Overview
They move along the ground and through the seams of the city, following the same paths Magret and Gerben are forced into as they pass from apartment interiors into lower zones and hidden spaces, appearing where the system has already broken down, inside walls, beneath floors, along tunnels and debris; in these enclosed and subterranean environments, they register presence quickly, turning shelter into contact, where a body cannot remain still without being approached from below.
Their movement links interior spaces that seem separate on the surface, connecting rooms, corridors, and underground passages into a continuous layer of interaction, so that what enters one location can be traced through another, extending the system across spaces that remain out of sight; through them, edible material does not stay localized, and transformation continues to be engaged even in places designed to conceal or protect.
Behavior
They move through the hidden layers of the city, following pipes, tunnels, and structural gaps that connect one space to another, so that when Magret and Gerben pass through interiors or settle briefly, they are already within a network that has registered them; feeding does not begin at the moment of encounter but continues as an ongoing process, extending through paths that run beneath visible movement.
Most of their activity remains dispersed and out of sight, spread across these infrastructure lines, maintaining contact with accessible material without forming a visible event, so that the system persists even when nothing appears to be happening; this continuous background interaction keeps enclosed and subterranean environments active, regardless of surface conditions.
When accumulation occurs, the hidden layer surfaces, converging at points where movement slows or exposure concentrates, revealing the network all at once; a shelter becomes active, a passage becomes occupied, and what seemed contained reconnects immediately to the broader system, as the unseen process becomes visible and folds back into the same cycle unfolding above ground.
System Role
Urban rats sustain the system where sight does not reach, continuing consumption beneath floors, behind walls, and along service lines that connect one interior to another, so that when Magret and Gerben pause in enclosed spaces, the process does not wait for visibility but proceeds through contact already in motion; what is hidden remains active, carrying the cycle forward without needing a crowd or an open zone.
Their presence extends the network into areas that appear separate from the main flow, linking shelters, corridors, and underground passages into the same chain of interaction, so that no space remains outside the system’s reach, and what unfolds above ground is mirrored below, out of view but continuous.