"If only you could see what I've seen..."
-Roy Batty, Blade Runner.
So as I write this, I find myself seeing places I'll never visit, part of worlds I'll never see, inhabited by people I've never seen. Here I find myself homesick for places I've never been, missing people I've never met. Every night, just before I drift off to sleep, just before I fall into the recesses of sleep, briefly I glimpse worlds unseen. Beautiful worlds with beautiful people. And they just smile back like I'm a traveler just passing through. In a way, that's all I am. The outside observer.
Thus is the plight of a writer of any kind. Imagination can be both an incredible gift and a terrible curse. Each of us has countless worlds all hidden away inside that mass of cells we affectionately call a brain. Each one of those worlds has countless characters, people, all real to us in a way no real person ever could be. Inside the recesses of our imagination, in a swirling mass of creativity, great adventures are waiting for us all. For one person, they could be an adventurer who falls in love with an elf from a far away land. For another, they could be running through rain soaked streets, evading the authorities as hover cars and ships zoom above. And for another, they could simply be sitting in gazebo overlooking a waterfall, creating beautiful masterpieces. These worlds are all our own, worlds that are home. Home in ways our real homes can't fulfill.
I started writing this several weeks ago as I wound this story down. To be honest, I never figured it would ever be this popular. But, since it is, I've obviously been doing something right. A lot has happened over the year and a half it took me to complete this. A simple idea evolved into a fantastic adventure of a boy, a girl, and their family of friends gallivanting from city to city, planet to planet, star system to star system, world to world, life to life. I figure that a lot of you want to know what went into this so I'll do my best.
This story started off as a simple, little, idea. An image really. Something... basic. Just goes to show you what your thoughts can do. I saw a simple image in my mind and two years later I'd written a story over three hundred thousand words long. Stranger things have happened, believe me. But... that image. It was a simple image. A young boy sitting a desk in a classroom. Alone, staring out the window at a science fiction type landscape. Tall spires to the right and a metal landscape to the left. Obviously bored with the lesson at hand. Then I thought to myself... I added a girl. A girl that would not leave the boy alone no matter how much he wanted. For those of you with good memories or to those of you who have really been paying attention, this should sound familiar. Apollo and Sara. That was the original concept. But slowly, over time, it evolved into something else. Something better. I imagined a world where humanity had spread all over the solar system, a world where going to school in a Jovian moon or in orbit around Jupiter would be as normal as anything we see today. I imagined a world with A.I.'s and androids, railguns and holograms, jet packs and space ships. Slowly I built a world, a world I would want to live in. A cyberprep world. A world I imagined in the year 2412. In reality, the year 2412 will likely be beyond anything I could ever imagine or write. I just hope I'm around to see it.
Characters
The Star-Gazer
Name: Jett "Daniel" Halsey.
Age: 16-17-18-22. Cybernetically 9-10-11-15
Gender: Male programming (Most of the time).
Height: 176 centimeters.
Weight: 62 kilograms.
Eye Color: Variable. Primarily Sapphire Blue.
Hair Color: Black.
Family: Spitfire (Girlfriend/Wife).
Dane Meridian (Brother)
Gin (Guardian by proxy)
Cat (Sister/Guardian)
Amalia (Daughter)
Jacquelyn (Son)
George Kirkland Halsey ("Father"/Guardian)
Thalia Halsey ("Mother")
Occupation: Student.
Mechanic.
Scientist/Astronaut.
Classification: Android.
Affiliation: Terran Navy.
Charles Lindbergh Academy of Astronomical Sciences.
Wonderbolts.
Equipment: Augmented Prosthetic Arm.
Assisted Mobility Crutch.
Powered Exoskeletal Support System.
Appearance.
Jett appears as a slightly skinny teenager with jet black short/medium length hair as well as sapphire blue eyes. He is of Japanese/French descent in appearence though that is more of a result of his appearence being copied from the person previously known as Daniel "Jett" Halsey after his untimely death. By far his most signature and recognizable feature is his metallic prosthetic arm. Due to a system malfunction resulting from damage suffered in a bombing he is unable to regrow the arm. Normally covered by a liquid metal matrix, he eventually stopped wearing it due to both a combination of environmental factors as well as the simple fact he felt he no longer needed it to feel normal after a certain arrival. He also carried a few heavy scars along his face and arms before being injured and having them regenerated.
