0: Success

A group of human test subjects are used by A-Corp’s Cyber Initiative to test out a digitalization process that would allow people to travel to a simulated planet, the Otherworld. This simulation is still in development, and needs further improvement. Over the next few months, the technology is adjusted. The test subjects are sent into a project called the Explicator’s Maze against their will, to determine whether it is safe for use by other groups.

[SIX MONTHS LATER]

1: The Favorite

Yuli goes about her day at the Cyber Initiative, where she has lived and worked for the past five years. She reflects on how everyone views her as a ‘favorite’ of the Initiative who has had an easy life, when this is not actually the case. She talks with her friend Mira, who is considering signing up for the Colonists Program.

2: The Soldier

Captain Dara Kravchenko visits her mother to inform her that her company was selected to participate in the Explicator’s Maze, with the promise of a raise and promotion upon her return. Her mother expresses fear over the potential dangers of such an experiment, but Dara insists that it will be worthwhile. She believes that because she has already survived combat, mental health obstacles, and an attempt on her life, the Explicator’s Maze will not be the end of her.

3: The Deal

Yuli attends a presentation led by Arilus that describes the Colonists Program, where volunteers will be sent into the Explicator’s Maze for one year to experience a digital existence. The Colonists will serve as templates to generate humanlike AIs. After hearing that volunteering will result in a sizable financial reward, Yuli signs up for the program, wanting to give the money to her family. Mira and Cay are hesitant at first, but also sign up for the program.

4: Digitalization

The day before the experiment, the head of the Initiative’s software division calls Yuli into her office and attempts to talk her out of participating, warning her that the maze is dangerous and people will die. Yuli refuses to back out, since her family needs the money. The next day, the Colonists find out that a hundred soldiers will also be part of the experiment, as well as a group of criminal test subjects. Some drop out, but Yuli remains. The Colonists and soldiers are then sent into the Otherworld.

5: The Maze

The experiment begins in a large room containing a wide variety of weapons. Each person is instructed to take one. Dara takes an augmented electrostaff, a special weapon included specifically for her. Though the other soldiers are supposed to select an identical laser rifle, a few (such as Johdavi and Mara) choose a unique weapon. The Colonists are directed to their designated workshop and the soldiers are directed to an Armed Forces base set up specifically for them. As the two groups exit the area, the test subjects watch them from a distance, eager to cause harm to the Initiative employees.

6: Territory

The Colonists tour their new workshop. Yuli explores a piece of tech that allows her to view and play with the maze’s code, albeit in a very limited way. Arilus allows her to keep the code visualizer. At the Armed Forces base, Dara sends some of her soldiers out on patrol, intending to map out the maze. Meanwhile, a small group of test subjects led by Blake decides to attack the Colonists.

7: The Attack

The test subjects arrive at the workshop. Leonela fatally electrocutes Aliyah. The other subjects try to take the Colonists’ weapons. Arilus fights back and manages to fend them off. The subjects run away. Yuli begs the Explicator to let her modify Aliyah’s code to restart her heart. The Explicator refuses, and the Colonist dies. Outside, Blake and fellow subject Ruo encounter Kazim and Mara on patrol. Blake injures Kazim and runs away.

8: Violent and Criminal

While walking alone, Yuli nearly falls into a pit. She is saved by Xavier and his AI friend Vade. Yuli and Xavier do not get along, but she enjoys speaking with Vade. Meanwhile, the soldiers search for Blake, stating that whoever turns her in will receive an extra weapon. Dara’s plan to impose her morality on the maze is not a popular one, but the soldiers have the training and strength in numbers. Blake is betrayed by a fellow subject and executed publicly by Dara. Arilus develops an admiration for Dara.

9: The Rebel

Vade draws on the maze walls with fellow AI Lairah, viewing it as an act of rebellion. The Explicator washes it away in an instant. He then encounters another AI, Madon, who looks different than Vade remembers, and does not recognize Vade. Vade is horrified to learn that the Explicator can wipe and reset AIs whenever she feels like it, and begins to fear for his life, wondering how many Vades were deleted before him.

10: The First Test

The Explicator decides that it is time for a special test. All humans and AIs are teleported to a new area and divided randomly into groups of eight. The Explicator instructs each team to choose one person to sacrifice, so that the other seven can leave. Biases against AIs and test subjects quickly become apparent, and fights break out among several groups.

