Description
The Nest is one of the oldest apartments in Merkadome, and its origins are closely linked to the dam. The battered glass wall that forms one of its main walls requires constant repairs to contain the threat of collapse, which would mean the total destruction of the settlement and its inhabitants. To do so, some workers built a network of scaffolding that reaches the cracks to be repaired, unwittingly earning them the nickname Wallrats (since, seen from below, they resemble rats scurrying along a wall).
This area, located above the flood level of the dam’s channel, is located on one of its sides, where the immense glass wall ends and the enormous concrete supports that hold it up begin. The proximity to the wall and the dome makes the Nest a dark and humid place, where few would want to settle. Initially, the apartment was limited to a few workers’ barracks, although over the generations, many of the settlement’s most disadvantaged inhabitants have been forced to settle in this area due to population pressure in the safe areas of the dome.
The Nest owes its name to the fact that it has expanded vertically, within the limits allowed by the structure, thanks to the technical knowledge of some of its inhabitants. While most of its main buildings and commercial areas are at ground level, over the years the Wallrats have drawn on their experience to construct new rooms, thanks to a network of scaffolding and perforations in the inner face of the vault, connected by ladders, walkways, and manual elevators. The humblest inhabitants of the settlement live in the highest areas, and few outsiders are allowed access. However, due to the prevailing conditions, the neighborhood is subject to constant repairs and shoring to prevent collapse. This means that it has shabby facilities, even by Parameño standards: construction materials age quickly in these conditions, with most of the buildings made of rotten wood and rusty metal.
It is therefore one of the most disadvantaged departments in Merkadome, where residents enjoy a poorer quality of life. However, this does not mean that the Masca district, which controls this area, does not enjoy a somewhat more privileged situation…
Due to its location and the subsidence caused by failed drilling, this area has no direct access from outside the dome, so those interested in reaching it must do so through one of the adjacent departments, controlled by other Mascas.
Masca
Chaplain Ratus
Masca del Nido and spokesman for the Wallrats. No one is sure what he looks like, since he always appears dressed in the smelly cloak of the largest cockrat anyone has ever seen and a mask with one eye. The Masca of the neighborhood that no one would want to lead is looked down on by the rest, considering him nothing more than the extravagant leader of a filthy pit that only subsists on the charity of the Sherif. He has a reputation for being capricious and changeable in his decisions.
Other personalities
The Memory Maker
The most veteran of the Wallrats. Survivor of a thousand and one escapes and collapses and custodian of “the remembering machine.”
The Executioner
Manager of the Hive and successful post-apocalyptic businessman, he diligently manages, and with a double-edged axe, the most renowned inn in the entire Wasteland.
Kristianíñigo
Head Appraiser at Arreglatorio. This two-headed mutard runs one of Merkadome’s most prolific and long-established establishments. He has the despicable ability to make his clients believe that repairs are simple, as well as depraved sexual desires for plant species.
Little Anit
This crazy young girl is one of the newest members of the Wallrats, although she has amply proven her worth by improving, after countless tests, the composition of the mortar that the Wallrats use to seal the dam’s glass.
Main locations
Buildings
Chapel of the Wallrats
Little is known about this building, located high on a scaffolding of pilasters, just below the collapse of the side of the dome, with its entrances permanently guarded. This immense structure seems to have different rooms for the accommodation of the Wallrats, a storeroom for supplies for their work, and several common rooms where ceremonies and various events are held. Needless to say, no one other than a Wallrat has the slightest interest in going there, so it is not certain what goes on inside.
The Room of Truth
This private room, which hangs on cables from the vault ceiling and has movable entrances to prevent entry, serves as the personal quarters of Chaplain Ratus, current Ruler of the Nest.
Locals
The Fix-ItThis is one of the settlement’s main and oldest sources of income. When the first settlers arrived, they found the remains of a DIY store here, still containing machinery from the World of Yore, and quickly realized the benefits of running it long-term.
This business has a fortified customer reception area, where leases are arranged for various tools, retreaded by renowned scrap metal masters for operation in the Wasteland, which will greatly facilitate any type of repair. Behind this public area is a huge warehouse where shitty tools are stored and pawns are kept.
Due to the value of the material, high prices are paid for its use and it is also necessary to leave a large amount of merchandise in storage, of equivalent value (guaranteed by their expert appraisers).
In the Arreglatorio, you can have temporary access to various shitty tools, such as “the nailing machine”, “the one that leaves things smooth”, “the thing that cuts” or “the one that glues” metals, among others.
The Hive
This is an exclusive accommodation that represents a significant covert source of income for the local Masca. Over generations, numerous “niches” have been excavated high up in one of the concrete supports and the adjacent dome, accessed by ladders. These niches can be rented for safe resting. And this, on the Wasteland, is no small feat.
This respectable establishment has strict rules, such as leaving weapons in lockers and not urinating on those below. To ensure compliance, there are security guards, under the command of an inflexible manager, known as “the Executioner”.
This ambitious administrator realized some time ago that, in order to generate greater profits, he had to expand the capacity of his business. Knowing that only someone specialized in working at heights, like the Wallrats, could perform such a task effectively, he reached an agreement with his leader to carry out regular extension tasks, which are carried out discreetly to avoid suspicion from the clientele: after all, it is a business with a reputation to maintain.
Places of interest
Misfortune Lookout
Located high up on one side of the dome, it offers a privileged view (from a distance) of the dam’s glass wall and the Wallrats working on it. It’s traditional to go to this lookout to wish someone ill, while throwing a moldy pillow over the railing and reciting a prayer to the jinxes: “I wish you misery, I wish you disgrace, and if you don’t believe it, I hope you cross paths with Wallrats.”
Monument to Pánfilo
One of the most emblematic places in the Department is the monument dedicated to the idiots of the world. It is, in fact, one of them: a worker whose body was covered in mortar, fossilized for the remains in a ridiculous pose, as a consequence of his own stupidity.
The Fungatorium
Used by the Sheriff’s henchmen to administer justice, this is an extremely humid place, where particularly ferocious fungi proliferate. It is where those condemned to serve their sentences of “green foot” are taken.
Resources
The Nest is, despite its fame, the mortar that holds Merkadome together, since without the constant maintenance of the dam wall, the entire settlement would have been swept away by the waters long ago.
It is also the cradle of local folklore and the most ancient traditions of the Dome, to the point that the inhabitants of Merkadome are contemptuously called Wallrats by other Parameños.
