Don't forget to check out the Flickr tag Journey To The End Of The Night and also the SF0 photo pool.

Rubin: The turn out was so amazing. Meeting people I've only known about through this site made me go wow. The count down starts, the buzzer goes off, the Drive shoots us down paths of multiple outcomes. The group becomes broken, and whole together. Little yellow cars buzz by filled with mad men, one of which plays a recorder. We scout and search for purple as we make our way down the hill. Off the MUNI Metro and into the bike path, only to have Ian Kizu-Blair indubitably shattering our group into many shards.

Running solo down the street, searching for a woman in a trench coat, a drunken delirious transient of The City passes my vision, and from him in a tone paralleling lunacy I was asked a reforgotten question:

Are you playing a game?

Searching in the park, blind without any light, for others may see. I thanked a man who had a hand in all this night of hysteria. Tagging along with another group. Off to a laundry mat, to get a log from someone folding the same sheet over and over again without end.

And so we made it to the fires on the beach.

Faux:

Mella: Arriving late with Reed, I was impressed at the mob that had gathered! Not even enough time to properly affix my blue ribbon, we were off and running. Separated from the herd from the very beginning by the purple ribbons (they get bikes?! argh!) I was reunited with most of my team at Site 1. Whew! We find our way on foot and public transit to almost Site #2 when we're separated yet again by purple ribbons. This time not so lucky, about 10feet from a safe zone I literally run straight into a pair of chasers (how was I to know people so cute would still be dangerous?) while Reed also gets himself tagged. A moment of disappointment at having to leave the rest of my teammates, and excitement at the oncoming chases - Reed and I joined forces with Tim and Heiress (were those your names? fun people!) and Tim's extremely accomodating roommate and her car in hot pursuit of players. At that moment fantasies began of jumping out of bushes at unsuspecting blue ribbons (proceeded to practice my 'rawr!!" while striking monster poses). But once in GG park all I found was a pair of 16yearold lovers on the lawn of the conservatory. Ah well... we then travelled on to the beach for bonfire spectacular!

Nicole: So. Much. Fun. Rubin, Josh, and I showed up after a brief art-tour to see untitled and Not Out Of The Woods Yet, and I was immediately pleased with the turn out. This only improved as time went on, with what seemed like 60 or so players on the green. Made some conversation, explained urban forestry, and waited till the very last minute to get on an enormous team. The count was called, and we all took off! Realizing that it would be more relaxing to stop running, we regrouped and headed down market at a leisurely pace. I started chatting with Mella about something, and then we all notice someone running. Someone running AT US OH MY GOD HE'S GOT A PURPLE BAND! We all splinter off in every direction, me and lisa and rubin and mike cutting through the watersteps of embarcadero center and taking side streets up the hill. Scared out of our wits, checking the main streets at every intersection. Exhausted, we finally make it to the first dmz, and the panic goes down. Enter the hotel, sign the sheet. Everyone's made it, our group is one again. Purple's circling the block, we strategize on the lawn. Refill the water, talk about hopping on a cable car, we backtrack to powell down to market past union square.

We made it. Hop on muni, take the exit after the checkpoint to deter chasers, walk towards the checkpoint feeling all smug when we notice a bike coming towards us. It's Ian. FUCK! Everyone splinters off again, me and lisa and mike bolting down market street, I duck into a laundromat and throw myself behind some dryers. people try not to stare. I catch my breath, check for pursuers, and run to the safe zone. I find Lisa and mike, but nobody else. We get signed. after waiting quite some time we notice reed and mella at the end of the block, amongst the purple. They've been caught. We say hi, bye, then meet up with david and krissa. we take octavia up to some random street, then walk down to geary. take the bus to mervyns on geary and narrowly escape a pursuer by sticking to the station and crossing the street to another one. through dark residential streets, we find the pool hall, and get our sign. At this point, it becomes clear that there's purple everywhere, and stop #4 is going to be near impossible. Lets skip it, and come back around! we make our way there, but soon lose david to the enemy. we find a bus to #5, and relatively simply waltz over. We've gotten good at sticking to stations and the dark by now. Log in hand (or rather back pocket) we carefully make our way towards the park on a bus, exiting by the De Young. Lisa and I led the way through, and she kept me from getting us too lost on the way. Stop #4! I meet up with ian and thank him to the point of no return. I'm in love with their game. Their art is wonderful. We have a moment.