He has an affinity for black and white themed clothes. Typically he is seen wearing a plane black shirt with blue jeans and sneakers. Depending on conditions he is seen with either a sweat shirt or jacket. Initially he wore a pair of shorts with a Hawaiian themed shirt due to his lack of access to his normal wardrobe. His clothing later changes to it's normal black and white theme. He also appears to like sunglasses. After suffering severe injury and becoming crippled he uses a modified cane for mobility and later a powered exoskeletal support for emergencies and other situations.
When fighting, his attitude alternates from cold and merciless to maniacal and excited.
Personality.
Very little about his personality is known before he gained his identity as an android and military project. However after learning of his true nature he became rather cynical, trusting only a select few and becoming distrustful of society. Mentally broken and unstable due to a combination of physical damage as well as becoming psychologically disturbed, he has more enemies than friends. Because of his distrustful nature he has developed the bad habit of holding and bottling up all his emotions making him a ticking time bomb.
Soon after meeting Spitfire, after initially despising and detesting her and getting punched by her in the process, he begins to lose his emotional instability. Slowly he opens up to her and takes on a more positive look on life, seeing his world through a different set of eyes. While initially treating her like a sister, he takes on the role of her guardian, protecting her from the dangers of modern life, even going as far as to save her life. At the time of the Fall of Earth, he appears to have mellowed out and opened up to be more in control.
However after losing his memories he becomes even more mellow and positive, becoming the chief mechanic for the Wonderbolts and even going as far as to enter a relationship with a Shadowbolt. However this adventurous and open state of mind is quickly whipped away when he rather violently regains his memories and his cynical personality. However it returns with a vengeance leaving him even more angry, cynical, unstable and violent than before. His merciless style of fighting becomes even more violent, going as far as to be unnecessarily sadistic in his methods as well as applying more force than necessary to complete the job. He is shown to have a degree of pacifism in the fact he never seeks out a fight. However when challenged sufficiently he will fight savagely and mercilessly.
Eventually he mellows out due to both the removal of a piece of shrapnel from his brain and his becoming crippled.
He appears to be utterly oblivious to the emotional states of others and himself as well as the consequences for some of his actions. This is evident in his utter inability to acknowledge or even identify Spitfire's feelings for him until she outright tells him about them and even after that he is unsure of how to react. Still, this doesn't stop him from entering a relationship with her that leaves him a lot happier and mellowed than before.
He is most happy and stable when around friends and those he considers family. He is very protective over them however he generally will stay out of their business and personal affairs until they threaten their safety as well as his.
Background.
Little is known about his life before he lived with Cat. However, he was created in the year 2403 and lived with George Halsey on Earth as a replacement for his lost son. However at some point there was a divergence between the expected personality and he was allowed to develop on his own. However after the loss of his arm and damage to his brain he became aware of his condition as an android. He appears to have a given up and accepted his fate however angry and empty that left him. After receiving his prosthetic he falls into a despair that is only added to by being consistently harassed and bullied by members of the school's football team. However, the following summer after his first year of high school, he decided to take a series of martial arts courses to fend off attacks. By that time however he was regarded with little interest by the jocks and then focused his energies on his academic studies with his friend and brother Dane. During the summer leading up to his Junior year of school, Cat and himself went on a skydiving vacation to Earth where it all went right...
Development.
In all honesty, I have one phrase that can accurately describe the development that went into Jett: A collection of Bad things. That was what he was. Literally, I compiled a list of traits that would make making friends as difficult as possible and dumped them all into one character. Disturbed, angry, distrustful, cynical, the who shebang. Then I took that character and put him in a situation where he would be forced to deal with a girl for an extended period of time, and I gave him no choice in the matter. His personality was modeled a bit off my own, minus the crazy and disturbed side. Well, maybe not the disturbed side. I have been this way for several years now. All my characters I create are like children to me in a way. I tried to make him as realistic as possible and as relatable as possible. I supposed that's why I started the story in first person and slowly moved away from that. You really get inside his head and know his thoughts. After a while I figured that I didn't need to do that anymore and most of the readers would have been thoroughly connected to him at that point so I just kept it in third person. While his personality, at least the more civilized parts were slightly based off my own, his more violent methods and fighting style was inspired by the character of Accelerator from A Certain Magical Index. Jett's crazy side was heavily influenced by Accelerator to the point where he almost became just as sadistic. Even Jett's later physical appearance became influenced off of him. Other Characters that influenced his development was Astro Boy, Sonny from iRobot, Data/the Doctor/Seven of Nine from Star Trek, David from Prometheus, and a number of other Anime Characters that are too many and numerous to list.
