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Post by Katsumi Hirata on Jun 9, 2023 11:05:58 GMT
The train ride back to the western end of Shibuya proved more awkward for Katsumi Hirata than anything; while it still remained an issue of public courtesy to avoid using one's cell phone mid-transit, the teenage girl had so desperately wanted to check it again, not because she had expected someone to contact her, but because her phone had been mercilessly chewed up by a fox at Meiji Shrine some couple of hours ago. Part of her hoped that it was just a bad dream, that this would all be over if she just woke up. Mournful eyes stare blankly at the device, paying close attention to the various puncture marks and cracks that now decorated its chassis. If only she had been more careful with it, then this might not have happened in the first place. Now she was faced with the decision to tell her parents and run the risk of being grounded, or keep this a secret from them, and suffer further consequences if they ever found out. As usual, the train arrives at its destination on time, as if it were personally responsible for ferrying Katsumi to her inevitable doom. With a long sigh, she put her broken phone back into her bag and patiently waited for an opening to squeeze herself out through the doors and back onto the streets of Shibuya, making sure to be careful as she darted and weaved through the crush of foot traffic to avoid bumping and running into others. Her journey through the suburbs was hallmarked by an air of perpetual quietude, as people passed her by without paying any acknowledgement to her existence. Katsumi sighed again, feeling personally dejected by the abundance of signs that her evening with Mom and Dad was going to be anything but a pleasant one. The choice to confess the truth or keep it concealed weighed heavily on her mind. Crossing the threshold into Society Hill never felt like a welcome experience to Katsumi Hirata. From the time she left home for school to the time she came back, it was a constant reminder that her life was to be kept segregated from everyone else's. A reminder that she was not in control of herself. Katsumi longed for a day when she could assert her independence and move far away from Shibuya so that their collective shadow no longer loomed over her shoulders, but it seemed like such a pipe dream. Was she cursed, or simply just unlucky? It barely took her any time to reach the front steps of her home, a typical example of modernist architecture. Her parents wanted one of those old-fashioned Japanese mansions, but there were none available in the listings, and so they had to settle with this overly geometric-looking specimen. Adhering to the principles of Japanese aesthetics, the interior was meant to emulate the old styles in a number of ways, and even featured a small tea room where visitors could be engaged and interacted with. Apart from these little details, it felt much closer to living in one of those Western-style homes. Perhaps that was the trend of Society Hill? She paced her way over to the front door, but paused as soon as a hand reached out to grab the knob. Her father's car was still in the driveway, meaning that one or both of her parents were already home. It couldn't be avoided anymore. She had to enter. Here's hoping they were somewhat busy. A hand turns the knob, and gently pushes the door open, letting out a cool blast from inside the air-conditioned house. Such a creature comfort felt foreboding this time. " I'm home," Katsumi announced.
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Post by Katsumi Hirata on Jun 10, 2023 12:43:04 GMT
" Welcome home," flatly spoke the voice of her father from what seemed to be the living room. No effort was made to greet Katsumi at the door, something she predicted would happen, yet still felt uncomfortable with. It was like the two of them simply lacked the energy to care. Perhaps this was a side effect of working long hours? " How was work, Father?" Katsumi called out, hurriedly removing her wet shoes at the entryway so that she could secret herself away to her own bedroom, putting on a pair of house slippers before she thought to make her move. " It went well." He never even bothered to address his own daughter. It was a tune that Katsumi had grown used to over the course of her rather short sixteen years of life on Earth. Had there ever been a time where he spoke to her with warmth and affection, rather than the cold and demanding tone she always received? " I'm happy to hear that!" said Katsumi as she quickly shuffled across the wooden floors of her home's serpentine hallway until she reached the boundary of her bedroom, opened the door, and slipped inside so that nobody could ask questions about why her summer dress and good nylons had become grimy and dirty. It certainly helped that her bedroom also had a bathroom attached to it, because this afforded Katsumi the extra minute she needed to clean and freshen up. Because she was now home for the rest of the day, she also felt it appropriate to change into a more relaxed outfit, settling on a pair of elegant silk pajamas in a bright pearlescent pink. " Katsumi?" softly shouted the voice of her mother from the direction of the kitchen, reinforcing the idea that she was not worth greeting at the front door. " I'll neet your help making dinner tonight. Could you come here when you get settled in?" " Yes, Mother! I'd be happy to help you wtih dinner!" Katsumi answered without delay, frantically rifling through her bag until it was possible to retrieve her broken smartphone. Glancing over her shoulders to make sure she wasn't being watched, the teenager practically sped her way towards the computer desk and tucked the phone close to her monitor so that no one could easily see it amidst the collection of all the cute things she had scattered around. Just as she was about to make her way out the bedroom door and towards the kitchen, a bolt of realization struck her from out of nowhere. That's right. Her dress pocket. Compelled by instinct, she walked her way over toward the soiled garment and stooped low so that Katsumi could reach hand inside the stitched pocket