After Cordelia leaves you on the roof, your chosen assistant will show you to your room.

Their initial function, for which they have about 10 minutes, is to walk you through the layouts of your room, explain how the room controls work, and to introduce you to Zou Yan, the House AI, and the Black Shadow Cyber Consoles.

After the meeting in the Library, which they will remind you about before they leave, one of their functions is to serve as a more human interface to assist you with whatever you need during your stay, although there are limits to what they can do and to their knowledge of things. They all speak American English, and one or more of Korean, Japanese, and Cantonese.

Note Whilst Zou Yan, will initially interact with the assistants, it won't interact with you, other than providing reminders about up coming appointments. To fully utilise the system you need to go through the induction process via the Black Shadow Consoles.

To initialise and create your Avatars, you need to put on the VR helmet. The system will report “Mizzurian Cybernet Initializing” followed by “Welcome. I am Zou Yan. With whom do I have the pleasure of conversing?” As soon you think about who you are Zou Yan will respond with “Thankyou <name>. I am configuring the interface to better meet your requirements”. If you are not wearing the Elodes, the hand overlays(gloves), then Zou Yan will display an animated dialog requesting they put them on. Once the character is wearing them Zou Yan will report “Net configured for use. Please remember you have a meeting in <n> minutes. Cordelia is expecting you. Do you wish to proceed with creating your Avatar at this juncture? The process will take approximately 30 to 45 minutes.”

You can either answer yes at this point or do it later..

Once the system is correctly initialised it will display in the lower RH corner of the screen three date/times, Amber, Earth, and Carnelian, and Zou Yan will respond to any verbal communication addressed to it by yourself, anywhere in your room.

Once initialised, the following process is required to create an exact representation of yourself as an avatar, which allows you to use the virtual shopping facility to shop for any clothes/footwear available either on the market or as extant designs, or if you have the relevant talent to design you own clothes, then anything you design, and have the designs made. This means that all clothing will effectively be "made to measure" so fit perfectly..

If you are wearing the helmet Zou Yan will ask you to remove it, and will fold down the main video screen. It will then ask you to remove all your clothes(you may retain your underwear if bashful and Zou Yan will adjust), put the gloves back on, and sit on the floor in front of the screen. It will then run a series of animations, on the lower RH half of the screen as to how it wants you to trace your body with your hands, and in response your avatar will slowly take shape as a 3D image on the LH side. This makes it relatively easy to see where it is lacking in detail and respond to Zou Yan's prompts.

After Kassidy effectively ran from the room, Rhiannon's eyes found the VR helmet and gloves. Walking over she slipped on the gloves and placed the helmet on her head. The meeting with Cordelia was at 3AM. Based on the time she still had hours, so she proceeded with the configuration.

"Yes, Zou Yan. Please proceed."

The system looked to go through an initialization process, finally settling on a welcome. In the lower corner there were three dates and times. All different. Earth, she knew; though she wondered which time zone - probably GMT. Then there was Carnelian, which was presumably the place she was. But Amber she hadn't yet heard of. The fact that it was listed made it significant, but it was also listed first. Why it was important would be another question for Cordelia. For now she wanted to make her avatar so she could go shopping.

At the direction of the system, Rhiannon removed the helmet, gloves, and all her clothes. It felt strange but the room was empty and if it helped make a more accurate representation - and better fitting clothes - she would blush through it. It took all of 45 minutes because she was stubborn about making it as perfect as she could get it, but when it was over she was delighted to see her 3d Avatar. After redressing, she also put back on teh helmet and gloves.

"It's lovely Zou Yan. Now, take me to the mall."

