LEVEL ID #009

【 Level 008 〈〈〔 Level 009 〕〉〉 Level 010 】

SAFETY: Unsafe
STABILITY: Unstable
GEOMETRY: Non-Euclidean

DANGER LEVEL: High

HAZARDS:
- Environmental
- Structural Instability
- Life-Form Dangers

Surreality: 3	Nostalgia Factor: 5	Population: 0
Chaos Integrity: 15

Level 009 is the ninth Level one will come across upon exiting Level 000.

Overview

Overview

Level 009 is the only other sibling Level to Level 007, and takes the appearance of a seemingly never-ending suburban landscape, coated in an opaque, impenetrable fog obscuring one’s view. Homes varying in size; design; interior and a variety of other features and details litter the townscape, the landscape itself can be in certain portions quite rugged, or in others more horizontal and unbroken, the latter effortlessly being in the majority, leaving the mural mostly flat.

The safest and easiest way to traverse Level 009 is to follow along the road system, perpetual and stretching over the entirety in plentitude. The layout of these streets can be quite complex and nonsensical, following no habitual archetype through the serenitude. Instead of grid-like patterns encompassing the countryside, arbitrary roads lead in a variety of ways, with actual conjunctions being rare at best. Due to the fog's high density, it’s quite difficult to find your way through the mist.

Sources of illumination along the Level's road are rare, to say the least. Most of the time the fog encompasses and absorbs the streets, not a single sight breaking the equability. Only rarely do streetlights line the streetscape, yet most of the time they remain absent. Their light emanates like a sharp knife cutting through the fog. It’s quite interesting to note that these street lights do not need to be powered by Level 003, and function all on their own.

While traversing through the Level's road system, one will most likely notice the abundance of suburban homes. Lining the streets one after the other, spanning into the faraway horizon, remotely beyond one's field of vision. The layout of the fog-painted suburban systems is nigh unpredictable due to this, it’s profoundly advised to have a clear direction to follow, when journeying through the countryside, to avoid getting lost.

The architectural styles of these houses may fluctuate between different periods. While the common, American, suburbs dominate the arcadian, there are veritably various architectonic acreages. Few differentiate massively from the norm, yet those who do, break the fog like pylons. Emerging from identicalness, and breaking the tedium, is certainly a unique sight. Like waking up from a favorite worst nightmare, somehow direful yet the perfect scene.

Often among the irregularities are medieval, European homes, often similar to that of Altstädte, yet it doesn’t indubitably end there, as the Complex often also clenches after long abandoned huts, barely resembling the common. A variety of different architectural styles are also present, but most aren’t as present as others.

The house interior usually corresponds with that of its reciprocal architectural style. A small, suburban home most likely also has the same furniture and design as those similar to the period it originally commenced from. However, this isn’t always the case, interior design regularly also gets misfielded with no regard for array or technological progress to replace.

Often homes, especially from more modernized periods, possess a garage, or in some rare cases even multiple. These garages are usually placed uncomfortably and irritatingly into the side of the building, generally having their interior entrance door placed in packed and cramped rooms, sticking out from the habitual atmosphere. Very rarely, multiple different garages exist in the same-sized home, removing the usefulness of the day-to-day home. Most such houses also don’t possess any front door, making them nigh impossible to enter, as most garages remain locked with no key. Yet, most of the time these garages are limited to a certain degree.

Similar to the garages, attics can also be quite commonly found within these households. Sometimes it is accessible via ladder, staircase, or rarely also fallen bricks from a nearby wall. Other times these attics are nearly impossible to reach, as ladders or stairs are entirely missing, reducing the attic entrance to just a hole in the ceiling, impossible to grasp.

The attics themselves are rather empty, lacking most furniture appliances, and are overall rather barren in appearance. Often being limited to a few chairs, regularly being broken, its wood snapped into pieces. Most of the time these attics also lack windows, reducing illumination within these attics to absolute zero, and requiring a light source, to traverse these tight, dull attics effectively. Shadows absorb the luminous. Shrouded in the numinous.

