Introduction

In a world of climate disaster, pollution and decaying cities, there is hope. People who use their shared adversity to unite them in a common purpose: survival.

Before the Beginning

Before the Beginning, the world was plagued by climate disasters. Storms consumed the sky with red and burning clouds. Acid rain poisoned organic material and corroded once-great cities into rubble. The Ancient Civilisation fell, unable to win the battle against nature and the pollution of their own creation. Governments abandoned their people and the old countries ceased to exist.

Amidst the devastation, there was hope. Communities came together, using their shared adversity to unite them in a common purpose: survival. Together they found new ways to adapt to the world. Aiming for the road to Utopia, communities took different routes, each with their own wonders and limitations.
Most tried to escape the storm. The Founders build a domed city to shelter away from it. Others fled in the hopes of reaching somewhere untouched by the storm. A few stayed behind with the intention of reviving the ancient city.

The Founders & The Creation of The Dome

The Founders believed that the only way to survive was to shelter away from nature. With determination, luck and great effort, The Founders built The great Dome.
Protected from the outside world, Dome Community thrived and grew. A settlement turned into a town then into a city. United by a common purpose, the city flourished and new technologies were developed to provide everything that a person could need to live in peace and safety, free from the challenges of the outside world.

Age of ignorance in the Dome

Over time, the world outside was all but forgotten, reduced to the stuff of nightmares and ghost stories. And yet, in every society there will be those who seek out the unknown. Those who quest for discovery. Explorers. Archaeologists. Scholars. Historians. Individuals who seek to educate themselves and question the world around them.
Generations after The Beginning  and after much debate  , the Explorers' Guild was set up to rebuild lost knowledge and discover what lay Beyond the Dome.

The Dome Community & Age of Exploration

The initial Explorers's Guild missions were filled with a great many sucesses, including the building of the Micro-Dome settlement outside the Dome.
However, the Guild also had as many setbacks including the disapearance of one of their engineers. There are wild theories about what might have happened to her, including that she was killed by the acid rain; that she turned into a ghost in The Ancient City and that she stole the Venture 7 to seek a life away from the Dome.
The Explorers' Guild failures gave weight to those who argued that The Founders were right to keep the gates sealed. The Community split between those who supported the mission to explore beyond and those who petition to close the gates.
However, the majority of the leaderless Community remained in favour of exploration so, the Guild continued to create innovative technologies and train brave explorers to venture beyond.

Current Era

The Explorer's Guild embarks on its most ambitious venture yet: a solo mission to complete a full circuit around the outside of the Dome. The mission is led by the first fully trained Explorer: Amelia.

Today was the day. The day of Amelia’s voyage to where no one had been since the Beginning when the Founders built the Dome as shelter from the toxic earth.

Several days into Amelia's journey, disaster strikes. Amelia gets caught in a storm and loses communications with the Guild.
As time goes on and the Dome Community do not hear from Amelia, debates resurface about whether the outside world is too dangerous to explore. The Petition to Close the Gates gains more support.
Meanwhile, Amelia, lost in the unknown, fights to get back home. Surviving against challenging weather, unknown terrain and monsterous creatures, her world crumbles.
Even if Amelia finds a way home, life will never be the same.

Meta

This project was inspired by my flash fiction, ‘Journey Across an Ocean of Plastic: A Sci-Fi/ Utopian Adventure Story’ and the challenge that prompted it. Read on Medium.com
The idea keeps growing as I have fun developing the story into a novel and building the world around it.

Themes

Genres: Post-apocalyptic & survivalist adventure with hints of (post)cyber-punk, solarpunk and Utopian.
Tone: Bright / Utopian. Although the environment does have its challenges and dangers to overcome (pollution, extreme weather & technology malfunctions), people are able to overcome the odds with the help of technologies and supportive communities.
Character Agency: Neutral - Noble: This is a world of adventure and discovery. It is less about characters changing the world, and more about exploring it. Experimenting with ways to adapt to the world and finding where they belong.
Overall, I want to instil a sense of wanderlust, making the reader (target audience is me) want to go on adventures to explore this world and get to know the characters who live in it.

Subplots

• Part 1. Explorer Amelia Leaves the Dome
• Part 2: Amelia Visits The MicroDome

Related Characters

• Amelia

Related Organizations

• Dome Community Organisation
• The Founders

Related Locations

• Plastic Coast
• The Dome
• Toxic Plains