The World of Virtual Wars

I have been working on the first in a series of three novels for almost three years now. This is the first of a new series of blog posts that I am going to write leading up to the publishing of the novel. I hope to provide some back story and context for the novel. Reading this isn't required to understand or enjoy the novel. These blog posts are for fans who wish to know more about the history of this world and how it came to be the way it is. It offers insight into my writing process. Most of this information will remain hidden or partially revealed during the course of the novel.

What is Virtual Wars?

The Virtual Wars series is a trilogy of novels based in the near future in what seems to be a utopian society that is geared towards a young adult audience. Of course, as in most cases, nothing is what it seems. The story follows Miri Stapleton who is a young teen that is trying to decide which academy to attend. An unexpected opportunity presents itself making it possible for him to compete in the Virtual Wars for a prestigious academy.

Along the way he meets Hannah, a short blonde girl who kicks ass with her fists as well as her sarcasm, and Kitsie, a beautiful and mysterious girl who is in some kind of trouble. With their help Miri finds that there are a lot of secrets and deceptions within this world including the reason his father had died eight years earlier.

Surviving the Great War

Nuclear war decimates the world. Volcanoes erupt. Tsunamis devastate. The entire planet burns and then freezes. The tectonic plates are pushed causing the land masses on the surface of the earth to collide with one another. Massive earthquakes rip apart the surface world. New ranges of mountains form from these collisions. Some land masses fall into the ocean.

The survivors of this torrent of disaster do so by going underground. Some live in caves deep below the surface, while others survive in underground facilities built specifically for an extinction level event. Food is scarce, clean water is even harder to find. The horrors the survivors have to face are best left up to the imagination.

Returning to the Surface

After many years of living underground, the weather above the surface normalizes to the point where it can again support human life. There are still wide areas of land where the levels of radioactivity are detrimental to life. Those are mapped out as X-zones. Humankind rebuilds from what is left. Much of the land has been reclaimed by plants and wild animals. The land is called New Pangea after the last time the land masses were combined into a mega-continent.

The novels take place hundreds of years after this. The X-zones have remained mostly unchanged since they were first established. Many of today's technologies have been reclaimed and improved upon. The main roads have been cleared and repaved while many of the back roads have not been reclaimed.

To avoid any future war that could cause a disaster of this scale, a new government is formed. The world is divided up in districts that each act as their own sovereign nation. They each have a representative in the New Pangean Government which is the governing body that makes decisions on worldwide issues. To prevent any future war they develop the Virtual Wars system.

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