TheNexusProject/TheTunnelz
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The Tunnelz
- "Youse don't think I'm gonna wait here all day ,do you? C'mon people, let's board, let's go, I gotta schedule to keep here..."
- - "Sal", one of the 5 "engineers" in the Tunnelz
The Nexus Authority for Underground Tunnel Transportation ("Tunnels" for short) has been moving people proudly for over 50 years; the sign out front states that fact most emphatically. The Tunnels run a level beneath the undercity proper in a circular course that has stations in every major district of the the Underground. Passengers pay a fare at boarding stations located throughout the Underground, and from a specially designed platform they board one of five personable "Engineers" that travel the course on a set schedule. The engineers are hollow, cylindrical worm-like creatures that allow passengers entry through what appears to be some sort of gill structure; passengers are seated on the inside on flat seats of stone. There is space for freight for an additional fare; merchants are known for using this relatively quick method of travel around Nexus.
The engineers are sentient, and prefer to be called by their chosen names. They each have their own distinct personalities: Sal (Gracious Salvia Blossoming) is brusque and to the point; Sonny (Kiss of the Sun on Verdant Fields) is charming, and loves to entertain his passengers with music hummed in his deep, gravelly voice; Marky (Summers Mark) tends to be violent and temperamental, but loves women; Donny (Hidden Jewel) is gentle and tends to be more patient than the others; and Cy (Shining Cyan Wind) is as vain as a enormous worm-creature can possibly be. They have handlers that are responsible for the upkeep of the stations and seeing that the needs of the engineers are taken care of.
The colloquial spelling of "Tunnelz" stems from the ritual defacing of the signs that say "This Way To The Tunnels". A local street gang, the " Tunnel Ratz", is largely responsible for this; it began as one of the initiations into their gang, and now it's just the norm. There were problems in the beginning between the gang and the handlers who kept removing the grafitti; eventually the handlers stopped caring and the spelling stuck. The engineers like it; they think the unique spelling gives them a contemporary air.
Rumours
- The Tunnel Ratz are the true masterminds behind the Tunnel network; they are actually a group of sorcerers who summoned and keep the engineers as servants.
- Marky can crush passengers individually who anger him. Note: Marky himself is responsible for this rumour
Secret
- The "engineers" are actually earth spirits that were assigned to protect and maintain the Nexus undercity long ago. Due to the current state of disrepair of the Celestial Bureaucracy, they've been providing transportation to the citizens of the Underground in exchange for money and offerings to appease them.
Comments
I love it! For some reason it puts me in mind of Ghostbusters; maybe it's the nicnames of the "engineers". -Okensha
