Posted by AJ_89 December 17th 2022, 6:10pm
The flurry started like any other, a light trickle of fluff floating diagonally to dust the tops of buildings and street signs. As the hours passed, it slowly picked up, leaving a coating on the sidewalks that the bots quickly got to work clearing. Some would even notice the stray mistletoe, the weird once-in-the-while phenomenon that came with the snow.
Then the snowflakes clumped together, falling more and more densely until eventually the weight of them blocked out the landscape, making the world unrecognizable as anything more than a grey-white void.
Step City quickly became hazardous, the visibility so low that alerts—both automated and those sent by concerned community leaders—urged steppers to stay inside. The streets would have been a complete deathtrap were cars the norm, but the trams and skytrains continued to run dutifully, if slowed, while bots worked around the clock to keep the tracks cleared and the vital vein of transportation barely running. Those trapped on public transportation were kept warm, but those lost outside would do best to find shelter—somewhere--anywhere.
...
The void was disorienting oppressive now. Sense of direction completely lost, even for those pressed up under the overhangs of buildings. Were you getting closer or further to safety? The edges of buildings became unclear. Apartments that were supposed to end in a door on one side, didn’t. Changing direction caused more uncertainty. Shapes became confusing. It was best just to find a doorway and hunker.
But eventually, the snow let up. At least enough that visibility improved, but a very thick blanket still made travel on foot difficult, at least until the bots made it to you (several were visible waylaid themselves, trapped under heavy snowdrifts, heads just visible; hopefully they’d thaw out).
And the City was left looking Unfamiliar. At first just the blanket of white making familiar landmarks a little more difficult to pick out—until, upon closer inspection, realizing you were on the wrong side of where you let them. Or... Finding that street corners met at confusing angles, and buildings were suddenly opposite of where they should be.
---
The entire island’s been flipped! A perfect mirror; east is west, the Aqualux replaced with the Xulauqa, the ocean that was now on your right is now on your left. Anyone inside when the snowstorm hit wouldn’t immediately notice anything amiss, but upon exiting buildings and turning around, they’ll find the inside of buildings similarly reversed. This seems to be purely physical, and although colours haven’t also been reversed, there’s bound to be just a bit of panic from people thinking they somehow got transported to the Wrong Side.
The flurry started like any other, a light trickle of fluff floating diagonally to dust the tops of buildings and street signs. As the hours passed, it slowly picked up, leaving a coating on the sidewalks that the bots quickly got to work clearing. Some would even notice the stray mistletoe, the weird once-in-the-while phenomenon that came with the snow.
Then the snowflakes clumped together, falling more and more densely until eventually the weight of them blocked out the landscape, making the world unrecognizable as anything more than a grey-white void.
Step City quickly became hazardous, the visibility so low that alerts—both automated and those sent by concerned community leaders—urged steppers to stay inside. The streets would have been a complete deathtrap were cars the norm, but the trams and skytrains continued to run dutifully, if slowed, while bots worked around the clock to keep the tracks cleared and the vital vein of transportation barely running. Those trapped on public transportation were kept warm, but those lost outside would do best to find shelter—somewhere--anywhere.
...
The void was disorienting oppressive now. Sense of direction completely lost, even for those pressed up under the overhangs of buildings. Were you getting closer or further to safety? The edges of buildings became unclear. Apartments that were supposed to end in a door on one side, didn’t. Changing direction caused more uncertainty. Shapes became confusing. It was best just to find a doorway and hunker.
But eventually, the snow let up. At least enough that visibility improved, but a very thick blanket still made travel on foot difficult, at least until the bots made it to you (several were visible waylaid themselves, trapped under heavy snowdrifts, heads just visible; hopefully they’d thaw out).
And the City was left looking Unfamiliar. At first just the blanket of white making familiar landmarks a little more difficult to pick out—until, upon closer inspection, realizing you were on the wrong side of where you let them. Or... Finding that street corners met at confusing angles, and buildings were suddenly opposite of where they should be.
---
The entire island’s been flipped! A perfect mirror; east is west, the Aqualux replaced with the Xulauqa, the ocean that was now on your right is now on your left. Anyone inside when the snowstorm hit wouldn’t immediately notice anything amiss, but upon exiting buildings and turning around, they’ll find the inside of buildings similarly reversed. This seems to be purely physical, and although colours haven’t also been reversed, there’s bound to be just a bit of panic from people thinking they somehow got transported to the Wrong Side.
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