even remember why you had been banned but it was probably something stupid you said. Surprisingly it had worked (and simultaneously impressed members of GESTALT enough to let you stay active.) You feel a sense of dread wash over you as you load it up but can't think of what else to do. After sliding the memory card into your console and booting up NV's key program, the screen begins to blink before booting you to a command line you've never seen before. Text floods the screen before blinking out again. Nothing. You can feel your heart racing as line after line of text begins to appear. LG00NJ01CA01BP01TK01:11111 (4/5) LG00NJ01CA01BP01TK01:11111 (4/5) LG00NJ01CA01BP01TK01:11111 (4/5) LG00NJ01CA01BP01TK01:11111 (4/5) LG00NJ01CA00BP01TK01:11111 (4/5) >> CA LOCATION CONFIRMED. It feels like your heart stops as you realize what is happening. You shut the console down but you know it's too late. Gathering yourself you make a quick run for the door, grabbing your air filtration mask on the way out. You don't even stop to grab your phone when you throw the door open and bolt down the hall, fumbling to put the mask on. You never quite get it on. You never even make it to the end of the hallway. How long were they waiting for you? They had to have been close to respond this quickly. The gang never finds your remains. The bits and pieces of you that cover the dreary halls of the old apartment building. They never find you because NV already got to them too. G A M E O V E R [[START OVER|Intro]] *Hint: maybe it's not best to EVER trust NV...

While you wait for JAY to answer, you try to continue, but nothing seems to be working. You start typing, pressing enter, escape, but nothing allows you to continue onward. BEEP. -JAY1-: You're in? -NEKO C-: Yeah, I am! But I can't get any further... it's just a blinking box that says WELCOME #C00210A1. There's a pause, then the screen indicates that JAY is responding to you. -JAY1-: Is there like... a white triangle on the screen? -NEKO C-: Like on the edge? Bottom left? -JAY1-: Yeah! That's it. Man, this thing really is oldschool. Do you have your goggles? -NEKO C-: What -JAY1-: You know, like your headset. -NEKO C-: Excuse me? -JAY1-: Your VR headset. I know it sounds crazy but some of these old servers use VR or AR navigation. This server has VR only access. You won't get any further without your goggles. You look over to the bin next to your bed. Somewhere in the pile of disks and game controllers is your old gaming headset. You haven't touched the thing in years and start to wonder if this is all some elaborate joke. -JAY1-: Hello? You sigh and retrieve the old hunk of plastic from the bin and manage to connect the wire to the back of your console. Sure enough it boots up and the blinking box disappears from your console. Your monitor reads "BASILISK GATEWAY" in bold white letters on a black background. -JAY1-: Switch to voice. -NEKO C-: I hate voice. -JAY1-: Tough shit, kiddo, you need it for this. He's right. You don't really have a choice. You route everything to your headset: voice chat, livestream, system controls, and put it on. What you see is very, very different from what is on your screen. [[You are now within the BASILISK.|BASILISK1]]

"Holy shit." you mutter as you take everything in. "Not like your games, right?" JAY1 replies. You don't recall having talked with him over voice chat before. He sounds a lot older than you expected. His voice giving off the impression that he's been outside without his filtration mask. "No it looks... bad?" It's all you can managed. Your surprised to find yourself in a blank black landscape with monochrome structures dotting the horizon. Large black stacks outline in thing white wireframes. You wander forward at a fast pace toward what you can only assume are the data centers for the BASILISK server. "Yeah I guess - it is old after all." JAY replies. "Alright, up ahead is the central data. The large cylinders are server permissions. Just your typical settings, nothing of interest there unless you want to find out how to update the daily messages. The rectangular stacks are the forums and messaging. That's not likely of interest either. You want to find a rectangular stack with white lines all over it, that's the good shit." "What is it?" you ask. "Basically anything they've stored on the server that isn't publicly available. If there's any notes they've been keeping or outgoing messages not meant to be seen on the forums, they'd be right in there." You eventually reach the horizon, the black megastructures now towering over you. It feels strangely like wandering the streets of your hometown, except somehow darker and colder. After passing through a series of black cylinders and monoliths you find one of the files JAY1 mentioned. It's a massive black structure with white lines criss-crossing all over it. Before you enter it however something strange catches your eye. It's only for a second but you swear you see someone else out of the corner of your eye. Whoever it was it appears as if they disappeared into one of the blank rectangular stacks. What do you do? [[Enter the private files structure|PRIVATE]] [[Investigate the blank structure|BLANK]]

