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.


Mystiecub said...
on Aug. 3 2011 at 9:33 am
Lol, this kept me interested. Was this meant to be comical? I could imagine the aliens talking lolz

on Aug. 3 2011 at 12:24 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 Aug. 3 2011 at 12:16 am
Healing_Angel SILVER, Sydney, Other
8 articles 2 photos 509 comments

Favorite Quote:
Live for today, not for tomorrow

Still not really my style, but it  draws me in.... Great picture... 

on Aug. 2 2011 at 10:55 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

Okay.  I hope 'interesting' isn't code for 'terrible.' ;)

on Aug. 2 2011 at 10:42 pm
CheshireKat_95 BRONZE, Cambridge, Minnesota
2 articles 3 photos 28 comments

Favorite Quote:
"I do not want people to be very agreeable, as it saves me the trouble of liking them a great deal."
- Jane Austen, letter to Cassandra Austen, 24 December 1798

Hmm. An interesting view of things. I'm not sure what to think. I'll think on it and get back to you. :)

on Aug. 2 2011 at 8:07 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

born2bewriting: Sorry, I just noticed your comment!  Anyway, until I started writing for Teen Ink, I wasn't big on writing comedy.  But I guess my true style has come out.

And no, I don't think this is going anywhere.  It's just a random short story I decided to write for the heck of it.


on Aug. 2 2011 at 8:05 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! :)

on Aug. 2 2011 at 8:04 pm
Emma-Riley PLATINUM, No, Other
44 articles 0 photos 50 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Take my hand i give it to you, now you own me all i am, you said you would never leave me, i believe you, i believe..."
-Flyleaf

wow thats really interesting. i like the idea uve got. its really good... i like it

on Jul. 31 2011 at 1:36 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!  I've never read Under the Dome by Stephen King, so I can't say I was inspired by it.

on Jul. 31 2011 at 1:29 pm
born2bewriting BRONZE, Webster, New York
3 articles 0 photos 22 comments

Favorite Quote:
"The sky's the limit!"

oops i meant to make a new comment....oh well

on Jul. 31 2011 at 1:27 pm
born2bewriting BRONZE, Webster, New York
3 articles 0 photos 22 comments

Favorite Quote:
"The sky's the limit!"

okay this is the second article of yours im commenting on and i have to ask: are you a fan of comedy? this really made me laugh. i would say, if you were going to go on further with this storyline, (im not sure if you are, but IF) i would take a moment to slow down your speed of writing. if it's just for fun, like a one-time thing, don't worry about it. but whenever i read things like fan fiction or short stories, the writers tend to skim over detail and just burn through the plot. anyway, for a one-time thing, great work :) and congrats on your entry :)

Saysh PLATINUM said...
on Jul. 31 2011 at 1:13 am
Saysh PLATINUM, Brentwood, California
31 articles 1 photo 79 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Writing is a socially acceptable form of schizophrenia." ~E.L. Doctorow

This was great! It reminded me sort of Under The Dome by Stephen King. (great book by the way) It was funny, but also kind of scary, because it's totally something people could be super paranoid over. good work!

on Jul. 29 2011 at 12:37 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!  I don't believe the crap I wrote, though; all our decisions are our own.  Except when you need an excuse.  That's when you blame the aliens. ;)

on Jul. 29 2011 at 12:06 am
eram1029 BRONZE, Hialeah, Florida
1 article 1 photo 15 comments

Favorite Quote:
Human potential only goes as far as it is challenged.

i loved it, very interesting, kinda also puts the world in perspective. Technical: no grammatical errors, perfectly written Very creative :) it reminds me of a question I always ask myself, how much of our lives is determined by fate, and how much is determined by our own decisions..

on Jul. 28 2011 at 8:43 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!  I was inspired by complete boredom at work to write this. :)

on Jul. 28 2011 at 8:43 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

Aw, thanks!  :)

on Jul. 28 2011 at 6:41 pm
DaylightDarkness SILVER, Littleton, Colorado
9 articles 0 photos 102 comments

Favorite Quote:
Everyone's crazy. You know why? We all want to be normal. Well, we cant define normal, and, the people you can point at and say, well isn't he/she normal are rare. Doesnt that kind of defeat the pupose of normal? -My Friend

This is incredibly creative. Wow... Really wow. This is a sweet idea.

on Jul. 28 2011 at 9:05 am
VioletRoyal BRONZE, Lebanon, Indiana
3 articles 0 photos 26 comments

Favorite Quote:
"To be great takes time." - NK

This is awesome!  I love the idea of how aliens are doing this to us! Lol. You are an amazing writer, let me tell you that!

on Jul. 27 2011 at 1:28 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!  I aim to shock and surprise. ;)

on Jul. 27 2011 at 1:26 pm
sweetly_broken GOLD, Garner, North Carolina
15 articles 0 photos 157 comments

Favorite Quote:
We never know how big we are until we are asked to rise.

I really like this! It went a totally different direction than what I was expecting, but great work!