The Spindle: WIP Introduction
Spindle: Noun: a slender rounded rod with tapered ends used in hand spinning to twist and wind thread from a mass of wool or flax held on a distaff.
Cell Biology. a spindle-shaped structure, composed of microtubules, that forms near the cell nucleus during mitosis or meiosis and, as it divides, draws the chromosomes to opposite poles of the cell.
Noun: In 2065 the Spindle™ was developed by SpOre. A thin cylindrical tube of microthin fibres measuring 4.5 cm and the width of 0.35mm is inserted in the limbic system. It is a fully functional and multipurpose connection to satellite and internet. The System is Free for citizens and is considered ID, registration, bank, and employment and criminal record. SpOre released the system and through a partnership with many Governments has completely reinvented public access and obliterated poverty.
Title: The Spindle Book 1 Status: First Draft Genre: Science Fiction, Cyberpunk, Biopunk, POV: Third Person, Limited/Ensemble Themes; climate change, artificial intelligence, corporations as governments, 80s cyberpunk aesthetic with counter culture and commentary on consumerism, The world has gone to absolute shit and the space race didn’t save us, big brother has a great health plan, Climate Refugees, the power of friendship,
It’s 2114 and Earth has gone to shit. Space happened. Mars happened, then the Moon. Now there’s a giant crescent in the sky and there are more people living in the colonies than on Earth. Artificial Intelligence, hasn’t happened and it doesn’t look like it’s going to. Most droids and bots work in the service industry.
Now Earth has mostly flooded, climate refugees travel to the Megacities hoping for a chance to become a citizen. Hope is fleeting for those able to find some. The rest can be blissfully entertained with a variety of Eco and Ar filters for just 1.99 a month.
Caldera Rey is a twenty-something First Nations Mohawk Robotics Engineer. She’s gifted, well educated but according to the Canadian Government, not a citizen. She like most of her family are conscientious objectors to the Spindle and live most of their lives off the grid. That was fine by Cal, at least until her mom got sick. Or well her surrogate mom. Surrogate bots aren’t supposed to live for 12 years let alone the miles Mara has put on her shell. Cal has a plan, she’s going to fix up her mom and take her home and everything will be fine. There’s just one tiny problem, Mara’s tech is tagged, and before anyone realises it, Caldera finds herself ‘arrested’ by SpOre’s police unit and taken into custody for questioning.
Now she’s trapped in the middle of Toronto’s megacity, no way out, and no access. It’s a good thing she’s learned how to make friends from spare parts, she’s going to have to make a few of them before the day is finished.