..................::Science Faction
Science Fiction is all about the facts; that is the whole purpose of this project. Our project "Science Faction" was to create sci-fi stories and theorize what our future would be like using the knowledge of science that we have today. Each of us chose a topic --ranging from the possibilities of what would happen if 911 never occurred to artificial organs and robots and aliens-- and created a story using that as our base. We would research about the topic and incorporate our knowledge into our stories.
I chose the topic of robots, and my ideas started sprouting from there. I decided to choose the classic idea of the robot gaining emotions and being different from other artificially intelligent beings. After I had written my story, I had various friends and peers look at it and read it to tell me if there were anything I should change and if it made sense. I definitely think the peer editing helped advance the story to be logical and still exciting, and allow it to continue my original plot line. I definitely learned a lot about characterizing, and giving certain characters unique traits that would make them different from the others. In the dialogue, Tsu has a naive way of thinking and talked in third person a lot while Hibari was very formal and straight-forward in his speech, never using conjunctions. In characterization, their actions spoke out a lot as well. Tsu would show his emotions as fully as possible, and he was also a terrible liar which shows his innocent and honest behavior. Making Tsu the protagonist also puts the reader through the point of view of a child, where he finds nothing wrong with his robot friend unlike the rest of society. I've learned a lot about how dialogue shows a character's personality, and a sentence can reveal a lot about thier background. I feel like I've improved greatly on showing a character through various literary elements. |
Story Excerpt"Huh? M-my name is Sawada Tsunayoshi. People call me Tsu though," he introduced himself, a little bit eager. He was having a conversation with an actual robot! "What's your name, mister policeman?"
"VC-18." The voice was mechanical. The boy frowned. “Is something the matter?” “No… it’s just, well… that doesn’t sound like a name.” “It is my code.” It responded flatly. “Can I call you something else?” The robot raised an eyebrow before nodding. The boy smiled brightly. “Can I call you…” his gaze trailed skyward, where a black bird soared carelessly in the brilliant blue. A skylark. The Japanese word for that was... "Hibari?" It paused, considering the name, before nodding. “Okay.” The boy smiled. “Hey… Hibari, this… this is the first time anyone talked to me.” He hesitated, “Do you want to be my friend?” |
In this excerpt, the protagonist Tsu has just met with this mysterious robot who had randomly approached him. After a short conversation, they exchange their names. This is in the beginning of the story, otherwise known as the exposition of the characters.
This excerpt basically establishes a bond between Tsu and the robot. The two characters interact through the use of dialogue. The way Hibari speaks is robotic and mechanical, as it is noted how flat he speaks. Tsu has a more shy feel to the way he speaks, as seen through his stuttering. It also plainly establishes their character. Tsu is certainly polite to even something that is not a human being. He cannot tell the difference and thus treats Hibari like a human instead of a robot, although he does acknowledge that the police is a robot. He finds distaste in Hibari's code and therefore gives him a name. Hibari is not much more than a robot at this point in the story, but he is obviously different for talking to the young boy. He is mechanical and is seemingly just listens to orders and answering whatever Tsu asks. |