Logistical problems in old novel?

[ArmasTermin]

Some of you may remember me posting a bit of my novel Sanctuary of Australia (or maybe I had it under the name Child Soldier back then?) about a large group of kids holed up in a safe zone in the middle of Australia after a worldwide conflict. And they do militaristic training to survive the outside world when they leave and use their skill to protect others. Well I've abandoned it for a while because I thought the ideas I had for it were better than my writing skills. But now I feel I can do it better. So I'd like to bring up a few logical issues in the story as it stands. Maybe some of you can advise me? I'm going to spoil the whole thing right now, by the way. I don't plan on posting much of it here and the chances of it getting published are, well, not incredibly high. So odds are you won't ever read it. But if you don't want it spoiled for you, well, I guess don't read any more.

Basically, all the kids are in the sanctuary for a while before Marcus Lovell (main character) is tied up and whisked away in the night. He thinks its a training exercise until the person hoists him into a small plane and they fly off. The person reveals herself to be a woman and says they're going to America. Marcus freaks out, believing America is still hot from the nuclear war. He's eventually told there was no nuclear war, or mass conflict, or anything. And that all the kids in the Sanctuary are being trained as an elite private military force. He's told that all the aid missions they're going on to help out small groups of people throughout third world countries are actually missions of eradicating the opposing side of whomever paid the leader of the Sanctuary a vast amount of money for his little soldiers' skills.

But there's a few issues in there.

1 - How can the reader believe that the Sanctuary leaders can actually wall off these kids from all forms of media and real life and have them honestly believe that the world is generally a wasteland outside their walls?

2 - Sure, the Sanctuary's in the middle of an open desert area in Australia, but how could government agencies and travelers be kept in the dark about all of it? Especially when the kids routinely go out shooting automatic weapons in training?

3 - I had the kids in squads of three--one with a rifle, one with an AK-47, one with an AKS-74U, and one with a Dragunov, each having a Makarov as a sidearm. This kept the Russian weapon pattern, but wouldn't it make more sense to use an Uzi in place of the '74U? And some other rifle in place of the Dragunov? It's not nearly as common.

4 - Could the plane that gets Marcus from the Sanctuary smuggle him out of Australia and into America as easy as that?  

[Fresnel]

Who says the government can't be in on it? Make it the Aussie version of Area 51. You ever been by Area 51? Gigantic area of ********, "Geiger counters" that show radiation if they get too close to the boundaries might work. Radiation affects growing children more, see? So when you hit 18 or so, what might have caused horrible mutations earlier won't do any worse than cancer now. Or you could do it like The Village and have radioactive hellbeasts in the wastelands.

The hard part here is airspace. 747s flying over every day kind of breaks the illusion.

Any agency that can do everything previous wouldn't have much trouble securing SVDs and AK-74s.

I don't think planes have that kind of range, though they could always tie him up and fly him to a larger plane on another airfield. Something like a 777 can make it from Sydney to LA nonstop.  

[OberFeldwebel]

If you want to keep the Russian theme and have an actual SMG, choose the Bizon.


http://world.guns.ru/smg/smg08-e.htm  

[ArmasTermin]

Fresnel

The hard part here is airspace. 747s flying over every day kind of breaks the illusion.

THIS!

See, I'd never even thought of that. The fact that planes go over pretty much everywhere all the time never even crossed my mind.

See, that's why beta readers exist. I don't even know how to seal up a hole like that. Maybe the leaders have radar and call for lockdowns every time a plane comes within range. Or perhaps planes are explained away as...

...

...

scream  

[Fresnel]

ArmasTermin

Fresnel

The hard part here is airspace. 747s flying over every day kind of breaks the illusion.

THIS!

See, I'd never even thought of that. The fact that planes go over pretty much everywhere all the time never even crossed my mind.

See, that's why beta readers exist. I don't even know how to seal up a hole like that. Maybe the leaders have radar and call for lockdowns every time a plane comes within range. Or perhaps planes are explained away as...

...

...

scream

UNDERGROUND BIODOME. Or does that break the point of suspendable disbelief...? You could always lock the airspace, like they have over Area 51. Or... you could make it Area 51. Aliens? Pfah. No, supersoliders.

