Back on page 14 we introduced the concept of STAR – Server Tiered Augmented Reality, I didn’t want to give too much away on page 14 as we get into the backstory of it and why it’s so important to the plot on this page.

 

 

One of the methods that Digitopia thrived while the Confederate’s land got flooded was because of over industrialisation.  The Digitopians were able to use STAR to augment their world without having to make compromises between industrialisation and nature.

 

Image result for factories in forests

Image source: https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&source=images&cd=&ved=2ahUKEwiV7oOi1JDnAhXHx4UKHSpXAE0QjRx6BAgBEAQ&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.climatechangenews.com%2F2019%2F10%2F08%2Fsiberia-illegal-logging-feeds-chinas-factories-one-woman-fights-back%2F&psig=AOvVaw05i6HWdL1Ux9BrmrjByxBt&ust=1579557454907831

 

It’s not just in the comic universe that forests are chopped down for industry – if we keep going at this rate there will be little to no forest left. Greedy businesses and weak politicians are a recipe for disaster, they however will the last to suffer – I wanted to reflect that in the story when The Confederates had pillaged their own natural reserves they needed someone else’s and invaded Digitopia.

 

STAR was also a method of free communication, one that wasn’t and can’t be controlled by a state, a way in which different people could share ideas and information in a way that broke down boundaries, encouraging different people to learn about each other and create a multi-cultural society – that is why Yale wants it shut down.

 

The Three keys to STAR

 

Just before The Confederates rolled their tanks into Digitopia (see pages 1 and 2) the Digitopians knew that they had to hide STAR.

 

STAR is a similar idea to the internet, in that it isn’t on any one machine it’s spread out over a network, a network can be hacked much like anything.

 

Image result for internet nodes art

Many nodes, but STAR has three keys to keep it from being destroyed, also unfortunately for the Digitopians the three keys are needed to turn it back on and real information to New Digitopia – Yale will do anything to keep it from being switched back on. Image source: https://s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/sinahab-blog-assets/2017-07-29__node.png

 

 

Jay, Silas and Red made a pact and created three keys that could turn STAR back on and more importantly protect it from being destroyed by The Confederate army rolling in.

 

 

Here the biker gang think Jay is trying to steal their food, but Red knows better.  Jay asks for Red’s key to turn STAR back on, but as we learn Natiahs found Red first and took his key

 

 

in exchange for sparing Red and his gang’s life

 

 

Red survived, but when giving his key away he’s effectively started his and the other Digitopian’s death sentence.

 

 

Now Jay has only one of the three keys

 

They both still believe that Silas is alive as he’s still broadcasting but unbeknown to them he isn’t hiding in a cave, he’s still held up in Yale’s compound.

 

 

Silas is doing Yale’s bidding in exchange for what he believes is a deal to allow the refugees back in – however as he’s learning quickly through his Faustian pact, the deal he’s getting isn’t the deal he was promised.

 

 

Kickstarter Backer’s Likeness Rewards

 

The likeness of Red, the Giant biker and Biker’s #2 and #3 are all based of Kickstarter backers who generously backed the first Kickstarter for Digitopia 1.0 and selected the reward

 

 

I had a few likeness rewards for Digitopia 1.0 on Kickstarter – they all went very quickly

 

I’m planning to have more backer’s rewards as likeness rewards in issue 2 and 3, if you would like to be part of that, the best way is to fill in the form below and join the Digitopia mailing list.

 

As well as being the first to hear about the new books and how you can get them before anyone else, you’ll also get a free art of digital book of issue 1, packed with some exclusive content delivered to your inbox once you confirm your email address.

 

If you’re enjoying the web comic please do tell your friends and encourage them to sign up to get their copy too, see you on the next page.

 

Thanks

 

Farhan