White Out

The White Out, also called White Wednesday by some, was the crashing of the Digital Web that occurred, depending on your source, on November 10, 1997 or the 1999-2000 turn of the millennium. It killed hundred of mages from all the traditions and had a specially disruptive effect on the Adepts, being responsible for much of their changes as a tradition in the wake of the new millennium.

Overview

“ The perspective suddenly shifted to the entirety of the Web. Static swept over the virtual sectors of the Adepts, swept again, then completly reformatted them into nonexistence. B00ksmart watched in horror as macabre clips of Icons being reformatted away assaulted his eyes. The screams of the dying mages layered upon one another. B00ksmart tried to stop the screams with his hands. They only seemed to get louder. Finally, it all ceased. ”
  — White Out, "Tradition Book: Virtual Adepts"

With the continuous development of computer technology, the Web was growing at a incredible pace. The mages, specially the Adepts, saw this new front of the War as very promising and, because of the relative easiness to enter it, began spending most of their time there.

There is a inconsistency from the books regarding the exact date and cause of the White Out. While the Digital Web 2.0 book claims that it happened in 1998 and was caused by the shockwaves from the Conflagration at Doissetep that traveled through the numerous connections that this realm had to the Web, the Tradition Book: Virtual Adepts, however, claims that it happened on the turn of the millennium and as a result of the Avatar Storm that "struck roughly at the same time". Some believe that it was orchestrated by the Cyphers, who were "Losing the race" with the rest of the Tradition.

Regardless of time, the White Out killed most of the people connected to the Web when it struck. Those who didn't die were severely injured for months or permanently, and every sector that wasn't permanently erased was damaged. A witness of the aftermath describes it as "the opening scene of *Terminator,* with a few stragglers picking through the rubble of an old nuclear blast.".

Aftermath

Whatever was the cause and date of it doesn't matter much, for its effects are still the same regardless of it. The loss of so many powerful mages (specially adepts) and the destruction and damaging of many sectors made many mages who would normally stay most of their time on the Web grow suspicious of it, and nowadays most mages don't spend more than a week at it, fearful of a second White Wednesday.

References

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