Wonderland - Jags
Wonderland - Jags
Wonderland - Jags
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andomness without any help from the visitor’s Id.<br />
The Weather<br />
Atmospherically, Chessboard Two is usually in some sort of storm. High<br />
winds, threatening clouds, and rolling thunder are all common weather<br />
phenomena. There is some evidence that weather gets worse in areas<br />
where there are punctures in the fabric (so that when a person arrives it<br />
may seem calm but a storm may come with frightening speed).<br />
There is also evidence that the weather is part of the semiotic web that<br />
makes implied things actual: the weather may be linked to the general<br />
threat-level, people’s emotional state, or be a literal omen of things to<br />
come.<br />
Inner Meanings Revealed<br />
The works of mankind, when translated to Chessboard Two, become<br />
manifest conceptuality. What this means is that things and places are<br />
often very blunt and obvious about what their deeper role in society is.<br />
A prison might consist of cages (many empty, some holding filthy,<br />
broken, raving people) and collections of massive stone wheels fitted to<br />
rusting engines to which the prisoners are fitted to be “ground down”<br />
(partially crushed—but usually not to death) and made to conform.<br />
A HMO doctor’s office (now, deserted and rubble strewn) might be set<br />
up as a drive-thru fast food place with a broken conveyor belt and two<br />
windows (one to “pay at” and one to “diagnose” at).<br />
Security<br />
Although it was mentioned above, it bears repeating (and it’ll be<br />
mentioned again): places that are hard to get into and out of on<br />
Chessboard Zero are still hard to get into and out of on Chessboard<br />
Two—just (usually) for different reasons.<br />
Shadows aren’t especially good guards (and if you sneak past a Shadow<br />
the real person on Chessboard Zero will miss you as well). But usually,<br />
on Chessboard Two there are things that make it hard to move freely.<br />
Doors that might be “normal” on Chessboard Zero may be heavy and<br />
multiply locked on Chessboard Two. Hallways may be filled with debris<br />
or even coils of barbwire.<br />
Power And Light<br />
No one on Chessboard Two pays their electric bill. Lights still function,<br />
TVs display gruesome images and static. Traffic lights work randomly.<br />
Computers link to web pages that don’t exist.<br />
Society<br />
The Sane Zones that are inhabited are like Chessboard One: Shadows<br />
come and go (although there is still a sense of storm and loss and decay<br />
and filth). Most places on Chessboard Two don’t really have much<br />
139<br />
Deeper Mysteries - Chessboards