The Angel.
Name: Spitfire
Age: 18-19-20-24
Gender: Female (most of the time).
Height: 174 centimeters.
Weight: 57 kilograms.
Eye Color: Brilliant Orange.
Hair Color: Light brilliant orange/Light brilliant amber
Family: Jett Halsey (Boyfriend/Husband)
Dane Meridian (Brother-in-law)
Amalia (Daughter)
Jacquelyn (Son)
Nightshade (Sister)
Shadow Flash (Father)
Star Fire (Mother)
Occupation: Captain of the Wonderbolts
Student (Charles Lindbergh Academy of Astronomical Sciences.)
Classification: Alitis Humana
Affiliation: Equestrian Government.
Charles Lindbergh Academy of Astronomical Sciences.
Wonderbolts.
Equipment: Custom CyberFire Mark III Falcon Aircraft.
Custom Model V CyberFire.
Appearance.
Spitfire appears as a winged female in her late teens. She has an attractive and athletic appearance to fit her lifestyle as Captain of the Wonderbolts. Her hair is typically done up in an almost candle flame kind of look and is light brilliant amber in color with light brilliant orange highlights. Her eyes are a brilliant orange in color. She also has a pair of large orange wings on her mid back that grant her the amazing flight capabilities that have made her a household name. She has shown to have the ability to shrink them down to fit beneath clothing if necessary. She has been described as having highly attractive features in every aspect of her body, making her the envy and desire of many. Spitfire also sports a bit of an hourglass figure as well as having been described to have an incredibly even skin tone with no tan lines as well as having excellent proportions. Often times she has been described as having an angelic appearance.
Spitfire appears to have an affinity for dated military garb, as she is typically seen wearing a leather bomber jacket as well as a tank top and her dog tags. She also appears to like wearing aviators sunglasses. When going casual she is typically seen wearing jeans and sneakers however she also has been spotted wearing military style cargo pants and combat boots. When flying for the Wonderbolts she sports a skintight latex flight suit that helps to reduce drag. Very rarely will she be seen wearing a dress as she has a certain dislike for them, stating that they restrict her ability to move in them.
Personality.
Spitfire has a mischievous side two her. Likely sprouting from the attention given to her for her skill as a flier as well as her good looks, she often will act in a playful manner, using her feminine charm to get her way or put people in compromising situations whether intentionally or unintentionally. This often leads her to do mildy irresponsible things such as pulling pranks that often push the limits of what is safe and acceptable to do. She is often a bit more expressive with her emotions than Jett as well as displaying more mental stability than her lover. Overall, Spitfire is a laid back, friendly, easy going kind of girl who just goes with the flow of where things take her, never really attempting to change things unless properly motivated.
Spitfire has also demonstrated a bit of temper, having punched Jett Halsey in the face their first meeting due to him 'questioning her identity.' Her behavior when angered is mildly impulsive and is rarely thought out when she is in angry state of mind, as demonstrated when she punched Jett in the face and when she punched Ryan Kingly in face, (granted the latter was more justified than the former). It's been implied that she is not one to enjoy things that are typically seen as girly, maybe even having tomboyish tendencies as shown in her mild animosity towards dresses. She has also shown to be a bit of a flirt. Many times has the media caught up with her escapades as she leaves a bar with a random guy on her arm. "She's sexy and she knows it and she knows how to use it," An anonymous comment stated. The extent of her misadventures is yet unknown but it certainly garnished her a degree of media attention. Her attitude later changes when she falls rather spectacularly in love with Jett Halsey, discarding her hold habits and focusing only on her one goal: winning him over. These new attitudes carry over when she returns to Equestria after six months stranded on in Sol from her time frame. It has been confirmed however that her sex drive is not one of the things she lost, having focused all her energy on the object of her affection.
