MOCK ROUND - WEEK 1

[foundationmods]

All of the guests awoke in their rooms, just like they had before.

Yesterday had been a day of surprises.
First, they'd finally met the person who had brought them here.
Secondly, they'd learned they were going to be playing a false murder mystery for two weeks.
And most important, they learned that wishes could be granted if they won this game.🗈

Still, for now, it seemed like there wasn't much to do. Was the Witch already in talks with the 'Murderer'? Was the 'victim' already decided upon?

There was no way to know until some day later this week, apparently.

Still, it wasn't all bad. The island was beautiful and the climate just perfect for beachgoing, or taking a cosy walk in the garden. There were also board and card games which would be produced upon request, to help ease the boredom of it all.

Though, perhaps the guests would prefer to get to know each other instead? On maybe get into some trouble as they roamed the island.

Yet, with only a fake game in front of them....there's no proper sense of foreboding, is there?

....But maybe all of this...

...Is just the calm before the storm.


MONDAY | TUESDAY | WEDNESDAY | THURSDAY

Mock Round Calendar

Comments

[curryparty]

Not really. I just thought it would be a good way to pass the time after lunch!

[Lunch always makes one so sleepy, after all. Plus...

Plus, finding that book in the library earlier was frankly alarming, so this is a nice distraction.]

Have you ever made one before?

[artificialhighness]

Oh. There are mealtimes here, of course.

[See: coming from a world of robots, where nobody actually eats except the odd human here and there. He may have noticed that she just. Literally never eats anything or drinks anything. The ultimate diet!

She leaves her roses in a nice little bundle.]

One of my attendants loved making them. She would make them for me all the time, so I learned a little. It has been a long time, though.

[curryparty]

[Wait a sec.]

I think we can eat whenever we want. You haven't?

[???]

[artificialhighness]

[Oh, right.]

I don't need to eat. According to humans, it's one of the biggest advantages of being a robot.

[curryparty]

[.......?????

????????????????]

Robot?

[artificialhighness]

... Yes?

[...?

???]

[curryparty]

[Ummm...]

What is a robot?

[artificialhighness]

Ah. Should I begin with the most basic definition, or diagrams?

[Some people learn better with diagrams.]

[curryparty]

The basic definition is probably the best place to start!

[He has to wonder why a diagram is even an option though.]

[artificialhighness]

[She had some interesting sibling-children, growing up. The life of a robot, honestly.]

A robot is an artificial life form created in the image of humanity. We started out mechanical, and many of us still are; but as technology has advanced, so have we.

[Is that. Is that basic enough to start.]

[curryparty]

An artificial life form...

[But not a homunculus. Huh!]

Were you created for a certain purpose?

[artificialhighness]

[It's like a homunculus but with more metal and less magic!]

I mentioned it briefly before. I heal, and save both humans and robots -- I keep the brightness of life in the dark. Or, you could say--

[A small nod at the garden around them.]

I keep the flowers blooming.

[curryparty]

[Homunculus is something he can understand, so that makes it much easier.]

We have something similar where I'm from, but unfortunately their uses aren't so kind. [Homunculi are most useful as soldiers, to spare the humans.] You must do a lot for your people.

[artificialhighness]

It is a kind use, I suppose, compared to other types of robots.

[Because there are robots that kill, just as much as there are robots that build and heal and accompany. Much like humans, much like all manner of other tools, it takes all kinds.

There's something almost amused in Luna's voice; it fades to neutral after a moment.]

I do what needs to be done. That is all we can do.

[The world is still kind of ending, after all. Hers is something of a necessarily slow process.]

[curryparty]

Well... there's probably ones for fighting and things like that, huh?

[artificialhighness]

Yes. Assassins, domestic help, factory workers — anything you would imagine a human would need, and maybe some things you wouldn’t.

[He is from weird lowtech magic world, after all.]

[curryparty]

[He nods, head remaining tipped down.]

Homunculi are usually used as soldiers where I'm from, but they're made from magic.

[artificialhighness]

So your home's solutions must be much more magic-based. How long do your homunculi last?

[curryparty]

As long as their magic does. They're made of magic, so once they run out, their forms destabilize and they vanish.

Well, if they're made properly, anyway.

[artificialhighness]

So, in a sense, they're temporary constructs rather than beings of their own...?

I suppose they are not so different from the earliest robots.

[curryparty]

More or less... As far as I know, at least. I haven't made or met one myself. They say the spell itself is easy, but doing it well is very difficult.

[And without any need for them, there's no point in expending the magic.]

So there were earlier robots that were less advanced?

[artificialhighness]

In other words, low-level homunculi may be plentiful, but I imagine anything more complex is where the skill level lies. It is the same with the development of my kind.

We started out as just dolls with a few more functions. [well, she still looks like a doll, but more realistic] It took a long time for humans to create something more like them.

[curryparty]

Not exactly. If they're low-level, they won't last for very long, and their forms are limited.

Three days is as long as they can survive, and they're basically just blobs. [So, yeah. Not too useful as soldiers or anything.]

Dolls, huh... You look just like a person, though!

[artificialhighness]

For a time, there was almost no outward difference between humans and robots.

[She's quiet for a moment.]

Nowadays, it still sometimes takes asking to differentiate the two. You said the homunculi had many forms, yes?

[A little different from the development direction for robots at that point.]

[curryparty]

At least two that I know of. Completed ones are humanoid in shape, but incomplete ones come out as blobs. ...Oh, but all of the humanoid ones look unique.