“Now in this island of Atlantis there existed a confederation of kings, of great and marvelous power, which held sway over all the island, and over many other islands also and parts of the continent.”—Plato, Critias
The story of Atlantis is one of the oldest myths. Supposedly 9,000 years before Plato first wrote of its existence, a great civilization arose on the now-lost continent. Information held by the ancient Greeks about Atlantis was said to have come from the older Egyptian civilization, which may have gleaned it from even earlier sources.
There is truth to the myth, but it has become distorted by time—and by intentional deception.
This recursion is one of glistening towers of crystal and shining metal rising above the sea. The wonders of Atlantis give rise to the heights of sophistication, power, and immortality itself.
The being known as Darum Tal Alumust is originally from the baryonic universe, his world destroyed by planetovores of unknown name or origin. He somehow escaped into the Strange and found his way to a minor cyst in the network, where he hid for millennia.
Eventually, Alumust set up a laboratory there. He began to conduct experiments and work on scientific projects. Much to his surprise, the laws of physics—or what he thought of as physics—worked slightly differently in his new home. He created a gateway back to his original universe, only to discover that the world in closest proximity to the cyst in which he had been hiding now sported intelligent life that was in the very earliest stages of civilization.
Alumust interacted with these new beings— humans on Earth—and took some of them back to his laboratory, which by this time had become a complex of different labs. Using these subjects, he was able to engineer and create a new offshoot of humanity that was far superior in health and intelligence. He placed his creations back on Earth, planning to let them infiltrate and eventually conquer the growing civilizations so he could return to his proper universe and set himself up as the ruler of the young world.
However, Alumust discovered, to his dismay, that the planetovores were still out there, searching. Rather than risk drawing their attention to Earth (and thus himself), he and his creations retreated to his hiding place in the Strange. That was when things began to change. Over the next few thousand years, stories on Earth (particularly in Europe, Africa, and Asia) of these advanced people who had emerged from the west began to spread. The tale grew so that they lived on an island in what we now know to be the Atlantic Ocean, with great command of science and magic. With these wonders, they supposedly conquered much of Europe, Africa, and Asia, and perhaps even the Americas. Over time, the stories sparked by Alumust’s initial intrusions on Earth created fiction that shaped his hiding place in the Strange. The cyst became a recursion as the result of fictional leakage. It gained a new name and became the Atlantis of myth—the myth Alumust had inadvertently created.
In effect, Atlantis is a recursion created by the fiction that it initially engendered. It seeded itself.
Atlantis stretches for miles in all directions, filled with salt water below and beautiful skies above. The weather is always the same, with gentle breezes blowing pink clouds above smooth, bottomless seas. Anyone who plumbs their depths far enough emerges directly into the Strange itself.
Most of the recursion is open water, but at its center lies a city of grandeur. It’s less than the continent of myth and not really an island; nevertheless, when recursors speak of Atlantis, it is the city they mean. The city is made of twenty-five circular sections, from which rise towers and domes. Each section is connected to the others via golden highways, along which self-driven carriages and transports of elegant design race at high speeds. Some residents use flying craft to get from section to section, with landing pads and access hangars throughout all levels of the city.
Each section descends well below the water’s surface, and most are open at the top, so they seem more like shafts that plunge down into the sea.
Unlike the inhabitants of most recursions, the people of Atlantis (both Atlantean and human) are aware of the Earth and the fact that their home is not a part of it. Most believe that Atlantis is a pocket dimension just outside Earth. They also believe that the planet remains in the state it was in about 4,000 years ago, and that Atlantis rules over Earth figuratively or literally.
In Atlantis, the inhabitants see Darum Tal Alumust as a deity, referring to him as the God-King. He is the ruler of Atlantis and therefore the master of everything. As the source of all knowledge of science and magic, he wields supreme power over time and space, matter and energy.
This is, of course, not entirely true. By Earth standards, Alumust is an alien. His natural form is that of a massive worm almost 20 feet (6 m) long, with writhing pseudopods and a rather humanlike face. Using the magical science he has perfected in Atlantis, he can take the form of a golden-skinned man about 7 feet (2 m) tall with long, flowing hair and crystalline eyes. He uses this form when he makes one of his very, very rare public appearances.
