The Nation Origin Story
Emilyn Rose I is called the Last Queen of Earth. History tells us that when Aliens arrived on Earth, Emilyn was the queen of all. She embraced the aliens and married one of their captains, thereby uniting their two species forever. Through their combined medicinal knowledge, they were able to conceive the first Alien/Human hybrid and is therefore the mother of their combined, more perfect species. (Earth imagery of the Virgin Mary has been appropriated for this purpose.)
Social Classes
To this day, citizens tend to be judged (consciously or unconsciously) on the level of their Hybridity. Those who exhibit unbalanced traits (either more alien or more human) experience subtle degrees of prejudice and are therefore much less likely to succeed professionally and socially. This is essentially where the Subordinate/Underclass comes from: those who are not sufficiently hybrid enough to blend in with polite (middle class) society.
The Alien Home world is broken into
three distinct social classes, or castes: Primary,
Secondary, and Subordinate. The Primary class is a meritocracy made up of
Engineers—those who produce new advances in applied technology. (QUESTION: Are
there others who are behind the scenes “pulling the strings”? Does Engineering
include training/knowledge in running the government?).
Mobility IS possible: for example, those
born in the Primary class may fall to the Middle Class if they fail to achieve
a career in Engineering or Technology. (This is the case for Emma’s
father.) Likewise, those born in Middle or Subordinate classes may get to the
Primary class IF they can produce radical new technology that launches them
into an Engineering career. In practice, however, mobility up or down is infrequent. There is a great deal of nepotism, and those who are born into positions of privilege are far more likely to maintain them because they have greater cultural currency than Subordinates/Underclasses.
Class divisions are rigidly adhered
to—they are deeply ingrained on a social level. Different classes live, work,
and attend school apart from one another. There are no “laws” segregating them
or forbidding their fraternization, per se. However, it would be considered a severe social faux pas and would elicit
heavy censure and social ramifications.
Education
Formal education emphasizes
well-rounded curriculums. All students receive the same education and study the
same subjects, regardless of class. Subjects include: Fashion, Art,
Finance/Business/Economics, History, Math, Engineering, Sports, etc.
Students select which subject they
will study at which time, however it is highly discouraged for them to favor
one subject over another. The idea is for them to give each a fair share of
their time and attention. Society’s goal is to produce “Renaissance Men/Women.”
Formal education lasts for a very long time.
We have not yet discussed how
education eventually translates to careers. Do they ultimately decide on a
specialization in school? Is training all “on the job”?
Societal Values
Society is completely
secular. Their most important value is a holistic approach to Health: Physical,
Emotional, and Intellectual. Developing all three of these is the primary
prerogative of formal education. Citizens who do NOT meet or exceed minimum
Health standards are removed from society and sent instead to (one of?) the Sublinary. Nobody ever returns from this, so ideas are varied as to what it is and what happens there--all are purely theoretical. Representatives from the Sublinary have positions in government, but their reports are unverified--taken at face value.
The Government
Prime numbers are revered because they are not divisible. There are 7 nation states, each of which have their own local governments and at least one representative as a member of the Core Council.
The Core Council consists of 13 members who serve for life (until they retire). 12 of these positions are electoral and come from the 7 nation states. The final position is monarchal--reserved for a direct descendent of Emilyn Rose 1st. Emma's grandfather currently holds this position. Both she and her cousin are qualified to replace him once they come of age. Emma, because of her close relationship with her grandfather, is presumed to be the first choice and referred to as the Elect Apparent.
On the surface, the Alien Home
world appears to be a socialist utopia. All citizens, regardless of class, live
and benefit from the forced labor that occurs secretly on the colony Earth.
Only those in power of the Sublinary system(s) are aware of this fact, though. The government is an autocratic
oligarchy made up exclusively of Primary class members. Interstellar
colonization is necessary to maintain their status quo. Many secrets exist only
at the Primary level (about history, underground government workings, nepotism, techniques to keep the Underclass in line, and the possibility of their species evolving the ability to naturally become impregnated.)
The government’s actions and
policies are all carefully defended/justified in their constitution. The
majority—but not all—of citizens believes the patriotic rhetoric/propaganda and
is blind to deeper problems.
Culture/Underground Movement
In general, both gender roles and
sexuality are very fluid in this society. Heterosexuality (vs. homosexuality)
is not needed for reproduction and is not required to fit secular values, so is
rendered virtually a nonissue. Taboo relationships between members of disparate
classes are of far greater social relevance.
There is an underground Social
Networking movement that subverts many societal values, especially pertaining
to social class (and the emphasis on technology over humanities?) This is a
space where people of different classes mingle in secret—safe from the eyes of
disapproving family/society members and the government. Our Female Alien and
Male Human characters will meet through this network.
The Fall of Earth
(This information may or may not come to bear in the text. We could probably make a whole prequel book with this...)
Alien Arrival and the “Third Enlightenment”
Aliens arrive in the Arctic and
make first contact with astrophysicists conducting experiments at a research
station there. Initial attempts at communication are accomplished through math.
The aliens impress scientists by openly sharing their knowledge and technology.
Their arrival is heralded in much of northern Europe (Sweden, Netherlands,
Finland, Switzerland, etc.) as well as parts of India, China, and Japan. As
communication abilities improve, aliens meet with world leaders. They are
guests of honor received at the Hadron collider. OTHER countries are more
skeptical and recalcitrant.
Alien contributions to technology
and society:
- Cold Fusion—Ends world’s energy crisis and reduces dependency on oil by over 75%. (This nearly bankrupts Russia, Saudi Arabia, and other oil-rich nations.)
- Ecosystem Repair—They are able to undo damage to Earth’s ecosystem by removing pollution, regenerating the ozone layer, cleaning up/neutralizing nuclear waste, ending droughts, reversing effects of global warming, bringing back extinct and near-extinct animal populations via refined cloning, etc.
