SYLVERAN LIFTS HUMAN PROHIBITION AT DIA, ESTABLISHES TASK FORCE

By: Porter

Breaking news: chief detective Sylveran has filed two orders.

According to the latest developing story, the DIA chief lifted a prohibition on humans working in high ranks at the agency. He proclaimed this as a step forward toward inclusivity and modernization. This issue has been a cold topic within the DPF in general, but Sylveran’s recent actions have put this issue back into the spotlight as a whole.

In addition to lifting this ban, the chief detective also created a special task force that is specifically aimed towards apprehending Lucid. The task force, named as the “Lucid Apprehension Task Enforcement,” is set to focus solely on anything involving Lucid, including any leads, tips, existing files, and more. LATE is still in early development, but Sylveran expects it to be up and running smoothly within the next few weeks.

“In the next few weeks, I expect this task force to be fully ready and equipped,” he said in a press conference, “I want to let people know that our first applicants within this task force will be our fellow human friends who will work as detectives to try finding and bringing Lucid to justice.”

The DIA chief clarified any potential dangers that human employees could face in being hired in high ranks.

“I’m aware that people might be afraid of the consequences but I would like to say that all humans applying to the DIA will first work as official detectives within this task force which I will personally lead,” he explained, “They will be working alongside me and fellow human-beings to track and find Lucid. I think this is a remarkable step forward in the right direction and hope many consider joining this great agency.”

It is still too early to truly see any consequences from these two orders, but the chief expects it to go in line with what he promised.

“I promised to keep crime down, make our streets safe, modernize the DIA, and to bring Lucid to justice,” he said, “These orders will do just that. These are promises I’m guaranteed to keep.”

This is a rapidly developing story. Stick with the Tribune for the latest information as it happens.

CRISP AIR ON THE HORIZON AS AUTUMN PEEKS AROUND CORNER

By: Arial

Is the air feeling a little lighter than usual? You’re not wrong.

Many residents have begun to feel a noticeable change in the air. Many are saying that the temperatures are feeling a lot cooler than they did a month ago. In some areas, temperatures are seemingly cooler than surrounding areas.

“I remember it was quite hot a month ago!” Kairen, a resident from the Korean enclave told me, “Now, it’s feeling like borderline sweater weather. I’m liking it!”

“Yeah now that you mention it, it does indeed feel pretty good out,” Taylor, a resident from the U.S. enclave said, “Not enough for scarf weather, but it’s a sign of a changing season!”

The Dimension Weather Prediction Service, the weather agency in charge of monitoring weather conditions across the dream world, has acknowledged for several weeks now that temperatures in August would begin to decline as summer winds down and autumn creeps up. They say that autumn is about ready to officially kick in.

“Yep! That’s a sign that autumn is right around the corner!” DWPS senior meteorologist Cirrus told me, “We’ve been saying that temperatures had been ever so slightly declining with each passing day since around mid-August. Look at that!”

Cirrus explained that it is still currently summer in the dream world, but temperatures on average are reaching autumn territory. With the season coming to an end, she told me that summer looked average based on preliminary data.

“We haven’t verified any data so far, but based on what we have, it looks like this year’s summer season was pretty great!” she said, “It wasn’t too hot and it wasn’t underwhelming either. I say things went smoothly as we predicted!”

When asked about autumn, Cirrus said it’s looking like it might be about the same.

“We will be releasing our official Seasonal Outlook soon, but we’re thinking it might be another great season too,” she stated, “Stay tuned for the official report!”

For the latest weather forecast, visit the DWPS website or your local forecasting office for more information.

Q/A: Ask the creator

Dear Adri, why isn’t the dream world a utopian society?

By: Yuto Peah

Hello Yuto! In the early days of the story/game, I was sometimes asked as to why the dream world isn’t utopian-like or at least why wasn’t it truly “free.” If you think about it on the surface, a world that is made up of our own dreams and memories, it would feel as if it should be free of restrictions and a perfect society. Except, it isn’t, why’s that?

If I could give you an answer, it would be that making the dream world a perfect utopia would not have best fit the entire plot and narrative of the story. From the start, we were told that Lucid is a runaway fugitive. This would already nix the idea that the dream world is perfect. The dream world can’t be this perfect world if there’s someone out here on the loose. This means there are also laws, rules and other things to follow just like in the real world. There is also the Council of the dream world that rules over everyone, so you can’t be truly free if someone— or in this case an organization— is ruling over the population. And again, no one in the dream world is saying the overall society is perfect.

So then what? Is the dream world so terrible? Well, being “free” in the dream world comes with its own prices. It is true that the overall quality of life is satisfactory and definitely better than the real world. There are more freedoms within this society than our own society, as well as advancements in overall social justice, medicine, technology, and more! Even so, there are laws and rules people must follow. Remember, the dream world’s earliest beginnings were fraught with war, conflict, and a lot of chaos. In order to prevent future conflict, many rules were established down the line and here we are now. There hasn’t been a conflict of such magnitude since then and it’s been overall calm.

I think the concept of being free, as seen within the story, is also a concept of no one ever truly being free. Lucid isn’t free even though he is not behind bars and yet it feels like he both is and isn’t. The dream world is a great world, but restrictions keep it free of conflict and suffering, but not free in other aspects. There are a lot of underlying messages within this idea of not making this world a perfect, free society. Sometimes you have to read in between the lines and analyze for yourself to make an interpretation of it. Do you think the dream world should be a utopian society? Is it already one? Is it, on the contrary, dystopian-like? Let me know what you think! 

Dear Adri, what are your future plans for the game and story?

By: Lou Kinahed

Hi Lou! And so we reach the final question in this Q/A series… Now it’s time for me to answer a question about the future. Well, there are many things I plan on doing in the future at some point, but over time, some ideas change or fade. Let me see…

I think in the near-future, the overall story will focus on a few things. Currently, we are endulged in Sylveran’s power-hungry moves at the DIA and his obsession with trying to capture Lucid. This will likely be a big focus in the near-future as it becomes a game of cat and mouse. Sylveran’s moves at the DIA will also try to reflect ongoing current events in a satirical and commentary way. As for other characters, we will be seeing familiar faces try to aid Lucid or perhaps aid Sylveran in different ways. Of course, we’ll also see some new faces too which I know people are always looking forward to!

Additionally, we were just introduced to a new plot in the story following this year’s Wilderness Expedition. Caution for spoilers ahead (You can skip this paragraph if you wish to avoid them)! Following this year’s quest, we were now given a new conflict in the plot: the mysterious crack in the wall of the Backrooms. This particular crack is genuinely concerning as it’s not known what is causing it nor what it might lead to. Since Francis has been captured, that plot has sort of wrapped up, but Francis isn’t done here yet. Francis will also remain relevant in the near-future as he may or may not be associated with this strange fracture in the Backrooms.

As for the far-future, that I cannot say. I am in no way a psychic nor an oracle so I can’t really say what the future will hold. I always hope that I am able to keep this story going as much as I can even through tough times in my life. Sometimes it feels exhausting or worthless to maintain such a story but knowing that there are people who actually are intrigued by the characters, rooms, events, and just anything involving it gives me that little push to keep going. I don’t know when the story will come to an end, heck, it might go on for a decade, who knows! All I know is that as long as at least one person is interested, I’ll keep it going for them and anyone else who decides to stay or tune in. These past four years have been full of memories and I can’t wait to make more. So, to whatever the future holds, I hope to have everyone stick around for more great memories as we see how the plot thickens and *hopefully* get to see Lucid be free once again.