WorldCrafter's Assignment 5

by A. Robin Bausman

Assignment 5 has two parts. The first part is a generic skeleton. As a test, I threw in two "morphs" of the generic version on the end (can’t morph à not generic enough). The second part is my take on the generic version, with details thrown in to make the story "my own". Finally, since I know people are going to cry "FOUL!" over Gens ambushing Simes – I put in a more detailed paragraph on the "Opening Scene" at the very end. Under the right circumstances, Gens can ambush Simes….

PART A: Generic Version

Protagonist: Guardian - Guardian defines self as the guardian who saves life – saving life is central to Guardian’s character.

Antagonist: Conservative Guarded

External Conflict: Being against Being: (1) Guarded vs. Enemy/Other; (2) Guardian vs. Conservative Guarded

NOTE: in this conflict, "unknown other"/misunderstanding is not the issue – the majority of these Enemies/Others really DO kill the Guarded. "Unknown other" is a different plotline.

Internal Conflict: Save lives by killing vs. Save more lives a better way, without killing

Bone of contention: Life or lives of an Enemy or small group of Enemy

Opening Scene: Experienced Guardian ambushes and captures Enemy. Guardian takes Enemy back to safe base to interrogate Enemy and get information that will allow Guardian to save more of Guarded.
Guardian interrogates prisoner(s) at base. Enemy "TELLS" Guardian of better way to save more lives without killing. Guardian does not believe but still keeps Enemy alive, planning to use (story dependent, time-limit imposing detail) against Enemy to get information to save more Guarded lives.
Conservative Guarded objects – wants Enemy killed immediately to minimize risk to Guarded. Guardian counters that the risk to Guarded is temporary and worth potential benefit that will protect more Guarded. Local Authority agrees with Guardian. Enemy stays alive a little longer as a result.
Enemy "SHOWS" truth "TOLD" on initial capture – does something that saves Guarded lives but impacts the time-limit (risk to Guarded no longer "temporary"). Guardian changes position on necessity of killing this Enemy.
Conservative Guarded insists Enemy be killed – continued presence not worth continued risk. Local Authority agrees with Conservative Guarded. Guardian defies authority and protects Enemy.
Middle: Local Authority revokes Guardian’s privileges/position.
Guardian protects Enemy again in spite of that. In the process, Enemy is put in a position to "SHOW" truth again, but the situation this time involves Somebody Important to Local Authority. As a result of "SHOWING", Enemy is put in danger (Guardian can no longer protect Enemy). Guardian petitions Local Authority to ensure safety of good Enemy.
Conservative Guarded moves against Guardian and threatens Local Authority with Higher Authority. Local Authority vacillates.
Guardian secures alliance with Somebody Important as a result of "SHOW" above.
End: Guardian and allies (with Local Authority’s tacit approval) ensure safety of good Enemy.

MORPHS:

Contemporary Action/Adventure: Guardian is a Federal Marshall; Conservative Guarded is a "by-the-book" superior. Local Authority is the superior’s superior. The Enemy is a "Mafia Prince" running to escape forced "join the family business" who knows too much for his family to let him go. The "time-limiting detail" could be Prince’s testimony at an upcoming drug trial (no testimony, no Witness Protection Program). The "TELL/SHOW" where Prince proves he is worthy of protection could be selected information to foil a bombing at a crowded public place, escaping Marshall to defuse bomb when Prince is not believed, saving someone’s life at the expense of his anonymity (makes the evening news so his relatives can find him now), etc. [It’s still the Marshall’s story because the Marshall is the one who has to protect/act – Prince cannot save himself.] The "risk" Conservative Guarded et al try to minimize is being around Prince while his relatives try to kill him and anyone who’s been near him (that might now know something). Also, in this version, Guardian/Local Authority would not actually "kill" Enemy – they would just stand by and do nothing while Prince’s own family killed him.

SF: The Guardian is a starship Captain patrolling the boundary between Terran Space and the Evil Aliens. Conservative Guarded is a space station commander; and Local Authority is the Sector Command. The captured Aliens are rebels fighting against their ruling order (that declared Terrans dinner, sub-sapient, etc. and declared open season on all Terran ships in their space). The prisoner group is mixed species (including at least one human among the majority Aliens). "Time-limit" detail could be a nutritional supplement from a plant; any Alien biology detail will do. "TELL/SHOW" sequence could be an Alien dying to protect their human from a hysterical mob on the space station, the Aliens saving the space station from Alien technology the Terrans accidentally activate while studying it (in the process using up all of their nutritional-supplement plant – they’ll die now if they are not allowed to go home), etc. [Again, it’s still the Captain’s story, because Captain has to protect/act so the Aliens are still alive to do anything: their actions are results of the Captain’s "save most lives" because chain. The Captain acts consistently in whatever direction Captain sees the most lives saved, long term.]

