THE DISSOLVEMENT (A FAILED COMICS PITCH)
Written and Illustrated by Matt Rowe Comic Creator.
Following an ecological cataclysm, bees are extinct and Earth is on the brink of planetary death. A desperate government pardons a convicted criminal, Bio-relic Palynologist Dr. Franklin Speight, on an excursion to the northern Canadian tundra to search for a mythical biome, home to legendary Gigantica Bees. The monstrous creatures Speight seeks are not only Earth's last hope to re-pollinate and avoid the apocalypse, but Speights last chance to make up for his past wrongdoings.
The Dissolvement is a pitch for a fun short, that was rejected. Though I thought it would make a great blog post. So please enjoy a story I'd like to develop one day. This is just one of many on the cutting room floor.
The Dissolvement is a high-stakes sci-fi adventure with a sprinkle of Kaiju. Inspired by current eco-events and futurism, it aims at bringing thought-provoking fun to science fiction and fantasy readers of mature ages.
Outline:
A disastrous ecological event has broken the Earth’s atmosphere. Bio-relic Palynologist Dr. Speight travels the northern Canadian tundra in search of a cave containing prehistoric Gigantica Bees, Earth's last chance for survival. Wearing high-grade, arctic gear, and his lucky knit hat, Speight smashes an ice-anchor into the ground and rappels into another world. The dark cave entrance is lined with tilted and jagged rocks.
Crack. Snap. The darkness illuminates in glowing blue light, Dr. Speight carries a glow stick that could be mistaken for a short lightsaber baton. Through more exploration, he finds the cave walls are filled with veins of yellow radiant fossilized honey. Vibrant alien-like vegetation stems from ceiling to floor. Among this unseen biome, the last bees.
Months prior. At the National Ecological Security Station, government captive Franklin Speight is working in a lab with other leading experts, calculating a cure to the recent Dissolvement of the atmosphere that's causing cylindrical pockets of devastation around the globe. Franklin’s conscious is heavy. During his younger days, he was on trial for environmental espionage, the truth of his crimes would be redacted on file. Though his pain stems from knowing that his work, his calculations were used for war crimes against millions, the outcome of which expedited the extinction of bees and many other ecological disasters.
The Dissolvement has breached the city surrounding the N.E.S Station. It’s chaos. Dr. Speight witnesses every major city around the world fall in destruction via the Emergency Broadcast System. In the panic, Dr. Speight is released. He needs to make it right before it's too late.
Back at the cave. Speight connects the biotelemetry meter to the honeycomb. Extracting the molecular code from a queen larva. The goal is to repopulate the earth's bee species with these more durable and larger creatures. The future hinges on Speight’s calculations, he collects the machine, walks through the strange biome, and heads back to save the world.
6 years later. The N.E.S Station has now been industrialized and militarized, behind it we can see what's left of the Toronto skyline. Much of it has been ruined by the still visible Dissolvement voids. Prehistoric plant life and bee hives have grown to overtake most buildings. Gigantica bees fill the sky. Earth lives.