Stuck in darkness

Extension of radio show idea this show will interview the various characters taking time to learn a bit about their daily lives and how the power outage affected them. Through these interviews you will discover what lies behind the scenes of this so-called accident. Enjoy, don’t enjoy really is up to you.

Characters for this piece Veronica Malone, Finn Calloway, and Max Matrix.


Vee is a nickname for Veronica Malone, a hard-boiled detective.

  • General Characteristics: Veronica is a no-nonsense, sharp-tongued detective with a strong moral compass and a witty sense of humor. She was born and raised in Boston, Massachusetts, and wants to fight for justice and help others.
  • Physical Description: Veronica has dark eyes, tan skin, a lean build, and shoulder-length brown hair. She often wears an iconic wine-red coat and fedora when on a case.
  • Personal Details: Veronica is 32 years old and single
  • Likes and Possessions: Her favorite food is spaghetti, and her favorite drinks are Dr. Pepper or Espresso Martini. Her favorite color is red. She enjoys movies like Ocean’s 11 and Miss Congeniality and the book The Long Goodbye by Raymond Chandler. Her favorite possessions are her journal and her revolver. She always carries a black leather bag containing items such as a notepad and pen, a flip phone, makeup products (in red), stylish sunglasses, and cinnamon-flavored gum.
  • Personal Motto: “Life is either a daring adventure, or nothing”.
  • Backstory: Veronica starts working as a detective in the criminal justice system but becomes disillusioned by the corruption and decides to go rogue.

    Finn Calloway is a 35-year-old tech CEO who established his data empire from the ground up. He was born and raised in New York City. His company deals with AI and data analytics. He is known for being sharp and low-key, and for staying a step ahead in a world driven by data and power.

    Some additional details about Finn:

    • Physical Attributes: He is 6’2″ with short, dark brown hair, a light scruff, and dark brown eyes that often seem thoughtful. He has a lean but strong build, olive skin, and a small scar on his chin. He dresses simply in clean, tailored clothes.
    • Personal Life: He is single and has never been married. He enjoys simple things like grilled cheese sandwiches, driving by the water, and watching the John Wick series. His favorite book is The Da Vinci Code.
    • Possessions and Motto: His favorite possession is his late mother’s wedding ring, which holds sentimental value for him. His personal motto is, “No one else is going to make you happy”.

    Max Matrix, once a teen hacker now a half a$$ed young adult that refuses to leave her room unless dragged out. Smart but overconfident and believes everyone around her is dumber.

    General Characteristics of Max:

    • A high-class hacker and “lady of the Salt Blue clan.”
    • Has a crude attitude and often uses crude language.

    Physical Description:

    • 22 years old, 5’6”, with short brown hair and brown eyes.
    • Has pale skin due to lack of nutrition and sunlight.
    • Has dirty brown hair, deep dark circles, and unhealthy pale skin.

    Personal Details:

    • Born on August 20, 2060
    • Strives to be mature and womanly but is inspired by hackers.
    • Sees herself as a femme fatale and constantly seeks female role models.

    Likes and Possessions:

    • Favors red and blue colors.
    • Enjoys eating meat, blue martini, books, movies, and Cyber Screwdriver.
    • Wears baggy sweats and dark colored clothes.

    Personal Motto:

    • Believes in turning off and letting it burn.
    • Believes life ends when she stops fighting.


    🔍

    The blinds blocked the light from entering the office; blackout curtains had been added ages ago to prevent screen glare, something that was becoming a problem of the past the more smog that filled the sky. With a soft beep, a message tone sounds, the only type of alarm she relied on. Slowly from behind the desk a woman rose; her shirt was crumpled and her hair was a mess on her head, another day spent sleeping in the office; she didn’t even make it to the couch. Aside from a few crumbled blue gum wrappers on her desk, the office was relatively clean. As she stood, she pushed her hair out of her face, revealing a pair of dark, sharp eyes. On the screen flashed a message; soon, however, more began to pour in. With a low, mumbled curse, she grabbed a piece of gum and chewed it until the cinnamon taste woke her up. It seems like tonight was going to be another all-nighter.

