Sci-Fi Story: Would Like Some Feedback
Jun 15, 2011 0:31:38 GMT -5
Post by Gorim on Jun 15, 2011 0:31:38 GMT -5
So, for the first time I've had a spark of Sci-Fi inspiration. However, I've never really had to deal with the unique things that come with sci-fi, namely alien names, planet names, and technology.
Now, the story I'm planning on, which the three problems above pertain to, is this. Bad Alien Race has completely destroyed the ecosystem and planet of another Alien Race. They've stolen their technology, used their life force as battery power and food, and completely used up every natural resource the once fertile and beautiful planet had. Now they have to move on, so they send out various recon squads to find a similar planet in the galaxy. One recon mission is successful, finding a small planet with abundant plant life, lots of water, a rich amount of fauna, and a dominant race similar in physiology to the inhabitants of the previous planet. Earth.
Now, these aliens slowly invade over the course of several thousand years. It's from them that the vampire myths spawn, since the easiest way for them to sap the life energy out of humans is their blood. Well, the threat of invasion is starting to escalate, but only some people know that they're there, and they're mainly seen as weirdos and conspiracy theorists. However, the resistance is very old, around as long as the Aliens have been there, and they're what spawn the Vampire Hunter myths. These few create a sort of resistance that quietly fights back against the Bad Alien Race, being dorks and weirdos in public, but in private, being intelligent, clever and tough, as one would be if one not only found out about the Bad Alien Race, but also fought them. There's very few of them in comparison to the Bad Aliens; they're very secretive, worldwide, and near extinction. Since they're deployed out in pods of three or four at a time across the world, there's only three or four actual main characters that are human.
Then, the resistance finds out the date of the planned official, public invasion of Earth. Before they can do much more than panic, however, a UFO crashes in their front lawn. It's the resistance movement from the Bad Alien Race's previous host planet, the few of the indigenous alien populace left, and they've come (in a rather slow, beaten up little ship) to the planet that the Bad Alien Race has decided on attacking in hopes of notifying the dominant race of the problem and maybe helping them, all in the name of various motives. Some want to help, others just want to blow Bad Aliens up. There's... maybe eleven of them all together; not ALL that's left, but for what's left of the former residents of the now completely used up planet, it's a serious team they've sent to help the Earthlings. Problem is, the Earthling resistance is weak, the Bad Alien Race holds all the cards, and all the Nice Aliens have as far as technology is their beat up little ship, which is admittedly rather impressive to the humans, but to the Bad Alien Race is downright laughable.
I have plans for the ship. Since the Nice Aliens are basically Earthlings with several billion years of evolutionary and technological advantages, I wanted the ship to be rather special, and, after playing Portal 2 and watching The Doctor's Wife episode of Dr Who, thought that maybe a nice sentient ship/weapon would be interesting. The problem is, how far to go with that?
Currently, the idea with the ships is that they are basically their own race, just sort of created by the Nice Aliens (Who I've just considered simply calling The People). They started off as simple tools, but as technology progressed, they evolved, rather like The People and Earthlings. Soon, Travelers of the Stars and elite soldiers were granted the honor of having these sentient ships as transportation and partners. These ships were given a nickname that is roughly the People's equivalent of the word "angel", and have two forms; the ship, the size of which is dependent on the generation of the angel, and the weapon, which is dependent on the personality of the angel. Angels are, of course, robots, but they do have feelings to an extent. They grow fond of their drivers, who are basically partners and comrades, and are fiercely protective of them.
