Author Games: Panem Entangled

Sneak Peak

The twinkling lights and humming car engines bring life to the Capitol's streets, but all that's only below. Midnight approaches quickly, a charcoal black having already engulfed the vivid colors of the sunset prior. A thick fog hangs at the terraces of skyscrapers, cold gusts of air harshly smacking the windows of the highest floors.

A figure clothed entirely in black from head to toe is silent as they open the door to a room on the top floor, the hinges creaking only slightly. They press themselves flat against the wall as they enter, eyes alert. Knowing that flicking the light switch can cause trouble, they ignore it completely as they pass by. Their gaze settles on the computer at the far end of the room, and they approach it with a flashdrive in hand. Lowering themself to sit on the comfortable swivel chair, they carefully plug the flashdrive into the USB spot, fingers stretching and knuckles cracking. They tap away at the keyboard, attempting to hack into the desktop to reach a few specific files. The password is the easiest part—it's child's play, really—but then the computer is filled with lines of folders. Inside each folder, they're more folders, and in those, even more.

Word after word, the figure taps in their searches. But yet each time, the same words appear.

FILE NOT FOUND.

And then, something else.

UNAUTHORIZED ACCESS. PLATINUM CLEARANCE REQUIRED.

Fingers pause over the keyboard, shock evident in the figure's eyes. Only one person in the entirety of Panem has Platinum Clearance: the President. There's quite literally nothing that's of platinum clearance—except these files.

The figure taps at a few keys, gaining platinum access through their skills at the keyboard. Lines of numbers and strings of code line the monitor's screen, and then, fingertips hit enter. The screen goes blank. Then, red words flash across the screen.

FILE DOES NOT EXIST.

And then the alarms sound, but by the time the Peacekeepers have reached the 101st floor, the figure in black has already disappeared.

. . .

Welcome, one and all, to our Summer Games! If you haven't already heard, our theme is, well, quantum theories. Each task will have a quantum twist—teleporting knives and colliding universes—and who doesn't like that? However, we'd like to go over a few things first.

- Firstly, we don't require you to know all the little bits and pieces of quantum mechanics, obviously, but we'd like all of you to know the basic ideas so it's easier on you for the tasks. So, we've included an hour long documentary to watch! Isn't that just lovely? I'm kidding, not really, but I watched it on 2x the speed so, I mean, there are ways around it. Just make sure you understand what's explained. If you haven't already realized, the video is located in the media above and we'll also include a link in the comments to make it easier on you.

- There will be a total of twenty-four spots available ( a male and female from Districts 1-12). Reservations open at 9pm on Friday, July 21st (EST). We hope to see you there!

- AGT