Post by Deleted on Jul 29, 2013 2:45:22 GMT
Using my glorious powers I can keep the board clean of an insane amount of chapters with this here archive thread. When a chapter has ended, the poll is no longer needed, and the next chapter is out I'll place all of the chapters here.
I ask that no one post in this thread. Actually I may lock it. Discussion can be made within the actual chapters themselves, just makes things easier.
Chapter 1
This is a murder mystery story inspired by Dangan Ronpa and my desire to create a story like it that also creates the possibilities of all the variations such stories could have as opposed to the fixed plot. There will be polls inviting readers to vote for the direction of the story, and basic character art, although I'll just give you the one picture generally and it will read out like a novel for the rest of the time.
Influences include you know what, also my old virtual world fleshed out in plots such as the critic, and also the main character of a dangan ronpa fanfic I wrote which I believe I had only ever shown to Ohgun will be the main character here, Akira Inoue. Nothing in this plot will relate to that story, the character is the same but inside a totally different universe with a different past. I just liked him a whole bunch.
Enough talk. Have at you![/i]
The streets were desolate, newspapers blew in the wind and the full moon shone bright in the sky, peeking out from between the clouds in a desperate attempt to shine some light on the world of this city on this most depraved of nights. A figure in a dark hood ran desperately down the streets, pelting away from the shadows of past karma as judged by God. He turned into an alleyway, tall and imposing buildings on either side shielding him from any shred of light. Trash bags were nearby, and up above him was the window of his mortal enemy, who had stolen everything from him. He came to a halt, breathless, and dug inside his coat, eventually finding the knife which dripped crimson despair. He could barely look at it, the manifestation of his vile guilt, yet at the same time, he could barely not look at it, mesmerized, by the black strength it also represented. He had taken action, at last, and eventually, perhaps his past would never be able to find him, the light of its truth wondering inside its own resentful darkness.
This, however, was an impossible dream inside the nightmare of a reality he now faced.
Darkness is the absence of light, meaning that by the physical laws of all nature, it is impossible for light to be trapped within its thrall.
Truth, judgement, justice, and God stood at the end of the valley from whence the man had came. What was standing there was me, his karma catching up with him. He had run. I had walked, predicting his move. I had let him have that fleeting moment of hope, that moment where he thought he could get away with the disgusting act of ending a life before it was complete. I didn't have to run, I didn't even have to think. I was a terminator of darkness, truth personified.
He scrambled further down the alley, inevitably hitting the wall.
I walked down slowly towards where I had seen him drop the knife, and picked it out in one full motion, singling it out instantly. It glowed red signifying its importance as evidence, and the blood on it matched the victims, although that was to be expected. It would have given me details on fingerprints too had the culprit not been wearing gloves, prolonging this case by a good five minutes.
I pulled down the hood, discovering the killer's identity.
I blinked, saving his image to the database, although I already knew who he was and I wouldn't be relying on memory. I grinned in a manic faction as I walked out of the alleyway, out of sight, out of reality.
Returning from my trance and blinking several times I found myself back inside the room, where I and several other members involved in the case of Rosa Smith's murder was being discussed, where I had gathered them to talk about the case. They had just arrived, and I had just been solving the final piece of the puzzle by searching through all of the alternate paths and routes I could have taken. In hindsight, I could have solved the case a little earlier had I been more proactive, but I like giving my superiors a hard time on a regular basis.
The people gathered were Daniel Smith, and Grant Brooks, Rosa's husband, and their gardener.
"I must be getting on so let us make this quick." I began before any of them could say a word.
"Mr Inoue, please, must we go over this again?" Brooks inquired before he would let me continue.
"Quiet. I do not satisfy the wishes of suspects." I retorted sharply. This case had been a little boring, and I wanted to skip through it and bring the culprit back with me as soon as possible.
"Please continue." Said Daniel, glancing quickly at Brooks.
I waited for a few seconds in silence, spiting Daniel as I though over my words. I wanted him to know that I had power over the conversation.
"At around 12am Smith was found dead in her back garden by Brooks as he arrived to work in the garden, with a knife wound still bleeding blood from her chest. Mr Smith claims to have looked out the window at 11pm to see that no such corpse was outside, he believed that she was still out on her routinely midnight jog. It can be assumed that she had been killed between 11pm and 12pm. Bloodstains across the garden and the gate suggest that she was not killed in the garden, and was instead killed elsewhere in the city and dragged to the back garden, perhaps to send a message or in order to frame a member of the victim's family. I was called immediately and arrived at 1pm, precisely 1 hour ago. As I arrived I spotted a figure running towards the residence of Mr Brooks, but chose not to pursue him.
