Antaus
Minstrel
Okay, with the following story setting I'm just really looking for opinions more than anything. I have enough to finish a basic outline, character profiles, and so on. I'd just like to hear from other people, what they think of the story ideas, the characters, setting, ect. I know this isn't 100% original, this is just how the story developed so I went with it.
Empire City
Set in the 24th century Empire City is a story about one of the last bastions of human civilization. After the third world war and a nuclear holocaust that's rendered most of the world uninhabitable, people now live in a single massive city that rises over a mile into the air.
Upper Levels — Commonly referred to as the Up Levels, the city is constructed of domes and tubes that transport people everywhere they need to go. With neatly manicured green lawns people have access to cheap and healthy food, free medical care, and top notch education. While a person does have to work for a living, on average they do so six hours a day and few jobs are physically demanding. Life on the Upper Levels is good, the air is clean, and the sun shines bright. The government is a democratically run organization with elected officials and fairly little corruption compared to governments of the past.
Lower Levels — Or the Down Levels as most call it. The lower levels are the exact opposite of the upper levels. With a world still blanketed by a nuclear winter the sun never shines down here. Were it not for the massive factories that churn out smoke all day and geothermal heat vents, the city would have already frozen. On the Down Levels everything is controlled by an organization known a as the Syndicate. They started out as a powerful criminal empire and now they run the Down Levels from cloud cover to ground.
Political Set-up — The Syndicate controls the Down Levels and is really the only form of functional government they have left. In the past as the Syndicate grew in power the Empire City government tried to fight back but the corruption within the police department combined with the problems of over-population (a city meant to house five-million now with a population of eight million), made this almost impossible. The war between the two sides was sprawling into the street in running firefights. The police were losing and law enforcement was facing staggering loses while the Syndicate just kept sending more and more people.
Now around one-hundred years ago, the Empire City government completely abandon the lower levels of the city, sealing off any access points to the upper levels and left the people to the mercy of the Syndicate. The government manages the pristine portions of the city above the clouds where people live good and easy lives, while the Syndicate controls the city below. Inside a pollution and crime choked city where the average lifespan is only forty years, gangs run the streets in a living hell and the Syndicate running everything, including the gangs, from their fortress in Sector 01.
There's an uneasy peace between the two sides with the Syndicate staying below the clouds and the government remaining above. They rarely venture into the others territory because after losing control of the lower levels, the government has come up with policies and technologies to help root out Syndicate infiltrators with surprising efficiency. Both sides have fortified their positions and short of an all out war that would destroy the city, that's not likely to change any time soon.
Main Cast — The following section is meant to give an overview of the main cost, not spell out everything about them. That stuff can be found out after I finish the story.
Edgar Riley — Edgar lives in the Down Levels of the city and is an enforcer for the Syndicate. While it's not the ideal job and Edgar dreams of one day making it to the Up Levels, being a borderline sociopath the job description doesn't really bothers him. In Edgar's eyes the Syndicate is the government on the Down Levels so he's just enforcing the law, much like an Up Levels police officer.
Rachel Donovan — A young woman who lives with Edgar, Rachel has the job of being his observer. As it's the duty of all enforcers to make sure people play by the Syndicate's rules, someone has to make sure they play by the rules as well. Having been Edgar's observer for the past six years, after the previous one was killed in a hovercar accident, Rachel is probably the closest thing to a friend he has.
Sarah Sinclair — Sarah is a police officer in the upper levels (ECPD) of the city and lives a fairly peaceful life. In just over a decade on the force she's only been in one firefight, and that didn't last long. With a genuine desire to help people and keep the peace, Sarah became a police officer to do her part in making sure the upper levels were kept safe. Both from the criminals in their society, as well as those from the lower levels.
Jason Vandal — As a young upstart senator for the Up Level government Jason has long been a proponent of taking back the Down Levels of Empire City. He often speaks about the harsh conditions the people live in and the brutality of Syndicate rule. Naturally this has made him quite unpopular both above and below the clouds, however in recent times it would seem that people are starting to listen.
