Greetings, Steemians and Steemettes!
A couple days ago, I found a book that I read a couple of years back. A Sci-Fi novel written by a certain Sergej Lukianenko. called "Spectrum". Sergej is or was a bestselling author, at least here in germany, more commonly known for his "Nightwatch" Fantasy novels. I started skimming through the pages and find that there is some similarity to my life here on Steemit, so I wanted to share with you a few tidbits about the story. I read the book in german.
The Setting
The setting of the book is our present time. Our main character is a man called Martin who makes a living as a detective and courier. Doesn't sound all that fancy and sci-fi. The thing get's interesting because in this world, an alien race called the "Keymasters" settled on the planet and offered access to gateways that allow interdimensional travel to other connected planets. Sounds exciting, right? Of course, this service comes at a price. In order to use these gateways, one must tell the Keymasters a story of their liking. That sounds simple enough, right? Everyone can do that, wouldn't you agree?
Well, yes and no.
The Keymasters are actually quite picky when it comes to stories. There are no set rules, but there are trends that have been observed over time.
- Do not listen to any story twice.
- They do not like stories that have been published.
- Apparently, they are no fans of fantasy and romantic novels, hardly anyone manages to get through a gateway telling one of these.
There are a couple more thesis's that float around on how to please the Keymasters. Some assume that they like free and on the spot story telling. The main character muses that Keymasters seem to enjoy stories that center around them and their possible motivations. The emotional investment put into a story also seems to be a factor. At least that is being hinted at, but I doubt that is an actual factor in the context of the book.
In the story it is being said that only about every 1000th human actually went on a journey through the gateways. And the reason for that is simple. Many people make it through the gateway and manage to reach a new planet. But many people find themselves having trouble telling a pleasant story that enables them to make the journey back to earth. Imagine the horror of being stranded on a foreign planet without being able to ever see your old life, your family again. Imagine the distress of a family who has lost contact to a family member who went through a gate and hasn't returned ever since. And this is where Martin comes in.
The Maincharacter Martin.
Lukianenko is quite good at writing main characters in my opinion. I feel like they never really overshadow anyone or anything just by being there and independent on whether his characters are accustomed with a situation, we get good exposition from and through them, but not in ways that are frustrating to deal with.
As I said before, Martin is a courier and a detective and you can probably see where this is going now. Martin is being hired by families or other Individuals, groups or organizations to find certain humans that went through the gateway in order to find out what happened to them and, if possible or necessary, help them get back.
Martin is able to do this line of work because for reasons unknown to anyone, he has a talent for telling stories that please the Keymasters. By the time the book starts, he has already made a humble reputation for himself, knows his way around planets, how to distinct and deal with other alien races and what the common customs are on each planet he visits. He also likes to cook, so there is that. Aside from that, he doesn't stand out at all. Just a man in his thirties using his abilities for the job he chose for a world ever so slightly different from ours.
Why I can relate to this novel today
I find that blogging comes quite close. I want to write on this platform every day and after having done so for one and a half week, I am starting to get in the mode. I notice that I am now in this weird grey area where I want to write what I want to write about while also struggling with creativity while also wanting to please my readers while also making this whole thing profitable long run so that I actually may have some extra incentive to be here and maybe even live of it one day.
But all of that is good. I consider that being positive stress to put on myself that helps me grow become a better poster. When I see that it doesn't work out the way I want it too, I will just take a break. Until then, I will continue the way I do, try out a couple new things every now and then.
Would you consider traveling to another planet?
What planet would you go to?
And what makes a good story for you?
Leave me some answers in the comments below. Until then, as always,