You find yourself in a virtual shopping mall, any modern shopping mall with piazza's, fountains, gardens, and multiple levels will do. Shop fronts are arrayed around you in all directions.
There are at least 10 different clothing stores (think huge shop fronts like Selfridges, Macy's, Harrod's, Liberty's etc), each of which seems to cater for specific styles and/or historical eras, there is one store which caters specifically for outdoor/survival gear including climbing equipment, another which is a "tool" store which carries everything from hand tools to industrial machinery, and then another couple of dozen or so which appear to be actual real premises or outlets, a vet, a hotel, several restaurants/eateries, a pharmacy, etc.
If you're looking for specific clothes, like bathing costumes, then there would be at least 3 stores which have them in a variety of styles from the early 1900's right through to the latest modern sports swimsuit. One of the "real" premises will also have them in a modern style but with a very much more limited range of styles, colours, and sizes.
If you pick an item off a shelf or clothes rack and hold it against you then you will suddenly find you're "wearing" it, or at least your Avatar. You can default your avatar to wearing any clothing style you choose.

If you want to ask specific questions then generally "He" will respond to them..

Rhiannon had to pause to appreciate the wonder of the VR environment. The realism of the experience was nothing short of amazing. She knew exactly what she wanted, but she still couldn't help but browse through some of the other shops just for the fun of it.She wanted to 'buy' a few items simply to satisfy the whim, but she figured she could always come back. She wasn't sure how she would be paying for anything and it was best to experiment with the swimwear.

The range of swimwear styles was fascinating. Rhiannon couldn't understand why anyone would ever want to wear some of those older fashions, but to every need there is a product. She understood she could create her own as well, but she was certain too that there would be something she liked right off the shelf. The instant try-it-on feature was so helpful too. The 'real' store selection was a bit more limited, but she found a cute green two piece string bikini with a prismatic sheen that made the highlights appear black. There was also a second she liked. It was another two piece, but in a silky pink with cherry blossoms. She needed to know how checkout worked before deciding.

"Zou Yan. I like these. How much are they and how do I pay?"

As a guest of Cordelia you have an open ended account. You may select what you require. Goods selected from your current store will be delivered by 9:30am.

"Oh!" Rhiannon was delighted. She didn't have Carnelian dollars anyway. "In that case I'll also take this pullover and this pretty one piece also. Thank you, Zou Yan."

After her order was registered, she figured she could pass the time shopping. Perhaps there was a Carnelian souvenir t-shirt or so warm slippers for wandering about the mansion.

"Zou Yan, I'm going to browse some more. I'm terrible at keeping track of time, so please warn me ten minutes before the meeting. Thank you."

Winter was slightly skeptical as the VR system was explained to her. So...this world was also going through the VR gaming fad. Lovely. Still, it was the system she'd have to use to get anything done here, so she hung her sword on the coat rack and put on the helmet and gloves.

"Yes, Zou Yan," she said. The initialization proceeded, and Winter rolled her eyes as Zou Yan demanded that she take off her clothes. "For Ms. Chan's viewing pleasure, huh?" she snarked, before removing the helmet and gloves and casually stripping. It wasn't like she minded being naked; she had nothing to be ashamed of, after all. And if Cordelia wanted her smoothly-muscled body for late-night material (which Winter didn't actually believe), she was welcome to stare all she liked. But she was still feeling just a little sarcastic from the whole thing.

"Right. Naked. What's next?" she asked after sitting down. She responded to the prompts, shaping the avatar to her body type exactly. "So do I have an account on this world for shopping or something?" she asked casually as she let the machine scan her, in an attempt to make sense of whatever world was down this rabbit hole.

Since there are no camera's in any of your rooms, that would be substantively difficult


Miss Chan has not set any limits on your accounts. You may shop from the virtual Mall as you wish

Once you've initialised your Avatars will now note you have an events schedule in the system..

 03:00 4th Library: Introductions
 10:00 6th Library: Introduction to the Pattern
 10:00 10th Library: Introduction to Trump
 17:00 11th Library: Expo Opening Ceremony
 08:15 15th Dining Room: Breakfast Meeting
 06:30 18th Lobby : Expo Ball
 20:00 18th Ballroom : Carnelian Ball

You will also find that you can access the House Wi-Fi Network which will show up as MZMansion on your phones.You'll initially need to download an App and scan the QR code that shows up on one of the display panels, after which you will have full access to the network within the house and a large portion of the grounds.

