# An extraterrestrial race saving the Humans of Earth?



## Terra Arkay (Nov 10, 2011)

I'm an amateur writer and I need your opinions...

What do you guys think about an extraterrestrial race saving a large percentage of the Human race and safely transporting them to planets in the deep ends of space far far from the coming darkness? A bit far-fetched? Does this meet the fantasy criteria? I MUST remember that this is a fantasy story... I tried to develop a reason to get my characters off of planet Earth but now looking back at this... it sounds a bit eccentric. If this is a bit eccentric, how can I get my characters off planet Earth?


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## Elder the Dwarf (Nov 10, 2011)

Sounds sci fi... maybe that's just my opinion though.  If you have any well-meaning gods/deities, they could easily do it.  I think something similar happened in Dragonlance in the war of souls series.  Although that might have been just the gods leaving/ only one coming back.  Anyways, back on topic.  Gods would be the easiest way to accomplish it, I think.  Also, depending on how powerful your mages are or if you have magic, that could be an option.


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## Garren Jacobsen (Nov 10, 2011)

I see no problem if you create a fantasy/sci-fi hybrid where perhaps the ETs are the peoples' deities and then a huge twist of them being superior beings.


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## Lord Darkstorm (Nov 11, 2011)

What is the comming darkness?  I know Larry Nivnen had quite a few books that had the majority of the stars near the center of the galaxy going super nova all at the same time, the destruction traveling outward, and some alien races finding ways to escape it. 

If it is fantasy, I would think it more of moving to another dimension than leaving the planet, although fantasy ships does have some basis (there was a dungeons and dragons expansion for it).  

The bigger question is what are they running from, and where are they trying to run too.


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## lawrence (Nov 11, 2011)

Hmmm...yes as soon as alien races and interplanetary travel comes in, the story becomes Sci Fi I think ? 

Check out the movies 'Outlander' and 'Knowing' for interesting takes.

I would agree that using supernatural/magical beings and cross dimensions would mesh better with a High Fantasy / Sword and Sorcery novel.


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## Devor (Nov 11, 2011)

I think there's an episode of Doctor Who which did something very similar.

Walk the line.  If spaceships fly because of matter/anti-matter micro-collisions you're in sci-fi.  If spaceships fly because of a crystalline structure which fuses their engines with the same intergalactic mystery-web that mages use to cast spells, you're in fantasy.


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## Seth son of Tom (Nov 11, 2011)

it does sound more fitting for sci-fi, but either way i like the sound of it. go for it if you like it.


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## Paul (Nov 11, 2011)

The idea of extraterrestrials saving the human race sounds like sci-fi(to me) but i read somewhere about a genre of fantasy called 'science fantasy'; a genre of fantasy that involves science. For example, you can substitute cell regeneration(sci-fi) for immortality(fantasy) and psionics(sci-fi) for magic(fantasy).
 However, you can add elements of fantasy to your story in order not to divert to sci-fi.


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## Paul (Nov 11, 2011)

The idea of extraterrestrials saving the human race sounds like sci-fi(to me) but i read somewhere about a genre of fantasy called 'science fantasy'; a genre of fantasy that involves science. For example, you can substitute cell regeneration(sci-fi) for immortality(fantasy) and psionics(sci-fi) for magic(fantasy).
 However, you can add elements of fantasy to your story in order not to divert to sci-fi.


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## Solomon Tan (Nov 11, 2011)

I think it's a cool idea adding both together. Science fantasy yeah? 

You could also allow humans to use magic or get the aliens to teach the humans magic to aid them in their escape or even their fight against this darkness.. 

Or some fantasy creatures like dragons or powerful liches? 

I am also planning to add in elements of science into my magic system for my story.. I just prefer a wizard to cast a spell and need to contemplate with the reactions of different atoms.. Makes the wizard much more smarter and powerful..


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## Terra Arkay (Nov 11, 2011)

Guys, this will probably be the only bit of interplanetary travel that will exist in the story. I've read your comments and I appreciate them. The gods in my story are called "The Watchers" and they do what their name implies, they simply watch the life they have created and allowed it to develop by itself though everynow and then, they'd interfere with life. Now my character Terra Arkay has been experiencing weird dreams, some prophetic, some bizarre and the line between reality and the dreams was a very thin one. One day he experienced a dream he struggles to comprehend and this is when his life changes... Now this extraterrestrial race is sorta like the angels, they've been instructed by The Watchers to save a large amount of the human race and scatter them across the universe... Terra Arkay just so happens to land on 'The Planet' (Yet to be named).

