Mulberry Grove
1.1
I remember every moment of it viscerally.
I was constricted to a space not wide enough to move, entrenched in wires I could barely see. Awake in an instant, yet too quickly for my body to catch up. Bit by bit, control of my limbs returned over a few excruciating minutes. Plastic tubes holding various fluids lined the walls and ceilings, and detached from my body as I finally found the strength to move. Like shuffling out of bed, but the covers are insurmountable, suffocating, and rigid. I was up to my feet, eyes adjusting to the darkness after some time. I was in a confined closet, an enclosed chamber so small that it was a miracle that it held me. The only thing that stood out was a door. The sharp edges of the many machine parts I was enveloped within shifted and scratched my skin as I pulled away and fell through the door.
What lay before me on the other side is what the rest of you know. What stood out to me before the landscape, though, was the sky. There was no sun. There was no moon. There were no stars. I was dead, and my conscience no longer belongs to the living world.
Overview
To anyone who finds themselves here: Never settle. Keep moving.
| Houses, not Homes | Nowhere is Safe | High Stage Frequency |
|---|---|---|
| The houses of Mulberry Grove contain few embellishments and serve as little more than shelter from the mostly-tolerable elements outside. Anyone here who still fights to live must rely on the ever-aberrant “stages” for sustenance. | From survivors’ experiences, stillness is not a good sign. People who have already “given up”1 sit in place, and joining them is tempting. | Among the houses and barren areas of Mulberry Grove, stages stick out like sore thumbs. Due to their frequent appearance/disappearance, stages are the most common places to find sustenance.2 |
Inhabitants of the Sepulchre Limspace System will find themselves first gaining consciousness inside a confined chamber, loosely connected to its walls by plastic tubes containing bodily fluids and wires.3 These chambers are likely within the same limspace as the Machine, although there is no physical access to the rest of The Machine. The only exits to these chambers lead directly into the outskirts of one of the neighborhoods of Mulberry Grove.
Mulberry Grove is the name of the infinite collection of suburban zones which all wanderers find themselves in shortly after entering the Sepulchre Limspace System. Its neighborhoods are placed in an irregular format, and between each of these neighborhoods is a network of asphalt road bridges and muddy saltwater swamps populated sparsely with palm trees. The separate neighborhoods are hard to distinguish, as each bears the same name: Mulberry Grove.4
The houses within each neighborhood have large suburban American shapes, with some more intricate, older decoration on the outside. One wanderer has referred to these houses as very "50s-styled" from the outside, while some others have referred to the regular neighborhoods as "gated communities." It is assumed that the designs of the houses have contributed to this assumption.
The houses additionally have spacious, more up-to-date interiors, but lack most of the usual amenities. Large rooms can be completely empty, only fitted with patterned wallpaper and functioning lights. Many testimonials have emphasized the homeliness of the houses, describing them as safe havens from the swampy outside areas.
Wilderness between Mulberry Grove neighborhoods.
2.1
This place is so, so sad. It weighs on me heavily. I haven’t got the slightest clue of where I am, but surely there must be a way back home. I should ask around, but this place doesn’t feel that welcoming. Is this place some sort of gated community? It explains the lack of any welcome, despite the massive amount of people here.
Update: I should probably go back to writing in this notebook. It’s been weeks, and a lot of things have happened. I still don’t know what’s up with everyone here. When I was bumbling around, asking random people for directions, I hardly ever got any responses. Some people just mumbled, most brushed me off and kept walking, a good few didn’t even acknowledge my existence, and one person just stared at me.
[Remaining entries unrelated - Continued in 3.1]
2.2
I had to cut someone off today. Don’t get me wrong, she was an alright person to hang around, but I really just couldn’t deal with it. She kept frantically roaming around the place and dragging me along with her. I don’t even know how long it had been. Days? A week? It took some time, but I convinced her to stay in one of the houses here. There was even a stocked pantry, believe it or not. Things were calm for a day, and I liked the calm.
We sat there and talked for hours, and then there was silence. The rest of the day was just us, sitting there. All of the sudden, she explodes into motion and freaks the fuck out. She tries to drag me outside for god knows what reason, and then just takes off when I don’t budge.
I’m not bound to this house. This isn’t The Shining, for christ’s sake. I already know why I am here. I’m going 20 over the limit on a city street at night, and then suddenly everything goes dark. I wake up in a scary place where things really don’t make any sense. Put the fucking pieces together. There is nothing for us to do here – we aren’t meant to do anything. There wasn’t anything wrong with the house, C. I’m just tired. It’s all already over, like I said. There’s a time and a place for everything. Now, it is time to get some goddamn sleep.
Guides
The following tips and guides are procured and adapted from known inhabitants of Mulberry Grove. Survival tips are preferably acquired from individuals who have contacted baseline archivists through terminals on multiple occasions, and have a consistent/coherent record of journaling.
It is generally suggested that inhabitants of Mulberry Grove stay physically active and vigilant, ignoring others who have given up on any chance of survival. Seasoned survivors insist that they have nothing useful to say.
