3/24/2022
Disclaimer: There will be typos probably, I’m typing fast and just letting my mind go crazy.
Welcome to the fourth entry of my blog where I discuss the development of the story I’m currently writing, Saviors of Novus. These entries are a place for me to ramble on about the details of my story, and also so I can sort of vent my creativity without having to worry about sentence structure and other aspects of writing a well thought out story. Simply put, I sometimes need to write without thinking, if that make any sense. Now, onward to the actual entry!
One of the most important foundations to this story are the people of Novus. Once they were colonists, now they’re citizens of an advanced space faring civilization who developed lightyears away from Earth on their own. This separation from Earth means their development, ideals, values, and culture are going to be vastly different than ours, and that’s only natural; but when you add a few materialistic extremists to the mix, then even more should be considered.
A people, the Novusions in this scenario, don’t change overnight. It takes time for them to evolve over time as they grow, advance, and learn. Unless something drastic, whether it be something objectively good or bad, accelerates their development in one direction. These unknown or unexpected outside influences that can cause such a change, can be a natural event or phenomenon; or it can be an individual or group of individuals that guide the fate of their people. In their case, it’s the latter.
From the beginning, the colonists of Novus were fated to evolve into a nation purely built upon scientific reasoning with ideals deeply rooted in materialism. The process of becoming such a people would not be without its growing pains, which is where some of the key moral lessons come into play; each story has them, and these are where mine shall reside.
Being the first colony on another planet in another star system, certain precautions were set in place to ensure total control over the colony’s needs. This meant strict laws were set in place for food and water production and consumption, and for procreation. Breaking any of these laws meant you were putting the rest of the colony in danger, and so harsh punishments await those who break such laws.
I have previously stated in other entries that my story aims to inspire, encourage, and paint a beautiful yet frightening picture of our universe. However, this includes humanity itself. We are capable of so much. Love, beauty, art, music, compassion, and mercy are some of these, and I intend to infuse my story with all of those. To contrast these characteristics, there will also be a cold malice. Decades of conditioning from colonial life, will transform the people into ones who only value one thing, the survival of the colony at all costs. Well what does this mean? Well, it means that extreme responses to all threats are in order, even if one of these threats were to arise from within the colony itself.
The first colonists, those who were born on Earth, valued their home despite leaving it far behind. This also meant some still retained strong beliefs and values that the leaders of the colony wanted to leave behind as well. Their children, who were the first generation to be born on Novus, knew nothing of Earth and what is was like. Imagine not knowing anything of Earth, just try, try to forget all the cultures, various beliefs, political views, music, art, everything. Imagine being in the dark of space with only the knowledge of your current home, and that it must be protected and kept alive at all costs. This new generation became resentful of their parents and of their stories and old beliefs. They did not understand how they could be so emotional about something so far away, and still cling to whatever piece of it they had left; but how could they understand? They couldn’t, no matter how earnestly their parents tried to make them understand, and this was a result of their teachings by those who wished to rid Earth from their history.
This colonization effort was a private undertaking with assistance from various governments. What these governments did not understand was that this was largely an idealistic undertaking, rather than a simple effort to spread humanity across the galaxy. As best as it could be kept, a secret motivation was at play here by those who would first govern the colony, and by those who were funding the endeavor. Years upon years of government and corporate corruption lead to the culmination of a reaction. The corruption was the cause, and this new colonization effort was the effect. Each and every colonist was carefully chosen, as they would’ve been anyway. What allowed someone to be accepted into this journey was thought to be public knowledge, however, the recruiters had orders to select not only people with certain skills and trades, but with certain beliefs and values as well. This was not going to be an easy journey, nor an easy effort. To be sent so far away into the cold darkness of space, meant remarkable individuals would need to be selected who could endure the psychological hardships. These steep requirements became the perfect cover for the true intentions behind this endeavor.
What were these intentions you may ask? Don’t worry, this isn’t a spoiler, this is something that will become obvious fairly quickly in the story. These intentions were to leave the Earth behind completely. It was believed by some that in order for humanity to truly ascend, only the best minds who would most likely agree with this sentiment, would be accepted or chosen. This way, they could build something entirely free of Earth’s corruption and greed. This is why the colonists weren’t allowed to bring anything with them that could remind them of Earth. This mostly covered all forms of media, so movies, books, photos, music, and art. Obviously their scientific knowledge was fair game, but as far as their future generations were concerned, Earth and its people had no connection to the discovery of such knowledge. This is why it was so challenging for the first generation that was born on Novus to understand their parents who were born on Earth. This is why a schism formed, and their resentment nearly evolved into hatred, but this was not a naturally occurring event. It was coerced, subtly, by the leaders of the colony. They took their duty seriously, they wanted to expel all memories of Earth, to cleanse themselves.
This was an unfortunate time for those who so bravely left their home, to only be seen as keepers of the old ways despite leaving Earth to do just the opposite. Obviously not every Earthborn was treated this way, only a select group who were unable to let go of their roots entirely; such a thing, is a terribly difficult task. Once the Earthborn generation passed away, the people of Novus became stronger and unified under one purpose; to prosper. Once the capital city of Astrum was finished, and a strong ecosystem established, they too began to expand into the surrounding star systems. Despite such success and prosperity, it came at a price that the Novusion people were conditioned to ignore. The price was the erosion of their humanity. A slow methodical process, that would eventually spawn a heartless machine like people, at least those who solely dwelt in Astrum.
Those who were strongly conditioned lived within Astrum, and those who still retained some of their true humanity were those who voyaged between the stars, and that’s where Loy’s story comes in. A young man raised in Astrum, sent out into space with a rough and weathered crew who will teach him what it means to truly be human. It is on this journey he will discover himself and his purpose. These are a complex and troubled people, but they only focus on their accomplishments and not what it took to achieve them, they forget the aforementioned cost. Such unawareness, by design, will create plenty of opportunities for me to craft a diverse set of events with strong reasoning for their existence. It will be an interesting journey seeing how characters respond and grow through these events as they’re faced with challenges from every direction.
This has been a general overview of the Novusion people. To be honest, they won’t be as cold and heartless as I made them out to be. They will only seem this way when viewed on a grand scale, but when viewed individually, you will see how each one of them fights an internal battle as they’re faced with tough decisions. It is not entirely their fault, they were raised and taught to live this way, but it is the hope that within them a spark remains. Perhaps what needs to happen is for things to get worse, so their hearts can finally be made to feel again, and be inspired to fight for a future filled with better times.
Thank you for reading this entry. This one felt a lot more personal than the others. I hope I did my ideas justice, and that you enjoyed reading about them. My story aims to inspire, comfort, and to encourage each of us to make this world a better place. All it takes sometimes is a friendly hello, you never know, you truly never know what a difference a simple gesture can make. Until next time, have a good one!