Introduction to the Cylinder World - an inside view

You open the introductory file to find a small letter. It goes as follow:

Dear newcomer,
I suppose you have no idea where you are, nor how you found yourself there. That is to be expected. The confusion may go quickly, or stay for a rather long time.
My name is Nat Libris. It is a name I gave myself a while ago, when I first left this place. You see, I so happen to be your predecessor of sorts. I first appeared years ago, in this room filled with these books. I didn’t understand much at first, and nothing was there to let me understand. So I read.
In any case, here is the purpose of this file: to try and ease that initial confusion, to provide a tiny bit of initial guidance. Welcome to the Library, and more importantly, welcome in the Cylinder! This document will provide you with some guidance, and help you learn the bases of this world.
Yours,
Nat

A Cylinder world

Observe this map of the Cylinder itself.

the Cylinder

Open full size

A relief general map of the Cylinder.

Whether you remember where you are from or not, whether you even are from anywhere, I suppose this is one of the main things to learn about this place. You are finding yourself inside a gigantic cylinder, rotating on itself. On one side of that world is the Circle : one of the world’s main sources of light, it is a gigantic bubble that feeds the plants and marks the days and seasons. On the other side is the Space: it is a dark circle you can always see in the horizon. What lays beneath is unknown by all.
The related document is a map of the world itself. I found it was easier to understand its sheer size with some figures: If one were to start walking toward the east, completely ignoring the oceans, they would take more than ninety days to walk around the Cylinder back home. And that is without ever stopping to rest or eat. A more reasonable journey would take more than a year by foot, two years when taking the landscape into account.

Inhabitants of this world

As you may expect, the world you are experiencing is populated. A great and wide variety of lifeforms exist within its boundaries, constantly interacting and adapting to their surroundings. Among these lifeforms, a few animal species have taken part in an even greater play, called civilizations. These species use a common name to distinguish themselves from the rest: they call themselves Humans.
The main three species of humans populating the Cylinder are calling themselves Hominis, Birdkins, and Condoris. Other species of this world share similar levels of intelligence. However, while they may be integrated into local groups or civilizations, none are as universally recognized as «Humans» as these three. Although the first are apes and the second are closely related to parrots, Hominis and Birdkins share behavioral similarities. They are hierarchical, altruistic yet greedy, arrogant, and cannot fare on their own. While they are integrated in society, Condoris are... different. Some documents have been filed related to the human and non-human lifeforms of this Cylinder. You may want to explore and look at them as you go.

by Pouaseuille

Our whereabouts

You may be wondering where you currently are. You may even be wondering what you are. Sadly, there is little I can tell you to satisfy either of these inquiries.
I call this place the Library, or the Cylinder’s Library. Which doesn’t do a lot to describe it. There are thousands of towns and cities in this world, most of them are equipped with libraries of their own. And yet, we aren’t in any of them. Not really.
As for you, well, the best way I can describe it is to say you are an Audience. I believe this makes us slightly closer to a book, or a written document, than to an actual person living in this world. However, I wouldn’t know.
At the moment, you probably aren’t able to interact a lot with this surrounding world. However, this may change. If you look deep enough, and after a while, you may be able to find new ways to interact. You may also manage to find yourself outside the world.

by Pouaseuille

More documents?

I believe this will suffice as an introduction. For now on, you wander in the room, and to read whichever documents appeal to you. As you get further in your investigations, you will find more documents progressively become available to you. For the beginning, I would suggest you to pay attention to some specific guiding thread. Why don’t you first follow this set of letters?
Finally, before you focus on these other files, may I suggest you take the attached notebook? There is not much upon it, and simply reading through it will not help you in itself: you will find it filled with gibberish. However, when investigating other documents, you might sometimes find yourself drawn to the notebook. Should you open it in those moments, you will find information I have personally added. Go on, now. Explore.

Do you choose to take the notebook?

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What do you want to read next?

One set of letters have been placed down your table.

by Pouaseuille

Two similar files have been placed. They seem to relate to two medium-sized towns: Springvley, and Figmenton.

by Pouaseuille

One journal article has been placed here.

by Pouaseuille