Gone

The FAYZ (Fallout Alley Youth Zone) symbolizes control, containment, the unknown, and change. It represents a new, unusual world that differs greatly from the characters’ previous lives of comfort, safety, and freedom. The characters are trying to survive and thrive in an enclosed world; they’re separated from outside society with no help coming. As Astrid and Sam believe, the FAYZ may be an alternate universe, as if they’re floating in a bubble away from any other reality. The multiverse theory and Sam’s egg analogy are useful descriptions of the FAYZ and its effects. Although they discover Pete triggered the FAYZ’s disappearances and barrier, its place in the world and effects are still unknown. Is the FAYZ like an egg, an alternate universe, a separated society floating through another dimension, or something else entirely? As another “impossibility” that becomes a reality, the FAYZ is a unique setting that establishes a dynamic shift in the characters’ lives, a disruption that changes everything and forces them to come of age much sooner than usual.

Furthermore, the FAYZ setting might also symbolize protection, isolation, and independence. Since the kids are alone, with apparently no one recognizing their existence outside the FAYZ, they’re isolated and left to survive independently. The FAYZ forces the main characters to grow and change. Some become more mature, thoughtful, and active young adults and accept responsibilities such as leadership, childcare, resource management, and self-care, while others become cruel, despotic, and hateful. In both cases, the isolation encourages independence and allows characters to show their true colors without sanctions from parents or other adults. The wall also protects the inhabitants from outside forces, so it could be seen as a protective barrier that Pete perhaps created to save them from the nuclear explosion he stopped. The FAYZ is a major part of the worldbuilding that triggered the results of the wall and adult-less society, which leads to every plot point.