The Fields

The Fields are a great plain that sprout neurons year-round. They are located beyond Earth's atmosphere in the great abyss that is the universe, a mystery to all back at home. It's the responsibility of the Followers (known as the Prisoners to foreigners) to harvest these neurons in the name of the New Lord, a faceless entity that feasts on nerve cells. The Fields are a punishment for those who have committed crimes beyond humanity's understanding. Infamous victims of the fields are Ted Bundy and Jeffrey Dahmer. They work day and night to please a Lord they have never seen with their own eyes.

Why all things relating to the Fields begin with the prefix "the" is a mystery. According to Axel, it's a "religious thing" that he isn't allowed to explain.

## Background

Nobody knows when the Fields were first created. Some say they were born with the creation of the universe and others a product of the first star's explosion billions of years ago. Either way, they were an unheard-of land before one brave survivor of the Fields..

About 10 years ago, Axel, one of MIT's beloved scholars, found a way to leave the Fields and travel to Earth. It's unknown how he performed such a remarkable feat, just that he was a messenger of knowledge. The religion the Followers are a part of says that each Follower has a fate. Perhaps this was Axel's.

Many had suspicions that the Fields existed long before Axel's arrival. Axel just solidified their ponderings. Information surfaced about the Fields, such as the fact that all concepts of the universe are rejected. There's no time, weather, or feeling in the Fields. All prisoners who enter the Fields do so through a holy passage only accessed in the subconscious. The entrance to the Fields is one-way, and once you enter, all sense of identity is stripped away. Even Axel doubts his identity as Axel.

## Locations

There are many locations within the Fields. The cells are just one of them. The Cells are where those who have questioned the New Lord's requests go as punishment. Those who are sent to the Cells are never seen again. Just like the Fields, whatever happened to those inside of the Cells were a mystery before Noa, one brave boy, found an exit from them. While many of the things he's confessed are confusing due to his speech impediment caused by the trauma he'd collected from his time in the Cells, Axel has been able to translate the majority of his words so that they public may be able to understand him.

There's a language that they speak in the Fields that has no name, just a series of utterances only understood by those who have seen the Fields first-hand. You aren't allowed to speak any language that the New Lord hasn't approved of. Speaking in a language that He can't understand is a criminal offense punished by a trip to the Cells. This was apparently how Noa ended up in his prison cell.

Many of the Followers who escaped from the Fields attend Mare Island Technology Academy, more widely known as MIT Academy. A majority of them were not able to get a proper education when they were working in the Fields, so they have to go to school in order for them to be "on par" with other people their age. This is my experience. Perhaps it's not the same for other people.