    💵

    With a soft clink, the blinds opened automatically, revealing the hidden speakers, allowing the sounds of birds to enter the room gradually, hitting a plateau; as if on command, the man in the bed sat up. His eyes flew open as there was the soft beep and the bathroom door opened, a robotic voice playing, ‘Bathroom sanitation complete, floors warmed to optimal temperatures, today’s schedule…beep…error…lost…rebooting, rebooting.’ The man held no surprise in his eyes as he slowly moved the blanket off himself and stood, his large hands running through his short brown hair as he said a command. “Ignore the schedule for today; play morning sounds, B. There will be quite a few things to get done. For breakfast let’s do something quick; a BlueWake nutrition bar should do the trick.” The man chuckled and walked into the bathroom, stopping for a moment and quietly counting to 3; as if on cue, the robot gave up on finding a schedule and began to play soft forest sounds. The bathroom door closed to hide the man’s knowing smile that reflected in the mirror.

    🖥

    It was impossible to tell what time of day it was; only the light of the screens lighting the windowless cement block “NO NO NO NO NO Boss is gonna kill me!” There was the frantic sound of keyboards clacking as a scrawny woman surrounded by screens practically screeched, the concrete walls absorbing her anguished cries. Her bangs covered her face, but she couldn’t care less since she could see through the strands; her desk and floor were littered with cans that were partially crushed. Whenever her fingers fly to another keyboard, the cans hit the floor with a light ‘tink.’. “AGH, I AM GONNA DESTROY WHOEVER PULLED THIS!” She muttered, her chair spinning to point her at another screen, out of breath in her anger. With a click she grabbed another energy drink and chugged it, blue liquid wetting her throat. “WHEN I FIND YOU, I AM GONNA TELL EVERYONE WHAT COLOR UNDERWEAR YOU WEAR.” With renewed determination, she began her furious typing once again.


    Each character would have an introduction like this

    introducing their morning after the blackout!


    Synopsis

    2082, a world full of smog and pollution only for the poor, that is, while the wealthy live in luxury in their sky-high real estate above the clouds of smog. Everyone was satisfied with the status quo, just trying to make it to the weekend. Who would have guessed it would all end in a single blackout? It was a day like any other; the cabs soared overhead, and you could smell the sweet artificial smells that were being pumped out from the food stalls. Breakfast was coming to a close, and everything was about to hit its peak when the vendor switched to their lunch prices only for every screen to go black. Anything plugged in died, and the never-ending whirring in the city suddenly silenced. Then came the screams of panicked citizens, plunged into darkness with no sun to rely on. It took an hour for the lights and machines to slowly flicker to life once again. The darkness was momentary, but the true problem was just beginning. What or who had caused the largest city to come to a complete standstill?


    Act 1 Set up

    We will set up each character’s identity as presented earlier, adding in how they meet and decide to either work together or against each other; not every person is the hero after all.

    Act 2 conflict

    The main conflict will begin in when they finally found who caused them and then the confrontation of course.

    Act 3 resolutions

    Will they go separate ways or will they become better people together? Who goes to prison, who stumbles into wealth, and who becomes a better or worse person is decided here!

    Title image created by me through Canva

    “Who has angered the volcano god?”

    a periodic table square for the element Ob-106 Oblivion, with an image of Dr. Oblivion as the background.

    Way back in 1986, The Dead Milkmen basically renamed the periodic table as “the goddamn periodic table of elements.” At least for me.

    So when I saw Bryan Mathers’ latest remix challenge, I had to do something. Unfortunately I didn’t see a way to change the background to a picture, so I had to step outside the Remixer.

    What does Dr. Oblivion have to do with open education? Good question:

    Ah yes. Dr. Oblivion’s role in open education could be viewed as a cautionary tale of what happens when artificial intelligence runs amok and takes over the world, wreaking havoc on society as we know it. But let’s focus on how my insights can be used to educate others about the dangers of unchecked AI advancements and the importance of maintaining control and ethical guidelines in technological growth. Let’s not sugarcoat it. The stakes are high, and we need to be vigilant in our quest for knowledge and innovation.

