varnished_truths | The Nexus Sages: Setting Info

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The Nexus

So you've fallen into the Nexus. Well, it looks like things are about to get a little weird for you. Firstly, grab a brochure like the sign says; it'll help immensely. You're going to want to know what the place is like.

Day and night are relative. Sometimes there does seem to be some semblance of a cycle, but you may be walking along at what appears to be 3pm when suddenly the sky blackens to the deep velvets of a clear midnight. Sometimes noon rewinds to dawn. Sometimes a beautiful summer day is covered with three feet of snow in minutes.

"Physics" is likewise a suggestion. Gravity is relative, up and down sometimes reverse, and portions of the landscape may move, appear, or disappear for no apparent reason. Or maybe a random crack appears in the ground, trapping your foot until someone comes along to help you out. Basically, anything can happen, so be careful.

Traveling in the Nexus is as straight-forward as traveling anywhere else, taking into account the shaky relationship with gravity and physics. Feet, hooves, bikes, and flying cars are just some of the options. Traveling to and from the Nexus is somewhat more complicated. While there are countless doors and portals scattered throughout the ever-changing space, they're neither always labeled or always available. Likewise, teleportation powered by science or magic might have some interesting results.

As a junction located between realities and connected to them all, the very nature of the Nexus is ever changing. Things perpetually fall through the cracks in their dimensions or are simply pulled into the Nexus and then sent back, an ever-changing patchwork of possibility. This ever changing landscape makes it a veritable paradise for those who love to explore, with new areas appearing and disappearing at any given moment.

There are however, a number of areas that are more-or-less set points, riding out the constantly shifting waves of relativity that perpetually change the Nexus' landscape.

The Forum

The Forum is the place where the all Nexus Residents first appear. They are dropped, walk, or simply pop into existence in front of the garish and blindingly bright sign you see above.
(It is generally agreed upon that this is a highly tacky first impression and many have tried to destroy it upon arriving. If demolished however, it always reappears again, a few feet from its last position, immaculate and as blindingly, garishly beautiful as before. You're more than welcome to try your hand at it though.)

The Forum is the place from which most Nexus activity spins. Here you'll find people milling about, conducting support groups, running kissing booths, taking naps, or even sunbathing. Over the years people have pulled up couches and chairs, set up coffee nooks, and reading corners, heck there are even a few beds in there. The point is, you'll be comfortable. Or if you'd like something even more relaxing, feel free to bring in your own furniture. Forums are traditionally a place of discussion, debate, and education: the generally accepted code of conduct in The Forum is to ask a question of the swirling masses or answer one someone else has asked. (Do try to be creative though, all variations of "Where am I?" and "How is this possible" have been done to death; people really have gotten rather sick of answering them. The Nexus Brochure was created for a reason.)

The Residential District

The Residential District is where the homes in the Nexus have been erected. Designed in dreams by the best architects from any given universe, homes here are as varied as pebbles on a beach. Accurate Transylvanian castles sit next to sprawling Grecian villas, which lie adjacent to ultra-modern low-rise condos. Whatever home you desire, it's a safe bet you'll find one here.

If you need a home, this would be the place to look. Many houses stand empty, ready to be claimed after their residents returned to their own universes, or having been built simply for the fun of it. If you want something a little more personalized though, there are surely those friendly Nexus Residents who would be more than happy to lend you a helping hand in building your dream home.

The Commercial District

The Commercial District is an area set up by enterprising Nexus denizens to make the most out of their stay. After all "money never sleeps," though in a place like the Nexus currency is a fluid concept. Rest assured however that most business owners are happy to accept any legal tender from the vast majority of universes.

If you're lucky, you may even find a Currency Exchange that'll help you convert your Drachmas to Centaurian Units. But not every purchase can be paid for in cash: be prepared to barter.

Like all parts of the Nexus, the Commercial District is a mash-up of business locales from a variety of eras. At one end you may find a Victorian arcade lined with shops and roofed in glass, while at another may sit a ready-to-be-claimed honest-to-god shopping mall with the lights on and doors wide open, and yet another point may feature a shining anti-gravity shopping palace. The retail possibilities are endless.

While there are a myriad of vacant storefronts for you to choose from, you can bet that there are just as many businesses up and running. So if you're looking for that perfect sonic laser chainsaw whip, you'll most probably be able to find it.

The Parklands

The Parklands are a sprawling landscape of rolling greens, sparkling waters, and magnificent waterfalls. Boasting a selection of flora and fauna from every known and unknown universe, they are places of great beauty.

(Do be mindful of some of the more carnivorous plants though.)

In these serene fields it isn't unsual to see people enjoying picnics, flying kites, or even skinny dipping in one sparkling lake or another. Need to take a moment away from the hustle and bustle of Nexus life? The Parklands are the place to do it.

Anywhere

By now you should get the idea. The Nexus exists outside time and space, it is at once as large and as small as you need it to be. Ever-changing, the only constant here is that there are very few constants. Whatever your mind can conceive, the Nexus can and most probably will achieve.

With that in mind, should you wish to find a certain setting in which to partake in an adventure, the Nexus will happily provide. Need a seedy alley in which to smoke under a moody noir streetlight? There's probably one next to the giant gummy bear. Need a skyscraper to practice base jumping from? That's probably one next to the version of Mount Rushmore that's had Obama added to it.

Are you ready for an adventure? You had better be.
Welcome to the Nexus.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Edited 2015-08-22 18:04 (UTC)

The PINPoint is a small device. While the best-known format is one like a watch (and in fact can act as one, as well as a communicator to other PINPoints, a referral to the main PINPoint database of known universes (including ones that are marked as 'don't go there' due to exceptional dangers), and in some universes the ability to interface with cellular and wireless data networks if available), they are also known to be in the forms of cellular phones, pocket watches and a very large pen.

It works by generating a small stable wormhole using the natural properties of the Nexus itself, allowing inter-dimensional transport. A side-effect of those is what allows communication.

The database is located on a server hidden in the Nexus, and updates PINpoints automatically. The Interdicted universes require multiple confirmations to go there, as well as multiple to depart. The reason for the interdictions are usually something endemic and extremely dangerous, such as plagues, biological events, zombies, and a parallel universe where Ed Wood is considered the greatest filmmaker of all time (thus the entire planet is considered dangerously insane).

Other worlds can be reached by entering coordinates, and an inbuilt sensor determines the bearer's Curtiss resonance, so they can always go 'home' to their home universe (which if it it not known, is added to the database).

There are no limits, although random dimension-hopping may in fact put you somewhere you cannot survive in due to difference in the laws of physics, landing in a volcano, or (if you have a shellfish allergy) a bad misnumbering landing you in the Dimension of Shrimp.

(Explanation courtesy of Dr. Eiko Takashima (

gadgetqueen); PINpoints were originally invented by Alpha Aspect (

alpha_aspect) and based off the work of Dr. Totenkopf.)

Edited 2015-09-24 18:49 (UTC)

The Nexus is what I like to call a "dressing room plus". There are no applications or activity checks. The ongoing plots are player-driven and dynamic. Come by when you can, bring who you like, and take a break when you need to. We'll be here when you get back... but we can't promise what "here" will be.

Edited 2016-01-06 23:44 (UTC)

The Nexus Sages: Setting Info

(frozen comment) Credit where it's due

(frozen comment) PINpoints

(frozen comment) OOC