Join the new world

Greetings, dear friends!

As you might have noticed, little while ago the game experienced frequent 503 Bad Gateway errors. At one point they became so frequent, that I thought to myself, that there must be something to it, so I embarked on a mission to understand what is happening, and I have finally broke the code and have de-coded the hidden messages that a poor fellow named John were trying to send us. Without further ado, here is what I have intercepted.

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Day 1:
Dear Diary,
Today marks the beginning of my unexpected tenure as a captive junior graphics designer in the server room at eRepublik Labs. The air is cold, the hum of servers is deafening, and the fluorescent lights above flicker like the digital rain from Matrix.

I've fashioned a makeshift bed out of discarded Ethernet cables and empty coffee cups, and luckily they have left some of those puffed packaging bags in some old boxes. It's not exactly bed worthy of a king, but it'll do for now. My captors seem unaware of my artistic potential, but I'm biding my time, waiting for the perfect moment to unveil my design manifesto.

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Day 6:
Dear Diary,
My attempts to communicate with the outside world via Morse code by putting a fork into server room’s power outlet seems successful, as it is causing a short 503 Bad Gateway error for their customers. I hope someone gets my messages. Luckily my captors have not noticed that some shenanigans is going on here, which gives me more time to plot my escape.

In the meantime, I've befriended a dust bunny named Steve. Steve and I share a common goal - to escape this room and embrace the world beyond the humming servers and share our exceptional icon design with millions of players worldwide.

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Day 15:
Dear Diary,
Today, I overheard my captors talking about a new game project. Steve, will this be our chance? Will this be our ticket to freedom? What I assume was a lady from Human Resources department, joined the conversation asking what to do with the body in storage facility. They mentioned something about a skin, a plane, an Unindentified Flying Object, that he was tasked to make for an event in late autumn, and he failed so miserably that they just had to get rid of him. I guess not everyone is meant to be a graphics designer. I’m on that grind though!

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Day 41:
Dear Diary,
My captors today arrived with intriguing offer, they want to task me with a complete storage icon overhaul for eRepublik. They said it is their most important game update in the last couple of years. In return they offer me to increase the amount of time the lights are on in the room by 6 hours, up to grand total of 8. This is my time to shine, so I must make icons that inspire fear, respect, and perhaps a chuckle or two. I'm convinced that a well designed icon can be the key to my freedom. Steve agrees, though he's not entirely sure what an icon is.

To pass the time, I've started conducting interviews with imaginary employees, for when I become the head of the icon department. I've named them Bob and Alice. Their input on icon design has been invaluable, they have helped me to assemble the greatest storage icon overhaul this game has ever seen.

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Day 57:
Dear Diary,
I submitted the overhauled storage icons to my captors. My sincerest hopes is that they find my superb icon designs worthy of their game. I have ran out of pencils, so I am writing this with my poop, but I was assured that if the boss likes my design, I will be rewarded with three new pencils, a pen, and a pack of superior quality crayons.

I must admit though, that it is getting tough mentally. Since the beginning of my captivity I have yet to eat anything other than pizza, and I have become such coffee connoisseur, that I can tell what brand coffee machine it was made on. Steve is also not doing well, a fan of a server grabbed my friend with its turbulent air flow and dragged it towards its case, nearly decapitating my poor comrade. He has been so traumatized by the event that he hasn’t spoke to me for three days. But me, Bob, Alice and Steve are in this together, so they comforted each other while I finished my storage icons, worthy being named the 8th World Wonder!

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Day 60:
Dear Diary,
The storage icon project was a grand success. My captors were so impressed with my abilities, that they even gave me window cleaning liquid and paper towels along with the promised goods. I feel like after such acknowledgement of my talent, the future is bright!

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Day 69:
Dear Diary,
My captors came to me and discussed a task which they would like to assign to me. As they described it to me – the final test. I am nervous, but excited, and I must admit, a little bit scared, since the daunting task is to design a tank skin for eRepublik, for Christmas event. The stakes are high, I was presented with two possible outcomes – the nice Human Resources lady will pay me a visit to discuss my design philosophy, or I get promoted to Chief Icon Innovation Officer at eRepublik Labs.

Finaly! Little did they know, their icon savior has been sitting all this time right under their noses, surrounded by discarded pizza boxes and stale coffee. Wish me luck, Diary! Today, I may become a free artist once again! Tomorrow might be the day when me, Steve, Bob and Alice finally get our own Icon Department and really innovate this game!

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Unfortunately after the last message the communication ceased, and I have not been able to tell what happened to John, did the nice HR lady visit him, or he is now living the dream in Icon Innovation department. I guess only next event will tell us, after we see the new tank skin.

And please remember, everytime you see a Bad Gateway error, it is highly likely that a captive junior graphics designer is trying to escape eRepublik Labs server room.

Hoping that John is living the dream,
AunsxOM