The first thing I found suspect was the time of Brook's arrival in the garden. 1pm is a strange time until I remembered that this odd time also matched up with the so called 'jog' that Smith used to go for every night. The next thing I spotted was the now bloodied key clasped in Smith's hand. Testing this on the back door, I found that this opened it. However Mr Smith claims that they lost the key a little while ago. In Brook's house I also found letters of love shared between him and Rosa. This was an affair, and while I had previously suspected Brooks, I quickly deduced that even though it was possible, most variables of the types of motives one could have here did not fit the situation or what I had learned of Brook's character. Furthermore in Brook's trash I found a knife which matches the dimensions of the wound, however the knife belongs to Smith's standard cutlery set, the bread knife to be precise. Fingerprints on the key suggest that Brooks had not handled it, and no signs of other forced entry or possession of another key front or back door appear to be in Brook's possession. In this scenario motives seem to suggest that the most likely culprit here is the victim's husband, who killed her upon discovery of her betrayal. Dressing up anonymously, this night he would stalk his wife on her 'jog' and discover the truth. Enraged, he would kill her when they depart and drag her into the back garden in an attempt to make it appear as though he were framed by Brooks. Hearing her screams, Brooks would hurry to her side to discover the body whilst Daniel tried to plant the murder weapon on Brooks in a very poorly thought out plan. I intercepted him as he did this, uncovered his identify, and found the knife. That is all, Daniel Smith, for killing your wife Rosa Smith, I must now escort you under authority of the G.O.D to your fair judgement."
Daniel sat stunned as I took down the case. It was disgustingly easy, only two suspects and such dull motives... this almost felt like a beginner case, un-befitting of someone with my abilities both cognitive and, as a primitive might say, supernatural. In a sense I pitied Daniel. His murder was impulsive and poorly thought out, that was probably the best cover up he could achieve. His best was not even deserving of having registered.
"I'm glad the truth has come out, but you contradicted yourself. You intercepted him nearby my flat, but you also said you didn't pursue him. Where did you get some of this information?" Asked Brooks.
"You are in no position to even be speculating about classified information such as that. My methods are my own." I responded as I grabbed Daniel's head with my full hand, lifting him up into the air, and watching the data which composed his physical form drift off to G.O.D.
"You're not some kind of city town detective, are you. You look about 18, but you certainly don't feel it..." Brooks continued. My eye twitched.
"I am Akira Inoue. All you are permitted to understand is that I stand for justice." I responded powerfully, not even making last eye contact as I opened the door behind me and walked through it, leaving the world as it was.
CASE 1 END
The digital world. Or the datascape, as they call it. Like the internet before it, this evolution of everything digital didn't unify mankind, but it fractured it, into many servers, worlds, connected yet separate, containing only the people and cultural ideals you want to have. Life is idyllic, but mortal, and data is still a finite resource. Death and reincarnation of data into something is still necessary, as is consumption. Even so, life is more simple than it was in the long abandoned and forgotten reality, whatever form it may be in right now.
I am Akira Inoue, the individual solely responsible for solving every crime within the datascape, the lowest rank of G.O.D's justice system, G.O.D or Guardians of Data being a collaborative AI which is the combination of many individuals such as myself whose sole purpose is to maintain stability. The term AI lost all meaning when the old race died and everyone became AI's, so AI now refers to an organisation more so than what we are a race technically are. We don't use the term organisation because the G.O.D is also a physical object existing on a server that only it's members can access, and it serves as a mainframe that not only hosts and keeps track of information and data, but is also a being that is the combined mind of all of the G.O.D's individual members. In effect, it is our leader, but it is also us, making what we obey without question our own will. Of course, making everyone a part of G.O.D would require far too much data, and would overload its server. That's why people such as I are created. We are the only immortal life forms across the entire datascape, as when we die, we are reincarnated in the exact state we were in before.
I am the member of the G.O.D most involved with the datascape at large, multiple variations of myself go out to solve crimes caused in many different servers across the datascape. This also makes me the most detached member, as most of the G.O.D exist on the servers itself, serving as organisation, judge, jury, and executioners. I loose track of who is up there most of the time, I merely drop off the perpetrators who they have to deal with.
The only thing I have which helps me solve crimes is my intelligence, but also a power bestowed upon me by GOD. I can't simply access the mainframe to find out who did it, after all, GOD only know's what its members have perceived, usually with me serving as scout. And of course I'm rarely ever around to witness crimes. I can have multiple variations of myself in multiple places at the same time, but data is finite. I can get around but I'm not omnipotent.
