The other day I read an article about a scientist who says the human race has, at most, 100 years left. I actually had a little *squee* burst forth from within. We are definitely in a shitstorm on this planet. Since Orlando, hardly a day has gone by without a mass shooting happening somewhere in the world... a mass shooter, bomber or whatever. It's strange to me how, almost never, is the perpetrator apprehended. Almost always they die from suicide or by being shot by police. Is it weird for me to think that's weird? I saw a documentary some months ago where an experiment was done to see if it was possible to use hypnosis to create a mercenary and it worked. They took a focus group of people and tried various tests and hypnosis on them, narrowing the group down until they were left with a few people. All but one backed out at the end. In the end, there was a situation where a "diplomat" would make an appearance and a hypnotic suggestion would be given. Then the hypnotized person would be given a particular suggestion in which they would carry out a list of orders, which included killing the diplomat. They were not told it was staged and believed the weapons given to them were very real. It had everything to make it seem real, down to the blood bags. One individual carried out the orders and didn't bat an eyelash after killing the diplomat. He also didn't remember doing it afterwards.
I often think about that when these mass shootings happen. It seems to be the same type of person that does it... History of spousal abuse and belligerence. General unhappiness and problems with their temper but never murdered anyone before. Then one day they just start picking off total strangers, one by one and finally off themselves. They have no known ties to any terrorists, groups or anyone dangerous on a watch list but will be tied to them anyway, keeping the cycle of violence, fear and control going.
So... I've been pondering over a story for months now. At first it started as a nod to the transgender community. Then it morphed into "What would I do if I had superpowers?" or "How would I handle this if I were a god?" I have a theory... If you have no control over a situation but you know just how you wish it would go, then write a story about it happening just exactly as you want it to. I can wipe out the entire human species that way, yet no one suffers. Since then, my story morphed into a book and it's already a series of 5 or 6 books. I haven't even started. I'm trying not to feel overwhelmed but I feel very inspired. The story in my head is very layered and complex. Not like George RR Martin kind of complex. I mean, hopefully I won't need an extra booklet just to keep the characters straight in my head, or the map of their world. I just wanted to create my own explanation of what's going on in the world, in a way that also takes me from it.
I ran the gist of it through a writer friend and she loves it. She can't wait to start reading it. I hope I don't disappoint.
No comments:
Post a Comment