and retrieve the very source of her curiosity. It was a tiny little thing, small enough to fit in the palm of her hand, and practically caked with dirt from what Katsumi could only presume were years of neglect. Two buttons sat on one side, and a third sat parallel to those two, but pressing any of them produced no sort of effect that would indicate the object still functioned in any way, a possible consequence of sitting underwater for so long. It also looked as if it had a screen of some kind, primitive as it was; circling the assumed display was a ring of strange markings Katsumi had never seen before in her life, etchings that were barely visible below the grime and muck. " Katsumi? Could you help me open this jar of capers?" called out her mother again. " Y-Yes, I'm on my way!" Katsumi answered in time, having loathed the idea of being scolded for taking too long to come prepare the sauce. Thinking quickly, she placed the salvaged item next to her broken phone, certain that nothing would happen to it until she was ready to retire for the evening and give it a closer examination. Taking a moment to compose herself, Katsumi swung her bedroom door open, stepped outside, and closed the wooden portal behind her so that she could join her mother. -------- Hours pass. There is no conflict throughout the Hirata household. Katsumi has resolved to keep her damaged phone a secret until an appropriate time to reveal this information presents itself. Their conversations are uneventful, and they each describe their respective days with the same texture and flavor as a block of uncooked tofu, but, rest assured, the pasta puttanesca was invariably delicious. It is during the passage of these long and dreadfully boring hours that an event of immense significance takes place, which is certain to completely shatter Katsumi Hirata's understanding of the universe and everything that exists within it by the time she comes to realize it has occurred. Between the time it took for the pasta to boil and for the sauce to finish its final simmer, a metamorphosis had happened, beyond the veil of perception and awareness. A tiny little screen flickers in the darkness, struggling to generate light. A faint hiss of static noise reverberates from its polymer casing before fading away in a hiccup. It blinks and whines at random intervals, untouched, as if something were possessing it to react. A low hum emanates from the broken smartphone sitting next to the mysterious object. Several moments elapse. And then, the screen turns on. [ Boot-up sequence initiated.] [ Overriding kernel functions...] [ Accessing BIOS...] [ Obtaining administrator privileges...] [ Complete. Running diagnostics.] [ Alert: Significant damage detected in multiple areas.] [ Running analysis.] [ Report: Surface-level penetration points form a pattern consistent with the jaw structure of a small mammal known as a "fox". Analysis suggests that a specimen had attempted to eat this device.] [ Alert: The scanned device is incompatible with this unit's current format.] [ Alert: Data leak located in memory core. Requesting file transfer.] [ Running backdoor subroutines...] [ Obtaining security keys...] [ Decrypting passwords...] [ File transfer request approved.] [ Starting process...] Thin needles of iridescent light erupt from the dirty object until they manage to connect with Katsumi's phone; the moment these radiant tendrils made contact, a sort of magnetic compulsion began to draw the two items closer together. The phone's screen, believed to be inert and incapable of function, had suddenly gone haywire with clusters of incomprehensible artifacts and visual errors until the entire display itself began pouring forth shimmering light. The laws of celestial mechanics dictate that when two objects of equal size collide with one another, there is bound to be damage of a collateral nature. While it could be disputed that both of these particular objects had differed in size and shape, the impact of their inevitable encounter with one another was certain to create ripples across the fabric of destiny itself. And, inevitably, the two objects collided. A pulse of binary code sweeps the entire length and width of Katsumi's room, suspending both phone and relic in the air. Slowly, their forms begin to liquefy into a gelatinous mess of colors as two separate things were forcibly combined into a singular, incomprehensible shape. Threads of code dart and skitter across the surface of the computer's screen before it suddenly flickers on, supposedly another part of this bizarre transmogrification. [ File transfer complete.] [ Alert: Schism detected in formatting process. Rerouting appropriate resources...] [ Complete. Constructing wireframe model...] [ Scanning material components...] [ Scanning structural blueprint...] [ Scanning hardware interface...] [ Installing compatible software functions...] [ Complete.] [ Warning: Corruption detected in gene records. Now purging files...] [ Complete.] [ Alert: Biodigital compatibility signature not found.] [ Analysis: Timestamps taken from maintenance archives indicate that this unit ceased operations during the year 2012. Searching for digital compatibility signature.] [ Alert: Digital compatibility signature not found. Restoring default settings...] [ Settings restored.] The oozing mass of colors swirl and twirl in the air before it begins to assume a familiar rectangle shape, similar, yet somehow completely different to the smartphone that once belonged to Katsumi, but has now been lost. A black grip case hugged against a sleek white chassis, giving it the impression that it was bleeding-edge phone technology, as if every single part of this strange new device were personally hand-made for its new owner's convenience. Once it had fully realized itself into the world, Katsumi's computer would spontaneously turn itself off, as if nothing had possessed it in the first place. Instead, the new phone-shaped apparatus would turn itself on, after floating gently down to the desk like it had been there all along. A splash screen marked with a stylized letter 'D' slid into view, before going completely black again. And all was quiet once more.
