12436/Simulation Theory: Alpha Test

Simulation Theory: Alpha Test
Date of Scene:	11 November 2020
Location:	The Internet.
Synopsis:	Information Superhighway to the Danger Zone!
Cast of Characters:	Iron Man, Ivory, Thor, Nightingale

---

Iron Man has posed:
"It's time, Mister Stark. Alpha Testers are standing by, and our Safety Director confirms that the Reality Protocols are running optimally."

At a cocobolo desk in his office all the way up near the tippy top of Stark Tower, the illustrious Tony Stark has a half-empty glass of scotch in one hand and some sort of tiny silver doodad in his other. Surrounding him are a team of scientists, doctors, attorneys, senior executives, junior executives, programmers, most of the IT Department, and a guy who brought bagels.

Tony skipped the bagels, preferring to get his carbs in the form of that gel that serves as emergency rations inside an Iron Man Suit. After a while, you really get a taste for it.

"Alright... let's pop this bad boy in, and go live!" Tony leans back in his chair, and the chair reclines all the way back, until he's practically laying horizontal. Then, he pops the little silver doodad into his ear. It's roughly the size of a wireless earbud, but once inserted into his ear the end of it sends out small filaments the painlessly hook into the nearest patches of nervous system, and redirect some of his higher brain functions through... well... we don't really care HOW it works, do we?

As Tony's body goes limp in his chair, his mind is awash with colors and sensations that are brighter, louder, and more intense than anything available this side of an acid trip. The colors rush past him, as his digitized form is rushed through the vortex of digital possibilities and reemerges...

"Huh."

Tony looks around himself. It's a small room, about the size of a... wait, is this a basement?

The basement slowly begins to populate with digital objects. Tables, chairs, bartenders, a singer dressed like a... flapper?

Other guests begin to populate as well, with visible icons above their heads to denote that they're Real People rather than simulated characters, like the bartender and the flapper/singer.

"Oh sweet! It's like... an old timey speakeasy!"

Gangsters in suits give Tony a suspicious glare, before going back to discussing their upcoming crime spree.

Ivory has posed:
    Alfa tester could be fun. Especially if it wouldn't like blow up when it reats with a human that laughtes about the gender divide and atop that can be a cat. Because that is totally normal, yes? At least it is for Ivory.

    When they log in, it's disorienting. And after a shirt moment, it turns into nausea. Not that there is a baseline to measure against, but adapting to freefloating in the space of nothing and white is not easy.

    It takes them some minute or such to figure out up and down, and the loading buffer. And then, promptly spend faaar too much time working on the sliders for the avatar. Because... LIMITLESS CUSTOMISATION! Horrible faces just as much as the search for the *perfect* look ensured.

Thor has posed:
How did he get talked into doing something like this? Tony can be quite convincing after all and Thor doesn't know better. After blinking his eyes a few times and coming into view, the large viking of lightning and thunder pats himself down a few times before he looks around at all the other faces.

"Tony, what are we up to?"

His voice is like a thick rumble of baritone as he folds his arms over his broad chest. He's dressed in jeans and a skin tight white t-shirt. Nothing exciting and quite basic. He has his hammer strapped across his back in leather bindings which causes him to stand out amidst a sea of mortals.

Nightingale has posed:
     Ever since her arrival in upstate New York a little over a year and some months previous, Shannon had seen her share of weird, each more strange, wondrous, and sometimes frightening than the last. She'd seen telekinetics, technopaths, healers, gods, and kings. She'd met and come to know some of her heroes, and made friends she never thought possible.

     It seemed, however, that for today at least, things were just getting started.

     The chance to alpha test a new system piqued her curiosity. Too bad her teammates weren't in on this one. Maybe she'd have some tales to tell them afterwards.

     Joining the rest at Stark Tower, she's buzzing with excitement, and perhaps just a touch of trepidation, as the earbud-like device was given to her. There were tales aplenty of Stark tech experiencing interesting little, shall we say, glitches. Was she in for one of those? Slipping the device into her ear, she took a deep breath, her brows beetling as the thing connected into her brain and...

