Virus Alert: The Episode Guide [Not a story segment]

[WilloWisp]

Getting lost in the byzantine maze of the Virus Alert story world? I know I am, and I made the blasted thing.

As a helpful guide to past (and, to a limited extent, upcoming) episodes, let this thread serve as a persistent landing spot for keeping up-to-date on the Virus Alert storyline.

Curious about the future of Virus Alert? Got a futuristic supercomputer or a few quadrillion years to spare? Download the password-protected zip file containing the entire background timeline for the Virus Alert universe and take a shot at cracking the password. I'll give you a hint: Upper and lower case letters, plus numeric digits. And it's long. Or save the file for later, when the password is revealed, and compare it to how the story actually was told.

The password will not be publicly revealed during season 5.

The public file-sharing site which initially hosted the file has since removed it, but Dale Coba has been gracious enough to host the file on the Stepfordworld FTP. Look for connection details in the file sharing section of this forum. If you don't have access to the file sharing, contact one of the board admins.

Did you know,the Virus Alert series is absolutely littered with hidden surprises. Can you find them?

They might be right under your nose.
You'd have to know what to look for, though.

Season 1 - Setting Up
1.00 - A Visit from Campus IT
1.25 - Prog Rock
1.50 - Mindless Fun
1.75 - Running Late

Season 2 - Parts Manifest
2.00 - Under New Management
2.17 - Look On My Works
2.33 - Full Documentation
2.50 - A Tender Spot
2.67 - Hungry Like the [ObjectLabel not found]
2.83 - Code Play

Season 3 - Revision History
3.00 - Wounds, Old and New
3.17 - Pickup Line
3.33 - Other Plans
3.50 - Enroll Today
3.67 - Yearbook Pictures
3.83 - Deep Sleep
3.833... - Wish You Were Here

Season 4 - Users Guide
4.00 - I Can Fix This
4.17 - Teachers' Study
4.33 - A New You
4.50 - Office Pace
4.67 - Lessons Learned
4.83 - The Right Equipment

Season 5 - Admins Only
5.00 - Gift Exchange
5.17 - In His Shadow
5.33 - Torn Apart
5.50 - Only a Motion Away
5.67 - Staff Orientation
5.83 - Familiar Territory

Seasons 6 - Assembly Language
6.00 - What It Takes
6.17 - Low Traffic Area
6.33 - Making and Taking Revenge
6.50 - Long Lost
6.67 - Tidying Up
6.83 - Unexpected Response

Season 7 - The End of It All

[WilloWisp]

Season 3 episode titles are up, plus the season title for Season 4. Theories encouraged.

Season 3 will officially start sometime before Saturday the 24th. Shall we play a game?

[WilloWisp]

You know what's a great way to celebrate overcoming writer's block on one chapter? Finishing the first draft of the next chapter the very next day. Want an ETA? Listen to some BTO.

[WilloWisp]

Season's changin'. Storm's a'comin'. Best seek shelter.

[WilloWisp]

How odd. The initial post in this thread has changed since yesterday. Perhaps some other things have changed elsewhere, too.

[DukeNukem 2417]

How odd. The initial post in this thread has changed since yesterday. Perhaps some other things have changed elsewhere, too.

Sir, you had my curiosity. But now you have my attention.

[WilloWisp]

Sir, you had my curiosity. But now you have my attention.

That is, verbatim, the exact response I've been aiming for from day 1.

And no, that doesn't mean I'm going to stop now that I've achieved my primary goal. There's still so much more to do in the Virus Alert world.

[WilloWisp]

Brace yourselves, everyone.



Just going through proofreading on the last two or three scenes.

[Spaz]

Damn, that's pretty big...

[WilloWisp]

The full text to date is nearly 800KB. As a basis for comparison, Leo Tolstoy's War and Peace, in plain text format, is just over 3.1 megabytes. So, right now, I've written a book which is roughly a fourth as long as War and Peace.

