A space miner revolts when the mineral he extracts from Europa could be the final nail in Earth’s coffin, and while his wife wants to maintain the status quo, his son must decide which path to follow.

SYNOPSIS:

Our story begins with a top-secret newscast. In 2163, those who want to broadcast the truth, particularly about climate change’s horrific impact, must do so over a secret channel accessed by a MEDIA KEY: a thumb-sized device activated by a retina scan.

The organization putting out such forbidden media and fighting against autocratic forces is Clear Skies for All (C.S.A.). Their news studio is on an asteroid orbiting Earth.

The person who becomes the leader of this movement is a bicarbonate silicate miner named DAVID WINTERS. He steps into the spotlight by, through access granted by his job, sabotaging mining processing plants on Europa.

With a mind-erasing weapon, a HOODED FIGURE threatens a FEMALE FILIPINO STUDENT who has a media key. She knows someone who can lead Hooded Figure to the saboteur.

Back on Earth, David appears via hologram before his wife and pleads with her to use the media key he gave her so she will know, along with their son, what’s really going on. MARCY WINTERS, though, prefers to play it safe, full well knowing that watching the top-secret news could endanger her family. She infers that her husband is not only a proponent of this counter-propaganda—he’s the saboteur. Their son, 11-year-old FLYNN WINTERS, has been standing with his ear to the door and has heard all of this, but his parents’ conversation has been vague so as to only be decipherable by those in the know. Nonetheless, it sparks Flynn to start questioning everything.

Eventually, David and his fellow miners realize they must go on strike to send a clear message in an attempt to prevent climate collapse. He goes into hiding and plots a major sabotage mission focusing on a building on Europa that’s a network for all the processing plants.

Benjamin Erebus, the CEO of Climate Solutions whose industry’s impacted by David’s machinations, sees opportunity in chaos. With energy becoming more precious, potential buyers of his climate spheres will clamor to get his product. And with the impressive outreach of Benjamin’s empire, he’s able to make David’s sabotage of the mining control center seem like a terrorist job when a mysterious figure plants an explosive that kills many people. He later kidnaps David and secures a high-level meeting with the corrupt leaders within their respective governments.

These shadow leaders of their shadow governments, representing the five most powerful countries on Earth, are united by Benjamin’s plan to colonize a New Earth. This is aided by his kidnapping of an alien native of that planet who provides the technological information to make his evil vision come about.

All this impacts Flynn and Marcy who not only grapple with what to do about their family, they come to terms with the world at large, their place in it, and whose side they’re on.

DOWN THE SPACESTREAM