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I walked into the kitchen. If the power was out, it would be better not to open the fridge. Maybe it would come back on sooner than I feared? There was bread in the cupboard and- |
Congratulations! |
Your planet has been selected for the latest round of Maffiyir! |
What? I spun around, backtracking to be sure the TV wasn’t on. |
Survive to the end to be granted not only a sponsored citizenship in the Commonwealth, but permanent ownership of all the vast riches you’ve managed to accumulate throughout the game. |
The TV was definitely off. And the volume of the announcements didn’t change as I moved. It didn’t sound like it was coming from inside my head, but from someone right in front of me… but it sounded that way no matter which way I looked, or where I walked. |
In order to level the playing field for all participants, all electronic wiring has been ruined and most combustible materials have been neutralized. |
I stopped walking around. All electronics? On the whole planet? And combustibles… like gasoline? |
In compensation for this, every sentient resident of this planet is receiving one ability of their choice! The possibilities are -- |
“Kids!” I shouted. “Wait! Don’t you dare select an ability! We need to talk first.” |
--but do know that the impact of such abilities may be more minimal than expected, until properly supported. A list of recommended starting abilities will be provided upon request following this introductory message. Simply state “Interface: Ability Options” to see the list. |
The game will continue until the sentients of this planet have claimed at least 30% of the non-liquid surface area, or until only 5% of participants remain. Face the challenges before you to grow in strength and earn rewards. Good luck! |
Five percent? They - whoever or whatever had sent this message - thought what they’d done might be lethal to 95% of humanity? Part of me just wanted to laugh. I dug my nails into the palm of my hand. It definitely hurt. I wasn’t dreaming. This didn’t seem like it could be real, but I would have to treat it as real. If ... |
I swallowed. Something that could kill 95% of humanity. And here I was, at home with a nine-year-old, a six-year-old, and a three-year-old. My husband was away on a business trip, too. He would have been home late tonight. If only he was here now! |
Keeping the kids safe would be so much easier with any other adult to help out, but Vincenzo wasn’t any other adult. I knew some marriages that seemed to work well where each partner had their own hobbies and interests--and it wasn’t like we did everything together. Just, you know… 90% of things. Both of us were big fa... |
I clamped down on my rising panic. It didn’t matter how much harder it was. I was a mom. My kids needed me, and Vince needed me to take care of them. I could stress later. |
“Kids! Micah, Gavin, Cassie! Into the family room, NOW!” |
After a moment, the boys thundered into the room, Micah tripping over a toy as his eyes scanned back at forth. I looked behind me, but everything looked normal. |
“You okay, buddy? Did you see something weird?” |
He focused on me for a second, looking amused. “Well, yeah, Mom. This Interface is super weird, don’t you think?” |
I gave him the Mom Voice. “You didn’t pick an ability yet, did you?” |
He looked offended. “No! You said not to. I’m just looking. Have you not looked at it yet?” |
“Uh… not yet. Um. Interface.” |
Words swam in front of my face, but I hesitated before starting to read them. “You two better not pick anything. Let me look at this.” I raised my voice. “CASSIE! You get your butt in here! Don’t make me start counting.” |
I heard a tiny “Ughhhh,” muffled by the distance and walls. “I’m coming.” |
My little threenager. |
I rolled my eyes and took a look at the floating text. |
Meghan Moretti |
Novelty: n/a |
Abilities: none |
No stats, unless “novelty” was some strange idea of one, but it was hard not to think of a video game when you saw floating text like that. Not that I’d ever named a character after myself. With all the weirdos out there? No, thank you. Seeing my own, real, name up there gave the experience a creepy touch of uncanny va... |
“Ability options,” I muttered. |
Here are twelve starting ability options suggested for your species! |
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