Below are some excerpts along with the layout so far. Along with finishing the main story line, I also hope to be able to add sketches and audio before completion.
Journal Entry 1.1 – EZQ-245 Mission Log – Al Herman, January 19,3045:
This is my first entry into what I’m sure will be a miraculous adventure filled with discovery, invention, and cultivating milestones. I am currently sitting aboard the Elizabeth-245 and myself and 11 others just yesterday departed our beloved home planet known as Gorp to explore a new world currently being called EZQ-245.
Given that this is my first entry, I’ll give you a brief background of my history and how I got where I am today. Growing up on Gorp, an extremely densely populated planet, I grew up from a very young age knowing what I wanted to do. As the human population is at an all time high throughout the universe, we must continually find new planets to inhabit and harvest resources from to stay alive. While a single planet can maintain life for multiple millennium’s, we continue to exponentially grow in number, and thus are continually seeking new habitats and terrain.
Since I was young, I have had an infatuation with the elite task-force known as TFS, or ‘The First Settlers’. After gaining popularity for winning some national prizes, as well as some help from my parents who both worked in positions of power, I was able to secure myself a place on the mission I write to you about now. From the time I was 16 years old, I have been brought in and conditioned for this mission. They’ve specifically taught me sets of skills that will help me survive, and hopefully make this journey as successful as possible. Aside from this mission, my hobbies include cooking, 4D printing, and hover boarding.
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Journal Entry 1.2 – EZQ-245 Mission Log – Al Herman, February 13,3045:
So now that you know a bit about me, let me tell you some more about this mission. Elizabeth-245 is equipped with 3 jet propulsion self-sustaining rockets that thrust us forward at about half the speed of light. Given our planet of destination is about a quarter of a light year away, we expect to be arriving in approximately 6 months. Until then, we still have lots of preparation and studying to do as we get closer to our subject.
So this is a short list of what we know about the planet so far:
– It shows signs of life, though only at the molecular level
– There are large bodies of water (presumably fresh) that cover about 40% of the planet
– Gravity has been hard to measure. It would seem that something is altering the gravitational pull as it has been recorded at a variety of different levels
– There are 2 moons which shift the tides in a skewed pattern (We plan on tracking this)
– There is some vegetation, but from what we can tell it only grows at a certain distance from the equator (It should also be noted that much of the vegetation is unknown to us and therefore it will again be a focus of ours)
– The terrain is similar to Gorp near the equator, but the farther north or south you go, it begins to turn to dessert and then eventually arctic lands
As you can tell, there’s a lot we still don’t know but we continue to track what we can as we get closer. I hope to update you with any of our findings.
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Journal Entry 1.3 – EZQ-245 Mission Log – Al Herman, June 12,3045:
We’re rapidly approaching our new home and I am continually fascinated by what we discover. Our newest discovery helps to understand how the tides and gravity work on the surface. By our calculations, the planet and actually the entire solar system seem to orbit just slightly elliptical. This tells us that, depending on the time of year, gravity can actually fluctuate and change a noticeable amount. Luckily for us in particular, our home planet Gorp actually has one of the highest gravitational pulls out of all the current livable planets. While this still won’t prepare us for the fluctuating amount, we at least have a valid idea of what to expect.
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Journal Entry 1.4 – EZQ-245 Mission Log – Al Herman, August 23,3045:
Today is the day we’re set to land on our new home and I couldn’t be more excited. The scheduled plan has us dropping into a large body of fresh water at approximately 0400 Gorp-central time. From here, our ship is designed to float and we will use smaller outboard engines to push all of our equipment ashore. Dependent of course on how successful our entry is, we will decide the next logical step from there. Hope to update as soon as possible!
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We have landed and we couldn’t be happier with the results! While some of our mechanical equipment seems to have been damaged in the fall, everything else went as planned! We’re currently sitting ashore what we’re naming ‘The New Blue Lake’ and beginning to unpack our equipment. While the weather seemed good upon arrival, distant storm clouds could prove a problem to us here soon. Aside from that, our most pressing issue will be creating a sustainable source of food and water. While we have enough for a good couple weeks, we need to be sure we’ll be able to sustain after that.
Though I’d love to share more we have so much work to do and I must get back to it. I will update you with our latest!
Chart detailing the outline
Hmmm.. everything seems too happy in this story. It gives me an eerie sense that the narrator is naive, and that something is about to go horribly wrong, but if so, I should be noting some clues that the narrator is missing, and so if s/he is as naive as s/he seems, then we know something s/he doesn’t.
Details I like: cooking, 4D printing, and hover boarding.
while your info is critical for character backstory, i’d begin in middle of first crisis that test the character, then fill in backstory as we go. What is the initial crisis that sets protagonist on unexpected journey–i don’t mean toothed planets, but in own quest…?
what must s/he learn or overcome to adapt/survive? who will help–allies? who will hinder–foes?
wat is at stake for the protagonist?
You’ve got a good setting and premise–now just really challenge the character.
B-