So—here’s a glimpse of how it went down. Each link will take you to a picture in a Photobucket album. You can just go there and look if you want, but this is the story version, illustrated.
At the top of the designated hour, the first arrivals drank the potion, and the first transformations occurred. They then posted in the top question on the main page.
In less than ten minutes, @davidbetterman wanted to know what was up. Responses followed immediately and attracted more attention. Here you can see @Pseudonym right in the act of going from one avatar to another, joining in spontaneously. As the mania spread, I took a snapshot of my own fluther, with 20 AstroChucks already in the picture. The total number out there was already much higher. @Fyrius was into the spirit, but in disguise, you’ll notice.
Right around then, I saw that @KatawaGrey had crossed over into 10k land. Enthusiastically I posted a welcome question for her. By then not only were the woods thick with AC clones but the community feed was telling the story. Several people clued me quickly that my Q was a duplicate, alas, and so I flagged it for the mods, hoping they wouldn’t actually look at the question.
Back at the “Hey” thread, things were picking up speed. Almost as fast, the Dutch led a revolt.
Meanwhile, @susanc also got curious about a strange phenomenon she thought she was perceiving. Naturally people assured her that she was seeing things. This question didn’t last very long; I guess it was a duplicate.
At last the hoped-for moment arrived: the real AstroChuck showed up! He seemed a little surprised. @J0E greeted him with a shout. Moments later, AC’s avatar went generic! On the heels of that event, the Dutch revolutionary leader invoked the Borg with this image. @Wilma suddenly felt exposed There seemed to be some link between this train of thought and a question by AC.
About that time, AC fought back by uploading a new avatar. Quick as a wink, the fleet-fingered @Fyrius followed in hot pursuit.
And then—a mod showed up.
Dressed to kill.
By this time it was getting late. The clock had almost run down. I took a last capture of my fluther, counting 25 players (not overlooking the two who’d grabbed hold of the baby picture!), knowing that the actual number was way higher and probably at least double that.
And then it was time to end the game. We swallowed the antidote, and the reversing potion took effect. Here in this one last glimpse you can see @janbb in disguise at the top and then, at the bottom, safely restored to her old self, as, on all sides, the illusion fades and all is quiet once more.
