Story Plot Idea - The Diamond

[Rayfield Lumina]

Let's see how this fares. There's barely any activity in this part of the site, so I wouldn't be surprised if this thread is forgotten, covered by a thick layer of dust called "Indifference"... oh, what a clown xD

So, I have this possible plot bubbling in my mind:

 

It is our world, with a difference: 

Found in the middle of the Arctic Ocean is a huge structure, approximately the size of Spain. Above sea level, the structure has the shape of a face-down diamond. Underwater, it extends as a pillar to the bottom of the sea and possibly beyond. Its surface is crystalline, and absolutely impervious. No human technology allows to see what's inside, if there's an inside at all.

This structure has been there since Humans can remember. The first Humans to ever met "The Diamond", as it came to known over time, where Vikings, during their age of expanding and colonizing, around 800 A.D. It would take about another 700 years for this structure to be known by most civilized cultures.

Now, I believe it's impossible to think Human History developed exactly the same as we know it. The Diamond was there, silent, immobile, impenetrable, yes, but I'm sure that, if such an structure existed, Humans would be irremediably attracted to its mystery, and would make all manner of theories about its nature. In the story, a whole religion based on The Diamond exists. They believe that's the residence of God. Pretty much afterlife on Earth, if you will. A branch of this same religion believe it's possible to attain access to the Diamond by finding "perfect enlightenment". Some others have their own version of Christianity. They believe in the God of Isaac, Abraham and Jacob, but think He IS inside the Diamond. Alien-created? Demon-infested? Another Dimension? The Spirit of the Planet? A freaking chunk of an incomprehensible, but soul-ess material just standing there? Impossible to tell. Scientific of all eras have tried to study it to no avail. They can't take samples. This structure, though called the Diamond, is not what the name implies. Compared to a normal Diamond, it cannot be damaged by any means. Not even a scratch. One day, the nations of the world signed a treaty to never use heavy weaponry on The Diamond. Due to lack of knowledge, it was decided it was better to not act violently against it. I leave to your imagination which country decided over time that The Diamond was indeed a threat to humanity and hence had to be destroyed preemptively. With excuses, they broke the treaty and bombed the structure with nuclear weapons. The Diamond lol'ed as it stood there as perfect and shiny as ever. Imagine the uproar this caused. After decades of military conflict, the attacking nation apologized (heh, I don't think so, but for the sake of the story, let's say they did) and the situation became a strained calmness. Time kept going, and The Diamond was just there, stoic, immaculate.

And then we reach year 2025. The COVID has been tamed, hurrah! Society is trying to return to the state it was before the pandemic. Everyone is optimistic... heck, it seems the fight against global warning has hope. And then, The Diamond opens.

A being surrounded by misty lights and shadows emerges. It doesn't look like a Human at all. It floats just outside the surface, and speaks. In all languages, dialects and varieties, its voice resounds inside the mind of every person in the world. The Entity speaks these words:

"In One Hundred Days, Humanity shall be Annihilated."

The Entity returns to The Diamond, which closes again.

 

Well, there you go, that's the premise. I believe this kind of story requires a scope of knowledge about politics, religion and social dynamics that's beyond my current grasp. I won't lie, I'm not sure who'd be the main characters, or what would be in truth the body or the intention of the story. I find it interesting to think what kind of response would humanity make against such a treat. This "Entity" didn't demonstrate any kind of power, it just stated something. But Humans know The Diamond is completely indestructible by current means, implying a level of technology Humans can't compete against. How will normal people react? Riots? Murder? Praying? Will people hold hands and wait valiantly for the end? Was it God announcing the Apocalypse? Will people ignore the warning, or blame a powerful government of the Message? Will there be people claiming that the "annihilation" is just a way to say "rebirth". And what will the UN do? Will the powerful nations of the world join hands to fight the menace? Will they see this time of turmoil as a chance to destabilize rival nations? Is Dwayne Johnson, the Rock, president of the US? 

 

What do you think, guys? Please let me know. What will Humanity do? What's the nature of this "Entity"? Is there a reason for the Entity to appear exactly during our era? Will I speak alone and everyone will ignore this? Too many questions...

[Tinkerer]

Hmm... interesting thought experiment.  This would make a pretty cool concept for a roleplay.

I would imagine that you'd have to look at things on two levels: government level and individual level.

In such a scenario, I imagine first-world governments or influential government-scaled entities (UN) would not try to take advantage of the situation.  If the statement was perceived as a threat (and they would be), I'd imagine these governments would be entirely focused on 2 priorities: 1. keeping the population calm and 2. figuring out how to penetrate/get inside the diamond.  Prepping defensive measures seems fruitless given the technology difference, so the most useful endeavor would likely be diplomacy of some kind.

Smaller governments (second/third world countries) that might not be able to effectively contribute as much to the cause might try to take advantage of the situation while the bigger governments are preoccupied.  However, they still have to deal with populace panic and even if they were able to keep their population reliably under control, 100 days is not a whole lot of time to take advantage of anything.

Individually, I can't imagine most people would have much hope in such a scenario.  There is very little for the individual to do in that case so it would all come down to people's "true selves".  This would probably be quite interesting in terms of a character study.  The whole scenario and its relationship with people's psyche reminds me of the summary of the 1960s movie "The Exterminating Angel".  Maybe I should give it a watch and see how it depicts individuals in a scenario out of their control.