In terms of traversability, the roads and areas outside of the houses are preferred. If a house must be entered, do not stay there. As for the swamps and bridges, most survivors avoid them. These swamps contain flora, but almost no fauna. Sometimes explorers will have a lucky break and discover fish or the birds that hunt them, but most hunting trips in Mulberry Grove come back empty-handed.
Few would explicitly instruct on where to find food, but the most consistent sources according to journals from people who have found and consumed food within Mulberry Grove are:
- Stages5
- Pantries within houses, as well as various stockpiles below houses.
- In locked boxes and abandoned belongings around the outside of partially-constructed houses.
- Taken directly from shamblers or husks who absent-mindedly carry objects around.
3.1 - Continued From 2.1
I thought something was wrong with me for a good while. Maybe it was a good thing to avoid journaling during that time – I was a total mess. Now, I have a general idea of what to do to get by here. For one, mistrust others by default. Most people here don’t have an interest in survival, and basically just drift to wherever the wind takes them. This behavior is easy to subconsciously mimic, so just brush off most other people you find altogether. Groups of inert people are easy to blend into. When searching for a group, find people who are lively. Hopelessness is in the air here, so people who have the proper will to live should stick out. They move from place to place constantly, maintain eye contact while speaking, sleep at a regular rate, and put in the effort to enjoy the lives that they have. My last piece of advice: act lively yourself. Search for food despite the need not being there, venture to new places, and maintain a healthy sleep schedule.
If you’re feeling like It’s all over, don’t worry. We all feel that way.
3.2 - Pending Removal
Hello again. I haven’t got a clue as to who manages this, but I am not going to stop until the original, unedited version of my guide is posted here.
First of all, make sure to look at the addresses of any given house before you enter. If the address ends in an odd number, avoid it at all costs. Turn around and don’t come close to that house. If the house’s address does not end in an odd number, search with caution. I’ve heard several strange faint noises while looking around and you shouldn't be taking chances.
Secondly, if you see any cars driving by, do not catch their attention. T
3.2.1 - Archivists' Note
Hello. If you are able to read this, we apologize. There is a consistent stream of information coming to us from various sources throughout Sepulchre, and there is no way of knowing what is true and what is dubious. While most of the written warnings, stories, and survival tips feel genuine, sources that are consistent with others and seem to be describing the same experiences are preferable.(footnote: As well as relevant stories that allow Vagrants to find some insight into effects, motives, and the true feelings of those who have crossed into lim.) To wanderers reading this, be weary of found notes and take entries – even entries approved by archivists with a grain of salt. Many of the things described in approved entry 3.2 have not been seen or described by any other found transcript.
3.3 - Pending Removal
What do you want from me? Some survival tips? Sure. My advice to you: Get comfortable. This place is ruining me and I honestly don’t care. We’re all hurting so, so much – this somnolence was overdue. I felt like I had the world in my hands, and then I died before I could make a difference. I never had the time to really sink into a good couch chair and watch the days go by.
It’s a blessing disguised as a curse.
3.3.1 - Archivists' Note
I’m removing this one from public view. I’m not in the same situation as these people but I know that this incessant pessimistic rabble isn’t what they need to hear.
Population and Connections
In general, the Sepulchre Limspace System is heavily intertwined within itself. Limspace connections are inconsistent, and the semi-randomness seen in the paths of travel within the logs of venturers suggests that any limspace in the Sepulchre Limspace System could connect with any other limspace.
As such, people wander from place to place all the time. People who return to Mulberry Grove may be wandering nomads looking to search for resources or non-sentient walkers simply bumbling around from limspace to limspace. Despite Mulberry Grove containing the entry points into the limspace system, it only has a medium population estimate. People filter in as much as they filter out. A high percentage of connected journal entries show wanderers leaving Mulberry Grove within a couple days, and proceeding through a convoluted trek between documented and undocumented limspaces in a random order.
A Lone Abberation: The One Consistent Connection
The only consistent connection from Mulberry Grove is a supposed entryway into the Swamp of Death found far from any neighborhood, half-submerged in mud and reeds. If any wanderers reading this find an entrance like this, turn back and avoid it.
4.1
If you were granted life after death, what would you do with it? There’s something for everyone down here.
I met a group of three men approximately seven days ago. The first was quite the character: miserable and very outwardly religious. He rambled that this was his personal hell and that he deserved to be here with us. The second had more inquiry and curiosity in his heart, but was still the same brand of depressed. He was not satisfied with the first man’s simple explanation, and told me he wanted someone to give him a greater reason or purpose for this place’s existence. The third guy was just tired of the other two’s BS.
I prioritize my survival over all else. I want to keep living and I want to keep writing, so I should stick with the others that I find as instructed by the guides I found and want to contribute to. Something in my gut was telling me that following these three was a bad move.
I only took the time to write this excerpt because I saw the third guy today. He was peacefully sleeping in one of the suburban houses. Something tells me all three of them found what they promised themselves, and that terrifies me.