My work in progress is a distant prequel to my fantasy novel The Shard. It is tentatively called The Immortality Game and is a near-future sci-fi thriller set in Moscow in the year 2138. Many things are not as advanced as one might expect, because some catastrophic things have happened between now and then that caused a mini-'dark ages'. In other words, most of the world regressed dramatically for a few decades before new governments were able to restore the veneer of civilization. America, for instance, has been broken up into several smaller countries. One of my characters comes from Western America (I'm trying to think up a more appropriate name for the western part of America breaking off into its own country, so any suggestions are appreciated).
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| by Christian Hecker |
I am having trouble in my current chapter, because the main character is fleeing into the old metro station at Kolomenskaya in Moscow. The entire metro system has long been abandoned, but has been taken over as living space for the many homeless. Since they live in the darkness underground, people refer to the metro dwellers as Trogs (short for Troglodytes).
My memory is betraying me here. I visited Kolomenskaya many times when I lived in Moscow. The park there (a refugee camp in my story) was a place I loved to visit for walks. I simply cannot remember whether the Kolomenskaya metro station had an escalator or just stairs. Most metro stations in Moscow have escalators, many of them quite long, but there are a few that are closer to the surface and have only stairs. I
think that this station was one of the latter. Getting a detail like this right is important for a story. I have Googled the station, but the images I get show only the interior. One image looked promising, but it turned out to be for a different station.
*Sigh* This is part of the reason it is great to write fantasy. You don't have to worry about getting real-world details wrong!
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well.... if it doesn't have an escalator now, maybe one could have been built in the time inbetween???
ReplyDeleteand western america... i bet a lot of that would have to do with the reasons for the division, but most people think of california... perhaps it could just be california?
Wikipedia says it has escalators. (Google Kolomenskaya escalators together and you will get the information you need.)
ReplyDeleteIs the power grid restored such that escalators can run? And are the technicians and materials available to maintain them?
Victoria,
ReplyDeleteCalifornia isn't a part of the Western America in my story. Western America consists of all states from Colorado to the sea, except for California, Hawaii, Alaska. Western America is a theocracy run by the Mormons out of Salt Lake City, primarily because the Mormon church forbade their people to have data interfaces surgically installed, so their members were not affected by the great issue that afflicted most people later on.
Joseph, no one maintains the metro system and the escalators don't run. Some have even collapsed. It is a dark and dangerous place to live down there, and my heroine doesn't flee there lightly.
Hmm, I had looked at the Wikipedia Kolomenskaya page before and didn't see anything about an escalator. I still can't find what you saw. Anyhow, I have a buddy living in Moscow who says he can check someday when the weather is good.
ReplyDeleteTed, have you read A Canticle For Liebowitz by Walter Miller Jr? It has a similar set up to your futuristic America. Don't worry, it is different, but definitely worth a look for comparison.
ReplyDeleteYes, I read that and like it very much. My book is very different. There was no nuclear war, but rather a collapse of society from too many huge issues from rising ocean levels to lack of potable water, an aging population in higher societies, etc.
ReplyDeleteWestern America should be called Pacifica. Now I'll read the rest.
ReplyDeleteIf you want to get some ideas for names for W.America, then look into the past. Tthere were some ideas for the California Republic and one in the Northwest which would have included parts of Canada which would have been the Republic of Columbia I think.
ReplyDeleteOn a less serious note, some nations are named after their people (England/Angles, France/Franks etc), so you could call the place Dudeland or the People's Republic of Silicon.
I like the idea that you can just add a dead escalator even if they don't have one in the real world today. A dead escalator makes for great scene setting, and there is no reason they couldn't have installed one.
ReplyDeleteMartin, I did consider what Mormon's might name a country if they could, but I worry about offending anyone. I suppose authors shouldn't worry too much about that, but my use of Mormon's is purely a matter of the logic of them not allowing the data interfaces rather than any commentary on them. Pacifica doesn't feel right, since they definitely center around Utah rather than California.
ReplyDeleteMatt, perhaps, but I am trying to imagine what Russia would actually do in reality. I don't see them adding escelators in the stations that don't currently have them, and I really want to be accurate.
ReplyDeleteJust give it your best shot, Ted! Most of us would have no idea anyway.
ReplyDeleteAlex, it's those pesky Russian fans that I hope to have someday who would notice such a detail!
ReplyDelete