Jax woke up late, scrolled through his feed on autopilot, and almost dropped the phone on his face.
Every trending tag, every top story, every meme thread—Atlas.
He rubbed his eyes, sat up in bed, and checked again. Still Atlas. Logos, clips from the briefing, reaction videos spliced with dubstep edits, people stitching "Power. Progress. Protection." into TikStream jokes. Even his private Discord had renamed itself overnight: Atlas Fan Club ironically non-ironically.
By the time he went live that afternoon, chat was already primed.
[glitchpop]: WAKE UP STREAMER ITS AN ATLAS WORLD NOW
[pinknoise]: atlas took over my bus stop ads, pls send help
[ratline]: u see US news?? ppl losing it over continuity
"Yeah, yeah, I saw," Jax said, sliding into his chair, hair still damp from a rushed shower. "I can't even doomscroll in peace anymore. My entire feed is triangle logos and people asking if they can upload grandma."
Chat spammed laughing emotes.
He pulled up a global news dashboard on his second monitor, streaming it side-by-side with his camera. "All right, let's do a world tour of corporate brainwashing, shall we?"
United States.
A slick morning talk show played, hosts smiling too wide as they introduced Atlas like it was the second coming of Apple. A guest analyst leaned forward earnestly: "This is the most ambitious industrial launch we've ever seen. If Atlas delivers even half of what it promises—defense, biotech, infrastructure—they'll rival Lockheed, Google, and Tesla combined."
The opposing panelist frowned: "Or they'll destabilize the global market overnight. Defense and biotech under one roof? That's a national security nightmare."
The chyron at the bottom screamed: CONTINUITY: IMMORTALITY OR ILLUSION?
Jax nearly spat his drink. "They're debating immortality on daytime TV. Amazing."
[biohazard]: classic america, hype or panic no in between
[datawave]: they're already comparing it to apple LMAO
[circuitbreaker]: next year: Atlas burgers
France.
The feed jumped to a late-night debate show. Four intellectuals in suits gestured wildly over one another.
"Atlas n'est pas une entreprise, c'est une idéologie," one said, stabbing a finger at the camera. "Biotechnologie et armement ensemble—c'est une menace pour nos libertés fondamentales."
Another shook his head. "Non, non, c'est l'Europe qui enfin crée un géant capable de rivaliser avec les Américains et les Chinois. C'est une fierté."
A younger guest smirked. "Ou c'est juste un jeu vidéo vendu comme la réincarnation. Continuity? Sérieusement? Qui y croit?"
The moderator tried and failed to restore order.
Jax grinned. "French TV is already fighting like Atlas is running for president."
[ratline]: baguette exosuits when??
[pinknoise]: continuity but with wine
[glitchpop]: they're lowkey not wrong tho
Germany.
A sober news desk, calmer tone. The anchor read headlines about Atlas partnerships with major engineering firms in the Ruhr. A caption scrolled: PROGRAM FORGE TO REVITALIZE HEAVY INDUSTRY.
A German economist, gray-haired and precise, nodded: „Wenn Atlas hier Aufträge bringt, werden Arbeitsplätze folgen. Aber Rüstungsexporte unter schweizerischer Neutralität? Das ist kompliziert."
Jax tilted his head. "Germany's take: cautiously optimistic capitalism. Checks out."
[biohazard]: germans be like 'yes jobs but also maybe WW3'
[circuitbreaker]: forge sounds like they're building mechs in hamburg
Switzerland.
Finally, a Swiss outlet. A crowd outside Atlas Tower, waving flags and filming selfies against the gleaming façade. A reporter shouted over the noise: "National pride is at an all-time high as Switzerland claims Atlas as its own. Yet critics ask: where did this company come from? Why was there no trace before last week?"
A protester held up a sign: "Atlas: Transparency Before Immortality."
Jax leaned back, laughing. "Yep, that's us. Proud, paranoid, and filming it all for Instagram."
[glitchpop]: ur tower looks like a spawn point bro
[pinknoise]: switzerland speedrunning dystopia any%
[ratline]: atlas is literally ur neighbor now streamer
By the time he cycled back to his game overlay, Jax's chat had devolved into global chaos—memes in three languages, conspiracy threads, ASCII triangles filling the feed.
He shook his head, smirking. "All right. World tour complete. Conclusion: Atlas has officially infected every timezone. Congrats to them. Still not clicking pre-register."
Chat flooded with laughing emotes and one-word spam: "YET."
Jax rolled his eyes. But when he glanced at the trending sidebar again, the top line made his stomach flip:
PRE-REGISTRATION FOR CONTINUITY OPENS TOMORROW.
By the next day, Jax couldn't step outside without running into Atlas.
On the tram, every digital panel flicked between perfume ads and the triangle logo. Billboards rotated through slogans in a dozen languages: Power. Progress. Protection. At the corner café, the screen above the counter played a looping promo of construction sites and exo-suits. Even the little ad strip on his grocery app had swapped toothpaste deals for Pre-register now for Program Continuity.
Back on stream, chat was already buzzing.
[pinknoise]: pre-reg went live!!!
[glitchpop]: atlas site crashed twice already
[ratline]: bro my cousin signed up. said it's invite only??
Jax groaned, dragging the site onto his overlay. Sure enough, a giant banner filled the screen: Continuity Pre-Registration Now Open. Limited Access. Apply Today. The logo hovered above the words like a brand of approval stamped on reality itself.
