<center><img src="images\identities.jpg"> Hello. I bet you're wondering what's going on. You know who we are, but you barely know yourself. Well...selves. You are many people and you are no one. People know your face yet you are faceless. So...who are you? Why don't we do some [[exploring->Blank Face]].</center> <center><img src="images\blank mask.jpg"> You wake up in a cold sweat. It was the dream again. The nightmare, actually- the one with the masks. Every night you close your eyes and find yourself looking into a mirror. You have a porcelain mask on- white, blank, and emotionless. It frightens you. But every time you try to take it off, you find another underneath. You’re not sure which would be worse- being stuck with the mask forever, or finally lifting the last one and realizing that nothing is underneath. You shake your head and try to put it out of your mind. Getting out of bed, you decide to get on the computer and check your usual sites to see if you have any notifications. You decide to check [[Facebook->Facebook]] first. </center> <center><img src="images\faceless1.png"> (set: $computerStyle to (text-colour:"pink"))$computerStyle[12 more friends liked the selfie of you and your boyfriend Dean together at the beach. “I'm so jealous of you two! You guys are perfect together.” Your friend Laura commented. You sigh, wishing it were true. Dean is cheating on you with Sarah Wilder. You saw the proof when he left his laptop open in his room last week. Wiping a tear away, you decide to keep browsing and go to [[Tumblr->Tumblr]].] </center><center><img src="images\faceless2.jpg"> (set: $computerStyle to (text-colour:"purple"))$computerStyle[You smile wide, noticing that you finally acquired the last 5 followers you needed to reach 30k. For the past two years, you have been one of the most well-known and popular bloggers on Tumblr, although your account is pseudonymous. You post the best content, from funny gifs to beautiful photography. Ironic, you think, that one can be so popular among thousands of strangers, yet be invisible in the hallways of their high school. <i>Speaking of which...</i> You look at the time and realize you should be getting ready to go to school. <i>Just one more thing</i>, you mumble as you type [[Instagram->Instagram]] into the address bar.] <center><img src="images\faceless3.jpg"> (set: $computerStyle to (text-colour:"red"))$computerStyle[On Instagram, you’re a popular beauty guru. You’re known for your gorgeous hair, makeup, and fashion tips. You never show your own face however; you use friends or models. In real life, you’ve never really considered yourself very pretty. At best, your looks are mediocre. Dean does a good job of reminding you of that fact. <i>Well, no notifications here</i>, you think to yourself. You decide to finally get ready for school. As you walk out of the house, you wonder whether you’ll be invisible or play the part of Marcie Gibbs’ target practice at school today. Onward to reality, I [[go->School Day]].] </center>(set: $computerStyle to (text-colour:"pink")) <center>Within five minutes of being inside the school walls, Dean breaks up with you and walks off hand in hand with Sarah Wilder; a great start to the day. “You shouldn’t waste your time on guys like that anyway, Lily,” your friend Ethan says as he places his hand on your shoulder. $computerStyle[“You deserve someone who treats you well.”] ["I'd like some time alone..."]<alone| (click: ?alone)[(set: $condition to "alone")["I understand." He looks a little hurt, but walks away and leaves you alone. You head to the [[bathroom->Bathroom]] to try to collect yourself in one of the empty stalls.](replace: ?good)[](replace: ?alone)[] ] ["Thanks Ethan, it feels good to have someone say that."]<good| (click: ?good)[(set: $condition to "good")["Of course. No one should feel like the real them can't be loved." "Thank you again, Ethan. I'm going to go to the [[bathroom->Bathroom]] and try to collect myself. I'll see you in class later."](replace: ?alone)[](replace: ?good)[] ] (set: $computerStyle to (text-colour:"red")) <center>As you walk into the girls’ bathroom, you instantly regret it. Marcie and her posse are standing at the sinks, fixing their makeup. As soon as they see you, you’re met with snickers and cruel stares. “Lilies are red, violets are blue, but rest assured, Lily, no one’s $computerStyle[uglier] than you.” Rolling your eyes, you storm out as a chorus of laughter echoes across the walls. You head to [[gym->Gym]] class dreading the rest of the day. </center> (set:$computerStyle to (text-colour:"purple")) <center>Although it was still painful, gym class involved nothing unexpected. Aside from Ethan, you don’t really have many $computerStyle[friends]. When you’re not being terrorized by Marcie, you’re being treated like a ghost or a leper by the rest of the school population. Getting picked last for things is something you’ve grown accustomed to. The end of the day doesn’t come soon enough, but eventually you finally head [[home->Home]]. </center>(set:$computerStyle to (text-colour:"purple")) <center>You collapse into your desk chair when you get home, eager to escape to your alternate reality, the one where you’re $computerStyle[noticed, loved, and beautiful]. You could spend hours online, living the life of your virtual self. You like to go as long as possible without being reminded of the real world. First, you check your email and see that you have a message. It was sent by a company called NanoTech. You figure it must be spam, since you’ve never heard of them before. [Ignore the message.]