"Interesting, thank you," Cassandra said to Jade as they reached the room 'Hmm I'm going to have to ask more specific questions '. Entering the room she got a quick tour of where everything was located. 'Huh the room was cool but the walk-in wardrobe might be overkill for two weeks but hey I get to sleep in a super nice bed so she's not complaining. No sir.'

Once Jade had shown her what was where she began to go into more detail about the technological side of things. The fact that Cordelia had a house AI made Cassandra raise an eyebrow 'Well I knew she had money but it looks like she has more than I thought, I wonder if the name is anything like J.A.R.V.I.S' Cassandra thought smirking to herself.

Jade explained she needed to leave "Thanks for the explanation" Cassandra called out as she hurries out. 'This stay shall certainly be interesting' Cassandra muses. Hands-on hips she gives the room a once over, "Alright 2 hours until the meeting, I think I'll unpack tomorrow, how about I get this Avatar thing set up" She picked up the helmet and gloves and slid them on.



'Well not quite the same... shame' She thought. "Yes all good to go," she said in response to his question.
Once everything had focused Cassandra noticed the dates and times listed. 'Interesting time zone names'

"Damn the time difference really is wack though"

------------------

Raising an eyebrow once more at the request to remove her clothes but shrugging and proceeding, throwing them on the bed. Cassandra then proceeded to follow the rest of the instructions.

Once the Avatar was set up Cassandra noticed the timetable listed
and that there are two 'balls' listed "Which means I'm going to need another dress, fancy events like these often mean you can't wear the same outfit twice"
"I don't think I'll go shopping now, later in the week would be better but Zou Yan, is there a way for me to browse the shops when not logged in this way?"
This message was last edited by the GM at 20:20, Sat 04 June 2022.

I'm afraid not. All shopping is by use of the virtual mall either in 1st person form using the head set or in 3rd person via the main screen

This message was last edited by the player at 23:00, Sat 04 June 2022.

Kenneth could have resembled early man as he paced the walls of the Kyanite room, his eyes dancing over this and that, his posture very gradually starting to relax.

For a young man who had only recently been exposed to reliable electricity within the past week, it was so much to take in that he experienced a slight feeling of vertigo as he mind raced to catch up.

The instructions from Coral, and from Zou Yan were followed, but slowly, and it took him a few minutes to grasp even the simple concepts of what he was expected to do.

Undressing was the easy part, although he left his undergarments on by habit, and when he found himself confronted with his first virtual space, the cavernous mall, he panicked a little and took off the headset and set it aside.

He spent a few minutes in the rest room, breathing and getting a hold of himself, and when he came back out he looked a little better. He put the headset back on and picked up where he had left off, then finally, for the first time since his arrival, he cleared his throat and spoke.

"Ah, Coral? I hate to be a bother, but I have no idea what to pick here...could you, help me out? Maybe pick some things out you think look nice?" he asked her, his head slightly cocked to the side as he spoke without really being able to see her.

<GM Note>So it takes about 45 minutes to set your avatar up.. For the initial introductions, your Assistant's have about 5 minutes before they have to disappear for the arrival of the next guest..
Once you've configured your Avatar, then Zou Yan will respond and answer questions, but will also forward messages/requests to your assistants.
So allowing for everything else, it's going to be about 23:40 by the time you get to this point, which is notionally during Nathaniel's "Tour", so Coral would have a limited time slot to help you out..</quote>

"Ha, okay, so does time pass differently, locally, wait, no, does quartz have the same properties here as on my," he waves a hand, "earth, or no, a better way to ask; does having set a time zone for this place mean that in three hours, presuming I remain here, the timer will be telling me it's time for Ms. Chan's meeting."

Kenneth did not seem terribly surprised that Coral kept a busy schedule, he nodded in an understanding way, a little relieved actually that he would would have some time to himself. Time that he could use to try to process everything that had just occurred.

"Of course, yeah...want to shoot for tomorrow morning?" He asked, and presuming that did indeed work for her, he nodded and gave a little gesture to to her before she left. "Thanks for the help. See ya then."

After she had gone, Kenneth set his bag next to the bed, his rifle on the comforter, and once again took in the sheer opulence of the room.