Despite what his subjects believe, Alumust is not all-knowing or all-seeing, but he spends almost all his time continually developing his power. He is virtually immortal, can reshape matter and energy, and can see and move anywhere within Atlantis whenever he wishes. This isn’t enough for him, however. He strives to develop even greater weapons and defenses to achieve his goals. Put bluntly, he craves enough power that he need not fear the planetovores that drove him into the Strange in the first place. He wishes to return to the universe of his birth and establish an empire there. Very likely, this means traveling to Earth, conquering it, and using it as a place to build defenses and weapons against the beings out there who would wish to conquer it for themselves. As the seat of Alumust’s potential empire, Earth would become a fortress, and all its inhabitants slaves and soldiers.
To accomplish this, however, he would have to change Earth so that it is governed by the laws of Atlantis, and that means rewriting actual reality. So his goals are lofty, to say the least.
No one knows—and perhaps no one could ever understand—the nature of the “cyst” that Darum Tal Alumust initially found. A waystation created by the Strange’s original engineers? Some sort of service node to be used for maintenance? Whatever it was, it is now almost entirely overwritten with the recursion of Atlantis.
Almost everyone aware of Darum Tal Alumust’s existence is afraid of him and what he might do. Many of the organizations involved in the Strange keep tabs on him, either because of his growing power or because his activities could draw the attention of planetovores. Or both. Few people know of (or would probably believe) his true ultimate goals.
Dajmoria is an Atlantean who does not see Alumust as a god. She wants to overthrow him, and the only way she can see to do that is to expose him as a fallible, mortal being. She has a number of followers in her secret rebellion, the vast majority of them Atlanteans.
Although they hoard weapons and such, their rebellion will not win by force of arms, and they know it. Ultimately, they will win by exposing their enemy to the people of Atlantis, so Dajmoria and her allies scheme for a way to do that.
Dajmoria is aware of Ardeyn, Ruk, and other recursions. She hopes to find allies outside Atlantis, and she is not choosy about whether she gets help from the Estate, the Karum, or another group—she has no interest in Earth, only her home. Rumors say she has even spoken with representatives of Moriarty, but there was little assistance he could offer (so far).
What Dajmoria does not realize is that Alumust is well aware of her and her followers. In fact, he covertly supports them. He believes that conflict breeds strength, and one day he will need his people to be strong enough to fight against planetovores. There have always been secret rebellions against Alumust, and he has always secretly fostered them. Further, for his own plans to come to fruition, he will likely need far more of the residents of Atlantis to possess the spark and perhaps be quickened. He hopes to manipulate events so that while Dajmoria does not succeed in her goals, her efforts increase a general awareness among the populace, and thus begin the spreading of the spark.
Atlantis is home to more than three million residents. About a third of these are Atlanteans, descendants of the humans that Darum Tal Alumust first brought here and modified. The other two-thirds are humans created as the recursion grew. The vast majority of residents who have the spark are Atlanteans, not humans.
Atlanteans stand 6 to 7 feet (1.8 to 2.1 m) tall. Their skin ranges from gold to dark bronze. Their hair flows long, and their faces are always beautiful. Atlanteans are extremely long-lived, some remaining in good health for almost 1,000 years. They are immune to conventional diseases.
In Atlantis, humans are clearly a lower class, although this is not an official standard. Atlanteans hold all positions and offices of power. Humans carry out all menial labor and service jobs. Despite having a high level of science and sorcery, the people of Atlantis almost never use robots or conjured servitors like demons or elementals.
Magic and technology coexist in a mélange of power in Atlantis. It is nearly impossible to see where one ends and the other begins. If a sorcerer levitates into the air, for example, is he doing so because of a spell or antigravity suspensors hidden in his clothing? The answer might very well be both.
People get around in flying and ground vehicles. High-speed elevators and people movers transport citizens within city sections. Many people wear ear-mounted communicators that have a range of the entire recursion, and visual communicators are often found in homes and offices.
The military and police forces of Atlantis are called the guardians, and they use handheld weapons (a bit like laser pistols and a bit like wands) that fire energy bolts. These same devices can create blades of energy in melee combat. The guardians wear lightweight metal weave armor.
Everything in Atlantis is ornately crafted and beautiful in form, regardless of purpose. Even a broom or a dustbin is a thing of beauty. It’s a bit of a mystery where the craftspeople procure the precious metals, gemstones, and crystals they use in their work. Likely their existence is an innate part of the recursion.
Sometimes, the most valuable things that undercover Atlantean merchants bring back from Earth are ideas. Inspiration for entertainment, food, art, or technology is useful, and such things are frequently copied without most Atlanteans ever knowing the true source. Atlantis Has Talent is one of the most popular video entertainments, for example.
