Facilitator: Sean Nittner
Players: Karen Twelves, Dale Horstman, Matthew Klein, Sean Nittner
System: Shock: Social Science Fiction by Joshua A.C. Newman
Content Warning: Suicidal ideation
Picking up from our Shock, Issues, and *tagonist creation last session. We opened up recapping what we had established and talking more about the mood of our game, much more Severance than Equilibrium. Yes, the people of the Western States had their emotions dulled by the Frequency but they also bought into the belief that emotions were the cause of the worlds harm, and that if they could just get used to the Freq, the worlds would be a better place.
Our scales were Impulsive vs. Mindful, Subversion vs. Compliance.
Aurora and Minerva
We saw Aurora making her way to Citrus Hills, the center she worked at that helped people suffering form Lambert’s Syndrome, a case where the Freq caused complete apathy instead of just dulling feelings. She drove through Baker-Barry Tunnel to the center, where ages ago Fort Cronkhite was built, then converted to dairy farms, then converted to the institution.
On her way she was listening to smooth jazz [I created a minutia, 100 smooth jazz radio stations] which cut out somewhat through the tunnel. The location was picked because it was fair from a Freq broadcast station in the hopes that the people suffering from the apathy epidemic would acclimate better if they could just feel a little more. Consequently Aurora did feel just a bit more on the other side of the tunnel, and knew she was selected for this job because of her experience working in hospice and her self regulation.
When she arrived at work, she saw Minerva, one of her patients sitting outside by a pond. Aurora went about her normal routine, which most of her co-workers knew to leave her alone for. She went to make her tea, but when she pressed the button on the kettle, nothing happened. She didn’t notice at first, but a few moments later she wondered why she wasn’t hearing it boil. Aurora took a second look and realized the kettle had been unplugged and a mini-fridge that was recently placed on the counter was using the outlet. Through the glass door, she could see a new medication meant to help those with Lambert’s Syndrome, a vial labeled for Minerva., one of her most troubled patients who also happened to be her daughter-in-law.
Unphased, Aurora unplugged the mini-fridge, plugged in the kettle, boiled her water, unplugged the kettle, and plugged the mini-fridge back in. The light in the fridge went back on and it began cooling again, but one red light that stated blinking when it was unplugged, went right along blinking.
She went about her day, seeing her patients and recording her logs. The last patient on her roster was Minerva, who she found sitting in the same place she saw her in the morning. Beside here was a 64 ounce bottle of water (untouched), a cheeseburger and fries that had been sitting out for a few hours (perhaps two fries had been eaten), and small pile of fingernails Minerva had chewed off and placed at her side.
Aurora greeted her “How are you doing today?”
“What did I say yesterday when you asked me the same question?”
Aurora looked back through her log. “You said you felt like a piece of ice that was slowly melting.”
“You can say that again.”
“Is that what you want me to write?”
Minerva paused for a moment to think. “What boxes do you need to check before I can be considered for the next steps?” Aurora knew that meant being eligible for assisted suicide. The tragedy was that Minerva was 29, in good health (besides her apathy) and married to Aurora’s son Mikael who loved her very much. She had so much going for her, but she couldn’t see it, couldn’t appreciate it.
“Well, if I check the non-responsive box 12 times, we move onto the next form.”
“Do that then.” Minerva didn’t look up.
“It seems strange that you are responding but want me to write non-responsive, are you sure that’s what you want me to do.”
Minerva was apathetic, but she was still sharp and would not fall for these tactics. She just stared at Aurora, unflinching and unwilling to speak.
“Okay, non responsive it is.”
Minerva tried to get Aurora to change her past check-ins to say the same thing, but Aurora fell back on the system. The entries has already been logged in the computer and could not be changed.
When Minerva persisted she tried to change the subject. She pulled out a small confectionary box and said “Mikael asked me to give this to you, they are powdered donuts he made. There is a note in there as well.” She set the box down beside Minerva hoping this would break through her malaise, even just a bit. Aurora was accustomed this tactic working. She found something that her patients cared about and tried to renew their connection to it. For some it was the smell of flowers, for others it was memories of a trip to New Orleans. She hoped for Minerva it would be the memory of her loving husband.
