Summary: Passus I-A

Field Learning Orientation & Aptitude Trials

Main Characters:

Alana (You): The player character and FLOAT candidate, curious but inexperienced.

Dean: An experienced, somewhat condescending Reassembly technician and reluctant FLOAT administrator.

• Howard: An unseen supervisor who communicates through the intercom.

• God Waters: The subject of the reassembly procedure, a conspiracy theorist streamer.

  

  Joan: Alana's friend, another FLOAT candidate assigned to a different ward.

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Plot Summary

The chapter begins in a control room where Alana and Dean are preparing for a reassembly procedure on God Waters. As they work, Alana's lack of knowledge becomes apparent, leading to tension with Dean. They monitor Waters through a webcam feed as he discusses conspiracy theories about disappearances and a company called Castle.

After the procedure, Alana leaves the control room and experiences a memory pruning, a sanitation process that causes a headache. She then navigates the halls of the Reassembly Ward, interacting with her augmented reality HUD and talking to her friend Joan via a video call.

As Alana follows the AR path to her next FLOAT session, she finds herself unexpectedly directed to the Genetics Ward instead of her intended destination in the Rehabilitation Ward. She enters a room labeled “Cognitive Observation #3,” where she sees a young girl with a head injury or birthmark sitting at a table with a goldfish bowl. The chapter ends as Alana is greeted by a FLOAT peer and a middle-aged administrator, a woman with a green-brocaded coat.

Narrative Style

• Second-Person Perspective: The reader experiences the story through Alana's eyes.

• Technical Jargon: The use of specialized terminology adds to the disorienting, futuristic atmosphere.

• Augmented Reality Elements: Descriptions of Alana's HUD and its functions blend the physical and digital worlds.

Dialogue-Heavy Scenes: Conversations between characters reveal much of the plot and world-building details.

World-Building Details

• Facility Structure: The story takes place in a large, multi-ward facility that includes Reassembly, Rehabilitation, Genetics, and Agricultural wards.

• FLOAT Week: Field Learning Orientation & Aptitude Trials seems to be an internship program that allows candidates to experience different roles within the facility over the course of a week.

• Reassembly Technology: A mysterious process involving quantum mechanics and nanotechnology, capable of manipulating individuals at the quantum level.

• Augmented Reality: Characters use advanced AR systems with HUDs for navigation, communication, and information display.

• Fashion: A unique blend of medieval-inspired and futuristic styles, suggesting a society that has merged historical aesthetics with advanced technology.

• Social Structure: The presence of different colored brocades on lab coats indicates a hierarchical system within the facility.

• Network Privileges: Different wards have varying levels of network access, with Agricultural Ward having full privileges.

• Memory Manipulation: Concepts like “sanitation” and “pruning” suggest the ability to selectively remove or alter memories.

• Advanced Agriculture: The Agricultural Ward features highly automated vertical farming systems, suggesting a focus on efficient food production.

• Biometric Monitoring: Characters receive constant updates about their physical and mental states through their HUDs.

• Castle Corporation: A mysterious company that seems to be at the center of many conspiracy theories and possibly connected to the facility.