Sherdan and Anya’s world

Now that there has been some more character development and some basic ideas of what’s going on has been established we can start setting up the world around the main characters. Figure out where they live and why and all the important details like that.

We know there is some kind of compound and a fairly large number of people so a city or edge of a city is best, and it needs to be defensible, so a port city. The only port cities I can describe well are Ipswich and Bristol in the Uk. I grew up near Ipswich and now live in Bath so Bristol is probably best for me wanting to check out anything last minute. Bristol is also the bigger of the two, I believe, and has a better network of public transport, as well as having the most strategic value in terms of nearby locations.

The story is sci-fi, end of the world stuff, so potentially set a few years in the future but not too many. Maybe 2020. I’ve always liked that number. It also gives me 9 years of back history where I can make it all up rather than following what’s already happened and having to stick to rules.

Moving in a little on their ‘world’ let’s decide how big this compound actually is. Research would be good at this point. How many people live in Bristol? This guys only had 9 years to displace people from their homes and I doubt he’ll have managed more than a few thousand without incurring the wrath of the Uk Military. Looking on Google maps for the areas with big apartment blocks, or open spaces, possibly even one of the Universities could have been Sherdan’s starting point. So mapping out an area about 5,000 people big in Bristol with a key structure or two would be a very good start.

Another key decision is how these ‘special abilities’ are spread and if everyone with one has come to join Sherdan’s group. If he started in the University, has he been spiking the campus coffee shop with some kind of drug? Possible idea, though there are many to choose from at this point. Some research into enzymes, drugs and spreadable things like viruses would be useful for this part.

From the world point of view what is Sherdan to them currently? An odd ball with a small cult? A uk threat or possibly even a world threat? Barely registers on the radar? In terms of a series barely registering on the radar gives us time for more stories, plots and development before we’re likely to hit mass end of the world stuffs. At the worst a small cult that Bristol authorities have begun to look into. May have made national news for some focus on the super powers, and it’s highly likely the local news have mentioned him.

From Anya’s point of view we need to decide some things about her church. If Sherdan’s only made local news then it makes some sense Anya is more local. She’s definitely got to be in the uk too. Do the church perhaps know more than the average person? They do have the whole grapevine flow of information between Churches, especially of the same denomination. It’s highly likely to be useful taking a look at Revelations while putting together her back-story. What do they think will happen when the world ends?

The other big question about Anya is how she managed to get into Sherdan’s compound and what kind of resistance did she meet. I think we can assume she doesn’t have an ability so she will have snuck past people that did. Seeing as she relies on the power of God, by fasting, it might be useful to research miracles that seem fairly normal for God to do. Healing is pretty standard but what other things do people say God has done? All could be things that have happened to Anya to get her into the compound.

So Research list

  • Bristol population.
  • Map are of possible locations for compound.
  • Viruses, Enzymes and drugs.
  • What authorities check out cults and how many reports they need to do so.
  • Local church denominations and what they believe.
  • Revelations.
  • Common miracles of God.

For more info on this book and all previous posts head here and look under Book 3