The Other Calgarys (#89)

There are seven Calgarys, including the one that you know. The ways between them are many. The ambulances and cabs of yesterday, the secret roads, a wrong turn in the +15 walkways... there are innumerable ways for a poorly educated and sloppy acolyte to find themselves lost in the alleys of one of the other cities. Our own is hazardous enough to those awakened and aware enough to walk in dark places, but not enough to see the hazards.

The six other Calgarys, the shadows and reflections of our city, are as follows:

•Old Calgary is the city of the past and is made of the buildings that have been demolished and is navigated by all the roads that have been closed. The dead live here, and they’re hungry for your warmth.

•New Calgary is the city of the future, all the buildings we have yet to build and all the people who have yet to be born in the city dwell here. The sky is dark, full of ominous clouds. Treat it as a canary for predicting our own end.

•Right Calgary is our city as it would be if it were perfect. The buses run on time, it’s always sunny, and everyone smiles. Some say that our Calgary is just a shadow it casts, but they’re wrong. The people there have too many teeth.

•Left Calgary is our city as it would be if everything were wrong. The sprawl, the traffic the crime and the violence are as they would be in our nightmares.  It’s my theory that the poor souls trapped here are doing penance for us.

•Dream Calgary is where the city’s denizens go when they sleep. Anything is possible here, but nothing is true or persistent. Those that dwell here forever are a sorry lot. This is the safest reflection, but it still isn’t safe.

•Mirror Calgary is where your reflection lives. If you find yourself here, run as hard and fast as you can back to the proper city.