Characters | Teen Ink

Characters

July 14, 2011
By CarrieAnn13 GOLD, Goodsoil, Other
CarrieAnn13 GOLD, Goodsoil, Other
12 articles 10 photos 1646 comments

Favorite Quote:
"I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by." --Douglas Adams

"The object of life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane." --Marcus Aurelius


Have you ever wondered why your perfect plans are shattered? Why a seemingly perfect romance ended? Why good luck strikes at strange times? Why life seems like a bunch of meaningless chaos?

There is a very simple answer to all of these questions. We were created by an ancient race of aliens and are nothing but characters in their stories, created to alleviate their boredom.

As soon as they are old enough to write, they are given a computer software program and a manual with only the most basic rules of their writing universe. In order to create a new character, they must collaborate with other aliens to make sure two human parents give birth to a child. This child will be under their control from the moment it is born until the moment it dies.

You are always subject to the whims of your creator. Everything you say, everything you do is controlled by them. Usually, the aliens have jotted down things they want to happen during your lifetime. But some aliens detest this and make random decisions as to where your life will go. This is where chaos comes from.

Our planet is relatively new, but the aliens have become bored with it. The best writers among them have declared that the Earth is a cliché, boring universe. They have decided they want to write in a new, more exciting world, so they have taken a special vote. It was this vote that decided how our world will end.

“Why don’t we let a black hole swallow their planet?”

“Nah, we’ve done that already.”

“What if the Earth spontaneously combusts?”

“That’s way too cliché!”

“Okay, why don’t we knock their planet out of orbit and send it crashing into the sun?”


“That’s a stupid idea.”


“Fine. How about we give all their world leaders bad cases of paranoia and see what happens?”

“Sure. Why not?”

And so, our world will not end with a bang, but with slow decay. Our increasingly paranoid world leaders will declare war on each other and humanity will slowly die out. But, since the aliens lost all interest in us, we have gained something we never had before: free will. It is now up to us to decide our fates—and the fate of our planet.


The author's comments:
This was just a random idea that sprang into my head a few days ago. Feedback is greatly appreciated!

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This article has 330 comments.


on Mar. 6 2012 at 4:49 pm
CarrieAnn13 GOLD, Goodsoil, Other
12 articles 10 photos 1646 comments

Favorite Quote:
"I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by." --Douglas Adams

"The object of life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane." --Marcus Aurelius

Thanks for the detailed feedback!

Regia SILVER said...
on Mar. 6 2012 at 1:41 pm
Regia SILVER, Greenville, South Carolina
7 articles 1 photo 37 comments

Favorite Quote:
You laugh because I'm different, I laugh because you're all the same.
We're only young once, but with humor we can be immature forever.
If you're going to get into trouble for hitting someone, you might as well do it hard.
After a game, the king and the pawn go in the same box.

This was an absolutely BRILLIANT, and I mean brilliant, story idea, but you definitely need to work on making it more of a story than just telling us what happened. This style is good for some things, like writing essays, but I think that maybe you should try a more "taking the reader to the scene and letting them see it for themselves" approach. If you don't want to do this, it's your own story, and it's really good just the way it is, but just as something to think about. Other than that, as others have said before, this whole idea just kinda blew my mind. It's very interesting, indeed.

on Mar. 4 2012 at 12:58 am
CarrieAnn13 GOLD, Goodsoil, Other
12 articles 10 photos 1646 comments

Favorite Quote:
"I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by." --Douglas Adams

"The object of life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane." --Marcus Aurelius

Thank you! :)

on Mar. 3 2012 at 11:43 pm
SpreadUrWingzNFly BRONZE, Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania
4 articles 0 photos 20 comments
Wow, that totally just blew my mind

on Mar. 3 2012 at 4:50 pm
CarrieAnn13 GOLD, Goodsoil, Other
12 articles 10 photos 1646 comments

Favorite Quote:
"I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by." --Douglas Adams

"The object of life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane." --Marcus Aurelius

Thanks for commenting!

on Mar. 3 2012 at 2:39 pm
TheLiberalist BRONZE, Briarcliff Manor, New York
1 article 0 photos 4 comments

Favorite Quote:
"A man who does not think for himself does not think at all" -Oscar Wilde

Brilliant!!! 

on Feb. 29 2012 at 7:56 am
CarrieAnn13 GOLD, Goodsoil, Other
12 articles 10 photos 1646 comments

Favorite Quote:
"I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by." --Douglas Adams

"The object of life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane." --Marcus Aurelius

Thank you very much! :)  But I'm not going to expand on it.

on Feb. 27 2012 at 8:15 pm
CassieTheSpartan, Blue Springs, Missouri
0 articles 0 photos 1 comment

