Some Notes On The Plot

In my previous post on backstory, I described some of the social, economic and political landscape in which my sci-fi novel takes place. Here is some of the backstory on the story plot itself.

Earth has changed so much, as noted in my previous post. Not all of it is welcomed by people. In fact, some of the changes were so radical, and so alarming and troubling to certain people --- such as the pervasion of artificial components integrated with the human body --- that these people won the rights to settle a small uninhabited planet discovered within human reach. There they could create a world of their making, one more suited to their sensibilities that did not "treat humanity as expendable as plastic cups." A small amount of commercial trade was maintained between Earth and the colonized planet, but the colonized planet was basically left alone.

That all changed when this little planet was found to be the only source of rimonium, a unique metal that could be combined with existing nanotechnology to create "nano-rimonium" --- a revolutionary new synthetic material that was profoundly useful and in high demand.

Our hero, Sean Brennan, had been following some of the nano-metallurgical experiments going on in the Atlas labs that had led to this discovery, and he urged the company to pursue the new material and technology as the experiments were unfolding. Atlas did eventually negotiate rights on the colony planet to mine the material, when it proved to itself the concept and marketability, but not because of anything Sean Brennan ever said.

Brennan was busy doing his own job out in the Asteroid Belt. Meanwhile, thousands of light-years away on the colony planet, Atlas was busily mining rimonium for its new nano-rimonium product line. But then the leaders of the colony planet found that Atlas was strip-mining their earth...ruining the land, destroying the water supply, and damaging the communities nearby with overhanging dust clouds and noise pollution from the constant blasting, machinery, and overloaded vehicles roaring through. It was all being done in a shoddy, greedy way, and the Planetary Council was angry. The Council first complained to Atlas directly, but that got them no where. So they complained to Earth authorities to keep Atlas accountable for the damage they were doing. Earth responded by sending a military force to protect its "critical resources for the future."

Now a portion of the Council's land is being occupied by what amounts to a "foreign power," and the Council is deeply concerned about protecting its sovereignty. It is preparing to stand up a military force of its own to take its land back. But before things really turn nasty and the conflict turns physical (Earth would certainly crush any native military force), the Council is seeking out alternatives.

One of those alternatives includes recruiting Sean Brennan to their cause, an Atlas senior executive who was recently laid off, who probably wants to get revenge, who knows a lot about the company and about Earth culture, and who can provide the Council with guidance on how to effect their will in a way that doesn't lead to war and probably extinction.

As Brennan begins his effort to find Geelan, the Sirian alien who stole his money, he will be intercepted by Thornbush, a beautiful Native American (Earth) woman who works for Council Intelligence and has been tasked with recruiting him. She finally succeeds in doing so, but mostly because she pledges Council resources to help Brennan find Geelan so he can settle his score with the bubbly-skinned con-man.

To be continued...