Yo, I wrote this for some reason:

The year is 2071.

Earth has been suffering the effects of climate change for 50 years. In response, governments the world over have begun to colonise other planets in the solar system.

In 2053, an automated mining facility on the moon explodes, flinging debris into earth’s orbit, making spaceflight risky and expensive.

In immediate response, the United Nations bans automation of industries that present a danger to human life should they fail. This leads to what some refer to as “the great robot depression”, in which thousands of expensive, specialized robots have to be repurposed for menial tasks in retail and accounting.

By this time, colonies on Mars, Venus and Europa are becoming massive civilizations, vastly overshadowing the economic and cultural relevance of Earth.

To prevent segregation of their nations between planets, governments on Earth create subsidies and economic incentives for people to migrate off Earth. This move is praised by economists and environmentalists alike, marking the first time in human history that the greenies and the conservatives agree on something.

However, by 2071, these subsidies have created an unsustainable bubble in the space travel industry, and governments begin to end the 20 year policy, creating a explosion of migration off of Earth whilst tickets are still affordable.

“The Rider” is a 22 year old mechanic from the Earth city of Mullahoe; a dilapidated resort town that used to play host to the Hoverbike Grand Prix. His grandfather, once a champion hoverbike racer, leaves him his vintage hoverbike along with a note that simply reads: “Don’t you dare sell it.”

He doesn’t have the money to get off Earth before the next ticket price hike in 2 weeks.

He meets a mysterious woman named Scarlet who encourages him to spend the next two weeks scraping money together from racing and buy a ticket to Mars.

Mars is the largest population centre in the solar system, with 38 Million people centred in the Planet’s sprawling megacity: New Olympia.

New Olympia is a modern bohemia, with its rapid expansion creating all manner of cultural pockets throughout its winding streets. Sunni’s play chess with old Italians who speak no English, and Ramshackle neighbourhoods are strung together by networks of car-free streets. Wheeled vehicles are so last century.

Arriving on Mars with his goal of entering the MARTIC Grand Prix, the biggest hoverbike racing championship in the Solar System, the Rider takes any job he can to earn a living. Lucky for him, New Olympia’s dense underbelly the perfect hiding place for someone who takes any kind of work, so long has you’re friends with the right people.