In spite of her sometimes childish tendencies she has demonstrated the ability to act responsibly and lead the Wonderbolts with dignity and respect. Described by those under her command as a hardass, this side of her differs completely from her attitudes and habits when off duty. In the air, she's all business but does enjoy her job and allows a bit of fun to intrude into the training routines.
Spitfire has also demonstrated instances of emotional instability when under stress as well as when she is depressed. Most noticeably when Jett begins dating a girl from a rival team, Spitfire falls into a deep depression, taking out her anger on her Team as well as the object of her, at that moment, unreciprocated affections. However she has been shown to be able to work past this with support from others.
She is also extremely intelligent. Her knowledge of Aeronautics and flight are unmatched by those in the field. She is an experienced flier despite her young age, having been coached by the previous Captain himself. Spitfire has also demonstrated the ability to learn and adapt rather quickly, having adapted to life in Sol as well as assimilating vast amounts of information and understanding it, despite it being 400 years ahead of her.
Background.
Spitfire grew up in Canterlot, living a generally normal life, finishing school at the age of 14 years old. She entered flight camp at age 10 where she met Echo Fleetfoot and became fast friends with her as well as many of her future teammates. She became a master of flight at the camp, her and her clique quickly advancing to the top. Yet in spite of her skill, her older sister Nightshade still remained better than her.
However due to her grounded and humble nature she was selected to be the Captain of the Wonderbolts over her sister. She captained the team with honor and distinction before her fateful show that sent her hurtling across the galaxy.
Development.
Due to Spitfire having very little screen time compared to other characters, she was a relatively blank canvas with very few parameters that were easy to follow. She had to come off a sexy as well as be aware of that fact. I wrote her as someone who knew just who they were and how the world perceived her and knew how to use that to her advantage. I kept her as an athletic girl for rather obvious reasons. I decided to give her a mischievous personality because it would serve to antagonize Jett. I also gave her a sweeter side that only Jett would get to see, strengthening their relationship. I'll be honest here. I wrote Spitfire as the kind of girl I would like to date. Funny, smart, mischievous, kind, understanding, athletic with an attitude and the kind of girl who wouldn't be afraid to kick my ass and get me outside every now and again because in all honesty, someone needs to kick my ass and it certainly won't be me. She didn't have any real inspiration that affected her personality like Jett and she sort of just developed and expanded organically as a character.
The Jester.
Name: Dane Maximillien Meridian
Age: 16-17-18-22. Cybernetically 9-10-11-15
Gender: Male programming.
Height: 176 centimeters.
Weight: 62 kilograms.
Eye Color: Variable. Primarily Emerald Green.
Hair Color: White.
Family: Jett Halsey (Brother)
Fleetfoot (Girlfriend/Wife)
Spitfire (Sister-in-law)
Gin ("Sister" Guardian by proxy)
Flash Fire (Daughter)
Alain (Son)
Sally Meridian (Legal Guardian)
Howard Meridian (Legal Guardian)
Occupation: Student.
Mechanic.
Scientist/Professor
Classification: Android.
Affiliation: Terran Navy.
Charles Lindbergh Academy of Astronomical Sciences.
Wonderbolts.
Equipment: None.
Appearance.
Dane appears as a boy similar in appearance to Jett. He shares Jett's face as well as a similar body structure but that is where the similarities end. He has slicked back snow white hair of medium length as well as emerald green eyes. He too is of Japanese/French descent in appearance. His face is speckled with freckles and he has a slightly paler complexion than Jett. He often sports a confident grin that goes with his personality.
He has a varying wardrobe but generally wears Jeans when it's cool out with either a long or short sleeve T-shirt with a jacket worn over that or shorts when it's warmer out with a short sleeve shirt. He has a slight affinity for nice suites and dress clothes and prefers to wear casual dress clothes and suites when possible.
He is generally calm and collected when fighting, applying just the right amount of force to get the job done.
Personality.
Dane's personality is almost completely opposite of Jett's. Instead of being relatively introverted like Jett, he is outgoing and confident. He loves social interaction and will often try to drag Jett along with him. His defining trait is the fact that he is a "Player." He is confident around girls and will often engage in casual sexual relationships with them and will surprisingly get away with it with little to no consequences to him or any of his mistresses. The more girls he's with the more confident he becomes until he becomes an extroverted social character.
