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  1. TheeJoeyGirl

    TheeJoeyGirl New Member

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    What Would a World Dominated by Insane People Look Like?

    Discussion in 'Setting Development' started by TheeJoeyGirl, Dec 24, 2011.

    Ooh, I'm a bit nervous. This is my first thread here.

    So, my New Years resolution this year is to get focused on writing. I want to write a novel, something I've never attempted before.

    I had this idea of a world in which science has found a way to make offspring of two different species. (ie. a dog/cat baby). However, some of the experiments go wrong and some of the half human children are born with too many animal instincts and no human tendencies. They become too powerful, and because no one can fight them off, they go on a rampage and take over.

    My main character is one of the successful experiments, so the story is through her eyes. What kind of world do you think she would see? What would the crazies have done to the planet?
     
  2. AnonyMouse

    AnonyMouse Contributor Contributor

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    Hmm... that probably requires more inquiry into what these creatures want. If they truly are insane, I doubt they would band together and take over the world. A "takeover" generally requires that the usurping party (or parties) have some common goal in mind.

    I think what you really have here isn't a takeover, but a destruction of organized society. Anarchy, if you will. As for how that would look, I really don't know. The big question here is "what do they want?" What aspect(s) of the current world didn't appeal to them and caused them to revolt?

    Once you sort that out, you'll have a better undertanding of what values the new world is built upon.
     
  3. TheeJoeyGirl

    TheeJoeyGirl New Member

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    Wow, thank you!

    Yes, anarchy, that's the word I was looking for. I want it to be a world where government and society as an organized group has fallen apart because the creatures are too strong to be overpowered. Kind of like "I am Legend" with more characters and the disease is not contagious.
     
  4. Holden

    Holden New Member

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    A world dominated by insane people? The U.S. Congress, perhaps? :p
     
  5. Bob Stuart

    Bob Stuart New Member

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    Isn't the world insane already?
     
  6. Ettina

    Ettina Senior Member

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    I'd say it all depends what they're thinking. Insane people come in many different kinds.

    In your case, I'm guessing their thought process, and their desires and tactics and such, would be a mix between human and whatever animal they're crossed with. (If they had completely non-human minds, they'd be no threat - compared to other animals pretty much our only advantage is our brains, so they'd at best be just as dangerous as their animal half, and at worst much less so.) Maybe the wolf hybrids form a pack, while the cat hybrids don't understand teamwork but are crafty hunters and like to 'play' with their prey. I have a theory that morality is necessary for a functioning group, so solitary animals may have very limited morality - I don't think my cat has a moral code (but I love her anyways :) ). Combine that with predator instincts and human intelligence and you may find something pretty scary.
     
  7. TheeJoeyGirl

    TheeJoeyGirl New Member

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    Oooh Ettina, I like that! Predator instincts mixed with human intelligence...
     
  8. Tesoro

    Tesoro Contributor Contributor

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    probably not much different from what it looks like today ...
     
  9. Cacian

    Cacian Banned

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    Oops...haha.. true.
    Just thinking about it is hurting my head.
    I think insanity means no world is as simple as that.
    the world exist with sane people.
    Anything after that is chaos.
     
  10. iabanon

    iabanon New Member

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    the idea has been done, but you can do your own take. The Island of Dr Moreau.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Island_of_Doctor_Moreau

    the use of describing your characters as crazies is counter productive. you can't be disrespectful of your characters. you need to understand psychology of both humans and animals if you want to write a truly exciting book. or ditch that and write for youth. you can get away with a lot writing for children like stereotyping.
     
  11. shadowwalker

    shadowwalker Contributor Contributor

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    Yeah, it's not totally new idea, but then, what is? But don't care for the "crazies" and "insane", unless that's how you're planning on having your more ignorant fully-human characters refer to these creatures.
     
  12. TheeJoeyGirl

    TheeJoeyGirl New Member

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    Oh, I wouldn't dream of calling them crazies in the story. I have yet to give a name to them and that was the first word that popped into my head. I plan on calling them something more scientific and alot less disrespectful.

    Iabanon, thank you for the link. :)
     
  13. nhope

    nhope Member Reviewer

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    You should profile your main character. Being a science experiment the final result is genetically engineered for perfection. If they are born with too many animal instincts that really isn't crazy to them because that is what they are. They don't necessarily have to weigh 50 lbs or have 3 foot fangs, there just has to be more of them. Not having the gift of speech will also make something else stronger, whether they are faster, better climbers, or can tear someone apart. Keep the character true to dog/cat traits and enhance the engineering that went wrong. A scorpion stings because it's supposed to, whether it wants to or not is beyond reasoning.
     
  14. Fullmetal Xeno

    Fullmetal Xeno Protector of Literature Contributor

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    hahaha Especially what they are trying to do with SOPA. Anyway on topic, maybe a world enraged to kill another race and to exterminate them is how i picture a horrible world of insanity. Kind of like Hitler with the Jews.
     
  15. iabanon

    iabanon New Member

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    a scorpion stings when it's threatened or attacking food. that's completely reasonable. it does not sting without knowing it and for no reason. this goes for ALL ANIMALS. other creatures have not survived on this planet by being stupid and unreasonable. its just most people don't understand reasons. the flight instinct is very strong in prey animals. that's what some people call paranoia. but it is really a highly-tuned animal with excellent survival instincts. human and animal psychology is very complex and i've not seen much understanding of it on this forum. maybe research will help you write more convincing characters. though there's no need to become an expert. have fun with it! :)
     
  16. Burlbird

    Burlbird Contributor Contributor

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    Great idea, you should look into Philip Dick's novel:

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clans_of_the_Alphane_Moon

    The concept of the "society" in his story is basically that each mental disorder forms a unique "clan" which fights, in their unique style, for political dominance. Sort of... :)
     
  17. Steerpike

    Steerpike Felis amatus Contributor

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    When I saw the title to this thread I clicked on it to make this very same recommendation :)
     
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