So in this short story I'm writing, two lost roaming souls (nihilists in a way) are sitting in a park. One of them starts to believe in things, and care about things, except all in negative ways. He starts to resent everything. He resents everything so much, that he is having destructive tendencies. My plot problem is to describe how this roaming soul, can obtain the tools to be destructive. See they are almost on Buddhist levels, having no earthly possessions, but he suddenly snaps. So I'm thinking he will go on a murderous rampage, I'm just having trouble writing on how he would obtain a weapon. I'm thinking he will hitch-hike with a guy, kill him, and maybe find a gun or knife in his car? Any thoughts would be marvelous.
Well I guess he doesn't. But it seems the most realistic way to describe him going out on a murderous rampage.
In these situations, I think it's most likely to be the tool at hand. A nearby length of metal pipe, some torn fabric or electrical wire for strangling, a brick or sharpish rock. I imagine your guy's not crazy, per se, but if he's been without any real possessions up until now, I don't see spontaneous belief in something to be a factor that would change that (unless his newfound belief is the belief that possessions are totally legit.)
He could lash out at the driver in a fit of rage. The driver could then lose control of the car and die in the accident. The antagonist could then acquire a weapon from the car, such as a tire iron, or a 6 D battery Max-Lite police type flashlight.
If he is a soul then why is he limited to the physical? Just curious. Aren't there other methods? I don't really know anything about Buddhism though so I'm not exactly sure about what your definition of a soul is.. I'm only guessing based on context clues.
How about this: he uses something he found in the park to bludgeon a policeman to death. He steals his gun and starts a killing spree. He escalates, enters a gun shop, shoots the owner and grabs a rifle such as a DPMS Panther or Bushmaster AR/M16/M4 "civilian" copy.
Or he simply sticks to "found" weapons. A brick, a fist-sized rock, a spanner (wrench), whatever is laying around. He may even become excited by the violence of such attacks - the crunch of bone, the blood, the violent destruction of facial features. Your initial post emphasised destructive tendencies. He may get his thrill from literal destruction of his victims, destroying their identity and converting them to bloody carrion.
Getting into a sport shop, calmly buying a baseball bat and then smash she cashiers head could make cool scene, going from civilised cold controlled fury to burning hot murderous rampage
Being an exsistentialist/nihilist myself, it's hard for me to understand why/how a nihilist would suddenly go from nothing to something, as opposed to vice versa. That's beside the point of why an epiphany of objectivity would ellicit violence. Not to slander my brethren, but nihilism would seem to be more in line with a murderous rampage than.... something else. Well not exactly, but kind of. I guess I don't understand your premise all that well, or atleast enough to comment. Sounds plenty interesting tho!
hmm, can't imagine a true Buddhist going on a murderous rampage! I think if the guy perhaps misinterprets these ideals rather than represents them your story would work. Perhaps he gradually starts to lose his beliefs rather than just quickly over one afternoon while sitting on a bench. It would take longer than that for the kind of resentment you are talking about to build up. It sounds like an interesting character though. It is easy enough for someone to get hold of a weapon - he could steal something for example.
I don't think you read his comment. He wasn't talking about buddhists going on a rampage, he used the image of a buddhist as a metaphor for something. Something I don't think he fully understands - I say this as an ex-buddhist.
Try to think outside the box, almost anything can be used as a weapon. Take No Country for Old Men, the antagonist uses an oxygen tank. He puts the nozzle to their skull and presses the release button. The pressure causes part of the nozzle to go into their skull... Look it up on youtube, you'll probably understand it a lot better. The point is, you don't need to go with the norm.
This is a captive bolt pistol. It is used in slaughterhouses to render animals unconscious or kill them by destroying parts of the brain.
Not exactly, Anonym. It depends on the person's exact mindset. If he is a nihilist, he would be more likely to do something violent like that, because he does not attach meaning to his actions and therefore does not question his violent impulses. However, if an objective person believes in the act he is about to commit, he will feel that it will make a difference, while a true nihilist would decide that all the violence in the world would not change the world around him, or humanity. And please, Yeti, don't make the mistake of associating objectivity with religion or nihilism with atheism. I, for example, am an atheist, but I am also an individualist and objectivist; I believe that man gives himself meaning. Just an example. Getting back to the original question, there are innumerable ways that he could acquire a weapon. If someone wants to get a weapon, it's not hard, if they're motivated. That's like asking, "How would someone in the cold get warm?"