Yet in spite of all of this he enjoys hanging out with Jett whom he considers his brother. Due to shared experiences they became fast friends despite their opposing personalities. Dane and Jett will often berate and insult each other almost as if they were actually brothers and in many ways, they are. Dane however is more trusting and positive about life and prefers to spend life having a good time rather than spend his time on philosophical discussions or scientific and technological pursuits. He does seem to suggest that he enjoys extreme sports with the same enthusiasm as Jett if not more.
Dane has shown to be protective of Jett as if he were an older brother, out of fear that Jett's more destructive aspects of his personality would get him into trouble as well as other factors. This translates over to him even confronting Spitfire when he discovers what she really is. He's also demonstrated a similar level of intelligence as Jett, assimilating the entire Equestrian Legal system in one night as well as being able to work on the Aircraft the Wonderbolts use. Dane has also demonstrated the ability to be thoughtful when the situation requires though this is not something he normally does by any stretch.
He is calm and collected when fighting. His methods are rather methodical in a Sherlock Holmes fashion where he does only what is required to complete the job rather than go completely batshit insane like Jett.
Overall he's someone who can be serious when needed but prefers to have fun and enjoy life to the fullest.
Background.
Dane's background begins relatively less tragically than Jett's. Dane was also created in 2403 and was placed with a surrogate family on Earth. In spite of the fact he grew up in the tropics near the Great Barrier Reef he wasn't particularly happy there as his surrogate parents saw him little more as a steward under their care and were not particularly involved. This led him to seek out affection from other places, mainly members of the opposite sex, leading him to become a sort of player. Eventually economic issues forced him and his family to move to Ganymede where during the 8th grade he got in a fight with one of the school's basketball players and had large portions of the organic components on his arm sliced off, revealing what he was underneath. While this was a considerably traumatic event, Dane adapted and remained relatively unchanged by the whole thing other than developing an intense hatred of athletics. During his recovery period he met Jett Halsey and Grace Islington and the trio soon became a dysfunctional family. As the two brothers helped Grace develop her club he developed a taste for alcoholic beverages and routinely drank himself into a 'electronic stupor' in spite of himself being able to avoid the situation. When Jett returned from a vacation with an extra addition, Dane's go with the flow attitude allowed him to accept her rather easily.
Development.
Dane is... an interesting character to say the least. I would say he's more or less the complete opposite of me as well as a combination of a few friends of mine. He's my own little demon. My very mischievous demon. Originally, I had no idea what I was doing with him. Really. He kinda just sort of popped into existence as a much less developed version of himself when I was still unsure about where this story was going. At first, all he really was was just Jett's cousin. Nothing more. He was originally supposed to be a minor character but as the story progressed and evolved he kinda just started to show up in "logical" places in the story and slowly beat me over the brain enough times to flesh out a good story for him and make him into an actual rounded off character. Much of his dialogue and mannerisms were inspired by conversations with many of my friends. His womanizing ways were... I really don't know where those came from. I think it began more as a joke than anything else but it kinda worked it's way into his character becoming a part of his identity. While I did try to make him like a jester in many aspects I also tried, key word, tried to make him seem like he can be smart and intuitive when it suites him. Mainly through his efforts to get Spitfire and Jett together as well as his various other efforts to try to get Jett out of his proverbial cave. Inspiration from him came from a variety of sources that are too wide to list but if you can think of a character from some TV show, book, or movie somewhere that demonstrates a sheer level of, "Does not give a single fuck of what other people think of him," that went into Dane. Similarly Jett has this thought his is more in the style of, "Doesn't give a fuck because he hates everyone," while Dane's is more of simply not caring because in the end, it's all for the LULZ.
The Mistress.
Name: Grace Ezri "Gin" Islington.
Age: 23-25-Unknown-44
Gender: Female.
Height: 180 centimeters.
Weight: 60 kilograms.
Eye Color: Grey.
Hair Color: Sandy Brown.
Family: Jett Halsey ("Brother.")
Dane Meridian ("Brother.")
Spitfire ("Sister.")
Blaze (Wife.)
Sapphire Flame (Daughter.)
Arc Light (Son.)
Occupation: Bartender.
Club Owner.
Martial Artist.
Weapons Expert/Designer.
Classification: Augmented Human.
Affiliation: The Mile High Club.
Charles Lindbergh Academy of Astronomical Sciences.
Wonderbolts.
