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. 10 2013 at 7:42 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 for your feedback, but I will not be reading your article.  I'm inactive on Teen Ink; I've moved on to better things.

on Mar. 10 2013 at 7:41 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!  It just came to me one day at work.  I can't really explain it. :)

on Mar. 2 2013 at 1:00 pm
BlackbeltJames GOLD, Reading, Other
14 articles 0 photos 193 comments

Favorite Quote:
Isaac Asimov - "Intelligence is an accident of evolution, and not necessarily an advantage.”

It is a good piece which is targetted to give the reader a lot to think about, which is good. However, at the beginning you are very upfront about the facts which makes you ask: who is the narrator? The narrator refers to the aliens as aliens so they cannot be the aliens themselves, and they cannot be human as otherwsie they would not have this knowledge. It is just a thought to maybe help improve your writing as the idea is brilliant, but at the beginning you appear to be spoon feeding the reader and giving them a constant stream of facts rather than creating a story as such.The alien dialogue is also too human, it appears to be a casual human talk; try to give them a unique aspect as to how they speak or use words i.e. they use more technical language due to a superior intelligence or vice versa etc. This is just nit-picking  though to try and help you improve, but otherwise this is a great short piece.

on Feb. 19 2013 at 6:15 pm
Miniterror GOLD, Yuma, Arizona
10 articles 1 photo 54 comments

Favorite Quote:
"For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life." John 3:16

It's a good piece; I like the rising up to fight back concept. Though, I think the alien dialect could be improved.

Jaki913 BRONZE said...
on Feb. 13 2013 at 6:27 pm
Jaki913 BRONZE, Apopka, Florida
1 article 0 photos 3 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Maybe on the outside I'm not your typical guy, but up here I am."

 this is the exact kind of thing i would like to say with my writing but have no idea how to say it... any advise?

on Feb. 6 2013 at 7:07 pm
You could have more about the aliens, but I really loved it. :) Read my article!

on Feb. 4 2013 at 9:27 pm
Nathan Dellston BRONZE, Ventnor, New Jersey
3 articles 0 photos 3 comments
Amazing. How did you ever think of this?

on Jan. 14 2013 at 11:33 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

Well I'm sorry for making you paranoid, but I'm glad that my writing had such a profound effect!

on Jan. 6 2013 at 6:24 pm
_Kristen_ BRONZE, St. Louis, Missouri
4 articles 0 photos 6 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Crying? Nah. Lift you head up, princess. Your tiara is falling off."

This is extreamly amazing.  I just discovered the t.v. show Doctor Who, which deals a lot with ailens, and now I have that deep parinoia that they would do something exactly like that. Probably will never happen, but that adds to the overall mystery of the piece.

on Jan. 4 2013 at 8:35 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

You're too kind.  Thanks so much for making my day! :)

on Jan. 2 2013 at 4:15 pm
TommieLeah GOLD, Lagos, Other
17 articles 0 photos 12 comments

Favorite Quote:
Be a first rate edition of yourself, not the second rate edition of another.

This is sheer brilliance intoxicated with innovation, and a hint of humourous truth.

on Dec. 23 2012 at 3:10 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! :)         

on Dec. 16 2012 at 4:02 pm
transparantspirit434 PLATINUM, Farmington, New Mexico
40 articles 0 photos 40 comments

Favorite Quote:
I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. -Hebrews 13:5

That blew my mind. Nice concept!

on Nov. 24 2012 at 10:41 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

You may be right!  Thanks for commenting! :)

on Nov. 23 2012 at 12:30 pm
sssalamanders BRONZE, Sanford, Michigan
1 article 0 photos 3 comments

Favorite Quote:
Life is not about waiting for the storms to pass; It's about learning how to dance in the rain. -Anonymous

Oh you silly author, world leaders don't need aliens to give them paranoia ;) Cool concept!

on Nov. 12 2012 at 11:55 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

It sounds like everyone secretly suspects this.  It's not just you!  Thanks for commenting. :)

on Nov. 11 2012 at 8:47 pm
Pegasisus BRONZE, Havertown, Pennsylvania
2 articles 0 photos 2 comments

Favorite Quote:
There is nothing more soothing to the soul than lying in the cool grass near the shoreline on a warm, breezy summer day, inhaling the deep green pine trees surrounding the gently undulating blue pond that someone you despise is drowning in.

Omigod, is it weird that I think this exact same thing every day??  Really great story, by the way. :3

on Oct. 30 2012 at 11:37 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

Somehow I don't think world leaders need aliens to give them paranoia.  Anyway, thanks for commenting!

on Oct. 29 2012 at 11:30 am
xBaByGiRrL22x PLATINUM, Pearl River, New York
22 articles 0 photos 280 comments

Favorite Quote:
"The goal isn't to live forever, but create something that will."
"If you wanna go, baby let's go; if you wanna rock, I'm ready to roll.''
"No one ever said it'd be easy. They just said it'd be worth it." <3

This is an awesome idea. I love how everythings flows and fits. You're a very good writer and this even had me thinking. I loved the "Let's give the world leaders bad cases of paranoia". ;) great job!

on Oct. 17 2012 at 9:54 am
LinkinPark12 PLATINUM, Lincolnshire, Other
45 articles 1 photo 198 comments

Favorite Quote:
Work like you don’t need money, love like you've never been hurt, and dance like no one's watching. ¦ I like change - but only when everything stays the same.

Haha! You're welcome! :)