"The blood and sacrifice of the war must be both forgiven and not forgotten; therefore, the children of our coming generations shall partake in schooling at Harrowman's School of Excellence--where the past shall be remembered at the edge of the whip, and the future shall be honoured by the choice our enemies shall be given."

    --The Viral Treaty

Hard Drive

The Hard Drive is the working metropolis of Terminal—information of all sorts, brought in from external files and the Internet Café, is sorted and classified here. It is a large building that stretches up towards the upper reaches of Terminal.

On the floor of the building are machines worked at by Bits, sorting the information gathered from above. This machinery peppers the walls, leaving the interior free for the elevator platforms that lead to the balconies above.

One balcony level up, reached by an extending mechanical walkway that meets the elevator platform, is where the Bytes work. They have small impersonal offices in which they meet with incoming files.

The third floor of balconies houses the wood-panelled offices of the Megabytes, and the fourth floor, the glass-walled ones of the Gigabytes.

An exterior addition to the building is home to a small cafeteria and lounge area.

CD Drive

The CD Drive is a large circular chamber located on the outskirts of the circuitry. The tallest building in Terminal, it reaches far up beyond visibility and has a physical connection with the outside world.

Inside, hundreds of machines are set up on the perimeter, wherein receptors catalogue and inscribe information about incoming and outgoing files. In the center is a massive circular platform. It is lined with locking mechanisms and a center pole that allow CDs to safely lock into Terminal.

Four rectangular tunnels jut off from this main chamber, stretching off away from the circuitry and literally to the end of the world in parallel lines. Flash Drives and other external outputs travel along these tunnels.

Internet Café

In the heart of the circuitry lies a quaint little coffee and pastry shop known as the Internet Café. It’s run by Papa Protocol and his daughter provides some of the best food and drink Terminal has to offer, but the dining is certainly not its claim to fame.

For behind a locked door in the back is Terminal’s portal to the internet, the most incredible pastime Terminal has to offer. It’s quick and easy and a cheap connection to other Terminals, it’s an awesome sport known as web-surfing, but most importantly it’s the only other way in and out of Terminal besides the heavily-regulated CD Drive.

While technically only for usage by agents of the Motherboard, if you’re a regular or you know Papa Protocol, you’ll probably get away with a couple of hours a week if you do so please. And, of course, anything can be bought for a certain fee…

Screen

The Screen is a large rectangular building positioned on the far end of Terminal. Compared to the rest of the cyber-world, it is tilted on its side (up against an outer wall), but once inside, gravity shifts itself so it is the world that’s on its side.

The interior of the screen is a grid of some 60,000+ square slots, the walls of which come up to about the shins of the pixels. There are straps on the floor of these slots which lock onto the shoes of the pixels in order to prevent being thrown from the slot.

For, when the screen turns on, the slots are flung and shifted across the floor in what seems to be random patterns. These patterns are transposed to the monitor and create the visuals that the User sees. The pixels work in shifts so that they do not have to spend all of each 120 hour day in such a manner.

Battery

A small chamber on the outskirts of the Circuitry, the battery is essentially an office building overseen by the somewhat omnipotent Power Source. Filled with offices, cells work here to ensure that all parts of Terminal have sufficient running power.

Each cell is responsible for a small sector of Terminal. Their responsibilities include managing total power quotients, budgets, and other things.

Circuitry and The Circuit Road

The Circuitry of Terminal is, in essence, the major bulk of the cyber-world. It is the city, the alleyways, the shops and restaurants, the theatres and arenas. It is where the components live and play, rest and work. It is the soul of Terminal.

Connecting all of Terminal, from the far reach of the CD Drive on one side to the sideways Screen on the other, is the Circuit Road. Travel-able both by current-transport or buses, all components must carry their permit in order to travel.

Motherboard

The United States has the President. The British have Parliament. The components of Terminal have the Motherboard. Mast-headed by the supreme Motherboard Controller (fondly referred to as the MBC), it has provided stability and prosperity since Terminal 199610504’s inception two years ago.

Located one day’s walk out of the Circuitry, the Motherboard is a palace-like building. Inside live the attendants, those components whose jobs are the epitome of bureaucracy. They live in luxury and fashion.

In the heart of the building is the Control Room, where the MBC works. Her headset allows her to wire herself directly into the mainframe of Terminal itself, accessing all of its flaws and perfections. Through this, she monitors everything.

