WARM WEATHER TO CONTINUE INTO AUGUST

By: Oswald

As August is set to begin tomorrow, the weather across the dream world will likely remain as is.

The Dimension Weather Prediction Service has been monitoring weather across the dream world this summer and has confirmed that temperatures have looked just about average in comparison to prior summer seasons. The dream world feels warm, but it is not exceptionally hot compared to recent events in 2023. This trend will likely persist going into August.

“It’s warm out across the dream world right now, but this is good! It means things are pretty normal for this time of year,” DWPS senior meteorologist Cirrus said, “The weather service had predicted an average season and things are looking average indeed!”

The weather in August is historically warm towards the beginning of the month, but subtle changes begin to be felt towards the middle to end of the month as the season comes to a close.

“August is the last month of summer and it typically begins with warm temperatures, but you’ll eventually begin to feel a difference towards the middle to late part of the month,” Cirrus explained, “Temperatures will then gradually begin to decrease slowly to feel more ‘comfortable’ before summer officially comes to an end.”

Cirrus stated that this decrease in temperature is a result of the upcoming autumn season slowly approaching.

“The weather in the dream world doesn’t just change spontaneously at once when one season ends and the next one begins,” she explained, “It does slowly creep up on you around two weeks before the end of the month. So trust me, you’ll feel a new season on the horizon even if it’s not officially here yet!”

The DWPS said that summer officially ends in one month.

“The last day of the summer season is August 31 which is in one month now,” Cirrus said, “So you have one full month left of summer before autumn kicks in on September 1! I know a lot of people will be happy about it. Just enjoy what this season has left to offer all of us! It’ll be autumn again once we know it.”

For the latest weather conditions and forecasts in your area or other areas around the dream world, please visit the DWPS website or your local forecasting office for additional resources and information.

DIA SUGGESTS PIVOT TOWARD NEW STRATEGY TO COMBAT CRIME

By: Roman

The Dimension Investigation Agency has recently suggested that it may be looking into a new strategy to tackle crime in the dream world.

According to the latest press conference last Monday, the agency has said that it is looking into new methods of combatting general crime in the dream world following June’s slight increase in overall crime. This comes following the stalled controversial order that Dimension Protection Force director Nikolaos Ferekides put to a halt citing its confusing wording.

“The DIA is actively looking into modern solutions to help address and reduce crime in the dream world,” DIA spokesperson Kristofer Levy said, “These modern solutions are part of chief detective Sylveran’s order to help bring the DIA into the twenty-first century. There are several methods we are looking into which I won’t get too detailed for now, but we are also exploring our options.”

One of these options seems to incorporate personal identification as a method to tackle crime.

“As we all know, travelers in the dream world are required to carry personal identification on them at all times if they’re stopped by a patrol officer,” Levy said, “While that falls under DPU territory, the DIA is not shying away from imposing an order that would allow inspections at free will.”

While the DIA does not have the direct authority to issue such an order that overrides another agency, there are loopholes it could use to do this. On a technicality basis, the DIA could declare a dream world-wide investigation that involves everyone living in it to allow whatever plan they wish to do with personal identification cards. This would allow detectives within the agency to override I.D. inspections typically conducted by the DPU to progress their plan.

“I cannot get too much into the details of this method as it is merely still an idea that has not gotten approval yet from the chief, but stay tuned for future updates,” Levy stated, “Also, we have not given up on the order issued back in May that was halted by the director. We are still looking into that and will keep trying until an agreement is reached with director Ferekides.”

This is a developing story. Stick with the Tribune for the latest information as it develops or visit the DIA’s webpage on the DIA website for more details and official announcements.

Q/A: Ask the creator

Dear Adri, what’s your version of the Backrooms like?

By: Myver Junn

Hi Myver! The Backrooms in recent years has been a topic of a lot of media interpretation and discussion. Popularized post-pandemic, there are a lot of versions and takes on it ranging from passive to horror. Within the story, the Backrooms does exist with its own spin. For me, the Backrooms don't feel like a place of “true” horror. The original picture— which was taken in the early 2000s and later attached with a fictional story in 2019 online— sparked a lot of discussion and interpretation. 

