The Alien that Could..nt.. (Need advice, shortish)

[GoldWyvern]

I will TRY to make this short.

I'm writing another story. This one a novel. This one I'm going to finish. I've already mapped out what's going to happen in the basic, I've already done a semi rough draft of a chapter to get an idea of how the characters sound, etc.. but I need a sounding board for an idea I had. My wife has already given her opinion but I don't do a good job of explaining it unless I write it down.

The idea, or element of the story, is the 'opposing race'. I wanted an alien race that was not so alien as to be a complete mystery, yet strange enough to be completely alien.



Ergo, we have Nameless Species 01: (no, really, I can't decide on a name)

They don't even have a physical appearance yet. What I do know about them is that they are sorta cheesy eco-friendly but in a menacing, interesting way.

Like us, they are individuals. They have their own cultures and subsects. What unifies the entire race is born from stories and beliefs from their ancient history. They believe that space, in itself, is alive. Not God, mind you, but a sort of form of mortal heaven would be the best way to describe it in human terms. Pure, untouched, and containing all the secrets of life.

They believe that if they were to disrupt that mortal heaven in any way, they would be denied the secrets. In that fashion, they take only what they need from space - mining is done as cleanly as possible, with minimum disruption. Ships are built that are quiet, black, blending in with the background. They coexist with the universe, instead of conquering it.

When they encountered another race for the first time, thousands of years ago, they did not comprehend that the ideology would be different. It wasn't as if they had any ill will towards the offending species, it just that that race wasn't treating their 'heaven' as they should, and therefore, they had to be removed. A decision was made to destroy them, and so they did, to save space from any further harm.

By 'modern day' this alien species I'm trying to create has since gotten the impression, after encounter after encounter, that they are the 'guardians' of the universe. They are slow learning, not quickly adapting, but after so much time they have become quite powerful.

When they discover humanity it would be an unfair fight. Human beings are very unadvanced, but they are also widespread and difficult to eradicate - especially since this unnamed species has very few resources in the area yet. Human beings are at another disadvantage, in that the new enemy is extremely patient, and unorthodox in that they attack targets that *seem* totally random.

In example, humans use something called 'RT Gates' to travel from one star to another. It would be militarily proper for the enemy to destroy X RT Gate.. and yet they don't. They stay by it for a few months and then depart, completely ignoring the inert space station there as well as the munitions stored within. Why?

I wanted to write this from both sides. The alien's side and the humans, with the reader knowing EXACTLY what is going on at all times, and watching as both sides make blunder after blunder.

As far as the alien species itself goes, anyone have any thoughts? Do you understand what I mean by the aliens? Do I need to explain it further, or less? What?

Yes, I know this is a 'in space' type Scifi thing, but myself and Needa came up with this many years ago, and I've tried again and again to write it according to both our ideas.. so deal with it

[Thenician]

Okay, I get it, I guess. First thing, now that I read your post, I'm interested, and now that I'm interested, you better finish it and get it published. Or I'll come find you!

Now, what's a sounding board? I should look that up first. Be right back.

[EDIT]

Other meanings
Sounding board is also a term used to describe a person whose opinion or reaction to some matter is sought.
- Wikipedia

I imagine that's the definition we're going for here. So I guess that leads me back to my original opinion. It sounds interesting, and I would pay for the finished product. My only question is this; What type of sci-fi future humanity are you planning to use? We've all seen our share of different fictional futures of the human race.

Though I guess it doesn't really matter since you're seeking an opinion about the aliens. So that matter alone, I give an A+.

[GoldWyvern]

First, thanks for replying! LOL, I like the A+, obviously!! Still, I'm a modest guy and I know I suck at this point, so the story will be rewritten a thousand times before I first submit it.

As to your question:

I decided to go with a human race that is futuristic but isn't too far away from ours modern day. There are still alliances and grudges across borders, even if everyone is trying to play 'nice'. Also, assumptions, and sometimes, outright racism. Still, they cooperate on the government level, the more 'educated' or high ranking people caring little about history.. or better at hiding it, anyhow.

When we start the story, the human race is at war with 'unknown alien'. They have BEEN at war already for over sixty years, because the enemy is unconventional - a few years of total peace, and then a sudden firestorm of death and destruction.. two more years of peace, and.. well, you get the point. This has caused a half-peace, half war environment.. since they have no idea when something is coming, and they can't possibly know if they need a huge military or a small one - or where to put them.

So the society is a fearful, guarded one. Everything is military minded - your personal vehicle is designed to be quickly turned over to military use, for instance, in the event of an attack. The poor live in less guarded regions, the rich live in more protected areas. People believe in arming themselves, for many factors.. some areas are 'Wild West', but most are perfectly safe save the constant threat of attack, of course. Paranoia of attack is rampant.

There are also many separate militias - most worlds have one, who 'cooperate' with the human 'universal' military, known as the UPDF. Those militias often have their own conflicts, between worlds.. much like today's countries do.

An *average* male or female (assume male here) would probably be lower middle class, live on one world all his life, and be just as likely to join the military as anyone today would. He would of however, received basic military training in school, and continued that education all his life. He would have a military determined specialty in the event of war, which might change as his education changes in civilian life. He is likely to own a gun, given to him by his parents.

Despite all that, and the fear of constant attack, he would most likely live on a world that is educated, has a good government, and his leaders would of been elected. There would be exceptions of course, but we're talking average.

[Thenician]

Right, so to the average civillian, these aliens would be almost like a boogeyman? Showing up at "seemingly" random times and places to cause mayhem.

Well then, I have some bad news. Now, not only do you not have a name for the aliens, but you'll also need names for what the humans call them. One scientific, one common, and possibly an arsenal of slang and derrogatory terms.

Oh, and before I forget, you'll also need at least one name for what the aliens call themselves. If the aliens made contact with humanity at least once, then the list could be much shorter, and make for easier reading. And writing. You did say that their not a complete mystery, but I'm just throwing it out there.

Like I said before, the idea in general, I like.

Now get to work.

And put my name on it!