Notes: The Constitution of Decera
No group of people possess as much energy as the youth, the adolescents in particular. They are filled with life and have a natural want to explore, to challenge, to dream. To change. This boundless energy can be a boon if used with care—or a poison if used for nothing more than gratifying reasons.
Adolescence is a time of constant change, a time for discovering oneself, what one believes in, and what one wants out of life. But it is also a time of ignorance, as the adolescent, trying out her/his developing independence in the world, is also under the presumptuous idea that s/he is all important, is the best living creature in the world, and is entitled to do whatever s/he wants, no strings attached. Many remain ignorant to the potential consequences of their behavior, but, regardless, they challenge everything in their path, eager to attest their greatness to others and to themselves. The results of their actions can go either way, and their actions may even have some effect in the future, on the world around them and the people within it.
The major characters of Decera, five of them teenagers, one of them a child, all want something different out of life: recognition from Decera’s most respected military, a simple life with no worries, feelings of worth and self-respect, safety and comfort for close friends, an accepting place to call home, and a new life worth living. While these are all acceptable goals, the road to achieving them is not so smooth. If they are too focused on what they want, they’ll fail to take in account everything around them and bring about undesired consequences. But if they aren’t focused hard enough, the object of their desire may spill out of their grasp, never to be gotten. A balance must be achieved, but, of course, this is never an easy thing to do.
In the end, careful steps must be taken to ensure the best outcome for all. The sum of the adolescent life becomes the formula for the adult life; what one learns of the world as a teenager influences what one continues to learn as they continue to mature.
And that is one of the major themes of Decera: growing up, messing up, learning from mistakes and bettering yourself and the world from them. Taking what you learn as you move through the adolescent and young adult stages and spreading your influence into the world, whatever that influence may be.
Adolescence is a time of constant change, a time for discovering oneself, what one believes in, and what one wants out of life. But it is also a time of ignorance, as the adolescent, trying out her/his developing independence in the world, is also under the presumptuous idea that s/he is all important, is the best living creature in the world, and is entitled to do whatever s/he wants, no strings attached. Many remain ignorant to the potential consequences of their behavior, but, regardless, they challenge everything in their path, eager to attest their greatness to others and to themselves. The results of their actions can go either way, and their actions may even have some effect in the future, on the world around them and the people within it.
The major characters of Decera, five of them teenagers, one of them a child, all want something different out of life: recognition from Decera’s most respected military, a simple life with no worries, feelings of worth and self-respect, safety and comfort for close friends, an accepting place to call home, and a new life worth living. While these are all acceptable goals, the road to achieving them is not so smooth. If they are too focused on what they want, they’ll fail to take in account everything around them and bring about undesired consequences. But if they aren’t focused hard enough, the object of their desire may spill out of their grasp, never to be gotten. A balance must be achieved, but, of course, this is never an easy thing to do.
In the end, careful steps must be taken to ensure the best outcome for all. The sum of the adolescent life becomes the formula for the adult life; what one learns of the world as a teenager influences what one continues to learn as they continue to mature.
And that is one of the major themes of Decera: growing up, messing up, learning from mistakes and bettering yourself and the world from them. Taking what you learn as you move through the adolescent and young adult stages and spreading your influence into the world, whatever that influence may be.
~
On the inside looking out, wanting to break barriers and traverse new grounds: in addition to maturity, these are two of the biggest themes of Decera, themes that cover multiple topics and look at the topics from differing viewpoints. I want to focus on issues that interest me, issues that I think need addressing, but I don’t want to directly attack them for certain reasons. Because this story takes place in a world where earthly rules and norms don’t apply to everything, I was able to set up a world where the Deceran rules and norms could work as a metaphor for something relatable to the real world. I could address an issue without actually addressing the issue.
The Natural Plane is a world of tradition, a place where the past always has a hold on the present no matter how the times may change. It is depicted as more culturally and humanly diverse and accepting than Earth, but by Deceran standards, the atmosphere is not totally open. This side of their conservatism comes out in many, many different ways, big and small. But it comes out more directly with some of the main characters’ personalities, beliefs, feelings, and desires.
Reflecting back on the theme of maturity, the main characters—and the supporting characters for that matter—are all searching for something beyond what they know, beyond what they are accustomed to. They aren’t just chasing desires, but they are searching for themselves, for the people they want to be, for better or for worse. On that note, skin color as it is known to us on Earth works as a metaphor for many of the characters’ personalities. To the reader, the characters posses a few traits that fit their “stereotype” - these traits are not totally dominating and overwhelming, I assure you - but these aspects of their personalities will be reexamined and subverted in the hopes the reader will focus on them as human beings with thoughts and feelings and not as “people who fit into a group.” Aside from the character plotlines, other barriers will be broken as well, from the trivial to the critical, but I’ll leave those unsaid for now.
Skipping down, the basic point is to show people that it is possible to walk on the other side of the river without forgetting what the familiar side is like – it is possible to look at the world differently and still keep your own views at heart. This “kind of diversity” will meet another level that is “more diverse.” The two levels will be explored and will interact in various ways throughout the series.
The Natural Plane is a world of tradition, a place where the past always has a hold on the present no matter how the times may change. It is depicted as more culturally and humanly diverse and accepting than Earth, but by Deceran standards, the atmosphere is not totally open. This side of their conservatism comes out in many, many different ways, big and small. But it comes out more directly with some of the main characters’ personalities, beliefs, feelings, and desires.
Reflecting back on the theme of maturity, the main characters—and the supporting characters for that matter—are all searching for something beyond what they know, beyond what they are accustomed to. They aren’t just chasing desires, but they are searching for themselves, for the people they want to be, for better or for worse. On that note, skin color as it is known to us on Earth works as a metaphor for many of the characters’ personalities. To the reader, the characters posses a few traits that fit their “stereotype” - these traits are not totally dominating and overwhelming, I assure you - but these aspects of their personalities will be reexamined and subverted in the hopes the reader will focus on them as human beings with thoughts and feelings and not as “people who fit into a group.” Aside from the character plotlines, other barriers will be broken as well, from the trivial to the critical, but I’ll leave those unsaid for now.
Skipping down, the basic point is to show people that it is possible to walk on the other side of the river without forgetting what the familiar side is like – it is possible to look at the world differently and still keep your own views at heart. This “kind of diversity” will meet another level that is “more diverse.” The two levels will be explored and will interact in various ways throughout the series.