11: A Complete Mess

When Xavier kills a soldier during the test, Dara tries to single him out as the one who should die. Hardly anyone successfully completes the test, and the Explicator declares it a failure, teleporting the survivors back to where they were before it began. In the wake of this test, the Colonists feel grim about their future in the maze.

[SIX MONTHS LATER]

12: Surviving

The numbers of humans and AIs dwindle as deadly tests, enemies, and an all-out war between the soldiers and test subjects fill their day-to-day lives. Yuli has become a sort of medic, having unlocked the ability to edit people on her code visualizer (though she is still unable to bring back deceased allies). One night, Yuli reveals to Cay that her sister suffers from serious health issues, and her family can hardly afford to take care of her. She used to sell software illegally to bring in money. If not for her skill, she would have gone to prison, but instead the Initiative took her in. She reveals that Arilus’s history is similar to her own, though she does not know the details.

13: Reset

Vade has been reset by the Explicator, and does not remember his past. He encounters Xavier, Lairah and Leonela, who inform him of this. Xavier recruits him to join the test subjects and their allies on a mission to carve the names of fallen rebels into the walls of the Armed Forces base. Lairah refuses to come along, but most support Xavier’s plan, since the soldiers’ numbers have decreased so greatly.

14: Glitch

Carys helps Xavier with his plan, defending Aster against soldiers while he writes names on the walls. She reflects on her past, recalling how she was used by her biological parents to test bootleg digitalization technology, at the expense of her body’s integrity. Now she suffers from strange glitches, and has developed abilities that the Initiative hunted her for decades to study. Carys fights Yingyue, who seems excited and wants to battle again someday. Then she goes to assist Xavier, who is being targeted by Dara.

15: Overwhelmed

Vade feels helpless in the midst of the battle, left weaponless after his recent reset. The test subjects make a run for it and leave Vade behind. Johdavi and Mara find him alone and beat him within an inch of his life. He’s later discovered by Arilus and Cay on their way to check in with Dara. They decide to take him to Yuli so that she can heal him.

16: Friends

Yuli heals Vade. The AI’s code appears identical to humans’. Upon learning that the clueless Vade was abandoned at the Armed Forces base by Xavier, she invites him to stay with the Colonists. Vade insists on returning to his test subject friends. Meanwhile, Teva works out at the military gym while the wounded Kazim keeps them company. The exits are suddenly blocked off by walls of light, which close in on them and take them somewhere new.

17: The Field of Play

Walls of light enclose everyone in the maze. Many manage to escape them, but those who fail are transported to the Field of Play, a morphing arena. The Explicator tests the participants by creating AI clones of them that mimic their personalities and fighting styles. Killing one’s clone is the only way to escape the Field. Kazim is killed by his duplicate. Teva refuses to kill theirs, even after it gives them permission. Johdavi kills his clone, but is wounded in the process.

18: The Playhouse

Those who did not succeed in killing their clone are transported to a strange glass house on the other side of the arena floor. The AI Biyu is immediately killed upon trying to enter, because AIs are deemed unsuitable for this test. This behavior seems uncharacteristic of the Explicator. The humans reluctantly enter, and are forced to relive past memories and traumas. Nereza and Leonela are especially affected by these scenes.

19: A Performance

The Field of Play begins to behave strangely, glitching and melting. The other test subjects search for Xavier, who is still in the house. There, Xavier encounters an illusion of his brother, and together they conclude that attempting to get a reaction out of him would be a waste of time. Xavier is expelled into the cracking Field just in time for it to completely break. He finds himself alone in another part of the maze. He discovers Lairah trapped in a strange cage and frees her. They sarcastically discuss making out.

20: Not Bad

Vade anxiously waits for Xavier to return from the test, growing increasingly worried when he does not show up. He eventually goes looking for him, and happens upon him and Lairah making out in a hidden area. He becomes very jealous. Carys finds him and attempts to console him. She advises him not to expect much from Xavier as a friend, and warns him to stay away from the Colonists – especially Arilus, with whom she has a negative history. 