There is one class of individual who might operate a little differently from the rest of the masses: the uber-wealthy.  I would imagine that - given the lack of clarification in the statement - the richest people would probably try to use their wealth to escape Earth.  For those with means, trying to escape annihilation feels like it would be the best use of their time.

~~~

Looking at the scenario from an outside perspective, I feel like there is something "off" here.  The fact that the statement is so... blunt... makes me think there might be something else going on, i.e. a threat to humanity that is posed by something outside the diamond.

Did you have a direction for the story, or were you specifically looking for people's thoughts/input?

[Rayfield Lumina]

20 hours ago, Mr Melon said:

Hmm... interesting thought experiment.  This would make a pretty cool concept for a roleplay.

I would imagine that you'd have to look at things on two levels: government level and individual level.

In such a scenario, I imagine first-world governments or influential government-scaled entities (UN) would not try to take advantage of the situation.  If the statement was perceived as a threat (and they would be), I'd imagine these governments would be entirely focused on 2 priorities: 1. keeping the population calm and 2. figuring out how to penetrate/get inside the diamond.  Prepping defensive measures seems fruitless given the technology difference, so the most useful endeavor would likely be diplomacy of some kind.

Smaller governments (second/third world countries) that might not be able to effectively contribute as much to the cause might try to take advantage of the situation while the bigger governments are preoccupied.  However, they still have to deal with populace panic and even if they were able to keep their population reliably under control, 100 days is not a whole lot of time to take advantage of anything.

Individually, I can't imagine most people would have much hope in such a scenario.  There is very little for the individual to do in that case so it would all come down to people's "true selves".  This would probably be quite interesting in terms of a character study.  The whole scenario and its relationship with people's psyche reminds me of the summary of the 1960s movie "The Exterminating Angel".  Maybe I should give it a watch and see how it depicts individuals in a scenario out of their control.

There is one class of individual who might operate a little differently from the rest of the masses: the uber-wealthy.  I would imagine that - given the lack of clarification in the statement - the richest people would probably try to use their wealth to escape Earth.  For those with means, trying to escape annihilation feels like it would be the best use of their time.

First of all, thanks a bunch for the reply, it makes me really happy to know somebody found this interesting. I read your musings more than once to absorb them.

Yeah, after thinking about it over and over, I suppose the first-world governments would give priority to control of the masses, then find any possible solution by working with each other. I can't disregard just yet the possibility of underground tactics to affect rival powerful nations in the process, though. Yeah, my overall perspective seems to be more pessimistic. I can't help to think about the capability of humans for arrogance and avarice. Perhaps one of these nations could think that they will be able to fight the menace once it reveals itself, possibly by using other nations as "shield" (making false excuses as per why they aren't doing their part as the rival nations are decimated) while they study the enemy and find a weakness. Aware of the insurmountable defense of the Diamond and the possibility of the enemy having that same quality, they could think of alternate measures like immobilizing, or sonic/viral weapons.I admit the possibility is this betrayal is low. Reason being, using your own adjective, the bluntness of the statement. "Lulz, y'all gonna die" would be the most natural interpretation. Using the least common sense, one word should weigh over anything else: survival. Not to underestimate the capability of politicians to screw it, but hopefully that'd be the case. In contrast to this, I want to mention a book I read a coupe of years ago, "Earth Unaware". It's the first book in a trilogy that serves as prequel of the prequel to the events of "Ender's Game". In the story, a family of Venezuelan space miners find out that a massive spaceship of hostile ant-like Aliens is approaching Earth. With great sacrifices, a lone young man manages to reach Earth with some proof. Despite this, due to discrimination (people who is born in space are mistreated by Earth dwellers), political/economical interests, etc., the governments of the world take the threat lightly... and well, you can imagine the outcome if I tell you the next book is called "Earth Afire". Now, back to the Diamond, there are great differences in comparison to this other situation. The threat is, in general terms, pretty clear, everyone heard it, and it's in your face. On the other hand, you have no idea of the enemy's capabilities beyond their defensive power (in case of the ants, they already had demonstrated they were nasty as hell), and there's the fact that the statement might not mean death, so... complex stuff xD

Individually, yes, I completely agree. Dat Luis Buñuel was a genius, huh? Indeed, when Humans are cornered and faced with destiny, the best and worst of each individual will arise. To each mind, it will be different. But I wonder... how much good or bad will surface? Y'see, in my third world country, something happens once in a while. One of those enormous trailers with merchandise is knocked over in the high way. You know what happens next. People appear out of a sudden, alerted by whatsapp or whatever and it becomes a feast of scavengers, you can't help but feeling outraged when you see that in the news. Dunno if this happens in first-world countries. I just think: "people is garbage". I'm aware of the necessity of the people, the bad government that pushes people to do that, and I shouldn't judge when I'm kinda comfortably watching that from a decent home... but I think that. They also say, "opportunity makes a thief"... I dunno, I just want to say, how will common people act when faced with short term annihilation? Will we truly act like monkeys, causing riots and will be seen carrying a freaking 60'' Screen down the street? The kind of ridiculous, cheap crimes some people might commit to take advantage of a bad situation will appear in this kind of scenario? This, I wonder.

Oh, right, Jeff Bezos and his peers, hahaha. I haven't thought of that. Interesting. When you think of extinction, you think, welp, no X race in Earth. But what if some Humans are in space? This arises another question: to which lengths will this or these Entities will hunt down humanity for annihilation, should their statement be destruction, and what are their reasons for doing this? Many possibilities. Say he/she/it/they were agents of Earth, wanting to eradicate Humans so we don't screw more the planet. Depending on the directive, they might be willing to let go some Humans as long as they don't return. If hatred is involved not even Elon Musk in his cybertruck will be safe. The world "annihilated" leaves little lenience. It doesn't seem they will be happy with just decimating the populace so we learn the lesson. Now, if the Entity(es) are not tree huggers, lol, what they can be? Aliens saying, welp, you got your chance, that's enough. Or something of spiritual source? It is in this last that we can have many paths for what annihilation can mean, I guess. What makes us Humans? Our memories, our instincts, our feelings, our nature? Perhaps the intention is to wipe out one of those.

21 hours ago, Mr Melon said:

~~~

Looking at the scenario from an outside perspective, I feel like there is something "off" here.  The fact that the statement is so... blunt... makes me think there might be something else going on, i.e. a threat to humanity that is posed by something outside the diamond.

Did you have a direction for the story, or were you specifically looking for people's thoughts/input?

