Wonderland - Jags

Deeper Mysteries - Overview
The World is Insane On
Chessboard One
Chessboard One is a lot like the
real world: the architecture is the
same, there are plenty of people
(even if they’re given to acting
strangely). You can use the phone,
drive a car, order a pizza: all of
that.
But it isn’t the same if you look
closely and in the right places.
Mirrors are often doorways
that lead down to lower levels
of reality. This isn’t consistent
(indeed, when you are most
looking for proof something is
wrong with the world it may
seem the most normal)—and
it may happen when you least
want it to—but it’s common
enough that the Underground
warns its members to not to look
into mirrors during an Episode.
Something unnatural might look
back.
Writing and signs often change
to be more “honest.” Slogans
are blatant, bald sales attempts.
Advertising is un-ironically
honest. An inter-office memo on
Chessboard One might say what
the author really means.
TV looks normal at first too—but
if you watch it, it’s like the
people on the screen are talking
to you. You may also get very,
very disturbing channels from
‘elsewhere.’ Watching for too
long can be a trap that draws you
further down too. Web sites may
seem subtly different as well and
there may be addresses that don’t
exist in the normal world (or
always seem to be down). You
have to be careful: being curious
often draws you deeper.
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down the rabbit hole. It’s the network of passages and back-alleys and
winding corridors and stairs that exists behind mirrors. It usually isn’t a
destination as such, but an in-between elsewhere that people go (or are
sucked) through on the way to the lower Chessboards (if you descend
to Chessboard Three or below you will go through the Linear Maze
for at least a few microseconds). NOTE: it is called the Linear Maze
because of its in-between relationship to chessboards (i.e. the lines) and
is, in actuality, a maze—a very complex multi-dimensional topology.
The paradoxical term for it is both descriptive and very fitting for
Wonderland.
Controlled Descent (Through the Looking Glass)
Often a really deep episode will begin with a “doorway” opening. When
this happens, if the character goes down (crawling through the looking
glass) the chances of Notice are often a good deal lower. The character
may find themselves in the “Linear Maze” (see the section on it),
which leads them between the chessboards. If the character avoids any
mysterious openings, they may fall, going into Uncontrolled Descent.
Mirror surfaces turn into gray fog and you can crawl into a twisted
version of the room. Paintings open up with deep perspective or new
doors or grates or stairways appear where they weren’t before. Maybe
there are new buttons on the elevator?
When you begin the Descent you are in what is called The Linear Maze:
it is the foundation of the world—the “lines between the squares” of the
chessboards, the Mirror Works (tunnels and halls and alleys behind all
mirrors) and it is created by the Department of Works—the machines
that “run the universe” on Chessboard Seven.
What it’s like varies a lot. In some cases it is halls of a great mansion
or vast stone bridges and staircases. In other cases it is back alleys with
dim flickering lights or even gas-lamps. In still other cases it is like a
funhouse mirror-maze or abandoned steam pipes or underground water
works.
There are often passages from which one cannot go back and there
may be many changes in perspective and proportion. The tiny door
and the bottle labeled “Drink Me” is something one would find in the
Linear Maze (note: the term is an oxymoron—but while some people do
manage to “get lost” mostly a trip through the linear maze is short and to
the point—when you exit it, you are in Wonderland).
When you re-enter it (which is often done through many doors that are
found on the lower levels—doors the locals do not take) you usually
return near where you were, stepping out onto Chessboard One and then
immediately, or very quickly, ascending to Chessboard Zero.
People who are experienced with Descent and are not polluted by the
conservative fear of the Underground’s Support Groups tend to think that