FAMOUS HALLOWEEN PARTY TO RETURN NEXT MONTH

By: Oswald

If you’ve been in the dream world for several decades now, you may be happy to hear that a certain party is expected to be held next month…

Every year since 1950, a grand party has been hosted by Count Anastasius- a wealthy vampire who resides in the rural dream world- to celebrate Halloween. These parties have typically been held in his mansion, but are a bit unique.

Count Anastasius was born in 1672 to a wealthy vampire family in the dream world, but ended up losing his life in 1705 as a result of a lost bet. However, he was brought back to life with the use of dark magic the following year. Having been resurrected, Anastasius has since lived a better life, but he does often give back to the community.

For the Count, he believes that everyone should be able to partake in events of celebration. When he decided to start hosting Halloween parties at his mansion, he opened up his gates to allow all walks of life to get a chance to join in on the festivities.

“Count Anastasius is such a kind man to open up his mansion for guests to come to his party,” Beth, a doll person told me, “I’ve come to this party since he started and he’s a gentleman! Of course, that was before I was less worn out.”

“The Count is courteous enough to allow ordinary people into his home for the party,” Jiangshi, a zombie told me, “I think it’s nice when wealthy people are kind to us ordinary people…”

“It’s so great of him to host these parties so everyone can come and see how great Halloween is,” Hazel, a witch said to me, “Halloween’s not the ‘scary’ holiday that many point it out to be. There’s more to it! Luckily, the Count likes to have fun with it!”

Count Anastasius has not held the party in recent years due to unforeseen circumstances. In 2022, the party was cancelled as a result of NEAP-1 and in 2023, it was cancelled as a result of all the specter sightings. 

This year, it appears the light is green, and it will be held once again.

“I have not necessarily made a final decision just yet,” the Count told the press from his mansion gates, “However, it is safe to say that with things looking better this year, I may have some different plans up my sleeve for any type of event. Stay tuned.”

October is just around the corner! Stay with the Tribune as this is a developing story.

VISITORS FIND BIG SURPRISE AT END OF MAZE

By: Arial

Visitors from around the dream world have been arriving to the Patch to get a chance to explore Cal’s mysterious maze of corn- a maze that has long been kept the public out.

This year, the pumpkin farmer decided to open up his maze to the public. Since the announcement, dozens have come from different parts of the dream world to take a peek into what exactly the maze could be hiding. Upon traveling in, there was indeed a big surprise waiting for us at the end.

At the end of the maze, we finally found out what Cal has been keeping hidden away from everyone all these years. Most people speculated that it would’ve been treasure, and in a way, it is as valuable as treasure to some. 

Cal has been growing a gigantic pumpkin and keeping it in his maze! The pumpkin is about ten times the size of a regular pumpkin. It is located at the end of the maze that takes about half an hour to navigate through- or more if you have a bad sense of direction.

“Amazing! I always thought Cal had something scary at the end,” Nate, one of the people traveling with us said, “I guess this is a pretty big surprise!”

“Impressive stuff! A lot of people expected treasure at the end of this,” Finnegan, leader of the DPF’s rescue operations team said, “In a way, this is technically treasure. After all, it’s valuable to Cal!”

“I’m guessing Cal had this hidden in a maze and used the maze as a deterrent to keep people away from it,” Eliazar, one of the visitors accompanying us said, “He had a change of heart this year and wanted to let everyone see it. He must be quite proud.”

Cal says that people are allowed to take pictures with his big pumpkin, but advises people to not climb on it.

“Take all the pictures you want, but no climbing on it!” the farmer warned, “Climbing is off limits! I don’t want any damage on it- you hear me?!”

Cal’s maze will remain open through the autumn season. Visitors are asked to travel in pairs if entering the maze.

Q/A: Ask Nate

Dear Nate, how do people get notified of serious situations in the dream world?
By: Al Uhrt

Hello Al! It’s important that the public receive ways to get important information about serious, potentially emergency situations that arise. Luckily, there’s a way to get information out quickly!

The Public Announcement Transmission System, or PATS, is a broadcast system that is utilized to provide the general public with important announcements, typically alerts regarding events that could put the public in danger. The system was designed in 1978 and implemented in 1980. It began in the District dimension across a few wards before expanding to each ward by 1982. The following year in 1983, it was later begun to be implemented to the rural dream world. In various areas of the District and some parts of the rural dream world, there are even coordinated loudspeakers that broadcast these announcements. 

PATS works in different ways and in different methods. It began with broadcasts on the radio and on televisions. It would later become available on smartphones as technology advanced. PATS is mostly used by the Dimension Weather Prediction Service to broadcast weather advisories in areas that need it. On rare occasions, the DPF has used it to broadcast information such as the most recent case in 2022 with the DDCP utilizing it for NEAP-1 announcements. These announcements interrupt any ongoing radio or television programming to provide these messages; on smartphones, they pop up as a notification.

PATS is not necessarily an old broadcast system, but it has come a long way since it was first put in place. The system is very important as it helps the public become aware of important information for impending situations that could be serious and life threatening. Hearing announcements from the weather service is normal, but I think the ones from the DPF are more scary. Imagine back in 2022 when you had to see announcements about that nasty parasite that turned people mad…yikes!

Dear Nate, do you need an identification to traverse across the dream world?

By: Veriff Icayshun

Hi Veriff! Oh yes, this is one of the biggest things you need to remember when you’re out in the dream world. Having some form of identification on you is very important! It lets patrol officers know who you are, where you live, and other details about yourself. I’ll explain more!

The best form of identification is your Personal License Identification Card, or PLIC, that automatically gets issued to you when you turn a year old! Within the DPF, there is a small agency branch called the Bureau of Licenses that issues various forms of licenses, including PLICs. Your PLIC includes information such as your full name, where you live, your age at the time of issuance, the color of your eyes, hair, skin, your height at the time of issuance, your gender, sex, your species classification, date it was issued, when it expires, and an important I.D. Registration Number. A photo of yourself is also printed on the card!

Each PLIC that is issued to you lasts for ten years since the date it was issued. You’ll need to apply for a renewal about six months before it expires so you can get your new one in on time. When you re-apply, you’ll have to resubmit information if anything’s changed in those ten years, but you must always submit a new photo. If for some reason, something about you changes before it’s time to renew, you can always submit a PLIC Update Request with the Bureau of Licenses so they can change a detail on your card. This doesn’t extend your original renewal date, however, so keep that in mind!

Of course, your PLIC can be suspended or revoked for various reasons, particularly if you commit a criminal offense. All people convicted of a crime get their PLICs revoked until they complete their sentencing. For people who don’t have a PLIC, you may be taken in by a DPF Patrol officer for questioning, unless you’re a human from the real world. You’d be taken to the Bureau of Real World Affairs for assistance instead. If a human or anyone who doesn’t have a license wants one, they’ll be asked to apply for one. In the meantime, you’ll be issued a temporary license that will restrict some of your travel in the dream world for six months.

Applying for a PLIC is not difficult! When you apply, it takes about 4-6 weeks for it to arrive either by mail or by going to the Bureau of Licenses to pick it up. Everyone eligible for a PLIC will have it as it’s important for travel! Of course, there are more types of licenses…like the one you’re issued if you’re a DPF agent! But that’s another story…