When I started writing The Blue not too long ago, I needed a bad guy to make it work. Ahmed was that bad guy, and he was an evil son of a bitch. He hated aliens with a passion only a fanatic could muster. The Islamic terrorist group he was part of hated them, too. Their common goal was to prevent The Blue from making Earthfall. And any alien who landed here would be taken out. The terrorists had no compunction about killing humans who got in the way.
Religious fanatics are easy bad guys to write. You don’t need logic to inform their decisions. Their motivation can simply be (and often is) blind faith. There’s no need to moralize or justify their actions. Being on a mission from God pretty much covers it.
Yet when a writer takes this shortcut, readers have no choice but to follow. A stereotype doesn’t require much thought. There are no surprises. Everyone knows what to expect.
Here’s the character description I wrote for Ahmed a few months ago. He’s speaking in his voice to us. The monologue is heavily based on dialogue from a rather unfortunate chapter I wrote last year. Read it and cringe…
The Blue.
Their very existence has turned our world upside-down. They are still three months away and look at the trouble they’ve caused. Can we so easily forget the riots after the aliens told us that they were not aware of Allah or Mohamed, peace be unto him? They have not even the concept of religion. Does that not frighten you? It frightens me.
Scientists tell us that twelve light-years is a long way to travel, and that the Blue are simply ignorant. They could not have known the strife their statements would cause. Yet the scientists who say this merely speak the language in which they are most fluent – logic. However, logic did not create this world or others – Allah did. No sentient being within His creation would be uninformed of His greatness.
There is but one explanation for the Blue to deny the Truth. They are demons sent by Shaytan to disrupt and destroy this world.
Many consider this to be paranoid speculation. Yet even those who understand the danger say nothing can be done. Allah must be aware of the Blue, so it is His will that they come.
Yet I have considered a more historical interpretation – one less passive. I believe it is His will for us to fight them. Look at all the great battles carried out in Allah’s name. Humans received divine direction then carried out His plans against all enemies. Now an otherworldly foe approaches – the greatest challenge yet. We need only recognize something needs to be done and marshal the will to do it.
Ahmed believes The Blue are demons, and therefore evil. That’s all the motivation he needs to fight them. Do you see the projection here? I saw Ahmed as nothing more than a religious fanatic. He sees The Blue as nothing more than demons. Guess I shouldn’t have expected a simple character to have anything more than simple thoughts.
The projection doesn’t end with me or my characters. The reader would see only terrorist and victim. This limits both writer and reader in less obvious ways.
I feel the most interesting and engaging villains are ones you love to hate. Yet a reader has to mentally offset a character’s evil with some other quality for this to work. In Othello, Iago is an extremely evil man. He’s also a scheming and extraordinary clever snake. A more modern example is Joffrey from Game of Thrones. His evil is countered by stunning cluelessness. We can’t wait to see what evil shit these villains will come up with next.
However, readers will never give themselves “permission” for a love-to-hate dynamic with some character archetypes. They don’t want to see what the terrorist does next; they want the terrorist to die. Unlike with Iago or Joffrey, there’s no opportunity to savor a “Holy shit, did he just do that?” moment.
My villain wasn’t merely unlikeable, he was unenjoyable. I had to fix that.
I rewrote Ahmed’s character bio a couple of weeks ago. His name is Emil now. He’s a former nuclear scientist from Iran and mad as a hornet. His rage still has a religious component, but now there’s so much more to it. Emil’s backers are no longer some generic Islamic terrorists. I really can’t reveal much more without giving up the plot. I think Emil can explain it better, anyway…
The Blue.
Their very existence has turned our world upside down. They are still months away and look at the trouble they’ve caused. People panic in the streets. National economies have crashed. And some of us choose to worship these things as gods. Fools.
Can we so easily forget the riots after the Blue told us they haven’t even the concept of religion? Does this not frighten them? It frightens me. Some say they’re merely ignorant, and could not have known the strife their statements would cause. What difference does that make? Ignorance can do as much harm as informed action. Cancer does not “know” it will kill its host. Yet it’s still a disease.
As the Blue are a disease.
These aliens possess technology to travel twelve light years through space and biology to survive the journey. They do not age or grow feeble with time as all living things do. There is no limit to how old they can be – only injury or disease can end them. This is not life. This is an abomination.
And what if that abomination carries pathogens that can do us harm? We are told the differences between their biology and ours make that impossible. Any disease they might harbor would be incompatible with life on Earth, they say. And yet they can breathe our air, eat our food, and live in our climate. Would it not make sense that microbial life from their world could survive here, as well? Given a foothold, what effect would alien organisms have on our ecosystem?
Finally… why have the Blue chosen to visit us? They say it’s a mission to search the cosmos for intelligent life. I do not believe it is merely that. They are perhaps five-hundred years ahead of us technologically. In the history of our own world, what has happened to a lesser-developed society when visited upon by a more advanced one? I think you know the answer.
There are forty-one of these beasts enroute to Earth. With their technology, it could be enough to establish a beachhead for a larger force. We have no way of knowing if that is their true intent. I’m not willing to wait and find out.
The Blue are coming – and I am ready.
Emil doesn’t see the Blue as simply evil. He believes they are a threat on many fronts. They are biologically more resilient than humans. Their technology is more advanced. Yes… their ignorance of a supernatural belief system frightens Emil and troubles him deeply. Yet he also fears the possibility of exotic diseases and forced colonization – both real threats from Earth’s own history among its own people.
Look at all the context for action this provides. Emil’s has many reasons to be angry, envious, and afraid. He can respond in ways a religious fanatic couldn’t. The reader can relate on some level because we understand envy, anger, and fear.
The Blue simultaneously represent horrors of the known and unknown, so we understand why Emil is afraid. There is something in his arguments to scare every one of us. Even though we disagree with his methods, his reasoning is sound. Could he be right?
I’ve not yet rewritten the chapter. However, writing Emil’s bio gave me some really good ideas. He’s still going to be an evil son of a bitch. However, he will not be a caricature. With more than one motivation behind his rage, my villain will say and do things no cookie-cutter can.
Maybe you’ll even love to hate this guy.
You can find Emil and all the other point-of-view characters here. Do you have a favorite? Please let me know in the comments below.
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