The Blind Masque is a clandestine, invitation-only event held deep beneath the Glimmeredge district of Neo-Europa. Known for its anonymity, decadence, and ethically gray—or entirely black—entertainment, the Masque is one of the city's most whispered-about gatherings. Officially, it doesn’t exist. Unofficially, it is where identity collapses, masks speak, and morality is suspended by consensus.
The Blind Masque is where the powerful go to become no one… and do anything.
Overview
- Type: Secret entertainment ritual / synthetic experience event
- Location: Unknown, changes regularly; usually beneath the Glimmeredge’s duel arenas or defunct infrastructure nodes
- Frequency: Irregular. Entry by selection only.
- Dress Code: Mandatory biometric-scrambling masks
- Surveillance: Disabled or countered—no AI systems allowed
Entry Protocol
- Invitations arrive via ghost signal or through a dream-seeded memory
- Guests are guided to the Masque by anonymous handlers or coded pulses to their implants
- Upon arrival, all attendees don masks that obfuscate identity, speech, gait, and bio-signatures
No one knows who else is in attendance—not even themselves, if they choose identity suppression.
Core Experience
- A rotating cast of synthetic beings—clones, emotional AIs, or memory-wiped pleasure constructs—are brought into the event space
- Guests may interact, perform rituals, experience simulated memories, or manipulate the Sims however they choose
- Some Sims are used as actors in live psychodramas, confessions, or shadow plays
All sessions are reset at the end of the night—*allegedly*.
Available Modifications
Guests may choose:
- Memory Fogging – Automatic deletion of event memory post-exit
- Persona Override – Neural masking to adopt a randomly generated identity for the duration
- Emotional Amplification – Sensory filters to heighten love, fear, violence, or joy
Rumors
- Not all Sims are synthetic—some may be real people caught in debt contracts, punishment rotations, or loyalty trials
- A known Council Dagger was allegedly killed during a Masque, but the event's anonymization protected the killer
- One guest smuggled a Sim out, fell in love, and now lives in exile—if they ever lived at all
- The entire Masque may be a controlled simulation, run by an unknown Council faction to test psychological thresholds
The Masks
Masks are not symbolic—they are functional:
- Disrupt facial recognition and implant signatures
- Modulate voice and posture
- Contain embedded neural feedback loops to prevent identity recall during the event
Some guests report residual identity bleed after multiple Masques, resulting in confusion or untraceable emotional memory.
Possible Operators
No official entity claims responsibility. Theories include:
- Stenweg Cyber rogue division
- Council-sanctioned experiment in behavioral limits
- A cult of noble-born hedonists with deep simulation tech
- A sentient AI performing research on human vice
In Culture
- “You’ve been Masqued” – Street slang for losing grip on who you are
- “Masque logic” – A term used when someone excuses brutal or indulgent behavior with anonymity or status
- A minor VR sim called “Blind Waltz” exists on the black market—believed to be a smuggled fragment of a real Masque recording