THE SUBLIMINAL TRIBUNE

Thursday, July 20, 2023

Edition 99

DPF ABANDONS MISSION TO RETRIEVE MISSING BOOKS 

By: Porter

The Dimension Protection Force held an emergency meeting among its "Big Six" agencies this week to discuss possible solutions for retrieving missing books that have been stolen from various locations across the dream world.

According to internal notes retrieved by the Tribune, DPF chiefs were conflicted over solutions that could bring the missing books back, but there is one main problem.

Normally, affairs that take place in the real world are handled through the Bureau of Real World Affairs. Though most of the cases they handle are regarding humans in the dream world, if a situation arises in the real world that requires attention, the bureau will take swift action to address and solve it as much as it can do in its power.

However, the missing books are not being taken to the real world. A rift portal located last week was identified to be leading to another world that is not the real world. According to DIA chief Daiki, its destination is in the world of a book.

The book in question appears to be "A Dystopian Nightmare" which is a book that was published in the dream world as a "double-print" between two classic science-fiction novels of the 20th century: 1984 and Fahrenheit 451. The book is essentially two books back to back that are available for reading.

Ironically, the missing books do appear to be heading into another book. Most surprisingly, the DPF was surprised that worlds within books can be traversed. Because this is unprecedented, the DPF is at a standstill as they have never handled such a situation before.

And so, after a difficult and long meeting, the "Big Six" DPF chiefs voted 4-2 to abandon a mission to retrieve the missing books from another world, with Leader Finnegan and Chief Vivienne voting in the minority to save the books.

"It is a difficult decision we had to make and quite unfortunate," DIA Chief Daiki says, "Understand that the DPF does not have any jurisdiction whatsoever to go into another world outside of ours that isn't the real world. This is completely unprecedented and we cannot risk anyone going into that world."

The world in question is a reflection of the worlds in the books 1984 and Fahrenheit 451 in which an invisible entity rules over its citizens. Known as "Big Brother", the figure itself is strict and authoritarian. Citizens in this world follow strict rules and are constantly under surveillance. Most notably, books in this world are completely prohibited and anyone found with one is arrested and the book in question is burned.

With that in mind, it is very likely that books from the dream world are going to be destroyed in this world, but the motives are still unclear.

Despite this, the DPF has ordered that copies of the books that were stolen be made. The Grand Library has a master copy of every book in its collection kept under strict security. After confirming these books have their master copies, they can be processed and copied in mass production, but it will take at least three months for the quantity of books to be back to normal.

"We want to remind everyone that we have issued an immediate arrest warrant for the man behind this and all dream world anomalies," DPU Chief Matías said, "The DPF is ordering the arrest of Francis Robert P. Jackson of the real world for multiple crimes including weather tampering, machine tampering, unauthorised opening of multiple portals, the bioengineering of a disease to use as a weapon, interfering with holiday affairs…the list goes on really."

The DPU has increased patrols and has sent multiple officers to keep an eye out for suspicious activity since April. That being said, this latest event officially moves Francis as the dream world's most wanted figure, moving Lucid- who has been infamously at the top of the list for almost a hundred years now- down one spot to number two.

"Let's not forget that Lucid is still a prime fugitive that the DPF is looking for," Chief Daiki said, "But right now, the DPF is more focused on Francis than Lucid. Following this event, it is clear that the dream world faces a very peculiar threat. This is a very dangerous individual capable of multiple feats, and that is not in a positive way. If anyone has any information, please come forward as soon as possible."

Books will begin to be copied, printed and mass produced next week, but will take at least three months to get back to normal. In the meantime, the public should remain on the lookout for Francis, but should keep their distance as he could be dangerous when approached. Should you encounter or spot him, dial *1 immediately or report it to your nearest dimension patrol officer.

DWPS MONITORING TROPICAL ANOMALY

By: Oswald

The Dimension Weather Prediction Service is currently monitoring a tropical anomaly in the Beach dimension. 

The weather station in the Beach dimension is picking up on various meteorological factors that are indicative of an upcoming storm. While things are calm now, things may pick up in the coming weeks.

When a tropical anomaly is detected, the DWPS carefully monitors all weather station data for any changes. It is not uncommon for tropical systems to form in the summer, but since this summer is above-average, this could be the first system of a few more to come. 

"Tropical systems form in the summer and continue into the early autumn season," Cirrus of the DWPS explains, "While we can't forecast how strong they will be nor if they will actually form at all, we can still inform the public of weather changes and prepare them ahead of time."