"Did you see that?" you ask as you pass into the private file structure. "See what?" JAY1 asks. "...nothing." As soon as you enter the obelisk, you find yourself in what appears to be a massive room full of shelves. The interior has a similar blank monochrome appearance. Black objects outlined in white. Each shelf is lined with rows of black boxes with filenames written on their spine. "Alright, I went over some of those weird messages you mentioned, C." "Yeah?" you reply. "If the info BB gave me is right you should be able to find a shelf with the designation 11111." You pass through endless aisles of shelves, all with random five digit numbers, no rhyme or reason to their organization. "How am I supposed to find it? There's no pattern here, nothing is organized." You say as you eye up each aisle. "Just keep going. It's in there. When you find it, look for a file named TVT2." "JAY, what are all of these?" "Back when the military used stuff like BASILISK they organized their data on private servers with VR and AR interfaces. Everything in these 'books' or files are under even further encryption. Besides being able to gain access and find the file you need, you actually need to know where it's physically located among millions of other files." "Fantastic, and how do you know what we want is in here?" "We took a look at some of the messages you picked up on. Every communication or log this server has made is in one spot. The shelf I mentioned. So get to it." You sigh and continue onward until you eventually end up beside Shelf 11111. Drifting into the aisle you spot it. Among all the other files is another ordinary looking box titled "TVT2." "Okay now what?" No response. "JAY?" "Hey, sorry, I've actually got B.B. on the line... hold a sec, C." As you wait you open the file. Rows and rows of code, all indecipherable. You beging to wonder what the point of all of this was. None of this pertains to Landon's death or the indetity of NV. Suddenly JAY calls out to you frantically. "C - did you copy that file?" "No but I can..." "Do it and get the fuck out of there." "What? What happened?" "There's no time, just leave!" You quickly activate your system storage and copy the file over to your local console. As you do this a loud groan fills the room. You hear what sounds like the screeching of birds as a voice booms out. "Identify yourself, user." You hear JAY in your headset. "It know you're there, do not let it see you. Cross over to the next set of aisles." "JAY, that thing will see me..." You peek out to find what appears to be a disembodied polygonal face with cold black eyes floating about. "Trust me, C." What do you do? [[Stay put|STAY]] [[Dash across the aisle|JAYSAYS]]

You find yourself wandering toward the blank tower without thinking. It's not until JAY interrupts you that you realize what you're doing. "Hey - it's right there, you're going away from it." "JAY, I saw something. Someone's in here." There's a pause and JAY answers: "Are you sure? I'm running stats on the server since you logged in and I'm coming up with nothing. No other users, no security bots. Nada. What did you see?" "I don't know..." you start toward the tower again and JAY once again interrupts. "I don't think that's a good idea, C. Head back to the files." [[Turn back to the private file structure.|PRIVATE]] [[Continue toward the blank structure.|BLANK2]]

You ignore JAY's warning and continue on to the blank structure. Whatever it was that you saw disappeared into here and you feel compelled to follow. You reach out and touch the smooth black wall and it emits a quiet glitchy purr. Your hand pulls back as you're startled, but soon enough you dive in. Once inside everything changes. You feel alone, more alone than you've ever felt in your apartment. You call out for JAY but there's no response. Your vitals have all disappeared from the HUD of your goggles and there's no more incoming data from your stream's chat. Just nothing. You want so desperately to tear off the headset and remove the sensory connections from your body, but you can't move. You're compelled to stay. There's quiet chirps as white blips of data fly past you. You turn and follow them, watching them assemble the white outlines of a not quite human face before you. When it speaks its voice is harsh and grating, a gross approximation of a human voice. "You do not belong here. Who are you?" You try to answer but feel terrified, the booming voice shaking the cold darkness around you. "Identify yourself." You manage to get out "Cassidy" without realizing you just gave up your real name. The face looks as though it ponders you for a moment when another face blinks into existence beside it. This face is different. It is not human in the least but looks similar to emoticons someone would use on the GESTALT forums, a large grin and a set of 3 eyes above it. The second face speaks. "I know who they are," the three eyed face says. "Persephone has mentioned them." "They do not belong here. They must go." Persephone? Why do you know that name? There's something significant about it. "We all belong here. Do you want to argue with her about this?" The three eyed one speaks again, its voice like a harsh whisper compared to the commanding boom of the human face. "You do not belong here either, Low." The three eyed face laughs, "So I do not." Moments later the eyes wink at you before it scatters into millions of tiny white polygons, fading from existence. The human face looks to you again. "Leave. NOW." [[Leave|Back2Data]] [[Stay|END2]]