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Post by Katsumi Hirata on Jun 10, 2023 20:43:13 GMT
Another hour passes by. Katsumi had taken it upon her shoulders to clean this evening's dishes and spent that time loading the dishwasher with used kitchenware, all while concentrating on the fact that neither of her parents seemed too concerned with her more-than-usually quiet demeanor. With how gargantuan her error of judgment had been, she had figured that either Mom or Dad would try to text or call her at some point, which would ultimately ruin her efforts to keep this enormous mistake a secret. She first needed space, precious space. Retiring to her bedroom would be the most ideal strategy to fall back on, as it was her sanctuary, her temple, her sacred space which repelled all negative influence and sustained a peaceful, tranquil atmosphere that was overall conducive to her well-being. She could think of a further plan from there. Setting the machine to do its job like she did almost every night, Katsumi cautiously slinked away from the kitchen like a stalking cat and, just as stealthily, opened her bedroom door so that she could slip inside and close it as fast as it had been parted. She sighed in relief, feeling welcomed by the scent of jasmine and agarwood, before she went over to sit atop her bed with aims of retrieving the chess manual she had taken with her to Yoyogi Park, turning a desk lamp on for ease of reading. The board arrangement still sat fresh in her mind, and the thought of playing another game with Suoh-san, unimpeded by outside influence, made her smile with anticipation of such an event. Maybe she would see him at the Chess Club? Here's hoping Moriya-san doesn't try to start trouble if he decides to show up, she thought. Feeling interested in brushing up on her tactics, Katsumi was prepared to flip through her book to its respective chapter on the subject until a sharp Beep! caused her to yelp softly, flinching in the same breath. She immediately glared at her computer desk, since it was where the sound had come from, and her face instantly drained of color. Her cell phone, and the strange thing she had found at the bottom of Kiyomasa's Well, were no longer present in the room. Instead, what appeared to be a brand-new smartphone, or something that looked very similar to one, sat there, glistening under the dim lamplight. The way it sat on the desk gave Katsumi the impression that it had been placed there specifically for her, which only added to her rising paranoia. Katsumi's eyebrows furrow. She edges her way closer to the foreign object. Beep!" Ah!" She throws a hand over her mouth on reflex, preventing herself from making any further noise. Once she had gathered her bearings, Katsumi begins to creep her way closer. Beep!Katsumi shivers. The noise was particularly grating on her ears. Still, it didn't seem like it was doing anything but making that sound. Was it a push notification for something? Looming over the desk, Katsumi slowly cradled the phone-shaped doodad with her right hand, and deigned to push her thumb against its screen. A splash panel colorfully springs into view, hallmarked by a stylized letter ' D'. A digital clock showed the time to be thirty minutes past nine at night. Swiping her thumb upward caused an application interface to appear, many of which Katsumi seemed able to recognize by virtue of their symbols being easy to read. Phone. Address book. Browser. Calculator. Everything seemed identical to her other phone. Wherever it was now. Closer inspection of the device's selection of features had rewarded Katsumi's curiosity with a peculiar program titled "Digivolution". She pushed the tip of her thumb against the virtual button, expecting something to occur. Instead, the screen momentarily flashed red, producing a low series of beeping noises as if it were chastizing Katsumi for attempting to access the application. " Alert: User lacks the proper authorization to access this feature," blared a tinny-sounding voice from the device's speakers, which nearly caused Katsumi to drop the gadget back against the desk. " I-It talked?!" Katsumi whispered loudly, looking all over the device to see if she could discover a pair of volume control buttons on the side. The last thing she needed was her parents to hear it! " Affirmative," asserted the device without missing a beat, " This unit is programmed with an interactive virtual intelligence module to assist in bridging communication barriers." Crap, it was too loud! " How do I turn you down?!" Katsumi hissed, just about ready to begin performing what is commonly known as percussive maintenance on the device. " Accessing volume controls." A small slider bar appeared on screen; without wasting any time, Katsumi pulled the interactive button down to about twenty-five percent of its maximum volume, taking a deep breath, then letting it go once she believed the situation to be under control. " Volumes settings changed," said the phone-shaped doohickey, only this time, much more quietly. Katsumi groaned. " What is happening right now?" she asked rhetorically, as she began pacing her way around the room. " Insufficient data: This unit is unable to form a response." " I wasn't talking