[Entrance Exam] Arrival

[lockdownmods]

You wake up. There’s a dull, throbbing pain in your head that lasts for a few moments. You’re slightly disoriented at first, but once you come to your senses, you realize that you are not where you were last. You lift your head and realize that you're sitting at a desk. You aren’t quite sure where this is, exactly, but from what you can tell--desk and all--this appears to be some sort of...fancy classroom. Maybe there are others in the room who are as lost and confused as you are; maybe you’re the only one. At least you’re not in the dark. The room is well-lit, giving you a proper view of the blue and silver designs that make up the school’s colors.

You feel something around your wrist, so look down at your hands and notice a strange sort of bracelet. Some of you may be able to discern that it's some sort of Fitbit, but try as you might, you cannot remove it.

You only have a few more seconds to process what’s happening before you hear something buzzing on the desk you’re sitting at.

It appears to be a tablet of some sort. It turns on automatically due to a notification that pops up on the screen. The notification reads, “Good morning, Prospect. Welcome to Fayflower University’s Entrance Exam!”

There’s a “Next” button that leads you to another notification: “Please spend the next hour introducing yourself to your fellow Prospects. More information on your peers can be found on the "Profiles" app. Failure to engage will result in punishment. Be sure to adhere to the rules, which can be found in an application called “Rules” on this device.”

There’s one last notification: “When the hour is up, report to the Gymnasium immediately for your Orientation. You will be given further information and instruction there.”

You exit out of the notification. You now understand what the notification means: the tablet has four applications: Rules, Tasks, Profiles, and Maps. If you try to click on the Tasks app, another notification pops up indicating that the application is currently unaccessible. The Maps app only shows you a map of the building you're in right now. There's a little marker indicating your location as well: The one and only classroom in the vicinity.

A large red timer appears at the bottom of the screen. 59:59.

You'd better get started.

Comments

[niugen]

[ This is why Nine favors logic above all else. The cat talks but it can't read, what a travesty. ]

...nevermind. These are profiles of everyone here. [ Here look, he'll point out his own with the corresponding picture. ]

[recodified]

Profiles? You mean information? What...? [ She reaches out her paw and taps the screen.

As luck would have it, she's found something: the text-to-speech function. As such, the tablet starts blaring out Nine's information, and Hollyleaf recoils in surprise. ]

It talks...!!

[niugen]

[ Notably he frowns briefly as the tablet reads off his occupation. ]

It's essentially a portable computer. There's one for every individual here, including you.

[recodified]

I have no idea what that is.

[ But she listens attentively. Words she doesn't understand, YouTube and hacking and chemistry-- but some she does. Memory recall, workaholic (that one she can infer), idealism... Twelve.

That's one of the others here. ] ...You know one of the others here?

[niugen]

[ He taps his chin, thoughtful. ]

An electric book that can connect to all the libraries in the world. [ Nine has patience for some things, and absolutely none for others. Here he understands not grasping the concept of certain norms—it happened to him after all. ]

Yeah, we live together. [ No harm in saying that when they were going to do the same thing here, even with that stupid rule. ]

[recodified]

[ Of course, this prompts a new set of questions: ]

Book? Libraries? What in the name of StarClan are those?

[niugen]

[ .................................. ]

An object on which those "strange marks" are transcribed as a means of communication and storing information. A library is a building which houses these objects, called books. 

[recodified]

[ Look, she's a wild cat, there's a lot of things she doesn't know-- with his explanation, she takes a moment and then nods in comprehension. When she's learning things, it's easier not to be freaking out. Thus, this is the calmest she's been. ]

Oh... You've whole collections... And it just has your knowledge? You don't...pass things on, through story?

[niugen]

[ But you're still a talking cat, Hollyleaf! The calm is appreciated though, and he doesn't actually...mind this. For reasons, OK. ]

Yes, going back thousands and thousands of years. Before written language was invented, humans passed things on through oral stories. There are still practitioners of oral narration, but it's largely for entertainment.

[recodified]

[ Talking isn't a weird thing for her, it' the communicating with you!!! ]

How...odd. But, most of the stories the elders tell are more for amusement anyway. [ Her tail twitches. ] Thank you. ...Show me my own. My profile on that book. ...Please. [ She dips her head, somehow polite. ]

[niugen]

This is a tablet—it does more than a book. [ Nine can't help the correction, but he does oblige, even going so far as to push the text-to-voice function himself. ]

There.

[recodified]

Tablet... [ She murmurs the word but it does no good to try and commit it to memory--because the thing reading off her own information stops her cold.

Atonement. It's like the familiar feeling of claws, curling into her chest. Like she can barely breathe. She blinks a few times, quickly, but the rest of it... It doesn't get any better.

Her claws scratch at the floor without her awareness, and she's staring at the tablet and its nonsense markings for longer than it's speaking for, all of it settling in.

Over-devotion. Adapting to dark places. Traitors.

After several long moments, she remembers where she is. That she's surrounded by...by Twolegs. She barely manages to choke out a mew in response: ]

Thank you.

[niugen]

[ Nine's quiet as he watches her react to her profile—his wasn't the most pleasant either, though it could have been a lot worse. When it's done he simply nods and moves on, her discomfort is apparent and he has no reason (nor desire) to make it worse. ]

There's one for each individual here, you should listen to them later. Strengths and weaknesses imply that this information will be utilized at some point—they could have easily employed a regular biography otherwise.

[recodified]

[ She nods, almost absentmindedly. So many personal things. So many opportunities for them to question her, more than they already have. It's a bit distracting. ]

I'll... Yes. Yes, that would be beneficial. I'll do that.