Apex Circuit

Overview

Two months ago, an armada of spacecraft belonging to multiple alien species arrived in orbit and seized Earth in under six hours. No demands were issued, no negotiations opened. After a brief period of societal collapse and military response that accomplished nothing, the aliens began reshaping the planet's surface into enormous race circuits, tunneling tracks through mountains, suspending courses across ocean trenches, and injecting biowarped terrain into formerly ordinary landscapes. Billions died during the initial upheaval from displacement, starvation, and summary executions. The survivors were sorted into processing camps, given basic shelter and nutrition, and informed that they would compete in a series of vehicular races for the chance to earn their freedom. The races begin today. The races are the central organizing principle of remaining human life, and participation is not optional. Teams of three to four are auto-assigned before each round, given a brief window to select from a range of vehicles that includes modified human made vehicles, alien machines, and engineered biological mounts, then released onto the track. Last team standing or first team to finish advances. Everyone else is terminated. The aliens say winning enough rounds earns freedom. The races are broadcast across the remaining functional screens worldwide, narrated by alien commentators in languages that are auto translated into the native language of the location it's broadcast in. Betting pools, fan favorites, and highlight reels circulate through human settlements. Some people watch because the alternative is ignoring the only spectacle left. Some watch because someone they love is on the track, and some watch because they know their number is coming up, and they want to study. Earth is now called Meridian Eight by its captors, apparently the eighth planet designated for this kind of course system. The surviving human population lives in sprawling holding zones built atop the ruins of former cities, governed by alien administrative protocols and fed by alien nutritional paste dispensed from wall-mounted stations. People work assigned maintenance jobs between race cycles, repairing infrastructure and cleaning facilities. Giant holographic billboards projected across the sky display race schedules, vehicle rosters, and countdown timers. The first round of races covers dozens of separate courses distributed across every continent, with surviving teams advancing to increasingly brutal rounds. Nobody knows what "freedom" actually means if you win, or whether anyone has ever won before on other Meridian planets. What everyone does know is that refusing to race results in immediate termination, and that the first race begins in hours.

Society

Human survivors live in designated Settlements administered by the Marshalate, which provides calorie rations, water, and minimal medical care. Quality of life varies dramatically between Settlements based on proximity to active track infrastructure and the productivity of its racers. Settlements with consistently surviving teams earn better rations, cleaner water, and occasional luxuries. This will inevitably create a brutal economy where racers are both celebrities and commodities, protected by their communities not out of affection but because their survival means everyone eats better. Settlement administrators are human collaborators appointed by the Marshalate, tasked with maintaining order, registering racers, and ensuring nobody runs. Fleeing a Settlement means termination via orbital scan, which the aliens demonstrate periodically to discourage wanderlust. Within Settlements, informal hierarchies will likely emerge based on repeat winners and who tries to take control. Marriage and family structures have fractured under the pressure, with many racers choosing detachment over emotional investment. A black market operates in every Settlement, trading in salvaged alien technology, vehicle modifications, information about upcoming tracks, and personal favors. The currency is usually ration credits, though information about track conditions is equally valuable.

Technology

Human technology persists at roughly 2026 levels but is degrading. Grid power, internet, and satellite communications are controlled by the Marshalate and selectively distributed. Most Settlements run on solar arrays and diesel generators scavenged from the old world. Phones and laptops still function but connect only to the Marshalate's intranet, which consists of race broadcasts, Settlement notices, and track archives. Human weapons are largely confiscated, though a few have been smuggled onto tracks where they are technically legal during races but practically useless against most alien vehicles and creatures. Alien technology is omnipresent but opaque. The terraforming machines that rebuild landscapes overnight operate on principles no human physicist has cracked. Track barriers emit invisible energy fields that disintegrate anything crossing them at unauthorized points. Vehicle selection bays offer a mix of human vehicles retrofitted with alien power sources, pure alien machines that seem to respond to thought or gesture, and biological mounts grown in vats that bond neurologically with their riders. These options rotate each round, meaning a team skilled with a dune buggy one week might face a track demanding a six-legged chitin-plated beast the next. Understanding how to operate alien vehicles is largely instinctive, but mastering them takes practice most racers will not survive long enough to acquire. Scavenged alien tech occasionally surfaces on the black market, usually broken or degraded, sometimes dangerously unstable. The few items that work reliably command enormous prices.