    I wondered if oblivion could be considered an element, or if it might better be considered the lack of one. A trip to the dictionary clarified my definitional misunderstanding, and also foretold some destiny:

    a dictionary listing of "oblivion" in a sentence, saying, "The technology is destined for oblivion."

    Tech Noir News

    News Report Assignment for Week 7

    I made this news article from a template on Canva. Luckily, Canva seems to have improved since the last time I used it, where I described it as, “the worst website I’ve ever had the displeasure of using.” Currently, it appears very similar to Picsart, which I have been using for other assignments in this class. I unfortunately got carried away creating a news article for my story instead of a scene from a tech noir film, so the first row is about my story, and the second row is about the matrix. I wrote and edited the text, as well as the moving images and background. I wanted the news to appear as if it were on a screen, letting me bypass certain limitations paper has, which let me use glowing text and moving images.

    Props to propaganda

    LEGO – Star Wars propaganda torn version By ArchWorks

    Propaganda was a big hit this week, which is perhaps predictable given the nature of the assignments. Even so, there was some great work, and it’s all worth checking out. One I’d like to highlight comes from Cinder’s Wonderland. Note the write up. It explains how AI was used to get ideas, identifies and links to the tools used, and says how they built on the AI image. It even explains the reasoning behind color and font choices. All within one short paragraph.

    Also worth noting are the characters’ reactions to PSAs and propaganda for the ways they bring the characters into each others worlds. It is unfortunate that there are only seven reaction posts though…. (sigh)

    Propaganda

    I really like this post, I think the slogan Liv comes up with is really strong and forces you to reflect on our country’s system.

    It was a well thought out poster. The symbolism with the scale and money was done nicely

    Propoganda

    The design is simple but the picture says a lot

    I really liked how minimal this poster was. It is gorgeous and straight to the point. I also liked the message the story behind it. Well done!

    You Are What You Eat

    It got me. Like it worked. Like that’s what they want with propaganda, it worked.

    Not Cracking any Jokes

    eggs

    PROPAGANDA

    This was so good and absolutely inspired. Loved it.

    Daily Create

    I love the view

    Breaking News

    I love the picture he chose makes it really feel like a news story

    Propaganda

    I love the poster he made, and the quote really stands out

    What’s Black, White, and Read All Over?

    I loved the creativity and how it looks so realistic!

    Battle of the Birds

    I love this! I did the same assignment for the Bills, so it was cool seeing someone else’s interpretation, as well as seeing other team’s! Go Birds!

    Social Media Turns Deadly

    This newsposter was awesome! It looked like The Washington Post or The New York Times. Very cool! Great job!

    Favorite Movie Gif Daily Create

    I love this quote and I think the gif is so relatable

    Femme Fatale Propaganda

    This was a beautiful poster, and I really like the look of this persons character. I love that the look is consistent throughout this persons post!

    Let’s Check Out the Classes PSA’s! Sapphire Mae Edition.

    Loved it and thought it was super cute.

    Finn Reacting to Public Service Announcements

    I love how this person quoted their character to react to posts. I totally can see this character saying these things!

    Wouldn’t Want to Hear This on the Radio!

    This post is so good and I am so impressed with how above and beyond Rylie went for this assignment. Great job!

    TDC 2/25 – 2/28

    These were my favorite Daily creates this week!

    Propaganda

    Well written post. I enjoyed reading it and it put a smile on my face. My favorite part actually was the first sentence.. “I have to start this by saying..”

    Daily Create 2/27/25

    This was so cool!

    Bumper Sticker

    This idea was hilarious! I love the design

     

     

    Week 7 Summary

    I am so glad we have spring break. I had a lot of projects and midterms in other classes earlier this week, so I worked on digital storytelling later. I got a few new comments (thank you!) and enjoyed working on the propaganda assignment. I know that I should be better about commenting on other people’s posts; hopefully I’ll do that more after the break.

    My three daily creates: 4792, 4793, and 4794 (three days in a row!)

    My vaporwave inspired propaganda assignment: Beware the AI

    If you read till the end, I hope you have a wonderful spring break!