The Accumulator Tower

The most prominent structure in the City, the Accumulator Tower collects electricity from storm clouds, an activity far more benign than its frequent mentioning suggests.

The Ancient House

Maintained as a "prehistoric site," part of a State-run museum, the reddish Ancient House is a multi-storied, gaudy explosion of avant-garde wall treatments, heavy furniture, and curious artwork—like an ugly bust of the Russian poet Pushkin—that make the Ancient House the polar opposite of austere, transparent modern architecture and furnishings. D-503, on first acquaintance, sees an analogy to the human head: opaque with tiny openings to let light in. A woman whose face is a mass of wrinkles sits outside the front door as doorkeeper, admitting regulars like I-330, who is the head of the underground revolutionary movement MEPHI. A maze of catacombs lies beneath the Ancient House, in which D-503 gets lost...