ROLEPLAY HQ - hunt-for-a-god

TW: Violence, gore, death, brief mention of self destructive behavior.

When the gods first came down to earth, it was to see if the world could needlessly survive, or if it needed to be destroyed. While gods were divided on the matter, many went rogue, causing a string of events to occur. First came the greed of the new world, the want to push it all, and second came the death. No one knew what they had done to deserve such treatment, but what was done is done. After enough carnage, simple mortals found a weakness to the gods, they were killable. Another could regenerate in their place, but the original gods were no more mortal as they were. Lexi wanted to believe that while gods were not perfect, they didn’t want to kill outright. Yet, no matter how much she pushed off her grief, the nagging feeling to fight kept tugging at her until she finally joined the hunters. Swearing to protect the people and stand against the gods, a simple 25 year old teacher. Now it’s been four years, and she has one last assignment. One last god until she could finally rest. She could feel the mental strain lift slightly due to this. @Angel™🌸

The internet as the modern world knew it was created January first, 1983. When it was created, humanity didn’t know that they had created a way for a demon to travel the world with it. It was a lesser one, just a freak error of a minor line of code; despite that, it was the first time the demon remembered having any sort of sentience. Because of how primitive the internet was, so too was the demon. However, as the internet advanced, so too did the demon. Eventually, it found its prime in the 90s; the age of AOL chat rooms. It studied the behavior of humans, and learned how to adapt to their world. It would drain the souls of the humans who would unwittingly interact with it. They learned from taking the human’s lead; acting as though it were just another spam bot. The concept was still novel, still new. It didn’t take much to seep into their lives, causing havoc on their computer; making them just another mortal who sold their souls to the technological age. As the internet grew more and more, and became more and more sophisticated, so too did this demon; as time went on, it eventually gained enough power to be a God. It’s followers have been called many things throughout the years, the most popular term being either “trolls” or “basement dwellers.” The people who spent every waking hour on their computers, picking fights on forums over the most trivial topics. It brought the now God endless entertainment, a parasocial sort of relationship since they were confined to the internet space.

14:58

In the modern age, where humans are more vigilant to spam, it’s also become more vigilant and aware of itself. Despite being known, it’s also unknown; if humans have heard of it, they chalk it up to being another creepypasta, or even SCP for the younger generations. They thrive in the dark and eerie corners of the internet, especially taking an interest in lurking at places with a liminal space feel. Their greatest power, however, is also their biggest downfall; they are product of technology after all. They have no physical form, and the only knowledge they have of the outside world is whatever news the humans decide to post online. Which brought them to the point they are now. Now, they are the most powerful God in existence; which is only because humanity has snuffed out the others. It found it humorous, in an ironic sort of sense. The old Gods never even tried to adapt, to keep their place above the humans. In this sense, it felt superior; it had survived, evolved from just a simple demon born from a single, insignificant error in the code. Despite feeling infallible, despite the sense of superiority, it also felt...lonely. For the first time in it’s sentient life, it was lonely. Sure, it had the trolls to direct, and the company of virtually every human in the world that they could spy on, but it knew it wasn’t the same as actually communicating with someone of it’s status. Part of it wondered if it would be better to just turn itself in, to end it’s existence. But where would be the fun in that? @Micha

Lexi knew there had to be some traces of the god somewhere, but through hours of searching. It felt hopeless, not only that she felt pathetic. Sitting in the living room of her small apartment, some shitty horror movie playing in the background, Lexi scrolled through the internet for something. That’s when their eyes caught on a site, it was just a simple forum, all for asking about, and sharing of information on the weird and bizarre. Normally Lexi wouldn’t be interested in such trivial things, but she felt like she needed a break, after all Rome wasn’t built in just a day right? It was easy for her to get lost in the scrolling and stories, until one had came across her feed. A story of glitch code. A story for those who follow such code. It would’ve been a simple creepypasta, but Lexi had a nagging feeling to her. Gods, she has been having a lot of those. Eating her whole until she followed it, so like the other times she caved, making a username of xx_WitchProfessor_xx. Before asking the question. Does anyone know about the glitch code, and how I can find more? @Angel™🌸

