John Stafford

1 Marquette, MI The destination is a hardship. The agenda cries out with despair. But in this disquieting season of fear, one must learn to overcome adversity. The remote enclave on Lake Superior would not normally be considered central by anyone, except perhaps the hardy upper-Midwest university students and ship captains that patronize its frigid shores. Unexpectedly in these last few years, Marquette’s isolated geography and access have become desirable. A largely unforeseen and unwanted calling card. Landowners and homebuilders, real estate agents and restaurant owners are rushing to keep up with demand. On this Tuesday morning, the lake-effect fog slowly gives way to subtle streams of morning sunlight. The conventioneers, mostly in small groups, in hushed conversations, in languages known and unknown, hurriedly traverse the campus grounds and enter the stadium. Many are in uniform. The bulletin suggests there are eleven thousand leaders from twenty-six countries attending; last year had been four thousand, the year before seven hundred. The previous conferences had been located in San Diego, and it was everyone’s plan to return there again this year. But of course, San Diego is no longer possible. Inside the dome, a young man takes his place on one of the wooden, white folding chairs arranged neatly in rows on the football field. Unwittingly, he contributes to a disheartening mixture of nervous discomfort and manifest loss rising from the assembly. He is hopeful. No, anxious. No, desperate. Shouldn’t the best and the brightest, in combination with military might and political resolve, be capable of finding a solution? Or at least a sustainable fallback position? Like most, he prepares himself for the stark truth. Misplaced hope is unlikely to overcome the unmistakable reality. 2 Litsvyanka, Siberia Late afternoon waves slap quietly against the wooden docks, superimposing a soft and steady rhythm upon the silence. Dense alpine mountains descend to reach breathtaking accord with the cliffs and rocky outcroppings that hold back the inland sea. Darkness encroaches, swiftly capturing the cove. The icy breeze stiffens. Weathered and weary locals secure the last of the day’s workboats in the secluded marina. If their faces were visible, they would reveal the handsome, chiseled features fashioned from generations of Mongolian and Russian heritage. Two well-dressed Caucasian men in long coats step onto the lakeside patio of the Mayak Hotel. They cup their hands and stand close together to shelter the dancing butane flame that lights their cigarettes. Three hundred meters away in a non-descript fishing vessel, she watches and listens. She is accustomed to far more advanced surveillance tools, but “when in Rome.” Her local contact covertly equipped her with the boat, ancient binoculars, a map pinpointing her location amidst the thirteen hundred miles of desolate Lake Baikal coastline, and the decades-old, parabolic receiver. Icons of tradecraft past. Nonetheless, she is in the right place at the right time with targets in view. The archaic, line-of-sight receiver is performing well. She fights off the exhaustion of too many time zones and too little sleep, and focuses on her landmark mission. “Gotcha,” she whispers to no one. “Amazing that no one has ever truly understood the untapped power of this place,” one of them exhaled and began. “That will soon change,” his brother replied.

