There’s a reason why medicines aren’t to be toyed with. This is what happens when you do otherwise.
In early 2017, a wise person with an internet connection started a meme around the “fidget spinner” – a seemingly innocent little toy that keeps spinning for around 120 seconds with one, simple stroke. Being lightweight and very pocket friendly, the peculiar toy quickly rose to popularity as the perfect toy for folks that constantly need to fidget, but didn’t know they had to.
With enough memes and even more internet savvy folk who buy into just about every trend there is on the internet, fidget spinners rapidly grew from the subject of memes to one of the world’s most loved and hated toys by users alike.
But, as is too often the case, what seemed like an innocent enough toy wasn’t nearly as innocent as it seemed. The fidget spinner increasingly turned people anti-social, just like how smartphones did in the 2010s. People started using them at dinner tables, professional meetings, their doctor’s appointments, their own weddings, and just about anywhere one could think of – until a point where the world stopped talking to each other, obsessing over their fidget spinners at the cost of their health and sanity.
Economies turned to shambles as the fidget spinner spread like an uncontrollable virus, destroying the bonds of human connectivity just as diseases destroy physical health. There was no stopping it. Once hooked, there’s no leaving one’s fidget spinner at any cost. Doing so would cause aggressive withdrawal symptoms, including increased aggression, arrhythmia, hypertension, manic symptoms, and eventual death.
How did this seemingly innocuous toy turn so virulent? Recent research suggests that the fidget spinner was actually created as an aid for patients with ADHD (attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder), and was showing highly promising results in the management of ADHD symptoms, with no side effects. But there was a catch. The fidget spinner was never meant to be used as a toy, and when used in the wrong hands can cause a highly advanced form of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.
But there is still hope. While millions of people on the planet are severely affected by some form of the disease, there remain an obstinate few who refused to buy into the trend of the fidget spinner. And while the whole world has turned into fidget spinner zombies, these brave people are relentlessly trying to create a cure for this illness, but to no avail so far. And you are one of them, in India. Only about 2,000 people in the country remain unaffected by the illness, and you are the Resistance’s last hope. Their chosen leader.
In the days that follow, you will be put to the test as you work with the Resistance to restore the world to normalcy. Clock’s spinning.
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Note to participants: The rounds that follow for the remainder of Cipher 2017 will be set in this world, and based on this story. The business that you create in round 1, will be carried through for the remainder of the day, through all rounds. You are not allowed to change your business or product offering at any time during the fest. It is advisable to keep a copy of this text at all times for your reference through the day.
