[SUBMITTED] War Of The... Wait, False Alarm!

[Jutsa]

So, normally I'd just go about uploading like 2 drafts a month,
at which case this draft would have been due to upload some time mid 2018,
but I heard about this contest about strangest possible issue.
No idea if this is strange enough, but given it actually happened in the U.S. and it's still strange to me,
I figured it'd be a good draft of mine to upload. :3

I should also note that I was going to replace "aliens" with "alien nationstates", which I can still do,
but option 4 makes that seem way less amusing.

I hope you enjoy!
Edit: P.S. I don't know if either of the validities are even necessary, but in case they are, I added them.

Title: War Of The... Wait, False Alarm!
The Issue: A radio station hosted a realistic production called "Combat of the Globes", a war-themed story about aliens invading @@NAME@@. Unfortunately, it was so realistic that when thousands of listeners tuned in late, they believed that @@NAME@@ was actually under attack.
Validity: Nation has radio

Option 1: A police officer by the name of @@RANDOMNAME@@ furiously glares at you. "Do you know how much panic this production caused? I spent all day calming citizens down and showing them that it was just a production. You need to ban things this realistic from being on radio, before something far worse happens because everyone panicked over something fiction. Calming productions like Peace of the Planets, on the other hand, should be fine, as long as they're clearly stated that they're not real - as frequently as possible."
[effect]the only works of fiction allowed on radio are fairy tales which are stated as such every two minutes

Option 2: "This is what we get for having fiction on radio in the first place!" rages @@RANDOMNAME@@, a famous newscaster who is covered in @@HIS@@ groceries. "Why do people even listen to radio, these days? Obviously, if they're too dull and gullible to get with the times, then only non-fiction facts should be displayed on radio. If people want entertainment, they can get a TV or something."
[effect]radios are the most boring thing in @@NATION@@

Option 3: You hear the host of the radio station - which aired the production in question - speaking over the radio. "We apologize that our production caused massive alarm, but we had good intentions! All we wished to do was create a realistic story for people to enjoy and get involved - albeit not this involved. Sure, some people may want us to be more careful, but I say that in the name of freedom and public entertainment, we should be able to host whatever program we want - even if some people get into a little panic!"
[effect]widespread panic is so frequent that most people ignore actual emergencies

Option 4: "You know what? This gives me an idea," schemes someone who's dressed up in an alien costume and has a rather familiar voice. "What if we actually pretend that aliens did invade @@NAME@@? Everyone would think that they've taken over our government, and would bow down to our every command in fear of being destroyed! That'll really boost our economy!" You recognize the voice to be your brother's.
[effect]the government attributes most of the negative consequences of its policies to the aliens that have "invaded" @@NAME@@

Title: War Of The... Wait, False Alarm!
The Issue: A radio station was hosting a realistic production called "Combat of the Globes", a war-themed story about aliens invading @@NAME@@. Unfortunately, however, it was so realistic that when thousands of listeners tuned in late, they believed that @@NAME@@ was actually under attack.
Validity: Nation has radio, nation permits fiction on radio

Option 1: A police officer by the name of @@RANDOMNAME@@ stares at you angrily. "Do you know how much panic this production caused? I spent all day calming citizens down and showing them that it was just a production. You need to ban things this realistic from being on radio, before something far worse happens because everyone panicked over something fiction. Calming productions like Peace of the Planets, on the other hand, should be fine, as long as they're clearly stated that they're not real - as frequently as possible."
[effect]the only works of fiction allowed on radio are fairy tales which are stated as such every two minutes

Option 2: "This is what we get for having fiction on radio in the first place!" rages @@RANDOMNAME@@, a famous newscaster who is covered in @@HIS@@ groceries. "Why do people even listen to radio, these days? Obviously, if they're too dull and gullible to get with the times, then only non-fiction facts should be displayed on radio. Then, if people want entertainment, they can get a TV or something."
[effect]radios are the most boring thing in @@NATION@@

Option 3: You hear the host of the radio station - which aired the production in question - speaking over the radio. "We apologize that our production caused massive alarm, but we had good intentions! All we wished to do was create a realistic story for people to enjoy and get involved - just not this involved. @@LEADER@@ may not want panic, but I say that in the name of freedom and public entertainment, we should be able to host whatever program we want!"
[effect]widespread panic is so frequent that most people ignore actual emergencies

