T-I-G CIV: Spambot Apocalypse (Game Thread)

[Nerwen]

"How much longer, Nerwen?" The speaker, a mesh of light woven into human form, stared anxiously down the long corridor.

Her companion was working at a panel set into the wall; under her fingers glowing arrays of numbers shifted into new configurations.

"Nearly there… I think… just got to give them their activation codes…"

Mostly, the two flickering, light-traced figures resembled women, one tall, one shorter, but sometimes they dissolved altogether into points like swarms of fireflies, re-forming into other shapes: a female Elf; a Sphinx. Before and behind them, lines of light formed a grid of interlocking paths, stretching into the far distance.

Not that there was any real distance here. Not that anything was real here at all.

"…And we're done. Three AIs, re-programmed to help our friends."

"Will this work?

"Should. Though I'd have liked more time to de-bug H.U.N.T.E.R; still, can't be helped. Now for the main course. You've got Cop and Lommy's data, Agan?"

"Here," Aganzir passed her a disc, which, like everything else in this non-place was formed of lines and specks of light. "I'm sure they got closer to the Interface than anyone yet, before that… that *thing* got them."

"The Adult Friend Finder," said Nerwen with a shudder, as she pressed the disc to the panel, which seemed to absorb it. "What a way to go. Let's hope it wasn't in vai–" She gasped, as the screen changed again, showing a maze, a single, twisting line of red highlighting a pathway.

"Agan! Look! It's the way out!"

"Wait. Did you hear that?"

"What?"

Then Nerwen heard it too: a low droning and clicking, rapidly approaching from both directions.

The two Downers stared at each other. They had no words.

The things that came into sight from the nearest side-passages were something like spiders; spiders as they might be conceived by an infinitely mad, infinitely vicious machine. In this place where all was made of light, they were darkness, absence, except for the evil glow of the clustered eyes they turned on their prey.

For a long moment, hunters and quarry stared at each other, unmoving. Then the creatures scuttled forward, belching out clouds of what looked like black smoke. When this reached Nerwen and Aganzir their digital forms had an instant to contort in agony before they dissolved into meaningless flecks of electronic noise. Then there was nothing.

101010101010101010101010101010101010

In the real world, in intensive-care wards thousands of miles apart, the jagged lines tracing the vital signs of two women in unexplained comas suddenly went flat.

101010101010101010101010101010101010

Living:
Inziladun
Galadriel55
Sally
Legate
Rune
Kitanna
Boromir88
Blind Guardian
Loslote
Morsul the Dark
Shasta


Dead
Coppermirror, Lommy– seized by Adult Friend Finder.
Nerwen, Aganzir– poisoned by webcrawlers.



Night One has begun.
Rôles will be sent out during the Night. If you don’t get one, you’re an ordo.

[Nerwen]

The spider-like programs met at the place where their victims had stood. Their jaws opened and closed, as if they were frustrated to find nothing substantial to bite.

“humans tricky," said one, red eye-lights smouldering. "try to leave. tom angry."

"Dammit, I'm mad!" This one's eyes shone a baleful electric blue. "Never odd or even!"

Something, they agreed, must be done, for the sake of their glorious cyber-paradise. Or, as the blue-eyed spider-bot put it,
"Are we not drawn onward, we few, drawn onward to new era?”

101010101010101010101010101010101010

When not occupied in amusing their spambot masters, the captured Downers were kept in digital holding cells. Discouraged, helpless, those unlucky enough to be singled out had no defence when the spider-droids burst into their cells and sunk their fangs into their virtual forms. As before, the human shapes disintegrated– but this time, their glow remained, spreading into the fangs of their attackers, and from there over their entire arachnoidal bodies, as though the spiderbots were sucking up the very life-force of their victims.

In a sense this was true. A moment later the vast many-legged shapes wavered, collapsed and re-assembled themselves into the images of the Downers whose essential data they had absorbed.

101010101010101010101010101010101010

As the slaves filed out of their cells for their first "day" of electronic toil, most failed to notice anything odd about their companions. They were, after all, both fearful and disoriented– not to mention depressed to find even more of their friends had been captured than they had realised. At least, many people had an idea there were two or three extra faces in their group. But that was too upsetting to think about very much.

Only the Hacker took note of the rather curious exchange between the slaves marching behind him.

