Codex Entry: Ordinus
The cities exist on a circular continuum, so none of them is really "first." But I tend to always think about them in a certain order, and that sequence starts with Ordinus.
Spectrum: Order/Chaos
Ruler: The Prefect
Demonym: Ordinite
Unique Resource: Funnel, an inklike substance
Hallmarks: Brutalist, often physics-defying architecture. Typewriters, trains, and other tech that loudly clacks, chunks, and dings. Identical spaces. Topiary. Scheduled weather. Layers of beurocracy.
History
Ordinus is surrounded on all sides by chaos. It is all that remains of a world whose every atom has been randomized into noncompliance with every other. It is a sea of continuously shifting entropic muck, and the Boundary is all that prevents Ordinus itself from being consumed and converted endlessly. This is the history conjured for the city at the moment of its creation, but that does not make it any less real or true.
The Boundary
Ordinus is not a walled city in the traditional sense. The Boundary is not a high barrier looming over the outskirts of the city. In order to survive, Ordinus has become something that would be unrecognizable to the world it once occupied. It is topologically interwoven, looping over and back on itself across spatial dimensions. This is not a noticeable phenomenon to a citizen of Ordinus. The streets all connect and will take you where you wish to go. Everything follows logically from the ground.
What this means, though, is that the Boundary is everywhere, and Chaos can leak through wherever it is weakened. This is a fear deeply ingrained in every Ordinite.
Chaos
The entropic mass constantly pressuring Ordinus does not look like anything. It is not coherent enough to parse with the senses. But chaos that pours into Ordinus when the Boundary cracks is different. Every aspect of Ordinus' construction is suffused with intent. Within its bounds the chaos is constrained. It flows like a corrosive sea, it twists into monstrous approximations of life. It can be fought and driven back. Contact with it can be survived, though surviving unchanged is another matter. Breaches of the Boundary are often smaller than a full flood, manifesting as solitary monsters or alleys and corridors shifting as though alive, trapping anyone unfortunate enough to stumble in.
Funnel
The physical laws of Ordinus, the ways matter behaves and interacts with itself, are codified in actual documents. Localized alteration of these laws allows for the construction of buildings that spite gravity or contain more interior space than should be possible. More intense configurations are possible, but structures are designed to make efficient use of space while not putting strain on the mind.
The reason for all of this is an iridescent substance with the properties of metallic ink called Funnel. Its name is derived from its ability to act as a probabalistic funnel, bottlenecking ranges of probability down to a smaller set of outcomes. If Funnel existed in our world, you could ink a 20-sided die in such a way that it always rolled above a fifteen, or only rolled twenties, or any other permutation of outcomes that were already possible. You couldn't ink that die to make it float, or sing, or explode.
It's different in Ordinus. The city is order carved out of chaos. What makes the chaos deadly is that anything is possible, and everything is happening. The range of possibilities Funnel can create are therefore limited only by a programmer's knowledge of glyphs, the time it takes to write them, and the amount of Funnel in their possession. Funnel is strictly controlled within Ordinus, and unauthorized use of it is punished harshly.
Daily Life
Everything in Ordinus happens according to a plan and a schedule. It is efficient, but not cruel. Humans are not seen as expendable. The Prefect recognizes that in order for society to run smoothly, Ordinites require adequate rest, housing, nutrition, and exercise, as well as entertainment and social time. Society largely sees itself as benevolent. In many ways it is. However, the belief that everyone's exact needs and optimal path in life can be calculated by a dispassionate formula has led to unfortunate results for anyone that formula fails to account for, and blame tends to fall on such folk for their own unhappiness. People live within a system that wants to reduce them to numbers for their own good.