Option 4: "You know what? This gives me an idea," schemes someone who's dressed up in an alien costume. "What if we actually pretend that aliens did invade @@NAME@@? Everyone would think that they've taken over our government, and would bow down to our every command in fear of being destroyed! That'll really boost our economy!" You recognize the voice to be your brother's.
[effect]the government attributes most of the negative consequences of its policies to the aliens that have "invaded" @@NAME@@

Title: War Of The... Wait, False Alarm!
The Issue: A radio station was hosting a realistic production called "Combat of the Globes", a war-themed story about aliens invading @@NAME@@. Unfortunately, however, it was so realistic that when thousands of listeners tuned in late, they believed that @@NAME@@ was actually under attack.
Validity: Nation has radio, nation permits fiction on radio

Option 1: A police officer by the name of @@RANDOMNAME@@ stares at you angrily. "Do you know how much panic this production caused? I spent all day calming citizens down and showing them that it was just a production. You need to ban things this realistic from being on radio, before something far worse happens because everyone panicked over something fiction. Calming productions like Peace of the Planets, on the other hand, should be fine, as long as they're clearly stated that they're not real - as frequently as possible."
[effect]the only works of fiction allowed on radio are fairy tales which are stated as such every two minutes

Option 2: "This is what we get for having fiction on radio in the first place!" rages @@RANDOMNAME@@, a famous newscaster who is covered in @@HIS@@ groceries. "Why do people even listen to radio, these days? Obviously, if they're too dull and gullible to get with the times, then only non-fiction facts should be displayed on radio. Then, if people want entertainment, they can get a TV or something."
[effect]radios are the most boring thing in @@NATION@@

Option 3: You hear the host of the radio station - which aired the production in question - speaking over the radio. "We apologize that our production caused massive alarm, but we had good intentions! All we wished to do was create a realistic story for people to enjoy and get involved - just not this involved. @@LEADER@@ may not want panic, but I say that in the name of freedom and public entertainment, we should be able to host whatever program we want!"
[effect]widespread panic is so frequent that most people ignore actual emergencies

Option 4: "You know what? This gives me an idea," schemes someone who's dressed up in an alien costume. "What if we actually pretend that aliens did invade @@NAME@@? Everyone would think that they've taken over our government, and would bow down to our every command in fear of being destroyed! That'll really boost our economy!" You recognize the voice to be your brother's.
[effect]the government claims it's been taken over by aliens

Title: War Of The... Wait, False Alarm!
The Issue: A radio station was hosting a realistic production called "Combat of the Globes", a war-themed story about aliens invading @@NAME@@. Unfortunately, however, it was so realistic that when thousands of listeners tuned in late, they believed that @@NAME@@ was actually under attack.
Validity: Nation has radio, nation permits fiction on radio

Option 1: A police officer by the name of @@RANDOMNAME@@ stares at you angrily. "Do you know how much panic this production caused? I spent all day calming citizens down and showing them that it was just a production. You need to ban things this realistic from being on radio, before something far worse happens because everyone panicked over something fiction. Calming productions like Peace of the Planets, on the other hand, should be fine, as long as they're clearly stated that they're not real - as frequently as possible."
[effect]the only works of fiction allowed on radio are fairy tales which are stated as such every two minutes

Option 2: "If you ask me, this is a result of having fiction on radio in the first place," comments @@RANDOMNAME@@, a famous newscaster who is covered in @@HIS@@ groceries. "Only non-fiction facts should be displayed on radio. If people want entertainment, they can go to a theater or something."
[effect]radios are the most boring thing in @@NATION@@

Option 3: You hear the host of the radio station - which aired the production in question - speaking over the radio. "We apologize that our production caused massive alarm, but we had good intentions! All we wished to do was create a realistic story for people to enjoy and get involved - just not this involved. @@LEADER@@ may not want panic, but I say that in the name of freedom and public entertainment, we should be able to host whatever program we want!"
[effect]widespread panic is so frequent that most people ignore actual emergencies

Option 4: "You know what? This gives me an idea," schemes someone who's dressed up in an alien costume. "What if we actually pretend that aliens did invade @@NAME@@? Everyone would think that they've taken over our government, and would bow down to our every command in fear of being destroyed! That'll really boost our economy!" You recognize the voice to be your brother's.
[effect]the government claims it's been taken over by aliens

[Capitalist Fauxia]

Holy sh*t Jutsa, I had the exact same silly draft idea

[Jutsa]

Wow.

