5.7 billion perish...

I'm very confused, you seem to have very contradictory statements in your description

What? We've lost the understanding of a simple incandescent light bulb, but the internet is still up?

Is there some sort of fascist government still functioning? In an apocalypse situation, anyone trying to tell me what to do will probably eventually be staring down the barrel of my shotgun.

So? If I'm struggling to find water and food, why should I care about anyone else? Hell, in this type of situation, I'd probably end up having to kill a few people myself.

 

Keep in mind, not all the survivors are going to be "nice" people. You will have murderers, thieves, child abusers, terrorists among the survivors. I also assume there would be a range of ages? Babies up to 99 year olds. Could be conflicts when food and water are short - why should we give food to person X? She's "bad." He doesn't contribute to the group.... Etc.

Good luck!

 

If that's a thing:

Then I guess this:

translates as smoke signals and theatrical stages?

I'm a little bit confused by your parameters.

Yes, but clothing is a must in order to survive. Without it, we'd die. If all clothing is so contaminated, this means that the atmosphere itself is contaminated, which would result in death anyways, clothed or bare.

By whom? Why? What happened?

So, I take it that somewhere there must be uncontaminated water. Good to know. What 3 day clock? What happens when it resets?

By whom?

I don't succumb to threats. Let them die. I don't know what's happening anyways.

By whom or by what? What if I'm stuck with a bunch of lemmings, aye?

Violence to fight violence. Fighting fire with fire. This reminds me of an Orwellian setting. I think I'm getting closer.

If it is, then why am I stuck here, following a bunch of morons?

The thing is that I don't trust this system. It's too manipulative. I might be a sheep heading towards the slaughterhouse, while singing "Mary had a little lamb."

Taking all of the above into account... EVERYTHING!

If you'd explain some more, maybe I'd be more of service. Is this like a Maze Runner type of scenario?

 

@Some Guy You're feeding us crumbs here, come back with more dammit!

 

True, unless Mr Someone never holds any power to misuse. True, unless 'something' has a plan. Good issues in the trope, thanks. Let me know if you have some 'less explored' issues.

From a story perspective? Because the obvious trope is tired and I figured out how to get past it to explore the issues beyond it. Surely you have imagined what out of box issues we'd face if the boring stuff were dispatched. I can get us to the next level, so what 'more interesting' issues do you think we'd face?

Some few people are left. Just enough to write a story about. I can gather them together and get them focused on helping each other survive. Then what could they face about themselves that isn't worn out or boring?

LOL. Okay, I've got the 'give-ups' and ne'er-do-wells covered. Exploring the character of persons under duress is expected, but what issue do you imagine needs more attention than the 'same old thing'.

Um, okay... No, Yes. No.
You'd never even reach for the shotgun. Plenty of 'Preppers' and 'Bad-asses' have already been hilariously dealt with. In the early days, people mostly die of their own stupidity. That's all been done before (trope), and now we're past that. What issue do you think has been missing in the trope? Challenge me!

I have a fun way of dealing with them, but that part is tired in the (?genre/?trope).
"What is the value of person X? Who decides?" - Now that is worthy of exploring in the positive aspect. The negative/cynical aspect is tired and worn, don't you think? Good! time for something a little fresher.

Sorry my question disappointed you.
Clothing becomes ash, or bursts into flame rapidly. People are remarkably happy to get rid of it. I'd be happy to show you how atmospheric contamination would be survivable, at least in the short term. We survive atmospheric contamination even now, sorta.
You are never, ever, threatened - other than the oft-writ threat of dire circumstance. Plenty of people die; tragically, hilariously, deservedly, grotesquely, heroicly, dramatically.
(I'll even write a character for you. You can decide if he lives or dies, what part of his character is depicted - anything. Straight up legit, bro!)
You're right! Almost no one knows what's happening, except we got our asses kicked by the gods. Now we stand just at the point where we know we'll survive if we don't do anything as stupid as trying to put things back the way they were. Other than that, everything but a bit of tattered tech, NeroComm, and P.I.L.S. - is gone. Obviously, people will make it to that part of the oft-writ tale, then start over. We'll never go back to any of it. What issues would be interesting for you to see them face? Challenge me! No more same-old-story.
Well... the Mag-moeba automatons are a fun part of the trope.

