TEST DRIVE MEME, APRIL 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

PTA BAKE SALE

It's that time of year again. The time when everyone digs into their wallet, ignores their diet, and spends a little time supporting the local school bake fair. You know, for the good of the children. And it doesn't hurt that Linda's Blondie recipe is honestly to die for. The school PTA has pulled out all the stops this year in the hopes of encouraging a good community turn out, posters advertising the sale plastering every street corner and stuffed into every mailbox for a solid week leading up to the event, and today is finally the day.

There's at least two dozen different tables set up with all manner of delectable treats, even one or two offering vegan alternatives for those inclined, not to mention a few others catering to some of the townspeople's more... unique palates.

Maybe you've got your own table set up with your wares, or maybe you were simply lured to the park today by the appetizing scents wafting through the air. Either way it seems like the whole town has come out to show their support today and why wouldn't they? Children are our future, aren't they? Or maybe it's just Linda's Blondie recipe.

Yeah, that's probably it.

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 currently has two basic functions. The first is audio-only and can be accessed from the telephones in each character's home. If an audio-based medium doesn't suit your needs (or aesthetics), be sure to take advantage of the Wayward Pines Message Board from your brand new laptop for the chance to communicate with your fellow townspeople in a text-based format instead!

( a few notes )

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

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

[ouzel]

There's a problem with that last one, though.

[ Cassian is not kidding but he also doesn't seem terribly thrilled with the idea of explaining the whys or wherefores of that further in this immediate moment. Another shrug. ]

There was no welcome letter when I got here.

[volitaunt]

Okay. But what are we doing about it?

[ Yes, it's we already, Cassian. Poe blinks, then laughs quietly. ] And what's your name?

[ouzel]

Not like the resistance effort here is organized. A little difficult, when so much hinges on what we remember ourselves to be.

[ Okay, that does get a real smile out of Cassian. Take the spy out of the war, but can you take the war out of the spy? ]

Cassian Andor.

[volitaunt]

There's step one.

[ Organize. His eyes are practically sparkling with the electric desire to run off and start recruiting, but that's hardly a sensible way to go about things. There's groundwork to lay first. Scouting. Seeing if any fledgling organized resistance actually exists. ]

Poe Dameron. Good to meet you.

[ Hang on-- ] What we remember ourselves to be?

[ouzel]

A little difficult, considering the various other strange happenings and the constant surveillance. But you're right. It's where things need to start.

Just maybe not right this instance. [ AKA slow down, Cowboy. ]

It's how people define themselves, isn't it? What they remember, the lives they've lived.

[volitaunt]

[ Poe chuckles, giving the throttle of his bike a little twist so the engine rumbles abruptly. ] Can't help it. I like to go fast.

[ And hey, he remembers a bit. Enough, for now. Then he's serious again, the back and forth between humor and gravity as natural as breathing. ] The memory thing happens a lot, huh. It's something they do to us. But it's not perfect, either, lucky us.

[ouzel]

Good to know. [ If they ever need a daredevil of that sort. You never know, right?

Cassian nods. ] The name of the game is connections, right? Make people assimilate, make them want to. Easiest way to do that is to create connections. Ties.

People remember living their whole lives here. Or a life that led them here.

[volitaunt]

[ A daredevil of his sort always comes in handy.

As Cassian talks, the ghosts of memories drift to the surface of Poe's mind -- far less certain than the ones he woke up with, just powerful enough to cause doubt. But they clash, they clash so violently with what he does know that it's impossible for him to reconcile the two. ]

And some of us remember it's Bantha fodder. Does the acronym 'NASA' mean anything to you?

[ouzel]

[ Cassian blinks and then? He laughs.

Congratulations, Poe. You've just helped Cassian convince himself he is not as likely to go insane as he originally thought. ]

A lot less than the word "Bantha", to be honest.

[volitaunt]

[ All right, something funny, sure. At least the guy can laugh. Poe was starting to wonder.

He does smile a little in return - it's automatic, really. He finally powers down and dismounts the bike, sitting on it sidesaddle instead of like he's about to drive off at any given moment.]

It's where they want me to think I worked. Something about exploring space, but what I'm remembering isn't anywhere close to an X-wing. How do they expect something like that to stick?

[ouzel]

Well 'Earth' means something to a lot of these people, I'm guessing. [ Along with the United States and Idaho. ] Grab a bunch of people from a pre-spaceflight planet, might as well keep it simple.