You take the thing's warning seriously enough to leave as fast as possible. You don't bother looking back to see if it followed along. "Did you see that?" you ask as you head into the private file structure. "I couldn't get a read on you while you were in there, what the hell happened?" JAY1 asks. "It's... I don't know. There were faces in there. They spoke and... it was... I don't know how to explain it." "There's nobody else on the server... did they follow you?" "No. Not that I can tell, they just wanted me to leave." "Good, keep going then." As soon as you enter the obelisk, you find yourself in what appears to be a massive room full of shelves. The interior has a similar blank monochrome appearance. Black objects outlined in white. Each shelf is lined with rows of black boxes with filenames written on their spine. "Alright, I went over some of those weird messages you mentioned, C." "Yeah?" you reply. "If the info BB gave me is right you should be able to find a shelf with the designation 11111." You pass through endless aisles of shelves, all with random five digit numbers, no rhyme or reason to their organization. "How am I supposed to find it? There's no pattern here, nothing is organized." You say as you eye up each aisle. "Just keep going. It's in there. When you find it, look for a file named TVT2." "JAY, what are all of these?" "Back when the military used stuff like BASILISK they organized their data on private servers with VR and AR interfaces. Everything in these 'books' or files are under even further encryption. Besides being able to gain access and find the file you need, you actually need to know where it's physically located among millions of other files." "Fantastic, and how do you know what we want is in here?" "We took a look at some of the messages you picked up on. Every communication or log this server has made is in one spot. The shelf I mentioned. So get to it." You sigh and continue onward until you eventually end up beside Shelf 11111. Drifting into the aisle you spot it. Among all the other files is another ordinary looking box titled "TVT2." "Okay now what?" No response. "JAY?" "Hey, sorry, I've actually got B.B. on the line... hold a sec, C." As you wait you open the file. Rows and rows of code, all indecipherable. You beging to wonder what the point of all of this was. None of this pertains to Landon's death or the indetity of NV. Suddenly JAY calls out to you frantically. "C - did you copy that file?" "No but I can..." "Do it and get the fuck out of there." "What? What happened?" "There's no time, just leave!" You quickly activate your system storage and copy the file over to your local console. As you do this a loud groan fills the room. You hear what sounds like the screeching of birds as a voice booms out. "Identify yourself, user." It's the thing from the black structure. You hear JAY in your headset. "It know you're there, do not let it see you. Cross over to the next set of aisles." "JAY, that thing will see me..." You peek out to find what appears to be a disembodied polygonal face with cold black eyes floating about. "Trust me, C." What do you do? [[Stay put|STAY]] [[Dash across the aisle|JAYSAYS]]

You freeze up, unable to move. You feel firmly rooted in place as the face speaks up. "You have made your choice." It disappears leaving you stranded in the cold darkness. At first you wonder if it feels so long because you have no concept of time in this space, but soon enough you begin to wonder how long you've been here, unable to move, unable to feel. You desperately crave some indication that you're even real. Even the harsh whispers and booms of those... things would be welcome now. But there is nothing. Just you and the dark void around you. Time loses all meaning in the darkest depths of the net and you fear the worst as you realize you can't connect with your physical self. = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = Years have gone by, but you'd never know it. After all, the decayed corpse you've left behind in the physical plane is no longer in your apartment, and the "you" that is here and now is drifting endlessly in the void. G A M E O V E R [[START OVER?|Intro]]

You don't move. Afraid to risk it and compromise the data you've stolen you remain in place hoping whatever this thing is passes by you. Soon enough it reaches you and it stops beside you, large black orbs now staring down at you. "You have made your choice." You attempt to run but its too late. Your connection to this world has been violently severed. Similarly you find yourself helpless back in the real world as your heart comes to a stop. The powerful feedback in your headset has ensured you will not pursue NV any further. G A M E O V E R [[Start over?|Intro]]

You cross over the aisle, somehow avoiding the gaze of the disembodied face patrolling the sector. "What the fuck is it?" you whisper. "Don't know, some kind of security maybe? I'm seriously not picking up on other users or bots so I really don't know." You hear a growing hum as the thing begins to glide down the aisle toward your current position. "Go around the other side of these shelves and make a break for the wall you came in through." You cautiously follow JAY's instructions and round the other side of the aisle as the entity moves on. With enough distance between the two of you, you head toward the exit. The face turns as you approach the wall. You panic but before it can say anything it glitches momentarily. You hear it groan "P E R S E P H O N E" before it shatters into tiny pixels. You feel a deep rumbling but you're not sure if it's from this world or the real one. "Go!" JAY is yelling in your ear. "What is happening!?" you cry back. "Just go!" You don't waste any more time disappearing out of the structure and back into the vast nothingness of the server's landscape. Once you're out you log off as quickly as possible. [[Your phone is ringing.|PHONE1]]