Yeah, I want to be 100% honest, I don't have much lead, not truly a direction, but just intentions. I'm not entirely sure what you're referring to when you say "a threat to humanity that is posed by something outside the diamond.", if you mean that the statement was orchestrated by something that is not inside the diamond, then yeah, that's a possibility that crossed my mind and haven't discarded yet. I want to clarify, tho, that at this point of hazy plot developing, the idea of the Entity being somehow created by Humans is not entirely discarded... hell of a plot twist, the Entity was created by future Humans and sent to the past to be nourished and become powerful enough to wipe out past humans so future humans take their place... lol, and then we have the most basic paradox about space-time travelling, if past humans were eradicated, how do future humans exist to do all this? So yeah, no, unless parallel universes are implemented.

And what I was saying about intentions... I kinda don't feel like this plot developing into a freaking blockbuster with Mark Wahlberg saving the day by bombing/virus-ing the brain of the Entity(es) at the core of the Diamond, or something stupid. Neither I want (but not as opposed as the previous) to develop into an anime-esque situation where humanity is decimated but the defensive struggles give time to a "resistance" for the birth of a group of youngsters with powers/special training/new weaponry that are the only hope against the menace. Nahh. I sincerely don't know much about this beyond the premise, so yeah, I wanted you guys input. But what I know is that I wanted something thought-provoking. As said before, something that is more focused on the true nature of Humans and how they'd respond to such situation rather than epic battles and stuff (but again, if that could be mixed in successfully, ok, 'cause I'm a man of fantasy and action too xD).

Thanks again for reading n.n

[Sleepy]

@Rayfield Lumina here's another reply xP

 

Hmm as I see it, calming the masses might be impossible in any conventiinal manner considering the entity made a global statement at unison and personally to every individual. No chance of it being disguised or taken as a rumor. Given the scenario, I'm inclined to believe human ingenuity would pick up in the other things we know.

 

First, it has telepathic powers and knows the languages of everyone communicated so it either did not translate the message into literal thought up words and instead made the recipiants instantly know the meaning of the threat (leaving very little to speculation regarding a wording that in no way could be the exact same across all languages of humanlind), OR the entity bothered to learn all languages including dialects and variations regardless of how many inhabitants practice any given one of them. 

 

Second, we can ask about the ranges of the message based on it. If individuals profiscient in miltiple languages heard it in a specific one, or having people that received it in different parts of the world really compare wording via a mediator, and check if messages were truly given out at the same time for both. Next, what else got the message? Astronauts at a space base? Any animals recorded that'd make one suspect they could maybe been able to pick up the message despite not being targets? Any electronic devices picking up any noise or signals of the message? 

 

Knowing the limitations of the message might help humanity to find any cracks and any hope in this situation, so no doubt a team(s) would form to focus in such task. Sadly something like this reeks of "each government and some of its alliances will want their own and waste some efforts in good old fashioned sabotage... or have a world team that is still packed with agendas and backstabbing to get a nose lead after this chapter in humanity. I'd root for an independent team being the MCs.

 

Another factor is the structure itself. Did nobody keep any cameras pointed at it? Maybe something picked up the appearance of the open entrance and entity, although human tensions in your scenario probably make any such recording devices feel sneaky to other nations so political warfare and this potentially cold war-like state wouldn't help much in an official capacity even though the diamond doesn't belong to any nation. Actually now that I think about it, is that really the case? It's not without precedent for nations to build around the discoveries of such places and/or claim them as their turf even when they are something untouchable like cave paintings. No doubt it would belong to some nation. IRL nations don't tend to hold a gentleman's agreement, just look at the territory distribution in Antartica that is pretty much a pie chart of colonizing flags.

 

Something else to note, has nobody seriously tried to trace the perimeter? The structure itself is impervious but the material around it sure isn't. Any experiments on how deep the rabbit hole goes? Now I understand this is probably impossible since IRL the deepest hole ever dug got as far as 1/3rd of the Earth's crust, at which point it proved too hard and costly to do, trying to withstand hard compressed granite deeper than the ocean's floor, rising temperatures that melted the very drills, and an increasingly longer distance. That said I think it wouldn't work in this story either but an attempt should exist, and provide samples of any minerals or conditions along the way (or hollowed out patches of the hole) that suggest the possibility of energy sources or mined goods around the diamond, of unknown origins.

 

Lastly, if samples can't be taken to scientists, scientists would go to the samples. A science camp is also a thing. Microscopes directed at the molecular or even atomical structure and desperate need to identify any known molecule in their bonds, even predating the entity's threat, for the sake of expanding the periodic table or reverse ingeneer even a specific trait of the structure. Also subjecting it to any destructive testing like temperature resistance (from near 0 kelvin to the sun's core in degrees), how hydro fobic/fillic it is, x rays, gamma rays, radio waves/sonars, light reflective capabilities, magnetism, detection of electrical flow, sound, corrosive or poisonous chemicals, including any compounding reactions rather than just " if it breaks it", even if one of those reactions actually ends up making the structure sturdier somehow.

 

I believe most commentary would be directed to the political landscape of the situation so here you have the scientific thoughts on the matter xD

I read the thread over a day ago but needed time to make a post, even now I'm on mobile so might not give this the best presentation...

[Rayfield Lumina]

On 4/30/2021 at 11:45 AM, Sleepy said:

@Rayfield Lumina here's another reply xP

 

Hmm as I see it, calming the masses might be impossible in any conventiinal manner considering the entity made a global statement at unison and personally to every individual. No chance of it being disguised or taken as a rumor. Given the scenario, I'm inclined to believe human ingenuity would pick up in the other things we know.

 

First, it has telepathic powers and knows the languages of everyone communicated so it either did not translate the message into literal thought up words and instead made the recipiants instantly know the meaning of the threat (leaving very little to speculation regarding a wording that in no way could be the exact same across all languages of humanlind), OR the entity bothered to learn all languages including dialects and variations regardless of how many inhabitants practice any given one of them. 

