A Rat Among Junk.

no rules other than what we make in our enclaves (just like microblogging)

we can interact with virtual bodies

more meat

>launch game

>download 54GB day one patch

>finally get into game

>no NPCs to interact with

>only lore and story is through long boring audio tapes that can be interrupted but not resumed

>everything is a fetch quest

>constantly disconnected from servers

>constantly encounter hackers

>game encourages me to buy Atoms™ with real money

>drawl through this for 60 hours

>finally get to the end game

>launch nuke

>it explodes

>mushroom cloud

>leave the landscape awash in hellfire

>radioactive ash blocks out the sun

>eventually only a snowy nuclear landscape is left

>black screen

>can’t hear anything

>vision slowly fades in

>….

- we all refer to the prime minister by their first name. we know them well, and they know us. all of us.

- there’s a man on the street corner who never leaves. “just waiting for a mate,” he says. you realise he is on every corner, of every street.

- you are swooped by a magpie in the same place, at the same time, every single day. “it’s swooping season!” says your neighbour. it has always been swooping season.

- sometimes you hear a woman whispering late at night - or early in the morning. “rage” she hisses. “rage”.

- The Prime Minister walks into the ocean and is never seen again. They say he was a traitor, defecting to the enemy, whisked away by submarines. You build a swimming pool in his honour.

- The grass is dead, or the grass is Long. You do not go into the grass when it is Long.

- An old man judges you silently as you buy an avocado. You already knew you would never own a home.

- You offer your friend a drink. They refuse. They say they are Designated. You apologise immediately. You meant no offence, and you would never disrespect the Designated. You have newfound admiration for your friend.

- The ground is lava. Your feet burn and blister as you sprint between the safety of the shadows. Everyone knows you can’t wear shoes.

- There are spiders in your shoes. There are spiders in the shed. There are spiders under the toilet seat. The biggest ones, you allow to stay. They lurk in the highest corners of the ceiling, but you know how fast they can run.

- Someone offers you a jam doughnut. It burns your tongue.

- You check your calendar and your house number three times before you turn on the sprinklers. Your neighbour’s face appears at their window. You wonder if you should check again.

- It is time for the Maccas Run. Nobody knows what time it actually is, but you all sense it is right. The Designated stands up.

- You don’t believe the stories about the creatures in the trees, but you take precautions. One day, you see an unwary traveller taking shelter from the blazing sun underneath a jacaranda. When you look back, he’s gone.

- The train is coming in five minutes. The train is coming in four minutes. The train is coming in five minutes. The train is coming in four minutes. The train is coming in five minutes. The train passes you without stopping. The train is coming in five minutes.

- No one knows where They came from, what They want, or why They never age or feel pain. Only the children know. ‘’Fruit salad,’’ they whisper. ‘’Fruit salad.’’

- A giraffe with blank eyes and a strange, fixed smile gives you health advice. You don’t question it.

Skulduggery: You say that now but when you’re high on the pain meds and I’ve arranged for Valkyrie to be in another dimension without a shunter and I’m filling out the birth certificate how are you going to stop me.