The two inapposite gates in Atlantis are closely controlled by the guardians, and no one is allowed to use them (in either direction) without specific sanction.
The city is divided into twenty-five sections, most of which are residential areas, businesses, laboratories, and recreational areas.
In the center of Atlantis lies a palace of gold and crystal, the home of Darum Tal Alumust. This is, by far, the largest structure in the city, taking up almost one entire section. No one other than Alumust’s Trusted are permitted inside.
Alumust’s Trusted are all Atlanteans, and most are at least five hundred years old. These 1,000 or so individuals are among the most knowledgeable and—in their master’s opinion—trustworthy in the city. Most of them work in laboratories. Only perhaps 1 percent of the Trusted interact directly with the God-King more than once or twice during their time in the citadel.
In the innermost sanctum of the citadel is the original structure that Alumust found long ago. Both a part of the Strange and not a part of the Strange, it is a tiny node, almost suggesting that something more substantial once connected to it (or was meant to). Only Alumust is allowed in this inner sanctum, and it is where he spends the majority of his time.
The citadel has one of two permanent inapposite gates that lead to Earth. This gate leads to a hidden spot on the island of Crete.
The people of Atlantis enjoy lives of comfort, most of their needs met without effort. This freedom encourages them to spend their lives enriching their minds through knowledge. Many residents spend many, many years as students in the huge university, which encompasses an entire city section. Here, instructors teach all manner of knowledge, science, and lore. Philosophy and contemplation are highly valued as well.
All types of beautiful art and crafted works, as well as technology and magic, are for sale here, as well as mundane items and food. Despite all its technology, Atlantis still uses small gold coins as currency.
The recursion’s other permanent inapposite gate to Earth is here. This one leads to the site of an ancient Mayan ruin deep in the jungles of the Yucatan. Traders use this gate to go to Earth, sell items of great craftsmanship (not technology, for it would not function long there), and return with special foods or other items of interest. Most of the city’s food is created by technology to be nutritious and delicious, but a natural piece of fruit or a loaf of bread brought back from Earth can be a wondrous thing.
Certainly, many items classified as cyphers can be found in the merchant’s section, and some recursion miners travel to Atlantis just to shop in the markets.
This section is where the craftspeople do their work. While a flying belt or a food-producing machine might be developed, engineered, or built somewhere else, the crafter’s section is where it is made beautiful. The beauty of a thing is as important to an Atlantean as the function of that thing.
This location is a front for an Estate safehouse and base of operations. The lead operative is an Atlantean known as Loman Oraph, but his real name is Thomas Sizemore. The operatives here are under strict orders to do nothing but observe.
Other organizations have secret bases in Atlantis, including but not limited to the Quiet Cabal, the OSR, and the Karum.
Thomas Sizemore: level 5; disguise, lying, and stealth as level 6
In one of the residential city sections is a sprawling complex of towers owned by a group of Atlantean science-sorcerers who call themselves the Gifted Ones. They see themselves as superior to others in the city and use their considerable powers for their own gain. In particular, they enjoy mentally subjugating humans to make them into slaves. Sometimes, the Gifted Ones use technomagic to transform these slaves into guards, beasts of burden, or other things. Though ruthless and self-serving, these science-sorcerers are loyal servants of Darum Tal Alumust and “true sons and daughters of Atlantis.”
Typical Gifted One: level 7, all magic- or science-related tasks as level 8; Armor 4; attack at a range of 200 feet (61 m); fly, use telepathy and mind control, very likely to have 1d6 cyphers that provide other capabilities
Someone is using high explosives to destroy vital parts of the city, causing highway collapses, flooding, and other calamities. So far, dozens of residents have been killed and hundreds injured in these terrorist attacks. No one has claimed responsibility, and those in the know suspect that the saboteurs come from outside the recursion. But what’s their motive?
Dajmoria and her followers are ready to launch their “attack.” They have learned that Alumust keeps journals to record his thoughts for posterity. If anything should happen to him, the books would be his lasting legacy. Dajmoria plans to infiltrate Alumust’s citadel, steal his personal journals, and reveal his secrets to the public. But word of her scheme has slipped out, and people in the city (some from outside Atlantis) have different opinions on whether the idea is good or bad. Destabilizing Atlantis could result in disaster. But bringing down Darum Tal Alumust—if that is indeed what would happen—might be a blessing. Or is this all just a scheme within a scheme created by the God-King himself?