As such the power bestowed upon me manifests inside my red eye. It lets me colour code information into only the most important clues, and it lets me see alternate variations of what might have happened from my own perspective, had I made different choices. Alternate pasts, if you will, although I cannot see into the future. My only power is that of hindsight, and usually only major choices are deemed important enough for GOD to even consider allowing me to use it in excess, considering the vast amount of calculation and data required to use it. However, the results prove to be 99% accurate, proven by the fact that the red eye can grant me access to information it would otherwise be impossible for me to know.
So that's my story. In theory it should be possible to recount every case I have ever taken, however that rabbit hole is infinitely deep, to the point that some crimes tend to repeat themselves beat for beat, perhaps even using close to identical characters in identical settings. Maddening, considering the limitless possibilities of a constantly cycling datascape, but I do have an interesting tale to tell, a plot spread across a few of my cases which fundamentally changed the datascape, G.O.D, and myself, perhaps forever.
I was always on the move considering my ability to be present in various places at once and the datascape's infinite potential, but in general I had the opportunity to experience some cases differently, and I had the ability to 'time out' as it were, to mull over cases or perhaps take a mental rest. I may be in the different places at the same time, but I only have one real conscious which perceives time as a linear, forward progression. As such I typically don't have to experience some cases as they become available, even if a copy of myself is solving it. For example, if two cases arise and two versions of me solve it at exactly the same time, I will have to solve one case and then go back to solve the other. Not exactly time travel, as even here in the datascape it appears to be impossible, but in actuality it could be said I am making up for time I have experienced but not yet perceived. There have even been instances where I have postponed perceiving several cases years after I had already solved them. Usually however postponing perception like this can create some mental strain on GOD, so unlike the good old days I have a much stricter schedule for perception and case solving. At the beginning of where I choose to begin my journey two cases popped up, and I had the choice to perceive one or the other first, as usual. One took place in a sleepy rural village that was unaware of its nature as a server and as digital data, and as such turned such anomalies into a form of religion or cult, but in general it seems to move more into the realms of dark magic, and a series of murders blamed on the cult have arisen. It's name was the Hollow Village.
The other case had some famous people trapped on a space station with dwindling resources. This case, apparently, was their first desperate act of cannibalism as their hunger took hold. They have now been rescued, leaving me to explore the space station in an attempt to find the perpetrator, regardless of their desperate motives.
In my limbo I took the time to decide which one would appeal to me more.
QUESTION: Do you want Akira to go to the Hollow Village or the Space station first?
Option 1: Hollow Village
Option 2: Space Station
I ask that no one post in this thread. Actually I may lock it. Discussion can be made within the actual chapters themselves, just makes things easier.
Chapter 1
This is a murder mystery story inspired by Dangan Ronpa and my desire to create a story like it that also creates the possibilities of all the variations such stories could have as opposed to the fixed plot. There will be polls inviting readers to vote for the direction of the story, and basic character art, although I'll just give you the one picture generally and it will read out like a novel for the rest of the time.
Influences include you know what, also my old virtual world fleshed out in plots such as the critic, and also the main character of a dangan ronpa fanfic I wrote which I believe I had only ever shown to Ohgun will be the main character here, Akira Inoue. Nothing in this plot will relate to that story, the character is the same but inside a totally different universe with a different past. I just liked him a whole bunch.
Enough talk. Have at you![/i]
The streets were desolate, newspapers blew in the wind and the full moon shone bright in the sky, peeking out from between the clouds in a desperate attempt to shine some light on the world of this city on this most depraved of nights. A figure in a dark hood ran desperately down the streets, pelting away from the shadows of past karma as judged by God. He turned into an alleyway, tall and imposing buildings on either side shielding him from any shred of light. Trash bags were nearby, and up above him was the window of his mortal enemy, who had stolen everything from him. He came to a halt, breathless, and dug inside his coat, eventually finding the knife which dripped crimson despair. He could barely look at it, the manifestation of his vile guilt, yet at the same time, he could barely not look at it, mesmerized, by the black strength it also represented. He had taken action, at last, and eventually, perhaps his past would never be able to find him, the light of its truth wondering inside its own resentful darkness.
This, however, was an impossible dream inside the nightmare of a reality he now faced.
Darkness is the absence of light, meaning that by the physical laws of all nature, it is impossible for light to be trapped within its thrall.
Truth, judgement, justice, and God stood at the end of the valley from whence the man had came. What was standing there was me, his karma catching up with him. He had run. I had walked, predicting his move. I had let him have that fleeting moment of hope, that moment where he thought he could get away with the disgusting act of ending a life before it was complete. I didn't have to run, I didn't even have to think. I was a terminator of darkness, truth personified.
He scrambled further down the alley, inevitably hitting the wall.