(I'll be happy to provide anyone with details (relevant chapters) of backstory by PM)

 

No, I mean why must you go where you're told? Is there an authority that is compelling you? Why will people die if you are not there? Just from a lack of what you can bring to the group? Why would you care, if you can swipe all the food for yourself?

 

Ouchie! I was trying not to post my whole (dammit) story.

 

Er... Um, how much can I post? A summary?

 

Give us a synopsis, brief version. Enough to know what the heck is going on but not so much that it reads like the ramblings of an unconnected mind!

Definitely sound interesting, just can't understand why yet!

 

Because to go away from people, rescue, sustanence, or into a deathtrap means... well, you die.
Not an authority - an AI failsafe. A guardian looking for a single human to take responsibility for the use of its power.
The number of people-things left has become a formula-decay statistical eventuality. ATP, "One is Three". For every death, two more will eventually (or quickly) result, usually children. That is bad. Any distruptive action is suppressed, or X-number of lives are lost. Do you want to know how suppression works? Should I explain the disaster?

Sorry folks. I'm trying here.

 

Okay, gotcha. One sec, banging unconnected head on keyboard as we speak.

 

Ahhh, I think I understand now - but only because |I've read you're previous workshop entries about this story! The AI is in charge, of course. What was it's name again?

 

We shall continue here then...

 

I'm still very confused.

 

This is the kind of detail we need to understand the setting. Now the threads are merged, I have to read back.

It strikes me that you're very quickly going to run out of people.

 

Hmm, here goes...

... we're stupid and the way we live is stupid - all bunched up by the millions and billions. Our glorious ironic stupidity is about to kill most of us. A ghost-in-the-machine watches us for almost forty years, creating 'simulations'. It becomes aware of itself just as we obliviously release a techno-plague on ourselves. It suppresses the plague in each of us to keep us alive, as we watch the sky with both eyes pretty much closed. "Gee, where did that asteroid come from. Oh look, it's headed for the moon. Let's launch a few nukes at it before this cosmic cue ball puts the Moon in our corner pocket, or just turns us into Earth Mark III. OH FUCK, launch some more! Yay! We broke a piece off and pushed it on by, and saved the Earth! Oh SHIT, we just shattered a gazillion star fragments in our gravity! Now a bunch of needle-shaped school busses and skyscrapers are turning everything into a cheese grater!"
7 billion perforated and smooshed people-things beg for a quick death, give or take a few survivors.
Seeker grants their wish by doing nothing - letting the plague render them into unconscious merciful death.
Can you guess what the side effect is, for the survivors? Seeker, sure-as-shit, won't let any more die no matter what it has to do - unless they're suffering. Everything left that it's hidden (from our stupidity) is released; surveillance, [REDACTED], drones, and Mag-moeba automatons. They aren't enough to save us, but they can help us save ourselves. Maybe, but for what? We did it wrong before. We can suffer another Dark Age, or we can meet the dawn of The Third Age of Humanity.

Too much? Not enough? I left out a couple of hundred pages of cool very-connected-but-rambling shit. I kinda look like my avatar right now.

 

Whoa - that was trippy! I did the Time Warp (again). It must've been that jump to the left...

(I was trying to move on to the next stage of this)

 

Is this the cosmic star fragment that presumably ate Jupiter?

 

That one was bitch-slapped out of the solar system by Jupiter, except for Australo Mark I. That hit Phobos and busted off Utah Mark I - that bitch-slapped us and ran away as Utah Mark II.

 

Sorry, I'm struggling to follow you. Can you be a bit less oblique?

 

Yup. Still not enough context.

 

F*ck this gets complicated fast! So, the few survivors left are basically controlled (to an extent) by an AI? Do they have nano-tech inside them or are they able, for example, to commit suicide? How does it prevent them from committing physically harmful acts to themselves or others? AND the AI want's to put a HUMAN in control? Sounds like a recipe for disaster since most humans have a default state of being utterly selfish.

Mav

 

Done and done (I hope). I didn't know I could do that. I don't mean to be lacking and conflicting. I'm just naturally good at it?
trying to improve...