Our Systemic Grace synopsis
Our Systemic Grace is part three in a post-dystopian fantasy novel series called We Are Young Supernovas that follows a young Erin Elle as she grapples with depression and self-loathing developed when she quit The Sport, the only thing she was good at in her life. After joining a crew that explores the surface of the earth, a millennia after it was abandoned, she falls into a strange machine that externalizes her soul in the form of a bright blue glow that can be used to her advantage, if she believes in herself.
Part three picks up after Erin’s disastrous journey to Antarctica. The people there whom glow like Erin (The Carnal Aether) are taken prisoner, along with her two best friends, the brash and critical Julie Antarctica, and obsessive-compulsive genius Naomi Linklater. Buried in the snow, Erin comes back from the dead to make amends to her friends whom she let down.
So begins Erin’s three thousand mile journey back home. Alone in the wild she summons all the courage she can to face the world. A lot has changed, and as she finally sets foot in the new city her return gives hope to the straggling carnal aether underground movement trying to free their friends too.
Before Erin can be anyone’s hero she tries to finds her friends, but is unwelcome. She’s the reason Julie is permanently scarred and she is the reason Naomi is dying from a mysterious disease. They want nothing to do with her. She realizes the only way to say sorry is through action.
Enamored by the brilliant space-faring vessel floating in the sky, Erin strikes a deal with the city’s leader, the generous but cruel Prime Senator, Monica Priestley. This woman just wants her new empire to flourish, but this ship above strikes doubt in the hearts of many.
Erin agrees to investigate this ship in exchange for the release of her friends and the imprisoned carnal aether too. However, this meeting was a distraction, and as the underground movement attempts to take back their own, The Prime Senator tries to snuff out Erin’s glow. But Erin Elle is a survivor.
Word gets out, and Erin has some friends after all. With a renewed sense of vigor she decides to ride out to the ship, using herself as bait so her new friends can eliminate the Prime Senator. By now she knows she cannot be everyone’s savior, but she can at least do her part. Her eyes are now transfixed to the sky. Where does this thing come from? Can she find her new purpose out amongst the stars?
As the climatic battle rages on, Erin is a force of nature. She defeats the Prime Senator in a brilliant struggle soaring higher and higher towards the ship. Everywhere for miles people see her transcend her own sadness and leave earth. Aboard the ship she decides, with confidence and clarity, where she’s off to next.