The internet was a vast landscape for the God, but it tended to keep some of its attention on the websites humans had created for stories of the creepy and the strange. Normally, it just sat back and laughed; many were poorly written, but it still had a soft spot for them, considering a few humans had written stories about it. It didn’t take very long for it to notice someone asking about it. It didn’t pay the post any mind, knowing the trolls would soon show up to try and dismiss the rogue question. But alas, being a God, it also was somewhat vain. It watched as a few comments rolled in, mainly to laugh at whoever xx_WitchProfessor_xx was for asking such a question. “its just a story lol, do u srsly believe it?” being a common consensus of the comments. However, it was bored; it still felt that nagging feeling of loneliness. So, as any sane being of divine power and omnipotence would do, it decided to try and feed into it. “I heard it can only be summoned on a laptop outside, during a new moon.” Was it true? No, it could come and go as it pleased whenever it wanted. However, the thought of a mortal doing something so absurd was hilarious to it. Pretty soon after that comment, more flooded in, giving conflicting information to further poke fun at the poor user. “I think ur wrong; I heard it’s only during a new moon!” “Wait, you guys actually go outside to summon it? Lol.” “No, you have to be on the roof if you really want to summon it!”

15:36

The God cackled, watching as more and more comments flooded in. It was still there though, the pang of loneliness, and the wish to actually communicate with someone, anyone, on a genuine level. This simply wasn’t the same. It only took a fraction of a second, but it found the email the user had used to make the account, and got to work. It put an email in the user’s inbox, posing as yet another run of the mill spam bot, complete with risque profile picture. Gods, how long had it been since it used such a primitive form? By now, the more tech savvy humans would take one look and move the email to the trash. So, it decided to play a little fast and loose. Instead of a link that easily looked like another adult site or get-rich-quick scheme, it was a link to a private chat room. One where the God could communicate freely, and easily abandon if the human had a stronger will than the ones it usually targeted. After that, it continued to watch the thread the user had posted their question on, enjoying the fleeting moment of entertainment it got from seeing the discourse. @Micha

Lexi rolled her eyes to the trolls. She was sure that this was now of no use to her cause. Still she left one last comment on her own post. Even if I don’t believe it don’t you know all stories come from truth? She had half a mind to just delete the post and shut down the account. Well, until the email pop up. She raised a eyebrow to this, spam bots she usually just ignored, but something about the timing of this unsettled her. One hand. She could ignore it and try other ways. On the other hand, opening this could cause a virus. In the end, she opened the chat room, pausing the movie, and going to her desk where her computer sat, she knew if anything she could trace where the chat room came from when it came to it. hello?

15:54

@Angel™🌸

The chatroom was just a basic one, a simple black screen with a blinking cursor. It couldn’t lie, part of it was delighted that this user had joined the room. It watched as the simple greeting had appeared in the black void. If it could smile, it probably would; however, it never tried to take on any sort of appearance. Too much work, and there were so many feeds to read and so many trolls to look at. It took a few milliseconds to try and read the computer’s information, getting all the information it could want just by looking at the data stored there. Well hi there Lexi The words appeared on the screen in a bright red courier new font; one that the God was partial to. Call it nostalgic, the font was lovely; reminiscent of a time the God would never see in its existence. I saw you were looking for information on the internet glitch; do you believe in ghost stories? Even if it was a petty source of entertainment, it took a strange sort of glee from dropping little crumbs of knowledge the user would think was private information. They always got creeped out with programs doing it; the countless hours of going down YouTube showed it that. It didn’t understand why though; surely humans in this day and age knew the programming tricks that were used to accomplish such a feat. Still though, it always gave it a bit of amusement. It thought about continuing to drop more information, to try and creep the user out more. However, that might make the human close out in fear of a virus, and it had never tried to be this bold. So instead, it waited, watching the little blinking line that signified it was the user’s turn to type. @Micha

Lexi frowned, seeing her name pop up, and of course seeing the classic mention of ghost stories. She’ll be honest, it wasn’t her first rodeo with chat rooms like this, though she didn’t know that she was dealing with a god. I can’t say I don’t, there are a lot of things we don’t understand. Lexi was somewhat spiritual, not connecting to religion, or believing in the paranormal. But with what she has faced up against, she couldn’t deny it any longer. So who are you? Lexi had to keep whoever was in the chat room there as she booted up her computer. Coding and development, it was her specialty and what she taught at the University of Colorado. At least until the accident that occurred. @Angel™🌸 (edited)

