Hi all,
With Years coming out in April I thought I would discuss the world of the book. This book is set thousands of years in the future, where humans have almost completely destroyed the Earth with climate change. The humans that are left have built machines that can keep the Earth alive for a period of time. These are named after various Earth goddesses in different cultures. There are children who have been genetically altered to be born with the Gaia Gene, which keeps them alive and unable to age if they are put into one of the Machines. Many or few Gaia children can be born in each machine cycle, so the government keeps tabs on every one that is born. The government uses Gaia children to extend the Earth's lifespan instead of changing their polluting ways. Companies and people can continue to live comfortably, without having to change their lifestyle to save the Earth. No interruptions of comfort to them, and they don't have to take responsibility for their own actions. Now, onto the Machines themselves:
Sif Machine.
The first machine to be built, and revolutionary for its time. It was built at a time where the Earth was near collapse, and society saw this machine as their saviour. However, when a Gaia child was placed in this machine, they would die immediately and only heal the Earth for a few days at a time. They were getting through Gaia children faster than they could be born, so they started building another machine.
Pachamama Machine.
This machine was built alongside Sif's, but once scientists started seeing how Sif was getting through Gaia children, they modified Pachamama. The last Gaia child to be born that cycle was put into the machine. And, to everyone's relief, powered the machine for 386 days. The Gaia child died towards the end of the machine cycle, but their sacrifice gave scientists more time to genetically alter children for the machine. With technology starting to advance once more, the next machine was commissioned.
Terra Machine.
Terra was built using parts from Pachamama. The government took a risk in taking one machine offline to be used for another. This one was twice the size of Pachamama and Sif, and was more technologically advanced. The first time a Gaia child went inside however, they immediately died without giving life to the Earth. This happened a few more times before the scientists sorted the glitch out. The next Gaia child to go inside after it was fixed replenished the Earth for eighteen years. And, when the doors opened, they stepped out alive and barely aged a day. This is when the government came up with the idea of putting the same person in the machine over and over, which reduces the amount of lives ruined by the machine. By now the public had started referring to Gaia children as 'sacrifices' and harassed them whenever they left the machine. With the Gaia child out of the machine, the Earth would slowly start to die once more. People hated the fact that their lives would be inconvenienced every time a Gaia child was given a few days respite.
Privthi Machine.
The last machine to be built before Gaia. This machine was the one that changed everyone's lives. It could hold a Gaia child for fifty years before needing repairs. Fifty years of the Earth being replenished with lush green forests, clean water and little to no natural disasters. Each fifty year cycle was bliss for those who didn't have to go in it. The Gaia child however, never came out the same way they went in. Hallucinations and paranoia became rife, and they never felt like they could rest. So, the government decided to extend their stay in the outside world from a few days to a year with each cycle. Still, it did not improve their mental state much. This machine was burned by vandals in between a fifty-year cycle. Luckily, the Gaia machine was half-built.
Gaia Machine.
The machine that is currently in use in Years. It has been made using parts from Sif and what could be recovered from Prithvi. Gaia has been in use for four centuries. However, it has started to fail. Despite a Gaia child giving years of their life to the Earth, it's no longer enough. Natural disasters occur during each cycle and the ozone is developing holes. The Earth is dying once more, no matter how many Gaia children give their lives to it. So, it's successor is being made, and everyone hopes that it will save them indefinitely without any changes on their part.
That's it for this week, I hope you enjoyed reading! See you next week!
