City Guide (A Briefing on Topics of General Concern)
A Briefing on Topics of General Concern
ABILITIES
The City appears to damper the abilities of many who enter it. While powers that a citizen had in their home world typically survive the transition into the City, they are often notably weaker. Powers that allow individuals to teleport will not help them escape from the City.
BARRIERS
Throwing oneself bodily at the barriers surrounding the City does not result in the successful penetration of said barrier. The effectiveness of this approach is not appreciably enhanced by the number of people attacking the barrier, and the nuances of the barrier are being studied rather intensively.
CITY DEAD
This noun (and adjective) refers to the inhabitants of the City who are, for whatever reason, deceased. Anyone who enters the City after dying in their native world will be one of the City Dead, and all who revive after dying within the City are rendered City Dead (with the exception of some curse deaths).
The City Dead are not noticeably different from those who are alive. They are capable of healing from injuries, metabolizing food and drink, and breathing. Eating, drinking, and breathing do not, however, appear to be necessary. Their body temperature is appreciably lower than that of a living being, their hearts don’t beat, and their blood flows rather sluggishly without the heart’s propulsion.
It is possible for the City Dead to die again.
CURSES
As a rule, curses are temporary alterations to body, mind, or location that last for twenty-four hours. Not all curses terminate at midnight, however, and some continue unabated for several days.
Certain curses may result in a false death. That is, a citizen who expires in the duration of a curse may find his or herself fully alive when the curse ends.
There is no known way to avoid curses. They are, at this time, considered random, although this is being researched.
DEATH (see CITY DEAD)
If a living person dies within the City, there is a chance that they will return. Once they have revived, however, they are rendered “City Dead” and are incapable of returning to their home world. Some are resurrected with whole, unharmed bodies, while others return sporting whatever injuries resulted in their demise.
If a person was dead in their home world, they will be City Dead upon entering the City.
There is a cemetery within the City, and there are bodies within this cemetery. Presumably, those who die in the City and fail to return are buried here.
DEITIES
In short, the deities are the powers that appear to govern the City. The deities will grant requests (provided something suitable is surrendered), punish individual citizens or the populace as a whole for disobedience or bad behavior, and influence the affairs of citizens as they see fit. The deities are by no means permanent, and they have a tendency to come and go with fair regularity.
Questioning the deities on the nature of the City will provide little to no viable information. There is speculation that not even they fully understand the inner mechanisms of the City.
The deities hear and read more than citizens might care to think. Be cautious when making disparaging remarks.
The deities appear to operate as a loose sort of bureaucracy.
There are higher powers than the deities. As one deity said: “I am not as high as one can go in this hierarchy.” In May of 2009, the City was visited by two beings who appear to be superior to the deities. This was not the first time such beings have appeared, and will likely not be the last.
There appears to be an agency that deploys the City’s deities. The deities have referred to it only as “headquarters.” It is likely that this is where their superiors are, and equally likely that it lies well outside the bounds of the City’s barrier.
ESSENTIALS
Children and young adults are provided with free room and board. There appears to be a cut-off point between the ages of sixteen and eighteen, although the precise time at which the City's benefits for the youth terminate has yet to be pinpointed.
Living quarters are not assigned. Open apartments are considered fair game, and a number of other buildings within the City (the cathedral and the opera house, to name two) are occupied by citizens. A monthly rent is charged for apartments.
Working is necessary to earn money. Employment can be found at any of the numerous shops, eateries, and so on in the City’s central area. If you are seeking employment, posting an inquiry on the network will generally yield favourable results.
EXITS
Exits do not have a uniform appearance, and seldom appear when they are most wanted. As of now, it seems that exits to native worlds cannot be conjured at will. For more extensive speculation on this topic, refer to these notes, if you would.
HALL OF THE MISSING
This rather imposing building lies within the City’s central area. Portraits of those who have exited the City may be found in the Hall of the Missing, making it an important record-keeper in its own right. Should someone you know go missing, do check the Hall to see if they have gone to their home world.
HOSPITAL
The hospital is located in the City center. It is maintained by a number of capable workers, doctors, and nurses. Please-if you find yourself or a friend injured, seek medical attention. Death may not always be permanent in the City, but that is no reason to take personal welfare lightly.
LAWS AND CONDUCT
The City does not have a codified set of laws in spite of the presence of a police force. Please utilize common sense; actions that would not be permissible in most worlds likely remain so here. The police force may arrest citizens who pose a threat to the populace at their discretion, and vigilantism is alive and well within the City.
Vampires and other citizens who rely upon blood as sustenance are highly discouraged from murdering others (and may very well be imprisoned should they choose to do so). Blood may be acquired from any number of sources, including eateries in the Underground and at the hospital.
NETWORK, THE
The network refers to the virtual community in the City-that is, the various interactions that occur via typed entries or video or audio feeds. Every citizen is provided with a means of accessing the network upon arrival.
Citizens may post to the network at any time they wish, although the devices that permit network access have a nasty habit of turning themselves on at the most inconvenient of times.
It is possible to use coding to send messages to selective groups or to hide messages altogether. Please note that not all codes are secure, and none may deter the deities.
MEMORY
Frequently, those who leave the City return with little to no memory of their previous stay. In isolated cases, memories can be recovered in time.
Memory may be temporarily altered by curses or other Citywide events.
MONETARY UNITS
The City has a standardized monetary system based upon a colourful set of coins that ranges from red to indigo. Reds are the least valuable, and indigo the most. This holds true within the City, but the value placed on items and services is highly variable and dependent upon the individuals involved in transactions.
RETURNING HOME
There is, at this moment, no proven way to return home at will, although there are rumours that such a feat is possible.
Citizens typically return home unexpectedly and without warning. When they are not present in the City, their pictures may be found in the Hall of the Missing.
I will offer what I believe is a truism, based on past trends: The harder you try to escape, the more elusive ways home become.
TICKING
Upon arrival, most note the constant ticking. This sound is, presumably, emanating from the clock beneath the carousel, although the perceived volume of the ticking does not appear to coincide with one's proximity to the clock.
To lessen the noise, avoid isolation. Flat mates or a pet (even a creature as simple as a fish) will damper the ticking’s volume. Both can generally be found via the network.
Thus far, there appear to be no permanent negative effects resulting from continuous exposure to the ticking, although the sound can be rather maddening.
TIME
Time within the City is not necessarily synchronized with the time in other worlds.
The City operates on a standard system of twenty-four hour days, with seven days in each week. The perception of the passage of time is prone to fluctuation.