[Event] Storm of Memories

[trpmods]

Being a He Row on Agra-10 means life has a lot to it that isn’t certain. Who knows when the people you have come to know are going to leave, or when new people are going to come into the picture. Are those you are surrounded with the sort to become your best friend, your lover, or your most deeply held enemy? Would the greatest dangers you face end up being animals or monsters, the powers that hold sway beyond your ability to lash out at, or perhaps do they come from nature itself?

At least on that last matter new advances have been made, thanks to the forging of new bonds with the Agrii as well as new programs tunneled into their systems. Think of it like a specialized form of weather tracking satellites, created by the sensor suite on a ship well beyond your current reach. It picks up the tell tale signs of approaching danger in the form of an energy storm, and two systems launch into activity. First of those is something that those who may have pried into the Agrii computer systems may have learned: the Agrii Ship begins to move to a safe distance. The second thing is relatively new, and resultant from a deep bond forged between two young people.

So, on the morning of June 11th, a general message triggers on all He Rows communication devices. It’s audio, and this time it isn’t the familiar tones of Ga Re. This time it is a nervous voice. A child’s voice.

Greetings to the He Rows, is Te Mi. When you visit us in past Friend Donnie spoke to me very much, and taught me many things. Friend Donnie show me how to watch some things on our ship, to help He Rows be warned for storm coming. The things on ship show that storm is coming. But storm seems different?

Normal storm like Donnie show in old stuff, it look like big empty spot on screen. Normal storm is like when a room is dark and you see things with warm eye and know where they are, but then there is big spot in room that is so cold that warm eye cannot see it, but you know it is there because it is not warm. This storm is more like being in warm room and seeing lots of dark spots, like someone throwing ice balls around. They are still big compared to He Rows, but they are small compared to normal.

Us not know what this change mean. Just that is change. Ship is already moving for Agrii safety, we are more sensing tive to storm than He Rows. Think I could normally tell how soon big spot storm would take to get to He Rows, but I not know how to figure out small ice ball storms. Just know that storms are coming, and I promise friend Donnie to tell He Rows.

Please all He Rows be safe.

From there the audio message ends, and unless someone sets up to reply quickly, chances are they won’t get back in touch with Te Mi for a bit. Storms really do play hell on electrical systems. But what does he mean by ‘small ice ball storms’? Those He Rows that don’t heed the warning, or don’t get it as they don’t keep their communication device close at hand, will get to find out. But that doesn’t start until the next day.

True to Te Mi’s word things are different when the storm hits the next day. Actually, it might be more accurate to call it storms, because there isn’t just one. It’s more like there is a small cluster of them that end up rolling over Temba irregularly over the course of the next week. They blow in suddenly from the west, cover only parts of the city with their darkened skies and vision reducing rain, linger over an area for almost an hour, and then seem to roll on. Sometimes they strike where no He Row is, leaving them as dangerous zones one can deliberately walk into. Other times they seem to strike just where He Rows are gathering. What is true is that they don’t seem to be predictable.

Like with the storms of the past He Rows can expect to lose all power, meaning electricity, technology, and also any special abilities they have. This is always a risk for the coming and going of energy storms, the risk beyond the rain and winds and lightning. Navigating within the limits of even these localized storms will be just as difficult, confusing, and dangerous as they ever are. There is one other notable change, though, over the smaller size and the strange comings and goings of the energy storm.

It’s the energy ghosts. In the past they have been strange enough. They appear in the forms of people you know from home, people who have gone home, people you think you remember from once upon a dream. They still linger, sometimes in a distance, sometimes ignoring you, sometimes beckoning you into harm by guiding you into unstable buildings, toward the edges of unfilled holes in the roads, or even near the edge of the pit down into the mines. But that’s only a few of them.

No, the bigger problem is that this time there aren't only people familiar to you in the storms as these ethereal spirits. This time you might see yourself.

Whether the ghost you see is friend, foe, or something else, if they are familiar to you then they might just wait. Wait for you to get close enough to almost reach out and touch them. In the moment, that close, you realize something. They don’t just look familiar, they look perfectly out of a memory. Which makes sense because once you come close enough that memory comes to life. This ghost isn’t trying to lure you to something, this ghost is showing something.

In fact, the whole storm seems to be getting in on the action. Suddenly the thunder isn’t really all that obvious, and the rain doesn’t seem to be soaking through your clothes. All that obscured visibility from the rain, well, it’s now starting to look like somewhere you’ve been, somewhere you remember. And that ghost, well maybe they aren’t alone now. If they were you, maybe they are you but younger to fit the situation. Or maybe they were a friend and now more of your friends are appearing. They are like actors in a play, except the play is a moment in your own life. A moment of memory that you can step into and play along with, or if you’re being stubborn and refusing it, well, the storm can provide an energy ghost to play that role just as well.

