Wild West With Wurms

The Wild West was no picnic during the 1870’s. Settlers moving out West found this out the hard way. The West was made up of mostly desert and flat land which made life hard enough, but the real challenge came from dealing with Wurms.

Western deserts acted as vast oceans for Wurms the size of school buses to roam. These Wurms were mostly herbivores, eating the microorganisms and plant life that thrived deep underground, with only a few species of Wurm being carnivorous. Carnivorous Wurms would eat other smaller Wurms in addition to humans on occasion. Both types of Wurms were driving forces within the ecosystem of the Western Deserts. Wurms would leave entrances to their massive tunnel systems whenever they breached the surface to get air. These massive tunnels would lead deep underground where water was much more abundant. This access to water was very beneficial in the dry deserts of the West as all kinds of creatures would take the risk of  collapsing tunnels to get to water for drinking and breeding in the case of the desert amphibians. In addition to affecting underground ecosystems, the Wurms activity would displace large amounts of dirt above ground and highly active areas would become nearly uninhabitable due to this constant shifting of terrain.

The least active of the Wurm territories were where the settlers would establish their towns and forts. These places were stable enough to create long lasting structures, but they still required constant watch for incoming Wurms. In these communities, the occupation of Wurm Boy was an action packed and respected position. These brave men would be responsible for herding Wurms for defensive and productive purposes. If a Wurm was heading towards a town or settlement Wurm bois would herd it away by shooting the beasts from afar in order to protect the town from it’s earth disrupting tremors. In some cases Wurm Bois would herd Wurms into ambushes where large cannons mounted on carts would blast the beasts. A large Wurm could feed a town of settlers for at least a week.

Throughout the West, in places where Wurm activity was somewhat stable native americans  would live mostly nomadically. Tribes of natives would often have a communal Wurm that highly trained riders would use for hunting and defense. The native people’s bodies had different proportions than settlers. These differences included longer legs, short torsos, and webbed feet, traits like this helped them ride wurms and traverse tunnels. Nomadic tribes relied on the hunting of Wurms for most of their food. Like settlers they used the Wurms meat for food, but also utilized the Wurms body for things like clothes, tools, and housing. This reliance on Wurms sometimes lead to conflicts with settlers over Wurm hunting.

Time x Space: Ships

After the Earth became too hostile for human life, the entire race took shelter in massive ships. The ships had no windows as to protect passengers from harsh winds and weather. Inside the ship it was so secure that you could not feel any external forces. These enclosed worlds were headed by trained officials who could operate the vessel. In addition to operating the massive ships, these officials were given strict protocols on how to control the progression of time within these isolated environments. The protocols aimed for time to progress at a steady pace as it was very important for keeping things in order. Passengers were prohibited from isolating themselves and routines were put in place to keep time progressing and to keep everyone on the same timeline. Upkeep of clocks and other pace keeping devices were treated surgically as to leave no room for error.

Within these massive ships, most things were run by the government through their trained officials and protocols. Over time however, people figured out ways to work around the rules and manipulate their pace. Some would cover their eyes while guards weren’t looking in order to simulate isolation and slow down time, while others would make special concoctions that would zoom the consumer through time at a faster pace. Keeping track of a repetitive motion, such as  a ticking clock, was an easy way to keep time at a steady pace, but could also alter the pace of time if not calibrated correctly or tampered with.Despite measures to keep time under control, humans have trouble sticking to the rules, especially in large groups. Some captains wanted to suspend time while others wanted to speed up time. Captain’s recklessness combined with passengers ingenuity would ultimately lead to various manipulations of time within the ships.

Time manipulations caused Ships to take on very distinct qualities. One ship may move at a snail's pace where one day feels like 2 normally paced years and another ship could go through what feels like 2 years in an hour.These variations caused various deformities in their respective populations. The distortion of time within the ships made them extremely sensitive to any external force. Any indication of the natural day night cycle, could send and entire ship into dismay.

