I find, in light of the missing Malaysian airplane, that people tend to forget about trivial things when disaster strikes. At first, the effect is immediate, but then over time it dissipates and life goes back to normal.
Well, what if it didn't go back to normal?
I asked myself this question a while back and came up with a story that's half way completed. I wondered how people would react and change to a catastrophic and widespread event. In this story's case, an outbreak wipes out a large percentage of the population. For those left, electricity and running water become a thing of the past. Families are decimated and left with lone survivors.
How do you think mankind would react to such tragedy?
Now, imagine how our species would try to adapt over the years. Say, ten years later. Would there be progress? Would we revert back to a more primitive existence where every situation is a fight or flight situation?
In my story (still untitled), both progress and primitive populations grow. The main character has the opportunity to see both sides, and has plenty of time to self-reflect on just where she stands.
Distopian stories are my favorite, and what better way to write one than to inject an outbreak? But, even though Phee (main character) gets to see both sides, there's always that third side...
