Neo Aporia: Rebirth

Introduction

Your eyes pry themselves open and at first all you see is whiteness; bright, blinding whiteness. You turn your head to the side, away from the light, to spare your eyes from the onslaught; it turns out that it was just the ceiling you were staring at - the first one you have ever seen come to think of it. Yet you somehow know what it is called, you know that it is called a ceiling even though you could swear blind that you have not once in your life ever witnessed it before. In fact, you don't remember ever seeing anything before. You simply know what the things you see around you are named; a bed, a table, a lamp. You now know what it feels like to get drunk and wake up the next morning with no memory of what happened the night before; except you remember nothing, of any day or night that has passed. All you know is that you presently exist; there is no before.



The bed you awake in is comfortable. The room itself is very pleasant too. The decor is ornate, but not excessive. You're not sure where any of it came from - you certainly don't remember purchasing any of it. Once you notice that the blinds have automatically pushed themselves back to reveal the morning sun beaming through your window, you pull yourself from the bed.

"Good morning!"

A robotic voice greets you the second your feet hit the floor; clearly operated by some sort of motion sensor in this scenario. In spite of this being the first time you have ever heard a robot, you know it is such and that it is not another living being. You know it isn't another person in the room with you; it is an artificial presence. There are clothing items prepared for you, laid out on the bottom of your bed by some invisible force while you, possibly, slept away all of your memories the previous night. The clothes are plain - a pair of white sandals, a long white t-shirt and a pair of white shorts. All of them are made from a thin, breathable material. It is good that it is warm outside, otherwise you would freeze to death in these things.

"Please scan wristband to enter the hallway!"

Once you are dressed, you attempt to leave the room. You're starting to get pissed off with this Cortana impersonating bitch and her annoyingly fake accent telling you how to live your life. However, you instantly understand what the robot wants and you lift up your arm - the white gleaming wristband with your name on it opens the door for you. For some reason, you cannot remove it. There is no visible clasp to get the thing off. You're stuck with it, for now.



As you step into the hallway, you find this place to be remarkably empty. The other rooms on your floor are vacant - you can't ever remember seeing another living being but you think they must exist, you can't be the only one. You find your way into an elevator; the annoying Cortana wanna-be asking for your wristband again to operate it. You step inside and await the descent into the unknown - a brave new world which you know nothing about, but are compelled to wander into. It is as if it was meant to be, as if fate has taken over your body and you are no longer truly in control, but rather you are only simply a passenger who is along for this ride into the wilderness.



When you finally exit the building and step out into this new world, you are greeted by an elegant city and a beautiful sunny day. Yet you are left with several questions that have been unanswered thus far. What is this thing on my wrist and why can't I take it off? Where the hell are all of the other people? Are there even other people here? Why can't I remember anything? What is this place? Am I dead? Most importantly though, the question you find yourself most curious about is: where the fuck am I?


Notes

Wristbands: All characters start with a plain white wristband which will already be on them when they wake up. The wristband is required to obtain standard items in the city. They will need it to get in and out of buildings, enter and exit rooms and get food from vending machines. Characters can receive better wristbands which grant them perks through events and story progression; the white wristband will deactivate and fall off as soon as the new one is put on and locks itself into position.

Apartments: Every character starts off with an apartment in one of the large apartment blocks in the city. All of them are the same size and have the same furniture; just in various colour schemes. You're free to pick any colours your character likes (or hates) for the apartment they awaken in. To enter/exit the apartment, the wristband of the character who owns the apartment must be scanned - it functions as a key in this instance.

Locked doors: Some of the doors in certain buildings will be locked. Gold, silver and bronze doors can only be opened by the corresponding wristbands (though later in the story, they will likely be able to be opened through other means.) Some other places will be locked; such as empty buildings etc.