 

Second, we can ask about the ranges of the message based on it. If individuals profiscient in miltiple languages heard it in a specific one, or having people that received it in different parts of the world really compare wording via a mediator, and check if messages were truly given out at the same time for both. Next, what else got the message? Astronauts at a space base? Any animals recorded that'd make one suspect they could maybe been able to pick up the message despite not being targets? Any electronic devices picking up any noise or signals of the message? 

 

Knowing the limitations of the message might help humanity to find any cracks and any hope in this situation, so no doubt a team(s) would form to focus in such task. Sadly something like this reeks of "each government and some of its alliances will want their own and waste some efforts in good old fashioned sabotage... or have a world team that is still packed with agendas and backstabbing to get a nose lead after this chapter in humanity. I'd root for an independent team being the MCs.

 

Another factor is the structure itself. Did nobody keep any cameras pointed at it? Maybe something picked up the appearance of the open entrance and entity, although human tensions in your scenario probably make any such recording devices feel sneaky to other nations so political warfare and this potentially cold war-like state wouldn't help much in an official capacity even though the diamond doesn't belong to any nation. Actually now that I think about it, is that really the case? It's not without precedent for nations to build around the discoveries of such places and/or claim them as their turf even when they are something untouchable like cave paintings. No doubt it would belong to some nation. IRL nations don't tend to hold a gentleman's agreement, just look at the territory distribution in Antartica that is pretty much a pie chart of colonizing flags.

 

Something else to note, has nobody seriously tried to trace the perimeter? The structure itself is impervious but the material around it sure isn't. Any experiments on how deep the rabbit hole goes? Now I understand this is probably impossible since IRL the deepest hole ever dug got as far as 1/3rd of the Earth's crust, at which point it proved too hard and costly to do, trying to withstand hard compressed granite deeper than the ocean's floor, rising temperatures that melted the very drills, and an increasingly longer distance. That said I think it wouldn't work in this story either but an attempt should exist, and provide samples of any minerals or conditions along the way (or hollowed out patches of the hole) that suggest the possibility of energy sources or mined goods around the diamond, of unknown origins.

 

Lastly, if samples can't be taken to scientists, scientists would go to the samples. A science camp is also a thing. Microscopes directed at the molecular or even atomical structure and desperate need to identify any known molecule in their bonds, even predating the entity's threat, for the sake of expanding the periodic table or reverse ingeneer even a specific trait of the structure. Also subjecting it to any destructive testing like temperature resistance (from near 0 kelvin to the sun's core in degrees), how hydro fobic/fillic it is, x rays, gamma rays, radio waves/sonars, light reflective capabilities, magnetism, detection of electrical flow, sound, corrosive or poisonous chemicals, including any compounding reactions rather than just " if it breaks it", even if one of those reactions actually ends up making the structure sturdier somehow.

 

I believe most commentary would be directed to the political landscape of the situation so here you have the scientific thoughts on the matter xD

I read the thread over a day ago but needed time to make a post, even now I'm on mobile so might not give this the best presentation...

Humongous thanks for the reply n.n

Yeah, a non-verbal message possibility crossed my mind. I didn't mention it before, but I was also taking into account deaf people. I'm ignorant of how people with that disability could perceive the message. Not images, I'd say, because that would downright reveal the true meaning of the message once a deaf person conveys the images (unless those as well were truly metaphoric), and that's spoilery for the intention of the story... or wait, it could be interesting. Maybe a core character could be a deaf person, and this person gets in touch with intellectuals, who try to decipher the metaphor of the images...

I disagree in one thing about your amazing post. It seems that from your point of view there's no way for the messages to be taken for what it isn't, but that's not exactly true, I think. You know how stupid and stubborn hoomans are, and how crazy those guys that are into conspiracy theories are. You can bet there will be more than one that says this is all an experiment, or an attempt from a powerful nation, may it be the US, China, Rusia or whatever, to destabilize society as they take advantage of it.

- Yep, all the languages, dialects and variations, the correct one for each person.

- It's too much, no government can do it!

- Ha! You can bet they do. They spy on people. They have your data. They put... chips in the COVID Vaccine.

- Oh! Y-Yeah, I haven't thought of that. That makes sense.X-Land released the COVID to oblige people get the vaccine. And now...

- They got us by the balls.

As per the other interesting questions: Every hooman heard/saw the message, even in outer space. I confirm this because I feel it's good for the story. Animals or electronic devices... mmm... I'd simply have to decide. In this moment I'm inclined to believe that a) No electronic devices got a trace of it. b) Animals might have. Perhaps birds, or underwater mammals such as dolphins or whales.

I'm 100% digging the idea of an independent group of guys investigating the message. For what I've said before, I think this works along with the deaf person thingy. Not their only approach, but 1 of many they're studying.

Cameras. Something I also forgot to mention in my first exposure: The entity was filmed. By what? Satellites. This thing is in the middle of the Arctic Ocean, and there was order from the UN to leave it alone, so no one was able to film it with, say, a camera or cellphone. Not to mention it's likely the vicinity of the Diamond is filled with nasty radiation after X-Land bombed the hell out of it, to no avail, even if decades have passed since that event. Another thing I forgot to mention (dude, I'm stupid xD), but when I was saying that about "you can't take samples" I forgot to mention this other fact. Scientist can't approach the place due to radiation, or rather, they can, by using special suits/equipment, but it's pretty risky. Now, I'd say that in this desperate situation it's unlikely every scientist will remain sleepy in their homes. There will be definitely brave scientist willing to go there and perform the list of tests you described (amazing list n.n).

Yep, throughout time scientists and adventurers have tried to find any kind of flaw/entrance/etc. Over and underwater. No good. As I said at the start, this thing extends as a pillar to the bottom of the Earth and beyond. Not entirely sure, but it's likely it gets pretty relatively close to the centre of Earth, or as close as it can be without changing Earth's systems as we know it. The surroundings and possible effects on it, or strange materials of unknown origin... Another thing I didn't think of. I'd say no. Not energy sources as well. You can think of it as a stupid immense Diamond that has absolutely no effect to the outside, only difference being this thing is more durable than an actual Diamond.

