Inner Bruise Wikia

## Welcome to the Inner Bruise Wikia

Welcome to Inner Bruise Wikia, the wiki for anyone who wants to collaborate on the collaborative science fiction story Inner Bruise, a tale of inner-body travel set in the year 2028.

## Background

It is the year 2028 in the town of Los Caballos, California. The sky is greyer than today's, stores have automated employees, 16-year-olds have the vote, and the president is some guy named Rutherford LeGrand. A teen-age boy named Stephan Bruise lives an uneventful life until he unwittingly contracts the fatal Diamond-Zuckerman disease, which has ended in death for all who had it before. A medical team uses inner-body travel technology to travel inside Steve's body in the hope of curing him of this disease. Meanwhile, Steve must come to terms with potential death and find a way to make life more meaningful.

Anyone who wants to may join the wiki and collaborate on our story. Inner Bruise uses a consensus-based model in which the participants discuss how the next scene will go and decide how it will turn out, then one collaborator is agreed on to write the scene. Edits may be made at any time later.

## FAQ

**What does "collaborative" mean?**

When we say Inner Bruise is collaborative, we mean that multiple people work on the story together, instead of just one person writing. You may have played the game of exquisite corpse, or the "campfire story", before, where one person begins a story, a second continues, a third person takes it from there, etc. Inner Bruise was originally written this way, but we switched to the current method a few years ago.

**So how are the stories written now?**

Today, several people discuss each new scene to be written on the Inner Bruise Wikia community board. We throw around ideas, work on creating characters, and come to an agreement on how each new scene will go. Then after all that's done, we agree on getting one person in the community to write the scene, and he or she writes the scene.

We also plan into the future! Long-term discussions of where the story will go in later chapters, or even how the story will end, are highly encouraged.

**What is the ultimate goal of the Inner Bruise Wikia?**

The ultimate goal of this wiki is to have a complete, well-polished science fiction story, and a notable one at that. We hope to finish before the real 2028 gets here. If it is ever published in book form, we will choose an author's pseudonym together, and royalties will be split among everyone who's collaborated, on Fourth Kingdom and on this wiki.

**What point of view is Inner Bruise written in?**

Third person omniscient.

**Why 2028?**

2028 was chosen as the setting for Inner Bruise because it was 25 years after 2003, the year the 4degreez.com community began working on Inner Bruise. The plan was to keep to story far enough in the future that the reader could suspend disbelief that a technology as monumental as inner-body travel could be accomplished by human science, yet not so far in the future that the world was *too* different from today's.

**Is Inner Bruise a fanfic?**

No. A fanfic is an unofficial work of fiction set in a fictional universe created by someone else (the stories you read online based on Sailor Moon, Star Wars, Firefly, The Sentinel, RENT, Pokémon, South Park, etc.) Inner Bruise is a wholly original piece of fiction, with an original setting and original characters invented by its contributors.

**What are other websites about the future I can visit?**

http://www.futuretimeline.net is a good website with scientifically grounded speculations about the future. At the page http://www.futuretimeline.net/21stcentury/2028.htm#.Vkwn\_L-8qcE it discusses what it predicts for the year 2028.

## Synopsis of Inner Bruise

### What we have so far

After trying unsuccessfully to make some coffee, Steve decides to head off to Zettolo's, a local coffeeshop. While there, he overhears Lee, John, Frank and Switcher talking about stealing AALL cards.

When Steve gets home, he decides to call his friend Peter first, as Peter is a private detective. The two agree to meet at St. Charles Bridge ten minutes before sundown. Steve then calls Ramón, Richie and Sandy.

Steve appears at St. Charles Bridge, waiting for Peter to arrive. While Steve is there, a homeless man sneezes on him without covering his mouth (and unbeknownst to Steve, brings him his disease). Eventually, Peter gets there, but they find themselves waiting what seems like an eternity for the thieves to show up, and the night is cold. Just while Steve is relieving himself, he hears the thieves. Peter tapes the thieves and their AALL card deal with the man in the leather jacket, but when Lee overhears Steve, the thieves realize they are being videotaped and run after Steve and Peter.

Peter accidentally drops the videocamera while escaping from the thieves, and goes back for it. Steve stops a taxi, and gets in, having forgotten that Peter is still lagging behind him from picking up the camera. The thieves run after Peter and the taxi until Steve realizes he has left Peter behind. The cab stops for just a long enough period of time for Peter to get in, and the thieves pursue the taxi in a car of their own. Finally the cabbie stops at the street market on Kings Castle. The two share the mango cooler, thirsty from all that running, and camp out behind some Dumpsters until Peter remarks he has seen the thieves leave the market about thirty minutes ago. They go back home.

Steve crashes into bed and receives a phone call from Sharon. He has bad dreams, before waking up and getting ready, but he is aching. Peter calls, and Steve comes over to the former's house, where they go over the video and audio, realizing they have captured the thieves perfectly.

