When will the Noah arrive?

Stories can be outlined and planned in extreme detail.  Even so, they tend to grow organically.  Characters that were planned to be a utility in the background can become major players in the plot.  Items and inanimate objects that appear important at first may fall by the side without a clue.  All of this is a natural part of the story writing process.  Just as life can change plans in the real world, a fictional world can develop a life of its own and alter the original plans of the author.  A good tale is one that balances the author's first intentions with the wild growth of the tale itself.

The young technician was having difficulty getting any of her superiors to take note of the signal she had found.  Some said the signal was too short and couldn't be anything more than a simple distortion.  Another informed her that the Noah had transmitted their initial signal in many languages of Earth, therefore her signal couldn't be anything because it was too alien in nature.  He pointed the nearly random nature of the signal further showed it was simply a natural phenomenon.  She was escorted out of his office before she was unable to point out the base 6 encoding he has missed that made the signal appear random to anyone used to seeing data in patterns of base 8 or 10.  Anyone else that she felt would understand what she had was either in Antarctica or at a dedicated research station in communication with Antarctica.  She would have to find a way to get the data she had into the hands of someone closer to the South Pole.

In the cold at the bottom of the Earth, a small discovery had been made.  The varying artifacts that had been scattered around the planet as proof of their former presence could all be joined into one object.  When combined, the object seemed to modify electromagnetic signals nearby and give off a new signal.  The new signal was the same, regardless of the frequency or type of signal present.  AM radio signals, VHF television broadcasts, and digital data transmissions were all apparently detected, modified, and transmitted again as the same signal.  Through much experimentation it was discovered that the only variation in the new signals was one of strength.  Each retransmission was slightly stronger than the original broadcast.  However, an inability to understand the signal the object transmitted meant the scientific minds were still stumped as to its purpose.

A studious officer on duty in the communications building happened to discover something the scientists had all missed.  Each time there was a test on the strange object, he picked up a signal similar to the Noah's that lasted the exact duration of the test, but much weaker and locally sent.  He recognized the nature of the alien transmissions from reports and recordings he had been studying in his off duty hours.  After detecting a week's worth of tests, the officer took his readings and the detailed reports of earlier signals from the aliens to a group of scientists having some food in one of the common buildings.  They quickly understood what he was trying to show them.  They took this new information to the laboratories without finishing their meals.  There was finally a way to directly communicate with the Noah.  Now it was up to the diplomats and numerous governmental representatives to come up with a message to send.  Hopefully there would still be time for the Noah to help humanity when the politicians reached a consensus.

When the officer returned to his quarters, he was in a good mood and decided to read some of his personal emails.  He found one from a cousin of his that worked for NASA, and she was asking him for a favor.  He would read the rest of that one later.  His sister was due to have a new baby any day now and he had a pool going with some of his comrades that involved the new baby's birth weight and time.  There was an email from his mother that could have some interesting news.

A number of Drag'kon attack craft quickly approached the orbit of Uranus.  They were still undetected by the single Noah craft.  None of the technology on Earth was capable of seeing them approach before they wanted to be seen.  The captains were all anxious about the pending battle, but visibly relaxed.  A number of the weapons personnel were salivating at the thought of a fight, even when not at their stations.  The lower ranks working in the bowels of the ship were only aware of their ever present duties, in battle or traveling between systems didn't change anything for them.

I will admit that certain connections have appeared in this segment that I didn't really expect.  The relation between the communications officer and the technician that discovered the Drag'kon was completely unplanned.  It does add a possible tool that can be utilized in more than one way later as well as a possible wrinkle to add a touch of drama if needed.

Character Development

One of the more difficult tasks of writing a story is developing the characters that reside in that story.  How would they feel in a given situation?  What would they want to do?  What would they actually be capable of doing?  How much of the difference between the two is their mental state, and how much of it is physical?  How would a different character react in the same situation?  How would the story move if the roles were changed or reversed?  All of these decisions have an effect on how a story grows and develops.  None of the decisions have to be made right away.  Some of the answers may even puzzle or surprise the characters themselves.

It all started a few weeks ago. I can't say exactly what day the change came over me, it was such a gradual thing. I began feeling stronger. My muscles weren't any bigger, I couldn't lift any more weight, my daily runs weren't getting any longer or less exhausting, but I could feel something more coursing through my body. It was nearly impossible to describe more what, it was just more.