Personally, the original picture seemed to have sparked interest in the concept of liminal spaces, which I’m sure many of us are familiar with. Yet, it has always felt that way to me. Seeing the original image brings me back to the time my local Sears was closing and this picture feels like that; heck, I could’ve sworn it WAS a Sears closing up. My take on it was to incorporate it as a liminal space within the story like many other areas and rooms are, but there are some things to note about this particular take on it.

Many interpretations of the Backrooms have incorporated monsters and other malevolent entities that are out to get you. I personally don’t like this idea as it kills the “liminal” feeling of the Backrooms. A liminal space is supposed to be empty and make you feel a bit uneasy. I don’t think it’s supposed to make you afraid of what’s lurking in it, but rather afraid that there isn’t anything lurking in it when there seemingly should be. The Backrooms to me is also just a place with a poor environment to really support any form of life; there is no food or water so it wouldn’t really make sense to have entities live in it. Plus, it’s not necessarily common for humans to end up there by accident or have travelers within it. If someone does encounter something in it, it might just be another fellow lost human, dream world resident, and/or explorer, but it’s not anything dangerous.

I do think that, over time, the idea of the Backrooms seems to have become way too overdone and predictable. I am in no way judging anyone’s interpretations, but too many times have I seen it used as a medium for bloodthirsty monsters and similar horror. I do think there is some horror attached to it, but this is more psychological without the jumpscares. My take on it is a liminal space that feels uneasy and unsafe without there being any sort of real danger. Of course, it’s recently become a tourist attraction in the latest story quest, but its premise remains the same. That being said, I do like seeing people’s own takes, but maybe we should cut back on the whole entity thing just a little…

Dear Adri, what are some of the themes of social commentary you’ve done in the story?

By: Cameron Terry

Hello Cameron! When it comes to writing the story, there is a plot that is going on, but underneath the main plot and subplots, there is typically something trying to be said. Many modern fictional works have subtle commentary being made based on current events going on at the time, some being allegorical. For this particular story, there have been times where it’s more obvious than others.

I think one good example was the theme of artificial intelligence during A Dystopian Nightmare back in July of 2023. While this was not necessarily our version of digital A.I. as we know it, it was similar in its idea of being a form of generative A.I. that stole from original art— in this case the original art being books— in order to create new, unoriginal pieces with little to no effort as it was a machine doing the work and not the person. Another good example was during the NEAP-1 outbreak in the dream world that took place during October of 2022. This was inspired by the recent COVID-19 pandemic and how people, agencies, and overall society reacted to the disease. In that case, it was more of the idea that outbreaks are unpredictable and may require time to fully understand if it's a novel disease like COVID-19 was. It was also the idea that official treatments and cures do work to end an outbreak like the vaccine did in real life.

As we head into the second half of the decade, there are countless more themes that could be incorporated. Recent current events have actually already made their way into the story. When I had Sylveran take over the DIA, this was actually an idea I already had planned for a while now; however, due to current ongoing events, this allowed me to use this action as a medium for commentary. Sylveran’s new position in the DIA doesn’t necessarily reflect any one real life person in particular, but more of several people and things. Yes, his ideas seem absurd, but considering where we are now, it’s more like satire with what he’s doing. One example was him declaring to issue an order each day in his first seven days that would help reduce crime in the dream world and one of these orders was simply renaming the agency to which some responded “how does this lower crime in the dream world?” Does this sound familiar? Similarly, the subplot involving arrests echoes a reality that good hearted people view as extreme…

To put a big disclaimer, I will say that what some characters may do in the story do not necessarily reflect my own personal views. Francis using his form of generative A.I. does not mean that I support it in real life (I dislike it very much!) and similarly, Sylveran’s own actions don’t reflect my own views of what’s going on in real life. I think people can look into other plots and subplots to find subtle messaging I’m trying to convey and interpret it in their own ways. There’s nothing wrong with authors trying to subtly convey a message in their writing— which I’d argue makes it more interesting— so interpretations, theories, and conversations are very much appreciated in what I write!