Equipment: Glock Γ 30 Handguns with Stun Capacity.
Glock 27 "Meat Grinder" Automatic.
0.50 Custom Magnums.
Walther PPK/S With Stun.
Custom Y89 Pump Action 8 Gauge.
Appearance.
Gin appears as a tall, strong and athletic woman in her mid 20's. She has sandy brown hair that is typically done up in a Brunette Bob. She has unassuming grey eyes that attract little attention. Her most identifying features are her rather toned arms and muscular body due to her augmentations and her training. She is of English descent though she has no accent to speak of. Gin bears a few minor scars though none bear any real significance.
Her outfit is typically that of a biker with her wearing a simple tank top either by itself or with a leather jacket over it with skinny jeans with sneakers or cargo pants with black combat boots. She rarely will wear a dress and does have some tomboyish tendencies when selecting her outfits but will wear one when the occasion requires it.
Personality.
Depending on what side of her guns you're on will dictate how she appears. If you happen to be behind them then she acts with the up most respect (mostly) and generally has a familial connection with most of her close friends, most notable Jett and Dane whom she treats as brothers rather than as just friends. She is friendly and kind as well as protective of those close to her though she will often engage in verbal sparing with her loved ones as well as berate them. However through her hard exterior she deeply cares about those she has grown close to.
If you happen to be on the other side of her weapons then... well most of her victims would say you're beyond help. She has a rather violent and volcanic temper that she can mostly wield in. However her ability to control her temper appears to be dictated by how many witnesses there are as well as how much she cares about the consequences for her actions at the given moment. One example of this is when a certain patron of her club get's too close for comfort and refuses to take a hint and leave she threatens to outright murder him before calling security to have him removed. Most of the time her victims aren't as lucky as there are multiple police reports of some poor sap attempting to either mug or rape her and the perpetrator appearing first in a hospital and then in a mug shot after having most of the bones in his/her body replaced or reconstructed as well as flesh regrown and bullets removed.
She exhibits many aspects of a violent personality similar to Jett's though her's appears to have an odd sort of off switch that she can more or less aim at a given target rather than letting her temper control her and cause her to rampage like Jett. Similar to NEARLY every one of her friends she exhibits a bit of a "Does not give a fuck," attitude. However unlike Jett or Dane's variety her's is more along the lines of "Doesn't give a fuck because she knows she can get away with pretty much whatever she want's because honestly, are you gonna confront her whens he's holding a fist full of guns?" Again she demonstrates this whens he calmly shoots Rainbow Dash in the chest with a stun round before turning her guns on Twilight as well as when she irresponsibly decides to give drinks to two under aged androids. Her proficiency with weapons as well as her experience in high gravity martial arts adds a dangerous aspect to her personality.
Background.
Not much of her background is known but from what she has told Jett and Dane she did not get along well with her parents that led her to leave her home at a relatively young age and escape into the belt. She spent much of her time 'growing up' in the hard life of the belt, getting well acquainted with weapons and martial arts as a means to defend herself in the rather hostile territory before taking up bar tending as a means to pay for her college education. After finishing college she moved again to Jupiter and found an opportunity on the moon of Ganymede to make a name for herself and took it, buying the entire top floor of a skyscraper with a combination of loans, grants, and money won from gambling as well as a small collection of winning lottery tickets. However trouble followed her and she soon had to rid herself of a series of stalkers that left her mildly disturbed with an increase in her already violent personality. It was around this time that she met Jett and Dane and the three soon formed a dysfunctional family. Jett and Dane helped out with her business venture and she offered them a place to hang out as well as a second home for either of them.
Development.