How much I was changing really hit me one day. The last few days of work had been difficult and more stressful than normal. My daily run was just as much a chance to vent my frustrations as it was a way to keep in shape. The heavens unleashed a downpour as my run brought me by a stretch of abandoned warehouses. I figured the storm would blow itself out quickly, so I ducked between two slightly opened giant doors to take some shelter. My footsteps echoed in the vastness that surrounded me. Dust motes glided on the slivers of dirty light struggling to get through dirty glass windows.

The size and industrial beauty completely missed me. I was too frustrated by the way things had been going combined with the sudden need to hide from the weather. Out of anger and a lack of anything else to do, I picked up a piece of scrap metal from the floor and threw it as hard as I could. The feat of strength this required escaped me until I heard the scrap metal hit a support pillar over half way down the warehouse's length. I looked up and a chill ran through me as I spotted an I-beam sticking through the large support pillar like a pencil stuck through a piece of paper. The air was filled with a slight hum as the two pieces of metal vibrated sympathetically from the impact.

That first day had me shocked. I didn't know what was happening to me. I was in that warehouse trying to pick up other pieces of steel and other metals for almost an hour before I figured out it was my emotions that triggered the increase in strength. My initial frustration at the weather forcing me into the place had allowed me to hurl the steel I-beam before I even knew how heavy the thing was.

Since then, I have cut my runs short and spend more time inside the abandoned warehouse experimenting and testing to see what else I can do. New powers and abilities seem to be growing in me gradually. I am not invincible, but injuries heal faster than before. When I am wounded, I don't feel normal pain, more of a sense of something is out of balance in a certain area. I'm almost afraid to test how far this particular pair of abilities can stretch.

I am able to run faster than I ever could before, but my endurance hasn't increased much. What's strange, is I can run for the same amount of time regardless of how fast I go. Running faster doesn't lower my endurance any more than running slow does.

On an impulse, I decided to try flying one day. I can levitate myself a little above the ground, but nothing I would consider really flying. At least not yet. Once I get a little more altitude, maybe I will try moving around some.

I have found that these new abilities are connected to my feelings.  The angrier I get, the stronger I am.  A powerful sense of fear lets me run faster.  Being happy and laughing allow me to levitate.  Calming myself and relaxing seem to accelerate my healing.  Who knew actually having emotions could one day prove useful?

One thing I keep wondering, more than where these abilities and powers come from, is what shall I do with them? I'm comfortable financially and don't really feel the need to start robbing banks. Taking over the world might be easy, but I'm not so sure I would want the job of running it all once I did. I have no inclination to become a superhero, tights never really looked good on me anyway. Professional athletics are out, my performance would lead to too many questions and “random” tests for performance enhancing drugs. I had considered doing something about the wars that keep popping up in different parts of the world, but then some government may want more answers than I would want to provide. Besides, I've never been a fan of needles and I'm sure someone would love to set up a lab just to stick me full of them. Maybe some day I will figure out what to do with myself.

How should this person continue?  How soon must he make a decision on the use of his powers?  Should he experiment more and try to find more abilities?  Leave a comment and let me know what you think or how you would react to suddenly becoming more powerful.

How can the Noah help?

This is another installment in the saga of the alien race known as the Noah.  I know where I want this story to go, just not real sure how I want to get there.

The evidence of the Noah's existence and nature had all been located and brought to the representatives of the countries in which the items were found. Through much discussion and debate, a neutral location was chosen for the items to be brought together and examined. A place where further debates can be made without any one country having a home turf advantage. Each representative would have two security personnel and a scientific adviser with them. The small number in each party was determined to balance the size from each nation and not overtax the limited resources readily available at the chosen location. The lack of native population, military presence, or cultural influence meant that Antarctica would be an ideal meeting place for both international and interstellar guests despite the harsh environment.

Shelters were set up for each group to participate in their respective activities. The scientists shared notes on the items that had been found, their theories regarding the materials the items were made of, and possible methods for translating the strange script engraved on them. The various governmental representatives met in small committees that attempted to establish proper protocols and priorities for future meetings. Very little was said about the signal that had brought them all together. Off duty security personnel simply lounged around and discussed various travels they had been on and former comrades that had been lost to one foe or another, sometimes speaking with the fatal individual themselves. Mere weeks had passed since the Noah's signal had first been detected and received. Most of the world's population assumed that bringing all of these differing people together so fast meant they could quickly come up with a solution to the problem of the Drag'kun that would benefit everyone. Two things nobody realized was how long it would really take the politics to get anything accomplished and that the two year deadline mentioned by the Noah was an overestimation.

