First_Contact
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Thinking about Stuff Again
🕑 Added 2020-06-30 07:03:22 +0000 UTCSo, the Nightmare thread went in a completely different direction than I intended. I had intended on making a Hellraiser-esque story where the Lanaktallan gets out and goes back shellshocked and tells the Lanaktallan that they can't win leading to demoralization.
But instead it went in the new direction and I'm thinking I'm enjoying it more. Much more.
It's kind of funny to me, still, that all of this started with a giant insect jacking an ice cream truck after getting addicted. It was neat dropping a hint to a further adventure of P'Thok where he and a 'strike team' landed on a Terran planet, stole a bunch of ice cream trucks, loaded them onto a hijacked transport, and ran back to Treana'ad space.
On another thought, there's always been a few pet peeves I've had with modern sci-fi that I'm trying to avoid.
In major wars with multiple belligerents, just because one gets beat doesn't mean the whole alliance collapses and surrenders. Real life has example after example after example of such things. Or that one nation-state can't fight on two or three fronts (Modern force projection and manufacturing show that it CAN be done providing you're committed) and still be victorious. Another one is that the enemy nation from the 'good guys' is always monolithic. Finally, that the good guys never make any mistakes and if they do then they were tricked into it or it turns out to be the perfect thing.
Wars are messy. God, are they messy. "War should not become too easy lest we forget the horror" or whatever the exact quote was.
I don't want the Terrans to be perfect, yet not maliciously incapable or holding the Idiot Ball directly in their mouths and running in circles. I want them to make mistake, accept them, and work to overcome them. I want them tempted by the "easy way" and having to take the harder road in order to live up to their ideals.
The Lanaktallans were never meant to be the biggest threat militarily, and their defeat is something that will be painful and long and fraught with risk and danger if the more merciful method is taken.
I want the Un-Civilized and Neo-Sapients to be liberated and join the "Young Races" at the table, but not have it be super easy, with some choosing to retreat to their own worlds after the horror of Lanaktallan oppression.
I like my heroes dirty, battered, bloody, wounded from mistakes they can see with 20/20 Hindsight, and regrets. That did what had to be done and now must live with it.
Just some thoughts tonight.
We'll get back to Slambang soon.
Comments
Really enjoy your take on sci-fi. I like how you incorporate your experiences in the military into it especially unit histories (shout-out to 1st Cav). Keep up the good work mate and I’ll be def contributing to your work.
For a bit the "nightmare" was this cool, introspective self journey with some slight body horror, while the real world was a much scarier nightmarish depiction of war. I thought that might be intintional. That it was not, is even more impressive and powerful.