Maybe this moment was traumatic. Maybe it was inspiring to you and shaped your life. Maybe it was your greatest defeat, or your most lofty victory. What matters is that it is a moment that marked you, a moment that led to you becoming who you are.

And you’re not the only one who can see it.

No, those who have been here for more than a year might connect the strangeness of this storm to something else. Something from this time last year. Something from this time two years ago. Something from many years before that if they were with the Fleet.

It seems like this time you weren’t brought to it.

No, this year Calibrations was brought to you.


FAQ
What are the dates of this event?

Te Mi’s message will go out on June 11th. He Rows will have the choice to immediately react and head on off to find shelter or maybe head to Sh’Ka in hopes of avoiding the storm altogether as that has been helpful in the past. Or they can ignore the warning and stick around for their own purposes. In that case the cluster storms will begin on June 12th and run through June 18th. Players are of course welcome to forward and back date the event as needed and desired. This will be the only event offered in June.

Can I opt out of this event?

Absolutely! Sh’Ka is always an option for He Rows to make use of. But in addition to that, the strange, irregular structure of the storm this time means that we’re just as happy for He Rows to end up ‘lucky’ by hiding in some random area in and around Temba and just managing not to get hit as they move around. Also please note that underground tends to be a good ward against the effects of storms, so heading into the mines or the crystal/hot spring caves by the beach are probably good too.

Are any areas more likely to be hit by the storms?

The center of Temba (aka the square and the first ring of buildings around it) is the most likely space, followed by the Hangar. These areas will be hit more often than anywhere else.

Can we use the ships to ride out the storm?

While you can use the shuttles before the storms to head to Sh’Ka, once the first storm hits the ships are a very dangerous prospect. Even their systems can be knocked out, and if they are, you will be trapped in the dark with no power. There’s enough air in the main green space to keep you good until power comes back, but the water there isn’t exactly potable, and the greenhouse locks down with no power so you won’t get food. Maybe it’s better to avoid the ships… unless you want a locked in scenario. We won’t stop you.

Do normal power loss rules apply?

Yep. No powers/abilities/magic/technology will function while in the limits of the small storms, just like normal.

Will the Network work during the storms?

Surprisingly, yes. Since the storm will not hit the whole city, the areas that are not actively being hit by a storm at the moment will be able to make use of the Network. This includes communication within Temba, and to Sh’Ka. The Agrii, however, will not be reachable.

Is this event actually a full on Calibrations?

Absolutely not. Calibrations can’t be an every year thing without putting a strain on the mods and player base alike. So this year we are offering this Calibrations-like event to allow you to have some memory share and vulnerability through it, but also not trapping characters in place in the same way. In this way people that might not otherwise want to do Calibrations but might want to do memory share-like moments can get a touch of the action as well.

This also means that characters do not have a Calibrations ‘room’ and they do not experience this only in their sleep. They cannot explore other people’s spaces. If two characters are caught together in a storm then one character is seeing only one memory of the other character, and it isn’t of their choosing. Given there is no active choice in warning away from some memories and offering others, we do ask our players to make sure you use content warning notes in any post you make, both in the general format if you use it, and in prompt headers or with parentheticals. Safety and comfort is always our goal.

How many memories can we show other people?

We ask that players limit themselves to one or two memories. If you go for two, try and make them wildly different. There is no limitation to what sort of memory they can be this time (such as shameful confessions from ghosts in the blizzard, or the horror stories from October 2022), and good ones can be as interesting as bad ones. The only important theme is that they should be moments that shaped a character deeply. I’m sure everyone can generate a handful of those for their characters

Do we have to play out the role of our character in their scene?

He Rows seeing their own memories might either see another energy ghost playing their role, leaving them as much of an outside observer as anyone else, or they may step into the moment of the memory and act it out. Think of it either as observing a memory from outside, or taking a role in it sort of like a Star Trek holodeck. If you want your character to play along but you don’t think they would, well, the storm could always give them a bit of a compulsion if you need it to.

Can these memories be interrupted?

Yes, at any time, by either party. The storm ghosts and the illusion that comes with them can be broken up by either stepping out of line with what is expected, or actively trying to disturb it. Grab what looks like a vase (and feels like a stone) and throw it at a ghostly projection and you’ll definitely start breaking things up. The memory will roll on either to its natural end, or until the person it is the memory of or any observers take action to interrupt it. We leave that choice to the players.

Are there any long term repercussions to this new storm?

Other than another He Row or He Rows sharing in some formative memory of yours? There is one thing of note, but that won’t come up until July. We’ll talk to you about it then. For now, embrace the storm to your heart’s content, or avoid it and work around it. It’s all up to you.

Wait, I had another question!

Cool! Hit us up in the questions and comments thread below.

Okay but did you really just imply Agrii have heat vision?

Did we? o3 )