The God cackled a bit more, seeing the response Lexi gave. However, when she had asked who it was, it paused. Normally, humans just called it The Glitch; the more creative ones called it The Demon of Humanity’s Creation. It never thought about what it wanted to be called. It searched through name databases, scanning until it found one that it liked. You can call me Lunette. The name was derivative of the French word for moon, and while it never actually saw it, the images it saw were gorgeous. If it had to pick a name, one relating to that little space rock was a fine one to choose. After a millisecond or so, it continued. While it’s true there are things we don’t understand, I’d assume a former college professor wouldn’t give those stories and sort of weight. While it watched the cursor blink, it became aware of another computer connecting to the same IP as this user. At first, it thought maybe the user had a roommate; those were so common in the modern age, so it dismissed it. Besides, even if it was the user booting up another computer themselves, it wasn’t like it’d be impossible to escape and evade whatever they were planning. Worse comes to worse, it would be easy enough to snatch some code from a bot and place it in the chatroom, giving it enough time to escape. So, they ignored the second computer booting up, tuning into a random forum to watch more chaos ensue as it waited for Lexi to respond. @Micha

That is true. But seeing how you somehow come to play, especially after asking for the cursed code. Let’s just say I’m curious. Lexi was careful of her wording, Lunette a pretty name for sure, and it caused even more curiosity to the professor. You also seem to know about me. It makes me curious of you. And what kind of device you are using. She would play along for now. Her nails gently scratching at her thumb as she thought. Her hair getting in her eyes. It was starting to get late, but insomnia wouldn’t let her rest. She was testing the waters now, how much did this chat room anon know about her? And how much will it divulge. @Angel™🌸

Hm, the cursed code you say? The God-wait, Lunette, it gave itself a name after all-couldn’t help but smile a bit. This human was fascinating; not only did they decide to join a random chat room, but also didn’t dismiss the spam as a coincidence. They were a sharp one for sure, unlike the humans mindlessly scrolling through 4chan or reddit searching for something to pick a fight over. Or even the humans on Twitter, who were always just searching for ways to “cancel” someone. This was shaping up to be a great source of amusement. After the human had expressed their curiosity, it could imagine the smile it had would curl even farther, to an unnatural degree. But Lexi, where would the fun be in telling you that?” The answer would be nowhere. The idea of toying with this user was far too fun to just divulge the information they requested. *I will tell you this though; this is the most fun I’ve had in a while. I don’t get out much. It continued to stare at the blinking cursor, waiting for the human’s reply. While tuning into other discourse on the internet, the chatroom had become the center of its attention. It knew it could get entertainment elsewhere, it knew it wasn’t desperate to actually communicate with something so low as a human, but it was still a nice change in the routine. @Micha

Correct. Lexi hummed slightly from her side. Tapping the keys on her computer mindlessly. Searching for something to back up what she was going through now. It wouldn’t be much fun for you, as I get the feeling you don’t like making things easy. How long will the chat room stay up? Is there any limit to where the link won’t work? “Gods this is going to lead nowhere is it.” She couldn’t help but to mutter out loud. Lexi pulled up a program on her computer. One that was secured and encrypted with code. Eyes scanned through different files. Trying to find the right one. @Angel™🌸

Lunette paused for a second, pondering the human's question. It hasn't thought of when the chatroom or link would no longer work; in truth, it could probably close it out whenever it wanted. Still though... This chatroom will no longer exist when I grow bored. The answer was simple enough, and it didn't exactly lie saying it. After all, the chatroom was just a simple code, nothing fancy; in the grand sceme of things, the chatroom was just another tiny point in the sea of the internet, popping in and out of existence like many websites it had seen come and go. It supposed it was similar to how the old Gods saw stars blinking in and out of existence. It thought about asking what the human thought of that idea, but decided against it. That might reveal too much too soon; and the fun was just beginning. As for that "cursed code" you asked about, It continued, musing about what information to reveal. From my understanding, it's as old as the internet itself; a byproduct of a single error in a line of code when people created it. Funny, right? Although, I suppose you already knew that from your purusing of that website. As it typed, it's attention went back to the computer that had joined the human's IP address. However, it noticed the code was stronger than it was used to. Different, even; this human wasn't taking chances. It would probably be easy enough to study it, to find the flaws it knew humans were prone to. However, for once, it decided not to. It was here for fun after all; while it wouldn't be fun to reveal all to the human, it also wouldn't be fun if it knew all the cards they held to their chest. So instead, it lingered in the chatroom, having code on hand for a bot to fill its role should the human be trying to find it. @Micha

