TEST DRIVE MEME, FEBRUARY 2017.

[officialnotice]

TEST DRIVE MEME

There was an accident. That's basically the only thing you know for certain. Maybe a car wreck - metal and broken glass everywhere, and the sirens and the screaming. Or maybe there was an explosion. Maybe your bike hit a rock and you careened uncontrollably off a mountain path. You can't can't quite make out the details, not who was at fault or why. Try as you might, the chaos is all you can remember.

It's also the last thing you remember from before you wake up here.

When you open your eyes, the accident is gone. Instead, you're in a hospital bed – the nursing staff greets you with a cheerful smile.

Welcome to Wayward Pines, they tell you. You'll make a full recovery here.

option one       WELCOME TO WAYWARD PINES

The hospital staff had seemed very friendly, but ultimately unhelpful when it came to answering your questions, insisting you shouldn't worry about such things, and that it was smarter to just rest until you'd fully recovered.

That was some time ago. You've since managed to leave the hospital – either via escape, or simply by waiting patiently and filling out paperwork until they finally agreed to release you. Now you've found yourself in the small but hearty town of Wayward Pines, Idaho. It's a charming little place, and the people there are all friendly enough, more than willing to greet you on the street, or give you directions if you need them.

Unless you're asking for directions out of town, of course.

Some will simply smile and give you a hearty pat on the shoulder and ask why you'd ever want to do a thing like that? Others will get quiet for a moment, and direct you to the nearest sign posted near the doorway of every building.

Don't bother taking the road, either. Whether you walk or get your hands on a vehicle, you won't get anywhere. The road simply takes you away from town for a short while before looping around and bringing you right back in.

There's no use questioning things, and it seems pretty useless to try to leave. So really, why not stay a while? Everyone's convinced that you'll find something to love in Wayward Pines.

(For the purposes of this test drive, you're welcome to handwave the existence of basically any local business or activity.)

option two             INTO THE WOODS

You've just heard a scream from the woods.

I mean, it could've been an animal. There's bound to be some kind of wildlife amongst the trees, right? But then again, it did sound awfully... human.

Though all of the locals nearby conceal a flinch at the sound, they'll assure you it's nothing, if you ask them. Why, you're probably just hearing things! (But with an anxious undertone of stop asking questions.) If you're curious, though, and brave enough to go see, they won't make any move to stop you from going into the wooded area surrounding the town.

The trees are tall, and their branches are thick enough to block out a significant amount of sunlight from breaking through the canopy, leaving the forest floor a little dimmer and cooler than the streets of town.

Whatever the source of the scream was, you won't be able to find it out here. An experienced hunter might notice some signs of a struggle, and a few faint boot prints, but they don't really seem to lead anywhere in particular.

What you will find, if you walk far enough, is a fence. A big one - at least 30 feet tall, made of metal and concrete. It goes on quite a ways in either direction as well; follow the wall far enough, and you'll see that it connects with the steep, sheer cliffs that surround the rest of Wayward Pines, effectively boxing the town in.

In actuality, you'll probably feel it before you see it. A full 500 yards from the wall, when it's hardly a shadowy smudge through the trees, you start to feel a little bit tired, a little bit weak. Trouble is, the closer you get, the weaker you feel - like the wall itself is sapping the strength out of you, and the closer you get, the worse it feels. Any powers you may have had grow weaker in kind as you make your way to the fence, but even ordinary humans will find their strength sapping away. By the time you're close enough to read the signs and to feel the crackle of electricity radiating from the thick wires criss-crossing the wall's metal surface, you're too weak to stand.

Do you crawl closer still and risk electrocution, or do you crawl away and assess the situation once you're far enough from the fence to be able to stand?

option three         IT'S A COUPLE OF FLAKES

There's nothing particularly insidious about the inch of snow that settles over the town one night while everyone sleeps. Kids run outside to have snowball fights and make snow angels, neighbors wave across to you as they shovel their driveway, the local coffee shop runs a 2 for 1 deal on hot cocoa. Snow crunches under your feet at your walk down the street and the cold bite in the air is revitalizing.

The next morning, there's a few more inches of snow. And then a few more the day after that. By the end of the week the snow is a good three feet deep and the entire experience has lost its novelty. Wayward Pines only has a single street plow to its name, and even when the streets are clear, surprise patches of black ice make travel downright dangerous if you aren't prepared. No special sale on hot cocoa can possibly be worth trudging through knee high snow drifts (even your most consciences neighbors can't keep up on the shoveling anymore).

And the power starts to fail in some of the houses. Sure, the repairman promises to stop by as soon as he can, but you're hardly to first person to call him today and he won't be able to pencil you in until tomorrow at the earliest, and what are you going to do about the cold until then? Maybe your neighbor's heat is still on, or maybe that trek to the coffee shop is looking more appealing by the second.

Either way it's time to layer your clothes, watch your step, and hope that Spring to comes early. And try to ignore that kid double dog daring you to lick a flagpole, it just won't end well.

option four            ON THE NETWORK

Though it's not as high-tech as you might be used to (or hell, maybe you're ren faire and it's centuries beyond anything you've seen), but Wayward Pines does in fact have a network to accommodate its citizens.

