Endozones (also known as sub-concept vessels, microzones or biozones) are a type of zone that are derived from someone's/something's concept core. In other words, they are the metaphysical world of an entity's body. So visiting these zones isn't like shrinking and walking around the real body, but instead it's a world representing it. Many individual organisms can represent a whole population or strain of organisms from the real body. For example, Staph is the only Staphylococcus in her zone but represents all the Staphylococcus in the real body. While the real microbes are mindless, the ones representing them in an endozone are sentient, capable of speech and have their own culture. Since the residents are not restricted to their real counterparts proportions, their size is not in the same relative proportions as in the real body. Examples include human sized bacteria and maggots while the flies are just as small as they are compared to a human. Both unicellular and multicellular organisms are visible to each other, as opposed to real microorganisms being unseen to most animal life. Even objects and places have unrealistic relative proportions (ex: bacteria living in pills and tablets as buildings). Some entities have a different size in the endozone. For example, Balmer is normal sized in the endozone but outside of it he's the size of a real embalming machine. Small sized worms are also seen entering and exiting an endozone through a door in the Morgue, but in that zone they are dangerously big for a normal sized person.
The process of entering such a zone is called endo-shift. Endo-shifts usually take place by placing the body in or on a device, calibrating, and entering a door that leads to the body's endozone. Doctors at the Hospital use this procedure on patients even as a mere formality. While in an endozone, time passes much slower on the outside world and vice versa. It's also known that there is an infinity of worlds within worlds, which means that each cell has its own endozone, each molecule has its own, each subatomic particle has its own, even we are part of something bigger's endozone. It's the nature of conceptual layers!
Inert Endozones[]
This article is about the endozones of inert (deceased) vessels. For the living counterpart go here.
Under natural conditions, inert vessel zones have a limited lifespan, being consumed by the native decomposing bioforms (worms, microbes, etc). The residents are normally accustomed to death and don't care about their own demise or their world's, accepting the fact that they exist only to decompose. However, the Preservators sterilize the bodies and store them at the Morgue for archival and recreational purposes. The best known such world is broken neck Fern's inert sub-concept vessel MG-0908-BN/SK/HL-3900438093990. More info on the zone's biomes and locations bellow:
Overflesh[]
The main type of environment. Veins and greenish decaying tissue make up the landscape and fungi is growing around everywhere. The whole place is more like a cave environment and mists of luminescent fungi make light. These fungi are also responsible for the day/night cycle.
Balmer's HQ[]
The base of operation where Balmer and his molecoids work on the soup that will purge the zone. In broken neck Fern's biovessel, the facility is built in the heart of the zone. Literally!
Fungus Forest[]
A forest made of tree shaped fungi. These fungus trees share the same color as fungusapients, such as Celia, and are germinated by them as a feeding byproduct.
Fungus Kingdom[]
Thriving fungi populations can germinate their own kingdom using their excess biomass that results after feeding to build structures to live in. They have a monarchy system, being ruled by a queen or king. Celia was a princess in Fern's first corpse and fled before sterilization while her mother, the queen, remained and got dissolved.
Pus River[]
A flowing river of liquid pus. Pus rivers have a rich fauna, as many worms are adapted to swimming in it, including the Rapidworms. Pus rivers can also form pusfalls, the equivalent of waterfalls.
Underflesh[]
The cavernous region bellow the overflesh. It's a dark place with intense humidity and it smells like the inside a moldy foot. Dangerous worms live down here and many JBEs (junior biovessel explorers) sent by Balmer died leaving behind their notes. The underflesh can by navigated through wormholes but they are not as practical as normal fungus-eaten cavitations. As Celia said: "You can go through the same wormhole twice and come out two different places. Or three different wormholes and come out the same place. It's rubbish."
Bactopia[]
A small village of bacteria people. Since they don't have any recognizable faces, the locals wear white masks. The buildings are made out of various pills and tablets. The interior of the buildings are coated in a thick layer of dry, spongy biofilm. Luminous fungi are used as light sources, including fungus trees. The currency used here and in the inert vessel in general is KP (keratin points). Several wormholes are found on the ground.
A list of buildings encountered:
- C2H5OH - The bar where the bartender serves yellow and orange gelatinous globs as drinks. C2H5OH is the chemical formula for ethanol, the principal type of alcohol found in alcoholic beverages.
- ♥ - The medical cabinet where Staph works and treats her patients. There are various medical items and fungal growths.
- STOR - The local store where the shopkeeper sells items from across the documented range and beyond, ideal for questing. The items are displayed on fungal growths.
- TOWNE HALL - The town hall. Archives about the local history can be found here.
- IN - An inn where you can rest for the day.
- 001 - Unknown.
Pus Marsh[]
A swamp of yellowish pus. Worms can be seen swimming in the surrounding liquid. It's also the place where Magatha's home is located, made of pus of course!
Bone Flats[]
Also called the Bonelands ore Bone Zone, it's a barren place of flat bone tissue. Some spiky bone formations can also be observed in the background. Yellow fungal growths can be seen living here.
Marrow Dungeon[]
A cave environment found under the boneflats. The interior is spongy moist bone marrow. The worms found here are more dangerous than those found in the underflesh. However, some worms can not be battled, but instead used for puzzle solving. If an anomaly is present, the place could be teeming with Magboils, who are attracted to anomalies.
Red Blight (The Anomaly)[]
An anomaly produced by the exvironator that slipped in Fern's corpse with Tori's card. The anomaly now called the Red Blight is causing the cells to replicate and die off just as fast, creating tumorous growths resembling Fern's appearance. The replicating cells are located below and as they multiply they push the older cells to the surface, filling the landscape with dead matter. This is an ongoing self-sustaining process that can make decomposing bioforms live here without completely consuming their zone. The anomaly was first found inside the marrow dungeons and when the exvironator was dropped in the embalming fluid pool in Balmer's lab it spread across the whole zone. The anomaly can't replicate outside the host zone's specific biomatter, limiting its spred to only Fern's corpses. From the outside, the corpses that are fully grown over with the anomaly are reanimated. These "Slobs" resemble their living counterpart but are heavily mutated and crave flesh to sustain themselves.
Trivia[]
- According to the author, if the inert vessel was in a game the soundtrack would be various remixes of the Hearse Song.
- The name MG-0908-BN/SK/HL-3900438093990 has the following significance: "Miss Green - September 8 - Broken Neck/Skeleton/Hospital Laboratory/ bunch of random numbers maybe related to how many corpses were processed that day (not necessarily all hers.) That's not really the "canon" meaning of the designation code, just how I picked it. Its meaning to Dr. Balmer is probably something that wouldn't translate."