We're All Human

Afterword

It's a weird, gnostic gaze into some stuff I think about the human mind too, but I don't think that's as important-- mere trappings, then.

One of the most difficult parts of writing We're All Human was the limits of the narrator. It wouldn't have been the same book without the protagonist being limited to the confines of her computer, but at the same time it's extraordinarily difficult to write when your viewpoint character doesn't possess any sense but hearing. The scene where Mud, Mori, Vlad, and Nade are ambushed went through a score of revisions, in particular, to work within these confines. But more difficult than Atai's limited interaction with the physical world is Atai's lack of a body. To give the reader insight into a character's emotional state, I usually reference their autonomous body responses-- nervous characters shake, sad characters feel lumps in their throats, angry characters hear their heart pounding. With Atai, I had to refer directly to her inner mental state, which I /hope/ I did well. But I don't think I'd trade away the challenge for the lessening of the book's themes-- most importantly, that the Internet is a real place, like any other.

The characters are really what the book's about, though, even if it's only long enough for you to really get to know Atai, Dante, and very maybe Tall Mud. But each is very important to the story, and I think I really did get down exactly the right number and sorts of characters I needed.

We'll start with Tall Mud. He's very very loosely based off of an admin from my early years of MUSHing (which, technically, I'm still in) who successfully prevented me from running like a scared squirrel from the hobby's emphasis on in and out of character social interaction. But he's also, you know, incredibly Jewish, representing conventional morality in the story. Look at all the times the threat of Mud punishing someone is factored into a decision-- or outright ignored. He's not always right, and he's not always effective, but he's part of the reason Atai didn't turn out to be awful (more). The sentiments expressed in the epilogue should have, I hope, been somewhat transparent-- even if you couldn't infer that Mud thinks of Atai as a daughter, you should have been able to infer that Atai regards him as a father. She might disobey him, but at the end of the day she has utter faith that he always has her best interests in mind, and that he can be counted on to do the right thing.

(Incidentally, Tall Mud has some backstory actually laid out, and if I am to write another work in this universe he will almost certainly be the protagonist. Judging by the response I already have regarding him, this is a good decision)

Vlad was the first character I invented for this project, outside of Atai and Wareware. She was, originally, a vampire, but I scrapped that pretty fast in favor of her being a faerie. Of course, she became the kind of person who would /pretend/ to be a vampire while actually being a faery, hence her choice in usernames. Vlad was particularly difficult to write, for some reason. She's a very excitable and passionate character, but she also starts more-or-less entirely concerned with her own affairs, which is why she's so distant until Dante manages to get her into the conspiracy (speaking of books that might one day be written). I think, though, we can forgive her her selfishness-- she's very much the True Neutral type mentioned in $'s forum post. Someone willing to do the right thing at a cost to herself, mostly because it's fun.

Nade was created pretty much immediately as a counterbalance. She's the voice of caution, reason, and morality for Vlad in the same way that Vlad is the voice of action and hedonism for Nade. Originally, they were just close friends, but things happened. She's fairly far removed from Atai, in the same way that she's fairly far removed from everyone but Vlad, but that's just who she is. She's a very closed-off person and she prides herself on being extremely resolute... which is why that veneer falls during the epilogue.

(Incidentally there's a cute story about how Vlad and Nade met which I will probably write for Valentine's Day. Keep your eyes peeled.)

MMori was invented both as a walking plot device, and as an incredibly important thematic element. Mori has been through hell. Mori is not the kind of person that you associate with his set of hobbies. Mori is rough-hewn and rude and angry a lot of the time. But this found family of enthusists saved his life, unabashedly. Mori could have been the one to save the world, to uncover the demon and destroy it. But Mori was afraid, too afraid, and his love for the the world and his friends couldn't overpower his fear. Like most characters in a good novella (or in any event, in this novella), Mori parallels Atai. The difference between the two is that Mori decided that the world was rotten, and Atai sees it for what it is and chooses to save it all the same. (Speaking of books that might  be written) I think, though, at the end of the day, he's a good person, even if he's prevented from acting all too often.