Sapheron
Making no sense.
- Joined
- Nov 9, 2006
- Messages
- 850
Well, I felt like posting a synopsis to see what some other guys and gals thought.
My story, at least the one I’m working on now, is a sci-fi tale. I’d think it would count as an action, but elements of a thriller are in there too. It is partly serious, though many themes and occurrences, even characters, are more for comedy value than for any real drama.
The story is based around the crew of a ship, imaginatively called The Ship, by those aboard, to avoid using the embarrassingly tame name it bears officially. This name was granted by The Chief, a load, arrogant and charismatic figure who is also one of the few remaining members of a now largely forgotten race of super-humans, for want of a better term. The crew is a mixture of, as far as I could make them, unique characters, including a kleptomaniac midget, your stereotypical mad scientist and an impossibly lucky, not to mention mad, Irishman. This grouping travel about in their ship, one of many groups branded as pirates by the official nations, and engage in whatever scheme they can be bothered with that involves making money. Their often ill-gotten gains go into food and drink, and not a little ammo, so that they can do it all over some other time. They have no overarching purpose, they’re simply a group held together by friendship and the fact that even this living is better than most humans get. They mainly stay in the lawless zones in order to avoid the government forces, but aren’t afraid to go anywhere they feel like either.
The universe itself is similarly shabby. Technology is, in most places, barely above that of Earth in real life, and in some cases below. Only the government controlled regions are the utopia’s found in IP’s such as Star Trek or Star Wars, and most of the rest is more akin to the American Wild West; basically every man for himself. Empires and nations rise and fall daily, and pirates are often employed as mercenaries, bounty hunters, escorts or messengers by local chiefs and kings. Rather than scanning a piece of kit, you are more likely to hit it with a spanner, and rather than fire a stun gun, you’d use an uzi or a grenade. Weapons, especially, are still conventional, bar in the utopian militaries. Faster than light travel does exist, but is limited to large ships, such as the one my story is about. Indeed, although only carrying about twenty people, the ship is over one hundred metres long.
The actual story follows the past of The Chief, and his battle brothers, of the same race as him, who consider him a traitor. After a brief run in and a single dead man, The Ship seems to be in the clear. The crew soon enlist themselves on a quest to find Earth, the legendary origin of the universe, but are quickly sidetracked and forget about it as The Chief’s old friends begin to appear again. After a game of cat and mouse across a whole spiral arm, and a series of small skirmishes, the story comes to a climax in a final showdown, in true cinematic style. After a period of immense luck, underdogs pulling through, and all the rest, the crew come away walking, for the most part at least, and the enemy do not- also for the most part.
Sub plots include deciding whether or not to continue the search for the origin of the galaxy, the integration of the new crew member with the rest of the ship, discovering the origins of The Ship itself, curing the midget of his kleptomania, a couple of romances and fixing The Ship’s engine so it won’t break down again next week.
The ending, of course, will be left without tying up the Earth thread line, to allow, if possible, for a sequel, however silly a thing that might be for me to say, as I probably won’t even finish the original story.
My story, at least the one I’m working on now, is a sci-fi tale. I’d think it would count as an action, but elements of a thriller are in there too. It is partly serious, though many themes and occurrences, even characters, are more for comedy value than for any real drama.
The story is based around the crew of a ship, imaginatively called The Ship, by those aboard, to avoid using the embarrassingly tame name it bears officially. This name was granted by The Chief, a load, arrogant and charismatic figure who is also one of the few remaining members of a now largely forgotten race of super-humans, for want of a better term. The crew is a mixture of, as far as I could make them, unique characters, including a kleptomaniac midget, your stereotypical mad scientist and an impossibly lucky, not to mention mad, Irishman. This grouping travel about in their ship, one of many groups branded as pirates by the official nations, and engage in whatever scheme they can be bothered with that involves making money. Their often ill-gotten gains go into food and drink, and not a little ammo, so that they can do it all over some other time. They have no overarching purpose, they’re simply a group held together by friendship and the fact that even this living is better than most humans get. They mainly stay in the lawless zones in order to avoid the government forces, but aren’t afraid to go anywhere they feel like either.
The universe itself is similarly shabby. Technology is, in most places, barely above that of Earth in real life, and in some cases below. Only the government controlled regions are the utopia’s found in IP’s such as Star Trek or Star Wars, and most of the rest is more akin to the American Wild West; basically every man for himself. Empires and nations rise and fall daily, and pirates are often employed as mercenaries, bounty hunters, escorts or messengers by local chiefs and kings. Rather than scanning a piece of kit, you are more likely to hit it with a spanner, and rather than fire a stun gun, you’d use an uzi or a grenade. Weapons, especially, are still conventional, bar in the utopian militaries. Faster than light travel does exist, but is limited to large ships, such as the one my story is about. Indeed, although only carrying about twenty people, the ship is over one hundred metres long.
The actual story follows the past of The Chief, and his battle brothers, of the same race as him, who consider him a traitor. After a brief run in and a single dead man, The Ship seems to be in the clear. The crew soon enlist themselves on a quest to find Earth, the legendary origin of the universe, but are quickly sidetracked and forget about it as The Chief’s old friends begin to appear again. After a game of cat and mouse across a whole spiral arm, and a series of small skirmishes, the story comes to a climax in a final showdown, in true cinematic style. After a period of immense luck, underdogs pulling through, and all the rest, the crew come away walking, for the most part at least, and the enemy do not- also for the most part.
Sub plots include deciding whether or not to continue the search for the origin of the galaxy, the integration of the new crew member with the rest of the ship, discovering the origins of The Ship itself, curing the midget of his kleptomania, a couple of romances and fixing The Ship’s engine so it won’t break down again next week.
The ending, of course, will be left without tying up the Earth thread line, to allow, if possible, for a sequel, however silly a thing that might be for me to say, as I probably won’t even finish the original story.
