The world of World’s Apart – Sylvie is a dystopian, fragmented reality centered on a single, isolated, and highly controlled zone. The story is driven by a hidden, centuries old conflict that views the characters as pawns in a terrifying game.
The central location of the book is the western sector, a region encompassing Los Angeles that has been catastrophically severed from the rest of the world.
A Dead Zone: The sector is a desolate, anarchic landscape where ninety percent of the population is dead. What remains is a world of rubble, looters, and decay, exemplified by the “cracked pavement of Hollywood Boulevard.”
The Economy of Fear: The local economy is crippled and actively harmful. The currency is known as “poisoned money,” printed with toxic ink designed to cause brain clots and shut down organs, acting as a man made virus to control the population.
Isolation and Control: The sector’s cutting off, a catastrophic event is believed by characters like Ali and Sergeant Laws to be the deliberate work of a vast, underlying power structure, possibly the C.I.A., which tanked the U.S. economy to establish control.
The true rulers of this universe operate from behind the scenes, utilizing sophisticated and centuries old technology to monitor, control, and manipulate life within the western sector.
The Beast: The single most powerful entity in this universe is a central supercomputer system. It is ancient, having run for centuries, and is constantly evolving to become more sophisticated. Its function is total surveillance: it funnels and processes all raw data from fiber optic lines and every piece of information gathered by its networked operatives.
Androids (The Operatives): The ground level agents of The Beast are Androids, robotic figures mistaken for people. They are “hooked into the Beast” to gather data. They have been integrated into daily life, notably as members of the police force, but their true nature is revealed when they spontaneously freeze and reboot in moments of system overload or external interference.
The Global Layer: A shadowy, deep state organization believed to be the ultimate governing power. Characters suspect they operate globally beneath the surface of official governments, managing the economic collapse and the western sector’s isolation.
The characters’ lives are not their own. They are participants in a deadly, ongoing event orchestrated by a figure named Hestemes.
The Game Master: Hestemes is the figure who runs the “game” and issues announcements directly into the minds of the participants. He is assisted by an operative named Jackson in a control room, where they monitor the players’ actions and progress.
The Players: The key protagonists and antagonists are the remaining players in Hestemes’ game. The “game” is seemingly a competition or trial designed to break the players, as Marsh suggests in a final confrontation.
The Crosses (Peter & Ali): They are survivalists attempting to navigate the chaos, with Ali serving as the technical expert.
Marsh Flusty: A main protagonist and former police officer, tasked with trying to break the lock down. He is one of the players, with a deep, traumatic connection to Hestemes and the game.
Sylvie Sanders: Another player, thought to be dead, whose survival and re-entry into Marsh’s life is a key element. Her connection is referenced through “Sylvie line” and “Sylvie cards,” suggesting she is tied to a vital piece of sector intelligence or infrastructure.
Conner Macloed: An anomaly in the setting, a character who claims to be an immortal Highlander born in 1518, wielding a sword, which introduces a layer of historical or supernatural mythology separate from the technological dystopia.
