NaNo 2011: characters
In case anyone was wondering after reading my excerpt (if anyone read it). I was purposefully vague while introducing them although during rewrite I'm sure I'll add more detail (when I have more detail worked out).
These are the characters that I have so far:
Logan March: astronaut, early 30s, had a distant father that was a teacher who seemed more concerned with his students than his son, his mother leaves the family when Logan is 12 for a better life with her lover and new daughter. Logan joins the military after high school against his father's wishes then drifts for awhile before doing research and development for the government, ultimately ending up involved in the newly reinstated space program. He's kind of quiet and doesn't want to be the center of attention. he didn't really want to go into space and be a "hero" to his poverty stricken hometown but his wife, Stacy, pushes him into it. He's the peace keeper of his team, trying to keep them from killing each other... or annoying each other to insanity. His main weakness (later on) will be his arrogance and superiority complex over the people he meets in the future.
Stacy March (nee Spencer): Logan's wife of many years. They met after he left the military before he had any kind of wealth or fame. He's completely in love with her but she's become disillusioned trying to live up to the image expected of a wife of an astronaut and national hero. She eventually leaves him before his historic mission to the moon.
Commander Angel Hernandez: Commander of the moon expedition (really not sure what their mission is at the moment). He's older than the rest of the team, a seasoned military veteran with a gruff voice and appearance but a soft side when you get to know him. He mostly stands back and lets the younger guys do the work, stepping in as referee and coach as needed.
Chuck Cooper: He's one of the technicians on Logan's team. Like Logan his background is more on the brains sides with multiple degrees and genius aptitude. But he has no military training like Logan. He's a nervous type but willing to go the extra mile to succeed. He tends to get caught up in the moment, especially when arguing with his teammates. He can't let things slide and is easily worked up by others.
Miles Worth: The last member of Logan's team is the comedian of the group. He also has military training and is more muscle than brains. He's there to do the heavy lifting and make sure the scientists don't accidentally kill themselves. He likes to antagonize Chuck and revels in their bickering which Hernandez usually has to stop because they ignore Logan once they get going. He's slightly older than the two science guys but not as old as the commander.
Papa Bear: He's only mentioned in the one scene but he's the project commander back on Earth.
Those are the characters that appeared in the teaser/prologue I posted. These are the other characters I have planned that will appear later:
--about the names, my theory is that language evolves so they are so far into the future that speech patterns we take for granted are not normal for them, the English language has become muddled over time but they also have access to like a thousand years worth of archive footage (books, video, etc from history including TV which is a favorite past time) so they've invented their own spellings to go with the pronunciations and those themselves have changed over the years--
So'Fey: Called "Sofie" by Logan. She's a "priestess" in a religious sect that worships Te'arra or the land of the ancestors, the first humans to colonize space. She's not a very good priestess, though, and on the verge of being kicked out of her order for not adhering to their rules. She protests the injustices she sees and lands on the wrong side of the law all too often. She's older, in her 60s, and meets Logan for the first time while in jail. She realizes after speaking to him that he is a Te'arran (ancestor) and must have come from the past. Her spiritual interpretation of the world allows her to fully embrace that idea. She's able to talk them into releasing Logan into her custody and helps him acclimate to his new surroundings.
Captain Crichton Bay: Captain of the pilgrimage ship, Pilegram, they are on. He considers Logan a trouble maker from the start and doesn't like his interference when he finds out Bay owns a slave (Del-Bay). He constantly finds reasons to accost Logan and make his life difficult on the ship. He's going to die early on. I think. Depends on how much I like him after I flesh him out in the story.