Ah right, ownership xD. Yep, I didn't think of that one, but pretty sure some crazy country would try that. Denmark? Welp, I said Vikings discovered it. Canada, England, France? México?

AMLO en la mañanera, tras su primera reelección:

- Ehhhh, no, ehhh, esos deee.... eeehhh... el Diamante ese... no van a... ehhh, atacar... a los de...ehhhh... al 4T... sola a los... ehhhh... fifís.. y... a ...esteee.... los.... conservadores... deee... ehhh.. la Mafia... del... poder.

At the point of the message, tho, what kind of repercussions any supposed "ownership" would have? Hah, just imagine. Say that X-Country has always claimed to be the owner of that, up till now, huge piece of useless crap, and now that it threats humanity: "Welp, dude, you said it was yours, do something about it".

Alright then, so it looks like we got a lead here: MCs would be a group of brilliant people working together to decipher the message so Humanity can take the actions that are most appropriate, while there is, perhaps, a second team risking their lives by carrying out tests on the bloody jewel of apocalypse(?).

Again, thanks for the detailed reply.

[Sleepy]

Yes, the ownership bit is exactly for that purpose. It'd mean either the "owner" bombed itself, or a bigger international dispute happened which culminated in bombing from outsiders. Ah, forgot about deaf people. Though there's more weird things now that I think about it. People that belongs to tribes around the world so hostile and isolated from everything that they don't even know there's a world out there (yes they do exist). Also as you know, and this sadly can't retroactively serve as any evidence of much that can further the story/goal... but pretty much no moment goes on around the world where somebody somewhere isn't drawing its last breath. What's the point of those losing their last moments hearing such a message besides being left on despair about what's gonna happen to those loved ones they are leaving behind? Especially if the entity's message ends up being a trolling misunderstanding that said entity bothered to make work in absolutely all forms and variations of communication ever conceived by humankind. 

 

It is still a tricky part to disguise the message that way because one of the first attemts anybody would do to dig up the true meaning is to compare it in as many languages of it as possible. Cultural shock and slang are sure to play a factor and the meaning that remains constant among all versions vs the meaning that differs in all versions due to being the localized symbolism that'd make it work towards being ambiguous in that particular instance.... that's bound to come out. The real question is " how quickly?"

 

On the other hand, you do have a point in that not all recipiants will take this at face value. As in not believing the message comes from where the messenger claims or that it even is an overwhelming force that can guarantee fulfilling the threat. At the very least however it asures something is gonna happen or attempt to. 

 

It would not be a useless structure. At worst it is an impossibly old, one of a kind item made of a unique and unknown material that is not just unique but so otherworldly recilient that not even astronomers looking out into the harshest environments of the known universe have seen anything like it ... tourist attraction in other words. Are you saying the item's surroundings are radioactive even prior to the bombing incident? Because I was under the impression that the bombing was relatively recient (as in, from a decade to 15 ish years prior to the message tops). I'm inclined to believe attempts wouldn't wait until after the bombing to try. 

 

Then again, sometimes governments do get on the way of science and archeology. There's religious reasons like how the batican refuses to subject the holy lance to tests. Or how the eye of the Sahara remains a lawless wasteland too risky for most travelers to get to. Or how Gubekli Teppe was only estimated to be 5% excavated before having further progress banned by the government and even re-burying what they had. 

[Rayfield Lumina]

On 5/1/2021 at 5:12 PM, Sleepy said:

Yes, the ownership bit is exactly for that purpose. It'd mean either the "owner" bombed itself, or a bigger international dispute happened which culminated in bombing from outsiders. Ah, forgot about deaf people. Though there's more weird things now that I think about it. People that belongs to tribes around the world so hostile and isolated from everything that they don't even know there's a world out there (yes they do exist). Also as you know, and this sadly can't retroactively serve as any evidence of much that can further the story/goal... but pretty much no moment goes on around the world where somebody somewhere isn't drawing its last breath. What's the point of those losing their last moments hearing such a message besides being left on despair about what's gonna happen to those loved ones they are leaving behind? Especially if the entity's message ends up being a trolling misunderstanding that said entity bothered to make work in absolutely all forms and variations of communication ever conceived by humankind. 

 

It is still a tricky part to disguise the message that way because one of the first attemts anybody would do to dig up the true meaning is to compare it in as many languages of it as possible. Cultural shock and slang are sure to play a factor and the meaning that remains constant among all versions vs the meaning that differs in all versions due to being the localized symbolism that'd make it work towards being ambiguous in that particular instance.... that's bound to come out. The real question is " how quickly?"

 

On the other hand, you do have a point in that not all recipiants will take this at face value. As in not believing the message comes from where the messenger claims or that it even is an overwhelming force that can guarantee fulfilling the threat. At the very least however it asures something is gonna happen or attempt to. 

 

It would not be a useless structure. At worst it is an impossibly old, one of a kind item made of a unique and unknown material that is not just unique but so otherworldly recilient that not even astronomers looking out into the harshest environments of the known universe have seen anything like it ... tourist attraction in other words. Are you saying the item's surroundings are radioactive even prior to the bombing incident? Because I was under the impression that the bombing was relatively recient (as in, from a decade to 15 ish years prior to the message tops). I'm inclined to believe attempts wouldn't wait until after the bombing to try.

 

Then again, sometimes governments do get on the way of science and archeology. There's religious reasons like how the batican refuses to subject the holy lance to tests. Or how the eye of the Sahara remains a lawless wasteland too risky for most travelers to get to. Or how Gubekli Teppe was only estimated to be 5% excavated before having further progress banned by the government and even re-burying what they had. 