While all the talking, discussing, and theorizing was happening, the Noah continued approaching the Earth. They finally settled in an orbit slightly larger than that of the moon. They monitored military, civilian, and commercial communications frequencies with much intensity. Partly out of their natural curiosity for the residents of this planet, and partly out of a hope for a reply to their initial broadcast. All of their attention was focused on the blue planet below and, with the help of its residents, protecting as much of the population as possible.

The Drag'kun scout probe continued on its path, approaching the fourth planet of the system and keeping it between them and the Noah battleship as they begin their arc away from the sun. The captain of the craft closely watches the occupied planet and the other ship to ensure they aren't detected as he begins to transmit a directed signal to the fleet. His estimation was that a medium sized attack force would be sufficient. The only real opposition would come from the Noah battleship. The planet itself couldn't raise more than a few simple nuclear missiles that were best suited for harming the planet itself. No real threat to a force in orbit.

Technological rewards would be at a minimum, but natural resources would more than make up for the lack of usable parts to replace damaged ship components. The significant amount of slave labor the prominent intelligent species offered would keep the captains of all the attacking ships more than satisfied. If nothing else, all the animal species of the planet could be used to replenish food stores through the majority of the fleet.

All of this was transmitted from the scout pod to the Drag'kun in charge of the large fleet. The signal was sent in a series of small, quick bursts to minimize the chances of detection and interception by anyone else. This procedure was followed despite the small chance that anyone else in the system even knew they were there.

By the time the scout ship rejoined them, the attackers would be done with their efforts and splitting whatever spoils they obtained amongst themselves. He knew there would be some rewards for him and his crew, but the best choices would be kept by the attacking captains for their own enjoyment.

Unbeknownst to the captain, a small robotic probe on the red planet below the Drag'kun craft and its orbiting relay satellite operated on a frequency complimentary to the one the scout captain used. The satellite picked up the transmission and automatically relayed it to monitoring station. Only a single person noticed the odd signal embedded in the usual feed from the scientific instruments of the robot. It suddenly struck her that she was looking at another signal from an alien species. With all the top scientists in Antarctica, could she get anyone's attention? Would they understand what this other signal meant? Did she understand what it meant?

Once again, to be continued.....

On a side note, my calendar is in the shop so I should have the next post up on Wednesday as promised, not Thursday.

Game Time

Between spending time with my sons, working full time, various writing projects, and all the other things life throws around, I still manage to find some time to myself to enjoy a little time playing video games.  One game I enjoy playing is Final Fantasy XIV.  Adventurers travel all the lands of Eorzea fighting in dungeons and battling foes to protect the citizens from evil forces.

Like other games in the Final Fantasy franchise, this version includes the popular Chocobo.  Usually the large bird is a utility used as a mount.  Very rarely is much of the story told from the Chcobo's point of view.  I thought it was time for this to change.

I see these as being tales told to other chocobos in the stables at the end of each day's travels.

I am so excited. My day has finally come. I have been given a partner to travel and explore this wide world in which we live. I see all the different types of peoples that visit the fields near our home. Tall muscular fighters that nearly have to duck to enter the stables. Short folks that can hide from sight in tall bushes and barely reach my knees. They all travel about protecting others, fighting monsters, and collecting materials for their various crafts. Now I can travel with someone and do all of this along with them. Wait. I hear the whistle made for my new partner. KWEH! Off to start my adventures.

I spent most of the day running through the woods with my new partner. He is a small person that uses mystical energies rather than steel weapons. I could have not asked for a more perfect rider. As we moved between the trees I could see some people fighting smaller monsters. Beasts too weak for my partner to be bothered with. Some people were fighting these monsters to keep them away from the nearby city. We rode to a village filled with people even smaller than my rider. They were so short, their feet didn't touch the ground. They just floated around with their wings fluttering. We crossed through the village and approached another forest filled with larger beasts and walking trees. I will admit I am a little glad my partner dismounted and sent me away before fighting anything there.