The People are, as previously stated, basically humans with billions of years of evolutionary and technological upheaval. While ultimately quite human in looks and physiology, they have some differences. For one, they now have two hearts, stronger lungs, and the ability to access more of their brain power. Their lifespans have lengthened dramatically; the youngest of the ones that come to help is almost eighty, though he looks as if he's in his mid to late twenties. Their vision and hearing is much better than the average Earthling, and they don't need to eat or sleep as much as the average Earthling. They have stronger bones and much more natural flexibility, as well as instinctive hand-eye coordination. Their increased brain power also gives them vaguely psychic abilities such as telekinesis, telepathy, energy manipulation, and the transference of memories, be they real or false. However, they find the unpolluted atmosphere (this is compared to their planet in it's death throes) overwhelming, and are prone to panic attacks because of the clear, endless skies and high oxygen content of the air. They're also susceptible to some of the illnesses of Earth, mainly the common cold, the stomach flu, and various allergens. Killing them a bit difficult with our current technology; shooting them would hurt badly, but their superior healing capacities and innards make them more likely to survive. If one was going to try and kill them by attacking their torso, they'd either have to do extensive damage all around (gruesome stuff), or straight shots to both hearts. An "easier" way is simply cutting off their heads, though this is difficult to do elegantly due to bone toughness, and and it can get very, very messy, since their increased brain and oxygen capacity allows them to stay alive and, if their spine is intact, retain admirable control of their limbs for several minutes before finally dying. A painful, scary way to die for sure, yet it provides a decent chance at getting your killer before he or she gets away.
The Bad Alien Race had a name similar to Vampires, but I haven't figured that out yet. For this, they're simply Vampires. Our sun is a bit different from their old one, so it does some damage to them, though the rumors of them bursting into flames are greatly exaggerated. Prolonged exposure (and I mean hours, even a full day) can dry them out and kill them, rather like the constant threat of heatstroke, but they're fully capable of walking around the streets just like Earthlings, provided they pop out of the sun on a regular basis. They have a keen sense of smell, so things with strong odors, like perfume, cologne, and some foods, repulse them. Garlic's strong odor does this in particular. Their bodies are, by themselves, rather weak. Unlike The People, who age slowly and have very tough bodies, the Vampires expands the energy of their bodies very quickly through the powers generally given to vampires; great strength, speed, near invulnerability, and the predator-ish beauty they possess. When their energy reaches low levels, they become rather slow and stupid and weak, but still faster and smarter than the average Earthling, and they appear to age drastically. Drinking the blood of an Earthling or a member of the People will quickly reverse these effects. The overall look of a Vampire is beautiful, but predatory. They have a second set of incredibly sharp, almost shark-like teeth that retract when not in use, along with a sort of venom that is not only a paralytic, but also a dangerously addictive narcotic that stimulates the endorphins, creating an incredibly pleasurable reaction. However, what Vampires are known for is converting the indigenous population to their species. While they don't do this after they've officially taken over, they do commit these acts during the initial phases of invasion, to create Vampires that resemble the indigenous population; no one knows that Vampires looked like before taking over other planets. Conversion requires a great deal of the previously mentioned venom, which not only ravages the host's DNA but also creates a sort of near-death experience. It's easiest to kill a Vampire during the time when they need to feed, though it's not impossible to kill them at the height of their energy high. Decapitation and stabs to the heart are popular ways to kill them, since those methods are quick and often rather easy; Vampires don't consume a lot of calcium, so their bone strength leaves a great deal to be desired.
Vampire Hunters, usually simply Hunters, are a secret, world-wide organization that used to be incredibly influential, working with the church, but is now being snuffed out by the Vampires one pod of people at a time. Their organization is small, and barely funded, but it has a considerable prestige among those who know about it, and its fighters are throughly trained, its intelligence officers highly skilled. They generally live in special apartment buildings together, and they try to put forward an illusion of utterly simple, uninteresting lives as a sort of cover. Their jobs are simply that. Jobs. Their career is Hunting, and they never have high end jobs, or accept promotions. Things like waitressing, bartending, telemarketing, and working with IT are the sort of jobs Hunters get into because they're easy to get out of in a hurry. Still others don't have jobs; rather, they live off of the funding given to the organization by the few rich people who know the Truth, and focus entirely on finding and fighting the Vampires. Familial bonding and friendship is encouraged between Hunters, but not with the outside world. It's rare for a Hunter to find and marry an outsider. Hunters constantly try to make contact with other, hopefully more benevolent aliens, though until the People landed, their attempts had been for naught. Hunters come in all shapes, sizes, races and religions, spanning over the entire world, though the HQ is in Italy, a bittersweet reminder of how they used to have Catholic backing. Hunters are usually deployed in "pods" of three or four to places where rumors of Vampires are or suspicious deaths or disappearances occur. However, the Hunters are rapidly becoming extinct, as the Vampires are hunting them down pod by pod.