Yeah, I know of those tribes, IIRC they primary live in the Amazons. There's also the famous Sentinelese Tribe living in an island close to India, etc. Anywho, interesting point, but perhaps not as relevant. As ignorant as I am about their customs and social system, I can only imagine these tribes would take the message as a signal from their gods, whoever they are, and they would take "humanity" mostly as their kind, though they're aware of other being living in the outside... after all, the Sentinelese have attacked and even killed people more than once, though, perhaps they took the intruders for something non-Human, who knows.

The theme about people on the verge of death is quite delicate. Unfortunately, I daresay the Entity won't make any distinction, the message goes for everyone. If Hoomans are behind it, this fact won't change: they're evil enough to orchestrate this, they won't care, OR, even in the case they consider it, leaving "cracks" in the message that smell of Human empathy is no good for their plans, they would proceed regardless.

Yep, the bombing happened about 30-40 years ago. Radiation should still be there? It's complex to say. Let's take into consideration Hiroshima/Nagasaki and Chernobyl. The former cities are perfectly habitable right now, Chernobyl isn't. Tons of variables involved. H/N, fast fission chain, Chernobyl, slow fission chain. H/N, the bombs exploded 500 m. above ground, while in Chernobyl it happpened ground level, evidently. The amount of nuclear material unleashed was radically different too. I imagine the bombs were detonated the closest as possible to the Diamond, and it's likely they didn't use only 1. I'm not sure, but for the sake of the story, I'll just have it filled with radiation, so not even a curious Sleepy can go there without special equipment xD.

No, I can't picture it as tourist attraction. A combination of reasons. Firstly, seems like the most boring place in existence. It's a completely plain, slippery, inclined huge place that extends as far as you can see. Nothing fun or interesting to see. The weather in the middle of the ocean shouldn't be that good either. On top of that, I wouldn't see too difficult for the UN to declare that the place is to be left alone. I think I said something of the sorts at the start. I'm not sure how I can argue in favour of this... I just think... about the fear. I've always felt the place is scary for humanity. Reason? It's ineffability/inscrutability... common hoomans are just too scared of things they can't comprehend, even if people with scientific curious minds would go to any lengths to unveil its mysteries. Yep, I'd say the UN will say no for decades... then the message happened. 

[HQCardmaker]

Day 42. A person creates the hypothesis or theory that the Diamond was created by an "author" to harbor his/her favorite creation. Everyone laughs.

Day 52. The same person creates the hypothesis that human kind will cause eachother to be their downfall due to fear. They scoff.

Day 61. It has begun. The air is filled with a neurotoxin that makes Pride release dangerous levels of dopamine.

No, I'm kidding, this is your story, you write it the way you want. Personally, I think Russia (of all people) would apologize for attacking the Diamond. After all, they are all about work being valued over all else; the worth of a shoelace with its shoe. (At least the not lazy ones, if they even have lazy ones.)

It is a very cohesive concept. I'd like to watch or read this story. It sounds a bit like Bruce Almighty meets Black Hole or Bruce Almighty meets that Regular Show cartoon where two things save the world with a sandwich. But without all the need for comedy/forced comedy.

[Sleepy]

I think you underestimate the hability of tourism to provide any entertainment that the main attraction might lack. Though you did miss giving the most obvious reason against my idea: the fact it is miles away from any land in the middle of the frigging north pole so the weather is not the best for it xD

My curiosity will triumph xP

Though you sound like you have a pretty good idea of the real meaning behind the message already. I wonder what it might be.

[Rayfield Lumina]

2 hours ago, HQCardmaker said:

Day 42. A person creates the hypothesis or theory that the Diamond was created by an "author" to harbor his/her favorite creation. Everyone laughs.

Day 52. The same person creates the hypothesis that human kind will cause eachother to be their downfall due to fear. They scoff.

Day 61. It has begun. The air is filled with a neurotoxin that makes Pride release dangerous levels of dopamine.

No, I'm kidding, this is your story, you write it the way you want. Personally, I think Russia (of all people) would apologize for attacking the Diamond. After all, they are all about work being valued over all else; the worth of a shoelace with its shoe. (At least the not lazy ones, if they even have lazy ones.)

It is a very cohesive concept. I'd like to watch or read this story. It sounds a bit like Bruce Almighty meets Black Hole or Bruce Almighty meets that Regular Show cartoon where two things save the world with a sandwich. But without all the need for comedy/forced comedy.

Actually, Day 52's idea is a rather interesting one.It'd be funny if among all the fear and confusion, tensions that were already there explode and humanity ends up killing each other without the famous "Entity" moving a finger. This outcome might have been calculated preemptively by the Entity, or if it was preparing an attack, it'll come out of the Diamond, see Humanity destroyed, and say "Oh, well, I got holidays". Day 61's idea is intriguing as well. Sounds like another take on that horrible M. Night Shyamalan's movie where the plants release a substance the inhibits the instincts of preservation of humans, causing them to do stuff that ends up killing them. Doesn't exactly make sense, (Shyamalan's idea), but here, causing people to become crazy with their brains brimming with dopamine is fun to say the least.

1 hour ago, Sleepy said:

I think you underestimate the hability of tourism to provide any entertainment that the main attraction might lack. Though you did miss giving the most obvious reason against my idea: the fact it is miles away from any land in the middle of the frigging north pole so the weather is not the best for it xD

My curiosity will triumph xP

Though you sound like you have a pretty good idea of the real meaning behind the message already. I wonder what it might be.

Lulz Sleepie, I actually mentioned the weather. "The weather in the middle of the ocean shouldn't be that good either.". Well, it was an understatement, haha.

And no, I'm still figuring out the true meaning of the message. If there's one at all. What if the Entity wants humans to kill each other, taking the idea from what HQ said? Fun stuff.

[Loleo]

Sounds like DnD plot :P this is really cool.

[Rayfield Lumina]

47 minutes ago, ITSUKOSOADO said:

Sounds like DnD plot :P this is really cool.

Thanks n.n. Any insight you want to share with us?