I walked down slowly towards where I had seen him drop the knife, and picked it out in one full motion, singling it out instantly. It glowed red signifying its importance as evidence, and the blood on it matched the victims, although that was to be expected. It would have given me details on fingerprints too had the culprit not been wearing gloves, prolonging this case by a good five minutes.
I pulled down the hood, discovering the killer's identity.
I blinked, saving his image to the database, although I already knew who he was and I wouldn't be relying on memory. I grinned in a manic faction as I walked out of the alleyway, out of sight, out of reality.
Returning from my trance and blinking several times I found myself back inside the room, where I and several other members involved in the case of Rosa Smith's murder was being discussed, where I had gathered them to talk about the case. They had just arrived, and I had just been solving the final piece of the puzzle by searching through all of the alternate paths and routes I could have taken. In hindsight, I could have solved the case a little earlier had I been more proactive, but I like giving my superiors a hard time on a regular basis.
The people gathered were Daniel Smith, and Grant Brooks, Rosa's husband, and their gardener.
"I must be getting on so let us make this quick." I began before any of them could say a word.
"Mr Inoue, please, must we go over this again?" Brooks inquired before he would let me continue.
"Quiet. I do not satisfy the wishes of suspects." I retorted sharply. This case had been a little boring, and I wanted to skip through it and bring the culprit back with me as soon as possible.
"Please continue." Said Daniel, glancing quickly at Brooks.
I waited for a few seconds in silence, spiting Daniel as I though over my words. I wanted him to know that I had power over the conversation.
"At around 12am Smith was found dead in her back garden by Brooks as he arrived to work in the garden, with a knife wound still bleeding blood from her chest. Mr Smith claims to have looked out the window at 11pm to see that no such corpse was outside, he believed that she was still out on her routinely midnight jog. It can be assumed that she had been killed between 11pm and 12pm. Bloodstains across the garden and the gate suggest that she was not killed in the garden, and was instead killed elsewhere in the city and dragged to the back garden, perhaps to send a message or in order to frame a member of the victim's family. I was called immediately and arrived at 1pm, precisely 1 hour ago. As I arrived I spotted a figure running towards the residence of Mr Brooks, but chose not to pursue him.
The first thing I found suspect was the time of Brook's arrival in the garden. 1pm is a strange time until I remembered that this odd time also matched up with the so called 'jog' that Smith used to go for every night. The next thing I spotted was the now bloodied key clasped in Smith's hand. Testing this on the back door, I found that this opened it. However Mr Smith claims that they lost the key a little while ago. In Brook's house I also found letters of love shared between him and Rosa. This was an affair, and while I had previously suspected Brooks, I quickly deduced that even though it was possible, most variables of the types of motives one could have here did not fit the situation or what I had learned of Brook's character. Furthermore in Brook's trash I found a knife which matches the dimensions of the wound, however the knife belongs to Smith's standard cutlery set, the bread knife to be precise. Fingerprints on the key suggest that Brooks had not handled it, and no signs of other forced entry or possession of another key front or back door appear to be in Brook's possession. In this scenario motives seem to suggest that the most likely culprit here is the victim's husband, who killed her upon discovery of her betrayal. Dressing up anonymously, this night he would stalk his wife on her 'jog' and discover the truth. Enraged, he would kill her when they depart and drag her into the back garden in an attempt to make it appear as though he were framed by Brooks. Hearing her screams, Brooks would hurry to her side to discover the body whilst Daniel tried to plant the murder weapon on Brooks in a very poorly thought out plan. I intercepted him as he did this, uncovered his identify, and found the knife. That is all, Daniel Smith, for killing your wife Rosa Smith, I must now escort you under authority of the G.O.D to your fair judgement."
Daniel sat stunned as I took down the case. It was disgustingly easy, only two suspects and such dull motives... this almost felt like a beginner case, un-befitting of someone with my abilities both cognitive and, as a primitive might say, supernatural. In a sense I pitied Daniel. His murder was impulsive and poorly thought out, that was probably the best cover up he could achieve. His best was not even deserving of having registered.
"I'm glad the truth has come out, but you contradicted yourself. You intercepted him nearby my flat, but you also said you didn't pursue him. Where did you get some of this information?" Asked Brooks.
"You are in no position to even be speculating about classified information such as that. My methods are my own." I responded as I grabbed Daniel's head with my full hand, lifting him up into the air, and watching the data which composed his physical form drift off to G.O.D.
"You're not some kind of city town detective, are you. You look about 18, but you certainly don't feel it..." Brooks continued. My eye twitched.
