The Collapse: The Road to Sanctuary

General Discussion
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There are moments in history when nations stand at a crossroads, where the choices made will determine the course of their future. We’re living in one of those moments now, and the United States is already well down such a dangerous road, one where power and wealth are concentrated into fewer and fewer hands. It is a path marked by the erosion of democracy, where corporations wield more influence than citizens, and the concept of public good is replaced by private profit. Canada, whether it realizes it or not, is following close behind, and if it doesn’t wake up soon, the same forces will dismantle it just as they are dismantling the US.

“The Collapse: The Road to Sanctuary” paints a vivid picture of what the end of that road looks like. It’s a story set in a United States that has succumbed to corporatocracy, a nation where corporations don’t just influence policy, but directly govern. The old federal system is little more than a relic, and what remains of governance has been handed over to private entities under the guise of efficiency and order. The book doesn’t pull punches. It gives us Ariel, a protagonist who wakes up to find herself in a country she no longer recognizes, a land of fortified cities, armed patrols, and a populace beaten down by economic disparity and corporate control.

Ariel’s journey is more than just a quest for survival; it’s an exploration of what happens when power is concentrated to the point of no return. The rise of Sentinel CorpSec, the privatized security force that dominates the story, serves as a chilling stand-in for the unchecked growth of corporate power. Sentinel CorpSec isn’t just about keeping people safe; it’s about keeping people in line, enforcing the rules of those who hold the wealth and power. Their presence in the story feels all too plausible. The uniforms might be fictional, but the idea is rooted in real-world examples, from private security firms to the growing militarization of corporate influence.

What makes the story hit home is how it mirrors the world we’re living in today. The US isn’t entirely there yet, but the warning signs are everywhere. You see it in the influence of money in politics, in the way basic rights like healthcare and housing are treated as commodities rather than necessities, and in the growing disconnect between the wealthy elite and the rest of the population. Ariel’s America feels like an extension of the one we see now, where inequality has been allowed to fester unchecked.

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I’d argue that we already succumbed to it 50 years ago.

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@mggbwmn8 This book is not about the succumbing. It’s about the dystopian future that awaits us.

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I get that. I just think we’ve already been in it.

Less “to come”, more “it came and it is here”.

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@mggbwmn8 Out of curiosity, what do you think the US will look like in 20 to 50 years if the oligarchs are able to do whatever they want in the meantime.

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Oligarchs have controlled society for decades. Only now do we see the blatant effects of their efforts to weaken labor protections and flood politics with money since Reagan’s era.

What feels new is actually a decades-long erosion of democracy and power consolidation—driven by privatization, militarization, and inequality. This isn’t a trend; it’s the reality we’ve been living.

We’re already in a dystopia, though it doesn’t look like it does in novels or movies. Instead of dramatic apocalyptic scenes, we have a system where most are taxed heavily to sustain one that serves only the oligarchs. Public goods like education and healthcare are slipping out of reach, while surveillance and economic exploitation keep people in their place. It’s a slow-motion dystopia, hidden in plain sight and normalized.

If oligarchs continue unchecked for another 20 to 50 years, we’ll see an even starker version of this reality—one where democracy is a hollow facade and inequality is so entrenched that escape feels impossible.

The question is clear: how can we turn this shared realization into action before the damage becomes irreversible? Or are we already past the point of no return?

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That is the reality my story is set in.

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