Taisabaku

A world scorched by the sun, much of Taisabaku is a great golden desert. Filled with dangerous reptiles and a variety of other fauna and flora that have been forced to adapt to this irradiated environment, survival is always the primary objective. Despite this, civilization has somehow managed to claw its way into existence.   Taisabaku was once called Earth, but it has been hundred of millennia since this was the case. Human interactions brought disaster upon the planet in the ancient past, and now the super-heated environment in a permanent condition. However, not all is desert. To the extreme north and south, life is still able to flourish in temperate environments. Where once there were icy poles, there are now forests, lakes, and rivers. Bordering these biomes are vast spreads of savanna, where water is scarce yet still present. At the equator, temperatures may exceed three hundred degrees Fahrenheit. Only the most heavily adapted of creatures may survive there...   As for human society, much as changed. In the ancient past, it was the Japanese who reacted swiftly in a time of unprecedented crisis. Creating massive domed cities underwater, thousands of refugees were sent to live in these oases as the world baked around them. When the seas evaporated, these domed cities emerged from the depths and now form impenetrable fortresses on the surface. Due to this influence, the surviving human population now speaks a mixture of English and Japanese.   Genetically, humans have changed little over time, mainly due to bio-engineering. However, significant differences border on the supernatural. A small percentage of the population has, through government experimentation, developed strange, inexplicable gifts that set them apart from the rest. Many blame the radiation as a major factor in these experiments' outcomes.Oftentimes, these gifts are hidden below the surface, unnoticeable. Other times, the difference is visible, where a person may take on the attributes of another species whose DNA has been combined with theirs. The average population is wary of these neo--humans, and violent, racist actions are not uncommon. However, the government maintains strict regulations and control over the neo-humans, and many are trained as elite enforcers who work to maintain peace within the cities. Punishment for acting against these enforcers is severe and may even be deadly.   As can be inferred, the bodies governing the remainder of humanity are dictatorships, for the most part. However, each city is independent of the others, and there is no single sovereign ruler. Some cities are more lenient than others, and democracy still clings to its existence in rare instances. In the meantime, humanity's main focus is on maintaining the domes and developing new ways to counteract the harsh environment of Taisabaku.