Up to Now!

A new narrative post each day, even each week, is probably a lot to read. So as a way to help new readers make sense of what the hell is going on here, here's a quick summary of the events up to now:

Plot points:

• Newt Gingrich, old and yet still alive in the year 2087, is finally getting launched into space. He's going to use a private space flight company, in case you were wondering. Newt's always been pretty obsessed with space, so this is a logical step.
• Rumors circulate among the journalistic folks that Newt is going to use this trip as a means of (1) supporting the notion that life on the welfare-free moon colonies is successful and should be replicated in the United States, on Earth, and (2) claiming irrefutable evidence that a Christian God created all things. Of course, point (2) is not a controversial thing (if you're Christian, obviously you're going to support the idea that a Christian God created all things), but some journalists, circa 2087, are spreading the rumor that Newt will return from space to claim evidence of God and THEN declare an Intergalactic Culture War (whatever that is). You know how journalists are, with the rumors.
• In 2087, Washington DC gets so much snow that the city has been elevated by giant stilts. There is CrusDC, the top part, where Newt lives, and then UnderDC, where there's some sort of vague underclass (and it's hard to have a dystopian future without an underclass that literally lives under a city). There's a complex grating system whereupon when snow falls onto CrusDC, snow falls through slats, and gets heated and liquified. Accordingly, when it snows, UnderDC receives lots of nasty, hot rain.
• Oil has been found underneath the Potomac River, where the Potomac Oil Company drills--but without complaint from bougie folks, since they generally live on CrusDC.
• Newt has a financial stake in both the stilt/crust operation, and the oil operation.

Character points:

• When Newt faces rejection these days, he gets very emotional. If he gets emotional in Washington DC, he travels back to the Atlanta, Georgia area, and rides the Peoplemover at Hartsfield-Jackson Airport, which makes him happier.
• Newt has always had fans among both conservative and moderate Republicans. A moderate Republican, and former member of Congress who has given up his name and titles and goes only by the name "Old Friend," is Newt's best friend. Old Friend is upset about the state of the world, and is protective of Newt.