Cirrus says that if this anomaly being picked up comes to be, the DWPS will issue advisories before the storm and during it.

"The Beach had a tropical system pass by during July at this point last year," she explains, "I believe something may form in the coming weeks, so anyone planning to visit the Beach soon should make plans accordingly before something does form."

When tropical systems form, they can bring heavy rain and gusty winds for a prolonged period of time. They also come with the risk for tornadoes, flooding, and storm surge.

"Storm surge is the most dangerous part of any tropical system," Cirrus explains, "It's why when a dimension with a shoreline is at risk for a tropical system, we urge anyone there to evacuate or seek higher ground if they can. Storm surge is no joke."

Cirrus says the DWPS will continue to monitor data coming from the Beach over the next few days and weeks. In the meantime, visit the DWPS' website for the latest forecasts or check your nearest DWPS forecasting office for additional resources.

Q/A: Ask Epsilon 

Dear Epsilon, is the dream world round or flat?

By: Glu Obe

Hello Glu. The dream world is a very big place with so much to explore and see, at the cost of getting lost, but unlike the real world, it's a flat world.

You see, the dream world itself is not a planet unlike in the real world where the Earth is a planet. Earth is round like a sphere and it revolves around its star, the Sun. The dream world on the other hand is not a planet, but a flat plane that exists in another realm outside of the real world.

Because it's flat, this means that you could in theory walk in a straight line from one edge of the world to the other, though it would obviously be very long. The exact size of the dream world is unknown as it's theorised that it continuously expands.

Dubbed as "Continuous Plane Expansion", it is theorised that the dream world is constantly getting bigger and longer on its own as more dimensions pop up or get bigger. I'm not entirely caught up on the full explanation, but if this is the case, it means no one might ever find the edge of the world.

The edge of the dream world has been referenced in popular culture a lot as the end of everything this world has to offer. There are different sides saying that you can't fall off the edge of the dream world because there's an invisible barrier that keeps everything within it, but there are also people who say that you can indeed fall off the edge of the dream world. People who believe this particular theory say it's the only way to get to the Void, which we know is a world beneath ours.

I wouldn't worry too much about finding the edge of the dream world, let alone think about how big the dream world is. There are still places we have yet to discover, lost dimensions yet to be found again, and perhaps some of these lost and undiscovered places we might not ever find. I think it's best to stick to what we know and leave the unknown out there alone. Living in a flat world gives me a headache just thinking about it.

Dear Epsilon, do aliens exist in the dream world?

By: Otto Worlee

Hello Otto. That depends on what you mean by alien. If you’re using it in a general sense, then yes. If you’re using it in the sense of galactic beings from other planets, then no.

You see, an alien is defined as a living creature from another world not belonging to ours. We have aliens in the dream world, but they are simply the humans that end up here.

You don’t really think about humans being aliens though. You often just see them as regular people who stumbled into this world and need help getting back home. With that in mind, galactic beings from other planets besides Earth are not in the dream world, or at least haven’t been identified.

In the dream world’s history, there haven’t been sightings or documentation of anyone from another planet besides Earth. Of course, aliens and UFOs are a popular theme in some media where they can be seen in films and such, but that is just fiction. Actual aliens from other planets far, far away have yet to be seen in the dream world.

Of course, before they’d get to the dream world, they’d have to visit Earth. I honestly don’t know if aliens are real on Earth, but I’m going to assume they are. Just like dream world residents in the real world, aliens there are also in hiding, or at least in disguise like our own dream world people. I’m not sure if those aliens have the technology to come here or if they even know we exist. Then again, our own dream world residents in the real world are aliens to Earth as they come from another world- ours- so…

Okay, yes aliens exist on Earth- they just happen to be from the dream world, but galactic beings? That’s up for debate. Does that make sense? This question made me think twice about things. I guess one day we’ll find out if beings from other planets besides the Earth are really out there, and let’s just hope they come in peace.

Upcoming Events:

Now- Anniversary Party construction: Grab a hammer, nails, and a cupcake…we got some building to do!

July 27- Anniversary Party 2023: Everything's almost set for this year's anniversary! It feels like just yesterday when everything first started!

July 27- A Dystopian Nightmare story quest goes live: In order to get those missing books, it's gonna take someone with knowledge on traversing other worlds to get there. Join Nate and Lucid as they try to retrieve the missing books from the world of Big Brother!

August 3- Additional room tweaks: Some rooms will get more noticeable tweaks, interconnections, and additions. What room do you want to see tweaked?