Empire City
Set in the 24th century Empire City is a story about one of the last bastions of human civilization. After the third world war and a nuclear holocaust that's rendered most of the world uninhabitable, people now live in a single massive city that rises over a mile into the air.
Upper Levels — Commonly referred to as the Up Levels, the city is constructed of domes and tubes that transport people everywhere they need to go. With neatly manicured green lawns people have access to cheap and healthy food, free medical care, and top notch education. While a person does have to work for a living, on average they do so six hours a day and few jobs are physically demanding. Life on the Upper Levels is good, the air is clean, and the sun shines bright. The government is a democratically run organization with elected officials and fairly little corruption compared to governments of the past.
Lower Levels — Or the Down Levels as most call it. The lower levels are the exact opposite of the upper levels. With a world still blanketed by a nuclear winter the sun never shines down here. Were it not for the massive factories that churn out smoke all day and geothermal heat vents, the city would have already frozen. On the Down Levels everything is controlled by an organization known a as the Syndicate. They started out as a powerful criminal empire and now they run the Down Levels from cloud cover to ground.
Political Set-up — The Syndicate controls the Down Levels and is really the only form of functional government they have left. In the past as the Syndicate grew in power the Empire City government tried to fight back but the corruption within the police department combined with the problems of over-population (a city meant to house five-million now with a population of eight million), made this almost impossible. The war between the two sides was sprawling into the street in running firefights. The police were losing and law enforcement was facing staggering loses while the Syndicate just kept sending more and more people.
Now around one-hundred years ago, the Empire City government completely abandon the lower levels of the city, sealing off any access points to the upper levels and left the people to the mercy of the Syndicate. The government manages the pristine portions of the city above the clouds where people live good and easy lives, while the Syndicate controls the city below. Inside a pollution and crime choked city where the average lifespan is only forty years, gangs run the streets in a living hell and the Syndicate running everything, including the gangs, from their fortress in Sector 01.
There's an uneasy peace between the two sides with the Syndicate staying below the clouds and the government remaining above. They rarely venture into the others territory because after losing control of the lower levels, the government has come up with policies and technologies to help root out Syndicate infiltrators with surprising efficiency. Both sides have fortified their positions and short of an all out war that would destroy the city, that's not likely to change any time soon.
Main Cast — The following section is meant to give an overview of the main cost, not spell out everything about them. That stuff can be found out after I finish the story.
Edgar Riley — Edgar lives in the Down Levels of the city and is an enforcer for the Syndicate. While it's not the ideal job and Edgar dreams of one day making it to the Up Levels, being a borderline sociopath the job description doesn't really bothers him. In Edgar's eyes the Syndicate is the government on the Down Levels so he's just enforcing the law, much like an Up Levels police officer.
Rachel Donovan — A young woman who lives with Edgar, Rachel has the job of being his observer. As it's the duty of all enforcers to make sure people play by the Syndicate's rules, someone has to make sure they play by the rules as well. Having been Edgar's observer for the past six years, after the previous one was killed in a hovercar accident, Rachel is probably the closest thing to a friend he has.
Sarah Sinclair — Sarah is a police officer in the upper levels (ECPD) of the city and lives a fairly peaceful life. In just over a decade on the force she's only been in one firefight, and that didn't last long. With a genuine desire to help people and keep the peace, Sarah became a police officer to do her part in making sure the upper levels were kept safe. Both from the criminals in their society, as well as those from the lower levels.
Jason Vandal — As a young upstart senator for the Up Level government Jason has long been a proponent of taking back the Down Levels of Empire City. He often speaks about the harsh conditions the people live in and the brutality of Syndicate rule. Naturally this has made him quite unpopular both above and below the clouds, however in recent times it would seem that people are starting to listen.