     Nothingness.

     Then there was a pixelation of reality, breaking the visuals around her into bytes and bits--was this what reality was like for Jeremy?--sending her flying down a neon-lit tunnel and landing in a...

     Speakeasy?

     "Wait... what the...?" Suddenly, she felt very, very out of place in her dark blue jeans, soft black boots, and her wine-colored turtleneck.

Iron Man has posed:
The AI NPCs continue populating at roughly the same rate as the Alpha Testers. The NPCs are all uniformly done up like characters out of the 1930s, complete with period-specific scripting and authentic-sounding dialogue. Well, 'authentic'... they sound like they're from an old movie. Still, it's something.

The Alpha Testers, on the other hand, are a very motley assortment. Not only do they have names like 'PHunter69' and 'Re@lTonyStark123', but they're dressed up like... well, some of them look like their normal day to day selves. Others got the memo and have on period attire. Others have their own custom skins, or bought some from the digital marketplace which is, conveniently enough, also in Alpha Test mode.

Custom skins start at .00004 Bitcoins.

Tony Stark's avatar is just Tony Stark, albeit looking a bit younger and less hungover, and with a slightly denser digital hairline than the real version has. But with a quick dip into the marketplace, he's suddenly sporting an old suit and fedora. With a very large pocket square.

He immediately ditches that though, and his image shifts back to the default setting. Which... actually looks kind of old timey anyway. Fancy suit. Mustache. Men's fashion hasn't changed that drastically in a hundred years. For the one percent, anyway.

Fortunately, Tony picked out Thor's gamertag for him, or he'd have a hard time knowing which one is the Real Thor. As of now, looks like there are three players using some version of a Thor Skin, which we all hope Tony doesn't hear anyone say out loud.

"Thor! You made it! And you've proved my theory that the interface would work seamlessly with Asgardian neural tissue! Super glad that it didn't leave you a vegetable. But... I guess it's too early to be sure."

The things we sacrifice for friendship and science.

Making his way to a central location within the very authentic-looking speakeasy, and drawing the ire of a couple of wise guys in the process, Tony finds a chair to stand on, so that he can be the center of attention as is his custom.

"I want to thank all of you for signing up for the Alpha Test of our newest product! You know, here at Stark-Fujikawa, we always say that technology is all about people. So it's inevitable that we find a way to use technology to create people of our very own!"

Despite the ominous content of Tony's dialogue, his tone is bright and cheerful. He's always at his most excited before a new product launches, and from the slightly manic look in his eye he seems to think this one's going to be a real gamechanger.

Or at least profitable.

"So... let's get testing! And remember, digital booze has zero calories!"

Thor has posed:
As he gives a glance around at the other avatars, Thor stares at the other two versions of himself, then looks down at himself. "Tony! Why is there other versions of me here? Is this an alterate reality!? Is this the .. future me?" He swings his large hand towards one of them.

"Hello! Am I alive in the future?!"

That will get some weird looks he is sure.

"What do you mean turn into a vegetable? You were not sure that this would be safe?" He asks with a frown upon his face as he wrinkles his nose. He waves a hand over his head, passing it through the username that floats over him.

Ivory has posed:
    Ivory continues to toy with the sliders a little more, adjusting some detils to get the edge between masculin and feminin *just* rght before returning attention to the room, then to Mr. bigwig holding a speech. A grin crosses their face as they sort the hair a little.

    They have spent coin... to get tools to make the own dress. Period fitting suit for the 1930s. Well, for the 1930s aboard a german ship... or is it a japanese high school? Or an odd mix of the two? No, it's a german merchant vessel. Because it's black trousers combined with the white shirt that features the blue neck that Japan calls part of the Saifuku. Including a cap with the name of the Ship.

    "So, what shall we test, sir?"

Nightingale has posed:
     Alas, there was no bitcoin for the lowly student of the lot. But hey, her default real-world self was quite enough, thank you very much! "Someone like Tron much as a kid?" Shannon murmurs half to herself, chuckling softly as she looks around the room. So many people, digitized into this one space, the journey here so much like something out of that science fiction classic--just without that huge laser-gun setup featured in the early 80's film and its sequel.

