As resources dwindle in the future, major breakthroughs are made in the manufacture of superhard materials...

As resources dwindle in the future, major breakthroughs are made in the manufacture of superhard materials. Combined with a lack of land for an ever increasing population, governments around the world build underwater domes. The domes become the most attractive places to live and the richest and smartest move in. Meanwhile on the surface, nuclear war strikes after resources become critical. Refugees from destroyed areas want to move to the existing underwater cities, most of which say 'get fucked' and gain independence while their countries are too weak to do anything about it.

What happens then?

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[CREEPING INTENSIFIES]

>Is a man not entitled to the sweat of his brow?

Nuclear depth charges.

Waifus. Everyone's simultaneously incredibly happy and incredulously pissed off about it at the same time.

>Bitter mutants start shelling the sparkling undercities they cannot have
I dig it.

>they're not as sparkly from the inside
I also dig it.

Would work better as a research station in the subsurface oceans of Europa or Encladeus in my opinion. Works as a buffer from the surface weather as well.

Fast forward 100+ years when the supposedly "self sufficient" underwater domes need supplies to repair water reclamation, atmospheric control, etc.
The fact that they need these things are a secret to avoid embarrassing the ruling members and panicking the populace.
bonus points if the PCs are plucky repair workers told to find a way to the surface and recover the necessary parts.

I know I'm arguing about realism in a place where it doesn't matter, but:
>Combined with a lack of land for an ever increasing population, governments around the world build underwater domes.
The "lack of land" caused by overpopulation doesn't mean you've run out of space to physically put people in. Cities can already achieve incredible population densities. It means you're struggling to find room for farms, plantations, mines, solar arrays, waste storage, and margin around industrial areas. For every square metre of humans you need thousands of square metres of land.

How self sufficient are the domed cities?
The more dependant the are on importing food and goods the easier it is for their governments ti just be all "No U!" And actually fuck the domes in return.

Besides that tphe domes are most likely fucked as they'd have been dependant on their governments navy for self defense and its going to take significant time for them to produce their own independently.

Its not even really about having room for farms, its about having enough arable land to produce enough food. There's heaps of extra land thats just of no use to producing large amounts of food.

I suppose you could say the underwater domes are areas from which things like aquaculture or undersea mining are managed. Which doesn't really make more sense than just using large ships or offshore platforms but whatever.
Alternatively you could move away from OP's premise and have them be set up as as communities away from the reach of the law, kind of like sea steaders except even more improbable.

>As resources dwindle in the future
>build underwater domes
Sorry, didn't you just say that resources were low?
Rapture-esque pet-projects are only ever something to build when you can afford to be wasteful.

But with future tech it's easier.

>go find us a water chip

Oh no it's BIONICLES

Wow, turns out "isolationist group turns out to need material help from the outside world and sends someone to go get it" has been done before. Somebody get Joseph Campbell on the line.

...

>mutants on planet surface find a genetic engineering lab stowed away in Russia or some shit
>create a retrovirus and change themselves into aquatic/mechanical monsters (with the side effect of turning them into monster waifus)
>engage in aquatic warfare against the elites who live in the domes

WELCOME... TO RAPTURE

...this is basically the old Aquanox videogame series, d'you know?

Would you kindly stop using all caps?

the space age could make the materials and technologies required mundane
frankly it wouldnt surpise me to find it starting as more starwarsish shanty towns as theres already places in asia where people live on the water cause they are legally allowed on land

>industrialized seas existing independently on land

Fuck yeah

Bionicle?

>tfw no pulp setting of comfy islands, comfy subs, and comfy flying boats

Isn't that literally just the plot of Brink?

NO

There'll be no accusations,
Just friendly crustaceans,
Under the sea

>We don't have resources
>But we build entire cities
>On the bottom of ocean!
>Let's have nuclear war to destroy what's left of resources!
Shit tier concept for a setting happens.

youtube.com/watch?v=wET4y0vjkbs

What if they didn't do it willingly? If they took a large research station on the bottom of the ocean BECAUSE the land was ruined/about to be ruined?