A cavernous abyss of weaving labyrinthine passages.
This is Subland.
Let’s explore how we got there…
Edinburgh has always been a split city. The above and below. Whether that was the middle classes in their upper levels and the lower classes stuck in buried buildings as overcrowding in the eighteenth century became rampant. The only solution in such a small place was to build down rather than out.
This gave us the underground city we have today and its dark past of cramped, claustrophobic conditions are often forgotten. Being down there, even in a small group it feels both small and endless. Never mind living there, with no access to daylight and sharing the space with multiple family members in a room barely fit for two.
Now, we only have access to portions of it and I wanted to honour this unique structure that Edinburgh has by using it as the setting of Subhuman. It seemed only logical that if biomechanical monsters threatened those above, we would retreat below in hopes of creating a new civilisation, or at least just to survive.
Yet, it is not as simple as it seems.
Life below is not as easy as it seems and human nature isn’t always built for peace and order. I wanted to explore the dynamics of how society may splinter into different groups in an apocalypse situation. This is particularly relevant during the situation we face now. We see how each country is dealing with the pandemic and the direct results of each approach. There is no one size fits all answer as each city is different, never mind country.
The world of Subhuman faces a very different fate, an extremity brought on by the advent of posthumanist scientist, Victoria.
Subland confronts the results of an immediate need for leadership among chaos by creating pockets underground that each manage life in their own ways with their own beliefs. They all have strengths and flaws, but what was important for me to illustrate was their impact on the individual characters, those who face the consequences and how each area contributes to the world overall.
These are called segments. The larger, supposedly more organised areas beneath Edinburgh. There are three.
Underburgh: the largest, run by a ‘mayor’ that was once a former call centre manager. He likes to run his ‘team’ in a similar fashion but the power and petrol has corrupted him a little of late. The people have fallen victim to his tyranny, too afraid to face life outside of the protection he offers but disobedience comes at a heavy price.
The Observatory: home to the religious sect, the Neo-Oculists who reject technology. They foretell the wrath of the Goddesses who will descend to save the worthy and decimate the subhumans who have corrupted their flesh with metal. Burrowed beneath Edinburgh’s Royal Observatory, they watch the skies and wait for their saviour to arrive.
Neath: Leith’s underground counterpart, this segment is run by some badass women that make up the engineering population of Subland. They take care of Subland’s electrical network, making sure each segment’s generators are running smoothly, giving them inside access and knowledge to the places many don’t see. The only segment interested in fighting back, running on democracy rather than dictatorship.
The network of Subland is vast, having grown from the tunnels and caves leftover today. These have been expanded, tunnels built to unite the segments, with openings and smaller camps of people who are either travelling or don’t fit in sitting in the middle. These are known as clusters and are far less protected and organised but also without the restriction of the segment leadership.
Subland is claustrophobic, dark and deadly. With so many corners and twisting, weaving passages, there are plenty of places for monsters to hide. And there’s no escape.
However, with early stage conflict erupting throughout the segments, survivors have had little time to develop this world beyond simply staying alive.
I am looking forward to what the future of this world might hold as it evolves and the potential of city reborn in the depths of another.
This is only the beginning.
The images featured in this post are not my own and are done by some talented artists. Credits here: Neath, Observatory, Underburgh, Edinburgh vaults
N.S.Land 