Tour Script for the Poddekit Tour of Oddities

“To an uneducated outsider, the city of Poddekit seems like an abandoned and run down shell of a once vibrant place, but fortunately for you, I Dr. JP Otamot know the secrets of this mysterious city! Today we will go through a tour of the city lost in time where we will see some of the many oddities that live in Poddekit.”

“The story of Poddekit is a very odd one. It was once a bustling city not unlike other large cities with lots of people walking around shopping and taking in the sights. Over time however, the city's inhabitants began to change. Some citizens heads became that of giant eyeballs or bizarre machinery like telephones and airplane engines. Others morphed in more peculiar ways while insects and wildlife took on massive sizes and odd shapes. By the 1930’s the city was deemed uninhabitable by a sector of the US government and special teams of gun toting women were hired to patrol the island, ensuring that outsiders stay out of the bizarre city. The team was ordered to destroy all bridges that connect with the City and keep constant watch over the citizens of Poddekit. After being quarantined in their city, the citizens learned to live with their mutations and have produced a very tight knight population. Despite the citizens close knit society, they are always excited for any new visitor to come to the city.”

“Fortunately for all of you, in my times as a photographer I had found a secret underground tunnel connecting to the city that the government patrols haven’t found yet. Today, we stand at at the mouth of an old japanese style building, and you may be asking “Why have you taken us here Dr?” Well, this is the entrance to the secret tunnel! We will descend into the tunnel where my Uni-Mobile’s are hidden. These great machines can take us to the city in a matter of minutes!” But before we go, everyone must put on a gas helmet as to avoid the same fate as the citizens of this city. It is unclear why, but the air in the city of Poddekit can change an ordinary man into a mutant if inhaled at length.”

*After traveling to the city*

“”What is that in the sky Dr. Otamot? Is it a bird? A plane? A giant insect?” It is none of these things my friends, it is the propeller woman! Look at her amazing maneuvers, an absolutely stunning display. Have you ever seen such finesse and mastery of the sky, friends? The propeller woman was once a ballerina, the best in the whole city mind you and with her new found flight capabilities she took her dance routines to the open sky.”

*A pair of inflated people run up to the doctor”

“What is it friends?” *The inflatable people point out the pair of eye ball men atop a large building who are gesturing for our group to move into the building* “Well friends, I think they are trying to tell us that the patrol is coming. We must go indoors to the avoid being spotted”

*the group moves into the large building that the eye ball men were on top of*

“This building is a hub for the residents of this old city. You can stop at the food stand for some fresh grass hopper filet. The grasshoppers have been the largest they’ve ever been this year. Willy over there hunts them and cooks the juicy bastards too.”

“The telephone people were highschool sweethearts who have always been obsessed with one another, over time this odd air has turned their heads into telephones. Now if one of them is a few feet away from the other, you’ll see them frantically calling one another. Quite the sight I’d say.”

“Look over there friends! The electric men of Poddekit! Look at the lightning dancing around their bodies. These two have worked to keep power for the city up and running. After 1930 the government killed most of the power in the city and it has been these two gentlemen who work to keep the lights on”

“Now this is truly a sight to be seen, Vortoo the extra terrestrial. Vortoo is one of the only inhabitant of Poddekit to have been born after the mutations started. His mother died in child birth, but his father and grand father remain to raise the bizarre child. While Vortoo is not able to speak or communicate very well, his feats of strength and mind are unrivaled. The young child could lift a car with one hand and solve 1000 piece puzzles in minutes.”

*Yelling from a mega phone from outside the building*

“Oh boy, that sounds like the patrol, they’ll probably traipse through this hub so we must be leaving now. We can escape from the back side of this building then sneak back to the entrance of the tunnel. Damn that woman in white and her wretched gangs of gun toting women, the whole world should be able to see these marvels of nature! Anyhow, I hope you all enjoyed my tour of some of the cities many odd inhabitants and that you’ll all come visit again sometime!”

*World based off of Photoset 2*