My partner got some clothing for me. He calls it “barding.” What I have now is simple and decorated in the colors and symbols of the nation he has been helping lately. He has promised me more barding in different styles and patterns. I can't wait.

Cold. Today was a journey in an area that was very cold. Mountains soared into the sky. Stone towers rivaled them in height. Beasts here come in both large and small sizes. Fortunately, I am much faster than the large lizards that roam the area. Some of them tried to come after us, but I was able to keep us safe until we entered the brick city that had been established a long time ago. Some of the walls of the city looked damaged, but it was still safer than the castle nearby that had been taken over by beasts and dragons.

Today's adventure was both exciting and intense. I was given a treat of gysahl greens. With a gift like this, I expected to carry my partner from one end of the world to the other. However, this time he didn't hop into the saddle for a ride. Instead I fought alongside him to beat many, many evil monsters. It was very scary at first, but I couldn't leave my partner alone when he had so much faith in my skills. KWEH! I learned a new kick to use the next time I'm asked to fight. Despite my fears at first, I can't wait to beat more monsters and learn more combat skills. Maybe I will even learn some tricks to help my partner by more than just fighting.

These last few days has been extremely busy. We traveled from area to area, region to region, and nation to nation. We fought evil troops that came with magitek defensive units, a behemoth, numerous goblins and evil sylphs, and more fish men than I care to count. We traveled to the ocean, visited a region full of giant crystals, and cruised across a giant desert. While I truly enjoy my time with my partner, I wouldn't mind if he got a new mount so I could get a little rest. Maybe one of those flying things with one eye could carry him around for a bit.

Now, where did I leave my controller.  Ramuh has offered up a challenge I can't refuse.

Ring Masters

There are a hundred excuses I could come up with for this post being a day later than normal.  The simple honest truth is that I fell asleep.  A long working weekend followed by a busy start to the week left no time to recover any missing slumber.  A quiet Wednesday morning in a comfortable led to a sudden urge to catch up on all the sleep I had been deprived of.

Delays aside, today's post isn't something that didn't come from my mind, yet I still had a significant hand in creating.  It is a story idea from the notebook of my oldest son.  He is a fan of both Marvel and DC comic universes.  Influences from tales like the Green Lantern and Infinity Gauntlet can be seen in his writings, with details that are entirely his own.

The words below are entirely his.  The only changes I made were some basic copy editing for spelling and simple grammar.  Otherwise, the story is directly out of his notebook for future comics.

Okay.  We didn't ask for these powers, but here is the story.  The date was March 19, 2019.  My friends and I chose to walk home through the forest.  That's when I came across six rings.  I thought two for each of us so I shared them with Hank and Tim.  As we put them on weird things happened to us.  I felt like I was on fire in an earthquake.  When it was over I had power over fire and earth.  Hank had power over water and wind.  Tim had power over light and dark.  We chose to call ourselves "The Ring Masters."  We were on our last year of high school and would be going our separate ways.  However, when there is trouble, you can count on The Ring Masters to be there!

Other stories in his notebook hint at the possibility of multiple related titles with chances of crossovers and other interactions.

I am proud that he has decided to express himself in the same way I do and with tales of his own creation.  Sharing our skills with the next generation gives our children a safe outlet for their thoughts while keeping important creative skills alive in a dynamic and changing society.  Now, if only I could get him to clean his room.

Notes on Demons

I've never been one to use outlines for my books or stories.  Instead, I have a file of notes about the characters, story, plot details, and world where the story takes place.  Some of these notes are broad generalizations that frame the environment.  Some are simple comments about the direction the story is going or what kind of turn I want it to take.  Others still may be preferences or feelings the characters have that aren't obviously stated but come out through their actions and interactions with others.

Sometimes a story doesn't develop past the notes stage.  This may be due to an excess of clutter in my headspace, a lack of time to develop it properly, or just not enough story there to expand on.  One such story is one that I've had notes on for decades.  While there is a major plot conflict to base the story on, I just don't seem to be able to come up with enough to fill out the world it takes place in.  Maybe some day the rest of the tale will come to me in a dream.  In the meantime, here are the notes as I have them so far.  Derf is just a placeholder name I use until the character is fleshed out more and a proper name comes to light.