PART B: My Version/Specific Story

Protagonist: Gen Border Patrol Captain

Antagonist: Conservative Gen

External Conflict: Man against Man: (1) Gen vs. Sime; (2) Captain vs. Conservative Gen & vigilantes

Internal Conflict: Save lives by killing vs. Save more lives a better way, without killing

Bone of contention: Lives of the two Householders and the young changeover channel

Opening Scene: Veteran Gen Border Patrol Captain and his troop ambush a group of Simes, capturing one Sime and a "Judas Gen" with the Simes. The Captain takes the two back to Gen fort for interrogation, despite the risk of keeping the Sime alive, because the knowledge the Gens get could allow Captain to foil upcoming Sime raids and save more Gen lives (worth the risk).
Captain interrogates prisoners. The prisoners spin an unbelievable tale of a place where Simes and Gens live together without fear, some kind of "Householding". Captain does not believe them ("TELL") but plans to use their biology against them to get confession/more information from them ("story-type detail" – in Sime~Gen, the Sime’s monthly need cycle drives the timing).
Conservative Gen wants them killed now – they haven’t told anything useful and keeping the Sime alive is too risky. The Judas Gen has to be executed for his heinous crimes as a deterrent to others. The Captain appeals to the Town Council – it’s only a month, after all. The Town Council agrees, grudgingly. The lives that will be saved with more knowledge about raids are worth the temporary risk.
The Judas Gen survives transfer, as advertised. The prisoner pair proves ("SHOWS") the truth of their way. The Captain is dumbfounded – can this fantasy, this "Householding" where no one "turns out wrong" and gets killed be real? No one died. Conservative Gen is furious. No one died.
Conservative Gen demands that the two prisoners be executed – it’s been more than a month. Town Council agrees, by a slim majority. The Captain refuses. If these two are not killers – then killing them is wrong, no matter what the law says. Loyal troop members back him up, and they face down a vigilante mob led by Conservative Gen.
Middle: Spurred on by Conservative Gen, the Town Council suspends Captain. (Captain loses official guardian status)
Captain takes action to protect the pair even without his "guardian status" (moves the Householders to a location less conducive to lynching, etc.). During this, the Sime spots a child in the first stages of changeover and pleads to be allowed to "channel" child through changeover. Captain allows it – child survives. Child is only grandchild of a Town Founding Father (TFF).
Child is a channel, too. The Householder Companion cannot serve both channels. The Householder Channel’s secondary store of selyn is depleted. If the three remain prisoners, someone dies within the month. On evidence of two people living (who should be dead), the Captain argues with the Town Council to release the three on the border. Conservative Gen argues hotly against it, threatening legal action if the Town does any such thing. Council dithers but cannot bring themselves to support this (on record, in writing).
Captain persuades TFF to visit grandchild-new-channel. TFF and grandchild reconcile. TFF allies publicly with Captain. Town and Council opinion shifts back against killing the Householders and the new Sime who was so recently one of their own.
End: Captain arranges the prisoners’ "escape", aided by most of the Town and Council’s tacit approval/deliberately blind eyes/strategically distracted Conservative Gen (who cannot prove anything since nothing is on record).

End of exercise

Details beyond the scope of the exercise:

This story was inspired by this workshop – Sandra Gray’s "Salvation" in Assignment 1 and comments and discussions in the list posts - How could you convince Mother and other Gen Border Villagers that there really is a place where Simes do not kill? And the uncountable tragedies that will be immortalized in Zhag and Tonyo’s song are as poignant to the wild Gens as to the junct Simes in Territory…. My "Companion/Channel" pair are also brother/sister, but their story is too long and complicated for this beginner’s exercise. Big Brother is in his early twenties, and Little Sister is just a few months old – a new channel not out of her First Year. That’s too much detail for the outline but is another "sympathy mechanism" that hooks the Captain’s protection (in the fantasy "Householding", no one "turns out wrong"). Also, by using the brother/sister relationship, the Gen frontier society’s prudish morals are not invoked – one less complication (I’m trying to keep this one short enough for a short story)….

Expanded Opening Scene: Gen Border Patrol group is out on patrol. A report of Simes seen nearby has brought the troop out to defend border. Veteran Captain sees a dust trail over the ridge – knows lay of the land, arranges a quick ambush with Gens hiding behind large rocks above a pass. Three figures on horseback charge into the pass, galloping madly on lathered horses. Captain holds the Gens' fire – expertly judging the dust trail behind and the trio’s panicked flight. Another group of Sime riders comes into the pass, shouting triumph as they catch sight of the runners. It all happens at once: The third, lagging rider of the trio draws rein, wheeling her horse to lunge back at the oncoming group, screaming defiance in a suicidal rush to delay the pursuers and allow her comrades to escape. "Now." Shots ring out, several riders fall (including the third of the trio), and the former pursuers plunge in chaos. The second of the trio cries out, would have turned back, but the lead rider grabs her reins and tries to flee the trap. The Captain shoots the 2^nd rider’s horse and then that of the 1^st when he turns back to rescue the fallen rider. The Captain keeps the pair pinned behind a rock while the other Gens shoot the remaining Simes trapped in the pass below, until nothing moves but a few riderless horses. The carnage is revolting but necessary to protect the lives of the people living near the border. The Captain assigns most of the troop to maintain vigil while he and several others go down to glean any intelligence from the bodies and collect their prisoners for interrogation. All this activity can only mean a Sime raid is imminent. When they approach the pinned pair, they are disgusted to see that the larger, the lead rider who had tried so hard to flee, is a cowardly Judas Gen – a Gen who collaborates with the murderous Simes to save his life by betraying his own kind to terrible death. And the smaller form he so desperately tries to shield with his body is a Sime.

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