Young Writers Society

Prologue

In the year 2050, the Earth’s resources have begun to dwindle on the brink of total exhaustion. Food, water, and even air have become a commodity and are sold between countries. Ties between nations have become strained and war threatens to breakout at anytime. But in this time of confusion the United Earth Administration announced the beginning of the Aurora Project. It’s mission, to journey to the farthest reaches of the planet and capturing “habitable” planets for the people of Earth to colonize.

In the months following the announcement thousands of children were taken and funneled into various military facilities. It was there that officials began painful experiments to genetically enhance the children. Making them faster, smarter, and stronger than average humans. Many died, many went insane and were killed. But those who survived joined their comrades in the intense training that followed. Making them into the perfect super soldiers.

Less than a year later, on the day of Christmas, the world watched as the first ship left Earth’s orbit.. It was only when it faded into the darkness of space, when the nations realized the huge mistake they had made.

Hi! Jet, here. This sounds like a blurb, rather than a prologue. Was it intended as the former rather than the latter? I only ask because it seems that you set up a plot summary before you even begin the story; the fun in setting up a fictional world should surely come in seamlessly integrating that world into the story, rather than explaining it point-blank before you start. Think about whether you need that prologue or whether you're just hanging on to an opportunity to explain away your setting so you can start Chapter 1 without interruption. If this was just an exercise to get you into the novel, fair enough, but this information should really become apparent without a designated prologue area.

The prologue debate aside, this sounds interesting. Is it young adult fic? I presume so. I'm slightly confused about the date. 2050? All the Earth's resources dwindling and air's a commodity? That's... quite soon. I'm not at all an expert on this kind of thing, but I'd set it slightly further forward unless you're planning on introducing an event or advance in technology which led to the deprivation.

It’s mission, to journey to the farthest reaches of the planet and capturing “habitable” planets for the people of Earth to colonize.

Its mission was to journey to the farthest reaches... etc. Just a minor it's/its error there.

Why children, and not established soldiers? Again, this is an argument for including this information in the later areas of the story so you can expand on it. As for now, I'm genuinely curious why they didn't go all Steve Rogers on Earth rather than modify children.

Other than that, there's a genuine sense of mystery here, and I'd like to read more. I maintain it's like a teaser or the blurb rather than a prologue, and should be displayed as such, but nonetheless, it works.

- Jet.

This is a very interesting piece. I love science fiction stories like the one that this prologue is suggestive of - ones that make one question the ideals of the present by giving dystopian examples of them in the context of the future. This is what I think you are getting at with this piece.

Now, since this is a prologue, I expect that everything that follows will be successive. If this is not your plan, I would strongly suggest relegating it to the title of "summary," which is an important role as well. Keep in mind that prologues are never entirely necessary, and in some cases stories are better off without them. This is because it is more often than not better to interweave clues of the setting's past within the story, instead of simply telling it flat-out before the story begins. Consider "The Hunger Games," if you have read them. Collins did not write a prologue at the beginning explaining how the world came to an end, or even a nebulous idea of what happened. No, she simply gave subtle hints of a global apocalypse here and there, while moving forth with the story.

Here are some specific critiques I would like you to consider:

Ties between nations have become strained and war threatens to breakout at anytime.

"Breakout" and "anytime" are both words, but they have slightly different meanings than how you use them. Just put spaces between each of the two compound words and you'll be fine.

It’s mission, to journey to the farthest reaches of the planet and capturing “habitable” planets for the people of Earth to colonize.

I found a few typos in this sentence. Firstly, "it's" should be "its;" secondly, the comma after "mission" should be a colon; thirdly, the word "planet" should be "galaxy" or "universe;" and finally, "capturing" should be "capture."

In the months following the announcement, thousands of children were taken and funneled into various military facilities. It was there that officials began painful experiments to genetically enhance the children, making them faster, smarter, and stronger than average humans. Many died; many went insane and were killed. But those who survived joined their comrades in the intense training that followed. They became the perfect soldiers.

Less than a year later, on Christmas day, the world watched as the first ship left Earth’s orbit. It was only when it faded into the darkness of space when the nations realized the huge mistake they had made.

Alrighty. Hopefully you found my review in some way useful. I'll be sure to keep my eyes peeled for the next chapter in the story!