The Terminal

Claire had never been to the ground floor of Vermilion. It was closed off to the public. The main elevator didn’t go there, although the button seemed to invite mischievous children to explore it.

Level 3 was where almost everyone lived. It’s where the main business strip was, as well as the reputable apartment complexes. When people talked about the area, that was the place they meant. Anyone who was passing through was careful not to spend any time on the other levels. There was nothing on the other floors a tourist would want. Aside from that, Vermilion was notoriously maze-like. The idea of getting lost in such a place was enough to keep people from venturing too far. And so it was that, if someone wished to never encounter tourists, they need only venture beyond the main strip.

Vermilion was a place for certain kinds of tourists nonetheless. More specifically, VR-MLN-4 and 3 were a place of tourism because of VR-MLN-1, which no one visited.

There were no operational roads that went too or from the district, and there were no cars. Travel to and from other districts was via train. On level 4, there was a big terminal, which the elevator opened straight into. This was fortunate for travelers, because it meant they could go quickly from their train to the business district on level 3.

The elevator was not especially quick because it was old, and because each level was quite tall. The architects of the district decided that, while it would certainly be more efficient to make it feel like one cramped building with narrow hallways and low ceilings, it wouldn’t be a place people wanted to live. Indeed it was still not a place people wanted to live, but for different reasons.

Level 4 was exceedingly windy. The nearby geography caused great gusts of winds from the north on a daily basis. As it was the top level, it was also the only one susceptible to rain and snow. In the winter, it also the only floor that dropped below freezing, although the terminal was heated.

The terminal was a massive A-framed glass building inspired by gothic architecture. In the center was a great clock atop a pillar which ticked audibly. Together with the coming and going of trains, the howl of wind outside and the bustle of business people, the terminal was perhaps the only noisy area of the whole district. If you sat on a bench in the terminal, you could almost be fooled into thinking that Vermillion was some sort of desirable destination with lots to see. It was partly true. It was indeed a tourist destination, but there was not much to see. It sometimes made lists of “most disappointing” tourist destinations.

The terminal was a grand looking place, in contrast to the rest of the district. This was owed to the company called Bifrost, which convinced the Republic to let it build a connected system of terminals between all of New Alexandria’s district and beyond on taxpayer dollar. The terminals all matched each other rather than the respective architecture or style of different areas.

There were a lot of advertisements in Vermillion, and even in the rest of District Dessous. They were prevalent enough that the residents soon learned to ignore them completely. thankfully, they were really only on level 4 and to a lesser extent, level 3.

Next to the terminal was a hotel, and next to that, several restaurants. Though it wasn’t exactly a large or well developed hub, the necessary conveniences were all present around the terminal. Most of them were ignored by local residents because of the exorbitant prices, which took advantage of travelers’ fear of the lower levels. For the same reason, there were “businessmen” offering “safe” guided tours of the lower levels, for a reasonable fee of course.