forum Sci-Fi Dystopian Action Story- please critique my premise

Started March 18, 2018 by @AJ

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Does The Borgs have like a secret hideout or something within the domes or outside?

Seeing as they can't really leave the Domes, yes. Their meeting place for the support group usually serves as a cover for Borg meetings.

Are the cyborgs that aren't at risk of exploding seen as heroes?

As far as the people are aware, all cyborgs are at risk of exploding.

Are the veterans seen as heroes?

They get a holiday every year that celebrates their service, but you can imagine that it would feel pretty empty compared to how they're treated every other day of the year.

How do these senators get into power?

Figurehead senators are elected in in order to keep up the facade of a fair and benevolent government.

As for the real senators, this is how it works: You have seven guys running the show that the people don't know anything about. When one of them needs to be replaced (which doesn't happen often), the other six come to a unanimous agreement as to who the replacement will be, usually a trusted gov official who has proven their loyalty more than once.

How long can they stay in that position? How about other positions?

Figurehead senators serve a term of six years each, and can serve three terms total. Real senators serve for pretty much the rest of their lives.

How much influence and power do the other positions in government have?

It really depends on what job you have and what branch of the government you work for. Certain cities, for example, are given certain jobs specific to them- Gentia's main purpose is to contain the cyborg population and cultivate scientific research and development, so you'd have a lot of science and law enforcement branches. All departments in every city eventually report to Centrum.

How can someone come into a government position?

Again, depends on what position you're aiming for and what city you live in. Most of the time you just start as a subordinate and work your way up.

Is there religion in this world? Any new religion?

There's one that's explored as a huge plot point (most of season 2), so discussing it here would be major spoilers. But for the most part, religion has been abandoned/ abolished.

What about literature? Music? Entertainment?

Most hard (paper) copies of literature were destroyed during the pre-Dome wars and during the early days of the Domes, so all literature, music, and other media are contained in the SmartNet (city-wide internet witht the option of physical interface- kinda like VR) or on your DigiCuff.

This is a really good premise, but one question. Since this is the aftermath of world war 5, that implies there were wars 3 and 4, which I'm guessing were fought with nuclear weapons. So, question that I have, how did the people in that word get past Mutually Assured Destruction, or M.A.D, for short?

Does technology look new and futuristic or is it new technology but looks like it from the 80s and/or 90s? IS THERE FLYING CARS!!! Or have we not advanced far enough?

It depends on how you view "futuristic". To us, this place is a sparkling hub of highly advanced tech. To them, it's normal. I'm trying to steer clear of the Jetson's aesthetic, if you get my drift.

And HECK YEAH THERE ARE FLYING CARS
WHO EVEN NEEDS STREETS ANYMORE

This is a really good premise, but one question. Since this is the aftermath of world war 5, that implies there were wars 3 and 4, which I'm guessing were fought with nuclear weapons. So, question that I have, how did the people in that word get past Mutually Assured Destruction, or M.A.D, for short?

"World War" can mean a lot of things. It doesn't necessarily mean that it's fought on the Earth- wars 3 and 4 were fought in space, probably over who got to have which colonies. And since nuclear tech doesn't really work in the cold vacuum of space, they had to figure out other weapons. It's only when the wars shifted back to Earth that we achieved MAD.

What about what people look like now?

Like… people.

Since you can genetically engineer how your child looks like, much like with the new concept of CRISPR?

Yes. You can weed out most genetic diseases/ allergies and strengthen their immune systems, and you have a a lot of money (and I mean A LOT of money), you can enhance the child's IQ or change their body types entirely. (Marnie's parents did this, boosting her IQ and giving her a naturally athletic body type, if a bit on the short side).

Does everyone look perfect?

The concept of "perfect" changes so much that most people have stopped trying to achieve it from birth. They do prefer it if their kid is nice to look at, but most citizens are just happy if they're healthy (plus adding looks into the genetic enhancing process is REALLY expensive). Besides, plastic surgery is still a thing if the kid wants it someday.

Is everyone smart? Marnie's parents did make sure her DNA has the smart genes in them

No. IQ boosts are only for people who have some serious money to burn, and Marnie's parents fit that description to the letter. People are more educated than by today's standards, but still have average intelligence.

How smart is Marnie exactly?

She's a 13 year old girl with the IQ of about 138, so the mental age of 18. However, this really only applies to her niche, inventing (mechanics, robotics, etc). Emotionally and personality-wise, she's still very much a kid.