Gin honestly developed as a more demented and violent version of Cat as well as more irresponsible. Gin, again, developed more like Dane than Jett. She had a role to fill however how she filled it was left entirely up to her, so to speak. I suppose her role was more or less as a replacement for Cat. Her character however offered more opportunity to do things that Cat would never due, partially due to how I wrote Cat and who Cat was based off. Gin in her own way is a demon of mine. She would never seek out violence but would rather wait for it to present itself to her. She would not go actively searching for trouble but when it found her... she would enjoy every moment of it. I suppose that kind of thinking got her her affinity for guns. I tried, and I hope I succeeded, to make her have an affinity for weapons without seeming like she was a redneck obsessed with the second amendment. I hope I didn't offend anyone with that statement but hey. Gin kinda served as the unofficial guardian of the two boys to fill the void left by Cat. I say unofficial because I made her just as fucked up in the head as the other two boys. Her only real difference is that she can hide it better. As for my decision to make her a lesbian? Don't really know really. I suppose I just felt that with all the other characters getting together with someone of the opposite gender I felt the need to shake things up a bit as well as the fact that apparently Gay marriage is still such a big issue in the United States, (It really isn't, some people are just stupid. If you love a person, who gives a shit what gender they are? And no offense to religious people but you DON'T get to define what marriage is and you certainly don't have some sort of monopoly on the practice because it's been around a lot longer than religion has). Anyway, I guess I just made her that way because of... well that rant back there as well as the fact that I couldn't see her dating any many and having the man survive. But again, I wrote her and Dane into an implied sex scene and Dane survived relatively alright so... I don't know then. But hey, she's the kind of crazy bitch I'd want backing me up so that's who she became.
Plot.
Honestly, constructing this story took a bit of work. As you read previously, if you read this at all as this is just a fucking rant from a guy who's currently dealing with a defective gene that makes me prone to going blind in one of my eyes to simplify it, this story did not start out at all as what it ended up being.
As I stated before, the story evolved over a long period of time from when it first appeared in my head as an idea two years ago to what it is now. I don't really recall how it happened but the idea slowly evolved into something else. And I do remember one thing, as I was writing the first few chapters of the story I kept flipping between having Jett as an augmented human or having him as an android. To be honest if he stayed augmented then Dane probably wouldn't have shown up for more than that one time and Gin probably wouldn't have been created. So overall, I'm happy with the result.
Another odd thing I did consider doing that with a large degree of hindsight I am glad I didn't do was give Dane and Jett wings, cliche I know. The thought had crossed my mind several times before hand but I honestly couldn't bring myself to do it. Oddly enough, if you go through the story as it is now you'd be able to pick out brief moments where it was both alluded to that they would get wings, (Note that one of these became an allusion for something else later on, I'm sure you can figure it out), as well them joining the Wonderbolts. I even considered giving Rainbow Dash a little wish fulfillment but that didn't make the cut and was chopped with the Jett and Dane's wings that they never got in the first place.
Also I considered splitting CyberFire in half at around the 33 chapter mark give or take but decided against it. And I also considered giving Dane his own story at some point after the last chapter was released but again...
Sue me.
Setting.
Futuristic as hell is all I can really say. It was honestly a conglomerate of a series of sci fi settings from various novels ranging from The Unincorporated Man and The Expanse Series to Ender's Game and The Forever War. The main inspiration came from the book series The Unincorporated Man and it's sequels where humanity lives all over the solar system only everyone is incorporated into a company at birth and there's the huge thing on what free market capitalism can eventually become but if you want to read the books for yourself you can do that. Suffice it to say, most of the tech as well as the ships came from that series as well as some of the weapons. The Expanse contributed more to the weapons used in the story than anything else as well as the area where I placed Gin's club. Ender's Game helped with the school and The Forever War was there for... honestly I don't know. It's a good book so sue me again.
Various locations were inspired by real life places I visit on a sort of regular basis. Jett's house was based on one of my friend's homes, the dorm room as well the subsequent hotel rooms and suites on various cruise ships came from actual hotel room suites as well as actual cruise ships. Jett's school and most of the people in it were based on my school rather obviously. The physical shape of the school however came from Star Trek's Space Dock. And NO not the one from the new movies. I'm talking about the old fashion mushroom shaped space dock from the original series as well as TNG.
Overall, the world came from a variety of books, movies, and video games that will be listed below.
Inspiration List.
The Expanse Series.
The Unincorporate Man Series.
The Enderverse.
The Forever War.
The Halo Universe.
The Deus Ex. Universe.
The Avatar Universe.
Blade Runner.
Star Trek.
Star Wars.
Cloud Atlas.
Ringworld.
Elysium.
The X-Men Universe.
A Certain Magical Index.
A Certain Scientific Railgun.
Battlestar Galactica.
Caprica.
Tron.
Terminator Series.
Alien Universe.
Astro Boy.
I, Robot.
The Foundation Trilogy.
Total Recall.
Cloverfield.