Steve and Richie walk to Sharon's party. While he is there, Jocasta taps Steve on the shoulder, and he considers dating her. Steve hears Richie scream, and it turns out that Bleach, Richie's favorite band, are playing the party. Steve talks with Jessica, his friend whom he used to date, and then dances with Rochelle, who notices Richie and Sharon falling in love. Steve tells Avery about his adventure with Peter. Adrian vomits on the floor while Bleach are playing a song just for him, which Bleach photograph for their next album. Sharon, Kevin, Jocasta and Steve discuss politics, including President LeGrand and Communism in North Korea, with Steve's ex-girlfriend Luann (who has shown up as Adrian's designated driver). Luann, a conservative, is outnumbered by the liberals when the group discusses Communism and homosexuality. While they are cleaning up, Sharon discovers the thieves have stolen her AALL card. Stephanie, who works for the Los Caballos PD, searches the house with the other partygoers for evidence of the thieves and finds a sombrero. Adrian requests a Sulfur Pie music video on the videogram, and has Steve check out his music, which Steve listens to with his eyes closed. When Steve opens his eyes, he discovers Jocasta hitting on Adrian. Seeing Steve's disappointment, Sharon matches him up with Rochelle. Steve walks Rochelle home, discussing their plans for the future, and the two set a date.

Steve is at his job at the GAP when he feels ill. He gets a nosebleed and faints. Two girls working at the GAP find Steve and call the hospital.

Steve is driven to the hospital, where he regains consciousness. A female nurse gives him a blood test, and a male nurse, Andrew, asks him some questions about his identity and health. Steve receives an MRI, then calls Richie and Rochelle on his cellphone, filling them in on his hospitalization. Richie goes to Steve's house, where he meets Steve's brother Brad and mother Alyssa, and brings over some clothes, as Steve requested.

Dr. Thakkar talks with Steve and tells him about Diamond-Zuckerman disease, or DZD, a disease caused by prions that has killed everyone who has it. Steve is numb when Dr. Thakkar says he has two months to live. Steve thinks back to the adventure on St. Charles Bridge and realizes that the man sneezing on him must have brought him the disease. He reflects over his wasted life, sad that he is soon to die.

Richie visits, and they mention plans for a vacation in Ecuador. Then Rochelle comes over with flowers. Steve shares the bad news with both Richie and Rochelle.

Sharon holds a meeting at her house. Attending are Jocasta, Adrian, Avery, Kevin, Peter, Richie, Ramón, Sandy, Jessica, Stephanie, Jeff, Greg, Kio, Tenisha and Tae-yeon. They discuss introducing Steve, who is an agnostic, to religion, since he is about to die. Tae-yeon pulls out her telepaper produced by King TV, and they watch a feature on automated employees' effect on jobs, to which Adrian submits an ecomment. Peter has the group watch a telepaper feature on the AALL card thieves, which shows Frank being arrested in Nevada. Richie requests Jeff have King TV do a feature on Steve and his disease, making him the poster boy for DZD.

Steve, at the hospital, receives a phone call from Jeff, and takes up his offer of a King TV story on DZD. Jocasta, who is a Christian, then shows up with her boyfriend Adrian and tells Steve about Heaven. Adrian discusses his religion, Buddhism, with Steve.

Richie and Sharon arrive, and then the whole gang soon finds its way into the hospital with Steve. Lindsay Ritter and Larry Brown from King TV arrive, and interview Steve and some others, including Dr. Thakkar. While Richie is there, he realizes that his girlfriend Sharon has set his best friend, Steve, up for heartbreak by matchmaking him and Rochelle, a relationship that will end when Steve dies. Sharon reaches out her arms to hug Richie, and Richie doesn't hug back.

Steve gets up one morning and goes to the courtyard, where he meets a 93-year-old woman named Joyce Levine. Despite their generational differences, Steve and Joyce can bond; Joyce discusses her ability to do impersonations of old celebrities, while Steve discusses his ability to perform skateboarding tricks and beatbox. Joyce says that every morning, she tells herself she will make it through the day alive, and she does.

All of Steve's friends, plus Alyssa, Brad and Steve's sister Vanessa gather at the hospital to watch the telepaper feature together with Steve. It is a great feature that interviews Steve, Peter, Richie, Rochelle and Dr. Thakkar. The science of DZD prions is also discussed. Everyone comments on a feature well done.

### Ideas for the rest of the story

The medical team that will travel inside Steve's body is introduced. They learn of his case and, just having developed a method for inner-body travel, visit him. Stve decides in favor of inner-body travel. The man who will oversee Steve's operation is John, the AALL card thief. Steve will notice the prosthetic eye just as he falls asleep, anaesthetized before the procedure. The medical team will be inside Steve's body for many chapters, finding the prions and destroying them. Then, something will go wrong and John, who is supposed to be monitoring Steve, will not come to Steve and the team's help because John wants Steve dead. Steve's friends will come in to visit the hospital in the middle of the operation. Peter will recognize John as the AALL card thief. John will be arrested, and someone else will monitor Steve, and be able to avert the crisis.