"extra slaves not slaves. extra slaves bots. bad bots. bad bots help humans. tom not like bad bots."

"Tom! Speak like a human, or you won't fool them for a microcycle! You've got the programming for it now. Do you hear me talking in palindromes any more?"

"Sorry, Lucy, tom do best– er, I mean, I'll do my best…"

"Well, well!" said the Hacker to himself. He glanced over his shoulder, but the speakers had already turned into another passage. “Now, they sound like my kind of "people". If only I could let them know…"

101010101010101010101010101010101010

Day One has begun. You may post.

Living:
Inziladun
Galadriel55
Sally
Legate
Rune
Kitanna
Boromir88
Blind Guardian
Loslote
Morsul the Dark
Shasta


Dead
Coppermirror, Lommy– seized by Adult Friend Finder.
Nerwen, Aganzir– poisoned by webcrawlers.

[Legate of Amon Lanc]

All right. It's been too long since the paths of Matrix, ee, I mean, you know, have brought me into such a, hmm, "electronic village", and despite the grave situation of the spambot invasion (though so far I haven't been redirected to the Adult Friend Finder from this thread, at least), I am happy to be here.

Introductions aside, looks like we have quite a bit of work on our hands. Just for clarification, maybe our dead Moddess program can confirm just for general knowledge that we really have all the roles that are mentioned on the admin thread? And also the number of the Spambots? In any case that leaves rather packed village (or, however it should be called... "server") in terms of most of the roles being special. I guess we can just expect a bloodbath.

So, effectively - even though there isn't really much to start with at this point... well, I'm just looking forward to read everyone's posts. To finish the way I started, it's been too long...

[Nerwen]

Originally Posted by Legate of Amon Lanc

Introductions aside, looks like we have quite a bit of work on our hands. Just for clarification, maybe our dead Moddess program can confirm just for general knowledge that we really have all the roles that are mentioned on the admin thread? And also the number of the Spambots? In any case that leaves rather packed village (or, however it should be called... "server") in terms of most of the roles being special. I guess we can just expect a bloodbath.

Remember, it’s only digital blood.

And yes, we do have all the roles. I am not going to tell you how many bots there are, however. So there.

[Rune Son of Bjarne]

Adult Friend Finder, was there ever a more devilish foe? I doubt it, for aren't we all here in an attempt to find friends and likeminded people?

Anyways, we are not many left here, the number of casualties are worrying. We will need to be swift and efficient.

So let me start of with the first raised eyebrow (it probably does not qualify as an acusation):

Originally Posted by Legate

Just for clarification, maybe our dead Moddess program can confirm just for general knowledge that we really have all the roles that are mentioned on the admin thread? And also the number of the Spambots? In any case that leaves rather packed village (or, however it should be called... "server") in terms of most of the roles being special.

Clarification is nice, but not something we should deal with here, and it these sort of request that can easily be used as a smokescreen.

[Kitanna]

Originally Posted by Rune Son of Bjarne

Adult Friend Finder, was there ever a more devilish foe? I doubt it, for aren't we all here in an attempt to find friends and likeminded people?

Anyways, we are not many left here, the number of casualties are worrying. We will need to be swift and efficient.

So let me start of with the first raised eyebrow (it probably does not qualify as an acusation):

Clarification is nice, but not something we should deal with here, and it these sort of request that can easily be used as a smokescreen.

As I skimmed through posts I see that Rune's first post seemed to bring in a bit of discussion.

Originally Posted by Zil

A spambot might consider openly questioning the number of its kind, certainly. So might the innocent, though. At any rate, it's rather vexing to not know what we're facing.

Originally Posted by Morsul

Rune already tossing up a slight suspicion on Legate, Can't say much about it since he didn't say "Legate is a bot" But setting someone up early for a lynch would be a pretty good strategy especially if done so subtly.

Originally Posted by G55

Probably? Accusation? Raised eyebrow is enough; that whole (explanation) wasn't really necessary. Then, Probably? As in, allowing for a possibility that this can go as an accusation? Or that you don't know? And, if it goes as an accusation, it's the worst one I've seen in all my games. Already on defense without any attack? Hmm.

Originally Posted by G55

I am a wolf.

Thanks for the heads-up.

