The Brink

By Vitora

The year is 2079—seventy-nine years since Y2K. And seventy years since total disaster.

The world’s computers were not affected by the so-called “Y2K bug”. It was nine years later that they all shut down and would not start back up again. So everything was lost.

Almost everything, that is. A group of brilliant scientists, paired with two near-genius computer hackers, were able to retrieve the most important data from government, military, and laboratory computers. Tragedy struck while they were working; one of the hackers was killed in a freak electric accident, and two of the eight scientists simply disappeared. The mysteries—of the disappearances, the deaths, and most of all the malfunctioned computers—were never solved.

Now seventy years have passed, and the saviors of the world, as they were known, have grown old and passed away. Their work, however, has been put to good use—a new generation of incredible bio-technology has sprung up. Now nature is providing the human race with a solar- and animal-powered, all-natural way to destroy her.

A paradox, yes. But the research involved was used mainly for warfare, for guns and tanks and ships and planes. Though there are non-violent sides to the technology—personal items such as “imitation computers”, or ICs—the bulk of it is used to allow once-peaceful tribes (for mankind was separated into confused, scattered tribes when disaster struck) to wipe each other out.

Now the human race is into its fourth A.R.—or, “after ruin”—generation, here in the year 2079, the year 70 A.R.. Some of this generation are more aware of the perilous position into which they are thrusting the earth. A few have even begun to fight back, against the terrorists and fanatical leaders who would rather wipe out mankind than admit defeat or give up their newfound power.

Ten heroes. Two potential destinies—life and death. One legend.

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Sound exciting? This here is the introduction to the Golden Pen survivor story, The Brink. Ten contestants will be chosen from all applications sent in, and those ten will begin their futuristic adventure on July 19, 2004.

Applications must be sent in 1,000-word story format; DO NOT send a description of your character. That doesn’t mean, however, that you shouldn’t write up an outline-format biography—you will have to introduce your character to your teammates in some way other than the story format, and it is probably good to have an outline for your own reference anyway.

Humans only, please, and make sure that your application has a science-fiction feel to it; there is no magic in the world in which the story takes place, only “bio-technology”. As for said term, it can be expanded to mean nearly anything you wish, but remember that the bulk of the technology is for warfare. ICs, or imitation computers, are certainly allowed, as are other simple personal devices. Animals are welcome, but not as your character; the earth’s creatures are used as part of the technology (ex., an elephant serving as the wheels of a tank), so you may include that as well.

Remember, no offensive language or inappropriate material (adult situations, sexual language, etc.) is allowed. Keep your violence and gore to a PG rating, please.

If you have plans for the summer and/or fall, you may want to either contact someone who can be your sub and make sure the dates you’ll be gone will work with them—and, obviously, that they want to sub in the first place. If you do not select someone, your character will be taken over by one of our “official” subs, who are yet to be determined.

Don’t reveal yourself to anyone outside of the contest—this ensures unbiased voting.

And, finally, avoid clichés. Your application will be judged based on character and originality, but spelling, punctuation, and grammar (SPAG) will be taken into consideration as well, so don’t forget to use a spell-checker and run it by someone who knows their English. You are advised not to rush into things—don’t send your application in right away, read over it, read over it, and read over it again before submitting it.

Ready to submit? Continue to the application form!

Good luck!

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If you would like to help run the game, email me at willows_the_golden_pen@yahoo.com with your general area of skills; this will help me to decide if you would best be suited as a sub-writer, a moderator, a website maintainer, or a general organizer. Also, any character art would be most welcome. Don’t forget, if you don’t have time to do any of these tasks, you can at least be part of the audience—a vital role for any survivor game!