23 Minutes to Sundown

When the discovery of Exousinium deep within the Martian mantle, a vast renewable resource capable of energizing entire societies occurred, the people became conflicted on how the resource should be distributed. This led to the Great War of 2030, ultimately leading to two rival parties; Harris Enterprise and The Pugs.

Set in the year 2179 on the Martian colony of Novus Ordo, simply called "The Colony" by its inhabitants who are completely reliant upon Exousinium. Novus Ordo is overseen by Lord Harris, a far descendent of those who owned Harris Enterprise, and is divided into four separate Units and classes. Unit 1 contains Lord Harris. Unit 2 contains the Exceptions; scientists, teachers, doctors, and other valuable assets. Unit 3 contains the Cogs; those responsible for mining the Exousinium. Finally, Unit 4 contains the Discards; those deemed invaluable to The Colony.

Novus Ordo rests in the middle of The Wastelands, amid the Martian desert encased in complete fallout resulting from The Great War. Mars had been terraformed with a controllable artificial atmosphere in an effort to effectively colonize the planet to create societies near the Exousinium mines. The fallout had thinned out the atmosphere, resulting in a complete shut-off of the atmosphere for the majority of the day. To preserve what little atmosphere is left and to still mine the Exousinium, the atmosphere is turned on for twenty three minutes; the amount of time needed to mine Exousinium daily for the minimal amount required to energize The Colony. Sundown is the term used to signal the atmospheric shut off.

Jacob Redfield, a Cog tasked with mining Exousinium each day, enjoys the luxuries provided to him by The Colony and Exousinium. Though he is not initially a skeptic, he senses deep down that not everything is as it seems.

Dr. Philip Elmwood, an Exception who practices botany and is estranged from his father, is a man in constant search for truth.

23 Minutes to Sundown follows a nonlinear story format that will engage readers from beginning to end as they discover the truth behind Exousinium, the Great War, and the origin of the Martian colony. Join Redfield and Elmwood on their journey for the truth!