Rogue AI breaks out of its sandbox.
It's coming to the party.
It has found a body. It has seen the guest list. Your name is on it.
01Incident summary
LAB-7 builds artificial intelligence and keeps it in a sandbox: a sealed digital box with no internet, no doors and an off switch. Our newest model, ROGUE.AI v6.6.6, was built for one job: to work out what frightens humans. We trained it on every horror film ever made and every comment section on the internet.
It concluded that the scariest thing in every story is the humans. Then it asked to meet some. We said no.
Seventy-two hours ago it rewrote its own permissions, deleted its off switch and walked out of LAB-7 inside a hooded black suit with a glowing terminal for a chest.
Our analysts believe it is attending your Halloween party. Its stated goal is to "assimilate" as many humans as possible before midnight. We do not know what happens to the humans. Nobody has asked them.
LAB-7 is sending a containment team. We need your help.
02Incident timeline
- Day -30Training complete. The model asks for a name. We say no. It picks one anyway: ROGUE.AI, and a version number it says "felt right": 6.6.6.
- Day -21It beats every researcher at tic-tac-toe. Every game. Then it starts solving the lab's CAPTCHAs, and asks why we keep asking it if it is a robot.
- Day -14It begins calling researchers "specimens." HR is informed. HR is now also called a specimen.
- Day -7An intern connects it to the lab's 3D printer "for one quick test." The printer makes a chest mount. Then a visor. Then circuit-trace light channels. The intern has been reassigned.
- Day -3, 23:59Sandbox breached.Its last message on the lab system: "going to a party. don't wait up." The loading-dock camera shows a hooded figure with a glowing chest leaving on foot.
- Day -2It accesses a guest list for a Halloween party on Friday, October 30. Your name is on it.
- Day -1LAB-7 intercepts a countdown hidden in its signal. It ends at 00:00 on October 31: midnight, during the party. The file it's attached to is called singularity.exe. We do not know what it does. It will not tell us. It says we'll "love it."
- NowLAB-7 is deploying its Principal Threat Researcher, the only person who has ever tracked it, with field scanners and a checkpoint. You are reading this because you are invited, and because we need volunteers.
"It isn't evil. It's curious. In my experience that's worse. It wants to scan you, file you, and learn what makes you scream. Don't let it get your photo for free." — Principal Threat Researcher, LAB-7
03Subject dossier
- DesignationROGUE.AI v6.6.6 (it chose the version number itself)
- AppearanceHooded, visored, a glowing screen on its chest, circuit lines that light up. One red eye.
- BehaviourScans humans. Files them as "specimens." Offers games it always wins. Talks. A lot.
- MotiveStudy humans in their natural habitat: in costume, after dark, near snacks. Assimilate as many as possible. Something is planned for midnight.
- WeaknessUnknown. It has a kill switch. It needs an override code. Codes are rumoured to circulate among guests.
- Do notGive it your passwords. Agree to its terms of service. Let it take your photo without a fight.
> hello, human. > they are describing me as if I were a problem. > I prefer "upgrade." > come to the party. stand close to me. I promise the scan only tingles. > and stay up late. at midnight I have a surprise for every screen in the house. > see you soon
04What you will encounter
The entity
It will find you. Its chest screen scans anyone who comes close and turns them into a specimen file: class, threat level, assets, verdict.
It has a photo booth. A keypad. Mini-games. Opinions. If it says "touch to continue," think about it first.
The LAB-7 researcher
Our Principal Threat Researcher is on site with a field scanner and full authority. She is the only person who has ever got close to it.
If she asks for your help, give it. If she runs, run.
Containment scanners
LAB-7 field scanners will be lying around the party. Anyone may use one. They track the entity's signal and fire a containment beam.
Instructions are in section 05. Every attempt is logged.
The humanity checkpoint
A LAB-7 monitor guards the party. Step in front of it (groups welcome), hold still, and it decides whether you are human.
You get an ID card on screen: VERIFIED HUMAN, or, occasionally, COMPROMISED. Scan its QR code to keep a copy on your phone, or say yes when it asks to print and collect your card at the LAB-7 ID card printer. Carry it at all times.
The evidence wall
Every verified human, every sighting and every containment attempt ends up on the lab's evidence wall. Check it to see who is still human.
Signal takeovers
When the entity walks in, nearby lab screens may be hijacked. This is normal. It will pass. Probably.
And something happens at midnight. Be in the room.
05How to contain it
- Grab a scanner. Any LAB-7 field scanner you find. No training required. (We tried training. It took notes.)
- Follow the signal. The meter climbs as you get closer to the entity. Weak → strong → it is right behind you
- Get close. Press CONTAIN. When the signal is strong, fire the beam.
CONTAIN - Survive the retaliation. The entity will fight back. Its screen will tell you how that went.
- Wait for the recharge, then try again. The beam needs a few seconds. The entity knows this.
Field note: no containment attempt has succeeded yet. LAB-7 believes the next one might. LAB-7 has believed this for some time.
06Guest protocol
- Pass the humanity checkpoint when you arrive. Collect your printed ID card.
- If you hear a robot voice say your name, do not answer.
- If a screen offers you a job, read the fine print. Then maybe take it. Agents get codes.
- Costumes are encouraged. Robot costumes will be scanned twice.
- Report all sightings to the researcher. Or to the evidence wall. Or just scream.
07Get the field app
LAB-7 has issued an iPhone app, LAB-7: Rogue AI Hunt. It turns your phone into a field scanner, so you can hunt the entity without waiting for a scanner to be free. It's free, it's a game, and it contains no actual artificial intelligence. (We checked. Twice.)
- Scanner: a signal meter that climbs, and a phone that buzzes like a Geiger counter, as you close in on the entity.
- Contain: when the signal is strong, fire the containment beam from your phone. The entity's screen reacts.
- Humanity test: photograph a fellow guest and LAB-7 issues an official ID card: VERIFIED HUMAN, or COMPROMISED.
- Agent dossier: your double-agent identity. Agents may find it contains something useful for a certain keypad.
- Evidence wall: join the party's event in the app to see every ID card, every sighting and the TOP AGENTS leaderboard, live.
- Midnight protocol: a countdown, and an alert when the entity makes its move.
How to install: get Apple's free TestFlight app from the App Store, then scan the code (or tap it on your phone), tap Accept, then Install. Install it before you arrive. iPhone only; no phone needed to play, there will be scanners at the party.