Locations

[allthescience]

LOCATIONS

Central City

An enormous city of steel structures and gleaming floors. One would be hard-pressed to call this place beautiful, but as far as functionality goes, it does what it was meant to do. There is no sky; it appears to be located in an enormous cavern of dark stone, illuminated by a large flood light fixed to the ceiling meant to simulate the light of the sun. It dims to a moonlight setting at 8:00 p.m. sharp, and gradually grows back to brightness between 6:00 a.m. and 7:00 a.m. The streets are spotted with lamps, and in the deeper parts of the cave, one can see lumiscent ores that radiate a soft yellow glow.

The main spread of the city lies in the center, where most people gather to trade, live, and rest. Here one can find restaurants, small shops, a branch of the Peacekeeper Headquarters, a job board, and several sturdy (if starkly decorated) apartment buildings. It costs nothing to stay here, whether the lodging is temporary or permanent. There's a currency exchange stall where travelers can trade in their cash for the preferred currency of other worlds. Someone seems to have tried to add a little greenery and life to the area, as there are flower planters and hangers here and there. But further investigation reveals that the plants are plastic, and the flowers are silk.

Finally, to the north is the biggest building, where the ambassadors from different worlds meet, form treaties, and set up trade routes. As more and more worlds become aligned, the busier this location becomes. There are four floors to this enormous place, which is fitted with several conference rooms designed to accommodate even large-sized ambassadors. Those who are still too large can either send a proxy with a recording device to transmit messages to and from the ambassador, or they can see Kit Walker in the tech department about being temporarily shrunken. ...It's usually temporary.

In order to travel to and from other worlds and realities, there are rail cars extending over the vast ravines separating the main "island" from the others. Instead of swinging doors, there are large circular pads for one or several people to stand on, with a terminal to type in your destination. After entering your destination, a picture of the world will appear (or several) with the words 'CONFIRM?' to let you touch whichever picture best matches your intended location. After selecting the picture, teleportation takes place in exactly ten seconds. Unless you're wearing your scarf, you will not be able to transfer yourself to any other reality.

Troublemakers, be warned. Any acts of violence will immediately bring out the automated security force: floating machines that will shoot at you with lasers. A first offense will receive the stun setting, but if this becomes habit, the attacks will be far harsher, possibly even lethal. There is zero tolerance for murder and mayhem in Central; it is neutral ground, and all who enter here are expected to respect it as such.