Young Writers Society

No one knows exactly how many Rusties there were at the time of the crash. We know for sure that the population was up to 10 billion, but who knows how many of them there were.
The Rusties had a huge appetite for resources that wrecked the planet. They burned so much energy that you could see the lights from space. Each Rusty produced about two kilograms everyday.
To feed their appetites, Rusties would wreak havoc on the climate, the sky, and the earth. Over 100 species would be extinct everyday. The economy was built on poverty and debt. The politicians would do anything to kill each other. One day, they just became too good at destroying themselves.

It all started with the oil bug. No one knows how it came about, whether it be a natural process of life or an invention meant to help with oil spills. There's no denying that these tiny bacteria changed the world.
The oil bug would travel through any contact with oil. Soon cars became bombs once they touched air and oil fields became firestorms. It's spores traveled through air and it went across the entire world.
With everything aflame, there was no way to escape the chaotic cities. The planet was to broken and dirty to house survivors, though-the rivers were dirty and the land wouldn't grow food. In the first decade, 98% of humanity died.

A few survived to rebuild, of course. The old nation states were gone, the cities were gone, everything was gone. When cities started to rise again, it was in small, safe areas. When each area tried to reach out and communicate with each other, they all reached the same verdict: The planet must not be wrecked again.
The cities established limited contact but continued to trade and share technology. The cities focused on renewable resources like solar and wind power. Hover technology was made possible but had limited travel to other cities. Everyone avoided rebuilding the highways of the Rusties.
Although war wasn't the best idea at this time, conflicts still arose because of people's different beliefs and cultures. About a century later, all of the scientists from all the cities met to study human conflict.
Soon, a researcher found something called "The Halo Effect." Beautiful people were treated better and didn't cause as much trouble. Perhaps if everyone were beautiful, the world would be a better and more peaceful place. Over many years a surgical procedure was perfected and nothing could stand against the power of a pretty face.

This was only the official story though. What scientists really discovered was that pretty people did fight with one another no matter how beautiful. The surgery called for something else. Something more drastic.
The answer was the bubblehead surgery. No one questioned what happened when they went under the knife because everyone wanted to be beautiful. Small alterations were made in the brain reducing aggression and increasing compliance. They couldn't handle war, conflict, or even more than one or two children every few decades.
Finally humanity could be kept in an idyllic state forever-the end of hardship and conflict had been reached at last.
Of course, this aspect of the surgery is a secret. Unfortunately, some people had to sacrifice their innocence and happiness to become the governors of society. So while the world was bubbly and pretty, a few of the people could still see the cold, cruel reality. These people saw themselves as Special.

Those kept from the bubblehead humanity started making themselves special. Some were firefighters, wardens, and scientists. Some were the last line of defense, something that required a cruel beauty. They called themselves Special Circumstances. The rules no longer applied to them.
They might have stayed in charge if it weren't for Maddy and Az. As doctors, the bubblehead effect was taken away from them. They didn't realize that's what happened, of course, until they started observing younger Uglies, Wardens, and Pretties. What were these lesions?
Maddy and Az's research was shut down by Special Circumstances and so the two ran away from the city. They founded a community called "The Smoke." The Smokies learned to live in the wild. Although they did borrow some technologies, they learned to do things with man power. For a long time the cities had no reason to suspect the Smoke's existence.
When Maddy and Az had a son, everything changed. When he was old enough, he started exploring the Rusty Ruins and would occasionally run into tricky Uglies. David impressed all of the Uglies he met and soon he became a legend.
David started collecting runaways and now The Smoke is more than just a rumor. Whispers could be heard from all over as the Smoke kept expanding.

[spoiler]Please remember that the plot takes place about a year before Tally has even met Shay, let alone David, Zane, or Dr. Cable.