Young Writers Society

Hi, I'm writing a sci-fic story that takes place on Earth and is in the future hundereds of years from now. In the story the world ( as in contrys and such) are the same ( America is still America etc.) However, the only new contry is Acka, which is a combnation of Europe and Russia.

Ok, I need help with why they are self-sufficient, and why they have upheld it for hundereads of years. I didn't want to write this, so, I just copied it from my storie. My main character, Dr.Ember, tells about the history during an assembaly.


"A long, long time ago," began Ember. "There was a ruler, Astrid, that promised poverty stricken Russia riches like the rest of the world. She also wanted a country that was self-sustaining, thinking that this was best for her people. So, she did just that. Astrid combined Europe with Russia to creat a single large country that was named Acka. They wanted to be independent, and independent they were. For decades, Acka was doing well like the rest of the world-rich, wealthy, powerful. Everyone was proud of Acka. If anything, their wealth matched Americas' for a short while. Due to their new ruler, the economy was booming. New nuclear, as well as lumber industries were springing up. There was a wide spread mining for Uranium. Science was flourishing and new technologies were being invented. Acka even invested billions into exploring new planets and even began to create space hotels. Soon, vacation was no longer confined to Earth. Everything went well, until the economy crashed due to the country being too self-sustaining, as well as investing too much money into science and technology. The land became filthy and polluted due to the prospering industries as well. Astrid was obvious to this. As an result, this combined with the brutal harsh winters caused massive and widespread starvation. What little food was grown, failed, and Acka was officially plunged into the misery of poverty. Due to this, Acka begin to abhor America and all of the other country's because of wealth and all that followed. Also the idea of being self-sustaining and independent had been past from president to president. They want-no-demand more power. No wonder why Acka is nicknamed 'The Nuclear Country.' Now, they want to wage nuclear war over this. Acka keeps a stockpile of nuclear missals in their capital, Phee, which is up in the mountains."

Any help? Can I also have help with explaining and how about to go about the poor econemy, please. Yes, I suck at the political stuff. Also, any idea's on why soldier's would be stationed in Acka ( in book one one of my character's, Ally Read, her father is oversea's in Acka. ) However, war has not broken out because they need some of Ember's inventions to wage war. Having said this, spies are in America gathering information/trying to get Ember. And I also build up the threat of war a little at a time, as in, I give a bit of infromation in book one, more in book two, and everything in book three. I want a reason as to why they are stationed in Acka when when war has not borken out.

I SERIOUSLY need help with this, please.

And any good idea's for a president death. I want the death of Reeese Wolfsfeild, who is the goverment of Acka to die. But I want it to be a good death and somthing that makes the reader fell a bit sorry for her and feel like " That was right." She cares about her contry greatly and hates America ( What contry dosn't hate Amerca because we have EVERYTHING!) however, she allowes the harsh treatment of political prisonors and she bombs the U.S. Embassy on " accadent" and takes them prisoner and extracts them for information.


Thanks for helping.

P.S. my story has to do a lot with science and not just war and such incase anyone was thinking it.

If a country were truly self-sustaining, then it wouldn't collapse, so that whole premise falls apart right at that point.

You also write as if the head of the government actively oversees absolutely everything the government does, which simply is not feasible. Governments are not run by a single person, and they involve the cooperation and management of many, many people, especially if you're talking about governing a million or so people.

With that said, it strikes me as being very unlikely someone in the government, much less someone in the nation, did not forsee any of the issues that lead to Acka's downfall, or that they did not try and bring attention to those issues. Especially an issue as critical as not having enough food or the industries polluting the land to the point where citizens' lives are threatened.

What you've outlined here just doesn't make sense on a very fundamental level.

I'd recommend starting over from scratch. What state does Acka need to be in economically and politically? What are some ideologies that major groups of people within Acka hold? What was the force that united all of Europe into one, despite all the historical and cultural differences?

If you can answer those questions, we might be able to help you build a more plausible political and economic situation, as well as the history behind it.

You bring up a very interusting point.. . I tough that I contry could not be self-sustaing because of trad and such. But than I looked up Autarky. Hmm, First off, what are the disvantages of a self- sustaing contry? If you could help me with that Thank I could give an answer, than we can go from thair.... Thank you so much for helping.