[Loleo]

Yes this is like the ideal group story where the reaction of your commenters are reactions that can be incorporated, the 100 day death clock is so apocalyptic even if the man from the diamond did nothing after just because of the hysteria. The Day diary idea was nice I almost want to see multiple people with diaries of this scenario. You have given us a world thanks for the experience, with your permission this sounds like a wonderful story in progress.

[Rayfield Lumina]

1 hour ago, ITSUKOSOADO said:

Yes this is like the ideal group story where the reaction of your commenters are reactions that can be incorporated, the 100 day death clock is so apocalyptic even if the man from the diamond did nothing after just because of the hysteria. The Day diary idea was nice I almost want to see multiple people with diaries of this scenario. You have given us a world thanks for the experience, with your permission this sounds like a wonderful story in progress.

It would seem that HQ's idea was not precisely a diary, but pointing out important events in semi-random days, which depending on the take that is given to the story might be crucial to the development. But in truth, your mention of a diary is fascinating. Immediately made me think of Bram Stoker's Dracula, and his peculiar method to narrate the story through letters and diary entries (not sure about the latter it's been many years since I read it). It'd be interesting to follow the story through the diaries of... say, three people from completely different idiosyncrasies. Perhaps one of them is in the team that is "deciphering the Message", another is one of the scientists at the Diamond, and some other person.

[cr47t]

this sounds like an interesting idea - although i'm not sure how i feel about the setup for the story (up to the diamond's announcement) being so elaborately laid out as to be its own story? it does seem like packing in more than can be afforded to fit, unless you have some experience with that (i wouldn't know). i do like the idea of the diamond and its mystique, but i feel that it would be better suited for its own story, given how important it is than a world element of a story which (based on how I read your what-ifs about humanity's reaction) aims to examine a realistic society under pressure of certain(?) extinction; otherwise the story's focus would likely be split between the diamond lore and how humanity responds to its emergence.

those are my initial thoughts. maybe i'll revisit it when i'm not so tired

[Rayfield Lumina]

On 5/8/2021 at 7:17 PM, cr47t said:

this sounds like an interesting idea - although i'm not sure how i feel about the setup for the story (up to the diamond's announcement) being so elaborately laid out as to be its own story? it does seem like packing in more than can be afforded to fit, unless you have some experience with that (i wouldn't know). i do like the idea of the diamond and its mystique, but i feel that it would be better suited for its own story, given how important it is than a world element of a story which (based on how I read your what-ifs about humanity's reaction) aims to examine a realistic society under pressure of certain(?) extinction; otherwise the story's focus would likely be split between the diamond lore and how humanity responds to its emergence.

those are my initial thoughts. maybe i'll revisit it when i'm not so tired

You might find this somewhat surprising, given our scarce interaction so far, but I was hoping you'd post. I respect your opinion and I know you're a man of literature.

Honestly, no I don't have much experience writing, I'm an aficionado. Right now, my intention would be to leave the world's history somewhat veiled. The premise is, the world is as similar as it can be from ours, except that The Diamond exists and thus humans have reacted to it in a number of ways, in religion, social and politic ambit. I hold your point valid: the complexity of these changes are deep, possibly warranting their own book, and I believe they exceed my current knowledge (at least, so I can accurately narrate every layer). Probably this is the reason why I'd try to avoid delving too deep into it, though I admit that's the easy way out. Still, I feel a little justified to do this because my main interest is, precisely as you say, to study the kind of reaction people would have, both in the social and individual aspect. I'm not entirely sure if the reader's attention would be divided between the world's lore and the happenings after the message, or in other words, if the absence of a cohesive background would cause the reader to be too aware they're reading a book instead of simply diving into the fantasy of it. It would be not my intention to leave this aspect completely unattended, I'm not fond of plotholes of flimsy ideas either, but again, I'm no specialist.

Thanks for posting, hope you can give me some more insight when you're feeling refreshed.

[cr47t]

On 5/10/2021 at 2:45 PM, Rayfield Lumina said:

You might find this somewhat surprising, given our scarce interaction so far, but I was hoping you'd post. I respect your opinion and I know you're a man of literature.

Honestly, no I don't have much experience writing, I'm an aficionado. Right now, my intention would be to leave the world's history somewhat veiled. The premise is, the world is as similar as it can be from ours, except that The Diamond exists and thus humans have reacted to it in a number of ways, in religion, social and politic ambit. I hold your point valid: the complexity of these changes are deep, possibly warranting their own book, and I believe they exceed my current knowledge (at least, so I can accurately narrate every layer). Probably this is the reason why I'd try to avoid delving too deep into it, though I admit that's the easy way out. Still, I feel a little justified to do this because my main interest is, precisely as you say, to study the kind of reaction people would have, both in the social and individual aspect. I'm not entirely sure if the reader's attention would be divided between the world's lore and the happenings after the message, or in other words, if the absence of a cohesive background would cause the reader to be too aware they're reading a book instead of simply diving into the fantasy of it. It would be not my intention to leave this aspect completely unattended, I'm not fond of plotholes of flimsy ideas either, but again, I'm no specialist.

Thanks for posting, hope you can give me some more insight when you're feeling refreshed.

i think you're right about a good portion of these things, so here are some things i'm thinking of now -

if the diamond is such a intriguing idea as to heavily influence religious social and political aspects of various civilizations, from the very start (since i get the impression that the Diamond was always there) then i think the world would be so radically different as to be unrecognizable as a version of our world, as opposed to (at the very least) a new world with elements of our world in it. thinking about it now, i think the idea of the diamond is intriguing enough to merit not only its own book but its own fictional world. assuming this fictional world is significantly smaller in scope than the real world. i think it could work under those circumstances, but trying to incorporate it into our full-scale world might be too much for a beginning writer. consider: even for such an esteemed worldbuilder as JRR Tolkien, when he made middle earth, imagined it as a part of our world around 6,000 yrs ago, but to my knowledge he never mentioned in the main middle earth works (not including the silmarillion) about the remaining world outside.