We carefully exit the park and wait for what seems like an hour for a bus. The bonfire happens, poi gets spun and taught, and I feel accomplished, for I got through every single checkpoint without getting caught!

Avidd: I was fine until the third checkpoint. We took way-back roads. At the Geary bus stop when it was clear the street was swarming with chasers, we bolted across the road when they weren't looking and hid in a bus shelter. It was on our way from the third checkpoint that we slipped up. We got too comfortable and only backtracked one block. We had just come that way without incident so we though it would be safe.
We passed a friendly couple loading stuff into their garage. They asked us all how are night was going. "We're staying alilve" I replied. Just then, a chaser jumped out from behind a car. We all screamed and scattered and the friendly couple is like "what the hell?". The chaser honed in on me and ran me down. I just can't run that far, and i didn't realize how near i was to a bus shelter.
I donned the purple ribbon and walked up to the fifth checkpoint, where i swear i would have totally caught pirateymonkey from behind if i could have refrained from shouting. Seeing her jump was almost worth it though.
After that it was the bus to ocean beach and the rest is history.

Red: This was by far not the first time I had heard of SF0, but was the first time I participated in a task. I was in the process of moving from Humboldt County down to my current home in San Diego, and was visiting my good friend Rubin. I had been promising to visit and participate in a task for a while, and this turned out to be the perfect event to spur me into SF0 motion. The only thing I'm really bummed at was that I didn't have a camera--I bought one the following day. I don't know that I would have taken that many pictures during however.

Rubin and I met up with Nicolery and she showed us some spectacular metal sculptures around downtown. We arrived at the meeting point, and hung out meeting people while easting some tasty Subway sandwiches. I chose not to place my name on the sign-up list as I wasn't part of SF0 then, and was trying not to be tracked meta-physically in any way, shape, or form. Then, when the race had begun, I gave my map/signature sheet to a registered player who hadn't got one. However, I kept to the spirit that evening and but for a brief interlude (which shall be explained later) was with Rubin the whole evening.

When the command to go had been given, Rubin, Nicolery and one or two other people from our group began to run off in a direction with no general plan other than get to the first checkpoint. I did not feel the need to begin running as I am not the most physically fit person, and knew it would be a long evening. The runners ended up having to turn around, thus proving that they had wasted energy. Suckers. Then, as we began our trek up the first hill, Rubin noticed a chaser had locked onto us and our flight began.

Running as far (two, three blocks) and fast (not very) as our underworked legs would take us, we managed to lose the chaser who, like most predatory beings had a fairly short attention span past the initial stalking. We kept on high alert from then on and made it to the first checkpoint with little further incedent. From this point, hearing the cry "Blue?!" from across intersections became standard fare.

Everything proceeded smoothly, if slowly, from there, until we were about to come upon the third checkpoint, when a bicycling chaser (who I later discovered to be Ian) came head-on at us, scattering us in all directions like a flock of birds fleeing from a savahnna stalker. 30 mintues of frantically wandering around alone, lost in the Castro (which by all counts should feel like a 2nd home), I was able to regroup with Rubin; however, the rest were lost.

Rubin and I then ever so slowly made our way through the following checkpoints, impeded by an ever widening gap in transportation times, and a growing fatigue and sense of desperation. We finally made our way to the bonfire with our offering of wood and enjoyed the rest of the evening with fire, poi, merriment, conversations, and music. I have yet to remove from my soul the primal urge to notice all things purple and to give flight at the faintest sound of a recorder flute. Nor have I quenched the deepset urge to comp(l)ete (tasks) for points. Thank you all.