Great new minds think alike, I suppose?

[Imperial Siber]

Funny
Nioce

[Australian rePublic]

Do radio shows even exist anymore?

[Candlewhisper Archive]

Yes.

Having said that, that'd make a good alternate position for option 2's speaker. "Wow, do people even listen to radio dramas anymore? We need to get these dinosaurs into the modern era, with Webflicks and BigRiverPrime instead. Help things along by banning radio fiction and..."

And so on.

Nice issue.

[Jutsa]

Thanks, CWA.

I'd agree with you, but I kind of like the "radios should be factual because they're listened to" approach over the "how are radios used? Might as well chuck this to phase them out" approach.
(That being said, I agree, it's not a bad argument. If anyone else much prefers this alternative, I can roll with that instead.)

[Jutsa]

Updated option 2.

[Arceus Domains]

Cool, very cool.

I'd suggest a little rewording at option 2, though. Let it have something to do with Internet services (as those mentioned by CWA), rather than TV, which may be considered obsolete as well.

Also, do you like this fallout suggestion for option 4?
the government attributes most of the negative consequences of its policies to the aliens that have "invaded" @@NAME@@.

If so, update it. Although, I'm somewhat concerned about this fallout being a repetition of another one, where natural disasters were attributed to minority political parties, or something like that. This is optional, indeed.

Good luck, btw!

[Jutsa]

Well, I'd agree with you on the first part, AD, and I didn't even take that into consideration,
but now I'm thinking about the irony of someone favoring something that's going outdated over something else outdated.

I'll definitely consider changing it, though for now I think I'll keep it as-is.

The effect line, though, I'm for sure adding.

[Jutsa]

Ah... two days late on the bump for this one, whoops.

Meh... it's been a busy weekend for me.

[Shwe Tu Colony]

Bold words are suggestions, underlined words are comments

Title: War Of The... Wait, False Alarm!
The Issue: A radio station was hosting a realistic production called "Combat of the Globes", a war-themed story about aliens invading @@NAME@@. Unfortunately, however, it was so realistic that when thousands of listeners tuned in late, they believed that @@NAME@@ was actually under attack.
Validity: Nation has radio, nation permits fiction on radio

Option 1: A police officer by the name of @@RANDOMNAME@@ furiously glares at you. "Do you know how much panic this production caused!? I spent all day calming citizens down and showing them that it was just a production. You need to ban things this realistic from being on radio, before something far worse happens because everyone panicked over something fiction. Calming productions like Peace of the Planets, on the other hand, should be fine, as long as they're clearly stated that they're not real — as frequently as possible."
[effect]the only works of fiction allowed on radio are fairy tales which are stated as such every two minutes Not sure if replacing the dash with an em dash was necessary.

Option 2: "This is what we get for having fiction on radio in the first place!" rages @@RANDOMNAME@@, a famous newscaster who is covered in @@HIS@@ groceries. "Why do people even listen to radio, these days? Obviously, if they're too dull and gullible to get with the times, then only non-fiction facts should be displayed on radio. If people want entertainment, they can get a TV or something."
[effect]radios are the most boring thing in @@NATION@@

Option 3: You hear the host of the radio station — which aired the production in question — speaking over the radio. "We apologize that our production caused massive alarm, but we had good intentions! All we wished to do was create a realistic story for people to enjoy and get involved, but maybe not this involved. @@LEADER@@ may not want panic, but I say that in the name of freedom and public entertainment, we should be able to host whatever program we want, even if some people get into a panic!"
[effect]widespread panic is so frequent that most people ignore actual emergencies

Option 4: "You know what? This gives me an idea," schemes someone who's dressed up in an alien costume and also has a rather familiar voice. "What if we actually pretend that aliens did invade @@NAME@@? Everyone would think that they've taken over our government, and would bow down to our every command in fear of being destroyed! That'll really boost our economy!" You recognize the voice to be your brother's.
[effect]the government attributes most of the negative consequences of its policies to the aliens that have "invaded" @@NAME@@

[Jutsa]

Thank you again!