Also inside are the courts, the faucet of Terminal’s justice system. The Motherboard and everyone in it work like a well-oiled machine.

Firewall

Every society has its scum and its spam, and Terminal is no different. Its force to combat such evils is known as the Firewall, headed by Officer Daemon. Its Headquarters are located within the Circuitry, and it has specialized task forces that are trained to deal with Terminal’s specific problems and needs.   

The HQ is a high-security detail, armed with all of the most updated anti-viral software available. Inside are a collection of lounges, offices, conference rooms, and jail cells. It is generally considered one of the safest places in Terminal.

The Hub

Components, sometimes, can go wrong. Malfunctions and problems are commonplace and a matter of time for most, and The Hub has mechanics and programmers available to help in healing.

Acting as Terminal’s hospital (and, following the metaphor, wherein the mechanics are nurses and the programmers are doctors), The Hub is the center of medicinal upgrades in Terminal. Currently, its main project is finding a cure for the fast-spreading virus.

Located in the Circuitry, it is a large building filled with offices, labs, waiting rooms, and operating studios. Mechanics and Programmers have the option to live in The Hub or not.

The Desktop

While most shopping needs can be accommodated within the Circuitry, the hottest market around is the Desktop. There, you can find the hottest fashion trends, software upgrades, delicacies, and others.

It is open on Tuesdays and Wednesdays only. Components who trespass on other days will, according to the Motherboard, be prosecuted.

It is a large and open square located on the outskirts of the Circuitry, fenced in by electrical coils.

Trash

Those convicted of crimes will be held and/or sentenced to time in the Trash. A massive jail outside of the Circuitry, the Trash is a massive complex of six buildings, each with one hundred holding cells inside. It is guarded by a team of Firewall Officers.

Each cell inside the Trash is equipped to erase its inmates. Those sentenced to death by the Motherboard pay for their crimes in this way. This measure is only used, though, as a last resort.

Admittance to the Trash by non-convicts is strictly prohibited.

Please drop this in the submit box! Thanks so much!

Name/Alias:

Timezone and Weekly Activity (i.e. EST & 7/10):

Past RP’s You’ve Been an Admin For (please include links!):

Why do you want to Co-Admin? (i.e. why Terminal?)

What will you bring to the administrative plate?  

Be sure you’re following everyone!

  • Nobody yet!

Masterlist | Unfollows | Events | Affiliates

Here you’ll find a bunch of important information regarding this RP, so read carefully and don’t worry, you’ll be all set up with us pretty soon!

Before you connect with the cyber-world, be sure you’ve done the following:

  • Sent us the link to your account
  • Enabled your ask box
  • Followed everyone on the masterlist
  • Made your blog pretty—nothing fancy, but at least a pic of the character and a brief IC blurb from the character as a description.
  • OPTIONAL: reblog the character’s bio/include it on a page. This makes it easier for others to access your characters’ info.

Remember, IC drama is the spice of life. Plot, plot, plot! If you’re too shy to invade someone’s inbox, just talk to us and we’ll be happy to do it for you.

Important: Though there are only three or fewer bios listed as “suggested reading” for each character, please realize that your character probably knows a lot of other people! If your character works at the Hard Drive, they probably know the folks who work there, even if they’re just acquaintances. There’s no reason for anyone to get ignored! If you feel left out, don’t hesitate to talk to us about it and we’ll see what we can do. While, ultimately, having a great RP experience is up to you, if we can facilitate that in any way, we will!

If a name is here, that means we have a character planned for them and know where they fit into a batch. There are others we are considering, but they’re not quite solid enough to release to you guys yet! Feel free to suggest FCs at any time—just because they’re not here doesn’t mean we won’t want to use them at some point.

If the fc has an x beside it, click on it for the teaser we/ve released about them. If their name is a link, click on it to view the bio of their character.

Batch One

By Availability:

By Gender:

By Alignment:

Terminal 199610504, one of many cyber-societies, is built upon the concepts of obedience and duty. However, with living in a cyber-world, what sort of differences from our own society are there? Read below to find out.

  • What is my character’s age?

Ages are generally irrelevant in Terminal. While individuals do mature as their coding becomes more sophisticated, there is no defined “age” for a program. Death is typically caused by a virus, obsolete software, erasure due to bad deeds, or User termination.

  • Why are the names weird?

Unlike names on Earth, names within the cyber-world are based upon the individual’s function or on technological aspects of the computer. For example, the Motherboard Controller, well, controls the motherboard; Bina’s name is derived from the computer term “Binary.” Beside each name, you will find suggested nicknames or aliases for ease of writing.

