Practicality of sci-fi story-Condensed version

Sarahrizz

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Hello dear folks,

In my work on my Science Fiction novel I am really getting along, almost to where I'll be ready to tie in some major conclusion plot points. Anyways, I'll really need to iron out details before I get there, so I thought I'd try to air them out here and ask if they are believable/ practical.

My story takes place multi generations after an apocalyptic war, and they're living under a large Dome. My MC is a young man who takes a placement test designed to assign him the best career. Only his test results don't turn out very good because his mind is not exactly normal. They determine he is not able to function at the same level as the other citizens, and they place him into a special home with like persons to be supported by a social welfare type thing. Anyways...Those he meets in this facility are not all dumbos, in fact some are very smart, just not traditionally so.

Back to the spoilerish sci-fi:

I established early on that my MC is very gifted in math, and engineering skills. He was so far ahead of his peers growing up that he invented his own math, symbols and all. Once he found an intelligent mentor he was taught to use traditional symbols instead, but he kept his own partially on the side. It evolved as he became more skilled.

The Dome's mechanics: a large Dish on ground level has energy projector's fixed on the side. A separate computer regulates how much energy goes to the projectors to keep the dome up, no matter what crashes against it. This Regulator features a screen with numbers. The computer uses a series of regression equations to calculate things out, and the next set of numbers can be predicted by those who know the equations.

During the story, some of the characters, those in the facility mentioned above, acquire a set of instructions, from which they derive how to build a smaller model dome. Why???Why not. They do this in secret, using stuff they can pull out of the trash, and stuff "re-purposed" from job sites. (The governor has them doing unskilled labor, as a means of saving money in his budget).

When taking the test he, my MC, gets stuck on a very advanced problem. It features a picture of the Dome's Regulator screen. Something is just wrong with those numbers, and when my MC uses his own math, the issue gets worse. Yet my MC didn't have knowledge in the background workings of the Regulator to be able to figure it out. It distracts him, and his mind is one that just can't turn off a problem like that. It distracts him during the rest of the test.
~I read once how some people are born sensing differently, they see smells and feel sounds and such. I thought I'd play it similarly with my character and math, that in his mind the numbers take on physical characteristics, or some type of visual property. But I'm not settled on this.

Their model dome is a smaller version of the main Dome, so it needs some reworking to get the software to work on the Regulator. My MC learns a lot about how it functions in this.

As was evident in the screen during my MC's test, there is something wrong with the Dome. Only because the Dome is so large, it has thousands of Projectors, it is very easy to overlook when one or two projector's burn out. And it's going to take my MC to be able to identify and fix the issue.

What I need to work out is: what is causing this problem?

1. The Dome was built generations ago, so it could be simply aging of the mechanics. But then the builders would have built it with a purpose of it lasting, and shouldn't the residents have maintained it.

2. It could be atmospheric. Some change in the atmosphere could be changing the whole math thing... Perhaps things are getting better outside the Dome, or the effect of other, as of yet, unknown survivors on the environment is going uncalculated.

I'm not sure where I am going to go. I realize that it is a lot to go through, the sci-fi elements of a book, condensed. But to the probable only few who've managed to read all that, Any thoughts? Does it seem practical/ believable?
 

ipsbishop

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Cool story Sarahrizz. The first thing I thought of when I read your post was Nevil Shute's No Highway. The engineer who knew something was wrong with the tail of the plane but had missed a small detail in his calculations. Do you trust your abilities enough to risk everything to prove it if lives are at stake?
 

Dennis E. Taylor

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It sounds like a situation where the inhabitants have lost a lot of the theoretical and background knowledge and are really just learning required skills by rote, with no real understanding of the why. In such cases, there's something called shrinking knowledge domains, where each generation teaches the next, but doesn't impart 100% of the knowledge. Over several generations, the gaps become larger and larger.

In your case, it might be that the current crop of technicians are fixing problems without delving into why those problems are happening, therefore not solving the underlying problem. For instance, if material fatigue is causing an increasing number of failures, but no one thinks to inspect segments that haven't failed yet, you're going to get an increasing cascade of failures as more and more components reach the end of their useful lives.
 

ironmikezero

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I think your premise is engaging. I suspect it is essentially based on a pragmatic problem, the limitations of the original design (dome system). All designs are intended to serve a specific purpose, within the envelope of inherent ability or capability of function. If the original designers did not consider and integrate a practical range of adaptability (e.g; to evolutionary environmental factors, population growth, etc.), the needs of those intended to be served/protected may eventually exceed the capability of the design, leading to an inevitable failure. How this becomes apparent to those so affected may give you further inspiration; how soon the end may come may give you considerable opportunity to ratchet up the tension.

Best of luck!
 

ipsbishop

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Have you given any thought to who the builders were and why the dome exists in the first place? I'm already curious about what's outside of the dome. Is it there to protect the occupants, or to keep them locked inside? Synesthesia is what you were describing. And yes in my world it can be believable and practical
 

Sarahrizz

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Have you given any thought to who the builders were and why the dome exists in the first place?
In my mind the Dome was designed by one group, perhaps a bunch of rich folks looking out for their own interests. But then as disaster approached the government took over via eminent domain. While the original design was planned out, suddenly they had a bunch of refugees setting up camp in the Dome, and needed to figure out what to do. Many of the survivors would have been injured, or unable to hold whatever functions they held before. The test was originally devised to be inclusive, that is, to figure out how to best use ALL survivors. Eventually it became exclusive and started keeping out those who were different. I hope to use a journal entry from the original survivors to teach this to my readers as well as my MCs
I'm already curious about what's outside of the dome. Is it there to protect the occupants, or to keep them locked inside?
I've been playing around with several possible endings in my mind. There's a character I intended to kill off when I created him, but I'm getting attached as I write him. One possible ending would leave room for a very interesting book 2, if I ever get that far. If I write it well, you'll be wondering if the character was hallucinating before death, or if he really did see lights approaching.
Synesthesia is what you were describing. And yes in my world it can be believable and practical
Oh, good. I just hope I can describe it so it gets across without using the diagnostic terms. I am not using diagnostic terms for any characters in my book. I have my reasons...
 

ipsbishop

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Thank you Sarahrizz. Some things you might want to consider in creating your world. What does the dome look like to you when you close your eyes. Is it transparent, translucent or solid? How big and how high is it? Where does the light come from. Is it possible to leave the dome? If so why would you? Is the air good? Where does food, water and power come from? How many people live in the dome. Answering these types of questions will help in making a believable location. It doesn't have to be geeky or explained in detail, it's just the setting for a good story about people's lives.

Below is a link with a 1st person perspective from someone who has Synesthesia.

https://www.mnn.com/health/fitness-well-being/stories/what-is-synesthesia-and-whats-it-like-to-have-it
 
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