     So far, there were only a few familiar faces. There was Mr. Stark, of course, Thor--wait, just how many Thors were there? Her brows furrow as she glances between each one. But the skins weren't quite as nice as the real deal, so it was not difficult to pick him out of a crowd.

     Too, a brief glance was given to Ivory, and she tilts her head slightly to the side. Where had she seen that face before? Something oddly familiar, but it would come to her in the middle of the night, no doubt.

     For now, she would stick with someone she was at least reasonably sure of, making her way over to Thor's general vicinity. "New tech is always a little uncertain. Fingers crossed, though, we'll manage."

Iron Man has posed:
"Oh no no no no... I knew it was safe, good buddy. Still, anything is possible if it happens."

Now that he's given his short and sweet speech, Tony is making his way toward the bar, and doing his best to shepherd a very technologically challenged God of Thunder. Fortunately there's digital booze, so he'll probably end up near the bar one way or another, as long as he doesn't get into a fight with his 'future selves.'

But before he can get his drink, Tony hears the Most Important Question, and can't help but smile. Let's all hope he manages to give the answer without changing the subject eight times or using the word 'synergy.'

"What to test? The simple answer is 'everything', obviously. We want to make sure that our Enhanced Reality functions the same way that Analog Reality does. Only Enhanced. The sights, the smells, the flavors... anything that's off has to be submitted for..."

"HEY! Whaddaya think dis is, a NUT HOUSE!?" One of the gangsters who had been quietly fuming is now standing up, and fuming in a much more audible fashion.

"We didn't come here ta see nunna YOUSE! We came to hear the music!"

There's a general murmur of approval from all of the other NPC patrons of the bar, and the small band picks back up again, while the singer tries to pretend that her performance wasn't stepped on very rudely by one Tony Stark.

A bit more quietly, Tony talks to the smallish group of Alpha Testers who are nearby.

"We're mostly trying to log interactions with our AI characters. Feel free to put them through the ringer. We can always make more if you break them."

There's now a fourth Thor, as someone has spent the .00004 Bitcoin necessary to get the Ripped Chainmail Thor Skin. Now with fifty percent more nipple.

Thor has posed:
"I think thou are lying to me, Tony." Thor says with a grumpy huff in his throat as he is led towards the bar. At least the prospect of booze catches his attention! He gives a lick of his lips as he reaches out to grab a bottle past one of the bar tenders, nudging him to the side. "Out of the way, fake person. I am thirsty."

Uncorking it, he takes a sniff curiously, then tips it back for a long swallow as he turns to lean against the bar. He glances over towards the winged girl for a moment, giving a lick of his lips. "Tony is always making me test out his new technology. He knows that I am a sucker for a good adventure."

As he looks over towards the other versions of himself, his eyes narrow at the chain mailed one. He gives a glance at himself, then back towards the other with a loud snort. "The color is off. It should be more silvery." He grumbles to himself. ".. my muscles are bigger too."

Ivory has posed:
    "Everything?" The stress on the word is audible as Ivory uses it, almost grinning a little too wide to not have any bad ideas already. Ideas that might be not wise.

    That grin doesn't subside as they work over to the god of thunder with the best hammer and the Inventor on the side, chuckling as they extend a hand. "Dare I say that the coat is a nuance off too? But your friend did ask to put the AI through the paces, and I do believe that it might be quite challenged to comprehend what is going on if someone was to play a song about a russian city that a german band named after a mongol invader did release in 1979 and then dance the appropriate dance to that. It's actually quite an easy one, reminiscent of this russian dancing, but we want to put the AI through the paces, right?"

Nightingale has posed:
     Shannon just chuckles softly, settling for some ice water with a twist of lemon at the bar. Hey, it might be virtual reality, but at least in this regard, she was still going to behave! Lifting her highball glass in salute to the Thunderer, she grins. "I shouldn't be," she admits. "But if I'm to be frankly honest, maybe I am, too. A little bit." Looking between the fake 'Thor' and the real deal, she shakes her head. "Someone did a rush job on that skin or they'd have gotten the muscles right. Also, the body sliders suck. The shoulders on that one are way out of proportion to the rest of the body." She downs some of her drink....

