oorah | Reims for Dummies ( device app )

Hotdog and Micro have compiled all the information that is known about this place and formatted it into an easy-to-access application for your device! It will implement automatic updates as information is added, so check back regularly. Type in a term or question and a relevant page or pages will come up with all the details attributed to that search term. Search terms are in bold & any question encompassing multiple terms will bring up all articles containing each separate term as well. This App also contains ongoing projects and enterprises that you can get involved in, with relevant contact information.

Reims, France.
Where are we? We are in a version of Reims that geographically resembles a recognizable Rouen, France from many other worlds. It is not a carbon copy of either one, suggesting that this may be an alternative reality to one many Arrivals are familiar with. If you pull up the Map on your device, it will tell you where you are within “Reims” and how to get to any known location. Upon Arrival, you will be taught how to be silent and assigned to a communal house to stay. Many of the houses have been partially or entirely soundproofed for low talking, bathing, cooking, and other conveniences. Keep in mind that soundproofing can always fail so use your own discretion with volume control and be careful.

When outside, you must always be silent. Except when it rains. It usually rains about once a week in Reims, and the constant noise of the weather disorients the Sound Eaters. Rain days are when you may choose to do noisy work, have some fun, or get some sleep without fear of nightmares. Please be cautious even in the rain, and take care not to walk in sand-paths that are washing away. This will make it more difficult for Sandpath Techs to repair.

What’s here? Follow the painted rock trail, there are rocks around town to keep you apprised of your location! The first place you might visit is the Public Library, which needs some work but has a good selection of French and English texts. No matter what language you speak, your device will translate spoken and written text into your native tongue. Borrow books from the library for as long as you like and visit as often. These books are one of the only things left of the fallen civilization of Reims. Publications end around 2017. The Old Theater is boarded up and guarded by Natives. No one knows what secrets this building holds, but it is off limits for some reason. There are also many Locations created by and maintained by Arrivals.

The only animals in any quantity left are rabbit, fish, and deer. These are the main food supplies and must not be overhunted. There are inexplicably no insects of any kind here, but there are plants. A botanist’s guide can be found in the library and the Greenhouse workers know what best grows in the climate here of available crops and vegetation. There are also strange animals that pop up from time to time, usually centered around rainstorms. Birdlike creatures appeared in March posted at each residence. Some were killed and some were captured for further research. It was discovered that while two or more are kept together, they are quiet which is how they have survived. Then in April bunnylike creatures appeared that the Natives called peeps because they are tiny and completely silent. When they touch water their fur turns black and they become aggressive towards the dry peeps and the two will fight to the death unless stopped.

Can I leave Reims? You may travel as far as you like, no one will stop you. But the farther one travels from the Community, the less safe it may become. The village is set up for minimal noise whereas outside of town you will have to monitor yourself more closely. It also may be dangerous traveling too far from the Reset Room. Other Arrivals that have traveled beyond Paris and its outskirts haven’t returned. This was before the devices so there is no record of what happened to them. It is highly encouraged to keep your device recording if you travel, and to never travel alone.

The Natives.
Who are the Natives? The Natives are a small group of survivors who originated from this world. They have no known governmental or legal structure and are focused solely on the continuation of their kind. They built everything in this community before the Arrivals came. There are Arrivals who have become permanent members in the community, and they will extend the same offer to you. The Native woman who gave you the device in your hands is named Constance, and she was once the Speaker for the Community. In March, she nominated several arrivals to be leaders instead, and a popular vote was cast. Hotdog and Teddy received the most votes and they were put in charge from there on out.

The Natives have structured this community with silence and survival in mind. If you make noise around them, they will do what they deem is necessary to silence you. This is how they have always lived and none of them alive today remembers a time before the Sound Eaters or Reset Rooms. They have their own language through hand signals, and learning it is relatively easy. The devices will translate the sign language to text or vice versa, and sign language classes can be attended every Sunday at Town Hall. Town Meetings are held once a week on Sunday mornings. Natives and Arrivals are both encouraged to attend so they can share what has been observed or learned throughout the week. The Town Hall is soundproofed so low talking is permitted. The best way they believe to get around is walking on sand-paths that they have set up to each communal space and even through some of the buildings. They are open to better ideas at this time, as sand washes away every rainstorm and must be refilled by Sandpath Technicians.

A Sandpath Technician is one of many careers the Natives might assign to you upon arrival. If you are assigned a job you cannot reasonably do or feel your skills are better met in a different job, contact Hotdog and he can reassign you. Upon arrival, the Natives will also take your clothes and any items they deem to be too noisy. These items will be properly soundproofed and then given back to you when they are safe. If you have a concern about a specific item that was confiscated, you may also contact Hotdog to have it be returned to you more expeditiously. For the most part, Natives and Arrivals work together here in relative camaraderie. However, as Natives cannot be reset, they do not take unnecessary risks and will leave exploring and innovating to the Arrivals for this reason. They also have no interest in the intrapersonal dynamics between Arrivals, i.e. should two enemies from home find themselves here. We are expected to sort out all altercations amongst ourselves.

