⇨ THE MATRIX: Kidnapping Update and Plotting Post

[ringleaders]

AFTERMATH↴ As of D30, it will be clear that Childermass, Carly, and Tamaki haven't returned from their trip into the Matrix - and in the case of Tamaki, there was a witness to his capture by Agents, the Matrix's AI police force. What exactly happened after they were taken away won't be clear, but there were three more cases of attempted kidnappings. Peridot and Steven Universe were attacked while in the Matrix, resulting in Steven taking a bullet wound. Lauren and Susan were attacked while touring the zoo, leaving Susan with some mild injuries. Sherlock was attacked by an Agent while chasing down a burglar. All three of these attacks were narrowly averted by the arrival of members of the Resistance, who brought the tourists back to a phone they could disconnect from after asking them some questions. The Resistance members will not try to hold any of the carnival visitors against their will, though they will have asked questions about their origins and capabilities. They will also as for them to stay and help fight against the machines if they are able, or to at least return to the Matrix and speak with them after they have had a chance to recover. Whether or not your character takes them up on that meeting is up to them. There will be a section below to have your characters ask the Resistance members questions, and also to clarify what they would be telling them in return. The Resistance is very confused by the carnival's impact on the Matrix, and are most interested in allying with them, due to their innate talents in controlling the system. KIDNAPPEES↴ In the case of those that were captured, there are multiple options for how we can proceed. On a base level, they will all be held for a few days. They will be interrogated by Agents and bugged with robotic creatures similar to the ones seen in the linked video. (Warning: sort of disturbing body horror.) The machines inserted into them will seem to give the Agents some kind of control over their bodies, and will allow them to do things like the mouth melting shut and other generally horrifying Agent stuff. Depending on your tastes, you can have this interrogation be fairly brutal, or you can have your character gives stuff away more easily and have them spend most of the intervening time unconscious. (You can pick how much you want to torture your character as long as it makes sense with the Agent's agenda.) After the first couple days, you have two options for how to resolve this situation: ► BUGGED: Your character will be inexplicably released back into the Matrix and allowed to return to the carnival. Of course, they'll be bringing that parasitic bug with them. The bug will cause the carrier to psychologically resist paths of action that will lead to it getting removed, but generally speaking they will be themselves except for the fact that they won't remember being injected with it in the first place, until the point that it's removed or provoked via some psychological/magical means. This, of course, is going to serve to lead the Agents to the carnival's location during performance week if it isn't caught immediately. (Yes, the bug will manifest physically along with their real bodies. Ew.) ► HOSTAGE: Your character will be kept as a hostage and used to try to draw other carnival members out to save them. Presumably the Agents will release some kind of message in the Matrix to draw carnival visitors and Resistance members toward the situation. The benefit is that it will cause additional drama. The downside is that your character will be out of casual play for a bit longer. This is a rescue mission that the Nightrunners will be primarily in charge of, though the Ringmaster will intervene if she has to. If your character is kidnapped, give us an idea of what you'd like to do below. Also, let us know how easily your character would have leaked information. The Agents will get stuff out of them regardless, but how much will depend on whether or not they just spill all their info straight from the start.