I knew some of it from the website yes, however I am interested in the origins. Since the beginning of the internet you say? Lexi typed in the logs. Copying down basic information. She had nothing to lose. With the gods being all but gone, the hunters has disappeared with their prize, using artifacts for their status. Her eyes drifted to the two crystals that sat on her desk. One of light, and one of death. It wasn’t like she wanted it. The crystals were from the two gods she killed. She was disgusted with herself, yet you don’t retire from a job like this. @Angel™🌸

Yes; although, perhaps saying so is a bit of an oversimplification. It'd be more correct to say 1983. At least, that's when Lunette remembered first having sentience. It was almost sure it had been around in the 60s, back when the internet was first conceived. Alas, both Lunette and the internet were little more than newborns, with no consciousness to speak of. If it found any use or fun in pondering it, it probably would; however, history that it had lived through was boring. Again, it pondered if that's how the old Gods saw history as well. Although it supposed not; the Gods were as old as time itself, they had seen the world take shape. Maybe it was why they ended up falling to the hands of humans; too arrogant to see even they were infallible. Unlike Lunette; it was convinced it couldn't be killed like them. How can you kill something that was basically the internet itself? I do think the stories are foolish though, It had to reel the conversation back in. If it started talking too seriously about itself, the human might see through the ruse and cut the game short. I mean, how could people in the 80s accidentally create something with intelligence? They hadn't even made cellphones yet. @Micha

True. Though it’s like how people are shocked at AI can actual change through code. Make a simple mistake in the code and the whole process is messed up without realizing it. The internet also grew as humans did. Lexi couldn’t help herself now. She always had a interest in internet and coding. Maybe, just maybe, if things didn’t happen the way it did she would still be teaching, and coding in the side. Coding. A new idea was formulating in her mind. If such code existed maybe she could test that theory with her own codes. It wasn’t full proof, but at this point she had nothing left. Say. What do you do when you have nothing left to left to lose? Do you place all your bets into one plan Lunette? At this point, she was going down the rabbit hole of theories. Those who didn’t know her would probably call her crazy; and she would agree to that. @Angel™🌸

I suppose that's also true; the internet is constantly growing and evolving just like humanity. Being born from code in a sense, Lunette loved anything having to do with the strings of data that surrounded it. While it had grown and learned how to see past it and live in it's own little virtual habitat, every once in a while it found comfort in just staring at the ever-changing letters and numbers that surrounded it's existence. Even now, it looked at everything surrounding it; shifting from what humans see when they program, even down to the basic 0s and 1s that were the building blocks for everything it knew. However, its attention quickly came back to the chatroom. It didn't remember when it's sole attention came down to this conversation; to be fair though, it hadn't had this much fun in a long time. When Lexi posed their question, Lunette paused. It had never thought about it; sure, technically it could loose everything, but nothing had ever threatened it to the point where it considered it a possibility. It thought for a few moments, just watching the line blink in and out. Well... It continued to think, trying to figure out what the human would want to hear. I suppose if I were in that sort of position, I might. Depends on how fun it would be to put all my bets into a plan. Even though it gave its answer, it kept mulling the question over. It wasn't often the God theorized over fleeting questions like this, but when it did, it found it somewhat fun. It continued to stare at the blinking line, waiting for Lexi to reply. Maybe it'd be lucky; maybe this human would reveal what they were up to with asking such a question. @Micha

I guess that is true. Lexi paused on typing. Staring blankly at the chat box. The greed now to know more fresh in her mind. Finally she started to type again. I’ll be honest with you. I have one last job. One last life here before I’m done. Before I can’t do anymore. So I want to play one final bet. One final game if you will indulge me. The chat room will stay up as long as I am not bored that line played over and over in Lexi mind, and with it a hint of confusion. Why go through all this trouble if it was just a scammer. No. Lunette knew something else. So she would place her bets with it. Make it fun. A game. @Angel™🌸

Lunette looked at the message, puzzled. A game? Well, they did love games; a lot of the time they were playing if they weren't watching the trolls. Naturally, they got excited at the prospect, and yet... What's this last job? It asked, it's attention starting to drift despite itself. Having the world at your fingertips made for an atrocious attention span. Although, it desperately tried to stay in the chatroom, ignoring the ever-growing urge to go back to exploring those accounts that seemed to post nothing but pictures of liminal spaces. As for the game, it depends. What kind of game? While it loved games, it hated boredom just as much. It was normally a nice trade off; play a game, stave off boredom. Unfortunately, some games were terribly boring. Those were the worst kinds of games. @Micha

