The Office of Second Chances
This is more a concept for a story than an actual story, but I really liked the idea when it struck me. So here's the intro.
As everyone knows, the world is always in danger. Anyone who watches television can tell you that mad scientists, evil overlords, alien invaders, and ancient monstrosities attempt to destroy it every other week. This is why heroes are necessary in the first place, but there are times when even they fail. Sometimes the plucky comic relief isn’t plucky enough, the wise old mentor isn’t that wise, the cryptic clues are too cryptic, or the ragtag band of heroes just can’t manage to overcome their differences. For whatever reason, the naïve farmboys, the cynical loners, and the beautiful princesses, even with the help of their bumbling sidekicks, just don’t have the wit, the courage, and the power needed to save the world. Considering that the odds are always against them, it’s inevitable that probability will eventually catch up. In that case, the world is indeed destroyed. Six thousand, seven hundred, and twelve times at last count.
There’s a proper time for the end of the world, and woe on those who let it happen ahead of schedule. Fortunately, in the Department of World Saving in the Bureau of Heroism, there’s the Office of Second Chances. When things go wrong and the world ends prematurely, it’s up to them to fix it. As soon as they’re done assigning blame.
It seems like it could make a fun story to me. The problem is that when I started writing, it came out as people in an office talking, which, let's face it, isn't all that interesting unless you can do really snappy dialogue. While I can sometimes do good dialogue, what I ended up with just wasn't up to the task. One world-weary bureaucrat bemoaning the paperwork involved to another just didn't make a great story, even if the topic of conversation was surreal.
I realized today what I actually did need to make it work: a character who doesn't fit in this office environment. I need to tell this story from the perspective of the failed hero, who has sacrificed and fought to save the world only to watch it end, and suddenly finds himself being interviewed by a bored paper-pusher asking him to file his claim and checking to see if his hero insurance covers the end of the world. That, I think, would work. And it lets me write some action scenes.
This has been the first 226 words of a continuing story rated G.
As everyone knows, the world is always in danger. Anyone who watches television can tell you that mad scientists, evil overlords, alien invaders, and ancient monstrosities attempt to destroy it every other week. This is why heroes are necessary in the first place, but there are times when even they fail. Sometimes the plucky comic relief isn’t plucky enough, the wise old mentor isn’t that wise, the cryptic clues are too cryptic, or the ragtag band of heroes just can’t manage to overcome their differences. For whatever reason, the naïve farmboys, the cynical loners, and the beautiful princesses, even with the help of their bumbling sidekicks, just don’t have the wit, the courage, and the power needed to save the world. Considering that the odds are always against them, it’s inevitable that probability will eventually catch up. In that case, the world is indeed destroyed. Six thousand, seven hundred, and twelve times at last count.
There’s a proper time for the end of the world, and woe on those who let it happen ahead of schedule. Fortunately, in the Department of World Saving in the Bureau of Heroism, there’s the Office of Second Chances. When things go wrong and the world ends prematurely, it’s up to them to fix it. As soon as they’re done assigning blame.
It seems like it could make a fun story to me. The problem is that when I started writing, it came out as people in an office talking, which, let's face it, isn't all that interesting unless you can do really snappy dialogue. While I can sometimes do good dialogue, what I ended up with just wasn't up to the task. One world-weary bureaucrat bemoaning the paperwork involved to another just didn't make a great story, even if the topic of conversation was surreal.
I realized today what I actually did need to make it work: a character who doesn't fit in this office environment. I need to tell this story from the perspective of the failed hero, who has sacrificed and fought to save the world only to watch it end, and suddenly finds himself being interviewed by a bored paper-pusher asking him to file his claim and checking to see if his hero insurance covers the end of the world. That, I think, would work. And it lets me write some action scenes.
This has been the first 226 words of a continuing story rated G.