Although the waters of Atlantis are traditionally peaceful, giant predatory sea creatures—some unlike anything seen since Earth’s prehistoric times—have been attacking divers and craft. No one knows where they came from or why they are so aggressive. Is there a common link among those who have been attacked?
This location is the deepest part of one of the central city sections, where a single narrow tube descends to the edge of the recursion. An elevator provides access to the Bottom of the Well; the ride down takes eight full minutes. From this small spot, exploratory craft designed by Darum Tal Alumust, capable of navigating the Strange, can be moored and launched. Alumust is wary of traveling in the Strange and would not do it himself, but there may be secrets in the dark energy network or in other recursions that can help him achieve his ultimate goals.
Today, the wonders of Atlantis are a fusion of magic and science woven so tightly together that they can never be separated. The devices need a healthy dose of both to function.
Level: 1d6
Origin: Atlantis (mythological)
Law: Magic or Weird Science
Form: Ring
Effect: Nanomachines sweep out of the ring, completely covering the user’s body in a sheen of bronze-colored armor, granting her additional Armor equal to the artifact level for ten minutes.
Depletion: 1 in 1d20
Level: 1d6+1
Form: A belt with a single metal device that fits on the wearer’s side
Effect: When the wearer is fully submerged in liquid, the belt creates a shell of force around her, filled with air. This shell is fairly tight around her form but allows her to breathe normally and swim underwater as easily as she can move through the air when on the surface.
Depletion: 1 in 1d10
Level: 1d6+3
Form: An open-top vehicle of gold and glass, 12 feet long and 5 feet wide (4 m by 2 m)
Effect: This vehicle can fly through the air at speeds of up to 200 miles (322 km) perhour. It obeys the thoughts of a pilot who must concentrate each round to make it fly. The skiff can carry up to five other passengers or an equal amount of cargo.
Depletion: 1 in 1d20 (check each day)
Level: 1d6+1
Origin: Atlantis (mythological)
Law: Magic or Weird Science
Form: Curved wand of bronze and glass that flows to fit perfectly in the wielder's hand
Effect: This device has two functions. First, it can produce a constant bladelike beam 2 or 3 feet (60 to 90 cm) long that can be used in melee as a light, medium, or heavy weapon (user's choice upon activation). Once activated, the blade remains for one minute. Second, the weapon can also fire a blast of superheated energy up to long range, which inflicts damage equal to the artifact level.
Depletion: 1 in 1d10
Level: 1d6+2
Origin: Atlantis (mythological)
Law: Magic or Weird Science
Form: Golden torc that flows to fit perfectly around the wearer's head
Effect: When worn, the artifact grants knowledge (as an asset) in one area, depending on the particular torc. Possible options include the following (roll a d20 or choose one):
| 01–15 | Melee attack |
| 16–30 | Ranged attack |
| 31–40 | Speed defense |
| 41–50 | Might defense |
| 51–60 | Intellect defense |
| 61–65 | Biology |
| 66–70 | Physics |
| 71–76 | Chemistry |
| 77–79 | Magic lore |
| 80–84 | Repair |
| 85–90 | History |
| 91–92 | Mythology |
| 93–94 | Sneaking |
| 95–96 | Swimming |
| 97–98 | Perceiving |
| 99 | Climbing |
| 00 | Escaping |
Level: 1d6
Origin: Atlantis (mythological)
Law: Magic or Weird Science
Form: Metal and glass device with a handle that flows to fit perfectly in the wielder’s hand
Effect: The device launches a floating glass sphere that moves up to a short distance away. Once it is in position (the following round), all creatures and objects within immediate range are “harmonized” via sonic vibrations. Devices work better, creatures operate more efficiently, and so on. All objects in the area provide an asset when used or operate at one level higher than normal, whichever is more appropriate. The difficulty of all tasks for creatures in the area is reduced by one step. This effect lasts for a number of rounds equal to the harmonizer’s level.
Depletion: 1 in 1d6
Level: 1d6+2
Origin: Atlantis (mythological)
Law: Magic or Weird Science
Form: Golden wand with a clear inset crystal on both ends that flows to fit perfectly in the wielder's hand
Effect: This device causes water within immediate range to take a solid shape as the wielder desires. She can create any single solid object with no moving parts that could fit in a cube that is 3 feet by 3 feet (1 m by 1 m). Although the object appears to be made of water, it is as solid as metal (but only half as heavy). Alternatively, the water wand can be used to create a thin shield or wall about 8 feet by 8 feet by 1 inch (2 m by 2 m by 3 cm). This level 6 structure is as hard as steel.
Depletion: 1 in 1d20