Groundhog World

One pitch a day: in August of 2011, I dedicate twenty minutes each day to writing an « elevator pitch » for a story or a game.

At six o’clock in the morning, Universal Time, time rewinds back to the day before. Everybody in the world experiences that return to the day before. Memories remain. Humanity relives what becomes known as the Day and, later, Day One.
After a few days, a new world emerges. Millions of people become criminals. Material wealth is squandered. Money is not accepted anywhere. The industry stops. A vast majority of people just spend quality time with their family. The best bottles of wine in the world are emptied every day.

Governments and good-willing people collaborate but fail to find a way to escape Day One. Some believe that the End Times are there, with nothing left after.
A few ethically advanced people discover they escape the time loop. They physically disappear from the next Day One and, instead, reach Day Two. People stuck in Day One can only speculate about their fate.
Day Two functions like Day One. It uses a version of History which begins immediately after Day One. It is populated with ethically advanced people from Day One, who remember everything, plus « natives » from Day Two who never relived Day One. Day Two « natives » can be persuaded to believe in Day One, but they can never advance to the next Day. Only saintly travelers from the former Day can hope to keep moving forward in time: there is a Day Three, a Day Four, etc. The pattern repeats. « Natives » from Day Three experienced a version of History where neither Day One nor Day Two were out of the ordinary.

A religion is founded on the belief that Day One is Hell and Day Seven is Paradise.