The Bourne Series.
Etc.
Etc.
Etc.
Special Thanks/Credits.
Some of you have been with this thing from the very beginning. Others have gradually showed up and have rather consistently appeared in the comment box or... my inbox oddly enough so I figured it'd be worth mentioning a few of you here. I'll try to include as much of you as possible but keep in mind this list is based on who I've seen the most of.
Flames (or whatever your name happens to be at the moment. Also known as Fyre Ghost. And my editor.)
Jaohni (I don't know how to pronounce that.)
Taco Town (I don't always enjoy tacos, but when I do...)
Combine (I can say your name.)
Iron Sides (You share your name with a TV show as well as a really old US tall ship.)
Dancing Dead (There's a pentagram in my closet.)
doors (My house has 21.)
Slaughterstone (Please don't hurt me.)
Vinyl Scratch Jr. (My school never get's a good DJ so... help.)
Junior Alien Child (How many times has Donut died?)
Fail Guy (You don't fail in my bookz.)
RoadRunneR (Meep Meep.)
High_Wind (I named a character after you.)
Cyberfire22 (It really was just a coincidence.)
Kaliedo Clockwork (I've seen you somewhere else before...)
leafz pegasus (Sometimes when I think I see your profile pic smile.)
SovietBacon (I fucking love bacon.)
Snublock (Is it pronounced Snub Lock or Snu Block? That's always bothered me. Sorry.)
Hyerbole (Don't come back up here. It's FREEZING.)
Pixel Pony (Happy Derpy is happy.)
Flint (I can finally make fire.)
HACK3R_PR0 (Can't tell if pic is a zombie or... oh god.)
shadowless_night (Tired Soarin' is tired.)
Canine (Where is the changling going?)
Jon Snow (Where is your Profile Pic from?)
Eoplo (I recognize the plane.)
Sweetapplejacker (If you know what I bean...)
A Word From Our Sponsors.
Is he fucking DONE YET?
Yes Dane, he's done. Now would you shut up and quit hogging the keyboard?!
Fuck off bitch, I don't see you doing anything special. Have you read your biography?
Have you read yours idiot? It's all sunshine and rainbows up there. That's why you're called the Jester.
And you're called the Mistress.
Would you two QUIT IT?! Jeez, he gave us the fucking keyboard so we could say something nice down here and you two go off arguing again!
So this is what it's like down here? Cool.
Oh go back to sucking face with you're girlfriend.
Shut up butthead.
How did I get stuck with you idiots?
Uh, guys? Can we just say our thing down here and get going? We've got places to be ya know.
Fine. Hi everyone, Jett here. We just wanted to take this opportunity to say a special thanks to everyone who's stayed with us, old and new.
As well as for putting up with Blue's Clueless over here as well as the chucklefuck upstairs, otherwise known as the author. You can't keep me down here forever! One day you'll get drunk and when you do, I'll be the one in the driver's seat!
We'd also like to acknowledge that without you, we wouldn't be here today and the 'chucklefuck' would never have gotten this far because without you this wouldn't have happened. And I wouldn't have my babi- I mean guns.
But most importantly, we'd like to say thanks for all the support and feedback you've given us. Thank you for all the entertaining comments, supportive messages, and compliments you've thrown ours and the author's way. Without all of you, this story would never have made it as far as it did. So from the bottom of our hearts, we thank you. And we thank you for kicking the author's butt enough times because he's lazy. If I could I'd make him hit the gym but we're just behind this fourth wall looking in. But it's not so bad here. Cool things go on here. Well, I better get going, the others are calling me.
Wait! One last thing. Whatever drives you in life, whatever makes you excited, whatever lights that spark in your heart, be it flying or tinkering with machines or simply writing, don't lose that. Hold onto it, keep it safe. Be passionate about things you love because in this world... well, it's just good to have good things, for however long they may last... Goodbye everyone, see you... out there...
Couldn't resist sneaking in one last Star Trek reference... Whatever happens between now and whenever this amazing ride is over, I'm glad it happened. This last year and a half helped me become a better writer as well as... exercise a few demons of mine.
But whatever. In the end, it was fun. And that's all that matters. Until next time, stay cool ladies and gentlemen and above all... stay tuned.
JC6...
I'm the best.
Spitfire!
Whoops, coming robot boy!