Favorite Quote:
He who fights with monsters should look to it that he himself does not become a monster. And when you gaze long into an abyss the abyss also gazes into you.- Fredrick Nietzsche

Wow, This was indeed a wonderful idea. You should expand on it, really there is so much depth waiting to be written here. I have to say great great piece of writing. :) I can't wait to see if you take it farther. :D

on Feb. 23 2012 at 2:04 am
CarrieAnn13 GOLD, Goodsoil, Other
12 articles 10 photos 1646 comments

Favorite Quote:
"I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by." --Douglas Adams

"The object of life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane." --Marcus Aurelius

Thanks so much for your thoughtful comment! :)  I was going for a comical beginning, but a somewhat serious ending with some meaning to it.  That's just how I write; I try to add humour, but with a meaning.

on Feb. 17 2012 at 5:23 pm
rockhead BRONZE, Albuquerque, New Mexico
1 article 7 photos 2 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it"
Ferris Bueller/Matthew Broderick

This is a really nice piece. I love the little blub idea. Give this idea to anyone and it can go far and I like where you took it. The end is what made me like it so much. It seemed comical in the beginning but then became serious and it pointed out what our world is coming to and tests people to do something.

on Feb. 13 2012 at 8:05 am
CarrieAnn13 GOLD, Goodsoil, Other
12 articles 10 photos 1646 comments

Favorite Quote:
"I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by." --Douglas Adams

"The object of life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane." --Marcus Aurelius

No, it's not creepy at all! :) I'm glad you enjoy my work so much.

on Feb. 13 2012 at 2:16 am
GingerLily BRONZE, Aulnay-sur-Mauldre, Other
3 articles 6 photos 78 comments

Favorite Quote:
"A dreamer is one who can only find his way by moonlight, and his punishment is that he sees the dawn before the rest of the world" - Oscar Wilde

I'm sorry for being creepy and commenting on all your work, but you're just so good xD This piece really made me laugh and think of the show Ancient Aliens that comes on the History Channel. That and The Matrix. Yeah, really good piece.

on Feb. 7 2012 at 8:00 am
CarrieAnn13 GOLD, Goodsoil, Other
12 articles 10 photos 1646 comments

Favorite Quote:
"I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by." --Douglas Adams

"The object of life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane." --Marcus Aurelius

Thanks for taking the time to comment! :) I'm sorry to say I'm not expanding upon this idea, though. It's just a one-time thing.

on Feb. 6 2012 at 11:31 am
Alexxxxx BRONZE, Waukesha, Wisconsin
1 article 0 photos 2 comments
Cool idea! It made me think about what it would be like for a person to meet the alien that controls him or her. I like the ending - very dramatic and abrupt. You should write more!!!

on Jan. 30 2012 at 5:43 pm
CarrieAnn13 GOLD, Goodsoil, Other
12 articles 10 photos 1646 comments

Favorite Quote:
"I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by." --Douglas Adams

"The object of life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane." --Marcus Aurelius

Thank you very much! :)

on Jan. 30 2012 at 1:48 pm
readaholic PLATINUM, Tomahawk, Wisconsin
27 articles 0 photos 425 comments

Favorite Quote:
I'd rather fail because I fell on my own face than fall because someone tripped me up
~Jhonen Vasquez

Awesome idea. I mean, it's terrifying, but it's really interesting. Great piece of writing!

on Jan. 21 2012 at 11:32 am
CarrieAnn13 GOLD, Goodsoil, Other
12 articles 10 photos 1646 comments

Favorite Quote:
"I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by." --Douglas Adams

"The object of life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane." --Marcus Aurelius

Thanks for commenting!

jojo3 said...
on Jan. 20 2012 at 4:53 pm
jojo3, Saint John, Indiana
0 articles 0 photos 1 comment

Favorite Quote:
Live like you'd die tomorrow; dream like you'd live forever.

This was a very interesting concept that really got me thinking, and the ending was partly plausible. There's a good chance that IS how our world could end, and i liked how all the events in the story basically led up to that. awesome!

on Jan. 18 2012 at 12:08 pm
CarrieAnn13 GOLD, Goodsoil, Other
12 articles 10 photos 1646 comments

Favorite Quote:
"I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by." --Douglas Adams

"The object of life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane." --Marcus Aurelius

Thanks for commenting! :) But no, I'm not expanding on this.

on Jan. 18 2012 at 8:35 am
LittleFlutiePie GOLD, Greeneville, Tennessee
10 articles 0 photos 25 comments

Favorite Quote:
I didn't build the wall to keep people out; I built it to see who cared enough to climb over it.

I didn't think I'd like it when you said aliens controlled us. But this was actually pretty neat. you should expand on it, make some human characters, maybe have on of them crazy enough to realize the truth. Really cool :)