• Long life span of hunters, but not immortal. Just don't age normally.
• Communicate with "Hunter Council" via meditation and a special crystal
• Council catalogs Demons based on activity. Ranks them based on strength and shares information with Hunters.
• Smaller, weaker Demons not named, simple to catch.  Stronger Demons are given names and require more elaborate rituals to satisfy and catch.
• Each hunter chosen by "Hunter's Spirit." When one Hunter dies, the spirit moves on never know who will be next.
• Spirits don't clearly speak to Hunter, but can enhance vision to detect Demonic energies and give a Spidey-sense to hidden Deomnic presence.
• Number of Spirits is fixed, Number of Demons is variable, has gotten down to zero in past but increasing recently.
• Father/son team of Demon Hunters considered best in the realm, very rare for family members to be selected as hunters.
• Main plot point! Main character (Derf) must hunt demon that has taken his father
• Papa Derf disappeared while transporting crystal to "jail."
• Evidence of demons that had been caught by father-son team reappears.
• Demons are caught in and transported via crystals to one-way portal to "Dungeon Dimension"
• Demon possessing Derf's father is known as "The Corrupter" spoke to Papa Derf via the crystal
• Derf lives life alone except when hunting with Papa, chosen before starting a family.
• Papa Derf father of 3-5 kids, chosen after family started and years before Derf.

Leave a comment if you think the story should be developed further or left at this stage.  Suggestions for filling in any of the blanks would be welcome.

Non-Sequitur

I regularly peruse the Sunday comics for quick laughs and a bit of nostalgia from my younger days of fighting family members to see who got to them first.  Just over a week ago Wiley Miller published an offer to his readers to write their own story.  The sheer variety of characters displayed and variety of terrains gave me the idea of a meeting of people that can travel between parallel universes in the multiverse.

The time for the meeting of the Multiverse Traveler's League had arrived at last. This is a chance for individuals, groups, and civilizations that have managed to acquire the ability to cross between parallel universes to gather together. Some travelers use technology, others take advantage of focused mental discipline and mental energies to break the barriers between worlds. A handful even managed to accidentally trip between worlds without any effort at all. Regardless of the method used for traveling between all the facets of the multiverse, everyone that can reach the meeting location is invited to attend.

The gathering took place every 25 years on a different planet in a different universe. This time around it was to be hosted on a terraformed moon of Saturn in a universe designated as 7775-349x10.012/Acorn. The gaseous planet with its rings and multiple moons rising over the horizon gave attendees of the meeting a spectacular view, regardless of the range of their visual spectrum.

Terraforming of the moon had been completed just for this trans-universal event. Environments had been developed for the comfort of attendees from multiple planets and evolutionary chains. Humid jungles rose up next to giant seas. Methane pools bubbled near barren deserts. The frozen peaks of giant mountains soared into the skies, piercing clouds of freezing nitrogen. Plains of ice and frozen grasses lay under a layer of crystalline snow. Everything that could make any kind of being comfortable was put in place.

Areas and routes had been laid out for a multitude of transportation methods and devices. Boats cut through the surf to reach platforms for their captains to disembark. Tracks had been laid for those wishing to arrive via train. No method of travel was too elaborate or too simple for those that crossed from one universe to another. The security forces even had their own custom floating blimps that moved easily in the medium gravity and minimal atmospheric winds.

While bipedal beings that walked upright were the most common members of the MTL, they were not the only evolved beings that had appeared by far. Long sea serpents swam through oceans that teemed with other life, then moved to worlds with seas covered in a planet-wide sheet of ice. Birds with wings as thin as tissue paper glided on breezes over planets as numerous as their feathers. Giant intelligent bears soaked up the sun that beat down on their fur from as many suns as they could find.

There was no lack of events and occurrences at the meeting. Explorers take advantage of audiences to expand on new discoveries made and unusual variations on recognized planets that were stumbled upon. Panels are formed for to aid new adventurers in increasing the efficiency of their method for getting from one universe to the next, whether it be via technological device or thought power. Representatives of different groups and organizations gathered together to discuss various rules and regulations and develop laws to govern the members of the MTL. This last group was generally the least productive and still most entertaining to watch.

All of these different beings from various worlds and universes arrived via numerous methods to this customized moon. Their ultimate goal being a golden pyramid transmitting a powerful light into the sky under and inside which they would all socialize and speak of their shared abilities to cross the unbreakable barriers that separate one universe from another.

If the link above didn't work, here is the comic itself to inspire a story of your own.