[ Also why in the hell would anyone at NASA come to Idaho? ]

[volitaunt]

[ Sorry, what. What. What??

Poe opens his mouth to add something and then closes it again. How many centuries has it been since spaceflight became commonplace? Sure there are planets where it isn't commonplace, exactly, and people who have never left their home worlds. There are newly-explored Outer Rim planets with civilizations too primitive to have mastered it.

There's no way to have gotten him or Cassian here without spaceflight capabilities. That's a fractional comfort. ] A bunch of people. But not everyone, right? You, me, there have to be others.

[ouzel]

[ Unless they're buried under the sand of Scarif in some bizarre and improbable biodome, Cassian is pretty much in agreement with that. At Poe's question, however, the corner of his mouth quirks up. ]

Probably. There's at least one other, but she's someone I know. [ From before is the implied. ] I don't know about the rest.

[volitaunt]

[ He stares at Cassian in silence for several moments, then scrubs a hand through his hair like he's coming out of a reverie.

In a way, he is. His brain needed a second to reboot. ] They must'v thought you were nuts. And you've got nothing to prove you aren't.

[ouzel]

I haven't exactly polled anyone, to be honest, but I've got the impression that implying faster-than-light travel is a thing will get some raised eyebrows at the very least.

[ A shrug. ] The biggest questions are how we got here, what was done to us and why, but they aren't the only questions.

[volitaunt]

Yeah.

[ He looks up, past the treetops toward the cliffs. ] And how whoever did it comes and goes. You been out near their wall yet?

[ouzel]

Once; it was enough. [ In the middle of the night, too, and solo, so that had been fun, if his flat grimace is any indication. ] Do you have friends here?

[volitaunt]

[ Poe smiles instantly. Even with the specter of the wall and its barrier hanging in his mind, he can't not smile.

No, he hasn't known Finn long, but the guy gave Poe the one thing he needed at the moment when he most needed it. He gave Poe hope.]

One. Name's Finn. I can introduce you--he's a good man.

[ And he needs friends.]

[ouzel]

I've met Finn. [ Cassian also smiles. Who would not smile after interacting with that kid? ]

Big smiles, eats like he's starved, earnest to a fault? [ Cassian nods. ] He is good people, definitely.

They might give you your weapon back in a month, if you manage to stay out of the sheriff's notice until then. My friend - her name is Jyn - she's prickly and defensive but her heart's in the right place.

[volitaunt]

That's Finn.

[ In many ways (in ways he doesn't realize), Poe thinks of his friend almost like an avatar of possibility. The good that can survive and then thrive in spite of darkness. Someone worth protecting with everything he's got.

And that description sounds familiar. ]

Pretty sure I've met her. Didn't give me her name, so I can't be one hundred percent on that, but pretty sure. [ The thought of her and Finn meeting is... at the very least it'll be interesting. At best, entertaining. ] We're off to a good start.

[ Poe's expression darkens by a fraction. One thing left, one thing he should have considered before this point. He doesn't think Cassian is the type, but you never know.

He hates how hard it is to know.] Quick question. What comes to mind when I say First Order?

[ouzel]

If she didn't immediately kick your ass, I'm inclined to agree. [ Don't underestimate her is the message here, and Cassian is pretty sure that Poe can hear it.

At the question he blinks. ]

Nothing, actually. [ So either beyond his need-to-know level or...something. ] But if we're playing word-association, mine is Death Star, for the record.

[volitaunt]

[ That... was the opposite of anything Poe expected. And, as it is wont to do at such times, his mouth runs away with him. ] Which one?

[ouzel]

[ Cassian's eyebrows go up.

In the same moment his face goes pale and his lips thin out as he brings a hand up to cover his mouth, then his eyes.] Fuck. Fuck.

There was just the one. [ Of course it's naive to believe that the Empire wouldn't revitalize the program the moment they got the chance.

God, when Jyn finds out... Cassian shakes his head. ]

[volitaunt]

[ Oh.

Shit.

Wait.

What?

Just the one--] They went down. They both went down.

[ Because apparently that's something that needs to be said. How badly has Cassian's memory been messed with? ]

[ouzel]

I wasn't around for the second one, none of us were. [ He shakes his head. ] I mean, my team. We didn't make it off Scarif, so. This is news, to me.

[ Cassian gives a sharp nod, taking a breath in. ] Jyn's gonna lose it. Don't tell her, okay, it's...it's personal, for her.