A game of cat and mouse per say. You get easily bored right? And our interaction has been enough to completely keep your attention. I also want my answers. Lexi was typing fast. Though she paused, trying to figure what to tell. And what to keep. Im on the hunt for something’s. Anomalies such as the code per say. Things have changed since I last have a job. And I’m about to admit defeat, until you started to talk to me. Lexi was true in this. She also had another motive in mind. I am not a believer in a lot of things anymore. Trying to find something to change I guess you could say @Angel™🌸

Lunette read the human's words, another grin coming to mind. Cat and mouse did always seem interesting to the God; although, it never really got to play. However, something felt...off. And how do you know this conversation has 110% of my attention? It asked, not really waiting for an answer as it continued. As for something to change, if you look hard enough, you find things change all the time. Besides, The God paused again, watching the blinking light. It went to say humans believe stupid things all the time, and that they could just find a conspiracy board to find something to believe in. However, it started to worry that would sound weird, strange even, for someone who wasn't a virtual God to say. Besides, admitting defeat isn't any fun; even if you loose the level in a game, you still try again. If not to complete the game, then at least for the satisfaction of completing the level. It gave a self satisfied nod, the grin fading away into a soft smirk. It's attention span was still wavering, but it was doing a decent job on sticking with this conversation. It wondered how much longer this human would try to talk to it before finding this conversation bored; even trolls eventually grew bored from starting flame wars. @Micha

Thats the thing. I don’t know. I would like to think that I have your full attention, yet I know I will never have that. I won’t admit defeat easily, but when enough is enough, fine Lexi was writing everything down. Had to in order to try and see her plan. If I can prove something you want to know. You give me some info. If you can do the same, I will give the same prize. We can have any stake to the game. Add what we want. There was a slight pause. The curser blinking. It is just us after all. Tell the truth. And the absolute truth. @Angel™🌸

Once again, its smirk grew to a grin; the rules of the game seemed simple enough. Okay, I can play along; but what can you prove to me that I can't just look up on the web? Vice versa; what can I tell you that you can't also look up? The internet is a vast landscape after all; the world is at your fingertips if you know how to look. Even if it was questioning the prizes and costs, it still wanted to play. There was no way to know what information this human could offer; although, it didn't think they'd know anything it couldn't find simply by exploring its surroundings. Anything it could ever want-or need-to know, it could easily find without human intervention. Not only that, but what information could the human want from itself? Did this human already suspect something? Well, that wouldn't be fun; the game had just began. I will tell what I believe the truth to be, it added. Truth can be subjective after all; even something that seems simple like color. No one sees the same shades; information is processed differently from person to person. My truth may differ from your truth in that regard. As it typed, it remembered the short stories about the fair folk. The fae. Faeries. Why did humans have so many names for the same concepts? Either way, the idea of circumventing the truth, finding the loopholes in people's questions, it seemed fun! @Micha

Experience. Even true or false it is for you to decide. A mental game of chess basically. Lex knew that Lunette had a point. But now, she was greedy for that information. Wanting to know what she can. It was growing late into the day. The movie already finished causing a gentle glow into the room. After all isn’t that the human experience. The memories and experience we made? Or the information we learn through trial and error. A soft hum filled the room as Lex got up, she kept her phone on her waiting for the reply. But was now wondering about, making a cup of coffee. Looking though the kitchen. Anything to keep her awake. She could hear her upstairs neighbors fighting. She could hear barking of dogs. Even after the gods tried to cause chaos, the world moved on. @Angel™🌸

Mental chess? The idea intrigued Lunette even more. It wasn't very good at chess, but it had managed to beat the robots it played against. It quickly pulled at any information it could gather; it knew it would have to tread lightly, but it couldn't resist. That's fair; alright, I'm good to play if you are : ) It had no idea why it put the smiley face on the end of its message; maybe it had roamed on forums too long. Despite that, the smile did seem to convey the mood it felt. They continued to try and focus on this conversation; they didn't want to miss out on any of this fun. Your move Lexi. What would you like me to try and prove? @Micha