The Earth in the Sludge is the first novel I ever wrote in late 2018, and is an example of "used future science-fiction".

It was first born while I was doing a project for an economics class in high school (I don't remember all the details), and I began creating the world and writing the novel in two months after. I wrote it 10/30/2018-11/13/2018 before permanently discontinuing it.

I might reboot this novels sometime in the future after I'm done with my other works.

Synopsis

Bones may be trash, but there is still truth in them...

It is 200 years in the future and the entire Earth has been polluted by trash. Animals are dying, water in unpotable. But the human race has devised a plan to get rid of the garbage: power everything with it.

For 18-year-old Stella Wolff, it's good. She knows that garbage helps the Earth... and maybe humanity.

But when she's blamed for a fire that burns down the apartment complex she lives in, she flees her home of New York City to avoid persecution - and ends up finding the truth in the process.

World

The Earth in the Sludge is set nearly 200 years in the future. Due to pollution, everything is powered by trash; all animal species are nearly extinct; water is (sort of) unpotable; and trash that lasts longer than three years is considered a "relic".

Fifty years before the novel, an event known as "the Great Melt" consumed and destroyed Anchorage, Alaska.

Guide

New York City

New York City is a city located on the northeastern side of the United States. It is led by the Gerrymanderer, and its symbol is a bald eagle.

Residents

- Bernadette Brown (female human)

- Dominic Green (male human)

- Nathaniel Cooper (male human)

- Star (female dog)

- Stella Wolff (female human)

London

London is a city located in the southern United Kingdom. It is led by the Queen.

Residents

- Han Solo (male cat)

- Timothy Buck (male human)

- Violet Watts (female human)

Madrid

Madrid is a city located in Spain, a country on the western side of Europe. Its leader is "El Toro" ("The Bull") and its symbol is a fighting bull.

Residents

- Alejandro Soli (male human)

- Josefina Toro (female human)

- Marigold Hamilton (female human)

Taipei

Taipei is a city located on the island of Taiwan. Its leader is the Emperor and its symbol is an Eastern dragon.

Residents

- Alexander Campbell (male human)

- Jacob Tyler (male human)

Anchorage

Anchorage is a city located in the far north of the United States, northeast of Canada. It was abandoned 50 years ago after the Great Melt, where trash broke free from a giant dumpster and consumed and destroyed the city. Its symbol is an anchor.

Prologue

"Get him! Get him! Get him!"

I screamed at the matador, cheering at him to kill the bull, whose name was Rose.

Sure, I was a sucker for international customs, but back in New York, the only customs were scavenging for relics and surviving life.

The crowd roared with enthusiasm as Matador Hector Soli stabbed Rose with a needle-sharp javelin. The person beside me, my friend Nathaniel Cooper, gasped in horror.

Nathaniel was one of those guys. You know, the Garbage Hurts Animals people. Luckily, the organization was shut down in 2118 when President Damien White signed the Endangered Species of Earth Act and the GHA got what they wanted: protection of animals from the trash that littered the Earth.

Seeing Nathaniel like this was not uncommon. Last week, on November 24th, he freaked when I showed him the bones of a dead dog. They were three years old.

I shook the memory out of my head to see Matador Soli slice Rose's head off with his sword.

The crowd went wild.

The matador basked in his glory.

And I was in shock and awe.

The bull's head rolled on the sands of the Madrid bullfighting arena.

The roar was so deafening, my sensitive ears couldn't handle the noise. I plugged my ears with my fingers, and the roar went 50% lower plus the ringing tinnitus.

The crowd then jumped from their seats, excitedly and unexpectedly, into the arena to hold up their best matador with their shoulders.

"Luna!" I heard Josefina Toro say to me on my right.

Josefina Toro was a resident of Madrid, Spain. She had tan skin, brown hair, and brown eyes. She usually wore brown clothes; but today she wore a white dress with flowers embroidered in it. She was hoping to impress Mr. Soli so she could meet his famous son, Alejandro Soli.

She grabbed my wrists and yanked them away from my ears. The sound of the crowd was low, but it echoed throughout the arena.

"A mi me gusta Senor Soli. Y tu?"

Translation: "I like Mr. Soli. And you?"

I cleared by throat and said: "Si."

Translation: "Yes."

I sensed Nathaniel staring at me and I said to Josefina "Perdoneme."

Translation: "Excuse me."

I turned my head to see Nathaniel gaping at me in awe.

"You know their language?" he said.

I nodded. "Through the old videos I found on your CompTV."

He nodded. "Well then, that's-"

He stopped talking at the same time the crowd stopped cheering.

Something was wrong.

I strained my ears for the sound of voices, and I heard

Clank thump.

Clank thump.

Clank thump.

"Dio mio", Josefina breathed.

I didn't know what that meant, but I knew that the clanking only meant one thing.

The Justice Bots had found us.

Originally published: 02/20/2024 (typed up guide and prologue to page): edited: (WIP)