There was an Arrival who had joined the Natives long before we came here named Lamar. They banished him over a decade ago and now a man has emerged claiming to be him but also appears very young. This young man has told us that he was the one responsible for the red dust poisoning incident at Town Hall on New Arrival Day in March, this dust made everyone who came in contact with it unable to see color for a period of around a day and had the side-effect of seeing one person in total color. Lamar claims he did this to get revenge on the Natives for kicking him out of the Community and that he faced “horrors” while he was out there, not just the Sound Eaters. All that we know about the incident leading up to his banishment is that something transpired inside the Theater that shocked him and he disagreed with the Native population on what was done. They will not let us inside the Theater to investigate in any capacity, but also claim not to be keeping secrets from us.

New Arrivals.
How did I get here? The Reset Room brought you here. There is no known way to reverse the process, at least, not on purpose. Whether you were alive or dead before coming here, you are now alive. (Congratulations?) If you were in another state, you will arrive the same way. The Arrivals have the “advantage” of being reset by the room, meaning that if you die here you will be instantaneously revived. You may experience some memory loss after you come back, and no one knows the long-term effects of being reset more than once or twice so the standing advice is to try to avoid it at all costs. When Arrivals disappear it is unknown where they go, if they are not reset. The ones who don't return will often vanish with most or all of their belongings however, suggesting they either left the Community or went back through the Reset Room somehow. The Arrivals are from all different worlds and universes. These worlds may be far in the past or future from your own time or vary greatly in detail. Discussion regarding this is encouraged amongst all Arrivals, as we all have different skills that could ultimately defeat the Sound Eaters and/or forge a way home for everyone.

All of the devices are connected via a network that you can use to get in touch with other Arrivals and share findings. Keep in mind that the Natives observe the network as well, and that if you do not lock correspondences anyone in the Community will be able to read them. The only 100% proven method of private correspondence is directly between two devices, either synced up in close enough proximity or you can find a specific user by searching their username or display. If you need help setting up any of the features of your device, contact Micro. We are always looking for ways to improve the Community, so do not hesitate to use your skills for the betterment of it. The Bulletin Board is another way to draw everyone’s attention to something you have to say. Unlike the Network that has constantly archiving and refreshing posts, the bulletin board exists in traditional handwritten format as well as a static app stashed on your device. A static version of this post is always available there as well should this application ever crash.

The Reset Rooms.
What is the Reset Room? All of the Arrivals come to this place via a Reset Room. The Rooms came into being at the same time as the Sound Eaters and no one yet knows how they work. Somehow utilizing the red dust, the Reset Room pulls in beings from different worlds seemingly at random. This is also the same process that brings Arrivals back from the dead. It is believed that if one strays too far from a reset room, they will not be reset. There is no known way to prevent someone (or yourself) from being reset, you either will be or you will not. Natives are never reset.

There are two known Reset Rooms here in Reims, but after the dust-storm that brought the most recent Arrivals out-of-cycle, it has come to our attention that there could be many more rooms throughout this world. Because the red dust and reset rooms always carry a measure of memory loss for affected parties, more research is needed. Since January 15th, the Arrivals have been coming regularly around the second week of the month. But in March, the dust-storm brought more unexpectedly. It is thought that more came this way either late December or early January as well, but those Arrivals have already moved on or joined the Native community.

Has anyone ever attempted to destroy a reset room? No one has ever attacked or otherwise damaged the Reset Rooms. It is unknown if they can be destroyed. Though the rooms are not soundproofed, the Sound Eaters steer clear of them as well and noise is not as much of a concern inside their walls. The Arrivals have set up a workshop in one of the rooms for noisy projects that can’t wait until rain days. There is also a sign-up sheet outside each room to schedule any loud activity.

The Red Dust.
What’s with the red stuff? The red dust on the floor of the reset rooms has unknown properties and effects, but along with bringing in Arrivals and resetting them, it has also been known to facilitate a shared dream experience between two or more Arrivals. The chemical composition of all red dust remains constant no matter where it is found or what effects it has. The dust near Ile Lacroix has a choking effect and can only be abated by completely submerging the affected person in water. Red dust was also piped through the vents at Town Hall and caused everyone to lose colored vision for a day. Another version of the dust came in the form of storms all over this world in different locations. This is the only known time Arrivals have come here through any means other than the Reset Room. Arrivals were dropped in different locations and attackers came out of the dust, but then turned back into dust when defeated. The known locations people arrived through are: Perth, Australia, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Bogota, Colombia, Ahmedabad, India, Tehran, India, Yokohama, Japan, Mexico City, Mexico, Karachi, Pakistan, Lima, Peru, Quezon City, Philippines, Moscow, Russia, Bangkok, Thailand, Istanbul, Turkey, and (Frankfort,) Kentucky, USA.