to you!" Katsumi shook the chatty phone frantically, hoping it would shut up. At this point, she was of a mind to throw it against her pillow to see if that would get it to be quiet, but her memories of what happened at Yoyogi Park had all but corralled the worst of her negative impulses. Eventually, Katsumi began to think on the words it uttered. Interactive virtual intelligence module? If the 'interactive' portion of that phrase had meant anything, it was that Katsumi actually needed to speak with the device in order for her to learn of its functions. Either that, or start pushing random buttons and see what she can or can't access, which would take a lot longer. It took her a moment to think of something, but once she had, Katsumi held the phone-shaped thingamajig up at eye level and spoke with confidence: " Take a selfie." Click. A mirror image of her own face soon appeared on screen, just as Katsumi had requested. The photograph had perfectly captured the surprise that washed over her face when the device had done exactly as she had instructed it to do. Huh. Okay. Let's try something different. " Phone book." Instantly, a list of Katsumi's saved contacts had appeared on screen, sorted alphabetically by their last names. Rather than express glee, Katsumi could only worry. There was no way this thing came with all of her contacts already fully loaded into it. It just begged the question as to where it came from, or who left it on her desk. She gasped, trying to think of something else to tell it, and eventually blurted out the next thing to cross her mind. " List of available functions!" On cue, the device had greyed out a vast majority of the applications she could perceive against the screen, leading her to wonder if it was even worth exploring it further. Evidently, she could still play phone games. Yippee. Sighing, Katsumi flung herself backwards against the soft comforters of her bed, staring listlessly at her ceiling. Somehow, her phone had disappeared and was replaced with this thing, and it seemed even less functional than her old model was, if that was even possible. What was she going to do?
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Post by Katsumi Hirata on Jun 10, 2023 22:54:52 GMT
Curiosity is an infectious condition. For Katsumi Hirata to deny herself the pleasures of satisfying her thirst for knowledge was a result of parental conditioning and social expectation. But, faced with the reality that her phone had somehow been replaced with a completely different one, Katsumi had a choice thrust upon her shoulders. Does she get rid of it and confess the truth to her parents? Or does she keep the gadget a secret alongside the one that no longer exists? It only took a stretch of five minutes for Katsumi to begin feeling the itch of boredom take its course. It was already in her room, and it seemed ready to respond to any vocal instructions she gave. It couldn't hurt to look at it some more, could it? Katsumi lifted the gadget up once again, turning her wrist to examine the sleek geometric patterns etched into the grip case, and thought about how to best familiarize herself with its control scheme. She had to be quiet, or else that built-in voice assistant thing would undoubtedly draw Mom and Dad's attention, and pushing buttons at random did nothing but reveal to her that she was basically using a smartphone with an accent. Dejected, Katsumi scrolled through the available features until she landed on the image of a video game controller, the universal symbol for a phone's installed list of game activities. Opening the app revealed three choices, these being Solitaire, Sudoku, and Chess. " Huh." Most phones don't come installed with a chess app, Katsumi thought, before that infectious disease known as curiosity had begun to take hold. She opened the Chess application, and was greeted with a fanciful splash screen depicting a medieval setting of some nature. Two pixelated characters would then fly up from the bottom of the screen, little pudgy figures that looked as if they were wearing knight's helms and carrying spears and shields; they each looked identical to the other in every way, save for their respective white and black color schemes. A small smirk formed on Katsumi's face. Were they this app's mascots? She would have to remember to give the developers a nice review afterward, provided the game's engines weren't needlessly difficult. Maybe there was a setting for that? Part of her wanted to continue with poking around the app some more, but a quick glance at her alarm clock would cause Katsumi to frown in disappointment. That's right, she had school tomorrow! How could she forget? She swiped her phone upward to close the feature out, resolving to experiment with it some more once during lunch period, then placed her mysterious brand-new phone atop her nightstand. Turning the lamp off, Katsumi shuffled her way under the covers and prepared to drift her way off to sleep until one more thought crossed her mind. Since it was there, she might as well... " Set an alarm for 6:00 AM." Beep-beep! " Alarm set for 6:00 AM." Katsumi smirked as she closed her eyes. Maybe she could get used to that.
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