You may have seen mention of this guidebook floating about. Well, take a peek, and find out some juicy tidbits on the mysterious City!
Frommer's Complete Guidebook to the City
Welcome to the number one bestselling guide book for a visit to the City, published in sixty languages! There are a couple of things to remember about the City, before I tell you all the awe-inspiring places available to you.
About the City
Among humans, the City is known as an unexplainable, paradoxical phenomenon that came into existence when the barrier broke. To demons, the City has always just been. We like to think it’s a mystery even to them—though it probably isn’t. That said, the City acts as its own political entity, policing and governing itself while proclaiming diplomatic neutrality. For all intents and purposes, the City is its own country, and a prominent one at that.
The City exists in an extradimensional space—a place in between reality. It shifts and changes organically, and seems to be a truly limitless and infinite construction. From the outside, the City appears to be nothing but an average tower, but upon entering the structure the City develops into a massive and sprawling metropolis. The City is composed of an incredible number of floors, each unique. Each floor of the City appears to be its own encapsulated segment of the City. Don’t be mistaken, however. One floor can be as large as the entirety of Beijing, and then some, and every floor within the City is prone to spontaneous and seemingly unexplainable change. While some floors are more stable than others, very few places within the City are fixed.
Needless to say, the City is one-of-a-kind. While there are other pocket cities, the City is without a doubt one of the largest, most affluent, and most powerful ones around. It also boasts the status of a world leader, with many mega-corporations (particularly demon-led ones) establishing their headquarters within the City. Further, the City houses the Panopticon, one of only a handful of maximum security prisons capable of containing demons, and remains one of the leading locations for demonological research, development, and instruction. There have been more than one group of sociologists and economists that have proclaimed the City to be the new world leader and capital of the world.
Please remember to get out of the way of changing buildings. For our disabled travelers, though, know that the City tends to move and shift to help those with disabilities, and has been known to spawn things like ramps, wheelchair accessible bathrooms, signs in braille, and even better medical equipment spontaneously, which you are perfectly allowed to take home with you!
What to Bring
Remember first of all to pack for all manner of weather. The City tends to have a mind of its own, so bring both warm, cool and cold-weather clothing, please! Try to bring medicines from your home country, since the conflicting temperatures can sometimes give you headaches and have been known to cause coughs and colds. However, if you forget, don’t be too alarmed—you can buy medicine from all over the world in different parts of the City! Just be careful not to bring any home, they might be classified differently in the City as they are by your country’s government.
Getting There
The City is the easiest place to find in our whole world! Many people have been known to appear randomly in the City, or get lost somewhere and find themselves there. In fact, you will find it’s not unusual to see a man herd goats down a street in Vetala, realize he took a wrong turn, and disappear. Famous stories like The Little Prince™ by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry have been told about what would happen if one couldn’t find the City when lost. Luckily, that’s just a fairy tale! Remember: if you want to get the most out of your trip and spend more than a few hours to a day wandering there, book a hotel in the City ahead of time, pack some suitcases, and treat it as you would sightseeing in any other major world city!
A Note on Crime
Crime is a persistent problem in the City, due to its divorcement from regular bodies of law, which all sovereign nations have in some form. Be sure to keep your wallet hidden, don’t flaunt your money, and remember to bring your passport with you at all times in a separate place from your bills, cards or coins. Should anything happen, contact your embassy in Monai on Floor 401. They’ll help you file a report with local police. Your passport may be necessary to prove your identity and citizenship in some cases. Check before you go!
Getting Around
On top of usual public transportation between different parts of the City, such as an excellent subway line, various free hubs on each floor act as ‘elevators’ or ‘hitches’ that allow travel to and from various floors. Ideal for sightseeing!
Major Holidays and Festivals
Decorations
You will almost certainly notice when you go that some parts of the City are decorated. The City spontaneously decorates itself for major holidays in every culture of the world. Almost every day there are competing decorations in various parts of the City. The more people who celebrate the holiday, the bigger the festivities and available food. The Spring Festival, celebrating the New Year in China, is one of the largest in the City, since so many celebrate it. People are not expected to take off work for holidays unless they personally celebrate the applicable holiday. There also appear to be days the City itself celebrates. Sometimes, people visiting complain about all the fireworks, which go off without rhyme or reason, though they don’t appear as often in Ghost Town. Relocating or permanent residents are less likely to find them a nuisance.