21: Service

The soldiers hold a vigil for Kazim. Dara berates Teva for crying, and Yingyue becomes very angry with Dara, openly yelling at her. Dara orders Yingyue to help the injured Johdavi kill a monster as punishment. The two of them find and defeat a misshapen beast that produces a substance which appears to cause visual errors.

22: The Underside

Mira and Cay search for a new AI Arilus claims to have seen, hoping to recruit them before the test subjects do. Instead, they find themselves trapped in a new part of the maze filled with incomprehensible, nauseating geometry. Mira is separated from Cay and falls beneath the maze. There she encounters a strange liquid that causes glitches. She is shown a cryptic scene featuring a white-haired woman and a many-eyed monster. She is then allowed to reunite with Cay and return to safety.

23: The Deserter

Xavier and Lairah ambush a lone soldier, killing him and leaving his laser rifle in front of the Armed Forces base. Teva brings Dara the weapon of the fallen soldier, and Dara claims that his death was his own fault. Yingyue becomes furious and criticizes Dara passionately, suggesting that the captain should resign from her position. Dara responds by electrocuting Yingyue. Yingyue decides to leave the military, going off on her own. Dara tells the remaining soldiers that Yingyue should be killed on sight if she returns to the base, then secretly cries in her office.

24: Minor Errors

Over the next few days, glitches in the maze become increasingly apparent. The Explicator announces a new test, where random teams will explore different areas to collect three pieces of a device that will stabilize the errors. Yuli is paired with Vade, Carys, Arilus, Vega, and several soldiers, in a region featuring an eerie black lake. Arilus treats Carys cruelly, which bothers Yuli. When crossing a bridge to reach one of the pieces, a sudden glitch dumps Yuli and Vade into the lake. Vade assists Yuli, who cannot swim, and they successfully collect the piece they need.

25: The Desert

Lairah is paired with Dara, Cay, Madon, Leonela, the enigmatic Subject 1, and two soldiers in an otherworldly desert region filled with sculptures of the dead. She decides to cooperate with Dara during this test. A soldier is killed after unearthing one of the pieces, but Dara manages to retrieve it. She, Lairah, and Leonela trek across the desert to investigate the second piece. Leonela recklessly grabs it, activating a monster that tries to kill her. Dara defeats an additional monster and saves the test subject’s life.

26: The Beach

Mira is paired with Nereza, Aster, Yingyue, three soldiers, and her crush Morathi. Their region is a peaceful beach. Yingyue approaches the other soldiers, but they refuse to work with her. Mira, Morathi, Nereza, and Aster try to reach the white and gold pieces, which are orbiting each other above the ground. After an unsuccessful attempt, a new AI called Seri appears. He flirts with Mira and helps the group solve the puzzle. The others suspect that he is part of the test, though he claims to be a regular maze AI.

27: The Forest

Teva, Mara, Johdavi, Xavier, Ruo, Arika, and Caspro are paired together in a geometric, colorful forest region. The grieving Teva goes alone to grab the golden piece. Arika follows and assists them, judging them to be more competent than the others. The test subjects try to beat Mara and Johdavi to the blue piece, but are distracted by the sudden appearance of an unsettling but friendly Colonist called Sini, who is holding the piece they need. Highly suspicious, Johdavi shoots Sini in the chest, and the supposed Colonist is hardly affected.

28: Pieces

Dara, Lairah and Leonela return to the rest of their team. A stranger named Zeleni, who claims to be a test subject, suddenly appears. She uses her uncanny reflexes to grab the final piece, which has been traveling between statues at an uncatchable speed. Leonela insists that Zeleni is not a real test subject, and the two of them fight over the final piece. Dara intervenes, agreeing to keep the soldiers away from Zeleni after the test in exchange for the piece. When all three pieces are brought together, the device shatters. No errors are repaired.

29: The Lake

Arilus forces Vega out onto the lake to take their team’s second piece. She succeeds. She then decides to swim over to the island containing the final piece. There she meets an unusually friendly soldier named Krasni, who already managed to get that piece. Together they return to the rest of the group and assemble the software stabilizer. It glitches and breaks, and the team is expelled from the lake region. Yuli and Cay encounter Sini in the Colonists’ workshop. The injury Johdavi gave them is completely gone. Yuli suspects that Sini is a new AI designed to believe they are a Colonist.