描述
**It is seventy-five years after the Great Resource War destroyed civilization.** 
The chemical and biological weapons unleashed during the conflict had a devastating effect on humanity, killing millions and causing widespread mutations among those who survived. The small percentage of the population that were immune to the forces unleashed now circle the globe on five massive city-ships, scavenging what they need from the ruined earth below while trying to avoid the creatures their less fortunate brethren have become. \
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Memphis Rivers is a member of the Artifact Location and Retrieval (ALR) Team aboard the Magellan, tasked with finding and recovering the parts and raw materials needed to keep the great city-ship airborne and its burgeoning population fed. He, and others like him, routinely "dive" to the surface, braving the toxic atmosphere wearing makeshift rebreathers, to keep the hope of humanity alive. Without the ALR Teams, the city-ships would quickly fail.
Life as an ALR Team member is lived fast and hard; each dive could be the last. Along with the environmental dangers they routinely encounter while searching through what's left of the earth's once-great cities, they must also contend with the Changed; those who the weapons of war have twisted into strange, new forms – the "vamps" who find sustenance in the blood of the living and who burrow beneath the earth to avoid the deadly sunlight; the "ghouls" that hunt in packs, eager for the taste of meat, any meat; and the massive herds of zombie-like "shamblers" that stumble mindlessly across the plains seeking heaven-knows-what. The Magellan and her sister ships remain in the air, high above the fray, their populace adapting to changing circumstances in a way that shows the resiliency and determination that is the hallmark of humanity.  
The question is how long they can keep it up, especially when critical supplies begin to run low…
***
**My goal with this room is to flush out this concept:** 
1\. Develop the character of Memphis Rivers 
2\. Develop the characters that make up the rest of his crew aboard the dive ship 
3\. Add more detail to the monsters that threaten the teams on the surface (and possibly creating new ones...) 
4\. Detail what life aboard the city-ships is like, from how they are governed to the factions fighting for control of their resources 
5\. Come up with 4-8 one or two line “episode” concepts that could be used in a variety of ways.\
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Ultimately, the goal would be to take the concept in as many directions as we can, including potential serialized stories, novels, comics/graphic novels, audio dramatization, etc.
Given that, I'd love to see some sound engineers, producers, and artists apply, along with writers (several of which we already have.)
***
For those who don't know me (Joe Nassise), I'm a New York Times and USA Today bestselling novelist who has worked with publishers like HarperCollins, Simon & Schuster, Gallery, Tor Books, and Harlequin/Gold Eagle for the last 20+ years. I'm also a former president of the Horror Writers Association and a three time Bram Stoker Award nominee. 
The room's co-lead will be Tom Leveen, a fellow novelist from Random House and Simon & Schuster, never mind Image Comics (Spawn) and Catalyst Games (Battletech) who is also a Bram Stoker Award nominee.
You can learn more about each of us at:\
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[JosephNassise.com](http://www.josephnassise.com)
[TomLeveen.com](http://www.tomleveen.com)