So it's fantasy with a hint of sci-fi, it starts of sci-fi and soon becomes fantasy. I've got sooo much work to do on my story guys, I'm yet to create a villain or even fully develop the main character, on a percentage scale, I'd say I've completed about 0.25% of the entire thing


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## Terra Arkay (Nov 11, 2011)

@Soloman Tan: Yeah! Exactly what you said.


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## Sheilawisz (Nov 11, 2011)

Throwing Magic and Technology together in a story has been done before, and it can be loads of fun!! Have you ever watched the animated series Winx Club?? It has fairies, witches and dragons mixed with modern cities, laser weapons and starships... it was wildly successful for some time, but now it has been pretty much forgotten =(

Talking from a personal point of view, in my own Fantasy stories there are super powerful mages and magical dragons while the common people have modern cities, super-tall skyscrapers, planes, warplanes, artificial illumination in the cities, energy weapons, missiles, heavy artillery and more... so yes, I like the mixture of fantasy and sci fi

I have also large starship-like vessels that can travel very long distances by flying at great speed, and those work by magic =)

Sheila


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## Sheilawisz (Nov 11, 2011)

Terra Arkay said:


> Now my character Terra Arkay has been experiencing weird dreams, some prophetic, some bizarre and the line between reality and the dreams was a very thin one.


 Terra Arkay is a great name for a character!! =)


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## Terra Arkay (Nov 11, 2011)

I've worked on a couple races for my story rather than your generic goblins and elves, I want it to be different. At the time our protagonists arrive on 'The Planet' (codename), the technological level of the planet shall be 10 years better than what we have today. This is a fantasy world, I must consider this... but the magic is limited, that is why this world isn't built entirely on magic but a mix of technology and science with magic. Instant teleportation at the snap of the fingers won't exist in my world, You'll have to use a thingy-majiggy teleporting gate imbued with magic located in each city. I don't think this is an original idea though...


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## Terra Arkay (Nov 11, 2011)

Oh and an example of one of the races that'll feature in my story is The Mogans, Humans shall feature too but I've paid specific attention to these guys for reasons unknown. There's two branches to these guys, we've got wild Mogans and they're called Jungle Moga and we've got the more domesticated version and they're called City Moga, the difference between these two versions of Moga are little and a bit obvious, Jungle Moga are more wild while City Moga are more controlled.


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## Terra Arkay (Nov 11, 2011)

@Sheilawisz: Thanks! This was mean't to be a big secret but the word Arkay was actually was specifically chosen, try and figure it out 

I've also been wondering, it would be a little weird if he's called by his first and last name throughout the whole story, so I might shorten that down to Arkay... Perhaps I could preserve the calling of his full name for like the villains and stuff


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## Seth son of Tom (Nov 12, 2011)

i like it. it kind of reminds me of the new thor movie where science and magic are the same thing.


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## sashamerideth (Nov 12, 2011)

In my world what everyone thinks is magic is technology. The gods being technologically advanced aliens is a bit of a sci-fi trope (stargate comes to mind), may be a bit clichÃ©, and definitely deus ex machinima (or however that's spelled) in your case.


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## Sheilawisz (Nov 12, 2011)

Terra Arkay said:


> @Sheilawisz: Thanks! This was mean't to be a big secret but the word Arkay was actually was specifically chosen, try and figure it out  I've also been wondering, it would be a little weird if he's called by his first and last name throughout the whole story, so I might shorten that down to Arkay... Perhaps I could preserve the calling of his full name for like the villains and stuff


I have no idea what Arkay means, anyway it sounds great to me =) I think that characters should be called by their first name by everyone, the last name being called just sometimes or at least that's what I do in my own stories!!

I like a fantasy story that has both magic and technology, but I hate when magic is described as science of any kind... Magic should always be, in my opinion, the exact opposite of science =)

That's why it's MAGIC!!


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## Lord Darkstorm (Nov 12, 2011)

I've rarely found stories that try to merge fantasy and scifi into one work well.  It could just be me, but the two systems work against each other.  If you have magic, it will normally take the place of technology, and if you don't have much magic, then technology will take hold.  Only when you are taking one element and pushing it into another (I think the dresden files would be one example, or harry potter) you have one world hidden within the other.  So they don't merge, they exist in semi isolation.

I have seen some anime that warp the two together, but most of the time the magic comes in strange powers that seem to have no real system, just things that happen.  

Not saying it can't be done, it's just that when you include extra terrestrials and other planets, it takes on a scifi model with the magic being things not actually explained, but possibly some form of natural ability beyond the normal concepts we think as real.

Of course, if you write the story then you can let someone else figure out what category it fits in.


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