The Story So Far

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1. a brief synopsis of the story so far :

"UNDER A BURNING SUN"
The series focuses on a loosley knit band of survivors and their families , after the world as we know it has been devestated by several global thermonuclear exchanges.It raises questions on morality,loyalty,family and our democratic values .

The reasons for the nuclear wars are discussed in detail in the so called "Timeline" , a document with general information about the events leading up to the apocalypse.The Timeline builds upon an alternate world setting where the "War on Terror" has run amok,creating oppression and fostering strong dissent among the western worlds populace.Several major terrorist attacks happen in a short time span .This leads to mass panic and evacuations as well as retaliatory strikes that target old and new enemies alike,and in kind recieves retribution.Central goverments in most nations and the global economy succumb to the catastrophy.A few countries and organizations manage to soldier on as authoritarian systems.

The survivors all work in an underground research facility in LA, as security contractors in 2004 gametime.When the bombs starts falling they decide to stay in the underground facility as it was built in the 1950s to withstand a nuclear war .After 4 years underground ,the characters are forced to emerge to what they believe is a highly radioactive surface because of a lack of supplies and food.They then find out that the radiation meters from the 1950s have suffered a malfunction due to radioactive metal that has been dumped in the area.This has lead to misreadings and results that have compelled the group to stay underground for much longer than strictly necessary.

They are then forced to adapt for survival in the harsh and often violent enviroment .Radiated dust pose a constant danger ,as well as the lack of food and clean drinking water .There seems to be no central authority anymore , but the characters quickly encounter local settlements with leaders that style themselves as legitimate successors to the Federal government.Increasing tensions between the characters group and the other groups quickly escalates into a series of violent skirmishes.The group travels to less radiated areas and start a reconstruction effort with a plan to impose a new goverment lead by themselves ,to end the devestation and carnage.Several major campaigns are launched with mainly military objectives ,but civilian programs are also initiated.This project eventually turns into a moral dilemma for the characters as the new state that they create is instituted and maintained through murder of dissidents and wars against other groups that refuse to submit to the new laws.Ultimately the new republic suffers the fate of its prewar predecessors , using undemocratic tactics and in the end nuclear weapons against other goverments to maintain sovereignity and supremacy.

The strategy fails ,and third nuclear exchange takes place as the characters are about to return to their families and estates after a strenous overseas mission.Only 10 years after they emerged from the shelter , they find themselves seeking safety in deep concrete vaults once again.

"Under a Burning Sun" is categorized as "a postapocalyptic-graphicly violent,dystopian family drama."Apart from being very violent ,(among other things racking up several "most killed NPCS in a session awards" as well as "most devestating weapon used by player "-prizes) ,the show also revolves around bitter political infighting between the major protagonists.The characters end up using betrayal,deceit and murder to further their own ends -often at the expence of the other protagonists.Slavery,warcrimes and substance abuse are other controversial topics that
are portrayed in the series.As time progresses the choices that are made by the protagonists make them party to condemnable acts .

Family values and relationships are also a part of "Under a Burning Sun".Many of the protagonists have married to secure heirs to their holdings after they pass.Marriages are put under pressure by the turbulent times ,and parent-child relations are strained to the extreme -in some cases open hostilities.Domestic violence becomes a part of family life for some of the characters.Some families break up .Growing up in this setting are the next generation of survivors.Some are already being groomed in elite academies to take high positions when their fathers grow old .This generation inherits the consequences of their fathers actions ,some paying with their lives for the situation their powerful parents have happened in to .

All this comes to an abrupt end when nuclear war yet again devestates what has been rebuilt .As a coming of age story "Under A Burning Sun" is without doubt one of the most brutal there has ever been.Many of the main characters never actually come of age at all .Nuclear weapons are used against the characters and violent deaths are frequent.

The title -"under a Burning Sun" is also the title of an ingame soap opera that run both night and day time in the protagonists areas .The soap is produced by PACTV , a media company owned by the player characters .Although similar to the gaming series as it portraits families and their lives after WWIII , it is censored by the protagonist controlled secret police .It has very little controversy or system critizism.

Episode 1 of the fifth season of the series is due to broadcast 14.02.09.Leaks from postproduction indicate that fans of the series might be in for some surprises.