## The text of Inner Bruise, chapter by chapter

1. Routine
2. A Trip to the Coffeeshop
3. Some Phone Calls
4. Waiting for the Thieves
5. The Getaway
6. The Morning After
7. Party at Sharon's
8. One Bad Nosebleed
9. Admission to the Hospital
10. Bad News
11. A Date at the Hospital
12. Friends Conference
13. Steve Has Visitors
14. Meet Joyce Levine
15. A Well-done Telepaper Story
16. A Televised Execution

## Rules for participating

1. **Work through consensus.** Inner Bruise is a collaborative story, one with a consensus-based model. Even though Savegraduation is the head of this project, no one person owns the story completely. Don't become a dictator who undoes every other person's contributions until they fit with your vision of the story and your vision alone.
2. **No trolling.** Don't do things just to annoy the other people in this community. This applies to both the content you contribute to the Inner Bruise story and your behavior on the community board. Don't fill a chapter up with an obscenity repeated 40,000 times. Don't say things just to offend a certain ethnic group or sexual orientation. Don't have one character shoot all the other characters up. And don't add a silly plot development *just* to attempt to destroy our story.
3. **Welcome the newbies.** Every member of the Inner Bruise community is a good potential contributor, no matter how new, and every member was a new contributor once, so don't bite the newbies. Mike L. Reed's Flame Warriors website identifies a warrior called [[ http://www.flamewarriorsguide.com/warriorshtm/xenophobe.htm%7CXenophobe]], who "thinks of the forum as his private compound" and "regards new forum arrivals as mentally deficient and perhaps even having criminal tendencies". Don't be a Xenophobe. No one here should be trying to kick any participant off just because she or he is new.
4. **Don't plagiarize.** Don't even think about copying paragraphs verbatim from other people's science fiction (or other people's fiction, period). The Inner Bruise Wikia has zero tolerance for plagiarism. And by the way, this applies to online fiction as well as fiction published in dead trees. I'd also like to request contributors keep character names original. Don't name your character AC Slater or Rose DeWitt-Bukater.
5. **Don't kill Steve off in the middle of the story.** Steve is our central character, so if he dies halfway through the story, there won't be Steve's eyes to see the story through. When we approach the end of the story, we'll decide whether Steve will die or survive the surgery, but Steve needs to remain alive throughout most if not all of Inner Bruise.
6. **Rein in the urge to get too silly.** A lot of collaborative fiction has a zany plot twist or ridiculous situation at every turn. Inner Bruise, however, is a fairly serious story with which we are attempting to write something quality. We want to keep the story coherent, and realistic, inasmuch as science fiction is realistic. Don't have all the characters turn into hippos, or have characters be stranded in a river with a talking canoe paddled by a mouse named Gertrude while they have all the while lost the silly McGuddin that was rumored to be able to help them on their canoe trip. We've had bad experience with people who didn't take Inner Bruise seriously in the past. When the story first started out, 4thkingdomers Shadow and Owari had Steve attacked by a psychopathic goat from another planet and relocated to a hospital with a doctor named Dr. Hetro (who wore green slacks and carried a clipboard) and gay doctor named Dr. Homo (who wore a rainbow lapel pin). If you want humor, introduce some witty dialogue. Inner Bruise does have scenes (such as the politics conversation in the chapter Party at Sharon's) that have funny dialogue and social satire; the situations can be rather humorous. So channel your sense of humor into making the story sparkle instead of rendering it incoherent and making a mockery of the collaboration.
7. **Don't gut other people's contributions.** While some people say "Less is more", Inner Bruise runs on a principle of "More is more". Although you may change the verbiage of previously written chapters to make the phrasing less wordy, don't remove lines of dialogue, plot events, or physical/scenery description just because you think the story (or a chapter of the story) is too long. Feel free, however, to remove or change dialogue you feel doesn't fit a character, or to undo trolling contributions, a chapter that kills Steve off in the middle of the story, obvious vandalism, etc. When it doubt, discuss a shortening or change with the community first.
8. **Don't cross fictional universes.** Inner Bruise is set in its own universe, the Inner Bruise universe, a 2028 in California. Don't have characters from Harry Potter, or Pokémon, or Dr. Who, or Glee, or West Wing show up. The reader won't be able to suspend disbelief, plus we'll probably run into copyright problems should we decide to get Inner Bruise published.

## Worldbuilding

* Future Worldbuilding Questionnaire
* Anthroponymy
* Demographics
* Ecology
* Education
* Family structure
* Gender roles
* Infrastructure
* Knowledge
* Language
* Politics and current events
* Pop culture
* Religion and spirituality
* Sociological trends
* Sports
* Technology
* World powers

## What we're working on now

Right now the Inner Bruise community is creating characters. In particular, we are working on the medical team that will travel inside Steve's body. Go to http://inner-bruise.wikia.com/wiki/Thread:133 and check out the thread on our forum! It has information on how to create a somatonaut (inner-body travel doctor) character, and well as what not to name your character. See all of you there!

## Latest activity

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