Del-Bay (nee O'thavar): She's the captain's slave. Her history is kind of vague to the other characters filled with many rumors and made up stories. All they know for sure was her father was a ruler of a moon that was dying from a famine so she was sold into slavery along with her sisters for help. She was very young when it happened and doesn't remember a life before the slave ships where slaves are bought/sold/live and are taught how to be good obedient slaves. It's not a good life. But she survived and is now owned by the captain. Logan doesn't understand why she doesn't just run away but she has a good life now. Bay treats her with respect and she's a close confidant and acts more as a personal assistant to him. She's always in the background helping him run things whether anyone else realizes it or not. Eventually they will learn her last name is "O'thevar" (an old name meaning of the var where The Var was a proud off shoot of some of the first colonizers from Earth, very important in the religious mythology of the time). But that will come much later.
Werk Mr'Say: Called "Mercy" by Logan. He's the ship "constable" (haven't really decided which term I want to use for the law officers yet) that initially takes a disliking to Logan because he causes trouble. He's a stickler for rules and a real hard ass but as time goes on he starts to come around a little to Logan's ideas and principals. When things go bad he ends up siding with Logan and becomes a close friend.
Bing J. Kosbi: This character exists only because I was playing around with how they name people in this future. The names come from all sorts of sources and there is no preconceived notion of what a name should be so anything goes. Old, old movies that have been redone many, many times are very popular so many people end up with names from ancient (to them) movie stars or characters. Bing had the misfortune of having the last name Kosbi (Cosby) which his parents thought sounded just like Crosby and wouldn't it be fun to name their son Bing. He hates his name so tells Logan to call him B.J. Logan doesn't think that's an improvement so just calls him "Beej". Not sure what his roll will be, he's probably just going to be a bit part in the background. Maybe someone Logan works with (has to earn his keep on the ship now that he's there).
Ray Einstein: Another character made up just for fun with the name. They don't realize the significance of the last name and Logan finds it humorous that his first name is so very bland. It's especially ironic when Logan finds out he's kind of mentally handicapped. Or so he thinks. I think this might end up being my bad guy who is tearing the universe apart with an experiment. Logan befriends him right from the start because the guy seems to have a little "hero worship" going on. He says he's a devout follower of the Te'arra sect so he's fascinated with Logan. But it's all an act. He's just a literal mad scientist and Logan has to stop him.
These are the characters that I have so far:
Logan March: astronaut, early 30s, had a distant father that was a teacher who seemed more concerned with his students than his son, his mother leaves the family when Logan is 12 for a better life with her lover and new daughter. Logan joins the military after high school against his father's wishes then drifts for awhile before doing research and development for the government, ultimately ending up involved in the newly reinstated space program. He's kind of quiet and doesn't want to be the center of attention. he didn't really want to go into space and be a "hero" to his poverty stricken hometown but his wife, Stacy, pushes him into it. He's the peace keeper of his team, trying to keep them from killing each other... or annoying each other to insanity. His main weakness (later on) will be his arrogance and superiority complex over the people he meets in the future.
Stacy March (nee Spencer): Logan's wife of many years. They met after he left the military before he had any kind of wealth or fame. He's completely in love with her but she's become disillusioned trying to live up to the image expected of a wife of an astronaut and national hero. She eventually leaves him before his historic mission to the moon.
Commander Angel Hernandez: Commander of the moon expedition (really not sure what their mission is at the moment). He's older than the rest of the team, a seasoned military veteran with a gruff voice and appearance but a soft side when you get to know him. He mostly stands back and lets the younger guys do the work, stepping in as referee and coach as needed.
Chuck Cooper: He's one of the technicians on Logan's team. Like Logan his background is more on the brains sides with multiple degrees and genius aptitude. But he has no military training like Logan. He's a nervous type but willing to go the extra mile to succeed. He tends to get caught up in the moment, especially when arguing with his teammates. He can't let things slide and is easily worked up by others.
Miles Worth: The last member of Logan's team is the comedian of the group. He also has military training and is more muscle than brains. He's there to do the heavy lifting and make sure the scientists don't accidentally kill themselves. He likes to antagonize Chuck and revels in their bickering which Hernandez usually has to stop because they ignore Logan once they get going. He's slightly older than the two science guys but not as old as the commander.