[This is where we set intent. Matthew’s intent as the Protagonist was to make Minerva feel something. My intent as the Antagonist was to make Aurora believe Minerva was getting worse. We rolled bones, adjusted scores and our audience members rolled for the Minutia. The highest die was attached to the Apathy Epidemic but it was not enough to change the tide. Minerva won her intent and Aurora lost hers]
Minerva ever so slightly slid the box towards the untouched cheeseburger and Aurora knew she wasn’t going to eat the donuts or read her husband’s note. Aurora, made of stern stuff, opened the box and took a bite of the of the donuts. She wiped her hands free of the powdered sugar and said “It isn’t very good. Mikael tries hard, but he never was a very good chef. All my kids, even from a young age, always gave things their best effort. They’d help around the house and learn what they could. Mikael never got good a cooking, but he became very good at picking the right food. Heck, he was even good at pairing wine, even though he doesn’t drink.”
Minerva looked up for a moment. Was there hope in her eyes? Probably not. [Aurora added the Feature “Raised her kids right” and increased her Feature value from 3 to 4]
Stephen and Carmen
Stephen wakes up early. He goes to the gym and works out hard. He showers and heads to work. He goes straight to the van, no need to stop in the office, he’ll get his assignment from the radio.
But as he approached the van, he can see cloves smoke coming out of it. When he hops in, his Cameraperson Carmen is smoking and reading a very illegal Penthouse [We instantly created a new minutia that pyrography is contraband]. “Do people just make up these stories?” She started reading one of the stories and Stephen, embarrassed, pulled it away from her. The Penthouse fell open to the centerfold and Carmen called out “Those are inhuman boobs!”
She pressed herself against him indicating she was good for some morning nookie in the back of the van. The radio chirped and Stephen picked up to get his assignment. As he was talkin to the dispatcher Carmen was intentionally snuggling up to her, kissing him and making noises just quietly enough that she wasn’t heard. She squeezed his biceps, which were swollen from his recent workout, and she wanted to feel something else swell as well. He tried to push her away, but he wanted it too.
[Stephens intent was to assert boundaries. Carmen’s intent was to have sex in the van, which was going to get Stephen in trouble. Though she didn’t want Stephen to get in trouble, Matthew did. Matthew marked 4 credits and rolled some bones. As audience members Karen and I picked up the new Minutia Phonography is Contraband and the Craving Emotions. When the dice and modifications were done, Carmen won her intent, but Stephen was on the Fulcrum. The situation escalates!]
Carmen tossed the Penthouse out the window and said “Let me show you some real boobs!” just as the chief of staff Teresa was walking through the parking lot. She recorded a few moments of the intercourse and then cleared her throat, holding the discarded Penthouse with distain.
[After rerolling the dice, Stephen lost and we decided that instead of him getting in trouble, Carmen got fired, Teresa had blackmail on him, and his boundaries were still not set. We had a discussion about whether or not Teresa became his Antagonist, but decided that even though she was fired, that was only going to make Stephen feel more guilty and that she would continue to cause him strife and push him towards making the decision about his goal to stop feeling his feelings.]
Sooz and Majenta
We saw a typical day for Sooz. She wakes up, goes for a walk with her walking buddy Annie through parks in San Francisco. She returns to her home office, bottle feeds foster kittens, moves them from a basket covered with towels into her office. Starts at work, looking at art, swiping left and right to reject or accept them accordingly. Pausing on some of the more moving pieces of art before rejecting them. Breaking for lunch to drink a Yakult. Working more. An evening walk alone in the fog. Watching TV. Going to bed.
We see the day repeat over and over. New art being accepted and rejected. New kittens being fostered.
One morning the pattern was disrupted by a video message from her sister Majenta full of exuberance “My new installation Cyclone s on exhibit at the de Young. I will be in the entry way, fourth, and fifth floor. You have to be there.”
Sooz missed Majenta’s last three installations and like she was due for finally attending. As she arrived she it was primarily composed of oversized objects with arms and legs sticking out from underneath then as an tasteless homage to the Wizard of Oz.