i'm hesitant to provide further advice for if the diamond gets its own fictional world, since this is your story and your idea, and i want to respect that. so i'll go back to a recurring feeling that i talked about in the first post: the whole thing feels like a smushing together of two ideas (mainly the diamond and the apocalyptic reaction) that have major potential in their own stories but would liekly clash for reader interest if put in the same narrative. whatever you do with them is up to you, but don't bite off more than you can chew.

what i'd say is: start small. maybe make a short story first, and if you still feel like making it a novel length story, try that later. if you don't, or if you stop midway in the novel length writing, you'll still have the short story to hold on to. maybe do a little soul-searching before starting writing, to see what matters to you; not only may it help you figure out what to write first (according to what interests you), you may be more likely to write something true to you. 

if you can find a way to bring them together, more power to you, but i can't see any way for me to do it myself without, again, giving the story two broken spines instead of a single solid one. in any case, i wish you good luck. (we can continue discussing it if you want)

[Rayfield Lumina]

On 5/15/2021 at 11:52 AM, cr47t said:

i think you're right about a good portion of these things, so here are some things i'm thinking of now -

if the diamond is such a intriguing idea as to heavily influence religious social and political aspects of various civilizations, from the very start (since i get the impression that the Diamond was always there) then i think the world would be so radically different as to be unrecognizable as a version of our world, as opposed to (at the very least) a new world with elements of our world in it. thinking about it now, i think the idea of the diamond is intriguing enough to merit not only its own book but its own fictional world. assuming this fictional world is significantly smaller in scope than the real world. i think it could work under those circumstances, but trying to incorporate it into our full-scale world might be too much for a beginning writer. consider: even for such an esteemed worldbuilder as JRR Tolkien, when he made middle earth, imagined it as a part of our world around 6,000 yrs ago, but to my knowledge he never mentioned in the main middle earth works (not including the silmarillion) about the remaining world outside.

i'm hesitant to provide further advice for if the diamond gets its own fictional world, since this is your story and your idea, and i want to respect that. so i'll go back to a recurring feeling that i talked about in the first post: the whole thing feels like a smushing together of two ideas (mainly the diamond and the apocalyptic reaction) that have major potential in their own stories but would liekly clash for reader interest if put in the same narrative. whatever you do with them is up to you, but don't bite off more than you can chew.

what i'd say is: start small. maybe make a short story first, and if you still feel like making it a novel length story, try that later. if you don't, or if you stop midway in the novel length writing, you'll still have the short story to hold on to. maybe do a little soul-searching before starting writing, to see what matters to you; not only may it help you figure out what to write first (according to what interests you), you may be more likely to write something true to you. 

if you can find a way to bring them together, more power to you, but i can't see any way for me to do it myself without, again, giving the story two broken spines instead of a single solid one. in any case, i wish you good luck. (we can continue discussing it if you want)

I've been pondering about your words. Pretty much like I said in my first reply, I believe your point of view is quite valid, but I disagree in some points, though we can only theorize, due to the obvious impossibility of knowing what would be the true state of the world if the Diamond was real.  From my point of view, the changes would be clear, yes, but not as radical. I might be wrong, but what I think is that a good portion of humanity would simply ignore it at some point. Yep, the Diamond has been there seemingly like forever. It's an enormous piece of ... thing, that never does anything. It's just there, silent, immobile, completely indifferent to everything. As I said at the start of the topic, undoubtedly some people would be attracted to this, such is human nature. Religions, or variants of our religions would arise, possibly (this in itself, I admit, can have a profound impact if, for instance, it had to do with countries of the middle east, where conflict terribly persist as we speak). But it truly depends... in general, I feel most activity... wouldn't be much different from what established the course of our current world. The problem is that you can't interact with the Diamond. It's a slippery thing you can barely stand on, if at all. It doesn't seem to have any special properties, except it's impenetrable. Isn't it like... boring? I'm not saying this word lightly, but I mean, what will humans do with it? It's just there. So -I think- most people will live on, knowing in a corner of their brain The Diamond is there, but paying it no mind. I'm not underestimating the capability of humans to erect idols out of nothingness. For instance, pareidolia. The burned spots in a tortilla slightly resemble Virgin Mary, and next thing you know, the freaking tortilla is atop an altar with a hundred of people praying around it. But the Diamond is, seemingly, nothing special, beyond the aforementioned quality. I wonder just how much people would truly be attracted to it. Sleepy pointed out correctly stuff about territory conflicts, yes. It's an instance that can change a part of History at a certain point, but how much? I doubt too much, honestly.

Onward to the next point: the mystery of the Diamond warranting it's own fictional world? You're onto something there. If I can freely manipulate the world's rules and History,  then it's likely something with enough substance can be done. But allow me to place another but here: the main purpose of developing a plot of this nature would be to study the reactions of our contemporary peers, individually, and socially. when faced with impeding doom (?). If I make an alternate world, we don't have the same... basis of the world, it would be people living in another world, possibly with a different set of morals, and even something as deep as instincts, depending on the nature of that world. I guess one can only say, "well, then make the alternate world similar to ours, pretty much like what you're saying the world would be, with some more differences"... but that's seems a little artificial.

I take your advise, though. From the start I stated I don't feel too capable as to be able to cover the X number of differences that would, I accept, alter the world we know. That's why I'm around asking for the insights of my card maker comrades. Perhaps I could start as you say, with a small story that is indeed place din an alternate world, and start from there. You are very correct in what you say about Beleriand. J.R.R Tolkien, perhaps by caution, or time issues, or simply because he wasn't interested in telling the tale, but always avoided talking much about the eastern part of the world. Some tribes are mentioned, and I remember that from those 5 Maiar, later called Istari, or mages, that came to the world, the two that went to the east, Alatar and Pallando (don't freaking ask me how I remembered the names, but I promise I didn't google lol) failed in their tasks and were forgotten in the mists of history... yeah, someone mentions the Silmarillion, and I get excited, heh.