S. S. Engle

Society can't take much more. The country has finally reached its breaking point. A rogue and unidentified hero known only as Lodestar, has come from the depths of somewhere safe to try and assassinate President Walter G. Upham in an effort to take the country back, and therefore the world, but they have failed. Fallen back into obscurity as quickly as they rose out from it, this is just the push the Millennials need to finally come together and take their lives back. But the recent assassination attempt has played dirty tricks on the already ego tripping and power-hungry president. There seems to be no limits to what Walter G. Upham might do now. His hate and anger knows no bounds. He has become more of a megalomaniac than a democratic leader. The potential for such extremes had always been there, just boiling underneath the surface, but now the Millennials want to use his new fragile mental state against him. For the first time since they were oppressed, the Millennials are finally getting the upper hand. Whatever happens next will need to happen quickly and precisely. The room for error is next to none. Does the underground resistance have what it takes to remove a tyrant from office?

As a result of exponentially growing waves of the Millennial fever touching every part of the globe, President Walter G. Upham has now begun the creation of localized ghettoes. These centralized locations are meant to be herding zones for the Millennial population, and cooperation with the new guidelines is mandatory. While the conservative support is rallying behind their faithful leader, the liberals are less than enthusiastic about this dark change in society. There are rumors of lists being made. Social Security numbers are being sold on the black market. Official documentation forgers have come in huge demand. But it's not a long-term solution to a fanatically new problem. In dire straits, the Ali brothers in the underground resistance have sought help from an unlikely source in the quietly powerful position of the conservative Vice President, Mark Prescott. To be in his pocket and buy protection though is a dangerous business to be in, but one whose payoffs can be large and accommodating if done successfully. These things take time however, which is something else the liberals are in short supply of. As the conservatives sense a shift in the political atmosphere, will a lockdown of the country be enough to save them?

Society is struggling with their latest set of regulations placed against them. Under the conservative leadership of President Walter G. Upham, in an effort to curb the rapid spread of the 'Millennial Fever', a country wide shelter - in - place order has been sent out from coast to coast. Now people of all ages are stuck in their homes. Curfews are in place to keep people from traveling but life goes on. Liberal presidential candidate Leonard Schwartz is surging ahead in the polls despite the hardships constricting people's day to day routines. Things are not getting better though. Now Millennials need to travel with immunization cards on their person in case caught out in the streets running essential errands. They have to wear clearly identified armbands with their ages printed on them. Most have refused such new laws, and have sought the underground help of the Ali brothers. But resources are dwindling in a rationing world, and it's making people ugly. In a time when the government is stressing for people to keep their distance from one another, it is now a time when people must come together to pool what little they still have to their name. It is a task easier said than done. Will the quarantine end up doing more harm than good?

In the middle of an election season society has broken down. The conservative regime in power under the authoritative control of President Walter G. Upham has begun to wage an ageist war against its own citizens. Specifically, the population that falls in-between the ages of 20-35 have been targeted. These, 'Millennials' as the president has named them, have become public enemy number one for their non-conformist views on life. They have also been dubbed the source of a radically new and mutated form of yellow fever. With an outbreak of the disease rapidly spreading from one country to the next, isolation procedures are taken into effect, with drastic consequences. Basic liberties are being suspended, and all internet and Wi-Fi capabilities have been temporarily disbanded until further notice. However, the Millennials are not buying into the president's propaganda, and are not without a voice. The liberal candidate running for president, Leonard Schwartz, is still pushing for activism from all ages to right the wrongs of his opponent and his blind following. An underground movement is swelling, but with limited resources, how long will their hope keep them alive?

February 1916. The Great War in Europe has been raging for a year and a half. Now the war has come to the border town of Verdun, straddling both French and German identities. Despite the substantial Fort Douaumont in the foreground, this lone battle will rage on to be one of the longest in human history. After an extensive back and forth, allegiances will be called into question. Heidi Martin, a native German, now married to a Frenchman, is harboring more secrets than one woman can bear. The intervention of Allies makes the war no less difficult when a pressing matter to the north in the Somme pulls the battle sideways. No amount of strategy will prove good enough, the gas won't be deadly enough, the trenches deep enough, the fort strong enough, the men plentiful enough, or the shells effective enough. Heidi will be left to make a crucial decision between following the path that has led her to this point, or choosing to find a new life in a war-torn Europe. After 9 months, 3 weeks, and 6 days, the landscape would be forever changed, but what about the people left in its wake? What was to become of them when villages would be forever removed from the surface of the earth, never to be inhabited again?

The war for the Lake Crew's freedom has picked up steam, but not without first paying a heavy price. It's clear the High Society is willing to do whatever it takes to get a win at the end of all of this, and the Lake Crew will need to step up their game if they want to compete. Morale is fading when the High Society keeps advancing through the Greenhouse Protectorate by way of their Ash Campaign, rendering all ground forces useless in a blackened and burnt out wasteland. But the advancement has to stop somewhere. Spencer recognizes she'll have to be the one to make the difference, and with some help, she manages to hold her ground when the fighting comes down to who wants it more, because the desire for freedom can never be toppled by the greed to win. This puts the Outlier Tribe in a sticky situation. Known for their neutrality in most circumstances, or their allegiance to the highest bidder, it becomes apparent that they now have more in common with the Lake Crew than previously thought. Spencer is willing to negotiate on many terms given the right partner, but can a rival ever truly be trusted?

In one night, the High Society raided the quiet city of Paradise Falls where a celebration was honoring 100 years of peace time relations. In a matter of hours over 50,000 people were killed. Ten years later, the score has yet to be settled. The truce is due to expire, and the Lake Crew, still viciously scarred, refuses to cooperate with their abusers in the High Society to extend the deadline. Ready to take a stand, they partner with their old allies in the Greenhouse Protectorate to try and take back their freedom. Though not everyone agrees on how to go about this, it is eventually understood that war is all the High Society understands, so it is a war they will get. Fearing being outnumbered by their underlings, the High Society partners with the brutish, yet effective Outlier Tribe in an effort to squash this foolish idea of resistance quickly before it gets out of hand. However, the High Society wasn't prepared for the hidden leadership that the Lake Crew possessed. Spencer is tired to talking, but will she and her people have what it takes to remove the might of the High Society from their pedestal?