Citizens fear “Holo Haunt” puts them in grave danger

By Kaye Shepherd

Hydrogen News Network, reporter-at-large



It’s terror on the Atlas flyways as corpses and apparitions continue to materialize across the city. The monstrosities have appeared on ships, inside homes and businesses, and have been witnessed simply falling out of the sky. Most curiously of all, the majority of the ghosts appear to take the form of Freelancers.

The event, which citizens have dubbed the “Holo Haunt,” has rattled many.

“It’s unbelievable!” says freight pilot, Brinn Sugarman, of the specters he encountered in his own home. “Titus was in my kitchen! Just the same drop dead handsome brick of a man, except, you know, decaying.”

When asked how he destroyed the apparition, Sugarman was uneasy. “He wasn’t dangerous. He was just standing. Actually, he was really well-posed next to my lancer figurines. I hugged him – or, well, you know, stood next to him – for a SELF-E, but he disappeared in the flash!”

Sugarman’s experience falls in line with the majority of reports, where visions are said to disappear the moment they’re exposed to sources of light. However, to alleviate ongoing citizen concerns, the Trusts have still mobilized their Freelancers to destroy apparitions on sight.

In particular, the Freelancer, Asana, was spotted numerous times across the city. Witnesses say she seemed agitated, questioning individuals in the area about apparitions dressed in black who have both disappeared and reappeared from thin air.

The fact that all of these ghastly sightings coincide with bizarre Reactor blackouts has raised red flags across Atlas. Many have expressed fears that the events point to an impending “apocalypse,” even going so far as to dress up like the apparitions and wave lanterns through the flyways in an attempt to mollify what they’re calling “the Reactor’s will.”

“The Reactor knows our true faces!” cried one citizen, in a fit of fear. “We must appease it!”

On the other hand, AI-opposition group, HOPE, recently declared that PuP is to blame for the Haunt. According to their holofeed this morning, “PuP created those monsters! We know what PuP REALLY means: PROVEN UNTRUSTWORTHY PREDATOR! Their insiders destroy the proof, but we know the FACTS. The TRUTH will be revealed!”

The Trusts, for their part, have urged citizens to remain calm. “Trust in us! Trust in our Freelancers,” Trust representatives said. “There are enough corpses around as it is! It’s no time to lose your heads, too.”