Fortune Telling
Fortune telling is a city-wide pastime. Legend says that a fortune teller exists who can tell you what ascension path you’re on, even what you should do to earn a new dominion. Of course, the legend is so popular there are tons of knockoffs. If you want to try finding her, it’s said she comes out to enjoy the whole roasted crab at the famous and family-owned Krab Kafe in Tonton Macoute, which they only serve on certain holidays. Trying your luck is a tradition in the City!
City Sections
Visit Grootslang: Floor 783
Grootslang, named after the giant snake of Afrikaans legend, is the financial district of the City. The City’s stock exchange is held here, as well as headquarters of big businesses from all over the world. There are a number of showrooms set up by these business leaders. Depending on where you are in Grootslang, the weather can be anything from tropical to desert heat to high altitude and mountainous, and all manner of other zones. The rainy season hits Grootslang hard, so be sure to pack an umbrella, waterproof carrier, and light raincoat, if you’re going between November and March! Like all floors of the city, Grootslang features a main drag that seems to copy a deal of structures from major cities in a region: in this case, much of Grootslang is similar to Nairobi, Kenya and Dakar, Senegal. There are towering skyscrapers holding the headquarters of financial powerhouses sitting next to winding back streets holding important world heritage sites, which the City seems to be preserving.
Visit Monai: Floor 401
Monai, named after a serpent of the Guaraní religion, houses the political and governmental district of the City. All the world embassies are found here in Caipora, sometimes called Embassy Row. This section of the City boasts City Hall and all of the police headquarters for the various defense forces of the City. This interesting floor, which most closely resembles Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and Mexico City, Mexico, has the widest range of weather patterns and zones in the city, covering the entire Americas, South, Central and North.
There are areas of desert, mountainous areas, temperate areas, pine forests, and tropical areas all smushed together in the sprawling, interesting floor of Monai. You’ll find many colorful public murals on the walls of Monai: it’s been something of a tradition to paint them. Of especial interest are the libraries, museums, and disparate places of worship paid for by the governments and citizens of various countries tucked all over Monai’s streets, along with at least 200 major universities, some of them offshoots of those found outside Monai (such as Yale University, Tokyo University, University of Dhaka, Cheikh Anta Diop University, and Heidelberg University, among many others), and others institutions unique to the City. Some consider this the intellectual capital of the City—some think of it as the intellectual capital of the world.
Many analysts have commented on the fact that English- and French-speaking areas are not a major influence of Monai, with all the North American heritage sites preserved in the City being those of Mexico, or of First Nations. Despite some protests by the government of the United States of America, there is no generally fixed floor that has aspects of New York, or any other major US city. Cuisine here comes from all over the Americas, however, so it’s not unusual to find a Tex-Mex, Cajun, authentic Chicago deep dish pizza, or sandwich and burger joints anymore than it is odd to find a store selling Andean pachamanca.
Visit Vetala: Floor 395
Shopping is the name of the game in Vetala, named after a ghost-like being from the Hindu religion. The City’s main commerce district, Vetala contains competing architecture, perhaps the widest variance in the City. Polynesia, South Asian and the Arab States are all architectural influences. The two cities that have most influenced Vetala are New Delhi, India, and Tehran, Iran. Vetala is the most popular hub of tourism, its grand, sweeping cultural sites and incredible array of products from businesses all over the world sure to enchant. Pack some money when you visit Vetala, because you’re going to spend it!
Visit Behemoth: Floor 319
The entertainment district, named after a chaos monster from the Judeo-Christian religions, is a mixture of the cities of Venice, Italy, and St. Petersburg, Russia. With the canal systems that take you between the buildings, and the essentially European weather patterns, Behemoth is a beautiful section of the City. It boasts nightclubs, pubs, bars, casinos, and has a rich clubbing culture. For the less adventurous, it also boasts great theater and screenings of international movies, including multiple convention centers, concert venues and sites of international film festivals. A newly-opened Disney World can be found here too. There always seems to be a celebration in Behemoth.
Visit Ghost Town: Floor 113
Want to escape the noise and crowds, and get a feel for the locals? Ghost Town is where most long-term residents live, and it’s much calmer and quieter than other sections of the City. Ghost Town is a mixture of Beijing, China and Seoul, South Korea. Modern, comfortable, a space problem has led to smaller rooms and accommodations than some Westerners would feel comfortable with, but there is a liveliness and a lived in feeling to Ghost Town, too.
Other Floors
There are hundreds of other floors at any given time, unfixed and constantly changing. Don’t be afraid to explore!