I posted the same thread on Writers Beat, and I'm also gonna ask you guys for your opinon. Anyway, I've got this idea for a post-apocolypse novel. I'm thinking something along these lines: A Research team lands on Mars and finds Crystals in a hidden cave. They take the Crystals from the cave and bring them back to Earth. When they land on Earth, the Crystals crack open and a virus spreads around the world, killing of most of the population, apart from about 200 kids, who have been chosen by the "Aura" of the Crystals to lead Planet Earth into a new age. The Crystals give the kids special powers, and soon all hell breaks loose. So yeah, do you reckon that's a good enough reason for the End of the World, or yeah, is there a better reason of how I can kill off the worlds population. I want to stay away from Nuclear War, and I'll only use that as a last resort. So, all opinons are open.
Sounds pretty cool so far ^^ That being said, the only way to find out if it really works or not, is to start writing this thing. So I say good luck with it
The question comes down to back and/or forward story. You've made a blend of science and fantasy in that the crystals release a virus (very Andromeda Strain) and then the "aura" of the crystals holds back on 200 kids. So, these crystals seems complex in their motives and abilities. How did they come to be so? What are they? The remnants of a prior civilization? A prison of sorts? Who created them? Were they created by anyone?
Backstory will be revealled later in the novel, but The Crystals were a prison to hold a Virus that nearly wiped out an ancient civilization on Mars. (Of course I'll explain it in a lot more detail.)
Well, if this is the case, then still unexplained remains: 1) The motive behind the aura which keeps 200 kids alive. 2) Why the kids end up with super powers. 3) Why the Martian civilization didn't destroy the Virus outright. I pose these points to you in the spirit of helping you with your plot points.
First, I must point out what everyone is waiting for me to post: Having said that, when I hear Crystals (capitalized, no less!) and Auras, I immediately groan in dismay. Then your magical crystals commit genocide, and yet choose to make 200 superhumans, to lead ... whom? Everyone else is dead, right? And are all 200 kids worthy of this promotion? They all react well to suddenly acquiring great power? Now maybe my first impression is due to a poorly-presented summary, and the actual story is much stronger (see above). But you'll have to prove it, and the only way is to actually write it. Go forth, and write!