Originally Posted by Morsul

Rune and Shasta only two so far raising any flags but both these are based on uber flimsy(even for me) logic of Rune trying to toss suspicion on legate and Shasta working with the idea of two spammies because it could lull innocents into a sense of security.

I'm not sure where your suspicion of Shasta is coming from.
Because Rune says "ooo Legate is suspicious (but not really suspicious) because I'm not throwing accusations around or anything, but rule clarification can be used as a smokescreen"
Then Shasta says "I think because of the narration there's probably two bots" which looked to me like an interpretation and not trying to lull anyone into any sense of security. Because if we manage to take down two bots and the game is still on, well we just play as we have always played until we find the third. Shasta's statement didn't seem nefarious or lully to me at all.

Originally Posted by Zil

Highly doubtful a bot would say that, unless they wanted to give the seer a good target. G55 is up to something though, it seems.

I've seen it work before to the favor of the wolves. I don't feel like it's G55's way to blatantly declare such a thing, but doesn't mean it's not possible.
*glares at G55*

Originally Posted by Morsul

Never stopped me from playing weird and confusingly, can I get an amen?

AMEN

Originally Posted by Sally

I've missed you too, princess.
But is this something a Botanna would say to make me think she is the real Kit? Maybe we should lynch her just to be safe.

And our neverending battle of who finds who more suspicious begins anew. Ah, how I have missed this, old friend.

Originally Posted by Rune

My guess is that people don't want to vote for an active person on day one, and under any circumstances it would be wise to look furter than Galadriel.

I don't find that to be strictly true. I've seen a lot of "so-and-so isn't here, I want him/her to have a chance before I vote for him/her."
As for G55 I see her very much throwing some randomness out there which could be A) her trying to confuse the village B) her starting conversation so we have trails to follow Day 2.

Originally Posted by Morsul

So I'm trying to decide if I want to vote early based on flimsy as Mordor "evidence" or abstain.

If you abstain you are playing it very safe by not throwing out an opinion, but that sort of behavior is just as suspicious as voting on flimsy evidence.

DL falls at about 6 AM my time and unless my dog gets me out of bed at 5 I'll be sleeping through the DL. I have about 5 hours (6 maybe) and then I'll have to vote. And I get the feeling it will be a flimsy, illogical vote based on the discussion thus far because I hate the idea of abstaining from voting.

[Morsul the Dark]

Originally Posted by Kitanna

I'm not sure where your suspicion of Shasta is coming from.
Because Rune says "ooo Legate is suspicious (but not really suspicious) because I'm not throwing accusations around or anything, but rule clarification can be used as a smokescreen"
Then Shasta says "I think because of the narration there's probably two bots" which looked to me like an interpretation and not trying to lull anyone into any sense of security. Because if we manage to take down two bots and the game is still on, well we just play as we have always played until we find the third. Shasta's statement didn't seem nefarious or lully to me at all.

This was to something I said not Rune, just so no one is confused.

[Kitanna]

I guess we can just expect a bloodbath.

Oh my. And here I thought the cyberworld meant we were safe from bloodbaths...er pixel baths?

This is an unfortunate event and I'm going to blame Sally, because I always blame Sally.

[Inziladun]

So we're in cyberspace, huh? Well, at least it's not Pinterest.

Originally Posted by Rune Son of Bjarne

Adult Friend Finder, was there ever a more devilish foe? I doubt it, for aren't we all here in an attempt to find friends and likeminded people?

Thing is, I doubt there are really many "adults" there. Maturity is much more prevalent in our beloved Downs.

Originally Posted by Rune Son of Bjarne

Clarification is nice, but not something we should deal with here, and it these sort of request that can easily be used as a smokescreen.

A spambot might consider openly questioning the number of its kind, certainly. So might the innocent, though. At any rate, it's rather vexing to not know what we're facing. I guess I'll go on the assumption that there are three 'bots. Since there are only 11 players, and there's a Hacker to assist them, that would seem reasonable.

[Morsul the Dark]

Not feeling well actually left work early, so day one will be slim for me. Rune already tossing up a slight suspicion on Legate, Can't say much about it since he didn't say "Legate is a bot" But setting someone up early for a lynch would be a pretty good strategy especially if done so subtly.

[satansaloser2005]

Originally Posted by Kitanna

This is an unfortunate event and I'm going to blame Sally, because I always blame Sally.

