And they all lived happily ever after (..well, not bloody likely to be honest) - Post-Apocalyptic Sci-Fi setting

Alright, so I made a setting for a story I want to write. The original idea was that I'd make the setting, and then write a story in it with the plot characters being based on friends of mine. Now that I've joined this board however I think it has potential for a nice roleplay as well. I'm not sure on genres, but I think the setting comes close to that. Enjoy the read, and do tell me if you're interested in a roleplay in this setting.


Curing Mexxa’s Craze

Descent Into Chaos – 2017

Asteroid Mexxa: A massive approaching asteroid - discovered by Mexican-American scientist Mexxa Contiago and named after her - was found heading in a course straight for the North Pole. Realising what catastrophic effects it would have, the Earth’s inhabitants combined its efforts in a short amount of time and sent a missile the size of a large spaceship towards Mexxa, intent on blowing it to manageable chunks that wouldn’t cause too severe damage. They however greatly underestimated the sheer mass and solidity, the asteroid being reduced in size and merely slowed in its path to destruction.

It rained on Earth; it rained rocks and boulders that were hailing down as a result of the missile impact. Other parts were blown into space, and then there were those that found an orbit around the Earth, some being large enough to have strange influences in the normal tide regulation by the moon.

Planet Earth: As of now the world is in shambles, chaos all around as the impact of the asteroid left instability in its wake. A natural disaster became a daily event, and with chunks of the asteroid still falling as regularly as normal rain everything on the planet was set into survival mode.

Technology: As infrastructure and the like were not prepared for these conditions, most of the modern conveniences were rendered useless. Finding something functional, and surviving long enough to have a benefit of it, was a miracle.

Phase of Repair – 2017 – 2369

Asteroid Mexxa: It seemed the impact was not the only thing to worry about. While the Earth and its inhabitants were slowly getting towards a more stable state a more subtle threat started to spread. A virus unlike any seen before has started pouring out from the crater in the North Pole and the shards scattered across the planet. With medical facilities and technology mostly lost this could pose a serious threat, but as of now the only hazards to one’s health condition are light fever and nausea. It also seems limited to most of the mammals, some kinds being more resistant, and many of all kinds seem to be entirely immune thus far.

Planet Earth: The slow process of adapting and stabilising was set in motion, and over the centuries it finally saw results. Natural disasters became less frequent, and steadily it became somewhat safer to travel around. The most important changes to the Earth were its orbit and its tide regulation.

The world still had an orbit around the sun, but the asteroid impact had influenced it in such a way that the South was constantly facing the sun. This caused extreme changes to the planet, namely that the Northern hemisphere’s pole froze down to inhabitable levels, and the South Pole was reduced to a molten sea of flames. The equator served as a nice balance point between the two hemispheres, and temperature was at least one worry less over there.

The tide was a problem on its own nowadays. With several fractions of Mexxa orbiting around the Earth the normal tide regulation of the moon was disturbed, and the seas became highly unpredictable. Without the technology before Mexxa it seemed an impossible task to find a pattern in the tide, and travelling by water was dependant on sheer luck.

Earth’s Flora: Plants were the quickest to adapt to the major changes caused by Mexxa. The world’s nature evolved rapidly and many plants saw considerable changes, and new plants came to existence.

Earth’s Fauna: With the world changing the inhabitants had no choice but to either follow or perish. Every creature that was reliant on water or air-travel to survive had perished in the mayhem, the instability of the planet leaving them unable to have a continued existence on Earth. Now with the Earth being a bit more stable, species might evolve and adapt to once again colonise these areas.

Reptiles that weren’t dependant on travelling by water have managed to survive and adapt to the new situation. Thanks to the limited habitable areas they’ve grown more territorial and aggressive however, and with the technology before Mexxa in medicine and means of self-defence lost they prove can prove a serious danger at times. They remain immune to the virus thus far, and up till now research on how that is possible has led to nothing other than casualties when attempting to capture reptiles.

Insects have majorly managed to stay unaffected by all the changes, and as a result they’ve had little adapting and evolution to suit the new situation.

Mammals took quite some harder blows, and they’ve struggled to live on with the recent events. Some animals became extinct; others undertook quite some changes to fit the new situation.

Humans in particular went several ways. Some went back to their primal side, brawn being more needed than brain, and as a result they distanced themselves from civilisation and formed their own tribe-like way of life. Slowly their senses got enhanced; they got physically tougher, and became experts in surviving and flourishing in the wild with their own culture and habitat. Others sought to preserve knowledge as much as they could, to try and rebuild civilisation and make this a mere hurdle in technological advancement. The latter considered the tribal kin as a different species, and thus started referring to them as Homo Gentis, while they themselves remained as the true Homo Sapiens.

The Sapiens mainly tried to preserve what was left of the times before, and make sure the knowledge wouldn’t be lost. They started rebuilding all aspects that were common before Mexxa came.

Technology: Overall it mostly looked like middle age technology with added steam-powered contraptions using cogwheels, gears, hinges and various other techniques that were found in the books the Sapiens saved amidst the chaos.

For medicine they focused on herbal medicines, and with the adapted flora of the planet many studied the benefits of various plants by trial and error for the good of the Sapiens. It eventually turned out effective when dealing with illnesses or infections, and the basic health problems weren’t that much of a danger anymore.

Dawn of a new threat – 2369

Asteroid Mexxa: With the Earth stabilising Mexxa’s virus saw its opportunity. It started evolving, leaving fewer mammals resistant and immune, and worsening its symptoms. So far victims find their short-term memory shot to bits; conversations had just minutes ago lost, and on occasion the imagination fills up the holes with nonsense. And later on there have also been cases which had gotten something very similar to bipolar disorder on top of that; the victims suffering from random moods swings to extreme levels, and on occasion being a danger to themselves and others as a result.

Fauna: The rapid development of the virus has only affected mammals thus far; the number of immune and resistant cases rapidly declining, and the death rate of many species growing. It is unknown if the virus has the same effect on all mammals in general; the Sapiens can see odd behaviour from other mammals but it can’t be disclosed if they suffer from short-term memory loss and a form of bipolar disorder like humans do.

The Gentis have their own solution for the new problems. It seems they have the ability to sense if a mammal is infected and their method is to kill the infected and burn its corpse, even if it is a Sapiens or one of their own clan. They also seem to have a way to keep their resistance up against the virus. So far it has proven to be too dangerous for Sapiens to investigate that, but the cause is clearly herbal.

In response to quick evolution of Mexxa’s virus the Sapiens have decided to dispatch teams of Immunes to the source at the North Pole to find a cure. They know the missions are dangerous, and far from ideal, but it’s the only lead they have. Perhaps if they find something at the source they can then cope with the little shards of Mexxa scattered across the globe.

The Sapiens have also given a name to the virus now, and it is known as Mexxa’s Craze.

*has already expressed interest via MSN*

Keep me posted =]

Gah, people are only voting on how they like multiple choice! D: (Except for Fee, but I know she likes the concept ^_^)

Come on people, any comments on why you don't like it, then? Anything? 31 views and one reply (which is from a close friend of mine) is kinda sad. >_>

Nice, I'm interesteded... Solid plot and stuff.... (jabbers more English bull)

Thanks

Anyone who willingly excepts "hamster" as a nickname, has me behind em.

Haha, nice

Quite interested ^^

This sounds like a very interesting storyline, and you seem to have thought out and developed the plot quite nicely. I've always enjoyed post-apocalyptic role plays, but the ones I've participated in on previous sites were not particularly well conceived. With the background you've provided, I think this could really go somewhere.

I'd be interested to join if this gets off the ground...