adstring_npc | Project Side

The Truce

Once the members of the United Universe Project--a team of scientists who sought to combine worlds and take control of time--they're refugees, forced out of their home in the Inner City, to take to the tunnels beneath, an area known simply as the "Underground", a place where the Animus seem unable to reach....

But it wasn't like this at first. Initially, they were in control, were the ones with a plan. For all the spirits' disruption, there was hope that things would be fixed. Despite the mistrust and anger between the natives, and those pulled from their own worlds into the city, expectations were high. Patience was sought. Occasional connections were made between the new residence, and the scientists who were just as trapped.

But nothing improved. Nothing was fixed, and as time went on, impatience grew, and a raid on the Inner City was organized. Though some information was obtained, deaths were had on all sides.

This naturally deepened the mistrust between the scientists and the interlopers.

But it remained that the people locked up within the Inner City were still the best chance at a way home. A meeting eventually took place between parties. Suspicions were high, questions were asked, and surprisingly no one was killed.

And with that, the situation mellowed. If nothing was solved, nothing was provoked either. Yet any ideas about working closer together faded into obscurity.

So when a deeper silence came, it arrived without notice, barely casting a ripple over the surface of the city's function. By now, people had settled in. Many still had the hope of returning home, but years had passed--survival takes priority, and when no one's telling you they're working on it... it's easy to get lost in the day-to-day life. To form attachments to those trapped with you. It's hard to focus on escape without having an avenue to search in.

And when the silence went too long, another "visit" was planned. Instead of soldiers and science, a fallen city was lay in their place. Unguarded by humans, a few robotic dinosaurs were all that remained, performing their final functions, protecting a missing population.

But what happened to the scientists?

The Fall of the Inner City

The main belief among the city's researchers was that the Animus were the serious threat, the thing keeping them from sorting out what they'd done to time. They needed to be controlled. Destroyed. Most people, including the majority of the higher-ups, supported this venture, if with differing motivations. With their machines, they locked up a small fragment of the gods, tied it to an unremarkable building within the Inner City. What they had hoped to control ended up being something barely contained; anyone who entered the building went mad. Instead of learning how to destroy them a bit at a time, they'd given the gods a constant access point to their world. Instead of being limited to bi-monthly effects, everything in that space was under their influence. The building was locked up, the information covered up. Security covered a derelict room.

But as the Animus themselves stabilized, small fish peered under the crack of the door: the scientists were approached by the goddess called "Thalatte." The fish weren't always helpful, and they weren't always comprehensible, but for the first time a single Animus was identifiable. And more importantly--could be bargained with. The clearest effect of this new relationship, was that those who "befriended" part of Thalatte had some protection from events. And when a school of fish gathered, those who'd suffered death penalties had them reduced or eliminated.

This led to a growing number of supporters for allying themselves with the Animus, potentially working together to fix the instability of the world. It remains unknown whether this is even possible--as the "traitors" were assaulted and put down by those who still mistrusted the spirits. The conflict went poorly for both sides. Although those who hated the Animus had greater numbers, the spirits took the fighting as a betrayal, and entered the Inner City in greater numbers.

It was obvious then, that the Animus were no longer contained by that small building they had possessed. Thalatte had been welcomed into the Inner City by some, her very presence corrupting, tearing at the barrier between the spirit world and the material. The entire area was claimed, not only by her, but by the others.

Although those who supported the Animus were wiped out--either by the other humans, or by disgruntled spirit--the remaining scientists were not in a good position. Anyone on the surface died, was struck down again and again by enraged gods. The scientists were the ones to blame for their predicament, for their unwilling network of minds. Not only that, they'd tried to confine and kill them, had squabbled instead of helped.

With no forgiveness in sight, there was only flight--but where? It was desperation that led them to shelter within the network of tunnels underneath the city. Some were natural, built by a species of giant ants that were likewise native to the planet, and oddly unaffected by all the chaos on the surface of the earth. Other paths were ones the scientists had created, partially for storage, partially for an emergency situation such as the one they had. Perhaps under the ground they would be harder to find. It was not an organized retreat; they ran to the only place left to go.

It was only after being forced to settle there that they discovered the area had another important aspect: the Animus could not reach it.

The Underground
The underground is strange. Unlike the surface of the world, it's had little contact with the Animus, and has remained unchanged. While underground, events do not occur. Penalties for previous deaths are no longer in effect, but anyone who dies there dies permanently. This was new information for the scientists, as the areas directly connecting it to the streets above were much the same as the rest of the planet. Deeper into them, however, the paths became "purer", and the exiled group was safe.

This has led to the idea that the Animus need to have touched a place to control it. Above ground, the world is fully influenced. Even if the spirits can't fully manifest, they can effect it, curl about the borders and change it. Beneath the surface, the earth is unclaimed. There's little air circulation, and the Animus apparently don't much like going through too many layers of dirt and rock. The exact cause is unknown, but: the underground is "safe" from them.

The problem soon became obvious: people need to breathe. They need light, they need food, they need water. Underground springs provide the latter, but the rest was in somewhat short supply. By necessity, some paths to the surface have been allowed open, and though the air is filtered to the rest of the community (the scientists do have some means to weaken the Animus, though it's more like wiping the blood away from a wound, rather than closing it), the points of entry become influenced over time, and eventually must be collapsed.

They have stores of food (mostly dried), but everything is strictly rationed, and the overall health of the population has deteriorated. Small expeditions to the surface happen at irregular times (using tunnels connected to parts of the Wasteland, so whether a particular path is open or safe is extremely variable), to replenish supplies, and to get what sunlight they can. Finding anything useful is a matter of luck, and the distortion caused by the Wasteland isn't perfect. Stay too long, and the Animus notice.

It's just a matter of time before the situation becomes critical.