Hmm, I compleatly forgot that mutipal people and orgianizations had to do with the envorment and such. So, if that''s the case, than somone would have had to do somthing for the enviorment... But what happened. Hmm, mabey the enviorment was not as bad as enviorment protection orginzations though that it was and attemped to do somthing... BTW Acka is full of radiation... Which this leads to...

1. How would radiation be controled? I do know that their would be a mass evacuation because it's radiation and radiation effects and mutates your genes, cause radiation poisoning ( which I did reserch on) and effects everything within the area.

Ah-ha! I'm getting it.

First. What are the downfalls of being self-sustaing? If I have that answered, and the radiation question, that I have an idea from there. But I stilo need your help. I'll tell you my idea as it forms.

Sorry for the mistakes, my eyesight is very bad.

See. I suck at politics. That's my only flaw within my story.

Acka

Economy: Autarky

Government: democracy government

Main industry's: mineing, lunber, nuclear.

Sense it's Europe/Russia. I'm going to have a coat of arms ( Can a cote of arms be for a country, and not just a family?) If so, than the coat of arms has a metallic dragon that breaths plasma.

Idea's that citizen's of Acka uphold: they want to be self-sustaing and don't want to interfear with other country's because they fear that other contry's ( because they are struggeling with power/econmy) that other countries will take them over because the country is weak. They Abhorrer America ( mainly America) because of wealth. They like independences. Why do they want to be independent? What happened? ( Hey, can you make me a sheet of questions and such to fill out about my country in relation to what i'm dealing with. Then i'm not confused and surch for info. Somthing like a character chart, only, it's for countries. I'll keep tabs on it. It does not have to be insanly long)

I am also wanting corruption due to enviormental issues, and everything goes downhil from their. I want it to be an ecological disaster.


How about you make the chart first and I can fill out what I can and then I can show it to you, then we can discuses from there. Ok. Hey, can we PM because I'm afraid that people might steal my ideas even though everything is copyrighted, but you don't know. I'm just being cautious.

The main downside to being self-sustaining is that you are very limited in what you can produce at any given time. The resources spent producing food, for instance, cannot be used to produce new technology. There are a lot of tradeoffs, and beyond a certain point, there is no room for economic growth.

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Why is Acka full of radiation? How did it get to be that way? Nuclear power does have its risks, but there are also known and effective precautions that protect the environment from radiation. That such precautions were not taken or maintained is just stupid on the part of those responsible, especially considering nuclear power has already been in use in Europe for decades.

Ecological disasters do not have to be caused by nuclear radiation. Deforestation is a good cause, and considering how one of Acka's primary industries is lumber, it would be fitting.

And since you're already asking questions yourself, I think it would be a better idea if you created your own country sheet. Some other information to include would be which countries make up Acka, Acka's total population, number and type of political parties, currency, and the system of government organization (what is the smallest governed area and the responsibilities of that office). Also, a timeline of events would probably help, starting with how Astrid came to power and every major event since.

As for PMing, I don't mind, but moving to PMs would mean you also lose the opportunity to get feedback from other members who have more information/experience in certain areas than I.

Ok, I tried to reply to a PM but the internet was messed up.

I appereat your suggustions, but bear in mind that...

1. I'm not going to go in THAT much detail, I don't need to nor want to tell everything political about Acka. My story is mainly about science. I just need to know that basics about what things are ( the economy and gov and what Acka does etc ) and ideas and then I can go from their.

2. Yes, I believe what you say about Europe and nuclear power. However, this is my story and this is science fiction and is just a story. Yes, research is very important, but this is fiction and is the future. It needs to be believable enough, but I don't want to go in too much detal, Your kind of making me over think stuff. Trust me, I sometimes over think and a make a bigger deal about it than what is needed. Having said this I do care about my books and such. Many science fiction things are a reality/theory. That's ONE of the reason's why I love sci-fic. Yes, I could be super detailed about Acka and such, but for what i'm doing I don't nee to. In my book, most of the political stuff is mentioned. Such As Ember tell about how Reese and Ruby sighed a treaty.

