100 years into the future, American society collapses. When the fat don't want to be thin, the poor don't want to be rich, and the less don't want to have more, the gears of society stop turning; because in a culture where everyone wants what they can't have, being unhappy is what keeps us going.
Scrambling around in chaos, but wobbling to our feet again, we started fresh, using the eight traits that we valued most: bravery, intelligence, strength, beauty, charisma, compassion, honesty, and leadership. People chose an Aggregation, deciding which they valued more and living with the value in mind. Citizens began a new lifestyle, one chosen entirely by themselves.
In the year 2218, 100 years after the end of the Collapse, it begins again. Thousands of students are tested, dozens interviewed, but only eight are chosen.
Prepare to perform in the 25th Showcase, the challenge of a lifetime.
Born in 2053, 15-year-old Latika lives in Arcis, the most prestigious city of all Amerax. It's an exciting time for the country previously named America since World War III just recently ended. Technology is booming and permits things that were unimaginable only a couple of years back. Medicine too is at its peak: illnesses have no secrets for the medical specialists and people rarely die before reaching the hundreds. The economy however, is very unstable and riches are unequally distributed... with Amerax getting the most of it. Despite the excessive use of nuclear weapons in the last war, the amount of people living on planet earth just recently exceeded 11 billion and space is scarce, even with buildings towering higher than ever. Due to the overbearing number of mouths to feed, food is now a rarity and therefore, being skinny is a sign of poverty, weakness and ailment while being overweight represents wealth, health and power. As for society, it has evolved in a way that some would qualify as ruthless and inhumane, automatically rejecting anyone that doesn't comply with its strict standards.