Upends

Upends (Uhp-Ends) was a backstate bordered by Paxis to the north, Frecht to the north east, Jaquop to the east, Tendir to the south east, Jesdask to the south west, and Tyirs to the west.

## History and Founding

Upends was discovered in 1897, after travelers moving across Route 83.4 from Jaquop to Tyirs in the summer of 1894 found that their journey was taking far longer than expected. Travelers reported needing 4 additional weeks to traverse the border between the two backstates. Soon after, settlers rushed into the region to take advantage of the vast fields of flat farmable lands.

In 1898, cartographer Robert C Upends headed a cartography mission to map the state. The eight month expedition discovered the modern borders of what was then called "The Upends Territory", in honor of Robert C Upends. In 1897, only 3 years after its discovery, the territory had a population of 109,000. Upends was officially admitted into the union that same year.

## Historical Geography

Prior to the 2019 event, Upends' geography consisted of large uninterrupted tracks of flatlands. Across its 236 mile width, total elevation changes are no more than 300 feet. There were no major rivers or other bodies of water present within the backstate. Part of the wider Hyderson Plains, the backstates' low sweeping terrain made perfect farming land, especially when combined with the state's access to the massive and shallow Delfermentie Aquifer.

## The Event

At 2pm RMT time on November 18th 2019 911, dispatch in Bortile County, Frecht received a call from a motorist traveling westbound on I 92.2. The motorist complained that they had been driving back and forth for 20 minutes trying to get from Mendek Jaquop to Portine Upends but continuously ended up in Belthain, Frecht, in Bortile County. The driver was advised to pull off and await first responders, as a mental health issue was expected. However, before responders could arrive, calls began flooding into dispatch centers in all of the five backstates that bordered Upends - most coming from within the now-gone Upends.

Franticly, Upenders begged the police for help, but they knew nothing and could do nothing. The callers reported that the state now somehow bordered itself on all sides. Police were immediately dispatched to all 5 borders, and were horrified to find that what had once been a 236 mile track of land separating them was now nothing with roads and border signage crossing from one backstate to another as if Upends had never existed. Roads which had once had several miles of north south difference between them now seemed inextricably joined, and homes that had sat on the border now simply ended as if rooms had been built shorter to avoid the border. One famous example, dubbed "The Wall" by locals, is a "home" made only 1 foot wide and 14 feet long. Fully finished with siding, asphalt shingle roof, and windows, the building has no interior as the walls are only 2 inches apart.

### Border Changes

Because of this event, all states formerly bordering Upends have had some segment of their border changed. The changed segment of their border was the section that had bordered Upends prior to The Event. All borders now border a section of old Upends' border that is (usually) 150-200 miles away, going counterclockwise through the border. The former border now acts as a form of portal to their new border.

Most roads that previously went into Upends now connect to roads located at the other side of the border-portal, but this changes depending on which state you are entering from. When a person gets approximately 0.23 miles away from the former border, the roads and border will change to border a new stretch of former border, if they approach the border again.

Jaquop now borders Paxis, Tendir and Jesdask now border Jaquop, and all effected states now border themselves (except Tendir and Frecht).