     ...and nearly chokes, the poor thing ejecting the beverage in a fine spray in her general vicinity. Woe betide they who are in the 'splash zone'! "The hell?! I said water, not gin!"

Iron Man has posed:
"Forsooth varlet! Thou d'ost be an impostor! HAVE AT THEE!"

A very nasal voice gets all shouty from behind the guy that we're all assuming is the Real Thor. Looks like Freshly Shaven People Magazine's Sexiest Man Alive Thor is in the house, though he sounds as if he's actually a prepubescent Alpha Tester.

"Nice Thor Skin, for a base varlet! Might need to go back and do your research though: Thor would NEVER wear a T-Shirt. Noob."

Freshly Shaven People Magazine's Sexiest Man Alive Thor heads over to the area where the band and the flapper are performing, gradually fading into the crowd of other people who have paid the .00004 Bitcoins to get one of the Thor Skins available on the digital marketplace.

There's even an Iron Man sitting at a table with The Thing. No Captain Americas yet though, better not tell him.

"Whoa! Easy there, Shannon Banannon! You almost got your digital droplets all over my suit!" Tony seems to be mostly nonplussed, but he came thiiiiis close to having artificial gin spit all over him. And he's more of a scotch guy.

The flapper finishes her song, and the band starts up again. The sounds of a classic swing band can be heard, as before, but this time there's something odd about the beat.

The flapper gets close to the edge of the stage, and then sticks her left leg out to the side, doing a repetitive dance step as she begins to sing in a foreign language:

"Moskau! Moskau! Unintelligible Gibberish!"

Thor has posed:
Taking another slug of his drink, Thor narrows his eyes at the other smack talking version of himself. His brows lift upwards for a moment to size him up. Placing the bottle down, he pushes off the bar and makes his way over towards him with his usual God of Thunder swagger.

As he wipes his mouth off with the back of his hand, he steps forward, pushing his free hand against the other's chest for a quick shove backwards. "Really now?" He says, his blue eyes narrowing a bit. "The real Thor would not shave his chest either to come across as a fourteen year old boy. By the sound of your voice, I'm assuming that thou's balls have not yet dropped, thus I may very well be speaking to one."

"TONY!" He calls over to his friend. "If I punch this false God in the face, would the child commandering him be injured, or would it only be his pride?"

As he reaches behind him, he draws forth his hammer, giving it a quick spin about in his hands as electricity crackles along the end of it.

"For I am quite curious."

Ivory has posed:
    Ivory chuckles as the band actually plays the song that shouldn't have been around in the time that the looks are focussed on, but as the Thor tat had been with Tony denies dancing and instead pulls the hammer, they better seek cover, pretty much jumping to cover behin a table so they might not get hit in crossfire.

Nightingale has posed:
     Some things would just not stand. How many times had Thor stood up for her and helped her when she needed it? Shannon would have none of that, thank you very much. Flashing an apologetic look to Mr. Stark, she smiles. "Sorry about that. But yeah, I'm kind of wondering that myself, about Thor's question. Because quite honestly..." She glares at the would-be imposter who paid for an /obviously/ second-rate skin, getting to her feet and actually advancing. "...nobody badmouths my friends."

Iron Man has posed:
"Heh. Thor Skin."

The various Thors, of which there are a lot, are mostly remaining civil despite arguing with each other about whose version is more convincing. It seems to be generally agreed that 'Fragnaroxxx' does the best Thor Voice, but 'DaveShumpertRealEstate' is a close second and has the best dance moves.

Now that Tony has gotten his digital scotch on the rocks, he looks the part of Real Tony Stark. And now that he's belly up to the bar while Thor is off trying to pick a fight, they look like the Real Avengers.

"Uh... what? No, no, he'll be fine. The interface uses vibrational force feedback to simulate pain. It's only risky for those with heart conditions and gold fillings."