<ignore| (click: ?ignore)[(set: $condition to "ignore")[You decide to send the message to your junk folder without reading it. You log into Tumblr to check for notifications, however, and see the same message from NanoTech. Again, you get rid of it. You get on Facebook next, and see the same message. Finally, your curiosity gets the better of you and you decide to read it. Dear Lily Garner, It has come to our attention based on social media analytics that you may be interested in a new product Quantum Inc. has been developing over the years. We specialize in virtual reality systems that use data from your social media activity to formulate a virtual world personalized just for you. As part of our market distribution experiment, we are offering you a visit to our lab to use this revolutionary console (with compensation). If you are interested, please [[visit->Visit]] 2490 Research Drive and ask for Dave. Best regards, Quantum Inc. ](replace: ?read)[](replace: ?ignore)[] ] [Read the message.]<read| (click: ?read)[(set: $condition to "read")[Dear Lily Garner, It has come to our attention based on social media analytics that you may be interested in a new product Quantum Inc. has been developing over the years. We specialize in virtual reality systems that use data from your social media activity to formulate a virtual world personalized just for you. As part of our market distribution experiment, we are offering you a visit to our lab to use this revolutionary console (with compensation). If you are interested, please [[visit->Visit]] 2490 Research Drive and ask for Dave. Best regards, Quantum Inc. ](replace: ?ignore)[](replace: ?read)[] ]<center>You find the message quite perplexing, even a little bit creepy. Social media analytics and virtual reality? It all seems so weird. Of course you won’t go to the research lab…right? You try to put it out of your mind, but the more you post on your sites and think about your everyday life, the more tempting it all starts to sound. ~ One week later ~ You had only meant to go out for coffee, but eventually you find yourself standing outside of the Quantum Inc. laboratory building. Just as you start walking up to the door, you feel your phone [[vibrate->Text Message]].(set: $computerStyle to (text-colour:"purple")) <center><img src="images\identities2.jpg"> "So what did you want to talk about Ethan?" You ask as you take a sip from your frappuccino. You try to ignore the fact that Dean and Sarah just walked into the coffee shop and focus your attention on Ethan. "Well, I wanted to make sure you're okay with the Dean situation." He nods his head in their direction and says "Sorry about that." "Really though, I wanted to tell you that you're amazing, Lily." You freeze for a moment in confusion. "I know it's easy to hide from life in your blogs and all, but you need to know that you can be that person in real life too. You already <i>are</i> that person- <b>$computerStyle[beautiful, funny, and most importantly- loved]</b>. By me." You smile, completely in awe by what he said. You leave the coffee shop with Ethan, hand in hand, happy to be leaving your masks behind you. <center><img src="images\mask.jpg"> "I'm glad you're here, Ms. Gardner," Dave says as he leads you down the hall to the virtual reality experimentation room. "To be honest, I'm not sure why I did," you reply. "You won't regret it. Our system is truly revolutionary. It consolidates the consciousness, or identities, you've uploaded to cyperspace through your social media use. It allows people to experience who they've always wanted to be in a virtual world. And you'll be among the first to [[test->Test]] it." </center> It's a text message from Ethan: <i>Hey Lily, I was wondering if you wanted to meet up for coffee today? I noticed you've been extra distant lately, and there are some things I need to speak with you about. Let me know if you're free.</i> [Meet up with Ethan.]<meet| (click: ?meet)[(set: $condition to "meet")[You feel bad that you've been so consumed with your sites that you've been neglecting your best friend. You text him back and head to the [[coffee shop->Ethan]].](replace: ?stay)[](replace: ?meet)[] ] [It's now or never- you're going in.]<stay| (click: ?stay)[(set: $conditoin to "stay")[You decide Ethan can wait. You can meet up with him anytime. This could turn out to be an amazing experience. After a slight hesitation, you walk [[inside->The Lab]].](replace: ?meet)[](replace: ?stay)[] ] <center><img src="images\virtual reality.jpg"> <center>Hello. I bet you're wondering what's going on. You know who we are, but you barely know yourself. So...who are you? Why don't we do some exploring.</center> You and Dave enter a room that contains rows of bed-like platforms with protruding wires and plugs. He directs you to lie down on one. "You'll have to put this on," he says. He hands you a mask-like headset with neuroimaging patches that stick to various parts of your head. "Just lie back, relax, and let the machine do its job. Assuming all goes well, you'll never want to take it off. Alright, here we go." For a moment, you think about your nightmare. The mask has the grooves and curves of a human face, but no features. It's blank, like the one you see in the mirror. You lost yourself to who you were online. Tumblr made you feel popular, Facebook made you feel loved, and Instagram made you feel beautiful. You wonder if you'll lose yourself to the machine as well. But then...would that be so bad? You settle the mask onto your face and prepare for the virtual world to [[appear->The End]].