He scrolled. Sleek testimonials rolled past, clearly staged: a smiling engineer, a medical student, a security officer, all talking about "joining the future." The application form glowed at the bottom: Name. Age. Occupation. Reason for Joining.
"Reason for joining?" Jax muttered. "Like it's a scholarship application."
Chat lit up.
[datawave]: 'reason for joining' = sell ur soul in 200 characters
[circuitbreaker]: i put 'bc memes' lmao
[ghostpost]: imagine corp HR rejecting u from immortality program
The site refreshed itself automatically, flashing a number at the bottom: Applicants Today: 327,411. The counter climbed as Jax watched.
"Holy—okay, that's… yeah, that's a lot of souls in one day."
Influencers jumped on it too. Between rounds, Jax pulled up a reaction clip of a US streamer with ten times his audience, already bragging about getting "early access" to Continuity. The guy waved an email invite at the camera like a golden ticket.
"This is it, guys," the influencer said, grinning. "Atlas picked me. Continuity is the future, and I'm going in."
Chat exploded.
[pinknoise]: LMAO clout chasers already in
[glitchpop]: influencer early access speedrun
[ratline]: ngl if atlas pays me i'm in too
"See?" Jax told his viewers. "They're making it look exclusive. Classic play. Half of you want it now just because you think you can't have it."
He meant it as a joke, but the words tasted off in his mouth.
Later that night, his mod Ash pinged him off-stream.
i actually signed up. figured, why not?
Jax stared at the message. He typed, erased, retyped. Finally sent back: You're really trusting a brand-new mega-corp with your brain?
Ash replied instantly: Dude, it's just VR. Worst case it's boring. Best case, I'm in the first wave of something big.
Jax tossed his phone aside and rubbed his face.
On the next stream, he couldn't escape it. His viewers spammed questions, screenshots of their applications, memes of "Atlas accepted" fake emails. A few were already bragging about "confirmation codes" arriving in their inboxes.
"Okay, chat, congrats," he said, forcing a laugh. "You're all pioneers of the corporate utopia. Just don't come crying to me when your toaster starts sending you Atlas newsletters."
But when the counter on the site ticked past 2,000,000 applicants, even Jax felt something shift in his gut. This wasn't just hype. This was momentum.
That night, as he scrolled his feed one last time, an email slid into his inbox. The sender: Atlas Public Interface.
The subject line: Your Invitation Awaits.
The subject line burned in Jax's inbox: Your Invitation Awaits.
He stared at it for a full minute before he even dared click. The little preview line offered nothing but the Atlas tagline: Power. Progress. Protection. It felt less like a slogan and more like a challenge.
Finally, he opened it.
Atlas Corporation is pleased to invite you to join the first wave of Program Continuity. Your platform, your audience, and your curiosity have been noted. You may claim your place by registering here. Spots are limited. Do not delay.
At the bottom, the triangle emblem gleamed in sharp red. A single button glowed beneath it: ACCEPT INVITE.
Jax leaned back in his chair, rubbing both hands over his face. "Okay. This is either the coolest scam email I've ever seen, or… something else."
He pulled it onto his stream overlay. Chat went feral.
[glitchpop]: LET'S GOOOOOO
[pinknoise]: streamer got drafted 💀
[ratline]: bro u gotta click it live
[biohazard]: this is how horror movies start
"Yeah, thanks for the moral support," Jax muttered. He highlighted the button with his cursor but didn't press it. "All right, let's think this through. Mega-corp launches overnight, owns every billboard in the city, announces immortality as a service, and now they email me. Does this scream legit to anyone?"
Chat spammed emotes of shrugging avatars and "CLICK IT" gifs.
[circuitbreaker]: you're already in their system bro
[ghostpost]: they're watching this rn lol
[hotchip]: atlas sponsor moment 👀
"Okay, listen." He pointed at the camera, trying to inject some sanity into the chaos. "Best-case scenario, I click this and get early access to some VR sandbox. Worst case, my kidneys end up in an Atlas lab."
[pinknoise]: worth
[ratline]: imagine dying WITHOUT continuity. cringe.
Jax laughed despite himself, the sound thin. His eyes flicked back to the button. The glow around it pulsed slowly, like it was breathing.
"All right, chat. We'll make a deal." He leaned forward, elbows on the desk. "If we hit tonight's sub goal—"
Before he could finish, the counter on his overlay jumped, donations pouring in like rain. His jaw dropped.
"You guys are psychos."
[glitchpop]: DEAL'S A DEAL
[datawave]: NO BACKING OUT STREAMER
[circuitbreaker]: click or coward
He hovered the cursor over the button. His hand trembled just slightly, enough for chat to notice and spam KEKW emotes.
The words on the button sharpened as if the screen itself leaned closer: ACCEPT INVITE.
Jax drew in a slow breath. "Okay. Tomorrow, if I regret this, I'm blaming every single one of you."
Then he clicked.
The screen went black for a fraction of a second, then filled with a new page: Thank you for registering. You will receive further instructions shortly.
The Atlas logo bloomed one last time before fading out.
Jax sat there in silence, headphones buzzing faintly. Chat filled the void with chaos, memes, and spammed triangles.
"Congratulations," he said finally, voice low. "I think we just sold my soul to a triangle."