- Advanced Cultivation Techniques and Efficient Methods of Distribution essentially end world hunger. Requires significantly less land, water, nutrients than traditional agriculture. No chemicals. Works everywhere—from the Antarctic to the Sahara Desert. Food is no longer a commodity for purchase—it is something freely given and received to ALL.
Backlash from Alien Interference
The unintended consequence of all
of this generosity is that the existing power bases and economic systems are
thrown into complete and utter chaos. Money and consumerism lose value and
power in the face of the “Third Enlightenment” movement. Underclasses who had always
been completely preoccupied with basic survival now have their basic needs met
and can focus more attention on self-improvement and awareness. There is no
longer justification for countries to go to war since there is no struggle over
resources. Equality is suddenly attainable, and the general populations are clamoring
for it.
Anti-alien rhetoric and propaganda
begin to gain momentum. No longer visitors, they are “invaders” who are only
trying to lull humanity into a false sense of security/dependency in order to
achieve complete domination without “firing a single shot.”
ADS – Alien Death Syndrome
Roughly two years after aliens
first arrived, people and animals begin dying from a never-before-seen disease
that comes to be known as ADS (working title). It is believed that this comes
from a slow-reproducing and long dormant microbial agent the aliens have
unwittingly exposed them to. (NOTE: there may be some debate that ADS was
actually a biological weapon unleashed by humans
in order to turn the general population against aliens and restore the world to
its previous status/power quo.)
Aliens are able to implement a
global inoculation, but not before 1/5th of Earth’s animal (and
plant?) life has died. This event strains alien-human relationships. Paranoia,
doubt, and fear spread on both sides.
The Fallout
It is not clear who struck
first—evidence is scarce and subject to scrutiny. What is known is that the
Aliens reacted quickly and decisively. They take down satellite system (either
destroy it or convert it to their own purpose so humans can no longer use it.) They
barricade off the lands where they had settled (mostly Northern/Eastern Europe)
using energy fields that create independent ecosystems they can control. Next,
they eradicate human resistance within the domes and leave humans outside to
die or survive as they are able.
Humans launch a huge nuclear assault
against the domes. This creates huge land masses of nuclear waste zones, but leave
the domes and everything inside completely unscathed.
It is not an official prerogative
of the Aliens to destroy all human life outside of the domes—BUT they don’t
seem to make any effort to help them either. For example, they have the
technology to clean up the nuclear wastelands, but choose not to use it except
on the areas that they add to their growing colonies. Many feel that if humans
are willing to inflict such damage on themselves, then they should be left to
deal with the consequences. A minority of the Aliens disagree, and believe that
most surviving humans are innocent and ought to be rescued. (NOTE: Perhaps this
is where we see Alien “government” or governing bodies begin to shift from
democratic/humanitarian to autocratic.)
The Resistance Movement
To the aliens’ surprise, humans
prove far more resilient than they had expected. In spite of nuclear wasteland,
drought/famine, being cut off from all forms of global/mass communication, and
population decimation. Pockets of humans still survive throughout much of the
world, though they exist largely as islands and socially evolve/devolve in
different ways. Networks of humans and sympathetic aliens on the inside form,
and an underground resistance movement is born to ensure the survival of
humanity outside the domes and outside of Alien control. Alien technology is
smuggled out, which humans use to create and grow their own domes deep inside
nuclear wastelands, through which aliens are not likely to venture.
Population Issues
On their Homeworld, Aliens have a
naturally long life (perhaps 200-300 years) and slow fertility cycles. They
soon discovered that their lifespans were drastically reduced on Earth, which
somehow speeds up their aging process so that they do not live much longer than
regular humans. Their regular rates of reproduction cannot keep up with this
rapid decline, and the population begins to drop to dangerously low levels.
(It’s a long trip from Homeworld to Earth, so it will be years before the next
wave of colonizers come.)
They believe that the solution to
this population crisis will be in mixing their DNA with humans in order to
create a hybrid species that can exhibit the best of both traits. The cloning
program is kept Top Secret, with years of failures. Humans are kept against their
will as test subjects. They are not taken from within the dome (as this would
raise suspicion), so the Cloning Program begins raiding human settlements for
people under the age of 20. They call this “rescue.” Young children are adopted
into barren alien families and raised as part of the community. Humans of
childbearing age that prove fertile disappear into the Cloning program.
The Fall of the Resistance - Kori's Story
Kori has an older brother who cares for her in the early years of Alien Occupation. Their parents died from ADS. Brother is
older (late teens, early twenties?), sister is about four. There is a news story that comes on TV about a
second Alien ship bearing a new population. The girl is frightened by these
changes, but the older brother assures her that it is not a bad thing.
The FALL OUT will begin sometime
between Kori's childhood and ten-fourteen years in the future. In that time,
the brother will join the Resistance and either be killed or disappear and Kori will be left to take over for him/fend for herself.
Kori will be abducted
(somewhere around age 17-20) and put into the Cloning program. She will be the first successful impregnation with a
cloned hybrid. She will escape and eventually join the Resistance to find her brother (I have a vision of her riding into certain peril with the baby
strapped to her back.) Because she has escaped with the first/only hybrid child
along with all medical records/indications why
hers was successful when so many others had failed, the Aliens are highly
motivated to pursue and recapture her.
Eventually, Kori will be faced with a critical choice to betray the Resistance. She is motivated by self interest, interest of her baby, and ethical belief that the Resistance is too extreme/in the wrong. Her actions (or failure to act) will bring about the downfall of the Resistance once and for all. She will become assimilated into alien society and brought to the alien homeworld (like Pocahontas.)
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