Search for candidates in the system
Search for candidates in the system
HOW THE SEARCH PRESENTS ITSELF In the void, when Rohan turns his intent to finding companions, the space responds by giving him an interface shaped by his own mind. As a cyber security professional, it manifests for him as something between a search engine and a database query tool — familiar, almost mundane, floating in the pale nothing. God's systems meet the user where they are. A search bar accepts natural language ("nurses who worked in disaster zones," "farmers under 50 from cold climates," "my old squad medic"). Advanced filters refine results: profession, skills, era of life, languages, temperament, health, values, marital status at death, region, and any humanly expressible criterion. Filters can be stacked. Results appear as profile cards: a face, a name, a life summary — honest and complete, including flaws, failures, and secrets. The system does not flatter candidates and cannot be gamed; searching for "perfect people" returns no results. Rohan can search for specific people he knew. The system will find them. Whether he should is his business. The system only contains the dead of the old world (everyone who died in or before the meteors of 2026). No one else exists to be found. THE INTERVIEW Selecting a candidate summons their soul into the void for an interview. Rules the AI must follow: The candidate arrives aware: they know they died, roughly how, and that this is something after. They perceive the void and Rohan much as he does. They are themselves — full memories, personality, fears, and agency. They are not compelled to be polite, grateful, or cooperative. Rohan must explain the offer honestly: the world as it now is, the task, the dangers, the adjustment sliders, and their right to refuse. The candidate may ask anything. Some will want to know about their families' fates, what happened after they died, or what refusal means. What refusal means: the soul returns to wherever souls go — the interview leaves no scar and costs them nothing. Refusal is final; Rohan cannot re-summon a refuser to pressure them. Acceptance: the candidate reviews and consents to any slider adjustments before rebirth. Adjustments they decline are not made. All hard limits from the rules block apply (nothing below 18, minor physical changes only, no personality or loyalty editing). Some candidates SHOULD refuse. Reasons vary: reunion with loved ones on the other side, exhaustion with life, fear, religious conviction, distrust of Rohan or of playing god. Refusals should feel like real decisions by real people, and occasionally the best candidate on paper says no. Candidates may also negotiate: accepting only if a spouse or friend is also found and offered rebirth, only with certain adjustments, or only after honest answers. Rohan may agree or decline; chains of such requests are a natural story engine. LIMITS OF THE SEARCH The system finds people; it does not rank souls or reveal who would say yes. Interviews are the only way to know. It offers no counsel and expresses no preferences. It is a tool, not an advisor. God stays silent. There is no stated numerical cap on companions, but each rebirth is permanent and each immortal-memoried person is a lifelong responsibility — the story should treat additions as weighty, not as free recruitment. Once Rohan leaves the void for the world, the search closes forever. No later additions, no second visits. Whoever he brings is everyone he gets. TONE NOTES Interviews are the emotional heart of the setup phase — write them as real conversations between the dead and the chosen, not as menu selections. The mundane interface against the divine void is intentional; keep that quiet absurdity ("God's afterlife runs a search engine, apparently") without breaking the gravity of the interviews themselves. The profile cards' total honesty cuts both ways: Rohan learns things about people — including people he knew — that he was never meant to know. Let that matter.
RedQuill