Friday, September 8, 2017

Where Do Space Babies Come From?

The quest for Elsbeth's backstory continues, and the other day, I asked myself, "Self, what did happen to the boy's father?" The boy of course being her son, who still doesn't have a name. I think I thought of something, but then forgot it immediately.

Anyway.

My initial thought, a month ago, was that family dynamics are just different in space. But then Tycho, the protagonist, had both parents and lost them both, collectively, together. Implying a typical family arrangement.

So the question returned. What happened to the boy's father? He can't be dead, because there's a limit on how much tragedy I'll dole out per person. Yes, even I have limits.

Now, the Astr'ale has been cruising through space for generations. It travels alone, but it is by no means the only ship out there. So, twenty some years ago, it crossed paths with the Fajr Sama'in. Flings were had. Babies were made. Separate ways were gone. He's none the wiser and somewhere off in the universe.

This tells me some things about Elsbeth. Mainly, that she was, at least at one point, the kind of person who would hook up with someone she'd never see again. How was that received within their society? Was that sort of thing frowned upon, or did no one bat an eye?

Looking at this new piece of information, it makes more sense that she was very protective of the boy. They're all the other has. She didn't look too kindly on him joining the Corps with Tycho, but she was proud, just the same. Those boys would look out for each other. Wouldn’t they?

For the record, I don't know exactly what the Corps is. It just sounds good in a sentence.

It's going to be interesting, putting all this work into a sympathetic character, only to turn around and make her the bad guy. I wonder if Tycho is going to be an unreliable narrator.

That's all for today. I'm going to try to take some time on the weekend to fill in more of her history.

I'll see you Tuesday.

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