How advanced is this world? Technologically and medically?

Highly advanced for both.

IS CANCER AND EBOLA CURED NOW?!!?! WHAT ABOUT OTHER DISEASES?!

Yes, most present-day diseases have been cured/ gone extinct. However, that does not eradicate disease altogether…

Are humans considered below cyborgs since they don't have advanced senses or something like that.

Cybernetics, for the most part, work as advanced prosthetics, but don't generally enhanced one's senses. So no. (If anything, humans- Organics- are considered better than cyborgs because they aren't dangerous)

Is there different races now? Are Asians still called Asian or are they called by something else? What about black people? Or Hispanic? Or white people? Just everyone. Each country and city has new names so is their nationality/race similar to the name of their birth place?

There really aren't any "races" anymore, not the way we think of them. Your skin color race is determined by what city you were born in- for example, if your city's Dome was constructed in an area with lots of Black and Asian people, over several centuries, the racial mixing will pretty much even everything out. Skin tones still vary, but for the most part, everyone is some shade of brown.

What really matters is your nationality, and it goes something like this:

person filling out a form *
"Name?"
"Marnie Van Dax."
"Nationality?"
"Normershan."
"Origin City?"
"Gentia."

Can anyone get cybernetic parts? Or only the rich or something?

Really the only people who want them are either veterans who've had their arms blown off or something, or people who have gotten in terrible accidents and gotten a leg hacked off.

Becoming a cyborg is no joke. You ward off everyone you love because you've become a walking time bomb. You lose dozens, if not hundreds of job opportunities. By law, you must move out of your home city and relocate to Gentia, just so the government can keep a better eye on you.

Some veterans presented with this option simply don't take it. They know the costs, and they'd rather live out their lives as a torso on a respirator than be subject to that.

What type of cybernetics can people get?

Mainly just replacement limbs, but ears, noses, eyes, bones, and nerves are available for those who need them.

Is there robots?

Robots and AI will be heavily explored in season 3.

IS THERE SENEIENT ROBOTS?!!

I believe the term you're looking for is "sapient", and yes. (sorry, I'm a nitpicker~)

ARE THEY GONNA TAKE OVER THE WORLD?!?!!

The Terminator movies may be long forgotten, but the concept of robots overpowering humanity isn't. By law, no robot is allowed to convincingly mimic a human being (so no androids), and they must not be allowed to gain sapience, which put simply is the ability for an entity to reason. ("Sentience" is merely the ability to perceive, sense, feel, and otherwise have individual experiences. Most animals are sentient) And above all, technology must have something a human can use to manually deactivate it- an off switch, if you will. AI cannot be allowed to overpower us.

Is Felix a cyborg too? Or does he have some genetic engineering to him like Marnie?

No, Felix is not a cyborg. As for genetic engineering, he has none, not even the standard ones that rid you of genetic disease- there's a reason in the plot for this, but it contains a lot of spoilers.

Are any of the main character's parents genetically alter in some way?

As most of the main characters are adults, we don't really get to know them all that well. However, it is a common and very affordable practice to weed out genetic diseases while the child is still in the womb.

Are the cybernetic parts super op or just strengthen whatever part it is?

Ones of the reasons that the government insists on the cyborgs relocating to Gentia is so that they can keep them from weaponizing themselves or upgrading themselves to dangerous levels. Basic maintenance is encouraged, but your cybernetics are not supposed to be anything more than prostethics that work as fully functioning limbs. Doing otherwise can get you arrested, or worse.

Can people teleport to different places?

Yes, but again, teleportation is highly regulated. The reason for this is, if done wrong, you will literally die.

Every atom in your body is a set of data (type of atom, location, energy state and so on); you as a whole is just an enormous collection of those data sets. Teleport all the relevant information to the surface of a transmitter, and you can re-create yourself exactly as you were.
But extracting all the information from your body requires knowing the physical state of every atom, which would require total disintegration. Each time you step into the transporter, you are basically committing suicide and then getting reborn at the other end. Second, the amount of information required to re-create you is mind boggling — about 4.5 x 1042 bits, by one estimate.

So while teleporting humans isn't super common without the proper equipment, it is used quite a bit for inanimate objects.

What about the concept of time travel?

I… don't even know if that's possible. I'll look into it.

What type of cybernetics can people get?

Mainly just replacement limbs, but ears, noses, eyes, bones, and nerves are available for those who need them.

Is there robots?

Robots and AI will be heavily explored in season 3.