That's most of what I've got so far. I'll try to write it up officially soon. Cheers and good night!
Now, the story I'm planning on, which the three problems above pertain to, is this. Bad Alien Race has completely destroyed the ecosystem and planet of another Alien Race. They've stolen their technology, used their life force as battery power and food, and completely used up every natural resource the once fertile and beautiful planet had. Now they have to move on, so they send out various recon squads to find a similar planet in the galaxy. One recon mission is successful, finding a small planet with abundant plant life, lots of water, a rich amount of fauna, and a dominant race similar in physiology to the inhabitants of the previous planet. Earth.
Now, these aliens slowly invade over the course of several thousand years. It's from them that the vampire myths spawn, since the easiest way for them to sap the life energy out of humans is their blood. Well, the threat of invasion is starting to escalate, but only some people know that they're there, and they're mainly seen as weirdos and conspiracy theorists. However, the resistance is very old, around as long as the Aliens have been there, and they're what spawn the Vampire Hunter myths. These few create a sort of resistance that quietly fights back against the Bad Alien Race, being dorks and weirdos in public, but in private, being intelligent, clever and tough, as one would be if one not only found out about the Bad Alien Race, but also fought them. There's very few of them in comparison to the Bad Aliens; they're very secretive, worldwide, and near extinction. Since they're deployed out in pods of three or four at a time across the world, there's only three or four actual main characters that are human.
Then, the resistance finds out the date of the planned official, public invasion of Earth. Before they can do much more than panic, however, a UFO crashes in their front lawn. It's the resistance movement from the Bad Alien Race's previous host planet, the few of the indigenous alien populace left, and they've come (in a rather slow, beaten up little ship) to the planet that the Bad Alien Race has decided on attacking in hopes of notifying the dominant race of the problem and maybe helping them, all in the name of various motives. Some want to help, others just want to blow Bad Aliens up. There's... maybe eleven of them all together; not ALL that's left, but for what's left of the former residents of the now completely used up planet, it's a serious team they've sent to help the Earthlings. Problem is, the Earthling resistance is weak, the Bad Alien Race holds all the cards, and all the Nice Aliens have as far as technology is their beat up little ship, which is admittedly rather impressive to the humans, but to the Bad Alien Race is downright laughable.
I have plans for the ship. Since the Nice Aliens are basically Earthlings with several billion years of evolutionary and technological advantages, I wanted the ship to be rather special, and, after playing Portal 2 and watching The Doctor's Wife episode of Dr Who, thought that maybe a nice sentient ship/weapon would be interesting. The problem is, how far to go with that?
Currently, the idea with the ships is that they are basically their own race, just sort of created by the Nice Aliens (Who I've just considered simply calling The People). They started off as simple tools, but as technology progressed, they evolved, rather like The People and Earthlings. Soon, Travelers of the Stars and elite soldiers were granted the honor of having these sentient ships as transportation and partners. These ships were given a nickname that is roughly the People's equivalent of the word "angel", and have two forms; the ship, the size of which is dependent on the generation of the angel, and the weapon, which is dependent on the personality of the angel. Angels are, of course, robots, but they do have feelings to an extent. They grow fond of their drivers, who are basically partners and comrades, and are fiercely protective of them.
The People are, as previously stated, basically humans with billions of years of evolutionary and technological upheaval. While ultimately quite human in looks and physiology, they have some differences. For one, they now have two hearts, stronger lungs, and the ability to access more of their brain power. Their lifespans have lengthened dramatically; the youngest of the ones that come to help is almost eighty, though he looks as if he's in his mid to late twenties. Their vision and hearing is much better than the average Earthling, and they don't need to eat or sleep as much as the average Earthling. They have stronger bones and much more natural flexibility, as well as instinctive hand-eye coordination. Their increased brain power also gives them vaguely psychic abilities such as telekinesis, telepathy, energy manipulation, and the transference of memories, be they real or false. However, they find the unpolluted atmosphere (this is compared to their planet in it's death throes) overwhelming, and are prone to panic attacks because of the clear, endless skies and high oxygen content of the air. They're also susceptible to some of the illnesses of Earth, mainly the common cold, the stomach flu, and various allergens. Killing them a bit difficult with our current technology; shooting them would hurt badly, but their superior healing capacities and innards make them more likely to survive. If one was going to try and kill them by attacking their torso, they'd either have to do extensive damage all around (gruesome stuff), or straight shots to both hearts. An "easier" way is simply cutting off their heads, though this is difficult to do elegantly due to bone toughness, and and it can get very, very messy, since their increased brain and oxygen capacity allows them to stay alive and, if their spine is intact, retain admirable control of their limbs for several minutes before finally dying. A painful, scary way to die for sure, yet it provides a decent chance at getting your killer before he or she gets away.
