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  1. Kevin Michael Gallant

    Kevin Michael Gallant New Member

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    These robots or those robots?

    Discussion in 'Plot Development' started by Kevin Michael Gallant, Jan 20, 2018.

    hi,
    First post here but I'm trying to develop a sci fi plot idea for a project I'm working on and wanted to bounce some ideas around and see what people think.

    I'm not a writer so bear with me here. Got two general ideas.

    1: ancient civilization on earth achieves space travel and encounters an invasive species of alien in space. the civilzation sacrifices themselves to silence and aliens and leave behind messenger robots to warn anyone else about the aliens. Over time the messenger bots become buried and hidden away.

    The story starts with the discovery of one messenger bot who was damaged in its excavation and cannot remember its purpose. Two researchers accidentally wake the bot from its sleep and begin an adventure of trying to help the messenger remember it's purpose, to stop more people from exploring space and encountering the aliens.

    (In the meantime, humans are advancing space travel and preparing for the first space launch to deeper space)

    2. A hidden ancient civilization of robots is dying out in the modern age. Their kind starts to grow old and desperate for saving. This causes some to venture out of hiding in search of hope but are discovered by humans who are scared and view them as dangerous and want to hunt them down.

    The story follows that of one robot who stumbles into two humans who are curious and want to help the robot to find a cure for its quickly dying off kind.


    i don't know. These are two general ideas and I'm having hard time sticking to one and deciding on one solid story.
    I'd be happy to hear what people think and any suggestions!

    Thank you
     
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  2. surrealscenes

    surrealscenes Senior Member

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    I think both have legs. For me, I would be mostly interested in how you handle the language barrier; how the robots end up communicating with humans now and how the tech that was used to create them can interface with our tech now.
     
  3. Wreybies

    Wreybies Thrice Retired Supporter Contributor

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    In a general kind of way, this sounds a lot like part of the scaffolding of Clarke's The City and the Stars. In his story, Alvin, the protag, discovers the lone remnant bot along with a ship but the bot's purpose of warning humanity of the dangers of exploring space is no longer valid because whatever it was that made humanity shrink back from the stars into the lone city of Diaspar (and also Lys) has long since vanished. Everywhere in space the bot and the ship take Alvin, he finds nothing but ruins and sterilized waste.

    This one doesn't remind me of any story I've read.

    It doesn't really matter, though, whether a story is reminiscent of something else or not. Don't let that be the deciding factor. Instead, think about what you want to say with your story and then pick the one that best serves as a vehicle for that message.
     
  4. zoupskim

    zoupskim Contributor Contributor

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    You said exactly what I was thinking.

    This is also why I think #1 would be more interesting to me, because I like that sort of story ancient messenger story, and would like to see your take on it. Star Trek did something like this too; the Enterprise finds a beacon of an ancient race that sadly learned they were the only sentient race in the galaxy at that particular eon, so they left remnants of their passing so they'd one day meet others.

    2 is neat too. I like the subversion of the usual "Evil robot" vs "Noble human" theme. Instead you have violent humans, and polite robots.
     
  5. Kevin Michael Gallant

    Kevin Michael Gallant New Member

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    I didn't even think about that but that could be very interesting. Just kind of assumed everyone would speak the same language but differing means of communication between them is brilliant. Thank you!
     
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  6. Kevin Michael Gallant

    Kevin Michael Gallant New Member

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    I'm not familiar with the piece. I'll have to take a look though, may find some interesting ideas or details.

    That's good advice. Haven't even thought about what I want the message to be. I'll have to think about that. May seem kind of shallow without. Thank you!
     
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  7. Kevin Michael Gallant

    Kevin Michael Gallant New Member

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    I'm glad you find them interesting. I'm also leaning more towards the first idea. I've spent a little more time Developing that idea. Since there seems to be many other similar stories I just don't want to seem like I'm copying them or simply remaking something though.
    I feel like i may have a better way to communicate a message through the second idea but not sure yet.
    Decisions, decisons.
    Thanks for the reply.
     
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  8. Wreybies

    Wreybies Thrice Retired Supporter Contributor

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    There will always be Many Other Similar Stories™, no matter what you do or write. That's why I was quick to say not to use that as your deciding factor, even though I was pointing out a similar story. More than anything I was trying to show that at least one of your ideas has a substructure I've read before and enjoyed what those elements brought to fruition. You could easily use the same substructure and take the story in a very different direction, with a different end-goal in mind.
     
  9. Kevin Michael Gallant

    Kevin Michael Gallant New Member

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    Solid point. I just don't want to write a story that people hear about and automatically assume it's just another star treck or the city in the stars.
    As a writer how much do you focus on audience reception? You obviously want to create something that you personally like but also something that others would enjoy.
    Thank you for the reply!
     
  10. zoupskim

    zoupskim Contributor Contributor

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    For this particular example I wouldn't worry about people thinking that you're plagiarizing or copying other works, because NASA has literally done this.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voyager_Golden_Record
     
  11. soupcannon

    soupcannon Active Member

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    1. noun; the act or process of locating.
    This story, based on your very brief summary, appeals to me more than the second, and raises a couple questions.

    Given that the alien race about whom the robots want to warn the humans hasn't outright invaded Earth, I assume they are not capable of living on our planet (thus necessitating humans to venture spaceward to come to them). Do they have agents on Earth (human or other-- maybe a corrupted messenger robot?) who have been guiding humanity toward stellar exploration so that the aliens could... do whatever it is they do with humans. Eat them? Absorb their minds to experience existence not bound to the void? Offer them exciting business opportunities in the interstellar version of AmWay?

    Ooh! Or are those aliens actually benevolent entities who want to free humanity from the oppression of the society that has been shaped by the legacy of the robots? Maybe the 'bots were intended as implements of domination, and they have ingrained human cultures with certain tendencies (psychological, cultural, or physiological) that preclude them from evolving into a space race. Maybe meeting those space aliens will actually put humans in touch with a greater congregation of alien species who work toward the betterment of all species in the cosmos!

    What kind of robots are they, anyway? Computer or biological? Something else-- maybe crystals and ancient sorcery? Given that they were specifically designed to relay a message to future civilizations, I assume they have been built with some kind of language, translation, or telepathy facility, but what would the mechanism be?

    Is this story set in the future or present? Or past? Who are the researchers? Was the discovery of the robot made public or kept secret? Is there any group or person interested in destroying the robot or suppressing its message?
     
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  12. Kevin Michael Gallant

    Kevin Michael Gallant New Member

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    Thanks for the reply. These questions really helped to get me thinking more.
     
  13. QueenOfPlants

    QueenOfPlants Definitely a hominid

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    I find the "ancient messenger" theme very compelling, but the first thing my mind sprang to was "warning against nuclear waste", not aliens.

    Not sure whether you're interested in this topic, Kevin, but there is indeed the problem of how to warn future humans against nuclear waste burrying sites, because languages and even the meaning of symbols change over time. A sign put up today might be completely unintelligible in a few thousand years.

    Now, an AI capable of learning the language and symbolism of another culture might be a way out. Somebody leaves a robot with a specialized learning software and whenever another sentient being comes close the robot gets activated, hinders the newcomer from entering the dangerous site, tries to communicate with them, learns their language and then explains to them about nuclear waste.
    (Or about the space equivalent of nuclear waste. Maybe it's another technology that nobody should get too close to.)

    So, in case the existence of that Clarke book discourages you from your original idea, maybe the you want to look into this.
     

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