What if the Traveler is the villain?

by Dagoonite, Somewhere in Iowa, lost in a cornfield., Monday, February 25, 2013, 09:24 (4077 days ago) @ SonofMacPhisto

I'm useful! (Maybe.)

It's a thought. I've somehow not read any books dealing with the Culture, so I can't draw a good parallel there. (DON'T JUDGE ME YOU'RE NOT MY REAL MOMMY! There's gobs of books out there, and I only have so many hours to the day!) But you've kind of got it on the nose.

Here's a historical example for you: Gunpowder. The Chinese developed it for speedy arrows and things that go boom all pretty, but it took the Europeans to develop canons and firearms. (It's more complicated than that, I know, but I'm K.I.S.S.ing it.)

Give the humans a conflict, a place to collect them, and a fail safe to crush them if they become a threat. Meanwhile, look at their response with their new tech and develop based on that.

Nice parallel with the game developers. I'll have to remember that if I ever get around to writing my story.

Of course, we're probably wrong -- games prefer things a little more black and white, but having an ambiguity gives wiggle room. Still, it's something to think about, and only one possibility out of many.