Passageways!
There was a choice of weird things.
The passageway was carved out of bedrock, which was surprising. What was even more surprising was how it primitive it looked. There were lights at regular intervals, and those were modern; but the wood support beams and reinforcements were old. And not just regular old; Norm wasn’t an expert on wood, but some of these posts looked like they’d been there forever. They’d have to be, he thought. We’ve been using eternaplas since No Contact. So… decades, I guess?
Beltran hadn’t sounded worried when Norm pointed this out. “Nothing’s creaking, so it’s not going to collapse on us,” he noted. “If you’re worried about it, don’t lean on the wood.”
“Sure,” admitted Norm. “But this is weird, right?”
“Yeah, it is,” Ashelyn agreed as she stopped a moment to look at one beam. “Especially since… is that tar?” she asked. “Since when did people put tar on wood?”
“A long time ago,” Beltran told them. “It’s good for keeping wood from rotting in wet conditions.” He sniffed the air. “Mind you, it’s dry as a bone down here. Maybe it wasn’t when they built the tunnel.”