The Sound Eaters are the key to the red dust as it is a result of their births. A Sound Eater birth has been observed by some of the people here and can be described as a new life created from a fallen Sound Eater. When Sound Eaters are injured or die, there is also red dust present. It is unclear whether the red dust is a part of their physical bodies or merely reacts with them chemically, but the red dust is instrumental in solving the mystery of this place. Many Arrivals are studying it, and though its properties allow it to be inhaled by a human host rather easily, it does not stick to other solid surfaces even the sand.

Sound Eaters.
What are the Sound Eaters? Monsters with three forms, or classes (the young, the shifting, and the matured), that first arrived via the red dust. The dust fell in centralized piles with the Matured emerging first, then followed by the young and the shifting. Footage recently found by the Arrivals have confirmed that the Sound Eaters are the cause of the current state of Reims and possibly the rest of the world: major cities (Paris, London, Los Angeles, New York, among others) were destroyed generations ago before any of the Natives alive today were even born. All Sound Eaters are attracted to sound, with the Young and the Shifting being particularly sensitive to it, and are relentless in finding and eliminating all sources of sound.

How do Sound Eaters attack? Can they be killed? Sound Eaters are extremely fast and seem to attack at random, leaving nothing behind in their wake. However, the same footage has led Arrivals to believe that certain Sound Eaters may (or may not) be blind and take directives from the Matured prior to attacking. This can be supported by previous trips to the Eiffel Tower, the primary “nest” of this region’s Sound Eaters, in which the Matured were observed to be in control of all lower classes. Speculations have also been made as to whether or not the Sound Eaters have a hive-mind mentality, or a psychic connection with each other. Hotdog and Micro know the way to the Eiffel Tower nest if you would like to see it for yourself, though it is unknown whether with multiple trips the Sound Eaters will eventually become aware of other presences. Do so at your own risk and film continuously if you do go.

Ways of killing Sound Eaters are currently unknown, but it’s been proven they can survive fatal injuries, such as those caused by bombs. Injured Sound Eaters are immediately taken to safety by others, which implies that they have at least a basic understanding or knowledge on how to care for and treat injuries. Sound Eaters are also sensitive to water and will avoid coming out during rainstorms. While it is raining, it is safe to make (some) noise and the Natives will encourage others to do most of their noise-making at this time if they need to.

Where do the Sound Eaters come from? Sound Eaters come from the red dust, the same dust that covers the floor of the Reset Room. Although it’s unknown if the dust is produced by the Sound Eaters or it simply interacts with them chemically, it is present whenever a Sound Eater is born or injured. New Sound Eaters can also be created from bodies, however, there are differences in their appearance. Unlike the young or shifting, these other Sound Eaters are faceless (no eyes, no mouths) with generally androgynous features and dark hair. They respond to other Sound Eaters and take directives from the Matured as well.

How can we protect ourselves from them? Currently, soundproofing and remaining silent is the only way to avoid being targeted by Sound Eaters. The Natives fear the permanency of death and take great care in maintaining silence in their daily lives; they believe this is the most effective method in ensuring their survival. They have not tried to engage the Sound Eaters (communication, exorcism, capturing one, etc.) and prefer to keep it that way, however, they will also not discourage anyone from doing so. Once you have soundproofed your residence or bathroom facilities, bathing is possible by lining your tub with cloth and muffling the taps. Please bathe.

COMMUNITY ENDEAVORS:

Prison: Cell construction & soundproofing. Contact Jessica for details.
L’Hôpital: Distributing supplies, repairing electrical, construction etc. Contact Hawkeye.
Silent Treatment: Clinic volunteers needed. CPR classes offered. Contact Akira.
Fight Club: Regular meets every Wed & Sun. Contact Hotdog or FC Pres for individual lessons!
Mike’s Monster Manual: Info on monsters & villains from your world needed. Contact Mike.
Weapons Shed: Trade, barter or commission weapons from Tetora at House 12 Garage.
Geek Squad: Tech issues & repairs. See Shuri at House 6 Garage.
Français avec Mlle Clara: French language lessons. Contact Clara.
Knit with Nat: Knitting lessons. Contact Natasha.
Dorothy First Aid Training: CNA training with general first aid. Contact Dorothy.
General Soundproofing: Have a project or want to be put on one? Contact Hotdog.
Info for this Application: Any questions or additions? Contact Micro.