I need help on the treaty. I know that Acka want's wealth/good economy/power and possibly technology ( After all, one of the downsides of being self-sustaning is that they are separated from the world/other technology etc) And what would America negotiate with them. It's not like America ( nor Ruby) is wanting to help them after the harsh treatment of political prisoners ( Technicaly is against the Geneva convention, but this is fictional, far-future sci-fic) the " bombing of the U.S. Embassy" and more.

I'm emailing somone about politics, too.

In my world, their is a lot of radiation in Acka and I have some realistically mutated animals and plants.

1. Even if you do not use that information in the story, it is information that you, as the writer, need to know to ensure that Acka is a plausible country. Everything I have brought up is basic ideas.

2. It may be a story, and it may be fictional, but science fiction MUST be based in plausible science and scenarios for the time it is written in. Nuclear contamination on a intercontinental scale due to carelessness is just not plausible.

I'm not telling you to include all this detail, but there is something called worldbuilding which is necessary when writing both sci-fi and fantasy, and right now, your worldbuilding is weak. You need to have at least a basic understanding of the history of Europe pre-Acka, reasons as to why the whole of Europe would unite into Acka, and how Acka has changed over time politically, economically, and environmentally into the state it is in at the time of your story. A country's history affects how it acts and reacts in the present, and so knowing the history of your created country will help you figure out the politics of your country.

Writing far-future sci-fi is a lot of work, especially if you want your writing to be taken seriously. You need to do your research, and you need to keep track of the reasons why things happened the way they happened, even though the vast majority of this information will never appear in the actual story.

Not doing so results in plot and logic holes, as well as inconsistencies, which are things you really should try to avoid, especially in sci-fi.

True. Ok. Never mind what I said above...

Yes, I do heavy research ( for the most part on the science part I don't have to because I know a lot about the subject which I'm writing about.) However, I do do research on it anyways or if i'm unsure about something.

I LOVE doing research. I did some research on nuclear power plants and such yesterday. Now, I have the basics figured out.

About Acka

1. I did not know much about government/economics ( i'm taking it this year)

Ok. I need help with why Acka hates America outside of wanting power and wealth?

And an idea of what to do about the economy.

History: Hundreds of years ago their was the government, Astrid, that came into power. She was rich and originally promised poverty-stricken Russia riches. Her government was an oligarchy (ruled by the rich) and she wanted what was best for Russia. Seeing that Russia was having some difficulties, she decided to combine Europe and Russia together and called the nation Acka. From there Acka's economy was booming, new technologies were being invented, nuclear, mining, and, lumber industries were springing up. Acka invested billions into science and technology. However, from all of the nuclear plants nuclear waist had to be stored. (Their are pockets of radiation in Acka. Most of it is in the north east.) It began to leak into the water, air etc. As a result, nothing could be done about the radiation.

People got sick with radiation poising and animals and plants mutated. Some new species sprang up due to mating.

All that could be done was reading the levels of radiation and evacuation people to west Acka (Europe.) (Radiation detecters http://www.remm.nlm.gov/civilian.htm.)

Due to the high population, people were competing for food, shelter etc. People were starving and what little crops were grown were crops were grown failed. This also put the economy into turmoil. Despite this, Acka still wanted a self-sustaning country and did what they could. Hundreds of years later came Reese. She is a dictator and wants a command economy (she hopes that this will help the economy if she controlles manufacturing and trade.) Some people want in oligarchy(rule by the rich) but they afraid to go against her power. They fell that Reese is doing very little to help Acka. Citizens still believes in the country being self-sustaining and is unwilling to change. ( this is due to propaganda. Also, Reese has difficulty with helping the economy because their is not a lot of money to help the economy etc.) Reese is also stubborn and cruel. She hates countries due to their economy and wealth. She mainly hates America and is willing to wage nuclear war over land/ wealth etc.

Government: Dictatorship. After all, Resse does want "command economy" (she keeps everyone in line with propaganda.) Some people want an Oligarchy.

Economy: originally self-sustaning, the government, Reese, want's command economics ( the government has control over produces, manufacturing etc.)

