Elizabeth

Biography

Born: N/A

Gender: Female

Characteristics: Frail with short, wavy brown hair. Lanky appearance.

Ethnicity and Culture: White, upper-class member of “higher” society within the underground, having access to luxuries such as a bed and books.

Likes: N/A

Dislikes: The confined nature of her existence (gilded-cage) and of the society that they live in.

Motivation: Having access to books, she has an impression of the outside world is like and yearns to experience it

Story Development: Elizabeth, a 12-year-old, white, upper-class member of “higher” society within the underground, who has access to luxuries such as a bed and books. She is frail with short, wavy brown hair and a lanky appearance. She dislikes the confined nature of her existence (gilded-cage) and of the society that she lives in. Her parents being intellectuals, she has access to a wide variety of books, fueling her impression of the outside world and her desire to experience it. Due to her frailty, Elizabeth had intermittent contact with a young nurse named Amelia, who indulged the child’s curiosity, informing her of larger facets of their society, particularly of the ailments of the lower classes. Eventually, she meets Denkiri, a humanoid rat creature in a chance meeting after discovering a trap door beneath her floorboards that granted her access to a decrepit, abandoned tunnel. Though initially afraid, Elizabeth finds that Denkiri may be the key to experiencing the greater world beyond her limited existence. Elizabeth’s story takes place in an underground train station in the 1910’s. Life in the tunnels is Glum and drab with Byzantine facades of color and purity for those who are fortunate to be of the elite. There is a clear separation of the classes, with hurried and makeshift domiciles for the common folk who lived in excavated areas below the pre-existing infrastructure. The impoverished are shuffled away from the upper class and are severely restricted from commingling in the upper-class areas, power is achieved through thermodynamic generators and proto-nuclear technologies. The poor must work for access to resources, while the elite, go about their business for the “betterment of society”. Earth’s surface is frigid and unforgiving and the added hazard of the pollution vented out onto the surface makes it particularly hazardous to venture for long period without extensive preparation and equipment.

Location: Philadelphia Tunnels

CREATORS: SHASHAUNA (SHAUN SMITHJOANNA NAWN, & SCOTT PALMER)