Turning back around, People Magazine's Sexiest Man Alive Thor seems to think this is a great time to call down lightning from the heavens.

"Have at thee, varlet! I cast... CHAAAAAIN LIGHTNING!"

Holding his hammer out, as if he's about to zap this snot out of Real Thor, the youngster looks disappointed when no actual lightning comes out of his digital Mjolnir.

"What? RIPOFF!"

Taking a sip from his glass, Tony frowns under his mustache.

"Note for the Beta Test: Add authentic Mjolnir Effects."

"And charge more for the Thor Skins."

Thor has posed:
Giving a glance over to Tony, Thor mouths to him 'chain lightning?' before he shrugs his broad shoulders upwards.

"Well then, have at thee!"

Stepping forward in a blur, he gives a quick uppercut of his own hammer, smashing it in the chin of the Sexiest Man Alive Thor, arcing his weapon upwards with the mighty blow.

"Touchdown!" He calls out joyously.

"Tony! Summon a large alien monster! This is rather entertaining! I wish to hit something a lot stronger than a child."

Nightingale has posed:
     Sometimes, the greatest blow to one's pride could be to be laughed at--and this is what Shannon is doing, rather gleefully. Flicking her wings and settling them behind her back, she crosses her arms, just grinning at the downed not-Thor. "And /stay down/!" There isn't much time to relish the humiliation of imposters, for as the call for battle rings out, she knows there is bound to be trouble.

     This would be just like the Danger Room back home.

     Wouldn't it?

Iron Man has posed:
"I uh... really was hoping to test out how realistic the AI scripting..."

Still hanging out just outside of Shannon's Spitting Range, Tony's protestations are drowned out before they even begin. As People Magazine's Sexiest Man Alive Thor goes sailing through the air, the player on the other end of the interface is suddenly jolted back to reality and really regretting getting those gold fillings on his molars.

One less Thor, but there will be others.

The swing band has gotten into the whole choreographed dance act by now, and so have some of the Thors. The gangsters are still sitting at their tables though, smoking big cigars and growing more confused and angry by the millisecond.

The crowd seems to think that Real Thor's suggestion is brilliant, and a few scattered cheers break out. The scattered cheers of 'Monster!' begin to grow more coordinated, until pretty much the entire Thor Corps is chanting 'Monster! Monster! Monster!'

To be fair though, 'DaveShumpertRealEstate' is perfectly happy showing off his superior dance moves.

"Oh come on guys... I don't even have a monster programmed..."

"Monster! Monster! Monster!"

"I couldn't possibly..."

"Monster! Monster! Monster!"

"Well... I guess I maybe COULD use this teensy weensy program I was saving for the DLC..."

"Monster! Monster! Monster!"

"Alright then! Here's a sneak peek at the first DLC... 3F Warning!"

As the Thor Corps erupts in cheers, the entire speakeasy begins to shake as if the steps of something very large are getting progressively closer!

Thor has posed:
Heading back to the bar to snatch up his bottle, Thor takes another long gulp, then spins aroudn to lean back against it with a loud rumble in his throat. "Heh. Listen to them go. Humans are so easily entertained." He gives a lick of his lips, then rubs a hand down along his bearded face in thought as it seems that Tony is going to appease the crowd.

"Ah! What have you summoned for us tonight, Tony? I have yet to punch Galactus in the face on one of our many adventures."

Obviously he would enjoy such a challenge. He continues to enjoy his drink, waiting for the show to go on as he gives a glance about at the other users in the channel. "We should program one of these back home. We can call it The Danger Zone."

Nightingale has posed:
     Shannon covers her mouth, stifling a laugh as she glances over at Thor. If only he knew just how close to the mark that really was! "Galactus? Never heard of that one. Maybe you'd be willing to tell me about it sometime?"

     Thankfully, Mr. Stark and his tailored Italian suit are out of the splash zone, and the winged young woman is, mercifully, without a drink she is fairly uncertain of by now. A quick glance around the room to gauge the exits, any cover or concealment to be had, and anything that could serve as an improvised weapon reveals several tantalizing possibilities.

