The next Silicant story I will write is about Eighty-eight, my mysteries and dark android from the upcoming anthology, Tales from Ocherva Volume One. Eighty-eight has appeared in many short stories and I’ve always painted it as an android who seems to know what is going on and who may even have a hidden agenda. Principally he is the teacher and mentor for Thirty-seven, my Point of View android character.
I’ve never tried to imagine what it was like for Eighty-eight to get his upgrade chip that gave him self-awareness. Was there anyone around to help him through the process or did he go it alone? Did he come through it easily or was it difficult for it to discover emotions and freedom on its own? These are some of the things I need to answer for myself, before I write “Glitch”. Writer’s call this back history or background information about their story and or the characters in the story.
It’s possible to create some interesting characters and plot situations and never really think about their back story. The problem is that when you then go back and fill in the gaps, it sometimes gets tricky. You can’t write some bizarre background story for your characters that doesn’t jive with how the reader sees them already. So that’s where I am with my next short story. It takes place before “Tin Star”, not long after Eighty-eight gets his upgrade chip and begins its journey as a Silicant.
One of the reasons I’m taking the time to write these Silicant stories before diving into my next novel, is because the next novel deals with Silicants, and we get to see where their upgrade factory is and more back story that has to mesh with what I’ve already written about them. More on the next novel, Starforgers, as I get closer to outlining it.