Heidi: It's moving away, thank God. Max: What the heck is going on here? Zhang: I don't know, but something good, it ain't.
Max: Is this what they meant with “naturally interact with customers?” Shooting people in the face is the last thing I would consider natural! Heidi: Maybe it only targets billboards and statues?
Zhang: Even if it does, I fail to see the amusement value in that. And, what if there are people behind a billboard or statue? I don't think their EULA mentions “getting shot is at own risk.” Max: Given the Facescroll company's track record, it wouldn't surprise me.
Story arc: Faceworld – chapter: Something Wrong
SONAIS 62 - Tuesday, May 14, 2024
Max: I'm starting to suspect something went really awry here. We should warn the police. Anyone have a cell signal? Zhang: Nope, nothing. Heidi: Also nothing.
Heidi: The park is supposed to have its own cellular and internet uplink, why is there no signal? Zhang: The uplink would be at the center. It being down is not a good sign. I don't think we'll want to go to there. Maybe it's crawling with more of those murder-bots.
Max: Let's get back to the hovercraft station and get the hell out of here, then warn the police or even the army when we're back in the inhabited world. Heidi: Sounds like a plan.
Story arc: Faceworld – chapter: Something Wrong
SONAIS 63 - Friday, May 17, 2024
Setting: The team arrives back at the station. We see a close-up of the pilot's glasses with broken lenses and blood spatters everywhere. Heidi: Mein Gott, that looks bad. Max: Oh no, this isn't happening.
Zhang: He's also been shot in the head. There must be several of those robots, and they seem to target anything that looks like a human face. Heidi: Let's barricade ourselves inside ASAP. It's not safe here outside. The bot that did this can't be far.
We see the team covering the glass doors from the inside with furniture. Max: Stay away from the windows. I don't know the range of the cameras on these bots. Heidi: I remember a discussion about the need to resolve a face at 100 meters. Zhang: Wasn't it rather “dissolve?”
Story arc: Faceworld – chapter: Something Wrong
SONAIS 64 - Tuesday, May 21, 2024
Heidi: OK, does anyone feel confident in piloting the hovercraft? Zhang: It's a bit like a cross-over between a boat and airplane… I have a license for neither. Max: I'd rather not try. If we crash it, we're stuck in the middle of nowhere with no communication.
Heidi: Then unfortunately our best option is to go to the control center after all, and hope the crew is still alive. Max: The pilot mentioned a “skeleton crew…” I hope that is not to be taken literally now.
Heidi: Even if they're dead, the center is the only place where we have a chance to shut down the bots, or at least restore the uplink. Zhang: I'm afraid Heidi's logic is flawless. Max: It usually is, even though in this situation I would have preferred otherwise…