Maybe the miniscule city in the grass is a character. The idea that it may be vacant, as is the campus, which is not a college campus at all, but rather for something else, something State-sponsored. A break from electronics--the internet is down. No TV, no phones. Where is he and why are none of his peers there?  (He realizes his unique position; uses it to explore; has no peers.) The unsettling silence is not that but a comfort, and who knew?