Frequently, basements can also be found below homes within the suburbanscape. Similar to the attics found throughout, these are likewise shrouded in shadows, lacking any illumination. Regularly these basements also appear to be overgrown by plant life, vegetation breaking through the concrete and stone. A lot of the time these basements can also be quite damp, with puddles of water condensing on the floor, a small plashet. Graffiti can also be found frequently on the cold walls of this place, yet most of the time it’s entirely in gibberish or nonsensical, with seemingly random words aligned in ridiculous patterns.

Granting all this, sometimes these homes may be clustered very closely together, forming a bevy of houses, occasionally even clipping into one another in weird and unnatural ways. These house clusters aren’t semi-occasional either, being able to be found multiple times on even just a single street.

Due to the unnatural nature of these house clusters, entering one might not always be effortless or undemanding. Overlapping bottom structures might obstruct and hinder one from entering these clusters. Sometimes the fundamental house might also be embedded into the ground at an unnatural angle, clipping into the unrenowned ground. The entrance was raised high above the ground, ineffectual from use. Regularly ignorant of the common laws of gravity or even geometry, hidden folders tool tipping the dirt.

While entrance might be difficult, or in some cases nigh impossible, these house clusters can provide a certain sense of security and exclusion from the outside. Although the house cluster in question may have some of its furniture tipped over, especially in cases of perplexing geometry, these appliances may lay scattered in some forlorn corner, unscathed in perpetuity from the external.

Level 009's house clusters are just as much of a mess to navigate from the inside, as from the outside. Regularly requiring one to duck, or even crawl in certain areas, it’s also quite possible that one might get stuck while navigating the everyday rotunda.

The entirety of the countryside is covered by a thick blanket of mist, obscuring one’s line of sight into the far unknown. The looming uncharted leaping in front of one’s view, yet remaining in its solid desolation. The sky lacks any sort of astronomical object to pierce the emptiness. The empyrean is stuck in an eternal state of dawn, never shifting or changing. The temperature of the suburbs is slightly algid, not below freezing, yet cold enough to require a jacket to effectively carry on. The wind is also relatively calm, with strong breezes being uncommon. Most of the time the suburbanscape is trapped in eerie silence, created from the absence of these gusts. Not a single gale cracking the reticence.

Rarely, large marshlands can be found between these suburban areas. Large fields of grass span across the perimeter, far beyond the horizon. Although, occasionally these marshlands can also be quite small, only covering the area of a few buildings, being easily manageable. The dirt of these bogs is also very damp and mud-like, sometimes enough so that one might lose a boot or a shoe while traversing due to it getting stuck in the mud.

Inclines and declines in the landscape are also quite common, sometimes forming even entire hills. These hills aren’t only formed in marshlands, but also quite commonly within the middle of the suburbs itself, giving the rural area a weird look. Sometimes these can make asphalt streets being placed in such steep declines that they would pose a threat to anyone descending. This is further reinforced by the moistness of these roads, making it quite easy to trip and fall, if one weren't careful.

Regular vegetation and flora can surprisingly be found quite often within the rural countryside. Trees are quite common to propagate next to the streetside, or in the lower basements of these suburban homes. Trimmed bushes are just as common as most trees, yet just like the rest of the flora here, they seem to never grow out further than their current state, meaning that these bushes remain trimmed forever until further notice. These trees aren’t a part of any known species, and from the outside appear to be similar to those of Level 001, despite there being no direct connection between the two Levels.

Playgrounds may be occasionally found while traversing the suburbanscape, being tucked away somewhere far from where the eye can see, regularly between two homes. Similar to most soil here, the sand within the sandboxes found within these playgrounds is just as humid. Recreational equipment is rare to come across, but not impossible, which usually consists of seesaws, slides, swings, roundabouts, and chin-up bars among others. Broken tools such as plastic shovels and spades can also be occasionally found, but are worn down beyond regular usage.

Occasionally, manholes lining the sides of certain streets can be found. Their lids are usually difficult to open, especially without the help of appropriate tools, often being hard to even grasp. However, it is further discouraged to descend these manholes, as they often cease in dead ends. This can be a deadly combination, considering that ladders leading down are often incredibly rusty, and may easily fall. Other times a ladder may not even be present, or the manhole may be entirely overgrown.