Also, I gotta say this, if you publish this story you'll get flamed for ripping off Dune. Dunno if you've ever read it, but [SPOILERS AHEAD] the planet Arrakis (Dune, to the natives) is entirely sand-desert, with ice at the poles and scattered outcroppings of rock. The Fremen are the closest thing the planet has to intelligent native life, and they're humans who crashed there centuries ago, before anyone else knew the planet existed. Anyhow, they've adapted to the worst possible conditions and they're tough as ********, with a culture that has a healthy respect for violence and isn't squeamish when it comes to murder. It takes five of the emperor's elite fighting force, armed with rapiers, to down a single Fremen with his knife. As the book progresses, one character takes control of the Fremen and uses them as his own private army to destroy his rivals.

As you can see, the premise of both is strikingly similar.  

[ArmasTermin]

Well I've never read or seen Dune, so I'll just say that a lot.

Locked airspace. I could indeed make it a bit of a government conspiracy. The AU's Area 51. Would keep people away and the Sanctuary locked away from society. That would make it a lot harder for the woman to bust Marcus out, though, if the Sanctuary folks had the government on their side.

I shall do some thinking on this. But thanks Fresnel, your ideas are much appreciated.  

[Fresnel]

ArmasTermin

Well I've never read or seen Dune, so I'll just say that a lot.

Locked airspace. I could indeed make it a bit of a government conspiracy. The AU's Area 51. Would keep people away and the Sanctuary locked away from society. That would make it a lot harder for the woman to bust Marcus out, though, if the Sanctuary folks had the government on their side.

I shall do some thinking on this. But thanks Fresnel, your ideas are much appreciated.

It would be hard, unless the woman worked for the goverment and not a PMC. ninja  

[ArmasTermin]

Okay, I had it wrong. There were four to a group, two with AK-47s, one with a Dragunov, and one with an AKS-74U. I'm wondering if it would be better to switch out an AK-user's specialty to a shotgun role. Or it might be better to just keep it less complicated, but I can't discount the merits of the shotgun in a combat situation.  

[Fresnel]

ArmasTermin

Okay, I had it wrong. There were four to a group, two with AK-47s, one with a Dragunov, and one with an AKS-74U. I'm wondering if it would be better to switch out an AK-user's specialty to a shotgun role. Or it might be better to just keep it less complicated, but I can't discount the merits of the shotgun in a combat situation.

KS-23!



Made out of defective 23mm AA barrels, it's a rifled-bore, 6-gauge riot shotgun used in Russian prisons.  

[OberFeldwebel]

Fresnel

ArmasTermin

Okay, I had it wrong. There were four to a group, two with AK-47s, one with a Dragunov, and one with an AKS-74U. I'm wondering if it would be better to switch out an AK-user's specialty to a shotgun role. Or it might be better to just keep it less complicated, but I can't discount the merits of the shotgun in a combat situation.

KS-23!



Made out of defective 23mm AA barrels, it's a rifled-bore, 6-gauge riot shotgun used in Russian prisons.

It...
It's...
It's beautiful.  

[Fresnel]

OberFeldwebel

Fresnel

ArmasTermin

Okay, I had it wrong. There were four to a group, two with AK-47s, one with a Dragunov, and one with an AKS-74U. I'm wondering if it would be better to switch out an AK-user's specialty to a shotgun role. Or it might be better to just keep it less complicated, but I can't discount the merits of the shotgun in a combat situation.

KS-23!



Made out of defective 23mm AA barrels, it's a rifled-bore, 6-gauge riot shotgun used in Russian prisons.

It...
It's...
It's beautiful.

Wait 'til you hear the best part... they made a slug for it specifically designed to CRACK AN ENGINE BLOCK, to disable a getaway vehicle and make prison breaks harder.

Though I hear it's an epic b***h to reload.  

[Freak_090]

why Australia and not somewhere in Africa where nobody is around to care.  

[Fresnel]

Freak_090

why Australia and not somewhere in Africa where nobody is around to care.

Because in Africa, you've got about six months before the regime changes in a bloody coup, and the new dictator comes to seize your land.