That Damned Thirst
Text-based Narrative Survival RPG
Work in progress—senior capstone project, alpha demo in development
Central Premise
The year is 2217. Earth's water supply has been virtually depleted, and humanity has long since chosen to adapt by playing God — augmenting themselves to minimize their required daily water intake. Now accepted as the next stage of human evolution, cyborgs comprise the entirety of Earth's population. The long-established human colonies on Mars, however, have been slow on the uptake. Decades of fruitless diplomacy and mounting animosity — centered on the ethics of cyborgism and humanity's pillaging of two planets' natural resources — have culminated in civil war: the Allied Cyborgs of Earth Coalition aiming to convert or eliminate all human Martians, and the Colonial Sovereignty of Mars fighting for the right to remain unaugmented, or to have no regime at all.
Characters
Malik
Greenhorn Protagonist
Enlisted to spite his negligent older brother, Isaak, whose seeking work on Mars after their parents’ deaths was pretext to support the rebel cause. Deserted after recognizing a Martian boy he’d befriended among the bodies he was to prepare for resource salvage. Malleable yet headstrong.
Nina
De Facto Leader
Native born Martian, adopted and raised on Earth by an ACEC ambassador. Abandoned her post upon orders to escort an orphaned young Martian girl to a ranking official, rousing decades old unanswered questions. Short fuse, long memory.
Alexei
Grieving Medic
Nullgender medic grieving their Martian lover, gunned down for her ties to the rebellion. Most sympathetic of the three to the human cause, and most familiar with its key members. Reeling from loss, flirting with retribution.