Implemented everything in bold aside from this:

, but maybe not this involved

I went a slightly albeit similar route with this, as I agreed it needed to be redone, though I felt the way I rephrased it probably worked a little better.

Er - also, "@@LEADER@@ may not want panic" was changed to "Sure, some people may want us to be more careful".

Also added the word "little" before "panic" in the last suggestion for option 3, and removed "also" from the suggestion for option 4. :3

Final note: Removed one of the two validities. Again, not even sure if the first one is tracked.

[Shwe Tu Colony]

Thank you again!

Implemented everything in bold aside from this:

, but maybe not this involved

I went a slightly albeit similar route with this, as I agreed it needed to be redone, though I felt the way I rephrased it probably worked a little better.

Er - also, "@@LEADER@@ may not want panic" was changed to "Sure, some people may want us to be more careful".

Also added the word "little" before "panic" in the last suggestion for option 3, and removed "also" from the suggestion for option 4. :3

Final note: Removed one of the two validities. Again, not even sure if the first one is tracked.

Aight, you're welcome.

[Jutsa]

Bump~

My word... I now only have two drafts up and pending review.

Thankfully I've got a boat full of new ones. >:3

[Candlewhisper Archive]

I think Aussie's criticism still stands, in that the whole War of the Worlds scenario isn't really that feasible in the modern age, when people are much more accustomed to hearing science fiction stories on the radio, and when you can confirm whether something is news or not by turning on 24 hour news or checking on the internet.

Maybe as a validity criteria you could have a primitive nation with no internet.

[Jutsa]

Just added those two things into the validity of the current draft version.

Anything else, or do you think this is ready to go?

[Fauxia]

I like it, although I think you should take out “however” in the description.

[Jutsa]

All done.

[Jutsa]

Bump~

Probably my last bump before submission, unless anyone has anything else to add.

[Fauxia]

I can’t say I love the very first sentence, but I can’t pinpoint my problem with it, and it’s not all that bad. Very good issue, overall

[Shwe Tu Colony]

I can’t say I love the very first sentence, but I can’t pinpoint my problem with it, and it’s not all that bad. Very good issue, overall

Adding onto this, a suggestion to make the sentence feel a bit less incomplete, I suppose would be the best word, when you isolate the first part (if you remove the nonrestrictive clause after Combat of the Globes, it's a rather simple sentence).

A radio station hosted a realistic production called "Combat of the Globes", a war-themed story about aliens invading @@NAME@@.

[Jutsa]

Ok, updated. Anything else?

[Minoa]

I encourage you to have the summary mention H.G. Well’s War of the Worlds for real, because its copyright protection has lapsed after 70 years, i.e:

A radio station hosted a realistic adaption of H. G. Well’s War of the Worlds, a novel about a conflict between mankind and an extraterrestrial race. Unfortunately, it was so realistic that when thousands of listeners tuned in late, they believed that @@NAME@@ was actually under attack.

It might get a few people to look up and read the novel and get indulged in literature. Yup, I feel brainy.

[Chan Island]

I encourage you to have the summary mention H.G. Well’s War of the Worlds for real, because its copyright protection has lapsed after 70 years, i.e:

A radio station hosted a realistic adaption of H. G. Well’s War of the Worlds, a novel about a conflict between mankind and an extraterrestrial race. Unfortunately, it was so realistic that when thousands of listeners tuned in late, they believed that @@NAME@@ was actually under attack.

It might get a few people to look up and read the novel and get indulged in literature. Yup, I feel brainy.

Well, it is tradition here to use a fake thing instead of something that is real.

Also, while subtly encouraging people to read that book is something I wholeheartedly approve of, this site meant to promote a book in and of itself. So I don't know how that would fly.

EDIT:

Also, I rather disagree with the internet validity. A lot of people don't double-check things, and it doesn't need that many people to fall for it and panic before it becomes a substantial ruckus.

I remember quite clearly how around New Years this year there was a fake story that this famous church in Germany had been firebombed by islamists. Some of TV and radio stations even picked up on the story and reported it as true before, of course, some journalists actually came to the scene to find the church completely intact. Still, even now it's a popular belief on some quarters that it happened.