Act of Story Statement In a near and frightening future shattered by water scarcity, a quartet of flawed yet formidable protagonists struggle to defeat the horrific schemes of an unlawful mastermind bent on dominating the world’s vanishing freshwater resources. The Antagonist Plots the Point Evil is a narrative too small for mastermind Mikail Vidovic. Others say he can see around corners. He lives where unhealed lacerations, revenge, misinterpreted prophecy, substance abuse, and criminal enterprise unite. He wields power through zealous followers, and manipulates them beneath a veil of secrecy. Larger prey may soon bow down. Global scientists gather to solidify a rescue plan to reverse water scarcity and famine. A kaleidoscope of actionable solutions offer potential. Mikail eviscerates them with Operation Marquette. Hope fails. Desalinization plants offer a plausible resolution to freshwater shortages. Mikail demolishes them with operation Dark Seas. Fourteen plants on four continents are destroyed in a single night. Leaders are incapacitated. Tensions rise. The worlds only large-scale water distribution system serves China’s urban north with the retreating waters of the south. This could be a model for global adoption. Mikail annihilates with operation False Flag. War begins. Large water tankers could redistribute rainfall from lands of plenty to parched cities in need. With thirty-years of foresight and engineering, Mikail is already in production with Operation SpotWater. Resignation abounds. Out of time, retreat and resettlement to freshwater lakes offer the final option for humanity. Mikail controls the key global alliances and the high ground. He unleashes his final, prophetic fury. Conjuring Your Breakout Title Tides of Conflict Final River Disputed Waters Two Smart Comparables Saul Herzog – “The Fixer” Travis Davis – “Flames of Deception” Logline In a near and frightening future shattered by water scarcity, a quartet of flawed yet formidable protagonists struggle to defeat the horrific schemes of an unlawful mastermind bent on dominating the world’s vanishing freshwater resources. Other Matters of Conflict – Two More Levels Inner Conflict – Protagonist Kat choosing romantic intimacy over professional boundaries Kat sensed a physical, magnetic chemistry with only one possible destination. “Do you live alone?” she asked. The first rays of dawn began to break through the horizontal blinds. Kat awakened to the sound of a shower and the smell of strong coffee. Ari’s modest yet cozy flat revealed bits of last night’s clothing, here and there. This could get complicated. Interpersonal Conflict- Frayed emotions flare between best friends and protagonists Kat and Rachel “Holy crap, Rachel. Calm down!” Bursting into tears, Rachel screamed, “don’t f’ing tell me to calm down! I’m practically killing myself out here trying to get the world to understand the peril we’re in, and my best friend won’t even take me seriously!” She hung up, and hurled the cellphone across the room. Again. The Incredible Importance of Setting In the near future, widespread water scarcity has crippled every continent. Long-ignored warnings of experts and scientists remain unheeded, and a thirsty world is tumbling toward a desperate end. Unthinkable, tragic outcomes arise. Water deprivation, famine, mass migration, global fatalities, terror attacks, and outright war. Governments and markets fail. The wealthy flee. The poor take up arms. Hundreds of millions of people are dying. An ever-larger portion of the world becomes uninhabitable. Unrecognizabletimes and unknowable places ascend. In the boreal forests of Siberia lies the world’s largest and most ancient freshwater resource, Lake Baikal. In the high plains of central Africa, Lake Tanganyika forms the border of the Democratic Republic of Congo and Tanzania. On the thirsty shores of four continents lie the worlds fifteen largest desalinization plants. Places like Shuqaiq, Saudi Arabia and Taweelah, United Arab Emirates. As the gondola crossed the eight-acre lake of the Wynn Macau resort, adorned with dancing fountains and floating flowers, he reveled in the aromas of firecracker, incense, tea, and tobacco. He sensed the history of trade, and dynasties, and Portuguese ship captains teeming from the waters. For a millennium, the Brazilian coastal cities of Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro received their rain from the “Flying Rivers” of the Amazon. Recent deforestation has broken natures ecological water pump. “The rivers no longer fly. The rain no longer comes.” The air is thick and stale inside the secure conference room of the Chinese Communist Party headquarters within the Zhongnanhai government compound just west of Tiananmen Square in Beijing. Lazarus was buried a second time in the catacombs beneath the church of St. Lazarus in Cyprus. Antagonist Mikail Vidovic has located his lair here; beneath the gorgeous shores of Cyprus and alongside his world-dominating fleet of freshwater tankers. The mood aboard Air Force One was improving significantly. Even a few smiles and some occasional laughter. It seemed that Chase’s plan forward had lifted everyone’s spirits, from devastated to mildly optimistic. Other settings for TIDES OF CONLFICT’s global rollercoaster include Marquette, MI; Kinshasa, DRC; London, UK; Rublevka, Russia; Deline, Canada; McClean, VA; Muskoka Lakes, Canada; Santorini, Greece; Beijing, China; Tel Aviv, Israel; Kalemie, DRC; Algeciras, Spain; Litsvyanka, Russia; Pingdingshan, China; Ulan-Ude, Russia; and Camp David, MD. On the forest-lined shores of the Northern Hemisphere’s largest remaining freshwater lakes, and among scattered outposts across the globe, a fractional remnant of humanity survives. Water is now currency. Water is now power. Water is now sovereignty. Just two governments remain. Mikail has succeeded. For now.