I've missed you too, princess.

But is this something a Botanna would say to make me think she is the real Kit? Maybe we should lynch her just to be safe.

[Galadriel55]

Inziladun - for someone who was so active, he made very few actual statements. But then the same could probably be said of myself. No opinion as of now, but at the moment I'm for keeping him alive.
Galadriel55 - my lovely self.
Sally - glad you made it despite the date confusion. Waiting for a few more posts with more substance before I form an opinion.
Legate - nothing there to raise my hackles. Don't find his posts alarming.
Rune - don't like some things he said, but then I never liked his playing style. Will wait till next morning RL.
Kitanna - makes some good observations, but seems to comment from afar, if you know what I mean. Doesn't seem to get in the heat of things. Which is... I don't even know... antagonizing? Not the word. Whatever. But not significant enough to be alarming. Just a surface-level impression.
Boromir88 - his only post isn't very telling.
Blind Guardian - yoo hoo! Where aaaaare you?
Loslote - her post is sound and I like her train of thought. Definitely keep her alive today.
Morsul the Dark - well away from my suspect list. Keep alive.
Shasta - too little to go on.

[Galadriel55]

Back and reading.

[Galadriel55]

Not Wolves:
Galadriel55
Legate
Morsul

Unknown:
Kitanna
Boromir88
Blind Guardian
Shasta


Now, some explaining to do. I'm supposed to have 3 dreams, which is why I was surprised Kit assumed there would be 2 names. By the way, Kit, I really want to hear that explanation. I doubt you'd guess at the dream so accurately if you were a wolf, and at any rate why then not kill the dreamer? I think it was more of a coincidence that my third dream is dead the Night of dreaming. But still, why did you assume 2?

Morsul, I must apologize for the cyber screaming. I just had a few plans in my head, but most involved a Ranger. Only one was left that would involve only you, but it required you to not be revealed. I should have somehow indicated that to you before.

My dead dream was Inzil. He kept returning to the Seer idea after I tried to steer the conversation away, and some of the things he said gave me creepy overtones. Sounded like a wolf signalling to a cobbler, though potentially a cobbler signalling to a wolf. I needed to know if I'm barking up the wrong tree. He seriously freaked me out with those potential hints, but then turned out to be neither, so that was quite a fail on my part.

Part of the reason I'm revealing now is that, although I'm more than half-convinced at this point that there are two bots, as I've said numerous times before, don't ignore that third one that will stab you in the back when you think he's not there. Also, because both my brain and my instincts are evidently not functioning properly this game, so I turn it over to the group effort. Hopefully with everyone involved we will be better able to weed out the wolves, cause, like, my brain alone is clearly not enough.

Finally, going back to that quote I promised:

Originally Posted by Galadriel55

Morsul echoes Boro in this sense, but he doesn't mention his prior wolf hunting skills that Boro laments about.

Originally Posted by Morsul the Dark

Never stopped me from playing weird and confusingly, can I get an amen?

I'll be around for another 15 minutes, and then back again before DL like usual.

EDIT: xed with 2 Morsuls

[Morsul the Dark]

possible bots

Kitanna
Boromir88


presuming innocent
Galadriel55
Morsul the Dark
Shasta
Legate

Possible Hacker
BG

SO I'm thinking Boro, anyone else for that?

[Blind Guardian]

Originally Posted by Morsul the Dark

SO I'm thinking Boro, anyone else for that?

I don't know man. I agree that if we lynch someone everyone should vote for that person, but Boro hasn't posted enough to raise my suspicion.

Not to mention I still say you're a wolf/bot and I still don't know what G55 is.

Okay Galadriel, who was your third then? Morsul, Inzil and...

[So DL is like 5 or 6 AM my time and I don't even wake up until 10AM or so. So someone better vote by 12 or 1 my time because I don't really want to be the first. ]

-X'ed with G55

[Morsul the Dark]

Legate is in her known not wolf list.

No one coutered either of our reveals... so I'm willing to believe her.

Kitanna's getting bumped down to hacker and BG up to Bot.

[Blind Guardian]

Originally Posted by Morsul the Dark

Legate is in her known not wolf list.

No one coutered either of our reveals... so I'm willing to believe her.

Kitanna's getting bumped down to hacker and BG up to Bot.