And I have six episodes (chapters) to go.

[A.N.N.]

Hi WilloWisp,
Any idea when the next chapter is coming out? The side story was nice, but the main story is PURE ADDICTION!

sorry, but I need my fix and I have become very involved and tangled into this story.

Please help us WilloWisp! You're the only one that can do this!

[WilloWisp]

When it rains, it pours. Real Life is hitting me a bit harder than it usually does, which is slowing progress considerably.

Making and Taking Revenge is at least 2/5ths done, possibly as much as half, but it's been slow going. I'm supposed to get a clear opportunity to work unimpeded this weekend, but my "supposed to" opportunities lately have turned into "sorry, something came up" with alarming frequency.

Don't worry, the show will go on. I haven't stopped, and neither my interest, nor my inspiration has waned in the slightest. Time, that's the issue. There just isn't enough time.

[A.N.N.]

Cool, I was just getting worried. Hopefully RL won't hit you too hard!

[A.N.N.]

Hi Willo, just checking in to see if you've returned to writing yet. I'm a big fan of this story if you couldn't tell, and I'm too into it to let go now.

Please, Please, Please finish it

(this is me begging)

[WilloWisp]

I dislike using the phrase "returned" in this context, as it would implicitly mean I left it. The writing has continued - just at a slower pace.

Regretfully, I am not a professional author. By trade, I am paid to write, but it's nothing which could be called prose, even by the loosest application of the term. However, I am informed by my peers and my employer that my not-prose writing is better-than-average. Enough so to have garnered some degree of notoriety within my company and my industry.

In plainer terms: During the course of the last year, I got promoted a bit. While my previous position gave me a fair bit of free time to occupy however I cared to, my current position does not. So, good news for my household income and career prospects, bad news for my writing progress.

This past week was especially frustrating for me: I was given assurances that my vacation would offer large chunks of time for my own personal projects. Instead, I learned a valuable lesson: VISITING FAMILY IS NOT A VACATION.

That said: Making & Taking Revenge is tantalizingly close to release. I can't predict when, but I can reassure everyone of the following:

1. I have not stopped.
2. I do not have writer's block.
3. I have not given up.
4. I have a plan.
5. I am going to finish telling this story.
6. We've only just begun.
7. I like enumerated lists.
8. All work and no play makes Willo take drastic measures.

[A.N.N.]

...I learned a valuable lesson: VISITING FAMILY IS NOT A VACATION...

Quite true!

Thanks for the updates and calming me down

And congratulations on the promotion! Well deserved! I can vouch for your writing quality as well, and I'm glad it's recognized where you work.

[WilloWisp]

Quick update for anyone who may not have already noticed: Virus Alert is now conveniently accessible from the wiki.

More to come.

[Robo-Admirer]

Been bed ridden from covid, and I thought of revisiting this masterful series.

I really enjoyed every moment, and while I know I missed a large chunk of Easter eggs and fun little bits, it still makes me giddy knowing it's here to enjoy.

The slim chance this gets finished would probably make everyone's day, but given how long it's been, I'm not holding my breath. Regardless, what you willowisp for this fun and engaging read

[WilloWisp]

I have some bad, but necessary, news.

Virus Alert won't ever be continued. The backstory I was using at the time now too closely resembles and trivializes (but categorically did NOT "predict") real world events. Back when I was originally writing it, in 2011-2014, the ideas I was using in my worldbuilding were just outlandish enough to be fertile ground for fun storytelling. Now they hit far too close to some of the most troubling events of the past few years.

I never really stopped writing, but I don't generally share my work publicly. Little of it is directly relevant to this forum, except in a very abstract, tangential sense. I will probably write robo-erotica again. I might even write some grand, sweeping epic again. But the biggest reason I was able to write Virus Alert at all was that I was having fun doing so. Now, I wouldn't be able to shake the feeling that someone would use it as harmful propaganda.