Dystopian World-building For Funsies Cuz Why Not

Dystopian world-building for funsies cuz why not

Cordelia and her Batch-mates were raised by Caretakers after they were Produced by the Producers. They have no parents, no family. Just the Caretakers and each other.

When they are old enough, they are brought to the Academy as Students. Cordelia is especially fascinated by Pre-Disaster Studies, a subject taught in the Academy.

All babies, both boys and girls, have been pre-conditioned during their Production (as zygotes, during their gene arrangements) to have only straight hair, never curly. Girls wear their hair down, nice and straight, with no tying or accessorising. Boys are expected to keep their hair trimmed short and tidy, but with no curls or styling.

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Mystery/maybe-fantasy fiction world building stuff for funsies

Rowena "Winnie" Hart was accepted into a prestigious fantasy school. Her primary motivation is to find the people who murdered her parents and restore justice to her family. She believes that the murderers are linked to a secret society connected with the school.

Her parents, Jacques Hart and Lorelei Hart née Preston, used to study at the school. Her parents were part of the secret society, and were very prominent, high-ranking members. Therefore, Winnie was very famous in the school. The Hart Family was a very prestigious family with good standing. The Preston Family, Winnie's mother's family, was a family of renowned Healers and Potion-brewers.

Jacques and Lorelei had a very romantic and happy love life together, but tragically died young (for a reason that I am still trying to figure out, BTW. I'm also tryna figure out the circumstances of how they died, and whether they died when Winnie was a baby, or more recently).

Lorelei also used to be the Poisoner for the secret society; she was very good at Healing, but found Poisons to be more fascinating. She therefore exercised this talent (secretly, of course; only the society knows about it and they themselves gave her that job) to take out the enemies of the society and the school (the rest of the school didn't know about it). Of course, Lorelei also used her Healing talents publicly when needed.

Dystopian fiction stuff just for funsies. Do whatever you want with them (as long as you credit me even tho I'm just another amateur hehe), I'm just throwing out ideas here and there. Cuz I'm bored.

Cordelia gets to the Surface, and during her stay there, she learns that a group of Surface-dwellers, the Rebels, are planning to overthrow the Underground Colony she came from, due to the Colony leeching off resources from the Surface. Cordelia feels guilty that she implicitly gave the Surface-dwellers information about the Core.

Earlier, Cordelia saw some of the Surface-dwellers in poverty and desolation, with some even fighting each other for food. She briefly considered bringing them back to the Colony for a better quality of life, despite having seen the Chipping procedure that takes away one's free will. A trade-off, basically. Trade in your free will for a roof over your head and a decent meal.

Cordelia feels torn. She's thinking of staying at the Surface to help improve the Surface-dwellers' way of life, but she's also worried that the uprising against the Colony would cause chaos, and in her worst-case-scenario imagination, possibly even destroy the Core and wipe out all life, both on the Surface and in the Underground ("which is NEVER gonna happen so STOP thinking about it," she scolds herself).

Cordelia had been taught, during her childhood Underground, that there was nothing good on the Surface. That it was literally uninhabitable; totally unfit for any and all life. As it turns out, there actually have been people living on the Surface. Now, she's just trying to keep everyone safe. She doesn't want to be caught in the crossfire. She doesn't want to have to take sides. She never wanted to betray the Colony, either. She just wanted to escape getting Chipped.

Cordelia had learned about this topic called "families" in her Pre-Disaster Studies. Where there was such a thing as a "mother" and a "father", instead of just Caretakers. Where there were "brothers" and "sisters" instead of just Batch-mates. Where this thing called "love" was supposed to thrive. She sometimes wondered what it would be like to be part of a family, instead of just being one of the 1,000,000 Batch babies looked after by Caretakers. She sometimes wondered if her Batch-mates could be considered "brothers" and "sisters". Some of her Batch-mates shared that sentiment, but were quickly shut down when their Caretakers reprimanded them with that creepy robotic tone. Other Batch members laughed at the mere idea.

When Cordelia went to the Surface, she saw how some of the Surface families behaved. She saw the loving and affectionate families and felt a sense of loss in herself, for something she had never had. She saw the cold and distant families and was reminded of her own Care Unit (a group made of Caretakers and their respective Batch members). She thought that their reasons of their aloofness were the same as those of the Care Units in the Underground Colony; that is, to avoid any attachment, especially love, that may be a detriment to the collective wellbeing of the Colony, or in this case, the rest of the Surface-dwellers' society. Still then, there were downright cruel and abusive families, making her perplexed about the complexity of families.

Dystopian fiction

"Miss Lynn," A young Cordelia called her one night as she lay in bed. Lynn was just getting ready to leave the Wards' Dormitories.

"Yes, Cordelia?" Despite them being mere Caretaker and Ward (and despite Cordelia being only one of 1,000,000 Wards in her Batch), they have a very close relationship, almost like a mother and daughter, but in secret; family-like bonds were highly discouraged in the Colony.

"Has anyone ever tried going to the Surface before?"

Lynn paused, looking for the right words to say. It was a sensitive issue, and she wasn't sure if this was the right time to tell her. But Cordy seemed old enough; she would understand. Lynn looked around furtively, before going to Cordelia's bedside and whispered, "I'm gonna tell you a little secret. Okay?"

Cordelia lit up and nodded enthusiastically. She loved being trusted with secrets. It made her feel important; like a Treasurer keeping the most valuable treasures under lock and key. It was mostly things like each other's favourite colour or deepest fears, which Caretakers weren't supposed to share with their Wards. This secret felt especially important. Valuable, even.

"Once upon a time, there was a girl named Cordelia."

"Me?"

"Well, not exactly you. Your Namesake from last century." Cordelia didn't know what that meant, but she continued listening. "This Cordelia was a curious young lady. She once stumbled into the Colony from the Surface."

"WHAT!" Cordelia yelled out impulsively, and Lynn quickly shushed her in a panic. Cordelia immediately put her hands to her mouth. "I mean, what?"

Lynn glanced around quickly, hoping the ensuing silence would erase any evidence of her storytelling. Not a peep. She silently exhaled in relief before continuing the story. "No one knew how she got here. No one knew how she even knew how to get in. But they had to get rid of her."

"No!" Present-Cordelia gasped in horror, quietly this time.

"Oh, yes," Lynn affirmed. "They couldn't let anyone--" she looked around again, "anyone, know that there were still dwellers on the Surface."

"But I thought there was no way anyone could survive on the Surface," she said.

"That's what they teach you in School, Cordelia. That's why this is a secret."

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