Okay, so this society has the bulk of it all in place. I just need to work out the minor details of things like currency, jobs, accommodation and entertainment. In my science fiction universe the two dominant human planets are; the main human homeworld - Mythiaden and a fully mechanical planet - Neon. The history is complicated but basically Neon, which was once part of the main human power. Realized that they were the ones developing all of the latest technology whilst being limited in their experiments and funding by the leader on Mythiaden and decided to break off from them and posed the deal of either going to war with neon, or trading resources in return for technology. Mythiaden had no choice but to trade. From then on Neon began to develop it's own way of running things, free of morality and biased opinions. Their volunteers became subjects. And were more or less bred and used for experimenting on whatever they wished. Majority of the planet was run and maintained by automated machines and artificial intelligence. The majority of the biological life forms that occupied the planet were the test subjects simply known as Neonites. Then there were the many scientists who were hired from all across the galaxy to bring forth their ideas. The very few "technicians" who were hired to deal with issues the machines could not due to things like downed power grids, electromagnetic waves and the odd case of computer virus'. besides these And the five founding members of neon became "The board" each owning a portion of the planets population for their experiments. each board member referred to by their corresponding color; red, blue, green, orange and white. and also extends to the sectors they control: Red=genetics aimed at bettering the human body via a series of both structural and biological changes. ; Subjects assigned to the red sector fight to earn credits. Fights are only simulated when dealing with untested technology, most fights are against other members of the red sector and usually end in death, each kill earns the subject a bonus. All surviving subjects enter the monthly tournaments, tournaments are the best, risk free way of earning credits. Electrified rods are used in tournament matches to ensure none of their best die in the process. Blue=mechanics from cellular devices to warship engines, weapons and armor. this sector aims to achieve the ultimate edge in battle and everyday life. ; Blue subjects are the guinea pigs for testing all technology that has been recently developed or found to have safety issues. Due to the straightforward dangers that come with the work this is the second best paying sector below the reds. Green=consumables aimed at testing different substances for different effects as well as making the perfect ration that fuels with minimal amounts consumed. ; Green sector is arguably one of the best sectors to be a part of, as they don't even know they are working half of the time. nearly every time a subject from this sector orders a meal or sips a drink they are ingesting an experimental compound to test the effects. needless to say when a new poison is under experimentation, things don't often turn out well for a green. Grey=disposal pink sector focuses on the problem of disposal from fecal waste and trash to viral infections and corpses. ; Without a doubt, grey is the worst sector to be under. Those who are assigned to the grey sector are basically classified as "hardly fit to live" and are sometimes used in other sector experiments and are more or less target dummies and the first subjects to feel the scalpel in first time dangerous surgical procedures. White=Psychology/control this sector bases itself solely on control in every aspect of the word. safety, security, control over fighting technique and the overall control over the population. ; White sector is the only sector that has no human subjects, only artificial intelligence. When a Neonite is born they are placed in a pod and swept down a series of tubes and are collected by synthetic parent AI's with human emotions who raise them as they are tested to see which sector the child would be assigned to. The children begin testing at six and are assigned to a sector at fourteen. The kid will train the abilities needed for their sector until they are eighteen and are "Released to the mingle" where they go to the brightly lit surface. This is where the society part fits in. I've already worked out that red's get payed the best so there's a little tension between them and the other sectors (especially the greys who mostly resort to theft and violence since they earn no credits whatsoever). And they party a lot, but then there's the fact that they have to have somewhere where they sleep, and people like the reds would most likely have better accommodation than that of the greys. So it couldn't really be like pods or something because then it'd be like "ooh my pod's better than yours" which just sounds stupid. And if there weren't shops there'd have to be a vending system or something. I've already sorted out the transport system thankfully so it's just the last few touch ups. Also, if you think there's some aspect that I've missed Please do tell, I want to make the setting as immersible as possible, even if it does mean getting into the nitty gritty detail now so I can just casually lead the reader through it without them feeling jarred from missing detail.
I really don't know what you are asking of us here. Are there things missing? Yes there are a ton of things missing. Everything from the color of the sky to what grade of plastic they wrap their candy bars in. But no one actually cares about that. You have a hugely developed setting, which is like a really great backdrop. It's all meaningless until there are actors in front of it. When you start writing the story you'll begin to see which details need fleshing out, and we can't tell you what those will be.
Yeah, to be honest I thought I had a lot less than this. But when I started explaining the setting I started adding little pieces here and there and by the time I got to the end I realized there was like three tiny things I haven't figured out yet. So I was kinda like "Well... shit, it took me ages to write so I may as well post it." But just now I realized I probably should've copied it into a word document instead. So I'll probably just do that now and figure out how to end this thread or something. Thanks and sorry man.
Be careful about throwing inn miscellaneous junk for the sake of completeness. No matter how much you add, you won't have a comprehensive inventory. BUT! Not only do you not need to be all-encompassing, you are better off not even trying to be. No one will miss the extra detail you could add if it's clear you're only showing a window into the society. Show the reader enough to move the story along, but not much more. If your story is centered on the technology and control sections, teel the reader about red and white, but only breiefly mention grey, blue and green, if at all. Show a few people in violet uniforms, without explanation. If you openly try to be complete, that will hang up the readers as they try to figure out what you overlooked. Offer a sketch, not a high-def hologram.
@Cogito Well, the main reason I'm trying to piece together the entire society is because it isn't just a world that my main protagonist journeys through. It basically almost turns into a society that the main protagonist fathered. My main protagonist frees the minds of every single Neonite at once. And so then he's dealing with an entire population that has pretty much been asleep their whole lives. It's like if Morpheus made it rain red pills and then had to get everyone from all the pods to come to terms with reality quick enough to fight back against the machines. And also, this story has more than one protagonist so I just want to already have a world to just walk around in rather than something I'm just wingin' my way through every time.
Keep in mind that "morality" covers a lot more than sex. (If I inferred wrong, I apologise.) The morality/mores of any given society defines and enforces what that society values in human interaction. The enforcement can be informal, as by social pressure, formal, as in official indoctrination, or legal, with judicially-prescribed punishments for transgressing the moral code. (You may not be able to legislate a moral attitude, but you sure can legislate moral behavior. Or against behavior the society deems immoral. That's what law basically is.) So, knowing what you know about your society on Neon, what traits and behaviors would that society value? Would those values be different for the different colored sectors? E.g., boldness among the Reds and submission among the Grays? What would be the punishment for those who transgress them? And given that you say that One would assume that these controllers would be the ones defining and enforcing the moral code(s) from the top down. So, what sort of entertainment, access to food, jobs, etc., would they permit and promote in order to enforce the desired morality? Would there be rebels who would indulge in underground activities contrary to the controllers' wishes? What might these activities be? (Like people sneaking into cellars to watch old videos of classical music-- lol). One other thing. It seems that a planet like this, with strictly-regimented and externally-determined sectors, would be rife with biassed opinions, but based on sector color, not the color of one's skin. Those biasses could very well influence where people could and could not live, work, and be entertained, how they could obtain their food, and so on, even if these aspects of life were not officially dictated. Looks, whispers, and threats on one hand, and praise, rewards, and incentives on the other are the usual ways ordinary people maintain social order and promote the moral code they have received. Me, I think it's reasonable for you to want to know how your characters live their daily lives when they're not engaged in controller-mandated activities. Have fun!
I don't really see what's missing, seems complete enough to write to me. Currencies, accommodation etc seem a bit unimportant to be fair.