Some of the functions and controls remained a mystery to him despite his curiosity about them, and after a time he sat in the bed and let out a deep sigh.

What the hell have you gotten yourself into? He asked himself.

Had there been some kind of mistake? There must have been. The others had not seemed surprised to his eyes, some had taken to the whole thing, the "portal", their host, the mansion as if it came very naturally.

While he had been too overwhelmed to ask even the most passing and pressing question.

Where was he?

He was probably going to have to ask, and look like an idiot, but it might have to be done. Maybe Coral would know.

He went into the huge restroom, ran a hand along the rim of the collosal tub, and then looked in the mirror.

Man he looked rough. He ran a hand through his beard, sighed again. Even the best he had been able to do, given his circumstances, and he still looked like he had crawled down from the mountains, which was the truth he supposed.

He went back the bed, sat on it, placed a hand on his rifle, his Mauler, and felt a sort of contentment. More the familiarity of it than the protection it might offer.

"Guess we better find a place to lock you up huh?" He asked aloud, talking to himself. "Can't go meet and greet lookin' like I'm ready to head off to war."

Although their host had been armed, and a few of the others. A spear at that.

A spear...of all things...

What was going on here?

He looked for a place to lock up his Mauler, and then left his room to go explore a little before the 3am meeting, intent on taking the weapon with him if no suitable safe could be found.
This message was last edited by the GM at 00:11, Sun 05 June 2022.

Talking to oneself is said to be the first sign of madness.
That aside, you weapon will be perfectly safe in your room. If you wish to leave it out of sight, the  use one of the draws in the walk-in-closet.
Strangely enough your rooms all have door locks, so your room can be locked when you leave if you so wish.
This message was last edited by the player at 00:10, Sun 05 June 2022.

In reply to Zou Yan (msg # 16):

It was silly, he knew, some of the people here could probably buy a truck load of them and not bat an eye, but lifelong habits died hard and Kenneth wanted to at least tuck the thing out of sight.

He opened one of the drawers in the massive closet and nestled the weapon into it, then closed it and stepped out into the corridor to explore his new surroundings.

Maybe he could even find something that would give him a clue about where he really was.

This message was last edited by the GM at 10:39, Sun 05 June 2022.

Winter rolled her eyes at the AI. Able to intelligently understand her but not able to comprehend sarcasm. So instead, she called up an image from Resident Evil 3, deleted the pistol and the sweater around the waist from the image, and transposed the clothes onto her avatar. Then she added her sword over her back, at least for her virtual avatar.



https://static.wikia.nocookie....st?cb=20190521200759

"Jill Valentine is hot. If I've got an unlimited wardrobe, let's have this outfit made up ASAP so I can cosplay." She then looked through the virtual mall and casually picked out a mix of Chinese and Western styles as other options for the next couple of days, in case she didn't want to be Jill all the time.

She looked at the schedule and shrugged, not knowing what most of that was. "Thank you, Zou Yan. Nap time now." She de-gloved and flopped on the bed to catch a few more Z's and wait.
This message was last edited by the GM at 18:11, Sun 05 June 2022.

"So, setting the time zone setting wasn't pointles.  But movin' on, so what's this about 'room functions'?"

---

Spoiler text: (Highlight or hover over the text to view)
OOC:  I'm fine with presuming that Taurean explains the AI, the headset UI, the need for the avatar, etc, to Machk's increasingly obvious dislike of the whole situation.  But it's also obvious he considers himself stuck in it, so goes along with only the minimal required grumbling.

---

In reply to Zou Yan (msg # 11):

"I see, then I'll make sure to set some time aside to go shopping later" Cassandra went to speak again only to notice that her avatar did not have her tattoos.

"Is it possible for my avatar to have my tattoos, Zou Yan? Knowing what clothes look like with them makes my life much easier." Once the AI responded she would log off and get dressed.

At approx 9:35 Kassidy will knock on Rhiannon's door.
He has the items, Green 2-piece string Bikini, One-piece silky pink with cherry blossoms Swim Suit, and Pullover, she ordered from the local merchant earlier.