Today, 2096, The Stormdome is divided into two main sectors: glossy and developed Lumino—a vision of comfortable living; and the wasteland that is Diliman, residence to metal scrap workers and the underprivileged.
I. Grand Vidame Inky, the ruler of The Stormdome, together with her two children Chino and Diane, oversee the workers of Diliman surrendering metal scraps in the recycling center. The family is flanked by Protektanods, reprogrammed residents of Diliman who now serve as peacekeepers assigned to maintain order in the Stormdome.
While both sectors go about their daily business, a small rebel group from Diliman who call themselves Tropang Gising prepares to bomb the East Gate of Lumino. Members of Tropang Gising include Kat, new recruit Bogs, bomb expert Poy, his girlfriend Nazty, and their leader Sol.
After the explosion, Protektanods scramble to capture the rebels. Everyone escapes except for Bogs who is detained for questioning. When Vidame Inky fails to get any answers, she orders Bogs’ memory to be wiped and Bogs is reconditioned as a Protektanod.
Diane reflects on the harsh way her mother runs the Dome when her attention falls on her Yaya, an old reconditioned worker. Diane asks her Yaya questions about life in Diliman and what she was like before she chose to be reconditioned worker. Yaya’s reprogramming makes it near impossible for her to remember, but Diane’s questioning causes her to malfunction, and Yaya mentions that she sacrificed everything for a child she left in Diliman—a child named Sol.
II. In Diliman, Poy and the rest of Tropang Gising scour the junkyards to look for parts to create another bomb. The rest of the scavengers in Diliman search for recyclable scraps that can earn them food packs. Nazty spots a piece of cloth with a strange design in the piles of garbage but the waste management supervisor sees no value in it. Nazty instead uses the cloth as a scarf. Tropang Gising plots an even bigger attack at the core of Lumino to save Bogs when a blackout occurs. The rebels use the frequent power outages in Diliman to rouse its residents, causing a riot outside the gates of Lumino. Vidame Inky mulls over open firing on the rioters, but chooses instead to hold a grand gathering at Diliman for a Day of Democracy.
The Day of Democracy is the one day when everyone in the Stormdome is free to express their opinions and complaints without repercussions. Vidame Inky wants Protektanods to take note of the people who participate in the proceedings, with the intention of rounding them up and detaining them after the celebrations. Tropang Gising on the other hand encourages the people to air out the true state of their miserable living conditions. Before long, Vidame Inky is overwhelmed with the sheer number of grievances and Tropang Gising ends up controlling the Day of Democracy.
III. After the riot, Diane, Chino, and their friends from Lumino, Chelsea and Winston, sneak past the Protektanods and into Diliman sector. Diane wants to learn more about her Yaya’s child and about Diliman sector. They don’t get far into Diliman when they are surrounded by Tropang Gising rebels who question them about their intentions in Diliman.
Diane tells the rebels about Sol’s mother, and their reconditioned friend Bogs. Sol grieves but remains focused on their cause. Tropang Gising take the Lumino group hostage and lead them deeper into Diliman, where Mang Okik— an old hermit whom everyone dismisses as crazy— lives with his many old artifacts and historical books that no one recognizes anymore. Sol believes that Mang Okik might know the secret passage ways into Lumino’s core. Sol intends to use the Lumino group to get inside Lumino sector. From there, Tropang Gising will launch their full-scale attack.
Mang Okik recognizes the scarf around Nazty’s neck as the Philippine flag and tells the groups about the history of the Philippines, before The Stormdome. Both groups from Lumino and Diliman find Mang Okik’s stories of heroes and struggles unfamiliar and perplexing. Mang Okik bemoans the fact that history has been erased inside The Stormdome and the youth no longer know where they come from.
Mang Okik tells both groups about the history of the Stormdome—of the hero Pancho who created it and sacrificed his life and Rasputin, who took over the Dome after Pancho’s death. It was Rasputin who divided the Dome into sectors to put his family in power. Mang Okik also reveals that Pancho meant for the Stormdome to be a temporary shelter, and that after a defined span of time, the people can finally break out. Both the Lumino and Diliman groups doubt Mang Okik’s stories. All they know is that there is only death outside the Stormdome.
While everyone is distracted, Winston makes a break to escape and alerts the Protektanods of their location. The Protektanods swoop in to rescue Vidame Inky’s children and manage to capture Sol, Mang Okik, and Nazty in the process. Only Poy and Kat escape to plan a rescue attempt.
IV. Sol, Mang Okik, and Nazty find themselves in a Lumino detention cell when Protektanod Bogs comes to take Nazty in for interrogation. Nazty refuses to tell Vidame Inky who the rest of Tropang Gising are and what they are planning. Inky forces Chino to recondition Nazty himself, claiming that being the next ruler of the Stormdome means making hard decisions. Meanwhile, Poy and Kat create a bomb and sneak into Lumino sector to rescue their friends.
Vidame Inky visits Sol and Mang Okik in their cell and offers Sol a prestigious position in Lumino as Alpha Stormdome Commander if he abandons their revolution. An alarm goes off, informing everyone that there are intruders inside Lumino. Once Vidame Inky and the Protektanods leave to investigate, Diane frees Sol and Mang Okik.
In the reconditioning facility, Poy and Kat realize that they are too late. Nazty is already a reconditioned Protektanod. Poy kisses Nazty to try to undo the reconditioning and make her remember who she is. Nazty attacks Poy, and Kat is forced to kill her. The two flee as Protektanods arrive.
Poy and Kat reunite with Sol and Mang Okik near the core mainframe of The Stormdome. Soon, the group is surrounded by Protektanods, along with Inky and her children. Vidame Inky and Chino order the Protektanods to kill the rebels when Diane throws her support with Tropang Gising.
Sol takes the bomb from Poy and climbs up the mainframe, all the way up to the top of The Stormdome. Tropang Gising panics as Sol isn’t following the plan—instead of destroying the Stormdome core and seizing power for themselves, Sol wants to break out of The Stordome. Vidame Inky says this will kill everyone inside the Dome. Sol is convinced that Mang Okik is right, the waiting period is over and that it is safe outside the Dome. Mang Okik is suddenly unsure if his count of the years is accurate. Everyone tries to convince Sol not to act brashly. Sol says there is no other way to know for certain unless they take the risk. The bomb explodes and a portion of the Stormdome wall is destroyed.
V. With the Stormdome broken, people are amazed and confused as to why they haven’t died. They witness something no one has seen for decades—the bright sun shining through the cracks of the Stormdome. The people wonder what to do now. How do they start living outside the Dome? Who should
lead them? Mang Okik says how they continue from here is up to the youth. Their decisions will determine whether breaking the Stormdome was the right choice.
Synopsis
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