Brief

In a dystopic future, humans live in a Dome protected from the Outworld. But when a security Captain's life is saved by a Nomad, a humanoid subspecies he hunts, he discovers there's intelligent life outside the dome--and needs to adapt to the Nomad's rules to survive.

What We Liked

This is a dystopian drama about respecting life and taking care of the planet, two relevant and important subjects. Through the eyes of a man raised in a selfish society similar to our own, the reader is presented with alternative lifestyles and mindsets that are not only healthier but more sustainable. The story brings a crucial reflection about our actions and the future of our species.

Film: Outworld has all the elements for a successful movie: appealing visuals, strong characters, a moving arc, a worthwhile message, and a mix of adventure, drama, and romance. The story structure is well designed, and this could easily be adapted to a feature film that would attract many people to the theaters.

TV: Outworld is a rich story in a dystopic world, with interesting and appealing characters and a well-constructed arc. This new world is filled with rules to be explored, and the TV format would allow for each detail to be comprehensively portrayed. In addition, an episodic format would allow this narrative the necessary time to develop in a way to create and sustain a fanbase.

Key points:
Good story, well written; Dystopian future caused by climate change; Appealing visuals; Open ending; Valuable message.

Synopsis

Daniel is the captain of the expedition hunting Nomads, a species resembling humans but with no form of intelligence who lived in the rough and arid Outworld. Their mission is to capture and take back to the Dome an alive Nomad, but when one of his cadets kills the male Nomad they’re trying to capture, they need to find a new one. Eventually, they capture a female Nomad, and Daniel brings her back to the Dome in his Hover. He’s intrigued by her woman-like appearance.

Daniel, his cadets, and the Nomad return to the Dome, a carefully maintained community built under glass domes that protect the humans from the outworld. Daniel runs into fellow Captain Eric Hoffman, a bully 15 years older who enjoys killing Nomads. It’s palpable the rivalry between the two men. Then, Daniel heads to the Research and Development center, where Doctor Sloan works on the newfound Nomad. Daniel observes the Nomad, and Dr. Sloan defends a theory that Nomads are just another specimen of humans with a stronger body. The two men talk about the female Nomad and the Before Time, but they’re interrupted by the Chief Executive Officer. The Chairman asks Daniel to leave him alone with Sloan; in their private conversation, the two men talk about the real reason behind studying the Nomads: the Dome will run out of energy, and the humans inside will need another alternative to stay alive. The Chairman expects and demands science to develop means to adapt the insiders to survive outside.

At home, Daniel meets his parents, both Associates—the lower tier within the Dome; as a Security worker, Daniel is entitled to better housing and living situation. Daniel’s parents serve dinner with items they shouldn’t have access to, but Daniel is scolded by his parents when he questions them about it. Later, Daniel plays baseball with his co-workers. At the lab, the Nomad finds a way to escape; she washes up, puts on lab clothes, and heads to the Waterworks, where there’s a seal that connects the Dome to the Outworld. Before she can escape, she’s approached by Cadet Cain, who recognizes her.

The baseball game is interrupted by a siren accusing a breach at the Waterworks. The entire Security team, including Daniel, head to the Waterworks, where they find Cain passed out. When he wakes up, he tells the men that the Nomad had escaped. The men act to go after her, and to Daniel alone, Cain admits the Nomad acted with intelligence. A security team leaves to search for and capture the Nomad; Daniel realizes she tricked them and went in a different direction, towards the Glass Mountains. Daniel gets so caught up in capturing her he doesn’t realize the night has come, and the night wind leads his hover to crash.

Daniel wakes up to find the Nomad saved his life. He realizes she can talk, and she informs him she needs to return home with the newly acquired information. Her name is Lylith, and they both know he can’t survive in the Outworld for too long. Daniel and Lylith go on their journey, sharing water and information about their separate worlds. A spider bites Lylith and, to survive, she goes on a meditative trance, leaving Daniel alone. Too weak to survive, Daniel passes out; Lylith finds him and decides to carry him on her back.

Lylith arrives home at the sanctuary and meets her father and mother. She tells them about what happened to her. Still weak, Daniel is woken up by Miriam, a woman chosen by Lylith to heal Daniel. Lylith joins her community at the Council meeting, where she shares the information about the Dome running out of fuel. They decide not to interfere, as they believe the people of the Dome, and particularly the Dark Ones, Dome Security, are not capable of living without what the Gnomons call "The Madness", violence. When questioned, Lylith admits to having saved Daniel out of guilt, as he is also a human being. Meanwhile, Miriam helps Daniel recover.

The Nomads, known amongst themselves as Gnomons, assemble to deliberate over Daniel’s fate. They are divided into three clans, Earth, Sky, and Wind. Although the Earth Clan leader demanded Daniel be banish from Sanctuary, the majority agree that he should be given a chance if he agrees to live by their rules. Daniel wakes up alone and realizes he’s in a house with a different type of technology. His thoughts are interrupted by Miriam, who tells him about the healing process of using the mind to cure the body. He meets Miriam’s daughter, Leah, the result of a rape by Daniel’s people.

The next morning, Daniel is shown around the Sanctuary by Abram, Lylith’s father. He learns about their rules and habits and is impressed by their gardens. Deborah, Lylith’s mother, tells Daniel he can stay with the condition he lives by their laws. She reveals to Daniel about the Dome’s imminent end, which leaves Daniel unrested. The following days, Daniel learns about the Gnomons’ way of life, even testing their commitment to a non-violent lifestyle.

Back at the Dome, the Chairman sends Captain Hoffman and Cadet Cain to retrieve more Nomads, preferably alive and preferably children or older. They are offered extra compensation for that work. Daniel watches the sunrise and learns about the Gnomons’ relationship with spirituality and the One. As part of their tradition, young man Nathan needs to find himself by spending 40 days and 40 nights alone in the world; he is like a younger brother to Lylith, and she sends him off. Later, she’s informed of a wind storm, and she goes after Nathan, only to learn he must have been captured by soldiers from the Dome, who have never been this close to the sanctuary before.

In a conversation with Abram, Daniel tells him about a traumatic event in his past, when he killed a friend by the orders of his superiors, which led him to lose faith in the Dome’s organizational system. Suddenly, the Sanctuary is attacked by Hoffman. He manages to kill Miriam and Abram before Daniel can stop him. Lylith tries to stop Daniel, urging him to stop the madness, but he kills Hoffman and Cain. After the threat is gone, the community reunites; Lylith sees her father dead, and Leah sees her mother. In a customary ceremony, the Gnomons honor their dead.

Lylith informs Daniel that the community will judge him since he had agreed to live on their terms, but instead, he had killed; the punishment is being banished to fend for himself in the Outworld. Lylith takes Daniel to see something before he is sent away. They enter a library where Daniel sees books, pieces of art and learns about the history of how climate change made the world become what it is. In the emergency council meeting, the People decide to banish Daniel from the community. On his last night, he sleeps with Lylith. The next morning, watched and supported by the entire community, Daniel leaves the Sanctuary to the Outworld.

About The Author

N. Harold Donley is an experienced writer of books, short stories, op-ed columns, and grant proposals. He loves to spend his time in coffee houses and tending to his organic garden. He lives in Norman, Oklahoma, with his wife, the playwright and actor Sheryl.