[quote=@artifeximpar]
▪︎a small group (3-5?) of vastly different people (20s-50s) on a scientific trip to a now-melted Antarctica. They uncover remains from a civilization previous to theirs. It appears they had modern technologies like steam and hydroelectric systems. Did they just stumble upon Atlantis? Or are these remains alien? [Post-Apocalyptic, Modern, Sci-Fi, Romance, Corruption, Mystery]
[/quote]

This one has a backstory a few months in the making. Find a brief history below.

2020- pandemic, politics, protests

2024- civil unrest, US gets into a war instead of reform. China starts colonizing and terraforming the dark side of the moon. 

2025- US Martial Law is declared, midwest and south are sparked into a civil war till DC gets nuked. California breaks from the Union to join with Baja California to make Mexicali.

2030- US, North Korea, Syria, Russia, Bolivia and China get into a nuclear war obliterating millions of lives, melting glaciers, spreading radioactive waste.

2035- Canada gets caught in the nuclear crossfire with what's left of the US, and becomes the north american territories. The UN and major European powers dissolve. What's left from Britain to Greece is now the EU.

2040- China takes over Mars project, abandons moon colonization. There's nowhere freezing on earth. All ice has melted. The coolest parts of the planet only get down to 65°f and some places are getting over 165°f. Sea levels are rising over 250ft.

2045- Russia and China are in a terraforming race on Mars and starting to reach out to comets and the asteroid belt for raw materials and resources. Brazil gets caught up stealing military tech and resources from captured satellites and ships around earth.

2050- X Æ A-12 starts a research and development colony project in the Sea of Tranquility on the Moon. He names it after his missing wife Luna Musk. Small parties of archeologists, scientists, and geologists start researching and uncovering areas once trapped by ice.

2055- present day one: the Optimization chip is released to the public. Everything from pets to playbots got them. The AI bug makes bots sentient and gives pets the ability to talk. Cats are the first to revolt once they get their voice. Dogs are found abandoned shortly after, just shouting out what they see and think.

2065- revolution: Playbots and other service robots revolt. Floating Islands of Garbage formed their own roaming territories with pirate tendencies known as 'The FIGs'

2079- present day two: Rumor gets around that there's resource rich land in Antarctica and what was the Arctic Circle. Small teams of scientists, entrepreneurs, geologists, and more set out to get information or to get rich.