The Wider World

“Unknown human structures, approximately the size of tall trees. Fully constructed of rusted metal which may once have been white. Each consists of a straight vertical shaft, with 1-3 blade-like projections from its peak, oriented at regular angles. No clear functional use. Probably had religious significance.”

— Sands Beyond the Fencepost at the Northern Shoreline (local cartographer).

Fourth Place takes place in the real world, many centuries after the sudden and total extinction of humanity.

Since the last humans vanished, the anthropogenic environment has fallen into various stages of decay. Cities have broadly been reduced to rubble by rain and floods, though many buildings still stand, especially in drier environments far from the Fourth Place. Human settlements and farmlands are now dominated by the pioneering mosses and grasses which have begun the arduous process of succession. Rivers and oceans have broken their banks, carving new courses through previously dry zones.

However, the process of healing is slow — resources are limited by the damage done to natural food systems, and without humans to provide, food is scarcely distributed. Former industrial regions still plague the surrounding landscapes with pollution of plastics and toxic chemicals due to damaged infrastructure, creating vast, uninhabitable waste pits with long-reaching effects.

Sapient beings exist sporadically throughout the world in small farming or scavenging guilds with very limited technology.

Most populations are nomadic due to scarcely distributed resources, and have learned to use the crumbling roads and canals to cover great distances in search of seasonally available food. Though natural forests and meadows away from human development offer the best opportunities for hunting and foraging, the most nutritious weeds, their pests and their fertilisers provide ample subsistence to those who know how to find them.

In addition to scavenging food, many take pride in the trinkets and gadgets they find, whether this be for research or barter, with some groups having committed themselves to uncovering the old Earth, or simply controlling territories around locations they deem interesting. These travelers act as the blood of the modern world, circulating knowledge and stories of places they have witnessed, and what they might have meant to the humans. Because of this, several regional shared languages have been developed which can be spoken by all sapient species, and are now known about throughout the world. Within the Fourth Place and the surrounding region, the most common language is simply called 'speech'.

However, other groups may be stationary at any location with enough concentrated resources to sustain them, depending on their needs. Plant-like people who don't require food find comfortable homes along riverbanks or sediment deposits with good sunshine and soil quality, while some people have been known to set up simple farms under similar conditions. In this way, they live similarly to the mechanical beings of the world who rely on the few remaining generators harvesting natural energy, and can occasionally live alongside them.

The Fourth Place is surrounded by a mixture of arid urban ruins and barren grasslands, in addition to a damp hillscape of polluted refuse from the city, carried by rainwater. The nearby city is dominated by concrete flats, flooded buildings and rubble, only navigable by the most intrepid explorers seeking to reach the Fourth Place. This is in stark contrast to the Fourth Place itself, within which many buildings stand in remarkably good condition.

The climate is temperate, with scarce rainfall and regular flooding events which agitate topsoil and deposit sediment in and around the Fourth Place. Though local flora have adapted to these conditions, no sapient creatures or settlements are known to exist nearby.