The Bad Alien Race had a name similar to Vampires, but I haven't figured that out yet. For this, they're simply Vampires. Our sun is a bit different from their old one, so it does some damage to them, though the rumors of them bursting into flames are greatly exaggerated. Prolonged exposure (and I mean hours, even a full day) can dry them out and kill them, rather like the constant threat of heatstroke, but they're fully capable of walking around the streets just like Earthlings, provided they pop out of the sun on a regular basis. They have a keen sense of smell, so things with strong odors, like perfume, cologne, and some foods, repulse them. Garlic's strong odor does this in particular. Their bodies are, by themselves, rather weak. Unlike The People, who age slowly and have very tough bodies, the Vampires expands the energy of their bodies very quickly through the powers generally given to vampires; great strength, speed, near invulnerability, and the predator-ish beauty they possess. When their energy reaches low levels, they become rather slow and stupid and weak, but still faster and smarter than the average Earthling, and they appear to age drastically. Drinking the blood of an Earthling or a member of the People will quickly reverse these effects. The overall look of a Vampire is beautiful, but predatory. They have a second set of incredibly sharp, almost shark-like teeth that retract when not in use, along with a sort of venom that is not only a paralytic, but also a dangerously addictive narcotic that stimulates the endorphins, creating an incredibly pleasurable reaction. However, what Vampires are known for is converting the indigenous population to their species. While they don't do this after they've officially taken over, they do commit these acts during the initial phases of invasion, to create Vampires that resemble the indigenous population; no one knows that Vampires looked like before taking over other planets. Conversion requires a great deal of the previously mentioned venom, which not only ravages the host's DNA but also creates a sort of near-death experience. It's easiest to kill a Vampire during the time when they need to feed, though it's not impossible to kill them at the height of their energy high. Decapitation and stabs to the heart are popular ways to kill them, since those methods are quick and often rather easy; Vampires don't consume a lot of calcium, so their bone strength leaves a great deal to be desired.
Vampire Hunters, usually simply Hunters, are a secret, world-wide organization that used to be incredibly influential, working with the church, but is now being snuffed out by the Vampires one pod of people at a time. Their organization is small, and barely funded, but it has a considerable prestige among those who know about it, and its fighters are throughly trained, its intelligence officers highly skilled. They generally live in special apartment buildings together, and they try to put forward an illusion of utterly simple, uninteresting lives as a sort of cover. Their jobs are simply that. Jobs. Their career is Hunting, and they never have high end jobs, or accept promotions. Things like waitressing, bartending, telemarketing, and working with IT are the sort of jobs Hunters get into because they're easy to get out of in a hurry. Still others don't have jobs; rather, they live off of the funding given to the organization by the few rich people who know the Truth, and focus entirely on finding and fighting the Vampires. Familial bonding and friendship is encouraged between Hunters, but not with the outside world. It's rare for a Hunter to find and marry an outsider. Hunters constantly try to make contact with other, hopefully more benevolent aliens, though until the People landed, their attempts had been for naught. Hunters come in all shapes, sizes, races and religions, spanning over the entire world, though the HQ is in Italy, a bittersweet reminder of how they used to have Catholic backing. Hunters are usually deployed in "pods" of three or four to places where rumors of Vampires are or suspicious deaths or disappearances occur. However, the Hunters are rapidly becoming extinct, as the Vampires are hunting them down pod by pod.
That's most of what I've got so far. I'll try to write it up officially soon. Cheers and good night!