Papa Bear: He's only mentioned in the one scene but he's the project commander back on Earth.
Those are the characters that appeared in the teaser/prologue I posted. These are the other characters I have planned that will appear later:
--about the names, my theory is that language evolves so they are so far into the future that speech patterns we take for granted are not normal for them, the English language has become muddled over time but they also have access to like a thousand years worth of archive footage (books, video, etc from history including TV which is a favorite past time) so they've invented their own spellings to go with the pronunciations and those themselves have changed over the years--
So'Fey: Called "Sofie" by Logan. She's a "priestess" in a religious sect that worships Te'arra or the land of the ancestors, the first humans to colonize space. She's not a very good priestess, though, and on the verge of being kicked out of her order for not adhering to their rules. She protests the injustices she sees and lands on the wrong side of the law all too often. She's older, in her 60s, and meets Logan for the first time while in jail. She realizes after speaking to him that he is a Te'arran (ancestor) and must have come from the past. Her spiritual interpretation of the world allows her to fully embrace that idea. She's able to talk them into releasing Logan into her custody and helps him acclimate to his new surroundings.
Captain Crichton Bay: Captain of the pilgrimage ship, Pilegram, they are on. He considers Logan a trouble maker from the start and doesn't like his interference when he finds out Bay owns a slave (Del-Bay). He constantly finds reasons to accost Logan and make his life difficult on the ship. He's going to die early on. I think. Depends on how much I like him after I flesh him out in the story.
Del-Bay (nee O'thavar): She's the captain's slave. Her history is kind of vague to the other characters filled with many rumors and made up stories. All they know for sure was her father was a ruler of a moon that was dying from a famine so she was sold into slavery along with her sisters for help. She was very young when it happened and doesn't remember a life before the slave ships where slaves are bought/sold/live and are taught how to be good obedient slaves. It's not a good life. But she survived and is now owned by the captain. Logan doesn't understand why she doesn't just run away but she has a good life now. Bay treats her with respect and she's a close confidant and acts more as a personal assistant to him. She's always in the background helping him run things whether anyone else realizes it or not. Eventually they will learn her last name is "O'thevar" (an old name meaning of the var where The Var was a proud off shoot of some of the first colonizers from Earth, very important in the religious mythology of the time). But that will come much later.
Werk Mr'Say: Called "Mercy" by Logan. He's the ship "constable" (haven't really decided which term I want to use for the law officers yet) that initially takes a disliking to Logan because he causes trouble. He's a stickler for rules and a real hard ass but as time goes on he starts to come around a little to Logan's ideas and principals. When things go bad he ends up siding with Logan and becomes a close friend.
Bing J. Kosbi: This character exists only because I was playing around with how they name people in this future. The names come from all sorts of sources and there is no preconceived notion of what a name should be so anything goes. Old, old movies that have been redone many, many times are very popular so many people end up with names from ancient (to them) movie stars or characters. Bing had the misfortune of having the last name Kosbi (Cosby) which his parents thought sounded just like Crosby and wouldn't it be fun to name their son Bing. He hates his name so tells Logan to call him B.J. Logan doesn't think that's an improvement so just calls him "Beej". Not sure what his roll will be, he's probably just going to be a bit part in the background. Maybe someone Logan works with (has to earn his keep on the ship now that he's there).
Ray Einstein: Another character made up just for fun with the name. They don't realize the significance of the last name and Logan finds it humorous that his first name is so very bland. It's especially ironic when Logan finds out he's kind of mentally handicapped. Or so he thinks. I think this might end up being my bad guy who is tearing the universe apart with an experiment. Logan befriends him right from the start because the guy seems to have a little "hero worship" going on. He says he's a devout follower of the Te'arra sect so he's fascinated with Logan. But it's all an act. He's just a literal mad scientist and Logan has to stop him.