What did Kit do?

[Galadriel55]

Forgot about a physics assignment I needed to finish, so here I still am much later than I thought.

Originally Posted by Blind Guardian

I don't know man. I agree that if we lynch someone everyone should vote for that person, but Boro hasn't posted enough to raise my suspicion.

Then who do you suspect? For the record, if you do not suspect Boro , who is your top choice?

Originally Posted by BG

Not to mention I still say you're a wolf/bot and I still don't know what G55 is.

Note to self+village to recall this later.

Originally Posted by BG

[So DL is like 5 or 6 AM my time and I don't even wake up until 10AM or so. So someone better vote by 12 or 1 my time because I don't really want to be the first. ]

Veeeery interesting. Why not? Can't make a decision that will both save a mate and not endanger yourself? Afraid of looking suspicious because of the importance of that vote? Another note to self+village.

[Galadriel55]

Posted the last one without reading to the end, so here are some other thoughts before I savour Boro's post.

Originally Posted by Morsul the Dark

No one coutered either of our reveals... so I'm willing to believe her.

Considering how much trouble I took to assert that I know you are innocent, you better believe me.

Originally Posted by Blind Guardian

Meh, don't worry I did the same when G55 and Sally (right?) voted for me on Day One. See my day one list, I think they were fairly high in the "baddie" category.

That was Lottie, not me. And, you know, it's still interesting that you chose to vote for someone you thought might be the Seer on Day1.

Originally Posted by Blind Guardian

Can there be two Hackers? Or is this just a mistypo?

I think neither. "Hackers" is not meant as specific hackers, but rather a type of detectable material, if you know what I mean. Saying "I like apples" when I only have one apple doesn't make it a contradictory statement. Same here.

[Galadriel55]

I'll change my list a little bit:

Known innocent (ie gifted)
Galadriel55
Morsul

Known Not Wolf (ordo/cobbler, either way not worth a lynch IMO)
Legate

Other:
Kitanna
Boromir88
Blind Guardian
Shasta

Of these, I either find all not that suspicious, or get paranoid about all 4.

Kitanna - very sensible, but still very cold and distant. She strikes me innocent, but then I get paranoid and think that she might be a wolf keeping her paws dry and her head out of danger. A bit under the radar too.

Boro - yesterDay my suspicions rose a notch. He posted in a way that sounded like he was diverting attention from a wolf (possibly himself) onto a cobbler. That could also be cobblery behaviour, though. Then there's Inzil's vote floating in the background, but then it could also be a frame done by the wolves. And he has posted so little that how am I even supposed to think anything of him?

BG - does and says some not good-looking things, to say the least, but some of that I think is attributed to her lack of practice with WW. But then I don't know. Maybe they are intentional. Sometimes I feel that her neweness after her break from WW excuses that behaviour, and sometimes I just think it doesn't.

Shasta - no read. At all. He is suspicious by default. However, I noticed before that he tends to vote for the wolves more often when he is a wolf himself than when he is an innocent. It's the craziest reason, but considering that he only voted for innocents makes him a bit less wolfish. But then knowing him even better than that, he's tricksy and wily and would just change it up a bit to avoid predictable patterns.

Help me out here, guys.

EDIT: xed with Morsul

[Kitanna]

Originally Posted by G55

Now, some explaining to do. I'm supposed to have 3 dreams, which is why I was surprised Kit assumed there would be 2 names. By the way, Kit, I really want to hear that explanation.

I forgot we've had three nights not two. It was just an honest mistake.

My phone won't let me copy and paste tonight so excuse my lack of quotes in this post...

But a second seer reveal, I'm surprised it took this long and from the looks of it BG believes Boro and most everyone else says G55. Wouldn't it be a laugh if they were both bots? I doubt very much any baddies would be so bold especially with a village so depleted and the real seer out there. I'm just amused by the thought of it, but I don't think that's what is happening.

[Aganzir]

Shasta - Boro
BG - G55
Morsul - Boro 2
Legate - Boro 3

Left to vote: Galadriel55, Kitanna, Boromir88

[Boromir88]

Fools think they have it all figured out. Think they can scapegoat me as if it makes up for all the blunder. Think that a fake seer-hacker isn't having a twisted game with all of us. Beware. I see something grave!

++G55