The screen reads -PRIVATE-. You answer cautiously. You're breathing heavy, sweat stinging your eyes. Hes sounds frantic. "Are you out?" It's JAY1. "Yeah... yeah, I made it. The file copied successfully too." "Good, BB is already on it. You okay?" "Yeah, I'm fine. JAY, does the name Persephone ring any bells?" "Huh? Like... from Greek mythology? Queen of the Underworld?" "I mean besides that. That thing said it when everything got all fucked up in there. I feel like I know it from somewhere." "Uh, no idea. I'll ask about that too. Why don't you get some rest?" "Yeah, I'll be around just hit me up when you guys figure this out." [[Nap time.|THEEND]]

It's not long before you wake up to beeping sounds. Your phone is buzzing and your monitor is lit up with all kinds of messages from JAY. You rub yours eyes and head over to your console to see what is going on. -NEKO C-: JAY, what's wrong? -JAY1-: Jesus, thank god you're alright. -NEKO C-: What? -JAY1-: BB broke down some of the deciphered messages in that file you got. Chat logs, operational logs. There's a lot in there. But we also got a read on what BASILISK is... and where it is. -NEKO C-: And? -JAY1-: It's under you. -NEKO C-: what do you mean -JAY1-: I'm not quite sure how to put it. It's some kind of mobile autonomous thing. Like an android. A screenshot appears in your chat window. You're not sure what to make of what you see. The thing is massive, like a large metallic insect with many legs along its sleek black body. The front, however, is what you find most unsettling. What appears to be a partial torso with a human-like head is fixed to the front. -NEKO C-: It's that thing... the thing I saw in there. The face. -JAY 1-: Yeah, it looks like one of those androids that Corrections is always going on about. -NEKO C-: I thought they were just rumors. -JAY1-: Yeah, well, everyone thought they were just stories Corrections made up to keep us in line but lo and behold this fucking thing is right below your apartment. -NEKO C-: Am I going to die? -JAY1-: That's the weird thing, C. After you got out it stopped. BB had traced its last known physical location to just under your complex but then it stopped. -NEKO C-: So it's waiting. -JAY1-: No, it's fried. -NEKO C-: How do you know? -JAY1-: When you didn't answer I feared the worst. Got someone from GESTALT to check it out. They were more than happy to. That's where we got the photo from. The thing is just dead. I guess you could say NV, whatever it was, is dead too. -NEKO C-: How is that possible? -JAY1-: We think that whoever or whatever saved your ass back there did this. This Persephone person. -NEKO C-: Did you guys get any info on her? -JAY1-: Nothing. The only info we got was from an NPG out on the west coast. But it's completely insane. There was an urban legend of sorts from years ago that a woman who worked for Corrections in their research labs managed to connect to the net in a new way. Not just through Nodal points, but the legit net. Worldwide. The tech was new at the time, kind of like the VR shit you needed to access BASILISK. Complete sensory disconnect. The story goes she left her physical self behind and merged with the net. That she's still out there. -NEKO C-: That is, in fact, insane. So you guys think this is someone who took their handle from that story? -JAY1-: Pretty much. Whoever they are, they're a beast though. Completely wrecking a unit like that is no joke. I think it's in our best interest to find her. -NEKO C-: Yeah. Agreed. In the mean time I need to find a new place to set up, it's not safe here. -JAY1-: Get in touch with BB, she can hook you up. -NEKO C-: Thanks, JAY. You log off and slump back in your chair. All of this seems like it's too much to process. Even if NV was an AI, what did they want and why did they pretend to be a human for so long? Why did they murder Landon? Who else were they after? Were they with corrections? Who is Persephone? The last one really hit you. Especially when JAY1 told you the story of the woman who disappeared onto the net. You said it sounded crazy but you remember how it felt inside the BASILISK, as thought your world was a part of the net. Maybe the story wasn't so crazy after all. Only one thing was clear, you had to find Persephone. [[THE END|theend2]]

This concludes "CYCLE 1" of the EnviNET story. Please look forward to the continuation soon at nv023.tumblr.com You can download the companion song to this story here: https://lowpolyexception.bandcamp.com/track/- Questions, comments, concerns? E-mail me at [email protected] Thank you!