Borderworld

"Beyond our universe is every single reality, each stretched thin within the dimensional membrane."

- Zero

The Borderworld is a strange plane of existence between all other known dimensions and realities. It is a dimensional membrane with most of its terrain made up of a gas giant-like atmosphere with floating asteroid islands orbiting a black hole. Many alien species exist within the Borderworld, none of which are known to be native to the dimension.

Overview
The Borderworld is notable for having greatly reduced gravity compared to Earth's. However, given that the dimension is comprised of low mass asteroids, it is surprising that there is any appreciable gravitational pull at all, let alone a pull strong enough to retain an atmosphere. Another feature is that gravity is almost always directed downwards, rather than towards the asteroid meaning one can actually fall off an asteroid into the void below. As the Borderworld is an alternate dimension, conventional physics do not fully apply.

Despite orbiting a black hole, the Borderworld does not experience any noticeable time dilation.

Ed Islandian Excursions
Ed Island first gained access to the Borderworld in the early 1990s through Project Schwarze Sonne, an attempt at dimensional travel. Since doing so, the country has established small research outposts across several of the Borderworld's larger nearby landmasses.

Although vaguely hinted at in a press release shortly after discovery, existence of the Borderworld was publicly announced in 1994. The extent of the discovery was kept classified, with only few non-specific details published in scientific journals for the greater Antarctican community. Internal debates regarding whether or not these classifications should be lifted gained momentum within Ed Laboratories and the Ed Islandian government, but ceased entirely after first contact with Octoids showed the potential danger the Borderworld posed to Antarctica.

Through research of the Gustav black hole, valuable quantum equations were formulated which ultimately allowed for Hyperspace calculations to be developed. Confirmation of the existence of dark energy was discovered in 2016 after further observation of Gustav, putting Ed Island one step closer to dark energy-based teleportation.

In 2018, a vigilante named Zero gained access to the Borderworld through unknown means, aiming to prevent Ed Island from gaining dark energy technology. After a string of heists across Antarctica, Zero's plot was foiled, but not before he related his worries to the EPF agent who stopped him.

Characteristics
The Borderworld is comprised of many irregular bodies similar to asteroids.

The Borderworld may or may not be infinite due to its transdimensional nature. Scientists have determined it is possible to move closer and farther from Gustav, although the sense of distance and scale is significantly distorted and difficult to accurately measure.

One peculiar property of the Borderworld is its "compressed" distances. A short distance within the dimension may translate to hundreds or thousands of meters in Antarctica. Although ambiguous and often irregular, estimates place this where approximately one meter in the Borderworld is equivalent to eight meters in Antarctica.

Ecosystem
The Borderworld asteroids are home to a variety of flora and fauna, forming a complex ecosystem. The vast majority of life within the Borderworld is plant-based, but several animal species have been discovered. It has been deduced that no species is native to the dimension, meaning that all life here originated elsewhere in the Multiverse.

To date one seemingly intelligent species has been encountered in the Borderworld. Named Octoids due to their eight-sided biology, they are an insectoid race of creatures that resemble flying saucers. They range in size from two meters across to the largest ones measured at nearly 11 meters. Octoids possess a mouth on the lower side and what appears to be a single orange eye on the upper side. They also appear to have psionic abilities and can project orbs of energy from their "eye" to use as an attack. Initial contact with Ed Islandian expeditions were met with hostility, with multiple research teams being attacked by Octoids on sight. In more recent years, however, the aliens have ceased their attacks, leading researchers to believe that they are intelligent. As of 2018, no success at formal communications with Octoids has been accomplished.

A near-penguin species known as the Navigators was encountered by Zero while formulating his master plan. The Navigators wear long, dark cloaks, with only their piercing blue eyes visible from underneath. The species does not communicate through sound, instead relying on powerful telepathic abilities.

Scientists have yet to determine why all life in the Borderworld originated from other dimensions. Popular belief is through naturally occuring wormholes or innate abilities, but one prominent theory (and supposedly verified by Zero) is that they are running from some interdimensional threat.

Trivia

 * The Veil Society is theorized to be the first group of penguins to gain access to the Borderworld, as several structures have been discovered matching their technology.