04.05.2013 Views

Wonderland - Jags

Wonderland - Jags

Wonderland - Jags

SHOW MORE
SHOW LESS

Create successful ePaper yourself

Turn your PDF publications into a flip-book with our unique Google optimized e-Paper software.

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

Hooray! Your file is uploaded and ready to be published.

Saved successfully!

Ooh no, something went wrong!