A Beginner's Guide to THE OMNISCIENCE

Image taken from http://www.freevector.com/site_media/preview_images/FreeVector-Futuristic-Machinery.jpg, courtesy of The Internet. It depicts some cool piece of futuristic machinery.

I'm mostly posting this so when I write fanfiction for my own original work on Runaway Tales I can link back here and people will know what I'm talking about. Oh, and also so I can give all my lovely blog readers another taste of my novel-in-progress. Enjoy!

A Beginner's Guide to THE OMNISCIENCE

It isn't a dystopia. No, I'm serious. It's a YA sci-fi novel with a slightly steampunk feel—the only real dystopic element is the idea of a machine making people's decisions. The fact that it's not a dystopia is actually a major plot point.

The basic premise is this: At the age of eighteen, every citizen is obligated to be tested and analyzed for a week by a Machine known as the Omniscience, or the Omni for short. The Omni determines one's occupation, social class, probable income, and even location. It is an essential ingredient for a functioning society. But when the Machine suddenly shuts down with hundreds of teenagers inside, what was built as a tool to ensure happiness becomes an implement of everyone's worst nightmares. The Omni is intent on destroying itself and everyone inside, and there are only a few brave teenagers who can survive long enough to save it—which would be...

• Our protagonist, an 18-year-old girl named Lilah Ellerby. She's on the shyer (or at least more introverted) side, although she excels at analyzing and empathizing with people. She's also distrusted the Omni ever since her sister disappeared inside of it two years ago.
  
  
• Our deuteragonist, Becca Pond, 18 years old. A brilliant mechanic, Becca is one of those people who just exude confidence and skill, but she is actually very insecure and volatile under the surface. Absolutely adores her boyfriend Mark, almost to the point of obsession.
  
  
• Mark Russett, Becca's boyfriend, also 18. He is stable, stoic, and calm—almost the polar opposite of Becca. Mark is also the nephew of the Minister of Mechanics, Ian Owon, whom he really respects and wants to please.

There also happen to be people living inside of the Omni: teens and former teens reported as having “disappeared” when, in actuality, they've been recruited by their mysterious leader, “the Boss,” to help in securing the destruction of the Omni. Whether they actually believe in this goal or just can't figure out how to escape the Machine is questionable. These include:

• Anna Ellerby, Lilah's sister, 20 years old, who is sure her family thinks she's dead. Kind and caring, but don't underestimate her: she's excellent at asserting herself and persuading people to think rationally—a must-have in a camp run by a possible lunatic.

• William Golding, 19 years old and named after the author of Lord of the Flies. Often acts like a psychopath in order to protect himself and his friends from suspicion as he leads the rebellion against the rebellion. Carries around the “Shovel of Death.” (NaNoWriMo inside joke.)

• Monika Holmes, 19... whose character is still being formed. All I know is that she's an excellent fighter and vaguely knew Becca and Mark before the beginning of the story. Sorry. Come back later for more details.

And that's about it, without delving into the details of the plot—I hope to get this published someday, so I don't want to accidentally give away spoilers. Also, this was written for National Novel-Writing Month 2011 (won, by the way!), so I'm currently revising it to make it make sense.