We flashed back to a moment of Sooz complaining to her walking buddy Annie “The thing about her work is that it could be good, if she just tried.”
Sooz realized the installation was not yet on display, but still in the middle of installation, allowing Majenta the time to personally show her everything personally. Great.
They came to a massive piece covered in a tarp and Majenta asked her for the favor Sooz knew as coming “I’m wondering if you can help me get this approved.” Beneath the tarp was a giant plushie didlo titled “Untitled 234”.
Sooz was disappointed, perhaps at herself for thinking for a moment, it might be something meaningful. “Sculpture isn’t my department. I only work with canvas. I can’t help you.”
“But you know Henrich. You can pull strings for me. This piece is vital. If it isn’t accepted, I’ll shut the whole thing down.”
They got into the same fight they always had as sisters. Majenta trying to fold Sooz to her will, Sooz trying to hold her ground. In the end, they both won. Sooz called Majenta’s bluff (she pulled the whole installation to exhibit it somewhere else) and Majenta got Sooz to call in the favor.
“Do it. Pull your show. Make a statement!” Sooz said in defiance.
“That’s brilliant. A statement. Everyone, pack it up. We’re moving!”
[We rolled some dice and both sides achieved their intent.]
Mikael and Breck
Mikael’s daily life included the normal life of a museum docent, including the bus ride to work and the pilled polyester sweater. But there were a few elements that were just his.
- The secret compartment where he had a 1994 edition of National Geographic, and in that a hand assembled page for his art history zine featuring provocative works by Gerda Wegener.
- The time in spent in the morning making donuts covered with powdered sugar and handwriting a note to his wife Minerva.
At the Palace of Contemplative arts he felt the impact of the heightened Freq hit like wave that crashed over him and then disappeared. He looked up to a Rourke on display and almost smiled before the sedation hit and his manner changed to placid appreciation.
He would have been anxious about his zine work being hidden among his other papers at the security check point, but the Freq dulled that as well.
Below, in the basement offices he was stationed at the photocopier, with a giant stack of very boring copies of aquistion records that he was making more boring copies of. And just as he was about to pull out the hand made zine page to copy her heard the voice of his nemesis down the hall “Mikey!” Breck Danvers never got Mikael’s name right.
He was startled and he bumped his stack of papers, nearly revealing the zine page hidden among them. But he didn’t dare correct the error, he had to brace for the oncoming slap on his back. Mikael has once asked Breck not to do that, and Breck feigned concern and asked if Mikael wanted to file an HR complaint, which of course Mikael did not as he knew it would backfire, and after that it seemed as if Breck’s slaps where even harder than they had been before.
“Mikey, making copies. Mikey, you could do so much more that just making copies. I can see it in you, you’ve got something special. I want to help you. I’m going to get you a promotion and get you out of there.”
Mikael straightened the papers, pushed up his glasses, and did his best to appear as boring as possible, in the hopes that Breck would turn his attention to someone else in the office. But it was no use, in all of Breck’s horseplay he noticed the zine page and just got that much more determined to help this little man!
[We rolled Impulsive for Breck and Mindful for Mikael. Though I was playing Mikale and he didn’t want to be in the spotlight, I thought it would be fun for him to have to work even harder to hide what he was doing, so I deliberately took the 9 I rolled instead of the 2, failing my intent. Breck landed on his Fulcrum, escalating the situation (that’s how he saw the zine page and revealed that he had a whole collection of punk zines himself) but still succeeding in his goal of getting Mikael a promotion]
Next scene Mikael will have a corner office. Oh boy.
Thoughts on the Game
We only played one scene for each potations but had a great time. I loved creating new Minutia (like 100 Soft Jazz Stations and Pornography is Contraband) and seeing how those shaped our world.
I didn’t detail how the audience affected the outcomes, but in general the two players not in the conflict collaborated a lot on how to make it more interesting, including intentionally putting Stephen and Breck on their Fulcrums to escalate!
Reminders to Sean for Next Game
Next time I play Minerva. What is Aurora’s last name? Do Not Unplug. Mikael’s visit request.
Next time I play Mikael. What does his promotion look like?
Pics from the game
As always, Karen created an incredible spread.