  • Do individuals within the cyber-world need to sleep and eat?

Yes, to both. You wouldn’t want them to get too hot or become overworked, and every program needs energy to build upon their code. There is a strictly enforced lights out every night, and there are many different places to eat around Terminal and its circuitry.

  • Do individuals get paid for their work?

Yes and no. Most basic expenses, such as housing, et cetera, are taken care of by the Motherboard. However, extra money is allotted for personal purchases, such as vanity items at the Desktop market or a ticket to another Terminal via the CD Drive. The government has also been known to award bonuses in cases of extreme overachievement, but this is infrequent and rare.

  • Why Terminal 199610504?

As each computer that exists within our universe is a world into itself, each are branded with an identifying series of numerals. However, because this RP takes place within one Terminal only, while paraing and such you need only to refer to the world simply as Terminal.

  • How does time work within Terminals?

Because computers have ridiculously fast speeds, time within the Terminals run fast—one minute in our universe is encompassed in five minutes inside of the Terminals. Thus, Terminal has 120-hour days that occur in the same amount of “time” as our 24-hour ones. Don’t worry too much about this, though!

  • What happens when an individual is infected with the virus?

See this page for a full breakdown of the virus and its consequences.

More information to come!

The viral infection may spread in a multitude of ways: namely, by being touched by a carrier (Mal Ware), making contact with infected components, or ingesting from a contaminated food source. After infection, the disease progresses through five documented stages. Please note that not every case exhibits the same symptoms. 

  • Stage 1—the viral code has begun to replicate itself. The individual starts noticing strange flickers on various parts of the body; sometimes, a hand or foot will flicker out of view for a moment. A distinct discomfort in the chest seems to settle in, one that cannot be alleviated. Stage 1 lasts for 2-3 weeks after the initial infection.

  • Stage 2—as replication continues, temporary visual disruptions increase in both frequency and duration. Vicious headaches begin to plague the individual, the result of the brain attempting to process code that simply doesn’t belong. At this stage, one is prone to overheating, small glitches in functions, and momentary speech loops. Stage 2 lasts for about 2 weeks.

  • Stage 3—the visual disruptions start to move from temporary to permanent, giving the infected a general pale and almost watery look. A greenish rash begins to break out on the neck, chest, and upper legs. Headaches worsen. Speech loops become more frequent, as do glitches. Entire limbs may seem to vanish for minutes at a time. Tongue turns completely green and appetite wanes due to stomach pains. Stage three lasts for about a week after the 2nd Stage ends.

  • Stage 4—viral code is now more present than the original code. Transparency increases, as does the scope of the rash, leaving out only the face, hands, and feet. Headaches and stomach pains become unbearable. A complete loss of appetite occurs. Speech loops make it very difficult to speak properly and, in some case, complete muteness occurs. The duration of Stage 4 is about 4 days to 1 week.

  • Stage 5—the viral code has replaced nearly all of the original program’s code. The infected is very faint, almost invisible, and the greenish rash has spread to all parts of the body. Proper function and response is minimal. Death is sure to follow. Stage 5 lasts anywhere from 2 to 4 days after Stage 4 terminates.

There are currently no known cures, but head programmer Kernel is hard at work looking for one—he will not rest until he has found it. Until then, please visit the Hub to obtain a weekly patch designed by Uncle Glitch. It is not a workable cure, however, it will slow replication and stall progression.

The computer.

A quintessential part of twenty-first century life, this human invention has spread like wildfire. In fact, humans are rarely seen without their own personal little computer, from their laptops to their cell phones to their cars’ CD players. Little do they know that within each and every piece of machinery there exists a cyber-society, a massive group of programs living and working to keep the technology going.

This is the story of one such society.

Terminal 199610504, a glittering paragon of these cyber-worlds, has always been admired by other such Terminals and frequented by tourists. Run by the Motherboard Controller, Terminal is clean, safe, and impressive, from the deepest depths of the Trash to the tippy top of the Monitor. Each section works like a well-oiled machine, headed by such figures as Firewall Officer Daemon, RAMulus, and the perpetually enigmatic Power Source, all of which work tirelessly to ensure the User is given the best experience possible. For the entirety of its existence, Terminal has seemed almost effortlessly perfect, a utopian example of the cyber-worlds, and a society some deemed immutably perfect.

They were wrong.