Capital: Phee

Location of capital: it is up in the mountains, in the north of Acka which is a mixture of tundra and tiga forest.

coat-of-arms: a metallic dragon that breaths plasma (the dragon represents strength and power.)

Currency: lead coins of various sizes.

Population: densely populated ( mainly east Acka (Europe) ) For the most part the population is scattered in the mountains. The population is scattered and is small in mountain villages.

Idealoligy: people believe in being loyal to Acka and are willing to die for their country. This idea is tough and is do to propaganda.

I need help with why Acka hates America outside of wanting power and wealth?

Perhaps Acka was refused aid, didn't receive enough aid, or the aid Acka received was heavily conditional. All would be very good reasons to hate America, and the last could also explain the presence of American military bases in Acka -- a military presence being one of the conditions for Acka receiving aid.

Now, I was going to point out that such a situation you've portrayed wouldn't be sustainable for centuries, however, if we're working from the American aid angle, it could be a very closely guarded secret that Acka has not been economically independent for centuries, and has instead been relying heavily upon American aid. Such a secret could really work as a motivation for Reese to attack the American embassy and military bases, since she could be trying to drive out the Americans in addition to passing economic reforms so that Acka can claim true economic independence.

The only real issues in the information you've provided above are the lead coins, the scattered-but-dense description of population contradicting itself, and the fallback on propaganda as an explanation for pretty much everything ideologically.

Lead is a very soft metal, and while that alone would make it a poor metal for coin-based currency, it also happens to be extremely toxic when oxidized. Lead is also extremely heavy. Some other metal, or even mineral, would be more suitable for currency.

You describe Acka as being densely populated, and yet small, scattered mountain villages are the exact opposite of densely populated. Perhaps it would be more accurate to say that the cities are very densely populated, and that the majority of the countryside is uninhabited except by scattered villages due to radiation concerns.

Last, while propaganda is a powerful tool, it is not the end-all, be-all of making a populace obedient or loyal. When propaganda doesn't match up to reality, propaganda loses its power over people, until it gets to the point where the propaganda is rejected entirely. Also, no matter how great a propaganda machine a country has, the propaganda will always clash with at least some groups' and individuals' realities, and so there will always be those who do not listen to or outright reject the propaganda.

These people who are not swayed by propaganda could provide a really interesting source of conflict and contrast without being outright rebels, adding quite a bit of dimension to your politics and characters if you include some of them in your story.

How could mineral be a form of currency? Can you give some examples and the shape of the mineral,as in, would it be just cut as if someone was going to put it into a piece of jewelry, or would it be cut a certain way?

I never knew that lead was poisonous when oxidized.

Yes, I did think about having rebels. I always imagined that not EVERYONE would be swayed by the propaganda, and these people knew that was was going on is wrong.

I did think about how Acka did not want to trade with America ( as in give them resources, which, if America was not given these resources, than it would hurt the U.S. economy ) and in the time that Acka begun to have problems with radiation, the aid that America gave was heavily conditioned. American's wanted lumber and mineral resources. Sense Acka is the number one producer in Uranium ore, America needs it for making millitary wepons, medical purpuses, food preservation, etc. Manly, America need's it for millatary purposes. However, Acka will not give them any in fear that they will make wepons and will destroy Acka. Also, this is why Acka want Ember's force feild, to protect theirselves if Amerca was ever to bomb them.

Reeses also hates America because some people ( both from Acka and America) were 'influencing' to "get Reese out offic" and they ( only the rebels ) want a demecery and want a free enterprise systume. EVERYONE ELSE wants an oligarcy.

Sorry about the population, I worded it wrong. I mean that the population is densly populated in east Acka ( Europ) and the nortwest is only populated by small mountion villages that are scattered due to radiation concerns.

How could mineral be a form of currency?

Gemstones of all sorts have been used as currency.

When it comes to currency, there are several important considerations:

1. It must be portable.

2. It must be durable.

3. It must be divisible.

4. It must be a good store of value.

An ideal form of currency has all four of these traits, and gemstones as a form of currency satisfy all four. You don't need to use gemstones, and as long as you make sure that any currency you wish to use meets these considerations, your currency will be plausible.

Thanks, will keep that in mind