Thursday, July 14, 2011

The Slave and The Exile

The idea: this story is a diversity piece.

There will be two antagonists, alluding to my brother and I.  One who is a runaway slave, the other a political exile.  I don't know if I will include racial issues for the first or homosexuality for the second.  Also, two major characters I want to include will be allusions to gender minorities (women) and rebels (apostates).  There will be others who are minorities or not and I'm not sure where the story is going yet... but it will be a social commentary.

Tuesday, July 5, 2011

Fairy Tale: story idea

A while back the title "Fairy Tale" came to me in a flash of inspiration.  I knew it had to be attached to some epically gay work!  Originally I was planning to use it as the title to a memoir piece I'm planning to do on my own coming out experience.  But a couple days ago, I was at a cafe with Erika and we started brainstorming a fantasy future where the gays and straight's positions in society were reversed.  The following is a rough sketch of the the world we created.  I believe this world could be the backdrop to a wonder fiction that would deserve the title mentioned above.  We shall see :)


The main premise is that homosexual orientation has become preferred over heterosexuality.  This is because in this future world (not quite a dystopia, nor is it utopia) the ruling authority has set controls on human reproduction.  Males are to donate their sperm regularly (yearly?) as with women and their eggs.  The government records and studies the genetic material presented by donors then employs a program of artificial selection to determine which pairs of gametes are combined and which are discarded.  Straights are discouraged because of the possibility of an accidental/unauthorized pregnancy (which will be aborted if caught within the first trimester).

When a couple desires a child, they simply apply for adoption.  A social worker is sent to the couple's home (it is plausible that a single or poly home might be cleared for a child, but rarely) and, if they are determined to be competent and able, the adoption will be set.  If it is a female couple, an embryo is sent and one of the women simply carries the child.  Child bearing for male couples is taken care of by professional surrogates.  A child's genetic heritage is restricted... most people never know who their biological parents were, just as parent do not know who the child's DNA came from.

In the past 500 years, since the revolution, genetic disease has all but been eliminated: heart disease, diabetes, obesity, vision problems, cancer, etc.  Ethnicity has mostly disappeared, as the strongest genetic match-ups came from merging the races.  The general look of an American is olive/bronze/milk-chocolate skin, brown/hazel/dark-blue eyes, 5'6" and 110 lbs. for females, 5'10" and 150 lbs. for males, and mousy-brown/dirty-blonde/black hair.  If you are discerning, you can still detect traces of racial diversity in the population (especially if African heritage is pronounced). Age has also been muted: people live to within 5 years of 120 and mostly keep the health of middle-age until a year or so before death.

From time to time, there are children born with significant mutations.  These mutations are rarely much more than having oddly colored eyes or having longer-than-normal fingers.  Generally, children are assessed for genetic viability around puberty (when they begin donations).  Those with mutations are put under additional tests to determine if that mutation may be dangerous or advantageous.  The same goes for children who are deemed "accidents" (a child born by natural means).  Note that additional tests and observations are done discreetly; most children will never know they have a "mutation" unless it is visibly apparent.

The current cultural setting for the story is that straights are sent to reservations where they are allowed to raise their families in the "old way".  At puberty, children on the reservations are examined.  If they are found to be gay then they are gently extracted (if they are bi, they are offered a choice to stay or leave).  Children who come out as straight in the new society often are pressured by their families to act gay.  But, the government's position is that those that are straight (most bisexuals choose to go gay, as it is easier) should proceed to come out but keep themselves celibate until they are ready to move onto a reservation.  Straights may choose to remain in the new society under the condition that they either remain single and celibate or they submit themselves to sterilization so as to avoid accidents.  There is currently a movement in the society to unite the old with the new, but many few this as a step towards anarchy and social destruction.

The religious-cultural view of this new society is that natural selection leads to flawed genetics in a civilized society and that heterosexuality is in direct opposition to the artificial selection that has "saved humanity."  Also, the new society believes that bearing one's own children tends to create divisions and undue ambition and favoritism towards one's own family.  By using the mix, every child is your child.  The new society avoids incest by assigning people middle names (it is taboo to fall in love with someone that shares your middle name).

There is more... but I will have to write it later.  The idea so far for the actual story is to follow two uni students.  One comes out to the other as straight and what ensues...