Pericardia

Val, a young scavenger with a strange medical condition, navigates the layers of the city of Pericardia. Val feels a kinship with Pericardia: burdened with an autoimmune disorder that causes architecture to exude from the sufferer’s body, Val blends in with the junk towers at the outskirts of a city on the verge of collapse. A chance encounter with an exuberant member of the city’s Civil Corps named Entri sees Val thrown into the ranks of the Pericardia Civil Corps when it turns out Val’s illness can repair the city’s ancient, malfunctioning infrastructure on the spot. Val struggles to find a sense of purpose and self-worth after a life of isolation, as Entri must show just how important Val is to the city’s survival.

Pericardia explores the hazards and possibilities of starting over, touching on illness, imagined worlds, and the ways that people and places grow one another.