     Maybe this would turn out to be a bit of a training session, /and/ a bit of fun at the same time.

Iron Man has posed:
"So uh... Shannon, are you eighteen yet? Because this DLC is going to be rated M for Mature."

The ponderous steps get closer, ever closer. The vibrational force feedback increases with each of the steps, and the entire building shakes as if there were an earthquake!

The dancers have stopped their choreographed faux Russian steps, and are instead running for cover along with 'DaveShumpertRealEstate.' But 'Fragnaroxxx' and the rest of the Thor Corps are getting their hammers ready for whatever is about to arrive.

And arrive it does, in classic Nightmare Fuel style! The ceiling begins to buckle and sway as the rest of the building is apparently grabbed and torn away by something large enough to tear away the whole top of a building.

Above, slivers of the sky are visible, but nearly all of it is blotted out by something enormous and green.

Something enormous, green, and wearing... purple shorts?

The gigantic creature throws away the top of the building, and roars down at the people stuck in the speakeasy. It looks like a giant space dragon, taller than most skyscrapers, and it has only three words to roar at the rest of the Alpha Testers.

"FIN!"

"FANG!"

"FOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!"

Thor has posed:
As he stares upwards at the large dragon in purple shorts, Thor's eyes widen.

"YES! FINALLY!"

He launches himself upwards in the air with a whirl of his hammer. "Now that is what we call a monster! I will tell you about Galactus another time child. For now, I have to punch this beast in the face!"

With that, he rushes forth to do battle, roaring through the air with a pop of the barrier around him, looking to slam himself straight into the jawline of the creature.

"Come, large Poke'mon! Let's see if you can fit in my ball!"

He has to stop hanging out with Clint.

Nightingale has posed:
     Of all the things to come out of the God of Thunder's mouth, Shannon had /not/ expected that! Rolling her eyes, she bursts out laughing and shakes her head. "Oh lordy, another Pokemon fan." Who would've thought? This did look like a rather intimidating monster, and perhaps not one she ought to tangle with. For once, she has the good sense to take several steps away from the battle, allowing herself to admire the skill of a true legend.

     "Not till July, Mr. Stark. I'm timing my attempt at the state EMT exam with that. But trust me, I've probably seen and done worse than this already."

Iron Man has posed:
"You have? Well, don't tell me about it. Until Next July."

The Giant Green Space Dragon inhales a deep breath as the God of Thunder (the real one) hurtles toward him. Fire builds up in his unearthly gullet, and emits in a giant spray that looks as if it will roast all of the Alpha Testers!

"FOOOOOOOOOOOOO--"

But suddenly, the flame freezes in midair. And so does Fin Fang Foom, pixelating so bad that for a second it looks like something that would have been at home on Windows 95, before blanking out entirely.

Even Thor's trusty hammer, the simulated Mjolnir, begins to blink in and out of existence in his hand. There one fraction of a second, gone the next.

It must be very frustrating to be Real Thor right now.

"AWWWWWWW..." The Thor Corps collectively lets out a cry of disappointment, as the simulation is broken right when it was finally about to get good.

Quickly, Tony makes his way out to a central location, finds a chair to stand on, and finishes his scotch. The scotch distorts his perception in a fairly convincing way, but it doesn't quite effect the speech centers the way that it should. He'll have to work on making the interface more invasive.

"Well... look... this is why we have these Alpha Tests, right? I want to thank you all for coming out, and as a special Bonus for participating in the trial... you all get a Free Thor Skin when we officially launch!"

This seems to please the crowd mightily.

With that, the holographic image of Tony Stark shimmers and then disappears, as the whole server system begins the process of rebooting and kicking everyone off of the network. Let's hope everyone had a comfy chair to get their brain hijacked in, or they'll have all sorts of neck pain.

With a start, Tony awakes in his swank-ass office, and looks around in slight bewilderment at all of the scientists and corporate types assembled there.

"Well... that went well. Let me tell you, this thing is going to be a GOLDMINE! Stark-Fujikawa is about to make THOUSANDS!"

"Of Bitcoins, obviously."