Zootopia: ZPD Mysteries: Case #2: On Dimm Avenue

Chapter 9: On Dimm Avenue

The East Nocturnal District was set inside an enormous cave system, wide as caves come, with stalactites and stalagmites as large as a dinosaur's body, stretching up and down from the floor and the ceiling. Enormous shield formations and flowstones peppered the mile-high walls of the cave as they diverted dripping water falling into the pitch-black underground lagoon below. Massive, flowing underground rivers cascaded through the cave and generated enormous, almost endless waterfalls. Some even fell into enormous underground canyons, pouring forth millions of gallons of water down into one of Zootopia's chief water supplies. There was not a whole lot of light in the massive caves, as it was quite deep underground, but scattered across the ceiling, like a million blue-white stars, were massive glowworm nests that provided a natural ambient blue light with which the caves were made navigable by even the greenest of explorers. Even though the main passage was quite large, it was not the only interesting feature in here, for the cave's walls opened up into other caves and smaller passages, with cliffs and shelves and roundy walls on both sides.

It was on these cliff sides, on the cave floor, and on the outside of the massive stalactites and stalagmites, that the animals made their homes.

The animals living here were nocturnal, the massive cave catering faithfully to every animal from bats to Tasmanian devils, all of whom were mostly active at night. In order to ensure that they were most comfortable, this entire area had been built inside the enormous cave, so that little, if any, sunlight would come through.

The buildings of the East Nocturnal District were only lit indoors, with faded, yellow streetlights marked the directions of the roads. Narrow, dimly-lit streets wound between buildings, with puddles and grunge being a common sight to pedestrians; little comfort in this land of darkness. Entire apartment complexes were wrapped around huge pillars and stalagmites. Some were even built the stalagmites, creating mini-bastions of solid granite that rose up over the other buildings. Here and there, either carved from the stalagmites or built with chunky blocks of steel and concrete, skyscrapers rose up like huge plants, stretching towards the cavern ceiling. Entire bat communities hung from the ceiling in certain areas of the cave.

The Nocturnal District was famed not only for its exotic glowworms and chunky, blocky architecture, it was also famed for having one of the highest crime rates in the city.

Back in the 1960s, the East Nocturnal District had been much cleaner and nicer than it was today. This was because of the vast supplies of coal available in this labyrinthine, back then the most desirable fuel of all. Coal was made to last, able to provide incredible amounts of raw energy, and it was everywhere inside the East Nocturnal District. Miners flocked from all over the Free Lands to take a stab at the enormous reserves with shoves, pickaxes and tons of dynamite and providing coal for the millions of vehicles and homes across the continent. But then, in the early '70s, Governor Lacine, after dozens of incidents involving deadly fumes from coal fires asphyxiating dozens of animals in the cities across the state, began to back alternative energy sources much more aggressively than he previously had. When every vehicle was switched to ethanol system, the plant-based fuel refineries in the Meadowlands became more affluent.

One by one, the massive coal mines that delved deeper into the earth became silent and dark, as had the borough itself. The whole of the East Nocturnal District was gripped by hard times. Sure, there were still a few thriving businesses, such as Miters Rock Quarry Service and several hydroelectric plants, but for the most part, the END, like the Marshlands before it, had become the ghetto of Zootopia. The poorest animals in the city lived here, and some turned to criminal activity just to survive.