we’re ready to make you one of us.

[headandhand]

WHO: Open to all Dualizens
WHAT: When Roboclones Attack
WHERE: Anywhere in the city!
WHEN: The night of Oct. 19
WARNINGS: Please use these if applicable! And if you happen to end up dead by roboclone, please fill out the death form!

It’s an ordinary night in Dualis, until it suddenly becomes a very dark and stormy night in Dualis. There hasn’t been a single day of unpleasant weather since any of you arrived, but soon after the sun begins to sink behind the city’s skyscrapers and the neon lights intensify for the night, storm clouds begin to gather overhead and unleash a cacophony of thunder, a deluge of rain, and brilliant spikes of lightning arcing across the sky.

It’s a violent storm, to be sure, but surely severe weather is no challenge in such a technologically advanced city as Dualis, right? As long as you stay indoors, you can keep safe and dry until the storm passes.

Except … less than an hour after the storm begins, the power all across the city goes completely out. All buildings are dark except for the illumination cast by lightning across brick and steel and glass. All electronics - including phones - are dead, all biometric locks are disabled, and no attempts to call, text, or reach the internet or the network succeed. Eerily, the streets are silent and empty.

Under normal circumstances, such a widespread blackout would merely be odd and inconvenient, but tonight, circumstances are anything but normal. About half an hour after the blackout begins, something approaches you, wherever you are. In the dark, you’ll be able to make out that its shape is humanoid, but maybe its motions are jerky and mechanical. As it draws closer and you get a better look, by candlelight or flashlight or flash of lightning, you recognize the face staring back at you.

That face is your own.

The face, like the rest of the body, is likely some degree of incomplete, an incongruous jigsaw of metal and flesh, but it’s definitely yours. And this machine doppelganger’s mission is soon made apparent as it launches a targeted attack on you:

It’s here to kill you.

After nearly four hours, the storm subsides and the power is restored and the city falls back into its normal rhythm. Will you survive until then?

May the odds be ever in your favor, friends.

Comments

[fuckregularpeople]

"That doesn't mean you don't need help, doc. Looks like that frankendroid clone really did a number on you. But you're talking, so that means it didn't crush your trachea."

Jane kicks at David's roboclone, fairly disgusted by the doubles and their insidious, pathetic symbolism. She gets blood on her boot, which bothers her less than she expects.

"Do what? Cut the motherfucker up? That was Silver Tongue, not me."

[helpdesk_hero]

"If my trachea had been crushed, we probably wouldn't have been able to get to a hospital on time," David agrees. But he looks down at the broken robot and shudders. The thing definitely upset him. He really didn't like almost dying.

Then he regards the woman. And... tries not to look puzzled or intrigued. Just take it in stride, he has to remind himself.

"Well, I hope she is aware that I appreciate the save. Usually the robots trying to kill me are taller than buildings. I wasn't expecting this."

[fuckregularpeople]

"Sure." If he doesn't want to go to the hospital, Jane won't bring him. He seems like he can keep on his feet, so as she sees it, she's done enough.

She doesn't mind either puzzlement or intrigue, and seems a little puzzled herself.

"Sounds like these ones should be a breeze then." Or maybe the guy was just lying about his robot-fighting skills. Either way, he was safe now. "Okay, catch you later, doc."

[helpdesk_hero]

"I was more the brains in the fight than the person who actually did the fighting. And..."

Wait, she's going already? David definitely looks confused.

"It's dangerous out there."

[fuckregularpeople]

That's Jane: she runs on her own schedule and follows her own caprices. It's why she tends to do badly on a team, no one can reasonably plan for her reactions. Right now her caprice is to help the other transplants in Dualis from their evil twins, and the mission's been accomplished here.

"I know, I just saved you."

[helpdesk_hero]

"I meant are you even safe out there yourself?"

She's definitely frustrating him, but he can accept it.

[fuckregularpeople]

"I'm still alive, aren't I?"

She frustrates everyone. But she is good at taking care of herself.

[helpdesk_hero]

Not like he can argue against that. He sighs and just nods.

"If you find anyone that is hurt and here is closer than a hospital or clinic, bring them to me."

[fuckregularpeople]

"Will do." She gives a sarcastic girl scout salute. "Are you sure you don't want to go to the hospital? It's probably the one place that'll have a backup generator."

[helpdesk_hero]

"I don't care about the generator. I care about the people here. They could be hurt, badly," David insists. "Those things, if they're after people, they'll come here. People will need me."

And he's always believed in protecting people. Deeply.

[fuckregularpeople]

"Cool, good luck with that. Hope those glasses let you see in the dark." Jane turns and heads out into the street. "If I see anyone who needs a patch-up, I'll send them to you."

[helpdesk_hero]

"They would have, if coming here hadn't fried out their processing systems."

And he hasn't been able to rebuild them. At all.

"Thanks. Good luck out there."