Something deadly is spreading through the streets of the Circuitry, causing lesser bits and bytes to drop dead. Rumours of not one virus but a team of them can be heard on everyone’s lips… and as the body count grows higher, the faith in the Motherboard Controller is getting drastically lower.

Thus the first rebellions Terminal had ever seen arose. Though many had thought rebellion impossible under Motherboard Controller’s rule, her divided attentions have made it possible for one very charismatic pixel to stand up and—quite simply—say “no.” A second rebellion, one among the bits of the Circuitry, has sprung up, too—luckily for Motherboard Controller and the rest of her government, they have not progressed beyond verbal protest, but who knows when they will decide to act?

To make matters worse, the ineffable Papa Protocol, a well-loved public figure and the guardian of the only other entrance to Terminal besides the CD Drive, the internet, seems to be doing nothing to stop it. Uncle Glitch has crawled out of his hole, too, and though his attempts at a coup have always failed in the past, can the Firewall really fend off attacks on all sides?

With nearly half of the population dead and one-quarter sick, the components of Terminal are struggling to keep life the way it always was. But will the programs of Terminal be able to unify under a single cause to save themselves, or will the fighting from within leave them open to complete annihilation?

Where do I go next?

 

If You Take the Time to Read the Rules, Please Follow Them.

  • You’ll have taken the time to read these, so it would be foolish and pointless to break them. Please make sure to keep these rules in mind the whole time you are actively participating in this RPG! Breaking rules will lead first to warnings and then consequences. 

Application Process

  • Read the plot. Don’t jump on a faceclaim because you love them—love the plot, too!
  • Check that you’ve completed every part of the application. Each area is there for a reason. If you have a question, don’t hesitate to ask! We’re happy to help out.
  • A reservation means we will wait for your application before accepting—it does not mean we will not take other apps or reservations for the character or that the spot is yours! All reservations last for twenty-four hours. Please be serious about applying before you reserve: to ensure some sort of commitment, we will not be taking reservations on anon.
  • There are very few FCs we will be willing to change, as every single one has been thought about and carefully chosen to add another dimension and create depth for our characters. If requesting an FC change, please provide a few potential options for the admins to consider.

Once Accepted

  • Please make your IC character page and link it to us within 24 hours—if you don’t, we’ll have to reopen your role! Keep in mind exceptions can be made, but said exceptions must be discussed with the admins.
  • Make sure your ask box is on! We need it to be on to get in touch with you! Having the ask box on is also integral to plotting and communicating with other RPers, so enabling it is a must.
  • Ensure you’re following the IC News Page—it’s important for keeping everyone up to date on in-world happenings as well as for receiving plot suggestions. An OOC section will also provide a comprehensive look at all plot lines which will be integral to keeping up!

While Active

  • Stick with the plot! You’ve gotten this far, so don’t quit now. Creating sideplots is a wonderful, wonderful thing, but please don’t go on too much of a tangent. We have insidious plans you’ll want to be a part of!

  • Evolution is okay, but breaking character is not. Over time your character can change, but don’t turn them into someone completely different! Major changes may be discussed with the admins and we’ll gladly hear you out.

  • Always post/reply as text. In order to keep the dashboard neat and tidy, please, when paraing, delete all but the response you are replying to. Also, please make sure that you’re writing in the third person, past-tense!
  • Our aim for this RP is to provide an invigorating and thought-provoking writing experience taking place in an original and interesting world. An element of this ideal is proper grammar and spelling—it’s of paramount importance that everyone has a good time, so do your part and monitor these aspects of your writing. In addition, please ensure each para is three paragraphs of five sentences each at minimum. Sorry, but no exceptions.
  • There will be mature content. Don’t be shocked when you see it!
  • Remain active! Five days of inactivity will result in a note from us. If there’s still no response, we’ll put out an unfollow message. Of course, extended absences are permitted, all you gotta do is ask us about it and we’ll be glad to keep you around.

Other

  • Keep OOC drama out. No ifs, ands, or buts.

  • Controlling what another player’s character is doing, saying, or thinking is called god-modding, and is entirely inappropriate. If you are experiencing this, please let anadmin know.

  • Everyone in this RPG is here because they’d like to have a good time—leaving out any single person destroys that. Always try to include everyone.  The more characters involved in a plot or a storyline, the more fun and exciting it will be. Leaving people out, in the end, will only hurt your experience.

  • At this time, we request that all RPers only have one character. This may change at some point in the future.Stay tuned!