"I am Akira Inoue. All you are permitted to understand is that I stand for justice." I responded powerfully, not even making last eye contact as I opened the door behind me and walked through it, leaving the world as it was.
CASE 1 END
The digital world. Or the datascape, as they call it. Like the internet before it, this evolution of everything digital didn't unify mankind, but it fractured it, into many servers, worlds, connected yet separate, containing only the people and cultural ideals you want to have. Life is idyllic, but mortal, and data is still a finite resource. Death and reincarnation of data into something is still necessary, as is consumption. Even so, life is more simple than it was in the long abandoned and forgotten reality, whatever form it may be in right now.
I am Akira Inoue, the individual solely responsible for solving every crime within the datascape, the lowest rank of G.O.D's justice system, G.O.D or Guardians of Data being a collaborative AI which is the combination of many individuals such as myself whose sole purpose is to maintain stability. The term AI lost all meaning when the old race died and everyone became AI's, so AI now refers to an organisation more so than what we are a race technically are. We don't use the term organisation because the G.O.D is also a physical object existing on a server that only it's members can access, and it serves as a mainframe that not only hosts and keeps track of information and data, but is also a being that is the combined mind of all of the G.O.D's individual members. In effect, it is our leader, but it is also us, making what we obey without question our own will. Of course, making everyone a part of G.O.D would require far too much data, and would overload its server. That's why people such as I are created. We are the only immortal life forms across the entire datascape, as when we die, we are reincarnated in the exact state we were in before.
I am the member of the G.O.D most involved with the datascape at large, multiple variations of myself go out to solve crimes caused in many different servers across the datascape. This also makes me the most detached member, as most of the G.O.D exist on the servers itself, serving as organisation, judge, jury, and executioners. I loose track of who is up there most of the time, I merely drop off the perpetrators who they have to deal with.
The only thing I have which helps me solve crimes is my intelligence, but also a power bestowed upon me by GOD. I can't simply access the mainframe to find out who did it, after all, GOD only know's what its members have perceived, usually with me serving as scout. And of course I'm rarely ever around to witness crimes. I can have multiple variations of myself in multiple places at the same time, but data is finite. I can get around but I'm not omnipotent.
As such the power bestowed upon me manifests inside my red eye. It lets me colour code information into only the most important clues, and it lets me see alternate variations of what might have happened from my own perspective, had I made different choices. Alternate pasts, if you will, although I cannot see into the future. My only power is that of hindsight, and usually only major choices are deemed important enough for GOD to even consider allowing me to use it in excess, considering the vast amount of calculation and data required to use it. However, the results prove to be 99% accurate, proven by the fact that the red eye can grant me access to information it would otherwise be impossible for me to know.
So that's my story. In theory it should be possible to recount every case I have ever taken, however that rabbit hole is infinitely deep, to the point that some crimes tend to repeat themselves beat for beat, perhaps even using close to identical characters in identical settings. Maddening, considering the limitless possibilities of a constantly cycling datascape, but I do have an interesting tale to tell, a plot spread across a few of my cases which fundamentally changed the datascape, G.O.D, and myself, perhaps forever.
I was always on the move considering my ability to be present in various places at once and the datascape's infinite potential, but in general I had the opportunity to experience some cases differently, and I had the ability to 'time out' as it were, to mull over cases or perhaps take a mental rest. I may be in the different places at the same time, but I only have one real conscious which perceives time as a linear, forward progression. As such I typically don't have to experience some cases as they become available, even if a copy of myself is solving it. For example, if two cases arise and two versions of me solve it at exactly the same time, I will have to solve one case and then go back to solve the other. Not exactly time travel, as even here in the datascape it appears to be impossible, but in actuality it could be said I am making up for time I have experienced but not yet perceived. There have even been instances where I have postponed perceiving several cases years after I had already solved them. Usually however postponing perception like this can create some mental strain on GOD, so unlike the good old days I have a much stricter schedule for perception and case solving. At the beginning of where I choose to begin my journey two cases popped up, and I had the choice to perceive one or the other first, as usual. One took place in a sleepy rural village that was unaware of its nature as a server and as digital data, and as such turned such anomalies into a form of religion or cult, but in general it seems to move more into the realms of dark magic, and a series of murders blamed on the cult have arisen. It's name was the Hollow Village.
The other case had some famous people trapped on a space station with dwindling resources. This case, apparently, was their first desperate act of cannibalism as their hunger took hold. They have now been rescued, leaving me to explore the space station in an attempt to find the perpetrator, regardless of their desperate motives.
In my limbo I took the time to decide which one would appeal to me more.
QUESTION: Do you want Akira to go to the Hollow Village or the Space station first?
Option 1: Hollow Village
Option 2: Space Station