Go ahead, post a network post! Just note that the network, at current, is audio-only and can only be accessed from the telephones in each character's home.

( a few notes )

Welcome to our second test drive here in The Pines! Just one important thing to note this time:

Upon arrival in Wayward Pines, characters find themselves struggling to remember entirely who they were or where they came from. Memories return progressively over the next two weeks. You're welcome to play with this mechanic in any of these prompts, but it's definitely not mandatory! For more details on this temporary memory loss, see our FAQ.

Comments

[royalpassport]

[ Jefferson isn't sitting with Sam, but he's sitting... back-to-back with him, on the other side of his booth. So he can hear the mumbling, the repetitious recitation of a name and job. And he'd be sympathetic to it, except that at this point, remembering (at least) three different lives and being unable to tell which one's real and which isn't, Jefferson's got too many of his own problems to worry about.

Like this magazine quiz he's trying to take. It's supposed to be a fun, easy, light distraction from the maelstrom of delusions in his mind... except he's been on the same question for fifteen minutes now, and all he can think is My name is Sam Seaborn. I work for the President of the United States.

Finally, he twists in his seat, folds his arms over the top of the booth partition, and leans in so that his face is right by Sam's ear.

Enjoy him suddenly speaking up now: ] And why did the president send you here, to the middle of nowhere?

[fidelis]

[ He makes a strangled half-noise and twitches forward, spilling his coffee in a brown fan across the speckled table top.

Sam takes a moment to gather himself before he scoots sideways and twists so he's not looking directly into the eyes of the guy leaning into his space. ] That's an excellent question, and one I would love to find an answer to. Unfortunately, no one else seems willing to provide one, or even to tell me where the president is except to say that he's probably in the White House, Sam, take it easy now and rest up until you feel better.

[ He picks up a napkin and drops it on the coffee mess before it can spread too far, attempting to corral the liquid as the napkin gets soaked through. ] Who are you please.

[royalpassport]

[ Cue Jefferson making a tutting sound as Sam spills his coffee. Really. ]

You probably won't get anymore than that from anyone here. [ Jefferson tilts his head, studying Sam. ] Most people like to aim high with their delusions. I'm Jesus Christ. I'm Joan of Arc. I'm the president. [ A thoughtful hum. ] I work for the president is a new one.

[ Not that Jefferson genuinely believes the man's mad. Well, he might... just a bit. But he's mad, too, so who is he to judge? ]

I'm Jefferson. I own a tea shop.

[fidelis]

Excuse me. [ Sam sounds like someone just bumped into him and he is very, very affronted by it. ] That's not aiming high? To serve at the pleasure of the greatest power in the United States, to be a part, a real part of the American experiment? To share an office with some of the finest political minds in the world. To be at hand when the future of the country is shaped.

[ His rising cadence is somewhat undercut by the fact that he's now yanking napkins out of the holder on the table and building a little napkin dam around his spill. ] You own a tea shop. I stand at Clio's back, watching the history that will never be written about unfold. You made me spill my coffee.

[royalpassport]

[ No, Sam, that all sounds rather boring. But then, Jefferson's never been particularly attached to the 'American experiment.' Though he knows he was born and raised in this country, he can't summon any feelings of really belonging here. It's more like he was... displaced here. ]

I suppose I'm not very patriotic. And politics only ever seem to lead to people losing their heads.

[ Take that however you will. Jefferson isn't entirely sure how he means it, himself. He does find himself laughing at those closing remarks, though, even if that's not Sam's intent. It's just... ]

Oh, I apologize. I didn't realize I was speaking with a friend of Clio's. But I happen to prefer fiction to history any day, so... could you put in a good word for me with Calliope?

[fidelis]

[ He gives Jefferson a look so flat it could be roadkill. ]

I'll pluck and give you a laurel rod, that you may sing of Calliope first and last.

[ In a fit of pique, he shoves all the soaked napkins into a single pile. ] Now why can I say that? Why can I pull out and mangle a quote from Hesiod and I can't remember what I had for breakfast before I, apparently, ran a car into a tree?

[royalpassport]

[ At least Jefferson seems to find that mangled quotation endearing, so now he's laughing in a with Sam sort of way, rather than at him.

...

Even if Sam isn't laughing right now, himself. So perhaps, by default, Jefferson's still laughing at him. ]

If I was any sort of doctor, I might have an answer for you. It'll probably come back to you in time. I bounced back from my accident, after all.

[ Okay, Jefferson, but did you really? He knows the answer to that is actually a big fat: NO. ]

At least you remember the important things, Sam Seaborn. Like the fact that you work for the President.

[fidelis]

[ Well, there was a heavy dose of sarcasm in it, mangled or not, so Jefferson laughter is mollifying.

Even as Sam is completely distracted by the first part of Jefferson's comment. ]

Wait. Your accident? You had an accident? Did you-- you forgot things?